roastn.
/rəʊst/, U.S. /roʊst/ 1. † b. figurative. In rhyming collocation with host: a company. Cf. boiling n. 4. Obsolete.
a. A piece or joint of meat that has been cooked by roasting. Also: one prepared or intended for roasting.crown, pot, rib, Sunday roast, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > roasted meat > piece of
roastc1330
c1330 (?c1300) Amis & Amiloun (Auch.) (1937) 1235 Certes, it were michel vnriȝt To make roste [v.r. roost] of leuedis briȝt.
c1400 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. Prol. 108 Wiþ wyn of osay..Of þe ryn & of þe rochel, þe rost [B. roste] to defie.
c1425 (c1400) Laud Troy-bk. 7051 (MED) Thei were serued..With many noble diuers rost, With mete bakyn, sothen, and tost.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 43 (MED) Þenne take þy rost and sklyce hit clene.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aii* Schir kay ruschit to the roist and reft fra the swane.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Div Snatche a puddyng tyl ye rost be redy.
1575 W. Stevenson Gammer Gurtons Nedle ii. sig. Bv I loue no rost, but a nut browne toste and a Crab layde in the fyre.
1591 J. Florio Second Frutes 55 Make roome for the second messe, now comes the roste.
a1635 R. Corbet Poems (1807) 36 Since you eat his roast, It argues want of manners To raile upon the host.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) ii. 198 The very entrayles must be washed and put into the roast.
1724 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. (1733) II. 183 The rost was teugh as raploch hodin.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) xii. 302 They can dress..upon this stove, a roast, a boill, a fry, a stew and a bake.
1766 T. Smollett Trav. France & Italy I. v. 67 The bourgeois of Boulogne have commonly..a roast, with a sallad, for supper.
1842 J. Aiton Clerical Econ. ii. 69 Keep a small roast or two for family use.
1886 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day (ed. 3) iii. 48 That dinner consists of..vegetables, roasts, sweets, with dessert.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 80/2 Meat gravy..will probably be most popular as an accompaniment for a roast's second-meal appearance.
1981 J. Lewis Something Hidden (1983) vi. 125 He..helped her put the roast in the oven and make the salad.
2005 R. Chamberlain & B. A. Hornick Healthy Beef Cookbook 254 Roasts become firmer and easier to carve when allowed to stand 15 to 20 minutes before carving.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being gathered together > an assemblage or collection > [noun] > of people or animals > regarded as a whole or a body of people gathered
weredc725
trumec893
thrumOE
wharfOE
flockOE
farec1275
lithc1275
ferd1297
companyc1300
flotec1300
routc1300
rowc1300
turbc1330
body1340
numberc1350
congregation1382
presencec1390
meiniec1400
storec1400
sum1400
manya1425
collegec1430
peoplec1449
schoola1450
turm1483
catervea1492
garrison?a1513
shoal1579
troop1584
bevy1604
roast1608
horde1613
gross1617
rhapsody1654
sortment1710
tribe1715
1608 T. James Wickliffs Life in Apol. Wickliffe sig. G4v The whole host and rost of Moonks and Friars beganne to praie.
2. Roast meat.cold roast: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > meat dishes > [noun] > roasted meat
bredea1000
roasteda1398
roasta1400
Easter lambc1400
hasterya1475
roast meat1528
roast beef1564
rib roast1627
rôti1771
rosbif1822
Sunday joint1844
buccan1862
sauerbraten1889
crown roast1901
schooner on the rocks1916
porchetta1929
sour beef1935
siu mei1960
nyama choma1980
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 13373 (MED) Þat folk þat day fulle faire was fed wiþ soiþen & roste & wilde bred.
a1425 (?c1350) Ywain & Gawain (1964) 221 (MED) Þare war we served wele..Us wanted nowþer baken ne roste.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 73 The tane lufis soddyn, the tothir rost.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xliv. C He rosteth flesh, that he maye eate roste his bely full.
1566 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 489 Being servit with bruise, beif, muttoun, and rost at the leist.
1600 S. Rowlands Letting of Humors Blood Epigram iii. sig. A5 Not that heel cloy him there with rost or sod.
1611 Bible (King James) Isa. xliv. 16 He eateth flesh: he rosteth rost, and is satisfied. View more context for this quotation
1661 in W. Macgill Old Ross-shire & Scotl. (1909) I. 151 Twa dish of broth tailȝie of boof and rost.
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Cock & Fox in Fables 224 On Holy-Days, an Egg or two at most; But her Ambition never reach'd to roast.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 18 Apr. (1965) I. 348 Their Sauces are very high, all the roast very much done.
a1779 D. Garrick Poet. Wks. (1785) I. 120 Say but you're tir'd with boil'd and roast at home, We too can send for nicities from Rome.
1853 A. Soyer Pantropheon xxx. 361 The third [course] consisted of roast, with various sauces.
1869 C. J. Hempel tr. B. Bæhr Sci. Therapeutics II. xi. 696 Various kinds of roast without fat.
1906 McClure's Mag Aug. 386/2 I would like roast for dinner always, whether there's an entrée or not.
1964 G. C. Booth Food & Drink Mexico 99 This is an excellent sauce to serve over sliced roast.
2000 M. Evans et al. World Food: Italy 86 Franciacorta Rosso... Best drunk within the first four years and goes well with game and roast.
3.
a. The action or process of roasting something. Also (and in earliest use): an instance or result of this.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > [noun] > processing > types of heating process
burning1559
firework1560
roast1582
coction1684
kelp-burning1845
hot drawing1897
process heating1926
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > extraction from ore > smelting
roastingc1350
reducing?a1425
smelting1531
trying1630
excoction1640
reduction1666
eliquation1741
roast1870
beneficiation1881
1582 in Trans. Jewish Hist. Soc. Eng. (1903) 4 94 In which rostes both of vitriall, Copper and Coppris makeinge, he will use nothing but peate.
1671 J. Webster Metallographia xix. 264 Some of it lieth off-washed among the Roasts, like a brown earth.
1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker iii. xxvii. 279 in Fleta Minor i Weigh of that which is melted 2 centners of the roast, and set them asunder, one heap after another, and of every heap two centners of roast [etc.]
?1741 Polygamist 17 A wicked Priest..burnt a House,..yet those Sages thought it very fit, That his Neck should pay for the Roast of it.
1855 Sacred Circle 1 104 The joint was put to the roast.
1870 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining lii. 358 The roast is considered complete, when only a small amount of sulphate of iron remains undecomposed.
1877 Encycl. Brit. VI. 113/1 In Britain large roasts [of coffee] are the rule.
1904 D. Clark Austral. Mining & Metall. 289 A sulphating roast, or a roast at a low temperature..places the roasted ore in better condition for chlorination.
1922 W. H. Ukers All about Coffee xxv. 387/1 The quicker the roast, the better the coffee.
1984 Which? Dec. 566/1 What most affects the taste of coffee is the bean, freshness, the roast, the grind, and how much is used.
2002 J. McMullen & K. G. Thomas in A. L. Mular et al. Mineral Processing Plant Design, Pract., & Control I. 221 If this compound is allowed to form..in the roast, gold extraction will be seriously inhibited.
b. Coffee, characterized by the manner in which the beans are roasted; a type of coffee so characterized. Frequently with preceding modifying word indicating the degree of roasting or strength of flavour. Cf. Continental roast n. and adj. at continental adj. and n. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > coffee manufacture > [noun] > quantity roasted
roast1941
1941 Louisiana: Guide to State (Federal Writers' Project) iv. 686 A dark roast, mixed with chicory, and prepared by the drip method.
1995 Coffee Jrnl. Autumn 31/3 This is the roast most likely to be used in espresso drinks.
2007 W. Gisslen Professional Cooking (ed. 6) xxv. 819 Most Americans drink medium roast, sometimes called city roast.
4. An instance of severe criticism or scolding; a roasting. Now chiefly North American: a mock serious ceremony at which a guest of honour is subjected to good-humoured ridicule or banter.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > [noun] > unmerciful banter
roastingc1728
roast1740
1740 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 74 The Knight bore the roast with great fortitude.
1754 J. Shebbeare Marriage Act I. xxxvi. 238 David Gam, Esq; was a proper Subject for a Roast.
1796 Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (ed. 3) (at cited word) He stood the roast, he was the butt.
1817 Lintoun Green in R. Brown Comic Poems 27 He..had been jockeyed to his cost,..Which made him suffer many a roast.
1899 A. C. Gunter M.S. Bradford Special iv. 58 Your Frank is in Washington and my Jasper has just given me a roast. Reckon we'll both have to be bachelor girls to-night.
1903 Booklovers Mag. Dec. 663/1 This national love for a good ‘roast’, this spirit of mockery, this national habit of joking.
1951 P. G. Wodehouse Let. 11 Aug. in Yours, Plum (1990) 192 [Orwell] has a long article..which is practically one long roast of your correspondent.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 16 Feb. 16/1 (caption) It was billed as a roast to mark Mr. Sniderman's 25th year in the music business, but in reality it was a heart-warming evening because the roasters had only kind words for this beloved couple.
2000 R. Bingham Lightning on Sun 89 We're having a roast for Jordan. She has now been hired and fired from every publication in the city that has New York in the title.
5. North American. With distinguishing word: a large (outdoor) social gathering at which a particular food is roasted and eaten.Recorded earliest in corn-roast n. at corn n.1 Compounds 4.hog, marshmallow, pig roast, etc.: see the first element.
ΚΠ
1858 Harper's Mag. Nov. 789/2 We should all of us have taken him out..and..had a corn-roast and some lemonade.
1873 A. S. Evans À la Calif. iii. 74 A few epicures come down to the coast every season to indulge in clam-bakes and mussel-roasts.
1935 R. E. Mitchell America v. 207 A less evanescent and cloying joy is a steak roast. Get some Americans to take you to one.
1976 R. Massey When I was Young ix. 75 The sole activity of the club, which was limited to ten members, was the holding of ‘bean feasts’ and ‘weenie roasts’.
2006 Maryland Gaz. (Nexis) 14 Jan. c2 The bull roast will begin at 8 p.m. Reservations are required.
Phrases
ΚΠ
?1406 T. Hoccleve La Mâle Règle l. 363 in E. P. Hammond Eng. Verse between Chaucer & Surrey (1927) 65/1 Thy rentes annuel, as thow wel woost, To scarse been greet costes to susteene; And in thy cofre, pardee, is cold roost.
?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. C.iv By chryste and yet for all your boste Thys relyke hath be shyten the roste.
c1550 D. Lindsay Trag. Cardinal 372 Of rycht religious men..Bot not to rebaldis new cum frome the roste.
1568 (a1508) W. Kennedy Flyting (Bannatyne) in Poems W. Dunbar (1998) I. 201 Ramowd rebald, thow fall doun att the roist, My laureat lettres at the and I lowis.
1576 G. Gascoigne Complaynt of Phylomene in Steele Glas sig. Q Oft times they buy the rost ful deare, It smelleth of the smoke.
1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) f. 250 v Though full oft wee made the Frenche men smell of the rost, Yet in the end wee gayne of fyght the fame.
1596 P. Colse Penelopes Complaint sig. B3v Wel let him heed amidst his ioy, Lest Menelaus marre his roast.
1620 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote ii. vii. 40 As soone goes the yong lambe to the roste, as the olde sheepe.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa ii. i. 121 Not caring who have the smoak, whilst they themselves run away with the roast.
1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester 17 Under the notion of being very merry with wine and good cheer, they will make him pay for the roast.
1753 G. Wollaston Life & Hist. Pilgrim 272 And faith, for my share of the roast, I wish no better sport than that my head mayn't ache.
1793 M. Pilkington Rosina I. vii. 43 We must..fix our prices..so you see, at long-run, it is the buyers that would pay for the roast.
1850 ‘I. Marvel’ Battle Summer 40 High hopes have been quickened; they who have promise of roast, with desert, will not dine on stews.
1878 E. C. G. Murray Round about France 94 The lawful master thereof dwindles into a subordinate position..and has to be content with his share of the roast.
P2.
a. to rule the roast: to have full sway or authority; to be master. Cf. to rule the roost at roost n.1 Phrases 2.In common use from c1500 onwards, but none of the early examples throw any light on the precise origin of the expression.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [verb (intransitive)]
to give (the) law (to)a1225
reignc1325
to rule the roastc1500
to bear (the) rooma1529
to have, bear, carry, strike the stroke1531
to bear (a or the) sway1549
to bear a (also the) rout1550
(to have) swing and sway1552
to rule the rout1570
master1656
carry1662
to lay down the law1762
to rule the roost1769
to carry (also hold) (big) guns1867
c1500 Debate Carpenter's Tools in Rev. Eng. Stud. (1987) 38 459 Whatsoeuer ȝe brage ore boste My mayster ȝet schall reule þe roste.
a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciiv Cra. Con. In fayth I rule moche of the rost. Clo. Col. Rule the roste ye thou woldest.
1559 T. Bryce in E. Farr Sel. Poetry Reign Elizabeth (1845) I. 175 When shall trew dealing rule the roste With those that bye and sell?
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande iii. f. 11v/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I These were Irishe Potentates, and before their discomfiture they ruled ye roste.
c1616 R. C. Certaine Poems in Times' Whistle (1871) 117 In cholerick bodies, fire doth govern moste; In sanguine, aire doth chiefly rule the rost.
1659 T. Pecke Parnassi Puerperium 46 He rules the Rost, by Night; She rules the Daies.
1681 Heraclitus Ridens 9 Aug. 2/1 The Whiggs shall not always Rule the Roast, nor the Custards and Venison Pasty's neither.
a1721 M. Prior Turtle & Sparrow (1723) 334 I never strove to rule the roast.
a1777 S. Foote Trip to Calais (1778) ii. 43 The ladies always rule the roast in this part of the world.
1821 W. Combe Third Tour Dr. Syntax xxxvi. 126 This is the toast, Which in this place must rule the roast.
1876 Good Words Nov. 788 The sensual appetite rules the roast, and proclaims its determination to be gratified at all costs.
1916 E. V. Lucas Vermilion Box 52 Here he is, just as knutty as though the Algies and Berties were still ruling the roast.
1974 Times 24 Apr. 12/1 White Hart Lane..where Spurs have ruled the roast in Uefa Cup ties for three years.
2003 A. Syed Democracy My Foot I. 367 It is these people who pack the party with bogus members and rule the roast.
b.
ruler of the roast n. now rare a person who has full sway or authority; a master.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > [noun] > those in authority > person in authority > person having full authority
ruler of the roast1563
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes f. 67 For Prynces and gouerners, you haue the Romaynes, the rulers of the rost (as they say).
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 67 b If you..will notwithstanding be accompted a ruler of the Roast in Divinitie.
1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue 79 Making himselfe, as it were, master and ruler of the roste.
1683 G. Morley Bp. Winchester's Vindic. xiv. 112 Mr. Baxter..seem'd to be the Dominus factotum, The Ruler of the Roast, in the business.
1707 E. Ward Wooden World Dissected 6 This Ruler of the Roast, has so little Christian Honesty.
1770 A. Brice Mobiad i. 4 Offal Mumpers boast Themselves so good as Rulers of the Roast.
1834 T. Hood Tylney Hall I. vii. 74 As she spoke, the unruly ruler of the roast deliberately relaxed her ruddy fingers.
1898 L. Villari tr. P. Villari Life & Times Machiavelli (new ed.) 35 The lowest men..became ‘rulers of the roast’.
1914 N. Newnham-Davis Gourmet's Guide to London ii. 6 Mr Davey, the polite, white-haired little ruler of the roast.
P3. †great boast and small roast and variants: boastful talk lacking in substance; also in proverbial phrases. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
?1536 R. Copland Hye Way to Spyttell Hous sig. Eii There is none wors Than is a proude herte and a beggers purs Grete boost and small roost.
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xi. sig. Div Great boste and smal roste, Maketh vnsauery mouthes.
1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. v. viii. 549 Here is muche a doo, and as some saie, greate boste, and smal roste: many wordes, little matter.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius iii. f. 335v But yet this great boast maketh but small roast, and serueth as litle to this present cause.
1601 N. Breton Wits Private Wealth (new ed.) sig. C3 Great boast and small roast, makes a colde Kitchin.
1653 H. Cogan tr. N. N. Scarlet Gown 84 To speak without passion, there was much boast, but little rost.
P4. †to cry roast: = to cry roast meat at roast meat n. Phrases 2. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1634 F. Lenton Innes of Court Anagrammatist sig. D To yourselfe, or others, when they boast Of dainty cates and afterwards cry roast.
1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 141 Can't you farewell but you must cry roast?
Compounds
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > loaf > [noun] > crust of loaf > bitter principle of
roast-bitter1856
1856 Orr's Circle Sci., Pract. Chem. 343 This peculiar bitter principle is called ‘roast-bitter’, or ‘Assamar’.
1856 Orr's Circle Sci., Pract. Chem. 344 The roast-bitter, produced by baking in the crust of bread, originates in all farinaceous food in the same way.
roast cook n. = roasting cook n. at roasting n. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1860 Times 11 Apr. (advt.) 14/6 Two sisters: one as thorough good Cook in an hotel, or roast Cook in a club-house; the other as Housemaid.
1922 J. McKinney & A. M. Simons Success through Vocational Guidance 241 Assistant to Roast Cook..three months.
2003 J. Pépin Apprentice 93 One can become a cook, but one has to be born a roast cook.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > mineral material > ore > [noun] > quantity prepared for roasting
roast-post1839
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1122 The heap..must be then well mixed, and formed into small bings, called roast-posts.
1859 J. A. Phillips Man. Metall. (ed. 3) 549 It is subsequently divided into small parcels, called roast-posts, each weighing from 4½ to 5 cwts.
roast stall n. Metallurgy (now rare) a roasting furnace consisting of adjacent compartments open at the front and usually roofless; cf. stall n.1 10.
ΚΠ
1886 School of Mines Q. 7 304 After cooling, the cover was stripped off,..and finished in rock roast-stalls 12 feet wide, 8 feet deep, and 8 feet high.
1920 W. H. Weed Mines Reg. XIV. 1804 There are 2 roast stalls near the shafts.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
roastadj.
/rəʊst/, U.S. /roʊst/ Roasted; prepared by roasting. See also roast beef n., roast meat n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > [adjective] > roasting, roasted, or roastable
roasteda1325
roast?a1400
bradc1400
roastable1570
roasting1650
rôti1757
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 175 (MED) Þe comon of þe oste bouht þam hors flesch, Or mules or assis roste.
a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 662 Caro assota, rost flesche.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 57 Þai broȝt him parte of a roste [a1500 Rawl. rostid] fisch and a hony cambe.
1510 in Archæol. Jrnl. (1886) 43 172 The secund covrse. Creme off almonds, Rost coney, plouers.
1528 T. Paynell tr. Arnaldus de Villa Nova in Joannes de Mediolano Regimen Sanitatis Salerni sig. Liiij The fyrst is sage. Wherwith we maye make sauce for a goose roste or sodde.
1622 Relation Eng. Plantation Plimoth, New Eng. 47 They..fell to eating a fresh, and retayned sufficient readie rost for all our break-fasts.
1673 Gentlewomans Compan. 153 Make thin sops of Bread, then lay the roast Chicken on them, and serve them up.
1706 tr. E. Y. Ides Three Years Trav. Moscow to China ix. 68 The Table was covered with cold Meats, as Roast Geese, Chickens, Pork and Mutton.
1781 L. MacNally Sentimental Excursions 96 You may have venison, fowls, ducks, roast leg of lamb, pigeon-pie, mackarel, &c. &c.
a1822 P. B. Shelley Cyclops in Posthumous Poems (1824) 343 Feasting on a roast calf.
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. iii. 39 ‘I could fancy a Welsh rabbit for supper’. ‘So could I—with a roast onion.’
1924 M. Monmarche Morocco 48 As a set off to this menu..the tribes eat slices of mutton, on skewers, roast mutton, meshu, and cuscus, seksu.
1998 N. Lawson How to Eat (1999) 296 A fine Sunday lunch was roast chicken as it always used to be done, with..roast potatoes and sausages and honey-roast parsnips.
Compounds
roast dinner n. British a meal of roast meat, typically served with vegetables, gravy, and other accompaniments; cf. Sunday roast n. at Sunday n. and adv. Compounds 2.
ΚΠ
1834 E. Copley Housekeeper's Guide ii. 22 In many families either Yorkshire pudding or potatoes browned under the meat, accompany almost every roast dinner.
1974 Times 18 May 12/4 For 40p you queue up for a complete ‘roast dinner’ of good, tender ham and beef freshly sliced from the joint, with gravy, roast or mashed potatoes and vegetables.
2008 Guardian 28 Apr. (G2 section) 3/4 Time was when the weekend spelled..a stroll through the countryside and then a couple of pints of warm ale and a roast dinner. Alas no more.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
roastv.
/rəʊst/, U.S. /roʊst/α. Middle English rostted, late Middle English rostoid.
β. late Middle English roste.
Also past participleα. late Middle English rotid (transmission error).
β. Middle English irost, Middle English iroste, Middle English rooste, Middle English–1500s roste, Middle English–1600s rost, late Middle English rosste, 1500s roost, 1500s– roast.
γ. late Middle English rosten (northern); Scottish (chiefly northern) pre-1700 1800s rosten, pre-1700 1900s– rossin, pre-1700 1900s– rostin, 1700s roasten, 1800s rossn, 1800s– roassen, 1800s– rossen, 1900s– roasen, 1900s– rosn.
1.
a. transitive. To cook (food, esp. meat) by prolonged exposure to heat at or before a fire or similar source of radiant heat. Also intransitive.In early use applied to the method of cooking meat over an open fire, typically on a spit. Later also used of cooking in an enclosed oven, typically with the use of fat; cf. bake v. 1a.figurative in quot. a1616 with a pun on goose n. 5a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > cook [verb (transitive)] > roast
bredea1000
roastc1300
rothelc1400
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > undergo cooking [verb (intransitive)] > undergo roasting > perform roasting
roastc1300
rotisse1958
c1300 Childhood Jesus (Laud) l. 181 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1875) 1st Ser. 8 (MED) Josep maude al so gret feste, More him likede þat ilke giste Þane ani flechs i-sode oþur i-rost.
?c1335 (a1300) Land of Cokaygne 102 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 147 Þe Gees irostid on þe spitte Fleeȝ to þat abbai..And grediþ, ‘gees, al hote, al hot’.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 165 Whan þe flesche is aweye..sode and nouȝt i-rosted.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 383 A Cook..koude rooste [c1415 Corpus Oxf. rost] and seethe and broille & frye Maken Mortreux and wel bake a pye.
c1425 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Harl.:Wright) l. 4920 + 112 (MED) Þe kyng he broȝte yt wel yrosted [c1400 BL Add. i roste] vor veneson newe.
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 12342 (MED) By a mykel fir he sat, Rostyng a swyn gret & fat.
a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 16 Do opon a broche, rost hom bydene A lytel.
a1500 (a1450) tr. Secreta Secret. (Ashm. 396) (1977) 62 (MED) Yf any such flessh be rosted, ete it hote and sone, and specially whan any spices is rosted with them.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 694/1 I wyll roste my pygges or ever I spytte my capons.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xxv That day of an auncient custome there is roosted a whole Oxe.
1597 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1841) I. 143 Thow..tuik out thrie grippis out of the middist of the said schulder [of mutton] and causit rost the same.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iii. 14 Come in Taylor, here you may rost your Goose. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 124 Nor [do thou] rost red Crabs t'offend the niceness of their Nose. View more context for this quotation
1727 P. Longueville Hermit 9 Another Fireplace, made of three Stones fit to roast at.
1788 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall V. l. 189 Forty camels were roasted at his hospitable feasts.
1853 A. Soyer Pantropheon 124 These goats were roasted and..it was decided that this dish was very tolerable.
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. x. 230 When they are once roasted, it can make no difference who eats them.
1922 L. Burbank in C. Mac Sheridan Stag Cook Bk. xcvi. 184 The turkey should be placed in an oven not too hot, and slowly roasted an hour or more.
1985 Vegetarian Times June 24/1 You can roast the potatoes and garlic together in a large baking pan.
2008 D. Waltuck & A. Friedman Chanterelle 180 If you don't want to roast a whole chicken, you can buy and roast bone-in thigh and breast pieces.
b. intransitive. Of food: to be cooked by roasting.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > cooking > undergo cooking [verb (intransitive)] > undergo roasting
roasta1350
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 11 (MED) We shule flo þe Conyng, & make roste is loyne.
1381 Diuersa Servicia in C. B. Hieatt & S. Butler Curye on Inglysch (1985) 74 Do it on a broche of hasel & do hem to þe fere to roste.
a1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 15 (MED) Putte it on a Spete round an lete hem rosty.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Acosta Nat. & Morall Hist. Indies ii. vii. 98 When the fire is moderate, and the meat in an equall distance, we see that it rostes hansomely.
1723 J. Nott Cook's & Confectioner's Dict. sig. Mm5 In the mean time let the Turkey be roasting.
1776 L. Wood tr. Cases Med., Chirurg., & Anat. xlvi. 344 There were some apples roasting at the fire.
1833 H. Martineau Briery Creek in Illustr. Polit. Econ. (1834) VIII. 32 The whole apparatus of festivity: the pig roasting in the shade, and the bustle of women.
1896 Teachers' Inst. May 230/2 The children sat and told or listened to stories while apples roasted in the fire before them.
1908 Condor 10 71 The indians..leave the bird to roast with the skin on.
1965 M. Sheraton German Cookbk. vii. 180 Since this pig will not be stuffed, it will sink in slightly as it roasts.
2002 R. Sterling et al. World Food: Greece 121 It will be..trussed and placed in the communal oven to roast.
c. transitive. To expose (coffee beans) to heat in order to prepare for grinding.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > coffee manufacture > [verb (transitive)] > roast beans
roast1718
1718 tr. L. d'Arvieux Trav. Arabia 205 They presently roast the Berries in a Frying-Pan..and in this manner they drink their coffee.
1724 Abstract Act in London Gaz. No. 6270/9 Dealers..in Coffee may..Roast their Berries at such Roasting-Houses.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Coffee The ordinary Method of roasting Coffee among us, is in a Tin cylindrical Box, full of Holes... The Spit turns Swift, and so roasts.
1837 Penny Cycl. VII. 322/2 Much more depends upon the manner of roasting and making the coffee, than upon the quality of the bean.
1855 J. W. Croker in Croker Papers (1884) III. 327 The men-of-war..could have in a week roasted and ground coffee enough to have served the army for a year.
1922 W. H. Ukers All about Coffee xxxvi. 709/2 The best practise was to roast the coffee in an iron cylinder that stood before the hearth fire.
1940 W. Cather Sapphira & Slave Girl vii. i. 215 Their mother was preparing to roast coffee beans in the oven.
2001 B. Geddes World Food: Caribbean 100 If you're hunting the perfect brew why not go one step further and roast the beans yourself?
2. † c. transitive. Chiefly Scottish. To damage or destroy (an effigy) by fire, as part of a magical ritual intended to bring harm to the person represented. Also: to perform such a ritual on an effigy of (a person). Obsolete.
a. transitive. To torture or kill (a person or animal) by burning.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > torture > [verb (transitive)] > roast or torture by fire
roastc1300
frya1382
c1300 St. Christopher (Laud) l. 199 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 277 (MED) Þe king het a-non þat Men him scholden op-on a strong gredile do, And with strong fuyr and pich rosti him.
c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) l. 269 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 208 (MED) In þulke felde he seiȝ..Some [souls] op-on grediles of Ire i-rostede [a1325 Corpus Cambr. yrosted] weren also.
c1450 J. Capgrave Solace of Pilgrims (Bodl. 423) (1911) 17 (MED) The paleys called olympiadis was in þat place whech seynt laurence was rostid.
c1480 (a1400) St. Lawrence 484 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 416 Þai..ware forwondryt þane, þat he gert sa rost a quyk man.
a1500 in N. Davis Non-Cycle Plays & Fragm. (1970) 120 (MED) Yff there be any ffrensche [read fresche] gedling..By þe berd I schall hym schake..And rost hym ouer a glede.
a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 204 He that rostit Lawarance had thy grunȝe.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Jer. xxix. 22 Sedechias & Achab, whom the kinge of Babilon rosted in the fyre.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) v. ii. 286 Blow me about in winds, roast me in sulphure, Wash me in steepe downe gulphes of liquid fire.
1654 S. Clarke Marrow Eccl. Hist. (ed. 2) 12 Sisinius was exceedingly incensed, commanding..a gentle fire to be made under him to roast him.
1704 Boston News-let. 1 May 2/1 They would have him by and by, and roast him, and she should see it.
1782 W. Cowper Conversation in Poems 229 You stir the fire and strive To make a blaze—that's roasting him alive.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xviii. 166 There is the learned Dr. Griddle, who suffered in Henry VIII.'s time, and Archbishop Bush who roasted him.
1899 Westmorland Gaz. Dec. 6/3 They carried the wretched negro to the outskirts of the town,..and then roasted him to death.
1930 J. Dos Passos 42nd Parallel 313 They roasted a feller..on a slow fire and raped his wife.
1992 P. Glazebrook Journey to Khiva (1996) 262 He had pushed the man into the furnace of a ferryboat to roast him alive.
b. intransitive. Of a person or animal: to be tortured or killed by burning.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > torture > [verb (intransitive)] > undergo roasting
roastc1300
c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) l. 374 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 12 (MED) Op one gredire he leide him..ouer a gret fuyr and strong, To rosti ase men doth fersch flesch.
c1440 (?a1400) Sir Perceval (1930) l. 794 He..Keste hym reghte in the fyre..þen said Percyuell on bost, ‘Ly still þerin now and roste!’
a1500 De Passione in Laudate (1935) 13 38 (MED) Seynt Laurence..rosted on the gredyren.
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell sig. E3v By..all the dedely namys Of infernalll [sic] posty where soulis fry and rosty.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Tiiii And so sayd saint Laurence whan he laye rostyng on the hyren crate.
1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 464 Rosted in wrath and fire,..With eyes like Carbunkles, the hellish Phirrhus Old grandsire Priam seekes. View more context for this quotation
1768 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued II. iii. 411 When roasting in Phalaris's bull,..the pain would instantly vanish.
1830 Sentinel 26 June 297 Plunged into the bowels of tophet; there..to roast in the flames of divine wrath forever.
1851 A. Swanwick tr. J. W. von Goethe Goetz von Berlichingen in tr. Dramatic Wks. 486 Set fire! Let him roast in the flames!
1875 H. H. Bancroft Native Races Pacific States III. xi. 482 While the victims were roasting alive, their friends joined in a dance.
1921 W. M. Raine Gunsight Pass xxxix. 286 ‘You're gonna leave us to roast,’ a man accused, in a voice that was half a scream.
1969 L. Powys Earth Memories xiv. 115 They are about to see..how a black cat will act as it roasts alive.
2002 D. Bindman in M. Eaves Cambr. Compan. William Blake (2003) v. 106 The nine circles of Hell, in which the victims roast, bake, freeze, and flounder.
ΚΠ
a1525 Brevis Cronica in D. Laing Andrew of Wyntoun's Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (1879) III. 329 He was troublet als be incantatioun of wytches, quhilk roistit him in walx, and hade greit infirmite thairthrow.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 287 Ane Witch they fand, rosting at the fyre..ye kingis image artificiallie wrochte in wax.
1662 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) III. 605 We laid the face of it [sc. a clay image of a child] to the fyre, till it strakned..we wold rost it now and then; each other day ther wold be an peice of it weill rosten.
1665 W. Drage Daimonomageia 14 His enemy set Witches to hurt him; they made his Image of Wax, and did roast it on a Spit; and as that began to melt, so the King melted.
3.
a. transitive (reflexive). To warm oneself or one's limbs at a fire or similar heat source.
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)] > to genial warmth > at a very hot fire
roastc1400
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. x. 144 To sitten at euen by þe hote coles..Reste hym, and roste hym, and his ryg turne.
1589 R. Hakluyt tr. C. Adams in Princ. Navigations ii. 287 And so sitteth downe by his fire, and vpon the harde grounde, rosteth as it were his weary sides thus daintily stuffed.
a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 225 I pray an' ponder butt the house, My shins, my lane, I there sit roastin.
1852 E. Sullivan Rambles & Scrambles viii. 152 We went to the trader's hut..and smoked and sat and roasted ourselves in a perfect state of enjoyment.
1889 R. D. Blackmore Kit & Kitty xxiii. 75/2 They keep her where the water jugs burst, and the ice is on the pillow, while they roast themselves by a roaring fire.
1965 G. Jones Island of Apples ii. iii. 81 What I liked best was lighting a huge fire after dark in our camp and roasting ourselves around it.
1992 J. Haight & A. Mahler tr. R. Antelme Human Race 100 Our eyes are fastened on the stove. We roast ourselves by it.
b. intransitive. To become extremely hot, esp. by exposure to the sun. Also transitive: to make uncomfortably hot.
ΚΠ
1652 T. Elsliot True Mariner 13 The Iranaick Islands, where..they may have most pleasant waters, and varieties, or fruits to refresh their parched and wearied bodies, rosted in their voyage so neer the torrid Zone.
1719 G. London & H. Wise J. de la Quintinie's Compl. Gard'ner (ed. 7) 279 Care must be taken to water all your Plants largely, or else they will roast and scorch.
1824 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 661/2 I tried my chariot open, and then I was roasted. I closed it, and then I was baked.
1864 W. H. Brewer Let. 14 June in Up & down Calif. (2003) 513 That night was intensely hot, and we roasted in the hot beds of the hotel.
1896 Harvard Graduates' Mag. Mar. 412 Enthusiastic audiences filled every seat, step, and all the standing-room..while some enthusiasts roasted on the steam heaters.
1920 E. G. O'Neill Gold iv. 109 We was roasted by the sun and nigh mad with thirst.
1990 C. Cussler Deep Six xl. 234 The morning sun roasted the capital city.
2000 R. Whitlow List (2004) v. 59 Most folks from the North come in spring to escape the cold, not in summer to roast in the heat.
4. transitive. Chiefly Metallurgy and Chemistry. To subject (an ore or similar substance) to strong heat in a furnace, in order to remove impurities or volatile components or produce other desired changes; to calcine. Also: to sterilize (soil) by subjecting it to fire or intense heat.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > extract from ore > other processes
roast1582
excoct1601
torrefy1686
chloridize1870
chlorinate1875
flash-roast1951
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > burn or be on fire [verb (intransitive)] > burn away or to ashes
out-burna1382
consumec1425
torrefy1615
incinerate1800
roast1839
calcine1855
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (intransitive)] > method of extracting metal from ore
roast1877
1582 in Trans. Jewish Hist. Soc. Eng. (1903) 4 94 After he hath rosted and smolten iij or iiij saies of our copper ure.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo ii. ii. 266 I haue seene good Ore in diuers places, which must be roasted to destroy the Antimonie, Arsenicke, and other corruptions which are in it.
1683 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 13 192 Flinty and Horn stony Gold Oars are first to be Roasted and suddenly Quenched to make the Oar run together, and the Flint brittle.
1741 tr. J. A. Cramer Elements Art of assaying Metals 189 Bodies refractory in the Fire, are more easily roasted.
1811 A. T. Thomson London Dispensatory iii. 471 Roast the sulphate, that it may be the more easily reduced to a very fine powder.
1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall 595 (note) The process..is to take 400 grains..and place it in a crucible to roast in an air-furnace.
1849 Paxton's Mag. Bot. 16 157/1 It is well to roast the soil employed, in order to kill the germs of any other plants that may be contained in it.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 402 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Clay roasted with lime gave..about twice as much potash..as that roasted without lime.
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 445 I have had no difficulty in teaching men how to roast.
1898 P. Manson Trop. Dis. xxxv. 549 The soil had better be turned over with the plough, or roasted with grass fires.
1938 R. Hum Chem. for Engin. Students xxviii. 793 The ‘matte’..is crushed and roasted in a furnace, of the reverberatory type, to reduce the amount of sulphur.
1991 Artist Nov. 15/2 Cadmium is made by roasting cadmium oxide with sulphur to make cadmium sulphide.
5. † a. transitive. slang. To arrest (a person). Obsolete. rare.Apparently only attested in dictionaries or glossaries.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > administration of justice > general proceedings > arrest > [verb (transitive)]
at-holda1230
attacha1325
resta1325
takec1330
arrest1393
restay?a1400
tachec1400
seisinc1425
to take upa1438
stowc1450
seize1471
to lay (also set, clap, etc.) (a person) by the heels?1515
deprehend1532
apprehend1548
nipa1566
upsnatcha1566
finger1572
to make stay of1572
embarge1585
cap1590
reprehend1598
prehenda1605
embar1647
nap1665
nab1686
bone1699
roast1699
do1784
touch1785
pinch1789
to pull up1799
grab1800
nick1806
pull1811
hobble1819
nail1823
nipper1823
bag1824
lag1847
tap1859
snaffle1860
to put the collar on1865
copper1872
to take in1878
lumber1882
to pick up1887
to pull in1893
lift1923
drag1924
to knock off1926
to put the sleeve on1930
bust1940
pop1960
vamp1970
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Roasted, arrested. I'll Roast the Dab, I will Arrest the Rascal. [Also in later dictionaries.]
b. transitive. colloquial. To severely ridicule, reprimand, or interrogate (a person); to criticize or denounce. Also (Scottish (central)): to pester, annoy.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > banter or good-humoured ridicule > banter [verb (transitive)] > banter mercilessly
roast1710
to run one's rig upon1735
rot1890
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > criticism > criticize [verb (transitive)] > severely
to be sharp upon1561
crossbite1571
scarify1582
canvass1590
maul1592
slasha1652
fib1665
to be severe on (or upon)1672
scalp1676
to pull to (or in) pieces1703
roast1710
to cut up1762
tomahawk1815
to blow sky-high1819
row1826
excoriate1833
scourge1835
target1837
slate1848
scathe1852
to take apart1880
soak1892
pan1908
burn1914
slam1916
sandbag1919
to put the blast on (someone)1929
to tear down1938
clobber1944
handbag1952
rip1961
monster1976
1710 Let. to Noble Lord occasion'd by Proc. against Dr. Henry Sacheverell 16 As for Dr. Sacheverell, nothing will serve some of 'em but Roasting him; using the Expression of a Furious Zealot against him, who is since Dead.
1782 E. Blower George Bateman II. 130 The Deputy and I shall roast Mr. Skipslick.
1827 D. Johnson Sketches Indian Field Sports (ed. 2) 168 On our return to dinner,..it may be easily supposed, the Beau was well roasted.
1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvi. ix. 384 He thrice..ran away from the King, feeling bantered and roasted to a merciless degree.
1920 P. G. Wodehouse Jill the Reckless xviii. 329 I've an idea..that the critics will roast it.
1998 A. Blair Gem (SCOTS) At St. Micks Ma Wills, Miss Cross and Patsy Young, we roasted wi' wir tricks. Then Tony Zavaroni too.
2006 S. Duncombe & A. Mattson Bobbed Haired Bandit i. 5 With each false clue and every fruitless roundup, the press roasted the police and their political bosses.
c. transitive. colloquial (now chiefly Journalism). To perform faster or better than; to comprehensively outclass or outplay.
ΚΠ
1888 Pall Mall Gaz. 24 Feb. 2/1 There are few among the thousand experts that he employs that can ‘roast’ him, as they call it—that is, click off a message too fast for him to follow it.
1971 Times 10 Nov. 10/1 Odermatt and Blaettler dominated and roasted England for a full half hour to stand level at 2-2.
2004 N.Y. Post (Nexis) 17 Aug. 89 In 1992, another winning streak began when the Original Dream Team roasted the rest of the world.
d. transitive. Chiefly North American. To subject to good-natured ridicule or banter; cf. roast n. 4.
ΚΠ
1973 Ogden (Utah) Standard-Examiner 10 June (Family Weekly Suppl.) 4/5 When I roasted him at one dinner he reminded me joyfully of other nights when he was the poor unsuspecting guest.
1977 Times 28 Oct. 8/5 During the evening the Prince was ‘roasted’ by Martin—a friendly American custom of insulting a person as a sign of favour.
2001 N.Y. Times Mag. 16 Dec. 63/1 The running theme in the jokes told by the people who roasted him was that Schumer, an inveterate presshound who is easily best in breed, would be driven crazy by the ever-present scrum of reporters.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2010; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1330
adj.?a1400v.c1300