▪ I. void, a. and n.1
(vɔɪd)
Forms: 3–7 voyde (5–6 woyde, 6 wyde), 4–7 voide (6 woide); 4–8 voyd (6 voyed, 6–7 Sc. woyd), 4– void (5 voied, 6 woid); Sc. 6 vode (9 vodd).
[a. AF. and OF. voide (OF. also vuide, veude, etc.; mod.F. vide), fem. of voit, vuit, vuis, etc.:—pop.L. *vocit-um, -us, replacing L. vacuus. Cf. Pr. voit, voig, It. voto.]
A. adj. I. 1. a. Of a see, benefice, etc.: Having no incumbent, holder, or possessor; unoccupied, vacant.
| c 1290 Beket 594 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 123 Þat no bischopriche ne non Abbeie also, Þat were voyde with-oute prelat, In þe kingus hond were I-do. c 1450 Contin. Brut ii. 360 Ser Roger Walden, that King Richard had made Archebischop of Caunterbury, he made Bischop of London, for þat time it stode voyde. 1473–5 in Cal. Proc. Chanc. Q. Eliz. (1830) II. Pref. 61 They beyng so seased, the chirch fell voyde. 1503–4 Act 19 Hen. VII, c. 25 §2 Whensoever..any of ther Sees to be voyde be eny other ways. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 36 The See was voyde fiue yeres, and the goodes of the Church spent to the kinges vse. 1596 Drayton Legends iv. 705 If some Abbey hapned void to fall, By death of Him that the Superiour was. 1628 Burton Anat. Mel. ii. iii. vii. (ed. 3) 324, I know not..in what Cathedral Church, a fat Prebend fell voide. 1655 Fuller Ch. Hist. ii. iv. §45 Winchester lay void six, and Sherburn seven years. 1691 Wood Ath. Oxon. II. 684 In the said See, after it had laid void till Nov. 1688, did succeed D{supr}. Tho. Lamplugh. a 1715 Burnet Own Time (1766) I. 248 He was removed to Winchester void by Duppa's death. 1785 Paley Mor. Philos. iii. i. xx, The advowson of a void turn, by law, cannot be transferred from one patron to another. 1835 Penny Cycl. IV. 223/2 If a donative is the second living taken without a dispensation, the first is not made void by the statute. 1848 Lytton Harold iii. iii, The chairs of the prelates of London and Canterbury were void. |
b. Similarly of secular offices.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 109 Norþhumberlonde was voyde wiþoute kyng eiȝte ȝere. c 1435 Chron. London (Kingsford, 1905) 43 Hit was knowyn that thurh the deposicion,..and causes fforseyd,..the Rewme off Englond was voyde ffor the tyme. c 1500 Melusine xix. 67 Your fader..lefte hys landes and possessyons voyde, without lord. 1535 Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 398, I am acerteynyd that the Rowmes of your foure Clarkes are now furnyshyd & non of theym voide. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 158 b, This office had bene for ever voyde synce the death of the Duke of Bourbon. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 54 To bee Lord President of Mounster, which place had layen void some few moneths. 1670 Walton Lives ii. 123 The Provostship of His Majesties Colledge of Eaton became void by the death of Mr. Thomas Murray. 1708 J. Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. i. i. iii. (1710) 6 Seventy Queen's Scholars are..sent yearly to King's College in Cambridge, as Places become void. 1867 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) I. App. 660 This last was evidently the earldom made void by the death of ælfhelm. |
† c. void money, money which has accumulated during the vacancy of an office. Obs.
| 1513 MS. Acc. St. John's Hosp., Canterb., Rec. off voyd money at þe payment off Lomas. Rec. off voyd money off þe payment off Phelyp and Jacobe. 1539 Ibid., Rec. of the voyd money vs. ij d. |
2. a. Of a seat, saddle, etc.: Having no occupant; in which no one is sitting, lying, etc.; empty.
| 13.. Coer de L. 5079 Ther was a many a voyd sadyl. a 1350 St. Stephen 286 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 31 Þaire graues er both voyd & bare. 14.. Tundale's Vis. 2243 Tundale saw..A sige that was full bryght schynand, But hyt was voyde wen he saw hyt. c 1450 Merlin iii. 59 At this table was euer a voyde place, that betokeneth the place of Iudas. 1474 Caxton Chesse iv. ii. (1883) 165 He may put hym in the voyde space to fore the phisicyen. 1483 ― Gold. Leg. 289/1 Whan her fader & moder sawe her chare come home empty & voide thenne they did do seke their douȝter oueral. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus, Transtrum vacuum, a seate voyde or emptie. 1695 Sibbald Autobiog. (1834) 127 She was interred in her father's grave in the isle of Torphichen upon the part of the through stone that was voyd. a 1713 T. Ellwood Autobiog. (1765) 20, I stept in and sate down on the first void Seat. 1851 Mrs. Browning Casa Guidi Wind. i. 42 Behold, instead, Void at Verona, Juliet's marble trough. 1886 Kipling Departm. Ditties, etc. (1899) 120 ‘We know the Shrine is void,’ they said, ‘The Goddess flown’. |
† b. Of a horse: Having no rider. Obs. rare.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur iv. viii. 129 Accolon mounted vpon a voyde hors. 1565 Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Inanis, Inanis equus, a voyde or emptie horse: a leere horse. |
c. Of a house or room: Unoccupied; untenanted. Now chiefly dial.
| 1479–81 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 96 A howse at fayster lane, voyd by iij quarters. 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 127 The same ten[emen]t..stood wyde without ani tenant many yeres afore. 1603 Harsnet Pop. Impost. 10 Happily they slipped into some Noble mans voide house in London. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 471, 720. mansions: whereof 224. stood void. 1700 Dryden Cock & Fox 217 Eu'ry Inn so full, That no void Room in Chamber, or on Ground,..was to be found. 1866– in dial. glossaries (Shetland, Shropshire, Worc., Herts., Glouc.). |
3. a. Of places: Destitute of occupants or inhabitants; not occupied or frequented by living creatures; deserted, empty.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 192 Tille Acres þei him led, better hele to haue In þey way ilk dele þei fond voide als hethe. Ibid. 305 Alle voide was þe place, Þe bataile slayn & done all within þat space. 1340 Hampole Pr. Consc. 390 Sen þat place in heven bright Was made voyde thurgh þe syn of pride. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3221 Wel two Mile to loke aboute a stryde voide þer nas, þat of þat ilke heþenene route al ful was euery plas. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 129 Otheris sayde that hit was to drede that thay sholde fynde the Cite of grece woyde. 1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clxiv, On the quhele was lytill void space. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. ii. (1811) 25 Y⊇ kyng w{supt} thaduyce of his Barons graunted vnto them a voyde and wast countre. 1535 Coverdale 1 Macc. iii. 45 As for Ierusalem, it laye voyde, and was as it had bene a wyldernesse. There wente no man in nor out at it. 1578 Timme Calvin on Gen. 209 That he might know that the world..should not be a desert and voyde place for ever. 1596 Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 184 Finding it [the realm] than voyd in a maner and bair of strang handes to defend it. 1653 Jer. Taylor Serm. for Year (1678) 79 An appetite keen as a Wolf upon the void plains of the North. 1697 Dryden æneid ix. 675 Where void spaces on the walls appear, Or thin defence, they pour their forces there. 1813 Scott Rokeby ii. xvii, In the void offices around Rung not a hoof, nor bay'd a hound. 1899 Crockett Kit Kennedy 197 The scanty pasture-fields were void and empty. |
b. Not occupied by buildings or other useful structures; unutilized, vacant.
| 1442 in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 387 For cariage of xxxj lodes of lome fro the fundacion of the College..in to a woyde place. 1473 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 90/1 A cotage, and a voide place conteignyng by estimation a Rode. 1519 Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading (ed. Nash) 3 A void grownd in the North side of the said mill lane. 1548 Nottingham Rec. IV. 93 A tenement late in the tenure of John Alestre and a voide peyce of grownde with a gardeyn. 1611 Bible 1 Kings xxii. 10 The King of Iudah sate..in a voyd place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria. 1665 G. Havers P. della Valle's Trav. E. India 50 Near this Castle Gate, in a void place of the street are two pulpits handsomely built of stone. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 72 Hamadan is a very large Town, but contains many void places, Gardens, and even ploughed Fields within it. 1734 tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) II. 143 In the middle of each square was likewise all void ground. 1759 B. Martin Nat. Hist. I. 113 There is a great Deal of void Ground, within the Walls [of Winchester]. 1871 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 191 Most likely it stood in the void space between the mound, the gateway, and the later Castle. |
† c. Unproductive, uncultivated. Obs.
| 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiv. xlviii. (Bodl. MS.), A feelde þat is yered hatte Noualis oþer feelde þat lieþ voide euer þe oþer ȝere to renewe his vertu. 1615 W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 6 Men and cattell (that haue put trees thence, from out of Plaines to void corners) are better then trees. |
4. Not occupied by visible contents; containing no matter; empty, unfilled: a. Of receptacles, or things of similar form.
| 1390 Gower Conf. II. 191 We..With voide handes schul appiere, Touchende oure cure spirital. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) v. 53 Ȝif þei weren sepultures, þei scholden not ben voyd with inne. c 1440 Gesta Rom. lxi. 255 (Harl. MS.), Hit is a woyde tonne, caste oute with sum men fro sum shippe. c 1500 For to serve a Lord in Babees Bk. (1868) 370 Cutte away the nekke in a voyde plate. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xviii. 25 All there Cariagis were sette in voyde granges and barnes. a 1533 ― Huon xlv. 150 Incontynent the cuppe was voyde, and y⊇ wyne vanysshyd away. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 83 They vse to serue in sower crawt or cabbage vpon a voide circle of carued Iron standing on three feete. 1791 Cowper Iliad iii. 447 But Venus, foam-sprung Goddess,..snapp'd short the brace,..And the void helmet follow'd as he pull'd. |
b. In general use. (Freq. of place or space.)
| 1523 Fitzherb. Husb. §36 The small corne lyeth in the holowe and voyde places of the greate beanes. 1598 Barret Theor. Warres iii. ii. 82 With their shot bestowed, in the 4 voyde angles or corners. a 1639 T. Carew Truce in Love entreated i, For see my heart Is made thy Quiver, where remaines No voyd place for another Dart. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) I. 88 Nor can endure to fill up a void Place, At a Line's End, with one insipid Phrase. 1697 J. Potter Antiq. Greece i. viii. (1715) 39 The Spaces between..left void to admit the Light. 1794 Hutton Philos. Light, etc. 49 It therefore passes as freely through a transparent body as through the voidest space. 1796 Morse Amer. Geog. II. 182 There are no void spaces among the basaltes. 1821 Shelley Adonais xlvii, Dart thy spirit's light Beyond all worlds, until its spacious might Satiate the void circumference. 1865 Swinburne Atalanta 428 An eagle wrought in gold That..with void mouth gapes after emptier prey. |
| Comb. 1857 G. Macdonald Poems 140 The air is as the breath From the lips of void-eyed Death. |
† c. void room, an unfurnished or unoccupied room serving as an entrance or waiting hall. Obs.
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 12 You see a voyd roome before the Kitchin, whiche is an entrie both to the Kitchin..and to the Oxhouses. 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 123/2 Betweene which & the lower end of the house is a void roome seruing for the lower house, and for all sutors. |
† d. Of paper, etc.: Blank, not written on; containing no writing or lettering. Obs.
| 1551 R. Ascham Lett. Wks. 1865 I. ii. 286 Because this paper is void, I cannot leave talking with you. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 728 A mangled Inscription..broken heere and there with voide places betweene. 1669 Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. xvii. 202 Keep the left side of your Book void, that you may write all the Passages of the Voyage. 1748 Anson's Voy. iii. vii. 360 He had every head of enquiry separately wrote down on a sheet of paper, with a void space opposite to it. |
e. spec. Having the centre empty or not filled in.
| 1597 Morley Introd. Mus. Annot., There were in old time foure maners of pricking, one al blacke which they tearmed blacke full, another which we vse now which they called black void. 1704 J. Harris Lex. Techn. I, Bastions Void or Hollow, are those that have a Rampart and Parapet ranging only round about their Flanks and Faces, so that a void Space is left toward the Centre. |
† 5. a. Empty-handed; destitute. Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. v. (1868) 50 Yif þou haddest entred in þe paþe of þis lijf a voide wayfaryng man, þan woldest þou synge by-fore þe þeef. 1382 Wyclif Mark xii. 3 The erthe tilieres..beten him takun, and leften him voyde. c 1425 Found. St. Bartholomew's (E.E.T.S.) 25 He wolde not go from hym voyde. 1532 More Confut. Barnes viii. Wks. 759/1 My sonne..shall not returne againe to me voyde or emptie. For he shall bring with him the fathers out of Limbus. |
† b. void (of) course, said of a planet: (see quot. 1679). Obs.
| c 1374 Chaucer Compl. Mars 114 Now fleeth Venus unto Cylenius tour, With voide cours, for fere of Phebus light. 1679 Moxon Math. Dict., Void of Course. A Planet is said to be so, when he is separated from one Planet, and doth not during his being in that Sign, Apply to any other, either by Body or Aspect. |
6. † a. Of persons, etc.: Empty or destitute of good qualities; worthless. Obs.
| c 1380 Wyclif Wks. (1880) 36 He þat seiþ to his broþer þat haþ þe holi gost..þat he is voide & wiþ-oute kunnynge. 1382 ― 2 Peter i. 8 Thei shulen not ordeyne ȝou voyde, ne with outen fruyt, in the knowinge of oure Lord Jhesu Crist. c 1440 Gesta Rom. xcii. 421 (Add. MS.), Ye dreme, or ellys ye han fastid to mych, that your hede is voyde. 1563 Foxe A. & M. 1346/1 They that do persecute, be voyde and without all truth. 1728 Pope Dunc. ii. 45 Empty words she gave, and sounding strain, But senseless, lifeless! idol void and vain! |
b. Of speech, action, etc.: Ineffective, useless, leading to no result.
| 1382 Wyclif Isaiah lv. 11 My wrd..shal not be turned aȝeen voide to me, but shal do what euere thingus I wolde. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 154 In voyde wordis onely is hare memory makyd. c 1450 tr. De Imitatione i. xx. 23 Wiþdrawe þiself fro voide spekinges & idel circuites. 1513 Bradshaw St. Werburge i. 1453 In certaynte haue I All worldely pleasures,..and honour, With all voyde busynesse, and cures transytory. Ibid. 1809 O gloryous vyrgyn, replete with synguler grace,..Refusynge voyde pleasures. 1557 Tottel's Misc. (Arb.) 145 For all was ioy that I did fele: And of voide wandering I was free. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lx. §5 Despaire I cannot, nor induce my minde to thinke his faith voide. 1605 Bacon Adv. Learn. i. v. §11 The end ought to be, from both philosophies to separate..whatsoever is empty and void, and to preserve..whatsoever is solid and fruitful. 1611 Bible 1 Cor. ix. 15 It were better for me to die, then that any man should make my glorying voyd. 1847 Tennyson Princ. vii. 19 Void was her use, And she as one that climbs a peak to gaze O'er land and main. 1871 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rur. Sports (ed. 9) iii. 629/2 Void end means that neither side can score a cast. Ibid. 630/1 A void end shall be included in this provision. 1881 Dufferin in Lyall Life (1905) II. i. 13 Any serious communication we may make to the Ministers is as void as though it had been confided to the winds. |
† c. Of material things; Superfluous, waste. Obs. rare.
| c 1440 Pallad. on Husb. vi. 23 This mone is ek for pam⁓pinacioun Conuenient: void leves puld to be. 1494–5 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 215 For makyng of j ole in the chirche for voyde water. c 1530 H. Rhodes Bk. Nurture 293 in Babees Bk. (1868) 79 Wyth bones & voyd morsels fyll not thy trenchour, my friend, full. |
d. Of looks: Vacant. rare—1.
| 1796 Coleridge Destiny of Nations 253 Her flushed tumultuous features..now once more Naked, and void, and fixed. |
7. a. Having no legal force; not binding in law; legally null, invalid, or ineffectual.
null and void: see null a. 1 b.
| 1433–4 Rolls of Parlt. V. 437/2 This thaire assent and grant for to stande in strengthe, and ellus to be as voide and of noe valeure. c 1475 Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 511 That parliamente of kynge Ricardus was made voyde & as of noo valoure. 1496 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 513/1 An Acte for making voyde of a Statute concerning artificers. 1527 in Trans. Cumbld. & Westmoreld. Archæol. Soc. (1914) XIV. 80 This obligacione to be woide and of non effect. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 106 What soever is there done to be voyde and of none effect. 1592 West 1st Pt. Symbol. §B, Then the said couenant touching the paiment of &c. and the deliuering of the said bond to be cancelled, and either of them shalbe utterly void. 1625 Donne Serm. 24 Feb. (1626) 43 If the Bill were interlinde, or blotted, or dropt, the Bill was voyd. 1651 Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxi. 111 Covenants, not to defend a mans own body, are voyd. 1672 Dryden Conq. Granada i. i, The Force us'd on me made that Contract void. 1713 Steele Englishm. No. 41. 265 She immediately made void certain Grants she had made. 1774 Jefferson Autobiog. App., Wks. 1859 I. 130 The true ground on which we declare these acts void, is, that the British Parliament has no right to exercise authority over us. 1838 Thirlwall Greece II. 46 All statutes which they deemed void, contradictory, or superfluous. 1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xiv. 202 The Parliament declared that the same marriage had from the beginning been void. 1879 M{supc}Carthy Own Times xviii. II. 35 The election was declared void, and a new writ was issued. |
b. In general use: Null, invalid.
| 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 5 Ceremonyes..whiche all were euacuate and made voyde by the passyon of our sauyour Jesu Chryst. 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. Prol., That repentaunce that he had before shuld be but voyde. 1604 Jas. I Counterbl. to Tobacco (Arb.) 102 Of this Argument, both the Proposition and Assumption are false, and so the Conclusion cannot but be voyd of it selfe. a 1682 Sir T. Browne Tracts (1683) 99 This makes void that common conceit and tradition of the Fish called Faber marinus. 1746 Hoyle Games, Quadrille 36 If there happen to be two Cards of the same sort, and found out before the Deal is ended, the Deal is void, but not otherwise. 1801 Strutt Sports & Past. iv. 225 The cast is void if the ball does not enter any of the holes. 1812 Cary Dante, Parad. iii. 57 Our vows Were, in some part, neglected and made void. |
8. a. Of time: Free from work or occupation; unemployed, idle, leisure. Now rare.
| c 1450 Myrr. our Ladye 23 Therefore though..a lesson be red but of one alone, yet thinke not that that is a voyde tyme to all the other to do what they wyll. 1538 Starkey England ii. i. 161 To haue a commyn place appoyntyd..wherin they myght at voyd tymys exercyse themselfys. 1551 Robinson tr. More's Utopia iv. (1895) 142 All the voide time, that is betwene the houres of woorke, slepe, and meate. 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence, Heautontim. i. i, Haue you so much leasure and voide time from your owne priuate affaires, that [etc.]. 1634 Massinger Very Woman iii. i, I'll chain him in my study, that a void hours I may run o'er the story of his country. 1853 C. Brontë Villette xxiv, That void interval which passes for him so slowly..teems with events for his friends. |
† b. Vacant in respect of office; marked by a vacancy or interregnum. Obs.
| 1480 Waterf. Arch. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 316 They that be chosen ballyffs one yere, shal not be chosen..without they have one yere voied betwxt. 1496 Ibid. 324 The eldest that have borne the office of Mairaltie shall have the same voide day, if he have noo daye before. 1591 Savile Tacitus, Hist. ii. lxxi. 94 That Valens and Cæcina might obtaine some voide moneths that yeare to be Consuls in. 1614 Raleigh Hist. World ii. vi. §8. 329 There can be no void years found betweene Iosua and Othoniel. Ibid. xxii. §11. 558 Yet some coniectures there are made, which tend to keepe all euen, without acknowledging any voide time. |
† c. Of persons: Unemployed. In quot. fig.
| c 1450 tr. De Imitatione iii. lix. 137 Nature loueþ idelnes,..but grace can not be voide ner idel, but gladly takiþ upon him labour & traueile. |
† 9. Lacking, wanting. Obs.—1
| 1554–9 Songs & Ball. Phil. & Mary (Roxb.) 4 In Chryst all fullness of power and myght dothe dwell; In hyme voyd was nothyng that was nydfull and fytt. |
† 10. Powerless, unable. Obs.—1
| 1578 Roydon in T. Procter Gorg. Gallery A ij b, But Sicophantes will neuer cease to swell Though (learnedly) themselues be voyde to write. |
11. Cards. Of a hand: having no cards in a given suit.
| 1934 F. D. Courtenay System Experts Play (ed. 3) 17 A void suit at a trump declaration is equivalent to an A. 1958 Listener 6 Nov. 753/3 One never lives to enjoy the double, for either dummy or partner will be void and will remove the double. 1972 R. Markus Aces & Places 25 When West showed void he went into a huddle. 1980 [see sense B. 8 below]. |
II. Const. of (occas. † from).
12. a. Devoid of, free from, not tainted with (some bad quality, fault, or defect).
| c 1374 Chaucer Former Age 50 The lambish peple, voyd of alle vyce. c 1385 ― L.G.W. Prol. 167 Thus thise foweles, voide of al malice..songe alle of oon acorde. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 11 And Musik had, voyde of alle discord, Boece her clerk, withe hevenly armony. c 1470 Henry Wallace viii. 1624 A ryoll king..herd off Wallace gouernance..and off his pruvyt prys, Off honour, trewth, and woid off cowatis. a 1529 Skelton Calliope 18 Yet is she fayne, Voyde of disdayn Me to retayne Her seruiture. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 231 b, They oughte to be free and voyde from anger. 1595 Locrine ii. ii. 3 We Coblers lead a merie life:..Void of all enuie and of strife. 1605 Earl Stirling Alexandr. Trag. iv. i, All love a courteous count'nance, voyd of Art. 1617 Moryson Itin. ii. 75 The said point could not be thought void of that cunning, wherein the writer excelled. 1718 Free-thinker No. 66. 84 Let your Deliberations be void of Animosities. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 260 Our code void of quirks in a Blackstone is seen. 1832 G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. xi. 253 A piece of flint glass,..by no means void of imperfections. 1862 Trollope Orley F. i, He was a man void of mystery, and not given to secrets. |
b. Free from, untouched by, not affected or impaired by (something unpleasant or hurtful).
| c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 809 On a camell rydyng, as voyde of all care. 1509 Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 305 A lyfe voyde of all sorow & encombraunce. 1522 More De quat. Noviss. Wks. 81/1 So y{supt} neuer any of them had euer in their liues knowen or herd, either themself or any other voyd of those disseases. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 101 A place myght be assigned for the counsell, voyde of all daunger and suspicion. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. lix. vi, They prate and bable voide of feare. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 350 Some would haue him kept in a close, darke and quiet house, voyde from all noise. 1655 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Inv. iv. 6 Never clogging the memory with several figures for words..which with ease and void of confusion, are thus speedily..letter for letter set down. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 585 Next Day, nor only that, but all the Moon,..Are void of Tempests. Ibid. ii. 688 My next Desire is, void of Care and Strife, To lead a soft, secure, inglorious Life. 1753 Richardson Grandison (1781) III. xxviii. 330, I, sanguine in my hopes, had expressed myself as void of all doubt but you would become a Catholick. 1828 Scott F.M. Perth xxxiv, Eachin alone had left it [the battle-ground] void of wounds. 1878 Marie A. Brown tr. Runeberg's Nadeschda iii. 37 And void of fear..She goes to Woldmar. |
† c. Clear or quit of (a person); vacant in respect of. Obs.
| a 1548 Hall Chron., Rich. III, 48 b, Nowe nothinge was contrariant..to his pernicious purpose, but that his mancion was not voide of his wife. 1560 J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 293 b, In the countrey round about were forces of Spanyardes and Italians. Of whome to be voyde and free, they..payde thirty thousand..crownes. 1651 N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. ii. xxiv. 188 The Parliament..declared the Throne void of Edward the Fourth, and Henry the Sixth King. |
13. a. Destitute of, not graced or ennobled by (some virtue or good quality).
| c 1400 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) iv. xxix. (1859) 62 Thou arte veyne, and voyde of al maner of vertue. 1467 Songs Costume (Percy Soc.) 56 Ye poope holy prestis full of presomcion,..voyd of discrecion. 1508 Dunbar Flyting 61, I se the haltane in thy harlotrie,..Off every vertew woyd. 1553 Eden Treat. New Ind. (Arb.) 24 The inhabitantes are..vtterly voyde of all godly knowledge. 1555 ― Decades (Arb.) 52 O vnthankefull Englande and voyde of honest shame. 1590 Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 3 They haue been so voide of the orders and exercises of war of their forefathers. 1612 Two Noble K. iii. i, O thou most perfidious That ever gently lookd; the voydest of honour That eu'r bore gentle Token. 1667 Milton P.L. ix. 1074 Bad Fruit of Knowledge,..Which leaves us naked thus, of Honour void. 1686 in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 410, I am not so void of reson at this age bot that I can refran from duing myself and family any damag by play. 1706 Estcourt Fair Example v. i, Beauty, tho' void of Virtue, has the Power To make as well the Wise as Fools adore. 1743 Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 136 But Hunger is void of all Compassion. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia vi. iv, She was totally void of judgment or discretion. 1817 Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. viii. 660 Whom he represents as too void of character, to write anything of himself. 1831 Mackintosh Hist. Eng. II. 44 He was as void of manly as of kingly virtues. 1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xiv. 206 A person void of capacity, without any experience. |
b. Destitute or deprived of, lacking or wanting (something desirable or natural).
The groups of quotations illustrate different types of context.
| (a) c 1420 Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1382 Came thedyr Attropos, voyde of all gladness, Wrappyd in hys shete. 1533 Bellenden Livy (S.T.S.) I. 298 Þai war vode of all gude esperance. 1567 Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 33 Woide of all joy, but full of painfulnes. 1592 Timme Ten Eng. Lepers K iij, They find that they are utterly void of all helpe. 1612 Drayton Poly-olb. v. 341 Voyd of all delight, cold, barren, bleake and dry. 1690 Child Disc. Trade (1698) 14 The people poor, despicable, and voide of commerce. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 676 He took his way, thro' Forrests void of Light. 1709 Berkeley Th. Vision §90 It would not at first view be altogether void of probability. 1742 Young Nt. Th. vii. 643 Life void of joy, Sad prelude of Eternity in pain! 1812 Crabbe Tales ii. 394 By various shores, he passed, on various seas, Never so happy as when void of ease. 1862 Burton Bk. Hunter (1863) 309 The records of endurance and martyrdom for conscience sake, can never be void of interest. |
| (b) 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 240 Ryghtful houre of ettynge is, whan the stomake is purchet and clenset, and voyde of the mette. 1563 B. Googe Eglogs v. (Arb.) 47 Thy face good Egon [is] voide of blud, thine eies amased stare. 1581 W. Fulke in Confer. iii. (1584) O iij b, Nay, hee saith plainely, they are not Expertes corporis, voyde of body. 1656 Stanley Hist. Philos. v. (1687) 185/2 If matter it self be in it self void of measure, it is necessary that it receive measure from some superiour. 1728 T. Sheridan tr. Persius v. (1739) 68 A white Shield void of any Figures in it. 1794 R. J. Sulivan View Nat. I. 378 This water, when newly melted, is totally void both of air, and of the aerial acid. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 489 It is colourless and void of smell, but intensely saline and bitter. 1829 Chapters Phys. Sci. 124 Leaving 1727 cubic inches void of any material substance. 1859 Jephson & Reeve Brittany 237 The surface of the water was perfectly void of any ripple. |
| (c) 1432–50 tr. Higden (Rolls) III. 339 Philippus, kynge of Macedony, scholde destroye sone the cite if that hit were vacuate and voide of discrete men. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems lxxii. 97 Methocht Compassioun, vode of feiris, Than straik at me with mony ane stound. a 1513 Fabyan Chron. vii. (1533) II. 8 b/2 To espye when he were voyde of his company, and then to take hym. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa viii. 298 He marched through wilde and desert places voide of inhabitants. 1632 Lithgow Trav. x. 505 The Inhabitants being left void of a Gouernour, or solid Patrone. |
| (d) 1513 Life Henry V (Kingsford, 1911) 126 Whereby the Englishmen, voide of there requests, returned to there lodges. 1670 G. H. Hist. Cardinals iii. i. 240 He was depos'd, and declar'd void of the Papacy. |
B. n.1
1. † a. One who is devoid of something. Obs.—1
| 1614 Sylvester Bethulia's Rescue iv. 186 Their immodest flame Fires none but Fools, Frantiks, or Voids of shame. |
b. A state or condition devoid of something; a lack or want. rare.
| 1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 274 On account of the impossibility of making a perfect void of air by means of the pump. 1788 Wesley Wks. (1872) VI. 352 Men in whom pride..supplies the void of sense. 1789 Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 559 Nor has the society he has kept been such as to supply the void of education. 1875 Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 273 Space is the void of outward objects. |
2. Emptiness, vacancy, vacuity, vacuum.
| a 1618 Sylvester Trag. Hen. Gt. 602 Who, from the Ocean, Motion can recall, Heat from Fire, Void from Air, Order from All. 1781 Lofft Eudosia vi. 349 In perfect void, the medium lost,..All substances with like velocity Descend. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. i. v. 67 Naught shalt thou see in endless void afar. 1878 Stewart & Tait Unseen Univ. iv. §121. 133 But there is also void in things, else they would be jammed together. |
| fig. 1860 Pusey Min. Proph. 471 It leaves the feeling of void and forsakenness. |
3. a. Arch. A space left in a wall for a window, or door; the opening of an arch; any unfilled space in a building or structure.
| 1616 Extr. Aberdeen Reg. (1848) II. 341 The said Thomas..sall build ane voyd hard be the said passage for letting doun the paissis frome the knock. 1723 Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 138 Massive is found over Massive, and Void under Void. 1742 De Foe's Tour Gt. Brit. (ed. 3) II. 120 The Thickness of each Pier is not one Third Part of the Void of each Arch. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm I. 163 A very loose mode of..measuring voids, as the openings of doors and windows are termed. 1889 J. J. Hissey Tour in Phaeton 124 The windows are both prominent and graceful features in the building, not merely glazed voids. |
b. An empty or vacant space; an unoccupied place or opening in something or between things; a vacancy caused by the removal of something.
Examples of the singular with the (cf. sense 4) are placed under (a). The use is often fig., esp. in the phrase to fill the void.
| (a) 1697 Dryden æneid x. 634 From the forbidden space his men retired... He said, and to the void advanced his pace. 1737 [S. Berington] G. di Lucca's Mem. (1738) 161 In the middle of this Concave is a golden Sun, hanging in the Void. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 209 All the tricks That idleness has ever yet contriv'd To fill the void of an unfurnish'd brain. 1817 Moore Lalla R. Wks. (1910) 415/1 A wide, deep, and wizard glen, So fathomless, so full of gloom, No eye could pierce the void between. 1861 Maine Anc. Law iv. 99 The mind of a Roman lawyer..would instantly fill the void with the ordinances of Nature. |
| (b) 1708 Chamberlayne St. Gt. Brit. ii. i. ii. (1710) 353 There is..a Void within for the Soldiers Lodgings. 1712 Blackmore Creation 84 The Stars..At a vast distance from each other lye, Sever'd by spacious voids of liquid sky. 1822 Byron Heaven & Earth i. iii. 310 Without Him, even eternity would be A void. 1849 Julius Hare Sermons II. 469 We learn that the courts of heaven are not a bare void, but that..innumerable beings are there. 1882 Vines Sachs' Bot. 932 If..a severe frost..destroys half the plants..the voids are again filled up by the dispersion of the seeds. |
c. spec. An absolutely empty space; a vacuum.
| 1727 Swift Wonder of Wond. Wks. 1755 II. ii. 53 He is an atomic philosopher, strongly maintaining a void in nature. 1785 Reid Intell. Powers ii. xix. 262 It [sc. space] is only an immense, eternal, immoveable, and indestructible void or emptiness. 1834 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sci. xiv. (1840) 123 It is utterly incomprehensible that the celestial bodies should exert a reciprocal attraction through a void. 1837 Whewell Hist. Induct. Sci. (1857) I. 33 Whether there was or was not a Void, or place without matter, had already been debated among rival sects of philosophers. 1905 Times 31 Aug. 7/4 Does not..the Democritean void..again emerge? |
| fig. 1732 Pope Ess. Man i. 243 On superior pow'rs Were we to press, inferior might on ours: Or in the full creation leave a void. 1868 Tennyson Lucretius 37 It seem'd A void was made in Nature; all her bonds Crack'd. |
d. One of the small unoccupied spaces in a heap or mass which is not perfectly solid.
| 1837 J. T. Smith tr. Vicat's Mortars 87 It is then easy to judge by the quantity of water used, what proportion the voids bear to the whole bulk of the sand. 1868 Tennyson Lucretius 254 The very sides of the grave itself shall pass, Vanishing, atom and void, atom and void, Into the unseen for ever. 1884 Century Mag. XXIX. 48 How large we could determine by filling its voids with water and measuring its quantity. 1900 Engineering Mag. XIX. 774/1 Strength of Concrete with Different Per Cent. of Voids Filled. |
spec. (a) A defect in a crystal lattice consisting of a space larger than a single vacancy. (b) An interatomic space in any crystal lattice.
| (a) 1947 Trans. Amer. Inst. Metallurgical Engineers CLXXI. 136/2 Supposedly these voids do not equal in volume the sum of lattice-volume change plus the direct zinc transfer. 1952 Proc. Physical Soc. B. LXV. 522 It remains now to discuss the generation and removal from the lattice of the large number of vacancies which do not form voids. 1965 J.-I. Takamura in R. W. Cahn Physical Metallurgy xiv. 722 In these crystals voids are formed at grain boundaries as a result of large amount of strain. 1974 Physics Bull. Dec. 582/3 A nice illustration..was the discovery by Evans of the void lattice in molybdenum, voids of a few tens of Å in radius being ordered on a lattice with a spacing of one or two hundred Å. |
| (b) 1964 Wert & Thomson Physics of Solids ii. 32 The fcc structure has small voids (called interstices) between the atoms. 1982 J. V. Smith Geom. & Structural Cryst. v. 145 (caption) Tetrahedral and octahedral voids in (a) cubic closest-packing and (b) hexagonal closest-packing. |
4. a. spec. With the: The empty expanse of space.
| 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 829 With lonely steps to tread Th' unfounded deep, & through the void immense To search with wandring quest a place foretold. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. vi. 51 He sung..How Seas, and Earth, and Air, and active Flame, Fell through the mighty Void. 1697 ― æneid xii. 994 Prone through the void the rocky ruin shoots. 1707 Curios. in Husb. & Gard 229 This rich variety of Creatures, that fill the Void, in which the Earth in the Beginning was said to be. 1774 Beattie Minstr. ii. xxiii, For now no cloud obscures the starry void. 1820 Shelley Liberty i, The ray Of the remotest sphere of living flame Which paves the void was from behind it flung. 1854 Brewster More Worlds x. 163 The immense void which lies between our system and the nearest system of the stars. 1871 B. Taylor Faust (1875) I. iv. 65 The scattered Fragments into the Void we carry. |
b. Const. of (heaven, etc.).
| 1667 Milton P.L. ii. 438 The void profound Of unessential Night receives him next Wide gaping. 1697 Dryden Virg. Georg. i. 47 In the Void of Heav'n a Space is free, Betwixt the Scorpion and the Maid, for thee. 1726–46 Thomson Seasons, Winter 576 If Nature's boundless frame Was call'd, late-rising from the void of night, Or sprung eternal from th' Eternal Mind. 1743 Francis tr. Hor., Odes i. iii. 38 Thus did the venturous Cretan dare To tempt with impious wings the void of air. |
| fig. 1709 Pope Ess. Crit. 210 Pride, where wit fails,..fills up all the mighty void of sense. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. ii. 43 Mere Outside all, to fill the mighty Void Of Life, in Dress and Equipage employ'd. 1795 Burke Regic. Peace i. Wks. 1842 II. 275 To lose ourselves in the infinite void of the conjectural world. 1829 I. Taylor Enthus. iv. 84 The dark void of infidelity. 1866 Geo. Eliot F. Holt i, To fill up the great void of life with giving small orders to tenants. |
5. fig. a. An unsatisfied feeling or desire.
| 1779 Cowper Hymns i, They have left an aching void, The world can never fill. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. xiii. 6 [Tears] Which weep a loss for ever new, A void where heart on heart reposed. 1899 Doyle Duet (1909) 15/1 You talk about my happiness before I met you,..but what a void there was! |
b. A blank in a record.
| 1866 Rogers Agric. & Prices Introd., They are an attempt to satisfy a total void. 1869 Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. xiv. 329 A void is left which history cannot fill. |
6. A period during which a house or farm is unoccupied or unlet. (Cf. void a. 2 c.)
| 1885 Daily News 23 Jan. 3/3 For some years it went reasonably well; but with frequent voids and losses of rent. 1905 ― 20 Feb. 3 The [income tax] authorities would only allow ‘voids’ or ‘empties’ within the financial year in which they occurred. |
7. In the game of skat: The seven, eight, or nine, which have no value in counting.
| 1891 Diehl Skat 58 By leading the void of the plain suit, you will very likely be enabled to make two tricks in that suit. |
8. Cards. The absence of any cards in a particular suit in a player's holding.
| 1933 C. Vandyck Contract Contracted ii. 20 The Short Suits are the Doubletons, Singletons and Voids. 1944 Times 17 May 6/3 Provision was made for revaluation after the first round of bidding to count three points for a void. 1980 M. Dummett Twelve Tarock Games vii. 125 Singleton Kings are usually even better than voids, unless..there is a danger that one of the opponents is void in [that suit]. |
9. Med. An emptying of the bladder.
| 1980 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 29 Mar. 889/2 Residual urine was estimated..by catheterisation after a normal void. |
Hence ˈvoidward adv. (rare).
| 1927 Joyce Nightpiece in Pomes Penyeach, As the bleak incense surges, cloud on cloud, voidward from the adoring Waste of souls. |
▸ void deck n. S.E. Asian the ground floor of a block of flats, which is left vacant, typically to be hired out for communal activities.
| 1980Tung Syn Neo in P. Hodge Community Probl. & Socal Work in Southeast Asia xxiii. 234 Even *void decks may not be popular with parents since here again they are unable to see their children at play. 2004 G. Lim Invisible Trade i. 33 A Malay wedding in an HDB void deck! |
▪ II. † void, n.2 Obs.
An abbrev. of voidee, prob. through misunderstanding the spelling voide.
| 1461–83 Househ. Ord. (1790) 36 The King never taketh a voyd of comfittes and other spices, but standing. 1587 Holinshed Chron. III. 934/1 To whome the earle of Sussex in a goodlie spice plate brought a void of spice and comfets. 1616 Lane Contn. Sqr.'s T. iii. 91 After the void, praeserves in silvern plate Set suche a postscripte to ann antedate, As not a common penn knowes to define. |
▪ III. void, v.
(vɔɪd)
Forms: 4–5 voyden, 4–7 voyde (4 woyde, 5 uoyde, voyede), voyd (5 woyd, voyed, 6 Sc. woyid); 4, 6 voiden, 4–6 voide, 4– void (5 woid); 4 vewd-, 6 Sc. woud.
[Partly (1) ad. AF. and OF. voider, vuider (OF. also voidier, vuidier; mod.F. vider, = Pr. voidar, vojar, vujar, etc., Cat. vuydar, It. votare):—pop.L. *vocitare to make empty: see void a. Partly (2) an aphetic form of avoid v.]
I. 1. trans. To clear (a room, house, place) of occupants; to empty or clear (a place, receptacle, etc.) of something. † Also const. from. Now arch.
| 13.. K. Alis. 373 (Linc.), He voidud þeo chaumbre of many vchon. c 1380 Sir Ferumb. 3131 By þat wern þe feldes alle of þe Sarsyns y-vewdid wel. c 1385 Chaucer L.G.W. 2625 Hypermnestra, Whan that the house voyded was of alle. c 1400 Beryn 1951 Þere was no thing, þat eny man myȝte se,..For hanybald had do void it [sc. his house] of al thing þat was there. c 1482 J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes ¶7 Anon with grete dylygence they voyded their shippes of the men of werre and of their ordonnances. 15.. Aberdeen Reg. (Jam.), To woud the said biging of the gudis. 1578 Lyte Dodoens 232 Penny royal..clenseth the Lunges, and voydeth them and the breast from all grosse and thicke humors. 1654 Fuller Wounded Consc., etc. (1867) 187 Bondi..causeth the room to be voided of all company. 1786 Phil. Trans. LXXVI. 280 The cavity of the cylinder and globe containing the thermometer was completely voided of air with mercury. 1861 Ld. Lytton & Fane Tannhäuser 73 And, voided now Of all his multitudes, the mighty Hall..laid bare His ghostly galleries to the mournful moon. |
b. To rid, to make free or clear, of (or † from) some quality or condition.
| 1338 R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 247 Þe barons alle said,..Þe lond þei wild voide of þat herisie. 1375 Barbour Bruce i. 26 Þai suld weill hawe pryss þat..war woydyt off cowardy. 1526 Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 79 Excepte it be fyrst voyded from all..elacyon, pryde and contradiccyon. 1545 Primer A ij, That our hartes be voyded quyte, From phansy, and fond delighte. 1576 Gascoigne Kenelworth Castle Wks. 1910 II. 94 Your thrice comming here doth bode thrise happy hope and voides the place from feare. 1641 Milton Reform. ii. 74 The Parliament shall void her Upper House of the same annoyances. 1668 Howe Bless. Righteous (1825) 273 Having voided thy mind of what is earthly and carnal. 1861 A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th C. i. 2 It is neither possible nor desireable so wholly to void either nature of the presence of the other. |
† c. To bereave or deprive of life. Obs.—1
| a 1400–50 Alexander 3980 If I be vencust in þe vaile & voidid of my lyfe, Lat all my seggis & soile be to þi-selfe ȝolden. |
2. Without const. † a. To clear (a table) of dishes, remains of food, etc. after a meal. Obs.
| a 1400 Sqr. lowe Degre 468 Full lowe he set hym on his kne, And voyded his borde full gentely. 1513 Bk. Keruynge in Babees Bk. (1868) 271 Now this feest is done, voyde ye the table. 1586 Warner Alb. Eng. iv. xxi. (1589) 89 The Traine and table voyded, then he..Directs her by his tongue and teares, vnto his louing heart. 1621 Quarles Argalus & P. iii. Wks. (Grosart) III. 273/1 The board was voided, and the Sewer Had now resign'd his office with the Ewer. 1657 Thornley tr. Longus' Daphnis & Chloe 119 Dinner was done, and the Table voided. |
| fig. 1638 Quarles Hieroglyphikes xiii. Wks. (Grosart) III. 195/2 Time voids the table, dinner's done. |
b. To evacuate (the stomach); to clear or blow (the nose); to clean out (slaughtered animals). Also refl. rare.
| c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) vi, And whan þei be ful or seeke, þei fedeth hem with gras, as an hounde doth, forto voyed hem. 1422 tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 240 To kepe kynde hete, and to voyde the stomake, good is hit afor mette sumwhate to walke or ryde. 1535 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 133 The bochers..shall voyd and kyll noe moe ware in the sayd howses. 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 49 They would neither..spit, nor void their noses into the riuers, but reuerenced them aboue all things. 1876 Fur, Fin & Feather Sept. 167 They [sc. squirrels] should be voided..and kept several days in cold weather. |
† c. To make void or empty; to clear or empty (some thing or place) of its contents or occupants. Obs.
| 1506 in Mem. Hen. VII (Rolls) 288 A little before..my lord Herberd voided all the King's chamber except lords and officers..which remained there still. 1580 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 227 The chamber being voyded, he brake with him in these tearmes. 1600 Holland Livy vii. v. 252 So the roume being voided, and all commaunded to depart farre ynough out of the way, he draweth out his skeine. 1616 Marlowe's Faustus iii. iv, Good Fredericke see the roomes by voyded straight, His Maiesty is comming to the Hall. 1658 Evelyn Fr. Gard. (1675) 4 Thus when your Trench is voided and emptied to the depth which you desire, you shall cast in long dung. |
d. To render (a benefice) vacant; to vacate. Obs.
| 1660 R. Coke Power & Subj. 217 When any Archbishoprick or Bishoprick shall be voided. 1677 W. Mountagu in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 327 His living..being voided by his own act, though it would have been otherwise if voided by death. a 1703 Bp. Kidder in Cassan Bps. Bath & Wells ii. (1830) 126 After I had entered upon this living, and thereby voided that in Essex. |
† e. To exhaust (a subject) by discussion or exposition; to deal with exhaustively or thoroughly.
| 1659 H. Thorndike Epil. Trag. Ch. Eng. i. xx. 155 Not to insist here, what the respective interests of publick and private persons in the Church are and ought to be, because it is a point that cannot here be voided. 1687 G. Towerson Baptism 273 A question which will best be voided by considering the force of those Arguments, which the condemners..have produc'd. |
3. To deprive (something) of legal validity; to make legally void or invalid; to annul or cancel.
| a 1325 MS. Rawl. B. 520 fol. 30 b, The parties of þulke fins..ope suuche fins to voiden ant for te anenden weren i suffred. Ibid., On suuche manere þe fins..oftesiþes beþ ivoided. 1487 Rolls of Parlt. VI. 394/1 That..it be lefull to the said Roger..to enter,..and enjoye all that comprised in the same Lettres Patentes so voided. 1535 Cromwell in State Papers Hen. VIII (1849) VII. 586 [To] desire the Bisshop..to revoke and denounce voyd and frustrate the injust and slaunderous sentence. 1641 H. Thorndike Govt. Churches 132 In some cases they void excommunication that is grounded upon particular interesse. 1647 Digges Unlawf. Taking Arms §4. 147 His obstinate refusall voides the Parliament. 1691 Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 7 Unless you intend to..void Bargains lawfully made. 1762–71 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) II. 79 A contract voided by the death of the Prince. 1863 H. Cox Instit. i. viii. 98 The giving meat and drink, exceeding {pstlg}5 in value, to electors, shall void an election. 1883 Ch. Times 9 Nov. 812/4 On the principles of Roman Canon law, the Papal succession has been voided many times over. |
b. To deprive of efficacy, force, or value; to render inoperative or meaningless; to set aside or nullify. Now rare.
| a 1340 Hampole Psalter cvi[i]. 11 Þe counsaile of þe heghest þai voidyd [L. irritaverunt]. 1396–7 in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1907) XXII. 304 For þou þese to [= two] craftis nemlid were michil more nedful in þe elde lawe, þe newe testament hath voydid þese and manie othere. ? 1462 Paston Lett. II. 115 That th' effect of the old purpose of the seid Sir Iohn Fastolff schuld not be all voyded. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour (1868) 176 Yf one begynne to..talke with you of suche mater, lete hym alone..And thus ye shalle voyde and breke his talkynge. 1513 Life Hen. V (Kingsford, 1911) 20 By whose departure the intent of this victorious Kinge was vtterly empesshed and voyded in that Cause. 1533 More Answ. Poysoned Bk. Wks. 1057/1 By y⊇ marking of thys one poynt, ye may voyde almost all the craft, with which master..Frith and Tyndall..labour to deceiue you. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxii. §12 Baptisme..is by a fourth sort of men voided for the onely defect of ecclesiasticall authoritie in the Minister. 1655 Stanley Hist. Philos. iii. (1687) 105/1 Now tell me if thy adversary Sue thee, and thou art like to be overthrown For want of witnesses, how wilt thou void His suit? 1675 O. Walker, etc. Paraphr. Hebrews 3 The former religion of the Law..voided and annulled by that farr more preeminent of Christ. a 1688 W. Clagett 17 Serm. (1699) 197 They voided the commandments of God, and made his word of none effect. 1742 Young Nt. Th. iv. 467 O how is man inlarg'd, Seen thro' this medium [i.e. Redemption]..How voided his vast distance from the skies! 1874 S. Cox Pilgr. Ps. iv. 83 We defeat our own hope and void our own prayer. |
† c. To confute or refute. Obs.
| 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) II. 926/1 With these and such other like reasons, the Gray Franciscans voyded their Aduersaries. 1630 M. Godwyn tr. Bp. Hereford's Ann. Eng. (1675) 184 He by such witty answers voided the accusation of his Adversary, that the Jurors found him not guilty. 1645 Milton Colast. 19 After waiting and voiding, hee thinks to void my second Argument. 1699 Bentley Phal. xiv. 479 His Design was..To account for the Low Sicilian Talent, and to void all that Mr. B. had written about it before. |
II. † 4. To send or put (a person) away; to cause or compel to go away from or leave a place; to dismiss or expel. Obs.
Freq. const. out of, also more rarely from or of the place. Also (b) with advs. as out or aloof.
| (a) 13.. Gosp. Nicodemus (A.) 285 Pilate gart voyde þame alle Þat were within þat house. c 1386 Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 1136 Voyde youre man and lat hym be ther oute. c 1400 Mandeville (1839) xii. 137 He let voyden out of his Chambre alle maner of men. 1418 E.E. Wills (1882) 29, Y wille that the same Jonet be vtterliche excluded & voyded fro the forsaide Manere of Staverton. c 1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine 11 Þe bischop was compelled to voyde hir with swech wordys: Go fro me, woman. 1483 Caxton G. de la Tour fj/b, The pryour that was voyded and hydde under the bed. a 1539 in Archaeologia XLVII. 57 That ye voide out of your house Robert laurence and he nomore to resorte to the same. 1553 N. Grimalde Cicero's Offices iii. (1558) 164 Al hearers being voided out of the place, he commaunded, the yongman shoulde come to hym. 1608 Dekker Dead Tearme Wks. (Grosart) IV. 57 Not to keepe any single woman in his house on the Holy-dayes, but the Bailiffe to see them voyded out of the Lordship. 1644 Milton Areop. (Arb.) 62 Now the Bishops abrogated and voided out of the Church..the Episcopall arts begin to bud again. |
| (b) 1430–40 Lydg. Bochas viii. xx. (1554) 190 b/1 Let him also voyde out at his gate, Ryotous people. 1553 Brende Q. Curtius Q vij, [He] appointed certaine to waite whiles he slept, which shoulde voide al men a loufe, to the entent he should not be disquieted w{supt} any noise. 1575–85 Abp. Sandys Serm. xiii. 206 In his pastorall care he visited it [sc. the Temple], and in the zeale of God voided them out which did defile it. |
† b. With double object. Obs.
| 1402 Hoccleve Let. of Cupid 468 Voide hem our court, and banyssh hem for euer. 1483 Presentmts. of Juries in Surtees Misc. (1890) 28 We wyll þ{supt} schoy be woydyd the ton [= town]. 1529 Rastell Pastyme (1811) 126 He warryd oft agaynst the Danys, but at the last by agrement he voydyd them the West contrey. 1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus A a ij, I knowe one Antiochus well,..but as for this fellowe, I perceiue he is a counterfeit, and therewith commaunded him to be voided his lodging. |
† c. To dismiss or remove from a situation or position. Obs.
| 1502 Arnolde Chron. (1811) 95 Yf that yeman be from you soo voyded ye shal take awey the lyueri of the said Sherefs. c 1515 Barclay Egloges iii. (1570) Cij b/2 If thou chaunge some better for to haue, Thou voydest a lubber to haue agayne a knaue. |
† d. refl. To remove or withdraw (oneself) from or out of a place. Obs.
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 391 Also he voidede and wiþ-drow hym from þat place. 1467 Maldon (Essex) Crt. Rolls (Bundle 43, No. 3v), The said Gilbert voided hymself owt of the same place without rent or farme paying. |
† 5. Of persons or animals: To go away, depart, retire, or withdraw from, to leave or quit (a place); to give (ground); to move out of (the way); to get out of (one's sight); = avoid v. 7. Obs.
Very common from c 1400 to c 1645; now Obs. (cf. d).
| 13.. Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 345 Bid me boȝe fro þis benche, & stonde by you þere Þat I wyth-oute vylanye myȝt voyde þis table. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 5388 Bot whare so euere he hem [the Romans] fond He dide hem sone voyde þe lond. c 1374 Chaucer Boeth. i. pr. iv. (1868) 16 He comaunded but þat þei voided þe citee of Rauenne by certeyne day assigned þat men scholde..chasen hem out of toune. c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxxv, Smale deer be kynde will rather voyde his couert þan will a gret herte. c 1440 Generydes 3335 He sent the word,..To voyde his grownde and tary not to long. c 1440 Alph. Tales 236, I sulde sla þe with my hynder fete becauce þou wolde not voyde þe way, & giff me rowm to pass by þe. c 1500 Melusine xxxvii. 297 Goo your way & voyde my syght. 1523 Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxv. 36 So this syr Robert was fayne to voyde the realme of Fraunce, and went to Namure. 1577 Hanmer Anc. Eccl. Hist. (1619) 140 Paulus would not depart the Church, neither void the house. 1631 Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 716 They voyded the Church, falling..as they sought to get out of the same. 1654 tr. Martini's Conq. China 36 They..withall commanded them speedily to voyd the City. 1732 Sir C. Wogan Let. 27 Feb. in Swift's Wks. (1841) II. 670 The whole shoal of virtuosoes were sensible to the stroke, and voided the room at once. |
† b. To dismount from (a horse). Obs.
| 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xvi. 58 Thenne the kynge of the C knyghtes voyded the hors lyghtly. |
† c. To cover, move over (ground) in progression. Obs.—1
| 1608 Topsell Serpents 218 They are slow of pace, and voyde ground very sluggishlie, and therfore it is iustly termed a heauy and slothfull beast. |
d. To vacate (a seat). rare.
| 1853 E. S. Sheppard Chas. Auchester II. 38 Before I could gather with my glance who had left them, several seats were voided beneath us. 1885 Daily Tel. 17 Dec. (Cassell's), A wholesale system of voiding seats. |
6. To remove (something) so as to leave a vacant space; to take, put, or clear away; occas., to remove by emptying or taking out. Now rare.
| c 1386 Chaucer Frankl. T. 1159 For with an apparence a clerk may make To mannes sighte þat alle the Rokkes blake Of Britaigne weren yvoyded euerichon. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 231 Afterward hem stant no doute To voide with a soubtil hond The beste goodes of the lond. c 1400 Beryn 1898 Let al yeur marchandise Be voidit of yeur Shippis. c 1440 Jacob's Well 12 Þe Abbot & þe priour togydere seydin to þe scolere þat god had voydyd his synnes out of þat lettere, in counfortyng him þat his synnes ben forgeuyn. 1466 in Leland Collect. (1715) VI. 11 The Sewer geveth a voyder to the Carver, and he doth voyde into it the Trenchers..and so cleanseth the table cleane. 1474 Caxton Chesse ii. iv. (1883) 51 He voyded the mete and toke the vayssell. 1530 Palsgr. 769/1, I voyde a thyng out of the way, or out of syght, je oste. 1596 Spenser F.Q. vi. vii. 43 A roll of linen,..With which his locks,..Were bound about, and voyded from before. 1629 Hobbes Thucyd. (1822) 113 The earth being drawn away below and settling over the part where it was voided. 1653 Holcroft Procopius, Goth. Wars iv. 129 And having voyded away much earth from beneath those timbers, they shook..the Wall, and a part of it suddenly sunk. a 1700 Evelyn Diary 18 Dec. 1685, The spectators..were exceedingly pleas'd to see in what a moment of time all that curious work was demolish'd, the comfitures voided, and the tables clear'd. 1855 Browning Epistle 40 'Sooth, it elates me, thus reposed and safe, To void the stuffing of my travel-scrip And share with thee whatever Jewry yields. |
| phr. c 1430 Lydg. Min. Poems (1911) 78, I shal..Voyde the chaff, & gadryn out the corn. 1430–40 ― Bochas ix. xxxviii. Lenvoye (1558) 37/1 Voyde [ye] the wede, of vertue take the corne. |
† b. To clear away by destruction or demolition. Obs.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1013 Þis was a vengaunce violent þat voyded þise places, Þat foundered has so fayr a folk & þe folde sonkken. Ibid. C. 370 a 1400–50 Alexander 1338 He blisches to þe burȝe & sees his bild voidid, Als bare as a bast his baistell a-way. 1464 Rolls of Parlt. V. 569/2 That all such Weres, Milles and Demmynges,..should be voided and clene beten downe. |
† c. With immaterial object. Obs.
Not always clearly distinguishable from sense 11.
| 1382 Wyclif Job xv. 4 As myche as in thee is, thou hast voidid drede. c 1399 Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 13 Bot who that is of charité perfit, He voideth alle sleightes ferr aweie. c 1440 Jacob's Well 287 Þis mynde schal voyde fro þe suche euyll demynges, & euyll thouȝtys, woordys, and dedys. a 1500 Chaucer's Dreme 2184, I find ne might..thing that kerved,.. Wherewith I might my woful pains Have voided with bleeding of my vains. c 1530 Crt. of Love 628, I me bethought..Myne orison right goodly to devyse, And plesauntly..Beseech the goddes voiden my grevaunce. a 1553 Udall Royster D. Prol. (Arb.) 10 Mirth recreates our spirites and voydeth pensiuenesse. 1656 J. Smith Pract. Physick 12 The cause that is joyned with it [the carbuncle] must be voided, with scarification deep enough. |
† d. To remove or take off (a helmet, etc.). Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 7092 He was glad of the gome, & o gode chere Voidet his viser, auentid hym seluyn. c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 1208 Thilke tyme, as I took hede, Her helme was voyded from hir hede. 1470–85 Malory Arthur vii. xxiii. 249 He stroke doune that knyghte and voyded his helme and strake of his hede. |
† e. To cast, fling, or throw away (a sword); to bring or blow down (leaves). Obs.
| a 1400–50 Alexander 4145 Vulturnus þe violent þat voidis doun þe leuys. c 1400 Melayne 1069 And Charles voydede his broken brande, Owte he hent a knyfe in hande. |
7. Of persons, animals, or their organs: To discharge (some matter) from the body through a natural vent or orifice, esp. through the excretory organs; to eject by excretion or evacuation; † also, to spit or pour forth (venom).
Now the usual sense. † Also (b) formerly with out.
| (a) c 1386 Chaucer Knt.'s T. 1893 The vertu expulsif or animal..Ne may the venym voyden ne expelle. 1398 Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xli. (Bodl. MS.), For humours þat comeþ of þe melte..mowe not be yuoided att þe fulle. 1551 Robinson More's Utopia ii. (1895) 203 Sumetymes whyles those thynges be..voided, wherof is in the body ouer great abundaunce. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 124 The more filth he voides at the mouth, the better will it be for him. a 1617 Hieron Wks. (1620) II. 15 What good will a mans meate doe him, if he void it vp, through weaknesse of stomake, as fast as it is eaten? 1617 Moryson Itin. i. 215 My brother..fell, and voided much blood at the nose. 1684 Boyle Porousn. Anim. & Solid Bod. vi. 53 The Purulent matter hath been voided by Siege and Urine. 1738 Gentl. Mag. VIII. 548/2 Mr. D...took the Medicines, voided three small Stones, and became perfectly well. 1766 State, D. Macdonald v. Dk. Gordon Pursuer's Proof 7 The he-fish they carried off with them, and [he] has seen them often voiding the melt at their bellies. 1804 Abernethy Surg. Obs. 243 The patient voided his urine by the natural channel. 1815 Kirby & Sp. Entomol. iv. (1816) I. 91 A white line, which..he found to consist of innumerable Acari, precisely the same with those that he had voided. 1867 F. Francis Angling iii. (1880) 100 It is astonishing what a vast number of eggs the female perch will void. |
| transf. and fig. 1599 Shakes. Hen. V, iii. v. 52 The Valleyes, whose low Vassal Seat, The Alpes doth spit, and void his rhewme vpon. 1651 Cleveland Hecatomb Mistress 69 Thou man of mouth,..whose Musk-cat verse Voids nought but flowers for thy Muses herse. 1655 Vaughan Silex Scint. i. Rules & Lessons xiii, That's base wit, That voyds but filth and stench. 1664 Butler Hud. ii. iii. 742 For Anaxagoras..Believ'd the Heavens were made of Stone, Because the Sun had voided one. 1883 L. Villari Machiavelli ii. ii. III. 274 No sooner were the Tarquins dead than the nobles began to void their venom on the people. |
| (b) 1587 Golding De Mornay ii. (1592) 15 By one part the things that are needfull are taken in, and by another the things that are superfluous are voyded out. 1645 E. Pagitt Heresiogr. (1661) 167 We read of Arrius an Arch-heretick, that voided out his bowels at the Jakes. |
b. absol. To evacuate; to empty the bladder; to vomit.
| c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) vi, Whan þe wolfe sees [the greyhounds] and he be fulle, he voydeth both before and behynde alle in his rennynge. 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. i. Furies 296 Still her monstrous maw Voyds in devouring. 1655 Culpepper, etc. Riverius ix. vii. 267 It is not good to void sparingly in a crisis. 1731 Swift Strephon & Chloe Wks. 1755 IV. i. 154 The bride must either void or burst. 1832 W. Motherwell Poet. Wks. (1847) 44 While one and all Hissed, fought, and voided on their thrall. 1947 Stafford & Diller Textbk. Surg. for Nurses xlix. 500 The patient's bladder must be empty; therefore..she should void before being draped for examination. 1966 Amer. Jrnl. Obstetrics & Gynecol. XCIV. 796/1 Sixteen patients were investigated who were unable to void following operations. 1977 Lancet 21 May 1072/2 The patient voided, was catheterised, and then lay comfortably on a..couch. |
† 8. To carry off or drain away (water, etc.); to discharge or let out. Obs.
| 14.. Sir Beues (O.) 1320 A water thorough that preson ranne, To voyde the ffilth from any man. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy ii. 699 Euery hous..With spoutis þoruȝ, & pipes..Voyding filþes low in-to þe grounde. c 1450 Merlin ii. 38 When the water was all voided thei saugh the two stones. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 142 You must looke..that where they [sc. sheepcots] stande, the grounde be made fayre and euen..that the vrine may be well voyded away. Ibid. 173 The water being voyded and kept out by Sluses and Bankes. 1601 Holland Pliny II. 586 The mountaine that was digged through..to void away the water out of the lough or meere Fucinus. 1610 ― Camden's Brit. (1637) 213 Under this Middleton, there is voided also another river. 1648 Wilkins Math. Magic ii. xv. (1707) 166 Every Circumvolution voiding only so much [water] as is contained in one Helix. 1707 Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 91 One of these Pumps..will void a vast Quantity of Water in an Hour, with a great deal of ease. |
† b. To empty out (water, etc.) from a vessel.
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence 5 Aftir þat þis erþly water be voydid, putte [etc.]. 1530 Palsgr. 769/1, I voyde, I emptye, je vuyde. Ibid., Voyde this water. a 1577 Sir T. Smith Commw. Eng. (1609) 60 As a water held in a close and dark vessel issueth out, & is voyded and emptied. |
† c. Of a river or stream. Also refl. and absol., to discharge into the sea or another river. Obs.
| 1598 Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. Colonies 62 Ob, the King of Rivers..In Scythian Seas voyding his violent load. 1600 J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa 44 Finally it voideth into the sea at two mouths, one of which mouthes is a mile broad. 1610 Holland Camden's Brit. i. 466 A little above it, the river Blith voideth it selfe into the sea. 1633 Bp. Hall Occas. Medit. (ed. 3) §19. 45 When the little rivulets have once voyded themselves into the mayne streames. |
† 9. To make by excavation; to cut or hollow out (a hole, etc.). Obs.
| 1575 Laneham Let. (1871) 51 Holez wear thear also, and cauerns,..voyded intoo the wall. |
III. † 10. To leave alone, set aside; to abstain or refrain from; to have nothing to do with. Obs. a. A thing, action, course of conduct, etc. = avoid v. 8 b.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 744 Nay þaȝ faurty forfete ȝet fryst I a whyle, & voyde away my vengaunce, þaȝ me vyl þynk. 1390 Gower Conf. I. 105 For he doth al his thing be gesse, And voideth alle sikernesse. c 1400 Destr. Troy 4017 Ho..voidet all vanities, & virtus dissyret. 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 1072 Be wisdam lete vs voide pride And wilfulnes. 1435 Misyn Fire of Love 12 Þai haue wodid old vnthriftynes of venemus lyfe. 1534 More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1190/2 He fyrmely purposeth vpon it, no lesse glad to do it, then a nother man wolde be glad to voyde it. 1681 R. L'Estrange Tully's Offices 64 Beware..to void things that look Harsh, Rough, and Uncivil. |
b. A person or persons: = avoid v. 8 a.
| c 1374 Chaucer Anel. & Arc. 295, I voyde companye, I fle gladnesse. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 249 William..was i-corowned kyng at Westmynstre of Aldredus archebisshop of York, and voydede Stygandus archebisshop of Caunterbury. c 1400 Beryn 2456 Good sir,..why do yee voide me?..I woll ȝewe no more harm. 1607 Shakes. Cor. iv. v. 88 For if I had fear'd death, Of all the Men i th' world I would haue voided thee. |
† 11. To keep clear of, to escape from or evade (something injurious or troublesome); = avoid v. 9. Obs.
In later use containing a mixture of sense 6 c.
| c 1380 Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 30 We þat hoten grete avowis to voiden angus and siiknessis of þis liif. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 347 And for þe Romayns scholde somdel voide þe cruelnesse, he made trompoures blowe. a 1400–50 Alexander 2424 (Dubl.), Bot whilke of yow as foundes frist on fote vs agayns, Sall neuer voyde my dysdane ne my derfe Ire. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 127/2 To eschewe and voyde the perils in thes seid Articles..expressed. 1513 More Rich. III (1883) 48 A merveilous case it is to here, either the warninges of that he should haue voided, or the tokens of that he could not voide. c 1520 Skelton Magnyf. 300 Let se this checke yf ye voyde canne. c 1580 in Eng. Hist. Rev. July (1914) 524 He may rise or fall his price accordinglye and void manye inconveniences wiche the unskillfull fall in to. 1606 L. Bryskett Civ. Life 16 The labyrinth which I desire most to eschew and voide. 1620 Frier Rush 18 For to voyde all tribulations and misfortunes that might fall in time to come. a 1677 Barrow Serm. Wks. 1682 I. 15 For voiding which prejudices..I shall..propose some of those innumerable advantages. |
† b. To get out of the way of (a blow, person, etc.); to avoid in this way. Obs.
| c 1450 Merlin x. 159 He..leide a-boute hym on bothe sides, and slow all that he raught with a full stroke, so that thei voyded hys strokes and made hym rome. 1596 Spenser F.Q. iv. vi. 3 As soone as th' other nigh approaching, vewed The armes he bore, his speare he gan abase, And voide his course. 1606 Holland Sueton. 106 He had given streight commandement..that no man should trouble him, and all the way voided as many as were comming towards him. 1639 Fuller Holy War v. ix. (1840) 258 A patron of pilgrimages, not able to void the blow yet willing to break the stroke of so..plain a testimony. |
† 12. To prevent or obviate; to keep or ward off; = avoid v. 10. Obs.
| c 1400 Destr. Troy 12109 Hit hade doutles ben done, and hire deth voidid, Had not Calcas þe cursit carpit before. 1509 Parl. Devylles xxxviii, If I tempte hym w{supt} lechery, I must me hyde, He voydeth me of with chastyte. 1528 More in St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 285 Hym selfe and Your Grace, if it may be voided, wold be as lothe to have eny warre with theym. 1605 Sylvester Du Bartas, Sonn. Late Peace xl, Henry our King, our Father, voyds our dangers, And..planteth Peace in France. 1722 W. Hamilton Wallace 4 To void a bloody Civil War, The two Contendants should submit the Thing, To the Decision of the English King. |
IV. 13. intr. To go away, depart, withdraw from or leave a place or position; to retire or retreat; to give place, make way; to vanish or disappear: = avoid v. 6. Now Obs. or arch.
Also const. (b) with advs., as aside, away, hence, thence, out, or (c) with preps. as from, of, out of, to.
a. Of persons or animals.
| (a) 13.. Coer de L. 2192 The folk of the countre gan renne, And were fain to void and flenne. c 1374 Chaucer Troylus ii. 912 So whan it liked hire to gon to reste, And voyded were þey þat voyden oughte. c 1400 Beryn 2285 ‘Nay, thou shalt nat void’, he seid, ‘my tale is nat i-do’. c 1430 Lydg. Beware of Doubleness 52 What man may..holde a snake by the tail, Or a sliper eel constraine That it nil voide, withouten fail. 1470–85 Malory Arthur i. xvi. 58 Yonder I see the moste valyaunt knyght of the world.., wherfore we must nedes voyde or deye. 1534 More Treat. Passion Wks. 1275/2 He voyded not at Gods commyng, but abode to see the sentence of theyr dampnacion. a 1553 Udall Royster D. iii. iii. (Arb.) 48 Voyde sirs, see ye not maister Roister Doister come? Make place my maisters. 1568 Grafton Chron. II. 756 Whose warres whoso well consider, he shall no lesse commend his wisedome where he voyded, then his manhood where he vanquished. 1606 Holland Sueton. 102 He caused all his traine and company to void. [1896 J. H. Wylie Hist. Engl. Hen. IV, lxxxvii. III. 477 As he almost got knocked down in a crowd, he very soon voided.] |
| (b) 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love i. iii. (Skeat) I. 140 Although I might hence voyde, yet wolde I not. c 1410 Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xi, For whann a wilde boore is in a stronge hate of wode, peraventure..he wolde not voyed þens for þe rennynge houndes. 14.. W. Paris Cristine 435 (Horstm. 1878), She bade the serpens voyde awaye In to deserte. 1570 Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) I. 89/1 The brethren voyded a side, and withdrew themselues. 1609 Holland Amm. Marcell. 349 Erecthius and Aristomenes..voided aside to farre remote and hidden corners. |
| (c) a 1400–50 Alexander 1113 Þan waynest him þis vayne God & voidis fra þe chambre. c 1450 Merlin vii. 108 Thei..dide hem wele to wite..that he sholde in all haste voide oute of the londe and the contree. 14.. in Hist. Coll. Citizen London (Camden) 208 The quene hyrynge thys she voydyde unto Walys. c 1540 Order in Battayll B iij b, [To] remowe hys hoste..& voyde to some sure forteresse. 1548 Udall, etc. Erasm. Par., Luke xi. 107 b, Jesus..commanded the deuil to voide out of hym, and he voided. 1587 L. Mascall Govt. Cattle, Hogges (1627) 290 The strong sauor thereof wil cause the moules to void from those places. 1600 Holland Livy xxiv. xxix. 529 So they went their waies and voided clean out of Sicilie. |
b. Of things, material and immaterial.
| 13.. E.E. Allit. P. B. 1548 Þenne hit [sc. the hand] vanist verayly & voyded of syȝt, Bot þe lettres bileued ful large vpon plaster. 1387–8 T. Usk Test. Love ii. x. (Skeat) I. 34 So thilke bodily goodes at the laste mote awaye, and than stinge they at her goinge, wherthrough entreth and clene voydeth al blisse of this knot. c 1400 Destr. Troy 7029 And the duke with a dynt derit hym agayn, Þat the viser & the ventaile voidet hym fro. Ibid. 7133 Wen þe day vp drogh, & þe dym voidit. c 1430 Hymns Virgin (1867) 65 Þi fleischeli lustis þou muste spare, For vicis and vertues wole voide atwynne. 1579 Spenser Sheph. Cal., Aug. 164 Let all that sweete is, voyd; and all that may augment My doole, drawe neare. 1586 T. B. La Primaud. Fr. Acad. i. (1594) 44 So when the soule filleth it selfe with certaine and true goods, vanitie voideth and giveth place. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 567 Least that the smell or fume doe fade, and voide away. |
† c. To give up possession or occupancy of a place. Obs.—1
| 1518 Yorkshire Deeds (Yorks. Archæol. Soc. 1914) II. 92 If the said Cristofer haue nede..to com and dwell vpon the said fermehold..then the said John to wode of it vpon resonable warnyng. |
† 14. To give oneself up to, devote one's time to, something. Obs.—1
| 1382 Wyclif Esther ix. 17 Thei ordeyneden..that in that time eche ȝer therafter thei shulden voiden [L. vacarent] to plenteuous metis..and to ioȝe, and to festis. |
† 15. To form an interval between. Obs.—1
| 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 41 Dayes and monþes þat voydede bytwene tweie Kynges were forgendred. |
† 16. Of a benefice, etc.: To become, fall, or remain vacant. Obs.
| a 1380 St. Ambrose 204 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 204 Hit befel afturward sikerliche Þat in a cite voyded a bisschopriche. 1387 Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 109 After þe passioun of Marcellinus þe pope, þe see voydede meny dayes. 1421 Hen. V in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. iii. I. 71 Hit is wel oure entent whanne any sucche benefice voydeth of oure yifte yat ye make collacion to him y{supr}of. 1444 Rolls of Parlt. V. 75/1 When sumever hit happen the said House or Hospitall here after to void by deth..or any other wise. 1531 Dial. on Laws Eng. ii. xxxvii. N ij b, It ys sayd that benefyces, dygnytyes, and personages, voydynge in the court of Rome may not be gyuen but by the Pope. |
† 17. Of matter, etc.: To come, flow, or pass out, esp. in or by evacuation or excretion; to issue. Obs.
| 1558 Warde tr. Alexis' Secr. (1568) 41 b, To the intent that al the venom may comme out and voide from the heart. 1561 Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 33 The..gut through the whyche the ordure voydeth. 1596 Danett tr. Comines (1614) 213 By meanes whereof all fumes voided that troubled his head. 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts 433 Presently the filth and excrements will void cleane away. 1678 Moxon Mech. Exerc. v. 83 Knock hard upon it, till..the Basil of The Chissel will no longer force the chips out of the Mortess: then..work..till the Chips will void no longer. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 244 It feeds chiefly upon pepper, which it devours very greedily, gorging itself in such a manner, that it voids crude and unconcocted. |