▪ I. † ˈdedicate, pa. pple. and ppl. a. Obs. or arch.
Also 4–6 dedicat.
[ad. L. dēdicāt-us consecrated, formally devoted, pa. pple. of dēdicāre (see next). Used both as pa. pple. and adj., but now only as an archaic synonym of dedicated.]
Dedicated.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶890 In chirche, or in chirche-hawe, in chirche dedicate, or noon. 1494 Fabyan Chron. i. ii. 9 An old Temple dedycat in the honoure of..Diana. 1535 Coverdale Ezek. xliv. 29 Euery dedicate thinge in Israel shall be theirs. 1565 J. Calfhill Answ. Treat. Crosse (1846) 5 You have dedicate your book to the Queen's highness. 1643 Milton Divorce vii. (1851) 35 Every true Christian..is a person dedicate to joy and peace. 1646 P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. iii. 275 The dedicate things which should have been to the honouring of God. 1798 Coleridge Nightingale, Like a Lady vow'd and dedicate To something more than Nature in the grove. 1814 Southey Roderick x, I vow'd, A virgin dedicate, to pass my life Immured. |
▪ II. dedicate, v.
(ˈdɛdɪkeɪt)
[f. L. dēdicāt-, ppl. stem of dēdicāre to declare, proclaim, devote (to a deity) in a set form of words, to consecrate, f. de- + dicāre to say, proclaim, make over formally by words, a weak vb. from stem dic- of dīcĕre to say, tell; cf. the adj. formative -dicus -saying, -telling; also abdicate. For the pa. pple., dedicate (see prec.) has been used, and in 16th c. the same form was used for the pa. tense, as if short for dedicated.]
1. a. trans. To devote (to the Deity or to a sacred person or purpose) with solemn rites; to surrender, set apart, and consecrate to sacred uses.
(The leading sense, which more or less colours the others.)
| 1530 Palsgr. 509/1, I dedycate a churche. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Publ. Baptism, Whosoeuer is here dedicated to thee by our office and ministerie. 1555 Eden Decades 73 To whom he buylded and dedicate a chapell and an altare. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxix. 247* Any Edifice dedicated by Christians to the worship of Christ. 1659 Pearson Creed (1839) 223 Many are the enemies of those persons who dedicate themselves unto his service. 1822 K. Digby Broadst. Hon. (1846) II. 337 (Tancredus), The 29th of September has been dedicated to St. Michael and all Angels ever since the fifth century. 1885 Pall Mall G. 2 Jan. 10/2 The precedent set by the Bishop of St. Albans in dedicating a cemetery, in lieu of consecrating it in a strictly legal way. |
b. fig.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. Chor. 37 Nor doth he dedicate one iot of colour Vnto the wearie and all-watched Night. 1606 ― Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 110 Well Vnckle, what folly I commit, I dedicate to you. 1678 Salmon Lond. Disp. 578/1 A Pectoral Decoction..is Dedicated to the Lungs. |
2. transf. To give up earnestly, seriously, or wholly, to a particular person or specific purpose; to assign or appropriate; to devote.
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 3 We must dedicate our myndes wholly to folowe the moste wise and learned menne. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 472 To her my thoughts I daily dedicate. 1653 Walton Angler Ep. Ded. 3 When you..devest your self of your more serious business, and..dedicate a day or two to this Recreation. 1718 Prior Solomon ii. 818 It bid her..dedicate her remnant life To the just duties of an humble wife. 1771 Junius Lett. xlix. 257 The remainder of the summer shall be dedicated to your amusement. 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1872) I. 504 The dukes of Savoy were..completely dedicated to the French interests. 1841 W. Spalding Italy & It. Isl. I. 236 It assumed the title of the Via Triumphalis, from the processions to which it was dedicated. |
3. a. To inscribe or address (a book, engraving, piece of music, etc.) to a patron or friend, as a compliment, mark of honour, regard, or affection.
| 1542 Boorde Dyetary Pref. (1870) 227 And where I haue dedycted this boke to your grace [etc.]. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn i. iii. §9 The ancient custom was to dedicate them only to private and equal friends, or to entitle the books with their names. 1737 Fielding Hist. Reg. Ded., Asking leave to dedicate, therefore, is asking whether you will pay for your dedication, and in that sense I believe it is understood by both authors and patrons. 1832 W. L. Garrison Thoughts African Colon. p. iii, I dedicate this work to my countrymen. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair, To B. W. Procter this story is affectionately dedicated. |
† b. To address (a letter or other communication) to. Obs. rare.
| 1688 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. I. 236 That some things of that Nature had been proposed and Dedicated to y⊇ proprietor, by himself..to which he believed he should receive his Answer by y⊇ ffirst Shipping hether. 1776 Black Lett. to Adam Smith 26 Aug., I heard that he had dedicated a letter to you, desiring you not to come. |
4. a. Law. To devote or throw open to the use of the public (a highway or other open space).
| 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 153/2 It is necessary that the party dedicating should have a sufficient interest in the land to warrant such dedication. |
b. To open formally to the public; to inaugurate, make public.
| 1892 Times (Weekly ed.) 21 Oct. 5/4 President Harrison cannot visit Chicago to dedicate the World's Fair. |
c. Forestry. (See quots.)
| 1943 Post-War Forest Policy 50 in Parl. Papers 1942–3 (Cmd. 6447) IV. 419 Woodland which is required for timber production should be dedicated to that specific purpose, and..woodland owners who so dedicate their land and also provide adequate assurances for subsequent good management should receive State assistance. 1953 H. L. Edlin Forester's Handbk. xxi. 348 In order to obtain financial assistance from the Forestry Commission, for any substantial area of privately owned woodland, it is necessary to Dedicate it. This implies that the owner undertakes to manage it on an approved plan, more or less in perpetuity. |