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单词 loose
释义

loosen.1

Brit. /luːs/, U.S. /lus/
Forms: Also 1500s lose, lowse, 1600s lewse, 1700s louse.
Etymology: < loose v.
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.
figurative.1599 Warning for Faire Women ii. 394 The only mark whereat foul Murther shot, Just in the loose of envious eager death,..Escap'd the arrow aim'd at his heart.1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iii. iii. sig. Kiiiv Her braine's a very Quiuer of jests, and she do's dart them abroad with that sweet loose and judiciall aime that [etc.] . View more context for this quotation1703 D. Defoe True-born Englishman in True Coll. I. Explan. Pref. sig. B2v To allow me a Loose at the Crimes of the Guilty.
†2. The conclusion or close of a matter; upshot, issue, event. at (or in) the (very) loose: at the last moment. Obsolete.
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.
†3.
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.].
†4. The act of letting go or parting with something. Phrase, a cheerful loose. Obsolete.
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.
†5. The action of getting free, the fact of being set free, liberation, release. to make a loose from: to get away from the company of. Obsolete.
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.
†6. An impetuous course or rush. Obsolete.
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.

Compounds

† loose-giving n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
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.

Brit. /luːs/, U.S. /lus/
Forms: Middle English (in definite form), Middle English–1600s lousse, (also 1700s–1800s dialect) lowse, (Middle English loss), Middle English lause, loos, Middle English, 1500s lose, Middle English–1600s lous, Middle English–1700s louse, Middle English lawse, Middle English–1500s lewse, loce, 1500s Scottish lowis, lowsz, 1600s lowsse, Middle English– loose.
Origin: A borrowing from early Scandinavian.
Etymology: Middle English lōs (with close ō ), in northern dialect lous , < Old Norse lǫus-s , laus-s (Swedish lös , Danish løs ), = Old English léas lease adj., see for the ulterior etymology.
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’.
†d. With prep.: Free from or of; released or disengaged from; unattached to. Obsolete.
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].
†e. Loosely clad; ungirt; naked. Obsolete.
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.
†c. Of the eyes: Not fixed, roving. Obsolete.
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.
figurative.a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. ii. 21 Now do's he feele his Title Hang loose about him, like a Giants Robe Vpon a dwarfish Theefe. View more context for this quotation
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.
†d. Of conditions, undertakings, or engagements: Lacking security, unsettled. Obsolete.
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.
† loose hand n. Obsolete = loose end n., in at the loose hand.
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.
† loose work n. Obsolete a kind of embroidery in which certain parts (e.g. those representing leaves of trees) are left free to move.
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.
† loose-bellied adj. Obsolete having the bowels relaxed.
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.
† loose-breech n. Obsolete a slovenly lout.
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.
† loose-clacked adj. Obsolete loquacious, chattering.
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.
† loose-hangled adj. [ < hangle hingle n.] Obsolete loose-jointed.
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.
† loose-hilted adj. Obsolete ‘loose in the hilts’, incontinent, 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
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.
† loose-legged adj. Obsolete
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.
† loose-waistcoateer n. Obsolete ? a woman.
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.

Brit. /luːs/, U.S. /lus/
Forms: Middle English leowsin (?for lowsin), Middle English lauce, laus, lowss, loyse, Middle English (also 1800s dialect) lause, lawse, Middle English–1500s lous, lose, loiss, (also 1600s–1800s dialect) louse, lowse, (Middle English losyn, louce), Middle English–1500s louss, loss, (1500s looce, looze, los, loase, lows, lowis, lewce), 1500s–1600s leuse, Middle English– loose. past tense Middle English laused, etc.; also Middle English laust, 1500s loust, 1600s loost. past participle Middle English laused, etc.; strong Middle English losine, 1500s losen.
Etymology: < loose adj. Compare leese v.2
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.
†e. To set free from disease. Obsolete.
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.
figurative.1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mark vii. 35 His eares were opened, and the bonde of his tonge was lowsed.1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Matt. xii. 71 Loused the knot of the question.c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) i. ii. §16 The knot [is] harder to louse, for nether syde wantes sum reason.1713 J. Addison Cato ii. i. 20 Other Prospects Have loosed those Ties and bound him fast to Cæsar.1859 Ld. Tennyson Vivien in Idylls of King 111 Then our bond Had best be loosed for ever.
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.
†c. To unjoin or unclasp (hands). Obsolete.
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.
†f. To carve (a pheasant). Obsolete.
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.
†g. intransitive for reflexive. To come unfastened. Obsolete.
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.
†a. to loose the anchor: to weigh anchor. Also, to loose one's bark. Obsolete.
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.
in extended use.1820 P. B. Shelley Vision of Sea in Prometheus Unbound 174 When lightning is loosed.
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.
†5. To weaken the adhesion or attachment of; = loosen v. 3; to make unstable or insecure in position. Also intransitive for passive. Now only archaic.
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.
†b. transferred. To relax or loosen (the bowels). Also absol. Obsolete.
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.
†7.
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.
†b. intransitive. To crumble away; to dissolve, melt.
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.
†8. To break (faith); to violate (a peace). Obsolete.
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.
†9. To solve, explain. Obsolete.
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’.
†b. Scottish. To free (an estate) from incumbrance.
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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n.11519adj.n.2adv.?c1225v.a1225
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