▪ I. bottom, n.
(ˈbɒtəm)
Forms: 1 botm, 3–4 boþem, -om, -um, botham, -em, -um, 5 botym, botme, 5–7 botome, bottom(e, botoume, 6–7 bothom(e, 9 dial. botton, 6– bottom; north. bodome, -dom, -dum, mod.Sc. boddem.
[OE. botm str. masc., representing WGer. *boþm-, whence OS. bodom, OHG. bodam, MHG., Du. bodem, mod.G. boden; the ON. botn appears to point to *boþno- as the OTeut. form; but both may have been OTeut.: cf. Gr. πυθµήν, also Skr. budhná, L. fundus (for *fud-nus):—Aryan *bhudhno-.
The phonology of the Teut. forms is not yet clearly explained; the ME. variants boþom boddom also present difficulties.]
I. The lowest surface or part of anything.
1. a. The lowest part of anything, considered as a material thing; the lower or under surface, that surface of a thing on which it stands or rests; the base. Applied spec. to the keel of a ship (cf. 7), the circular end of a cask, etc. Proverb, ‘Every tub (vat) must stand on its own bottom’.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Satan 721 (Gr.) Þa he on botme [þære helle] stod. c 1050 Ags. Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker Voc. 181 Cimba uel carina, scipesbotm. 1382 Wyclif Wisd. v. 10 A step is not to finde, ne a path of his [a ship's] botme in the flodis. c 1425 Seven Sag. (P.) 809 The credyl bothume turnyd on hyghe. c 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 5 Þat þe necke of þe glas be turned dounward, and þe botum be turned vpward. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. iii. xxxviii. 242 A pit without a bottome. 1727 Swift Gulliver iii. i. 180 It appeared to be a firm substance, the bottom flat, smooth and shining. 1768 Ross To the Begging (Jam.), I'll then unto the cobler And cause him sole my shoon An inch thick i' the boddom. 1769 Mrs. Raffald Eng. Housekpr. (1778) 289 Boil your artichoke bottoms in hard water. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xiii. (1872) III. 38/2 Barrels with the bottoms knocked out served the purpose of chimneys. Mod. A drawer with a false bottom. |
b. The sitting part of a man, the posteriors, the seat. (
Colloq.) Also, the ‘seat’ of a chair.
| 1794–6 E. Darwin Zoon. (1801) III. 253 So as to have his head and shoulders much lower than his bottom. 1835 J. Wilson Noctes Ambr. xxxix. (1864) IV. 79 The Dunghill cock..hides his head in a hole..unashamed of the exposure of his enormous bottom. 1837 Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. iv. i. 185 Patriot women take their hazel wands, and fustigate..broad bottom of priests. 1885 Leisure Ho. Jan. 47/1 Women and children will be found caning or rushing the ‘bottoms’. |
c. bottoms up!: a call or toast to finish one's drink to the last drop.
Cf. bottomer c. Hence as
adv. phr.| 1917 G. J. Nathan (title) Bottoms up. 1928 Vanity Fair Dec. 79 Bottoms up to Vanity Fair! 1934 S. Kingsley Men in White i. iii. 48 Come on! Bottoms up! She smiles back at him, and drains the glass. 1934 J. O'Hara Appt. in Samarra (1935) iv. 119 The old priest..drank his highball almost bottoms up. 1964 L. Nkosi Rhythm of Violence 51, I say bottoms up both to women and to glasses! [He raises his glass.] |
2. a. The ground or bed under the water of a lake, sea, or river. Hence
to go to the bottom: to sink, founder; to be wrecked.
| a 1000 Beowulf 3016 Þa heo to botme com. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. C. 144 Þe wawes..Durst nowhere for roȝ arest at þe bothem. c 1400 Mandeville xxx. 300 Men may see the botme of the See. c 1460 Towneley Myst. 90 Now..to the botham is it sonken. 1583 Stanyhurst æneis i. (Arb.) 21 Soom synck too bottoms, sulcking thee surges asunder. 1635 N. Carpenter Geog. Del. iii. ix. 149 So great an abundance of water, that they can neither find the bottome or bounds thereof. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 618 The Sun..darting to the bottom, bak'd the Mud. 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphit. 376 The Bottom is very good anchoring Ground. 1812 J. Wilson Isle of Palms ii. 22 Down to the bottom must she go With all who wake or sleep. 1821 Shelley Prometh. Unb. ii. ii. 73 The oozy bottom of clear lakes and pools. |
b. to touch bottom: to reach the lowest point.
to have no bottom: to be unfathomable, inexhaustible, etc. Often
fig.| 1682 Sir T. Browne Chr. Mor. 63 Forgetting..the vicissitude of good and evil, they apprehend no bottom in felicity. 1886 Pall Mall G. 22 Apr. 11/2, I do not believe we have touched bottom; I believe the reduction will go on. |
† 3. A deep place, a depth, either in the sea or land; an abyss.
Obs.| a 1000 Cædmon's Gen. 361 (Gr.) He hæfð us befylled fyres to botme. c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 1030 He bode in þat boþem [the Dead Sea] broþely a monyth. 1611 Bible Wisd. xvii. 14 The same sleepe..came vpon them out of the bottomes of ineuitable hell. 1667 Milton P.L. vii. 289 So low Down sunk a hollow bottom..Capacious bed of Waters. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 557 In the Carpathian Bottom makes abode The Shepherd of the Seas. 1703 Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1721) Add. 4 A great..Rock, separated by a great gulph or natural bottom, from the land. 1759 Borlase in Phil. Trans. L. 504 They called to their companions above to be drawn up from the bottoms. |
4. a. The bed or basin of a river.
b. Low-lying land, a valley, a dell; an alluvial hollow. Now
esp. U.S.| c 1325 E.E. Allit. P. B. 383 Vch boþom watz brurd-ful to þe bonkez eggez. 1481 Ripon Ch. Acts. 347 Head-rack Bothome. 1513 Douglas æneis vii. Prol. 57 Bank, bra, and boddum blanschit wolx and bair. 1576 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 239 They [streams] all passe in one bottome to Wie and to Canterbury. 1613 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. i. (1772) II. 2 Past gloomy bottomes and high⁓waving woods. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Bergerac's Comic. Hist. i. 177 Do you perceive, said he to me, what bottom we are going down into? 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 294 This bottom, or inclosure..was about two hundred paces broad. 1803 T. Jefferson Writ. (1830) III. 504 There are on the borders of the rivers some rich bottoms, formed by the mud brought from the upper country. 1837 Peck Gaz. Illinois i. 3 The term ‘bottom’ is used throughout the west to denote the alluvial soil on the margin of rivers, usually called ‘intervals’ in New England. 1851 C. Cist Cincinnati 18 Cincinnati itself is built on an ancient alluvial plain, lying in two levels called the ‘upper and lower bottoms’. 1907 Mulford Bar-20 xx. 200 They crawled to the last line of brush and looked out over an extensive bottom. 1942 W. Faulkner Go down, Moses i. 33 Messing around up yonder in the bottom all last night! |
c. In gold-mining, the channel of an old river (also called the gutter) containing rich deposits of gold; also, the layer below it.
Austral.| 1855 W. Howitt Land, Labour & Gold I. xiii. 223 We have a hole within a few feet of the bottom, which I am confident will turn out well. 1887 Hayter Christmas Adv. 5 (Morris), We reached the bottom, but did not find gold. |
5. a. The lowest part of anything, considered as a place or position in space; the lowest point or locality, the ‘foot’. Said both of vertical direction, and of the lowest point, on a slope.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 1699 In þe boþem [of the ark] sal be na stall For al þeir filth sal þedir fall. c 1340 Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2143 Til þou be broȝt to þe boþem of þe brem valay. 1526 Tindale Matt. xxvii. 51 The vayle of the temple dyd rent in twayne from the toppe to the bottome [1382 Wyclif, fro the heiȝest til doun; 1388 to the lowest]. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. iii. v. 13 If the bottome were as deepe as hell, I shold down. 1664 Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 204 Cutting the..Roots a little, especially at bottom. 1853 Lytton My Novel iii. xxiv, Two cherry trees, standing at the bottom of the Park. 1863 Kingsley Water-bab. 14 At the bottom of a hill they came to a spring. 1873 Morley Rousseau I. 296 Rousseau was alone at the bottom of his garden. |
b. fig. in
phr. from (to) the bottom of the heart, etc.
| 1549 Bk. Com. Prayer, Commun. Serv. Rubr., If one of the parties..be content to forgive from the bottom of his heart all that the other hath trespassed against him. 1557 North Gueuara's Diall Pr. (1619) 146/2, I loue thee from the bottome of my stomacke. 1585 Abp. Sandys Serm. (1841) 334 From the bottom of my heart I confess with St. Paul, Minimus sum. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. x. 83 He wished, from the bottom of his heart, that he had a thousand. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 169 Worthless men..to the very bottom of whose hearts he saw. |
c. The foot of a page; the last place in a list or class; the lower end of a table, in point of dignity or precedence.
| 1658 Rowland Mouffet's Theat. Ins. 916 The rest he placed in the bottom of the wax, that is, in the last part of his will. 1863 A. J. Horwood Yearbks. 30 & 31 Edw. I Pref. 32 The case at the bottom of p. 141 acknowledges the rule. 1866 C. D. Yonge Naval Hist. Eng. I. xi (L.), Justice was satisfied by his being placed at the bottom of the list of post-captains. 1884 Mrs. Craik G. Helstone 246 Mr. Beresford's genial face at the bottom of his table, did more to give zest to the viands than an appetizing sauce. |
d. Mining. Usually
pl. The lowest workings in a mine. Also
attrib., as
bottom captain,
bottom coal,
bottom worker.
| 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub. 174 The Bottom-Captains, whose business is to see that the common men perform due labour down in the mine. 1860 Eng. & For. Mining Gloss. (ed. 2) 5 Bottoms, the lowest workings either in a stope, level, or elsewhere. 1883 Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, Bottom, the bottom of the shafts and roadways, &c., near the shafts. 1892 Daily News 26 Feb. 5/6 It comprises about 280,000 miners, of whom 200,000 are ‘bottom workers’. 1900 Daily Express 28 June 7/3 There is an immense quantity of coal known locally as ‘bottom coal’ practically intact. 1967 Gloss. Mining Terms (B.S.I.) viii. 7 Bottom coal (bottoms, floor coal), the lowest part of a seam, which may or may not be extracted. |
e. The part of a boot or shoe below the uppers; the sole, heel, and shank.
| 1841 Penny Cycl. XXI. 410/2 The employing master..prepares and sorts the sole or bottom-stuff for the maker. 1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 76 Bottom Finisher. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 831/1 He then pares off inequalities and ‘levels the bottoms’. 1911, 1921 [see bottom-scourer in 19]. |
6. a. transf. The deepest or most remote part of a recess, bay, or the like; the farthest point, or inmost part.
| 1603 R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. 117 Venice..is a city seated at the bottome of the Adriatique sea. 1634 W. Wood New Eng. Prosp. i. i, At the bottome [of Massachusetts Bay]..are situated most of the English plantations. a 1674 Milton Hist. Mosc. i. Wks. (1851) 476 The way thither is through the western bottom of Saint Nicholas Bay. 1791 Burke App. Whigs Wks. VI. 20 Mahomet hid in the Bottom of the sands of Arabia. 1856 Kane Arct. Exp. I. viii. 82 Almost at the bottom of this indentation. |
b. fig.| 1587 Golding De Mornay viii. 100 Trogus Pompeius beginneth his Historie at the bottome of all antiquitie. |
7. a. bottom (of a ship): generally, as in 1 (where see
quots.);
spec. ‘the part of the hull of a ship which is below the wales’ (
Adm. Smyth); also, the hull as a whole;
hence, A ship, boat, or other vessel.
| 1522 Wolsey in Fiddes Life (1726) 64 To bring their wines upon strangers bottoms. 1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII, xiv, Laden..in any shyppe botome or vessell of this realme of England. 1600 Holland Livy xxxiii. xxxvii. 845 They..passed over the Po in small bothomes and punts. 1665 Lond. Gaz. No. 11/4 They were bound for Bordeaux with several others, all Dutch Bottoms. 1697 W. Dampier Voy. (1729) I. 143 When they come to Panama, [they] dispose of the Goods and Bottom together. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1879) I. 138/2 Amintas..and Sosicles..who sailed in one bottom, bore down upon him. 1817 Byron Beppo xcvii, He transferr'd his lading..to another bottom. 1883 American VII. 162 Goods imported in foreign bottoms. |
b. fig.| 1636 Featly Clavis Myst. vii. 85 All private mens estates are ventered in the bottome of the Common-wealth. 1697 Establ. Test. 2, I do not pretend..to meddle with the Needle and Compass of the Publique Bottom. 1799 J. Robertson Agric. Perth 442 In no bottom can it be more safe than in land. 1824 Scott St. Ronan's x, I wish Clara's venture had not been in such a bottom. |
8. † a. The dregs, sediment of liquors; the last portion of the wine in a cask (
obs.).
b. In
Copper-smelting (see
quot.).
| 1660 Howell Dict., Bottom, or the settling of liquor at the bottom. 1703 Lond. Gaz. No. 3963/3 The White Wines..at 40l. per Tun, the White Bottoms at 10l. 1870 Eng. Mech. 18 Feb. 547/3 Known as black copper or ‘bottoms’. 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., Bottoms, in copper-smelting, the impure metallic copper..which separates from the matt, and is found below it. |
9. bottom of a wig: the portion hanging down over the shoulder.
full bottom: short for ‘full-bottomed wig’.
| 1851 Thackeray Eng. Hum. ii. 89 The fathers of theology did not think it decent to appear except in a full bottom. |
II. That which underlies or supports a thing.
† 10. a. That upon which anything is built or rests; the foundation.
Obs.| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 45 Botme, or fundament, basis. 1647 H. More Song of Soul ii. App. civ, All the stately works and monuments Built on this bottome. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 39 That canon will certainly hold longer which is best built in the bottome. 1674 Allen Danger Enthus. 5 Several Orders among the Papists have been built upon the same Bottom. |
† b. The ground under a plant; the soil in which it grows.
Obs.| a 1620 J. Dyke Worthy Commun. (1640) To Rdr., A plant that growes upon its own bottom. 1649 W. Blithe Eng. Improv. Impr. To Husb., No less than may..yield good bottome and rooting to the corn. |
11. fig. a. A foundation, basis, footing.
| a 1620 J. Dyke Worthy Commun. (1640) 194 Hee comes off from all bottom he hath in himselfe and in nature. 1675 Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 155 This glorious name Shaddai, was a noble bottom for Abraham to act his faith upon. 1697 Snake in Grass (ed. 2) p. xv, This was the Bottom upon which the Quakers first set up. 1718 Penn Life in Wks. 1726 I. 136 If we could not all meet upon a Religious Bottom, at least we might upon a Civil One. 1788 Priestley Lect. Hist. v. xxxvi. 262 Authority established on the same bottom with the privileges of the people. |
b. Phrase.
to stand on one's own bottom: to act for oneself, be independent.
| 1606 Holland Sueton. 97 Hee had used also before, to stand upon his owne bothom. a 1656 Bp. Hall Content. 45 Man, though he..stand upon his own bottome, yet [is] he not a little vvrought upon by examples. 1680 Morden Geog. Rect. (1685) 106 Everyone endeavours to stand on their own bottom. 1788 Reid Aristotle's Log. vi. §1. 129 When reason acquires such strength as to stand on its own bottom. |
c. In
fig. phrases:
the bottom falls (or drops) out of: there is a collapse of;
to knock the bottom out of: see
knock v. 6 b.
| 1637 Rutherford Let. 9 Sept. (1664) 144 The bottom hath fallen out of both their wit and conscience at once. 1868 Iowa Agric. Soc. Rep. 1867 64 The bottom has at length dropped out of this humbug. 1872 ‘Mark Twain’ Roughing It (1873) lviii. 420 Gould and Curry soared to six thousand three hundred dollars a foot! And then—all of a sudden, out went the bottom and everything..went to ruin and destruction! 1923 Wodehouse Inimit. Jeeves iv. 45, I felt as if the bottom had dropped out of things with a jerk. 1926 E. M. Dell Black Knight i. x, ‘I try to take things as they come.’.. ‘And when the bottom falls out of everything—what do you do then?’ 1957 M. Banton W. Afr. City vi. 103 In the 1930s the bottom fell out of the market in ginger and coffee. |
12. The fundamental character, essence, reality. Phrases.
to search, etc., to the bottom: to examine thoroughly, to find out the real character of.
at (the) bottom: in reality, as distinguished from superficial appearances.
to be at the bottom of: to underlie, to be the real author or source of.
| 1577 Harrison England ii. i. (1877) 12 When the pope understood the botome of the matter. 1594 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. ii. 391 There is nothing in man which..God..searcheth not vnto the bottome. 1600 Tourneur Transf. Metamorph. lviii, Doth demonstrate presently The bottome of his mind effectually. 1651 Proc. Parliament No. 94. 1446 The examination of that business to the bottom. 1683 Apol. for Prot. France vi. 88 The Clergy in the bottom judges that the Pope has Right to lay an Ecclesiastical Censure upon the Kingdom of France. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 43 ¶5 We are by no means yet sure, that some People are not at the Bottom on't. 1720 Ozell tr. Vertot's Rom. Rep. III. xiv. 325 Antony, at the Bottom, very indifferent about this Revenge, pretended to be in earnest. 1748 Anson Voy. iii. x. (ed. 4) 544 If this matter was examined to the bottom. 1773 Ld. Monboddo Language (1774) I. i. iv. 42 In order to get at the bottom of this question. 1780 Sheridan Sch. Scand. i. i. 8 Every body was sure there was some reason for it at bottom. 1809–10 Coleridge Friend (1865) 75 With whomsoever we play the deceiver and flatterer, him at the bottom we despise. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. xxiii. 215 He's a good pony at bottom. 1848 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 387 The Jesuits were at the bottom of the scheme. 1866 Argyll Reign Law vi. (1871) 320 That which is really at the bottom of all this ambiguity of language. 1873 Morley Rousseau II. 171 It is bad, because it is at bottom, a superstition. |
† 13. A pecuniary ‘foundation’ or ‘basis’ for commercial enterprise; capital, resources;
hence, financial stability, commercial standing.
Obs.| 1662 Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 451 Beginning on a good bottom left him by his father. 1787 T. Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 206, I know of no mercantile house in France of surer bottom. |
14. Physical resources, ‘staying power’, power of endurance; said
esp. of pugilists, wrestlers, race-horses, etc.
| 1774 Goldsm. Anim. Nat. II. 106 Though the Savages held out and, as the phrase is, had better bottoms, yet for a spurt the Englishmen were more nimble and speedy. 1790 T. Bewick Quadr., Race Horse (1800) 7 What is called in the language of the turf, bottom. 1822 Byron Juan viii. cx, [He] died all game and bottom. 1835 Penny Cycl. III. 421/2 They..have their manes and tails cropped..under the supposition that it adds to their strength and bottom. 1862 R. Patterson Ess. Hist. & Art 180 For solidity, bottom, and a courage that never wavers, they [British troops] are incomparable. |
† 15. a. A clew or nucleus on which to wind thread; also a skein or ball of thread. Also
fig. Obs.| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 45 Botme of threde. 1490 Caxton Eneydos xxxi. 120 He must take wyth hym a botom of threde. 1555 Eden Decades W. Ind. i. v. (Arb.) 85 Of gossampine cotton ready spunne foure great bottomes. 1611 Cotgr., Fondrillon, a bottom to wind silke, thread or yarne on. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. 367 He received from her [Ariadne] a bottome of thred. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) I. 267, I will twist up what I know upon as narrow a bottom as may be shut up within the compass of this letter. 1698 S. Clark Script. Just. 112 It's high Time now to wind up my Bottoms. 1731 Sir E. Peyton Div. Catastr. Ho. Stuarts 64, I have ravelled out the Pieces to wind up this Bottom. 1754 Bp. Warburton Lett. fr. Late Prelate (1809) 168 So you see I am winding up my bottoms. |
† b. The cocoon of a silkworm.
Obs.| 1609 Mulb. Trees in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) III. 86 Upon the branches..the wormes will fasten themselues, and make their bottomes. 1655 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. xiii. §3 (1669) 42/2 The Silk-worm..works her self out of her bottom. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 88 The manner of winding their Silk from their Bottoms. |
† 16. ? The lap.
Obs.| 1725 Bradley Fam. Dict. II. s.v. Lithotomy, The Operator lays the sick Person upon a soft pillow, in the Bottom or Lap of some Strong Man. |
17. Particle Physics. [An arbitrary choice of name.] The name of (a quark carrying) a flavour with a charge of -
1/
3; symbol
b.
| 1977 Sci. News 13 Aug. 100/1 Once the charmed quark was in the picture, symmetry principles and other considerations led to openings for a fifth and a sixth. The last two have been designated rather whimsically ‘truth’ and ‘beauty’ although in a recent statement Lederman names them more prosaically ‘top’ and ‘bottom’. 1977, 1978 [see top n.1 18]. 1979 N.Y. Times 13 Feb. c2 The upsilon, formed of a bottom quark and a bottom antiquark, is 10 times more massive than the proton. 1980 Sci. Amer. Jan. 28/2 A first order of business for the new accelerators will be filling in the blanks in the catalogue of hadrons, particularly those that incorporate top and bottom quarks in their structure. 1983 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 1984 282/2 The recently discovered B meson..is stable, providing the first direct evidence for the existence of a very heavy quark, carrying a new flavor, called beauty or bottom. |
III. attrib. and
Comb. 18. simple attrib. or adj. Of or pertaining to the bottom; lowest, basal, fundamental; last. (Hence superlative bottom-most.)
| 1561 T. Norton Calvin's Inst. i. 8 b, The presumptuous boldnesse..is throwen downe euen to the bottome point of the earth. 1677 Moxon Mech. Exerc. (1703) 221 The bottom width of the Hollow. 1685 W. Adams Dedham Pulpit (1840) 97 This is the bottom cause. 1885 Pall Mall G. 2 Dec. 3/1 The bottom political fact just now. 1885 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 20 Dec. Advt., All kinds of Horse Furnishings at Bottom Prices. |
19. General comb., chiefly
attrib., in senses
a. At the bottom, forming the bottom, as
bottom-discharge,
bottom-rock (also
fig.),
bottom-water;
bottom-heavy adj.;
b. That remains on the bottom (of sea, river, etc.); done at or near the bottom, as
bottom-fish,
bottom-fishing,
bottom-liver,
bottom-living,
bottom-trailing;
c. That belongs to or forms the bottom of anything, as
bottom-board,
bottom-timber;
d. fig. Fundamental, as
† bottom-ground;
e. Of or pertaining to low-lying ground, as
bottom-glade,
bottom-grass,
bottom-land;
f. (sense 1 b)
bottom-pincher,
bottom-pinching.
| 1881 C. A. Edwards Organs 42 The *bottom board is made of thick pine. |
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Bottom-discharge Water⁓wheel, a turbine from which the water is discharged at the bottom instead of at the sides. 1900 Daily News 24 Oct. 7/7 Orders for 160 bottom-discharge trucks have been placed in America. |
| 1847 Ansted Anc. World vi. 106 *Bottom-fish, living on offal and on the invertebrated groups. |
| 1830 Howitt Seasons, Mar. 59 His sport is..confined to *bottom-fishing. |
| 1634 Milton Comus 532 Hard by i' the hilly crofts That brow this *bottom-glade. |
| 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 236 Within this limit is relief enough; Sweet *bottom-grass, and high delightful plain. |
| a 1679 T. Goodwin Wks. 1865 X. 431 The reason or *bottom-ground of all that wickedness. |
| 1927 Sunday Times 6 Mar. 7/3 The double basses are generally too plentiful at these concerts, and..they too often made the music sound *bottom-heavy. |
| 1882 H. Lansdell Through Siberia I. 220 We had a splendid view of the noble Yenesei at sunset, of its verdant *bottom-lands on either side. |
| 1927 Haldane & Huxley Animal Biol. xii. 302 They are all marine and essentially *bottom-livers. |
| 1881 Jrnl. Microsc. Soc. Jan 68 The porcellanous Foraminifera..are known to be exclusively *bottom-living species. |
| 1959 J. Blish Case of Conscience xii. 119 He was fundamentally nothing more complicated than a *bottom-pincher. |
| 1939 Auden & Isherwood Journey to War 53 Their horse-play, *bottom-pinching..and endless jokes about les poules. 1955 Auden Shield of Achilles ii. 41 The honking bottom-pinching clown. |
| 1864 Dana Text-Bk. Geol. (1874) 45 In Great Britain, the whole thickness above the unfossiliferous *bottom-rocks is about 100,000 feet. 1887 C. B. George 40 Yrs. on Rail v. 93 About the time I had reached bottom rock in my financial troubles,..I met A. B. Pullman. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Exp. II. xxvi. 266 The ice had strained her *bottom-timbers. |
| 1822 Edin. Rev. 300 They gave us our elementary lesson of *bottom-trailing. |
| 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 152 The surface freezes while the *bottom-water remains several degrees warmer. |
20. Special comb., as
bottom-bed, the lowest stratum of a formation of rocks;
bottom-boarding, the bottom-planks of a boat;
bottom-boards, boards at the bottom of a boat serving to protect the outer planking;
bottom-cargo, the cargo carried in the hold;
bottom-dish, that placed at the lower end of the table;
bottom dog = underdog (
cf. top dog s.v. top n.1 34); also
attrib.; so
bottom-doggy a., pertaining to or characteristic of a bottom dog;
bottom dollar U.S., (one's) last dollar,
usu. in collocations with
bet;
bottom drawer,
lit. the lowest drawer of a chest of drawers, etc., in which a woman stores clothes, linen, etc., in preparation for her marriage;
bottom facts U.S., the fundamental facts;
bottom fermentation, that during which the yeast cells collect at the bottom of the liquid; also
attrib.;
bottom gear, the lowest-speed gear (see
gear n. 7) in a motor;
bottom-heat, heat supplied to plants through the soil;
bottom-ice, ice which forms on the bottom of a river or sea;
bottom-land,
bottomland U.S., low-lying land,
esp. a stretch of level land near a river;
= bottom n. 4 b; also
attrib.;
bottom-lift (see
quot.);
bottom-line, (
a) the lower part of a fishing-line; (
b)
orig. U.S., the last line of a profit-and-loss account, showing the final profit (or loss); also
loosely, the net profit;
fig., the final analysis or determining factor; the point, the crux of the argument;
bottom-moraine, débris dropped from icebergs on the bottom of the sea;
bottom-planks the outer planking of the bottom of a boat;
bottom-plate, (
a) an iron plate in a printing-press; (
b) the set of knives forming the bed of a pulping machine in paper-making;
bottom prairie U.S., a prairie lying along the bank of a river;
bottom-sampler, a grab for dredging samples from the sea-bottom; hence
bottom-sampling ppl. a. and
vbl. n.;
bottom-scourer, an operative who smooths the ‘bottoms’ of boots and shoes;
bottom-set bed Geol. (see
quots.);
bottom-side = sense 1 a;
bottom timber U.S., timber growing in bottom-lands;
bottom-tool, a tool used in wood-turning;
bottom-up,
-upwards adv., in an inverted position, upside-down;
† bottomward, the part near the bottom;
bottom-wigged a., wearing a wig with full bottom;
bottom-wind (see
quot.);
bottom wool (see
quot.);
bottom yeast = bottom fermentation yeast.
| 1845 P. B. Brodie Hist. Fossil Insects 58 Hard blue limestone, (‘*bottom bed’) with Ostrea, Modiola minima, and other shells. |
| 1900 G. Swift Somerley 110 At the risk of tearing out what was left of the *bottom-boarding, we hauled her on to the beach. |
| 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxford I. xi. 192 I've larded the *bottom boards under my seat so that not a drop of water will..come through. 1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships 84 Q. What are bottom boards? A. Long pieces of wood nailed together, which lay from the stern sheets to the bow. |
| 1840 Marryat Poor Jack xxiii, Our *bottom cargo consisted of..crockery. |
| 1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery ix. 94 A collar of Fish in Ragoo... This is a fine *Bottom-dish. 1796 H. Glasse Cookery v. 79 A porcupine of a breast of veal..is a grand bottom-dish. |
| 1884 Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 12 July, I can't help sympathizing with the *bottom dog [in a fight]. 1926 D. H. Lawrence Plumed Serpent vi. 119 There was a touch of bottom-dog insolence about her. 1927 Daily Express 12 Aug. 9/5 The award will be received with disappointment by..the ‘bottom dogs’ of the service. |
| 1925 D. H. Lawrence Let. 2 Apr. (1962) II. 832 Canaille of the most *bottom-doggy order. |
| 1857 San Francisco Call 24 Jan. 4/1 Sometimes, however, luck will run against him, and..he ‘slips up for his *bottom dollar’. 1866 Congress. Globe Mar. 1474/1 His opinion is that a State can go out of the Union and he is willing to bet his bottom dollar on his judgment. 1904 Harben Georgians v. 43 You bet yore bottom dollar I'm open to criticism myself. 1958 Dissent V. i. 80 And I'd bet my bottom dollar that Negro hipsters, among themselves, often put down the whites. |
| 1886 R. Holland Gloss. Cty. Cheshire 407 If a young woman were to buy a set of teathings, or a tablecloth, or what not, and were asked what use she had for such things, she would answer, ‘Oh! they're to put in my *bottom drawer.’ 1902 A. Bennett Anna of Five Towns xiii. 343 The bride took all the house-linen to her husband... As soon as a girl had passed her fifteenth birthday, she began to sew for the ‘bottom drawer’. 1959 Woman's Own 14 Feb. 58/3 She had been saving furiously for her ‘bottom drawer’ ever since she became engaged. |
| 1877 N.Y. Tribune 17 Mar. (Bartlett), Curiosity has been on the tiptoe these many weeks to know the *bottom facts. 1883 ‘Mark Twain’ Life Mississippi xlii. 393 Though there ain't only one or two ways when you come down to the bottom facts of it. |
| 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 367/1 In the Continental *bottom-fermentation system, the pitching and fermentation take place at a very low temperature. 1905 J. L. Baker Brewing Industry 100 Brewer's yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiæ) is divided into two classes, top fermentation and bottom fermentation yeast. |
| 1923 Westm. Gaz. 2 Feb., A stiff climb on *bottom gear brings Mosul..in sight. 1968 Listener 1 Aug. 140/3 Still our red-hot old bus engines ploughed on uphill in bottom gear. |
| 1882 Garden 14 Jan. 26/3 The cuttings..are planted out in frames in a gentle *bottom-heat. |
| 1882 Geikie Geol. ii. ii. §6. 111 Water-ice is formed..by the freezing of the layer of water lying on the bottom of rivers, or the sea (*bottom-ice, ground-ice, anchor-ice). |
| 1728 Boston News-Letter 23–30 May 2/2 Fifty Acres of..Meadows and Meadow *Bottom Land. 1841 C. Cist Cincinnati 66 The larger streams are now found meandering through alluvial plains called ‘bottom lands’. 1903 N.Y. Even. Post 12 Sept., The tract consists of a bottom land along the Ohio River, and a plateau elevated 300 feet above the bottom land. Ibid. 19 Sept., To complete the maturity of the bottomland crops. 1926 Chambers's Jrnl. 1 May 345/1 The lakes and sloughs ran in a vast network over the bottom lands. 1961 L. Mumford City in History xiii. 405 A discouraging site: bottomland, bordered by a swamp on the Potomac side. |
| 1881 Raymond Mining Gloss., *Bottom-lift, the deepest lift of a mining-pump, or the lowest pump. |
| 1837 J. Kirkbride Northern Angler 91 The *bottom or casting-line must consist of three lengths of twisted gut. 1967 San Francisco Examiner 8 Sept. 35/7 George Murphy and Ronald Reagan certainly qualified because they have gotten elected. I think that's the *bottom line. 1970 R. Townsend Up the Organization 76 All overheads should be brought down to the bottom line for bonus purposes. 1982 Sci. Amer. Oct. 14/2 The bottom line is that invention is much more like falling off a log than like sawing one in two. 1984 Observer 26 Feb. 37/2 So much goddam effort has gone into improving profitability right down to the bottom line. |
| 1882 Nature XXV. 470 The Devonian rocks..are covered with a thick sheet of typical *bottom-moraine. |
| 1891 Kipling Light that Failed ii. 27 The whale-boat..chose to hit a hidden rock and rip out half her *bottom-planks. |
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Bottom-plate (printing), a plate of iron belonging to the mold of a printing-press, on which the carriage is fixed. a 1884 Ibid. Suppl., Bottom-plate (paper-making), the gang of knives forming the concave or bed beneath the cylinder of a rag-grinding machine or pulping engine. |
| 1804 J. Ordway in Wis. Hist. Coll. (1916) XXII. 95 A beautiful *Bottom Prarie..about 2000 acres of Land covered with wild rye and wild potatoes. 1882 Worthen Econ. Geol. Illinois II. 73 The latter are the so-called ‘ridge prairies’, while the former are sometimes designated as ‘bottom prairies’. |
| 1911 Petersen & Jensen Danish Biol. Station Rep. XX. 73 By means of *bottom-samplers..it is shown that the uppermost brown layer of the sea-bottom must be regarded as dust-fine detritus. 1959 A. Hardy Fish & Fisheries v. 104 Petersen's quantitative bottom-sampling grab. |
| 1911 F. Sellers in Rep. Labour & Social Conditions in Germany III. 95 *Bottom-scourers 24s. (Frankfurt per week). 12s. to 16s. (Leeds per week). 1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §429 Scourer,..designated according to parts upon which he works, e.g. bottom or naumkeag scourer, heel scourer. |
| 1905 Chamberlin & Salisbury Geol. iii. 191 The sediment rolled at the bottom of the current is dumped on reaching the steep slope, and constitutes the inclined fore-set beds... The material in suspension is carried farther, settles more gradually, and constitutes the *bottom-set beds. 1942 C. A. Cotton Geomorphology (ed. 3) xv. 206 In a delta some of the silt layers are covered over by advancing fore-set beds, and then become the bottom-set beds of the delta. |
| 1856 Cozzens Sparrowgr. Papers vii. 88 It was vexatious enough to see our lawn *bottom-side up on a festive occasion. 1869 Rep. U.S. Commissioner Agric. 1868 327 Put the box in a pan of water and turn it nearly bottom-side up. 1964 New Scientist 12 Mar. 686/1 The regions above and below the height of maximum density are generally referred to as the ‘topside’ and ‘bottomside’. |
| 1834 Peck Gaz. Illinois ii. 150 The *bottom timber consists of oaks [etc.]. 1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting ix. 150 How much better walking it is in this bottom-timber than in the woods of New England. |
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., *Bottom-tool.., a turning-tool having a bent-over end, for cutting out the bottoms of cylindrical hollow work. |
| 1858 Merc. Mar. Mag. V. 67 A ship *bottom-up..might easily be taken for a ‘danger’. |
| 1694 Lond. Gaz. No. 3006/4 More towards the middle to the *bottomward. |
| 1884 Harper's Mag. Oct. 801/2 Our heavy *bottom-wigged monarchy outlived that..invader. |
| 1849 G. Soame New Curios. Lit. I. 151 The *Bottom-Wind has its name from being supposed..to arise from the bottom of those lakes which are situated amongst mountains. |
| 1848 H. W. Haygarth Bush Life Australia v. 47 The wool nearest the skin, or, as it is called, the ‘*bottom wool’, which is the hardest to cut, but the most weighty and valuable. 1910 Encycl. Brit. X. 278/1 It has not..been possible to transform a typical top yeast into a permanent typical *bottom yeast. |
▸ The lower half of a two-piece set of clothing. Freq. with modifying word. Usu. in
pl. Cf. pyjama bottom n. at
pyjamas n. Compounds 2.
| 1911 Mountain Democrat (Placerville, Calif.) 21 Oct. 8/4, I had on brown leather house slippers, and between them and my pajama bottoms showed a couple of inches of bare skin. 1953 Mt. Pleasant (Iowa) News 18 July 2/7 The back portion turns into a Bikini bottom. 1988 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) 12 Aug. 3/5 His baggy bottoms fell to his ankles as he chased the man. 1992 E. Lindros & R. Starkman Fire on Ice (rev. ed.) ii. 10 He was wearing one of those hospital scrub suits with a drawstring on the bottoms. |
▸
bottom cleavage n. chiefly
Brit. and
Austral. = bum cleavage n. at
bum n.1 Additions.
| 1990 Times 19 Dec. 17/7 A Japanese lady, recently arrived in London,..cannot understand why the British workmen redecorating her house keep showing her their *bottom cleavage. 2003 Australian (Nexis) 25 Aug. b8 There are plenty of women—even in Sydney—who don't fancy showing the world their belly buttons or bottom cleavages. |
▸
bottom feeder n. (a) a fish or other creature which feeds (
esp. by scavenging) at the bottom of a body of water;
(b) fig. (
depreciative) a contemptible person,
esp. one who makes a living by exploitative or disreputable means;
= hack n.3 4a.
| 1871 Friend 28 Oct. 74/3 Most of them were like those of our present rivers, deep water or *bottom feeders. Such fishes would starve in a cave river. 1980 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 27 July 13/1 All those people we knew at Andover with more money and better families than God—where are they? Why aren't they running the country instead of a bunch of bottom-feeders? 1986J. Friedman Pross & Pimps in Tales of Time Square (1993) 161 Carmen deals only with streetwalkers, bottom feeders in the hierarchy of hookers. 1993 Coloradoan (Fort Collins) 18 July e4/2 Another fear is heavy metals, which..pose threats to worms, crabs and other bottom-feeders. 2005 Independent 1 July 38/2 What happened to turn us from a nation of empire-builders to a nation of bottom-feeders? |
▸
bottom-feeding adj. (a) (of a fish or other creature) that feeds at the bottom of a body of water; (also) of or designating this behaviour;
(b) fig. (
depreciative) that makes a living by exploitative or disreputable means.
| 1874 Forest & Stream 19 Mar. 83/3 As they are a *bottom-feeding fish, they are more generally taken with minnow or piece of fish still fishing. 1920 Times 10 July 7/3 In some rivers and lakes the fish develop objectionable bottom-feeding propensities, and are seldom to be seen at the surface during the day. 1988 Washington Post 12 June (Mag. section) 13/2 Experts tell me this [sc. an end to lawsuits] will not happen as long as there are a jillion surplus, bottom-feeding legal-men in need of something to do. 1998 New Yorker 7 Sept. 48/2 They were afflicted by a steady barrage from bottom-feeding tabloids profiteers. 2002 Sport Fishing Sept.–Oct. 41/1 Bank fishing for bottom-feeding species gets expensive over a bottom of solid coquina rock. |
▸
bottom fisher n. (a) a person who angles for fish which live or feed near the bottom of a body of water;
(b) Finance (
orig. U.S.) a person who invests in stocks, etc., believed to be undervalued.
| 1806 C. Bowlker (title) The art of angling, or complete fly & *bottom-fisher. 1903 A. Lang Valet's Trag. iii. 55 London was a pleasanter place..when ‘the best stands on Hackney River’ were competed for eagerly by bottom fishers. 1977 Forbes (Nexis) 1 July 110 For you bottom-fishers, Jerrico (17), down from its 1976 high of 44 because of weather-related concerns, looks like it could show $2.60 for the fiscal year just ended. 1989 E. B. Burnley Surf Fishing Atlantic Coast 96 Species such as weakfish..and king whiting will take up residence in these lakes, providing steady action for bottom fishers. 2005 Barron's 28 Mar. 38/1 Bottom-fishers have been eyeing General Motors' depressed shares. |
▸
bottom fishing n. Finance (
orig. U.S.) the action or practice of investing in stocks, etc., believed to be undervalued.
| 1975 Forbes 1 Jan. 239/1 Another reason I single out the single-digit, stock-price area for ‘bottom fishing’ is that these stocks illustrate the stock market deflation. 1996 S. B. Smith Reflected Glory xxxvii. 423 During the previous evening's auction, a ‘somber affair of bottom fishing and restraint’, one Picasso was sold for well under its low estimate. |
▪ II. bottom, v. (
ˈbɒtəm)
[f. prec.] 1. trans. To put a bottom to.
Cf. bottomed 1.
| 1544 Coventry Acc. in T. Sharp Dissert. (1825) 185 Item payd for bottomyng a cressyt vjd. Mod. Send this saucepan to be new bottomed. |
† 2. fig. a. To find a bottom or foundation for; to serve as a bottom for; to establish firmly.
Obs.| 1656 J. Bentham Two..Treat. (1657) To Rdr., Such grounds..as may sufficiently bottome the Negative in the controversie. 1677 Hale Prim. Orig. Man. i. i. 8 We stand in need of the discoveries of sense..to bottom any sound conjecture concerning the Nature, Causes, and effects of the things in Nature. 1685 F. Spence House Medici 248 He affected to bottom his own repute by disclosing the ignorance of others. |
b. to bottom upon: to set upon a foundation; to base, found, ground upon; also
refl.| 1637 Sanderson Serm. II. 88 Upon this base the apostle had bottomed contentation. 1678 Norris Coll. Misc. (1699) 241, I may not..bottom myself upon such a centre, as will moulder away. a 1703 Burkitt On N.T. Matt. xi. 6 Such as..bottom their expectations of heaven and salvation upon him. 1824 Coleridge Aids Refl. App. xvi, To bottom all our convictions on grounds of right reason. 1860 Forster Gr. Remonstr. 67 He bottomed it strongly on the precedents and language of law. |
† c. intr. (for
refl.) To rest as upon a foundation; to be based, grounded.
lit. and
fig. Obs.| c 1630 Risdon Surv. Devon §5 (1810) 19 Smallridge takes its name from..a very slender ridge, and bottoms on three parts thereof. 1660–3 J. Spencer Prodigies (1665) 212 In all Knowledg which bottoms upon Experience Men should attend indifferently to any kind of Instances. a 1704 Locke Posth. Wks. (1706) 61 Readily take a view of the Argument, and..see where it bottoms. 1732 Berkeley Alciphr. I. 12. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 20 All the oblique insinuations concerning election bottom in this proposition. |
† 3. To wind (as a skein).
fig. Obs. Cf. bottom n. 15.
| 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iii. ii. 53 As you vnwinde her loue from him..You must prouide to bottome it on me. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. vii. 104 As neatlie bottom'd up as nature forth it drew. |
4. a. trans. to reach the bottom of; to drain to the bottom, to empty. Also
intr. To reach the bottom.
| 1808 Cumbrian Ballads liii. 119 They push'd round a glass like a noggin, And bottom'd the greybeard complete. 1845 Whitehall xii. 79 The provost..in return bottomed the goblet. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. xi. §7 A cap..is placed upon the point and pushed into the case till it bottoms. 1882 Jefferies Bevis I. ix. 140 He bottomed with his feet and stood upright [in the pond]. |
b. fig. To get to the bottom of, examine exhaustively, understand thoroughly.
| 1785 R. Cumberland in Observer No. 102 That mystery is thoroughly bottomed and laid open. 1817 Coleridge Biog. Lit. I. x. 176 Openly declaiming on subjects..which they had never bottomed. 1860 Smiles Self-Help vii. 195 He had bottomed the whole inquiry. |
c. intr. Of prices, trade, etc.: to reach the lowest level. Also with
out.
| 1892 Daily News 17 Nov. 7/1 Discount rates appear to have bottomed for the time. 1920 Glasgow Herald 6 Sept. 9 Others with shallower purses are content to wait until prices have bottomed. 1958 Times 14 July 13/3 With the recession apparently having bottomed out there is now much less insistence..that the Government take some vigorous action. 1969 Daily Tel. 21 Apr. 2/1 This is not the time to go liquid. If the index bottoms at 420 unless your timing is absolutely spot on it will pay to sit tight and ride out the squalls. 1970 Ibid. 10 Feb. 19/4 Analysts saw the advance as part of the market's ‘bottoming out’ pattern. |
5. a. trans. In mining, to reach the bottom of (a mine); to reach a point (in a mine) beyond which further mining is useless; also
absol., to get down to the bed-rock or clay; to reach earth which contains gold. So
to bottom on: to strike or reach (gold); also
fig. b. intr. Said of a claim, etc.: to be worked to the bottom.
Austral. and
N.Z.| 1853 E. Clacy Lady's Visit to Gold Diggings of Austral. v. 73 Their hole had been fairly ‘bottomed’, a nice little nest of nuggets discovered. 1858 McCombie Hist. Victoria xv. 219 In their anxiety to bottom their claims, they not seldom threw away the richest stuff. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right I. viii. 214 As soon as the main body of block claims began to bottom, gold flowed in with almost fabulous profusion. Ibid. II. xiii. 25 Though they had a week's start of us, we bottomed on the same day, and by nightfall the field was aware that Olivera's half-share men had bottomed another duffer. 1892 R. Wardon McPherson's Gully 14 They shifted their pegs to fresh ground and again ‘set in’—and again bottomed on gold! 1900 H. Lawson On Track 143 One day Peter..told us that his party expected to ‘bottom’ during the following week. Ibid., Later came the news that ‘McKenzie and party’ had bottomed on payable gold. 1926 J. Doone Timely Tips for New Australians Gloss., To ‘bottom on to gold’, to strike gold. To succeed. 1963 A. Lubbock Austral. Roundabout 79 Shafts have been sunk ‘blind’,..on the chance of bottoming on ‘opal-dirt’. |
6. intr. In mechanics, to strike or touch the bottom or far end (see
quot. a 1877).
| a 1877 Knight Dict. Mech. s.v., Cogs are said to bottom when their tops impinge upon the periphery of the co-acting wheel. A piston which strikes or touches the end of its cylinder is said to bottom. 1959 Motor Manual (ed. 36) v. 123 The spring deflections with a full load will become excessive and the vehicle will ‘bottom’ if a bad bump is encountered. |
7. Electr. (See
quot. 1960.).
| 1946 Electronic Engin. XVIII. 143 A master oscillator produces a sine wave... This is amplified and squared by ‘bottoming’ a valve anode. 1948 Ibid. XX. 63 To operate the screen grid on its negative resistance portion the anode must ‘bottom’. 1954 K. W. Gatland Devel. Guided Missile (ed. 2) 237 When a valve ‘bottoms’ its anode can draw no more current. 1960 H. Carter Dict. Electronics 32 Bottoming, a thermionic valve is said to ‘bottom’ when, by reason of the potential applied to one or other of its grids, the anode current falls to zero. |