▪ I. spend, n.1
(spɛnd)
[f. spend v.1]
1. a. The action of spending money; the amount spent.
| a 1688 Bunyan Israel's Hope Encouraged Wks. 1855 I. 618 What if I cannot but live upon the spend all my days, yet, if my friend will always supply my need, is it not well for me? c 1800 J. Newton in R. Cecil Life (1853) 169 A man always in society, is one always on the spend. 1904 Sat. Rev. 17 Dec. 751 The suggestion that the Government is ‘on the spend’. 1976 Computers in Higher Education & Research: Next Decade (Dept. Educ. & Sci.) 22 About {pstlg}21 million should be spent for universities on new machines, buildings and operating costs..with a spend of about {pstlg}10 million for research councils for similar purposes. 1982 ICL News Oct. 4/1 On the hardware side customer spends are relatively high—typically around {pstlg}3 million for an installation. 1983 Observer 16 Jan. 8/4 The battle for advertising spend. |
b. ellipt. for ‘spending money’. Freq. in pl. colloq. and dial. (chiefly northern).
| 1970 Guardian 9 Dec. 9/2, I can remember when Lancashire children..turned over their unopened wage packet to Mum, who gave them back very modest ‘spends’. 1976 West Lancs. Even. Gaz. 13 Dec. 6/2 What do other OAPs get for ‘spends’. 1977 P. Carter Under Goliath xxiii. 127 Nearly everyone I knew got their spends on Friday night so they would all be at the pictures. |
† 2. Obs. slang. Semen, vaginal secretion; ejaculation. Cf. spend v.1 15 c.
| 1879–80 Pearl (1970) 13, I felt her crack deluged with a warm, creamy spend whilst my own juice spurted..in loving sympathy. Ibid. 217 You dissembling, bleeding, rotten..lump of shit, rubbed over with a little spend. c 1888–94 My Secret Life III. 143, I could always go on pushing after a spend in those days, my prick would not loose its stiffness for minutes afterwards. 1891 Simple Tale of Suzan Aked (1898) iii. 100 Then, of course, not a drop of spend can get into me, because it is all caught by the letter. |
▪ II. spend, n.2 Sc.
[f. spend v.3]
A spring, leap, bound. Also fig.
| 1825 in Jamieson Suppl. 1828 Moir Mansie Wauch xix. 277 Making a spend like a greyhound. |
▪ III. spend, v.1
(spɛnd)
Pa. tense and pple. spent. Forms: inf. 4–7 spende (5 spendyn), 4– spend. pa. tense 3–5 spende; 4–5 spended (5 -ide, -yd; Sc. 5 -yt, 6 -it); 4 spente, 5– spente. pa. pple. 3–4 i-spend, 4–6 spend(e; 3 i-spendet, 4 spendet, 5 -ut(te, 6 Sc. -it; 4 i-spended, 4–5 spendid, 4–6 -yd, spended (5 -ede); 2, 5 i-spent, 6 y-spent, 4– spent (6 spynt), 5–6 spente.
[OE. *spendan (cf. spendung and á-, forspendan), ad. L. expendĕre (cf. It. spendere, Sp. espender), which was also adopted in other Germanic languages, as OHG. spendôn, spentôn (MHG. and G. spenden), OS. *spendôn (MLG. and MDu. spenden), ON. spenna. The ME. spende, however, may also have been formed aphetically from OF. despendre dispend v.: cf. spence. From the early ME. pa. tense and pple. a new inf. spene v. was formed, on the analogy of such verbs as wene ween; the converse process took place in lend v.2]
I. trans.
1. a. Of persons: To pay out or away; to disburse or expend; to dispose of, or deprive oneself of, in this way.
The object is usually money, or a particular sum of this, but occas. a more general term denoting property or wealth, esp. in earlier use.
| c 1175 Moral Ode 28 in O.E. Hom. I. 161 Al to muchel ich habbe ispent, to litel ihud in horde. c 1280 Sarmun 25 in E.E.P. (1862) 4 And bot þou hit hab ispend ariȝte Þe gode þat god þe haþ ilend of ihsu criste þou lesist þe siȝt. a 1300 Cursor M. 17507 Þai..gaf þam giftes gret to spend. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 5 Lest freris ypocrisie and wynnyng be stoppid and þe peples almes betere spendid. 1436 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 190 Oure money [is] spente alle to lytelle avayle. c 1491 Chast. Goddes Chyld. (Caxton) 69 Riches and worshippes ben but lente to man for a tyme to yelde rekeninge of hem how they ben spended. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lx. 211 To seke hym I haue spent all my golde and syluer. 1574 J. Dee in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 34, I have..spent very many hundred powndes. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 5 After he had spent most part of his means, he became a soldier. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 406 The Farmer to full Bowls invites his Friends, And what he got with Pains, with Pleasure spends. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §2 When money is spent, it is all one to the public who spends it. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. ii. iii. (1904) I. 378 That portion of his revenue which a rich man annually spends. 1827 Scott Chron. Canongate iii, If I lost the estate, I at least spent the price. 1894 Temple Bar CII. 340 She spent his money and led him such a life. |
| prov. 1548 in Strype Eccl. Mem. (1721) II. App. Q. 51 Evil gotten, worse spent. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 62 Soone gotten, soone spent, yll gotten yll spent. Ibid. 154 Lyttle good, soone spended. |
| fig. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. ii. iv. 41 Sir, if you spend word for word with me, I shall make your wit bankrupt. 1663 Dryden Wild Gallant Prol., And for Wit, those that boast their own Estate, Forget Fletcher and Ben before them went, Their Elder Brothers, and that vastly spent. |
b. Const. with prepositions, as † about, for, in, on, or upon.
| a 1225 Leg. Kath. 101 For hare sake ane dale ha etheold of hire ealdrene god & spende al þet oðer in neodfule & in nakede. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 101 On leches heo hadde i-spendet Muche del of hire guod. c 1325 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 69 He spende al is tresour opon swyvyng. c 1400 Brut clxxiii. 195 His tresoure þat he hade spendede about his werre. c 1440 Gesta Rom. x. 32 (Harl. MS.), Also he spende ij{supd} vpon him selfe. 1528 Star Chamber Cases (Selden) II. 177 [He] says he hasse a M{supl} pownd to spend in the law ayenst hys Neyburus. 1578 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 307 For sondrey parcells by him boughte & brought into the office to be spente about the rock. 1611 Bible Isaiah lv. 2 Wherefore doe yee spend money for that which is not bread? 1696 Prideaux Lett. (Camden) 176 After all y⊇ interest he could make and many thousands spent in y⊇ canvas. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 56 The poor Souls..are oblig'd to spend their Pay upon the very Wine that was assign'd them. 1735 Johnson Lobo's Abyssinia Descr. i. 45 They..spent their Wealth in costly Ornaments for Churches, and Vessels for the Altars. 1883 F. M. Peard Contrad. I. 23 She spent a fortune in shoes and gloves. 1897 W. C. Hazlitt 4 Generations II. 185 When his lordship told her that he had spent upon her enough to build the Great Eastern. 1971 Publishers' Weekly 4 Oct. 42/2 Countless people..have longed to own the Oxford dictionary and could not afford to spend $300 for it. 1977 H. Fast Immigrants 6 Anna persuaded him..to spend two dollars for a heavy jacket. |
† c. To give away (a garment) in payment. Obs.
| c 1440 Jacob's Well 157 Brynge hedyr þat pilgrym þat spendyd ȝister evyn his slaueyn at þe wyn! 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 133 He loues women well; he will spende Goddes Coope if he had it. 1575 Gamm. Gurton ii. iv. 40 By the masse, chil rather spend the cote that is on my backe! |
† d. To levy charges on (a person). Only in the phrase spend me and defend me. Obs.
| 1590 Payne Brief Descr. Ireland (1841) 4 They haue a common saying which I am persuaded they speak vnfeinedly, which is, Defend me and spend me. 1596 Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 624/1 They..are very loth to yeld any certayne rent, but onely such spendinges, saying commmonly, ‘Spend me and defend me’. |
† e. With dative of the person whose money is expended. Obs.
| 1609 B. Jonson Sil. Woman iv. i, She spends me forty pounds a year in mercury and hogs-bones. 1666 Pepys Diary 21 Feb., A little vexed to see myself so beset with people to spend me money. |
2. absol. To exercise, make, or incur expenditure of money, goods, means, etc.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8026 Him ne roȝte hou he spende, ne wat, he was so prout. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1157 Not Avarice..Was half to gripe so ententyf, As Largesse is to yeve and spende. c 1440 Jacob's Well 207 Þi wyif & chyld muste sparyngly..spendyn of þi euyl getyn good. 1530 Palsgr. 728/1 This gere can nat laste longe, for he spendeth a pace and getteth nothyng. 1595 Lodge Fig for Momus H 1 b, Spend on thy house, to tyle it from the raine. 1652 J. Wright tr. Camus' Nat. Paradox vi. 115 These Strangers,..spending high, and making such cheer as the others were not accustomed to see. 1860 Ruskin Unto this Last iv. §72 The vital question for individual and for nation is..‘to what purpose do they spend?’ 1869 Lowell Under Willows 162 To spend in all things else, But of old friends to be most miserly. |
| prov. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 54 Spend, and god shall send,..saith tholde ballet. 1636 Sir R. Baker Cato Variegatus 32 Tis an old saying; spend, and God will send. |
b. In the phrase to spend and be spent.
| 1611 Bible 2 Cor. xii. 15 And I wil very gladly spend and bee spent for you. 1694 Penn Rise & Progr. Quakers iii. 66 They could have no design to themselves in this Work, thus to expose themselves to Scorn and Abuse; to spend and be spent. 1828 Carlyle Misc. (1857) I. 236 Counting it blessedness enough so to spend and be spent. |
3. To expend or employ (labour, material, thought, etc.) in some specified way: a. Const. on or upon.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20857 It es na spede our suinc to spend On thing we may noght bring til end. c 1400 Destr. Troy 6502 The tother speire, þat he sparit, [he] spent vpon hym. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 541 The plauntys sette is stonys to sustene, And donged lond vpon the rootys spende. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iii. ii. 74 You spend your passion on a misprisd mood. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. iv. §2 Then did Sturmius spend such infinite and curious pains upon Cicero the Orator. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ ii. vii. §1 Their great R. Abravanel, who spends his whole 13 Chapter de capite fidei upon it. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 19 He spends a great deal of puzzling Thought upon his Boat's Crew. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 2 It concerns the judicious Husbandman to consider the Nature of the Land he is to spend his Time, Cost and Labour upon. 1822 Lamb Elia i. Distant Corresp., As useless as a passion spent upon the dead. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 170 Why do you spend many words and speak in many ways on this subject? |
b. Const. in.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28493 O spusail i haf þe halines In lust al spended o my fles. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxix. 9 Ȝe neid nocht..paper for to spend, nor ink, In the ressaueing of my soumes. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. ii. i. 19 To be counted wise, In spending your wit in the praise of mine. 1663 Extr. St. Papers rel. Friends ii. (1911) 181 All the paines and cost therein spent was casting good money after bad. 1696 Tate & Brady Ps. cii. 5, I spend my Breath in Groans. 1728 Pemberton Newton's Philos. 319 It will be necessary to spend a few words in explaining what is meant by the refraction of light. 1889 Nature 24 Oct. 613 The equivalence of the work spent in overcoming fluid. |
c. With other constructions.
| c 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 2431 Þe byhoves acounte yhelde..how þow has spendyd þi wittes fife. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 224 For the better thy speche thou spende. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xliv. (Percy Soc.) 214 And thus in vaine thou hast thy labour spent. a 1529 Skelton Agst. Garnesche iv. 176 My study myght be better spynt. 1619 Fletcher, etc. Knt. Malta iii. ii, My last breath cannot Be better spent, than to say I forgive you. 1648 Gage West Ind. xx. 175, I would spend my best endeavours for the helping and furthering of them. a 1763 W. King Polit. & Lit. Anecd. (1819) 154 To spend three or four whole pages to prove that this is neither Latin nor sense. |
d. To express (an opinion). Now dial.
| 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. ii. s.v., To spend his Verdict, to give one's Opinion. 1902 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 19 July 209 An Ulster man will ask his medical adviser to ‘spend his opinion’ on a case. |
4. a. To employ, occupy, use or pass (time, one's life, etc.) in or on some action, occupation, or state.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 28259 Þe tyme þat ic in lijf has lende In idel-nes ic haue it spende. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 650 Cleopatra, And thus the longe day in fight they spende. c 1482 J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege Rhodes (1870) ¶2 The space of .iii. yeres which were spended and occupped in the conseylyng of thes werkes. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxi. (Percy Soc.) 150 That you your youth in ydelness wyll spende. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 137 The space of two dayes followyng, was spent in Godly admonitions. 1600 Holland Livy x. xxii. 367 Thus in handling of these matters was that day spent. 1669 Sturmy Mariners' Mag. ii. ii. 52 Men..spending their spare-time on this Practice. a 1701 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 142 After about half an hour spent in surveying this place. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. vii. 69 Philip, whose Youth was spent in Feats of War. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. iv. 19 He spent his time in training horses. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. i. i. iii, Christophe de Beaumont, who has spent his life in persecuting hysterical Jansenists. 1859 Jephson Brittany viii. 112 The morning..was spent in walking about Morlaix. |
b. With other complements.
| a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxii. 347 Þenk þenne..Hou þou hast spendet þi tyme honeste. a 1440 Relig. Pieces fr. Thornton MS. 19 Þan sall þou besyly thynke how þou hase spende þat day (or þat nyghte). 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 243 Would you haue me spend the floure of my youth, as you doe the withered rase of your age? 1621 T. Williamson tr. Goulart's Wise Vieillard 46 Young men (for the most part) spend their time badly. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 56 They are extreamly Lazy, spending the whole day sitting on a Divan. 1715 De Foe Fam. Instruct. i. v. (1841) I. 109 How do they spend the sabbath at your aunt's? 1799 H. More Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 120 They do not scruple to allow their daughters to spend almost the whole of their time exactly like the daughters of worldly people. 1808 Scott in Lockhart (1837) I. i. 35 My time with him, though short, was spent greatly to my advantage. 1891 Marie A. Brown tr. Runeberg's Nadeschda 13 Many hours had been thus sweetly spent. |
c. ellipt. To pass (the day, evening, etc.) in social intercourse or entertainment, or as a guest.
| 1697 J. Lewis Mem. Dk. Glocester (1789) 51 Mrs. Atkinson invited Lady Harriot and Lady Anne Churchill one day to dine with her, in her chamber, and spend the day. 1843 Dickens Christmas Carol iii, The very lamp-lighter..was dressed to spend the evening somewhere. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. iii, I'm so glad you's come! Missis is gone to spend the afternoon. |
5. a. To use up; to exhaust or consume by use; to wear out. In later use freq. with force, fury, etc., as object.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8332 Þe sarazins wiþoute wuste..Þat no maner liflode ne miȝte to hom wende; So þat þo hii adde ispend þat wiþinne was [etc.]. a 1375 Lay Folks Mass-bk. App. iv. 347 Whon his parchemyn was al spende, He rauhte þe Rolle bi þe ende Wiþ his teth a-non. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 331 Þey chaungede nevere hosen and schoon, noþer cloþinge, but whan þey were i-tore or i-spend. c 1440 Jacob's Well 206 And it be spendyd or wastyd, þou art noȝt bounde to restore it. 1535 Coverdale Deut. xxxii. 23 I wil heape myscheues vpon them, I wil spende all myne arowes at [1611 vpon] them. ? 1580 Lodge Sch. Abuse A iv, Did not they spende one candle by seeking another. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado i. i. 281 If Cupid haue not spent all his Quiuer in Venice. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Ch. Porch li, If thou be Master-gunner, spend not all That thou canst speak, at once. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 176 The Thunder..Perhaps hath spent his shafts. 1707 Floyer Physic. Pulse-Watch 90 A great Contention of the Mind spends the Spirits, but if it be moderate, it only spends the Humidity of the Lympha. 1757 W. Wilkie Epigoniad vii. 220 Erring from the course, In mazes wide, the rower spent his force. 1781 J. Moore View Soc. It. (1790) I. viii. 87 Having spent their fury in the destruction of the tyrant. 1802 James Milit. Dict. s.v., To spend all your ammunition. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 285 Meanwhile the war, which seemed for the moment to have spent its force in Italy, had broken out with fresh fury in Sicily. |
| transf. a 1656 Ussher Ann. vi. (1658) 104 Into them he put all such as he suspected for enemies at home, desiring Cambyses that he would spend them there and never send them home again. |
b. To bring to a violent end; to destroy; to consume by destruction or wasting; † to disperse or dissipate; to reduce or convert into something.
| c 1435 Torr. Portugal 2010 Tho men of armes theder went, Anon they had theyre hors spent, Her guttys oute she rave. 1481 Cely Papers (Camden) 80 Aull the whowlschypys ar cwm to Calles savyng vij, qwher of ij be spente. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 133 The saide William W. occupyed the sayde shyppe and spent her att Caleys, in soo moche that alle the gables, sayles, and other takell..he solde them at Caleis. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. xxi. 104 On the countrie of Scotland..Thair is na mendis..With speid till thay be spendit. 1668 Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. xvii. 47 Each branch..being again divided into other lesser ones, they are at last spent into Veins and Arteries as smal as Hairs. 1672 H. Savile Engagement with Dutch Fleet 6 A Fireship [was] taken, and we forced them to Spend most of the rest. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 81 When a plague so deadly..Spent that slender city. |
† c. Of emotion, action, etc.: To deprive (a person) of energy, strength, or resources; to exhaust or wear out. Obs.
| 1582 T. Watson Centurie of Love xix. 55, I whom Loue hath spent. 1616 J. Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. viii. 30 Tell him I will auxiliaries send him, gainst warrs all difficulties, whiche maie spende him. 1674 J. Flavel Husb. Spiritual. Proem 9 It spends a minister to preach, but more to be silent. |
d. refl. Of persons or things: To exhaust or wear out (oneself or itself); to become incapable of further activity; to cease to operate.
| (a) a 1593 Marlowe & Nashe Dido i. i, Here is this bush..will I stand, Whiles my Aeneas spends himself in plaints. 1613 Heywood Braz. Age ii. ii. Wks. 1874 III. 208 Why should we..spend ourselues on accidentall wrongs? 1658 T. Langley in Thurloe Papers VII. 463 They [Quakers] cry out soe loude in their preachings, that they..spend themselves extreemly. 1718 Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell i. xx. 44 He spending himself..in his Labours of Love. 1823 Mrs. Sherwood Henry Milner iii. vii, Suppose you go and spend yourself with a run,..and then we will have some discourse. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. ii. iv. viii, Man after man spends himself in this cause. 1868 Nettleship Ess. Browning vi. 233 He never rested until he had spent himself in asserting those claims. |
| (b) 1663 S. Patrick Parab. Pilgrim xxiii. (1687) 236 This voice was intercepted by a new passion like to the former, though it was not long before it had spent it self. 1664 Power Exp. Philos. iii. 155 Camphire, which spends itself by continually Effluviating its own component Particles. 1705 Collier Ess. Mor. Subj. iii. Pain 25 For Torment like a Storm spends itself, and is destroy'd by its own Force. 1777 Priestley Matt. & Spir. Pref. (1782) p. ix, The popular Clamour may have spent itself. 1791 Cowper Yardley Oak 86 Thought cannot spend itself, comparing still The great and little of thy lot. |
6. a. To suffer the loss of (blood, life, etc.); to allow to be shed or spilt.
| [a 1340 Hampole Psalter xx. 1 Swa that..he spend noght his preciouse blode in vayn on vs.] c 1400 Rom. Rose 5440 Wenyng with hym they wolde abide..And also for hem to spende her bloode. 1516 Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 37/2 For conservacioun of quhais persoun we are determit to spend oure Livis. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 6 Knowing that whereas one death is dewe to nature, the same is more honourably spent in such attemptes as may be to the glorye of God. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 125 To royalize his blood, I spent mine owne. 1751 Affect. Narr. of Wager 53 They..would still spend their Lives for his Defence. 1868 Nettleship Ess. Browning vi. 158 Money which they had spent no sweat to obtain. |
† b. Naut. To lose or incur the loss of (a mast, yard, sail, etc.) through bad weather or by some accident. Obs. (Freq. in the 17th c.)
| 1591 Hon. Actions of E. Glemham Cij, In which storme he spent his Maine Mast, which had beene before fysht. c 1635 N. Boteler Dial. Sea Services (1685) 164 When a Mast or Yard is broken down by foul Weather, or any other accident, the Sea-word is, the Mast or Yard is spent. 1665 Lond. Gaz. No. 14/3 She was much beaten at Sea by storm, having spent her Main-mast and Fore-mast. 1694 Motteux Rabelais v. xviii. 79 Lest we should spend our Topsails. |
7. a. To use for food or drink; to consume in this way; to eat or drink.
Common from c 1550 to c 1700, freq. with the addition in one's house or family; now dial.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 217 God made alle goode mete & drynke couenable for men schulden spende it & lyue þer-by. a 1425 Cursor M. 13410 (Trin.) Þe good drynke shulde furst spende [Cott. dispend] And þe weiker at þe ende. c 1450 Lovelich Grail lvi. 74 Of Cornes ȝe haven..gret plente, More thanne be ȝoure howshold spendid schal be. 1468 Cov. Leet Bk. 338 Hit is ordeyned þat no house⁓holder frohensfurth bye no more butter þen he well spend in his owne house. 1551 R. Ascham Let. Wks. 1865 I. ii. 257 Isles..so full of walnut trees that they cannot be spent with eating, but they make oile of them. 1577 Harrison England in Holinshed (1587) 170/1 Malt..feedeth vpon the hop,..which being extinguished the drinke must be spent or else it dieth. 1657 Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer (1661) 279 If any of the Bread And Wine remain,..if consecrated, it is all to be spent..by the Communicants. 1670 J. Smith Eng. Improv. Reviv'd 190 Houses for keeping Pheasants, Partidges, and other Fowl to be spent in the Family, or sold at Markets. 1719 London & Wise Compl. Gard. 44 So great a quantity of Fruit..that 'twill be all we can do to spend them before the Rottenness..surprizes them. 1743 Lond. & Country Brewer ii. (ed. 2) 155 For Beer or Ale that is to be spent presently, two, three, or four, to eight Bushels will suffice. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia s.v., We spend so much meat, flour, cheese, etc. in our family weekly. |
| absol. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 404 Or let a tonne of barly hem comprende Vchon from other; close hit til thou spende. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 202 Thairfoir sic [good fare] as thow seis, spend on, and not spair. |
† b. To serve, serve up (a dish, food, etc.). Obs.
| c 1350 Will. Palerne 4324 Þann were spacli spices spended al a-boute, fulsumli at þe ful to eche freke þer-inne. c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 31 Make hit þyke inowghe þenne, Whenne þou hit spendes byfore gode menne. |
c. Agric. To use (a crop, hay, etc.) as food or fodder for cattle; to eat off.
| 1733 Tull Horse-Hoeing Husb. x. 104 There are now Three Manners of Spending Turneps with Sheep. 1764 Museum Rust. II. lix. 171 When I sow vetches before wheat, I always, in the spending my crop, have regard to the condition of my land. 1789 T. Wright Meth. Watering Meadows (1790) 7 The farmer..has an hundred tons of hay to carry off and spend upon his other ground. 1823 E. Moor Suffolk Words s.v., To spend all the stover, straw, and turnips on the land. |
8. To make use of; to use or employ. Now rare.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 2458 Sparrethis spetous to spend & speris in handis. c 1450 Vrbanitatis 74 in Babees Bk., In chambur among ladyes bryȝth, Kepe þy tonge & spende þy syȝth. 1570 J. Campion in Hakluyt's Voy. (1599) II. i. 117 The oiles which we do spend in England for our cloth, are brought out of Spaine. 1621 in Foster Eng. Factories Ind. (1906) I. 259 In other places yt [i.e. coral] ys much spent to burne with the dead. a 1692 H. Pollexfen Disc. Trade (1697) 129 If it be considered that all persons of all degrees, did wear, or spend, some of those Commodities. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 12 Oct. 1641, A Light-horse-man (as they call it) taking us in, we spent our tide as far as Greenwich. 1845 Browning Time's Revenges 47 You shall see how the Devil spends A fire God gave for other ends! |
9. a. To expend or employ (speech or language); to utter or emit (a word, sound, etc.).
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 410 If I spende no speche, þenne spedez þou þe better. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. viii. 50 Ac he þat spendeþ his speche and spekeþ for þe pore. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 274, I knaw quhat thou of rethorike hes spent. 1576 Gascoigne Philomene Wks. 1910 II. 181 The piteous pleasant notes, Which Phylomene doth darkely spend in spring. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, ii. v. 38, I may embrace his Neck, And in his Bosom spend my latter gaspe. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 20 However the false pretenders unto Wisdom are ready..to spend their censures thus injuriously. |
† b. to spend the mouth, tongue, etc. Of hunting dogs: To bark or give tongue on finding or seeing the game. Also fig. Obs.
| 1590 Cokaine Treat. Hunting D ij b, He will vent so oft, and put vp ouer water, at which time the houndes will spend their mouthes verie lustely. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 70. a 1627 H. Shirley Mart. Soldier iii. i. in Bullen Old Pl. (1882) I. 203 A packe of the bravest Spartan Dogges in the world; if they do but once open and spend there gabble, gabble, gabble it will make the Forest ecchoe. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes 3 The onely difference I finde is, these doe not spend their mouthes, but what they want in that is supplyed by the goodnesse of their noses. 1682 N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iv. 228 Nor was it Reason that the gutted Fops Should spend their Tongues, who could not use their Chops. |
† c. absol. = prec. Obs.
| 1602 2nd Pt. Return Parnass. ii. v. 826 Hunters luck Sir, but there was a fault in your Hounds that did not spend well. 1651 Cleveland Poems 12 The Ven'sons now in view, our hounds spend deeper. 1672 R. Wild Poet. Licent. 39 Hanging 's the end By Huntsmen's Rule, of Hounds that will not spend. 1741 Compl. Fam.-Piece ii. i. 290 Then draw with more Care, checking your Hound, lest he spends when he comes so near as to have him in the Wind. |
| fig. 1643 Sir T. Browne Relig. Med. ii. §3 For then reason like a bad hound spends upon a false sent. 1682 S. Pordage Medal Rev. 233 Let the hot Tories, and their Poet Curse, They spend in vain, and you are ne'r the worse. |
d. To allow or cause to flow; to shed.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. i. v, If hee is guiltlesse, why should teares be spent? 1697 Phil. Trans. XIX. 373 Whether any part of the Tree (as Body, Root, or Branch) will spend it [i.e. gum] being purposely Wounded. 1820 Scott Monast. xxvi, And you, Sir Knight, think better of us than to suppose you may spend Scottish blood, and reckon for it as for wine spilt in a drunken revel. |
10. a. To consume, employ, use superfluously, wastefully, or with undue lavishness; to waste or squander; to throw away.
In some instances the sense is conveyed by the addition of in vain, to no purpose, etc.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 395 Many on..Whiche after felle in gret desese Thurgh wast of love, that thei spente. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxxi. (Percy Soc.) 154 Wo worth love that I do spend in wast. 1530 Palsgr. 728/1, I spende, as men..wastyth any thyng in vayne, je consume. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 22 Wherby it commeth to passe, that such quick and hastie Harquebuziers, doo worke no other effect but spend powder, match & shot. 1604 Shakes. Oth. ii. iii. 195 What's the matter That you vnlace your reputation thus, And spend your rich opinion, for the Name Of a night-brawler? 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 61 The impatient horses..do spend before the race thousand and thousand steppes to no purpose. 1827 Scott Highl. Widow v, I am a fool..to spend my words upon an idle..unintelligent boy. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay xi, The horror and disgust of the creature on whom you spent your life! |
b. To waste (time).
| a 1604 Hanmer Chron. Ireland (1809) 123 Brother Lazerianus (saith he) let us not spend time, neither trouble this people with this tedious question. 1658–9 Sir R. Temple in Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 44, I am sorry this has spent your time. I do not see what fruit you will have by recommitting it, unless to spend as much more of your time. 1720 J. Clarke Educ. Youth 27 Those vain Amusements that have been found out to make Boys spend their Time at School. |
11. To allow (time, one's life, etc.) to pass or go by; to live or stay through (a certain period) to the end. Cf. sense 4.
| 1423 Acts Privy Counc. III. 90 His forsayd retenu..continued fro yere to yere unto four yer was nere spendid and passid. c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. xii. 501 Tho iij dayes spende, They vessel hit. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxix. 35 Remember thow hes compt to mak Off all thi tyme thow spendit heir. 1565 Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 191 Spending all the daies of my life, in the mansion of the same monastery. 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 12, I spent this winter at Leipzig. c 1643 Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 7 His son..went to the Low Country Wars, and after some time spent there, came home. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. i. §1 If you and Dion would spend a week at my house. 1784 Cowper Task i. 547 And now she roams The dreary waste; there spends the livelong day. 1854 Ld. Houghton in T. W. Reid Life (1891) I. xi. 498, I have been spending six weeks in Ireland. 1886 C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xx. (ed. 3) 199 A journey into the country affords perhaps the most rational and pleasant way of spending Sunday. |
† 12. a. To cause or involve expenditure of (something). Obs.
| 1616 Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 248 The putting off of the arraignments spent much money. 1674 S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 451, 5 Guns in 2 Days spend 60 Barrels of Powder. 1703 R. N[eve] City & C. Purchaser 276 A great Covering with these spends but little Mortar..and but little time in laying. |
b. To occupy, take up, or waste (time). † Also with double object.
| a 1627 Donne Lett. (1651) 172 It spent me so little time after going, that [etc.]. a 1631 ― Six Serm. i. (1634) 2 That earth and that heaven which spent God himself..six dayes in finishing. a 1649 Winthrop New. Eng. (1825) I. 140 The main business, which spent the most time,..was about the removal of Newtown. |
13. Const. with adverbs, as away, out, up, in various senses.
| 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 609/2 Therin he spendeth vp that Chapiter. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 16 b, Some ther bee, that in lyngreyng & drivyng foorth..spenden out all their life. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 405, I was fully determined..to haue spent away the tedious time, in some talke. 1602 Carew Cornwall 157 b, The Cornish forces..encamped themselues on the greene,..and there spent out the night. 1650 Trapp Comm. Deut. xxxii. 23, ‘I will spend mine arrowes,’ which yet cannot be all spent up. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxvii, She..reproached herself for having flung away such a treasure. It was gone indeed. William had spent it all out. |
II. intr.
† 14. Of time, the season, etc.: To pass, elapse. Obs.
| 1607 S. Collins Serm. (1608) 11 To finish this, because the time spendeth so fast. c 1614 Sir W. Mure Dido & æneas ii. 246 Before the palace all the cowrt attends The Queen's aryvall, whil the morning spends. 1681 R. Knox Hist. Ceylon 120 The time and season of the year spending for the ship to proceed on her voyage. |
† 15. a. To be consumed, dispersed, exhausted, or used up; to pass off or away. Obs.
| 1626 Bacon Sylva §129 The Sound spendeth, and is dissipated in the Open Aire. Ibid. §622 The Vines..are so often cut, and so much digged and dressed, that their Sap spendeth into the Grapes. 1643 J. Steer tr. Exp. Chyrurg. vi. 25 He shall diligently take notice how the blacknesse of the powder spendeth away. 1704 N. N. tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. III. 247 [They] never thought it worth their while to examine how the Oil spent, or the Taper burn'd. |
† b. Of a storm: To die down, exhaust its force or fury. Obs.—1
| 1655 Vaughan Silex Scint. iii. Thalia Rediv. 237 Giving the tempest time to spend. |
c. To ejaculate; to have an orgasm. slang.
| 1662 Pepys Diary 7 Sept. (1970) 191, I went up to her and played and talked with her and, God forgive me, did feel her; which I am much ashamed of, but I did no more, though I had so much a mind to it that I spent in my breeches. 1714 Cabinet of Love 19 For at one instant both together spent. 1763 Wilkes & Potter Essay on Woman, Oft when we spend we propagate unknown. 1868 Index Expurgatorius of Martial 1 When you say, Hedylus, ‘I shall spend, finish if you mean to finish’, my flame languishes. 1922 Joyce Ulysses 739 He made me spend the 2nd time tickling me behind with his finger. 1980 R. L. Duncan Brimstone vii. 163 He felt himself spending at the very moment she contracted around him. |
16. a. Of foodstuffs, wheat, hay, etc.: To turn out or prove in use to be of a certain quality; to last or hold out well. Now dial.
| 1673 Temple Ess., Ireland Wks. 1720 I. 115 They had observed [that] it [i.e. butter] spent as if it came from the richest Soil of the two. 1687 Miége Gt. Fr. Dict. s.v., Meat that spends well. 1763 Museum Rust. I. 156 It [wheat] was sold in the public markets, and declared..to spend as well as if it had been of the last year's growth. 1764 Ibid. II. 210 Yet did this hay spend as well as if it had been got in never so favourably. 1840 Spurdens Suppl. Forby's E. Angl. Gloss s.v., The meal spends well, i.e. it holds out well; lasts long. |
b. dial. To produce or yield (well).
| 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. s.v., Corn that yields well is said to spend well. 1893 Wilts. Gloss. 152 How do your taters spend to-year? |
17. Of a liquid: To flow or run. ? Obs.
| 1735 Dict. Polygraph. I. S 4 White-lead;..let it be as stiff as it well can be to spend well from the pencil. 1742 Lond. & Country Brew. i. (ed. 4) 28 Taking particular Care..to return two, three, or more Hand-bowls of Wort into the Mash-tub, that first of all runs off, till it comes absolutely fine and clear, and then it may spend away, or run off for good. 1811 Self Instructor 535 Fustic..spends with or without salts. |
▪ IV. spend, v.2 Now dial.
[Alteration of spen v.]
† 1. trans. To grasp (a spear). Obs.
| c 1430 Syr Tryam. 828 A spere spendyd he thare; He prekyd to the kyng with fors. a 1500 Chevy Chase 84 He sawe the Duglas to the deth was dyght; He spendyd a spear, a trusti tre. |
2. dial. (See quot.)
| 1877 N.W. Linc. Gloss. 234 Spend up, to brace up the hames of harness. |
▪ V. spend, v.3 Sc.
[Of obscure origin.]
intr. To spring, leap, dash.
| 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xviii. (S.T.S.) I. 106 [She] draif þe chariot oure hir faderis body, with sic violence þat..þe blude of hir faderis body spendit on hir face. 1808 Jamieson, Spend, to spring. 1839 Moir Mansie Wauch (ed. 2) xxii. 275 Holding the naig's head, in case it should spend off, and capsize the concern. |
▪ VI. spend, v.4 Mining.
(See quot. 1860.)
| 1847 in Halliwell. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss., Cornw. (ed. 2) 24 Spend, to break ground; to work away. |