▪ I. naked, a. and n.1
(ˈneɪkɪd)
Forms: 1 naecad, nacod, -ud, naced, 2 næcod, nakod, 2– naked, (3 -edd, 3–5 -ede, 4 -ide, 4–6 -id, -yd), 6 nakt, 7 nak't; 4–6 naket, Sc. nakit, (6 nakkit), nakyt, 6 Sc. naiket, -it, -yt, -att, nakyt.
[OE. nacod, næcad, = OFris. naked, naket, MDu. naket, naect (Du. naakt), MLG. naket, OHG. nakot, naccot, nachot, nahhut, etc. (MHG. naket, nachet, G. nackt), ON. nǫkkviðr, neycquiðr (also nǫkð-, nǫkt-, etc.; MSw. nakudher, naqvidher), Goth. naqaþs, naqad-, a participial derivative from the stem *naq-:—pre-Teut. *nog{supw}-, which is also represented in OSl. nagŭ (Russ. nagói), Lith. nůgas, Skr. nagnás, L. nūdus (:—*nog{supw}edos), OIr. nocht.
The West Germ. languages have also forms ending in -n, -nd, or -nt, as OFris. naken, MDu. nakent (Du. dial. nakend), MLG. naken(t, MHG. nackent, nachent (G. nackend), ME. nake(n: the explanation of these is not clear. In Icel. nakinn (Norw. and Sw. naken, Da. nögen) the ending has been altered from -iðr on the analogy of such participles as vakiðr, vakðr, vaktr: vakinn.]
A. adj. I. 1. a. Unclothed, having no clothing upon the body, stripped to the skin, nude. † Also occas. having only an under-garment on.
| c 850 O.E. Martyrol. (Herzfeld) 26 Þa het he hi nacode lædan to sumum scandhuse. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark xiv. 52 He miððy forwarp [sindonem, &] nacod foreflæh from ðæm. c 1000 ælfric Gen. iii. 7 Hiᵹ oncneowon þa, þæt hiᵹ nacode wæron. Ibid. 10. c 1205 Lay. 6273 Nakede heo weoren and naðing ne rohten. c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 27/45 Men vrne nakede al a-boute and wummen al-so. c 1369 Chaucer Dethe Blaunche 125 Hyr women kaught hir vp anoon, And broghten hir in bed al naked. 1439 E.E. Wills (1882) 116 My Image to be made all naked, and nothyng on my hede but myn here cast bakwardys. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon i. 49 It is rayson that we take of oure goode gownes, and goo to the kynge naked. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 43 Then he is torned naked and decked againe with a laymans apparell. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, i. iii. 298 Who can..Wallow naked in December snow by thinking on fantasticke summers heate? 1608 R. Armin Nest Ninn. (1842) 24 To bed he goes; and Jemy euer used to lye naked, as is the use of a number. 1673 [R. Leigh] Transp. Reh. 11 Innocence..is no less a stranger to the use of swords and guns then the naked Indian. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 498 We advanced a little Way farther, and behold, to our Astonishment, three Women naked..come flying. 1761 Brit. Mag. II. 445 The streets were..filled with naked people, some with shirts and shifts on only, and numbers without either. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Decay of Beggars, To be naked is to be so much nearer to the being a man, than to go in livery. 1870 Morris Earthly Par. III. iv. 17 Three damsels stood, naked from head to feet Save for the glory of their hair. |
| absol. c 1220 Bestiary 219 He fleð fro ðe so neddre fro de nakede. 1663 Gerbier Counsel d 6 b, The Inhabitants..affecting no other livery then that of the first naked. |
| fig. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 59 b, Where they nowe appeare in theyr likenes, and are beholden naked with the eies of all men. 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Love 7 Christ commeth not bare or naked, but clothed and accompanied with all his mercies. |
b. In comparisons, as
naked as a needle,
a worm,
one's nail, etc.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 162 Take two stronge men, and in themese caste hem, And bothe naked as a nedle. a 1467 Gregory's Chron. (Camden) 211 The Lorde Schalys..was slayne at Synt Mary Overeyes.., and laye there dyspoyly nakyd as a worme. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xi. i. 572 There syr launcelot toke the fayrest lady by the hand..and she was naked as a nedel. 1559 Mirr. Mag. (1562) B b vij, We..Were led in prysoners naked as my nayle. 1633 Heywood Eng. Trav. ii. i. C iij b, He..did..so Plucke them and Pull them till hee left them as naked as my Naile. 1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iii. iv. 88 As naked and bare as a shorne Sheep, as we say in our English Proverbe. 1860 O. W. Holmes Prof. at Breakfast-Table iii. 39 A friend..had a watch given him..with a loose silver case... You know them,—the cases that you hang on your thumb, while the..real watch, lies in your hand as naked as a peeled apple. 1879–81 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-Bk. 297 W'y yo' bin as naked as a robin. 1890 D. C. Murray John Vale's Guardian III. xxxviii. 215 Time was I wouldn't ha' married her..without her lands. You can send her now as naked as a robin, if you like. 1939 N. & Q. 15 July 42/1 As naked as a needle. 1943 Amer. Speech XVIII. 67/2 Naked as a jaybird. 1963 J. T. Rowland North to Adventure xi. 160 Tell us what you were doing, standing naked as a jaybird. 1974 State (Columbia, S. Carolina) 8 Mar. 1-B/1 Just a footnote to ask if there is any truth to the rumor that ‘naked as a jaybird’ is going to be amended to use ‘gamecock’! |
c. In the plant-names
naked lady or
naked ladies, and
naked boys, popular appellations of the Meadow Saffron (
Colchicum autumnale).
| 1668 Wilkins Real Char. ii. iv. 74 Having naked flowers without any stem;.. Medow Saffron, Naked Lady. a 1691 Aubrey Nat. Hist. Wilts (1847) 51 Naked-boys (q. if not wild saffron) about Stocton. 1760 J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 320 Naked Ladies, Colchicum. 1853 Tyas Pop. Flowers Ser. iii. 2 The Autumnal Crocus, or Meadow Saffron..bears also the name of Naked Lady, from the fact of its pretty flowers presenting themselves without leaves. 1857 N. & Q. 2nd Ser. III. 254 In Herefordshire..and in Norfolk, the autumnal crocus..is called commonly..Naked-boys. |
d. Of a horse or ass: Without harness or trappings; unsaddled, bare-backed.
| c 1000 ælfric Hom. I. 210 He nolde on nacedum assan ridan. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 244 Bucephalus,..so long as he was naked and without furniture,..would suffer any man to come on his back. 1833 Darwin Jrnl. Voy. Beagle viii. (1839) 143 A naked man on a naked horse is a fine spectacle. |
e. In printing,
naked forme (see
quots.).
| 1683–4 J. Moxon Mech. Exerc. Printing (1962) 347 Naked Form,..is when the Furniture is taken from about all sides of the Form. 1888 C. T. Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 86 Naked forme, a forme of type waiting for—or stripped of—furniture. 1960 G. A. Glaister Gloss. Bk. 144/1 A ‘naked forme’ consists of pages of type secured by page-cord; a ‘dressed forme’ is one of pages of type with furniture between and around them and the page-cord removed. |
2. a. Of parts of the body: Not covered or protected by clothing; bare, exposed.
| 1340 Ayenb. 244 Wyþ-oute none nakede uisage onwriȝe. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints ii. (Paul) 918 Strakis one his nakit flesche with a swerd. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 15 It lay in his nakede arm. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 101 There is my Dagger, And heere my naked Breast. 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 772 On thir naked limbs the flourie roof Showrd Roses. 1805 Scott Last Minstr. v. xxiii, His naked foot was dyed with red. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. II. i. 24 He was..scratching his naked skin. |
b. naked bed,
orig. used with reference to the custom of sleeping entirely naked; in later use denoting the removal of the ordinary wearing apparel. Now
arch.| c 1400 Destr. Troy 13803 As Vlixes the lorde lay for to slepe..on a night in his naked bed. 1503 Hawes Examp. Virt. i. vii, As I in my naked bedde was leyd. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. ii. v. 1 What out-cries pluck me from my naked bed..? 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 242, I had never lien in naked bed since I came from Venice,..having alwaies slept..in my doublet, with linnen breeches and stockings. 1666 Pepys Diary 7 Sept., I went the first time into a naked bed, only my drawers on; and did sleep pretty well. 1699 R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1725) 190 He would sit in a Chair, but very rarely came into his naked bed. 1756 T. Amory Buncle (1770) I. 94 This young lady went into naked bed in her cabbin. 1870 Mrs. Gordon Life Brewster 297 Sir David exclaimed in horror ‘What! go to your naked bed in the middle of the ocean?’ |
c. In
fig. context, of things personified, of unembodied spirits, etc.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, v. ii. 34 Why that the naked, poore, and mangled Peace..Should not in this..Our fertile France, put vp her louely Visage? 1628 Milton Vac. Exerc. 23, I have some naked thoughts that rove about. 1678 Cudworth Intell. Syst. 346 Pan being used not so much for the naked and abstract Deity, as the Deity as it were embodied in this Visible Corporeal World. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 212 When the soul shall be disengaged from the gross matter..and..become naked spirit. 1816 Shelley Daemon ii. 242 Before the naked powers that thro' the world Wander like winds have found a human home. 1833 Tennyson Two Voices 374 If first I floated free, As naked essence must I be Incompetent of memory. |
d. transf. Applied to qualities, actions, etc. in which nakedness is involved.
| 1667 Milton P.L. iv. 290 With native Honour clad In naked Majestie [they] seemd Lords of all. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 283 In naked majesty Oldmixon stands. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xl. IV. 53 The naked scenes which Theodora was not ashamed to exhibit in the theatre. 1821 Shelley Adonais xxxi, He..Had gazed on Nature's naked loveliness. 1897 Manch. Guard. 9 Aug. 10/4 Say whether this is naked weight or weight in cycling costume. |
3. a. Destitute of clothing (implying poverty and wretchedness). Also
occas. of animals: Stripped of the usual warm covering.
| c 850 O.E. Martyrol. (Herzfeld) 204 Him com onᵹean an þearfende man nacod on cealdum wyntra. c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xxv. 36 Ic wæs nacud & ᵹe me scryddon. c 1200 Ormin 6164 Þe birrþ claþenn nakedd mann. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 508 Naked we come hider, and bare And pure. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. vii. 212 Alle manere of Men þat þou mayȝt aspye, Þat neodi ben, or naket. c 1480 Henryson Mor. Fab. 1257 (Sheep & Dog), The Scheip..sauld the woll, he bure vpoun his bak;..Nakit and bair syne to the feild couth pas. 1551 Crowley Pleas. & Pain 29 Naked and bare, hauynge no clothes my fleshe to hyde. 1605 Shakes. Lear iii. iv. 28 Poore naked wretches..That bide the pelting of this pittilesse storme. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 679 Short of their Wool, and naked from the Sheer. |
| absol. a 900 Cynewulf Crist 1354 Þonne ᵹe..him hleoð ᵹefon hingrendum hlaf & hræᵹl nacedum. 971 Blickl. Hom. 213 He wolde..hingriᵹendum mete syllan, & nacode scrydan. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 102 Ha..spende al þet oðer in neodfule & in nakede. a 1300 Cursor M. 20121 Naked and hungri sco cled & fede. c 1400 Rule St. Benet (Verse) 582 Cleth þe naked þat hase nede. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems ix. 29, [I have not] Harbreit the wolsome, nor naikit cled att all. 1535 Coverdale Job xxii. 6 Thou hast..robbed the naked of their clothinge. 1692 Dryden Eleanora 47 The afflicted came, The hunger-starved, the naked and the lame. |
b. Bare or destitute of means.
rare.
| a 1625 Fletcher Hum. Lieut. iii. v, I am a poor man, naked, Yet something for remembrance,..gentlemen. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 507, I had been stripp'd naked, in a remote Country, and nothing to help myself. 1722 ― Col. Jack (1840) 165 Thus a naked planter has credit at his beginning. 1893 Stevenson Catriona v, In the meanwhile I am held naked in my prison. |
† 4. a. Without weapons (or armour); unarmed.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce x. 431 He wes armyt and wes vycht, The tothir nakyt wes,..And had nocht for till stynt no strak. 1489 Paston Lett. III. 359 My seid Lord of Northumberland heryng..that they wer but naked men, addressed hym self towardes theym withoute eny harneys. 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 95 This vilaine was armed, and the other man naked. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. iii. 186 Baith the parties war vnarmet, or as we vse to speik, naked men. 1644 Prerog. Anatomized 4 It's hard usage,..because in time of peace, I walke unarm'd, to put me naked in the front of a Battell. 1727 De Foe Hist. Appar. viii. 143, I scorn to take up a sword against a naked man. 1787 Minor iii. ix. 186, I could not endure the idea of killing a naked man. |
| fig. 1693 Wood Life (O.H.S.) IV. 49 He disarmes the author, then fights with him naked. |
b. Without defence or protection; defenceless, unprotected; open or exposed
to assault or injury.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 265 If they should leave their owne countrey naked,..others would take possession. 1603 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 61 He is forced to keepe the greater part of those troupes at home, vnless he should lay naked his estates to infinite casualties. 1688 S. Penton Guard. Instr. (1897) 18 Left naked to infinite temptations of doing nothing, or worse. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 180 ¶3 As a small garrison must leave one part of an extensive fortress naked when an alarm calls them to another. 1822 Shelley When the lamp is shattered iv, Thine eagle home [will] Leave thee naked to laughter. 1863 Cowden Clarke Shaks. Char. xv. 373 Gaunt suddenly fell away from him..and left him naked to the tender mercies of his priestly enemies. |
II. 5. a. Of a sword or other weapon: Not covered by a sheath; unsheathed.
| Beowulf 539 Hæfdon swurd nacod..heard on handa. c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxix. §1 Him ealne weᵹ.. hangað nacod sweord ofer ðæm heafde be smale þræde. c 1205 Lay. 686 Bi þone toppe he hine nom..& his nakede sweord leide on his necke. 13.. Sir Beues (A.) 3648 Þai..bete hire wiþ swerdes naked. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 287 He..tok him..A naked swerd to bere on honde. c 1450 Merlin 409 The Ban and the kynge Bohors com on with swerdes naked in her handes. 1535 Coverdale Micah v. 6 These shal subdue..the londe of Nymrod with their naked weapens. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iv. ii. 21 Scarce blood enough..To giue each naked Curtleax a stayne. 1634 Peacham Gentl. Exerc. ii. v. 118 In her right hand a naked poniard. 1714 Pope Epil. Rowe's J. Shore 44 Many an honest man may copy Cato, Who ne'er saw naked sword. 1802 Naval Chron. VII. 83 Was not your sword naked? 1887 Bowen Virg. æneid ii. 334 Naked steel and glittering blade Ready, and ranged for slaughter. |
† b. Of the tongue: Thrust out, exposed.
Obs.—1| c 725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) E 499 Exserta lingua, naecad tunge. |
6. a. Free from concealment or reserve; plain, straightforward; outspoken, free. Now
rare.
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 316 Schrift ȝet schal beon naked, þet is, nakedliche imaked. Ibid., Þis nis nout naked schrift. c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. Prol., This tretis..wole I shewe the under ful lihte rewles & naked wordes in englissh. 1602 2nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. ii. 281 What cares he for modest close coucht termes... Giue him plaine naked words stript from their shirts. 1652 Sir C. Cotterell tr. Calprenède's Cassandra iii. iv. (1676) 296 By this naked confession of my life. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. xl. IV. 53 note, A fragment of the Anecdotes, somewhat too naked, was suppressed by Alemannus. c 1789 ― Mem. (1857) 122 The most naked tale in my history is told by the Rev. Mr. Joseph Warton. |
b. the naked truth, the plain truth, without concealment or addition.
| a 1585 Montgomerie Cherry & Slae 1141, I..trewly tald the naikit truth To men that melld with me. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 36 We shall tell The naked Truth of what befel. 1709 Berkeley Th. Vision §120 It is scarce possible to deliver the naked and precise truth. 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xiv. 181, I have not deviated in the slightest degree from the strict and naked truth. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars v. 242 An unmarried woman was a chattel... That is the naked truth. |
c. naked force, unconcealed, ruthless force.
| 1963 E. Wilson in New Statesman 6 Dec. 847/2 According to the United States State Department, Fidel Castro uses naked force in Cuba. |
7. a. Exposed to view or examination; uncovered, stripped of all disguise or concealment.
| 1382 Wyclif Job xxvi. 6 Nakid is helle beforn hym. a 1535 Fisher Serm. Wks. (1876) 401 All thinges be naked and open before his eyes. 1579 Fulke Heskins' Parl. 129 With a naked soule, and pure minde you beholde those thinges that are in heauen. 1611 Bible Micah i. 11 Passe yee away thou inhabitant of Saphir, hauing thy shame naked. 1672 Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 96, I shall without Art write down his own Words..as they ly naked to the view of every Reader. 1703 Rowe Ulyss. ii. i, My Friends, who view my naked Soul. 1781 Cowper Expost. 339 Darkness itself before His eye is light, And hell's close mischief naked in His sight. 1819 Lady Charleville in Lady Morgan Autobiog. (1859) 272, I show you this to read my naked heart. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 11 Should we not ask him to show us his soul, naked and undisguised? |
b. Plain, obvious, clear.
| 1589 T. Cooper Admon. 192 That considering the proofe to be naked in it selfe, thou mayest the better iudge of the strength thereof. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 496 Chamberlayne laid his plan, in all its naked absurdity, before the Commons. 1884 St. James's Gaz. 12 Aug. 3/1 People..shut their eyes in the face of staring, naked, palpable facts. |
III. 8. a. Bare, destitute, or devoid
of something.
† Also
const. from.
| c 897 K. ælfred Gregory's Past C. lvi. 431 Se lyteᵹa feond swa micle ieðlicor ðæt mod ᵹewundað swa he hit onᵹiet nacodre ðære byrnan wærscipes. c 1220 Bestiary 144 Ðanne ðe neddre is of his hid naked. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 199 But þouȝ here children ben nakid fro virtues in soule, þei chargen noþing. 1533 Bellenden Livy i. xi. (S.T.S.) I. 64 Mecius..was als nakit of manhede and curage as he was of faith. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 149 Freewill is made naked of all maner merite. 1632 Lithgow Trav. viii. 361 The maritine Townes..being left halfe naked of defence. 1665–6 Pepys Diary 19 Jan., It is a remarkable thing how infinitely naked..Covent Garden is..of people. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 2 ¶3 They thought fit to leave him naked of the proper Means to make those Excellencies useful. 1788 Gibbon Decl. & F. lxxvii. VI. 629 The monuments of antiquity had been left naked of their precious ornaments. |
b. Bare, lacking, or defective in some respect.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sec. Nun's T. 486 If thou speke of moo, Thow liest; for thy power is full naked. 1549 Compl. Scot. Prol. 16 To condamp and repreif this raggit naykyt tracteit. 1622 Bacon Hen. VII (1876) 37 Concerning which battle the relations that are left unto us are so naked and negligent [etc.]. 1692 Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. 340 The Pleasures of the Senses sometimes render despicable the Satisfactions of the Mind, as too dry, and too naked. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. (Bohn) 210 The poem..is..written in language as unraised and naked as any perhaps in the two volumes. |
c. Clean, clear, unfilled, unoccupied.
| 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parlt. App. 205 Moreover, he hath sold..very many naked and unwritten Parchments. c 1660 South Serm. John vii. 17 (1715) I. 231 It finds the Mind naked, and unprepossessed with any former Notions. 1822 Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 1/1 It is a great point in any question to clear away encumbrances, and to make a naked circle about the object in dispute. |
9. a. Devoid of trees or other vegetation; bare, barren, waste.
† Of water: Having no weeds.
| [c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 126 Forgeten had the erthe his pore estat Of winter, that him naked made and mat.] 1549 Compl. Scot. xi. 92 Ȝe sal be compellit to laubir the naikyt feildis vitht ȝour auen handis to there proffet. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 227 So was I left alone on a naked promontorie right against the Citie. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 716 We see the naked Alps, and thin Remains Of scatter'd Cotts. 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 180 They are better fed Fish, and much larger in such Ponds, than where they have only a naked Water. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 773 Those naked acres. 1793 ― A Tale v, Sea-beaten rocks and naked shores. 1839 Alison Hist. Europe (1849–50) VIII. liii. §3. 398 No forests clothe their sides; naked, they present their arid fronts to the shivering blasts. 1879 Farrar St. Paul (1883) 206 The corruption which the ebbing tide..had left upon the naked sands. |
b. Bare of leaves or foliage; leafless.
| 1591 Spenser Daphn. xlviii, Let birds be silent on the naked spray. 1602 Marston Antonio's Rev. Prol., Wks. 1856 I. 71 Snarling gusts nibble the juyceles leaves, From the nak't shuddring branch. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 562 When Storms have shed From Vines the hairy Honours of their Head;..Ev'n then the naked Vine he persecutes. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 141 These naked shoots, Barren as lances, among which the wind Makes wintry music. 1841 Browning Pippa Passes i, How these tall Naked geraniums straggle! 1882 Garden 25 Feb. 135/2 Laurels and Hollies that have got naked at bottom should now be headed down. |
c. Of ground, rock, etc.: Devoid of any covering or overlying matter; exposed.
| 1693 Evelyn De la Quint. Compl. Gard. II. 146 Some plants which our Climate is not capable naturally of producing in the naked Ground. 1759 Martin Nat. Hist. I. 15 The lower Parts, or Basis of the Rock lie intirely naked. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 3 The Workmen..built Part of the Piers..on Part of the Foundation..and the rest of them on the naked Bed of the River. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) II. 248/1 Whether we take this method or begin upon the naked floor [of the foundation]. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 191 Huge precipices of naked stone frown on both sides. 1887 W. Phillips Brit. Discomyc. 70 [It grows] on the naked ground in damp and shady woods. |
d. naked fallow, a ‘bare’ fallow, one on which no crop at all is grown (
cf. fallow n.2). So
naked fallowing.
| 1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 364 Such soils as may..require the aid of naked or summer fallowing. 1808 J. C. Curwen Hints Feeding Stock 234 Though no friend to naked fallows, I was obliged [etc.]. 1840 J. Buel Farmer's Companion 169 On substituting fallow crops for naked fallows. 1889 [see fallow n. 2]. |
e. transf. of the wind: Bleak, cold.
| 1821 Shelley Hellas 293 A flock Of wild swans struggling with the naked storm. 1834 R. Mudie Feathered Tribes (1841) I. 49 The black cock has the shelter of the bush when the naked wind blows. |
10. a. Destitute of sails or tackle.
rare.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 183 [He] hath ordeined..A nakid Schip withoute stiere. c 1400 Destr. Troy 3701 All þere takyll was tynt, tylude ouer borde, The nauy wex nakit; noy was on honde. 1819 Shelley Cyclops 18, I myself stood on the beaked prow And fixed the naked mast. |
b. Destitute of carpets, hangings, or similar furnishings; unfurnished.
| 1528 Gardiner in Burnet Hist. Ref. (ed. Pocock) I. 89 We pass three chambers all naked and unhanged. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 805 Go with speed To some forlorne and naked Hermitage. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseud. Ep. 386 The spirits of many long before that time will finde but naked habitations. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 68 The hollow winds thro' naked temples roar. 1788 F. Burney Diary 1 Dec., He longed, he said, to cover all the naked, cold boards, to render them [the rooms] more habitable. 1822 Galt Steam-boat iv. 74 To cover the naked walls they had brought carpets from home. a 1834 Coleridge in Rem. (1836) II. 77 The stage in Shakspeare's time was a naked room with a blanket for a curtain. |
c. naked flooring, the timbers which support the flooring boards.
| 1823 in Crabb Technol. Dict. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 569 Naked flooring, for ball-rooms, should be framed very strong. 1847 Smeaton Builder's Man. 74 There are three kinds of naked flooring: single, double, and framed. |
d. Devoid of ornament or facing of any kind; plain and bare.
| 1850 T. Inkersley Styles Archit. France 313 The enormous projection of the naked buttresses. 1879 Stevenson Trav. Donkey 48 Here and there a few naked cottages and bleak fields. 1892 T. B. F. Eminson Epid. Pneumonia at Scotter 12, Cesspools of naked brick. |
11. a. Uncovered, unprotected, exposed.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 389 Moles want their sight, because they have not their eyes open and naked as other Beasts. 1771 Burke Corr. (1844) I. 280, I always felt it on the naked nerve, and with the quickest, sorest sensibility. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xi. 94 It seemed as if every blow cut into my naked heart. 1861 J. R. Greene Man. Anim. Kingd., Cœlent. 94 In some Plumulariæ the gonophores appear to be naked. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 325 These changes are described as occurring..in the ultimate naked fibrils. |
b. Not placed within a case or receptacle;
esp. naked light (also
attrib.).
| a 1626 Middleton Mayor Queenb. i. ii, Yes, sir, in lanterns; but I'll never trust candle naked again. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1079 As the naked cage of Davy often gets red-hot with flame [etc.]. 1842 Parnell Chem. Anal. (1845) 13 The crucible..should never be introduced naked into the fire. 1865 Morn. Star 3 Nov., The Use of Naked Lights in a Fiery Mine. 1886 S.W. Lincolnsh. Gloss. s.v., We don't reckon to take a nak'd light into the yard. 1929 R. Graves Poems 18 Then it's those naked-light instructions That the muctions plaster up. 1966 Listener 18 Aug. 237/1 The naked electric-light bulb had to be left on all day. 1971 Chambers's Dict. Sci. & Technol. 787/2 Naked-light mine, nonfiery mine, where safety lamps are not required. |
c. naked fire, an open fire, one not closed in by any contrivance. ?
Obs.| 1673 Grew Philos. Hist. Plants (1682) 19 The strongest heat which a naked fire in that Furnace would produce. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 68 It requires a naked fire to fuse it. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 189 Place the retort on a sand-bath, or a naked fire. |
12. Bot. a. Of seeds: Not enclosed in a case or ovary; having no pericarp.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens iv. viii. 461 The grayne..is naked, bare, and cleane. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Naked Seeds.., such Seeds of Plants, as are not included in any Pod or Case. 1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants II. 179 Flowers of 1 petal, beneath, and 4 naked seeds. 1846–50 A. Wood Class-bk. Bot. 52 Truly naked seeds are found in few plants. 1875 Bennett & Dyer tr. Sachs' Bot. 433 The cases are, however, not rare in which the seeds remain quite naked from first to last. |
b. Of stalks, etc.: Destitute of leaves. Of leaves, etc.: Free from hairs; smooth, glabrous.
| 1721 Bradley Philos. Acc. Wks. Nat. 34 Plants, whose..whole Foliate or naked Roots put forth every Spring their fresh Flower-Stalks. 1753 Chambers Cycl. Supp. s.v. Leaf, Naked Leaf expresses a leaf whose surface is smooth and equal, without any particular marks. Ibid. s.v. Stalk, Naked stalk, one that has no leaves. 1776–96 Withering Brit. Plants II. 320 The barren branches naked and bent backwards. 1860 A. Gray Man. Bot. 281 Flowers perfect, solitary or long naked scapes or peduncles. |
c. In the specific names of varieties of grain having naked seeds, as
naked barley and
naked oats, or of plants with naked stems, as
naked broom-rape.
| 1578 Lyte Dodoens iv. viii. 461 The naked or hulled Barley groweth in some places of Fraunce. 1678 Salmon Pharm. Lond. i. iv. 117 Zeopyrum, Naked Barley. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 136 In Staffordshire..is a sort of red or naked Oats. 1764 Museum Rust. III. 151 The naked oat..I am told is very much cultivated in Cornwall. 1808 J. Walker Econ. Hist. Hebrides I. 229 The naked oat..is so called, because the grain..falls naked from the head, like a grain of wheat. 1835 Penny Cycl. III. 166/2 The naked oat..is found wild in many parts of Europe. 1838 Ibid. XII. 291/1 Naked Barley, a species but little cultivated now, is of unknown origin. 1860 A. Gray Man. Bot. 281 Aphyllon, Naked Broom-rape. |
13. a. Zool. Destitute of hair or scales; not defended by a shell.
| 1769 E. Bancroft Guiana 134 A long tail, which is almost naked towards the end. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 364 Skin naked, with longitudinal folds. 1844 Carpenter Zool. §573 The Cod tribe..have a long body..covered with soft scales,—the head, however, being naked. 1897 H. O. Forbes Hand-bk. Primates II. 199 The front, top, and sides of the head and face are nearly naked. |
b. As the distinctive epithet of classes of animals (see
quots.).
| 1601 Holland Pliny xxix. vi. II. 365 Naked snailes (I meane those that bee found without shells.) 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 112 Klein gives them a class..under the name of Naked Quadrupedes. 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. I. 364 Family III. Naked Serpents. 1834 M{supc}Murtrie Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 270 The naked Acephala are not numerous. 1840 tr. Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 336 We call those Mollusca naked in which the cloak is simply membranous or fleshy. 1851 Woodward Mollusca i. 62 The rest are termed ‘naked cephalopods’, because the shell is internal. |
IV. 14. a. Left without any addition; not strengthened or increased in any way; bare, mere;
† absolute.
| c 1000 ælfric On New Test. (Grein) 21 Nu miht þu wel witan, þæt weorc sprecan swiðor, þonne þa nacodon word. c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 35 Whi schulde curatis pronounsen here breþeren a cursed for nakid lettris of syche coueitous prelatis. 1523 Skelton Garl. Laurel 1205 Harde to make ought of that is nakid nought. 1552 Abp. Hamilton Catech. (1884) 48 Thai that presumis owyr mekil of thair awin nakit frewill & gud deedis. a 1652 J. Smith Sel. Disc. iv. 103 A naked perception of sensible impressions, without any work of reason. 1700 C. Nesse Antid. Armin. (1827) 17 Some grant..to the non-elect only a prescience or naked foresight. 1785 Burke Sp. Nabob Arcot Wks. 1842 I. 319/2 On these principles he chooses to suppose..a naked possibility. 1837 T. Jones Christian Warrior iii. xv. 77 He would make him believe that a naked Christ and a naked faith is quite enough. 1876 Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms, Naked fourth, the interval of a fourth without the addition of any other interval. |
b. Not accompanied by, or overlaid with, remarks or comments; expressed in plain unadorned language.
| c 1400 Cato's Mor. 345 in Cursor M. 1673 Þou wondris in þi witte þat I wrate þis writte in twa versis nakid. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 3 In many places where the nakyd letter..ys not easy for symple soulles to vnderstonde; I expounde yt..more openly. 1594 Hooker Eccl. Pol. ii. vii. §1 To draw all things unto the determination of bare and naked Scripture. 1655 S. Ashe Funeral Serm. Gataker 25 This I enlarge not by specifying instances, because the naked quotations may be sufficient. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 39 ¶ 6 The naked Thought of every Speech..divested of all its Tragick Ornaments. 1768 Blackstone Comm. III. 377 Herein they state the naked facts, as they find them to be proved. 1835 Thirlwall Greece iii. I. 65 This is the naked abstract of the tradition. 1878 O. W. Holmes Motley xxiv. 226 One who felt himself wronged must not be expected to reason in naked syllogisms. |
c. Not otherwise supported, assured, or confirmed. (Chiefly in legal use.)
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 420 Sith þei supposen þat hor naked graunte is als myche worthe as graunte wiþ hor lettres. c 1555 Harpsfield Divorce Hen. VIII (Camden) 45 If the parties make but a naked and bare promise of affiance. 1616 T. Godwin Moses & Aaron (1641) 257 The making of peace was a naked stipulation..for the laying aside of all hostile affections. 1681 Stair Inst. Law Scot. 116 Whether it be a naked Paction or Promise, or a Mutual Contract. 1766 Blackstone Comm. II. 195 The lowest and most imperfect degree of title consists in the mere naked possession, or actual occupation of the estate. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 455 Suppose a naked right, or a contingent remainder had descended. 1823 Crabb Technol. Dict., Nude contract, a bare naked contract, without a consideration, which is void in law. 1871 Schele de Vere Americanisms 509 Naked possessor, is the odd title by which, in Texas and the Southwestern States, the occupant of a farm is known, who can show no title to his land. 1877 Tennyson Harold ii. ii, Thou art perfect in all honour! Thy naked word thy bond! |
d. Not supported by proof or evidence.
| 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 43 b, Unlesse you suppose, that with your naked clamorous affirmatives ye may expell them out of the Church. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 457 Onely for a naked suspition, mistaking the honorable intention of the English. 1673 Cave Prim. Chr. i. iv. 81 None were ever greater Enemies to a naked profession. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. vii. 603 For the evidence of these designs, Mr. Hastings presents his own naked assertion. |
15. a. naked eye, the eye itself, unassisted by the microscope, telescope, or other aid to vision. So
naked sight.
| 1664 Power Exp. Philos. i. 17 Smaller than the smallest hair our naked eyes can discover. 1672 Grew Anat. Veget. iii. 77 As the Tract of these Pores appears to the naked Eye. 1711 Addison Spect. No. 121 ¶9 Such [creatures] as are bulky enough for the naked Eye to take hold of. 1789 F. Burney Diary 18 Jan., With my glass..I can see just as other people see with the naked eye. 1812 Woodhouse Astron. xxiii. 240 To the naked sight, or to unassisted vision. 1875 Manning Mission H. Ghost xiii. 359 The naked eye cannot perceive them, but the power of the microscope reveals them. |
b. attrib. Visible to the naked eye.
| 1876 Trans. Clinical Soc. IX. 138 The naked-eye characters being..characteristic. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 963 There was no naked-eye damage to the cord. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 11 Aug. 12/1 The other naked-eye planets are too near the sun to be visible. 1930 Times Educ. Suppl. 5 Jan. p. iv/3 Within the limit of the naked-eye visibility. 1965 Listener 20 May 741/1 Another naked-eye cluster is Præsepe in Cancer, now well placed during the evenings. |
16. Undiluted, neat.
rare—1.
| 1824 Scott Redgauntlet let. xiii, I am drinking naked spirits, I think. |
17. Comb., as
naked-armed,
naked-bladed,
naked-eyed,
naked-flowered,
naked-flowering,
naked-footed (also
adv.),
naked-handed (also
adv.),
naked-limbed,
naked-nerved,
naked-seeded,
naked-tailed adjs. Also
naked ape, man,
Homo sapiens;
naked-beard grass, an American grass having an abortive flower;
naked boys,
lady, see sense A I. 1 c;
† naked-tail (see
quot.).
| 1967 D. Morris (title) The *naked ape. 1967 Spectator 10 Nov. 577/1 Even before man has destroyed all other animals to make more room for himself, the naked ape may well destroy himself also. 1973 W. Barlow Alexander Principle iii. 33 The ‘Naked Ape’ has replaced Rousseau's ‘Noble Savage’. |
| 1891 T. Hardy Tess xxix, Tess had come out..*naked-armed and jacketless. |
| 1860 Gray Man. Bot. 553 Gymnopogon. *Naked-beard Grass. |
| 1856 Mrs. Browning Aur. Leigh i. 330 And with two grey-steel *naked-bladed eyes Searched through my face. |
| 1848 E. Forbes (title) A Monograph of the British *naked-eyed Medusæ. Ibid. 3 In the naked-eyed species. 1870 Nicholson Man. Zool. x. (1875) 119 The ‘naked-eyed’ Medusæ..are exceedingly elegant..when examined in a living condition. |
| 1853 Tyas Pop. Flowers Ser. iii. 2 The *Naked-flowered Crocus (C. nudiflorus) adorns the meadows..in the fall of the year. 1885 Globe 31 Jan. 1/5 Of the shrubs,..none is more kindly than the yellow naked-flowered jasmine. |
| 1841 Macgillivray Withering's Brit. Plants 63 C. nudiflorus, *naked-flowering Crocus. 1855 Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. V. 233 Naked-flowering Saffron. |
| 1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers 16 And yet the soul continuing, *naked-footed, ever more vividly embodied. |
| 1848 Sporting Life 1 July 210/2 The savage..does not fear to encounter the dangers of his chase *naked-handed. 1869 Whittier Hive at Gettysburg in Poetical Works (1898) 380/2 And he who, lone and naked-handed, tore Those jaws of death apart. |
| a 1930 D. H. Lawrence Phoenix (1936) iii. 164 There the painted women dance..opposite the *naked-limbed men. |
| 1933 Dylan Thomas Let. Nov. (1966) 48 It is typical of the..*naked-nerved..to emphasise its brutality. |
| 1776 Lee Botany 415 (Jod.) Gymnospermia, *naked-seeded. |
| 1845 Encycl. Metrop. XIV. 495/1 In Guaiana is found the rabo pelado, or *naked-tail, a ravenous animal, of the vulpine species. |
| 1841 Waterhouse Marsup. 94 *Naked-tailed opossum, Didelphys nudi-caudata. |
B. n.1 1. the naked:
† a. The naked skin.
Obs. rare.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4182 Quare it neȝes on þe nakid it noyis for euire. c 1400 Destr. Troy 6403 He shot þrough the shild & the shene maile,..Hit neghit to þe nakid. |
† b. Art. The nude.
Obs.| 1735 Pope Ep. Lady 188 Artists! who can paint or write, To draw the Naked is your true delight. 1753 Hogarth Anal. Beauty xi. 91 The drapery..helps to satisfy the eye,..without depriving the beholder of any part of the beauties of the naked. |
c. The face or plain surface of a wall, etc.
| 1726 Leoni Alberti's Archit. I. 66 Angles jutting out from the naked of the Wall. 1776 G. Semple Building in Water 13 The Cutwaters..extend 12 Feet each beyond the naked of the Bridge. 1823 P. Nicholson Pract. Builder 339 Naked of a Wall, the vertical or battering surface, whence all projectures arise. 1842 Gwilt Archit. 1007. |
† 2. Art. A nude figure.
Obs.| 1622 Peacham Compl. Gent. ii. xiii. (1634) 148 Hee excelled in Perspective, and above all other masters laboured in Nakeds. 1675 A. Browne App. Art of Limning 21 To understand how to make choice of a good Naked, and to draw it well. |
Add:
[A.] [II.] [7.] c. Astron. Designating a space-time singularity in the form of a collapsed material body which is not surrounded by an event horizon and is therefore visible to an external observer. Usu. as
naked singularity.
| 1969 R. Penrose in Rivista Nuovo Cimento I. Numero Speciale. 273 (caption) A ‘naked singularity’ (Kerr–Newman solution with m2 2 + e2 ). Ibid. 274 Have we any right to suggest that the only type of collapse which can occur is one in which the space-time singularities lie hidden, deep inside the protective shielding of an absolute event horizon?.. If in fact naked singularities do arise, then there is a whole new realm opened up for wild speculations! 1977 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 29 Sept. 23/1 If a spacetime singularity actually occurs and can be observed, it is called a ‘naked singularity’. 1978 Nature 20 Apr. 740/2 Dr Wald pays more attention than most authors to the intriguing question of cosmic censorship—can gravitational collapse cause the occurrence of space-time singularities that are not hidden inside black holes, that is, are naked? 1981 P. Davies Edge of Infinity v. 92 A great deal of investigation has been undertaken to determine whether singularities can ever occur naked, or whether they will always be safely hidden inside black holes. |
▪ II. † naked, n.2 Obs. rare.
[f. prec.] Nakedness.
| c 1000 ælfric Deut. xxviii. 48 Drihten asent hungor on eow and þurst and næcede. c 1470 Henryson Orph. & Eur. 529 For this dispyte quhen he was deid anon Was dampnyt..To suffer hunger, thrist, nakit and cald. |