stretched, ppl. a.
(strɛtʃt)
[f. stretch v. + -ed1.]
1. Extended to the full length, not bent or flexed. Of a limb: Thrust out from the body. Also with out, forth.
| 1518 H. Watson Hist. Oliver of Castile (Roxb.) Q 1, He..ranne to hym with stratched armes and embraced hym. 1535 Coverdale Ps. cxxxv. 12 With a mightie hande and a stretched out arme. a 1566 R. Edwards Damon & Pithias (1571) D iv b, A pledge you did require.., For which, with heart and stretched handes, most humble thankes I geue. 1656 R. Flecknoe Diarium 28 Now Chantecleer with stretcht⁓out wings, The glad approach of Phœbus sings. 1692 Sir W. Hope Fencing-Master 148 Keep a streight point towards his face with a stretched arme. 1697 Dryden æneis iii. 320 At length rebuff'd, they leave their mangled Prey, And their stretch'd Pinions to the Skies display. 1760 R. Lloyd Actor 97 The sudden whirl, stretch'd leg, and lifted staff, Which please the vulgar. 1846 Trench Miracles 459 The stretched forth hands are the hands extended upon either side on the transverse bar of the cross. 1847 Tennyson Princess ii. 356 Jewels five-words long That on the stretch'd forefinger of all Time Sparkle for ever. 1856 Miss Warner Hills Shatemuc vi, He yielded his brother's [letter] again to her stretched-out hand. |
2. Of the neck, throat: Extended or expanded unduly or abnormally. Also with out.
| 1557 T. Phaer æneid vii. (1558) V viiij, As swannes..With stretchid neckes, their melody they yelde. 1659 W. Chamberlayne Pharonnida iii. i. 306 An ill-boding Note Sent from a fatal Ravens stretcht-out Throat. 1666 W. Spurstow Spiritual Chym. 89 Gospel Mysteries, which Angells with stretched out necks have more desire to pry into, then ability perfectly to understand. 1780 Cowper Progr. Error 380 The gosling pair, With awkward gait, stretch'd neck, and silly stare. 1845 Browning How they brought the Good News vi, For one heard the quick wheeze Of her chest, saw the stretched neck and staggering knees. |
3. a. Of material, a line, etc.: Extended, spread out, drawn out so as to be tight. Hence fig. of a receptacle: Strained in capacity, filled to the utmost.
| ? 1605 Drayton Poems, To Virginian Voy. 10 Britans..quickly aboard bestowe you, And with a merry gale swell your stretch'd sayle. c 1681 Duke Review 96 [He] Swell'd his stretch'd coffers with o'er-flowing gold. 1832 Brewster Nat. Magic viii. 193 If..we strew the sand over a stretched membrane, the sand will form itself into figures. 1840 in Newton's Lond. Jrnl. Conj. Ser. XVI. 361 When India rubber is introduced, it is in the stretched or non-elastic state. 1889 Brinsmead Hist. Pianoforte 40 The vibrations of stretched strings. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 28 July 6/3 You walk the stretched rope. |
b. Of the senses: Tense.
| 1800 Ht. Lee Canterb. T. (ed. 2) III. 34 That profound stillness under which the stretched senses seem to ache. |
4. a. Of language, ideas, prerogative, etc.: Strained beyond natural or proper limits.
| c 1600 Shakes. Sonn. xvii. 12 So should..your true rights be termd a Poets rage, And stretched miter of an Antique song. 1674 N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 71 If this answer seems harsh or stretched, we shall easily slacken and soften it by a clearer Instance. a 1711 Ken Psyche Poet. Wks. 1721 IV. 225 Say, if your stretch'd Imaginations find More horrid Monsters than foul human kind. 1790 Burke Fr. Rev. 95 They therefore take up, one day, the most violent and stretched prerogative, and another time the wildest democratic ideas of freedom. 1833 Lamb Elia, Product. Mod. Art, They satisfy our most stretched and craving conceptions of the glories of the antique world. |
b. Of life: Drawn out beyond the normal period.
| 1606 Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. iii. 61 And thou [Nestor] most reuerend for thy stretcht-out life. |
5. Of an aircraft, engine, etc.: increased in size or operating capacity; based on a smaller or less powerful design. Cf. stretch v. 21 e.
| 1960 New Scientist 30 June 1639/2 The Super-VC 10, which BOAC has just ordered off the drawing-board, is an example of a ‘stretched’ aeroplane. 1966 Wall St. Jrnl. 13 Jan. 1 Their orders of ‘stretched’ jets—conventional models expanded to carry more passengers—will also have to be carefully considered. 1967 Economist 8 July p. xxvi/3 Operators are suspicious of ‘stretched’ engines. 1972 Daily Tel. 26 Sept. 6/7 The car is a stretched version of the latest Daimler Double-Six, itself developed from the Jaguar XJ12. 1978 Ibid. 23 Feb. 6/8 Improvements in technology mean that the British Hovercraft Corporation's ‘stretched’ SRN-4 is likely to be used on some of the established 100–150 mile European routes. |