howadv.n.³

Brit.

/haʊ/, U.S.

/haʊ/

Forms: Old English hú, Middle English hu, (Middle English hv, hwu, wu, quhu, qu(u)ow, heu, ou, heou, Middle English hw, Middle English ( w)houȝ, whou, hwou, wouȝ, wo, w, Kent. hue), Middle English–1500s hou, Middle English– how, (Middle English hov, Middle English–1500s whow, Scottish quhou, quhow, Middle English howghe, owe, hough(e, who, Middle English–1600s howe, 1500s whoe).

Etymology: Old English hú < *hwó, corresponding to Old Frisian hû, hô, Old Saxon hwô, hwuo, wô (Middle Dutch hoe (ho, hou), Dutch hoe, Middle Low German woe), Old High German (Tatian) wuo < Germanic *hwô, an adverbial formation from the interrogative pronoun stem hwa- who? Parallel to Middle Dutch hú, and to Gothic hwaiwa, Old High German hweo, weo, wio, German wie, with different suffixes.

A. adv. An adverb primarily interrogative, used also in exclamations, and in conjunctive and relative constructions: cf. when adv., conj., pron., int., and n., where adv. and conj., why adv., int., and n.

I. In direct questions.

a. Qualifying a verb: In what way or manner? By what means?

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in what way

howOE

what-wisea1375

howgatea1400

however1871

OE Genesis 805 Hu sculon wit nu libban?

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 29 Hu mæg man ingan in stranges hus?

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 97 Hwu come þu [h]ider in?

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2753 Hw mithe he don him shame more?

c1315 Shoreham 16 Hou his hit ther bethe so fele?

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xv. 35 How schulen deede men ryse aȝen?

c1394 P. Pl. Crede 42 Whouȝ schulde þei techen þe God þat con not hemselue?

c1394 P. Pl. Crede 141 Whow myȝt-tou in thine broþer eiȝe a bare mote loken?

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 249/2 Howe..[Winch. howȝ or qwow], quomodo, qualiter.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iii. sig. Ee^v How shall she know, how shall she finde the man?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 159 How came we a shore?

1677 T. Hobbes in tr. Homer Iliads (ed. 2) To Rdr. sig. A3^v How is it possible..to please them all?

1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 23/2 How can I tell who has seen him?

1836 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) III. x. 149 This marvellous benefit..how was it to be attained?

b. With intensive additions, as the devil, a fire, in the world, etc. (see devil n., etc.).

ΚΠ

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xix. 408 How the devyll dare ye thus speke?

1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Amphitryon i. i, in tr. Plautus Comedies 19 How a fire cou'd he see all this?

1772 J. W. Fletcher Logica Genevensis x. 165 How in the world can he know..whether he is in the faith or not?

1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xlix How in the world did ever she get there?

†c. In pregnant use = How is it that? How comes it that? Why? Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [adverb] > why, wherefore, or for what reason

for whyc1000

whereofc1175

wheretoa1225

whereforec1230

whereata1325

how1340

wheretilla1400

whereupon1535

wherebya1616

whaffor1922

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 47 Hue is hit uoul dede zeþþe hit is kendelich?

c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 60 Hou shulde sich sense be error in man?

a1400–50 Alexander 459 How þat ȝe ga sa grete, gud dame?

a1400–50 Alexander 4345 Howe durst any be so bald to blemysche..Þe hand-werke of þat hiȝe gode?

1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall xi. sig. C4^v If thou be to ly at the Altar, how wantst thou a Priest to say thy soule Masse?

1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxvi. 9 How saidst thou, She is my sister?

d. elliptical (a) With ellipsis of the rest of the question, which, if expressed in full, would reflect the form of a previous statement or question; also as how? see as adv. 7. (b) In ‘ How if…?’ ‘How will (would) it be if…?’

ΚΠ

1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 16/1 We shall see sometime how heretikes come to turne the groundes of our faith wholy vpside downe. As how? If any denie that Iesus Christ is God euerlasting, etc.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. iii. 29 How if when I am laid into the Tombe, I wake before the time.

a1610 J. Healey tr. Epictetus Manuall (1636) xxxi. 39 But I have yet no meanes to benefit my countrey! As how man? you cannot builde it a schoole, an Exchange, or a Bathe: what's all that to the purpose?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 30 How if your husband start some other where?

1764 S. Foote Lyar i. i. 7 Pap. This disguise procures me many resources... Y. Wild. As how?.. Pap. Why, at a pinch, Sir, I am either a teacher of tongues..or a dancing-master.

1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 355 Is such an order of things possible, and how, if at all?

a. In what condition or state? how are you?: (in quot. 1918) used ironically in sense ‘indeed!’ how do you do? (formerly how do you?): common phrases used in inquiring as to a person's health. See also how-do-ye phr. and n., how-do-you-do phr. and n. Also, how goes it? = how-do-you-do phr. and n. 1; how's (or how are) things (or, originally Australia and New Zealand, tricks?); how do?: = how-do-you-do phr. and n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > [adverb] > how or in what condition or state

howa1400

the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > terms of greeting

God give you good dayc1275

hail be thou (also ye)c1275

pax vobisc1275

how do ye?1570

(good, fair) time of day (to you)1597

how goes it?1598

I salute youa1616

savea1616

how do you find yourself?a1646

how-do-you-do1697

how do?1886

how are you popping (up)?1894

how's (less frequently how are) tricks?1915

how's (or how are) things (or, originally Australia and New Zealand, tricks?)1926

how's life?1931

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > of course, certainly [phrase]

to iwissea1000

mid iwissea1000

in wisc1000

to wis(se)c1000

without(en (any) weenc1175

sans fail1297

thereof no strife1297

but werea1300

forouten werea1300

out of werea1300

without werea1300

without deceit1303

for certainc1320

it is to wittingc1320

withouten carec1320

without nayc1330

without noc1330

without (but out of) dread1340

no doubtc1380

without distancec1390

no fresea1400

out of doubta1400

without doubta1400

for, (in, at obs.), of, to (a) certaintyc1400

withouten stance14..

hazel woods shakea1413

of, on, in warrantisec1440

sure enough?1440

without question?1440

wythout diswerec1440

without any dispayrec1470

for (also of) a surety?a1475

in (also for) surenessa1475

of certainc1485

without any (also all) naya1500

out of question?1526

past question?1526

for sure1534

what else1540

beyond (also out of, past, without) (all) peradventure1542

to be a bidden by1549

out of (also without) all cry1565

with a witness1579

upon my word1591

no question1594

out of all suspicion1600

for a certain1608

without scruple1612

to be sure1615

that's pos1710

in course1722

beyond (all) question1817

(and) no mistake1818

no two ways about it (also that)1818

of course1823

bien entendu1844

yessiree1846

you bet you1857

make no mistake1876

acourse1883

sans doute1890

how are you?1918

you bet your bippy1968

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20089 ‘Alas! alas! alas!’ said sco, ‘How mai i live, how mai i be!’

1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 4 What do ye? how is it with you?

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 81 How do thay in Gessen, The Iues, can ye me say?

1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 35 How doest thou my heart?

1594 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis (new ed.) sig. Cij How doth she now for wits?

1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes How now? how goes it? go to, it is well.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 77 How would you be, If he..should But iudge you, as you are?

1764 T. Reid Let. in Wks. I. 40/2 After I have given you so full an account of my own state, spiritual and temporal, how goes it with you?

1799 R. B. Sheridan Pizarro Prol. 4 Nodding to booted beaux—‘How'do, how'do?’

a1822 P. B. Shelley Magn. Lady v How feel you now?

1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) vii. 67 Several dozen of ‘How-are-you's?’ hailed the old gentleman's arrival.

1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest I. xi. 190 Well, master Andrew, how fare you?

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 123 How's little Miss Sharp?

1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam iv. 4 O heart, how fares it with thee now.

1886 H. Baumann Londinismen 79/2 How-do, how d'you do?

1892 I. Zangwill Children of Ghetto I. 147 ‘Well, how goes it, Reb Moshé?’ said Reb Shemuel with his cheery smile.

1918 J. Joyce Exiles i. 2 Beatrice. Did he practise the piano while I was away? Brigid. Practise, how are you!

1926 K. S. Prichard Working Bullocks viii. 86 They halloed and yelled to him: ‘H'lo, Red!’ ‘How's things?’

1928 H. Crane Let. 27 Mar. (1965) 321 How goes it with your translations..?

a1930 D. H. Lawrence Mod. Lover (1934) 192 Hello, you two. How's things?

1934 Passing Show 27 Jan. 5/4 Hey, Morrison, old socks. How's things?

1939 C. Belton Outside Law in N.Z. xxv. 129 ‘Hallo. How are things?’ I greeted him.

1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood i. iv. 90 ‘How do, Father?’ said Gemini.

1941 Coast to Coast 195 ‘G'day,’ he said. ‘How's tricks?’

1949 D. M. Davin Roads from Home i. iii. 49 How's things?.. How's tricks with you?

1971 B. Malamud Tenants 149 ‘I won't be coming around to say howdo this Friday, Irene,’ Bill said tonelessly.

1973 L. Meynell Thirteen Trumpeters xiv. 211 ‘How's tricks?’ he enquired. ‘I'm fine. I slept like a top.’

b. how's that? in Cricket, an appeal to the umpire to give his decision whether a batter is ‘out’ or not.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > [interjection] > appeal to umpire

how's that?1833

1833 New Sporting Mag. 5 325 ‘Well thrown by Huddleston!’——‘How's that?’ ‘Run out!’

1891 W. G. Grace Cricket xi. 379 ‘How's that, umpire?’ ‘Not out’, said he.

1927 G. A. Terrill Out in Glare iv. 62 The ball swerved——pitched; the inner edge of his bat grazed it. ‘Rap!’ it had got him on the pad. ‘'s that?’ cried Verlenden, unaware of the graze.

1973 A. Mann Tiara ii. 13 The sharp click of bat on ball, and un-Italian cries of ‘Owzat’..showed that cricket was well underway.

3. To what effect? With what meaning? Also, By what name? archaic. (The modern English equivalent is ‘What?’)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [adverb] > with what meaning?

howc1384

the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [adverb] > by what name?

howa1616

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke x. 26 What is writun in the lawe? hou redist thou?

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 83 Pharao. How says thou that? 1 Miles. Lord, that tayll is trew.

?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. C iv How is theyr maner when they would cove?

1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias v. 13 b How say you sir, heere is an other kinde of people.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) v. i. 73 How art thou call'd?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iii. 20 How say you to a fat Tripe finely broyl'd?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 127 How say'st thou that Macduff denies his person At our great bidding.

a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) iii. iii, in Wks. (1821) II. 86 Sir Oliver S. Is there nothing you could dispose of? Charles S. How do you mean?

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. ii. 33 How call'd you your Franklin, Prior Aymer?

1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxxvi. 349 ‘Will you join us in a little conspiracy?’ ‘How do you mean conspiracy, young man?’

a. elliptical for ‘How is it?’ or ‘How say you?’ and used interjectionally, the modern equivalent being ‘What?’ or ‘What!’ (= French quoi!) archaic (except in how about…?). In U.S. colloquial speech ‘How?’ is used in asking for the repetition of something not quite understood (= French comment?).In Old English hú was prefixed to a negative question.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question

whatOE

howc1000

how aboutc1000

indeeda1616

really1753

anyhow1846

how's about?1952

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 26 Hu ne synt ge selran þonne hig?

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3077 Hu? haue ge wrong!

1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall sig. B2^v Whow? I go about to disgrace thee?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 68 Elb. My wife Sir? whom I detest before heauen, and your honour. Esc. How? thy wife? Elb. I Sir.

1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 362 How Senior..have you not Authority?

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 190 ‘How,’ interrupted young Mr. Thornhill, ‘this to my face!’

1846 O. W. Holmes Rhymed Lesson 506 Don't say ‘How?’ for ‘What?’

1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iv. 88 I was thinking,—he said indistinctly—How? What is't?—said our landlady.

18.. Emerson in Harper's Mag. (1884) Feb. 460/1 How about Matthew Arnold?

b. how now? elliptical for ‘How is it now?’ Often used interjectionally. archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > expressing inquiry [interjection]

how now?c1380

ha1597

eh1773

aye1779

hunh1935

uh1977

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [interjection] > other specific cries or exclamations

oeOE

heya1225

ouc1300

we13..

hac1320

how1377

how now?c1380

vaha1382

ha a!c1386

ha ha!c1386

hoa1400

ohoa1400

yowc1440

yoa1475

heh1475

hey ho?c1475

huffc1485

wemaya1500

whewa1500

wow1513

huffa?1520

gup?1528

ist1540

whow1542

hougha1556

whoo1570

good-now1578

ooh1602

phew1604

highday1606

huh1608

whoo-whoop1611

sessaa1616

tara1672

hegh1723

hip1735

waugha1766

whoofa1766

jee1786

goody1796

yaw1797

hech1808

whoo-ee1811

whizz1812

yah1812

soh1815

sirs1816

how1817

quep1822

soho1825

ow1834

ouch1838

pfui1838

suz1844

shoo1845

yoop1847

upsadaisy1862

houp-la1870

hooch1871

nu1892

ouff1898

upsy1903

oo-er1909

ooh-wee1910

eina1913

oops1921

whoopsie1923

whoops-a-daisy1925

hot-cha-cha1929

upsadaisy1929

walla1929

hotcha1931

hi-de-ho1936

po po po1936

ho-de-ho1941

oh, oh1944

oopsy1956

chingas1984

bambi2007

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3779 ‘What how now’..‘Haþ Clarioun my cosyn aslawe þe man?’

1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. cxlix. 129 What how nowe..manace ye me?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 245 How now? moodie?

c1704 M. Prior Merry Andrew 10 Why how now, Andrew!..To-day's conceit, methinks, is something dull.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xlviii. 216 ‘How now!’ he cried..‘Why, where have you been hiding!’

1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic xli How now? My Duke's crown wrecked?

c. how much: used in humorous colloquial requests for the repetition of something not heard or not understood. Also, how much? = what? eh? (Cf. what price——? at price n. Phrases 5 so-and-so?)

ΚΠ

1852 F. E. Smedley Lewis Arundel xxxiv. 292 ‘Then my answer must mainly depend on the exact height of the principles.’ ‘On the how much?’ inquired Frere, considerably mystified.

1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. i. 509 ‘I've got to get..a picture of Mona Lisa.’ ‘Mona how much?’ said Alan. ‘La Gioconda, you ass.’

1927 E. Bowen Hotel ii. 11 ‘She is a Hedonist.’ ‘A how-much?’ ‘A Hedonist.’

1928 ‘Sapper’ Female of Species v. 76 ‘A lounge lizard. A ball-room snake. What matter that his Black Bottom is the best in London.’ ‘My Gawd! sir,’ gasped the other. ‘His 'ow much?’

1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 12 Ethelbert: Ain't you ever 'eard me speak o' the principles of Social Credit Reform? Alfred: 'Ow much? Ethelbert: What Major Douglas 'as to say about banks.

1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iv. 243 ‘A friend of mine—could he ever come and stay here?’..‘Could he how much?’ said Daphne.

1949 P. G. Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite ii. 23 ‘You're like me, a gentle coffee-caddy.’ ‘A how much?’

d. and how!: excl. used to indicate that the effect of something is difficult to describe = and no mistake, very much so! originally U.S.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely > remarkable or extraordinary > remarkably or extraordinarily

more than ordinary1560

and a half1636

out of (also beyond) (all) recognition1824

and how!1865

like nobody's business1930

1865 B. Taylor Let. 16 June in M. H. Taylor Life & Lett. Bayard Taylor (1884) II. xviii. 434 I finished an article for the ‘Atlantic’ that day. As if I were not ‘a tool of the elements!’ ‘And how?’ as the Germans say (Americanicé—— ‘You'd better believe it!’).

1932 J. W. Drawbell Good Time! xvii. §3 ‘How's that for your orders from a typical American woman?’ ‘You mean it, Peggy?’ ‘And how!’ ‘Baby!’

1932 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 752 I want to meet Yeats and Epstein and Eliot some day and how.

1933 E. E. Cummings eimi 83 I have fallen, fallen And How; tumbled into exactly 180 minuteless minutes of ‘materialist dialectic’.

1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway ii. 37 ‘Did Mr. Honey take it seriously?’ she asked. ‘And how!’ I said.

1963 V. Nabokov Gift iii. 175 One foot is buried in rich mud, the other is about to kick—and how!—the hideous, tar~black ball.

1965 Listener 25 Nov. 874/1 ‘Alas,’ wrote Harrington, ‘all earthly things do fail to mortals in enjoyment.’ And how.

e. how about that?: Isn't that good, pleasing, surprising, etc.? colloquial (originally U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > exclamation of pleasure [interjection]

shamea1352

yo-hah1744

hully gee1895

yummy1899

hot dog1906

hot diggety dog1923

how about that?1939

the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]

whatOE

well, wellOE

avoyc1300

ouc1300

ay1340

lorda1393

ahaa1400

hillaa1400

whannowc1450

wow1513

why?1520

heydaya1529

ah1538

ah me!a1547

fore me!a1547

o me!a1547

what the (also a) goodyear1570

precious coals1576

Lord have mercy (on us)1581

good heavens1588

whau1589

coads1590

ay me!1591

my stars!a1593

Gods me1595

law1598

Godso1600

to go out1600

coads-nigs1608

for mercy!a1616

good stars!1615

mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616

gramercy1617

goodness1623

what next?1662

mon Dieu1665

heugh1668

criminy1681

Lawd1696

the dickens1697

(God, etc.) bless my heart1704

alackaday1705

(for) mercy's sake!1707

my1707

deuce1710

gracious1712

goodly and gracious1713

my word1722

my stars and garters!1758

lawka1774

losha1779

Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784

great guns!1795

mein Gott1795

Dear me!1805

fancy1813

well, I'm sure!1815

massy1817

Dear, dear!1818

to get off1818

laws1824

Mamma mia1824

by crikey1826

wisha1826

alleleu1829

crackey1830

Madonna mia1830

indeed1834

to go on1835

snakes1839

Jerusalem1840

sapristi1840

oh my days1841

tear and ages1841

what (why, etc.) in time?1844

sakes alive!1846

gee willikers1847

to get away1847

well, to be sure!1847

gee1851

Great Scott1852

holy mackerel!1855

doggone1857

lawsy1868

my wig(s)!1871

gee whiz1872

crimes1874

yoicks1881

Christmas1882

hully gee1895

'ullo1895

my hat!1899

good (also great) grief!1900

strike me pink!1902

oo-er1909

what do you know?1909

cripes1910

coo1911

zowiec1913

can you tie that?1918

hot diggety1924

yeow1924

ziggety1924

stone (or stiffen) the crows1930

hullo1931

tiens1932

whammo1932

po po po1936

how about that?1939

hallo1942

brother1945

tie that!1948

surprise1953

wowee1963

yikes1971

never1974

to sod off1976

whee1978

mercy1986

yipes1989

1939 Time 25 Sept. 8/3 How about that?

1966 Word Study Dec. 2/2 How bout that.

f. how's about? = how about at sense A. 4a. colloquial (chiefly U.S.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question

whatOE

howc1000

how aboutc1000

indeeda1616

really1753

anyhow1846

how's about?1952

1952 Holiday Jan. 41/1 How's about a drink?

1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1184/1 How's about having a drink?

5. Chiefly qualifying an adjective or adverb: To what extent? In what degree? (Also with the verb like, or an equivalent.)

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question

whatOE

howc1000

how aboutc1000

indeeda1616

really1753

anyhow1846

how's about?1952

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to what extent

howc1000

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvii. 17 Hu lange for-bere ic eow?

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 5 Hu mycel scealt þu minum hlaforde?

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10437 Hu lang sal þou þus-gat be wroth?

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Mark ix. 20 Hou longe is it, sith this hath falle to hym?

1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 636 How old, or what age are you?

1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus iii. i. 1119 How many miles from Waltham to London?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. ii. 40 How likes Gremio these quicke witted folkes?

1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 147 Well, Colonel, how do you like that Wine?

1798 W. Wordsworth We are Seven in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 111 Sisters and brothers, little maid, How many may you be?

1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. viii. 387 How many runs?

6. At what rate or price?

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [adverb] > at what rate or price

how1600

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 47 Sha. How a score of Ewes now? Si. A score of good ewes may bee worth ten pounds.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. ii. 25 How now, how now, how go maiden-heads.

1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. How did things go at the auction? How do you sell the plums?

II. In direct exclamations.

a. In what a way! to what an extent or degree!

ΚΠ

OE Crist I 216 Crist ælmihtig, hu þu ær wære eallum geworden worulde þrymmum mid þinne wuldorfæder cild acenned þurh his cræft ond meaht!

c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxii[i]. 1 Hu god is ece God!

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 89 Hou hy byeþ uer uram þise heȝnesse.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Lament. i. 1 Hou sitteth alone the cite ful of puple!

c1394 P. Pl. Crede 356 Wiþ hertes of heynesse wouȝ halwen þei chirches.

c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi i. xxii. 28 O hov gode a lif þat man haþ, hov grete, hov riche, hov miȝty, hov hye he is!

c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 555 A! how I tremyl and trott for ȝese tydynges!

1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid iv. Prol. 231 How [1553 quhou] schort quhile dois his fals plesance remane!

1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 307 O how sweet it smelleth.

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. i. 19 How are the mightie fallen!

1709 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs (ed. 2) i. 65 My God, how endless is thy Love?

1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. vi. 139 How pale his cheek, his eye how bright.

1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. colloq. How you do like to tease one!

b. how —— can you get?: a colloquial phrase implying that the person referred to has an extreme amount or an excess of the quality described by the adjective.

ΚΠ

1948 Washington Post 14 Nov. r9/2 Membership in the Fourth Estate's ‘How Wrong Can You Get?’ club is hereby extended to Stanton Kolb.

1951 H. Wouk Caine Mutiny vii. 488 How unconscious can you get? Don't you know to-day's Navy Day?

1966 ‘A. Garve’ Murderer's Fen ii. iii. 84 Damn it, the writer himself admits he isn't sure.—How vague can you get?

1967 J. Fleming No Bones about It 80 Ben! How old-fashioned can you get?

1968 ‘P. Hobson’ Titty's Dead xii. 125 There's been an affair... And I never twigged it. How dim can you get?

2000 R. Buss tr. E. Zola Drinking Den (2003) vii. 210 ‘Oh, the dirty devil!’ the ladies exclaimed. ‘How disgusting can you get!’

III. In indirect questions and exclamations.

8. Qualifying a verb: In what way, manner, condition, etc.; by what means. (Formerly often followed by that.)

a. in dependence on verbs of telling, asking, thinking, perceiving, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [adverb] > in what case or circumstance

howOE

whenc1000

where?c1225

OE Genesis 431 Hycgað his ealle, hu ge hi beswicen!

c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 310 Þa axode se casere þone ænne preost hu his nama wære.

c1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) 8 312 Hwanon he cymð and hu he byð.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 161 Neomeð ȝeme hu hit fareð.

c1325 Maximon i, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 119 Nou herkne hou it wes.

c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Harl.) lxv. 284 He..tolde his wife, Howe þat þe stiwarde saide.

1458 A. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 41 Send me..word..who Clement Paston hath do his devere in lernyng.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Esther ii. B Y^t he might knowe how Hester dyd.

1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B3 Attend heirfor, quhow ȝe sulde chuse Ȝour Pastoris.

1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 117 About ten of the clocke hee demaunded howe the time went.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xvi. 162 How we all came to disregard so material a point is inconceivable.

1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 147 Shakespeare has taught us how great men should speak and act.

b. In dependence on nouns like heed, caution, and adjectives of kindred meaning.

ΚΠ

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 18 Warniað hu ge ge-hyran.]

1526 W. Tyndale Luke viii. 18 Take hede therfore how ye heare.

1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 31^v Take hede how thou layest the bane for the rats.

1718 Free-thinker No. 24. 2 Let us be cautious therefore how we innovate too much.

1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xviii. 156 Be wary how you engage.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 54/1 The hawkers..are wary how they buy any animal suspected to be stolen.

c. In dependence on a preposition.

ΚΠ

1827 R. Southey Hist. Peninsular War II. 300 [They] began to think only of how to secure the booty.

1884 R. W. Church Bacon ix. 214 The force and clearness of what was said depended so much on how it was said.

9. Followed by an infinitive: In what way; by what means. how to do = the way in which one should (or may) do; also elliptical, as how to, and often used attributively, as ‘ how-to’ discourse, ‘ how-to-do-it’ manual, etc.; also (in titles of books, etc.) followed by a verb.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [adverb] > by which means or by means of which

wheremidc1160

wherebyc1200

wherethorough?c1225

wherewithc1230

wherewith1297

witha1300

wherethrough13..

whereof1340

withal1389

how1390

wherewithal1578

wherewithal1618

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [phrase] > how to do something

how to1838

how to do1897

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 367 [He] wiste nought how for to rise.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3751 Consail me, fader, how to liue [Gött. hu i sal liue].

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lvi Thomas Wolsey..studyed daye & night how to be a Cardinal.

1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 160 What should a manne doe with a weapon, that knoweth not how to use it?

1678 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 46 The House is..consulting how to raise this vast some of monies.

1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 174. ⁋5 A set of companions who knew how to laugh.

1838 H. Martineau (title) How to observe: morals and manners.

1849 A. Helps Friends in Council II. i. v. 177 There is something I wanted to say..but I did not see how to bring it in.

1857 (title) How to publish: a manual for authors.

1880 C. R. Markham Peruvian Bark 272 I am at a loss how to express my feeling of admiration.

1895 Law Times 99 546/1 What books to read, and how to read them.

1897 Cavalry Tactics Introd. 3 There is no better lesson how not to do it.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvi. [Eumaeus] 604 You had to come back..to show the understudy in the title rôle how to.

1923 A. Bennett (title) How to make the best of life.

1941 R. A. Beals & L. Brody Lit. Adult Educ. 453 Nearly all councils also make some provision for supplying information, such as distributing manuals of the ‘how-to-do-it’ variety.

1942 H. Haycraft Murder for Pleasure p. vii One or two ‘how-to-write-it’ manuals.

1946 C. Morris Signs, Lang. & Behavior v. x. 143 It is ‘how to’ discourse: discourse informing one how to rivet, how to play the flute.

1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Nov. p. xxxviii/4 Light fiction, popular uplift, or how-to-do-it-books.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. 43/1 A how-to-cook-turkey booklet!

1968 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 27 July 26/3 Most of the how-to books at this time of year are busy with water sports.

1972 T. P. McMahon Issue of Bishop's Blood (1973) xii. 176 She had washed her face, and though it doesn't say so in the women's how-to-books, there are some women who look great that way.

10. With weakened meaning, introducing an indirect statement, after verbs of saying, perceiving, and the like: = That. Formerly frequently how that, and in modern dialect speech as how (see as conj. 26). see how still more or less calls attention to the manner.

ΚΠ

c1000 Ælfric Joshua ii. 10 We gehirdon..hu ge ofslogon..Seon and Og.

13.. K. Alis. 1565 He..saide to the kyng, How his fadir hette Felip.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2732 We witen wel quat is bi-tid, Quuow gister-dai was slagen and hid.

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 527 Hym thoughte how þ^t the wynged god Mercurye Biforn hym stood.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lvii A letter was brought..certefiyng him how he was elected to be a Cardinal.

1571 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxix. 3 Seing quhow all erdly thingis wor subiect to mutatioun.

1611 Bible (King James) Ruth i. 6 Shee had heard..how that the Lord had visited his people.

1709 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs (ed. 2) ii. 167 Sing how he left the Worlds of Light.

1750 T. Smollett Roderick Random (ed. 3) I. iii. 15 He was well informed as how, Rory was the best scholar of his age.

1801 Monthly Rev. 35 358 ‘If people knew as how they could talk, they would be obliged to work also.’

1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 98 Bob Cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for Master Peter.

11. Chiefly qualifying an adjective or adverb (also with verb like, etc.): To what extent; in what degree.

ΚΠ

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 13 Ne gehyrst þu hu fela sagena hig ongen þe secgeað?

c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Ȝe hi hered hu muchel edmodnesce ure drihten dude for us.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 287 Quanne the Erl..herde..hw wel she ferde, Hw wis sho was, w chaste, hw fayr.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxiv. 153 Seez how gude a man þis was.

1476 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) II. 5 I cannat tell wo sone.

1563 N. Winȝet Wks. (1890) II. 21 It is..furthschawin, quhoumekle calamitie is inbrocht.

a1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. (1642) i. i. xi. 31 All which declareth..upon how fickle ground all their Religion standeth.

1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 11 You know how small my estate is.

1899 N.E.D. at How Mod., I do not know how she will take it.

12. With ellipsis of the rest of the clause introduced by how, or of part of it.

ΚΠ

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 159 Lusteð nu..hwo hire ledde and wu and hwider.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 47 Say forth, quod she, and telle me how.

1471 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 441 [He] browt me worde..þat he hathe sped well; but hoghe, þat wot I nott.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lij Borowed..golde and syluer, but howe muche I am not sure.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 25 The Ocean was as white as snow, but how caused I am ignorant.

1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus iii. i. 90 He has wound About my heart, I know not how nor why.

1893 Bookman June 82/2 Nobody writes moral-allegorical tales now, because nobody knows how.

IV. Introducing a relative clause.

13. In what way, manner, condition, etc.; by what means; in the way that; however; as. (Formerly also how that.) †how were it, past tense of howbeit adv. and conj. (Cf. however adv.)

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in the way that

howa1400

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in whatever way

how so?c1275

howsomevera1300

howeverc1380

howa1400

howsoeverc1450

anyway1642

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [adverb] > by what means?

wherewithc1175

howa1400

whereby1526

wherewithal1535

a1400 Pistill of Susan 202 We schul presenten þis pleint, hou þou euer be paied.

1427 Rolls Parl. IV. 326/2 Howe were it, þat it be not þought, þat any such þing wetyngly proceded of your entent.

c1475 Partenay 3207 Hou were it that ioy of hys fader had, And of Melusine his moders welfaire.

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. ii. 12 Looke how we can..Interpretation will misquote our lookes.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. iii. 235 That what she had atchiev'd..She should dispose of how she pleas'd.

1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 57 Be that how it will.

1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 293 He would go as a Merchant, or how I pleas'd to order him.

1837 J. H. Newman Lect. Prophetical Office Church 105 He left them to gather the great truth for themselves how they could.

1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 176 Others strove to escape how they might among the ditches.

†14.

a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb: To what extent, in what degree (that); however adv. how well (that): although, albeit; cf. Dutch hoewel. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 46 I haue not Intencion for to obeye his comandement how well that he is my fader.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) i. iii. 15 How well that the lyon be the strengest beste, yet somtyme a lityll birde eteth hym.

1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iv. 47 How well he was kynge by right.

1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 37 How wel that he had supposed that he had made al faste I was not so moche a fool but that I fonde the hole wel.

1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 38 How cruel that he be..his hert shal not suffre to do you ony harme.

c1500 Melusine (1895) xxiv. 182 To..acquere thordre of knyghthode, as our bretheren..haue don, how wel we be nat worthy to receuye it so nobly..as they haue doo.

?c1530 Crt. of Love 207 Aftir this shall be myne hole entent To serve and please, how dere that love be bought.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xiv. 15 They do labour & til the ground, how wel there groweth no corne... But well there groweth certaine other graine and hearbes of small estimation.

?1602 Narcissus (MS Bodl. Rawl. poet. 212) (1893) 687 How deepe I dive, yet thee I cannott find.

†b. = As … as; how soon (that) = as soon as (French aussitôt que). Obsolete. Chiefly Scottish.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb] > as soon as

soon soc897

so soon soc1175

as soon soc1290

al so, also soon asc1330

soon asa1400

howc1449

how soon (as)1557

whenever1655

instantly1793

immediately1839

the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [phrase] > as soon as

as rathe as (also so rather so, swa rathe swa)OE

not so soon…(that) or but (that)1390

as (als, also) swithe as (als swither)a1400

no sooner…, but, than, or when1560

how soon (that)c1600

the world > time > duration > [adverb] > for the whole time or duration

so long asa1387

right1568

howa1639

while-ever1777

c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 394 The louȝer curatis..ben stabili endewid.., how stabili a perpetual chauntry preest is endewid.

c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 127 Sa that howsone he espyit Sir James to be removit from the hous, he then immediatlie approchit with his soldiors.

a1639 J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) i. 8 How long Hildebert lived he aboad in his company.

1754 W. Goodall in H. Campbell Love Lett. Mary Q. Scots (1824) 192 Cecil..had all in readiness to be published how soon the Duke should be beheaded.

†c. Correlative to so qualifying an adjective or adverb (sometimes omitted): To what extent; in what degree; as … as. by how much…by so much = Latin quantum … tantum. (A Latinism.) Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to what extent > correlative to 'so'

howa1382

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to such an extent > to such an extent as

how1600

insomuch as1651

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. ii. 13 So myche wisdam wente beforn folie, hou myche [a1425 L.V. as muche as] liȝt is in difference fro dercnesses.

c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi iii. lv. 133 Hov muche þat euery man is in þin eyen, lorde, so muche he is & no more.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. ii. 28 How many cities thou hast (o Iuda) so many goddes hast thou also.

1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 378 They worship also serpents..and the more they feare and reverence them, by how much the more deformed and monstrous they are.

1620 T. Venner Via Recta iii. 47 By how much the younger they are, by so much the moyster they are.

1703 Moderation a Virtue 13 So much the more Amiable, by how much the less it has of humane Mixtures.

1879 E. Arnold Light of Asia viii. 233 By howsomuch the householder Purgeth himself of self..By so much happier comes he to next stage.

†15. With noun as antecedent (esp. with manner, way, etc.): In which (way); by which (name). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [adverb] > by which name

howc1400

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in which way

as?c1225

how1548

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) v. 53 The names how thei clepen hem.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. li An hundred wayes..how..to deliuer or conuey them out of pryson.

c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 539 I see no way how it is possible.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xvi. 339 We perceive not the ways and manner how they are produced.

V. With indefinite adjective (or adverb).

16. In (some, any) way or manner. rare. Cf. anyhow adv., adj., and n., somehow adv.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb]

howc1000

c1000 Laws Eccl. Inst. xxi, in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) II. 418 Ðæt se lareow þe him tela tæce him sylf elles-hu do.

c1000 in Cockayne Shrine 195 Ne meg nu hu ælles beon.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 604 To prosecute the means of thy deliverance By ransom or how else.

1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 294 He found Means some how or other, to get to Jamaica.

1858 N. Hawthorne Ancestral Footstep (1883) 514 The old Hospitaller must die in his bed, or some other how.

B. n.³ (often in collocation with why).

1. A question or query as to the way or manner. hows and whys (quot. 1726), doubts.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [noun] > act or instance of > with specific form

why1532

how1533

what1556

whoa1774

wh-question1957

why-question1973

the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [noun] > a doubt, scruple

were1338

doubtc1374

incertainty1483

scruple1534

dubitation1545

scrupulosity?a1562

irresolution1592

suspense1594

non liquet1656

nicety1694

reservation1719

hows and whys1726

dubiety1807

1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. xv. f. lxvii He lefte theyr questyon & theyr how vnsoyled.

1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. xv. f. lxvii^v Lette vs neuer in suche hygh thynges eyther speake or thynge that same howe.

1577 W. Fulke Confut. Doctr. Purgatory 456 To all the other howes and whyes I aunswere with one word, he had no warrant..in the law of God.

1726 T. Boston Let. 21 May in Memoirs (1776) App. 35 How difficult to get our how's and why's crucified.

1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. Bother your hows and whys!

2. The way or manner (in which).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [noun]

wayeOE

costOE

wise971

gatec1175

custc1275

form1297

guise13..

mannerc1300

kindc1330

assizea1375

plighta1393

makea1400

fashionc1400

reason?c1400

method1526

voye1541

how1551

way1563

garb1600

quality1600

mould1603

quomodo1623

modus1648

mode1649

turn1825

road1855

gait1866

methodology1932

stylee1982

1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 55 The (howe) & maner whereof, God knoweth.

1666 W. Boghurst Loimographia (1894) 75 Wee are not soe ignorant in the matter as the method, in the what, as the how.

1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. v. 226 In most things the how is more difficult than the whether, and our philosophy can prove a great deal more than it can explain.

1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 1st Ser. 7 You joined the army again, and come in with Greene? Was that the how?

1847 H. W. Longfellow Evangeline i. iii. 31 Must we in all things look for the how, and the why, and the wherefore?

1865 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 284 Write distinctly the when, and the how, of your home-coming.

1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds ii. 27 Daddy went off at last, and that was the how of my first trip.

1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd xvi. 272 I calc'late that's about the how of it.

1949 Amer. Speech 24 39 In recent years method, explanation, and the how..promise to force modus operandi into the archives.

Phrases

P1. how so?

a. Interrogative: How is it so? How is that?

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase]

how so?a1375

what, how seemeth you?1485

what reck?a1513

what is the matter?c1520

what about ——1662

what's the row?1810

how come?1848

whassa1906

since when?1907

what'sa matter1935

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 980 ‘Þis man..þat neȝh is driue to þe deþ al for youre sake!’ ‘How so for my sake?’

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5207 How sua, es þar na noþer king?

c1450 Erle Tolous 847 A, devyll! he seyde, how soo?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. v. 65 How so sir, did she change her determination?

1632 R. Sherwood Dict. in R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues (new ed.) How so? Puis, et puis? comment cela?

†b. Relative: In whatever way, howsoever.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in whatever way

how so?c1275

howsomevera1300

howeverc1380

howa1400

howsoeverc1450

anyway1642

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12828 Þat we hine læteð ane. faren heu swa [c1300 Otho don wat-so] he wule.

1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 183 Vnfolden or folden my fuste & myn paume, Al is but an hande how so I torne it.

c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme li. 50 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 51 O lord how soe I stand or fall, Leaue not thy loued Sion to embrace.

†c. However much; notwithstanding that, although. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > on condition that [conjunction] > although

thoughc888

thoughc1050

allc1225

when1297

how so?c1330

althougha1350

ifa1400

if alla1400

though all?a1400

andc1400

suppose1400

albeit?a1425

albec1450

wella1470

even though1697

c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16305 Ȝit wot non how hit wyl bynde [v.r. ende]; Hou so bitwyxt hem be strif or stresse.

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iii. 113 How so be it that þe Ffrenche kynge reignith vppon is peple dominio regali, yet [etc.].

c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iv. 116 How so be it þat thai do so ayenst thar willes.

1595 S. Daniel First Fowre Bks. Ciuile Warres ii. xc. sig. L Welcome come, how so vnfortunate.

1614 J. Norden Custom in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign James I (1848) 310 [They] shall never fall, howso they seeme to slide.

P2. †how and about: with reference to, (all) about. here's how! a formula used in drinking healths. how chance: see chance v. 5. how, when, and where: a game of guessing, in which the guesser asks the questions ‘How do you like it? When do you like it?’ etc., of each of the other players.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > in relation to [phrase] > in respect of or with regard to

in wise ofc1290

by (also for) reason ofa1350

as to (the) regard ofc1392

in regard of or toc1392

upon the side ofa1393

with regard toc1392

in respect of?a1425

in this (also that) behalf1458

upon the feat of1483

for (the) respect of1489

as pertains to1526

in order to1526

with respect1556

ad idem1574

on this behalf1581

in or with reference to1593

quoad hoc1601

in point of1605

with intuition to (of)1626

in the mention of1638

in terms of1704

how and about1753

as regards1797

as concerns1816

w.r.t.1956

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > guessing game > specific

what's my thought like?1748

twenty questions1786

charade1826

how, when, and where1843

proverbs1855

hy-spy1876

game1937

I spy (with my little eye)1946

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison V. ix. 46 Emily wrote you all how-and-about it.

1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VI. xvi. 58 Be good, and write me every-thing how and about it.

1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 113 At the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great.

1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 99 Yes, a health to ourselves ere we scatter... Here's how!

1925 Springfield Union 20 Nov. They now say ‘Bungo!’ instead of ‘Here's how!’ over cocktails.

1951 J. B. Priestley Festival at Farbridge ii. i. 152 ‘Well,’ said Mr. Hull, holding up his glass,..‘here's how!’

1959 E. Burgess Divided we Fall xi. 132 Martin was clasping a tumbler half filled with whisky. ‘Here's how,’ said the fat man.

P3. how come? colloquial (originally U.S.) phr.: how did (or does) it come about (that)? Cf. come v. 32.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase]

how so?a1375

what, how seemeth you?1485

what reck?a1513

what is the matter?c1520

what about ——1662

what's the row?1810

how come?1848

whassa1906

since when?1907

what'sa matter1935

1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms How-come? rapidly pronounced huc-cum, in Virginia. Doubtless an English phrase, brought over by the original settlers, and propagated even among the negro slaves. The meaning is, How did what you tell me happen? How came it?

1897 R. M. Stuart In Simpkinsville 230 She heard Miss Euphemia wonderin' the other day how come the right shoulder of her black silk dress to wear out.

1930 Sat. Evening Post 8 Mar. 12/1 These firms assert blandly to..journalists who ring them up, wishful to know how come, they have nothing against women.

1932 T. S. Eliot Sweeney Agonistes 17 Hello Doris! Hello Dusty! How do you do! How come? how come? will you permit me ——.

1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling iv. 34 That's how come him to have appetite for a nip o' pore old Betsy.

1957 New Yorker 13 July 19/1 These days, the sensation of the stamp-collecting world is United Nations commemorative stamps. How come?

1958 G. Mitchell Spotted Hemlock xviii. 210 How come they didn't spot her?

1959 H. Hobson Mission House Murder xviii. 122 ‘How come you make it murder?’ he asked.

1969 in H. Halpert & G. M. Story Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland 213 How come you ain't got Wallace with you tonight?

1971 Black World Oct. 62/1 So that's how come I asked My Man Bovanne to dance.

1973 T. Allbeury Choice of Enemies iv. 16 ‘Well, we are getting a bit like the Krauts, you know.’ ‘How come?’

Draft additions December 2018

colloquial. how's it?: (used as a greeting or to enquire about a person's well-being) ‘how's it going?’, ‘how are you?’ Cf. howzit int.

ΚΠ

1938 P. H. Johnson Monument ii. i. 231 How's it, Dad? How do you feel?

1962 A. La Guma Walk in Night (1968) 77 He said: ‘Hoit, pally.’ ‘How's it?’ Michael Adonis asked and giggled suddenly.

1990 A. Duff Once were Warriors (1995) xv. 177 Smilin atem. How's it, boys? Greetin em in turn and order of known seniority.

2008 T. Nichols & N. Shivers Maddening Behaviors (e-book, accessed 26 July 2018) 77 ‘How's it Sipho? What are you humming over there?’ Bongi asked. ‘It sounds familiar.’

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	how
释义	† howhowen.¹ Forms: Old English hogu, Middle English hoȝe, howe, Middle English how; 1500s–1800s (see hoe n.³). Etymology: Old English hogu strong feminine, a parallel formation to Old High German hugu, hugi (Middle High German hüge), Old Saxon hugi (Middle Dutch höghe, Dutch heug), Old Norse hugr, Gothic hugs thought < pre-Germanic kuk-; compare Sanskrit çuk, whence çūk heat, sorrow, grief. Obsolete exc. dialect. Care, anxiety, trouble, sorrow. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > [noun] sorec888 teeneOE sorrowOE workOE wrakeOE careOE gramec1000 harmOE howc1000 trayOE woweOE angec1175 derfnessc1175 sytec1175 unwinc1175 wosithc1200 ail?c1225 barrat?c1225 derf?c1225 grief?c1225 misease?c1225 misliking?c1225 ofthinkingc1225 passion?c1225 troublec1230 pinec1275 distress1297 grievancea1300 penancea1300 cumbermentc1300 languorc1300 cumbering1303 were1303 angera1325 strifea1325 sweama1325 woea1325 painc1330 tribulationc1330 illa1340 threst1340 constraintc1374 troublenessc1380 afflictiona1382 bruisinga1382 miseasetya1382 pressurec1384 exercisec1386 miscomfortc1390 mislikea1400 smarta1400 thronga1400 balec1400 painfulnessc1400 troublancec1400 smartness?c1425 painliness1435 perplexity?a1439 penalty?1462 calamity1490 penality1496 cumber?a1513 sussy1513 tribule1513 afflict?1529 vexation of spirit1535 troublesomeness1561 hoe1567 grievedness1571 tribulance1575 languishment1576 thrall1578 tine1590 languorment1593 aggrievedness1594 obturbation1623 afflictedness1646 erumny1657 pathos1684 shock1705 dree1791 vex1815 wrungnessa1875 dukkha1886 thinkache1892 sufferation1976 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > [noun] mourningeOE businessOE busyOE carefulnessa1000 carec1000 howc1000 embeþonkc1200 thought?c1250 cark1330 curea1340 exercisec1386 solicitude?a1412 pensienessc1450 anxietya1475 fear1490 thought-taking1508 pensement1516 carp1548 caring1556 hoe1567 thoughtfulness1569 carking1583 caretaking1625 anxiousness1636 solicitousness1636 concern1692 solicitation1693 anxietude1709 twitchiness1834 uptightness1969 c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 132 He næfð nan andgit ne hoga embe Godes beboda. c1000 Ælfric Homilies I. 446 Habbon hi hoge. a1250 Owl & Nightingale 701 The nihtegale al hire hoȝe Mid rede hadde wel bitoȝe. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 9466 Þo þis bataile was ido, & hii were al out of howe [rhyme of bristowe]. 13.. Sir Beues 4507 (MS. A.) What for care and for howe, He lenede to his sadelbowe. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 4539 Ac for þat strok had he non hoȝe [rhyme toȝe]. c1420 Chron. Vilod. st. 230 And haue gret how bothe day and nyȝt How þey myȝt best bryng hit to anynde. 1567 G. Turberville tr. A. Sani di Cure Aunsweres in tr. Ovid Heroycall Epist. 155^v Though there bee A thousand cares that heape my hoe. 1798 C. Smith Young Philosopher I. 195 Him that..this gentlewoman is in such a hoe about. 1875 W. D. Parish Dict. Sussex Dial. (at cited word) I doänt see as you've any call to putt yourself in no such terrible gurt hoe over it. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online December 2021). howhowen.² Brit. /haʊ/, U.S. /haʊ/ Forms: Also 1600s hough, 1800s houe. Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian. Etymon: Norse haug-r. Etymology: < Old Norse haug-r mound, cairn, apparently related to Old Germanic hauh- high. northern. 1. A hill, hillock: now only in some local names in the north of England, as Great How, Silver How, Brant How, How Hill (near Ripon), etc. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > hillock barrowc885 burrowc885 berryc1000 knapc1000 knollc1000 ball1166 howa1340 toft1362 hillocka1382 tertre1480 knowec1505 hilleta1552 hummock1555 mountainettea1586 tump1589 butt1600 mountlet1610 mounture1614 colline1641 tuft1651 knock?17.. tummock1789 mound1791 tomhan1811 koppie1848 tuffet1877 a1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxi. 3 Howys [L. montes] take pees til þe folke: and hilles rightwisnes. a1340 R. Rolle Psalter lxxix. 11 Þe shadow of it couyrd howis [L. montes]: and the trese cedirs of god. a1400–50 Alexander 3486 Be hiȝe hillis & howis & be holuȝe dounnes. 1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. i. i. §1 Howe also signifieth a Hill. 1800 W. Wordsworth in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads II. 163 To the top of Great How did it please them to climb. 2. An artificial mound, tumulus, or barrow.Also in local names, as Maeshow, at Stennis, Orkney. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > rising ground or eminence > [noun] > hillock > artificial or covering ruins how1669 tell1840 mound1852 terp1866 the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > [noun] > mound loweOE barrowc1000 motea1522 burial-hillc1600 law1607 mound1635 tumulus1686 tor1794 burial-mound1854 grave-mound1859 grave1863 how1947 1669 W. Simpson Hydrologia Chymica 89 This patient..sometimes did work in an Hough (as the country-people call it) of Blacomoore, for some suppos'd..treasure deeply lodg'd in the earth. 1788 W. Marshall Provincialisms E. Yorks. in Rural Econ. Yorks. II. 336 How, a round hillock; perhaps sometimes a natural knoll; but generally of factitious origin. The Moreland swells abound with hows. 1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 87 Houe or Barrow, the tumuli which abound in the neighbourhood of Whitby, as the burial mounds of the ancient Britons. 1866 T. Edmondston Etymol. Gloss. Shetland & Orkney Dial. 50 Howie, a mound, a tumulus, a knoll. 1877 W. Greenwell Brit. Barrows 2 They ..are known as barrows..and cairns..and popularly in some parts of England as lows, houes, and tumps. 1947 Proc. Prehistoric Soc. 13 33 When we reach the 10th century there were brochs in Caithness and Orkney..deemed eligible burial howes. 1963 Field Archaeol. (Ordnance Surv.) (ed. 4) 45 Round burial mounds..are the commonest objects of antiquity met with in the field. They are called by different names in different parts of the country..barrow, low, howe, cairn. 1968 G. Jones Hist. Vikings ii. iii. 117 The mightiest of all northern howes, Raknehaugen.., over a hundred metres in diameter and some eighteen metres high, is an empty cenotaph. 1971 G. M. Brown Fishermen with Ploughs 7 Lust builds a howe over the burning ghost. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022). hown.⁵ Brit. /haʊ/, U.S. /haʊ/ Etymology: Shortened < howitzer n. colloquial. = howitzer n. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > piece of artillery > [noun] > mountain-piece or howitzer howitz1687 howitzer1695 amusette1757 mountain howitzer1812 mountain-gun1844 how1915 gun-howitzer1940 1915 Times 14 Apr. 7 The boom in the distance from one of our ‘hows’. 1919 C. P. Thompson Cocktails 133 A couple of batteries of heavy Hows. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † howhowev.¹ Forms: Old English hogian, ( hugian), Middle English hoȝe, Middle English heoȝe, Middle English howe; 1700s–1800s (see ho v.³). Etymology: Old English hogian , a later modification of hycgan = Old Saxon huggjan , Old High German hucken , Old Norse hyggja , Gothic hugjan , to think, < Gothic hug-s thought: see how n.¹ Compare Dutch heugen to remember. Obsolete. intransitive. To be anxious, think, consider, purpose, intend. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > thought > think [verb (intransitive)] howOE mintOE thinkOE panse1559 tink1584 excogitate1630 cogitate1633 intelligize1803 nut1919 cerebrate1928 the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (intransitive)] minOE howOE intenta1300 meana1375 intend1390 purposea1400 aimc1450 collime1677 design1749 the mind > mental capacity > thought > continued thinking, reflection, contemplation > meditate, reflect [verb (intransitive)] howOE study?c1225 bethinkc1300 muse1340 recorda1400 imaginec1400 to take thoughtc1450 contemplaire1474 medite1483 remord1535 contemplate?1538 ruminate1547 meditate1560 scance1606 excogitate1630 cogitate1633 reflect1772 the mind > emotion > suffering > state of being upset or perturbed > worry > anxiety > be anxious [verb (intransitive)] mournOE careOE howOE carka1350 to take thoughta1470 carp1522 sussy1570 ho1787 moil1889 to stress out1983 stress1988 OE Beowulf 632 Ic þæt hogode..þæt ic anunga eowra leoda willan geworhte. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 34 Ne beo ge na hogiende ymb þa morgenlican neode. c1175 Lamb. Hom. 113 Ȝif he hit betan mei, and umbe þe bota [ne] hoȝað. a1250 Owl & Nightingale 455 Hwane mon hoȝeþ of his scheve..Ich fare hom. a1250 Prov. Ælfred 135 in Old Eng. Misc. 110 Ne scolde neuer yongmon howyen to swiþe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6696 Al þe king bi-lufde. swa Fortiger hoȝede. a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 30 His hap he deþ ful harde on hete aȝeynz he howeþ henne. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2021). howhowev.² Etymology: < how int.¹ Obsolete or dialect. 1. To cry how! to shout as sailors. ΚΠ 1508–16 Promptorium Parvulorum 251/2 (edd. J. Notary and W. de W.) Howen, celeumo [c1440 Howtyn, or cryen as shepmenn]. 2. To cry how! with pain or grief. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > cry of grief > cry with grief [verb (intransitive)] > utter specific cry of grief heigh-ho1824 howa1827 ototoi1877 a1827 Mary Hamilton in G. R. Kinloch Anc. Sc. Ballads (1827) 256 What need ye hech! and how! ladies, What need ye how! for me? This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online June 2018). howadv.n.³ Brit. /haʊ/, U.S. /haʊ/ Forms: Old English hú, Middle English hu, (Middle English hv, hwu, wu, quhu, qu(u)ow, heu, ou, heou, Middle English hw, Middle English ( w)houȝ, whou, hwou, wouȝ, wo, w, Kent. hue), Middle English–1500s hou, Middle English– how, (Middle English hov, Middle English–1500s whow, Scottish quhou, quhow, Middle English howghe, owe, hough(e, who, Middle English–1600s howe, 1500s whoe). Etymology: Old English hú < hwó, corresponding to Old Frisian hû, hô, Old Saxon hwô, hwuo, wô (Middle Dutch hoe* (ho, hou), Dutch hoe, Middle Low German woe), Old High German (Tatian) wuo < Germanic hwô, an adverbial formation from the interrogative pronoun stem hwa-* who? Parallel to Middle Dutch hú, and to Gothic hwaiwa, Old High German hweo, weo, wio, German wie, with different suffixes. A. adv. An adverb primarily interrogative, used also in exclamations, and in conjunctive and relative constructions: cf. when adv., conj., pron., int., and n., where adv. and conj., why adv., int., and n. I. In direct questions. 1. a. Qualifying a verb: In what way or manner? By what means? ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in what way howOE what-wisea1375 howgatea1400 however1871 OE Genesis 805 Hu sculon wit nu libban? c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 29 Hu mæg man ingan in stranges hus? c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 97 Hwu come þu [h]ider in? c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 2753 Hw mithe he don him shame more? c1315 Shoreham 16 Hou his hit ther bethe so fele? c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xv. 35 How schulen deede men ryse aȝen? c1394 P. Pl. Crede 42 Whouȝ schulde þei techen þe God þat con not hemselue? c1394 P. Pl. Crede 141 Whow myȝt-tou in thine broþer eiȝe a bare mote loken? c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 249/2 Howe..[Winch. howȝ or qwow], quomodo, qualiter. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. iii. sig. Ee^v How shall she know, how shall she finde the man? a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 159 How came we a shore? View more context for this quotation 1677 T. Hobbes in tr. Homer Iliads (ed. 2) To Rdr. sig. A3^v How is it possible..to please them all? 1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 23/2 How can I tell who has seen him? 1836 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) III. x. 149 This marvellous benefit..how was it to be attained? b. With intensive additions, as the devil, a fire, in the world, etc. (see devil n., etc.). ΚΠ 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) xix. 408 How the devyll dare ye thus speke? 1694 L. Echard tr. Plautus Amphitryon i. i, in tr. Plautus Comedies 19 How a fire cou'd he see all this? 1772 J. W. Fletcher Logica Genevensis x. 165 How in the world can he know..whether he is in the faith or not? 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xlix How in the world did ever she get there? †c. In pregnant use = How is it that? How comes it that? Why? Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [adverb] > why, wherefore, or for what reason for whyc1000 whereofc1175 wheretoa1225 whereforec1230 whereata1325 how1340 wheretilla1400 whereupon1535 wherebya1616 whaffor1922 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 47 Hue is hit uoul dede zeþþe hit is kendelich? c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 60 Hou shulde sich sense be error in man? a1400–50 Alexander 459 How þat ȝe ga sa grete, gud dame? a1400–50 Alexander 4345 Howe durst any be so bald to blemysche..Þe hand-werke of þat hiȝe gode? 1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall xi. sig. C4^v If thou be to ly at the Altar, how wantst thou a Priest to say thy soule Masse? 1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxvi. 9 How saidst thou, She is my sister? View more context for this quotation d. elliptical (a) With ellipsis of the rest of the question, which, if expressed in full, would reflect the form of a previous statement or question; also as how? see as adv. 7. (b) In ‘ How if…?’ ‘How will (would) it be if…?’ ΚΠ 1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 16/1 We shall see sometime how heretikes come to turne the groundes of our faith wholy vpside downe. As how? If any denie that Iesus Christ is God euerlasting, etc. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. iii. 29 How if when I am laid into the Tombe, I wake before the time. View more context for this quotation a1610 J. Healey tr. Epictetus Manuall (1636) xxxi. 39 But I have yet no meanes to benefit my countrey! As how man? you cannot builde it a schoole, an Exchange, or a Bathe: what's all that to the purpose? a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. i. 30 How if your husband start some other where? View more context for this quotation 1764 S. Foote Lyar i. i. 7 Pap. This disguise procures me many resources... Y. Wild. As how?.. Pap. Why, at a pinch, Sir, I am either a teacher of tongues..or a dancing-master. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 355 Is such an order of things possible, and how, if at all? 2. a. In what condition or state? how are you?: (in quot. 1918) used ironically in sense ‘indeed!’ how do you do? (formerly how do you?): common phrases used in inquiring as to a person's health. See also how-do-ye phr. and n., how-do-you-do phr. and n. Also, how goes it? = how-do-you-do phr. and n. 1; how's (or how are) things (or, originally Australia and New Zealand, tricks?); how do?: = how-do-you-do phr. and n. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > [adverb] > how or in what condition or state howa1400 the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > terms of greeting God give you good dayc1275 hail be thou (also ye)c1275 pax vobisc1275 how do ye?1570 (good, fair) time of day (to you)1597 how goes it?1598 I salute youa1616 savea1616 how do you find yourself?a1646 how-do-you-do1697 how do?1886 how are you popping (up)?1894 how's (less frequently how are) tricks?1915 how's (or how are) things (or, originally Australia and New Zealand, tricks?)1926 how's life?1931 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > making certain, assurance > of course, certainly [phrase] to iwissea1000 mid iwissea1000 in wisc1000 to wis(se)c1000 without(en (any) weenc1175 sans fail1297 thereof no strife1297 but werea1300 forouten werea1300 out of werea1300 without werea1300 without deceit1303 for certainc1320 it is to wittingc1320 withouten carec1320 without nayc1330 without noc1330 without (but out of) dread1340 no doubtc1380 without distancec1390 no fresea1400 out of doubta1400 without doubta1400 for, (in, at obs.), of, to (a) certaintyc1400 withouten stance14.. hazel woods shakea1413 of, on, in warrantisec1440 sure enough?1440 without question?1440 wythout diswerec1440 without any dispayrec1470 for (also of) a surety?a1475 in (also for) surenessa1475 of certainc1485 without any (also all) naya1500 out of question?1526 past question?1526 for sure1534 what else1540 beyond (also out of, past, without) (all) peradventure1542 to be a bidden by1549 out of (also without) all cry1565 with a witness1579 upon my word1591 no question1594 out of all suspicion1600 for a certain1608 without scruple1612 to be sure1615 that's pos1710 in course1722 beyond (all) question1817 (and) no mistake1818 no two ways about it (also that)1818 of course1823 bien entendu1844 yessiree1846 you bet you1857 make no mistake1876 acourse1883 sans doute1890 how are you?1918 you bet your bippy1968 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 20089 ‘Alas! alas! alas!’ said sco, ‘How mai i live, how mai i be!’ 1480 Table Prouffytable Lernynge (Caxton) (1964) 4 What do ye? how is it with you? a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 81 How do thay in Gessen, The Iues, can ye me say? 1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 35 How doest thou my heart? 1594 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis (new ed.) sig. Cij How doth she now for wits? 1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes How now? how goes it? go to, it is well. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 77 How would you be, If he..should But iudge you, as you are? View more context for this quotation 1764 T. Reid Let. in Wks. I. 40/2 After I have given you so full an account of my own state, spiritual and temporal, how goes it with you? 1799 R. B. Sheridan Pizarro Prol. 4 Nodding to booted beaux—‘How'do, how'do?’ a1822 P. B. Shelley Magn. Lady v How feel you now? 1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) vii. 67 Several dozen of ‘How-are-you's?’ hailed the old gentleman's arrival. 1847 F. Marryat Children of New Forest I. xi. 190 Well, master Andrew, how fare you? 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xiv. 123 How's little Miss Sharp? 1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam iv. 4 O heart, how fares it with thee now. View more context for this quotation 1886 H. Baumann Londinismen 79/2 How-do, how d'you do? 1892 I. Zangwill Children of Ghetto I. 147 ‘Well, how goes it, Reb Moshé?’ said Reb Shemuel with his cheery smile. 1918 J. Joyce Exiles i. 2 Beatrice. Did he practise the piano while I was away? Brigid. Practise, how are you! 1926 K. S. Prichard Working Bullocks viii. 86 They halloed and yelled to him: ‘H'lo, Red!’ ‘How's things?’ 1928 H. Crane Let. 27 Mar. (1965) 321 How goes it with your translations..? a1930 D. H. Lawrence Mod. Lover (1934) 192 Hello, you two. How's things? 1934 Passing Show 27 Jan. 5/4 Hey, Morrison, old socks. How's things? 1939 C. Belton Outside Law in N.Z. xxv. 129 ‘Hallo. How are things?’ I greeted him. 1940 H. G. Wells Babes in Darkling Wood i. iv. 90 ‘How do, Father?’ said Gemini. 1941 Coast to Coast 195 ‘G'day,’ he said. ‘How's tricks?’ 1949 D. M. Davin Roads from Home i. iii. 49 How's things?.. How's tricks with you? 1971 B. Malamud Tenants 149 ‘I won't be coming around to say howdo this Friday, Irene,’ Bill said tonelessly. 1973 L. Meynell Thirteen Trumpeters xiv. 211 ‘How's tricks?’ he enquired. ‘I'm fine. I slept like a top.’ b. how's that? in Cricket, an appeal to the umpire to give his decision whether a batter is ‘out’ or not. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > umpiring and scoring > [interjection] > appeal to umpire how's that?1833 1833 New Sporting Mag. 5 325 ‘Well thrown by Huddleston!’——‘How's that?’ ‘Run out!’ 1891 W. G. Grace Cricket xi. 379 ‘How's that, umpire?’ ‘Not out’, said he. 1927 G. A. Terrill Out in Glare iv. 62 The ball swerved——pitched; the inner edge of his bat grazed it. ‘Rap!’ it had got him on the pad. ‘'s that?’ cried Verlenden, unaware of the graze. 1973 A. Mann Tiara ii. 13 The sharp click of bat on ball, and un-Italian cries of ‘Owzat’..showed that cricket was well underway. 3. To what effect? With what meaning? Also, By what name? archaic. (The modern English equivalent is ‘What?’) ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > [adverb] > with what meaning? howc1384 the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [adverb] > by what name? howa1616 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke x. 26 What is writun in the lawe? hou redist thou? a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. viii. 83 Pharao. How says thou that? 1 Miles. Lord, that tayll is trew. ?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi sig. C iv How is theyr maner when they would cove? 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias v. 13 b How say you sir, heere is an other kinde of people. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) v. i. 73 How art thou call'd? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iii. 20 How say you to a fat Tripe finely broyl'd? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 127 How say'st thou that Macduff denies his person At our great bidding. View more context for this quotation a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) iii. iii, in Wks. (1821) II. 86 Sir Oliver S. Is there nothing you could dispose of? Charles S. How do you mean? 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe I. ii. 33 How call'd you your Franklin, Prior Aymer? 1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxxvi. 349 ‘Will you join us in a little conspiracy?’ ‘How do you mean conspiracy, young man?’ 4. a. elliptical for ‘How is it?’ or ‘How say you?’ and used interjectionally, the modern equivalent being ‘What?’ or ‘What!’ (= French quoi!) archaic (except in how about…?). In U.S. colloquial speech ‘How?’ is used in asking for the repetition of something not quite understood (= French comment?).In Old English hú was prefixed to a negative question. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question whatOE howc1000 how aboutc1000 indeeda1616 really1753 anyhow1846 how's about?1952 c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) vi. 26 Hu ne synt ge selran þonne hig? a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3077 Hu? haue ge wrong! 1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall sig. B2^v Whow? I go about to disgrace thee? a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 68 Elb. My wife Sir? whom I detest before heauen, and your honour. Esc. How? thy wife? Elb. I Sir. View more context for this quotation 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 362 How Senior..have you not Authority? 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield II. xii. 190 ‘How,’ interrupted young Mr. Thornhill, ‘this to my face!’ 1846 O. W. Holmes Rhymed Lesson 506 Don't say ‘How?’ for ‘What?’ 1858 O. W. Holmes Autocrat of Breakfast-table iv. 88 I was thinking,—he said indistinctly—How? What is't?—said our landlady. 18.. Emerson in Harper's Mag. (1884) Feb. 460/1 How about Matthew Arnold? b. how now? elliptical for ‘How is it now?’ Often used interjectionally. archaic. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > expressing inquiry [interjection] how now?c1380 ha1597 eh1773 aye1779 hunh1935 uh1977 the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [interjection] > other specific cries or exclamations oeOE heya1225 ouc1300 we13.. hac1320 how1377 how now?c1380 vaha1382 ha a!c1386 ha ha!c1386 hoa1400 ohoa1400 yowc1440 yoa1475 heh1475 hey ho?c1475 huffc1485 wemaya1500 whewa1500 wow1513 huffa?1520 gup?1528 ist1540 whow1542 hougha1556 whoo1570 good-now1578 ooh1602 phew1604 highday1606 huh1608 whoo-whoop1611 sessaa1616 tara1672 hegh1723 hip1735 waugha1766 whoofa1766 jee1786 goody1796 yaw1797 hech1808 whoo-ee1811 whizz1812 yah1812 soh1815 sirs1816 how1817 quep1822 soho1825 ow1834 ouch1838 pfui1838 suz1844 shoo1845 yoop1847 upsadaisy1862 houp-la1870 hooch1871 nu1892 ouff1898 upsy1903 oo-er1909 ooh-wee1910 eina1913 oops1921 whoopsie1923 whoops-a-daisy1925 hot-cha-cha1929 upsadaisy1929 walla1929 hotcha1931 hi-de-ho1936 po po po1936 ho-de-ho1941 oh, oh1944 oopsy1956 chingas1984 bambi2007 c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3779 ‘What how now’..‘Haþ Clarioun my cosyn aslawe þe man?’ 1480 W. Caxton Chron. Eng. cxlix. 129 What how nowe..manace ye me? a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 245 How now? moodie? View more context for this quotation c1704 M. Prior Merry Andrew 10 Why how now, Andrew!..To-day's conceit, methinks, is something dull. 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xlviii. 216 ‘How now!’ he cried..‘Why, where have you been hiding!’ 1878 R. Browning Poets Croisic xli How now? My Duke's crown wrecked? c. how much: used in humorous colloquial requests for the repetition of something not heard or not understood. Also, how much? = what? eh? (Cf. what price——? at price n. Phrases 5 so-and-so?) ΚΠ 1852 F. E. Smedley Lewis Arundel xxxiv. 292 ‘Then my answer must mainly depend on the exact height of the principles.’ ‘On the how much?’ inquired Frere, considerably mystified. 1914 C. Mackenzie Sinister St. II. iii. i. 509 ‘I've got to get..a picture of Mona Lisa.’ ‘Mona how much?’ said Alan. ‘La Gioconda, you ass.’ 1927 E. Bowen Hotel ii. 11 ‘She is a Hedonist.’ ‘A how-much?’ ‘A Hedonist.’ 1928 ‘Sapper’ Female of Species v. 76 ‘A lounge lizard. A ball-room snake. What matter that his Black Bottom is the best in London.’ ‘My Gawd! sir,’ gasped the other. ‘His 'ow much?’ 1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 12 Ethelbert: Ain't you ever 'eard me speak o' the principles of Social Credit Reform? Alfred: 'Ow much? Ethelbert: What Major Douglas 'as to say about banks. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. iv. 243 ‘A friend of mine—could he ever come and stay here?’..‘Could he how much?’ said Daphne. 1949 P. G. Wodehouse Uncle Dynamite ii. 23 ‘You're like me, a gentle coffee-caddy.’ ‘A how much?’ d. and how!: excl. used to indicate that the effect of something is difficult to describe = and no mistake, very much so! originally U.S. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > extremely > remarkable or extraordinary > remarkably or extraordinarily more than ordinary1560 and a half1636 out of (also beyond) (all) recognition1824 and how!1865 like nobody's business1930 1865 B. Taylor Let. 16 June in M. H. Taylor Life & Lett. Bayard Taylor (1884) II. xviii. 434 I finished an article for the ‘Atlantic’ that day. As if I were not ‘a tool of the elements!’ ‘And how?’ as the Germans say (Americanicé—— ‘You'd better believe it!’). 1932 J. W. Drawbell Good Time! xvii. §3 ‘How's that for your orders from a typical American woman?’ ‘You mean it, Peggy?’ ‘And how!’ ‘Baby!’ 1932 T. E. Lawrence Lett. (1938) 752 I want to meet Yeats and Epstein and Eliot some day and how. 1933 E. E. Cummings eimi 83 I have fallen, fallen And How; tumbled into exactly 180 minuteless minutes of ‘materialist dialectic’. 1948 ‘N. Shute’ No Highway ii. 37 ‘Did Mr. Honey take it seriously?’ she asked. ‘And how!’ I said. 1963 V. Nabokov Gift iii. 175 One foot is buried in rich mud, the other is about to kick—and how!—the hideous, tar~black ball. 1965 Listener 25 Nov. 874/1 ‘Alas,’ wrote Harrington, ‘all earthly things do fail to mortals in enjoyment.’ And how. e. how about that?: Isn't that good, pleasing, surprising, etc.? colloquial (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > exclamation of pleasure [interjection] shamea1352 yo-hah1744 hully gee1895 yummy1899 hot dog1906 hot diggety dog1923 how about that?1939 the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection] whatOE well, wellOE avoyc1300 ouc1300 ay1340 lorda1393 ahaa1400 hillaa1400 whannowc1450 wow1513 why?1520 heydaya1529 ah1538 ah me!a1547 fore me!a1547 o me!a1547 what the (also a) goodyear1570 precious coals1576 Lord have mercy (on us)1581 good heavens1588 whau1589 coads1590 ay me!1591 my stars!a1593 Gods me1595 law1598 Godso1600 to go out1600 coads-nigs1608 for mercy!a1616 good stars!1615 mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616 gramercy1617 goodness1623 what next?1662 mon Dieu1665 heugh1668 criminy1681 Lawd1696 the dickens1697 (God, etc.) bless my heart1704 alackaday1705 (for) mercy's sake!1707 my1707 deuce1710 gracious1712 goodly and gracious1713 my word1722 my stars and garters!1758 lawka1774 losha1779 Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784 great guns!1795 mein Gott1795 Dear me!1805 fancy1813 well, I'm sure!1815 massy1817 Dear, dear!1818 to get off1818 laws1824 Mamma mia1824 by crikey1826 wisha1826 alleleu1829 crackey1830 Madonna mia1830 indeed1834 to go on1835 snakes1839 Jerusalem1840 sapristi1840 oh my days1841 tear and ages1841 what (why, etc.) in time?1844 sakes alive!1846 gee willikers1847 to get away1847 well, to be sure!1847 gee1851 Great Scott1852 holy mackerel!1855 doggone1857 lawsy1868 my wig(s)!1871 gee whiz1872 crimes1874 yoicks1881 Christmas1882 hully gee1895 'ullo1895 my hat!1899 good (also great) grief!1900 strike me pink!1902 oo-er1909 what do you know?1909 cripes1910 coo1911 zowiec1913 can you tie that?1918 hot diggety1924 yeow1924 ziggety1924 stone (or stiffen) the crows1930 hullo1931 tiens1932 whammo1932 po po po1936 how about that?1939 hallo1942 brother1945 tie that!1948 surprise1953 wowee1963 yikes1971 never1974 to sod off1976 whee1978 mercy1986 yipes1989 1939 Time 25 Sept. 8/3 How about that? 1966 Word Study Dec. 2/2 How bout that. f. how's about? = how about at sense A. 4a. colloquial (chiefly U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question whatOE howc1000 how aboutc1000 indeeda1616 really1753 anyhow1846 how's about?1952 1952 Holiday Jan. 41/1 How's about a drink? 1961 E. Partridge Dict. Slang (ed. 5) II. 1184/1 How's about having a drink? 5. Chiefly qualifying an adjective or adverb: To what extent? In what degree? (Also with the verb like, or an equivalent.) ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [adverb] > indicating a question whatOE howc1000 how aboutc1000 indeeda1616 really1753 anyhow1846 how's about?1952 the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to what extent howc1000 c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xvii. 17 Hu lange for-bere ic eow? c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) xvi. 5 Hu mycel scealt þu minum hlaforde? a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10437 Hu lang sal þou þus-gat be wroth? a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Mark ix. 20 Hou longe is it, sith this hath falle to hym? 1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 636 How old, or what age are you? 1602 2nd Pt. Returne fr. Parnassus iii. i. 1119 How many miles from Waltham to London? a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. ii. 40 How likes Gremio these quicke witted folkes? View more context for this quotation 1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 147 Well, Colonel, how do you like that Wine? 1798 W. Wordsworth We are Seven in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 111 Sisters and brothers, little maid, How many may you be? 1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. viii. 387 How many runs? 6. At what rate or price? ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [adverb] > at what rate or price how1600 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 47 Sha. How a score of Ewes now? Si. A score of good ewes may bee worth ten pounds. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. ii. 25 How now, how now, how go maiden-heads. View more context for this quotation 1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. How did things go at the auction? How do you sell the plums? II. In direct exclamations. 7. a. In what a way! to what an extent or degree! ΚΠ OE Crist I 216 Crist ælmihtig, hu þu ær wære eallum geworden worulde þrymmum mid þinne wuldorfæder cild acenned þurh his cræft ond meaht! c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lxxii[i]. 1 Hu god is ece God! 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 89 Hou hy byeþ uer uram þise heȝnesse. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Lament. i. 1 Hou sitteth alone the cite ful of puple! c1394 P. Pl. Crede 356 Wiþ hertes of heynesse wouȝ halwen þei chirches. c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi i. xxii. 28 O hov gode a lif þat man haþ, hov grete, hov riche, hov miȝty, hov hye he is! c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) iii. 555 A! how I tremyl and trott for ȝese tydynges! 1513 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid iv. Prol. 231 How [1553 quhou] schort quhile dois his fals plesance remane! 1583 C. Hollyband Campo di Fior 307 O how sweet it smelleth. 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. i. 19 How are the mightie fallen! View more context for this quotation 1709 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs (ed. 2) i. 65 My God, how endless is thy Love? 1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. vi. 139 How pale his cheek, his eye how bright. 1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. colloq. How you do like to tease one! b. how —— can you get?: a colloquial phrase implying that the person referred to has an extreme amount or an excess of the quality described by the adjective. ΚΠ 1948 Washington Post 14 Nov. r9/2 Membership in the Fourth Estate's ‘How Wrong Can You Get?’ club is hereby extended to Stanton Kolb. 1951 H. Wouk Caine Mutiny vii. 488 How unconscious can you get? Don't you know to-day's Navy Day? 1966 ‘A. Garve’ Murderer's Fen ii. iii. 84 Damn it, the writer himself admits he isn't sure.—How vague can you get? 1967 J. Fleming No Bones about It 80 Ben! How old-fashioned can you get? 1968 ‘P. Hobson’ Titty's Dead xii. 125 There's been an affair... And I never twigged it. How dim can you get? 2000 R. Buss tr. E. Zola Drinking Den (2003) vii. 210 ‘Oh, the dirty devil!’ the ladies exclaimed. ‘How disgusting can you get!’ III. In indirect questions and exclamations. 8. Qualifying a verb: In what way, manner, condition, etc.; by what means. (Formerly often followed by that.) a. in dependence on verbs of telling, asking, thinking, perceiving, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [adverb] > in what case or circumstance howOE whenc1000 where?c1225 OE Genesis 431 Hycgað his ealle, hu ge hi beswicen! c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 310 Þa axode se casere þone ænne preost hu his nama wære. c1050 Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia (1885) 8 312 Hwanon he cymð and hu he byð. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 161 Neomeð ȝeme hu hit fareð. c1325 Maximon i, in T. Wright & J. O. Halliwell Reliquiæ Antiquæ (1845) I. 119 Nou herkne hou it wes. c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Harl.) lxv. 284 He..tolde his wife, Howe þat þe stiwarde saide. 1458 A. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 41 Send me..word..who Clement Paston hath do his devere in lernyng. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Esther ii. B Y^t he might knowe how Hester dyd. 1556 W. Lauder Compend. Tractate Dewtie of Kyngis sig. B3 Attend heirfor, quhow ȝe sulde chuse Ȝour Pastoris. 1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 117 About ten of the clocke hee demaunded howe the time went. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xvi. 162 How we all came to disregard so material a point is inconceivable. 1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) III. 147 Shakespeare has taught us how great men should speak and act. b. In dependence on nouns like heed, caution, and adjectives of kindred meaning. ΚΠ c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 18 Warniað hu ge ge-hyran.] 1526 W. Tyndale Luke viii. 18 Take hede therfore how ye heare. 1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 31^v Take hede how thou layest the bane for the rats. 1718 Free-thinker No. 24. 2 Let us be cautious therefore how we innovate too much. 1847 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair (1848) xviii. 156 Be wary how you engage. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 54/1 The hawkers..are wary how they buy any animal suspected to be stolen. c. In dependence on a preposition. ΚΠ 1827 R. Southey Hist. Peninsular War II. 300 [They] began to think only of how to secure the booty. 1884 R. W. Church Bacon ix. 214 The force and clearness of what was said depended so much on how it was said. 9. Followed by an infinitive: In what way; by what means. how to do = the way in which one should (or may) do; also elliptical, as how to, and often used attributively, as ‘ how-to’ discourse, ‘ how-to-do-it’ manual, etc.; also (in titles of books, etc.) followed by a verb. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [adverb] > by which means or by means of which wheremidc1160 wherebyc1200 wherethorough?c1225 wherewithc1230 wherewith1297 witha1300 wherethrough13.. whereof1340 withal1389 how1390 wherewithal1578 wherewithal1618 the world > action or operation > manner of action > [phrase] > how to do something how to1838 how to do1897 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 367 [He] wiste nought how for to rise. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3751 Consail me, fader, how to liue [Gött. hu i sal liue]. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lvi Thomas Wolsey..studyed daye & night how to be a Cardinal. 1553 T. Wilson Arte Rhetorique (1580) 160 What should a manne doe with a weapon, that knoweth not how to use it? 1678 Lady Chaworth in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 46 The House is..consulting how to raise this vast some of monies. 1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 174. ⁋5 A set of companions who knew how to laugh. 1838 H. Martineau (title) How to observe: morals and manners. 1849 A. Helps Friends in Council II. i. v. 177 There is something I wanted to say..but I did not see how to bring it in. 1857 (title) How to publish: a manual for authors. 1880 C. R. Markham Peruvian Bark 272 I am at a loss how to express my feeling of admiration. 1895 Law Times 99 546/1 What books to read, and how to read them. 1897 Cavalry Tactics Introd. 3 There is no better lesson how not to do it. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses iii. xvi. [Eumaeus] 604 You had to come back..to show the understudy in the title rôle how to. 1923 A. Bennett (title) How to make the best of life. 1941 R. A. Beals & L. Brody Lit. Adult Educ. 453 Nearly all councils also make some provision for supplying information, such as distributing manuals of the ‘how-to-do-it’ variety. 1942 H. Haycraft Murder for Pleasure p. vii One or two ‘how-to-write-it’ manuals. 1946 C. Morris Signs, Lang. & Behavior v. x. 143 It is ‘how to’ discourse: discourse informing one how to rivet, how to play the flute. 1959 Times Lit. Suppl. 6 Nov. p. xxxviii/4 Light fiction, popular uplift, or how-to-do-it-books. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 19 Jan. 43/1 A how-to-cook-turkey booklet! 1968 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 27 July 26/3 Most of the how-to books at this time of year are busy with water sports. 1972 T. P. McMahon Issue of Bishop's Blood (1973) xii. 176 She had washed her face, and though it doesn't say so in the women's how-to-books, there are some women who look great that way. 10. With weakened meaning, introducing an indirect statement, after verbs of saying, perceiving, and the like: = That. Formerly frequently how that, and in modern dialect speech as how (see as conj. 26). see how still more or less calls attention to the manner. ΚΠ c1000 Ælfric Joshua ii. 10 We gehirdon..hu ge ofslogon..Seon and Og. 13.. K. Alis. 1565 He..saide to the kyng, How his fadir hette Felip. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2732 We witen wel quat is bi-tid, Quuow gister-dai was slagen and hid. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 527 Hym thoughte how þ^t the wynged god Mercurye Biforn hym stood. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lvii A letter was brought..certefiyng him how he was elected to be a Cardinal. 1571 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xxix. 3 Seing quhow all erdly thingis wor subiect to mutatioun. 1611 Bible (King James) Ruth i. 6 Shee had heard..how that the Lord had visited his people. View more context for this quotation 1709 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs (ed. 2) ii. 167 Sing how he left the Worlds of Light. 1750 T. Smollett Roderick Random (ed. 3) I. iii. 15 He was well informed as how, Rory was the best scholar of his age. 1801 Monthly Rev. 35 358 ‘If people knew as how they could talk, they would be obliged to work also.’ 1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 98 Bob Cratchit told them how he had a situation in his eye for Master Peter. 11. Chiefly qualifying an adjective or adverb (also with verb like, etc.): To what extent; in what degree. ΚΠ c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxvii. 13 Ne gehyrst þu hu fela sagena hig ongen þe secgeað? c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Ȝe hi hered hu muchel edmodnesce ure drihten dude for us. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 287 Quanne the Erl..herde..hw wel she ferde, Hw wis sho was, w chaste, hw fayr. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxxiv. 153 Seez how gude a man þis was. 1476 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) II. 5 I cannat tell wo sone. 1563 N. Winȝet Wks. (1890) II. 21 It is..furthschawin, quhoumekle calamitie is inbrocht. a1632 T. Taylor God's Judgem. (1642) i. i. xi. 31 All which declareth..upon how fickle ground all their Religion standeth. 1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon I. 11 You know how small my estate is. 1899 N.E.D. at How Mod., I do not know how she will take it. 12. With ellipsis of the rest of the clause introduced by how, or of part of it. ΚΠ c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 159 Lusteð nu..hwo hire ledde and wu and hwider. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 47 Say forth, quod she, and telle me how. 1471 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 441 [He] browt me worde..þat he hathe sped well; but hoghe, þat wot I nott. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lij Borowed..golde and syluer, but howe muche I am not sure. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 25 The Ocean was as white as snow, but how caused I am ignorant. 1821 Ld. Byron Sardanapalus iii. i. 90 He has wound About my heart, I know not how nor why. 1893 Bookman June 82/2 Nobody writes moral-allegorical tales now, because nobody knows how. IV. Introducing a relative clause. 13. In what way, manner, condition, etc.; by what means; in the way that; however; as. (Formerly also how that.) †how were it, past tense of howbeit adv. and conj. (Cf. however adv.) ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in the way that howa1400 the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in whatever way how so?c1275 howsomevera1300 howeverc1380 howa1400 howsoeverc1450 anyway1642 the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > [adverb] > by what means? wherewithc1175 howa1400 whereby1526 wherewithal1535 a1400 Pistill of Susan 202 We schul presenten þis pleint, hou þou euer be paied. 1427 Rolls Parl. IV. 326/2 Howe were it, þat it be not þought, þat any such þing wetyngly proceded of your entent. c1475 Partenay 3207 Hou were it that ioy of hys fader had, And of Melusine his moders welfaire. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. ii. 12 Looke how we can..Interpretation will misquote our lookes. View more context for this quotation 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. iii. 235 That what she had atchiev'd..She should dispose of how she pleas'd. 1695 J. Woodward Ess. Nat. Hist. Earth 57 Be that how it will. 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 293 He would go as a Merchant, or how I pleas'd to order him. 1837 J. H. Newman Lect. Prophetical Office Church 105 He left them to gather the great truth for themselves how they could. 1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xii. 176 Others strove to escape how they might among the ditches. †14. a. Qualifying an adjective or adverb: To what extent, in what degree (that); however adv. how well (that): although, albeit; cf. Dutch hoewel. Obsolete. ΚΠ ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 46 I haue not Intencion for to obeye his comandement how well that he is my fader. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) i. iii. 15 How well that the lyon be the strengest beste, yet somtyme a lityll birde eteth hym. 1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iv. 47 How well he was kynge by right. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 37 How wel that he had supposed that he had made al faste I was not so moche a fool but that I fonde the hole wel. 1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 38 How cruel that he be..his hert shal not suffre to do you ony harme. c1500 Melusine (1895) xxiv. 182 To..acquere thordre of knyghthode, as our bretheren..haue don, how wel we be nat worthy to receuye it so nobly..as they haue doo. ?c1530 Crt. of Love 207 Aftir this shall be myne hole entent To serve and please, how dere that love be bought. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xiv. 15 They do labour & til the ground, how wel there groweth no corne... But well there groweth certaine other graine and hearbes of small estimation. ?1602 Narcissus (MS Bodl. Rawl. poet. 212) (1893) 687 How deepe I dive, yet thee I cannott find. †b. = As … as; how soon (that) = as soon as (French aussitôt que). Obsolete. Chiefly Scottish. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adverb] > as soon as soon soc897 so soon soc1175 as soon soc1290 al so, also soon asc1330 soon asa1400 howc1449 how soon (as)1557 whenever1655 instantly1793 immediately1839 the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [phrase] > as soon as as rathe as (also so rather so, swa rathe swa)OE not so soon…(that) or but (that)1390 as (als, also) swithe as (als swither)a1400 no sooner…, but, than, or when1560 how soon (that)c1600 the world > time > duration > [adverb] > for the whole time or duration so long asa1387 right1568 howa1639 while-ever1777 c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 394 The louȝer curatis..ben stabili endewid.., how stabili a perpetual chauntry preest is endewid. c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 127 Sa that howsone he espyit Sir James to be removit from the hous, he then immediatlie approchit with his soldiors. a1639 J. Spottiswood Hist. Church Scotl. (1677) i. 8 How long Hildebert lived he aboad in his company. 1754 W. Goodall in H. Campbell Love Lett. Mary Q. Scots (1824) 192 Cecil..had all in readiness to be published how soon the Duke should be beheaded. †c. Correlative to so qualifying an adjective or adverb (sometimes omitted): To what extent; in what degree; as … as. by how much…by so much = Latin quantum … tantum. (A Latinism.) Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to what extent > correlative to 'so' howa1382 the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to such an extent > to such an extent as how1600 insomuch as1651 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. ii. 13 So myche wisdam wente beforn folie, hou myche [a1425 L.V. as muche as] liȝt is in difference fro dercnesses. c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi iii. lv. 133 Hov muche þat euery man is in þin eyen, lorde, so muche he is & no more. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. ii. 28 How many cities thou hast (o Iuda) so many goddes hast thou also. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. ii. 378 They worship also serpents..and the more they feare and reverence them, by how much the more deformed and monstrous they are. 1620 T. Venner Via Recta iii. 47 By how much the younger they are, by so much the moyster they are. 1703 Moderation a Virtue 13 So much the more Amiable, by how much the less it has of humane Mixtures. 1879 E. Arnold Light of Asia viii. 233 By howsomuch the householder Purgeth himself of self..By so much happier comes he to next stage. †15. With noun as antecedent (esp. with manner, way, etc.): In which (way); by which (name). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [adverb] > by which name howc1400 the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in which way as?c1225 how1548 c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) v. 53 The names how thei clepen hem. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. li An hundred wayes..how..to deliuer or conuey them out of pryson. c1680 W. Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 539 I see no way how it is possible. 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding iv. xvi. 339 We perceive not the ways and manner how they are produced. V. With indefinite adjective (or adverb). 16. In (some, any) way or manner. rare. Cf. anyhow adv., adj., and n., somehow adv. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] howc1000 c1000 Laws Eccl. Inst. xxi, in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) II. 418 Ðæt se lareow þe him tela tæce him sylf elles-hu do. c1000 in Cockayne Shrine 195 Ne meg nu hu ælles beon. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 604 To prosecute the means of thy deliverance By ransom or how else. View more context for this quotation 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 294 He found Means some how or other, to get to Jamaica. 1858 N. Hawthorne Ancestral Footstep (1883) 514 The old Hospitaller must die in his bed, or some other how. B. n.³ (often in collocation with why). 1. A question or query as to the way or manner. hows and whys (quot. 1726), doubts. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [noun] > act or instance of > with specific form why1532 how1533 what1556 whoa1774 wh-question1957 why-question1973 the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > [noun] > a doubt, scruple were1338 doubtc1374 incertainty1483 scruple1534 dubitation1545 scrupulosity?a1562 irresolution1592 suspense1594 non liquet1656 nicety1694 reservation1719 hows and whys1726 dubiety1807 1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. xv. f. lxvii He lefte theyr questyon & theyr how vnsoyled. 1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. i. xv. f. lxvii^v Lette vs neuer in suche hygh thynges eyther speake or thynge that same howe. 1577 W. Fulke Confut. Doctr. Purgatory 456 To all the other howes and whyes I aunswere with one word, he had no warrant..in the law of God. 1726 T. Boston Let. 21 May in Memoirs (1776) App. 35 How difficult to get our how's and why's crucified. 1899 N.E.D. at How Mod. Bother your hows and whys! 2. The way or manner (in which). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [noun] wayeOE costOE wise971 gatec1175 custc1275 form1297 guise13.. mannerc1300 kindc1330 assizea1375 plighta1393 makea1400 fashionc1400 reason?c1400 method1526 voye1541 how1551 way1563 garb1600 quality1600 mould1603 quomodo1623 modus1648 mode1649 turn1825 road1855 gait1866 methodology1932 stylee1982 1551 S. Gardiner Explic. Catholique Fayth f. 55 The (howe) & maner whereof, God knoweth. 1666 W. Boghurst Loimographia (1894) 75 Wee are not soe ignorant in the matter as the method, in the what, as the how. 1701 J. Norris Ess. Ideal World I. v. 226 In most things the how is more difficult than the whether, and our philosophy can prove a great deal more than it can explain. 1845 W. G. Simms Wigwam & Cabin 1st Ser. 7 You joined the army again, and come in with Greene? Was that the how? 1847 H. W. Longfellow Evangeline i. iii. 31 Must we in all things look for the how, and the why, and the wherefore? 1865 J. W. Carlyle Lett. III. 284 Write distinctly the when, and the how, of your home-coming. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds ii. 27 Daddy went off at last, and that was the how of my first trip. 1916 ‘B. M. Bower’ Phantom Herd xvi. 272 I calc'late that's about the how of it. 1949 Amer. Speech 24 39 In recent years method, explanation, and the how..promise to force modus operandi into the archives. Phrases P1. how so? a. Interrogative: How is it so? How is that? ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase] how so?a1375 what, how seemeth you?1485 what reck?a1513 what is the matter?c1520 what about ——1662 what's the row?1810 how come?1848 whassa1906 since when?1907 what'sa matter1935 a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 980 ‘Þis man..þat neȝh is driue to þe deþ al for youre sake!’ ‘How so for my sake?’ a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5207 How sua, es þar na noþer king? c1450 Erle Tolous 847 A, devyll! he seyde, how soo? a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. v. 65 How so sir, did she change her determination? View more context for this quotation 1632 R. Sherwood Dict. in R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues (new ed.) How so? Puis, et puis? comment cela? †b. Relative: In whatever way, howsoever. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in whatever way how so?c1275 howsomevera1300 howeverc1380 howa1400 howsoeverc1450 anyway1642 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12828 Þat we hine læteð ane. faren heu swa [c1300 Otho don wat-so] he wule. 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xvii. 183 Vnfolden or folden my fuste & myn paume, Al is but an hande how so I torne it. c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme li. 50 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 51 O lord how soe I stand or fall, Leaue not thy loued Sion to embrace. †c. However much; notwithstanding that, although. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > on condition that [conjunction] > although thoughc888 thoughc1050 allc1225 when1297 how so?c1330 althougha1350 ifa1400 if alla1400 though all?a1400 andc1400 suppose1400 albeit?a1425 albec1450 wella1470 even though1697 c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 16305 Ȝit wot non how hit wyl bynde [v.r. ende]; Hou so bitwyxt hem be strif or stresse. c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iii. 113 How so be it that þe Ffrenche kynge reignith vppon is peple dominio regali, yet [etc.]. c1460 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (1885) iv. 116 How so be it þat thai do so ayenst thar willes. 1595 S. Daniel First Fowre Bks. Ciuile Warres ii. xc. sig. L Welcome come, how so vnfortunate. 1614 J. Norden Custom in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign James I (1848) 310 [They] shall never fall, howso they seeme to slide. P2. †how and about: with reference to, (all) about. here's how! a formula used in drinking healths. how chance: see chance v. 5. how, when, and where: a game of guessing, in which the guesser asks the questions ‘How do you like it? When do you like it?’ etc., of each of the other players. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > in relation to [phrase] > in respect of or with regard to in wise ofc1290 by (also for) reason ofa1350 as to (the) regard ofc1392 in regard of or toc1392 upon the side ofa1393 with regard toc1392 in respect of?a1425 in this (also that) behalf1458 upon the feat of1483 for (the) respect of1489 as pertains to1526 in order to1526 with respect1556 ad idem1574 on this behalf1581 in or with reference to1593 quoad hoc1601 in point of1605 with intuition to (of)1626 in the mention of1638 in terms of1704 how and about1753 as regards1797 as concerns1816 w.r.t.1956 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > guessing game > specific what's my thought like?1748 twenty questions1786 charade1826 how, when, and where1843 proverbs1855 hy-spy1876 game1937 I spy (with my little eye)1946 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison V. ix. 46 Emily wrote you all how-and-about it. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VI. xvi. 58 Be good, and write me every-thing how and about it. 1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 113 At the game of How, When, and Where, she was very great. 1896 R. Kipling Seven Seas 99 Yes, a health to ourselves ere we scatter... Here's how! 1925 Springfield Union 20 Nov. They now say ‘Bungo!’ instead of ‘Here's how!’ over cocktails. 1951 J. B. Priestley Festival at Farbridge ii. i. 152 ‘Well,’ said Mr. Hull, holding up his glass,..‘here's how!’ 1959 E. Burgess Divided we Fall xi. 132 Martin was clasping a tumbler half filled with whisky. ‘Here's how,’ said the fat man. P3. how come? colloquial (originally U.S.) phr.: how did (or does) it come about (that)? Cf. come v. 32. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > making inquiries [phrase] how so?a1375 what, how seemeth you?1485 what reck?a1513 what is the matter?c1520 what about ——1662 what's the row?1810 how come?1848 whassa1906 since when?1907 what'sa matter1935 1848 J. R. Bartlett Dict. Americanisms How-come? rapidly pronounced huc-cum, in Virginia. Doubtless an English phrase, brought over by the original settlers, and propagated even among the negro slaves. The meaning is, How did what you tell me happen? How came it? 1897 R. M. Stuart In Simpkinsville 230 She heard Miss Euphemia wonderin' the other day how come the right shoulder of her black silk dress to wear out. 1930 Sat. Evening Post 8 Mar. 12/1 These firms assert blandly to..journalists who ring them up, wishful to know how come, they have nothing against women. 1932 T. S. Eliot Sweeney Agonistes 17 Hello Doris! Hello Dusty! How do you do! How come? how come? will you permit me ——. 1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling iv. 34 That's how come him to have appetite for a nip o' pore old Betsy. 1957 New Yorker 13 July 19/1 These days, the sensation of the stamp-collecting world is United Nations commemorative stamps. How come? 1958 G. Mitchell Spotted Hemlock xviii. 210 How come they didn't spot her? 1959 H. Hobson Mission House Murder xviii. 122 ‘How come you make it murder?’ he asked. 1969 in H. Halpert & G. M. Story Christmas Mumming in Newfoundland 213 How come you ain't got Wallace with you tonight? 1971 Black World Oct. 62/1 So that's how come I asked My Man Bovanne to dance. 1973 T. Allbeury Choice of Enemies iv. 16 ‘Well, we are getting a bit like the Krauts, you know.’ ‘How come?’ Draft additions December 2018 colloquial. how's it?: (used as a greeting or to enquire about a person's well-being) ‘how's it going?’, ‘how are you?’ Cf. howzit int. ΚΠ 1938 P. H. Johnson Monument ii. i. 231 How's it, Dad? How do you feel? 1962 A. La Guma Walk in Night (1968) 77 He said: ‘Hoit, pally.’ ‘How's it?’ Michael Adonis asked and giggled suddenly. 1990 A. Duff Once were Warriors (1995) xv. 177 Smilin atem. How's it, boys? Greetin em in turn and order of known seniority. 2008 T. Nichols & N. Shivers Maddening Behaviors (e-book, accessed 26 July 2018) 77 ‘How's it Sipho? What are you humming over there?’ Bongi asked. ‘It sounds familiar.’ This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online March 2022). howhoweint.¹n.⁴ Forms: Also 1500s hoaw, 1600s whowe. Etymology: A natural utterance; it is probable that the different uses are independent in origin, and properly different words. Obsolete or dialect. 1. An exclamation to attract attention, etc.; = ho int.¹ Also n., as name for this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [interjection] > other specific cries or exclamations oeOE heya1225 ouc1300 we13.. hac1320 how1377 how now?c1380 vaha1382 ha a!c1386 ha ha!c1386 hoa1400 ohoa1400 yowc1440 yoa1475 heh1475 hey ho?c1475 huffc1485 wemaya1500 whewa1500 wow1513 huffa?1520 gup?1528 ist1540 whow1542 hougha1556 whoo1570 good-now1578 ooh1602 phew1604 highday1606 huh1608 whoo-whoop1611 sessaa1616 tara1672 hegh1723 hip1735 waugha1766 whoofa1766 jee1786 goody1796 yaw1797 hech1808 whoo-ee1811 whizz1812 yah1812 soh1815 sirs1816 how1817 quep1822 soho1825 ow1834 ouch1838 pfui1838 suz1844 shoo1845 yoop1847 upsadaisy1862 houp-la1870 hooch1871 nu1892 ouff1898 upsy1903 oo-er1909 ooh-wee1910 eina1913 oops1921 whoopsie1923 whoops-a-daisy1925 hot-cha-cha1929 upsadaisy1929 walla1929 hotcha1931 hi-de-ho1936 po po po1936 ho-de-ho1941 oh, oh1944 oopsy1956 chingas1984 bambi2007 1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. vi. 118 [They] hulpen erie his half acre with ‘how! trolli-lolli!’ a1400 Sir Perc. 661 He cryed, ‘How, mane, on thi mere, Bryng agayne the kynges gere’. 14.. Audelay in MS Douce 302 lf. 34/1 Thai halowyd here howndys with how, In holtis herde I never soche hew. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 391 Thanne woltow clepe, how Alison, how Iohn Be murye for the flood wol passe anon. c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 85 How, hosteler, how, a peck of otys and a botell of haye. 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 602 Mak roume, sirs, hoaw! that I may rin! 1579 Epit. in Miller Hist. Doncaster Howe, Howe, who is heare? I Robin of Doncastere and Magaret my feare. 1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions ix. viii. 327 With hallowes and how-bubs, with whowbes, whowes, and outcries. 1804 Bob Cranky's 'Size Sunday (Northmbld. Gloss.) Ki Geordy, how, where are ye gannin'? 1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words How 'way, come away;..very common in Newcastle. 2. A cry of sailors in heaving the anchor up, etc.: usually with hale, heave (cf. heave ho int. and n., hey ho int.). Also n., as name for this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > cry or exclaim [verb (intransitive)] > specific exclamations ho1377 heave hoa1400 howc1450 whew1765 oh-oh1833 oh1837 yo-heave-ho1857 phew1858 ahem1876 oh-my1893 hooch1896 yah1904 ooh1930 ooh-la-la1950 ooh-ooh1960 c1450 Pilgr. Sea Voy. 13 in Stac. Rome etc. 37 To dresse hem sone about the mast, Theyr takelyng to make With ‘howe! hissa!’ 1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur vii. xv Mariners noyse with hale and how. ?c1475 Sqr. lowe Degre in J. Ritson Anc. Eng. Metrical Romanceës III. 179 Your maryners shall synge arowe Hey how and rumby lowe. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. ii. 120 Mony marynair Besy at thair werk..with mony heis and how. a1529 J. Skelton Tunnyng of Elynour Rummyng in Certayne Bks. (?1545) 289 Wyth, Hey, and wyth howe, Sit we down arow. 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 29 Like a great Hoe in a ship-yard at the stirring of a little log. 1652 Ripley's Compend of Alchemy in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chemicum Britannicum 157 Hay hoe, careaway, lat the cup go rounde. 1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason x. 187 And so drew Argo up, with hale and how, On to the grass. 3. A cry of pain or grief. In Scottish./hou/. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > cry of grief > [interjection] > specific cry of grief woeeOE wellawayeOE weilac1000 wellawayOE wellaOE woe is meOE wummec1175 wia1200 outa1225 alas?c1225 walec1275 ac1300 whilec1402 ochonea1425 wellesay?1440 wannowec1450 helas1484 ah1509 ocha1522 ah me!a1547 wougha1556 eh1569 welladay1570 how1575 wellanear1581 ay me!1591 lasa1593 wella, welladay1601 good lack!1638 oime1660 pillaloo1663 wellanearing1683 lack-a-day1695 wasteheart1695 walya1724 lackadaisy1748 ochree1748 waesucks1773 well-a-winsa1774 ullagone1819 wirra1825 mavrone1827 wirrasthru1827 ototoi1877 wurra1898 1575–6 in J. Raine Depositions Courts Durham (1845) 271 [He] was so sore vexed with siknes that he raved and showtyd, cryinge ‘howe’. a1827 Mary Hamilton in G. R. Kinloch Anc. Sc. Ballads (1827) 255 Monie a lady fair Siching and crying, Och how! This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1899; most recently modified version published online December 2021). howint.² Brit. /haʊ/, U.S. /haʊ/ Etymology: Compare Sioux háo, Omaha hau. An ejaculation, originally used by Indians of north-eastern North America in a variety of applications. Also repeated. First noticed in the early 17th century by the French missionary Jean de Brébeuf, describing Huron oratory as he had observed it in Ontario. The Hurons showed their approval of a speech by a shouted haau (Jesuit Relations, documents pertaining to 1636, Thwaites, Vol. X, p. 259). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or exclamation > [interjection] > other specific cries or exclamations oeOE heya1225 ouc1300 we13.. hac1320 how1377 how now?c1380 vaha1382 ha a!c1386 ha ha!c1386 hoa1400 ohoa1400 yowc1440 yoa1475 heh1475 hey ho?c1475 huffc1485 wemaya1500 whewa1500 wow1513 huffa?1520 gup?1528 ist1540 whow1542 hougha1556 whoo1570 good-now1578 ooh1602 phew1604 highday1606 huh1608 whoo-whoop1611 sessaa1616 tara1672 hegh1723 hip1735 waugha1766 whoofa1766 jee1786 goody1796 yaw1797 hech1808 whoo-ee1811 whizz1812 yah1812 soh1815 sirs1816 how1817 quep1822 soho1825 ow1834 ouch1838 pfui1838 suz1844 shoo1845 yoop1847 upsadaisy1862 houp-la1870 hooch1871 nu1892 ouff1898 upsy1903 oo-er1909 ooh-wee1910 eina1913 oops1921 whoopsie1923 whoops-a-daisy1925 hot-cha-cha1929 upsadaisy1929 walla1929 hotcha1931 hi-de-ho1936 po po po1936 ho-de-ho1941 oh, oh1944 oopsy1956 chingas1984 bambi2007 the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous expressions [interjection] > expressions of greeting > native American how1817 1817 J. Bradbury Trav. Amer. 95 We were interrupted by one of the chiefs crying ‘How’, signifying amongst the Indians ‘Come on’, or ‘let us begin’. 1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians II. liv. 172 ‘How! how!’ vociferated all of them, thereby approving what was said, giving assent by the word how, which is their word for yes. 1868 Harper's Mag. Feb. 301/2 The Indians..complimented ‘Little Bill’ with a succession of how-how-hows! 1911 N.Y. Evening Post 28 Jan. (Suppl.) 3 The expression ‘How’, used by army men in giving a toast, is equivalent to the expression, ‘Here's to your health’. Some think it is merely the Indian corruption of ‘How d'ye do?’ abbreviated by the Indian to ‘How’. Others believe the expression is derived from the Indian language direct. 1962 Alberta Hist. Rev. Autumn 11/1 The Blackfoot Indians usually greet a white man with ‘How, How!’ sometimes, ‘How wa-pe’. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1976; most recently modified version published online March 2022). > see also also refers to : howehown. also refers to : howehowadj.¹adv. < n.¹c1000n.²a1340n.⁵1915v.¹OEv.²1508adv.n.³OEint.¹n.⁴1377int.²1817 see also
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† howhowen.1

howhowen.2

hown.5

† howhowev.1

howhowev.2

howadv.n.3

Phrases

Draft additions December 2018

howhoweint.1n.4

howint.2

> see also

† howhowen.¹

howhowen.²

hown.⁵

† howhowev.¹

howhowev.²

howadv.n.³

howhoweint.¹n.⁴

howint.²