单词 | loose |
释义 | loosen.1 1. Archery. The act of discharging an arrow. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > use of bow and arrow > [noun] > discharging arrow loose1519 arrow shot1653 1519 W. Horman Vulgaria xxxii. f. 283v Geue a smarte lose with thyn arowe and thy stryng. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. HHHviii In the loose of the stryng..the..arowe is caryed to the marke. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 30 An other I sawe, whiche..after the loose, lyfted vp his ryght legge. 1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxvi. 122 The loose gaue such a twang, as might be heard a myle. a1637 B. Jonson Timber 1717 in Wks. (1640) III In throwing a Dart, or Iavelin, wee force back our armes, to make our loose the stronger. 1879 M. Thompson & W. H. Thompson Archery iii. 22 The loose being the delicate part of archery, a very small defect in the archer's gear will materially affect the smoothness of the loose. ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb] > at the last minute at (or in) the (very) loose1589 just-in-time1614 the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > end or conclusion > [noun] > conclusion or final result conclusionc1384 uttermost1470 summa summarum1567 loose1589 conclude1643 period1713 outcome1788 pay-off1926 1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xvi. 145 We vse to say marke the loose of a thing for marke the end of it. 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 734 The extreame partes of time extreamly formes, All causes to the purpose of his speede: And often at his very loose decides That, which long processe could not arbitrate. View more context for this quotation 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. x. xxxv. 376 In the verie loose and retreat, rather than in the combat and medley, they found that many more were hurt and slain of their part. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxii. ix. 437 The late battell..was more joious and fortunat in the loose and parting, than light and easie in the conflict and fighting. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. 403 A smacke it [a fountain] hath resembling the rust of yron, howbeit this tast is not perceiued but at the end and loose only. 1608 Bp. J. Hall Epist. I. i. iii How all godless plots, in their loose, have at once deceived, shamed, punished their author. 1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 21 You shall see them finde out pretty looses in the conclusion, but are no waies able to examine or debate matters. 1647 R. Sanderson Serm. II. 209 The unjust steward..resolveth..to shew his master a trick at the loose, that should make amends for all, and do his whole business. a. A state or condition of looseness, laxity, or unrestraint; hence, free indulgence; unrestrained action or feeling; abandonment. Chiefly in at (a or the) loose: in a state of laxity or freedom; unrestrained, unbridled, lax. to take a loose: to give oneself up to indulgence. Obsolete except as in 3b. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > [noun] > lack of restraint or excessive liberty licencec1450 misgovernancec1460 liberty1529 licentiousness1553 loose1593 licentiateness1656 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > without restraint [phrase] without restraint1443 at range1568 out of checka1575 at random1590 at (a or the) loose1593 on (or upon) the loose1935 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (intransitive)] > escape from restraint > throw off restraint to throw off1551 to break forth1608 to take a loose1703 to let rip1857 to kick over the traces1861 to cut loose1900 1593 ‘P. Foulface’ Bacchus Bountie C After these came young Cicero, who, for the large loose that he had in turning downe his liquor, was called Bicongius. a1626 W. Sclater Expos. 2 Thess. (1629) 86 Saint Paul stickes not to impute demencie to seduced Galathians... In his loose, imputes no lesse then..madnesse or losse of wits vnto them. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. v. 240 Although they act them~selves at distance, and seem to be at loose; yet doe they hold a continuity with their Maker. View more context for this quotation 1657 T. Burton Diary (1828) II. 43 I would have you as careful in penning the clause as may be, but not wholly to leave these things at a loose. 1700 M. Astell Some Refl. Marriage 14 The Man takes a loose, what shou'd hinder him? 1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i Melts in his Arms, and with a loose she loves. 1703 C. Leslie in S. Parker tr. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. p. xvi From all this, that dreadful Loose has proceeded of Prophaneness,..which we now see before our Eyes. 1744 R. North & M. North Life Sir D. North & Rev. J. North 134 Such Looses and Escapes, as almost all Men, there [i.e. in Turkey], are more or less guilty of. 1796 Brooke's Fool of Quality (rev. ed.) III. xvii. 102 In the midst of all his enjoyments, of a loose to the gratification of every sensual desire. b. to give a loose (occasionally give loose) to: to allow (a person) unrestrained freedom or laxity; to give full vent to (feelings, etc.); to free from restraint. occasionally To give (a horse) the rein. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > not restrain [verb (transitive)] slidec1386 to give a person rope (also enough rope, etc.)a1475 to give (the) rein(s) (to)1484 to let go1526 to give (a horse) his (also her, its, etc.) head1571 license1605 to give linea1616 unchecka1616 to give a loose (occasionally give loose) to1685 to give stretch to1777 to let rip1857 1685 J. Dryden tr. Horace Odes iii. xxix, in Sylvæ sig. K2v Come, give thy Soul a loose, and taste the pleasures of the poor. 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 8. ⁋6 They now give a Loose to their Moan. 1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 327. ¶11 The Poets have given a loose to their Imaginations in the Description of Angels. 1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 84 Now give a Loose to the clean gen'rous Steed. 1752 H. Fielding Amelia II. iv. ix. 80 Amelia's Inclinations, when she gave a Loose to them, were pretty eager for this Diversion. 1770 E. Burke Thoughts Present Discontents 62 They gave themselves..a full loose for all manner of dissipation. 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. v. 125 He..gave loose..to agitation, which in public he had found himself able to suppress so successfully. 1858 W. M. Thackeray Virginians (1879) I. 391 The little boy..gave a loose to his innocent tongue, and asked many questions. 1874 G. Bancroft Hist. U.S. X. ix. 207 Were I to indulge my present feelings, and give a loose to that freedom of expression which [etc.]. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > relinquishing > [noun] > parting with or letting go departing with1529 letting go1565 loose1615 parting1665 the mind > possession > relinquishing > [noun] > parting with or letting go > willingly a cheerful loose1615 1615 S. Ward Coal from Altar 28 Without zeale the widowes mites are no better then the rest; It is the cheerefull loose [1627 lose], that doubleth the gift. 1672 J. Howard All Mistaken iii. 33 Ping. I must run with my Breeches in My hand, my Purge visits my Bumgut So intollerable often. Doct. Now Sir for a Cheerful Loose. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > safety > escape > [noun] > from restraint or confinement aventingc1380 outscapea1555 escapade1653 loose1669 the world > action or operation > safety > escape > escape from [verb (transitive)] > escape from the clutches of slip1390 to clap, put, or keep the thumb on1481 to make a loose from1669 slip1898 1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant i. i. 6 I must make a loose from her, there's no other way. 1673 J. Dryden Marriage a-la-Mode ii. i. 24 I was just making a loose from Doralice, to pay my Respects to you. a1734 R. North Lives of Norths (1826) II. 177 After his first loose from the university, where the new philosophy was then but just entering. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > rate of motion > swiftness > swift movement in specific manner > [noun] > impetuous > a headlong course or rush ram-race1513 fling1556 loose1700 dash1809 fudder1866 1700 M. Prior Carmen Sæculare 9 The fiery Pegasus..runs with an unbounded Loose. 1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 150 Hah! yet he flies, nor yields To black Despair. But one Loose more, and all His Wiles are vain. 1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. vi. 148 It is running a Horse in Looses or in Pushes that makes the Sweat come out best. CompoundsΚΠ 1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 52v Isidore saith that the best of it [myrrh] cummeth by resolution and loose-giving within it-selfe. [Isid. Etym. xvii. viii. 4 Gutta ejus sponte manans pretiosior est.] This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022). looseadj.n.2adv. A. adj. 1. Unbound, unattached.For to break loose, cast loose, cut loose, let loose, shake loose, turn loose, etc., see the verbs. a. Of living beings or their limbs: Free from bonds, fetters, or physical restraint. Now used only in implied contrast with a previous, usual, or desirable state of confinement. spec. of horses etc.: allowed to run free in travelling or marching. Of money, cash, etc.: in relatively small denominations; in coins (as opposed to notes). So loose change (originally U.S.), a quantity of coins kept or left in one's pocket, etc., for casual use. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > [adjective] > free from confinement freeOE deliverc1300 loose1303 unironedc1450 unbandoned1487 slack1565 unshut1610 unpinioned1621 unthronged1648 untrapped1648 unconfined1649 footloose1702 unensnareda1711 uncaged1731 unlockeda1740 unfettered1748 uncramped1797 unshackled1816 unleashed1825 foot-free1837 unhandcuffed1861 society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [adjective] > of small denomination smalla1400 loose1811 small change1890 society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > coins collective > [noun] > small coins collectively single money1591 small coin1606 change1633 small change1679 grocery1721 smash1821 loose change1827 shrapnel1974 the world > animals > domestic animal > [adjective] > of livestock > allowed to run free in travelling loose1843 1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 10581 So fast þey neuer hym bonde, Þat lose a noþer tyme þey hym fonde. c1386 G. Chaucer Cook's Prol. 28 For in thy shoppe is many a flye loos. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 13333 Quat man þat þou lesess o band, For lous [Fairf. lause, Trin. Cambr. louse] he sal in heuen stand. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 218 This Millere..boond hir hors, it sholde namoore go loos. c1480 (a1400) St. Placidus 976 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 97 Þe emperoure..commandit his men..to..bynd þame in a place..& lyons loss lat to þaim ga. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xxvii. f. xlv Whether wyll ye that y geve losse vnto you, [cf. Luther: welchen soll ich euch los geben?] barrabas, or Iesus? c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13190 He deliuert me lowse, & my lefe felow. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. x. sig. Mm5v The gentle Lady loose at randon lefte. 1602 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor i. i. 272 I warrant your afeard of a Beare let loose, are you not? 1608 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 285 That na maner of swyne be hadin lows within this bruche or burrow ruidis. 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. i. i. 2 When fierce Bulls run loose upon the Place. 1794 W. Cowper Faithful Bird 8 They sang as blithe as finches sing That flutter loose on golden wing. 1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility I. xvii. 217 My loose cash would..be employed in improving my collection of music and books. View more context for this quotation 1827 A. Sherwood Gazetteer Georgia 112 It would be a kind of generous charity, to leave with the tavern-keepers..some of the loose change. 1843 Oregon Hist. Soc. Q. (1901) II. 191 About fifty wagons, with those who had large droves of loose cattle, now left. 1845 J. C. Frémont Rep. Exploring Exped. Rocky Mts. 10 A few loose horses, and four oxen..completed the train. 1846 W. G. D. Stewart Altowan II. i. 41 The neighing of the loose troops, that ever and anon, broke forward to snatch the opportunity of browsing ere the crowd advanced. 1872 E. Eggleston End of World 173 Unless he means to part with all his loose change. 1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 41 A fine long time he [a bandit] has been loose on these hills. 1885 Outing 7 21/2 All drove pack and loose animals before them. 1895 A. Machen Three Impostors 81 He never returned, but his watch and chain, a purse containing three sovereigns in gold, and some loose silver, with a ring..were found three days later. 1900 Speaker 29 Dec. 340/2 Loose horses, blankets, bags and helmets littering the road. a1903 Mod. He struggled until he got one hand loose. 1927 C. A. Siringo Riata & Spurs v. 54 That little burg saw the need of saloons and dance-halls to relieve the cowboy of his loose change. 1950 R. Wilkinson & R. Frisby They're Open ii. 19 Capacious left-hand pocket,..in order that a large bulk of loose change may be carried. 1970 G. F. Newman Sir, You Bastard viii. 245 He got rid of the loose change in his pocket. 1973 Woman's Own 4 Aug. 36 (advt.) The clip-to coin section is just the right size for all your loose change. b. transferred and figurative, e.g. of something compared to a wild animal. Also of the tongue: Not ‘tied’, free to speak. †to have one's feet loose: to be at liberty to travel (cf. figurative use of loose-footed adj. at Compounds 3d.). ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > have freedom of action [verb (intransitive)] > be at liberty to travel to have one's feet loose1726 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective] > of speech > of the tongue untiedc1374 loose1782 1726 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) III. 239 To recover this,..were my feet loose, and my health served me, I would willingly make a London journey. 1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 230 We sometimes think we could a speech produce Much to the purpose, if our tongues were loose. 1817 P. B. Shelley To W. Shelley i. 7 The winds are loose, we must not stay. a1878 B. Taylor Stud. German Lit. (1879) 115 Then swords are drawn, and murder is loose. c. In immaterial sense: Freed from an engagement, obligation, etc.; at liberty. Obsolete exc. dialect, e.g. in the sense ‘free from apprenticeship, having completed a term of service’ ( Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v. Lowse). ΚΠ 1553 tr. Erasmus Epist. Perswade Young Ientleman Mariage in T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique i. f. 32 The seruitude of these twoo, where the one is so muche beholdyng and bounde to thother, that neither of them bothe wold be louse, though thei might. a1600 A. Montgomerie Misc. Poems xxi. 27 Quhen I wes lous, at libertie I lap; I leugh vhen ladyis spak to me of love. 1608 S. Rowlands Humors Looking Glasse 14 My friend seeing what humours haunt a wife, If he were loose would lead a single life. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down Loose, unoccupied. ‘I want to see the mistress when she's loose’. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective] > free from obligations or ties freeOE loosec1374 unbound1390 unobligedc1580 footloose1650 free-floating1927 c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) iv. pr. vi. 106 In so moche is the thing moore fre and laus fro destinye as it..holdeth hym nere to thilke centre of thinges. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 234 [He] is lousse of his promess. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Hviii Hauyng thy hert lose fro all worldly pleasure. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 10996 Philmen the fre kyng, þat he in fyst hade, He lete to þe large, lause of his hondes. a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1686) III. 240 To suppose that a Gentleman is loose from business is a great mistake. 1695 J. Addison Sir J. Somers in Misc. Wks. (1726) I. 5 If yet your thoughts are loose from State Affairs. 1713 R. Steele in Guardian 14 Mar. 1/2 After getting loose of the Laws which confine the Passions of other Men. 1761 C. Churchill Rosciad 22 Loose to Fame, the Muse more simply acts. 1785 W. Cowper Task v. 512 Her champions wear their hearts So loose to private duty, that [etc.]. 1821 W. Scott Pirate III. ix. 205 I wish we were loose from him [sc. the pirate captor]. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > nakedness or state of being unclothed > [adjective] nakedOE bareOE start nakedc1225 nakec1300 unarrayedc1380 clothelessc1386 mother-nakedc1390 stark nakedc1390 bareda1400 naked as a needlec1400 unattiredc1400 uncladc1400 uncoveredc1400 loose1423 unclothedc1440 belly-nakeda1500 naked as one's nail1563 unabuilyeit1568 sindonlessc1595 leathern1596 disarrayed1611 undressed1613 debaredc1620 unapparelled1622 unaccoutred?1750 stark1762 disrobed1794 ungarmented1798 undraped1814 au naturel1828 nude1830 skyclad1832 garbless1838 kitless1846 spar-naked1849 raimentless1852 undoffed1854 togless1857 garmentless1866 naked as a robin1866 clothesless1868 sky clothed1878 nakedized1885 altogether1896 buck naked1913 raw1916 bollock naked1922 starkers1923 starko1923 stitchless1927 naked as a jaybird1931 bollock1950 rollock naked1962 nekkid1977 kit-off1992 1423 Kingis Quair xlix Halflyng louse for haste. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde ii. i. f. 56 They are excedynge swyfte of foote by reason of theyr loose goinge frome theyr chyldes age. 1709 M. Prior Pallas & Venus 3 Venus, loose in all her naked Charms. f. Of an inanimate thing: Not fastened or attached to that to which it belongs as a part or appendage, or with which it has previously been connected; detached. to come, get loose. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > [adjective] abjunct1610 detached1706 free1720 loosea1728 disengaged1794 floating1806 unattacheda1821 a1728 J. Woodward Attempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) ii. 39 [A fossil] found loose on the Side of a pretty high Hill near Stokesley. 1833 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal II. 276 These bolts may be..withdrawn, either by means of a loose key or a stationary handle on the outside of the door. 1856 E. K. Kane Arctic Explor. II. xxiii. 233 I remember once a sledge went so far under..that the boat floated loose. 1903 N.E.D. at Loose Mod. Some of the pages have come loose. It would be more convenient if the volume had a loose index. g. Not joined to anything else. Of a chemical element: Free, uncombined. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > [adjective] > of or relating to elements > properties > uncombined loose1873 1828 O. Gregory Hutton's Course Math. (ed. 9) II. 75 When a loose line is measured, it becomes absolutely necessary to measure some other line that will determine its position. 1873 C. H. Ralfe Outl. Physiol. Chem. 178 Carbonic acid is present in the blood in two conditions; viz., loose and stable. h. Having an end or ends hanging free. Also in figurative context. (See also loose end n.) ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [adjective] > hanging down > streaming streaming1567 plemmirrulate1592 flowing1606 flying1607 loose1781 streamy1813 fly-away1843 flowy1925 1781 W. Cowper Anti-Thelypthora 102 The marriage bond has lost its power to bind, And flutters loose, the sport of every wind. 1820 P. B. Shelley Sensitive Plant in Prometheus Unbound 169 Like a murderer's stake, Where rags of loose flesh yet tremble on high. 1870 J. H. Newman Ess. Gram. Assent ii. viii. 277 As to Logic, its chain of conclusions hangs loose at both ends. i. Not bound together; not forming a bundle or package; not tied up or secured. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [adjective] > not gathered together > specific loose1488 unstringed1597 unamassed1700 unstacked1846 unaggregated1871 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > [adjective] > loose, unfastened, or untied loose1488 lash1513 untied1565 ungirt1579 unfastened1587 untucked1609 unreeved1730 unfixed1805 untaken1836 unbonded1878 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > [adjective] > not firmly attached or loose > not made fast loose1596 unsecured1821 1488 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 4 Fund in the maist of the said cofferis lous & put in na thing bot liand within the said coffyr[is] 570 rois nobilis. 1596 E. Spenser Prothalamion 22 With goodly greenish locks, all loose untyde. 1609 W. Shakespeare Louers Complaint in Sonnets sig. K2 Her haire nor loose nor ti'd in formall plat. 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 159 Who compiled the Alcoran out of Mahomets loose paper. 1668 J. Dryden Of Dramatick Poesie Ded. sig. A2 As I was lately reviewing my loose Papers, amongst the rest I found this Essay. 1781 W. Cowper Charity 176 Loose fly his forelock and his ample mane. 1819 P. B. Shelley Rosalind & Helen 3 Thy loose hair in the light wind flying. 1840 R. Browning Sordello ii. 194 This calm corpse with the loose flowers in his hand. 1850 J. Hannay Singleton Fontenoy I. i. vi. 97 Jingling the loose cash in their pockets. 1888 F. Hume Madame Midas i. ii. 23 Slivers had pushed all the scrip and loose papers away. j. In immaterial sense: Unconnected; rambling; disconnected, detached, stray, random. ? Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > [adjective] > random random1655 loose1681 desultory1692 errabund1835 planless1937 1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar Ded. sig. A2v I..am as much asham'd to put a loose indigested Play upon the Publick. 1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels II. 256 These would check all our loose Wanderings. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 215. ⁋2 These are but loose Hints of the Disturbances in humane Society, of which there is yet no Remedy. 1739 D. Hume Treat. Human Nature I. i. 26 Were ideas entirely loose and unconnected, chance alone wou'd join them. 1741 I. Watts Improvem. Mind i. xvii. 260 Vario will spend whole Mornings in running over loose and unconnected Pages. 1783 E. Burke Rep. Affairs India in Wks. (1819) XI. 307 He gives various loose conjectures concerning the motive to them. a1871 T. Carlyle in J. W. Carlyle Lett. & Memorials (1883) I. 247 Some real scholarship, a good deal of loose information. k. Free for disposal; unattached, unappropriated, unoccupied. Obsolete except in some jocular expressions. †loose shot: marksmen not attached to a company. loose card (see quot. 17631). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > non-use > [adjective] > not put to any purpose waste1439 loose1479 undisposed1483 undisposed1631 undedicated1661 unengaged1711 undesignated1795 society > armed hostility > warrior > armed man > [noun] > one armed with or using firearm > one bearing or using handgun > collectively > type of loose shot1590 1479 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 51 I will that the seid priste be founde the residue of the seid vij yeers wt my loose godes. 1479 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 52 My executors pesably to ocupye my loose goodes. 1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 17 Mosquettiers..are not to be imployed as loose shot in skirmishes. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 54 A File of Boyes,..loose shot . View more context for this quotation 1633 T. Stafford Pacata Hibernia ii. xxi. 234 The Enemy thereupon put out some of their loose shot from their battle, and entertayned the fight. 1759 D. Hume Hist. Eng. (1806) III. 798 Such as could render themselves agreeable to him in his loose hours. 1763 E. Hoyle Whist 82 Loose Card, Means a Card in a Hand that is of no Value, and consequently the properest to throw away. 1763 S. Johnson Let. 16 Apr. (1992) I. 221 I hope you read..at loose hours other books. 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound iv. i. 131 In the void's loose field. 1839 I. Taylor Anc. Christianity I. 465 A devout and wealthy layman resolves to spend a loose five and twenty thousand pounds on sacred architecture. 1900 Daily News 30 Mar. 3/3 With a handful of hastily levied farmers,..aided by the ‘loose talent’ of Europe. l. Grammar. Of certain syntactical elements: not essential to the meaning or construction, etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > syntactic unit or constituent > [adjective] > of constituent: essential > not loose1932 1932 E. Kruisinga Handbk. Present-day Eng. (ed. 5) II. iii. 235 The members of a loose group may be connected by other words or not... We distinguish linked groups and unlinked groups. 1933 O. Jespersen Essent. Eng. Gram. xxxiv. 357 A non-restrictive (or loose) clause,..may be left out without injury to the precise meaning of the word it is joined to, as in ‘The Prince of Wales, who happened to be there, felt sorry for the prisoners.’ 1961 R. B. Long Sentence & its Parts iii. 68 They [sc. subordinate interrogatives] function also as loose adjuncts... We went with Larry, who knew everyone. 1972 R. R. K. Hartmann & F. C. Stork Dict. Lang. & Linguistics 135 Loose apposition, a word or phrase used in apposition and often separated by sustained juncture in speech or by commas in writing. 2. a. Not rigidly or securely attached or fixed in place; ready to move in or come apart from the body to which it is joined or on which it rests.For loose in the haft, in the hilt(s, to have a screw or a tile loose, a loose pin, slate, see the nouns. ΘΚΠ the world > time > change > changeableness > [adjective] slidinga900 wankleeOE windyc1000 unsteadfastc1200 fleeting?c1225 loose?c1225 brotelc1315 unstablec1340 varyingc1340 variantc1374 motleyc1380 ungroundedc1380 muablea1393 passiblea1393 remuablea1393 changeablea1398 movablea1398 variablec1397 slidderya1400 ticklec1400 variantc1412 flitting1413 mutable?a1425 movingc1425 flaskisable1430 flickering1430 transmutablec1430 vertible1447 brittlea1450 ficklea1450 permutablec1450 unfirmc1450 uncertain1477 turnable1483 unsteadfast1483 vagrantc1522 inconstant1526 alterable?1531 stirringc1540 slippery1548 various1552 slid?1553 mutala1561 rolling1561 weathery1563 unconstant1568 interchangeable1574 fluctuant1575 stayless1575 transitive1575 voluble1575 changeling1577 queasy1579 desultory1581 huff-puff1582 unstaid1586 vagrant1586 changeful1590 floating1594 Protean1594 unstayed1594 swimming1596 anchorless1597 mobilec1600 ticklish1601 catching1603 labile1603 unrooted1604 quicksilvered1605 versatile1605 insubstantial1607 uncertain1609 brandling1611 rootless1611 squeasy1611 wind-changinga1616 insolid1618 ambulatory1625 versatilous1629 plastic1633 desultorious1637 unbottomed1641 fluid1642 fluent1648 yea-and-nay1648 versipellous1650 flexile1651 uncentred1652 variating1653 chequered1656 slideable1662 transchangeative1662 weathercock-like1663 flicketing1674 fluxa1677 lapsable1678 wanton1681 veering1684 upon the weathercock1702 contingent1703 unsettled?1726 fermentable1731 afloat1757 brickle1768 wavy1795 vagarious1798 unsettled1803 fitful1810 metamorphosical1811 undulating1815 tittupya1817 titubant1817 mutative1818 papier mâché1818 teetotum1819 vacillating1822 capricious1823 sensitive1828 quicksilvery1829 unengrafted1829 fluxionala1834 proteiform1833 liquid1835 tottlish1835 kaleidoscopic1846 versative1846 kaleidoscopical1858 tottery1861 choppy1865 variative1874 variational1879 wimbly-wambly1881 fluctuable1882 shifty1882 giveable1884 shifty1884 tippy1886 mutatory1890 upsettable1890 rocky1897 undulatory1897 streaky1898 tottly1905 tipply1906 up and down1907 inertialess1927 sometimey1946 rise-and-fall1950 switchable1961 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > [adjective] > not firmly attached or loose loose?c1225 loosed1580 loosened1821 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 168 Ha bið icast sone adun as þe lousse [a1250 Titus lowse, a1250 Nero leste] stan is from þe turescop. c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. I. 70 Þei wolen be louse in us as nailes in a tree. c1479 Inventory of Plate in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 604 j candilstykke with a lous soket. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 700/2 I shake, as a tothe in ones heed that is lose. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lviii Spangels..set on Crymosyn satten lose and not fastened. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. iv. 27 Moses..whose eyes were neuer dimme, nor his Teeth loose. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII iv. i. 77 Hats, Cloakes..flew vp, and had their Faces Bin loose, this day they had beene lost. View more context for this quotation 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. 19 We are within shot; let all our Guns be loose. 1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 103 His Bridge was only loose plank. 1785 W. Cowper Task i. 194 Rills..chiming as they fall Upon loose pebbles. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1074 The said sheaves or pulleys are connected by a crown or centre wheel D, loose upon b, b. 1842 C. Hodge Way of Life iii. ii. 78 Loose matter flies off from revolving bodies. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps ii. xi. 292 I sent Simond to the top to remove the looser stones. b. Of dye: Not fast, fugitive. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [adjective] > yielding dye > fixed dye > not fixed adjective1794 loose1844 wash-off1864 1844 G. Dodd Textile Manuf. Great Brit. 72 A ‘loose’ colour..easily washed out from those parts. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [adjective] > movements of eye walling1513 rolling1532 roving1567 wandering1578 inconstant1598 loose1603 unrolling1647 voluble1661 1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. A4 Their loose eyes tell, That in their bosomes wantonnes doe dwell. 1751 H. Walpole Lett. (1846) II. 381 Prince Edward is a very plain boy, with strange loose eyes. d. Of a cough: Producing expectoration with little difficulty; not ‘fast’ or ‘tight’. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > respiratory spasms > [adjective] > coughing > type of cough hecking1642 bound1759 short1797 hacky1810 loose1833 retching1856 pecking1865 brassy1880 productive1923 1833 J. Forbes et al. Cycl. Pract. Med. I. 316/2 Tightness across the chest, which yields as the cough becomes loose. 3. a. Of strings, reins, the skin, etc.: Not tightly drawn or stretched; slack, relaxed. with a loose rein (figurative): slackly, indulgently, without rigour. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > skin > textures or states of skin > [adjective] > loose slackc1386 loosec1460 the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > types of softness > [adjective] > slack or not tense slakec1374 slackc1386 remiss?a1425 loosec1460 relax1605 lax1660 stray1791 relaxed1825 unstraitened1859 unstrained1882 tensionless1905 society > authority > lack of strictness > [adverb] lightlyeOE remissively1537 unoppressively1656 with a loose rein1775 laxly1839 c1460 J. Russell Bk. Nurture 907 His gurdelle..be it strayt or lewse. 1553 R. Eden tr. S. Münster Treat. Newe India sig. Kviij Neyther haue they theyr bellies wrimpeled or loose. 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Laxus Funes laxi,..Cordes lewse or vnbounde. 1637 J. Milton Comus 11 What time the labour'd Oxe In his loose traces from the furrow came. 1718 G. Jacob Compl. Sportsman 50 His [sc. a Greyhound's] Neck long,..with a loose and hanging Weasan. 1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 20 The Sultan..governs with a loose rein, that he may govern at all. 1784 M. Underwood Treat. Dis. Children 161 Some such application as the following will soon brace the loose gums. 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci iv. iii. 68 My knife Touched the loose wrinkled throat. 1908 Animal Managem. (War Office) 17 The skin..when handled, should feel ‘loose’ and freely movable over the structures beneath. b. Of clothes: Not clinging close to the figure; loosely-fitting. ΚΠ 1463 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 24 The saide Dauy sall cum bar fute, with his gowne louse. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 3 My skinne hangs about me like an old Ladies loose gowne. View more context for this quotation 1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius Hist. Twelve Caesars 147 Veiled all over in a loose mantle of fine Sendall. 1680 T. Otway Orphan ii. 18 Thy garments flowing loose. 1730 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons 110 Rob'd in loose array, they came to bathe Their fervent limbs. 1859 W. J. Hoge Blind Bartimeus vi. 115 Bartimeus..‘cast away his garment’, his loose upper robe. 1901 Speaker 17 Aug. 548/1 Men in loose flannel jackets sang old songs. c. Of the joints: Slack, relaxed from weakness. Also, of a person's ‘build’: Ungainly, looking unsuited for brisk movement. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [adjective] leathwakec1000 lithebyc1000 starka1275 stiffc1305 standing1340 bainc1440 waldinc1485 resolveda1500 supplea1500 lash1513 limber1582 sagging1599 laxed1623 unslakeda1625 laxated1652 springy1674 gangling1764 lithesome1768 swack1768 unslackened1770 lissoma1800 wandle1803 loose-limbed1823 loose1846 unslacked1848 saggy1853 loose-jointed1859 loose-hung1869 gangly1871 the world > life > the body > structural parts > joint > [adjective] > loose loose-hangled1611 loose1893 1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) ii. 13 He was a strong, loose, round-shouldered, shuffling, shaggy fellow, on whom his clothes sat negligently. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona vi. 66 My eyes besides were still troubled, and my knees loose under me. d. Of persons, etc.: relaxed or easy, calm; uninhibited. Esp. predic. (quasi-adv.) in to hang (or stay) loose. slang (originally U.S.). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > calmness > [adjective] eveneOE still1340 unperturbeda1450 unmovedc1480 quietful1494 lowna1500 calma1568 calmya1586 unpassionatea1586 smartless1593 reposeful1594 dispassionate1595 recollected1595 unaffectedc1595 unpassioned?1605 unpassionated1611 collecteda1616 tranquila1616 untouched1616 impassionate1621 composed1628 dispassioneda1631 tranquillous1638 slow1639 serene1640 dispassionated1647 imperturbed1652 unruffled1654 reposing1655 equanimous1656 perplacid1660 placate1662 equal1680 collect1682 cooled1682 posed1693 sedate1693 impassive1699 uninflamed1714 unexcited1735 unalarmed1756 unfanned1764 unagitated1772 undistraught1773 recollected1792 equable1796 unfussy1823 take-it-easy1825 unflurried1854 cool1855 comfortable1856 disimpassioned1860 tremorless1869 unpressured1879 unrippled1883 ice-cool1891 unrattled1891 Zen-likea1908 unrestless1919 steadyish1924 ataractic1941 relaxed1958 nonplussed1960 loose1968 Zenned-out1968 downtempo1972 mellowed1977 de-stressed1999 the mind > emotion > calmness > become composed or calm [verb (intransitive)] > be calm to hang (or stay) loose1968 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective] > in action, conduct, or habit freec1300 unbridledc1374 riotous?1456 liberala1500 unrestrained1531 libertine1593 relaxed1623 long-waisted1647 self-abandoning1817 laissez-aller1818 self-abandoned1833 uninhibited1880 un-Victorian1908 leggo1943 zizzy1966 loose1968 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > have freedom of action [verb (intransitive)] > act without restraint to run riot?1523 to run (out) at riot1529 to hang (or stay) loose1968 1968 R. Coover Universal Baseball Assoc. viii. 242 ‘Hang loose,’ he says, and pulling down his mask, trots back behind home plate. 1968–70 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3–4 40 Down loose, opposite of uptight.—College students, both sexes, Minnesota. 1970 S. Bellow Mr Sammler's Planet iv. 161 Daddy had a bad thing about me, made me financially too independent. You know—pampered me and let me hang too loose. 1974 L. Deighton Spy Story xviii. 195 This is the Captain. Stay loose, everybody. It's just their E.C.M. 1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) iv. 14/2 ‘And remember,’ he told him, waving, ‘stay loose’. 1977 Zigzag Mar. 12/3 The owners were like alcoholics, but they were nice people..loose. 1982 W. Safire in N.Y. Times Mag. 28 Nov. 16 The sympathetic farewell is undiminished: Hang in there vies with Hang tough and Hang loose, and Walk light may cheer up the overweight. 4. Not close or compact in arrangement or structure. a. gen. Used e.g. of earth or soil: Having the particles free to move among themselves. Of a fabric or tissue or its texture: Having spaces between the threads. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > lack of density > [adjective] > loose texture loosec1374 solutec1440 dissolute1607 lax1615 fuzzy1616 incompact1616 waterish1665 incompacted1680 uncompact1705 laxy1716 unconsolidated1802 hover1851 unpacked1855 uncompacted1863 c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Cambr.) ii. metr. iv. 30 The lavse [1532 lose] sandes refusen to beren the heuy wyhte. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry i. f. 44v You must beware, that whyle the ground is loose and soft, you let not in the water. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. iii. 6 So shall no foote vpon the Church-yard tread, Being loose, vnfirme with digging vp of Graues. View more context for this quotation 1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 73 This Marle..is to be cast on baren lowse and drie land. 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §34 The Ashes with Aire between, lie looser; and with Water, closer. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 40/1 A loose soft Mud. 1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 60 A current of blood superfluous in quantity but loose and unelaborate in crasis. 1846 J. Baxter Libr. Pract. Agric. (ed. 4) II. 38 It is a common custom to lay a quantity of loose earth of some kind over the yard. b. Of array or order of men: Not dense or serried. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > [adjective] > scattered at wide intervals > characterized by wide intervals > of an assembly of people loose1630 sparse1828 thinned1857 1630 tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdomes World (rev. ed.) ii. 218 In their marches in loose troopes, they are billeted in the next houses at the countries charges. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 887 With Horse and Chariots rankt in loose array. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 82 Extend thy loose Battalions largely wide. View more context for this quotation 1741 J. Ozell tr. P. de B. de Brantôme Spanish Rhodomontades 193 They began to break their Order, and retir'd in a very loose Manner. 1777 W. Robertson Hist. Amer. v, in Hist. Wks. (1813) II. 122 They repelled, with little danger, the loose assault of the Mexicans. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna vi. vii. 131 The loose array Of horsemen o'er the wide fields murdering sweep. c. Botany. = lax adj. 3b. Also (see quots. 1812, 18392). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > (defined by) distribution, arrangement, or position > [adjective] > sparse or occurring singly sparsed1697 sparse1753 loose1776 lax1796 scattered1796 solitary1796 one-one1832 1776 J. Lee Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) Explan. Terms 78 Laxus, loose, easily bent. 1776–96 W. Withering Brit. Plants (ed. 3) IV. 290 Gills loose. 1787 E. Darwin et al. tr. C. Linnaeus et al. Families of Plants I. 63 The leaflets longer than the floret, loose, permanent. 1812 Edinb. Encycl. (1830) IV. 40/2 Leaves..Loose, (solutum) a cylindrical or subulate leaf, which is loosely attached to its stem. 1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) 472 Loose (laxus); of a soft cellular texture, as the pith of most plants. 1839 J. Lindley Introd. Bot. (ed. 3) 492 Loose (laxus); when the parts are distant from each other, with an open light kind of arrangement; as the panicle among the other kinds of inflorescence. d. Occurring in book-names of certain plants of a straggling habit (see quots.). ΚΠ 1837 W. Macgillivray Withering's Brit. Plants (ed. 4) 71 Loose Panick-grass. 1861 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. VI. 38 Loose Pendulous Sedge. e. Of handwriting: Not compact, straggling. ΘΚΠ society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > [adjective] > straggling loose1711 lax1783 sprawly1798 sprawling1826 spidery1862 sprawled1884 1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 105 [A transcript] wch is written in a pretty large and loose Hand. 1866 W. W. Skeat Melusine (E.E.T.S.) Pref. (init.) It is written..in a clear but somewhat loose handwriting. f. Applied to exercise or play in which those engaged are not close together or in which there is free movement of some kind. (See also quots. 18971, 18972 and cf. B. 2) ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > [adjective] > specific quality loose1802 extreme1974 the world > movement > motion in specific manner > [adjective] > moving easily or freely > in which there is free movement loose1802 society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [adjective] > other actions or types of play short1545 standing1728 unpenetrative1795 loose1802 scratched1869 cannonball1872 scratchy1881 punishable1910 wrong-footing1928 open1934 overhead1938 power1959 run-and-gun1960 tight1961 1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. at Loosen The lock step was introduced for the purpose of counteracting the mischievous effects of loose marching. 1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. iv. 146 The loose play, or independent practice, should first be attempted at a walk. 1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 253/2 Loose croquet, the striking of the player's ball when both are set together, without putting one's foot upon it. 1897 Earl of Suffolk et al. Encycl. Sport I. 144/2 Loose play, a contest in which the combatants deliver strokes and effect parries, not in any regular sequence, but as they think each may be most effective. 1899 M. Shearman et al. Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) 195 The real feature of the loose game..was the additional importance it gave to the three-quarter back. 5. a. Wanting in retentiveness or power of restraint. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > incautiousness > [adjective] > imprudent undiscreetc1340 unadviseda1382 unprudenta1382 imprudentc1386 unredya1387 loose1390 misadvisedc1390 unavisyc1420 unvertyc1485 liberala1500 unprovident1565 unconsultinga1586 ill-adviseda1593 unforeseeing1602 injudicial1607 unvised1609 improvidenta1616 indiscreeta1616 disadvised?a1648 unprudential1650 injudicious1710 unadvising1719 unprovidential1837 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 131 His lose tunge he mot restreigne. a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iii. iii. 421 There are a kinde of men so loose of soule, That in their sleepes will mutter their affaires. View more context for this quotation 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII ii. i. 128 Where you are liberall of your loues and Councels, Be sure you be not loose . View more context for this quotation 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. vii. iv. 206 A rash young fool; carries a loose tongue. b. Of the bowels: Relaxed. Also said of the person. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [adjective] > relaxed condition of bowels laxc1400 solublec1400 laskc1460 loose1508 laxative1546 loose-bellied1565 slippery1597 1508 W. Kennedy Flyting (Chepman & Myllar) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 216 A rottyn crok, louse of the dok. 1594 J. Dickenson Arisbas sig. D4v The brats of Usurers should be alwaies sicke of the loose disease, neuer able to holde anything long. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasmus Colloquies 9 I have more need to stay it's looseness, for my belly is too loose. 1707 J. Floyer Physician's Pulse-watch (1710) xxi. 154 To keep the Body loose is very beneficial, but much Purging..is very injurious. 1783 J. C. Smyth in Med. Communications 1 202 It..gave her two loose stools. 1883 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women (ed. 2) xi. 90 The patient tells you that her bowels are always either very constipated or very loose—implying by looseness rather frequency of motions than thinness or liquidity of the stools. 6. a. Of qualities, actions, statements, ideas, etc.: Not rigid, strict, correct, or careful; marked by inaccurate or careless thought or speech; hence, inexact, indefinite, indeterminate, vague. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > [adjective] > not specified > indefinite gross1534 indefinite1561 indefinitive1598 general1601 loose1609 undetermined1611 vaguea1661 indeterminate1773 tenuousa1817 vaguish1818 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 41 Lay negligent and loose regard vpon him. View more context for this quotation 1622 F. Bacon Advt. Holy Warre in Misc. Wks. (1629) 114 It is but a loose Thing to speake of Possibilities, without the Particular Designes. 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης Pref. sig. B3 The loose and negligent curiosity of those who took upon them to adorn..this Booke. 1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan iii. xxxvi. 226 Prophets..at Delphi..of whose loose words a sense might be made to fit any event. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 188. ⁋1 It is an Argument of a loose and ungoverned Mind to be affected with the promiscuous Approbation of the Generality of Mankind. 1752 D. Hume Polit. Disc. x. 216 No attention ought ever to be given to such loose, exaggerated calculations. 1790 W. Paley Horæ Paulinæ i. 3 We have only loose tradition and reports to go by. 1839 I. Taylor Anc. Christianity I. 173 Not merely a loose resemblance but a close analogy. 1845 J. Lingard Hist. & Antiq. Anglo-Saxon Church (ed. 3) I. App. a. 345 The loose and indefinite word interea, or in the mean while. 1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 His style is..free from that loose rhetoric which is so wearisome to the reader who loves history for its own sake. b. Of literary productions, style, etc. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > inelegance > [adjective] > disconnected unjointed1588 disjointed1593 checkie-wise1603 rambling1632 loose1638 unconnexed1716 disconnected1777 snipped1806 dot and go one1818 spasmodic1832 spotty1843 snippety1864 rantipole1866 splathering1929 1638 R. Baker tr. J. L. G. de Balzac New Epist. III. 31 This kinde of writing is rather a loose Poesie, than a regular Prose. 1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Ppv/2 A loose Discourse, that does not hang together, Discours qui n'est pas bien lié. 1715 H. Felton Diss. reading Classics (ed. 2) 205 That Loose and Libertine Way of Paraphrasing. 1757 T. Gray Ode I ii. ii, in Odes 8 Loose numbers wildly sweet. 1872 W. Minto Man. Eng. Prose Lit. Introd. 6 A sentence so constructed as to be noticeably loose. 1884 R. W. Church Bacon ix. 215 Nothing can be more loose than the structure of the essays. c. Qualifying an agent-noun. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > thought > absence of thought > [adjective] > inaccurate loosea1568 loose-thinking1862 a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 45v Colde, lowse, and rough writers. 1847 L. Hunt Men, Women, & Bks. II. i. 3 Lady Dorset was accounted a loose speaker. 1865 J. B. Lightfoot Comm. Gal. (1874) 120 No stress can be laid on the casual statement of a writer so loose and so ignorant of Greek. 1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. ii. 29 We are loose thinkers and loose talkers. 1902 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. May 590/2 Here too are traps for the loose rider. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > unreliability > [adjective] unsicker?c1225 uncertaina1382 unsadc1384 untristya1387 untrustya1387 unsurec1412 falliblec1425 slipperc1430 ficklea1450 frivol1488 slidder?a1500 casuala1535 slippery1548 slippy1548 failable1561 doubtful1562 lubricious1584 slope1587 queasy1589 unconfirmedc1592 nice1598 catching1603 loose1603 precary1606 ambiguous1612 treacherous1612 unsafe1615 unsureda1616 precarious1626 lubric1631 dubious1635 lubricous1646 unestablished1646 unfixed1654 unsecure?a1685 unreliable1810 unproven1836 untrustworthy1846 shady1848 wobbly1877 Kaffir1899 independable1921 dodgy1961 temperamental1962 1603 Cont. Adv. Don Sebast. in Harl. Misc. (1810) V. 468 I hold it no policy to deliver it [a letter] her; considering it as a loose adventure, in such dangers, to trust a woman. 1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Trivmph of Faith (1845) 80 We make loose bargains in the behalf of our Souls. 1688 G. Miege Great French Dict. ii. sig. Ppv/2 To be in a loose (or unsettled) Condition, n'avoir point d' Etablissement. e. Cricket. Of bowling: Wanting in accuracy of pitch. Of fielding, etc.: Careless, slack. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > [adjective] > type of play loose1859 on-side1898 1859 All Year Round 23 July 306 The loose balls we hit for fours and fives; the good ones we put away for singles. 1877 C. Box Eng. Game Cricket 454 Loose, this adjective is frequently applied to batting, bowling, and fielding too. 1884 James Lillywhite's Cricketers' Ann. ii. iii. 103 P. M. Lucas, a good sound bat, punishes loose bowling severely. f. colloquial. Of an appointed time: Not strictly adhered to. ΘΚΠ the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > definite, fixed, or set > approximate or uncertain uncertaina1300 loose1892 1892 H. Maxwell Meridiana 45 Breakfast is not on the table till a loose ten. 7. Of persons, their habits, writings, etc.: Free from moral restraint; lax in principle, conduct, or speech; chiefly in narrower sense, unchaste, wanton, dissolute, immoral. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective] golec888 canga1225 light?c1225 wooinga1382 nicea1387 riota1400 wantonc1400 wrenec1400 lachesc1450 loose?a1500 licentious1555 libertine1560 prostitute1569 riggish1569 wide1574 slipper1581 slippery1586 sportive1595 gay1597 Cyprian1598 suburb1598 waggish1600 smicker1606 suburbian1606 loose-living1607 wantona1627 free-living1632 libertinous1632 loose-lived1641 Corinthian1642 akolastic1656 slight1685 fast1699 freea1731 brisk1740 shy1787 slang1818 randomc1825 fastish1832 loosish1846 slummya1860 velocious1872 fly1880 slack1951 a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Cock & Fox l. 532 in Poems (1981) 24 He wes sa lous and sa lecherous. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 197 He had ane lous man with him in his companie callit Makgregour quhilk he suspectit gif ony thing war in missing it wald be found of tymes throw his handis. 1588 R. Greene Perimedes sig. G2 By being lose in my loues,..to disparage mine honour. 1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Amancebado A loose liuer. 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 758 Partie coted presence of loose loue. View more context for this quotation 1650 R. Baxter Saints Everlasting Rest (1662) i. vii. 104 Now every old companion and every loose-fellow is putting up the finger. 1683 T. Tryon Way to Health (1697) xix. 428 The Spermatick Vessels, whence proceed wanton Desires, and loose Imaginations. 1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. *Cv I am sensible..of the Scandal I have given by my loose Writings. 1723 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack (ed. 2) 201 He had led a loose Life. a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) IV. i. 5 The Pagans though loose enough in other points of duty. 1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 378 Loose in morals, and in manners vain. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 118 He was a loose and profane man. 1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul II. ix. xl. 321 The leading hierarchs resembled the loosest of the Avignon cardinals. 8. Applied to a stable in which animals are kept ‘loose’ (sense A. 1a) or without being fastened up. So also loose box: a box (box n.2 20) in which the animal is free to move about. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [adjective] > not housed in single stalls loose1813 loose-housed1960 1813 Sporting Mag. 42 54 The reader will have noticed my frequent warm recommendations of the loose stable. 1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §1091 The stables, loose~house (stable or place for a sick horse..&c.),..to be neatly causewayed. 1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxxvii. 354 Gentlemen hunting with the..hounds will find excellent stabling and loose boxes for horses at the Clavering Arms. 1861 G. Greenwood Hints Horsemanship (new ed.) xi. 128 A horse should have a loose standing if possible; if he must be tied in a stall it should be flat. 1871 M. Collins Marquis & Merchant I. ii. 89 Loose boxes for no end of horses. B. n.2 1. absol. in phrases. a. on (or †upon) the loose: (a) (behaving) in an unrestrained or dissolute fashion; ‘on the spree’; (b) of women: living by prostitution; (c) gen. not tied down; not answerable to anyone. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > engaged in prostitution [phrase] upon the town1712 on (or upon) the loose1749 on the turf1860 on the game1898 on the bash1936 on the knock1969 society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaking or conviviality > [adverb] > noisy or riotous roistingly1571 on (also upon) the randan1652 roisteringly1659 tory-rory1665 on (also upon) the spree1847 on a spree1847 on (or upon) the loose1849 on the fly1851 on the (also a) randy1857 on the tiles1887 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > without restraint [phrase] without restraint1443 at range1568 out of checka1575 at random1590 at (a or the) loose1593 on (or upon) the loose1935 1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 9 The giddy, wildness of young girls once got upon the loose. 1849 J. Hannay King Dobbs v. 76 One evening, when they were at Gibraltar, on the look-out for amusement—in modern parlance, ‘on the loose’,—they went into a little wine-shop [etc.]. 1859 Punch 9 July 22/1 Our friend prone to vices you never may see, Though he goes on the Loose, or the Cut, or the Spree. 1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 70 On the loose, obtaining a living by prostitution, in reality, on the streets. The term is applied to females only. 1872 Punch 20 July 23/1 Having to appear at the police court in order to give evidence for one of your fast friends who has been out upon the loose. 1879 Roget's Thesaurus 330 Impure; unclean &c...; on the streets, on the pavé, on the loose. 1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang II. Loose, on the,..getting a living by prostitution. 1914 G. B. Shaw Fanny's Last Play iii, in Misalliance 201 Do you mean to say that you went on the loose out of pure devilment? 1935 N. Ersine Underworld & Prison Slang 51 Ted is on the loose. 1949 E. Partridge Dict. Underworld 483/2 On the loose, obtaining a living by prostitution. 1951 E. Paul Springtime in Paris (U.K. ed.) i. 12 Just then Raoul was spending all his free time with the peace posters and Katya stayed at home. When the roles were reversed, and Katya was on the loose, no one knew precisely what she was about. 1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 30 May 293/2 A group of young Americans.., some being genuinely on the loose or moving from job to job. 1970 V. Canning Great Affair xvii. 319 There was a little mistiming at Sokota so your friend King Alfy is on the loose. b. in the loose: not made up into or prepared in a particular form. ΚΠ 1898 Westm. Gaz. 19 Nov. 8/1 Of this [collection of cigar ends] about 1½ cwt. was sold in the loose to a tobacco manufacturer at 1s. per lb. 2. Rugby. That part of the play in which the ball travels freely from player to player, as distinguished from the scrummage. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of play loose1892 winging1922 spoiling1937 1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 25 Jan. 1/2 They carried the ‘scrums’, and were quicker in the ‘loose’. 1894–5 Rugby Union Football Handbk. 11 ‘Offside’ is still penalised in the loose, but not Solon himself..could define where a scrummage ends and the loose begins. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 12 Dec. 7/2 In the loose both packs did well, but the Oxford men were the more brilliant. 1922 ‘Touch Flag’ Mod. Rugby Tactics 49 Dangerous attacks frequently originate from chance openings in the loose. 1963 Rugby World Aug. 8/3 Wightman and Rogers impressed in the loose for England. 1974 Country Life 5 Dec. 1717/1 The All Blacks..were..gaining their expected supremacy at the line-out and in the loose. C. adv. 1. Loosely; with a loose hold. to sit loose (figurative): to be independent or indifferent; to hold loosely to, not to be enslaved to; occasionally not to weigh heavily upon. †So to hang loose (to). to hold loose: to be indifferent. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > indifference > [verb (intransitive)] to put in no chaloir1477 not to care1490 to let the world wag (as it will)c1525 not to care a chip1556 to hang loose (to)1591 (to bid, care, give) a fig, or fig's end for1632 not to careor matter a farthing1647 not to care a doit1660 (not) to care twopencea1744 not to give a curse (also damn)1763 not to care a dump1821 not to care beans1833 not to care a darn1840 not to give a darn1840 not to care a straw (two, three straws)1861 not to care (also give) a whoop1867 (to care) not a fouter1871 not to care (or give) a toss1876 not to give (also care) a fuck1879 je m'en fiche1889 not to care a dit(e)1907 je m'en fous1918 not to give a shit1918 to pay no nevermind1946 not to give a sod1949 not to give (also care) a monkey's (fuck)1960 not to give a stuff1974 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > independence > be independent [verb (intransitive)] to have one's own rulea1393 to be one's own man (also woman, person)a1425 to be one's own master?1510 to stand on one's own bottom1564 to sit loose1591 independa1657 to paddle one's own canoe1828 to go it alone1842 to run one's own show1892 to go one's (own) gait1922 the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > be suitable, appropriate, or suit [verb (intransitive)] > suit a person to sit loose1591 to be up (down, in) one's street1903 to be (right) up (also down) one's alley1922 to meet up with1972 1591 H. Smith Pride Nabuchadnezzar 27 How earnest hee was about his dreame and how loose he sat after in his pallace. 1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. 83 The best counsell I can give you, is that you hang loose to all these outward comforts. 1680 P. Henry Diaries & Lett. (1882) 281 Theref. get loose, my soul, from these th. & sitt loose to them. 1683 W. Temple Mem. in Wks. (1731) I. 480 I found within a Fortnight after I arriv'd, that he sat very loose with the King his Master. 1706 F. Atterbury Serm. Funeral Mr. Bennet 6 To sit as loose from those Pleasures, and be as moderate in the use of them as they can. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 119. ¶2 The Fashionable World is grown free and easie; our Manners, sit more loose upon us. 1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. ii. xiii. 174 A fluctuating series of governors holding loose, and not in earnest. 1880 Macmillan's Mag. No. 245. 397 To the rubrical theories he simply sat loose. 2. to play fast and loose (†loose or fast): see to play fast and loose at fast and loose n. 1. ΚΠ ?1548 D. Lindsay Tragical Death Dauid Beaton sig. Ciijv We myght full wel, haue lyued in peace and rest Nyne or tenne yeres, and then played lose [1559 lowis] or fast. Compounds C1. General attributive. loose-driving adj. ΚΠ 1729 R. Savage Wanderer i. 165 Yon limeless Sands loose~driving with the Wind. loose-enrobed adj. ΚΠ a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. vi. 40 Loose en-roab'd, With Ribonds-pendant, flaring 'bout her head. View more context for this quotation loose-fitting adj. ΚΠ 1881 H. James Portrait of Lady xxv, in Macmillan's Mag. Apr. 409/1 Ralph had a kind of loose-fitting urbanity that wrapped him about like an ill-made overcoat. loose-floating adj. ΚΠ 1730 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons 111 In folds loose-floating fell the fainter lawn. loose-flowing adj. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > that fits in specific way > loose-fitting wide?c1225 unbraced?1518 lax1621 loose-flowing1777 uncinctured1790 sloppy1825 sacky1891 the mind > attention and judgement > beautification > beautification of the person > beautification of the hair > styles of hair > [adjective] > hanging loose sideOE untrussed1494 sidelong1598 loose-flowing1777 loosened1798 1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Seven Chiefs against Thebes in tr. Æschylus Tragedies 159 Their loose-flowing hair. 1873 H. W. Longfellow Milton 6 Its loose-flowing garments. loose-living adj. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective] golec888 canga1225 light?c1225 wooinga1382 nicea1387 riota1400 wantonc1400 wrenec1400 lachesc1450 loose?a1500 licentious1555 libertine1560 prostitute1569 riggish1569 wide1574 slipper1581 slippery1586 sportive1595 gay1597 Cyprian1598 suburb1598 waggish1600 smicker1606 suburbian1606 loose-living1607 wantona1627 free-living1632 libertinous1632 loose-lived1641 Corinthian1642 akolastic1656 slight1685 fast1699 freea1731 brisk1740 shy1787 slang1818 randomc1825 fastish1832 loosish1846 slummya1860 velocious1872 fly1880 slack1951 1607 T. Middleton Revengers Trag. i. sig. B With easie Doctors, those loose liuing men. loose-thinking adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > thought > absence of thought > [adjective] > inaccurate loosea1568 loose-thinking1862 1862 R. H. Patterson Ess. Hist. & Art 108 In this loose-thinking style. loose-wadded adj. ΚΠ 1841 W. M. Thackeray Men & Coats in Wks. (1900) XIII. 610 Your loose-wadded German schlafrock..is the laziest, filthiest invention. loose-woven adj. ΚΠ 1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. ii. sig. H2v That which puts the loose wouen minde into a whirling tempest. 1901 K. Steuart By Allan Water x. 275 Their webs of loose-woven cloth. loose-writ adj. ΚΠ a1720 J. Sheffield Wks. (1753) I. 76 The loose writ libels of this age. C2. In certain special collocations: loose back n. a method of binding the spine of a book to make it open more easily. ΘΚΠ society > communication > book > manufacture or production of books > book-binding > type of binding > [noun] antiquing1728 royal binding1808 Russia binding1817 gothique1818 half-binding1821 Roxburghe1839 paper cover1843 trade binding1874 tree-calf1879 Grolier1880 yapp1883 cloth-work1885 publisher's binding1885 tree-marble1885 treed calf1892 presentation binding1893 quarter leather1894 quarter calf1896 three-quarter binding1897 library binding1903 circuit-binding1909 publisher's cloth1911 quarter binding1912 loose back1923 open back1923 spring-back1923 spiral binding1949 1923 H. A. Maddox Dict. Stationery 46 Loose back, also termed open or spring back. 1923 H. A. Maddox Dict. Stationery 47 A loose back may be created by simply casing the book... The spring or loose back is actually bound into the book. 1956 Bookman's Conc. Dict. 277 Spring Back, an inner joint in a bookbinding which allows the book to open flat; known as Hollow or Loose Back. 1961 T. Landau Encycl. Librarianship (ed. 2) 268/2 Open back, a style of construction in which the cover is separated from the spine of the book by a special lining... Also called Hollow and Loose Back. loose body n. Medicine = joint mouse n. at joint n.1 Compounds 2; usually plural. ΚΠ 1886 H. Marsh Dis. Joints xv. 185 On examining his joint when the acute attack has gone off, the patient detects the loose body, and learns that it shifts its position. 1886 H. Marsh Dis. Joints xv. 183 (caption) Specimens of the loose bodies found in the knee joint in Mr. Smith's case. 1952 E. F. Traut Rheumatic Dis. ix. 194 A detached portion of the internal meniscus constitutes a loose body or joint mouse. 1961 R. D. Baker Essent. Pathol. xxi. 578 Portions of the damaged articular cartilage, or fragments of the thickened peripheral bone, break off and become loose bodies in the joint cavities. loose coupling n. (see coupling n. 6f(a)). loose cover n. a detachable cover for a chair, couch, or car seat; also attributive. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > cover for furniture carpet1345 carpencloth1577 carpet-cloth1615 wax-cloth1816 loose cover1876 slip-cover1886 throw1888 1876 M. W. Cook Tables & Chairs i. 52 You may prefer to have your curtains, as well as the loose covers, of chintz. 1876 M. W. Cook Tables & Chairs i. 56 Nothing now-a-days looks so nice and ladylike, or is so economical as well-fitting loose covers. 1911 F. B. Jack Woman's Bk. 613/2 Loose covers are not much used nowadays, and, at the best, they soon get out of order and become shabby looking. 1929 W. Deeping Roper's Row xxx. 336 With arm-chairs refreshed with gay cretonne loose-covers. 1929 Radio Times 8 Nov. 438/1 Odd Jobs about the House—II, A Few Hints on Loose Cover Cutting. 1936 R. Lehmann Weather in Streets i. v. 104 I might keep her on for the sewing. She's very clever at loose covers. 1953 M. Sheridan Furnisher's Encycl. ix. iii. 414 A loose cover service may substantially increase the furnisher's business. 1959 B.S.I. News Nov. 20 Specifies..maximum foreign matter content for..loose cover cloths made from cotton. 1973 A. Broinowski Take One Ambassador xii. 206 Comfortable upholstery, not bottomlessly soft, with well-cut linen loose covers. Categories » loose fall n. Whaling (see fall int. and n.3). loose-fill n. (also loose fill) a type of house insulation (see quot. 1964); also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > heat > transmission of heat > [noun] > failure to conduct > substance causing > material planking1875 insulite1882 Micarta1912 loose-fill1950 insulation1969 1949 Building Digest IX. 305 The flat roof has..a loose vermiculite filling.] 1950 Archit. Rev. 108 332/2 A 4 in. thickness of vermiculite loosefill for instance has the same thermal insulation as 24 times that thickness of concrete. 1956 Good Housek. Home Encycl. (ed. 4) 170/2 ‘Loose fill’ which is poured or packed..between the joists. 1964 J. S. Scott Dict. Building 198 Loose-fill insulation, insulating materials such as granulated cork, loose asbestos..vermiculite. Loose fill is placed between rafters or studs to increase the insulating value of a dry air space. 1969 Daily Tel. 16 Sept. 15 Most house~holders can climb into their lofts and lay mineral wool or glass fibre over the joists, or loose-fill between them. loose fish n. (a) colloquial a person of irregular habits; †(b) a common prostitute; (c) (see quot. 1864); (d) Whaling (see quot. 1883). ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > worthlessness > worthless person > [noun] ribalda1250 brethelingc1275 filec1300 waynouna1350 waster1352 lorel1362 losel1362 land-leaper1377 javelc1400 leftc1400 lorerc1400 shackerellc1420 brethel1440 never-thrift1440 ne'er-thrifta1450 never-thrivinga1450 nebulona1475 breelc1485 naughty pack?1534 brathel1542 unsel155. pelf1551 wandrel?1567 land-loper1570 scald1575 baggage1594 arrant1605 good-for-nothing1611 hilding1611 vauneant1621 idle-pack1624 thimble-maker1654 never-do-well1664 ne'er-be-good1675 shack1682 vagabond1686 shag-bag1699 houndsfoot1710 blackguard1732 ne'er-do-well1737 trumpery1738 rap1742 good-for-naught1773 rip1781 mauvais sujet1793 scamp1808 waffie1808 loose fish1809 ne'er-do-good1814 hard bargain1818 vaurien1829 sculpin1834 shicer1846 wastrel1847 scallywag1848 shack-bag1855 beat1865 rodney1877 git1939 no-hoper1944 piss artist1962 society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [noun] > person ribald1340 shaker?a1500 whipster1593 Cyprian1598 wantoner1665 free-liver1711 rep1747 loose fish1809 society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > prostitution > [noun] > a prostitute meretrixOE whoreOE soiled dovea1250 common womanc1330 putec1384 bordel womanc1405 putaina1425 brothelc1450 harlot?a1475 public womanc1510 naughty pack?1529 draba1533 cat1535 strange woman1535 stew1552 causey-paikera1555 putanie?1566 drivelling1570 twigger1573 punka1575 hackney1579 customer1583 commodity1591 streetwalker1591 traffic1591 trug1591 hackster1592 polecat1593 stale1593 mermaid1595 medlar1597 occupant1598 Paphian1598 Winchester goose1598 pagan1600 hell-moth1602 aunt1604 moll1604 prostitution1605 community1606 miss1606 night-worm1606 bat1607 croshabell1607 prostitute1607 pug1607 venturer1607 nag1608 curtal1611 jumbler1611 land-frigate1611 walk-street1611 doll-common1612 turn-up1612 barber's chaira1616 commonera1616 public commonera1616 trader1615 venturea1616 stewpot1616 tweak1617 carry-knave1623 prostibule1623 fling-dusta1625 mar-taila1625 night-shadea1625 waistcoateera1625 night trader1630 coolera1632 meretrician1631 painted ladya1637 treadle1638 buttock1641 night-walker1648 mob?1650 lady (also girl, etc.) of the game1651 lady of pleasure1652 trugmullion1654 fallen woman1659 girlc1662 high-flyer1663 fireship1665 quaedama1670 small girl1671 visor-mask1672 vizard-mask1672 bulker1673 marmalade-madam1674 town miss1675 town woman1675 lady of the night1677 mawks1677 fling-stink1679 Whetstone whore1684 man-leech1687 nocturnal1693 hack1699 strum1699 fille de joie1705 market-dame1706 screw1725 girl of (the) town1733 Cytherean1751 street girl1764 monnisher1765 lady of easy virtue1766 woman (also lady) of the town1766 kennel-nymph1771 chicken1782 stargazer1785 loose fish1809 receiver general1811 Cyprian1819 mollya1822 dolly-mop1834 hooker1845 charver1846 tail1846 horse-breaker1861 professional1862 flagger1865 cocodette1867 cocotte1867 queen's woman1871 common prostitute1875 joro1884 geisha1887 horizontal1888 flossy1893 moth1896 girl of the pavement1900 pross1902 prossie1902 pusher1902 split-arse mechanic1903 broad1914 shawl1922 bum1923 quiff1923 hustler1924 lady of the evening1924 prostie1926 working girl1928 prostisciutto1930 maggie1932 brass1934 brass nail1934 mud kicker1934 scupper1935 model1936 poule de luxe1937 pro1937 chromo1941 Tom1941 pan-pan1949 twopenny upright1958 scrubber1959 slack1959 yum-yum girl1960 Suzie Wong1962 mattress1964 jamette1965 ho1966 sex worker1971 pavement princess1976 parlour girl1979 crack whore1990 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. vii. vii. 115 Girls in a servile condition of life, or those unfortunate loose fish who are game for every sportsman. 1827 P. Egan Anecd. Turf 72 A game known among the loose fish who frequent races..by the name of ‘the thimble-rig’. 1864 Sat. Rev. July 84/1 That peculiar variety of Parliamentary species known as ‘an outsider’ or ‘a loose fish,’ but described by itself under the more flattering title of ‘an independent member’. 1883 W. C. Russell Sailors' Lang. Loose-fish, a whaling term signifying that the whale is fair game for anybody who can catch it. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > lack of work > [phrase] > not in regular employment at the loose hand1742 at (after, on) a loose end1851 1742 R. North & M. North Life F. North 77 He was weary of being at the loose hand as to company. loose head n. Rugby (the position of) the prop forward in the front row of a scrum closest to the scrum half as the ball is put into the scrum; cf. tight head n. at tight adj., adv., and n.2 Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > types of player > player or position full back1875 goal kick1875 No. eight1876 goalkicker1879 three-quarter back1880 handler1888 three-quarter1889 heeler1892 scrum half1894 lock forward1898 standoff1902 five-eighth1905 hooker1905 threes1905 flying half1906 loose head1907 standoff1908 fly-half1918 fly1921 inside half1921 outside half1921 scrum1921 inside centre1936 flank forward1937 out-half1949 prop1950 prop forward1951 number eight1952 flanker1953 tight head1959 back-rower1969 second rower1969 striker1973 packman1992 1907 ‘Old International’ Rugby Guide 62 It was discovered that on the flank of the row where the ball came into the scrum there was a head overhanging the side of the scrum. This head was given the appellation of ‘loose head’. 1917 in P. Jones War Lett. (1918) 259 We used to spend hours arguing over anything, from free-will to the ‘loose-head’. 1927 W. W. Wakefield & H. P. Marshall Rugger 166 Some hookers prefer to have the weight on the loose-head side. 1927 Daily Express 14 June 2/3 The ‘loose head’ (the system of playing more than three players in the front row of the scrummage). 1960 C. Venables Instr. to Young Rugger Players iii. 37 When the two scrummages are formed they pack down and, of course, the heads of the two front rows are interlocked. But, with three men in each row, this clearly means that one man in each row will have his head free. This is known as the ‘loose head’ and it is on that side that the scrum half will put the ball in, for the good reason that his own hooker will be nearer to the ball than the hooker on the other side. 1960 E. S. Higham & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby xiv. 191 The loose-head prop puts the inside foot forward. 1960 E. S. Higham & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby xiv. 195 We will refer to the hooker who has the loose head..as the ‘loose-head hooker’. loose-housed adj. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [adjective] > not housed in single stalls loose1813 loose-housed1960 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 5 Jan. 53/1 Half [the herd] is loose-housed and zero-grazed. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 12 Jan. 78/1 Three sides of the yard accommodating the 55 pedigree..Friesians loose-housed are filled by the covered lying shed. 1963 C. T. M. Herriot tr. Craplet Dairy Cow v. xvii. 374 Loose-housed animals are less nervous than those kept in byres. loose-housing n. a method of housing cattle in winter in partly covered barns with access to a feeding area, in which the cows are not confined to a single stall; also attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [noun] > housing or sheltering of cattle lairage1881 loose-housing1946 1946 Agric. Engineering XXVII. 499/2 The loose-housing barn and milking parlor seemed to offer a possible improvement. 1948 Pop. Bull. Washington Agric. Exper. Station No. 190 (title) The loose housing and feeding of dairy herds. 1948 Pop. Bull. Washington Agric. Exper. Station No. 190. 2 Loose housing is becoming popular. 1963 C. T. M. Herriot tr. Craplet Dairy Cow v. xvii. 369 Loose housing provides a well-compacted, thoroughly decomposed manure. 1963 C. T. M. Herriot tr. Craplet Dairy Cow v. xvii. 369 Cows to be kept under a loose housing system can become accustomed to communal living. loose ice n. (see quot. 1835). ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > water > ice > [noun] > loose loose ice1774 sailing-ice1820 pan ice1865 1774 C. J. Phipps Voy. N. Pole 38 At one in the afternoon, being still amongst the loose ice. 1835 J. Ross Narr. Second Voy. North-west Passage Explan. Terms p. xv Loose ice, a number of pieces of ice near each other, but through which the ship can make way. loose pulley n. ‘a pulley running loosely on the shaft, and receiving the belt from the fast pulley when the shaft is to be disconnected from the motor’ (E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech.); also fast and loose pulley (see fast adj. Compounds 2). ΚΠ 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 382 A strap passing from a drum over a fast and loose pulley. 1873 J. Richards On Arrangem. Wood-working Factories 62 Loose pulleys will give trouble now and then, no matter how well they are fitted. loose scrum n. in Rugby, a scrum formed by the players round the ball during play, and not ordered by the referee: opposed to set scrum(mage); hence, loose scrummaging ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > actions or manoeuvres scrimmaging1776 throw on1845 rush1857 catch1858 maul1860 touch1863 mauling1864 touch-in-goal1869 goal-kicking1871 throw-forward1871 sidestepping1877 handing1882 punting1882 heel1886 touch kicking1889 forward pass1890 scrumming1892 touch-finding1895 heeling1896 wheel1897 scrag1903 reverse pass1907 jinka1914 hand-off1916 play-the-ball1918 gather1921 pivot pass1922 sidestep1927 smother-tackle1927 stiff-arm1927 heel-back1929 scissors1948 rucking1949 loose scrummaging1952 cut-through1960 pivot break1960 put-in1962 chip kicking1963 box kicking1971 peel1973 chip and chase1976 tap penalty1976 1952 Rugby Union Football (‘Know the Game’ Series) (ed. 2) 26 A ‘loose’ scrum..is formed by..players closing round the ball when it is on the ground. 1958 K. Pelmear & J. E. Morpurgo Rugby Football viii. 339 Loose scrummaging (now sometimes known as ‘rucking’) was becoming the half-back's delight. 1960 E. S. Higham & W. J. Higham High Speed Rugby xiv. 201 It is possible to build up a loose scrum in two ways. loose scrummage n. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > rugby football > [noun] > scrum scrimmage1848 squash1857 loose scrummage1874 scrum1876 tight1904 loose ruck1906 set scrum1925 scrum-down1943 1874 G. H. West Rugby Union Football Ann. 66 A light and very useful forward, especially in a loose scrummage. 1936 Times 9 Jan. 4/1 A quick heel-back from a loose scrummage. loose smut n. a disease of cereals, esp. barley and wheat, caused by the fungus Ustilago nuda. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with crop or food plants > smut or smutty condition ustilago1578 smit1585 smutting1621 smuttiness1659 smut1665 bragc1682 burnt-eara1722 slain1788 dust-brand1850 stinking rust1861 stinking bunt1889 loose smut1890 stinking smut1891 dust1897 1890 2nd Ann. Rep. Exper. Station Kansas State Agric. Coll. 1889 213 The loose smuts are four closely allied species found on oats, wheat, and barley. 1909 Bull. Bureau Plant Industry, U.S. Dept. Agric. No. 152. 7 The loose smut..is easily distinguished from the covered smut by its earlier appearance, by its olive-green spore-mass.., and by the early shedding of the spores. 1924 Jrnl. Agric. Res. 29 263/1 Formaldehyde and some of the organic mercury compounds have been found to control the loose-smut of barley in certain varieties. 1968 Times 16 Dec. 7/1 Loose smut in barley..has become a serious problem again because of the preponderance of susceptible varieties. loose whale n. a whale which remains beside its harpooned mate. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > order Cetacea (whales) > [noun] > large member of (whale) > accompanying calf or mate mate fish1726 loose whale1903 1903 F. T. Bullen in Strand Mag. Nov. 539/1 All through the combat..the whale-fishers will be closely beset by the ‘loose’ whale. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > other types of embroidery cutwork1470 Alexandrinec1500 loose work1548 Irish stitch1560 opus anglicumc1840 opus anglicanum1848 chikan1858 straw embroidery1862 Greek embroidery1882 Hardanger1904 Assisi1923 hedebo1932 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lviiiv Veluet, couered all ouer with braunches of hony suckels of fyne flat gold of dammaske, of lose worke, euery lefe of the braunche mouing. 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 844/2 A curious lose worke of veluet imbrodered with gold. C3. a. With nouns, forming adjectival combinations, as loose-needle, loose-wrist. ΚΠ 1647 N. Ward Simple Cobler Aggawam 24 I shall..make bold..to borrow a little of their loose-tongue Liberty. 1866 Athenæum No. 1997. 178/3 Loose-wrist practice [in pianoforte-playing] is a most excellent thing. 1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Dialling, the operation of making a survey with the dial. There are two ways of using the instrument, known as loose needle and fast needle dialling. b. With participles, loose being used as a complement. loose-broke adj. ΚΠ 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad v. 176 His troops press forward like a loose-broke flood. loose-hanging adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [adjective] > hanging down > dangling dangled1593 dangling1597 dingle-dangle1598 loose-hanging1598 dangle1600 loose-hung1625 adangle1855 dangly1903 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie ii. vii. sig. F6 Her loose-hanging gowne For her loose lying body. 1851 H. W. Longfellow Golden Legend iii. 119 What news do you bring with your loose-hanging rein? loose-hung adj. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > support > hanging or suspension > [adjective] > hanging down > dangling dangled1593 dangling1597 dingle-dangle1598 loose-hanging1598 dangle1600 loose-hung1625 adangle1855 dangly1903 the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [adjective] leathwakec1000 lithebyc1000 starka1275 stiffc1305 standing1340 bainc1440 waldinc1485 resolveda1500 supplea1500 lash1513 limber1582 sagging1599 laxed1623 unslakeda1625 laxated1652 springy1674 gangling1764 lithesome1768 swack1768 unslackened1770 lissoma1800 wandle1803 loose-limbed1823 loose1846 unslacked1848 saggy1853 loose-jointed1859 loose-hung1869 gangly1871 1625 K. Long tr. J. Barclay Argenis ii. xx. 133 The loose-hung Banners. 1869 A. C. Swinburne in S. T. Coleridge Christabel p. viii Effeminate in build, loose-hung, weak of eye and foot. 1872 A. T. de Vere Armagh Cathedral in Legends St. Patrick With tangled locks and loose-hung battle-axe Ran the wild kerne. loose-let adj. ΚΠ 1601 Mary Magd. Lament. vi. xxvi, in Fuller Worthies Miscell. II My loose-let soule. loose-lying adj. ΚΠ 1814 R. Southey Roderick v. 72 Soon they scoop'd Amid loose-lying sand a hasty grave. c. Parasynthetic adjectives. loose-barbed adj. ΚΠ 1901 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 742/2 Their spears with loose~barbed points. loose-curled adj. ΚΠ 1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 152 Her bronze~hued, loose-curled head. loose-flowered adj. ΚΠ 1837 W. Macgillivray Withering's Brit. Plants (ed. 4) 346 Loose-flowered Alpine Carex. loose-girdled adj. ΚΠ 1894 W. E. Gladstone tr. Horace Odes 35 With thee, loose-girdled Graces come. loose-handed adj. ΚΠ 1870 J. R. Lowell Among my Bks. (1873) 1st Ser. 223 To draw the line..between a wise generosity and a loose-handed weakness of giving. loose-hipped adj. ΚΠ 1648 R. Herrick Hesperides sig. F2v First, Jollies wife is lame; then next, loose-hipt: Squint-ey'd, hook-nos'd. loose-jointed adj. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [adjective] leathwakec1000 lithebyc1000 starka1275 stiffc1305 standing1340 bainc1440 waldinc1485 resolveda1500 supplea1500 lash1513 limber1582 sagging1599 laxed1623 unslakeda1625 laxated1652 springy1674 gangling1764 lithesome1768 swack1768 unslackened1770 lissoma1800 wandle1803 loose-limbed1823 loose1846 unslacked1848 saggy1853 loose-jointed1859 loose-hung1869 gangly1871 1859 J. M. Jephson & L. Reeve Narr. Walking Tour Brittany iii. 28 Big-headed, loose-jointed..carriage-horses. loose-limbed adj. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [adjective] leathwakec1000 lithebyc1000 starka1275 stiffc1305 standing1340 bainc1440 waldinc1485 resolveda1500 supplea1500 lash1513 limber1582 sagging1599 laxed1623 unslakeda1625 laxated1652 springy1674 gangling1764 lithesome1768 swack1768 unslackened1770 lissoma1800 wandle1803 loose-limbed1823 loose1846 unslacked1848 saggy1853 loose-jointed1859 loose-hung1869 gangly1871 1823 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 6 Sept. 624 The cattle appear to be all of the Sussex breed... loose-limbed. 1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xxiii. 236 A long loose-limbed seaman came up from the mouth of the cave. loose-lived adj. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > [adjective] golec888 canga1225 light?c1225 wooinga1382 nicea1387 riota1400 wantonc1400 wrenec1400 lachesc1450 loose?a1500 licentious1555 libertine1560 prostitute1569 riggish1569 wide1574 slipper1581 slippery1586 sportive1595 gay1597 Cyprian1598 suburb1598 waggish1600 smicker1606 suburbian1606 loose-living1607 wantona1627 free-living1632 libertinous1632 loose-lived1641 Corinthian1642 akolastic1656 slight1685 fast1699 freea1731 brisk1740 shy1787 slang1818 randomc1825 fastish1832 loosish1846 slummya1860 velocious1872 fly1880 slack1951 1641 J. Trapp Theologia Theol. 250 Loose-lived ministers. loose-locked adj. ΚΠ a1661 B. Holyday tr. Juvenal Satyres (1673) 94 Loose~lock'd Sabines, who a battle stay'd. loose-panicled adj. ΚΠ 1824 J. C. Loudon Green-house Compan. ii. 43 Otidia laxa, loose-panicled Otidia. loose-principled adj. ΚΠ 1858 J. Martineau Stud. Christianity 188 A loose-principled and unholy being. loose-robed adj. ΚΠ 1777 E. Ryves Poems 60 Where loose-rob'd Pleasure careless roves. loose-spiked adj. ΚΠ 1837 W. Macgillivray Withering's Brit. Plants (ed. 4) 346 Loose~spiked Rock Carex. loose-wived adj. ΚΠ a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) i. ii. 66 It is a heart-breaking to see a handsome man loose-Wiu'd. View more context for this quotation d. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [adjective] > relaxed condition of bowels laxc1400 solublec1400 laskc1460 loose1508 laxative1546 loose-bellied1565 slippery1597 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Aluus liquanda, he must be made loose bealyed. loose-bodied adj. (of a dress) loose-fitting; †figurative lewd, wanton. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] incontinentc1380 unchaste1382 uncontinentc1384 follya1400 whorisha1530 whorey1554 Paphian1569 harlot1574 inchastea1596 loose-bodieda1616 philogenitive1816 a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) iv. iii. 133 If euer I said loose-bodied gowne, sow me in the skirts of it. View more context for this quotation 1625 J. Shirley Schoole of Complement ii. i Hee's giddy-headed, and loose-bodied. a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Gypsies 75* in tr. Horace Art of Poetry (1640) Christian shall get her a loose bodyed Gown. 1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada i. Epil. sig. I3 And oft the Lacquey, or the Brawny Clown, Gets what is hid in the loose body'd gown. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > low rank or condition > lout or boor > [noun] carter1509 clumpertonc1534 club1542 pig1546 lout1548 clinchpoop1555 clout-shoe1563 loose-breech1575 hoyden1593 clunch1602 clod1607 camel1609 clusterfist1611 loon1619 Grobian1621 clota1637 hoyde1636 Hottentot1710 yahoo1726 polisson1866 mucker1884 bohunk1908 hairy ape1931 cafone1949 trog1956 oafo1959 the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > [noun] > unmannerliness > unrefined manners or behaviour > person bearc1395 carter1509 kensy?a1513 clumpertonc1534 club1542 lout1548 clinchpoop1555 clout-shoe1563 loose-breech1575 clown1583 hoyden1593 boor1598 kill-courtesy1600 rustic1600 clunch1602 loblolly1604 camel1609 clusterfist1611 loon1619 Grobian1621 rough diamonda1625 hoyde1636 clodhopper1699 roughhead1726 indelicate1741 vulgarian1809 snob1838 vulgarist1847 yahoo1861 cave-dweller1865 polisson1866 mucker1884 caveman1907 wampus1912 yobbo1922 yenta1923 yob1927 rude1946 cafone1949 no-neck1961 ocker1971 1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle iii. iii. sig. Ciiiv I faith sir loose breche had ye taried, ye shold haue found your match. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > [adjective] wordyeOE talewisec1200 i-worded?c1225 babblinga1250 cacklinga1250 chatteringa1250 speakfula1250 word-wooda1250 of many wordsc1350 janglingc1374 tatteringc1380 tongueya1382 ganglinga1398 readya1400 jargaunt1412 talkative1432 open-moutheda1470 clattering1477 trattling?a1513 windy1513 popping1528 smatteringa1529 rattle?1529 communicablea1533 blab1552 gaggling1553 long-tongued?1553 prittle-prattle1556 pattering1558 talking1560 bobling1566 gabbling1566 verbal1572 piet1573 twattling1573 flibber gibber1575 babblative1576 tickle-tongued1577 tattling1581 buzzing1587 long-winded1589 multiloquous1591 discoursive1599 rattling1600 glib1602 flippant1605 talkful1605 nimble-tongued1608 tongue-ripe1610 fliperous1611 garrulous?1611 futile1612 overspeaking1612 feather-tongueda1618 tongue-free1617 long-breatheda1628 well-breathed1635 multiloquious1640 untongue-tied1640 unretentive1650 communicative1651 linguacious1651 glibbed1654 largiloquent1656 multiloquent1656 parlagea1657 loose-clacked1661 nimble-chop1662 twit-twat1665 over-talkativea1667 loquacious1667 loudmouth1668 conversable1673 gash1681 narrative1681 chappy1693 apposite1701 conversative1703 gabbit1710 lubricous1715 gabby?1719 ventose1721 taleful1726 chatty?1741 blethering1759 renable1781 fetch-fire1784 conversational1799 conversant1803 gashing1808 long-lunged1815 talky1815 multi-loquacious1819 prolegomenous1822 talky-talky1831 nimble-mouthed1836 slipper1842 speechful1842 gassy1843 in great force1849 yattering1859 babbly1860 irreticent1864 chattable1867 lubrical1867 chattery1869 loose-mouthed1872 chinny1883 tongue-wagging1885 yappy1909 big-mouthed1914 loose-lipped1919 ear-bashing1945 ear-bending1946 yackety-yacking1953 nattering1959 yacking1959 woofy1960 1661 K. W. Confused Characters 47 His dam was..some loose clackt bitch or other. loose-ended adj. ended or finished off in a slack, untidy, or inconclusive way; also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > [adjective] > not brought to a conclusion > not properly finished loose-ended1867 1867 J. R. Lowell in Atlantic Monthly Jan. 24 Loose-ended souls, whose skills bring scanty gold. 1937 Times Lit. Suppl. 15 May 379/1 The weaving of three themes through the tenuous and loose-ended plot. 1944 Horizon 9 286 My purpose is to indicate..how we loose-ended mortals are dealt with. loose-endedness n. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > completing > non-completion > [noun] > unfinished condition unaccomplishment1643 incompletion1804 unfinish1831 unfinishedness1887 loose-endedness1905 1905 Proc. Royal Soc. 1904–5 75 378 There was no slackness or loose-endedness about him either physically or intellectually. 1968 Punch 3 Jan. 4/2 The problem, which mightn't worry some people but had teased me for a fortnight by its sheer loose-endedness. loose-footed adj. having a loose foot (in quot., said of a sail); †figurative ready on one's feet, at liberty to travel. ΘΚΠ society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [adjective] > at liberty to travel loose-footed1717 society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > freedom of action or from restraint > [adjective] > at liberty to travel loose-footed1717 society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [adjective] > set to a boom > not loose-footed1895 1717 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 315 Were I as loose-footed as I have been, I could come to London to have the benefit of reading it. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds ii. 38 Every loose-footed man wanted to go. 1878 J. H. Beadle Western Wilds xxviii. 442 Loose-footed young men erect a cabin, barely habitable in good weather. 1895 Outing 26 46/1 Tricing up the tack if the sail is loose-footed. 1927 G. Bradford Gloss. Sea Terms 104/2 Loose-footed, a fore and aft sail not laced to (or without) a boom. 1948 R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 433/2 Loose-footed, an expression used for denoting a fore-and-aft sail in which the foot is not laced to the boom. loose-gowned adj. wearing a loosely-fitting dress; †figurative wanton. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > unchaste or sexually compliant (of women) strumpeta1382 jadish1573 comingc1576 short heeled1591 loose in the hilts1598 loose-legged1598 loose-tailed1598 light-tailed1600 overscutched1600 stuprous1603 light-skirted1607 brothelly1608 light-heeled1611 wagtailed1648 loose-hilteda1652 feather-heeleda1674 loose-gowneda1717 frank1744 shake-tail1782 (a woman) of a certain description1803 hetaeric1868 round-heeled1926 floozy?1930 trampy1944 slack1951 slaggy1973 a1717 T. Parnell Donne's 3rd Sat. 36 Or for some idol of thy fancy draw Some loose-gown'd dame. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > structural parts > joint > [adjective] > loose loose-hangled1611 loose1893 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Long Longue eschine..a tall, ill-fauoured, loose-hangled boobie. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > unchaste or sexually compliant (of women) strumpeta1382 jadish1573 comingc1576 short heeled1591 loose in the hilts1598 loose-legged1598 loose-tailed1598 light-tailed1600 overscutched1600 stuprous1603 light-skirted1607 brothelly1608 light-heeled1611 wagtailed1648 loose-hilteda1652 feather-heeleda1674 loose-gowneda1717 frank1744 shake-tail1782 (a woman) of a certain description1803 hetaeric1868 round-heeled1926 floozy?1930 trampy1944 slack1951 slaggy1973 a1652 R. Brome New Acad. ii. i. 28 in Five New Playes (1659) Your loose-hilted Mystresses. loose-kirtle n. quasi-archaic a wanton. ΚΠ 1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xxx Here's a fellow..talks about failing, as if he were a Barbican loose-kirtle trying to keep her apple-squire ashore! loose-knit adj. connected in a tenuous or ill-defined way; not closely linked. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > [adjective] > not firmly attached or loose > loose (of attachment or connection) uncompacted1661 lax1782 incompact1829 loose-knit1906 1906 T. Hardy Dynasts: Pt. 2nd i. vii. 42 As he shatters the moves of the loose-knit nations to curb his exploitful soul's ambitions. 1957 E. Bott Family & Social Network iii. 94 Networks become loose-knit when people move from one place to another... If both husband and wife have moved considerably before marriage, each will bring an already loose-knit network to the marriage. 1963 Times 11 Mar. 3/5 The Welsh forwards performed doughty deeds individually, but were too loose-knit to hold their opponents, which was bad luck on D. C. T. Rowlands, whose most effective game thrives on a dominant pack. 1968 Daily Tel. Mag. 8 Nov. 27/4 The ARB team is loose-knit and embraces a cross-section of specialists. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > unchaste or sexually compliant (of women) strumpeta1382 jadish1573 comingc1576 short heeled1591 loose in the hilts1598 loose-legged1598 loose-tailed1598 light-tailed1600 overscutched1600 stuprous1603 light-skirted1607 brothelly1608 light-heeled1611 wagtailed1648 loose-hilteda1652 feather-heeleda1674 loose-gowneda1717 frank1744 shake-tail1782 (a woman) of a certain description1803 hetaeric1868 round-heeled1926 floozy?1930 trampy1944 slack1951 slaggy1973 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie ii. vi. sig. E6v Here's one must invocate some lose-legg'd dame. loose-lipped adj. (a) loose-tongued; uninhibited in speech; (b) having full lips. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > [adjective] wordyeOE talewisec1200 i-worded?c1225 babblinga1250 cacklinga1250 chatteringa1250 speakfula1250 word-wooda1250 of many wordsc1350 janglingc1374 tatteringc1380 tongueya1382 ganglinga1398 readya1400 jargaunt1412 talkative1432 open-moutheda1470 clattering1477 trattling?a1513 windy1513 popping1528 smatteringa1529 rattle?1529 communicablea1533 blab1552 gaggling1553 long-tongued?1553 prittle-prattle1556 pattering1558 talking1560 bobling1566 gabbling1566 verbal1572 piet1573 twattling1573 flibber gibber1575 babblative1576 tickle-tongued1577 tattling1581 buzzing1587 long-winded1589 multiloquous1591 discoursive1599 rattling1600 glib1602 flippant1605 talkful1605 nimble-tongued1608 tongue-ripe1610 fliperous1611 garrulous?1611 futile1612 overspeaking1612 feather-tongueda1618 tongue-free1617 long-breatheda1628 well-breathed1635 multiloquious1640 untongue-tied1640 unretentive1650 communicative1651 linguacious1651 glibbed1654 largiloquent1656 multiloquent1656 parlagea1657 loose-clacked1661 nimble-chop1662 twit-twat1665 over-talkativea1667 loquacious1667 loudmouth1668 conversable1673 gash1681 narrative1681 chappy1693 apposite1701 conversative1703 gabbit1710 lubricous1715 gabby?1719 ventose1721 taleful1726 chatty?1741 blethering1759 renable1781 fetch-fire1784 conversational1799 conversant1803 gashing1808 long-lunged1815 talky1815 multi-loquacious1819 prolegomenous1822 talky-talky1831 nimble-mouthed1836 slipper1842 speechful1842 gassy1843 in great force1849 yattering1859 babbly1860 irreticent1864 chattable1867 lubrical1867 chattery1869 loose-mouthed1872 chinny1883 tongue-wagging1885 yappy1909 big-mouthed1914 loose-lipped1919 ear-bashing1945 ear-bending1946 yackety-yacking1953 nattering1959 yacking1959 woofy1960 1919 J. Masefield Reynard the Fox 33 Loose-lipped with song and wine and revel. 1924 W. de la Mare Ding Dong Bell 70 Hook-nosed was I; loose-lipped. 1924 C. Mackenzie Heavenly Ladder xiii. 186 It was sad to see a young woman of thirty so loose-lipped and blowsy. 1928 Daily Mail 13 Aug. 5/1 Her mastery of what Sir William Watson has called the loose-lipped lingo of the streets. 1934 H. G. Wells Exper. in Autobiogr. II. ix. 679 If I were to put my reputation before my autobiographical rectitude, I think I should just let this little volume decay and char and disappear... Most of it is very loose-lipped indeed. 1934 W. B. Yeats King of Great Clock Tower 29 Had de Valera eaten Parnell's heart No loose-lipped demagogue had won the day. loose-mouthed adj. = loose-lipped adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > loquacity or talkativeness > [adjective] wordyeOE talewisec1200 i-worded?c1225 babblinga1250 cacklinga1250 chatteringa1250 speakfula1250 word-wooda1250 of many wordsc1350 janglingc1374 tatteringc1380 tongueya1382 ganglinga1398 readya1400 jargaunt1412 talkative1432 open-moutheda1470 clattering1477 trattling?a1513 windy1513 popping1528 smatteringa1529 rattle?1529 communicablea1533 blab1552 gaggling1553 long-tongued?1553 prittle-prattle1556 pattering1558 talking1560 bobling1566 gabbling1566 verbal1572 piet1573 twattling1573 flibber gibber1575 babblative1576 tickle-tongued1577 tattling1581 buzzing1587 long-winded1589 multiloquous1591 discoursive1599 rattling1600 glib1602 flippant1605 talkful1605 nimble-tongued1608 tongue-ripe1610 fliperous1611 garrulous?1611 futile1612 overspeaking1612 feather-tongueda1618 tongue-free1617 long-breatheda1628 well-breathed1635 multiloquious1640 untongue-tied1640 unretentive1650 communicative1651 linguacious1651 glibbed1654 largiloquent1656 multiloquent1656 parlagea1657 loose-clacked1661 nimble-chop1662 twit-twat1665 over-talkativea1667 loquacious1667 loudmouth1668 conversable1673 gash1681 narrative1681 chappy1693 apposite1701 conversative1703 gabbit1710 lubricous1715 gabby?1719 ventose1721 taleful1726 chatty?1741 blethering1759 renable1781 fetch-fire1784 conversational1799 conversant1803 gashing1808 long-lunged1815 talky1815 multi-loquacious1819 prolegomenous1822 talky-talky1831 nimble-mouthed1836 slipper1842 speechful1842 gassy1843 in great force1849 yattering1859 babbly1860 irreticent1864 chattable1867 lubrical1867 chattery1869 loose-mouthed1872 chinny1883 tongue-wagging1885 yappy1909 big-mouthed1914 loose-lipped1919 ear-bashing1945 ear-bending1946 yackety-yacking1953 nattering1959 yacking1959 woofy1960 1872 J. G. Whittier Pennsylvania Pilgrim in Poet. Wks. (1874) 447 We may trace How loose-mouthed boor and fine ancestral grace Sat in close contrast. 1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xxii. 245 You'll know I aint loose-mouthed. 1938 Times Lit. Suppl. 18 June 415/4 Were all Roman aristocrats loose-mouthed and pot~bellied? 1950 D. Gascoyne Vagrant 53 He is apt to get oddly pedantic about the proprieties while even more loose-mouthed than ever. loose-skinned adj. having skin wrinkled or hanging in folds. ΚΠ 1906 Westm. Gaz. 14 June 4/2 This old man had a full, loose-skinned face, with a comic mouth and forlorn eyes. 1909 Westm. Gaz. 5 June 2/2 The sail heaved like a gigantic loose-skinned animal awakening. 1937 V. Woolf Years 397 His swarthy wrinkled face..always made her think of some loose-skinned, furry animal. 1941 E. Blunden Thomas Hardy v. 110 Hands very white and soft and loose-skinned. † †loose-tailed adj. Obsolete unchaste, incontinent. ΘΚΠ society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > [adjective] > unchaste or sexually compliant (of women) strumpeta1382 jadish1573 comingc1576 short heeled1591 loose in the hilts1598 loose-legged1598 loose-tailed1598 light-tailed1600 overscutched1600 stuprous1603 light-skirted1607 brothelly1608 light-heeled1611 wagtailed1648 loose-hilteda1652 feather-heeleda1674 loose-gowneda1717 frank1744 shake-tail1782 (a woman) of a certain description1803 hetaeric1868 round-heeled1926 floozy?1930 trampy1944 slack1951 slaggy1973 1598 J. Dickenson Greene in Conceipt 47 Her loose-taild gossips which first intic't her to folly. 1689 J. Carlile Fortune-hunters iv. i. 43 You have..fixt her in the Rank of loose-tail'd Ladies. loose-tongued adj. blabbing. ΘΚΠ society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > [adjective] > secrets labbing1402 unsecreta1586 blabbish1604 blabbinga1616 leaky1692 loose-tongued1883 blab-mouthed1913 tell-all1930 1883 Daily News 7 Nov. 5/4 The Marquis thought some of his Paris Attachés had been rather too loose-tongued. ΚΠ a1658 J. Cleveland Pet. Poem 18 So that my Doublet pin'd, makes me appear Not like a Man but a Loose-wastcoateer. Draft additions 1997 Active, agile. Newfoundland dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > agile or nimble lightOE quiverOE yepec1275 taitc1300 yap13.. delivera1375 swippera1387 wight1390 nimblea1400 yarea1400 yerna1400 smitherc1475 leger1483 agilea1500 liver1530 lightsome1567 wimble1579 nimble jointed1591 nimble shifting1591 agilious1599 nimbling1599 nimble spirited1611 expedite1612 fitchanta1616 airy1642 fantastic1645 volant1650 clever1691 light-limbed1695 spry1746 swack1768 swank1786 yauld1787 deliverly1820 slippy1847 nippy1849 springe1859 pantherish1869 pantherine1890 flippant1895 loose1907 Tarzanesque1933 Tarzan-like1943 the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > brisk or active sprindeOE whata1000 braga1350 prestc1390 yarea1400 stirringc1400 startingc1440 actious1441 actuala1470 activea1522 queemc1540 skeetc1540 lively1567 alive-like1582 pragmatical1590 spruce1590 agilious1599 brisk1599 sprightly?c1599 brisky1600 alives-like1601 alacrious1602 smart1602 eyebright1603 whisking1611 deedy1615 vibrant1616 sprunt1631 perking1653 alert1654 exilient1654 alacrative1657 eveillé1676 budge1691 jaunty1705 spry1746 sprack1747 alive1748 high-geared1795 rash1805 spicy1828 live1830 deedful1834 yary1855 sprucy1858 alacritous1859 sprackish1882 brash1884 up-and-coming1889 up and doing1901 loose1907 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed1936 buzzy1978 1907 J. G. Millais Newfoundland ii. 40 A' was a ‘loose’ (active) little kid, and used to help de men. 1907 J. G. Millais Newfoundland ii. 41 You're bound to fall in the cracks [in the floe ice] least once a night, however ‘loose’ you may be. 1982 in G. M. Story et al. Dict. Newfoundland Eng. 314/2 [She] was complimented on her agility by an elderly gentleman who said to her, ‘My, miss, you'm a loose woman.’ 1982 in G. M. Story et al. Dict. Newfoundland Eng. 314/2 [He's a] loose man on ice. Draft additions June 2018 loose lips n. used to indicate or to inhibit a tendency to speak indiscreetly or reveal secrets.Frequently in the phrase loose lips sink ships, with allusion to the slogan ‘loose lips might sink ships’ used on American propaganda posters during the Second World War (1939–45). ΚΠ 1863 C. M. Smith Dead Lock 44 By what right was she subjected to..coarse criticisms.., and her name bandied from loose lips to serve as the theme of a sorry jest or a wanton sarcasm? 1942 Washington Post 24 May vi. 4/3 When the girl told ‘Mr. District Attorney’ her story, he worked back to the point of the original contact, trapped the Nazi spy leader, and proved in dramatic form that ‘loose lips cost lives’. 1963 Washington Post 19 Apr. d11/4 ‘Loose lips sink ships.’ This maxim could have been put to profitable use by West who..virtually charted his opponent's course for him. 1994 W. D. Barndt User-directed Competitive Intelligence 71 This information is..compromised..by people—by loose lips and by those who will indulge in the universal propensity to talk about what they do. 2007 S. Dunne Reaper (2009) v. 85 I don't want anyone on the enquiry with loose lips. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022). loosev. 1. a. transitive. To let loose, set free; to release (a person, an animal, or their limbs) from bonds or physical restraint. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] > from confinement unbindc950 to let freec1000 aletOE to let out1154 loosea1225 slakec1374 loosen1382 to let goc1384 releasec1384 unloosec1400 unlockc1410 dissolvec1420 relievec1450 unloosen?a1475 to set at liberty1509 enlargea1513 to let at large1525 to let loose1530 to turn loose?1566 enfranchise1569 to turn up1573 enfranch1581 unkennel1589 unwind1596 to cast loosec1600 disimmure1611 disimprison1611 unhamper1620 to let abroad1633 unfold1633 disencloister1652 disencage1654 discagea1657 disincarcerate1665 eliminate1745 unspherea1806 unmew1818 unbottle1821 uncage1837 unbag1854 bust1921 a1225 Juliana 38 Ichulle þe leowsin [Bodl. MS. lowse] ant leauen hwen me þuncheð. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14356 In winding clath..he [sc. Lazarus] was wonden,..‘Louses him nu’, he said. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 813 I requyre the knyghthade, lowse my boynds! 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) xi. l. 727 Schyr, los me off my band. 1497 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 60 And nocht to be lousit out of the goif quhile the saide hour, for nay request. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/1 Lowse this prisoner from his yrones, he muste be removed from this gaylle. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mark xi. 4 They..founde the foale tyed by ye dore..and lowsed it. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 7884 Deliuert were þo lordes, lawsit of prisone. 1581 Act 23 Eliz. c. 10 §4 So as they..doe presentlye loose and let goe everye Feasaunte and Partridge so taken. 1611 Bible (King James) Isa. li. 14 The captiue exile hasteneth that he may be loosed . View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals vi, in tr. Virgil Wks. 27 Loose me, he cry'd; 'twas Impudence to find A sleeping God, 'tis Sacriledge to bind. 1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound ii. ii. 76 How he [sc. the chained Titan] shall be loosed. 1840 R. Browning Sordello ii. 211 Like Perseus when he loosed his naked love. 1866 A. Trollope Belton Estate II. ix. 229 Belton had gone into the stable, and had himself loosed the animal. b. In immaterial sense: To set free, release, emancipate; †to absolve (a person). Const. from (†of). ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] freeeOE letc1000 alithOE areim-ena1250 alaskic1300 fritha1325 loose1340 unfetterc1374 to let goc1384 releasec1384 freitha1400 to let farea1400 assoil1401 remit1467 affranchise1477 resplaitc1531 discussa1542 freedom1548 to set (go, walk, etc.) free1609 re-enfranchise1611 unhook1611 unloose1614 liberate1623 disenfranchise1626 assert1638 relinquish1671 uncork1749 unfankle1824 society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > be exempt from (a liability or obligation) [verb (transitive)] > free from obligation freeeOE unbind1297 quitclaima1325 acquit1340 excuse1340 loose1340 releasec1350 assoil1366 soilc1384 dischargea1387 quita1387 relieve1416 absoil1440 deliver1440 acquittance1448 quiet1450 acquiet1453 absolve?a1475 defease1475 skill1481 relax1511 redeema1513 exoner1533 exonerate1548 solvec1550 distask1592 disgage1594 upsolve1601 disoblige1603 disengage1611 to get off1623 exclude1632 supersedea1644 to let off1814 to let out1869 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2182 I yhern..be loused away Fra þis life. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 18327 From deþ of helle to lousen vs. c1480 (a1400) St. Mary Magdalen 985 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 284 Syndry seke mene gettis þare hele, & are lousit of mekil payne. 1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 24 Quhil we be lowsit of this mortal body. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 13250 At the last, fro þat lady, I lausyt myselfe. 1559 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16292a Prelim. No. 2) Letany sig. B.vv Let thee pitifulnesse of thy greate mercy loce vs. 1576 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent 134 Loosing them..from al duetie of allegiaunce toward their Prince. 1611 Bible (King James) Luke xiii. 12 Woman, thou art loosed from thy infirmitie. View more context for this quotation 1650 J. Row & J. Row Hist. Kirk Scotl. (1842) 130 It was concluded,..that he shall be lowsed fra the said sentence. 1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 39 They [sc. slaves] themselves once ferried o'er the wave That parts us, are emancipate and loosed. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Godiva in Poems (new ed.) II. 114 She sent a herald forth, And bad him cry,..that she would loose The people. 1902 A. M. Fairbairn Philos. Christian Relig. III. ii. ii. 542 God as interpreted through Him [Christ] was loosed from the qualities that bound Him to a peculiar people. c. esp. with allusion to Matthew xvi. 19, xviii. 18. Also absol. ΚΠ 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 3852 Alle þat þou lowses in erthe right Sal be loused in heven bright. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18189 Quat art þou þat louses þaa þat formast sin sua band in wa? c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) iii. 9 To wham Godd gaffe full powere for to bynd and to louse. c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 17 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 7 To bind and louss quhowm-euer þou will Plane poware is gewin þe þare-till. a1530 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfeccyon (1531) iii. f. CCxxvv What so euer thou loose in erth, it shall be losen in heuen. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. cxcix Hauyng full aucthoritie to bynd and to lose, to contracte and conclude. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 192 Saif Christ onlie that deit on tre He may baith louse and bind. 1892 E. P. Barlow Regni Evangelium i. 57 What they have bound no other hand must loose. d. To free (the lips, tongue, etc.) from constraint. ΘΚΠ society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] > free from restraint > the lips, tongue, or heart unspen?c1225 loosec1390 unseala1586 loosen1645 unslip1802 unloosen1845 c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 49 Louse þi lippes a-twynne & let þe gost worche. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 127 My lippis Lord than louse thow sall. 1629 W. Mure True Crucifixe 2283 Now doe the wicked louse their tongues to lyes. 1822 P. B. Shelley Zucca x. 8 Sounds of softest song..Had loosed the heart of him who sat and wept. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Vision of Sin in Poems (new ed.) II. 217 Let me screw thee up a peg; Let me loose thy tongue with wine. 1902 Expositor May 383 The wine loosed the tongues of the guests. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > heal or cure [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person or part wholeeOE healc1000 betterOE i-sundienc1175 salvea1225 botenc1225 savea1250 warishc1250 recurea1382 curec1384 mendc1390 remedya1470 cheerc1540 loosea1637 to pull through1816 rehab1973 a1637 B. Jonson Under-woods lxxxv. 58 in Wks. (1640) III Or the herb Sorrell, that loves Meadows still, Or Mallowes loosing bodyes ill. 2. a. To undo, untie, unfasten (fetters, a knot); to break (a seal); †occasionally with up. †to loose down (Scottish): to unfasten and let down. Now dialect or poetic. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)] unbindc950 undoc950 unleeseOE breaka1225 unfest?c1225 leesea1325 loosena1382 unloosea1382 loose1388 resolvea1398 unlace?c1400 unfastenc1440 unloosen?a1475 to let slip1526 unbrace?1526 diffibulatea1538 unframe1567 unclit1587 undight1590 unclip1598 unclenchc1600 unreeve1600 unlock1609 ungrapple1611 unquilt1611 abstringe1623 renode1623 unspan1648 unfast1684 disengage1780 undub1807 unclap1846 1388 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) Acts xvi. 26 Alle the doris weren openyd, and the boondis of alle weren lousid. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 12823 I es noght worthi to Louse [Vesp. Lese] þe thwanges of his scho. a1400–50 Alexander 788* Þus lowtes þis lede on low & lowsys hys chynez. c1480 (a1400) St. Christopher 510 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 354 Þai..lousit þare beltis spedly. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 494/1 You have so confused this yerne that it can nat be losed asonder. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/2 Lowse the knotte of my garter. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Rev. v. 2 Who is worthy to open the boke, and to loose the seales therof? c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) iv. 42 It settis not madynis als To latt men lowis thair laice. 1563 W. Baldwin et al. Myrrour for Magistrates (new ed.) Somerset xvi When the chiefe lynke was lewced fro the chayne. 1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions in Complaints ix With side-long beard, and locks down hanging loast. 1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd iv. i The witch..Lows'd down my breeks. 1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fifth 8 Wit calls the Graces the chast Zone to loose. a1822 P. B. Shelley Triumph of Life in Posthumous Poems (1824) 79 They..Throw back their heads and loose their streaming hair. b. To unlock or unpack (a chest, etc.); to unpack (goods). Also with forth, out; occasionally absol. Chiefly Scottish.Phr. (Sc.) †to loose the box: to open one's coffers, to pay up. †to loose one's poke, loose pack: to open one's budget, to ‘out with it’. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > open [verb (transitive)] > a door, gate, etc. > unlock, unbolt, etc. undoc950 unloukOE unsparc1175 unsteekc1250 unpinc1300 unshutc1315 loosec1400 unbarc1400 unlockc1400 open?a1425 unbolt1598 unlatchc1625 unpadlock1769 unsneck1785 undub1807 unslot1827 unsnib1905 snick1927 the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > leave unoccupied [verb (transitive)] > empty > empty a place where things are stowed loose1545 unstow1726 c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2376 He kaȝt to þe knot & þe kest lawsez [MS reads lawseȝ]. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 2 Lette vs returne agayne vnto our matter, and those thynges whyche you haue packed vp, in so shorte a roume, we wyll lowse them forthe. ?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 360 He pat him off with mowis and mockis, And had no will to louse the boxe. 1725 A. Ramsay Gentle Shepherd ii. i But loose your poke; be 't true or fause let's hear. ?a1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 207 The jovial thrang The Poet did request To lowse his pack an' wale a sang. 1855 F. K. Robinson Gloss. Yorks. Words 107 To Lowse out, to untie, to unloose or unpack goods. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > releasing hold > let go (something held or grasped) [verb (transitive)] > unjoin or unclasp (hands) loose1549 1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Matrimonie f. xiiii* Then shall they looce theyr handes. 1566 in F. J. Furnivall Child-marriages, Divorces, & Ratifications Diocese Chester (1897) 69 Then the[y] losid handes. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 243 Thy hand once more, I will not loose againe. View more context for this quotation d. To detach, cast loose, let go: chiefly Nautical. †Also with forth. †to loose out (a knife): to unsheathe it. †Also, to remove (an article of clothing) from the body. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > providing with clothing > undressing or removing clothing > undress or remove clothing [verb (transitive)] > take off clothing to do offeOE to lay downc1275 to weve offc1290 stripc1320 doffa1375 loose1382 ofdrawa1393 casta1400 to take offa1400 warpa1400 to cast offc1400 to catch offc1400 waivec1400 voidc1407 to put off?a1425 to wap offc1440 to lay from, offc1480 despoil1483 to pull offc1500 slip1535 devest1566 to shift off1567 daff1609 discuss1640 to lay off1699 strip1762 douse1780 shuffle1837 derobe1841 shed1858 skin1861 peel1888 pull1888 society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > cut of sharp weapon > use of knives > stab with knife [verb (transitive)] > draw to-drawc1275 to loose out1382 unsheathea1542 the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)] > and release loose1382 abandon1582 to cast loosec1600 disengage1662 enfranchise1682 unwhip1683 release1807 1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Exod. iii. 5 Lowse thow thi shoyng fro thi feyt. c1400 Melayne 1067 The Sarazene..lawses out a knyfe full righte. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) vii. l. 1160 Bownd on the trest, in a Creddill to sit, To lous the pyne quhen Wallace leit him witt. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. iv. 110 Do lows the rabandis, and lat doun the sail. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/2 Lowse your shoe and gyve hym upon the heed withall. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Luke v. 5 Vpon thy worde I wil lowse forth the nett. c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 2806 Paris..and his pure brother..Lauset loupis fro the le; lachyn in Ancres [L. solutis itaque funibus, subductis anchoris]. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 324 The king..past to his chamber and loussit his claithis and maid him to his bede. a1640 P. Massinger City-Madam (1658) i. ii. 28 I will not loose a hat To a hairs breadth; move your Bever, I'le move mine. 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. 16 Therefore up a hand and loose fore Top sail in the Top, that the Ships may see we will Sail. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) at Let-fall If the Main-Yard, or Fore-Yard be struck down, so that the Sails may be loosed before the Yard be hoised, then the Mariners do not say, Let fall the Sail, but Loose the Sail. 1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Loose, to unfurl or cast loose any sail, in order to be set, or dried, after rainy weather. 1821 P. B. Shelley Boat on Serchio 88 The chain is loosed, the sails are spread. 1863 ‘G. Eliot’ Romola III. xv. 162 She loosed the boat from its moorings. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. To loose a rope, to cast it off, or let it go. e. Scottish. To detach the team from (a plough, etc.). Also absol. ΚΠ a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Fox, Wolf, & Husbandman l. 2253 in Poems (1981) 85 The oxin waxit mair reulie at the last; Syne efter thay lousit [etc.]. a1568 Wyfe of Auchtermuchty ii, in Bannatyne Poems (1873) 342 He lowsit the pluche at the landis end. a1568 Wyfe of Auchtermuchty xiii, in Bannatyne Poems (1873) 345 She lowisit the plwch and syne come hame. 1791 J. Learmont Poems Pastoral 56 Twa lads..War gaen at pleugh their forenoon yokin: At length baith tir'd wi' heat o' noon, They loos'd an' on the lee lay down. 1893 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 117 He was oot a' nicht, an' I havna seen him since he lowsed. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of fowls > prepare fowls [verb (transitive)] > carve > pheasant allaya1475 loosec1500 c1500 Ffor to serve a Lord in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 375 To lose or unlase a fesaunt. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > be loosened, unfastened, or undone [verb (intransitive)] unfastenc1315 unknitc1330 unloose1580 untie1590 loose1770 unbind1827 1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. xvii. 147 The picture..suddenly loosed from it's ribband. 3. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor [verb (intransitive)] > anchor > weigh anchor to weigh anchor?a1400 to loose the anchor?c1450 disanchor1477 weigh1513 loose1526 to loose one's bark1567 up killick1837–40 up-anchor1889 ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 675 Þe man went and loused þe ankir. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde i. ii. f. 6 They lowsed theyr ankers..and departed from Guadalupea. 1567 G. Turberville tr. Ovid Heroycall Epist. 116v Auale, and lose thy Barcke, take Seas. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 307 The frenche shipis beginis to lous thair anker, and stryk sail at Bristoo. b. Hence absol. To weigh anchor. occasionally with up. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor [verb (intransitive)] > anchor > weigh anchor to weigh anchor?a1400 to loose the anchor?c1450 disanchor1477 weigh1513 loose1526 to loose one's bark1567 up killick1837–40 up-anchor1889 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxvii. 2 We entred into a shippe of Adramicium, and lowsed from lond. 1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. 975/1 The baron de la Gard..leused from Deepe with twelue gallies. 1594 C. Marlowe & T. Nashe Dido iv. iii To stay my Fleete from loosing forth the Bay. 1635 L. Foxe North-west Fox sig. O4v This noone..he loost up for the shore. 1677 London Gaz. No. 1245/3 This morning the light Ships that were at Anchor in this Bay, loosed, and are sailed to the Northwards. 1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 277 Our ship loosed from the harbour. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Loosing for sea, weighing the anchor. 4. a. To shoot or let fly (an arrow); to let off (a gun). ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > use of bow and arrow > shoot (arrow) [verb (transitive)] loosec1400 squib1603 to shaft out1862 society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > fire (a gun) [verb (transitive)] loosec1400 fire1508 let1553 pop1595 report1605 unlade1611 to fire off1706 to let off1714 squib1811 to set off1881 to ease off1916 poop1917 c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xxiv. 112 Ga and louse ȝone arowes. 1473 J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 8 The Kynge..losyde his gonnys of ordynaunce uppone them. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/1 I lowse, as a gonner lowseth a pece of ordonaunce. 1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. lvii. 120 As the Nayre loosed off his arrow. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V i. ii. 207 As many Arrowes losed seuerall wayes, flye to one marke. 1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 324 Such archers..use..to loose their arrowes in a more comely manner. 1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Vision III. i. 122 That strong cord that never looses dart But at fair aim. 1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna x. xxvi. 225 Like a shaft loosed by the bowman's error. 1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 48 The artillery made a regular practice of loosing off a stated number of rounds per night. 1944 R.A.F. Jrnl. Aug. 286 Dropped our bomb~load..an' loosed off all our ammo. b. absol. or intransitive. To shoot, let fly. Also said of the gun. Now usually with off. Also loosing off. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge missile [verb (intransitive)] shoot993 loose1387 discharge1481 fire1848 society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [noun] gunning1570 fire1590 firing1684 squibbing1697 gunfire1801 gunnery1816 pop-off1843 pluffing1852 machine-gun fire1882 gun-play1897 loosing off1906 the world > movement > impelling or driving > projecting through space or throwing > throw [verb (intransitive)] > project through space shoota1000 loose1926 society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > discharge firearms [verb (intransitive)] to let fly1611 gun1622 fire1635 pop1650 pluff1826 squib1831 crack1835 poop1915 loose1928 to turn on (or give) the heat1928 1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 77 Þe childe losed and schette. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/1 I thought full lytell he wolde have lowsed at me whan I sawe hym drawe his bowe. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 681/2 Se howe yonder gonne reculeth or ever she lowse. 1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 40 Houlde and nocke trewlye, drawe and lowse equallye. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lviv Al the .ii. C. archers shot and losed at once. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iii. 59 [stage direct. He giues them the Arrowes] Too it boy, Marcus loose when I bid. View more context for this quotation 1605 B. Jonson Sejanus iii. i. 725 Nor must he looke at what, or whom to strike, But loose at all. View more context for this quotation 1889 H. R. Haggard Allan's Wife 80 Reserving their fire till the Zulus were packed like sheep in a kraal, they loosed into them with the roers. 1893 Field 25 Mar. 456/3 I threw up my gun mechanically, but had no intention of ‘loosing’ at the poor thing. 1900 Daily News 1 Oct. 7/3 Paget's artillerymen dashed forward, unlimbered, and loosed on the foe. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 9 Mar. 4/1 The man for whom the whole of shooting is comprised in the gunning—in the ‘loosing off’, as he will call it. 1926 Punch 28 July 86/2 The bowler would acquire the trick of looking at one [wicket] while really he was loosing off at the other. 1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War ii. 8 The howitzer loosing off occasionally outside punctuated these amenities. 1946 J. Irving Royal Navalese 110 To loose off, to open fire. c. transitive (transferred and figurative). To give vent to, emit; to cause or allow to proceed from one. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > let or send out [verb (transitive)] > let out outleteOE letc1000 to let out1154 void14.. loose1568 to let forth1574 vent1587 to give vent1594 1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Ramowd rebald, thow fall doun att the roist, My laureat lettres at the and I lowis. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. v. 104 Loose now and then A scattred smile, and that Ile liue vpon. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 166 Both my reuenge and hate Loosing vpon thee. View more context for this quotation 1687 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 547 His..delicatenesse in extending & loosing a note with that incomparable softnesse. 1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 44 And loose A flying charm of blushes o'er this cheek. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separation or detachment > loosening or unfastening > loosen, unfasten, or untie [verb (transitive)] > loosen or weaken the attachment of unfastena1250 unlacec1330 loosec1400 solvec1450 unsettle1598 unfix1600 uncement1639 discardinate1648 loosen1667 c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 957 Þe rayn rueled doun..Gorde to gomorra þat þe grounde laused. c1420 Chron. Vilod. st. 1117 Þen sye he how his fedris weron lewesode ychone. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) vi. 255 A gret stane..Yat throw [the] gret [anciente] Wes lowsyt redy for to fall. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxxixv With the wynding of the edderynges thou dost lose thy stakes: and therfore they must nedes be..hardened agayne. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. UUUiv The hole frame of the ioyntes of his..body dissolued & losed. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/1 I lowse a tree or herbe from the roote. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 615/1 Se howe the heate hath made these bordes to lowse asonder. ?1550 H. Llwyd tr. Pope John XXI Treasury of Healthe sig. H.iii A stroke or faul, wherby the ioyntes of the backe bone ar loused. 1611 Bible (King James) Ecclus. xxii, 16 As timbers girt and bound together in a building cannot be loosed with shaking. View more context for this quotation 1864 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta 1062 The firm land have they loosed and shaken. 6. a. To make loose or slack; to loosen, slacken, relax, make less tight; †passive (of nerves) to be unstrung. †to loose a bridle to: to indulge. Now archaic except in colloquial phrase to loose hold: to let go. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > berthing, mooring, or anchoring > berth, moor, or anchor (a ship) [verb (transitive)] > anchor (a ship) > loose (ship) from anchor > weigh (anchor) weigh?a1400 loosec1440 rear?c1475 levy1648 sway1790 the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > releasing hold > let go [verb (intransitive)] to hang off1600 to loose hold1865 to turn aloose1935 the world > movement > absence of movement > hold or holding > releasing hold > let go (something held or grasped) [verb (transitive)] beleavea1250 leta1325 to let goc1384 to leave hold1556 to turn loose?1566 quita1586 unhand1603 relinquish1651 unseize1663 unfist1692 to leave go1776 unclasp1868 to loose hold1875 c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 314/1 Losyn, or slakyn, laxo, relaxo. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 720/2 I lowse a thynge that was to strayte tyed. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 67 The olde Rosyars must haue the earth loosed about them in Februarie, and the dead twigges cutte of. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 117 Our lyfe is like to instruments of Musicke, which sometime wresting vp the strings, and sometime by loosing them, become more melodious. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 152 Occasione frilie to louse a brydle to al thair appetites. c1614 W. Mure tr. Virgil Dido & Æneas i. in Wks. (1898) I. 220 A prince imposed To let or loose their rains, as he commands. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 140 The slipp'ry God will try to loose his hold. View more context for this quotation 1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War vi. viii, in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. 942 Their nerves were so terribly loosed..they could not fly away. 1865 J. B. Lightfoot Comm. Gal. (1874) 118/2 Sin and law loose their hold at the same time. 1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. II. v. 108 He bid them loose grasp. 1875 W. S. Hayward Love against World 18 ‘Loose your hold of the lady's bridle’, cried Walter. 1901 Methuen Peace or War S. Africa vii. 158 He will know when to loose and when to tighten the rein. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments removing or dispersing matter > remove or disperse [verb (transitive)] > purge purge1340 loosec1400 physicc1400 scour1489 lask1540 loosen1587 vacuate1651 unload1653 clear1719 the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments removing or dispersing matter > remove or disperse [verb (intransitive)] > loosen bowels unbind1398 loose1528 c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 51 Þou maist..lose þe wombe if þat he be costif. 1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni (1541) 77 The brothe of coole wortes..leuseth the bealy. 1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni (1541) 87 Blacke pepper throughe the heate and drynes therof, leuseth quickely. 1541 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) ii. vii. 20 b Soure grapes are colde, and do also lowse, but they are harde of dygestyon. 1617 J. Woodall Surgions Mate 221 It is dangerous to loose the belly vpon a former loosenes. 1651 R. Wittie tr. J. Primrose Pop. Errours i. 58 If their bellies be but abundantly loosed. a. [Compare Latin solvere.] To break up, dissolve, do away with. Chiefly figurative. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to > binding relationships, vows, etc. unbindc1175 unsteekc1250 loose1340 dissolvec1380 unknita1382 sundera1400 untwinec1400 unsolder1538 unlace1577 untwind1600 the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > cancellation, revocation > annul, cancel, revoke [verb (transitive)] > deprive of status, undo undoc970 loose1340 unfoundc1430 dissolvea1513 unconfirm1551 disestablish1598 untie1609 discribe1647 unestablish1649 unappoint1682 negative1793 uncollegiate1851 1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 1792 Þe dede..louses alle thyng And of ilk mans lif mas endyng. 1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls) VII. 149 Whos chirche dissolved and lowsed þoruȝ longe rotnes he reparailde. R. Misyn tr. R. Rolle Fire of Love 91 Þat frenschyp þat is kyndely sal not be lausyd. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ei It dissolueth & loseth all vowes. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 688/1 I resolve, I lose thynges, or melte them, or parte thynges asonder, je resolue. 1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. ii. 9 By assuming vows no Pope will loose. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > decompose, crumble, or melt away melteOE fleetc1384 dissolvec1420 unbindc1450 loosec1480 moulder1531 mirtlec1540 mould1542 moulter1568 mutter1609 mosker1612 disband1633 dust1636 dissipatea1676 deliquesce1792 decompose1793 disintegrate1817 c1480 (a1400) St. Christina 234 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 404 Til þe fals ydol don can fal, & in poudre lousyt al smal. 1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde ii. xxvii. 120 The moisture..is in thayer assembled and amassed..And the sonne causeth it to lose and to falle on therthe. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > agreement > observance > non-observance or breach > fail to observe [verb (transitive)] breakOE to-breaka1067 false1303 forleta1325 loosec1400 to fall from ——a1425 renouncec1450 violate?a1475 enfrain1477 failc1500 falsify1532 transverse1532 infringe1533 crack1576 recess1581 recant1585 digress1592 strain1592 burst1600 equivocate1629 falsy1629 forfeit1654 to break through1712 infract1798 waive1833 welsh1925 c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1784 If ȝe..folden fayth to þat fre, festned so harde Þat yow lausen ne lyst. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 140 The man..may nocht lous his faith. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 309 By reason whereof the peace betwene them agreed might be losed or broken. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > testing > resolving of problem, solution > find solution, solve [verb (transitive)] findOE assoilc1374 soil1382 contrive1393 to find outc1405 resolvea1438 absolvea1525 solute?1531 solve?1541 dissolve1549 get1559 salvec1571 to beat out1577 sort1581 explicate1582 untiea1586 loose1596 unsolve1631 cracka1640 unscruple1647 metagrobolize1653 to puzzle out1717 to work out1719 to get around ——1803 to dope out1906 lick1946 to get out1951 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. xi. sig. X5 He had red her Riddle, which no wight Could euer loose, but suffred deadly doole. View more context for this quotation 1660 R. Coke Justice Vindicated 1 This doubt is after~wards loosed by Aristotle himself. 10. a. To redeem, release or obtain by payment; to pay for. Scottish. Hence perhaps Coverdale's use: †To buy (obsolete). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > ransom > [verb (transitive)] acquit?c1225 raim?c1225 to buy out1297 borrowa1300 ransoma1382 to put (a person) to (his or her) finance1418 raquite1454 loose1473 redeem?a1475 overbuya1525 redempa1525 remerce1559 reescate1645 1473 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 48 Item to Dauid Quhytehede and Thome of Stanly..for Doctor Andres dispensacione lousyt be thaim in Bruges xvjli. 1500 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 98 Item,..to Jacob lutar to lows his lute that lay in wed xxxijs. 1504–5 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1901) III. 127 To Alexander Kers to lous the Kingis stope quhilk wes tane quhen he wes Abbot of Unreson vjli xiijs. iiijd. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. xxxii. 25 That I shall loose a pece of londe vnto my self. 1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well I. ii. 34 As for the letters at the post-mistress's,..they may bide in her shop-window,..till Beltane, or I loose them. 1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. To Louse..5. To pay for; as, ‘Gie me siller to louse my coals at the hill’. ΚΠ 1494 Acta Dom. Conc. (1839) 361/2 Or the landis war lowsit, quhilkis are now lowsit. 11. Scots Law. To withdraw (an arrestment). ΚΠ 1522 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 100 The arrest laid one the gudes aboune writin be Patrik Leslie... And the said Patrik offerit the said gudis, and the rest maid thar one to be loussit, incontinent thar findand souerty [etc.]. 1544 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 205 The said day, Thomas Menzeis, provest of Aberdene..hes lowsit the arrestment made vpoun ane scheip, and certane tymmer being thairin, pertening to Robert Patersoune and vtheris. 1609 J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem 75 b The moueable gudes of the defender, sould be first attached, and arreisted, vntill he finde securitie be pledges, to compeir and answere to the complainer; and then the arreistment sould be lowsed. 1681 J. Dalrymple Inst. Law Scotl. (1693) iii. i. 373 When he whose Goods or Sums are arrested, findeth Caution, and thereby louseth the Arrestment. a1768 J. Erskine Inst. Law Scotl. (1773) II. 509. 12. passive and intransitive. To finish working; (of a school, factory, etc.) to close, disperse, ‘break up’. Also in loose-all, the signal to stop work given in the pits. dialect. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > signal to stop work loose-all1911 1822 R. Wilson Poems 1 Ploughman chields lows'd frae their wark. 1829 J. Hogg Shepherd's Cal. I. vi. 151 He wad hear it [a song] every day when the school looses. 1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 35 Loose (‘Lowse’)!, finish working! 1893 J. K. Snowden Tales Yorks. Wolds 110 One Sunday afternoon just as the chapel had ‘loosed’. 1911 D. H. Lawrence White Peacock iii. vii. 485 I heard the far-off hooting of the ‘loose-all’ at the pits, telling me it was half-past eleven. 1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers ii. 30 Some men were there before four o'clock, when the whistle blew loose-all. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < |
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