▪ I. move, n.
(muːv)
Also 5 meeve.
[f. move v.]
† 1. A proposal: motion. Obs. rare—1.
| 1439 Rolls of Parlt. V. 17/2 Ye seide John, many tymes hath made diverse meeves and tretice, for to have pees with ye seide Phelip. |
2. a. Chess, Draughts, etc. The moving or changing of position of a piece in the regular course of the game; the manner or mode in which a piece is allowed to be moved; (a player's) turn to move. (Cf. remove n. 3 c.)
the move: the right to make the first move in the game (similarly in pawn and move in chess, with reference to odds); also the superiority of position (at any stage of the game) which depends on having the turn to move at the right moment.
| 1656 Cowley Pindar. Odes, Destiny ii, I saw two Angels play'd the Mate. With Man, alas, no otherwise it proves; An unseen Hand makes all their Moves. 1761 Hoyle (title) An Essay towards making the Game of Chess easily learned, by those who know the moves only. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 640/2 When the game is near finished, each party having only three or four pawns,..the kings must endeavour to gain the move. 1800 J. Sturges Draughts 2 The first move of each Game to be taken by both players alternately. 1808 Sarratt Chess (1822) 3 The player who gives odds has always the advantage of the move; except, of course, in those games where the move is also given to the inferior player. 1850 Bohn's Handbk. Games 381 (Backgammon) The moves of the men are determined by the throws of the dice. 1870 Hardy & Ware Mod. Hoyle, Draughts 107 White may..capture the whole of the three black men in one move. 1876 W. N. Potter in Encycl. Brit. V. 592/1 Those to whom the masters of the game can only concede the small odds of ‘pawn and move’. Ibid. 593/2 Castling.—This is a peculiar move permitted to the king once in the game. 1884 Tennyson Becket Prol. 8 Becket. It is your move. Henry. Well—there. |
b. fig. A device, trick; an action calculated to secure some end. a (good, bad, etc.) move: a (prudent or imprudent) step or proceeding. to be up to every move on the board, to be up to (or know) a move or two: to be cunning, smart, wide-awake, experienced.
| 1812 J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., To be flash to every move upon the board, is to have a general knowledge of the world, and all its numerous deceptions. 1840 Haliburton Clockm. Ser. iii. viii. 105 And a-travellin' about, and a-livin' on the best, and sleepin' in the spare bed always, ain't a bad move nother. 1844 Dickens Christmas Carol iii, Gentlemen of the free-and-easy sort, who plume themselves on being acquainted with a move or two. 1861 Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. vi. A cunning old beggar,..up to every move on the board. 1868 E. Yates Rock Ahead iii. ii, He has sent for his own housekeeper, which is a good move. 1884 Gd. Words June 400/1 The practical details of prison discipline, and the moves by which its rigours may be softened or evaded by the old birds. |
3. on the move: in process of moving from one place to another, travelling, moving about.
| 1796 Instr. & Reg. Cavalry (1813) 165 Column of half squadrons is then formed, either from the halt, or on the move. 1811 L. M. Hawkins C'tess. & Gertr. II. 357 (K.O.) On the move [said of people]. 1849 Thackeray Pendennis xxxi, Everybody seemed to be busy, humming, and on the move. 1889 Jessopp Coming of Friars ii. 104 The Bishop..was always on the move when he was in his diocese. |
| fig. 1881 Tylor Anthrop. i. 18 It does not follow from such arguments as these that civilization is always on the move, or that its movement is always progress. |
4. An act of moving from a stationary position; a beginning of movement or departure; a ‘rise’ from the (dinner) table (to go to the drawing-room), etc.; esp. in phrase to make a move.
| 1827 Disraeli Viv. Grey v. vi, The Grand Duke, bowing to his circle, made a move. 1855 Haliburton Nat. & Hum. Nat. I. xii. 381 So in due time we parted... Cutler made the first move by ascending the companion-ladder. 1856 G. J. Whyte-Melville Kate Cov. xx, Lady Scapegrace..‘made the move’, at which we all sailed away to tea and coffee in the drawing-room. Ibid. xxi, Directly there was a move, the ladies went to bed. 1858 Greener Gunnery 76 The great principle in a propellant force is so to arrange it that you do not obtain too great a velocity at the first move of the projectile. 1883 Daily Tel. 10 Nov. 5/1 Without such decided moves forward on his part, many other friends of progress would have hesitated to move at all. |
5. A change of habitation or place of sojourn.
| 1853 Lynch Self-Improv. 47 Christianity is just now moving to a larger house, and everybody knows how confusing and laborious a move is. 1857 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 325 Making no further move that is not a move homeward. 1885 Manch. Exam. 29 June 5/3 The first holiday-seekers are making a move to the seaside. |
6. colloq. (orig. U.S.) to get a move on one: to hasten one's steps, to hurry up. Now usu. to get a move on.
| 1888 Troy (Alabama) Enquirer 28 July, Get a move on you. 1893 Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 7 July, Now is the time for the mover of dead animals ‘to get a move on himself’. 1899 A. H. Quinn Pennsylvania Stories 138 Come, get a move on. 1906 E. Dyson Fact'ry 'Ands xiv. 183 Get er move on, 'r you'll get ther shoot. 1911 C. E. Mulford Bar-20 Days x. 107 Come on! Come on!.. Get a move on! Will you hurry up! Ibid. xx. 198 But why in Jericho don't you fellers get a move on you? 1914 W. G. Lawrence Let. 13 Aug. in T. E. Lawrence Home Lett. (1954) 569 In ten days time we should get a move on, but we won't go far. 1920 [see gas n.2]. 1937 D. L. Sayers Busman's Honeymoon vii. 149, I only hope they're getting a move on out there. 1973 ‘D. Mariner’ Beaufort Dossier vii. 138 What about getting a move on, then! Get out on the flaming roof an' grab them! |
7. Glass-making. (See quot.)
| 1849 A. Pellatt Curios. Glass Making 90 The mode of reckoning the piece-work of Glass-makers is peculiar. The ‘move’, as it is technically called, is a nominal period of six hours; and the payment is proportionate to the number of articles supposed, by fair exertion, capable of being made in that time by a set of ordinary workmen. |
8. Comb. move-man (see quots.).
| 1923 J. M. Scott-Maxwell Costing & Price-fixing 94 Move-men are the men who move the raw material and manufactured parts from the store to the shop, and move all jobs from one machine to another or one department to another. 1955 Amer. Speech XXX. 226 Move man, the dispatcher in the [aircraft production] shop who moves parts from one operation to the next. |
▪ II. move, v.
(muːv)
Inflected moving, moved. Forms: α. 3–5 meove, 3–6 moeve, meve, 4–5 mew(e, meuve, mefe, meefe, meffe, 4–6 meeve, 6 mieve. β. 3– move, (4 mwe), 4–6 north. mow(e, 4–7 moove. Also north. and Sc. 4–6 mofe, 5 moffe, moyfe, moyff, mowff, muff, mwff, 5–6 muve, mufe, 6 muif, moif(f, mwve.
[ME. move, a. AF. mov-er, OF. mov-oir, mouvoir (mod.F. mouvoir), = Pr., Sp., Pg. mover, It. movere, muovere:—L. movēre (derivation-stem mō- for *movi-: see mobile a., moment, motile a., motion, motive, motor). The intransitive use (developed from refl.), almost non-existent in Latin and in mod.Fr., was extensively current in OFr., and came into Eng. at least as early as the transitive use.
The α forms, moeve, meove, mēve represent the OF. flexional forms with root-stress, e.g. 3 plur. pres. ind. muevent, moevent (mod. F. meuvent). Cf. the parallel forms of prove v., and the ME. poeple, people, pēple repr. OF. pueple, poeple (mod.F. peuple), people n.]
I. Transitive senses.
1. a. To change the place or position of; to take from one place or situation to another; to shift, remove; occas. to dislodge or displace (something fixed). Also, to move away, move along, etc.
| 1382 Wyclif Acts v. 6 Ȝonge men rysinge mouedyn hym awey. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 2498 Þe vrthe þat my body lyȝt on, is mevyd, also, Y-mevyd alle from þe grounde an hyȝe. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 336/2 Mevyn, or remevyn,..amoveo. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. iii. 40 But none myght stere the swerd nor meue hit. 1535 Coverdale Job xxxvii. 1 At this my hert is astonnied, and moued out of his place. [Also 1611.] 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 366 He moves his Camp, to meet his careless Foe. 1791 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) I. 466 My barn was moved from the Hubbard house round the north end of the Meeting House to my other barn. 1832 Tennyson Miller's Dau. 125 At last you rose and moved the light. 1897 ‘Sarah Grand’ Beth Bk. xx, She..moved the tray, and put the table back in its place. |
| fig. 1538 Elyot Dict., Deduco..somtime to moue from his purpose. 1601 Bp. W. Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse 30 Neither did it moue my affection from him. 1697 Dryden æneid vii. 523 When she saw her Reasons idly spent, And cou'd not move him from his fix'd Intent; She flew to rage. |
b. Chess, Draughts, etc. To change the position of (a piece) in the course of play; to transfer from one position to another. (Cf. remove v. 2 c.) † Also refl. of the piece (= sense 16 e).
| 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. ii. 163 We ought to knowe..how the kynge meueth hym and yssueth oute of his place. 1761 Hoyle Ess. Chess Pref., When you castle your King, do not move the Pawns before him till forced to it. 1800 J. Sturges Draughts 2 If..you move your Man..over the Angle which divides the Squares..you must finish your move so begun. 1884 Tennyson Becket Prol., My liege, I move my bishop. |
† c. To bring or apply (something) to; to administer (a remedy). Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. iii. 25 (Camb. MS.) For wan þat tyme is, I shal moeue [L. admovebo] swych thinges þat percen hem self depe. 1538 Elyot Dict., Admoueo, to moue to, or put to. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 509 They use their forefeet in stead of hands,..and move their meat to their mouth with them. 1611 Bible Deut. xxiii. 25 But thou shalt not mooue a sickle vnto thy neighbours standing corne. |
† d. To promote or advance to an office. (Cf. motion n. 1 f.) Obs. rare.
| 1556 Lauder Tractate 335 And, geue thay haue the floke abusit, Ȝe, Kyngs, sall be for that accusit.. Because ȝe mouit thame to sic curis Quhilk nother techis ryche nor puris. |
e. To take off or lift (a hat, cap) from one's head, as a gesture of salutation.
| 1573 G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 5, I passing bi him, and mouing mi cap. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. vii. §232 That every member might, as a testimony of his particular acknowledgment, stir or move his hat towards him; the which..when very many did, the lord Falkland,..instead of moving his hat,..held it close down to his head. 1825 T. Cosnett Footman's Direct. 175 Always show your respect to the family by moving your hat when you meet any of them. |
f. Comm. in pass., of merchandise: To ‘go off’, find purchasers. Also trans., to sell; to cause to be sold. Cf. 16 j.
| 1900 Daily News 20 June 9/1 There has been a rather better demand for leather during the week, and some fair parcels have been moved. 1938 Sun (Baltimore) 20 Sept. 10/1 A drastic tax on chain stores has been defeated in a referendum in California, where the function of the chains in ‘moving’ citrus⁓fruit surpluses is now more fully appreciated. 1962 Guardian 5 Nov. 3/6 Our displays are moving about 25,000 cans a week. 1971 Ibid. 24 Dec. 2/5 The boys..are causing the sales lady a good deal of worry... She simply cannot move Indians this season, even with a wigwam. 1975 Publishers Weekly 6 Jan. 54/1 Booksellers should easily be able to move this slender ‘autobiography’ of Lincoln. |
g. Cricket. To cause (the ball) to swerve.
| 1956 N. Cardus Close of Play 37 We are supposed to be enlightened by news that Lindwall is ‘moving’ the ball. 1962 Times 24 May 4/2 Platt, however, kept plugging away around the good length mark, moving the ball a little either way and generally looking a thoroughly useful practitioner. |
2. a. To put or keep in motion; to shake, stir, or disturb (an object which would otherwise be at rest).
to move heaven and earth: to make unheard-of efforts (to effect or obtain something).
| 1377 Langl. P.Pl. B. xvi. 77 And þanne comsed it to crye, And wagged wydwehode and it wepte after. And whan it meued Matrimoigne it made a foule noyse. c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame ii. 305 Euery worde..That lowde or pryvee y-spoken ys, Moveth first an ayre a-boute, And of thys movynge, out of doute, Another ayre anoon ys meved. 1471 Ripley Comp. Alch. ii. xv. in Ashm. Theat. Chem. Brit. (1652) 138 Beware thy Glasse thou never opyn ne meve. 1539 Bible (Great) Ps. lxviii. 8 Euen as Sinai also was moued at y⊇ presence of God. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. ii. xv. 50 The chanell..was so moued that by great surges, it cast the water ouer the walles. 1792 A. Young Trav. France 225 Englishmen..would move heaven and earth to establish a better conveyance, at a higher price. 1846 Keightley Notes Virg., Bucol. v. 5 The shadows..are unsteady, in consequence of the western breezes moving the trees. 1885 ‘F. Anstey’ Tinted Venus 49 There's the police moving heaven and earth to get you back again. |
b. To put or keep in motion which is of a continuous, regular, or recurrent kind, or which effects some result; to impel or agitate (an implement, etc.) in the proper way; to actuate (a machine). In early use chiefly of God as the mover of the universe. Also with advs. as to and fro, etc.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints l. (Katerine) 475 Ȝe suld kene þat bot a god sulde be, Þat mad & mowis alkine thing. 1566 Painter Pal. Pleas. II. 308 The courteous Gods that gives me lyfe now mooves the planets all. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. Introd. 1 Automata (Engines that move themselves by springs and wheeles as doth a watch). 1709 Tatler No. 100 ¶1 As she moved it [a mirror] in her Hand, it brightened the Heavens, the Air, or the Earth. 1797 G. Jee in Trans. Soc. Arts XVI. 303 The handle is required to be turned one way only, which moves the machine more steadily. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem. (1862) III. 193 If a glass rod be..moved quickly through the air. |
3. a. Of a living being or its powers: To change the position or posture of (its body or any member).
| 1382 Wyclif Isa. xxxvii. 22 Aftir thee the hed he mouede, thou maide doȝter of Jerusalem. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. iii. xii. (1495) 55 The vertue that hyghte animalis motiua..moeuyth all the lymmes. 1533 Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 83 Quhen men mwuis the mwtht and the lippis and the tunge wtuertlie without ye hart and mind. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 146 But shall we dance, if they desire vs too't? Quee. No, to the death we will not moue a foot. 1611 Bible Exod. xi. 7 But against any of the children of Israel, shal not a dog moue his tongue. 1807–26 Cooper First Lines Surg. (ed. 5) 274 Inability to move or use the limb. 1878 T. Hardy Ret. Native iv. vii, She moved her lips..but could not speak. 1907 J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo xviii. 201 Had either of us moved hand or foot just then, it would, I am convinced, have at once brought on another and probably a fatal charge. |
† b. refl. To set oneself in motion, change place or posture, stir. Also, to go, proceed. = senses 16, 17.
| c 1290 St. Brendan 674 in S. Eng. Leg. 238 Þe fisch bi-gan to meouen him..And bar þis Monekes forth with him. c 1400 Destr. Troy 9740 Meue you with manhode to mar of your fos. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 120 When a man is deadlie syn, all his membres is bon, & he may not mofe hym. c 1500 Melusine 8 He lept & mevyd hym as a man wakynge from slep. 1530 Palsgr. 641/1 He is so sycke that he can nat move hime in his bedde. |
† 4. To put forth, utter (sound). Obs.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 125 There is no creature that will more stir, bark, and move noise, then one of these against thief or wilde beast. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 37 Then feed on thoughts, that voluntarie move Harmonious numbers. 1674 Playford Skill Mus. i. 58 A full Chorus of four or five Parts, which moveth a kind of Heavenly Harmony. |
5. Med. a. To provoke (an excretion or discharge). ? Obs.
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal i. xxix. §2. 40 Camels haie..mooueth the tearmes. 1605 Timme Quersit. i. vii. 31 Salt..hath vertue..to move sweates. |
b. To cause (the bowels) to act; also absol. Also intr. of the bowels = to be moved, to act.
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, s.v. Pass, Do the Waters Pass well? much in use at the Wells, do they Move as they ought? 1808 Med. Jrnl. XIX. 308 The very large doses of medicine that were necessary to move her bowels. 1889 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Wom. xiv. (ed. 4) 101 Even when the bowels were truly described as moving regularly. 1897 Allbutt's Syst. Med. III. 414 The bowels being moved immediately after each meal. |
6. to move (a person's) blood: to make it flow more rapidly; hence, to excite or stir a passion in one. In early use said of the person himself = to become excited, angry, etc.; similarly † to move one's mood = to wax wroth.
| a 1330 Otuel 355 King charle gan to meuen his blod. 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. x. 263 Why meuestow þi mode for a mote in þi brotheres eye. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 16791 That bold mayden meved hir blod, When sche tho tydandes vndirstode. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xvi. 472 For to se this flode..Mefys nothing my mode. 1471 Caxton Recuyell (Sommer) I. 257 In this chaungyng of colour there was not a vayne but he was meuyd. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 155 When his Blood no Youthful Spirits move. |
7. a. To stir up or excite (an emotion, appetite, etc.) in a person; to provoke (laughter, contradiction).
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 126 And medle we nauȝt muche with hem to meuen any wrathe. 1474 Caxton Chesse iii. vi. 132 Anon as he is chauffed lecherye is meuyd in hym. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 865 To moue wilde laughter in the throate of death? 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. viii. §4 Wherein if I haue differed from the ancient, and receiued doctrines, and thereby shall moue contradiction. 1676 Dryden State Innoc. v. i, Your Penitence does my Compassion move. 1711 Felton Dissert. Classicks (1753) 83 Images are very sparingly to be introduced;..their Use is to move Pity or Terror, Admiration [etc.]. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 243 All the prejudices, all the exaggerations of both the great parties in the state, moved his scorn. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 26 Such delicious fruits as those with which Cato moved the astonishment and the envy of the senators. |
† b. occas. To excite, evoke (a state, activity, etc., in a person); to affect (a sense). Obs.
| 1528 Lyndesay Dreme 811 Quhate dois mufe our Misere? Or quhareof dois proceid our pouertie? 1551 T. Wilson Logike (1580) 1 All soundes and noises that be made moue the hearyng, as coughyng. 1626 Bacon Sylva §978 It is said to moue Dreames also. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts N.T. 116 His proper worke is both to lie, and to move lies in others. |
8. To stir up, commence (strife, war, and the like). Now rare or Obs.
[Cf. L. arma, bellum, tragœdias movere.]
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1725) 206 Bot Jon was þe enchesonne, & moued þer a strif. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶683, I se wel, that..ye wole moeue werre and bataille. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ii. i. 17 Oþir nacionys..Þat latthe was bargan for to moyff. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 200 Odo..mooved many Tragedies within this Realme, and was in the end throwen from the Stage. 1585 Act 27 Eliz. c. 2 §1 Seminarie Priestes..stire up and move Sedition, Rebellion and open Hostilitie within her Highnesse Realmes. 1612 Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1747) 79 His foure sonnes..rose in armes and mooued warre against him. 1680 Cotton Compl. Gamester xxxvii. (ed. 2) 169 Turn him [sc. the cock] into the Pit to move his fortune. |
9. a. To affect with emotion; to rouse or excite feeling in (a person); to stir (the feelings, etc.); to trouble, disquiet, perturb in one's mind; to excite to (laughter, pity, tears, etc.). Often spec. to affect with tender or compassionate emotion.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 9738 Merci me mous wit her praier. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints vii. (Jacobus) 118 Þe folk with a sowdane cry Þai mewit þan sa sodanly, Þat þai war in wil for to stane Þe apostollis. c 1440 York Myst. v. 2 For woo my witte es in a were, That moffes me mykill in my mynde. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour c ij b, Yf the knyght hadde be sore meuyd and sorrowful at the deth of his first wyf. 1549 Latimer 3rd Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 84 They were so moued wyth his preachynge, that they returned home agayne. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. xii. 26 To disclose Which of the Nymphes his heart so sore did mieve. 1611 Bible Mark i. 41 And Iesus mooued with compassion, put foorth his hand, and touched him. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 1143 To whom soon mov'd with touch of blame thus Eve. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1897) I. 476 He commonly gives all he has about him, when he meets an object that moves him. 1807 Wordsw. Sonn., ‘The world is too much with us’, For this, for everything, we are out of tune; It moves us not. 1835 Marryat Jac. Faithf. xxxiii, I was moved with the kindness of the old couple. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. i. I. 66 They were an ardent and impetuous race, easily moved to tears or to laughter, to fury or to love. 1896 T. F. Tout Edw. I, iii. 50 All Christendom was terribly moved by the assassination. |
b. To provoke to anger; to make angry. Obs. exc. in the full phr. to move to anger, wrath, etc.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 1217 Þan was ser Meliager moued & maynly debatis. 1470–85 Malory Arthur xix. v. 779 Syre Launcelot why be ye soo moeued... Me semeth said sir launcelot ye ouȝte to be more wrothe than I am. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 234 Therfore let it moue no body, yf in the entreatynge of these matters, somtyme we [etc.]. 1548–9 (Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Burial, O Lorde, whiche for our synnes iustly art moued. c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. v, 'Tis not 500 Crownes that I esteeme; I am not mou'd at that: this angers me, That he [etc.]. 1624 Capt. Smith Virginia 144 But Jack so moued their patience, they shot him. 1737 Whiston Josephus, Antiq. iii. xv. §1 God was moved at their abuse of him, and would inflict punishment upon them. |
† c. refl. To be perturbed; to become excited or angry. Obs.
| c 1290 Beket 485 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 120 Sire, quath þis holi man, ne meue ȝe ov riȝt nouȝt! c 1460 Towneley Myst. xx. 150 Sir pylate, mefe you now no mare, bot mese youre hart and mend youre mode. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 96 Mufe the not at thair prosperitie. |
10. a. To operate as a motive or influence of the volition or belief of (a person); to prompt, actuate, or impel to (an action) or to do (something).
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9304 Ac an oþer reson wel ver meueþ more me þer to. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lii. 177 What hathe moued the thus to do? c 1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxxiv. 97 Quhair money may ȝow moif, I hald it aweryce. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks (1638) 634 Their furious minds more desirous of reuenge than mony, were not to be moued with any gold. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxiii. 205 Some are moved to beleeve for one, and others for other reasons. 1693 Dryden Juvenal vi. (1726) 74 What reason shou'd thy Mind to Marriage move? 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. ii. §4 What moves men to build and plant but vanity. 1821 Byron Two Foscari iv. i, I have prepared such arguments as will not Fail to move them. 1857 Buckle Civiliz. I. xi. 630 The two great principles which move the world are the love of wealth and the love of knowledge. |
b. absol.
| 1573 Satir. Poems Reform. xl. 90 Becaus exempills fetchit far Mufis not so muche as thay thingis quhilk we se. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 55, I feare these stubborn lines lack power to moue. 1611 Tourneur Ath. Trag. iv. v, To make th'example moue more forceably To vertue. |
11. a. Of God, good or evil spirits, one's own heart, etc.: To prompt, impel to some action; in pass., to have an inward prompting, to feel inclined.
the spirit moves me: a phrase orig. in Quaker use, of promptings attributed to the Holy Spirit; now often used (without any irreverent intention) for ‘I feel impelled or in the humour (to do something)’.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 412 What profit were hit Crist to begge þus, siþ he myght mefe men to gif hym when hym nedid, wiþouten any bisynes of askyng of hom? 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 11215 Wolde god yt stoode so That ye wer mevyd, & that a-noon, To passe the way that I shal gon. c 1450 Cov. Myst. xi. (Shaks. Soc.) 106 The aungel..Whos synne hath mad hym a devyl in helle, He mevyd man to be so contraryous. 1530 Palsgr. 318/2 Meved or inclyned to do a thynge, enclin. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Ordering Deacons, Doe you trust that you are inwardlye moued by the holye Ghoste to take vpon you thys office and ministracion..? 1656 G. Fox Jrnl. (1852) I. 271 The power of the Lord God arose in me, and I was moved in it ‘to bid him lay down his crown at the feet of Jesus’. 1835 J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) I. viii. 128 God moves us in order to make the beginning of duty easy. 1850 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) II. 105 The spirit moves me to write you a letter. |
† b. pass. To be inclined to think. Obs.
| 1586 Marlowe 1st Pt. Tamburl. ii. v, I am strongly mou'd, That if I should desire the Persian crown, I could attain it with a wondrous ease. |
† 12. a. To urge (a person) to (an action) or to do (something); to exhort, incite; to apply or appeal to; to make a proposal or request to. Obs.
| 1377 Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 4 Many tymes [I] haue moeued þe to þinke on þine ende. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 527 A preste movid ane vsurar when he was seke to dispose hym for þe heale of his sawle. 1476 Paston Lett. III. 157 Wherto I promysed hym my poore helpe, as ferforthe as I durst meve your good lordshepp for hym. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Morn. Prayer, The scripture moueth vs in sondrie places to acknowledge and confess our manifold synnes and wickedness. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 84 He had earnestly moved her Majesty to give him leave to come over for a short time. 1662 Bk. Com. Prayer, Visit. Sick (rubric), Here shall the sick person be moved to make a special confession of his sins. 1726 Swift Gulliver iii. i, I..begged him..that he would move the Captains to take some Pity on us. |
b. To apply to or solicit (a person) for something, or in or of a matter. Obs.
| 1399 Langl. Rich. Redeles Prol. 32 To meuve him of mysserewle, his mynde to reffresshe. Ibid. iii. 2 For mater þat my mynde is meued in now. c 1440 Generydes 1760 The Sowdon..ganne his councell to meve Of that mater that towchid hym soo nere, And Askid ther avise in this mater. 1582 N. Lichfield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. i. xxi. 55 Did therfore moue y⊇ King of Calicut by a messenger for license to send the same. a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiii. §28 If he desired any thing..he would move the King in it. 1768 Foote Devil on 2 Sticks i. Wks. 1799 II. 243 If you want money..you move me for further supplies. |
13. a. To make a formal application, suit, or request to (the sovereign, a court, Parliament, etc.). Const. for. Cf. motion n. 8 a, b.
| 1683 Temple Mem. Wks. 1731 I. 464 He would move the Parliament to have my Statue set up. 1796 J. Anstey Pleader's G. (1803) 41 Down to the hall of Erebus I'll go, And move some Dæmon in the Courts below. 1816 Ann. Reg. 20 The Earl of Liverpool moved the House..on the subject of an address upon the treaties. 1885 Standard 20 Mar. 6/1 The Bank now moved the Court..for..a reversal of the verdict. |
b. const. that (something be done). Cf. 15 c.
| 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. i. (1682) 103 He moved the Company that the arrogant fool might be put out of the Room. 1739 Wks. Learned I. 48 Dr. Reynolds..moved his Majesty, on the second Day of the Dispute, that there might be a New Translation of the Bible. |
† 14. a. To propose or suggest (something to be done); to prefer (a request); to lodge (a complaint); to bring forward, propound (a question, etc.), mention (a matter). Const. to (a person).
| 1362 Langl. P.Pl. A. ix. 113, I durste meue no mateere to make him to Iangle. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 344 Ȝe motyn herkenyn If he can replye A-geyns these poyntys that ȝe han to hym mevid. c 1440 Alphabet of Tales 304 On a tyme when Saynt Petur prechid, þer was som þat wolde mofe vnto hym vnprofitable questions. 1524 J. Alen in Carew MSS. (1867) I. 25 The doubts that I moved to your Grace. 1540 Heywood Four PP. 1034 (Manly), I could ryght well ten tymes souner all that haue beleued Then the tenth parte of that he hath meued. 1625 Bacon Ess., Cunning (Arb.) 437 The like Surprize, may be made, by Mouing things, when the Party is in haste, and cannot stay, to consider aduisedly, of that is moued. 1676 Dryden Aurengz. iv. 55 To Indamora you my Suit must move. 1710 Prideaux Orig. Tithes iv. 193 The third Difficulty moved concerning this matter is whether the Grant was made for all the Lands of the Kingdom. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1900) II. 383 No man ever had the impudence to move to him any thing with relation to the king's life. 1759 Robertson Hist. Scot. v. Wks. 1813 I. 370 Elizabeth..did not expect that he would have moved any such difficulty. |
b. to move in one's mind: to revolve, turn over (a question). In quots. with clause as object. Obs.
| c 1450 St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 5763 He moued [printed moned] and moysid in his mynde, Þat þe se passid his kynde. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 166 Conjectering and moving in his mynd quhome this sould be. |
15. spec. † a. To plead (a cause or suit) in a court; to bring (an action at law). Obs.
| c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 145 Loke thow fayle nought Thy sentence to yeue without favour so, Lyke as thou hast herde the causys meuyd the to. c 1450 Godstow Reg. 507 A plee I-meved by a breef of the kyngis I-called Cessauit bitwene the abbesse and Andrew Culuarde. 1571–2 Reg. Privy Council Scot. II. 129 The awnaris thairof wald move actioun aganis him thairfoir. 1641 W. Sheppard Court-Keepers Guide (1654) 48 Barretor, one that moves suits and that commonly for small matters and taking the worst side. |
b. To propose (a question, resolution, etc.) formally in a deliberative assembly.
| 1452 in Gross Gild Merch. (1890) II. 68 That all brethirn may be sworne to kepe all cownsayll of all matters that bene mewit in the sembles. 1789 Pitt in G. Rose's Diaries (1860) I. 93 Your Lordship would undertake to move the Address. 1828 Hansard's Parl. Debates 25 Apr. XIX. 141 Mr. C. Grant moved the order of the day. 1838–42 Arnold Hist. Rome (1846) III. xliv. 147 The resolutions which he moved were..unanimously adopted. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. vi. II. 24 The opposition moved the previous question. |
c. with clause: To propose (now only, in a formal manner) that something be done, or to do something. † Formerly also with clause expressing a fact: To put in a plea or suggestion that{ddd}
| 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xxiii. §41 The two frogs, which consulted when their plash was drie, whether they should go: and the one mooued to go down into a pit because it was not likely the water would dry there. 1621 H. Elsing Debates Ho. Lords (Camden) 20, I moved first that the L. Chancellor be brought to the barre. 1720 Pope Iliad xviii. 300 In free Debate, my Friends, your Sentence speak; For me, I move, before the Morning break To raise our Camp. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. viii. 661 It was moved by Mr. Stables..that the inquiry should be instituted. 1886 Law Rep., Weekly Notes 196/1 The plaintiff now moved that the foreclosure be made absolute. 1897 Flandrau Harvard Episodes 151, I move we adjourn. |
II. Intransitive senses.
16. a. Of persons and things: To go, advance, proceed, pass from one place to another. Usu. implying deliberate or measured or laborious progress. Also with advs., as about, away, etc.
| c 1250 Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 29 Þo seide ure lord to þo serganz. Moveth to-gidere and bereth to Architriclin. c 1350 Will. Palerne 4285 With here menskful meyne sche meued on gate. c 1400 Destr. Troy 1601 Thurgh myddis þe mekill toune meuyt a water, And disseuert þe Cite. c 1450 Holland Howlat 677 All thus thai mufe to the meit. 1508 Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 2 Apon the Midsumer ewin..I muvit furth allane. 1605 Shakes. Macb. v. v. 35 Me thought The Wood began to moue. a 1691 Boyle Hist. Air (1692) 194 As if a shining fish were moving to and fro very swiftly in a somewhat troubled water. 1725 Pope Odyss. viii. 395 To the soft Cyprian shores the Goddess moves. 1747 Richardson Clarissa (1768) I. xxi. 147 Not a door opens; not a soul stirs. Hannah, as she moves up and down, is shunned as a person infected. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) I. 299 A globe moving through a fluid, such as air, that closes behind the body as it moves. 1831 Carlyle Sart. Res. ii. iii, The aproned or disaproned Burghers moving-in to breakfast. 1853 M. Arnold Scholar Gypsy xi, And marked thee..Through the long dewy grass move slow away. 1855 Tennyson Brook 87 Katie never ran: she moved To meet me, winding under woodbine flowers. 1861 Andersson Okavango River 94 They [sc. elephants] would then as suddenly move off at full speed. 1871 R. Ellis Catullus lxiv. 249 She, as his onward keel still moved, still mournfully follow'd. |
| fig. 1681 J. Flavel Meth. Grace xxxi. 533 Were there a principle of spiritual life in their souls, they would move Christ-ward. 1876 L. Stephen Eng. Th. 18th Cent. I. 3 Thought moves in a spiral curve, not in a straight line. |
b. of the heavenly bodies in their regular course.
| c 1391 Chaucer Astrol. ii. §35 The Moone Moeuyth the contrarie from othere planetes as in hire Episicle. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xvii. 181 And tho ij. sterres ne meeven neuere. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 70 Whether Heav'n move or Earth Imports not, if thou reck'n right. 1842 Tennyson Move Eastward 1 Move eastward, happy earth. |
c. Of an army or body of men (or their leader): To go forward, march. Also, to quit one's position.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13460 Þey meoued fro Langres toward Ostum Wyþ mikel folk & grete route. ? a 1400 Morte Arth. 2001 Sir Lott and sir Launcelotte..Salle lenge on his lefte hande, wyth legyones ynewe, To meue in þe morne-while, ȝif þe myste happynne. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 549 Anon they move In perfect Phalanx to the Dorian mood. 1779 J. Moore View Soc. Fr. II. liv. 46 Observing that the King had moved at a greater distance than usual from the town. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India II. 254 He again moved in pursuit. 1847 L. Hunt Jar Honey x. (1848) 132 Religious processions move through the streets. |
d. transf. Of time, a narrative, a piece of work, etc.: To advance, make progress. Also in Music, of a voice or part: To proceed from note to note.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7167 By two monethes were myldly mouit to end. 1694 Prior Hymn to Sun ii, From the Blessings They bestow, Our Times are dated, and our æra's move. 1712 Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 426 The 9{supt}{suph} Vol. (which will be the last) moves apace. 1771 Encycl. Brit. III. 333/2 The part for the organ should move in long notes, and by the least intervals. 1819 Keats Isabella xx, Then the tale Shall move on soberly. 1842 Tennyson Locksley Hall 134 Science moves, but slowly slowly, creeping on from point to point. 1877 Stainer Harmony vi. §73 Oblique [motion is] when one part is stationary and another moves. 1890 Spectator 31 May 765 The story moves far too slowly, and the long conversations..are tiresome. 1902 T. M. Lindsay Ch. & Min. in Early Cent. iv. 149 Things move fast in young communities organising themselves for the first time. |
e. Chess, Draughts, etc. (a) Of a piece: To be transferred, pass, from one position to another in the course of the game (= 1 b refl.); (b) Of a player: To make a move (= 1 b absol.).
| 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. ii. 165 Therefore may the kynge meue on the lifte side of his propre poynt. 1734 R. Seymour Compl. Gamester (ed. 5) I. 128 The Gamesters must move by Turns, as they do at Draughts. 1800 J. Sturges Draughts 2 You are allowed five minutes more to move, and in default of moving in that time you lose the Game. 1876 W. N. Potter in Encycl. Brit. V. 593/1 They [sc. knights] move from one corner of any rectangle of three squares by two to the opposite corner. 1884 Tennyson Becket Prol., Check—you move so wildly. |
f. To depart, start off; = to move off or away. Now colloq.
| c 1450 Merlin 130 Than they graunted to the Messagers that thei sholde meve the thirde day. c 1470 Henry Wallace iv. 698 Thar twa dayis our thar lugyng still thai maid; On the thrid nycht thai mowit but mar abaid. 1756 W. Toldervy Hist. 2 Orphans II. 116 As I shall lay with a friend two miles off, 'tis high time to be moving. 1855 Haliburton Nat. & Hum. Nat. I. xii. 376 As soon as the ceremony was over, ‘Now,’ sais I, ‘we must be a movin’. |
g. To change one's abode; to go from one house or residence to another. Also to move about, etc., to keep changing one's abode. to move in, to take possession of a new domicile. So, to move house. Also, to move in on: to take up residence with (someone), esp. so as to inconvenience or annoy; to attach oneself to, put pressure on, or take control of (a person, project, etc.).
| a 1707 Bp. Patrick Autobiog. (1839) 244 He was afterwards the occasion of his leaving the College, and moving towards London. 1751 Earl of Chatham Lett. Nephew ii. 5, I have been moving about from place to place. 1796 Lamb Let. to Coleridge 2 Dec., Write to me when you move, lest I should direct wrong. 1887 A. Birrell Obiter Dicta Ser. ii. 63 In 1715 Pope moved with his parents to Chiswick. 1891 N. Gould Double Event 18 You shall have the place Thurton had..and you can move into his cottage as soon as you please. 1898 G. B. Shaw You never can Tell i. 216, I spent my last sovereign on moving in; and I havnt paid a shilling of rent yet. 1924 R. Macaulay Orphan Island ii. 22 Your aunt and Martha and myself have recently moved house. 1941 N. Coward Australia Visited vii. 47 God help us when the scenery and properties move in on us, when we have to adapt ourselves to new settings and different furniture. 1945 E. Bowen Demon Lover 91 Mona moved out..and moved in on Isobel. 1966 Listener 6 Jan. 14/2 The society was formed about four years ago... We still have not moved in. 1967 J. Redgate Killing Season (1968) ii. xviii. 147 We'll give him a few months to get entrenched in England... Then we'll move in on him. 1968 M. Woodhouse Rock Baby xviii. 180 That was the idea, if somebody hadn't moved in on the operation. 1973 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird xiv. 205 Sophia deciding to move in on somebody was a sight worth selling tickets for. 1974 R. Rendell Face of Trespass 10 If you ever feel like moving house to live among your constituents I'll be happy to oblige. |
h. to move off: to die. colloq. (Cf. go off.)
| 1764 Foote Mayor of G. i. (1783) 11 Whether from the fall or the fright, the Major mov'd off in a month. |
i. move on: the order given by a policeman to a pedestrian who is standing too long in one place so as to cause obstruction. Hence occas. trans. = to order to ‘move on’. Also (with hyphen) as attrib. phr.
| 1831 Blackw. Mag. Jan. 83/2 He possesses the power..of ordering them to ‘move on’. 1855 Thackeray Newcomes lviii, In vain policemen told them to move on; fresh groups gathered after the seceders. 1894 Times (weekly ed.) 19 Jan. 56/2 The proceedings were..abruptly closed by the intervention of the police, who ‘moved on’ the preacher. 1908 E. J. Banfield Confessions of Beachcomber ii. i. 246 He was almost knocked down by a move-on sort of shove. 1971 Ceylon Daily News 17 Sept. 1/5 The vagrancy laws and the move-on by-law of the Municipality. |
j. Of merchandise: To change hands, circulate, find buyers. Also, of a stock of goods, an edition or impression of a book, to move off: to be in course of being sold off (more or less rapidly).
| 1759 Goldsm. Polite Learn. vi. Wks. (Globe) 432/2 To borrow a bookseller's phrase, the whole impression moves off. 1876 Brewer Eng. Studies ii. (1881) 50 A second or third edition moves off languidly enough. 1888 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. Apr. 52 The new crop does not begin to move to any considerable extent before the middle of that month. 1893 E. W. Gosse Questions at Issue 60 Both of them achieved fame..long before their books began to ‘move’, as publishers call it. |
k. To go quickly. colloq.
| 1954 Amer. Speech XXIX. 100 It can really move. 1959 M. Gilbert Blood & Judgement xvi. 164 ‘What price the law's delays.’ ‘They can move when they have to.’ 1967 ‘G. North’ Sgt. Cluff & Day of Reckoning ii. 23 You'll have to run to catch him:..when he's in that frame of mind, he can move. 1969 J. Fredman Fourth Agency vii. 53 The car was rocketing along... We were moving all right. 1973 W. McCarthy Detail ii. 77 Immediately the large man..was out of the apartment and through the fire door. It took him little more than two seconds. God, he can move, Ben thought. |
l. To dance or play music energetically or with a strong rhythm; to be exciting or dynamic. colloq.
| 1955 Down Beat 6 Apr. 15 The only time it does start to move is in the second chorus, with Charlie Shavers. 1958 G. V. Kennard in R. J. Gleason Jam Session 176 ‘It's got to move,’ jazzmen say. If it doesn't ‘swing’, it's not jazz. 1959 [see drive v. 25 c]. 1968 [see groove v. 5]. 1969 N. Cohn AWopBopaLooBop (1970) ix. 85 Go to a club one week, go back the next and everyone is moving differently. |
17. a. Of living beings: To change position or posture, to exhibit motion or physical activity (in respect of the whole body or of a member). Freq. with negative = to remain still, not to stir.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 13330 Meue nought, for oughte þat may bytide, Til þat y come, when y se nede. a 1400 Prymer (1891) 25 (Benedicite) Alle that mevith in wateres. 1470–85 Malory Arthur viii. xxxii. 321 But at that tyme there was not one wold meue for his wordes. 1513 Douglas æneis v. viii. 32 Entellus standis stif and grave of cors, Nocht moiffand fra his first stand in a fors. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. i. 15 He heareth not, he stirreth not, he moueth not. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VIII. 191 The animal..has been cut in every division, yet still it continued to move. 1865 Tennyson Princess vi. (Song), Yet she neither spoke nor moved. 1898 G. B. Shaw Plays II. You never can tell 297 He moves as if to go. |
b. of a part of the body.
| 1535 Coverdale 1 Sam. i. 13 Hir lippes onely moued, but hir voyce was not herde. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 116 Moue these eies? 1717 Prior Alma i. 312 Both Legs and Arms spontaneous move. 1898 Henley Lond. Types, Guardsman, Nor would his lips Move, though his gorge with throttled oaths were charred! |
c. To dance. Also with cognate object. Now rare.
| 1594 Marlowe & Nashe Dido iii. D 4 b, What more then delian musicke doe I heare, That calles my soule..To moue vnto the measures of delight. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 579 As they move Thir Starry dance in numbers that compute Days, months, and years. 1785 G. A. Bellamy Apology, etc. VI. 23, I beheld a lady moving a minuet with infinite grace. |
d. To bow in salutation.
| 1594 1st Pt. Contention (1843) 33 He will neither move nor speak to us. 1852 Dickens Bleak Ho. xxix, I have the pleasure of being acquainted with Mr. Tulkinghorn—at least we move when we meet one another. |
† e. Of speech: To be uttered. Obs.
| c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 1166 Thair wes na word muuand, Sa war thai all stil. |
18. a. Of inanimate objects: To suffer change of position or posture (as a whole or in respect of the parts); to be stirred.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) iv. 22 Men may see þere the erthe of the tombe apertly many tymes steren and meuen, as þere weren quykke thinges vnder. c 1420 Chron. Vilod. 3108 Hurre thouȝt he say Þe clothe þat honged vpone hurre tombe þere þo Meue ofte and store wondere fast. 1535 Coverdale Jer. x. 4 They hewe downe a tre..: they fasten it with nales and hammers, that it moue not. 1676 J. Beaumont in Phil. Trans. XI. 731 The Stones, I have given you an account of, generally move in Vinegar. 1842 Tennyson Sir Galahad 77 Then move the trees, the copses nod. 1890 Clark Russell Marriage at Sea ii, I believe there's a little air of wind a-moving. |
b. Of a piece of machinery: To turn, work, revolve. Also fig.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 5292 Þis selere was be sorsry selcuthely foundid, Made for a mervall to meeue with engine. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. ii. vi. 67 This Instrument contains two Parts..moving one upon the other. 1726 Swift Gulliver ii. viii, The Door did not move on Hinges, but up and down like a Sash. 1798 J. Baillie Tryal ii. ii, I thought I heard a door move. |
19. a. Of animate beings: To exist, live; ‘to have vital action’ (J.). Also, to live in a particular sphere; to comport oneself in a specified way.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 303 Alle-kynez flesch þat on vrthe meuez. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 243 For rihte as Ver ay moveth in grennesse, So doth childhood in amerows lustynesse. a 1713 T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1765) 1 My Station not being so eminent..as others who have moved in higher Orbs. 1837 Disraeli Venetia ii. ii, With no aspirations beyond the little world in which she moved. 1847 Tennyson Princess i. 75, I have a sister at the foreign court, Who moves about the Princess. 1886 Ruskin Præterita I. v. 170 A man of great power..moving in the first Circles of Edinburgh. |
b. transf. or fig. of things.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. A. 64 My goste is gon in godez grace, In auenture þer meruaylez meuen. 1865 Gladstone in Morley Life (1903) II. v. ix. 148 In a cold and lukewarm period, and such is this in public affairs, everything which moves and lives is called extreme. 1874 H. R. Reynolds John Bapt. i. §3. 20 If the narrative..moved completely in the region of the natural. |
c. to move with the times, to be up to date in one's way of living.
| 1936 Robinson & Browne How to live in a Flat 90 We have no hesitation in offering the following hints to those who—wishing to move with the times..—desire to construct a service-flat for their own use. 1960 L. P. Hartley Facial Justice xvii. 144 You must try to move with the times. 1973 Times 28 Nov. 22/6 If you change anything, you are accused of eroding history. If you change nothing, you are accused of failing to move with the times. |
20. To take action, act, proceed (in an affair). Also with cognate obj. (fig.) to move a step. † to move against, to oppose (cf. OF. mouvoir contre).
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 407 Bot ȝitte ageyns þis sentence meefes Anticrist. a 1400–50 Alexander 2382 (Ashm. MS.) And for Strasagirs þe strang he of his strenth priued, Ȝe meue al þus malicoly his maieste a-gayne. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 67 ¶5 Sacred Persons move upon greater Motives than that of Fame. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. I. v. 300 Valerius and Horatius, declared they wou'd not move a Step, so long as [etc.]. 1791 Cowper Retired Cat 114 That all around, in all that's done, Must move and act for him alone. 1879 Lubbock Addr. Pol. & Educ. iii. 69, I would urge parents to move in the matter. |
† 21. Of a war, strife, etc.: To break out, be stirred up. (Cf. sense 8.) Obs.
| c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 551 We sall do nocht, less than it mowe in yow. 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 10 There moeved a strife betwyxte the barons and knyghtes. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. iv. heading, The occasion wherby the warre moued bitwene the kyngis of Fraunce and Ingland. 1562 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 44 Be bissie now to banisch all debatis Betuix kirkmen and temporall men dois mufe. |
† 22. to move to mind = to come to mind (in quot. impers.). to move of or out of mind, to be forgotten. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy Prol. 30 Þof fele yeres ben faren syn þe fight endid, And it meuyt out of mynd, myn hit I thinke. Ibid. 1691 Then meuyt to his mynde, as yt most nede, Þat his Cite was sure of hym selfe wroght. Ibid. 2340 Hit is not meuyt of mynde ne mony day past. c 1460 Play Sacram. 453 Now by Machomyth so myghty y{supt} meuyth in my mode thys ys masterly ment. |
† 23. To proceed, emanate, originate from. Obs.
| 1390 Gower Conf. I. 322 The will which of my bodi moeveth, Whos werkes that the god reproeveth, I have restreigned everemore. 1615 Sir R. Cotton in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 163 The King..could not with his greatness answer the proposition, moving only but from Count de Somerset and Cavillero Cotton. 1676 Dryden State Innoc. iv. i, Smiles, not allow'd to Beasts, from Reason move. |
† 24. to move of, by: Of property: To be held by, to belong or pertain to. Obs.
Cf. OF. movoir (de) ‘relever, dépendre, en terme de féodalité’ (Godefroy).
| 1438 E.E. Wills (1882) 111 That the saide Iohn Russell haue & reioyce for euer more all the lyuelode that meueth of his moder after her deces. 1587 Harrison England ii. ix. (1877) i. 203 The husband that marieth an heire to haue such lands as moue by hir during his naturall life. |
† 25. To incline, tend to or to do (something); to incline toward (a proposal). Obs.
| c 1384 Chaucer H. Fame ii. 227 Vnto whiche place euery thynge Thorgh his kyndely enclynynge Moveth for to come to Whan that hyt is awey therfro. c 1450 Holland Howlat 396 Furth on my matir to muse I mufe as I may. 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 184 Ill huswiferie mooueth with gossep to spend. 1677 Marvell Corr. cccviii. Wks. (Grosart) II. 551 Some of the House seemed to move toward the 600,000l. |
† 26. Of the passions, etc.: To be stirred or excited (to). Obs.
| 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 37 b, Their flesshe began to meue and stire to concupiscence. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxviii. ix, The raked sparkes in flame began t' appeare, And staied choller fresh again to move. |
† 27. To speak, treat, or argue of (a matter). (Cf. 12 b and OF. movoir de.) Also in indirect passive.
| c 1320 Cast. Love 401 (Halliw.) This thralle of whom my sustren mevyn Hath dome deserved, as ȝe ȝevyn. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love iii. v. (ad fin.), And this, me thinketh, shulde be the wexing tree, of which ye first meved. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7206 Of þat mater was meuit no more at þat tyme. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxvii, Moving within my spirit of this sight. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xxix. (Percy Soc.) 138, I durst never of the matter meve Unto your person, lest it should you greve. Ibid. 139 It should be meved To her of love. |
28. to move for: to make a request, proposal, or application for (something). (absol. from 12 b, 13.)
| 1638 H. Spelman in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 154, I gave my Lord of Eely thanks in your behalfe, and moved also for the continuance of his favour about the Lyving you ayme at. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 111 My business now was to have leave my self, which indeed I had moved for at a distance before. a 1707 Bp. Patrick Autobiog. (1839) 44 All my acquaintance..advised me to move for a mandamus in the King's bench. Ibid. 76, I moved for a physician to be sent to her from Oxford. 1800 Proc. E. Ind. Ho. in Asiat. Ann. Reg. 64/1 The Chairman said it was customary, when papers were moved for, that the sense of the court should be taken on the motion before they were produced. 1828 Hansard's Parl. Debates 5 May XIX. 345 The Duke of Richmond said, that in rising to move for a Committee to inquire into the state of the Wool-trade, he [etc.]. 1868 Helps Realmah ix. (1876) 244 Cranmer was prepared to move for the destruction of all fables. |