▪ I. long, a.1
(lɒŋ)
Forms: 1 lang, 4–5, Sc. 5–9 lang, (4 Sc. launge), 3 longue, 3–7 longe, (6 lounge), 1, 3– long. See also lenger, lengest.
[Com. Teut.: OE. lang, lǫng = OFris., OS. lang, long (MDu., MLG., Du., LG. lang), OHG. lang (MHG. lanc, lang-, mod.G. lang), ON. lang-r (Da. lang, Sw. lång), Goth. lagg-s:—OTeut. *laŋgo-:—pre-Teut. *loŋgho- (= L. longus, Gaulish longo- in proper names, ? OIrish long- in combination).
This is regarded by some scholars as an alteration of *dlongho- (in OPers. dranga), cogn. w. *dlgho-, *dlegho- in OSl. dlŭgŭ (Russian dolgo-, dolgiĭ), Gr. δολιχός, OPers. darga-, Zend. darĕγa, Skr. dīrghá; to the same root app. belong Gr. ἐν-δελεχής perpetual, Goth. tulgus firm, persistent, OS. tulgo very; some also connect L. indulgēre to indulge (? orig. to be long-suffering towards).]
A. adj. I. With reference to spatial measurement.
1. a. Great in measurement from end to end. Said of a line, of distance, a journey; also, of a portion of space or a material object with reference to its greatest dimension. Opposed to short.
Formerly often in phr. † long and large (see large a. 4 b), which is sometimes applied transf. to immaterial things.
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. i. i. §13 He sæde þeah þæt land sie swiþe lang norþ þonan. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 219 Foure þinges þe man find ilome on ȝerde þat he be riht and smal and long and smeþe. c 1205 Lay. 30096 Heo breken scaftes longe. Mid longe sweorden heo smitten. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8481 A gyn, þat me sowe clupeþ hii made..boþe wid and long. a 1300 Cursor M. 8079 Lang [Trin. longe] and side þair brues wern. c 1320 Seuyn Sag. (W.) 577 Ac that ympe that so sprong, Hit was sschort and nothing long. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. Prol. 11 Ther is a long and large difference Bitwix Grisildis grete pacience And of my wyf the passing crueltee. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xxv. 259 The Kyngdom of Mede..is fulle long: but it is not full large. Ibid. xxvi. 269 [The Griffoun] hathe his Talouns so longe and so large and grete..as though [etc.]. c 1450 Holland Howlat 787 Mak..A lang sper of a betill for a berne bald. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour E ij, A long gowne, two kyrtells & two cottes hardyes. 1508 Dunbar Flyting w. Kennedie 148 Thair is bot lyse, and lang nailis ȝow amang. 1530 Palsgr. 240/2 Longegonne, flevste. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 31 b note, Midas, the Poetes faine to have longe eares. 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 207 In this play they did fight one with another at the long Spear, the long Sword. 1592 Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1848) II. 76 In armour, jack, steil bonat, spair, halbert, or lang gun. a 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Self-Deceiving (ed. 8) 27 To weare long haire is commonly a badge of a royster, or ruffian. 1682 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 55 (1713) II. 93 A white Staff..would much better please the scribbling Clown; and we'll help him to a long long one. 1748 Richardson Clarissa II. i. 5, I have not been able yet to laugh him out of his long bib and beads. 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 263/1 The Gorgon will be fitted with sixteen 32-pounders (long-guns). 1893 G. E. Matheson About Holland 37 The long low line of the Dutch coast. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VI. 665 Many cases..yield to the long splint. 1900 Q. Rev. Oct. 350 These famous galleys were long low rowing boats of the ancient pattern. |
b. With reference to vertical measurement: Tall. Sometimes prefixed as an epithet to proper names,
e.g. Long Meg,
Tom,
Will. Now
rare exc. in jocular use.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. ii. xvi. (Schipper) 179 Cwæþ þæt he wære se mon lang on bodiᵹe. a 1000 Byrhtnoth 273 (Gr.) Ða ᵹyt on orde stod Eadweard se langa. c 1205 Lay. 6366 Cniht he wes swiðe strong..muchel and long. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 8526 Þikke mon he was inou bote he was noȝt wel long. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 52 Grete lobres and longe þat loþ weore to swynke. 1377 Ibid. B. xv. 148, I haue lyued in londe..my name is longe wille. ? 14.. John de Reeve 254–5 in Furnivall Percy Folio (1868) II. 568 What long ffellow is yonder, quoth hee, that is soe long of lim and lyre? c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. i. 86 The treen thereon light, fertil, faire, and longe. 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas i. ii. (1544) 4 b, This Nembroth [Nimrod] waxe mighty, large and long. 1578 Lyte Dodoens vi. xv. 676 Tamarisk is a little tree or plant as long as a man. 1588 Acc. Bk. W. Wray in Antiquary XXXII. 54 Bought of lounge Tome the 23 of aprill [etc.]. 1609 Bible (Douay) Deut. ii. 21 A great and huge people, and of long stature. 1618 W. Lawson New Orch. & Gard. (1623) 39 Pride of sap makes proud, long & streight growth. 1795 Burns Song, ‘Their groves o' sweet myrtles’, Wi' the burn stealing under the lang yellow broom. 1814 Scott Wav. xxxv, Lang John Mucklewrath the smith. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxvii. 47 Sir, 'twas a long lean suitor. |
c. long arm, hand: used
transf. and
fig. with reference to extent of reach. Also,
† to make a long arm: to reach out to a great distance.
a long face (see
face n. 6 b)
colloq.: an expression of countenance indicating sadness or exaggerated solemnity.
a long head: a head of more than ordinary length from back to front;
fig. capacity for calculation and forethought. (
Cf. long-head,
long-headed.)
to make a long neck: to stretch out the neck.
to make a long nose (slang): to put the thumb to the nose, as a gesture of mockery.
a long tongue:
fig. loquacity.
long in the tooth: (
orig. of horses) displaying the roots of the teeth owing to the recession of the gums with increasing age; hence
gen., old.
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 177 Thenne he..bare his hede vp, and made a long necke. 1539 Taverner Erasm. Prov. 4 Longae regum manus. Kynges haue longe handes. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 42 Ouer that arme of the sea could be made a long arme. 1621 Fletcher Wildgoose Chase v. iv, What ye have seen, be secret in;..No more of your long tongue. 1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. i. xxiii. (1674) 24 Potent men, who have long hands, and short consciences..would [etc.]. 1786 Burns Ded. to G. Hamilton 62 Learn three-mile pray'rs, and half-mile graces, Wi' weel-spread looves, an' lang, wry faces. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas ix. viii. ¶2 He had a long head, as well as a fanciful brain. 1834 H. Martineau Farrers i. 8 You will see long faces enough when these taxes come to be paid. 1852 Thackeray Esmond I. ii. 50 She was lean, and yellow, and long in the tooth; all the red and white in all the toyshops of London could not make a beauty of her. 1854 C. M. Yonge Heartsease I. ii. ii. 146 Rising, and making a long arm, he deposited them on the top of a high wardrobe. 1860 [see arm n.1 2 b]. 1868 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 263 Prawle made a ‘long nose’ in the direction of Goree Piazzas. 1879 Spurgeon Serm. XXV. 548 You can put on a very long face and try to scold people into religion. 1884 [see arm n.1 2 b]. c 1888 C. H. Chambers Capt. Swift (1902) ii. 29 I'm not safe here. This place is a hornet's nest. The long arm of coincidence has reached after me. 1889 J. S. Winter Mrs. Bob (1891) 134 He has always had luck, and he has a long head too. 1895 G. B. Shaw Our Theatres in Nineties (1932) I. 229 Mr. Jerome..has discovered that in working the familiar but safe stage trick of dénouement by coincidence, the long arm cannot be too long. 1899 Daily News 15 May 3/5 The long arm of coincidence. 1919 J. C. Snaith Love Lane xxi. 106 One of the youngest R.A.s on record, but a bit long in the tooth for the army. 1932 J. Conquest Village Pompadour xxv. 183 Long in the tooth, he escaped the traps laid by widow, débutante and free-lance. 1933 ‘R. Crompton’ William—the Rebel x. 187 They merely made long noses at the Outlaws. 1936 W. S. Maugham Cosmopolitans 213 Go on... The long arm of coincidence was about to make a gesture. 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 27 June 20 Izzy Grant saw one [sc. a Gremlin]..making a long nose at him as he went into the ditch. 1951 ‘E. Crispin’ Long Divorce xii. 141 ‘That's stretching the long arm of coincidence rather far.’ ‘It's pulling the damned thing right out of its socket.’ 1957 J. Braine Room at Top xii. 124 A trifle long in the tooth, mark you, but she has style, real style. 1963 A. Huxley Let. 17 Nov. (1969) 964 Talk about the long arm of coincidence! The mail which brought your note..brought ..at the same time a letter from Betty Wendel. 1972 Sunday Express 24 Dec. 2/5 To be honest I am getting quite long in the tooth and this is a method of bringing children into my Christmas. 1973 ‘B. Mather’ Snowline vii. 83, I made a long arm for the telephone. |
d. Qualifying a
n. denoting a measure of length, to indicate an extent greater than that expressed by the
n. (
Cf. 10.)
| 1619 in Ferguson & Nanson Munic. Rec. Carlisle (1887) 278 [Buying] harden cloath in the merkett with a longe yeard and selling the same againe with a short yeard. c 1646 True Relation, etc. in Glover Hist. Derby (1829) I. App. 63 His Major..was forced to retreate in the night to Derby, being vi. long miles. 1697 Rokeby Diary 57 Att Poulston Bridge (a long mile from Launceston) we entr into Cornwall. 1790 Burns Tam o' Shanter 7 We think na on the lang Scots miles..That lie between us and our hame. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain (1843) II. xi. 245, I discovered that we were still two long leagues distant from Corcuvion. |
e. Of action, vision, etc.: Extending to a great distance. (
Cf. long sight, 18.)
at long weapons: (fighting) at long range. Similarly,
at long bowls (or balls): said of ships cannonading one another at a distance. Also
long train = long distance train.
| 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xiv. 163 Man hath not so long a sight,..to transporte his eyes..in so short a time. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xviii. 384 But mighty Jove cuts short, with just disdain, The long, long views of poor, designing man! 1723 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 16 This would be..liker honest men, than to keep us at long weapons, and fighting in the dark. 1840 Saunders Rep. Sel. Comm. Railways Quest. 361 Places on the line where short and long trains are running together. |
f. long dung,
long manure: manure containing long straw undecayed; so
long litter (see
litter n. 3 b, c).
long forage: straw and green fodder, as distinguished from hay, oats, etc.
| 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. Nov. (1699) 130 The Leaves fallen in the Woods, may supply for Long-dung, laid about Artichocks and other things. 1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 15 Feb. (1778), It forwards the digestion of stubble, offal straw, or long dung very much. 1797 J. Jay in Sir J. Sinclair's Corr. (1831) II. 60 Long dung is better than rotten dung, in the furrows, for potatoes. 1812 Wellington Let. to Earl Liverpool 11 Feb. in Gurw. Desp. (1838) VIII. 602 To secure a supply of long forage for the Cavalry. 1830 Cumb. Farm. Rep. 58 in Husbandry (L.U.K.) III, Long dung, that is to say, dung not fermented, may be applied to potatoes without any impropriety. 1839 J. Buel Farmer's Compan. xx. 198 Great economy in dung may be effected by feeding these crops with the long manure of the yards and stables, instead of summer-yarding it. |
g. a long beer,
long drink (
colloq.):
lit. of liquor in a long glass; hence, a large measure of liquor.
| 1859 Trollope West Indies iii. (1860) 48 A long drink is taken from a tumbler, a short one from a wine-glass. 1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 61 He stepped into a bar and called for a long beer. |
2. a. Having (more or less, or a specified) extension from end to end: often with
adv. or
advb. phrase expressing the amount of length.
it's as long as it is broad: see
broad a. 13.
† through long and broad ―: through the length and breadth of.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. iii. (Schipper) 15 Þæt ealond on Wiht..is þrittiᵹes mila lang east & west. a 1300 Cursor M. 1667, I sal þe tel how lang, how brade..it sal be made. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 5 Þe table..was a fote and a halfe lang. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxii. 66 Unto the crose of breid and lenth, To gar his lymmis langar wax. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 233 b, No longer quantitie, then that a man myght easely put thorough his arme. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 131 A cloake as long as thine will serue the turne. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 4 The lenth..seuin hundir thousand pace lang, or thair about. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. iv. iii. 195 That..each person..possessing (through long and broad Germany)..500 gold Guldens, should [etc.]. 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 77 Four Inches broad, and seven Foot long. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 395/2 The size for makeing of Brick are 10 Inches long, 5 broad, and 3 thick. 1840 G. V. Ellis Anat. 293 The aqueduct of the cochlea is a small canal, about a quarter of an inch long. 1854 Fraser's Mag. XLIX. 505 A mark 30 feet long by 20. 1860 Tyndall Glac. ii. ii. 240 The waves which produce red [light] are longer than those which produce yellow. |
¶ b. With mixed construction: see
of 39 b.
| 1535 Coverdale Lam. ii. 20 Shal the women then eate their owne frute, euen children of a spanne longe? |
† c. Extending
to.
Obs.| c 1610 Women Saints 148 There appeared before her a verie cleare white garment long to her foote, which she taking putt on her naked bodie. |
3. With reference to shape: Having the length much greater than the breadth; elongated.
| 1551, etc. [see long square in 17]. 1826 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. IV. 261 Proportion..Long (Longa) Disproportionably long throughout. 1851 Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 1175 Printed long shawls. Ibid. 1245 French long and square cashmeres. |
4. Of liquors: Ropy. ?
Obs. [So G.
lang.]
| a 1648 Digby Closet Open. (1677) 91 There let it [the wort] stand till it begin to blink and grow long like thin Syrup. 1703 Art & Myst. Vintners 43 If Wine at any time grow long or lowring. Ibid. 65 Sack that is lumpish or long. [1859: cf. long sugar in 18 below.] |
II. With reference to serial extent or duration.
5. a. Of a series, enumeration or succession, a speech, a sentence, a word, a literary work, etc.: Having a great extent from beginning to end.
long bill: one containing a great number of items; hence, one in which the charges are excessive.
long hour: one indicated by a great number of strokes.
† long words: long discourse.
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Luke xx. 47 Þa forswelᵹað wydywyna hus hiwᵹende lang ᵹebed. a 1300 Cursor M. 791 Quat bot es lang mi tale to draw. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues v. 16/2 Dame what shall avaylle thenne Longe wordes? c 1500 Melusine 22 What shuld auayll yf herof I shuld make a longe tale? 1585 C. Fetherstone tr. Calvin's Acts xiii. 42 The Jewes who made boast of their long stock and race. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 305 And Grandsires Grandsons the long List contains. 1712 P. Stanhope in Lett. C'tess Suffolk (1824) I. 2 You do not know what you ask when you would have me write long letters. 1827 H. Heugh Jrnl. in Life x. (1852) 203 Before the long hour of midnight all was hush. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lx, He ain't like old Veal, who is always bragging and using such long words, don't you know? 1865 Kingsley Herew. II. vii. 106 That night the monks of Peterborough prayed in the minster till the long hours passed into the short. 1883 Gilmour Mongols (1884) 157 We had to wait a long time for a poor dinner, and pay a long bill for it when it came. |
b. colloq. Of numbers, and of things numerically estimated: Large. Chiefly in
long family,
long odds,
long price. Also in Card games,
long suit (see
quot. 1876);
long trump (see
quot. 1746).
long purse, one in which there is plenty of money;
long shillings, good wages.
| 1746 Hoyle Whist (ed. 6) 68 Long Trump, Means the having one or more Trumps in your Hand when all the rest are out. Ibid. 29 The long Trump being forced out of his Hand. 1809 M. L. Weems Life F. Marion iii. 26 Great Britain the nation of the longest purse in Europe. 1818 Sporting Mag. II. 22 The admirers of youth..added to the chance of long-odds proved eager takers. 1840 E. E. Napier Scenes & Sports For. Lands I. v. 140 The natives are very partial to this breed, and give long prices for them. 1849 Chambers's Inform. II. 720/1 Cylinder machines are only suitable for long impressions. 1858 Trollope Dr. Thorne II. x. 177 He was a prudent, discreet man, with a long family, averse to professional hostilities. 1871 Scribner's Monthly II. 551 For longer purses there are hard woods in all combinations. 1876 A. Campbell-Walker Correct Card (1880) Gloss. 12 Long suit, one of which you hold originally more than three cards. The term is, therefore, indicative of strength in numbers. 1892 J. Payn Mod. Whittington I. 177 He thinks I may pull off the long odds. 1910 ‘Saki’ Reginald in Russia 105 The long arm, or perhaps one might better say the long purse, of diplomacy at last effected the release of the prisoners. 1910 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 603/2 There are ‘long shillings’ to be earned at the docks, but no easy ones; and the work is not only hard but dangerous. 1955 J. I. M. Stewart Guardians i. ix. 97 Lady Elizabeth's generalisation that here—in point of the long purse—was a particular in which Quail himself must lead any field. |
c. long suit,
fig. one's strong point.
| 1895 W. C. Gore in Inlander Dec. 114 Long suit, some⁓thing one is familiar with or expert in. 1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xiv. 218 Young Pete..assured our foreman that the building of bridges was his long suit. 1916 E. V. Lucas Vermilion Box 26 Organizing has always been your long suit. 1923 U. L. Silberrad Lett. J. Armiter iv. 82 Charity's evidently your long suit. 1934 M. V. Hughes London Child of Seventies vi. 72 ‘Can you do simple long division?’ ‘Oh, yes, Dym,’ said I hopefully, for that was my long suit. 1959 N. Coward Look after Lulu! ii. 68 Oh Lord! That's a teaser—arithmetic's never been my long suit. |
d. long chance , one involving considerable uncertainty or risk.
| 1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights i. xiii. 191 He's plumb scared at the prospect of suffering anything, and would rather die right off than take long chances. Ibid. ii. iv. 262 He's one of those long-chance fellows. 1938 H. Nicolson Let. 17 Feb. (1966) 322, I do not think there is going to be a war yet. Not by a long chance. 1971 D. Eden Afternoon Walk ix. 125 It would be a long chance that the one I just saw was the same one. |
6. a. Of a period of time, of a process, state, or action, viewed as extending over a period of time: Having a great extent in duration.
long account: see
account n. 8 b.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iii. ix. (Schipper) 231 He..wæs mid langre adle laman leᵹeres swiðe ᵹehefiᵹad. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 6779 (Kölbing) In þis sorweful time & lange. c 1330 Spec. Gy Warw. 744 To sen..Þe longe lyff, þat is so god. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. Prol. 195 For better is a litel losse þan a longe sorwe. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 828 Thay maid ane lang battail, Ane hour of the day. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxv. 21 Than in frustrar is [all] ȝour lang leirning. 1530 Palsgr. 612/2 To lyve in langour is no lyfe, but a longe dyeng. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 229 Thus laie the englishmen in the feldes when the cold nightes began to waxe long. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 348 To blesse you with the long possession of your kingdome. 1619 R. Waller in Lismore Papers (1887) Ser. ii. II. 228, I feare lest he be no longe lyffes man. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 535 Enjoy, till I return, Short pleasures, for long woes are to succeed. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 711 His long Toils were forfeit for a Look. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Bishop, It is a long time that bishops have been distinguished from mere priests or presbyters. 1735 Pope Prol. Sat. 132 To help me thro' this long disease, my Life. 1759 Johnson Idler No. 45 ¶2 The general lampooner of mankind may find long exercise for his zeal. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 331 There was a long and earnest contention between them. 1809 Sheridan in Sheridaniana (1826) 217 Let us make a long pull, a strong pull, and a pull altogether. 1820 Scott Monast. xxiii, The thought, that I have sent this man to a long account, unhouseled and unshrived. 1900 J. G. Frazer Pausanias, etc. 52 Her brief noon of glory, and her long twilight of decrepitude and decay. |
b. long of life:
= ‘of long life’. Now
rare.
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 156 Gif mann bið akenned on anre nihte ealdne monan, se bið lang lifes. 1591 Sparry tr. Cattan's Geomancie 97 They [children] shall be of good nature and complexion, and not long of life. 1812 F. Burney Let. 29 May in Diary (1846) VI. 349 Literature, as well as astronomy, is long of life. 1821 Byron Two Foscari iv. i. 61 Discarded princes Are seldom long of life. |
¶ c. For the use
= ‘occupying a long time,’ ‘delaying long,’ see
long adv. 2.
7. a. long time, while, etc. are often used
advb. (now,
exc. poet. and in Jamaican English (see also
quot. 1961), always preceded by
a) with the sense ‘during a long time’
= long adv. 1. (
Longtime,
longwhile have
occas. been written without division.)
this long time or while: for a long time down to the present.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. i. xxv. (Schipper) 54 Þæt we forlætan þa wisan þe we langre tide..heoldon. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 437 He heold on to herien his heaðene maumez..long time of þe dei. c 1330 Spec. Gy Warw. 62 Þe world þurw his foule gile Haþ me lad to longe while. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 368 A prest..paulyne..had bene chaste langtyme. c 1425 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1417 Syth they so long tyme haue made me so madde. c 1470 Henryson Tale of Dog 68 They..held ane lang quhile disputatioun. 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn xxxix. 146 We..haue ben a longe espace wyth hym. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 759 They..thinke that he long time in king Edwardes life forethought to be king. 1557 N. Grimalde in Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 101 For if, long time, one put this yron in vre. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. I. xxxvi. 157 Certain Magicians, whom I have long time known. 1694 L. Echard Plautus's Comedies 196, I knew th' owner o' that portmantle this long time. 1738 Swift Pol. Convers. i. 7 How has your Lordship done this long time? a 1849 J. C. Mangan Poems (1859) 456 Dream and waking life..blended Longtime in the cavern of my soul. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. viii. 22 So that long time he fed upon false joy. 1942 L. Bennett Jamaica Dial. Verses 21 Me did tink me always hear sey Missis Queen bannish slavery lang time. 1961 F. G. Cassidy Jamaica Talk vi. 107 Long time means long ago (‘Him gone long time’). 1971 Jamaican Weekly Gleaner 3 Nov. 5/1 Tams are also in (well, we did have that long time). |
b. Similarly with preceding
prep.,
† by,
for,
† in,
of. (
arch. or
dial.) (Now always with
a.)
| 1386 Rolls of Parlt. III. 225/1 Many wronges..ydo to hem by longe tyme here before passed. c 1400 [see of prep. 53]. 1440 J. Shirley Dethe K. James (1818) 17 The Kyng, heryng of long tyme no..stirryng of the traitours,..demyd that they had all begone. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 80 It is commonly sayd, that..in long tyme al thinges continue not in one estate. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Theseus (1595) 19 Those who had hated him of a long time, had..a disdain & contempt to fear him any more. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 285 He had not sene him wait of long time. 1629 Maxwell tr. Herodian (1635) 386 This Capellianus and Gordian had not beene friends of a long time. 1753 Richardson Grandison (1781) V. v. 34, I have not been at church of a long time. 1833 [see of prep. 53]. Mod. I have not seen him for a long while. |
c. Colloq. phr. (
orig. U.S.)
long time no see, a
joc. imitation of broken English, used as a greeting after prolonged separation.
| 1900 W. F. Drannan 31 Yrs. on Plains (1901) xxxvii. 515 When we rode up to him [sc. an American Indian] he said: ‘Good mornin. Long time no see you.’ 1939 R. Chandler in Sat. Even. Post 14 Oct. 72/4 Hi, Tony. Long time no see. 1940 [see hiya int.]. 1959 D. Beaty Cone of Silence viii. 105 ‘Hello, Clive.’ ‘Long time no see.’ 1959 C. MacInnes Absolute Beginners 68 Hail, squire... Long time no see. 1971 D. E. Westlake I gave at the Office (1972) 164 ‘Hello, Arnold,’ I said... ‘Long time no see.’ |
8. a. Having (more or less, or a specified) extension serially or temporally. (See also
lenger,
lengest.)
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2173 Thare his sun liued langar lijf. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints iv. (Jacobus) 344 Þai þe croice before þam set, and he bristit but langar lat. c 1420 Anturs of Arth. 314, I hafe na langare tyme mo tales to telle. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 61 A play there is, my Lord, some ten words long. 1710 W. Bishop in Ballard MSS. XXXI. 57 He read a speech an Hour & half long. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 498 ¶2 Of how long standing this honour has been, I know not. 1774 J. Andrews Let. 11 Aug. (1866) 340, I shall never get the idea out of my mind the longest day I have to live. 1824 Scott Redgauntlet ch. iv, I will take such measures for silencing you as you shall remember the longest day you have to live. 1836 A. H. Clough (title) The longest day. A poem written at Rugby School. 1838 Lytton Alice iii, The lesson must be longer than usual to day. 1868 Lockyer Elem. Astron. iii. §18 (1879) 100 The longest time an eclipse of the sun can be total at any place is seven minutes. 1886 Swinburne Stud. Prose & Poetry (1894) 164 The two longest of the dramatic poems..bear upon them..the sign of heroic meditation. 1911 H. S. Harrison Queed xxv. 321 You'd be a marked man to the longest day you lived. 1962 Times 27 Sept. 16/4 Mr. Darryl Zanuck's three-hour film, The Longest Day,..attempts to recapture some of the immensity of the D-Day operations. |
† b. (all) the long day,
long night, etc.
= ‘all the day, etc. long’ (see
long adv. 6).
Cf. livelong a.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 10491 Þe king..hangede men gultles vor wraþþe al longe day. c 1375 Cursor M. 12624 (Fairf.) Þi fader & I as many way soȝt þe a-boute þis lange day. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 50 Walking in the mede..The longe day, thus walking in the grene. 1540–54 Croke 13 Ps. (Percy Soc.) 13 To trap me, yf they coulde, They studied wiles all the longe daye. 1559 W. Cuningham Cosmogr. Glasse 36 All sterres with in this circle included, do nether rise, nor yet set, but turne round about the pole, all the longe nyght. |
¶ c. With mixed construction: see
of 39 b.
| 1592 Nashe P. Penilesse 24 b, And hold you content, this Summer an vnder-meale of an afternoone long doth not amisse to exercise the eies withall. 1592 Lyly Midas iii. iii, Let me heare anie woman tell a tale of x lines long without it tend to loue. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia vi. v, A lecture of two hours long. |
9. a. With implication of excessive duration: Continuing too long; lengthy, prolix, tedious;
† also in
phr. it, etc. were (too) long to, etc. Hence
occas. of a speaker or writer.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Oðre godere werke þe nu were long eou to telle. a 1300–40 Cursor M. 950 (Gött.) In till þe wreched world to gang, Þar þu sal thinck þi lijf ful lang. c 1450 Holland Howlat 34 All thar names to nevyn..It war prolixt and lang, and lenthing of space. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xl. 5 This lang Lentern makis me lene. 1570 Satir. Poems Reform. x. 71 It war lang to discerne The godly giftis that this our Sone did lerne. 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 279 What should I be long in this? a 1586 Sidney Arcadia i. (1590) 17 b, But I am euer too long vppon him, when hee crosseth the waie of my speache. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iv. xxxix. 315 It were long to report the..pleasant sportes they make. 1621 in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1849) II. 277 Though he were somewhat long in the explanation of these particulars, yet he had great attention. 1640 tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. III. iv. 13 He..thought it long till hee was in the Citie, that he might be conducted to his Lady. 1661 Feltham Lusoria xli. in Resolves (1709) 604 A sheet of Bacon's catch'd at more, we know, Than all sad Fox, long Holinshead or Stow. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 256, I cou'd be long in Precepts. 1704 Pope Disc. Past. Poetry Wks. (Globe) 11 He is apt to be too long in his descriptions. 1875 M. Arnold Isa. xl–lxvi. 31, I have been too long; but the present attempt is new, and needed explanation. 1876 Trevelyan Life Macaulay I. vi. 421 He beguiled the long long languid leisure of the Calcutta afternoon. |
b. Chiefly
Sc. to think long: to grow weary or impatient. Const.
for,
to (do something); also,
till (something happens).
| [c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 183 Gief þe licame beð euel loð is heo þe sowle and hire þuncheð lang þat hie on him bi-leueð.] c 1470 Henry Wallace ix. 1275 To folow him thai twa thocht neuyr lang. 1508 Dunbar Poems v. 27 Sche..thoght ryght lang To se the ailhous beside, in till an euill hour. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 445, I shal think tyll that season be come as long or longer than ye shal do. 1586 Earl of Leicester in L. Corr. (Camden) 362, I feare it be thought longe till some well-instructed come here. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. v. 41 Haue I thought long to see this mornings face, And doth it giue me such a sight as this? 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ix. 192 Al in Scotland thocht lang for the Gouernour. 1599 Greene Alphonsus iv. Wks. (Rtldg.) 240/1 And thinking long till that we be in fight. 1628 Earl of Manchester in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 267 The Lady mother thinks long to see them settled at their own house. a 1758 Ramsay Ep. Hamilton ii, When kedgy carles think nae lang, When stoups and trunchers gingle. 1788 C. Reeve Exiles I. 195 We think long till we see you. |
c. long on: possessing a copious quantity of, having plenty of.
Cf. short on, also
short of (
short a. 18 e).
orig. U.S. slang.| 1913 Kipling Diversity of Creatures (1917) 286 He was long on Kings. And Continental crises. 1929 W. R. Burnett Little Caesar iv. vi. 147 You're long on regard yourself, ain't you Rico? 1938 S. Chase Tyranny of Words vii. 78 Governor Lehmann, deficient in logic but long on human understanding, commuted the sentence. 1967 ‘H. Howard’ Routine Investigation ix. 97 The battered Dodge may not have been long on looks, but it started first time. 1969 Guardian 22 Jan. 1/7 The new team is admittedly long on business management and short on statesmanship. 1973 Good Food Guide 429 Two inspectors describe it [sc. a restaurant] as long on gemütlichkeit and short on good cooking. |
10. a. Qualifying a
n. denoting a period of time, a number, or quantity, to indicate an extent greater than that expressed by the
n.; also, in subjective sense, to indicate that the time is felt by the speaker to be excessive or unusual in duration. (
Cf. 1 d.)
long years: used
rhetorically for ‘many years’.
at (the) long last: see
last a. 10 b.
long dozen,
long hundred,
long ton: see the
ns.| 1592 Stow Ann. (an. 1563) 1111 Continuing in fight aboue a long hower. 1676 Dryden Aureng-z. i. i. Wks. 1883 V. 207 And two long hours in close debate were spent. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. 839/2 'Tis a long year since I saw you here. 1801 Scott Frederick & Alice, Seven long days, and seven long nights, Wild he wander'd. 1808 Byron When we two parted, If I should meet thee After long years, How should I greet thee? 1824 ― Juan xvi. lxxxi, And rise at nine in lieu of long eleven. 1871 Carlyle in Mrs. Carlyle's Lett. III. 175 For long years I had ceased writing in my note-books. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. xiv. 46 Lips travelled over cheek and mouth by turn For a long hour. |
b. Of the pulse: Making long beats, slow.
| 1898 Allbutt's Syst. Med. V. 929 In strict stenosis..we ordinarily have a long slow pulse. |
11. a. That has continued or will continue in action, operation, or obligation for a long period. Frequently applied to feelings, dispositions, etc.,
e.g. enmity, friendship; hence also, to persons in whom these are exhibited.
long memory: one that retains the recollection of events for a long period.
| c 1220 Bestiary 275 Ðe mire muneð vs mete to tilen, Long liuenoðe, ðis little wile ðe we on ðis werld wunen. 1535 Coverdale Jer. xv. 15 Receaue not my cause in thy longe wrath. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 31 Havyng also approved experience that the Duke of Burgoine wolde kepe no longer promise then he him selfe listed. 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 269 Their long and great enemy, Philip King of Macedonia. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 351 A long farewell to all my Greatnesse. 1626 Bacon Sylva §97 Juices of Stock-gilly-flowers,..applyed to the Wrests,..have cured long Agues. 1679 Evelyn Diary (1827) III. 10 This most..pious Lady, my long acquaintance. 1697 Dryden æneid ix. 102 Those Woods, that Holy Grove, my long delight. 1704 Marlborough Lett. & Disp. (1845) I. 238 It has been a long practice to send letters, under his covers, from unknown hands. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 380 He was a long, and very kind patron to me. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. viii, I had a long lease of the Black Bull in Fetter-Lane. 1733 Budgell Bee I. 37 Mr. John Mills, my long Acquaintance, living now in Drury-Lane. 1759 Johnson Rasselas xxix, Long customs are not easily broken. 1819 Metropolis (ed. 2) II. 228 The ridicule such conduct brought upon him among the thinking part of his long acquaintance. 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh i. 2 If her kiss Had left a longer weight upon my lips. 18.. Lady Dufferin Lament Irish Emigrant 49, I'm biddin' you a long farewell, My Mary. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) III. xiii. 314 The Celtic race has a long memory. 1882 T. Mozley Remin. Oriel Coll. I. 13 His recollections..contained some novelties, not to say surprises, to his longest friends. |
b. (
colloq. or
proverbial.)
a long word: one that indicates a long time.
| 1861 Cornh. Mag. Dec. 685 Ye're the biggest blag-guard my eyes have seen since I've been in London, and that's saying a long word. 1883 Standard 28 July 5/1 ‘Never’ is a long word. |
¶ c. ? Used for: Long-suffering.
Obs. rare—1.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 320/1 He was a merueilous Rethour by eloquence, a susteynour and a berar up of the chirch by doctryne, shorte to hymself by humylyte and longe to other by charyte. |
12. a. Of a point of time: Distant, remote. Now only in
long date, and in the legal phrase
a long day.
| 1437 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 509/1 Yai byen notable substance of gode to apprest, and to long dayes. c 1449 Pecock Repr. i. iv. 18 Bifore that eny·positijf lawe of God..was ȝouen to the Iewis fro the long time of Adamys coming out of Paradijs into the tyme..of Abraham. c 1450 Holland Howlat 425 Thar lordschipe of sa lang dait. 1596 Spenser Prothalamion 144 Here fits not well Olde woes, but ioyes, to tell Against the bridale daye, which is not long. 1614 Selden Titles Hon. 261 That its deriud from βαρύς, I must take long day to beleeu. 1632 Massinger City Madam i. iii, You must give me longer day. 1709 Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1736) II. 92 Is his Punishment deferr'd to a long Hereafter? 1748 Richardson Clarissa (1811) II. 126 A long day, I doubt, will not be permitted me. 1776 Let. in Gentl. Mag. (1792) 14/1 He has paid me with a bond..due in October 1777, which is a long date. 1787 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 333 To obtain on the new loans a much longer day for the reimbursement of the principal. 1846 Daily News 21 Jan. 4/6 Bills on Amsterdam at long, or 3 months' date, found no takers. |
b. Of bills, promissory notes, etc.: Of long date, having a long time to run.
| 1861 Goschen For. Exch. 87 Rates given for long paper, as compared with those for bills on demand. |
13. a. Phonetics and
Prosody. Applied to a vowel (in
mod. use also to a consonant) when its utterance has the greater of the two measures of duration that are recognized in the ordinary classification of speech-sounds. Also, in
Prosody, of a syllable: Belonging to that one of the two classes which is supposed to be distinguished from the other by occupying a longer time in utterance. (Opposed to
short.)
long mark: the mark (–) placed over a vowel letter to indicate long quantity.
In Greek and Latin metre, a syllable is reckoned long (1) when it contains a long vowel or a diphthong, and (2) when its vowel is followed by more than one consonant (to the latter rule there are certain exceptions). A short syllable is conventionally supposed to occupy one time-unit (
mora) in utterance, and a long syllable two. The distinction between the two classes of syllables, with criteria nearly identical with those of
Gr. and Latin, is recognized in the prosody of many other peoples; in
Skr. the equivalents of ‘long’ and ‘short’ are used of vowels only, syllables being classed as ‘heavy’ and ‘light’.
Various inaccurate uses of the terms
long and
short were formerly almost universal in
Eng., and are still commom. (1) The vowel of a ‘long’ syllable, if ‘naturally’ short, was said to be ‘long by position’. (2) By a confusion between the principles of quantitative and those of accentual verse, the stressed syllables, on the periodical recurrence of which the rhythm of English verse depends, were said to be ‘long’, and the unstressed syllables ‘short’. (3) In ordinary language ‘the long
a,
e,
i,
o, or
u’ denotes that sound of the letter which is used as its alphabetical name, while ‘the short
a,
e,
i,
o, or
u’ denotes the sound which the letter most commonly has in a stressed short syllable (in the notation used in this Dictionary, respectively (
æ), (
ɛ), (
ɪ), (
ɒ), (
ʌ)).
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. iv. (Z.) 37 On langne o ᵹeendiað grecisce naman feminini generis. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 184, I took none hede noþer of short ne long. 1530 Palsgr. Introd. 21 A vowell shalbe..longe or short in his pronunciation. 1575 Gascoigne Eng. Verse (Arb.) 33 The graue accent..maketh that sillable long wherevpon it is placed. 1582 Stanyhurst æneis (Arb.) 11 Thee first of briefly wyth vs must bee long. Ibid. 12 Although yt [sc. the conjunction and] bee long by position. 1585 Jas. I Ess. Poesie (Arb.) 55, I haue markit the lang fute with this mark, –. 1668 Wilkins Real Char. iii. xi. 364 Suppose a long Vowel to be divided into two parts; as Bo-ote. 1807 Robinson Archæol. Græca v. xxiii. 535 In the Greek language every syllable was short or long. 1869 A. J. Ellis E.E. Pronunc. i. 13 The use..of the long mark ({nfmac}) for the lengthening of vowels generally short. |
b. Mus. Of a note: Occupying a more than average time, or a specified time, in being sounded. (
Cf. 6 and 8.)
| 1818 T. Busby Grammar Mus. 69 If a Minim is only half as long as a Semibreve, and a Crotchet but half the length of a Minim, a Crotchet is only one quarter as long as a Semibreve. |
14. Comm. Said of the market (
esp. in the cotton trade) when consumers have provided against an anticipated scarcity by large contracts in advance. See
quot. 1859. Phrase,
to go (heavily) long.
| 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer., Long and short. Broker's terms. ‘Long’ means when a man has bought stock on time, which he can call for at any day he chooses. He is also said to be ‘long’ when he holds a good deal. Mod. Newspaper. The spinners had gone heavily long, and consequently did not need to buy except in very small quantities. It was found that selling was impossible except at constantly declining prices; that the market was heavily long; and that there was no short interest of any moment. |
III. In Combination.
15. In concord with
ns., forming combinations used attributively or quasi-adj., as
long-berry,
long-exposure,
long-focus,
long-gown,
long-journey,
long-period,
long-pod,
long-quantity,
long-range,
long-sentence,
long-span,
long-stay; also
long-day, (
a) having a long working-day; (
b) of plants, needing a long period of light each day before flowering.
| 1886 Daily News 16 Sept. 2/5 Coffee.—140 packages Mocha, *longberry, 100s. 1891 Ibid. 10 Feb. 2/8 [Wheats] To-day 39s. 6d. was required for longberry. |
| 1892 Labour Commission Gloss., *Long-day men. 1920 Garner & Allard in Jrnl. Agric. Res. XVIII. 559 It will be convenient to use the expressions ‘long day’ as meaning exposure to light for more than 12 hours and ‘short day’ as referring to an exposure of 12 hours or less. Ibid. 578 Hibiscus is a striking example of a long-day plant. 1947 Sci. News IV. 129 By and large, short day plants flower if they receive 8–9 hours of light a day, and long day plants flower if they receive 14–16 hours of light a day. 1966 G. E. Evans Pattern under Plough xiv. 146 Practical observations on a long-day plant, the lettuce. 1972 Nature 21 Apr. 407/1 It would be interesting to know whether other long day and short day plants exhibiting a photoperiodic response..behave in the same way as Sinapis. 1975 Listener 6 Mar. 319/1 The BBC requires Fitters (Shift-working)... The rate of pay is {pstlg}62.42 p.w. for long-day shift working. |
| 1902 Chambers's Jrnl. Nov. 706/2 A *long-exposure survey of the whole heavens with one of the most modern photographic telescopes would indicate, I am convinced, no fewer than five hundred million stars. |
| 1890 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. III. 327 Another use of *long focus lenses is the taking of street groups from a distance. |
| 1677 Sedley Antony & Cl. iv. i, Dull *long-gown statesmen. |
| 1880 E. J. Reed Japan II. 310 *Long-journey travellers. 1898 Engineering Mag. XVI. 80 One of the Portsmouth, or other long-journey, trains. |
| 1903 A. M. Clerke Probl. Astrophysics 348 The typical *long-period variable is Mira Ceti. 1923 P. B. Ballard New Examiner 107 Long-period testing. 1968 R. A. Lyttleton Mysteries Solar Syst. iv. 109 The advent of the vast majority of comets, the so-called long-period comets, cannot be predicted. |
| 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 89 *Long-pod [Bean]—The most abundant bearer. |
| 1872 Young Gentleman's Mag. 651/2 A *long-quantity monosyllable is introduced. |
| 1854 *Long-range [see asphyxiant a. and n.]. 1873 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 329 An American here shouts with a long-range voice. 1902 Edin. Rev. Apr. 291 Into these wars long-range infantry fire seldom entered. 1932 J. Buchan Gap in Curtain i. 64, I..set myself..to a long-range forecast—what would be likely to happen on June 10th a year ahead. 1958 New Statesman 18 Jan. 59/1 Never mind your long-range missiles, Johnson said in effect. 1966 T. Pynchon Crying of Lot 49 iii. 67 Incest or no, the marriage must be; it is vital to his long-range political plans. 1966 Punch 3 Aug. 186/1 According to the long-range forecast, there's a wettish month ahead. 1971 C. Bonington Annapurna South Face iii. 33 The Nepalese authorities..did not normally allow expeditions to use long-range radios in Nepal. |
| 1889 ‘Rolf Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xxiii, We were ‘*long sentence men’. |
| 1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 41 Every *long-span bridge in the world. |
| 1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics xi. 316 *Long- and short-stay residential nurseries. 1970 Guardian 9 July 3/2 In France today..two thirds of the beds in mental hospitals are occupied permanently by long-stay patients. 1972 Ibid. 16 Feb. 7/3 Allegations of ill-treatment are confined to four of the long-stay wards. 1974 Advocate-News (Barbados) 19 Feb. 1/2 Meanwhile, during the year under review, a total of 189,000 ‘long-stay’ visitors came to Barbados. |
16. Parasynthetic derivatives in
-ed2, unlimited in number, as
long-armed,
long-backed,
long-barrelled,
long-bearded,
long-billed,
long-descended,
long-grained (also
long-grain),
long-lashed,
long-leafed,
long-leaved,
long-rooted,
long-skirted,
long-sleeved,
long-spooned,
long-trousered.
| 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. IV. 206 The Gibbon, so called by Buffon, or the *Long Armed Ape. 1888 Barrie Auld Licht Idylls xii. (1902) 87/1 A lank long-armed man. |
| 1611 Cotgr. s.v. Eschine, Longue eschine,..*long-backt, or ill shaped, loobie. 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 32 A long back'd horse, who throws his saddle well forward. 1837 Landor Pentameron, 5th Day's Interview Wks. 1853 II. 348/1 Sitting bolt-upright in that long-backed arm-chair. |
| 1902 Daily Chron. 20 Mar. 3/1 The rests for the *long-barrelled muskets disappeared just at the beginning of the war. 1969 F. Wilkinson Flintlock Pistols 26 Pair of long-barrelled 17th century pistols of very fine quality. |
| 1778 Da Costa Brit. Conch. 133 *Long-beaked Whelkes. |
| 1573 L. Lloyd Marrow of Hist. (1653) 165 Those that were long haired or *long bearded. 1679 Dryden & Lee Œdipus ii. 18 Long-bearded Comets. c 1806 Mrs. Sherwood in Life xxi. (1847) 356 The schoolmaster..was generally a long⁓bearded, dry old man. |
| 1590 Sir. J. Smyth Disc. Weapons 3 Verie well armed with some kind of head-peece, a collar, a deformed high and *long bellied breast. |
| 1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 212 Dirty, dark, *long-berried wheat, 1d. per pound. |
| 1594 Barnfield Affect. Sheph. ii. ix. 13 (Arber), Wilt thou set springes..To catch the *long-billd Woodcocke? 1822 J. Fowler Jrnl. (1898) 148 We thear for the first time seen the long Billed Bird;..the bill about one foot in length. 1831 A. Wilson & Bonaparte Amer. Ornith. III. 60 The long-billed curlew;..the bill is eight inches long. 1970 S. Trueman Intimate Hist. New Brunswick xi. 144 Some seafowl, like the..long-billed curlew, had become either extremely scarce, or extinct over the years. |
| 1696 Lond. Gaz. No. 3163/4 W. L...low of stature, somewhat *long Bodied, and very short Legg'd. 1864 A. M{supc}Kay Hist. Kilmarnock (1880) 299 [During a flood in a through-town river] a long-bodied cart drifted towards him. |
| 1646–8 G. Daniel Poems Wks. 1878 I. 213 My *long-brail'd Pineons, (clumsye and vnapt) I cannot Spread. |
| 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. & Ferns 388 The *long-celled initial strands of the vascular bundles. |
| 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 1454 Ev'ry link Of that *long-chain'd succession is so frail. |
| 1777 Pennant Zool. IV. 5 Cancer. Crab...Cassivelaunus. *Long-clawed. 1812 Shelley in Lady Shelley Mem. (1859) 44, I am one of those formidable and long-clawed animals called a man. |
| 1813 Vancouver Agric. Devon 352 The washed wool of all the *Longcoated sheep, is sold from 14d. to 15d. per pound. 1861 W. F. Collier Hist. Eng. Lit. 123 Hordes of long-coated peasants gathered round Kilcolman. |
| 1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden cxvii, After which come large and *long-crested, black-shining seed. |
| 1847 Emerson Poems 53 He would come in the very hour..And tell its *long-descended race. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. I. xxiii. 260 Osborne was to do great things..marry a long-descended heiress. 1892 ‘Mark Twain’ Amer. Claimant xix. 180 Every man is made up of hereditaries, long descended atoms and particles of his ancestors. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. cclviii, Let my unsounded self, supposed a fool, Now set thy *long-experienced wit to school. a 1700 Dryden Ovid's Met. x. Cinyras & Myrrha 192 My long-experienc'd Age shall be your Guide. |
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Cariluengo, *long faced. 1883 W. Haslam Yet Not I 222 He was looking well and happy, not at all long-faced and lanky. |
| 1879 R. H. Elliot Written on their Foreheads I. 14 How is it..that the Scotch have got a greater amount of *long-facedness than the people of the east coast of England. |
| 1678 Lond. Gaz. No. 1272/4 He is..purblind, between *long and round favoured. |
| 1843 James Forest Days iv, The pen where the fat, *long-fleeced ram was confined. |
| 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 184 Order. Hydrocharideæ..(*Long-flowered Anacharis). |
| 1552 Huloet, *Longe foted, compernis. 1652 Gaule Magastrom. 186 The long footed are fraudulent and short footed sudden. |
| 1832 Miss Mitford Village Ser. v. 60 A very *long-fronted, very regular, very ugly brick house. |
| 1621 Wither Motto A 8 b, I haue no neede of these *long-gowned warriors. |
| 1831 J. M. Peck Guide for Emigrants ii. 156 The *long grained Virginia corn is chiefly produced. 1970 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Cookie Bird iii. 33 You all meet over the trolleys with your long-grain rice sacks at the mainline Cash & Carry. 1974 Times 10 Jan. 10/1 With long grain rice, when correctly cooked, the grains remain separate. |
| 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 37 Remove the oxide with a *long-handled iron spoon. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 70 Simond could reach this snow with his long-handled axe. |
| 1687 Lond. Gaz. No. 2292/4 A Roan Gelding..*long heel'd before. 1864 Bowen Logic viii. 236 Since he [negro] has many other [attributes], such as being long-heeled, &c. |
| 1777 Pennant Zool. IV. 3 Cancer. Crab...Longicornis. *Longhorned. 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 165 The Dishly breed of long-horned cattle. |
| 1727 Bailey vol. II, *Long Jointed [spoken of a Horse], is one whose Pastern is slender and pliant. |
| 1856 J. G. Whittier Panorama 128 A pleased surprise Looked from her *long-lashed hazel eyes. 1913 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. ii. ii. 167 The long-lashed blue eyes and rose-leaf complexion. 1963 J. Fountain in B. James Austral. Short Stories 277 Her long-lashed eyes modestly lowered. |
| 1819 E. Dana Geogr. Sk. Western Country 173 The *long leafed pine is a stately tree, from 60 to 80 feet, clear of limbs. |
| c 1605 Drayton Man in Moone 199 *Long leau'd willow on whose bending spray, The pide kings-fisher..sat. 1778 G. White Let. 3 July in Selborne (1789) ii. xli. 235 Drosera rotundifolia, round-leaved sundew. [Drosera] longifolia, long-leaved ditto. 1785 H. Marshall Arbustrum Americanum 83 Long-leaved Mountain Magnolia or Cucumber Tree. 1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 228 This invaluable tree is..called Long-leaved Pine, Yellow Pine, Pitch Pine and Broom Pine. 1861 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 95 Long-leaved Sallow. 1942 W. de la Mare Songs of Childhood 86 The twilight rain shone at its gates, Where long-leaved grass in shadow grew. 1953 E. Sitwell Gardeners & Astronomers 3 The long-leaved planets in our garden-shed. 1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools 21 Inside the court there was a long-leaved olive tree. |
| 1838 Dickens O. Twist xlii, One of those *long limbed..people, to whom it is difficult to assign any precise age. |
| 1577 tr. Bullinger's Decades (1592) 381 They were called Nazarites, as who should saie, *long locked or shagge haired people. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus xxxvii. 17 Peerless paragon of the tribe long-lock'd. |
| 1877 W. Morris in Mackail Life (1899) I. 359 These unreasonable Irish still remember it all, so *long-memoried they are! |
| 1681 Grew Musæum 125 The *long-mouth'd Wilk, Murex Labris parallelis. |
| 1685 Lond. Gaz. No. 2036/8 A light dapple Gray Gelding,..*long pasternd,..and a little Mare-fac'd. |
| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2361/4 A strawberry Mare, with a shorn Mane,..*long quarter'd, and six years old. |
| 1693 Dryden Persius Sat. (1697) 414 He who in his Line, can chine the *long-ribb'd Appennine. 1820 Scott Abbot viii. motto, The long-ribb'd aisles are burst and shrunk. |
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxvii. 44 That *long-ridg'd Rocke, her fathers high renowne. 1683 Lond. Gaz. No. 1805/4 Long Visaged, and a long ridged Nose. |
| 1752 Fielding Amelia Wks. 1775 XI. 65 Women and the clergy are upon the same footing. The *long-robed gentry are exempted from the laws of honour. 1894 Safer Persian Pict. 158 The streets thronged with long-robed men and shrouded women. |
| 1871 Palgrave Lyr. Poems 117 And *long-roof'd abbey in the dell. |
| 1579 T. Lupton Thousand Notable Things ii. 28 If the disease be so *long rooted. 1902 W. James Var. Relig. Exper. xi. 264 It costs, then, nothing..to renounce long-rooted privileges and possessions. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 26 Jan. Suppl. 4/1 Long-rooted carrots only grow well in deep, sandy soil. |
| 1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship 280 Plain *long-shafted Crosses without any figure. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 310 Marke what *long-shanked legs aboue ordinary she [Nature] hath giuen vnto them [gnats]. |
| 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 653/1 The *long-shaped dorsal vessel or heart gives off arteries to both sides. 1898 H. S. Merriman Roden's Corner xvii. 176 A long-shaped lantern. |
| 1821 M. Edgeworth Let. 19 Dec. (1971) 296 Very *long skirted coat which he holds up often by tucking one hand under inside the bottom of the waist behind. 1921 D. H. Lawrence Tortoises 13 A gentleman in a long-skirted coat. 1974 R. Harris Double Snare xv. 105 Students..accompanied by their sandalled, long-haired, long-skirted birds. |
| 1902 Speaker 25 Jan. 480/1 The Iberian was a short, dark, *long-skulled man. |
| 1591 Percivall Sp. Dict., Mangado, *long sleeved. a 1658 Cleveland Obsequies 105 Wks. (1687) 218 Teazers of Doctrines, which in long sleev'd Prose Run down a Sermon all upon the Nose. 1897 R. M. Gilchrist Peakland Faggot 95 Vignettes akin to those one sees on the porcelain faces of old Derbyshire ‘long-sleeved clocks’. 1903 G. F. Abbott Tale Tour Macedonia 221 A long-sleeved black jacket. 1964 O. Coburn tr. Braun-Ronsdorf's Wheel of Fashion 263/1 The basque bodice, high-necked, long-sleeved and ever more tight-fitting. |
| 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1843) I. 378 The beautiful weevils or *long-snouted beetles. |
| 1876 J. Macgregor Rob Roy on Baltic 286 A long, narrow, light racing-canoe, with a *long-spooned paddle. |
| 1785 Martyn Rousseau's Bot. xxvii. (1794) 417 You may call it *long spurred, or Sweet Orchis. 1882 Garden 13 May 323/3 [The] Long-spurred Violet. |
| 1791 Wolcot (P. Pindar) Remonstrance Wks. 1812 II. 455 Night's *long-staff'd Guardian to him steals. |
| 1847 W. E. Steele Field Bot. 203 Barren spike sometimes 1; fertile *long-stalked. 1855 W. S. Dallas Syst. Nat. Hist., Zool. I. 314 The Long-stalked Crab (Podophthalmus). |
| 1772 Jackson in Phil. Trans. LXIII. 6 *Long or short stapled isinglass. 1854 Hawthorne Eng. Note-Bks. (1883) I. 571 The long-stapled cotton. |
| 1859 G. Meredith R. Feverel xxx, He strolled on beneath the *long-stemmed trees. |
| 1898 R. Kipling in Morn. Post 9 Nov. 5/2 The *long-stocked port-anchor. |
| 1863 Darwin in Reader 14 Feb., *Long-styled plants. |
| 1636 C. Butler Princ. Mus. i. iii. §3. 53 A *long-timed Note. |
| 1807 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 313 The unseemly luxury of *long-toed shoes. |
| 1964 Seventeen Jan. 46 Something very big in beach fashions—Petti's new *long⁓trousered Surfer! 1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter iii. 362 The long-trousered suit that he had worn this holidays. 1974 I. Murdoch Sacred & Profane Love Machine 104 A thin long-trousered boy. |
| 1577 Dee Relat. Spir. i. (1659) 73 He is lean and *long-visaged. 1860 Dickens Lett. 2 Jan. (1880) II. 109 Long-visaged prophets. |
| 1616 Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 715 The *long-winged hawkes do properly belong vnto the lure. 1894 Le Conte in Pop. Sci. Monthly XLIV. 752 In long-winged birds..the ability to rise quickly..is sacrificed. |
| 1805 J. Luccock Nat. Wool 184 *Long-wooled sheep. |
| 1824 J. Symmons tr. æschylus' Agam. 105 In woe deals the craft of the *long-worded lays. |
17. Combinations with participles in which
long is used as a complement, as
long-docked,
long-extended,
long-grown,
long-projected,
long-protended,
long-spun,
long-thrown;
long-combing,
long-descending,
long-growing,
long-hanging,
long-streaming,
long-succeeding.
| 1846 M{supc}Culloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 171 The native sheep of the Cotswold Hills..produce coarse *long-combing wool. |
| 1693 J. Dryden in D.'s Juvenal xiv. (1697) 356 A *long-descending Healthful Progeny. 1838 Lytton Leila ii. iii, Long-descending robes of embroidered purple. |
| 1688 Lond. Gaz. No. 2379/4 Lost.., a..Coach Gelding,..with a *long dock'd Tail. |
| 1718 Prior Solomon ii. 30 The pillars *long extended rows. |
| 1890 W. A. Wallace Only a Sister? 41 A faint rumble..at *longer-growing intervals. |
| 1757 Dyer Fleece ii. 446 'Tis the comber's lock, The soft, the snow-white, and the *long-grown flake. |
| 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 25/1 The foresayed *longe hanginge pallate. |
| 1720 Pope Iliad xviii. 251 With *long-projected Beams the Seas are bright. |
| 1718 Ibid. xvi. 981 Euphorbus..Swift withdrew the *long-protended Wood. |
| 1675 Cocker Morals 21 Which before time has run his *long-spun Race. 1761–2 Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. lxii. 668 Long-spun allegories, distant allusions, and forced conceits. 1882 J. Walker Jaunt to Auld Reekie, etc. 38 He is blest wi' lang-spun tacks o' health and life. |
| 1735 Somerville Chase i. 352 The panting Chace..Leaves a *long-streaming Trail behind. |
| 1720 Pope Iliad xvii. 306 The *long-succeeding Numbers who can name? |
| 1859 G. Meredith R. Feverel xx, Over the open, 'tis a race with the *long-thrown shadows. |
18. a. Special combinations and collocations:
long-acting a. Pharm., having effects that last a long time;
long and short stitch, in embroidery, a flat stitch used for shading;
long annuities, a class of British Government annuities which expired in 1860;
long-arm, (
a) a long-barrelled gun, as a musket, rifle, etc.; (
b) a device used as an extension of the arm,
e.g. a pole fitted with a hook, shears, etc., for lifting objects to, cutting branches, etc., at a height beyond the ordinary reach of the arm;
freq. attrib.;
long-axed a., having a long axis;
Long Bertha = Big Bertha (
s.v. Bertha2);
long blow Austral. and
N.Z. [
blow n.1 1 c], a stroke of the shears in sheep-shearing which cuts away the fleece from rump to neck;
long bond Comm. (see
quot. 1948);
† long-bones, a nickname for a long-legged person;
long-bowls, (
a) the game of ninepins; (
b) ‘a game much used in Angus, in which heavy leaden bullets are thrown from the hand’ (
Jam.); hence
long-bowling;
† long-box, the box formerly used by the hawkers of books;
long-bullets = long-bowls (
b);
long-butt Billiards, a cue specially adapted to reach a ball lying beyond the range of the half-butt;
long card, (
a) (see
quot. 1862); (
b) a card of unusual length, used in conjuring tricks; (
c)
Contract Bridge (see
quots.);
long-case clock = grandfather's clock [
grandfather 5], also
ellipt. long-case;
long chain Chem. [
chain n. 5 g], a relatively large number of atoms (
usu. of carbon) linked together in a line;
freq. attrib. (
usu. hyphenated);
long chair = chaise-longue;
long chalk (see
chalk n. 6 b);
long cist Archæol., a type of megalithic tomb having a long and narrow chamber to which there is direct entry;
long clay colloq. = churchwarden 3;
long clothes, the garments of a baby in arms; also
fig.;
long-coach (see
quot. 1807);
† long-cork slang, claret, so called from the length of the corks used;
long-crop, herbage long enough to give an animal a good bite;
long cross, (
a)
Printing (see
quot. 1884); (
b)
Numism., a cross of which the arms extend to the outer circle on a coin;
† long-cutler, ? a maker of long knives;
long-dated a.,
† (
a) that has existed from a remote date; (
b) extending to a distant date in the future; chiefly of an acceptance, falling due at a distant date;
long deal, in card-playing (see
quot.);
long division (see
division 5 a);
long drawer, a drawer which extends the full width of a chest, wardrobe, etc.;
long dress, a floor- or ankle-length dress,
usu. worn as evening dress;
long-drop, a form of gallows in which a trap-door is withdrawn from under the feet of the person to be executed;
long ear, a translation of the native name for a member of an extinct people which inhabited Easter Island and was distinguished by artificially lengthened ears;
long Eliza, a ‘blue and white’ Chinese vase, ornamented with tall female figures;
long-ells, a kind of coarse woollen;
long fallow (see
quots.);
long-fed a. (see
quot. 1969);
† long fifteens slang, ? some class of lawyers;
long finger, the middle finger; also
pl. the three middle fingers;
long firm (see
firm n. 2 d);
long-fly Baseball (see
quot.);
long Forties Naut. (
cf. forty n. 4);
long-fours, long candles, four of which went to the pound;
† Long Friday = Good Friday;
† long-gig, a sort of top;
long glass, (
a) a full-length looking-glass; (
b) a drinking-glass approximately three feet long for holding a yard of ale (
cf. yard n.2 9 c);
long grain = grain n. 15;
long grass, used
gen. of grass or grass-like growth, typical of certain areas in Africa, tall enough, for example, to conceal animals;
long green U.S. slang, dollar-notes, money (
cf. green n. 7 d);
long-harness Weaving (see
quot.);
long-haul attrib. (see
haul n. 1 c);
long-home (see
home n.1 4);
long-house,
† (
a) a privy (
obs.); (
b) a house of unusual length,
spec. the communal dwelling of the Iroquois and other American Indians; also, a long dwelling-house in other areas,
esp. a large communal village house in certain parts of Malaysia and Indonesia;
long ink Printing (see
quots.);
long-jawed a. (see
quot.);
long john,
usu. in
pl., (
a) a type of long, warm underwear; (
b) a children's game; (
c) (in
sing.) a long coffee table; also
long John table; (see also sense 18 c);
long jump (see
jump n.1 1 b;
esp. as one of the ‘events’ of an athletic contest); hence
long-jumper,
long-jumping; also (with hyphen) as
vb.;
long-keeping a., able to be kept for a long time;
long lady = farthing-candle (
farthing n. 5);
long-leave,
-legger (see
quots.);
long legs W. Afr. colloq. (see
quot. 1971);
long-lick U.S. slang, molasses (
cf. long-sugar);
long-life a., remaining serviceable (
quot. 1946
= remaining radioactive) for an unusually long time;
† long-little, something very short or small;
long-lugged a. Sc., having long ears;
fig. eager to listen to secrets or scandal;
long-lunged a. = long-winded 2;
† long-man, the middle finger;
Long March,
spec. the year-long retreat of the Chinese Communists across south-western China during the period of Nationalist government; also (not always with capital initials) in other contexts;
long measure, (
a) lineal measure, the measure of length; (
b) a table of lineal measures; (
c)
= next;
long metre, a hymn-stanza of four lines, each containing eight syllables;
† long-minded a., patient;
long mirror = long glass (
a);
† long-mood a., of patient mind, long-suffering;
long-nebbed a. Sc., (
a)
lit. long-nosed; (of a stick) long-pointed; (
b)
fig. curious, prying; also, making a show of learning, pedantic;
long-netting, the process of catching fish with a long net;
long-nines, a kind of long clay tobacco pipe;
long oyster, the sea crayfish (Smyth
Sailor's Word-bk.);
long paddock Austral. and
N.Z. slang (see
quot.);
Long Parliament, the Parliament which sat from Nov. 1640 to March 1653, was restored for a short time in 1659, and finally dissolved in 1660;
† also, the second Parliament of Charles II (1661–1678);
long-persistence a., applied to a screen of a cathode-ray tube on which a spot remains luminous for a relatively long period after the electron beam has moved elsewhere;
long-pig, a
transl. of a cannibal's name for human flesh; also
attrib.;
long plane (see
quot. 1842);
long prayer in Congregational worship, the chief prayer, offered after the Scripture lessons and before the sermon;
long-primer Printing (see
primer);
long pull, (
a)
Printing, in the operation of the handpress, a pull on the bar almost to its fullest extent; (
b) the practice in public houses of giving over-measure to attract custom;
long rains [
cf. rain n.1 2 b], in tropical countries, the rainy season;
long-room, an assembly room in a private house or public building;
spec. in the Custom House at London, the large hall in which custom-house and other dues are paid;
long-rope, a skipping game, in which a rope of considerable length is turned by two of the players, one at each end, while the others spring over it as it nears the ground;
long s, a lower-case form of the letter s, printed ſ, no longer in general use;
long sauce (see
sauce n. 4 a);
long sea, short for
long sea passage; also
attrib.;
long service, (
a)
Naut. (see
quot.); (
b)
Mil., ‘the maximum period a recruit can enlist for in any branch of the service,
viz. for 12 years’ (Voyle); also used to denote a less specific period of service; also
attrib.;
long-shaded,
-shadowed adjs., casting a long shade or shadow, a rendering of
Gr. δολιχόσκιος;
long ship, (
a)
Hist., a ship of considerable length, built to accomodate a large number of rowers; a ship of war, a galley;
= L.
navis longa; (
b)
Naval slang (see
quots.);
long-short, (
a)
U.S., ‘a gown somewhat shorter than a petticoat, worn by women when doing household work’ (Bartlett); (
b) a trochaic verse (
nonce-use);
long short story, a short story (see
short a. 26) of more than average length, a novella; also
long-short ellipt.;
long sight, capacity for seeing distant objects; also, the defect of sight by which only distant objects are seen distinctly; (see also
sight n.1);
long silk attrib. of cotton, long-stapled;
long-sixes, long candles, six of which went to the pound (
cf. long-fours);
long sleeve, a sleeve which extends to the wrist; also (with hyphen)
attrib.;
long-sleever Austral. slang, a tall glass;
long slide, (
a)
Steam-engine (see
quot.); (
b)
Curling (see
quots.);
long-small, a length of rod used in basket-making;
long song (see
quot.);
long-splice Naut. (see
quot. 1968); also as
v.;
long-splintery a., consisting of long splinters;
† long square Geom., an oblong rectangle; also
attrib.;
† long-staff, a long cudgel, ?
= quarter-staff; also
attrib.;
long-staple a. (see
quots.); also
ellipt.;
long stitch (see
quot.);
long-stone, a menhir;
long-stop (see sense 18 d);
long-straw Thatching (see
quot. 1968);
long-straws, the drawing of straws as a game;
long-stroke, (
a)
Naut. (see
quot. 1867); (
b) a stroke of a piston or pump rod, which is longer than the average; also
attrib.;
long sugar U.S., molasses;
long-sweetening U.S., (
a) molasses; (
b) (see
quot.);
long sword (see
sword);
long-tackle Naut. (see
quot.); also
attrib. in
long-tackle-block;
† long-tennis, some form of tennis (
cf. F.
longue paume, tennis played in an open court);
long-termer, a person who is serving a long prison-sentence;
long-threads, warp;
long-timbers (see
quot.);
long-time a., that has been such for a long time; also, extending for a long time into the future; requiring a long time;
long-timer = long-termer;
long-togs Naut., landsmen's clothes (Smyth);
long twelves Printing, a duodecimo (12mo) imposition scheme with the forme arranged in two rows of six long narrow type pages as opposed to three rows of four shorter and broader pages in standard 12mo schemes;
Long Vacation, summer vacation at the Law-courts and Universities, so called in distinction from the Christmas and Easter vacations; also
attrib.;
long verse = long-line 3;
long voyage (see
quot.);
long-wall Coal-mining, used
attrib. (rarely
advb.), to imply a particular method of extracting coal (see
quot. 1851);
long-warped a., oblong (
cf. OE. langwyrpe in
Techmer's Zeitschr. II. 119);
long wave, a wave of relatively long wavelength;
spec. in
Broadcasting, a radio wave with a wavelength longer than about one kilometre (but less than ten kilometres, in
mod. use);
freq. attrib. (
usu. hyphenated);
long way = long-wall;
long week-end, a week-end holiday of more than the usual length;
fig. the period between the wars of 1914–18 and 1939–45;
long whist (see
whist n.);
† long-willed a., long suffering;
long-wool, (
a) long-stapled wool, suitable for combing or carding; (
b) a long-woolled sheep; also
attrib.;
long writ = prerogative writ (see
prerogative).
| 1951 A. Grollman Pharmacol. & Therapeutics vi. 143 For prolonged mild sedation..small doses of a *long-acting barbiturate are useful. 1971 D. Clark Sick to Death ii. 35 Sally was on long-acting insulin. That means she only had to inject twice a day. |
| 1848 E. C. P. in C. H. Hartshorne Eng. Medieval Embroidery 121 ‘*Long and short’ stitch is employed for shading. 1960 [see brick-stitch (brick n.1 10)]. 1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iv. 91 The ones in existence depict the Buddha life size, the large areas of colour being filled in solidly in chain, satin, and long-and-short stitch. |
| 1809 R. Langford Introd. Trade 57 *Long annuities 16½ means, that an annuity of 100l. from the present time to the year 1860, will cost..16½ years' purchase; at which time they will expire. This stock was originally for 99 years. 1888 Buxton Finance & Politics I. 189 note, The ‘Long Annuities’ dated from 1780. Their actual amount in 1860 was {pstlg}1,200,000. |
| 1675 in Public Rec. Colony of Connecticut (1852) II. 270 Such Troopers as shall neglect to prouide themselues with *long armes, viz. a carbin or muskett..shall be disbanded. 1952 Granville Dict. Theatr. Terms 113 Long-arm, a long wooden pole used for clearing borders and ceilings, that foul the lines in the flies. 1969 E. H. Pinto Treen 406 Long-arms, the trigger action, long-arm hook,..for removing objects from crowded windows, was a useful and necessary device in Victorian times... It is still made in modified form, to assist invalids in picking up objects which are otherwise out of reach. 1972 D. W. Bailey Brit. Mil. Longarms 1815–65 9 The barrels of military longarms were officially ‘browned’ from 1815. 1973 Times 14 July 12/1 Gang mowers and long-arm rotary cutters for roadside banks and verges. |
| 1896 Allbutt's Syst. Med. I. 33 The deep orbit and the *long-axed eyeball going naturally with the long head. |
| 1919 G. B. Shaw Peace Conf. Hints vi. 75 Within range of *Long Bertha. |
| 1929 H. B. Smith Sheep & Wool Industry Austral. & N.Z. (ed. 3) x. 77 The shearer now gets in a *long blow with the machine, running from the britch end to the top of the neck. 1949 P. Newton High Country Days v. 49 Laying his sheep full length he swung into the ‘long blow’—from rump to neck. 1952 J. Cleary Sundowners iii. 138 Paddy was beginning the longest cut, the ‘long blow’, from the flank to the top of the head. 1956 G. Bowen Wool Away! (ed. 2) iii. 36 If you see a shearer with a good long blow he is usually a good shearer. |
| 1948 G. Crowther Outl. Money (ed. 2) ii. 73 Those that mature within five years are known as Short Bonds. Medium Bonds run from five to about twenty years, and all above that are *Long Bonds. |
| c 1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 190 Ye *langbaynnes, loselles, for-sake ȝe þat word! |
| 1497 Ld. Treas. Acc. Scotl. (1877) I. 332 Item, the samyn nycht, in Sanctandrois, to the King to play at the *lang bowlis xviij. s. |
| 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. iii. vii. 201 *Long-bowling..was performed in a narrow enclosure,..and at the further end was placed a square frame with nine small pins upon it; at these pins the players bowled in succession. 1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 180/1 After the suppression of alleys ‘Long bowling’, or ‘Dutch rubbers’ was practised for a short time. |
| a 1643 Cartwright Ordinary iii. v. (1651) 52, I shall live to see thee Stand in a Play-house doore with thy *long box, Thy half-crown Library, and cry small Books. |
| 1728 Swift Past. Dialogue 33 When you saw Tady at *long-bullets play. 1792 S. Burwood Life P. Skelton (1816) 282 He challenged any of them to play long-bullets with him... The little fellow..took the bullet, and threw it about twice as far as Skelton. |
| 1873 Bennett & ‘Cavendish’ Billiards 27 The *long-butt is used in the same way when the ball cannot be reached with the half-butt. |
| 1862 ‘Cavendish’ Whist (1870) 29 *Long cards are cards of a suit remaining in one hand after the remainder of the suit is played. 1872 Young Gentleman's Mag. 698/2 Packs with a long card can be obtained at many of the conjuring depôts. 1936 E. Culbertson Contract Bridge Complete i. 39 Low cards established from four-card or longer suits. They are called long cards. 1959 C. H. Goren New Contract Bridge in Nutshell (1960) 13 What is a long card? In the trump suit, long cards start at the fifth card. In a side suit, the fourth card is considered a long card. |
| 1892 *Long-case clock [see grandfather 5]. 1899 F. J. Britten Old Clocks & Watches 320 Some of the earliest long-case clocks were liberally embellished with marqueterie. 1972 Country Life 9 Mar. 546/3 Strictly speaking, all clocks of this type should be called longcases, although since Victorian times they have been known to the general public as ‘grandfathers’. 1972 B. Loomes Yorks. Clockmakers 10 Very few longcase clocks were made after 1860. |
| 1930 Biochem. Jrnl. XXIV. 113 A peculiar *long-chain fatty acid. Ibid. 114 The two long chains are connected to polar groups. 1951 Sci. News XXII. 98 The configuration in space of the long chains, formed by the linking together of successive amino-acids, which seem to be a common feature of all proteins. 1964 G. H. Haggis et al. Introd. Molecular Biol. ix. 216 Nucleic acids are long-chain molecules, and the individual units linked together to form these chains are called nucleotides. 1974 Sci. Amer. Mar. 72/3 The useful properties of a polymer depend almost entirely on the presence of long chains. |
| 1891 Kipling & Balestier Naulahka (1892) vi. 54 It was full of white men..lying in the verandah in *long chairs. 1929 E. Bowen Last September iv. 41 Help Uncle Richard in with the long chair. 1956 E. Ambler Night-comers viii. 195 One of the long chairs was lying across the balustrade. |
| 1925 V. G. Childe Dawn European Civilization xiii. 213 The *long cists in North France, Belgium, Hessen, and Sweden have a holed-stone for the doorway. 1963 Field Archaeol. (Ordnance Survey) (ed. 4) 113 In Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, and the South-west of England burials in long cists which are coffin-like arrangements of stone slabs are frequently met with. |
| 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxi, He is churchwarden at home, and can't smoke anything but a *long clay. |
| 1819 Keats Let. 24 Sept. (1958) II. 215 A child in a[r]ms was passing by his chair..in the nurses a[r]ms—Lamb took hold of the *long clothes saying ‘Where, god bless me, Where does it leave off?’ 1861 Dickens Gt. Expect. II. xvi. 254 He had just finished putting somebody's hat into black long-clothes, like an African baby. 1862 Sala Accepted Addr. 85 It was settled almost before he was out of long-clothes, that he was to be a carpenter. 1932 Times Lit. Suppl. 29 Sept. 676/3 Fibonacci, the first Christian writer to give a systematic exposition of the Hindu numerals, without which analysis might still have been in its long-clothes. |
| 1779 G. Keate Sketches fr. Nat. (1790) I. 26 The Margate *Long-Coach was drawn up in the yard, and the passengers already seated in it. 1807 Goede Stranger Eng. III. 59 Stage-coaches..others in form of a cylinder, are called long-coaches. |
| 1829 Marryat F. Mildmay xiv, The young officer might like a drop o' *long cork; bring us..one o' they claret bottles. |
| 1878 J. Inglis Sport & W. xi. 121 They generally betake themselves then to some patch of grass or *long-crop outside the jungle. |
| 1683–4 J. Moxon Mech. Exerc. Printing (1962) 267 Then he [sc. the Press-man] Folds a sheet of the Paper he is to Work long-ways, and broad-ways, and lays the long Crease of it upon the middle of the *Long-Cross. 1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. 261 They [sc. compositors] lessen the Furniture on both sides the Long Cross, to enlarge the Bottom Margin. 1884 J. Gould Letter-Press Printer (ed. 3) 166/1 Longcross, the bar that divides a chase the longest way. 1904 C. L. Stainer Oxf. Silver Pennies 50 Long cross voided, each limb terminating in crescent. 1924 Southward's Mod. Printing (ed. 5) I. xl. 246 (caption) Long cross. 1972 Oxf. Univ. Gaz. CII. Suppl. No. 3. 50 A selection of 23 silver ‘long-cross’ pennies (1247–78) from a hoard found at Colchester. |
| 1720 Lond. Gaz. No. 5881/5 George Cottrell,..*Long-cuttler. |
| 1678 Norris Coll. Misc. (1699) 213 He must be the more unwilling to break off a *long-dated Innocence, for the unsatisfying pleasure of a moment. 1866 Crump Banking vii. 153 Long-dated bills will sometimes command a higher price than shorter dates. 1883 Manch. Exam. 12 Dec. 5/1 The work⁓people no doubt act from a long-dated regard for their own interests. |
| 1898 H. S. Canfield Maid of Frontier 86 It was what is termed a ‘*long deal’, that is, no winning or losing card had slipped from the dealer's carelessly careful hands. |
| 1827 Hutton Course Math. I. 43 Divide by the whole divisor at once, after the manner of *Long division. |
| 1810 E. Weeton Let. 11 May (1969) I. 261 You will find the necessary keys for the three *long drawers. 1928 A. M. M. Douton Bk. with Seven Seals 19 They are in the top long drawer. 1975 Country Life 20 Feb. 426/2 The chest..has one long drawer..and below that are two deeper drawers. |
| 1949 N. Marsh Swing, Brother, Swing iii. 40 She climbed into a *long dress, six years old. 1954 J. Masters Bhowani Junction xxxii. 275 There's a dance to-night... Please come. Long dress. 1973 H. McCloy Change of Heart ix. 102 Long dress? Surely not in these days for a family dinner at home? |
| 1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle xi. (1859) 244 The lumbering flap of the *long drop was heard. |
| 1891 W. J. Thomson in Rep. U.S. Nat. Museum (1889) 529 This unsatisfactory state of affairs was brought to an end..by a desperate battle, in which the ‘*long ears’ had planned the utter annihilation of their enemies. 1919 K. Routledge Mystery of Easter Island xviii. 282 The Long Ears suddenly appear on the island at a much later time. 1958 T. Heyerdahl Aku-Aku xi. 353 The mayor..and his ancestors who had made the great statues on Easter Island called themselves long-ears. Is it not strange that they should bother to lengthen their ears so that they hung down to their shoulders? |
| 1884 Pall Mall G. 4 Dec. 6/1 *Long Elizas (the trade name for certain blue and white vases ornamented with figures of tall, thin China-women) is a name derived undoubtedly from the German or Dutch. |
| 1753 Hanway Trav. (1762) I. v. lxiv. 292 From Holland they reckon one bale of maghoot, one of shalloons, and one of *long ells, to ten bales of begrest. 1843 Penny Cycl. XXVII. 555/2 Druggets and long-ells..are made in Devon and Cornwall. |
| 1960 G. E. Evans Horse in Furrow x. 131 A bastard summer-land is so called to distinguish [it] from a true summer-land or *long fallow. 1971 World Archaeol. III. 135 They [sc. the Tifalmin] practise long-fallow cultivation, clearing a patch of forest and abandoning it after two or three years, probably for fifteen years or more. |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 12 Oct. 4/4 *Long-fed beef, as fed by English farmers, cost 21s. 3d. 1969 Neumann & Snapp Beef Cattle (ed. 6) xi. 303 If cattle are fed finishing rations for 8 to 10 months, they are spoken of as ‘long-fed’ cattle. |
| 1611 L. Barry Ram Alley ii. i. C 4, Why so, these are tricks of the *long fifteenes, To giue counsell, and to take fees on both sides. |
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 309/336 He pult forth is felawe, þe ‘*longue finger’, þat sit him next. 1486 Bk. St. Albans B v b, Betwene the longe fyngre and the leche fyngre. 1848 Rimbault Pianoforte 45 Every change is made by passing the thumb under the long fingers, or the long fingers over the thumb. |
| 1891 N. Crane Baseball 81 *Long fly, a fly ball which is batted to the out-field. |
| 1776 T. Pennant Tour in Scotl. & Voy. Hebrides 1772 II. 145 Quantities of white-fish..might be taken on the great sand banks off this coast. The *long Fortys extend parallel to it. 1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station xii. 183 The Grand Fleet was ordered to rendezvous in the ‘Long Forties’; the Battle Cruiser Fleet to join farther south. |
| 1832 Boston, etc. Herald 18 Sept. 1/4 Making long-sixes burn as brightly as *long-fours. |
| c 1000 Ags. Gosp. John xviii. 1 marg., Ðes passio ᵹe-byreð on *langa frigadæᵹ. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 95 Crepe to cruche on lange fridai. |
| 1636 Davenant Wits iv. ii. Dram. Wks. 1872 II. 199 When I was young, I was arrested for a stale commodity Of nut-crackers, *long-gigs, and casting-tops. |
| 1843 C. Ridley Let. Nov. in Cecilia (1958) xii. 141 Little Matt..always gives himself a kiss in the *long glass. 1883 J. Brinsley-Richards Seven Yrs. at Eton xxix. 322 There was a way of holding the long glass at a certain angle by which catastrophes were avoided. 1942 G. Mitchell Laurels are Poison xvii. 186 Have a look at yourself in the long glass. 1953 Word for Word: Encycl. Beer (Whitbread & Co.) 37/1 Yard of ale, known also as a long glass..held between 23/4 and 3½ pints. |
| 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. & Ferns 471 The longitudinal course of the single elements..appearing in the direction of the ‘*long grain’ of the wood and bast. |
| 1858 E. H. D. Domenech Missionary Adventures Texas & Mexico iv. 276 The way of the *long grass is not easy. 1863 Macm. Mag. Nov. 27/2 The long grass swarmed with hog-deer. 1912 D. Crawford (title) Thinking Black: 22 years without a break in the long grass of Central Africa. 1961 Listener 7 Sept. 346/1 This is the Africa of the ‘long grass’ such as Hyparrhenia and Echinochloa into which, half a century ago, one would have romantically disappeared. The areas of long-grass plains in the Sudan have to be experienced to be believed. 1964 C. Willock Enormous Zoo i. 14 Much of it is long-grass country. |
| 1896 Ade Artie ix. 79, I never see him do a stroke of work, but he can always make a flash o' the *long green. 1903 A. H. Lewis Boss xiv. 174 I'd naturally s'ppose that when you went ehy on th' long green, you'd touch th' old gentleman. 1946 S. Newton Paul Bunyan x. 63 We'll be there tomorrow afternoon with Napoleon and the long green. |
| 1782 Encycl. Brit. 6711/2 The *long-harness [of a ribbon-loom] are the front-reeds, by which the figure is raised. |
| 1928 Electrical Communication VII. i. 62 *Long Haul Single Channel Carrier Telephone Systems Connect Melbourne with..Victoria and South Australia. 1957 [see haul n. 1 c]. 1961 Economist 11 Nov. 575/2 The [airport] buildings themselves are expected to be adequate to meet all long-haul traffic until 1970. 1974 Times 5 Jan. 9/2 Other long-haul operators to be recommended..Kenton Travel International..offer a round-the-world trip starting at {pstlg} 795. 1975 Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 17 Aug. 3/3 Expenses of the long-haul teamsters who rested and stabled their horses there. |
| 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. ii. 355 To make wads and wisps for those that go to the *Long-house (you know what I meane). 1646 J. Temple Irish Rebell. 4 He set up a long house, made of smoothed wattles. 1751 C. Gist Jrnls. (1893) 51 They marched in under French Colours and were conducted into the Long House. 1753 G. Washington Diaries (1925) I. 50 We met in Council at the Long House. 1774 D. Jones Jrnl. 2 Visits to Indians (1865) 76 They proceed to bind them [captives] naked to the post in the long house. 1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans Pref. (1850), Where the ‘long house’, or Great Council Fire, of the nation was universally admitted to be established. 1894 Fiske Hist. U.S. i. 5 Ground-plan of Iroquois Long-house. 1894 Sarawak Gaz. 1 May 67/1 The practice of herding together in ‘long houses’ prevents mental and moral improvement and hinders advance in gardening and planting and agricultural developement generally. 1905 Chambers's Jrnl. Oct. 714/1 The grim line of trophies hanging in the village long-house. 1912 Hose & McDougall Pagan Tribes Borneo I. iv, The Kenyah village frequently consists of a single long house. 1937 Discovery Sept. 257/1 Anga, our guide, who was head of the community on the opposite hill, invited us to visit his Longhouse... This dwelling place was cleverly constructed of bamboo and palm leaves (atap). 1949 B. A. St. J. Hepburn Handbk. Sarawak xix. 180 The ‘long-house’ system ensures that the individual incapacitated by illness or accident cannot be ignored or abandoned. 1961 Listener 9 Nov. 757/1, I came to my first long house after a journey of hours down the famous Rejan River, in the British territory of Sarawak in Borneo. 1965 C. Shuttleworth Malayan Safari ii. 32 The walls and roofs of the long-houses were built of palm leaves. 1966 G. E. Evans Pattern under Plough v. 72 The Welsh long-houses..with long sides and opposite doors providing a passage from side to side, and dividing the building roughly in two. 1971 Lady 15 July 88/3 The longhouse is an object lesson in community living. |
| 1967 Karch & Buber Offset Processes 545 *Long ink, ink that can be drawn out into a long thin string—such ink has considerable tack which will pull a plate clean and sharp. 1970 E. A. D. Hutchings Survey of Printing Processes 200 Long ink, an ink which will flow freely from a knife... Such an ink will, when dabbed on a finger and thumb, stretch out without breaking as these digits are drawn apart. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Long-jawed, the state of rope when its strands are straightened by being much strained and untwisted, and from its pliability will coil both ways. |
| 1943 T. R. St. George C/o Postmaster 12 Some odd garments affectionately known as ‘*longjohns’. 1961 A. Smith East-Enders ix. 156 In the living room there would be..a long John table, a small cocktail bar. 1961 Sunday Express 24 Sept. 20 ‘Longjohn’ coffee table. 1962 W. Schirra in Into Orbit 47 We..stripped down to our long johns so that the technicians could plaster us all over with strips of wet paper. Ibid. 49 A series of waffle-weave patches on our long john underwear helps to keep the oxygen moving. 1964 Spectator 14 Feb. 217 The long john is a homely woollen undergarment of rustic provenience. 1969 J. Gardner Founder Member vii. 115 Boysie picked up the clothes... A suit of woollen long johns, a pair of heavy calf-length stockings. 1970 G. E. Evans Where Beards wag All xix. 219 The boys played Long Johns which they did as they walked along the road throwing the marbles ahead of them. 1971 New Yorker 4 Dec. 102/1 (Advt.), One-piece waist-to-toe Lightweight Long Johns with ribbed dress socks. 1972 Guardian 30 Nov. 15/6 (Advt.), Big Long John in opulent teak finish... This elegantly styled occasional table..47{pp} × 17{pp} overall width by 143/4{pp} high. |
| 1882 Besant Revolt of Man vi. 160 It is better to advance the knowledge of the world one inch than to win the *long-jump with two-and-twenty feet. 1934 R. Campbell Broken Record v. 116 An Impala..can long-jump thirty-seven feet without a run. 1963 Times 4 Feb. 3/4 He long jumped 26 ft. 10 in. for a world's best indoor performance. |
| 1887 Shearman Athletics (Badm. Libr.) 149 The *long-jumper, like the sprinter, may be a man of almost any size or weight. |
| 1882 Society 7 Oct. 23/1 As a man he has done extraordinary work at *long-jumping, sprinting, and hurdle-racing. |
| 1860 Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. X. 229 That it is impossible to raise winter apples in the South, and that it is necessary to look to the North for a supply of *long-keeping varieties. 1861 Mrs. Beeton Bk. Househ. Managem. 589 As late or long-keeping potatoes, the Tartan or Red-apple stands very high in favour. 1970 Guardian 6 June 12/4 Long-keeping cream..keeps longer than fresh cream but a shorter time than sterilised cream. |
| 1896 Farmer & Henley Slang IV. 228/2 *Long-lady, a farthing candle. 1953 A. Jobson Househ. & Country Crafts vii. 81 A farthing candle was known as a Long Lady. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Long leave, permission to visit friends at a distance. |
| 1971 A. Kirk-Greene in J. Spencer Eng. Lang. W. Afr. 144 ‘*Long legs’ is a commonplace [in West Africa] for using influence in high places to secure a service. 1973 Listener 14 June 782/3 ‘Long leg’ is a Nigerian colloquialism denoting corruption. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Long leggers, lean schooners, longer than ordinary proportion to breadth, swift. |
| 1898 F. T. Bullen Cruise Cachalot (1900) i. 6 A pot of something sweetened with ‘*longlick’ (molasses) made an apology for a meal. |
| 1928–9 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Fall & Winter 245/2 The famous *long-life Minerva Batteries. 1946 Physical Rev. LXX. 987/1 (heading) Long-life radio-iodine. 1966 Daily Tel. 7 Nov. 17/1 The association has already announced plans to buy a half-share in a Liverpool creamery and manufacture ‘long life’ milk for export to the Middle East and other tropical areas. 1969 Guardian 1 Aug. 7/6 Some bread is certainly tasteless but it's the prepacked sliced long-life cotton wool wadding that most people prefer. 1971 Ibid. 9 Aug. 7/5 Children may increasingly find themselves drinking longlife or dried milk next term. |
| 1653 Fisher Baby Baptism 7 There was but a very *long-little, in comparison of what else might have been delivered. |
| 1815 Scott Guy M. xlv, While that *lang-lugged limmer o' a lass is gaun flisking in and out o' the room. 1901 N. Munro in Blackw. Mag. Mar. 355/1 It's a gossiping community this, long-lugged and scandal-loving. |
| 1659 Howell Lex., Prov. Ded. to Philologers, A significant..Proverb..works upon the Intellectuals..more then a..*long-lungd Sermon. 1815 Byron To Moore 12 June, The villian is a..long-lunged orator. |
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 308/313 ‘*Longueman’ hatte þe midleste for he lenguest is. a 1475 Pict. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 753/1 Hic medius, the longman. |
| 1906 Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 168 ‘Few people nowadays walk from end to end of this country.’.. ‘The greater their loss. I know nothing better than the *Long March when your feet have hardened.’ 1937 E. Snow Red Star over China i. i. 19 The historic Long March of 6,000 miles, in which they crossed twelve provinces of China..and triumphantly emerged at last into a powerful new base in the Northwest. Ibid. iv. vi. 180 The Long March..was begun in October 1934..the Red Army at last reached northern Shensi in October 1935. 1967 L. Deighton Expensive Place xxxvi. 217 The Long March meant the Nationalists killed two and a half million. 1970 Guardian 14 May 9/3 [Regis] Debray..overestimates the capacity of Latin Americans to envisage a ‘long march’. Most Latin American revolutionaries..think mostly about the short, sharp blow that will lead to quick success. 1972 Times 23 Oct. 12/1 Mr Chou held a number of important posts and travelled widely before the Long march. Ibid. 27 Dec. 6/3 The MPLA had originally been based on the Congo (Zaire) but, after differences, had carried out the traditional ‘Long March’ (so beloved by revolutionaries when attempting to found a new state) to new bases in Zambia. 1973 Times 1 Oct. 6/5 The ‘long march’ on Besan{cced}on yesterday, organized by the leading French trade union organizations, proved a striking demonstration of the impact the six-month-old struggle of the Lip watch plant workers has had throughout France. |
| 1709 J. Ward Yng. Math. Guide i. iii. (1734) 33 The least Part of a *Long Measure was at First a Barly Corn. 1801 W. Dupré Neolog. Fr. Dict. 131 Hectomètre..in the long measure of the new republican division, is equal to one hundred metres. 1718 *Long metre [see common a. 19 b]. |
| 1618 S. Ward Jethro's Justice (1627) 22 [A judge] must be..*long-minded, to endure the..homelinesse of common people in giving evidence. |
| 1869 L. M. Alcott Little Women (1871) II. i. 6 There were no..*long mirrors, or lace curtains in the little parlour. 1960 D. Lessing In Pursuit of English iv. 138 All her games were centred around the long mirror. |
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter cii. 8 Laverd..milde-herted and *lang⁓mode. |
| 1720 Ramsay Rise & Fall of Stocks 32 Impos'd on by *lang-nebbit juglers Stock-jobbers, brokers [etc.]. 1823 Hogg Sheph. Cal. (1829) I. 20 A large lang nibbit staff. 1881 L. B. Walford Dick Netherby in Gd. Words 332/2 What wi' her lang-nebbit English words I kenna gif my head or my heels is boon-most. |
| 1893 J. Watson Conf. Poacher 96 In ‘*long-netting’ the net is dragged by a man on each side, a third wading after to lift it over the stakes. |
| 1858 O. W. Holmes Aut. Breakf.-t. (1883) 40 They were garnered by stable-boys smoking *long-nines. |
| 1933 L. G. D. Acland in Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) 4 Nov. 15/7 *Long paddock, the. Slang for the road. People turn stock out on it, or travel them on it, to get cheap grazing. |
| 1659 England's Conf. 8 Their old hackney drudges of the *Long Parliament. 1678 Luttrell Brief Rel. 9 Nov. (1857) I. 3 Though this parliament [sc. that then in session] was called the long parliament, yet [etc.]. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) II. x. 293 The long parliament, in the year 1641, had established, in its most essential parts, our existing constitution. |
| 1960 Jrnl. Acoustical Soc. Amer. XXXII. 1065 An instrument is described which extracts from the complex speech wave..information related to the subjective pitch of a sound. It then displays this information on the *long-persistence screen of a revolving cathode-ray tube in such a manner that a continuous graph of pitch vs. time is obtained. 1966 D. G. Brandon Mod. Techniques Metallogr. v. 236 Visual observation of the image, even on a long-persistence screen, is very difficult at small probe diameters. |
| 1852 Mundy Our Antipodes (1857) 181 No more ‘*long-pig’ for him [the Maori]! 1901 Westm. Gaz. 14 May 3/1 As a matter of fact, ‘long-pig’ orgies are not common. |
| 1679 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 169 *Long-Plain, The same that Joyners call a Joynter. 1842 Gwilt Encycl. Archit. §2102 The long plane is..used when a piece of stuff is to be tried up very straight. It is longer and broader than the trying plane. |
| 1897 Times 22 Apr. 12/3 The ‘*long prayer’..has been not only shortened but improved in quality. |
| 1683–4 J. Moxon Mech. Exerc. Printing (1962) 261 A *long or a Soaking or Easie Pull, is when the Form feels the force of the Spindle by degrees, till the Bar comes almost to the hither Cheek of the Press, and this is also call'd a Soft Pull. 1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 500 Long pull is when the bar of the Press requires to be brought close to the cheek to make a good impression. 1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 77 Long pull, when the bar-handle of a press is pulled right over. 1901 Contemp. Rev. Mar. 355 The unlettered barmaid..tiring of handling the taps and the long-pull. 1909 Daily Chron. 30 Aug. 5/3 As the law stands magistrates have no power to stop the ‘long pull’. 1964 New Statesman 21 Feb. 283/3 In 1921 a Licensing Act made this permanent—under the homely caption ‘Long Pull Prohibited’. |
| 1963 A. Smith Throw out Two Hands vi. 70 The plan was to take off from Zanzibar on January 1st... There was so much to be done before the *long rains began. 1970 Kenya Farmer Feb. 3/2 If the long rains fail altogether—a most unlikely event—then a shortage would follow at the end of this year. |
| 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 19 He led me into the *long-room at the custom-house. 1759 Compl. Lett.-writer (ed. 6) 228, I hear perpetually of Miss Evelyn's praises at the long-room. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl., To Miss Willis 6 Apr., There is a long-room for breakfasting and dancing. 1819 Gentl. Mag. 529 His regularity..extended from the Treasury to the Long-room. 1841 Knickerbocker XVII. 458 In the long room of the Village Inn. 1870 J. K. Medbery Men & Mysteries Wall St. 22 A chamber is provided at the Exchange, where members may bargain with members at any hour throughout the day. This is known as the Long Room. 1962 S. Potter in L. Frewin Boundary Bk. 21 It is not the slightest use simply making vague references to the Long Room. |
| 1891 F. W. Newman Cardl. Newman 2 Our boys, in large bands, enjoyed *Long Rope. |
| 1808 C. Stower Printer's Gram. vi. 143 Since the very general introduction of round, in the room of *long s's, many [type] cases have been made upon a plan different from the original ones. 1894 [see serif]. 1914 A. E. Housman Let. 8 Mar. (1971) 410 His date..cannot be much earlier than 1800, as he seems not to use the long s except when t follows. 1960 G. A. Glaister Gloss. Bk. 241/1 It was not until John Bell's edition of Shakespeare in 1775 that the long s was generally discarded. |
| 1680 J. Aubrey in Lett. Eminent Persons (1813) III. 439 He was drowned goeing to Plymouth by *long sea. 1731 Gentl. Mag. I. 353 The Projector has already made one Trip to try Experiments, and was in his passage to London by Long-Sea to make a further Proof. 1861 Canning in Hare Two Noble Lives (1893) III. 148 In a few weeks we shall be beginning to pack off our long-sea goods. |
| 1830 William IV in W. A. Steward War Medals (1915) 348 Discharged soldiers receiving a gratuity for meritorious conduct shall be entitled to wear a medal having on one side the words For *Long Service and Good Conduct, and on the other in relief the King's Arms. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Long-service, a cable properly served to prevent chafing under particular use. 1874 Punch 4 June 3/1 Lord Strathnairn charged the late Secretary for War with bad faith, in not enlisting men for short and long service together. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 27 Sept. 3/2 Had the old long-service system continued in force. 1925 A. J. Toynbee Survey Internat. Affairs 1920–23 ii. 109 Immediate legislation for the abolition of conscription and for setting up a long service army as provided in the Treaty. 1937 B. H. L. Hart Europe in Arms xii. 158 From that time onward the army became professional and long-service. |
| 1675 Hobbes Odyssey (1677) 237 Next the dogs he went, And in his hand shook a *longshaded spear. |
| 1848 Buckley Iliad 123 Brandishing his *long-shadowed spear. |
| 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 96 The which [Saxons] came in three *long Shippes or Hulkes. 1799 Naval Chron. II. 182 Built after the model of long Ships, or Men of War. 1886 Corbett Fall of Asgard I. 268 A large vessel shot out from behind the point. It was a long-ship of twenty benches. 1916 M. T. Hainsselin In Northern Mists xvi. 63, I say, Padre, this is a pretty long ship, isn't it?.. Don't you know that ‘a long ship’ means one where it is a long time between drinks? 1946 J. Irving Royal Navalese 110 Long ship, a ship, or party, in which there is a long interval between..drinks. |
| 1840 Knickerbocker XVI. 22 A buxom, rosy-cheeked girl, with a blue-striped *long-short..was busied around the fire-place. 1851 S. Judd Margaret i. iii. 11 Her dress was a blue-striped linen short-gown wrapper, or long-short, a coarse yellow petticoat, and checked apron. a 1881 O. W. Holmes Old Vol. Life ix, The first two in iambics, or short-longs, the last in trochaics or long-shorts. 1906 J. London Let. 15 Dec. (1966) 235 The Times Magazine..bought..one of my best long-short-stories. 1924 F. M. Ford Let. 18 Sept. (1965) 162 As for the novel: Hemingway..gave me the impression that it was a long-short story. 1942 ‘G. Orwell’ in Partisan Rev. IX. 159 The paper shortage..may possibly bring back the ‘long-short story’, a form which has never had a fair deal in England. 1959 News Chron. 7 Oct. 8/5 Long shorts by Arthur Miller and Saul Bellow. |
| 1844 Hoblyn Dict. Med., *Long sight,..the dysopia proximorum of Cullen. 1898 Watts-Dunton Aylwin (1900) 109/2 His companions had the usual long-sight of agriculturists. |
| 1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce ii. ii. 200 The *long silk cotton of Algeria partakes at the same time of the character of the long silk staple of Georgia. |
| 1802 Sporting Mag. XX. 15 Some have gone so far as to illuminate our discussions with tens instead of *long-sixes. 1864 Trevelyan Compet. Wallah (1866) 283 Peasants who had never tasted anything daintier than a rushlight now had their fill of long sixes. |
| 1814 Jane Austen Let. 9 Mar. (1932) II. 93 Mrs. Tilson had *long sleeves too, & she assured me that they are worn in the evening by many. 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 241/2 Ladies' Long Sleeve Vests{ddd}high neck and long sleeves with elastic ribbed cuffs. 1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 215/2 Long sleeve, sleeve which ends ½ inch below wrist joint. |
| 1888 Cassell's Picturesque Austral. III. 83 Their drivers had completed their regulation half-score ‘*long sleevers’ of ‘she-oak’. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Long-slide, a slide-valve of such length as to govern the ports at both ends of the cylinder, and having a hollow back, which forms an eduction passage. 1962 Canada Month Apr. 26/3 The west..introduced the long slide now about twice the distance the old-style curler slides before launching his stone. 1969 R. Welsh Beginner's Guide Curling xii. 85 The delivery called the ‘Slide’ or the ‘Long Slide’ was introduced by Canadian curlers. |
| 1912 T. Okey Introd. Basket-Making vii. 76 Some Luke, *Long Small and Threepenny will be needed, and a few small two yearling sticks. 1953 A. G. Knock Willow Basket-Work (ed. 5) 9 The old trade names..three feet, Tacks; four feet, Short-Small; five feet, Long-Small. |
| 1856 Chambers's Jrnl. 28 June 402/1 An item in those streaming fathoms of verse technically known as ‘*long songs’, in which as many as a hundred favourite ditties are sold for a penny. |
| 1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships R. Navy (1886) 106 To form a *long-splice with a piece of three and four-strand rope... Unlay the ends of the two ropes to the required distance [etc.]. Ibid. (heading) How do you long-splice a three or four-strand rope together? 1968 E. Franklin Dict. Knots 19 Long splice, a splice which has no apparent thickening of the rope at the points of joining. |
| 1796 Kirwan Elem. Min. (ed. 2) II. 291 Grey ore of Manganese. Fragments somewhat *long splintery. |
| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. ii. lxxvi, If you make a *long square of the whole line A.C, and of that parte of it that lyeth betwene the circumference and the point,..that longe square shall be equall to the full square of the touche line A.B. 1646 Sir. T. Browne Pseud. Ep. ii. ii. 60 A Loadstone of a Parallelogram or long square figure. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) V. 18/2 Take two pieces of pasteboard..through which you must cut long squares. |
| 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 82 No *Long-staffe six⁓penny strikers. a 1661 B. Holyday Juvenal 184 If thou dost carry but a little plate By night, the sword and long-staff thou fear'st straight. |
| 1802 J. Simons Let. 15 Dec. in J. Steele Papers (1924) I. 341 *Long Staple Cotton is in demand. 1843 Knickerbocker XXI. 39 It is here that the most valuable product of our country, the long staple cotton, is raised. 1867 Harper's Mag. Aug. 349/1 A bale of uplands cotton..demanding to be bought at the price of long-staple. 1890 Century Dict., Long-staple, having a long fiber: a commercial term applied to cotton of a superior grade, also called sea-island cotton. |
| 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlewk. 187 (Embroidery), *Long stitch, also known as Point Passé, Passé, and Au Passé. It is a name given to Satin Stitch when worked across the material without any padding. |
| 1899 Baring-Gould Bk. of West I. x. 171 The menhirs, locally termed *longstones, or langstones. |
| 1835 R. M. Bird Hawks of Hawk-Hollow I. ii. 33 Shall we sit down here, and play *long-straws for sweethearts? 1947 Agriculture LIII. 448 (heading) Estimate no. 1. Long straw method (unclipped surface). 1963 Times 22 Apr. 9/2 For the customer it means a neater job and a roof that will last anything from 35 to 60 years instead of the 10 to 20 years of the traditional long-straw thatch. 1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts xiii. 185 One notices that long-straw has a looser, more plastic appearance, compared with the stiff, ‘close cropped’, brush-like texture of reed. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Long-stroke, the order to a boat's crew to stretch out and hang on her. 1884 Imp. & Mach. Rev. 1 Dec. 6715/2 The long-stroke by which this pump is distinguished averages about one-third more. 1838 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 394/2 The short stroke engines are propelling the boats, both sea and river class, faster than the long stroke ones. |
| 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer., *Long sugar, molasses, so called formerly in North Carolina from the ropiness of it. |
| 1714 in N. Carolina Colonial Rec. (1886) II. 132 Let who will go unpaid, Rum, *long Sweet'n alias Molasses..must be had. 1859 Bartlett Dict. Amer., *Long sweetening, molasses, so called formerly in New England. 1883 Encycl. Amer. I. 199/2 In the far West, as Down East, sugar bears the name of long and short sweetening, according as it is the product of the cane..or of the maple tree. 1936 M. Mitchell Gone with Wind xxi. 352 The sorghum used for ‘long sweetening’ did little to improve the taste. |
| 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 156 *Long-tackle-block. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Long-tackles, those over⁓hauled down for hoisting up topsails to be bent. Long-tackle blocks have two sheaves of different sizes placed one above the other, as in fiddle blocks. |
| 1653 Urquhart Rabelais i. xxiii, They played at the ball, the *long-tennis [F. à la paume], and at the Piletrigone. |
| 1956 B. Holiday Lady sings Blues (1973) xviii. 142 Quite a few girls, especially *long-termers in the joint, were lovers. 1970 Long-termer [see fantasy v. 1 a]. |
| 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. i. 36 Some [yarn] is employed as warp or *long threads for coarse goods. |
| c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 130 *Long timbers, those timbers afore and abaft the floors which form the floor and second futtocks in one. |
| 1584 Cogan Haven Health (1636) 171 Fish of *long time salting..is unwholsome. 1877 A. M. Sullivan New Irel. xv. 177 A long-time colleague and friend. 1898 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 5/3 A long-time deacon of the Tabernacle and personal friend of the late Charles Spurgeon. 1927 Carr-Saunders & Jones Survey Social Struct. Eng. & Wales xx. 228 This is no indictment of the usefulness of long-time forecasts, because it is in any case impracticable to plan so far ahead. 1944 C. Sandburg in B. A. Botkin Treas. Amer. Folklore p. vi, A longtime book is this. One reading won't do for it. 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 13 Long voyage in a small room. There's a long-time book to finish. |
| 1907 J. London Road (1914) v. 139, I know that the *long-timers got more substantial grub, because there was a whole row of them on the ground floor in our hall. 1952 ‘J. Henry’ Who lie in Gaol viii. 133 The long-timers are allowed to plant a few things in a plot there if they want to. |
| 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxviii. 96 His ‘*long togs’, the half-pay, his beaver hat, white linen shirts, and everything else. |
| 1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 414 (caption) A sheet of *long twelves. 1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 77 Long twelves, a plan of imposition whereby the pages are laid down in two long rows of six pages. 1972 P. Gaskell New Introd. Bibliogr. 81 Long twelves (long 12°), when the sheet is folded once across the shorter side and five times across the longer, again making twelve leaves, twenty-four pages. |
| 1693 Dryden Juvenal vi. 100 When now the *long vacation's come The noisy hall and theatres grown dumb. 1825 Thirlwall Lett. (1881) 85 A most delightful fortnight which I spent last long vacation at Cambridge. 1848 Clough (title) The Bothie of Toper-na-Fuosich, a long-vacation pastoral. 1900 G. C. Brodrick Mem. & Impress. 216 Such informal arrangements suffice to create a ‘Long Vacation Term’. |
| 1871 H. Sweet in W. C. Hazlitt Warton's Hist. Eng. Poetry II. 3 Each *long verse has four accented syllables. 1889 C. W. Kent Elene 8 The so-called ‘long-verse’ consists of two hemistichs. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Long voyage, one in which the Atlantic Ocean is crossed. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 978 The fourth system of working coal, is called the long way, the *long wall, and the Shropshire method. 1851 Illustr. Catal. Gt. Exhib. 149 The method of working coal, adopted in the Yorkshire mines generally, is that known as the long wall,..distinguished from the Newcastle, or pillar-and-stall method, by extracting at once all available coal. 1902 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 50/1, I worked the coal ‘long-wall’. |
| c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 111 Þis is þe foorme of an heed weel propossiound,..þat he be *longe warpid, hauynge tofore & bihynde eminence. |
| 1839 Trans. Cambr. Philos. Soc. VII. 95 Any particle P revolves continually in a circular orbit... The radius of this circle, and consequently the agitation of the fluid particles, decreases very rapidly as the depth c increases, and much more rapidly for short than *long waves, agreeably to observation. 1895 H. Lamb Hydrodynamics viii. 276 Waves whose slope is gradual and whose length λ is large compared with the depth h of the fluid, are called ‘long waves’. 1909 E. B. Titchener Text-bk. Psychol. i. 60 Let us take..a chart or projection of the solar spectrum, and let us work right through it, from the left or long-wave to the right or short-wave end. 1928 D. Brunt Meteorol. v. 38 The term ‘low temperature radiation’ [is frequently used] to denote the long-wave radiation of bodies at relatively low temperature. 1928 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 79/1 Many foreign long-wave stations have also been clearly heard with this set. 1963 Meteorol. Gloss. (Meteorol. Office) (ed. 4) 155 Long wave, in synoptic meteorology, a smooth, wave-shaped contour pattern on an isobaric chart with a wavelength of the order of 2000 km... Some four or five such waves..typically extend across a hemispherical chart. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia III. 311/1 [Broadcasting.] Long waves range from 30 to 300 kilohertz; medium waves from 300 kilohertz to three megahertz; and short waves from three to 30 megahertz. |
| 1839 *Long way [see long wall]. |
| 1927 M. Kennedy (title) A *long week-end. 1933 H. G. Wells Shape of Things to Come iii. §8. 317 The old British institution of the long week-end flourishes. 1940 Graves & Hodge (title) The long week-end: a social history of Great Britain 1918–1939. 1944 Blunden Cricket Country xiv. 149 The name, ‘The Long Week-End’, has been devised to characterise the period between the two great wars. 1968 ‘E. Peters’ Grass Widow's Tale ii. 24, I'm heading north..for a long week-end. |
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cii. 8 Mercyful lord: *lang⁓willid [L. longanimis] & mykil merciful. |
| 1694 Motteux Rabelais iv. vi. (1737) 21 They are *long-Wool Sheep. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 388 Wool Manufacture. This well-known staple is..divided into two distinct classes, long wool, or worsted spinning; and short wool, or the spinning of woollen yarn. 1835 Ure Philos. Manuf. 103 Long-wool yarns are numbered on the same principle. Ibid. 125 Long wool, called also combing wool, differs as materially in a manufacturing point of view from short or clothing wool, as flax does from cotton. Ibid. 130 Long wool, called also carding wool, requires length and soundness of staple. 1859 Trans. Illinois Agric. Soc. III. 458 The Longwools attain to greater size and shear a larger fleece. 1877 J. Darby in J. Coleman Sheep & Pigs Gt. Brit. ii. v. 50 The best flocks of Devon Longwools are..derived solely from Leicester and Bampton—a most valuable cross in every respect... During the past fifteen years these sheep have been designated ‘Devon Longwools’. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-farming 57 Practically the two long-wools are equal in weight as shearlings. |
| 1642 C. Vernon Consid. Exch. 18 marg., The *long Writ called the Prerogative Writ, out of the Treasurers Remembrancers Office, under the Teste of the chiefe Baron. |
b. In names of animals, etc., as
long-bill, a bird with a long bill,
e.g. a snipe;
long clam, (
a)
Mya arenaria (see
clam n.2 1 d); (
b) the razor-clam,
Ensis americana;
long cripple dial., a slow-worm; also, a lizard;
long dog dial., a greyhound;
long-ear,
long ears, an ass; also
fig. of a human being;
long fin Austral., a name for the fishes
Caprodon schlegelii and
Anthias longimanus, Günth. (Morris);
† long-fish, ? a fish of the eel kind (
cf. G.
langfisch);
long lugs Sc. = long ears;
long-nose, a name for the gar-fish;
longspur, a bunting of the genus
Calcarius,
esp. C. lapponicus, the Lapland bunting;
long-wing, a name for the swift;
† long-worm,? an adder or viper.
| 1884 Times (weekly ed.) 3 Oct. 14/1 One thousand one hundred and fifty sounds a satisfactory bag of the ‘*long⁓bills’. |
| 1884 Goode, etc. Nat. Hist. Useful Aquatic Anim. i. 707 The ‘Soft Clam’, ‘*Long Clam’, or ‘Nanninose’ (Mya arenaria). 1887 ― Fisheries U.S. II. 614 Under the name of ‘long clam’, ‘knife-handle’, and ‘razor-clam’, they are occasionally seen in New York market. |
| 1758 W. Borlase Nat. Hist. Cornw. 284 We have a kind of viper which we call the *Long-cripple: It is the slow-worm or deaf-adder of authors. 1864 E. Cornw. Gloss. in Jrnl. R. Inst. Cornw. Mar. I. 17 Long-cripple, a lizard: in some parts applied to the snake. 1896 Baring-Gould Idylls 223 He rins away from me..jist for all the world as if I were a long-cripple. |
| 1847 Halliwell, *Long dog, a greyhound. 1891 T. Hardy Tess (1900) 44/1 William turned, clinked off like a long-dog, and jumped safe over hedge. |
| 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 150 The beast..would sell for no more at a fair than his brother *Long-ear. 1845 Browning Lett. (1899) I. 16 This long-ears had to be ‘dear-Sir'd and obedient-servanted’. |
| 1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods Fish N.S. Wales 33 (Morris) The *long-fin, Anthias longimanus, Günth{ddd}may be known by..the great length of the pectoral fins. |
| 1598 Florio, Licostomo, a kind of *longfish. |
| a 1748 Ramsay Condemned Ass 64 Sae poor *lang lugs man pay the kane for a'. |
| 1836 Yarrell Brit. Fishes I. 391 The Garfish{ddd}*Long-Nose. 1848 C. A. Johns Week at Lizard 175 A long eel-shaped fish, the gur-fish, or long-nose. |
| 1831 A. Wilson & Bonaparte Amer. Ornith. IV. 121 Emberiza Lapponica Wilson..Lapland *Longspur. 1893 Coues in Lewis & Clark's Exped. I. 349 note, The black-breasted lark-bunting or longspur, Centrophanes (Rhynchophanes) maccowni. 1894 R. B. Sharpe Handbk. Birds Gt. Brit. I. 77 The Long-spurs, of which the Lapland Bunting is the type, are three in number. 1917 T. G. Pearson Birds Amer. III. 22 Shore Larks that feed up and down the wintry seashore of New England and the middle states have also many Longspurs among them. 1953 D. A. Bannerman Birds Brit. Is. I. 314 While Calcarius lapponicus is the sole Palæarctic representative of the genus, the Nearctic fauna includes two other ‘Longspurs’—as they are called in America. 1973 R. D. Symons Where Wagon Led i. iv. 45 The sun hit the top of the gray-green sage and the longspurs fluttered overhead. |
| 1854 M. Howitt Pictor. Cal. Seasons 390 About the 12th of August the largest of the swallow tribe, the swift or *long-wing, disappears. |
| 1648 Gage West Ind. xii. 51 Moules, Rats, *Long-wormes. |
c. In the names of plants or vegetable products, as
† long-bean = kidney-bean;
† long ear, a name for a kind of barley;
long-flax (see
quot.);
longjohn, a tropical South American tree,
Triplaris surinamensis, of the family Polygonaceæ;
long-leaf pine U.S.,
Pinus palustris (also
long-leafed,
-leaved pine: see sense 16);
long-leek, the ordinary leek (
Allium porrum);
long-moss = long-beard 3;
long-pod, a variety of broad bean which produces a very long pod;
long purples, a local name for
Orchis mascula,
Lythrum Salicaria, and other plants.
| 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle (1627) 11 Faciolia, called in..English kidney-beane, or *long-beane. |
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §13 *Long-eare hath a flatte eare, halfe an inche brode, and foure inches and more of length. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech., *Long-flax, flax to be spun its natural length without cutting. |
| 1910 Chambers's Jrnl. Feb. 88/2 Impenetrable jungle, consisting mostly of chinchilla or sand box-trees, with now and then a sand-cocoa or a *longjohn. 1969 S. M. Sadeek Windswept & Other Stories 30 We will build a nice house..with bamboo and longjohn. |
| a 1816 B. Hawkins Sk. Creek Country (1848) 60 [On] the uplands to the south are the *long-leaf pine. 1901 [see laurel oak (laurel n.1 6)]. 1904 T. E. Watson Bethany i. i. 8 Ours was just a plain house..of timbers torn from the heart of the long-leaf Georgia pine. 1969 T. H. Everett Living Trees of World 50/2 The longleaf pine, an open-headed kind that reaches 120 feet in height and has a natural range from Virginia to Florida and Mississippi is the most important timber tree of the south-eastern United States. |
| 1867 J. Hogg Microsc. ii. i. 357 The young flower-stalk of the *long-leek (Allium porrum). |
| 1808 T. Ashe Trav. Amer. I. 126 *Long Moss, Tellandsia Usneoides. 1833 Penny Cycl. I. 249/2 The long-moss region commences below 33° lat. The moss hangs in festoons from the trees. |
| 1821 W. Cobbett Amer. Gardening §196 The best..is..the Windsor-Bean. The *Long-Pod is the next best. 1972 Country Life 13 Jan. 104/4 A dependable way to ensure early pickings of broad beans..is to sow the seeds now..for which purpose I prefer longpod varieties. |
| 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 170 There with fantasticke Garlands did she come, Of Crow-flowers, Nettles, Daysies, and *long Purples. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 90 Gay long purple, with its tufty spike. Ibid. II. 210 (Gloss.), Long purples, purple loose-strife. 1830 Tennyson Dirge v, Round thee blow..long purples of the dale. |
d. Cricket:
† long ball, a ball hit to a distance;
long field (off, on), the position of a fieldsman who stands at a distance behind the bowler, either to his left or right; also, one who fields in that position; also
long-fielder,
-fieldsman;
long-hop, a ball bowled or thrown so that it makes a long flight after pitching; (also in
Fives), a ball which a player has ample time to hit after it bounces;
long off, on, short for
long field off,
on;
long-stop, a fieldsman who stands behind the wicket-keeper to stop the balls that pass him; hence
long-stop vb., to field as long-stop, whence
long-stopping vbl. n.; also
fig., a last resort,
e.g. in an emergency; also (in literal sense)
long-stopper. Also
long leg,
long slip (see the
ns.).
| 1744 J. Love Cricket (1770) iii. 3 Some [fieldsmen], at a Distance, for the *Long Ball wait. 1843 *Long field [see long on below]. 1862 Lond. Soc. II. 115/2 Carpenter might have made more drives to the long field. |
| 1816 W. Lambert Cricketer's Guide (ed. 6) iii. 44 *Long field off side this man should stand on the off side, between the middle wicket man and bowler at a considerable distance in the Field, so as to cover them. 1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. 43 Long Field Off. ― This situation demands a person who can throw well. Long Field On is of a character with the ‘off’. 1880 Times 28 Sept. 11/5 Mr. Moule, long-field-off. |
| 1897 K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket ii. 55 Nearly all good *long-fielders take the ball, in catching, with their hands close to their bodies about chest-high. 1920 P. F. Warner Cricket Reminisc. xiv. 91 Never had he been a long-fielder. |
| 1790 Reading Mercury 8 Mar. 3/3 He was the swiftest bowler and best *long fieldsman at that time in the kingdom. |
| 1837 New Sporting Mag. XI. 198 The lengths necessary to be pitched at that slow pace will be as good as *long hops. 1867 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 432 The ball should come skimming in with a long hop to the top of the bails. 1900 A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 237 s.v. Fives, C..must above all avoid so returning it [sc. the ball] that it comes into the middle of the outer court as a long-hop. |
| 1864 Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 476 A drive to *long-off. 1901 I. Maclaren Yng. Barbarians xv. 295 A miraculous catch which he made at long-off. |
| 1843 ‘A. Wykhamist’ Pract. Hints on Cricket Frontisp., The ‘*long on’, or long field to the on-side, is for the most part done away with. |
| 1767 R. Cotton Cricket Song ix, in F. S. Ashley-Cooper Hambledon Cricket Chron. (1924) 184, I had almost forgot—they deserve a large bumper—Little George, the *long Stop, and Tom Sueter, the Stumper. 1797 Colman Heir at Law ii. ii, I'll make you my long-stop at cricket. 1884 Lillywhite's Cricket Ann. 103 Reliable long-stop and very smart in the long-field. 1957 Listener 5 Sept. 349/1 Like all sorts of longstop laws we keep on the statute-book, but hardly ever use. 1962 Punch 11 Apr. 558/1 The National Assistance Board..is the long-stop of the Welfare State. 1973 Times 9 Nov. 1/5 The two uninvolved unions may..provide a long-stop cover. |
| 1860 Bailey's Mag. I. 34 ‘Lords’, where, in days of yore..Beagley *long stopped. |
| 1891 W. G. Grace Cricket x. 258 The most expert *long-stoppers at the time when long-stop was even of more importance than the wicket-keeper. |
| 1832 P. Egan Bk. Sports 348/2 Dick's shin-breakers stop'd them short In 'midst of their *long-stopping! 1860 Bailey's Mag. I. 303 The long stopping of Diver. 1871 G. Meredith H. Richmond vi, We played at catch with the Dutch cheese, and afterwards bowled it for long-stopping. |
B. quasi-n. and n. I. The neuter
adj. used
absol. 1. In various phrases with preps.
† a. at long:
= ‘at length’; (
a) after a long time, in the end; (
b) in an extended manner, in many words, fully.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 3498 Bot lat vs leue him at longe & lende to oure hames. 1532 More Confut. Tindale Wks. 579/2, I shall purpose to treate of thys matter more at long. 1565 T. Stapleton Fortr. Faith 139 b, It were..superfluous at longe to discusse. |
b. before long: before a long time has elapsed, soon. So
ere long,
erelong.
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 69 Perhaps we may meet ere long. 1813 Southey Nelson II. 196 Let us hope that these islands may, ere long, be made free and independent. 1871 Trollope Ralph the Heir xlii. 426 ‘Bye, bye’, said Neefit, ‘I'll be here again before long’. 1872 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. (1875) 28 The terror and ignorance which ere long were to impel them to the conception and perpetration of even greater crimes. 1892 Bookman Oct. 28/2 We expect from him before long a better novel than he has yet given us. |
c. by long and by last (?
dial.): in the end.
| 1900 Longm. Mag. Dec. 103 By long and by last we came to Veermut bridge. |
d. for long:
† (
a) long ago (
obs.); (
b) throughout a long period (
occas. for long and long,
for long together); also
predicatively, destined or likely to continue long.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 4507 For lang was said, and yeit sua bes, ‘Hert sun for-gettes þat ne ei seis’. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 56 For long we have sought the furious bore, and now we have found him. 1729 B. Lynde Diary 29 Dec. (1880) 35 Expecting the governor would adjourn for long the Gen'l Court. 1803 M. Charlton Wife & Mistress IV. 171 ‘Well, Lord, it mayn't be for long’, replied Dolly. 1839 Spirit Metrop. Conserv. Press (1840) II. 535 No man..kept himself for long and long, at a fearful..speed, as did Lord Brougham. 1856 F. E. Paget Owlet of Owlst. 148 Her back aches..frightfully if she sits up for long together. 1874 Ld. Houghton in T. W. Reid Life (1891) II. 300 Ripon's conversion is one of the oddest news I have heard for long. 1895 Mrs. H. Ward Bessie Costrell 121 The children..had been restless for long. |
† e. of long: since a remote period; for a long time past. (
Cf. of 53.)
Obs.| 1583 T. Stocker Civ. Warres Lowe C. iv. 24 b, The Castle of Antwerpe..had of long been a denne of murderers. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 1325 The Lion..gan him avize..what had of long Become of him. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 1 The Turks haue of long most inhabited the lesser Asia. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 39 Suckers of long doe not beare. 1625 Bacon Ess., Judicature (Arb.) 453 Penall Lawes, if they haue beene Sleepers of long. |
† f. on long: in length.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 21664 O four corner þe arche was made, Als has þe cros on lang and brade. |
† g. umbe long: after a long interval.
Obs.| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxix. §2 (Sedgefield) 125 Ða andswarode he ymbe long and cwæð. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 518 Þes sondesmon, umbe long,..com, & brohte wið him fifti scolmeistres. |
† h. with the longest: for a very long time.
| 1636 tr. Florus's Hist. iv. ii. 273 When that part of his forces which was left behind..stayed with the longest [L. moram faceret] at Brundisium. |
i. at (the) longest: on the longest estimate.
| 1857 Pusey Lenten Serm. xii. (1883) 235 Short, at the longest, were the life of man. |
2. a. Without
prep.: Much time. Now chiefly in
to take long.
† this long (used
advb.): for this long time (
obs.).
that long (
colloq.): that length of time.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace i. 262 Du sone, this lang quhar has thow beyne? 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede's Hist. Ch. Eng. 31 Forsakyng that auncient religion whiche this longe both I and my people haue obserued. 1635 J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Banish'd Virg. 102 Otherwise he had never..this long have deferr'd its discovery. 1898 Engineering Mag. XVI. 67 It will take at least ten times that long to get a train ready for a return trip. 1901 A. Hope Tristram of Blent xxv. 336 He had been wondering how long they would take to think of the lady who now held the title and estates. Mod. Don't take very long about it. I do not think it will take long to finish the work. |
b. as the predicate of an impersonal clause, (
a)
it is (was, will be, etc.) long before, since, to (something);
it will be long first; ere it be long.
† Also
long to (used
absol.)
= ‘long first’.
† Also
ellipt.,
though long first.
| ? c 1000 in Sax. Leechd. III. 434 Næs lang to þy þæt his broþor þyses lænan lifes timan ᵹeendode. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) i. 4 It es lang sen it fell oute of þe hand. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 39 It shal not be longe to but that ye shal be hyely maryed. 1540–1 Elyot Image Gov. 7 There shall be or it bee longe, a more ample remembraunce. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 174 Leste the olde enemye of mankynde, would styre up warre..or ever it were longe. c 1592 Marlowe Massacre Paris xx. 13 And tell him, ere it be long, I'll visit him. 1606 Rollock 1 Thess. iii. 34 Byde a little while, it is not long to. 1616 T. Mathews Let. in Ussher's Lett. (1686) 36 God now at last, though long first, sending so good opportunity. 1631 Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 223 As it was long before he could be perswaded to take a Prebend of Lincolne. 1670 Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 22, I hope now it will not be long before I see you at Exton. 1740 tr. De Mouhy's Fort. Country-Maid (1741) I. 47 It will not be long first. 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. lxvi, She'll bring him round to her way of thinking before it's long. |
3. the long and the short of (it, etc.), less frequently
the short and the long: the sum total, substance, upshot. Also,
to make short of long: to make a long story short.
| c 1500 Merch. & Child in Hazlitt Early Pop. Poetry I. 135 Thys ys the schorte and longe. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 137 There's the short and the long. 1620 Shelton Quix. ii. xxxix. 254 The short and the long was this. 1642 J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 245 Whereof riseth such a necessity of beleeving..that Christ maketh this the short and long of all. 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 412 This is the long and the short of it. 1713 Addison Guardian No. 108 ¶8 This is, sir, the long and the short of the matter. 1770 Foote Lame Lover ii. Wks. 1799 II. 80 And that, Mr. John, is the long and the short on't. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxxv, The short and the long of it is, that [etc.]. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano iv. vii. 160 There, to make short of long, was he way-laid By many knights at once. 1898 Besant Orange Girl i. ix, The long and the short of it..is that you must pay me this money. |
II. As
n. (with
a and
pl.).
4. a. Mus. A long note;
spec. in the early notation, a note equivalent to two or to three breves, according to the rhythm employed; also, the character by which it was denoted.
† long and short (see
quot. 1597).
| c 1460 Towneley Myst. xii. 414, It was a mery song; I dar say that he broght foure & twenty to a long. 1590 Cokaine Treat. Hunting D iv b, Where the Foxe is earthed, blowe for the Terriers after this manner: One long and two short. 1594 Barnfield Sheph. Cont. iii, My Prick-Song's alwayes full of Largues and Longs. 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. 78 Long and short is when we make two notes tied togither, and then another of the same kinde alone. a 1619 M. Fotherby Atheom. ii. xii. §1 (1622) 334 The Art of Musicke mixeth contrary sounds in her Songes: as Sharps, with flats; and briefes, with Longs. 1674 Playford Skill Mus. i. vii. 24 The Large contains eight Semibreves, the Long four. 1706 A. Bedford Temple Mus. xi. 227 When Musick was first invented, there were but Two Notes, viz. a Long, and a Breve. 1782 Burney Hist. Mus. II. iii. 184 The first consists of a succession of Longs and Breves. 1887 Browning Parleyings w. Cert. People Wks. 1896 II. 730/1 Larges and Longs and Breves displacing quite Crochet-and-quaver pertness. 1891 W. Pole Philos. Mus. 162 The breve being intended to be held about half the time of the long. |
| attrib. 1727–41 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Character, Long Rest. 1886 W. S. Rockstro Hist. Mus. iii. 35 Perfect Long Rest. Imperfect Long Rest. |
b. In the Morse code, a dash (
opp. ‘short’); a long buzz, etc., sounded as a signal.
| 1875 W. Thomson Pop. Lect. & Addresses (1891) III. 128 [It] renders quick and sure Morse signalling by longs and shorts impracticable. 1902 Kipling Traffics & Discov. (1904) 192 In longs and shorts, as laid down by..Mr. Morse. 1916 [see buzz v.1 9]. 1926 R. W. Hutchinson First Course Wireless 112 The key in the primary circuit enables the train of sparks to be continued for a long or a short period of time, thus producing the ‘longs’ and ‘shorts’, i.e. the ‘dashes’ and ‘dots’ of the Morse Code. 1943 F. J. Salfeld in Penguin New Writing XVII. 41 The alarm sounded: a series of urgent longs on the buzzer. 1948 ‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair x. 112 Do you know morse?.. I shall hoot the initials of your beautiful name on the horn... Two longs and three shorts. 1973 J. Drummond Bang! Bang! You're Dead! xxxviii. 134 A buzzer sounded..two longs, two shorts, another long. |
5. Prosody. A long syllable.
longs and shorts: quantitative (
esp. Latin or Greek) verses or versification. Hence (
nonce-use)
long-and-short v., to make Greek or Latin verses.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 42 This poeticall schoole⁓mayster corrector of breves and longes, caused Collyngborne to be abbreviate shorter by the hed. 1811 Byron Hints fr. Hor. 514 Whom public schools compel To ‘long and short’ before they're taught to spell. 1851 Carlyle Sterling i. iv. (1872) 29 Classicality,..greatly distinguishable from..death in longs and shorts. 1871 M. Arnold Friendship's Garland vi. 51, ‘I have seen some longs and shorts of Hittall's’, said I, ‘about the Calydonian Boar, which were not bad’. 1872 Young Gentleman's Mag. 23/1 As two shorts are supposed to equal one long, you may..put a dactyl for a spondee. |
6. Building.
longs and shorts: long and short blocks placed alternately in a vertical line; the style of masonry characterized by this arrangement. Also
attrib., as in
long-and-short work,
long masonry.
| 1845 Petrie Round Towers Irel. ii. iii. 188 Long and short... This masonry consists of alternate long and short blocks of ashlar, or hewn stone, bonding into the wall. 1863 G. G. Scott Westm. Abbey (ed. 2) 11 A small loop window..with long-and-short work in the jambs. 1884 Earle Ags. Lit. 54 Of Saxon construction a chief peculiarity is that which is called ‘longs and shorts’. It occurs in coins of towers, in panelling work, and sometimes in door jambs. |
7. = Long Vacation (A. 18).
| 1848 J. H. Newman Loss & Gain i. x. 71 ‘Reding ought to live here all through the Long,’ said Tenby: ‘does any one live through the Vacation, sir, in Oxford?’ 1852 C. A. Bristed Five Yrs. in Eng. Univ. (ed. 2) 37 For a month or six weeks in the ‘Long’ they rambled off to see the sights of Paris. 1857 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 7 Dec. (1966) 490 Arthur Stanley..has just been spending the ‘Long’ at Moscow. 1861 D. G. Rossetti Let. June (1965) II. 406 Amateur workmen..offered on all hands, chiefly university men who stayed in Oxford that ‘Long’ for the purpose. 1863 G. M. Hopkins Let. 22 Mar. (1956) 15 The probability is I shall not see you for an age, unless we manage to meet in the Long. 1885 M. Pattison Mem. 149, I began the Long in the belief that I was going in for my degree in November. 1888 Echoes Oxford Mag. (1890) 111 If you dare to come up in the Long. 1891 Daily News 25 Oct. 2/3 [Oxford] had not yet awakened from the lethargy of the ‘Long’. 1920 G. Saintsbury Notes on Cellar-Bk. x. 158 A mixture..first imparted to me..by a very amiable Dorsetshire farmer whom I met while walking from Sherborne to Blandford in my first Oxford ‘long’. |
8. pl. a. = long-clothes.
| 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk II. 63 A baby in longs. |
b. Long trousers.
colloq.| 1928 T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 219/3 Flannel longs..boy's long trousers made from grey union flannel. 1947 D. M. Davin Gorse blooms Pale 57 His first suit of longs, all neatly pressed. 1954 ‘A. Garve’ Riddle of Samson i. 15 A pair of grey flannel shorts that looked as though they'd been cut down from ‘longs’. 1962 B. Harrisson Orang-Utan i. 37 They wanted to buy smart shorts (or, better still, longs), shirts and tie, a radio. |
9. pl. Long whist. (See
whist n.)
rare.
| 1841 J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk II. 29 Shilling points at longs..were the fashion. 1850 Bohn's Handbk. Games 162. |
10. Comm. a. One who has purchased in expectation of future demand.
| 1881 Chicago Times 12 Mar., Under negotiations by the ‘longs’..the market [i.e. for pork] fell back 5c. 1890 Daily News 2 Sept. 2/5 Wheat..fell off owing to longs unloading. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 23 Aug. 5/1 ‘Longs’ circulating sensational accounts of damage done to the spring wheat crop. |
b. pl. Long-term stocks.
| 1964 Financial Times 12 Mar. 21/1 Partly reflecting technical influences, gilt-edged continued to gain ground, with the ‘longs’ closing up to 7/16 better. 1969 Daily Tel. 16 Sept. 2 The ‘longs’ and undated stocks were particularly prominent and Treasury 63/4 p.c. 1995–98 rose a full point. 1972 Times 17 June 23/3 The ‘longs’..closed ‘uneasily steady’, dealers said. |
Add:
[A.] [I.] [1.] h. Used as a trade term,
freq. in conjunction with another measurement, to indicate that an item of clothing (such as a skirt or a pair of trousers) is longer than average for its specific chest or waist measurement;
usu. opp. to
regular (
cf. regular a. 3 e) or
short.
| 1908 W. H. Baker Dict. Men's Wear 232 Sizes..are classified as regular, long,..short-stout, corpulent [etc.]. 1940 Good Housekeeping (N.Y.) July 98/2 When buying slacks: Be sure of waist measure and whether the wearer is ‘short’ or ‘long’ type. 1980 Freemans Catal. Spring/Summer 393 Slightly flared jeans in fine cord... Regular inside leg 32 in... Long inside leg 34 in. 1990 Washington Post 6 Mar. a11/4 Stock sizes: regular, short, extra-short, long, extra-long, portly and portly-short. |
[B.] [II.] [8.] c. A garment that is longer than average for its specific chest or waist measurement.
| 1908 W. H. Baker Dict. Men's Wear 152 Longs, trade term for readymade garments designed to fit tall men. 1952 Amer. Speech XXVII. 266 With regard to sizes of suits there are three basic divisions: regulars—for men of average height and weight; shorts—for men of short stature; and longs—for tall men. 1986 Jrnl. (Fairfax Co., Va.) 27 May a3 (Advt.), Winfield Suits... In regulars, shorts and longs. |
d. A long (formal) dress, skirt, etc.
colloq.| 1971 Guardian 17 Aug. 7/3 Summer ‘longs’ go on very happily into winter for theatres and parties. 1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 28 Mar. 2a (Advt.), Young junior dresses and longs. |
▸
Brit. (
orig. and chiefly
Polit.).
to kick (a person or thing) into the long grass and variants: to put aside, defer; to sideline.
In
quot. 1973 as part of an extended
metaphor.| 1973 Times 11 Oct. 4/7 Mr Rippon set himself up as the archapostle of community politics..with all sorts of pledges about not ‘kicking the ball into the long grass’ from which it might emerge muddier than before. 1986 Financial Times (Nexis) 5 Aug. 34 Senior ministers' initial response to Peacock..was that it was not what was required and should be ‘kicked into the long grass’. 1989 Guardian (Nexis) 16 Dec. He is not prepared to be kicked into the long grass by the party. 2005D. Runcorn in D. Ison Vicar's Guide iii. 22 You don't know what issues can be kicked into the long grass and which need to be top of the agenda. |
▪ II. long, a.2 (
lɒŋ)
Also 3–5,
north. dial. 8–9
lang, 4–5
lange, 5–6
longe.
[Aphetic f. ME. ilong, OE. ᵹelang along a.1] Phr.
long of (
† long on): attributable to, owing to, on account of, because of, ‘along of’. Now
arch. and
dial.| c 1200 Ormin 13377 All Crisstene follkess hald Iss lang o Cristess hellpe. c 1275 Lay. 15886 Sai waren [= whereon] hit his lang þat þe wal falleþ. a 1300 Cursor M. 6030 Al þis wrak on me es lang [Fairf. lange, Trin. longe]. c 1330 Spec. Gy Warw. 750 Here ȝe muwen se þe wrong And knowe, wher-on hit is long [v.r. alange]. c 1350 St. Mary Magd. 464 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 86 All my los es lang on þe. a 1400–50 Alexander 4606 Slik lust is lang on þe leuir & likand spices. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 50 Neuer we shall faylle you but if it be longe of you. 1494 Fabyan Chron. vii. 535 Whether it were of the Englysshmen longe or of the Portyngaleys, moche harme was done to the Spaynyardys. 1549 Coverdale Erasm. Par. 1 John 44 All is long of the darkenes of the hate of his brother, that hath so blynded his eyes. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 33 Who is it long of, can you tell? 1591 Florio 2nd Fruites 51, I wot not what it is long of, but I haue no stomack. 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. Prol. (Arb.) 3 Its all long on you, I could not get my part a night or two before. 1651 Baxter Saints' Rest i. v. §2. 61 That the very Damned live, is to be ascribed to him; That they live in misery, is long of themselves. 1705 J. Blair in Perry Hist. Coll. Am. Col. Ch. I. 148, I do again assure you it shall not be long of me if our differences be long lived. 1749 Chesterfield Lett. 24 Nov. (1892) I. 377, I have told the French Minister, as how, that if that affair be not soon concluded, your Lordship would think it all long of him. 1881 Swinburne Mary Stuart iii. i. 113 That all these Have fallen out profitless, 'tis long of you. |
▪ III. long, adv. (
lɒŋ)
Compared
longer (
ˈlɒŋgə(r)),
longest (
ˈlɒŋgɪst). Forms: 1
lange,
longe, 2
lange,
Orm. lannge, 3–5,
Sc. 6–9
lang, 3–5
longe, 5–
long. See also
leng,
lenger,
lengest.
[OE. lange, lǫnge, = OFris. lang(e, long(e, OS. lango (Du. lang), OHG. lango (MHG., mod.G. lange):—OTeut. *laŋgô, f. *laŋgo- long a.] 1. a. For or during a long time.
† long a day (Spenser): for a long time. [Prob. for
long of the day;
cf. ‘long time of þe dei,’
quot. a 1225 in A. 7. Possibly the rare phrase
long the day may have had this origin; but see 6 below.]
| Beowulf (Z.) 2344 Þeah ðe hord-welan heolde lange. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. (Sedgefield) xxxv. §7 Ða he ða longe and longe hearpode, ða cleopode se hellwara cyning. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 25 Ȝet ic mei longe libben. c 1200 Ormin 219 Forrwhi þe preost swa lannge wass þatt daȝȝ att Godess allterr. c 1250 Owl & Night. 466 He nis nother ȝep ne wis, That longe abid war him nod nis. a 1300 Cursor M. 169 Iesus quen he lang had fast Was fondid wit þe wik gast. 1340 Ayenb. 205 A roted eppel amang þe holen, makeþ rotie þe yzounde, yef he is longe þer amange. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 5 Þai wald þat it schuld hafe lang lasted. 1495 Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 22 §4 Laborers..longe sitting at ther brekfast at ther dyner and nonemete. a 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV 192 b, This matter..hangyng long in consultacion. 1562 Pilkington Expos. Abdyas Pref. 9 Tyrannes raygne not long. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. x. 9 Most vertuous virgin..That..hast wandered through the world now long a day. 1596 Ibid. vi. iii. 4 Is this the timely joy, which I expected long. c 1605 Acc. Bk. W. Wray in Antiquary XXXII. 178, 1469. K. henry 6 proclamed kinge, but continued not longe. 1659 Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 372 If they could spare members, they must attend long. 1697 Dryden æneid x. 501 They long suspend the Fortune of the Field. 1721 Ramsay Prospect Plenty vii, Lang have they ply'd that trade. 1766 Goldsm. Hermit viii, Man wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long. 1787 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 322 We have long been expecting a packet. 1844 Thirlwall Greece VIII. 115 The principle, which had long been generally admitted in the Greek republics, that [etc.]. 1883 R. W. Dixon Mano i. i. 1 Gerbert's disciple once, but long a monk Of Sant Evreult. 1895 F. Harrison in 19th Cent. Aug. 215 Many of his criticisms of modern scientific philosophy are precisely those which I have long urged. |
b. In the comparative and superlative, or preceded by
advs. of comparison (
as,
how,
so,
thus,
too, etc.), the
adv. indicates amount of relative duration. (
Cf. long a. 8.)
so (or as) long as: often nearly equivalent to ‘provided that’, ‘if only’. Also,
long as,
ellipt. for
so (or
as)
long as.
| c 900 tr. Bæda's Hist. iv. xxv. (Schipper) 496 Ic..þe..ætywde..hu lange þu on hreowe awunian sceole. 971 Blickl. Hom. 169 Swa lange swa ᵹe ðisdydon ðara anum ðe on me ᵹelyfdon. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1816 To longe we habbeð idriuen ure dusischipes. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vii. (Jacobus Minor) 623 Ay þe langare he sat sa, Þe mare grew his sorow & va. c 1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 37 If þat a wounde haþ be to longe in þe eir open..þanne [etc.]. 1433 Rolls of Parlt. IV. 424/1 Whiles and as longe as hit is or shall be soo. c 1500 Melusine lv. 331 So long rode geffray that he came to the Castel. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 775 The Cardinall perceyved that the Queene waxed ever the longer the farther of. c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xix. 13 How lang sall I this lyfe inleid. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 27 Als lang as I leue on this eird. 1568 Tilney Disc. Mariage C viij b, I have alreadie troubled them to long. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. viii. 28 The guilt, which if he liued had thus long, His life for dew reuenge should deare abye. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. lxv. 304 A liquour..which kept them from rotting, and made them last the longer. 1642 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 171 Absalon..kept his wrath so long; until it burst out into blood. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 68 So long as there are devils in hell. 1715 Atterbury On Matt. xxvii. 25 in Serm. (1734) I. 127 Thus long have they [Jews] been no Nation. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §20 The world..always will be the same, as long as men are men. 1776 Trial of Nundocomar 29/2 How long did you live with Sielabut at Delhi? 1807 Wordsworth To Small Celandine in Poems I. 22 Long as there's a sun that sets Primroses will have their glory. 1825 Thirlwall Lett. (1881) 85 To cling to your profession as long as you can. 1834 Southey Lett. (1856) IV. 391 God has mercifully supported me thus long. 1846 Browning Lost Mistress v, I will hold your hand but as long as all may, Or so very little longer. 1863 H. Cox Instit. iii. ix. 730 One-third who have been longest in office retire annually. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. I. i. 394 She stood so long that she forgot to weep. 1887 L. Carroll Game of Logic Pref., Is there any great harm in that, so long as you get plenty of amusement? 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock i. i. 22 ‘It's all right,’ he said, ‘long as you are here.’ |
c. colloq. so long: good-bye, ‘au revoir’. [
Cf. G.
so lange.]
| 1865 F. H. Nixon P. Perfume 8 Will wish you ‘ta ta’—gentle reader—‘So long!’ a 1868 W. Whitman Poems 398, I whisper So long! And take the young woman's hand..for the last time. 1889 Chamb. Jrnl. 22 June 397 ‘When shall we see you again? Not for another six months I s'pose. So long’. 1894 A. Robertson Nuggets, etc. 199 ‘So long then; wish you luck’. |
d. I, you, etc. may (do something) long enough: a colloquial phrase expressing hopelessness of result. Now usually followed by
before conj.| 1530 Palsgr. 616/2, I may do a thing longe ynough, which sayeng we use whan we signyfye our labour to be in vayne... Thou maye krye longe ynough: tu as beau braire. 1871 Browning Hervé Riel xi, Search the heroes flung pell-mell On the Louvre, face and flank; You shall look long enough ere you come to Hervé Riel. |
2. a. The suppression of the qualified
adj.,
adv., or phrase, in expressions like
to be long about one's work, causes the
adv. long to assume the character of a quasi-adjectival predicate
= ‘occupying a long time’, ‘delaying long’. Const.
in,
† of,
† a (with gerund; the
prep. is now often omitted
colloq.), also followed by
conj. ere,
or,
before.
The originally
advb. character of the word in this use is shown by the form
longe (riming with
fonge) in the first example, and by the analogy of the similar use of the
advb. phrase in
to be a long time.
Cf. however F.
être long à.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 145/1368 Sumdel þe pope was anuyd þat he hadde i-beo so longe. 1479 Paston Lett. III. 258 Let myn oncle..kepe the patent..tyll he have hys mone, and that shall not be longe to. 1530 Tindale Num. xiv. 18 The Lorde is longe yer he be angrye, and full of mercy. 1539 Cranmer's Bible Matt. xxiv. 48 My lord will be long a commyng. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 268 Whiche thyng forasmuch as it was veray slacke and longe in dooyng..he assaied to passe ouer the sea of Adria. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 86 b, Went to mete..the Emperour, but they were longe or they myght be suffered to come to his speche. 1606 G. W[oodcocke] Hist. Ivstine vi. 31 That the Empire which was so long a getting..might not come to wracke. 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. iii. iii. 8 Ile not be long before I call vpon thee. 1612 Chapman Widdowes Teares i. Dram. Wks. 1873 III. 19 Goe, Ile not be long. 1637 Earl of Monmouth tr. Malvezzi's Romulus & Tarquin 294 The witchcraft of Rhetorique being ended, which is not long a doing. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasm. Colloq. 545, I advise to be long a chusing a kind of life. 1780 H. Walpole Lett. (1902) 26 It is from Glasgow, whence I am still longer before I believe. 1796 E. Parsons Myst. Warning IV. 242 You shall..remain..till I have discovered the whole of your vile plot, which will not be long first. 1799 A. Seward Lett. (1811) V. 257 The real author cannot be long of being déterré. 1803 Loriman II. 57 The wound was long before it was healed. a 1814 Last Act ii. i. in New Brit. Theatre II. 381 Is not our old gentleman rather beyond his time? in truth, I think him long. 1829 Scott Anne of G. ix, They were not long of discovering the tête-du-pont. 1880 Froude Bunyan 53 His remarkable ability was not long in showing itself. 1894 Pall Mall Mag. Mar. II. 740 The opportunity was not long in coming. |
b. not to be long for this world: to have only a short time to live.
| 1822 Byron Let. to J. Murray 23 Sept., If it is, I cannot be long for this world. 1849 Thackeray Pendennis I. xxv. 239 She fairly told Pen one day..that she felt herself breaking, and not long for this world. 1933 J. Masefield Bird of Dawning 43 He was shocked by the roaring wash of the water coming into the after hold. ‘She's not long for this world,’ he muttered. 1968 L. Goodman Sun Signs (1970) 193 These people either radiate incredible vitality or else complain that they're not long for this world. |
3. With an agent-noun, as
long-liver. Also
longer,
longest liver, in legal use for ‘the survivor, the last survivor’.
| 1485 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 271/2 The longest liver of them. 1522 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 237 The sayd Elizabethe nowe hys wyffe yf she be longer lyuer. 1530 Palsgr. 317/2 Longe taryer. 1602 Narcissus (1893) 241 Why am I longer liver? 1662 Bp. Hopkins Funeral Serm. (1685) 13 The longest liver hath no more but that he is longer a dying than others. 1781 F. Burney Diary Aug., He is strong-built,..I dare say he will be a very long liver. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 311 For and during the term of their natural lives, and the life of the longer liver of them. 1869 Hughes Alfred Gt. iv. 53 The longest liver..should take land and treasure. 1873 H. Spencer Stud. Sociol. (1882) 94 The qualities which make him likely to be a long-liver. |
4. Followed by
after,
before,
† eft,
ere,
† or, or
since (
advs., conjs., or preps.): At, from, or to a point of time far distant from the time indicated.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5259 Sun i wend, lang siþengan, þat wild beistes had þe slain. Ibid. 15938 Him..i sagh lang ar wit him in rute. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. iii. iii. 598 Scotland was dyssawarra left And wast nere lyand lang thare eft. a 1400–50 Alexander 1145 Þare he lies with his ledis lang or he foundes. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. iii, Alle the estates were longe or day in the chirche for to praye. 1513 More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 759 One Mistlebrooke long before morning came in great haste. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. vii. 5 The kyng sawe his suster, whom he had nat sene long before. c 1530 Tindale Prol. to Jonah (1551), Wycleffe preached repentaunce vnto our fathers not longe sence. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 26 b, And so not longe after they burned Luthers workes. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 25 The long-since dead from bursted graves arise. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. iii. iv. §1 If there were persons existent in the World long before Adam was. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 9 Wanting the basis of reason, the whole fabric has long since fallen to the ground. 1816 Southey Ess. (1832) I. 331 They ought, long ere this, to have been prevented. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 28 A prison..the ruins of which long after remained on the left bank of the Seine. 1861 Ibid. 47 Protestant and peaceful times, long after London had ceased to fear a foreign foe. 1860 Reade Cloister & H. xxx, He and I were born the same year, but he cut his teeth long before me. 1889 Swinburne Stud. Prose & Poetry (1894) 269 Such is life—as Mrs. Harris long since observed. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 167/2 You are hemmed in on every side by the long-since past. |
5. The comparative is used (chiefly with qualifying
adv., as
any,
no,
much,
a little, etc.) in the sense: After the point of time indicated by the context (
= L.
amplius, F.
plus with negative, G.
mehr).
no longer: not now as formerly.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1300 To liue moght he na langar drei. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xi, Vp I rase, no langer wald I lye. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, i. iii. 157, I can no longer hold me patient. 1662 Stillingfl. Orig. Sacr. ii. vii. §7 There should a time come when the Ceremoniall Law should oblige no longer. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, Happiness I fear is no longer reserved for me here. 1802 Hatred I. 126, I could no longer dissemble with myself. 1894 Hall Caine Manxman iii. xix. 190 There was no longer any room for doubt. |
6. Subjoined to expressions designating a period of time, with the sense: Throughout the length of (the period specified). [
Cf. G.
sein leben lang.]
† Also rarely
poet. in reversed order, as
long the day (
cf. long a day under 1).
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 264/122 Heore ȝat was swiþe faste i-mad: þoruȝ al þe ȝere longue. 1530 Tindale Answ. More iv. xi. Wks. (1573) 332 There were martyrs that suffered martyrdome for the name of Christ all the yeare long. 1568 Grafton Chron. I. 169 He traveyled all night long to Winchester warde. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxi. v, Thy gratious glory Was my ditty long the day. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. i. 32 The Sunne that measures heaven all day long. a 1641 Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. (1642) 478 Without any change or alteration all the Sabbath long. 1650 Trapp Comm. Num. xxiii. 10 Carnall men..live all their lives-long in Dalilah's lap. 1659 H. L'Estrange Alliance Div. Off. 154 All Lent long..the very faithful themselves were cast upon their knees. 1720 T. Gordon Humourist I. 158 In Scotland..a Man must be all Sunday long tied either to the Kirk or his Chamber. 1825 Thirlwall Crit. Ess. 36 Accustomed to pass their nights the whole summer long in the open air. 1849 Helps Friends in C. ii. iv. 92 You are out all day long with the sheep. 1875 Browning Aristoph. Apol. 1064 While..the lesson long, No learner ever dared to cross his legs. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 245 He was to continue working all his life long at that and at no other. |
† 7. At or to a great or a specified distance in space; far.
Obs. rare.
| c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2485 So longe he hauen ðeðen numen To flum iurdon ðat he ben cumen. 13.. in Minor P. Vern. MS. 502 Two wyues sat ȝonder, langare. c 1450 Merlin 155 Thei smyten..so vigorously that oon myght here the crassinge of speres half a myle longe. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. Froissart I. ix. 7 She..rode to warde Heynaulte, and so long she rode that she came to Cambresys. 1532 in More Confut. Barnes viii. M.'s Wks. (1557) 782/2 The church through oute all the worlde scattered farre and long. 1542 Lam. & Piteous Treat. in Harl. Misc. (1809) IV. 535 His gallyes..were harboured fyue legges longe frome the sayde towne of Argiere. 1586 D. Rowland Lazarillo ii. (1672) R viij, All the way long did I nothing but think upon my good Gypseys. 1887 W. Morris tr. Homer's Odyssey xii. 251 As the fisher sits on the headland with a rod that reaches long. |
† 8. With a long step.
Obs.| 1705 Lond. Gaz. No. 4116/4 Paces and gallops well, trots a little long. |
9. Comb. a. When qualifying a
ppl. adj. used
attrib., the word, like most other
advs., is commonly hyphened, forming innumerable quasi-compounds with the sense ‘for a long time’: as
long-accustomed,
long-awaited,
long-borne,
long-dead,
long-departed,
long-expected,
long-felt,
long-gone,
long-held,
long-lost, (as
n.),
long-waited,
long-wearing, etc. Also
long-continued,
long-lasting,
long-living.
| 1540 Coverdale Fruitf. Less. To Rdr. (1593) ¶2 b, After *long accustomate doing of vertuous deeds. |
| 1711 Shaftesbury Charac. (1737) II. 64 The abject and compliant state of *long-accustom'd slaves. |
| 1789 Cowper Annus Mirab. 47 Our Queen's *long-agitated breast. |
| 1914 Times 25 Aug. 6/4 The *long-awaited battle is begun. 1974 Melody Maker 23 Mar. 19/3 The release of Jackson Browne's long awaited album ‘For Everyman’. |
| c 1620 S. A. Gorges To the King in Farr S.P. Jas. I (1847) 315 Yet in my *long-borne zeale Time's chaunge Can make no chaunge appeare. |
| 1817 Lady Morgan France (1818) I. 194 The sudden resurrection of a *long-buried aristocracy. 1833 J. H. Newman Arians v. ii. (1876) 381 That resurrection which now awaited the long-buried truths of the Gospel. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. xx. 400 The *long-contended prize. |
| 1905 Daily Chron. 14 Nov. 3/4 The old Franciscan..mourned frantically for his *long-dead brother. 1937 Auden in Auden & MacNeice Lett. from Iceland i. 21 Scribbling to a long-dead poet. 1974 A. Price Other Paths to Glory i. vii. 79 The two long-dead riflemen. |
| 1868 Lightfoot Comm. Philipp. (1873) 199 The *long-delayed judgment of God. |
| c 1838 E. Brontë Compl. Poems (1941) 77 Old Hall of Elbë, ruined, lonely now;..Home of the departed, the *long-departed dead. 1869 ‘Mark Twain’ Innoc. Abr. xi. 102 Their long-departed owners seemed to throng the gloomy cells. 1952 R. Campbell tr. Baudelaire's Poems 19 Sweeping the far-off skylines with a gaze Regretful of Chimeras long-departed. |
| 1570 J. Phillip Frendly Larum in Farr S.P. Eliz. (1845) II. 526 And eke enioy, as wee doo wish, Our *long-desired masse. 1877 Bryant Odyss. v. 534 To thee, the long-desired, I come. |
| 1533 Elyot Cast. Helthe ii. xxxiv. (1541) 52 These exercises,..may put out of the body, all *long duryng sicknesses. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 307 As motion and long during action tyres The sinnowy vigour of the trauailer. |
| 1567 Turberv. Ovid's Epist. Q ij, And all my wit is me bereft by *long enduring smart. 1876 Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. IV. lxiii. 251 The long-enduring watcher. |
| 1640 Waller Sp. Ho. Com. 22 Apr., Wks. (1729) 406 A *long-establish'd government. 1837 H. Martineau Soc. Amer. III. 124 A long-established and very eminent lawyer of Boston. |
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxii. 929 Their *long expected hopes were vtterly forlorne. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 302 They..balked their Roman conquerors of their long-expected revenge. |
| 1862 A. Lincoln Ann. Message to Congress in Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) 1 Dec. 1/2 The judicious legislation of Congress..has satisfied.. the *long felt want of an uniform circulating medium. 1936 Discovery Mar. 83/2 To satisfy a long-felt want on the part of the serious student. |
| ? 1605 Drayton Eclogue i. xii, And that all-searching and impartiall Fate Shall take account of *long-forgotten dust. 1725 Pope Odyss. xix. 191 Tears repeat their long-forgotten course. |
| 1950 W. de la Mare Inward Compan. 25 A happy house in that *long-gone sunshine. |
| 1943 D. Gascoyne Poems 1937–42 33 With *long-held burning breath. 1960 R. W. Marks Dymaxion World of B. Fuller 117/2 Fuller's long-held theory that energy in gases evolves unique local patternings. |
| 1593 Shakes. Lucr. 1816 Now he..armed his *long-hid wits advisedly. |
| 1843 Browning Return of Druses i. 229 Tell them the *long-kept secret. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 27 Ah my *long-lacked lord, Where have ye bene thus long out of my sight? |
| 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 483 He, the *long-longed for, the chosen of God. |
| 1606 Day Ile of Guls D iij, *Long lookt for comes at last. 1848 Dickens Dombey i, Exulting in the long-looked-for event. |
| 1738 Gray Propertius iii. 83 To Chiron Phœnix owed his *long-lost Sight. 1853 Mrs. Gaskell Cranford xv. 308, I could no longer confirm her belief that the long-lost was really here. 1887 Besant The World went, etc. xi. 87 The safe return of the long-lost sailor. 1920 Beerbohm And Even Now 80, I was always in hope that when next the long-lost turned up..I should see him. |
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 156 The images of his *long-parted friends. |
| 1870 J. H. Newman Gram. Assent ii. x. 481 During His *long-past sojourn upon earth. |
| 1792 Burke Corr. (1844) III. 388 The solid, permanent, *long-possessed property of the country. |
| 1725 Pope Odyss. iv. 9 Hermione..Was sent to crown the *long-protracted joy. |
| 1715 ― Iliad ii. 185 With *long-resounding Cries they urge the Train To fit the Ships, and launch into the Main. 1822 Scott Pirate v, The groans of the mountains, and the long-resounding shores. |
| 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xvi. §134 (1875) 373 Its *long-settled political organization. |
| a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 9 With *long-shut eyes I shun the irksome light. |
| 1729 Law Serious C. 299 [He] triumphantly entered that *long-shut-up paradise. |
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. ix. 319 Ere the Iberian Powers had toucht the *long-sought Bay. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 74 My long-lost, my long-sought brother! |
| 1643 Milton Divorce To Parl., To be acquitted from the *long-suffer'd ungodly attribute of patronizing Adultery. |
| 1636 B. Jonson Discov., Homeri Ulysses (1640) 93 Vlysses, in Homer, is made a *long thinking man, before hee speaks. |
| 1671 Milton P.R. i. 59 We Must bide the stroke of that *long-threatened wound. |
| 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) IV. 149 *Long-toiled mariners, whom storms have at length compelled to seek a final port. |
| 1928 Publisher's Weekly 16 June 2425 The *long-waited reminiscences of the British Prime Minister. 1972 Buenos Aires Herald 4 Feb. 6/4 The long-waited inauguration in July of the Peligre Hydroelectric Dam. |
| 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. iii. 21 That *long-wandring Greeke, That for his love refused deitye. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 16 Apr. 4/2 Greasers are fitted everywhere to..add to the *long-wearing life of the parts. 1963 New Yorker 23 Nov. 15 (Advt.), Our famous shirts..are made..of exclusively woven, long-wearing materials. 1975 Country Life 2 Jan. 32/1 The engine is..low-revving and long-wearing. |
| 1693 Congreve in Dryden's Juvenal (1697) 293 The dry Embraces of *long-wedded Love. |
| 1570 J. Phillip Frendly Larum in Farr S.P. Eliz. (1845) II. 533 And keepe the cruell papists still From their *longe-wished day. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 6 That day, long-wished day. 1748 Anson's Voy. i. x. 107 We at last discovered the long-wished for Island. |
| 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art 38 The *long-withheld sympathy is given at last. |
b. With the sense ‘to or at a great distance’; in a few nonce-words, chiefly
poet., as
long-destroying,
long-travelled,
long wandered,
long-withdrawing.
| 1632 Lithgow Trav. vii. 326 Our long-reaching Ordonance. a 1649 Drummond of Hawthornden Poems Wks. (1711) 2 The palm her love with long-stretch'd arms embraces. 1667 Milton P.L. xii. 313 Who shall..bring back Through the worlds wilderness long wanderd man Safe to eternal Paradise of rest. 1681 T. Flatman Heraclitus Ridens No. 31 (1713) I. 200 A sad Experiment I have made Of the long-reaching Arm of Kings. 1715 Pope Iliad viii. 265 They shake the brands, and threat With long-destroying flames the hostile fleet. 1728–46 Thomson Spring 67 O'er your hills and long-withdrawing vales, Let Autumn spread his treasures. 1870 Hawthorne Eng. Note-Bks. (1879) II. 23 He is a..widely and long travelled man. |
Add:
[7.] b. Sport. (
a) To or for a considerable distance (across or along a field, course, etc.); (
b) beyond the point aimed at; too far.
Cf. short adv. 7 a.
| 1839 in R. Clark Golf (1875) 100 Come all you Golfers stout and strong Who putt so sure and drive so long. 1969 J. Nicklaus Greatest Game of All xvii. 267 Compared to most golfers, I hit the ball quite long. a 1973 in Webster's New Collegiate Dict. s.v., Faded back and threw the ball long. 1977 C. McCarthy Pleasures of Game 73 One opponent hit short and into the trap, the other hit long. 1986 Rebound No. 1. 66/3 We had players who could shoot long but they were never given a chance to show this because the ball never came back out. 1990 Guardian 28 May 13/2 He still gets a twinge when he goes to kick the ball long. |
▪ IV. long, v.1 (
lɒŋ)
Forms: 1
langian, 3–4
longen, 3–6
longe,
north. lang, (3
longy, 3, 6
longue, 4
loungy, 5
lung,
longyn), 3–
long.
[OE. langian = OS. langôn impers. = sense 5 below (MDu. langen to be or seem long; to ‘think long’, desire; to extend, hold out, offer, Du. langen to offer, present), OHG. langên impers. = sense 5 (MHG., G. langen to reach, extend, suffice), ON. langa impers. and pers. to desire, long:—OTeut. *laŋgôjan, *laŋgæ̂jan f. *laŋgo- long a.1] † I. 1. intr. To grow longer; to lengthen.
Obs.| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 250 Þonne se dæᵹ langað þonne gæð seo sunne norðweard. 13.. K. Alis. 139 Averil is meory, and longith the day. c 1325 Song on Passion 2 in O.E. Misc. 197 Somer is comen..þis day biginniz to longe. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 245 The dayes longyth fro equinoccium forth, and the nyghtes shortith. |
† 2. trans. To lengthen, prolong.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Eccl. viii. 12 Be ther not good to the vnpitouse, ne be ther aferr longid the daȝes of hym. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 202 Prayer longyth a mannys lyue. ? a 1500 Roberd of Cysille 32 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 271 Hys dwellynge thoȝt he there to longe. |
† 3. to long away [used to
tr. L.
ēlongāre].
a. trans. To put far away.
b. intr. To depart.
Obs.| 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxxxvii. 19 Thou longedest awei [Vulg. elongasti] fro me frend and neȝhebore. ― Ecclus. xxxv. 22 The Lord shal not longen awey [Vulg. elongabit]. |
4. trans. To cause to pass over a certain distance (see
quots.).
dial.| 1674 Ray S. & E.C. Words 71 Long it hither: Reach it hither. Suffolk. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia, Long, to forward to a distance, from one hand to another, in succession. |
II. † 5. impers. with
accus. me longs (longeth): I have a yearning desire; I long. Const.
after, or
to with
n. or inf.
Obs. (
Cf. to think long,
long a. 9 b.)
| c 893 K. ælfred Oros. ii. xi. §1 Þæt us nu æfter swelcum longian mæᵹe swelce þa wæron. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 149 Him wile sone longe þar after. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 199/14 Hire longuede with hire broþer to speke. a 1300 Cursor M. 20141 Hir langed sare hir sun cum to. a 1340 Hampole Psalter cxxxix. 9 Vs langis eftire a thynge of þe warld. 1406 Hoccleve La Male Regle 38 Me longed aftir nouelrie. |
6. To have a yearning desire; to wish earnestly. Const.
for (
† after,
occas. † at,
† to), or
to with inf. (The only current sense.)
† Also, to be restless or impatient
till (something is attained).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 10548 (Cott.) Þan sal þou find þin husband þar, þat þou has langed efter sare. c 1386–90 Chaucer Prol. 12 Thanne longen folk to goon on pilgrimages. c 1470 Henry Wallace iii. 352 Rycht sar he langyt the toune of Ayr to se. c 1500 Melusine xix. 72 For therat I lang moche. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxix. (Percy Soc.) 138 You knowe well that some women do long After nyce thynges, be it ryght or wrong. 1530 Palsgr. 614/1, I longe, as a woman with chylde longeth, or lusteth for a thynge that she wolde eate or drinke of. a 1584 Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 177, I langt in Luiffis bow to shute. 1590 Marlowe Edw. II, ii. i. 82 Come, leade the way, I long till I am there. 1611 Bible Ps. cxix. 40, I haue longed after thy precepts. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 480 He longed for day, and it being come,..hee quietly left his Lodging. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 593 All other Beasts that saw, with like desire Longing and envying stood. 1738 Swift Pol. Conversat. ii. 129 But what if any of the Ladies should long? Well, here take it, and the D―l do you good with it. 1786 F. Burney Diary 8 Nov., Though she gave me a thousand small distresses, I longed to kiss her for every one of them. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. ii. 51 As the cold grave that longeth for its coffin. 1855 Kingsley Heroes, Theseus i. 197 He longed to ask his mother the meaning of that stone. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xxviii. 338 This man longed for her,—desired to call her his own. 1884 F. Temple Relat. Relig. & Sci. viii. (1885) 239 Believers in all ages have longed for external support to their faith. |
† 7. Const. an
adv. or
advb. phr. with a verb of motion implied: To long to go.
Obs.| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 157 Him wile sone longe þiderward. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1915 Mi longeð heonneward. 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 3649 Þo þe king hurde þis, him longede þuder sore. c 1400 Destr. Troy 2914 So longid this lady with lust to the temple. 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 27 The man had an high harte and sore longed upwarde, not risyng yet so fast as he had hoped. |
† 8. To grow weary.
Sc. Obs.| 1606 Rollock 1 Thess. xxiii. 293 Let vs not wearie in doing good, and he addes to the promise, we shall reape the frute of our good deeds in our owne tyme, if we long not, but goe forward ay to the end. |
▪ V. long, v.2 arch. (
lɒŋ)
Also 3
north. lang.
[f. lang, long (not recorded in OE.), aphetic f. OE. ᵹelang at hand, dependent on, along a.1 (= OHG. gilang, kalang akin). The simple vb. is now superseded in general use by the compound belong v.] 1. intr. To be appropriate
to (
† occas. for); to pertain
to (
† rarely with simple dative); to refer or relate to; to belong, as a member of a family or the like, a native, adherent, or dependent; to be a part, appendage, or dependency. Now only
poet. as a rare archaism (written
'long as if short for
belong).
| ? a 1200 Charter Edw. Conf. in Kemble Cod. Dipl. (1846) IV. 215 Alle ða land ðe longen into ðare halaᵹen stowe. a 1300 Cursor M. 2808 Has þou her..ani man..to þe langand, or hei or lau. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 82 Unto þe Marche gan long an erle, Wolnot he hight. c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 23 His astrelabie longinge for his Art. ― Sqr.'s T. 8 Hym lakked noght that longeth to a kyng. a 1400 Prymer (1891) 73 God to wham it longeth alone to haue mercy. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 19 Withe observaunces longyng for a kyng. 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) V. 277 A swyneherde longynge to the kynge. c 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. iv. x. 258 It is a thinge wherof the knowledge longeth unto him. 1508 Dunbar Tua mariit wemen 407 For neuer I likit a leid that langit till his blude. 1508 Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. xxxviii. Wks. (1876) 82 Yf the thynge asked of almyghty god be longynge and not contrary to the soules helth. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 70 Their..fraunchises longyng or dewe to them in all maner of places. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iv. iv. 6 With such austeritie as longeth to a father. 1600 Holland Livy v. xxi. 194 But hereto longeth a tale. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. viii. §3 (1873) 124 Such mechanique as longeth to the production of the natures afore rehearsed. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. i. ii. xlvii, But that full grasp of vast Eternitie 'Longs not to beings simply vegetive. 1650 Fuller Pisgah iii. iii. 383 West-gate where Shuppim and Hosah were Porters. To them also longed the gate Shallecheth. 1868–70 Morris Earthly Par. I. 240 He will give thee everything That 'longs unto the daughter of a King. |
† b. To concern (a person); hence, to be fitting, befit, beseem.
Obs.| ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1222 She durste never seyn ne do But that thing that hir longed to. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 146 Hit longis to knyghtis to deffende hom. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 237 In towne, as it longes, Þe osul twytereþ mery songes. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xxxvi. 140 (Add. MS.) Alle Ioye and gladnesse, as longeth to a maiden for to have. 1450–80 tr. Secreta Secret. 5 That, þat longith not to be knowe. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 64 It longeth not to clerkes to intermele of them. 1564 tr. P. Martyr's Comm. Judges 211 b, That longeth to reason to seeke and search out. |
† 2. (Const.
to,
unto.) To be the property or rightful possession of;
= belong v. 3.
Obs.| 1389 in Eng. Gilds (1870) 11 Þe catel longynge to þe companye. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 4818 The maners that to the bischop langed. c 1450 Merlin 140 All the londe that longeth to the crowne. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. V 63 Any hous or edefice or place of ground longyng to any of the saied citezens. a 1552 Leland Collect. I. 235 Fulco had robbid Ruyton a castle longging to Straunge. 1608 Day Law-Trickes v. (1881) 79 Unto what great Prince, Christian or Pagan, longs this mansion? |
▪ VI. long obs. form of
lung; aphetic
f. along.