returnedadj.n.
/rᵻˈtəːnd/, U.S. /rəˈtərnd/, /riˈtərnd/ A. adj.
1. Bent or turned back in some way; esp. made with a side or part at an angle, continuing at an angle.
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the world > space > direction > [adjective] > bending or winding > turned back
returnedc1425
returning1776
c1425 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 35 (MED) In the lyfte corner of the Chirche..lay a certeyne Damsell..with returnyd leggis contract.
1605 B. Jonson Masque of Blacknesse in Wks. (1616) 894 The attyre of Masquers was alike in all,..but returned on the top with a scroll and antique dressing of feathers.
1741 B. Langley & T. Langley Builder's Jewel 20 (heading) To describe the Curve of the returned Cornice.
1858 Skyring's Build. Prices 77 All returned beads, double price.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 60 The returned stalls are all about equally advantageously placed.
1904 Builder 4 June 602/2 The main cornice has no returned ends.
1947 T. J. Reynolds & E. Kent Struct. Steelwork (ed. 8) xiv. 271 If the ends are returned at top and bottom no deduction need be made in the overall fillet length as the end crater of the welds will be in the returned portions.
2005 E. J. Hess Field Armies & Fortifications in Civil War 327 They built artillery emplacements to fire obliquely across the swale in case the enemy chose to test this returned section of trench.
2.
a. That has or have come back.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > return > [adjective]
returning1581
returneda1586
recurring1658
revisitant1729
retour1731
back1868
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > backward movement > [adjective] > returning towards point of departure > returned
returneda1586
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) f. 9 In six weekes the excellencie of his returned beautie was a credible embassadour of his health.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xv. 629/2 The treason had successe, and their returned Ambassadours told it for certaine.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) v. iv. 172 Euery of this happie number..Shal share the good of our returned fortune. View more context for this quotation
1759 Acct. Hosp. Maintenance & Educ. Exposed & Deserted Young Children 43 The returned Children are cloathed in a Manner proper for Labour, and differing from that of the Children at Nurse.
1837 T. Hook Jack Brag I. v. 143 When she saw the sunken eye of her beloved parent fixed..on her returned child.
1864 J. R. Lowell Fireside Trav. 292 More refreshing was the talk of a tall returned Californian.
1914 Geogr. Jrnl. 43 377 We have had the delightful little speech to which we have listened from the returned ambassador.
1970 A. K. Armah Fragments iv. 117 ‘So,’ he said, letting out a satisfied breath of air after the greetings, ‘this is our returned schoolboy who doesn't know the ropes, eh?’
2001 L. D. Almeida Irish Immigrants in N.Y. City iii. 52 The returned migrants ultimately went back to the United States, embittered and disillusioned.
b. U.S., Canadian, Australian, and New Zealand. Home from a war after being discharged from service (or occasionally released from captivity).
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society > armed hostility > military service > [adjective] > discharged and returned
returned1838
1838 Army & Navy Chron. 25 Oct. 257/1 A very great portion of the army that fought at Ligny and Waterloo was composed of returned soldiers from England, where we had them penned up in prisons and hulks.
1848 in Rep. Special Comm. Bodies of Officers, Medals, Reception N.Y. Volunteers (1851) 73 The Committee have been daily engaged since in the examination and collation of returns, hearing the various and repeated applications made by the returned soldier, the father, the mother, and the widow.
1883 W. G. Moody Land & Labor in U.S. vii. 156 The returned soldiers were of the most able men in our own country, developed and disciplined by military service.
1902 Truth (Sydney) 6 July 5/8 In the present state of Australia, with a dearth of employment owing to the drought, these returned soldiers, who were offered good opportunities in South Africa, are no welcome addition to the country's population.
1915 Eye Opener (Calgary, Alberta) 11 Dec. 2/3 An army of returned soldiers..who have been away fighting for the Empire are not going to..allow themselves to be told what is right and what is wrong by a bunch of stay-at-home aldermen or freak legislators.
1918 Quick March Apr. 1 Oct. On 30th April, 1916, about thirty returned soldiers assembled in Wellington for the purpose of forming a Returned Soldiers' Association.
1947 E. A. McCourt Music at Close i. vi. 65 Latimer stopped..to pick up..a returned man living on a settlement grant.
1983 B. Powe Aberhart Summer 9 He had job tenure because he was a returned man with seventeen years' seniority. War veterans got preference for government jobs.
2009 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 25 Apr. 12 The Rehabilitation Board was almost apologetic, but it had to give priority to returned men with wives and families.
3. Chiefly Business and Finance. Yielded as a return on an investment or other activity.
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1615 R. Hamor True Disc. Present Estate Virginia Ep. Ded. sig. A2v It shall not repent him that is now most cold in the pursuit, to haue refused more Competitors to be sharers in the returnd profit.
1805 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 12 Jan. 35 The returned profits of his labour through the channel of offices and employments.
1837 J. F. Cooper Gleanings in Europe II. xxi. 127 Were the money that the United States this year distributes among the several states, as returned revenue, (near 8,000,000 sterling,) appropriated to a navy, it would build and keep at sea for a twelvemonth, fifty sail of the line.
1907 Rep. Joint Comm. Affairs Life Insurance Companies (Wisconsin Senate & Assembly) 144 The returned dividends are used as an advertising asset.
1942 Billboard 28 Feb. 69/1 He pyramided his earnings and returned profits into the business until today he has over $10000 invested.
1996 R. Munting Econ. & Social Hist. Gambling Brit. & USA 65 Thus a direct deduction was made from returned winnings plus stake of a percentage to cover tax and the betting levy.
2006 Z. Huang et al. in S. Song & A. Chen China's Rural Econ. after WTO xix. 333 The members of these cooperatives are both shareholders and traders, and they gain dividends on shares and returned profits according to their volume of trade.
4.
a. Sent or brought back.In quot. 1722: that is to be sent or brought back.
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society > travel > transport > [adjective] > sent > back
returned1722
1722 D. Defoe Hist. Col. Jack 129 A Man..wanted to know if he could hear of any return'd Horses for England.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. x. vi. 50 The Coach..was indeed a returned Coach belonging to Mr. King of Bath. View more context for this quotation
1822 Ld. Byron Let. 4 Apr. (1979) IX. 135 I shall forward the returned documents by post to London tomorrow.
1845 Chambers's Jrnl. 15 Mar. 169/2 The returned books are properly called remittiren.
1896 Strand Mag. 12 339/1 Reaching its destination without being dealt with by the Post Office as a returned item.
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §759 Bagman (Post Office); sorts and checks returned mail bags, and issues them as required.
1977 Nature 6 Jan. 38/2 Since the returned sample is of regolithic materials it could also contain basalt fragments.
2000 J. N. Wilford Mapmakers (2002) xvi. 286 The returned images from side-looking radar are like photographs taken in early morning or late afternoon.
b. returned empty: an empty cask, case, bottle, etc., returned to the sender or seller; (also figurative) a person who or vessel which has returned after an unsuccessful time away (see quots.). Frequently in plural. Now chiefly historical.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > container or package for goods > [noun] > empty, returned to sender
returned empty1839
1839 Leeds Mercury 16 Nov. 4/6 We refer our mercantile readers to an advertisement respecting a self-acting table as to what is termed ‘Returned Empties’.
1848 T. Boyle Hope for Canals! 17 Returned empties were always conveyed free by the carriers.
1890 Pall Mall Gaz. 12 Apr. 6/3 They were Colonial Bishops—returned empties, as the profane scoffingly call them.
1915 Railway Gaz. 5 Nov. 451/1 The elimination of the ‘Returned Empty’.
1946 P. Bottome Lifeline xv. 137 A milk lorry..goes from here taking returned empties, and bringing back milk at dawn.
1961 B. Fergusson Watery Maze ix. 220 Several of these [ships] were veterans both of Ironclad and Torch, which meant that they had already spent months in unprofitable voyaging as returned empties, so to speak.
1977 C. Allen Raj i. 23/2 Early in the nineteenth century..unmarried women were regularly shipped out..to meet the demand for wives... Those who returned without husbands or fiancés were known as ‘Returned Empties’.
2003 M. Pearson Indian Ocean viii. 273 Even more demeaningly, those who returned home unbetrothed were Returned Empties.
5. Of a match: played between teams who have previously competed against each other, esp. recently. Cf. return match n. at return n. Compounds 5. Now rare.
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society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [adjective] > types of
maiden1598
well-run1601
unequal1654
well contested1722
returned1758
friendly1780
close-run1813
foursome1814
lightweight1823
tight1828
side1829
one-sided1839
scratch1851
international1859
all-comers1860
scrub1867
pointless1876
scoreless1885
replayed1886
peg-down1887
all-star1889
stiff1890
varsity1891
postseason1893
knock-out1896
best-of-(a specified odd number)1897
seeded1901
junior varsity1902
Simon Pure1905
pegged-down1908
JV1923
zero-sum1944
tie-breaking1970
1758 Kentish Post 19–22 July On Monday next will be play'd at Dover, the Return'd Match of Cricket.
1773 Kentish Gaz. 10 July The returned Match of Cricket..between Mr. Louch's Club of Chatham, and eleven Gentlemen of Ryarsh and Birling.
1862 Era 23 Nov. 14/1 July 31, at Folkestone.—Sussex v. Kent (returned match).
1892 Liverpool Mercury 4 Apr. 7/4 For the postponed returned match between the Park and Runcorn, at Runcorn, this evening, Birkenhead Park will be represented by the following strong team: [etc.].
6. Stated in a return or official record; reported in response to a request or action.
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society > communication > record > written record > [adjective] > officially recorded
returned1865
1865 T. Rawlings Confederation Brit. N. Amer Provinces ii. iii. 177 The returned results by counties are given in the table annexed.
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 18 May 3/1 He won the 100 yards championship in returned time 9 3-5 seconds.
1902 W. J. Dibdin Public Lighting i. 31 The returned results of the testing will, of course, vary to that extent.
1979 P. M. Melliar-Smith in T. Anderson & B. Randell Computing Syst. Reliability ii. 48 The schema for an O-function is identical to that of an OV-function, except that no returned result is indicated.
2003 D. C. Schmidt & S. D. Huston C++ Network Programming II. iii. 65 The returned time value is expected to be absolute, but it need not be the current date and time.
B. n.
With the: people who have returned, as a class. Also: returned things collectively.
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1592 H. Broughton Apol. in Briefe Assertions sig. C The whole tenor of Aggai argueth a speech uttered to the returned, rather then to a new age.
1603 H. Clapham Three Partes Salomon Song of Songs Expounded iii. xxix. 264 The age of the diuerse of the Returned would arise to an incredible number.
1655 J. Lightfoot Harmony New-Test. i. 17 Whereas it is apparent that the returned of Iuda and Benjamin planted Iudaea, whom can we imagin, but some of the ten Tribes to have planted Galilee?
1704 Athenian Oracle III. 107/2 Some persons have reported, and that with Reason enough, that the Penalty of False Returns shou'd be greater both on the Returner and the Returned.
1785 Rep. Commissioners Public Accts. Kingdom II. 650 The Weighing of the Returned from the Shipping being being first attended to by the Clerk of the Survey.
1852 C. Mathews Witchcraft i. v. 27 And mark if Gideon be not the chief Of the returned.
1889 Telegr. Jrnl. & Electr. Rev. 1 Feb. 137/2 The returned would be less than that of the original, to the extent equal to the losses due to the internal friction of the mass.
1918 F. B. Gilbreth & L. M. Gilbreth in E. M. Friedman Amer. Probl. Reconstruction vii. 128 It will by similar methods assist in readjusting returned soldiers..to the industries, and in providing more profitable and satisfying opportunities for those whom the returned will naturally displace.
2007 R. Teeuwen in R. Teeuwen & S. Hantke Gyspy Scholars, Migrant Teachers & Global Acad. Proletariat 155 Such is the strength of Chinese culture that, once back in Taiwan, most of the returned are enveloped again by the dynamics of their native culture.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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adj.n.c1425