▪ I. seem, n. ? Obs. or dial. (chiefly Sc.)
[f. seem v.2]
Seeming, semblance, appearance.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 452/2 Semynge, or semys, apparencia. 1549 Prayer Bk. Troubles (Camden) 147 The innocent that have been seduced under the colour and seame of good. 1596 Griffin Fidessa (1876) 58 The fairest good in seeme, but fowlest ill. 1730 A. Ramsay Tea-Table Miscellany (ed. 5) 213 His seim in Thrang of fiercest Stryfe, When Winner ay the same. 1812 Jane Austen Let. 29 Nov. (1952) 499 It [sc. a cloak] is to be Grey Woollen & cost ten shillings. I hope you like the sim of it. 1837 J. M. Wilson Tales of Borders III. 131/1 There comes slowly, as if frae the womb o' a cloud o' mountain mist, the seim o' a turreted abbey. 1913 H. P. Cameron tr. T. à Kempis's Imit. Christ ii. vii. 63 Ye'se sune be begunkit, gin ye regaird allenarlie the ootrin seim o' men. |
▪ II. † seem, a. Obs.
In 4–5 seme.
[a. ON. sém-r: see seem v.2]
Seemly, proper, fitting.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1085 Let þe ladiez be fette, to lyke hem þe better þer was seme solace by hem-self stille. 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1810 Ande clannes is his comfort, and coyntyse he louyes, & þose þat seme arn & swete schyn se his face. c 1400 Cursor M. 28015 (Cott. Galba) Ȝe ladys..þat stodis hals and hare to hew,..for to mak ȝow seme [earlier MS. semle] and quaint. |
b. quasi-adv.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 190 Þat gracios gay with-outen galle, So smoþe, so smal, so seme slyȝt. |
▪ III. † seem, v.1 Obs. rare.
In 3 seme.
[OE. séman (:—prehist. *sōmjan), f. sóm agreement. (More commonly ᵹeséman: see i-seme v.)]
trans. a. To settle (a dispute), reconcile (contending parties). b. To ratify, confirm (an agreement).
| a 1000 Canons Edgar vii. in Thorpe Ags. Laws II. 246 Nan sacu þe betweox preostan si ne beo ᵹescoten to world⁓manna some, ac seman & sibbian heora aᵹene ᵹeferan. c 1205 Lay. 4259 Heo makeden ane sætnesse and mid aȝe [read aþe] heo semde. a 1250 Owl & Night. 187 (Jesus MS.) Þo quaþ þe vle, Hwo schal vs seme? |
▪ IV. seem, v.2
(siːm)
Forms: 3–5 sem, 3–6 seme, 4 syme, sieme, 4–7 seeme, 5 ceme, 5–7 (9 dial.) seime, 6 seym(me, semme, 6–7 seame, 6, 8 Sc. seim, 5– seem; pa. tense 3–4, 6 semde, 5 sempt(e, 6 semt.
[ME. sēme, a. ON. s{obaracu}ma (mod.Icel. sǽma to honour, conform to, MSw. söma to befit, beseem, Da. s{obar}mme refl. to beseem), f. s{obar}m-r (:—prehistoric *sōmi-) fitting, seemly; cf. the cognate ON. sóma (pa. tense subj. s{obaracu}mðe) to beseem, befit.
From the same grade of the root are OE. sóm reconciliation (whence séman seem v.1); the ablaut-variant *sam- appears in same a., samen adv., together.]
† I. 1. To be suitable to, befit, beseem. Often with adv., well, best, fair, etc. a. quasi-trans. with obj. originally dative. (a) impers. and quasi-impers. with the real subject expressed by a clause or infinitive phrase.
| a 1200 Ormin Ded. 66, & te bitæche icc off þiss boc, Heh wikenn alls itt semeþþ, Al to þurrhsekenn illc an ferrs. a 1240 Wohunge in O.E. Hom. I. 271 For he þurh þe þat wisdom art al þis world wrahte and dihteð hit and dealeð as hit best semeð. c 1300 Havelok 2916 Hire semes curteys forto be, For she is fayr so flour on tre. 1350–1400 Sir Beues (E) 1746 He took hys scheeld & hys spere As it semyd a good rydere. c 1400 Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. xx. 58 It semes a kynge to haue discrescioun. a 1425 Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 6 It semeth any discrete man y-cladde with clerkis clothing for to occupie gentil mennez bordez. a 1470 Gregory Chron. in Hist. Coll. Cit. Lond. (Camden) 129 As hyt syttythe and semyþe so worthy a prynce and a pryncesse. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. iii. 37 Gif he pretendis in batale with a brand To end the weyr,..heir semyt hym vnder scheyld With wapynnis to recontre me in feyld. a 1529 Skelton Agst. Garnesche iv 89 It semyth nat thy pyllyd pate Agenst a poyet lawreat To take vpon the for to scryue. 1601 Weever Mirr. Mart. A viii, But ill it seem'd me them to blame, though I Censur'd myselfe like mine owne enemy. |
(b) with person or thing as subject.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3311 Bot ai þe quils he ne fan To be-hald þat leue maidan, How all hir dedes can hir seme. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 11914 Nys non on lyue, cayser ne kynge. Þat semeþ so wel his beryng. a 1375 Joseph Arim. 564 Þenne he seiȝ a whit kniht comynge him a-ȝeines..A red cros on his scheld seemed him feire. c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 7355 Him semyd wele his abyte. 1584 Lodge Alarum agst. Usurers Ep. A iij, Who..delighted in such clothing as seemed y⊇ place where he soiourned. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 35 A good old woman..who did farre surpas The rest in honest mirth, that seem'd her well. 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 16 Bid them seeke, Actions that seeme them better. |
b. const. to, for, with.
| c 1205 Lay. 10207 Preostes heo þer setten ase þer to mihte semen. a 1300 Cursor M. 9111 He wald men raf it al to dust, Quar-thoru it semes wel wit þis Þat he wan merci of his mis. c 1400 tr. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. xiv. 56 Þerfore a kynge sholde vse cleþynge and ornementz dere, fayre, and straunge, for it semes to a kynges prorogatyue to passe oþer, so þat his dignite þerby be maad fairer. 1533 Bellenden Livy v. xx. (S.T.S.) II. 215, I wald nane of ȝow belevit þat I am cumin as Ignorant or mysknawing sic thingis as semys to my estate. |
c. absol.
| a 1375 Joseph Arim. 115 He seiȝ þe peple þorw peine passen in-to helle..and þe fader þouȝte þat hit seemede nouȝt. c 1400 Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh. cv. 106 And right as þe Skryueyn ys enterpretour of þy wyl... So it nedys..þat he besye hym to þy profyt and to þy worschipe as it semys. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 66/1 Cemyn or becemyn, decet. c 1510 Barclay Mirr. Gd. Manners (1570) E vj, It seemeth not in streete as palfray to praunce. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (1888) 37 Thane he is veralie God for that seemis noth that ony suld be placit at the richt hand of God the fader bot giff he war God. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. May 158 Nought seemeth sike strife. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. To the King §2 For it seemeth much in a King, if..he can take hold of any superficiall Ornaments and shewes of learning. |
† 2. refl. and intr. To vouchsafe, deign. [So MSw. söma (refl.).] Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 11042 Blisced be þou ai, marie!.. Þat þou ne [? read þe] seme wald me to se. Ibid. 12445 ‘Na’, sco said, ‘þat es na nede, For he þat sent him vs a-mang To be born, he wald him seme, Fra wick men ai wel him yeme.’ Ibid. 17622 Wald þou me leif freind te seme For to cum wit us to mele. Ibid. 23913, I prai leuedi if þou wald seme, To tak þis littel werc to quem. |
II. To have a semblance or appearance.
Normally with indirect object of the person to whom the appearance is presented; where no object is expressed one may ordinarily be supplied. In the present tense, ‘seems’ is often equivalent to ‘seems to me’, which expresses belief in the truth of the appearance predicated. Where the object expressed or implied is not in the first person, or where the verb is in the past tense, there is usually, on the other hand, the notion of mere appearance as opposed to fact.
* As personal verb.
3. With n., adj., or phrase as complement: To appear to be, to be apparently (what is expressed by the complement).
Very often, esp. when the complement is a n. or a phrase, it is introduced by the infinitive to be: see examples in 4 a.
a. without object expressed.
| a 1225 St. Marher. 9 His grisliche teeð semden of swart irn, ant his twa ehnen steappre þene steorren. a 1225 Ancr. R. 112 So ful of anguise was þet ilke ned swot..þet hit þuhte [v.r. semde] read blod. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 1322 For welthes, þat men has here at wille, Semes tokenyng of endeles pyn. ? a 1366 Chaucer Rom. Rose 1011 As the mone lyght, Ageyn whom all the sterres semen But smale candels. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 62 He..doth to seme of gret decerte Thing which is litel worth withinne. c 1450 Lovelich Merlin 1000 And with-jnne tho x mounthes he was so bold that thyke tyme he semede two ȝeres old. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 38 Makyng bodyes of ayre to compasse a man & make hym seme a hors or another beest. 1570 T. Wilson Demosth. Orat. iii. 63 That thing which I shall say, though it seeme against the opinion of all men: yet it shal be true for all that. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 672 What seem'd his head The likeness of a Kingly Crown had on. 1667 Pepys Diary 27 June, A silly rogue, but one that would seem a gentleman. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 23 Apr. 1646, Trees on which Bacchus seems riding as it were in triumph every autumn. 1742 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Montagu 22 Mar. (1893) II. 104 Mr. Gibson says..that he seems another man. 1807 Crabbe Birth of Flattery 33–4 What seem'd the door, each entering guest withstood, What seem'd a window was but painted wood. 1837 Dickens Pickw. xxxiv, Mr. Justice Stareleigh..seemed all face and waistcoat. 1884 R. W. Church Bacon ix. 220 Easy and unstudied as his writing seems, it was [etc.]. |
b. const. to; formerly also † with simple dative.
| a 1513 Dunbar Poems lxxxi. 13 This seimes to me ane guidlie companie. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. i. 368 But, of all sights, none seemes him yet more strange Then the..Exchange. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxxxiii. 2 This to the fond weak fool seemeth a mighty delight. |
c. Followed by † as, as if, as though.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 2863 Þar..es noght now bot a stinkand see, Þat semes als a lake of hell. Ibid. 9928 Þe thrid [colour] Als ros þat es als in springing, And semes als a brennand thing. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus i. 3 b, The Lady seyng the fond and vndiscrete treacherye of her husband made little adoe, and seemed as though shee had seene nothing. 1673 Dryden Love in Nunnery iii. ii, Stay, there's a Dance beginning, and she seems as if she wou'd make one. 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 320 It is probable that the Roofs of these Lodges were under the great Windows... I dare not however affirm it, for the Medals seem as if they came up even to the very Top of all. 1908 R. Bagot A. Cuthbert xviii. 223 Having yielded to his persuasions and arguments, Sonia seemed as though she were only anxious to forget past troubles. |
4. With infinitive: To appear to be or to do something. a. with to be. (Cf. 3.) Also in weakened sense (chiefly interrogative).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5698 A yongman Þat semed to be an egypician. 1388 Wyclif Acts xvii. 18 And othere seiden, He semeth to be a tellere of newe fendis. c 1450 Mirk's Festial 230/18 This fayth hade our lady passyng all oþer; for þeras hit was semyng forto be ynpossybull þat scho schuld conceyue wythout cowpule of man [etc.]. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 4 Luther..hath preached also some thinges that seme to be hereticall. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxviii. 165 Exile..seemeth not in its own nature, without other circumstances, to be a Punishment. 1756 F. Brooke Old Maid No. 29. 172 Young women are not the angels they seem to be. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms i. 223 Fair creature! Thou dost seem to be Some wandering spirit of the sea. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xviii, Of all Sedley's opponents..the most determined and obstinate seemed to be John Osborne. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 247 Many..think that you should follow virtue in order that you may seem to be good. 1901 A. K. McClure ‘Abe’ Lincoln's Yarns & Stories 65 ‘What seems to be the matter?’ inquired Lincoln with all the calmness and self-possession he could muster. 1958 B. W. Aldiss Non-Stop iv. iii. 219 ‘What seems to be the trouble?’ he asked. 1974 Wodehouse Aunts aren't Gentlemen xvi. 134 My voice shook a bit as I applied for further details. ‘What seems to be the trouble?’ I asked. 1977 G. Markstein Chance Awakening xix. 55 He dialled 100..‘What seems to be the trouble?’ asked the operator. |
b. with other verbs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 5749 Als did þe tre þat semed to bren, And þan was þar na fir wit-in. c 1400 Apol. Loll. 21 And al oþer lawis þat semen to sey, þat man how to curse for crime of vowtre, þeft, and swilk oþer. a 1557 Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 267 Of Venus stocke she semde to spring, the rote of beauties grace. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. i. i. 4 Of Gouernment, the properties to vnfold, Would seeme in me t'affect speech & discourse. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 54 The Parian Marble, there, shall seem to move, In breathing Statues. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 472 ¶3 The following Letter seems to be written by a Man of Learning. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 714 The Christian dares not feign a zeal, Or seem to boast a fire, he does not feel. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 417 These facts are in perfect accordance with another fact which seems to deserve consideration. 1895 Esher in Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 701/2 The statute..does not seem upon a true construction of it to support the assertions for which it was cited. |
¶ With omission of to. Obs. rare.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus i. 747 Eek som-tyme it is craft to seme flee Fro thing which in effect men hunte faste. 1513 Douglas æneis xi. xvi. 2 Ane huge clamour that tyde did rys on hycht, That semyt smyte the goldin starnis brycht. |
c. Occas. would seem: cf. the impersonal use 7 f.
| 1754 Warburton View Bolingbr. Philos. ii. 94 He has refused no arms, we see, to combat the Revelations God hath actually given. He would seem to relax a little of his severity, as to those which God may possibly give. |
d. In modern use, the combination of seems with an infinitive is often equivalent to the finite verb qualified by ‘probably’, ‘if the evidence may be trusted.’
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 484/2 Sicily seems to contain no iron. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. §8. 102 Henry's policy seems, for good or evil, to have been throughout his own. |
e. To appear to oneself; to imagine oneself, or think one perceives oneself, to (do something). Also (colloq.), in negative contexts (preceded by can): to seem unable.
| 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 22 These Images doe follow us so close, that wee seeme to travell, to saile, to bestirre our selves mightily in a hot fight. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 265, I seem through consecrated walks to rove. 1799 Wordsw. Poems on Affect. ix. 7 Still I seem To love thee more and more. 1810 Shelley Marg. Nich., Melody 40, I seem again to share thy smile, I seem to hang upon thy tone. 1874 Hardy Far from Madding Crowd II. xiii. 168 Troy could hardly seem to believe her to be his proud wife Bathsheba. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 10 On such occasions Plato seems to see young men and maidens meeting together. 1898 G. Gissing Human Odds & Ends 57 As a lad, I couldn't stick to anything—couldn't seem to put my heart into any sort of work. 1937 I. Baird John xix. 229 He couldn't seem to get the boy out of his head. 1969 M. Pugh Last Place Left vii. 44 Somehow I can't seem to get warm. |
¶ f. confused construction. Instead of the infinitive, a clause was in the 14–16 c. sometimes used, as if the verb were impersonal. (Cf. 7.) Obs.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce iii. 168 And tournys sa mony tyme his stede, That semys off ws he had na dred. 1565 Stapleton Fortr. Faith 77 b, Well furnished with all such bookes as Caluin had writen or any other which semed might serue their purpose. 1614 Gorges Lucan v. 206 She..Durst not..seeme she did his teares discerne. |
5. To appear to exist or to be present. Chiefly in the inversion there seems (followed by the subject); otherwise poet. or rhetorical. Also, in the same sense, there seems to be.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §25 Now yif so be þat the semith to long a tarienge..thanne whaite whan the sonne is in any other degree of the zodiak. c 1400 Beryn 2775 They make semen (as to a mannys sight) Abominabill wormys. Ibid. 446 So wele they make seme soth, when þey falssest ly. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon xxi. 64 He shall make to seme before you a grete rynnynge riuer. a 1674 Traherne Poet. Wks. (1903) 61 Men's Hands than Angels' Wings Are truer wealth..For those but seem. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. ii. xiv. 232 So far as the inheritance can be evidently traced back, there seems no need of calling in this presumptive proof. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. xxx, ‘I regret’, said Achilles, ‘that there should have seemed any cause for such precautions’. 1883 Law Times 20 Oct. 409/1 Some fifteen years ago..there seemed a general consensus of opinion that inventors were a nuisance. |
† 6. Of a real existence: To be manifested, come to view, be seen; = appear v. 1, 9. Obs.
| 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 6022 Bot many other þar [at the day of doom] sal seme, Þat sal nouther be demed ne deme. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. met. xi. (Sk.) 18 And thanne alle the derknesse of his misknowinge shal seme more evidently to sighte of his understondinge thanne the sonne ne semeth to sighte with-oute-forth. c 1440 York Myst. iii. 20 For loue made I þis worlde alone, Therfore my loue shalle in it seme. 1575 J. Smith Myst. Dev., Jeremy's Epist. to Jews, My Angel shall be with you.., And I myselfe will surely seeme for all your soules to care. |
** Impersonal uses.
7. it seems. (In all uses, admitting a construction with to or † simple dative.) a. with the real subject expressed by a clause: = It appears, it is apparently true (that); it is seen (that).
it seems not († nay) = ‘it seems that it is not so’. it seems so, so it seems = ‘it seems that it is so’.
| a 1225 St. Marher. 5 Lauerd..salue me mine wunden þat hit ne sem nowðer ne suteli omi samblant þat ich derf drehe. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2169 It semet wel ðat ȝe spies ben, And in-to ðis lond cumen to sen. a 1300 Cursor M. 10441 Ne wat þou noght, it semes nai, Quat a fest it es to dai? c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶355 And al be it so þat it seme that thou art in siker place, yet shaltow alwey do thy diligence in kepynge of thy persone. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xvii. 184 And righte as it semethe to us, that thei ben undre us, righte so it semethe hem, that wee ben undre hem. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxii. 480 Yf it semeth you that I have doon amys, soo take ye amendes vpon me. 1530 Tindale Pract. Prelates I vij. It semeth me, that it might be dispensed with in certayne cases. 1590 Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 198 It seemes to mee, That yet we sleepe, we dreame. 1638 Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 52 It seemes you thought not our walks pleasant enough for you. 1687 Lady R. Russell Let. 5 Oct., It seems I must remit seeing you, as you once kindly intended. 1747 Gentl. Mag. XVII. 541/1 It seems also that capt. Callis..fell in with and engaged this Spanish ship. 1833 Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere 53 Howe'er it be, it seems to me, 'Tis only noble to be good. 1908 R. Bagot A. Cuthbert ix. 86 It seems to me..that looking into holes is a monotonous occupation. |
b. with complementary predicate or infinitive, the real subject being expressed by a clause or infinitive phrase. (Also with ellipsis of the subject clause.)
| 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 128 Like as in that partye after their conscience and good discrecions it shall seme hem necessarie for to be done and executed for the most ease of his entent. 1512 Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 4 As it shall seym to my said feoffees mooste expediente. 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus i. 6 b, He besought them humbly y{supt} since it semed them best to deale so roughly w{supt} him they would graunt him liberty in his richest aray, to sing a song. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxix. 169 No man dare to obey the Soveraign Power farther than it shall seem good in his own eyes. |
c. followed by as if, as though.
| c 1320 Sir Tristr. 2097 It semeþ by his lat As he hir neuer had sene Wiþ siȝt. Ibid. 2131 Wende forþ in þi way, It semes astow were wode, To wede. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. i. iii. 132 It seemed as though the Turks had come to their end and were dying out. 1908 R. Bagot A. Cuthbert vii. 63 It seemed to Jim as though the hour would never arrive at which the steamer was timed to get under way. |
d. Parenthetically. Now often with somewhat of the sense ‘So I am informed’, or ‘As it appears from rumour or report’.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 117 Her suster, as it semed, cam softly walkynge. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys, Agatha 369 For in hys conscyence ful confuse ys he And, as yt semyth, at hys wyttys ende. 1525 Sampson in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. i. I. 263 His moderacion off gesture, cowntenance, and os it semyd allso of inwarde intente and mynde. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. i, Then you were a seruitor at both, it seemes. 1662 J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 285 They were provided, it seems, only for the Ambassador Brugman, and his Ladies. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 305 ¶8 Six Professors, who it seems, are to be Speculative Statesmen. 1829 Macaulay Mill on Govt. in Edin. Rev. Mar. 175 There is still, however, it seems, a hope for mankind. 1876 Gladstone Homeric Synchr. 167 Who lived before the close, as it seems, of the sixteenth century b.c. |
† e. = ‘it seems good’. Obs. rare.
| 1557 North Gueuara's Diall. Pr. 157 This case was so horrible, that it seemed to many not to speake it. |
f. it should seem, it would seem: used to express somewhat more of hesitation or uncertainty than is expressed by it seems.
The older form, it should seem, is perh. slightly arch., and is now chiefly used to express a guarded (or sometimes an ironical) acceptance of statements made by others. It would seem does not appear in our quots. before the 19th c. (but cf. the cognate use 4 c).
| 1525 Bp. Clerk in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 310 As for the maters off France, it shold seim that his Holynes rekonythe not gretly howe youe determyn them. 1606 Holland Sueton. Annot. 31 For it should seeme that the Game of Tali heere mentioned was Pleistoboleuda [sic]. 1776 Adam Smith W.N. v. ii. ii. i. (1869) II. 438 It should not, however, seem very difficult to distinguish those two parts of the rent from one another. 1816 Wordsw. Pr. Wks. (1876) II. 11 It should seem that the ancients thought in this manner. 1826 R. H. Froude Rem. (1838) I. 154 But, with regard to writings, as it would seem, the case is different. 1829 Whewell in Life (1881) 129 All official papers were brought there: and among the rest it would seem these Cologne ones. 1875 Swinburne Ess. & Stud. Pref. 10 The accident of personal intimacy, it should seem, deprives you of all right to express admiration of what you might allowably have found admirable in a stranger. 1902 Gairdner Hist. Eng. Ch. 16th C. iv. (1903) 54 From all this it would seem that he could not have been much under fifty when he was compelled to abjure. |
† g. ? Perfect tense with is; ? or passive. Obs.
| 1442 Bp. Bekynton Offic. Corr. (Rolls) II. 191 Sir, hit is semed right expedient unto suche as loveth the wele of the king [etc.]. Ibid. 219 As soon as hit shall be seemed unto you and hym to be doon. |
8. The it of the impersonal verb is sometimes omitted. a. with the dative preceding the verb, thee seemeth, us seemed, etc. See also meseems and cf. methinks. Obs. or arch.
| c 1386 Chaucer Pars. T. ¶123 Right so the synful man that loueth his synne, hym semeth, that it is to him moost sweete of any thyng. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. v. 60 That other shalle answere as hyr semeth good. 1512 R. Copland Helyas in Thoms Pr. Rom. (1828) III. 116 And than her semed that the two fyrst had [etc.]. 1594 Carew Huarte's Exam. Wits xv. (1596) 278 Eue fixed her eies on the tree forbidden, and her seemed that it was sweet in tast. 1870 Morris Earthly Par., Hill of Venus 656 Still awhile himseemed That of that fair close, those white limbs he dreamed. 1871 D. G. Rossetti Blessed Damozel iii, Herseemed she scarce had been a day One of God's choristers. |
¶ b. The prefixed dative sometimes was used (? by confusion) with reference to the subject of the appearance, so that the impersonal him, her seems became = he, she seems (senses 3–4). Obs.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 3284 Þe formast was vnlaghter milde, Hir semed na wight to be wilde. 1375 Barbour Bruce xii. 147 Thame semyt men forsuth, I hicht, That had fayndit thair fayis in ficht. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) i. xxxiii. (1859) 37 Hyr semed wel a lady of ful huge estate, as duchesse, or pryncesse. c 1440 Ipomydon 280 The lady byheld Ipomydon, Hym semyd wele a gentil man. a 1500 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 51 Hym seemes wearye on his waye. |
† c. with dative following. Obs. rare.
| c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2112 Thanne semed me ther was a parlement At Atthenes vpon certein poyntz and caas. a 1400–50 Wars Alex. 3196 Semes ȝow noȝt it suffice my sorowe with-out, Þat as a bitand brand me brettens with-in. |
† d. what, how seemeth you? = what do you think? Obs.
| c 1450 Merlin ii. 28 Lete eche man by hymself telle me what hym semeth in this mater. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. (1868) 85 What seemeth you of the wysedom of my fader. c 1530 Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Brit. lxxx. (1814) 377 How semeth you by the knightes of this countre? |
e. After as or than.
| 1570 T. Wilson Demosth. Orat. vi. 69 As seemeth to me. c 1600 T. Pont Topogr. Acc. Cunningham (Maitland Club) 22 The forsaid Richard being, as vald seime, touched vith compunctione. 1611 Bible Jer. xviii. 4 So he made it againe another vessell as seemed good to the potter to make it. Mod. If he did so, as seems likely enough, he was excusable. He spoke more strongly than seemed justifiable. |
† f. poet. in occasional uses. Obs.
| 1303 R. Brunne Handl. Synne 11764 Yn tyfed wurdys þat slyked are, Semeþ þy synnes þat þey noȝt were. 1591 Spenser M. Hubberd 216 But neither sword nor dagger he did beare, Seemes that no foes reuengement he did feare. 1614 Gorges Lucan iii. 84 And yet now seemes that he doth meane, From cares of warres his thoughts to weane. |
g. colloq. or vulgar, esp. in seems to me.
| 1888 ‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. viii, Seems to me women get like dogs—they get their lessons pretty well fixed in their minds after a time. |
† III. 9. a. trans. To think, deem, imagine. With obj.-clause, obj. and inf. or complement; also absol. to seem good = to think good (see good a. 4 b). Obs.
The early examples in which the subject is a n. might be referred to 8 a, from which this sense arose by conversion of the prefixed indirect object into the subject; but unequivocal instances with nom. pron. occur often in the 15th c.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 193 It was a ffairye, as al the peple semed. 1428 E.E. Wills (1882) 79 The residue of all my godes..I be-quethe to be distribued..like as myn executours seme best. c 1430 Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 8054 She semed Darel Iusted wel. c 1485 Digby Myst., Mor. Wisd. 610 These thynges be now so conuersaunt, we seme it no shame. 1492 ? Myll Spect. Luf in Bannatyne Misc. (1836) II. 128 Ane askit him quhat he semyt of a woman? 1493 Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 57 Euer whan the bysshop loked on her he semed her so fayre y{supt} he was gretely tempted on her. 1512 R. Copland Helyas in Thoms Pr. Rom. (1828) III. 24 If you seme it good, I shal make her to waste and sle the childe. a 1533 Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. Kk 7 b, Fynally, seyng that Rome was Rome, he was demanded how he semed therby. 1627 Hakewill Apol. i. ii. §3. 17 Possunt, quia posse videntur. They can, because they seeme they can. |
b. To think fit. Obs.
| c 1450 in Aungier Syon (1840) 258 The unresonable grudgers schalle abstayne them from that kende of mete [etc.] that they grudge aȝenste, after that the presidente semethe it for to be doon. 1471 Paston Lett. III. 17, I wolle spende xx{supd} or as ye seme to have the sertayn off every thyng her in. 1610 B. Jonson Alch. i. iii, And Beneath your threshold, bury me a load-stone To draw in gallants, that weare spurres: the rest, They'll seeme to follow. |
▪ V. seem
obs. form of seam n.2