| 释义 |
▪ I. till, n.1|tɪl|
Forms: 5–6 tylle, 6 tille, 6–7 tyll, 7 til, 6– till.
[Origin obscure.]
†1. A small box, casket, or closed compartment, contained within or forming part of a larger box, chest, or cabinet; sometimes one that could be lifted out, sometimes a drawer in a cabinet or chest of drawers; used for keeping valuables, documents, etc., more safely. Obs. except as in 2.
1452in Munimenta Academica (Rolls) II. 653 Prout patet in scriptis indenturis positis in ‘le tylle’ in studio meo Oxoniæ. 1530Palsgr. 281/1 Tyll in a chest, chettron. 1534Inv. Wardr. Kath. Arragon in Camden Misc. (1855) 40 One cofar..having foure tilles therin, the fore fronte of every of them gilte. 1547–53Sir R. Sadler List in 30th Rep. Dep. Kpr. Publ. Rec. (1869) 224 Bagges of Bokes, Lettres, and other Writenges remayneng in the study at Westminster, and in several tilles within the same. 1549in Palgrave Anc. Kal. & Inv. Excheq. (1836) III. 417 Which lettres patentes do lye in the nethermost tyll under the tyll wheron is written in text hand Acquietauncies. 1561in Nichols Progr. Q. Eliz. (1823) I. 118 By Anthony Anthony a corbonett fall [full] of tylls. 1591Percival Sp. Dict., Caxon de arca, the till of a chest, loculus. 1633G. Herbert Temple, Confess. i, Within my heart I made Closets; and in them many a chest;..In those chests, boxes; in each box, a till. 1651Davenant Gondibert iii. i. liv, A spacious cabinet, with all things fraught.., she by degrees Lifts every till, does every drawer draw. 1664Pepys Diary 8 Jan., Going to his secret till in his desk, wherein the key of his cash-chest lay. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 229 When I came to the Till in the Chests, I found there three great Bags of Pieces of Eight. 1737[S. Berington] G. de Lucca's Mem. (1738) 13 Two little Cabinets..full of intricate Drawers or Tills.
2. Now spec. A drawer, money-box, or similar receptacle under and behind the counter of a shop or bank, in which cash for daily transactions is temporarily kept.
1698Lond. Gaz. No. 3363/4 Lost out of Mr. Wray's Shop in Little-Britain, a Til. 1801M. Edgeworth Contrast v, James swept some loose money off the counter into the till. 1866Crump Banking i. 31 All the money..excepting what must be kept in the ‘till’ for immediate use. 1908Times 22 Apr. 5/5 Officers..suspected they had contemplated robbing the tills.
fig.1886Harper's Mag. Jan. 242 There is generally a race to see who shall first tap nature's till [i.e. strike oil].
3. Printing. Each of the spaces or cells between the ribbed projections of the platen of a hand printing-press, in which the pressman keeps various small requisites.
1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 141 Tills, the cell-like divisions in the top side of the platen of a hand printing press.
4. attrib. and Comb. (from 2), as till-lock, till-money, till-robber, till-robbing; till-alarm, a device by which a bell is automatically rung when the till is opened; till-box = sense 1; till-roll, a roll of paper recording an account of the transactions made at the till to which it is attached; till-tapping, pilfering from a till; so till-tapper.
1692Lond. Gaz. No. 2756/4 Stolen..a Till-box with some Money in it. 1737Salmon's Country Builder's Estimator (ed. 2) 110 Cabinet Locks, Till Locks, and Scrutoire Locks. 1862Catal. Internat. Exh., Brit. ii. No. 5152 Ticket, receipt, and till protector. 1877Knight Dict. Mech., Till-alarm. 1891Daily News 3 Feb. 2/4 Part of their reserves..being necessary ‘till-money’ for daily transactions in small change. 1893Columbus (Ohio) Disp. 14 Nov., For some time the firm has been a loser by persistent till-tapping... The camera lens closed automatically with the photographs of the till tappers. 1895J. C. Snaith D. Marvin xxvii, Pete declared it [the money stolen] was a month's till money. 1972Times 18 Oct. 4/4 The butcher..examined his till roll, and there was no record of anyone having paid that amount.
▪ II. till, n.2 Orig. and chiefly Sc.
[Origin unascertained: cf. thill2 in similar sense.]
1. A term applied to a stiff clay, more or less impervious to water, usually occurring in unstratified deposits, and forming an ungenial subsoil. Originally a term of agriculture in Scotland.
1765A. Dickson Treat. Agric. ii. (ed. 2) 222 They [plowmen] are so inattentive, as to leave good soil in some places, and turn up till in others. 1799J. Robertson Agric. Perth 19 On the declivities of almost all the hills a strong stiff till abounds. Ibid. 477 Like all the land on the south aspect of the Seedlaws being a red till, capable of high cultivation and in most places approaching to the nature of loam. 1805Forsyth Beauties Scotl. II. 66 Till,..is in universal use among farmers,..implying very various mixtures of mineral substances placed under the fertile mould... In general,..a hard clay of any sort, which in a very slight degree admits the passage of water, and is impenetrable by the roots of plants. 1816Scott Antiq. iv, Placing paving-stones beneath the tree when first planted..a barrier between his roots and the unkindly till. Ibid. xxiii, We're down to the till now,..and the ne'er a coffin or ony thing else is here.
fig.1831Brewster Nat. Magic xi. (1833) 287 It may lie long unproductive in the ungenial till of human knowledge.
b. In the majority of cases this clay belongs to the Glacial or Drift period, and in geological use ‘till’ has the specific sense ‘boulder clay’.
1842Darwin in Life & Lett. (1887) I. 300 A contribution to the Geological Society, on the boulders and ‘till’of South America. 1851Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. i. 281 This clay..rests upon ‘till’, or boulder clay. 1863Lyell Antiq. Man xii. (ed. 3) 218 Erratics of Scandinavian origin occur chiefly in the lower portions of the till. 1863A. C. Ramsay Phys. Geog. xxiv. (1878) 384 Much of the Lower Boulder⁓clay is known as ‘Till’ in Scotland.
2. Hard or soft shale; app. = thill2. dial.
1672Sinclair Misc. Observ. Hydrost. 260 (Jam.) All metals, as stone and tilles (which are seems of black stone, and participat much of the nature of coal), ly one above another, and keep a regular course. 1831W. Patrick Plants Lanark Pref. 18 The stratum itself lies on a bed of till above the main coal.
3. Comb. till-stone, a fissile shale, in coalmines, etc.
c1830Glouc. Farm Rep. 4 in Lib. Usef. Kn., Husb. III, A thin wet clay, of a most adhesive nature, covering the thin fissile till-stone.
▪ III. † till, n.3 Obs. or dial.
Abbrev. of lentil, quasi ‘Lent-till’: see quot. 1640. (Chiefly in pl.)
1388Wyclif Ezek. iv. 9 Take..wheete, and barli, and beenys, and tillis [1382 lent]. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. xcvi. (Bodl. MS.), Malice off Tille is temprid ȝif þe skynne is ido aweye & þe piþ sode in fresche water. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 594/5 Lupinus, Tylles. 1607Schol. Disc. agst. Antichr. i. ii. 95 What maketh the fitches, tylles, tares..which are mingled with the wheate? 1640Parkinson Theatr. Bot. 1068 Wee in English [call it] Lentills, but the country people in Hampshire, and other countries..call it Tills, leaving out the Lent, as thinking that word agreeth not with the matter. 1669Worlidge Syst. Agric. (1681) 42 The least of all Pulses is the Lentil, in some places called Tills. 1760J. Lee Introd. Bot. App. 330 Tills, Ervum.
▪ IV. till, n.4 Printing.
[Cf. MHG., Ger. tülle (LG. dulle, Du. dille) a socket in which something is fixed, or through which a rod or spindle passes.]
In the early forms of hand printing-presses, a horizontal cross-piece extending between and fixed to the two main uprights, through which passes the hose or sleeve, and the shank of the spindle; also called shelf.
1611Cotgr., Planche,..the Till of a Printers Presse, or the shelfe that compasseth the Hose. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing x. ⁋6 The Till is a Board about one Inch thick... In its middle it hath a round Hole..for the Shank of the Spindle to pass through. 1771Luckombe Hist. Print. 366 It may..be botched up by putting scabbord between the Hose and the square holes of the Till. 1841Savage Dict. Printing 796 Till or Shelf, a mahogany shelf that clasps the hose and causes it and the spindle to come down perpendicularly without any play.
▪ V. till, n.5 Obs. or dial.
[f. till v.1]
1. An act of tilling or ploughing land: see till v.1 4.
1647Husbandman's Plea agst. Tithes 36 Item for plowing of the fallow for Wheat at 3 tilles at 5 s. the Acre, for every of the three times plowing 60 li. 1760Brown Compl. Farmer ii. 32 In Oxfordshire..they give their sour land a till, according to the..condition of their lands.
b. concr. (See quots.)
1794–1806Rep. Agric., Lanc. 27 (E.D.S.) Till, a compost of earth and lime, mixed. 1828Craven Gloss., Till, Tillage, manure, compost.
2. ? Labour, toil: cf. till v.1 1.
a1800Dame Oliphant xii. in Child Ballads (1886) iv. 409/1 Willie he gaed hame again, To his hard task and till.
▪ VI. † till, n.6 Obs. rare—1.
[f. till v.3]
Allurement, enticement.
1596P. Colse Penelope (1880) 179, I feare me he hath caught some doue, And keepes her tame, with tills of loue.
▪ VII. till, v.1|tɪl|
Forms: α. 1–2 tilian (1 til(i)ᵹan), 2–5 tilie(n, 3 tiliȝen, tillien, 3–5 tylye, 3–6 tile, tyle, 3–7 tille, 4 tilye, tylie, tilly, 4–6 tylle, 4–7 til, 6 tyll, 6– till. β. 1 tiol-, teolian, 2 teolien, 2–3 teliȝen, 4 telie(n, tell, teile, 4–5 (Sc. 6) tele, 5 telle, 6–7 Sc. teil, teill, 8–9 dial. teel. γ. 1–2 tylian, 3–4 tulie(n (ü), 4 tulye (ü).
[OE. tilian to strive, acquire = OFris. tilia to get, cultivate, OS. tilian to obtain (MDu., Du. telen to breed, raise, cultivate, cause, etc.), OHG. zilôn, zilên to strive (G. zielen to aim, strive):—OTeut. *tilô-jan, *tilêjan, denom. f. *tilom: see till prep. By breaking of i before l, tilian became tiolian, teolian, later tele: cf. pill v.1, peel v.1 (Sievers Ags. Gram. ed. 3, §105, 3, §107 Anm. 4, §416, 14 a.).]
I. To labour, work for or at, cultivate.
†1. intr. To strive, exert oneself, labour, work.
αc897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. xix. 147 He sceal tilian ðæt he liciᵹe. c1000ælfric Saints' Lives xxviii. 168 To þisum swicolum life we swincað and tiliaþ and to þam towerdan life we tiliað hwonlice. c1175Lamb. Hom. 19 Nu sculle we..tilian to þere saule bihofðe. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 37 Sume men..tiliȝet[h] michel to oðre mannæs bihofþe. a1225Ancr. R. 404 Ure Louerd..tiled efter hore luue.
β, γ971Blickl. Hom. 219 Se deada man cwic eft..& teolode to arisenne. c1000ælfric Hom. I. 412 Oxa teolað his hlaforde. Ibid. II. 76 Þa tyliað..Gode, þa ðe ne secað heora aᵹen ᵹestreon ðurh ᵹytsunge. c1175Lamb. Hom. 133 Þenne heo fundieð to teoliende efter istreone. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 155 Þanne hie wilen tulien after strene.
†2. trans. To labour after, seek after, provide; to get by effort, to obtain, acquire, or earn by labour; also (later) simply, to get, obtain. In OE. and Early ME. const. with genitive, later with acc. Obs.
a900Ags. Psalter (Th.) xlviii. 7 Full neah ælc mann þæs tiolað..hu he on ecnesse swincan mæᵹe. c1000ælfric Hom. II. 552 Se asolcena ðeowa, þe nolde tilian nan ðing his hlaforde. c1016O.E. Chron. an. 1016 (Laud), Hi..heom metes tilodon. a1175Cott. Hom. 223 Þu scealt mid ærfeðnesse þe metes tylian. c1220Bestiary 80 in O.E. Misc. 3 Ne maiȝ he [the eagle] tilen him non fode. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 974 Hii..swonke & tylede hor liflode. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 220 His luf to tak & tille. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 67 Many wyntres men lyueden and no mete ne tulyeden [v.rr. teleden, tiliden, tilieden, tylied; C. xvi. 271 no mete telden]. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 300 Pore men..þat hauen greet neede..to þyng þat freris tillen of hem. c1425Cast. Persev. 2538 in Macro Pl. 153 A-forn mele, men mete schul tyle [rimes skyl, wyl, hyle]. c1440York Myst. vi. 59 Adam!..tille with-alle þi meete and drynke for euer-more.
†3. To take care of or attend to medically; to treat (a patient, or a disease). Const. as in 2. Only OE.
a850Laws Ecgbert, Poenit. iv. c. 20 Wifman..ᵹif heo tilað hire cilde med æniᵹum wiccecræfte. c897K. ælfred Gregory's Past. C. lxii. 457 Hwæðres..ðara yfela is betere ær to tilianne? a1000Life St. Guthlac xxii. (Goodw.) 96 His læces hine mid sealfum lange teolodon. c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 60 Þonan se micla ᵹeoxa cume, oþþe hu hit mon tilian scule.
4. trans. To bestow labour and attention, such as ploughing, harrowing, manuring, etc., upon (land) so as to fit it for raising crops; to cultivate.
αc1205Lay. 2618 Þat lond heo lette tilien [c 1275 tilie]. a1300Cursor M. 23851 (Edinb.) Il worþe it es to til [v.rr. tile, tille, Gött. tell] þe fild, Þat noht ogain þe sed mai yeld. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxii. 147 Þe folk nowþer tillez ne sawez na land. c1449Pecock Repr. iii. i. (Rolls) 275 Feeldis..which thei hem silf tilien. 1535Coverdale Gen. ii. 5 Nether was there eny man to tylle the earth. 1625Carpenter Geog. Delin. ii. i, He began..to till and manure the soyle with all heedfull industrie. 1765Hutchinson Hist. Mass. I. 207 Light land being easily tilled. 1835Thirlwall Greece I. ix. 342 The prisoners were forced to till the enemy's land.
βc1200Vices & Virtues 75 And land teliȝen and weriȝen. 13..Tell [see quot. c 1300 in α]. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxii. 103 Men of oure stature, þe whilk telez þe land. c1450Godstow Reg. 33 In londes I-telyd and not I-telyd. 1536in Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 1538. 394 Licence..to ryfe, outbreke and teill yeirlie 1000 acris of thair commounlandis. 1569Reg. Privy Council Scot. I. 653 Na Scottisman dwelland in Scotland sall tak or teill ony ground in England. 1882Jago Cornw. Gloss., Teel, to plant or sow.
b. spec. To plough (land).
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 256 My plowman Piers shal ben.., And for to tulye [v.r. tilie] treuthe a teme shal he haue. 1513Douglas æneis vi. xiv. 96 Quhair thow thi riggis telis for to saw. 1535Coverdale 1 Sam. xiv. 14 Halue an aker of londe, which a pare of oxen maye tyll in one daye. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 260 An Hide..is so much Land as a Man can till with one Plow for a year. 1863Fawcett Pol. Econ. i. iv. (1876) 42 The same ploughs till the land for many successive crops.
c. absol.
1100–21O.E. Chron. an. 1097, On unᵹewederan þa man oððe tilian sceolde oððe eft tilða ᵹegaderian. 1340–70Alex. & Dind. 854 Whan ȝe mow take no tol to tilien on erþe. a1400–50Alexander 4581 How suld ȝe tellel withouten toles? 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. v. (S.T.S.) I. 293 This Haii..was behaldeng in the neist feild how the pluche teilet. 1652Bp. Hall Invis. World i. viii, They then must purvey for their own food, and either till, or famish. 1850A. Jameson Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863) 125 They drained, they tilled, they planted.
†5. trans. To raise, rear (a crop); to tend and cultivate (a plant) so as to promote growth. Obs.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 1278 Abraham..tillede corn and sette treen. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 309 To ere and sowe and haue corne i-teled. c1400Mandeville (1839) v. 50 Men maken all weys þat bawme to ben tyled of the cristen men. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 391 b/1 Of hym that tylyeth the vyne.
6. fig. To cultivate (something figured as land or as a crop, e.g. the mind, a ‘field’ of knowledge, a virtue, etc.).
1393Langl. P. Pl. C. i. 87 Bisshopes..Ben chargid with holy churche charyte to tulie, Þat is, leel loue..a-mong lered and lewed. 1535Coverdale Ezek. xxxvi. 9 Vnto you will I turne me, that ye maye be tylled and sowen. 1642Gauden Three Serm. 132 Hee becomes tild and polished for the best society. a1764Lloyd Author's Apol. Wks. 1774 I. 6 And tills their minds with proper care. 1889Roscoe in Nature 10 Oct. 579/1 His most important researches have entered upon fields hitherto tilled, with but scanty success, by the biologist.
II. To prepare, set, or spread in readiness.
7. trans. To spread (a net), set (a trap or snare). Also, to set in any position. Now s.w. dial. Cf. teld v. 4. Also absol.
a1225Ancr. R. 334 (MS. Nero) Þer me sit mid þe grea⁓hundes forte kepen þe hearde, oðer tillen [v.rr. Vern. tilleþ, Corpus, Cleop., Caius tildeð, Titus tildes] þe nettes aȝean ham. 1587Turberv. Trag. T. 33 The wilie witted boy That tiles his trappe to take the subtile foxe. 1613W. Browne Sheph. Pipe ii. (1614) D j b, Nor knowes a trappe nor snare to till. c1750Mrs. Palmer Devon. Dial. (1837) 2 Took a bard out of the springal that little maester had a-teel'd. 1799in Southey Comm.-pl. Bk. (1851) IV. 523 [By Newton Bushel we saw a board] Man Traps and Spring Guns are tilled in this Garden. 1880Carnegie Trapping 5 It is ten chances to one that the rabbit will go over or to the place at which you did not (as it is called in the West) ‘till’ your gin. Ibid. 36 In..trapping rooks..there is no difficulty in telling what part of the field to ‘till’ in. 1882Jago Cornw. Gloss., Teel, to set or ‘teel a trap’. 1890Gloucestersh. Gloss., Tile or Teel..to tile a trap, to set a trap; to tile a gate, to set it open. 1895Quiller-Couch Wand. Heath 80 He and his mates went out and tilled the trammel.
†8. To pitch (a tent): = teld v. 1; to set (a sail). Obs.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 44 Ten þousend of Tentes I-tilled [v.rr. I-teldyde, teldit, teled] be-sydes. 1628Digby Voy. Medit. (Camden) 11 We had not men enough to till our sailes untill the other shippes were gone past our discerning.
III. †9. Comb. of verb-stem. till-land (tele-land), tilled land, land under cultivation; so till-ridge (teill ryge). Sc. Obs.
1437Registr. Aberdon. (Maitland) I. 247 Merkand north⁓west our a moss to þe nerrast teleland of Ardgrane. 1549Aberdeen Regr. (Spald. Cl.) I. 274 That na maner of takismen..ryif out..ony landis..without thair teill ryge of auld.
▪ VIII. † till, v.2 Obs.
Forms: 3–4 tille; also 3rd sing. pres. 3 tilþ, tylþ; pa. tense 3 tylde, 3–4 tilde, 5 tilt.
[OE. *tillan, in comb. ᵹetillan to touch, reach, attain, atillan to touch; cf. Goth. gatilôn to attain, obtain.]
intr. To reach, extend (to a specified point or distance; in quot. 1393, to a specified length).
[a1000Blickl. Glosses (E.E.T.S.) 262/2 Weras bloda & facenfulle na healfe ᵹetillað.] c1290St. Brendan 616 in S. Eng. Leg. 236 His her tilde doun to is fet, of berde and of heued. 1297R. Glouc. 174 Fram douere in to chestre tilleþ watelinge stret. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) II. 107 The kyngdom of Deyra tillede and streiȝte from þe ryuer of Humber anon to þe ryuere of Tyne. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. vii. 220 Ich putte hem in pressours..Tyl ten ȝerdes oþer twelue tilled [A. v. 128 tolden; B. v. 214 tolled] out þrettyne.
b. trans. (a) To stretch to, attain to, reach, touch. (b) To stretch (a thing) out.
[c961æthelwold Rule St. Benet vii. (Schröer) 23 ᵹif we þone hrof þære healican eaðmodnesse ᵹetillan willað.] c1400Destr. Troy 914 As he tilt out his tung with his tethe grym.
▪ IX. † till, v.3 Obs.
[Forms: 1 tyllan, pa. tense tylde], 3 tulle(n (ü), pa. tense tulde, 4–5 tille, tylle, 5 tyll, 4–7 till (4 til, 6–7 pa. tense and pple. tild): see also toll v.1
[OE. *tyllan (in comb. fortyllan to draw away, seduce), early ME. tullen (ü), ME. tylle, tille, till. Ulterior history obscure.]
1. trans. To draw, attract, persuade; to entice, allure, coax; to win over.
a1225Ancr. R. 320 Mi liht onswere, oðer mine liht lates, tulde him erest upon me. Ibid. 414 Ne tulle ȝe to þe ȝete none unkuðe harloz. a1300Cursor M. 12175 (Cott.) To þe scole him for to till [v.r. tille]. a1340Hampole Psalter xxiv. 2 Þof þai waite nyght and daye with ill suggestions to till me til syn. 13..Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. xxix. ii. 38 On of þe Iewes Malicious Tilled þe child in to his hous. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodera) 159 For eth is a man to til To do it þat is his wil. 1471Ripley Comp. Alch. v. xliii. in Ashm. (1652) 158 Lest wyth theyr flatteryng they so the tyll That thou agre unto ther wyll. 1581A. Hall Iliad iv. 71 He tild them for to trye And proue with him the combate. 1600Holland Livy xxi. xi. 399 By tilling them on, and alluring them with hope of great rewards. 1609C. Butler Fem. Mon. ii. (1623) D iv, The sunne rising doth oftimes till them forth. 1666M. M. Solomon's Prescript. 83 Devils..labouring to..till thee on.
b. absol.
13..Cursor M. 27307 (Cott.) He sal him til a-mendes drau,..wit wordes soft and mild, Als moder tilland dos hir child. a1591H. Smith Wks. (1866–7) I. 299 As though his eyes would draw his heart, as the bait tilleth on the hook.
2. To draw (physically).
a1400–50Alexander 5479 Þai [sirens] droȝe þam doun in-to þe depe & drowned þaim..Or els þai tillid þaim to þe trees.
b. intr. ? To proceed, go. (Cf. ‘draw near’.)
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 2492 Sire graunte me þanne, quaþ hengist, ȝif it is þi wille As moche place as mid a þuong ich may aboute tille. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 128 To gile no to fraude wild he neuer tille. [But this may be 1.]
▪ X. till, v.4|tɪl|
[mod. f. till n.1]
trans. To put (money) into a till.
1841J. T. J. Hewlett Parish Clerk III. 68 Having tilled the fourpence three farthings. 1891Goschen in Standard 9 July 2/3 Coins..which have been tilled for many years, thereby not being exposed to any friction.
▪ XI. till, prep., conj., adv.|tɪl|
Forms: 1, 3–7 til, 4–5 tille, tylle, 4–6 tyl, tyll; 3 (Orm.), 4– till (in 18th c. often printed 'till as if short for until). Also 4 tel, 4–5 tell, 5 telle; 5 (9 dial.) tul, 6 (8 dial.) tull; 5 thyll(e.
[ONorthumb. til, a. ON. til prep. with genitive (e.g. til Islands, to Iceland, til dauða-dags to the day of death); mod. Icel., Færo., Norw., Da. til, Sw. till; also OFris. til prep. with dative. Prob. originally a n. *til = OE. till fixed point, station, OHG., MHG. zil, Ger. ziel neut. end, limit, point aimed at, goal, late MLG. tel, til aim, (fixed) point of time; cf. ON. aldrtili end of life, death; hence the const. with genitive: prop. ‘with the limit or goal of (the place or time named)’. In ON. it filled the place of the WGer. prep. tô, ti, te, Ger. zu, zi, ze, OE. tó, to. Characteristically northern in reference to place or purpose (though in ME. occasionally midl. or south.); in reference to time, general Eng. from c 1300, though now often superseded by the compound until. To the same root belong OE. til adj. ‘to the purpose, serviceable, good’, and OE. tilian, -tillan, till v.1, v.2]
A. prep.
I. Local and dative. Now only n. dial. and Sc., where normally used instead of to before a vowel or h.
1. = to prep.a. In the ordinary local sense of to.
a800Inscription, Ruthwell Cross, Dumfries in O.E.T. 126 Hweþræ þer fusæ fearran kwomu æþþilæ til anum. c1200Ormin Ded. 170 He..stah þa siþþenn upp till heffne. a1300Cursor M. 10832 (Cott.) Ar he his wijf til hus wald bring. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 3 Þe fled out of Wales away tille Ireland. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 445 Suche gone prively til helle. c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 2106 They goon Hoom til Atthenes. c1460Towneley Myst. xv. 113 Tyll egyp weynd shall we. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. ii. xiii. 114 He dyde goo from one place tyl another. 1582–8Life James VI (1804) 256 The Earle of Atholl sent aduertisement heirof till Argyll. a1618J. Davies Eglogues Poems (1772) 114 Whan we wenden till another place. 1807J. Stagg Poems 36 As king Solomon hath said, The place I'll not turn tilt [= to it]. 1816Scott Antiq. ix, Rab..bang'd out o' bed, and till some of his readiest claes.
b. As far as; so as to reach. Cf. also C. 3.
1375Barbour Bruce x. 682 Swerdis..War till the hyltis all bludy. c1400Mandeville (1839) ix. 107 The forpartie of the heed til vnder the chyn is at Rome. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 80/2 Nabugodonosor..sente vnto all Regyons aboute..tyl the mountes of ethyope. 1535Coverdale Judg. xx. 43 They..folowed vpon them..and trode them downe tyll afore Gibea. 1561Hollybush Hom. Apoth. 38 That it maye reache..from the nauell tyll the priuy membres. 1828Buchan Ballads I. 2 He read it till an end.
2. In senses of to derived from the local.
a. where the object is not a point in space. Now Sc.
c1200Ormin Ded. 18 Þu þohhtesst tatt itt mihhte wel Till mikell frame turrnenn. a1340Hampole Psalter xxiv. 2 Ill suggestions to till me til syn. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 What lufe he had til his sugets. Ibid. iv. 12 Changed..fra a faire damysell til a dragoun. 1509Bp. Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (E.E.T.S.) i. 294 She restrayned her appetyte tyl one mele & tyl one fysshe on the day. 1513Douglas æneis vi. Prol. 64 Till vertu thaim to brod. 1582–8Life Jas. VI. (1804) 260 He was putt till extreme tortor. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. iii. §40 He was..restored till his liberty and archbishoprick. 1826J. Wilson Noct. Ambr. Wks. (1855) I. 125, I venerate the adherence till't. 1858Ramsay Remin. v. (1870) 104 ‘They're what we must all come till’.
†b. Conformably to, in accordance with, after. Obs. rare.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 90 Ilk man..God made til his awen lyknesse. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 How dere he boght man þat he had made til his awen liknes. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xix. 59 He was not armed tyl his plesure.
†c. To or for the purpose of, in order to be; to become, as. Obs.
a1352Minot Poems xi. 40 Þat he may at his ending haue heuin till his mede. a1450Le Morte Arth. 637 The feyrest lady..Tille his lemman chosen hath he. c1489Caxton Blanchardyn xxv. 93, I wolde haue gyuen you tyl his wyff.
3. Expressing the indirect object or dative relation. After verbs of giving, telling, comparing, hearkening, pertaining, addition, affecting action; adjs. and ns. of likeness, agreeableness, belonging, relationship, etc. Now n. dial. and Sc.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxvi. 31 Ða cueð til him ðe hælend. c1200Ormin 803 He seȝȝde þuss till himm. 13..Cursor M. 13632 (Cott. & Fairf.) Hald þe til [Gött. & Trin. to] him. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1833 Of twa [reasons] byfore I spake, Now wil I other twa til þam take. 1357Lay Folks Catech. 29 (MS. T.) Of the lawe and þe lare þat langes till halikirke. Ibid. 89 Iesu crist..Is sothefastly god euen til [= equal to] his fadir. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 565 Þe Endentur till him gaf he. Ibid. xiii. 511 Till hym neir syb wes he. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) Pref. 2 Knawen openly til all men. Ibid. iii. 9 Þai schuld be obedient til him. c1460Towneley Myst. xviii. 239 Whi dos thou tyll vs thus? 1521Fisher Serm. agst. Luther i. Wks. (E.E.T.S.) i. 317 How that shadowe & this thynge agreeth..one tyll another. 1724Ramsay Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 21 Wad ye compare ye'r sell to me, A Docken till a tansie. 1790Mrs. Wheeler Westmld. Dial. (1821) 59 He hes dun tull em oa [= all] alike. 1815Scott Guy M. xv, The death of the grey mare..was naething till't. 1818― Hrt. Midl. xviii, ‘Hear till her’, said Madge.
†4. In prec. senses, often placed after its object, for metrical reasons. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 3712 (Cott.) And sithen his sun he cald him till. c1350Will. Palerne 2350, I wold wend hem tille wiþ-oute ani stint. c1380Sir Ferumb. 5264 Þus he spak him tille. c1420Chron. Vilod. 1412 Alle his askyng þey grauntede hym tylle. a1562G. Cavendish Poems (1825) II. 19, I espied certeyn persons comyng me tyll.
II. Of time.
5. a. Onward to (a specified time); up to the time of (an event); during the whole time before; until. (Denoting continuance up to a particular time, and usually implying cessation or change at that time: cf. B. 1.)
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 27 Fro Eneas till Brutus tyme. c1375Cursor M. 498 (Fairf.) Sa þai sal tille [Cott., Gött. to] domes day. a1400Sir Perc. 25 Fro thethyne tille his lyves ende. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV 232 b, He kepte all these thinges secret, tyll his retorne. 1588,1827[see morn 2 b]. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. ii. 127 Fight till the last gaspe. 1611Bible Exod. xvi. 19 Let no man leaue of it till the morning. 1632Sir R. Le Grys tr. Velleius Paterc. Ded. 7 From the foundation of the city till the ruine of the Macedonian kingdome. 1824Scott St. Ronan's xxxviii, She doubted if the woman would live till morning.
b. After a negative, denoting the continuance of the negative condition up to the time indicated (and implying its cessation then); thus nearly equivalent to before. Cf. B. 1 b.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. ii. ii. 164, I neuer saw her till this time. 1649Heylin Relat. & Observ. ii. 155 To give no account for it till Doomes-day in the afternoone. 1671Lady M. Bertie in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 22 The grand ballett is not to be danced till Shrove-Munday. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1790) I. 28 [He] begged of me not to go on shore till day. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 41 It was not till the fourteenth century that their guild rose into wealth and importance. 1887Mrs. Oliphant Makers Venice ii. ii. 177 The news..did not reach him till long after the event.
c. Followed by an adverb (or adv. phr.) of time. Cf. now 13, then 7.
c1380Wyclif Last Age Church 30 Fro Crist til now, þrittene hundrid ȝeer and sixe and fyfty. a1518Skelton Magnyf. 319 Fare you well tyll sone. 1535Coverdale Prov. xxix. 11 A foole poureth out his sprete alltogether, but a wyse man kepeth it in till afterwarde. 1598Shakes. Merry W. v. i. 28, I knew not what 'twas to be beaten, till lately. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 744, I know thee not, nor ever saw till now Sight more detestable. 1746Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. vii. 107 Till then farewel. 1844Kinglake Eothen viii, It was not till after midnight that my visit..came to an end. Mod. I stayed till after ten o'clock.
d. = to prep. 6 b, in stating the time of day. U.S.
1949[see quarter n. 8 c]. 1962M. & G. Gordon Journey with Stranger (1963) iv. 36 ‘Ten till,’ he said... ‘I'll go in first.’
III. = To with the infinitive. Now only Sc.
6. a. as prep. introducing the infinitive of purpose.
Not in Norse. Closely akin to 2 c; þare sorrow til amese = to or with the aim of, or for the purpose of, amesing their sorrow, to the mitigation of their sorrow.
13..Cursor M. 5330 (Cott.) He praid þe god men þat þar wer To lith a quil his word til her. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxi. (Clement) 519 Thane, þare gret sorow til ames, Petyre þame tald how It was Hapnyt. c1425Wyntoun Cron ix. xxv. 2838 Tyll ete ore drink, syng ore dance. 1513Douglas æneis viii. vii. 31 Sen Nereus douchtir, Thetis, mycht..Induce the till enarme hir son Achill. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (Rolls) III. 323 For till reskew Thair libertie..Beseikand him to tak auctoritie In that mater and afald ay till be. 1599A. Hume Epist. to G. Moncrieff 164 Till execute their office man be hyred.
b. as sign of the simple infinitive; esp. after for.
Now chiefly used before a vowel or h.
c1375Cursor M. 12989 (Fairf.) For tille [v.r. to] be myne vnderloute. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 98 Trawayllyt for to wyn senyhory, And throw hus mycht till occupy Landis. 1424Coldstream Chartul. (1879) 42 Be it mad kend..me Jon of Swynton..till haue fulli grantit to ye priores [etc.]. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) iv. 1252 Now aught I sore till irke! 1513Douglas æneis vi. xv. 10 For til excers the art of geometrye. 1816Scott Antiq. xxv, An ye had wussed till hae been present. c1880Lyttle Paddy McQuillan 85 (E.D.D.) Get Mickey Mooney till gie me a lift wi' them.
B. conj. (orig. the prep. governing the demonstrative pron. that, in apposition with the following clause.) Cf. until, similarly used.
(From the earliest ME. times both till that (see that conj. 1 c) and the simple till occur; supplanting OE. óþ þæt, early ME. oþat, a þat (see o prep.3, a prep.3), also OE. óþ þe and the simple óþ. Till that represented ON. til þess (MSw. til þes (at), til þet, Sw. til dess at.)
1. a. To the time that; up to (the point) when; until. (Denoting the continuance of the action or state expressed by the principal clause up to the time expressed by the dependent clause, and usually implying that at that time such action or state ceases and a different or opposite one begins.)
Formerly often (and still arch.) with dependent clause in subjunctive when expressing supposition, contingency, or expectation (in ME. sometimes even when expressing fact); so also in subordinate senses below.
1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an. 1137, Þar he nam þe biscop..&..hise neues & dide ælle in prisun til hi iafen up here castles. c1200Ormin 126 Swa þeȝȝ leddenn heore lif Till þatt teȝȝ wærenn alde. Ibid. 9147 Fra þatt he wass full litell Till þatt he waxenn wass. a1225Leg. Kath. 720 Þeos meiden..abad baldeliche aðet me [v.r. til þet men] come & fatte hire. c1320Cast. Love 44 To wonen and welden to such ende, Til þat he scholde to heuene wende. 13..Cursor M. 8421 (Gött.) Þu sett him to fostering, Tille he be lerid himself to lede. 1420–30Prymer (E.E.T.S.) 64 Alle þe daies in whiche y trauele now, y abide til my chaungyng come. 1526Tindale Luke xv. 8 What woman..doth not..seke diligently, till she finde it? 1560Ingelend Disob. Child (Percy Soc.) 22, I thought it surely a whole hundred yere, Tyll in this place I sawe you here. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. ii. 131 Forbeare till this company be past. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 465, I will resist such entertainment, till Mine enemy ha's more pow'r. 1611Bible Dan. ii. 34 Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands. 1625Massinger New Way iii. iii, She..sits on thorns, till she be private with him. 1707E. Chamberlayne Pres. St. Eng. ii. xv. (ed. 22) 194 They..forfeited their Places if they did marry, till by Act of Parliament..they were allowed to take Wives. 1796Hist. Ned Evans II. 213, I shall count the hours till I return. 1833H. Martineau Three Ages iii. 89 To be left at the Blue Lion till called for. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xiii. 8 Silence, till I be silent too.
b. With negative (expressed or implied) in the principal clause, and the dependent clause with till denoting the continuance of the negative condition up to the specified time, and usually (as in 1) implying its cessation or reversal (i.e. the commencement of the opposite or positive condition) at that time.
Here before can be substituted for till, but is not strictly synonymous with it, since in that case the negative qualifies the whole statement including the dependent clause. This may also be the case with till, e.g. ‘You need not wait till I come back’ (sense 1); cf. ‘You must not go till I come back’ (1 b). Hence some sentences of this form are ambiguous; but usually the context or circumstances make it clear which is meant.
c1220Bestiary 19 Ne stireð he nout of slepe Til ðe sunne haueð sinen ðries him abuten. 13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 1276 For thef of steling wil nowt blinne Til he honge bi the chinne. c1386Chaucer Prol. 21 Til we be roten, can we nat be rype. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 27 This mony not to be delyuerid..tyl the messe of Requiem be endyd. 1526Tindale John xiii. 38 The cocke shall nott crowe, till thou have [1611 hast] denyed me thryse. 1648Herrick Hesper., Glorie, Seldome comes Glorie till a man be dead. 1676Lister in Ray's Corr. (1848) 125, I shall resolve upon nothing till I see you. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xviii, Man little knows what calamaties are beyond his patience to bear, till he tries them. 1780Mirror No. 104 ⁋8 At length we set out..but not till repeated instructions were given [etc.]. a1814Spaniards iv. i. in New Brit. Theatre III. 239 Nor will the flaming sword of war..Be sheath'd again till that the Moorish pride Be humbled. 1832H. Martineau Demerara i. 15 We shall never prosper..till the system is wholly changed. 1864Lever Men & Women, etc. Ser. i. 91 ‘Never imagine’, said a wise prelate, ‘that you will root Popery out of England till you destroy Oxford’.
c. Formerly, and still dial. and in U.S., used after a negative principal clause, where before (or when) is now substituted in Standard English.
c1420? Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1130 No man cowde hym let tyll he came there. 1559Mirr. Mag., Edw. IV iii, I could not be ware tyl I was begiled. 1632Lithgow Trav. v. 231 Scarcely were wee well aduanced in our way, till wee were beset with more then three hundred Arabs. 1725De Foe Voy. round World (1840) 79, I had not been many hours on board, till I was surprised with the firing of three muskets. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 186, I was not long set till Margaret came to see me.
d. Depending on a principal clause containing an expression of long duration of time or delay before the act or state expressed by the dependent clause begins or takes effect. Now dial.
c1330Assump. Virg. (B.M. MS.) 121 Alle him þenkeþ swiþe longe Til þou comest hem amonge. 1450Marg. Paston in P. Lett. I. 178, I thynk ryth longe tyll I haue some god tydyngys fro yow. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. 445, I shal think tyll that season be come as long or longer than ye shal do. a1533― Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. R iv b, The mayden that tarieth long tyll she be maried. 1590Marlowe Edw. II, ii. i. 82 Come, leade the way, I long till I am there. 1602Shakes. Ham. iv. vii. 182 But long it could not be, Till that her garments..Pul'd the poore wretch..To muddy death. 1640tr. Verdere's Rom. of Rom. III. iv. 13 He..thought it long till hee was in the Citie. 1825Carlyle Schiller iii. (1845) 189 It was not long till..he set about turning this new knowledge to account. 1866Howells Venet. Life (1880) 122 So at first she seemed, and it was long till we doubted her perfection.
e. Indicating the ultimate result or outcome of a continued action expressed by the principal clause: So long or so far that; so that at length.
c1220Bestiary 65 Ðer-ouer he fleȝeð, and up he teð, Til ðat he ðe heuene seð. a1300Cursor M. 10991 (Cott.) Quen þai had beden til þai war irk. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. ii. 96 And þanne to sitten and soupen til slepe hem assaille. c1430Chev. Assigne 96 He wente þorow a foreste..Thylle he come to a watur. 1508Dunbar Gold. Targe 239 Thay fyrit gunnis..Till that the reke raise to the firmament. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. i. 8 Blow till thou burst thy winde. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xii, He..stands out and higgles, and..tires them till he gets a bargain. 1895Mrs. H. Ward Bessie Costrell ii. 31 Bessie ran till she was out of breath.
† f. After so long, so far, etc., indicating ultimate result. Obs. (Now expressed by that, or by till with omission of so long, etc. as in e.) (Cf. MSw. swa lange til þes; Ger. so lang bis.)
c1386Chaucer Sompn. T. 58 So longe he wente hous by hous, til he Cam til an hous ther he was wont to be Refresshed. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. xxiii. 724 He rode so fast tyl he came to Camelot. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. ii. 12 So long they traveiled..Till that at last they to a Castle came. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. i. 362 [He] fought so long, till that his thighes with Darts Were almost like a sharpe-quill'd Porpentine. 1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 44/1 Vse it as long till it return noe more. 1643Trapp Comm. Gen. xxxii. 26 The importunate widow teacheth us, to press God so far, till we put him to the blush. a1738J. Skinner Christmas Ba'ing xiii. Poems (1809) 45 Leitch..gae 'im sic a kick, Till they a' thought him slain. [1800Coleridge Piccolom. iv. v, And till we are indemnified, so long Stays Prague in pledge.]
g. Indicating purpose: in order that (one) may, (loosely) ‘and let me’. Sc. and Ir.
1881A. Mackie Scotticisms 18 Give me a match till I light the gas. 1904W. B. Yeats Pot of Broth 78 Give me some vessel, till I give this sky-woman a taste of it. 1931A. J. Cronin Hatter's Castle iii. iv. 525 Come till I give ye a grand, big hug. a1966‘M. na Gopaleen’ Best of Myles (1977) 57 Will yez all come in here..till I show yez me new picture.
†2. During the time that; so long as; while.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 18 His childre he wild auance tille he o lyue were. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints Prol. 82 Til saule & body togydir ves. Ibid. 107 Til þat he ves vith þaim in lyfe. 1558Bp. Watson Sev. Sacram. xvi. 102 Let vs..make haste to amende our lyues tyll we haue tyme. 1604T. Wright Passions (1620) 14 To prosecute pleasures..enjoy the roses til they flourish.
†C. adv. = to adv. Obs. rare.
1. In conjunction with fra (= fro): see fro adv., and cf. to and fro.
a1300Cursor M. 11937 Þat water moght rin fra and till, Vte of þe flum al atte will. 13..Evang. Nicod. 195 in Herrig Archiv LIII. 395 Sir Pilates wife..Till hir lord þus gan say Deme noght Ihesu tyll ne fra. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 119 How that the hopur wagges til and fra.
2. = to prep. (see A. 1) with ellipsis of n.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 107 Þe gode erle of Aniowe, of Mald herd he say Fulle richely to trowe tille tok his way. c1375Cursor M. 14523 (Fairf.), & þer-to gode couenande þai hiȝt, & iche an tille þaire trauþis pliȝt.
3. Used to qualify to, into, unto. In Wyclif rendering L. usque (ad, in), even, as far as, on (to).
1382Wyclif Acts xxiii. 1, I with al good conscience haue lyued bifore God, til into [Vulg. usque in] this dai. Ibid. xxviii. 24 Fro the moru til to euentijde. 1388― Jer. li 9 The doom therof cam til to [Vulg. usque ad, 1382 vnto] heuenes. c1435Torr. Portugal 992 That thys fynd hym yeld A-non to me tylle [rime wylle]. 14..in Hist. Coll. Citizen London (Camden) 90 The sayde Adam was mayre tylle unto the xxj day of Marche. 1577J. Knewstub Confut. (1579) 70 b, Euen so remember the suffering of Christ..til vnto his comming. |