▪ I. † lew, n.1 Sc. Obs.
Also (pl.) leois.
[perh. a sing. inferred from lewis (a. F. louis) treated as a plural.]
The name of a French gold coin formerly current in Scotland; ? the louis d'or (Jam.).
| 1467 Sc. Acts Jas. III (1814) II. 88/2 That..þe Ingliss noble, henry, ande Eduarde w{supt} þe ross, þe franche crowne, þe salute þe lewe and þe Ridar sall haif courss in þis realme [etc.]. 1488 in Inv. R. Wardr. (1815) 13 Four hundreth tuenti & viii Lewis of gold. 1497 in Ld. Treas. Acc. Scotl. I. 314 Thre Harj nobles, and tua leois. |
▪ II. lew, a.1 and n.2 Now dial.
(ljuː, luː)
Forms: 1 (ᵹe)hléow, 2–7 lewe, 5, (9) lue, 8– loo(e, 4– lew.
[OE. *hléow (implied in hléowe adv.), ᵹehléow (cf. unhléow; all three occur only once) = ON. hl{yacu}r warm, mild.
The relation of this word to the synonymous OHG. lâo (MHG. lâ, lâw-, G. lau) is obscure; no cognates outside Teut. are known.]
A. adj.
1. † a. Warm; sunny (in OE.). b. Lukewarm, tepid.
| [c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 280 Þonne..ᵹereste him swiðe wel hleowe þær & wearme gleda bere man ᵹelome inn.] c 1000 in Cockayne Narr. Angl. Conscript. (1861) 23 Ond ða on ᵹehliwran dene and on wearmran we ᵹewicodon. c 1300 Havelok 498 [He] Withdrou the knif, that was lewe Of the seli children blod. Ibid. 2921 Þe sunne, brith and lewe. 1382 Wyclif Rev. iii. 16 For thou art lew [Vulg. tepidus], and nether coold, nether hoot. ? c 1390 Form of Cury in Warner Antiq. Culin. 19 Take calwar samon, and seeth it in lewe water. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 33 Boyle hit..And kele hit, that he be bot lue. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 333/1 A Scimming Dish..is to scum the Cream of the Lew Milk to Churn for Butter. 1881 Leicester Gloss., Lew and Lew-warm, luke⁓warm. Mod. Sc. (West) The water is quite loo. [In eastern Sc. the current word is lew-warm.] |
2. Sheltered from the wind.
| 1674 [see lee a.]. 1735–6 Pegge Kenticisms (E.D.S.), Lew, sheltered; an house is said ‘to lye lew’, i.e. the house lies snug under the wind. 1825 J. Jennings Observations Dial. W. Eng. 52 Lew, shelter; defence from storms or wind. 1844 W. Barnes Poems Rur. Life 225 Milch cows in carners dry an' lew. 1863 [see lee n.1 1]. 1871 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 278 The bit of brick wall gives me a very lew corner facing the east. 1887 [see lee n.1 1 b]. 1889 ‘M. Gray’ Reproach of Annesley (ed. 5) vi. iii. 276 'Tis fine and loo here,..and you med set down and hrest. 1892 H. C. O'Neill Devonshire Idyls 7 His house..was ‘loo’ from the cold north winds. 1899 W. Raymond Two Men o' Mendip i. 7 The primroses an' cowslips too be out beautiful in the lew between Black-rocks. 1906 Daily Chron. 16 Aug. 3/6 It is cool and pleasant to find a ‘loo’ corner on the Esplanade [in Penzance]. 1909 S. Reynolds Poor Man's House vii. vi. 209 We crouched, all humped up, in the lew of a drifter's bows, whilst the rain water washed around our boots and coat-tails. 1963 Nance & Pool Gloss. Cornish Sea-Words 109 Loo,..(2) lee, sheltered out of a wind. |
B. n.
1. Warmth, heat. Obs. exc. Sc.
| 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. iv. 656 To th' end a fruitfull lew [orig. chaleur] May every Climat in his time renew. 1633 Gerard Part. Descr. Somerset (1900) 11 Lockombe. So called I should rather deeme from the lowe situation or Lucombe from the warmnes, which wee yett call Lewe. 1824 Mactaggart Gallovid. Encycl. s.v., Stacks of corn are said to take a ‘lew’, when they heat. |
2. Shelter. See house-lew, OE. h{uacu}shléow (house n.1 24), and lee n.1 1, 1 b.
▪ III. lew, a.2 dial.
[Of obscure origin; cf. OE. ᵹeléwed ‘debilitatum’ (ælfric Exod. xxii. 10 Laud MS.; Grein conjectured ᵹeléfed), also -lǽwe in limlǽweo lame in a limb, léwsa ‘inopia.’]
Weak. Also, of a leaden or pale colour; pale, wan.
| c 1325 Old Age in Rel. Ant. II. 211 Mi bodi wexit lewe [gloss debile]. 1611 Cotgr., Decoulouré,..pale, bleake, wan, lew. Ibid., Livide, wan, lew, bleake, pale, of a leaden, earthie, or dead colour. 1882 Lancash. Gloss., Liew, thin, poor, diluted. |
▪ IV. lew, v. Obs. exc. dial.
Also 7 lue, 9 loo(e.
[OE. hl{iacu}ewan, f. hléow lew a. Cf. ON. hl{yacu}ja to cover, shelter, make warm.]
1. a. trans. To make warm or tepid. † b. intr. To become warm. Obs.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 51 Þære sunnan hæto þe þas eorþan hlyweþ [MS. hlypeþ]. a 1400–50 Alexander 4374 All þe land with his leme lewis & cleres. 1808 Jamieson, To Lew, to warm any thing moderately; usually applied to liquids; lewed, warmed, made tepid. |
2. To shelter.
| 1664 Evelyn Sylva 101 This done, provide a Screene..to keep off the wind;..so as to be easily remov'd as need shall require for the luing of your pit. 1887 Kentish Gloss. s.v., Those trees will lew the house when they're up-grown. |
▪ V. † lew, int. Obs.
Lo! behold!
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. iii. 507 Hence bot a litill, she commys, lew, lew! |
▪ VI. lew
dial. form of lee n.1; variant of lue v.