▪ I. remedy, n.
(ˈrɛmɪdɪ)
Also 6 remeady.
[a. AF. remedie, remedy (= OF. remede remede n.), ad. L. remedium, f. re- re- + med- stem of medērī to heal: cf. medical, medicine.]
1. a. A cure for a disease or other disorder of body or mind; any medicine or treatment which alleviates pain and promotes restoration to health. † Also without article.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 120 Lo her aȝeines wreððe monie kunnes remedies, & frouren a muche vloc, & misliche boten. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xv. 3 He þat felis him seke he sekis remedy. c 1386 Chaucer Prol. 475 Of remedies of loue she knew perchaunce. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vii. lix. (Bodl. MS.), Aȝenste venemouse postemes..men schal ordeyne a remedy warlich and sone. c 1440 Gesta Rom. i. 2 (Harl. MS.), I pray þe tell me if þer be ony remedye ayenst my deth. 1484 Caxton Fables of Poge x, [He] mynistyred alwey his pylles to euery man that came to hym for ony remedy. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 91 For verely tyme itselfe wyl at laste bring remedy also unto moste daungerous diseases. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 68 b, Nature hath appointed remedies in a readinesse for all diseases. 1651 Wittie tr. Primrose's Pop. Err. i. 42 For remedies doe cure without a physician, but not a physician without remedies. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 701 This Remedy the Scythian Shepherds found. 1702 J. Purcell Cholick (1714) 181 The only Remedy is to lay the Bone open. 1830 Scott Demonol. v. (1831) 140 The Scottish law did not acquit those who accomplished..remarkable cures by mysterious remedies. 1875 H. C. Wood Therap. (1879) 688 Whenever it is desired to give a powerful remedy in increasing doses until its physiological effect is produced, it should always be given by itself. |
b. transf. or fig. in various senses.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 27816 Again þis sin [sloth] remedi es [v.r. best medcyn is]—Haf gastli ioi and hope o blis. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 3394 Ilk man here lyghtly may Swilk remedys thurgh grace wyn, Þat may fordo al veniel syn. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 11 Alisaundre was i-poysoned..and axede a tool to slee hymself in remedie of sorwe [L. in remedium doloris]. 1485 Caxton Chas. Gt. 244 For y⊇ remedye of theyr soules themperour gaf..for almesse xij C vnces of syluer. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 25 Your wisedome and knowledge are remedies available, to cut off the course of suche an infecting canckar. 1607–12 Bacon Ess., Counsel (Arb.) 318 For which inconveniences the doctrine of Italy..hath introduced Cabanett Councelles, a remedy worse than the disease. 1693 Dryden Juvenal xvi. (1697) 386 Withdraw thy Action, and depart in Peace; The Remedy is worse than the Disease. 1718 Prior Solomon ii. 352 Our griefs how swift! our remedies how slow! 1781 Cowper Truth 273 God replies, ‘The remedy you want I freely give: The book shall teach you’. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 88 Can you show me some clear water spring, The remedy of our thirst? a 1862 Buckle Civiliz. (1873) II. viii. 582 The only remedy for superstition is knowledge. |
† c. by remedy of, by the help or means of. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. lxi. (Bodl. MS.), A fige tre is made to bere wele frute bi remedie of a tre þat is icleped Caprificus. 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 108 If women be not peruerse they shall reap profite by remedye of pleasure. |
2. a. A means of counteracting or removing an outward evil of any kind; reparation, redress, relief.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 180 We schulen nu speken of þe uttre vondunge, & techen þe þet habbeð hire, hu heo muwen,..ivinden remedie, þet is elne, aȝeines hire. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxix. 3 Þe rightwis man sekis remedy of god, how þere ill lippis may be amendid. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle iv. xiii. (Caxton 1483) 632 Now seye me what the semeth in this mater that we may ordeyne a remedy for this grete meschyef. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour C ij, Sith it pleseth yow that I shall dye withoute remedye and withoute mercye. a 1500 Sir Beues 57/9662 (Pynson), Certys, nowe wol he by hyr lye, But if ye fynde some remedy. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 388 He fleeth to the last remeady which untill that time he had purposelye reserved. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iv. xxxv. 158 Iupiter was honored amongst them for a remedy of stormes and tempests. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 35 The Nobles, when they saw no remedie,..submitted to Curroon. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 186 The human remedies which Sea-men use against Spouts, is to furle all the Sails, and to fire some Guns with shot against the Pipe of the Spout. 1747 Col. Rec. Pennsylv. V. 93 Such a Defect in the Government as stands in need of the most speedy Remedy. 1774 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 473 Popular remedies must be quick and sharp, or they are very ineffectual. 1837 Goring & Pritchard Microgr. 168 In this respect..we have a remedy against those optical deceptions. 1851 Carlyle Sterling i. i, It by no means appeared what help or remedy any friend of Sterling's..could attempt in the interim. |
b. there is no remedy (= way out of it, help for it, alternative) but, etc.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1216 Ther nas noon oother remedie ne reed, But taketh his leue, and homward he him spedde. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 72 Ther is no remedy but to fight, & to abyde fortune. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 293 There was no remedy but he must fight with him. 1642 Rogers Naaman 20 There had beene no remedy, but he must have dyed upon his owne sword. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 267 We had no Remedy, but to wait and see what the Issue of Things might present. |
† c. no remedy, unavoidably. Obs.
| 1538 Bale Thre Lawes 1700 Yet must it geue place to Gods worde, no remedye. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 242 The vengeaunce of God muste fall, no remedye, Vpon these wicked men. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. ii. 127 You must send her your Page, no remedie. 1617 Bp. Andrewes 96 Serm., Holy Ghost x. (1629) 706 In default of this (no remedie) the common hammer must come. |
† d. what remedy? what help for it? Obs.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xv. 43 The lord sumtyme rewaird will it; Gife he dois not, quhat remedy? 1598 Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 250 Well, what remedy?..what cannot be eschew'd, must be embrac'd. 1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. (1842) 21 Now you must be hanged says the king... What remedie? sayes hee. 1628 Earle Microcosm. (Arb.) 35 He sayes it must not bee so, [y]it is strait pacified, and cryes what remedie. |
3. Legal redress.
| 1450 Paston Lett. I. 174, I pray you requyre hym on my Lord ys behalf to compleyn to Justice..[for a] remedie. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 10 To go to lawe, and spende all that euer he hath, and yet come by no remedie neither. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxii. 118 Left to the remedie, which the Law of the place alloweth them. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 199 Even this right of property will fail, or at least it will be without a remedy, unless I pursue it within the space of sixty years. 1819 J. Marshall Const. Opin. (1839) 154 Without impairing the obligation of a contract, the remedy may certainly be modified. 1891 19th Cent. Dec. 857 Where injury to character takes the form of aspersion, the primary remedy is in a court of law. |
4. Coining. The small margin within which coins as minted are allowed to vary from the standard fineness and weight. (Cf. remede n. b.) Also called tolerance. Also attrib.
| 1423 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 257/1 As touching ye remedie of vid of the pound of Troie, the Kyng will be avised. 1675 R. Vaughan Coinage 24 The remedies do make so small a difference that it is not considerable. 1805 Earl of Liverpool Treat. Coins Realm 102 They authorised a large remedy to be taken..and did not require the Officers of the Mint to make their coins as perfect as possible, but authorised or suffered them to coin just within the remedy. 1867 Chamb. Jrnl. 16 Feb. 106/2 For silver coin, the ‘remedy’ or margin of error is fixed at one pennyweight per pound Troy. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 1916/1 The remedy on United States silver coin is 1½ grains to the piece. 1920 Act 10 Geo. V c. 3 §1(1), As though for the figure ‘4’ in the column relating to the remedy allowance in respect of millesimal fineness there were substituted the figure ‘5’. |
5. At various schools (as at St. Paul's and Winchester): A time specially granted for recreation; a half-holiday.
| 1518 Colet Statute in Gardiner Regist. St. Paul's School (1884) 381, I will also they shall haue noo remedies—yff the maister graunteth eny remedies he shall forfett xls... Except the kyng or a arche bisshopp or a bisshopp..desyre it. 1580 in Boys Hist. Sandwich (1792) 228, I ordeine, that the master..shall not give remedie or leave to plaie aboue once in a week. 1593 Rites & Mon. Ch. Durh. (Surtees) 75 To recreat themselves when they had remedy of there master. 1656 in Gardiner Regist. St. Paul's School (1884) 382 note, [At Newport..it was provided that] each Thursday afternoon..shall be a remedy or time of recreation. 1860 Mansfield School-Life at Winchester (1870) 49 Remedies were not a matter of right, but were always applied for..on Tuesday or Thursday. 1893 Ch. Times 22 Dec. 1331/2 His lordship afterwards (the Pauline reports)..exercised his privilege of desiring a ‘remedy’ (or half-holiday) on Wednesday. |
▪ II. remedy, v.
(ˈrɛmɪdɪ)
Also 6 remydy.
[a. OF. remedier (cf. remede v.), or ad. L. remediāre, f. remedium remedy n.]
1. trans. † a. To grant (one) legal remedy; to right (one) in respect of a wrong suffered. Obs.
| 1414 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 57/1 Byfore hene [= any] of the persones that weren..Commissioners upon myn enditement,..I myghte not have been remedied. Ibid. To have been remedied of the wronges that we have had. 1454 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 120 That they shuld be remedyed, and he remedyed them not. 1549 Latimer 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 92 There is one [Judge]..wyll remedye you, if you come after a ryghte sorte vnto him. a 1662 Heylin Laud i. (1671) 113 Of which Indignity he complained to the Duke,..and was remedied in it. |
b. To bring remedy to (a person, diseased part, etc.); to heal, cure, make whole again. Now rare.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur xiii. viii. 622 It shal so heuye me at their departynge that..there shal no manere of Ioye remedye me. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. iv. E j b, The synner..is fro y⊇ moost gretest payne remedyed. 1541 R. Copland Galyen's Terap. H h iij b, When the party y{supt} shuld be holpen & remydyed is hyd in the dypenes of the body. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. v. 32 Into the woods..shee went, To seeke for hearbes that mote him remedy. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 271 If one Horse do die of it, all his fellows that bear him company will follow after, if they be not remedied in time. 1795 Southey Joan of Arc i. 57 Some pious sisterhood, Who..may likeliest remedy The stricken mind. |
2. To cure (a disease, etc.); to put right, reform (a state of things); to rectify, make good.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. v. (1555), There is a lawe ysette..that may not be ylette Nor remedyed. Ibid. vi, All her ill was holpe and remedyed. 1469 Paston Lett. II. 375 With Goddys grace it schall be remedyed well inow. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xviii. (Percy Soc.) 81, I thanke you for your love,..But I your cause can nothing remedy. 1567 J. Maplet Gr. Forest 37 It being wrought and tempered..remedieth all kinde of swelling. 1596 Drayton Legends iii. 389 They tooke up Armes to remedie their wrong. 1651 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. ii. (1739) 14 The House of Lords shall remedy all offences contrary to the Law of Magna Charta. 1654 Bramhall Just Vind. ii. (1661) 7 A sharp fit of a feuerish distemper, which a little time..will infallibly remedy. 1754 Sherlock Disc. I. i. 49 They cannot remedy the Corruption that has spread thro' the Race of Mankind. 1768 Goldsm. Good-n. Man iii. i, That shall be remedied without delay. 1814 Southey Roderick xxi. 417 Repentance taketh sin away, Death remedies the rest. 1853 Bright Sp., India 3 June (1876) 8 A great deal has been done to remedy the deficiency. 1858 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) III. v. i. 436 Evils which threaten to continue we try to remedy. |
† 3. absol. To provide a remedy. Const. for, of.
| c 1440 Lydg. Hors, Shepe & G. 387 For ache of bonys & also for brosoure It remedieth & dooth men ese ful blyve. c 1477 Caxton Jason 42 Ye be seke of the maladye of loue wherof no man may remedye but youre lady. |
Hence ˈremedying vbl. n.
| 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 1221/1 For the remediying and redressyng of those foresayd iniuries. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 30 b/2 To the remedyinge and curinge of the which, we ought to tye the Arterye. 1641 Wilkins Math. Magick i. iii. (1648) 18 For the remedying of such abuses the Ancients did appoint divers officers. |