▪ I. visit, n.
(ˈvɪzɪt)
Also 7 visite, visitt, visette, vizet.
[ad. F. visite (= It., Sp., Pg. visita), or f. visit v.]
1. a. An act of visiting a person; a friendly or formal call upon, a shorter or longer stay with, a person as a feature of social intercourse.
| 1621 G. Sandys Ovid's Met. xiii. (1626) 274 To Nymphs of Seas,..She beares her vizets. 1638 R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 228 You know well, I have appointed you here a chamber, and that you are my debter of a visite, now a whole year. 1648 Nicholas Papers (Camden) 94 To..undertake..for a visitt to him by the Lord Jarmin (who I beleeve visited none else there). 1681 Viscountess Campden in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 56 My Lady Skidmore and her lord was at Mr. Conisbys house upon a visette. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 102 ¶8 Like Ladies that look upon their Watches after a long Visit. 1753 Scots Mag. XV. 36/1 Guilty of that most atrocious crime, the owing a visit. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 246 If the monkey ventures to offer a visit of curiosity, the toucan gives him such a welcome, that he..is glad to escape. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair i, On the solemn occasions of the visits of parents. 1887 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 2 April 754/1 To call twice in one week, under the pretence..of a social visit. 1907 Verney Mem. I. 99 He is looking forward to a visit from Ralph in the summer. |
| fig. 1781 Cowper Table T. 411 'Tis not..despondence and dismay Will win her [sc. Mercy's] visits or engage her stay. |
b. Freq. in the phrases
to make, or
pay (also
† give)
a visit,
to return a visit.
| (a) 1644 T. Prujean Aurorata ii. E j, Romeo..going to give her a visit meetes Tybalt her kinsman. 1674 Essex Papers (Camden) I. 179 My L{supd} Shaftsbury did me y⊇ honour y⊇ other day to give me a visit. 1699 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1725) 227 An Abbot gives a Lady a visit. 1709–10 Steele Tatler No. 128 ¶7 He came to give our Family a formal Visit. |
| (b) 1643 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 There is no obligation but that of love, to make a visit. a 1699 A. Halkett Autobiog. (Camden) 3, I doe nott remember that I made a visitt to y⊇ neerest neibour. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 124 ¶1, I went on Saturday last to make a Visit in the City. 1753 E. Moor in World I. No. 11. 87 She made him a visit of a month, and at his entreaty would have settled with him for ever. 1779 Forrest Voy. N. Guinea 224 Making him a visit, I found him in the great hall. 1823 J. Simpson Ricardo the Outlaw I. 241 She promised that in two years, at longest, she would make them a visit. 1885 W. W. Story Fiammetta 195 You promised you would make me a visit in the autumn. |
| (c) 1654–66 Earl of Orrery Parthen. (1676) 503 Surena, by this visit, was in a few days able to pay me one. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 24 ¶6 Let us pay Visits, but never see one another. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 38 The Dutch captain came off in his shallop..to pay his visit to me. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 399 The visit paid, with ecstasy we come, As from a seven years transportation, home. 1835 Court Mag. VI. 186/1, I quitted Oxford, and paid a visit to a maiden lady dwelling in the Orange Grove. 1855 Tennyson To Rev. F. D. Maurice xii, When the wreath of March has blossom'd,..Or later, pay one visit here, For those are few we hold as dear. |
| fig. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 3 Where smiling spring its earliest visit paid. |
| (d) 1677 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 37, I missed my nephew Anthony the other day who Lady Shaftesbery sent to see me, and I am now going to returne his visit. 1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to C'tess Mar 10 March, I returned my visits at three weeks' end. 1766 [see return v.1 21 b]. |
c. transf. A place to which one goes only as a visitor.
| 1784 Cowper Task i. 251 Society for me! thou seeming sweet, Be still a pleasing object in my view, My visit still, but never mine abode. |
d. An excursion
to a place for the purpose of sight-seeing; a short or temporary stay at a place. Also
transf. of animals or birds (
cf. visit v. 10 d).
| 1800 (title), Visits to the Aviary. For the instruction of youth. 1839 Miss Mitford in L'Estrange Life III. vii. 97 There is an account of a visit to Lyme in Miss Austen's exquisite ‘Persuasion’. 1860 Clough Poems, etc. (1869) I. 245 We had a visit to Fryston in Yorkshire, and after passing through the Highlands to Oban, made a three week's stay in Morven. 1872 Ruskin Fors Clav. xxi. 20, I spend five hundred in Paris in the two visits I make there. |
| transf. 1831 T. Nuttall in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. (1833) I. 101 Crossbills..pay irregular visits to the northern and middle States. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXV. 7/1 [The black-cap titmouse] probably extending its visits into Mexico. |
e. An occasion of going
to a dentist, doctor, etc., for examination or treatment.
| 1884 Thompson Tumours of Bladder 10 After two or three visits [to a hospital], he took a sea voyage for his health. 1902 R. Bagot Donna Diana xxviii. 356 He felt that he would far prefer a visit to the dentist to the interview before him. |
f. Dog-breeding. A bitch's journey to and her stay with a dog for breeding purposes.
Cf. visit v. 8 b.
| 1867 Field 5 Jan. 5/3 The following bitches have been on a visit to Patent. 1887 G. Stables Pract. Kennel Guide xii. 125 Dogs..refuse food during the time of the bitch's visit. 1910 R. Leighton Dogs l. 320 A proper mating should be considered at the outset... It is customary for the bitch to be the visitor, and it is well that her visit should extend to two or three days at the least. |
2. a. An instance of going to see, and assist or comfort, persons in distress.
| 1709 (title), A charitable Visit to the Prisons, containing counsel to those who are confined there. 1792 [R. Cecil] (title), A Friendly Visit to the House of Mourning. |
b. A call made by a clergyman as part of his pastoral duties.
| 1724 A. Shields Life J. Renwick 114 No place did more desire his frequent Visits than those that were most persecuted for him. 1727 Hurrion Funer. Serm. J. Nesbit 41 His visits were generally short, but very agreeable, and useful. |
c. A professional call made by a doctor on a patient.
| 1719 Boyer Dict. Royal i. s.v., The visit of a Physitian, or Surgeon. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Visit, the attendance of a surgeon or physician, inspector, etc. 1861 F. Nightingale Nursing 35 For a doctor..to leave the patient and communicate his opinion on the result of his visit..within hearing..of the patient [etc.]. 1890 J. W. Martin Quest. & Answ. Nursing 92 To report anything that may appear unusual to the Doctor at his next visit. |
3. a. Surgical examination (of a wound).
rare—1.
| 1796 C. Smith Marchmont IV. 17, I am faint after a visit to my wound. |
b. An instance (or the action) of going to a place, house, etc., for the purpose of inspection or examination.
| 1787 Burns Let. to M. Chalmers Wks. (Globe) 352, I have been at Dumfries, and at one visit more shall be decided about a farm in that country. 1815 J. C. Hobhouse Substance Lett. (1816) I. 291 The Emperor..examined the new manufacture of Arms... Napoleon was accompanied only by three officers when he made his visit. 1861 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 48 Sir Thomas More made, as Chancellor, a domiciliary visit in search of heretical books. 1897 J. S. Risley Law of War iii. viii. 265 (heading) The right of visit and search. A belligerent has the right..to visit and search every merchant ship at sea in time of war. |
c. Billiards and
Snooker. A turn of play at the table.
| 1927 Times 22 Feb. 16/3 At his second visit to the table he made a break of 111. |
† 4. An occurrence of menstruation.
Obs.| 1653 T. Brugis Vade Mecum (ed. 2) 112 Philonium Persicum..is good against the overmuch flowing of womens naturall visits. Ibid. 127 Myrrhe..procureth womens monthly visits. 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 95 The Females of these have periodical Visits like Females of the Human Race. |
5. attrib. and
Comb., as
visit-day,
visit-paying;
† visit-leg, a posture of politeness in paying a visit (
cf. leg n. 4).
| 1673 Wycherley Gent. Dancing-Master iv. i, Blackamoor (teaching postures to M. de Paris). Now let me see you make your visit-leg—thus. a 1717 Parnell Elegy to old Beauty 29 With better Strength, on Visit-days she bears To mount her fifty Flights of ample Stairs. 1849 Thackeray in Scribner's Mag. I. 522/2, I have been most remiss in visit-paying. |
▪ II. visit, v. (
ˈvɪzɪt)
Forms: 3
uisiti, 3–4
visiten, 4–6
visyte, 4–7
visite (4
uisite,
visitte, 5
vissite), 5–
visit (4
wisit, 6
vizit,
visyt), 5–7
visitt (5
visytt), 6–7
vissit; 4
vysyty, 4–6
vysyte (5
uysyte,
vycyte),
vysite (4
uys-), 4
vysitte, 5
vysid, 5–6
vysit,
vysyt; 4–6
visete, 4–6
viset (5
viss-, 6
visett),
vyset (5
-ed,
ett, 6
-ette); 4–5
vesete (5
-ette,
Sc. -eit), 5
vecyte,
vesyte,
-ite;
Sc. 5
wesit, 6
vesit. Also
pa. tense (
north. and
Sc.) 4–5
wisit, 5
vyset,
vised;
pa. pple. 4–5
visit,
-yt, 5
-ide, 6
-itt.
[ad. OF. visiter (also mod.F., = Sp. and Pg. visitar, It. visitare) or L. vīsitāre to go to see, to inspect, etc., frequentative of vīsāre, f. vīs-, ppl. stem of vidēre to see. In early use largely due to the frequent use of visitare in passages of the Vulgate, from which senses 1–7 are directly derived.] I. 1. a. trans. Of the Deity: To come to (persons) in order to comfort or benefit.
Sometimes passing into senses 7 or 8. In
Alexander 1964 used of pagan deities.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 154 Me ivint þet heo fluwen monne sturbinge, & wenden bi ham one: & tet God visitede ham & ᵹef ham hore bonen. a 1300 Cursor M. 5789 Sai þam i sal þam son visete,..I sal þam bring vte of thain-hede. a 1325 Prose Psalter cv. (cvi.) 4 Þenche, Lord, on vs in þe wele⁓likand of þy folk, and visit vs in þyne helþe. 1340 Ayenb. 128 Þet is þet uerste guod þet þe holy gost deþ to þe sene⁓ȝere, huanne he him uisiteþ. 1382 Wyclif Jer. xv. 15 Lord, recorde thou of me, and visite me, and delyuere me fro them that pursuen me. c 1412 Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 914 God, as him list, visitith folk, & smyt. c 1440 Alph. Tales 269 Almighti God hase forsaken me, becauce He vissettis not me as He was wunt. 1535 Coverdale Ruth i. 6 She had herde..y{supt} the Lorde had visited his people & geuen them bred. 1553 Primer in Lit. & Doc. Edw. VI (1844) 399 Visit him, O Lord, as thou didst visit Peter's wife's mother, and the captain's servant. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 When God comes in kindness and love to do us good, he visiteth us. 1676 Hale Contempl. i. 526 But art thou come, dear Saviour? hath thy Love Thus made thee stoop..and thus thy self to dress In dust to visit Mortals? 1727 De Foe Hist. Appar. i. (1840) 9 Thus Adam was frequently visited in Eden. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 743 For He..Shall visit earth in Mercy. |
| transf. 1830 Tennyson Ode to Memory 4 Oh, haste, Visit my low desire! Strengthen me, enlighten me! |
b. spec. (See
quots.)
| 1382 Wyclif Gen. xxi. 1 God forsothe visitide Sara,..and fulfillide that that he spak. And she conseyuede. [Similarly in later versions.] 1390 Gower Conf. I. 190 The hihe makere of nature Hire hath visited in a throwe, That it was openliche knowe Sche was with childe be the king. |
c. To come to (persons) in order to judge of their state or condition. (
Cf. sense 9.)
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. iii. 16 Visytynge Y haue visitid ȝow, and Y haue seen alle thingis that haue fallun to ȝow in Egipte. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 637 In this sense, Job saith, that God visits man every morning, as a shepherd his flock, lest any should be hurt or straid. |
† 2. To come to (persons) in order to observe or examine conduct or disposition; to make trial of; to subject to test or scrutiny.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 3195 (Cott.) Godd has þe [Abraham] visited here to-dai, þi dede in minnyng sal last ai. a 1325 Prose Psalter xvi. 4 (xvii. 3), Þou prouedest myn hert, and uisited it on niȝt. Ibid. lviii. 6 (lix. 5), Ȝif entent to uisiten al folkes; ne haue þou nouȝt mercy on alle þat wirchen wickednes. 1382 Wyclif Job vii. 18 Thou visitist hym the morntid, and feerli [1388 sudeynli] thou prouest hym. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione ii. ix. 51 Wherfore saiþ Iob: ‘Thou visitist him by tyme,..& sodenly þou preuest him’. 1535 Coverdale Job xxxi. 14 But seynge that God wil sytt in judgment, what shal I do? And for so moch as he wil nedes vyset me, what answere shal I geue him? 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 637 The eye of God is alway upon us:..he visiteth us so, that we can turn no way but he is with us. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 48 But God who oft descends to visit men Unseen, and through thir habitations walks To mark thir doings. |
| absol. 1611 Bible Job xxxi. 14 What then shall I do, when God riseth vp? and when hee visiteth, what shall I answere him? |
3. a. To inflict hurt, harm, or punishment upon (a person); to deal severely or hardly with (persons or things);
† to cut off, cause to die.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxvi. 14 Therfore thou hast visityd, and to-brosedest hem, and lost al the mynde of hem. 1485 Cov. Leet Bk. 528 If your wisdomes..woll please..to chese me..Recorder of your Citie, if God visite your Recorder that nowe is. 1535 Coverdale Amos iii. 2 Therfore will I vyset you in all youre wickednesses. 1541 Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 152 Beinge visitt with the hande of God. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 312 Let vs alwayes looke to the first cause of our affliction, and to God who visiteth vs iustly. 1611 Bible Amos iii. 14, I will also visite the altars of Bethel, and the hornes of the altar shall be cut off. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 When God visits our bodies, our estates, our families, or the kingdom where we live. a 1770 Jortin Serm. (1771) I. iii. 52 We haue mentioned several reasons why God doth not immediately visit the disobedient. 1781 Cowper Expost. 248 If vice receiv'd her retribution due When we were visited, what hope for you? 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xlviii. V. 67 Her life was spared by the clemency of the emperor, but he visited the pomp and treasures of her palace. |
b. To afflict or distress
with sickness, poverty, or the like.
| 1424 Hen. VI in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 100 Oure bel Uncle of Excestre, whom oure Lord now late visitid with seknesse. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 127 Som withe povert hym list to visite. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 134 b, Euery chylde that he receyueth, he chastiseth & visiteth with payne & tribulacyon. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 2 God..hauing visited mee with a long, and perchaunce a curelesse disease. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. vii. 19 b, Before his departure..he ment to visit the town of Mousambick, and the dwellers therein, with some sufficient reuenge. 1624 J. Usher in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 131 It pleased God to visite me with a quartan. 1748 Smollett Rod. Rand. xxvii, His indignation ought to be directed to Cot Almighty, who visited his people with distempers. 1862 Boyd Graver Thoughts 52 Holy Scripture sets before us two men,..each of whom was visited with a thorn in the flesh to keep him down. |
c. To deprive
of something.
rare—1.
| c 1585 Faire Em iii. iv, Good father, giue me leaue to sit where I may not be disturbed, sith God hath visited me both of my sight and hearing. |
4. a. Of sickness, etc.: To come upon (a person or persons), to assail or afflict. Freq. in passive and
const. with or
by.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1980 Als we suld ilk day þeded fele, And byde noght til þe dede us vyset. 1382 Wyclif Numb. xvi. 29 If [there]..visyte them a veniaunce, with the which and other ben woned to be visytid, the Lorde hath not sente me. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 95 The kyng his father, so visited with sickenesse was not personable. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 156 He was hestelie vissitit with the heot feweris. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. i. 26, I would the state of time had first beene whole, Ere he by sicknesse had beene visited. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 When a house hath the Plague,..we use to say, Such a house is visited. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 21 So grievously visited with the plague,..that before a month..the living were hardly able to bury the dead. 1662 E. Hookes in Extr. St. P. rel. Friends ii. (1911) 154 In the White Lyon prisson..about 23 of them vissitted with sicknesse and a high feever. 1727 Swift God's Rev. agst. Punning Wks. 1755 III. i. 171 One Samuel an Irishman, for his forward attempt to pun..hath been visited all his life after with bulls and blunders. 1754 Med. Observ. (1776) I. 43 Being visited by a gentle attack [of gout] in both feet. 1832 R. & J. Lander Exped. Niger I. iii. 120 Since leaving Jenna, we have met an incredible number of persons visited with the loss of one eye. 1855 Poultry Chron. III. 148/1 Some which were..tended with constant care, all died: and similar mortality has visited others also. 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices I. xxiii. 602 Cornwall must have been more lightly visited with the Plague than most English counties. |
b. spec. in
pass. Bewitched.
| 1820 Sporting Mag. VII. 101 On account of their stock thus ‘visited’, as the term is, the infatuated peasantry almost invariably have recourse to charms. |
5. a. To punish or requite (wrongdoing). Also
const. with.
| a 1325 Prose Psalter lxxxviii. (lxxxix.) 32 Y shal uisite in chasteing her wickednesses, and her synȝes in vengeaunce. 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxxii. 34 Y in the day of veniaunce shal visite this synne of hem. [Also Jer. xiv. 10, Lam. iv. 22, etc.; similarly in later versions.] 1535 Coverdale Jer. xxiii. 2 Therfore, now will I vyset the wickednes of youre ymaginacions, saieth y⊇ Lorde. 1833 I. Taylor Fanat. ii. 41 So jealous is Nature of her constitutions that she rigorously visits every infringement of them. Ibid. 49 The instinct of Retribution or the vehement desire to see wrong visited with punishment. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 496 What, he often said, could be more unjust, than to visit speculations with penalties which ought to be reserved for acts? 1879 Froude Cæsar xix. 310 Mild offences were visited with the loss of eyes or ears. |
b. To avenge, or inflict punishment for (wrongdoing)
on or
upon (also
† in,
into) a person.
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. xx. 3 Visitynge the wickidnes of fadris in sones into the thridde and the ferthe generacioun. ― Jer. xxiii. 2 Y shal visite vp on ȝow the malice of ȝoure studies. 1535 Coverdale Numb. xiv. 18 The Lorde..vysiteth the myszdede of the fathers vpon the children. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 179 Thy sinnes are visited in this poore childe. 1596 ― Merch. V. iii. v. 16 So the sins of my mother should be visited vpon me. 1611 Bible Jer. xxiii. 2 Behold I will visite vpon you the euill of your doings. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 955, I to that place Would speed before thee,..That on my head all might be visited. 1813 Shelley Q. Mab. viii. 181 Which doubly visits on the tyrants' heads The long-protracted fulness of their woe. 1831 Keble Serm. v. (1848) 118 Thus, reversing the Scripture rule most unfairly, men visit the sins of the children on the fathers. 1866 G. Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. xiii. (1878) 266 He visited the daughter's fault upon the son. |
c. To inflict (punishment)
on one.
rare.
| 1836 J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. ix. (1852) 292 It is said to be of the essence of legal penalty to visit punishment on the person of the offender. |
6. absol. To take vengeance or inflict punishment.
† Also
const. on or
over.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. x. 12, I shal visite vpon the fruyt of the gret doende herte of the king of Assur. Ibid. xxvii. 1 In that dai viseten shal the Lord in his harde swerd..vp on leuyathan. 1609 Bible (Douay) Isa. xiii. 11 And I will visite over the evils of the world, and against the impious their iniquitie. 1840 De Quincey Essenes 111, When the vilest outrages were offered by foreigners to their women, probably they [sc. the Sicarii] ‘visited’ for such atrocities. |
II. 7. a. To make a practice of going to (persons in sickness or distress) in order to comfort or assist them.
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 28 For þo luue of gode wakie, go ine pelrimage, uisiti þe poure, and to sike. c 1315 Shoreham i. 1032 [To] Vysyty syke and prysone, And helpe pouere at nede. c 1375 Lay Folks' Catech. 1133 Whi schuld venym or stynk lette vs to visite men in presun. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. v. 412, I visited neuere fieble men, ne fettered folke in puttes. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 68 Visite the pore, with intyre diligence, On al nedy have thow compassioun. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 231 Helpe þe seke, and vysed hom þat be in prison. c 1491 Chast Goddes Chyld. 13 Also it is good to visite seke folke that ben holden goostly lyuers. 1526 Tindale Jas. i. 27 To vysit the frendlesse and widdowes in their adversite. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 861 You shall this tweluemonth terme from day to day, Visite the speechlesse sicke. 1603 ― Meas. for M. ii. iii. 4 Bound by my charity,..I come to visite the afflicted spirits Here in the prison. 1687 J. Renwick in A. Shields Life (1724) 219 Ye must visit the Sick and these who are in Distress. 1795 Paley (title), The Clergyman's Companion in Visiting the Sick. 1862 Chambers' Encycl. IV. 541/1 The deplorable condition of the female prisoners in Newgate attracted her [Elizabeth Fry's] attention, and she resolved upon visiting them. |
| absol. a 1591 H. Smith Wks. (1867) II. 22 The devil goeth a-visiting, he will teach the sick how they shall recover their health. |
b. Similarly with reference to individual cases.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 16013 Til his felaus he yede He went him for to wisit þaim, for þar-of had þai nede. 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4388 He lay yn hys bedde long Sone aftyr betydde a lytte Þe kyng come, hym to vysyte. 13.. Seuyn Sages (W.) 1138 He let of-sende..Hise neyebours him to visite, And told..Hou his deth was comen him on. 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 50 Þere shal no broþir ne sister sene othir in prison, [but] þat he shal comyn and vesyten hym and comfordyn hym. 1530 Palsgr. 766/1 It is an almesse dede to visyte the poore man, he hath ben long sycke. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon I. 167 It pleaseth me well that this caytyue Huon, who endureth myche payne, be vysytyd by thee. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Vis. Sick, If the person visited bee very sicke, then the curate may end his exhortacion at this place. 1607 Shakes. Cor. i. iii. 85 Come, you must go visit the good Lady that lies in. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 Christ pronounceth the blessing on them who, when he was in prison, visited him. 1712 N. Spinckes (title), The Sick Man Visited; and furnished with Instructions, Meditations, and Prayers. 1808 Mrs. E. Hamilton Cottagers of Glenburnie x, The minister..had been sent for..to visit a sick parishioner. |
8. a. To go to see (a person) in a friendly or sociable manner; to call upon as an act of friendliness or politeness, or for some special purpose; also, to stay with for a short time as a guest.
| 13.. Arth. & Merlin 701 Biside þer woned an ermite, Þat þider com, þis [= these] to visite. 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 4450 Whende ichil in-to mi cuntre, Mine frendes to visite & to se. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 325 Þat tyme whanne Moyses visited his breþeren in þe lond of Iessen, he slowȝ a man of þe Egipcians. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 39 And whan the Soudan wille, he may go visite him. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iii. 3764 Hector in herte cauȝte an appetite..Þe same day Grekis to vesite. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 47 The knyght enulphus which cam the same nyght with his squyer for to visite his lord. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III, 46 As though he had gone secretely to visite a familiar frende of his. 1580 E. Knight Trial Truth To Chr. Rdr., A friend of myne viziting me at my chamber, and finding me so solitary exercised [etc.]. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Pol. Touchstone (1674) 268 This Duke visited..Prospero Colonna, of whom he was received with all sorts of Honour. 1676 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 29 Lady Cleaveland is not, they say, much satisfied in France because the greatest ladies doe not visit her. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 61 He's too lazy and proud to visit common Sailors. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones xv. ix, Who, though some overnice ladies will not be seen with her, is visited (as they term it) by the whole town. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian xxvi, Vivaldi was visited in his prison by a man whom he had never consciously seen before. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xlvii, Had he not been so great a Prince very few possibly would have visited him. 1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board II. 461 How many of the friends I was on my way to visit are no more seen! 1870 Dickens E. Drood vii, He comes here visiting his relation, Mr. Jasper. |
| fig. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 60 Let me heare from thee by Letters..And I likewise will visite thee with mine. 1683 Pennsylv. Archives I. 72, I have long promised my⁓self to visit thee w{supt}{suph} a Letter. |
b. To have cohabitation with (one of the opposite sex).
rare exc. in
Dog-Breeding: To be put to mate with (a dog) or at (a kennel).
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 10820 Now the maner was most of þo mylde wemen, Thre mones with mirthe þo men for to viset. 1553 Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 24 The men are accustomed to vysyte the women once in the yeare. 1867 Field 5 Jan. 5/3 The following bitches have visited Good Idea at the Blundell Arms Kennels. 1877 G. Stables Pract. Kennel Guide xii. 122 In your correspondence with the owner of the bitch that is going to visit your kennel, be sure to let him know that he is to send her..as soon as there are the slightest signs of her coming in season. 1922 R. Leighton Compl. Bk. Dog iii. 34, 40 per cent. of prize-bred bitches which visit prize⁓bred dogs are unproductive. |
c. Of a medical man: To attend (a patient) professionally.
| 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xii. 93 [The physician] is bound to visite him foure times a daye, vntill suche time as he haue recouered his health. 1607 Peele's Jests 7 The gentlewoman..sent one of the men to desire the Doctor to come and visit her Husband. 1707 Floyer Physic. Pulse-Watch 253 The Physicians themselves in China are Apothecaries, and when they Visit their Patients, they carry a Servant loaded with their Medicines. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Physician, Clinical Physicians were those who visited their Patients a-bed, to examine their Cases. 1768 Med. Observ. (1772) IV. 5 About four o'clock I visited her again, and found that the vomiting had ceased. 1800 Med. Jrnl. III. 409 The District, in which the Patients of the Finsbury Dispensary are visited. 1840 Penny Cycl. XVIII. 133/1 For visiting a patient out of his own city he [Petrus de Abano] charged..about six pounds per day. 1886 in Brit. Med. Jrnl. (1887) 486/1 In cases of urgent necessity, patients will be visited at their own houses. |
d. transf. To go to (a person, etc.) with hostile intentions.
| a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lviii. 196 Syr, cause your men too be armed, and let vs go vysyte the Admyrall Galaffer. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. iv. 37 For if Lord Percy thriue not, ere the King Dismisse his power, he meanes to visit vs. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. iii. i, Before I touch The banks of rest, my ghost shall visite her. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. v. 148 Set downe..thine own waies, Whether to knocke against the Gates of Rome, Or rudely visit them in parts remote. |
e. absol. To make a call or calls; to pay calls; to maintain friendly or social intercourse by this means; also, to spend a short time with one as a guest; to pay visits of this kind.
In the first
quot. app. ‘to go canvassing’.
| 1626 Meade in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. III. 230 Hereupon on Tuesday morning..some durst be so bold as to visitt for the contrary in publick. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 636 It is..more extraordinary to visit in a morning, and most, early in the morning. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 24 ¶5 They are qualify'd rather to add to the Furniture of the House (by filling an empty Chair) than to the Conversation they come into when they visit. 1798 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 546, I found myself very sad, and lonely,..so all my kindred made it a point to have me a visiting among them. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey i. vii, Busied with his studies, and professing ‘not to visit’. 1841 Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. xiii, Her ladyship knows my address, having visited here. 1894 Miss L. Alma-Tadema Wings of Icarus 41 A spinster..who spends her life visiting from place to place. |
| fig. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxii, You rayther want somebody to look arter you, sir, wen your judgment goes a wisitin’. |
(
b) Const.
at.
| 1753 J. Collier Art Torment. i. ii. (1811) 54 Unless..she happens to receive any particular address from the young gentlemen who visit at your house. 1836 Dickens Let. 31 Mar. (1965) I. 144, I cannot..visit at a relation's house from which my father is excluded. 1976 Stillwater (Montana) News 1 July 2/1 Ruthie Braunstadter of Billings visited at the home of her grandmother. 1978 Times 1 Feb. 15/5 If it were only a friendly meal around a common table, I am sure that Catholics would be only too happy to visit at the tables of their friends whenever they were invited. |
f. to visit with:
= sense 8 a. Now
U.S.| 1850 E. Ruskin Let. 18 Jan. in M. Lutyens Effie in Venice (1965) ii. 117 They visit with everybody in Venice. 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. I. i. i. 8 The small group of gentry with whom he visited. 1903 F. Norris Pit v. 150 Almost every evening nowadays the Dearborn girls came..to visit with the Cresslers. 1927 C. A. Lindbergh We iv. 57 Perryville, Missouri, where we visited with some of Klink's friends. 1949 M. Lowry Let. 1 July (1967) 179 Margerie is flying..to visit—to visit with, I believe I should say— her family for a week. 1973 Black Panther 16 June 2/1 Seale visited with David Hilliard at Vacaville (Medical Facility) Prison. 1981 C. Potok Bk. Lights (1982) vii. 227 He took Karen to a movie, then visited for a while with her family. 1985 New Yorker 11 Feb. 70/1 A young man of Ved's age and grade level is visiting with him. |
g. intr. To talk or chat; to exchange conversation.
U.S.| 1856 M. D. Colt Diary 21 Oct. in Went to Kansas (1862) xii. 195 Have visited some, but am now in my room again to rest. 1879 A. Tourgée Fool's Errand xix. 111 He..stopped at the Mission-House, visiting with the teachers. 1898 M. Deland Old Chester Tales 75 You can eat it while I get out and visit with the minister. 1929 N.Y. Times Mag. 20 Oct. 1 Having disposed of a batch of correspondence he was willing to visit in informal..fashion. It was good talk. 1967 ‘P. Kruger’ Weave Wicked Web xi. 94, I called to see her around eight... Stella and I visited until close on eleven. 1979 N. Mailer Executioner's Song i. xviii. 304 Nicole drove down to the Preliminary Hearing..but they let her visit with Gary for only a moment. |
9. a. To go to look at (
† or explore); to inspect or examine; to look into or see to (something); in later use
esp. to examine (vessels, goods, baggage, etc.) officially.
Rarely with clause as object, as in Milton
P.L. viii. 45.
| 13.. K. Alis. 6081 (Laud MS.), Whan hij han rested a lyte, Þe lande hij wenden to visite. Hij founden narewe paþes, & liȝtt fen. 13.. Coer de L. 645 Thus they vysyted the Holy Land How they myght wynne it to her hand. 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 4 Þe kyng Ine gart crie Home forto wend to childe & to wife, To visitte þer londes, to solace þer life. 1388 Wyclif Job v. 24 And thou visitynge thi fairnesse [gloss, that is, biholding thi prosperite] schalt not do synne. 14.. Tretyce in W. of Henley's Husb. (1890) 58 Loke þat ye viset your þynges wisely & often..also loke you visite often tymis your servauntes. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 94 Also ought they to rede visite and to knowe the statutes..of the contre. c 1500 Melusine xxi. 139 There he made come..all the Captayns & chieftayns..to behold & vysyte theire harneys, yf eny thing wanted. 1514 Barclay Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 8 Faustus, aryse thou out of thy lyttre hote, Go se and vysyte our wethers in the cote. 1530 Palsgr. Introd. 5 When they had thorowly visyted my said two bokes. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xix. 21 b, Visiting afterwards theyr teeth and eyes, as though they had been horses. 1601 Mountjoy Let. to Cecil 13 Nov., in Moryson Itin. (1617) ii. 157 It groweth now about foure a clocke in the morning at which time I lightly chuse to visit our Guards my selfe. 1654 Bramhall Just Vind. vii. (1661) 199 All Bulls and Missives which come from Rome to France are to be seen and visited, to try if there be nothing in them prejudicial [etc.]. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 182 We were introduced into the City by the Trucheman of the Convent, who came with a Turk belonging to the Basha, that visited our Baggage. 1730 T. Boston Mem. viii. (1899) 161 The synod-book was once a year to be filled up for the General Assembly to visit it. 1737 Gentl. Mag. VII. 685/1 That no British Vessels shall be visited or molested..by the Judges of Contraband. 1772 Regul. H.M. Service at Sea 17 A Captain..is immediately to repair on board, and visit her through⁓out, in Company with his Officers. 1778 Orme Hist. Milit. Trans. Indostan vi. II. 21 A passport, or dustuck...should exempt the goods it specified from being visited or stopped by the officers. 1822 Shelley Fragm. Unfin. Drama 155, I rose, and went, Visiting my flowers from pot to pot. 1897 [see visit n. 3 b]. |
b. spec. To go to (an institution) for the purpose of seeing that everything is in due order; to exercise a periodic surveillance or supervision over, or make a special investigation into (management or conduct).
| c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II (Percy Soc.) x, The erche⁓deknes that beth sworn To visite holy cherche,..welle begynne Febleche to wyrche. 1533–4 Act 25 Hen. VIII, c. 21 §14 Provyded alway that the seid Archebisshopp of Canterburye..shall have noo power or auctoritie..to vysite or vexe any Monasteries. 1535 in Lett. Suppress. Monasteries (Camden) 76 Whan I have visite hys see, this nyght I wilbe at Feversham Abbay. 1558 Bp. Watson 7 Sacram. 148 Bishoppes haue power..to call synodes..to visit theyr diocesanes. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 159 The said Bischope went to wissit ewerie kirk withtin his diosie four tymes in the ȝeir. 1640 in J. Campbell Balmerino & Abbey iii. iii. (1867) 191 The Presbyterie of Cupar did visitt the kirk. 1690 Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 334 Jonathan Trelawney, bishop of Exon visited Exeter College July 26. Dr. Arthur Bury, the rector, expelled. 1726 Ayliffe Parergon 96 The Bishop ought to visit his Diocess every Year in his own Person. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 91 To appoint a commission with power to visit and govern the Church of England. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 52 A faculty empowering Wolsey to visit those English monasteries. |
| absol. 1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. xiii. 217 His orderly proceeding appeareth in this, that he first visited and then reformed. 1621 Baynes Diocesan's Tryall Pref. A 2 b, When Arch. Bancroft sent M. Harsenet to Visite as they call it, that is..to suppresse those that are not friends to the Bishops Kingdome. 1691 Case of Exeter Coll. 46 This is every whit as rational, as that a Bishop, being a Visitor of a College, &c. should take his Episcopal Authority along with him when he goes to Visit. 1713 Gibson Codex xlii. viii. 1009/1 To enable Archdeacons to Visit with greater Authority and Effect. 1721 in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. VIII. 304 The said Lord Arch-Bishop..may visit once every year conformable to the Rule. |
† c. To examine medically.
Obs.| 1484 Caxton Fables of Alfonce i, When the medecyns had sene and vysyted hym..they sayd that he had no bodyly sekeness. c 1500 Melusine xxxvi. 288 Your woundes and soores must be vysyted and ouersene. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon. x. 28 He sent for his surgens, causyng them to serche his wounde;..and when they hadde well vysytyd the wounde, they sayde [etc.]. |
10. a. To go to (a temple, shrine, etc.) for the purpose of worship or as a religious duty.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxvi. 8 Þat i see þe will of lord & visite his tempile. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VIII. 53 Whan Kyng Henry had i-visited mekeliche Thomas þe martires tombe. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3094 Þer was a lady dwellyng in þat abbay Þat wold vysed hurre tombe everyche day. 1465 Paston Lett. II. 233, I pray you voysyt the Rood of Northedor and Seynt Savyour,..and lat my sustyr Margery goo with yow to pray to them. c 1482 J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes (1870) ¶11 Hys entente..was: to uysyte deuoutely the blessed and holy sepulchre..in Jerusalem. 1509 Bp. Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 300 Her legges and fete [had been occupied] in vysytynge the aulters and other holy places. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lx. 209 We are goynge a pylgremage..to vysyt the holy sepulcure. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 614 In Thagia is visited the Sepulchre of a holy man. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 792 His Mother's Precepts he performs with Care; The Temples visits, and adores with Pray'r. 1728 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Sepulcher, The Eastern Pilgrimages are all made with Design to visit the Holy Sepulcher. 1825 Scott Betrothed xxxii, The pilgrim..carried a palm branch in his hand, to shew he had visited the Holy Land. 1885 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 92/1 Chinese converts [to Buddhism]..came to visit the holy places and to collect the sacred books. |
b. To go to (a place) for the purpose of sightseeing or pleasure, or on some special errand.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 7619 This knowe ye, sir, as wel as I, That lovers gladly wole visiten The places there her loves habiten. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 70 Þe whilk in swilk maner visitez all rewmes fer to aspie þe maners of vs Cristen men. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3428 Bot in short tyme after þis His owne contrey visitede he wold. 1535 Coverdale Ezra vii. 14 Beynge sent of the kynge and of the seuen lordes of the councell, to vyset Iuda and Ierusalem. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 240 They had seine and visitit the maist pairt of scotland. 1593 Norden Spec. Brit., Cornw. (1728) 35 A like hamlet..moste visited with Tynners, where they lodge and feede, being nere their mynes. 1632 Lithgow Trav. viii. 364 A French Lapidator,..intending to visit Fez, ioyned company with me. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 7 We were to have visited a small Island called Soll; by the intreating of a Portugal we carried with us. 1693 Dowdall in Ingleby Shaksp. Cent. of Praise 417 The 1st Remarkable place in this County y{supt} I visitted was Stratford super avon. 1797 Mrs. Radcliffe Italian vi, He designed to visit again, at midnight, the fortress of Paluzzi. 1837 Lockhart Scott I. vii. 210 It was also..at this time that Scott visited for the first time Glammis. 1854 Poultry Chron. II. 249/2 About 4000 persons visited the poultry tent in the course of the day. 1863 Lyell Antiq. Man 2, I have visited..many parts of England, France and Belgium. |
| transf. 1894 Newton Dict. Birds 554 One tree after another is visited by the active little rovers, and its branches examined. |
c. transf. Of things.
Sometimes with suggestion of sense 8.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 275 All places that the eie of heauen visits. 1601 ― Jul. C. ii. i. 290 You are..As deere to me, as are the ruddy droppes That visit my sad heart. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xxvii. 201 There are partes whereas the sea enters far within the land, as comming to visite it. Ibid. iv. viii. 230 Forasmuch as those places are never visited with the sunne. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 240 How from that Saphire Fount the crisped Brooks..Ran Nectar, visiting each plant. 1757 Gray Bard 40 Dear, as the light that visits these sad eyes. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 351 The Seine..runs to the northwest, visiting Troyes, Paris, and Rouen, in its way. 1816 Shelley Mont Blanc 50 Some say that gleams of a remoter world Visit the soul in sleep. 1847 Emerson Musketaquid 12 For me in showers, in sweeping showers, the spring Visits the valley. |
d. Of birds, etc.: To resort to or frequent (land or sea, a country, etc.) for a limited period or at certain seasons.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 93 As they never visit land,..their feathers take a colour from their situation. 1802 Montagu Ornith. Dict. s.v. Blackcap, The blackcap is a migrative species visiting us early in the spring. 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 199 The Mountain Chaffinch..which visits Britain in Winter. 1887 Newton in Encycl. Brit. XXII. 577 In winter the Storks of Europe retire to Africa,..while those of Asia visit India. |
| absol. 1831 T. Nuttall in Mem. Amer. Acad. Arts & Sci. (1833) I. 96 [The] Canada Jay..regularly visits, if it does not breed, in Maine or New Hampshire. |
† 11. To come to (a person)
with some accompaniment; to supply or enrich
with some benefit.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 18158 (Cott.) Þe lem þat come wit him, Brast all þe bandes of ur site, And visite vs wit grett delite. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 1726 Thynk one þe valyaunt prynce þat vesettez us ever With landez and lordscheppez, whare us beste lykes. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. ii. 83 Visit by night your Ladies chamber-window With some sweet comfort. 1645 Caryl Expos. Job I. 637 God visiteth his [people] with mercies. |