opportunityn.

Brit.

/ˌɒpəˈtjuːnᵻti/,

/ˌɒpəˈtʃuːnᵻti/, U.S.

/ˌɑpərˈt(j)unədi/

Forms: Middle English oportunitee, Middle English oportunytee, Middle English opportunite, Middle English–1500s oportunite, Middle English–1500s oportunyte, Middle English–1500s opportunyte, Middle English–1600s oportunitie, 1500s oportewnyte, 1500s oportunety, 1500s oportunytie, 1500s oportunyty, 1500s oppertuniti, 1500s oppurtunite, 1500s–1600s oppertunitie, 1500s–1600s opportunety, 1500s–1600s opportunitie, 1500s–1600s opportunitye, 1500s– opportunity, 1600s opertunetie, 1600s oportunity, 1600s oppertunety, 1600s opportunie, 1600s–1700s opertunity, 1600s–1700s oppertunity, 1600s–1800s opportunies (plural), 1700s apertunity; Scottish pre-1700 opartunyte, pre-1700 opertounatie, pre-1700 opertunatie, pre-1700 opertunitie, pre-1700 opertunity, pre-1700 opertunyte, pre-1700 opertunytte, pre-1700 opertwnitie, pre-1700 oportunite, pre-1700 oportunitie, pre-1700 oportunyte, pre-1700 oportwnyte, pre-1700 oppertunitie, pre-1700 opportunetie, pre-1700 opportunite, pre-1700 opportunitie, pre-1700 oppurtunittie, pre-1700 opurtunitie, pre-1700 1700s– opportunity.

Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French oportunité, opportunité; Latin opportūnitās.

Etymology: < Anglo-Norman oportunité and Middle French, French opportunité favourable circumstances (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French as oportunité ), occasion for doing something (c1355) and its etymon classical Latin opportūnitās favourable circumstance, occasion, chance to do something, convenience, suitability, advantageousness, opportuneness, timeliness < opportūnus opportune adj. + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix). Compare Italian opportunità (beginning of the 14th cent. as †opportunitate in sense 5; c1350 in sense 1a).In sense 6 apparently due to association with classical Latin oportet it is right, requisite (of unknown origin). In sense 8 by confusion with importunity n. 1a. The forms opportunie, (plural) opportunies apparently represent a shortening, although in some instances they may merely be typographical errors.

I. Senses relating to favourable circumstances, position, etc.

a. As a mass noun: a time, condition, or set of circumstances permitting or favourable to a particular action or purpose.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun]

chance1297

occasiona1382

leisurec1386

opportunitya1387

advantage1487

portunity1516

in the nick1565

mean1592

vantage?1592

occasionet1593

overture1610

hinta1616

largeness1625

convenience1679

tid1721

opening1752

offer1831

slant1837

show1842

showing1852

show-up1883

window of opportunity1942

op1978

the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > chance or opportunity

chance1297

occasiona1382

opportunitya1387

fair play?a1500

main chance1577

venturea1625

opening1752

ettle1768

slant1837

sporting chance1897

open go1918

a fair crack of the whip1929

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 151 Afterward oportunite was aspied by twene burgeys of Londoun whan he myȝte be founde allone.., and men of armes were i-sende for to take [hym].

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xxvi. 16 He souȝte oportunyte [c1384 E.V. couenablete] to bitraye hym.

?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 1005 (MED) Oportunite when he gatt, He was anker and sole satt.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 523 He..vatit opportunite For to fulfill hys mawite.

a1500 Craft of Dying (Rawl.) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 418 (MED) Let som man..sey the orisons that followen after as the tyme & oportunyte will suffre.

1659 N. R. Proverbs 84/1 Opportunity makes a Thief.

1773 S. Johnson Let. 30 Sept. (1992) ii. 98 The wind is now changed, and if we snatch the moment of opportunity, an Escape from this Island is become practicable.

1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. II. xvii. 511 In national history opportunity is as powerful as purpose.

1931 Auckland Star 22 Mar. Opportunity was taken to farewell the Rev. E. Drake and Mrs. Drake.

1993 Cornell Daily Star 10 Mar. 5/1 Koresh..is caught promising them [sc. a bunch of students] a lifetime of opportunity if they jump the line to join his sect.

b. As a count noun: an instance of this.For comparable development of count from mass noun see circumstance n., conscience n.

ΚΠ

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclxxj^v Many goodly oportunities, through disceptation, were omitted.

1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 255 You haue many opportunities to cut him off.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 10. ⁋1 I am not a little pleased with the Opportunity of running over all the Papers.

1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. ii. 38 The natural Course of things affords us Opportunities for procuring Advantages to Ourselves at certain Times.

1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 86 I wonder you..should desire to cramp these people's opportunities of innocent enjoyment.

1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 161 Neuchamp had been sufficiently awake to his opportunities.

1912 ‘Saki’ Unbearable Bassington vii. 127 The opportunity for turning the talk more directly on him..was too good to be missed.

1971 H. Macmillan Riding Storm ii. 45 The opportunity of acquiring half the shares in the Regent Oil Company—the other moiety was held by Caltex.

c. spec. A chance for employment or promotion; a job vacancy.

ΚΠ

1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 50/8 (advt.) Their parents were moving to a new employment opportunity.

1971 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 July iv. 1/1 An exclusive little group here has found alluring job opportunities popping up on all sides.

1994 Hispanic Mar. 59/2 (advt.) For career opportunities located in our New York City Headquarters, send your confidential resume, indicating your area of interest.

†2. Good fortune. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > good fortune > piece of

opportunity?a1425

honeyfall1642

luck in a bag1649

godsend1810

stroke of luck1853

bonanza1878

lucky break1889

break1911

a bit of fat1923

snip1932

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. pr. iii. 42 Thow neere right weleful..with the oportunyte [L. opportunitate] and noblesse of thyne masculyn children.

†3. The convenience, suitability, or advantageousness of a site or position, esp. for being readily accessible. Occasionally: an advantage afforded by a convenient or suitable position (see quot. 1730). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > convenience or advantageousness of position

opportunitya1500

a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) v. 3788 Wyth-oute [the church] hys bad to ma he set hym and for to se The byschopys oportwnyte.

1555 R. Eden tr. P. Giovio Libellus de legatione Basilii in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 284 This is the most famous citie in Moscouia..for the commodious oportunitie of ryuers, multitude of houses [etc.].

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης viii. 66 Hull, a town of great strength and opportunitie both to sea and land affaires.

1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 22 Flushing..a Town..very considerable for..the opportunity of its Situation and convenience of its Harbour.

1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 378 The Opportunity [It. opportunità] they had of its Harbour, incited them..to make it the Staple-Port for Merchandize of the East.

1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxx. 158 Augustus, who had observed the opportunity of the place, prepared..a capacious harbour.

†4. A time when there is occasion or need for something. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things > sudden, extreme, or emergency

needOE

needinga1400

exigentc1475

plunge1519

opportunity1526

push1563

dead lift1567

heft1587

exigence1588

exigency1601

emergent1620

lift1624

emergencya1631

emergencea1676

emergementa1734

amplush1827

crisis1848

situation1954

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. NNiii^v Somtyme he maketh as thoughe he herde vs nat, in oportunyte and tyme of nede.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 13 He also provides..some of these, as he reckons his opportunities may be to use them.

5. Opportuneness, timeliness. Now rare.In quots. 1873 and 1878, perhaps with reference to the Latin phrase felix opportunitate mortis (Tacitus Agricola 45.3: see quot. 1591).

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > opportuneness or timeliness

covenablenessa1382

opportunity1531

seasonableness1546

tidiness1567

timeliness1573

tempestivity1576

ratheness1635

opportuneness1727

timefulness1898

1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xviii. sig. Jiv^v Exercises, whiche be nat vtterly reproued of noble auctours, if they be vsed with oportunite and in measure.

1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Life Agricola in tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. 266 Thrise happy then mayest thou..be counted, not onely for the renowne of thy life, but..for the opportunity of thy decease.

1660 J. Milton Readie Way Free Commonw. (ed. 2) 46 Thir business is..oft times urgent; the opportunitie of affairs gaind or lost in a moment.

1873 W. Pater Stud. Hist. Renaissance viii. 167 A death which, for its swiftness and its opportunity, he might well have desired.

1878 J. R. Seeley Life & Times Stein III. 559 How much suffering had been saved them by the opportunity of their deaths.

1917 tr. J. Tixeront Apologetical Stud. ii. i. 129 Why does the Pope..grant that forgiveness?.. In order to prove its opportunity, he quotes some instances taken from Holy Writ.

†II. Other uses.

6. Necessity; fittingness. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun]

tharf735

needOE

misterc1385

opportunity?a1475

suffrete1481

needing?a1513

scantc1550

want1551

necessitude1839

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 435 (MED) That man is a cowarde that wille not dye when oportunite requirethe hit [L. quando oportet; a1387 J. Trevisa tr. whanne it nedeth].

7. Fitness, aptitude, competence. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > competence, fitness, or ability

sufficiencec1384

suffisance1426

opportunity1535

qualification1561

sufficiency1567

fitness1574

qualifiedness1675

adequacy1779

competence1790

competency1797

locus standi1822

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccl. ii. 20 For so moch as a man shulde weery himself with wysedome, with understondinge and oppurtunite [L. sollicitudine; Ger. Geschicklichkeit], and yet be fayne to leave his labours vnto another.

1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Oportunitie, fitnes to any thing.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 437 The swiftnesse or other opportunity of the Dogges helpeth them to fly away from her.

8. Pleading, entreaty, supplication; = importunity n. 1a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > earnest request or entreaty > importunity or urgency

instancec1340

importunityc1425

instancy1515

importunateness?1526

importunacy1548

importancea1555

importancy1576

opportunitya1586

urgencec1592

urgency1611

clamorousnessa1617

pressingness1661

precariousness1666

supplicancy1728

beseechingness1863

imploringness1863

pleadingness1866

demandingness1930

a1586 W. Dunbar in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 289 He þat makis all his maist seruice He may it tyne with crakis and coyis In fuliche Oportunitie [1568 Bannantyne Be fowll inoportunitie].

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iv. 20 Yet seeke my Fathers loue, still seeke it sir, If opportunity and humblest suite Cannot attaine it, why then harke you hither.

1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius War with Vandals ii. 50 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian John the son of Sisinniolus, at the Africans opportunity, raised Forces and went against them.

Phrases

P1. [Compare Middle French aise fait le larron (late 15th cent.).] Proverb. opportunity makes a (also the) thief.

ΚΠ

c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 230 (MED) Me seið þet eise makeð þeof.]

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 379 At the laste the bischop seide to hym, ‘Me thenke that oportunite makethe a thefe.’

1598 F. Bacon Let. in Cabala (1654) ii. 44 The Garrisons to be instantly provided for; For opportunity makes a thief.

1700 J. Collier Second Def. Short View Eng. Stage 37 Opportunity makes a Thief; the Temptation rises upon sight.

1855 N. Roussel Catholic & Protestant Nations Compared II. 12 It frequently happens that when strangers pass a night.., two or three ruffians prepare an ambuscade..: opportunity makes the thief.

1926 S. D. Porteus & M. E. Babcock Temperam. & Race 272 We may readily concede that opportunity makes the thief, but not that opportunity makes the genius.

1991 J. Huer Wages of Sin 121 Opportunity makes a thief, and in a land of opportunities all are thieves.

P2. opportunity knocks and variants: an opportunity presents itself; a chance of success occurs; also in proverb.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > chance [phrase] > opportunity presents itself (only once)

opportunity knocks1926

1809 Port Folio Nov. 431 Fortune knocks once, at least, at every man's door.

?1844 J. R. Lowell Hakon's Lay in Early Poems (1898) 71 Through the broad Earth roams Opportunity And knocks at every door of hut and hall Until she finds the brave soul she wants.]

1926 Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. 13 175 A golden opportunity knocked at their door, when the Indians besought the commissioners to send Robert Livingston to Westminster.

1942 P. G. Wodehouse Money in Bank xv. 157 Opportunity knocks but once, and he had allowed it to knock in vain.

1970 Computers & Humanities 5 16 From the earliest English settlements to the closing of the frontier and the advent of industrialism, opportunity knocked for young men of high and low social status at fairly regular alternate intervals.

1994 National Canad. Bar Assoc. May 48/1 If you don't go global when opportunity knocks you risk a lot of business.

Compounds

opportunity cost n. Economics the loss of other alternatives when one alternative is chosen.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > economic forces or effects

overheating1609

consumption1662

supply1744

production1767

demand1776

effective demand1819

employment rate1833

equilibrium1871

opportunity cost1894

bankers' ramp1931

multiplier1936

multiplier effect1937

market forces1942

cost push1952

externality1957

fiscal drag1964

demand-side1975

1894 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 8 222 To an ambitious person, the sacrifice of an opportunity would cause pain, and thus render the distinction between pain-cost and opportunity-cost of little importance.

1911 H. J. Davenport in Amer. Econ. Rev. 1 725 These displacements of possible products, these foregoings of alternative openings, these sacrifices of some second thing in the process of getting some particular thing, are perhaps best indicated under the term opportunity cost. To go without fish to get game..may be taken as illustrative of one of the simplest aspects of the doctrine.

1926 L. D. Edie Econ. iii. viii. 121 The opportunity cost is the sacrifice of foregoing some alternative utility.

1971 D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. (rev. ed.) ii. v. 121 If the businessman would have invested the money at 10 per cent interest, had he not put it into the business, then the ‘opportunity cost’ of investing in his own business is the 10 per cent interest he has foregone.

1995 SalesForce Mag. Feb. 30/2 ‘Non-addressability’ imposes a significant opportunity cost on any advertiser wishing to reach only a very tiny subset of a media company's viewers or consumers.

opportunity shop n. Australian and New Zealand a shop where second-hand goods (esp. clothes) are sold to raise money for charity.

ΚΠ

1933 N.Z. Tablet 11 Jan. 23 The opportunity shop is still operating satisfactorily.

1961 B. Humphries Nice Night's Entertainment (1981) 52 It ruined the lining of a lovely raffia bag that Beryl had bought at the opportunity shop.

1986 I. Wedde Symmes Hole (1988) There's a spare safety-pin a-dangle from one lapel of her old fading opportunity-shop silk robe.

opportunity state n. a country which offers many opportunities for advancement.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > where specific conditions prevail

police state1851

welfare state1894

Rechtsstaat1912

temple-state1920

kulturstaat1925

garrison state1937

the Illfare State1952

opportunity state1957

1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1042/3 Why should one section of the community, the trade unionists, contract out of this planless ‘opportunity state’?

1990 D. Kavanagh Thatcherism & Brit. Politics (ed. 2) x. 311 The vocabulary of many young leaders of left-wing parties in Western Europe..refers to a ‘servant’ or ‘opportunity’ state..and promises to provide incentives for free enterprise.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	opportunity
释义	opportunityn. Brit. /ˌɒpəˈtjuːnᵻti/, /ˌɒpəˈtʃuːnᵻti/, U.S. /ˌɑpərˈt(j)unədi/ Forms: Middle English oportunitee, Middle English oportunytee, Middle English opportunite, Middle English–1500s oportunite, Middle English–1500s oportunyte, Middle English–1500s opportunyte, Middle English–1600s oportunitie, 1500s oportewnyte, 1500s oportunety, 1500s oportunytie, 1500s oportunyty, 1500s oppertuniti, 1500s oppurtunite, 1500s–1600s oppertunitie, 1500s–1600s opportunety, 1500s–1600s opportunitie, 1500s–1600s opportunitye, 1500s– opportunity, 1600s opertunetie, 1600s oportunity, 1600s oppertunety, 1600s opportunie, 1600s–1700s opertunity, 1600s–1700s oppertunity, 1600s–1800s opportunies (plural), 1700s apertunity; Scottish pre-1700 opartunyte, pre-1700 opertounatie, pre-1700 opertunatie, pre-1700 opertunitie, pre-1700 opertunity, pre-1700 opertunyte, pre-1700 opertunytte, pre-1700 opertwnitie, pre-1700 oportunite, pre-1700 oportunitie, pre-1700 oportunyte, pre-1700 oportwnyte, pre-1700 oppertunitie, pre-1700 opportunetie, pre-1700 opportunite, pre-1700 opportunitie, pre-1700 oppurtunittie, pre-1700 opurtunitie, pre-1700 1700s– opportunity. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French oportunité, opportunité; Latin opportūnitās. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman oportunité and Middle French, French opportunité favourable circumstances (first half of the 13th cent. in Old French as oportunité ), occasion for doing something (c1355) and its etymon classical Latin opportūnitās favourable circumstance, occasion, chance to do something, convenience, suitability, advantageousness, opportuneness, timeliness < opportūnus opportune adj. + -tās (see -ty suffix¹; compare -ity suffix). Compare Italian opportunità (beginning of the 14th cent. as †opportunitate in sense 5; c1350 in sense 1a).In sense 6 apparently due to association with classical Latin oportet it is right, requisite (of unknown origin). In sense 8 by confusion with importunity n. 1a. The forms opportunie, (plural) opportunies apparently represent a shortening, although in some instances they may merely be typographical errors. I. Senses relating to favourable circumstances, position, etc. 1. a. As a mass noun: a time, condition, or set of circumstances permitting or favourable to a particular action or purpose. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > [noun] chance1297 occasiona1382 leisurec1386 opportunitya1387 advantage1487 portunity1516 in the nick1565 mean1592 vantage?1592 occasionet1593 overture1610 hinta1616 largeness1625 convenience1679 tid1721 opening1752 offer1831 slant1837 show1842 showing1852 show-up1883 window of opportunity1942 op1978 the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > [noun] > chance or opportunity chance1297 occasiona1382 opportunitya1387 fair play?a1500 main chance1577 venturea1625 opening1752 ettle1768 slant1837 sporting chance1897 open go1918 a fair crack of the whip1929 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1882) VIII. 151 Afterward oportunite was aspied by twene burgeys of Londoun whan he myȝte be founde allone.., and men of armes were i-sende for to take [hym]. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Matt. xxvi. 16 He souȝte oportunyte [c1384 E.V. couenablete] to bitraye hym. ?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) 1005 (MED) Oportunite when he gatt, He was anker and sole satt. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) v. 523 He..vatit opportunite For to fulfill hys mawite. a1500 Craft of Dying (Rawl.) in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 418 (MED) Let som man..sey the orisons that followen after as the tyme & oportunyte will suffre. 1659 N. R. Proverbs 84/1 Opportunity makes a Thief. 1773 S. Johnson Let. 30 Sept. (1992) ii. 98 The wind is now changed, and if we snatch the moment of opportunity, an Escape from this Island is become practicable. 1875 W. Stubbs Constit. Hist. II. xvii. 511 In national history opportunity is as powerful as purpose. 1931 Auckland Star 22 Mar. Opportunity was taken to farewell the Rev. E. Drake and Mrs. Drake. 1993 Cornell Daily Star 10 Mar. 5/1 Koresh..is caught promising them [sc. a bunch of students] a lifetime of opportunity if they jump the line to join his sect. b. As a count noun: an instance of this.For comparable development of count from mass noun see circumstance n., conscience n. ΚΠ 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclxxj^v Many goodly oportunities, through disceptation, were omitted. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xx. 255 You haue many opportunities to cut him off. View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 10. ⁋1 I am not a little pleased with the Opportunity of running over all the Papers. 1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. i. ii. 38 The natural Course of things affords us Opportunities for procuring Advantages to Ourselves at certain Times. 1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol iii. 86 I wonder you..should desire to cramp these people's opportunities of innocent enjoyment. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 161 Neuchamp had been sufficiently awake to his opportunities. 1912 ‘Saki’ Unbearable Bassington vii. 127 The opportunity for turning the talk more directly on him..was too good to be missed. 1971 H. Macmillan Riding Storm ii. 45 The opportunity of acquiring half the shares in the Regent Oil Company—the other moiety was held by Caltex. c. spec. A chance for employment or promotion; a job vacancy. ΚΠ 1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 50/8 (advt.) Their parents were moving to a new employment opportunity. 1971 Wall St. Jrnl. 22 July iv. 1/1 An exclusive little group here has found alluring job opportunities popping up on all sides. 1994 Hispanic Mar. 59/2 (advt.) For career opportunities located in our New York City Headquarters, send your confidential resume, indicating your area of interest. †2. Good fortune. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > good fortune > piece of opportunity?a1425 honeyfall1642 luck in a bag1649 hit1666 godsend1810 stroke of luck1853 bonanza1878 lucky break1889 break1911 a bit of fat1923 snip1932 ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. ii. pr. iii. 42 Thow neere right weleful..with the oportunyte [L. opportunitate] and noblesse of thyne masculyn children. †3. The convenience, suitability, or advantageousness of a site or position, esp. for being readily accessible. Occasionally: an advantage afforded by a convenient or suitable position (see quot. 1730). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > position or situation > [noun] > convenience or advantageousness of position opportunitya1500 a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) v. 3788 Wyth-oute [the church] hys bad to ma he set hym and for to se The byschopys oportwnyte. 1555 R. Eden tr. P. Giovio Libellus de legatione Basilii in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 284 This is the most famous citie in Moscouia..for the commodious oportunitie of ryuers, multitude of houses [etc.]. 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης viii. 66 Hull, a town of great strength and opportunitie both to sea and land affaires. 1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries 22 Flushing..a Town..very considerable for..the opportunity of its Situation and convenience of its Harbour. 1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei Compl. Hist. Anc. Amphitheatres 378 The Opportunity [It. opportunità] they had of its Harbour, incited them..to make it the Staple-Port for Merchandize of the East. 1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall III. xxx. 158 Augustus, who had observed the opportunity of the place, prepared..a capacious harbour. †4. A time when there is occasion or need for something. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > [noun] > difficult state of things > sudden, extreme, or emergency needOE needinga1400 exigentc1475 plunge1519 opportunity1526 push1563 dead lift1567 heft1587 exigence1588 exigency1601 emergent1620 lift1624 emergencya1631 emergencea1676 emergementa1734 amplush1827 crisis1848 situation1954 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. NNiii^v Somtyme he maketh as thoughe he herde vs nat, in oportunyte and tyme of nede. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 13 He also provides..some of these, as he reckons his opportunities may be to use them. 5. Opportuneness, timeliness. Now rare.In quots. 1873 and 1878, perhaps with reference to the Latin phrase felix opportunitate mortis (Tacitus Agricola 45.3: see quot. 1591). ΘΚΠ the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > opportuneness or timeliness covenablenessa1382 opportunity1531 seasonableness1546 tidiness1567 timeliness1573 tempestivity1576 ratheness1635 opportuneness1727 timefulness1898 1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xviii. sig. Jiv^v Exercises, whiche be nat vtterly reproued of noble auctours, if they be vsed with oportunite and in measure. 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Life Agricola in tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. 266 Thrise happy then mayest thou..be counted, not onely for the renowne of thy life, but..for the opportunity of thy decease. 1660 J. Milton Readie Way Free Commonw. (ed. 2) 46 Thir business is..oft times urgent; the opportunitie of affairs gaind or lost in a moment. 1873 W. Pater Stud. Hist. Renaissance viii. 167 A death which, for its swiftness and its opportunity, he might well have desired. 1878 J. R. Seeley Life & Times Stein III. 559 How much suffering had been saved them by the opportunity of their deaths. 1917 tr. J. Tixeront Apologetical Stud. ii. i. 129 Why does the Pope..grant that forgiveness?.. In order to prove its opportunity, he quotes some instances taken from Holy Writ. †II. Other uses. 6. Necessity; fittingness. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > necessity > condition of being necessary > need or want > [noun] tharf735 needOE misterc1385 opportunity?a1475 suffrete1481 needing?a1513 scantc1550 want1551 necessitude1839 ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 435 (MED) That man is a cowarde that wille not dye when oportunite requirethe hit [L. quando oportet; a1387 J. Trevisa tr. whanne it nedeth]. 7. Fitness, aptitude, competence. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > competence, fitness, or ability sufficiencec1384 suffisance1426 opportunity1535 qualification1561 sufficiency1567 fitness1574 qualifiedness1675 adequacy1779 competence1790 competency1797 locus standi1822 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccl. ii. 20 For so moch as a man shulde weery himself with wysedome, with understondinge and oppurtunite [L. sollicitudine; Ger. Geschicklichkeit], and yet be fayne to leave his labours vnto another. 1604 R. Cawdrey Table Alphabet. Oportunitie, fitnes to any thing. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 437 The swiftnesse or other opportunity of the Dogges helpeth them to fly away from her. 8. Pleading, entreaty, supplication; = importunity n. 1a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > speech > request > [noun] > earnest request or entreaty > importunity or urgency instancec1340 importunityc1425 instancy1515 importunateness?1526 importunacy1548 importancea1555 importancy1576 opportunitya1586 urgencec1592 urgency1611 clamorousnessa1617 pressingness1661 precariousness1666 supplicancy1728 beseechingness1863 imploringness1863 pleadingness1866 demandingness1930 a1586 W. Dunbar in W. A. Craigie Maitland Folio MS (1919) I. 289 He þat makis all his maist seruice He may it tyne with crakis and coyis In fuliche Oportunitie [1568 Bannantyne Be fowll inoportunitie]. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iii. iv. 20 Yet seeke my Fathers loue, still seeke it sir, If opportunity and humblest suite Cannot attaine it, why then harke you hither. View more context for this quotation 1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius War with Vandals ii. 50 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian John the son of Sisinniolus, at the Africans opportunity, raised Forces and went against them. Phrases P1. [Compare Middle French aise fait le larron (late 15th cent.).] Proverb. opportunity makes a (also the) thief. ΚΠ c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 230 (MED) Me seið þet eise makeð þeof.] ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1879) VII. 379 At the laste the bischop seide to hym, ‘Me thenke that oportunite makethe a thefe.’ 1598 F. Bacon Let. in Cabala (1654) ii. 44 The Garrisons to be instantly provided for; For opportunity makes a thief. 1700 J. Collier Second Def. Short View Eng. Stage 37 Opportunity makes a Thief; the Temptation rises upon sight. 1855 N. Roussel Catholic & Protestant Nations Compared II. 12 It frequently happens that when strangers pass a night.., two or three ruffians prepare an ambuscade..: opportunity makes the thief. 1926 S. D. Porteus & M. E. Babcock Temperam. & Race 272 We may readily concede that opportunity makes the thief, but not that opportunity makes the genius. 1991 J. Huer Wages of Sin 121 Opportunity makes a thief, and in a land of opportunities all are thieves. P2. opportunity knocks and variants: an opportunity presents itself; a chance of success occurs; also in proverb. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > chance or causelessness > chance [phrase] > opportunity presents itself (only once) opportunity knocks1926 1809 Port Folio Nov. 431 Fortune knocks once, at least, at every man's door. ?1844 J. R. Lowell Hakon's Lay in Early Poems (1898) 71 Through the broad Earth roams Opportunity And knocks at every door of hut and hall Until she finds the brave soul she wants.] 1926 Mississippi Valley Hist. Rev. 13 175 A golden opportunity knocked at their door, when the Indians besought the commissioners to send Robert Livingston to Westminster. 1942 P. G. Wodehouse Money in Bank xv. 157 Opportunity knocks but once, and he had allowed it to knock in vain. 1970 Computers & Humanities 5 16 From the earliest English settlements to the closing of the frontier and the advent of industrialism, opportunity knocked for young men of high and low social status at fairly regular alternate intervals. 1994 National Canad. Bar Assoc. May 48/1 If you don't go global when opportunity knocks you risk a lot of business. Compounds opportunity cost n. Economics the loss of other alternatives when one alternative is chosen. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > management of money > management of national resources > [noun] > political economy > economic forces or effects overheating1609 consumption1662 supply1744 production1767 demand1776 effective demand1819 employment rate1833 equilibrium1871 opportunity cost1894 bankers' ramp1931 multiplier1936 multiplier effect1937 market forces1942 cost push1952 externality1957 fiscal drag1964 demand-side1975 1894 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 8 222 To an ambitious person, the sacrifice of an opportunity would cause pain, and thus render the distinction between pain-cost and opportunity-cost of little importance. 1911 H. J. Davenport in Amer. Econ. Rev. 1 725 These displacements of possible products, these foregoings of alternative openings, these sacrifices of some second thing in the process of getting some particular thing, are perhaps best indicated under the term opportunity cost. To go without fish to get game..may be taken as illustrative of one of the simplest aspects of the doctrine. 1926 L. D. Edie Econ. iii. viii. 121 The opportunity cost is the sacrifice of foregoing some alternative utility. 1971 D. C. Hague Managerial Econ. (rev. ed.) ii. v. 121 If the businessman would have invested the money at 10 per cent interest, had he not put it into the business, then the ‘opportunity cost’ of investing in his own business is the 10 per cent interest he has foregone. 1995 SalesForce Mag. Feb. 30/2 ‘Non-addressability’ imposes a significant opportunity cost on any advertiser wishing to reach only a very tiny subset of a media company's viewers or consumers. opportunity shop n. Australian and New Zealand a shop where second-hand goods (esp. clothes) are sold to raise money for charity. ΚΠ 1933 N.Z. Tablet 11 Jan. 23 The opportunity shop is still operating satisfactorily. 1961 B. Humphries Nice Night's Entertainment (1981) 52 It ruined the lining of a lovely raffia bag that Beryl had bought at the opportunity shop. 1986 I. Wedde Symmes Hole (1988) There's a spare safety-pin a-dangle from one lapel of her old fading opportunity-shop silk robe. opportunity state n. a country which offers many opportunities for advancement. ΘΚΠ society > authority > rule or government > a or the state > [noun] > where specific conditions prevail police state1851 welfare state1894 Rechtsstaat1912 temple-state1920 kulturstaat1925 garrison state1937 the Illfare State1952 opportunity state1957 1957 Economist 21 Dec. 1042/3 Why should one section of the community, the trade unionists, contract out of this planless ‘opportunity state’? 1990 D. Kavanagh Thatcherism & Brit. Politics (ed. 2) x. 311 The vocabulary of many young leaders of left-wing parties in Western Europe..refers to a ‘servant’ or ‘opportunity’ state..and promises to provide incentives for free enterprise. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2004; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.a1387
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