▪ I. dash, v.1
(dæʃ)
Forms: 3–4 dasse, 3–5 dasche, 4 dassche, 4–6 dasshe, 4–7 dashe, 6– dash.
[ME. daschen, dassen, found a 1300, perh. from Norse: cf. Sw. daska to drub, Sw. dial. to slap with open hand, Da. daske to beat, strike; but an ON. *daska is not recorded, and the word is not known in WGer. It may be a comparatively recent onomatopœic word, expressing the action and sound of striking or driving with violence and smashing effect: cf. clash, crash, bash, pash, smash, etc. The trans. and intr. uses are exemplified almost equally early, and there is no definite evidence as to their actual order: cf. dush v.]
I. Transitive senses.
1. a. To strike with violence so as to break into fragments; to break in pieces by a violent stroke or collision; to smash. Now generally with complement, as to dash to pieces; but the simple dash is still said of the action of wind or rain in beating, bruising, and disfiguring flowers or plants.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 51 Þe pykes smyte hem þoru out..And daschte and a dreynte fourty schippes. Ibid. 540 [Thei] with axes thuder come, & that ȝat to hewe, & to dasse. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 9051 (Mätz.) The hors chine he dassed a-to. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 63 [He was] al to dasshed so þat no þing of his body myȝte be founde. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 98 The splitting Rockes..would not dash me with their ragged sides. 1610 ― Temp. i. ii. 8 A braue vessell..Dash'd all to peeces. 1642 Rogers Naaman 142 As if one should with his foote dash a little childs house of oystershels. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. i. 116 He fell amongst the rocks, and was dashed to pieces. 1847 Tennyson Princ. v. 132 Altho' we dash'd Your cities into shards with catapults. 1892 Gardiner Student's Hist. Eng. 11 The waves had dashed to pieces a large number of his ships. Mod. The roses were beautiful, before they were so dashed by the wind and rain. |
b. To strike violently against.
(Without implication of smashing.)
| 1611 Cotgr., Talemouser, to cuffe, or dash on the lips. 1624 Aphor. of State in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 495 With the like thunderbolt, to dash the heads of the sacred Empire. 1776 Gibbon Decl. & F. I. xxv. 746 The oars of Theodosius dashed the waves of the Hyperborean ocean. 1843 J. Martineau Chr. Life (1866) 349 Like brilliant islands..vainly dashed by the dark waters of human history. |
2. a. To knock, drive, throw, or thrust (away, down, out, etc.) with a violent stroke or collision.
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 344/147 And daschte þe tiez [= teeth] out of is heued. a 1400–50 Alexander 3882 A brand and a briȝt schild bremely he hentis..Dasches dragons doun. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. iv. iii. 54 Shall I not..dash out my desperate braines. 1664 H. More Myst. Iniq. 268 It [rain] is naturally drunk in, not dash'd in by force. a 1700 Dryden (J.), The brushing oars and brazen prow Dash up the sandy waves. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth ii, Dashing from him the snake which was about to sting him. 1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike x. 112 While she, dashing away her tears, looked for something to do. |
† b. To drive impetuously forth or out, cause to rush together. Obs.
| 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clvii. 191 Then thenglyshmen dashed forthe their horses after the frenchmen. Ibid. I. cccxlii. 538 Lorde Langurant..couched his speare..and so dyde Bernarde, and dasshed to their horses. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 922/2 The king..pulled downe his visar..and dashed out such a pleasant countenance and cheere, that all..reioised verie much. |
3. To throw, thrust, drive, or impel (something) against, upon, into (something else) with a violence that breaks or smashes; to impel (a thing) into violent and destructive contact with something: a. a solid body. (Also fig.)
| 1530 Palsgr. 507/1 He dasshed my heed agaynst the postes. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 24 He foorthwith dashed his spurres into his horse and fled. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. 376 In so doing he dasheth himself against a notable Text. 1724 R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 62 Lest another Wave should dash me against it [the rock]. 1820 Scoresby Acc. Arctic Reg. I. 401 A violent storm of wind dashed her..stern first, against a floe of ice. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vii. (1889) 61 [He] dashed his right fist full against one of the panels. |
b. To splash (water or other liquid) violently upon or against something.
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 457 The Waves on heaps are dash'd against the Shoar. 1839 T. Beale Sperm Whale 350 Dashing the salt water in our faces. |
† c. With reversed construction: to dash one in the teeth with (something): to ‘cast it in one's teeth’. Obs. (Cf. cast v. 65.)
| 1530 Palsgr. 507/1, I dasshe one in the tethe with a lye or a glosynge tale, Jembouche..What nedest thou to dasshe me in the tethe with the monaye thou haste lente me. |
4. a. To bespatter or splash (a thing) with anything (e.g. water or mud) cast with force or violence upon or against it.
| 1530 Palsgr. 507/1, I dasshe, I araye with myer, Je crotte. Your horse hath all to dasshed me. 1670 Milton Hist. Eng. Wks. vi. (1851) 268 The Sea..came rowling on, and without reverence both wet and dash'd him. 1694 Acc. Sev. Late Voy. ii. (1711) 166 Some Whales blow Blood to the very last..and these dash the Men in the Long-boats most filthily. 1785 H. Walpole Mod. Gardening (R.), Vast basins of marble dashed with perpetual cascades. 1875 Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. viii. (1877) 307 The face may be dashed with cold water. |
| fig. 1621 Bk. Discipl. Ch. Scot. Pref., Some will dash you by the odious name of Puritan. 1633 G. Herbert Temple, Marie Magd. iii, Her sinnes did dash Ev'n God himself. |
b. To put out (fire) by dashing water upon it.
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 5 But that the Sea..Dashes the fire out. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxvii, Rows of fire⁓buckets for dashing out a conflagration. |
c. pa. pple. Marked as with splashes.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens ii. xliv. 202 Floures..poudered or dashte with small spottes. 1797–1804 T. Bewick Brit. Birds (1847) I. 119 The top of the head, the back, and the tail black: the rump is dashed with ash. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. lxxxiii. 11 Deep tulips dash'd with fiery dew. 1873 Black Pr. Thule xxvii. 452 The sea was dashed with a wild glare of crimson. |
5. a. To affect or qualify (anything) with an element of a different strain thrown into it; to mingle, temper, qualify, dilute with some (usually inferior) admixture. Also fig.
| 1546 Confut. N. Shaxton A. iii. (R.), Youre sermons dashed ful of sorowful teares and depe sighings. 1586 Cogan Haven Health cvii. (1636) 108 Boyle them [fruit] againe with sufficient sugar, to dash them with sweet water. 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. (1756) 40 Notable virtues are sometimes dashed with notorious vices. 1684 tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. v. 137 Vinegar..dashed with water..is an Antidote against drunkenness. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 267 ¶8 To dash the Truth with Fiction. 1843 Lever J. Hinton vi, Dash the lemonade with a little maraschino. 1853 Trench Proverbs 141 The pleasures of sin..are largely dashed with its pains. |
b. Coal-mining. To mix (fire-damp) with air till the mixture ceases to be inflammable.
| 1851 Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 21 Dashing Air.—Mixing air and gas together, until..the mixture ceases to be inflammable. |
6. fig. To destroy, ruin, confound, bring to nothing, frustrate, spoil (a design, enterprise, hope, etc.): cf. to smash. In 16–17th c. the usual word for the rejection of a bill in Parliament, and frequent in various applications; now Obs. exc. in to dash (any one's) hopes. (Cf. next.)
| 1528 Beggar's Petit. agst. Popery in Select. Harl. Misc. (1793) 153 He shall be excommunicated, and then be all his actions dashed! 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 169 All the hope of Anselme was dasht. a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commw. Eng. (1633) 92 As the cry of yea or no is bigger so the Bill is allowed or dashed. 1627 Drayton Agincourt 4 A warre with France, must be the way To dash this Bill. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 59 Those hopes were no sooner conceived than dasht. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 157 So the design was wholly dashed. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes iv. 214 To dash what arguments may be brought from hence. 1840 Chartist Circular No. 5. 225 This dashes the bit-by-bit system [of reform]. 1861 Pearson Early & Mid. Ages Eng. 143 Dunstan's hopes were again dashed by the news of Edward's death. |
7. a. To cast down, depress; to daunt, dispirit, discourage.
| 1550 Coverdale Spir. Perle v, How small soever their temptation or plague is, their heart is dashed. 1579 L. Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 466/1 We shalbe all dasht that our prayers do but soare in the ayre. 1604 Shakes. Oth. iii. iii. 214, I see, this hath a little dash'd your Spirits. 1676 Dryden Aurengz. ii. i. 524 Why did you speak? you've dash'd my Fancy quite. 1791 Cowper Odyss. ix. 295 We, dash'd with terror, heard the growl Of his big voice. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xxvi, This discouraging information a little dashed the child. 1891 M. M. Dowie Girl in Karp. 167 Somewhat dashed, we went down..to the spot where my horse had fallen with me. |
b. To confound, put to shame, abash.
| 1563–87 Foxe A. & M. (1596) 1574/2 Frier Bucknham..was so dashed, that neuer after hee durst peepe out of the pulpit against M. Latimer. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 585 An honest man, looke you, and soon dasht. 1634 Milton Comus 447 Chaste austerity..that dashed brute violence With sudden adoration and blank awe. 1728 Vanbr. & Cib. Prov. Husb. ii. i, The Girl..has Tongue enough: she woa'nt be dasht. 1766 Fordyce Serm. Yng. Wom. (1767) II. xiii. 246 From her a..look..will dash the boldest offender. 1860 Trench Serm. Westm. Abbey x. 108 Dashed and abashed as no doubt for a moment she was. |
† c. Phr. to dash (a person) out of countenance (conceit, courage). Obs.
| 1530 Palsgr. 507/1, I dasshe out of countenaunce or out of conceyte, Je rens confus. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 162 Your deerest friends..damnified, and dashed out of courage. 1598 R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iii. xiv. (1622) 85 Cause sufficient, to haue dasht the best practised out of matter. 1617 Hieron Wks. (1619–20) II. 408 It would dash him quite out of countenance. 1754 Richardson Grandison I. xi. 61 In order to dash an opponent out of countenance by getting the laugh instead of the argument on his side. |
8. To put down on paper, throw off, write, or sketch, with hasty and unpremeditated vigour.
| 1726 Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 234 Please dash down anything that is proper for me to help. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 47 Never was dash'd out, at one lucky hit, A fool, so just a copy of a wit. 1771 Foote Maid of B. Epil. Wks. 1799 II. 201 His ready pen he drew, And dash'd the glowing satire as he flew. 1847 Tennyson Princ. iv. 121 Ourself..into rhythm have dash'd The passion of the prophetess. Ibid. v. 414 Then came a postscript dash'd across the rest. 1859 Kingsley Misc. (1860) II. 15 The impressions of the moment..dashed off with a careless but graceful pen. |
9. a. To draw a dash through (writing); to strike out, cancel, erase, efface. Now rare or Obs.
| 1549–62 Sternhold & H. Ps. lxix. 29 And dash them cleane out of the booke of hope. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 80 A faulte in writing is dashed out with a race of the penne. 1581 Sidney Astr. & Stella l. in Arb. Garner I. 528 And now my pen these lines had dashed quite. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1673) 212 Before the snow be melt, and the footings dashed. 1670 Wood Life (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 199 He would correct, alter, dash out or put in what he pleased. 1856 Froude Hist. Eng. I. 454 She took a pen and dashed out the words. |
b. To draw (a pen) vigorously through writing so as to erase it.
| 1780 Cowper Table T. 769 To dash the pen through all that you proscribe. |
10. To mark with a dash, to underline.
| 1836 T. Hook G. Gurney I. 17 The infinite pains I took to dash and underline the points. 1871 Athenæum 13 May 583 He did so dash his initials at the end of letters. |
11. slang. or colloq. Used as a euphemism for ‘damn’, or as a kind of veiled imprecation.
| 1800 T. Morton Speed the Plough ii. ii. 28 But dash it, Lady Nelly, what do make thee paint thy vace all over we rud ochre zoo? 1812 H. & J. Smith Rej. Addr., G. Barnwell, Dash my wigs, Quoth he, I would pummel and lam her well. 1844 John Chawbacon ii. in Halliwell Dict. (1865) I. p. xv, Dash my buttons, Moll—I'll be darn'd if I know. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. III. i. 7 Dash it, Tony..you really ought to be careful. 1865 ― Mut. Fr. ii. viii, Dashed if I know. |
II. Intransitive senses.
12. To move, fall, or throw itself with violence or smashing effect; to strike in violent collision against (upon, etc.) something else.
| c 1305 Saints' Lives in E.E.P. (1862) 80 Þat weþer bigan to glide..þer hit gan dasche adoun..Ac in þe norþ half of þe churche..þer ne ful noȝt a reynes drope. c 1400 Melayne 964 Dede he daschede to the grounde. 1638 Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. II. 43 In my way there are..many stones to dash against. 1694 Acc. Sev. late Voy. ii. (1711) 168 The Whale..doth strike about with his Tail and Finns, that the Water dasheth up like Dust. 1724 R. Falconer Voy. (1769) 62 The Tempest was very much abated, and the Waves not dashing so often. 1842 Tennyson Day-dream, The Revival ii, And all the long-pent stream of life Dash'd downward in a cataract. 1891 E. Peacock N. Brendon II. 418 The full force of the Atlantic is dashing on the cliffs. |
| fig. 1638 D. Featley Strict. Lyndom. i. 102 Lyes dash one with the other, and truth breakes out of the mouth of the lyar. |
13. a. Of persons: To throw oneself with violence, such as would overthrow obstacles or resistance; to go, run, or rush with sudden impetuosity, or with spirited or brilliant action. Also fig. (Const. with var. preps. and advbs.)
| c 1300 K. Alis. 2837 The gate..up he brak; In to the cité he con dassche. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 6293 (Mätz.) Forth dassed the king. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lviii. 200 Y⊇ sarazyns dasshed in to the prese to haue rescued Huon. 1596 Pleas. Quippes Upstart Gentlw. in Hazl. E.E.P. IV. 258 Our wantons now in coaches dash, From house to house, from street to street. 1682 Dryden Abs. & Achit. ii. 414 Doeg..Spurred boldly on, and dashed through thick and thin, Through sense and nonsense. 1794 Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xviii, Dashing at the steps below. 1823 Byron Juan viii. liv, [He] Dash'd on like a spurr'd blood⁓horse in a race. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 377 [He] rode on madly..Dashed through the stream and up the other bank. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. vii. 230 To leave her card on foot at the doors of ladies who dashed up to hers in their barouche. 1892 Gardiner Student's Hist. Eng. 11 Cæsar..dashed at his stockade and carried it by storm. |
b. Said of action with pen or pencil.
| a 1680 Rochester An Allusion to Horace (R.), With just bold strokes he dashes here and there, Showing great mastery with little care. |
† 14. To clash. Obs.
| c 1325 Coer de L. 4615 Trumpes blewen, tabours dashen. |
15. colloq. To make a display, ‘cut a dash’; dash off, out, to burst off, come out, with a dash.
| 1786 Francis, the Philanthr. I. 159 Bidding fair to dash out, when he was qualified by manhood and experience. 1800 H. Wells Const. Neville III. 68 He intended to dash off as a star of the first magnitude in the circles of fashion. 1806 T. S. Surr Winter in Lond. (ed. 3) III. 215 That blade dashes most confoundedly..he is a princely fellow, to be sure. 1807–8 W. Irving Salmag. (1824) 290 Every lady..dresses and dashes. |
III. 16. Comb. a. with verb + object, as † dash-buckler, a swaggering fellow, swashbuckler; b. with the verb-stem used attrib., as dash-pot, a contrivance for producing gradual descent in a piece of mechanism or for preventing vibration or sudden motion, consisting of a cylinder or chamber containing liquid in which a piston moves; a hydraulic buffer; dash-wheel (see quot. 1874). See also dash-board.
| 1567 Fenton Trag. Disc. 123 b, A traine of *dashbucklers or squaring tospottes. |
| 1861 Sci. Amer. 30 Mar. 196/2 The *‘dash pot’ which Watt invented to graduate the descent of the puppet valve into its seat. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. 666 s.v. Cut-off, To seat them without slamming, the valve-stems are provided with dash-pots. 1878 in J. Dredge Electr. Illum. (1885) II. App. p. lxiv, The arm of the lever may be at right angles to the carbon, one end being weighted and the other attached to the core of a solenoid; the core may have a dash-pot action. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVIII. 86/1 The arc-lamp mechanism is provided with a dash-pot, or contrivance in which a piston moving nearly air-tight in a cylinder prevents sudden jerks in the motion of the mechanism. 1926 Gloss. Terms Electr. Engin. (Brit. Engin. Standards Assoc.) 50 Dash-pot, an appliance for preventing the sudden or oscillatory motion of any moving part of a piece of apparatus, by the friction of air or of a liquid. 1930 Engineering 21 Feb. 249/2 The proper function of the piston chamber is, however, that of a dash-pot. 1931 Flight 13 Nov. 1131/2 The dashpot is double acting, and there is a powerful check to spring recoil. 1936 Gloss. Terms Railway Signalling (B.S.I.) 16 Dash pot, a cylinder with a piston valve in which the escape of air or liquid is checked by the valve to assist in lessening shock. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 225/1 Dash pot, a device for damping out vibration; it consists of a piston attached to the part to be damped, fitting loosely in a cylinder of oil. 1959 Times Rev. Industry Mar. 36/1 The variable feed rate for cutting is controlled by a hydraulic dashpot. 1962 Engineering 15 June 793/1 The relay trip current setting is adjustable..simply by altering vertically the position of the self-locking dashpots. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 226 Put this mixture into the colour trough..and after two days wash in the *dash-wheel. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Dash-wheel. (Bleaching.) A wheel with compartments revolving partially in a cistern, to wash and rinse calico in the piece, by alternately dipping it in the water and then dashing it from side to side of the compartments. |
▪ II. dash, v.2
see after dash n.2
▪ III. dash, n.1
(dæʃ)
Forms: 4 dasch, 5–6 dasshe, 6 dasche, dashe, 6– dash.
[f. dash v.]
1. A violent blow, stroke, impact, or collision, such as smashes or might smash.
(With quot. 1577 cf. dash v. 2.)
| a 1375 Lay-Folks Mass-Bk. App. iv. 351 Wiþ his hed he yaf a dasch Aȝeyn þe Marbelston. 1470–85 Malory Arthur x. lxxix, Syr Ector..gaf sire Palomydes suche a dasshe with a swerd. 1577–87 Holinshed Chron. III. 1153/2 He offered to hir his cloke, which she (putting it backe with hir hand with a good dash) refused. 1690 W. Walker Idiomat. Anglo-Lat. 22 Let me alone, or I will give you a dash on the teeth. 1725 De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 258 The water, falling from a height..and meeting in the passage with many dashes and interruptions. 1727–46 Thomson Summer 1114 The dash of clouds, or irritating war Of fighting winds. 1858 Lytton What will he do? i. v, Whistling..in time to the dash of the oars. |
† 2. fig. in phrases at (the) first dash, at one (or a) dash: cf. stroke, blow (F. coup). Obs.
| 1550 Bale Apol. 37 (R.) He heapeth me in, an whole halfe leafe at a dash, out of Saynt Augustyne. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 71 She takes vpon her brauely at first dash. 1627 H. Lesly Serm. bef. Majesty 4 Wee are not made absolute entire Christians at the first dash. 1681 W. Robertson Phraseol. Gen. (1693) 753 What? At first dash so to jear and frump your friend? 1699 W. Hacke Voy. ii. 9 In..danger, to lose both our Lives and all our substance at one dash. 1710 Acc. Last Distemp. Tom Whigg ii. 48 Designing to immortalize himself and his Patron at a Dash. |
† 3. fig. A sudden blow or stroke that casts down, confounds, depresses, dispirits, etc.; an affliction, discouragement. Obs.
| 1580 Apol. Prince of Orange in Phœnix (1721) I. 450 That the Course of his Life be found blessed..without any dash, blow, stumbling. 1629 Rutherford Lett. v. (1862) I. 48, I have received many..dashes and heavy strokes, since the Lord called me to the ministry. 1637 Ibid. I. 287 The glory of manifested justice in giving of His foes a dash. 1730 T. Boston Mem. vii. 134 This gave me a sore dash. |
4. a. The violent throwing and breaking of water (or other liquid) upon or against anything; a splash; a sudden heavy fall of rain; † concr. a portion of water splashed up.
| 1570 Levins 35/5 A dashe, labes, aspersio. 1612 T. Taylor Comm. Titus i. 8 To giue her harbour..till the dash and storme be ouer. 1677 W. Harris tr. Lemery's Chym. (ed. 3) 602 During the ebullition..a great many little dashes of water do fly about. a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew s.v. Gust, We say a Dash of Rain, for a sudden, short, impetuous Beat of Rain. 1804 Med. Jrnl. XII. 247 Dr. Macneil seems..to think the sponging is better than the dash. 1848 Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton (1882) 12/1 ‘He's coming round finely, now he's had a dash of cowd water.’ |
b. The sound of dashing; esp. the splashing sound of water striking or being struck.
| 1784 Cowper Task i. 186 Music not unlike The dash of Ocean on his winding shore. 1820 Scott Abbot xxxv, Why did ye not muffle the oars?..the dash must awaken the sentinel. |
5. a. A small portion (of colour, etc.) as it were dashed or thrown carelessly upon a surface.
| 1713 Berkeley Ess. in Guardian v. Wks. III. 161 The rosy dashes of light which adorn the clouds of the morning and evening. 1884 J. T. Bent in Macm. Mag. Oct. 426/1 Syra is almost entirely a white town, relieved now and again by a dash of yellow wash. |
b. A small quantity (of something) thrown into or mingled as a qualifying admixture with something else; an infusion, touch, tinge. Usually fig.
| 1611 Shakes. Wint. T. v. ii. 122 Now (had I not the dash of my former life in me) would Preferment drop on my head. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 892 A thing..not sincerely good, but such as hath a great dash or dose of evil blended with it. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1698) I. 293 It makes most delicate Punch; but it must have a dash of Brandy to hearten it. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 299 ¶2, I..resolved that my Descendents should have a Dash of good Blood in their Veins. 1820 W. Irving Sketch-Bk. I. 335 There was a dash of eccentricity and enterprize in his character. |
† c. A slight specimen, a touch; = cast n. 9. Obs.
| a 1672 Wood Life (1848) 161 He gave A. W. a dash of his office. |
6. A hasty stroke of the pen.
| 1615 Stephens Satyr. Ess. (ed. 2) 414 And thus by meere chaunce with a little dash I have drawne the picture of a Pigmey. a 1656 Bp. Hall Rem. Wks. (1660) 310 With one dash to blot it out of the holy Calender. 1691 Ray Creation i. (1704) 41 That this was done by the temerarious dashes of an unguided Pen. 1803 Mackintosh Def. Peltier Wks. 1846 III. 246 Fifty Imperial towns have been erased from the list of independent states, by one dash of the pen. |
7. A stroke or line (usually short and straight) made with a pen or the like, or resembling one so made: spec. a. Such a mark drawn through writing for erasure. b. A stroke forming part of a letter or other written or printed character, or used as a flourish in writing. c. A horizontal stroke of varying length (-, —, ―) used in writing or printing to mark a pause or break in a sentence, a parenthetic clause, an omission of words or letters or of the intermediate terms of a series, to separate distinct portions of matter, or for other purposes; sometimes implying the use of strong language; hence as a mild substitute for devil. d. Mus. A short vertical mark (ˈ) placed above or beneath a note to indicate that it is to be performed staccato. e. A linear marking, as if made with a pen, on the wings of insects, etc.
| 1552 Huloet, Dashe or stryke with a penne, litura. 1594 Blundevil Exerc. i. iv. (ed. 7) 12 Having cancelled the first figure of the multiplyer, by making a dash thorow it with your Pen. 1607 Dekker Westw. Hoe ii. Wks. 1873 II. 297 Marke her dashes, and her strokes, and her breakings, and her bendings. 1612 Brinsley Ludus Lit. xiii. (1627) 177 Making a dash with a pen under every fault. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 470 ¶10 The Transcriber, who probably mistook the Dash of the I for a T. 1733 Swift Poems, On Poetry, In modern wit all printed trash is Set off with num'rous breaks — —and dashes ―. 1824 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 406 The Dash, though often used improperly..may be introduced with propriety, where the sentence breaks off abruptly..A dash following a stop, denotes that the pause is to be greater than if the stop were alone. 1848 Rimbault First Bk. Piano 63 The Dash requires a more separate and distinct manner of performance than the Point. 1880 Muirhead Gaius Introd. 13 Passages that are illegible in the MS...are indicated by dashes, thus — — —. 1883 Ld. R. Gower My Remin. II. xxviii. 259 Who the Dash is this person..and what the Dash does he here? 1899 A. Nicholas Idyl of Wabash 64 A dreadful thought which if put in print would have contained a dash. |
f. One of the two signals (the other being the dot) which in various combinations make up the letters of the Morse alphabet. Also dash-and-dot, more usually dot-and-dash (dot n.1 8).
| 1859 T. P. Shaffner Telegr. Man. 469 Whether the dots, spaces, and dashes be long or short, they should be uniform. 1873 F. Jenkin Electr. & Magn. xxii. §4 Morse signals are sent by a simple key... A short depression or mere tap sends the short elementary signal technically called a dot; a longer depression sends the second elementary signal technically called a dash. 1882 Ogilvie Suppl., Dash-and-dot, consisting of dashes and dots; as, the dash-and-dot alphabet. 1916 J. Buchan Greenmantle xx. 268 The sound was regular and concerted—dot, dash, dot—dash, dot, dot{ddd}the longs and shorts of the Morse Code. 1942 Electronic Engin. XV. 36 On automatic sending it transmits S.O.S. three times followed by a long dash. |
8. A sudden impetuous movement, a rush; a sudden vigorous attack or onset. Also fig.
| 1809 Adm. Cochrane in Naval Chron. XXVI. 164 Our loss in this little dash has..been severe. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. v. (1889) 36 He..made up his mind..to make a dash..for something more than a mere speaking acquaintance. 1885 Manch. Exam. 25 Feb. 5/2 The dash was successfully made across the desert to Metammeh. |
9. a. Spirited vigour of action; capacity for prompt and vigorous action.
| 1796 Mod. Gulliver's Trav. 50, I began now to suspect I was with sharpers..and correcting my dash, betted cautiously. 1808 Wellington in Gurw. Desp. IV. 95 The affair..was occasioned..by the imprudence of the officer, and the dash and eagerness of the men. 1866 Livingstone Jrnl. I. v. 120 In dash and courage they are deficient. |
b. to do one's dash (Austral. colloq.), see quots. 1916 and 1966; to have a dash (at) (colloq.), to make an attempt.
| 1916 C. J. Dennis Songs Sentimental Bloke 121 To do one's dash, to reach one's Waterloo. 1923 Wodehouse Inimit. Jeeves iii. 37 The blighter's manner was so cold and unchummy that I bit the bullet and had a dash at being airy. 1930 ― Very Good, Jeeves! (1957) vi. 114, I supposed I had better have a dash at it and get it over. 1966 G. W. Turner Eng. Lang. Austral. & N.Z. vii. 152 It is tempting to wonder whether the expression ‘he's done his dash’ meaning ‘he is played out’, ‘he has done all he can’ is connected with the gold-miner's dashing. |
10. A gay or showy appearance, display, parade: usually in phr. to cut a dash, to make a display (see cut v. 25), in Sc. to cast a dash.
| 1715 Pennecuik Tweeddale 16 (Jam.) Large orderly terrace-walks, which in their summer verdure cast a bonny dash at a distance. 1771 Foote Maid of B. i. Wks. 1799 II. 213 The squire does not intend to cut a dash till the spring. a 1774 Fergusson Poems (1789) II. 32–33 (Jam.) Daft gowk,..Are ye come here..To cast a dash at Reikie's cross? 1842 P. Parley's Ann. III. 246 Mrs. Cloff was for cutting a dash, giving large dinner-parties. 1887 Punch 12 Mar. 125/1 My wife and girls will wish to cut a dash. |
11. Sporting. a. A race run in one heat. U.S. b. A sprint. U.S.
| 1836 Spirit of Times (N.Y.) 20 Feb. 5/3 Or, I will make two races, for one thousand dollars each, give you fifty yards in a dash of one mile, and one hundred yards in a dash of two miles. 1881 Standard 7 Sept. 5/2 They have certainly coined..the word ‘dash’, to signify a race run in one heat. 1895 Chicago Tribune 24 May 11/4 At least three of the rivals likely to meet in the 100-yard dash are said to be capable of tying the intercollegiate record. 1948 P.C.C. Chron. (Pasadena, Calif.) 31 Mar. 4/5 Anderson took a third in the open 100 yard dash. 1957 Encycl. Brit. XIX. 665/1 Distances up to and including 220 yd. are, in the United States, called dashes. |
12. a. = dash-board 1.
| 1868 Rep. Comm. Patents 1867 (U.S.) I. 481/2 Carriage Boot..January 15, 1867. The apron is combined with a dash cover. 1874 in Knight Dict. Mech. 1893 (used by an Oxford coach-builder in letter). 1911 J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards ii. 15 He says the buggy dash is pretty well scratched up. |
b. Now esp. in motor vehicles; = dashboard 1 b.
| 1902 Kipling in Windsor Mag. Dec. 13/2 Kysh's hands juggling with the levers behind the discreet backward sloping dash. 1906 Daily Chron. 14 Nov. 9/3 The coil and commutator, being fixed on the dash, are always in front of the driver. 1919 Autocar Handbk. (ed. 9) 253 A second lamp placed somewhere on the dash. 1929 Daily Express 10 Jan. 3/1 The car is fitted with electrical devices with lights on the dashfront to keep the driver informed when anything goes wrong with the lubrication or the ignition. 1944 Coast to Coast 1943 163 They got in the truck and by the light from the dash Black read the slip. 1966 M. Woodhouse Tree Frog xxvii. 205, I fitted the key into the truck's dash and backed off. |
13. The dasher of a churn, esp. the plunger of the old upright or dash-churn; hence dash-boards, the fixed beaters in a barrel-churn.
| 1796 in Repert. Arts & Manuf. (1797) VII. 290 Specification of the Patent granted to Mr. William Raley, of Newbald, in the East Riding of Yorkshire. November 10, 1796... O, the moving dashes or breakers. 1847 in Halliwell. 1865 Harper's Mag. Mar. 541/2 Last summer Joe bought an old-fashioned dash churn. 1877 in N.W. Linc. Gloss. 1963 Times 18 May 11/5 Meadar loinithe is a plunging or dash churn. |
14. Comb. dash-guard, the metal plate which protects the platform of a tram-car from being splashed by the horses; dash-lamp, a carriage lamp fixed in the centre of the dash-board or ‘dash’; dash-light, a light on the dash-board of a motor vehicle; † dash-line = dash n. 7; dash-rule (Printing), a ‘rule’ or strip of metal for printing a dash across a column or page. Also dash-board.
| 1684 R. H. School Recreat. 120 The dash Lines..above and below, are added only when the Notes ascend above the Staff, or descend below it. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., Dash-rule. 1926 Catholic Mirror June 47 ‘Don't they call this the dash light?’ she queried, fingering the little nickel-plated illuminator. 1935 M. Eberhart Cases of Susan Dare 285 His mouth tightened in the little glow from the dashlight. |
▪ IV. ‖ dash, n.2
[Corruption of dashee, through taking the pl. dashees as dashes.]
A gift, present, gratuity; = dashee.
| 1788 A. Falconbridge Afr. Slave Tr. 7 The Kings of Bonny..to whom..they usually make presents (in that country termed dashes). 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Dash, the present with which bargains are sealed on the coast of Africa. 1881 Mem. Geo. Thomson ix. 119 We called in the head man and gave him a dash proportioned to the kindness with which he had received us. |
Hence dash v., to give a present to, to ‘tip’.
| 1861 P. B. Du Chaillu Equat. Afr. xiii. 191, I..offered to dash him (give him some presents). 1881 Mem. Geo. Thomson x. 139 The head man had dashed him a hog. |
▪ V. dash, adv.
[The stem of dash v. used adverbially: cf. bang, crash, etc.]
With a dash: see the various senses of the n. and vb.
| 1672 Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. i. (Arb.) 67 T'other's..at him again, dash with a new conceipt. a 1700 Dryden (J.), The waters..with a murmuring sound, Dash, dash, upon the ground, To gentle slumbers call. 1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 22 Fall in with a hackney coach, and he [a horse] will carry you slap dash against it. Mod. The boat went dash against the rocks. |