purposen.
/ˈpəːpəs/, U.S. /ˈpərpəs/ 1. † b. With verb of motion implied (usually by following preposition). Cf. purpose v. 7. Obsolete.
a. That which a person sets out to do or attain; an object in view; a determined intention or aim. to serve (also answer) one's purpose: to be of use or service in effecting one's object; to be capable of bringing about a desired result. †to put (a person) beside his (also her) purpose: to disappoint or defeat (a person) in his or her aim (obsolete). to (also for) all intents and purposes: see intent n. Phrases 2. Cf. cross-purpose n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose > end, purpose, or object
willeOE
errand?c1225
purposec1300
endc1305
emprisec1330
intentc1340
use1340
conclusionc1374
studya1382
pointc1385
causec1386
gamea1393
term?c1400
businessc1405
finec1405
intentionc1410
object?a1425
obtent?a1475
drift1526
intend1526
respect1528
flight1530
finality?1541
stop1551
scope1559
butt?1571
bent1579
aiming point1587
pursuitc1592
aim1595
devotion1597
meaning1605
maina1610
attempt1610
design1615
purport1616
terminusa1617
intendment1635
pretence1649
ettle1790
big (also great) idea1846
objective1878
objective1882
the name of the game1910
the object of the exercise1958
thrust1968
the world > action or operation > advantage > expediency > be expedient or advisable [verb (intransitive)] > serve the purpose
servec1392
doa1450
to serve (also answer) one's purposea1500
pass1565
to fit one's turn1603
to come in handy1839
to come in useful1854
to fill the bill1882
c1300 St. Mark (Laud) 8 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 362 (MED) Mi porpos and mi wei is nouþe to ende i-brouȝt.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 2948 That he his pourpos myhte atteigne.
a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 1374 (MED) Myselff, j haue mente To wende þedyr..Now, ffrendes, what is youre purpos [v.r. perpos]?
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 46 I..warned hym of Aungiers purpos.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 259 Purpos dois change as wynd or rane.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark vi. f. lij For their sakes which sate att supper also, he wolde not put her besyde her purpost.
1543 Chron. J. Hardyng f. xxxiiv After for ambycion and to serue his purpose.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 97 The deuill can cite Scripture for his purpose . View more context for this quotation
1629 in P. H. Brown Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1901) 2nd Ser. III. 13 Becaus thair purpose misgave thame they have conceaved ane deidlie haitrent [etc.].
1709 G. Berkeley Ess. New Theory of Vision §149. 175 If it bears the Test, others may..employ their Thoughts in extending it farther, and applying it to whatever Purposes it may be subservient to.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia III. v. ii. 35 It would be answering no purpose.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 106 Yet I doubt not thro' the ages one increasing purpose runs.
1857 F. D. Maurice Epist. St. John i. 2 Either will serve our purpose.
a1898 H. Bessemer Autobiogr. (1905) i. 14 Though he made no secret of his purpose, he published nothing upon the subject.
1959 Home Encycl. 179 Another bleaching method for ivory keys which have turned yellow: make a saturated solution of potash and enough whiting to answer your purpose.
1998 Artist Mar. 28/1 I have moved away from using hard hogs hair brushes to softer bristle brushes which serve my purpose better.
2002 J. Cunliffe Encycl. Dog Breeds (new ed.) 184/1 Such terriers worked with audacity and noisy clamour, never failing to achieve their purpose.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > [noun] > to a place
purpose1401
aim1549
1401 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 15 Oweyn was in porpos to Kedewelly, and the Baron of Carewe was that day comyng..to ward Seint Cler.
1473 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 463 Ryght wyrshypffull brother, I comand me to yow, latyng yow weet þat thys daye I was in verry purpose to Caleys warde.
1572–5 Diurn. Occurr. (1833) 350 The said Johne Forrester and wardane..past of Dalkeith in purpois to Londoun.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. i. 101 A while we must neglect Our holy purpose to Ierusalem. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream iv. i. 160 My Lord, faire Helen told me of their stealth, Of this their purpose hither. View more context for this quotation
2. The reason for which something is done or made, or for which it exists; the result or effect intended or sought; the end to which an object or action is directed; aim.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > causation > cause or reason > [noun] > reason or ground
achesounc1230
anchesouna1250
reasona1250
groundc1275
matter1340
purposec1350
cause1413
quarrel1476
actiona1500
subject1577
spring of action1583
qualitya1586
inducement1593
place1593
theme1594
instance1597
motive1605
impulsivea1628
justifiera1635
foundation1641
rise1641
plummet1679
mainspring1695
c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 72 Þay hy nolde by goud purpos Ine hare flesche worche.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 2947 (MED) To this pourpos and to this ende This king is redy forto wende.
c1443 R. Pecock Reule of Crysten Religioun (1927) 244 (MED) Al þin holy wordis, lord..ben more speedful into þis purpos of gendring welwilling and loue toward þee..þan ben þe oþere signes.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. cxcv. 231 So he taryed on that purpose tyll the ryuer of Marne was lowe.
1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 71 (margin) Wtheris tractatis for this porpose.
1611 Bible (King James) Matt. xxvi. 8 To what purpose is this waste? View more context for this quotation
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 3 This was the Purpose of their meeting.
1729 B. Franklin Papers (1959) I. 117 If such a Fellow makes Laughing the sole End and Purpose of his Life,..let him treat.
1760–1 C. Lennox Ladies Museum I. 641 The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the very pernicious consequences which must necessarily result.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. IV. 439 In all feoffments and grants, the word heirs is absolutely necessary for that purpose; and cannot be supplied by any other word whatever.
1863 Q. Rev. Apr. 488 He never sinks so nearly to the level of the ordinary sensation-novelist as when he is writing ‘with a purpose’.
1879 J. Lubbock Sci. Lect. ii. 52 Are these differences merely casual and accidental or have they a meaning and a purpose?
1932 Weekend Rev. 19 Mar. 371/1 This is a pity; for though Isabel is a ‘novel with a purpose’, it is also, in a high degree, a work of imagination.
1988 M. Spark Far Cry from Kensington ix. 114 I met him in July and married him on the 28th August for which purpose he got special leave.
3. That which forms or ought to form the subject of a discourse; the matter in hand; the point at issue. Now only in to (the) purpose at Phrases 7 (cf. also from the purpose at Phrases 3).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > [noun]
thingeOE
evenOE
questionc1225
purposec1350
themec1380
mattera1387
reasonc1390
substancea1393
chapter1393
occasion1426
titlec1450
intentc1460
article1531
place1532
scope1549
subject1563
argumenta1568
string1583
matter subject1586
subject matter1587
qu.1608
haunt1622
seat1628
object matter1653
business1655
topic1728
locus1753
sub1779
ground1796
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > secrecy, concealment > a profound secret, mystery > puzzle, enigma, riddle > [noun]
riddleOE
purposec1350
problema1382
propositiona1382
conclusion1393
divinailc1430
opposal?a1439
riddling?c1475
wordc1480
why1532
dark, hard sentence1535
enigma1539
remblere1599
puzzlement1646
gripha1652
puzzler1651
riddlemy riddlemy1652
puzzle1655
crux1718
teaser1759
puzzleation1767
conundrum1790
poser1793
riddle-me-ree1805
stumper1807
tickler1825
sticker1849
brain-teaser1850
grueller1856
question mark1870
brain-twister1878
skull-buster1926
mind-bender1968
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of ideation > topic, subject-matter > materials of topic > [noun] > of debate or discussion
proposec1350
purposec1350
propositiona1382
problema1387
conclusionc1400
state of the causea1525
question1549
argumenta1568
thesis1579
disquisition1605
problem1645
consultation1663
consult1683
propos1816
issue1836
chat1861
debating point1927
battleground1931
c1350 Psalter (BL Add. 17376) in K. D. Bülbring Earliest Compl. Eng. Prose Psalter (1891) xlviii. 4 (MED) Y shal..open in þe sauter myn purpose [L. propositionem].
c1390 G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale 170 But now to purpos lat vs turne agayn.
a1500 (?c1425) Speculum Sacerdotale (1936) 133 Nowe to oure purpos.
a1525 (c1448) R. Holland Bk. Howlat l. 39 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 96 Tharfor in haist will I hens To ye purposs.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie iii. x. 90 It shall not be impertinent nor out of my purpose, if I do speak..of the kitchin of the great Turke.
1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum i. ii. 2 Of Logicke there be two parts. The former is of the purpose, or matter propounded.
1686 R. Uvedale tr. Dion in tr. Plutarch Lives V. 512 Tho' this be a digression from the present purpose, it is not altogether an useless Remarque.
1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Purpose,..subject Matter of Discourse.
1884 Times 31 Jan. 10/1 I have been led away from my purpose. When I came into this room I did not intend to say a word to you on what are called political matters.
1917 Mod. Lang. Jrnl. 1 241 It is remote from my purpose, and would unduly expand this article, to discuss the methods of handling translation in the classroom.
a. That which is propounded; a proposition, a question, an argument; a riddle. Later also (chiefly in plural): a game consisting of questions and answers. Cf. cross-purpose n. 2. Obsolete.In quot. a1500: an assertion.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > parlour and party games > [noun] > question and answer games
purposec1380
questions and commands1628
cross-purposes1666
cross-questions and crooked answers1742
Yes and No1843
truth1868
clumps1883
truth game1908
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 1956 (MED) Telleþ me ȝour purpos [Fr. quel conseils me donres]: What is þe beste wyþ hem to done?
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. ix. 115 I..putte forþ sum purpos & prouen hise wittes.
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 3879 (MED) To þem þis reson he arayd, and bad þei suld þat case dyscrye; Of þe purpas þei ware not payd, bot his wyll durst þei not denye.
a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ (Harl. 3909) (1926) 463 (MED) Tebel was in hir purpos thro, saide it was soth & no lesyng.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) Prol. 10 It is the nature of ane man that hes..ane ripe ingyne, that euerye purpos ande questione is familiar tyl hym.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. x. sig. Mm2 Oft purposes, oft riddles he deuysd, And thousands like..With which he fed her fancy.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Opinion, opinion..also, the prettie game which we call Purposes.
1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 210 Next is Bawds, as Romancies, Bals, Collations, Questions and Commands, Riddles, Purposes.
b. Discourse, conversation; an instance of this. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > [noun]
speechc900
talec1000
speaka1300
reasonc1300
speakinga1325
counsela1350
intercommuningc1374
dalliancec1400
communication1419
communancec1449
collocutiona1464
parlour?c1475
sermocination1514
commona1529
dialogue?1533
interlocutiona1534
discourse1545
discoursing1550
conference1565
purposea1572
talk1572
interspeech1579
conversationa1586
devising1586
intercourse1596
intercommunication1603
eclogue1604
commercing1610
communion1614
negocea1617
alloquy1623
confariation1652
gob1681
gab1761
commune1814
colloquy1817
conversing1884
cross-talk1887
bull session1920
rap1957
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1846) I. 137 He called for Johne Knox,..with whome he began to enter in purpose, ‘that he weryed of the world’: for he perceaved that men begane to weary of God.
1587 R. Greene Morando ii. sig. H3 He thought it very fit to passe away the morning, with such profitable purposes.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing (1623) iii. i. 12 There will she hide her, To listen our purpose . View more context for this quotation
5. As a mass noun.† a. Scottish. to take purpose: to determine, resolve. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1390 in J. Slater Early Scots Texts (Ph.D. thesis, Univ. of Edinb.) (1952) No. 21 And tharfor swylk purposse as ye tak thar of it hys [sic] and that ye lat hym hastyly wit.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) i. 143 He..left purpos that he had tane.
a1572 J. Knox Hist. Reformation Scotl. in Wks. (1846) I. 230 Thei took purpose to devid thame selfis..and to go in sindrie partes.
1616 in J. Maidment Analecta Scotica (1834) I. 302 His majestie heir has tane purpois and is fullie resoluit..to honnour this kingdome with his presence.
c1663 Hist. Estate Scotl. in D. Laing Misc. Wodrow Soc. (1844) 78 Suddenly shee tooke purpose to pass to the Castle.
b. Resolution, determination, intention.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose
willeOE
highOE
thoughtOE
intent?c1225
achesounc1230
attenta1250
couragec1320
devicec1320
minda1325
studya1382
understanding1382
suggestionc1390
meaninga1393
i-minda1400
minta1400
tent1399
castc1400
ettlingc1400
affecta1425
advicec1425
intention1430
purposec1430
proposea1450
intendment1450
supposing?c1450
pretensionc1456
intellectionc1460
zeal1492
hest?a1513
minting?a1513
institute?1520
intendingc1525
mindfulness1530
cogitationa1538
fordrift1549
forecast1549
designing1566
tention1587
levela1591
intendiment1595
design1597
suppose1597
aim1598
regarda1616
idea1617
contemplationa1631
speculation1631
view1634
way of thinking1650
designation1658
tend1663
would1753
predetermination1764
will to art1920
c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 324 (MED) Goode purpos, loord, thou ȝeue me.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xi. 23 He..exhorted them all, thatt with purpose off hertt they wolde continually cleave vnto the lorde.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) iv. ii. 219 If thou hast..purpose, courage, and valour. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iv. 337 Nor gentle purpose, nor endearing smiles Wanted, nor youthful dalliance as beseems Fair couple, linkt in happie nuptial League. View more context for this quotation
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 10 If nothing more than Purpose in thy power, Thy purpose firm, is equal to the Deed.
1789 A. W. Radcliffe Castles Athlin & Dunbayne iii. 41 An additional motive, however, operated in his mind, and confirmed his purpose.
1818 W. Hazlitt Eng. Poets (1869) viii. 195 There is in the chief character..a setness of purpose which John Kemble alone was capable of giving.
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xiii. 183 Honesty of purpose is no security for soundness of understanding.
1874 J. L. Motley Life John of Barneveld II. xxii. 404 Impressible, emotional, and susceptive, he had been accused of infirmity of purpose.
1907 J. R. Illingworth Doctr. Trinity i. 10 No such thing as blind or unconscious purpose is conceivable.
1943 A. Rand Fountainhead i. x. 124 There was a peculiar expression of purpose on Francon's face, quite unusual for him and unbecoming.
1987 P. Benson Levels v. 42 We..walked through the trees with an air of purpose.
2005 Independent 2 July 34/4 He gradually emerged from his grief with a new resolve, his wondrous shot-making now complemented by a sense of purpose and..a killer instinct.
6. Meaning, effect, import, esp. of words; = purport n. 1. Chiefly in to this (also that, the same, etc.) purpose. Cf. cross-purpose n. 1. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > drift, tenor, purport > [noun]
sentence?c1225
intent1303
tenora1387
intendment1390
strengthc1390
porta1393
meaningc1395
process1395
continencea1398
purposec1400
substance1415
purport1422
matterc1450
storyc1450
containing1477
contenu1477
retinue1484
fecka1500
content1513
drift1526
intention1532
vein1543
importing1548
scope1549
importance1552
course1553
force1555
sense?1556
file1560
intelliment?1562
proporta1578
preport1583
import1588
importment1602
carriage1604
morala1616
significancy1641
amount1678
purview1688
sentiment1713
capacity1720
spirit1742
message1828
thrust1968
messaging1977
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl 185 (MED) I hope þat gostly watz þat porpose.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida i. iii. 261 He bad me take a Trumpet, And to this purpose speake. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Judith xiii. 3 She spake to Bagoas according to the same purpose [1895 R.V. words] . View more context for this quotation
1662 J. Glanvill Lux Orientalis xi. 113 These places have bin more diffusely urged in a late discourse to this purpose.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver II. iii. iv. 54 With other common Topicks to the same Purpose.
1789 W. Belsham Ess. I. 5 The advocates for philosophical liberty..reply to the following purpose:—‘As all mankind’ [etc.].
a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) II. x. 195 It [sc. the letter] was from Oxford; and to this purpose . View more context for this quotation
1892 R. L. Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker xxv. 406 ‘I forgive you, sure enough; and much good may it do you!’ The others spoke to the same purpose.
1925 D. Garnett Sailor's Return 45 I had heard him say a great deal to the same purpose.
1930 Times 11 July 12/2 The best [drawing] of all, ‘The Mole’..is mainly in wash... Another drawing to the same purpose is ‘On the Front, Alassio’.
Phrases
P1. a-purpose (also a purpose, o'purpose): = on (also †upon) purpose at Phrases 6. See also of purpose (also †(out) of (a) (set) purpose) at Phrases 5. Cf. a prep.2 Now archaic and regional.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb]
willesOE
with one's willc1175
willes and waldesc1225
adviselya1325
wittinglya1340
wilfullyc1374
witting1377
a-purposea1382
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wilfulc1381
willingly1402
of intention1430
knowingly1435
advisedlyc1449
deliberately1471
purpensely1472
purposely1495
prepensedly1496
purpensedly1496
purposedlya1540
proposely?1550
studiously1567
on (also upon) purpose1569
on set purpose1569
of industry1575
affectedly1582
premeditatelya1595
deliberatively1598
consultively1599
intentionallya1673
affectionally1603
by (also out of, on, upon) design1603
intentionately1609
industriouslya1616
perpensedly1624
intendedlya1641
unspontaneously1640
industrously1643
consultedly1645
consideringly1647
designedly1652
premeditatedly1653
wittily1653
intendingly1678
premeditatinglya1679
self-consciously1685
propensely1694
thinkingly1705
accidentally on purpose1711
affectionatelya1716
prepensely?1725
systematically1744
advertently1745
systemically1761
reflectively1775
purposefullya1854
meaningly1867
aimfully1870
purposively1878
designingly1879
proposedly1887
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Ruth ii. 16 If wiþ ȝou sche wil repyn..of ȝoure, forsoþe, handfullys þroweþ o purpose [L. de industria] & suffre ȝee to abidyn stille, þat with oute schame sche gadere.
c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn 1079 Fawnus..Was set oppon a purpose to make his sone leue All his shrewde tacchis.
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria xxxiii. f. 298v I went thether a purpose, to knwe the trouthe.
1530 A. Baynton in Palsgr. Introd. 11 He hath willyngly and a purpose..taken..the greattar paynes vpon him.
1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor iv. i. sig. K Shees gone a purpose now to cuckold me, With that lewd rascall. View more context for this quotation
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. 24 Which had been brought a purpose from Mexico.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 220 I can talk so very well, says he, I came a purpose to talk so.
1835 R. M. Bird Hawks of Hawk-hollow I. x.130 We're all keeping awake, just a-purpose to be ready and handy.
1892 ‘M. Twain’ Amer. Claimant 253 If he had got into such an amazing condition as that a-purpose.
1913 D. H. Lawrence Sons & Lovers iii. 50 ‘I shouldn't like it if you came home with your collar torn off.’ ‘I don't care, our mother; I never did it a-purpose.’
1960 J. Barth Sot-weed Factor ii. xxxiii. 499 Mitchell is freighting his opium to every quarter of the Province, and girls like me are set a-purpose to pox the hapless Indians.
1987 O. S. Card Seventh Son (1988) xi. 158 It was a scary thing to see that the father might have killed his own best-loved child. It wouldn't've been a-purpose, mind you.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > an individual case or instance > in the particular case [phrase] > for instance or example
for example?a1439
as namely1565
exempli causa1569
exempli gratia1591
e.g.1622
ex. gr.1635
for instance1657
exemp. gratia1667
for the purpose1680
par exemple1801
sample this1998
1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies ix. 159 Those that..have entitled themselves to the veneration of posterity; or Catherina Senensis (for the Purpose) that was Sainted by Pius 2.
1689 R. Milward Selden's Table-talk 55 There is no Prince in Christendom but is directly a Tradesman... For the purpose, I have a Man, I bid him.
P3. from the purpose: (in a manner) not relevant to the subject at hand; away from the point. Cf. sense 3. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [phrase] > irrelevant
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wide of (also from) the mark1536
neither off nor on1549
from the purpose1561
from (also out of) the bias1600
from the matter1658
(off) at, in, upon a tangent1825
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. v. f. 33v The similitude wherewith they enuiously presse vs is from the purpose [L. extranea est; Fr. ne vient point icy à propos], for who is so fonde to thinke that the mouing of man differeth nothing from the casting of a stone?
a1571 J. Jewel Certaine Serm. (1583) A iij b Let no man thinke these things are impertinent or from the purpose.
1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto Voy. & Adventures xxiv. 92 He answered him so far from the purpose..like a man that had lost his judgment.
1666 S. Pepys Diary 3 Oct. (1972) VII. 306 J. Mennes..said two or three words from the purpose but to do hurt.
1717 J. Gay Three Hours after Marriage iii. 74 This is all from the Purpose. I was married this Morning at Seven.
1754 Philos. Trans. 1753 (Royal Soc.) 48 82 That proposition..which, says he, (quite from the purpose) is the sixth, that has been found in the same work.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho II. iv.154 ‘That is speaking quite from the purpose,’ said her aunt..‘for your marriage with the Count takes places to-morrow, you know, whether you approve it or not.’
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose v, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 102 You are answering from the purpose, sir..speak plainly, will there be five thousand men?
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) iii. 21 But this is from the purpose. Polly only thought, at that time, of improving on her successful propitiation of Miss Nipper.
1917 Times 30 Jan. 5/5 Something rises up in us, and says all this is all quite from the purpose of music.
a. to be (later also to have it) in purpose: to intend, to be minded to do something. Obsolete (archaic in later use).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb] > intend to do something
weenOE
willOE
thinkOE
tightc1300
to be (later also to have it) in purpose1340
tend1340
cast138.
reckona1450
aimc1450
willc1450
esteema1533
suspect1629
predeterminea1641
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > tendency > tend or incline [verb (intransitive)] > to do something
to bear one's heartc1175
to take the wayc1330
to be (later also to have it) in purpose1340
bend1567
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 115 (MED) He is ine wylle and ine porpos uor to uoryeuene mid herte.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 262 How he was in purpos to destroy hys roalm.
?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. lxxii. f. 52 (MED) Þe grace of oure lord..kepiþ hym fro dedli synne..if he..crieþ after merci and is in purpos speciali for to gainstonde alle swilk lustes fleschli.
1517 R. Torkington Oldest Diarie Englysshe Trav. (1884) 47 The Sawdon was in porpuse to a removyd those pyllers.
c1565 R. Copland Seuen Sorowes Women sig. B.iiij She dothe forget hys waywerde folyshnes And dot[h]e performe the tenour of hys wyl And is in purpose hys mynd to fulfyl.
a1626 F. Bacon New Atlantis (1627) 3 We were sometimes in purpose to turn back.
1630 Earl of Manchester in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 271 We are in purpose to have a commission to send Councillors and Judges.
1856 J. H. Newman Office & Work Univ. i. 1 I have it in purpose to commit to paper..various thoughts of my own, seasonable, as I conceive.
b. With the design, in order to do something; = on (also †upon) purpose at Phrases 6. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [phrase] > in order to
in purposea1450
because1523
in order to1590
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) 154 (MED) Euery Pilgryme..toke a-non his hors..Fully in purpoos to come to dynere Vnto Osspryng.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 527 Sir Launcelot had wacched uppon sir Trystram in veary purpose to have felyshipped with hym.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 2643 Parys..past into Grese In purpas to pray.
1597 T. Beard Theatre Gods Judgem. (1642–8) ii. xli. 369 They tooke up armes forthwith, in purpose to beat downe his haughtie minde.
P5. of purpose (also †(out) of (a) (set) purpose).† b. With infinitive or that-clause: = on (also †upon) purpose at Phrases 6. Obsolete.
a. Without following construction: = on (also †upon) purpose at Phrases 6. Now rare and archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb]
willesOE
with one's willc1175
willes and waldesc1225
adviselya1325
wittinglya1340
wilfullyc1374
witting1377
a-purposea1382
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wilfulc1381
willingly1402
of intention1430
knowingly1435
advisedlyc1449
deliberately1471
purpensely1472
purposely1495
prepensedly1496
purpensedly1496
purposedlya1540
proposely?1550
studiously1567
on (also upon) purpose1569
on set purpose1569
of industry1575
affectedly1582
premeditatelya1595
deliberatively1598
consultively1599
intentionallya1673
affectionally1603
by (also out of, on, upon) design1603
intentionately1609
industriouslya1616
perpensedly1624
intendedlya1641
unspontaneously1640
industrously1643
consultedly1645
consideringly1647
designedly1652
premeditatedly1653
wittily1653
intendingly1678
premeditatinglya1679
self-consciously1685
propensely1694
thinkingly1705
accidentally on purpose1711
affectionatelya1716
prepensely?1725
systematically1744
advertently1745
systemically1761
reflectively1775
purposefullya1854
meaningly1867
aimfully1870
purposively1878
designingly1879
proposedly1887
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [phrase] > irrelevant
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wide of (also from) the mark1536
neither off nor on1549
from the purpose1561
from (also out of) the bias1600
from the matter1658
(off) at, in, upon a tangent1825
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1969) Jer. xxxviii. 4 Of purpos [L. de industria], forsoþe, he looseþ atwynne þe hondis of þe fiȝteres.
1432 Rolls of Parl. IV. 417/2 There were wont many diverse Shippes..as wele with wynde dryven, as of purpos to come and arryve yn to the saide Havenes.
a1449 in S. A. Moore Lett. & Papers J. Shillingford (1871) ii. 78 Alle the doris there were shitte sodenly, as hit were done of purpos.
1531 W. Tyndale Expos. Fyrste Epist. St. Jhon sig. B.iiiiv Who so euer synneth of purpose after the knowledge of trouthe.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxiiijv Whiche was thought to be done of a set porpose.
1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. x. xxvi. 371 A thousand horsemen of Capua, chosen out of purpose for that warre.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine iii. 372 They were rivetted into holes fore-prepared of purpose.
1678 G. Mackenzie Laws & Customes Scotl. i. 77 He who burns a House..by misgovernance, and not of set purpose.
1741 A. Monro Anat. Human Bones (ed. 3) Pref. 5 I..of Purpose omitted many.
1822 W. Scott Fortunes of Nigel II. vi. 122 Let me have the honour of trussing you. Now, observe, I have left several of the points untied, of set purpose.
1889 G. Gissing Nether World I. vii.149 It was of purpose that he caught her eye and regarded her with a gravity she could scarcely fail to comprehend.
1893 Times 22 Apr. 11/6 The whole of the arrangements..have been wrapped up, evidently of set purpose, in a cloud of ambiguities.
1938 R. Graves Coll. Poems 143 Challenge delight, of purpose, And you pull Nature's nose.
ΚΠ
1469 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 542 I eete lyek an horse of purpose to eete yow owte at the dorys.
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica iii. 159 The kyng..withdrew his hoost bak far from the flode side of purpose that his ennemyes shuld suppose he did it of cowardlynes.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Sam. xviii. (heading) Saul geueth him his doughter of purpose, that the Philistynes mighte destroye him.
1623 J. Howell Let. 27 Mar. in Epistolæ Ho-Elianæ (1650) I. iii. xv. 60 [He] went to the Prado, a place hard by, of purpose to take the air.
1670 R. Baxter Cure Church-div. 167 The Scripture is written in such words as men use, of purpose that they may understand it.
1768 G. Colman Hist. of King Lear iv. 49 Ay, my good lord, 'twas he informed against him, And quit the house of purpose, that their punishment Might have the freer course.
P6. on (also †upon) purpose.
a. Also on set purpose. By design, as opposed to by chance or accident; purposely, intentionally.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [adverb]
willesOE
with one's willc1175
willes and waldesc1225
adviselya1325
wittinglya1340
wilfullyc1374
witting1377
a-purposea1382
of purpose (also (out) of (a) (set) purpose)a1382
wilfulc1381
willingly1402
of intention1430
knowingly1435
advisedlyc1449
deliberately1471
purpensely1472
purposely1495
prepensedly1496
purpensedly1496
purposedlya1540
proposely?1550
studiously1567
on (also upon) purpose1569
on set purpose1569
of industry1575
affectedly1582
premeditatelya1595
deliberatively1598
consultively1599
intentionallya1673
affectionally1603
by (also out of, on, upon) design1603
intentionately1609
industriouslya1616
perpensedly1624
intendedlya1641
unspontaneously1640
industrously1643
consultedly1645
consideringly1647
designedly1652
premeditatedly1653
wittily1653
intendingly1678
premeditatinglya1679
self-consciously1685
propensely1694
thinkingly1705
accidentally on purpose1711
affectionatelya1716
prepensely?1725
systematically1744
advertently1745
systemically1761
reflectively1775
purposefullya1854
meaningly1867
aimfully1870
purposively1878
designingly1879
proposedly1887
1569 T. Blague Schole of Wise Conceytes 220 Many men assaile their enimies which vpon set purpose do humble them selues.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. i. 242 A man may liue as quiet in hell, as in a sanctuarie, and people sinne vpon purpose, because they would goe thither. View more context for this quotation
1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. xix. 436 As if Nature on set purpose mistook her mark, and made her hand to swerve.
1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. Pref. 4 While one is looked for on set purpose many more will be gained..by-the-by.
1707 tr. G. Morley Two Lett. Janus Ulitius 32 Tertullian speaks not by the by, but on set purpose concerning the Publick and commonly received Forms of Prayer.
1779 T. Jefferson Public Papers 356 Whosoever on purpose, shall disfigure another..shall be maimed or disfigured in like.
1833 H. Martineau Cinnamon & Pearls i. 13 They had come out early on purpose.
1842 F. Marryat Percival Keene II. ii. 229 The pressed men were lashed two and two, with small rope, which had been provided on purpose.
1873 D. Burns Bases Temperance Reform iii. 82 To infer that gentlemen do not get drunk on set purpose..is a conclusion at variance with all the known facts.
1934 J. B. Priestley Eng. Journey xi. 378 It was almost as if they were all doing it on purpose, like the manufacturers of children's toy farms.
1963 P. De Letter in tr. Prosper of Aquitaine Def. St. Augustine 235 The connection of his name with predestination, which Prosper, on set purpose, leaves out of his document.
1986 J. Viorst Necessary Losses xi. 161 We wouldn't, on purpose, spill borscht on our rival's white dress.
2003 A.-M. MacDonald Way Crow Flies 43 They flew for the fun of it. Getting lost on purpose.
b. In order to do something; with the particular design or aim that. Also: expressly for or †to (something).
ΚΠ
1589 T. Rogers Hist. Dial. touching Antichrist & Poperie 10 They haue written a booke on purpose to shewe the conformitie betweene Saint Francis and Christ.
1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage sig. E v They durtie their hose & shoos vpon purpose to make themselves semm countrie colliers.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing ii. iii. 38 How stil the euening is, As husht on purpose to grace harmonie. View more context for this quotation
1631 R. Bolton Instr. Right Comf. Affl. Consciences 130 Upon purpose, that Hee may more solemly vow, and resolve.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 4 Treasur'd up on purpose to a life beyond life.
a1713 T. Ellwood Hist. Life (1714) 166 [He] had thrust himself among our Friends,..on purpose to be sent to Prison with them.
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. iii. 537 When there is a society pensioned and set apart on purpose for the designing of them.
1770 S. Neville Diary 15 Oct. (1950) iv. 81 He told me that Mrs. Frame and Miss B. Cooper had been with him on purpose to see me.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. x. 241 His mighty black charger, which seemed made on purpose to bear his weight, so easily he paced forward under it.
1877 C. H. Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 251 I may be placed where I am, on purpose that I may render essential help to the cause of God.
1930 S. T. Plaatje Mhudi (1975) 131 Several ‘ringed-heads’ raised their voices on purpose that their words should reach the ears of the king.
1959 Recorded Interview (Brit. Libr. Sound Archive) (Survey Eng. Dialects: C908) Track 67 [Kent] They used just to tie these up purpose for baking in these old ovens.
1974 I. Murdoch Sacred & Profane Love Machine 74 You've done this on purpose to upset me.
2001 B. Weeks Curling for Dummies viii. 97/1 Dumping is when you move debris underneath a stone on purpose to make it slow down.
P7. to (the) purpose.† d. to purpose that: in order that; to the end that. Obsolete. rare.† e. to come to purpose: to achieve one's objective; to succeed. Also to come to one purpose: to have the same effect; to come to the same thing. Obsolete.† f. Scottish. to bring to purpose: to succeed in (an undertaking or aim). Obsolete.
a. Also †unto purpose. With relevance to the subject or point at issue. to be to (the) purpose (also †to fall to purpose): to be pertinent, apposite, or to the point. Cf. sense 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > efficacious [phrase]
unto purposea1387
of availc1450
to good (also great, some, little, no, etc.) purpose1525
to (the) purpose1525
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [adjective]
to (the) purposea1387
pertinentc1390
appliablec1429
relevantc1540
appliant1548
incident1557
relative1579
home1607
effectual1608
ad rem1680
adaptable1718
to the point1817
pointful1898
the world > relative properties > relationship > relevance or pertinence > [adverb]
to (the) purposea1387
pertinentlyc1425
to the matter1534
relevantly1536
pat1578
effectually1581
germanely1823
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 171 (MED) But here it is more to purpos þat poetes feyneþ oon þat was somtyme al ful of eyȝen in eueriche a side and heet Argus.
c1395 G. Chaucer Clerk's Tale 573 He no word wol to that purpos seye.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 954 Of his aventures..Nis nat to purpos for to speke of here.
a1450 (a1401) Chastising of God's Children (Bodl.) (1957) 95 (MED) I wole shewe ȝou..remedies, wiþ sum oþer matiers þat liȝtli wol falle to purpos.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 84 (MED) We will shewe some examples to the purpos.
c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Minor Poems (1934) ii. 662 (MED) Vnto [v.rr. Unto our, Unto this] purpos, by cleer experyence Beute wol shewe, thogh hornys wer away.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Job xxxiv. 34 As for Iob he hath nether spoken to the purpose ner wysely.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 1576/1 She..receiued him with many apt wordes and thankes, as was most to purpose.
1624 R. Montagu Gagg for New Gospell? xxv. 201 Secondly, read it how you will, it is not to purpose.
1673 B. Makin Ess. to revive Antient Educ. Gentlewomen 13 Some think I have hardly spoke to the Purpose yet.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 62 I'll tell you a Story to the Purpose.
1763 F. Brooke Hist. Lady Julia Mandeville I. Epistle 49 But what is all this to the purpose, my dear? Now I protest I think it is vastly to the purpose.
1774 'Twas Right to marry Him I. xxvii. 157 All this talking was certainly very reasonable; so much to the purpose, indeed, that I began to look on myself as a consummate coxcomb.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. x. 211 She longed to be able to say something more to the purpose . View more context for this quotation
1868 T. H. Key Philol. Ess. 261 The examples..quoted by Bopp, are at first sight more to the purpose.
1914 Dial. Notes 4 162 Bull, talk which is not to the purpose; ‘hot air’.
1982 ‘E. Peters’ Virgin in Ice i. 11 It is possible that you may have heard from them something which may be to the purpose.
b. to one's purpose: useful or serviceable for one's purpose or ends.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > useful [phrase]
of (‥) utilityc1440
to one's purpose1565
of use?1591
c1395 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 606 It cam hym to purpos for to reste.]
1565 J. Jewel Replie Hardinges Answeare ii. 148 Neither was it any thinge to his purpose, to speake of it.
1630 in tr. G. Botero Relations Famous Kingdoms World (rev. ed.) To Rdr. sig. A iijv Tis to his purpose sometimes to deliver you the situation of the Countrey he discourses upon.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 10 Mar. (1976) IX. 478 Looking over the books there;..[I] did find several things to my purpose.
1716 J. Addison Freeholder No. 42. ⁋7 Caesar's Observation upon our Fore-fathers is very much to our present purpose.
1770 W. Hamilton Let. 16 Oct. in Observ. Vesuvius (1772) 126 I lately found two very good accounts of the phænomena that attended the explosion... I think them very curious, and greatly to my purpose.
1876 H. James Roderick Hudson iii. 96 He had only to shut his eyes to behold a creature far more to his purpose than the poor girl who stood posturing at forty sous an hour.
1948 W. Bagehot Physics & Politics v.107 The peculiarity is not to my present purpose. My point is that there is no spreading impetus in progress thus caused.
1991 J. Mander In Absence of Sacred iv. xx. 364 More to our purposes perhaps is the situation of the Sami people.
c. to purpose: so as to secure the result or effect desired; in an effective manner, effectively. Now chiefly in to good (also great, some, little, no, etc.) purpose: to good (great, some, little, no, etc.) effect; with a (good, etc.) result.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > efficacious [phrase]
unto purposea1387
of availc1450
to good (also great, some, little, no, etc.) purpose1525
to (the) purpose1525
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > uselessness, vanity, or futility > in vain [phrase]
in (or on) idlenessc825
in (earlier on, an) idlec1000
in idleshipa1250
in vaina1300
over tomeheda1300
(all) for noughtc1300
in waste1340
in deveyn(ec1400
to little availc1450
without availc1450
in fruster1488
to good (also great, some, little, no, etc.) purpose1525
for nothing1560
sans fail1597
for vaina1616
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. f. ccxxiv/1 It is a fayre countre and shall come to you to good purpose [Fr. vous viendra a point], for it marcheth nere to the Realme of Arragone.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccxxxvijv In hys opynion a generall counsel shuld be to little porpos.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 127 It was not the great multitude of ships..that could stande them to purpose, against noble harts.
1587 J. White Fourth Voy. in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) 765 It was to no purpose to touch there in any place, at this voyage.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. ⁋6 These..were worthily and to great purpose compiled together by Origen.
1642 T. Fuller Holy State v. xiv. 411 Yet perchance he may get some almes of learning..but nothing to purpose.
1680 Bp. G. Burnet Some Passages Life Rochester (1692) 132 I wrote a letter to the best purpose I could.
1718 Free-thinker No. 59. 1 His Letter may be made Publick to Good Purpose.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IV. xxvii. 169 To snatch the cudgels..to bemawl Yorick to some purpose.
1833 H. Martineau Tale of Tyne vii. 129 I used to insist on this..but..to no purpose.
1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. vii. 230 Another young draughtsman in Florence, who lessoned me to purpose.
1923 P. G. Wodehouse Inimitable Jeeves ii. 22 It seemed to me that young Bingo must have boosted me to some purpose.
1989 Times Lit. Suppl. 14 July 769/1 Rousseau's writings, which Starobinski knows so well and has already discussed to such admirable purpose.
2002 C. D. Ringwald Soul of Recovery x. 243 An addict must become who he or she really is in order to live to good purpose.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > [phrase] > in order that
for thatc1175
to that that1502
to purpose that1582
in order that1671
1582 N. Lichefield tr. F. L. de Castanheda 1st Bk. Hist. Discouerie E. Indias i. vii. 17 This was done, to purpose, that uppon Sunday, they would heare Masse on lande,..and receiue the Sacrament.
a1618 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Diuine Weekes & Wks. (1621) ii. iii. 389 Yelping Begles..might be slipt, to purpose; that (for sport) Watt might haue law, neither too-long nor short.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > be or become equal [verb (intransitive)] > be equivalent
amountc1390
to pass for (also as)1463
to come to one purpose1489
weigh1529
to pass muster1573
parallel1626
tantamount1628
to come to the same1643
coextenda1711
muster1820
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) iii. 263 To stand agayne thar fayis mycht,..And ay think to cum to purpos.
1551 R. Robinson tr. T. More Vtopia sig. Miiiiv It maketh nothing to thys matter, whether yow saye that sickenes is a griefe, or that in sickenes is griefe, for all cummeth to one purpose.
1563 J. Shute First Groundes Archit. sig. Civv I haue begonne this order or rule, first with the Pedestale, (..Vitruuius..beginneth first with the pillor, neuertheles they come to one purpose in the parfection).
ΚΠ
a1500 Ratis Raving (Cambr. Kk.1.5) l. 1057 in R. Girvan Ratis Raving & Other Early Scots Poems (1939) 30 Thoucht gret riches..Be lyk for to mak the latinge To bring to purpos thin etlynge.
c1650 (a1500) Eger & Grime (Percy) (1933) 2544 I thought I had a little thing To purpose if I might it bring.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, in the sense ‘done, made, etc., with a purpose or aim’, as purpose-episode, purpose journey, purpose-work etc., nouns.
ΚΠ
1767 T. Percy Let. 15 Jan. in Percy Lett. (1946) II. 129 I will introduce you to my Lady Dutchess's Grand assembly..which it were worth a purpose-Journey to see.
1820 J. Clare Let. 4 May (1985) 60 He made a purpose journey to see me.
1900 F. H. Stoddard Evol. Eng. Novel 177 The direction of the purpose-work of the hero.
1900 F. H. Stoddard Evol. Eng. Novel 188 It is not..the purpose-episodes in the novels of Dickens that are the strongest pages.
1968 Bull. School Oriental & Afr. Stud. 31 662 It is difficult to believe in the ‘small anthropological collection relating to Africa’..becoming the object of a purpose journey to Bloomington, Indiana.
C2. Objective, as †purpose-breaker, †purpose-changer, nouns.
ΚΠ
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxix Wo is me that so many let games and purpose brekers ben maked wayters.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) ii. i. 568 With that same purpose-changer, that slye diuel,..Commoditie. View more context for this quotation
C3. Instrumental.
purpose-bred adj.
ΚΠ
1909 Gettysburg (Pa.) Times 18 Oct. 4/3 Therein lies the difference between the purpose bred animal and the razorback.
2004 Y. Kannan in H. Hedrich Lab. Mouse xix. 305/2 Most purpose-bred laboratory mice from defined sources are specified pathogen free.
purpose-built adj.
ΚΠ
1872 Times 15 Mar. 10/2 A number of naval officers are instructed in the practical employment of torpedoes in suitable and purpose-built vessels.
1959 Times 9 June 11/6 Local authorities have indeed made remarkable progress in..adapted houses and small purpose-built homes.
1996 Company Dec. 156/2 This purpose-built resort has masses of top-class slopes.
purpose-designed adj.
ΚΠ
1961 Economist 24 June 1347/2 Special trays adapted for fitting on to the arm of the ‘purpose-designed’ Bingo chair.
1971 J. Howlett in B. de Ferranti Living with Computer ii. 10 Purpose-designed experiment.
2001 Navy News Feb. 3/2 The ships will have purpose-designed assault routes to allow rapid disembarkation.
purpose-directed adj.
ΚΠ
1899 G. Tyrrell in Month May 497 Not in obedience to any purpose-directed law.
purpose-made adj.
ΚΠ
1930 Times Educ. Suppl. 11 Jan. 11/4 In some places there are ‘purpose-made’ bricks.
1967 G. A. T. Burdett Electr. Installations 37 Where conditions allow there are advantages in using purpose-made rising mains.
2002 Adrenalin No. 13. 87/1 It led to many purpose-made parks and bowls being constructed and heralded a new era in skating—the era of The Skatepark.
C4. † purpose messenger n. Obsolete a messenger sent on purpose or expressly.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > message > [noun] > messenger
erendrakec825
bodec888
apostlec950
sand1038
sandesman1123
sanderbodec1200
bearer?c1225
errand-bearer?c1225
messenger?c1225
erindeberea1250
sand-manc1275
beadsman1377
herald1377
messagea1382
runnera1382
sendmana1400
interpreter1490
nuntius1534
post1535
pursuivant?1536
nuncius1573
nuncio1587
carrier1594
nunciate1596
mercury1597
chiaus1599
foreranger1612
postera1614
irisa1616
missivea1616
chouse1632
angela1637
caduceator1684
purpose messenger1702
errand-bringer1720
harkara1747
commissionaire1749
carrier pigeon1785
errander1803
errand-porter1818
tchaush1819
card carrier1845
errand-goer1864
choush1866
ghulam1882
1702 E. Lluyd Let. in E. Owen Catal. MSS. relating to Wales 506 I have been obliged to send purpose messengers 60 or 70 miles for votes.
1759 S. Clarke Let. 21 Nov. in Short & Candid Narr. (1760) 42 I..shall send a Duplicate to Dedham by a purpose Messenger.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. ix. ii. 386 As don Alphonso's patent was made out, I sent it by a purpose messenger.
purpose novel n. a novel written with a specific purpose, for example to defend or attack some doctrine, custom, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > novel > [noun] > novel of purpose
tendenzroman1855
purpose novel1893
tendenz novela1896
roman à thèse1907
thesis-novel1934
1893 F. M. Crawford in Forum (N.Y.) XIV. 594 The purpose-novel is an odious attempt to lecture people who hate lectures, to preach at people who prefer their own Church.
1924 M. E. Speare Polit. Novel i. 29 The ‘purpose novel’..had resolved a heritage into a tradition by the middle of the 19th century.
2002 P. Davis Victorians (2004) 374 Trollope's own career as a novelist really begins with the abandonment of the ‘purpose novel’ in The Warden.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
purposev.
/ˈpəːpəs/, U.S. /ˈpərpəs/ 1.
a. transitive. To put forward for consideration, discussion, etc.; to present to the mind of another; = propose v. 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > suggestion, proposal > suggest [verb (transitive)] > for consideration
puta1350
purposea1382
propone1402
motion1505
exhibit1529
propound?1531
prefer1539
raise1566
to put forward1569
broach1579
start1579
offer1583
propose1614
first1628
to put it to a person1664
moot1685
suppose1771
pose1862
to put up1901
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judges xiv. 13 Þe whiche answerdyn to hym, ‘purpose [a1425 L.V. Sette forth; L. propone] þe probleme.’
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 7321 (MED) Of Parlement the dai was come..Tho was pronounced and pourposed, And al the cause hem was desclosed, Hou Anthenor in Grece ferde.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) v. 43 (MED) Ageyn Vlixes worþi Thelamoun..Purposed hath..his matere.
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron. (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 40 Vndir him was þe probleme purposit of þe strength of a king, a woman, wyn, and treuth.
1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) i. viii. 6 To maken his compleynt, and purpoos his askynge.
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 85 (MED) The Olde Testament purposith, and the Newe previth it by exposicion vpon the grette texte.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour iii. xxviii. sig. i vv Merily purposing to them some fained question.
1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft xv. xxiii. 438 A parecuasis or transition of the author to matter further purposed.
1633 J. Ford Broken Heart i. iii. sig. C3v Mortality Creeps on the dung of earth, and cannot reach The riddles, which are purpos'd by the gods.
b. intransitive. To put forward remarks, questions, etc.; to discourse, converse, talk. Cf. propose v. 5. Also transitive with it. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > speech > conversation > converse [verb (intransitive)]
yedc888
speak971
rounda1200
talka1225
tevela1225
intercommunec1374
fable1382
parlec1400
reason?c1425
communique?1473
devise1477
cutc1525
wade1527
enterparle1536
discourse1550
to hold one chat, with chat, in chat1573
parley1576
purpose1590
dialogue1595
commerce1596
dialoguize1596
communicate1598
propose1600
dialogize1601
converse1615
tella1616
interlocute1621
interparle1791
conversate1811
colloquize1823
conversationize1826
colloque1850
visit1862
colloquy1868
to make conversation1921
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. xii. sig. Z8v Whom ouertaking, she in merry sort Them gan to bord, and purpose diuersly.
1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 29 He that can purpose it in dainty rimes, Can set his face, and with his eye can speake.
2. transitive. To put forward for acceptance; to offer, proffer, or present (a thing) to. Also: to nominate (a person) for an office or position; = propose v. 4a, 4b, 4c. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > appointment to office > choosing or fact of being chosen for office > choose for office [verb (transitive)] > propose as candidate
purposea1382
nominate1560
propound1573
to put up1573
propose1675
run1765
to hold up1813
the mind > possession > giving > offer or action of offering > offer [verb (transitive)] > offer or set before a person
showc1300
purpose1563
propose1592
to give (a person) a show of1788
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Kings v. 8 He purposede [L. proposuerat] in þat dai meede to hym þat smoot Jebusee.
1387–8 Petition London Mercers in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 34 Nichol Brembre..purposed hym, the yere next after John Northampton, Mair of the same Citee.
?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. v. pr. 6. 325 The lawes ne purposed nat wikkidly medes and peynes to the willynges of men that ben..quyt of all necessite.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 70 He biholdiþ whom he schal embrace wiþ þe fire of couetise..and to whom he schal purpose þe likerousnes of glotonye.
1563 J. Man tr. W. Musculus Common Places Christian Relig. 287 This universall communion of the heavenly grace, whiche is porposed unto all [L. mortalibus omnibus proposita].
3. transitive. With clause as object. To represent to one's imagination; to imagine to oneself; to fancy, suppose. Cf. propose v. 2d. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > faculty of imagination > imagine or visualize [verb (transitive)]
seeOE
thinkOE
bethinkc1175
devise1340
portraya1375
imagec1390
dreama1393
supposea1393
imaginea1398
conceive?a1425
fantasyc1430
purposea1513
to frame to oneselfa1529
'magine1530
imaginate1541
fancy1551
surmit?1577
surmise1586
conceit?1589
propose1594
ideate1610
project1612
figurea1616
forma1616
to call up1622
propound1634
edify1645
picture1668
create1679
fancify1748
depicture1775
vision1796
to conjure up1819
conjure1820
envisage1836
to dream up1837
visualize1863
envision1921
pre-visualize1969
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. clxxxvi. f. cixv/2 Whan the Kynge had vnfolde to [read the] Letter and Radde a parte therof he Smyled, wherof the Lordes beynge ware purposed the kyng to haue receyued some Iewellys or Ioyous nouellys out of Englande.
4. transitive. To place before; to prefer. Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Psalms cxxxvi. 6 Cleue my tunge to my cheekis..If I shul not purpose [v.r. purposen; L. proposuero] þee, ierusalem, in þe begynnyng of my gladnesse.
1506 Thordynarye of Crysten Men (new ed.) ii. ix. sig. Kiii By the vertue of prudence we purpose [1502 purposen Fr. proposons] the delytes spyrytuall vnto the temporalles and carnalles.
III. To intend, plan, resolve.† 6. intransitive. To have a purpose, plan, or design; esp. in the proverbial phrase man purposes, God disposes (dispose v. 7a; cf. also man proposes, (but) God disposes at propose v. 1a, propone v. 4). Also: to mean (well, ill, etc.) to a person. Obsolete.† 7. intransitive. To be bound (for, to a place, or with adverb of direction). Also transitive (reflexive and passive). Obsolete.
5. † b. transitive (reflexive). With infinitive. To determine, make up one's mind, resolve. Also occasionally intransitive: to determine upon. Obsolete.† c. transitive (in passive). To have as one's purpose; to be resolved or determined that or to do. Cf. purposed adj. 2. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To form an intention of doing (something); to plan or resolve upon (an event or course of action); to put forward as something to be done or attained; to intend. Also with infinitive, gerund, or that-clause as object. Cf. propose v. 1b, 2c. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)] > have as purpose or object
followeOE
studylOE
turna1200
pursuea1382
purposec1384
to shoot atc1407
ensue1483
proponea1500
studyc1503
prick1545
tread1551
suit1560
to go for ——1568
to set (up) one's rest1572
expect1578
propose1584
propound1596
aima1616
scope1668
to set up1691
aim1821
to go in for1835
to be out for1887
to be flat out for1930
target1966
shoot1967
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. i. 8 Danyel purposide [L. proposuit] in his herte, that he were not defoulid of the borde of the kyng.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. 53 Thus I..Purpose forto wryte a bok.
?1435 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 77 (MED) My seyde lorde off Gloucestre..purposyng his deeth..sette men off Armes and Archers at the ende off London brigge.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 163 Off Kyrkcubre he purpost his passage. Semen he feyt.
?1504 M. Beaufort tr. Thomas à Kempis Ful Treat. Imytacyon Cryste (Pynson) iv. vii. 269 So often pourposynge many good thynges.
a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 202 Thow purpest for to vndo our lordis cheif In Paislay with ane poysone.
a1599 E. Spenser View State Ireland 15 in J. Ware Two Hist. Ireland (1633) It is a capitall cryme to devise or purpose the death of your King.
1623 W. Gouge Serm. Extent God's Provid. §10 A man may with himselfe plot and purpose this and that.
1669 J. Fletcher Island Princess ii. vi I have done nothing sir, therefore I thinke it Convenient I say little what I purposed, And what my love intended.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xxix. 259 Her grandfather's estate is not half of what, living and dying, is purpos'd to be done for her.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 1 July 97 My friend purposes to open an office.
1838–9 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 13 I purpose..keeping a sort of journal.
1850 T. T. Lynch Memorials Theophilus Trinal xi. 211 His mother purposed that he should be a preacher, and his own heart purposed it too.
1884 Harper's Mag. Apr. 738/1 She put on her wrapper, purposing to ask Mrs. Leonard to come and stay with her for a time.
1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 273 Gabriel, feeling now how vain it would be to try to lead her whither he had purposed, caressed one of her hands.
1954 Geogr. Jrnl. 120 1 He approached the vast ‘Bangweolo’ Swamps..from the north, purposing to get to its southern side by any practicable means.
1980 I. Murdoch Nuns & Soldiers i. 56 When she was being converted she was already purposing to be a religious.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > resolve or decide [verb (reflexive)]
appointc1386
castc1386
purposec1390
determine1393
devise1393
delibera1413
resolvea1528
settle1530
to resolve with oneself1578
formalizea1656
the mind > will > decision > resolve or decide upon [verb (transitive)]
to take (in early use (i-)nim) to redeeOE
redeOE
to take (in early use (i-)nim) redeOE
to bring to stallc1275
rewardc1380
perfix1415
determ1423
concludec1430
prefix?1523
resolve1523
affix1524
devise1548
pitch?1567
purpose1574
to resolve with oneself1578
to set down1582
settle1596
determinea1616
decision1877
predetermine1884
c1390 G. Chaucer Melibeus 3024 I thynke and purpose [v.r. purpoos] me fully to disherite hem of al that euere they han.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 88 When any of þam purposez him [Fr. ont entencion] to sla him self.
c1450 (?c1400) Three Kings Cologne (Cambr. Ee.4.32) (1886) 38 (MED) Þei ordeyned and purposed hem..to go seke and worschipp þe lord.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll.) 1035 He purposed hym to go agayne into the realme of Logrus.
?1507 Communyc. (W. de W.) A iij Thou purposed the daye by daye To set my people in synnynge.
1574 A. Golding tr. A. Marlorat Catholike Expos. Reuelation xiii. 8 Euen from the beginning God purposed vppon thys sacrifice.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)]
willeOE
meaneOE
minteOE
i-muntec1000
thinkOE
ettlea1200
intenta1300
meanc1330
forn-castc1374
intendc1374
ettlea1400
drive1425
proposec1425
purpose1433
attend1455
suppose1474
pretend1477
mindc1478
minda1513
pretence1565
appurpose1569
to drive at ——1574
thought to1578
hight1579
pretent1587
fore-intend1622
pre-intend1647
design1655
study1663
contemplate1794
purport1803
1433 Rolls of Parl. IV. 445/1 Youre Mair and Burgeys been fully purposed..to walle, enkernell, and fortefie youre seid Towne and Havyn.
c1475 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Caius) 7426 (MED) Y am purposed in thought In goddis seruyse now to goo.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Baruch v. B God is purposed to brynge downe all stoute mountaynes.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy 1868 I am not purpast plainly his prayer to here.
1598 R. Hakluyt tr. Vincent of Beauvais in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 70 The Emperour was purposed to send his ambassadors with vs.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre ii. iii. 46 Peter Bishop of Anagnia in Italy was purposed here to lead his life.
1720 D. Manley Power of Love vi. 341 Restore me my Child, and forgive those Sentiments of Rage, which in her early Loss I was purposed to execute against her.
1778 H. Brooke Antony & Cleopatra v. iii, in Coll. Pieces II. 411 For you are purposed to slay me, my master.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth x, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. I. 262 I am purposed instantly to return.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xiii. § i. 263 The whole nation was..fully purposed that the next brood of Æthelings..should be..Englishmen.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (intransitive)]
minOE
howOE
intenta1300
meana1375
intend1390
purposea1400
aimc1450
collime1677
design1749
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 > decision > resolution or determination > be resolute or determined [verb (intransitive)]
confirm1382
needsa1387
beseta1400
purposea1400
to be determined1529
to set downa1586
to set (up) one's rest1593
to stop at nothing1676
to keep one's pecker up1845
a1400 Prov. Wisdom (Bodl.) 54 in Anglia (1927) 51 222 (MED) Have not pepir in þi nose, And prove or þou purpose.
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 22 (MED) Man purposiþ [L. proponit], & god disposiþ.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 670/2 Man purposeth and God disposeth, homme propose et Dieu dispose.
1612 T. James Treat. Corruption Script. (new ed.) iii. 38 But homo proponit, Deus disponit: the Pope purposed, and God so disposed it.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Prophetesse iv. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Eeee4/2 Nor did he eer purpose to me but nobly.
1648 Bp. J. Hall Breathings Devout Soul x. 14 Lord, it is from thee that I purposed well.
1719 J. Barker Bosvil & Galesia 9 Thus we see that human Projects are meer Vapours, carry'd about with every Blast of cross Accidents..or, according to the Proverb, Man purposes, God disposes.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)]
thinkeOE
bowa1000
seta1000
scritheOE
minlOE
turnc1175
to wend one's wayc1225
ettlec1275
hieldc1275
standc1300
to take (the) gatec1330
bear?c1335
applyc1384
aim?a1400
bend1399
hita1400
straighta1400
bounc1400
intendc1425
purposec1425
appliquec1440
stevenc1440
shape1480
make1488
steera1500
course1555
to make out1558
to make in1575
to make for ——a1593
to make forth1594
plyc1595
trend1618
tour1768
to lie up1779
head1817
loop1898
society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (reflexive)]
turnc1175
stretcha1225
bowc1275
steer1399
straighta1400
ready?a1425
purposec1425
address1436
applya1450
shape1480
make1488
aima1500
bound1821
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 39 (MED) Whane we cum whidir we purpose, to Lundone, we shall bere thedir..a Shippe of syluer.
a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 109 Sche was a pilgryme, purposyng be þe grace of God to-Seynt-Iamys-warde.
1467 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 335 I shall purpose me thederward.
1473 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 460 The Erle off Oxenfford..is purposyd in-to Skotlond.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. iv. 230 For Ciuilis also purposed thitherwarde.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iii. i. 35 He purposeth to Athens. View more context for this quotation
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 92 I could get passage.., being purposed for Constantinople.
1644 Elphinstone Muniments in 9th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1883) App. 200/1 Ather to this schip or any vther weschell purposed for this brugh.
8. transitive (in passive). To be designed for some purpose; to be intended to do something. Now rare and archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > intention > intend [verb (transitive)] > intend or be intended for a purpose
goOE
framea1400
purpose?c1425
meanc1450
destinea1533
destinate1555
intend1600
calculate1639
?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 164 In þe fourþe, þat it be moste purposed [L. attendatur] to euapoure and noght to make quytter wiþouteforth.
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer iii. f. ccclix Hem that tofore werne purposed to be sayntes.
1553 R. Ascham Let. 24 Mar. in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Lit. Men (1843) 14 My choise of quietnes is not purposed to lye in idlenes.
1570 Ascham's Scholemaster (title page) Specially purposed for the priuate brynging vp of youth in Ientlemen and Noble mens houses.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Life Agricola in tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. 262 [Domitian] sending a successour caused withall a bruite to bee spred, that the prouince of Syria..was purposed vnto him.
1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 152 Merchandize..such as was Reasonably purposed to Vend on the Coast of Tartaria.
1924 W. J. Locke Coming of Amos v. 53 What was the use of a stick purposed to beat neither beast nor man?
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2007; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1300
v.a1382