Venice
(ˈvɛnɪs)
Also 6 Venysse, Venise, Ven(i)ys, Vennys, Venes, 7 Vennis, Venis. Also Venus2.
[a. F. Venise:—L. Venetia (It. Venezia, Sp. Venecia, Pg. Veneza): see def.]
1. The name of the city (the capital of the province of the same name) in the north-east of Italy, used attrib. to designate various articles made there or having some connexion with the locality, as Venice lace, Venice looking-glass, Venice paper, Venice point (lace), Venice tinsel, Venice vial, Venice work, etc. (Cf. Venetian a. 2.)
† Venice beam: see Roman a.1 15. Venice blue (see quot.). Venice crown, Her. (see quot.). Venice gold, Venice silver (cf. gold n. 4, silver n. 4). Venice lac (see lac1 2, quot. 1763). Venice soap (see quots.). † Venice sumach, Venetian sumach. Venice talc, Venice white (see quots.).
| 1611 Cotgr., Traineau à plommée,..a Roman, or *Venice beame, for the weighing of things. |
| 1598 Florio, Veneto, a light or *Venice blew, a Turkie colour. |
| c 1828 Berry Encycl. Her. I. Gloss., *Venice Crown, the crown, or cap of state, worn by the Doge, is made of cloth of gold,..covered with precious stones, and having two long ears, or lappets, pointed at the ends, hanging down at the sides. |
| 1506 Paston Lett. III. 404 The [horse-] harnes of *Venys gold. 1520–1 Rec. St. Mary at Hill (1905) 310 Item, paid for a vnce of venes golde iijs viijd. 1535 Wardr. Kath. Arragon 26 in Camden Misc. III, Fringid withe grene silke and Venysse golde. 1558 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 40, viii Aperns of white gowlde sarsnet edged with veniys gowlde frenge. 1821 Scott Kenilw. ii, Her hat..being of tawny taffeta, embroidered with scorpions of Venice gold. |
| 1865 F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace iv. 45 It is not, however, till the reign of Elizabeth, that Italian cutworks and *Venice lace came into general use. 1929 Oxford Poetry 3 Every fallen shadow weaves Venice lace for kindly aunts. 1974 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 15 Aug. v. 6/1 A flounce capelet edged in venice lace. |
| c 1645 Howell Lett. (1655) IV. 43 A new *Venice Looking-Glasse, wherin you may behold that admired Maiden-Citty in her true complexion. 1848 Thackeray Van. Fair lxiv, The great Venice looking-glasses, framed in silver. |
| a 1661 Fuller Worthies, Cambridge i. (1662) 149 To such who object that we can never equall the perfection of *Venice-paper. |
| 1865 F. B. Palliser Hist. Lace iv. 47 This is our Rose (raised) *Venice point, the Gros Point de Venise, the Punto a rilievo, so highly prized and so extensively used for albs, collerettes..and costly decoration. 1882 Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlew. 513/1 The fine Needlepoints made at Brussels..were worn..in preference to the heavier Venice Points. 1883 Mag. of Art Dec. 66/2 Louis XIV. had a passion for Venice point. |
| 1574 in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 234 Ritchly wroughte with *venys sylver. |
| 1673 J. Ray Observations Journey Low-Countries 202 *Venice-Sope..is very like and nothing inferiour to Castile-Sope. It is made of the best Oil Olive. 1792 J. Woodforde Diary 26 July (1927) III. 364 At D[itt]o. for Venice Soap 1. 0. 1842 Penny Cycl. XXII. 171/1 White soda soap..in a less pure state..is called Alicant, Venice, or Spanish soap. 1858 Simmonds Dict. Trade, Venice⁓soap, a mottled soap made with olive-oil and soda, with a little sulphate of iron in solution, or sulphate of zinc. |
| 1597 Gerarde Herbal 1293 The first is called Coggygria and Coccygria: in English *Venice Sumach, or Silken Sumach. 1728 Bradley Dict. Bot. s.v. Rhus, The Venice Sumach, or Coggygria, sive Colinus Coriaria. |
| 1867 Chambers's Encycl. IX. 109/1 Steatite, or Soap-stone,..is sold..under the names of Brian{cced}on Chalk, French Chalk, and *Venice Talc. |
| 1697 T. Brown Dispensary ii. Wks. 1709 III. iii. 77 My cordials are all put into *Venice Vials. |
| 1547 in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 23 Tilsent [= tinsel] whyte and *venice. |
| 1839 Ure Dict. Arts & Manuf. 1298 When white lead is mixed in equal quantities with ground sulphate of barytes, it is known in France and Germany by the name of *Venice white. 1860 Chambers's Encycl. VI. 722/1 Venice White contains 1 part of Baryta, and 1 part of White Lead. |
| 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 257 They esteeme nothyng more precious then drynkyng glasses of *Venice woorke. |
2. a. Venice glass, (
a) a very fine and delicate kind of glass, originally manufactured at Murano, near Venice; (
b) an article made of this,
esp. a drinking vessel or vial; (
c) a Venetian mirror.
The extreme brittleness of vessels made of this glass is
freq. alluded to in the 17th century.
| (a) 1527 Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters A ij b, They must be made of venys glasse bycause they sholde the better withstande the hete of the fyre. a 1583 in Halliwell Rara Mathem. (1841) 41 Then they must prepare very cleare and white Glasse..; as fyne and white Vennys Glasse. 1626 Bacon Sylva §770 The Crystalline Venice Glass is reported to be a mixture, in equal portions, of Stones brought from Pavia, by the River Ticinum, and the Ashes of a Weed called by the Arabs, Kall. 1673 A. Walker Lees Lachrymans 13 Their Venice-glass..cracks with as slight a blow as pots of courser clay. |
| (b) 1587 Harrison England ii. vi. in Holinshed I. 166/2 As for drinke it is vsuallie filled in..bols of siluer in noble mens houses, also in fine Venice glasses of all formes. 1591 Sylvester Du Bartas i. ii. 72 In a Venice Glass before our eyne, We see the Water intermix with Wine. 1620 Gataker Marriage Duties 41 The more britle a Venice glasse is, the more gingerly we handle it. 1669 Boyle Certain Physiol. Ess. (ed. 2) Absol. Rest Bodies 22 Having enquired of a famous..Maker of Telescopes..whether he did not observe that the Venice-Glasses he employed would sometimes crack of themselves whilst they were yet in Plates. 1688 On Death in Jane Barker Poet. Recreations ii. 44 Life is a Bubble;..Tis far more brittle than a Venice-Glass. |
| (c) 1850 Mrs. Browning Sonn. fr. Portuguese ix, I will not..breathe my poison on thy Venice-glass. 1852 Thackeray Esmond i. ix, On which poor Lady Castlewood gave a rueful smile, and a look into a little Venice glass she had. |
b. Venice treacle, in old pharmacy, an electuary composed of many ingredients and supposed to possess universal alexipharmic and preservative properties.
Cf. treacle n. 1 c. Now
arch. Also
occas. called
treacle of Venice.
| 1612 Woodall Surg. Mate Wks. (1653) 95 A little Venice Triacle or other Triacle. 1635 J. Taylor (Water P.) Life Thomas Parr C 3, And Garlick hee esteem'd above the rate Of Venice-Triacle, or best Mithridate. 1691 T. H[ale] Acc. New Invent. p. xxv, And as well may we be afraid to take the Venice Treacle, because of its being long kept in boxes of Lead. c 1720 W. Gibson Farrier's Dispens. iii. (1721) 146 Venice Treacle. This is also called the Theriaca, or Treacle of Andromachus. 1753 J. Bartlet Gentl. Farriery xlii. (1754) 323 Internally, for bites from vipers, may be given cordial medicines, such as Venice treacle and salt of hartshorn. 1797 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XVI. 573/2 The Muscovites at all times reject as impure..rabbit, ass's milk, mare's milk, and Venice-treacle. 1821 Scott Kenilw. xiii. footnote, Orvietan, or Venice treacle, as it was sometimes called, was understood to be a sovereign remedy against poison. |
c. Venice turpentine (see
quots. c 1789, 1800, and
turpentine n. 1 b).
| 1577 Frampton Joyful News 45 Adde therto three ounces of Venise Turpentine. 1736 Bailey Househ. Dict. s.v. Ague, Mix the powder of white Hellebore roots with right Venice Turpentine. c 1789 Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) IV. 567/1 The kind now called Venice turpentine, is no other than a mixture of eight parts of common yellow or black rosin with five parts of oil of turpentine. What was originally Venice turpentine is now unknown. 1800 E. Darwin Phytol. vi. 84 Thus what is called Venice turpentine is obtained from the larch by wounding the bark about two feet from the ground, and catching it as it exsudes. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 278 The ointment is made as follows:—Quicksilver, 1 lb.; Venice Turpentine, ½ lb. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. 503 The common varnish used for oil paintings and maps consists of 24 parts of mastic, 3 of Venice turpentine, and 1 of camphor. |