Samson
(ˈsæmsən)
Also, except in senses 1 and 6, with small initial. Also 6–8 Sampson.
[a. L. (Vulgate) Sam(p)sōn, Gr. (LXX) σαµψών, a. Heb. Shimshōn (in Masoretic vocalization).]
1. The name of the Hebrew hero whose exploits are recorded in Judges xiii–xvi. Applied allusively to persons, with reference to Samson's enormous strength, to his having been blinded, or to some incident in his story. Also Samson-like adj. and adv.; Samson-passion.
| 1565 Harding Confut. Jewel iii. v. 147 Such mighty Samsons, such constant Laurences, your ioyly gospell breedeth. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 33 None but Sampsons and Goliasses It sendeth forth to skirmish. 1620 Sanderson Serm. I. 146 Then it [conscience] riseth, and Sampson-like rouseth up it self, and bestirreth it self lustily, as a giant refreshed with wine. 1649 Alcoran 417 To bring out to the open view of all, the blinde Sampsons of their Alcoran. 1651 R. Wild Poems (1670) 21 He stands, And snaps asunder, Samson-like, these bands. 1678 Yng. Man's Call. 52 Foolishness..is a Sampson, whose eyes are out, the scorn and derision of all. 1689 in W. W. Wilkins Pol. Ballads (1860) II. 4 They had on their heads such a Sampson-like power. 1701 Norris Ideal World i. vi. 399 Such as no Sampson could overthrow. 1796 Southey Joan of Arc ix. 359 By experience rous'd shall man at length Dash down his Moloch-gods, Samson-like And burst his fetters. a 1821 Byron Juan (1956) iii. lvii. variant line 8 And make him Samsonlike—more fierce with blindness. 1887 Times (weekly ed.) 1 July 14/3 Intellectual Samsons toiling with closed eyes in the mills and forges of Manchester and Birmingham. 1929 Blunden Near & Far 49 Joy's masque and fashion of Time's Samson-passion Deceived no lark that springs from weed and clod. |
2. † a. dial. = samlet. Obs.
| 1769 Pennant Zool. III. 254 Near Shrewsbury (where they [the samlet] are called Samsons). |
b. Austral. Samson-fish: see quots.
| 1874 in Tenison-Woods Fishes N.S. Wales (1882) 60 The Samson-fish (Seriola hippos, Günth.) is occasionally caught... The great strength of these fishes is remarkable. 1882 J. E. Tenison-Woods ibid. 190 Samson-fish. In Sydney Seriola hippos. In Melbourne, young of Arripis salar. |
3. Mech. = cramp n.2 3. Now Hist.
| 1852 in Burn Naval & Mil. Tech. Dict. 1., s. vv. Cric, Davier, Sergent. 1965 E. Tunis Colonial Craftsmen iv. 95 The wheelwright..pulled the joint hard together with a large threaded clamp called a samson. 1968 J. Arnold Shell Bk. Country Crafts 163 There was a samson, for drawing felloes together when the strakes were being nailed on. |
4. Samson bar: = Samson's post 2 a.
| 1889 East. Morn. News 10 Apr. 3/8 The prisoner lashed him to the sampson bar and mizenmast. |
5. Logging (see quots.). Hence ˈsamson v.
| 1905 Terms Forestry & Logging (U.S. Dept. Agric. Bureau Forestry) 45 Sampson, an appliance for loosening or starting logs by horsepower. It usually consists of a strong, heavy timber and a chain terminating in a heavy swamp hook. Ibid., Sampson a tree, to, to direct the fall of a tree by means of a lever and pole. 1913 [see kilhig]. 1971 F. C. Ford-Robertson Terminol. of Forest Sci., Technol. Pract. & Products 148/2 Killig.., Pushpole.. = Sampson (USA). A stout pole, sometimes notched into the tree stem at one end and braced against the base of a peavey handle at the other, used to push a small tree manually in the desired direction. |
6. Samson fox [in allusion to Judges xv. 4], a fox belonging to a variety of the North American red fox, Vulpes fulva, in which the fur lacks guard hairs and so has a scorched appearance. Also absol.
| 1910 E. T. Seton Life-Hist. Northern Animals II. xxxii. 709 Another freak is the ‘scorched’ or ‘Samson Fox’. 1921 N. M. W. J. McKenzie Men of Hudson's Bay Company xvii. 160 Foxes that were burned like these were [what] we called ‘Samsons’, and were useless. 1933 E. Merrick True North 305 He said he weren't goin' to..go clear into Canada to trap a few weasels and samson foxes. 1948 A. L. Rand Mammals Eastern Rockies 105 The Samson fox is a freak, in which the guard hairs are lacking. |
Hence ˈSamsoness [-ess], a female Samson.
| 1707 J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 395, I am a Female Sampsoness, for all my strength lies in my Hair. |