feedn.
/fiːd/, U.S. /fid/ 1.
a. The action of feeding; eating, grazing; also, the giving of food; an instance of this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > by eating habits > eating habits > [noun] > feeding or grazing
pasturec1390
feed1575
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > pasturing
feed1575
graziery1762
pasturing1819
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > tenure and rights > [noun] > rights
pannage1392
commonc1405
stint1437
agistmenta1450
intercommon1449
commonty1466
foggage1471
communitya1475
gist1493
commoning?a1509
arrentationc1540
wether gang1561
browsage1570
pasturage1572
feed1575
intercommoner1581
frankfold1609
broouage1610
fellow commoner1612
horsegate1619
frankfoldage1628
shack1629
tatha1641
retropannage1679
levancy and couchancya1691
commonance1701
stinter1701
horse-lease1721
stray1736
goose-gate1739
commonage1792
twinter1846
couchance1886
levance1886
sheep-stray1891
stintholder1894
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > herding, pasturing, or confining > [noun] > action or occupation of pasturing
pasturea1398
grazingc1440
pasturagea1522
feed1575
running1577
graziery1762
pasturing1819
1575 G. Gascoigne Noble Arte Venerie xxxvii. 98 The feeding of an Hart or such like..is called the feede.
1612 Bp. J. Hall Contempl. I. ii. viii. 396 Long forbearance whereof [meates] causes a surfet, when we come to full-feed.
a1626 F. Bacon Elements Common Lawes (1630) 27 Pasture answerable to the feed of so many Deere as were vpon the ground.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica i. ii. 3 Birds coming late from Feed.
1833 H. Martineau Brooke & Brooke Farm (ed. 3) iii. 40 He should pay for the feed of his cow.
1873 W. B. Tegetmeier Poultry Bk. xxix. 370 Five or six [pellets] are given at one feed for each bird.
b. Phrases. at feed: in the act of eating or grazing. out at feed: turned out to graze. to be off one's feed (of animals, and colloquial or slang of persons): to have no desire for food; to have lost one's appetite. (to be) on the feed (said of fish): (to be) on the look out for food; also, (to be) eating.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating by animals > [adverb]
at feed1621
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > absence of appetite > have no appetite [verb (intransitive)]
to be off one's feed1816
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating by animals > feed (of animals) [verb (intransitive)]
baitc1386
feeda1387
relievec1475
victual1577
(to be) on the feed1867
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania 275 I..like a Deare at feede, start vp for feare.
1680 T. Otway Orphan v. 68 All his little Flock's at feed before him.
1816 C. James New Mil. Dict. (ed. 4) 156 A horse that is off his feed.
1823 C. Lamb Christ's Hosp. in Elia 31 The cattle, and the birds, and the fishes, were at feed about us.
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 166 Towards evening he set out on the feed.
1862 ‘Scrutator’ Country Gentleman II. vii. 113 Jack..was quite off his feed.
1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling iv. 88 The fish is well on the feed.
1871 R. Browning Balaustion 81 And pipe..Pastoral marriage-poems to thy flocks At feed.
1879 H. N. Moseley Notes by Naturalist on ‘Challenger’ ii. 30 A shoal of porpoises on the feed.
1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases at Vead A horse is said to be ‘out at ve-ad’ when turned into a meadow to graze.
2. †(a) A grazing or causing (cattle) to graze; also, the privilege or right of grazing. Obsolete. †(b) Feeding-ground; pasture land. Obsolete. (c) Pasturage, pasture; green crops.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass > cultivated or for pasture
pasturea1400
fogc1400
vesture1455
vestiturec1460
pasturagea1522
feed1580
agistment1598
pasture grass1628
ear-grass1686
artificial grass1733
seeds1794
tath1807
green stuff1895
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > grassland > [noun] > pasture
leasowc950
leasea1000
pasturea1300
common pasturea1325
grassland1324
laund1340
lea1357
gang1413
feedingc1430
grassa1500
raika1500
beast-gate1507
pasturagec1515
grazing1517
average1537
pasture groundc1537
walk1549
grassing1557
pastural1575
browsing1577
feed1580
pastureland1591
meadow pasture1614
green side1616
range1626
pastorage1628
tore1707
graziery1731
pasturing1759
permanent pasture1771
sweet-veld1785
walk land1797
run1804
sweet-grass1812
potrero1822
pasturage land1855
turn-out1895
lawn1899
1580 T. Tusser Fiue Hundred Pointes Good Husbandrie (new ed.) f. 15 Pasture, and feede of his feeld.
1594 J. Norden Speculi Brit. Pars: Essex (1840) (Camden) 10 Ther is wtin the Nase..Horsey Ilande, verie good for feede.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. iv. 82 His Coate, his Flockes, and bounds of feede Are now on sale. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 597 For such pleasure till that hour At Feed or Fountain never had I found. View more context for this quotation
1712 H. Prideaux Direct. Church-wardens (ed. 4) 30 The..Feed of the Church-yard is the Minister's.
a1797 E. Burke Thoughts on Scarcity (1800) 36 The clover sown last year..gave two good crops, or one crop and a plentiful feed.
1859 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms (ed. 2) (at cited word) Tall feed, i.e. high grass.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Northern Farmer: Old Style x, in Enoch Arden, etc. 133 Theer warn't not feäd for a cow.
1879 G. F. Jackson Shropshire Word-bk. ‘I hanna sid more feed o' the groun' fur many a 'ear.’
1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases at Vead Green crops for sheep, as turnips, swedes, rape, etc., are called ‘ve-ad’.
3.
a. Food (for cattle); fodder, provender.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > fodder
fodderOE
foragec1315
provender1340
provend?a1400
foddering1430
feed1594
farrage1609
roughness1813
trough-meat1844
1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iv. 93 As the one is wounded with the bait, the other [sheep] rotted with delicious feede [sc. honey-stalks; printed seede; 1623 foode] . View more context for this quotation
1878 W. Dickinson Gloss. Words & Phrases Cumberland (ed. 2) Feed, provender for cattle.
1884 F. J. Lloyd Sci. Agric. 243 There arose the necessity of providing them with feed.
1884 Milnor (Dakota Territory) Teller 13 June J.D. is prepared to grind all kinds of Feed.
b. An allowance or meal (of corn, oats, etc.) given to a horse, etc. Also Military in short-feed, heavy-horse-feed, light-horse-feed (see quot. 1823).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > supply of food or provisions > rations > [noun] > ration for horses
liveryc1440
ration1702
feed1735
1735 T. Sheridan in J. Swift Lett. (1768) IV. 117 I can give your horses..a feed of oats now and then.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. xiii. 298 Prepare them [sc. horses] for their Journey by a Feed of Corn. View more context for this quotation
1823 G. Crabb Universal Technol. Dict. A short feed is a portion less than the regulated quantity. Heavy-horse-feed, a larger proportion given to the heavy dragoons, in distinction from Light-horse-feed, which is given to the hussars and the light horse.
1859 F. A. Griffiths Artillerist's Man. (1862) 220 One feed of oats in the nose-bag.
1885 G. Meredith Diana of Crossways I. viii. 176 The mare'll do it well..She has had her feed.
c. Also, food, fare (for human beings). U.S. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > [noun]
meateOE
eatOE
foodOE
fodderOE
dietc1230
gista1290
victual1303
victualsa1375
preya1382
feedinga1398
pasturea1398
viancea1400
viandsc1400
livingc1405
meatingc1425
vitalyc1440
vianda1450
cates1461
vivers1536
viandry1542
viander1543
gut-matter1549
peck1567
belly-cheer1579
appast1580
manchet1583
chat1584
belly-metal1590
repasture1598
cibaries1599
belly-timber1607
belly-cheat1608
peckage1610
victuallage1622
keeping1644
vivresa1650
crib1652
prog1655
grub1659
beef1661
fooding1663
teething1673
eatablea1687
sunket1686
yam1788
chow-chow1795
keep1801
feed1818
grubbing1819
patter1824
ninyam1826
nyam1828
grubbery1831
tack1834
kai1845
mungaree1846
scoff1846
foodstuff1847
chuck1850
muckamuck1852
tuck1857
tucker1858
hash1865
nosh1873
jock1879
cake flour1881
chow1886
nosebag1888
stodge1890
food aid1900
tackle1900
munga1907
scarf1932
grubber1959
1818 H. B. Fearon Sketches Amer. 194 I guess whiskey is all the feed we have on sale.
1835 Knickerbocker 5 304 A John Smith lives next door, to whom half my choice rounds and sirloins, selected personally in the market,—for I love good feed,—are sent without distinction.
1867 S. Hale Lett. (1919) 27 The cook is French and feed delicious.
1898 E. N. Westcott David Harum xxxii. 283 You want a change o' feed once in a while, or you may git the colic.
4. colloquial. A meal; a sumptuous meal; a feast. Cf. feast n., spread n. Also, a full meal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > big or substantial meal
gramaungerec1400
opsonation1623
feast1624
bouffagea1682
feed1808
hakari1823
tuck-out1823
nyam1828
tightener1829
inside lining1851
square1882
stoke-up1955
nosh-up1963
pigout1978
greeze1984
1808 Sporting Mag. 32 122 A feed now and then at the first tables.
1830 R. Southey in Q. Rev. 43 14 It is the custom to entertain a distinguished visitor with what, in the South Seas, as in modern London, is called a feed.
1839 F. Marryat Diary in Amer. II. 228 ‘Will you have a feed or a check?’
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. (1856) xli. 375 What a glorious feed for the scurvy-stricken ships!
1862 G. A. Sala Accepted Addr. 193 Snug little feeds preparatory to the grand banquet.
1875 Chambers's Jrnl. 30 Jan. 66 Little boys..having a feed of ice-cream.
5.
a. The action or process of ‘feeding’ a machine, or supplying material to be operated upon.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > supply of machine with materials
feed1892
in-feed1901
1892 P. Benjamin Mod. Mech. 663 The Hoe automatic tension brake for graduating the feed of the paper to the exact speed of the machine.
b. The material supplied; also the amount supplied; the ‘charge’ of a gun.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > charge
shoot1645
charge1653
round1680
load1692
shot1708
recharge1728
feed1839
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 59 A cock by which the engineer can regulate the feed to the quantity required.
1869 Eng. Mech. 31 Dec. 389/1 By carrying less feed, less power may suffice.
1881 Times 24 Feb. The time was taken in which the guns could be cleaned and could fire three ‘feeds’.
1883 Daily News 12 Dec. 2/5 The length of the feed is determined by the clutch.
1884 Knight's New Amer. Mech. Dict. 330/2 The actual feed to the boiler is regulated by a controlling cock.
c. Short for feed gear n. at Compounds 2, feed-pump n., etc.; a feeder.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [noun] > pen > fountain pen > part of
ink-feed1907
feed1957
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 139 The water would fall lower and lower in the boiler, if not replaced by the feed.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 340/2 The oil..falls..on the wool as it passes along the ‘feed’ to the teasing cylinder.
1957 Encycl. Brit. IX. 561/2 The feed for controlling the movement of the writing fluid [in a fountain pen] is made of plastic or of hard rubber.
d. Theatrical slang. = feeder n. 11. Also in extended and attributive uses.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > part or character > [noun] > types of part or character
underpart1679
persona muta1714
travesty1732
soubrette1753
old man1762
small part?1774
breeches-part1779
character part1811
fat1812
chambermaida1828
fool?1835
raisonneur1845
ingénue1848
villain of the piece1854
stock character1864
feeder1866
satirette1870
character role1871
travesty1887
thinking part1890
walk-on1902
cardboard cutout1906
bit1926
good guy1928
feed1929
bad guy1932
goody1934
walkthrough1935
narrator1941
cameo1950
black hat1959
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. i Joe over there..is as good a feed as you could wish for.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. i You couldn't want a better dancer... The only thing is, he won't feed. I never struck a worse feed.
1936 N. Coward To-night at 8.30 I. 94 I don't count—I'm only a feed.
1958 J. Osborne & A. Creighton Epit. for George Dillon ii. 61 I suppose I give you what is known as the ‘feed’ line now.
1958 Listener 7 Aug. 189/1 He [sc. the interviewer] can lure his victim into a false sense of confidence with the easy-paced, perfectly staightforward, guileless ‘feed’ question.
1958 Listener 28 Aug. 311/1 English voices..are nearly always used as ‘feeds’ for knowledgeable Americans [in broadcast discussions].
1961 John o' London's 14 Sept. 307/2 Cantinflas, together with his feed-man Charamusca.
Compounds
C1. General attributive.
a. Simple attributive.
(a) (In sense 3a, 3b.)
Thesaurus »
feed-bag n.
feed-bin n.
ΚΠ
1898 M. Deland Old Chester Tales 250 The open space between the stalls and the feed-bins should be the stage.
feed consumption n.
ΚΠ
1909 Westm. Gaz. 27 Aug. 2/3 Barley..or other meal, which..form so large a factor in the feed consumption of this country.
feed-crop n.
ΚΠ
1891 Daily News 14 May 5/1 ‘Feed’ crops.
feed-house n.
ΚΠ
1961 C. H. Douglas-Todd Pop. Whippet iii. 37 It [sc. the kennel-building] must incorporate the feed-house..and the room.. where all the ‘paper work’..may be carried out.
feed-lot n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > place where animals fed
feeding station1844
feed-floor1868
feed-lot1889
lick-hole1928
1889 Las Cruces (New Mex.) News 16 Nov. [The new lower rate] allows Kansas feeders to ship from this territory or Arizona to their feed lots.
1911 H. Quick Yellowstone Nights vi. 165 Two boys..had met in Allen's feed-lot to fight a duel.
1964 Punch 25 Nov. 807/1 They're..unlikely to..nest in electric fences, feedlots and barbed wire.
feed-mill n. U.S.
ΚΠ
1884 Milnor (Dakota Territory) Teller 13 June A Steam Feed-Mill..to grind all kinds of Feed.
feed-rack n.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 830/2 Feed-rack, a stock-feeding device with grain-trough and hay-rack under shelter, which sometimes is extended to the stock also.
feed-stable n.
ΚΠ
1877 H. C. Hodge Arizona 154 Tucson has..four feed and livery stables.
1902 O. Wister Virginian ii. 13 I took its dimensions, twenty-nine buildings in all,—..one feed stable, and..others.
feed-station n.
ΚΠ
1910 W. M. Raine Bucky O'Connor 106 Jay Hardman's place, a tumble-down feed-station on the edge of town.
feed-stuff n.
ΚΠ
1856 Porter's Spirit of Times 4 Oct. 74/3 But a few years since our whole supplies of bread and feed-stuffs [in Calif.] were drawn from abroad.
1909 ‘O. Henry’ Roads of Destiny ix. 157 There was a feedstuff famine in Mexico.
1957 Times 2 Dec. p. ii/3 the post-war period..until 1953 when feedstuffs were derationed.
1969 Daily Tel. 18 Dec. 18/1 The animal feedstuffs market.
feed-yard n.
ΚΠ
1879 Chicago Tribune 14 May 7/4 The feed-yards in Chicago are extensive.
1911 H. Quick Yellowstone Nights iv. 109 One, two, three farmsteads we passed, with its white house hidden in trees, low hog~houses, its feed yards.
(b) (In sense 5.)
feed-bar n.
ΚΠ
1873 Young Englishwoman Mar. 131/2 The feed bar and stitch mechanism are inclosed in a box.
1876 J. S. Ingram Centennial Exposition ix. 298 The radiating arms..act against the feed-bar.
feed cistern n.
ΚΠ
1838 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 1 237/2 The whole circle of pipes and vessels described, is supplied with water from the feed cistern.
1967 Gloss. Sanitation Terms (B.S.I.) 14 Feed cistern, a cistern for supplying cold water to a hot water system.
feed-cock n.
ΚΠ
1833 B. Silliman Man. Sugar Cane 56 It is drawn up into the vacuum pans..by the feed cocks.
1883 W. C. Russell Sailors' Lang. 49 Feed-cock, a cock near the bottom of a marine boiler for regulating the supply of water to the boiler.
feed-dog n. [dog n.1 III.]
ΚΠ
1961 Observer 28 May 33/2 Its [sc. a sewing-machine's] feed-dog tended to cockle nylon.
1961 Which? Nov. 285/1 Normally the feed dog feeds material directly towards or away from you.
feed-hole n.
ΚΠ
1874 J. W. Long Amer. Wild-fowl Shooting 37 A quick loading flask, i.e., one having a large feed-hole to the charger, should also be used.
1892 W. North Cooley's Cycl. Pract. Receipts I. 300/2 Another complete but empty hive with open feed-hole, placed below an over-full one.
feed-pipe n.
ΚΠ
1829 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) I. Hydraulics 13/1 The stop-valve, covering the top of the feed-pipe.
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 59 At the end of each feed pipe is a cock.
feed-pipe-cock n.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 182/2 Feed-pipe cocks, those used to regulate the supply of water to the boiler of a locomotive engine.
feed-pipe-strainer n.
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 182/2 Feed-pipe strainer, or strum, a perforated, half-spherical piece of sheet iron..placed over the open end of the feed-pipe.
feed-pipe-strum n.
feed-pump n.
ΚΠ
1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 109 The engine supplies itself with water by a pump communicating with the hot well, called a feed pump.
1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson Knapp's Chem. Technol. (ed. 2) I. 273 A small working cylinder..can be placed upon the top of the boiler to work the grate and the feed-pump.
b. Objective.
(a) (In sense 3.)
feed-chopper n.
ΚΠ
1903 Cincinnati Enquirer 9 May 14/1 He got a motor for the corn sheller and feed chopper.
1916 H. L. Wilson Somewhere in Red Gap vii. 304 Rex II [beagle] didn't get in till next day and looked like he'd come through a feed chopper.
feed-crusher n.
ΚΠ
1884 Knight's New Amer. Mech. Dict. 527/2 Feed-crusher, a mill for flattening grain to render it more easily masticated.
feed-cutter n.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 829/1 Feed-cutter.
1883 E. Ingersoll in Harper's Mag. Jan. 207/1 He grinds all day at the feed-cutter.
(b) (In sense 5.)
feed-heating n.
ΚΠ
1892 P. Benjamin Mod. Mech. 284 Power developed without feed-heating.
feed-roller n.
ΚΠ
1836 A. Ure Cotton Manuf. Great Brit. II. 17 The willowed cotton..is carried forward..to the feed-rollers [of the blowing machine].
C2. Special combinations:
feed-apron n. = feed-cloth n.
ΚΠ
1836 A. Ure Cotton Manuf. Great Brit. II. 16 The feed-apron is about eight feet long.
feed-bed n. (a) a feeding place (of rats); (b) the level surface along which the supply passes to the machine.
ΚΠ
1876 Forest & Stream 7 Dec. 278/3 We shortly espy a ‘feed-bed’ in the edge of the marsh.
1889 Pall Mall Gaz. 15 Oct. 7/1 Each letter in its passage along the feed-bed of the machine strikes a lever.
feed-block n. (see quot. 1902).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > feed-block of machine-gun
feed-block1895
1895 H. T. Lukin Maxim Machine Gun 11 What keeps the extractor at its highest until the cartridge is drawn from the feed block?
1895 H. T. Lukin Maxim Machine Gun 21 When loading for rapid fire, the crank handle is turned over to buffer spring twice and the belt is pulled through the feed block.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 401/2 The feed-block through which the belt of cartridges is fed to the gun.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station xvi. 295 A left-hand feed-block, which was instantly interchangeable with the right-hand feed-block.
feed-board n. a board on a printing machine to hold sheets of paper fed to the machine.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > feed-board
feeding board1892
feed-board1899
1899 J. Southward Mod. Printing iii. ix. 108 The feed board rises, the lays drop, and the grippers take the sheet.
1917 R. A. Peddie Outl. Hist. Printing 33 These machines print single sheets on both sides during their traverse from the feed~board to the delivery board.
1967 R. R. Karch & E. J. Buber Graphic Arts Procedures: Offset Processes ix. 372 The back paper-feed control..lever..permits the paper to feed on to the feedboard.
feed check valve n. (also feed check ellipt.) a valve placed between the feed-pipe and the boiler, to prevent return of feed-water.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [noun] > parts of > valves
safety valve1744
clack1829
government valve1837
fusible plug1874
feed check valve1895
1895 Daily News 17 Dec. 3/5 To repair feed check valve.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 25 Apr. 2/3 Off they went into the stokehole, where the Third put two of them to mind the feed-checks.
feed-cloth n. a revolving cloth which carries the cotton or other fibre into a spinning, carding or other machine.
ΚΠ
1836 A. Ure Cotton Manuf. Great Brit. II. 16 The..cotton is..spread upon the feed~cloth of the cards.
feed collector n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [noun] > parts of > tubes or pipes
water tube1720
tube1833
water head1856
worm1857
cross-tubea1884
furnace-tube1888
feed collector1902
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 284/1 A horizontal cross-tube of square section, called a feed collector, which extends the whole width of the [marine water~tube] boiler.
feed-door n. the door through which the furnace is supplied with fuel; the furnace door.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > opening through which fuel is fed
coal-hole1651
stoke-hole1660
firing door1828
feed-mouth1833
feed-door1872
1872 1st Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1871–2 635 The ore..is landed at the feed door of the furnace.
1884 Knight's New Amer. Mech. Dict. 327/2 Feed-door.
feed-floor n. U.S. a floor off which cattle, etc., can eat food.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > place where animals fed
feeding station1844
feed-floor1868
feed-lot1889
lick-hole1928
1868 14th Ann. Rep. Iowa State Agric. Soc. 1867 104 Put them [sc. hogs] in small yards with a good plank feed-floor.
feed-ˈforward n. [after feedback n.] (a) the use of calculated or presumed future states of a process to provide criteria for its adjustment or control; anticipatory control; (b) the modification of the output signal of a circuit by a part of the input signal that has not passed through the circuit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > for purposes of control or management > use of presumed future states in
feed-forward1952
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > signal > [noun] > feed-forward
feed-forward1952
1952 I. A. Richards in Cybernetics: Trans. of Eighth Conf., 1951 54 You have no doubt fed forward enough to see that what I am going to talk about from now on is feed~forward. I am going to try to suggest its importance in describing how language works.
1961 E. J. Baghdady Lect. Communication Syst. Theory xix. 505 The feedforward operation..can be extended so that the amplifier bridges two or more cascaded narrow-band limiters.
1963 Engineering 6 Dec. 726/3 Anticipatory (feed-forward) control predicts the effect of input variables on output variables by solving transfer equations.
feed gear n. the mechanism of feed-motion.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > conveyor > [noun] > feed mechanism
hand feed1850
roll feed1860
feed gear1888
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 136 Feed, the amount or distance of the transverse of a lathe or other machine cutter taken transversely to the depth of the cut. The term is also applied to the feed gear itself.
1895 Daily News 27 July 3/1 The torpedo boat destroyer Ferret, which broke down..owing to the defective working of her automatic feed gear.
feed-hand n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 Daily News I. 829/2 Feed-hand ..a rod by which intermittent rotation is imparted to a ratchet-wheel.
feed-head n. (a) a cistern of water for supplying the boiler from above; (b) Founding (see quot. 1874).
ΚΠ
1849 J. Weale Rudim. Dict. Terms Archit. ii. 182/2 Feed head, a cistern containing water and communicating with the boiler of a steam engine by a pipe.
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 829/2 Feed head..the metal above and exterior to the mold which flows into the latter as the casting contracts.
feed-heater n. = feed-water-heater at feed-water n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [noun] > types of
steam-boiler1805
boiler1818
generator1823
wagon-boiler1837
Cornish boiler1840
saddle boiler1840
French boiler1844
vomiting-boiler1844
water-tube boiler1850
feed-heater1864
Scotch boiler1877
cross-tubea1884
steamer1891
flash generator1903
flash steam generator1907
waste-heat boiler1930
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. Feed-heater.
1885 Marine Engineer Apr. 14/2 Although with the same area exposed, the feed-heater must be heavier..yet area for area the feed-heater must be much more efficient.
feed horn n. a horn-shaped section of waveguide mounted in front of an aerial and used to direct a signal into it for transmission or to receive a detected signal from it.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > radio equipment > [noun] > aerial > parts of
side lobe1843
downlead1910
anode tap1919
screen1922
lobe1926
radial1939
feed horn1952
1952 Electronics May 126/3 The main beam from the scanner did not vary with feed-horn rotation when the horn dimension was equal to three and to four-channel widths.
1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics vi. 293 Radio energy from the antenna enters the feed horns.
feed-motion n. a contrivance for giving a forward movement to material in a machine.
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 830/1 Feed-motion.
feed-mouth n. = feed-door n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > opening through which fuel is fed
coal-hole1651
stoke-hole1660
firing door1828
feed-mouth1833
feed-door1872
1833 B. Silliman Man. Sugar Cane 34 An opening into the furnace, called the feed-mouth, for the supply of fuel and the regulation of the fire, is left.
feed-rod n. = feeding-rod n. at feeding n. Compounds 2.
feed-room n. U.S. and New Zealand a room in which food for animals is stored.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > feed store-room
feed-room1887
1887 A. W. Tourgée Button's Inn 142 A great towel..hung inside the feed~room door.
1923 ‘K. Mansfield’ Doves' Nest i There it stayed..beside the feed-room door.
1939 ‘K. Mansfield’ Scrapbook 2 Every morning I went across to the feed-room where he cleaned father's boots.
feed-screw n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 830/2 Feed-screw (Lathe), a long screw employed to impart a regular motion to a tool-rest or to the work.
feedstock n. originally U.S. ‘raw material supplied to a machine or processing plant (as pulpwood to a paper mill)’ (Webster 1961); also transferred.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > [noun] > supplied to a machine
feedstock1932
1932 Boehtlingk et al. tr. A. N. Sachanen & M. D. Tilicheyev Chem. & Technol. of Cracking viii. 330 The hot oil pump circulates the clean feed stock from the base of the bubble tower through the heater.
1958 Times 15 July 4/6 The erection of the first plant producing gas for town use from oil feedstocks.
1963 Economist 28 Sept. 1140/2 These..techniques..extended to use petroleum feedstocks.
1969 New Scientist 30 Jan. 233/3 Para-xylene, an essential feedstock in the manufacture of polyester fibres.
1969 Sci. Jrnl. Mar. 25/2 A gas centrifuge designed to separate the lighter uranium-235 isotope from the bulk uranium-238 (in the form of gaseous uranium hexafluoride feedstock).
1969 Times 1 July 5/8 Molten rocks might occur and thus provide feedstock for volcanoes.
feed-strip n. a cartridge belt for a machine gun.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > cartridge > strip or belt
belt1884
feed-strip1902
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 404/2 The breech~block..driving a cartridge in front of it out of the feed~strip.
feed-table n. a table indicating the food values of fodders.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > feed-table
feed-table1886
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 33 He can only examine the feed tables..and guess at the quality of his own fodders.
feed-tank n. a tank or trough containing a supply of water for a locomotive; a supply trough; also, a tank containing drinking-water; U.S. a trough in which food for animals is placed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > constructed reservoir > cistern
cisternessea1325
cistern1382
spurgelc1450
sestern1534
vault1552
reservoir1728
impluvium1823
well-cistern1869
feed-tank1886
1886 Marine Engineer Feb. 283 Storage-tanks..being connected by pipes to the small feed-tanks situated above the boiler.
1923 Man. Seamanship (H.M.S.O.) II. 26 Fresh Water Service. The shipwright officer is responsible for this service (except supplies to the feed tanks).
feed-trough n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [noun] > trough
feeding-trough1825
feed-trough1845
1845 A. Wiley in Indiana Mag. Hist. (1927) 23 212 To come with their wagons, and grain, and hay, and feed troughs and watering buckets.
1854 J. R. Bartlett Personal Narr. Explor. & Incidents II. 12 All [the wagons] had to be provided with feedtroughs.
1868 14th Ann. Rep. Iowa State Agric. Soc. 1867 148 Our market is in the feed-troughs.
1889 G. Findlay Working & Managem. Eng. Railway 108 A tender picks up water from the feed-trough while in motion.
feed-tub n. the supply vessel of an evaporator.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > tools and implements > harvesting equipment > [noun] > apparatus for extraction of tree-sap
feed-tub1878
1878 5th Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1877–8 109 The feed tub will be high enough for the sap to run from that to the evaporator.
feed-wheel n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1874 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. I. 831/1 Feed-wheel, a continuously or intermittingly revolving wheel or disk which carries forward an object or material.
1884 Knight's New Amer. Mech. Dict. 363/1 A plate on the feed wheel holds up the coal when the box is again brought forward.
feed-wire n. = feeder n. 10.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > cable > supplying the public > branch-wire
feeder1886
feed-wire1903
1903 Work 1 Aug. 412/3 A feed wire..will connect with the wires of the netting.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 16 Apr. 8/1 Killed..while testing some electric feed wires.
Draft additions July 2010
Computing. A web document containing a series of items in a structured format which allows them to be individually read, republished, or otherwise manipulated by software; esp. such a document published with a blog or other frequently updated website, typically used for informing a user who has appropriate software whenever new content is added to the site. Cf. RSS n. at R n. Initialisms 1.
ΚΠ
2000 Business Wire (Nexis) 23 Mar. RSS is becoming increasingly popular as technology sites share headlines with other sites to draw traffic, and use RSS feeds to link to related information.
2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 24 May (Central ed.) r12/5 (caption) The number of Web feeds tracked by Feedster, an online service that scans the Internet for feeds, has tripled over the past year.
2008 Women's Health Nov. 88/3 You can keep track of your feeds with a free Web-based RSS reader such as Google reader.
Draft additions September 2017
A television or radio transmission provided to one or more radio or television stations or networks for public broadcast.
ΚΠ
1954 Austin (Minnesota) Daily Herald 16 Mar. 10/5 The League has also offered TV stations at Austin and Rochester the privilege of a feed from WCCO-TV, if arrangements can be completed.
1975 Television/Radio Age 17 Feb. 31/2 The syndicated all-news radio service being offered by NBC Radio as a feed to stations presents a challenge to some of the radio industry's most cherished notions.
2011 J. Knipfel Blow-off x. 100 We seem to be having some technical difficulties with our feed from Paul Langtry.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
feedadj.
/fiːd/, U.S. /fid/Categories »
2. Paid by fees; hired; bribed; Scottish employed for wages.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > working > labour supply > [adjective] > hired
hiredc1230
conductc1290
feed1579
conductitious1607
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [adjective] > in receipt of pay
feed1579
paid1590
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > fee for services rendered > [adjective]
rewarded1567
feed1579
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [adjective] > of nature of bribe > bribed
subornate1431
bribed?1556
waged1561
feed1579
suggested1647
suborned1676
greased1693
bought1700
nobbled1876
fixeda1889
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 389 One of the feeid and fed seruants of ye Pope.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge iv. i. sig. G2 When will the Duke holde feed Intelligence?
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. v. 274 I am no feede poast, Lady; keepe your purse. View more context for this quotation
1628 T. Venner Baths of Bathe (1650) 363 Such are his fee'd Agents.
1709 London Gaz. No. 4562/4 [He] is Brother-in-Law to John Herstone of the Feed Gunners belonging to the Office of Ordnance.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality ix, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 170 She's no a fee'd servant.
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 2 Mar. 11/4 One of the fee'd speakers.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
feedv.
/fiːd/, U.S. /fid/ 1.
a. transitive. To give food to; to supply with food; to provide food for. Often followed by †of, on, with (a specified food).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)]
afeedeOE
foddereOE
feedc950
fosterc1175
fooda1225
nourishc1300
nurshc1325
nourishc1384
abechea1393
relievec1425
norrya1450
nurturea1450
pasturec1450
foisonc1485
bield1488
aliment1490
repast1494
nutrifya1500
repatera1522
battle1548
forage1552
nurse1591
substantiate1592
refeed1615
alumnate1656
focillate1656
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. vi. 26 Eower fæder se heofunlica foedeþ þa [heofun fuglas].
c1000 Ags. Ps. lxxx[i]. 1 b He hi fedde mid fætre lynde hwæte.
a1175 Cott. Hom. 233 He us is..feder for he us fett.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4461 He hine lette ueden [c1300 Otho vede]..ær he him bi-uoren come.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (1724) 375 He..made yt al forest & lese, þe bestes vorto fede.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 13372 Þe folke..was fed Of breed & flesshe.
c1450 Bk. Hawkyng in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 296 Fede your hawke and sey not geve here mete.
1599 J. Davies Nosce Teipsum 44 The Bodies life with meates and Aire is fed.
1648 E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 115 Seeke for some allowance..to feede us.
1714 R. Nelson Life Bp. Bull (ed. 2) §76. 437 About sixty necessitous People..were fed with Meat.
1757 tr. J. G. Keyssler Trav. II. 96 Gregory..was feeding twelve indigent men.
1798 J. Webbe in Marquess Wellesley Select. Despatches (1877) 9 I doubt whether there are any well~grounded expectations that they could feed themselves.
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 394 The Leeds people are better fed.
1836 A. Combe Physiol. Digestion i. v. 135 Dogs fed on oil or sugar..become diseased.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 314 It was not yet the practice to feed cattle in this manner.
b. To suckle (young); in Old English also absol.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > suckle
feedc950
milkOE
nourisha1382
suckle1408
alact1512
elacta1521
nursea1530
suck1607
uberate1623
breastfeed1869
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxiv. 19 Wæ uutedlice ðæm berendum & foedendum in ðæm dagum.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5640 Þis womman..It [sc. a baby] fedd til it cuth spek and gang.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 547/1 This bytche fedeth her whelpes.
1821 Turner's Easy Introd. Arts & Sci. (ed. 18) 170 Pelias..was fed by a mare.
1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. Feed, to suckle.
c. To put food into the mouth of (e.g. a child, a sick person, a fowl).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > put food into mouth of
famplec1230
feedc1440
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 152/2 Feede chyldryn wythe pappe mete, papo.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Appasteler, to feed by hand, or with the hand; or, as a bird feeds her yong.
1638 G. Markham Farewell to Husb. 162 The Bitter is ever best to be fed by the hand, because when you have fed him, you may tie his Beake together.
1748 W. Cadogan Ess. Nursing 19 A sucking Child should be fed..once with the Broth, and once with the Milk.
1872–4 L. Wright Poultry 79 The fowl when fed is..held with both hands under its breast.
1882 J. W. Anderson Med. Nursing (1883) iv. 73 A patient..will not have the feeding cup, and yet must be fed in some such way.
1893 H. D. Traill Social England I. Introd. 54 His meal might be served up to him on costly dishes, but he fed himself with his fingers.
1895 N.E.D. at Feed Mod. He is so weak that he cannot feed himself.
d. To graze, pasture (cattle, sheep, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (transitive)] > pasture
leasowc950
feed1382
pasturec1400
grassc1500
graze1564
to put out1600
summer1601
impasture1614
depasture1713
run1767
range1816
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > herding, pasturing, or confining > [verb (transitive)] > pasture
leasowc950
feed1382
pasturec1400
to put to grass1471
grassc1500
to turn out?1523
graze1564
impasture1614
put1620
depasture1713
run1767
to run out1851
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Gen. xxxvii. 13 Thi britheren feden [a1425 kepen, 1611 L.V. feed] sheep in Sichemys.
1757 J. Home Douglas ii. i My name is Norval; on the Grampian Hills My father feeds his flocks.
e. feed-the-dove. A Christmas game mentioned in Brand's Pop. Antiq. I. 278.
f. In slang phrase to feed the bears, to receive a ticket or pay a fine for a traffic offence: see bear n.1 3e originally and chiefly U.S.
ΚΠ
1975 Heavy Duty Trucking May 33/2 Don't feed any of them cotton-pickin' bears there, guy.
1976 CB Mag. June 83/2 Truckers say warning each other of speed traps is their only defense against having to ‘feed the bears’ or collect a ticket from Smokey.
1980 S. Braithwaite CB in GB 29 Feed the bears, get a speeding ticket.
2. figurative of 1. Const. as above.† d. to feed with money: to bribe. Obsolete.
a. simply; esp. in spiritual sense.
ΚΠ
971 Blickl. Hom. 57 Seo saul, gif heo ne bið mid Godes worde feded.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 215 Eche heȝe dai [þe hodede sholde] fede mid godes worde þe hungrie soule.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 500 Þe soule is fedde wiþ charite.
R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 58 Chosyn sawlis..with heuenly likynge is feed.
1579 W. Fulke Heskins Parl. Repealed in D. Heskins Ouerthrowne 274 A spirituall meate, to feede vs into eternall life.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 119 He grinds his Teeth In his own Flesh, and feeds approaching Death. View more context for this quotation
1882 E. P. Hood in Leisure Hour Apr. 225 The logic of satire has often been fed on fear.
b. To gratify, minister to the demands of (a person's vanity, desire of vengeance, or other passion); to sustain or comfort (a person) with (usually, fallacious) hopes. Cf. food v. †to feed forth, up (earlier to food forth): to beguile, keep (one) quiet, with flattery, etc.; = amuse v. 1, 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > please or give pleasure to [verb (transitive)]
i-quemec893
ywortheOE
queemeOE
likeOE
likeOE
paya1200
gamec1225
lustc1230
apaya1250
savoura1300
feastc1300
comfort1303
glew1303
pleasec1350
ticklec1386
feedc1400
agreea1413
agreec1425
emplessc1450
gree1468
applease1470
complaire1477
enjoy1485
warm1526
to claw the ears1549
content1552
pleasure1556
oblect?1567
relish1567
gratify1569
sweeta1575
promerit1582
tinkle1582
tastea1586
aggrate1590
gratulatea1592
greeta1592
grace1595
arride1600
complease1604
honey1604
agrade1611
oblectate1611
oblige1652
placentiate1694
flatter1695
to shine up to1882
fancy-
the mind > emotion > pleasure > contentment or satisfaction > be content or satisfied with [verb (transitive)] > content or satisfy > a desire or appetite
stanchc1315
queema1325
slakec1325
fill1340
servea1393
feedc1400
exploita1425
assuagec1430
astaunchc1430
slocken?1507
eslakec1530
sate1534
saturate1538
appease1549
glut1549
answer1594
exsatiate1599
embaitc1620
palliate1631
recreate1643
still1657
jackal1803
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > flatter [verb (transitive)] > beguile or keep quiet with flattery
feedc1400
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > promise, ground of hope > foster hopes [verb (transitive)] > false or uncertain
flatter1377
feed1530
dangle1871
cosy1960
c1400 Rom. Rose 5428 She [Fortune]..fedith hym with glorie veyne.
1475 Bk. Noblesse (1860) 53 The said maister..fedde hem forthe withe sportis and plaies tille [etc.].
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 547/1 You haue fedde me forthe with fayre wordes longe ynoughe.
?1577 J. Northbrooke Spiritus est Vicarius Christi: Treat. Dicing 109 [He]..so continueth, feeding himselfe with looking for the chaunge of the Dice.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iv. i. 64 To feede my humor, wish thy selfe no harme.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge i. i. sig. A4v This morne my vengeance shall be amply fed.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 114 Feeding him vp with faire words.
1603 R. Knolles Gen. Hist. Turkes 656 Craftily feeding him with the hope of libertie.
1666 W. Temple Let. to Bp. of Munster in Wks. (1731) II. 15 He seems to feed himself and his Friend with the Hopes of a speedy Peace.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 66 a Others, feeding themselves with great hopes of times to come.
1856 R. W. Emerson Eng. Traits x. 165 All that can feed the senses and passions..is in open market.
c. in phrases, to feed one's eyes, to feed one's sight. Also, of the tongue, to feed the ear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > stare or gaze
stareOE
gawc1175
darea1225
porec1300
muse1340
glowc1374
gogglec1380
gazec1386
glore?a1400
glopc1400
govec1480
glower?a1513
gowk1513
daze1523
amuse1532
glew1587
to feed one's eyes1590
to seek, buy, or sow gape-seed1598
to shoot one's eyes1602
glazea1616
stargaze1639
gaum1691
to stare like a stuck pig1702
ygaze1737
gawk1785
to feed one's sight1813
gloze1853
glow1856
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. vii. sig. Sv In his lap a masse of coyne he told, And turned vpside downe, to feede his eye..With his huge threasury.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 224 The Alterations of Scenes..feed and relieue the Eye.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 159 I found few [monuments] to feed my eyes upon.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper i. 26 He fed his eyes by being a spectator of those wickednesses.
1740 J. Wesley & C. Wesley Hymns & Sacred Poems ii. 173 His Tongue the Ear with Musick feeds.
1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain iii. xix. 158 The venturous Knight With these high marvels fed his sight.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > bribe
meedOE
underorna1325
corrump1387
forbuy1393
hirec1400
wage1461
fee1487
under-arearc1503
bribe1528
grease1528
money1528
corrupt1548
budc1565
to feed with money1567
to put out a person's eyes with (a gift, bribe, etc.)1580
sweeten1594
to grease the fist or (one) in the fist1598
over-bribe1619
to buy off1629
palter1641
to take off1646
buy1652
overmoneya1661
bub1684
to speak to ——1687
to tickle in the palm1694
daub1699
overbuy1710
touch1752
palm1767
to get at ——1780
fix1790
subsidize1793
sop1837
to buy over1848
backsheesh1850
nobble1856
square1859
hippodrome1866
see1867
boodleize1883
boodle1886
to get to ——1901
reach1906
straighten1923
lubricate1928
to keep (someone) sweet1939
sling1939
to pay off1942
bung1950
1567 J. Hawkyns Let. Sir W. Cecil in State P. Dom. Eliz. 44. 13 They were by the Merchaunts fedd soe plentefully with mony.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 244 Anytus..was the first that fedde the iudges with money.
3.
a. intransitive (rarely †reflexive in same sense). To take food; to eat. Of persons now only colloquial. Const. as in 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (intransitive)]
eatc825
to break breadeOE
baitc1386
feeda1387
to take one's repast?1490
to take repast1517
repast1520
peck?1536
diet1566
meat1573
victual1577
graze1579
manger1609
to craw it1708
grub1725
scoff1798
browse1818
provender1819
muckamuck1853
to put on the nosebag1874
refect1882
restaurate1882
nosh1892
tucker1903
to muck in1919
scarf1960
snack1972
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating by animals > feed (of animals) [verb (intransitive)]
baitc1386
feeda1387
relievec1475
victual1577
(to be) on the feed1867
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 19 Þe corn..þerof þe colver ofte schulde fede hym self.
1486 Bk. St. Albans C viij a She fedith on all maner of flesh.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Biiiiv The shale of the nut to be broken, that he may fede of the cornell.
1556 tr. J. de Flores Histoire de Aurelio & Isabelle sig. N6 Of hir delicate fleshe they sc. [the Lions] fedde them.
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth ii. 14 He fed hard at supper on sallats.
1712 A. Pope tr. Statius First Bk. Thebais in Misc. Poems 47 Devouring dogs..Fed on his trembling Limbs.
1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 172 It was a good while before they [sc. kids] wou'd feed.
1757 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 17 Oct. (1932) (modernized text) V. 2250 Go pretty often and feed with him.
1834 H. McMurtrie tr. G. Cuvier Animal Kingdom (abridged ed.) 145 The ostrich feeds on grass.
1850 L. Hunt Autobiogr. II. xvii. 252 I did wrong at that time not to ‘feed better’.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. i. 15 No one feeds at the high table except the dons.
b. transf. to feed on (a person): to live at his expense.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > flattery or flattering > servile flattery or currying favour > flatter servilely or curry favour with [verb (transitive)] > sponge on
live1583
sponge1677
to feed on1733
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man iii. 65 All feed on one vain Patron.
c. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > use or make use of [verb (transitive)]
noteOE
take?a1160
turnc1175
usec1300
to fare witha1340
benote1340
spenda1400
usea1400
weara1400
naitc1400
occupy1423
to put (also set) in work?a1425
practise?c1430
apply1439
employ?1473
to call upon ——1477
help1489
tew1489
handle1509
exercise1526
improvea1529
serve1538
feed1540
enure1549
to make (also take) (a) use of1579
wield1601
adoperate1612
to avail oneself ofa1616
to avail oneself ofa1616
prevail1617
to make practice of1623
ploy1675
occasion1698
to call on ——1721
subserve1811
nuse1851
utilize1860
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [verb (intransitive)] > gain strength or nourishment from
feed1540
1540 T. Cranmer Answ. S. Gardiner 22 Many holly Martyres..did daily fede of the foode of Christes body.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Apol. Poetrie (1595) sig. B2 Whose milk..enabled them to feed..of tougher knowledges.
1599 Warning for Faire Women ii. 1380 The people's eyes have fed them with my sight.
1612 S. Rowlands Knaue of Harts 29 On others miseries and woes, I feede.
1768 W. Gilpin Ess. Prints 10 The eye..may be pleased..by feeding on the parts separately.
1772 W. Jones Poems 19 Grant me to feed on beauty's rifled charms.
1827 R. Pollok Course of Time II. ix. 175 Disappointment fed on ruined Hope.
1883 Standard 20 July 5/1 Cholera feeds upon impurities of every sort.
4. transitive. To yield or produce food for; to be, or serve as, food for (literal and figurative). to feed the fishes: see also fish n.1 Phrases 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > [verb (transitive)]
feeda1300
the world > life > death > manner of death > die in specific manner [verb (transitive)]
to feed the fishes1891
a1300 Sarmun li, in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 6 Þe siȝte of god him sal fede.
1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis III. 26 Suche is the delicacie Of love, which min herte fedeth.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 38v Fodder..very good to feede both cattel & Poultrye.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 28 One Acre of this Grass will feed you as many Cows as six Acres of other common Grass.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 120 The water-Snake, whom Fish and Paddocks fed . View more context for this quotation
1891 J. S. Farmer Slang (at cited word) To feed the fishes, to be drowned.
5. figurative.1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §114 Musick feedeth that disposition of the Spirits which it findeth.1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 132 Poetry feeds and waters the passions.† b. To nurture, bring up. Obsolete.
a. To supply with nourishment; to nourish, cause to grow, support, sustain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > preserve from injury or destruction [verb (transitive)] > preserve in proper condition
feeda1000
sustaina1325
keepa1382
entertain1477
uphold1511
upkeep1926
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > support or encouragement > support or encourage [verb (transitive)]
shoveOE
to hold with (arch. of, on, for)1154
favour1362
abetc1380
sustainc1390
supportc1405
courage1470
comfort1481
friend1550
through-bear1554
countenance1568
foster1569
favourize1585
seconda1586
sidea1601
rally1624
feed1626
countenance1654
encourage1668
inserve1683
to go strong on1822
partake1861
sponsor1884
to hold a brief for1888
root1889
rah-rah1940
affirm1970
babysit1973
barrack-
a1000 Boeth. Metr. (Gr.) xxix. 70 Se..metod..fet eall þætte groweð wæstmas on weorolde.
a1300 Seven Sins 33 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 19 Is fule bodi fede mid is siluir and is gold.
1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville De Proprietatibus Rerum (1495) iv. ix. 93 By the benefyce of blode al the lymmes of the body preuayle and be fedde.
1594 W. Shakespeare Lucrece sig. H2v A mountaine spring that feeds a dale. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 85 Be mindful..With Store of Earth around to feed the Root. View more context for this quotation
1719 I. Watts Hymns i. xlviii God..feeds the strength of every Saint.
1759 J. Mills tr. H. L. Duhamel du Monceau Pract. Treat. Husbandry i. i. 3 The trees had been fed by other roots.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 662 Some [flowers] clothe the soil that feeds them.
1801 R. Southey Thalaba I. i. 23 The ebony..A leafless tree..With darkness feeds her boughs of raven grain.
1837 B. Disraeli Venetia I. 11 A rich valley, its green meads fed by a clear and rapid stream.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > upbringing > [verb (transitive)]
i-teon975
forthbringc1000
forthwiseOE
nourishc1300
nurshc1325
feedc1330
updraw1390
uprearc1400
educate1445
norrya1450
nurturea1450
to bring up1484
endue1526
nuzzle1558
rear1558
nurse1584
to breed up1611
cradle1613
breed1650
raise1744
rare1798
mud1814
to fetch up1841
rise1843
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 287 Fiftene ȝere he gan him fede.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 623 Your-selfe..þe fresshist and fairest fed vpon erthe.
6. figurative.1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. ii. 180 Aduantage feedes him fat while men delay. View more context for this quotation1620 May Heir i. i, in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1875) XI. 515 'Twill feed me fat with sport, that it shall make.1874 J. L. Motley Life John of Barneveld I. vii. 323 He remained in Paris,—feeding fat the grudge he bore to Barneveld.† d. To give ‘body’ to (a liquor). Obsolete.
a. To fill with food, to pamper; to fatten, make fleshy; occasionally of the food. dialect. to feed (full and) high, to feed up: to supply or obtain with rich and abundant food.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb] > specific with rich or abundant food
to feed up1552
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > feed up or overfeed
cramc1325
pamperc1390
pampa1400
papa1400
engorge1497
pompa1529
feed1552
frank?1567
grudge1642
to feed into1843
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (transitive)] > fatten
masteOE
fatc1386
frankc1440
to set up1540
fatten1552
feed1552
cram1577
engrease1583
to raise in flesh1608
adipate1623
saginate1623
batten1638
to stall to1764
tallow1765
to fat off1789
to make up1794
higglea1825
finish1841
force1847
to feed off1852
steam1947
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > fatten
masteOE
fatc1386
to set up1540
fatten1552
feed1552
forcea1571
cram1577
engrease1583
to raise in flesh1608
saginate1623
to stall to1764
tallow1765
stall-feed1766
graze1787
to fat off1789
to make up1794
higglea1825
finish1841
to feed off1852
steam1947
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > appetite > excessive consumption of food or drink > eat or drink to excess [verb (transitive)] > fatten or pamper
forwean1362
feed1552
sunketa1825
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Feade fatte in a francke or penne, altilis. Feade full, saburratus.
1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) 79 This choice [the Steere] is altogether exempted from labour, and fed up for food.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 Feed him full and high. View more context for this quotation
1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 328 Feed.., ‘I mean to feed him’; I intend to fat him.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 62 A small dog..not to be fed too high.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (at cited word) He feeds five-an'-twenty steers every summer.
1886 R. E. G. Cole Gloss. Words S.-W. Lincs. (at cited word) Milk will feed anything quicker than water.
1913 W. Owen Let. 23 Apr. (1967) 185 Congratulations on the success of your feeding me up.
1913 W. Owen Let. 6 Nov. (1967) 207 Began to ‘feed up’ today, but the difficulty is tremendous; i.e. of getting foods.
a1951 J. K. Ewers in Austral. Short Stories (1951) 335 I'll just help Larry feed up.
b. to feed off: to fatten (an animal) for sale or slaughter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (transitive)] > fatten
masteOE
fatc1386
frankc1440
to set up1540
fatten1552
feed1552
cram1577
engrease1583
to raise in flesh1608
adipate1623
saginate1623
batten1638
to stall to1764
tallow1765
to fat off1789
to make up1794
higglea1825
finish1841
force1847
to feed off1852
steam1947
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > animal keeping practices general > [verb (transitive)] > fatten
masteOE
fatc1386
to set up1540
fatten1552
feed1552
forcea1571
cram1577
engrease1583
to raise in flesh1608
saginate1623
to stall to1764
tallow1765
stall-feed1766
graze1787
to fat off1789
to make up1794
higglea1825
finish1841
to feed off1852
steam1947
1852 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 13 i. 224 The owner..feeds off a large number of sheep..annually.
1854 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 15 i. 112 The hoggets are..fed off before New Year.
c. figurative †With on adv.: To encourage the growth of (obsolete). to feed into: to bring into by pampering. Also, (Theatrical slang) to feed a part: to fill it out by the addition of details or incidents of minor importance; also, transitive and intransitive, to supply another character with cues. (Cf. feeder n. 11, feed n. 5d.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > feed up or overfeed
cramc1325
pamperc1390
pampa1400
papa1400
engorge1497
pompa1529
feed1552
frank?1567
grudge1642
to feed into1843
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > amplify part
gag1853
to feed a part1892
pong1893
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)] > supply cues to another actor
feed1929
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (transitive)] > support or assist another actor
support1779
to play up to ——1809
feed1929
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 118 Publicola..was very diligent..to feede on further & increase the same [sedition].
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present i. v. 42 Fed into gigantic bulk.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 22 Dec. 2/3 After this, endless complications all centreing on Mr. Penley—feeding the part would be the stage term.
1921 B. Tarkington Let. 21 Apr. in On Plays (1959) 55 I've built it..craftily..so that the part isn't ever visibly ‘fed’.
1929 D. G. Mackail How Amusing! 66 I've had laughs I've earned, and laughs the other fellow's earned by my feeding him.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. i You couldn't want a better dancer... The only thing is, he won't feed. I never struck a worse feed.
1968 Listener 11 July 59/3 The rest of the cast loll around, feeding the soloist with helpful questions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [verb (transitive)] > give body to
feed1669
1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant v. i. 77 Your Vintners feed their hungry Wines.
1742 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer (ed. 4) I. Pref. Receipts for feeding, fining, and preserving Malt-Liquors.
e. Tanning. To give ‘substance’ to. Also, intransitive of the leather: To gain substance; to thicken.
ΚΠ
1882 J. Paton in Encycl. Brit. XIV. 389/2 The [kid] skins are..‘fed’ with yolk of eggs and salt.
1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 38 This rest allows the leather to ‘feed’.
f. intransitive. To grow fat. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [verb (intransitive)] > fat or plump
forwaxc897
fatc1000
burnish1398
battle1575
pinguefy1598
bellya1642
fatten1676
(to be) in flesh1677
thrive1711
feed1727
bloat1735
plumpen1795
to fill out1851
stouten1863
1727 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. II Feeding..growing in Flesh by eating.
1790 W. Marshall Agric. Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Midland Counties II. 436 Feed, to grow fat.
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (at cited word) I nivver seed onybody feed like ——.
g. Football, etc. To give a pass to.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > characteristics of team ball games > play team ball games [verb (transitive)] > actions or manoeuvres
pass1865
to throw in1867
work1868
centre1877
shoot1882
field1883
tackle1884
chip1889
feed1889
screen1906
fake1907
slap1912
to turn over1921
tip-in1958
to lay off1965
spill1975
1889 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang I. (at cited word) To feed, to support.
1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 417/2 The way in which he can aid his side in attacking is by passing to, or, as it is called, feeding his forwards.
h. slang. transitive and intransitive. To tire or bore (cf. fed adj. 3).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > be or become wearied or bored [verb (intransitive)] > be or become wearisome or tedious
to think longeOE
it irks (me)1483
dull?1529
flag1678
weary1815
stale1893
feed1933
the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > be or become wearied or bored with [verb (transitive)] > affect with weariness or tedium
sadeOE
weary1340
tire?a1513
accloy1530
irka1535
attediate1603
tedify1614
bore1768
vapour1774
ennui1804
terebrate1855
bind1929
feed1933
1933 G. Heyer Why shoot Butler? iii. 47 Anyone can have the super motor boat as far as I'm concerned. Joan, too. She bars it completely, which feeds Brother Basil stiff.
1940 M. Marples Public School Slang 77 ‘It's feeding, isn't it?’ (i.e. calculated to make one fed-up).
i. To accompany (a musician, esp. a jazz musician); spec. to play accompanying chords for (a jazz soloist); also, to provide (an accompaniment.) colloquial (originally U.S.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > performing music > perform (music) [verb (transitive)] > accompany
accompany1583
symphonize1801
feed1949
comp1955
back1961
1949 L. Feather Inside Be-bop ii. 59 The guitar..is employed like the piano to ‘feed’ or ‘bop’ the soloists by ‘comping’ with irregularly accented chords.
1955 in M. Stearns Story of Jazz (1957) xviii. 237 Lennie feeds his chords off the beat by use of irregular accents.
1958 P. Gammond Decca Bk. Jazz xii. 140 The pianist fed a progression of relevant chords in a manner which gave the soloist the greatest impetus.
7. absolute.1676 J. Beal in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 11 584 Two ordinary Labourers..(the one feeding, and the other grinding).
a. To keep (a reservoir, watercourse, etc.) supplied; to supply (a fire, etc.) with fuel.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > supply with fuel [verb (transitive)]
feed1582
fuela1593
fuelize1631
underfeed1904
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [verb (transitive)] > collect or store water
feed1582
to head up1821
impound1862
1582 in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxf. (1880) 426 Water cowrses..to feede youre pondes.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 261 I haue ingag'd..my friend to his meere enemie to feede my meanes. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) i. vi. 111 The smoakie light That's fed with stinking Tallow. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 68 A fiery Deluge, fed With ever-burning Sulphur unconsum'd. View more context for this quotation
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 274 The warm Springs that feed the..Baths.
1758 R. Dossie Elaboratory laid open 8 This manner of feeding the fire will be found a very great convenience.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian v, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. I. 153 The mob fed the fire with whatever they could find.
1869 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene (ed. 3) 319 Cisterns at the top of every barrack should feed the ablution rooms.
1875 C. Lyell & L. Lyell Princ. Geol. (ed. 12) II. iii. xlix. 608 Islands..large enough to feed small rivers.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 428 Cisterns..were fed..by the aqueduct of which they formed the termination.
b. To supply (a machine, a workman) continuously with material to work upon. Also intransitive of the material: To pass in (to a mill).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > render mechanical [verb (intransitive)] > operate machine > supply with materials
feed1669
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > render mechanical [verb (transitive)] > operate machine > supply with materials
feed1669
pressure-feed1904
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 51 The Corn feeds not until you set the same [Engine] down again.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 52 In case you drive apace it feeds apace.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 277 The breadth of the bottom of which [hopper] must be..near as long as the Rowlers, that it may not feed them too fast.
1807 J. Barlow Columbiad ii. 84 She..fed The turning spindle with the twisting thread.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theophrastus Such xvii. 302 Each new machine needs a new appliance of human skill to construct it, new devices to feed it with material.
1891 J. S. Farmer Slang (at cited word) To feed the Press, to send up copy slip by slip.
1961 M. Beadle These Ruins are Inhabited (1963) iii. 39 If fed a shilling, this latter [sc. a gas heater] will yield enough warmth to damp-dry socks draped on the rungs of a chair.
1969 Guardian 18 Nov. 13/1 It is still cheaper to feed the meters (illegally) all day than pay the high price of off-street parking.
c. To relay or supply electrical signals or power to, esp. as part of a larger network or system.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > supply power to system [verb (transitive)]
feed1894
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > processes > [verb (transitive)] > transmit signal
transmit1877
feed1952
1894 A. T. Snell Electr. Motive Power iv. 137 They..feed the distributing network with current at a pressure of about 100 volts.
1952 E. A. Laport Radio Antenna Engin. ii. 132 It is necessary to feed each line with the potential that will transmit the proper amount of power down each line.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) XI. 251/2 Along the route there are Bell system offices, which feed local stations.
8. † d. Stock-exchange. To deal out (stock) in portions. Obsolete.
a. To cause to be eaten by cattle; to use (land) as pasture. Often with adjective complement or adverb, as to feed bare, to feed close, to feed down, to feed off.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > management of pasture > use as pasture [verb (transitive)]
pasture1434
agista1450
graze1603
impasture1649
feeda1652
summer eat1727
stock1794
a1652 R. Weston in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 242 You may then feed the ground with Cattel, all the Winter as you do other ground.
a1652 R. Weston in S. Hartlib Legacy (1655) 243 As it springs again, feed it with Cattel.
1655 S. Hartlib Legacy (ed. 3) 139 It is very easie, by mowing or feeding it [sc. corn] down with Cattel, to prevent it.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 23 As soon as you have fed it bare, then is it best to over-flow.
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 28 The best Husbandry is to graze it, or feed it [grass] in Racks.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 29 Take care to feed it [the grass] close before the Winter.
1807 R. Parkinson Experienced Farmer I. 409 If he cannot feed it [sc. Buck-wheat] off with some cattle.
1850 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 11 ii. 430 The crop being well grown, it only remains to feed it well off.
b. To deal out (food) to animals. Also with out, and with ellipsis of indirect object. Similarly, to supply (food) to (a person, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > deal in stocks and shares [verb (transitive)] > specific operations
subscribe1618
to take up1655
to sell out1721
to take in1721
to take up1740
pool?1780
capitalize1797
put1814
feed1818
to vote (the) stock (or shares)1819
corner1836
to sell short1852
promote1853
recapitalize1856
refund1857
float1865
water1865
margin1870
unload1870
acquire1877
maintain1881
syndicate1882
scalp1886
pyramid1888
underwrite1889
oversubscribe1891
joint-stock1894
wash1895
write1908
mark1911
split1927
marry1931
stag1935
unwind1958
short1959
preplace1966
unitize1970
bed and breakfast1974
index-link1974
warehouse1977
daisy-chain1979
strip1981
greenmail1984
pull1986
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (transitive)]
baitc1400
servea1475
foddera1500
refetea1500
maintain1576
provend1581
provender1584
put1620
meal1630
stall-feed1763
feed1818
board1875
the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feed or nourish [verb (transitive)] > supply with provisions
victualc1380
meat1568
provant1599
provision1604
catera1616
bread1797
grub1819
ration1834
vegetate1846
tucker1899
feed1904
1818 in Trans. Ill. State Hist. Soc. 1910 158 They either have to feed out their corn or their cattle get very poor.
1852 Trans. Michigan Agric. Soc. 3 145 I feed almost every thing, hay, oats, straw, [etc.].
1868 14th Ann. Rep. Iowa State Agric. Soc. 1867 148 Corn is husked and cribbed and fed out to stock.
1883 P. E. Gibbons in Harper's Mag. Apr. 652/1 Mangel~wurzel..is fed to the cows in winter.
1893 K. D. Wiggin in Atlantic Monthly Feb. 184/1 He has been feeding bread and butter to the dog.
1904 Grand Rapids Evening Press 2 June 3 The professor..fed snake sandwiches to his college class at a party.
1911 R. W. Chambers Common Law viii. 237 Rita..fed them bits of cassava and crumbs of cake.
1946 Harper's Mag. Oct. 311/1 Now and then my father would have to borrow money to ‘feed-out’ the steers.
1961 Bible (New Eng.) Matt. vii. 6 Do not feed your pearls to pigs.
c. transferred. (Cf. 7) To supply continuously (material to be consumed or operated upon). Also, to feed down: to bring (a tool) down, gradually as required.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > provide or supply (something) [verb (transitive)] > continuously
feed1860
1860 G. W. S. Piesse Lab. Chem. Wonders 82 Gold is fed into a vessel containing aqua regia.
1864 Webster's Amer. Dict. Eng. Lang. at Drill-press The tool B rotates and is fed down by hand or automatically.
1869 Eng. Mech. 19 Mar. 574/1 The wood is fed to the saw by means of a..roller.
1883 H. Tuttle in Harper's Mag. Nov. 824/2 The wet sand..is fed into the opening.
1884 Knight's New Amer. Mech. Dict. 744/2 The string..is fed from a tin canister.
1884 W. H. Rideing in Harper's Mag. May 895/1 Long..tubes..feed them to exquisitely adjusted scales.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > giving > distributing or dealing out > distribute or deal out [verb (transitive)] > stocks
feed1814
1814 Stock-Exchange laid Open 28 Feeding out stock to less dealers.
e. to feed back:
(a) to return (a fraction of an output signal) to an input of the same or a preceding stage of the circuit, device, process, etc., that produced it. Also transferred. Chiefly in passive. (Cf. feedback n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > signal > [adjective] > relating to or involving feedback
regenerative1915
to feed back1921
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > signal > [verb (transitive)] > feed back
to feed back1921
1921 Wireless World 10 Dec. 571/2 The magnified oscillations are fed back again into the grid circuit.
1940 Nature 7 Sept. 321/2 The pencil draws a curve and after an interval the information expressed by this curve is fed back to the machine.
1952 New Biol. 13 54 Information about this error must be ‘fed-back’ into the machine and cause it to alter its condition in such a direction as will diminish the error.
1960 O. Skilbeck ABC of Film & TV Working Terms 52 Part of an amplifier's own output may be deliberately fed back to reduce inherent sound distortion.
(b) In transferred sense also used intransitively of a result or effect of a process: to return as feedback; to affect or modify the process that brought it about.
ΚΠ
1940 Amateur Radio Handbk. (ed. 2) iv. 65/2 Care should be taken..so that no output of this I.F. beat oscillator feeds back to the input of the I.F. amplifier.
1945 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 240 266 The y-shaft is driven by the output of integrator II and feeds back to drive the input of the function unit.
1960 R. W. Marks Dymaxion World Buckminster Fuller 23/2 Since the benefits keep feeding back into the system, such techno-economic patterns are infinitely regenerative.
1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Ling. Sci. x. 275 The experience from the teaching of English to foreign learners is feeding back..to the teaching profession in Britain.
1966 Rep. Comm. Inq. (Univ. of Oxf.) I. 56 There are also advances in social studies, at postgraduate level, that are likely to feed back into undergraduate work.
f. intransitive. to feed through, to produce an effect elsewhere; to have consequences, esp. in the economy. Const. in, into, or to.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > trading conditions > [verb (intransitive)] > affect the market or economy
to feed through1979
1975 Business Week 3 Nov. 25/2 When the cycle bottoms out, a slackening in the pace of inventory liquidation..involves a boost in orders, production and employment—elements that feed through the economy.]
1979 Economist 24 Nov. 98/1 Not all of that [sc. inflation] will feed through, because raw materials and fuel make up only part of industry's costs.
1981 Economist 7 Feb. 64 The J-curve effect of West Germany's devaluation against the dollar should soon start to feed through in higher export volumes.
1982 Economist 27 Nov. 36/2 The results..suggested that the trade balance in manufactured goods would initially improve by £540m if devaluation did not feed through to higher wages.
1983 Times 16 Feb. 14/5 The increase in the speculative metals was led by gold, and it fed through into copper.
1983 Times 14 Mar. 11/6 There is bound to be some time lag before the results feed through.
9.
a. Of cattle: To eat, eat off, feed upon. Also, to feed down, off.
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the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (transitive)]
eatc825
to-fret?c1225
vourc1330
dinec1380
to eat inc1450
engorge1541
tooth1579
canvass1602
get1603
eat1607
manger1609
upeat1630
dispatch1711
feed1725
yam1725
to eat off1733
repartake1751
patter1803
chop1833
smouse1840
to stow away1858
to put oneself outside ——1865
to get outside ——1876
to feed down1887
1725 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey I. iv. 452 A tim'rous hind..feeds the flow'ry lawns.
1858 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 19 i. 206 The fifty-two cows had..more than they could feed down.
1883 R. Jefferies Nature near London 237 The sheep have fed it too close for a grip of the hand.
1891 Western Morning News 14 Sept. A crop of swedes..is again fed off by sheep.
b. to feed down: to eat off the food of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eat [verb (transitive)]
eatc825
to-fret?c1225
vourc1330
dinec1380
to eat inc1450
engorge1541
tooth1579
canvass1602
get1603
eat1607
manger1609
upeat1630
dispatch1711
feed1725
yam1725
to eat off1733
repartake1751
patter1803
chop1833
smouse1840
to stow away1858
to put oneself outside ——1865
to get outside ——1876
to feed down1887
1887 Pall Mall Gaz. 20 Oct. 13/2 ‘Bunny’..feeds down the sheep.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1895; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1575
adj.1579
v.c950