| 释义 |
▪ I. peace, n.|piːs|
Forms: 2–4 pais, 2–6 pes, (3–5 pays, peys, 3–6 peis, 4 payes, 4–5 payse, pese, pees, Sc. and north. pess), 4–6 pece, (5 peese), 5–6 peas, pease, (pesse, Sc. peice, 5–7 peax, 6 Sc. peiss, pace), 6– peace.
[Early ME. pais, a. OF. pais (11th c. in Littré), mod.F. paix (= Pr. patz, Sp., Pg. paz, It. pace):—L. pac-em (nom. pax) peace. The vowel has passed through ai, ei, ê, to ea (aɪ, ɛː, eː, iː), final -ce represents earlier final -s as in advice, mice, etc.]
I.
1. a. Freedom from, or cessation of, war or hostilities; that condition of a nation or community in which it is not at war with another.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1322 Þe prinse..nis to preisi noȝt Þat in time of worre as a lomb is boþe mek and milde And in time of pes as leon boþe cruel and wilde. 1375Barbour Bruce i. 80 At that tyme was pess and rest Betwyx Scotland and Ingland. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop ii. viii, After grete werre cometh good pees. c1489― Blanchardyn i. 11 The Right happy wele of peas flowrid..in alle Cristen realmes. 1535Coverdale Ecclus. xlvii. 16 Because of his peace he was beloued. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, i. i. 24 In this weake piping time of Peace. 1652Milton Sonn. Cromwell, Yet much remaines To conquer still; peace hath her victories No less renownd then warr. 1748Gray Alliance Educ. & Govt. 41 Fix and improve the polish'd Arts of Peace. 1804Mrq. Wellesley in Owen Desp. (1877) 443 Peace is the fairest fruit of victory. 1874Green Short Hist. ix. §10. 713 In vain..Walpole battled..against the cry for war... He stood alone in his desire for peace.
b. (With article.) A ratification or treaty of peace between two powers previously at war. († Also, formerly, a temporary cessation of hostilities, a truce.) In Hist. often defined by of with the name of the place at which it was ratified.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 17536 He..bad hem mak Be-twene hem of Grece—iff thei moste—A fynal pes, what-so it coste. c1400Destr. Troy 10133 When paste was the pes,..stuernly þai foghtyn. c1470Henry Wallace iii. 333 With thair consent Wallace this pece has tayne,..till x moneth war gayne. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 344 b, Thambassadours of England and Fraunce..at the last conclude a peace. 1653H. Cogan tr. Pinto's Trav. xiii. 42 He would not..break the peace, which his ancestors had made with the Christians of Malaca. 1713Swift Jrnl. to Stella 10 Mar., They are not sure the peace will be signed next week. 1803Canning Sp. 24 May, Supporters and approvers of the Peace of Amiens. 1877T. H. Dyer Mod. Europe xl, The advisers of the Peace of Utrecht.
†c. With possessive or of (the peace of any one, his peace, etc.): A state or relation of peace, concord, and amity, with him; esp. peaceful recognition of the authority or claims, and acceptance of the protection, of a king or lord. Obs.
(Has affinities with senses 2, 4, 10 a.)
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1857 And granted hym þat kinedom and þat pes of rome. 1375Barbour Bruce viii. 424 To the kingis pess he brocht The forest of selcryk all hale. Ibid. ix. 540 Sum of the men of the Cuntre Com till his pess, and maid him ath. c1425Eng. Conq. Irel. 86 Aftyr al þe trauayl þat þe kynge hadde,..come þe sonnes to þe fadyres pees, & maden asseth, falsly. Ibid. 92 Obren, the kynge of Thomon, ayeyne hys trouth & ayeyn the kynges pees, began to withdrawen hym from the kynge. c1430Syr. Gener. (Roxb.) 3219, I beseche you g[ra]unt nov youre pees Vnto oure felow [Generides]. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. clxxx. 215 The prouost of the marchantes of Parys hadde gette hym his peace of the duke. 1570Satir. Poems Reform. xxiii. 28 Thow knawis thy self gif he was diligent To get thy peax, and slaik the of that weir. 1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 183 The Bishops and Noble men (for verie feare) became petitioners to the King for his peace, and in the ende procured it.
2. Freedom from civil commotion and disorder; public order and security. (See also 10.)
c1154O.E. Chron. an. 1135 Durste nan man mis don wið oðer on his time. Pais he makede men & dær. Ibid. an. 1140, & hit ward sone suythe god pais. c1275Lay. 2520 Al Brutaine ȝeo wiste..In griþe and paise [c 1205 in friðe]. 13..Solom. Coronat. 54 in Adam Davy, etc. (1878) 98 Good pais þere was in hil londe, þer while he kyng was. 1422Rolls of Parlt. IV. 176/1 Execution of lawe, and kepyng of Pees, stant miche in Justice of Pees. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxvi. 228, I haue..maynteyned the countre in peace & rest and good iustyce. 1670Clarendon Ess. Tracts (1727) 209 Peace is that harmony in the state, that health is in the body. 1794tr. Brissot's ‘To his Constit.’ Pref. 24 Roland and the Brissotins..endeavouring to preserve peace. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 [In the Steelyard] Peace and order were maintained by police regulations of German minuteness and strictness.
3. a. Freedom from disturbance or perturbation (esp. as a condition in which an individual person is); quiet, tranquillity, undisturbed state. Also emphasized as peace and quiet(ness). bill of peace: see quot. 1848.
a1225Ancr. R. 22 Siggeð..þe oþer viue [psalmes] uor þe peis of holi churche. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 21/70 Seint Dunston cam hom a-ȝen:..And hadde his Abbeye al in pays. 1382Wyclif Luke xi. 21 Whanne a strong armed man kepith his hows, alle thingis that he weldith ben in pees. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. clxxiii. 156 The poure comons were in pees and in rest. 1581Lambarde Eiren. i. ii, Some⁓times..the worde Peace is taken for Protection, or defence: as where M. Bracton calleth the Writtes of Protection, Breuia de pace. 1612Davies Why Ireland, etc. 127 The king..commanded that Sherborn shold hold his land in peace. 1758Gray Child 6 Let him sleep in peace. 1848Wharton Law Lex., Peace, bill of, a bill brought by a person to establish and perpetuate a right which he claims, and which from its nature may be controverted by different persons at different times, and by different actions... The obvious design of such a bill is to secure repose from perpetual litigation. 1859Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 6, I shall breakfast here in peace, and quietness. 1864Tennyson En. Ard. 147 And pass his days in peace among his own.
b. In and after Biblical use, in various expressions of well-wishing or salutation.
Following L. pax and Gr. εἰρήνη, ‘peace’ often represents Heb. shālōm, properly = safety, welfare, prosperity.
a1300Cursor M. 17648 (Cott.) Ioseph sli greting þam gaf, ‘Godds peis mot yee all haf’. 13..Ibid. 5333 (Gött.) Þus Iacob his tale bigan, Pes haue Pharao þe king. c1325Metr. Hom. 19 Ga, he said, womman in pes. 1382Wyclif Luke x. 5 In to what euere hous ȝe schulen entre, first seye ȝe, Pees to this hous. 1526Tindale John xx. 19 Cam Iesus and stode in the myddes, and sayd to them: peace be with you [Wyclif Pees to ȝou; 1539, 1611 peace be vnto you]. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. iii. 26 Peace to his soule, if Gods good pleasure be. 1611Bible 1 Chron. xii. 18 Peace, peace, be unto thee, and peace be to thine helpers. 1791Mrs. Radcliffe Rom. Forest vii, Farewell! and peace attend you. 1816Scott Antiq. xxiii, Ah! rare Ben Jonson! long peace to thy ashes! 1847Tennyson Princ. iv. 118 Peace be with her. She is dead.
4. a. Freedom from quarrels or dissension between individuals; a state of friendliness; concord, amity. (See also 11 a, 15.)
kiss of peace: a kiss given in sign of friendliness; spec. a kiss of greeting given in token of Christian love (see pax) at religious services in early times; now, in the Western Ch., usually only during High Mass.
a1225Juliana 74 Ha..custe ham a cos of pes. c1250Gen. & Ex. 8 To alle cristenei men beren pais and luue bitwene. 1382Wyclif Eph. iv. 3 Bisy for to kepe vnite of spirit in the bond of pees. c1440Generydes 3416 The pese shall sone be twix vs twoo. 1534Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 396 All malice and evill will being..expulsed.., good amyte peax & quyetnes may take place. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 611 But that this question..might well be omitted for Peace sake. 1794Coleridge Domestic Peace, Tell me, on what holy ground May Domestic Peace be found, Halcyon daughter of the skies. 1852[see kiss n. 1]. 1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. iii, We should have no peace in our place if that got touched upon.
†b. transf. An author or maintainer of concord.
1382Wyclif Eph. ii. 14 He is oure pees, that made both oon. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 5386 Crist þus seid hir vnto, I am pees verray. 1503Dunbar Thistle & Rose 181 Our princes [i.e. princess] of honour,..Our peax, our play, our plane felicite. 1560Bible (Genev.) Micah v. 5 And he shalbe our peace.
c. = kiss of peace, pax1 2: see a above. Also, an action symbolizing the kiss of peace.
Now usu. a light embrace, a hand-shake, or a bow.
1565Jewel Repl. Harding iii. (1611) 114 The Peace giuen to the Bishop, was not a little Table of Siluer or somewhat else, as hath beene vsed in the Church of Rome, but a very Kisse indeed. 1935D. H. Hislop Our Heritage in Public Worship xi. 243 Here, either before or after the Peace, in many rites is placed the Creed. 1957Oxf. Dict. Chr. Ch. 771/1 Originally an actual kiss, the form of the Peace has been modified in all rites. 1974R. J. Halliburton in R. C. D. Jasper Eucharist Today vii. 90 The rubric in Series 3 gives no directions as to how the Peace is to be given. 1975C. F. Bazley in C. O. Buchanan Further Anglican Liturgies x. 183 The Peace (in Chile called the Holy Kiss or the Love Embrace) is not included as a formal part of the service itself. 1976Church Times 9 July 13/1 In recent years we have been bombarded with all kinds of fanciful and eccentric changes in the liturgy, of which ‘the peace’, in all its constantly changing forms, is surely the most ludicrous. Ibid. 8 Oct. 9/2 Staid churchwardens embraced others in the congregation during the giving of the Peace with a warmth and friendliness that they would have found difficult to express in a parish church. 1977Theology LXXX. 175 The representation of ‘the giving of the peace’ by, rather oddly, shaking hands with one's neighbour.
†d. with the peace of (repr. L. pace): = without offence to; begging pardon of. rare—1.
1669Flamsteed in Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 80 With the peace of that industrious deceased astronomer,..I dare affirm [etc.].
5. Freedom from mental or spiritual disturbance or conflict arising from passion, sense of guilt, etc.; calmness; peace of mind, soul, or conscience.
c1200Vices & Virtues 59 Siec ðat tu haue pais aȝeanes gode. 1340Ayenb. 162 Þet non ne may habbe pays of herte ne stedeuest inwyt. 1382Wyclif Phil. iv. 7 The pees of God, that passith al witt, kepe ȝoure hertis. 1502W. Atkynson tr. De Imitatione iii. xxxiii. 102 Lete not þi pes be in þe mouþes of men. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer Collect 21st Sund. Trinity, Graunt..to thy faithfull people pardon and peace. 1671Milton Samson 1334 Off. Regard thy self... Sam. My self? my conscience and internal peace. 1737Pope Hor. Epist. ii. ii. 65 He stuck to poverty with peace of mind. 1851Robertson Serm. Ser. iii. xi. 138 Peace then, is the opposite of passion, and of labour, toil and effort. Peace is that state in which there are no desires madly demanding an impossible gratification. 1879B. Taylor Stud. Germ. Lit. 92 Peace of soul comes only through Faith and Obedience.
6. a. Absence of noise, movement, or activity; stillness, quiet; inertness. (See also 13.)
13..Coer de L. 1341 Beth in pes, lystenes my tale! 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xix. 149 The iewes preyed hem pees. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxvii. 273 The See..is never still ne in pes. c1515Cocke Lorell's B. 13 They banysshed prayer, peas, and sadnes: and toke with them myrthe, sporte, and gladnes. 1620Melton Astrolog. 68 In the peace of mid⁓night. 1750Shenstone Rur. Elegance 5 Oh! peace to yonder clam'rous horn! 1846Ruskin Mod. Paint. (1851) II. iii. i. vi. §2 Not like the dead and cold peace of undisturbed stones and solitary mountains. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xi, Calm and deep peace on this high wold.
b. ellipt. as exclamation: see peace v. 1.
7. a. In generalized sense including several of the above.
c1380Wyclif Serm. Sel. Wks. I. 321 Þer ben two peesis, verri pees and fals pees... Verry pees is groundid in God..and to þat pees sueþ pees wiþ alle creaturis... And þis pees stondiþ in pacience, and mekenes, and oþer vertues... Fals pees is groundid in reste wiþ oure enemys, whanne we assente to hem wiþouten aȝenstonding. 1630Milton On Time 16 When every thing that is sincerely good..With Truth, and Peace, and Love shall ever shine. 1690Norris Beatitudes (1694) I. 194 God is the God of Peace; and the greatest Peace, that which passes all Understanding, is called the Peace of God. 1839Bailey Festus xx. (1852) 354 Peace is the end of all things, tearless Peace. 1857–8Sears Athan. xvii. 140 Peace is not rest or repose. It is the highest..activity,..the activity of concording elements.
b. In alliterative association with plenty.
1393, etc. [see plenty n. 3]. 1596Spenser Prothalamion vi, Let endlesse Peace your steadfast hearts accord, And blessed Plentie wait vpon you[r] bord. 1703New Hist. Trojan Wars iii. 17 Now the Wars are done, and Peace and Plenty are pouring in upon us. 1713Pope Windsor-Forest 2 And Peace and Plenty tell, a Stuart reigns. 1823Byron Age of Bronze xv. 32 How rich is Britain! not indeed in mines, Or peace, or plenty, corn or oil, or wines. 1949W. S. Maugham Writer's Notebk. 306 The world has always been a place of turmoil. There have been short periods of peace and plenty, but they are exceptional.
8. With initial capital. A vigorous hybrid tea rose bearing large yellow flowers shaded with pink, belonging to a variety developed by Francis Meilland, French nurseryman, in 1939, and introduced into cultivation in 1942. Also attrib.
1944R. Pyle Let. in A. Ridge For Love of Rose (1965) xii. 210 We are persuaded that this greatest new rose of our time should be named for the world's greatest desire: Peace. 1945Los Angeles Times 30 Apr. i. 11/1 Today's main event [at the Pacific Rose Society show] was the official christening of the newly developed Peace rose. 1945Horticulture 15 Sept. 409/2 The new rose Peace, which seems to be causing a furore, is another of many good roses coming to us from France. 1950A. S. Thomas Better Roses ix. 93 Mme A. Meilland was listed and sold in France in 1942 under this, its original and therefore correct name, but in Germany it has always been called Gloria Dei, and in Italy Gioia, while it was introduced into America in 1945 and sold under the title of Peace, its fourth name. 1963W. Blunt Of Flowers & Village 89 R[osa] Andersonii. Like a phlox-pink wild rose. Peace. For Mrs. Benham, who has promised to plant it where it can't be seen from the house. 1965L. Meynell Double Fault ii. v. 174 A heaped profusion of Peace roses looked superb in a large silver bowl. 1976E. B. Le Grice Rose Growing Compl. (ed. 2) xii. 192 Abroad this [sc. 1946] was the year of ‘Peace’ (Meilland) which was to have a profound effect on all rose breeding everywhere, giving a new standard in growth, health and size of bush and flower. 1978M. Duffy Housespy i. 9 The dusk was still full of the scent of Peace roses.
II. Phrases.
9. Phrases belonging to 1.
a. peace at any price. Also attrib.
[1645Ld. Digby 27 Aug. in St. Papers, Dom. (1891) 87 Demonstrations that they will purchase their own, and..the Kingdom's quiet, at any price to the King, to the Church, and to the faithfulest of his party.] 1823Arnold Hist. Rome (1843) Suppl. III. 455 Hannibal..probably felt..that, by purchasing peace at any price..his countrymen might again find an opportunity to recover their losses. 1882E. W. Hamilton Diary 3 Sept. (1972) I. 332 Mr. G. wrote the other day a capital letter to Mr. Richard putting the war in Egypt in a light which would be likely to convince the strongest ‘peace-at-any-price’ person. 1887G. W. Smalley Lond. Lett. I. 153 Palmerston sneered at him [John Bright] as a peace-at-any-price man. 1894Lubbock Use of Life xi. 165 Though not a ‘peace-at-any-price’ man, I am not ashamed to say I am a peace-at-almost-any-price man. 1896Westm. Gaz. 10 Jan. 2/2 Men who are neither faddists in general nor peace-at-any-pricers in particular. 1910Beerbohm Around Theatres (1953) 579, I myself am not such a peace-at-any-price man as to be frightened away.
b. peace with honour.
[1607Shakes. Cor. iii. ii. 49 That it [your policy] shall hold Companionship in Peace With Honour, as in warre. Ibid. v. vi. 79.] 1650Weldon Crt. Jas. I 185 [Jas. I] had rather spend 100,000 li. on Embassies to keep or procure peace with dishonor, then 10,000 l. on an army that would have forced peace with honour. 1770Geo. III Sp. open. Parlt. 13 Nov., The hope of being able to continue to my subjects the enjoyment of peace with honour and security. 1822[see honour n. 1 c]. 1878Ld. Beaconsfield Speech 16 July, Lord Salisbury and myself have brought you back peace—but a peace I hope with honour, which may satisfy our Sovereign and tend to the welfare of the country. 1887N. & Q. 7th Ser. III. 96/1. 1973 Washington Post 13 Jan. A23/3 President Nixon stated in Kentucky that we now had in our grasp a peace with honor instead of a peace with surrender.
10. Phrases belonging to 2.
a. the king's peace [= OE. cyninges griþ]: orig. The protection secured to certain persons by the king, as those employed on his business, travelling on the king's highway, etc.; hence, the general peace of the kingdom under the king's authority.
[12..Flores Historiarum (Rolls) II. 180 Cepit..unum de justiciariis regis..in pace regis per stratam regiam itinerantem. 1292Britton i. i. §4 En dreit des Justices..de terminer apeaus et autres trespas fetz encountre nostre pes. 1327Proclam. Edw. III in Walsingham Hist. Angl. (Rolls) I. 187 Ne quis dictam pacem nostram infringere seu violare præsumat.] 1428in Surtees Misc. (1888) 3 He suld bere þe kynge's pease to John Holgate mersshall. 1433Rolls of Parlt. IV. 479/1 Any affray in offence of the Kynges pees. 1476Ord. Worcester in Eng. Gilds 388 That no man go armed..in distorbynge of the kynges pease and people. 1485Act 1 Hen. VII, c. 7 §2 To eny of youre Counsell or to eny of the Justices of youre peax of the Countie. 1558Queen Elizabeth in Strype Ann. Ref. (1824) I. App. i. 389 We straightly charge..our said subjects of every degree, to kepe themselves in our peax. c1575Balfour's Practicks (1754) 106 At the peax of our soverane Lord. 1607Cowell Interpr., Suyte of the Kings peace..is the persiewng a man for breach of the K. peace. 1612Davies Why Ireland, etc. (1787) 85 The Irish, which were not in the King's peace, are called enemies. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. ix. 350 The king's majesty is..the principal conservator of the peace within all his dominions;..hence it is usually called the king's peace. 1769Ibid. IV. xiv. 198 To kill an alien, a Jew, or an outlaw, who are all under the king's peace or protection, is as much murder as to kill the most regular born English⁓man. 1844Ld. Brougham Brit. Const. x. (1862) 136 He [the King] could grant ‘his peace’, that is, a protection from the pursuit of enemies, to any one. 1883Green Conq. Eng. v. 212 The public peace, or observance of the customary right by man towards man, has become the king's peace, the observance of which is due to the will of the lord. 1890Sir F. Pollock Oxford Lect. 88 By the end of the thirteenth century..the king's peace had fully grown from an occasional privilege into a common right.
b. the peace = the king's peace, in its wider sense; the general peace and order of the realm, as provided for by law.
Hence many phrases, as to keep the peace (see 14), break the p., breach of the p., bound or holden to (keep) the peace; to swear the peace against (any one), to swear that one is in bodily fear from another, so that he may be bound over to keep the peace; also, commission of the peace, conservator, constable, justice, officer, sergeant of the peace; precept of the peace, sessions of the peace; to be sworn of the peace, to be made a justice of the peace or magistrate.
[1328Act 2 Edw. III, c. 3 Burghaldres, conestables, & gardeins de la pees deinz lour gardes. 1341Rolls of Parlt. II. 134/1 Felonie ne Trespas fait contre la Pees.] 1386Ibid. III. 225/1 In the same yere, the forsaid Nichol', withouten nede, ayein the pees, made dyverse enarmynges. c1420Avow. Arth. xxii, [He] Is halden to the pees. 1444Rolls of Parlt. V. 110/2 Every chief Conestable of the peas of the seid Shires. 1499N. Riding Rec. (1894) 180 Ther was a precept of the peax made. 1565–73Cooper Thesaurus s.v. Conventus, Minores conventus, sessions of the peace. 1575in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford 361 The peace might be broken. 1595Bacon Max. & Uses Com. Law (1635) 10 At this day, conservators of the peace are out of use; and in lieu of them, there are ordained justices of peace. 1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. iii. 54 Shallow.—I am sworn of the peace. 1643Prynne Sov. Power Parl. iii. 21 They may sweare the peace against them. 1681Otway Soldiers Fort. iii. i, I'll have him bound to the Peace instantly. 1755Burn Justice of Peace (1764) II. 477 Surety for the peace is the acknowledging a recognizance, or bond, to the king,..for the keeping the peace. 1874Stubbs Const. Hist. I. vii. 180 note, The peace is the relation in which all stand whilst and in so far as all continue in the union and in the right on which the community rests. He who acts against this commits a breach of the peace.
c. In analogous senses: e.g. the peace of any territorial lord; God's peace, God's requirement of peace and good order; the Roman peace (pax Romana), the British peace (pax Britannica), that established within the Roman empire or the British dominions. Cf. pax1 1.
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6803 Swych ryche men þat are aȝens Goddys pes. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. iii. 74 All manner of men, assembled here in Armes this day, against Gods Peace and the Kings. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. Introd. iv. 117 Offences were said to be done against his peace in whose court they were tried: in a court-leet, contra pacem domini. 1897Daily News 23 Apr. 6/2 As time passed, the English peace annoyed them exceedingly. 1900Ibid. 16 July 6/3 In Durham,..it was correct to speak, not of the king's peace, but of the bishop's peace.
11. at peace.
a. In a state of concord or friendliness; not at strife or at variance; † at (any one's) peace, at peace with him (obs.).
b. In a state of quietness, quiet, peaceful. (See at prep. 20, 21.)
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 88 Þei obliged þam to gyue, Fourti þousand pound, at his pes to lyue. a1425Cursor M. 4074 (Trin.) Fro þis tyme forþ..Wiþ ioseph were þei neuer at pees. 1560Becon Common-pl. of Script. Wks. iii. 68 To set at peace by hym through the bloude of hys crosse both thinges in heauen and thinges in earth. 1568Bible (Bishops) Job xxii. 21 Reconcile thee vnto God, and be at peace. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. ii. ii. 2 Nor Heauen, nor Earth, Haue beene at peace to night. 1641Hinde J. Bruen lii. 173 Being so at peace with God, we have peace with our selves. 1853A. J. Morris Business i. 7 Those who are never at peace but when they are at war. 1860J. W. Warter Sea-board II. 115 He is at peace with this world and the next!
†12. on peace, o peace, of peace: in peace, in quiet. Obs. rare.
a1400Arthur 525 Þe walsch man..clepeþ vs Sayson, And seyþ: taw or Peyd, Sayson brount [Marg. Þat ys..Stynkyng Saxone, be on pees]. c1440Generydes 3920 In his harnes slepyng still opece. c1470Henry Wallace viii. 933 Ȝeit still off pees the ost lugyt all nycht.
13. to hold, (less usually keep) one's peace: to remain quiet or silent; to keep silence, refrain from speaking. arch.
a1310in Wright Lyric P. 42 Holdeth nou or pees. 13..Seuyn Sag. (W.) 65 When this was said he held his pese. 1382Wyclif Exod. xiv. 14 The Lord shal fiȝt for ȝow, and ȝe shulen hoold ȝoure pees. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) ii. lxv. (1859) 59, I..held my pees, and wold no more seye. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 157 He had grete luste to speke, for yf he had keped his peas [etc.]. 1552Bk. Com. Prayer, Matrimony, Let him now speake, or els hereafter for euer holde hys peace. 1672Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal iii. ii. (Arb.) 81 Pr'ythee hold thy peace. 1745G. Washington Rules Civility vi, Speak not when you should hold your peace. 1818Cobbett Pol. Reg. XXXIII. 346 If we hold our tongues upon this subject, let us, for decency's sake, keep our peace as to the dependence of Canning. 1890Clark Russell Ocean Trag. xxvi. III. 16, I held my peace on this new..craze.
14. to keep the peace († keep peace): to refrain, or prevent others, from disturbing the public peace (see 2, 10); to maintain public order; to prevent, or refrain from, strife or commotion.
1422[see sense 2]. a1425Cursor M. 9689 (Trin.) Wher of serueþ any assise..But for to kepe pees [Cott. to yeme þe pes] in londe? 1444Rolls of Parlt. V. 123/2 Thei shall well and truly kepe the pees within the seid Toun. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 162 Caused him to be newely sworne to kepe the peace of the lande. 1605Shakes. Lear ii. ii. 51 Keepe peace vpon your liues, he dies that strikes againe. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 710 To keep the Peace 'twixt Dog and Bear. 1765Blackstone Comm. I. xiii. 411 To provide a determinate quantity of such arms as were then in use, in order to keep the peace. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 294 Dragoons..stationed near Berwick, for the purpose of keeping the peace among the mosstroopers of the border. Mod. The defendants were bound over to keep the peace.
15. a. to make peace: to bring about a state of peace, in various senses: (a) to effect a reconciliation between persons or parties at variance; to conclude peace with a nation at the close of a war; (b) to enter into friendly relations with a person, as by a league of amity, or by submission; (c) to enforce public order; † (d) to enforce silence.
c1154[see 2]. c1175Lamb. Hom. 141 Sunnedei makede ure drihten pes bitweone heouene and eorðe. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 214 Þe kyng Meedeþ his Men, to maken pees in londe. c1400Mandeville (1839) xxii. 234 Thei seyn to certeyn Officeres,..Maketh Pees. And than seyn the Officeres, Now Pees! lysteneth! 1535Coverdale Josh. x. 1 They of Gibeon had made peace with Israel. 1611Bible Isa. xxvii. 5 He shall make peace with me. 1654Cromwell Sp. 4 Sept. in Carlyle, Its a Maxim not to be despised ‘Though peace be made, yet it's interest that keeps peace’. 1863[see make v. 9 c].
b. to make one's, or a person's, peace: to effect reconciliation for oneself or for some one else; to come, or bring some one, into friendly relations (with another). (In quot. c 1400, to admit a person to friendly relations with oneself.)
c1315Shoreham (Percy Soc.) 39 Thos ȝe mote Make thy pes wyth alle thre, Sorwe, schryfte, and edbote. c1400Rom. Rose 2552 This bargeyn ende may never take, But if that she thi pees wille make. a1400–50Alexander 3779 Dame Calistride..comes with hire ladis, Mas hire pes with oure prince. a1533Ld. Berners Huon xxi. 62 By his meanes my peace was made with the kynge. 1600Shakes. Twel. N. iii. iv. 295, I will make your peace with him, if I can. 1642Fuller Holy & Prof. St. ii. xix. 120 Those who have made their peace with God. 1862Trollope Orley F. lv, Mrs. Furnival had gone to make her peace in Red Lion Square.
16. no peace for the wicked [Isaiah xlviii. 22, lvii. 21]: no rest or tranquillity for (the speaker); incessant anxiety, responsibility, or work.
1944A. Thirkell Headmistress iv. 86 ‘It's for Dr. Perry...’ ‘No peace for the wicked,’ said Dr. Perry. 1953D. Parry Going up—Going Down iv. 128 ‘No peace for the wicked,’ she said. ‘But I expect it will be quiet from now on.’ 1967‘F. Clifford’ All Men are Lonely Now i. v. 89 The painters are descending on us tomorrow... Couldn't happen at a worse time, but there's no peace for the wicked is there?
III. 17. attrib. and Comb. a. attrib., as peace army, peace belt, peace hero, peace party, peace principle, peace studies; † peace-breach, peace-cry, peace-day, peace-haven, peace-mistress, peace-pæan, peace-plant, peace-tax, peace-time, etc.; freq. in senses: founded, held, organized, propounded, etc., to promote peace or end a specified war; advocated by pacifists; as peace activist, peace advocate, peace aim, peace area, peace bloc, peace camp, peace campaigner, peace conference, peace congress, peace convention, peace crank, peace demonstration, peace-feeler, peace-fighter, peace formula, peace-front, peace march, peace marcher, peace-mediator, peace meeting, peace-mentality, peace mission, peace move, peace movement, peace negotiation, peace offensive, peace offer, peace petition, peace plan, peace propaganda, peace rally, peace society, peace symbol, peace terms, peace walk. b. objective and obj. gen., as peace-breathing, peace-bringing, peace-commanding, peace-conferring, peace-giving, peace-inspiring, peace-loving, peace-preaching, peace-procuring, peace-promoting, peace-restoring adjs.; peace-bearer, peace-bringer, peace-concluder, peace-crier, peace-looker, peace-lover, peace-prater, peace-preserver. c. locative, instrumental, etc., as peace-abiding, peace-blessed, peace-calm, peace-complacent, peace-enamoured, peace-inspired, peace-like, peace-lulled, peace-minded, peace-trained adjs.d. Special Combs.: Peace Corps, orig. U.S. (see quot. 1962); peace economy, an economy, characteristic of peace-time, in which a large part of the labour force produces goods for export (as opposed to being engaged in arms production, etc.); peace establishment, the reduced amount of troops under arms and of military supplies maintained in a standing army in time of peace; peace-game [after war-game s.v. war n.1 11], an exercise in the maintenance of international peace; hence peace-gaming vbl. n.; peace-guild (Hist.), a guild established for the maintenance of peace (= frith-guild: see frith n.1 3); peace line, a line of demarcation drawn to avert conflict; peace-parted a., that has departed this life in peace; Peace People (see quots.); peace-pipe, the tobacco-pipe of the N. American Indians, used as a token of peace (see calumet); peace pledge, (a) = frank-pledge, OE. frithborh; (b) an undertaking to abstain from fighting, or to seek peace (in industrial relations); peace prize, an award (as a Nobel prize) presented for a contribution to the prevention of war; peace sign, a sign of peace made by holding up the hand with palm out-turned and the first two fingers in a V-shape; peace talk, conversation or discussion about peace or the ending of hostilities; spec. in pl., a conference or series of discussions aimed at achieving peace in particular circumstances; hence peace-talker, peace-talking vbl. n.; peace-warrant, a warrant for arrest, issued by a Justice of the Peace; peace-wright, one who arranges a peace. Also peace-keeper, -maker, etc.
1968Listener 31 Oct. 566/1 Those *peace activists who at last year's Pentagon demonstration announced that they were going to make the Defence Department levitate 300 feet in the air.
1906Westm. Gaz. 24 Mar. 6/3 Master of counsel sage and fluent pen, *Peace-advocate, averse from warlike act. 1910W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) xi. 284 Our socialistic peace-advocates all believe absolutely in this world's values.
1940Economist 6 Jan. 9/2 The French have not fed much fuel to the idealist fire which has raged in this country over the discussion of *peace aims.
1957Ibid. 28 Sept. 1000/1 Replace alliances by security pacts—create ‘*peace areas’ (ranging from southern Asia to the Baltic).
1897Westm. Gaz. 28 July 3/3 Should not our brave and patient *peace army [the police force] be considered?
c1650Rolls of Parlt. II. 435/2 His ship called the Portpays or *Peace Bearer. 1836–48B. D. Walsh Aristoph., Acharnians i. v, Nor had this peace-bearer then skipped away.
1758N. Jersey Arch. XX. 297 Peace was solemnly ratified by a large *peace belt. 1779Clark Campaign Illinois (1869) 45.
c1620in Farr S.P. Jas. I 315 Your wisdome, bountie, and *peace-bless'd raygne.
1939W. S. Churchill Into Battle (1941) 94 The first [step].. is the full inclusion of Soviet Russia in our defensive *peace bloc.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 350 For Robbery, *peace-breach and Foristell.
1826A. A. Watts Bachelor's Dilemma vii, Pensive and *peace-breathing beauty.
1625K. Long tr. Barclay's Argenis i. xx. 62 This day was not to be honoured as a *peace-bringer.
1677Gilpin Demonol. (1867) 466 The comfortable and *peace-bringing promises of the gospel.
1939R. Campbell Flowering Rifle i. 15 And loosing these in turn to drink and graze The *peace-calm waters and the flowery ways.
1981Peace News 2 Oct. 3/3 The *Peace Camp outside Greenham Common airbase in Berkshire is still there after nearly a month. 1986Economist 15 Mar. 63/3 Soviet newspapers are full of praise for the anti-nuclear activities of the women's peace camps at Greenham Common in Britain and elsewhere.
1954B. & R. North tr. Duverger's Pol. Parties i. ii. 109 A large number of Europeans, very far removed from Communism, are..vulnerable to the attacks of the *Peace Campaigners.
1807J. Barlow Columbiad x. 359 Enlighten'd interest, moral sense at length Combine their aids to elevate her strength, Lead o'er the world her *peace-commanding sway.
1928S. Sassoon Heart's Journey 31 Paid, with a pile of *peace-complacent stone.
1643[Angier] Lanc. Vall. Achor 5 Had not God..moved them to be the Peace-keepers, which were not the *peace-concluders.
1889Cent. Dict. *Peace convention or conference, same as Peace congress. 1899Hazell's Ann. 1900 462/1 A Peace Conference was held at the Hague in May, June, and July '99. 1919G. B. Shaw Peace Conference Hints i. 7 Before the Peace Conference can be discussed with any profit, it must be approached in the light of the facts. 1933Radio Times 14 Apr. 75/1 The war was newly over... There was a tremendous fuss of coming and going across the Channel..politicians..busy with the Peace Conference. 1978Times 26 July 13/3 A strong performance of The Green Table..Kurt Jooss's allegory of the sometimes fatal effects of peace conferences.
1909W. James Pluralistic Universe iii. 128 It [sc. the absolute] might, with all its defects, be, on account of its *peace-conferring power and its formal grandeur, more rational than anything else in the field.
1852Grote Greece ii. lxxix. X. 360 The *peace-congress at Delphi.
1885W. P. & F. J. Garrison Life W. L. Garrison II. 230 The *Peace Convention held in Boston, September.., 1838.
1960H. Humphrey in Congress. Rec. 15 June 12634/3 Mr. President, I introduce..a bill to establish a *Peace Corps of American young men to assist the peoples of the under⁓developed areas of the world to learn the basic skills necessary to combat poverty, disease, illiteracy and hunger. 1962Ann. Reg. 1961 175 The Peace Corps was officially set up on 1 March as an organization to train and send American volunteers for service in foreign countries to help meet the need for skilled manpower. 1967Economist 2 Sept. 785/2 Japan's version of the peace corps is getting into its stride. 1970Times 19 Mar. (Liberia Suppl.) p. i/4 Sturdy American girls in Bermuda shorts earnestly go about the business of the Peace Corps. 1974‘G. Black’ Golden Cockatrice iii. 48 The Peace Corps phase in Manila..followed by free-lancing in refugee camps outside Kowloon.
1916D. H. Lawrence Let. 11 Dec. (1962) I. 491 Fusty, fuzzy *peace-cranks and lovers of humanity are the devil.
1860Longfellow Wayside Inn, K. Olaf xxii. vi, Love against hatred, *Peace-cry for war-cry!
1902Westm. Gaz. 3 June 11/1 A fall in Kaffirs is the fact which fell to be recorded in the closing hours of *Peace-Day.
1935A. Huxley Let. 5 June (1969) 395 His hobby is congresses and he has already organized one *peace demonstration—at Amsterdam in 32, I think.
1910W. James Mem. & Stud. (1911) xi. 283 The military party..says..that mankind cannot afford to adopt a *peace-economy. 1948G. Crowther Outl. Money (rev. ed.) viii. 267 A peace economy..is chiefly interested in selling to foreign countries, a war economy in buying from them.
1800Campbell Pleas. Hope ii. 11 Triumph not, ye *peace-enamour'd few!
1766in Rep. on MSS. Mrs. Stopford-Sackville 111 in Parl. Papers 1904 (Cd. 1892) XLVII. i, I see no end of the load imposed upon us, as our *peace establishment is so far beyond the ordinary supplies. 1803Edin. Rev. II. 6 A peace-establishment of 500,000 men.
1942H. Nicolson Diaries & Lett. (1967) 225 There are all sorts of rumours... Germany is putting out *peace-feelers. 1972J. Williams Home Fronts v. 94 The Allies' curt rejection of peace feelers put out by the Chancellor.
1958New Statesman 23 Aug. 230/1 Until last year Paul Robeson and Howard Fast ranked with the Dean of Canterbury as the foremost ‘*peace-fighters’ of the English-speaking world.
1974Times 16 Feb. 1/4 The chances of a *peace formula emerging from the Pay Board's enquiry into the relative position of miners' pay. 1977Times 17 Aug. 2/7 Postal workers..agreed on a peace formula after a five-day dispute.
1939H. Nicolson Dairy 22 Aug. (1966) 411 This smashes our *peace-front.
1968Guardian 2 Dec. 9/8, I..believe..that..practical pacifism [is] a reasonable goal. I am currently engaged in talking to computers about this in an elaborate *peace game.
1968Economist 23 Nov. 72/2 More attention should be paid to using these techniques for what he calls ‘*peace gaming’.
1833H. Blunt Hist. St. Paul ii. 126 To receive in all its *peace-giving blessedness, the gospel.
1913Encycl. Relig. & Ethics VI. 215/1 The frith gild, or *peace gild, so called, refers to an occasional feature of town life in Northern Europe from the 6th century.
1909Westm. Gaz. 1 Sept. 9/1 The reactionary Holy Alliance was also a *peace-inspired measure.
1828Disraeli Voy. Capt. Popanilla x. 119 The calm and *peace-inspiring crosier. 1873E. Brennan Witch of Nemi, etc. 223 Pleasure-bound and peace-inspiring days.
1957Economist 19 Oct. 209/2 When Japanese fishermen are apprehended in *Peace Line violations, they are brought to Korea and given fair and open trials. 1969Times 10 Sept. 1/1 (heading) Army ‘peace line’ to replace barricades across Belfast. Ibid. 1/2 General Sir Ian Freeland..said that troops would start building ‘peace-line’ barricades today. 1972Belfast Tel. 12 Oct. 6/6 No doubt when the other volumes make the shops, Ulster will get its dishonourable mentions—no-go area, provo, peaceline.
1595Daniel Civ. Wars i. lxxv, *Peace-lover Wealth, hating a troublous State. 1877Tennyson Harold i. ii. 113 Peace-lover is our Harold.
1591Sylvester Du Bartas i. iv. 719 Sea's Soveraintess,..*Peace-loving Queen. 1836J. H. Newman in Lyra Apost. (1849) 122 Peace-loving man, of humble heart and true! 1930R. A. Knox Caliban in Grub St. xiii. 212 Telling us to be honest and sincere and peace-loving. 1944Ann. Reg. 1943 83 A general international organisation, based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all peace-loving States. 1955Ann. Reg. 1954 191 Broadcasts to foreign audiences continued to extol the full religious freedom allegedly existing in the U.S.S.R., and to court the ‘peace-loving’ Catholics. 1970V. Canning Great Affair xii. 207 Basically I am a simple, peace-loving, even a dull person. 1977T. Allbeury Man with President's Mind xiii. 131 The peace-loving American people. 1977Ann. Reg. 1976 485 There are still certain forces who are bent on a return to cold war politics, which led to the division of the continent into opposing blocs. Communist Parties and other democratic and peace-loving forces have fought against and continue to fight against these policies.
1871B. Taylor Faust (1875) II. i. v. 67 *Peace-lulled seas.
1961A. Wesker Kitchen 58 Did you go on that *peace march yesterday? 1975P. Harcourt Fair Exchange 46, I proposed to wait until the Peace March had gone by.
1961Listener 12 Oct. 548/2 The Western *peace marchers approaching Moscow. 1972J. Wambaugh Blue Knight (1973) vi. 77 Lieutenant Hilliard..was a cool old head and wouldn't get into a flap over fifteen peace marchers.
1884*Peace-mediator [see honest a. 3 e].
1939C. Day Lewis Child of Misfortune iii. i. 260 Sitting on the platform at *peace meetings.
1935A. P. Herbert What a Word! 243 Get your angles straight on air-mindedness, class⁓consciousness, *peace-mentality, stomach-awareness.
1939War Illustr. 14 Oct. p. ii/3 To-day an inoffensive *peace⁓minded majority of the German people are being unwillingly dragged by a bloody-minded minority of their race along the road of doom.
1967Freedomways VII. 118 Miss Barbara Deming..has been very active in the Peace Movement (she has taken part in a ‘peace walk’..and a *peace mission to Saigon in order to protest the war). 1976R. Moore Dubai i. 10 We [Americans] have a peace mission actively working to avoid war in the Middle East.
1589R. Harvey Pl. Perc. (1590) 6 Our most roiall *Peace-Mistres holds the sterne.
1940H. Nicolson Diary 16 July (1967) 102 We may be faced at any moment by a German *peace move, and..a purely negative attitude is not sufficient. 1977Listener 18 Aug. 195/1 If..the peace moves collapse..what will happen to the insecure régimes in Egypt and Syria?
1953M. McCarthy in Reporter (N.Y.) 22 Dec. 33/3 My fiancé..had known the organizer for years, perhaps from the *peace movement. 1975Guardian 2 Dec. 6/6 Defence Counsel..accused the prosecution of conducting a smear campaign against the British peace movement.
1912*Peace negotiation [see will v.1 46].
1918, etc. *Peace offensive [see offensive n. 2]. 1977Time 3 Jan. 46/1 While Assad and Sadat have captured world headlines with talk of a peace offensive, Rabin has been attacked at home for being timid and indecisive.
1918C. P. Scott in D. Ayerst Guardian (1971) xxvii. 410 The *peace offers of the Emperor Karl, so insultingly and stupidly turned down by Clemenceau. 1966N. Nicolson in H. Nicolson Diaries & Lett. 1930–39 412 Hitler opened his attack on Poland as planned, claiming that the Poles had rejected his peace-offer.
1602Shakes. Ham. v. i. 261 To sing sage Requiem, and such rest..As to *peace-parted Soules.
1880Gladstone Sp. at Edinb. 17 Mar., What is called the Manchester School, or sometimes the *Peace party.
1976Times 19 Oct. 12/1 The *Peace People, this misleadingly trendy title now adopted by the [Ulster] women's peace movement. 1977Time 22 Aug. 6/2 A year ago last week, Catholics Betty Williams and Mairead Corrigan founded the so-called Peace People's Movement, which has attracted mass support from both Catholics and Protestants. 1977Arab Times 14 Dec. 2/6 Mrs. Williams added: ‘I am angry, the Peace People are angry that war at home dribbles on, and around the world we see the same stupidity gathering momentum for far worse wars than the little one which the little population of Northern Ireland has had to endure.’
1940H. Nicolson Diary 19 Sept. (1967) 116 Already the Communists are getting people in the shelters to sign a *peace⁓petition to Churchill. 1955Treatm. Brit. P.O.W.'s in Korea (H.M.S.O.) 11 From lectures on ‘peace’..it was but a short step..to the production of ‘peace’ propaganda and ‘peace’ petitions by prisoners.
1779G. R. Clark Campaign in Illinois (1869) 45, I told them I would defer smokeing the *Peace Pipe until I heard that they had called in all their Warriors. 1876Bancroft Hist. U.S. II. xxxiii. 330 Four old men advance..bearing the peace-pipe, brilliant with many colored plumes.
1968Listener 3 Oct. 429/1 The process has apparently forced the Israelis to clarify their position with a ‘*peace plan’. 1977A. Wilson Strange Ride R. Kipling vii. 306 The Pope put forward his peace plan in 1917.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iii. Law 1314 The *peace-plant Olive.
1857Toulmin Smith Parish 123 All were annually thus personally bound in ‘*peacepledge’. 1935H. R. L. Sheppard We say No p. x, To give Pacifist opinion a chance to crystallize, I launched my Peace Pledge. 1956A. H. Compton Atomic Quest 296 The ‘Stockholm Peace Pledge.’ In this ‘peace pledge’ a prime point was again made of outlawing atomic weapons. 1974W. Foley Child in Forest ii. 247 This group of young left-wing idealists..belonged..to the Peace Pledge Union. 1976Daily Mirror 12 Nov. 2 Jack Jones yesterday declared: ‘There will be no dock strike.’ The Transport Union leader's peace pledge came amid dockland fury at the crippling of the Dock Work Regulation Bill in the Commons.
1862Grattan Beaten Paths II. 306 The *peace-preaching politicians. 1715*Peace-preservers [see peacemaker].
1863W. Phillips Speeches i. 7 What are called *Peace principles.
1902Idler Nov. 244/2 The commission appointed to decide the *peace prize. 1974Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IV. 875/2 [Dag Hammarskjöld] was posthumously awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 1961.
1643Prynne Sov. Power Parl. i. (ed. 2) Pref. A ij b, State-securing, *Peace-procuring verities.
1906Westm. Gaz. 12 Mar. 2/2 We certainly hope and believe that the Government will act in a *peace-promoting spirit.
1929D. H. Lawrence Pansies 85 Loud *peace propaganda makes war seem imminent. 1955Peace propaganda [see peace petition].
1951‘A. Garve’ Murder in Moscow iii. 43, I attended a great ‘*peace’ rally at the Bolshoi Theatre. 1975P. Harcourt Fair Exchange 41 It's not a political rally. It's a peace rally.
1780Cowper Table-t. 79 To touch the sword with conscientious awe,..To sheathe it, in the *peace-restoring close, With joy.
1969New Yorker 30 Aug. 21/2 Just as it finished, an Army helicopter flew over. The whole crowd..looked up and waved their forefingers in the *peace sign. 1973D. Westheimer Going Public iv. 67 She raised her hand in a peace sign... He realized it was not the peace sign at all. To those of the old woman's generation it was V for Victory. 1976Scotsman 20 Nov., (caption) Brian Robertson (right) gives the ‘peace sign’ as he leaves the High Court handcuffed to Jeremy Salmon.
1816N. Worcester Friend of Peace I. vii. 30 (heading) First annual Report of the Massachusetts *Peace Society.
1952Hist. Church of Brethren in Indiana vi. 287 Miss Muir came to Manchester College in 1948 to head the department of *Peace Studies, where she has awakened an interest in the problem of peace, and inspired a desire for service in many young minds. 1969Jrnl. Peace Res. VI. 395 Peace Studies. Manchester College, North Manchester, Indiana. Undergraduate interdisciplinary program embracing a number of courses. A program in existence since 1948. 1972New Scientist 15 June 638/3 The Quaker appeal for money to found Britain's first university chair of peace studies has passed its first objective of {pstlg}75,000 in 10 weeks. 1983Daily Tel. 21 Dec. 8/3 More than 30 per cent of Labour-controlled councils..have introduced ‘peace studies’ to their schools' regular timetables. Pupils..are taught about the nuclear arms race, disarmament, group conflicts and the Government's defence policy.
1970Time 2 Nov. 6 American Opinion..compared the familiar *peace symbol to an anti-Christian ‘broken cross’... The peace design was devised in Britain for the first Ban-the-Bomb Aldermaston march in 1958. 1972Times 4 Aug. 1/2 He..is..said to have cut the peace symbol (the nuclear disarmament insignia) into the ice with his skates.
1789J. Steele Papers (1924) i. 51, I only mean to hold a *peace talk. 1800B. Hawkins in Georgia Hist. Soc. Coll. (1848) III. i. 72 Peace talks are always addressed to the cabin of the Mic-co. 1852J. Reynolds Pioneer Hist. Illinois 165 All the ‘peace talks’ ever presented to the red men, could not have kept them in peace, under these circumstances. 1918W. Owen Let. 10 Oct. (1967) 583 Tonight I must stand before them [sc. my company] & promulgate this General Order: ‘Peace talk in any form is to cease in Fourth Army. All ranks are warned against the disturbing influence of dangerous peace talk.’ 1930J. Cannan No Walls of Jasper 63 Look at the newspapers! Nothing but peace talk. 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Jan. 21/4 The campaign ended, un-Napoleonically, in the feeble peace-talks of Villafranca. 1973Times 9 Nov. 1/1 Israel and Egypt have accepted a ceasefire agreement that could lead to Middle East peace talks by the end of the year.
1968Punch 15 May 693/1 This is no surprise to the Korean *peace talkers.
1917D. H. Lawrence Look! We have come Through! 126 Everything was tainted with myself..nations, armies, war, *peace-talking.
1858J. B. Norton Topics 236 They have seen an income-tax take the successive forms of a *peace-tax, a war-tax, and then a peace-tax again.
1935Mrs. Belloc Lowndes Diary 19 Dec. (1971) 136 Wickham Steed..talked with great excitement of what has happened over the offer of *peace terms to Italy and Abyssinia. 1976Classical Q. XXVI. 272 Andocides does not deal explicitly with the question of the status of the Greeks of Asia in the proposed peace-terms.
1631Massinger Believe as You List iii. ii, You keepe in pay..some *peace-trayn'd troopes.
1967*Peace walk [see peace mission].
1826Sunday Times 27 Aug. 3/5 [He] was..brought before M. Swabey Esq. at the instance of his wife, on a *peace-warrant.
1855Motley Dutch Rep. vi. iii. (1866) 814 The *peace-wrights of Cologne.
▪ II. † peace, a. Obs. rare.
[f. peace n.]
Peaceful, quiet, silent, unmentioned.
c1440Generydes 320 But ye must kepe this mater husht and pece. a1500Childe of Bristowe 11 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 111, Y pray yow in this place of your talkyng that ye be pes.
▪ III. peace, v.|piːs|
Forms: 4–5 pees, 5 peass(e, 5– peace, (6 Sc. pece, peiss).
[f. peace n. The earliest examples are in the imperative, and may have begun as interjectional uses of peace n. (The ME. vb. was pease (cf. appease), found in some senses after 1600. Modern editors have in various places (e.g. Parker Society's Publ.) erroneously substituted peace for the original pease.)]
1. intr. In the imperative as exclamation: Be silent; keep silence. (Cf. silence!) arch.
c1386Chaucer Wife's Prol. 838 What amble or trotte or pees or go sit doun. Ibid. 850 Oure hoost cride pees and that anon And seyde lat the womman telle hire tale. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xvi. 234 ‘Pees!’ quaþ pacience, ‘ich praye þe, syre actyf!’ c1460Towneley Myst. ii. 400 Peasse, man, for Godis payn! 1526Tindale Mark iv. 39 He..sayde vnto the see: peace and be still [σιώπα, πεϕίµωσο]. 1634Milton Comus 359 Peace brother, be not over-exquisite To cast the fashion of uncertain evils. 1735Pope Donne Sat. iv. 256 Peace, fools, or Gonson will for Papists seize you. 1847Tennyson Princ. iii. 230 Peace, you young savage of the northern wild!
†2. intr. To be or become still or silent; to refrain from, or cease, speaking; to keep silence.
1450Paston Lett. I. 180 Heruppon the people peacyd, and stilled. c1460Towneley Myst. xxiii. 1 Peasse I byd euereich Wight! Ibid. 13 Will ye not peasse when I bid you? 1563Sackville Induct. Mirr. Mag. lxxii, He peaste and couched while that we passed by. 1570Levins Manip. 204/47 To Peace, tacére, silére. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. ii. 80 Yorke. Peace foolish Woman. Dut. I will not peace. 1605― Lear iv. vi. 104 When the Thunder would not peace at my bidding. c1633Austin Medit., Whitsunday (1635) 154 When to speake, and when to peace.
†3. trans. To reduce to peace; to still, calm, appease; = pease v. 4. Obs.
(Often a later alteration of pease.)
1513Douglas æneis x. ii. 110 Quhen he spak, all cessit: The hevynly heich hous of Goddis was pecit [ed. 1553 peissit]. a1533Ld. Berners Gold. Bk. M. Aurel. xiv. (1535) H, This good emperour laboured to pease [so 1536; edd. 1546, 1559 peace] this furie of the people, and to sette peace among the neybours of Rome. 1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 98 For the peacyng [other ed. peasynge, Grafton peasing] of the saied quarelles and debates.
▪ IV. peace
var. peise Obs.; obs. form of piece. |