▪ I. treasure, n.
(ˈtrɛʒ(j)ʊə(r), -ə(r))
Forms: 2–6 tresor, 3–6 -ur, -our, 4–6 -ore, -oure, 5 -owre, -er, 5–6 -ure, 5 treysour, treasoure, 5–6 -our, 6 -or, 6– treasure. (Also 4–5 trissor, 4–6 tressour, 7 treassour; 4 thresur, 5–6 -our, -oure, 6 threasour, -ure.)
[In 12th c. tresor, a. OF. tresor (11th c. in Littré):—pop.L. of Gaul *trēsaur-us for cl.L. thēsaur-us (whence Pr. thesaur, OCat. tesor, Sp., It. tesoro, Pg. thesouro), a. Gr. θησαυρός treasure. Cf. the Sc. thesaur.]
1. a. Wealth or riches stored or accumulated, esp. in the form of precious metals; gold or silver coin; hence in general, money, riches, wealth. Usually collective, without article or plural.
| 1154 O.E. Chron. an. 1137 (Laud MS.), He hadde ᵹet his tresor ac he to deld it & scatered sotlice. a 1225 Ancr. R. 150 Þe þet bereð tresor openliche in one weie þet is al ful of þeoues. c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II 321 in Pol. Songs (Camden) 338 Thurfte him noht seke tresor so fer. 13.. Cursor M. 16534 (Gött.) He kest þaim dune apon þe grund, threti penis þar fell. Bot þe Iuus..Þe thresur [v.r. tresour] forsok þai noght. Ibid. 24807 (Cott.) Wit trissor [Edin. tresori] son his scipp was tift. 1480 Caxton Chron. Eng. iv. (1520) 31/2 Linus and..Cletus..were made to mynyster the treasoure of the chyrche to the people. 1597 J. Payne Royal Exch. 44 Where a mans threasure ys there is his hart. 1599 Massinger, etc. Old Law i. i, To fly my severe country; To turn all into treasure. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 71 A Man that..look'd upon five or six of those Pieces to be a great Treasure. 1695 Locke Further Consid. Value Money 23 Gold is Treasure as well as Silver, because it decays not in keeping, and never sinks much in its value. 1750 tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 50 Some stones..preserve and increase treasure; others cure diseases. 1821 Byron Mar. Fal. v. i, Goods, and jewels, and all kinds of treasure. |
b. pl. in same sense.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 98 Now is Henry..lord of mykelle þing, & riche man of tresours. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 184 To take and yeve right nought ageyne, And gret tresouris up to leyne. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. iv. (1883) 108 The resseyuours of the tresours royall. 1596 Raleigh Discov. Gviana 9 Greate Cities, Townes, Temples, and threasures. 1838 Murray's Hand Bk. N. Germ. 45/1 The treasures of the once celebrated bank of Amsterdam..were kept in the vaults below the building. 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art 4 The last coin out of all their treasures. |
c. fig.| 1382 Wyclif Luke xviii. 22 Sille thou alle..and ȝyue to pore men, and thou schalt haue tresour in heuene. 1753 Challoner Cath. Chr. Instr. 128 The Treasure of the Church..are the Merits and Satisfactions of Christ and his Saints. |
† d. A store or stock
of anything valuable.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Jer. xli. 8 Wee han tresor in the feld, of whete, and of barly, and of oile, and of hony. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. v. 217 The Creator hath furnished the Weast Indies with so great a treasure of silver. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 55 A Treasure of central Fire, that manifests itself by the Vents of the Vulcanos. |
† e. = treasure-trove.
Obs. rare.
| 1602 W. Fulbecke 1st Pt. Parall. 16 A treasure properly is, when money or things of good value haue lyen from time out of minde hidden in the ground, so that no man now hath propertie in it. |
f. treasure found: see
treasure-trove b.
2. transf. and
fig. Anything valued and preserved as precious; also of a person, a ‘jewel’, ‘gem’ (
colloq.); also as an affectionate term of address.
| c 1200 Vices & Virt. 135 Þat derworðe tresor, þat is, ðe hali gast. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxv. 11, I am rych in gostly tresoure. c 1530 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 83 A seruaunt to suffer in anger, to his mayster is a treasure. 1611 Sir W. Mure Misc. Poems i. 79 To losse ane Infinit and endles treassour. 1663 Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxii. (1687) 393 A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found such an one, hath found a Treasure. 1791 Boswell Johnson 16 May an. 1778, Let me then comfort myself with the large treasure of Johnson's conversation which I have preserved. 1810 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) I. 18 My month nurse, a treasure, and the most respectable of dames. 1844 A. B. Welby Poems (1867) 97 Our treasures are this little boy, contentment, peace, and health. 1907 Verney Mem. II. 60 The fine house and its treasures. 1920 ‘K. Mansfield’ Let. 31 Oct. (1977) 194 But, my treasure, my life is ours. You know it. 1967 N. Freeling Strike Out 40 Next week, treasure, we're going to make a cruise... Go and buy yourself some clothes. |
† 3. A treasury; a treasure-house, a treasure-chest.
Obs. rare.
| [1382 Wyclif 1 Kings xv. 18 Al the siluer and gold, that lafte in the tresours [v.r. tresories] of the hows of the Lord.] 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 8837 She tooke [hem] ful lowly..And in hyr tresour vp hem layde. c 1475 Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 782/5 Hoc gazophilacium, a tresure. 1550 Crowley Epigr. 185 Why can you neuer finde a time of leasure To se where the treasure will finde them workinge? 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. x. (S.T.S.) II. 350 In the Quinȝehous or in the Kingis tresour. |
4. attrib. and
Comb., as
treasure-box,
treasure-chamber,
treasure-chest,
treasure-coffer,
treasure-digger,
treasure-galleon,
treasure-giver,
treasure hoard,
treasure-hunter,
treasure-hutch,
treasure-keeper,
treasure-room,
treasure-seeker,
treasure-ship,
treasure-store,
treasure-vault, etc.;
treasure-baited,
treasure-bearing,
treasure-laden adjs;
treasure-city, a city in which supplies were stored;
treasure-flower, local name of a South African composite flowering plant of the genus
Gazania,
esp. the species
G. Pavonia, the peacock treasure-flower;
treasure-hunt; a hunt for treasure;
freq. fig. and
transf., a game in which hidden objects are searched for, often by following a trail of clues;
Treasure State U.S. slang, the State of Montana;
treasure-wheat: see
quot. See also
treasure-house, -trove.
| 1876 *Treasure-box [see powder keg s.v. powder n.1 5 b]. 1887 I. R. Lady's Ranche Life Montana 130 The robbers then rifled the treasure-box, and rode off delighted with their booty. |
| a 1547 in J. R. Boyle Hedon (1895) App. 80 Foure keys belonging the *tresasor [sic] chambere. 1823 Scott Quentin D. xxiii, Having carefully locked his treasure-chamber, the wealthy Fleming next conveyed his guest to the parlour. |
| 1849 Thackeray Pendennis xxiii[i], [She] had quite a little museum of locks of hair in her *treasure-chest. 1895 Daily News 23 Nov. 7/1 The treasure chests [for the Ashanti war] consist of heavy iron safes filled with specie..packed at the Bank of England. |
| 1611 Bible Exod. i. 11 And they built for Pharaoh *treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses. |
| 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 106 Roman mony..in *treasure coffers. |
| 1866 Treas. Bot., *Treasure-flower, Gazania. |
| 1898 G. Meredith Odes Fr. Hist. 51 Seen like some rare *treasure-galleon, Hull down, with masts against the Western hues. |
| 1899 Kipling Stalky vi, Three months ago he was commanding a *treasure-guard—a cart full of rupees to pay troops with—five thousand rupees in silver. |
| 1913 J. Vaizey College Girl xii. 166, I was thinking..of a *treasure hunt!..lots of presents, stowed away in odd corners. 1919 E. H. Jones Road to En-Dor (1920) vi. 58 A treasure-hunt has a glamour of its own. 1939 T. S. Eliot Family Reunion ii. ii. 110 You have a long journey... Think of it as like a children's treasure hunt. 1977 M. Green Children of Sun 22 One of those Twenties' treasure hunts, in which people drove..across all England, in search of some otherwise unprocurable item. |
| 1851 H. Melville Moby Dick II. xxxvi. 241 He proceeds very heedfully, like a *treasure-hunter in some old house, sounding the walls to find where the gold is masoned in. 1898 Folk-Lore IX. 17 At Sidon, the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus was found by a treasure-hunter. 1983 S. Vizinczey Innocent Millionaire xiii. 111 Maybe I was meant to be a treasure-hunter. |
| 1862 H. Marryat Year in Sweden II. 409 The great secret of *treasure-hunting is to hold your tongue. |
| 1531 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W.) 178 b, Graunt me lady..(o holy *tresour huche of God) one halfe farthinge to cast in to thy laude & prayse. |
| 1567 Trial Treas. A ij b, One with *treasure lack his life framed. |
| 1880 Archæol. Cantiana XIII. 455 It may have been a strong *treasure-room. |
| 1890 J. G. Frazer Golden Bough II. iv. 367 The *treasure-seeker places the rod on the ground after sundown, and when it rests directly over treasure, the rod begins to move as if it were alive. 1982 ‘C. Aird’ Last Respects viii. 81 There are treasure-seekers, Inspector, who would..not care that they were destroying priceless marine archaeology. |
| 1900 H. Barbie In Mod. Spain 25 Many of her *treasure-ships may have found their way to English ports. |
| 1934 M. H. Weseen Dict. Amer. Slang 412 *Treasure State, Montana. 1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 20 June 6-c/1 A solid century of mining has failed to put much of a dent in the state's gold, silver, copper and coal reserves. So the slogan, ‘Treasure State’, which used to grace Montana license plates, is still appropriate. |
| 1892 Earle Deeds Beowulf 160 The grand *treasure-sword had been left behind. |
| 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. iii. 196, I hunted on the *treasure-trail. |
| 1813 Scott Rokeby vi. iv, ‘To Rokeby *treasure-vaults!’ they quaffed, And shouted loud and wildly laughed. |
| 1590 Acts Privy Counc. (1899) XIX. 117 Certaine wheats (called the *threasour wheats) belonging to everie church within that Island [Jersey]. [Cf. 1682 Warburton Hist. Guernsey (1822) 66 The trésors, which are certain rents anciently given for the repairs..to the churches..but have..been employed to uses merely secular.] |
▪ II. ˈtreasure, v. [f. treasure n. In Wyclif rendering thēsaurizāre of the Vulgate.] 1. trans. To put away or lay aside (anything of value) for preservation, security, or future use; to hoard or store up. Often
to treasure up.
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxxix. 6 Alle thingus..that ben in thin hous, and that thi fadris han tresored. ― Baruch iii. 16 Wher ben the princes..that siluer tresoren and gold? 1712–14 Pope Rape Lock v. 114 Some thought it mounted to the Lunar sphere, Since all things lost on earth are treasured there. 1769 Cook Voy. round World ii. i. (1773) 281 Taking a Cheshire cheese from a locker, where it had been carefully treasured up for this occasion. 1821 Shelley Ginevra 131 As if the future and the past were all Treasured i' the instant. |
† b. absol. To lay up treasure. (A literalism of translation.)
Obs. rare.
| 1382 Wyclif Ecclus. iii. 5 As he that tresoreth, so and he that wrshepith his moder. |
2. fig. To keep in store, lay up (
e.g. in the mind, in memory).
| 1382 Wyclif Jas. v. 3 Ȝe han tressourid to ȝou wrath in the laste dayes. 1482 Monk of Evesham (Arb.) 61 The whyche..tresur to hem..the wrathe of owre sauyur ihesu cryste. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows ii. §12. 148 God doth sometimes treasure up the sinnes of predecessours. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind i. xvi. §3 To acquire and treasure up a large store of ideas and notions. 1826 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xi, The ladies would treasure their energies for the impending ball. 1887 Bowen æneid iii. 436 [I] Bid thee again and again in thy memory treasure the theme. |
† 3. To furnish or endow with treasures; to supply with treasure, to enrich.
Obs. rare.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. vi, Treasure thou some place, With beauties treasure. 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Mem. Monarchs ii. Wks. ii. 287/1 By a heauy taxe the King was treasur'd. |
4. To hold or keep as precious; to cherish, prize.
| 1907 Verney Mem. II. 403 Treasured as his most precious possessions. 1911 J. A. MacCulloch Relig. Anc. Celts xiv. 221 A feather was left at each house and carefully treasured. |
Hence
treasured (
ˈtrɛʒəd)
ppl. a., stored, hoarded up, highly valued;
ˈtreasuring vbl. n.| 1602 Archpriest Controv. (Camden) I. 232 Every baker or brewer, for stewarding and treasuringe, must, by this newe device, be made equall with you. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 136 Wrath to come is treasured-up wrath. 1715–20 Pope Iliad vi. 359 The Phrygian queen to her rich wardrobe went, Where treasur'd odours breath'd a costly scent. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxi. 434 To give him a grating of our treasured potatoes. |