▪ I. lash, n.1
(læʃ)
Also 4–6 lasshe, 5 las(c)he.
[? f. lash v.1]
1. † a. gen. A sudden or violent blow; a dashing or sweeping stroke (obs.). b. spec. A stroke with a thong or whip.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 9375 (Kölbing) Kehenans com wiþ gret rape & ȝaf king Arthour swiche a las, Þat Arthour al astoned was. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 220 Proude bayard gynneth for to skyppe..Til he a lassh haue of þe long whippe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 31 Foure score lasshes [L. octoginta verbera]. c 1460 Play Sacram. 468 On lashe I shalle hyme lende or yt be long. 1549 Coverdale, etc. Erasm. Par. Heb. 23 Oure parentes..dyd wyth..lashes teach vs the commen behauiour of this lyfe. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. xvii. 374 Therewith they whipped themselves, giving great lashes over their shoulders. 1639 Fuller Holy War ii. xi. (1840) 64 All desiring to have a lash at the dog in the manger. 1661 T. Lye in Morn. Exerc. Cripplegate xviii. 459, I that have deserved the blow of an Executioners Axe, am sent away with the Lash only of a Fathers Rod. 1735 Somerville Chase ii. 116 Let each Lash Bite to the Quick, till howling he return. 1769 Junius Lett. xxxv. 165 The private men have..five hundred lashes if they desert. 1791 Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest ii, I gave my horse a lash that sounded through the forest. 1844 Regul. & Ord. Army 230 The Mutiny Act restricts the award of Corporal Punishment by a General Court-Martial to 200 Lashes. 1880 Mrs. Forrester Roy & Viola I. 175 The first lash brought the colour to her cheeks. |
| transf. and fig. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 159 Moost domage of all and perylous lasshe they procure to themselfe. 1599 Marston Sco. Villanie i. Proem., Skud from the lashes of my yerking rime. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iii. i. 50 How smart a lash that speech doth giue my Conscience. 1693 in Dryden's Juvenal iv. Argt., The Poet..brings in Crispinus, whom he had a lash at in his first Satyr. 1697 Bentley Phal. Pref. (1699) 3 This was meant as a lash for me. 1710 Addison Whig Exam. No. 2 ¶5 The first lash of his Satyr falls upon the Censor of Great Britain. |
2. a. The flexible part of a whip; now sometimes in narrower sense, the piece of whipcord or the like forming the extremity of this. Cf. lash n.2
| c 1381 Chaucer Parl. Foules 178 The boxtre pipere, holm to whippis lasch. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. iv. 63 Her Whip of Crickets bone, the Lash of Philome. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 108 ¶2, I observed..that your Whip wanted a Lash to it. a 1800 Cowper Morning Dream 30 In his hand..A scourge hung with lashes he bore. 1819 Shelley Cenci iv. i. 69 He will not ask it of me till the lash Be broken in its last and deepest wound. 1859 Jephson Brittany vii. 94 Employing himself in plaiting fresh pieces [of whipcord]..on the lash of his whip. |
b. Used poet. and rhetorically = ‘whip, scourge’. lit. and fig. Also in phrase, † out of (a person's) lash: out of danger from (his) attacks.
| 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 98/1 He was out of his lash that minded to haue betraied him. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 209 The slave fears the lash of his cruell Master. 1659 Bp. Walton Consid. Considered 197 The Vulgar Latin scapes the lash pretty well. 1715–20 Pope Iliad v. 457 The lash resounds, the rapid chariot flies. 1732 Swift Corr. Wks. 1841 II. 671 Lest they should fall under the lash of the penal laws. 1786 F. Burney Diary 28 Nov., With all this..she has not escaped the lash of scandal. 1820 Shelley Hymn to Mercury lxxxv, Apollo..gave him in return the glittering lash, Installing him as herdsman. 1838 Thirlwall Greece II. 288 The Persians..were driven on to the conflict by the lash of their commanders. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid vi. 571 Tisiphone..Scourges the trembling sinners, her fierce lash arming her hands. 1891 S. C. Scrivener Our Fields & Cities 117 Hunger is as keen a lash as the whip of the overseer of slaves. |
c. the lash: the punishment of flogging.
| 1694 F. Bragge Disc. Parables (1706) I. vii. 238 Such Vagabonds..would..look upon honest Industry as more eligible than the Lash. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 157 ¶6 This Custom of educating by the Lash. 1781 Gibbon Decl. & F. xxxi. III. 126 He expired under the lash. 1860 Knight's Eng. Cycl., Arts & Sci. V. 654 Serious breaches of discipline are still punished with the lash. 1881 Times 29 Mar. 9/3 There is throughout these kingdoms a strong instinctive dislike of the lash. |
† d. ? The next place to the front in a team of four horses. Cf. lash-horse in 5. Obs. rare—1.
| 1607 Markham Caval. v. (1617) 56 Cause him to be put vnto the Cart, placing him in that place which the Carters call the Lash, so that hee may haue two Horses to follow behinde him, whome together with the loade..he cannot draw away. |
¶ e. An alleged name for a ‘company’ of carters. Obs. rare— 1.
| 1486 Bk. St. Albans F vij. |
3. Short for eye-lash.
| 1796 Brougham in Phil. Trans. LXXXVI. 267 Priestley [makes them arise] from inflection through the lashes. 1797 Coleridge Christabel i. 316 Tears she sheds—Large tears that leave the lashes bright! 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge i, Long dark lashes..concealed his downcast eyes. |
† 4. Phrases of obscure origin in which the identity of the word is doubtful. to leave in the lash = to leave in the lurch. to lie in the lash: to be left in the lurch. to run in or upon the lash: to incur more debts than one can pay. Obs.
[Possibly we should compare in the lash with out of his lash (quot. 1586 in 2 b). The passage from Tusser (quot. 1573 below) is given by Johnson as his only example of the sense ‘a leash or string in which an animal is held, a snare’ (cf. lash n.2). Some have assigned to the n. in these phrases a sense ‘mire’.]
| 1573 Tusser Husb. lxiii. (1878) 144 The fermer they leaue in the lash, with losses on euerie side. 1575 Gascoigne Fable Ferd. Ieron. Posies 228 My Nell hath stolne thy finest stuffe and left thee in the lash. 1576 J. Woolton Chr. Manual I iij, The wyse and welmeaning debtour who, goeth eyther vppon the score, or booke, hath oftentymes an eye vnto the score; least he be ouerreckoned and runne in the lashe. 1584 R. Wilson Three Ladies Lond. ii. A iij, I will flaunt it and braue it after the lusty swash: Ile deceiue thousandes, what care I who lye in the lashe? 1607 Hieron Wks. I. 436 We runne on still vpon the lash, and neuer looke on the score. a 1624 Bp. M. Smith Serm. (1632) 110 When we lost Callis in his quarrell, he left vs in the lash, and gaue vs the slip. |
5. An attempt; esp. in phr. to have a lash (at), to make an attempt, to ‘have a go at’. Austral. and N.Z.
| 1941 Baker Dict. Austral. Slang 42 Lash at, have a, to make an attempt at (something). 1945 J. Pascoe Canterbury High Country 28 A few may spend their cheque in a glorious lash at the beer. 1948 D. Ballantyne Cunninghams (1963) vii. 38 Hoping to get a lash at the Huns. 1949 R. Park Poor Man's Orange (1950) 193 The blithe pipings of old men who, safe [from the fight] up on their balconies, leaned over rails and exhorted everyone to 'ave a lash. 1971 Sunday Sun (Brisbane) 17 Oct. 14/2, I am a natural sportsman. Only last week I donkey licked the local kindy kids at drop the hankie. So I went out to Surfers Paradise course to have a lash. |
6. attrib. and Comb., as (sense 1) lash-free; (sense 3) lash-shaded, lash-shadowed, lash-tender adjs.; lash-horse (see quot.); lash rope N. Amer., a rope used for lashing a pack or load on a horse or vehicle; lash-whip, a whip with a lash, opposed to a ‘crop’ (see crop n. 7 c).
| 1623 B. Jonson Masques, Time Vind., I with this whipp you see Doe lash the Time, and am my selfe *lash-free. |
| 1887 Kentish Gloss., *Lash-horse, the third horse from the plough or wagon, or horse before a pin-horse in the team. |
| 1806 Lewis & Clark Orig. Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Expedition (1905) V. 114 Sergt. Gass, McNeal, Whitehouse and Goodrich accompanyed them [sc. Indians] with a view to procure some pack or *lash ropes. 1822 J. Fowler Jrnl. 18 June (1898) 159 We then took the lash Roaps and tyed up the Horses. 1843 Amer. Pioneer II. 162 Each horse was provided with..a lash rope to secure the load. 1888 Lees & Clutterbuck Ramble in Brit. Columbia 229 The lash rope is from thirty to forty feet long. 1929 Collier's 5 Jan. 33/3 ‘Wait until I get my lash rope’ (i.e., the rope with which he bound his load on his sledge). 1963 R. Symons Many Trails vii. 77 Lash ropes were tightened till the pack animals grunted. |
| 1872 J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire 111 The aquiline nose and the *lash-shaded dark, bright eye. |
| 1891 T. Hardy Tess (1900) 115/2 Her..*lash-shadowed eyes. |
| a 1889 G. M. Hopkins Poems (1918) 74 Whether..furled Fast ór they [sc. ash-boughs] in clammyish *lashtender combs creep Apart wide. |
| 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 35, I would advise you always to ride with a *lash whip; it shews the sportsman. |
▪ II. lash, n.2
(læʃ)
[Perh. var. of latch n., a. OF. lache vbl. n., f. lachier, dial. variant of lacier: see lace v. Cf. Swiss Ger. laschen shoe-lace.
It is possible that the three senses below have arisen from the substitution of lash n.1 for other words of somewhat similar sound and meaning.]
† 1. A string, cord, thong. Cf. lace n.2, latch n.1 1. Obs. (Quot. c 1440 is somewhat doubtful; throat-lash is current as a var. of throat-latch.)
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 288/1 Lasche, stroke [sic], ligula. |
† 2. = lasso 1. Obs. rare.
| 1748 Anson's Voy. i. vi. 65 A machine, which the English..at Buenos Ayres, generally denominate a lash. It is made of a thong of several fathoms in length..with a running noose at one end of it. Ibid. 66 The address both of the Spaniards and Indians in..the use of this lash or noose. |
3. Weaving. = lease or leash.
| 1731 Mortimer in Phil. Trans. XXXVII. 106. 1831 G. R. Porter Silk Manuf. 246 Eight rows, forming as many leases or lashes in the warp. 1857 Parkhill Hist. Paisley xiv. 113 In the shawl manufacture the lashes have to be drawn twice. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., Lash (Weaving), a thong formed of the combined ends of the cords by which a certain set of yarns are raised in the process of weaving Brussels carpet. |
▪ III. lash, a. Obs. exc. dial.
(læʃ)
Also 4–5 lache, 5 laach, lacche, 5–7 lasch(e, 6 lashe.
[a. OF. lasche (F. lâche) vbl. adj., f. OF. lascher (F. lâcher): see lache v. With sense 3, cf. lush a.]
† 1. Culpably negligent or remiss. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iv. pr. iii. 122 Yif he be slowe and astoned and lache he lyueþ as an asse. c 1422 Hoccleve Learn to Die 267 How laach and negligent Haue y been. 1549 Compl. Scot. xvii. 146 Thai that var lasche couuardis gat nothing. 1567 Satir. Poems Reform. v. 64 Sen God hes to ȝow power lent, Gif ye be lashe ye ar to blame. 1673 O. Walker Educ. v. 39 Immoderate praise makes him..lasch and negligent. 1694 L'Estrange Fables 385 A lasche demission of Sovereign authority. |
† 2. In physical sense: Loose, lax, relaxed. Obs.
| 1513 Douglas æneis ix. xiii. 81 Hys wery breist and lymmys lasch. 1530 Palsgr. 317/1 Lashe nat fast, lache. 1546 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe L iij, Goute, which procedeth som time of debility of the synowes being lashe. |
3. a. Of food, fruits, grass, etc.: Soft, watery. b. Of weather: Raw, wet. c. Of a hide: Tender. d. lash egg (see quot. a 1825). Obs. exc. dial.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 288/1 Lasche, or to fresche, and vnsavery. 1599 H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner I, Not so good for the weake..stomackes, for it is of a lash and yet grosse substance. 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus v. 71 Fruits being unwholsome and lash, before the fourth, or fifth Yeare. 1787 W. Marshall Norfolk (1795) II. 383 Lash, or Lashy, very wet; as ‘cold lashy weather’. 1798 Ann. Agric. XXX. 314 A thick hide is bad, and a very thin one too lash. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Lash-egg, an egg without a full formed shell; covered only with a tough film. 1857 Borrow Romany Rye (1858) I. 299 ‘After September the grass is good for little, lash and sour at best.’ |
Hence † ˈlashly adv.
| 1694 Sir W. Hope Sword-man's Vade-m. 12 That he may not by being advised to play calmly, fall into the other extreme of playing too carelessly, lashly, and perhaps timerously. |
▪ IV. lash, v.1
(læʃ)
Forms: (pa. tense 4 last, laiste), 4–6 las(s)ch(e, lasshe, 5 lasschyn, 5–6 lashe, 6– lash.
[Of difficult etymology. The quots. seem to show that in branch I. the vb. is the source, not the derivative, of lash n.1 An onomatopœic origin is possible, and is favoured by the early appearance of the parallel and nearly synonymous lush v.; cf. dash, dush, flash, flush, mash, mush, smash, smush, etc. Some uses resemble those of F. lâcher (OF. lascher) to loose, let go (lâcher un coup to ‘let fly’). The senses in branch II. are from the n., and in mod. use have coloured the other senses.]
I. To move swiftly and suddenly.
1. intr. To make a sudden movement; to dash, fly, rush, spring, start. Of light: To flash. Of tears, water: To pour, rush. Occas. with allusion to lash n.1 2. Also with about, † asunder, away, back, down, out, † together. Const. at, from, into, † on, out of, to.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 9263 (Kölbing) Mani geauntes..Þat on Arthour at ones last & wiþ his hors to grounde him dast. 13.. S. Erkenwolde 334 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 273 Liȝtly lasshit þer a leme loghe in þe abyme. 13.. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. (E.E.T.S.) 502/346 Wiþ his teth anon He logged, þat al in-synder gon lasch. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2801 Whene ledys with longe speris Lasschene to gedyrs. a 1400–50 Alexander 553 Þe liȝt lemand late laschis fra þe heuyn. c 1460 Emare 298 The teres lasshed out of his yyen. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vi. xi. 200 Al thre lasshed on hym at ones with swerdes. Ibid. xii. 203 Thenne they drewe her swerdes and lasshyd to gyder egerly. 1627 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xl[iii.] (1628) 39 Thou knowest not..what ioyes thou losest, when thou fondly lashest into new offences. 1633 Quarles Ded. to P. Fletcher's Poet. Misc., I..Past on my way; I lasht through thick and thinne. 1670 Cotton Espernon iii. xi. 562 To keep them..from lashing into those extremes, whereinto [etc.]. a 1716 South Serm. (1744) XI. 249 When it [sin] finds the least vent, it lashes out to the purpose. 1820 Edin. Mag. May 423 Wi' swash an' swow, the angry jow Cam lashan' down the braes. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. xxv. 283 A lizard [in stone] pausing and curling himself round a little in the angle; one expects him the next instant to lash round the shaft and vanish. 1883 A. Thomas Mod. Housewife 124 The rain was still lashing down furiously. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. II. 1065 The Filariæ sanguinis..wriggling and lashing about..among the corpuscles. |
2. To let fly at, make a dash or rush at, aim a blow at. † Also with at used adverbially. In later use, with mixture of sense 6.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1392 Archars..Lasch [Dublin MS. lashe] at þam of loft. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vi. x, The chorle..lasshyd at hym with a grete clubbe. 1513 Douglas æneis xii. ix. 67 Now lasch thai at with bludy swerdis brycht. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 16 Lashing dreadfully at every part. Ibid. v. v. 6 She hewd, she foynd, she lasht, she laid on every side. 1693 Dryden Persius' Sat. v. (1697) 471 To laugh at Follies, or to lash at Vice. 1728 T. Sheridan Persius Prol. (1739) 4 He rather lashes at those Poetasters. 1859 Tennyson Enid 563 Each..lash'd at each..with such blows, that [etc.]. |
b. to lash out: to strike out violently, to lay about one vigorously; (of a horse) to kick out. Also fig. † Also to lash it out.
| 1567 Triall Treas. (1850) 42 Yet will I..repugne, lashe out, and kicke. 1587 Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 321/2 After that to the barriers, where they lashed it out lustilie, and fought couragiouslie. 1852 Smedley L. Arundel xxxv. 269 Lewis..lashed out too, when he was first put in harness. 1884 Truth 4 Sept. 369/2 He..‘revived pamphleteering’ only to lash out at a famous Quarterly Reviewer for the great Tory historian's vilification of Carlyle. 1900 F. Anstey Brass Bottle xiv. 222 He might..be lashing out with his hind legs and kicking everything to pieces. |
† c. trans. To assail, attack.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 9783 (Kölbing), Bohort als a geaunt laiste & þe heued al todaiste. |
3. trans. To dash, throw, or move violently. Obs. exc. in technical use. † Also with forth, out, up. to lash off, to strike off.
| c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 7584 (Kölbing) Among þe ribaus anon he dast & sum þe heued of he laist. a 1400–50 Alexander 1325 He laschis out a lange swerde quen his launce failes. c 1430 Chev. Assigne 323 Feraunce launces vp his fete & lasschethe out his yen. 1519 W. Horman Vulg. 54 He lasshed ageynst the grounde the cuppe that I loued beste. 1542 Lam. & Piteous Treat. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 241 Lashinge oute, and shotynge of, in all the haste theyr greate gownes and harquebusshes. 1693 Dryden Ovid's Met. xii. 472 He falls; and lashing up his Heels, his Rider throws. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 378/1 The wool-comber..throws or ‘lashes’ a handful of wool..over the points of the teeth. |
† 4. To lavish, squander. Chiefly with out. Obs.
| 1513 More Rich. III, Wks. 62/1 There was dayly pilled fro good men & honest, gret substaunce of goodes to be lashed oute among vnthriftes. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. (1552) 11 They had leuer lash out theyr wicked Mammon on the dead than on the quicke. 1573 Tusser Husb. xxiii. (1878) 64 Some horsekeeper lasheth out prouender so..that corne loft is empted er chapman hath his. 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 30/1 Then would he lash & powre all that euer he had in store or treasurie. 1603 H. Crosse Vertues Commw. (1878) 64 [He] must instantly..lash out that riotously, that his father got miserly. 1609 W. M. Man in Moone C 3 b, You suppose it a great glory to lash your coyne, you care not where, nor vppon whom. 1630 R. Brathwait Eng. Gentlem. (1641) 88 Neither to hoard up niggardly nor lash out all lavishly. 1657 S. Purchas Pol. Flying-Ins. ii. 327 A wicked man doth prodigally lash out all his joyes in the time of his prosperitie. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 736 You cant get on in this world without style all going in food and rent when I get it Ill lash it around I tell you in fine style. |
† b. To pour out or forth impetuously (words, etc.).
| 1529 More Dyaloge iv. Wks. 287/1 Colis..lasheth out scripture in bedelem as fast as they bothe in Almayn. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 232 Then lasheth he forth many authorities and examples. 1556 J. Heywood Spider & F. ii. 56 Hate, lashth out trewth, foes to displease. 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 129 Som men lash out cursings and othes of God, thereby prouoking him to anger. 1653 H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. v. 13 Lashing out some words, that were a little more harsher than was requisite. |
5. intr. Of persons. With out: To rush, launch out, into excess of any kind; to break out into violent language; to squander one's substance, be lavish. (In some quots. = absol. use of 4.)
| a 1560 Becon Sick Man's Salve (1572) 145 Then lash they out, & liberally geue unto the poore, because they can keepe it no longer. 1592 Greene Def. Conny Catch. (1859) 13 A yoong youthful Gentleman, given a little to lash out liberally. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 287 So that hee..fall into no excesse, neither lash out beyond all reason and measure. 1629 Z. Boyd Last Battell 826 That I lash not out into the excesse of supperfluitie of wickednesse. 1664 Floddan F. iii. 22 Alas too lewdly he lashed out And foolishly his Ordnance spend. 1670 Cotton Espernon iii. ix. 470 Yet could not the Duke..sometimes forbear lashing out into very free expressions. 1709 Strype Ann. Ref. I. xiv. (1824) 281 It consisted not with the gravity..of a nation professing true religion, to lash out so excessively that way [in dress]. 1959 G. Freeman Jack would be Gent. i. 10 He'd never had the money to lash out properly. 1973 ‘M. Yorke’ Grave Matters i. vi. 35 He must have paid plenty for the place, besides what they're going to lash out in alterations. |
II. Senses referring to lash n.1
6. trans. To beat, strike with a lash, whip, † rod, etc.; to flog, scourge.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. de P.R. vi. xii. (Tollem. MS.), A bonde seruaunt..is bete and lasshid with ȝerdis. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 288/1 Lasschyn..verbero. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxvi. 75 Belliall, with a brydill renȝie, Evir lascht thame on the lunȝie. 1605 Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 165 Why dost thou lash that Whore? 1660 F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 363 Some..furiously lash their bare shoulders with thorns. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 89 What became of the fellow that was lashed we knew not. 1839 Dickens Nich. Nick. vii, Lashing the pony until they reached their journey's end. 1858 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. II. 361 The lady lashed her horse and set off in pursuit. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid v. 147 The charioteer as he speeds Tosses his flowing reins, and arising, lashes his steeds. |
| absol. a 1684 T. Lye in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. lxxxix. 30–4 He lashes in love, in measure, in pity, and compassion. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 169 The Youthful Charioteers..Stoop to the Reins, and lash with all their Force. 1876 G. M. Hopkins Wreck of Deutschland viii, in Poems (1967) 54 Oh, We lash with the best or worst Word last! 1877 A. Sewell Black Beauty (c 1878, ed. 5) xx. 93 The man, fiercely pulling at the head of the forehorse, swore and lashed most brutally. 1892 A. Conan Doyle Adventures Sherlock Holmes viii. 205 The sudden glare..made it impossible for me to tell what it was at which my friend lashed so savagely. |
b. transf., esp. of the action of waves upon the shore, etc. Occas. intr. To fall with a lashing movement on the shore.
| c 1694 Prior Lady's Looking Glass 16 Big waves lash the frighten'd shores. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 255 Ah! what avail[s]..thy length of Tail, That lashes thy broad Sides. 1762 Falconer Shipwr. Proem 52 From where th' Atlantic lashes Labrador. 1818 Shelley Lines Euganean Hills 186 Poesy's unfailing river..Lashing with melodious wave Many a sacred poet's grave. 1837 C. J. Apperley Chase, Road & Turf (1898) 48 Another hound slips out of cover..with his nose to the ground and his stern lashing his side. a 1851 Moir Poems, Starlight Refl., Lash the hoarse billows on the shore. 1853 C. Brontë Villette i. (1876) 3 It was a wet night; the rain lashed the panes. 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid iv. 249 Atlas the rude..lashed by the wind and the rain evermore. |
c. fig.; esp. ‘To scourge with satire’ (J.); to castigate in words, rebuke, satirize, vituperate.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. ii. i. 15 Why, headstrong liberty is lasht with woe. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. i. i. i. (1651) 221 He calls a Magician Gods Minister and his Vicar..for which he is lashed by T. Erastus. 1661 T. Lye in Morn. Exerc. Cripplegate xviii. 436 It is true God may frown on, yea, and severely lash a Solomon, a Jedidiah, when they break his Statutes. a 1704 T. Brown Persius' Sat. i. Wks. 1730 I. 53, I must..Lash the vile town with my satirick rhime. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. i. ii. 27 They [the hunting clergy] were severely lashed by the poets and moralists. 1837–9 Hallam Hist. Lit. i. vii. i. 391 He does not fail to lash the schoolmen directly. 1859 Tennyson Pelleas & Ettarre 581 A scourge am I To lash the treasons of the Table Round. 1877 Black Green Past. xxv. 203 Balfour..found himself lashed and torn to pieces every morning by the ‘Englebury Mercury’. |
7. With adv. or phrase as complement: To urge or drive by, or as by, lashes.
| 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, v. iii. 328 Let's whip these straglers o're the Seas againe, Lash hence these ouer-weening Ragges of France. 1666 Dryden Ann. Mirab. cclxxii, Those that disobey'd He lash'd to duty with his sword of light. 1715–20 Pope Iliad x. 584 These [steeds], with his bow unbent, he lash'd along. 1729 T. Cooke Tales, Proposals, etc. 182 He does not threaten to disarm him, but..to lash him from the Assembly. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 132 The passionate pedantic Schoolmaster, that lashes his Disciples into Learning. 1781 Cowper Truth 260 A glassy lake..Lashed into foaming waves. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxviii, The excitement into which she had been lashed. 1864 Tennyson Aylmer's F. 325 Should I find you by my doors again, My men shall lash you from them like a dog. 1871 C. M. Yonge Cameos II. xvii. 188 The violence of a weak nature lashed up to rage. 1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 89 Then I see..the waves Lashed into madness. 1893 F. C. Selous Trav. S.E. Africa 307 A strong head wind lashed the river into waves. |
| absol. a 1716 South Serm. (J.), Let men out of their way lash on ever so fast, they are not at all the nearer their journey's end. |
† b. To force out by a lash or stroke. Obs.
| 1642 Rogers Naaman 23 Others have their eie lasht out by a twig in their travaile. |
Add: [I.] [3.] b. S. Afr. Mining. To shovel and load (broken ore, rock, etc.) on to a truck; to fill (a truck) in this way.
| 1932 Watermeyer & Hoffenberg Witwatersrand Mining Pract. vi. 348 The snatch-block is moved nearer the face.., the object being to lash the rock directly from the pile into the truck. 1949 Nat. Inst. Personnel Res. Aptitude Tests Native Labour Witwatersrand Gold Mines (Pretoria) i. vi. 35 Figures 1 and 2 show the lashing efficiency of these groups, average number of cars lashed being plotted against total time on lashing duty. |
▪ V. lash, v.2
(læʃ)
[Perh. f. lash n.2, or a. OF. lachier, dialectal var. of lacier: see lace v.
Words of similar sound, and somewhat approximating in sense, are Du. lasschen, to patch, sew together, to scarf (timber); G. laschen to fit with a gusset, to scarf; from M.Du. lasche (mod. lasch) rag, patch, gusset; G. lasch, lasche flap, lappet, gusset, scarf-joint. But it does not appear probable that these have any connexion with the Eng. word.]
† 1. trans. To lace (a garment). Obs.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 288/1 Lasschyn, ligulo. 1602 Middleton Blurt ii. ii. D i b, An Eele-skin sleeue lasht heere and there with lace, Hye coller, lasht agen; breeche lasht also. 1611 Cotgr., Aiguilletter, to whip, or lash, with points. |
2. Chiefly Naut. To fasten or make fast with a cord, rope, thong, piece of twine, etc.; † to truss (clothes); to fasten to (something). Also with down, on, together; † refl. of a plant. lash away, lash and carry (see quots. 1867).
| 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia v. 194 Her Ordnance being lashed so fast they could not be vnloosed. 1692 Capt. Smith's Seaman's Gram. i. xvi. 79 Lash the Fish on to the Mast. 1711 W. Sutherland Shipbuild. Assist. 37 Bolts to lash the Boats on the upper Deck. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 31 This Plant..lashes itself round any tree that is near it. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. iv. 330 We had not a gun on board lashed. 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) VI. 1956 A child..had been lashed under the thwarts of the canoe. 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §97, note, The rods were here lashed together by a packthread. 1829 Longfellow Wreck Hesperus xx, A maiden fair, Lashed close to a drifting mast. 1836 W. Irving Astoria II. 257 The Indians had lashed their canoes to the ship. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxix. 105 All our spare spars were taken on board and lashed. 1853 Sir R. Douglas Milit. Bridges (ed. 3) 66 marg., Lashdown Pontoons. 1867 F. Francis Angling xiii. (1880) 461 This process of lashing on a hook. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Lash and carry, the order given by the boatswain and his mates on piping up the hammocks, to accelerate the duty. Ibid., Lash away, a phrase to hasten the lashing of hammocks. 1879 A. Brassey Sunshine & Storm 26 Our chairs were lashed. 1889 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. II. 55 Lash all together by passing a string several times round each end of the package. |
3. Comb. lash-up, (a) a makeshift or hastily contrived improvisation; also attrib.; (b) (see quot. 1925). Hence lashed-up a., improvised.
| 1898 W. P. Drury Tadpole of an Archangel 86 Such a godforsaken lash-up of a bridge you never clapped eyes on! 1907 J. Masefield Tarpaulin Muster viii. 102 And down they all go—ship, and tea, and mate, and bishop, and general, and Jimmy and the whole lash-up. 1920 Blackw. Mag. Feb. 154/1 By ‘lashed up’ means—(that is to say, ‘improvised’)—and with a makeshift staff of assistants, a tolerable chart was produced. Ibid. 158/1 We..had been obliged to make ‘lash-up’ (i.e., makeshift) arrangements. 1924 P. P. Eckersley Captain Eckersley Explains i. 5 A ‘lash-up’ or experimental station was erected at the Marconi Works. 1925 Fraser & Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 140 Lash-up, a failure. A fiasco. The break-down of anything. 1929 O. Harland Golden Plough iv. 97 Until we come to the present Imbroglio, the Glorious Lash-up of this very age. 1936 ‘Taffrail’ Mystery at Milford Haven 281 The boat..was what a blue⁓jacket would have called a ‘lash-up’, a thing of bits and pieces. 1958 Economist 13 Sept. 869/2 Black Knight is essentially a lash-up on which to test various designs of nose cone for the 2,500 mile ballistic weapon Blue Streak that should be ready for test in the early 1960s. 1962 W. Schirra in Into Orbit 46 It [sc. the couch] was a simple bit of furniture compared to the lashup of tubing, fans, filters and tanks which was built around it. 1966 M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xxv. 182 We didn't have time for an instrument check. It's just a lash-up really. 1974 Exchange & Mart (South) 27 June 53M/3 Rebuilt motor, not a lash-up. |
▪ VI. lash, v.3 dial.
(læʃ)
trans. To comb (the hair). Also with out.
| 1863 Mrs. Toogood Yorks. Dial., Go and lash thee hair out, child. 1886 Alice Rea Beckside Boggle 9 I's just wesh me and lash me hair. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman iii. xii. 170 Take the redyng comb and lash your hair out. |
b. Comb.: lash-comb, a wide-toothed comb (Lonsdale Gloss. 1869).
| 1887 Hall Caine Deemster vi. 38 When the lash comb had tossed back his long hair. 1894 ― Manxman 108. |