plotn.
/plɒt/, U.S. /plɑt/ I. A piece of ground, etc.† 2. A small portion of a surface differing in character or aspect from the remainder; a mark, patch, spot, etc.; a stain. Also in early use: a scab on a sore. Obsolete.
1.
a. A fairly small piece of ground, esp. one used for a specified purpose, such as building or gardening, etc. Cf. plat n.3 1. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > small
plotlOE
plat1435
particlec1460
specka1552
patch1577
pick1585
field plot1659
the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land suitable for cultivation > [noun] > cultivated land > plot of cultivated land
acreOE
plotlOE
inhook1214
table?1440
culturea1475
labouragec1475
land1731
lazy-bed1743
ladang1783
shamba1840
lOE Laws: Hit Becwæð (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 400 Ic agnian wille to agenre æhte þæt þæt ic hæbbe & næfre ðe myntan ne plot ne ploh, ne turf ne toft, ne furh ne fotmæl, ne land ne læsse.
lOE Writ of Edward the Confessor, Westminster (Sawyer 1137) in F. E. Harmer Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952) 358 [Ic kyþe eow þæt ic wille] ðet þæt plott landes æt Clæigate, l[i]gge nu heonon forð inn to Sancte Petre æt Westmynstre.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 405 Plecke, or plotte, porciuncula.
?1463 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 461 An acre of medew in a noder plotte.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 150 (MED) Take gode hede of this plotte of grounde [Fr. piece de terre] that ye now sitte on.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry V f. liv At his cost and charge buried in a square plot.
1574 T. Tusser Points Huswifrie (new ed.) f. 31, in Fiue Hundreth Points Good Husbandry (new ed.) In Cambridge then, I found a gen, a resting plot.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes Ep. Ded. sig. a3v What pleasure in a plot of simples.
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iii. i. 3 This greene plot shall be our stage. View more context for this quotation
1625 T. Middleton Game at Chæss iii. i. 127 Poor countrymen have but one plot To keep a cow on.
1660 Season. Exhort. 20 Youth, who are the seed plot of future woe or weal.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature vii. 146 The little plots, which the several families possess, and cultivate.
1784 N.-Y. Gazetteer 17 Dec. in R. S. Gottesman Arts & Crafts in N.Y. (1938) I House & Shop;..a large garden and a grass plot in the rear.
1844 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 5 i. 269 After reaping..the produce of the several plots was well weathered, and then thrashed.
a1862 H. D. Thoreau Maine Woods (1864) i. 9 More perfect specimens than any front-yard plot can show, grew there to grace the passage of the Houlton teams.
1891 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 2 May 82/2 A land company..afterwards sold the adjoining land in building plots.
1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xviii. 169 Frame houses with tiers of wooden galleries, set a little back in grassless plots.
1988 N. Lowndes Chekago iv. 154 Most of their fruit and vegetables were supplied by her father from his own plot.
2004 Daily Tel. 9 Feb. 18/5 His son..sub-leased plots to various builders.
b. The site or situation of a castle, town, city, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] > site of or for (a) building(s)
toft1001
stead1246
sole1417
sitea1443
plota1450
toftstead1524
ground-plat?a1560
ground-plot1580
seat1615
parterre1671
building-lot1701
emplacement1780
steading1822
building-place1839
block1840
subdivision1857
building-ground1858
building-estate1885
building-land1905
island site1907
island plot1908
tract1912
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xii. 378 (MED) In this place king Eualach this Castel made For the strengest plot In þe world þat he hadde.
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. Aiijv The plot of this Castell standeth so naturally strong.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Gviv Cities..in all poyntes fashioned a lyke, as farfurth as the place or plotte suffereth.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1549/1 He likewise began..the strengthening of Athelon with gates and other fortifications, the foundation and plot of the bridge of Caterlagh.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 114 They who founded it..were so blind as that they could not choose it for the plot of Chalcedon.
1603 True Narration Entertainm. His Maiestie sig. C3 He bestowed this day in surueying of the plots and fortifications [of Berwick].
1735 W. O. tr. W. Camden Brit. III. 124 Close by this church, remain the bare name and ground-plot of the castle.
1819 Niles' Reg. 17 30/2 A year ago there were only ‘five or six unchinked cabins’ on the town plot.
1970 P. Berton National Dream vi. ii. 236 There were better locations available for a terminus before the town plot was reached.
c. Originally North American = burial plot n. at burial n. Additions. Frequently in family plot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > burial > grave or burial-place > [noun]
buriels854
througheOE
burianOE
graveOE
lairc1000
lair-stowc1000
lich-restc1000
pitOE
grass-bedOE
buriness1175
earth housec1200
sepulchrec1200
tombc1300
lakec1320
buriala1325
monumenta1325
burying-place1382
resting placea1387
sepulturea1387
beda1400
earth-beda1400
longhousea1400
laystow1452
lying1480
delfa1500
worms' kitchen?a1500
bier1513
laystall1527
funeral?a1534
lay-bed1541
restall1557
cellarc1560
burying-grave1599
pit-hole1602
urn1607
cell1609
hearse1610
polyandrum1627
requietory1631
burial-place1633
mortuary1654
narrow cell1686
ground-sweat1699
sacred place1728
narrow house1792
plot1852
narrow bed1854
1852 N.-Y. Daily Times 13 Mar. 3/1 All persons owning plots in the Cemetery at Williamsburg,..are required to meet in the Lecture Room of the Lutheran Church.
1872 N.Y. Herald 14 June 3/1 A vault which he is now building on his family plot, situated on a high knoll about a quarter of a mile from the entrance to the cemetary [sic].
1926 People's Home Jrnl. Feb. 20/2 The shock killed great-grandmother. She's buried in the family plot behind the plantation.
1954 R. Jarrell Pictures from Instit. iii. 129 In her family's plot, after Camille Batterson had been buried in it, there was a place for one more Batterson.
2000 N. Griffiths Grits (2001) 436 Buried in a nice plot with a nice view of the park.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > lack of beauty > disfigurement > [noun] > a disfigurement or blemish
tachec1330
vicec1386
flakec1400
plotc1400
offencec1425
defectc1450
disconformity1505
defection1526
blemish1535
fitch1550
blot1578
flaw1604
tainta1616
mulct1632
smitch1638
scarring1816
out1886
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xiii. 275 He hadde a cote of crystendome..Ac it was moled in many places with many sondri plottes [v.r. spottys], Of pruyde here a plotte and þere a plotte of vnboxome speche.
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 289 An vlcer..leuynge vneuene and scharpe plottes [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. an escare; L. sarra] fro the whiche a stynkynge and cariowny smeke is arered..is cleped a roten and a gyleful vlcer.
a1500 Gesta Romanorum (Gloucester) (1971) 753 (MED) Fro þe sole of his fete vn-to þe toppe of his hede Was non hole plot [v.r. noon helthe].
1583 J. Lyly Epist. in T. Watson Centurie of Loue (Arb.) 29 I could finde nothing but..loose stringes, where I tyed hard knots: and a table of steele, where I framed a plot of wax.
1598 R. Hakluyt tr. W. de Rubruquis in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 98 The men shaue a plot foure square vpon the crownes of their heads.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 417 The horse will be..ful of scabs, and rawe plots about the necke.
1686 London Gaz. No. 2143/4 A daple gray Mare,..a Plott chafed upon the side of her Cheek.
1784 J. Cullum Hist. & Antiq. Hawsted in Bibliotheca Topographica Britannica No. 23. iii. 172 A sore Plot.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 629 Very minute pustules forming circular plots of a brown or reddish hue.
II. A map, a plan, a scheme.† 5. A design or scheme for the constitution or accomplishment of something. Cf. plat n.3 4a. Obsolete.
3. † a. A plan of the actual or proposed arrangement of something; a sketch, an outline, esp. a synopsis of a literary work. Also figurative. Cf. plat n.3 3. Obsolete.† c. figurative. The epitome of something. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan > preparatory to a completer work of art
plot1548
draught1574
society > leisure > the arts > literature > a written composition > parts of a written composition > [noun] > framework or outline
plot1548
setting1841
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > non-fiction > summary or epitome > [noun] > outline or sketch in words
outdraughtc1300
minute1443
draught?1504
plat1525
plot1548
table1560
scheme1652
schizzo1686
outline1760
profile1783
abbozzo1846
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. Pref. sig. Dijv Least I mai woorthely be doubted by the plot of my Prologe, to haue made the foorme of my booke lyke the proportion of sainct Peters man, I will here leaue of further proces of Preface.
1554 Ld. Darnley in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. II. 249 It haith pleased your moste excellente Maiestie laitlie to accepte a little Plote of my simple penning, which I termed Vtopia Nova.
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida v. sig. H4v Hee strokes vp his mustachoes three times, and makes six plots of set faces, before he speakes one wise word.
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Bb2v Such a plotte made and recorded to memorie, may..minister light to anie publique designation. View more context for this quotation
a1627 T. Middleton Women beware Women v. ii, in 2 New Playes (1657) 193 Why sure this plot's drawn false, here's no such thing.
b. Originally: a ground plan, a map; a nautical chart. Later also: a representation on a chart of the movements of a ship or aircraft. Cf. plat n.3 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > an individual case or instance > [noun] > typical or representative case > typical or representative thing or person
forbysenc1175
figurea1340
forbyseninga1400
samplera1400
plot1551
pattern1555
resembler1581
representative1653
specimen1654
exponent1825
type1845
typification1845
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > a plan or diagram
plat1508
plot1551
plack1552
placket1552
lineament1570
draught1580
landscape1642
plan1664
speculum1676
chart1880
1551 R. Record Pathway to Knowl. ii. Pref. To drawe the plotte of any countreie that you shall come in, as iustely as maie be.
1623 J. Webster Dutchesse of Malfy iii. iii. sig. P4 Here is a plot drawne, for a new Fortification, At Naples.
1644 H. Mainwaring Sea-mans Dict. 20 A Plott. And Sea-Card is all one, Vide Card [a Geographicall description of Coasts, with the true distances, hights and courses, or winds laid downe in it].
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. ii. 11 How to take the Plott of a Field at one Station.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) To Prick a Plot (among Sailers), is..to make a small Prick in the Plot or Chart in that Latitude and Longitude, where the Ship is suppos'd to be at that time.
1775 S. Johnson Journey W. Islands 46 The ruins of the cathedral of Elgin... Its whole plot is easily traced.
1851 C. Cist Sketches & Statistics Cincinnati 147 The board immediately made arrangements for obtaining a survey and plot of the grounds.
1899 R. E. Middleton & O. Chadwick Treat. Surveying I. iv. 146 It is often desirable to make a preliminary plot, as work progresses, to see how the work comes in.
1931 M. Hotine Surv. from Air Photogr. ix. 159 The minor control plot is the foundation of all subsequent detail plotting and will repay time and care spent on its construction.
1963 Times 8 Feb. 5/1 The coastal radar chain established in 1940–41 enabled an accurate plot to be kept of shipping around our coasts.
1971 R. J. P. Wilson Land Surveying ii. 45 Once the pencil plot has been completed and checked the chain survey network of lines..is inked in.
1992 Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Nexis) 23 May a1 Staffers compiled a computer-designed plot of the radar facility.
ΚΠ
1597 T. Middleton Wisdome of Solomon Paraphr. ii. sig. D2 Blotted by him that is the plot of euill, Vndone, corrupted, vanquisht by the deuill.
d. Theatre. A list of props to be acquired or made for or used in a particular production; a scheme or plan indicating the disposition and function of lighting and stage property in a particular production. Cf. lighting plot n. at lighting n.2 Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > [noun] > operation of lights > plan of lighting or props
plot1851
property plot1874
lighting plot1896
1851 G. A. Sala in Househ. Words 20 Dec. 290/2 To each working ant is delivered a ‘plot’ of what he or she has to manufacture by a given time... Mr. Brush has a ‘plot’ of so many pairs of flats and wings, [etc.].
1883 D. Cook On Stage I. x. 219 The property-maker is duly furnished with a ‘plot’ or list of articles required of his department.
1949 T. Rattigan Harlequinade 56 The lighting for this scene has gone mad. This isn't our plot. There's far too much light.
1959 W. C. Lounsbury Backstage from A to Z 91 Light plots, furniture plots, and prop plots should be made by the person responsible for each field, and notations of cues and changes should be clearly indicated.
1979 W. O. Parker & H. K. Smith Scene Design & Stage Lighting (ed. 4) i. v. 152 The plot translates the designer's ideas of atmosphere, composition, and color into lighting areas, types of instruments; designates their position, [etc.].
1998 M. Harrison Lang. Theatre 200 The ‘plot’ is also a plan of tasks to be performed before and during the show.
e. A graph showing the relation between two variables; a curve on such a graph.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > graph
curve1818
profile1860
plot1880
graph1886
curve plotting1891
trend line1912
subgraph1931
network1941
digraph1955
multigraph1966
1880 Science 2 Oct. 168/2 By applying this to the plot of outstanding residuals, we may decide at what points the application of the perturbative curve best accounts for them.
1912 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 34 462 Reading from this plot by extrapolation to CΛ = 0, the value of 1/Λ0.
1947 E. E. Wahlstrom Igneous Minerals & Rocks viii. 240 (caption) Harker plot of analyses in Table 6.
1971 Physics Bull. Feb. 86/1 A ln σ against 1/T plot should, at the temperature of conversion, exhibit a change of slope.
1993 ORIMS Today Aug. 1/1 Animated pictures, histograms, pie charts and plots make your results easy-to-understand.
f. R.A.F. slang. A group of enemy aircraft as represented on a radar screen.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > group or unit on operation > [noun] > enemy aircraft > group as seen on radar
plot1943
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > [noun] > used in warfare > enemy > group of as seen on radar
plot1943
1943 P. Brennan et al. Spitfires over Malta 44 We warned the new boys to be careful, as it was probably a big plot coming in and they would be certain to bomb Ta-kali.
1959 R. Collier City that wouldn't Die vii. 109 Every radar station reported a mass plot and the planes flew too high for visual checks.
4. A plan made in secret by a group of people, esp. to achieve an unlawful end; a conspiracy. Also (humorous): a clever plan, an innocent scheme. Cf. complot n.
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the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > [noun] > a plot
devicec1290
wanlace1303
conjecturea1464
machinationa1475
practice1533
draught1535
plot?c1550
plat1584
design1590
contrivement1608
intrigo1648
complotment1660
underplot1668
contrivance1689
intrigue1692
scheme1719
infanglement1753
fix-up1832
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Three Bks. Eng. Hist. (1844) xxv. 179 Burning with rage incredible..he drew a plot for the lord Hastinges.
1579 G. Fenton tr. F. Guicciardini Hist. Guicciardin vii. 378 To breake the necke of the wicked purposes & plots of the French.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 32 Plots haue I laid inductions dangerous,..To set my brother Clarence and the King In deadly hate. View more context for this quotation
1617 J. Vicars tr. F. Herring (title) Mischeefes mysterie: or, Treasons master-peece, the Powder-plot.
1654 Trag. Alphonsus v. 67 He only knew All Plotts, and complots of his villanie.
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1683 (1955) IV. 320 The Popish Plot also..began now sensibly to dwindle, through the folly, knavery, impudence & giddynesse of Oates.
1726 W. R. Chetwood Voy. & Adventures Capt. R. Boyle 208 This occasion'd many Plots and Contrivances to regain the flying Fair Ones.
1769 W. Robertson Hist. Charles V II. iii. 191 The author of this dangerous plot was Charles duke of Bourbon.
1838 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece (new ed.) IV. xxx. 127 They could not..have suspected the plots which were laid for their destruction.
1844 E. A. Poe in Dollar Newspaper 27 Mar. She concocted with Talbot a plot. He purposely kept out of my way to avoid giving me the introduction.
1898 Argosy Sept. 227 Are any others, besides you and your companions, involved in this damnable plot?
1916 E. R. Burroughs Beasts of Tarzan i. 12 Instantly he knew that he was the victim of a plot, and that far from rescuing his son he had himself fallen into the hands of his enemies.
1946 Liberty 25 May 68/2 Yardley's toning lotion and foundation cream were at the bottom of the plot to improve my map.
1991 Economist 23 Nov. 35/3 Mrs Thatcher ponders and warns against a long-term federalist plot.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > [noun] > a plan
redeeOE
devicec1290
casta1300
went1303
ordinancec1385
intentc1386
imaginationa1393
drifta1535
draught1535
forecast1535
platform1547
ground-plat?a1560
table1560
convoy1565
design1565
plat1574
ground-plota1586
plot1587
reach1587
theory1593
game1595
projectment1611
projecting1616
navation1628
approach1633
view1634
plan1635
systema1648
sophism1657
manage1667
brouillon1678
speculationa1684
sketch1697
to take measures1698
method1704
scheme1704
lines1760
outline1760
measure1767
restorative1821
ground plan1834
strategy1834
programme1837
ticket1842
project1849
outline plan1850
layout1867
draft1879
dart1882
lurk1916
schema1939
lick1955
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1397/1 That the kalendar once reformed according to this plot, need neuer hereafter either to be altered or amended.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 1 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) There have bin divers good plottes devised, and wise Councels cast already about reformation of that Realme.
1607 T. Sparke Brotherly Perswasion Bij I neuer yet could bee brought..to thinke that forme and plot of Church gouernment so much admired and magnified as the perpetuall and onely fit gouernment for Christes Church..fitting for such a Monarchye as this is.
a1652 J. Smith Select Disc. (1660) vii. i. 287 This is the great design and plot of the gospel.
1678 R. Cudworth True Intellect. Syst. Universe i. iv. 269 A Design or Policy of the Devil..to counter-work God Almighty in the Plot of Christianity.
6. The plan or scheme of a literary or dramatic work; the main events of a play, novel, film, opera, etc., considered or presented as an interrelated sequence; a storyline. Also in extended use. Cf. plat n.3 6. the plot thickens: the storyline becomes more complex or convoluted; frequently in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > [noun] > plot
plot1613
storyline1906
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > plot
plat1589
plot1613
paper-plot1622
bone1647
intrigue1651
action1668
intrigo1672
fable1678
story1679
happy ending1748
storyline1906
plot line1907
1613 F. Beaumont Knight of Burning Pestle ii. sig. D4v The plot of our Plaie lies contrarie, and t'will hazard the spoiling of our Plaie.
1647 Prol. to Fletcher's Chances in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. sig. Ccc3 We doe entreat that you would not Expect strange turnes, and windings in the Plot.
1672 Duke of Buckingham Rehearsal iii. 27 Ay, now the Plot thickens very much upon us.
1677 W. Hughes Man of Sin iii. iii. 62 The Plots of the best Poets may sometimes have a hole pick'd in them.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron II. vi. xvi. 59 To censure the plot of a Play.
1759 O. Goldsmith in Crit. Rev. Aug. 102 The whole plot of these five cantos is no more than a young lady happening to prick her finger with a needle.
1781 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall II. xix. 171 Julian..ingeniously contrived both the plot and the catastrophe of the tragedy.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxiv. 228 The plot was most interesting. It belonged to no particular age, people or country.
1878 W. E. Gladstone Homer ii. 28 In the plot of the Odyssey, symmetry is obvious at first sight: in the plot of the Iliad, it has to be sought out.
1915 W. Cather Song of Lark iii. iii. 179 She sometimes stopped at his study to eat candy with him or to hear the plot of the novel he happened to be reading.
1937 W. H. Saumarez Smith Let. 30 Oct. in Young Man's Country (1977) ii. 96 No definite news yet, but the plot thickens.
1951 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 11 May in Yours, Plum (1990) 156 I have some ideas for further twists to the plot.
1991 D. Lucie Fashion (rev. ed.) i. ii, in Fashion, Progress, Hard Feelings, Doing the Business 11 Liz. He's gone to buy a shirt. Robin. The plot thickens.
1997 City Paper (Baltimore) 30 July 64/1 The plot is slow,..and even a performance from John Cleese as the ape can't save this flick.
Compounds
C1. General attributive and objective.
a. (In sense 1.)† plot-place n. Obsolete
plot-holder n.
ΚΠ
1849 Times 11 Oct. 5/2 A very large proportion of the peasantry and little farmers have been bred and reared as plot-holders.
1943 Geogr. Rev. 33 539 New plot holders were soon erecting residences, often badly sited, designed, and built, all over the countryside.
2000 Guardian 11 Nov. (Weekend Suppl.) 101/2 It's the time of year when plot-holders scale down, and maybe..earth up Brussels sprouts.
plot owner n.
ΚΠ
1854 N.-Y. Daily Times 15 Sept. 2/6 Twenty years ago, plot-owners were content with building a house three stories high..in which the tenants' wives had plenty of elbow-room.
1907 Daily Chron. 3 June 3/6 An association of..plot-owners has been formed for the purpose of improving their position.
2003 Essex Chron. (Nexis) 27 June 92 Alan Masters, representing most of the plot owners, said: ‘The applicants are gipsies’.
ΚΠ
1612 J. Speed Theatre of Empire of Great Brit. i. xxxii. 61/2 The Gray-friers..whose suppression hath suppressed the Plot-place of his Graue.
b. (In sense 6.)
(a)
plot-building n.
ΚΠ
1867 Galaxy Mag. Feb. 276 French writers possess the organ of literary constructiveness or plotbuilding more highly developed than ourselves.
1901 Scribner's Mag. Apr. 505/2 The fault [found] with the average successful American novel is that its workmanship is inferior; inferior to its plot-building and invention.
2002 Spectator (Hamilton, Ont.) (Nexis) 9 Dec. (Sports section) b1 Because it wasn't a TV event, much of the talking, dramatics and plot-building you see week after week were absent.
plot construction n.
ΚΠ
1892 B. Bosanquet Hist. Aesthetics 74 Aristotle rated ingenious plot-construction first..and held the revelation of the mind and heart to be secondary and superfluous.
1986 R. Liddell Elizabeth & Ivy (BNC) 21 This strange happening..must..have influenced her future plot construction.
plot formula n.
ΚΠ
1898 R. G. Moulton Stud. Lit. Evol. iv. iv. 188 According to the scheme on page 140, the plot formula for this play might be S C R + S'.
1957 N. Frye Anat. Crit. 52 We may think of our romantic, high mimetic and low mimetic modes as a series of displaced myths, mythoi or plot-formulas.
2003 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 28 June (Arts & Style section) es10 The story followed typical plot formulas, and her writing was average.
plot interest n.
ΚΠ
1865 Fortn. Rev. 15 Dec. 354 The distinctive element in Fiction is that of plot-interest. The rest is vehicle.
1965 K. Graham Eng. Crit. of Novel iv. 99 By 1883..his [sc. Wilkie Collins's] brand of plot-interest was..out-moded.
2003 News & Observer (Raleigh, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 27 Apr. (Arts & Entertainm. section) g5 With the exception of plot interest (never satisfied) in missing and suicidal Nella, everything crucial has already happened.
plot-seller n.
ΚΠ
1908 Chicago Sunday Tribune 9 Feb. (Worker's Mag.) 2/1 The plot seller includes an attractive title with every plot that he sells.
1938 O. Sitwell Trio 60 The well-known plot-seller, Mr. X. Y. Z., is at present planning a new financial coup.
plot source n.
ΚΠ
1885 J. O. Halliwell Outl. Life Shakespeare (ed. 5) 566 The subtle devices..some of which..may be equally observed..in the original plot-sources of his dramas.
1935 Amer. Lit. 7 200 The last two-thirds of it are taken almost verbatim from the original plot source, the short story ‘Money Maze’.
2000 Kidscreen (Nexis) 1 Mar. 20 As with the original movie, the E. B. White children's book will be a main plot source for the sequel.
plot-structure n.
ΚΠ
1892 Cent. Mag. May 151/1 Many would outrank Shakespere, being equally impersonal, more artistic in plot-structure, truer perhaps to history and to the possibilities of events.
1962 Punch 11 July 65/1 A good film..can hide even the most elaborate plot-structure by superficial casualness and naturalism.
2003 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 22 June 19 He applies the plot structure of Waugh's novel to a romance between two Harvard undergraduates in the 1920's.
(b)
plot-spinning adj.
ΚΠ
1934 Times 5 Dec. 12/2 Whether a dramatist who writes a plot-spinning play is entitled to cheat is a very nice point of etiquette.
1962 Times 24 Apr. 14/7 Passages of plot-spinning conversation.
2002 People (Nexis) 20 May (Picks & Pans section) 47 She has the plot-spinning skills and self-mocking sense of humor for the task in this breezy first novel.
c. (In sense 4.)
(a) † plotcaster n. Obsolete
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > [noun] > plotter
compassera1513
engineer?a1513
hafter1519
contrivera1522
deviser1523
intrycarc1540
practiser1545
practisant1550
practitioner1560
brewer1563
platformer1572
hatcher1578
politician1586
plotter1594
tamperer1599
plotcaster1602
machinator1611
plot-maker1641
trinketer1651
intriguer1667
plot-monger1683
schemist1724
under-plotter1728
intriguant1781
policizer1809
intriguist1830
schemer1846
planster1945
wheeler-dealer1960
1602 W. Watson Decacordon Ten Quodlibeticall Questions 4 The first plotcasters of their innocent brethrens ruines.
1612 T. James Life Father Parsons in Iesuits Downefall 62 [He] then tooke vpon him with his Iesuiticall Plotcasters, to be an Actor, an orator or a broker.
plot-master n.
ΚΠ
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xiv. 617/1 The chiefe plot-master the Earle.
1859 W. Chadwick Life & Times D. Defoe 30 In the reign of James II., or in that of his brother, when he acted plot-master for that brother, many..innocent persons were murdered by law.
2002 N.Y. Law Jrnl. (Nexis) 7 June 3 Federal prosecutors targeted Robert as the plot-master and tried to indict him.
plot-monger n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > [noun] > plotter
compassera1513
engineer?a1513
hafter1519
contrivera1522
deviser1523
intrycarc1540
practiser1545
practisant1550
practitioner1560
brewer1563
platformer1572
hatcher1578
politician1586
plotter1594
tamperer1599
plotcaster1602
machinator1611
plot-maker1641
trinketer1651
intriguer1667
plot-monger1683
schemist1724
under-plotter1728
intriguant1781
policizer1809
intriguist1830
schemer1846
planster1945
wheeler-dealer1960
1683 J. Oldham Poems & Transl. 182 Let the Plot-mongers stay behind, whose Art Can Truth to Sham, and Sham to Truth convert.
1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 11 (1754) 56 He is no plot-monger, as a less conjurer than you..might have easily seen.
1818 Edinb. Rev. 30 175 Deluded by the fabrications of our plot-mongers.
1981 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 9 Aug. 2 France became the latest hate object of Iranian zenophobes and plotmongers..when it gave ousted President Abolhassan Bani-Sadr refuge.
plot-weaver n.
ΚΠ
1897 Dublin Rev. Apr. 303 The most successful..of all these plot-weavers was..the Secretary Cecil.
2004 Village Voice (Nexis) 1 June 33 Hofstadter's essay, written in the aftermath of the McCarthy witch hunts and the Kennedy assassination, with an eye on the..scary realm of right-wing plot-weavers.
(b)
plot mad adj.
ΚΠ
1867 G. Meredith Vittoria III. xxxvii. 83 She saw that he was plot mad, and she set him at work on a stupendous plot.
C2. † plot-divided adj. Obsolete rare (of land) divided into plots.† plot proof adj. Obsolete invulnerable to plots or conspiracies.
plot armour n. (with reference to a fictional character) the capacity to survive life-threatening situations, often to an implausible extent, simply because the narrative requires it.
Π
2002 alt.games.dur-trs-trap 29 Aug. (Usenet newsgroup, accessed 21 Mar. 2022) Ref teams will—occasionally—send them [sc. characters] in encased in ‘plot armour’.
2011 Walking Dead Aug. Nobody is safe. None of the characters have plot armor, not even the main character.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > [adjective] > divided > divided into parcels or portions > specifically of land
pewy1828
plot-divided1885
1885 H. O. Forbes Naturalist's Wanderings Eastern Archipel. 170 Rice, which they grew..on the wet system, in plot-divided terraces.
plot line n. (a) a line of dialogue which furthers the plot of a play, film, etc.; (b) = sense 6; (also) a single strand of a narrative or plot.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > plot
plat1589
plot1613
paper-plot1622
bone1647
intrigue1651
action1668
intrigo1672
fable1678
story1679
happy ending1748
storyline1906
plot line1907
1907 Chicago Sunday Tribune 12 May iii. 1/6 One of the old ‘don'ts’ of the stage, ‘Don't slight the plot lines’, is a rule worth keeping.
1910 Sheboygan (Wisconsin) Daily Press 9 Feb. Even while the other characters were delivering plot lines he kept right on talking.
1961 W. P. Bowman & R. H. Ball Theatre Lang. 267 Plot line, usually in the plural: Dialogue essential to the unfolding of the plot of a dramatic piece.
1994 Time Off (Brisbane) 6 July 24/2 There are virtually three plotlines in Once a Catholic, as three girls endure rites of passage, [etc.].
2003 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. c22/1 By the standards of sports docudramas, the plot line barely works.
plot-maker n. †(a) a map-maker (obsolete); (b) = plotter n. 1b.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > [noun] > plotter
compassera1513
engineer?a1513
hafter1519
contrivera1522
deviser1523
intrycarc1540
practiser1545
practisant1550
practitioner1560
brewer1563
platformer1572
hatcher1578
politician1586
plotter1594
tamperer1599
plotcaster1602
machinator1611
plot-maker1641
trinketer1651
intriguer1667
plot-monger1683
schemist1724
under-plotter1728
intriguant1781
policizer1809
intriguist1830
schemer1846
planster1945
wheeler-dealer1960
1641 R. Evelin in Descr. New Albion (1648) 20 Captain Powels Map..done as is told mee by a draught I gave to M. Daniel the plot-maker.
?1680 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1870) I. 632 Other Plot makers vnder the mask of Protestants.
1735 J. Oldmixon Hist. Eng.: William & Mary i. 41 Butler.., an Anabaptist Preacher, a Quack, a Plot-maker, a Suborner of Evidence.
1829 Times 19 May 3/6 It is not easy for our village politicians to forget their trade. They have hitherto been admirable plot-makers.
1999 Washington Post (Nexis) 21 Apr. a3 All eyes are on the plot-maker, sitting cross-legged in the corner.
plot night n. (now chiefly English regional (northern)) the night of 5 November, Guy Fawkes Night.
ΚΠ
1900 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 6 509/1 Light-coloured ‘parkin’ or ‘plot-night’ (Guy Fawkes) treacle or gingerbread made of ordinary household flour.
1963 Times 21 Sept. 6/7 A large pile of rubbish erected for the purpose of celebrating Plot Night.
2004 Burnley Express (Nexis) 12 Nov. Earlier in the day the final piece of the Plot Night jigsaw had fallen into place when a hard-fought ‘Best Guy’ competition was judged.
plot point n. a particularly significant part of the plot of a work of fiction, esp. a film or television drama.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > plot > parts of plot
envoy1616
undermirth1640
counter-turn1651
under-walk1651
deus ex machina1697
happy ending1748
dénouement1752
anagnorisis1783
comic relief1783
by-play1812
tragic irony1833
by-plot1851
dramatic irony1881
plot point1909
cliff-hanging1945
subtext1960
1909 H. S. Canby Short Story in Eng. viii. 175 Dryden..is only a polisher, for in both Italian and English stories all the plot-points belong to the originals.
2002 Time Out N.Y. 5 Sept. 83/3 Amari's melodramatic screenplay springs a lot of gasp-cuing plot points.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or invulnerable > specific
pistol-proof1590
sword-proofa1593
fireproof1610
plot proofa1616
shot-free1616
stick-free1632
armour-proof1635
water-free1642
sting-free1644
iron-free1670
bomb-proof1702
ball-proof1759
bear-proof1840
bullet-proof1856
dingo-proof1873
aseismic1884
tamperproof1886
radioresistant1922
tamper-resistant1978
a1616 W. Shakespeare Winter's Tale (1623) ii. iii. 6 The harlot-King Is quite beyond mine Arme, out of the blanke And leuell of my braine: plot-proofe . View more context for this quotation
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. 189 Every possible objection anticipated! Every accident provided against!—Every tittle of it plot proof.
plot ratio n. Town Planning a ratio representing the density of building in a specified area of land (see quot. 1971).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > [noun] > town-planning or development > building density
plot ratio1947
1947 Times 22 May 7/6 A normal capacity of floor-space five times as great as the area of the plot on which the building is to stand. This is referred to as the standard plot ratio.
1971 P. Gresswell Environment 81 The density of business and commercial areas is usually expressed by total floor space of buildings divided by the area of the site, called ‘floor space index’ when local access roads are included, and plot ratios when they are not.
1991 M. Binney & M. Watson-Smyth Save Britain's Heritage Action Guide (BNC) 122 The City Corporation had specified a maximum plot ratio of five to one across the whole site.
plot room n. a room in which the movements of ships, etc., are observed by means of radar and recorded.
ΚΠ
1947 Times 3 Feb. 6/6 Below in the plot rooms radar engineers checked their screens for the position of the Home Fleet and exchanged bearings with the navigating officers.
2001 Pensacola (Florida) News Jrnl. (Nexis) 26 Nov. (Life section) 1 b In the battle of Santa Cruz in October 1942, my battle station was in the main plot room located several decks below the waterline.
plot twist n. an unexpected turn of events in a work of fiction, etc.; = twist n.1 21c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > [noun] > cause of surprise > turn in plot
plot twist1920
twist1941
zinger1954
twisteroo1963
1920 Los Angeles Times 16 Aug. ii. 8/2 So far as it makes much of the lesser circumstances and plot twists, it is great.
1962 G. N. Fenin & W. K. Everson Western xiv. 268 A neat plot twist of writer Jules Furthman had Sheriff Pat Garrett..actually aiding in a deceptive plot by burying another body in Billy's name.
2001 Premiere Nov. 98/3 With its gratuitous nudity..and wildly over-the-top plot twists, the movie just seems guilty of the very things it claims to criticize.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online December 2022).
plotv.1
/plɒt/, U.S. /plɑt/ 1.
a. To plan, contrive, or devise (something to be carried out or accomplished, esp. a crime or conspiracy); to lay plans for, scheme, esp. in secret.
(a) transitive. With infinitive or clause as object. Also †with out.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb] > plan to do something
lay1573
plota1586
to cast aboutc1590
to put into (also in) practice1592
plat1596
project1600
to lay abouta1618
to lay out1651
plan1718
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) iii. xxii. sig. Vu5v Hauing alredy plotted out in her conceite, how she would deale with her.
1594 T. Nashe Vnfortunate Traveller sig. E They plotted and consulted with themselues howe to make theyr pouertie better esteemed of than rich dominion and soueraigntie.
1595 W. Covell Polimanteia sig. Cc2 Some most irreligiously haue plotted to obtaine their purpose.
1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor ii. ii. sig. E My labouring spirit..can embrace no rest, Till it hath plotted by aduise and skill, How to reduce him from affected will To reasons manage. View more context for this quotation
1671 Charente's Let. Customs 28 They plotted to go in the day time and build them a Hutt.
1762 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting I. vi. 129 Had he plotted to dethrone a princess who had delivered him from a prison and offered him a throne.
1792 T. Paine Rights of Man: Pt. Second v. 89 As a new system is now opening to the view of the world, the European courts are plotting to counteract it.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 91 And plot with thee to destroy him.
1860 R. W. Emerson Worship in Conduct of Life (London ed.) 197 Here is a low political economy plotting to cut the throat of foreign competition..giving preference to worse wares of ours.
1917 E. R. Burroughs Princess of Mars xii. 118 You are reported to have been plotting to escape with another prisoner of another race.
1991 D. Coupland Generation X i. i. 8 She's..already plotting how she's going to steal Valiums from her mother.
2004 Miami Herald (Nexis) 18 July c1 They have been plotting her success since she was a youngster in Kingston, Jamaica.
(b) transitive. With simple object.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (transitive)]
forethinkc897
bethinka1225
compass1297
contrivec1330
ordain1340
conjectc1380
imaginec1380
cast1382
ordaina1387
advisec1400
forecast1413
imagec1450
ordainc1450
project1477
foreminda1535
invent1539
aimc1540
practise1550
plat1556
trive1573
meditate1582
patterna1586
plot1589
platform1592
design1594
chew1600
forelay1605
to map out1618
to cut out1619
agitate1629
laya1631
plod1631
cut1645
calculate1654
concert1702
to scheme out1716
plan1718
model1725
to rough out1738
to lay out1741
plan1755
prethink1760
shape1823
programme1834
pre-plan1847
encompass1882
target1948
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot (a purpose) or hatch (a plot [verb (transitive)]
compass1297
procurec1300
purchasec1300
contrivec1330
conspirec1384
brewc1386
awaitc1400
surmise1509
devisec1515
practise1531
machinate1537
forge1547
hatch1565
plot1589
pack1590
appost1602
feign1690
intrigue1747
scheme1767
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. H4v Who listning not a little to this counsaile, that was neuer plotted for his aduantage.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 10 He had first plotted a warre against the Indians.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iii. §94. 360 They..plotted the..mercilesse, devilish, and damnable gunpowder-treason.
1638 F. Rous Heavenly Acad. x. 181 Then doe not thinke it safe to rob God of his Glorie, which he hath thus plotted and contrived.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 263. ⁋1 The good Man and Woman..who used to sit and plot the Welfare of us their Children.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc iii. 94 When kingly power conspired with papal craft To plot and perpetrate that massacre.
1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans II. x. 176 It would not have been difficult to have fancied the dusky savage the Prince of Darkness, brooding on his own fancied wrongs, and plotting evil.
1868 E. Edwards Life Sir W. Ralegh I. xx. 451 A..protestation that whatsoever he had foolishly plotted, he had never plotted treason.
1900 J. Conrad Lord Jim xxxii. 331 A real and intolerable anguish that might have conceivably driven her into plotting my murder.
1972 M. Muggeridge Green Stick ii. 46 I..found it a perfect lurking-place to avoid being noticed or sent to bed when my father and his friends were plotting the overthrow of the capitalist system.
1991 N. de Lange tr. A. Oz To know Woman (1992) xxii. 110 Her two ex-husbands had ganged up against her; they had hired a joint lawyer, and plotted her ruin down to the last detail.
b. intransitive. To form a plan or plot, esp. for a crime or conspiracy; to scheme, lay plans, contrive, conspire, esp. in secret. Also transitive with it.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > planning > plan [verb (intransitive)]
purveyc1300
propose1340
castc1380
worka1393
purposea1400
devisec1400
becast1563
plot1607
factitate1616
project1631
to cast, lay a scheme1704
plan1776
to plan on1914
the mind > will > intention > planning > plotting > plot [verb (intransitive)]
subtlec1300
conspire1393
compass1430
malign?a1439
contrivec1440
machine?c1450
forthink1494
pretenda1500
practise1537
pack1568
brigue1580
machinate1602
manage1603
plot1607
tamper1607
faction1609
collogue1646
intriguea1714
to lay a scheme1826
scheme1842
angle1892
wheel and deal1961
1607 J. Carpenter Plaine Mans Spirituall Plough 1 Wel he beginneth and soundly he plotteth, who..beholdeth his face.
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxxvii. 12 The wicked plotteth against the iust. View more context for this quotation
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 41 Let them have power to..destroy, any that they shall perceive to be plotting against us. View more context for this quotation
a1720 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers (1722) Pref. sig. b For the Quakers, so called, have not plotted against the Government.
1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 31 No plot was formed against them: it were they who were plotting against others.
1859 C. Dickens Tale of Two Cities iii. xiii. 239 Who would think of plotting with a poor little weak creature like me?
1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 29 Oh crafty one, with whom, among the gods, Plottest thou now?
1897 ‘O. Rhoscomyl’ For White Rose Arno (U.K. ed.) 206 We've had about enough of your plots: I'll plot it from now on.
1917 A. Conan Doyle His Last Bow ii. 82 I can see now how she was plotting and scheming and poisoning my wife's mind against me.
1967 M. L. King Where do we go from Here? (1968) iii. 105 When evil men plot, good men must plan.
1992 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 9 Feb. 24/4 If Japan is not really plotting against us, what accounts for this wave of fearmongering?
2.
a. transitive. To draw or make a plan of (something to be laid out, constructed, or made). Frequently with out. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)]
to set down in plat1508
to plat forth1556
delineate1579
plot1588
plat1589
trace1599
to line outa1616
lineament1638
to lay down1669
design1697
plan1734
draught1828
1588 E. Spenser Virgils Gnat 652 He gins to fashion forth a place; And squaring it in compasse well beseene, There plotteth out a tombe by measured space.
1590 R. Greene tr. O. Rinaldi Royal Exchange Ep. Ded. sig. iiv Our Cittie of London..plotted and erected by Brute.
1649 W. Blith Eng. Improver xxi. 124 When thou wouldest Plot out thy Land thou designest to plant.
a1891 J. R. Lowell Old Eng. Dramatists (1892) ii. 40 His tragedy of ‘Dido, Queen of Carthage’, is also regularly plotted out.
1915 W. Holt Beacon for Blind xiv. 140 When a proposed party was being plotted out he would say, ‘Oh, don't ask the So-and-so's, they are such frumps’.
1969 D. Widgery in A. Cockburn & R. Blackburn Student Power 130 The next period is worth some examination to plot out the Executive's responses to a fluid situation.
1991 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) (Nexis) 4 Sept. b3 If the one-way project is approved, a westbound route will be plotted, land bought and road embankments built.
b. transitive. To make a chart, map, plan, or diagram of (an existing object, building, place, etc.); to draw to scale; to mark (a point, course, etc.) on a chart, map, etc.; to represent by a plan, diagram, etc. Also with down, out. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)] > draw to scale
plot1590
1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late To Rdrs. sig. A3v You may see plotted downe many passions full of repentant sorrowes.
1602 R. Carew Surv. Cornwall To Rdr. sig. ¶iv Reckon therefore..that this treatise plotteth downe Cornwall, as it now standeth.
1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. v. iv. 16 How to Plot a Field by the Rule before~going.
1766 Compl. Farmer at Surveying All closes, or parcels of land, are either such as need not be plotted for finding their true measure..or such as cannot be conveniently measured without plotting or protraction.
1809 J. Furnass Pract. Surveyor 45 Take the offsets from the field book, and set them up..upon the respective station lines, and at the respective distances: then draw the lines..and the field will be plotted.
1860 Mercantile Marine Mag. 7 236 The Commander..had so plotted the rock upon his chart.
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 486 No reports on this subject [sc. dislocated stomachs] are worth much unless the line of the smaller curvature be plotted out.
1924 Times 1 Mar. 8/3 He plays..with a rubato, which, if it could be plotted down on paper, just as it is actually done, would look incredible.
2004 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Jrnl. Sentinel (Nexis) 18 Jan. 1 z Surveyors who plotted the land..documented existing tree species at the time, more as land markers than anything else.
c. transitive. To divide (land) into plots; to lay out (land) in plots.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > action of dividing or divided condition > divide [verb (transitive)] > divide and arrange > specific land
plot1604
stripe1882
1604 T. Dekker Magnificent Entertainm. sig. B3 Seauen pieces of ground, (like so many fieldes for a battaile) are plotted foorth, vppon which these Arches of Tryumph must shew themselues in their glorie.
1889 C. D. Warner Stud. South & West xv. 384 There is not level ground for a large city, but what there is is plotted out for sale.
1996 Florida Times-Union (Nexis) 23 June c1 Lewis plotted the land, then offered lots for sale to his insurance agents and others.
3.
a. transitive. To devise the plot or story of (a play, novel, film, etc.). Also occasionally intransitive. Cf. plotted adj. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > relate or represent in fiction [verb (transitive)] > devise plot of
plot1596
scenarioize1914
1596 T. Nashe Haue with you to Saffron-Walden sig. V3 Hee subscribing to me in any thing but plotting Plaies, wherein he was his crafts master.
1668 J. Denham Poems 71 Having plotted and penn'd Six plays.
1951 F. Brown Murder can be Fun x. 138 There's a big difference in plotting soap operas and plotting magazine stories.
1977 Daily Tel. 10 Sept. 7/2 Mrs Robins plots better but relies a bit much on coincidence.
1989 N. Smith Essent. A–Z of Creative Writing 31 Plot your story first & ensure your main character has a problem to solve or a ‘goal’ to achieve.
b. transitive. Theatre. To plan or devise a production of (a play, etc.); to arrange (lighting, staging, properties, etc.) for a production.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > the staging of a theatrical production > stage [verb (transitive)] > plan production or business
plot1933
block1961
1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage iv. 44 The amount of work [for the stage-manager] involved in organizing and plotting the complete stage arrangements for a simple play with a few changes of scene is considerable.
1974 Times 28 Dec. 7/3 At read-throughs and when you're plotting it [sc. a play], you stand there trembling..behind your script.
1982 A. Road Doctor Who: Making of TV Series 37/2 The squares on the [rehearsal room] floor correspond to squares in the recording studio, and so enable moves to be plotted with accuracy.
4.
a. transitive. To mark out or allocate (a point or points) on a graph; to make (a curve, etc.) by marking out a number of points on a graph. to plot (one variable) against (another): to mark the points representing the values of (one variable quantity) at particular values of (another) on a graph.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > create a graph [verb (transitive)]
plot1859
graph1898
1859 A. D. Bache Discuss. Magn. & Meteorol. Observ. i. 18 If we plot the disturbance curve on the same scale.
1880 W. C. Roberts Introd. Metall. 34 The results, tabulated or plotted into curves..form permanent records of the greatest value.
1934 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 145 576 This would be shown clearly if the density were plotted against the logarithm of exposure, as is usually done for photographic plates.
1976 Sci. Amer. Dec. 93/1 Data from spectrophotometry..enable one to plot the supernova's change in radius with respect to time.
1990 Geogr. Jrnl. 156 277/1 They were obtained by plotting water depth..in the mid-slope pits against time.
b. transitive. To make or draw (a chart, map, plan, etc.); to produce a plan, etc., of (the results of a survey).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > make plan or diagram of [verb (transitive)] > chart, map, plan, etc.
plot1863
1863 H. S. Merrett Pract. Treat. Sci. Land & Engin. Surveying ii. 124 For practical purposes, surveys should never be plotted to a less scale than three or four chains to the inch.
1886 H. S. Brown Autobiogr. (1887) vii. 30 They were busy plotting their maps.
1923 D. Clark Plane & Geodetic Surv. II. vi. 244 In plotting the map, the distances and elevations required must be obtained from the perspective dimensions on the photographs.
1976 J. B. Garner et al. Surveying ii. 21 When the survey has been plotted it should, if possible, be checked visually on the ground.
1989 Best 14 Apr. 26/3 Thermography, in which the temperature of various parts of the leg is used to plot a heat map.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
plotv.2
/plɒt/, U.S. /plɑt/, Scottish English /plɔt/ Scottish and English regional (northern).
1. transitive. To scorch or burn; to make too hot, to overheat. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > subjection or exposure to heat or fire > subject or expose to heat or fire [verb (transitive)] > damage or injure by heat or fire > burn or scorch
swithec1220
forscalda1225
scalda1300
broilc1375
toast1398
bysweltc1420
squarken1530
sear1590
torrefy1601
plot1606
reese1618
ustulate1623
1606 W. Birnie Blame of Kirk-buriall ix. sig. C3 So is he now for his pride plotted with Pluto in the flame of hel.
1746 W. Forbes Dominie Depos'd (1777) 26 I never sooner money got, But all my pouches it would plot, And scorch them sair, it was sae hot.
1814 W. Nicholson To Tobacco xvii Let Welchmen plot an' toast their cheese.
1881 W. Paul Past & Present Aberdeenshire 68 I'm like to be plotted wi' heat.
1950 in Sc. National Dict. (1968) When lambs lie on a sheep's back they plot the sheep and its wool comes off.
2. transitive. To scald; to parboil; to plunge into boiling water; spec. to plunge (the carcass or hide of an animal) into boiling water in order to remove hair, feathers, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil or cause to boil [verb (transitive)] > plunge into boiling water
plot1695
1695 in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club (1953) 33 4 That non of the tread lym or plot the skins.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (new ed.) I. vii E'en while the tea's filled reeking round, Rather than plot a tender tongue, Treat [etc.].
1747 J. Christie Witchcraft in Kenmore (1893) 9 She advised them to wash and plot their milk looms well.
1777 Whole Proc. Jockey & Maggy (rev. ed.) i. 3 My guidame plotted him wi' the broe that was to mak our brose.
1829 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words (new ed.) To plote a pig is to pour scalding water upon it, which causes the hair to come off.
1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin vi. 55 The haill regiment o' them [sc. pots and kettles] lip fou o' water, for gussie to be plottit in.
1882 J. Walker Descr. Jaunt to Auld Reekie 223 The water scaudin' hot To plot thy skin.
1916 J. Burgess Rasmie's Smaa Murr 14 Feb. Ye canna plott a grice wi a tinny o watter.
1978 A. Fenton Northern Isles lvi. 500 The pig was plotted with boiling water so that the bristles could be scraped off.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† plotv.3
Obsolete. rare.
intransitive. = plod v.1 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > toil > steadily or dully
plod1562
to tug at the (an) oar1612
plot1621
grub1735
grind1855
plough1891
stodge1912
1621 S. Ward Happinesse of Pract. 15 If the gaine of practice did not sweeten it, few would plot vpon Ployden.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online September 2018).
† plotv.4
Obsolete.
transitive. To solidify (soap paste) by pressure in a mortar.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > soap-making > make soap [verb (transitive)] > specific processes
mottle1862
plot1885
settle1906
1885 W. L. Carpenter Treat. Manuf. Soap vii. 201 Such a machine..will ‘plot’ 200 lb. at each operation.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2020).
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