pinchedadj.
/pɪn(t)ʃt/, U.S. /pɪn(t)ʃt/ 1. Of a garment, material, etc.: gathered, pleated. Also of a hat: that has a bend or fold in the brim. Cf. pinch n. 10, pinch v. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > folding or folded condition > [adjective] > arranged in folds or pleated
rideledc1400
plaited1440
rivelled1482
pleated1483
pinched1500
plighted1502
plightc1530
tucked1530
well-plighted1590
furbelowc1680
quilled1694
1500 T. Betson Ryght Profytable Treatyse sig. c iiiv I take them for no relygyous wymen yt ben cladde in costlyous araye or in wanton & pynched habytes but he calleth them in latyn. Pessimas meretrices et storta.
1515 Act 7 Hen. VIII c. 6 §4 Any pynchyd shyrt or pynchyd partlet of lynnyn cloth or playn shyrt garnysshyd or made wyth sylke or gold or sylver.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. v. 35 4. tapites floured, of pinsed satten.
1631 B. Jonson Bartholmew Fayre ii. v. 25 in Wks. II You must ha' your thinne pinch'd ware, pent vp i' the compasse of a dogge-collar.
1691 Brechin Test. VIII. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue f. 41 v Ane large bedsted hung with sad cloath embroidered with pinsht leather.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 156. ⁋5 The Woman's Man expresses himself wholly in that Motion which we call Strutting: An elevated Chest, a pinched Hat, a measurable Step,..are the Marks of him.
1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 107 His long chin, tarnished coat, or pinched hat.
1846 C. Dickens Pictures from Italy 126 There was so much poverty expressed in his faded suit and little pinched hat.
1864 London Society Nov. 392 She peregrinated calmly in a pinched bonnet.
1973 Daily Times-News (Burlington, N. Carolina) 28 May 14 b (advt.) Ladies' pinched leather clogs.
1998 Down Beat (Nexis) Sept. 8 A zoot suit with suspenders and a perfectly pinched hat.
2. † c. Of a ship: curved inward on the upper decks. Frequently with in. Cf. to house in at house v.1 Phrasal verbs. Obsolete.
a. Gripped or compressed tightly between any two surfaces, esp. between a finger and thumb; nipped, sharply squeezed. Also: †shaped as if tightly contracted (obsolete). Frequently with in, up, off.In quot. 1514 perhaps: castrated by ligature.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [adjective] > thin
leanc1000
thinc1000
swonga1300
meagrea1398
empty?c1400
(as) thin (also lean, rank) as a rakec1405
macilent?a1425
rawc1425
gauntc1440
to be skin and bone (also bones)c1450
leany?a1475
swampc1480
scarrya1500
pinched1514
extenuate1528
lean-fleshed1535
carrion-lean1542
spare1548
lank1553
carrion1565
brawn-fallen1578
raw-bone1590
scraggeda1591
thin-bellied1591
rake-lean1593
bare-boned1594
forlorn1594
Lented1594
lean-looked1597
shotten herring1598
spiny1598
starved1598
thin-belly1598
raw-boned1600
larbar1603
meagry?1603
fleshless1605
scraggy1611
ballow1612
lank-leana1616
skinnya1616
hagged1616
scraggling1616
carrion-like1620
extenuated1620
thin-gutted1620
haggard1630
scrannel1638
leanisha1645
skeletontal1651
overlean1657
emaciated1665
slank1668
lathy1672
emaciate1676
nithered1691
emacerated1704
lean-looking1713
scranky1735
squinny-gut(s)1742
mauger1756
squinny1784
angular1789
etiolated1791
as thin (also lean) as a rail1795
wiry1808
slink1817
scranny1820
famine-hollowed1822
sharp featured1824
reedy1830
scrawny1833
stringy1833
lean-ribbeda1845
skeletony1852
famine-pinched1856
shelly1866
flesh-fallen1876
thinnish1884
all horn and hide1890
unfurnished1893
bone-thin1899
underweight1899
asthenic1925
skin-and-bony1935
skinny-malinky1940
skeletal1952
pencil-neck1960
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping of cattle > [adjective] > of ox: castrated
pinched1514
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > breadth or width > lack of breadth or narrowness > [adjective] > narrowed > at one point
pinched1514
necked1959
the world > space > extension in space > reduction in size or extent > [adjective] > compressing or constricting > compressed or constricted
compressedc1374
coarctate?a1475
nippit1535
comprimate?1541
coarctated1655
spanned1741
constricted1753
nipped1759
constrained1768
squeezed1831
pinched1836
scrunched1836
nipped1850
1514 Will of Andrew Busby (P.R.O.: PROB. 11/18) f. 30 A pynched oxe.
?c1535 L. Cox Arte Rhethorycke (new ed.) sig. Bivv Thersites,..with croked and penched shulders.
1567 A. Golding tr. Ovid Metamorphosis (new ed.) ix. 111 I struggled from his churlish thumbes my pinched chappes too slip.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. i. sig. Bv Like the Father of Hunger,..with your pinch'd horne-nose. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. i. 53 He ha's discouer'd my Designe, and I Remaine a pinch'd Thing; yea, a very Trick For them to play at will. View more context for this quotation
1682 T. D'Urfey Butler's Ghost 41 One Spark his Mistress does subdue, By a pincht Foot in high-heel'd Shooe.
?1780 D. Kilner Dialogues & Lett. 122 Your shutting your eyes when your brother's pinched finger was dressed.
1836 C. Dickens Sketches by Boz 1st Ser. I. 98 Scanty gray trousers, little pinched-up gaiters.
1938 New Yorker 12 Mar. 47/2 A pinched-off smoke, or stub, is a roach.
1941 Amer. Speech 16 67/1 Avoid pinched-in-waistlines for teen ages.
1990 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 16 Dec. ii. 14/6 Some of the most common problems are displaced vertebrae, pinched nerves, ruptured discs, sprains and strains.
b. Unevenly narrow, as if compressed at one part; narrower in the middle than at the extremities.
ΚΠ
1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad x. 218 Where the pincht Streight leaves Ships no room to play.
1675 London Gaz. No. 955/4 A Black Gelding,..a shorn Mane, pinch'd Buttock.
1853 Daily Alton (Illinois) Tel. 10 Mar. The hair is pushed into the cheeks and squared at the forehead to give a most extraordinary pinched shape.
1890 Cent. Dict. Pinched, of long, slender growth, as oysters.
1937 Amer. Jrnl. Archaeol. 41 626 A fragmentary tall glass vase of ‘pinched’ shape.
2000 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Apr. v. 10/1 From a basket of wheel-thrown bud vases or weed jars..it is easy to select interesting pinched shapes and variegated glazes.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel of specific construction or shape > [adjective] > of specific general shape
subtile1490
subtle1511
round1600
pinched1655
clean1709
sharp1709
hogged1760
lean1769
beamy1882
broad-beamed1883
1655 R. Fanshawe tr. L. de Camoens Lusiad i. xlvi. 10 Boats with finns; nor flat, But apt t'o're-set (as being pincht and long).
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. at Housed She is Housed-in, or Pinched-in too much.
1759 News-readers Pocket-bk. 83 When the breadth of a ship's bearing in brought in too narrow to her upper Works, or pinched in too much, she is Housed in.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. at Housing in She is said to be housed in, or pinched.
d. Physics. Confined by the pinch effect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrically induced magnetism > [adjective] > confined by the pinch effect
pinched1907
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > fluid dynamics > [adjective] > relating to hydrodynamics > of or involving magnetohydrodynamics > confined by pinch effect
pinched1907
1907 Trans. Amer. Electrochem. Soc. 11 331 C is the column of liquid conductor,..and P is one of these pinched contractions.
1962 Times 28 Apr. 8/4 The first photograph of a ‘pinched’ lightning discharge has been obtained.
1995 Proc. SPIE (Internat. Soc. Optical Engin.) 2523 13 The pinched plasma produces a hot cigar shaped spot at the opposite end of the electrodes.
3.
a. Afflicted with pain or trouble, distressed. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > [adjective]
angeredc1275
miseasedc1390
woea1398
forpainedc1400
labouringc1425
passive?a1439
painedc1450
loaden1542
sored1557
stressed1559
pinched1566
grieved1586
suffering1609
heavy-laden1611
undergoinga1616
vulned1628
loaded1661
afflicted1690
sick as a parrot1705
crosseda1732
wrung1862
traumatized1935
fraught1966
1566 J. Studley tr. Seneca Medea v. 47 Sith thou wylt not haue it so as greeues thy pynched minde.
?1570 E. Elviden Hist. Pesistratus & Catanea sig. Lvii Whose excesse of troubles, teare his paineful pinched hart So much.
1787 ‘Vicarius’ Sketches of Beauty vii. 177 From whose table, e'en the wasted fragment Might nurse content in many a pinched heart.
1858 J. Martineau Stud. Christianity 108 A pinched and anxious mind bereft of power.
1886 A. E. Allen Triangular Soc. 336 This poor, pinched soul which no one prized a whit.
1900 Mrs. Craigie R. Orange xxii With a pinched heart she went up the great staircase.
b. Of the features or appearance: drawn or wasted with cold, hunger, pain, etc. Also with up.
ΚΠ
a1654 A. Ross Πανσεβεια (1655) ix. 245 It is not a torn skin, nor a macerated body, nor a pinched belly that God requires, but a broken and contrite spirit.
1755 A. Berthelson tr. E. Pontoppidan Nat. Hist. Norway ii. 195 His eyes lay deep in his head, and he had a meagre and pinched face.
1772 Philos. Trans. 1771 (Royal Soc.) 61 132 With a sharp pinched-up nose, hippocratic countenance.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. ii, in Poems 77 Pinch'd are her Looks, as one who pines for Bread.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxii. 308 Pale and pinched-up faces hovered about the windows.
1898 P. Manson Trop. Dis. ii. 60 As in cholera, the serous drain may lead to..pinched features, washerwoman's fingers.
1935 E. Bowen House in Paris ii. iv. 129 Naomi's face went pinched and monkey-like, lines appeared round her mouth.
1988 S. Rosenberg Soviet Odyssey vi. 91 There was a pinched look about him that wrung my heart.
4.
a. Confined or restricted in space, scope, etc.; small, scanty. Also in extended use: mean, niggardly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [adjective] > confined, restricted, or insufficiently spacious
narroweOE
straitc1290
unwidea1400
scanta1533
angust1540
roomless1548
pinched?1567
niggard1595
strict1598
straitened1602
pinching1607
incommodious1615
incapacious1635
over-strait1645
straiteninga1652
cramp1786
bottleneck1854
cramped1884
tight1937
claustrophobic1946
claustrophobe1954
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [adjective] > of small or scanty extent
narroweOE
straitc1290
scarce1297
scanta1533
pinched?1567
strict1598
thrifty1601
straitened1602
scanty1701
scrimped?c1716
pookit1818
poky1828
postage-stamp-sized1852
poking1864
boxy1870
pocket handkerchief1910
postage stamp1937
?1567 M. Parker Whole Psalter v. cxliii. 408 My pinched sprite in me doth fayle Opprest in heuines.
a1657 G. Daniel Trinarchodia: Henry V cclxi, in Poems (1878) IV. 166 Narrower Fames In a pinch't Canvace.
1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks (ed. 3) 34 Their Cells..being too mean and..too much pinch'd of room.
1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 8 No partial, narrow, contracted, pinched, occasional system will be at all suitable to such an object.
1894 N. Brooks Tales Maine Coast 94 A little pinched-up flower-garden lay between the house and the..river.
1908 E. Wharton Hermit & Wild Woman 10 Red stony ledges where only a pinched growth of lentisk & briar opened over the bald rock.
1975 P. V. Price Taste of Wine x. 183/1 Pinched, applied to wines that are mean in character; they never give generously, either of smell or taste.
1992 I. Berlin et al. War for Union in Free at Last 110 Some slaves became free when their owners abandoned them. But theirs was often a pinched and hard-pressed freedom.
b. Of paper: slightly smaller than a regular size.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > material to write on > paper > [adjective] > designating international standard paper size > specific size of paper
demy1546
imperial1658
foolscap1671
super-royal1681
medium1711
royal1780
pinched1893
1893 J. Kay Paper 100 Sizes of Papers... Demy..Post..Pinched Post..Foolscap.
1926 Paper Terminol. (Spalding & Hodge) 20 Pinched post, a standard size of writing paper measuring 141/ 2 × 181/ 2 in.
1962 F. T. Day Introd. to Paper vii. 70 An even greater variety of sizes is covered by these names by the addition of qualifying words—Single or Half, Double or Quad, Small or Large, Extra or Super, Pinched or Reduced.
5. Straitened; deprived; restricted in means or circumstances.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > poverty > [adjective] > poor > reduced to poverty
broken-fortuned1362
depauperatea1464
peeled?a1513
extenuate1533
withered1561
penured1570
low-ebbed1595
ruined1596
shredded1596
broken1597
beggared1609
impoverisheda1631
necessitated1646
pinched1672
crazy1700
reduced1715
straitened1716
crazed1732
poverty-struck?1750
poverty-stricken?1786
pauperized1807
poverty-smitten1819
distressed1844
out at elbows1885
poverished1900
wiped1977
1672 A. Harcourt Diary 17 Dec. in E. W. Harcourt Papers (1880) 204 I am sure I have bin faine thes thirty years to deny my selfe..resolving to content my selfe with a little..bin more pinched, in the conclusion.
1716 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1901) V. 159 Yet he is not pinch'd, being very rich as well as very stingy.
1789 E. Sheridan Let. in Betsy Sheridan's Jrnl. (1986) viii. 186 I hope Charles will now think of paying me. I have..been pretty well pinch'd.
1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xlv. 199 Do you know how pinched and destitute I am?
1852 G. F. Turner Let. 6 May in R. Stuart et al. Stuart Lett. (1961) I. 331 We are a little pinched to be sure for something to eat, but live on hope and Sardines.
1891 S. Baring-Gould In Troubadour-land xx They lived..in very pinched circumstances.
1962 P. Scott Birds of Paradise iv. iii. 218 Had she saved money, he wondered, or was her retirement pinched?
1979 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 127 118/2 A country of static or declining GNP will..be..a pinched and increasingly bitter place.
2003 Border Crossings (Canada) (Nexis) Nov. 107 Pictures of their pinched circumstances, dogged daily existence and unenviable prospects abound.
Compounds
pinched-faced adj. having a face drawn or wasted with cold, hunger, pain, worry, etc.
ΚΠ
1857 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. June 662/1 Framed-in over the low door was a grim faded portrait of a pinched-faced saturnine man.
1904 Daily Chron. 22 Oct. 4/5 Pinched-faced children whose under-feeding is caused by this kind of malnutrition.
1998 Independent (Nexis) 28 Nov. 68 We were just starting to relax when two pinched-faced youths in anoraks strode into the restaurant, swigging beer from bottles.
pinched tuck n. Dressmaking a narrow tuck, a pin-tuck.
ΚΠ
1903 Daily Chron. 25 July 8/4 The gown..is..decorated with what we called pinched tucks—in other words the very tiniest tucks imaginable—that form a suggestion of checks.
1934 Times 14 May 17/6 The shoulderline is raised by flat draperies, little capes, pinched tucks held by jewelled clips.
Derivatives
ˈpinchedly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > [adverb] > with insufficient room
straitlyc1400
straita1450
narrowly?1533
pinchedly1883
1883 R. Broughton Belinda I. i. ii. 17 The pear-tree..was pinchedly struggling into flower.
1995 Daily Mail (Nexis) 16 Jan. 20 ‘I have always called her Margaret,’ she declares, a touch pinchedly.
ˈpinchedness n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > smallness > [noun] > smallness or scantiness of extent
narrownesseOE
straitnessc1384
strictness1604
pinchedness1857
boxiness1882
pokiness1886
the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > slim shape or physique > [noun] > thin shape > state of having
leannessa1000
boninessa1398
macilence?a1425
meagreness?a1425
macies?a1450
meagrec1450
povertya1475
bareness1552
extenuation1576
poorness1577
gauntness1607
lankness1611
macilencya1631
spareness1648
emaceration1656
emaciation1662
skinniness1688
angularity1822
thinness1827
pinchedness1857
scrawniness1863
scragginess1865
wizenedness1887
1857 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) I. 583/2 A stable..ought to be at least four and a half or five feet wide, and eight feet high. A pinchedness in any of these details is far from economical.
1992 Evening Standard (Nexis) 9 July 46 The two countries..share a certain pinchedness and double-standard in matters of pleasure.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
<
adj.1500