▪ I. mend, n.
(mɛnd)
Also 4–6 mende; 6–9 Sc. pl. as sing. mense, (6 mens).
[Partly aphetic for amend (see amends); partly f. mend v.]
† 1. Recompense, reparation; also, something given as compensation. Obs. a. pl. in form; usually construed as sing.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23152 Vnnethes sal man find an in lede þat wel will scriue þam o þis sake, ne for na consail mendes mak. 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles 292 Men myȝtten as welle have huntyd an hare with a tabre, as aske ony mendis ffor that thei mysdede. c 1450 Holland Howlat 72 Bot quha sall mak me ane mendis of hir worth a myte? a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 19 He.. promissit that he suld haue ane suffiecent mense of the quene. Ibid. 147. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. i. 20 All wrongs haue mendes. 1592 Kyd Sol. & Pers. ii. i. 46 Why then the mends is made, and we still friends. 1670 R. Lassels Voy. Italy II. 268 This country made us a full mends for all the ill way we had had before. a 1733 Shetland Acts in Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. (1892) XXVI. 200 That no mends be made for corn eaten within cornyards. 1779 D. Graham Writ. (1883) II. 21 That's better mense for a fault, than a' your mortifying o' your members. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf x, Westburnflat hasna the means..to make up our loss; there's nae mends to be got out o' him, but what ye take out o' his banes. |
b. sing. for, to (a person's) mend: for his reparation or restoration (from sin). to mend: as a recompense.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6723 (Cott.) If he sla animans thain, Thritti schiling o siluer again Sal man giue þe lord to mend [a 1300–1400 Gott. to mendes]. c 1315 Shoreham Poems ii. 128 And ase he þoled þane deþ, Leuedy, for oure mende. Ibid. vii. 831 To mannes mende. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 302 To mak mende & mak alle stable. 1646 Deposit. York Castle (Surtees) 9 note, And pray to God for mend. |
† 2. pl. Means of obtaining restoration or reparation; remedy. Obs.
| c 1450 Holland Howlat 29 Mendis and medicyne for mennis all neidis. 1530 Palsgr. 666/1 If I pricke you with my daggar you have your mendes in your hande. 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. i. 68. 1655 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. i. 53 If any mischief befalls him, the mends is in his own hands. |
† 3. pl. Improvement in health. Obs.
| 1624 Witch Trial in Abbotsford Club Misc. I. 137 The said Margaret Corstoun haueing contractit seiknes, dwyned be the space of foure monethis, and could get no mendis. |
† 4. to the mends: ‘to boot’. Sc. Obs.
| 1636 Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. lxxi. 185, I will verily give my Lord Jesus a free discharge of all that I..laid to His charge, and beg Him pardon, to the mends. |
5. Phr. on the mend: (of a person, his health, etc.) recovering from sickness; (of affairs, trade, etc.), improving in condition.
| 1802 Coleridge in Mrs. Sandford T. Poole & Friends (1802) II. 77 [My] health has been on the mend ever since Poole left town. 1897 Daily News 27 July 11/4 Home trade in finished linens is perhaps on the mend. |
6. An act of mending, a repair; a repaired hole, etc., in a fabric.
| 1888 Housewife III. 436/1 If the mend is dampened and pressed with a hot iron it is almost unnoticeable. 1900 Daily News 28 Nov. 10/2 Mrs. A. is reluctant to let her clothes be seen by Mrs. B., for fear that lady should notice the rents and mends. 1903 Blackw. Mag. Dec. 803/2 A mend in the sole [of a stocking]. |
† 7. Comb.: mends-making, reparation, atonement. Obs.
| c 1400 Cursor M. 28617 (Cott. Galba) Schrift aw to be thrinfalde, with rewth in hert, and schewing to preste, and mendes making. 1530 Tindale Answ. More iv. ii. Wks. (1573) 320/1 And as for mendes making with worldly things, that do to thy brother whom thou hast offended. |
▪ II. mend, v.
(mɛnd)
[aphetic f. amend v.
The aphetic form, however, occurs in our quots. earlier than the original form. Cf. AF. mender in one MS. (St. John's, Camb.) of Wadington's Manuel des Pechiez l. 10.]
I. To remove or atone for defects.
1. a. trans. To free (a person, his character or habits) from sin or fault; to improve morally; to reform; occas. to cure of (a fault). Now arch. or dial. exc. in phr. to mend one's manners, ways.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 217 On þe helde laȝe het ure drihten þat me ne sholde none man bitechen, bute he were teid to menden chirche. a 1300 Cursor M. 22436 Þar es nam[an]..þat he ne his liif agh to mend. Ibid. 26507 Quen þou art mendid o þi sin. c 1430 ABC of Aristotle in Babees Bk., It schal neuere greue a good man þouȝ þe gilti be meendid. 1562 J. Heywood Epigr. i. R, If euery man mende one, all shall be mended. 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. i. ix. Wks. 1825 III. 39 A descreet and cool hand may direct the blow right..when men of fury rather ease their passion, than mend their youth. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 112 ¶7 If he does not mend his Manners. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxvii, Though the instruction I communicate may not mend them [prisoners], yet it will assuredly mend myself. 1868 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. viii. 211 That turbulent prelate had mended his ways. 1891 Baring-Gould Urith xxxix, Have you seen how a little dog is mended of lamb worrying? |
† b. refl. To reform oneself. Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 25548 Þou send vs, lauerd! wijt and will to mend us of vr dedis ill. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 2326 (Wagner) He warned alle..To mende hem here, before her dede. 1596 Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 134 Let both the writer and the readers endeavour to mend ourselves. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 50 Bid the dishonest man mend himself. |
c. intr. for refl. Now rare exc. in the proverb it is never too late to mend.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 23264 For þai mai haf na might to mend. ? 1404–8 26 Pol. Poems v. 22 [He] þat nyl not mende, but ay don ylle. 1550 Crowley Last Trump. 1436 Their conscience..saieth thei were Told of their fault, & woulde not mende. 1605 Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 232 Let shame come when it will, I do not call it... Mend when thou can'st, be better at thy leisure. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) IV. xxxviii. 92 It is never over-late to mend. 1785–6 Burns Addr. to Deil xxi, O wad ye tak a thought an' men'! 1842 S. Lover Handy Andy xxi, ‘She's very young, Sir’. ‘She'll mend of that, ma'am. We were young once ourselves’. 1873 Black Pr. Thule ix, I am afraid that you are a very foolish boy..but I hope to see you mend when you marry. |
2. a. To remove the defects of (a thing); to correct (what is faulty); to improve by correction or alteration. Now only occas. as a transf. use of sense 5.
† to mend (one's) mood: to become more cheerful.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10434 Leuedi, sco said, for drightin dere, þou mend þi mode and turn þi chere. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 69, I salle þe make..my chefe Justise, þe lawes to mend & right. c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 530 For brousty oil, whit wex is to resolue In fynest oil [etc.]. So wol hit mende odour and taast also. 1461 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 309 The sayd lawe was mendyt by autorite of a semble. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 19 Heathy, Brushy, & Grauelly ground: may these be made fruitefull, and mended [L. corrigi & fœcundari] by arte. 1631–2 High Commission Cases (Camden) 237, I wish that you..that are soe ready to fynd faultes were sett to mend the booke of common prayer. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 324 Salt Earth and bitter are not fit to sow, Nor will be tam'd and mended by the Plough. 1707 Mortimer Husb. 74 So where Marle is not laid too thick..it will often mend Clays. 1724 A. Collins Gr. Chr. Relig. 20 Divines; who seem to pay little deference to the Books of the New Testament, whose text they are perpetually mending in their sermons, commentaries, and writings, to serve purposes. 1820 Cobbett Gram. Eng. Lang. xiv. (1847) 89 Never think of mending what you write. Let it go. No patching; no after pointing. 1872 Skeat Chaucer's Astrolabe (E.E.T.S.) 87, I have mended the text as well as I could by words, &c., inserted between square brackets. 1901 T. R. Glover Life & Lett. 4th C. 90 The last three books [of Q. Smyrnaeus]..are beyond revision. To be mended they must be re-written. |
b. intr. To become less faulty. Of conditions: To become less unfavourable, improve.
| a 1300–1400 Cursor M. 24490 (Gött.) All mi licam bigan to light, And mi mode to mend. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 75 As sowre ale mendth in summer. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) II. xlix. 58, I hope the times will mend. 1708 Prior Turtle & Sparrow 416 Matters at worst are sure to mend. 1736 Berkeley Querist ii. §5 Wks. 1871 III. 519 Whether..our State will mend, so long as property is insecure among us? 1826 Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. I. 418 Our condition here..mends upon us. 1876 Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. 2 Things did not mend as time went on. |
3. a. trans. To rectify, remedy, remove (an evil); to correct, put right (a fault, anything amiss).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 644 Here [sc. the garden of Eden] lastes lijf wit-oten end, Her es nathing for to mend. Ibid. 5417 Bath he [Ioseph] did his lauerd byyate, And mended nede in þair state. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus v. 1425 She wolde come, and mende al that was mis. c 1400 26 Pol. Poems iv. 137 Thouȝ holy chirche shulde fawtes mend, Summe put hem of for mede. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxviii. 14 Sowtaris, with schone weill maid and meit, Ȝe mend the faltis of ill maid feit. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 107 She sweats... That's a fault that water will mend. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 20 You must examine where the fault is, and taking the Pin out, mend the fault in the Joynt. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 168 ¶4 There is no Way of mending such false Modesty. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf x, But how ye are to put yoursells up, I canna see! And what's waur, I canna mend it. 1819 Shelley Cenci iii. i. 302 Poverty, the which I sought to mend By holding a poor office in the state. |
† b. To correct (a mistake, something erroneous). Obs.
| 1563–7 Buchanan Reform. St. Andros Wks. (1892) 9 Na man sal mend otheris faltis [sc. mistakes in a lesson] vntil they cum to the regent. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Dec., I have mistaken the day of the month, and been forced to mend it thrice. |
c. intr. Of a fault: To undergo rectification.
| 1712 Pope Spect. No. 408 ¶7 The Fire of Youth will of course abate, and is a Fault,..that mends every Day. |
4. trans. To make amends or reparation for, atone for (a misdeed, an injury); also absol. to make reparation. Occas. const. dat. of person. Obs. exc. in the proverb, least said soonest mended.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20251 If I haf anithing mis-wroght,..I wil it mend. Ibid. 26223 And he þat bath [church & man] þair bleith has blend, A-gains bath be-hous him mend. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 303 To while pape Boniface duellid opon þis, To gyue dome þorgh grace, to mende boþe þer mys. 1426 Audelay Poems 12 Ȝif thai wyl mend that thai do mys, to have remyssyon. 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 29 Ye maie syr (quoth he) mend three naies with one yée. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. ii. 26 Come, come, you haue bin too rough,..you must returne, and mend it. 1670 Ray Prov. 285 Little said, soon mendit. [Cf. 1659 Howell Prov. 9/1 Little said soon amended.] 1733 in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 185 One soon learns to stop when it is wished, or to mend what is said amiss. 1841 Lytton Nt. & Morn. iv. viii, At present, ‘least said soonest mended’. |
5. a. To restore to a complete or sound condition (something broken, decayed, worn, etc.); to repair or make good (the defective part). Also to mend up. Phr. to mend one's fences: see fence n. 5 c.
Now the prevailing sense: the others, so far as they survive, being more or less coloured by this. The vb. is now ordinarily used only with such objects as are commonly said to be ‘worn’, ‘broken’, or ‘torn’ (e.g. articles of clothing or furniture, tools, fences); e.g. we do not speak of ‘mending’ a house. To mend a road, however, is still current.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 53 Þer nis nouþur Wyndou ne Auter, Þat I ne schulde maken oþur mende. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Marcus) 81 Þe bochoure wes mendand þe scho. 1487 in T. Gardner Hist. Dunwich (1754) 153 Payd the Glas-wryȝte for mendyng Seynt Krysteferys Wyndown. 1535 Coverdale Mark i. 19 As they were in the shyppe mendynge their nettes. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 186 As if I had been so good a husband, as to mend my own clothes. 1639 in Coll. Conn. Hist. Soc. (1897) VI. 5 All the fences..shall be mended vp. 1747 in Amer. Speech (1940) XV. 228/2, I went to mamacock & Crossman Lot & mended up fence. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 229 The rough and stony roads have been mended. 1833 S. Smith Life & Writings J. Downing lvi. 192 They've got their clothes pretty much mended up, and they look quite tidy. 1854 M. L. Charlesworth Ministering Children ii. 19 Mamma is going to give me all Edward's old warm stockings, if I mend them up quite neat! 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 29 Hedges and ditches are mended when there is nothing else to do. 1888 Housewife III. 436/2 After mending the holes, the thin places..should be run thickly backwards and forwards. |
transf. and fig. (cf. 2).
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxviii. 22 And ȝe tailȝouris, with wellmaid clais Can mend the werst maid man that gais. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 176. |
b. To repair the garments of (a person). colloq.
| 1876 W. S. Gilbert Sorcerer ii. (1886) 24 She will tend him, nurse him, mend him, Air his linen [etc.]. 1881 Gd. Words 844/2 She ‘washed and mended’ him to the envy of the neighbours. |
c. To adjust, set right. Obs. exc. Naut.
| c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some y⊇ longe bote dyde launce, some mende y⊇ corse. 1601 Shakes. All's Well iii. ii. 7 Why he will looke vppon his boote, and sing: mend the Ruffe and sing. 1606 ― Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 322. 1682 Dryden & Lee Duke of Guise ii. ii. (1683) 16 Yes, I wou'd make every Glance a Murder. Mend me this Curle. 1832 Marryat N. Forster xxvi, He therefore turned the hands up, ‘mend sails’, and took his station amidship on the booms, to see that this the most delinquent sail, was properly furled. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., To mend sails, to loose and skin them afresh on the yards. |
d. † to mend the lights: to trim the lamps, or snuff the candles (obs.). to mend a fire: to add fuel to it (cf. the earlier beet v.). to mend a pen: to cut a worn quill pen so as to make it fit for its purpose.
| c 1480 Henryson Test. Cress. 36, I mend the fyre and beikit me about. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of News Induct., Book-holder. Mend your lights, Gentlemen, Master Prologue, beginne. marg., The Tiremen enter to mend the lights. 1720 Petrie Rules Deportm. iii. Wks. (1877) 21 Do not spit in the Fire, nor offer to mend it. 1820 Keats Lett. (1958) II. 262, I have been writing with a vile old pen the whole week... The fault is in the Quill: I have mended it. 1834 H. Martineau Farrers i. 15 Jane shook her head as she carefully mended the fire. 1863 A. Blomfield Mem. Bp. Blomfield I. viii. 223 We all sit and mend our pens and talk about the weather. |
6. a. trans. To restore to health, cure, heal. arch.
| 13.. St. Nicholas 349 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 15 Þai praid all to saint Nicholas Þat [dede] man þore forto rays & mend. 13.. St. Lucy 8 ibid. 17 Scho..fand no medcyn hir might mend. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §46 There be dyuers waters, & other medicyns, that wolde mende hym. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 113 Yearly thy Herds in Vigour will impair, Recruit and mend 'em with thy Yearly Care. 1736 in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 235, I daily see such numbers of people mended by them [these waters], that [etc.]. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. v. 14 And slowly some we mended of their ill, And pitied all. |
| transf. and fig. 1831 Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Ellistoniana, Sir A― C―..who mends a lame narrative almost as well as he sets a fracture. 1870 Morris Earthly Par., Son of Croesus (1903) 153/2 And August came the fainting year to mend With fruit and grain. |
b. intr. To regain health; to recover from sickness. † Const. of. Also to mend up.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxii. 59 May nane remeid my melady Sa weill as ȝe..And gif I mend nocht hestely. 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §46 There be some shepe that wyll be blynd a season, and yet mende agayn. 1663 Chas. II in Julia Cartwright Henrietta of Orleans (1894) 149 She mends very slowly. 1712–13 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 22 Feb., The Queen is slowly mending of her gout. 1810 Shelley Zastrozzi xi, The health of Verezzi, meanwhile, slowly mended. 1840 Dickens Barn. Rudge v, The fever has left him, and the doctor says he will soon mend. 1877 A. Sewell Black Beauty (c 1878, ed. 5) xliv. 217 The farrier said he [sc. a horse] might mend up enough to sell for a few pounds. 1897 Hughes Medit. Fever v. 194 One day of injudicious dietary..in a case that is mending, may cause a serious relapse. |
c. Of a wound, etc.: To heal. Of a malady: To abate. Now dial.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon v. i. 190 My long sicknesse Of Health, and Liuing, now begins to mend. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 140 An ulcer mends in one part though it may spread in another. 1869 A. C. Gibson Folk-Sp. Cumbld. 163 His hand mendit weel—(He hed gud healin flesh,..hed Joe). |
II. Without distinct reference to defect: To make better, ameliorate, improve.
7. a. trans. To improve the condition or fortune of. Now rare or Obs. exc. refl., to better oneself, make an advantageous change in one's condition.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 244 Wardeyns gode he sette, to stabille þe lond & mende [orig. Establye ses lays, fet l'estat melliour]. c 1330 ― Chron. Wace (Rolls) 6552 Wiþ waryson he schold þem [marriageable maidens] mende. 1558 Richmond Wills (Surtees) 122, I wyll y{supt} the pore folkes of the church rawe be mended with bygge. 1625 Bacon Ess., Innov. (Arb.) 527 Whatsoeuer is New is vnlooked for; And euer it mends Some, and paires Other. 1632 Lithgow Trav. iii. 84 He could not mend himselfe, in regard of my shelter. 1678 Bunyan Pilgr. i. (1862) 58 Your service was hard..therefore..I did as other considerate persons do, look out, if perhaps I might mend myself. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 390 Whether it was by Negligence in guarding them, or that they thought the Fellows could not mend themselves, I know not, but one of them run away. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. (ed. 2) 40 How either he or we should be much mended by it, I cannot imagine. 1876 J. Richardson Cummerl. Talk Ser. ii. 183 If..he duddent know what way to gang to mend his-sel, he hed to grub away fra leet to dark for a canny laal. |
† b. Sc. To profit, advantage (a person); absol. to avail. (In negative and interrogative contexts.)
| c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1069 It may nocht mend the ane myte to mak it so teugh. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 653 He saw thair was na meiknes nor mesure micht mend. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xx. 22 Off all thy wo and cair It mends the no{supt} to mene. 1572 Satir. Poems Reform. xxx. 126 Quhat will it mend to murne thy senses out? |
† 8. To improve (a person) physically. Also intr. (of a child) to thrive (cf. 10 b). Obs.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 464 Outhire mete has mendid þe full mekill..Or ane has stollen in my stede. c 1500 Melusine 103 Melusyne..had so grete care for her children that they mended & grewe so wel that euery one that saw them meruaylled. 1810 Hogg Birniebouzle 8 I'll hunt the otter an' the brock,..An' pu' the limpet aff the rock, To batten an' to mend ye. |
† 9. a. To improve by additions (e.g. wages, prices).
| c 1440 Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 272 Fals iudas, to mendyn hys purs, To ded hath hym sold. c 1470 Harding Chron. (1812) 366 The market he so mended manyfolde. 1510 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 81 Thai sall caus him be pait yerlie of tene pundis..quhill thai be of puyschance to mend him his fee. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 88 If his liuing be too little, then ought the church to mend it. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iv. 94 And we will mend thy wages. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 196 Sometimes white Lillies did their Leaves afford, With wholsom Poppy-flow'rs to mend his homely Board. |
b. intr. To improve in amount or price.
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. H 2, Then let vs leaue this baser fidling trade, For though our purse should mend, our credit fades. 1812 Examiner 7 Sept. 563/2 Wool mending in price. |
† c. trans. To supplement, make up the deficiency of. (See also 12 a.) Obs.
| 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 60 Wee'll mend our dinner here. 1638 in Birch Life Milton M.'s Wks. 1738 I. 16, I would have been bold, in our vulgar phrase, to mend my draught, for you left me with an extreme Thirst. 1711 Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Oct., I was forced to lie down at twelve to-day, and mend my night's sleep. |
10. a. To improve in quality; to render more excellent; to ameliorate (conditions, etc.). Now rare.
| 1603 Florio Montaigne ii. Epist., So neyther is one vertue fit for all, nor all fit for one vertue: nor is that one so excellent, but by more it might be mended. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xxii. §5 Tacitus observeth how rarely raising of the fortune mendeth the disposition. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 19 Trees..as they grow in yeeres, bignesse, and strength; so they mend their fruit. 1672 Grew Anat. Plants §43 Some Vegetables lose their Smell,..others, keep it,..others, mend it. 1700 Dryden Fables Pref. *D, Chaucer..has mended the Stories which he has borrow'd, in his way of telling. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 383 ¶4 The fifty new Churches will very much mend the Prospect. 1781 W. Blane Ess. Hunting (1788) 21 Directions for mending and improving the Breed [of dogs]. 1781 Cowper Hope 451 The Sacred Book..speaks, with plainness art could never mend. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 47 Cattle are small... And they would be more so, were not the breed mended by a mixture with those of other countries. 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. II. x. 208 The Fieldings, till Henry came up to mend the reputation, were not thought very clever. 1854 Tennyson To F. D. Maurice x, How best to help the slender store, How mend the dwellings, of the poor. |
† b. intr. To grow better in quality, improve. Obs.
| 1546 J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 75 Than wolde ye mend..as sowre ale mendth in summer. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 80 What thinke you of this foole Maluolio, doth he not mend? 1705 Addison Italy (Rome to Naples) 174 St. Peters seldom answers Expectation at first entering it, but..mends upon the Eye every Moment. 1712 ― Spect. No. 543 ¶1 Though it [the human body] appears formed with the nicest Wisdom, upon the most superficial Survey of it, it still mends upon the Search. |
c. To recover from, get better of, grow out of.
| 1881 J. Fothergill Kith & Kin III. ii. 43 He had always trusted that the boy would mend of such outlandish indifference. |
11. trans. To improve upon, surpass, better. In early use with personal obj. Now only colloq. to produce something better than.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 555 Bot y þe mendi may, Wrong þan wite y þe. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 329 In Vshering Mend him who can. Mod. A very good story: I don't think I can mend it. |
III. Phrases and Combinations.
12. Phrases. a. to mend (a person's) cheer: † (a) to cheer, comfort (cf. cheer n.1 3); (b) to improve the fare of (cf. cheer n.1 6).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4232 His oþer suns com ilkan sere For to mend þair fader chere. c 1350 Will. Palerne 647 Þanne þis maiden melior gan menden here chere. 1727 Boyer Dict. Royal s.v. Mend, I'll try if I can mend your Chear, J'essayerai..de vous mieux regaler. 1814 Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xii, A bow full deftly can he bend, And if we meet a herd, may send A shaft shall mend our cheer. |
† b. In asseverative phrases, esp. so God mend me. Also in pious wishes, as God mend all. Obs.
| c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 433 Lordynges, so god me mende, Lamedon me to ȝow sende. 1568 Jacob & Esau i. iii. B j b, The most gentle yong man aliue, as God me mende. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 81 Youle not endure him, God shall mend my soule. 1600 ― A.Y.L. iv. i. 193. 1611 ― Cymb. v. v. 68 Heauen mend all. 1789 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Subj. for Painters Wks. 1812 II. 136 Where'er they go, poor imps God mend 'em! |
c. to mend or end: either to improve or (if that be impossible) to put an end to; in early use chiefly = ‘to kill or cure’; also, † to correct or finish (a work). † Formerly also intr., either to die or recover.
| 1578 T. Wilcocks Serm. Pawles 74 Plague: what hathe it done? it hathe mended as manye as it hathe ended. 1603 Florio Montaigne 11 Epist., That perfect-vnperfect Arcadia, which..your all praise-exceeding father..lived not to mend or end-it. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage 805 When the King of Mexico sickened, they vsed to put a Visor on the face..of some..Idol, which was not taken away till he mended or ended. 1648 Eikon Bas. xv. 123, I had the Charitie to interpret, that most part of My Subjects fought against My supposed Errors, not My Person; and intended to mend Mee, not to end Mee. c 1680 Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism Wks. 1716 I. i. 21, I had rather we should mend than end. 1884 J. Morley in Times 31 July 11/4 The..question of mending or ending the House of Lords. |
d. to mend the matter, to mend matters: to improve the state of affairs concerning a person or thing. Often used ironically.
| 1690 Locke Hum. Und. ii. xvii. §16, I suppose they will thereby very little mend the matter, or help us to a more clear and positive idea. 1719 De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 295 To mend the Matter,..it continued snowing. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. xii. 253 No one will argue that he would have mended matters had he fulfilled his promise. |
e. to mend (one's) pace: to travel faster.
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. v. i. 64 Your dull Asse will not mend his pace with beating. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 859 Justice Divine Mends not her slowest pace for prayers or cries. 1781 Cowper Expost. 151 Judgment, however tardy, mends her pace When Obstinacy once has conquered Grace. 1851 D. Jerrold St. Giles vii. 66 He mended his pace, and..jerked the pony into a trot. |
† f. to mend one's hand: to improve one's work or conduct. Obs.
| 1685 Dryden Alb. & Alban. Pref., Ess. (ed. Ker) I. 280 If it finds encouragement, I dare promise myself to mend my hand, by making a more pleasing fable. 1781 C. Johnston Hist. J. Juniper I. 65 His nurse..being threatened to be turned off, if she did not mend her hand. |
g. to make or mend (absol.): see make v.1 1 c.
† 13. Comb. with ns. (often as quasi-proper names) with the sense ‘one who mends{ddd}’, as mend-all, mendbreech, mend-fault, mend-market.
| c 1470 Harding Chron. ccviii. Argt. (1812) 366 Howe syr Robert Vmgreuile brent Pebles on there market daye..and after the Scottes called hym Robyne Mendmarket. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 179 Feare flea smocke and mendbreech, for burning their bed. 1643 Baker Chron. (1674) 190 Jack Cade..styling himself Captain Mend-all, marched..to Blackheath. 1654 Whitlock Zootomia 174 The Commonwealth might better spare many famous for feats of Armes, than these Learned Mend-faults (in men, or States). |
▪ III. mend
obs. form of mind.