| 释义 |
▪ I. fill, n.1|fɪl|
For forms see the vb. Also 4 folle, south. volle.
[OE. fyllo, fyllu fem. = OHG. fulli fem. (MHG. vülle, Ger. fülle fem.), ON. fyllr (fylli) fem. (Da. fylde masc. and fem., Sw. fylle neut), Goth. (ufar) fullei:—OTeut. *fullîn-, n. of state f. *fullo- full a. But in Eng. the word has, from similarity of sound, always been associated with the vb. fill. Senses 2–4 strictly belong to a distinct word, f. the vb.]
I.
1. a. A full supply of drink or food; enough to satisfy want or desire. Since OE. only in to drink, eat, have, take, etc. one's fill. Const. of; also in apposition to obj.
Beowulf 562 (Gr.) Næs hie ðære fylle ᵹefean hæfdon. c893K. ælfred Oros. ii. iv. §8 Drinc nu ðine fylle. c1175Lamb. Hom. 53 To eten hire fulle. c1220Bestiary 485 Fret hire fille. a1300Cursor M. 3536 (Cott.) Lang es siþen I ete my fill. 14..Sir Beues (MS. M.) 2473 Of that water he dranke his fyl. 1508Fisher Wks. (1876) 234 He coude not haue his fyll of pesen and oke cornes. 1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. civ. 259 Beastes of the mountaynes thereof drinke their fils. 1611Bible Deut. xxiii. 24 Thou mayest eate grapes thy fill. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. x. 114 Away, my goats, away: for you have browz'd your fill. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. i, The stag at eve had drunk his fill. 1817Shelley Revolt of Islam vii. xix, She sucked her fill even at this breast.
transf. and fig.c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 51 Hie hadden þe fulle of wurldes richeise. c1340Cursor M. 23547 (Trin.) Vche mon shal haue þe folle of al þat he aftir wilne wolle. 1551Crowley Pleas. & Pain 615 Of blysse or of payne they shall haue theyr fyll. 1611Bible Prov. vii. 18 Let vs take our fill of loue vntill the morning. 1653Holcroft Procopius i. 6 Having had their fill of mourning. 1775Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale (1788) I. cxx. 259 The hay..to-day has its fill of sunshine. 1821Shelley Adonais vii, He takes his fill Of deep and liquid rest. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. Introd. (1889) 1 He was having his fill of hunting.
b. Hence used with intransitive vbs. as an adverbial phrase: ‘to (his) heart's content’.
c1300Havelok 954 Þe children..with him leykeden here fille. c1340Cursor M. 10475 (Trin.) Þere she myȝte sorwe hir fille. c1400Melayne 213 They had foughten thaire fill. 1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John xix. 113 That ye may looke your fyl upon hym. 1642H. More Song of Soul i. iii. xliii, They danc'd their fills. 1770Gray in Corr. N. Nicholls (1843) 107 Talk your fill to me and spare not. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xv, Let my boy-bishop fret his fill. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xi. (1867) 119 She burst into a passion of tears, and cried her fill.
2. a. A quantity sufficient to fill a receptacle or empty space; a filling, charge. lit. and fig.
1555Ludlow Churchw. Acc. (Camden) 62 Paid for a fylle of tymber..x.d. 1849Grote Greece ii. lxxiv. (1862) VI. 473 It imparted to her a second fill of strength. 1881Stevenson Virgin. Puerisq. 102 If there is a fill of tobacco among the crew..pass it round. 1884Eissler Mod. High Explosives 265 The earth and clay for the fill were obtained from Fruitvale.
b. An embankment to fill up a gully or hollow.
1850Congress. Globe Apr., App. 531/1 It was like..making deep cuts and large fills with a view to construct a railroad. 1873J. H. Beadle Undevel. West xxiv. 507 There is not..a difficult ‘cut’ or ‘fill’ for over two hundred miles. 1884Lisbon (Dakota) Star 18 July, The fill will be 150 feet long. 1887M. Roberts Western Avernus 71 They made a ‘fill’ or embankment eighty feet high.
c. In Poker: the act of filling one's hand. Cf. fill v. 1 c.
1866Wilkes' Spirit of Times 10 Mar. 28/3 In a game of draw-poker on the draw or fill, a party..discovers that he has only four cards. 1887S. Cumberland Queen's Highway 276 If I drew for a ‘fill’ I ‘filled’, it is true, only to find that some one at the table had drawn a ‘full hand’ of a higher denomination.
d. Auxiliary or secondary material inserted to ensure continuity in music, literature, etc.
1934S. R. Nelson All about Jazz ii. 46 The pianist used to fill up, with ‘breaks’... In fact, the excellence of the player was determined by the nature of these ‘fills’. 1962C. Watson Hopjoy was Here xvi. 176 He knew..what would tickle a sub-editor's fancy and help meet the insatiable demand for short ‘fills’.
e. Archæol. The body of material found in a pit, ditch, etc., in excavation, of a later period than the digging of the feature itself.
1952Antiquity XXVI. 118 The levels beneath it and associated with it are pre-pottery, while two deep later fills against its face are still pre-pottery. 1955Times 24 Aug. 9/6 In the fills behind each of the walls were found rich deposits of pottery and votive offerings.
3. The action of filling (esp. a cup or glass). lit. and fig. rare.
a1732T. Boston in Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. lxxxi. p. 10 A fill proposed and offered to empty sinners. a1810Tannahill Poems (1846) 68 I'll treat you wi' a Highland gill, Though it should be my hindmaist fill.
4. † Of a river: The point at which its stream is filled, the head-waters; in quot. opposed to fall. Hence transf. in proverbial use, neither fill nor fall: neither head nor tail, not a trace (dial.).
1622Drayton Poly-olb. xix. (1748) 333 A stream, that from the fill to fall, Wants nothing that a flood should be adorn'd withal. 1887Kent Gloss. s.v., ‘My old dog went off last Monday, and I can't hear neither fill-nor-fall of him.’
II. With adverbs forming combs. expressing the action of the corresponding verbal combinations (fill v. V).
5. fill-in.
a. Something put in as a substitute or to fill a vacancy.
1918in C. W. Cunnington Eng. Women's Clothing (1952) iv. 141 Fill-in or vest or waistcoat is an absolute necessity. 1928Sunday Express 15 Apr. 11/5, I can hardly say my interest was aroused in the ‘new art’, except as a fill-in for the stage. 1936N. Coward To-night at 8.30 I. 101 This date's only a fill-in for us. 1944R. Lehmann Ballad & Source 141 ‘Well no, not really,’ I murmured, realising that she had forgotten she was talking to me, but feeling that some non-committal fill-in was required. 1958Listener 6 Nov. 722/2 At twelve there was a fill-in term at a rather arty school. 1968[see Bircher].
b. A briefing.
1946Sat. Rev. Lit. 20 July 24/3 George Holmes..had given the President a fill-in on Stimson's literary background. 1953Pohl & Kornbluth Space Merchants (1955) ii. 18, I gave him a fill-in on what Schocken Associates was up to.
c. = sense 2 d. Also attrib.
1952B. Ulanov Hist. Jazz in Amer. (1958) iv. 29 You may get two-bar phrases with two-bar fill-ins. 1955L. Feather Encycl. Jazz ii. 55 The French horns join with the xylophone to provide a ‘fill-in’ phrase before the three themes resume in Bar 5. 1965Crescendo Oct. 10/1 Hasaan's piano runs at times are extremely dazzling... Roach's explosive fill-ins seem to spark him along to experiment further.
d. Photogr. (See quot. 1955.)
1955M. Reifer Dict. New Words 81/2 Fill-in, a supplementary light to illuminate shadows. 1957T. L. J. Bentley Man. Miniat. Camera (ed. 5) v. 78 A smaller bulb having one half this guide number will be about right for the fill-in flash. 1958Amat. Photographer 31 Dec. 897/2 The strength of the main light in relation to the strength of the fill-in light is also worthy of much consideration.
6. fill-out = fill n.1 1 a.
1838Dickens O. Twist II. xxv. 87 Produce the sustainance, and let's have a quiet fill-out for the first time these three days!
Add:[2.] [a.] Also, material used for filling. Cf. fibrefill s.v. *fibre n. 8, infill n., loose-fill s.v. loose a. 9, and rock-fill s.v. rock n.1 9 a. (Later examples.)
1957Encycl. Brit. V. 895/2 The cost of construction and maintenance of groynes, jetties and sea walls led to an increasing use of artificial fills. 1973J. S. Foster Structure & Fabric I. iv. 81/1 The fill is poorly compacted. 1984Sears Catal. 1985 Spring–Summer 1274 Polyester fill Pillow has 18 ounces of fill in standard size.
▪ II. † fill, n.2 Obs. exc. dial.|fɪl|
Also 6 phil, 7 fil.
[var. of thill.]
1. pl. The thills or shafts of a cart. sing. The pair of shafts, ‘the space between the shafts’ (J.).
1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. iii. ii. 48 And you draw backward weele put you i'th fils. 1632Rowley Woman never V. iii, I will Give you the fore Horse place, and I wilbe in the Fill's. 1707Mortimer Husb. 164 This Mule being put in the Fill of a Cart..ran away. 1755in Johnson. 1845D. Webster Priv. Corr. (1856) II. 202 He could not follow them any more than a dray-horse can jump out of the fills. 1904F. Crissey Tattlings Retired Politician 247 Father's old clay-bank mare..[had never] laid down in his stall, in the fills, or in double harness.
2. Comb., as fill-horse = shaft-horse.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. ii. ii. 100 Thou hast got more haire on thy chin, then Dobbin my philhorse has on his taile. 1648Herrick Hesper. (1844) II. 38 Some cross the fill-horse. 1695Kennett Par. Antiq. Gloss. s.v. Pullanus, The horse which goes in the rods is commo[n]ly called the fillar, and the fill-horse. a1825in Forby Voc. E. Anglia.
▪ III. fill, v.|fɪl|
Pa. tense and pa. pple. filled |fɪld|. Forms: 1 fyllan, 2 fellen, 3–5 full(e(n, fille(n, (3 felen, 4 south, velle), 4–6 fyll(e, 3– fill.
[ME. fullen(ü):—OE. fyllan = OFris. fullia, fella, OS. fullian (Du. vullen), OHG. fullen (MHG. vüllen, Ger. füllen), ON. fylla (Sw. fylla, Da. fylde), Goth. fulljan:—OTeut. *fulljan, f. *fullo- full a.]
I. To make full.
1. To supply with as much as can be held or contained; to put or pour something into (a receptacle) till no more can be received. Also, to fill full. Const. † mid, † of (= OE. gen.), with.
a. in material sense.
c1000Ags. Ps. lxxx[i]. 10 Ontyn þinne muð and ic hine teala fylle! c1160Hatton Gosp. Luke xv. 16 Ða ȝe-wilnede he his wambe fellen of þam bean-coddan þe þa swin æten. c1205Lay. 20507 Me feolden heom [scipene] mid folke. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1225 A fetles wið water fild. c1320Cast. Love 731 A welle þat..fulleþ þe diches a-boute þe wal. 1393Gower Conf. II. 204 That o kist Of fine golde..anone he filde full. c1440J. Capgrave Life St. Kath. v. 1962 Of laumpes hangynge..ffilt with þat oyle. 1599Marston Sco. Villanie ii. vii. 205 That they their paunch may fill with Irus blood. 1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 11 Jesus Christ..was full of grace a vessel filled to the lip. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 283 Who fill'd the Pail with Beestings of the Cow. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 249 At the tale of pity my eyes are filled with tears. 1886D. C. Murray Cynic Fortune vi, The broken..gentleman..filling his pockets with fairy bank-notes.
b. in immaterial sense.
a1000Andreas 523 (Gr.) He..wuldres fylde beorhtne boldwelan. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 117 Þe holi gost com uppen þe apostles and filde ful þat hus þere hie inne seten. a1300Cursor M. 852 (Cott.) God..fild þis werld al wit his grace. 13..Poems fr. Vernon MS. 71 Ffullyng hem of þi fatnesse Of inward saunctite. c1430Hymns Virg. (1867) 27 Of grace my þouȝt þou fille. 1471Ripley Comp. Alch. v. in Ashm. (1652) 158 Theyr howsys wyth stench they fyll. 1561Norton & Sackv. Gorboduc i. i. (1571) A iv/1 His enuious hart..Filled with disdaine. 1667Milton P.L. i. 495 Ely's Sons, who fill'd With lust and violence the house of God. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 522 Linnets fill the Woods with tuneful Sound. 1710Addison Tatler No. 220 ⁋1 Having received many Letters filled with Compliments. 1744Bp. Warburton Wks. (1811) XI. 244 note, The public therefore cannot be as impatient for their conviction as this decipherer is for filling his subscription. 1812Southey Life (1850) III. 338 Surely such a subscription might soon be filled. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 29 Three more years filled with injuries.
c. Phrases: † to fill the hands of (a Hebraism): to invest with an office. to fill one's pipe: to attain to easy circumstances or wealth (slang).
1535Coverdale Judg. xvii. 5 Micha..fylled y⊇ handes of one of his sonnes. 1821P. Egan Tom & Jerry vi. 84 Such persons..have lived just long enough, according to a vulgar phrase, to fill their pipe, and leave others to enjoy it.
d. to fill a ship's bottom (see quot. 1867). to fill the ice (see quot. 1892).
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Filling a ship's bottom, implies covering the bottom of a ship with broad-headed nails, so as to give her a sheathing of iron. 1892J. Kerr Gloss. Curling Terms, Curling 380 Fill the ice, place stones on the way to the tee.
e. Sc. In hand-loom weaving, absol. = to fill the ‘pirns’ or bobbins with yarn, thus making them ready to be placed in the shuttle.
1889J. M. Barrie Window in Thrums xii. 108 Nanny went to the loom in his place, filling as well as weaving.
f. In Poker: to complete (a ‘full house’, flush, straight, etc.) by drawing the necessary cards; also, to improve (one's hand) by drawing complementary cards; intr. or absol., to make a flush, etc.; also, (of the flush, etc.) to become complete.
1865‘Mark Twain’ Sk. New & Old (1875) 74 His last acts was to go his pile on ‘kings-and’ (calklatin' to fill, but which he didn't fill,) when there was a ‘flush’ out agin him. 1882Poker 31 Scott drew to ‘fill a straight and a flush both’. 1885H. Jones in Encycl. Brit. (ed. 9) XIX. 283/1 The dealer then asks each in rotation who have chipped whether they will fill their hands (i.e. whether they will exchange any cards for an equivalent number from the top of the pack) or play the hand dealt. 1887[see fill n.1 2 c]. 1889R. Guerndale Poker Bk. 25 To fill your hand, to improve it by the draw. 1895‘Templar’ Poker Manual 43 Sometimes the ante-man or the straddler will come in, if there has been no raise, on three to a straight or flush, drawing two cards. Such hands rarely fill. 1901D. Curtis Sci. Draw Poker 56 If the three cards held be the Queen, Jack and nine it is evident that either the ten and eight, or the King and ten, would fill. Ibid. 78 Theoretically, the Flush should be filled oftener than the Straight. Ibid. 79 If B then fills he is getting 11 to 1. 1913‘A. B. Lougher’ Poker 13 The next process is that of drawing to fill the hands. 1928Amer. Mercury Oct. 136/2 I'd made maybe a straight flush, [h]a[ve] filled somehow anyway, and cleaned him. 1957Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 129/1 The odds are..39 to 8 against ‘filling a bob-tail straight’.
†2. To impregnate. Cf. full a. Obs.
1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 48 They desire the Cow at eight months old, but they are not able to fill her till they be two years old. 1645Milton L'Allegro 23.
3. a. intr. To become full, either in a material or immaterial sense. Of the bosom: = fill out (16 b).
1607Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 244 The one is filling still, neuer compleat. 1685Cotton tr. Montaigne I. 211 A soul stretches and dilates itself proportionably as it fills. 1713Guardian No. 171 In a few weeks, when the town fills. 1751R. Paltock P. Wilkins (1884) I. ix. 93 Upon launching my boat I perceived she was very leaky, so I let her fill. 1803J. Davis Trav. Amer. 57 A bosom just beginning to fill. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xix, Twice a day the Severn fills.
†b. Of a list, etc.: To be filled up. Obs.
1710Lond. Gaz. No. 4661/3 The Lottery for two Millions of Florins fills with great Success.
c. intr. Of the eyes: to fill with tears.
1871Two Little Bruces ix, ‘I'm..tired..,’ said Clemmie, with filling eyes. 1905Westm. Gaz. 14 Jan. 2/3 The blue-grey eyes filled as the girl got quietly into bed.
4. Naut.
a. trans. Of the wind: To cause (the sails) to swell; to distend.
1610Shakes. Temp. Epil. 12 Gentle breath of yours my Sailes Must fill. 1735Phil. Trans. XLI. 536 The Sailor concerns himself no farther with the Wind, than as it fills his Sails. 1887Bowen Virg. æneid iii. 268 South winds filling the sails.
b. intr. Of a sail: To become full of wind.
1835Marryat Pirate i, The jib filled as the frigate rounded to.
c. trans. to fill the sails: ‘to brace the yards so that the wind strikes the after side of the sails, and advances the ship in her course’ (Smyth).
1794Rigging & Seamanship II. 312 Fill the sails. 1847Sir J. C. Ross Voy. S. Seas II. 168 By backing and filling the sails we endeavoured to avoid collision. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket-bk. x. (ed. 2) 354 Fill the head sails.
d. absol.; also to fill away.
1681Lond. Gaz. No. 1628/1 In the mean time, the Admiral who had been beaten off, filled and laid them Aboard the second time. 1832Marryat N. Forster xli, The commodore made the signal to fill. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxxv. 133 Each vessel filled away, and kept on her course. 1860G. Balmanno in Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 369 Thinking there must be room ahead I filled again.
5. To stock or store abundantly.
c1000Cædmon's Gen. 196 (Gr.) Tudre fyllað eorðan ælgrene. 1388Wyclif Gen. i. 22 Wexe ȝe, and be ȝe multiplied, and fille ȝe the watris of the see. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 397 Be fruitful, multiply, and in the Seas And Lakes and running Streams the waters fill. 1782Cowper Progr. Err. 480 The wriggling fry soon fill the creeks around. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 203 This parliament was filled with Dermots and Geohegans [etc.]. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Ability Wks. (Bohn) II. 42 The rivers..are artificially filled with the eggs of salmon.
6. To charge or make up with some foreign material; hence, to adulterate.
1887–1890 [see filled ppl. a. 1 b.].
II. To occupy completely.
7. a. To occupy the whole capacity or extent of; also, to spread over or throughout, pervade.
a1300Leg. Rood (1871) 28 Þe suotnesse þat þer-of com velde al þat lond. a1400–50Alexander 3065 His folke fellis all þe flode a forelange o brede. 1608–11Bp. Hall Medit. & Vows i. §34 The heart of man is..so infinite in desire, that the round globe of the world cannot fill the three corners of it. 1646P. Bulkeley Gospel Covt. i. 130 Water which fills the sea. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. iv. §2 The Idea [which] belongs to Body, whereby we conceive it to fill space. 1768Johnson Let. to F. A. Barnard 28 May, The maps..fill two Atlantic folios. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 397 The fame of her great writers filled Europe. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 17 Glaciers which once filled the valley. 1884tr. Lotze's Logic 444 The discussion which fills the XIIth book of Aristotle's Metaphysics. 1892Daily News 17 Oct. 2/7 Wherever there is sufficient business between the two [towns] to ‘fill’ a wire.
b. In immaterial sense: To be all that is contained in.
1890J. Martineau Seat Authority Relig. Pref. 6 The mere resort to testimony for information beyond our province does not fill the meaning of ‘authority’.
c. slang. to fill the bill: (a) Theatrical: see quot. 1891. (b) U.S. ‘To do all that is desired, expected, or required; to suit the requirements of the case’ (Cent. Dict.). See also bill n.3 8 d.
1882Chicago Tribune, ‘Affable Imbecile’ would about fill the bill for you. 1891Farmer Slang Dict., Fill the bill, to excel in conspicuousness: as a star actor whose name is ‘billed’ to the exclusion of the rest of the company.
8. To hold or occupy (a position); to discharge the duties of (an office, place, post, etc.). In to fill a chair, place, seat, etc. with mixture of sense 7. So † to fill the time: to do what is wanted at the time.
c1400Apol. Loll. 1 Þe pope..filliþ not in dede, ne in word, þe office of Petir in ȝerþ. 1601Shakes. All's Well i. ii. 69, I fill a place, I know't. Ibid. iii. vii. 33 In fine, deliuers me to fill the time, Her selfe most chastly absent. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 294 Thus make they Kings to fill the Regal Seat. 1711Steele Spect. No. 2 ⁋1 He fills the Chair at a Quarter-Session. 1769Goldsm. Rom. Hist. (1786) II. 105 His assiduity in filling the duties of each [employment]. 1821Byron Juan iv. xv, They were not made in the real world to fill A busy character in the dull scene. 1848Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 608 Perth..filling the great place of Chancellor. 1871Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) IV. xviii. 216 Stamford, like Lincoln..fills a prominent place in the wars of Edward. 1876Gladstone Homeric Synchr. 49 Who fills the Chair of Chemistry at Athens. 1885Law Times LXXIX. 170/2 The post which is now filled by Mr. Ilbert.
9. a. To occupy or furnish the means of occupying (what is vacant). † to fill the room of: to take the place of.
1562Turner Herbal ii. 67 a, The asshes may fill the rome of spodium. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 235 Amusements which fill a vacant hour.
b. To put a person or thing into (a vacant place).
1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, iii. i. 16 No Harry..'tis no Land of thine, Thy place is fill'd. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) II. App. 588 The people at large claimed a voice in filling the episcopal chair.
III. To satisfy; to fulfil, complete.
10. a. To produce a sense of fullness in; to satiate, satisfy, glut; in both material and immaterial sense. Chiefly of a personal agent; occas. of a thing. Const. with.
a1300Cursor M. 6842 (Cott.) Þe pour men hunger for to fill. Ibid. 17227 (Cott.) Mi flexsli lust to fill. 1340Ayenb. 77 Hi onderstondeþ þet al þe worlde ne is naȝt a guod snode: uor mannes herte to uelle. c1440Promp. Parv. 160/1 Fyll wythe mete, sacio. 1485Caxton Paris & V. 31 Coude not be contente ne fylled to beholde hyr fayre loue. 1559Mirr. Mag., Dk. Suffolk xvii, How fast she fylde me both with prayes and prayse. 1607Shakes. Timon i. i. 271 To see meate fill Knaues, and Wine heat fooles. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 360 A Lion..when he is satisfied and filled he layeth aside that savage quality. 1661Pepys Diary 23 July, I sat before Mrs. Palmer..and filled my eyes with her. 1715Cheyne Philos Princ. Relig. ii. ii. 70 Nothing..but the absolute and increated Infinite, can adequatly fill and super-abundantly satisfy it [the desire]. 1821Keats Isabel ii, Her full shape would all his seeing fill.
†b. intr. To become satisfied or satiated. Obs.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 2392 Sone afterward þey fillede of Leyre. 1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 548 Glutton-like she feeds, yet never filleth.
†11. To make satisfaction for, atone for (a fault).
a1300Cursor M. 24700 (Gött.) Suilk fautis mai men fill.
12.
†a. To carry out in or to its fullness, execute, perform (a command, duty, promise, etc.); to fulfil (a prophecy, etc.). Also to fill forth. Obs.
c1000Azarias 42 (Gr.) Fyl nu þa frumspræce. c1200Ormin 917 He ne namm nan gom To fillenn all hiss wikenn. a1225Ancr. R. 386 Luue fulleð þe lawe. c1250Gen. & Ex. 1463 Ðat he sulde fillen ðat quede ðat he abraham quilum dede. a1300Cursor M. 14531 (Cott.) He com for..þe prophecies to fill. c1340Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1405 To fylle þe same forwardez þat þay by-fore maden. c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 324 Goddis wille is fillid asideli. c1400Destr. Troy 602 But this forward to fille, first ye me sweire. c1500Lancelot 3353 Thai..All redy war to fillyng his command. 1578Scot. Poems 16th C. II. 131 To fulfill his Fathers will, Till fill furth that he said. 1836Congress. Globe Jan., App. 50/2 From age to age, they [sc. the Negroes] have filled this saying [‘Cursed be Canaan’].
†b. To make perfect, accomplish, complete, finish (a work, period of time, ‘one's days’). Also with inf. as obj. Obs.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 39 Þet seofeðe is cherite, heo fulleð alle þa oðre þing and endeð. c1300Havelok 354 Deth him tok þan he best wolde Liuen, but hyse dayes were fulde. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 34 Auht ȝere was he kyng, his daies alle filled. 1382Wyclif Ex. xxxvi. 8 Alle the wise men in herte maden to fille the werk of the tabernacle. 1388― Jer. li. 63 Whanne thou hast fillid to rede this book. c1400Destr. Troy 1109 To fillyn our fare & our fos harme. 1611Bible Isa. lxv. 20 An olde man, that hath not filled his dayes.
c. Comm. To execute (a trade order). Also (U.S.), to make up (a prescription).
1860Richmond Enquirer 2 Nov. 1/7 The Executive of the State is making the most strenuous efforts to fill the orders for arms that come to him from all parts of the State. 1866Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 369, I sat down and did what I could to answer (‘fill’, I think, is the proper word) your order. 1891Pall Mall G. 15 Oct. 7/2 In order to fill this one order by a single firm. 1891H. Tuckley Under the Queen 25 The individual who fills their prescriptions. 1926D. L. Colvin Prohibition in U.S. 171 During the campaign he filled one hundred and twenty-five speaking engagements. a1940F. Scott Fitzgerald Last Tycoon (1947) v. 104 If you were in a drug store..having a prescription filled. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Feb. 12 (Advt.), Phone orders filled for city and suburban delivery only.
IV. With the introduced contents as obj.
†13. To put (wine, etc.) into a vessel with the view of filling it; hence, To pour out. Also, to fill about, fill out (see 16 c). Obs. exc. arch. (Cf. Ger. füllen.)
c1450Erle Tolous 314 Fylle the wyne, wyghtly he badd. 1530Palsgr. 549/2, I fyll drinke..Je verse a boyre. 1615Markham Eng. Housew. ii. i. (1668) 12 Having filled it [Milk] into a clean vessel. 1637T. Morton New Eng. Canaan iii. xiv. 134 Fill sweet nectar freely about. 1705W. Bosman Guinea 230 Brandy in the Morning and Palm-Wine in the Afternoon are very briskly filled about. 1710Steele Tatler No. 141 ⁋4, I..desire the young lady may fill tea one week longer. [1840Fonblanque Life & Lab. (1874) 318 Let there be well-paid publicans to fill gills of whiskey.]
absol.c1510Robin Hood 1, ‘Fyll of the best wyne’ sayd Robyn. 1594Marlowe & Nashe Dido i. i, I fill'd into your cups. 1611Bible Rev. xviii. 6 In the cup which she hath filled fill to her double. 1820Scott Ivanhoe xxi, He hath no pleasure save to fill, to swill, and to call for more.
14. a. To fill a receptacle with (any material); to put or take a load of (corn, water, etc.) on board a ship. to fill powder (see quot. 1867).
1297R. Glouc. (1724) 13 He lette sende hys messageres in to al Grece..And lette fulle corn, and oyl, & wyn, by iche syde. 1496[See filler 1.] 1557W. Towrson in Hakluyt Voy. (1589) 114 Here we filled water, and after set saile. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. xv. 404 Having fill'd our Water, cut our Wood, and got our Ship in a sailing posture. 1725De Foe New Voy. (1840) 35 Having the long-boat and the shallop, with about six-and-thirty men with them, away they went to fill water. 1797Nelson in Nicolas Disp. II. 224 Eighteen rounds of powder filled. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Filling powder, taking gunpowder from the casks to fill cartridges.
b. Dentistry. = stop v. 4 d.
1848Lit. Amer. 29 July 64/2 Teeth filled with gold (if preferred), extracted and cleaned. 1859J. Tomes Syst. Dental Surg. 334 In the treatment of caries, filling must ever be regarded as the great remedy. Ibid., There is perhaps no other operation..which is attended with the same unqualified success as that of filling teeth. 1945L. Baker Party Line 92 Dick not only filled and pulled teeth, but he went modern and practiced orthodontia. 1963C. R. Cowell et al. Inlays, Crowns & Bridges iii. 17 Any caries remaining is excavated and these localized excavations are filled with cement.
c. To put or throw into (a receptacle) by way of filling it.
1884Encycl. Brit. XVII. 742 Measured quantities..of [oil-seed] meal are filled into woollen bags. 1906Springfield Weekly Republ. 12 Jan. 13 The New Englander curses gold mining. Billions of good, hard New England cash have been filled into those little black holes.
V. Idiomatically combined with adverbs. (For non-specialized combinations, see the simple senses and the advbs.)
15. fill in.
a. trans. To complete (an outline).
b. To put in, esp. by speech or in writing, what will occupy a vacancy or vacant place.
c. Naut. (see quot.).
1840Clough Amours de Voy. iii. 178 A chamber filled-in with harmonious, exquisite pictures. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Filling-in, the replacing a ship's vacant planks opened for ventilation, when preparing her, from ordinary, for sea. 1878R. B. Smith Carthage 269 The outline is commanding..and there is no detail with which our materials enable us to fill it in at all, which is not in perfect harmony with the whole. 1883Sat. Rev. 8 Sept. 302 The aposiopesis is seldom filled in. 1893Sir J. W. Chitty in Law Times' Rep. LXVIII. 430/1 He had left the date blank for the plaintiff to fill in. 1962Rep. Comm. Broadc. 224 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) IX. 259 The material to fill-in the programmes when local items were not being broadcast would..be obtained by switching in to one or other of the three national sound services. Ibid. 231 The form of organisation envisaged by the BBC—that is, of local stations providing their own programmes, and filling in with centrally provided material.
d. to fill in (the) time: to occupy oneself during a period of inaction. Also transf.
1905W. Bodie Bodie Bk. 135 It is simply to fill in the time while I am deciding how to act. 1939War Illustr. 201 Nurses usefully filling in time while they are off duty. 1966Listener 15 Dec. 898/2 The film sags, filling in time tediously.
e. to fill (someone) in on: to make (a person) conversant with. Also intr. and without on. orig. and chiefly U.S.
1945E. Newhouse Many are Called (1952) 192 Can you fill me in on them? 1951Time 19 Mar. 46/3 He felt chipper enough to spend an hour..with General MacArthur ‘filling in’ on U.S. affairs. 1951L. Hobson Celebrity (1953) vi. 78 He had called Roy Tribble and asked to be filled in on Jim Hathaway. 1955Bull. Atomic Sci. Sept. 248/3 It would be incorrect and unfair to say that the AEC has altogether failed to ‘fill in’ reporters who have called upon its information division for guidance. 1960‘R. East’ Kingston Black xix. 178, I filled in for Kitty. 1962H. Burnett Nothing Sacred (caption), You've been candid about my faults, so I'd be glad to fill you in about your own!
f. (See quot. 1948.) slang.
1948W. Granville in Partridge Dict. Forces' Slang 69 Fill in, to, to give someone a good hiding... (Lower-deck.) 1959Times 3 Mar. 3/4 A naval rating accused of murdering..an antique dealer..was alleged to have..said: ‘I filled in a chap and took his money.’
16. fill out.
a. trans. To enlarge or extend to the desired limit. Cf. 4.
a1700Dryden (J.), Whom pomp and greatness sits so loose about, That he wants majesty to fill them out. 1707Norris Treat. Humility vi. 278 They may not..so fill out the sails of our reputation in this world.
b. intr. To become distended, or rounded in outline.
1851Carpenter Man. Phys. (ed. 2) 360 As each set of muscles is relaxed, the veins..fill out again. 1888Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 21 Jan. 511/1 Merry Hampton [horse] is thickening and filling out. 1937V. Woolf Years 334 How nice to see you—you've filled out.
c. trans. To pour out (wine, etc.). Cf. 13.
1602Marston Ant. & Mel. ii. Wks. 1856 I. 28 Fill out Greeke wines. 1749Fielding Tom Jones viii. v, Filling out a glass of wine. 1864G. Dyce Bella Donna II. 145 The tea was filled out and getting cold.
d. = fill up (see 17 g), fill in (see 15 b).
1880[see filled ppl. a. 2]. 1903W. E. Curtis True Abraham Lincoln 59 Mr. Lanman forwarded to him a blank to be filled out with facts and dates. 1941Amer. Speech XVI. 310/1 The borrower fills out a call card. 1963H. Garner in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 44, I filled out a ‘first off’ tag and attached it to the inspected part. 1967Boston Sunday Globe 23 Apr. (Parade) 27/4 (Advt.), So fill out the coupon and send it to us. We'll send you all the details about Canada '67.
17. fill up.
‘Up is often used without much addition to the force of the verb’ (J.).
a. trans. To fill to repletion.
b. To complete the process of filling; to fill the vacant parts or places in (anything); to supply the deficiencies in.
1605Shakes. Macb. iv. iii. 62 Your Wiues, your Daughters..could not fill up The Cesterne of my Lust. 1712Steele Spect. No. 432 ⁋11 When you want a Trifle to fill up a Paper. 1780A. McDougall in Sparks Corr. Amer. Rev. (1853) III. 136 They have passed very decisive laws for filling up their regiments for the war. 1803Scott Bonnie Dundee, Come fill up my cup, come fill up my can. 1824–9Landor Imag. Conv. (1846) II. 209 He has left us a design to fill up. 1891S. C. Scrivener Our Fields & Cities 72 These people could fill up their time at agriculture.
c. To supply (a deficiency, a vacancy); to provide an occupant for (a vacant post).
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 35 Such haue I to fill vp the roomes of them that haue bought out their seruices. 1611Bible Col. i. 24 Who..fill vp that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh. 1694F. Bragge Disc. Parables v. 181 A numerous progeny to..fill up the vacancies left by the fall of the rebel angels. 1891Law Times XC. 419/2 He has had to fill up two High Court judgeships.
†d. To come up to the measure of; to equal.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 193 How many inches doth fill vp one mile?
†e. To complete the measure of. Obs.
1611Bible 1 Thess. ii. 16 Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway. 1642Chauncy in Bradford Plymouth Plantation (1856) 396 God sometimes hids a sinner until his wickednes is filled up.
† f. To fulfil, satisfy. Obs.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 160 Comes..to fill vp your Graces request in my sted.
g. To write what is requisite in the blank space or spaces of a cheque, form, etc. Cf. 15 b.
1802Ld. Eldon in Vesey's Reports VII. 78 A blank, left for the name of the person..was not filled up. 1885Act 48 Vict. c. 15 Sched. ii. Forms, Part ii. Form (A), You are hereby required to fill up accurately the under-written form. 1885Manch. Exam. 3 June 4/7 One of them [cheques] he filled up for {pstlg}1,000.
h. To stop up; to do away with (a hole) by filling.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 116 To fill the mouth of deepe Defiance vp. 1611― Wint. T. v. iii. 101 Ile fill your Graue vp. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 96 A commoner cannot fill up rabbit burrows made by the lord. Mod. There was a pond here, but it has been filled up.
i. intr. ‘To grow full’ (J.) Of (the bed of) a sea: To silt up.
1695Woodward Nat. Hist. Earth i. (1702) 49 Neither the Palus Mœotis..nor any other Seas, fill up, or by degrees grow shallower.
VI.
18. Comb. The vb.-stem is prefixed to various ns., forming ns. with the sense ‘he who or that which fills something’, as fill-basket, a name applied by gardeners to certain large or prolific kinds of peas, potatoes, etc.; fill-belly, a glutton; fill-(the)-dike, -ditch a., epithets of the month February; † fill-knag, ? a drunkard; fill-paunch (see quot.); fill-pot, ? a tippler; fill-sack, fill-space (see quots.); † fill-square (Geom.), one of the complements of a square.
1881Oxfordsh. Gloss. Suppl., *Fill basket, a large kind of pea.
1553Becon Reliques of Rome (1563) 49* They are *fylbellyes and Epicures.
1611Cotgr., Wee call it [February], *Fill-dike.
1879Jefferies Wild Life in S.C. 314 In February—*‘fill-ditch’, as the old folk call it.
a1605Polwart Flyting w. Montgomerie 790 Buttrie bag, *fill knag!
1659Torriano, Tira-pancia, a stretch-gut, a gulch⁓bellie, a *fill-panch.
1609Ev. Woman in Hum. i. i. in Bullen O. Pl. IV. 315 Host. There, my fine *fil-pots; give the word as you passe.
a1635Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 55 The people then called him, *Fill-sack, by reason of his great wealth.
1827Lamb Lett. (1888) II. 194 The artist (who had clapt in Miss merely as a *fill-space).
1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xvi, When there are more then one [square] made about one bias line, the *filsquares of euery of them muste needes be equall.
▪ IV. fill(e
obs. pa. tense of fall v. |