▪ I. † supervise, n. Obs. rare—1.
Also 7 -vize.
[f. next.]
The act of supervising; inspection, perusal.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. ii. 23 An exact command,..That on the superuize no leasure bated. |
▪ II. supervise, v.
(s(j)uːpəˈvaɪz)
Also 9 -vize.
[f. med.L. supervīs-, pa. ppl. stem of supervidēre: see supervide.]
† 1. trans. To look over, survey, inspect; to read through, peruse. Obs.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. ii. 125 You finde not the apostraphas, and so misse the accent. Let me superuise the cangenet [= canzonet]. 1596 Nashe Saffron Walden V 4, In both my bookes I haue obiected some perticular vice more against him than pumps and pantofles, which those that haue not faith inough to beleeue, may toote & superuize. 1629 Wadsworth Pilgr. viii. 78, I superuised the letter of D{supr}. Hall and M{supr}. Bedell, which I found in my Father's study. 1700 T. Brown tr. Fresny's Amusem. 10 If any Man..has an Inclination..to supervise almost all the Conditions of Humane Life. a 1711 Ken Preparatives Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 15 All my Omissions supervise, And to what Guilt they all arise To my own self my Vileness shew. |
† b. To overlook, command a view of. Obs.
| 1658 R. Franck North. Mem. (1821) 127 Those eminent high Highlands, that supervise those shady valleys below them. |
† c. spec. To read through for correction; to revise. Obs.
| 1655 [see supervising below]. 1725 Pope Shaks. Wks. I. Pref. p. xv, If any were supervised by himself, I should fancy the two parts of Henry the 4th, and Midsummer-Night's Dream might have been so. 1751 Earl of Orrery Rem. Swift xvii. (1752) 131 Two additional volumes, both which were supervised and corrected by the author. |
2. To oversee, have the oversight of, superintend the execution or performance of (a thing), the movements or work of (a person).
| c 1645 Howell Lett. I. i. iii, The small time I supervis'd the Glasse-house, I got amongst those Venetians some smatterings of the Italian Toung. 1667 Primatt City & C. Build. 58 Adde one shilling for every square for the master-Brick-layers super-vising them. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. i. v. 672 All is supervised by One Understanding and Intending Cause. 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. II. 97/1 You undertake to supervise and compleat the work. 1856 Kane Arctic Expl. II. xv. 166 My own energies just equal to the duty of supervising our final departure. 1869 Latest News 5 Sept. 7 The formation of local committees of vigilance to supervise the police. 1914 Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. 183 As Papal Chancellor, Albert of Mora supervized the drafting of papal bulls. |
Hence superˈvising vbl. n. and ppl. a.
| 1655 tr. Semedo's Hist. China vi. 35 Every one hath the liberty to print what he pleaseth, without the Supervising, Censure, or Licence, of any one. 1766 Entick London IV. 188 Who shall have the supervising..of all the physicians. 1845 Stocqueler Handbk. Brit. India (1854) 45 The responsibility of the local administration to the two supervising authorities. 1871 Figure Training 110 The foot..requiring almost as much supervising care as the figure. |