▪ I. part, n. (adv.)
(pɑːt)
Forms 1, 3– part; also 4–5 paart, (pard), 4–6 pert, 4–7 parte, 5 perte, 6 partt, 6– Sc. pairt.
[In OE. ad. L. pars, part-em (in sense 2 a); in 13th c. a. F. part = Pr. part, Sp., It. parte:—L. part-em part. The pl. in ME. was sometimes pars, after OF. pl. pars, earlier parz.]
A. n. I. Portion or division of a whole.
1. a. That which together with another or others makes up a whole (whether really separate from the rest, or more often only separated in thought); a certain amount, but not all, of any thing or number of things (material or immaterial); any one of the smaller things into which a thing is or may be divided (in reality or in idea); a portion, division, section, element, constituent, fraction, fragment, piece. (Now the ordinary word for this; in OE., and usually in ME., expressed by deal n.1)
When denoting a number of persons or things, often construed as a noun of multitude, with plural verb.
| [c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 317 Rabanus cwyð þæt se dæᵹ hæfð partes, þæt synt dælas.] a 1300 Cursor M. 2096 Þof þe werld es..Delt..In thrin parteis principale, Þe partes er noght perigale. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 339 Christis chirche..hath þree partis. Þe first part is in blis, wiþ Crist... The secounde part..ben seintis in purgatorie. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) ii. 13 O part is at Parys, and the other part is at Constantynoble. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 385/1 Paart, or deele, porcio. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 37 In equall pairtis this kinrik to diuide. 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 51 One louyng one a nother as membrys and partys of one body. 1570 Billingsley Euclid i. Post. ix. 8 The whole is equal to all his partes taken together. 1574–5 Reg. Privy Council Scot. Ser. i. II. 426 With all..partis pendicles and pertinentis thairof. 1609 Bible (Douay) Deut. vii. 22 He wil consume these nations in thy sight by litle and litle and by partes. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 292 Of all parts of the countenance the eyes are most powerfull, being as the soule's window. 1726 tr. Gregory's Astron. I. 392 Let the Diameter AB of the Circle..be divided into two equal Parts in the Point C. a 1774 Goldsm. Hist. Greece II. 264 The greatest part of the Indian cavalry were cut to pieces. 1794 Rigging & Seamanship I. 168 Leading-part, that part of a tackle which is hauled upon. 1836–7 Sir W. Hamilton Metaph. xxxvii. (1870) II. 338 Whatever is the part of a part, is a part of the whole. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 443, I agree, Socrates, in the greater part of what you say. 1882 Times 25 Sept. 8 They formed but a small part of deaths caused by infectious fevers. |
b. Often idiomatically used without article: part of = a part of, some of; so great part of = a great part of, much or many of; most part of, the majority or greater part of, most of.
| c 1375 Cursor M. 3534 (Fairf.) Gif me part of þat þou grayde. a 1425 Ibid. 19049 (Trin.) A mon croked in þe palesy And had ben moost part of his dayes [so Laud MS.; Cott. & Gött. mast all]. 1450 Paston Lett. I. 107 And part therof sold, and part ther of yaffe, and the remenaunt thei departed among them. 1531 Tindale Expos. 1 John Wks. (Parker Soc.) II. 524 Part of his laws are ceremonies. 1611 Bible Isa. xliv. 16 He burneth part thereof in the fire: with part thereof he eateth flesh. 1760 Johnson Idler No. 97 ¶5 The road was passable only part of the year. 1778 Learning at a Loss I. 155, I shall probably spend great Part of the Summer with him. 1827 Southey Hist. Penins. War II. 705 Great part perished before they could reach the wall. 1847 Tennyson Princ. Prol. 47 Part were drown'd within the whirling brook. 1860 Whewell in Life (1881) 512 We were at Oxford great part of last week, for the meeting of the British Association. |
c. spec. An essential or integral portion; something essentially belonging to a larger whole; a constituent, element. (Also without article.)
| 1732 Law Serious C. i. (ed. 2) 9 They must be made parts of our common life. 1742 Young Nt. Th. ix. 413 'Tis a prime Part of Happiness, to know How much Unhappiness must prove our Lot. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf vi, The rider sate as if he had been a part of the horse. 1863 F. A. Kemble Resid. in Georgia 14 That formed no part of our discussion. 1879 Mozley Serm. 276 Affection is part of insight. |
2. Specialized uses of sense 1. † a. = part of speech: see 19. Obs. (The earliest use in English.)
| c 1000 ælfric Gram. xvi. (Z.) 107 Þry eacan synd med, pte, ce, þe man eacnað on leden-spræce to sumum casum þises partes. Ibid. xvii. 108 Anfeald ᵹetel byð on ðisum parte ego ic, tu ðu, ille he. Ibid. xxxix. 242 Þes part mæᵹ beon ᵹehaten dælnimend. a 1300 [see pars]. c 1483 Caxton Dialogues viii. 38 Donettis, partis, accidents. 1615 Brinsley (title) The Posing of the Parts. a 1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. ix. Wks. (Rtldg.) 777–8 In our English speech we number the same parts with the Latins... Only we add a ninth, which is the article. |
b. The name of a division or section of a book, play, poem, or other literary work; in mod. use also spec. Each of the portions of a work issued at intervals, at a uniform price, and in thin covers, and intended to be afterwards bound up into one or more volumes.
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione 64 Here begynneþ þe third parte of inwarde conuersacyon..Capitulum primum. 1551 Turner Herbal i. Prol., I haue set one part of a great herball. 1562 (title) The seconde parte of Guilliam Turners herball. 1594 (title) The First Part of the Contention betwixt the two famous houses of Yorke and Lancaster. 1677 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 44, I have presented your Lordship with the last part of Hudibras, to help to heighten your mirth this Christmasse. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vii. 12 Thro' various Parts our glorious Story runs; Time gives the Preface. 1873 Ruskin Stones Ven. I. Pref. 7 The architect had read his third part of the Stones of Venice to purpose. 1901 Daily Chron. 27 Dec. 3/3 The new Dickens would have to find a second Cruikshank to illustrate any novel issued in separate weekly parts. Mod. The work is now coming out in monthly parts. |
† c. An element or constituent of some quality or action, considered by itself (and with no stress on its being merely a part); a point, particular. (Usually in pl.) Hence absol. Point; matter, affair; respect (= party n. 3). Obs.
| 1563 Homilies ii. Repentance iii. (1859) 545 Ye heard of the true parts and tokens of repentance. 1589 Puttenham Eng. Poesie iii. xxiv. (Arb.) 295 But at all insolent and vnwoonted partes of a mans behauiour we find many times cause to mislike or to be mistrustfull. a 1639 W. Whately Prototypes ii. xxvi. (1640) 43 Perfection of parts, is when all the parts of goodnesse are found in a man. 1692 Locke Educ. §142 Nothing can cure this Part of Ill-breeding but Change and Variety of Company. 1719 Bp. Robinson in Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. I. 200 If we neglect our duty in that part. |
d. Each of the separate or separable pieces that go to make up a machine or the like. Also attrib. in pl.
| 1886 D. Clerk Gas Engine 5 Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the first engine, showing the principal working parts. Ibid. 8 Barnett's second engine..is double-acting, and therefore requires a greater number of parts. 1890 W. Robinson Gas & Petroleum Engines ii. 11 The wearing parts can be easily taken out and, when worn, replaced by duplicates. 1897 Trans. Inst. Naval Archit. XXXVIII. 217 Set of accessories, spare parts, and securing gear. 1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 6 (Advt.), The user of the ‘Gecophone’..may desire to purchase in his own locality spares and replacement parts. 1939 G. W. Stubbings Diseases Electr. Machinery iii. 60 A.C. transformers..are entirely static and have no moving parts. 1939 H. R. Simonds Industr. Plastics (1940) ix. 244 The average household refrigerator has more than 20 important plastics parts. 1947 W. W. McCullough Electr. Motor Maintenance ii. 13 Worn parts should be replaced promptly. 1968 Amer. Speech 1967 XLII. 40 Owner's manuals, parts catalogues, motoring publications from abroad. 1971 Good Motoring Sept. 4/1 It was driven by Billy Mackay, a VW Motor parts manager in Scotland. 1974 Daily Tel. 4 Dec. 12/3 On average, parts for a Renault 12TL are 77 per cent. more expensive than for the Austin Allegro 1300. 1975 Sci. Amer. Feb. 25/2 Industry mass-produces parts in great variety and number. 1976 Nature 1 Apr. 391/3 Two fibres, called Kevlar and Kevlar 49 by Dupont,..look likely to be used in tyre belting and in composites for body armour and aircraft parts. |
3. A portion of an animal body: either definitely, a particular member or organ; or indefinitely, a ‘spot’, ‘place’ (cf. 13). Usually pl.; often with defining adj., as hinder parts, inward parts; also absol. (euphem.) = privy parts.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 884 Iason..anoyntide hym anon..Bothe the face and þe fete, & all þe fore perte. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 3 God hath no lineamentes nor partes corporall. 15.. Sir A. Barton in Surtees Misc. (1888) 73 In a previe place and a secrete pert, He shoote hime in at the left oxtere, The arrowe quiett throughe harte. 1535 Back parts [see back a. 1]. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. ii. 41 Her neather partes misshapen, monstruous. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iv. i. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 115 The inner parts of Goates..are esteemed great dainties, especially in Toscany. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 41 A cloth which should couer those parts, made to be priuate. 1747 Wesley Prim. Physic (1762) 80 Wash the parts with Juice of Calamint. 1799 M. Underwood Treat. Dis. Children (ed. 4) II. 136, I had occasion to examine the parts [of a child] very attentively at the birth. 1899 Allbutt's Syst. Med. VIII. 558 The patches in such parts may then assume a salmon tinge. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §121/37 Genitals,..parts. 1958 S. A. Grau Hard Blue Sky 152 The young girls giggled and felt a hot touch in their parts. 1968 J. Updike Couples ii. 141 ‘Oh you have big―’ ‘Parts?’ 1977 ‘J. Le Carré’ Hon. Schoolboy ii. 41 The devil's red-hot wind would burn his parts to a frazzle. |
† 4. A minute portion of matter, a particle. Obs.
| 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 31 The Entrance of some such small aqueous Parts, as may excite the Fermentation. 1709 F. Hauksbee Phys.-Mech. Exp. ii. (1719) 36 Woollen impregnated with saline and spirituous parts. a 1774 Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 88 Now the parts of the air,..being to this case driven asunder by some external interposition, such as fire, or any other agent. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. II. 278 The earthy principle, which is confounded with the indigo and some mucilaginous parts. |
5. spec. a. (with a numeral): Each of a number of equal portions into which a whole may be divided; an aliquot part, exact divisor, submultiple.
(a) With an ordinal numeral indicating the number of such portions in the whole, as a third part, two third parts: now more usually omitted by ellipsis, the ordinal thus becoming a n., as a third, two thirds. (b) With a cardinal numeral, implying a number of portions one less than the number which constitutes the whole, as two parts = two thirds, three parts = three quarters. (Formerly also as collective sing., as two part.)
| c 1290 St. Michael 665 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 318 Ȝeot nis þare, to wonien Inne, onneþe þe seuenþe part. a 1300 Cursor M. 973 Þe half parte gladli or þe thrid We wil þe giue, if þou it bid. 1375 Barbour Bruce v. 47 Mair than twa part of his rout War herbreit in the toune tharout. c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 545 Ne koude man by twenty thousand part Countrefete the Sophymes of his Art. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 123 He tyt the King be the nek, twa part in tene. 1603 Owen Pembrokeshire ii. (1891) 11 Ffoure partes of five of this sheere is compassed with the sea. c 1611 Chapman Iliad x. 223 Two parts of night are past, the third is left t' employ our force. 1660 Barrow Euclid v. Def. i, A part is a magnitude of a magnitude, a less of a greater, when the less measures the greater. 1706 E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 12 The Queen allots him three Parts in eight for his singular Hazards. 1813 M. Edgeworth Patron. (1833) III. xli. 130 Possession..being nine parts of the law. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 319 He was himself only three parts Roman. |
† b. Used by confusion or error as if = ‘times’, as in (by) a thousand part(s) = a thousand times, a thousandfold; by the seventh part = seven times, sevenfold. Obs. (Cf. deal n.1 1 e.)
| a 1400–50 Alexander 2157 Þai pleyne more þe pouirte..of þar horsis þan þe soroȝe of þam-selfe by þe seuynt parte [Dubl. MS. dele]. 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 7 Ȝe schule haue ȝoure licour by an hundrid part bettir gilt. 1528 Tindale Wks. (Parker Soc.) I. 149 A thousand parts better may it be translated into the English, than into the Latin. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. ix. 48 Not he..Might be compar'd to these by many parts. c 1611 Chapman Iliad To Rdr. (1865) 88 They..are ten parts more paraphrastical than I. 1625 B. Jonson Staple of N. iii. ii, I have better news from the bake-house, by ten thousand parts, in a morning. |
c. In expressing the proportion of the ingredients of a mixture or compound: One of a number of equal portions of indeterminate amount.
| 1615 Chapman Odyss. ix. 298 It was so strong,..twas before allaid With twentie parts in water. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters III. 298 Two parts of this water poured into one part boiling milk. 1811 A. T. Thomson Lond. Disp. (1818) 512 Take of pure sulphate of copper, two parts; subcarbonate of ammonia, three parts. 1854 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 183 One part of carbon consumes in burning to carbonic acid 22/3 parts of oxygen. |
† 6. A mediæval measure of time, equal to 1/15 of an hour, or 4 minutes: see atom n. 7. Obs.
| 1844 Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. xi. 158 Each..admits of four different subdivisions, into four points, ten minutes, fifteen parts or degrees, and forty moments. |
II. Portion allotted, share.
7. a. A portion of something (material or immaterial) allotted or belonging to a particular person; a share. Sometimes almost in abstract sense: Sharing, participation; interest, concern.
to have part: to share, partake (in, † of). to have neither part nor lot in: to have no share or concern in, to have nothing to do with (see lot n. 2 b). See also art and part: art n. 16.
| a 1300 Floriz & Bl. 522 He moste kunne muchel of art Þat þu woldest ȝeue þer-of part. a 1300 Cursor M. 19585 Has þou na part, coth petre, here. 1382 Wyclif Rev. xx. 6 Blessid and holy he, that hath paart in the first aȝen risyng. 1390 Gower Conf. III. 104 Cham Upon his part Aufrique nam. c 1449 Pecock Repr. iii. i. 277 The preestis and dekenes of the Oold Testament schulden not haue part and lott in the firste parting of the lond of Iewry. 1477 Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 1 Aduersitees, Of the whiche I..haue had my parte. 1538 Bale John Bapt. in Harl. Misc. (Malh.) I. 216 My ways..with mennys ways haue no part. 1601 Barlow Serm. Paules Crosse 23 We haue no part in Dauid, nor inheritance in the son of Isay. 1611 Bible Acts i. 17. 1760–72 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) I. 151 We had neither art or part, concern or interest therein. 1850 S. Dobell Roman i. Poet. Wks. 1875 I. 14 Death Can have no part in Beauty. 1891 Dougall Beggars All (ed. 2) 271 That she would have neither part nor lot in his dishonest career. |
b. Allotted portion (without definite notion of division or sharing); possession (concr. or abstr.); one's lot in life. Obs. or arch.
| 1382 Wyclif Ps. lxii. 11 [lxiii. 10] Thei shul be taken in to the hond of swerd, the partis of foxis thei shul be. c 1386 Chaucer Clerk's T. 594, I haue noȝht had no part of children tweyne But first siknesse, and after wo and peyne. c 1500 Three Kings Sons 66 To obeie and abide the wille of oure lord, & to take suche part yn pacience, as he wol sende. 1609 Bible (Douay) Hos. v. 7 Now shal a moneth devoure them with their partes. 1858 Neale Bernard de M. (1865) 36 The Lord shall be thy part. |
8. A person's share in some action; what one has to do; function, office, business, duty. Formerly in pl. when referring to a number of persons.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 245 Be liklynes the mast cowart Semyt till do richt weill his part. 1451 Marg. Paston in P. Lett. I. 201 He seyd itt was not his parte to do itt. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 297 The partes of menne is, to reioyce in the behalf of the commenweale. 1563 Homilies ii. Repentance ii. (1859) 544 It is therefore our parts..to pray unto our heavenly Father. 1611 Bible Ruth iii. 13 But if hee will not doe the part of a kinseman to thee, then will I doe the part of a kinseman to thee, as the Lord liueth. 1667 Milton P.L. viii. 561 Accuse not Nature, she hath don her part. 1712 Addison Spect. No. 418 ¶7 It is the part of a Poet to humour the Imagination. 1865 Trollope Belton Est. xxii. 254 Was it not a brother's part to go to a sister in affliction? 1882 Times 23 Sept. 4 The artillery did its part with its usual devotion. |
9. a. Theatr. The character assigned to or sustained by an actor in a dramatic performance; a rôle. Also, the words assigned to or spoken by an actor in such a character; hence, a written or printed copy of these.
| 1495 in Sharp Cov. Myst. (1825) 36 Payd for copyyng of the ij knyghts partes, & demons. 1584 Ibid. 38 To Jhon Copestake, for playenge of Esron his parte xxd. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 142 All the world's a stage..And one man in his time playes many parts. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d' Alf. i. 264 Let every man take his Qu and perfect his owne part. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 180 ¶6 They must be called off the Stage, and receive Parts more suitable to their Genius. 1809 Malkin Gil Blas ii. viii. ¶2, I was sent on the boards in children's parts. 1882 H. C. Merivale Faucit of B. I. 145 Minna in the ‘Pirate’ would be more the line of part to fall to you. |
b. fig. A character sustained by any one, either as a special office or function (nearly = 8), or as assumed or feigned.
to play (act) the part of: to act as or like; to perform the function of. to play (act) a part: to perform a function, or pursue a course of action; also, to sustain a feigned character, make a pretence, act deceitfully.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 361 Þan þe figour of a freke he sall take eftire, And preualy in þat part a-pere ȝowe be-forne. a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III 50 Homfrey Cheiny pleiyng the parte of a good blood hounde, foloed the tract of y⊇ flyer. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. iv. 27 Where left, he went, and his owne false part playd. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 205 None ever acted both Parts bolder, Both of a Chieftain and a Soldier. a 1732 Gay Fables ii. vi. 2 The man of pure and simple heart Thro' life disdains a double part. 1886 Baring-Gould Court Royal xxxv, He was unskilled to act a part and speak half the truth. 1891 Speaker 11 July 36/2 The Referendum and the Initiative..have a great part to play in the future of Switzerland. |
† c. transf. One who performs a part, an actor.
| a 1643 W. Cartwright Commend. Verses Fletcher's Dram. Poems, That some who sat spectators haue confessed..[they] felt such shafts steal through their captiued sense, As made them rise Parts, and go Lovers thence. |
10. Mus. The melody assigned to a particular voice or instrument in concerted music, or a written or printed copy of this for the use of a particular performer; each of the constituent melodies or successions of notes which make up a harmony. Hence transf. Each of the voices or instruments which join in a concerted piece.
| 1526 Skelton Magnyf. 1481, I synge of two partys without a mene. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lvii. vi, Thou my harp the consort make, My self will beare a part. 1597 Morley Introd. to Mus. 1 Musicke bookes..being brought to the table: the mistresse of the house presented mee with a part, earnestly requesting mee to sing. 1674 Playford Skill Mus. iii. 1 The Parts of Musick are in all but four, howsoever some skilful Musicians have composed songs of twenty, thirty, and forty parts. 1706 A. Bedford Temple Mus. iii. 55 This one Voice or Part is mentioned as the greatest Excellency of the Temple Musick. 1889 E. Prout Harmony (ed. 10) iv. §94 Most music is written in four-part harmony, and the parts are generally named after the four varieties of the human voice... The highest part is called the treble, or soprano, the next below this, the alto, the third part..the tenor, and the lowest part the bass. |
† 11. A piece of conduct, an act (usually with qualification expressing praise or blame). Obs.
| 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) M j, Alonso Garillo..hauing committed certaine youthfull partes..was by the Kings commaundement carried to prison. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1895) III. 333 Pausanias..committed many insolent partes by reason of the great authority he had. 1596 Raleigh Discov. Gviana A ij, For your Honors many Honorable and friendlie parts, I have hitherto onely returned promises. a 1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. i. ii. i. (1642) 155 He..after shewed him many other unkinde and unchildly parts. |
12. A personal quality or attribute, natural or acquired, esp. of an intellectual kind (? as a constituent element of one's mind or character, or ? as allotted to one by Providence: cf. gift, talent); almost always in pl. Abilities, capacities, talents. Usually with an adj. expressing excellence; also absol. = high intellectual ability, cleverness, talent. Now arch., rare in speech.
| 1561 T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) G vij b, To set his delite to haue in himselfe partes and excellent qualities. 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. iii. i, I ne're saw any gentlemanlike part [in him]. Ibid. iv. i, A gentleman..of very excellent good partes. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. ii. 64 For which of my bad parts didst thou first fall in loue with me? 1627–77 Feltham Resolves i. xxxiv. 88 We magnifie the wealthy man, though his parts be never so poor. 1678 Barclay Apol. (1841) 283 Three things go to the making up of a minister. 1. Natural parts, that he be not a fool. 2. Acquired parts, that he be learned in the languages [etc.]. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 197 ¶5 Courage is the natural Parts of a Soldier. 1710 Hearne Collect. (Oxf. Hist. Soc.) II. 351 A man of Parts, but a most vile, stinking Whigg. 1806 G. Canning Poet. Wks. (1827) 49 But if, amongst this motley crew, One man of real parts we view. 1844 Macaulay Ess., Earl Chatham (1887) 818 Some of them were indeed, to do them justice, men of parts. 1894 ‘Ian Maclaren’ Bonnie Briar Bush (1899) 5 A Lad o' Pairts. a 1901 Besant Five Years' Tryst, etc. (1902) 196 At school the son was a steady lad, of good, not brilliant parts. |
III. Region; side.
13. a. A portion of a country or territory, or of the world; a region, quarter. (Usually in pl.; often with a vague collective rather than plural sense.)
(When the words of the world or the like are added, the sense is 1 above: e.g.
| c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) i. 4 If a man come fro þe west partys of þe werld. 1535 Boorde in Introd. Knowl. (1870) Forewds. 53 Few frendys ynglond hath in theys partes of Europe. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 132 Going into the foure partes of the worlde.) |
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 217 And all prouyns and pertes þi pes shall desyre. 1558 Knox First Blast (Arb.) 20 Women in those partes, were not tamed nor embased by consideration of their own sex and kind. 1607 Middleton Michaelm. Term iii. iii. 52, I am a mere stranger for these parts. a 1674 Clarendon Surv. Leviath. (1676) 2 One who ha's spent many years in foreign parts. 1725 Berkeley Proposal Supplying Ch. in For. Plant. Wks. III. 215 To propagate the Gospel in foreign parts. 1833 Rep. Sel. Committee on Munic. Corporat. 334 The mixed jurisdiction in the Parts of Kesteven. 1861 E. FitzGerald Lett. (1889) I. 277 Let me know when you come into these parts. |
b. Part of Fortune (Astrol.): that point of the heavens in which the moon is when the sun is in the ascendant or ‘horoscope’.
| 1696 in Phillips (ed. 5). 1819 Wilson Dict. Astrol. a 1836 Smedley Occult Sc. in Encycl. Metrop. (1855) XXXI. 311 The Part of Fortune, is the distance of the moon's place from the sun, added to the degrees of the ascendent. |
14. † a. Side (lit.); hence, direction in space. Obs.
| c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3517 Y schal take out to anoþer pard & prykie fro hem anon. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV 30 Made a bridge over the river on the part of saint Denis strete, and so escaped. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 34 Sume here and sume there; yea, verye manye of bothe partes. 1574 Bourne Regiment for Sea (1577) Introd. 5 b, If that the Sonne..be unto the North part, or Southe part of the Equinoctiall. 1611 Bible Luke xvii. 24 As the lightning that lighteneth out of the one part vnder heauen, shineth vnto the other part vnder heauen. 1774 T. Hutchinson Diary 7 Sept., [Norwich] is on every part walled in. |
b. = hand n. 32 i. Now rare.
| 1485 Caxton Paris & V. 67 On that other parte he had grete drede. 1534 Cromwell Let. 17 Nov. in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 391 Neglecting of thone parte the kinges highnes honour to be preserued..of thother parte as it were contempnyng all frieendeship in giving place to a litle Lucre. 1587 Golding De Mornay iv. 40 On the contrary part, his mind seeth not itself, but only turneth into itself. 1882 Stevenson New Arab. Nts. (1884) 135 On the other part, I judged that I might lose nearly as much. |
† c. fig. (Father's or mother's) Side (in genealogy). (Cf. half n. 2.) Obs.
| 1558 in Strype Ann. Ref. (1709) I. ii. App. v. 398 All other your majesty's ancestors..of the part of your said mother [cf. L. ex parte materna]. |
15. a. Side (fig.), in a contest, dispute, question, contract, or any relation of opposite persons or bodies of people; party; cause.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce vii. 624 Clyffurd and wauss maid a melle, Quhar cliffurd raucht him a cole, And athir syne drew to partis. c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 363 Þe fend haþ þe strenger part here þan þe part of treuþe. 1396 in Scott. Antiq. XIV. 217 This indenture made..betwx..Scher Henry Synclar..on the ta part and..Scher Jone of Dermounde on the tother part. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn xlvii. 179 Of that other part, they marked well that wyth subyon were grete fuson of men. 1526 Tindale Mark ix. 40 Whosoeuer is not agaynste you is on youre parte. 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus A j b/1 A Senatu stat..he is on the senates part. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. i. ii. 64 The victory to neither part inclinde. 1700 Prior Carmen Seculare 356 Betwixt the Nations let her hold the Scale, And, as she wills, let either Part prevail. 1882 H. C. Merivale Faucit of B. I. 107 No word had been spoken on either part. 1884 Bythewood & Jarman's Prec. in Conveyancing (ed. 4) I. 402 An agreement made..Between ―..(the vendor) of the one part, and ―..(the purchaser) of the other part. |
b. concr. A party; a body of adherents or partisans; a faction. Now rare or Obs.
| c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10455 When boþe partis come to þe fight. c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1724 Arcite & eek the hondred of his parte. 1534 in Lett. Suppress. Monasteries (Camden) 9 Bothe the seyde partes hathe ben more ardente now..then they were before. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 409 He in dede would gladly have pleased both parts. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. iv. 25 Then gan the part of Chalengers anew To range the field, and victorlike to raine. |
† c. pl. ? = part-fray (see 29). Obs. rare.
| 1600 Look About You i. iii. in Hazl. Dodsley VII. 401 Shift for thyself, good Skink; there's gold, away: Here will be parts. 1616 B. Jonson Epigrams cx, [Cæsar] lived scarce one just age, And that midst envy and parts. |
IV. [f. part v.] Parting.
† 16. Parting, separation, leave-taking. Obs. rare.
| 1605 1st Pt. Ieronimo ii. vi. 27 O cruell part; Andreas bosome bears away my hart. |
17. The parting of the hair. U.S.
| 1871 ‘Mark Twain’ in Galaxy Aug. 284/1 He..brushed his hair with elaborate care,..accomplishing an accurate ‘part’ behind. 1890 in Cent. Dict. 1895 Century Mag. Aug. 489/1 His straight, smooth hair, with its definite part. 1933 J. Steinbeck To God Unknown (1935) viii. 61 He raked a nervous hand through his hair and destroyed the careful part. 1970 Globe Mag. (Toronto) 26 Sept. 19/2 (Advt.), Balding! So you moved your part down over your ear. 1972 D. Ramsay Little Murder Music 123 A shoulder-length fall of blue-black hair divided by a snow-white part in centre. 1976 ‘R. Macdonald’ Blue Hammer xxiv. 126 The part in her hair was white and straight. |
V. Phrases.
18. part and (or) parcel. (The addition of parcel emphasizes the sense of part.) a. part and parcel, emphasizing sense 1 c: cf. parcel n. 1 b.
| [1414: see parcel n. 1 b.] 1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 11 This present Act, and euery part and parcel therof, shall extend [etc.]. Ibid. c. 26 The..Lordships..to be part and parcell of the same hundred [of Wesebery]. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. (1647) 100 [To] suffer the same and every part and parcell thereof to descend come and remaine according to the true meaning of this Indenture. 1664 Compleat Clark 795 The said Capital Messuage, Lands, Tenements, Hereditaments, and Premisses, and every part and parcel thereof. 1837 Goring & Pritchard Microgr. 106 This being part and parcel of my present subject. 1846 McCulloch Acc. Brit. Empire (1854) I. 194 The places referred to are, to all intents and purposes, part and parcel of the metropolis. 1856 Dove Logic Chr. Faith v. i. §2. 272 The moral law of the conscience is part and parcel of man himself. |
b. part or (nor) parcel.
| 1459 [see parcel n. 1]. 1535–6 Act 27 Hen. VIII, c. 11 Vnited,..to and with the countie of Hereford, as a member, part, or parcell of the same. 1539 Act 31 Hen. VIII, c. 13 All such Right [or] Title..to the premisses, or to any part or parcell therof. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 64 Neuer a part or parcel thereof left vndiscouered. 1664 Compleat Clark 6 As often as it shall happen the said annuity of a hundred pounds or any part or parcell thereof to be behind and unpaid. 1867 M. E. Herbert Cradle L. iv. 126 The Protestants alone have no part or parcel in the sacred inheritance. |
19. a. part of speech (Gram.) [L. pars orationis]. Formerly also part of reason (reason n.1 3 c), or simply part (sense 2 a). Each of the grammatical categories or classes of words as determined by the kind of notion or relation which they express in the sentence. Also (with hyphens) attrib.
Usually reckoned as eight, viz. noun or substantive, adjective, pronoun, verb, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection (sometimes as nine, the article being reckoned separately from the adjective). Formerly the participle was often reckoned as a distinct ‘part’.
| 1481–1530 [see reason n.1 3 c]. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. v. (Percy Soc.) 24 For as much as there be Eight partes of speche, I would knowe ryght fayne, What a noune substantive is in hys degre. 1530 Palsgr. Introd. 24 They have also a nynth part of reason whiche I call article, borowyng the name of the Grekes. 1612 Brinsley Lud. Lit. (1627) 56 Q. How many parts of speech have you? Or how many parts are there in Speech? A. Eight. 1711 J. Greenwood Eng. Gram. 62, I have not made the Article (as some have done) a distinct Part of Speech. 1866 J. Martineau Ess. I. 277 We..must have the parts of speech before we can predicate anything. 1933 L. Bloomfield Language i. 17 Even the fundamental features of Indo-European grammar, such as, especially, the part-of-speech system, are by no means universal in human speech. 1964 Language XL. 167 One-syllable words, graphemically defined, have the same part-of-speech assignments when checked against standard dictionaries. |
b. principal parts (of a verb): those from which the other parts can be derived, or which contain the different stems in the simplest forms.
In Latin Grammar, applied to the first pers. sing. pres. indic., the infinitive mood, the first pers. sing. perfect indic., and the supine (or in deponent verbs, instead of the two last, the perf. pple.); in English, and Teutonic langs. generally: see quot. 1870.
| 1870 March Comp. Gram. Ags. Lang. 78 The Principal Parts [of a verb] are the present infinitive, the imperfect indicative first person, and the passive participle. |
20. a. most part: the greatest part, most; as adv. mostly; † most part all, almost all; † the more part, the greater or major part, the majority.
| 13.. K. Alis. 5390 Þe mest parte þereof hy slowen. c 1400 Destr. Troy 13308 The most parte of my pepull put to þe dethe. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. 772 The towne was than mooste parte all the houses covered with strawe. 1526 Tindale Acts xix. 32 The moare parte knewe not wherefore they were come togedder. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 166 [Mankynde] leuand maist part in all vice. 1693 Humours Town 48 Their Spendthrift Sons..have dipt most part of their Estates in Judgements, Bonds, and Warrents. Mod. He lives there most part of the year. |
b. for (the) most part, the most part, † for the more part: as concerns the greatest part, in most cases, mostly.
| c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's Prol. 4 For the moore part they loughe & pleyde. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xix. 213 Þei ben alle, for the moste part, alle Pygmeyes. 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 13 They ride the most part, without sadles, spurs, or shoes on their horses. 1685 Lovell Gen. Hist. Relig. 123 Bishopricks and Monasteries,..for most Part, in great Disorder. 1833 H. Martineau Berkeley Banker i. viii. 166 The shops were for the most part closed. |
† 21. some part: as adv., in some parts; to some extent; somewhat. Obs.
| 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 14 It [the vision] be sum part subtile to understand. 1569–70 Tragedie 140 in Satir. Poems Reform. x, Lord Darlie, Of quhais rair bewtie scho did sumpart farlie. |
22. bear a part: to sustain a part (as in acting); to take part: = 23 b.
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad Anagram (1865) 73 No spirit in our blood But in our soul's discourses bears a part. 1712 Arbuthnot John Bull iii. i, John Bull's mother..bears a part in the following transactions. 1782 Priestley Corrupt. Chr. II. ix. 186 The king himself..bore a part in it. |
23. take part. a. To share, partake of or in (cf. sense 7); b. To participate in (some action), to assist, co-operate (cf. 8).
| 1382 Wyclif Hebr. ii. 14 Therfore for children comuneden to fleisch and blood, and he also took part of the same. a 1533 Ld. Berners Huon lxxxi. 245 Such as regarded her were constrayned to take parte of her sorow. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. ix. 24 Each one taking part in others aide. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 19 Philebus..takes no further part in the discussion. |
c. to take part with, to side with, range oneself on the side of (see sense 15). to take the part of, to espouse the side of, to support, second, back up.
| c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1058 Vertu was full heuy, when he sy Frewyll Take part with Vyce. Ibid. 1220, I haue gret meruayll Ye durst be so bolde Vyces part to take. 1545 Brinklow Lament. (1874) 80 The Iewes cried out agaynst Christ, takynge parte with the highe prestes. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 34 They shall doubtles have mo to take their parts. c 1611 Chapman Iliad i. 570 To take part Against Olympius. 1732 T. Lediard Sethos II. ix. 338 He took your part in this war. 1850 Tait's Mag. XVII. 559/1 Some took part with him, some with Carrol. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 251 Zeus sent him flying for taking her part when she was being beaten. |
† 24. a part, on part, early analytical ways of writing apart, q.v. Obs.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xv, We wille go on parte. |
25. for my part: as regards my share in the matter; as far as I am concerned (cf. on my part, etc., 28): so for his part, our part, your part, etc.
| c 1440 Generydes 3013 Syr Anasore the knyght, and ser Darell,..Eche for his parte quyte hym self full wele. 1450–1530 Myrr. our Ladye 137 We oughte to offer yt vp vnto hym with thankeynges for his parte, and meke our selfe for our parte. 1552 Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion, I for my part am here present. 1663 Butler Hud. i. ii. 35 But as for our Part, we shall tell The naked Truth of what befell. 1762 Whitehead School for Lovers iv. i, I wish all the women were in the bottom of the sea, for my part. 1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 185 For my own part, I have no hope of any material benefit. |
26. a. in part: partly.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 351 It may be purgid in part. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 663 The lawes of the realme, in part he reformed, and in part he newely augmented. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. xiii. 9 For we know in part, and we prophesie in part. 1642 J. Eaton Honey-c. Free Justif. 374 To make himselfe righteous by his own works, either in whole or in part. 1878 Hutton Scott iii. 30 The lady herself was in part responsible for this impression. |
b. in good part: favourably or without offence; in ill part or evil part, unfavourably; so in better part, best part, worse part, etc. Chiefly with take, or the like. (Cf. L. in bonam partem accipere, or interpretari.)
| 1559 Knox Let. Q. Eliz. in First Blast (Arb.) App. 60 Interpret my rude wordis in the best part. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 35 b, Fearinge lest the duke should it take in evyll part. Ibid. 107 Thus verely doe they frendly counsell them, and requyre them to take it in that parte. c 1566 J. Alday tr. Boaystuau's Theat. World A iij, Accepting [it] in good part. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. xxii. 28 b, Bread, wine, and sweet water..were accepted in better parte then the answeare of the grand maister. 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. iv. 21 Which I presume hee'le take in gentle part. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxiv. 124 And myself take that wrong..To Hector in worst part of all. 1761–2 Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) IV. lx. 544 The parliament took this remonstrance in ill part. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset I. xviii. 160, I am sure that he will take it in good part. |
† 27. of the part of, of my part, etc.: = on the part of (see 28); also, of my part, from my side, from me. Obs.
| c 1530 To My Heart's Joy 9 in Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 40 Yf ye liste to haue knoweliche of my part, I am in hel [= health], god thanked mote he be, As of body. 1565–73 Cooper Thesaurus A j b/1 All this is of my part, or maketh for me. 1585 T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. i. vi. 4 b, [The] Moores, to whom of our partes was made good cheere. 1595 Shakes. John v. vi. 2 Of the part of England. a 1626 Bacon New Atl. (1627) 6 We of our parts saluted him in a very lowly and submissive manner. |
28. on the part of (any one, on his part, etc.): on the side of; as regards (his, etc.) share in the action, as far as (he, etc.) is concerned (cf. for my part, 25). Also, Proceeding from (the person or party mentioned) as agent; made or performed by; by.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 11836 Priam on his part, & his prise knightes,..no swyke thoghtyn. c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 460 On my part no defaute hath be. 1526 Tindale 1 Pet. iv. 14 On their parte he is evyll spoken of: but on youre parte he is glorified. 1631 Gouge God's Arrows iii. §2. 183 Without any cause, or provocation on Israels part. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 7 Foul distrust, and breach Disloyal on the part of Man,..On the part of Heav'n Now alienated, distance and distaste. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 503 The conclusion, that no excess of tyranny on the part of a prince can justify active resistance on the part of a subject. 1875 Jowett Plato I. 20 No objection on my part, I said. |
VI. 29. Combinations and attributive uses: part-book, a book containing one part (or a number of parts printed separately) of a harmonized musical composition (see 10); † part-fray, a conflict between two parties or factions (obs.); part-music, music in parts (esp. vocal); part-playing, playing in parts (sense 10); part-score Bridge (see quot. 1936); part-singing, singing in parts; part–whole a., of or pertaining to the relationship of a part or parts to a whole; part-work, (a) used attrib. to designate a system of part-time work; (b) a book or the like published in parts; also attrib.; part-writing, composition of music in parts, combination of parts in musical composition (see 10). See also part-song.
| 1864 A. M{supc}Kay Hist. Kilmarnock (ed. 4) 278 A complete set of *part-books of Handel's ‘Joshua’. 1889 W. S. Rockstro in Grove Dict. Mus. IV. 739 Separate volumes, well known to students of mediaeval Music as ‘the old Part-Books’. |
| 1631 Heywood Maid of West ii. Wks. 1874 II. 282 Pox of these *part-frayes. |
| 1880 H. F. Frost in Grove Dict. Mus. II. 658 When secular *part-music again occupied the attention of composers, it took the form of the glee rather than that of the madrigal or part-song. |
| 1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets (1949) i. 18 Tempo: I. Strict tempo or controlled acceleration. II. Moderate, never too fast. Relaxed, and with room for improvised *part-playing. 1960 Times 29 Feb. 15/1 Balanced part-playing and clear harmonic progression appeared to dominate his intentions to the detriment of artistic communication. |
| 1899 Daily News 2 Nov. 6/3 Once the craze was all for issuing volumes in parts; to-day *part publication is almost unknown. |
| 1932 Official Syst. Contract Bridge 187 (heading) Bidding against a side which has a *part score. 1936 E. Culbertson Contract Bridge Complete 17 Part-score, (1) A contract of less than game; (2) the points earned for the making of such a contract. 1973 Times 20 Oct. 11/3 You then run the risk of missing a game unless you have a part-score. |
| 1859 Geo. Eliot A. Bede xix, It had cost Adam a great deal of trouble..to learn his musical notes and *part-singing. |
| 1949 M. Mead Male & Female iii. 73 The Balinese child..develops a *part-whole relationship to the world, in which each part of his body is a whole, and yet each is part of the whole. 1953 C. E. Bazell Linguistic Form 107 It is likely that, as soon as the part-whole rather than the member-class terminology is used, the ostensible criteria for phonemic analysis should be transferred to the analysis of phonemic parts. 1972 Language XLVIII. 452 Semantic analysis based on a strict part-whole conception of meaning. |
| 1966 Economist 26 Mar. 1231/1 One of the aims of the *part-work system is to increase the sum of technically trained people in the rural areas. 1969 Times 13 Mar. 20/7 (Advt.), Part work publishing. Ibid., Part-works now account for more than 10 per cent of all money spent on periodicals. 1971 Guardian 22 Oct. 9/2 ‘World of Wildlife’ is the latest in a string of partwork publications... Partworks began in the mid-eighteenth century when the ‘Encyclopaedia Britannica’ found itself unable to raise sufficient funds to publish all the volumes in one go. 1975 Nature 24 Jan. 227/2 Dr. Magnus Pyke..currently to be seen on British television, advertising the appearance of a new partwork about science. |
| 1889 E. Prout Harmony (ed. 10) iv. §95 Rules which the student must observe in *part-writing. |
B. adv. or quasi-adv. or adj. [Cf. similar use of parcel n. B.] In part, partly, in some degree, to some extent. a. qualifying vb. or phrase.
| 1513 More in Grafton Chron. II. 787 The king made his mother an answere part in earnest and part in play. 1535 Coverd. Dan. ii. 33 His fete were parte off yron, and parte of earth. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. vi. 517 To th' end each Creature might..Part-sympathize with his own Element. 1604 Shakes. Oth. v. ii. 296 This wretch hath part confest his Villany. 1647 Trapp Comm. 2 Tim. i. 12 The ship that is part in the water, and part in the mud. 1704 Pope Windsor For. 18 Waving groves..part admit, and part exclude the day. 1828 Craven Gloss. (ed. 2) s.v., ‘It rains part’, it rains a little. 1864 Tennyson Grandmother viii, A lie which is part a truth is a harder matter to fight. |
b. qualifying adj. or pple.
Properly hyphened when the adj. is used attrib.
| 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. iii. 60 One..who (halfe through) Giues o're, and leaues his part-created Cost A naked subiect to the Weeping Clouds. 1832 Motherwell Poems (1847) 266, I watched those cold part-opened lips. 1891 Mail 14 Dec. 3/6 A part-heard case of alleged dealing in bogus cheques. |
c. qualifying n. With agent-nouns and nouns of action, still of adverbial character, as in part-payment, payment in part, action of partly paying, part-owner; but with other ns. functioning as an adj. In part-time, part-way, etc. often = part of (the time, the way): cf. half-time, half-way. Usually hyphened to the n., and the combination may be used attrib., as in part-mine pig-iron, absol. part-mine, pig-iron partly from native ore. part-exchange, a transaction in which the owner of an article exchanges it for another (usu. new) article and pays a sum of money to cover the difference between the value of the two articles; hence as v. trans., to exchange (something) in this way; also fig.; part-load (see quot. 1971); part-pay, a part of one's pay; spec. that part paid to whalemen before the start of a voyage.
| 1818 Hallam Mid. Ages (1872) I. i. 122 A part performance of Gregory II.'s engagement. 1833 H. Martineau Fr. Wines & Pol. i. 1 An excursion of part business, part pleasure. 1850 H. Melville White Jacket II. xxxvii. 234 There were instances of men in the Neversink receiving money in part pay for work done for private individuals. 1851 ― Moby Dick III. xlix. 309, I hope my poor mother's drawn my part-pay ere this. 1862 H. Spencer First Princ. ii. xx. §159 (1875) 447 A part-cause of the transformation of the Earth's crust. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 238 It was part payment only, payment in full was still to come. 1878 C. Read On Theory of Logic 130 It is certain that C is a Cause or Part-Cause of E. 1893 Daily News 20 Nov. 2/6 Staffordshire part-mines are 45s 6d to 46s 6d and 47s, according to mixture; common, 35s to 36s; and all mine hot-blast forge iron, 60s to 62s 6d. 1896 Westm. Gaz. 29 Jan. 1/2 The part-authors, and part-condoners, of the horrors in the Armenian provinces. 1901 H. H. Joachim Study Ethics of Spinoza 169 In our ignorance we attribute these qualities of sensation directly to the external bodies, which are at most their part-causes. 1926 Punch 10 Nov. 505/3 A correspondent writes to know if, when the new wave-lengths come into force, the old ones will be accepted in part-exchange. 1929 Melody Maker Jan. 18 (Advt.), Your present instrument in part exchange. 1931 D. L. Sayers Five Red Herrings xx. 218 He had something to do with the second-hand motor trade and was taking the bike in part-exchange for something. 1932 H. H. Price Perception viii. 270 One needs..to know that any material thing is a part-cause of the sense-data belonging to it. 1961 Guardian 12 June 2/3 The urge to part-exchange my car comes upon me. 1964 M. Argyle Psychol. & Social Probl. v. 61 Different part-causes combine together, so that if one is very strong, or if several of them add together, the result is a delinquent. Each part-cause has a known statistical weight over a large sample, so that it is possible to estimate the chances that a given person will be a delinquent. 1968 Listener 30 May 711/1 One way is to resolve to part-exchange an idea long before it has been driven down to the rims. 1969 Jane's Freight Containers 1968–69 315/1, 20% will go to wagon-load and 80% to LCL, or part-load. 1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 115 Part load, a consignment to a destination that is less than a complete trailer load. 1972 Daily Tel. 10 Oct. 3/3 He part-exchanged his old power-boat for the Carnation in 1970. 1973 Times 25 Oct. 38/7 (Advt.), Steinway and Sons..are prepared to purchase or take part exchange pianos of their own or other makes. 1976 Leicester Trader 24 Nov. 21/2 They do part-exchanges, offer an excellent after-sales service and an insurance repair service. |
▪ II. part, v.
(pɑːt)
Also 4–5 pert, 4–6 parte, 6– Sc. pairt. Pa. pple. parted, in 4–5 (8–9) part.
[a. F. part-ir (pr. pple. part-ant, 3 sing. pres. indic. part, pres. subj. parte), formerly ‘to part, sunder, divide, sever; also’ (in mod.Fr. now only) ‘to part, depart, remoue, or goe from’ (Cotgr.) = Pr. and Sp. partir, It. partire:—L. partīre (in cl. L. usually partīrī) to part, divide, distribute, share, f. pars, part-em, stem parti- part n.]
I. 1. a. trans. To divide into parts (by actual local separation, or by marking or assigning boundaries, or merely in thought); to divide, break, cleave, sever. Now somewhat rare.
to part the hoof: to have cloven hoofs (cf. divide v. 1 b).
| c 1275 On Serving Christ 27 in O.E. Misc. 91 And Adames eyres beoþ parted on þre. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 49 Knoute..parted þe lond in foure parties. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xxi. 18 Þai partid his clathes in foure partis. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 385/1 Partyn a-sundyr, or clevyn,..divido. 1483 Cath. Angl. 270/2 To Parte in thre, tripartiri. 1594 Willobie Avisa xlv, A heavy burden wearieth one, Which being parted then in twaine, Seemes very light. 1611 Bible Lev. ii. 6 Thou shalt part it in pieces, and powr oyle thereon. ― Deut. xiv. 6 Euery beast that parteth the hoofe, and cleaueth the clift into two clawes. 1650 Trapp Comm. Exod. xiv. 21 That torrent of fire..yet parted it self; making a kinde of a lane. 1874 Green Short Hist. ii. §9. 112 The besiegers were parted into two masses by the Seine. |
† b. Arith. = divide v. 9 a. Obs.
| 1579 Digges Stratiot. 8 To deuide or parte, is ingeniously to find how oftentimes the diuisor is conteined in the number to be diuided. |
c. To separate (the hair), as with a comb, on each side of a dividing line or parting.
| 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 68 The haire of their heads..They part it before in the midst, and pleate it behind. a 1822 Shelley Pr. Wks. (1888) I. 405 The hair delicately parted on the forehead. 1839 J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. iii. (1847) 30 The hair of his upper lip being parted on both sides lay upon his breast. |
d. Naut. To break, or suffer the breaking of (a rope) so as to get loose from an anchor, a mooring, a vessel in tow, etc. Also absol. to get loose in this way.
| 1793 Smeaton Edystone L. §149 In the attempt, it parted the grappling rope. 1800 Nelson 26 Feb. in Nicolas Disp. (1845) IV. 200 She having split her maintopsail and foresail, parted the cable, let go another anchor. 1854 G. B. Richardson Univ. Code v. (ed. 12) §3746, I have parted, sweep for my anchor when I am gone. 1892 Pall Mall G. 9 Apr. 6/2 He did not think that three of the best ocean tugs could have taken the Federation through the cyclonic seas without parting their hawsers. |
2. intr. To suffer division, be divided or severed, to divide, break, cleave, come in two or in pieces.
| 1579 W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Love 16 b, The clouen ayre, which parteth in sunder at the end of his arrow. 1716 B. Church Hist. Philip's War (1865) I. 111 They came into the Country Road, where the track parted. 1801 Southey Thalaba xi. xxxviii, The gentle waters gently part In dimples round the prow. 1830 Marryat King's Own liv, The frigate parted amidships. 1898 Daily News 24 Nov. 5/5 The cord parted, and he was dashed to the pavement lifeless. |
3. a. trans. To dissolve (a connexion, etc.) by separation of the persons or parties concerned: in special phrases, as to part company, to dissolve companionship, take leave, separate (= sense 6); to part a fight, fray, to put an end to a fight by separating the combatants (see 4); † to part beds, to cease to live together in wedlock (obs.). Also to part brass-rags: see brass n. 7.
| 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 9168 Truste ek trewely, Ye partë neuere company. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cvii. xi, Of seas and winds he partes the fight. 1599 Shakes. Much Ado v. i. 114 Welcome signior, you are almost come to part a fray. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 46 The Vice-Admiral..left not off till Night parted the Fray. 1710 Steele Tatler No. 150 ¶4, I could name Two, who after having had Seven Children, fell out and parted Beds upon the boiling of a Leg of Mutton. 1844 Dickens Mart. Chuz. xxxvii, They parted company at the gate of Furnival's Inn. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 380 He parts company from the vain and impertinent talker. 1883 H. Drummond Nat. Law in Sp. W. ii. (1884) 76 The point at which the scientific man is apt to part company with the theologian. |
b. To dissolve, break up (an assembly). rare.
| 13.. Cursor M. 13850 (Gött.) Wid þis þai partid þair semble. 1720 Ozell Vertot's Rom. Rep. II. ix. 132 The Night coming on, parted the Assembly, before anything was decided. |
4. a. To put asunder, separate, sunder (two or more persons or things, or one from another); to separate (combatants) so as to stop the combat; to make a separation between (companions, lovers, etc.). Also fig. to separate in thought, to put in a different class or category, to distinguish.
| c 1315 Shoreham i. 2089 Eche hordom ne parteþ nauȝt þe mane al fram hys wyfe. 13.. Cursor M. 390 (Gött.) To part þe dai fra þe night. c 1440 Generydes 2295 The kyng of kynggez partyd them twayn. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 7 How canst thou part sadnesse and melancholy? 1602 ― Ham. v. ii. 312 Part them, they are incens'd. 1611 Bible Ruth i. 17 The Lord doe so to me, and more also, if ought but death part thee and me. ― Luke xxiv. 51 While he blessed them, hee was parted from them, and caried vp into heauen. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) I. 242 A fool and his money is soon parted. 1758 R. Brown Compl. Farmer ii. (1760) 87 [Horse-beans and tares] are easily parted with a riddle. 1830 Tennyson Isabel ii, To part Error from crime. 1853 Kingsley Hypatia iii. 35 The women shrieked to their lovers to part the combatants. |
b. To keep asunder or separate; to separate, as a boundary; to form a boundary or interval between.
| 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 50 Each windo arched in the top, and parted from oother..by flat fayr bolted columns. 1632 Lithgow Trav. ii. 56 Which Riuer parteth also Dacia, from Mysia. 1781 Cowper Charity 20 Where seas or deserts part them from the rest. 1859 Tennyson Geraint & Enid 1118 As..two wild men supporters of a shield, Painted, who stare at open space, nor glance The one at other, parted by the shield. 1874 Green Short Hist. i. §i. 1 The peninsula which parts the Baltic from the Northern seas. |
c. spec. in technical uses: (a) Metallurgy. To separate (gold and silver) from each other by means of an acid. (b) Paper-making. To separate (the damp sheets) after pressing. (c) Comb-making. To cut (a pair of combs, or their teeth) from one piece of material by a special method, so that the teeth of each correspond to the spaces between the teeth of the other. (d) Turning (usu. to part off), to separate (a piece) from the block, as with a parting-tool: see parting vbl. n. 2, quot. 1879.
| 1487 Act 4 Hen. VII, c. 2 Preamble, It was of old Time used..to fine and part all Gold and Silver..needful for the said Mints. 1825 J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 766 The gold and silver to be parted ought previously to be granulated. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 927 Fine papers are often twice parted and pressed. Ibid. 1061 The one space..is allotted to the processes of dissolving the silver, and parting the gold. 1875 Ibid. (ed. 7) I. 905 The teeth of the larger descriptions of comb are parted, or cut one out of the other with a thin frame saw; then the shell, equal in size to two combs with their teeth interlaced, is bent like an arch in the direction of the length of the teeth... Smaller combs of horn and tortoise-shell are parted whilst flat, by an ingenious machine with two chisel-formed cutters, placed obliquely, so that every cut produces one tooth. 1923 C. M. Linley Lathe Users' Handbk. vii. 118 In bar work, as each piece is finished, it is parted off. 1945 W. C. Durney Capstan & Turret Lathes iii. 78 Mount a parting off tool in one of the remaining stations of the rear square turret and locate a longitudinal stop to part off the bar 1/4 in. from the collet face. 1948 L. H. Sparey Amateur's Lathe x. 126/1 When work of large diameter must be parted-off, it is not advisable to make the part in one cut. 1958 C. T. Bower Aids to Workshop Pract. viii. 94 The parting-off tool shown..has been designed for use on a 3½-in. centre lathe to enable work gripped in the chuck to be parted off without jamming. |
d. intr. or absol. To make or cause separation, division, or distinction.
| 1611 Bible Prov. xviii. 18 The lot causeth contentions to cease, and parteth betweene the mighty [Coverd., parteth the mightie asunder]. 1750 Boston Rec. (1887) XVII. 252 In a range with the Fence and Trees which parts between John Richardson Esqrs. Land..and Samuel Wells Esqrs. Land. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xlviii, Her care is not to part and prove. |
II. 5. intr. To become or be separated or sundered (from something); to be liberated or detached; to proceed, emanate; to come off. rare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 20755 Þan parted his hend fra þe bere. 1594 Constable Diana vi. ix, But from his bow a fiery arrow parteth. 1679 Establ. Test 13 A stolen smile will part from me. 1717 Pope Eloisa 95 Ev'n thought meets thought, ere from the lips it part. 1862 Borrow Wild Wales III. xv. 168 The sheep caught the disease and the wool parted. |
6. a. In reciprocal sense: To go or come apart or asunder, to separate. Of persons: To go away from each other, quit one another's company.
| 1297 R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6153 Þe kinges & muche of hor folc aliue partede atuo. a 1300 Cursor M. 20264 Allas! hou sal we part in tua. 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2473 Þay acolen and kyssen..and parten ryȝt þere. c 1400 Mandeville (Roxb.) xiii. 57 Þare þare it and Iordan partes es a grete brigg. c 1475 Rauf Coilȝear 572 Thus partit thay twa. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. i. 10 So both tooke goodly leave, and parted severall. 1602 Shakes. Ham. i. v. 18 A Tale..Would..Make..Thy knotty and combined locks to part, And each particular haire to stand on end. 1646 Crashaw Delights of Muses 119 And, when life's sweet fable ends, Soul and body part like friends. 1725 Gay Black-eyed Susan iv, We only part to meet again. a 1732 ― Hare & Friends 61 But dearest friends, alas! must part. 1817 Shelley Rev. Islam i. xviii, Her lips grew pale, Parted, and quivered. 1842 Tennyson E. Morris 70 We met to part no more. 1897 M. Kingsley W. Africa 392, I give my guides buttons, reels of cotton,..fish-hooks, and matches, and we part friends. Mod. Here our roads parted. |
b. part from: (a) to separate from, go away from, leave (see also 7); (b) = next b (now rare).
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 64 Hwon he parteð urom ou. Ibid. 406 Bute ȝif ich parti urom ou, þe Holi Gost..ne mei nout kumen to ou. a 1300 Cursor M. 13033 Herodias..wend to part fra herod. 1375 Barbour Bruce vi. 492 The hwnd hym lufit swa, That he vald part na vis hym fra. c 1400 Laud Troy Bk. 10692 For al his myȝt & his prowes He partied neuere fro him harmles. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xvi. (Percy Soc.) 60 Fare well, she sayde, for I must parte you fro. 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. iv. iv. 102 This Ring I gaue him, when he parted from me. 1727 C. Colden Hist. Five Ind. Nat. 3 This extremity obliged the Adirondacks to part from those of the Five Nations. 1863 Geo. Eliot in Life (1885) II. 365 Our poor boy Thornie parted from us to-day. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 174, I giue them with this ring, Which when you part from, loose, or giue away, Let it presage the ruine of your loue. 1640 H. Glapthorne Wallenstein iii. iii, That jewell which you seeme To part from so unwillingly. 1793 Minstrel III. 30 Grasping the shadow of power, whilst their poverty constrained them to part from the substance. 1860 Geo. Eliot in Life (1885) II. 166 His precious bag, which he would by no means part from. |
c. part with: (a) = prec. (a) (now rare); (b) to let go, give up, surrender; to get rid of, send away, dismiss; in mod. use also of a body or substance: to lose, give off (heat, or a constituent or element).
to part with child (bairn): to be delivered prematurely, to suffer abortion (Sc.).
| 13.. Cursor M. 17022 (Cott.) Kynd na saul suffers ar to part wit [so Gött.; Trin. & Laud parte fro] man o-liue. 1590 Shakes. Com. Err. v. i. 221 He was with me then, Who parted with me to go fetch a Chaine. 1600 ― A.Y.L. iii. ii. 235 How parted he with thee? 1643 Trapp Comm. Gen. xiii. 14 Abram had now parted with Lot, to his great grief. 1766 Goldsm. Vic. W. ix, The ladies seemed very unwilling to part with my daughters. 1871 M. Arnold Friendship's Garl. 97 Just after I had parted with him at his lodgings. |
| c 1350 St. John Evang. 290 in Horstmann Altengl. Leg. (1881) 38 He dredes his gude sal fro him fall, So þat he dar noght part with all. 1581 G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 28 b, The Dutches was driuen to part with one of her chiefe women. c 1592 Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. 411 Oh, that I should part with so much gold! 1663 Boyle Exp. Hist. Colours iii. xlix. Annot. ii, Lixiviate salts..dispose them [vegetables] to part readily with their tincture. 1718 Freethinker No. 92 ¶3, I would part with all my Jewels, to be but Twenty. 1800 Asiat. Ann. Reg., Misc. Tr. 327/1 Such substances as are known to contain oxygen in the greatest abundance, and to part with it with the greatest facility. 1878 Dale Lect. Preach. v. 131 Men will not part with what they have until you give them something better. |
| a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 61 The ȝeir following the quene pairtit witht bairne... The bairne was born quick and deceissit witht in schort space thairefter. 1722 Wodrow Hist. Ch. Scot. II. iii. viii §7. 432 All which put her to such Fright that she parted with Child, and never recovered. 1883 Graham Writings II. 20 (E.D.D.) Maggy had parted wi' bairn. |
d. absol. To part with something, esp. money; to give or pay money. slang or colloq. Also (Austral. and N.Z. colloq.) const. up.
| 1864 Hotten Slang Dict. 196 Part, to pay, restore, give up; ‘he's a right un, he is; I know he'd part.’.. The term is in general use in Sporting circles. 1873 Slang Dict. s.v., ‘He's a right un, he is; I know'd he'd part’. 1889 Bulletin (Sydney) 21 Sept. 20/1 An' then they reckoned I'd been usin' 'em [sc. double-headed pennies in a game of two-up] all the time, and they made me part up. 1894 ‘J. S. Winter’ Red-Coats 107 The master of Dorien was wily—what the country folk call ‘unwilling to part’. At least, he would only part for a consideration. 1913 E. Wharton Custom of Country ii. xiv. 202 People said of him that he ‘didn't care to part’. 1933 A. G. Macdonell England, their England xv. 267 Might squeeze another hundred [pounds]... Not more. He doesn't part easily. 1943 Amer. Speech XVIII. 92 Words and phrases..which deserve to be recorded in any attempt to convey something of the flavour of the colloquial speech of the country [sc. New Zealand]{ddd}to part up, to pay up. 1946 F. Sargeson That Summer 152 Ted got more but of course there was his wife, and he had to part up. 1952 Wodehouse Barmy in Wonderland viii. 81 Fanny won't part. She's so tight she could carry an armful of eels up two flights of stairs and not drop one. 1953 K. Tennant Joyful Condemned iv. 39, I guess Rene might part up to know who her mum was. 1966 Wodehouse Plum Pie i. 17 Uncle Tom..had to foot the bills. He has the stuff in sackfuls, but he hates to part. 1970 J. Aiken Embroidered Sunset x. 209 ‘So where are all the old girl's pictures?’ ‘Scattered all over the village. Nobody will part; they are thought to be lucky.’ |
7. a. intr. To take one's leave or departure; to depart, go away; to set out. arch. [Cf. F. partir.]
In perfect tenses, it often took be: ‘he is parted from Rome’.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 12975 Sum oþir ansuar sal þou sai, Ar I fra þe yitt part a-wai. c 1300 Havelok 2962 Hwan he wore parted alle samen, Hauelok bi-lefte wit ioie and gamen In engelond. 1382 Wyclif Mark i. 42 Anoon the lepre partide [Vulg. discessit] awey fro hym. c 1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 384 For to dye it were my riȝth, And hennes to party. c 1489 Caxton Blanchardyn iv. 20 Who moued you to leue me, and to parte soo? 1591 Shakes. Two Gent. i. i. 71 But now he parted hence to embarque for Millain. 1622 J. Borough in Lett. Lit. Men (Camd.) 129 Mr. Norgate is parted from Rome..for England. c 1642 Twyne in Wood's Life 1 Sept. (O.H.S.) I. 58 They desisted and parted awaye quietly. 1676 Lond. Gaz. No. 1151/2 The Queen of Poland was parted from Janowits, to go and meet the King at Leopol. 1724 De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 44, I parted from Vienna the middle of May. 1814 Cary Dante, Paradise vi. 142 Aged and poor He parted thence. 1885–94 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche Aug. xxiii, ‘But ere he parted’, said she, ‘he confer'd On thee the irrecoverable boon’. |
b. to part (hence, out of this life, etc.): to die.
| c 1325 Spec. Gy Warw. 297 Whan þeih sholen parten henne, Ful wel þeih sholen here weie kenne Riht to þe blisse of paradys. 13.. Chron. Eng. 422 (Ritson) Er he partede of thisse live. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 12 A [= he] parted eu'n iust betweene Twelue and One. 1616 B. Jonson Epigr. i. xxii, At six months' end, she parted hence. 1816 J. Wilson City of Plague i. iii. 50 An angel sent from pitying heaven To bid him part in peace. 1878 Masque of Poets 14, I know it well and yet in peace I part. |
8. † a. trans. To depart from, go away from, take leave of, leave, quit, forsake: = depart v. 8. Obs.
In quot. 1609, app. a mixture of ‘had parted this life’ and ‘had been parted from this life’. Cf. pass v.
| a 1529 Skelton Epit. Dk. Jaspar Wks. 1843 II. 398 But or I parte the place, Up his hede he caste. 1587 Turberv. Trag. T. (1837) 39 That I should part my countrey, to avoide My monstrous charge. 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, iii. i. 3 Since presently your soules must part your bodies. 1609 Bible (Douay) 2 Macc. v. 5 As though Antiochus had bene parted this life. 1787 Minor iv. vi. 222 My regret at parting this second Eden. c 1802 M. Edgeworth Ennui xiv, Though loth to part his country, he could rather part that nor me. 1812 Examiner 14 Sept. 588/1 One of the transports,..having parted the convoy, was captured. |
b. To part with, give up: = 6 b (b), c (b). dial.
| 1823 Sharpe Ballad Bk. (1868) 2 (E.D.D.) O we maun part this lore, Willie. 1899 S. MacManus Chim. Corners 73 (E.D.D.) He wouldn't part his wife Molly at home for all the princesses in the world. |
III. 9. trans. To divide to or among a number of recipients; to distribute in shares, apportion. (With various const.) Somewhat arch.
| 13.. K. Alis. 4678 He nam Daries tresour, And pertid hit among his kynne. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 296 He parted his wynnyng tille his men largely. a 1400–50 Alexander 4318 Þe quilke is part vs, all þe pake, be parcells euyn. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal. Apr. 153, I will part them all you among. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cviii. iii, Let me part out Sichems fields. 1609 Bible (Douay) 1 Macc. v. 20 And there were parted to Simon three thousand men, to goe into Galilee. a 1661 Fuller Worthies (1840) II. 503 She parted herself, whilst living..betwixt these three places. 1715 Pope 2nd Ep. Miss Blount 15 To part her time 'twixt reading and bohea. 1809 Bawdwen Domesday Bk. 332 This land was parted between 41 Burgesses who have 12 ploughs. 1876 Freeman Norm. Conq. IV. xviii. 209 Lands which seem to have been parted out among the magistrates and chief burghers. |
10. a. To share with another or others; (of one person) to give a share of to another; (of a number of persons) to take each a share of, divide among themselves. Now rare or Obs. exc. dial.
| 13.. Seuyn Sages (W.) 2053 Yif thou wilt half parte with ous, Thou sschalt hit have, Sire Cressus. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. xi. 50 Luyte loueþ he þat lord..Þat þus parteþ with þe pore a parcel whon him neodeþ. 1382 Wyclif John xix. 24 Their partiden my clothis to hem, and in to my cloth thei senten lott. c 1386 Chaucer Merch. T. 386 [He] thanked god..That no wight his blisse parten shal. 1484 Caxton Fables of æsop ii. xviii, Ye shalle parte to gyder your good. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lviii. 5 Giff thame the pelffe to pairt amang thame. 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 249 Long. Let's part the word. Mar. No, Ile not be your halfe. 17.. Pope (J.), Jove himself no less content wou'd be To part his throne, and share his heav'n with thee. 1840 Dickens Old C. Shop xliv, Her friend parted his breakfast..with the child and her grandfather. |
† b. to part stakes (also to part shares): to share, partake, participate, ‘go shares’ (with a person, in a thing). In quot. 1581, to make division or distribution (of a thing between persons).
| 1553 T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 133 The Deuill and thei..shall parte stakes with theim one daie. 1581 J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 406 b, To make Invocation to the dead, to part stakes of honour betwixt God and his Sainctes. 1622 Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 304, I might part shares with my wife. 1628 Gaule Pract. The. Panegyr. 7 To share the Honour with him, and part stakes in the Prayse. 1665 R. Brathwait Comment Two Tales 42 This was before they parted Stakes. |
† 11. intr. To make division into shares; to give or impart a share; to take or have a share; to share, ‘go shares’, participate, partake (with a person; of or in, rarely with, a thing). Obs.
| c 1290 St. Brandan 264 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 226 Heo wollez party þar-of mid us. a 1330 Otuel 1658 And ȝef we ani good winne, For soþe þou schalt parten þer inne. 1340 Ayenb. 38 Þe þyeues be uelaȝrede byeþ þo þet parteþ of þe þyefþe. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 4706, I ffeede folk that hongry be, And parte with hem off my plente. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 254 Lat me and the Frinchemen pairt amang ws. 1611 Bible 1 Sam. xxx. 24 As his part is that goeth downe to the battel, so shall his part bee that tarieth by the stuffe: they shall part alike. 1670 Wallis in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 519 Who longs to hear of some here willing to part in the impression of my things at Leyden. |
† 12. trans. and absol. To give a part or share of; hence, To give away, bestow, impart. Obs.
| 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. i. 156 Bote ȝe..loue þe pore, And such good as God sent Treweliche parten, Ȝe naue no more merit [etc.]. 1382 Wyclif Baruch vi. 27 [Thei] nether parten to seeke man, nether to beggynge. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 219 With glad herte parte thyn almesse. 1522 World & Child in Hazl. Dodsley I. 243 For poverty I part in many a place To them that will not obedient be. |
† 13. To mix or temper (wine) with other liquors or substances. Obs. [Cf. F. couper le vin.]
| a 1700 B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Freeze, a thin..Cyder..us'd by Vintners..in parting their Wines, to lower the Price of them. 1703 Art & Myst. Vintners 67 To part a Butt of Muskadel. Draw half your Wine into another Butt; then take your Lags of all sorts that do not prick, and so much Syrup as will not prick;..beat them up, and let it rest after you have blown the froth from off it [etc.]. |
IV. † 14. trans. To side with, take part with. (Cf. party v. 2 a.) Obs. rare.
| 1652 [see parting vbl. n. 6]. 1669 Macfarlane Genealog. Collect. (1900) I. 58 Alexander Earl of Argyle parted the Baliol. 1715 Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 89 The influence of High Church in England, who parted our disaffected party, and stopped all prosecution of them. |
▪ III. † part, ppl. a. rare.
Obs. pa. pple. of prec. vb. = parted. part per pale = party per pale; as n. = an escutcheon party per pale.
| 1708 Brit. Apollo No. 3. 2/2 He, that selleth Ale, Hangs out a Chequer'd Part per Pale. Part per Pale sells Ale and Beer. 1862 Longfellow Wayside Inn Prel. 107 A Wyvern part-per-pale addressed Upon a helmet barred. |