▪ I. net, n.1
(nɛt)
Forms: 1–6 nett, (1 hnett, 2 nyt), 3 neth, 5 nete, neett, 4–6 nette, (3–7 pl. nettes), 1– net.
[Common Teut.: OE. net(t neut. = OS. net, MDu. net (nette; Du. net), MLG. nette, OHG. ne{zced}{zced}i, ne{zced}i (MHG. ne{zced}{zced}e, netze, G. netz), ON. net (Da. net, Sw. nät), Goth. nati. The existence of an ON. nót, large net, appears to imply an ablaut-stem nat-, nōt-, the original sense of which is obscure.]
1. a. An open-work fabric made of twine or strong cord, forming meshes of a suitable size, used for the capture of fish, birds, or other living things.
Freq. also with defining terms, denoting the purpose or form of the net, or the method of using it, as bag-, beach-, cast(ing)-, dip-, dredge-, drift-, fishing-, trawl-net, etc.; herring-, mackerel-, rabbit-, sparrow-net, etc.
| c 888 K. ælfred Boeth. xxxii. §3 Hwæðer ᵹe nu settan eower nett on þa hehstan dune, þonne ᵹe fiscian willað? c 950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. iv. 18 [Peter and Andrew] ᵹesendon hnett in sæ. c 1000 ælfric Colloq. in Wr.-Wülcker 92 Ne canst þu huntian buton mid nettum? c 1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 209 Alse hunte driueð deor to grune oðer to nette. a 1225 Ancr. R. 334 Þer beoð his nettes, & þer beoð his greahundes..igedered togederes. c 1300 Havelok 752 Mani god fish þer-inne he tok, Boþe with neth, and with hok. c 1330 R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 14679 Þe Payens wyþowte leide nettes & lynes, & sparewes toke. 1390 Gower Conf. II. 83 Jadahel, as seith the bok, Ferst made Net and fisshes tok. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 354/2 Nett, to take wythe fysche, rete. 1530 Palsgr. 248/1 Net to catche byrdes with, tonnelle. 1597 Middleton Wisd. Solomon iv. 12 The fisher lays his bait, fowler his net. 1660 N. Ingelo Bentiv. & Ur. i. (1682) 6 [The fish] swam voluntarily every day into their Nets. 1697 Dryden Virg. Past. iii. 117, I hold the Nets, while you pursue the Prey. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 302 By watching the seasons when our small birds begin to migrate..and by taking them with nets in their passage. 1832 G. R. Porter Porcelain & Gl. 6 The men employed in fishing..frequently drew up in their nets some coarse..earthen vessels. 1853 Reade Chr. Johnstone 159 These nets are tied to one another, and paid out at the stern of the boat. |
b. fig. A means of catching or securing a person;
esp. a moral or mental snare, trap, or entanglement.
| c 825 Vesp. Psalter cxl. 10 Fallað in nette his synfulle. c 1200 Ormin 13474 To lacchenn himm wiþþ spelless nett To brinngenn himm to criste. c 1375 Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiv. (Pelagia) 183, I haf bene dissaweful nete, þat þe feynde sere sawlis has gert gete. 1426 Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 15192 It ys ful hard a man tescape..Fro my nettys off tresoun. 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlvi. 102, I counsall every man, that he With lufe nocht in the feindis net be tone. 1576 Fleming Panopl. Epist. 213 Many haue beene so insnared & intangled (as it were) in nettes of doubtfull reasons. a 1628 F. Grevil Poems i. (1633) 38 Nets of opinion to entangle spirits. 1671 Milton P.R. ii. 162 Skill'd to..draw Hearts after them tangl'd in Amorous Nets. 1738 Keill's Anim. Oecon. Pref. (ed. 4) 24 Nature..will not suffer herself to be taken by Nets spun out of the Brain. 1780 Cowper Progr. Err. 313 Caught in a delicate soft silken net By some lewd earl. 1814 Byron Lara i. xix, Vain was the struggle in that mental net. 1888 Stevenson Black Arrow iv. vi, Not only was the town..a mere net of peril for their lives. |
c. transf. A spider's web.
| c 1000 Ags. Ps. (Th.) xxxviii. 12 He..wyrð swa tedre swa swa gange-wifran nett. Ibid. lxxxix. 10. c 1220 Bestiary 479 Ðanne renneð ȝe [the spider] rapelike..nimeð anon to ðe net. 1483 Caxton Gold. Leg. 274 b/2 Spyders takyng flyes by the nettes of theyr copwebbes. [1513 Douglas æneis xii. Prol. 171 Full byssely Aragne wevand was, To knit hyr nettis.] 1658 Rowland tr. Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1070 In Autumn amongst small Rose-boughs it extendeth an artificiall Net. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Web, Attending nearly to a spider weaving a net. 1753 Ibid. Supp. s.v. Spider, The hazel spider..spins very large nets. 1840 Cuvier's Anim. Kingd. 461 It constructs its net with loose and irregular meshes. |
d. In proverbs and phrases.
| 1523– [see fish n.1 1 c]. 1535 Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 451 Tha socht the fische rycht far befoir the net. 1562 J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 167 It is yll fyshyng before the net. |
2. a. An open fabric of mesh-work (as in sense 1, or of other materials), used for such purposes as covering, protecting, confining, holding, etc.
spec. in Games and Sports: a piece of netting used as part of the equipment for the game;
esp. Cricket, the netting used to divide off practice wickets; hence in
pl., a name for such a wicket. Also, the safety net used by acrobats.
| a 1000 Cædmon's Exod. 74 (Gr.), Þær haliᵹ god..bælce oferbrædde byrnendne heofon, halᵹan nette hatwendne lyft. c 1050 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 373 Conopio, nette, fleoᵹryfte. 1382 Wyclif 1 Kings vii. 17 Seuen litil nettis..in the toon heed couerynge, and seuen lytil nettis in the tothir heed couerynge. 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. iii. (1586) 141 b, The shepeheard carrieth with him his Hardelles and his nets and other necessaries. 1613 Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 836 They lie in Nets or Beddes hanging above the ground..to avoide hurtfull creatures. 1632 Sherwood s.v., A net of wire (set afore glass windowes), araigne. 1721 [see cabbage-net s.v. cabbage n.1 5]. 1784 Cowper Task iv. 263 Weaving nets for bird-alluring fruit. 1824 Loudon Encycl. Gard. (ed. 2) §2210 Protecting by nets is effected by throwing either straw, hay, bass, hempen, or woollen nets over standard trees. 1845 ‘N. Felix’ Felix on Bat i. i. 7 The way to secure much practice..is to procure a large net, about twenty yards long and six feet in height, [etc.]. 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 502 A low net divides this [tennis] court into two equal spaces. 1884 E. M. Butler in F. Gale Life R. Grimston (1885) xii. 191 In the evenings he would stand behind the nets when the eleven were practising, and coach them very thoroughly. 1889 Pauline VIII. 24 Their wickets at the nets were as a rule very poor. 1899 Captain II. 127/1 The most difficult shot for a goal-keeper to stop is a low one that crosses him into the corner of the net... Beware lest..you shoot outside the net. 1903 G. B. Shaw Man & Superman iv. 144 There is no tennis net nor set of croquet hoops. 1905 A. Bennett Tales of Five Towns ii. 250 We should..flash past each other in mid-flight..and soar to opposite platforms again, amid frenzied applause. There were no nets. 1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xvii. 67 They practised at nets in the summer. 1937 [see hoop n.1 8 c]. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Nov. 12/2 Although Friends took the ball on several long runs down the field, the Bryn Mawr defense was too effective to be penetrated and Goalie Jo Nelson found little to do in the nets. 1955 Times 6 July 3/6 With his left side heavily plastered he batted in the nets before the Yorkshire game resumed. 1958 [see graft v.3]. 1958 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems 50, I adore you, Pam, you great big mountainous sports girl, Whizzing them over the net. 1960 N. Streatfeild Look at Circus iv. 80 In any properly run circus under the trapezes or high tight-rope act a net is stretched. 1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 295 Net (ice hockey), the goal. 1965 Men's Hockey (‘Know the Game’ Series) 6 Nets are attached to the goal-posts, cross bar and ground behind the goal. Goal-boards..are placed at the foot of the goal-nets. 1967 C. B. Mills B. Mills Circus viii. 109 Fritzi Bartoni..did one very difficult trick in which she fell forward from a trapeze and caught herself by her heels on the cross bar and she had been doing this without a net. 1975 Times 4 Dec. 10/1 Their goal⁓keeper..rolled out a ball that rebounded..to Summerill who sent Hart away to run the ball into an empty net. |
b. to dance (or march) in a net, to act with practically no disguise or concealment, while expecting to escape notice; in later use, to do something undetected. Now only
arch.| 1583 Fulke Def. Tr. Script. vi. (1843) 242 Now you haue gotten a fine net to dance naked in, that no ignorant blind buzzard can see you. 1592 Kyd Sp. Trag. iv. iv. 118 Whose reconciled sonne Marcht in a net, and thought himselfe vnseene. 1679 Dryden Limberham ii. i, I have danced in a net before my father,..retired to my chamber undiscovered. 1822 Scott Nigel xxiii, You must not think to dance in a net before old Jack Hildebrod. |
c. Lawn Tennis.
= let n.1 2.
colloq.| 1904 J. P. Paret et al. Lawn Tennis 344 Net,..also (same as ‘let’), a ball that touches the net and goes into the proper court. 1929 D. G. Mackail How Amusing! 450 Clampson served a let. They actually—yes, in the twentieth century and the Centre Court—they distinctly called it a ‘net’. |
3. a. A piece of fine mesh-work used as a part of dress, as a veil, or as a means of confining the hair (
cf. hair-net).
| 1483 Rich. III in Drake Eboracum i. iv. (1736) 117 Two short Gowns.., the one with Drippis and the other with Netts. 1599 T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 68 Arachne that doth tinsels forme, And nets, and lawnes. 1617 Moryson Itin. iii. 173 They weare nets and black vailes, covering therewith their faces. 1813 Scott Trierm. iii. xxxviii, Her dark locks dishevell'd flow From net of pearl. 1878 Encycl. Brit. VI. 470/2 The hair is usually..inclosed in a net or cowl. |
b. A kind of machine-made lace composed of small meshes. Also
attrib.| 1832 [see bobbin-net]. 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. vii. 213 In some of these establishments various kinds of net and lace..are made. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood Channings xvii, Her mob-cap was of spotted net. 1897 Westm. Gaz. 4 Feb. 3/3 Three deep flounces on a fine net foundation. |
4. a. Something resembling a net; a number of lines, veins, fibres, etc., arranged like the threads of a net; a reticulation or network.
| 1594 Blundevil Exerc. vi. Introd. (1636) 604 In the said Net are certaine Circles, which are Parallels to the foresaid Finitor. 1615 Crooke Body of Man 466 That place where the wonderfull Net is made by those soporarie Arteries. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. VII. 183/2 The soft inner layers were distinguished by the name of mucous body or Malpighian net. 1884 Bower & Scott De Bary's Phaner. 433 The nets of laticiferous tubes of the stem. |
b. Cryst. (See
quots.)
| 1855 Orr's Circle Sci., Crystallogr. 297 A drawing of the faces of a solid, arranged so that the model may be folded up from a single piece of pasteboard, is called a net. 1862 J. B. Jordan Const. Models Crystallogr. 1 The term net..has been given to a series of geometrical figures drawn on a plane, representing the faces of a crystal. |
c. A network;
spec. (
a) a network of spies; (
b) a broadcasting network.
| 1919 J. Buchan Mr. Standfast iii. 63 By the middle of 1915 most [enemy spies]..had been gathered in. But there remained loose ends, and..somebody was very busy combining these ends into a net. 1952 Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable (rev. ed.) 644/2 On the Old Boy net, to arrange something through a friend (originally, someone known at school) instead of through the usual channels. 1959 Listener 22 Oct. 668/2 Television programmes are to be exchanged among the East European countries and the Soviet Union... A coaxial cable is already being laid on the Soviet-Polish section of the net. 1961 H. B. Jacobson Mass Communications Dict. 222 Net, abbreviation for radio network, which is merely a group of stations joined by wires to release a given program simultaneously. 1966 ‘H. Talbot’ Catch me Traitor i. 14, D.I. 6 was probably short of yet another carefully built up net in the East German People's Republic. 1966 Electronics 17 Oct. 129 Capt. D. A. Jones..cautioned that ‘our national security could be affected by the dissemination of data by these geodetic nets’. 1967 M. Childs Taint of Innocence (1968) ii. 97 She's got her own net going in that nest of vipers and I'd stake a lot on it. 1969 J. Elliot Duel i. i. 25, I had a regular weekly spot on a national net—thirty-six in a year. 1969 A. Marin Rise with Wind xiv. 168 Whenever a net was surfaced..the word went around the intelligence community. 1971 C. Bonington Annapurna South Face iii. 33 He eventually got an agreement that the set in Katmandu should be kept in the Nepalese Army headquarters so that they would have control of the wireless net. 1972 ‘W. Haggard’ Protectors iv. 42 Shay was after the gold, on information received through the usual net. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. attrib. in various uses, as
net-basin,
net-cord,
net-fisher(man),
net-fishing,
net-frame,
net game,
net-man,
net-mesh,
net-pole,
net shot,
net-trade,
net-trap,
net-twine; ‘made of net’, as
net cap,
net comforter,
net garter,
net-pocket,
net purse;
b. objective or
obj. genitive, as
net-bearer,
net-braider,
net-caster,
net-cutter,
net-making,
net-monger,
net-owner,
net-worker;
c. similative, as
net-fashion,
net-like,
net-traceried,
net-veined,
net-wise adv.;
d. special combs., as
net-bag, (
a) the pocket of a bag-net; (
b) a bag made of net;
net-ball, (
orig. an American) game in which a ball is thrown into a large pocket-net attached to a high pole;
net-cord, the cord passing along and supporting the top of a net,
esp. a tennis net; so
net-cord (stroke), in lawn tennis, a stroke which hits the net cord but still crosses the net;
net curtain, a curtain made of net,
usu. now fixed permanently across windows to ensure privacy; hence
net-curtained a.;
† net-danced (see 2 b);
net-drifter, earlier term for
net-layer; also
attrib.;
net-fern, a fern of the genus
Gleichenia;
net-fish, (
a) a basket-fish; (
b) fish taken with the net;
v. intr., to fish with a net;
net-layer, a vessel which lays anti-submarine nets; hence
net-laying vbl. n.;
net-masonry, a form of masonry in which the joints resemble the meshes of a net;
netminder = goal-tender (
goal n. 6);
net-passing, a form of needlework;
net-pin, a pin used in net-making;
net-player Lawn Tennis and
Badminton, a player who advances close to the net; hence
net play;
net-practice, cricket practice at the nets;
net-roper,
dial. the man in charge of a net-rope;
net-sinker or
-weight, a weight used to sink a net in fishing. Also
netmaker, -work.
| 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes 61/1 Carnero, Carniéro, a *net-bag to carie meat in, a hawking bag. 1727 Philip Quarll (1816) 27 Finding a fowl in the net-bag. 1834 M. Scott Cruise Midge (1859) 244 Taking half a dozen wild sea fowl's eggs out of the net bag that he usually wore his hair in. 1934 Discovery Sept. 261/1 In those days the wild fowler had not learnt the trick of curving the pipes, and so had to trust to frightening the duck into the net bag, or some such contraption. 1951 Colyer & Hammond Flies Brit. Isles 324 This instrument can often be used under conditions where a net-bag is liable to be torn, e.g. on thorn or bramble. 1970 New Yorker 28 Nov. 51/1 On the third bed lay a bulging net bag. |
| 1900 Daily News 29 May 6/3 An American game called ‘*Net Ball’ was played last evening at the Alhambra. |
| 1883 in Goode Fish. Indust. U.S.A. 76 (Fish. Exhib. Publ.), Turning them from their course into *net basins which were placed there. |
| 1647 R. Stapylton Juvenal 31 A retiarius, or *net-bearer, so named from a kind of floate net, which he carryed in his hand. |
| c 1440 Promp. Parv. 354/2 *Neet Breydare, reciarius. 1599 Nashe Lenten Stuffe 17 Netbrayders, or those that haue no cloathes..but what they earne..by brayding of nets. |
| 1835 Mrs. Carlyle Lett. I. 51, I notice she puts on a certain *net cap. |
| 1586 J. Hooker Hist. Irel. in Holinshed II. 27/1 The *net-caster hauing ouerthrowne the swordplaier. |
| 1834 Tait's Mag. I. 59/1 A green and white *net-comforter was twisted round its chin. |
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 72 Stakes to..be 3 inches above the *net-cord. 1887 Boy's Own Paper 3 Sept. 778/1 If you are tall enough, take it before it descends to the level of the net-cord. 1904 J. P. Paret et al. Lawn Tennis 345 Net-cord stroke. 1959 Times 1 Sept. 3/3 It was the third game when twice MacKay got away with net cords. 1961 F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 258 Net cord stroke, one that causes the ball to contact the net, the ball afterwards going into the proper court. |
| 1931 M. Allingham Look to Lady xxii. 224 There was a thin *net curtain over the windows, but the light inside rendered it transparent. 1935 A. Fremantle tr. Wynne Diaries I. i. 2 The Curé of Berkheim's house is very pretty. There is in it a sofa and net curtains which he himself has made. 1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 83 On net curtains, permanently in place across a window, designs of a more pictorial type would be quite suitable. |
| 1972 J. Mann Mrs Knox's Profession x. 78 The local style was for picture windows, sometimes *net curtained. 1973 C. Egleton Seven Days to Killing xviii. 188 The net-curtained window. |
| 1899 Daily News 27 July 7/2 If any *net cutter is found which will effectually pierce these new nets,..the torpedo net will be doomed. |
| 1602 Warner Alb. Eng. xiii. lxxix. 327 Nor shall be said the *Net-danc't fals of diuers wish't more trew. |
| 1919 R. Bacon Dover Patrol 1915–17 I. vi. 157 The procedure of the mine-*net drifters was simple. As each division arrived at its mark-buoy, the rear boats proceeded to shoot their nets, and, after steaming a definite time interval, each succeeding pair stopped and shot their nets to complete the line. Ibid., In addition to the above, the 10th, 11th, and 12th Divisions of net-drifters anchored parallel to the West Hinder and shot their nets. 1923 E. K. Chatterton Auxiliary Patrol iii. 41 Net-drifter bases were quickly established also at Peterhead..and Larne. 1925 Home Waters (Naval Staff Monogr., Historical, XIII.) iv. vii. 126 By the beginning of March [1915] the term ‘Net Drifter Flotillas’ was in use to designate units of drifters working indicator nets, or other anti-submarine devices. |
| 1521 Rutland MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) IV. 264 To make engynes and calteroppes, *nette fashion for the warre. |
| 1671 Winthorp in Phil. Trans. VI. 2223 Until a fitter English name be found for it, why may it not be called..a Basket-Fish, or a *Net Fish, or a Purs-net-Fish? |
| 1891 Chambers's Encycl. VIII. 256/1 He may be arrested if he is *net-fishing, but not if he is fishing in another way. |
| 1677 in Ray's Corr. (1848) 128 If the *net-fishers would open any considerable number. 1894 Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 2/1 The net-fishers did not..make enough to pay for their licences. |
| 1883 Shea Newfoundl. Fish. 12 (Fish. Exhib. Publ.), *Net fishing is more regular and satisfactory. 1968 J. Arnold Shell Book of Country Crafts 228 As no new licences are being granted, net fishing on the upper stretch of the river will die out. |
| 1824 Loudon Encycl. Gard. (ed. 2) §2210 Placing it over tender flowers..by means of *net frames. |
| 1961 F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 259 *Net game, that kind of play taking place in the vicinity of the net, and thus the opposite of base line game. |
| a 1613 Overbury A Wife, etc. (1638) 180 From ever having leisure to weare *net-Garters. |
| 1930 Economist 8 Mar. 513/1 Five submarines, one submarine depôt ship, two sloops and one *netlayer. 1957 Observer 1 Dec. 1/1 H.M.S. Protector, a converted net-layer. |
| 1923 E. K. Chatterton Auxiliary Patrol xv. 229 One hundred and two ships were secretly assembled, and the actual operation of *net-laying was carried out in an hour and a half. |
| 1615 Crooke Body of Man 81 Which..doe forme a *Net-like complication. 1698 Petiver in Phil. Trans. XX. 327 With the Canes split they make their Net-like Seats. 1796 Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 52 Disposed..over the whole surface in a chain-like or net-like manner. |
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 72 All the instruments required in this sort of *net-making. |
| 1847 C. Lanman Summer in Wilderness xxvi. 160 A false movement of the *net-man will cause the canoe to be swamped. 1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 Mar. 4/1 Tons of fish..are carted away by this means by the net men. 1915 [see cross-court adj. s.v. cross- B]. 1934 R. Graves Claudius the God xxx. 518 He was disarmed and a net-man was standing over him with his trident raised. |
| 1611 Cotgr., Macque, a Lozenge, or *Net-mash. |
| 1706 Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Net-Masonry, a particular sort of muring, or walling. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Masonry, Net-masonry, called by Vitruvius, reticulatum, from its resemblance of the mashes of a net. 1847 A. Smeaton Builder's Man. 107 Net masonry... Where the stones are squared and placed upon one of the angles, their joints thus forming a net-like appearance. |
| 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §662/2 *Net minder,..a goalkeeper. 1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 296 Net minder (ice hockey), the goaltender. 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Jan. 19/1 Eddie Shack spoiled Montreal net-minder Rogatien Vachon's chance for a shutout when he scored. 1973 Cleveland (Ohio) Plain Dealer 6 Apr. 10-C/1 Cheevers has come on strong to maintain his reputation as one of the best netminders in hockey. |
| 1630 J. Taylor (Water P.) Jacke-a-Lent Wks. i. 117/2 Lent might gape for Gudgeons,..were it not for these *Netmongers. |
| 1901 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 585/1 The estuary limits..have been fixed more in the interests of *net-owners than in those of the salmon. |
| 1901 Day & Buckle Art in Needlewk. ix. (ed. 2) 86 *Net Passing..is not very differently worked from [lace buttonholing]. |
| a 1652 Brome Queen iv. i, But I have other Arts:..The Wheel, the Frame, the *Net-pin..are most familiar with me. |
| 1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 296 *Net play (badminton), the player returning the bird from a position close to the net. |
| 1919 S. Lenglen Lawn Tennis for Girls 53 The *net player..has a free hand at the net. 1930 Amer. Speech VI. 118 California's net players. |
| 1902 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 48/2 The younger man..swung the captive ashore in the *net-pocket. |
| 1813 Sporting Mag. XLII. 4 By this means manage his *net-poles with greater ease. |
| 1899 Captain I. 378/2 *Net practice is good in moderation, but nothing is so good as practice games. 1975 Country Life 19 June 1625/3, I waited to greet the Australians for their first net practice. |
| 1840 Mrs. Gaugain Lady's Assist. 169 Very pretty long Grecian *net purse for a lady. |
| 1892 P. H. Emerson Son of Fens 58 The master, mate, hawse-man, wheelman, *net-roper, and me lived aft in the cabin. |
| 1961 J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 296 In mixed doubles the lady is usually responsible for the *net shots. |
| 1865 Tylor Early Hist. Man. viii. 192 The natural *net-sinkers, formed of chalk flints. |
| 1896 J. F. Hodgson in Durh. Arch. Trans. IV. 113 The four-light *net-traceried east window. |
| 1845 Encycl. Metrop. VIII. 741/2 Statistical view of the *net trade. |
| 1768 Barrington in Pennant Brit. Zool. II. App. iv. 560 They are caught in a *net trap. |
| 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 36 The shepherd should always be provided with *net-twine. |
| 1861 Bentley Man. Bot. 427 Leaves *net-veined, deciduous. |
| 1865 Lubbock Preh. Times 81 Many of..the stones employed as *net-weights would there be lost. |
| 1577 B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 71 You must place them..eyther Checkerwyse or *Netwyse. 1727–38 Chambers Cycl. s.v. Mail, Coat of Mail is a piece of defensive armour, made of iron wire interwoven net-wise. 1869 Farrar Fam. Speech iv. (1873) 118 Nature connects organic bodies netwise rather than by organic links. |
| 1658 Rowland Moufet's Theat. Ins. 1070 Amongst the *Net-workers I saw one the greatest of all. |
Add:
[4.] [c.] (
c)
Computing, a local area network.
| 1972 [see *protocol n. 5 d]. 1977 S. Hoener et al. in Internat. Microcomputers/Minicomputers/Microprocessors '77 xiii. 99 Research has shown that in complex nets a data exchange by fixed data frames (packet switching) is to be aimed at. 1983 Your Business Computer Aug. 18/1 Diskless processor/memory boxes which adapt a standard terminal to work on the net. 1985 Today's Computers Nov. 125/1 The net requires you to have intelligence at the terminals but the PCs don't have to be flash and you have to be careful the network will support them. |
▸
Computing. In later use shortened <Internet
n. Chiefly with
the. A network of computers: (originally) a local area or wide area network,
spec. the ARPANET; (now chiefly an informal name for) the Internet.
| 1970 E. Belove et al. Request for Comments (Network Working Group) (Electronic text) No. 56. 4 In this way, those users who wanted to could use any machine on the net from their teletype. 1977 S. Hoener et al. in Internat. Microcomputers/Minicomputers/Microprocessors '77 xiii. 99 Research has shown that in complex nets a data exchange by fixed data frames (packet switching) is to be aimed at. 1983 Your Business Computer Aug. 18/1 Diskless processor/memory boxes which adapt a standard terminal to work on the net. 1990 L. Wall & R. L. Schwartz Programming Perl vi. 274 Scripts that are published on the Net often begin with a {hash}! (a sharp-bang, or shebang) line, which says which interpreter to use. 1993 E. S. Raymond New Hacker's Dict. (ed. 2) 298 Network is often abbreviated to net. ‘Are you on the net?’ is a frequent question when hackers first meet face to face. 2000 Daily Tel. 23 Mar. (Connected section) 12/5 The caricature of the twentysomething dotcommer,..working 18 hour days while continually plugged into the net and mobile phone, has already become a cliché. 2001 Computer Weekly 26 Apr. 58/1 One axiom was that the Net abolished geography: anyone, anywhere, could access anything. |
▪ II. net, n.2 Now
rare.
Also 6
nett.
[OE. nette fem. = OFris. nette, nitte, OS. netti, OHG. ne{zced}{zced}i, ne{zced}i, ON. netja (Sw. dial. nätja, MDa. nædhæ), a derivative of net n.1] The omentum or caul; the mesentery.
| c 725 Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) O 147 Oligia, nettae. a 1100 Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 293 Disceptum i. reticulum, nette. Ibid. 459 Oligia, nette. 1535 Coverdale Exod. xxix. 13 Thou shalt take all the fat that couereth the bowels and the nett vpon the leuer. 1597 A. M. tr. Guillemeau's Fr. Chirurg. 16/1 In such woundes the guttes and the net come to sincke out. 1648 Hexham ii. s.v. Net, The Net or the Cawle of the bowels or entrailes. 1722 Chamberlayne in Phil. Trans. XXXII. 97 The Hind-Quarter of a sucking Lamb, over which was spread what we call the Net, or Caul. 1737 Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 9 The Mesentery or Net (as it is called in other Creatures besides Men). 1808 in Jamieson. 1828 in Craven Gloss. 1844 H. Stephens Bk. Farm II. 93 The space between the intestines and lumbar region or loin [is] gradually filled up by the net and kidney fat. |
▪ III. net, n.3 dial. [f. net v.3] A wash or rinse.
| 1703 Thoresby Let. Ray (E.D.S.), Net, to wash clothes, give them a net. 1841 Hamilton Nugæ Lit. 356 Net, or netting, a fresh water in scouring any thing. |
▪ IV. net, a. (
nɛt)
Also 6
nette, 6–
nett.
[a. F. net, nette (see neat a.), whence also Du. and Da. net, G. nett, Sw. nätt.] 1. † a. Of persons: Trim, smart, or elegant,
esp. in dress.
Obs. rare.
| 13.. Guy Warw. (A.) 4084 Þer miȝt men se þat Gij was wel net. 1542 Udall Erasm. Apoph. (1877) 32 To soche a minion feloe as Agatho is, I maie go trim, nette, and well beseen. 1562 W. Bullein Bulwark, Sicke men 69 Whiche Heathen are bothe comely, cleane, worldly wise, valiaunte, nette and fine. |
b. Of things: Neat, smart.
rare.
| 1637 Cleveland Elegy on B. Jonson 114 When thou in Company wert met, Thy Meat took Notes, and thy Discourse was Net. 1819 Shelley Peter Bell 3rd ii. iii, A thief, who cometh in the night, With whole boots and net pantaloons. |
† 2. a. Clean, free from filth, etc.; bright, clear.
Obs.| 1481 Caxton Myrr. i. i. 6 Tofore the souerayn creatour whiche is clere net and pure. 1528 Paynell Salerne's Regim. D ij, He shulde eate no maner of meates, without his stomake be net, and purged of all yll humours. 1579 Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 615/2 He is pure and net from all filthinesse, and pollution. 1590 Spenser F.Q. iii. xii. 20 Her brest all naked, as nett yvory. 1596 Ibid. vi. ix. 45 The priest with naked armes full net. 1609 Bible (Douay) Prov. v. 3 The lippes of an harlot are as a hony combe distilling, and her throte netter [Vulg. nitidius] then oyle. |
b. Pure, unadulterated, unmixed.
rare.
| 1713 Guardian No. 132 Advt., A Vault..for the sale of Net Natural French Wine. 1765 Universal Mag. XXXVII. 320/2 Refined sugar in the loaf,..being net, that is to say, of one uniform whiteness throughout. 1839 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. II. 107/1 This account he believes to be correct, except that nett cement was used instead of mortar. |
3. a. Of amounts: Free from, or not subject to, any deduction; remaining after all necessary deductions have been made. Also as
n.| 1520 J. Dorne in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 97 Suma is net 12li. 18s. 6d. 1588 J. Mellis Briefe Instr. B ij b, The remaine is the net rest, substance or capitall of the owner. 1666–7 Pepys Diary 21 Jan., The net profits of which..will amount to 3000l. 1702 S. Sewall Diary 30 Dec., Weight One Hundred One Half One Quarter wanting 3 pounds, i.e. 193 pounds, Net. 1768–74 Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) I. 190 The net income of real pleasures they will yield upon the balance. 1825 M{supc}Culloch Pol. Econ. ii. iv. 186 It would give its owner the same..net profit. 1840 Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. III. 89/2 The ‘net effective power’, or available power of an engine. 1844 H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 368 A pension proportioned to the nett revenue. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 186 The net result showed a permanent elevation. 1910 Gt. Central Railway Rep. 11 Feb. 7 Deducting from our receipts..our expenses of {pstlg}1,488,474, we have a net of {pstlg}796,956. 1961 H. B. Jacobson Mass Communications Dict. 222 Net, the amount paid to the advertising medium by the advertising agency after deducting the agency commission. 1969 N.Y. Rev. Books 2 Jan. 6/4 Its net after taxes..after allowing for sales of assets,..was only $9million. |
b. Sold at, based upon, net prices.
spec. in
phr. net book, a book sold at the net price;
Net Book Agreement, the formal arrangement between publishers and booksellers, binding the latter not to sell below the net price; also, an agreement between publishers and public libraries to adhere to a set discount;
net (and) net, used to indicate that the price of a book so marked cannot be subject to any discount whatever;
net system, the system laid down in the Net Book Agreement for the sale of net books.
| 1890 Bookseller 6 Mar. 244/2 With the hearty co-operation of the retail trade, the net system could easily be introduced. 1893 Athenæum 1 Apr. 410/3 Over 71,000 copies of net books. 1894 Daily News 3 Nov. 6/4 If a book..sold at 12s., becomes under the net system 10s. net. 1911 Encycl. Brit. XXII. 630/1 The Booksellers' Association signed an agreement to charge the full published price for every net book. Ibid. 630/2 The net system was gradually introduced, net books and discount books being issued side by side. Ibid. 631/2 In 1901 the net system, as adopted in Great Britain, was partially introduced into America. 1938 L. M. Harrod Librarians' Gloss. 105 Net book agreement, an agreement drawn up in 1929..between the Publishers' Association, the Booksellers' Association, and the Library Association, enabling rate-supported libraries and other libraries..to receive a discount of 10 per cent on all new books purchased. 1939 M. Plant Eng. Bk. Trade xx. 441 Net books were to come, but not in that way. It was Frederick Macmillan who was to take the lead. He wrote to the Bookseller in 1890 suggesting the publication of net books. 1952 Bookseller 5 Jan. 27 This list is..published..at quarterly intervals..with Classified List, May 6/–net net. 1959 L. M. Harrod Librarians' Gloss. (ed. 2) 187 Net book, one which..may be sold to a signatory to the agreement at a recognized discount. 1960 G. A. Glaister Glossary of Book 274/2 The 1901 Net Book Agreement, now replaced, was based on the right of the Publishers Association to act on behalf of its publisher members in ensuring that the conditions of supply of net books were observed. Ibid. 275/2 Net net, an indication that a book so marked or described must be sold at the full published price, and that the publisher will not allow any discount to the book trade... Confined almost exclusively to reference works published at the lowest possible sum for the benefit of the trade. 1961 M. C. Turner Bookman's Gloss. (ed. 4) 113 When an English book carries no trade discount, it is sometimes called a ‘net net’ book. 1963 Kenneison & Spilman Dict. Printing 133 Net net, term indicating that a book will not be sold to the book trade at any discount. 1972 C. Bingley Business Bk. Publishing iv. 135 The validity of the British Net Book Agreement does not extend beyond the U.K. |
c. net reproduction rate: a reproduction rate representing the average number of girls born to each woman of a population who can be expected to reach their mothers' age at the time of birth, calculated from the average fertility rates and death rates of each age-group during the period considered.
| 1928 R. R. Kuczynski Balance Births & Deaths I. iii. 46 The net reproduction rate, as we may call it, was 1·435. 1952 C. P. Blacker Eugenics viii. 170 Gross and net reproduction rates have been published for France since 1806. 1972 Nature 7 Apr. 270/1 In a population which is just barely reproducing itself, the Net Reproduction Rate should, of course, be 1·0. 1973 Sci. Amer. Apr. 19/1 Under conditions of high mortality the difference between the net reproduction rate and the gross reproduction rate is large. |
d. net worth (see
quot. 1930).
| 1930 Economist 17 May 1108/2 ‘Net worth’ (that is, the stockholders' equity, made up of preferred and common stock outstanding, surplus account and undivided profits, taken at the beginning of the fiscal year). 1955 Times 13 July 13/1 Some estimates..have now been made..of the net worth of consumers. 1964 Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 465/2 The expression net worth is becoming obsolete. The British now frequently use the expression total equity. |
e. net national product (see
quot. 1964 and
national product,
national a. 5).
| 1945 S. Kuznets National Product in Wartime i. ii. 13 Net national product consists of (a) flow of goods to consumers, (b) net nonwar Capital formation, (c) net war output, i.e., net additions to the inventory of war goods. 1945 S. E. Harris Inflation & American Economy i. 31 (table) Output rises. The percentage rise of 1939–43:..Net national product. 1962 Listener 25 Oct. 679/1 The proportion of the net national product going to property and enterprise..has fallen relative to that going to wages and salaries. 1964 Gould & Kolb Dict. Social Sci. 453/2 In defining national product,..one has a choice about whether or not to subtract from the total an allowance for the depreciation of capital goods that occurs during the period... If one does make such a subtraction, the results are called net national product... Net national product measures the value of goods and services produced, after setting aside whatever is required to maintain the stock of capital goods as it was at the beginning of the period. |
4. Comb., as
net-priced adj.| 1909 Daily Chron. 16 July 3/2 In his new net-priced series. 1973 Writers' & Artists' Year Bk. 218 They agree to sell their net-priced books to booksellers. |
▪ V. net, v.1 (
nɛt)
[f. net n.1 Cf. ON. netja, Swed. nätja, Da. nette, G. netzen.] 1. trans. a. To cover with, or as with, a net. To fasten
down with a net.
| 1593 Nashe Christ's T. (1613) 146 Your morn-like cristall countenances shall be netted ouer..with crawling venemous wormes. 1758 Reid tr. Macquer's Chym. I. 263 The inside of the ballon begins to be netted over with a volatile salt of a singular nature. 1800 M. Edgeworth Belinda xxi, To leave his favourite tree..after..netting it to keep off the birds. 1850 Tennyson In Mem. ii, Thy fibres net the dreamless head. 1857 Dufferin Lett. High Lat. (ed. 3) 196 The level sea, like a pale blue disc netted in silver lace. 1909 H. G. Wells Tono-Bungay iii. iii. 363 Practically I contracted my sausage gas-bag by netting it down. |
b. To hem
in, close
round, as with a net.
| 1607 Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 156 They..with their tails net in and entangle his legs and feet. 1833 Mrs. Browning Prometh. Bound Poems 1850 I. 143 He is netted round with chains. 1877 Tennyson Harold ii. ii, How dense a fold of danger nets him round. |
c. To enclose, pen in, by means of nets.
| 1847 Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. ii. 431 Where larger breadths of turnips are sown, the wedder lambs are netted upon them in October. 1886 C. Scott Sheep-farming 95 A break, in size suitable to the number of sheep, should be netted or hurdled off. Ibid., After that they may be netted on where the turnips grow. |
2. a. fig. To take, catch, or capture, as with a net; to sweep
in in this manner. Hence in
colloq. or
slang use, to acquire (
cf. land v. 3 b).
| 1801 Southey Lett. (1856) I. 166 Losing the chance of netting you at Oswestry, I have been in hopes of hearing from you. 1863 Barry Dockyard Econ. 177 French navy seamen, netted in as they are from stagnant and unknown fishing hamlets. 1880 Meredith Tragic Com. ii, One or two of Plutarch's touches..had netted her fancy. 1900 Ade Fables in Slang 178 The Management of the Bazaar was pleased to learn that the Sixty-cent Vase had Netted over Seven Hundred Dollars. 1912 Galsworthy Inn of Tranquility 126 The dusk is falling... Some stars are already netted in the branches of the pines. 1936 H. L. Mencken Amer. Lang. (ed. 4) v. 199 The favorite verbs of the newspaper copy-desk are those of three letters, e.g., to air,..to net. 1975 Publishers Weekly 10 Feb. 52/3 Miss Read begins her summer holiday with a mishap, a fall that nets her a broken arm and an injured ankle. |
b. To take (fish, birds, etc.) with a net or nets.
| 1868 Daily News 15 July, The fishermen..were netting large takes of mackerel. 1870 Yeats Nat. Hist. Comm. 58 Shrimps are netted on most shallow shores. 1883 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Nov. 69/2 Netting the ruffs and reeves in the summer time. |
c. To fish (a river, etc.) with a net; to set or use nets in.
| 1843 James Forest Days vii, There is somebody netting the stream. 1885 R. Buchanan Annan Water iii, The body had been discovered by some salmon fishers when netting the river. |
3. a. intr. To make nets or network; to occupy oneself with netting.
Formerly used
esp. of making small fancy-work articles, such as purses:
cf. netting vbl. n. 1 b.
| 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 152 The Spider drives on the great business of catching flies, by netting in corners within doors. 1789 A. Seward Lett. (1811) II. 314, I often..see you..sitting netting in your parlour. 1866 Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. li, She was netting away as if nothing unusual had occurred. |
b. trans. To make (a thing) by the process of producing network; to work up as a net.
| 1789 in A. C. Bower's Diaries & Corr. (1903) 58 The purse..was very pretty and monstrously well net. a 1845 Hood I'm not a single Man iv, I had more purses netted then Than I could hope to fill. 1883 in N. Okoshi Fisheries Japan 33 (Fish. Exhib. Publ.), There will remain 384 meshes, which, being netted again [etc.]. |
c. refl. To form into a net.
| 1889 Randolph New Eve I. vii. 251 Circumstances had netted themselves round him with meshes of steel. |
4. trans. and absol. In ball games in which a net is employed: to send (a ball) into the net.
| 1906 Peel City Guardian 10 Mar. 8/3 It seemed as if they meant to force the custodian into the net, not net the ball. 1907 Ibid. 26 Oct. 5/2 A rush in the goal resulted in Cain netting. 1927 Daily Express 20 Apr. 13/2 Scriven netted for Birmingham in the first five minutes. Ibid. 22 June 2/2 Raymond, striving for extra speed, netted and outed a succession of returns. 1942 Berrey & Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §648/5 Score,..net, net a goal. 1970 Times 1 Oct. 10/4 Reading gained ground at the expense of Bradford City, Williams netting the only goal. 1972 D. Delman Sudden Death (1973) vi. 169 A shocking bounce on a shoddy return, and I net what I should have put away. 1975 Football Echo (Liverpool) 12 Apr. 14/3 Winsford knocked up their 100th Cheshire League goal of the season when Haughton netted their second goal. |
▪ VI. net, v.2 (
nɛt)
[f. net a. 3.] 1. trans. To gain as a net sum or as clear profit; to succeed in clearing (a certain sum).
| 1758 J. Adams Diary Wks. 1850 II. 44 He retails sugar [etc.]..to save these articles in his family, and net a few shillings profit. 1765 Museum Rust. IV. 201, I..could never yet find that two pounds per cow could be netted per annum. 1815 W. H. Ireland Scribbleomania 141 The spells, whereby publishers sweated For profit, first paying those hundreds Ann netted. 1862 L. Weedon Syst. Husb. 7 If by the new plan..he can net a full profit of {pstlg}4 per acre. |
2. To bring in or yield as a profit or net sum.
| 1786 Mackenzie Lounger No. 78 ¶4 The estate indeed..was considerably increased in its rent; ‘but..it nets nothing’. 1833 W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1866) III. 58 We had a benefit here,..which netted nearly four thousand dollars. 1893 K. A. Sanborn Truthf. Wom. S. California 131 These berries..netted an average of about eight cents per pound. |
b. To amount to.
rare—1.
| 1800 Hull Advertiser 16 Aug. 3/1 His share of prize-money has netted..ten thousand pounds currency per month. |
▪ VII. net, v.3 Now
dial. [ad. OF. nettir, f. net net a.; cf. F. nettoyer.] trans. To clean, to wash; to rinse
out (clothes);
† to rid
of.
| 1536 Rem. Sedition 12 b, Even so, neyther the bodye [can be cleansed], without the mynde be firste netted. Ibid. 23 He hath netted his realme of ydle vacabundes. 1634–5 Brereton Trav. (Chetham Soc.) 106 They..trample it with their feet (never vouchsafing a hand to nett or wash it withal). 1703 Thoresby Let. Ray (E.D.S.), Net, to wash clothes, give them a net. 1862 C. C. Robinson Dial. Leeds 373 After linen has been washed it generally has to undergo the ‘netting-out’ process. |