▪ I. made, ppl. a.
(meɪd)
[pa. pple. of make v.1]
I. Produced or obtained by ‘making’ as distinguished from other modes of origin or acquisition.
1. a. Artificially constructed or produced, artificial as opposed to ‘natural’. So made earth, made ground: solid ground that has been ‘made’ by filling up a marsh, embanking a river, etc.
| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 301 It was conclwdit that na salt nor wictuallis nor na maid wark sould be convoyit of the realme. 1590 Spenser Muiopotmos 166 Arte..doth aspire T'excell the naturall, with made delights. 1596–7 S. Finche in Ducarel Hist. Croydon App. (1783) 153 Findinge that grounde made and false, digged the trenche alonge the door. 1643 Twyne in Wood's Life (O.H.S.) I. 96 The earth allso beinge found to be made ground all there abouts. 1687 B. Randolph Archipelago 65 Where formerly was a made-way in the sea for people to pass over. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. lxxi, It was all such as we call made Earth, and had been gain'd out of the Thames. 1699 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1711) 76 How comes it that all your made-Hedges are green too? 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. xii. (1840) 252 This canal is a navigable made stream. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. xvii. 277 The successive beds of made ground. 1884 T. Brown Ann. Disruption iv. (1890) 37 There was not a made road in the parish. 1895 Outing (U.S.) XXVI. 16/2 They were most of them gentlemen—I mean gentlemen born. ‘And you’, said Miss Harriman pleasantly, ‘are a gentleman made’. 1897 Mrs. E. Lynn Linton Geo. Eliot in Women Novelists 114 Her whole life and being were moulded to an artificial pose, and the ‘made’ woman could not possibly be the spontaneous artist. 1902 A. E. W. Mason Four Feathers xii. 112 The hedged fields and made roads. |
b. Of a story: Invented, fictitious. Of a word: Invented, ‘coined’. Of an errand: Invented for a pretext. ?Obs. (Cf. made-up.)
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 195 Hit is no made tale, but hit is sooþ as þe lettre is i-write. 1607 Norden Surv. Dial. ii. 41 The word [mannor] is used among our Lawyers, as many other made words are, which haue bin termes raised by our Lawes, & are not elsewhere in use. 1629 Orkney Witch Trial in County Folk-Lore III. (1903) 78 Christane Reid in Clett cam in ane maid errand. 1655 Nicholas Papers (Camden) II. 273 These are but made stories to delude fooles. 1687 Miege Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., A made Word, Un Mot factice, imaginé, ou fait à plaisir. 1843 J. H. Newman Miracles 124 It reads like a made story. |
c. Brought about by contrivance.
| 1594 Lyly Mother Bombie i. iii. 49 (Bond) She forsooth will choose her own husband; made marriages proue mad marriages. 1802–12 Bentham Ration. Judic. Evid. Wks. 1843 VII. 306 Made offices are partly the effects, partly the causes, of made business. Create useless work, you create the necessity of useless hands for the performance of it. |
2. Formed by composition. In certain specific applications. a. Cookery. made dish: a dish composed of several ingredients; so † made meat. made gravy: a ‘gravy’ artificially compounded, as opposed to one consisting only of the juices exuding from meat in cooking.
| 1598 Epulario D j b, To make a kind of made meat in flesh time. 1621 Burton Anat. Mel. i. ii. ii. i. 96 An infinite number of compound artificiall made dishes. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. i. 106 What made dishes; what hot, what cold, what boyld, what rost? 1632 B. Jonson Magn. Lady i. (1640) 17 A farragoe, Or a made dish in Court. 1747 H. Glasse Cookery ii. 13 Force-Meat Balls are a great Addition to all Made-Dishes. 1796 Ibid. viii. 142 You may use made-gravy, if you have not time to use the bones. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. xlix, The made-gravy acquiring no flavor, and turning out of a flaxen complexion. 1858 Mayhew Upper Rhine ii. §1 (1860) 48 The subtle nicety of a French made-dish. |
b. Naut. made mast: one composed of several pieces of timber. made block: a pulley-block composed of several parts joined together. made eye: ‘synonymous with flemish eye’ (Adm. Smyth).
| 1627 Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. iii. 15 If it be a made Mast, that is greater than one Tree. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 1 Masts..made of several trees joined together [are called] made-masts. Ibid. 153 Very large..blocks are formed of separate pieces,..when thus made, they are termed made-blocks. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Made Masts, the large masts made in several pieces. A ship's lower mast is a made spar... Made block is one having its shell composed of different pieces. |
3. a. Said occas. of articles of domestic or local manufacture, in contradistinction to those obtained from a distance. made wines: a term applied to the so-called ‘British wines’ (as currant, ginger, gooseberry, etc. wine).
| 1750 T. Short (title) Discourses on Tea, Sugar, Milk, Made Wines, Spirits, Punch, Tobacco, &c. 1805 Pike Sources Mississ. (1810) 7 Gave them one quart of made whiskey, a few biscuit and some salt. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) xix. ii. 216 Brewing at home what are curiously called ‘made wines’, (as if all foreign wines were self-existent!). 1884 S. Dowell Hist. Taxation II. 289 The beverages termed British wines or made wines. |
b. Of bills of exchange: (see quots.).
| 1868 E. Seyd Bullion & Foreign Exch. 89 The foregoing Foreign Bills of Class 2 are called drawn Bills, being usually negotiated from the Drawer direct to a London Foreign Banker; but where such drafts are made in the Country, and sent up to a correspondent in London, who then negotiates the same with his own Indorsement on them, they are called made Bills. Ibid. 90 Bills drawn abroad and payable abroad, but negotiated in the United Kingdom, are also made Bills. |
II. Of which the making has taken place.
4. Already framed or produced. rare in attributive use.
| a 1635 Corbet Poems (1807) 121 Made lawes were uselesse growne To him, he needed but his owne. |
5. a. That has undergone the process of manufacture. Also occas. prepared for use (cf. senses of make v.). rare.
| 1428 Burgh Recs. Edinb. (1869) I. 3 Of the last of maid irne viijd. 1545 Rates Custome Ho. a vj, Corke made the laste, xls. Corke made the barell, iii.s. iiii.d. 1582 Ibid. B iv b, Cork made for diers the last..iiijl... Cork made for shoomakers. 1795 J. Aikin Manchester 239 The raw materials come from Manchester..and the made goods are sent thither. 1806 A. Hunter Culina (ed. 3) 209 A tea-spoonful of made mustard. |
b. made to measure: see measure n. 2 a; also (usu. with hyphens) attrib.; made to order: see order n. 24 c; also (usu. with hyphens) attrib.; so made-to-order-ness, the state or condition of being made to order.
| 1960 Sunday Express 24 July 12/6 Made-to-measure tweed skirt. 1973 Guardian 26 Feb. 3/3 Good lighting is made-to-measure lighting..the result of applying a lighting engineer's expertise to your particular office problem. 1974 Country Life 3–10 Jan. 58/1 Made-to-measure..corsets, brassieres, maternity foundation. |
| 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 3 Apr. 9/1 (Advt.), Ladies' and gents' smart made-to-order spring suits made with particular care to every detail. 1947 ‘G. Orwell’ England your England (1953) 8 There was the made-to-order stuff which I produced quickly. 1973 Amer. Speech 1969 XLIV. 277 Or the phrase used in a television advertisement for ‘Sentry—the made-to-order insurance’. 1973 R. Stout Please Pass the Guilt (1974) ii. 11 He sat..in his made-to-order chair. |
| 1923 Glasgow Herald 8 Nov. 4 There is an air of cynical made-to-order-ness about the second [poem]. |
6. Of soldiers, also of horses, hounds, etc.: Fully trained.
| 1673 Boyle Ess. Effluviums iii. iv. 28 To make a tryal whether a young Blood-hound was well instructed, (or as the Huntsmen call it, made) he caus'd one of his Servants..to walk to a Country-town [etc.]. 1796 Campaigns 1793–4 I. i. vi. 45 None but made soldiers and serviceable horses would be employed. 1901 Daily Chron. 29 Apr. 6/2 In the ‘made’ class the best pony was Mr. Matherson's Lotus. |
7. a. Of a person: Having his success in life assured. Chiefly in phr. a made man.
| c 1590 Marlowe Faust (1631) F 3 b, O, joyfull day, now am I a made man for euer. 1605 S. Rowley When You See Me C 3, Hele lafe, and be as merie as a magge pie, and thow't bee a mayd man by it. 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 38. 2/2 You are a Made Man. 1871 Smiles Charac. ii. (1876) 54 Teach a boy arithmetic thoroughly, and he is a made man. |
b. Golf. (See quot.)
| 1897 Encycl. Sport I. 473 (Golf) Made, a player is said to be made when he is within a full shot of the green. |
c. to have (got) it made, to be sure of success; to have it easy, to have no more obstacles to overcome. colloq. (orig. U.S.).
| 1955 in Amer. Speech May 118. 1960 J. Updike Rabbit, Run (1961) 108 Say. You really think you have it made. 1961 J. Heller Catch-22 (1962) vi. 51, I had it made, I tell you. Fifty grand a year I was knocking down, and almost all of it tax-free. 1967 A. Diment Dolly Dolly Spy vi. 85 The money you earn is fantastic... You've got it made, mate. 1968 ― Gt. Spy Race iii. 45 She had..big, well-proportioned hips. I tell you, if the derrière gets with-it again this bird had it made. 1972 ‘H. Howard’ Nice Day for Funeral iii. 49 This was the kind of set-up half the dames I know would've given their back teeth for. I had it made. 1974 Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Mar. 227/2 The abstentions of 1972 were due not to this disillusionment but to an overwhelming conviction that Mr Nixon had it made, so why take time..to go out and vote? |
III. Combinations.
8. With prefixed n., adj., or adv., forming combinations usually hyphened when used attributively, and in some instances also when used predicatively. a. With n. in locative or instrumental relation, or adj., giving the general sense ‘Made in a certain locality or by a certain class of agents’, as in country-made, foreign-made, English-made, German-made, London-made, Swiss-made, home-made; God-made, man-made, self-made, state-made, tailor-made. b. With adv. (or sometimes adj.) giving the sense ‘made in a certain manner, having a certain quality or kind of make’, as in badly-made, neatly-made, well-made; often with reference to the ‘make’ or ‘build’ of the body (= -built), as in loosely-made, powerfully-made, stoutly-made, strong(ly)-made. Most of these combs. are treated under their first element, or in their alphabetical place as Main words.
9. In Comb. with adv. (hyphened in attributive use) corresponding to the similar combinations of make v., as made-out, made-over; made-up, † (a) consummate, accomplished (obs.); (b) put together; composed of parts from various sources; (c) artificially contrived or prepared, esp. for the purpose of deception or producing a favourable impression; (d) of a person's ‘mind’, resolved, decided; (e) of articles of trade, ready-made, not made to measure; also made-up tie, a tie, esp. a bow-tie, with a fixed bow or knot; (f) of stakes, arranged after the original programme of races is drawn up; (g) of a book, with its deficiencies made good by the insertion of a leaf, etc., from another copy of the same edition.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon v. i. 101 Know his grosse patchery..Yet remaine assur'd That he's a made-vp Villaine. 1677 Hubbard Narrative (1865) I. 82 They defended themselves under a small hastily made up Defence. 1725 M. W. Montagu Let. c 10 June (1966) II. 53, I wish you would lay out part of my Money in a made up Mantua and petticoat. 1773 Goldsm. Stoops to Conq. ii. (near end), Yes, you must allow her some beauty. Tony. Bandbox! She's all a made-up thing, mun. 1789 C. Smith Ethelinde (1814) IV. 115 And as to that made-up antiquity, Mrs. Maltravers, she hates you. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) II. 95 Yours will be considered as a made-up character. 1820 T. Chalmers Congregat. Serm. (1838) II. 14 The logical process which leads..to the ultimate and made-out conclusion. 1849 Theatrical Programme 16 July 55 (Advt.), The immense patronage they have received this season in their made-up skirt-rooms. 1859 Eng. Cookery Bk. 156 Chap. xiii.—Warmed-up Meats and Made-up Dishes or Entrées. 1863 Mrs. Gaskell Sylvia's L. xx. II. 105 In a forced made-up voice she inquired aloud [etc.]. 1871 Howells Wedd. Journ. (1892) 246 She bought and bought of the made-up wares. 1873 L. Wallace Fair God v. viii. 311 Ye..are of made-up minds. 1876 Coursing Calendar 110 In the made-up stakes for puppies Mr. Farmer's brace..made a good display. 1883 Graphic 14 Apr. 395/4 (Advt.), A full assortment of made-up articles of the best and most suitable description. 1895 New Rev. June 631 It is an odious fact that this country spends about a million and a half a year in the purchase of made-up clothes from Germany. 1896 A. Dobson 18th Cent. Vign. Ser. 111. i. 14 This made-up face was not produced by stage paint. 1900 Ld. Roberts in Daily News 4 May 5/2 Hamilton speaks in high terms of the good service performed by..a made-up regiment of Lancers. 1912 R. A. Wason Friar Tuck xxx. 208 When Jim came back he was a made-over man, and everyone asked him if he had religion. 1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. ii. ii. 171 The boys..bought made-up bow-ties of purple and pink that were twisted round the stud with elastic. 1913 R. B. McKerrow in Trans. Bibliogr. Soc. XII. 303 The cruder sort of made-up copies that one often finds in the second-hand market. 1916 J. E. Wells Man. Writings Middle Eng. 294 A copy, and perhaps a somewhat made-over copy of an earlier text. 1929 W. K. Gregory Our Face from Fish to Man ii. 153 Even the most imposing human faces are but made-over fish traps. 1929 J. Buchan Courts of Morning 25 Sandy in a greasy dress suit and a made-up black tie. 1952 J. Carter Bks. & Bk.-Collectors (1956) vi. ii. 195 The..language of book-collectors..is thickly encrusted with jargon... ‘Made-up,’ says one, with a sniff. ‘Q6 is a cancel as usual,’ says another. 1967 A. Lewin Unaltered Cat i. ii. 24 A place very like her own, a made-over brownstone only two blocks away. 1972 M. Gilbert Body of Girl v. 52 He was wearing a blue suit,..a flannel shirt and a made-up bow tie. |
IV. 10. Colloq. phr. made of money, extremely rich, very wealthy.
| 1849 D. W. Jerrold (title) A man made of money. 1855 Mrs. Gaskell North & S. I. xii. 143 ‘I shall order horses.’ ‘Nonsense, John. One would think you were made of money.’ 1876 Trollope Prime Minister III. xv. 254 You're living here in a grand house, and your father's made of money. 1895 Mrs. H. Ward Bessie Costrell ii. 35 You don't care, not you!—one 'ud think yer were made o' money. 1918 C. Mackenzie Early Life Sylvia Scarlett ii. ii. 292 He asked if I thought he was made of money and could buy top-hats like matches. 1967 E. Coxhead Thankless Muse iv. 103 ‘Then why don't we keep it?’ ‘You think Clare's made of money, I suppose?’ 1975 C. Egleton Skirmish x. 104 Book him into a hotel..but nothing fancy, we're not made of money. |
Sense in 5b in Dict. becomes 5c. Add: [II.] [5.] b. made beaver Canad. Hist., a unit of exchange formerly used among fur traders, equivalent to the value of the prepared skin of one adult beaver in prime condition; a coin or token equivalent to this. Pl. often unchanged. Cf. *beaver n. 2 d.
| 1723 in K. G. Davies Lett. from Hudson Bay (1965) xx. 96, I understand their last year's trade did not exceed 12,000 skins everything made beaver. 1796 in A. M. Johnson Saskatchewan Jrnls. (1967) 25 Traded with three Indians that arrived at 3 a.m., brought ninety-two made beaver and a small quantity of provisions. 1843 in C. Wilson Campbell of Yukon (1970) vii. 63 Them you will engage for a summer's trip by boat to Fort Simpson and back..to be paid 50 Made Beaver each. 1928 L. R. Freeman Nearing North ii. iv. 191 Accounts of white servants were kept in pounds, shillings and pence; those of the Indians in ‘Made-Beavers’. Ibid., Later brass discs were substituted for convenience, values as low as ‘1/4 Made-Beaver’ being issued. 1965 North (Ottawa) Nov./Dec. 29/2 Foxes were valued and an equivalent amount in ‘Made Beaver’ or shiny round HBC tokens was spread out on the counter. 1992 Beaver Aug. 32/1 This ‘skin’ or ‘made beaver’ is really of no special value except for the sake of book-keeping. |
[7.] d. Used (esp. in made man) to designate a person who has been formally inducted as a full member of the Mafia. slang (orig. U.S.).
| [1950 H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 132/1 Made,..lifted out of mediocrity to a position of wealth or influence in the underworld. 1969 D. R. Cressey Theft of Nation x. 237 In the 1930's, members were ‘made’ in a rather elaborate oath-swearing ceremony which also was used by the Sicilian Mafia.] 1976 Sunday Sun (Brisbane) 13 June 54/5 The Mafia wouldn't..let them be ‘made men’ (official Mafiosi) because they thought they were too crazy. 1977 Time 16 May 28/2 The Mafia numbers about 5,000 ‘made men’ or members. Ibid. 37/1 ‘Made’ guys (Mafiosi) don't like their wives to mingle with the wives of other ‘made’ guys. 1983 Daily Tel. 1 Sept. 3 Not all are so-called ‘made’ members—those who have taken the Mafia oath of secrecy. 1987 C. Sifakis Mafia Encycl. 165/2 Jack Dragna..presided over the Weasel's initiation as a made man in the Los Angeles crime family. 1992 Spy (N.Y.) May 8/2 Having spent more than 15 years as a made member, I believe I am a good judge as to accuracy of mob-related stories. |
[II.] [9.] [a.] made-up, (h) of a person or their face, features, etc.: wearing make-up (see make-up n. 2 b).
| 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer ii. 45 You must allow her some beauty. Tony. Bandbox! She's all a made up thing, mun. 1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vind. Rights Woman xii. 392 Unless the understanding be cultivated, superficial and monotonous is every grace. Like the charms of a made up face, they only strike the senses in a crowd. 1815 F. Burney Jrnl. in Jrnls. & Lett. (1980) VIII. 539 M. de Talleyrand... The nearly imperturbable composure of his general—& certainly made up countenance. 1869 ‘M. Twain’ Innocents Abroad xxix. 311 They used to have a grand procession..once a year, to shave the head of a made-up Madonna—a stuffed and painted image, like a milliner's dummy—whose hair miraculously grew and restored itself every twelve months. 1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xxxv. 157 She was plain and old. His quick fancy showed her to him, wrinkled, haggard, made-up, in those frocks which were too showy for her position and too young for her years. 1937 A. Christie Dumb Witness xi. 121 She's a very queer-looking girl. Ultra modern, of course, and terribly made-up. 1969 Ashbery & Schuyler Nest of Ninnies iv. 49 ‘What strangeness,’ the woman said, opening her elaborately made-up eyes very wide. 1982 Facts on File 31 Dec. 993/1 Hair, soft with curls or chignons..and heavily made-up faces completed the 1982 fashion look. |
b. made-for-TV, made-for-television, specially made for, or (occas.) ideally suited to, television. Similarly, made-for-video.
| 1973 Chicago Sun-Times 29 Dec. 25/1, I say Fred Astaire played a drunk in the made-for-TV movie ‘The Over-the-Hill Gang Rides Again’. 1985 Music Week 2 Feb. 16/4 There is a trend towards specific ‘made-for-video’ material. 1986 T. O'Brien Nuclear Age vi. 106 She closed her eyes during those made-for-TV combat clips. 1989 Independent 8 Nov. 36/8 You certainly don't get much [camaraderie] in snooker, that other great made-for-television sport. 1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 8 Jan. a9/5 The three Amy Fisher made-for-TV movies that aired last week. |
▪ II. made
obs. form of maid n.