▪ I. urge, n.
(ɜːdʒ)
[f. next.]
The action of urging or fact of being urged or prompted; an impelling motive, force, pressure, etc.
In frequent use from c 1910.
| a 1618 Sylvester Forgive us our Trespasses xxvii, O may it please thy heavenly grace,..That we may pray without all urge; Forgive us, Lord, our debts. 1884 Whitman Leaves of Grass 324 O I am sure they really came from Thee, The urge, the ardor, the unconquerable will. 1886 R. W. Gilder Lyrics, Recognition, i, Creation,..With swift, concentric, never ceasing urge, Resolving gradual to one disk of fire. 1914 J. L. Paton J. B. Paton xviii. 317 Every good deed is bound to grow. There is an inward urge that forces it upwards. |
▪ II. urge, v.
(ˈɜːdʒ)
Also 6 urdge.
[ad. L. urgē-re to press, drive, compel, etc. (whence It. urgere, Sp. and Pg. urgir).]
I. 1. trans. To bring forward, present, or press upon the attention (a fact, reason, argument, etc.) in an earnest or urgent manner; to plead with or by way of argument or excuse; to allege, affirm, or state, esp. in justification, extenuation, or defence.
In frequent use from c 1685.
| 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 315 b, The Emperour..aunswered him plainly that he could not..praise the same decree, and still vrged his promesse and couenaunt. 1565 J. Calfhill Answ. Martiall 155 Ye vrge a miracle, for euery..splinter of the Crosse, inasmuch as a Church..was preserued from burning by it. 1596 Edw. III, ii. i. 447, A spatious field of reasons could I vrge. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. i. 8 This..were an argument (as K. Iames did once pleasantly urge it) to prove our Old stile before the New. a 1695 J. Scott Chr. Life ii. Wks. 1718 I. 419 The Apostle urges our having a compassionate High Priest in Heaven to intercede for us. 1713 Berkeley Hylas & Phil. ii. Wks. 1871 I. 314, I am at a loss what more to urge. 1784 Cowper Task vi. 56 The few.., seeking grace t'improve the prize they hold, Would urge a wiser suit than asking more. 1798 S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. II. 164 [He] urged his weak health, as rendering it necessary he should travel very leisurely. 1816 J. Scott Paris Revisit. (ed. 3) 321 Canova appeared as a claimant in behalf of Rome, which had only her venerable name to urge. 1855 Poultry Chron. III. 242/2 The most fastidious can urge no objection. 1864 D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 279 The Count urged the scandal which would grow out of such a measure. |
b. Const. on, upon; to, etc.; also against.
| 1593 Shakes. Rich. II, ii. i. 299 Vrge doubts to them y{supt} feare. 1607 ― Cor. iv. vii. 19 He knowes not What I can vrge against him. 1654 Bramhall Just Vind. iii. 35 Yet three things are urged against it. 1667 Milton P.L. vi. 622 The terms we sent were terms of weight,..and full of force urg'd home. 1749 Fielding Tom Jones vii. xv, So far from being an Advocate for the present Prisoner, she urged his Guilt to his Officer. 1841 A. Combe Physiol. Digestion (ed. 3) 304, I shall..urge upon him the necessity of rendering our knowledge more complete. 1872 Tennyson Gareth & Lynette 1313 Lancelot on him urged All the devisings of their chivalry. |
c. With clause as object, either introduced by that or directly quoted.
| (a) 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 227 The French men..especially vrged that the Scotes myght be comprised in the peace. 1596 Drayton Legends i. 352 Further to urge what she before had said. 1638 Junius Paint. Ancients 2 Wee doe therein urge somewhat further, that [etc.]. 1672 H. Stubbe Justif. Dutch War 24 The Queen urged, that..she was to be Arbitress. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. iv. v. 217 It was urged..that the servants..ought not to be deprived of such precious advantages. 1885 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ix, I urged that the disappearance of the..money..would tell against him. |
| (b) 1689 Prior Epistle to Fleetwood Shephard 78 So Atoms dancing round the Center, They urge, made all Things at a Venture. a 1743 Ozell tr. Brantome's Sp. Rhodom. (1744) 67 M. de Lansac urged, It was absolutely necessary. a 1792 Sir J. Reynolds Journ. Flanders & Holland Wks. 1797 II. 124 There is lightness, airiness, and facility in Rubens, his advocates will urge. 1838 Dickens Nich. Nick. vi, ‘Father,’ urged the maiden [to the monk],..‘our daily alms have been distributed.’ 1865 ― Mut. Fr. iii. i, ‘Don't break out, Lammle,’ urged Fledgeby, in a submissive tone. 1884 tr. Lotze's Logic 424 We are left after all, it will be urged,..walled in within the all-embracing delusions of those ideas. |
2. To advocate or advise earnestly (some course of action, etc.); to press with importunity, claim or demand pressingly.
| 1595 Shakes. John iv. ii. 204 Why vrgest thou so oft yong Arthurs death? 1596 Warner Alb. Eng. ix. xlvi. (1602) 217 Then proudly pricke the mounted Sers, the Harrolds..vrging fees to gentellize their name. 1601 Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 261, I should not vrge thy duty past thy might. 1661 Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 5 The Lord Chancellour..is to urge of them the oath of supremacie. 1682 Dryden Medal 187 What vengeance will they urge, Whose Ordures neither Plague nor Fire can purge. 1805 Med. Jrnl. XIV. 206, I thought it my duty to urge the operation. 1816 Scott Old Mort. xxxiii, He hath ever urged peace with the malignants. 1831 James Phil. Augustus II. v, The many, which were all eager to urge a course that..he would have been the first to follow, but [etc.]. |
b. With impersonal subject.
| 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. iii. i. 61 Embassadour, What news hath vrg'd this sodain entrance? Ibid. iv. iv. 87, I see your lookes vrge instance of these wordes. 1605 Shakes. Lear v. i. 52 The Enemy's in view, draw vp your powers;..your hast Is now vrg'd on you. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 250 For solitude somtimes is best societie, And short retirement urges sweet returne. 1872 Geo. Eliot Middlem. lxxxvi, A past error may urge a grand retrieval. |
II. 3. To entreat or plead with (a person) pertinaciously; to importune, press, or ply with arguments or strong persuasion; to prompt, solicit, or request earnestly. Also, with impersonal subject: To incite or impel strongly.
| 1568 Bible (Bishops') Luke xi. 53 The lawyers and the pharisees began to vrge hym vehemently, and to prouoke hym to speake many thynges. 1586 Day Eng. Secretorie ii. (1625) 25 To vrge me as you doe, may but breed that which neither of vs may returne pleasing. 1595 Shakes. John ii. i. 475, I see a yeelding in the lookes of France;..vrge them while their soules Are capeable of this ambition. 1640 Habington Queen of Arragon ii. 366, I urg'd Them with the memory of their former deedes. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 588 Hunger and thirst at once,..quick'nd at the scent Of that alluring fruit, urg'd me so keene. 1692 Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. 24 Urged with an apprehension of their ruine, [they] abandoned themselves to the Conduct of Xantippus. 1717 Pope Iliad x. 135 Strong necessity our toils demands,..and urges all our hands. 1814 Jane Austen Mansf. Park xv, Do not urge her, madam... It is not fair to urge her in this manner. 1847 Helps Friends in C. i. v. 83 Men..cannot be moved in masses as of old. At one time chivalry urged all men—then the Church. 1853 J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) I. 183 The barbarian..moves when he is urged by appetite. |
b. Const. to with inf.; also with advs. (as on, onward) and preps.
| (a) 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Insto, Vrge me not, or presse me not to iudge. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, iv. ii. 157 Vrge the King To do me this last right. 1671 Milton Samson 1677 A spirit of phrenzie..Who..urg'd them on with mad desire To call in hast for thir destroyer. 1753–4 Richardson Grandison II. xxiii. 167 Should she engage without waiting for his consent; as she was urged to do, by Letters. 1816 Scott Bl. Dwarf xviii, His patriotism urged him to serve his country abroad. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xxix, Seneca..urged the Emperor to summon him into his presence. |
| (b) 1600 1st Pt. Sir J. Oldcastle iv. ii. 9 Pardon, my Lord; my conscience vrg'd me to it. 1776 Paine Com. Sense 9 Hunger in the mean time would urge him from his work. 1791 Cowper Iliad v. 904 Venus..and the Archer..have urged, themselves, to this The frantic Mars. 1832 Lytton Eugene A. i. v, They urge us onward, yet present no limit to our progress. 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. iv. 98 He was not urging others to a course in which he never intended to venture himself. 1871 Leisure Hour 480/1 Two guineas paid to..his clerk, to urge him on with the works. |
† c. To charge strongly with something. Also with that and clause. Obs.
| 1599 Thynne Animadv. (1875) 54 Speakinge to his wyfe, he urgethe her that she cannott denye yt. 1628 Sir W. Mure Spir. Hymne 144 Thou of our innocence the ground, for vs, with guilt was vrgde. 1689 Wood Life (O.H.S.) III. 310 Speed's daughter told the bishop of it and the bishop urg'd him with it. 1703 Rowe Fair Penit. v. i, Thou com'st to urge me with the wrongs I ha' done thee. |
4. a. To serve or act as a constraining influence on (something); to bear pressingly on; to spur, actuate, or constrain.
| 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 62 More I may say to you, then any mans mynde is urged to accomplishe. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. iii. iv. 14 A guiltie conscience, vrged with the thought Of former euils, easily cannot erre. Ibid. iv. iv. 145 But loue of him..Did vrge her resolution to be such. 1633 Bp. Hall Hard Texts, O.T. 620 Yee have extreamely urged the patience of the Lord. 1823 Scott Quentin D. ii, I..will pay fitting respect to your age, if you do not urge my patience with mockery. 1843 Neale Hymns for Sick 23 Give me when those last trials urge Thy Very Flesh and Blood. 1878 Masque Poets 42, I was wrong to urge your will And wrong to mar your life. |
† b. To treat (a mineral, etc.) with great heat.
| 1758 Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 69 If the calx of Tin be urged by a strong fire. 1828–32 Webster s.v., To urge an ore with intense heat. |
III. 5. To hasten or press forward (a proceeding, enterprise, etc.); to prosecute with effort, energy, or vigour; to push forward.
| 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Insto, Instabit huic loco,..He shall vrge this, or be earnest in this. 1583 Stubbes Anat. Abus. i. H 4, [It] bringeth death before nature vrge it,..or age require it. 1598 Hakluyt Voy. I. 145 Swandepolcus..affirming that himselfe neuer prospered so long as he vrged warre against them. 1667 Boyle Orig. Formes & Qual. 430 This Substance..will..(if the Distillation have been urg'd far enough) [be] brittle. 1684 Earl Roscom. Ess. Transl. Verse 238 Urge your Success, deserve a lasting Name. 1697 Dryden æneis v. 273 The Crew of Mnestheus,..with elated Minds, Urge their Success. Ibid. vii. 660 While Turnus urges thus his Enterprise. 1713 Addison Cato iii. v, Why wilt thou urge the fate Of wretched men? 1781 Cowper Table-T. 214 The peasants urge their harvest. 1789 E. Darwin Bot. Gard. II. 79 When..wither'd Famine urged the work of death. 1855 Prescott Philip II, i. viii. I. 239 Henry obstinately urged his fate, and compelled the count..to take the saddle. 1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 213 The bills which the Commons were urging forward. 1885 Daily Tel. 11 Sept. (Encycl. Dict.), Urging the carnage, and eyeing with pleasure all the horrors of war. |
| transf. 1857 Ruskin Pol. Econ. Art 110 Every kind deed..in relieving distress..would..open and urge, in a thousand unforeseen directions, the sluices of commerce and the springs of industry. |
6. To press forcibly in some direction; to force or impel forward or onward; to drive. Also with preps. or advs., as against, away, down, through.
| 1594 Kyd Cornelia v. 188 Now we of our side vrge them to retreate, And nowe before them we retyre as fast. 1634 Sir T. Herbert Trav. 87 The first walke is set with pipes of Lead and Brasse, through which the water is vrged. 1693 T. Creech Juvenal xiii. 93 Rivers chang'd to Blood Roul wond'rous Waves, or urge a Milky Flood. 1742 Pope Dunc. iv. 592 From Stage to Stage the licens'd Earl may run,..The Senator at Cricket urge the Ball. 1791 Cowper Iliad v. 70 For Menelaus..the spear urged through his breast. 1813 Byron Corsair iii. xv, The blue waves sport around the stern they urge. 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. 395 The latter [sc. air] being urged away from the tube by a force proportionate [etc.]. 1862 Calverley Verses & Tr. 16 Still I see you..Urge, towards the table's centre,..the squail. |
| transf. 1737 Pope Imit. Hor., Ep. ii. ii. 253 Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave. 1821 Shelley Adonais xxi, As long as skies are blue,..Evening must usher night, night urge the morrow. |
| fig. 1870 Bryant Iliad ii. I. 77 The fates Decreed their early death and urged them on. |
b. To cause to move, hasten, or gather speed; to accelerate the pace of; to speed up. Usu. with advs. (as forward, on) or preps.
| a 1721 Prior Journey to Copt-Hall 12, I mount, and..With unarm'd kick urge on my horse. 1760 Fawkes tr. Anacreon, Ode lix. 8 With tighten'd Rein, I'll urge thee round the dusty Plain. 1821 Shelley Epithalamion 20 Nay, return, Vesper! urge thy lazy car! 1846 A. Marsh Father Darcy II. xix. 317 Their wearied horses..gave evidence of the fierce desperation with which they had been urged forward. 1902 V. Jacob Sheep-Stealers x, Coachmen were urging their horses up to the door. |
| refl. 1805 Bingley Anim. Biog. (ed. 2) II. 159 [Birds] urge themselves forward in the air by means of wings. |
c. To press or pursue (one's flight, way, the chase); to hasten or accelerate (one's pace, etc.).
| 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 75 High Epidaurus urges on my speed, Fam'd for his hills, and for his horses' breed. 1703 Pope Thebais 558 Hapless Tydeus..Thro' the thick deserts headlong urg'd his flight. 1735 Somerville Chase iii. 543 He..up the Breeze Urges his Course with eager Violence. a 1763 Shenstone Elegies xvi. 94 Led by their beams I urg'd the pleasing chase. 1801 M. G. Lewis Tales of Wonder, Sir Hengist ii, Sir Hengist urged his courser's pace. 1804 W. L. Bowles Spir. Discov. iv. 579 With De Quiros to the South Still urge thy way. 1840 Thirlwall Greece VII. 61 He had several motives to urge his progress. 1854 H. Miller Sch. & Schm. xvi. 340, I should have to urge my way through the works of our best writers. |
7. a. To stimulate to expression or action; to provoke or excite; to increase or intensify.
| 1594 1st Pt. Contention (1843) 24 Forbeare ambitious Prelate to vrge my griefe. 1594 Kyd Cornelia i. 166 The wrath of heauen (though vrg'd) we see is slow In punishing the euils we haue done. 1616 W. Browne Brit. Past. ii. iv. 516 Anger and pitty, in his manly brest, Urge, yet restraine his teares. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 401 Then urge the fire gradually, bring the crucible to a white heat. 1820 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i. 42 While from their loud abysses howling throng The genii of the storm, urging the rage Of whirlwind. 1839 Ure Dict. Arts 1124 The heat having been briskly urged for a short time. 1865 J. M. Neale Hymns on Paradise 28 All his spite my Tempter urges. |
b. To provoke to anger; to irritate or annoy. Also with clause (quot. 1593). Now dial.
| 1593 Lodge Will. Longbeard E 3 This is it that urgeth me that I fall into his hands. 1655 [see urging ppl. a. 1 b]. 1876– in dialect use (Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Urge v.1 2). |
8. To ply vigorously; to use, work, or employ briskly or diligently.
| 1697 Dryden æneis v. 301 Both urge their Oars. a 1760 I. H. Browne Fireside Poems (1768) 126, I urge the gay flask With a set of old friends. 1820 Shelley Fragm. Satire on Sat. 25 Follow his flight with winged words, and urge The strokes of the inexorable scourge. |
IV. intr.
9. To press by inquiry or statement; to adduce or bring forward arguments, allegations, etc. Also const. to with inf.
| 1592 Soliman & Pers. iii. i. 73 Erastus, ile not yet vrge to know the cause That brought thee hether. 1613 Shakes. Hen. VIII, v. iii. 48, I doe beseech your Lordships, That..my Accusers..may stand forth face to face, And freely vrge against me. 1804 Something Odd I. 130 When she had no company at home, he would urge to go and seek it abroad. 1818 Shelley Julian 616, I urged and questioned still, she told me how All happened. |
b. To press solicitously, make a strong claim, for something.
| 1607 Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 13 One of his men..vrg'd extreamly for't [sc. money], and shewed what necessity belong'd too't. 1660 Sharrock Vegetables 67 Infinite storyes of strange conjunctions which urge earnestly for credit. 1726 Swift Serm. Martyrd. K. Chas. Wks. 1765 XV. 134 That wicked faction.., not content with all those marks of his justice.., urged still for more. 1753–4 Richardson Grandison II. ix. 60 He again urged for her hand, and for a private marriage. 1769 Goldsm. Hist. Rome I. 183 The tribunes..began once more to urge for the removal. |
† c. To strive for (mastery). Obs.—1
| 1691 tr. Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks (ed. 3) 302 His lovely Countenance, where the Lilly and the Rose did urge for Mastery. |
10. To press, push, or hasten on. Esp. with advs., as along, on, onward, upward.
| 1605–8 Donne To Sir H. Goodyere 8 A Palace..decayes: But hee which dwels there, is not so; for hee Strives to urge upward, and his fortune raise. 1653 Milton Ps. vii. 21 Rise Jehovah in thine ire, Rouze thy self amidst the rage Of my foes that urge like fire. 1692 Prior Ode, Imit. Horace v. 31 Darius flies, young Ammon urges on. 1712 Steele Spect. No. 374 ¶1 Those behind him, if he does not urge on, will tread him down. 1821 Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 27 Thou hast heard the thorn's in flower, And childhood's bliss is urging on. 1857 S. Winkworth tr. Life Tauler ix. 247 Through all this he shall urge onward, till [etc.]. 1907 Westm. Gaz. 19 Oct. 3/1 A woman.., moaning inarticulately, urges wearily along. |
11. To act as an impelling or prompting motive, stimulus, or force; to incite or stimulate; to exercise pressure or constraint.
| 1645 Waller Poems 142 Let Brutes..that cannot thinke, So far as drought and Nature urges, drinke. 1656 Smith Pract. Physick 147 Since two things do urge, either Malignity or the Feaver; if that urge, most Antidotes are necessary. a 1660 Contemp. Hist. Irel. (Ir. Archæol. Soc.) I. 157 There⁓fore thriued your precept may vrge, but your example is not souldierlike. 1667 Milton P.L. i. 66 Hope never comes That comes to all; but torture without end Still urges. 1698 Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 172 The present Occasions urging, and [they] being willing to blind them⁓selves. 1716 Pope Iliad vi. 453 The combat urges, and my soul's on fire. 1752 Hume Pol. Disc. viii. 138 Necessity calls, fear urges, reason exhorts. 1791 Cowper Iliad v. 848 The time Urges, and need appears that we ourselves Now call to mind the fury of our might. 1805–6 Cary Dante's Inf. iv. 21 Our length of way Urges to haste. |
† b. To be of weight or importance. Obs.
| 1654 Z. Coke Logick 145 A Syllogism leading to absurdity, much urgeth in disputing. |
Hence urged (ɜːdʒd) ppl. a.
| 1595 Daniel Civ. Wars iv. lxxxiv, Whilst looking onely on the vrged crime Vnto the farther drift they take no heed. c 1611 Chapman Iliad xvi. 264 Remember you express Your late-urged virtue. 1628 Feltham Resolves ii. lxv. 186 Gifts are the greatest Vsurie; because a two-fold retribution is an vrged effect, that a Noble nature prompts vs to. 1786 Burns On W. Chalmers ii, I am nae stranger to..his warm-urged wishes. 1883 Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women (ed. 2) ii. 8 And such urged passing [of uterine bougie] induces spasms. |