clearingn.
/ˈklɪərɪŋ/, U.S. /ˈklɪ(ə)rɪŋ/ 1.
a. The action of clear v., in various senses: brightening; clarifying; elucidation; exculpation, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > illumination > [noun]
lightingOE
clearingc1380
beshining1398
burning1466
lumerc1468
tinding1497
illumination1563
illustrationa1631
luminary1645
illuminary1692
lighting up1787
illume1838
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > explanation, exposition > [noun]
keyeOE
undoinga1330
expositiona1340
declarationc1374
declaringc1374
clearingc1380
expoundingc1380
explanationa1382
interpretation1382
exploitingc1390
unfolding1483
explicating1531
explication1537
clearance?1548
elucidation1570
explaining1576
manifestation1576
untwining1577
illustration1581
untwisting1591
eviscerating1599
unclouding1601
enodation1603
opening1611
dilucidation1615
unsnarling1640
declarement1646
enucleation1650
illumination1656
dilucidatinga1660
luciferousness1665
clarifying1677
unravelling1713
disentanglement1751
exegesis1770
disambiguation1827
evisceration1831
keyword1848
clarificationa1866
exponence1880
exponency1880
straightening1900
demystification1964
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > justification > [noun] > exculpation
skering1297
sunyinga1400
discharge1449
cleansingc1568
disaggravating1598
clearing1604
assoilment1611
washing1612
disblaminga1641
disculpation1649
acclearmenta1670
exculpationa1715
whitewashing1768
expurgation1828
the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > brewing > [noun] > clarifying
clearing1727
the mind > emotion > pleasure > freedom from trouble, care, or sorrow > [noun] > action of freeing from trouble, care, or sorrow
clearing1883
c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 143 Þe fourþe dower and þe laste is cleryng of mannis bodi whan it shyneþ briȝt in hevene as þe sunne or oþer sterres.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 316 For the more cleering that the ensampling..makith no boond.
1599 T. Bilson (title) The effect of certaine sermons, touching the full redemption of mankind..with a cleering of certain objections maid against the said doctrine.
1604 J. Dee in T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1885) I. 64 Upon his said Justification, and Clearing.
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) (at cited word) Clearing, of Beer, the same as Fining.
1883 ‘G. Lloyd’ Ebb & Flow II. xxviii. 137 Not without a certain clearing of his countenance.
b. with adverbs.
ΚΠ
1791 ‘G. Gambado’ Ann. Horsemanship To Rdr. p. xvi The clearing up of some of the most blind descriptions.
1837 R. Browning Strafford v. ii. 114 The curious glosses, subtle notices, Ingenious clearings-up.
1840 J. S. Mill Armand Carrel in Diss. & Disc. (1859) I. 266 (note) There sometimes comes one great clearing-off, one day of reckoning called a revolution.
c. The washing of calico to remove excess dye.
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the world > matter > colour > colouring > dyeing > [noun] > removing dye > removing excess dye
clearing1839
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 164 Bran..is advantageously employed by the calico printers, in the clearing process.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 688/1 The operations of clearing are necessary to remove all the dye-stuff which is loosely attached to the whites, and to develop and brighten the tints of dyed pattern.
d. The clearance between the working parts of a machine.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Clearing, the amount of play between the meshing-teeth of cog-wheels, to avoid jam.
2. The removal of encumbrances or obstructions; freeing from debt.
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society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > [noun]
satisfaction1398
acquittance?a1400
amortizement1439
financec1460
discharge1534
clearing1579
settlement1729
discharging1735
settling1761
liquidation1786
extinguishment1796
amortization1810
service1817
amortizing1840
extinction1845
clearance1858
pay-off1864
admortization1903
the world > space > place > removal or displacement > [noun] > clearing or sweeping away
voidancec1450
sweepstake1542
swoop1607
sweep1712
sweeping1825
clearing1870
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 261 The controuersie they had with the Nobilitie about clearing of dettes.
1870 R. A. Proctor Other Worlds than Ours xii. 293 A clearing of star-material from certain regions.
1877 A. B. Edwards Thousand Miles up Nile xviii. 489 A little clearing of the sand here and there, led to further discoveries.
3. spec.
a. The clearing of land from trees or other obstructions to cultivation.
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the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > reclamation > [noun]
amendment1483
improvement1549
improvinga1563
recoverya1632
mendment1644
cultivation1791
reclaim1799
reclamation1810
intaking1812
redemption1812
clearing1821
reclaimment1852
land reclamation1881
breaking-in1891
greening1955
1821 M. Birkbeck Let. 150 The enormous expence of time and labour in clearing, which has been bestowed on every acre between this and the Atlantic.
1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 1st Ser. 101 As free-spoken..as if they had been intimate from the first day of clearing in that country.
1860 All Year Round 29 Sept. 585 He plunged into the forest..took possession of the shanty, and began his clearing.
b. The removing of imperfections from silk fibre or yarn.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Clearing, the process of removing irregularities from silk filaments before spinning, by passing them beneath a scraper, or between steel rollers.
4. A piece of land cleared for cultivation, esp. in the primeval forest.
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the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land suitable for cultivation > [noun] > cleared land
fellingOE
sartc1290
assarta1450
thwaite1628
essart1656
beat-field1808
clearing1817
clearage1827
assartment1829
clearancea1839
burn1839
joom1855
swidden1868
screef1934
screef mark1950
1817 M. Birkbeck Jrnl. Amer. 140 I could judge of the extent of the clearing, if I saw the people.
1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers I. i. 4 There was what in the language of the country was called a clearing.
1853 Mrs. Moodie (title) Life in the Clearings Versus the Bush.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. (ed. 2) I. iii. 49 The idea of a forest clearing is not necessary to the mark.
1887 J. R. Lowell Democracy & Other Addr. 243 A tiny clearing pared from the edge of the wood.
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society > travel > travel by water > [noun] > departure of ship > clearing customs
clearing1683
clearance1731
out-clearancea1777
1683 in Pennsylvania Arch. (1852) I. 77 An Account of John Hill of his Entries and Clearings.
1724 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. I. ii. 14 Here all Outward-bound Ships must stop..and suffer what they call a second Clearing.
6. The passing of cheques or bills, etc., through a clearing-house.
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > [noun] > specific banking procedures
standing order1619
out-clearing1836
credit transfer1847
clearance1858
resumption1866
money transfer1873
in-clearing1878
wire transfer1878
clearing1883
giro1896
lockbox1957
transfer payment1964
disintermediation1966
reintermediation1970
1883 Stubb's Mercantile Gaz. 8 Nov. 982 A proposal..for the more expeditious clearing of London cheques continues to excite public attention.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > pay of troops > soldier's pay > additional > types of
conduct-money1512
conduct1644
belt money1648
riding money1668
batta1680
clearing1689
table money1705
field allowance1744
marching money1837
command allowance1860
command pay1875
1689 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) I. 497 They shall have subsistence money and clearings constantly paid as usuall.
1701 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) V. 11 The lord Ranelagh is paying 2 months clearings to the forces in England.
1781 Rep. Comm. Public Acc. in Grose Mil. Antiq. (1812) II. 176 This un-issued subsistence of the British forces..continues in his [the paymaster-general's] hands till the accounts of the several regiments are made up, when it falls into the clearings, and is issued to the agents.
1816 C. James New Mil. Dict. The balance of the pay of the officers, over and above their subsistence, after the warrant deductions are made, and the respited pay, if there is any, is charged to the Officer, is called Clearings; which are paid by the paymaster to the agent, who pays them to the officers.
Compounds
attributive and in other combinations.
clearing-bank n. a bank that is a member of a clearing-house, spec. of the London Clearing House.
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > banking > [noun] > bank > other types of bank
merchant bank1620
land-bank1696
private bank1696
paper bankc1720
national bank1736
bank of circulation1767
bank of deposit1767
corporate bank1780
state bank1791
branch bank1796
reserve bank1816
investment bank1824
bank of issue1831
commercial bank1838
red dog1838
wild cat1838
central bank1841
national bank1864
investment house1878
issue house1878
clearing-bank1883
issuing house1890
member bank1914
custodian1915
merchant banker1924
Swiss bank1949
development bank1950
Transcash1982
telephone bank1985
bancassurer1991
1883 Bankers' Mag. XLIII. 646 We subjoin figures which have been obtained by the kind consent of the manager of one of our clearing banks.
1933 B. Ellinger This Money Business v. 39 The ‘Big Five’..have about 90 per cent of the deposits of all these clearing banks.
1955 Times 25 Aug. 15/1 When the clearing banks struck their August figures on the 17th of this month the instructions from head offices to branches on the need to cut down advances had only been received about a week.
clearing-banker n. see clearing house n. Compounds 1.
clearing-beck n. a beck n.4 or vat used in calico-printing.
clearing-hospital n. Military a hospital for the temporary reception and treatment of sick and wounded.
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the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > military or field hospital
field station1610
field hospital1690
military hospital1747
general hospital1775
ambulance1800
station hospital1827
base hospital1864
clearing-hospital1914
clearing-station1915
MASH1950
society > armed hostility > military organization > logistics > quartering > [noun] > clearing-station or -hospital
clearing-hospital1914
clearing-station1915
1914 Lancet 28 Nov. 1274/2 The clearing hospital, situated a little distance behind the fighting line, receives all the wounded of a division and is equipped to deal at once with the most serious cases.
clearing knife n. (sense 3b).
ΚΠ
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) § 371 Cleaner, clearer..; winds raw silk from bobbins, through cleaning or clearing knives, on to fresh bobbins, to remove dirt, lumps, etc.
clearing machine n. (sense 3b)
ΚΠ
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2180/2 The clearing-machine, where it is wound upon other bobbins.
clearing-nut n. a tree-fruit used by the Indians to clear muddy water for use; also the tree ( Strychnos potatorum).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plants yielding soap > [noun] > fruit or nut yielding soap > clearing-nut fruit or tree
clearing-nut1842
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 152/2 Strychnos potatorum, Clearing-nut, has..berries containing only one seed.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 1106/2 The seeds known in that country [India] as Clearing Nuts.
clearing-pan n. = clarifier n. 2.
clearing-ring n. Angling a jointed ring which is slipped down the reel line to free it and the hook when entangled in an obstacle.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > type or method of fishing > [noun] > other angling equipment
clearing-ring1787
butt pad1888
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 15 A clearing ring, which is of use to disengage the hook when entangled.
1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. v. iii. 346 Recourse must be had to a long forked stick or the clearing-ring.
clearing room n. (sense 3b).
ΚΠ
1881 Instr. Census Clerks (1885) 68 Cotton and Flax... Clearing Room: Clearer.
clearing-screw n. (see quot.)
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Clearing-screw, in some fire-arms, a screw at right angles to the nipple, affording a communication with the chamber.
clearing-station n. = clearing-hospital n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > places for the sick or injured > [noun] > hospital or infirmary > military or field hospital
field station1610
field hospital1690
military hospital1747
general hospital1775
ambulance1800
station hospital1827
base hospital1864
clearing-hospital1914
clearing-station1915
MASH1950
society > armed hostility > military organization > logistics > quartering > [noun] > clearing-station or -hospital
clearing-hospital1914
clearing-station1915
1915 A. Huxley Let. 26 Apr. (1969) 69 Whereabouts unknown—but a wire from the clearing-station brought back by one of Dr. H's assistants in France, prognosticates 3 weeks.
1933 E. Blunden & S. Norman We'll shift our Ground ii. xii. 82 The place that had been for a few years of all its obscure age a noted training camp or clearing station.
clearing-stone n. a fine stone used for sharpening curriers' knives.
ΚΠ
1860 R. Hunt Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 5) II. 687 [The currier's knife] is..rubbed on a fine Scotch or Welsh stone called a clearing-stone.
Draft additions December 2005
British. Education. The centralized system in which prospective undergraduates not yet offered a place at university or a similar institution are matched to and offered unfilled places before the start of the academic year.
ΚΠ
1961 W. D. Furneaux Chosen Few 114 Applications should in the first instance be received by a central clearing-house, and not by the universities to which they were directed, and that decisions regarding applications should be communicated to the clearing-house but not (at first) to the candidates themselves.]
1965 How to apply for Admission to University 21 Clearing applies only to candidates living in the United Kingom.
1984 Guardian (Nexis) 21 Aug. Many university departments don't need to call on clearing at all; fewer than one in four clearing candidates obtain a place and only 8 per cent of all university entrants get places in this way.
2003 L. Archer in L. Archer et al. Higher Educ. & Social Class vi. 131 These findings suggest that young and mature working-class students (who often come through clearing and may be less prepared due to no family history of HE participation) may..be at greater risk of non-completion.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
clearingadj.
That clears or becomes clear. Also clearing-up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > fine weather > [adjective] > clear > becoming
clearing1697
the world > matter > light > transparency or translucence > [adjective] > that clears or becomes clear
clearing1821
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 68 When the clearing North will puff the Clouds away. View more context for this quotation
1821 J. Clare Village Minstrel I. 138 When by clearing brooks I've been.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1912) 229 It had rained a little in the forenoon, and we trusted that this would be the clearing-up shower, which it proved.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1889; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.c1380
adj.1697- telepathising
- telepathist
- telepathists
- telepathize
- telepathized
- telepathizes
- telepathizing
- telepaths
- telepathy
- telepheme
- telephemes
- telephonable
- telephone
- telephone answerer
- telephone answering
- telephone answering service
- telephone bank
- telephone banking
- telephone bell
- telephone bill
- telephone book
- telephone booking
- telephone booth
- telephone box
- telephone cable