| 释义 |
▪ I. foot, n.|fʊt|
Pl. feet |fiːt|. Forms: sing. 1–2 fót, 3–4 fot, south. vot, 3–6 fote, fut, (3 fhote, fott, 5 fowte, foyte), 5–6 fotte, 5–7 foote, (7 foott), 8–9 dial. fit, 3– foot. Sc. 4–7 fute, (4 fut, 6 fuit), 6– fit. pl. 1–2 fét, fœ́t, fótas, 2 fiet, (gen. 1 fóta, 3 fote; dat. 1 fótum, 3 foten), 3–5 fet, (3 fett, fite, 4 fyte), 4–5 fete, (4 Sc. feyt, 5 feytt), 5–8 feete, (6 fette, fiete, 7 feeten), 5–6 fotes, (6 footes), 7 (9 in sense 22) foots, 4– feet.
[Com. Teut.: OE. fót str. masc. (dat. sing. nom. and acc. pl. fét), corresponds to OFris. fôt, OS. fôt, fuot, (Du. voet), OHG. fuoȥ, (MHG. vuoȥ, mod.Ger. fuss), ON. fótr, (Sw. fot, Da. fod), Goth. fôtus. The OTeut. *fôt (a consonant-stem) represents OAryan *pōd-, which with the ablaut-variants *pē̆d-, pŏd-, is found with cognate senses in most of the Aryan langs.: cf. Skr. pād (gen. padás) foot, pad to go to, padá neut. footstep; Lith. pėdà footstep; Gr. πούς (Dor. æol. πώς), gen. ποδός foot, πεζός (:—pedyós) on foot; Lat. pēs, accus. pĕd-em foot; ON. fet str. neut., step, foot as a measure, feta to make one's way, OE. fæt str. neut., step, OHG. feȥȥan to go; see also fetter n. Possibly fet v., fetch v., fetlock may belong to the same root.]
I.
1. a. The lowest part of the leg beyond the ankle-joint.
Beowulf 745 (Gr.) Sona hæfde unlifiᵹendes eal ᵹefeormod fet and folma. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John xi. 2 Maria..ᵹedryᵹde his foet mið herum fæx hire. a1000Phœnix 311 (Gr.) Þæs fuᵹles..fealwe fotas. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 21 And nailed þarto his fet, and his honden. 1297R. Glouc. (1724) 490 He vel of is palefrey, & brec is fot. c1350Will. Palerne 1766 William & þe mayde þat were white beres, gon forþ..Fersly on here foure fet. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 359 Knychtis..Wndyr horss feyt defoulyt. 1434Misyn Mending Life x. 121 Sayntis feet ar to be waschyd for þai draw duste of þe erth. 1538Starkey England i. ii. 48 The fote to go, and hand to hold and rech. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. iii. ii. 66 So much blood..as will clog the foote of a flea. 1674N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. ii. (1677) 228 Having flown with a Goshawk..till March, give her some good Quarry in her Foot. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 52 No Spaniard..ever took a regular walk on his own feet—a walk for the sake of mere health. 1851Ruskin Stones Ven. (1874) I. vii. 74 A foot has two offices, to bear up and to hold firm. 1881R. M'Lachlan in Encycl. Brit. XIII. 144/1 Plantulæ (much marked in the feet of Diptera, which climb polished surfaces, &c., by means of them).
fig.1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 191 It wanteth not the feete of sound reason to stand upon.
†b. In the oath or exclamation, Christ's foot, later 's foot or simply foot. Cf. blood 1 e. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 596 Ey, Cristes fote! what wil ye do therwith? c1600Distr. Emperor iii. i. in Bullen O. Pl. (1884) III. 212 Foote, man, let him be ten thousand preists and a will styll want somethynge. 1662T. W. Thorny Abbey 13, 'S foot, doe you think we gave him warning.
†c. By some anatomists used for: The whole limb from the hip-joint to the toes. Also, great foot. (Cf. great hand for the whole upper limb.) Obs.
1541R. Copland Guydon's Quest. Chirurg. K iij b, The great fote lasteth fro the ioynt of the hukcle..vnto the ferdest parte of the toes. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 302 The foot is divided into fœmur.. the tibia..and the foot extreme.
d. In the colloq. exclamation my foot! (also your foot!), expressing a contemptuous contradiction.
1923R. Crothers Mary the Third ii. ii. 69 Mother: She was honest enough to tell me that... Father: Honest your foot! She's fooled you—deceived you. 1925N. Coward Hay Fever iii, Judith: It's so silly to get cross at criticism—it indicates a small mind. David: Small mind my foot! 1928D. L. Sayers Lord Peter views Body xi. 262 ‘I thought he was doing a motor-tour.’ ‘Motor-tour your foot!’ said the Inspector, with more energy than politeness. 1945L. A. G. Strong Othello's Occupation 72 Cooperation my foot. You're trying to trap me into admitting a motive for doing the old girl in. 1961H. E. Bates Day of Tortoise 55 ‘But it's a serious matter for you.’ ‘Serious my foot. Why should I worry?’
2. a. Viewed with regard to its function, as the organ of locomotion. In rhetorical and poetical use often (in sing. or pl.) qualified by adjs. denoting the kind of movement (as swift, slow, stealthy, etc.), or employed as the subject of verbs of motion.
c1000Ags. Ps. xxxv[i]. 12 [11], (Spelm.) Ne cume me fot ofermodiᵹnysse. a1340Hampole Psalter xviii. 4 Þe fame of a good man gas ferrere þan his fote may. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. v. i. 400 Death, Which I did thinke, with slower foot came on. 1667Milton P.L. xi. 848 Tripping ebbe, that stole With soft foot towards the deep. a1774Fergusson Poems (1789) II. 107 Eild wi' wyly fit, Is wearing nearer bit by bit. 1813Scott Trierm. iii. xxiv, Foot of man..hath ne'er Dared to cross the Hall of Fear. 1847Marryat Childr. N. Forest xxi, I was not aware of your presence. Your foot is so light. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 28 Dogs..swift of foot. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 18 Useful as is Nature, to attract the tourist's foot.
Proverb.c1300Cursor M. 28939 (Cott. Galba) Gangand fote ay getes fode. 1670Ray Prov. 262 A walking foot is ay getting.
fig.1607Shakes. Cor. iv. vii. 7 Unless by using means I lame the foot Of our design. 1633Bp. Hall Hard Texts, N.T. 103 No man can come to me by the foot of a true faith except my Father..inlighten his understanding.
b. Hence, a person as walking. Obs. exc. dial. in first foot (see first C. 2); similarly † evil foot, one whom it is unlucky to meet. † Also (rarely) used simply for ‘person’.
c1200Vices & Virtues 29 Ðanne ðe cumþ eft sum euel..ne ȝelief ðu naht al swa sume..seggeð þat hie imetten euel fot, priest oðer munec. a1225Leg. Kath. 2273 He het hetterliche, anan wiðuten þe burh, bihefden ham, euch fot. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 19 What cursed foot wanders this wayes to night? 1609Skene Reg. Maj., Burrow Lawes cxxxiv, He..offers his awin fute for his pledge.
†3. Power of walking or running. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 20885 (Cott.) Petre..to þe cripels he gaf þam fote. a1400–50Alexander 1236 Alle þe folke of his affinite..þat outhire fote had or fole to þe fliȝt foundid. c1450Henryson Parl. Beistis 32 Ay rinnis the Foxe, als lang as he fute has. [Similarly 1500–20 Dunbar Poems xlix. 48]. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 123 Horses may alter as to their Speed or Foot (as 'tis called).
4. ellipt. Foot-soldiers; in early use † men of foot. Cf. footman 1. Often immediately following an ordinal, ‘regiment of’ being omitted.
1568Grafton Chron. II. 245 Men of armes, and ix thousand Archers, beside men of foote. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV ii. i. 186 Fifteene hundred Foot, fiue hundred Horse. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. x. (1821) 120 The President was a Captaine of Foot. 1709Steele Tatler No. 17 ⁋3 Their Foot repulsed the same Body of Horse in three successive Charges. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 296 At the close of the reign of Charles the Second, most of his foot were musketeers. 1878Trimen Reg. Brit. Army 89 Forty-Fourth Foot..captured the Eagle of the 62nd French Infantry at Salamanca.
5. a. The end of a bed, a grave, etc., towards which the feet are placed. Formerly often pl., now sing. (cf. sense 19).
a1300Cursor M. 17288 + 218 (Cott.) Þat one at þe fote of þe graf, þat other at the hede. c1386Chaucer Reeve's T. 293 He..bare it soft unto his beddes fete. c1442Hoccleve Min. Poems (1892) 238 In a cofre at my beddes feet yee Shul fynde hem. c1710C. Fiennes Diary (1888) 239 There was such another screen or raile at y⊇ ffeete of the bed. 1821Keats Isabel xxxv, At her couch's foot Lorenzo stood. 1891Law Rep. Weekly Notes 201/1 His trousers..were hanging over the foot of the bed.
b. The part of a stocking, etc. which covers the foot.
1577Harrison England ii. ix. (1877) i. 206 He will carrie his hosen..to save their feet from wearing. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. (1757) 112 A sort of knit buskins without feet to them. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 463/1 Silk [hose] with cotton feet.
II.
6. Prosody. [transl. of L. pēs, Gr. πούς; the term is commonly taken to refer to the movement of the foot in beating time.] A division of a verse, consisting of a number of syllables one of which has the ictus or principal stress.
c1050Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) VIII. 313 Þæt pentimemeris byð þe todælð þæt vers on þam oðrum fet & byð ᵹemet healf fot to lafe. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 147 Iuvencius þe preost wroot þe gospelles to þe chirche of Rome in vers of sixe feet. c1560B. Googe Epit. T. Phayre Poems (Arb.) 72 Virgils verse hath greater grace in forrayne foote obtaynde, Than in his own. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. ii. 173 Some of them had in them more feete then the Verses would beare. 1700Dryden Pref. Fables (Globe) 499 Some thousands of his verses..are lame for want of half a foot. 1803Coleridge Metrical Feet 3 Spondee..strong foot! yea ill able Ever to come up with Dactyl trisyllable. 1830S. Fox Menologium p. vi, In these compositions..trochaic feet predominate. 1846Wright Ess. Mid. Ages I. i. 14 The Saxons did not measure their verse by feet. 1888A. S. Cook Judith p. l, A normal hemistich contains two metrical feet. 1942J. C. Pope Rhythm of Beowulf 12 Sievers was only borrowing mistakes from contemporary metrical theory when he marked the ‘feet’ of his five types.
III. As a unit of measurement.
7. a. A lineal measure originally based on the length of a man's foot. (The English foot consists of 12 inches, and is 1/3 of a yard.) Hence, a measure of surface and of solid space (explicitly square foot or superficial foot, cubic foot or solid foot) equal to the content respectively of a square and a cube the side of which measures one foot.
Often in sing. when preceded by numerals.
a1000Laws æthelstan iv. 5 in Thorpe I. 224, .ix. fota & .ix. scæfta munda & .ix. bere-corna. c1205Lay. 21996 He is imeten a bræde, fif & twenti foten; fif fote he is deop. 1325Chron. Eng. 83 in Ritson Metr. Rom. II. 273 Fourti fet..Into the see he made him lepe. 1459Contract in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 309 A doore in brede iiij foote standard. 1523Fitzherb. Surv. 35 Howe many footes euery one of them be in length. 1624Massinger Parl. Love v. i, I'll build A room of eight feet square. 1712tr. Pomet's Hist. Drugs I. 89 The Indigo Plant grows about two Foot high. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 192 Our privateer..outsailed her, running two feet for her one. 1816Keatinge Trav. (1817) I. 87 Every foot of this tract is argillaceous wheat-land. 1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. vii. 115 Who stood about five feet in their shoes. 1862Ansted Channel Isl. iv. App. A (ed. 2) 565 The linear Jersey foot is equivalent to only eleven English inches.
b. Used to express ‘the least distance or space,’ with a, one or a negative. † each foot: all the way.
a1300Cursor M. 7526 (Cott.) Forth a fote ne moght he ga. Ibid. 15391 (Cott.) Fra þan he ran him ilk fote, ne yode he noght þe pas. 13..Coer de L. 2361 He shal not have a fote of lond. c1435Torr. Portugal 239 He durst go no fote Lest they wold hyme sle. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. ii. 23 Ile starue ere I rob a foote further. a1800Lizie Lindsay in Child Ballads viii. (1892) 265 Bonnie Lizie..a fit furder couldna win.
†c. Hence every foot (and anon): incessantly.
1561P. Morwyng tr. Compend. Josephus' Hist. Jews 56 b, Antipater made feastes euery foote [L. singulis diebus] for thy brother Pheroras and him selfe. 1601Holland Pliny II. 243 Such a worke they made sometime in chafing and frying their bodies against a good fire, but euery foot in bringing them abroad into the hot Sunne. 1639R. Gentilis Servita's Inquis. (1676) 855 The Inquisitors do every foot write to Rome. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables cccclviii. 434 This Man's Son would every foot and anon be taking some of his Companions into the Orchard. 1784Cullum Hist. Hawsted 171 Every Foot anon every now and then.
d. As a measure of coal gas: the amount of gas contained in one cubic foot of space.
1838Penny Cycl. XI. 88/2 A sufficient quantity of gas was turned on to give a light equal to that of a mould candle; the consumption in this case was a foot and a half per hour. 1879Encycl. Brit. X. 99/2 A burner passing 7 feet of gas per hour.
8. A measure in tin-mining: (see quot. 1778).
1602Carew Cornwall 13 b, They measure their black Tynne by..the Foote. 1778Pryce Min. Cornub., Foot, an ancient measure for black Tin, two gallons; now a nominal measure, but in weight 60 lb.
9. A measure in sizing grindstones (see quot.).
1844McCulloch Dict. Commerce 615 They [grindstones] are classed in eight different sizes, called foots, according to their dimensions..A grindstone foot is 8 inches: the size is found by adding the diameter and thickness together. Thus, a stone 56 inches diameter by 8 thick.. is an 8-foot stone.
IV. Something resembling a foot in function or position.
10. a. The lower (usually projecting) part of an object, which serves to support it; the base.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxvii. 10 Twenti pilers, with so feele brasun feet. c1400Mandeville (1839) ii. 10 Therfore made thei the Foot of the Cros of Cedre. 1509Fisher Fun. Serm. Hen. VII Wks. (1876) 274 He..kyssed..the lowest parte, the fote of the monstraunt. 1571Digges Pantom. iii. xv. S iij b, Admit BCD a piller..my desire is to knowe the waight of the fote. 1611Bible Exod. xxx. 18 A Lauer of brasse, and his foote also of brasse. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. 214 You have seen this vase..and..the lines inscribed on the foot of it. 1875Fortnum Majolica iii. 31 Dishes..with..a projecting circular ‘giretto’ behind, forming a foot or base.
b. (See quot. 1892.)
1869E. J. Reed Shipbuild. vii. 121 The frames behind armour in this part of the ship terminate in a foot at the lower deck. 1892Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., Foot, a base or flange which sustains a casting or structure.
11. a. Zool. Applied to various organs of locomotion or attachment belonging to certain invertebrate animals; in more precise technical language distinguished by special names, as ambulacrum, podium, pseudopodium, etc.
1835Kirby Hab. & Inst. Anim. I. v. 177 The foot, or base by which the common coral is attached to the rocks. 1835–6Todd Cycl. Anat. I. 701/2 In..the Conchiferous mollusks..the foot constitutes a principal part of the body. 1841–71T. R. Jones Anim. Kingd. (ed. 4) 551 The little animal..is..possessed of a ‘foot,’ often very long and moveable, by the aid of which it can crawl upon a solid surface. 1852Dana Crust. i. 10 Feet ambulatory or prehensile.
b. Bot. In various uses. The part (of a petal) by which it is attached; the part (of a hair) below the epidermis; also, in ferns, mosses, etc. (see quot. 1882).
1671Grew Anat. Plants i. v. (1682) 35 The Foot of each Leaf being very long and slender. 1882Vines Sachs' Bot. 427 The foot is an organ by which the embryo attaches itself to the tissue of the prothallium, in order to draw nourishment from it. 1891A. Johnstone Bot. 144 The part within the epidermal surface developing into the foot, and the protruded portion into the body of the hair.
12. Printing. (See quots.)
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 376 Foot of the Letter, the Break-end of the Shanck of a Letter. 1888Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 698 The groove g divides the bottom of the type into two parts called the feet.
13. The extremity of the leg (of a pair of compasses, a chair, etc.).
1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. iii, Set one foote of the compasse in the verye point of the angle. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 206 Describe a Circle..by placing one Foot in the prick-mark, and turning about the other Foot. 1831Brewster Optics iii. 25 Place one foot of the compasses in the quadrant NF.
14. Of a plough: (See quots. and plough-foot).
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §4 A man maye temper for one thynge in two or thre places, as for depnes. The fote is one. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. viii. 333/2 The Foot, is the piece of Hooked or Bended Wood, at the end of the Plow, under the Suck. 1846Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. 72 If the foot was not wide, it would cut into the soil.
15. Of an organ pipe (see quots.).
1852Seidel Organ 78 The foot upon which the whole pipe rests. 1876J. Hiles Catech. Organ iv. (1878) 25 The foot [of a wooden organ pipe] is a tube introduced at the bottom of the pipe; it serves as a support, and also as a conductor of the wind.
16. In a sewing-machine: The small plate which is pressed on the cloth to hold it steady.
1877Knight Dict. Mech., Presser-foot. 188.Direct. Singer's ‘Medium’ Sewing Mach., Adjust the corder-foot to the presser-bar..In placing each succeeding cord, guide the fabric with the last cord sewed in the second groove of the foot.
17. One of the marginal pieces forming a serrated edge round the carapace of the Hawkbill turtle; otherwise called ‘hoofs’ or ‘claws’; in pl. the commercial name for the small plates of tortoise-shell which line the carapace.
V. The lowest part, bottom.
18. a. The lowest part or bottom of an eminence, or any object in an erect or sloping position, as a wall, ladder, staircase, etc. Chiefly governed by preps.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 89 On þe fot of þe dune þe men clepen munt oliuete. a1300Cursor M. 2481 (Cott.) Vnder þe fote of mont mambre, þar he ches to seit his fee. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 65 At þe foot of þe hille mount Olympus. 1497Bp. Alcock Mons Perfect. C iij, The fote [of the ladder] stode by hym. 1582N. Lichefield tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. ii. 6 b, A man..who was going to gather honny at the foote of a bush. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 485 And now at foot Of Heav'ns ascent they lift thir Feet. 1678Trial of Coleman 44 At the Foot of the Stair⁓case. 1717Berkeley Let. Wks. 1871 IV. 80 Torre del Greco, a town situate at the foot of Vesuvius. 1779J. Burgoyne Lett. to Constit. (ed. 3) 15 Even the feet of the gallows, were resorted to for other recruits. 1815Falconer's Dict. Marine, The Foot of a Mast, is the lower end, or that which goes into the step. 1860Tyndall Glac. i. ii. 68 A forest of dark pines..gathered like a cloud at the foot of the mountain.
b. The beginning or end of the slope (of a bridge).
c1450Merlin 227 Here be-fore the yates at the brigge foote. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI (an. 28) 160 b, Y⊇ rebelles drave the citezens from the stoulpes at the bridge foote. 1739C. Labelye Short Acc. Piers Westm. Bridge p. vi, Westminster-Bridge Foot. c1850Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 597 They passed this bridge, at the foot of which they met with an old blind man.
c. Geom. foot of the perpendicular: (see quot.).
1840Lardner Geom. xii. 147 The point..where the perpendicular meets the plane, is called the foot of the perpendicular.
d. Naut. (See quot. 1776.)
1697W. Dampier Voy. I. xviii. 495 We rolled up the foot of our Sail on a pole fastned to it. 1776Falconer Dict. Marine, Foot of a sail, lower edge or bottom. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 127 Carry up the foot.
19. The lower end, bottom (of a page or document, a class or list, a table, etc.). at foot: at the bottom (of a page).
1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. 142 Look in the Foot of the Table for the fifth Rhomb. 1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 377 He claps the Fingers of his Left Hand about the Foot of the Page. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. ix. 218 At the foot of the page. 1855Thorpe Pref. to Beowulf (1875) 8 Placing the proposed correction at foot. 1884G. Moore Mummer's Wife (1887) 223 He was invited to take the foot of the table and help the cold salmon.
20. Law. foot of a fine (AF. pee, Anglo-Lat. pes): that one of the ‘parts’ of a tripartite indenture recording the particulars of a fine (see fine n.1 6 b), which remained with the court, the other two being retained by the parties.
When the undivided sheet was placed so that this counterfoil could be read, it was actually at the ‘foot’ of the parchment (the extant ‘feet of fines’ have therefore their indentation at the top); in the other two counterparts the direction of the writing was at right angles to that of the ‘foot’. The expression pes indenturae ‘foot of the indenture’ also occurs. Horwood's suggestion, that the term (L. pes) arose from a misinterpretation of AF pes, pais, ‘peace’ is baseless.
[1293in Year Bks. 21 & 22 Edw. I (Rolls) 221 E ke cele fin se leva tel an coram &c. nus vochum le pee de la fin a garrantye.] 1581Act 23 Eliz. c. 3. §1 The Concorde, Note and Fote of everye suche Fyne. 1876Digby Real Prop. ii. §8. 93 A document was drawn up, called in later times the foot, chirograph, or indenture of the fine. 1895Pollock & Maitland Hist. Eng. Law I. 198 This ‘final concord’ or ‘fine’, will be drawn up by the royal clerks and one copy of it, the so-called ‘Foot of the Fine’, will remain with the Court.
21. What is written at the foot.
†a. The sum or total (of an account). Obs.
1480Wardr. Acc. Edw. IV (1830) 154 note, ‘The foote of the deliveree of stuff’. 1520Churchw. Acc. St. Giles, Reading 8 In the ffote of the same accompte xjli xiiijs vijd. 1623Bp. Andrewes Serm. Nativ. xvi. (1629) 148 So, it signifies to make the foot of an account. We call it the foot, because we write it below at the foot. 1692Dryden Cleomen. iv. i, A trifling sum of Misery, New added to the foot of thy Account. 1712Steele Spect. No. 346 ⁋1 The generous man..will soon find upon the foot of his account that he has sacrificed to fools.
†b. The refrain or ‘chorus’ (of a song). to bear a foot: to sing a refrain. Obs.
1552Huloet, Dittye synger, or he that beareth y⊇ fote of the songs, præsentor [sic]. c1568in Laneham's Let. (1871) Pref. 127 Here entreth Moros..Synging the foote of many Songes, as fooles were wont. 1603Knolles Hist. Turkes 777 A souldior..sung a dolefull dittie whereunto his fellows sighing bare a foot. 1621Molle Camerar. Liv. Libr. v. ii. 322 In praise of him certaine jygges were made which the yong lads vsed to sing..the foot of them was this; A thousand, thousand, thousand, we..[etc.].
22. (Plural foots). That which sinks to and lies upon the bottom; bottoms, dregs; the refuse in refining oil, etc.; coarse sugar. Cf. foot grease, sugar.
1560Let. in Hakluyt Voy. I. 306 Much of this Waxe had a great foote..You must cause the foote to bee taken off before you doe weigh it. 1644Nye Gunnery v. (1647) 11 Fill up the Barrel with earth..afterwards pour..clean water upon the earth..then pull out the Taps or Spiggots..and let the water drop out of that vessel into another..this water when it hath dropped twice, is called water of Foot. 1687B. Randolph Archipelago 91 They raise the foot of the oyl, so that thick and thin goes together. 1770–4A. Hunter Georg. Ess. (1803) I. 318 The bottoms or foots of oil. 1871Daily News 5 Jan., Lump sugar is 13d. a pound, foots moist 9d. 1886Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk, Foots, dregs, sediment. This here cyder 'ont suit me, there's to much voots in it.
VI. Footing, standing, basis.
†23. Foothold, standing-ground. Obs.
1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 148/1 Their getting foote may be to their owne destruction. 1652F. Kirkman Cleris & Lozia 113 Hinder new love from getting foot in her heart. 1662More Philos. Writ. Pref. Gen. (1712) 19 Considering also how far that Philosophy has already got foot in Christendom.
†24.
a. The footing, basis, understanding, totality of conditions or arrangements, on which a matter is established; the agreed or understood position or status which a person or thing occupies in relation to another. = footing vbl. n. 8. Obs.
1559Jewel Let. to Bulinger in Strype Ann. Ref. I. x. 131 Religion was restored on that foot on which it stood in King Edwards time. 1686Lond. Gaz. No. 2116/1 The Salaries of all Officers..are likewise retrenched. The Councils..are to be reduced to the foot they were upon in the Year 1621. 1707Freind Peterborow's Cond. Sp. 7 Matters were set upon a new Foot. 1735Berkeley Def. Free-think. in Math. Wks. 1871 III. 325 If you defend Sir Isaac's notions..it must be on the rigorous foot of rejecting nothing. 1745P. Thomas Voy. S. Seas 305 The Viceroy..found he expected to be received on the same Foot with himself. 1762–71H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Paint. (1786) III. 278 Boit..was upon so low a foot, that he went into the country, and taught children to draw. 1767Franklin Lett. Wks. 1887 IV. 9, I wish all correspondence was on the foot of writing and answering when one can. 1827Pollok Course T. ix. 727 When he should stand on equal foot beside The man he wronged.
†b. on the foot of: on the ground of. Obs.
1679Penn Addr. Prot. ii. 84 He laid the Sin of the Jews upon this Foot, viz., That they rejected him, after he had made proof of his Divine Mission. a1797H. Walpole Mem. Geo II (1847) II. viii. 259 The Prince excused his own inapplication on the foot of idleness.
†25. Standard rate of calculation or valuation. under foot: below standard value. Obs.
1588J. Mellis Briefe Instr. F viij b, Vse one Foote or Standerd of money in your accompt in your Leager. 1594Death of Usurie 12 The man beeing driuen to distresse, sels his corne farre vnder foote. 1645Quarles Sol. Recant. i. 44 Not deem'd a pen'worth under foot. 1691Locke Lower. Interest Wks. 1727 II. 80 He must pay twenty per Cent. more for all the Commodities he buys with the Money of the new Foot. 1726Berkeley in Fraser Life iv. (1871) 137, I know money is at present on a very high foot of exchange. 1734tr. Rollin's Anc. Hist. (1827) I. i. iv. 195 The disparity between the ancient and modern measures which it is hard to estimate on a fixed and certain foot.
VII. Phrases.
26. a. † to catch or have by the foot: to catch as in a trap; to hold fast, keep from flying. † to give (a person) a foot: to trip (him) up. to have one foot in the grave: to be near death.
1550Latimer Serm. Fruitf. Serm. (1571) 90 b, In answering him to this they would haue caught him by the foote. 1632Massinger & Field Fatal Dowry i. ii, When one foot's in the grave. 1643Prynne Sov. Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) 52 The English Armies disband themselves, as dreaming they had now good fortune by the foote. 1767H. Brooke Fool of Qual. V. 15 Harry, giving him a slight foot, laid him on the broad of his back. 1886J. Payn Luck Darrells xv, He has twenty thousand a year..And one foot in his grave.
b. In adv. phr.: † feet against (or to) feet, said with reference to the Antipodes. foot to foot: with one's foot against an opponent's; in close combat. † (to come in) foot and hand: stepping forward and dealing a blow at the same time. feet first: see first a. 3 b. (with one's) feet foremost: lit., hence also ‘as a corpse’.
c1400Mandeville (1839) xvii 182 Thei that dwellyn under us, ben feet aȝenst feet. 1553Eden Decades viii, The Antipodes (that is) such as go fiete to fiete ageynst us. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv, 241 [These] Began to giue me ground: but I followed me close, came in foot and hand. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks 879 They encountred one another, not with their missive weapons onely..but with their drawne swords foot to foot. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. iii. vii. 67 Fighting foot to foot. 1737Ozell Rabelais II. 27 They never enter St. Denys but with their Feet foremost. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxix. 384 Hans, Morton and myself crawled feet-foremost into our buffalo-bag. 1860All Year Round No. 65. 350 It [the disease]..had carried him out with his feet foremost.
c. to find or know the length of (a person's) foot: to discover or know his weaknesses, so as to be able to manage him. to measure another man's foot by one's own last: to measure others by one's own standard, to judge others by oneself. feet of clay: see clay n. 4 c.
1580Lyly Euphues (Arb.) 290 You shal not know the length of my foote, vntill by your cunning you get commendation. 1598R. Bernard tr. Terence 70 He measures an other mans foote by his owne last. a1617Bayne On Eph. i. 15 (1643) 156 Persons who can humour them, and finde the length of their foote. 1861Trollope Barchester T. xxxv, Farmer Greenacre's eldest son..had from his earliest years taken the exact measure of Miss Thorne's foot.
27. With reference to standing. (to be, jump up) upon or (to raise) to one's feet: in, into or to a standing position. to be on one's feet: to be able to stand; hence, in health. to set (a person) on his feet, to make his position or means of living secure. to carry (a person) off his feet: (fig.) to ‘carry away’ with enthusiasm, or the like. to drop or fall on one's feet: see fall v. 65 h. to have one's feet on the ground: to base oneself on realities; to be practical. to keep one's feet: to stand or walk upright or without falling. † to stand upon one's own feet or its own foot: to rely on one's own resources; (of a thing) to be judged on its merits.
c1440Generydes 44 Vppe vppon his fete he was a non. c1500Melusine xxiii. 156 Make here byfore me the feste as that I were now on my feet. 1657Burton's Diary (1828) II. 67 I move..that you would leave Serjeant Dendy's right to stand upon its own foot. 1801Gabrielli Myst. Husb. iv. 146 A sixth [hundred pounds] would set her once more upon her feet. 1845M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 26 The bishops..hastened to raise the king to his feet. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 301 He could not keep his feet in a breeze. 1854Mrs. Gaskell Let. 27 Oct. (1966) 316 I'll enclose you two pieces of Mr. S. Gaskell to show how he's carried off his feet. 1889Repent. P. Wentworth III. 145 He positively carried me off my feet for a few minutes that evening. 1950‘P. Woodruff’ Island of Chamba i. 21 El Hadramauti..is a bit of a theorist and H.M. for all his oddity has his feet very firmly on the ground.
28. a. With reference to placing the feet. to put one's foot down: (a) to take up a firm position; (b) when driving a motor vehicle: to accelerate. to put (set) one's foot (down) upon: to have nothing to do with; to repress firmly. to put a foot upon: ? to get an unfair advantage of, to wrong. to put one's foot in or into it: to get into difficulties or trouble; to blunder (colloq.). not (or never) to put a foot wrong: to make no mistakes; hence not to put a foot right: to make many mistakes. † to set one's foot by or to (another or another's): to engage in combat with.
1536St. Papers Hen. VIII, I. 506 No man can or dare set his fote by ours in proving of the contrary. c1609Hieron Wks. (1624) I. 7 Saint Paul..would not haue feared for profession of Religion, to set his foot to him that was holiest. 1663Pepys Diary 23 May, I had a fray with Sir J. Minnes in defence of my Will in a business where the old Coxcomb would have put a foot upon him. 1798Gent. Mag. in Spirit Pub. Jrnls. (1799) II. 57 The General had put his foot into it again. 1823‘Bee’ Slang s.v. ‘To put one's foot in it,’ to make a blunder on the wrong side; to get into a scrape by speaking. 1833Marryat P. Simple xii, I put my foot into it (as we say), for I was nearly killed. 1868J. H. Blunt Ref. Ch. Eng. I. 65 Wolsey set his foot upon this plan. 1886J. Payn Luck Darrells xxvi, She..put her foot down..upon the least symptoms of an unpleasantry. 1948‘N. Shute’ No Highway iv. 108 His superiors could rest content that Mr. Symes would never put a foot wrong. 1959I. Jefferies 13 Days viii. 98, I didn't feel I ought to put a foot wrong with Watson, the Ordnance Captain. 1959Listener 22 Jan. 152/1 He never put a foot wrong. He was extraordinarily good in the House. 1961H. Nicolson Let. 1 June (1968) III. 395 The Americans..blame..the ‘diplomatists’, meaning thereby their intelligence services. ‘Why can't we put a foot right?’ they wail. 1962J. Braine Life at Top ii. 38, I put my foot down and the Zephyr gathered speed up the slope.
b. to set or put (one's) foot at, in, into, † off, on, † out of (a place).
c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon ix. 222 I shall never sette foote there. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 46 It was a foule shame for a phylosophier to sette his foote into any hous where bawderie wer kepte. 1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV (an 15) 237 b, Whom if you permitte once to set but one foote, out of your power..there is no mortall creature able..to deliver hym from death. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 251/2 Sins which haue set in foote. 1596Spenser State Irel. 81 In some places of the same they have put foote. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 95 When I from France set foot at Rauenspurgh. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. vi, I was never to set my foot off this island. 1838Lytton Leila i. v, Since first thou didst set foot within the city. 1875T. W. Higginson U.S. Hist. v. 38 Columbus was not the first to set foot on the mainland.
29. With reference to walking or running.
a. (to go) on one's own feet or † foot: walking. to pull foot (colloq.): to run away, be off. † on the foot of: ready to start upon. † to set foot forward: to advance; also to quicken one's pace. † to set on one's foot: to start on the way; depart. † to show the feet: to depart. † give me your foot: let me see you go. to take one's foot in one's hand: to depart; also, to make a journey. to take to one's feet (or † foot): to use the feet, go on foot, to walk as opposed to ‘ride.’ (Mr.) Foot's horse (jocularly): one's feet. to catch (a person) on the wrong foot: to catch unawares. to get (or set, etc.) off on the right foot: to start successfully; similarly to get (or start, etc.) off on the wrong foot: to start unsuccessfully; to fail to establish good relations.
a1400–50Alexander 3246 Quen fortune foundis him fra and him þe fete schewis. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxi. 12 Oft falsett rydis with ane rowt, Quhen trewth gois on his fute abowt. 1508Kennedy Flyting w. Dunbar 473 Throu Ingland thef, and tak the to thy fute. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV (an. 1) 18 He..never set fote forward duryng the first .ij. monethes, for the reisyng of the siege. 1575J. Still Gammer Gurton iv. ii, Go softly, make no noyse, giue me your foote sir John, Here will I waite vpon you, tyl you come out anone. 1600Holland Livy iii. xxvii. (1609) 106 Willing them to set foot forward, to mend their pace and make speed. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. ii. i. 332 Set on your foote, And..I follow you. 1605― Macb. ii. iii. 131 Donal. Let's away, Our Teares are not yet brew'd. Mal. Nor our strong Sorrow Vpon the foot of Motion. 1755Smollett Quix. iv. iv. I. 232 Andrew..made his bows, and as the saying is, took his foot in his hand. 1779F. Burney Diary 19 June, I took to my feet and ran away. 1818M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 109 One of my ladies chose to pull foot, and did not return..till this morning. 1864Burton Cairngorm 5 The kind of scenes he may alight on if he ‘take his feet in his hands’. 1883Harper's Mag. 946/1 The privilege of taking this trip on ‘foot's horse’. 1909R. Beach Silver Horde xiii. 173, I want to see you get off on the right foot; I'd feel bad if you fell down. 1925Country Gentleman (U.S.) Sept. 11/2, I know I got off on the wrong foot. It was manifest in the faces and general demeanor of the grave and reverend Senators. 1937N. Coward Present Indicative vi. xi. 262 To me a round of applause..even though it be conventional rather than spontaneous, almost always sets my performance off on the right foot. 1947C. Witting Let X be Murderer iv. 43 They caught me on the wrong foot, Glad. What did the old fool want to go and ring up for? 1949R. Chandler Little Sister xxxii. 232, I got off on the wrong foot. After that I just had to take my lumps. 1955Times 12 May 11/2 Starting the Colonial Development Corporation off on the wrong foot. 1956A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes i. iii. 71 ‘Oh, he's brilliant all right,’ said Robin... ‘But he obviously gets off on the wrong foot with his colleagues.’ 1958Listener 7 Aug. 195/2 There is that vast number of marriages..where the marriage takes place to give the baby a name. The whole thing starts on the wrong foot. 1958Times 18 Dec. 11/4 The least athletically inclined are frequently finding themselves..bowled out, tackled or caught on the wrong foot. 1960H. Innes Doomed Oasis ii. iii. 120 The relationship hadn't been at all easy at first. ‘They started off on the wrong foot, you see.’ 1961Times 9 May 13/3 The Commons-peerage question must be disposed of before these wider discussions can be got off on the right foot.
b. With reference to ‘pace’. to have leaden feet: to move very slowly. to have the foot of: to be more speedy than. (to move) at a foot's pace: at walking pace. to run a good, etc. foot (of a horse): to run at a good pace, run at his best pace. to put (or set) the (or one's) best foot first, foremost or forward: see best a. 5. † the better foot before: at one's best pace. † to put the wrong foot before: to make a blunder.
1588Shakes. Tit. A. ii. iii. 192 Come on my Lords, the better foote before. 1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 4 Thou putst the wrong foote before. 1601Dent Pathw. Heaven 141 Though God haue leaden feet, and commeth slowly to execute wrath. a1613Overbury A Wife (1638) 164 Hee is still setting the best foot forward. 1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1757) II. 123 A large, nimble, strong, well-moving Horse, that would run a pretty good Foot. 1785Burns To Davie xi, And then he'll hilch, and stilt, an' jimp, And rin an unco fit. 1818M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 362 Thus we proceeded crawling along at a foot's pace. 1849E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa II. 373 We had to put our best foot foremost. 1856Lever Martin's of Cro' M. 133 I threw out a ‘tenpenny’ in the midst. The ‘blind’ fellow saw it first, but the ‘lame cripple’ had the foot of him, and got the money!
c. With the sense of ‘step’. to miss one's foot: to take a wrong step. † foot by (for, with) foot: step by step, gradually; keeping step together; also fig. to change foot or feet: see change v. 9. to have a good foot on the floor (Sc.): ‘to dance well’ (Jam.).
c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 143/1300 Send with us fot with fot ane legat. c1430Pilgr. Lyf Manhode iv. lxi. (1869) 205 Þe olde also, foot bi foot, comen þider. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. II. 378 Fit for fit to Forfar all tha fuir. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 347/2 Hee that walketh with a straight foote..will not fetch many windlesses to drawne neere to God. 1626A. Cook in Abp. Usher's Lett. (1686) 373 Your Lordship had need now to do something; for few go with a right foot, and the Enemies are many. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 216 Anselme..followed his predecessors steps almost foot by foot. 1785Burns Halloween xxvi, She jumpet, But mist a fit, an' in the pool Out-owre the lugs she plumpet.
30. Expressing position relatively to the feet.
a. at (a person's) feet or † foot: low on the ground close to him; also, fig., in the attitude of supplicaton, homage, subjection or discipleship; similarly to come, etc. to a person's feet; before, beside one's feet, etc. See fall v. 20.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Luke vii. 38 And stod bihianda æt fotum his mið tæherum. c1175Lamb. Hom. 101 Ða ileaffullen brohton heore gersum and leiden heo et þere apostlan fotan. a1300Cursor M. 9599 (Cott.) Be-for þe king fote sco stode. 1382Wyclif Acts xxii. 3 A man Jew..norischid forsoth in this citie bisydis the feet of Gamaliel. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xxvi. 550 He cast hymself to the fete of hym. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. i. 92, I would my daughter were dead at my foot. 1710Berkeley Princ. Hum. Knowl. Ded. Wks. 1871 I. 133 To lay this treatise at your lordship's feet. 1715–20Pope Iliad xxiii. 28 The bloody Hector stretch'd before thy feet. 1814Scott Drama (1874) 203 The royal bear-ward..lodged a formal complaint at the feet of her majesty. 1861Trollope Barchester T. xxvii, It was all very well to have Mr. Slope at her feet. 1895Bookman Oct. 23/1 The lessons that he had learnt at the feet of Mazarin.
b. † (to follow) at or to foot: closely. † to foot and hand: in close attendance, ready to render service (cf. ‘to wait upon one hand and foot’). with a foal at (her) foot: said of a mare.
a1300Cursor M. 24031 (Cott.) We folud þam to fote. Ibid. 6394 (Gött.) Þar had þai watir in wildernes land, Plente for men, to fhote and hand. c1420Sir Amadace (Camden) lviii, I ȝo cummawunde To serue him wele to fote and honde. 1602Shakes. Ham. iv. iii. 56 Follow him at foote. 1612Sir R. Boyle in Lismore Papers (1886) I. 10, 5 of them [mares] had horse colte at their feet. 1884West. Morn. News 30 Aug. 1/6 Two excellent brood mares, with foals at foot.
c. under or beneath a person's foot or feet: fig. in subjection to him, at his mercy or at his absolute disposal. Cf. 33.
c825Vesp. Ps. viii. 8 [6] All ðu underdeodes under fotum his. c1175Lamb. Hom. 129 Al eorðlic þing ure drihten dude under his fotan. a1225Juliana 60 Þu..wurpe under hare fet hare fan alle. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. i. 63 Who..layd his Loue and Life vnder my foot. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset III. vii. Mr. Crawley was now but a broken reed, and was beneath his feet.
d. to have or set one's foot on the neck of: (fig.) to hold completely in subjection: see neck n.1 3 a.
31. (to sell corn) on the foot: ‘to sell it along with the straw before it is thrashed off’ (Jam.).
1780A. Young Tour Irel. I. 330 The value sold on the foot is in general 8l. 1812Agric. Surv. Stirling iv. 104 The tenant, shall not sell his victual upon the foot, as it is called, or with the straw.
32. on foot. (See also afoot.)
a. On one's own feet, walking or running, in opposition to on horseback, etc. † Also, of foot, upon foot.
a1300Cursor M. 6267 (Cott.) He folud wit ost on hors and fote. a1310in Wright Lyric P. 90 The is bettere on fote gon, then wycked hors to ryde. c1314Guy Warw. (A.) 2397 When Gii seye the douke of fot. c1400Destr. Troy 356 So faire freikes vppon fote was ferly to se. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 238 The Englishmen..made three battayles on foote. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 941 Treading the crude consistence, half on foot, Half flying. 1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. iv, I drove up..(fearful of being late, or I should have come on foot).
b. In motion, stirring, astir (in opposition to sitting still, or the like).
1592Shakes. Ven. & Ad. 679 When thou hast on foot the purblind hare, Mark..How he outruns the wind. 1607― Cor. iv. iii. 49 The Centurions, and their charges..to be on foot at an houres warning. 1674N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. i. (1677) 99 When the Hare is started and on foot. 1818M. G. Lewis Jrnl. W. Ind. (1834) 161 Every body in Jamaica is on foot by six in the morning. 1885T. Roosevelt Hunting Trips 280 Though I got very close up to my game, they were on foot before I saw them.
c. In active existence, employment, or operation.
1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 757 Since loues argument was first on foote, Let not the cloud of sorrow justle it. 1651W. G. tr. Cowel's Inst. 190 Unlesse the lease which is on foot..be within three yeares of expiring. 1711Steele Spect. No. 262 ⁋6 Those Gentlemen who set on Foot the Royal Society. 1779Burke Corr. (1844) II. 283 Nothing seems to me more wild..than the subscriptions now on foot. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) V. 212 Terms for years, which are kept on foot by purchasers..are not barred by fine. 1862Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. xvii. 264 If, then, a King were to retain the troops on foot without a Mutiny Bill. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset xlvii, The bishop had decided to put on foot another investigation.
33. under foot. (Sometimes written as one word.)
a. Beneath one's feet; often to trample or tread under foot (also † feet), in lit. sense, also fig. to oppress, outrage, contemn. † to bring, have under foot: to bring into, hold in subjection. † to cast under foot: to ruin.
c1205Lay. 11693 Þis lond..he..hæfde al vnder fot. c1305Pilate 49 in E.E.P. (1862) 112 If he þat lond chasteþ wel: and bringeþ vnder fote. c1420Hoccleve Compl. 13 Deathe vnder fote shall hym thrist adowne. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. (Arb.) 161 Dissention..hathe caste under foote..the..riches of many cities. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, v. i. 209 From thy Burgonet Ile rend thy Beare, And tread it vnder foot with all contempt. 1647Clarendon Hist. Reb. ii. §12 He never deserted it till both it and he were over-run and trod under foot. 1652Wright tr. Camus' Nature's Paradox 260 They trampled under feet all private considerations. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Two Voy. 308 They [elephants] would have trampl'd us under foot. Mod. colloq. It is not raining, but it is very wet under foot.
b. Naut. ‘Under the ship's bottom; said of an anchor which is dropped while she has headway’ (Smyth Sailor's Word-bk.); also of the movement of the tide, etc. Also † to have a good etc. ship under foot (i.e. to be sailing in such a ship).
1633T. James Voy. 79 This Cable had laine slacke vnder-foot. 1670Wood in Hacke Coll. Voy. iii. (1699) 61 It must..be a bad Port in Winter, when..a Storm blows at West..and a Tide of Ebb under Foot. 1719De Foe Crusoe x. (1840) 166 Running cheerfully before the wind, and with a strong tide or eddy under foot. 1726G. Shelvocke Voy. (1757) 321, I had a pretty good ship under foot, though she made but a poor figure. 1804Capt. Duff in Naval Chron. XV. 281 We have a good comfortable ship under foot. 1860Merc. Marine Mag. VII. 180 The Pilot..dropped the port anchor under foot.
VIII. attrib. and Comb.
34. a. simple attrib., as foot-clamper, foot-muscle, foot-part, foot-shackle, foot-wear, foot-wound.
1856Kane Arct. Expl I. xxii. 273 Pointed staves, *foot-clampers, and other apparatus for climbing ice.
1854Woodward Mollusca (1856) 250 The *foot muscles.
1644Evelyn Diary 19 Nov., The nave..is in form of a cross, whereof the *foot-part is the longest.
1848Craig, *Foot-shackles, fetters, shackles for fixing the feet.
1881Chicago Times 11 June, If values were based upon present quotations of leather, an advance would be necessary upon several descriptions of *foot-wear. 1922Daily Mail 1 Nov. 8 Women and girls, with their short skirts, neat footwear, and other prevailing fashions. 1954F. C. Avis Boxing Ref. Dict. 43 Footwear, regulation boots.
a1225Ancr. R. 194 Vlesches fondunge mei beon iefned to *uot wunde.
b. In the sense of ‘on foot’, ‘going on foot’, as † foot-chapman, foot-comer, foot-excursion, foot-farer, † foot-fight, foot-hawker, † foot-messenger, foot-party, foot-passenger, foot-people, foot-robber, foot-servant, foot-tour, foot-traveller, foot-walker, foot-wandering; foot-faring, foot-running adjs.
1584Burgh Rec. Aberdeen (Spald. Club) II. 54 That no extranear *fut chopmane copair resort to this toun fra this furtht.
1811Coleridge in Southey's Life Bell (1844) II. 645 The entrance..is disagreeable even to *foot-comers.
1796T. Twining Trav. Amer. (1894) 148 He was absent with some friends on a *foot excursion.
1861G. Meredith E. Harrington I. vi. 95 Dividing his attention between the *footfarer and moon.
1868G. Macdonald R. Falconer I. 190 Half a dozen *footfaring students from Aberdeen.
1580Sidney Arcadia (1622) 171 So began our *foot-fight.
1884S. Dowell Taxes in Eng. III. 38 The revenue from the *foot-hawkers' licences.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 60/1 *Foot Messengers of Arms, are such *Foot Servants, as are imployed by the Heralds of Arms.
1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xx. 252 The ice had baffled three organized *foot-parties.
1832Babbage Econ. Manuf. iv. (ed. 3) 34 When *foot-passengers are knocked down by carriages.
1807Pike Sources Mississ. ii. (1810) 114 My Indians and *foot people were yet in the rear.
1754Scoundrel's Dict. 29 The Low-Pad, or *Foot-robber.
1865Kingsley Herew. I. i. 62 A *foot-running slave.
1883F. M. Crawford Dr. Claudius iii, He was going away on his customary *foot tour.
1805Wordsw. Prelude (1850) 152 *Foot-travellers side by side..we pursued Our journey.
1751Hume Princ. Morals iv. 71 note, Amongst *Foot-walkers, the Right-hand entitles a Man to the Wall.
1839Bailey Festus v. (1852) 62 The fastings, the *footwanderings, and the preachings of Christ.
c. esp. in sense ‘of or pertaining to infantry’, as † foot-arms, † foot-band, foot-barracks, foot-company, foot-drill, † foot-officer, foot-soldier, † foot-troop. Also foot-folk, -guards.
1662Protests Lords I. 26 For assessing all persons mentioned therein for horse, arms, and *foot-arms.
1598Barret Theor. Warres ii. i. 26 A Captaine of Infanterie, or *foot-band.
1835D. Booth Analyt. Dict. 157 Artillery-barracks, Horse-barracks, and *Foot-barracks.
1635W. Barriffe Mil. Discip. lxvii. (1643) 178 The severall motions and grounds, for the disciplining of a *foot company.
1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 43 The position of the man as in *Foot-drill.
a1674Clarendon Hist. Reb. xvi. §96 [Monk] had the reputation of a very good *Foot-Officer.
1622Drayton Poly-olb. xxix. 155 Seauen Earles, nine hundred Horse, and of *Foot-souldiers more. 1874Boutell Arms & Arm. viii. 133 The treatment..shown to the foot-soldier of England by the nobles.
1579Fenton Guicciard. (1618) 271 The French..discouered the *foot-troopes of the Genoways.
d. In sense ‘for the use of persons going on foot’, ‘serving for foot-traffic’, as foot-passage, foot-pavement, foot-road, foot-track, foot-walk; also, foot-boat, foot-bridge in 35 below, and foot-path, -way.
1789Brand Newcastle I. 15 Convenient *foot-passages have lately been opened out on each side of this gate.
1791Boswell Johnson II. 528 When he had got down on the *foot-pavement, he called out ‘fare you well’. 1863Kinglake Crimea (1876) I. xiv. 276 Numbers of spectators..crowded the foot-pavement.
1784R. Bage Barham D. I. 220 [He] saw a well dressed young woman..take the *foot road down to the river side.
1891C. T. C. James Rom. Rigmarole 125, I thought I would..quit the beaten *foot-track, and strike boldly across country.
1837Hawthorne Twice-Told T. (1851) I. ix. 166 Leaving him to sidle along the *footwalk.
e. In the names of various appliances worked by the foot, as foot-bellows, foot blower, foot-drill, foot-hammer, foot-lathe, foot-lever, foot-press, foot-vise; esp. in names of speed and control appliances on vehicles, as foot-accelerator, foot-brake, foot-braking, foot-clutch, foot-starter; also foot-acted, foot-operated adjs.
1908Westm. Gaz. 16 Jan. 4/2 A *foot accelerator is also fitted.
1908Daily Chron. 21 Nov. 9/4 The three-speed gear in association with a *foot-acted brake.
1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 901/2 *Foot-bellows.
1884W. A. Ross Blowpipe 1 A *foot-blower.
1888Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin., *Foot Brake. 1925Morris Owner's Man. 11 Both foot and hand brakes operate on drums fitted to the back wheels.
1909Daily Chron. 27 Feb. 7/7 *Foot braking is less fatiguing for prolonged spells of application.
1905Westm. Gaz. 17 Oct. 4/2 Many motorists who find the working of a *foot-clutch trying.
1892Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), *Foot-drill, a light drilling machine driven by a treadle.
1812–6J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art. I. 58 *Foot lathes.
1892Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), *Foot Lever, a lever worked by the pressure of the foot alone.
1908Westm. Gaz. 30 Jan. 4/1 A large *foot-operated contracting brake.
1959Times 2 Oct. 11/3 The foot-operated dip switch. 1967Jane's Surface Skimmer Systems 1967–68 9/1 The engine is controlled by a foot-operated accelerator. 1971Engineering Apr. 69/2 A hydraulic master cylinder unit, coupled to a pivoted foot-operated lever.
f. objective, etc., as foot-binder, foot-kisser, foot-swather, foot-washer, foot-wiper; foot-failing, foot-firm, adjs.; instrumental, as † foot-tempered adj.; locative, etc., as foot-feathered, foot-foundered, foot-gilt, foot-lame, (also foot-lameness) adjs.; also, footward adv.
1886Wanderings in China I. 168 *Foot-binders..women whose profession it is to produce this horrible distortion.
1609J. Davies Holy Roode Wks. (Grosart) 9/1 To march vpon the Seas *foot-failing floore?
1818Keats Endym. iv. 331 *Foot-feathered Mercury.
1813‘ædituus’ Metrical Remarks 29 The *foot-firm sand Stretches its lengthened course along the land.
1801Bloomfield Rural T. 227 A poor old Man, *foot founder'd and alone.
1859Tennyson Vivien 280 *Foot-gilt with all the blossom-dust of those Deep meadows.
1868Browning Ring & Bk. ix. 1085 Born foot-washer and foot-wiper, nay *Foot-kisser to each comrade of you all.
c1305Pol. Songs (Camden) 194 Sixti thousent on a day hue maden *fot lome. c1325Poem Times Edw. II, 264 Ibid. 335 Thus knihtshipe [is] acloied and waxen al fot lame.
1828Sporting Mag. XXII. 347 He [a horse] was struck with *foot-lameness.
1762Goldsm. Cit. W. iii. ⁋6 Your nose-borers, *feet-swathers..would all want bread, should their neighbours want vanity.
c1420Pallad. on Husb. vi. 182 Wel *foote-tempred morter theron trete.
1822T. Mitchell Aristoph. II. 211 Cecrops..(what if thy dimensions end *Footward in a wily serpent?) 1871R. Ellis tr. Catull. lxiv. 66 That footward-fallen apparel.
1868*Foot-washer [see foot-kisser above]. 1870Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. li. 14 If we could be preacher, precentor, doorkeeper, pew-opener, footwasher..all in one.
1868*Foot-wiper [see foot-kisser above].
35. a. Special comb.: foot-ale dial. (see quots.); † foot-and-half-foot a., sesquipedalian; foot-and-mouth disease, ‘a febrile affection of horned cattle and some other animals, communicable also to man’ (Syd. Soc. Lex. 1884); foot-bank Fortif. = banquette (see also quot. 1626); foot-base Arch., ‘the moulding above the plinth of an apartment’ (Ogilvie); † foot-bass, an instrument on which a bass is played by the feet (see quot.); foot-bath, † (a) a ‘wash’ for the feet; (b) the act of bathing the feet; (c) a vessel in which the feet are bathed; foot-bearing Mech., a bearing for the foot of a vertical shaft: cf. foot-step; † foot-bench = banquette; † foot-blast, the blast produced by bellows worked with the foot; ? † foot-boat, a ferry-boat for foot-passengers only; foot-bone, the tarsus; foot-bridge, (a) a bridge for foot-passengers; (b) Mech. (see quot. 1872); foot-candle, a unit of illumination equivalent to the illumination of a surface all of which is at a distance of one foot from a point source of light having a luminous intensity of one candela (or formerly one international candle), corresponding to a luminous flux density of one lumen per square foot; † foot-clapper, a dancer; foot-coal, an underlying stratum of coal; foot-cushion, (a) a cushion for the feet; (b) Entom., a pulvillus; foot-dirt = foots (see foot n.); foot-dragging, a deliberate delay or slowness (cf. drag v. 1 b); foot-drain, a shallow drain; cf. foot-trench; foot-drop Path., a permanently extended position of the foot, due to paralysis of the flexor muscles; † foot-fast, a prisoner; † foot-fastness, captivity; † foot-follower, an attendant (transl. L. pedisequus, -sequa); foot-free, a. and adv., with the foot or feet free; foot-gang, (a) ‘a long, narrow chest, extending alongside a wooden bed; (b) as much ground as one can move on’ (Jam.); † foot-geld (see quot. 1641); † foot-gin, a snare for the feet; † foot-glove, a kind of shoe; foot-grease (see quot.); † foot-grene = foot-gin; foot-guard, a guard or protection for the foot; foot-halt, a disease which attacks the feet of sheep; foot-hedge (see quots.); foot-hole, a hole in which to place the foot (in climbing); † foot-husk (see quot.); foot-iron (see quots.); foot-jaw, one of the anterior limbs of crustacea and other arthropoda which are modified so as to assist in mastication; foot-key, an organ pedal; foot-knave = footman; foot-lambert, a unit of luminance equal to the average luminance of a surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot; † foot-land-raker, a foot-pad; foot-length, Angling (see quot.); foot-level (see quot.); foot-ley, dial. (see quot. 1881); foot-licker, ‘a slave, an humble fawner, one who licks the foot’ (J.); so foot-licking ppl. a.; foot-line, (a) Printing (see quots.); (b) Fishing, ‘the lead-line or lower line of a net or seine’ (Cent. Dict.); foot-locker U.S., a small trunk or chest; foot-log U.S., a log used as a foot-bridge; † foot-maid, † -maiden, a female attendant; foot-maker Glass-making (see quot. 1881); † foot-match, a running- or walking-match; foot-muff, a muff for keeping the feet warm; † foot-nail, some kind of nail; † foot-organ (cf. foot-bass above); foot-ornament Arch. (see quot.); † foot-pack, a pedlar's pack; foot-pad, a pad to protect the foot of a horse (Knight); also Entom. = foot-cushion (Cent. Dict.); also a device on a space vehicle; foot-page, a boy attendant or servant; foot-pan, (a) a foot-bath; (b) a foot-warmer; foot-peat (see quot. and cf. breast-peat); foot-piece Mining (see quot.); † foot-pimp, a pimp in attendance; foot-plate (see quots.); foot-plough, a plough without a wheel, a swing-plough; † foot-poet (after foot-man, etc.: see quot.); foot-post, a letter-carrier or messenger who travels on foot; postal delivery by means of such carriers; foot-pound Mech., the quantity of energy required to raise a weight of one pound to the height of one foot; foot-poundal, a unit consisting of the energy of a pound weight moving at the rate of one foot per second; foot-pound-second, used to designate a system of units based upon the foot, the pound, and the second as units of length, force, and time respectively; foot-race, a race run by persons on foot, a running-match; so foot-racing vbl. n.; foot-rail, (a) a rail (esp. a bar or cross-piece connecting the legs of a table or seat) upon which the feet are rested; (b) (see quot. 1874); (c) (see quot. 1867); (d) var. form of footrill; foot-rest, a bench, stool, or the like, used for supporting a person's feet; foot-ring, the circular rim on the base of a plate, vase, etc.; foot-room, space in which to move the feet; foot-rope Naut., (a) the bolt-rope to which the lower edge of a sail is sewed; (b) a rope extended beneath a yard upon which the sailors stand when furling or reefing; foot-rot, (a) an inflammatory disease of the foot in cattle and sheep; whence foot-rotting (vbl. n.), treating sheep that have the foot-rot; (b) a fungal disease of plants, affecting the base of the stem; foot-rule, a measuring rule one foot long; also fig.; foot run [run n.1 13 a], a length of one foot measured lengthwise along a material or structure, esp. one conceived of as having a potentially variable length; foot-rut Agric. (see quot.); foot-scent Hunting, the scent of a trail; foot-scraper = scraper 5; foot-screw (see quot.); † foot-seam (see quot.); foot-seine (see quot.); foot-set (see quot. 1854 and cf. foot-hedge); foot-sheet, a sheet formerly used to sit upon while dressing or undressing; also, ‘a narrow sheet spread across the foot of a bed’ (Jam. Suppl.); foot-side, Sc. (a) adj., (of a garment), reaching to the feet; (b) adv., step for step; phr. to keep foot-side, to keep pace (with); foot-slope, the slope at the foot of a hill; foot-space-rail Naut. (see quots.); † foot-spore, the mark or print of a foot; † foot-stake, a base or support; foot-stay, a stay or rest for the feet; foot-stick, Printing (see quot. 1888); † foot-stock, (a) a kind of fulling-stocks used by hatters; (b) a step or stool for the feet; (c) Naut. (see quot. 1598); foot-stone, † (a) a base, pedestal; (b) the foundation-stone of a building; (c) the stone at the foot of a grave; foot-stove, a stove to warm the feet; † foot-strife, strife or contention in running; foot-stroke, a stroke at the foot of a letter; foot-stump, = foot-tubercle; foot-sugar = foots: see foot n. 22; † foot-team, ‘(apparently) the end of the drawing-gear which is fastened to a plough or harrow’ (Skeat); foot-ton, the amount of energy capable of raising a ton weight to the height of one foot; foot-tramp, the tramp of the feet, also a tramp or expedition on foot; † foot-trap, (a) a trap or snare for the feet; (b) the stocks; foot-trench, a shallow trench (cf. foot-drain); foot-tubercle (see quot.); foot-valve, (in a steam-engine) the valve between the air-pump and condenser; foot-waling Naut. (see quots.); foot-wall Mining, the wall or side of rock which is under a vein or lode; foot-warmer, a contrivance for keeping the feet warm, esp. while travelling; foot-washing, the washing of another's feet, esp. as a religious observance; also, locally as a wedding-ceremony; foot-weir, some kind of weir; † foot-wharf, (see quot.); † foot-wise adv., with the feet first, footling; † foot-withy, a shackle for the foot of an animal; foot-wobbler slang, a foot-soldier; foot-work, † (a) attrib. in footwork silk (? meaning); (b) a work to protect the foot of a structure; (c) Football, ‘work’ done with the feet, dribbling and kicking; (d) in other games, dancing, etc.: agility, sureness, and accurate placing of the feet; also fig.; foot-worn a., (a) worn by the feet; (b) worn or wearied as to the feet, footsore.
1747Hooson Miner's Dict., *Foot-ale, an old Custom amongst Miners, when a Man enters first into Work, to pay his first Days Wages for Ale. 1881Leicestersh. Gloss., s.v. Footing, A stranger..will generally be asked to ‘stand his foot-ale’.
1598B. Jonson Ev. Man in Hum. Prol., With..helpe of some few *foot-and-halfe-foote words.
1862Edin. Vet. Rev. IV. 506 Cows affected with the *foot and mouth disease.
1626Ainsworth Annot. Pentat. Lev. ii. 13 They laid on the salt..on the *foot-banke (of the altar,) and on the top of the Altar. 1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Foot-bank or Foot-step..a Step..under a Parapet, or Breast-work; upon which the men get up to Fire over it. 1882O'Donovan Merv Oasis I. xvi. 275 The footbank has crumbled away to such an extent that only a few inches in breadth remain.
1786T. Jefferson Writ. (1853) II. 75, I have lately examined a *foot-bass newly invented... It is placed on the floor, and the harpsichord..is set over it, the foot acting in concert on that, while the fingers play on this.
1599A. M. tr. Gabelhouer's Bk. Physicke 357/2 Take Oaken-leaues M.iij. Saulte M.j. make therof a *footebath. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Foot-bath, a pan in which to wash the feet.
1855Ogilvie Suppl., Foot. In Mech., the lower end of an upright or vertical shaft, and which works in a foot-step, or *foot-bearing.
1629S'hertogenbosh 19 Trenches with double bankets or *feet benches.
1622Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 273 Vent..for the Litargium..as it is cast vp by the *Foot-blast. 1778Pennant Tour in Wales I. 64 The Romans knew only the weak powers of the foot-blast.
1579Dee Diary (Camden) 6 The *fote-bote for the ferry at Kew was drowned and six persons. 1841Hartshorne Salop. Antiq. 430 Foot-boat.
1658Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus iii. 58 The thigh-bone, legge, *foot-bone, and claws of Birds. 1833R. Mudie Brit. Birds (1841) I. 23 The tarsus, or foot-bone.
1506Sir R. Guylforde Pilgr. (Camden) 31 There lay ouer the same a tree for a *fote brydge. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 802 The foot-bridge fail'd—he plung'd beneath the deep. 1892Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. (ed. 2), Foot Bridge, an arched bridge which carries a footstep bearing.
1906Illum. Engin. I. 66/1 Owing largely to the loose and ambiguous manner in which the various terms expressing light-measurements are used..the term ‘*foot-candle’..expresses but a vague idea to the average architect and engineer. 1949H. C. Weston Sight, Light, & Efficiency v. 150 The term foot-candle..is still in common use..but lumen per sq. ft. is now the preferred expression. 1963J. M. Fraser Psychol. (ed. 2) xvii. 224 For certain jobs..up to four hundred foot-candles (the equivalent of bright sunlight) have been tried.
1620Shelton Quix. ii. xix. 120 For your *Foot-clappers, I say nothing, you would wonder to see vm bestirre themselues.
1712F. Bellers in Phil. Trans. XXVII. 542 A coarse sort of Coal, called the *Foot-Coal. 1840Knickerbocker XV. 105 About a foot from the bottom of every vein, there is a layer of earth... This divides it into ‘foot-coal’ and ‘upper coal’. 1879G. F. Jackson Shropsh. Word Bk. 91 Foot coal.
c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture 884 Þe said shete ouer sprad So þat it keuer þe *fote coschyn and chayere. 1816Kirby & Sp. Entomol. (1843) II. 257 Foot cushions (pulvilli).
1811East Reports XIII. 523 Before..oil is delivered, it is the constant custom..for a broker..to attend to make a minute of the *foot-dirt and water in each cask.
1966New Statesman 16 Dec. 896/1 One likely result of all this *foot-dragging is that the Nato Council will fail this week to seize what might have been an excellent opportunity to simplify the arrangements for European defence. 1969Guardian 31 Jan. 10/2 There is no university now which does not have some appeals machinery..though there has been some foot-dragging on other issues.
1807Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 285 To receive the surface-water from *foot-drains laid out upon the surface of the morass.
1908C. W. Daniels in Hutchison & Collier Index of Treatment (ed. 4) 119 When the ‘*foot-drop’ is extreme, a cradle should be used to prevent..increasing the deformity. 1920Glasgow Herald 8 July 4 Conditions affecting the feet..e.g. foot-drop, corns and contracted toes, clawfoot. 1950E. D. W. Hauser Dis. Foot (ed. 2) v. 84 In most instances the paralysis that causes a valgoplanus is associated with paralysis of the dorsiflexors, which means that foot drop is present.
a1300E.E. Psalter lxxviii[i] 11 Inga in þi sight to seene Sighynge of *fote-festes þat beene.
Ibid. civ. [cv.] 18 Þai meked of him fete þare, In *fote-festnes harde þat ware.
1382Wyclif 1 Sam. xxv. 42 And fyue child-wymmen, hir *feet folowers, wenten with hir. ― 1 Kings xx. 14 Bi the foot folowers of the pryncis of prouyncis.
1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville I. 50 A horse that is *‘foot free’, is tied to one thus secured. 1871Browning Balaustion 1438 Thou, who stood'st Foot-free o' the snare.
1663Inv. Ld. J. Gordon's Furniture, Ane arm chair, two stooles and ane *foot gange conforme to the bed. 1814Saxon & Gael I. 108 I'll warran' she'll keep her ain side of the house; an' a fit-gang on her half-marrow's.
1594R. Crompton Jurisd. des Courts 197 *Footegeld. 1641Termes de la Ley s.v., Foot-geld is an Amercement for not cutting out the balls of great Dogges feet in the Forest.
1382Wyclif Jer. v. 26 Grenes puttende, and *feet gynnes [Vulg. pedicas].
1720De Foe Capt. Singleton 161 The Buskins and *Foot-Gloves we wore.
1892Simmonds Dict. Trade Suppl., *Foot-grease, a name for refuse of cotton seed, after the oil is pressed out.
1382Wyclif Job xviii. 10 His *foot grene [Vulg. pedica] is hid in the erthe.
1874Knight Dict. Mech., *Foot-guard, a boot or pad to prevent the cutting of the feet by interfering or overreaching.
1794Ann. Agric. XXII. 364 Sheep are subject to a disease called the *Foot-halt, which is thought to be catching.
1750Ellis Mod. Husbandm. I. i. 93 A *foot-hedge is one that has no Ditch belonging to it. 1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Foot-hedge, a slight dry hedge of thorns, placed by the side of a newly-planted hedge, to protect the quick.
1860Tyndall Glac. i. xi. 77 To render my *foot⁓holes broad and sure, I stamped upon the frozen crust. 1869R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 Footholes—Holes cut in the sides of shafts or winzes to enable miners to ascend or descend them.
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), *Foot-husks, are short Heads, out of which Flowers grow.
1842Francis Dict. Arts, *Foot Iron, an iron fastened to the foot, in order to preserve the shoe while digging. 1858Simmonds Dict. Trade, Foot-iron, Foot-plate, a step for a carriage.
1828Stark Elem. Nat. Hist. II. 183 *Feet-jaws membranous. 1845Baird in Proc. Berw. Nat. Club II. No. 13. 153 Mouth possessed of foot-jaws.
c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 2267 The laddes of his kychyn, And also..his werst *fote-knave.
1925Trans. Illum. Engin. Sci. XX. 631 The *Foot-lambert is the average brightness of any surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot, or the uniform brightness of a perfectly diffusing surface emitting or reflecting one lumen per square foot. 1942Jrnl. Aeronaut. Sci. IX. 263/1 A brightness level of 0·01 foot-lambert is..comparable in order of magnitude with the brightnesses of roads and highways under moonlight. 1958Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 3) 686/2 A foot candle is a unit of incident light and a foot lambert is a unit of emitted or reflected light.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 81, I am ioyned to no *Foot-land-Rakers.
1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. v. ii. §1. 235 The *Foot-Length, or the extreme portion of the line, is..generally made of pieces of gut, knotted together.. comprising a length of from three to eight feet.
1727–41Chambers Cycl., *Foot Level, an instrument, which serves to do the office both of a level, a square, and a Foot rule.
1638Terrier of Claybrook Glebe (Leicestersh. Gloss.), In the New Close a hadley and *footeleay butting North and South. 1881Leicestersh. Gloss., Foot-ley, the lowest ‘land’ in a grass field.
1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 219 Do that good mischeefe, which may make..thy Caliban For aye thy *foot-licker. 1866Carlyle Remin. (1881) I. 258 On visit to some foot-licker whose people lived there.
1821T. Moore Mem. (1853) III. 276 If they know no medium between brawling rebellion and *foot-licking idolatry.
1676Moxon Print Lett. 6 The *Foot-line is the lower line that bounds the Letter. 1888Jacobi Printer's Voc., Footline, the bottom line in a page.
1943Harper's June 16 They sit obscurely on *foot lockers during the daytime, when they must keep off their bunks. 1943Infantry Jrnl. Aug. 51 Others went to town and came in late stumbling against footlockers and cursing. 1969Eugene (Oreg.) Register-Guard 3 Dec. 1A/3 Foot lockers, cabinets and standard doorways are painted in combinations of the bright yellow and orange. 1969Sears, Roebuck Catal. 298 Metal-covered Footlocker. Features a removable full-length molded plastic tray. Sheet steel covers sturdy plywood frame, fiberboard..top and bottom.
1845W. T. Porter Big Bear Arkansas 130, I husseled off..Jem to the *foot log. 1945B. A. Botkin Lay my Burden Down 252 Go to the mill and cross on a foot log.
c1450Cov. Myst. (Shaks. Soc.) 72 Sche xal be here *foot-mayd to mynyster here most mylde.
1847Halliwell, *Foot-maiden, a waiting maid.
1869Leicester in Eng. Mech. 3 Dec. 282/2 Another workman, called the *‘footmaker’, fastens on the piece of glass. 1881Spon's Encycl. Industr. Arts, etc. iii. 1069 Each chair is made up of a ‘workman’, a first assistant or ‘servitor’, a second assistant or ‘footmaker’, and one or more boys.
1707Lond. Gaz. No. 4314/3 There will be..*Foot-Matches, and other Divertisements.
1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xvi. 183 He was coiled up, with his nose buried in his bushy tail, like a fancy *foot-muff.
1406in Rogers Agric. & Prices (1866) III. 446 *Fotnail called spiking, 1 c../6.
1802M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) II. 60 The *foot organ is a prodigious addition to Forte-Pianos.
1848Rickman Styles Archit. (ed. 5) 74 The pedestal on which the pier stands being always square, while the pier itself..is often round, an interval occurs at the angles which is frequently filled up with an ornament consisting most commonly of rude foliage, these are usually called *foot ornaments.
1526Tolls in Dillon Calais & Pale (1892) 80 Everye Jeweller carriing any *footepacke inwardes.
1966New Scientist 30 June 835/1 The mechanical properties seen in Surveyor's..photographs..show that the spacecraft's *footpads penetrated the surface for one inch. 1969Times 22 July (Moon Rep.) p. i/1 I'm at the foot of the ladder. The L.M. footpads are only depressed in the surface about one or two inches.
1585Nomenclator 519/1 A *foot-page. 1814Scott Wav. xxiv, Callum Beg, the sort of foot-page who used to attend his person.
1855H. Clarke Dict., *Foot-pan, footbath. 1884Knight Dict. Mech. IV. 353/2 The foot-pans which are used in the railway cars of Continental Europe.
1802Findlater Agric. Surv. Peeb. 208 As the digger stands upon the surface and presses in the peat-spade with his foot, such peat is designed *foot-peat.
1869R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 *Foot-Piece—A wedge of wood or part of a slab placed against the footwall.
1690Dryden Amphitryon ii. i, I who am a god, am degraded to a *foot-pimp.
1849Weale Dict. Terms, *Foot-plate, the platform on which the engine-man and fire-man of a locomotive engine attend to their duties. 1855H. Clarke Dict., Foot-plate, carriage step.
1677Plot Oxfordsh. 247 There are two sorts used in Oxfordshire, the *Foot, and Wheel-plough; whereof the first is used in deep and Clay Lands, being accordingly fitted with a broad fin share. 1807A. Young Agric. Essex I. v. 127 Both swing, or foot, and wheel ploughs.
1697Dryden æneid Ded., Our Italian Translatour..is a *Foot-Poet, he Lacquies by the side of Virgil at the best, but never mounts behind him.
1602Carew Cornwall 85 a, For carrying of such aduertisements and letters euery thorow-fare weekly appoynteth a *foot-Poast. 1841Elphinstone Hist. Ind. II. viii. iii. 243 Foot posts, to a certain extent, must be coeval with village establishments.
1850Joule in Phil. Trans. CXL. 70 Hence 773·64 *foot-pounds will be the force which..is equivalent to 1° Fahr. in a lb. of water.
1892*Foot-pound-second [see F.P.S. s.v. F III. 3]. 1968Van Nostrand's Sci. Encycl. (ed. 4) 1912/2 The length-force-time system to be discussed here is the foot-pound-second system.
1663Pepys Diary (1890) 172 The great *foot-race run this day on Banstead Downes. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 252 He..won footraces in his boots against fleet runners in shoes.
1801Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. 70 *Foot-racing was considered an essential part of a young man's education.
1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., *Foot-rails, narrow mouldings raised on a vessel's stern. 1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 903/1 Foot-rail, a railroad rail having wide-spreading foot flanges, a vertical web, and a bulb-shaped head.
1861A. Beresford-Hope Eng. Cathedr. 19th. C. 148 Only three of the ranges were really sittings, the remainder having served as steps and *footrests.
1937Proc. Prehist. Soc. III. 52 A large vessel with slightly raised base and *foot-ring. 1952G. Savage 18th Cent. Eng. Porc. xxiii. 309 Champion's plates are more numerous than those of Cookworthy... Mostly they have a double foot-ring to prevent the centre of the plate from sagging downward during firing. 1967Antiquaries Jrnl. XLVII. 229 Large platter with thick wall and scarcely defined rim... The foot-ring is low but carefully moulded.
1776Mickle tr. Camoens' Lusiad 126 The mountain and the wide-spread lawn Afford no *foot-room for the crowded foe.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 167 Propes, *fotrap. 1772–84Cook Voy. (1790) V. 1915 In lowering the main top-sail..the violence of the wind tore it out of the foot-rope. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast v. 11 We got out upon the weather-side of the jib-boom, our feet on the foot-ropes.
1807Ess. Highl. Soc. III. 430 *Foot-rot—is frequently occasioned in the milking season. 1873G. C. Davies Mount. & Mere xxii. 193 A sure preventative against footrot. 1899G. Massee Text-bk. Plant Dis. 333 This disease is known as ‘mal-di-gomma’ in Italy, and ‘foot-rot’ in Florida. 1926H. H. Hume Cultiv. Citrus Fruits xxix. 462 Its history in Europe extends back to about 1845, and foot-rot worked destruction in the groves of the Azores some years previous to that time. 1952E. Ramsden tr. Gram & Weber's Plant Dis. 68/2 Foot rot is a similar condition in older plants. Ibid. 69/1 Sclerotia are rarely to be found on damping off or foot-rot lesions.
1884Marcus Clarke Mem. 99 Young Hopeful..is set to work *foot-rotting.
1727–41Chambers Cycl., *Foot rule [see foot level]. 1760Raper in Phil. Trans. LI. 774 The foot-rules found in old ruins at Rome, are of various lengths. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Character Wks. (Bohn) II. 59 They..measure with an English footrule every cell of the Inquisition. 1903Westm. Gaz. 16 June 2/2 The advantage of having a foot-rule, so to speak, by which to test agreements for purchase. 1904Daily Chron. 12 May 3/2 Mr. Richard Bagot's work may not always satisfy the critical foot-rule. 1908Westm. Gaz. 9 June 1/2 It was Mr. Chamberlain who had pointed to exports as a foot-rule with which he wanted us to measure up our trade as a whole.
1837*Foot run [see run n.1 13 a]. 1869W. Richardson Timber Trades Price Bk. 1 (heading) The price per foot run and its equivalent per 120·12 ft., irrespective of thickness or width. 1968Bodl. Libr. Rec. VIII. 61 The installation..provides 12,500 foot-run of shelving for books up to 12 inches in height.
1846Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. i. 72 At the head of the plough is a *foot rut, made of wood, and a wide piece of wood on the end, to prevent the plough going deep.
1875‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. i. iv. §4. 80 A good setter..generally makes out a *foot-scent better than a pointer.
1872Harper's Mag. XLIV. 547/2 *Foot-scrapers and mats were doubled at all the approaches. 1938J. Steinbeck Long Valley 115 On the front and back porches foot-scrapers and cocoa-fibre mats kept dirt out of the house.
1874Knight Dict. Mech. I. 903/1 *Foot-screw, a supporting foot, for giving a machine or table a level standing on an uneven floor.
1589Cogan Haven Health cliv. (1636) 149 The fat which is left upon the water of the seething of Netes feet, called commonly *foot seame.
1874E. W. H. Holdsworth Deep-Sea Fishing iv. 157 Seans [sweep-nets] may be divided into three classes, namely, the sean proper..the ‘tuck-sean’, and the ‘ground or *foot-sean’.
1601Holland Pliny I. 510 This was at first practised with *foot-sets for a prick-hedge. 1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss., Foot-hedge..called in some parts of the county a foot-set..a foot-set is described as two rows of quick, planted about a foot asunder on a slope.
c1440Bk. Curtasye 488 in Babees Bk. 193 Þo lorde schalle skyft hys gown at nyȝt, Syttand on *foteshete tyl he be dyȝt. 1494Househ. Ord. 120 All this season the Kinge shall sit still in his footesheete.
1513Douglas æneis vii. xi. 31 Gyrd in a garmont semely and *fut syd. 1780M. Shields Faithf. Contendings 38 The Lord is helping some to keep foot-side with the bretheren at home.
1873Geikie Gt. Ice Age (1894) 437 The ice radiated outwards..to the *foot-slopes of the hills of Middle Germany.
1815Falconer's Dict. Marine, *Footspace-rail. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 119 Foot-space rail, the rail that terminates the foot of the balcony, and in which balusters step. 1867in Smyth Sailor's Work-bk.
c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 286 Gif hit sy oðer feoh, sing on þæt *fotspor. 1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 38 Where his footspore stood there stryked he with his tayl.
1382Wyclif Exod. xxvii. 12 Ten pilers and as feele *footstakis [Vulg. bases].
1658Sir T. Browne Gard. Cyrus i. 37 The Crosse of our blessed Saviour..having in some descriptions an Empedon or crossing *foot stay.
1683Moxon Mech. Exerc. II. 29 The *Foot-sticks [are placed] against the foot or bottom of the Page. 1888Jacobi Printer's Voc., Footstick, a bevelled stick put at the bottom of a page or pages to quoin up against.
1565Act 8 Eliz. c. 11 §4 Untyll suche tyme as the same Cappe be..half thicked at the least in the *Footestocke. 1565Jewel Def. Apol. (1611) 384 Sapores..when hee had conquered Valerianus the Roman Emperour..used him afterward most villanously, as his foot-stocke. 1598Florio, Stamine, the vpright ribs or peeces of timber of the inside of a ship, of some called footestocks, or footesteecks. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 31 Ships they had, of which the keeles, the footstocks also, or upright standards were made of slight Timber.
c1000ælfric Gloss. Suppl. in Wr.-Wülcker 191 Fultura *fotstan. 1738J. Anderson Constit. Free Masons 102 The King levell'd the Footstone of the New Royal-Exchange on 23 Oct. 1667. 1876Browning St. Martin's Summer v, Headstone, footstone moss may drape,—Name, date, violets hide from spelling. 1885C. A. Hulbert Suppl. Ann. Almondbury 167 When it was decided to restore the old Hall, and the work had been commenced, a footstone was discovered which clearly indicated the pitch of the front gables.
1818Art Preserv. Feet 152 Our English travellers..should always be on their guard against the use of *feet-stoves. 1882Howells in Longm. Mag. I. 46 The foot-stove which one of his congregation..carried to meeting, and warmed his poor feet with.
c1611Chapman Iliad xxiii. 689 For not our greatest flourisher can equal him in pow'r Of *foot-strife, but æacides.
1676Moxon Print Lett. 23 F..Is made like E, onely instead of the *Foot-stroke here is onely a Footing. 1872Beames Gram. Aryan Lang. Ind. I. 60 The Panjabi n is that of Asoka's inscriptions, with the horizontal footstrokes sloped downwards and curved.
1882Standard 9 Oct. 2/7 He had no faith in *‘foot’ sugar.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §4 Yf he wyll haue his plough to go a narowe forowe..than he setteth his *fote teame in the nycke nexte to the ploughe beame. 1558Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 162, Iiij fuyt teames xijs.
1868Morn. Star 25 June, The total force hurled against the Plymouth shield was 117,666 *foot-tons.
1808Scott Marm. iii. xxxi, The *foot-tramp of a flying steed. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. viii. 79 We are farther north..than any of our predecessors, except Parry on his Spitzbergen foot-tramp.
1388Wyclif Job xviii. 10 The *foot trappe [1382 foot grene, Vulg. pedica] of hym is hid in the erthe. 1585Nomenclator 196 The stocks, or foote-trap.
1796W. Marshall Midl. Co. (ed. 2) II. Gloss., *Foot-trenches, superficial drains, about a foot wide.
1884Syd. Soc. Lex., *Foot tubercles, the lateral processes on each segment of some of the Annelida; also called Parapodia.
1839R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Eng. 58 The *foot valve.
1650T. R. Blanckley Naval Expos., *Foot waaling is all the Inboard Planking, from the Keelson upwards to the Orlop Clamps. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Foot-waling, the inside planking or lining of a ship over the floor-timbers.
1860Mining Surveyors' Rep. (Victoria Dept. Mines) xii. 213 Slabs..being also placed longitudinally on the *foot-wall to save the wear of the oxhide buckets. 1869R. B. Smyth Goldf. Victoria 611 Foot-wall, the bounding rock beneath or on the lower side of a reef.
1812Southey in Q. Rev. VII. 60 He would certainly chuse an eyder-duck for his *foot-warmer. 1858Hawthorne Fr. & It. Jrnls. (1872) I. 1 A foot-warmer (a long, flat, tin utensil, full of hot water) was put into the carriage. 1883Harper's Mag. Mar. 539/1 Charcoal to put in the little foot-warmers..used by all womenkind in Dutch churches.
1796Morse Amer. Geog. I. 281 They practise the *foot-washing, the kiss of love [etc.]. 1871C. Gibbon Lack of Gold xxii, He would be ready to endure the ceremony of the ‘Feet-washing’ on the eve of his bridal.
1584in Descr. Thames 1758 63 No Fishermen..or Trinkermen shall avaunce or set up any Wears, Engines, Rowte Wears, Pight Wears, *Foot Wears.
1721Perry Daggenh. Breach 52 A Buttress or *Foot Wharf on each side to keep in the Earth..to prevent the Dam from spreading and settling out at Foot.
1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde (1564) 66 When the one [birth] commeth headlong, the other *footewise.
1569Richmond. Wills (Surtees) 218, x ireon temes and *foite wedies.
1785Grose Dict. Vulg. Tongue, *Foot wabler, a contemptuous appellation for a foot soldier, commonly used by the cavalry. 1814Scott Wav. lxi, ‘I was sure you could be none of the foot-wobblers, as my Nosebag calls them.’
1568Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees 1835) 294 A Remnant of *footwork silke ijs. 1721Perry Daggenh. Breach 120 There may likewise be a small Foot-work made at the Low-water Mark..the better to preserve the Beach from being washed away. 1895Daily News 16 Dec. 6/6 Their [the Northern team's] foot work. 1908Daily Chron. 29 Jan. 9/2 (Wrestling) Vallotton..showed fine form, his footwork being wonderfully smart. Ibid. 25 June 3/3 (Tennis) It is foot-work that wins. 1921A. W. Myers 20 Yrs. Lawn Tennis 167 So well controlled was her foot⁓work. 1929Wodehouse Mr. Mulliner Speaking ii. 62 In face of the danger, his footwork, always impressive, took on a new agility. 1963Times 8 May 5/5 Each offered brilliant foot-work [in dancing].
1795–1814Wordsw. Excursion v. 169 Sepulchral stones appeared with emblems graven, And *foot-worn epitaphs. 1820Keats Eve St. Agnes xli, The chains lie silent on the footworn stones. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxxii. 440 Some of our foot-worn absentees.
b. With adv.: foot-up Rugby football, in scrummaging, the illegal lifting of either foot by any member of the front row of forwards on either side before the ball is put in the scrummage. Also attrib.
1921E. H. D. Sewell Rugby Football 361 Inadvertent offside, foot-up,..are..absolutely unavoidable at times. 1927Wakefield & Marshall Rugger 183 The forwards..merely leant up against one another while the front row tried trick hooking and foot-up tactics. Ibid. 185 He must be careful..not to be penalised..for foot-up. 1963Times 7 Mar. 3/5 For a foot-up offence, MacCormac..got three points for the Pay Corps.
▸ to get one's feet under the table and variants: to make oneself at home; to establish oneself securely and comfortably in a situation.
1866London Q. Rev. 25 361 We find him on one day sharing the hospitality of Warren Hastings, and the next he has his feet under the table of Burke. 1928Amer. Jrnl. Internat. Law 22 940 One is reminded of Carlyle's estimate of a famous French foreign minister: ‘M. de Vergennes was a mere clerk, a mere clerk with his feet under the table.’ 1946L. Lenski Blue Ridge Billy (ed. 1) viii. 121 ‘Come set your feet under the table,’ called Aunt Tallie in her cheerful voice. 1987Financial Times (Nexis) 25 Aug. i. 32 Dr Alan Greenspan has hardly got his feet under the table at the Federal Reserve and he is having to face his first currency crisis. 2000Independent 10 Feb. ii. 7/3 He seems to have got his feet under the table here, and I don't know what to do—I want the place to myself, but I don't want to hurt his feelings.
▸ foot in the door n. (a) lit. a person's foot inserted between a door and its frame to prevent the door from being shut, usually as a means of gaining unwanted access; (b) fig. an initial introduction or way in to something, often as a basis for further progress; esp. in to get (also have) a (also one's) foot in the door.
1856G. H. Boker Plays & Poems II. 353 And he sang to his gittern of love and of war With one foot in his stirrup and one in her door. 1939Ironwood (Mich.) Daily Globe 19 June 11/4 To get his foot in the door, John Lewis agreed to raise no objection. 1940M. L. Cooke & P. Murray Organized Labor & Production xv. 186 On the other hand, in the same case, the union visualized the agreement as a ‘foot in the door’, giving it an opportunity to secure sufficient strength so that it would be flotsam when the ebb came along. 1999C. Dolan Ascension Day (2000) viii. 198 Morag wasn't bothered where she worked, what kind of hospital or in what post. Once she had a foot in the door, she'd work her way up.
▸ footbag n. orig. U.S. a small beanbag designed for being kicked into the air; (also) any of several individual or team games played with a footbag; = hacky-sack n.
1979N.Y. Times 16 July c8/4 The *footbag, about the size of a golf ball, is made of leather and packed with plastic pellets. 1987D. Finnigan Compl. Juggler (ed. 3) 80 If you watch what the footbag enthusiasts do you can also kick back into your pattern using your..instep..the outside of your foot or..the sole of your shoe. 2003Chattanooga (Tennessee) Times Free Press 31 Aug. b15 They had some music to accompany their game of footbag, where players jump and twist around kicking a small beanbag.
▪ II. † foot, a. Obs. rare.
[the prec. n. used attrib.]
Of style or language (after L. pedester): Prosaic, ‘low’, without elevation.
1582Stanyhurst Poems, Ps. iii. note (Arb.) 131 Theese bace and foote verses (so I terme al, sauluing thee Heroical and Elegiacal). 1604Hieron Preachers Plea Serm. (1614) 535 For a man (saith hee [Jerome]) that handleth holy matters, a lowe and (as it were) a foote oration [pedestris oratio] is necessary, and not such as is thickned with artificiall framing of words.
▪ III. foot, v.|fʊt|
[f. prec. n. Cf. G. fuszen.]
1. a. intr. To move the foot, step, or tread to measure or music; to dance. Esp. in phr. to foot it.
c1400Rom. Rose 2323 If he can wel foote and daunce, It may hym greetly do avaunce. 1513Douglas æneis xiii. ix. 110 Thai fut it so that lang war to devys Thair hasty fair. 1610Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 380 Foot it featly here and there. 1700Dryden Wife of Bath's T. 216 He saw a Quire of Ladies in a round, That featly footing seem'd to skim the Ground. 1787G. Colman Inkle & Yarico Finale, Hymen gay foots away, Happy at our wedding-day. 1863Mrs. C. Clarke Shaks. Char. iv. 107 The dance of fairies..footing it to the cricket's song.
b. quasi-trans. with cogn. object (a dance, etc.); also (nonce-use) with obj. and adv. as compl.
c1450Crt. of Love lxxxiv, Falsely now they footen loves daunce. 1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. 8 All the picked youth..footing the Morris about a May pole. 1633T. Adams Exp. 2 Peter ii. 3 Herodias' daughter, that..footed away the head of John Baptist. 1636Featly Clavis Myst. xxviii. 388 Teach their scholars how to foot the dance. 1842S. C. Hall Ireland II. 338 note, Footing a hornpipe to the music of a pair of bagpipes.
2. intr.
a. To move the feet as in walking; to step, pace, walk, go on foot. Also, to step or walk on, over, upon (with indirect pass.). Now rare. Of a ship: to move or sail with speed. Also with it. (In windward sailing, denoting speed as distinguished from pointing.)
1570Levins Manip. 178 To Foote, gressus ponere. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. xi. 8 The dreadful Beast drew nigh..Halfe flying and halfe footing in his haste. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 126 Theeues doe foot by night. 1600Surflet Countrie Farme ii. xxxi. 239 Saffron..groweth the better if it be a little footed vpon. 1634Ford P. Warbeck iii. iv, Since first you footed on our territories. 1637Milton Lycidas 103 Next Camus, reverend sire, went footing slow. 1642Anne Bradstreet Poems (1678) 10 And Hemus, whose steep sides none foot upon. 1646J. Hall Poems (1647) 98 All paths are footed over, but that one Which should be gone. 1824S. E. Ferrier Inher. lxix, He footed away as fast as his short legs..permitted. 1865G. Meredith Rhoda Fleming xliv, They footed together, speechless: taking the woman's quickest gliding step. 1899Daily News 4 Oct. 3/1 Shamrock, under clever handling, and footing splendidly, again took the lead. 1901Daily Chron. 27 Sept. 5/7 His boat seemed to be footing it better. 1905Ibid. 19 May 5/5 The latter boat was closely pursued by Hamburg, which was footing splendidly.
b. esp. in phr. to foot it.
1576Fleming Panopl. Epist. Ded. ⁋3 b, I..leasurly began to foote it forward. a1625Fletcher & Mass. Elder Bro. i. i, I am tyr'd, Sir, and nere shall foot it home. 1713Addison Guardian No. 166 ⁋6 My operator..used to foot it from the other end of the town every morning. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs I. 181 Riding for us was out of the question, so we all had to foot it.
3. trans. To set foot on; to tread with the feet; to walk or dance on, pass over or traverse on foot.
1557North tr. Gueuara's Diall Pr. 248 b, Lucil..vsed to fote the streates of Rome. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks 23 The top of the wall: which was first footed by the Duke Godfrey. 1667Bp. S. Parker Free & Impart. Censure 102 The famous Traveller of Odcomb..footed most parts of the known world. a1717Parnell Fairy T. xxiii, The fairies bragly foot the floor. 1812J. Henry Camp agst. Quebec 26 The ground we footed within the last three days is a very rugged isthmus. 1892Stevenson in Illustr. Lond. News 2 July 9/3 It was good to foot the grass.
4. a. To set or plant (a person) on his feet in a place; to settle, establish. Chiefly refl. and in pass. = to have or obtain a foothold in.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iv. 143 For he is footed in this Land already. 1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. iii. (1821) 247 When they are footed in Mounster, the most part of the Countrey will joyne with them. 1658R. Newcourt Map of London (heading), Hingest the Saxon..footing himselfe here. 1888Daily News 27 Apr. 6/3 They will go through the Thanet sands with cylinders again until they foot themselves well into the chalk.
b. intr. to foot well: (of a horse) ? to get a good ‘footing’.
1826Sporting Mag. XVII. 385 If he have a hand on his horse, and will allow him to ‘foot well’ (as we call it) before he springs.
†5. trans.
a. To strike or thrust with the foot; to kick; fig. to spurn. Obs.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 119 You that did..foote me as you spurne a stranger curre Ouer your threshold. a1616Beaum. & Fl. Wit at sev. Weapons v. i, When you shall foot her from you, not she you. 1637Nabbes Microcosm. iv. E ij b, Blood. Carry your toes wider. Tast. Take heed that I foote not you. 1808Jamieson, Foot, to kick, to strike with the foot; a term used with respect to horses.
†b. To tread, press, or crush with the feet.
c1682J. Collins Making Salt 16 It was footed or pressed into a Cask.
c. To push or shove with the foot or feet. Chiefly Naut. (see quots.).
1757W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 41 They sometimes produce the Standard Weight without Footing or Handing the Scale. 1769Falconer Dict. Marine (1776), Jetter dehors le fond du hunier, to foot the topsail out of the top. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 49 The masthead men parrel the yard and foot it amidships.
d. intr. or absol. To use the feet in kicking; to do ‘foot-work’. colloq. (Football).
1852Bristed Upper Ten Thousand ix. 223 Both teams were footing their very best.
6. trans. Of a bird of prey (esp. a hawk): To seize or clutch with the talons. Also fig.
1575Turberv. Faulconrie 130 Throwe hir out the leure and let hir foote a henne..and kill it. 1600Surflet Countrie Farme i. xvii. 111 A certaine kinde of swanne..[with] his right foote..catcheth and footeth his pray. 1611Shakes. Cymb. v. iv. 116 The holy eagle Stoop'd, as to foot us. 1642Milton Apol. Smect. (1851) 276 Now trust me not, Readers, if I be not already weary of pluming and footing this Seagull, so open he lies to strokes. 1891Harting Bibl. Accipitr. Gloss., Foot, to clutch.
absol.1879Radcliffe in Encycl. Brit. IX. 7/1 A hawk is said to ‘foot’ well or to be a ‘good footer’ when she is successful in killing.
7. To follow the tracks of; to trace. Also absol.
1772T. Simpson Vermin-Killer 8 The rats will run it like a dog footing a hare. 1829Sporting Mag. XXIV. 292 The quails squatted till the dogs footed up to their very tails. 1886S.W. Linc. Gloss., s.v., ‘There was snow on the ground, and they footed him to the pond’.
8. To make, add, or attach a foot to.
1465[see forefoot v.]. 1570Levins Manip. 178 To Foote a stoole, pedem addere. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 130. 1609 C. Butler Fem. Mon. ii. E iij, The stone-stooles must bee footed as they may. 1663Cowley Cutter Colman St. iv. vi, She shall foot Stockings in a Stall for me. 1771Smollett Humph. Cl. I. Let. ii, The stockings which his wife footed for me. 1852Hawthorne Blithedale Rom. v. (1883) 356 Absolutely footing a stocking out of the texture of a dream.
9.
†a. To end (a letter) with a postscript. Obs.
1648Evelyn Let. to Sir R. Browne 5 June, Postscript, I would foot this letter with what I have since learned.
b. To add up and set the sum at the foot of (an account, bill, etc.); to reckon or sum up. Now usually with up. Chiefly dial. and colloq.
1490Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 176/2 The tyme that his compt wes futit. 1828Webster s.v., To foot an account. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxxv, The wall-paper was..garnished with chalk memorandums, and long sums footed up. 1873J. Richards Wood-working Factories 80 The breakages from accident, if footed up at the end of each year, would in most cases equal..the clear earnings.
fig.1883Harper's Mag. 893/2 [He] was doing a little sum in social arithmetic. He was footing me up, as it were.
c. colloq. To pay or settle (a bill).
1819E. Evans Pedestrious Tour in R. G. Thwaites Early Western Travels (1907) VIII. 183 My dogs..helped themselves to the first repast presented, leaving their master to foot the bills. 1848Durivage Stray Subj. 183 If our plan succeeded, the landlord was to foot the bill, and ‘stand treat’. 1891Leeds Mercury 18 July 6/7 The annual bill we foot is, after all, small compared with that of France.
d. intr. Of an account, number of items, etc.: To mount or total up to (a certain sum). Const. with or without to.
1867Times 19 Sept. 10 The united debts of the colony foot up something like {pstlg}250,000. 1893Peel Spen Valley 224 His total losses footed up to {pstlg}5000.
†10. trans. ? to fewter (a spear). Sc. Obs.
a1557Diurnal Occurrents (1833) 45 The Scottis..futtit thair speris, and slew..to the nomber of thre scoir.
11. To admit (a new hand) on payment of a footing.
1825Examiner 285/2 The workmen..had been partaking of some liquor..on account of footing a new comer.
†12. ? To sing the ‘foot’ or burden to (a song).
a1553Udall Royster D. i. iv. (Arb.) 30, I will by myne owne selfe foote the song perchaunce. |