▪ I. foot, n.
(fʊt)
Pl. feet (fiːt). Forms: sing. 1–2 fót, 3–4 fot, south. vot, 3–6 fote, fut, (3 fhote, fott, 5 fowte, foyte), 5–6 fotte, 5–7 foote, (7 foott), 8–9 dial. fit, 3– foot. Sc. 4–7 fute, (4 fut, 6 fuit), 6– fit. pl. 1–2 fét, fœ́t, fótas, 2 fiet, (gen. 1 fóta, 3 fote; dat. 1 fótum, 3 foten), 3–5 fet, (3 fett, fite, 4 fyte), 4–5 fete, (4 Sc. feyt, 5 feytt), 5–8 feete, (6 fette, fiete, 7 feeten), 5–6 fotes, (6 footes), 7 (9 in sense 22) foots, 4– feet.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fót str. masc. (dat. sing. nom. and acc. pl. fét), corresponds to OFris. fôt, OS. fôt, fuot, (Du. voet), OHG. fuoȥ, (MHG. vuoȥ, mod.Ger. fuss), ON. fótr, (Sw. fot, Da. fod), Goth. fôtus. The OTeut. *fôt (a consonant-stem) represents OAryan *pōd-, which with the ablaut-variants *pē̆d-, pŏd-, is found with cognate senses in most of the Aryan langs.: cf. Skr. pād (gen. padás) foot, pad to go to, padá neut. footstep; Lith. pėdà footstep; Gr. πούς (Dor. æol. πώς), gen. ποδός foot, πεζός (:—pedyós) on foot; Lat. pēs, accus. pĕd-em foot; ON. fet str. neut., step, foot as a measure, feta to make one's way, OE. fæt str. neut., step, OHG. feȥȥan to go; see also fetter n. Possibly fet v., fetch v., fetlock may belong to the same root.]
I. 1. a. The lowest part of the leg beyond the ankle-joint.
| Beowulf 745 (Gr.) Sona hæfde unlifiᵹendes eal ᵹefeormod fet and folma. c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xi. 2 Maria..ᵹedryᵹde his foet mið herum fæx hire. a 1000 Phœnix 311 (Gr.) Þæs fuᵹles..fealwe fotas. c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 And nailed þarto his fet, and his honden. 1297 R. Glouc. (1724) 490 He vel of is palefrey, & brec is fot. c 1350 Will. Palerne 1766 William & þe mayde þat were white beres, gon forþ..Fersly on here foure fet. 1375 Barbour Bruce ii. 359 Knychtis..Wndyr horss feyt defoulyt. 1434 Misyn Mending Life x. 121 Sayntis feet ar to be waschyd for þai draw duste of þe erth. 1538 Starkey England i. ii. 48 The fote to go, and hand to hold and rech. 1601 Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 66 So much blood..as will clog the foote of a flea. 1674 N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. ii. (1677) 228 Having flown with a Goshawk..till March, give her some good Quarry in her Foot. 1845 Ford Handbk. Spain i. 52 No Spaniard..ever took a regular walk on his own feet—a walk for the sake of mere health. 1851 Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. vii. 74 A foot has two offices, to bear up and to hold firm. 1881 R. M'Lachlan in Encycl. Brit. XIII. 144/1 Plantulæ (much marked in the feet of Diptera, which climb polished surfaces, &c., by means of them). |
| fig. 1570–6 Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 191 It wanteth not the feete of sound reason to stand upon. |
† b. In the oath or exclamation,
Christ's foot, later
's foot or simply
foot.
Cf. blood 1 e.
Obs.| c 1386 Chaucer Miller's T. 596 Ey, Cristes fote! what wil ye do therwith? c 1600 Distr. Emperor iii. i. in Bullen O. Pl. (1884) III. 212 Foote, man, let him be ten thousand preists and a will styll want somethynge. 1662 T. W. Thorny Abbey 13, 'S foot, doe you think we gave him warning. |
† c. By some anatomists used for: The whole limb from the hip-joint to the toes. Also,
great foot. (
Cf. great hand for the whole upper limb.)
Obs.| 1541 R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. K iij b, The great fote lasteth fro the ioynt of the hukcle..vnto the ferdest parte of the toes. 1661 Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 302 The foot is divided into fœmur.. the tibia..and the foot extreme. |
d. In the
colloq. exclamation
my foot! (also
your foot!), expressing a contemptuous contradiction.
| 1923 R. Crothers Mary the Third ii. ii. 69 Mother: She was honest enough to tell me that... Father: Honest your foot! She's fooled you—deceived you. 1925 N. Coward Hay Fever iii, Judith: It's so silly to get cross at criticism—it indicates a small mind. David: Small mind my foot! 1928 D. L. Sayers Lord Peter views Body xi. 262 ‘I thought he was doing a motor-tour.’ ‘Motor-tour your foot!’ said the Inspector, with more energy than politeness. 1945 L. A. G. Strong Othello's Occupation 72 Cooperation my foot. You're trying to trap me into admitting a motive for doing the old girl in. 1961 H. E. Bates Day of Tortoise 55 ‘But it's a serious matter for you.’ ‘Serious my foot. Why should I worry?’ |
2. a. Viewed with regard to its function, as the organ of locomotion. In rhetorical and poetical use often (in
sing. or
pl.) qualified by
adjs. denoting the kind of movement (as
swift,
slow,
stealthy, etc.), or employed as the subject of verbs of motion.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. xxxv[i]. 12 [11], (Spelm.) Ne cume me fot ofermodiᵹnysse. a 1340 Hampole Psalter xviii. 4 Þe fame of a good man gas ferrere þan his fote may. 1603 Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 400 Death, Which I did thinke, with slower foot came on. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 848 Tripping ebbe, that stole With soft foot towards the deep. a 1774 Fergusson Poems (1789) II. 107 Eild wi' wyly fit, Is wearing nearer bit by bit. 1813 Scott Trierm. iii. xxiv, Foot of man..hath ne'er Dared to cross the Hall of Fear. 1847 Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxi, I was not aware of your presence. Your foot is so light. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 28 Dogs..swift of foot. 1878 Browning La Saisiaz 18 Useful as is Nature, to attract the tourist's foot. |
| Proverb. c 1300 Cursor M. 28939 (Cott. Galba) Gangand fote ay getes fode. 1670 Ray Prov. 262 A walking foot is ay getting. |
| fig. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. vii. 7 Unless by using means I lame the foot Of our design. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 103 No man can come to me by the foot of a true faith except my Father..inlighten his understanding. |
b. Hence, a person as walking.
Obs. exc. dial. in
first foot (see first C. 2); similarly
† evil foot, one whom it is unlucky to meet.
† Also (
rarely) used simply for ‘person’.
| c 1200 Vices & Virtues 29 Ðanne ðe cumþ eft sum euel..ne ȝelief ðu naht al swa sume..seggeð þat hie imetten euel fot, priest oðer munec. a 1225 Leg. Kath. 2273 He het hetterliche, anan wiðuten þe burh, bihefden ham, euch fot. 1592 Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 19 What cursed foot wanders this wayes to night? 1609 Skene Reg. Maj., Burrow Lawes cxxxiv, He..offers his awin fute for his pledge. |
† 3. Power of walking or running.
Obs.| a 1300 Cursor M. 20885 (Cott.) Petre..to þe cripels he gaf þam fote. a 1400–50 Alexander 1236 Alle þe folke of his affinite..þat outhire fote had or fole to þe fliȝt foundid. c 1450 Henryson Parl. Beistis 32 Ay rinnis the Foxe, als lang as he fute has. [Similarly 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlix. 48]. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 123 Horses may alter as to their Speed or Foot (as 'tis called). |
4. ellipt. Foot-soldiers; in early use
† men of foot.
Cf. footman 1. Often immediately following an ordinal, ‘regiment of’ being omitted.
| 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 245 Men of armes, and ix thousand Archers, beside men of foote. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV ii. i. 186 Fifteene hundred Foot, fiue hundred Horse. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. x. (1821) 120 The President was a Captaine of Foot. 1709 Steele Tatler No. 17 ¶3 Their Foot repulsed the same Body of Horse in three successive Charges. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 296 At the close of the reign of Charles the Second, most of his foot were musketeers. 1878 Trimen Reg. Brit. Army 89 Forty-Fourth Foot..captured the Eagle of the 62nd French Infantry at Salamanca. |
5. a. The end of a bed, a grave, etc., towards which the feet are placed. Formerly often
pl., now
sing. (
cf. sense 19).
| a 1300 Cursor M. 17288 + 218 (Cott.) Þat one at þe fote of þe graf, þat other at the hede. c 1386 Chaucer Reeve's T. 293 He..bare it soft unto his beddes fete. c 1442 Hoccleve Min. Poems (1892) 238 In a cofre at my beddes feet yee Shul fynde hem. c 1710 C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 239 There was such another screen or raile at y⊇ ffeete of the bed. 1821 Keats Isabel xxxv, At her couch's foot Lorenzo stood. 1891 Law Rep. Weekly Notes 201/1 His trousers..were hanging over the foot of the bed. |
b. The part of a stocking, etc. which covers the foot.
| 1577 Harrison England ii. ix. (1877) i. 206 He will carrie his hosen..to save their feet from wearing. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. (1757) 112 A sort of knit buskins without feet to them. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 463/1 Silk [hose] with cotton feet. |
II. 6. Prosody. [
transl. of L.
pēs,
Gr. πούς; the term is commonly taken to refer to the movement of the foot in beating time.] A division of a verse, consisting of a number of syllables one of which has the ictus or principal stress.
| c 1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 313 Þæt pentimemeris byð þe todælð þæt vers on þam oðrum fet & byð ᵹemet healf fot to lafe. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 147 Iuvencius þe preost wroot þe gospelles to þe chirche of Rome in vers of sixe feet. c 1560 B. Googe Epit. T. Phayre Poems (Arb.) 72 Virgils verse hath greater grace in forrayne foote obtaynde, Than in his own. 1600 Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 173 Some of them had in them more feete then the Verses would beare. 1700 Dryden Pref. Fables (Globe) 499 Some thousands of his verses..are lame for want of half a foot. 1803 Coleridge Metrical Feet 3 Spondee..strong foot! yea ill able Ever to come up with Dactyl trisyllable. 1830 S. Fox Menologium p. vi, In these compositions..trochaic feet predominate. 1846 Wright Ess. Mid. Ages I. i. 14 The Saxons did not measure their verse by feet. 1888 A. S. Cook Judith p. l, A normal hemistich contains two metrical feet. 1942 J. C. Pope Rhythm of Beowulf 12 Sievers was only borrowing mistakes from contemporary metrical theory when he marked the ‘feet’ of his five types. |
III. As a unit of measurement.
7. a. A lineal measure originally based on the length of a man's foot. (The English foot consists of 12 inches, and is
1/
3 of a
yard.) Hence, a measure of surface and of solid space (explicitly
square foot or
superficial foot,
cubic foot or
solid foot) equal to the content respectively of a square and a cube the side of which measures one foot.
Often in
sing. when preceded by numerals.
| a 1000 Laws æthelstan iv. 5 in Thorpe I. 224, .ix. fota & .ix. scæfta munda & .ix. bere-corna. c 1205 Lay. 21996 He is imeten a bræde, fif & twenti foten; fif fote he is deop. 1325 Chron. Eng. 83 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 273 Fourti fet..Into the see he made him lepe. 1459 Contract in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 309 A doore in brede iiij foote standard. 1523 Fitzherb. Surv. 35 Howe many footes euery one of them be in length. 1624 Massinger Parl. Love v. i, I'll build A room of eight feet square. 1712 tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 89 The Indigo Plant grows about two Foot high. 1722 De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 192 Our privateer..outsailed her, running two feet for her one. 1816 Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 87 Every foot of this tract is argillaceous wheat-land. 1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. vii. 115 Who stood about five feet in their shoes. 1862 Ansted Channel Isl. iv. App. A (ed. 2) 565 The linear Jersey foot is equivalent to only eleven English inches. |
b. Used to express ‘the least distance or space,’ with
a,
one or a negative.
† each foot: all the way.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 7526 (Cott.) Forth a fote ne moght he ga. Ibid. 15391 (Cott.) Fra þan he ran him ilk fote, ne yode he noght þe pas. 13.. Coer de L. 2361 He shal not have a fote of lond. c 1435 Torr. Portugal 239 He durst go no fote Lest they wold hyme sle. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 23 Ile starue ere I rob a foote further. a 1800 Lizie Lindsay in Child Ballads viii. (1892) 265 Bonnie Lizie..a fit furder couldna win. |
† c. Hence
every foot (and anon): incessantly.
| 1561 P. Morwyng tr. Compend. Josephus' Hist. Jews 56 b, Antipater made feastes euery foote [L. singulis diebus] for thy brother Pheroras and him selfe. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 243 Such a worke they made sometime in chafing and frying their bodies against a good fire, but euery foot in bringing them abroad into the hot Sunne. 1639 R. Gentilis Servita's Inquis. (1676) 855 The Inquisitors do every foot write to Rome. 1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cccclviii. 434 This Man's Son would every foot and anon be taking some of his Companions into the Orchard. 1784 Cullum Hist. Hawsted 171 Every Foot anon every now and then. |
d. As a measure of coal gas: the amount of gas contained in one cubic foot of space.
| 1838 Penny Cycl. XI. 88/2 A sufficient quantity of gas was turned on to give a light equal to that of a mould candle; the consumption in this case was a foot and a half per hour. 1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 99/2 A burner passing 7 feet of gas per hour. |
8. A measure in tin-mining: (see
quot. 1778).
| 1602 Carew Cornwall 13 b, They measure their black Tynne by..the Foote. 1778 Pryce Min. Cornub., Foot, an ancient measure for black Tin, two gallons; now a nominal measure, but in weight 60 lb. |
9. A measure in sizing grindstones (see
quot.).
| 1844 M{supc}Culloch Dict. Commerce 615 They [grindstones] are classed in eight different sizes, called foots, according to their dimensions..A grindstone foot is 8 inches: the size is found by adding the diameter and thickness together. Thus, a stone 56 inches diameter by 8 thick.. is an 8-foot stone. |
IV. Something resembling a foot in function or position.
10. a. The lower (usually projecting) part of an object, which serves to support it; the base.
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxvii. 10 Twenti pilers, with so feele brasun feet. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) ii. 10 Therfore made thei the Foot of the Cros of Cedre. 1509 Fisher Fun. Serm. Hen. VII Wks. (1876) 274 He..kyssed..the lowest parte, the fote of the monstraunt. 1571 Digges Pantom. iii. xv. S iij b, Admit BCD a piller..my desire is to knowe the waight of the fote. 1611 Bible Exod. xxx. 18 A Lauer of brasse, and his foote also of brasse. 1802 M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 214 You have seen this vase..and..the lines inscribed on the foot of it. 1875 Fortnum Majolica iii. 31 Dishes..with..a projecting circular ‘giretto’ behind, forming a foot or base. |
b. (See
quot. 1892.)
| 1869 E. J. Reed Shipbuild. vii. 121 The frames behind armour in this part of the ship terminate in a foot at the lower deck. 1892 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Foot, a base or flange which sustains a casting or structure. |
11. a. Zool. Applied to various organs of locomotion or attachment belonging to certain invertebrate animals; in more precise technical language distinguished by special names, as
ambulacrum,
podium,
pseudopodium, etc.
| 1835 Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. v. 177 The foot, or base by which the common coral is attached to the rocks. 1835–6 Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 701/2 In..the Conchiferous mollusks..the foot constitutes a principal part of the body. 1841–71 T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 551 The little animal..is..possessed of a ‘foot,’ often very long and moveable, by the aid of which it can crawl upon a solid surface. 1852 Dana Crust. i. 10 Feet ambulatory or prehensile. |
b. Bot. In various uses. The part (of a petal) by which it is attached; the part (of a hair) below the epidermis; also, in ferns, mosses, etc. (see
quot. 1882).
| 1671 Grew Anat. Plants i. v. (1682) 35 The Foot of each Leaf being very long and slender. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 427 The foot is an organ by which the embryo attaches itself to the tissue of the prothallium, in order to draw nourishment from it. 1891 A. Johnstone Bot. 144 The part within the epidermal surface developing into the foot, and the protruded portion into the body of the hair. |
12. Printing. (See
quots.)
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 376 Foot of the Letter, the Break-end of the Shanck of a Letter. 1888 Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 698 The groove g divides the bottom of the type into two parts called the feet. |
13. The extremity of the leg (of a pair of compasses, a chair, etc.).
| 1551 Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. iii, Set one foote of the compasse in the verye point of the angle. 1703 Moxon Mech. Exerc. 206 Describe a Circle..by placing one Foot in the prick-mark, and turning about the other Foot. 1831 Brewster Optics iii. 25 Place one foot of the compasses in the quadrant NF. |
14. Of a plough: (See
quots. and
plough-foot).
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 A man maye temper for one thynge in two or thre places, as for depnes. The fote is one. 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. viii. 333/2 The Foot, is the piece of Hooked or Bended Wood, at the end of the Plow, under the Suck. 1846 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. 72 If the foot was not wide, it would cut into the soil. |
15. Of an organ pipe (see
quots.).
| 1852 Seidel Organ 78 The foot upon which the whole pipe rests. 1876 J. Hiles Catech. Organ iv. (1878) 25 The foot [of a wooden organ pipe] is a tube introduced at the bottom of the pipe; it serves as a support, and also as a conductor of the wind. |
16. In a sewing-machine: The small plate which is pressed on the cloth to hold it steady.
| 1877 Knight Dict. Mech., Presser-foot. 188. Direct. Singer's ‘Medium’ Sewing Mach., Adjust the corder-foot to the presser-bar..In placing each succeeding cord, guide the fabric with the last cord sewed in the second groove of the foot. |
17. One of the marginal pieces forming a serrated edge round the carapace of the Hawkbill turtle; otherwise called ‘hoofs’ or ‘claws’; in
pl. the commercial name for the small plates of tortoise-shell which line the carapace.
V. The lowest part, bottom.
18. a. The lowest part or bottom of an eminence, or any object in an erect or sloping position, as a wall, ladder, staircase, etc. Chiefly governed by preps.
| c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 89 On þe fot of þe dune þe men clepen munt oliuete. a 1300 Cursor M. 2481 (Cott.) Vnder þe fote of mont mambre, þar he ches to seit his fee. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 65 At þe foot of þe hille mount Olympus. 1497 Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. C iij, The fote [of the ladder] stode by hym. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. ii. 6 b, A man..who was going to gather honny at the foote of a bush. 1667 Milton P.L. iii. 485 And now at foot Of Heav'ns ascent they lift thir Feet. 1678 Trial of Coleman 44 At the Foot of the Stair⁓case. 1717 Berkeley Let. Wks. 1871 IV. 80 Torre del Greco, a town situate at the foot of Vesuvius. 1779 J. Burgoyne Lett. to Constit. (ed. 3) 15 Even the feet of the gallows, were resorted to for other recruits. 1815 Falconer's Dict. Marine, The Foot of a Mast, is the lower end, or that which goes into the step. 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 68 A forest of dark pines..gathered like a cloud at the foot of the mountain. |
b. The beginning or end of the slope (of a bridge).
| c 1450 Merlin 227 Here be-fore the yates at the brigge foote. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VI (an. 28) 160 b, Y⊇ rebelles drave the citezens from the stoulpes at the bridge foote. 1739 C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge p. vi, Westminster-Bridge Foot. c 1850 Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 597 They passed this bridge, at the foot of which they met with an old blind man. |
c. Geom. foot of the perpendicular: (see
quot.).
| 1840 Lardner Geom. xii. 147 The point..where the perpendicular meets the plane, is called the foot of the perpendicular. |
d. Naut. (See
quot. 1776.)
| 1697 W. Dampier Voy. I. xviii. 495 We rolled up the foot of our Sail on a pole fastned to it. 1776 Falconer Dict. Marine, Foot of a sail, lower edge or bottom. 1882 Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 127 Carry up the foot. |
19. The lower end, bottom (of a page or document, a class or list, a table, etc.).
at foot: at the bottom (of a page).
| 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. 142 Look in the Foot of the Table for the fifth Rhomb. 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 377 He claps the Fingers of his Left Hand about the Foot of the Page. 1722 Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 218 At the foot of the page. 1855 Thorpe Pref. to Beowulf (1875) 8 Placing the proposed correction at foot. 1884 G. Moore Mummer's Wife (1887) 223 He was invited to take the foot of the table and help the cold salmon. |
20. Law.
foot of a fine (
AF. pee,
Anglo-Lat. pes): that one of the ‘parts’ of a tripartite indenture recording the particulars of a fine (see
fine n.1 6 b), which remained with the court, the other two being retained by the parties.
When the undivided sheet was placed so that this counterfoil could be read, it was actually at the ‘foot’ of the parchment (the extant ‘feet of fines’ have therefore their indentation at the top); in the other two counterparts the direction of the writing was at right angles to that of the ‘foot’. The expression
pes indenturae ‘foot of the indenture’ also occurs. Horwood's suggestion, that the term (L.
pes) arose from a misinterpretation of AF
pes,
pais, ‘peace’ is baseless.
| [1293 in Year Bks. 21 & 22 Edw. I (Rolls) 221 E ke cele fin se leva tel an coram &c. nus vochum le pee de la fin a garrantye.] 1581 Act 23 Eliz. c. 3. §1 The Concorde, Note and Fote of everye suche Fyne. 1876 Digby Real Prop. ii. §8. 93 A document was drawn up, called in later times the foot, chirograph, or indenture of the fine. 1895 Pollock & Maitland Hist. Eng. Law I. 198 This ‘final concord’ or ‘fine’, will be drawn up by the royal clerks and one copy of it, the so-called ‘Foot of the Fine’, will remain with the Court. |
21. What is written at the foot.
† a. The sum or total (of an account).
Obs.| 1480 Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 154 note, ‘The foote of the deliveree of stuff’. 1520 Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading 8 In the ffote of the same accompte xjli xiiijs vij{supd}. 1623 Bp. Andrewes Serm. Nativ. xvi. (1629) 148 So, it signifies to make the foot of an account. We call it the foot, because we write it below at the foot. 1692 Dryden Cleomen. iv. i, A trifling sum of Misery, New added to the foot of thy Account. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 346 ¶1 The generous man..will soon find upon the foot of his account that he has sacrificed to fools. |
† b. The refrain or ‘chorus’ (of a song).
to bear a foot: to sing a refrain.
Obs.| 1552 Huloet, Dittye synger, or he that beareth y⊇ fote of the songs, præsentor [sic]. c 1568 in Laneham's Let. (1871) Pref. 127 Here entreth Moros..Synging the foote of many Songes, as fooles were wont. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turkes 777 A souldior..sung a dolefull dittie whereunto his fellows sighing bare a foot. 1621 Molle Camerar. Liv. Libr. v. ii. 322 In praise of him certaine jygges were made which the yong lads vsed to sing..the foot of them was this; A thousand, thousand, thousand, we..[etc.]. |
22. (Plural
foots). That which sinks to and lies upon the bottom; bottoms, dregs; the refuse in refining oil, etc.; coarse sugar.
Cf. foot grease,
sugar.
| 1560 Let. in Hakluyt Voy. I. 306 Much of this Waxe had a great foote..You must cause the foote to bee taken off before you doe weigh it. 1644 Nye Gunnery v. (1647) 11 Fill up the Barrel with earth..afterwards pour..clean water upon the earth..then pull out the Taps or Spiggots..and let the water drop out of that vessel into another..this water when it hath dropped twice, is called water of Foot. 1687 B. Randolph Archipelago 91 They raise the foot of the oyl, so that thick and thin goes together. 1770–4 A. Hunter Georg. Ess. (1803) I. 318 The bottoms or foots of oil. 1871 Daily News 5 Jan., Lump sugar is 13d. a pound, foots moist 9d. 1886 Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk, Foots, dregs, sediment. This here cyder 'ont suit me, there's to much voots in it. |
VI. Footing, standing, basis.
† 23. Foothold, standing-ground.
Obs.| 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 148/1 Their getting foote may be to their owne destruction. 1652 F. Kirkman Cleris & Lozia 113 Hinder new love from getting foot in her heart. 1662 More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 19 Considering also how far that Philosophy has already got foot in Christendom. |
† 24. a. The footing, basis, understanding, totality of conditions or arrangements, on which a matter is established; the agreed or understood position or status which a person or thing occupies in relation to another.
= footing vbl. n. 8.
Obs.| 1559 Jewel Let. to Bulinger in Strype Ann. Ref. I. x. 131 Religion was restored on that foot on which it stood in King Edwards time. 1686 Lond. Gaz. No. 2116/1 The Salaries of all Officers..are likewise retrenched. The Councils..are to be reduced to the foot they were upon in the Year 1621. 1707 Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 7 Matters were set upon a new Foot. 1735 Berkeley Def. Free-think. in Math. Wks. 1871 III. 325 If you defend Sir Isaac's notions..it must be on the rigorous foot of rejecting nothing. 1745 P. Thomas Voy. S. Seas 305 The Viceroy..found he expected to be received on the same Foot with himself. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 278 Boit..was upon so low a foot, that he went into the country, and taught children to draw. 1767 Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 IV. 9, I wish all correspondence was on the foot of writing and answering when one can. 1827 Pollok Course T. ix. 727 When he should stand on equal foot beside The man he wronged. |
† b. on the foot of: on the ground of.
Obs.| 1679 Penn Addr. Prot. ii. 84 He laid the Sin of the Jews upon this Foot, viz., That they rejected him, after he had made proof of his Divine Mission. a 1797 H. Walpole Mem. Geo II (1847) II. viii. 259 The Prince excused his own inapplication on the foot of idleness. |
† 25. Standard rate of calculation or valuation.
under foot: below standard value.
Obs.| 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instr. F viij b, Vse one Foote or Standerd of money in your accompt in your Leager. 1594 Death of Usurie 12 The man beeing driuen to distresse, sels his corne farre vnder foote. 1645 Quarles Sol. Recant. i. 44 Not deem'd a pen'worth under foot. 1691 Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 80 He must pay twenty per Cent. more for all the Commodities he buys with the Money of the new Foot. 1726 Berkeley in Fraser Life iv. (1871) 137, I know money is at present on a very high foot of exchange. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. i. iv. 195 The disparity between the ancient and modern measures which it is hard to estimate on a fixed and certain foot. |
VII. Phrases.
26. a. † to catch or have by the foot: to catch as in a trap; to hold fast, keep from flying.
† to give (a person) a foot: to trip (him) up.
to have one foot in the grave: to be near death.
| 1550 Latimer Serm. Fruitf. Serm. (1571) 90 b, In answering him to this they would haue caught him by the foote. 1632 Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry i. ii, When one foot's in the grave. 1643 Prynne Sov. Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) 52 The English Armies disband themselves, as dreaming they had now good fortune by the foote. 1767 H. Brooke Fool of Qual. V. 15 Harry, giving him a slight foot, laid him on the broad of his back. 1886 J. Payn Luck Darrells xv, He has twenty thousand a year..And one foot in his grave. |
b. In
adv. phr.:
† feet against (or to) feet, said with reference to the Antipodes.
foot to foot: with one's foot against an opponent's; in close combat.
† (to come in) foot and hand: stepping forward and dealing a blow at the same time.
feet first: see
first a. 3 b.
(with one's) feet foremost:
lit., hence also ‘as a corpse’.
| c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xvii 182 Thei that dwellyn under us, ben feet aȝenst feet. 1553 Eden Decades viii, The Antipodes (that is) such as go fiete to fiete ageynst us. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv, 241 [These] Began to giue me ground: but I followed me close, came in foot and hand. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks 879 They encountred one another, not with their missive weapons onely..but with their drawne swords foot to foot. 1606 Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. vii. 67 Fighting foot to foot. 1737 Ozell Rabelais II. 27 They never enter St. Denys but with their Feet foremost. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxix. 384 Hans, Morton and myself crawled feet-foremost into our buffalo-bag. 1860 All Year Round No. 65. 350 It [the disease]..had carried him out with his feet foremost. |
c. to find or know the length of (a person's) foot: to discover or know his weaknesses, so as to be able to manage him.
to measure another man's foot by one's own last: to measure others by one's own standard, to judge others by oneself.
feet of clay: see
clay n. 4 c.
| 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 290 You shal not know the length of my foote, vntill by your cunning you get commendation. 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence 70 He measures an other mans foote by his owne last. a 1617 Bayne On Eph. i. 15 (1643) 156 Persons who can humour them, and finde the length of their foote. 1861 Trollope Barchester T. xxxv, Farmer Greenacre's eldest son..had from his earliest years taken the exact measure of Miss Thorne's foot. |
27. With reference to standing.
(to be, jump up) upon or (to raise) to one's feet: in, into or to a standing position.
to be on one's feet: to be able to stand; hence, in health.
to set (a person) on his feet, to make his position or means of living secure.
to carry (a person) off his feet: (
fig.) to ‘carry away’ with enthusiasm, or the like.
to drop or fall on one's feet: see
fall v. 65 h.
to have one's feet on the ground: to base oneself on realities; to be practical.
to keep one's feet: to stand or walk upright or without falling.
† to stand upon one's own feet or its own foot: to rely on one's own resources; (of a thing) to be judged on its merits.
| c 1440 Generydes 44 Vppe vppon his fete he was a non. c 1500 Melusine xxiii. 156 Make here byfore me the feste as that I were now on my feet. 1657 Burton's Diary (1828) II. 67 I move..that you would leave Serjeant Dendy's right to stand upon its own foot. 1801 Gabrielli Myst. Husb. iv. 146 A sixth [hundred pounds] would set her once more upon her feet. 1845 M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 26 The bishops..hastened to raise the king to his feet. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 301 He could not keep his feet in a breeze. 1854 Mrs. Gaskell Let. 27 Oct. (1966) 316 I'll enclose you two pieces of Mr. S. Gaskell to show how he's carried off his feet. 1889 Repent. P. Wentworth III. 145 He positively carried me off my feet for a few minutes that evening. 1950 ‘P. Woodruff’ Island of Chamba i. 21 El Hadramauti..is a bit of a theorist and H.M. for all his oddity has his feet very firmly on the ground. |
28. a. With reference to placing the feet.
to put one's foot down: (
a) to take up a firm position; (
b) when driving a motor vehicle: to accelerate.
to put (set) one's foot (down) upon: to have nothing to do with; to repress firmly.
to put a foot upon: ? to get an unfair advantage of, to wrong.
to put one's foot in or into it: to get into difficulties or trouble; to blunder (
colloq.).
not (or never) to put a foot wrong: to make no mistakes; hence
not to put a foot right: to make many mistakes.
† to set one's foot by or to (another or another's): to engage in combat with.
| 1536 St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 506 No man can or dare set his fote by ours in proving of the contrary. c 1609 Hieron Wks. (1624) I. 7 Saint Paul..would not haue feared for profession of Religion, to set his foot to him that was holiest. 1663 Pepys Diary 23 May, I had a fray with Sir J. Minnes in defence of my Will in a business where the old Coxcomb would have put a foot upon him. 1798 Gent. Mag. in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) II. 57 The General had put his foot into it again. 1823 ‘Bee’ Slang s.v. ‘To put one's foot in it,’ to make a blunder on the wrong side; to get into a scrape by speaking. 1833 Marryat P. Simple xii, I put my foot into it (as we say), for I was nearly killed. 1868 J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 65 Wolsey set his foot upon this plan. 1886 J. Payn Luck Darrells xxvi, She..put her foot down..upon the least symptoms of an unpleasantry. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway iv. 108 His superiors could rest content that Mr. Symes would never put a foot wrong. 1959 I. Jefferies 13 Days viii. 98, I didn't feel I ought to put a foot wrong with Watson, the Ordnance Captain. 1959 Listener 22 Jan. 152/1 He never put a foot wrong. He was extraordinarily good in the House. 1961 H. Nicolson Let. 1 June (1968) III. 395 The Americans..blame..the ‘diplomatists’, meaning thereby their intelligence services. ‘Why can't we put a foot right?’ they wail. 1962 J. Braine Life at Top ii. 38, I put my foot down and the Zephyr gathered speed up the slope. |
b. to set or put (one's) foot at, in, into, † off, on, † out of (a place).
| c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 222 I shall never sette foote there. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. 46 It was a foule shame for a phylosophier to sette his foote into any hous where bawderie wer kepte. 1548 Hall Chron., Edw. IV (an 15) 237 b, Whom if you permitte once to set but one foote, out of your power..there is no mortall creature able..to deliver hym from death. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 251/2 Sins which haue set in foote. 1596 Spenser State Irel. 81 In some places of the same they have put foote. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 95 When I from France set foot at Rauenspurgh. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. vi, I was never to set my foot off this island. 1838 Lytton Leila i. v, Since first thou didst set foot within the city. 1875 T. W. Higginson U.S. Hist. v. 38 Columbus was not the first to set foot on the mainland. |
29. With reference to walking or running.
a. (to go) on one's own feet or † foot: walking.
to pull foot (
colloq.): to run away, be off.
† on the foot of: ready to start upon.
† to set foot forward: to advance; also to quicken one's pace.
† to set on one's foot: to start on the way; depart.
† to show the feet: to depart.
† give me your foot: let me see you go.
to take one's foot in one's hand: to depart; also, to make a journey.
to take to one's feet (or † foot): to use the feet, go on foot, to walk as opposed to ‘ride.’
(Mr.) Foot's horse (jocularly): one's feet.
to catch (a person) on the wrong foot: to catch unawares.
to get (or set, etc.) off on the right foot: to start successfully; similarly
to get (or start, etc.) off on the wrong foot: to start unsuccessfully; to fail to establish good relations.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 3246 Quen fortune foundis him fra and him þe fete schewis. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xxi. 12 Oft falsett rydis with ane rowt, Quhen trewth gois on his fute abowt. 1508 Kennedy Flyting w. Dunbar 473 Throu Ingland thef, and tak the to thy fute. 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. IV (an. 1) 18 He..never set fote forward duryng the first .ij. monethes, for the reisyng of the siege. 1575 J. Still Gammer Gurton iv. ii, Go softly, make no noyse, giue me your foote sir John, Here will I waite vpon you, tyl you come out anone. 1600 Holland Livy iii. xxvii. (1609) 106 Willing them to set foot forward, to mend their pace and make speed. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 332 Set on your foote, And..I follow you. 1605 ― Macb. ii. iii. 131 Donal. Let's away, Our Teares are not yet brew'd. Mal. Nor our strong Sorrow Vpon the foot of Motion. 1755 Smollett Quix. iv. iv. I. 232 Andrew..made his bows, and as the saying is, took his foot in his hand. 1779 F. Burney Diary 19 June, I took to my feet and ran away. 1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 109 One of my ladies chose to pull foot, and did not return..till this morning. 1864 Burton Cairngorm 5 The kind of scenes he may alight on if he ‘take his feet in his hands’. 1883 Harper's Mag. 946/1 The privilege of taking this trip on ‘foot's horse’. 1909 R. Beach Silver Horde xiii. 173, I want to see you get off on the right foot; I'd feel bad if you fell down. 1925 Country Gentleman (U.S.) Sept. 11/2, I know I got off on the wrong foot. It was manifest in the faces and general demeanor of the grave and reverend Senators. 1937 N. Coward Present Indicative vi. xi. 262 To me a round of applause..even though it be conventional rather than spontaneous, almost always sets my performance off on the right foot. 1947 C. Witting Let X be Murderer iv. 43 They caught me on the wrong foot, Glad. What did the old fool want to go and ring up for? 1949 R. Chandler Little Sister xxxii. 232, I got off on the wrong foot. After that I just had to take my lumps. 1955 Times 12 May 11/2 Starting the Colonial Development Corporation off on the wrong foot. 1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes i. iii. 71 ‘Oh, he's brilliant all right,’ said Robin... ‘But he obviously gets off on the wrong foot with his colleagues.’ 1958 Listener 7 Aug. 195/2 There is that vast number of marriages..where the marriage takes place to give the baby a name. The whole thing starts on the wrong foot. 1958 Times 18 Dec. 11/4 The least athletically inclined are frequently finding themselves..bowled out, tackled or caught on the wrong foot. 1960 H. Innes Doomed Oasis ii. iii. 120 The relationship hadn't been at all easy at first. ‘They started off on the wrong foot, you see.’ 1961 Times 9 May 13/3 The Commons-peerage question must be disposed of before these wider discussions can be got off on the right foot. |
b. With reference to ‘pace’.
to have leaden feet: to move very slowly.
to have the foot of: to be more speedy than.
(to move) at a foot's pace: at walking pace.
to run a good, etc. foot (of a horse): to run at a good pace, run at his best pace.
to put (or set) the (or one's) best foot first, foremost or forward: see
best a. 5.
† the better foot before: at one's best pace.
† to put the wrong foot before: to make a blunder.
| 1588 Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 192 Come on my Lords, the better foote before. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 4 Thou putst the wrong foote before. 1601 Dent Pathw. Heaven 141 Though God haue leaden feet, and commeth slowly to execute wrath. a 1613 Overbury A Wife (1638) 164 Hee is still setting the best foot forward. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 123 A large, nimble, strong, well-moving Horse, that would run a pretty good Foot. 1785 Burns To Davie xi, And then he'll hilch, and stilt, an' jimp, And rin an unco fit. 1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 362 Thus we proceeded crawling along at a foot's pace. 1849 E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa II. 373 We had to put our best foot foremost. 1856 Lever Martin's of Cro' M. 133 I threw out a ‘tenpenny’ in the midst. The ‘blind’ fellow saw it first, but the ‘lame cripple’ had the foot of him, and got the money! |
c. With the sense of ‘step’.
to miss one's foot: to take a wrong step.
† foot by (for, with) foot: step by step, gradually; keeping step together; also
fig. to change foot or feet: see
change v. 9.
to have a good foot on the floor (
Sc.): ‘to dance well’ (
Jam.).
| c 1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 143/1300 Send with us fot with fot ane legat. c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. lxi. (1869) 205 Þe olde also, foot bi foot, comen þider. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 378 Fit for fit to Forfar all tha fuir. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 347/2 Hee that walketh with a straight foote..will not fetch many windlesses to drawne neere to God. 1626 A. Cook in Abp. Usher's Lett. (1686) 373 Your Lordship had need now to do something; for few go with a right foot, and the Enemies are many. 1631 Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 216 Anselme..followed his predecessors steps almost foot by foot. 1785 Burns Halloween xxvi, She jumpet, But mist a fit, an' in the pool Out-owre the lugs she plumpet. |
30. Expressing position relatively to the feet.
a. at (a person's) feet or † foot: low on the ground close to him; also,
fig., in the attitude of supplicaton, homage, subjection or discipleship; similarly
to come, etc. to a person's feet;
before, beside one's feet, etc. See
fall v. 20.
| c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Luke vii. 38 And stod bihianda æt fotum his mið tæherum. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 101 Ða ileaffullen brohton heore gersum and leiden heo et þere apostlan fotan. a 1300 Cursor M. 9599 (Cott.) Be-for þe king fote sco stode. 1382 Wyclif Acts xxii. 3 A man Jew..norischid forsoth in this citie bisydis the feet of Gamaliel. c 1489 Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxvi. 550 He cast hymself to the fete of hym. 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. iii. i. 92, I would my daughter were dead at my foot. 1710 Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. Ded. Wks. 1871 I. 133 To lay this treatise at your lordship's feet. 1715–20 Pope Iliad xxiii. 28 The bloody Hector stretch'd before thy feet. 1814 Scott Drama (1874) 203 The royal bear-ward..lodged a formal complaint at the feet of her majesty. 1861 Trollope Barchester T. xxvii, It was all very well to have Mr. Slope at her feet. 1895 Bookman Oct. 23/1 The lessons that he had learnt at the feet of Mazarin. |
b. † (to follow) at or to foot: closely.
† to foot and hand: in close attendance, ready to render service (
cf. ‘to wait upon one hand and foot’).
with a foal at (her) foot: said of a mare.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 24031 (Cott.) We folud þam to fote. Ibid. 6394 (Gött.) Þar had þai watir in wildernes land, Plente for men, to fhote and hand. c 1420 Sir Amadace (Camden) lviii, I ȝo cummawunde To serue him wele to fote and honde. 1602 Shakes. Ham. iv. iii. 56 Follow him at foote. 1612 Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 10, 5 of them [mares] had horse colte at their feet. 1884 West. Morn. News 30 Aug. 1/6 Two excellent brood mares, with foals at foot. |
c. under or beneath a person's foot or feet:
fig. in subjection to him, at his mercy or at his absolute disposal.
Cf. 33.
| c 825 Vesp. Ps. viii. 8 [6] All ðu underdeodes under fotum his. c 1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Al eorðlic þing ure drihten dude under his fotan. a 1225 Juliana 60 Þu..wurpe under hare fet hare fan alle. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. i. 63 Who..layd his Loue and Life vnder my foot. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset III. vii. Mr. Crawley was now but a broken reed, and was beneath his feet. |
d. to have or set one's foot on the neck of: (
fig.) to hold completely in subjection: see
neck n.1 3 a.
31. (to sell corn) on the foot: ‘to sell it along with the straw before it is thrashed off’ (
Jam.).
| 1780 A. Young Tour Irel. I. 330 The value sold on the foot is in general 8l. 1812 Agric. Surv. Stirling iv. 104 The tenant, shall not sell his victual upon the foot, as it is called, or with the straw. |
32. on foot. (See also
afoot.)
a. On one's own feet, walking or running, in opposition to
on horseback, etc.
† Also,
of foot,
upon foot.
| a 1300 Cursor M. 6267 (Cott.) He folud wit ost on hors and fote. a 1310 in Wright Lyric P. 90 The is bettere on fote gon, then wycked hors to ryde. c 1314 Guy Warw. (A.) 2397 When Gii seye the douke of fot. c 1400 Destr. Troy 356 So faire freikes vppon fote was ferly to se. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 238 The Englishmen..made three battayles on foote. 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 941 Treading the crude consistence, half on foot, Half flying. 1860 Dickens Uncomm. Trav. iv, I drove up..(fearful of being late, or I should have come on foot). |
b. In motion, stirring, astir (in opposition to
sitting still, or the like).
| 1592 Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 679 When thou hast on foot the purblind hare, Mark..How he outruns the wind. 1607 ― Cor. iv. iii. 49 The Centurions, and their charges..to be on foot at an houres warning. 1674 N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. i. (1677) 99 When the Hare is started and on foot. 1818 M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 161 Every body in Jamaica is on foot by six in the morning. 1885 T. Roosevelt Hunting Trips 280 Though I got very close up to my game, they were on foot before I saw them. |
c. In active existence, employment, or operation.
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 757 Since loues argument was first on foote, Let not the cloud of sorrow justle it. 1651 W. G. tr. Cowel's Inst. 190 Unlesse the lease which is on foot..be within three yeares of expiring. 1711 Steele Spect. No. 262 ¶6 Those Gentlemen who set on Foot the Royal Society. 1779 Burke Corr. (1844) II. 283 Nothing seems to me more wild..than the subscriptions now on foot. 1818 Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 212 Terms for years, which are kept on foot by purchasers..are not barred by fine. 1862 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xvii. 264 If, then, a King were to retain the troops on foot without a Mutiny Bill. 1867 Trollope Chron. Barset xlvii, The bishop had decided to put on foot another investigation. |
33. under foot. (Sometimes written as one word.)
a. Beneath one's feet; often
to trample or tread under foot (also † feet), in
lit. sense, also
fig. to oppress, outrage, contemn.
† to bring, have under foot: to bring into, hold in subjection.
† to cast under foot: to ruin.
| c 1205 Lay. 11693 Þis lond..he..hæfde al vnder fot. c 1305 Pilate 49 in E.E.P. (1862) 112 If he þat lond chasteþ wel: and bringeþ vnder fote. c 1420 Hoccleve Compl. 13 Deathe vnder fote shall hym thrist adowne. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 161 Dissention..hathe caste under foote..the..riches of many cities. 1593 Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 209 From thy Burgonet Ile rend thy Beare, And tread it vnder foot with all contempt. 1647 Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §12 He never deserted it till both it and he were over-run and trod under foot. 1652 Wright tr. Camus' Nature's Paradox 260 They trampled under feet all private considerations. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Two Voy. 308 They [elephants] would have trampl'd us under foot. Mod. colloq. It is not raining, but it is very wet under foot. |
b. Naut. ‘Under the ship's bottom; said of an anchor which is dropped while she has headway’ (Smyth
Sailor's Word-bk.); also of the movement of the tide, etc. Also
† to have a good etc. ship under foot (
i.e. to be sailing in such a ship).
| 1633 T. James Voy. 79 This Cable had laine slacke vnder-foot. 1670 Wood in Hacke Coll. Voy. iii. (1699) 61 It must..be a bad Port in Winter, when..a Storm blows at West..and a Tide of Ebb under Foot. 1719 De Foe Crusoe x. (1840) 166 Running cheerfully before the wind, and with a strong tide or eddy under foot. 1726 G. Shelvocke Voy. (1757) 321, I had a pretty good ship under foot, though she made but a poor figure. 1804 Capt. Duff in Naval Chron. XV. 281 We have a good comfortable ship under foot. 1860 Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 180 The Pilot..dropped the port anchor under foot. |
VIII. attrib. and
Comb. 34. a. simple
attrib., as
foot-clamper,
foot-muscle,
foot-part,
foot-shackle,
foot-wear,
foot-wound.
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl I. xxii. 273 Pointed staves, *foot-clampers, and other apparatus for climbing ice. |
| 1854 Woodward Mollusca (1856) 250 The *foot muscles. |
| 1644 Evelyn Diary 19 Nov., The nave..is in form of a cross, whereof the *foot-part is the longest. |
| 1848 Craig, *Foot-shackles, fetters, shackles for fixing the feet. |
| 1881 Chicago Times 11 June, If values were based upon present quotations of leather, an advance would be necessary upon several descriptions of *foot-wear. 1922 Daily Mail 1 Nov. 8 Women and girls, with their short skirts, neat footwear, and other prevailing fashions. 1954 F. C. Avis Boxing Ref. Dict. 43 Footwear, regulation boots. |
| a 1225 Ancr. R. 194 Vlesches fondunge mei beon iefned to *uot wunde. |
b. In the sense of ‘on foot’, ‘going on foot’, as
† foot-chapman,
foot-comer,
foot-excursion,
foot-farer,
† foot-fight,
foot-hawker,
† foot-messenger,
foot-party,
foot-passenger,
foot-people,
foot-robber,
foot-servant,
foot-tour,
foot-traveller,
foot-walker,
foot-wandering;
foot-faring,
foot-running adjs.| 1584 Burgh Rec. Aberdeen (Spald. Club) II. 54 That no extranear *fut chopmane copair resort to this toun fra this furtht. |
| 1811 Coleridge in Southey's Life Bell (1844) II. 645 The entrance..is disagreeable even to *foot-comers. |
| 1796 T. Twining Trav. Amer. (1894) 148 He was absent with some friends on a *foot excursion. |
| 1861 G. Meredith E. Harrington I. vi. 95 Dividing his attention between the *footfarer and moon. |
| 1868 G. Macdonald R. Falconer I. 190 Half a dozen *footfaring students from Aberdeen. |
| 1580 Sidney Arcadia (1622) 171 So began our *foot-fight. |
| 1884 S. Dowell Taxes in Eng. III. 38 The revenue from the *foot-hawkers' licences. |
| 1688 R. Holme Armoury iii. 60/1 *Foot Messengers of Arms, are such *Foot Servants, as are imployed by the Heralds of Arms. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xx. 252 The ice had baffled three organized *foot-parties. |
| 1832 Babbage Econ. Manuf. iv. (ed. 3) 34 When *foot-passengers are knocked down by carriages. |
| 1807 Pike Sources Mississ. ii. (1810) 114 My Indians and *foot people were yet in the rear. |
| 1754 Scoundrel's Dict. 29 The Low-Pad, or *Foot-robber. |
| 1865 Kingsley Herew. I. i. 62 A *foot-running slave. |
| 1883 F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius iii, He was going away on his customary *foot tour. |
| 1805 Wordsw. Prelude (1850) 152 *Foot-travellers side by side..we pursued Our journey. |
| 1751 Hume Princ. Morals iv. 71 note, Amongst *Foot-walkers, the Right-hand entitles a Man to the Wall. |
| 1839 Bailey Festus v. (1852) 62 The fastings, the *footwanderings, and the preachings of Christ. |
c. esp. in sense ‘of or pertaining to infantry’, as
† foot-arms,
† foot-band,
foot-barracks,
foot-company,
foot-drill,
† foot-officer,
foot-soldier,
† foot-troop. Also
foot-folk, -guards.
| 1662 Protests Lords I. 26 For assessing all persons mentioned therein for horse, arms, and *foot-arms. |
| 1598 Barret Theor. Warres ii. i. 26 A Captaine of Infanterie, or *foot-band. |
| 1835 D. Booth Analyt. Dict. 157 Artillery-barracks, Horse-barracks, and *Foot-barracks. |
| 1635 W. Barriffe Mil. Discip. lxvii. (1643) 178 The severall motions and grounds, for the disciplining of a *foot company. |
| 1833 Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 43 The position of the man as in *Foot-drill. |
| a 1674 Clarendon Hist. Reb. xvi. §96 [Monk] had the reputation of a very good *Foot-Officer. |
| 1622 Drayton Poly-olb. xxix. 155 Seauen Earles, nine hundred Horse, and of *Foot-souldiers more. 1874 Boutell Arms & Arm. viii. 133 The treatment..shown to the foot-soldier of England by the nobles. |
| 1579 Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 271 The French..discouered the *foot-troopes of the Genoways. |
d. In sense ‘for the use of persons going on foot’, ‘serving for foot-traffic’, as
foot-passage,
foot-pavement,
foot-road,
foot-track,
foot-walk; also,
foot-boat,
foot-bridge in 35 below, and
foot-path,
-way.
| 1789 Brand Newcastle I. 15 Convenient *foot-passages have lately been opened out on each side of this gate. |
| 1791 Boswell Johnson II. 528 When he had got down on the *foot-pavement, he called out ‘fare you well’. 1863 Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 276 Numbers of spectators..crowded the foot-pavement. |
| 1784 R. Bage Barham D. I. 220 [He] saw a well dressed young woman..take the *foot road down to the river side. |
| 1891 C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 125, I thought I would..quit the beaten *foot-track, and strike boldly across country. |
| 1837 Hawthorne Twice-Told T. (1851) I. ix. 166 Leaving him to sidle along the *footwalk. |
e. In the names of various appliances worked by the foot, as
foot-bellows,
foot blower,
foot-drill,
foot-hammer,
foot-lathe,
foot-lever,
foot-press,
foot-vise;
esp. in names of speed and control appliances on vehicles, as
foot-accelerator,
foot-brake,
foot-braking,
foot-clutch,
foot-starter; also
foot-acted,
foot-operated adjs.| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 16 Jan. 4/2 A *foot accelerator is also fitted. |
| 1908 Daily Chron. 21 Nov. 9/4 The three-speed gear in association with a *foot-acted brake. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 901/2 *Foot-bellows. |
| 1884 W. A. Ross Blowpipe 1 A *foot-blower. |
| 1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Foot Brake. 1925 Morris Owner's Man. 11 Both foot and hand brakes operate on drums fitted to the back wheels. |
| 1909 Daily Chron. 27 Feb. 7/7 *Foot braking is less fatiguing for prolonged spells of application. |
| 1905 Westm. Gaz. 17 Oct. 4/2 Many motorists who find the working of a *foot-clutch trying. |
| 1892 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), *Foot-drill, a light drilling machine driven by a treadle. |
| 1812–6 J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art. I. 58 *Foot lathes. |
| 1892 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), *Foot Lever, a lever worked by the pressure of the foot alone. |
| 1908 Westm. Gaz. 30 Jan. 4/1 A large *foot-operated contracting brake. |
| 1959 Times 2 Oct. 11/3 The foot-operated dip switch. 1967 Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 9/1 The engine is controlled by a foot-operated accelerator. 1971 Engineering Apr. 69/2 A hydraulic master cylinder unit, coupled to a pivoted foot-operated lever. |
f. objective, etc., as
foot-binder,
foot-kisser,
foot-swather,
foot-washer,
foot-wiper;
foot-failing,
foot-firm,
adjs.; instrumental, as
† foot-tempered adj.; locative, etc., as
foot-feathered,
foot-foundered,
foot-gilt,
foot-lame, (also
foot-lameness)
adjs.; also,
footward adv.| 1886 Wanderings in China I. 168 *Foot-binders..women whose profession it is to produce this horrible distortion. |
| 1609 J. Davies Holy Roode Wks. (Grosart) 9/1 To march vpon the Seas *foot-failing floore? |
| 1818 Keats Endym. iv. 331 *Foot-feathered Mercury. |
| 1813 ‘ædituus’ Metrical Remarks 29 The *foot-firm sand Stretches its lengthened course along the land. |
| 1801 Bloomfield Rural T. 227 A poor old Man, *foot founder'd and alone. |
| 1859 Tennyson Vivien 280 *Foot-gilt with all the blossom-dust of those Deep meadows. |
| 1868 Browning Ring & Bk. ix. 1085 Born foot-washer and foot-wiper, nay *Foot-kisser to each comrade of you all. |
| c 1305 Pol. Songs (Camden) 194 Sixti thousent on a day hue maden *fot lome. c 1325 Poem Times Edw. II, 264 Ibid. 335 Thus knihtshipe [is] acloied and waxen al fot lame. |
| 1828 Sporting Mag. XXII. 347 He [a horse] was struck with *foot-lameness. |
| 1762 Goldsm. Cit. W. iii. ¶6 Your nose-borers, *feet-swathers..would all want bread, should their neighbours want vanity. |
| c 1420 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 182 Wel *foote-tempred morter theron trete. |
| 1822 T. Mitchell Aristoph. II. 211 Cecrops..(what if thy dimensions end *Footward in a wily serpent?) 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catull. lxiv. 66 That footward-fallen apparel. |
| 1868 *Foot-washer [see foot-kisser above]. 1870 Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. li. 14 If we could be preacher, precentor, doorkeeper, pew-opener, footwasher..all in one. |
| 1868 *Foot-wiper [see foot-kisser above]. |
35. a. Special comb.:
foot-ale dial. (see
quots.);
† foot-and-half-foot a., sesquipedalian;
foot-and-mouth disease, ‘a febrile affection of horned cattle and some other animals, communicable also to man’ (
Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884);
foot-bank Fortif. = banquette (see also
quot. 1626);
foot-base Arch., ‘the moulding above the plinth of an apartment’ (Ogilvie);
† foot-bass, an instrument on which a bass is played by the feet (see
quot.);
foot-bath,
† (
a) a ‘wash’ for the feet; (
b) the act of bathing the feet; (
c) a vessel in which the feet are bathed;
foot-bearing Mech., a bearing for the foot of a vertical shaft:
cf. foot-step;
† foot-bench = banquette;
† foot-blast, the blast produced by bellows worked with the foot; ?
† foot-boat, a ferry-boat for foot-passengers only;
foot-bone, the tarsus;
foot-bridge, (
a) a bridge for foot-passengers; (
b)
Mech. (see
quot. 1872);
foot-candle, a unit of illumination equivalent to the illumination of a surface all of which is at a distance of one foot from a point source of light having a luminous intensity of one candela (or formerly one international candle), corresponding to a luminous flux density of one lumen per square foot;
† foot-clapper, a dancer;
foot-coal, an underlying stratum of coal;
foot-cushion, (
a) a cushion for the feet; (
b)
Entom., a pulvillus;
foot-dirt = foots (see
foot n.);
foot-dragging, a deliberate delay or slowness (
cf. drag v. 1 b);
foot-drain, a shallow drain;
cf. foot-trench;
foot-drop Path., a permanently extended position of the foot, due to paralysis of the flexor muscles;
† foot-fast, a prisoner;
† foot-fastness, captivity;
† foot-follower, an attendant (
transl. L.
pedisequus,
-sequa);
foot-free,
a. and adv., with the foot or feet free;
foot-gang, (
a) ‘a long, narrow chest, extending alongside a wooden bed; (
b) as much ground as one can move on’ (
Jam.);
† foot-geld (see
quot. 1641);
† foot-gin, a snare for the feet;
† foot-glove, a kind of shoe;
foot-grease (see
quot.);
† foot-grene = foot-gin;
foot-guard, a guard or protection for the foot;
foot-halt, a disease which attacks the feet of sheep;
foot-hedge (see
quots.);
foot-hole, a hole in which to place the foot (in climbing);
† foot-husk (see
quot.);
foot-iron (see
quots.);
foot-jaw, one of the anterior limbs of crustacea and other arthropoda which are modified so as to assist in mastication;
foot-key, an organ pedal;
foot-knave = footman;
foot-lambert, a unit of luminance equal to the average luminance of a surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot;
† foot-land-raker, a foot-pad;
foot-length,
Angling (see
quot.);
foot-level (see
quot.);
foot-ley,
dial. (see
quot. 1881);
foot-licker, ‘a slave, an humble fawner, one who licks the foot’ (J.); so
foot-licking ppl. a.;
foot-line, (
a)
Printing (see
quots.); (
b)
Fishing, ‘the lead-line or lower line of a net or seine’ (
Cent. Dict.);
foot-locker U.S., a small trunk or chest;
foot-log U.S., a log used as a foot-bridge;
† foot-maid,
† -maiden, a female attendant;
foot-maker Glass-making (see
quot. 1881);
† foot-match, a running- or walking-match;
foot-muff, a muff for keeping the feet warm;
† foot-nail, some kind of nail;
† foot-organ (
cf. foot-bass above);
foot-ornament Arch. (see
quot.);
† foot-pack, a pedlar's pack;
foot-pad, a pad to protect the foot of a horse (Knight); also
Entom. = foot-cushion (
Cent. Dict.); also a device on a space vehicle;
foot-page, a boy attendant or servant;
foot-pan, (
a) a foot-bath; (
b) a foot-warmer;
foot-peat (see
quot. and
cf. breast-peat);
foot-piece Mining (see
quot.);
† foot-pimp, a pimp in attendance;
foot-plate (see
quots.);
foot-plough, a plough without a wheel, a
swing-plough;
† foot-poet (after
foot-man, etc.: see
quot.);
foot-post, a letter-carrier or messenger who travels on foot; postal delivery by means of such carriers;
foot-pound Mech., the quantity of energy required to raise a weight of one pound to the height of one foot;
foot-poundal, a unit consisting of the energy of a pound weight moving at the rate of one foot per second;
foot-pound-second, used to designate a system of units based upon the foot, the pound, and the second as units of length, force, and time respectively;
foot-race, a race run by persons on foot, a running-match; so
foot-racing vbl. n.;
foot-rail, (
a) a rail (
esp. a bar or cross-piece connecting the legs of a table or seat) upon which the feet are rested; (
b) (see
quot. 1874); (
c) (see
quot. 1867); (
d)
var. form of
footrill;
foot-rest, a bench, stool, or the like, used for supporting a person's feet;
foot-ring, the circular rim on the base of a plate, vase, etc.;
foot-room, space in which to move the feet;
foot-rope Naut., (
a) the bolt-rope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed; (
b) a rope extended beneath a yard upon which the sailors stand when furling or reefing;
foot-rot, (
a) an inflammatory disease of the foot in cattle and sheep; whence
foot-rotting (
vbl. n.), treating sheep that have the foot-rot; (
b) a fungal disease of plants, affecting the base of the stem;
foot-rule, a measuring rule one foot long; also
fig.;
foot run [
run n.1 13 a], a length of one foot measured lengthwise along a material or structure,
esp. one conceived of as having a potentially variable length;
foot-rut Agric. (see
quot.);
foot-scent Hunting, the scent of a trail;
foot-scraper = scraper 5;
foot-screw (see
quot.);
† foot-seam (see
quot.);
foot-seine (see
quot.);
foot-set (see
quot. 1854 and
cf. foot-hedge);
foot-sheet, a sheet formerly used to sit upon while dressing or undressing; also, ‘a narrow sheet spread across the foot of a bed’ (
Jam. Suppl.);
foot-side,
Sc. (
a)
adj., (of a garment), reaching to the feet; (
b)
adv., step for step;
phr. to keep foot-side, to keep pace (
with);
foot-slope, the slope at the foot of a hill;
foot-space-rail Naut. (see
quots.);
† foot-spore, the mark or print of a foot;
† foot-stake, a base or support;
foot-stay, a stay or rest for the feet;
foot-stick,
Printing (see
quot. 1888);
† foot-stock, (
a) a kind of fulling-stocks used by hatters; (
b) a step or stool for the feet; (
c)
Naut. (see
quot. 1598);
foot-stone,
† (
a) a base, pedestal; (
b) the foundation-stone of a building; (
c) the stone at the foot of a grave;
foot-stove, a stove to warm the feet;
† foot-strife, strife or contention in running;
foot-stroke, a stroke at the foot of a letter;
foot-stump,
= foot-tubercle;
foot-sugar = foots: see
foot n. 22;
† foot-team, ‘(apparently) the end of the drawing-gear which is fastened to a plough or harrow’ (Skeat);
foot-ton, the amount of energy capable of raising a ton weight to the height of one foot;
foot-tramp, the tramp of the feet, also a tramp or expedition on foot;
† foot-trap, (
a) a trap or snare for the feet; (
b) the stocks;
foot-trench, a shallow trench (
cf. foot-drain);
foot-tubercle (see
quot.);
foot-valve, (in a steam-engine) the valve between the air-pump and condenser;
foot-waling Naut. (see
quots.);
foot-wall Mining, the wall or side of rock which is under a vein or lode;
foot-warmer, a contrivance for keeping the feet warm,
esp. while travelling;
foot-washing, the washing of another's feet,
esp. as a religious observance; also, locally as a wedding-ceremony;
foot-weir, some kind of weir;
† foot-wharf, (see
quot.);
† foot-wise adv., with the feet first, footling;
† foot-withy, a shackle for the foot of an animal;
foot-wobbler slang, a foot-soldier;
foot-work,
† (
a)
attrib. in
footwork silk (? meaning); (
b) a work to protect the foot of a structure; (
c)
Football, ‘work’ done with the feet, dribbling and kicking; (
d) in other games, dancing, etc.: agility, sureness, and accurate placing of the feet; also
fig.;
foot-worn a., (
a) worn by the feet; (
b) worn or wearied as to the feet, footsore.
| 1747 Hooson Miner's Dict., *Foot-ale, an old Custom amongst Miners, when a Man enters first into Work, to pay his first Days Wages for Ale. 1881 Leicestersh. Gloss., s.v. Footing, A stranger..will generally be asked to ‘stand his foot-ale’. |
| 1598 B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. Prol., With..helpe of some few *foot-and-halfe-foote words. |
| 1862 Edin. Vet. Rev. IV. 506 Cows affected with the *foot and mouth disease. |
| 1626 Ainsworth Annot. Pentat. Lev. ii. 13 They laid on the salt..on the *foot-banke (of the altar,) and on the top of the Altar. 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), Foot-bank or Foot-step..a Step..under a Parapet, or Breast-work; upon which the men get up to Fire over it. 1882 O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. xvi. 275 The footbank has crumbled away to such an extent that only a few inches in breadth remain. |
| 1786 T. Jefferson Writ. (1853) II. 75, I have lately examined a *foot-bass newly invented... It is placed on the floor, and the harpsichord..is set over it, the foot acting in concert on that, while the fingers play on this. |
| 1599 A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 357/2 Take Oaken-leaues M.iij. Saulte M.j. make therof a *footebath. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Foot-bath, a pan in which to wash the feet. |
| 1855 Ogilvie Suppl., Foot. In Mech., the lower end of an upright or vertical shaft, and which works in a foot-step, or *foot-bearing. |
| 1629 S'hertogenbosh 19 Trenches with double bankets or *feet benches. |
| 1622 Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 273 Vent..for the Litargium..as it is cast vp by the *Foot-blast. 1778 Pennant Tour in Wales I. 64 The Romans knew only the weak powers of the foot-blast. |
| 1579 Dee Diary (Camden) 6 The *fote-bote for the ferry at Kew was drowned and six persons. 1841 Hartshorne Salop. Antiq. 430 Foot-boat. |
| 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus iii. 58 The thigh-bone, legge, *foot-bone, and claws of Birds. 1833 R. Mudie Brit. Birds (1841) I. 23 The tarsus, or foot-bone. |
| 1506 Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 31 There lay ouer the same a tree for a *fote brydge. 1807 Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 802 The foot-bridge fail'd—he plung'd beneath the deep. 1892 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), Foot Bridge, an arched bridge which carries a footstep bearing. |
| 1906 Illum. Engin. I. 66/1 Owing largely to the loose and ambiguous manner in which the various terms expressing light-measurements are used..the term ‘*foot-candle’..expresses but a vague idea to the average architect and engineer. 1949 H. C. Weston Sight, Light, & Efficiency v. 150 The term foot-candle..is still in common use..but lumen per sq. ft. is now the preferred expression. 1963 J. M. Fraser Psychol. (ed. 2) xvii. 224 For certain jobs..up to four hundred foot-candles (the equivalent of bright sunlight) have been tried. |
| 1620 Shelton Quix. ii. xix. 120 For your *Foot-clappers, I say nothing, you would wonder to see vm bestirre themselues. |
| 1712 F. Bellers in Phil. Trans. XXVII. 542 A coarse sort of Coal, called the *Foot-Coal. 1840 Knickerbocker XV. 105 About a foot from the bottom of every vein, there is a layer of earth... This divides it into ‘foot-coal’ and ‘upper coal’. 1879 G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word Bk. 91 Foot coal. |
| c 1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 884 Þe said shete ouer sprad So þat it keuer þe *fote coschyn and chayere. 1816 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1843) II. 257 Foot cushions (pulvilli). |
| 1811 East Reports XIII. 523 Before..oil is delivered, it is the constant custom..for a broker..to attend to make a minute of the *foot-dirt and water in each cask. |
| 1966 New Statesman 16 Dec. 896/1 One likely result of all this *foot-dragging is that the Nato Council will fail this week to seize what might have been an excellent opportunity to simplify the arrangements for European defence. 1969 Guardian 31 Jan. 10/2 There is no university now which does not have some appeals machinery..though there has been some foot-dragging on other issues. |
| 1807 Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 285 To receive the surface-water from *foot-drains laid out upon the surface of the morass. |
| 1908 C. W. Daniels in Hutchison & Collier Index of Treatment (ed. 4) 119 When the ‘*foot-drop’ is extreme, a cradle should be used to prevent..increasing the deformity. 1920 Glasgow Herald 8 July 4 Conditions affecting the feet..e.g. foot-drop, corns and contracted toes, clawfoot. 1950 E. D. W. Hauser Dis. Foot (ed. 2) v. 84 In most instances the paralysis that causes a valgoplanus is associated with paralysis of the dorsiflexors, which means that foot drop is present. |
| a 1300 E.E. Psalter lxxviii[i] 11 Inga in þi sight to seene Sighynge of *fote-festes þat beene. |
| Ibid. civ. [cv.] 18 Þai meked of him fete þare, In *fote-festnes harde þat ware. |
| 1382 Wyclif 1 Sam. xxv. 42 And fyue child-wymmen, hir *feet folowers, wenten with hir. ― 1 Kings xx. 14 Bi the foot folowers of the pryncis of prouyncis. |
| 1837 W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 50 A horse that is *‘foot free’, is tied to one thus secured. 1871 Browning Balaustion 1438 Thou, who stood'st Foot-free o' the snare. |
| 1663 Inv. Ld. J. Gordon's Furniture, Ane arm chair, two stooles and ane *foot gange conforme to the bed. 1814 Saxon & Gael I. 108 I'll warran' she'll keep her ain side of the house; an' a fit-gang on her half-marrow's. |
| 1594 R. Crompton Jurisd. des Courts 197 *Footegeld. 1641 Termes de la Ley s.v., Foot-geld is an Amercement for not cutting out the balls of great Dogges feet in the Forest. |
| 1382 Wyclif Jer. v. 26 Grenes puttende, and *feet gynnes [Vulg. pedicas]. |
| 1720 De Foe Capt. Singleton 161 The Buskins and *Foot-Gloves we wore. |
| 1892 Simmonds Dict. Trade Suppl., *Foot-grease, a name for refuse of cotton seed, after the oil is pressed out. |
| 1382 Wyclif Job xviii. 10 His *foot grene [Vulg. pedica] is hid in the erthe. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech., *Foot-guard, a boot or pad to prevent the cutting of the feet by interfering or overreaching. |
| 1794 Ann. Agric. XXII. 364 Sheep are subject to a disease called the *Foot-halt, which is thought to be catching. |
| 1750 Ellis Mod. Husbandm. I. i. 93 A *foot-hedge is one that has no Ditch belonging to it. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Foot-hedge, a slight dry hedge of thorns, placed by the side of a newly-planted hedge, to protect the quick. |
| 1860 Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 77 To render my *foot⁓holes broad and sure, I stamped upon the frozen crust. 1869 R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 Footholes—Holes cut in the sides of shafts or winzes to enable miners to ascend or descend them. |
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Foot-husks, are short Heads, out of which Flowers grow. |
| 1842 Francis Dict. Arts, *Foot Iron, an iron fastened to the foot, in order to preserve the shoe while digging. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Foot-iron, Foot-plate, a step for a carriage. |
| 1828 Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 183 *Feet-jaws membranous. 1845 Baird in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. No. 13. 153 Mouth possessed of foot-jaws. |
| c 1400 Ywaine & Gaw. 2267 The laddes of his kychyn, And also..his werst *fote-knave. |
| 1925 Trans. Illum. Engin. Sci. XX. 631 The *Foot-lambert is the average brightness of any surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot, or the uniform brightness of a perfectly diffusing surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot. 1942 Jrnl. Aeronaut. Sci. IX. 263/1 A brightness level of 0·01 foot-lambert is..comparable in order of magnitude with the brightnesses of roads and highways under moonlight. 1958 Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 3) 686/2 A foot candle is a unit of incident light and a foot lambert is a unit of emitted or reflected light. |
| 1591 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 81, I am ioyned to no *Foot-land-Rakers. |
| 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. v. ii. §1. 235 The *Foot-Length, or the extreme portion of the line, is..generally made of pieces of gut, knotted together.. comprising a length of from three to eight feet. |
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., *Foot Level, an instrument, which serves to do the office both of a level, a square, and a Foot rule. |
| 1638 Terrier of Claybrook Glebe (Leicestersh. Gloss.), In the New Close a hadley and *footeleay butting North and South. 1881 Leicestersh. Gloss., Foot-ley, the lowest ‘land’ in a grass field. |
| 1610 Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 219 Do that good mischeefe, which may make..thy Caliban For aye thy *foot-licker. 1866 Carlyle Remin. (1881) I. 258 On visit to some foot-licker whose people lived there. |
| 1821 T. Moore Mem. (1853) III. 276 If they know no medium between brawling rebellion and *foot-licking idolatry. |
| 1676 Moxon Print Lett. 6 The *Foot-line is the lower line that bounds the Letter. 1888 Jacobi Printer's Voc., Footline, the bottom line in a page. |
| 1943 Harper's June 16 They sit obscurely on *foot lockers during the daytime, when they must keep off their bunks. 1943 Infantry Jrnl. Aug. 51 Others went to town and came in late stumbling against footlockers and cursing. 1969 Eugene (Oreg.) Register-Guard 3 Dec. 1A/3 Foot lockers, cabinets and standard doorways are painted in combinations of the bright yellow and orange. 1969 Sears, Roebuck Catal. 298 Metal-covered Footlocker. Features a removable full-length molded plastic tray. Sheet steel covers sturdy plywood frame, fiberboard..top and bottom. |
| 1845 W. T. Porter Big Bear Arkansas 130, I husseled off..Jem to the *foot log. 1945 B. A. Botkin Lay my Burden Down 252 Go to the mill and cross on a foot log. |
| c 1450 Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 72 Sche xal be here *foot-mayd to mynyster here most mylde. |
| 1847 Halliwell, *Foot-maiden, a waiting maid. |
| 1869 Leicester in Eng. Mech. 3 Dec. 282/2 Another workman, called the *‘footmaker’, fastens on the piece of glass. 1881 Spon's Encycl. Industr. Arts, etc. iii. 1069 Each chair is made up of a ‘workman’, a first assistant or ‘servitor’, a second assistant or ‘footmaker’, and one or more boys. |
| 1707 Lond. Gaz. No. 4314/3 There will be..*Foot-Matches, and other Divertisements. |
| 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xvi. 183 He was coiled up, with his nose buried in his bushy tail, like a fancy *foot-muff. |
| 1406 in Rogers Agric. & Prices (1866) III. 446 *Fotnail called spiking, 1 c../6. |
| 1802 M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 60 The *foot organ is a prodigious addition to Forte-Pianos. |
| 1848 Rickman Styles Archit. (ed. 5) 74 The pedestal on which the pier stands being always square, while the pier itself..is often round, an interval occurs at the angles which is frequently filled up with an ornament consisting most commonly of rude foliage, these are usually called *foot ornaments. |
| 1526 Tolls in Dillon Calais & Pale (1892) 80 Everye Jeweller carriing any *footepacke inwardes. |
| 1966 New Scientist 30 June 835/1 The mechanical properties seen in Surveyor's..photographs..show that the spacecraft's *footpads penetrated the surface for one inch. 1969 Times 22 July (Moon Rep.) p. i/1 I'm at the foot of the ladder. The L.M. footpads are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches. |
| 1585 Nomenclator 519/1 A *foot-page. 1814 Scott Wav. xxiv, Callum Beg, the sort of foot-page who used to attend his person. |
| 1855 H. Clarke Dict., *Foot-pan, footbath. 1884 Knight Dict. Mech. IV. 353/2 The foot-pans which are used in the railway cars of Continental Europe. |
| 1802 Findlater Agric. Surv. Peeb. 208 As the digger stands upon the surface and presses in the peat-spade with his foot, such peat is designed *foot-peat. |
| 1869 R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 *Foot-Piece—A wedge of wood or part of a slab placed against the footwall. |
| 1690 Dryden Amphitryon ii. i, I who am a god, am degraded to a *foot-pimp. |
| 1849 Weale Dict. Terms, *Foot-plate, the platform on which the engine-man and fire-man of a locomotive engine attend to their duties. 1855 H. Clarke Dict., Foot-plate, carriage step. |
| 1677 Plot Oxfordsh. 247 There are two sorts used in Oxfordshire, the *Foot, and Wheel-plough; whereof the first is used in deep and Clay Lands, being accordingly fitted with a broad fin share. 1807 A. Young Agric. Essex I. v. 127 Both swing, or foot, and wheel ploughs. |
| 1697 Dryden æneid Ded., Our Italian Translatour..is a *Foot-Poet, he Lacquies by the side of Virgil at the best, but never mounts behind him. |
| 1602 Carew Cornwall 85 a, For carrying of such aduertisements and letters euery thorow-fare weekly appoynteth a *foot-Poast. 1841 Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. viii. iii. 243 Foot posts, to a certain extent, must be coeval with village establishments. |
| 1850 Joule in Phil. Trans. CXL. 70 Hence 773·64 *foot-pounds will be the force which..is equivalent to 1° Fahr. in a lb. of water. |
| 1892 *Foot-pound-second [see F.P.S. s.v. F III. 3]. 1968 Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 4) 1912/2 The length-force-time system to be discussed here is the foot-pound-second system. |
| 1663 Pepys Diary (1890) 172 The great *foot-race run this day on Banstead Downes. 1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 252 He..won footraces in his boots against fleet runners in shoes. |
| 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. 70 *Foot-racing was considered an essential part of a young man's education. |
| 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Foot-rails, narrow mouldings raised on a vessel's stern. 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 903/1 Foot-rail, a railroad rail having wide-spreading foot flanges, a vertical web, and a bulb-shaped head. |
| 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th. C. 148 Only three of the ranges were really sittings, the remainder having served as steps and *footrests. |
| 1937 Proc. Prehist. Soc. III. 52 A large vessel with slightly raised base and *foot-ring. 1952 G. Savage 18th Cent. Eng. Porc. xxiii. 309 Champion's plates are more numerous than those of Cookworthy... Mostly they have a double foot-ring to prevent the centre of the plate from sagging downward during firing. 1967 Antiquaries Jrnl. XLVII. 229 Large platter with thick wall and scarcely defined rim... The foot-ring is low but carefully moulded. |
| 1776 Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad 126 The mountain and the wide-spread lawn Afford no *foot-room for the crowded foe. |
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 167 Propes, *fotrap. 1772–84 Cook Voy. (1790) V. 1915 In lowering the main top-sail..the violence of the wind tore it out of the foot-rope. 1840 R. H. Dana Bef. Mast v. 11 We got out upon the weather-side of the jib-boom, our feet on the foot-ropes. |
| 1807 Ess. Highl. Soc. III. 430 *Foot-rot—is frequently occasioned in the milking season. 1873 G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere xxii. 193 A sure preventative against footrot. 1899 G. Massee Text-bk. Plant Dis. 333 This disease is known as ‘mal-di-gomma’ in Italy, and ‘foot-rot’ in Florida. 1926 H. H. Hume Cultiv. Citrus Fruits xxix. 462 Its history in Europe extends back to about 1845, and foot-rot worked destruction in the groves of the Azores some years previous to that time. 1952 E. Ramsden tr. Gram & Weber's Plant Dis. 68/2 Foot rot is a similar condition in older plants. Ibid. 69/1 Sclerotia are rarely to be found on damping off or foot-rot lesions. |
| 1884 Marcus Clarke Mem. 99 Young Hopeful..is set to work *foot-rotting. |
| 1727–41 Chambers Cycl., *Foot rule [see foot level]. 1760 Raper in Phil. Trans. LI. 774 The foot-rules found in old ruins at Rome, are of various lengths. 1856 Emerson Eng. Traits, Character Wks. (Bohn) II. 59 They..measure with an English footrule every cell of the Inquisition. 1903 Westm. Gaz. 16 June 2/2 The advantage of having a foot-rule, so to speak, by which to test agreements for purchase. 1904 Daily Chron. 12 May 3/2 Mr. Richard Bagot's work may not always satisfy the critical foot-rule. 1908 Westm. Gaz. 9 June 1/2 It was Mr. Chamberlain who had pointed to exports as a foot-rule with which he wanted us to measure up our trade as a whole. |
| 1837 *Foot run [see run n.1 13 a]. 1869 W. Richardson Timber Trades Price Bk. 1 (heading) The price per foot run and its equivalent per 120·12 ft., irrespective of thickness or width. 1968 Bodl. Libr. Rec. VIII. 61 The installation..provides 12,500 foot-run of shelving for books up to 12 inches in height. |
| 1846 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. i. 72 At the head of the plough is a *foot rut, made of wood, and a wide piece of wood on the end, to prevent the plough going deep. |
| 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. iv. §4. 80 A good setter..generally makes out a *foot-scent better than a pointer. |
| 1872 Harper's Mag. XLIV. 547/2 *Foot-scrapers and mats were doubled at all the approaches. 1938 J. Steinbeck Long Valley 115 On the front and back porches foot-scrapers and cocoa-fibre mats kept dirt out of the house. |
| 1874 Knight Dict. Mech. I. 903/1 *Foot-screw, a supporting foot, for giving a machine or table a level standing on an uneven floor. |
| 1589 Cogan Haven Health cliv. (1636) 149 The fat which is left upon the water of the seething of Netes feet, called commonly *foot seame. |
| 1874 E. W. H. Holdsworth Deep-Sea Fishing iv. 157 Seans [sweep-nets] may be divided into three classes, namely, the sean proper..the ‘tuck-sean’, and the ‘ground or *foot-sean’. |
| 1601 Holland Pliny I. 510 This was at first practised with *foot-sets for a prick-hedge. 1854 A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Foot-hedge..called in some parts of the county a foot-set..a foot-set is described as two rows of quick, planted about a foot asunder on a slope. |
| c 1440 Bk. Curtasye 488 in Babees Bk. 193 Þo lorde schalle skyft hys gown at nyȝt, Syttand on *foteshete tyl he be dyȝt. 1494 Househ. Ord. 120 All this season the Kinge shall sit still in his footesheete. |
| 1513 Douglas æneis vii. xi. 31 Gyrd in a garmont semely and *fut syd. 1780 M. Shields Faithf. Contendings 38 The Lord is helping some to keep foot-side with the bretheren at home. |
| 1873 Geikie Gt. Ice Age (1894) 437 The ice radiated outwards..to the *foot-slopes of the hills of Middle Germany. |
| 1815 Falconer's Dict. Marine, *Footspace-rail. c 1850 Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 119 Foot-space rail, the rail that terminates the foot of the balcony, and in which balusters step. 1867 in Smyth Sailor's Work-bk. |
| c 1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 286 Gif hit sy oðer feoh, sing on þæt *fotspor. 1481 Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 38 Where his footspore stood there stryked he with his tayl. |
| 1382 Wyclif Exod. xxvii. 12 Ten pilers and as feele *footstakis [Vulg. bases]. |
| 1658 Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus i. 37 The Crosse of our blessed Saviour..having in some descriptions an Empedon or crossing *foot stay. |
| 1683 Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 29 The *Foot-sticks [are placed] against the foot or bottom of the Page. 1888 Jacobi Printer's Voc., Footstick, a bevelled stick put at the bottom of a page or pages to quoin up against. |
| 1565 Act 8 Eliz. c. 11 §4 Untyll suche tyme as the same Cappe be..half thicked at the least in the *Footestocke. 1565 Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 384 Sapores..when hee had conquered Valerianus the Roman Emperour..used him afterward most villanously, as his foot-stocke. 1598 Florio, Stamine, the vpright ribs or peeces of timber of the inside of a ship, of some called footestocks, or footesteecks. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 31 Ships they had, of which the keeles, the footstocks also, or upright standards were made of slight Timber. |
| c 1000 ælfric Gloss. Suppl. in Wr.-Wülcker 191 Fultura *fotstan. 1738 J. Anderson Constit. Free Masons 102 The King levell'd the Footstone of the New Royal-Exchange on 23 Oct. 1667. 1876 Browning St. Martin's Summer v, Headstone, footstone moss may drape,—Name, date, violets hide from spelling. 1885 C. A. Hulbert Suppl. Ann. Almondbury 167 When it was decided to restore the old Hall, and the work had been commenced, a footstone was discovered which clearly indicated the pitch of the front gables. |
| 1818 Art Preserv. Feet 152 Our English travellers..should always be on their guard against the use of *feet-stoves. 1882 Howells in Longm. Mag. I. 46 The foot-stove which one of his congregation..carried to meeting, and warmed his poor feet with. |
| c 1611 Chapman Iliad xxiii. 689 For not our greatest flourisher can equal him in pow'r Of *foot-strife, but æacides. |
| 1676 Moxon Print Lett. 23 F..Is made like E, onely instead of the *Foot-stroke here is onely a Footing. 1872 Beames Gram. Aryan Lang. Ind. I. 60 The Panjabi n is that of Asoka's inscriptions, with the horizontal footstrokes sloped downwards and curved. |
| 1882 Standard 9 Oct. 2/7 He had no faith in *‘foot’ sugar. |
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §4 Yf he wyll haue his plough to go a narowe forowe..than he setteth his *fote teame in the nycke nexte to the ploughe beame. 1558 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 162, Iiij fuyt teames xijs. |
| 1868 Morn. Star 25 June, The total force hurled against the Plymouth shield was 117,666 *foot-tons. |
| 1808 Scott Marm. iii. xxxi, The *foot-tramp of a flying steed. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. viii. 79 We are farther north..than any of our predecessors, except Parry on his Spitzbergen foot-tramp. |
| 1388 Wyclif Job xviii. 10 The *foot trappe [1382 foot grene, Vulg. pedica] of hym is hid in the erthe. 1585 Nomenclator 196 The stocks, or foote-trap. |
| 1796 W. Marshall Midl. Co. (ed. 2) II. Gloss., *Foot-trenches, superficial drains, about a foot wide. |
| 1884 Syd. Soc. Lex., *Foot tubercles, the lateral processes on each segment of some of the Annelida; also called Parapodia. |
| 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 58 The *foot valve. |
| 1650 T. R. Blanckley Naval Expos., *Foot waaling is all the Inboard Planking, from the Keelson upwards to the Orlop Clamps. 1867 Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foot-waling, the inside planking or lining of a ship over the floor-timbers. |
| 1860 Mining Surveyors' Rep. (Victoria Dept. Mines) xii. 213 Slabs..being also placed longitudinally on the *foot-wall to save the wear of the oxhide buckets. 1869 R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 Foot-wall, the bounding rock beneath or on the lower side of a reef. |
| 1812 Southey in Q. Rev. VII. 60 He would certainly chuse an eyder-duck for his *foot-warmer. 1858 Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 1 A foot-warmer (a long, flat, tin utensil, full of hot water) was put into the carriage. 1883 Harper's Mag. Mar. 539/1 Charcoal to put in the little foot-warmers..used by all womenkind in Dutch churches. |
| 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. I. 281 They practise the *foot-washing, the kiss of love [etc.]. 1871 C. Gibbon Lack of Gold xxii, He would be ready to endure the ceremony of the ‘Feet-washing’ on the eve of his bridal. |
| 1584 in Descr. Thames 1758 63 No Fishermen..or Trinkermen shall avaunce or set up any Wears, Engines, Rowte Wears, Pight Wears, *Foot Wears. |
| 1721 Perry Daggenh. Breach 52 A Buttress or *Foot Wharf on each side to keep in the Earth..to prevent the Dam from spreading and settling out at Foot. |
| 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde (1564) 66 When the one [birth] commeth headlong, the other *footewise. |
| 1569 Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 218, x ireon temes and *foite wedies. |
| 1785 Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue, *Foot wabler, a contemptuous appellation for a foot soldier, commonly used by the cavalry. 1814 Scott Wav. lxi, ‘I was sure you could be none of the foot-wobblers, as my Nosebag calls them.’ |
| 1568 Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 294 A Remnant of *footwork silke ijs. 1721 Perry Daggenh. Breach 120 There may likewise be a small Foot-work made at the Low-water Mark..the better to preserve the Beach from being washed away. 1895 Daily News 16 Dec. 6/6 Their [the Northern team's] foot work. 1908 Daily Chron. 29 Jan. 9/2 (Wrestling) Vallotton..showed fine form, his footwork being wonderfully smart. Ibid. 25 June 3/3 (Tennis) It is foot-work that wins. 1921 A. W. Myers 20 Yrs. Lawn Tennis 167 So well controlled was her foot⁓work. 1929 Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking ii. 62 In face of the danger, his footwork, always impressive, took on a new agility. 1963 Times 8 May 5/5 Each offered brilliant foot-work [in dancing]. |
| 1795–1814 Wordsw. Excursion v. 169 Sepulchral stones appeared with emblems graven, And *foot-worn epitaphs. 1820 Keats Eve St. Agnes xli, The chains lie silent on the footworn stones. 1856 Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxii. 440 Some of our foot-worn absentees. |
b. With
adv.:
foot-up Rugby football, in scrummaging, the illegal lifting of either foot by any member of the front row of forwards on either side before the ball is put in the scrummage. Also
attrib.| 1921 E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football 361 Inadvertent offside, foot-up,..are..absolutely unavoidable at times. 1927 Wakefield & Marshall Rugger 183 The forwards..merely leant up against one another while the front row tried trick hooking and foot-up tactics. Ibid. 185 He must be careful..not to be penalised..for foot-up. 1963 Times 7 Mar. 3/5 For a foot-up offence, MacCormac..got three points for the Pay Corps. |
▸
to get one's feet under the table and variants: to make oneself at home; to establish oneself securely and comfortably in a situation.
| 1866 London Q. Rev. 25 361 We find him on one day sharing the hospitality of Warren Hastings, and the next he has his feet under the table of Burke. 1928 Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law 22 940 One is reminded of Carlyle's estimate of a famous French foreign minister: ‘M. de Vergennes was a mere clerk, a mere clerk with his feet under the table.’ 1946 L. Lenski Blue Ridge Billy (ed. 1) viii. 121 ‘Come set your feet under the table,’ called Aunt Tallie in her cheerful voice. 1987 Financial Times (Nexis) 25 Aug. i. 32 Dr Alan Greenspan has hardly got his feet under the table at the Federal Reserve and he is having to face his first currency crisis. 2000 Independent 10 Feb. ii. 7/3 He seems to have got his feet under the table here, and I don't know what to do—I want the place to myself, but I don't want to hurt his feelings. |
▸
foot in the door n. (a) lit. a person's foot inserted between a door and its frame to prevent the door from being shut, usually as a means of gaining unwanted access;
(b) fig. an initial introduction or way in to something, often as a basis for further progress;
esp. in
to get (also have) a (also one's) foot in the door.
| 1856 G. H. Boker Plays & Poems II. 353 And he sang to his gittern of love and of war With one foot in his stirrup and one in her door. 1939 Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 19 June 11/4 To get his foot in the door, John Lewis agreed to raise no objection. 1940 M. L. Cooke & P. Murray Organized Labor & Production xv. 186 On the other hand, in the same case, the union visualized the agreement as a ‘foot in the door’, giving it an opportunity to secure sufficient strength so that it would be flotsam when the ebb came along. 1999 C. Dolan Ascension Day (2000) viii. 198 Morag wasn't bothered where she worked, what kind of hospital or in what post. Once she had a foot in the door, she'd work her way up. |
▸
footbag n. orig. U.S. a small beanbag designed for being kicked into the air; (also) any of several individual or team games played with a footbag;
= hacky-sack n.| 1979 N.Y. Times 16 July c8/4 The *footbag, about the size of a golf ball, is made of leather and packed with plastic pellets. 1987 D. Finnigan Compl. Juggler (ed. 3) 80 If you watch what the footbag enthusiasts do you can also kick back into your pattern using your..instep..the outside of your foot or..the sole of your shoe. 2003 Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press 31 Aug. b15 They had some music to accompany their game of footbag, where players jump and twist around kicking a small beanbag. |
▪ II. † foot, a. Obs. rare.
[the prec. n. used attrib.] Of style or language (after L.
pedester): Prosaic, ‘low’, without elevation.
| 1582 Stanyhurst Poems, Ps. iii. note (Arb.) 131 Theese bace and foote verses (so I terme al, sauluing thee Heroical and Elegiacal). 1604 Hieron Preachers Plea Serm. (1614) 535 For a man (saith hee [Jerome]) that handleth holy matters, a lowe and (as it were) a foote oration [pedestris oratio] is necessary, and not such as is thickned with artificiall framing of words. |
▪ III. foot, v. (
fʊt)
[f. prec. n. Cf. G. fuszen.] 1. a. intr. To move the foot, step, or tread to measure or music; to dance. Esp. in
phr. to foot it.
| c 1400 Rom. Rose 2323 If he can wel foote and daunce, It may hym greetly do avaunce. 1513 Douglas æneis xiii. ix. 110 Thai fut it so that lang war to devys Thair hasty fair. 1610 Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 380 Foot it featly here and there. 1700 Dryden Wife of Bath's T. 216 He saw a Quire of Ladies in a round, That featly footing seem'd to skim the Ground. 1787 G. Colman Inkle & Yarico Finale, Hymen gay foots away, Happy at our wedding-day. 1863 Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. iv. 107 The dance of fairies..footing it to the cricket's song. |
b. quasi-trans. with cogn. object (a dance, etc.); also (
nonce-use) with
obj. and
adv. as
compl.| c 1450 Crt. of Love lxxxiv, Falsely now they footen loves daunce. 1589 R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 8 All the picked youth..footing the Morris about a May pole. 1633 T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 3 Herodias' daughter, that..footed away the head of John Baptist. 1636 Featly Clavis Myst. xxviii. 388 Teach their scholars how to foot the dance. 1842 S. C. Hall Ireland II. 338 note, Footing a hornpipe to the music of a pair of bagpipes. |
2. intr. a. To move the feet as in walking; to step, pace, walk, go on foot. Also, to step or walk
on,
over,
upon (with
indirect pass.). Now
rare. Of a ship: to move or sail with speed. Also with
it. (In windward sailing, denoting speed as distinguished from pointing.)
| 1570 Levins Manip. 178 To Foote, gressus ponere. 1590 Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 8 The dreadful Beast drew nigh..Halfe flying and halfe footing in his haste. 1598 Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 126 Theeues doe foot by night. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme ii. xxxi. 239 Saffron..groweth the better if it be a little footed vpon. 1634 Ford P. Warbeck iii. iv, Since first you footed on our territories. 1637 Milton Lycidas 103 Next Camus, reverend sire, went footing slow. 1642 Anne Bradstreet Poems (1678) 10 And Hemus, whose steep sides none foot upon. 1646 J. Hall Poems (1647) 98 All paths are footed over, but that one Which should be gone. 1824 S. E. Ferrier Inher. lxix, He footed away as fast as his short legs..permitted. 1865 G. Meredith Rhoda Fleming xliv, They footed together, speechless: taking the woman's quickest gliding step. 1899 Daily News 4 Oct. 3/1 Shamrock, under clever handling, and footing splendidly, again took the lead. 1901 Daily Chron. 27 Sept. 5/7 His boat seemed to be footing it better. 1905 Ibid. 19 May 5/5 The latter boat was closely pursued by Hamburg, which was footing splendidly. |
b. esp. in
phr. to foot it.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. Ded. ¶3 b, I..leasurly began to foote it forward. a 1625 Fletcher & Mass. Elder Bro. i. i, I am tyr'd, Sir, and nere shall foot it home. 1713 Addison Guardian No. 166 ¶6 My operator..used to foot it from the other end of the town every morning. 1893 Earl Dunmore Pamirs I. 181 Riding for us was out of the question, so we all had to foot it. |
3. trans. To set foot on; to tread with the feet; to walk or dance on, pass over or traverse on foot.
| 1557 North tr. Gueuara's Diall Pr. 248 b, Lucil..vsed to fote the streates of Rome. 1603 Knolles Hist. Turks 23 The top of the wall: which was first footed by the Duke Godfrey. 1667 Bp. S. Parker Free & Impart. Censure 102 The famous Traveller of Odcomb..footed most parts of the known world. a 1717 Parnell Fairy T. xxiii, The fairies bragly foot the floor. 1812 J. Henry Camp agst. Quebec 26 The ground we footed within the last three days is a very rugged isthmus. 1892 Stevenson in Illustr. Lond. News 2 July 9/3 It was good to foot the grass. |
4. a. To set or plant (a person) on his feet
in a place; to settle, establish. Chiefly
refl. and in pass. = to have or obtain a foothold
in.
| 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 143 For he is footed in this Land already. 1633 T. Stafford Pac. Hib. iii. (1821) 247 When they are footed in Mounster, the most part of the Countrey will joyne with them. 1658 R. Newcourt Map of London (heading), Hingest the Saxon..footing himselfe here. 1888 Daily News 27 Apr. 6/3 They will go through the Thanet sands with cylinders again until they foot themselves well into the chalk. |
b. intr. to foot well: (of a horse) ? to get a good ‘footing’.
| 1826 Sporting Mag. XVII. 385 If he have a hand on his horse, and will allow him to ‘foot well’ (as we call it) before he springs. |
† 5. trans. a. To strike or thrust with the foot; to kick;
fig. to spurn.
Obs.| 1596 Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 119 You that did..foote me as you spurne a stranger curre Ouer your threshold. a 1616 Beaum. & Fl. Wit at sev. Weapons v. i, When you shall foot her from you, not she you. 1637 Nabbes Microcosm. iv. E ij b, Blood. Carry your toes wider. Tast. Take heed that I foote not you. 1808 Jamieson, Foot, to kick, to strike with the foot; a term used with respect to horses. |
† b. To tread, press, or crush with the feet.
| c 1682 J. Collins Making Salt 16 It was footed or pressed into a Cask. |
c. To push or shove with the foot or feet. Chiefly
Naut. (see
quots.).
| 1757 W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 41 They sometimes produce the Standard Weight without Footing or Handing the Scale. 1769 Falconer Dict. Marine (1776), Jetter dehors le fond du hunier, to foot the topsail out of the top. c 1860 H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 49 The masthead men parrel the yard and foot it amidships. |
d. intr. or absol. To use the feet in kicking; to do ‘foot-work’.
colloq. (
Football).
| 1852 Bristed Upper Ten Thousand ix. 223 Both teams were footing their very best. |
6. trans. Of a bird of prey (
esp. a hawk): To seize or clutch with the talons. Also
fig.| 1575 Turberv. Faulconrie 130 Throwe hir out the leure and let hir foote a henne..and kill it. 1600 Surflet Countrie Farme i. xvii. 111 A certaine kinde of swanne..[with] his right foote..catcheth and footeth his pray. 1611 Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 116 The holy eagle Stoop'd, as to foot us. 1642 Milton Apol. Smect. (1851) 276 Now trust me not, Readers, if I be not already weary of pluming and footing this Seagull, so open he lies to strokes. 1891 Harting Bibl. Accipitr. Gloss., Foot, to clutch. |
| absol. 1879 Radcliffe in Encycl. Brit. IX. 7/1 A hawk is said to ‘foot’ well or to be a ‘good footer’ when she is successful in killing. |
7. To follow the tracks of; to trace. Also
absol.| 1772 T. Simpson Vermin-Killer 8 The rats will run it like a dog footing a hare. 1829 Sporting Mag. XXIV. 292 The quails squatted till the dogs footed up to their very tails. 1886 S.W. Linc. Gloss., s.v., ‘There was snow on the ground, and they footed him to the pond’. |
8. To make, add, or attach a foot to.
| 1465 [see forefoot v.]. 1570 Levins Manip. 178 To Foote a stoole, pedem addere. 1596 Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 130. 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. ii. E iij, The stone-stooles must bee footed as they may. 1663 Cowley Cutter Colman St. iv. vi, She shall foot Stockings in a Stall for me. 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. I. Let. ii, The stockings which his wife footed for me. 1852 Hawthorne Blithedale Rom. v. (1883) 356 Absolutely footing a stocking out of the texture of a dream. |
9. † a. To end (a letter) with a postscript.
Obs.| 1648 Evelyn Let. to Sir R. Browne 5 June, Postscript, I would foot this letter with what I have since learned. |
b. To add up and set the sum at the foot of (an account, bill, etc.); to reckon or sum up. Now usually with
up. Chiefly
dial. and
colloq.| 1490 Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 176/2 The tyme that his compt wes futit. 1828 Webster s.v., To foot an account. 1852 Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxxv, The wall-paper was..garnished with chalk memorandums, and long sums footed up. 1873 J. Richards Wood-working Factories 80 The breakages from accident, if footed up at the end of each year, would in most cases equal..the clear earnings. |
| fig. 1883 Harper's Mag. 893/2 [He] was doing a little sum in social arithmetic. He was footing me up, as it were. |
c. colloq. To pay or settle (a bill).
| 1819 E. Evans Pedestrious Tour in R. G. Thwaites Early Western Travels (1907) VIII. 183 My dogs..helped themselves to the first repast presented, leaving their master to foot the bills. 1848 Durivage Stray Subj. 183 If our plan succeeded, the landlord was to foot the bill, and ‘stand treat’. 1891 Leeds Mercury 18 July 6/7 The annual bill we foot is, after all, small compared with that of France. |
d. intr. Of an account, number of items, etc.: To mount or total
up to (a certain sum). Const. with or without
to.
| 1867 Times 19 Sept. 10 The united debts of the colony foot up something like {pstlg}250,000. 1893 Peel Spen Valley 224 His total losses footed up to {pstlg}5000. |
† 10. trans. ? to fewter (a spear).
Sc. Obs.| a 1557 Diurnal Occurrents (1833) 45 The Scottis..futtit thair speris, and slew..to the nomber of thre scoir. |
11. To admit (a new hand) on payment of a
footing.
| 1825 Examiner 285/2 The workmen..had been partaking of some liquor..on account of footing a new comer. |
† 12. ? To sing the ‘foot’ or burden to (a song).
| a 1553 Udall Royster D. i. iv. (Arb.) 30, I will by myne owne selfe foote the song perchaunce. |