▪ I. supply, n.
(səˈplaɪ)
Forms: 5 supplye (6–7 pl. supplyes), 5–6 Sc. supple, 6–8 supplie, 7– supply.
[f. supply v.1 (In early use mainly Sc.)]
I. The action of supplying, or condition of being supplied.
† 1. Assistance, succour, support, relief. Also predicated of a person or thing that is the means of assistance or support. Obs.
Phr. to make (a) supply, to give assistance.
| 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. xv, Ryght as the schip that sailith stereles Vpon the rokkis most to harmes hye, For lak of It that suld bene hir supplye. Ibid. cxii, In this case sche [sc. Minerva] may be thy supplye. c 1480 Henryson Fables, Fox, Wolf, & Cadger xiv, Ȝe man tak trauell and mak vs sum supple. 1513 Douglas æn. iii. x. 105, I leis..all supple of our travale and pane. 1549 Compl. Scot. Ep. Queen 1 The langorius desolat & affligit pepil, quhilkis ar al mast disparit of mennis supple. 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 46 Quhair I culd nocht the Law fulfill, My warkis maid me na supplie. Ibid. 162 Thow art..My hope, support, and haill supplie. 1587 Turberv. Trag. Tales (1837) 32 When he sawe Nastagio bent For her supplie, whom he would reave of life. 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence, Phormio i. iv, Heere will I lie in a bush to make a supply, if you shall faile in anything. 1602 Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 24 To expend your time with vs a-while, For the supply and profit of our Hope. c 1614 Mure Dido & æneas i. 566 See how Penthesilea leads Her Amazonian trowpes to Troye's supplie! 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 597 Apple Trees..Want no Supply, but stand secure alone. |
2. The act of making up a deficiency, or of fulfilling a want or demand.
Phr.
† to make (a) supply, to fill up a deficiency.
| 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxviii. 35 Supportand faltis with ȝour supple. 1596 Bacon Max. & Use Com. Law ii. (1635) 61 The maner of making supply when the part of the heire is not a full third. 1638 Quarles Hieroglyph. i. Epigr. i. 3 Thy wants are far more safe then their supply. 1662 H. More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 17, I omitted to set down the Succession of the Pythagorick School..and therefore I will here make a supply out of Diogenes Laertius. 1768 Tucker Lt. Nat. I. xxvii. 186 Why are usefull things good? because they minister to the supply of our wants and desires. 1824 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 317 The supply of the ellipsis..gives an uncouth appearance to these sentences. 1835 T. Mitchell Acharn. of Aristoph. App. 245 A system..which drew..upon the purses of the tributary states for a supply of those pecuniary demands, which the native resources of Athens were unable to furnish. |
† 3. a. The act of supplying something needed; the filling up
of a place or position; the provision
of a person or thing in the place of another; the substitution
of a thing for something else.
Obs.| 1585 in Presbyt. Movem. Eliz. (Camden) 53 Mr. Tay..desired the brethren to helpe him..for the supplie of his place. 1607 Shakes. Timon ii. i. 27 My releefe Must not be tost and turn'd to me in words, But finde supply immediate. 1608 J. King Serm. S. Mary's, Oxf. 5 Two partes, first the cession or decease of the one, secondly the succession and supply of the other. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 736 The South⁓wind..all the Clouds together drove..; the Hills to their supplie Vapour..Sent up amain. 1673 Temple United Prov. Wks. 1731 I. 34 This Course seems to have been instituted by way of Supply or Imitation of the Chamber of Mechlyn. |
b. Now only in reference to persons: The act, or position, of supplying a vacancy, or officiating temporarily instead of another,
esp. as a minister or preacher;
on supply = acting in such a capacity.
| 1580 Campion in Allen Martyrdom Campion (1908) 23 Such as..are to be sent for supplie,..let them be well trained for the pulpit. 1896 ‘Ian Maclaren’ Kate Carnegie 248 A ‘probationer’, who on Saturdays can be seen at any country junction, bag in hand, on his patient errand of ‘supply’. 1905 Daily Chron. 1 Sept. 1/6 Wanted, an Assistant School⁓master, on ‘Supply.’ 1912 Universe 16 Aug. 12/1 Southwark... Father Hallett [stationed] on supply at Melior Street. |
4. a. The provision or furnishing
of a person, etc. with necessaries.
| 1781 Cowper Charity 251 These have an ear for his paternal call, Who makes some rich for the supply of all. 1805 Collingwood 7 Oct. in Nicolas Disp. Nelson (1846) VII. 83 note, The active part he takes in everything that relates to the supply of the Fleet. 1848 Dickens Dombey xx, The Native then handed him separately, and with a decent interval between each supply, his wash-leather gloves, his thick stick, and his hat. 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. (ed. 3) s.v., In time of peace the method of supply is by contract for the principal articles of sustenance. |
b. in short supply: see
short a. 15 a.
II. That which is supplied.
† 5. collect. sing. or pl. An additional body of persons,
esp. reinforcements of troops.
Obs.| c 1470 Henry Wallace v. 87 Butleris men so stroyit war that tide, In to the stour he wald na langar bide. To get supple he socht on to the staill. 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. i. 159 The Earle of Salisbury craueth supply. 1597 ― 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 45 Though wee here fall downe, Wee haue Supplyes, to second our Attempt. a 1624 in Capt. J. Smith's Virginia iii. vi. 59 There we found the last Supply [of colonists] were all sicke. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. iii. x. (1821) 335 The two thousand supplyes, that were now landed out of England. 1685 Stillingfl. Orig. Brit. v. 297 The Romans..sent them speedy Supplies. 17.. Outlaw Murray xliii. in Child Ballads V. 196/1 Word is gane to Philiphaugh,..To meet him the morn wi some supply. |
† 6. a. A substitute. Const.
of.
Obs. exc. as in b.
| 1567 Fenton Trag. Disc. xiii. (1898) II. 279 Usinge the pointe of a sharppe bodkyn as a supplie of a steeled chezell. |
b. One who supplies a vacancy or acts as substitute for another;
esp. a minister or preacher who temporarily officiates in a vacant charge or pulpit; also, a supply teacher (see 12 a).
| 1584 in Presbyt. Movem. Eliz. (Camden) 36 Mr. Newman moued whether he might get a standing supply for his place. 1697 in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. (1870) I. 10 To give notice what number of ministers was wanting, and earnestly to solicit for a suitable Supply. 1718 Bp. Robinson Ibid. 200, I should be glad to hear from you what vacant Churches are in your parts, to the end I may..procure you a supply. 1888 Howells Annie Kilburn xxx, Supply after supply filled his pulpit. 1892 Pall Mall G. 8 Oct. 7/2 Some servants..will only stay in situations for short periods... These would make excellent supplies. 1957 A. Wilson Bit off Map & Other Stories 152 ‘Why can't they get a Supply in?’ ‘Supply teachers need notification.’ 1974 M. Higgins Changeling i. 7 Your replacement is only a supply, and..the Head'd be only too happy to have you back. |
† 7. a. A supplement or appendix
to a literary work.
| 1585 Banister Chyrurg. Title-p., Encreased and enlightened with certaine Annotations, Resolutions, and Supplyes, not impertinent to this Treatise. 1596 Danett tr. Comines (1614) 225 (heading) A Supply to the Historie of Philip de Commines from the death of King Lewis the XI. 1638 Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. III.) 1 A Supply to the Second part; or The Third Part of the Letters of M. de Balzac. |
† b. gen. Something supplementary, additional, or auxiliary; a supplement, adjunct.
Obs.| 1620 [G. Brydges] Horæ Subs. 21 To make himselfe the encreasing figure, whilst the rest serue but for supplyes. 1625 Burges Pers. Tithes 49 All these Defects are supplyed in this Statute of Edw. the 6. For, (passing ouer the supplies touching Prædiall Tithes) wee may finde these supplies for Personal Tithes. a 1626 Bp. Andrewes 96 Serm., Holy Ghost (1661) 488 To do that was to be done, Christ was enough; needs no supply. 1752 Hume Ess. & Treat. (1777) I. 197 Municipal laws are a supply to the wisdom of each individual. |
8. a. A quantity or amount
of something supplied or provided.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon ii. ii. 201, I am proud, say, that my occasions haue found time to vse 'em toward a supply of mony. 1665 Manley Grotius' Low C. Wars 241 The Queen of England..ordered a supply of mony to the King of France, together, with four thousand English Souldiers. 1703 W. Dampier Voy. III. 16 Till..the greatest part of the Salt-water is congeal'd..or till a fresh Supply of it comes in again from the Sea. 1710–11 Atterbury Serm., 1 Cor. x. 13 (1734) I. 102 What is Grace, but an Extraordinary Supply of Ability and Strength to resist Temptations? 1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds ix. 117 The greatest possible supply of human labour. 1837 Dickens Pickw. ii, The wine was passed, and a fresh supply ordered. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) I. 34 Certain crops..require a particular alkali; the vine, for example,..and sorrel,..must needs have supplies of potash. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 592 The duke had brought..but a scanty supply of pikes and muskets. 1898 G. B. Shaw Plays II. Candida 95 Carrying..a handbag, and a supply of illustrated papers. |
† b. spec. (
absol.) A collection of materials to form the basis of an argument or treatise.
Obs.| 1662 More Antid. Ath. ii. xi. heading, A Supply from ordinary and known Examples as convictive..of a discerning Providence. 1714 Swift Pres. St. Aff. Wks. 1755 II. i. 203 Systems, that..are supplies for pamphlets in the present age. |
9. absol. (A) provision of funds or food; (a quantity of) money or provisions supplied or to be supplied: now chiefly
spec. the food and other stores necessary for an armed force.
a. sing. (Now
rare,
exc. as
attrib. of b: see 12.)
| 1611 Bible 2 Cor. viii. 14 That now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want. 1622 Fletcher Span. Cur. i. i, When this is spent, Seek for supply from me. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1780), Supply, a fresh recruit of provisions or stores sent to a ship or fleet. 1825 P. Buchan Gleanings, Willie Wallace xi, If ye be a captain as good as ye look Ye'll give a poor man some supplie. 1831 Scott Ct. Rob. xx, Judging that it was full time to carry some supply to Count Robert, who had been left without food the whole day. 1836 W. Irving Astoria xlix. III. 107 The slaughter of so many buffaloes had provided the party with beef for the winter, in case they met with no further supply. |
b. pl.| ? c 1650 Hist. Tom Thumb iii. in Hazl. E.P.P. II. 244 Finding all retir'd and gone, His hunger to suffice In cautious sort he moves along; Nature wants some Supplies. a 1687 Petty Pol. Anat. (1691) 6 England..sent Money and other Supplies into Ireland. 1690 C. Nesse Hist. & Myst. O. & N. Test. I. 26 After other losses..there may be found some supplys for repairing them. 1777 Robertson Hist. Amer. v. (1783) II. 267 Notwithstanding the supplies which they received from the Tlascalans, they were often in want of provisions. 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 582/1 The Surveyor-General of Ordnance, assisted by a director of supplies and transport, and a director of artillery and stores. 1881 Jowett Thucyd. I. 169 The invaders remained until their supplies were exhausted. |
10. a. collect. sing. or pl. A sum of money granted by a national legislature for expenses of government not provided for by the revenue.
| 1626 Sir J. Eliot Sp. in Ho. Comm. in Apol. Socrates etc. (Grosart) I. 152 Y⊇ extraordinary resort to his sub[jec]{supt}{sups} for supplies. 1670 Hatton Corr. (Camden) 57 Of this I suppose they waite the parlimt's results for supplyes. 1689 Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 56/2 Þe collector of the supply in the schyre of Edinburgh. 1735 Bolingbroke On Parties 77 After these Invasions were over, They voted a Supply. 1817 Earl Grey in Parl. Deb. 28 The supplies of last year were 35 millions, and the ways and means did not exceed 20 millions. 1827 Hallam Const. Hist. viii. (1876) II. 19 As the ordinary revenues might prove quite unequal to great exigencies, the constitution has provided another means..parliamentary supply. 1867 Chambers' Encycl. IX. 218/1 All bills authorising the expenditure of public money must originate in the House of Commons, and be based on resolutions moved in a Committee of Supply. 1874 Green Short Hist. viii. §5. 517 The Commons declared..that redress of grievances must precede the grant of supplies. |
b. Commissioners of Supply: see
quots. (
Sc.)
| a 1768 Erskine Inst. Law Scot. i. iv. §31 The commissioners of supply are the persons appointed by parliament in their yearly acts of supply, to levy the land-tax within the county to which they are named. 1838 W. Bell Dict. Law Scot. 184 Under the militia acts the commissioners of supply have also power to assess for failures to make up the quota for allowances to the families of militiamen. |
11. Pol. Econ. The amount of any commodity actually produced and available for purchase: correlative to
demand n. 4 b.
| 1776–1878 [see demand n. 4 b]. 1843 Carlyle Past & Pr. iv. v. 368 The sixpence a day and supply-and-demand principle. 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 103 The labour which is required to get more of a commodity governs the supply of it. 1900 Ld. Aldenham Colloquy on Currency 82 If the demand exceeds the supply the price will rise. If the supply exceeds the demand the price will fall. 1919 M. Beer Hist. Brit. Socialism I. ii. iv. 152 We have been dealing with pure theory, leaving out of account such factors as supply and demand. 1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment, Interest & Money v. xxi. 292 Prices are governed by the conditions of supply and demand. 1976 J. Snow Cricket Rebel 19 Most boys wanted to bat and because I could do both I usually found myself caught up with a ball in my hand due to the law of supply and demand. |
III. 12. a. attrib. and
Comb.: in sense 9,
esp. = having charge of or carrying the supplies of an army, as
supply column,
supply department,
supply officer,
supply train (of wagons),
supply wagon; also (partly with ref. to the supplies of an army and partly
gen.)
supply base,
supply depot,
supply line,
supply ship,
supply station,
supply store; in sense 11,
supply price. Also (partly from
supply v.
1)
supply-boat,
supply-shop;
= supplying water or other substance to some mechanism, apparatus, etc., as
supply-cistern,
supply-dam,
supply-pipe,
supply-pump,
supply-roller (supplying ink to other rollers in a printing-press);
supply day, a day on which the House of Commons debates an Opposition motion criticizing the Government's proposed expenditure (
cf. sense 10 a);
supply-driven a. Econ., propelled by factors on the side of supply such as a lowering of costs or an increase in availability;
contr. with
demand-driven and
market-driven;
supply drop, the dropping of supplies by parachute;
supply house, (
a)
U.S., a commercial establishment selling supplies; (
b)
Canad., a hut, tent, lean-to, or other structure, used as a storehouse;
supply-side a. Econ. (
orig. U.S.), pertaining to the supply side of the economy; hence, designating a policy designed to increase the incentives to produce and invest, by means of tax cuts; hence
supply-sider, an advocate of this policy;
supply teacher, a teacher supplied by the education authority to fill a (temporary) vacancy; hence, one who is regularly employed to do this; hence (as a back-formation)
supply-teach v. intr., to work as a supply teacher;
supply teaching vbl. n.| 1958 L. Uris Exodus i. xviii. 101 It was a fenced-in area containing several acres of trucks and other rolling stock and a dozen enormous warehouses. During the war the depot had been a major *supply base for the Allies in the Middle East. |
| 1840 J. F. Cooper Pathfinder II. ix. 73 We shall lie in wait..to intercept their *supply-boats. 1897 Outing (U.S.) XXX. 327/1 The steamers upon this route are supply-boats. |
| 1842 Loudon Suburban Hort. 209 The *supply cistern..must be so placed that its bottom is not lower than the highest point of the pipes. |
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 9 Nov. 2/1 Every day the regimental transport replenishes its supplies from the Brigade *Supply column, which in its turn fills up from the Divisional Supply column. |
| 1875 Encycl. Brit. II. 582/1 The Army Service Corps consists of 12 transport companies and 11 *supply companies, officered from the supply and transport sub-department. |
| 1844 Stephens Bk. Farm II. 266 When water is the power, the sluice of the *supply-dam should be drawn up to the proper height. |
| 1946 May's Treat. Parliament (ed. 14) xxv. 686 The House had attempted to counter this tendency [sc. the government's postponement of the discussion of estimates] by making one day each week a compulsory *supply day. 1959 Listener 12 Mar. 441/1 The time allotted to the opposition for the criticism of policy and administration in supply days and so forth would not need to be curtailed. 1976 H. Wilson Governance of Britain i. 19 Defeated on a snap vote on a Supply Day debate on the stocks of cordite in government depots, he threw in his hand. |
| 1876 Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. (ed. 3), *Supply Department, a branch of the control department.., now..replaced by the commissariat department. |
| 1918 E. S. Farrow Dict. Military Terms 596 Main *supply depots are established at advanced bases or at convenient positions on the railway. 1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria) 18 Mar. 3/2 Two all-metal monoplanes have made an initial flight..carrying 1,000 pounds of gasoline each for the supply depot at Hay River. |
| 1984 Financial Times 14 Nov. 22/4 The new streamlined structure should switch the group from being a *supply driven company to one which is market-driven. 1985 Ibid. 5 Aug. 26/6 The growth is both demand- and supply-driven. On one side are fast-growing companies bursting out of..capital constraints{ddd}On the other side stand investors who are fast shedding their national prejudices in favour of international diversification. |
| 1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board iv. 86 Last job was a Dakota squadron in South-East Asia Command. *Supply drops, I suppose. 1978 T. Allbeury Lantern Network iii. 33 You have been given details of..suitable areas for supply drops. |
| 1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 1 Sears, Roebuck & Co., (Incorporated), Cheapest *Supply House on Earth, Chicago. 1905 L. Mott Jules of Great Heart 161 A voyageur showed him to the supply-house, and he got some pemmican, tea and bread, and a blanket. 1957 V. J. Kehoe Technique Film & Television Make-Up xiii. 194 Get a small sized balsa wood head form from a hat supply house. 1975 New Yorker 7 July 73/1 While discarded manufactured objects found in the street or in junk shops may be richly charged with poetic and psychological associations..this is not the case with new supply-house items. |
| 1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 11 We were detailed to attack Jerry's *supply lines. 1956 D. L. Linton Sheffield p. xxiii, It can serve the other towns of the region with wholesale and retail goods, professional and social services only over ‘supply lines’ that are relatively costly in maintenance, operation, or time. |
| 1899 Westm. Gaz. 15 Nov. 5/2 Our *supply officers. |
| 1858 Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Phil. 150 The *supply pipe ee, descending from the upper reservoir, communicates with the top and bottom of the cylinder by the horizontal pipes f and g. |
| 1890 A. Marshall Princ. Econ. I. v. iii. 403 When the amount produced..is such that the demand price is greater than the *supply price. |
| 1840 Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 77/2 The force or *supply-pump. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2455/1 *Supply-roller (Printing), an intermediate working-roller. |
| 1915 J. M. de Roebeck in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1972) III. Compan. i. 753 The passage of *supply ships for the Fleet through the Dardanelles with the forts still intact is a problem to which I can see no practical solution. 1975 BP Shield Internat. May 6 To enable it to continue operations for several days when supply ships cannot come alongside. |
| 1898 Daily News 4 May 7/4 Meat..leaped up a halfpenny a pound yesterday in the *supply shops just outside Smithfield Market. |
| 1976 Wall St. Jrnl. 9 Apr. 8/1 (heading) *Supply-side fiscalism. Ibid. 15 Nov. 26/4 Supply-side. fiscalists..agree that tax changes do not affect total demand, but they emphasize the effects on supply. 1980 N.Y. Times 22 June iv. 20 They recommend capital formation and other supply-side policies that have recently become fashionable. |
| 1980 Wall St. Jrnl. 28 Feb. 24/3 Reception to ‘*supply-siders’ was still hostile..when they criticized the economic models being used by the congressional budget committees for assuming that higher government spending was better for the economy than lower tax rates. 1981 Christian Sci. Monitor (Weekly Internat. ed.) 7 Sept. 20/3 The supply-siders who persuaded President Reagan to seek a balanced budget by cutting taxes. |
| 1909 F. Ash Trip to Mars xxxiv. 262 Airships are of no use without a *supply-station. |
| 1885 List of Subscribers, Classified (United Telephone Co.) (ed. 6) 204 *Supply Stores... Army & Navy Auxiliary Co-operative Supply, Limited... Civil Service Supply Associations, Limited. 1946 W. Faulkner Portable Faulkner 752 A pair of offices up a flight of stairs above the supplystore. |
| 1902 Daily Chron. 18 Apr. 3/2 It was agreed that ‘*supply’ teachers..should be paid for the week's holiday allowed on account of the Coronation. 1963 S. Marshall Experiment in Education iii. 115, I happened to be ill..and the only supply teacher the L.E.A. could find at short notice was an Indian teacher. 1969 R. Godden In this House of Brede xv. 341 Father Gervase has gone as supply teacher for a fortnight to Bishop Palin's Grammar School for Boys. 1976 Rhyl Jrnl. & Advertiser 9 Dec. 20/5 (Advt.), Applications are invited from Qualified Teachers..who wish to be included on the Authority's list of Supply Teachers for Primary and/or Secondary Schools. |
| 1957 Kingston (Ontario) Whig-Standard 24 Jan. 17/6 She told the students something of the practice and *supply teaching possible while at college. 1968 New Statesman 22 Mar. 376/1 I am now supply teaching in London. 1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 13 Aug. 1006/5 He was a student at the London School of Economics, wanted to be a writer and did supply teaching for a living. 1980 J. Barnes Metroland iii. i. 138, I was supply teaching in Wandsworth at the time: twenty-five quid a week for the privilege of having your bicycle tyres let down each week by different kids at different schools. |
| 1860 H. Greeley Overland Journey 55 Our route..was no longer encumbered with great army *supply-trains. 1902 Words of Eye-witness 228 A person unused to supply-trains. |
| 1866 A. D. Richardson Secret Service xix. 241 Their retreat was a stampede, leaving behind great quantities of ammunition..*supply-wagons and ambulances. 1894 H. H. Gardener Unoff. Patriot 275 Their supply-wagons had not come up until long after the struggle. |
b. Pl.
supplies (sense 9 b) is
occas. used
attrib.| 1898 Engin. Mag. XVI. 44 Pay-roll total and supplies-cost total. 1906 Daily Chron. 16 Oct. 5/5 The unbusinesslike methods of the Supplies Office at Pretoria. |
▸
supply chain n. (a) (collectively) the routes or means by which supplies (
esp. those for a military force) are received;
(b) Business the chain of processes involved in the production and distribution of a commodity.
| 1910 R. Morris Railroad Admin. i. 23 A railroad is better off than an army because..nobody is trying to cut its *supply chain. 1956 OR 7 10 It is possible to supply the steel at approximately this rate..provided no link in the supply chain breaks. 1962 W. E. Moore Conduct of Corporation xiii. 183 The sales or marketing manager is concerned with the other end of the supply chain, the securing of orders and delivery of the product. 1973 Bull. Concerned Asian Scholars 5 No. 4. 4/2 The highly mobile Philippine Army..was..free of the need for the ponderous supply chain required by the Americans. 2002 Time 14 Jan. 3 (advt.) What's at the top of today's to-do list? Figure out how to expand your supply chain and create distribution channels to service all of your client's retail locations around the world. |
▪ II. supply, v.1 (
səˈplaɪ)
Forms: 4–5
sowple,
suplie, 4–6
Sc. supple,
suple, (5
Sc. supplee), 4–7
supplye, 5–7
supplie, (6
supploy(e), 6–
supply.
[a. OF. so(u)pleer, earlier soup(p)leier, -oier, later supplier, mod.F. suppléer, ad. (with change of conjugation) L. supplēre (whence also Pr. suplir, It. supplire, Sp. suplir, Pg. supprir), f. sup- = sub- 26 + -plēre to fill (plē-nus full).] † 1. trans. To help, aid, assist; to succour, relieve; to support, maintain;
occas. to deliver
from.
| 1375 Barbour Bruce xi. 627 rubric, How gud Iames of Douglass askit at king Robert the Bruce leiff to gang to supple erll Thomas Randall. 1456 Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 165 Lat man do that in him is, and syne traist in Goddis help, and he sall supplee his gude rycht. 1464–5 Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1875) XII. 31/1 Þat he nothir supple support nor resett þe saide Alane in þe saide dedis. 1508 Dunbar Poems iv. 43 In medicyne the most practicianis..Thame self fra ded may not supple. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 340 He supplies king Henrie his gude father sair vexte with rebellis. 1630 Capt. J. Smith Trav. & Adv. 18 The very Bulwarke and Rampire of a great part of Europe, most fit by all Christians to have beene supplyed and maintained. 17.. Duke of Athole's Nurse xiii. in Child Ballads IV. 154/2 O can you supply me? For she that was to meet me in friendship..Has sent nine men to slay me. |
| absol. c 1550 Rolland Crt. Venus i. 637 O Cupid King..Attend thir wordis that ar sa pungitiue... Bot ȝe supple, I may not thame sustene. |
† 2. To furnish with (additional) troops; to reinforce. Also
absol. Obs.| c 1470 Henry Wallace vii. 1119 Agayne Wallace he prewit in mony press, With Inglismen suppleit thaim at his mycht. 1525 St. Papers Hen. VIII, IV. 412 To help fortefy and suple our confederat ye King of France. 1579–80 North Plutarch (1895) III. 228 Supplying still with a few on either side, at the length they came to a maine battell. 1615 G. Sandys Trav. 105 Where he left his most tired souldiers, and supplied his army with the people of that countrey. 1825 Scott Betrothed viii, These detachments..supplied by reinforcements which more than recruited their diminished numbers. |
3. † a. To make up (a whole) by adding something; to fill
up, complete.
Obs.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Mathias) 356 Sa tuk þai hyme for þe twelf to be, Þe parfyt nowmyre for to suple. Ibid. xxxiii. (George) 539 His wikit wil ȝet to suple,..he..gert George til hyme be present. 1552 Huloet, Supploye or make vp the full nombre of hundreth souldiers that lacked of that nombre called centuria, subcenturio. 1579–80 North Plutarch, Publicola (1595) 113 He supplyed vp the number of Senatours that were greatly decayed. |
† b. To add to (something); to make up a deficiency in; to supplement.
Obs.| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xv. (Barnabas) 30 Dyscipilis..Þat Criste assignit for to be In helpe his warke to suple. 1591 Spenser Teares Muses 537 Shee wept and waild..And all the rest, her sorrow to supplie, Did throw forth shrieks and cries. 1615 R. Brathwait Strappado (1878) 184 Nature is supplide in him by Art. 1671 tr. Palafox's Conq. China xv. 285 That by their valour they might supply the little intelligence they had in this way of fighting. 1730 A. Gordon Maffei's Amphith. 195 The Book..was altered and supplied by the hand of a Stranger. |
c. To add (something that is wanting).
| c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Aug. (1910) 41 Augustin supplied swech good werkis whech he coude not do him-selue. 1533 More Apol. xlii. OO j b, The knowledge the party lacketh must be supplyed the more effectually by the iudges. 1546 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 56 Quhat wantis of the hale soum..to be supleit be thaim for payment of the hale soum. 1567 Sanders Rocke of Chvrche ii. 30 The Particle ὠν, is to be supplied to these woordes, ὁ µείζων. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. Ded., Having said what he thought convenient, he always left somewhat for the Imagination of his Readers to supply. 1824 L. Murray Eng. Gram. (ed. 5) I. 430 Supply words that are wanting. 1861 Paley æschylus (ed. 2) Supplices 591 note, Μὴ is to be supplied from the preceding negative clause. 1862 Spencer First Princ. i. iv. §24 (1875) 79 Another fundamental condition of thought, omitted by Sir W. Hamilton, and not supplied by Mr. Mansel. |
4. To make up for, make good, compensate for (a defect, loss, or void); to compensate for (the absence of something) by providing a substitute.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxii. (Justin) 207, I sal al his fawt supple. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. vi. iv. (Bodl. MS.) lf. 36/1 So that þe vertu of þe norise be instede and suplie [ed. 1495 sowple] and fulfille þe defaute of þe child. 1491 Cartular. S. Nicholai Aberdon. (New Spalding Club) I. 255 Alss oft as he [a chaplain] falȝes in execucion of his office..he sal pay i d..to him þat suppleis yat falt. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 51 These..vertues..supplyeth y⊇ defautes that be lefte in y⊇ powers of the soule by synne. 1563–7 Buchanan Reform. St. Andros Wks. (S.T.S.) 12 Ane man of..sufficient doctrine to supple the regentis absens. 1600 E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 225 That which most supplied their want of experience. 1653 Holcroft Procopius Pref. A iv, The knowing Translator hath supplyed the defect out of the Latine copies. 1695 Ld. Lonsdale in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1915) Jan. 91 That the intermission off my Storie for almost seven years should now..be supplied. 1709 Swift Adv. Relig. Wks. 1755 II. i. 119 He, that would keep his house in repair, must attend every little breach or flaw, and supply it immediately. 1764 Goldsm. Trav. 145 Yet still the loss of wealth is here supplied By arts. 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 172 Cards,..and the polish'd die, The yawning chasm of indolence supply! 1834–47 J. S. Macaulay Field Fortif. (1851) 18 If defended by three ranks, two of them stand on the banquette; the first rank fires, the second loads, and the third rank supplies casualties. 1859 Once a Week 2 July 16 The tadpole needs his tail to swim with; and Nature kindly supplies any accident that may deprive him of it. |
| absol. 1673 Lady's Call. i. i. §12 There will not remain many topics of discourse, unless this be called in to supply. |
5. To fulfil, satisfy (a need or want) by furnishing what is wanted.
| 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 18 Thy nychtbour lufe, and als supplie His neid. 1600 Chester Pl., Banes 35 See these pagentes played to the beste of theire skill; wher to supply all wantes, shalbe noe wantes of good will. 1623 Milton Ps. cxxxvi. 86 All living creatures he doth feed, And with full hand supplies their need. 1666 Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 189 Which is not from any want of ardor in the House to supply the publick necessityes. 1784 Cowper Task iii. 798 Some private purse Supplies his need with an usurious loan. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India iv. v. II. 165 If [he] withheld the revenues and supplied not the exigencies of the state. 1901 Cordingley Dict. Stock Exch. T. 56 When..there are not sufficient shares issued to supply the demands made. |
6. To furnish, provide, afford (something needed, desired, or used):
orig. with personal
subj.; later
freq. and now usually with impersonal
subj.| c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. (1908) 1663 That he knowe not but that I haue supplyed All that I can his matter for to spede. 1624 Wotton Archit. 69 The reception of light..we must now supplie..by some open Forme of the Fabrique. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 221 Dodonian Oaks no more supply'd Their Mast. 1700 ― Ovid's Met., Baucis & Philemon 148 What their tardy feet denied, The trusty staff (their better leg) supplied. 1704 Prior Celia to Damon 79 Nearer Care..supplies Sighs to my Breast, and Sorrow to my Eyes. 1713 Steele Englishman No. 7. 47 He will tell you, with his Eyes shut, what Province, what Mountain supplied the Liquor. 1816 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 387 All the tin used in England is supplied by the mines of Cornwall, which furnish 3000 tons annually. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. (1842) 401 A sound cork, perforated so as to form a ring... Half a dozen of these will supply handles to most tubes. 1835 Newman Lett. (1891) II. 109 By way of showing the hopelessness of any of us supplying your desideratum. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. i. 46 In order to supply the hydrochloric ether, a mixture of hydrochloric acid and alcohol is placed in the retort. 1910 D. G. Hogarth in Encycl. Brit. I. 248/2 The fresco-paintings..of Crete have supplied the clearest proof of it. |
† b. To put or appoint as a substitute. (
Cf. 9, 10, 11.)
Obs. rare.
| a 1618 Raleigh Maxims of State (1651) 72 [He] feared that David would supplie Benagit in his place. |
7. To furnish (a thing)
with what is necessary or desirable; in early use, without constr., to provide for the maintenance of, make provision for.
| 1529 Registr. Aberdon. (Maitland Cl.) I. 396 To sustene supple mentene apperall mend and uphald..þe brig forsaid. 1588 Kyd Househ. Philos. Ind. 103 Entertainment of guests, how to be supplyed. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, i. i. 17 A hundred Almes-houses, right well supply'd. 1605 in Abstr. Protocols Town Clerks of Glasgow (1896) II. 116 Willing to set fordwart, manteine and supply thair guid and godlie purpois. 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 40 Requesting your Lordship to supply his instant vse with so many Talents. Ibid. iv. ii. 47 Nor ha's he with him to supply his life. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 320 Feed him full and high: Indulge his Growth, and his gaunt Sides supply. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard. 264 The Salts..contribute very much to the abundantly supplying the Plants with what is requisite. 1784 Cowper Tiroc. 27 She..With flow'r and fruit the wilderness supplies. 1799 H. More Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 135 To supply by individual kindness those cases of hardship which laws cannot reach. 1884 H. Gibbes in Thompson Tumours of Bladder 59 The growth is well supplied with blood-vessels. |
b. transf. To furnish with an occupant, tenant, or contents; to fill.
poet.| 1607 Shakes. Cor. iii. iii. 35 Keepe the Chaires of Iustice Supplied with worthy men. 1607 ― Timon iii. i. 18 An empty box..which..I come to intreat your Honor to supply. 1715 Pope Iliad iii. 64 Thy figure promised with a martial air, But ill thy soul supplies a form so fair. |
c. Anat. and
Phys. Of a nerve or blood-vessel: To furnish with energy or nourishment (the part or organ to which it is distributed).
| 1843 R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxx. 397 The branch given off by the ulnar nerve to supply the little finger. 1899 L. Hill Man. Hum. Physiol. xx. 181 The right and left subclavian arteries supply respectively the right and left shoulder and arm. |
8. To furnish or provide (a person)
with something; in early use, without constr., to satisfy the wants of, provide for; now usually, to furnish with regular supplies of a commodity.
| 1567 Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 8 Honour thy Elderis; and thame supplie, Geue that thair neid of the requyre. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 212 This is the body That tooke away the march from Isabell, And did supply thee at thy garden-house In her Imagin'd person. 1646 J. Hall Poems i. 10 Feathers..Which..might..stitch't into a web, supply anew With annuary cloakes the wandring Jew. 1686 tr. Chardin's Trav. Persia 26 He could not subsist if they should refuse to supply him. 1726 Swift Gulliver i. i, They supplied me as fast as they could, showing..astonishment at my bulk and appetite. 1775 Burke Lett., to R. Champion (1844) II. 31, I am sincerely thankful to you for your care, in supplying us with the earliest intelligence. 1827 Lytton Pelham lxxiii, Can Sir Reginald Glanville's memory..supply him with no probable cause? 1878 Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 30 China supplies us with vast quantities of tea. Mod. (e.g. on baker's cart) Families supplied daily. |
9. To fill (another's place);
esp. (now only) to occupy as a substitute.
| c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xii. (Mathias) 318 Þat we stablyste ane in þe place, Þe quhyle to supple of Iudas. 1548 Elyot s.v. Fungor, Fungi vice alicuius,..to be in an other mannes steede, to supply an other mannes roume. 1596 Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 249 Lucentio, you shall supply the Bride⁓groomes place. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 834 A race of upstart Creatures, to supply Perhaps our vacant room. 1750 Gray Elegy 82 Their name, their years, spelt by th' unletter'd muse, The place of fame and elegy supply. 1802 C. James Milit. Dict. s.v., Covering serjeants supply the places of officers when they step out of the ranks, or are killed in action. 1831 James Phil. Augustus I. ii, The place of his casque was supplied by a large brown hood. a 1859 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii. (1861) V. 103 She died; and her place was supplied by a German princess. |
† b. To serve (a turn).
Obs. rare.
| 1602 R. Carew Cornwall 82 These poore instruments for want of better did supplie a turne. |
† 10. To fulfil, discharge, perform (an office or function),
esp. as a substitute for another.
Obs.| 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) VII. 133 This Benedict made pope but symple in connynge, made an oþer pope under hym to supplye his office. 1533 Gau Richt Vay 104 Paul sais notht yat it is sufficient to ane bischoip to haiff ane prechour to supple his office. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lxxvii. iii, My hart in office lame, My tongue as lamely fares, No part his part supplies. 1626 in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 328 They may be removeable..and others chosen in his or their place..to supply the residue of the said yeere. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 1001 Let us seek Death, or hee not found, supply With our own hands his Office on our selves. 1680 Moxon Mech. Exerc. xii. 203 The Joyners Mallet would supply the Office of this Tool. 1748 Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 135 Mixed with wood-ashes, to supply the use of tallow. |
11. To take the place of; to serve as, or furnish, a substitute for; to make up for the want of; to replace. Now
rare or
Obs.| c 1606 Rowlands Terrible Battle D 3, [They] fall sicke; and die,..and others them supply. 1618 Bolton Florus To Rdr. (1636) A 7, The words which are here and there inserted..are..explanatory of the Author's meaning, supplying marginall notes. 1642 D. Rogers Naaman To Rdr., Thou art worth ten thousand of us; if we dye, wee may be supplied. 1667 Milton P.L. x. 1078 A comfortable heat..Which might supply the Sun. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 8 Mar. 1689, The Hearth Tax was remitted for ever, but what was intended to supply it,..is not nam'd. 1770 Goldsm. Des. Vill. 56 A bold peasantry,..When once destroyed, can never be supplied. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 332 The Court has no power to strike out the word such; and if they did, what are they to supply it with? 1873 L. Wallace Fair God i. xii, Lamplight..ill supplying the perfect sun⁓shine. |
12. Of a preacher or minister: To occupy (a church, pulpit, etc.) as a substitute, or temporarily; to act as ‘supply’ for (another); also
absol.| 1719 Spotswood in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Col. Ch. (1870) I. 202 When the Church he now supplies, became void by the death of the former incumbent. 1788 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) I. 434 Mr. Dana preached here, who was supplied by Mr. D. Story. 1895 Cornh. Mag. Aug. 155 To ‘supply the pulpits’ of ministers who left home. 1905 J. H. Harting Sardinian Chapel 30 The Rev. Thomas Gabb..for some years..‘supplied’ at Mrs. Langdale's private chapel. |
▪ III. † supply, v.2 Obs. Forms: 4–6
supplie, 5–6
supplye, 6
supple,
suply(e,
supply.
[a. OF. (mod.F.) supplier, earlier soup(p)loier, sopleier:—L. supplicāre (whence also Pr. sopleiar, sopliar, soplegar, soplicar, It. supplicare, Sp. suplicar, Pg. supplicar): see supplicate v.] = supplicate v.
a. trans. with person as
obj.| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. viii. (1868) 80 Yif þou wilt shynen wiþ dignites, þou most bysechen and supplien hem þat ȝiuen þo dignitees. 1474 Caxton Chesse Ded., I requyre & supplye your good grace not to desdaygne to resseyue this lityll sayd book. c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. (1908) 797 Why dost thou not supplye, And desyre me thy good mayster to be? 1539 St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 604, I supplie Our Blessed Creatour to sende Your Highnes encreace of honour. |
b. intr. (
const. to,
unto).
| 1489 Caxton Faytes of A. i. i. 2, I supplye humbly to the said right hie offyce. 1491 ― Vitas Patr. (W. de W. 1495) 1 We supplye ryght humbly to our worthy Sauyour Ihesu Cryste that his prompt grace maye be to vs presented. 1533 St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 392 In your moste humble wise, ye supplye unto us, in your said letters, to graunte unto you our lycence [etc.]. |
c. trans. with
obj. of cognate meaning: To present (a request).
rare.
| 1546 St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 884 To wryte to His Majeste, to supplie my present sute to his Person. |
▪ IV. † supply, v.3 Obs. [? Alteration of supple v. by assimilation to supply v.1, or after apply.] = supple v. Hence
supplying ppl. a.2| 1535 Goodly Primer, A Prayer for the mollifying & supplyeng hard hearts. 1544 T. Phaer Regim. Lyfe (1560) S vj, To supply the gummes and the sinewes. 1656 T. de Grey's Compl. Horsem. (ed. 3) 137 By applying supplying, or mollifying Oyles or Unguents. 1660 Gauden God's Gt. Demonstr. 33 Mercy..oyls the wheels, and supplies the joynts, that Justice goes on with less cry and complaint. 1709 Temple's Misc., Ess. Gout (ed. 5) 59 They drew down the Humours, and supplied [earlier edd. suppled] the Parts, thereby making the Passages wider. |