▪ I. vapour, n.
(ˈveɪpə(r))
Also 5–6 vapowre, 6 vapoure; 5 wapour, 6 wapure; 6– vapor.
[a. AF. vapour (OF. vapeur) or ad. L. vapōr-, vapor steam. Cf. F. vapeur, Sp. and Pg. vapor, It. vapore.]
1. Without article: Matter in the form of a steamy or imperceptible exhalation; esp. the form into which liquids are naturally converted by the action of a sufficient degree of heat. In mod. scientific use: cf. next sense.
| c 1374 Chaucer Troylus iii. 11 As man, brid, best, fisshe, herbe, and greene tree The feele in tymes with vapour eterne. 1382 Wyclif Joel ii. 30 Blood, and fijr, and vapour of smoke. c 1440 Promp. Parv. 588/1 Vapowre, vapor. 1480 Caxton Myrr. ii. xxv. (1913) 117 This is a moisture subtyl whiche appereth but lytyl, and is named vapour. 1565 Cooper Thes., Vaporo, to heate or make warme with vapour. 1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alph., Vapor, moisture, aire, hot breath, or reaking. 1610 J. Guillim Heraldry iii. v. (1611) 97 Vapour is a moist kinde of fume extracted chiefly out of the water. 1635 Swan Spec. M. v. §2 (1643) 81 If it [exhalation] come from the water or some watry place, it is Vapor. 1667 Milton P.L. xi. 737 The Hills..Vapour, and Exhalation dusk and moist, Sent up amain. 1725 Watts Logic (1736) 115 Snow is congealed Vapour. Hail is congeal'd Rain. 1774 Goldsm. Nat. Hist. I. 199 The perpetuity of many springs, which always yield the same quantity when the least rain or vapour is afforded. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 116 A white smoke, which is azote and water in a state of vapour. 1845 Encycl. Metrop. IV. 246/2 Comparing a given space filled with gas, and another saturated with vapour, at a given temperature; if we suppose that space to be diminished, the gas will be compressed..but the vapour will be partly condensed. 1849 James Woodman vi, There were large masses of heavy vapour rolling across the southern part of the horizon. 1863 E. Atkinson tr. Ganot's Elem. Treat. Physics iv. i. 93 Heat..converts liquids..into the aeriform state in which they obey all the laws of gases. This aeriform state of liquids is known by the name of vapour, while gases are bodies which, under ordinary temperature and pressure, remain in the aeriform state. 1878 Huxley Physiogr. 40 Only when the vapour is partially condensed, and therefore ceases to be true vapour. |
| fig. 1597 Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 393 When Tempest of Commotion,..Borne with black Vapour, doth begin to melt. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 316 There is nothing but Shadow and Vapour in the Thing. |
2. a. An exhalation of the nature of steam, or an emanation consisting of imperceptible particles, usually due to the effect of heat upon moisture. In
mod. scientific use, a fluid that fills a space like a gas but, being below its critical temperature, can be liquefied by pressure alone.
Sometimes,
esp. in poetry, loosely applied to smoky matter emitted from burning substances.
| 1382 Wyclif Ezek. viii. 11 And the vapour, or smoke, of a cloud roos togider of the ensence. c 1386 Chaucer Melib. ¶23 It may nat be..þat where as gret fyre hath longe tyme endured þat þere ne dwelleth som vapour of warmnesse. c 1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula, etc. 93 Stoppe þe mouþe, þat þe vapour go noȝt out. And biry þe vessel with þe oile in moist erþe. 1535 Coverdale Ecclus. xxxviii. 28 The vapoure of the fyre brenneth his flesh. 1551 Turner Herbal i. A v b, The brothe of wermwood with his vapor that riseth vp from it. 1562 ― Baths B ij b, The hote vapores [of a bath]. 1577 Googe Heresbach's Husb. 46 Grasse..(too greene and moyst) yf it be carryed into the loft, rotteth, and the vapour being ouerheated, falleth on fyre and burneth. 1635 Swan Spec. M. v. §2 (1643) 81 A Vapour hath a certain watry nature in it, and yet it is not water. 1716 Pope Iliad viii. 680 Full hecatombs lay burning on the shore; The winds to Heaven the curling vapours bore. 1789 W. Buchan Dom. Med. (1790) 457 The smoke of tobacco,..the vapours of onions and garlic,..are carefully to be avoided. 1800 tr. Lagrange's Chem. I. 16 At the end of a certain period the bottle will be filled with red vapours. 1823 Faraday in Q. Jrnl. Sci., Lit., & Arts XVI. 237 Now that we know the pressure of the vapour of chlorine, there can be no doubt that the following passage describes a true liquefaction of that gas. Ibid. 239 During the condensation of the gas in this manner, a liquid has been observed to deposit from it. It is not, however, a result of the liquefaction of the gas, but the deposition of a vapour (using the terms gas and vapour in their common acceptation) from it, and when taken out of the vessel it remains liquid at common temperatures and pressures. 1823 H. Davy in Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CXIII. 165 The compression [of gases] resulting from their slow generation in close vessels..may be easily assisted by artificial cold in cases where gases approach near to that point of compression and temperature at which they become vapours. 1830 M. Donovan Dom. Econ. I. 337 Vapours now arise, which are concentrated acetic acid... These vapours pass over..into the cask of water. 1857 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. i. 18 Vapours of ammonia will be evolved if nitrogen be present. 1883 E. Atkinson tr. Ganot's Elem. Treat. Physics (ed. 11) vi. v. 312 A vapour may be defined as being a gas at any temperature below its critical point. Hence a vapour can be converted into a liquid by pressure alone, and can therefore exist in the pressure of its own liquid, while a gas requires cooling as well as pressure to convert it into a liquid. 1891 Farrar Darkn. & Dawn xlvi, Then they dragged her to the bath, heated it to boiling heat, and suffocated her in the burning vapour. 1979 T. B. Akrill et al. Physics xi. 141/1 It is conventional to use the term vapour to describe a gas which is at a temperature below the critical temperature for that substance, but there is no obvious difference between a vapour just below Tc..and a gas just above Tc. |
b. An exhalation rising by natural causes from the ground or from some damp place;
freq., a mist or fog.
| c 1386 Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 385 The vapour, which that fro the erthe glood, Made the sonne to seme rody and brood. c 1402 Lydg. Compl. Bl. Knt. 24 When that the mysty vapour was agoon, And clere and feyre was the morw[e]nyng. 1508 Dunbar Gold. Targe 247 Suete war the vapouris. soft the morowing. 1509 Hawes Past. Pleas. xvi. (Percy Soc.) 60 All abrode the fayre dropes dyd shewe, Encensynge out all the vapours yll. 1525 Ld. Berners Froiss. II. cc. 252/2 Discendyng downe as in to a cellar, a certayne hoote wapure rose agaynst them. 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 133 If..wee shal consent that vapours are lyfted vp wherof the watery cloudes are engendred. 1604 E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. viii. 143 You shall vsually see great calmes vpon the coastes, where the vapors come from the Ilands, or maine land. 1661 J. Childrey Brit. Bacon. 60 The air is not very clear because of vapors continually rising. 1698 J. Keill Exam. Th. Earth (1734) 83 The vapours which are raised by the Sun under the Torrid Zone. 1781 Cowper Conversat. 50 But when the breath of age commits the fault, 'Tis nauseous as the vapour of a vault. 1820 Shelley Sensit. Pl. iii. 71 And hour by hour, when the air was still, The vapours arose which have strength to kill. 1874 Blackie Self-Cult. 49 In hot countries, where insalubrious vapours in some places infest the night. |
c. fig. Used
esp. (see sense 2 a) to denote something unsubstantial or worthless.
| (a) 1382 Wyclif Jas. iv. 15 Forsothe what is ȝoure lijf? A vapour, to a litel semynge. [Similarly in Tindale and later versions.] 1579 Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 112 Our lyfe is but a shadow.., a vapor, a bubble, a blast. 1608 Chapman Byron's Trag. Plays 1873 II. 311 He alters euery minute: what a vapor The strongest mind is to a storme of crosses. 1663 Davenant Siege of Rhodes Wks. (1672) 25 Let it not last, But in a blast Spend this infectious vapour, Life! 1732 Law Serious C. iv. 52 Those Scriptures which represent..the greatest things of life as bubbles, vapours, dreams, and shadows. 1781 H. Walpole Lett. (1891) VIII. 34, I am at this present very sick of my little vapour of fame. 1829 Carlyle Misc. (1857) II. 78 A man to whom the Earth and all its glories are in truth a vapour and a Dream. |
| (b) 1594 Shakes. Rich. III, iii. vii. 164 In my Greatnesse..to be hid, And in the vapour of my Glory smother'd. 1597 Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. lxxvi. §8 Upon the Church there never yet fell tempestuous storm the vapors whereof were not first noted to rise from coldnesse in affection. 1638 R. Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II) 49, I should do wrong..to dislustre so pure a matter with the impression of so blacke a vapour. 1818 Scott Rob Roy ix, The gleams of sense and feeling which escaped from the Justice through the vapours of sloth and self-indulgence. |
3. pl. a. In older medical use: Exhalations supposed to be developed within the organs of the body (
esp. the stomach) and to have an injurious effect upon the health.
| 1422 Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 239 That the wapours that gonne vp into the hede in tyme of slepynge may haue issue. 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. ii. xviii, When the brayne is hurte so that the humours and vapours styre and move the..phantasye. 1539 Elyot Cast. Helthe (1541) 53 Of humours some are more grosse and colde, some are subtyl and hot, and are called vapours. 1639 Fuller Holy War iv. ii. (1840) 198 Oftentimes the head doth ache for the ill vapours of the stomach. c 1680 Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 332 Those malign vapours which by reason of over-much eating are exhaled from the stomach into the head. 1719 De Foe Crusoe ii. (Globe) 472 Vapours from an empty Stomach. 1868 J. F. Kirk Chas. the Bold III. v. ii. 375 His habit of drinking in the morning a bowl of warm barley water under the notion of expelling noxious vapors. |
b. A morbid condition supposed to be caused by the presence of such exhalations; depression of spirits, hypochondria, hysteria, or other nervous disorder. Now
arch. (Common
c 1665–1750.)
| 1662 H. Stubbe Indian Nectar iii. 33 By the eating of those Nuts, she feels Hypochondriacal vapours..to be instantly allayed. 1680 Hatton Corr. (Camden) 221 My wifes disease, I think, is vapors. c 1690 Temple Ess., Health & Long Life Wks. 1720 I. 283 To all these succeeded Vapours, which serve the same Turn, and furnish Occasion of Complaint among Persons whose Bodies or Minds ail something, but they know not what. 1728 Young Love Fame iii. 136 Sometimes, thro pride, the sexes change their airs; My lord has vapours, and my lady swears. 1735–6 Bayne in J. Duncombe Lett. (1773) II. 87 The dispiriting symptoms of a nervous illness commonly called vapours, or lowness of spirits. 1783 Wolcott (P. Pindar) Odes to R.A.'s v. Wks. 1812 I. 60 The World will be in fits and vapours. 1822 Lamb Elia Ser. i. Praise Chimney-Sweepers, The rake, who wisheth to dissipate his o'er-night vapours in more grateful coffee. 1822 Good Study Med. III. 146 In the First Variety, which is commonly distinguished by the name of Vapours, or Low Spirits, the patient is tormented with a visionary or exaggerated sense of pains. 1879 Meredith Egoist xx, She had a headache, vapours. They are over. |
c. So
the vapours. (Common in 18th
cent.)
| 1711 Addison Spect. No. 115 ¶4 It is to a Neglect in this Particular that we must ascribe the Spleen, which is so frequent in Men of..sedentary Tempers, as well as the Vapours to which those of the other Sex are so often subject. 1719 De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 161 These things fill'd my Head with new Imaginations, and gave me the Vapours again, to the highest Degree. 1778 Lady S. Lennox Lett. (1901) I. 284, I should have the vapours all day if I played an hour at cards. 1803 J. Porter Thaddeus xxviii. (1831) 251, I must drink better health to you to save myself from the vapours. a 1839 Praed Poems (1888) 12 Don't give your Royal brain the vapours By opening Opposition papers. |
† d. Path. (
sing.) The epileptic aura.
Obs.| 1822 Good Study Med. III. 544 Professor Loeffler,..instead of cauterising the limb from which the epileptic halitus seems to ascend, has ingeniously tied a tight ligature above the part whence the vapour issues. |
4. A fancy or fantastic idea; a foolish brag or boast. Now
rare.
| 1614 B. Jonson Barth. Fair ii. iii, Let's drinke it out, good Vrs, and no vapours! Ibid. v, Gentlemen, these are very strange vapours! and very idle vapours! I assure you. 1657 W. Morice Coena quasi κοινὴ Def. xxvi. 264 After all their vapours what do they lymbeck out of this Text? a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 118 For those, whose Modesty must not endure to hear their own Praises spoken, may yet publish of themselves the most notorious Vapours imaginable. 1703 Steele Tender Husb. ii. i, These are mere vapours, indeed—Nothing but vapours. 1738 tr. Guazzo's Art Convers. 165, I have Remedies to cure them of their Arrogance, and to keep those Vapours from fuming into the Head. 1841 J. Romilly Diary 16 Apr. (1967) 214 Ray..reminded me I had said I w{supd} give a Guinea when the Peterhouse wall was replaced by an iron-rail:—this work is now going on:—I had forgotten this vapour; but produced the Guinea. 1940 W. B. Yeats If I were Four-&-Twenty iv. 8 Men whose lives had been changed by Balzac, perhaps because he cleared them of Utopian vapours. |
5. attrib. and
Comb. a. With
ns., as
vapour-belt,
vapour-burner,
vapour-capacity,
vapour-cloud,
vapour-density, etc.; (in sense 3 b)
vapour-fit;
vapour lock, an interruption in the flow of a liquid through a pipe as a result of its vaporization;
vapour pressure, the pressure exerted by a vapour;
vapour-proof a., impervious to vapour;
vapour tension = vapour pressure above;
vapour trail, a visible trail of condensed water vapour in the sky, in the wake of an aircraft; also
fig.| 1875 R. F. Burton Ultima Thule I. 67 The *vapour-belt which girdles the mountain flanks. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2690 *Vapor-burner, a device for burning previously vaporized liquid hydrocarbons. |
| 1922 W. G. Kendrew Climates of Continents 215 The sea is then coolest relatively to the land, so that the *vapour-capacity of air blowing from the sea is increased over the land. |
| c 1843 Carlyle Hist. Sk. (1898) 253 Those far-spread smoke-clouds and *vapour-clouds rising up there. 1851 Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. xix. 137 Vapour-clouds from the Atlantic undergo a similar detention in crossing the Alleghany range. |
| 1862 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. (ed. 2) i. §1. 25 To calculate the *vapour density of any compound. 1890 A. M. Clerke Syst. Stars 54 The vapour-densities of several of these metals are significantly high. |
| 1855 Ogilvie Suppl., *Vapour-douche, a topical vapour-bath, which consists in the direction of a jet of aqueous vapour on some part of the body. |
| 1831–3 Encycl. Metrop. (1845) VIII. 188/1 Howard's steam or *vapour engine. 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 177 Another variety of marine engine is Mr. Howard's vapour engine. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2690/1 In 1850..M. Prospère Vincent du Trembley brought into notice what is now known as the ‘binary vapor-engine, or the ‘combined vapor-engine’. |
| 1707 Floyer Physic. Pulse-Watch 62 Since I find all *Vapour Fits to have the Pulse of a diary Fever, I place this Constitution next to the Fevers. |
| 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2690/1 *Vapor-inhaler,..one for administering vapor produced by drawing or forcing atmospheric air through a liquid, or a sponge saturated with a liquid. |
| 1848 Ronalds & Richardson Chem. Technol. I. 154 *Vapour lamps. 1875 Knight Dict. Mech. 2690/2 Vapor lamp, see Vapor-burner. |
| 1930 S.A.E. Jrnl. XXVII. 93/1 The more volatile a fuel, the greater will be the tendency to boil in the fuel-feed system as the engine warms up. If the fuel boils, then interruptions of flow due to *vapor lock may be expected. 1951 O. Berthoud tr. P. Clostermann's Big Show 39 My jettison-tank gave out—probably a vapour-lock in the feed pipes. 1974 Times 22 Mar. 15/4 Filter King is said..to prevent carburettor flooding..and to prevent vapour ‘lock’. |
| 1946 Nature 19 Oct. 562/1 A process has been developed for the preparation of motor fuel and other petroleum products by a method based on *vapour-phase cracking of the vegetable oils contained in seeds. 1964 N. G. Clark Mod. Organic Chem. xxv. 515 The vapour-phase nitration of propane. |
| 1862 Scrope Volcanoes 22 The *vapour-pillar rises still higher. |
| 1913 V. B. Lewes Oil Fuel 79 A horizontal cylindrical boiler with a dome from which a broad *vapour-pipe leads the distilling vapours to the condensers. |
| 1771 Smollett Humph. Cl. (1815) 76, I have made divers..leaps at those upper regions; but always fell backward into this *vapour-pit. |
| 1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 385/2 As regards the atmosphere, evaporation [of water] goes on until the maximum *vapour pressure for the temperature has been attained, at which point the air is said to be saturated. 1978 P. W. Atkins Physical Chem. vii. 175 The vapour pressure of water at 100°C is 1 atm. |
| 1946 Sun (Baltimore) 17 May 13/3 About a foot of earth was scraped away from the site and a layer of *vapor-proof material placed on the ground. 1963 Engineering 16 Aug. 205/1 A heat resisting gasket..is fitted..to render the unit vapourproof and weatherproof. 1981 Oil & Gas Jrnl. 20 Apr. 167/2 The recorder case is made of die cast aluminum, and it's vapor-proof. |
| 1862 G. P. Scrope Volcanoes 22 This pillar of white *vapour-puffs. |
| [1845 Phil. Trans. R. Soc. CXXXV. 169 Cyanogen..yielded on different occasions results of vaporous tension differing much from each other.] 1864 Spencer Biol. I. 18 The range..of diffusive mobility..appears to be as wide as the scale of *vapour-tensions. 1933 W. Lindgren Mineral Deposits (ed. 4) x. 116 Sudden separation of the gaseous phase will take place..only if the vapor tension of the solutions is greater than the external pressure. |
| 1941 Picture Post 3 May 23/1 The *vapour trails are left by the R.A.F. fighters weaving in and out of the German formation. 1948 L. Durrell Let. in Spirit of Place (1969) 98 Vapour-trails of cows on the pampas, desolation. 1977 W. McIlvanney Laidlaw xxvi. 115 The vapour trails left by interrupted conversations. 1979 C. Priest Infinite Summer 18 There, high in the blue, were several curling white vapour-trails, but no other sign of the German bombers. |
| 1672–3 Grew Anat. Pl., Anat. Roots ii. (1682) 67 There is yet another kind of Sap-Vessels, which may be called *Vapour-Vessels. |
| 1862 Miller Elem. Chem., Org. (ed. 2) i. §2. 46 The simplicity thus introduced into our calculations of *vapour volume. |
| 1588 Shakes. L.L.L. iv. iii. 70 Then thou, faire Sun, which on my earth doest shine, Exhalest this *vapor-vow. |
b. With
adjs. and
pples., as
vapour-belted,
vapour-braided,
vapour-burdened,
vapour-filled, etc. Also
vapour-like adj. and
adv.| 1820 Shelley Witch Atl. lvii, Many a *vapour-belted pyramid. |
| 1855 Tennyson The Letters 42 Sweetly gleam'd the star, And sweet the *vapour-braided blue. |
| 1730–46 Thomson Autumn 827 Th' exhaling sun, the *vapour-burden'd air. |
| 1894 Outing XXIII. 363 The dark, *vapor-filled night closed in. |
| 1821 in Ld. Coleridge Story Devonsh. Ho. xvii. (1905) 280 A pair of sleek steeds that are as delicate as a *Vapour-headed Lady. |
| a 1715 Wycherley Posth. Wks. (1728) 147 If then so soon the Great and Powerful fail, And *Vapour-like, almost e'er seen, exhale. 1840 M. Somerville Connex. Phys. Sci. (ed. 5) 424 A vapour-like smoke. 1862 Spencer First Princ. ii. ix. §76 (1875) 227 Each portion of such vapour-like matter must begin to move towards the common centre of gravity. |
| 1727 Bailey (vol. II), Vaporiferousness, an exhaling or *vapour-producing Quality. |
| 1832 J. Bree St. Herbert's Isle 68 At length the impatient hours the twilight led With *vapour-sandaled feet and rubied cheek. |
| 1827 Faraday Chem. Manip. vii. (1842) 220 The junction being made *vapour-tight..by some glazier's putty. |
| 1892 W. B. Yeats Countess Kathleen 125 Under that cold and *vapour-turbanned steep. |
▪ II. vapour, v. (
ˈveɪpə(r))
Also 5–6
vapoure, 6–
vapor, 6–7
vaper (7
vapr-).
[f. prec., or ad. L. vapōrāre: cf. vaporate v.] 1. intr. To rise or ascend, to be emitted or diffused, in the form of vapour. Also with
up and
out.
| 1412–20 Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 3921 Þe bawme vapoureth vp a-lofte In-to þe eyre of þe erbes softe. 1614 T. Adams in Spurgeon Treas. David I. 190 Thick spumy mists, which vapour up from the dark and foggy earth. a 1647 Habington Surv. Worcs. (Worcs. Hist. Soc.) III. 544 Annoyed with the contagion vaporinge from the water. 1655 Culpepper, etc. Riverius xv. iii. 410 Put it into a new glazed pot or pipkin, closed up..that nothing may vapor out. 1662 R. Mathew Unl. Alch. 158 Lay this lute upon the edge of thy Funnel, which will bind fast the plate and the Funnel that nothing can vapor that way. |
| fig. 1839 Bailey Festus 154 Does not sin pour from my soul,..And, vapouring up before the face of God, Congregate there? |
b. To pass
away, to be dissipated, in the form of vapour.
| 1555 Eden Decades (Arb.) 357 To take such waters,..and..cause them to boyle and vapoure away vntyll the dregs or residence remayne in the bottome. 1594 R. Ashley tr. Loys le Roy 3 When the water is thickned, it seemes to become a stone..; when it vapoures away, to be breath or aire. 1605 Timme Quersit. i. vii. 27 Whatsoeuer is aiery therein..by the force of the heat vapoureth away. 1658 A. Fox Würtz' Surg. iv. iii. 138 Mingle all these well together, lute the glass body, that nothing vapour away. |
| fig. 1638 Mayne Lucian (1664) 71 Their whole life hath vapoured away in hopes. 1638 Sir T. Herbert Trav. (ed. 2) 237 The first day vapors away in Tobacco, feasts, and other ordinary feastivalls. 1685 Baxter Paraphr. N.T., 1 Cor. iv. 19 For all that Men call Learning and Wisdom..vapoureth away as Idleness and Vanity. 1751 Johnson Rambler No. 133 ¶8, I expected that their exultation would in time vapour away. |
c. To pass or be dissolved
into a state of vapour or moisture.
rare.
| 1567 Drant Horace, Ep. xvii. F iij, Though he shoulde vaper into teares. 1640 Walton Lives, Donne (1670) 77 In the last hour of his last day, as his body melted away and vapoured into spirit,..he said [etc.]. c 1645 Howell Lett. (1650) II. To Rdr., Words vanish soon, and vapour into Ayr. |
2. trans. a. To cause to rise
up or ascend in the form of vapour. Also
fig.| c 1407 Lydg. Reson & Sens. 454 Whan Phebus..on the herbes tendre and softe The bawmy dropes siluer fair Vapoured hath vp in the ayr. 1519 Interl. Four Elem. (Percy Soc.) 12 Therfore by hete it is vaporyd up lyghtly, and in the ayre makyth cloudys and mystes. 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. ii. xiii, Or ellys it wyll be vapoured up by the hete of the sonne. 1627 Donne 5 Serm. 45 But every Man is vapor'd up into ayre, and as the ayre can hee thinkes he can fill any place. 1795 Blake Bk. Ahania Poet. Wks. (1914) 345 Effluvia vapour'd above In noxious clouds. |
b. To cause to pass
away in the form of vapour.
| 1460–70 Bk. Quintessence (1866) 9 Putte it into a uessel of glas in þe which be putt watir tofore,..and aftir do vapoure awey þe watir at þe fier. 1560 Whitehorne Ord. Souldiours (1588) 26 b, It must be boyled so long, till all the thinne watrinesse be vapored away, and the substaunce of the salt peter thickned. a 1626 Bacon Med. Rem., Baconiana (1679) 160 Then upon a gentle heat vapour away all the Spirit of Wine. 1662 R. Mathew Unl. Alch. 174 In a clean glass Vessel vapor all the Vinegar away. |
| fig. a 1600 Donne The Expiration 2 So, so, breake off this last lamenting kisse, Which sucks two soules, and vapors Both away. |
c. With
out or
forth: To evaporate.
| 1530 Rastell Bk. Purgat. iii. vii, The temperate eyer wyll..vapour out the tartnes & sowernes of that humour. 1626 Bacon Sylva §23 Opium leeseth some of his poisonous Quallity, if it be vapoured out, mingled with Spirit of Wine, or the like. 1638 Rawley tr. Bacon's Life & Death (1650) 28 In Dissipating Medecines, some vapour forth the thinne part of the Tumours. 1674 Govt. Tongue 134 If he..call me dull, because I vapor not out all my spirits into froth. |
d. To convert into vapour. Chiefly with
to.
| 1591 Spenser Ruines Time 219 He now is dead, and all his glorie gone, And all his greatnes vapoured to nought. 1603 J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosmos Wks. (Grosart) I. 87/1 Thy soul's but a Blast, That with thy Breath is vapored to nought. 1665 Phil. Trans. I. 36 With more of the same Dew..vapoured to siccity. a 1814 Forgery ii. iv. in New Brit. Theatre I. 453 Ev'n the hot potent wine, Whose power only but a short time since Flatter'd my brain, is vapor'd all in air. 1888 Doughty Trav. Arabia Deserta I. 79 If there runs in any water, within a while it will be vapoured to the dregs. |
† 3. To send
forth,
out, or
up, to emit or discharge, to disperse, etc., in the form of vapour.
Obs.| c 1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode ii. cxiv. (1869) 117, I haue a special horn bi which j caste and vapoure out the wynd that j haue in my bodi. 1563 T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 5 Consider also the nature of the Mote.., whether the same sendeth or vapoureth forth..noisome or stinking aire. c 1586 C'tess Pembroke Ps. cxlvi. ii, His strength is none, if any in his breath; Which vapor'd foorth to mother earth he goes. 1628 Wither Brit. Rememb. ii. 49 Ev'n when the peoples thronging, and their heat Did vapour up their breathings and their sweat, For him to swallow. 1656 [? J. Sergeant] tr. T. White's Peripat. Inst. 126 The clouds of ashes (vapour'd out in Vast abundance). |
| fig. 1592 Daniel Compl. Rosamond 803 With armes a-crosse, and eyes to heauen bended, Vaporing out sighs that to the skies ascended. 1634 Sir T. Hawkins Pol. Observ. 7 He with all his might vapoured forth the smoke of his greatnesse. 1657 R. Ligon Barbadoes 36 He vapours out the grievousest sighs. |
b. absol. To emit vapour.
| 1552 Huloet, Vapouren or cast out vapoures, halito. 1650 Ashmole Chym. Collect. iv. 51 Our Fire is Minerall, and vapours not, unlesse it be too much stirred up. |
4. a. To expose to the moistening effect of vapour.
rare—1.
| 1545 T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 100 The matryce..must be annoynted, perfumed, and vapored with suche thynges, the whiche maye make it more ample and large. |
b. To make dim or obscure with vapour.
| 1875 Blackmore Alice Lorraine I. 150 One of those sudden changes, which (at less than a breath) vapour the glass of the feminine mind. |
5. intr. To use language as light or unsubstantial as vapour; to talk fantastically, grandiloquently, or boastingly; to brag or bluster.
| 1628 Ford Lover's Mel. iv. ii, He vapours like a tinker, and struts like a juggler. 1649 Milton Eikon. 145 Poets indeed use to vapor much after this manner. 1687 A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 180 He would suffer no body to say any thing to him, and to hear him vapour, there was no Man greater than he. 1700 S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 160 He vapour'd and call'd me all the Cowards he could think of. 1760 Cautions & Adv. to Officers Army 12, I have heard so many young Officers, vaporing and wishing to meet an Enemy. 1812 Combe Syntax, Picturesque iv, Dear Mrs. Syntax, how she'd vapour, Were she to read this curious paper! 1859 W. Collins Q. of Hearts (1875) 52 You may imagine what a passion I was in when I vapoured and blustered in that way. 1884 Pall Mall G. 13 Mar. 1/1 Lord Salisbury has vapoured a good deal and brandished his painted sword of lath. |
b. Const.
about,
of, or
with.
| (a) 1654 tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 37 To strike a terrour into those who have vapoured of their owne insolencie. 1677 W. Hubbard Narrative 50 Yet could the Messenger hardly forbear threatning, vapouring of their numbers and strength. a 1680 Butler Rem. (1759) II. 36 The Wealth of his Party, of which he vapours so much,..is no mean Motive to enflame his Zeal. 1789 J. Moore Zeluco (1797) II. lxvii. 178 Some of his friends were imprudent enough to vapour a little about his determination of calling Carlostein to account. 1820 Hazlitt Table-T. Ser. ii. xvii. (1869) 345 Strutting and vapouring about his own pretensions. 1864 Thackeray D. Duval v. (1869) 65, I was..vapouring about what we would do, were we attacked. 1897 Rhoscomyl White Rose Arno 185 Those dear Countesses of whom you were forever vapouring. |
| (b) 1675 Char. Town-Gallant (Hindley, 1872) II. 4 He..stayed at the University long enough to..get by heart the name of his College to vapour with. 1699 Bentley Phal. 332 His Scylax, that he lately vapour'd with. 1876 J. Weiss Wit, Hum. & Shaks. vi. 200 The words and style which mariners and travellers brought home to vapor with to eager listeners in the taverns. |
c. trans. To declare or assert in a boasting or grandiloquent manner. Also, in later use, with
forth or
away.
| 1658 F. Osborne Trad. Mem. K. James Wks. (1673) 470 That..vapoured he would..bring him in by the Sword. 1665 Winstanley Loy. Martyrol. 11 An unanswerable Work, of which they will never clear themselves, brag and vapour what they please. c 1665 Mrs. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1806) 236 Plumtre..began to vapour that he would have the castle pull'd downe. 1692 Bp. Patrick Answ. Touchstone 258 Neither he, nor any one else (whatsoever he vapours) dare break in pieces, or tear a Crucifix, or Picture. a 1732 Swift Sandys' Ghost xix, To poor Ovid shall befall..A metamorphosis more strange Than all his books can vapour. 1755 Warburton Apol. for two first Lett. Wks. 1788 VII. 572 Pope gave easy credit to him, when he vapoured that he would demonstrate all the common Metaphysics to be wicked and abominable. 1848 Kingsley Saint's Trag. iv. i, Where are the high-flown fancies Which but last week..You vapoured forth? a 1872 Maurice Friendsh. Bks. (1874) x. 279 Vapouring away patriotism is undoubtedly a very bad thing. |
d. To force (a person)
into or
out of something, to put
down, by talking big.
| 1654 Whitelocke Swed. Ambassy (1772) I. 158 Who was not to be vapoured or threatened into a conformity to their desires. 1665 Glanvill Scepsis Sci. Addr. p. v, That I might not therefore be vapour'd down by insignificant Testimonies. 1829 T. L. Peacock Misfort. Elphin. ix, I am not to be sung, or cajoled, or vapoured, or bullied out of my prisoner. |
6. To act in a fantastic or ostentatious manner; to show off; to swagger; to walk
in with a swaggering air.
| 1652 C. B. Stapylton Herodian 127 With Pipe and Flute full often here he vapors, And round about the Altar frisks and Capers. a 1720 Sewel Hist. Quakers (1795) I. i. 56 Some men have the nature of an horse, to prance and vapour in their strength. 1724 Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 89 Wow but ye will be vap'ring Whene'er ye gang to the town. |
| 1818 Scott Br. Lamm. xxi, When you mean to vapour with your hanger and your dram-cup in support of treasonable toasts. 1842 Borrow Bible in Spain xl, They..would gaze with admiring eyes upon the robbers vapouring about in the court below. 1898 J. M. Falkner Moonfleet vi, In vapours Maskew, and with an angry glance about him makes straight for the desk. |
7. trans. † a. To affect with fantastic ideas.
Obs.| 1698 Collier Immor. Stage iv. §3 (1730) 139 He was formal and fantastick, smitten with Dress and Equipage, and it may be vapour'd by his Perfumes. |
b. To give (one) the vapours; to depress or bore.
| 1774 J. Berridge Lett. xv. (1864) 386 At times, when I am very low, a letter that demands a speedy answer will vapour me as much as a large bill requiring prompt payment would a sinking tradesman. 1779 Sylph I. 24, I shall be vapoured to death if I stay here much longer. 1796 F. Burney Camilla III. 85 She has lost all her sprightliness, and vapours me but to look at her. 1804 Something Odd I. 216 His low spirits, which are indeed so very bad at times, as to bore and vapour one to death. |
c. intr. To get the vapours.
rare—1.
| 1802 M. Moore Lascelles I. 19 The evenings are so long, that I declare I vapour every time they come for want of something else to do. |