▪ I. † sithe, n.1 Obs.
Forms: 1–3 sið, 2 syð, 4 sid; 1 siþ, syþ, 4 sihþ; 4–6 sith (4 sitht, siht), 4–6 syth, 6 Sc. syith; (1) 2–3 siðe, (1) 2–4 siþe (4 ziþe), 3–4 syþe, 4–6 sithe, sythe (4 syde); also pl. 5–6 Sc. sis(e), sys(e), syis.
[Common Teut.: OE. s{iacu}þ, s{iacu}ð str. masc., = OFris. *sīth (in dat. pl. sethen), OS. sîđ, sîth; these represent original *sinþ, the n of which is preserved in Goth. sinþs, OHG. sind (MHG. sind-, sint), ON. and Icel. sinn and sinni (neut.), related to the vb. *sinþan (ON. sinna) to go, the causative of which is represented in English by send v.]
I. 1. A going, journey, path, way.
This sense is very common in OE. poetry.
| Beowulf 1278 His modor..ᵹegan wolde sorhfulne sið. 971 Blickl. Hom. 173 Hu myccle scipbrocu he ᵹebad on þæm siþe. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 360 Butan fyrhtu þu ðone sið ᵹefremest, ac se wulf sorᵹað ymbe his sið. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 959, His sawle to ᵹescyldnesse on langsuman syðe. c 1460 Towneley Myst. xxviii. 85 The holy gost before vs glad Full softly on his sithe. |
2. Fortune on a journey; also generally, fortune, hap, luck.
| Beowulf 1986 Hiᵹelac ongan..fricgean hwylce Sæᵹeata siðas wæron. c 1000 ælfric Hom. II. 64 Hu lange wilt ðu bewepan Saules sið, þonne ic hine awearp, þæt he leng ofer Israhela ðeode ne rixiᵹe? c 1100 O.E. Chron. (MS. D) an. 1057, Þæt wæs hreowlic sið & hearmlic eallre þissere þeode, þæt he swa hraðe his lif ᵹe-endade. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 79 He hefde þurst and hunger and chele and alle wreche siþe. a 1225 St. Juliana 47 Nat i hwet vnseli sið makede me her to sechen. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 2546 Egipte folc adden nið For ebris adden seli sið. |
b. Mishap, misfortune, trouble.
| c 1205 Lay. 25846–7 [Heo] weop for hire wei-sið, wanede hire siðes þæt heo wæs on liues. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 274 Wid ðat pride him wex a nyð, Ðat iwel weldeð al his sið. 13.. St. Gregory (Vernon MS.) 425 Schome hit is..longe to liuen in serwe and sihþ. 13.. Cursor M. 9456 (Gött.), In soru and sithe to him and his. Ibid. 10411 Speke we nou..Of hir sythe and of hir care. |
3. One's pilgrimage on earth; life-time; the course of one's life.
| c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 55 He haueð to us muchel nið alle þa deies of ure sið. c 1290 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 217 Hy tolden tales Of hoere auentures fales And of here liwes siþe. a 1300 Cursor M. 1400 Adam was for þis tiþand blith, Sua glad was he neuer his sith. Ibid. 27021 Þou has soght in all þe sith Werldes welth to lijf in pese. |
II. Time, occasion.
This is the only sense in which the word is recorded in Goth. and OFris.; it is also found in OS., and is prominent in ON. (also MSw. and MDa.). For the sense-development cf. gang n.1 6, Go n. 4, and the similar use of LG. and Du. reis, Sw. resa.
4. With cardinal numbers (or equivalent term), denoting frequency of occurrence, etc.
In OE. the case is either the instrumental, or the accusative governed by a prep. The instr. pl. s{iacu}ðum became ME. sīðen, and finally assumed the same form as the sing. In place of a numeral, an adj. or adv. might be used, as in eft-sith(es) eft adv. 4, fele-sithe(s) fele a.1 4, and oft-sithes). With the Sc. forms (δ) cf. mod.NFris. -sis, as in twasis twice, manningsis many times.
| α Beowulf 1579 Oftor micle ðonne on ænne sið. c 825 Vesp. Psalter lxi. 12 æne siða spreocende wes God. c 1200 Ormin 1025 Þe bisscopp sellf..Þær shollde cumenn o þe ȝer Ann siþe. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 3093 Bi-sek ȝet god, ðis one siðe, Ðat he vs of ðis pine friðe. a 1400 Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxxvi. 273, I..swouhnede mony a siþe. 1595 Spenser Col. Clout 23 The woods were heard to waile full many a sythe. |
| β c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxviii. 164 Seofen siðum in deᵹe lof ic seᵹde ðe. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke xvii. 4 Ᵹif seofo siða ᵹesynngiᵹa in ðec & seofa siða [Rushw. siðum] on dæᵹe ᵹecerred bið. c 1000 ælfric Josh. vi. 15 Hiᵹ ferdon seofon siðon embe þa buruh. c 1205 Lay. 1188 Niȝen siðen he bi-eode þat weofed. a 1225 Ancr. R. 38 Aues also er fif siðen. a 1300 Havelok 2189 Þo was hauelok swiþe bliþe, And þankede God ful fele siþe. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1377 Nyne syþe he ȝede aboute, & kiste þe auter. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 3239 Sche seyde ‘allas’ more þan an hundrid sythe. c 1450 Mirour Saluacion (Roxb.) 48 He weshe hym..in flvmme Jordan seven sithe. 1501 Douglas Pal. Hon. i. xxvii, Ȝeildand Venus thankis ane thousand syith. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. x. 33 The foolish man..humbly thanked him a thousand sith. |
| γ c 1000 Ags. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 21 Mot ic him forᵹyfan oð seofon siþas? c 1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 352 Þare ylcan gate meolc..on þry siþas drince. c 1250 Gen. & Ex. 1731 Ten siðes ðus binnen .vi. ȝer, Shiftede iacob hirdenesse her. a 1300 Havelok 2162 Hise fet he kisten an hundred syþes. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 123 Þat welle chaungeþ hewe and colors foure siþes a ȝere. 1447 O. Bokenham Seyntys (Roxb.) 178 Every day..Sevene sythys into the eyr..she up lyfted was. c 1456 Pecock Bk. of Faith (1909) 232 Verrili thus it fallith in unnoumbrable sithis in Ynglond. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. v. (1811) 120 He went .v. sythes to Rome and came agayne. 1598 Hall Sat. iv. vi. 79 He..Wishes for home a thousand sithes a day. |
| δ 1375 Barbour Bruce xv. 393 That gert him victor haue feill sis. c 1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. ii. 103 He þat day was stad straytly..And fyve syis [v.r. syse] was at gret myscheyf. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 101 Dame Flora..thay thank a thousand syse. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 132 Ane thousand syse than sall I pryse Thy halynes. |
b. on (or in) one sithe, at one and the same time.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xvi. §4 Neron..het æt sumum cyrre forbærnan æalle Romeburᵹ on anne sið. c 1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 208 Ne forlæt þu þæs blodes to fela on ænne siþ. c 1470 Gol. & Gaw. 382 Syne thay..salust the souerane sone, in ane sith. |
c. Used to express the multiplication of numbers, esp. (so many) times ten or twenty.
Cf. Da. tred-sinds-tyve sixty, fir-sinds-tyve eighty.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 22 Ne cuoeðo ic ðe wið seofo siða ah wið hundseofuntiᵹ siða seofo siða. 971 Blickl. Hom. 79 Ehtatyne syþum hund teontiᵹ þusenda hi..wið feo sealdon. c 1055 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 302 Feower siðon seofon ᵹear þæt beoð eahta & twentiᵹ. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1070 Ða com Turold abbot & æhte siþe twenti Frencisce men mid him. c 1205 Lay. 1103 Sixtene siðe tuenti scipen tuhten from hauene. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1287 Alle italde bi tale, fif siðe tene. a 1300 Cursor M. 11345 Anna,..þat liued had foursith tuenti yeier In viduid. 13.. Coer de L. 2096, I will have three sythe double of his [treasure]. 1340 Ayenb. 234 Þe tale of zixti,..þet is of zixziþe ten. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 45 Þe roundenesse of þe worlde aboute is þre hundred siþes and fiftene siþes an hondred þowsand paas. |
d. Used to express comparison.
| 971 Blickl. Hom. 147 Heo hæfde seofon siþum beorhtran saule þonne snaw. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 1665 Seouen siðes brihtre þen beo þe sunne. a 1300 Cursor M. 702 Þe sun was þat time..Seuen sith brighter þen þe dai. 1362 Langl. P. Pl. A. Prol. 109 Al þis I sauȝ slepynge & seue siþes more. c 1430 Lydg. Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 62 An hundred sithes better than they deserue. 1480 Caxton Myrr. ii. xxxi. 126 His cercle is gretter..than the cercle of the mone.., xii sithes so moche. 1515 Barclay Egloges i. (1570) A iij, His Church is twenty sith more gay Then all the Churches betwene the same and Kent. |
5. With ordinal numbers, and indefinite or demonstrative pronouns.
In some cases denoting a space of time (cf. 3); a trace of this appears to survive in Shetland dial. in such expressions as the night side, the season side.
| a 850 Lorica Prayer 5 in O.E. Texts 174 Do ðonne fiorðan siðe ðin hleor ðriᵹa to iorðan. 971 Blickl. Hom. 27 Þæt deofol hine þa ᵹenam þriddan siþe. a 1122 O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1110, He..to Pentecosten forman siþe his hired on..Windlesoran heold. a 1225 Juliana 64 Us reoweð þat sið þat we so longe habbeð ileuet þine reades. c 1250 Owl & Night. 325 Ich singe..þe þridde syþe a middelnyhte. a 1300 Cursor M. 6421 If he þam slaked ani sith, Sir amalech wan als suith. Ibid. 13094 Hu lang siþe Sal he him hide? 1382 Wyclif Exod. x. 17 Also this sithe prey ye the Lord [etc.]. a 1400–50 Alexander 4204 Þan was he sary in þat sithe & sadly he pleyned. 1421 in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. I. 85 For in this sith in the bailliage of Caux..ther ys no steryng of none evyl doers. 1590 Greene Mourn. Garm. (1616) 14 He spends the yeare as blyth, As doth the King at euery tyde or syth. 1630 Tincker of Turvey 41 This smith was..Jocund and gleesome at every sith. |
6. by sithes, at various times. rare.
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 17 Where werre, & wrake, & wonder, Bi syþez has wont þer-inne. a 1400 Hylton Scala Perf. i. xxxvi. (W. de W. 1494), Vnto some men and wymmen he yeuyth it all theyr lyfe tyme bysythes whan he vysyteth hem. |
▪ II. sithe, n.2 Now only dial.
Also 7 sith, 9 sigth.
[var. of sigh n., after sithe v.2]
A sigh.
| 1609 R. Armin Maids of More-Clacke E iv, Be smilefull, and expresse no griefe in sithes. 1633 Cowley Pyramus & Thisbe 71 With many a Sith, many a speaking Teare. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. 1890 Glouc. Gloss. 139 Sigth, a sigh. |
Hence † ˈsitheful a., sighful, sad. Obs.
| 1610 R. Niccols Robt. Dk. Normandy lxxxix. in Mirr. Mag. 650 As bird in cage..sadly sits and sings,..Till breath be spent in many a sithfull song. |
▪ III. sithe, n.3 Sc. and dial.
Also 6, 9 syth, 9 sythe.
[prob. a var. of sieve n. Cf. next and sithe v.3]
A sieve; a milk-strainer.
| 15.. Wowing Jok & Jynny 28 in Bannatyne MS. (Hunter. Cl.) 388 Ane milk syth. 1881 Leicester Gloss. 240. 1887 Jamieson's Sc. Dict. Suppl. 233/2 Syth, Sythe, a ‘sey’, sieve, or strainer for milk. |
▪ IV. sithe, n.4 rare.
Also 6 siethe.
[Alteration of sive, cive chive n.1; cf. prec.]
pl. Chives.
| 1573 Tusser Husb. (1878) 94 Seedes and herbes for the Kitchen... Spinage,..Suckerie,..Siethes. 1712 W. Rogers Voy. (1718) 13 There's abundance of good herbs, as parsly, purslain, Sithes in great plenty. 1853 G. P. R. Pulman Rustic Sketches Gloss., Sithes, chives. |
▪ V. † sithe, v.1 Obs.
In 1 siþ-, siðian, 3 siðen.
[OE. s{iacu}ðian, = OS. sîthôn, OHG. sindôn:—OTeut. *sinþōjan: see sithe n.1]
intr. To go, travel.
| Beowulf 808 Scolde..se ellorgast on feonda ᵹeweald feor siðian. c 1000 ælfric Lives Saints I. xvi. 154 Ða se hælend siðode,..sum man him cwæð to, ‘Ic wille siþian mid ðe’. c 1205 Lay. 21279 Cheldric..þohte forð siðen & ouer sæ liðen. c 1220 Bestiary 698 Ȝef ȝe ones make haueð, fro him ne wile ȝe siðen. |
▪ VI. sithe, v.2 Now dial.
(saɪð)
Forms: 3 (pa. tense) siþte, 5–6 sythe, 6–7, 9 sithe (6 pa. tense sitht), 7 sith; 5 syghth-, 6 sygth-, sigth-, sighth-.
[A variant of sigh v., prob. originating in the pa. tense siþte for sihte: see siche v.]
intr. To sigh. Also trans., to say with a sigh.
| c 1275 Lay. 3108 Ȝeo eode in to bure and ofte siþte sore. a 1400 Sir Cleges 98 As he walkyd vpp and dovn Sore syghthyng. a 1400 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 361 Why dost thou sythe so sore, & qwake? 1528 in Burnet Hist. Ref., Rec. (Pococke) I. 133 The said holiness..sithed and wiped his eyes. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 180 b, Some sighthed and sayd nothyng. 1588 Greene Perimedes Wks. (Grosart) VII. 92 He lookt, he sitht, he courted with a kisse. 1607 Marston What You Will iii. i, So I say sithing and sithing say my end is to paste vp a Si quis. 1685–90 Coad Wonderful Prov. (1849) 72 A new born child (that is living) doth sith and sob. a 1825 Forby Voc. E. Anglia 303 Sithe, to sigh. 1875 My Opin. & Betsey Bobbets 91 As the young woman totters along to prison, is it any wonder that she sithes to herself. Ibid. 89 ‘Alas!’ sithes the woman to herself. |
Hence ˈsithing vbl. n., ppl. a.; ˈsithingly adv.
| c 1530 Wolsey in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. II. 27 Thys nygth my brethe and wynde by sythyng was so short that I was..as one that shuld have dyd. 1570 J. Dee Math. Pref. a j, What manly vertues, in other noble men.., he Sythingly aspired after. 1609 R. Armin Ital. Taylor (1880) 171 The sithing King sayes, Courage man. 1838 Holloway Prov. Dict. s.v., I knew a clergyman who always read ‘Sithing’, for ‘sighing of a contrite heart’. |
▪ VII. sithe, v.3 Now dial.
Forms: 5 cythyn, 6 syth, 9 sythe; 8 sieth, 9 sithe.
[prob. a var. of ME. cyve, syve sieve v. Cf. sithe n.3 and n.4]
trans. To strain; to pass through a sieve.
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 79/1 Cyyd, or cythyd and clensyd, as mylke, or oþer lyke, colatus. Ibid., Cythynge or clensynge, colatura. 1595 Duncan App. Etym. (E.D.S.), Colo, to syth or passe through a claith. 1756 M. Calderwood Jrnl. (1884) 84 They sieth it into a brass veshell tinned within. 1825 Jamieson Suppl., To Sythe, to strain any liquid; Lanarks. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Sithe, to strain and purify milk. |
▪ VIII. sithe
obs. form of scythe, side, sight.