† distributeadj.
Obsolete.
Distributed (of which it was probably at length regarded as a contracted form). (In quots. as past participle.)
ΚΠ
1434 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 99 To be distribute among pore~folk.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 122 By them al byschoprykys & al hye offyce of dygnyte schold be dystrybute.
1552 Abp. J. Hamilton Catech. i. xx. f. 59 To be distrubit [? distribut] to thaim self.
1562 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 203 Sex pounds thirteyne shillings forpence to be distribute emongst ye poore of the parishe.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
distributev.
/dᵻˈstrɪbjuːt/, /ˈdɪstrᵻbjuːt/, U.S. /dəˈstrɪbjut/ 1. absolute.1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. vii. 17 But even as God hath distributed to every man..so let him walke.1611 Bible (King James) Rom. xii. 13 Distributing to the necessity of Saints. View more context for this quotation† b. To dispense, administer (justice, etc.). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To deal out or bestow in portions or shares among a number of recipients; to allot or apportion as his share to each person of a number.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)]
britteneOE
to-dealeOE
dealOE
britOE
setc1275
dispensec1374
dispendc1375
to-seta1387
dispone1429
disposec1430
sparple1435
demean1439
distributea1464
distribue1477
issuec1484
communy1530
to deal out1535
impart1545
disperse1555
retail1576
digest1578
deliver1626
to hand out1648
to dispose of1676
dispensate1701
dole1701
to give out1710
sling1860
to give away1889
to pass out1926
dish1934
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 27 Josue..disposed and distribut þe Lond of Behest to þe puple.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. i.iiij/1 There he abode thre dayes in dapartyng & destrybutyng the goodes.
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xiv To destrybute in almes to an hondred pore men an hondred pence.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 19 As much [beating] as one sound Cudgell of foure foote..could distribute, I made no spare Sir. View more context for this quotation
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. iii. 56 Happiness and Misery..may sometimes be distributed by way of mere Discipline.
1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 35 Pray distribute my kindest regards amongst all friends.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. 546 The doctrine generally received..was that it was shameful to receive bribes, but that it was necessary to distribute them.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (transitive)] > execute (justice, vengeance, etc.)
takec1300
dispensea1398
minister1426
administer1443
ministrate1496
execute1530
distributea1616
administrate1649
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iii. iii. 103 Not in the presence Of dreaded Iustice, but on the Ministers That doth distribute it. View more context for this quotation
1698 tr. F. Froger Relation Voy. Coasts Afr. 125 The Power of distributing Justice is vested in him.
1746 J. Jortin Disc. Truth Christian Relig. iii. (R.) He will distribute rewards and punishments to all, proportionably to their behaviour in the days of their mortality.
2.
a. To spread or disperse abroad through a whole space or over a whole surface; (sometimes in a narrow sense) so that each part of the space or surface receives a portion; (also more broadly) to spread generally, scatter. (In passive often with reference merely to situation, with no idea of motion: cf. diffused adj., dispersed adj.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)]
to-shedc888
skairc1175
skaila1400
disparklec1449
scatter?c1450
spartlec1475
sprattlea1500
distribute?c1510
disperge1530
shudderc1540
crumble1547
pour1574
sperse1580
disject1581
spatter1582
distract1589
sparflec1600
esparse1625
fan1639
disperse1654
sparge1786
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > scatter broadcast
shedc1000
sprengeOE
discatterc1330
shatterc1330
sowa1387
spilla1400
shadec1425
sparklec1440
scatter?c1450
distribute?c1510
sparse?1550
to cast seed1577
bescatter1859
to sow, scatter, throw, etc. broadcast1874
?c1510 tr. Newe Landes & People founde by Kynge of Portyngale sig. Diiv They shall be dystributed or parted thorough all the world.
1615 J. Stephens Satyrical Ess. 229 A Spend-thrift..will promise much and meane nothing: for he distributes his words as commonly as Printers.
1620 T. Venner Via Recta vii. 109 Those that are of a soft substance, are easily digested, and distributed.
1736 Nature Display'd III. 431 This subtle and active Element [fire] is distributed in great Abundance all round the Earth.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts (ed. 7) III. 657 (Printing Machine) The mechanism for supplying the ink, and distributing it over the form.
1889 A. R. Wallace Darwinism 340 Mammalia may be said to be universally distributed over the globe.
1890 R. Wormell tr. A. von Urbanitzky Electr. in Service of Man 49 On [non-spherical] shapes electricity is not uniformly distributed.
b. Said of the ramification of vessels, pipes, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > inclination > divergence > thrust apart [verb (transitive)] > cause to ramify > spread by ramification
distribute1659
1659 O. Walker Περιαμμα Ἐπιδήμιον 32 Nerves..divided into..Filaments, distributed after a most exact order throughout the whole Body.
1804 J. Abernethy Surg. Observ. 20 The vessels are distributed in their usual arborescent manner.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 15 Water should be distributed not only to every house, but to every floor.
3. To divide (a whole or collective body) into parts having distinct characters or functions; to divide and arrange.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > divide [verb (transitive)] > divide and arrange
cast1340
distribute1553
branch1628
1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Fiiij He hath in his courte twelue thousand horsemen, whiche..distribute their waytinge dayes after this order.
1611 Bible (King James) 2 Chron. xxiii. 18 The Leuites, whom Dauid had distributed in the house of the Lord, to offer the burnt offrings of the Lord.
a1626 F. Bacon Speech in A. Wilson Five Yeares King Iames (1643) 75 I will breake and distribute the proofes.
1659 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. Psalms (civ. 8 Paraphr.) 511 The earth [being] distributed into mountains and valleys.
1710 H. Prideaux Orig. & Right Tithes i. 13 The Law of Moses is usually distributed into these three parts: 1 The Moral, 2 The Ceremonial, and 3 The Judicial.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall i That great peninsula [Spain]..was distributed by Augustus into three provinces.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 294 The Life Guards..were then distributed into three troops.
4. † b. Arithmetic. = divide v. Obsolete.
a. To divide and place in classes, or other divisions; to classify.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > condition or state of being inclusive > include [verb (transitive)] > in a class, description, or reckoning
accounta1464
lap1552
include1575
shroud1593
comprise1597
list1622
classicate1654
classa1658
distribute1664
to run over ——1724
immerse1734
group1759
compute1818
classify1854
count1857
to ring in1916
1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 82 in Sylva These we have distributed..into the three following Classes.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §10 A Politician distributes Mankind according to their civil Characters, into the Rulers and the Ruled.
1725 I. Watts Logick ii. ii. §7 Propositions..are distributed into true and false.
1857 A. Henfrey Elem. Course Bot. ii. ii. §386 By the Linnean plan, the Flowering plants of Britain..are..distributed into 22 well-marked classes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > divide
to-dealeOE
to divide?c1425
part1579
distribute1593
1593 T. Fale Horologiographia f. 27v The product 9101921907 I distribute by the whole Sine: and the quotient 91019 giueth an arke 65.d. 32.m, the Eleuation of the Meridian.
1702 V. Mandey tr. J. J. Hainlin Synopsis Mathematica: Theoret. Arithm. i. 16 To Divide one Number by another, or to Distribute one into another.
5. To separate and allocate to distinct places or compartments. spec. in Printing. To remove (type that has been ‘composed’ or set up) from the forme, and return each letter into its proper box or compartment in the case. Also absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > post-printing processes > [verb (transitive)] > distribute type
distribute1615
dis1899
to take down1909
1615 [see sense 2a].
1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 207 The Compositer seeks..for a Riglet, a little longer..than the Line of the Page he is to Destribute; or else he cuts a Riglet to that length (this Riglet is called a Destributing-stick).
1736 Nature Display'd III. 364 The Types..being again distributed into their Boxes, serve to do the same Office to several others.
1808 Post-Off. Law with Instruct. (U.S.) Distributing offices, where the postmasters open the mails addressed Northern, Southern, etc., and distribute the letters into proper mails.
1888 J. Southward in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 701 [article Typography] The operation of distributing the types is the converse of that of composing: it is de-composing the forme and returning the several letters to their proper boxes in the case.
1891 Athenæum 24 Oct. 558/1 The work is..published in a limited edition, and the type has been distributed.
1896 N.E.D. at Distribute Mod. A compositor who distributes rapidly.
6. Logic. To employ (a term) in its full extension, so that it includes every individual of the class. See distribution n. 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > logical classification > [verb (transitive)]
generalize1812
distribute1827
1691 H. Aldrich Artis Logicæ i. iii. 5 Quare Medium in præmissis semel ad minimum distribui debet.
1691 H. Aldrich Artis Logicæ i. iii. 12 Distribuas medium; nec quartus terminus adsit.]
1827 R. Whately Elem. Logic ii. iii. §2 The middle term..must be distributed once, at least, in the premises.
1847 A. De Morgan Formal Logic vii. 137.
1849 H. L. Mansel Artis Logicæ Rudim. of Aldrich 59 To say [as Aristotle does] that the major premise in fig. 1 must be universal, or one premise in fig. 2 negative, is equivalent to a rule for distributing the middle term.
1849 W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (1860) §77. 130.
1864 F. C. Bowen Treat. Logic vii. 181.
1887 T. Fowler Elem. Deduct. Logic (ed. 9) iv. 34 All universal propositions distribute their subject, whereas particular propositions do not. All negative propositions distribute their predicate, whereas affirmative propositions do not.
7. Grammar. To make distributive (in sense).
ΚΠ
1876 C. P. Mason Eng. Gram. (ed. 21) §173 b In ‘they loved each other’, each is in the nominative case, in the attributive relation to they, which it distributes in sense.
Derivatives
diˈstributed adj. distributed term, distributed middle (see sense 6 above).
ΚΠ
1691 H. Aldrich Artis Logicæ i. iii. 4 Medium non distributum est anceps.]
1826 R. Whately Elements Logic i. §5 40 A term is said to be ‘distributed’ when it is taken universally, so as to stand for everything it is capable of being applied to.
1844 R. Whately Elem. Logic ii. iii. §2 Then the conclusion..would have its predicate—the Major term—distributed, which was undistributed in the premiss.
1889 Spectator 9 Nov. To avoid the loss of time inherent in distributed workshops.
diˈstributing adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > [adjective]
distributive1475
distributing1641
dispensing1815
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 21 That beneficent and ever distributing office of Deacons.
diˈstributedly adv.
ΚΠ
1853 G. S. Faber Diffic. Romanism (ed. 3) i. iv. 114 Adoration paid to the elements after consecration, on the avowed ground, that those elements, jointly and severally, unitedly and distributedly, have now become the Supreme Being himself.
Draft additions April 2011
distributed denial of service n. Computing a form of denial of service in which a web server or other computer system is maliciously overwhelmed by spurious requests from many computers in different locations on the internet, in order to make it inaccessible or unusable; usually attributive; abbreviated DDoS; cf. denial of service n. at denial n. Additions.The computers used in distributed denial of service often form part of a botnet (botnet n. at bot n.5 Compounds), their involvement in such attacks remaining unknown to their owners.
ΚΠ
1998 Advisory: Distributed DoS Attack against NIS/NIS+ Networks in it.comp.sicurezza.cert-it (Usenet newsgroup) 8 June Attached below is an upcoming security advisory regarding a distributed Denial of Service attack against NIS / NIS+ based networks using the finger service.
2003 B. Komar et al. Firewalls for Dummies (ed. 2) v. 100 Because such an attack is launched from multiple computers that are most likely distributed all across the Internet, such an attack is called a distributed denial-of-service, or DDoS attack.
2010 Wall St. Jrnl. 11 Dec. b1/2 The attacks appear to be classic distributed denial of service (DDOS) assaults of a type that have plagued sites since almost the first days of the Web.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.1434
v.a1464