start-up, ppl. a. and n.2
Also startup.
[f. start pa. pple. of start v. + up adv.: see start v. 13.]
† A. ppl. a. That has suddenly ‘started up’ into existence, notice, or importance; upstart, parvenu. Obs. a. With adv., new, newly, fresh, late, first.
| 1557 Traheron Expos. S. John title-p., The wicked enterprises of new sterte vp Arians in Englande. 1573–80 G. Harvey Lett. Wks. (Grosart) I. 125 To sende..my lord Ritches players, or sum other freshe starteupp comedanties unto me. 1628 in Cath. Tract. (S.T.S.) 275 These first start-up apostats and runnagats redacted it [Abbirbroth] to such desolation & ruines, as may be seene. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 139 Shewing no more..beautie then neighbouring and late start-up-townes about her. 1687 [Shields] Hind let loose 176 A newly start up opinion. 1762 Warburton Doctr. Grace iii. Wks. 1788 IV. 686 A new Start-up Sect. |
b. simply.
| 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. ii. i. G iiij, Eche man is burning hote To be a startevp wryter straighte. 1597 Return fr. Parnass. iv. i. 1340 Each start-upp clowne. 1601 Sir W. Cornwallis Ess. ii. xlii. (1631) 197 Like start-up Gentlemen, Gentlemen without a pedegree. 1616 J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. ix. p. 139 note, Wheare prowd Fregilea lies with all her start vp statelie palaces. 1704 Swift Tale Tub i. 43 Two Junior start-up Societies. 1801 E. Helme St. Marg. Cave (1819) II. xii. 219 A start-up baron of yesterday. |
B. n.
† 1. An upstart; a low-born person who has risen to wealth or power. Obs.
| 1599 Jas. I Basil. Doron ii. (1603) 70 Delight to be serued with men of the noblest bloud..for besides that their seruice shall breede you great good-will and least enuie, contrary to that of start-ups; yee shall oft finde vertue follow noble race. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado i. iii. 69 That young start-vp hath all the glorie of my overthrow. a 1652 Brome Queen & Concubine ii. i. (1659) 24 His Marriage with that Start-up. |
2. [A distinct word; subst. use of phrase to start up: see start v. 23 c, e.] An instance of ‘starting up’; spec. the action or process of starting up a series of operations, a piece of machinery, a business, etc. Also attrib.
| 1845 Disraeli Sybil iv. xiii, I am used to these start-ups. 1945 H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes ix. 94 In estimating time schedules this ‘start-up’ or ‘equilibrium’ time must be added to the time of construction of the plant. 1954 Trans. IRE on Nuclear Sci. I. 3/1 During startup the behavior of the reactor is similar to that of an amplifier with positive feedback. 1959 Wall St. Jrnl. (Eastern ed.) 18 Dec. 9/1 Start-up expenses connected with new store openings have been heavy. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. b5/4 Production target is late 1969 with startup to have cost more than $90-million. 1975 P. R. F. Mathijsen Guide to European Community Law ii. iv. 87 It is proposed that modern agricultural enterprises be set up with special aids such as start-up grants, investment aid and guaranteed credits. 1976 B. Jackson Flameout (1977) iv. 63 The flight data recorder..tape-recorded engine start-up, takeoff, climb⁓out, [etc.]. 1980 Daily Tel. 20 Mar. 28 (Advt.), They will assume responsibility for the start-up, management, organisation, and profitability of large work sites. 1983 Sunday Times 23 Jan. 56/1 The fund is designed to take advantage of the tax relief introduced in 1981 for investors putting up to {pstlg}20,000 a year into start-ups. 1983 Times 19 Feb. 15 (heading) Business start-up funds worth the risk for top taxpayers. |
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Add: [B.] [2.] b. A business enterprise that is in the process of starting up. Freq. attrib., as start-up company. orig. U.S.
| 1976 Forbes (N.Y.) 15 Aug. 6/2 The..unfashionable business of investing in startups in the electronic data processing field. 1977 Ibid. 1 Jan. 101/2 Various companies—some of them cash cows, some of them ‘adolescent’ companies, some of them young startups. 1977 Business Week (Industrial Ed.) 5 Sept. 77/1 An incubator for startup companies, especially in the fast-growth, high-technology fields. 1984 Australian 6 Nov. 22/5 An innovative Texas-based start-up company is unveiling a new computer. 1985 Times 13 Dec. 24/3, 75,000 sq ft of accommodation for young start-up technology companies. 1986 Your Business Mar. 11/3 There are the small businesses; the heroic little start-ups in their garages and garden sheds. |