> as lemmas

1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker III. 6 The council is composed of deacons, one of whom is returned every year, in rotation.

1776 P. Van Cortlandt Let. 28 Nov. in J. Judd Corr. Van Cortlandt Family (1977) 124 The troops cantooned in this part of the country, may be employed in rotation to assist in the work.

1833 H. Martineau Manch. Strike (new ed.) 73 Three members..sit daily,..viz., the treasurer, secretary, and one of the other members in rotation.

1847 W. C. L. Martin Ox 33/1 It is not..until the close of the third [year] that the [teeth] next in rotation succeed.

1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 11/1 If vegetable manures are applied in rotation.

1880 H. Cowley Maid of Arragon 40 De Courci and the Moors dar'd not resign Their heavy lids to sleep, but in rotation.

1925 G. K. Chesterton Everlasting Man i. ii. 48 The terrible Troglodytes of the Stone Age lifted alternate legs in rotation.

1987 Punch 28 Oct. 103/2 But the three men most affected by the allegation..all die in inexplicable rotation shortly afterward.

2006 S. M. Stirling Sky People iv. 101 The priest's job was probably held by local heads-of-household in rotation on a part-time basis.