| 释义 |
▪ I. grace, n.|greɪs|
Also 4–5 gras(e, (4 grass, greace).
[a. F. grâce = Pr., Sp. gracia, Pg. graça, It. grazia, semi-popular a. L. grātia (1) pleasing quality, attractiveness, (2) favour, goodwill, (3) gratitude, thanks; f. grātus pleasing, grateful.]
I. Pleasing quality, gracefulness.
1. The quality of producing favourable impressions; attractiveness, charm. Now usually with more restricted application: The attractiveness or charm belonging to elegance of proportions, or (especially) ease and refinement of movement, action, or expression. † In 16–17th c. occas. Pleasantness of flavour.
1382Wyclif Prov. i. 9 That ther be added grace to thin hed. Ibid. xxii. 11 Who looueth clennesse of herte, for the grace of his lippis shal han the king frend. 1390Gower Conf. III. 27 Her eyen..her nase..her redde lippes eke,..All that he seeth is full of grace. 1530Palsgr. 35 As it was first written in the Romant tonge, it hath a marveylous grace. 1551Turner Herbal i. (1568) D iv b, They haue in sauces a proper plesantnes by them selues or a peculiar grace as some speake nowe adayes. 1587Golding De Mornay xi. 155 Without the blacke, the white could haue no grace. a1625Beaum. & Fl. Custom Country ii. i, My Nephew..Had been a happy man had he ne'er knowne What's there in grace and fashion. 1661Lovell Hist. Anim. & Min. 227 They are best..eaten hot, for if cold they loose much of their grace. 1674Playford Skill Mus. i. ii. 47 We use to say of a man that he sings with much Grace, or little Grace. 1693Dryden Ep. to Congreve 19 All below is strength, and all above is grace. 1698― Monum. Maiden Lady 8 Her limbs were formed with such harmonious grace. 1709Steele Tatler No. 94 ⁋1 It gives new Grace to the most eminent Accomplishments. 1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty x. 52 There is only one precise serpentine line that I call the line of grace. 1785Reid Intell. Powers viii. iv. (1803) 561 The last and noblest part of beauty is grace. 1844Disraeli Coningsby vi. ii, Grace, indeed, is beauty in action. 1870H. Macmillan Bible Teach. ix. 186 It is not possessed of showy-coloured flowers; but is distinguished for the grace of its foliage. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus iii. 2 Weep all men that have any grace about ye. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) V. 15 The long speeches..have never the grace and harmony which are exhibited in the earlier dialogues. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. III. cvi. 539 The Americans have gained more than they have lost by equality. I do not think the upper class loses in grace. 1890Boldrewood Col. Reformer (1891) 150 Miss Frankston rode..extremely well, and with an unconscious grace.
b. In a weaker sense: Seemliness, becomingness, favourable or creditable aspect. Chiefly in a good grace; hence a bad grace, an ill grace, an unbecoming appearance. Now somewhat rare (cf. c).
a1586Sidney Arcadia ii. (1590) 175 The same words in my Ladie Philocleas mouth, as from one woman to another (so as there were no other bodie by) might haue had a better grace; and perchance haue found a gentler receipt. 1667Temple Let. to Ld. Arlington Wks. 1731 II. 35 The first Pace of the War being made in Flanders, loses all the good Grace which the French endeavour'd to give their Invasion. 1711Steele Spect. No. 6 ⁋4 All which is supported by no other Pretension, than that it is done with what we call a good Grace. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 334 That it would have a good grace in them to seem zealous for it. a1751Bolingbroke (J.), They would have ill grace in denying it. 1833H. Martineau Vanderput & S. v. 83 As soon as she could with any grace leave the company. 1856Froude Hist. Eng. (1858) I. i. 35 Henry..retired with a good grace from an impossible position. 1856Lever Martins of Cro' M. 598 Incidents..which came off with an ill-grace on the table of a Court of Justice.
c. Hence (with mixture of branch II), with a good grace, with a show of willingness, as though pleased to do so; with a bad or ill grace, with ill-concealed reluctance, ungraciously.
1754Hume Hist. Eng. (1761) I. viii. 170 Becket, though with the worst grace imaginable, was induced to comply with the royal mandate. 1778F. Burney Evelina (1794) II. 138 May I..hope that you will pardon the ill-grace with which I have submitted to my disappointment? 1836Backwoods Canada 17 When the tide fails cast anchor, and wait with the best grace we can. Ibid. 74 With a marvellous ill grace the men took up their oars when their load was completed. 1858Dickens Lett. (1880) II. 81, I submit with the worst grace possible.
†d. to do (a person, a thing) grace: to become, reflect credit on, set in a good light, embellish; also, to do honour to. So in grace of: in honour of. Obs.
1590Shakes. Mids. N. iv. i. 139 They..Came heere in grace of our solemnity. 1596― 1 Hen. IV, ii. i. 79 Troiens that..are content to doe the Profession some grace. c1600― Sonn. xxviii, I tell the Day..thou do'st him [the day] grace when clouds doe blot the heauen. Ibid. cxxxii, O, let it then as well beseeme thy heart To mourne for me since mourning doth thee grace. 1602― Ham. ii. ii. 53 Thy selfe do grace to them, and bring them in. 1806Cumberland Mem. (1807) I. 155 Further to do me grace, he was pleased to put into my hands a very..elaborate report of his own drawing up.
2. a. An attractive or pleasing quality or feature. † Formerly often in phrase goods and graces.
1340Ayenb. 79 Zuyche guodes and zuiche graces wyþoute doþ ofte kuead. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 91 No woman shulde be proude of the goodes and graces that God hathe sent her. 1692Dryden Eleonora Ded., The nice touches, which give the best resemblance, and make the graces of the picture. 1741Richardson Pamela (ed. 3) II. 257, I never before saw so young a Lady shine forth with such Graces of Mind and Person. 1749Smollett Regicide i. vi, Possess'd of ev'ry manly grace. 1798Ferriar Eng. Historians 236 The affectation of unattainable graces only adds distortion to clownishness. 1836Sir H. Taylor Statesman xxxi. 237 It is a grace in flattery so to let fall your compliments as that [etc.]. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. I. vii. 97 Washington..cultivates the graces and pleasures of life with eminent success.
†b. quasi-concr. Something that imparts beauty; an ornament; the part in which the beauty of a thing consists. Obs.
1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. Prol. 28 By their hands, this grace of Kings must dye. 1645Evelyn Mem. (1857) I. 176 A noble piece of architecture..which is the grace of the whole Corso. 1658tr. Porta's Nat. Magick ix. vii. 238 Curl'd Hair seems to be no small Grace and Ornament to the Head. 1700Dryden Flower & Leaf 313 A spreading laurel stood, The grace and ornament of all the wood. 1837Dickens Let. 8 May (1965) I. 258 A young and lovely girl, who has been the grace and ornament of our home for the whole time of our marriage, died here yesterday.
c. A procedure, attitude, etc. adopted with a view to grace. Obs. exc. in airs and graces, affectations of elegance of manners.
1607Hieron Wks. I. 76 It is a common grace of some, to vse some words or sentences of scripture insteed of iests and prouerbs in their common talke. 1608Rowlands Humors Looking-Gl. 21 Then forth they goe after the drunken pace, Which God he knowes was with a reeling grace. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair xxxix, Old Sir Pitt..chuckled at her airs and graces, and would laugh by the hour together at her assumptions of dignity and imitations of genteel life.
3. Mus. An embellishment consisting of additional notes introduced into vocal or instrumental music, not essential to the harmony or melody. (Cf. grace-note in sense 21 b.)
1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 12 No Graces, Double Relishes, Trillos, Gropos, or Piano forte's, but plain as a packstaff. 1659C. Simpson Division Viol. 9 Graces done with the Fingers, are of two sorts: viz. smooth and shaked. Ibid., In ascending, it makes that Grace which we call a Plain-beat. 1674Playford Skill Mus. i. 38 Those excellent Graces and Ornaments to the good manner of singing, which we call Trills, Grupps [etc.]. 1806J. W. Callcott Mus. Gram. vi. 61 The principal Graces of Melody are the Appoggiatura, the Shake, the Turn and the Beat. 1866Engel Nat. Mus. iii. 118 The bagpipe tunes of the Scotch are full of graces. 1878F. Taylor in Grove Dict. Mus. I. 43 The agrémens or graces peculiar to Old English music.
4. Mythol. One of the sister-goddesses (= L. Grātiæ, Gr. Χάριτες) regarded as the bestowers of beauty and charm, and portrayed as women of exquisite beauty. Usually spoken of (after Hesiod) as three in number, Aglaia, Thalia, and Euphrosyne.
1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Apr. 115 She shalbe a grace To fyll the fourth place. 1590― F.Q. i. i. 48 And eke the Graces seemed all to sing, Hymen Iö Hymen! dauncing all around. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. ii. 257 Had I a sister were a Grace, or a daughter a Goddesse, hee should take his choice. 1624Massinger Parl. Love ii. iii, To swear that Venus leads The Loves and Graces from the Idalian green. 1632Milton L'Allegro 15 Euphrosyne..Whom lovely Venus, at a birth, With two sister Graces more, To ivy-crownèd Bacchus bore. 1675Cotton Burlesque upon Burl. 108 Thy Mistress Venus, and the Graces. a1721Prior Celia to Damon 46 On this forehead..The Loves delighted, and the Graces play'd. 1780Cowper Progr. Err. 337 The Graces too..Felt each a mortal stab in her own breast. 1847Tennyson Princ. ii. 13 The Muses and the Graces, group'd in threes, Enring'd a billowing fountain in the midst.
transf.1802Mrs. Jane West Infidel Father I. 88 Lady Languish, the beauty of the year..softness, susceptibility, and an affectation of weakness almost to fragility, were the distinguishing traits of this reigning grace. 1830J. G. Strutt Sylva Brit. 53 These three graces of the forest form a group within sight of the house. 1846Mrs. Gore Eng. Char. (1852) 40 The three black graces—law, physic, and divinity..claim her successively as their own. 1886Ruskin Præterita I. 322 [Taglioni] the Grace of her century.
5. the graces (= F. le jeu des grâces): a game played with hoops and pairs of slender rods, so called (according to Littré) because it develops graceful movement of the arms.
One of the players takes a hoop upon two rods, held one in each hand; he then draws the rods rapidly across each other, with the effect of sending the hoop into the air to be caught by another player on his pair of rods.
1842A. Combe Princ. Physiol. (ed. 11) 185 The play called the graces is also well adapted for expanding the chest, and giving strength to the muscles of the back. 1855in Ogilvie, Suppl. [ 1871M. Collins Mrq. & Merch. III. vii. 189 The younger members..were laughing over a game of les Graces.]
II. Favour.
6. a. Favour, favourable or benignant regard or its manifestation (now only on the part of a superior); favour or goodwill, in contradistinction to right or obligation, as the ground of a concession. Somewhat arch. † of grace: as a matter of favour and not of right. † in grace of: in favour of, for the benefit of. (Cf. sense 14.)
c1275Lay. 6616 Ware he mihte of his men eni grace finde. a1300Cursor M. 5425 If i [Jacob, addressing Joseph] euer fand grace wit þe. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 62 Harold..had þe kynge's grace. 1362Langl. P. Pl. B. xii. 114 If men it wol aske..and bidden it of grace. c1400Mandeville (1839) v. 34 He moste get grace of him and leve to go. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxliii. 293 The kyng for hir manfulnesse and of his grace toke hir quarel in to his honde. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) B b, They haue rather merited pardon by theyr ignoraunces, then praysyng or grace by theyr wysedome. 1577Fenton Gold. Epist. 195 Alexander Seuerus published a lawe in grace of the Christians. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. ix. 39 Is not great grace to helpe him over past, Or free his feet that in the myre sticke fast? 1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. ix. §3 Through meere voluntarie grace or beneuolence. 1623Massinger Dk. Milan iv. ii, All the grace I hitherto have done you was bestowed With a shut hand. 1652H. Cogan tr. Scudery's Ibrahim iii. v. 108 Having received it of grace from the hand of your enemy. 1677Dryden Prol. Circe 28 Perhaps, if now your grace you will not grudge He may grow up to write, and you to judge. 1700― Flower & Leaf 598 Of her grace she gave her maid to know The secret meaning of this moral show. 1709Prior Imit. Anacreon, The Herd of Criticks I defie..Regardless of their Grace, or Spight. 1821Scott Kenilw. xvii, The marks of grace which Elizabeth from time to time shewed to young Raleigh. 1878M. A. Brown Nadeschda 56 Prince Wladmir looked with grace Upon the old and tried retainer. 1883Law Times 20 Oct. 409/2 The Treasury, though professing to make some acknowledgment by way of grace for inventions adopted by the Crown, has [etc.]. 1891Law Rep., Weekly Notes 78/1 The applicants came to the Court for an act of grace, and they must take it on proper terms.
b. Said with reference to God. (See also 11 a.)
c1175Lamb. Hom. 49 Godalmihtin haueð isceaweð us wel muchele grace. a1300Cursor M. 17095 God.. send us space al of his grace, ur wranges here to right. c1330King of Tars 910 Forth wente Sir Cleophas, To the court thorw godes gras. c1460Fortescue Abs. & Lim. Mon. xii. (1885) 139 God..gyff hym grase to augmente is reaume. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 1 How farre purpose you to trauell this way by the grace of God? 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. xvii. vii. 40 b, Untoo the seconde time, in which (yf God give me grace) shalbe described [etc.]. 1655–61Walton Angler iv. (ed. 3) 76 A grace of God Ile give you a Sillibub of new Verjuice. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 190 Annie, this voyage by the grace of God Will bring fair weather yet to all of us. 1872A. Lang Ball. & Lyr. Old France 11 Mock not at us that so feeble be, But pray God pardon us out of His grace.
c. Hence in phrase by the grace of God (tr. L. Dei gratia), appended to the formal statement of the titles of sovereigns, and formerly also of ecclesiastical dignitaries; perh. with mixture of sense 11 a.
1495in Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 55 James, be the grace of God kinge of Scottis. c1532G. Du Wes Introd. Fr. in Palsgr. 1019 Henry by the grace of God lyveng kyng victorious [etc.]. 1611Bible Ded., Iames by the grace of God King of Great Britaine. 1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. I. i. ii, Louis, King by the Grace of God.
†d. save your grace: an apologetic phrase = ‘may it not displease you’, ‘by your leave’. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Melib. ⁋104 Whereas ye seyn that alle wommen been wikke, Saue youre grace certes ye despisen alle wommen in this wyse. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xx. 92 After my feble witte me thinke, saue þaire grace, þat it es mykill mare.
e. by grace of: by virtue of, ‘thanks to’.
1852G. Brimley Ess., Esmond 259 The Chevalier St. George..misses being James the Third..by grace of his own exceeding baseness.
† f. hard grace: displeasure, ill-will, severity. (See also sense 10.) Obs.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame iii. 496 This Eolus, with harde grace, Held the wyndes in distresse. c1386― Sompn. T. 520 Lo sires quod the lord with harde grace Who herd euere of swich a thyng er now? ― Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 636 This chanoun took his cole with harde grace.
g. grace and favour house, residence, etc.: accommodation held ‘by grace and favour’ of the Crown, the Government, or other owner.
1909Daily Chron. 7 May 1/2 Someone to whom the King may grant a ‘Grace and Favour’ residence will find himself bound to pay for..work which he had not ordered. 1953‘M. Innes’ Christmas at Candleshoe i. 14 Benison is a Grace and Favour house, the patronage of which is vested in two or three powerful persons in the City. 1956Moncreiffe & Pottinger Blood Royal 54 Others contain ‘grace and favour’ apartments, for rewarding distinguished servants of the country in their retirement. 1967Whitaker's Almanack 652/1 The Minister of Public Buildings and Works reported in Parliament..that, of 140 grace and favour residences, [etc.].
7. The condition or fact of being favoured. † in grace, in favour (obs.). † (a person's) grace, good grace (obs.), now only, after Fr. idiom, (a person's) good graces: (his) favour and good opinion.
1463Bury Wills (Camden) 24 That he stonde welle and cler in the kynggez grace. c1477Caxton Jason 64 b, Ye shewe well howe that aboue all other ye haue me in your grace. c1489― Blanchardyn xli. 153 And how he was in her goode grace, and she lyke wyse in his. 1586Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. vi. (Arb.) 27 This [the custom of Princes] brought the ryming Poesie in grace. 1596Drayton Leg. Pref., In Pierce of Gaveston there is given to the Minions, and Creatures of Princes, a very faire warning, to use their Grace with their Royall Patrons, modestly. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 32 Till all graces be in one woman, one woman shall not come in my grace. c1620Fletcher False One ii. i, The red Pharsalian feilds..Where killing was in grace, and wounds were glorious. 1670Cotton Espernon iii. x. 498 He would not however in return offer him his good Graces. [Sidenote] Not otherwise to be rendred without spoiling the sense. 1672Dryden Marr. à la Mode ii. i, A gentleman..who understands the grand monde so well..may pretend to the good graces of a lady. 1675Evelyn Mem. (1857) II. 110 A sprightly young lady, much in the good graces of the family. 1711Steele Spect. No. 76 ⁋4 The Men themselves shall think thus meanly or greatly of themselves, as they are out or in the good Graces of a Court. 1727C. Colden Hist. Ind. Nations 112 Adario..resolved..to recover the good Graces of the French. 1757Foote Author i. Wks. 1799 I. 133 The booksellers have..refused to employ me; you, Sir, I hear, are in their graces. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 221 The one who had the largest share of James's good graces seems to have been Cartwright. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. ii. xiii. (1865) I. 124 Their progress..in the grace of Karl, was something extraordinary. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 304 These gentlemen..do not seem to be in your good graces. 1882Macm. Mag. XLVI. 65/2 The band..and the guard of honour..ran each other hard for the first place in the islanders' good graces.
8. a. An instance or manifestation of favour; a favour conferred on or offered to another.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6505 He [Canute]..þoȝte on þe vaire grace þat vr louerd him sende. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 1058 He..þonked god of þat gras. 1390Gower Conf. III. 37 Sithe it so is, That Lazar may nought do me this..I wolde pray an other grace. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. ii, Thou hast a fayre grace of me this daye, that I shold rescowe the. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 45 Andronicus..proudly rejected the graces offred. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 101 This Peace was received by all the Subjects of the King, as a speciall grace sent them from God. 1859Tennyson Elaine 381 Do me this grace, my child, to have my shield In keeping till I come. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxvi. 71 A grace I here implore thee, if any Word should offend.
b. An exceptional favour granted by some one in authority, a privilege, a dispensation. Obs. exc. Hist. expectative grace (see expectative a. 1 a).
c1400Rom. Rose 5128 If thou scape yit, atte laste, Fro Love..Certeyn, I holde it but a grace. 1554Act 1 & 2 Phil. & M. c. 8 §33 Dispensations and Graces given by such Order as the publick Laws of the Realm then approved. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 362/2 The highest pontife or bishop granted these foresaid graces to father Robert Persons & Edmund Campion. 1651Hobbes Leviath. (1839) 30 The benefit which a sovereign bestoweth on a subject, for fear of some power and ability he hath to do hurt to the commonwealth, are not properly rewards; for they are not salaries..nor are they graces. 1697Dryden æneid vi. 196 But, to return and view the chearful Skies,..To few great Jupiter imparts this Grace. 1777Burke Let. Affairs Amer. Wks. III. 165 To protect the king's loyal subjects, and to grant to them..the common rights of men, by the name of graces? 1824Syd. Smith Wks. (1859) II. 55/2 Charles I. took a bribe of 120,000l. from his Irish subjects, to grant them what in those days were called Graces, but in these days would be denominated the Elements of Justice. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) I. vi. 339 It was resolved to announce certain intended graces in the speech from the throne. 1848Wharton Law Lex., Grace, a faculty, license or dispensation. 1878Lecky Eng. in 18th C. II. vi. 115 These Graces, the Irish analogue of the Petition of Rights.
†c. Permission to do something; leave. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 26285 Þan mai his biscop do him grace, wijf to tak wijt hir to liue. c1400Rom. Rose 4080 No man mo into this place Of me to entre shal have grace. c1400Destr. Troy 826 Wold ye graunt me your grase goodly to wende, I wold boune me to batell. 14..Sir Beues (Pynson) 1379 + 9 There shal no man haue grace.. Agaynst my wyl to lye me by Nor do me shame nor velany!
†d. A mark of divine favour, a mercy. Obs.—1
1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. xxii. 31 It was a fayre grace that the Kynge had nat ben taken.
†e. A gratuity or ‘douceur’. Obs.
1769S. Paterson Another Trav. II. 144 An English coachman, postboy, or waterman, generally expects some grace from the passengers, over and above his fare.
9. In University language.
a. † Originally, a dispensation, granted by the Congregation of a University or by some Faculty in it, from some of the statutable conditions required for a degree. As in the English universities the full performance of such conditions ceased to be enforced, the ‘grace’ came to be an essential preliminary to any degree. Hence the word has now the sense:
b. The leave of Congregation to take a degree.
c. Other decrees of the Governing Body, being very often dispensations from the permanent statutes, were sometimes styled graces, and at Cambridge every such decree is called a Grace of the Senate.
d. In mod. use, the term is also applied to the permission which a candidate for a degree is required to obtain from his College or Hall.
14..Nom. in Wr.-Wülcker 719/41 Nomina domorum et rerum ecclesiasticarum, Hec gracia, a grace. 1529Act 21 Hen. VIII, c. 13 §12 Doctours, and Bachelers of Dyvynyte [etc.] which shalbe admytted to any of the said Degrees by any of the Unyversitees of this Realme and nat by Grace onely. 1573Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 2 Mr. Nuce was requestid to put up our graces the next morning. 1623in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1849) II. 408 They say, it was a stolen congregation, and yet he got his grace but by three votes. 1665J. Buck in G. Peacock Stat. Cambridge (1841) App. B. 66 Then a Bedel carrieth all the Graces that passed unto the Proctors. 1709Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 294 His grace was denied. 1741in Fowler Hist. C.C.C. (O.H.S.) 280 Every Undergraduate of the Foundation before his Grace is proposed, shall be examined publicly. 1841G. Peacock Stat. Cambridge 21 When graces were submitted by the chancellor to the approbation of the senate, the proctors collected the votes and announced the decision. 1882L. Campbell Life Maxwell xii. 348 The Chair of Experimental Physics in the University of Cambridge was founded by a Grace of the Senate on 9th. Feb. 1871. 1887Cambridge Univ. Calendar 2 Except supplicats for degrees, no Grace can be offered to the Senate without three days previous notice. 1898Oxford Univ. Calendar 73 [Conditions required for degrees] The Grace or consent of the Candidate's College or Hall..and of Congregation, which depend upon his conduct and character.
transf.1600Holland Livy xxii. x. (1609) 437 In this forme of wordes was the bill propounded unto the people. Pleaseth it you, that this grace may passe and the thing done with your assent in this wise?
†10. The share of favour allotted to one by Providence or fortune; one's appointed fate, destiny, or lot; hap, luck, or fortune (good or bad). hard grace, evil grace, a sorry grace: (a stroke of) ill luck (cf. sense 6 f). Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7492 Ȝut was willames grace þulke day so god Þat he nadde no wounde. 13..Coer de L. 2 Lord Jesus..Suche grace and vyctorye Thou sente to Kyng Rychard. c1320Seuyn Sages (W.) 658 For that schild, that naked was, Mani bade th'emperice evel gras! c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 181 Richard oste forth ran, & grace bifor him ford, Auht jornes he wan with in þe Sarazins lond. Philip þat þer lay to spede had he no grace. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 2480 Wylde wayez in þe worlde Wowen now ridez, On Gryngolet, þat þe grace hade geten of his lyue. c1374Chaucer Troylus i. 713 Nomore harde grace May sitte on me, for-whi þer is no space. c1380Sir Ferumb. 3591 Þar hadde þe Saraȝyns yule grace, For of dede men lay fuld þe place, & oþre bygunne to fle. c1384Chaucer H. Fame iii. 700 Eolus..Go, blow this folk a sory grace. c1386― Can. Yeom. Prol. 112 Peter! quod he, god yeve it harde grace. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 687 A faire grace yit fel him swa, Al if it smate his hors in twa, And his spors of aither hele, That himself passed so wele. c1450Lonelich Grail lv. 486 Pellean..that thorwgh bothe hypes I-Maymed was atte bataylle Of Rome, swich was his gras. c1475Sqr. lowe Degre 176 Ye must..ryde through many a peryllous place, As a venterous man to seke your grace. 1513More Rich. III Wks. 35/1 Elizabeth, whose fortune and grace was after to bee Quene. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. (1858) I. 9 In thair passage [they] mony perrell fand..Sic wes thair grace ȝit haif tha chapit all. 1561Child-Marriages 80 Further beynge demaundid why she did..play the hoore: she answeris, ‘her grace was no better’. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 146, I..Doe curse the grace, that with such grace hath blest them.
11. In scriptural and theological language.
a. (Also the grace of God or free grace). The free and unmerited favour of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings. doctrines of grace: by Calvinists applied esp. to the doctrines of election, predestination, etc. For covenant, dispensation, throne of grace, see the respective words.
a1225Leg. Kath. 298 He..of his grace makeð ham þæt ha beon eche. a1300Cursor M. 21627 Þe grace o godd es gret and gode. c1300Harrow. Hell 241 Loverd, for thi muchele grace, Graunte us in heovene one place! 1382Wyclif Titus ii. 11 The grace of God..hath apperid to alle men, techinge [etc.]. c1450St. Cuthbert (Surtees) 1009 Þe grace of god him calde þarto. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 306 Holding that they are saved by Merit, without Law or Grace. 1675Baxter Cath. Theol. ii. i. 263 Is there anything that more..destroyeth the honour of free grace. 1781Cowper Expostul. 213 But grace abused brings forth the foulest deeds. 1863A. Raleigh Quiet Resting Pl. viii. (1865) 145 Grace..the free and unmerited favor of God. 1875Manning Mission H. Ghost ii. 35 The word grace signifies the free and gratuitous operation of God.
¶ Used for: The source of grace, God.
1601Shakes. All's Well i. iii. 226, I will tell truth by grace it self I sweare. Ibid. ii. i. 163. 1605 ― Macb. v. viii. 72 This..by the Grace of Grace, We will performe.
b. The divine influence which operates in men to regenerate and sanctify, to inspire virtuous impulses, and to impart strength to endure trial and resist temptation. Often spoken of as the grace of God, grace of our Lord, grace of the Holy Spirit, or as imparted through the sacraments; also, in Roman Catholic use, as proceeding from the Virgin Mary.
Used with many defining words, usually translations from scholastic Latin. prevenient grace: the grace which produces the repentance and faith without which the grace of justification cannot be received. sufficient grace: the grace which (merely) renders the soul capable of performing a supernatural act, in contradistinction to efficacious grace, the grace which really effects the end for which it is given. For means of grace, saving grace, see means, saving ppl. a. the grace of Orders (see quot. 1869).
c1200Vices & Virtues 23 Ðurh godes grace þu hes hafst forsaken. c1220Bestiary 119 Ðurg grace off ure drigtin. a1225St. Marher. 2 Þe grace of þen holi gost. a1240Lofsong in Cott. Hom. 207 Ich halsi þe þet ðu bi-seche him..þurh þe grace of fuluht. a1300Leg. Rood (1871) 32 To salomon heo com..Þoru grace þat our lord hire ȝef. a1340Hampole Psalter xix. 6 Ilkan..þat is enoynt with þe grace of þe halygast. 1382Wyclif 2 Cor. xiii. 14 The grace of oure Lord Ihesu Crist..be with ȝou alle. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xlvii. 85 Is non but grace of God I wiss, That can in ȝewth considdir thiss. 1535Coverdale Acts xviii. 27 He helped them moch which beleued thorow grace. 1538Bale Thre Lawes 824 Whan we went to Berye And to our lady of grace. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iv. 40 Chosen from aboue By inspiration of Celestiall Grace. 1678Barclay Apol. Quakers (1841) 284 The way whereby Christ helpeth, assisteth, and worketh with us is by his grace. a1700Dryden Creator Spirit 13 Plenteous of grace, descend from high. 1738Wesley Psalms v. ii, On Thee, O God of Purity, I wait for hallowing Grace. 1841Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life II. i. 18 That you may have grace to make the use intended of the present bitter dispensation. 1869Haddan Apost. Succ. i. (1879) 13 A belief in the grace of Orders; i.e. in the necessity, and in the spiritual effectiveness, of a proper formal ordination. 1873Browning Red Cott. Nt.-Cap 226 They wanted faith..The many get their grace and go their way Rejoicing.
c. The same regarded as a permanent force, having its seat in the soul.
c1325Song Passion 52 in O.E. Misc. (1872) 198 Marie ful of grace. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1011 For ilk man sal hafe þar a place To wone ay in ioy, þat here has grace. 1382Wyclif Luke i. 28 The aungel gon yn to hir seide, Heil, ful of grace. 1634Canne Necess. Separ. (1849) 135 In cases of this nature, grace is best tried. 1684Bunyan Pilgr. ii. 123 There is no Grace, where there is no fear of God. 1707Norris Treat. Humility iii. 158 By grace..I understand..the inward operation of God's spirit super⁓naturally assisting our natural faculties. 1821Wordsw. Sonn., Eng. Reformers in Exile, Blest Is he who can, by help of grace, enthrone The peace of God within his single breast! 1871Morley Voltaire (1886) 2 They realised life as a long wrestling with unseen and invincible forces of grace, election and fore-destiny.
personified.1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxii. 113 With greiting glaid be than come Grace, With wourdis sweit saying to me. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 30 Umpire in the strife That Grace and Nature have to wage through life.
d. The condition of one who is under such divine influence. More fully a state of grace. Also in to fall from grace (see fall v. 1 c).
1382Wyclif Gal. v. 4 Ȝe that ben iustified in the lawe han fallen awey fro grace. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxxiii. 13 Bend up thy saill, and win thy port of grace. 1502Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) i. vi. 51 These holy persons the whiche..were deed in the estate of good grace. 1632Lithgow Trav. i. 7 The flying from evil, is a flying to grace. 1643[Angier] Lanc. Vall. Achor 12 Many of them have proved practicall Arminians, practising falling from Grace. 1754Sherlock Disc. viii. I. 247 For all the Children of God are in a state of Grace. 1852Robertson Lect. Ep. Cor. xlvi. (1863) 345 A state of grace is the state in which all men are, who have received the message of salvation which declares God's goodwill towards them.
e. An individual virtue or excellence, divine in its origin. Also in phr. to have the grace (to do something): cf. sense 13 b.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 26 Syþyn of þe twelue poyntes of shryfte And of þe twelue gracys of here ȝyfte. c1340Cursor M. 10062 Þerfore is she called in places Modir of pite and of graces. 1537Inst. Chr. Man in Formul. Faith (1856) 49 Gifts and graces I knowledge and profess that they proceed from this Holy Spirit. a1628Preston Effectual Faith (1631) 112 There is no grace that God gives but he hath tryals for it afterward. 1641Hinde J. Bruen xxxiv. 108 They that have the grace to live unto the Lord, shall never [etc.]. 1642Rogers Naaman Ep. Ded. 1 The Graces of Selfe-deniall and Faith are like those two pillars of Iachin and Boaz. 1844Lingard Anglo-Sax. Ch. (1858) II. i. 14 The dignity and graces of the priesthood were conferred by prayer. 1852Robertson Lect. Ep. Cor. xxv. (1863) 183 A grace is that which has in it some moral quality. 1875E. White Life in Christ iii. xx. (1876) 294 It leads to a general acknowledgement of worldly virtues as Christian graces.
12. year of grace: a year as reckoned from the birth of Christ. arch.[After med.L. anno gratiæ, used by chroniclers (e.g. Gervase of Canterbury a 1200); cf. anno salutis, Anno] 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7838 Þo deide he in þe ȝer of grace a þousend..& four score & seuene. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 3 Þe yeres of grace fyl þan to be A þousynd and þre hundrede and þre. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 363 The ȝere of grace seven hondred ȝere and fiftene. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 1 The yere of grace a thousand, CCCC. lxxiij. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks 36 He departed the thirteenth of February in the yeare of Grace 1163. 1897Literature 11 Dec. 233/2 At the present year of grace we have had published but ten of these parts.
13. In senses transf. or weakened from 11.
†a. In things: Beneficent virtue or efficacy. grains of grace: seeds endowed with some wholesome quality. Obs.
a1300K. Horn 571 Þe stones beoþ of suche grace..þat þu ne schalt in none place Of none duntes beon ofdrad. a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1099 Yit the stoon hadde suche a grace, That he was siker in every place. c1450Holland Howlat iii, Granes of grace, Mendis and medicyne for mennis all neidis. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. iii. 15 O mickle is the powerfull grace that lies In Plants. 1604E. G[rimstone] tr. D'Acosta's Hist. Indies i. iii. 13 The workes of God haue (I know not what) secret and hidden grace and vertve.
b. In persons: Virtue; an individual virtue; sense of duty or propriety; esp. in phrase to have the grace (to do something): cf. sense 11 e.
1530Compend. Treat. (1863) 56 They have no grace one to beware of another. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. v. iv. 165, I think the Boy hath grace in him, he blushes. 1600― A.Y.L. iii. iv. 2 Haue the grace to consider, that teares do not become a man. 1605― Macb. iv. iii. 91 The King-becoming Graces, As Iustice, Verity [etc.]. 1652–62Heylin Cosmogr. iii. (1673) 60/2 For matters of Religion the People of this Land were priviledged above all others, had they had the grace to make good use of it. 1667Pepys Diary 30 Dec., Captain Cocke..would have borrowed money of me; but I had the grace to deny him. 1706Stanhope Paraphr. III. 444 Only One poor Samaritane of the whole Number had the Grace to come back. c1780Parr in E. H. Barker Parriana (1829) II. 101 Markham shewed some grace in his neutrality. 1781Cowper Expostul. 79 They had the grace in scenes of peace to show The virtue they had learned in scenes of woe. 1816Scott Antiq. vi, He blushes again, which is a sign of grace. 1851Longfellow Gold. Leg. iii. Square in front Cathedral 78 In the church..will be represented a Miracle-Play; and I hope you will all have the grace to attend. 1892Stevenson Across the Plains 14, I put my patronage away for another occasion, and had the grace to be pleased with that result.
14. a. Favour shown by granting a delay in the performance of an action, or the discharge of an obligation, or immunity from penalty during a specified period; as in a day's, fortnight's, moment's, etc. grace. year of grace (at the Universities: see quot. 1726). time of grace, a close time (for beasts of the chase). day of grace (Theol.), the period allowed for repentance.
1711Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 126 Mr. Greenwood had a year's Grace. 1726Amherst Terræ Fil. xl. 212 When a college-living falls, the person chosen to succeed..is allow'd a year of grace (as it is call'd), at the end of which he must resign either his living or his fellowship, as he thinks best. 1801Strutt Sports & Past. i. i. 17 The time of grace begins at Midsummer, and lasteth to Holyrood-day. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxii. IV. 775 A fortnight's grace was allowed. 1859Tennyson Elaine 681 But he pursued her, calling, ‘Stay a little! One golden moment's grace!’ 1878J. P. Hopps Jesus x. 38 Your long day of grace is gone. 1895M. Corelli Sorrows Satan v. (1897) 53, I give you a day's grace to decide.
b. Comm. days of grace, the period (in England 3 days) allowed by law for the payment of a bill of exchange, after the expiration of the term for which it is drawn. Similarly, the period allowed for the payment of a premium of insurance or the like, after the date at which it is said to be due.
In present practice, the date at which a bill is said to be due is the last of the ‘days of grace’. Thus a bill payable ‘60 days after sight’ is due (in England) on the 63rd day after acceptance, and if it is discounted the discount is calculated to that day.
a1731De Foe Eng. Tradesman (1732) I. xxv. 360. 1767 Blackstone Comm. II. 469. 1780 T. Jefferson Corr. Wks. 1859 I. 261, I suppose, that your drafts in favor of the quarter-master, if attended with sixty days' grace, may be complied with to a certain amount. 1809R. Langford Introd. Trade 12 They have the..allowance of three days grace for payment. 1848Wharton Law Lex., Grace, days of... It was originally a gratuitous favour..but custom has rendered it a legal right. 1849Freese Comm. Class-bk. 27 ‘Days of grace:’..in Brazil when the word preciso is not added..15 days are allowed on inland bills, and 6 days on foreign bills. 1866Crump Banking v. 103 The ‘grace’ allowed upon bills varies considerably in different countries.
15. a. Mercy, clemency; hence, pardon or forgiveness. Now rare or arch.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11818 Wiþoute eni grace he suspendede echone [of the bishops]. c1375Lay Folks Mass Bk. (MS. B) 81 Gyue me grace & forguenes of my mys-dede. c1386Chaucer Doctor's T. 236 Goode fader shal I dye? Is ther no grace? is ther no remedye? 1411Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/2 Wherof I beseke yow of grace and mercy. 1462J. Russe in Paston Lett. No. 460 II. 113 The Lord Summyrset had wretyn to hym to come to grace. 1559Mirr. Mag., Dk. Suffolk xxv, There was no grace, but I must loose my head. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xiii. 216 Syne hangit hie but grace vpon the Gallous. 1613Heywood Silver Age i. i. Wks. 1874 III. 86 [Thou] Stand'st at our grace, a captiue. 1652H. Cogan tr. Scudery's Ibrahim iii. i. 34 Soliman..swore he would punish him..though my Master employed all his power to obtain his grace..Seresbeg's Wife and Children..humbly besought him to grant them the grace of her Husband and their Father. 1667Milton P.L. i. 111 To bow and sue for grace With suppliant knee. 1718Hickes & Nelson J. Kettlewell ii. xxxviii. 145 That they might not Reject the King's Grace..freely offered. 1842Macaulay Lays Anc. Rome, Horatius lvii, ‘Now yield thee’, cried Lars Porsena, ‘Now yield thee to our grace’. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. (1876) I. App. 749 Ulf, finding himself forsaken of all men, asks for grace.
Proverb.1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 8 In space comth grace. a1553Udall Royster D. iii. iii. (Arb.) 47.
b. act of grace: a formal pardon, spec. a free and general pardon, granted by Act of Parliament.
(The phrase also occurs under sense 6.)
1648Eikon Bas. ix. 53 Is this the reward and thanks I am to receive for those manie Acts of Grace I have lately passed? 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. vi. §12 Seventy priests..were, by one act of Grace, pardoned, and sent over beyond sea. 1729G. Jacob Law Dict. s.v., Acts of Grace. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. (1876) III. xv. 114 In the next [parliament] William took the matter into his own hands by sending down an act of grace. 1839Thirlwall Greece VI. xlix. 185 He also celebrated his victory by an act of grace.
16. a. In his, her, your, my lord's, the king's, etc. (good) grace, serving as a complimentary periphrasis for he, she, you, etc. Obs. exc. arch.
c1430Syr Gener. (Roxb.) 1870 To his lord he went a pase, And broght him tithinges from hir goode grace. 1481Caxton Reynard (Arb.) 117 And yf your good grace will ony thyng late me haue knowleche of it. 1529Alward Let. to Cromwell in Cavendish Life Wolsey (1827) 487 My lords grace went again into the kyngs highnes beyng then in his pryvie chamber. 1541Barnes Wks. (1573) 316/1 No man maibee admitted into his seruice excepte that hee first sweare to bee an enemy vnto the kyngs grace of England. 1559Abp. Hethe in Strype Ann. Ref. I. App. vi. (1824) 405 The lord Cardinall Poles good grace. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iii. 33 A goodly prize, fit for the diuels grace. 1605in Crt. & Times Jas. I (1848) I. 39 The rebels came but two hours too late to have seized upon the person of my Lady Elizabeth's grace. 1830Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 317 If the King wants a yacht, or Her Majesty's Grace would like a few acres of real lace.
b. A courtesy-title now only given to a duke, a duchess, or an archbishop. Formerly used in addressing a king or queen. (Cf. G. Euer Gnaden.)
Now usually written with capital.
1500–20Dunbar Poems lix. 14 Ȝour Grace beseik I of remeid. 1549Latimer 6th Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 158 (heading), Sermon..whych he preached before the kynges Maiesty wyth in hys Graces Palaice at Westminster. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, i. ii. 19 God saue thy Grace, Maiesty I should say. 1602― Ham. iii. iv. 3 Tell him..your Grace hath scree'nd, and stoode betweene Much heate, and him. 1605Camden Rem. Surnames 138 As for Grace, it beganne about the time of Henry the fourth. Excellent Grace vnder Henry the sixt. 1630Wadsworth Pilgr. vii. 75 Intelligence was giuen to the Archbishops Grace of Canterbury. 1639Earl Traquair in Hamilton Papers (Camden) 97 To the Marquis of Hamilton. Pleas your Grace. 1687Dryden Ep. to Sir G. Etherege 75 His Grace of Bucks has made a farce. 1711Swift Jrnl. Stella 28 Dec., We have given his grace some hopes to be one of our Society. 1780Cowper Progr. Err. 105 Will Avarice..give place, Charmed by the sounds—‘Your reverence’ or ‘Your grace’? 1824Byron Juan xvi. xxxiv, Her Grace replied, his Grace was rather pain'd [etc.]. 1844Disraeli Coningsby i. i, Let me present to your Grace—Mr. Coningsby. 1872Earl Pembroke & G. H. Kingsley S. Sea Bubbles viii. 221 The daintiest Alderney in her grace's fancy dairy.
17. Hence
†a. The high position or dignity of an archbishop, etc. (obs.).
b. in the nonce-verb, to ‘Your grace’ (a person).
1631Weever Anc. Funeral Mon. 224 A Doctor of the Canon Law, who by degrees came to this Metropolitan Grace of Canterbury. Ibid. 309 To forsake his pontificall Grace and Dignitie. 1862Tennyson Let. to Dk. of Argyll Feb., If you call me Mr Tennyson any longer, I think that I must Your-grace you till the end of the chapter.
†18.
a. In the names of some plants: (a) grace of God (= L. Gratia Dei), species of Hypericum, esp. H. perforatum; (b) Geranium pratense; (c) Gratiola officinalis; (d) (see quot. 1607); (e) herb (of) Grace (see herb-grace). Obs.
1597Gerarde Herbal ii. clxviii. 467 Hedge Hyssope is called in Latin..Gratia Dei, or the Grace of God. Ibid. Table Eng. Names, Grace of God, or S. Johns Grasse. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 126 Elapho[bo]scum: (that is, as some call it Harts eye, others Hart-thorne, or grace of God, others wilde Ditany).
†b. grace of God (tr. med.L. gratia Dei): a composition used as a plaster. Obs.
c1450ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 189–190.
III. †19. pl. Thanks, thanksgiving. Also to do, give, make, render, yield graces. Cf. F. rendre grâces, L. gratias agere. Obs.
1382Wyclif 1 Cor. x. 30 Therfore if I take part with grace, what am I blasfemyd, for that I do graces or thankyngis? c1386Chaucer Melib. ⁋838 Yeldynge graces and thankynges to hir lord Melibee. a1400–50Alexander 5394 Makis he gracis to his goddis. 1480Caxton Ovid's Met. x. vi, Venus, ryght puissante lady, I adoure, thanke, and rendre graces. 1483― Gold. Leg. 438 b/2 He toke breed & yeldyng graces to god the fader brosyd and gaue it to his dyscyples. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. (1546) sig. I, I..gyue great graces to my goddes of my good happe.
20. (Till the 16th c. almost exclusively pl. in sing. sense; now only sing.) A short prayer either asking a blessing before, or rendering thanks after, a meal. Frequent in phrase to say grace(s.
a1225Ancr. R. 44 Ower graces..biuore mete & efter..& mid te miserere goð biuoren ower weouede & endeð ðer þe graces. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16086 Þe borde was leyd, Þe cloþ[es] spred, þe graces seyd. [c1340Cursor M. 13496 (Trin.) Ihesus blessed þis breed wiþ grace.] 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 62 As holywrit witnesseth whan men segge her graces, Aperis tu manum tuam [etc.]. c1440Ipomydon 313 Whan they had ete and grace sayd. c1500Melusine xxxvi. 241 After they had dyned, graces were said. 1526Tindale Matt. xxvi. 30 When they had sayd grace they went out. 1588J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 6 He would needs saye grace (forsooth) before and after supper. a1639Suckling Poems (1646) 19 Long graces do But keep good stomachs off that would fall too. 1680Dryden Prol. to Cæsar Borgia 42 But mark their feasts..The Pope says grace, but 'tis the Devil gives thanks. 1705Hickeringill Priest-cr. ii. vi. 62 Until Mr. Say-Grace has blest the Cup, and said a short Grace. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Quality (1808) I. 68 The latter grace was said, and the cloth taken away. 1791Heroic Ep. to Priestley in Poet. Reg. (1808) 395 With simile and face, Each longer than a Presbyterian grace. 1856Emerson Eng. Traits, Univ. Wks. (Bohn) II. 89 A youth came forward..and pronounced the ancient form of grace before meals. 1881Besant & Rice Chapl. of Fleet i. viii, The dinner was at times scanty,..a grace before the meat, and a grace after.
IV.
21. attrib. and Comb., as grace-covenant, grace-giver, † grace-market, grace-token; grace-doing vbl. n.; † grace-empaled, grace-followed, grace-giving, grace-like, grace originating, grace-restoring, grace-thirsty, grace-working adjs.
1892Westcott Gospel of Life 260 The *grace-covenant with Abraham.
1382Wyclif Isa. li. 3 Ioȝe and gladnesse shal be founde in it, *gracedoing and vois of preising.
1615T. Adams Bl. Devil 75 To restraine his savage fury from forraging his *Grace-empaled Church.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. ii. Babylon 589 Amos' son..*Grace-followed, grave, holy, and eloquent.
1588A. King tr. Canisius' Catech. 153 Christ is our propiciatour and *grace-geuar.
1887H. O. Wakeman Ch. & Puritans 121 All the *grace-giving powers of the Church.
1636B. Jonson Discov., Consuetudo, etc. Wks. (1641) 119/1 They have the Authority of yeares, and out of their intermission doe win to themselves a kind of *grace-like newnesse. 1820W. Tooke tr. Lucian I. 71 Homer bestows on your locks the epithet of grace-like.
1645Rutherford Tryal & Tri. Faith (1845) 93 No purse is Christ's *grace-market.
1851W. Anderson Exposure Popery (1878) 126 The words Ego te absolvo penetrate to the Soul with *grace-restoring power, just as the water of baptism ‘reached’ it with *grace-originating power.
a1633T. Pierson Expos. 84 Ps. (1647) 49 *Grace-thirsty soules.
1842Manning Waiting Invis. Ch. Serm. 1848 I. 340 The *grace-tokens of the Cross.
1849Rock Ch. of Fathers II. 283 The brightsomeness of the Gospel was dimmed in becoming shorn of many of its *grace-working ordinances.
b. Special comb., as grace-drink Sc., ‘the drink taken by a company after the giving of thanks at the end of a meal’ (Jam.); grace-hoop, ‘a hoop used in playing the game called graces’ (Worcester 1860); grace-note = sense 3; also transf.; † grace-stroke (after F. coup de grâce: see coup n.3 5 e), in quots. used for (a) a finishing touch, (b) an elegant touch or feature; † grace-term (Oxford University), a term of the period required for a degree, in which residence was customarily dispensed with; † grace-wife, a midwife.
1725Ramsay Gentle Sheph. i. i, When we hae tane the *grace-drink at the well. 1788Burns Let. to Clarinda 18 Feb., I am just going to propose your health by way of grace-drink.
1823Crabb Technol. Dict., *Grace Note (Mus.), any note added to a composition as a decoration or improvement. 1864Engel Mus. Anc. Nat. 361 These passages..are considered only as grace-notes introduced according to the fancy of the singer. 1896Stevenson Kidnapped xxv, Variations which, as he went on, he decorated with a perfect flight of grace-notes, such as pipers love, and call the ‘warblers’. 1927Blackw. Mag. Dec. 827/1 A lady was holding forth, a born narrator, recklessly lavish of grace-notes and embroidery. 1957J. Braine Room at Top xx. 177 The extra refinement, the grace-note, was Jack's waving away of my offer to buy the drinks. 1960Guardian 30 Sept. 12/5 Its architecture, for all its English grace-notes, is fundamentally international.
1701Scot. Characterized in Harl. Misc. (1811) VII. 377 Your intentions led you to our neighbouring kingdom of Scotland, to perfect and give the *grace-stroke to that very liberal education you have so signally improved in England. 1686F. Spence tr. Varillas' Ho. Medicis 262 A piece wherein the character and grace-stroaks the Greek poetry possess'd..were restored in the highest point of their perfection.
1853‘C. Bede’ Verdant Green ii. x, He and Mr. Bouncer had together gone up to Oxford, leaving Charles Larkyns behind to keep a *grace-term.
1645Reg. St. Nicholas' Ch. in Brand Hist. Newcastle (1789) II. 362 note, [A midwife is styled] ‘*grace-wyfe.’ 1672in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. vii. (1890) 382 Given to the grace-wife and nurse 15s. 1829Brockett N.C. Words (ed. 2), Grace-wife, an old provincial name for a midwife; still retained by the vulgar.
▪ II. grace, v.|greɪs|
[In sense 1, a. OF. gracier to thank, also, as in mod.F., to pardon (a criminal), f. grace grace n.; in the other senses f. prec.]
†1. trans. To thank. Only in pass. subj.
a1225Ancr. R. 366 Igraced beo his milce! 13..Coer de L. 3772 Graced be Jesu Cryst our Lord. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. vi. 126 Lord, y-graced be ȝe!
†2.
a. To show favour or be gracious to; also, to countenance. Obs.
c1440Sir Gowther 65 She praid to Crist and Marie mylde, Shulde hire grace to have a Childe. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. x. 64 Then shall I soone..so God me grace, Abett that virgins cause disconsolate. 1596Ibid. vi. xii. 16 To tell her how the heavens had her graste To save her chylde. 1604Marston Malcontent ii. v. D 3 And therevpon you graced him?.. Tooke him to fauour? 1626L. Owen Spec. Jesuit. (1629) 33 The Pope would not grace the Iesuites Author, or founder, vntill they had first greased him in the fist.
†b. To favour with permission to do something.
1639Fuller Holy War iii. i. (1647) 109 He was graced to wear his shoes of the Imperiall fashion.
3. To endow with (heavenly) grace.
1634Bp. Hall Wks. II. 50 Hee that can (when hee will) convince the obstinate, will not Grace the disobedient. 1637Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. 289 The honourable cause which ye are graced to profess is Christ's own truth. 1701Beverley Glory of Grace 4 He hath Graced, or invested with Grace. 1961F. J. Ripley Last Gospel xii. 114 God may have graced them more than he has graced us.
4. a. To lend or add grace to, to adorn, embellish, set off; to adorn with some becoming quality.
a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (1633) 39 He left nothing unassayed, which might disgrace himselfe, to grace his friend. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 74. 1606 J. Carpenter Solomon's Solace i. 3 They were graced with an excellent memory. 1609Douland Ornith. Microl. 184 Most commonly it [the high Tenor] graceth the Base, making a double Concord with it. 1658Cokaine Trappolin ii. ii. Dram. Wks. (1874) 141 One grac'd with all the virtues. 1693Dryden Ovid's Met. i. 759 Thou shalt returning Cæsar's triumph grace. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. iii, He..mounted upon the bottom of a Tub, the inside of which he had often graced in his prosperous days. 1767Sir W. Jones Seven Fountains Poems (1777) 46 A table with a thousand vases grac'd. 1828D'Israeli Chas. I, I. vi. 204 This chivalric Earl..was just the hero to grace a desperate cause. 1857Livingstone Trav. ii. 43 The eland..would grace the parks of our nobility more than deer. 1877Dowden Shaks. Prim. vi. 73 A Midsummer Night's Dream was written to grace the wedding of some noble person.
b. Mus. To add grace-notes, cadenzas, etc., to.
1659,1836[cf. gracing vbl. n.1] 1824Scott Redgauntlet let. x, Then taking the old tune of Galashiels for his theme, he graced it with a number of wild, complicated, and beautiful variations. 1876Stainer & Barrett Dict. Mus. Terms s.v., Music for viols was also graced in various ways. 1882in Ogilvie; and in later Dicts.
†c. to grace out: to make to appear favourably. Obs.
1606Day Ile of Guls Prol. A 2 Hath he not a prepard company of gallants, to aplaud his iests, and grace out his play? 1622Rowlands Good Newes & Bad 33 A Sutor, that a wealthy widow pli'd, To grace out his bad fortunes did prouide Vpon his credit, for an outward show, That gallantly he might a wooing goe.
5. a. To confer honour or dignity upon; to honour with a title or dignity. Also, to do honour or credit to.
1585T. Rogers 39 Art. Pref. (1607) 22 The doctrine in this land allowed, and publicly graced and embraced of all sorts. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 3 Let Fame..then grace vs in the disgrace of death. 1591― Two Gent. i. iii. 58 How happily he liues, how well-belou'd, And daily grac'd by the Emperor. c1592Marlowe Jew of Malta Prol., Grace him as he deserves, And let him not be entertain'd the worse Because he favours me. 1594Plat Jewell-ho. iii. 17 Such as shall commend and grace the wormwood beyond the hoppe. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 171 Leaving his son..whome the king graced with his fathers regency. 1605Shakes. Macb. iii. iv. 45 Pleas't your Highnesse To grace vs with your Royall Company? a1626Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law Pref. (1636) 1 Thereby not only gracing it in reputation and dignity, but also [etc.]. 1631Massinger Believe as you List v. ii, Hee was My creature! and in my prosperitie, prowde To holde dependance of mee, though I grac'd hym With the title of a freinde. 1701W. Wotton Hist. Rome 341 He was immediately graced with the Title of Princeps. 1810Scott Lady of L. i. xxiii, He bade that all should ready be, To grace a guest of fair degree. 1859Tennyson Elaine 223 So ye will grace me..with your fellowship O'er these waste downs.
†b. With complement: To name or designate honourably. Obs.
1667Milton P.L. xi. 169, I [Eve] who first brought death on all, am graced The source of life.
†6. To give pleasure to, to gratify, delight. Obs.
a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (1633) 1 This place, where we last..did grace our eyes upon her ever-flourishing beauty. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 74 What comfortable houre canst thou name, That euer grac'd me with thy company. 1670Dryden Conq. Granada i. i. (1701) 385 When fierce Bulls run loose upon the place And our bold Moors their Loves with danger grace. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. i. i. 304 At sight of this black Scrowl, the gentle Altamont..Shall droop..And never grace the Publick with his Virtues.
†7. To say ‘grace’ over (a meal). Obs.
1644Bulwer Chirol. 140 The same gesture we use in gracing our meals.
†8. To confer a degree upon (a person) by a ‘grace’. Obs.
1573G. Harvey Letter-bk. (Camden) 9 Almost al the toun ar gracid yea and admittid too alreddi.
9. To address by the title ‘your grace’.
c1610Sir J. Melvil Mem. (1683) 124 Cringe low, Grace him at every word.
Hence ˈgracing ppl. a.
1601Chester Love's Mart. (1878) 142 In that great gracing word shalt thou be counted Louing to him, that is thy sworne louer. a1684Leighton Exp. Lect. Rom. Wks. (1868) 332 The apostle recommends that gracing grace of humility.
▪ III. grace
obs. form of grass. |