▪ I. plump, n.1 Now arch. and dial.
(plʌmp)
Forms: 5 plomp, plowmpe, 5–6 plompe; 5–7 plumpe, 6– plump (6–7 ? plumb(e).
[Of uncertain origin.
There appears to be no corresponding or related n. in the other langs. In English, the only apparently earlier word of the plump group is plump v.1, with which this can hardly be directly connected. If the original notion were that of an unshaped or irregular assemblage or cluster, it might conceivably be connected with the MLG. and MDu. plump adj. in the sense ‘massive, unshapen’, whence the later Eng. plump a.1 But cf. also the words lump and clump in allied senses; sense c below is exactly = clump n. 2.]
A compact body of persons, animals, or things; a band, troop, company; a flock; a cluster, bunch, clump. a. Of persons. Obs. exc. in archaic phrase a plump of spears, a band of spearmen (revived by Scott).
| ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2199 Thane..þe riche kynge..Presede in-to þe plumpe, and with a prynce metes. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) 252 Whan thei will fighte, thei wille schokken hem to gidre in a plomp. 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. xxv. 80 Take hede that thyn enemyes make not a plowmpe of theyre folke to entre and breke thy bataylle. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 32 b, The kynges speres passed and skyrmyshed wyth the plumpe of speres that Sir Jhon spake of. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 46 So vpon a plumbe going together as neere as they might, escaped. a 1600 Flodden F. i. (1604) 9 A Knight of the North Country, Which leads a lusty plumpe of Spears. 1618 Bolton Florus (1636) 36 Comming in an huge plumpe from the utmost coasts of the earth. Ibid. 171 They [Cimbrians] came rolling down upon Italy in plumbs. 1808 Scott Marm. i. iii, And soon appears O'er Horncliff-hill, a plump of spears. 1826 Hor. Smith Tor Hill (1838) I. 42 We are too old skirmishers to be frightened by a few plumps of spears. |
b. Of animals that go in flocks.
| 1591 G. Fletcher Russe Commw. (Hakl. Soc.) 11 The manner of the seals is..to gather all close together in a throng or plumpe. 1697 Dryden æneid xii. 374 A plump of Fowl he spies, that swim the Lakes. 1834 H. Miller Scenes & Leg. xvii. (1857) 250 They saw a plump of whales blowing and tumbling. Ibid. 251 The plump had gone high up the frith. 1854 Thoreau Walden, Spring (1863) 334 A ‘plump’ of ducks rose at the same time. |
c. Of trees, shrubs, or plants: = clump n. 2.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xvi. 60 [The knights] tooke newe sperys and sette them on theire thyes and stode stille as hit had ben a plompe of wood. 1575 Turberv. Venerie 73 They go to the plumpes and tufts of coleworts or of hasill nuts or grene corne. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 203 We laid vs downe in the bottome vnder a plump of trees. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 24 In Hedge-rows and Plumps they will thrive very well. 1868 Lowell Invitation x, Plumps of orchard-trees arow. 1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. (Aberdeen to Lincolnsh.). |
d. Of other things, material and ideal.
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. 70 b, Many conjectures and great presumptions..heapyng them al into one plumpe whiche before were sparpled abrode. 1568 T. Howell Newe Sonets (1879) 157 O plumpe of paines, O endles woes, O man infortunate. 1624 Bacon Consid. War w. Spain Wks. 1879 I. 542/2 England, Scotland, Ireland, and our good confederates the United Provinces, lie all in a plump together, not accessible but by sea, or, at least, by passing of great rivers. 1659 in Burton's Diary (1828) IV. 279 Let us not admit them [resolutions] in a plump. 1893 Nat. Observer 23 Dec. 135/1 The little plump of yachts cast anchor. |
▪ II. † plump, n.2 Obs.
Also 6 plompe, (plummpe), 6–7 plumpe.
[A collateral form of pump n., found also in LG. plumpe and vb. plumpen to pump. Perh. due to association with plump v.1 and its cognates, from the plumping or plunging action of the piston.]
An obsolete by-form of pump. Also in Comb.
| 1477 Norton in Ashm. Theat. Chem. 83 In Plomps..Where heavie Water ariseth after Ayre. a 1490 Botoner Itin. (Nasmith 1778) 268 Unius plump⁓maker villæ Bristolliæ. 1505–6 Oriel Coll. Treas. Acc. 509 Item, primo die Maii pro reparacione ly plumpe xij{supd}. c 1515 Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some the anker layde, some at the plompe a sayll swepe. 1517 Yatton Churchw. Acc. (Som. Rec. Soc.) 136 Payd..for drawyng up y⊇ plummpe to y⊇ welle, j{supd}. 1551 Recorde Cast. Knowl. (1556) 112 Manye drawe water at a plompe, that knowe not the cause, why the water dothe ascend. 1663 Wood City of Oxford (O.H.S.) I. 477 Opposite to the two fact [= faced] plumpe. |
▪ III. plump, n.3
(plʌmp)
Also 5 plumbe, 9 plomp.
[f. plump v.1]
1. An act of plumping (see plump v.1 1); the fall of a solid body into water, mud, etc., with little or no splash; an act of dropping flat on the ground; an abrupt plunge or heavy fall. familiar.
| a 1450 Fysshynge w. Angle 18 Kepe hym euer [under] þe rod..So þat ȝe may susteyne hys lepys & plumbes [cf. 1496 in plunge n. 3]. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. ii. 161 With a plumpe he fercelie fallis in al kynde of mischeife. 1694 R. Overton Defiance of Act Pardon 7 A mighty stone fell..and gave a mighty plump. 1760 C. Johnston Chrysal (1822) III. 295 The waggon came into a deep hole, with such a plump. 1884 G. M. Barker Tea Planter's Life in Assam viii. 208, I heard..a ‘plomp’ as he made a hole in the water. 1896 J. Lumsden Poems 169, I will lichten an' brichten As weel as plumps in Tyne. |
† 2. A firm blow. slang. Obs.
| 1763 C. Johnston Reverie I. 135 Challenging him to fight, and before he can be on his guard, hitting him a plump in the bread-basket, that shall make him throw up his accounts. 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v., I'll give you a plump in the bread-basket..I'll give you a blow in the stomach. |
3. A sudden heavy fall of rain. Chiefly Sc.
| 1822 Galt Steam-boat xi. 261 The thunder plump that drookit me to the skin. 1857 Col. K. Young Diary & Corr. (1902) 273, I wish it would come down a good plump of rain. 1878 Stevenson Inland Voy. 74 The whole day was showery, with occasional drenching plumps. |
▪ IV. plump, a.1
(plʌmp)
Forms: 5–6 plompe, 6–7 plumpe, 6– plump.
[In senses 1 and 2 corresp. to MDu. plomp blunt, in both senses ‘not pointed’ and ‘not sharp’, Du. plomp blunt, obtuse (of weapons), thick (as a nail), coarse, clumsy, also rude, clownish, blockish, dull, MLG. plump, plomp massive, unshapen, obtuse, blunt, stumpy, LG. plump coarse, clumsy. The later Eng. senses appear to belong to the same word, passing through the sense ‘blunt, rounded, not sharp or angular’, into a eulogistic sense (? possibly through some association with plum a. and v.). In MLG. Schiller & Lübben quote Vocab. Engelh. for ‘corpulentus, plumpich’.
From LG. come also Da., Sw. plump rude, coarse, clumsy, unfashioned, unpolished, clownish. The ulterior origin is obscure. Doornkaat-Koolman takes the original notion as ‘cut off short or suddenly, docked’, and connects it with the echoic int. and adv. plump, plumps, expressing sudden action: cf. plump int. and adv.]
I. † 1. Blunt (in manners); not ‘sharp’ in intellect; dull, clownish, blockish, rude. Obs.
| 1481 Caxton Reynard xxxiv. 100 But rude and plompe beestis [orig. ruyde ongheuallighen beesten] can not vnderstonde wysedom. c 1620 Moryson Itin. (1903) 370 The Hollanders have of old beene vulgarly called Plumpe, that is blunt or rude. |
† 2. Of an arrow-head: Blunt and broad (? rounded). Obs.
| 1545 R. Ascham Toxoph. (Arb.) 137 There be dyuerse kyndes, some be blonte heades, some sharpe, some both blonte and sharpe. The blont heades men vse bycause they perceaue them to be good, to kepe a lengthe wyth all..bycause a man poulethe them no ferder at one tyme than at another. For in felynge the plompe ende alwayes equallye he may lowse them. |
II. 3. Of full and rounded form; sufficiently fleshy or fat to show no angularity of outline; chubby; having the skin well filled or elastically distended. a. Of persons, animals, or parts of the body; b. also of fruit, grain, etc., and transf. of a well-filled bag or purse, a springy cushion, etc.
| a. 1545 [implied in plumpness1]. 1569 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 46 Riche Grahame callit the Plump. 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 142 My flesh is soft and plump. 1634 Heywood & Brome Witches Lanc. iv. i. Wks. 1874 IV. 223 You may see by his plump belly..he [a horse] hath not bin sore travail'd. 1687 T. Brown Saints in Uproar Wks. 1730 I. 78 Having so jolly plump lasses under your care. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 41 All as a partridge plump, full-fed, and fair. 1756–7 tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) III. 342 In his other pictures..all his figures are very plump. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 595 The plump convivial parson. 1837 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. II. 209 The Arabians, Caffres, and Hottentots, consume vast quantities of locusts when they are plump. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt i, Harold lifted his arm and spread out his plump hand. |
| b. 1599 B. Jonson Ev. Man out of Hum. i. iii, To see how plumpe my bags are, and my barnes. 1601 Holland Pliny I. 417 After they [dried grapes] be well drenched and infused in some excellent wine vntill they be swelled and plumpe, they presse them. 1771 Luckombe Hist. Print. 322 To keep the Ball-Leathers plump the longer. 1794 J. Robertson Agric. Perth (1799) 208 It produces excellent crops of plump grain. 1845 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 339 He..looked as plump as a pincushion. |
c. Of coins: Of full size and weight, not clipped.
| 1867 Sir C. Blackburn in Law Rep., Queen's Bench II. 175, I do not believe that the coins in actual currency at that time were ‘plump’. I think it probable that they were much clipped and sweated. |
d. fig. (with various shades of meaning): ‘Fat’, rich, abundant; well-supplied; full and round in tone; great, big; complete, round. familiar.
| 1635 Quarles Embl. ii. iii. 74 Will no plump Fee Bribe thy false fists, to make a glad Decree? 1641 Milton Reform. i. Wks. 1851 III. 18 What a plump endowment to the..mouth of a Prelate. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Plump-in-the-pocket, flush of Money. 1775 F. Burney Early Diary, Lett. 10 June, Such a powerful voice!.. her shake—so plump—so true, so open! 1827 Pollok Course T. iii. 153 The stripling youth of plump unseared hope. 1857 Trowbridge Neighbor Jackwood ix, I hold not a very plump opinion of them. |
e. Comb., as plump-bellied, plump-cheeked, plump-faced, plump-thighed, plump-uddered adjs.
| 1684 Otway Atheist iii. i, You Plump-cheek'd, merry-ey'd Rogue. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 431 ¶3 A plump-fac'd, hale, fresh-colour'd Girl. 1891 C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 22 The stubble fields were tented thick with sheaves of plump-faced wheat. 1916 Joyce Portrait of Artist iii. 127 Thrust it out of men's sight into a long hole in the ground, into the grave, to rot, to feed the mass of its creeping worms and to be devoured by scuttling plump-bellied rats. 1922 ― Ulysses 537 A nannygoat passes, plumpuddered, buttytailed, dropping currants. |
▪ V. plump, a.2
see plump int.
▪ VI. plump, v.1
(plʌmp)
[A Common LG. verb. = MLG., LG. plumpen, MDu., Du. plompen to fall or plunge into water with the characteristic sound, EFris. plumpen to make a hollow sound as water when anything falls into it, to fall with such a sound; thence, Ger. plumpen to fall plump or abruptly, also to beat water with a heavy stick, Da. plumpe to plunge, Sw. plumpa to plump, to fall with impact. Prob. of echoic origin, expressing a sound and action akin to those of plop v., but with more distinct expression of the liquid ‘gulp’ made by water when a body falls into it.
Cf. numerous more or less echoic or onomatopœic words in -ump, as bump, dump, mump, stump, thump, tump. Some have compared L. plumbāre to cover with lead, later prob. to throw the lead-line, whence It. piombare, Pr. plombar to plunge (see plumb v., plunge v.); but the approach of form between plombar and the LG. plump-, plomp- group seems merely fortuitous.]
1. intr. To fall, drop, sink, plunge, or impinge, with abruptly checked movement, as when a solid body drops, a. into water, etc., or b. upon a surface; to fall, plunge, or come down (or against something) flatly or abruptly (usually implying ‘with full or direct impact’).
| a. 13.. K. Alis. 5760 (Bodl. MS.) Þo hij seiȝe þat folk i wys Hii plumten doune as an doppe In þe water at on scoppe Þoo hij plumten þe water vnder Þe folk had of hem grete wonder. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones iv. iii, The poor lad plumped over head and ears into the water. 1803 Edin. Rev. II. 279 The tradesman plumps into a pond. 1827 Montgomery Pelican Isl. v. 112 The heavy penguin, neither fish nor fowl,..Plump'd stone-like from the rock into the gulf. 1892 Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker (ed. 2) 305 The rain still plumped like a vast shower-bath. |
| b. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 492 ¶2 It will give you a Notion how Dulcissa plumps into a Chair. 1786 F. Burney Diary 13 Aug., Others..plumped down on both knees, and could hardly get up again. 1844 Thackeray Wand. Fat Contrib. i, I removed to the next seat..He plumped into my place. 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. 86 A vast cavern into which the upper crust subsequently plumped down. 1888 Ld. Wolseley in Fortn. Rev. Aug. 287 The horror of hearing bullets plump into the bodies of their comrades with a horrible thud. |
c. transf. and fig. To come plump, i.e. all at once (into some place or condition); to plunge, burst (in or out). familiar.
| 1829 Lamb Lett., to Procter (1888) II. 219 Lest those raptures..should suddenly plump down..to a loathing and blank aversion. 1835 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 27 Through them we have plumped into as pretty an Irish connection as one would wish. 1843 ― Let. to Carlyle 11 July, For God's sake do not let John plump in upon me in my present puddlement. 1874 L. Carr Jud. Gwynne I. vii. 212 With a convulsive gurgle, out plumped the words. 1884 Huxley in Life (1900) II. vi. 84 We..plumped into bitter cold weather. |
2. trans. To drop, let fall, throw down, plunge abruptly (into water, etc., or upon a flat surface); to pay down at once and in one lot; refl. to ‘let oneself fall’, drop down abruptly and heavily.
| c 1420 Liber Cocorum (1862) 51 Fyrst sly thy capon over tho nyȝght Plump hym in water wher he is dyȝt. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 53 Seeith water and plump therein plenty of sloes. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 405 As what a Dutch⁓man plumps into the lakes, One circle first, and then a second makes. 1840 Thackeray Paris Sk.-bk. i. (1872) 3 The sun has plumped his hot face into the water. 1849 Alb. Smith Pottleton Leg. vii. (1856) 35 A..man brought in some..bags, and plumped them down in a corner. 1869 H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 27 [He] plumped himself down on the grass, and declared he would go no further. 1888 Ch. Times 24 Aug. 720/1 We may as well plump a shot or two into him. 1892 Zangwill Bow Mystery 79 She plumped down the money and walked out. |
3. transf. and fig.: esp. in reference to speech: To utter abruptly, to blurt out. [Cf. to say, utter, blurt out plump in plump adv. 3.] familiar.
| 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 96 This is a verie peremptorie sentence, plumped downe of you. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. ix, I plumped out that St. Paul's was the finest cathedral in England. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. i. viii, ‘If, it ain't a liberty to plump it out’, said Mr. Boffin, ‘what do you do for your living?’ 1890 Pall Mall G. 6 Sept. 7/1 When you must plump the question square at a man and simply get a cold and passionless reply. |
† 4. slang. To give (one) a blow; to shoot. Obs.
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. T. s.v., Plump his peepers, or daylights, give him a blow in the eyes; he pulled out his pops [= pistols] and plumped him. |
5. intr. [Short for to vote plump or give a plumper.] To vote at an election for one candidate alone (when one is entitled to vote for two or more). Also transf. More widely, to opt for. Also, to decide or vote against.
The original sense was app. to give a direct, straight, unqualified, or absolute vote for a person; this implied no weakening or qualifying of it by voting for any other. See plump adv. 4, a.2 2, plumper2 2.
| 1806 in Acc. Elect. Liverpool Nov. 1806, For Tarleton, a plumper, let's vote one and all,..We'll plump for Tarleton, to prove we are free. 1813 W. Taylor in Monthly Mag. XXXV. 427 (heading) Plumping at Elections. 1848 Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxviii, Friendship..induces me to plump for St. Michaels. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt xi, I'll plump or I'll split for them as treat me the handsomest and are the most of what I call gentlemen. 1890 Barrère & Leland Dict. Slang II. 140/2 Plump, to... (Racing), to lay one's money on one single horse. But I shall plump for Lord R. Ch.'s L' Abbesse de Jouarre, who has been well tried.—Truth. 1894 [see votress2]. 1903 Sat. Rev. 4 Apr. 415/2 The method of voting..is that of the ‘general ticket’. Each voter would be required to vote for as many candidates as there were vacancies, and no voter would be allowed to give more than one vote to any candidate. This secures against the danger of ‘plumping’ in any form. 1929 C. Connolly Let. in Romantic Friendship (1975) 325, I have plumped against England. 1934 Discovery June 176/1 The more one knows..the less one is inclined to ‘plump’ for one particular solution rather than another. 1963 Ann. Reg. 1962 17 The largest union..had plumped two-to-one against a strike. 1966 Observer 3 Apr. 10/5 A large section of the electorate plumped for the Liberals. 1972 Nature 25 Feb. 424/3 The consultants recommend three road crossing schemes but plump for a Flint-Burton crossing with a coast road. 1976 Which? May 100/3 We don't think now is the best time to invest in equipment. Better to wait until one of the systems appears to be winning the battle and then plump for that. |
Hence ˈplumping vbl. n., ppl. a.
| c 1829 H. Miller Lett. on Herring Fish. iv, They [herrings]..sunk with a hollow plumping noise. 1878 Stevenson Edinburgh (1889) 2 Among bleak winds and plumping rain. |
▪ VII. plump, v.2
[f. plump a.1 3.
(But the first quot. is somewhat earlier than any found for the corresponding sense of the adj.)]
1. a. trans. To make plump; to cause to swell; to fill out, dilate, distend; to fatten up. spec. of pillows, cushions, and other upholstery.
| 1533 J. Heywood Play of Weather Plays (1905) 115 For springing and plumping all manner corn Yet must ye have water or all is forlorn. 1631 Chettle Hoffman iv. H j, Art not thou plumpt with laughter my Lorrique? 1661 Boyle Spring of Air (1682) 93 These particles [of air] so expanding themselves, must necessarily plump out the sides of the bladder..and so keep them turgid. 1704 Phil Trans. XXV. 1621 If the.. Grain were well soakt and plumpt up with Water. 1775 Johnson Journ. West. Isl., Coriatachan, Fowls..not like those plumped for sale by the poulterers of London. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair xxxvii, Dolly..plumping and patting the pillows of the bed. 1848 Dickens Dombey lvii. 571 Mrs. Miff resumes her dusting and plumps up her cushions. 1852 Fraser's Mag. XLVI. 469 The oil..has plumped his cheeks..and expanded his whole form. 1883 R. Haldane Workshop Receipts Ser. ii. 371/1 The hide is unhaired by being placed in a liquid, which..plumps the hide. 1960 M. Spark Ballad Peckham Rye viii. 168 She turned and plumped out the cushion behind her. 1962 A. Sexton All my Pretty Ones 43 The houseboy, A quick-eyed Filipino..plumping up The down-upholstery. 1972 M. J. Bosse Incident at Naha i. 13 The bed, made with..carefully plumped-up pillows. 1975 L. Gillen Return to Deepwater iv. 68 The cushions on the settee freshly plumped. |
b. fig.
| 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] x. 27, I will..plumpe my ioyes by letting them surprize mee. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iii. §17 Which made them..‘to plump up the Hollownesse of their History with improbable Miracles’. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 671 The godly faction [was] then plump'd up with hopes to carry on their diabolical designes. 1887 G. Meredith Ballads & P. 109 Heaven! 'tis heaven to plump her [England's] life. |
2. intr. To become plump; to swell out or up.
| 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. ii. v, Swell, plump, bold heart; For now thy tide of vengeance rowleth in. 1612 R. Daborne Chr. turn'd Turke 1498 You Manticora, that plumpe vpon raw flesh. 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 166 Their Fruit begins to plump at the full Moon. 1843 Lady Granville Lett. (1894) II. 358 He [a dog] is plumping up, his coat glossy. 1882 Fraser's Mag. XXV. 687 Her cheeks had plumped out. |
Hence ˈplumping vbl. n.
| 1593 Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 145 They shew the swellings of their mind, in the swellings and plumpings out of their apparrayle. 1700 Floyer Hot & Cold Bath. i. 36 Hot Baths..cause the plumping up of the Habit of the Body. 1890 Le Gallienne G. Meredith 85 That plumping of her exquisite proportions on bread and butter. |
▪ VIII. plump, v.3
[f. plump n.1]
† 1. intr. To form plumps; to mass or crowd together. Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 661/2 What meane yonder men to plompe togyder yonder,..qui sarroutent aynsi? 1535 Coverdale Exod. xv. 8 The depes plomped together in y⊇ myddest of the see. |
† b. to plump out, to come out in a mass. Obs.
| 1555 W. Watreman Fardle Facions i. vi. F viij, The barel now broken, the swarme plomped out. |
2. trans. To sow (seed) in plumps or clumps.
| 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm III. 750 The plumping mode, as this method of sowing by intervals is termed. |
▪ IX. † plump, v.4
An obsolete by-form of pump v. Cf. plump n.2
| 1589 Rider Bibl. Schol. 1112 To Plumpe, v. pumpe. |
▪ X. plump, int., adv., and a.2
(plʌmp)
[app. the onomatopœic stem of plump v.1 used to express the manner of the action, or the echoic imitation of the sound of the act.]
A. † int. Imitative of the sound made by a heavy body falling into water.
[Cf. LG. plump, ‘an interjection which expresses the sound made by anything heavy when it falls into water’ (Bremisches Wbch.).]
| 1597 Beard Theatre God's Judgem. (1612) 121 [They] threw them peecemeale into a deepe well, to heare them crie plumpe. |
B. adv. (Mostly familiar.)
1. With a sudden drop or fall into water.
| 1610 B. Jonson Masque Oberon Wks. (Rtldg.) 583/1, I would fain..to some river take 'em, Plump; and see if that would wake 'em. c 1614 Fletcher, etc. Wit at Sev. Weap. i. i, The art of swimming, he that will attain to 't Must fall plump, and duck himself at first. 1713 Steele Guard. No. 50 ¶4 The lover, with much amazement, came plump into the river. 1850 Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. iii. (1859) 40 But no sooner was the last fold of blubber..hoisted in,..than it [the carcase] sank plump down. |
2. With a sudden or abrupt fall or sinking down; with sudden direct impact, flat upon or against something; with a sudden or unexpected encounter.
| 1594 Carew Tasso (Grosart) 9 There hence againe, to pastures of Tortose, Plump downe directly leuels he his flight. 1778 F. Burney Evelina (1791) II. ix. 69 As we were a-going up Snow-Hill, plump we comes against a cart. 1806–7 J. Beresford Miseries Hum. Life (1826) x. vi, Sitting plump on an unsuspected cat in your chair. a 1845 Barham Ingol. Leg. Ser. iii. Marie Mignot, Her Ladyship found Herself plump on the ground. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. i, I took a shot at him and brought him down plump. |
3. fig. Directly, at once, straight, without hesitation or circuitous action; esp. in reference to a statement or question: Directly, without circumlocution or concealment, in plain terms, bluntly, flatly.
| a 1734 North Lives (K.O.), Refuse plump. 1779 F. Burney Lett. Dec., The shortest way of doing this is by coming plump upon the question. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas xii. vii. ¶4 If you must have it plump, I was born to live and die a poet. 1811 Minutes Evid. Berkeley Peerage 202, I question whether I ever said plump Miss Tudor, I said Ma'am. 1840 Thackeray Catherine iv, Hayes first said no, plump. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xlviii, He told us, plump and plain, that he wasn't going to shift. 1898 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 368, I lied..plump and pat, I will confess. |
† 4. to vote plump, to vote ‘straight’ or without any qualification. U.S. Obs.
| 1776 J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 398 New Jersey has de⁓throned [Govr. William] Franklin, and in a letter, which is just come to my hand from indisputable authority, I am told that the delegates from that colony ‘will vote plump!’ [sc. for the Declaration of Independence.] |
C. adj.
1. a. Descending directly, vertical, sheer. b. Directly facing in position.
| 1611 Cotgr., Escore,..plumpe, or straight down, in depth. 1890 Anthony's Photogr. Bull. III. 287 In buildings, plump views are objectionable; they should always be taken at an angle. |
2. fig. Of statements, etc.: Direct, blunt, straight-spoken, downright, unqualified, ‘flat’. familiar.
| 1789 F. Burney Diary Dec., She..made the most plump inquiries into its particulars, with a sort of hearty good humour. 1803 M. Edgeworth Belinda xvii, I hate qualifying arguers; plump assertion or plump denial for me! 1828–32 Webster s.v., A plump lie. 1840 Lady C. Bury Hist. Flirt i, She gave a plump decline, and said something about his morals. 1872 H. Lawrenny in Fortn. Rev. Mar. 321 Neither man nor woman would dare to answer with a plump No. |
3. Plumped down; paid down at once.
| 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. iii. xiii, Paying up in full, in one plump sum. |