dentn.1
/dɛnt/, U.S. /dɛnt/ a. A stroke or blow, esp. with a weapon or sharp instrument: usually a blow dealt in fighting (= dint n. 1). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > [noun] > a stroke or blow
dintc897
swengOE
shutec1000
kill?c1225
swipc1275
stroke1297
dentc1325
touchc1325
knock1377
knalc1380
swapc1384
woundc1384
smitinga1398
lush?a1400
sowa1400
swaipa1400
wapc1400
smita1425
popc1425
rumbelowc1425
hitc1450
clope1481
rimmel1487
blow1488
dinga1500
quartera1500
ruska1500
tucka1500
recounterc1515
palta1522
nolpc1540
swoop1544
push1561
smot1566
veny1578
remnant1580
venue1591
cuff1610
poltc1610
dust1611
tank1686
devel1787
dunching1789
flack1823
swinge1823
looder1825
thrash1840
dolk1861
thresh1863
mace-blow1879
pulsation1891
nosebleeder1921
slosh1936
smackeroo1942
dab-
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > stroke with weapon > [noun]
dintc897
swengOE
stroke1297
dentc1325
swinga1400
stripec1475
handstroke1488
coup1523
cope1525
handystroke1542
hand stripe1543
c1325 Coer de L. 291 With a dente amyd the schelde.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1215 Ac he wiþ douȝti dentes defended him long.
c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 272 The dent of deth is hevyar than led.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 914 Ther schall no knyght come nere hond, Fore dred of denttes yll.
c1570 Preston Cambyses in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1874) IV. 215 He shall die by dent of sword.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. vi. sig. F2v Plates yrent, Shew'd all his bodie bare vnto the cruell dent . View more context for this quotation
?1606 M. Drayton Ode xii, in Poemes sig. C7 And many a cruell dent Brused his helmett.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > bad weather > thunder and lightning > [noun] > thunder > thunder-clap
denta1300
dintc1374
thunder-clapc1386
thunder-blasta1400
thunder-crackc1450
clap1509
thundering1526
rear1567
thunder bounce1629
thunder-peal1804
a1300 Fragm. Pop. Sc. (Wright) 147 The liȝting, That..cometh after the dente.
c1320 Sir Beues 2738 A made a cri and a wonder, Ase hit were a dent of þonder.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 619 As greet as it hadde been a thonder dent.
c1430 J. Lydgate tr. Bochas Fall of Princes (1554) viii. i. 177 b By stroke of thundre dent And fyry lightning.
a. Striking, dealing of blows; vigorous wielding of the sword or other weapon (= dint n. 2).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > stroke with weapon > [noun] > action of
dintc1330
denta1400
a1400 Octouian 1555 Here son was doughty knyght of dente.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. xliv With mortall warre and dent of sworde.
1556 J. Heywood Spider & Flie lix. 32 To subdew the flies by the swoords dent.
a1600 Tourn. Tottenham 48 For to wynne my doȝter wyth dughtynesse of dent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > distance > [noun] > limit of distance or reach > of a stroke or blow
dent1567
dint1579
striking distance1751
blow-reach1871
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 78 There is no birde that escapeth him that commeth in his dent, but she is his owne.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [noun] > course adopted to achieve an end
waya1225
wonec1290
mean waya1425
policyc1430
method1526
politicsa1529
politic1588
game1595
dent1597
efficacy1690
tactics1772
tactic1791
strategy1834
game plan1957
1597 J. Payne Royall Exchange 3 I am sturred by dent of Christian dutie.
4. A hollow or impression in a surface, such as is made by a blow with a sharp or edged instrument; an indentation, dint n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > [noun] > action of making indentation > an indentation on a surface
hollowc897
printa1387
impression1398
puncha1430
dent1565
dint1590
dinge1611
doke1615
impressurea1616
depressure1626
depression1665
dawk1678
swage1680
indent1690
sinking1712
dunkle1788
indenture1793
delve1811
subsidation1838
indention1839
recess1839
indentation1847
incavation1852
deepening1859
sink1875
malleation1881
ding1922
1565 J. Jewel tr. St. Ambrose in Replie Hardinges Answeare xvii. 575 Wee haue thrust our fingers into the dentes of his nayles.
1612 J. Brinsley Ludus Lit. iii. 16 Marke it with a dent with the nayle, or a pricke with a pen.
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes 2nd Pt. Don Quixote iv. xix. 233 O the most noble and obedient Squire that ever had Sword at a Girdle..or Dent in a Nose.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. viii Taking his Hammer, he again beat out the dent.
1724 J. Chamberlayne in Philos. Trans. 1722–3 (Royal Soc.) 32 98 The fat Particles had such a Pinch, or Dent, in them, as I have shewn, that there were in the Globules of Flower of Wheat.
1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Janet's Repentance ii, in Scenes Clerical Life II. 70 Dents and disfigurements in an old family tankard.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) i. 51 The rocks..were covered with the dents made by the spikes in the lumberers' boots.
Draft additions 1993
b. figurative. A more or less significant impression made upon some situation or state of affairs, esp. by gradual, continued effort; a (detrimental) reducing effect or reduction. Frequently in to make (also put) a dent in. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)]
rineOE
takec1300
concern1446
redound1460
work1487
touch1491
solicit1601
salutea1616
enact1616
affect1630
reach1637
attinge1640
act1655
influence1661
irradiate1668
vibrate1845
involve1847
inwork1855
to cut ice (with someone)1894
dent1931
impact1935
to make (also put) a dent in1942
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > [noun] > impression made upon a situation or affair
dent1942
the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [noun] > other types of effect
co-effect1768
ricochet1773
surface effect1837
emergent1874
dent1942
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > declining or falling off > a detrimental reducing effect
dent1985
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > cause detrimental reduction in
to make (also put) a dent in1986
1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark Amer. Thes. Slang §243/6 Dent, nick, make a dent or nick in, to make a showing or impression, make some progress.
1949 Reader's Digest Mar. 61/1 General Omar Bradley..was unable to make a dent in the imperturbable bureaucracy of other divisions.
1965 Mrs. L. B. Johnson White House Diary 10 June (1970) 286 We can work on domestic problems and make a dent—a rather wonderful dent—but the great world is more complex.
1985 Times 11 July 15/2 There is going to be a dent in our profits. But they will by no means be wiped out.
1986 N.Y. Post 9 July 56/4 It took the Statue of Liberty party to put a dent in the New York Bight bluefishing.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
dentn.2
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > condition or action of indentation of edge > [noun] > an indentation in the edge
dentinga1425
dent1552
indent1598
insection1653
denture1685
indentationa1728
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Dentes about a leafe lyke a saw, crenæ.
1660 tr. H. Blum Bk. Five Collumnes Archit. (new ed.) A a Denticuli, a broad plinth in the cornish cut with dents.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 225 High was his Comb, and Coral-red withal, In dents embattel'd like a Castle-Wall.
2. A tooth, in various technical uses.
a. A burnishing tool used by gilders: sometimes an actual tooth. ? Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1702 R. Neve Apopiroscopy i. 51 This is commonly practised upon Black and Coloured Wood, Polishing them with a Dent.
b. Weaving. One of the splits or parallel strips of metal, cane, etc. forming the reed of a loom.
ΚΠ
1831 G. R. Porter Treat. Silk Manuf. 221 This saves the labour of passing the new threads through the mails and dents of the reed.
1846 G. White Treat. Weaving 53 The reed is made to contain a certain number of dents or splits in a given space.
1894 Textile Manuf. 15 May 196 The satin may be reeded four in a dent if desired.
Categories »
c. Carding. The wire staple that forms the tooth of a card.
Categories »
d. A tooth in a gear-wheel, or in the works of a lock.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online December 2019).
dentn.3
Scottish.
A tough clay or soft claystone; esp. that found in the joints and fissures of sandstone or other strata.
ΚΠ
1864 A. Jeffrey Hist. Roxburghshire IV. iii. 162 The walls of these houses..were cemented with pounded dent.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
dentadj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > artistic work in metal > [adjective] > chased
beatena1300
chased1438
dent1508
flat-chased1956
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii* The sylour deir of the deise dayntely wes dent With the doughtyest in thair dais dyntis couth dele.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > lines or edges > [adjective] > indented
indented?a1400
endently1486
irrased1486
dented1552
dancetté1610
dent1610
dancy1611
1610 J. Guillim Display of Heraldrie i. v. 18 Wrapt with dent-bordure siluer shining.
3. dent corn n. a variety of Indian corn having a dent or depression in each kernel. Also elliptical. (See also quot. 1909.) U.S.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > maize > types of
green cornc1450
flint corn1705
flint1802
sweet corna1817
squaw corn1823
dent corn1853
tassel-corn1883
country gentleman1892
1853 Trans. Michigan Agric. Soc. 5 125 The land..was planted..with the ‘Indian Yellow Dent’.
1873 Trans. Dept. Agric. State Illinois 1872 10 77 The Dent Corns—White and Yellow Dent, Large White, and Yellow Dent.
1909 W. Bateson Mendel's Princ. Heredity (new ed.) 264 According as the seeds [of maize] are opaque or semi-transparent, the varieties are distinguished as ‘Dent’ or ‘Flint’.
1950 New Biol. 8 37 Dent or field corns..are flinty with soft starch extending from the base to the tip of the kernels.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2019).
dentv.
1. transitive. To make a dent in, as with a blow upon a surface; to mark with a dent or dents; to indent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > beating or repeated striking > beat [verb (transitive)] > beat in or out
denta1398
enfounder1477
pound1875
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > form a recess in [verb (transitive)] > form as an indentation > make indentation(s) in
denta1398
indentc1595
dint1597
dinge1611
indenturec1770
dunkle1822
a1398 [implied in: J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvii. clxii. 1057 After many maner castyng, hewynge, dentynge, and planynge. (at denting n. 1)].
a1425 (c1395) [implied in: Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Exod. xxvi. 17 Twei dentyngis [1382 rabitis] schulen be in the sidis of a table, bi which a table schal be ioyned to another table. (at denting n. 2)].
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 118 Dentyn or yndentyn, indento.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 511/2 I dente, Jenfondre..se howe it hath dented in his harnesse.
1563 T. Sackville in W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Induct. xii. 7 So dented were her cheekes with fall of teares.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. viii With which blow it was not broken but dented.
1703 R. Neve City & Countrey Purchaser 161 Jumping upon it with the Heals of ones Shooes will dent it.
1839 C. Darwin in R. Fitzroy & C. Darwin Narr. Surv. Voy. H.M.S. Adventure & Beagle III. iii. 72 The fragments had been blown off with force sufficient to dent the walls.
1881 M. E. Braddon Asphodel I. 294 Armour that had been battered and dented at Cressy.
2. To imprint, impress, implant with a stroke or impact.
ΚΠ
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. ciiv Suppose his dyntis be deip dentit in your scheild.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1822) iii. 246 This yoik wes maid of thre speris, of quhilkis twa war dentit in the erde.
1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. II. 407 The tracks of horses' hoofs deeply dented in the road.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > types of ornamentation > jewellery > making jewellery or setting with jewels > set or stud (something) with gems [verb (transitive)] > inlay or set (gems)
dentc1440
set1501
close1530
enchasea1533
couch1578
becrampoun1582
inset1658
chase1859
c1440 Bone Flor. 326 The pyllers that stonde in the halle, Are dentyd wyth golde and clere crystalle.
1572 (a1500) Taill of Rauf Coilȝear (1882) 667 Dyamountes full dantely dentit betwene.
4. intransitive.
a. To enter or sink in, so as to make a dent or indentation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > recede or form recess [verb (intransitive)] > be or become indented > make indentation
dent1398
dint1495
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) vii. lix. 274 Yf thou thrystest thy fyngere vpon the postume it denteth in.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xvii. lxxiv. sig. Qijv/2 Yf þe fynger dynteth [a1398 BL Add. dyueþ] in therto & finde it nesshe.
1611 A. Stafford Niobe 40 His cheekes, denting-in, as if he were still sucking at a bottle.
b. To become indented, as a plastic surface when pressed with something pointed or edged.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > unevenness > condition or fact of receding > recede or form recess [verb (intransitive)] > be or become indented
to run in1578
indenta1652
dent1869
crater1884
1869 Eng. Mech. 3 Dec. 271/1 You will see it dent, for it is elastic.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > strike [verb (transitive)] > strike at
swipc1380
lasha1400
foundc1420
drivec1540
dent1580
tilt1589
snap1631
spar1755
peg1828
slap1842
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 78 So my heart..dented at with the arrowes of thy burning affections.
Draft additions 1993
b. figurative. To have an (esp. adverse) effect upon; to damage or weaken. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)]
rineOE
takec1300
concern1446
redound1460
work1487
touch1491
solicit1601
salutea1616
enact1616
affect1630
reach1637
attinge1640
act1655
influence1661
irradiate1668
vibrate1845
involve1847
inwork1855
to cut ice (with someone)1894
dent1931
impact1935
to make (also put) a dent in1942
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > cause or effect (harm) [verb (transitive)] > do harm or injury to > affect detrimentally > impair the action or effectiveness of
maimc1395
appale?1530
embezzle1566
weaken1639
cripple1694
derange1776
enfeeble1860
bosh1870
dent1931
1931 Daily Express 21 Sept. 3/7 Mr. Somerset Maugham's novel, ‘The Painted Veil’, made a deep impression on me. The play of the same name..dented me but slightly.
1948 E. Pound Pisan Cantos lxxxii. 103 In that Fordie Never dented an idea for a phrase's sake.
1977 Kuwait Times 1 Nov. 7/3 West Germany's past economic success is now also denting her all-important export performance.
1986 Daily Tel. 8 Aug. 15/4 Dobbs' credibility in this respect..is somewhat dented by the fact that he is himself a Saatchi man.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1a1300n.21552n.31864adj.1508
v.a1398