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单词 last
释义

lastn.1

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: early Old English laesti, early Old English lasð (before ð), Old English læst, Old English læste (in sense 2), Old English last, Old English lastð- (in compounds), Old English (rare)–Middle English lest, Middle English leste, Middle English–1700s laste, Middle English– last, 1500s lasses (plural); also Scottish pre-1700 last, pre-1700 laste, 1800s laist.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian lāst , lēst , probably ‘sole of the foot’ or ‘footprint’, Middle Dutch lēst , leest form, model, figure, shoemaker's last (Dutch leest ), Middle Low German lēst , leist shoemaker's last, Old High German leist shoemaker's last, (in waganleist cart track, wheel rut) track (Middle High German leist shoemaker's last, track, path, German Leist , Leiste , (now usually) Leisten shoemaker's last), Old Icelandic leistr foot, sock, Swedish läst stocking foot, sock, shoemaker's last, Danish læst shoemaker's last, model, Gothic laists track, trace < a suffixed form (compare -t suffix3) of the base of Middle Dutch lese track, Old Saxon -lēsa track (in waganlēsa cart track, wheel rut), Old High German -leisa (in waganleisa ; Middle High German leis , leise , (with prefix) geleis path, track, German Geleise , Gleise , Gleis track) < the same Germanic base as learn v. and lore n.1The Old English forms apparently reflect more than one formation from the same Germanic base. The more common stem form in sense 1 is lāst , but a by-form showing i-mutation (lǣst ) is also attested. The word is chiefly attested as a strong masculine in this sense, but in compounds showing this sense apparently sometimes a strong feminine (compare especially fōtlǣst footprint, track, footstep, the sole of the foot; < foot n. + last n.1). In sense 2 the word is attested more rarely in Old English and only with the stem form showing i-mutation; it probably inflects as a strong masculine or neuter (ja -stem) lǣste . Middle English lēst- (which continues sense 2) shows the expected reflex of Old English lǣst- . However, the stem vowel of the modern English standard form appears to show the reflex of Middle English short ă (with later lengthening before the voiceless fricative in some southern or RP varieties: see A n.). This could have arisen by early shortening of Old English lǣst- , or alternatively by shortening of the early and northern Middle English reflex of Old English lāst- . Compare (with sense 2) Old English lǣstwyrhta, precise sense uncertain, either ‘shoemaker’, ‘hosier’, or ‘last-maker’, and Old English (rare) fōtlǣstlēas (of stockings) having no soles.
†1.
a. A mark or trace left on the ground by the foot; a footprint, a track; a footstep; (also) the sole or lower part of the foot. Obsolete.Only in Old English.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > marking > a mark > trace or vestige > [noun] > left by the passage of something > of a person or animal > track of footprints > footprint
trod946
lastOE
foot sporeOE
tread?c1225
stepc1290
footstepa1300
solec1325
tracta1547
footprint1552
traces1552
footing1563
foot track1600
accub1623
vestigating1634
vestige1656
seal1686
sign1692
footmark1756
stabble1863
pelmatogram1890
paw print1894
OE Beowulf (2008) 132 Hie þæs laðan last sceawedon.
OE Blickling Homilies 127 Man dæghwamlice þa moldan nimeþ on þæm lastum.
OE Antwerp-London Gloss. (2011) 101 Solum, læst.
lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xx. 284 Ac sio lease gesælð hio tihð on last neadinga þa þe hiere to geðeodað from þam soðum gesælðum.
b. Scottish. singular. In negative contexts: a single thing, anything or any extent at all. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [noun] > state of being non-specific > unspecified thing(s) > anything > a thing of any kind
lastc1480
anything1607
any old thing1895
c1480 (a1400) St. Pelagia 102 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 207 We, þat suld god plese maste, Oure verray spouse, rekis nocht a laste hou foule ore vnfaire we be.
c1480 (a1400) St. Cecilia 580 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 384 Þu ma with þi handis taste, þo þu ma nocht se a laste.
a1500 Ratis Raving (Cambr. Kk.1.5) l. 1490 in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 42 Fellony..louit neuir his lord a last Bot he ware tyrand at the maist.
2.
a. A model of the foot made of wood, metal, (now) plastic, etc., on which boots and shoes are shaped during making or manufacture.boot, shoe last: see the first element.In quot. OE rendering post-classical Latin calopodium (and classical Latin mustricula) shoemaker's last.
ΚΠ
OE Antwerp-London Gloss. (2011) 65 Calopodium uel mustricula, læste.
?c1335 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 156 (MED) Hail be ȝe sutters wiþ ȝour mani lestes.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 298 Leste, sowtarys forme, formula.
a1500 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 628 Formipedia, lest..quitibiali, lest of a boote.
1541 in A. M. Munro Rec. Old Aberdeen (1899) I. 176 Item, a pair of grytt lastis, ane myddil pair of lastis, and ane les pair of lastis.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. F2v That as he were a Coblers eldest sonne, would by the laste tell where anothers shooe wrings.
1644 C. Jessop Angel Church of Ephesus 6 These Lawyers..stretch Scripture as they please, just as the Shoe-maker doth his leather with his teeth, to fit it to his Laste.
1716 J. Gay Trivia i. 3 Should the big Laste extend the Shoe too wide.
1747 R. Campbell London Tradesman xli. 218 Lasts are made generally of Birch, or some soft Wood.
1819 A. Rees Cycl. XXXII. at Shoes This causes them [sc. nails] to project through the inner sole into the shoe, and the points meeting the iron last are turned back.
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. vii. 241 Occasionally, there is a drowsy sound from some lone weaver's shuttle, or shoemaker's last.
1877 A. J. Conant in C. R. Barns Commonw. Missouri i. viii. 68 We found molds made of clay for casting different implements, needles made of deer-horns, and lasts made of stone.
1919 Circular U.S. Bureau of Standards No. 77. 42/1 Lasts, made of aluminum.
1944 Life 4 Dec. 103/2 (advt.) Regal craftsmen took Lobb's originals—copied them in fine London grain leather, on the same last,..then reproduced this great British bootmaker style by the thousands.
1992 H. S. An et al. in H. S. An Synopsis of Orthopaedics iv. xxxv. 255/1 Leather or nylon upper is built on a wooden or plastic last.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts.Frequent in the 17th cent.See also to measure another person's foot by one's (own) last at foot n. and int. Phrases 7c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > prototype > [noun]
pattern1324
exemplara1382
examplec1425
mould1549
prototype1552
last1573
prototypon1586
precedent1597
archetype1605
protoplast1612
idea1648
protype1656
progenitor1790
roughout1913
the world > space > extension in space > expansion or enlargement > [noun] > distension > stretching > means of
last1573
1573 R. Curteys Serm. preached at Grenewiche sig. C.vii They will set their landes vpon the last, and stretche them from sixe pounde a yere to sixe score pounde a yere.
a1591 H. Smith 13 Serm. (1592) f. 66v All three are of one last.
1607 T. Middleton Michaelmas Terme i. sig. A4 Here's gallants of all sizes, of all lasts.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 372 Lesse matters set on the Friers lasts, make seely Papists beleeve [etc.].
a1625 J. Fletcher Noble Gentleman iii. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ee2v/1 As if his spirit were a last, or two Above his veines, and stretch his noble hide.
1630 T. Dekker Second Pt. Honest Whore iii. ii. 150 I set my braines vpon an vpright Last.
1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 151 The Normans had reduced the Saxon law..unto their own last, which stretched their desire as farre as the estate would beare.
?1664 R. Perrinchief Samaritanism i. 4 Having before his eyes what great offence he must necessarily give to his Country of Greece..he found it requisite to strain his Leather to their Lasts.
1850 Bibliotheca Sacra Jan. 75 Christianity is not shaped on the last of a fixed human formula.
2003 D. A. Dripps About Guilt & Innocence iii. 59 While the Bill of Rights was being hammered on the last of policy considerations presented by law enforcement in the states, due process and equal protection fell into practical desuetude in criminal cases.
c. Proverb let the cobbler stick to his last [compare post-classical Latin ne sutor ultra crepidam (1514 in Erasmus), variant of classical Latin ne supra crepidam sutor ‘the shoemaker should not venture beyond the sandal’ (Pliny, Nat. Hist. 35. 85), from a story of a shoemaker who criticized the artist Apelles for his depiction of a sandal, and then, when the artist corrected it, ventured to correct him on his depiction of a leg] and variants, and allusions to this. to stick (also keep) to one's last: to confine oneself exclusively to one's usual employment or sphere of expertise.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. ii. 38 That's as much to say, as the Taylor must meddle with his Laste . View more context for this quotation
1605 T. Heywood If you know not Me sig. C2v Shoomaker, you goe alittle beyond your last.
1616 W. Clerk Withals's Dict. Eng. & Lat. (rev. ed.) 567 Cobler keepe your last.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables ccxxv. 197 The Cobler is not to go beyond his Last.
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 242 Let not the Cobler go beyond his last... Taken from the famous story of Apelles, who could not bear that the Cobler should correct any part of his Picture beyond the Slipper.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature (1777) IV. ii. xiii. 97 Then let the shoemaker keep to his last, and leave the interpretation of scripture doctrines to us, who have made it the business of our lives to understand them.
1841 R. A. Davenport Lives Individuals who raised themselves from Poverty 223 The change which was brought about in Lackington and his friends..diverted them from licentious pursuits, and made them stick to their lasts.
1868 W. Clift Tim Bunker Papers lix I understand the use of a plow..better than the use of a pen..remembering the old saw ‘Let the cobbler stick to his last’.
1871 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues II. 45 Great evil may arise from the cobbler leaving his last and turning into..a legislator.
1914 O. Lowe Lit. for Children iii. i. 168 The inability of a man of talent always to keep to his last.
1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes i. i. 19 You're not a member of the University Press Syndic... Stick to your last.
2012 Sight & Sound Apr. 40/1 But there's nothing complacent in the way the Dardennes stick to their last.., and I can't imagine why we'd want to see them doing something markedly out of character.

Compounds

In sense 2a.
a. General attributive, as last factory, last manufactory, etc.
ΚΠ
1818 Supporter (Chillicothe, Ohio) 11 Mar. 2/4 (headline) Pittsburg Boot-tree and last manufactory.
1825 T. Dwight Northern Traveller 42 There are in the village..2 machine makers' shops, 1 manufactory of edge tools, 1 last factory.
1847 Sci. Amer. 11 Dec. 95/1 Axe helve and last machines.
1917 C. G. Washburn Industr. Worcester 329/2 Golbert, Robert L., last manufactory.
2003 F. Spizuoco Around Ripley iv. 86 Batchelder..rebuilt it into a last factory (making lasts, shoe trees, artificial limbs, mannequins, and novelties).
b. Objective, as last-maker, last-making, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > producer > makers of other articles > [noun] > of tools > of specific tools or equipment
card maker1345
last-maker1395
anvilsmith1747
plane-maker1757
mark-maker1797
jack maker1858
toother?1881
broach-river1924
1395 in W. H. Stevenson Rec. Borough Nottingham (1882) I. 272 (MED) Hugo Lastemaker.
1583 Faversham Par. Reg. (MS.) John Wythers, an olde man, a lastmaker.
1669 in E. Cheyne & D. M. Barratt Probate Rec. Courts Bishop & Archdeacon Oxf. (1981) i. 4 Adkins..Jn., sen., lastm., Watlington 1669.
1676 True Narr. Hertford-assizes 3 Two young men here..condemned for robbing on the High way: One..had been an old Practitioner in that kind... The other was but a fresh-man, lately lifted in the Gang, living in London, by Trade a Last-maker.
1717 in F. G. Emmison Wills at Chelmsford (1958) (modernized text) II. 41 Zachariah Blowes, senior, last maker, Bishops Stortford.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 8 The second sort of lever is presented to us in the cutting-knives used by last-makers.
1826 S. Jones Pittsburgh in Year 1826 78 Last-making.—Mr. Fosdick is the only person we know, who is engaged in this branch; in which he does a respectable business.
1838 S. Maunder Biogr. Treasury at Morrison He was bred to last-making by his father.
1851 Law Times 6 Sept. 232/2 Thorpe, Robert, last manufacturer, Stafford.
1875 Mich. State Gazetteer & Business Directory 1875 206/1 Michigan Central Last Manufacturing Co.
1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 29 Aug. 62/2 ‘I love English shoes, they have such character’, he says, picking up a $300 pair of English brogues and then describing the fine points of last making.
2009 tr. O. Gerval Fashion Accessories iii. 70 A well-fitting shoe..depends entirely on the skill of the last-maker.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

lastn.2

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: early Old English hlaest, Old English hlæst, Old English læst (rare), Middle English–1500s laste, Middle English–1500s lest, Middle English–1500s leste, Middle English– last, 1500s lasse.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hlest , lest , hlast , last cargo, load, duty, unit of measure, Old Dutch last unit of weight, freight (Middle Dutch last cargo, load, unit of measure, Dutch last ), Middle Low German last cargo, load, unit of weight, burden, duty, Old High German hlast , last load, burden, oppression (Middle High German last load, burden, mass, quantity, German Last ) < a suffixed form of the same Germanic base as lade v. Compare ( < the same base but with a different suffix) Old Icelandic hlass (neuter) load. Compare also Norwegian last , Old Swedish -last (in ivirlast excessive burden; Swedish last ), Danish last (probably < Middle Low German). Compare ballast n.Cognates in Romance languages. The Germanic word was borrowed into Latin and many of the Romance languages in the context of maritime trade. Compare post-classical Latin lastus , lasta , lastum (also lestus , lesta , lestum ) (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), Anglo-Norman laste , leste , Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French last , Anglo-Norman and Middle French, French lest a unit of weight or quantity for various kinds of transported goods (1208 in Old French; 1282 as lees with reference to fish, 1315 or earlier with reference to leather), load, cargo, ballast (all 1st half of the 15th cent., or earlier), partly < Middle Dutch and Old Frisian, and partly < English. Compare also Spanish lastre (end of the 15th cent.) and Portuguese llastro (1410), both in sense ‘ballast’ and probably immediately < French (with -r- apparently by association with the reflexes of post-classical Latin lastra flagstone, since these were often used as ballast), and also Italian lastro Dutch unit of weight (1567), lastra ballast (16th cent.), measure of weight corresponding to two tons (1641; < Spanish), lasto Dutch unit of weight, load, ballast (18th cent.; < French). Inflection in Old English. In Old English apparently usually a strong masculine; occasionally also a strong feminine. Similar variation in gender is found in other West Germanic languages. Specific senses. With use as a unit of measure (see branch II.) compare also the use of the Old English compound sciphlæst ( < ship n.1 + last n.2) to denote a unit of troops in naval contexts (in sense ‘a crew, a shipload of combatants’). N.E.D. (1902) included an obsolete sense ‘? A dozen (of hawks)’, illustrated by the following single quotation (here in revised form); these uses are almost certainly errors for cast n. 14:a1626 J. Horsey Relacion Trav. in E. A. Bond Russia at Close of 16th Cent. (1856) 234 Two white garrfaulkens, a last of girckens and a last of sloght faulcons and two gashaukes. Vernacular evidence in Latin contexts. Use in senses 2a and 2c is significantly antedated by examples which appear to show a vernacular word in a Latin linguistic context, but where it is unclear whether the Middle English or the Anglo-Norman word is intended. With sense 2a compare:?c1300 Subsidy Roll, Lynn Regis in Norfolk Archaeol. (1847) 1 339 In ij Lest di. allec., vij li. x s.1333–4 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 30 In uno last et ix M1 allec. melioribus emp...vjli. vjs. viijd.1396–7 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1901) III. 600 In 1 last bituminis, 34s.With sense 2c compare similarly:1266–1307 Assisa de Pond. et Mensur. in Statutes of Realm (1810) I. 205 Item Last Coriorum ex xx Dykeres, et quodlibet Dacre constat ex x coreiis. Item Dacre Cirotecarum ex x paribus. ⁋Dacre vero ferrorum equorum [viginti] ferris. Transl. ex Lib. Horw. Lond. lf. 123 A Last of Leather doth consist of Twenty Diker, and every Diker consisteth of Ten Skins. And a Diker of Gloves consisteth of Ten Pair of Gloves. Item a Diker of Horse-shoes doth consist of [Ten v.r. twenty] Shoes.
Now historical.
†I. A load.
1. A load, a weight carried; esp. a load carried by or on a ship, a ship's cargo. Cf. sense 4. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [noun] > of loads > a load
ladec897
seamc950
lastOE
burdena1000
charge?c1225
load?c1225
burnc1375
draughta1400
summerc1400
portage1445
pauchlea1450
fraughtc1450
freightc1503
loadinga1513
carriage1597
ballast1620
cargo1657
porterage1666
freightage1823
smalls1846
journey1859
send-off1909
payload1914
OE Riddle 1 15 Saga hwa mec þecce, oþþe hu ic hatte, þe þa hlæst bere.
OE Beowulf (2008) 52 Men ne cunnon secgan..hwa þæm hlæste onfeng.
OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 33 Ego ascendo nauem cum mercibus meis : ic astige min scyp mid hlæstum minum.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn l. 2996 ‘Why make men cros-saill in myddis of þe mast?’ ‘ffor to talowe þe shipp, & fech more last.’
c1475 (c1399) Mum & Sothsegger (Cambr. Ll.4.14) (1936) iv. l. 74 (MED) Þan lay þe lordis alee with laste and with charge, And bare abouȝte þe barge and blamed þe maister.
II. A unit of measure.
2. A large commercial unit of weight, capacity, or quantity, varying for different kinds of goods and in different localities.The last as applied to most commodities was originally a measure of volume, rather than of weight, but the weight of a given commodity that would fill this volume frequently came to be identified as a last (cf. the similar development shown by ton n.1), while for other commodities it was the quantity that would fill this volume that came to define the unit. In many modern studies a weight equivalent is substituted to make the measure more readily comprehensible for modern readers.
a. A measure for fish (esp. herrings), beer and wine, grain, pitch, and other commodities.The size of a last varied for different commodities, and from place to place.A last of gunpowder is said to be 2400 lb (= 24 barrels; approx. 1090 kg), and of feathers or flax 1700 lb (770 kg).The equivalence of the last of wool with 12 sacks (see sense 2b) seems to have led to an association of the word with the number 12. Thus a last of hides (see sense 2c) was formerly 12 dozen (also 20 dickers of 10 hides each); of beer 12 barrels; of pitch 12 (sometimes 14) barrels; of cod and herrings 12 barrels (but of red herrings and pilchards 10,000 to 13,200 fish).As a measure for grain and malt, the last in the 16th cent. was 12 quarters (approx. 3500 litres), but later was 10 quarters, i.e. 80 bushels (2900 litres).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > specific liquid or dry units
miteOE
meta1325
suma1325
measurec1325
last1341
maund1365
pottlea1382
mug1400
mutchkin?1425
eightin-dele1440
rotec1484
sixtera1492
stortkyn1501
tolbot1536
firlot1549
sleek1705
modius1802
ton tight-
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > varying customary or standard unit
wey805
last1341
weight1490
1341 in D. Yaxley Researcher's Gloss. Hist. Documents E. Anglia (2003) 120 j Last & viij c [turves cut].
1428 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 2 (MED) John Bower proferd to sell hym a laste of osmundes.
1469 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 102 White Herringes, a laste, that is to saye, xii barrelles.
1486 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 15 A last of pitch and Tarre.
1540 Act 32 Hen. VIII c. 14 For every laste of whete and rye xxvis. viiid.
1546 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. I. 54 Small artailyery..with bulletis..with tuenty lastis of polder.
1599 T. Nashe Lenten Stuffe Ep. Ded. sig. A3v For a whole last of redde Herrings.
?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 382 To get a licence..For fortie last of Inglis beir.
1612 W. Symonds Proc. Eng. Colonie Virginia in Narr. Early Virginia (1907) 184 In 3 monthes, we made 3 or 4 Lasts of pitch, and tarre.
1665 Oxf. Gaz. No. 8/1 Sixteen Lasts of Gunpowder, and Four thousand Musquets are brought in hither.
1685 J. Paterson Scots Arithmetician 7 8½ gallons is the barrel for herring, whereof 12 make a last.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique (at cited word) A Last of Cod Fish is twelve Barrels; a Last of Herrings is twenty Cades, or ten Thousand.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xxvii. 171 They have..exported fourteen thousand lasts. or twenty-eight thousand tuns English, of all sorts of grain.
1782 S. Johnson Let. 14 Nov. (1994) IV. 88 The number [of herring] caught was eight lasts, which at eight thousand a last, make eight hundred thousand [sic].
1884 J. J. Manley in Brit. Almanac Compan. 33 A Yarmouth last of herrings is supposed to count 13,200 fish.
1893 A. Lang Red Fairy Bk. 318 Someone who could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing.
1918 J. S. Henderson Carver's Treat. Law Carriage Goods Sea (ed. 6) xvii. 753 He claimed freight for as many lasts as the cargo was believed to amount to according to English measurement.
1978 A. Fenton Northern Isles xli. 333 In March 1700 it was reckoned that the barnyard at Elsness would contain 16 lasts of bere, a last containing 24 meils of 30 barrels each.
2006 S. Murdoch Network North vi. 212 An associate..procured a recommendation from the British ambassador for the free export of 150 lasts of pitch from Sweden.
†b. A measure of quantity for wool, latterly 12 sacks or 4368 lb (approx. 1980 kg). Obsolete.See note at sense 2a.
ΚΠ
c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 189 (MED) And of half a last, iiij d.
a1500 Tracts Eng. Weights & Meas. 16 in Camden Misc. (1929) XV Woll ys sold by numbre and schipped to, as by sacks, sarplers, and pokys. ii sacks make a sarpler, and x sarplers make a laste, and the poke ys att no serteyne, butt aftre as ytt weys.
1612 A. Hopton Concordancy of Yeares 164 A Last of Wooll is 4368 pounds, or 12 Sackes.
†c. A measure of quantity for hides, skins, and leather, typically 200 or 12 dozen hides. Obsolete.See note at sense 2a.
ΚΠ
c1436 Domesday Ipswich (BL Add. 25011) in T. Twiss Black Bk. Admiralty (1873) II. 191 (MED) Also, of eche last of skynnes of net and hors, viij d.
1485–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VII (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1485 1st Roll m. 2 For the subsidie..of every last of hydes, .lxvi. s. .viij. d.
1750 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. II. 418 An extraordinary duty of ten shillings on a sack of wool, and a last of leather for one year.
1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. II. xvi. 412 A grant of..forty shillings on the last of leather.
†3. A large indefinite number. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > a large number or multitude
sandc825
thousandc1000
un-i-rimeOE
legiona1325
fernc1325
multitudec1350
hundred1362
abundancec1384
quantityc1390
sight1390
felec1394
manyheada1400
lastc1405
sortc1475
infinityc1480
multiplie1488
numbers1488
power1489
many1525
flock1535
heapa1547
multitudine1547
sort1548
myriads1555
myriads1559
infinite1563
tot-quot1565
dickera1586
multiplea1595
troop1596
multitudes1598
myriad1611
sea-sands1656
plurality1657
a vast many1695
dozen1734
a good few1756
nation1762
vast1793
a wheen (of)1814
swad1828
lot1833
tribe1833
slew1839
such a many1841
right smart1842
a million and one1856
horde1860
a good several1865
sheaf1865
a (bad, good, etc.) sortc1869
immense1872
dunnamuch1875
telephone number1880
umpty1905
dunnamany1906
skit1913
umpteen1919
zillion1922
gang1928
scrillion1935
jillion1942
900 number1977
gazillion1978
fuckload1984
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Shipman/Prioress Link (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 4 God yeue this Monk a thousand last quaad yeer.
1581 B. Rich Farewell Militarie Profession T j Goyng his waie to his sweete harte, tellyng her the whole discourse..with a whole laste of kisses.
1712 J. Arbuthnot John Bull Still in Senses ix. 41 Ten thousand Last of Devils haul me, if I don't love thee as I love my life.
4. A unit for expressing the carrying capacity or tonnage of a ship, typically equivalent to two tons deadweight (sometimes one ton). Cf. senses 1, 2.Ship size was often measured in lasts in the Baltic and other Hanseatic ports, because the most common bulk cargo in the Baltic was grain, which was measured in lasts (cf. sense 2). The size of the last varied with the type of grain and location, but many of the grain lasts were approximately three cubic meters. In many modern works on shipping, the approximation of one last to two tons deadweight has been used, since the density of dry rye is a little less than 0.7 tons per cubic meter.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement by weighing > [noun] > unit or denomination of weight > unit of measuring ship's burden
last1566
1566 in J. S. Clouston Rec. Earldom of Orkney (1914) 376 Williame schip, beand of the byrth of xiiij last or thairby.
1608 E. Grimeston in tr. J. F. Le Petit Gen. Hist. Netherlands xvi. 1368 They were in all twenty one, that is nine great galliouns and foure shippes of warre, with a great shippe of Lubecke of foure hundred lasts.
1643 Declar. Commons conc. Rebellion in Ireland 46 The ship called Saint Michaell the Archangell of burden an hundred and twentie Lasts or Tuns.
1722 London Gaz. No. 6096/3 The..Snow..is of the Burthen of 50 or 60 Tons or 25 or 30 Lasts.
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 52 The Swedish vessels which perform the voyage to China, are generally of four hundred lasts burden.
1859 R. W. Stevens On Stowage Ships & their Cargoes (ed. 2) 271 The sum total will give the whole capacity of the ship in lasts.
1911 T. W. Fulton Sovereignty Sea iv. 125 Holland had 400, most of them being ‘great’ busses of about 46 lasts burden.
2012 A. Lemmers tr. A. J. Hoving Nicolaes Witsen & Shipbuilding i. 20/1 The war yacht Heemskerck had a capacity of only 60 lasts and was 106 feet long.
5. Shetland. More fully last of land. A division or unit of land having an annual rentable value of 12 shillings, and typically equal to 18 marks (mark n.2 3); (also) the community living on this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a system or process of measuring land > other units of land measure
wandalec1150
wista1200
landc1400
ridge1439
peck1442
scrophec1450
buttc1460
rig1485
mark1488
stick1531
farthingdeal1543
plough-gang1548
quarterland1563
ploughgate1565
last1576
wand1596
ox-skin1610
garbred1621
plank1631
nooka1634
buttal1635
farthinga1640
rick1641
familia1676
rhandir1688
setiera1690
worthine1701
fierding1768
whip-land1811
rai1933
1576 Orkney Oppress. 57 For ilk thre ȝeiris gersowme of ane last of land thai war wont to pay fyve dolouris.
1605 Feu Contract in J. Mill Diary (1889) 193 The said twa last of land in Sandwick.
a1700 in J. Bruce Descr. Zetland (1908) 19 Here their lands are counted by lasts, marks & urds.
a1733 Shetland Acts 36 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1892) 26 201 That none have more swine than four upon a last of land over winter.
1921 A. W. Johnston & A. Johnston Old-lore Misc. IX. i. 57 A ‘last of land’ of 18 marks originally paid, in rent and tithe, exactly 216d., or 36 meils at 6d.
1978 A. Fenton Northern Isles lxiv. 553 The people of Burra..were required by regulations of 1603 and 1604 to keep a boat on the east side of the isle for their Lord's service, and each last of land had to serve equally or else the commons had to furnish a boat amongst themselves.
2001 Northern Scotl. 21 148 Lasts were big blocks of land of equal value. An extensive township might be divided into several lasts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

† lastn.3

Forms: Old English læst, early Middle English lasst ( Ormulum), early Middle English leaste, Middle English last, Middle English laste, Middle English lest, 1500s leest.
Origin: Probably a borrowing from early Scandinavian.
Etymology: Probably < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic lǫstr (masculine; genitive lastar , dative lesti , plural lestir ) fault, flaw, misbehaviour, vice, last (neuter) blame, insult, reproof, Old Swedish laster (masculine), also last (feminine) blame, insult, disgrace, harm, misfortune, defect, flaw (Swedish last blame, insult, slander, dishonour, disgrace, flaw, defect), Old Danish last (Danish last blame, reproach, damage, shame, flaw, error, sin) < a suffixed form of the same Germanic base as Old English lēan , Old Saxon lahan , Old High German lahan to blame (see lahter n.).Compare forms from other Germanic languages showing different suffixation: (i) Old Frisian laster fault, mistake, handicap, damage, slander, insult, Old Dutch laster shame, defamation (Middle Dutch laster shame, dishonour, disgrace, scorn, Dutch laster scorn, insult, slander), Old Saxon lastar disgrace, blame, sin, blasphemy (Middle Low German laster reproach, insult, slander, fault, defect), Old High German lastar censure, invective, disgrace (Middle High German laster shame, dishonour, slander, flaw); and (ii) lahter n. and its immediate cognates.
Obsolete.
A fault, vice, sin; blame; (also) a physical blemish, a defect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > blemish > [noun]
lastOE
tachec1330
default1340
vicec1386
want1553
disfigurement1641
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > accusation, charge > [noun] > ground of complaint
lastOE
plainta1382
aggrievance1389
griefc1420
grievance1481
condemnation1534
complaint1732
the mind > goodness and badness > wrongdoing > corruption > instance of corruption > [noun]
unthewc897
lastOE
vicea1300
misthewa1325
fault1377
mistetch?c1450
depravity1641
vitiosity1643
cachexy1652
misteach1803
vileness1863
unvirtue1869
society > faith > aspects of faith > spirituality > sin > [noun] > instance of
sinc825
lahterc900
lastOE
debt?c1225
unkindnessa1400
piacle1644
peccancy1648
OE Homily (Hatton 114) in J. Bazire & J. E. Cross Eleven Old Eng. Rogationtide Homilies (1989) 110 We sceolon clypian and biddan georne gelome God ælmihtig þæt he ure neoda gecnawe and ure læsta gebete.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4522 Forr grediȝnesse iss hefiȝ lasst Biforenn godess eȝhne.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 145 (MED) Summe men luuieð..galiche lectres and luðere lastes.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11464 Þe mon þe him weore lað him cuðe. last finden.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 39 Betere is were þunne boute laste þen syde robes ant synke into synne.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 459 For þoȝ y ben in batail schent it ys no lest for hem.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 22324 Wiþoutin laste al his liccame.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 198 What seches þou on see, syn-ful schrewe, Wyth þy lastes so luþer to lose vus vchone?
1534 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani (new ed.) ii. sig. L.iv Vnto whiche yf there be any that can not attayne, through the defaute not of the mynde, but at the leest of nature: let hym not barke agaynst them, whiche enforce to better thynges.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

lastn.5

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: Middle English laste, Middle English– last, 1800s– lasst (English regional (Derbyshire)); also Scottish pre-1700 lest, 1800s laist.
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: last v.1
Etymology: < last v.1
Now rare (colloquial and regional in later use).
†1. Continuance, duration. Also: durability, lastingness. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > lasting quality, permanence > [noun] > continuance, duration
arrestc1386
continuance1393
tenor1398
lasta1400
lastinga1400
abiding?a1425
demur1533
remanence1558
subsistence1600
continualness1611
incessancy?1615
continuancy1621
uncessantness1627
mansion1637
subsistency1642
remanency1647
unintermissiveness1651
indesinency1657
continuation1664
unintermission1681
incessantness1727
unceasingness1727
unintermittingness1866
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19562 In last [a1400 Coll. Phys. laste, a1400 Fairf. lasting] o cristen mans lijf.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vi. l. 90 Fy on fortoun, fy on thi frewall quheyll, Fy on thi traist, for her it has no lest.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1549/2 Things memorable, of perpetuitie, fame, and last.
1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis 37 in Sylua Syluarum These Drinkes are of seuerall Ages, some to the Age or Last of fourtie yeares.
1634 ‘Philiatreus’ Gen. Pract. Med. sig. Dv As also one must not be affraighted of the evills that befalls without, or rather contrare reason, as difficultie of breathing, raverie, shiviring reduplication of the fever, seing they are not constant nor of long last.
1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 154 If it [sc. Ignis Fatuus] consisted of such Effluvia or Corpuscula's, as rise from the Earth or Waters that were enflameable,..they could not be of so long Last or Duration as we find them to be.
1768 G. Washington Let. 20 June in Papers (1993) Revolutionary War Ser. VIII. 98 Mrs. Washington's Shoes..were made out of bad materials having no last in them.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 Jan. 4/2 Another omission, and a more important one, from the point of view of the literary last of the book, is [etc.].
2. Power of holding on or out; staying power.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > perseverance or persistence > [noun] > staying power
lastingnessa1398
unweariness1611
unweariednessa1617
last1622
indefatigationa1646
unweariableness1647
unwearisomeness1649
indefatigability1651
indefatigableness1653
infatigability1709
lasting1762
stamina1803
unweariability1853
staying qualities1856
stickability1858
staying power1859
sitzfleisch1877
bounceback1959
1622 G. Wither Faire-virtue sig. N8 Nor care I, though their Censure some haue past, Because my Songs exceed the Fidlers Last.
1857 T. Hughes Tom Brown's School Days ii. vii. 365 It's a fair trial of skill, and last between us and them [sc. the masters].
1865 Pall Mall Gaz. 16 May 10/2 His [sc. a waterman's] ‘last’ is not in the same proportion to his pace as that of the amateur.
1892 Mrs. H. Ward David Grieve I. i. vii. 157 She wor so sma’ and nesh; nowt but a midge. Theer was no lasst in her.
1937 Irish Monthly Apr. 272 The great minds of 1922 have none so poor to do them reverence to-day; yet we were called bigots or fools for declaring at the time that they had no last in them.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

lastn.6

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: Middle English leste, 1500s– last, 1600s 2000s– lest, 1700s laste.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin lastus, lestus.
Etymology: < post-classical Latin lastus, lastum, also, especially in early use, lestus, lestum division of a county, lathe (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources; 1086 as lest (Domesday Book: see note below)), lathe court (frequently from 12th cent. in British sources), of uncertain origin.Post-classical Latin lastus , lestus is used as the regular equivalent of Old English lǣð lathe n.1 in Latin documents from the first half of the 12th cent. onwards. However, with the exception of one isolated plural instance (ablative lestis ) cited below, lest (without Latin inflectional endings or marks of suspension) is the form consistently used to denote a lathe in the Domesday survey of Kent; compare:1086 Domesday Bk. (1783) I. f. 2v/1, (heading) [Phillimore: Kent 1. 1] In dimidio Lest de Svdtone.1086 Domesday Bk. (1783) I. f. 2v/2, (heading) [Phillimore: Kent 1. 4] Lest de Wiwarlet. The form also appears in renderings of what are apparently English names of specific lathes, e.g. Boruuar Lest (apparently for *Burhwaralæð , lit. ‘the lathe of the people of the borough (i.e. Canterbury)’), Linuuartlest (apparently for *Limenwaralæð , lit. ‘the lathe of the people of Lympne (or of the river Limen)’), Wiuuartlest (apparently for *Wiwaralæð , lit. ‘the lathe of the people of Wye’), etc.; compare:1086 Domesday Bk. (1783) I. f. 1/2 [Phillimore: Kent (Dover) D. 11] Has..leges regis concordant homines de iiiior Lestis, hoc est Boruuar Lest, & Estrelest, & Linuuartlest, & Wiuuartlest.The identity and origin of lest in Domesday Book are both uncertain. It has been argued that it shows a specific sense development of Anglo-Norman last , Anglo-Norman and Old French lest cargo, load (of a ship)’ (see last n.2) or its etymon Old English hlæst , although there is no evidence to suggest that either word was used as the name of an administrative unit, and the semantic development is difficult to explain (although perhaps compare last n.2 5). For further discussion see C. Flight Survey of Kent (2010) 4–8. It has alternatively been suggested that it arose from Old English lǣð lathe n.1 by sound substitution in Anglo-Norman or Old French, although there do not appear to be clear parallels for this. With lasts of hundreds (see quot. 1657 at sense 2) compare post-classical Latin lasta (also lesta) hundredorum (from 12th cent. in British sources from Kent; in later use more widely, apparently as a stock formula).
Now historical.
1. A Kentish administrative district: = lathe n.1 Also attributive, as last court (= sense 2).Quot. 1814 draws on quot. 1670 at sense 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > territorial jurisdiction or areas subject to > an administrative division of territory > [noun] > administrative divisions in Britain > division containing several hundreds
rapeOE
lathe?a1100
last1576
a1400 (?1375) W. Thorne Chron. Abbots of St. Augustine's, Canterbury (Corpus Cambr.) f. 52v Hic [sc. Elfredus] constituit Hundred & Lestes.
1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 144 Of this place, the whole Last of Shipwey, (conteining twelue Hundrethes) at the first tooke, and yet continueth the name.
1814 Encycl. Londinensis XII. 260/2 Last-court,..In the marshes of Kent, a court held by the twenty-four jurats, and summoned by the bailifs; wherein orders are made to lay and levy taxes, impose penalties, &c. for the preservation of the said marshes.
1933 H. M. Cam in J. G. Edwards et al. Hist. Ess. in Honour of J. Tait ii. 24 To this stricter tenurial unity corresponded a more effective administrative unity than that of the Kentish lasts.
1936 M. T. Teichman-Derville Level & Liberty Romney Marsh in County of Kent 22 The name, and perhaps even some relic of its organization, perpetuated in the Lathe or ‘Last’ court of Romney Marsh.
2010 C. Flight Survey of Kent x. 264 By the thirteenth century..Kent was organized into six lests and more than 60 hundreds.
†2. An administrative assembly of a last (see quot. 1670). Obsolete.The use of last of hundreds in quot. 1657 in a context outside Kent is formulaic (see etymological note).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > types of deliberative or legislative assembly > [noun] > English > in Kent
last1657
1657 Lett. Patent Oliver Cromwell in W. Hutchinson Hist. Durham (1785) I. 527 To make any suite at any sheriffs hundred or lasts of hundreds.
1662 W. Dugdale Hist. Imbanking & Drayning Fens 54/1 Also it was decreed and ordained that twice every year, for ever, there should be held a principal and general Last, within the said Land and Marsh.
1670 T. Blount Νομο-λεξικον: Law-dict. Last also, in the Marshes of East Kent, signifies a Court held by Twenty four Jurats, and summoned by the two Bailiffs thereof, wherein they make Orders, lay and levy Taxes, impose Penalties, &c. For preservation of the said Marshes.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Last, (Cycl.) in the marshes of Kent, a court held by the twenty four jurats, and summoned by the bailiffs; wherein orders are made to lay and levy taxes, impose penalties, &c. for the preservation of the said marshes. Hist. of imbanking and draining, fol. 54. Blount.
1887 W. D. Parrish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. Last,..an ancient court in Romney Marsh, held for levying rates for the preservation of the marshes.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

lastv.1

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: 1. Present stem. a. early Old English lęstan, Old English læstan, Old English lestan (rare), early Middle English læste (south-west midlands), early Middle English leaste (south-west midlands), Middle English lasstenn ( Ormulum), Middle English lest, Middle English leste, Middle English lost (transmission error), Middle English–1500s laste, Middle English– last, 1800s– laiss (English regional (Dorset)), 1800s– least (English regional (southern)); Scottish pre-1700 leist, pre-1700 lesst, pre-1700 leste, pre-1700 (rare) 1700s– last, pre-1700 1700s– lest, 1800s laest (Shetland), 1800s– laist. b. Also 3rd singular indicative Old English læst, early Middle English least (south-west midlands), Middle English last, Middle English leest, Middle English lest. 2. Past tense early Old English læstte, Old English (early Middle English south-west midlands) læste, late Old English–Middle English leste, early Middle English leaste (south-west midlands), Middle English laste, Middle English lastede, Middle English lastet (north-west midlands), Middle English lastid, Middle English lastide, Middle English lastit, Middle English lastyd, Middle English lest, Middle English lested, Middle English lestede, Middle English (1900s– U.S. regional and in African-American usage) last, Middle English– lasted; Scottish pre-1700 lestyd, pre-1700 lestyt, pre-1700 1700s– lasted, pre-1700 1900s– lastit, pre-1700 1900s– lestit. 3. Past participle Old English gelæst, Old English gelæsted, late Old English gelest, Middle English last, Middle English laste, Middle English lasten, Middle English lastyd, Middle English lest, Middle English lested, Middle English– lasted; Scottish pre-1700 lestyd, pre-1700 lestyt, pre-1700 1900s– lestit, 1700s– lasted, 1800s– lastit.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian lāsta , lēsta to perform, carry out, to pay, Old Saxon lēstian to carry out, fulfil, perform, to accomplish, to be useful, to pay (Middle Low German lēsten , leisten to do, carry out, accomplish, to fulfil (an obligation), to pay), Old High German leisten to follow, fulfil, carry out, perform (Middle High German leisten to carry out, perform, fulfil, German leisten to perform, accomplish, achieve, to afford, offer), Gothic laistjan to follow < the same Germanic base as last n.1Shortening of the (originally long) stem vowel most likely occurred first (in late Old English) in syncopated forms of the past tense, subsequently spreading to all parts of the paradigm (see R. Jordan Handb. der mittelenglischen Grammatik (ed. 2, 1934) §23). The vowel was later lengthened (to /ɑː/) before the following voiceless fricative in some southern and RP varieties (see A n.). In Old English the prefixed form gelǣstan ylast v. is also commonly attested, and is found earlier than the simplex in some senses and constructions in branch II.; with senses 4a and 5a compare:OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 402 Ic lecge þa grundweallas þe gelæstað æfre.OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. ix. 66 Daga gehwylce hi heom þæt win to bryce hæfdon, & swa hit heom gelæste, oð þæt hi eft to þam..fæder comon.
†I. Senses relating to action or state.
1. transitive. To follow (a leader), to serve; to avail, help, support. Obsolete.Originally with dative object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > support > [verb (transitive)]
lasteOE
i-hentc1225
uphold?c1225
upbeara1300
sustainc1300
understand13..
uplift1338
maintainc1350
supporta1393
underset1395
buttressc1400
supprise1447
bolster1508
stay1526
stay1526
undershore?a1534
underpropa1535
to hold up by the chin1546
back1548
suborn1548
suffult?c1550
upshore?1567
shoulder1577
upstay1600
underwrite1609
abone1622
crutch1641
float1823
backstop1956
eOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Parker) anno 874 He gearo wære mid him selfum & on allum þam þe him læstan woldon to þæs heres þearfe.
eOE Metres of Boethius (transcript of damaged MS) (2009) i. 27 Þeah wæs magorinca mod mid Grecum [read Crecum], gif hi leodfruman læstan dorsten.
OE Beowulf (2008) 812 Him se lichoma læstan nolde.
c1175 ( Homily: Hist. Holy Rood-tree (Bodl. 343) (1894) 14 Ic nu deȝen sceal, & ic for þissere untrumnesse him [sc. my son] na lenȝ læstan ne mæȝ.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 69 Unrihtwise we ben þanne we ne don ure helendes wille, þe..eche lif bihoteð, and wile lesten alle þo þe him heren.
2. transitive. To accomplish, carry out, perform; to execute (a command); to fulfil (a promise); to pay (tribute); to abide by, maintain (peace). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (transitive)]
lasteOE
ylastc888
wieldeOE
doeOE
dreeOE
forthOE
fremeOE
workOE
affordOE
full-bringc1175
fulfila1225
perfurnisha1325
complishc1374
performc1384
achievea1393
chevisea1400
practic?a1425
exploitc1425
execute1477
furnish1477
through1498
practa1513
enure1549
chare1570
enact1597
act1602
to carry out1608
outcarry1611
celebrate1615
complya1616
peract1621
tide1631
implement1837
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tribute > pay tribute [verb (transitive)]
lastc1275
render1526
tribute1570
rent1613
society > armed hostility > peace > pacification > make (peace) [verb (transitive)] > keep (peace)
lastc1400
eOE (Kentish) Will of Badanoð Beotting (Sawyer 1510) in A. J. Robertson Anglo-Saxon Charters (1956) 10 Ic biddo..ðæt se monn se higon londes unnen to brucanne ða ilcan wisan leste on swæsendum to minre tide.
OE Beowulf (2008) 2663 Leofa Biowulf, læst eall tela.
OE Blickling Homilies 185 Gif þu wilt his wordum hyran & his bebodu læstan, þu forleosest þin rice.
a1200 (?OE) MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 189 (MED) He him seluen com and his bihese lestede.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4911 Þu mine fader swore. to lasten [c1300 Otho senden] alche ȝere..gauel in-to Rome.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2906 Ðat ic ðe haue hoten wel Ic it sal lesten euerilc del.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 63 (MED) Sudeakne mey be ywedded nauȝt..Profes ȝef þat he were To leste Of chaste professioun Hys solempne by-heste.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1871) III. 383 He [sc. Philip]..wolde by-hote more þan he wolde laste.
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 255 Þis pees for to halde and laste [1480 last].
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 2218 Hym oghte..heete naght a deel By word ne bond, but if he wole it laste.
II. Senses relating to time.
3.
a. intransitive. Of a state of affairs, a condition, a period of time, etc.: to continue, go on; to extend in time. Frequently with complement specifying a period of time.In Old English and early Middle English also with indirect object in the dative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > endure, remain, persist, or continue
bidec893
lastOE
through-wonOE
ylasta1000
standOE
runOE
lastlOE
beleavec1200
abidec1275
cleavec1275
durec1275
dwell13..
endurec1386
perseverec1390
continuec1400
contunec1400
tarrya1450
remainc1455
perdure?a1475
rest1474
permanec1485
succeed1486
perpetuate1530
persist1531
demur1547
perduratea1558
weara1568
to hold it out1585
to hold out1585
abye1590
contain1592
live1592
perennate1623
to draw overa1700
exist1754
linger1764
to hang it out1939
OE Crist III 1288 Hi [sc. the righteous] fore goddædum glade blissiað, þa hy, unsælge, ær forhogdun to donne þonne him dagas læstun.
lOE Laws: Hit Becwæð (Corpus Cambr.) iii. §1. 400 Butan ðæt læste ða hwile ðe ic libbe.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 & ðat lastede þa xix wintre wile Stephne was king.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2228 & tatt himm shollde hiss [sc. Christ's] kinedom. A. lasstenn butenn ende.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 20 Ȝe muȝen seggen hit..efter slep hwile þet sumer leasteð.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2952 Ðis wreche in al egypte rigt Lestede fulle seuene nigt.
c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 2789 So be-twene hem leste þat fiȝt, Til it was þe þerke niȝt.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 1456 Squa lange lastet Sethes liue.
c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 87 It is likened to a schadewe þat may not longe leste.
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) ii. ii. sig. F.vv I knowe my lingering not likely to last long, but oute wil my snuffe sodeynly some daye within a while.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1899) xxi. 96 This seige lastit langer nor the seigeris thairof luikit ffor.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 24 All þere rewmes wax riche hade relikes ynowe And long tyme with hom last & þere lefe children.
1580 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David ix. iii Their renown, which seem'd so like to last, Thou dost put out.
1598 Floure & Leafe in T. Speght Wks. G. Chaucer f. 367/2 The iustes last an houre and more.
1611 Bible (King James) Judges xiv. 17 Shee wept before him the seuen dayes, while the feast lasted . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 83 For length of Ages lasts his happy Reign. View more context for this quotation
1705 F. Fuller Medicina Gymnastica Pref. sig. dv When a Cough comes to last above a Month, and begins to Chop in its Indications.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 178 These shall last when night has quench'd the pole.
1806 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 507 The pain returned about eleven, and lasted till one.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xviii. 190 While the civil war lasted, his vassals could not tend their herds..in peace.
1895 Law Times 99 499/2 Even if fine weather lasts, days are considerably shorter at this time of year.
1917 J. B. Andrews Anthrax as Occup. Dis. 72 The illness lasted five days.
1961 World Today Mar. 107 As long as the recession lasts at home long-term interest rates must be held down.
1990 I. S. Wood John Wheatley vi. 96 The honeymoon period lasted barely half that time.
2004 Independent on Sunday 1 Aug. 4/3 Forecasters predicted temperatures could rise.., with the fine weather lasting until Tuesday.
b. intransitive. Of a physical object: to continue in existence, endure.In later use references to a physical object lasting are often better interpreted as, or at least influenced by, either sense 4b or sense 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (intransitive)] > endure, remain, persist, or continue
bidec893
lastOE
through-wonOE
ylasta1000
standOE
runOE
lastlOE
beleavec1200
abidec1275
cleavec1275
durec1275
dwell13..
endurec1386
perseverec1390
continuec1400
contunec1400
tarrya1450
remainc1455
perdure?a1475
rest1474
permanec1485
succeed1486
perpetuate1530
persist1531
demur1547
perduratea1558
weara1568
to hold it out1585
to hold out1585
abye1590
contain1592
live1592
perennate1623
to draw overa1700
exist1754
linger1764
to hang it out1939
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1122 Þæt fir hi seagon in ðe dæirime, and læste swa lange þet hit wæs liht ofer eall.
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 78 (MED) He swore þat þe werlde shulde last no lengere.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 3368 (MED) No venym may lasten nor endure In þe presence of þis rich stoon.
1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) lxxxxix. sig. Cc.iv This shyp shall not last longe vpon this proude see, but shall be destroyed.
1582 S. Batman Vppon Bartholome, De Proprietatibus Rerum xvii. cxxi. 311 Plinius saith, that ye Pine tree and Alloren tree, healed with earth..dure & last long time.
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall Digress. 366 I devis'd a more promising way, to make a fire last in our exhausted Receiver, yet it would not succeed.
1710 W. Wycherley Let. 1 Apr. in Corr. A. Pope (1956) I. 80 By by preserving his Reputation, he can make him live as long as the World lasts.
1821 N. Worcester Friend of Peace II. No. 21. 38 As meteor-lights, which only last The night, and fly the face of day.
1884 Graphic 23 Aug. 186/3 Teetotallers and moderate drinkers will probably be at war on this point..as long as the world lasts.
1921 Standard Oct. 34/1 Length of existence is proportional to inferiority in the scale of existence. The rocks last for thousands on thousands of years.
1994 I. Plimer Telling Lies for God iv. 123 Such a forest would not last for long as sea spray is a very potent poison for most terrestrial plants.
c. intransitive. Of a person or animal: to continue to live; to go on living; to remain alive. In later use chiefly with complement specifying a period of time. Also with out.Also occasionally transitive: †to live out or pass (one's life) (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > continuance or tenacity of life > continue in life [verb (intransitive)]
nesteOE
to live forthOE
overliveOE
lastc1225
livec1410
survive1473
supervive1532
subsist?1533
skill1537
to live on1590
outlive1594
(to be) to the front1871
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) l. 350 (MED) Ah þet ladliche beast leafeð & lest [a1250 Titus last] forð.
a1250 (?c1200) Prov. Alfred (Maidstone) (1955) 121 Hwiles þine daȝes duȝe & tu þe-selue laste [a1275 Trin. Cambr. liue] muȝe.
c1275 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 158 Her nauestu blisse daies þreo, Ac þi lif al þu last [a1250 Maidstone drist] ine wowe.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12764 Ferli þam thoght hu he moght last, Wit sua gret trauail and fast.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 989 Aires for nane alyens quils Alexander lastis [a1500 Trin. Dub. lefys].
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. iii. 36 A! my bak, I traw, will brast!.. Hit is wonder that I last, Sich an old dote, All dold, To begyn sich a wark.
1579 S. Brinkley tr. G. Loarte Exercise Christian Life xiii. f. 83v The breade baked vnder ashes,..wherwith he recouered so great strength; as he lasted out, til he came to the mount of God, Oreb.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) 232/1 He lasted long, But on vs both did haggish Age steale on, And wore vs out of act. View more context for this quotation
a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods lxxvi. 24 in Wks. (1640) III Parts of me (they judg'd) decay'd, But we last out, still unlay'd.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 43 The Otter, which you may now see above water at vent, and the dogs close with him; I now see he will not last long. View more context for this quotation
1704 A. Seller Devout Communicant (ed. 9) 177 Scarcely should I have lasted out so long, but that at such Seasons as this he repairs my sinking Soul.
1742 G. Cheyne Nat. Method cureing Dis. Body (ed. 4) iii. iii. 228 When he has lived as long as Nature fram'd him to last.
1781 S. Johnson Lives Eng. Poets IV. 498 He lasted..sixty years, and then was seized with his last illness.
1827 R. P. Ward De Vere I. xxiii. 315 It is thought he will not last till parliament meet,..and then, who will in your opinion succeed?
1875 A. Helps Social Pressure ii. 17 They [sc. the cows]..do not last a third part of the time that they would last in the country.
1881 C. E. L. Riddell Senior Partner III. 56 What would hinder him lasting out to ninety or a hundred even?
1884 All Year Round 8 Mar. 376/2 They were both of the same age,..and, being matched in years, they might last it out together.
1921 G. B. Shaw Back to Methuselah iv. ii. 194 You people lived on the assumption that you were going to last out for ever and ever and ever.
1966 T. Frisby There's Girl in my Soup i. 7 You won't last. You'll snuff it prematurely one day, like that.
2005 H. Mantel Beyond Black ix. 350 No one really loves them for they have no lovable qualities but they are admired just for lasting out.
†d. intransitive. With adjective or prepositional phrase as complement: to remain or continue in a specified condition, state, or place. Also (in Middle English) with infinitive or gerund as complement: to continue to do something. Also with long (adverb). Obsolete.In quot. a1325 with indirect object in the dative.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > [verb (intransitive)]
wonc725
erdec893
siteOE
liveeOE
to make one's woningc960
through-wonOE
bigc1175
walkc1225
inwonea1300
lenda1300
lenga1300
lingera1300
erthec1300
stallc1315
lasta1325
lodge1362
habit?a1366
breeda1375
inhabitc1374
indwella1382
to have one's mansionc1385
to take (up) one's inn (or inns)a1400
keepc1400
repairc1400
to have (also hold, keep, make) one's residencec1405
to hold (also keep, make, take, etc.) one's mansiona1425
winc1425
to make (one's) residence1433
resort1453
abidec1475
use1488
remaina1500
demur1523
to keep one's house1523
occupy1523
reside1523
enerdc1540
kennel1552
bower1596
to have (also hold, keep, make) residence1597
subsist1618
mansiona1638
tenant1650
fastena1657
hospitate1681
wont1692
stay1754
to hang out1811
home1832
habitate1866
the world > action or operation > continuing > continue doing or keep going in a course of action [verb (intransitive)]
to hold a wayOE
to hold forthc1200
to hold ona1225
reignc1300
lasta1325
continuea1340
to continue doing or to doc1384
pursuea1425
perseverec1425
to hold one's wayc1480
prosecute1528
to go on1533
to run on1533
keep1548
to follow on1560
insist1586
to keep on1589
to carry on1832
to carry on1857
string1869
the world > movement > absence of movement > [verb (intransitive)] > remain as opposed to go
bidec893
yleaveOE
leaveOE
wonc1000
abideOE
worthOE
beliveOE
atstutte-nc1220
stuttea1225
atstuntc1230
astinta1250
beleavea1325
lasta1325
stounda1325
stinta1340
joukc1374
restaya1382
to leave over1394
liec1400
byec1425
onbidec1430
keep1560
stay1575
delay1655
to wait on1773
stop1801
to sit on1815
to hang around1830
to stick around1878
to sit tight1897
remain1912
stay-down1948
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4147 And ðog him [sc. Moses] lestede hise sigte brigt.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds xii. 16 Forsoth Petre lastide knockynge.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Macc. x. 27 And nowe laste ȝe [L. perseverate] ȝit for to kepe to vs feith.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 2479 Abraham last & his þan Bisyde þe lond of canaan.
a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. xiii. 6 Thei lastiden [L.V. contynueden] for to confeerme the word [MS Lord].
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 791 And longe hym thoughte that the sunne laste That it nere gon vndyr the se a doun.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 38 If þei last in þer synne,..þer blessing is turnid in to cursing.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 412 On athir side full fast on him thai dange. Gret perell was giff thai had lestyt lang.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid x. v. 51 Amangis the fludis for to leyf and lest.
1553 J. Bradford Serm. Repentaunce sig. E.iv Oures nowe prolongeth oure lyfe the longer, to laste in eternall death.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 693 Whence in perpetual fight they needs must last Endless, and no solution will be found. View more context for this quotation
e. intransitive. To manage to continue, persist, or persevere in a position, task, etc.; to survive, endure. Also with out. Frequently with complement specifying a period of time.In use with out, also occasionally transitive with it (cf. to stick it out at stick v.1 Phrasal verbs 1).
ΚΠ
1848 tr. A. Thiers Rights of Prop. iv. vi. 268 While he [sc. General Buonaparte] lasted, the acquisitions of national property were considered a safe investment.
1912 Nation (N.Y.) 26 Sept. 280/1 Then a Dutchman would try [to ride a donkey]; he lasted a little longer than the Irishman, but he, too, met his fate.
a1963 S. Plath Three Women (1968) 13 I last. I last it out. I accomplish a work.
1970 New York 5 Jan. 48/2 The decision..might go to him on points, but at least I lasted.
1993 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 June a27/4 If she shilly-shallies as she has in the past two months, she won't last long at the head of the country.
2010 L. Bayard School of Night xiii. 158 Believe me, Amory wouldn't have lasted five minutes without spilling.
4.
a. intransitive. With indirect object (originally in the dative). To be sufficient to meet the needs of a person (or animal), for as long as necessary or desired, or (more usually, with complement) for a specified period of time; to keep adequately supplied.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > be sufficient for [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person > for a specified time
lastc1175
carry1589
wear1815
to see over ——1875
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 8668 Forr drihhtin seȝȝþ þatt te shall wel. Þin little mele lasstenn. & tatt te shall þin elesæw. Lasstenn þohh itt beo litell.
a1500 (?a1400) Firumbras (1935) l. 614 (MED) Y ne schal spare whyles me lesteth Dorundale.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 604/1 This gowne hath lasted him longe.
1576 T. Twyne Schoolemaster iv. xxxvi. sig. T.iiiv The goodman..tooke the wyne and other prouision, which lasted him to make merie withall many dayes after.
a1592 R. Greene Sc. Hist. Iames IV (1598) iv. sig. G3v O, sir, that is too thin, it will not last you.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet v. i. 163 A tanner Will last you eight yeares.
1631 E. Pellham Gods Power 28 We again tooke another view of our victuals: which we now found to grow so short, that it could no wayes last us above sixe weekes longer.
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 263 A stock of Hard Eggs..which will last them from Spahaun to the Port.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 77 They should have a Proportion of Corn given them to last them eight Months.
1777 Universal Mag. Aug. 90/1 A sum which she supposed would last her a good part of the winter.
1832 A. Strickland Juvenile Rollin v. 136 The Babylonians, fearing their provisions would not last them, took the horrible resolution to destroy all who were unable to be of service in defending the city.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. vi. 56 Our two bears lasted the cormorants but eight days.
1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs II. 112 As much corn..as will last us a month.
1933 S. Walker Night Club Era 233 He had salted away enough money to last him for the rest of his life.
2004 R. DeMarinis Apocalypse Then 220 Two cartons won't last me... I need four.
b. intransitive. Of provisions, resources, etc.: to continue to be available in sufficient quantities; to be adequate for a specified length of time. Also with out.
ΚΠ
a1400 (c1300) Northern Homily: Serm. on Gospels (Coll. Phys.) in Middle Eng. Dict. at Lasten Our lauerd len us that we mai Drinc wit him wyn that lastes ai.
a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) (1988) 109 (MED) Þe sege may dure lenger þan þi stoore of vitailes wil laste.
?1566 J. Alday tr. P. Boaistuau Theatrum Mundi iii. sig. M.iijv For to bye first of them, whilst that their monie lasted.
?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses (new ed.) x. 149 Come, as long as food Or wine lasts in our ship; lets spirit our blood And quit our care and hunger, both in one.
1699 E. S. Compan. Debtors & Prisoners x. 50 He's no longer welcom with them than his Money lasts.
1703 P. Motteux et al. tr. M. de Cervantes Hist. Don Quixote IV. liv. 537 But while the Wine lasted all was well.
1726 J. Swift Let. 27 July in Misc. (1745) X. 101 I indeed think her Stamina could not last much longer, when I saw she could take no Nourishment.
1795 Jrnl. House of Commons 9 Dec. 51 212/1 The Shortness of the Supply then produced a Saving in the Consumption, and thereby the Stock in Hand lasted out.
1834 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last Days of Pompeii I. i. i. 4 An additional reason for supping with him while the sesterces last.
1884 Spectator 4 Oct. 1286/1 He was able by rationing the townsmen as well as his troops to make this supply last to the present time.
1903 F. Markham Recoll. Town Boy Westm. 135 What with the charge for the [racquet-]court, our luncheon, and frequent shandy-gaffs, our money only just lasted out.
1991 San Francisco Chron. 26 July a3 (advt.) Receive a beautiful potted topiary plant with your..purchase, while supplies last.
2013 Independent (Nexis) 13 Dec. (Features) 46 The food lasted right through; I didn't have to run to the Co-op to buy more mixer.
5.
a. intransitive. To remain in good, usable, or serviceable condition; to continue to operate without impairment, deterioration, or loss of effectiveness (frequently with complement specifying a period of time). In later use also without complement: to remain in good condition or successful operation for a considerable period. Also with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > absence of change, changelessness > lasting quality, permanence > be permanent [verb (intransitive)] > remain, continue
bidec893
ofstandeOE
astandc1000
restOE
holdc1175
dure1297
akeepc1300
lastc1300
arrest1393
containc1400
perseverec1425
reserve1529
to run on1533
to stick by ——1533
persist1538
persist1539
to hold up1582
retaina1631
persist1659
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > preservation from injury or destruction > preserve from injury or destruction [verb (intransitive)] > remain in good condition
lastc1300
keepa1586
preserve1585
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 538 Grim..bond him faste, Hwil þe bondes micte laste.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. l. 2042 Whil thilke Mirour laste, Ther was no lond which [etc.].
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 5 Þai trowed þat he schuld hafe bene hingand apon þat crosse als lang as þat crosse myght last.
1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. ev While that frute may last his time is neuer past.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus i. f. 3 The other [bowe] is a lugge slowe of cast, folowing the string, more sure for to last, then pleasaunt for to vse.
1584 A. Barlowe in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) iii. 731 Their drinke is commonly water, but while the grape lasteth, they drinke wine.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice iii. ii. 205 At last, if promise last I got a promise of this faire one heere to haue her loue. View more context for this quotation
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iii. §65. 304 To annoint their rolles..with a liquour..which kept them from rotting, and made them last the longer.
1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant ii. ii. 123 A good part of them [sc. the walls of Alexandria] are still entire; and they must needs have been strong Built to last so long.
1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 3 Those..Bricks..will last to Eternity.
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad VI. xxiv. 779 The Rock for ever lasts, the Tears for ever flow.
1780 A. Young Tour Ireland (Dublin ed.) I. 18 The apple potatoe is liked best, because they last till the new ones come in.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. vi. 168 I would have, then, our ordinary dwelling-houses built to last.
1881 Inst. Mech. Engineers: Proc. 18 Mar. 275/3 A cutter will usually last for twenty such grindings before it is worn out.
1884 Christian Commonw. 11 Dec. 119/5 Electricians will probably have invented a lamplet which will last for months.
1913 Cycle & Automobile Trade Jrnl. July 221 (advt.) This car is built to last.
1937 Geogr. Jrnl. 90 296 [The sledge runner] was successfully spliced..and the repair lasted for the rest of the journey.
1999 Daily Record (Glasgow) (Nexis) 29 May The chilli dressing salsa can be made the day before and will last in the fridge for days.
2013 S. R. Alten Audio in Media (ed. 10) 112 Alkaline batteries are good, but lithium batteries last longer.
b. intransitive. Of a relationship, agreement, etc.: to extend, endure, or remain in force or effect for a specified period (typically before breaking down or being terminated).
ΚΠ
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 180 But þis statute lest not fully iii monthis.
1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Funke Actes & Hist. Worlde 1532–50 in tr. J. Carion Thre Bks. Cronicles f. ccxxiiv A sted fast peace was concluded betwene both the parties,..to continue for the space of tenne yeres..although it lasted scant two yeres.
1612 W. Shute tr. T. de Fougasses Gen. Hist. Venice vii. 111 The Ambassador..told him..that whilest the truce lasted hee might not be molested in that State [sc. Milan].
1688 P. Rycaut tr. G. de la Vega Royal Comm. Peru (new ed.) vi. xxi. 891 But this marriage lasted not long by reason of the inequality of age.
1767 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (new ed.) II. xxiii. 280 He recommended to them peace... This temporary or feigned agreement lasted no longer than the king's life.
1875 Accountant 16 Jan. 7/1 The contract lasted about eighteen months, and was a profitable one.
1963 S. Bedford Favourite of Gods (1984) 131 Any one attachment while it lasted—for some weeks, some months, a season—held her entirely.
1974 J. Rosenmeyer in S. Bercovitch Amer. Puritan Imagination vi. 89 In the 1620 annal, Bradford writes that the peace treaty with Massasoit has lasted for twenty-four years.
2001 N.Y. Times Mag. 7 Jan. 46/1 His new marriage lasted seven years.
6.
a. transitive. To hold out under or against; to withstand, endure, bear. In later use also with out. Also occasionally intransitive in early use.In later use chiefly with an explicit or implied sense of duration, overlapping with sense 6b.For to last the pace see also pace n.1 Phrases 1c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > opposition > oppose [verb (transitive)] > resist > maintain resistance against
to stand before ——OE
bearOE
tholec1175
sustainc1330
last1340
suffera1387
support1483
outstand1571
hold1592
to hold outa1616
ridea1649
brunt1800
to stand up to1921
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 84 (MED) Uirtue makeþ wynne heuene..and alle þe kueades of þe wordle onderbere and gledliche þolye, and uor god to leste [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues endure hem].
a1400 (?a1350) Seege Troye (Egerton) (1927) l. 1097 Þere ne was helm, shelde, ne targe Þat myȝt last his strokes large.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1913) II. l. 9560 (MED) With here swerdes on hym they leyden faste, that wondyr hit was he myhte hit laste.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 811 Bot al to few thei war, and mycht nocht lest This gret Rout that cummyth one so fast.
1619 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Maides Trag. iii. sig. G3 I pray, my legges Will last that pace that I will carrie them.
a1625 F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Honest Mans Fortune iv. i, in Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Xxxxx That soules most stout, That bearing all mischance, dares last it [sc. Fortunes false Lottery] out.
1832 New Sporting Mag. May 60/1 Mr. ——, whose weight rendered it extremely improbable that he could last the pace.
1852 T. J. Vaiden Rational Relig. & Morals 353 Peculiar faith could not last the attack of mind one Sunday if the world would do its duty.
1879 Cape Monthly Mag. May 270 It looks as if it was strong enough to last the attack of time for another three hundred years.
1923 ‘M. Brand’ Alcatraz iv. 53 They can't last that pace. They'll come back after a while and the ponies will walk away to the finish.
2010 K. Honaker Urim & Thummim v. 77 Even the horses, cattle, chickens and pigs had sufficient food storage to last out the onslaught of the severe winter ahead.
b. transitive. To continue, persist, or survive for the entire length or duration of. Frequently with out. Cf. to last the course at Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 128 This will last out a night in Russia When nights are longest there. View more context for this quotation
1658 A. Cokayne Small Poems 79 His Life was but a Minum, till his prime, When as old Age should last out Sembrief-time.
1741 J. Chapman Eusebius II. i. 79 Having receiv'd already its [sc. the Law's] full Accomplishment in Typicals by the Advent of Christ, and lasted out the Period intended for it by the Lawgiver.
1777 H. Walpole Let. 5 Oct. in Private Corr. (1820) IV. 91 My spirits are never low, but they will seldom last out the whole day.
1831 A. Cowan Let. 18 Sept. in Remains (1839) 288 If I sink as rapidly, I will not last out this year.
1841 J. Mills Old Eng. Gentleman II. xviii. 34 ‘The crack’, a large boned horse, was the object of attraction, and opinions differed as to his being able to last the distance.
1878 C. H. Spurgeon Treasury of David V. Ps. civ. 23 If labour lasts out the average daylight it is certainly all that any man ought to expect of another.
1928 T. K. Whipple Spokesmen xi. 244 The mastery with which O'Neill begins does not last out the piece.
1936 J. Buchan Island of Sheep ii. 23 He could last out a long day in a deer forest when he had just entered his teens.
2000 Big Issue 28 Feb. 11/1 So we did. And she lasted the night, and we all went back to our flat and had a curry and stuff... She's a party animal.
c. transitive. To surpass or exceed in length of life or duration; to outlast, outlive. In later use only with out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > have duration [verb (transitive)] > outlast
to live out1535
outlast1570
outwear1579
outlive1582
supervive1586
outflourish1594
to stand out1600
outdure1611
outstanda1616
outsit1633
survive1633
endure1636
stay1639
outmeasure1646
superlast1648
outstaya1652
last1658
tarrya1662
superannuate1820
outrange1887
to see out1897
1658 Sir T. Browne Hydriotaphia: Urne-buriall v. 74 Old Families last not three Oaks.
1756 T. Hale et al. Compl. Body Husbandry iv. xiii. 149/1 An Oak Hoop will last out seven of any other Timber.
1838 W. P. Marshall Descr. Patent Locomotive Steam Engine of Messrs R. Stephenson & Co. 10 The ferrules are sometimes made of wrought iron, but they generally do not last out the tube in that case, and require replacing by new ones before the tubes are worn out.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 290 He who lasts out his competitors in the game without missing, shall be our King.
1924 Boys' Life Apr. 48/3 Last him out, kid. If he gets two strikes on you,..hit it, but not before.
1957 E. Welty Let. in S. Marrs What there is to say we have Said (2011) iii. 110 All I want anyway is for him to last them all out.
2013 J. E. Czerneda Turn of Light viii. 156 If we work hard, last him out, he might leave it to us.
III. Senses relating to space.
7. intransitive with complement. To extend in space for a specified distance; to reach, stretch.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > extend in space [verb (intransitive)]
bredeOE
comeOE
ylasta1175
drawc1180
areachc1225
lastc1275
tillc1290
durea1300
reachc1330
spreada1400
halec1400
reignc1400
splatec1440
extend1481
endure1523
span1535
discoursea1547
wina1578
distend1581
intend1594
sweep1789
outlie1876
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2902 Ne leaste [c1300 Otho laste] hit [sc. a ditch] na-wiht ane mile.
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 2 Þy laddre nys nauȝt of wode Þat may to heuene leste [rhyme reste].
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2908 Þan þout hire þat hire riȝt arm last ouer rome & lelli hire left arm lai al ouer spayne.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 108 Þe firste boon..lastiþ to þe seem þat departiþ þe heed quarter.
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 266 Ther..deynteuous vitaille..may be founde as fer as last Ytaille.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 990 He hunted in a woode of hys owne whych lasted unto the see.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 174 Þen was he warre of a pyler of fyre þat last from þe erth vp to Heuen.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xvii. 274 More than a myle lasted the route.
1577 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Chron. 29 A broad high waye that lasted two leagues and halfe.
1647 T. May Hist. Parl. iii. i. 19 A great number of the flying Parliament Souldiers were slaine in that Chase, which lasted two miles beyond Keynton.
1686 F. Spence tr. G. de Courtilz de Sandras Hist. Viscount de Turenne 266 The Viscount de Turenne still Cover'd the Kings Person in a March that lasted above forty Leagues.
1790 J. Hassell Tour Isle of Wight II. v. 108 This rocky road lasted most of our way to Southwick.
1798 W. Gilpin Observ. Western Parts Eng. xxxii. 300 Our route..led us over a heath, wilder almost than any we had yet found; but it scarcely lasted four miles.
1813 J. C. Hobhouse Journey through Albania xxxvii. 647 The paved road lasted..for about a mile.
1851 G. Melly Khartoum & Blue & White Niles II. xi. 185 The cataract lasted nearly the whole distance, about thirty miles.
1913 E. M. Maturin Adventures beyond Zambezi xl. 319 The wagon would emerge from golden grass seas... Then out into open spaces lasting miles.
2001 C. Gibbons 31 i. 6 Fortunately, this upward slope lasted only for a few yards.

Phrases

P1. to last the course: to succeed in maintaining speed, form, etc., for the duration of a race or contest. Frequently figurative: to endure or survive some trial; to make it through to the end. Cf. to stay the course at stay v.1 17b.
ΚΠ
1872 Graphic 16 Mar. /1 Mr. Houblon is a very light man compared with the heavy crew behind him, and we doubt very much whether his stroke will be long enough, and whether he will last the course.
1884 Observer 22 June 3/2 This filly will hardly last the course.
1906 Nation (N.Y.) 27 Sept. 255/1 Other prominent English oarsmen, who asserted..that the Cambridge crew had not been exercised sufficiently,..and that they would not last the course.
1915 J. Buchan Thirty-nine Steps iv. 85 I had meant to speak for ten minutes and must now go on for forty, and, though I've been racking my brains for three hours to think of something, I simply cannot last the course.
1967 Spectator 27 Jan. 116/2 The British [chess] champion..did respectably..and the fifty-six-year-old Israeli veteran..did not last the course very well.
1984 R. Pilcher Voices in Summer (1986) iv. 114 When Philip was so ill..well, I couldn't have lasted the course without May.
2008 Sunday Express (Nexis) 12 Oct. No doubt..[she] will be ready to flash her ruby rock at all those naysayers who doubted the pair's romance would last the course.
P2. it was fun while it lasted (also it's fun while it lasts and variants) (originally U.S.): used to indicate that an activity or situation, although finite or temporary, is enjoyable for its duration (often suggesting that the speaker does not regret its occurrence, regardless of subsequent events or consequences).
ΚΠ
1888 New Albany (Indiana) Evening Tribune 8 May 3/1 This ever to be 28 year old star wakes up some fine morning to find herself in the shades of past youth... But it was fun while it lasted.
1956 Phoenix (Arizona) Republic 24 May 61/ We're given money to play black jack for scenes in the picture... After it's over we have to turn in any money we have left... But it's fun while it lasts.
2010 P. Daniels Class Actor xxvi. 174 The whole thing was just a bit of a wheeze, really, but it was fun while it lasted.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

† lastv.2

Forms: Middle English laste, Middle English leoste (probably transmission error).
Origin: Either (i) a borrowing from early Scandinavian. Or (ii) formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: last n.3
Etymology: Either (i) < early Scandinavian (compare Old Icelandic lasta to blame, vituperate, speak ill of, blaspheme < last- , lǫstr last n.3), or (ii) < last n.3 Compare lasting n.2, lastless adj.
Obsolete.
transitive. To blaspheme against; to blame.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > blame > [verb (transitive)]
accuseOE
witea1000
blamec1200
lastc1225
awreakc1275
friec1300
lack1340
impugn1377
aretc1386
default1489
remord1522
culpate1548
tax1548
finger-point1563
witen1589
attask1608
refounda1653
thank1667
bumble1675
to take to task1682
twitter1749
society > faith > worship > sacrilege > blasphemy > blaspheme [verb (transitive)]
waryc1000
cursec1050
lastc1225
forswearc1325
blasphemea1382
mansweara1500
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) 684 Þe reue..feng to fiten his feont & lastin his lauerd.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 259 Preise him leoste [read laste] him..al him is iliche leof.
?a1300 Thrush & Nightingale (Digby) 107 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 104 (MED) Þou lastest hem, þou hauest wou.
?c1430 (c1400) [implied in: J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 270 (MED) A þef is more worþi to be suffrid þan þe lastynge of a lesyngmongere.].
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

† lastv.3

Forms: Middle English laste (past participle).
Origin: Either (i) formed within English, by conversion. Or (ii) a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymons: last n.2; English gehlæstan.
Etymology: Either (i) < last n.2, or (ii) aphetic < Old English gehlæstan ( < y- prefix + the base of last n.2: see note). Compare Old Frisian bihlesta, bihlestia to load, to burden, Middle High German lesten to load, to burden, to annoy.For Old English gehlæstan to load, (also) to adorn, compare:eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. ix. 412 Mid þy heo ða þæt scip gehlested hefdan mid þæm þingum, þe swa miceles siðfetes need abædde.OE Judith 36 Het ða niða geblonden þa eadigan mægð ofstum fetigan to his bedreste beagum gehlæste, hringum gehrodene.OE tr. Apollonius of Tyre (1958) vi. 8 He þa ut eode and het his scip mid hwæte gehlæstan [L. onerari].The Old English verb is not attested without prefix. Compare, however, beside gehlæstan , Old English oferhlæstan to overload (compare over- prefix) and also hlæsting lasting n.1
Obsolete. rare.
transitive. To load.In quot. c1400 in figurative context.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > transport > [verb (transitive)] > load
seamc950
ladeOE
fethre?c1225
charge1297
lastc1400
load?1504
laden1514
loaden1568
burden1570
endorse1671
freight1829
sling load1933
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1146 I loked among his meyny schene, How þay wyth lyf wern laste & lade.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

lastv.4

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: last n.1
Etymology: < last n.1
transitive. To shape on a last during making or manufacture.
ΚΠ
1603 in S. Ree Rec. Elgin (1908) II. 119 The searcharis apprehendit Androw Donalsoun, cordiner, lastand schone.
1659 M. James Best Fee-simple Ep. Ded. sig. aiiv Besides these wide shoes, Lasted for many Feet, there are some more proper for mine.
?1765 Proof adduced before Sheriff of Inverness 12 It was for cutting timber to make cunnies and slices off for lasting shoes or brogues.
1821 Repertory Arts, Manuf., & Agric. Apr. 278 I now begin to last the boot, shoe, or clog with a wax thread.
1880 Times 21 Sept. 4/4 Light boots..are lasted inside out, sewed by machine as by hand, and then turned.
1919 U.S. Patent 1,373,855 1/2 It is preferred to leave [celluloid]..for about two hours, at the end of which time the celluloid members are in good condition to be lasted.
1997 Independent on Sunday 13 Apr. (Business section) 5/4 Everyday shoes tend to be lasted for a few hours at most.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

lastadv.adj.n.4

Brit. /lɑːst/, /last/, U.S. /læst/
Forms: Old English lætst, late Old English læst, late Old English– last, early Middle English laczste (transmission error), early Middle English latst, early Middle English lattst ( Ormulum), Middle English larste, Middle English lastre (transmission error), Middle English least, Middle English leaste, Middle English lelaste (transmission error), Middle English leste, Middle English–1600s laste, 1500s lest, 1600s laest, 1600s lust, 1600s luste, 1700s larst, 1800s lash (Irish English (Wexford)); Scottish pre-1700 laste, pre-1700 lest, pre-1700 1700s– last, pre-1700 1800s– laist.
Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item.
Etymology: Originally a variant of latest adv. (or latest adj.: see note below) with syncopation of the vowel of the superlative suffix. Compare latemost adj.In the course of its history the word becomes increasingly dissociated from latest adj., n., and adv. in form and also in sense. The loss of the vowel before -st probably originated in the inflected forms of the adjective (compare e.g. least adj., pron., n., and adv.), although it is earliest attested for the adverb. Compare similar syncopation in forms of the West Germanic cognates cited at latest adj., n., and adv., although these forms are likely to have developed independently in the individual languages. For the subsequent loss of the initial t in the cluster tst compare best adj., n.1, and adv.; it has been suggested that the prevalence of this form of the word was perhaps reinforced by the analogy of first adj., adv., and n.2 With at (the) last at Phrases 1a(a)(i) compare alast adv. and see discussion at that entry.
A. adv.
1. After any other or anything else, in time, serial order, rank, etc.; after anything else is done or takes place; finally.See branch B. for a more detailed analysis of the equivalent uses of the adjective.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [adverb] > last or after all the others
nextOE
lastOE
the world > time > day and night > night > [adverb] > last thing at night
lastc1450
OE Recipe (Vitell. C.iii) in T. O. Cockayne Leechdoms, Wortcunning, & Starcraft (1864) I. 374 Drinc ælce dæg fæstende neap fulne caldes & on æfen wearmes lætst.
c1225 Worcester Glosses to Old Eng. Homilies in Anglia (1928) 52 22 Æt-nyhstan : last.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1705 Lia bar last dowter dinam.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 2 Kings xix. 11 Whi ben ȝee coomyn last to bryngyn aȝeen þe king in to his hous?
tr. Palladius De re Rustica (Duke Humfrey) (1896) x. l. 155 Gith is last eke in this mone ysowe.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 145 (MED) Geue þe seek to drinke last when he gos to bedde.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxii. f. xxxjv Laste of all the woman dyed also.
1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. D.iii He that cumth last make all fast.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xc. sig. F3v If thou wilt leaue me, do not leaue me last . View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 444 Loue thy selfe last . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 278 Nor man the least Though last created. View more context for this quotation
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad VI. xxiii. 609 Last came, Admetus! thy unhappy Son.
1754 S. Bowden Poems Var. Subj. 256 Like travellers, who by driving still forward, and drudging on..very often arrive last at the journey's end.
1808 W. Scott Marmion i. viii. 30 Last, twenty yeomen, two and two.
1860 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing (rev. ed.) 199 Then she fills a hot water bottle, and last of all she takes him his tea.
1905 R. C. Jebb in tr. Bacchylides Poems & Fragm. 187 The name of Argeius stands last but one in the Isthmian section of the record, and last but three in the Nemean.
1937 E. Underhill Worship vii. 132 There is first the Offertory... Next, the great Eucharistic prayer of adoration and sacrifice..; and last, the communion of the celebrant and the faithful.
2002 T. L. Fivash Joseph i. 16 The moon followed, a brilliant white disk brighter than any I had ever seen. And last came 11 stars.
2. On the occasion immediately before the present; most recently.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adverb] > most recently
latesteOE
nexteOE
lastc1225
c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 778 Ant he þet her least on wrat swa as he cuðe.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 678 Þu ful wel bihetet me Þanne i last spak with þe.
c1330 Otuel (Auch.) (1882) l. 1662 Þere þei sien ogger last.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3989 Vte-ouer þis flum, last quen i ferd.
1526 W. Bonde Rosary sig. Diiii Those seuyn..wordes..whiche thou..speke laste before thy most precious dethe.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 632 Since I last published these Relations, certaine Letters have beene printed.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 12 I was last chidden for being too slow. View more context for this quotation
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 306 He came last from Astracan.
1779 E. Pendleton Let. 31 May in Lett. & Papers (1967) I. 289 The Vessels..had not returned when I last heard from below.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 457 The paternal grandmother of the person last seised.
1822 P. B. Shelley Hellas 13 The robes they last On Death's bare ribs had cast.
1861 Domest. Ann. Scotl. 236 The system of culreach or repledgiation is one of great antiquity in Scotland, but last heard of in the Highlands.
1901 M. E. Henry-Ruffin John Gildart 43 Many a field was fought And lost since last he stood in those now thin And shrunken ranks.
1941 J. Grenfell Let. 16 Feb. in Darling Ma (1989) 271 Still no letters from you. It must be about three weeks since I last heard.
2005 R. Ellis Tiger Bone & Rhino Horn v. 184 The Indian muntjac..was last reported on Halliday Island in the late 1970s.
3. last past, (Scottish also) † last by-past, (chiefly Scottish) † last was: immediately preceding; spec. (with a recurring division of time, a season, etc.) immediately before the present (= sense B. 7a); (also) up to and including the present. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > most recent > of a time, period, or season
last past1398
lasta1400
1398 in T. Rymer Fœdera (1709) VIII. 54 Thair Raunson til have bene restorit to thaim befor the Fest Of Myssommyr last past.
1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 The Saterday neghst after the fest of Seint Michael last passed.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 117 (MED) The firste [process] is fulfilled by þe forsaide gouernaunce in þe chapitles last passed [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. next passed; L. proxime preteritis].
1449 R. Wenyngton in Paston Lett. & Papers (2005) III. 69 And as God wuld, on Fryday last was we had a gode wynd.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iv. xvii. f. lxxvi What hast thow done al the somer last passed.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxxxviij/1 At ye free passe marte of this said towne of barowe last passed.
1531–2 in J. M. Webster & A. A. M. Duncan Regality of Dunfermline Court Bk. (1953) 53 The allegationes allegit be hym the xj day of Januar last vas.
1535 ( in W. Fraser Registrum Monasterii Cambuskenneth (1872) 260 The tane half [to be paid] as for the Martymes terme last bipast.
1549 T. Solme in H. Latimer 1st Serm. before Kynges Maiest. (new ed.) Ep. Ded. sig. Aiiv Sermons..preached in Lente last past.
1583 T. Stocker tr. Tragicall Hist. Ciuile Warres Lowe Countries i. 36 The fifth of Aprill the yeere last past.
1606 in Orkney & Shetland Rec. (1907) I. 274 To stand quhill Alhallowmes last wes and na forder.
1641 Dissolution of Parl. in Scotl. 2 The ratifications of the Conclusions of the same assembly..were likewise shifted and delayed, and the closing of the Parliament, protracted from time to time, unto the [blank] day of November last bypast.
1681 A. Wendover Let. 20 Feb. in R. Law Eng. in W. Afr. (1997) I. 155 What booges were remaining in January account last past I deliver'd.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 48. ⁋2 The Beau has varied his Dress every Day of his Life for these thirty Years last past.
1756 T. Amory Life John Buncle I. 411 He has been for a year and a half last past in Italy.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward (1831) I. v. 74 His family had been destroyed upon the festival of Saint Jude last by-past.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities i. i. 1 The Cock-lane ghost had been laid only a round dozen of years, after rapping out its messages, as the spirits of this very year last past..rapped out theirs.
1906 F. Gooding Let 10 Apr. in J. A. Lukas Big Trouble (1998) ix. 455 I am sending you several reports of No. 21—secret operative of the Pinkertons—who has been in the employ of the state for more than a year last past.
1943 A. J. Nock Mem. Superfluous Man iii. 41 Its average circulation from year to year for the first fifteen years of its existence..was all of ten per cent more than its average for the fifteen years last past.
4. As the final thing to be mentioned or considered; in the last place, lastly.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [adverb] > last or after all the others > lastly
alastc1225
lasta1460
finally1526
lastly1594
postreme1658
a1460 Knyghthode & Bataile (Pembr. Cambr. 243) l. 802 (MED) A Torquate..hadde wage, vche aftir his estate..Ther were eek worthymen clept Candidate, And last, the souldeours, vch othrys mate.
1558 J. Knox Appellation f. 5v Thirdlie to the realme of Scotland could I haue had no free nor sure accesse..And last to me they nether could nor can be competent and indifferent iudges.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cxiiijv Belmen are hyred..to declare the name..also wher and whan they shal be buried, and last to exhorte the people to praye for the dead.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 v. v. Epil. 1 First my feare then my cursie, last my speech. View more context for this quotation
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iii. ii. 403 Last, that the Lady Anne, Whom the King hath in secrecie long married, This day was view'd in open. View more context for this quotation
1709 Brit. Apollo 11–16 Feb. Consider last, the Horrors of that Doom, Which must, alas! Inevitably Come.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iii. i. 49 You may Conceive such half conjectures as I do, From her fixed paleness, and the lofty grief Of her stern brow..and last From this.
1851 C. Kingsley Yeast xvii. 355 Last, but not least, is it not the very property of man that he is a spirit invested with flesh and blood?
1928 C. S. Whitehead & C. A. Hoff Ethical Sex Relations (new ed.) i. iv. 166 Among the best laxatives are..castor oil, oatmeal,..figs,..and last, but not least, a simple glass of beer.
1972 New Scientist 14 Dec. 667/3 Third I must [etc.]... Fourth, and last, the BBC are to be congratulated for their introduction of stereophonic broadcasting.
2007 M. Bernabe in M. Bernabe et al. Kanji in Mangaland Introd. 16 I would like to express my gratitude..to James..; and to all those friends who have endured my lack of time during the months I've been busy with this book... Last of all, I would like to dedicate this book to the memory of my father.
†5. Finally, in the end. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [adverb]
afinec1325
finallyc1374
conclusively1638
ad extremum1640
eventually1667
last1667
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 797 By force or fraud Weening to prosper, and at length prevaile Against God and Messiah, or to fall In universal ruin last . View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 545 In thy blood will reigne A melancholly damp of cold and dry To waigh thy spirits down, and last consume The Balme of Life. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden tr. Ovid Pygmalion in Fables 166 Pleas'd with his Idol, he commends, admires, Adores; and last, the Thing ador'd, desires.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 3 The king Mused for a little on his plea, but, last, Allowing it, the Prince and Enid rode,..to the shores of Severn.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxiv. 239 So for a while that charge did Theseus faithfully cherish. Last, it melted away.
B. adj.
I. Main senses without specification of number.(Uses with a numeral are presented separately more for illustration of word order than for meaning.)Uses with a numeral are presented separately at branch B. II. in order to illustrate more fully the varying word order shown by these uses.
1.
a. Following all others in a series, succession, order, set, or enumeration; subsequent to all others in occurrence, existence, etc.; happening, existing, or presenting itself after all others; final.In last comer and similar constructions the first word may be taken either as an adjective (the more usual modern analysis) or as an adverb modifying a verbal noun; cf. early riser n. at early adj. and n. Compounds 2, well-doer n., etc.next-to-last: see next adj., adv., and n. Compounds 3.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [adjective] > last in order
latemostOE
nextOE
aftermostOE
latestOE
lastc1175
outmost1447
terminalc1475
extreme1477
hindmost1526
final1530
lag1552
uttermosta1555
darrein1555
utter1558
lattermost1566
afterward1584
dernier1602
ultime1626
ultimate1728
postreme1814
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4168 Þe sefennde þe lattste daȝȝ He sette þeȝȝm to resste.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 8 Þus doþ..to laste [?c1225 Cleo. latemeste, c1230 Corpus Cambr. leatemeste] uers of euerich imne.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 245 Þe laste yefþe and þe meste and Þe heȝeste is þe yefþe of wysdom.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 263 Artaxerxes..put out Nactanabo, the leste [L. ultimo] kyng of Egipt.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 58 In þe laste chapitle of þe firste book.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 288 Laste save one, penultimus.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xijv A prophete that sayd Maximilian should be the last Germaine Emperour.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies v. xxviii. 415 The twelfth and last month was called Aymara.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Dernier The last commers get the maisterie.
1644 W. Lilly Englands Propheticall Merline 86 Such a conversion or transversion of every place in the Zodiack to the last, and last but one Conjunction.
1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 292 This was the last Day of May.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho I. iv. 117 The sun now gave his last light.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Love & Duty in Poems (new ed.) II. 86 A hundred times In that last kiss,..Farewell, like endless welcome, lived and died.
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 632/1 French..always rejecting, absorbing, or consonantizing the vowel of the last syllable but one, if unaccented.
1923 J. Conrad Let. 7 Mar. in A. Ingram Joseph Conrad (1986) 105 The word ‘silver’ occurs almost at the very beginning of the story proper, and I took care to introduce it in the very last paragraph.
1973 V. C. Ike Potter's Wheel (1974) xi. 88 He held Obu by the hand to say a last farewell.
2011 L. Montville Evel ix. 104 Knievel was the last arrival to the motorcycle group.
b. With relative clause, adverbial or adjectival complement, or to and infinitive.
(a) In neutral sense.
Π
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 36/1 In the sommer..laste that euer he sawe.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxliijv This was the last Monke that was seen in his clothyng in Englande.
1656 B. Harris tr. J. N. de Parival Hist. Iron Age i. iv. xxiv. 143 This was the last favour Fortune did this Darling of hers.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 166 Fairest of Starrs, last in the train of Night, If better thou belong not to the dawn. View more context for this quotation
1668 E. Worsley Protestancy without Principles iv. ii. 422 The last man alive in the World.
1704 R. Sault tr. A. Strauch Breviarium Chronologicum (ed. 2) iv. xxx. 333 Eleven days before this last Battle fought betwixt Darius and Alexander, there hapned a very remarkable Eclipse of the Moon.
1745 D. Hume Let. 27 Nov. (1932) I. 73 I think this the last Opportunity that will ever offer of [etc.].
c1790 W. Cowper Catharina (N.Y., Morgan Libr.) 1 The last evening ramble we made, Catharina, Maria, and I.
1831 Bull. State Intelligence 462 The last ship to leave for Europe during the year.
1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin II. xxx. 159 It's the last night we may be together.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 43/2 As a last operation in forwarding..the book is ‘corded’.
1933 Mod. Psychologist Nov. 266/1 The person sick from his emotions is the last one to suspect it himself.
1961 Life 3 Nov. 137/3 That telephone call was the last conversation that she or any of the other Windsor High School students ever had with Salinger.
2004 Sporting Gun Mar. 10/3 This wood was one of the last local strongholds for red squirrel.
(b) Used idiomatically, implying ‘least likely’, ‘least willing’, ‘least suitable’, 'least desirable’.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > improbability, unlikeliness > [adjective] > least likely
last1670
the mind > will > wish or inclination > unwillingness > [adjective] > most unwilling
last1752
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. ii. 171 Afterwards..forgetting what he had talk'd in the beginning, the Grand Duke was the last person in his thoughts.
1705 J. Browne Secret Hist. Queen Zarah ii. 136 If I had been worth Five Thousand [Florins], your Highness shou'd have been the last Person in the World I wou'd have ask'd a Favour of.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia IV. x. vii. 74 This was indeed almost the last Man in the World, whose Company he wished for.
1832 H. Martineau Life in Wilds iv. 53 One of the last men we could spare.
1838 W. H. Prescott Hist. Reign Ferdinand & Isabella III. ii. xvi. 184 She was the last person to be approached with undue familiarity.
1848 C. Kingsley Yeast in Fraser's Mag. Dec. 697/1 The last place in which he will look for the cause of his misery is in that very money-mongering to which he now clings as frantically as ever.
1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux I. xxxi. 254 She was the last woman in England to hamper herself by dependence on the Court.
1897 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign vi. 155 Nor do they wait for our bayonets:..for though fond of administering cold steel, it is the last thing they wish to meet with themselves.
1920 Times Lit. Suppl. 1 Apr. 207/4 The Zeus of Weimar [sc. Goethe] was the last person we should have imagined comparable with our Swan of Avon!
1967 Listener 28 Sept. 395/3 Degas was the last man to believe in untutored brilliance.
1997 J. Owen Camden Girls 113 Me? I'm the last person to ask.
2012 K. Cole Poison Princess vii. 67 The last thing I needed was for my mom to call the cops, not realizing it was her daughter throwing the rager.
c. Coupled with least. Cf. sense C. 1c and last but not least at Phrases 2b.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > other
of (good) warrantc1330
last1558
overweighted1753
unpostponable1800
sacred1867
mugwump1886
codominant1943
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > precede or follow in order [phrase] > lastly > but not of least importance
last1558
1558 F. Withers tr. J. ab Indagine Briefe Introd. Art Chiromancy i. i. sig. A.iiv The laste finger and leaste of all, is called the eare finger.
1595 E. Spenser Colin Clouts come Home Againe sig. C2 And there though last not least is Aetion.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 190 Though last, not least in loue. View more context for this quotation
1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 305 From these are we to descend in order, to the last but not least improvement of their honour: [etc.] .
1700 P. A. Considerations & Exhort. to Observ. of Lent-fast 12 It is neither the least nor the last part of our Learning to be able to give an Answer and Direction in this Point.
1765 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy VII. xxxi. 117 In my list, therefore, of Videnda at Lyons, this, tho' last—was not, you see, least.
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House lviii. 565 Volumnia..is a prey to horrors of many kinds. Not last nor least among them..is a horror of what may befal her little income.
1914 Countryside Mag. & Suburban Life Oct. 223/1 Another service which is neither last nor least.
2006 C. Mandell tr. B.-H. Lévy Amer. Vertigo (U.K. ed.) vii. 255 The definitive last one. And for a traveller looking for symptoms of the current American vertigo, surely not the least eloquent.
2. Of or relating to the end or final stage.Sometimes merely a contextual use of sense B. 1.
a. Of or relating to the end of life or (less commonly) of a reign, historical period, etc. See also Compounds, last day n. 2.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [adjective] > relating to final stage
lastc1175
lattera1470
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 15778 Upp onn hiss lattste ȝer..he comm..To þolenn dæþ.
a1325 Gloss. W. de Bibbesworth (Cambr.) (1929) 179 (MED) Le clerck soune la drener apel [glossed] laste knel.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xii. xvii. 628 A forlyued cok leiþ eiren in his laste elde.
1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. B3 The office of olde age, which is the laste tyme & endyng of men.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxviv He confessed his doctryne constantlye euen to the laste breathe.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 548 Our English first had Trade heere in the last times of Queene Elizabeth.
1621 J. Fletcher et al. Trag. of Thierry & Theodoret v. i. sig. K4v Bear vm vnto their last beds.
1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. II. 59 Having performed to him the last duties.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 145 With his last Voice, Eurydice, he cry'd. View more context for this quotation
1700 P. Danet Compl. Dict. Greek & Rom. Antiq. at Consul In the last times of the Commonwealth, and under the Emperor, they [sc. Consuls] entered upon their Magistracy the first day of January.
1781 W. Ogilvie Ess. Right of Prop. in Land ii. i. 66 Those warlike preparations which busied the last years of his master's reign.
1833 J. H. Newman Arians 4th Cent. iv. 348 Hosius..with his last breath, abjured the heresy.
1895 Argosy Dec. 205/2 Almost his last act was a benevolence to a Christian church.
1929 Boys' Life Feb. 12/2 He must try henceforth to think of his old bachelor uncle as a sort of second father, who would do all in his power to fulfil the last wishes of his sister.
1974 R. A. Caro Power Broker iv. xix. 354 Only by winning the mayoralty could he resuscitate a political career that seemed to be gasping out its last breath.
2004 Independent (Compact ed.) 27 Apr. 31/4 The right-wing populist movement..led by Pierre Poujade in the last years of the French Fourth Republic.
b. Of or relating to the end of the world. Frequently in the last time, last times. See also Compounds, last day n. 1, last trump n. at Compounds, last call n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > Bible, Scripture > biblical events > Second Coming > [adjective] > apocalypse
lasta1225
millenary1577
chiliastic1622
millenarian1626
chiliasticala1638
millenar1654
millennial1660
apocalyptic1663
Fifth-monarchical1679
millenniarya1778
millennian1790
eschatological1854
millenarist1894
millennialist1952
millenarianist1986
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > ending of existence > the last judgement > day of judgement
last dayc1275
day of doom1340
Great Dayc1350
the last time?1505
day of reckoning1547
accounting day1549
doomsday1578
reckoning day1581
day of accounting1666
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [noun] > concluding period
lattera1470
latter day1528
last times1611
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [noun] > ending of existence > the last judgement > last days
last daya1400
lattera1470
latter day1528
last times1611
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 19 Ðes werȝinge nis bute erres of ðare laczste, ðanne god seið him self mid muchele eiȝe: ‘..Gað aweiȝ fram me’.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11505 Of þas kinges ende, nulle hit na Brut ileue buten hit beon þe leste dæð [c1300 Otho þan laste day] at þan muchele dome.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 263 Ðe laste tid, Quan al man-kinde..Sal ben fro dede to liue brogt.
?1505 J. van Doesborch tr. Lytel Treatyse xv. Tokens sig. aiiv But in the last tyme of the worlde shullen the goode bee very goode and the euyll shullen bee very badde.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Pet. i. 5 Ready to be reuealed in the last time [Gk. ἐν καιρῳ̑ ἐσχάτῳ] . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Pet. i. 20 Who..was manifest in these last times [Gk. ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων] for you. View more context for this quotation
1713 J. Edwards Theologia Reformata II. 12 Let us remember that our Bodies shall rise and stand at the last Tribunal.
1774 J. Hanway Virtue in Humble Life I. ii. vii. 466 You will fear to go to your last account, with your sins in blossom!
1845 E. Bickersteth Signs of Times in East i. ii. 34 This corresponds to several similar prophecies, describing the features of the last times.
1906 I. M. Haldeman Coming of Christ xi. 139 The distinctive characteristic of the last time will be the coming of The Antichrist.
1989 M. J. O'Connell tr. E. Mazza Mystagogy iii. 98 The faithful who approach and participate in the sacraments receive salvation and redemption in an inchoative way; only in the last times will they receive it in its fullness.
c. Theology. the last things: = the four last things at sense B. 9a(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > non-existence > [phrase] > the four last things at the ending of existence
the last things1479
1479 Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (Caxton) Prol. Bere wel in thy mynde the last thingis. and thou shalt neuer fal in synne.
1585 W. Prid in tr. Glasse of Vaine-glorie To Rdr. 61 Nouissima, or the last things..are in number foure, to wit, Death, Iudgement, the Paines of Hell, and the Ioyes of heauen.
1650 I. Ambrose (title) Ultima, the last things: in reference to the first and middle things: or certain meditations on life, death, judgement, hell, right purgatory, and heaven.
1798 Monthly Mag. Suppl. No. 33, 15 July 523/1 Meditaciones sobre los Novisimos,..Meditations on the last Things,..by Father Pinamonte.
1845 G. Bush Anastasis p. v The great scheme of Scriptural Eschatology, or the doctrine of the last things.
1913 R. L. Ottley Relig. of Israel (ed. 2) ix. 154 There is less ground for thinking that the Jewish doctrine of the resurrection and of the last things has affinities with Parsism.
1994 H. Bloom Western Canon ii. viii. 185 Johnson avoided theological speculation but not the anxieties attendant upon human limitations in apprehending the last things.
d. the last minute (or moment, second, etc.): the moment perceived as the latest possible time something can occur, be done, or achieved before an event, deadline, or other time constraint. Cf. last-minute adj. at Compounds 2b, last-second at Compounds 2b.
ΘΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > the last minute
the last minute1567
eleventh hour1829
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 51 Camylla seynge a prouffe of his constancie euen to the laste moment, and hauynge but one meane to releue hys traunce,..lett fall her rosye..lyppes vppon the mortifyed mouthe of her diynge Livio.
1649 A. Martindale Divinity-knots Unloosed xvi. 80 God is ready to forgive those which repent at the last moment.
1653 Cloria & Narcissus 145 Horses and men halfe dead striving with naturall industry to keep the little life that yet remained in their bodies to the last minuit.
1703 Duke of Marlborough Let. 16 May in H. L. Snyder Marlborough-Godolphin Corr. (1975) I. 178 I will keep this open til the last minut.
1795 tr. K. P. Moritz Trav. Eng. 93 Composing a sermon..should not thus have been put off to the last minute.
1832 Spectator 31 Mar. 302/1 [She] was too unwell to sing... In this emergency, Mrs. Bishop consented, at the last minute, to take the pieces.
1868 Eclectic Mag. July 893/2 If the Emperor is not dead, the veterans will hold out till the last second.
1874 L. Stephen Hours in Libr. 1st Ser. 342 A reprieve is granted at the last moment, and the martyr is unbound from the stake.
1906 Times 15 May 9/4 Minor questions may arise..in carrying out the agreement which at the last minute has been happily reached.
1965 A. J. P. Taylor Eng. Hist. 1914–45 i. 28 The Labour party had opposed the war till the last moment.
1993 D. Coyle Hardball i. i. 25 Maurice levered the glove up... The ball thunked against the grass six feet behind him... ‘That one tailed away from me at the last second, Kevin... Hit me another’.
2006 R. B. Brown Doing your Diss. in Bus. & Managem. v. 61 The thing that is likely to antagonise your supervisor the most is leaving things to the last minute.
3. Furthest away in spatial position; remotest, outermost. Formerly also: †hindmost, rearmost (obsolete).Recorded earliest in alder-last (cf. alder- prefix 1b).
ΘΠ
the world > space > distance > distance or farness > [adjective] > most distant or remotest
utterestc1200
lastc1225
furthestc1374
farthest1377
lattera1382
outmosta1382
outerestc1392
uttermost1398
yondermest1513
farmost1581
hindmost1596
yondmost1608
extremea1616
farthermost1619
furthermost1765
endermost1803
ultimate1848
endmost1879
the world > space > relative position > position at the back > [adjective] > farthest back
hindermost1398
hinderestc1405
hindmost1487
last1549
backermost1669
tail1673
rearmost1718
backmost1782
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 268 Makien so monie clerkes to cumene..of alle clergies of alixandres lond þe alre leste [c1225 Bodl. þe alreleaste, a1250 Titus þealre laste] ende.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxxiv. 2 Þe lord shewede to hym..al þe lond of Iuda vnto þe laste see [L. ad mare novissimum].
?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) iv. met. i. 87 He shal forletyn the laste [L. extimum] heuene.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 288 Laste of alle, ultimus..extremus.
1549 in J. Strype Eccl. Memorials (1721) II. App. DD. 104 The L. Gray was fain..to retyre to our last horsemen and footmen.
1658 R. Fage Descr. Whole World 40 Russia is the last region towards the east in Europe.
1770 Oxf. Mag. Aug. 49/2 Stornway, the last island to the North East of Scotland.
1809 E. A. Kendall Trav. Northern Parts U.S. III. 173 Above Conway is Bartlett, the last town on the east side of the mountains.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems lxviii. 102 The land's last verge Holds him.
1949 W. Havighurst Signature of Time 11 He wanted to keep going..not to stop till he had reached the last limit, the farthest point, the final headland.
2012 L. Richards Bring Darkness to Light ix. 215 They drove past the last house on the outskirts of town.
4. Following all others in status, rank, importance, or excellence; that comes at the end of a series arranged in order of rank or estimation; lowest. Now somewhat rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > [adjective] > most
worsteOE
lastc1275
tail1473
worstest1768
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 221 So sulle þo uerste bie last and þo laste ferst.
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 108 Þe fifþe, ȝif he be furst in werk among his peris and last in ordre.
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. pr. v. l. 1210 Gemmes drawen to hem self a litel of þe laste beaute [L. postremae..pulchritudinis] of þe worlde.
1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 102 I runne as Hippomanes did with Atlanta, who was last in the course, but first at the crowne.
1628 T. Taylor Practise of Repentance xxviii. 267 It is like he had not beene last among the Apostles in number, who was before them all in the Kingdome.
1725 J. Swift Let. 25 Jan. in Misc. (1745) X. 77 Eat like a Turk, Sleep like a Dormouse; Be last at Work, At Victuals foremost.
1772 S. Whyte Shamrock 290 Bellerophon then made his Tender, Disdaining to be last in Splendor.
1864 W. N. Chipperfield in Ann. Rept. Madras Med. College 76 Lacey, for a long period, was last in the class, but..he has bestirred himself, and now stands thirteenth.
1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus Poems xlix. 6 He as easily last among the poets As thou surely the first among the pleaders.
1996 PC Mag. Aug. 213/3 The unit wasn't a performance stand-out among 4X drives. It was last among the tested units in our..test suite.
5. Remaining or arrived at after others have disappeared, have been removed, used, dealt with, etc.; the only remaining.Sometimes merely a contextual use of sense B. 1.every last: see every adj. and pron. Phrases 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > one > only one > [adjective] > only remaining
last1340
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > that which is left or remainder > [adjective] > remaining after others of its kind > only remaining
last1340
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 246 (MED) Huanne hi byeþ y-cliue op al to þe laste stape, oþerhuil hit behoueþ guo doun be loȝnesse.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xii. 59 Thou schalt not go thennis, til thou ȝelde also the last ferthing.
?a1425 (?1373) Lelamour Herbal (1938) f. 9v (MED) Hit bryngiþ oute þe laste burþen of a woman when she haþe borne childe.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxvi They of necessitie doe flee to the laste remedye.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 118 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) Such a one I could name, upon whom..our last hopes now rest.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iv. i. 270 We ready are to trie our fortunes, To the last man. View more context for this quotation
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ii. 20 This night our last Slave run away.
1742 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 10 June (1966) II. 287 Being allways at his last shirt and last Guinea.
1781 J. H. Campe Robinson the Younger xxvi. 196 Both vowed faithfully to assist each other, to the last drop of their blood.
1831 O. W. Holmes Last Leaf in Amateur (Boston) 26 Mar. 261/2 And if I should live to be The last leaf upon the tree.
1872 J. S. Coyne Woman in Red iii. 53 'Tis my last chance in the game of life.
1918 J. A. Altsheler Masters of Peaks v. 107 Do not tear it [sc. a letter] in pieces and throw them away but burn it to the last and least little fragment.
1942 T. Bailey Pink Camellia x. 76 I wouldn't marry you if you were the last man on earth.
2002 A. Phillips Prague iv. iv. 312 But he did feel a last flicker, a snuffed-wick fondness for this girl.
6. Most extreme; greatest in degree; ultimate. Cf. earlier last end n. at Compounds. Now literary.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > of the very highest degree
overly1340
lasta1387
for-greatc1440
consummatea1530
super-superlative1607
yondmost1608
meridian1648
sovereign1749
outside1843
ultra-high1936
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 43 (MED) Þe Affres..overcome Marcus Regulus wiþ al his oost at þe laste mescheef [L. ultima pernicie].
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 107 It is made a grete flewme..by laste hardnyng [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. vttermore induracioun].
1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer iv. sig. Xx.iii In the last degree of perfection throughe perticular vnderstandinge he guideth her to the vniuersall vnderstandinge.
1638 C. Aleyn Hist. Henrie VII 78 Nothing but a crowne can adde The last perfection to their power and state.
1677 E. C. tr. A. de La Roche-Guihen Asteria & Tamberlain i. 18 You see again at your feet a rash man, who..is come to demand of you a favour of the last importance.
1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels II. 424 One of the last Affronts, capable of being passed upon any Man.
1711 Light to Blind in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 110 A Prince, who with the last zeal is desir'd by suffering nations.
1775 J. Harris Philos. Arrangem. xiii. 338 Demosthenes, in whom Rhetoric attained it's last Perfection.
1827 W. Scott Life Napoleon V. xiii. 408 Territory of the last and most important consequence.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 395 Their Church was suffering the last excess of injury and insult.
1875 E. White Life in Christ (1878) iii. xxii. 325 The citation of these words..in order to support the speculation..seems to the last degree perverse.
1927 H. F. Carlill Socrates 53 It is evidently of the last importance that we should be under no delusions in such a matter.
1935 G. Blake Shipbuilders vii. 188 He began..to flush at the thought of passing before the eyes of the neighbours to queue up with the work-shies and the halflins at the Buroo, that last humiliation of his artisan pride.
1992 G. Adair Post-modernist always rings Twice 97 Aesthetically speaking, there isn't one of these films..that is not repellent to the last degree.
7. Most recent in time; immediately preceding; just passed by or elapsed; latest.
a. Of a recurring division of time.With proper names, as of days and months, the adjective may precede or follow the noun, as last Tuesday or Tuesday last, last January or January last.In adverbial phrases without a preposition in earlier use typically with this (now rare) or †the.
(a) Of a division of a day, in singular: of or belonging to yesterday, as last evening, † last morning, last night, etc.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > yesterday > [adverb]
yesterdayOE
lasta1400
this hinder day1487
yesternight1546
yester1647
yestern?1745
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > most recent > of a time, period, or season
last past1398
lasta1400
the world > time > relative time > the past > yesterday > [adverb] > yesterday morning
yestermorninga1586
last morninga1616
yestermorn1702
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 16122 A siȝt Þat she in hir slepyng say: þis ilke laste nyȝt.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Fvi I am the soule of hym that thou watched the last nyght.
1588 Narr. Def. Berghen 21 Sept. in Ancaster MSS (Hist. MSS. Comm.) (1907) 205 The Enemy being this last night comen nearer to the Towne.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 74 Last morning You could not see to wipe my shooes. View more context for this quotation
1677 London Gaz. No. 1245/3 This last night a small Fisher Boat..was driving in this Bay for Herrings.
1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd i. i. Song i Last Morning I was gay and early out.
1769 H. Walpole Let. 30 Aug. (1857) V. 183 She and I went to the Boulevard last night after supper.
1776 W. Heath Let. 10 Dec. in J. Judd Corr. Van Cortlandt Family (1977) 150 The last evening I received orders from his Excellency George Washington to cross the North River.
1816 Ld. Byron Childe Harold: Canto III xxviii. 17 Last noon beheld them full of lusty life, Last eve in Beauty's circle proudly gay.
1862 G. A. Sala Twice around Clock 54 The freshest news of last night's fire in Holborn, or last night's division in the House, or last night's opera at Her Majesty's.
1905 Washington Post 15 July 13/3 Laurel Fire Company, No. 2, met last evening and elected the following officers for the ensuing term.
1982 M. Gibson Long Walks in Afternoon (1985) 62 Only last afternoon I walked down the fireroad that winds through these woods.
2013 N.Y. Times 6 Jan. (Late ed.) (Review section) 5/4 I'm trying to watch a video of a nipple slip from last night's episode of ‘Real Housewives of Atlanta’.
(b) Of a period, season, etc., in singular. Often in collocations used adverbially.
Π
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Miller's Tale (Ellesmere) (1870) l. 3430 I saugh to day a cors yborn to chirche That now on monday last I saugh hym wirche.
1447 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) i. 27 (MED) The whiche by the seide lordis this last terme..thus ruled, and commaunded nywe bondis to be made.
1502 in N. H. Nicolas Privy Purse Expenses Elizabeth of York (1830) 110 Tharrerags of the last yere.
1513 E. Howard Let. 12 Apr. in Lett. & Papers relating to War with France (Navy Rec. Soc.) (1897) 122 The Monday last, the wynd roosse soon to N.N.E.
1562 in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 290 Abought Michaellmas laste this Newcomes wyffe ded dwell in Sibble hedibgham with hur husbonde.
1648 A. B. Lett. Gentleman Kent 2 The Triall of those persons engaged in the disturbance at Canterbury last Christmas.
1677 E. Smith in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 37 His Majesty..went on Munday last to Windsor to see his workemen.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 53. ⁋4 Yours of Saturday last.
1795 W. Cowper Pairing Time 28 A Finch..With golden wing and satin poll, A last year's bird.
1804 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 12 166 In the last fortnight, a number of subjects..have been submitted to the test.
1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. I. xxiv. 312 Yet last summer was a most favorable one for ice-melting.
1872 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 185 Last fall a Chicago merchant shipped a fair stock of merchandise to Eldorado.
1909 A. Warner Your Child & Mine 201 Where were we last Easter, anyway?
1948 K. Ferrier Let. 23 Jan. (2003) ii. 51 We left New York on Monday last.
1967 M. Braly On the Yard xiii. 213 He's got you figured for five tampings this last year.
2003 Prospect Sept. 24/1 One humid evening last Ramadan [etc.].
(c) With the noun in plural, often modified by few (also several). See also branch B. II.
Π
1630 J. Makluire Buckler of Bodilie Health 108 If the passage of the belly bee stopped..the last moneths, the trypes being straitted by the matrix, let them vse broth of barley.
1659 J. Gauden Ἱερα Δακρυα iii. xxvii. 356 If the sacrilegious petulancy and malice of Man had not so assaulted them in these last few years, that [etc.].
1750 S. Johnson Rambler No. 71. ⁋11 Among the improvements made by the last centuries in human knowledge.
1815 Hist. Verulam & St. Alban's 238 Its [sc. the art of staining glass's] revival has been the source..of great expence for these last several years of Mr. Shephard of St. Alban's.
1886 Pop. Sci. Monthly Jan. 292 I had..in the last days inoculated Joseph Meister with the most virulent virus.
1928 J. Galsworthy Swan Song iii. xiii, in Mod. Comedy (1929) 772 And was it final, and he freed for ever from the carking anxiety of these last months?
1957 P. White Let. 7 June (1994) v. 119 My life has been hell for the last several weeks.
2002 Borneo Post 18 Nov. 22/4 Sawn timber prices are weakening currently due to oversupply in the last few recent months.
2006 Guardian 4 Feb. (Money section) 2/2 During the last few days, thousands of private investors have registered to buy shares in the soon-to-be-privatised defence research business.
b. Of an action, event, occasion, etc.See also last time at Phrases 3d.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > most recent
youngestOE
last1411
latest1447
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [adjective] > most recent > in fashion
last1805
1411 Rolls of Parl.: Henry IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Nov. 1411 §13. m. 14 The last parlement of oure sayd liege lord.
c1450 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Rawl.) (1869) B. xviii. l. 311 And now for thi last lesynge [c1400 Laud continues ylore we haue Adam, And al owre lordeship].
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry IV f. xviii So muche was their courages abated..with the remembraunce of the last conflicte and batail.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 155 When did you lose your daughter?.. In this last Tempest.
1669 A. Marvell Let. 27 Nov. in Poems & Lett. (1971) II. 93 Hauing writ to you last Post saves me the labor of a long letter this.
?1734 P. Shaw Chem. Lect. ix. 168 In our last Lecture we endeavoured to explain [etc.].
1805 H. Lee Canterbury Tales V. 292 He wore his best Brutus wig, which was curled in the last new taste.
1842 Countess of Blessington Idler in France II. 8 An amusing instance of the amour propre of a Parisian cook was related to me by the gourmand Lord.., the last time we dined at his house.
1869 Daily News 29 Jan. 7/1 Alluding to a certain Welsh mortgage, which he had called attention to at their last meeting.
1917 F. Klickmann Between Larch-woods & Weir ii. 21 The vermilion satin cushion embroidered with yellow eschscholtzias, that had lain in a trunk in the attic since the last Sale of Work but two.
1954 G. Smith Flaw in Crystal (1963) xxi. 212 During the last war, the art of double bluff was carried to a fantastic pitch of refinement.
2001 Pop. Sci. Aug. 20/1 Exoskeletons will have to be lighter and more flexible than the military's last attempt at a wearable machine.
c. Of a person, animal, or other living thing in relation to an action, function, etc.
Π
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. v. cxxx. f. lxvi/2 Ye bysshopriche of Rochestre was than voyde by reason yt Romanus ye last Bysshop was a dreynte.
1597 A. Hartwell tr. D. Lopes Rep. Kingdome of Congo iii. sig. S4 This Crosse the last King, that dead is, Don Aluaro father to the King that now is, renewed and made another of the same bignes.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 80 Our last King, Whose image euen but now appear'd to vs. View more context for this quotation
1672 H. Hickman Bonasus Vapulans 130 Perhaps our last Amenders of the Liturgy did put audible, instead of loud.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 109. ⁋3 He was the last Man that won a Prize in the Tilt-Yard.
1787 H. Swinburne Trav. Spain (ed. 2) I. xiii. 154 The present archbishop of Valencia, as well as the last one, is the son of a peasant.
1836 Amer. Turf Reg. & Sporting Mag. Nov. 105 There is no better nor more fashionable bred horse,..than Bay Middleton, the last winner of the Derby.
1877 Appletons' Jrnl. Apr. 337/1 The others seconded the last speaker.
1933 ‘E. Cambridge’ Hostages to Fortune i. i. 30 Stone mantelpieces which the last owners had whitened with hearthstone.
2004 C. Manby Girl meets Ape xxii. 130 If someone stops you in the street tomorrow and asks who was the last person you shagged, you'll have to tell them it was Timothy Lauder.
8. That represents the final stage in a process; leaving nothing further to be done or said; conclusive, definitive. Earliest in the last word at word n. and int. Phrases 3c(b).See also last resort n.
ΘΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > [adjective] > conclusive, final
definitivec1386
last1509
peremptory1532
determinate1533
peremptorc1550
determined1561
concludent1571
finitive1593
concluding1620
conclusive1649
ultimate1688
undiscussible1860
unarguable1881
1509 tr. A. de la Sale Fyftene Ioyes of Maryage (de Worde) (new ed.) iii. sig. C.vijv Alwaye with me the last worde [Fr. la derreniere parolle] shall remayne.
1584 J. Rainolds & J. Hart Summe of Conf. viii. 628 Both the canons of that Councell which referred the causes of Bishops to the Patriarkes, did mention them as the last Iudges: & the lawes of Emperours which granted appeales from Metropolitans to them, granted no appeale from them to any other.
1654 J. Bramhall Just Vindic. Church of Eng. viii. 232 The Catholick Church..is the last visible Judge of controversies, and the supream Ecclesiastical Court.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 170 Money, that like the Swords of Kings, Is the last reason of all things.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 142. ⁋8 Whatever shall be the last decision of the law.
1788 Eng. Rev. Jan. 79 On every subject that is submitted to public investigation, the last appeal is made to the world.
1834 J. Sparks Life E. Allen in Libr. Amer. Biogr. I. 242 Having tried in vain all the peaceable means of securing their rights, they resolved to appeal to the last arbiter of disputes.
1877 Spirit of Times 15 Dec. 524/1 According to the rules of her draw poker, the party who puts up the straddle is..entitled to the last say, both before and after cards are drawn.
1953 G. E. M. Anscombe tr. L. Wittgenstein Philos. Investig. 86 ‘The line intimates to me which way I am to go’ is only a paraphrase of: it is my last arbiter for the way I am to go.
1997 A. Barnett This Time vi. 177 They sit as a constitutional court as well as a court of last appeal.
II. With specification of number.
9. With a cardinal numeral.
a. Following the numeral.The more usual word order until the 17th cent.
(a) gen.In Middle English also immediately preceded by the (cf. quots. c1384, c1475).
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [adjective] > last in order > with cardinal numbers
last1340
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 13 Þe neȝende article and þe þri laste belongeþ to þe holi gost.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xv. 1 Seuen aungels hauynge seuen the laste plages.
c1450 Med. Recipes (BL Add. 33996) in F. Heinrich Mittelengl. Medizinbuch (1896) 144 A veyne by twene two laste fyngeres.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 94v (MED) But two þe laste causis ben as it were an vndirstondynge.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aiv The two last dayes [perteyneth], to the contemplatiue lyfe.
?c1535 L. Cox Arte Rhethorycke (new ed.) sig. Av These thre laste be properly callid speces or kindes or oracions.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 107 b Bothe one first worde must ofte be rehersed, and likewise al one last worde. What winneth the hartes of men? Liberalitie. What continueth the estate of a king? Liberalitie.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xliiijv Which two last were not agreed vpon.
1610 J. Donne Pseudo-martyr To Rdr. sig. ¶1 To giue my Reasons, why I respited the handling of the two last Chapters, till another time.
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 246 For those three or four last Ages.
1701 E. Settle Virgin Prophetess iv. 24 I'll ring one last, tho' almost hopeless, Larum-bell.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 591 Three Parliaments had sat. The two last had not mentioned him.
1783 S. Johnson Lives Eng. Poets (rev. ed.) IV. 367 The three last stanzas are not more remarkable for just rhymes.
1818 W. Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets iii Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton... The two last have had justice done them by the voice of common fame.
1881 Daily News 15 Sept. 3/2 The engine..struck the side of the three last carriages.
1929 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 9 Nov. 7/3 Bishop Leete and Bishop Edgar Blake were the two last area bishops of Dr. Clarence E. Flynn..before coming to Berkeley.
1999 Times Educ. Suppl. 7 May 15/5 New legislation will allow him to take into account the two last financial years when exercising capping powers.
(b) Theology. the four last things [after post-classical Latin quatuor novissima (15th cent.)] : death, judgement, heaven, and hell.
ΚΠ
1479 Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (Caxton) Prol. This book named Cordyal whiche treteth of the four last and final thinges.
c1522 T. More Treat. Memorare Nouissima in Wks. (1557) I. 76 The busi minding of thy .iiii. last things, and the depe consideracion therof, is the thyng that shal kepe thee fro synne.
1606 P. Howard Foure-Fould Medit. (title page) The foure last things: viz...the Houre of Death. Day of Iudgement. Paines of Hell. Ioyes of Heauen.
1734 J. Trapp (title) Thoughts upon the four last things... A poem in four parts.
1812 H. Weber Tales of East III. 15 (note) The Mohammedans entertain a great many strange notions as to the four last things.
1945 E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited i. vii. 173 I can't remember all he told me..plenary indulgences, four last things.
2011 S. Tarlow Ritual, Belief & Dead in Early Mod. Brit. & Ireland v. 175 ‘Eschatology’ refers to the study of the four last things: death, judgement, Heaven and Hell.
b. Preceding the numeral.Now the more usual word order.
Π
1408 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Fairf.) Apoc. xv. 1 The laste seuene [?c1425 BL Add. 11858 the seuene laste; later versions the seven last, the seven laste].
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 7 Galien..made..sixe of þe first bookes of Terapeucia,..and þe laste two, of apostemes and of many sekenessis in þe whiche byfalleþ hande werk.
1588 A. Fraunce Lawiers Logike Ded. sig. ¶3 The vnprobable assertion comprised in your last two Epithetes.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. iv. 205 In the 12th and 13th, or last two Columns of your Journal.
1744 Gentleman's Mag. 14 Suppl. 716/2 The last five verses at the end of the fable.
1805 Johnson's Dict. Eng. Lang. (ed. 9) at Disloyal The last three [1755 three latter] senses are now obsolete.
1843 Witness (Edinb.) 1 June 2/3 The events of the last twelve days.
1898 Daily News 8 Aug. 6/5 The last two volumes..of their new edition of Macaulay's History.
1925 K. Lake Relig. Yesterday & To-morrow 63 The sudden rise of Fundamentalism in the last five years.
1960 J. Barth Sot-weed Factor ii. xii. 232 The last ten shillings of his own small savings had..been sacrificed in the distance-run pool.
2002 J. Rink Musical Performance iii. 47 The opening tempo returns at the reprise, and the last three bars are played Adagio.
10. Following an ordinal numeral: that is the specified number of places from the end of a series.
Π
?1554 Godfridus' Bk. Astron. (rev. ed.) sig. K.iiv In the .iiii. or .v. last daye of Maye, in the both armes be let no blode he shall haue no Feuers.
1660 tr. R. Arnauld d'Andilly Manner of ordering Fruit-trees ix. 132 They put forth spriggs onely at the second or third last leaf-buds.
1761 Philos. Trans. 1760 (Royal Soc.) 51 503 In the second or third last quotation, candor is used in the same sense as in Hyginus, for brightness.
1847 J. Gaugain Lady's Assistant (ed. 4) 50 Take in by knitting the fourth and fifth last stitches on the heel or sole part together.
1938 I. Goldberg Wonder of Words ix. 186 There are technical names for words having accented last, second-last, and third-last syllables.
2000 Sydney Morning Herald 31 May 19/7 It was the second-last day of Parliament that year.
C. n.4Cf. earlier use as noun in prepositional phrases at Phrases 1a.
1. With singular and plural agreement. The person(s) or thing(s) following all the others in a series, succession, order, or enumeration; the one(s) subsequent to all others in position, occurrence, etc. Also: the remaining one(s) (cf. sense C. 3b).See also first and last at first adj., adv., and n.2 Phrases 1e.
a. gen.
(a) With the or possessive, with relative or infinitive clause, or adverbial or adjectival complement.
Π
a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 235 Fram þa forme man to þa latst þe wrð et þes wrldes ende.
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 10 (MED) Ich am þe first & þe last in lijf, and was ded & nov I lyue for euermore.
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 826 Be nat þe last To come whan holy watyr ys cast.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 44 (MED) Thei were the furst atte the masse and the laste therfrom.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Sam. xix. 11 Why wyl ye be the last to fetch the kynge agayne vnto his house?
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost i. i. 158 I am the last that will last keepe his oth. View more context for this quotation
1648 R. Weldon Doctr. Script. 150 Who himselfe came downe from Heaven, unto the last alive of his blessed Secretaries (his beloved Saint John).
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) 305 The last who was entituled..with that dignity.
1711 A. Collins Peerage Eng. II. 421 John de Heneage then of Hainson, being the last that used the Prefixion of de to his Name.
1757 Gentleman's Mag. Sept. 394/2 The deficiencies of the pension fund will by no means be the last to be made good by parliament.
1821 J. Baillie Metrical Legends Exalted Characters 233 Did one dear inmate play her part, The last asleep, the earliest waking.
1865 W. E. H. Lecky Hist. Rationalism I. i. 132 The last who perished judicially in England.
1925 C. Roth Last Florentine Republic 337 On 4 April 1532, a Parlamento was held—the last in the history of Florence.
1971 D. A. Yallop To encourage Others ii. 71 The last that Craig remembers is being out in mid-air.
2005 T. Hall Salaam Brick Lane ii. 45 There's not even a kosher restaurant left. Blooms on the Whitechapel Road was the last to go.
(b) With the or possessive, without construction.
Π
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 14 (MED) Þe zeue sacremens..cristninge..and þe laste, anoylinge.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 28v (MED) And þe seuenþe of hem and þe laste is ioyned in þe same maner to þe firste spondile of þe rigge.
1537 Inst. Christen Man 1 b They dyd call it..extreme unction, bycause it is the last in respecte of the other inunctions whiche be ministred.
a1568 A. Scott Poems (1896) xii. 39 It is bot waist Mo wirde to taist, Ȝe haif my laist.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 25 I have two chaces. T. The last was not a chace, but a losse.
1640 J. Parkinson Theatrum Botanicum xvi. civ. 1558 Almost two third parts are taken from it, which are the weakest, before the last and strongest riseth.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 24 That Sun..Which from the first has shone on Ages past, Enlights the present, and shall warm the last.
1754 S. Derrick tr. C. de Bergerac Voy. to Moon 48 I endeavoured to make him accept of three Phials, the first filled with the Elixir Salutis, the second with Powder of Projection, and the last with Potable Gold.
1800 W. Wordsworth in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads II. 57 The Briar quak'd and much I fear, Those accents were his last.
1810 Monthly Mag. Apr. 263/2 Three others [sc. sharks] of equal size were successively caught; in the last were found sixty-two living young ones.
1881 Pop. Sci. Monthly Sept. 718/1 The first flowers that came out were bright, but the others grew paler, and the last were nearly white.
1957 E. A. Soper Wild Encounters 132 The badgers appeared, and disappeared into the sets again over such a long period that it was almost a relief when the last had gone away.
2006 Vanity Fair Nov. 255/3 He..made a series of telephone calls, the last to Sir Melville Macnaghten, the C. I. D. chief.
(c) With the and followed by of.the last of the Mohicans: see Mohican n. 1b.
Π
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xlvii. 2 And fyue men þe laste [L. Extremos] of his breþeren, he sette befor þe kyng.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Amos ix. 1 Y schal sle bi swerd the laste of hem.
c1450 Art Nombryng in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 42 (MED) Me most bryng the last save one of the multipliyng into the last of þe nombre to be multipliede.
a1500 Eng. Conquest Ireland (Rawl.) (1896) 53 (MED) Geraud and alexandyr, thegh they were fryst Sette in the laste of the hoste..Smyten out to the formyst.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxliiij She was the last of the right lyne and name, of Plantagenet.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 86 The last of these fower vertues the Polands want, that is, celeritie.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xii. 330 Of Kings The last . View more context for this quotation
1740 J. Grassineau tr. S. De Brossard Musical Dict. 174 Paranete Synemmenon, the last but one of those chords added in order to make a sound fall between Mese and Paramese.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1775 I. 460 How it ended I know not, as it is cut off abruptly at the foot of the last of these proof pages.
1840 W. M. Thackeray in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 155/2 When the executioner had come to the last of the heads, he lifted it up.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 12 When the last of those last moments came.
1958 J. Betjeman Coll. Poems 10 You'll come to Enniscourthy Drive, Coolgreena is the last of all.
2011 M. Roffey With Kisses of his Mouth 344 The Globe was a dive, the last of the Notting Hill shebeens.
b. With the, or demonstrative or relative determiner. With anaphoric reference: the last-mentioned person(s) or thing(s).For use after cardinal numerals see note at sense B. 9a. Where only two things or persons are mentioned, the latter is now often preferred.
Π
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 72 Of eare is al þis leste [a1250 Nero al þet leste] to ancre bi houe.
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 74 This last conteyneth all þe toþer foure with in him.
1650 Briefe Relation Some Affaires No. 44 648 An Arrest upon the difference betwixt the Dutchesses of Richelieu and Aiguillon, whereby the last was commanded [etc.].
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World viii. 215 With a Fireship and 3 Tenders, which last had not a constant crew.
1734 Philos. Trans. 1733–4 (Royal Soc.) 38 191 The third Chapter treats of the Nautilus and Nautilites, which last he takes to be a Stone form'd under Ground in the Cavities of the Nautilus.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) I. 418 It..contains..the history of the knowledge, and of the errors of his time. These last are sometimes imputed to him very unjustly.
1840 Communication Several Rep. Geol. Surv. (State of N.-Y. Assembly No. 50) 71 This substance when ground is..mixed with white lead, of which last it has become a very common adulterant.
1864 M. E. Braddon Henry Dunbar II. iii. 43 To this last, love is faith.
1918 F. S. Philbrick tr. R. Huebner Hist. Germanic Private Law ii. vii. 345 These feudal debts..were ‘debita feudalia respectiva’, as contrasted with those that were ‘absoluta’, which last were effective against everyone who acquired the fief.
1937 L. Jones Cwmardy iii. 39 ‘It was not my fault, Shane bach,’ he began, ‘I didn't want to fight, but I couldn't leave my butties down, could I?’ The last was a plaintive query.
2000 D. Adebayo My Once upon Time (2001) iii. 40 Waiters served drinks on trays to seated figures... I suppose these last were well-heeled holidaymakers.
c. Coupled with least. Cf. sense B. 1c and last but not least at Phrases 2b.
Π
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. iv. sig. C8v Among many strange conceits you tolde me..truly euen the last..would not seeme the least vnto me.
1608 C. Cornwallis Let. 12 May in E. Sawyer Memorials Affairs of State (1725) II. 396 Yet are those the last and least that are cared for.
1659 F. Aungier Let. 15 Feb. in P. Gaunt Corr. H. Cromwell (2007) 454 The last and least is the worst.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 237 The last, least, and most beautiful of all [the sagoins], is the Mico.
1821 J. Bentham Liberty of Press i. 18 The last, though not the least, of all their fears.
1871 W. H. Dixon Her Majesty's Tower (ed. 3) III. x. 101 Calvert, not to be the last and least, threw in his lot with Gondomar and the rising cause.
1944 J. Leeper Eng. Ballet 8 Cecchetti, the last and by no means the least of the long line of Milanese maîtres de ballet who had trained dancers of European renown.
2006 L. T. Asong No Way to Die (2009) i. i. 10 And the last but not the least to pass is Max-im-ill-ian Esse-mmo.
d. With the or possessive and an ordinal numeral. The one(s) the specified number of places from the end of a series. With of.
Π
1830 R. Chambers Life James I II. xi. 312 The year 1624, the second last of his life, was thus spent by King James, in [etc.].
1880 W. F. Skene Celtic Scotl. III. 122 Dathi the second last of the pagan monarchs of Ireland.
1904 S. Joyce Compl. Dublin Diary 29 Mar. (1971) 22 His affairs have the proper air of reality. His second last was his cousin Katsy Murray.
1917 D. W. Thompson On Growth & Form iii. 111 Choosing two values out of the above experimental series (say the second and the second-last), we have [etc.].
1985 C. McCullough Creed for Third Millennium (1986) v. 158 She was the third-last of thirteen children.
2008 R. Ponting & G. Armstrong Captain's Diary 2008 v. 160 Pup was on to bowl the 69th over, probably the fourth-last of the Test, unless we bowled quick enough to squeeze a fifth over in.
2. With the.
a. The person or thing of lowest status, rank, importance, or excellence. Also with plural reference. Frequently coupled with first.
Π
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 221 So sulle þo uerste bie last and þo laste ferst.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. liii. 3 Wee desireden hym, dispisid, and the laste of men, man of sorewes, and witende infirmyte.
1575 T. Vautrollier tr. M. Luther Comm. Epist. to Galathians f. 198v They..doe acknowledge him to be the Lord of all, and Sauiour of the world: whom notwithstanding they heare to haue bene the most miserable of all others, the last of men, yea a very scorne of men, and a contempt of the world.
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes III. xxiii. iii. 664 That famous Odinus, not accounted the last among those Ethnicke Gods.
1683 J. Dryden & N. Lee Duke of Guise iv. iii. 123 Farewel the basest, and the last of Men.
1711 A. Pope Ess. Crit. 13 Oh may some Spark of your Cœlestial Fire The last, the meanest of your Sons inspire.
1781 W. Cowper Expostulation 242 The last of nations now, though once the first.
1837 J. H. Guenebault tr. J. J. Virey Nat. Hist. Negro Race 103 The first among the monkeys is still very inferior to the last among men.
1849 C. Dickens David Copperfield (Tauchn.) II. vii. 122 Mr. Barkis was far from being the last among them, in his regret at our departure.
1925 Princeton Alumni Weekly 27 May 821/2 It is..a tribute to the members of the team. from the first to the last.
1993 N. J. Dawood tr. Koran (new ed.) v. 73 Send down a table to us out of heaven, that it may become a recurring festival to us, to the first of us and to the last of us.
2011 T. Allan Virtual Water v. 235 (heading) The last among unequals.
b. In idiomatic use, followed by infinitive. The person who or group which would be the most unlikely, most unwilling, or most unsuitable to do or say a specified thing.
Π
1719 tr. J. R. De Missy Hist. Cardinal Alberoni 261 He did not trouble himself to raise Enemies against them [sc. the Dutch], being convinc'd, that for the sake of Commerce alone, they would be the last to enter into all the Projects..against him.
1803 T. R. Malthus Ess. Princ. Population (new ed.) iii. 3 That an increase of population..is..absolutely necessary to a further increase in the annual produce of the land.., I should be the last to deny.
1932 W. Y. Elliott New Brit. Empire vi. 172 The neo-Imperialists who hope for a closer economic union with the..Dominions would be the last to give up India.
2003 Ski Dec. 72/2 I'd be the last to suggest keeping every bit of ski gear and memorabilia. But remember, someday, some piece of it may be important.
3.
a. With possessive or (later) the. The final day or moments of a person's life; the end of life, death.
ΘΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > point of
death's gateOE
the gate(s of death1340
lasta1382
(in) the article (formerly also articles) of death1483
death's door1515
the valley of the shadow of death1535
(one's) last gasp1564
death door1601
extremity1602
on one's last legs1614
verge1750
the Great (Continental) Divide1908
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. xxx. 1 That he glade in his laste [L. ut lætetur in novissimo suo].
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Parson's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) §20 He þt..verraily repenteth hym in his laste [c1415 Lansd. last ende], holy chirche yet hopeth his sauacioun.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 94 The said prest mynystred the sacramentis of confession and penaunce to sike folke of the said hospitall, labouryng in theire last.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes sig. Aa.iiiv Bothe in calme or blast, Your faithfull frende, and will be to my last.
1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. iv. vi. 451 Who would not wonder that those most wise men vsed not theirown hands at their last?
1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. D4v The..hautinesse of Spirit, which accompanied him to his last.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1426 The last of me or no I cannot warrant. View more context for this quotation
1817 Ld. Byron Manfred iii. i. 88 When Rome's sixth Emperor was near his last.
1860 C. J. Lever One of Them xlvi As he drew nigh his last his sufferings gave little intervals of rest.
1880 F. Nightingale Let. 2 Feb. in Coll. Wks. (2001) I. 775 Up to the last, she always responded to or repeated her favourite hymn and prayer.
1921 J. C. Lincoln Galusha the Magnificent xiii. 239 I only remember her 'long towards her last.
1962 R. Weaver & D. Weaver tr. J. Renoir Renoir xxi. 269 Right up to the last she had her eyes fixed on pictures my father had painted of me when I was six years old.
b. With the. The final part or portion; the conclusion, the end; the remainder, the rest. Chiefly with of.
(a) gen.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun]
endc1000
endingc1000
finea1300
conclusion1382
ooc1384
close1399
finance1449
terminationc1500
last?1520
winding up1560
wind-up1573
wind-up-all1573
conclusure1578
clause1581
upshot1582
desinence1598
omega1599
Godspeed1606
finis1682
finale1786
finish1790
tie-up1829
Z1877
curtains1912
taps1917
?1520 C. Goodwin Chaunce Dolorous Louer sig. B.ijv Adue for euer I cannot endure longe Wherfore this is the last of my songe.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 171 Sit still, and heare the last of our sea-sorrow. View more context for this quotation
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. 18 We will draw to the last with a Man of War in Chase and taking of her Prize.
1729 P. Walkden Diary 10 Oct. (1866) (modernized text) 49 I sowed the last of my wheat.
1731 Fog's Weekly Jrnl. 16 Oct. Rather than stay to hear the last of Will's Nonsense, those that opposed him went away.
1791 T. Procter Diary 21 Apr. in W. Lowrie & M. St. C. Clarke Amer. State Papers (1832) IV. 155 The last of worship was performed to what they call a brag dance.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack xxvii. 184 We..made sail, stemming the last of the ebb.
1881 G. Vanderbilt Social Hist. Flatbush xxiii. 279 The last of the crop was gathered in October or November.
1918 J. Galsworthy Five Tales 308 The last of daylight from without mingled with faint intrusion from the lamp within.
1965 D. MacKenzie Lonely Side of River viii. 212 The girl sank the last of her Americano.
1989 F. Fyfield Shadows on Mirror (1990) v. 122 Sarah's taxi juddered to a halt outside her door, while the driver delivered the last of his homily on the troubles of married life.
(b) Of a period of time. Cf. sense C. 4a.the last of pea-time: see pea-time n.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the latter part
eveningOE
enda1200
eventide?c1225
finea1350
tail1377
latter (last) enda1382
issue1484
latter day?1498
waning1561
last days1572
heel1584
sunsetting1593
fall1596
lag-end1598
posterior1598
sunset1599
dotage1606
exit1615
stern1623
waning timea1639
last1683
heel piecea1764
shank1828
tail-end1845
tailpiece1869
tag1882
teatime1913
end-point1921
1683 T. Tryon Way to Health v. 125 The Seasons of the year..most dangerous to contract Diseases in, are from the middle of June to the last of October.
1724 J. Maubray Female Physician iii. xxxviii. 154 From the beginning of Autumn to the last of Winter.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. Concl. 418 She regrets to this hour, and declares, that she shall to the last of her life, her cruel treatment of that Sister.
1775 B. Romans Conc. Nat. Hist. E. & W. Florida 4 During the last of autumn, and first part of winter, they [sc. winds] are commonly in the north east quarter.
1819 H. A. S. Dearborn Mem. Commerce & Navigation Black Sea I. 335 The Sea of Azof is generally frozen from November until the last of March.
1860 R. Edwards & M. Hopewell Edwards's Great West iii. iv. 300 It was the last of autumn; but..in autumn the snow-storms are abundant.
1893 J. D. Peary My Arctic Jrnl. (1894) xiv 160 The last of winter is leaving us.
1931 A. E. Martin Hist. U.S. II. ii. 24 By the last of May he had formulated his plan and on the twenty-ninth he issued two proclamations.
1943 K. O'Brien (title) The last of summer.
2007 D. Wilson This Age we're living In ii. 38 The last of Christmas was ebbing away.
4.
a. The final day or date of a month. Now chiefly North American. Cf. first n.2 1d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > a month or calendar month > [noun] > specific day of a month
nonesOE
firstc1400
month's day1449
last1528
penultimate1529
third1530
penult1537
penultim1538
month day1546
tenth1580
ninth1589
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. d.ij Dayes forbidden to let bloud, that is the fyrste of Maye, and laste of september and aprile.
1559 J. Willock Let. in Wodrow Soc. Misc. (1844) 274 I haif ressavit ȝour wrytting thys last of Marche at elevin of the cloik befoir none.
1596 Acct.-bk. W. Wray in Antiquary (1896) 32 119 This laste of octobr.
1630 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime (new ed.) vi. 52 He..dyed, Nouember the last, 1623.
1757 H. Walpole Let. 3 Mar. (1840) III. 276 The Admiralty immediately signed the warrant for his execution on the last of February.
1831 Reg. Pennsylvania 1 Jan. 11/1 When it is considered..that the first contracts are dated the last of June, 1826; that the first ground was broken the 4th of July of that year, [etc.].
1939 J. S. McClintock Pioneer Days in Black Hills xxvi. 96 On the last of July, 1876, three men were playing poker in Turner's saloon in Gayville.
1997 M. Bridge Sale of Goods vi. 269 (note) Bills of lading are notoriously dated on that most elastic of dates, the last of the month.
b. With possessive, esp. possessive pronoun, or (somewhat rare) the. The final thing a person or thing does or can do; a final performance of a particular action; used esp. after certain verbs with a cognate object understood, as to breathe one's last (see breathe v. Phrases 1), to look one's last (see look v. Phrases 1b(f)), etc.to expire one's last, to sprawl one's last: see the verb.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > seeing or looking > see [verb (intransitive)] > look or behold > take last look
last1557
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > concluding word or act
upshot1531
last1557
swansong1596
amen1612
last hurrah1960
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > be at an end [verb (intransitive)] > make an end, finish up, or conclude > take a last look
last1557
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 108 When the day of hope is past, Geue vp thy sprite and sigh the last.
1567 G. Turberville Epitaphes, Epigrams f. 19 When the spirite giues vp and bodie breathes his last.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 112 Eyes looke your last: Armes take your last embrace. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iii. vii. 89 This is Timons last . View more context for this quotation
1659 A. Burgess Script. Directory ii. 10 When thou art breathing the last, when thou shalt see the face of creatures no more.
1717 J. Addison tr. Ovid Metamorphoses iii. 46 The Swans..now sung their last, and dy'd.
1790 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 73 in Poems & Songs (1968) II. 559 The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last.
1807 Caitiff of Corsica i. ii. 49 Our most valuable colleague, citizen Mirabeau, has just sighed his last.
1854 Anglo-Amer. Mag. Dec. 58/1 Emily had cried her last the night she landed in England.
1903 O. P. Read Harkriders xvii. 246 The horse lay on the ground, groaning his last.
1948 E. Radford & M. A. Radford Encycl. Superstitions 30 As soon as the master or mistress had breathed the last, a member of the household visited the hives.
1965 M. Drabble Millstone 9 Looking in the shop windows and feeling rather as though I were looking my last on the expensive vegetables and the chocolate rabbits and the cosy antiques.
2012 J. Schubert Death is Stranger xvii. 71 Her momma screamed her last as something streaked by the window.
†c. The final time. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [noun] > the last or most recent time
lasta1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) v. iii. 80 The last that ere I tooke her leaue at Court. View more context for this quotation
d. colloquial. With the or (now somewhat rare) possessive pronoun, and of. The final sight or mention of someone or something; a person's final dealings with or experience of someone or something. Chiefly after to see or to hear.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > [noun] > that which > concluding action, utterance, etc.
swansong1596
last1741
finality1833
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the end of one's dealings with something
last1816
1622 J. Reynolds Triumphs Gods Revenge: 2nd Bk. vi. 13 Hee hath seene his last of her, and..he shall see an end of himselfe.
a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) v. iii. 14 This is my last Of vestall office. View more context for this quotation
1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar i. 13 You have seen your last of her.
1707 C. Cibber Double Gallant ii. 21 Don't flatter your self, Sir, with so vain a hope, for I must tell you once for all, you've seen the last of her.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxvii. 376 My Aunt will never let me hear the last of it.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality x, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 241 ‘Ye hae seen the last o' me, and o' this bonny-dye too,’ said Jenny, holding between her finger and thumb a silver dollar.
1853 M. La Touche Clintons I. i. 11 The boat is fastened quite safely. I have had my last of it. It will be no rowing weather, I'm afraid, when I come here again.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times i. viii. 64 If it was ever to reach your father's ears I should never hear the last of it.
1889 ‘M. Twain’ Connecticut Yankee xxii. 280 That is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side.
1908 S. Kaye-Smith Tramping Methodist xvii. 231 Perhaps I should never see the fields and woods again, perhaps I had enjoyed my last of singing birds..and scampering conies.
1952 B. Walker Ann. Tacitus vi. 126 But the reader of Tacitus has not heard the last of Germanicus.
2010 R. Watson Future Files (new ed.) iii. 93 We haven't seen the last of high oil prices.
5.
a. The most recent letter or other written message sent or received. Now chiefly formal or in commercial use.
ΘΠ
society > communication > correspondence > letter > [noun] > last, next, or your letter
yours1536
last1545
next1595
the favour of your letter1706
1545 in State Papers Henry VIII (1849) X. 576 By my last of the 13 of thinstant I signified to the same of the case successid to the Signor Ludovico de Larme.
1592 H. Wotton Let. 3 Dec. (modernized text) in L. P. Smith Life & Lett. Sir H. Wotton (1907) I. 293 In my last to your Honour from this town, I made answer to the commandment of your letters.
1638 H. Wotton Let. in Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1651) 501 I find in the bowels of your last..much harsh and stiffe matter from Scotland.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ vi. xv. 28 Your last unto me was in French, of the first current.
1700 W. Congreve Let. 2 July (1964) 12 By Your last from Dublin I may guess this will find you at Kilkenny.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones VI. xviii. iv. 189 My worthy Friend, I informed you in my last.
1813 Centinel (Gettysburg, Pa.) 21 Apr. In my last I mentioned that an Indian trail had been discovered.
1868 Rep. Select Comm. Legislative Council Destitute Poor App. p. xv, in Proc. Parl. S. Austral. 1867 III Sir—You say in your last ‘I have not sent you any information as to appointment of Elizabeth Hide.’
1909 W. C. Williams Let. 26 May in Lett. to E. I. Williams (2009) 165 As I will not see ‘that Gertrude’ any other time why seat me beside her on the occasions you mentioned in your last.
1963 J. Fowles Collector ii. 185 As I said in my last it's your money.
2002 T. F. Mayer tr. R. Pole in Corr. I. 231 My second last was of 24 May, in which I reminded the pope that Parpaglia was the man to send to Spain.
b. British colloquial. A person's latest joke, story, or exploit; the latest news, gossip, or anecdote. Now somewhat dated.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [noun] > recent part, piece of news, etc.
latest1814
last1842
1842 in W. Beattie Life & Lett. Thomas Campbell (1850) III. 329 Mr. Sydney Smith was next mentioned. ‘Have you heard his last?’ ‘No—pray let us hear it.’
1870 Cliftonian 1 303 I say,..have you heard the last? There is a fellow in Bristol who will tell you your character for a shilling.
1891 All Year Round 21 Feb. 187/1 Speaking of shopping, have you heard the last about the Kenyons?
1902 N.E.D. at Last Mod. Have you heard Professor X.'s last?
1944 H. Swiggett Most Secret, Most Immediate xvi. 155 ‘What's the last about Mussaeus?’ he asked. ‘He has been out of Washington. They have been very quiet.’
†6. The worst or most extreme instance of. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [noun] > quality or fact of being extreme > highest, utmost, or extreme degree
heightOE
perfectiona1398
utterestc1410
uttermosta1425
tiptoec1440
pinnaclec1450
utmost1472
outmostc1535
extremity1543
abyss1548
top1552
furthest, utmost stretch1558
summa summarum1567
superlative1573
strain1576
extreme1595
fine1596
last1602
yondmost1608
super-superlative1623
pitch1624
utmostness1674
pink1720
supreme1817
ultima Thule1828
peak1902
1602 I. E. Let. from Souldier in Ireland 13 He and all his would rather indure the last of misery then be found guilty of so foule a Treason.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 1079 Even shame, the last of evils. View more context for this quotation
1728 H. Fielding Love in Several Masques i. v. 12 Well positively, going into a Bookseller's shop is to me the last of Fatigues.
1827 W. Scott Life Napoleon I. i. 24 Servitude infers dishonour, and dishonour to a Frenchman is the last of evils.

Phrases

P1. In uses as noun.
a. In phrases with prepositions (forming adverbial phrases).
(a) With at.
(i) at (the) last: (a) at the end, in the end, finally, ultimately; (also, at the last) at the end of one's life; (b) after a while, after a long time. See also alder-last at alder- prefix 1a, alast adv.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > in the end or at last
at lastlOE
at the lastlOE
afinec1325
in the lasta1382
for conclusionc1386
an-endc1390
the lasta1400
in (the) finea1500
at conclusiona1513
in conclusiona1513
at long last1523
at length1525
in (rarely at, upon) the upshot1577
in the final (also last) analysis1786
in the death1958
at the end of the day1974
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > finally or in conclusion
at lastlOE
for finalc1374
in final1393
in fine1545
for conclusion1550
in conclusionc1550
lOE Homily: Evangelium de Virginibus (Corpus Cambr. 303) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 444 Witoðlice æt laste comon þa fif dysige mædena and þus wæren cweðende, hlaford, hlaford, geopena us þas duru.
lOE St. Giles (Corpus Cambr. 303) (1980) 115 Ða, æt læste, gewissode se halige Egidius þam cyninge þæt he lete aræron sum heafodmynstre mid þan ilcan feo þe he him sellan wolde.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 13319 Te laferrd iesu crist. Himm seȝȝde att tallre lattste. Nu shallt tu nemmnedd ben cefas.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 15398 Þuss birrleþþ defell..werrse & werrse drinnchess. & att te lattste drunncnenn þeȝȝ.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13369 A þan laste [c1300 Otho at þan laste] ne mihte mon wite. wha oðerne smite.
c1300 St. Michael (Laud) l. 475 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 313 And ate laste toward us is al blac atþe monþes ende.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. ii. l. 110 Hit schal bi-sitten oure soules sore atte laste.
c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1007 Be þe floure neuer sa fresche it fadis at þe last.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lxxxix. 13 Turne the agayne (o Lorde) at the last, and be gracious vnto thy servauntes.
1589 R. Grenville in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations iii. 734 We thinking him a farre off to haue ben either a Spaniard or French man of warre..discerned him at last to be one of our Consorts.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) v. i. 118 Happilie I haue arriued at the last Vnto the wished hauen of my blisse. View more context for this quotation
1620 J. Skelton Don Quixote II. iv. iv. 46 It is not lost, that comes at last.
1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love Prol. But at the last you threw 'em off with scorn.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace iii. 67 Nothing can comfort a man that must to Hell at last.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 2. ⁋1 His Temper being jovial, he at last got over it.
1764 J. Boswell Jrnl. 27 June in Boswell on Grand Tour (1953) I. 13 Yet did my abominable speculation analyse all into insipidity at last.
1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 60 And at the last, these men of cruel clay Cut Mercy..to the bone.
1860 C. Dickens Uncommerc. Traveller in All Year Round 13 Oct. 17/1 At last to my great joy, I received notice of his safe arrival.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita I. viii. 268 Here at last I had found a man who spoke only of what he had seen, and known.
1904 J. London Sea-wolf vii. 71 At last, after three days of variable winds, we have caught the northeast trades.
1930 G. W. Knight Wheel of Fire ix. 190 Edmund alone steers something of an unswerving tragic course,..slain by his wronged brother, nobly repentant at the last.
1966 D. Newsome Parting of Friends iv. 208 They were groping for a way of salvation which at the last they had to abandon as men without hope.
2005 Mail on Sunday (Nexis) 5 June 85 Well, it's been a long time acoming... But at last Rossini's Il Turco In Italia has reached Covent Garden.
(ii) at long last, (now literary) at the long last: finally, ultimately; after long delay, eventually. [Perhaps partly by association with last n.5]
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > in the end or at last
at lastlOE
at the lastlOE
afinec1325
in the lasta1382
for conclusionc1386
an-endc1390
the lasta1400
in (the) finea1500
at conclusiona1513
in conclusiona1513
at long last1523
at length1525
in (rarely at, upon) the upshot1577
in the final (also last) analysis1786
in the death1958
at the end of the day1974
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell 1398 How than lyke a man he wan the barbican With a sawte of solace at the longe last.
1677 J. Shaw Origo Protestantium ii. 15 Many at long last have done that which in the first attempt they never designed.
1692 R. L'Estrange Fables cxcviii. 168 This Woman..was at the Long-Last prevail'd upon to hear the Will read.
1801 R. S. Post-bag in Coll. Poems, mostly Orig. 154 At long last thought I, I will certainly try What effect by a rhyme can be wrought.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xv. xiv. 211 At long last, on Sunday.
1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 131 We can find a useful and instructive solace in a hearty abuse of human nature, which at the long last is always to blame.
1923 W. de la Mare in Times Lit. Suppl. 3 May 294/2 At long last the acquisition of a technical mastery in any art..is by no means nothing but a gain.
1947 Rotarian May 53/1 At the long last ideas and ideals rule the world.
1971 J. Aiken Nightly Deadshade ii. 21 Someone answers the phone at long last, making me jump.
2005 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 17 Oct. a14/1 At long last, the National Hockey League has seen the light.
(iii) at last!: expressing joy or relief that a long-awaited or longed-for event or situation has finally occurred.
Π
1834 E. Planché Sledge-driver i. 6 Ah! ah! at last! give it to me; how slow you are!
1894 A. Hope Prisoner of Zenda xiv. 146 It was Rupert Hentzau. ‘At last!’ I cried. For we seemed to have him.
1915 J. Turner Let. 21 Apr. in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 8 So you have got the ‘Sphere’, at last.
1952 A. Waugh Guy Renton v. 67 By nine o'clock the women had left the room;..Guy was conscious round the table of a general atmosphere of expansion; as though each was saying to himself, ‘At last’.
1990 Plants & Gardens Autumn 6/4 At last! a gardening magazine that doesn't tell me when to plant my runner beans.
2012 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) Apr. 160/2 (advt.) At last! Vibrators that really work.
†(b) by the last: (a) at the latest; (b) in the end, finally. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > at the latest
by the lasta1225
yeta1325
at (the) latestc1400
at (the) utterestc1425
at (the) farthest1600
a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 231 He..sette ænne deȝie þat hi alle be þe latst to þa deȝie þer were.
a1225 (?OE) MS Vesp. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 235 (MED) He hað ȝelaðed alle fol[c] to ane dȝeie, þat is, domes dȝeie, þat hi alle þer beon be þe latst.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 4786 Þat strengþe him last Fort arnemorwe bi þe last.
c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 1327 (MED) He ful clanly bicnu his carp bi þe laste.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 50v But yche lede by the last aliet þerto.
†(c) in the last: in the end, finally. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > in the end or at last
at lastlOE
at the lastlOE
afinec1325
in the lasta1382
for conclusionc1386
an-endc1390
the lasta1400
in (the) finea1500
at conclusiona1513
in conclusiona1513
at long last1523
at length1525
in (rarely at, upon) the upshot1577
in the final (also last) analysis1786
in the death1958
at the end of the day1974
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Ecclus. iii. 27 The harde herte shal han euel in the laste; and that looueth perile, in it shal pershen.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. vi. 41 And in the last, When he had carried Rome, and that we look'd For no lesse Spoile, then Glory. View more context for this quotation
(d) With to.See also from first to last at first adj., adv., and n.2 Phrases 1d(a).
(i) to the last: †(a) to the utmost degree, completely, very thoroughly (obsolete); †(b) in the end, after all, when all is said and done (obsolete); (c) up to or until something ends; esp. up to the last moment of life, to the point of death.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] > to the end
to the lasta1393
(to drain, drink, etc.) to the lees1611
to the end of the chapter1692
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > to the end
to the lasta1393
to (unto, into) the (such, etc.) utterance1475
to drink, drain, etc. to the dregs1711
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 2784 (MED) Til that Cupide to the laste..Hath determined and devised Unto what point he wol descende.
a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) ii. l. 255 Nece lo alwey to þe laste How-so it be þat som men hem delite.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 181v When the Cite was sesit & Serchet to þe last.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. i. 101 Hee seem'd to find his way without his eyes, For out adoores he went..And to the last bended their light on me. View more context for this quotation
1665 Deposition, Mass. in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 151 She flewe vpon the doge and bete hime to the last.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 355 He was always the same to the last.
1780 W. Cowper Progress of Error 107 It..brands him to the last What atheists call him—a designing knave.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 665 To the last she preserved a tranquil courage.
1878 F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) 26 422/1 Almost from his boyhood, and to the very last, his thoughts were well-nigh engrossed by the radical problems of mind and matter.
1903 Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic 30 May 581/1 Maria Kraemer, aged 109 years, has just died. She was lucid to the last, and kept all her faculties intact.
1930 G. Greene Two Witnesses i. 18 This conception he held to the last, never shrinking from its austere demandingness.
2010 N. Hanson M. Eastman ii. xvii. 219 Those Germans fought to the last. Not one quit before he was killed or wounded so badly that he could not fight.
(ii) to (the) last: = till last at Phrases 1a(f)(i).
Π
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 123 Pleasure seemes to reserue her dainties to the last, and for the last seruice and messe.
1711 J. Swift Let. 12 May (1768) IV. 334 I wonder why Presto will-be so tedious in answering MD's letters; because he would keep the best to the last, I suppose.
1824 W. E. Parry Jrnl. Second Voy. Discov. North-west Passage ix. 241 Every thing was re-embarked except the transit instrument and meridian-mark, these being left to the last for continuing the determination of the rates of the chronometers.
1920 Country Mag. (Univ. Wisconsin) Apr. 318/2 Saving his best to last, Mr. Dunlop could not repress a broad smile, as his foreman led forth the powerful iron gray champion, Dunure Footprint.
1972 L. Auchincloss I come as Thief i. viii. 78 He had left it to the last because he had thought it would be the easiest to put back.
2010 C. Cochrane Lessons in Temptation xi. 96 Jonty finished the end of his apple pie, spooning up the little soupçon of custard which he always kept to last for a special treat.
(e) for (the) last: to be used, consumed, dealt with, etc., only when no others remain; cf. till last at Phrases 1a(f)(i).
Π
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) iii. x. sig. P.viiv Appelles..when he came to make the countenaunce of kyng Agamemnon, her father whiche ye reserued for the laste.
a1714 M. Henry Expos. Hist. Bks. New Test. (1715) (John iii.) sig. Bbbb4/2 The method he takes in dealing with those that deal with him, which is to reserve the best for the last.
1773 W. Worthington Scripture-theory of Earth i. 36 His formation is reserved for last, to crown the whole.
1847 E. Synge Let. 28 July (1996) 62 Like Children with their goodys, I keep the best for last.
1943 M. Elevitch Let. 4 Nov. in Dog Tags Yapping (2003) i. 13 They were saving us flunks for the last.
1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) 229 You must shuffle and choose a card from each pack, leaving the middle cards for last.
2007 Racing Rev. 17/2 He reserved his best for last when landing the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket.
(f) till (also until) the last .
(i) (also till (also until) last): to be the final or only remaining one, until all others have gone, been used, etc.
Π
a1639 H. Wotton Reliquiæ Wottonianæ (1672) 370 I am in this likewise no reserver of my good will till the last.
1663 J. Birkenhead Cabala 20 The best Wine left until last.
1766 A. Nicol Poems Several Subj. 273 Defer not that till last which cannot be Done oversoon, if undone ruins thee.
1853 C. Brontë Villette I. xiv. 268 With considerable willingness I ate and drank, keeping the petit pâté till the last, as a bonne bouche.
c1927 H. B. Smith Sheep & Wool Industry 76 They always leave the ‘cobblers’, or hard sheep, until the last.
1954 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 160/2 The dirty laundry should be left until last.
2004 R. George Treading Grapes (2005) 79 But the best was saved till last, two old and quite contrasting vintages of II Poggio.
(ii) to the end, to the point of death, to the last (see sense Phrases 1a(d)(i)).
ΘΠ
the world > life > death > [adverb] > to death
till (also until) the last1771
1771 Town & Country Mag. Aug. 447/2 He..retained his hearing and sight till the last.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 88 And these had been together from the first; They might have been together till the last.
1893 J. A. Hodges Elem. Photogr. 132 The clear portions of the negatives should remain unclouded and free from veil or fog until the last.
1962 Life 14 Sept. 96 (advt.) General Duke had fought till the last, but now the war was over.
2001 H. Hellman Great Feuds in Med. i. 18 Harvey had reached the age of 79,..and with faculties intact and active till the last.
†b. the last: (a) afterwards; (b) finally, eventually. Obsolete.
ΘΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > the end [phrase] > in the end or at last
at lastlOE
at the lastlOE
afinec1325
in the lasta1382
for conclusionc1386
an-endc1390
the lasta1400
in (the) finea1500
at conclusiona1513
in conclusiona1513
at long last1523
at length1525
in (rarely at, upon) the upshot1577
in the final (also last) analysis1786
in the death1958
at the end of the day1974
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 6818 Þe flesshe þat beest bifore haþ tast Ete ȝe not þerof þe last [Vesp. a last, Fairf. a laste].
a1600 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 35 [They] maid greit laubouris and trawellis to bring them to peace and concord whill the last they brocht them togither in S. Geillis kirk.
P2. In senses of the adverb.
a. last across (the road): a children's game in which players try to be the last to cross a road (or railway) safely in front of an approaching vehicle (or train); also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > children's game > other children's games > [noun] > others
buckle-pit1532
marrowbone1533
put-pin?1577
primus secundus1584
fox in the hole1585
haltering of Hick's mare1585
muss1591
pushpin1598
Jack-in-the-box1600
a penny in the forehead1602
buckerels1649
bumdockdousse1653
peck-point1653
toro1660
wheelbarrow1740
thread-needle1751
thrush-a-thrush1766
runaway ring?1790
Gregory1801
pick-point1801
fighting cocks1807
runaway knock1813
tit-tat-toe1818
French and English1820
honeypots1821
roly-poly1821
tickle-tail1821
pottle1822
King of Cantland1825
tip-top-castle1834
tile1837
statue1839
chip stone1843
hen and chickens1843
king of the castle1843
King Caesar1849
rap-jacket1870
old witch1881
tick-tack-toe1884
twos and threes1896
last across (the road)1904
step1909
king of the hill1928
Pooh-sticks1928
trick or treat1928
stare-you-out1932
king of the mountain1933
dab cricket1938
Urkey1938
trick-or-treating1941
seven-up1950
squashed tomato1959
slot-racing1965
Pog1993
knights-
1904 A. B. F. Young Compl. Motorist ix. 230 If it seems good to them [sc. children] to play at ‘last across’, you had better go very gingerly in their neighbourhood.
1914 ‘I. Hay’ Knight on Wheels xi. 108 A frisky calf, encountered by the way, almost wrecked its own prospects of ever becoming veal by an untimely indulgence in the game of ‘Come to Mother, or Last Across the Road’.
1928 Sunday Disp. 15 July 11/3 Socialist back-benchers are playing a dangerous game of ‘last across’ with Mr. Speaker—just seeing how far they can go at question time without being ‘named’.
1957 Times 12 Mar. 4/6 Engine drivers are threatening to refuse to drive trains over a section of track..because children are using it for a game of ‘last across’.
1958 R. Liddell Morea ii. iv. 103 Chickens seemed to be playing ‘last across the road’;..dogs tried to meet us head on.
1994 N. Bawden In my own Time (1995) ii. 18 From six or seven we all walked unaccompanied;..pulling faces at houses where we suspected people watched us from behind their curtains, and, when we reached the main road, playing Last Across.
b. last but not least (also last but by no means least): last in order of occurrence but not of importance. Cf. C. 1c.Used esp. when mentioning the last person of a group, in order to say that he or she is no less significant than the others, and sometimes to indicate that he or she is actually the most important.
Π
1607 G. Markham tr. P. Desportes Rodomonths Infernall sig. C2v Last, but not least, for shee exceeded all, Came Bradamant his bride, his loue, his Queene.
1777 J. Hanway Virtue in Humble Life (ed. 2) I. 309/2 Last, but not least, think..of the unhappiness of parents,..when their children rebel.
1892 G. Grossmith & W. Grossmith Diary of Nobody xx The dinner-party consisted of Mr. Franching, Mr. Hardfur Huttle,..and, last but not least, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Pooter.
1947 Gourmet July 2/3 Pour over..several..tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan. Last but not least, toss [the salad] well.
2000 P. McLynn in J. Adams et al. Girls' Night In 380 And last but by no means least is Greta Moore, our wardrobe supervisor.
c. last in, first out.
(a) a method or policy for determining the dismissal of employees by a company or organization, in which the last person to be employed is the first to be made redundant. See also LIFO n. Additions.
Π
1877 Cincinnati Commerc. 12 Aug. 2/3 Two or three are discharged, almost invariably those who have worked in the shop the shortest time. 'Last in, first out' is the rule.
1932 Irish Times 24 Sept. 7/4 It was agreed that the services of the two lorry drivers be dispensed with on the principle of ‘last in, first out.’
1963 San Antonio (Texas) Express 31 May 2 a/6 If any contractor decided it is necessary to lay off help, the ‘last in, first out’ rule would be followed regardless of color, creed or national origin.
1985 J. Kelman Chancer (1987) 35 No point worrying about that auld yin—last in first out. I'll be heading the line soon as the redundancies start.
2012 Times (Nexis) 24 Nov. 68 Collective agreements cover about 90 per cent of employees, with the principle of ‘last in, first out’ applied strictly on redundancies.
(b) Accounting. (Designating) a method of accounting in which all goods of the same kind are valued at the price paid for those most recently acquired. See also LIFO n. a.
ΚΠ
1934 NACA Yearbk. (Nat. Assoc. Cost Accountants, U.S.) 100 This inventory system is called the ‘Last In, First Out’ system... It provides for charging current costs against current sales.
1945 NACA Yearbk. (Nat. Assoc. Cost Accountants, U.S.) 81 A number of companies are using the last-in, first-out, or lifo method of valuing inventories.
1947 D. Himmelblau Investigations for Financing (ed. 3) VII. 74 Last-In, First-Out Method in Industrial Companies.
1951 R. E. Badger & H. G. Guthmann Investm. Princ. & Pract. (ed. 4) viii. 222 The company has still to bring its Inventories back to their normal level, and when it does so it has to allow for increased replacement costs, an accounting feature that would have no significance save under the LIFO (last-in first-out) system.
1979 Daily Tel. 30 Nov. 21/2 The amount by which third quarter earnings would be reduced under that last-in first-out (LIFO) basis would have been £350 million and £ 675 million for the nine months.
2008 J. A. Tracy Accounting for Dummies ii. vii. 149 Products generally move in and move out of inventory in a first-in, first-out sequence. Nevertheless, a business may choose the last-in, first-out accounting method.
(c) Computing. (Designating, relating to, or involving) a procedure in which the first item removed from a buffer, queue, etc., is the last one to have been added. Abbreviated LIFO: see LIFO n. b. Cf. first adj., adv., and n.2 Phrases 2e(c).
ΚΠ
1962 F. L. Bauer & K. Samelson U.S. Patent 3,047,228 28 Each said storage means being arranged to make said characters available for operations on a last-in, first-out basis.
1977 Computer Music Jrnl. 1 54/2 A last-in, first-out stack provides microsubroutine return linkage and looping capability.
1990 Managem. Sci. 36 666 The scan node i is chosen from NOW in simple last-in-first-out fashion.
2005 H. Fosdick Rexx Programmer's Ref. xxviii. 482 Since a stack is a last-in, first-out (LIFO) data structure, the items display in the reverse order in which they are entered.
P3. In senses of the adjective.
a. colloquial. if it's the last thing I (we, etc.) do, and variants: used to express a very strong desire or intention to do something.
ΚΠ
1868 Ann. Rep. Secretary of War (U.S. House of Representatives, 40th Congr., 3rd Sess.) 482 If it's the last thing I do I'll kill Dill.
1921 E. O'Neill Emperor Jones 180 I kills you, you white debil, if it's de last thing I evah does!
1938 M. Allingham Fashion in Shrouds ix. 146 If it's the last thing he does he's got to go back today.
1972 P. Newton Sheep Thief xv. 119 I'll get that bloke if it's the last thing I do.
2012 K. Salter Seventeenth Summer xvii. 221 We're gonna get this thing to your aunt's house if it's the last thing we ever do.
b. Chiefly U.S. last best hope: America as the sole embodiment of true democratic principles and thus the nation best able to lead the people of the world to freedom, peace, and prosperity. Also in extended use: the only remaining person or thing considered most able to resolve a problem, issue, etc. Frequently with allusion to Abraham Lincoln's second Annual Message to Congress (see quot. 1862).
ΚΠ
1803 U. Tracy Speech 2 Dec. in Port Folio 7 Jan. (1804) 3/2 This constitution, the bulwark of the feeble members of the confederacy;..the last, best hope of man, with a view to stability in a free government, and to the preservation of liberty in a republic.
1862 A. Lincoln Message to Congr. 1 Dec. in N.Y. Evangelist 4 Dec. 4/4 In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free, honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve. We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of the earth.
1904 F. O. Lowden Speech 2 June in K. A. Ostewig Sage of Sinnissippi (1907) 39 I believe that this Republic of ours is the last, best hope of the world, and I believe from the bottom of my heart that the destiny of this Republic is in the keeping of the Republican party.
1961 Life 27 Jan. 24/2 The United Nations, our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace.
1993 O. Guinness Amer. Hour 409 Fewer people today might follow Lincoln in seeing America as the earth's last best hope.
2002 Time 25 Mar. 59/2 Seirawan..may be the game's last best hope.
c. Canadian. Last Best West: (also with lower-case initials) the prairies of western Canada (forming the provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba), used in comparison to the American West (now historical).The term was originally used in promotional literature to attract homesteaders.
ΚΠ
1907 Goshen (Indiana) Weekly News-Times 17 Jan. 7/6 For pamphlet ‘Last Best West’, particulars as to rates, routes, best time to go and where to locate, apply to..W. H. Rogers..Canadian Government Agent.
1908 Canad. Mag. Apr. (Brit. Advertising section) 16 The Last Best West. Health, Liberty and Prosperity Awaits the Settler in the Prairie Provinces of Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba.
1990 H. Palmer & T. Palmer Alberta: New Hist. iii. 74 Many other immigrants were..becoming aware of the potential of the ‘last best west,’ North America's last agricultural frontier.
2011 F. W. Kaye Goodlands x. 207 The Great Plains was the Last Best West, the home of the bonanza farms, where golden wheat to feed the world would make everyone's fortune.
d. last time: on the immediately preceding parallel occasion.
Π
1596 C. Gibbon Watch-worde for Warre sig. G3v He should arrogate this tytle, as he dyd last time.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 87 To meete him at the doore with it, as they did last time . View more context for this quotation
1699 Country Gentleman's Vade-mecum ix. 56 You had the misfortune to be on the wrong side last time.
1764 D. Hume Let. 27 Mar. (1932) I. 428 Last time..you said, that I no doubt wonder'd how it happen'd.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iv, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 71 If they come to lounder ilk ither as they did last time, suld na I cry on you?
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 6 Jan. 6/1 The uncontested seats which were ‘collared’ last time by Liberal Unionists.
1956 N. Coward Diary 15 Jan. (2000) 304 The curious miracle that happened to me last time happened again.
2004 H. Strachan Make a Skyf, Man! xii. 131 You know, last time, day before hanging.., they brought this woman through from the women's prison.
e.
(a) colloquial (originally U.S.) to go (or travel, etc.) the last mile: to do everything in one's power to ensure that an objective is achieved; (also) to support someone or something fully. Cf. to go (also walk, travel) the extra (also second) mile at mile n.1 Phrases 2a.
ΚΠ
1916 Adams County (Iowa) Union-Republican 9 Feb. 9/1 Form advertisements and other..ad. matter..play their part, but it is the farmer who goes the last mile in out-doing his competitor as far as service goes.
1929 Princeton Alumni Weekly 2 July 186/3 He has a heart which is on fire for the..rights of his fellow workers. His own people are willing to go the last mile with him.
1947 D. Hinshaw Exper. in Friendship 28 It means courage, tenacity, stubbornness, determination, energy, and the ability and willingness to travel the last mile.
1985 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 18 Aug. An aroused Canadian Government..letting the United States know in no uncertain terms that it will walk the last mile with its victimized citizens.
2011 G. T. Morrow Day they buried Great Brit. 25 Robinson was willing to go the last mile for the Governor's dignity.
(b) U.S. colloquial. to walk the last mile: (of a prisoner sentenced to death) to walk to the execution chamber; (also more generally) to be executed.
ΚΠ
1930 Rhinelander (Wisconsin) Daily News 11 July 1/5 There was no faltering as he walked ‘the last mile’ to the execution chamber.
1932 Harper's Monthly Mag. 1 Dec. 369/1 Crowley..posthumously enjoys fame..even greater than was lavished on him before he walked the last mile.
1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 30 June ii. 34 Scenarios of the final meal, ‘walking the last mile’,..and the presumed dignity of the condemned as he said his departing words were often discussed in graphic detail.
2008 M. Gado Death Row Women iii. 58 When he was removed from his cell to walk the last mile, Camora said good-bye to Faraci.
f. to the last detail: in or to the most minute aspect; used (usually admiringly) to describe a method of presentation, planning, or execution which takes into account every particular, no matter how small or insignificant.
Π
1731 T. Stackhouse Refl. on Nature & Prop. of Langs. xxii. 180 The Ancients..are very exact in the harmonious Part of Eloquence; they descend to the last Detail, counting the very Feet and Syllables.
1884 Trans. Dumfries & Galloway Nat. Hist. & Antiquarian Soc. 1880–83 78 They are dressed to the last detail in the heavy finery of the court of Queen Anne.
1922 Lincoln (Nebraska) State Jrnl. 30 Apr. 5/3 (advt.) It is precision-built to the last detail.
1987 P. Wright & P. Greengrass Spycatcher vi. 54 Winterborn was a Field Marshal manqué. His operations were always beautifully planned right down to the last detail.
2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Oct. 10/1 The impeccably produced volumes, a triumph of imaginative modern publishing down to the last detail, resurrect..an undeservedly neglected masterpiece.

Compounds

(In phrases) last analysis, card, cast, degree, eling, enemy, extremity, gum tree, knockings, laugh, legs, place, rest, rose, roundup, sacraments, shift, shower, stretch, supper, word, etc.: see the noun. See also last account at account n. 7, last gasp at gasp n. Phrases, last inquest at inquest n. 1c, Last Judgement at judgement n. 12, last heir n. at heir n. Compounds 2, last offices at office n. 9, last orders at order n. 23e, last quarter at quarter n. 2c, last refuge at refuge n. 3c, last remnant at remnant n. 2c, last resting place at resting place n. 2, last thing at thing n.1 Phrases 5, last will and testament at testament n. 1a, last words at word n. and int. Phrases 3c(a) (also famous last words at famous adj. 1c), etc.; also main entries.
last age n. now literary (a) the closing years of life, old age; also figurative; (b) the times just passed, the previous era.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > age > old age > [noun]
eld971
old agec1330
agec1380
last agea1382
oldc1385
aldereldea1400
winterc1425
vilessec1430
annosityc1450
senectute1481
the black ox1546
golden years1559
years1561
great1587
afterlife1589
setting sun1597
antiquity1600
chair-daysa1616
the vale of yearsa1616
grandevity1623
green old age1634
eldship1647
senioritya1688
the other side of the hill1691
the decline of life1711
senectude1756
senility1791
senectitude1796
post-climacteric1826
Anno Domini1885
senium1911
golden age1946
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > recency > [noun] > recent times
yesterdaya1382
latter days1549
last age1678
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. iv. 8 The laste age [a1425 L.V. eelde; L. senectus] forsothe wrshipeful is not longe durende.
a1475 J. Shirley Death James (BL Add. 5467) in Miscellanea Scotica (1818) II. 29 Translated..bi youre symple subget John Shirley, in his laste age.
1571 G. Fenton tr. Actes of Conf. in Relig. f. 48 A barraine woman in hir last age, hauing an olde husband, had a childe.
1678 T. Rymer (title) The Tragedies of the last Age consider'd.
1687 J. Everard Winding-sheet iii. 48 St. John did not preach his Gospel till his last Age..without writing.
1767 Monthly Rev. Mar. 229 The memoirs of a considerable number of eminent divines..of the last age.
1875 Punch 24 July 34/2 If England wishes something done For her last Age's strongest son, Be it his statue.
1938 H. J. Laski Parl. Govt. in Eng. (1945) vii. 370 The result of the ignorance of, and hostility to, the trade unions of the judges of the last age brought the Labour Party into being.
2004 J. Barth Bk. Ten Nights & Night vi. 156 My own mother, in her last age, found going upstairs in her own house too formidable an undertaking.
last anointing n. [after post-classical Latin unctio extrema (see extreme unction at extreme adj. 3)] in the Roman Catholic Church, the sacrament of anointing of the sick, when administered to the dying.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > (extreme) unction > [noun] > of the sick or dying
last elingc1315
anelingc1350
last anointing1357
extreme unction1477
the Anointing of the Sick1575
last rites1594
chrism1635
the last sacraments1760
the sacrament of the sick1972
J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (York Min.) (1901) l. 328 The fift sacrement is the last enoynting With oyle.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 3409 (MED) Last enoyntyng gyven to þe seke.
a1500 Craft of Deyng (Cambr. Kk.1.5) in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 173 The sacrament..of the last anoynting.
1563 R. Fills tr. T. de Bèze Briefe Summe Christian Faith vii. f. 151v These ought to be ashamed..to..vse it [sc. the oyle] in those which be out of all hope of lyfe: by reason wherof they call extreame vnction, or the last annoynting.
1622 C. Sibthorp Friendly Advt. Pretended Catholickes ii. ix. 212 The last supposed Sacrament in the Popish Church, is, Extreme unction, or last anointing, or annealing, as they cal it.
1764 T. Phillips Hist. Life R. Pole II. xi. 214 The day before he died,..he desired to receive the Sacrament of the last Anointing.
1830 E. Harrison Protestant Instructor 202 The poor unfortunate is oftener starved to death than otherwise, for, (after the last anointing,) no sustenance is allowed to pass between his lips!
1974 J. A. O'Brien Faith of Millions (ed. 2) iii. viii. 150 How valiantly the priest stands at his bedside to strengthen him with the last anointing and to fortify him for his long journey into eternity.
2007 M. Escobar On Bits & Pieces 21 Of all the beautiful perfumes/fragrances to be massaged into the body, the final one is the oil of the last anointing.
last brood n. the most recent brood of a pair of birds, etc., or the final brood of a breeding season; also †figurative.
ΚΠ
1610 G. Carleton Iurisdict. vii. 122 In these practises, the Iesuites being the last brood, striue to surpasse all other.
1616 King James VI & I Paraphr. Revelation Apostle S. Iohn xvi, in Wks. 52 The diuel or dragon shall inuent him a fresh order of Ecclesiasticall factours and Agents, as the diuels last brood.
1731 E. Albin Nat. Hist. Birds I. xlii. 40 The Beginning of January..which is the Time of Pairing themselves, and parting with their last Brood.
1848 ‘F. Forester’ Field Sports U.S. & Brit. Provinces Amer. I. 192 So soon as the young birds of the last brood are full-grown, the Woodcock withdraws for the purpose of moulting.
1992 J. Osborne Cardinal (1995) 84 With adult cardinals molting usually begins after their last brood has hatched.
last change n. a final metamorphosis; spec. death or (in some religious contexts) resurrection viewed as the final stage in a person's passage through time.
ΘΠ
the world > life > death > [noun]
hensithOE
qualmOE
bale-sithea1000
endingc1000
fallOE
forthsitheOE
soulingOE
life's endOE
deathOE
hethensithc1200
last end?c1225
forthfarec1275
dying1297
finec1300
partingc1300
endc1305
deceasec1330
departc1330
starving1340
passingc1350
latter enda1382
obita1382
perishingc1384
carrion1387
departing1388
finishmentc1400
trespassement14..
passing forthc1410
sesse1417
cess1419
fininga1425
resolutiona1425
departisona1450
passagea1450
departmentc1450
consummation?a1475
dormition1483
debt to (also of) naturea1513
dissolutionc1522
expirationa1530
funeral?a1534
change1543
departure1558
last change1574
transmigration1576
dissolving1577
shaking of the sheets?1577
departance1579
deceasure1580
mortality1582
deceasing1591
waftage1592
launching1599
quietus1603
doom1609
expire1612
expiring1612
period1613
defunctiona1616
Lethea1616
fail1623
dismissiona1631
set1635
passa1645
disanimation1646
suffering1651
abition1656
Passovera1662
latter (last) end1670
finis1682
exitus1706
perch1722
demission1735
demise1753
translation1760
transit1764
dropping1768
expiry1790
departal1823
finish1826
homegoing1866
the last (also final, great) round-up1879
snuffing1922
fade-out1924
thirty1929
appointment in Samarra1934
dirt nap1981
big chill1987
1574 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Job (new ed.) sig. **.3v/1 The liuely Image of our last change or Resurrection, is our regeneration.
1618 J. Barlow Hierons Last Fare-well 25 The bodies were at the first composed, and made of the foure Elements, Fire, Ayre, Water, Earth; and therefore, in the last change, they can but be resolued into their first principles.
1670 J. Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) ix. 61 The top-leaves and oldest would be gathered last of all, as being most proper to repast the worms with towards their last change.
1755 W. Adey Sixteen Disc. xiv. 245 To put us in Readiness for our last Change.
1835 Evangelical Mag. & Gospel Advocate 14 Mar. 85/3 The resurrection of those saints who died in Christ might have taken place long before this last change, of which Paul speaks.
1945 J. F. Smith Restoration of All Things ii. 23 The great last change which shall come at the end of the earth.
1985 M. A. Doody Daring Muse vi. 191 The end of the poem seems to bring the poet up against the fearful quiet when his voice must cease, and when all the metamorphoses halt in the last change.
last cry n. the very latest fashion; = le (or the) dernier cri at dernier adj. c; now somewhat dated.
ΘΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [noun] > the or a prevailing fashion
gentryc1400
the fashion1569
mainstream1599
the trim1603
mood1646
mode1649
vogue1649
beauty1653
à la mode1654
turn1695
the kick1699
goût1717
thing1734
taste1739
ton1769
nick1788
the tippy1790
twig1811
latest1814
dernier mot1834
ticket1838
kibosh1880
last cry1887
le (or the) dernier cri1896
flavour of the month (or week)1946
vague1962
1887 Logansport (Indiana) Daily Pharos 14 Nov. 2/5 At the premiere..one of our leading piaffeurs appeared in the lobbies as a model of the last ‘cry’ in evening dress.
1899 Westm. Budget 3 Mar. 5 The price of each number will be one guinea, and the contents will be all that there is of the last cry in literature and art.
1916 W. J. Locke Wonderful Year x. 133 A morning coat (last cry of Bond Street).
1948 Hattiesburg (Mississippi) Amer. 11 Sept. 10/4 To complete the back-to-school picture, we bring you the last cry in stadium boots.
last ditch n. the innermost or only remaining defensive entrenchment, the last line of defence; often figurative and in figurative contexts; see also last-ditch adj. to die in the last ditch: to die still fighting to defend something, to resist to the last.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things > most extreme predicament
one's (or the) last (or utter) shifta1604
last ditch1706
1706 D. Defoe Jure Divino xi. 252 [The Prince of Orange] answer'd, He knew One effectual Remedy, viz. to lie in the last Ditch; intimating, that he would dispute every Inch of Ground with the Enemy, and at last would die defending the Liberties of his Country.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 327 There was a sure way never to see it lost, and that was to die in the last ditch.
1798 in Proc. Amer. Antiquarian Soc. (1895) 9 iii. 324 In War We [Citizens of Westmoreland, Virginia] know but one additional Obligation, To die in the Last Ditch or uphold our Nation.
1821 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. in Writings (1984) 80 A government..driven to the last ditch by the universal call for liberty.
1890 Spectator 29 Mar. 426/1 Although the discussion will be harrassing, the resistance will not be to the last ditch.
1930 G. K. Chesterton in Weekend Rev. 26 Apr. 225/1 Those who would die in the last ditch for the mere privilege of landlords or capitalists.
1943 Life 10 May 33/3 One of the prisoners said, ‘We know that the game is up here, but we'll fight to the last ditch.’
2010 R. Mabey Weeds xi. 268 The horse-chestnut..will be defended to the last ditch as the defining symbol of the English village green.
last end n. now archaic or English regional (Lincolnshire) the very end of something, esp. a person's life; (also) †the utmost extremity or limit (obsolete). [Compare Middle High German das letzte ende; compare also Old English se ȳtemesta ende the most remote border, the most remote region.]
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun]
hensithOE
qualmOE
bale-sithea1000
endingc1000
fallOE
forthsitheOE
soulingOE
life's endOE
deathOE
hethensithc1200
last end?c1225
forthfarec1275
dying1297
finec1300
partingc1300
endc1305
deceasec1330
departc1330
starving1340
passingc1350
latter enda1382
obita1382
perishingc1384
carrion1387
departing1388
finishmentc1400
trespassement14..
passing forthc1410
sesse1417
cess1419
fininga1425
resolutiona1425
departisona1450
passagea1450
departmentc1450
consummation?a1475
dormition1483
debt to (also of) naturea1513
dissolutionc1522
expirationa1530
funeral?a1534
change1543
departure1558
last change1574
transmigration1576
dissolving1577
shaking of the sheets?1577
departance1579
deceasure1580
mortality1582
deceasing1591
waftage1592
launching1599
quietus1603
doom1609
expire1612
expiring1612
period1613
defunctiona1616
Lethea1616
fail1623
dismissiona1631
set1635
passa1645
disanimation1646
suffering1651
abition1656
Passovera1662
latter (last) end1670
finis1682
exitus1706
perch1722
demission1735
demise1753
translation1760
transit1764
dropping1768
expiry1790
departal1823
finish1826
homegoing1866
the last (also final, great) round-up1879
snuffing1922
fade-out1924
thirty1929
appointment in Samarra1934
dirt nap1981
big chill1987
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > the very end
last end?c1225
the farc1540
the far endc1540
faga1627
the last word1842
the end of the road1954
endsville1962
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 276 Þus lo in euch stat rixleð bitternesse Earst iþe biginnunge... Iforðȝeong of god lif & iþe leste ende.
?c1335 Erthe upon Erthe (Harl. 913) (1911) 4 Þenk man in lond on þi last ende.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiv. l. 133 Allas! þat ricchesse shal reue and robbe mannes soule Fram þe loue of owre lorde at his laste ende!
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) ix. Prol. l. 33 Off þis tretice þe last ende Til bettyr þan I am, I commende.
a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 15th Cent. (1899) 131 Baldemoyne..schulde be gederid in þe laste ende of þe ȝeer.
1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 260 This I haue writen vpon this antempne, for the laste ende semeth darckely spoken.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccxxxix The kyng rode to the last ende of the ranke where the Speares or Pencyoners stoode.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Final Fin finale, the last end of all.
1611 Bible (King James) Num. xxiii. 10 Let mee die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. View more context for this quotation
1637 Bk. Common Prayer Church of Scotl. Publique baptisme (rubric) At the last end, the Presbyter..shall say this exhortation following.
1673 J. Milton On Death Fair Infant xi, in Poems (new ed.) 21 Till the worlds last-end shall make thy name to live.
1726 Bp. J. Butler 15 Serm. vii. 130 He was..in a State of Mind sober enough to consider Death and his last End.
1849 Spiritual Mag. Mar. 74/2 Such was her happy departure, may I die her death, and may my last end be as her's [sic].
1889 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. (ed. 2) I caame at th' start, an' I've seed th' last end on it [sc. a sale]... She's been aailin' a long time, poor thing, bud her last end's cum'd at last.
1908 G. G. Coulton in From St Francis to Dante xvii. 209 That deacon was an old man: he kept a concubine, and at his last end he could not, or would not, make his confession.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 173/2 Keeãp on gooin' ter the last end duck..it's neãrly ovver now.
last-ever adj. that is the last experienced, made, etc., at any time; cf. first-ever adj. at first adj., adv., and n.2 Compounds 1b(b).
Π
1953 Irish Times 6 May 9/4 After his exploit he said ‘I shall never be allowed to fly again. It was my last ever flight.’
1973 New Scientist 18 Jan. 146/3 Cleese et al in the last-ever Monty Python.
2001 J. Astley No Place for Man i. 1 All around her people were shopping manically as if this was their last-ever chance.
last frontier n. (a) originally and chiefly U.S. that part of a country, region, etc., which is the last to be settled, explored, or developed; spec. (a nickname for) the state of Alaska; (b) (in extended use) the most extreme limit of something; the one thing yet to be explored or overcome.
Π
1872 W. D. Kelley Speeches, Addr. & Lett. on Industr. & Financial Questions 153 Westward, to the last frontier, there is no village, however small, in which the free school is not open to every child.
1907 Advance 27 June 806/1 Alaska, our last frontier, where the fields are not as yet fields of golden grain, but fields of ‘grains of gold’.
1930 Flying Mag. Feb. 48/1 With the adventure-minded youth of the world turning to aviation as the last frontier, this book comes to fill a timely and very practical need.
1977 Newsweek (Nexis) 23 May 76 Space is really the last frontier, and the settling of a frontier only takes place when women are involved.
1979 W. W. Cochrane Developm. Amer. Agric. xiii. 265 In the period 1870-90..immigrants from Britain, Germany, and the Scandinavian countries tried their luck at farming on the last frontier—the subhumid Plains and the Great Plains.
1997 Sci. Amer. Oct. 95/1 Many far-sighted shippers view the coordination of different types of transportation as the last frontier in boosting productivity.
2002 Philadelphia Inquirer 29 Dec. c4/3 We bend before Kennedys, Bushes,..Clintons... But there was hope that the ‘Last Frontier’, as Alaska calls itself, would remain a final holdout against hereditary politics.
last hand n. the final or finishing stroke or touch; see also hand n. 19a.
ΘΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > [noun] > that which > finishing touch or crowning act
copestone1567
last hand1567
colophon1628
capstone1685
grace stroke1686
finishing stroke1695
coup de grâce1699
touch-up1733
finish1779
crowner1815
coping-stone1860
grace note1922
topper1940
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. f. 297 Beynge the cause of hys tormente, [she] maye also put her laste hande to hys fatall execution.
1614 J. Selden Titles of Honor Ded. sig. a iij Some yeer since it was finish't, wanting, only in some parts, my last hand.
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. Ep. Ded. sig. A iijv The last hand of the Painter.
1676 J. Dryden Aureng-Zebe Ep. Ded. sig. A4v You were..pleas'd to recommend it [sc. a Tragedy] to the King's perusal, before the last hand was added to it.
1704 in J. Swift Tale of Tub To Rdr. Whether the work received his last hand or whether he intended to fill up defective places.
1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xviii. 702 Thus the broad Shield complete the Artist crown'd With his last Hand.
1743 C. Perry View of Levant 496 This Part of the Edifice wanted the last Hand.
1824 L. Cicognara in Wks. A. Canova I. p. xii He always..applied himself the last hand to his works.
1999 A. Eyffinger 1899 Hague Peace Conf. xi. 422 It now remained to the Drafting Committee of the Final Act to put the last hand to the phrasing.
last honours n. (also last honour) the observances of respect usual at a funeral; cf. funeral honours n. at funeral adj. and n. Compounds 2.
Π
1583 Serm. Christes Death 10/1 in A. Marten tr. P. M. Vermigli Common Places These women worshipped him while he liued: also they meant to do him the last honours, when he was deade.
1610 T. Owen tr. P. Coton in T. Owen tr. Let. Catholike Man 8 That precious gage, and remarkable pledge [sc. Henry IV of France's heart],..to the which the Chiefe Lords of France rendred the last honours.
1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 57 Doing him his last honour.
1790 J. Bruce Trav. Source Nile II. iv. 401 As soon as the prince Facilidas had paid the last honours to his father.
1828 G. Croly Salathiel (ed. 2) III. xvii. 247 To obtain the certainty of his preservation, or to render the last honour to his remains, I forced my way towards the spot on which I had seen him awaiting death.
1871 Athenæum 16 Dec. 802/1 Had Rossini, Meyerbeer and Auber lived, they would have all three attended to do the last honours to an artist to whom they all felt deeply indebted.
1927 B. W. Henderson Five Rom. Emperors i. 24 Phyllis takes her place with Nero's sorrowing nurses,..who in like manner had paid the last honour to a dead Emperor's ashes.
2009 D. Schumann Polit. Violence in Weimar Republic i. ii. 40 Delegations from the Reichswehr..and Civil Commissioner Schreiber paid the last honors to the slain soldiers and volunteers.
last hurrah n. [after the title of E. O'Connor's novel The Last Hurrah (1956), which was filmed in 1958] originally U.S. the final campaign or initiative in a politician's career; (hence) any final performance or effort, a swansong.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > politics > [noun] > final act in political career
last hurrah1960
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > concluding word or act
upshot1531
last1557
swansong1596
amen1612
last hurrah1960
1960 Delta Democrat-Times (Greenville, Mississippi) 25 July 4/8 Lyndon Johnson..will make his last hurrah on the legislative floor something for organized labor to cheer.
1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Apr. 456/5 A new era of American party politics which endured without much change until its last hurrah with Hubert Humphrey's abortive campaign for the presidency in 1968.
1991 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 22 Sept. v. 6/3 There's no question this is probably the last hurrah for this club.
2009 MovieMail July 28/2 Eastwood has suggested Gran Torino might be the last time he appears on screen. If that's true, it's a magnificent last hurrah.
last lap n. [ < last adj. + lap n.3 5b] the final circuit of a track, course, etc., to be completed in a race; (hence) the final stage of a journey, action, or enterprise.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > course or track > parts of
run-in1799
quarter-stretch1830
home run1833
hurdle1833
back stretch1839
home stretch1841
straight1846
last lap1848
straightaway1878
home straight1880
stretch1895
back-straight1905
the wall1974
1848 Bell's Life in London 5 Nov. 7/3 The fifth round, or remaining distance to make up the five miles, would be 70 short of a last lap to finish.
1864 London Society Apr. 383/2 When it came to the last ‘lap’—that is the professional term—the race began.
1909 J. M. Hanson Conquest of Missouri xxxviii. 306 At Fort Stevenson..she [sc. a boat] halted once more, and again leaving a garrison convulsed with unsatisfied anxiety, she leaped out on the last lap.
1913 Princeton Alumni Weekly 26 Mar. 475/1 With the close of the brief spring recess on the 25th, the University has entered upon the last lap of the college year.
1921 J. B. Newman Beginners' Mod. Hist. (1922) iv. x. 75 This war may be called the ‘last lap’ in the great struggle of the older period.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. x. [Wandering Rocks] 227 Bang of the lastlap bell spurred the halfmile wheelmen to their sprint.
1958 W. Taylour Mycenean Pottery in Italy & Adjacent Areas vii. 186 An alternative means of communication may have been via the Adriatic.., the last lap of the journey being made overland.
1999 BBC Music Mag. Apr. 91/1 (advt.) This disc marks the beginning of the last lap of the project.
last man n. (also last man in) Cricket †(a) the batter who is not out at the end of an innings (obsolete); (b) the player who goes in to bat last.See also to the last man at man n.1 17i.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > last in order
last man1748
last wicket1775
tail1851
gravedigger1887
tail-end1888
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > not-out batsman > at end of innings
last man1748
1748 London Evening-Post 7 July The Match play'd at Cricket..was won with great Difficulty by the latter, the last Man going in for two to win.
1773 Kentish Gaz. 24 July Surry. Yaldin, Last man in, 17. Kent. Mr. Hussey, Last man in, 0.
1833 J. Nyren Young Cricketer's Tutor 113 Small went in the last man for fourteen runs, and fetched them.
1897 H. Newbolt Vitaï Lampada in Admirals All 21 An hour to play and the last man in.
1957 R. Campbell Coll. Poems II. 101 No last-man-in has ever batted With a more desperate intent.
2012 S. James Plan iv. 73 The sight of the last man..waiting with helmet on and chinstrap in mouth, was a snapshot of the nation's cricket team at the time.
last meal n. a meal customarily offered in certain countries to a prisoner who is sentenced to death on the day or day before he or she is about to be executed; also in extended (frequently humorous) use. Cf. last request n.In some jurisdictions, esp. in the United States, it is customary that the prisoner may request any type of food within reason.
ΚΠ
1756 A. Butler Lives Saints I. 411 Pudens, the keeper of the prison..did them all the good offices in his power. The day before they suffered they gave them, according to custom, their last meal, which was called a free supper, and they eat in public.
1842 Shrewsbury News in Phrenol. Jrnl. 16 70 He ate with unusual keenness of appetite, a most substantial breakfast, and asked Gough, the turnkey,..if he ever saw a man enjoy his last meal so heartily.
1874 Sunday Mag. 834/2 I should think it a terrible sight within the prison walls to see a felon take his last meal before he goes to the gallows.
1904 F. B. Mott Before Crisis xix. 227 It's [sc. a dance] the condemned's choice of his last meal.
1918 Reedy's Mirror 12 Apr. 220/2 The cook had his say about a man who was to die in an hour ‘bein' so damn pertickler between lamb chops and pork chops for his last meal’.
2005 A. Chambers This is All (2007) 587 An ideal place for a picnic, where the condemned woman can eat her last meal.
last mile n. (a) (in transportation contexts) the distance from a central depot or other offloading point to the final delivery destination (frequently considered as involving greater difficulty or costs); (b) Telecommunications the cabling or wireless technology that connects an end user to the internet, typically having slower transmission speeds or being more expensive to maintain than other parts of the network; frequently attributive.
Π
1974 Translog (U.S. Military Traffic Management & Terminal Service) Apr. 19/1 Local national employees in the 8th Logistical Command Transportation Office who are dedicated to the problems associated with the ‘last mile’ of cargo delivery to U.S. Forces in Italy.
1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 Aug. d1 Long-haul carriers..complain of the ‘last mile’ problem. Data and voice can be beamed thousands of miles at extremely rapid speeds, only to reach a bottleneck in the last mile at either end, in which the data must travel over a phone line.
1999 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 17 Dec. 39 Firms such as Webvan scramble to cover the so-called ‘last mile’ that separates the customer from the goods he ordered from his e-tailer.
2007 C. F. Lam Passive Optical Networks i. 1 Wi-Max is another type of access technology which uses radio waves for last-mile connectivity.
† last music n. Obsolete the overture to a theatrical performance when played after several other pieces of music, used as a call to performers backstage.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > piece of music > type of piece > [noun] > overture
overture1674
entrée1718
last music1741
sinfonia1773
concert overture1826
1741 Universal Spectator 17 Jan. My Friend, and the last Musick which began to play, rouz'd me from these Thoughts.
1780 G. Colman Manager in Distress 16 I was just going to ring-in the last musick.
1849 Theatr. Programme 23 July 60/2 At the call of ‘last music’, i.e. the commencement of the overture, the first peeper through the curtain announced [etc.].
last name n. (a) a name, title, or epithet added at the end of a person's name or names; = surname n. 1a; (b) a person's family name; = surname n. 2.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > nickname or additional name
to-namec950
eke-name1303
surnamec1330
bynamec1374
nickname1440
addition1472
epitheton1570
by-term1579
epithet1579
agnomination1590
adjunct1598
apathaton1598
byword1598
nurse-name1605
familiar name1611
suradditiona1616
sobriquet1646
agname1652
last name1695
agnomen1809
cognomen1811
soubriquet1818
nickery1823
handle1838
cognomination1843
moniker1851
eponym1863
adname1890
tag1961
the mind > language > naming > name or appellation > [noun] > surname
nameeOE
surnounc1325
surname1393
overname1574
agnomination1590
family name1646
last name1695
terminal1866
1695 J. Stevens tr. M. de Faria e Sousa Portugues Asia III. iv. vi. 364 Of this last Name [sc. Pereyra] there were two in India, or none.
1697 H. Prideaux True Nature Imposture in Life Mahomet 174 His Name at length, is Nasir Ebn Abil Macarem Abul Phatah Al Motarrezi. He..seems by his last Name, Al Motarrezi,..to have been by Trade a Taylor.
1727 H. Herbert tr. C. Fleury Eccl. Hist. I. iv. 277 A man..called Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus, who is known by his last name.
1836 Laws of Etiquette (new ed.) 211 In speaking of one gentleman to another, always call him Mr. So-and-So: it is offensively coarse to hear a man called by his last name.
1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Magic Mountain (London ed.) I. i. 6 As they [sc. cousins] could not well address each other by their last names, they confined themselves..to the thou.
1962 H. Garner Silence on Shore ix. 61 My name's Clark. That's my first name. My last name's Cronin.
1999 P. James Rom. Civilization i. 24 The Roman citizen often had a quirky, even joky, last name, which functioned as our first names do, to personalize and distinguish.
last post n. (a) Military (in the United Kingdom and some Commonwealth countries) the second of two bugle calls giving notice of the hour for retiring at night, traditionally also sounded at military funerals and services of remembrance (see post n.10); (b) (figurative and in figurative contexts) indicating that something which is already failing is about to cease to exist; a demise or end; frequently in to sound the last post.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > signal on instrument > specific signals
dian1591
alvarado1598
retreat1600
reveille1633
preparative1635
leveta1640
charge1650
gathering1653
reveil1668
chamade1684
assembly1728
rouse1789
roll-call1793
dinner call1799
taps1824
recall1825
fall-in1834
last post1845
lights out1864
post1864
assemble1883
society > communication > indication > signalling > [noun] > signal > signal that time has come
warning1389
last post1845
1845 W. N. Hutchinson Standing Orders to Two Battalions, XXth Regiment at Bermuda 100 On the bugles sounding the last post (immediately on the ceasing of the drums)..the Orderly Sergeants..will state whether all the men were sober and present.
1900 Daily News 17 May 3/2 A few hours after, the ‘last post’ sounds over another victim to the pomp and glory of war!
1963 Times 30 Apr. 13/1 The time had come..to sound the last post over the grave of a wages pause policy which had..proved ineffectual.
1985 Sunday Times 18 Aug. 14/8 Last Post for military Chronicle. Gibraltar Chronicle to be sold.
1998 B. DuMoulin & S. Sikundar Celebrating our Cultures 22 Speeches about the need for world peace lead into a trumpet solo of ‘Last Post’.
2005 Scotsman (Nexis) 28 Nov. 2 He was sent-off for a second bookable offence... This was the final blast of a terrible trumpet that may sound a last post for McLeish before this week is out.
last request n. (frequently in plural) a request made by a person who is about to die or be put to death which is customarily granted as a final courtesy; frequently in (have you) any last requests?; now also in extended (frequently humorous) use.
ΚΠ
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 1096 Yet for my soule ye pray and bury me at the leste, and offir ye my masse-peny: thys ys my laste requeste. And a clene maydyn I dyed, I take God to wytnesse.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 108 That at least she will withsaue, To graunt my iust and last request: When that she shall behold his graue.., To bathe the frozen stone with teares.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania i. 9 Grant me then these last requests.., that you loue my poore memory; and..reuenge not my death on my murtherer.
1795 Scots Mag. Oct. 649/2 The executioner told her that he had received orders that she should perish first. ‘But you cannot, I am sure,’ said she with a smile, ‘refuse the last request of a lady.’
1831 N.Y. Mirror 21 May 361/3 Have you any last requests that you wish executed?
1900 in G. R. Hebard Washakie (1930) 283 His last request was a Christian burial in the Post Cemetery with the soldiers who were his friends.
1955 P. M. Kendall Richard III 455 Clarence was duly informed of his approaching end and was given the customary opportunity to make last requests.
2013 Sunday Times (Nexis) 28 Apr. (Travel section) 11 Zip wires..are the lazy man's thrill... On a cliff edge 574ft up, Tomo shackles me into a man-sized sling that is distressingly reminiscent of a gimp suit... ‘Any last requests?’ he asks.
last rites n. rites performed for the dead or dying; spec. = the last sacraments at sacrament n. 2e; (also, in singular) a single such rite; also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > sacrament > (extreme) unction > [noun] > of the sick or dying
last elingc1315
anelingc1350
last anointing1357
extreme unction1477
the Anointing of the Sick1575
last rites1594
chrism1635
the last sacraments1760
the sacrament of the sick1972
1594 S. Daniel Cleopatra ii, in Delia (new ed.) sig. K2 [Cleopatra] crau'd also that shee might Performe her last rites to her lost belou'd.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xiv. 614/2 The last rites [of Richard II] were performed by the Bishop of Chester, the Abbats of S. Alban and Waltham.
1640 D. Featley et al. Θρηνοικος xxvii. 530 The occasion of our meeting..is to performe this last rite to the body of a Child that God hath taken lately to his mercie.
1686 T. Otway tr. S. de Broë Hist. Triumvirates I. li. 197 They gave him [sc. Pompey] the last Rites; the sadness of which Ceremony was very particular.
1723 P. Aubin Life Charlotta Du Pont xx. 217 He adminster'd the last Rites of the Church, and about four in the Morning she expired.
?a1764 W. Rider New Hist. Eng. II. 124 No sooner had he [sc. Alfred the Great] paid the last rites to his deceased brother, than he engaged with the Danes at Wilton.
1829 T. C. Halliburton Hist. & Statist. Acct. of Nova-Scotia I. i. 32 Previous to his death he received the last rites of religion.
1881 M. Majendie Turn of Tide II. iv. 56 The priest bent forward, the last words were spoken, the last rite was accomplished.
1922 C. Kerr Cecil Marchioness of Lothian xv. 228 Dr Talbot said Mass in her room and she was given the last rites of the Church.
1950 ABA Jrnl. June 497/3 He joined the client at the tavern in damning the judge—which is the last rite in closing an unsuccessful case.
2001 D. Powell T. Benn ii. 50 All that would remain to the left would be to read the last rites over socialism.
last ship n. Nautical slang the ship on which a sailor served before the present one, recalled with nostalgia and typically viewed as superior.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] > previous ship regarded nostalgically
last ship1883
1883 L. D. Melton & W. H. Oliphant Cruise of U.S.S. Galena 70 Seated on the spar-deck,..they would tell..of the times they had, when, on the ‘last ship’, or in the ‘Tidalyatalay’, they sailed around the world.
1932 S. G. S. McNeil In Great Waters iii. 50 The real sailor always had everything of the best in his last ship!
1956 E. N. Rogers Queenie's Brood 10 Your last ship and your next ship are always the best.
† last spring n. Obsolete a young salmon, apparently one thought to have hatched the previous spring; a parr or smolt; cf. laspring n.Formerly sometimes regarded as a distinct species.
Π
?1758 R. Bowlker Art of Angling Improved 6 Observations and Remarks on the little Salmons called Samlets, Salmon-Pinks or Shedders; and also on the Last-Springs and Gravel-Last-Springs.
1760 J. Hawkins in Walton's & Cotton's Compl. Angler i. vi. 143 (note) A small but excellent fish of the Trout kind, called a Last-spring.
1847 New Sporting Mag. Feb. 141 The river, or rather brook, Wrey,..abounds in large trout, and a few lastsprings, or pinks.
1861 Act 24 & 25 Victoria c. 109 §4 ‘Young of Salmon’ shall include..Par, Spawn, Pink, Last Spring, Hepper, Last Brood, Gravelling [etc.].
last stand n. (frequently in military contexts) an act of determinedly holding or defending a position against a (more powerful) opposing force; a final show of resistance or protest; esp. in to make one's (also a) last stand; cf. stand n.1 2a.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > holding out or making stand > [noun]
stand1555
last stand1660
1660 J. Trapp Comm. Holy Script. (Ezek. xi. 23) 421 There he made his last stand, to see if they would meet him with intreaties of peace, that he might stop or step back.
1743 C. Packe Ανκογραϕια 55 This place..was the Britains main Camp when Cassivelanus came to their Assistance, and collecting them into one Body put himself at the head of them, and made their last Stand.
1829 Museum Foreign Lit., Sci. & Art July 83/1 [Hope] faintly revived in Vernon's bosom... But feeble indeed was the reviving struggle—an expiring effort! a last stand against despair.
1873 T. N. Burke Irel. & Irish 41 In..1798, the ‘year of the troubles’.., some ninety Wexford men..made their last stand on the banks of the river Boyne.
1989 Scots Mag. Mar. 587 Pictures of ‘last stands’ or soldiers in their moments of sharpest trial..epitomised everything that was good about..Victorian manhood.
2013 Toronto Star (Nexis) 4 Oct. a25 Some are now invoking the Alamo and Custer's Last Stand—glorious defeats, fighting for a noble cause.
last straw n. [with allusion to the proverb it is the last straw that breaks the camel's back (see straw n.1 8)] the culminating fact or event in a series of unpleasant or unwelcome ones, causing an extreme reaction not experienced before.
Π
1845 Calcutta Rev. 4 136 Some other leperous distilment would have been poured into their ears—some other offensive innovation would have been attributed to Government—and the last straw would still have been found.
1860 Harvard Mag. June 313 Jim thrusts a ten-pound cod, which he has just caught, right under your nose; this is the ‘last straw’.
1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 865 In ordinary cases of the disease there is often some minor exciting cause which acts as a ‘last straw’.
1939 D. Whipple Priory i. 19 The fire was the last straw. Positively the last. He would stand no more.
2004 J. McCourt Queer Street xvii. 532 Ripping out the historic privet was one thing—but the fretted lanterns, the tecoma bushes and the mariposa were the last straw!
last trump n. [after post-classical Latin novissima tuba (Vulgate), itself after Hellenistic Greek ἐσχάτη σάλπιγξ (New Testament)] (the sound of) the trumpet which, according to 1 Corinthians 15:52, will raise the dead for judgement at the end of the world.
Π
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xv. 52 In a moment, in the smytinge of an yȝe, in the laste trumpe [L. in novissima tuba].
1479 Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (Caxton) ii. iii In a moment in ye twynkelyng of an eye in the sownyng of the last trumpe shal be the Iugement.
1570 A. Golding tr. D. Chytræus Postil 147 Wee shall not all sleepe: But wee shall all bee changed, and that in a mooment, in the twinckelyng of an eye (at the sounde) of the laste trumpe.
1627 W. Sclater Briefe Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 94 The terrible sound of the last trumpe which Hierome so continually sembled to himselfe.
1776 G. Washington Let. 31 Mar. in Papers (1988) Revolutionary War Ser. III. 568 The last Trump..could not have Struck them with greater Consternation.
1812 B. R. Haydon Jrnl. 18 Nov. in Life B. R. Haydon (1853) I. xi. 189 I..sat for an hour, as if I had heard the hollow roar of the last trump.
1936 E. Goudge City of Bells xiii. 328 The carved figures were..brooding and a little terrible, as though they stood in their ranks waiting for the last trump to call them to judgment.
1992 G. M. Fraser Quartered Safe out Here 170 Granny..snored like the Last Trump.
last trumpet n. = last trump n.
Π
1548 R. Hutten tr. J. Spangenberg Sum of Diuinitie sig. Sv In the twyncklyng of an eye, in the last trumpet [L. in nouissima tuba], for the trumpet shall blowe, and the deade shall aryse vncorrupted.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet v. i. 223 She should in ground vnsanctified been lodg'd, Till the last Trumpet . View more context for this quotation
1678 Young Man's Calling 118 Then shalt thou hear..the last trumpet... Oh how loath will the sinner be, to rise at the ringing of this watch-bell!
1781 W. Cowper Truth 564 'Twas the last trumpet—see the Judge enthroned.
1890 W. O'Brien When we were Boys 191 ‘You are joking’, he said, in the trepidatory tone of one who had just heard the last Trumpet was about to sound.
1955 Boys' Life Apr. 32/3 When..one finds one's mouth filled with something that feels like a woodpile and sounds like the Last Trumpet, one is persuaded to get the heck out of there.
2006 Independent 6 June 8/2 In the final book of the New Testament,..Satan is defeated, the last trumpet sounds and Christ triumphs.
last wicket n. Cricket †(a) = last man n. (b) (obsolete); (b) the final wicket to be defended in an innings.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > last in order
last man1748
last wicket1775
tail1851
gravedigger1887
tail-end1888
1775 Middlesex Jrnl. 9 Sept. C. Bartholomew (last wicket).
1831 Sporting Mag. July 253/1 The Countymen then went in, and when their last wicket was lost they had succeeded in fetching 68 runs.
1868 Baily's Monthly Mag. Sept. 246 The last wicket fell for 689, six players thus putting on nearly as many hundred runs.
1953 R. Webber Australians in Eng. 155 Oldfield (123) and Mailey (46 not out) added 124 for the last wicket in only 40 minutes.
1999 Wisden Cricket Monthly Apr. 53/3 Harvey..took the last wicket as NSW were shot out for 192.

Compounds

C1. Compounds of the adverb with past participial adjectives. See also last-born adj. and n.
last-cited adj. and n.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > [adjective] > commenting or mentioning > most recently mentioned
last-named1534
last-cited?1556
last-mentioned1567
afterward1584
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > documentary evidence > [adjective] > used as citation > most recently
last-cited?1556
?1556 N. Smyth in tr. Herodian Hist. Annot. sig. Ee.ij Plinye, in the last cited Booke, and Chapiter, saieth yt [etc.].
1659 J. Pearson Expos. Apostles Creed 229 If then we consider the two last cited verses by themselves.
1762 T. Warton Observ. Fairy Queen of Spenser (ed. 2) II. 258 The last-cited lines..point out to us [etc.].
1784 T. Holcroft tr. Foucher d'Obsonville Philos. Ess. Foreign Animals 260 This testimony, especially of the last cited, is the more remarkable, [etc.].
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. viii. 129 The last cited statute.
1920 Southwestern Reporter 215 478/1 Decided on the same day that the last cited was.
2006 H. A. Kelly Satan ii. iv. 106 The scene conjured up in the last-cited passage.
last-erected adj.
Π
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues La nouvelle chambre des Enquests, The new, or last-erected, Court of Enquests.
1764 Scots Mag. Oct. 574/2 The last-erected bank..at Glasgow has lately issued notes payable on demand, without the offensive optional clause.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon iii. 97 In the last-erected cottages, I..have made a double roof.
1941 H. I. Chapelle Boatbuilding viii. 568 The top edges of the last-erected sides are covered.
2010 D. N. Chapman et al. Introd. Tunnel Constr. v. 133 These jacks push against the last erected tunnel segment ring.
last-made adj.
ΘΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > [adjective] > created or produced > first- or last-created
first-made1538
last-made1607
1607 tr. R. Bellarmine To G. Blackwel in King James VI & I Triplici Nodo, Triplex Cuneus 47 This last made Oath containeth no such matter.
1760 T. Hitt Treat. Husbandry iv. 185 If the plant be two or three feet high the last made shoot will be much shorter than the others below it.
1870 Dublin Univ. Mag. Oct. 363/2 The long strip of western coast, divided from his last-made acquisition.
1998 M. J. Behe in W. Dembski Mere Creation iii. vii. 191 The end of the newly made fragment bumps into the beginning of the last-made fragment.
last-mentioned adj. and n.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > [adjective] > commenting or mentioning > most recently mentioned
last-named1534
last-cited?1556
last-mentioned1567
afterward1584
1567 T. Stapleton Counterblast iii. xiii. f. 264v Charles the great, whose posterity had hitherto lineally reigned, downe to Arnulphus the last mentioned Emperour.
1688 E. Bohun Geogr. Dict. at Granada, Nova Illiberis The Capital City of the last mentioned kingdom.
1719 in E. Ashmole Hist. & Antiq. Berks. II. 316 On another Grave-stone, like the last mentioned, is this Inscription.
1750 Biographia Britannica III. 1712 He returned..towards the close of the last mentioned year to Paris.
1863 C. Lyell Geol. Evid. Antiq. Man 25 This last-mentioned race.
1966 J. M. Campbell Catal. Menzies Campbell Coll. 1 The last-mentioned was adjusted to the lingual..surface of a tooth.
2011 T. Waugh Right to play Oneself Pref. p. xviii Speaking of the last-mentioned binary, a cautionary note is necessary [etc.].
last-named adj. and n.
ΘΠ
the mind > language > speech > [adjective] > commenting or mentioning > most recently mentioned
last-named1534
last-cited?1556
last-mentioned1567
afterward1584
1534 Prymer in Eng. sig. R.iiij For the fulfyllynge of these two laste named Preceptes we praye.
1661 P. Heylyn Ecclesia Restaurata i. 85 The last named was valued at the yearly rent of 41. pounds, 9. s. 4. d.
1743 C. Perry View of Levant 477 The last named had likewise its Place amongst them.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist III. xli. 100 The last-named apartment.
a1933 J. A. Thomson Biol. for Everyman (1934) II. 1437 The last-named [sc. snuff] is now usually made from the midrib and leaf-stalk.
2004 P. Cooke in H.-J. Braczyk et al. Regional Innovation Syst. i. i. 3 In both the last-named economies, the pursuit of balanced budgets, fiscal correctness and monetary rectitude have become entrenched.
C2. Compounds of the adjective with nouns, used attributively. See also last-chance adj., last-ditch adj., etc.
a.
last-century adj.
Π
1799 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 942/2 A last-century monument has been built up in the centre of it.
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda II. iii. xx. 12 Last-century children.
1954 Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 17 Apr. 36/3 A last-century Yankee..who betrayed a Northern whaling fleet to the Confederates.
2003 D. B. Paterson JJ's Secret 15 He puffs and blows at his fags like a last-century steam engine.
last-gasp adj.
Π
1921 D. H. Lawrence Let. 2 Mar. (1962) II. 643 K.—who is doing the last-gasp touch.
1971 R. Thomas Backup Men xxii. 191 All last-gasp businesses with no need for much of a front.
2011 Metro 21 Jan. (London ed.) 60/1 Portsmouth's Sulley Muntari struck a last-gasp wonder goal.
last-time adj.
Π
1894 W. S. Simpson Let. 7 Dec. in Mem. (1899) 132 The votes..are to be given to the most pressing last-time case.
2002 Daily Tel. 8 Nov. 12/1 Only 71 per cent of last-time Tory voters say the same.
last-war adj.
Π
1941 New Statesman 30 Aug. 218/3 A new R.A.F. equivalent for the last-war word ‘win’.
1996 F. E. Smith Saffron's Trials ix. 67 So at least some of the bombs they used must have been old types. Perhaps even last war bombs.
last-wicket adj.
Π
1891 Leicester Chron. & Leics. Mercury 13 June 3 A useful last wicket partnership by Yates and Mold.
1975 Times 6 Jan. 7/7 A last-wicket partnership of 37 between Mallett and Thomson.
2002 Times 22 July 24/3 Bulbeck was caught at the wicket after a thumping last-wicket stand of 67 made in 40 minutes.
b.
last-minute adj. occurring, done, acquired, etc., at the latest possible time before a deadline or event; cf. the last minute at sense B. 2d.
Π
1908 Daily Northwestern (Oshkosh, Wisconsin) 17 Dec. 12/3 Don't get caught in the last minute Christmas rush.
1929 J. B. Priestley Good Compan. ii. iii. 329 Jimmy had a last-minute inspiration.
1974 ‘M. Yorke’ Mortal Remains ii. i. 39 People were trying to buy last-minute tickets for the day's excursions.
2010 S. Junger War i. iii. 41 The brigade was slated to go to Iraq.., but a last-minute decision sent them back to Afghanistan instead.
last-second = last-minute adj.; cf. the last second at sense B. 2d.
Π
1920 Alumni Q. (Univ. Illinois) 1 Dec. 66/2 Another of those..heart-walloping football finishes in the great Dad's day game..gave Ohio State a last-second touchdown.
1982 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 19 Dec. 23/1 We're always under pressure due to last-second changes.
2012 Atlantic Sept. 53/1 Sometimes, for maximum devastation, he'll drop a love bomb, a last-second twist of compassion: ‘Talk to me... What's going on?’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1OEn.2OEn.3OEn.5a1400n.6a1400v.1eOEv.2c1225v.3c1400v.41603adv.adj.n.4OE
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