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单词 better
释义

bettern.2

Brit. /ˈbɛtə/, U.S. /ˈbɛdər/
Origin: Formed within English, by derivation. Etymons: bet v., -er suffix1.
Etymology: < bet v. + -er suffix1. Compare earlier bettor n.1
A person who places bets. Cf. bettor n.1
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > betting > [noun] > better
bettor1584
gripe1591
better1614
staker1648
wagerer1660
sporting man1742
betting-man1819
fielder1844
investor1850
backer1853
punter1860
layer1871
accumulator1889
1614 in W. Rendle Old Southwark (1878) 260 Players for money or betters are to be punished and expulsed.
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne i. i, in Wks. I. 531 Able to giue 'hem the character of euery bowler, or better [1640 bettor] o' the greene. View more context for this quotation
1628 J. Earle Micro-cosmogr. xliii. sig. H3 The Betters are the factious noise of the Alley, or the gamsters beadsmen that pray for them.
1759 Monthly Rev. June 563 Specimen of a Miscellany for the Beau-monde..addressed to the whole tribe, honourable and dishonourable, of jockies, sharpers, gamesters, betters, gamblers, gapers, yawners, pick-pockets &c.
1816 Sporting Mag. 48 181 The heavy betters began to quake at this change of things.
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 182 Like the honourable betters inside, and the thievish touts outside.
1904 Friend 4 Sept. 59/3 Lest we felicitate ourselves with the thought that we are no such betters and gamblers as are the people of Britain, let us look very briefly at the facts.
1983 P. Gzowski Unbroken Line i. 39 The remaining two horses posed different problems for the betters.
2011 S. Reynolds tr. ‘F. Vargas’ Uncertain Place (2012) 63 My father used to be a heavy better at one time.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

betteradj.n.1adv.

Brit. /ˈbɛtə/, U.S. /ˈbɛdər/
Forms:

α. Old English bætera (rare), Old English betera, Old English beterum (dative singular masculine), Old English betra, Old English bettra (rare), Old English betyr- (inflected form, rare), Old English (rare)–Middle English betere, Old English (rare)–Middle English betre, late Old English bætr- (inflected form), late Old English better- (inflected form), early Middle English bætere, early Middle English bera (transmission error), early Middle English beteræ, Middle English beter, Middle English bether, Middle English betir, Middle English betore, Middle English bettar, Middle English bettere, Middle English bettir, Middle English bettor, Middle English bettur, Middle English bettyr, Middle English betur, Middle English betyr, Middle English byttir, Middle English–1500s bettre, Middle English– better; Scottish pre-1700 betir, pre-1700 bettir, pre-1700 bettire, pre-1700 bettre, pre-1700 bettyr, pre-1700 bettyre, pre-1700 betyr, pre-1700 betyre, pre-1700 byter, pre-1700 bytter, pre-1700 1700s– better.

β. late Middle English bettyrer, 1500s (in print of lost Middle English MS) 1800s– (nonstandard) betterer.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian betera , betra , Old Dutch betiro (Middle Dutch beter , Dutch beter ), Old Saxon betara (Middle Low German bēter ), Old High German bezziro , beziro (Middle High German bezzer , German besser ), Old Icelandic betri , Swedish bättre , Danish bedre , Gothic batiza < a suffixed form (comparative: compare -er suffix3 1) of the Germanic base seen also in bet adv.1, adj., and n.1, best adj., and (with different ablaut grade) in boot n.1 and beet v.; further etymology unknown.History in Germanic. Used as the suppletive comparative form of good adj. in all the Germanic languages, with best adj. serving as the corresponding superlative and bet adv.1 as the comparative adverbial form, both < the same base as the present word (see further discussion at good adj. and well adv.). No positive adjective from this base survives in the Germanic languages, although it has been suggested that it may be shown by the personal names Gothic Batwin , Old High German Pazzwin , interpreted as ‘good friend’ (compare wine n.2), and by Old High German Bazzulf (compare wolf n.). Form history. Like other Old English comparative forms, the adjective is usually declined weak (nominative singular masculine betera ); a strong dative singular masculine form beterum is found in two isolated occurrences. Like Old English bet bet adv.1, the stem vowel of the word shows i-mutation, caused by the i of the original variant of the comparative suffix (compare discussion at -er suffix3). The short unstressed vowel of the suffix in Old English betera was frequently syncopated before the following r (betra ), and the t of the resulting consonant group tr was frequently geminated (bettra ). This geminate was usually preserved when the vowel before r was analogically reintroduced or subsequently developed in word-final position, as in Middle English better. The β. forms show (double) suffixation of the α. forms with -er suffix3; compare bestest adj. Possible early use as adverb. In Old English the regular form of the adverb was bet bet adv.1 (compare discussion at that entry). Use of the originally adjectival form (with comparative suffix) as adverb apparently developed in early Middle English (see sense C.). The following example has sometimes been interpreted as showing earlier currency of such adverbial use; however, it is perhaps more likely to show a rare use of the adjective as object complement (compare wend v.1 3a):?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 He makede manie munekes & plantede winiærd & makede mani weorkes & wende þe tun betere þan it ær wæs. Compare also the following renderings of Latin melius habere to be better, to recover (where melius is the comparative of bene well); Old English þæt betre should probably be taken as use as noun in sense ‘improvement in health’, whereas quot. c1384 perhaps shows the adverb. (Compare later use of the adjective in sense A. 7.)OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John iv. 52 Interrogabat ergo horam ab eis in qua melius habuerit : gefrægn..forðon ða tid from ðæm in huelce þæt betre hæfde [OE Rushw. in hwelce uel betre; 1611 King James began to amend.] ▸ c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) John iv. 52 He axide of hem the our, in whiche he hadde betere [c1400 Royal had him betere; a1425 L.V. was amendid; L. melius habuerit].
A. adj. The comparative of good adj. or well adj.
1. Of greater excellence; of superior character or quality.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > specifically of a thing
betterOE
better-than-average1725
better-quality1844
better-class1849
better-type1928
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 172 Ic hæbbe oðerne lufiend, þinne ungelican on æðelborennysse, seðe me bead bæteran frætegunga.
OE Will of Wynflæd (Sawyer 1539) in D. Whitelock Anglo-Saxon Wills (1930) 10 Hio becwiþ into cyrcan..hyre beteran ofringsceat & hyre rode.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 15409 Þin forrme win iss swiþe god, Þin lattre win iss bettre.
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 244 Ich bihate..to ȝeouen ham stude & betere nome þen sunen & dehtren.
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) l. 567 (MED) Tak nu her þis goldring..Þer nis non betere anonder sunne.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 15 (MED) Euere þe þickere þe felde is i-marled, þe better corn it wil bere.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2363 Ȝee sal weind til a better land.
1485 W. Caxton tr. Paris & Vienne (1957) 28 Yf the sayd Iewellys were better the half than they be.
a1555 N. Ridley Wks. (1841) 130 Oftentimes the greater part overcometh the better.
1583 R. Greene Mamillia i. f. 12 The grasse looketh better being vncut, then that which withereth with the sieth.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues A bon iour bon œuvre..as we say, the better day the better work.
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion viii. 19 If there be in my Kitchin any thing better than other..this Gallant wil hang a nose after it.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 9 Coaches fill'd with People of the better Sort.
1756 Connoisseur 124. 103 ⁋6 I am never allowed to eat from any thing better than a Delft plate.
1823 Ld. Byron Island iii. ii. 49 Their better feelings, if such were, were thrown Back on themselves.
1826 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor (ed. 2) IV. xix. 85 The poor woman had been accustomed to what is called better life.
1878 J. R. Seeley Life & Times Stein III. 565 Conceiting himself to be made of better clay than other men.
1933 Albuquerque (New Mexico) Jrnl. 12 July 6/2 What we need is a better atom smasher.
1973 Publishers Weekly 3 Sept. 50/2 Son of upwardly mobile parents, his youth has been a series of movings—from apartment to ever better apartment.
1996 Observer 29 Dec. (Life Suppl.) 22/2 A soup of Brussels sprouts can be much better than it sounds.
2007 Atlantic Monthly Dec. 110/3 Schlesinger might have written not just more books but better ones.
2. Of a person: superior, esp. in respect of moral qualities; more accomplished in a particular sphere or activity. Also: of a higher rank or social standing.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective]
bettereOE
selerOE
betc1175
greaterc1325
unmeeta1393
masculinec1425
above one's matchc1500
superior?c1550
uppera1586
precedent1598
supereminent1599
empyreal1641
prerogative1646
paramount1654
subalternating1671
racy1675
ranking1847
plus1860
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. ix. 103 Þæt wæs swiðe sweotol þæt hie þa wæron beteran þegnas þonne hie nu sien.
OE Cynewulf Juliana 100 Wiðsæcest þu to swiþe..þinum brydguman, se is betra þonne þu, æþelra for eorþan, æhtspedigra feohgestreona.
lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) ii. 61 Honorius is swiðe god, þeah [h]is feder betere were; he wes swiðe æfest and swiðe rædfast.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2827 Bettre arrt tu þann ure preost.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6381 Nat ich nenne betere cnihte. ne nat ich a wærulde-riche cniht his iliche.
a1350 in G. L. Brook Harley Lyrics (1968) 49 A betere burde neuer nes yheryed wiþ þe heste.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings ii. 32 He sloowȝ two riȝtwijs men betere þan hym selue.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 648 He [sc. the Somonour] was a gentil harlot and a kynde A bettre felawe sholde men noght fynde.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 138 Þe more þat an herd is lyke to Crist, he is þe beter..in þis office.
1479 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 619 That my lord of Ely is and shalbe bettyr lord to me then he hathe shewyd as yet.
a1500 Sir Orfeo (Harl.) l. 40 (MED) Þer noþing was A better harper in no plas.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 v. iv. 103 I could haue better sparde a better man. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) i. i. 144 I must goe send some better Messenger. View more context for this quotation
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. i. iii. 38 Fat men, as the Northerne, are better men then those who are leane, as the Southerne men be.
1749 Lady Bradshaigh Let. in S. Richardson Corr. (1804) IV. 274 I am a ‘better woman than I was a girl’. So is every good woman.
1820 Plough Boy (Albany, N.Y.) 30 Dec. 243/3 Here are all our girls..; and though I say it, six better girls cannot be produced in the county.
1867 J. McCarthy Waterdale Neighbours II. x. 264 Might he not grow tired of her, and find her dull, and wish he had married someone better?
1938 R. Wright Lawd Today! i. vi, in Wks. (1991) I. 55 He thinks he's better than anybody else just 'cause he's yellow.
1955 Life 4 July 79/2 There are people..who do feel that making money is rather ungentlemanly, something that isn't done in the better circles.
1977 P. Larkin Let. 31 May in Sel. Lett. (1992) 567 I couldn't ask for a better bibliographer.
1993 Jet 26 July 23/2 I'm really sorry. I know what I did was wrong. In the future, I will try to be a better person.
3. More beneficial or advantageous for the object in view; more appropriate, advisable, or desirable.
a. In predicative use. With it as non-referential subject or preceding an impersonal copular verb (chiefly is) and with infinitive or that-clause as complement.The copular verb may be ellipted, in which use better comes close to being an adverb.Frequently in proverbial phrases: see Phrases 15b.
ΚΠ
eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) (2009) I. xxvii. 513 Hit is betere þæt mon wrege þone scyldigan.
OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 39 Betere we ahreddon us sylfe of ðissere burhware gehlyde.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 49 Betre hit is þet mon ne iknawe noht þe wei.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2665 Betere is þat we leosen leoue oure children. þanne we nimen swulne ræd.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 277 (MED) Betere hit is to by-leoue wel and somdel do amys Þan fforsake god al out.
1545 R. Ascham Toxophilus ii. f. 13 It is better to haue a shafte..somewhat to lyght, than ouer lumpysshe.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 410/1 in Chron. I King James..thought it better to returne with assured gaine, than to tarie this newe sprong Dukes doubtfull and vncertaine victorie.
1587 R. Holinshed et al. Hist. Scotl. (new ed.) 267/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II I will here (being better late than neuer) set downe this.
1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo 161 It is better to suffer a mischiefe than an inconuenience.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost i. 263 Better to reign in Hell, then serve in Heav'n. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden To my Kinsman J. Driden in Fables 97 Better to hunt in Fields, for Health unbought, Than fee the Doctor for a nauseous Draught.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 91 It is better that the whole should be imperfectly and anomalously answered, than [etc.].
1820 J. Keats Isabella in Lamia & Other Poems 54 Better had it been for ever so.
1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. I. iii. 44 Better be a little too strict than a little too easy.
1878 H. J. Byron Partners for Life ii. 17 Never mind, sir. Better be an old man's darling, than a young man's slave.
1933 Radio Times 14 Apr. 125/1 Cheap distempers very soon crack or fade. Better be safe than sorry. Ask for Hall's.
1978 J. Carroll Mortal Friends i. iv. 46 It's better you not know.
1994 Equinox Jan. 76/1 ‘Better wear shune than sheets,’ runs a Scottish proverb. Better be healthy and use up shoe leather than lie abed.
b. As complement to or modifying a noun phrase.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > [adjective] > more
bettereOE
betOE
eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. ii. 34 Wyl þa wyrta ealle on wætere, meoluc biþ betere.
?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 41 Þe spæudrenc ys god ær mete and be [t] ra æfter mete.
c1300 St. Edmund Rich (Laud) 564 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 447 (MED) For-to soiorni elles-ȝware, þare betere eir to him were.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7563 So þat after betere wind hii moste þere at stonde.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. Prol. l. 195 (MED) Better is a litel losse þan a longe sorwe.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 73 (MED) No tyme ys bettir to latyng of blood..lousynge of wombe, vse of bathynge and swetynge.
c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 762 A great bolle-ful of benen were betere in his wombe.
1614 S. Latham Falconry ii. xxxvii. 136 There is not a more better thing for any new swelling.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. i. 131 Oh excellent deuise, was there euer heard a better?
1705 S. Whately in W. S. Perry Hist. Coll. Amer. Colonial Church: Virginia (1870) I. 172 I know no better way of answering bombast, than by banter.
1794 R. Peters Let. 23 July in G. Washington Papers (2011) Presidential Ser. XVI. 424 Salted Straw is better for rough Cattle than coarse Hay without Salt.
1818 W. Henry Elements Exper. Chem. (ed. 8) II. ii. i. 425 As of both these we have much better indicators, I do not enlarge on its application to this purpose.
1877 C. Tait Jrnl. Aug. in W. Benham Catharine & Craufurd Tait (1879) ii. 555 This is better both for the class of tippers and tipped than our system.
1922 H. A. Franck Working North from Patagonia 352 Here one may have..iced milk of green coconut, than which there is no better way of quenching tropical thirst.
1963 Guardian 30 Mar. 4/7 Perhaps ‘abductive’ would be a better word for the quality that was missing.
2000 Big Issue 20 Mar. 18/1 The widespread belief that organic farming is better for the environment.
4. In predicative use, in certain idiomatic constructions. Cf. best adj. 4.
a. Expressing what it would be more appropriate, advisable, or desirable for a specified person to do.
†(a) With an impersonal copular verb (is, was, were (subjunctive), etc.), a noun or personal pronoun in the objective case (originally the dative) (also †with to), and a complementary clause (esp. with infinitive); e.g. him were better (to) go, him were better (be) dead. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
OE Blickling Homilies 25 Him wære betere þæt he næfre geboren nære.
OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) ix. 42 Betere him wære þæt an cweornstan wære to his swuran gecnyt & wære on sæ beworpen.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7192 Miccle bettre iss to þe mann..To don all hiss unnþannkess god, Þan ifell hise þannkess.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 13078 Betere þe is freondscipe to habben þene for to fihten.
c1300 St. Margarete (Harl.) l. 180 in O. Cockayne Seinte Marherete (1866) 29 Þe were betere habbe bileued atom þan icome me to fonde.
a1350 Maximian (Harl.) 152 in K. Böddeker Altengl. Dichtungen (1878) 250 Betere me were ded þen þus alyve to be.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4458 Him were betre go besyde.
c1400 Bk. to Mother (Bodl.) 178 (MED) Better were to hem þat þei hadde not knowe þe wei of riȝtfulnes þan aftur knowinge turne abak aȝein fro þe holi hestis of God.
?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 31 Hem were beter take the furre.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 76 Whether ys me bettir to trete with kynge Arthur othir to fyght?
a1500 (?a1400) Tale King Edward & Shepherd (Cambr.) (1930) l. 267 (MED) Þe were bettir be still.
(b) As complement of to be (esp. in the subjunctive mood) with a personal pronoun or noun as subject, and a complementary clause (esp. with infinitive); e.g. he were better (to) go, he were better (be) dead.
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 23568 Mony þingis may we do Þat better were vndone þen so.
c1400 J. Wyclif On the Seven Deadly Sins (Bodl. 647) in Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 159 (MED) And so mony drinken wyne þat were better lif wiþ ale.
a1425 (c1333–52) L. Minot Poems (1914) 5 (MED) Many man thretes..ful ill þat sum tyme war better to be stane still.
c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 24 (MED) Þai were better vnborne.
a1450 (?c1421) J. Lydgate Siege Thebes (Arun.) (1911) l. 2024 (MED) He better war to ha ben in pees.
a1500 Roberd of Cisyle (Cambr. Ff.2.38) (1879) l. 217 Bettur he were..So to do þen for hunger dye.
1534 N. Udall Floures for Latine Spekynge gathered oute of Terence f. 90v Mori me satius est. I were better be deed.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 543 We were better to support the domestical imperfections of our brethren.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 220 I were better to be eaten to death with a rust, than to be scoured to nothing with perpetuall motion. View more context for this quotation
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. Aaa1v A iudge were better be a briber, than a respecter of persons: for a corrupt Iudge offendeth not so lightly as a facile.
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 3 A Man were better have no Mark before him, but live at Rovers.
1779 Ann. Reg. 1778 Characters 179/1 They are resolved to give him such a blow withal, that he were better be without it.
1852 J. E. A. Smith Taghconic 195 You were better to sit on some warm bank of green sward, or dangling your feet over some rustic bridge.
1920 C. Carswell Open Door! i. v. 249 She knew that such praying was a subtle indulgence and intoxication that she were better to abstain from.
1993 B. Anderson All Nice Girls (1994) ii. 26 They had checked and double-checked,..assured each other they were better to be sure than sorry.
b. As complement of had with a personal pronoun or noun as subject and infinitive, expressing what course of action would be more appropriate, advisable, or desirable; e.g. he had better go. See have v. 47. In early use with a personal pronoun in the dative case.Sometimes used to convey a warning or threat.
ΚΠ
a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 2837 So had hym better [a1425 Bodl. be better, Dulwich Coll. were he better], for hys prowe, For to haue broke þat yche vowe.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 680 (MED) A lowande leder of ledez in londe hym wel semez, & so had better haf ben þen britned to noȝt.
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) l. 12574 (MED) Aftur þem radly he ran; hym had bettur haue bene styll.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 1186 (MED) Better he had to haue be away.
?1562 Thersytes sig. C.i They had better haue sette me an errande at Rome.
a1612 J. Harington in Nugæ Antiquæ (1779) II. 212 Who livethe for ease had better live awaie [from Court].
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII v. iii. 166 He had better starue, Then but once thinke his place becomes thee not. View more context for this quotation
1720 A. Ramsay Poems 186 I'd better been a yont Side Kairn-a-mount.
1770 R. Palmes in J. Bowdon et al. Short Narr. Horrid Massacre Boston App. 39 Mr. Spear said to me you had better not go.
1815 D. Humphreys Yankey in Eng. I. 19 Now, I guess, you'd better staid at hum with mother, next time.
1872 M. Oliphant in Scribner's Monthly Oct. 722/1 In that case I suppose there had better be no more words on the subject.
1926 P. Whiteman & M. M. McBride Jazz iii. 49 I really did debate whether I hadn't better give up.
1934 ‘N. West’ Cool Million xxiv. 170 You'd better not rile me, stranger, for I'm powerful bad.
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel ix. 150 Your hunch had better pay off.
2000 W. Self How Dead Live (2001) i. 52 The car's right outside on a double yellow—so we'd better get going.
5. Larger, greater. Chiefly in the better part of: almost all of, most of. Cf. best adj. 5.See also better half n. 1. discretion is the better part of valour: see discretion n. Phrases 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority
the more partOE
the best part ofOE
(the) more parta1350
(the) most parta1350
(the) most part alla1350
(the) most party1372
for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387
the better part ofa1393
the mo?a1400
most forcea1400
substancea1413
corsec1420
generalty?c1430
the greater partc1430
three quartersc1470
generalityc1485
the most feck1488
corpse1533
most1553
nine-tenths?1556
better half1566
generality?1570
pluralityc1570
body1574
the great body (of)1588
flush1592
three fourths1600
best1601
heap1609
gross1625
lump1709
bulk1711
majority1714
nineteen in twenty1730
balance1747
sweighta1800
heft1816
chief1841
the force1842
thick end1847
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 1556 (MED) I bidde nevere a betre taxe.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 258 His purchaas was wel bettre than his rente.
c1450 (?a1400) Parl. Thre Ages (BL Add. 31042) l. 139 The seconde segge..satte at his ese..iche bagge in his bosome bettir than othere.
1584 T. Cogan Hauen of Health xlvi. 54 Let it boile untill the better part of the liquor be consumed.
1623 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie (rev. ed.) v. sig. N2 The better part of these braue Souldiers..lay, some dead, some halfe-dead sprawling on the ground.
1720 in G. Lamoine Charges to Grand Jury (1992) 138 My worthy Brethren have done me the Honour, for the better Part of twenty Years, to place me in the Chair.
1759 W. Harte Hist. Life Gustavus Adolphus I. Pref. p. xvii I..might have lived to have seen the better portion of the history of England completed.
a1807 W. Wordsworth Prelude (1959) v. 168 For the better part Of two delightful hours we stroll'd along.
1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 11/1 After it has decomposed the better part of the vegetable matter in the surface soil, it should not be again applied there, until that soil has had a period of rest.
1913 Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily News 9 May 8/4 Spending the better part of three years in studying the Pineys of New Jersey.
1956 Billboard 18 Feb. 108/3 Key music operators from all over the country spent the better portion of three days here at the Morrison Hotel.
1988 ‘J. Norst’ Colors x. 125 ‘What's going on?’ a platinum-wigged biddy asked from one of the round, umbrellaed tables, apparently having killed the better part of a carafe of mad dog over brunch.
2006 Guardian 25 Jan. ii. 24 The battery lasts the better part of a day.
6. Of an opinion, comment, etc.: more favourable or approving. Cf. good adj. 19.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > [adjective]
goodeOE
agreeable1448
approbatory1548
better1566
favouring1586
approbative1611
applausive1628
pro1650
pleasing1652
favourable1655
approving1702
enthusiastic1777
all for1864
1566 Briefe Exam. Certaine Declar. 7* The sagest and sobrest in this common wealth..conceyue a better opinion of them.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Shaking of Olive-tree (1660) i. 9 That good Earl..having belikely heard some better words of me than I could deserve.
1722 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 628 It seems there are some secret remains of what we call school-fellowship, that have led him to a better opinion of my book than it deserves.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop lxxiii. 221 Protesting that he had a better opinion of him when he was supposed to have stolen the five-pound note, than when he was shown to be perfectly free of the crime.
1986 R. Reagan Let. 21 Nov. in Dear Americans (2003) 285 You gave me a better press than I've been getting the last several days here inside the ‘beltway’.
2013 Observer (Nexis) 6 Oct. 54 You still have time to send her out into the adult world with a better opinion of both her parents.
7. Chiefly in predicative use. Improved in health; wholly or partly recovered from illness or injury; well again.The use of better to mean ‘wholly recovered’ was originally English regional (northern).
ΚΠ
1604 R. Parsons Relation Triall before King of France iii. 119 He had vnderstood, that he was better in health, & content to returne to the conference.
1653 F. G. tr. ‘G. de Scudéry’ Artamenes I. iii. 173 Since Alcionida was now much better then she was before, Tisander thought it convenient to acquaint her with my desperate condition.
1686 J. Davies in R. Ward Life H. More (1710) 215 He had been let Blood, and seem'd after it much better than before.
1745 Earl of Shaftesbury in Lett. 1st Earl Malmesbury (1870) I. 9 Poor Handel looks something better.
1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 23/1 He was at first very ill, then got better; he is now worse.
1835 J. Smith Let. 26 Jan. in T. Sokoll Essex Pauper Lett. (2001) 99 We are all getting better but are still so weak as not to be able to keep about all day.
1853 J. Macgowan Clara Stanley xi. 272 I am quite better; the only thing I cannot bear is to have the hair pulled back in any way from the place where the lump is.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. viii. lxxxi. 286 She is better this morning, and..she will be cheered by seeing you again.
1936 D. Thomas Let. 25 Apr. (1987) 225 How are you? Get better soon, won't you, and full of health and unwheezy.
1956 Life 2 Apr. 59/2 (advt.) Colds? Sore throat? Feel better fast! Bayer Aspirin quickly relieves painful cold discomforts and reduces fever.
1971 D. Martindale & E. Martindale Social Dimensions Mental Illness, Alcoholism & Drug Dependence (1977) v. 116 The better patients on the ward help each other and watch over the sicker patients.
1997 C. Newland Scholar (1998) xii. 190 Cory, when's your leg gonna be better?
B. n.1
1. Without possessive. A better person or thing; (frequently with the) that which is better. Also (with plural agreement): better people or things collectively.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [noun] > better or superior person or thing
betterOE
unlikea1300
superior1537
overmatch1590
transcendent1613
go-by1823
outshiner1864
super-individual1911
OE Crist III 1291 Geseoð hi þa betran blæde scinan; ne bið him hyra yrmðu an to wite, ac þara oþerra ead to sorgum.
OE Cynewulf Elene 1038 He þæt betere geceas, wuldres wynne, ond þam wyrsan wiðsoc, deofulgildum, ond gedwolan fylde, unrihte æ.
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) vii. 25 Forðan þe he milde is and geanbidað, þæt we to beteran [a1225 Winteney beteran] gecyrren .
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 210 Ne bidde ich nawt þet ha halden ham. ah ȝe ȝet moten changin hwen se ȝe eauer wulleð, þeose for betere.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 3074 Alle he awælde, betere and wurse.
c1300 St. Katherine (Laud) l. 135 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 96 Þare-fore, bote we betere of oure lawe, þane we ȝeot i-seon..cristine we wollez beon.
c1390 (?c1350) St. Paula l. 90 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 5 Þe bettre heo chose and toke Þat þe wombe raþur þen þe þouht oke.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1109 (MED) Swap we so, sware with trawþe, Queþer..so lymp lere oþer better.
a1450 (?1420) J. Lydgate Temple of Glas (Tanner) (1891) l. 312 (MED) De mieulx en mieulx..From bettir to bettir hir hert doþ resigne.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Heb. vi. B We trust to se better of you [Wycliffite We tristen of ȝou betere thingis].
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III iii. v. 48 I neuer lookt for better at his hands. View more context for this quotation
1640 Whole Bk. Psalmes: ‘Bay Psalm Bk.’ Pref. sig. *4 The Lord himselfe hath supplyed us with farre better.
1653 H. More Conjectura Cabbalistica 32 God gave Man dominion over the fowls of the air, the fish of the sea, and the beasts of the earth: for it is reasonable the worser should be in subserviency to the better.
1735 J. Swift Proposal Universal Use Irish Manuf. in Wks. IV. 31 I observed a little of the same Turn of Spirit in some great Men, from whom I expected better.
1792 W. Borrow in M. F. G.-B. Giner & M. Montgomery Knaresborough Workhouse Daybk. (2003) 119 We must live in hopes and lite of better.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ College Breakfast Party in Macmillan's Mag. July 171 A possible Better in the seeds of earth.
1879 ‘G. Eliot’ Theo. Such ii. 51 They feed the ideal Better.
1960 J. Kerouac Let. Sept. in Sel. Lett. 1957–69 (1999) 265 I've changed—to the better in the sense of quietness and drinking only red burgundy.
2010 Contemp. Sociol. 39 707/1 Dilettantes frequently make that error, but we expect better from the author of The Black Atlantic.
2. With possessive.
a. One's superior in a particular sphere, activity, or personal quality.one's biggers and betters: see bigger n.2
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [noun] > better or superior person or thing > one's superior
betterOE
beta1513
OE Vainglory (1936) 36 He þa scylde ne wat fæhþe gefremede, feoh [read feoþ] his betran eorl fore æfstum.
c1330 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Auch.) l. 1939 (MED) A gode kniȝt and no coward—Anon to Speyne his better nis.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3880 (MED) Clarioun..he haueþ a-slawe..hys better nys nowar non.
a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (Caius) (1810) 1650 In al Yngelond was non hys beter.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) II. 801 (MED) In this spyrytuall maters he shall have many hys bettyrs.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. EEiiiv To be enstruct and taught of my better.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. ii. 140 His better doth not breath vpon the earth. View more context for this quotation
1609 Prince Henry in Nugæ Antiquæ (1779) III. 305 When I see you, and let that be shortlie, you will find me your better at Tennis and Pike.
1676 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Iliads iii. 47 You brag'd you were his better at a Spear. Go challenge him again, and fight anew.
1762 Crit. Rev. May 425 Dr. Alexander Monro, jun. who triumphed so much in this discovery, and exulted so much over his senior—we will not say, his better, in anatomy.
1793 W. Preston Poet. Wks. II. 318 Ev'n to his beard will I proclaim myself His better in the field.
1859 Ld. Tennyson Vivien in Idylls of King 119 To help herself By striking at her better.
1873 E. R. Charles Against the Stream I. viii. 190 I pass to your brother—two years your younger and ten years your better.
1975 J. D. Frendo tr. Agathias Histories i. 25 As for the enemy's vaunted numerical superiority, we shall prove very much their betters in matters of discipline and organisation, provided we keep our heads.
2009 D. Smith Between Ourselves 86 In good sense and every sober qualification he is my better by far.
b. A person of higher rank or social station than oneself. In later use chiefly in plural.From the 16th to 18th centuries, in predicative use, the plural form was often used with singular referent (see, e.g., quots. a1616 and 1742).
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] > person of > specific superior
un-i-makeOE
betterOE
higherOE
greaterc1350
priora1425
overerc1443
superior?a1475
superordinate1816
OE Battle of Maldon (1942) 276 Eadweard..gylpwordum spræc þæt he nolde fleogan fotmæl landes, ofer bæc bugan, þa his betera leg.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1872 For hit was swuþe mouchel scome..þat scholde a quene [sc. Cordelia] beon king in þisse londe & heora sunen beon buten þa weren hire beteren [c1300 Otho betere] of þan aldre sustren.
a1400 Prov. Wisdom (Bodl.) l. 55 in Anglia (1927) 51 222 (MED) Love alway þi bettyr, And groche not aȝen þi gretter.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 325 Ȝiffenge not contrarious wordes and answeres to their betters.
c1500 Young Children's Bk. (Ashm. 61) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 25 When thi better spekes to the, Do offe thi cape & bow þi kne.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Confirmacion f. xi* To ordre myselfe lowlye and reuerentelye to al my betters.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. iv. 66 Cor. Who cals? Clo. Your betters Sir. View more context for this quotation
?c1663 B. Whitelocke Diary (1990) 507 Mean men being putt into Com[missio]n who insult over their betters.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 266. ⁋4 A Squire or a Gentleman, or one that was her Betters.
1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews II. iv. i. 176 I look upon myself as his Betters . View more context for this quotation
1755 World 2 Jan. 3 The inferior class of women, who always ape their betters.
1825 J. Bentham Observ. Mr. Peel's Speech 50 How profound soever their contempt for their betters.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xiv. 268 She might grow as proud as her betters.
1935 E. R. Eddison Mistress xvii. 329 And learn..to do after another fashion than to be thus malapertly cocking and billing with me that am your better.
1977 F. Stern Gold & Iron (1979) viii. 163 The bourgeoisie..aped their impoverished betters.
2005 D. M. Oshinsky Polio ix. 152 Doing the dog's work that his betters refused to do.
3. With the. The ascendancy or superior position in battle or competition, or in a struggle of any kind; the advantage. Now chiefly in to get (also have) the better of: to get (or have) an advantage over, to overcome. Also figurative, esp. with reference to an emotion or appetite. Cf. best adj., n.1, and adv. Phrases 4a(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun]
overhandc1175
masteryc1225
gree1320
betc1330
pricea1350
advantagea1393
overmasterya1400
voicea1400
betterc1405
higherc1450
prevaila1460
superiority1548
mastership1573
prevalence1604
eminence1609
privilegea1616
prevalency1623
upper fortunea1625
whipping-hand1682
whip hand1806
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > [noun] > advantage over another > an advantage
advantagec1330
betterc1405
fordeal1470
vantage1490
fardredeal1521
forthdeal1542
kinch?1635
running start1842
leg up1930
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale (Ellesmere) (1872) Prol. l. 404 Atte ende I hadde the bettre in ech degree.
1461 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 266 The blyssyd Trinite..send you þe better of all your aduersarijs.
1586 W. Warner Albions Eng. iii. xvii. 71 Little wanted, that the Brutes the better did not win.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 400 These reeds would fight together, and the victorie should remaine with him whose reede got the better.
1630 M. Godwin tr. F. Godwin Ann. Eng. i. 197 We alwayes came of with the better.
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. i. 20 Sometimes the Medes had the better of the Lydians.
1675 T. Hobbes tr. Homer Odysses viii. 320 The slow has gotten of the swift the better.
1718 Mem. Life J. Kettlewell App. xvi. p. lv The worst Causes are likely to have the better, at this way of Reasoning.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. viii. 221 They at last got so far the better of their aversion, as to be persuaded to taste it.
1839 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VI. xlviii. 137 Prudence..got the better of his pride.
1872 E. A. Freeman Gen. Sketch European Hist. (1874) xxi. §19. 230 Casimir the Fourth finally got the better of the Teutonic Knights.
1901 Scotsman 3 Oct. 4/2 The feeling of weariness with the war..is getting the better of the long-eared multitude.
1974 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 29 Apr. 25/8 Frank Patrick had the better of the scrap while it lasted.
1992 P. Auster Leviathan (1993) iv. 155 That was where hunger finally got the better of him.
2012 Atlantic Jan. 95/2 Metcalf easily got the better of his competitors, who crumbled under the nonstop assault of his blistering..insights.
C. adv. The comparative of well adv.
1. In a better way; more excellently or effectively.
ΚΠ
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4899 Swa þu tellesst werre off þe, Swa telleþþ drihhtin bettre.
a1250 Lofsong Louerde in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 215 Þu wult..don betere bi me þen is þet ich wilni.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1585 Ðu salt ðe betre sped.
c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. 151 (MED) Þe kniht..Warnede wastors and wissede hem do betere.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 345 (MED) Monkes lyveden þan wel beter.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 26 Mak hem to drede synne and to do bettar.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 147 I drinke better than I syng.
1567 G. Fenton tr. M. Bandello Certaine Tragicall Disc. 494 He had not seen a medley better performed.
1606 N. Breton Poste with Packet Madde Lett. (new ed.) II. sig. Ev Whose seruants better gouerned? whose house better stuffed and maintained?
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xii. 121 If the whole Irishry of Rebels had feed som advocate to speak..sophistically in thir defence, he could have hardly dazl'd better.
1721 Wonderfull World of Wonders 6 When in Office, no one dischargeth himself, or does his Business better.
1753 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) III. 251 As to the Italian story, it is one of the finest things I ever read in my life; was ever a superb family better described!
1806 W. Scott Let. 16 Dec. (1932) I. 337 I cannot employ time or a frank better than by enquiring whether you have got rid of the unlucky Typhus.
1885 Liverpool Daily Post 1 June 5/3 The youngest scribe of a Tory organ could manage national affairs much better.
1928 G. J. Nathan Art of Night 9 Don't be afraid of slang if it will make your point better and more forcibly than literose expression.
1975 J. L. Anderson Night of Silent Drums ii. v. 127 His children spoke the slave patois better than Dutch.
1994 S. Howatch Absolute Truths (1996) 212 I find I paint better in sandals.
2. To a greater extent or degree; more fully, more.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adverb]
betOE
beforeOE
bettera1200
toforec1440
higherc1500
superiorlya1643
superior1762
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 213 (MED) Þe sullere loueð his þing dere and seið þat it is wel wurð oðer betere.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Royal) (1934) 11 Þe wari..het hire kasten in-to cwarterne.., aðet he hefde betere biþoht him, o hwucche wise he walde merrin hire meiðhad.
c1225 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Bodl.) (1940) 533 Þet ha..witen her þurh þe betere hwet ham beo to donne.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2032 (MED) Sche hadde leid hire loue þer hire beter liked.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 163 Mercii..vnderstondeþ bettre þe side langages..þan norþerne and souþerne vnderstondeþ eiþer oþer.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 2438 He loued hir better þan he did are.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 103 They had him better in grace than Zethephius.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 124 Ffor to hold hym in hope & hert hym the bettur.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 64v Whereby it [sc. sage] prospereth the better.
1666 J. Bunyan Grace Abounding ⁋50 I better considering the matter.
1738 J. F. Fritsch tr. G. de Lairesse Art of Painting vii. 350 Would not a more Profile-view have suited him better?
1771 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) II. lii. 202 I know that man much better than any of you.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 435 But there were in the palace a few persons who knew better.
1871 J. Morley J. de Maistre in Crit. Misc. 183 Peradventure the twelve apostles might please you better than the philanthropists and Martinists.
1909 E. Godfrey Sister of Prince Rupert v. 93 She liked nothing better than to adorn her receptions with men of wit and learning.
1926 Amer. Speech 2 100/2 The lumberjacks have found anthologists who appreciate better than did the singers themselves the charm of the pinery songs.
2004 N.Y. Times Mag. 22 Aug. 56/2 I returned to Amman last month to better understand the events of Black September.
†3. = rather adv. 5. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > moderateness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb]
meetlyOE
better?c1225
measurelyc1350
renablyc1350
measurablya1382
skilfullya1387
meanlya1398
moderatelya1398
temperately1398
reasonablyc1400
faira1413
mean1535
competently1541
meanably1577
tarblish1842
mediumly1852
quite1854
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 305 Ancre þe haueð achte þuncheð [a1250 Titus semes] betere [c1230 Corpus bet] husewif as marthe was.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xviii. xlviii. 1199 Þey..semeþ by þe berkynge bestes bettre þan men.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 9815 (MED) His hert auȝte bettur breke in þre þen fro his biddyngis to fle.
1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 22 He semed better a thing of that other worlde thenne an humayne persone.
1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) lvii. sig. D.iv Pygmalyon made a woman of stone, the whiche was so wel composed that she semed better a lyuynge creature than ony other thynge.
4. With reference to a particular action, or course of action: more appropriately, suitably, advisedly, or usefully.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > [adverb]
behovelyc1430
behovefully1443
better?1518
behovingly1556
usefully1616
serviceably1628
the world > action or operation > advantage > [adverb] > to (one's) advantage > advantageous for one or in one's interest
better?1518
?1518 A. Barclay tr. D. Mancinus Myrrour Good Maners sig. G.ii One peny with gladnesse..is better spent than horded great rychesse.
1583 W. Fulke Def. Transl. Script. xviii. 472 Ambiguities, and indifferences vnto diuerse senses, are better reserued to commentarie..vppon the Scriptures.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §340 Mosse is a Kinde of Mould, of the Earth, and Trees. But it may be better sorted as a Rudiment of Germination.
1769 A. Dow Zingis iii. 47 Those soft passions, that are better nam'd The frailties.
1820 J. F. Cooper Precaution I. vii. 69 Nineteen cases in twenty of what we call affairs of the heart would be better termed affairs of the imagination.
1896 Christian Work 25 June 1030/1 She would do better to move into town.
1932 R. H. Gault Criminology vi. 92 What unusual features of criminal brains have been discovered aside from this are better interpreted as a sign of mental ill health.
1966 Earl Mountbatten Rep. Inq. Prison Escapes iii. 58 in Parl. Papers 1966–7 (Cmnd. 3175) XLVII. 269 There will, no doubt, continue to be escapes, or abscondings as they are better called, from open prisons.
1993 Lang. in Society 22 594 Some varieties of Arabic..are better designated independent Arabic languages.
2003 N. Clark in M. Miles & T. Hall Urban Futures xii. 189 Apocalyptic though they may seem, such geotectonic events..are better viewed as ordinary agents of land-forming.
5. Used parenthetically or at the beginning of a sentence to introduce an alternative idea, suggestion, etc., considered superior to one already mentioned; spec. used to introduce a more precise or appropriate word or phrase. Frequently preceded by or.Often with intensifier, as even better, better still, better yet, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adverb] > more truly or correctly
rather1340
rather1460
better1526
to say better1536
rectius1575
ratherly1780
1526 Grete Herball ccciii. sig. R.iiiv Take this powdre wt warme water or better with hony.
1624 J. Robinson Def. Doctr. Synode at Dort iii. 122 These words, They went out from us, or better, from out of us, shew, that those out-goers were formerly of them in a respect.
1630 P. Massinger Picture sig. F1v Honoria. Our pleasure is that all arrearages Be payd into the Captaines... Eubulus. Better still, Let men of armes be vsd thus [etc.].
1742 H. Baker Microscope made Easy x. 127 The Circulation of the Blood can be seen no longer, unless it be in the Tail, or better still in the Fins.
1899 Overland Monthly July 86/2 Here was somebody to converse with in French—no, better yet, in Provençal.
1960 H. Lee To kill Mockingbird xxviii. 273 ‘Be careful of haints,’ the voice said. ‘Better still, tell the haints to be careful of Scout.’
2006 Time Out N.Y. 20 July 142/2 Bring a friend—better yet, an enemy—and watch her get mummified in toilet paper.
6. Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern). Preceding a repeated verb to convey the idea of sustained action.
ΚΠ
?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature iv. sig. Dvijv He swore and better swore, yea, he ded sweare & sweare agayne.
1639 Ld. Wariston Diary (1896) 58 Alexr Henderson..have bethoght and better bethoght..upon the present necessities of the armie.
1691 Hutcheson's 45 Serm. on CXXX Psalm xx. 228 He will wait, and better wait, and continue in waiting.
1762 J. Hall-Stevenson Crazy Tales 24 Considering..How they had try'd, and better try'd, Stolto advis'd his wife at last, To go and be fecundify'd.
1821 J. Galt Ann. Parish xii. 85 She read, and she better read, till she read all the letter.
1830 G. P. R. James Darnley I. vii. 173 On this he wondered, and better wondered.
1895 S. R. Crockett Men of Moss-hags viii. 64 So we rode and we better rode till we came to Eskdale.
1903 Wool & Cotton Reporter 19 Nov. 1437/3 I have tried and better tried this last few weeks to find out some one who even dared to define a policy, but I have sought in vain.
1991 Working Terrier Feb. 17/1 They waited and better waited for a hare to be brought to grass.

Phrases

P1. to be the better: to be profited, advantaged, or improved. In later use with for indicating the source of the profit, advantage, or improvement.In quots. OE, c1275 with impersonal copular verb and dative personal pronoun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > more or most
to be the betterOE
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial [verb (intransitive)] > derive benefit
to be the betterOE
profit1340
getc1390
advancec1405
gain1575
benefit1623
to have (also get, want, etc.) a run for one's money1874
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.iv) anno 1073 Her Wyllelm kyng..mid his landfyrde ferde inn ofer þæt wæð, & he þær naht ne funde þæs þe heom þe betere wære.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2710 Wel ȝe me bi-hatet halde ȝeif ȝe wulleð. eow swal beon þe betere.
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. l. 2424 (MED) Som goodly word..Wherof thin herte was the bettre.
c1430 (c1386) G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1879) l. 1363 I shal ben neuere the bettere.
?a1475 Ludus Coventriae (1922) 32 (MED) What were god þe bettyr?
a1500 ( Pilgrimage of Soul (Egerton) (1953) v. ii. f. 89v (MED) Schuld thei neuere be the beter.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. I3v I thanke yee I am the better for your asking.
1619 J. Dyke Counterpoison 37 What are we the better to know our disease?
1695 J. Collier Misc. upon Moral Subj. 64 Friendship is one of those few Things which are the better for the Wearing.
1727 A. Pope et al. Peri Bathous 13 in J. Swift et al. Misc.: Last Vol. Has had some Poetical Evacuation, and no question was much the better for it in his Health.
1787 ‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen 17 You wear out only your own girths, without your horse being a bit the better for it [sc. spurring the wrong part of the horse].
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park I. xi. 233 A man..cannot go to church twice every Sunday and preach such very good sermons..as he does, without being the better for it.
1860 Brit. Q. Rev. Jan. 73 Whether Dr. Bushnell's doctrine on this head be true or false, his book would have been greatly the better by his entirely ignoring it.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer (1891) 127 I'd have been all the better for a nip.
1910 Q. Rev. Jan. 223 The best of things are the better for liberal seasonings of laughter.
1962 Amer. Q. 14 36 Even a free, meandering..brook may be the better for having..its banks cleared of overgrowing weeds.
2010 N.Y. Mag. 28 June 70 (heading) The era of the skill-challenging, danger-embracing..play zone has dawned, and the city's children are the better for it.
P2.
a. to be no (or little) better than: to be just (or almost) the same as (something bad, inferior, etc.); to be merely (the thing specified).
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > licentious [phrase]
no better thanc1330
c1330 Simonie (Auch.) (1991) l. 108 Þanne is a lewed prest no betre þan a iay.
c1475 (?c1300) Guy of Warwick (Caius) l. 8782 To honoure so pore a knyght That was no better and [read than] a page.
1564 A. Bacon tr. J. Jewel Apol. Churche Eng. sig. Aiiii Kings and princes..condemned all Christians..and didde compt them no better than the vilest fylth.
1624 T. Heywood Γυναικεῖον ix. 438 Making their corrupt bodies no better than sinkes of sinnes, and spittles of diseases.
1641 W. Thomas Speech in Parl. 12 What indignity it was, that a she daughter of France, being promised to be a Queene, was become no better than a waiting woman.
1702 Eng. Theophrastus 249 [He is] no better than a negative traitor to his country.
1781 G. Gibson Let. 5 Feb. in T. Jefferson Papers (1951) IV. 529 They are little better than Dril Serjeants.
1890 Spectator 13 Sept. Dr. Liddon had early realised that preaching does not come by nature;..that amateur sermonising is no better than amateur acting.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 1 July 35/2 It is distressing indeed to read in this day and age that nurses are still considered little better than highly paid housemaids.
2002 W. Rhode Paperback Raita (2003) 140 He stood up for his artistic integrity. Otherwise he would have just been..no better than a whipping boy.
b. to be no better than one should be and variants: to be of doubtful moral character, esp. (of a woman) to be sexually promiscuous. Now archaic or literary.
ΚΠ
1604 Pasquils Iestes sig. C A Man, whose wife was no better then she should be.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 189 Others..backe themselves with this, That your best Preachers are no better then they should be.
1764 F. Sheridan Journ. to Bath i. i, in Sheridan's Plays (1902) 263 That same Lord Stewkly is no better than he should be, (between ourselves).
1780 Mirror No. 104 Every woman who passed much of her time in town, he made no scruple to say, was no better than she should be.
1815 C. Lamb Let. 28 Apr. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1978) III. 147 To term her a poor outcast seems as much as to say that poor Susan was no better than she should be.
1873 A. Trollope Eustace Diamonds I. xxiii. 305 He..almost believed that she was not now, and hadn't been before her marriage, any better than she should be.
1882 J. C. Morison Macaulay 105 They are all no better than they should be.
1904 A. Bennett Great Man xiii. 139 Her..suspicion that the self-styled Miss Foster was no better than she ought to be.
1937 A. L. Rowse Sir Richard Grenville xix. 346 The one was a brute, and the other a vixen, and no better than she should be into the bargain.
1998 I. de la Bere Last Deception Palliser Wentwood iii. 68 Comes in here for a port on market days, ever so refeened, but no better than she should be by all accounts.
P3. the (sooner, earlier, bigger, older, etc.) the better: used to emphasize the importance or desirability of what is specified by the first comparative. Also with relative clause postmodifying the first comparative (see the adv. 1c).
ΚΠ
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §38. 46 Tak a rond plate of metal..the brodere the bettre.
a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Claud.) (2011) 207 Þan schal he leton þe brugge of bedyens doune whan he is bedon done þat is spedeful for hys soule, and þe saunur þe bettor.
1524 in State Papers Henry VIII (1836) IV. 225 The sonner ye be round with her the better.
1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 326 Then take an olde Tyle, the older the better, and make powder thereof.
1614 G. Markham Cheape & Good Husbandry Table Hard Words Pitch of Burgundy is Rossen, and the blacker the better.
a1639 W. Whately Prototypes (1640) ii. xxxiv. 161 Friendship is like wine, the elder the better.
1657 W. Greenwood Απογραϕὴ Στοργῆς 34 It is a natural distemper, a kinde of Smalpox; every one hath had it, or is to expect it, and the sooner the better.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 45 The rougher it lies for a Winter fallow the better.
1771 in J. Watson Jedburgh Abbey (1894) 98 The bells must be removed, and the sooner the better.
1815 T. Quayle Gen. View Agric. Islands on Coast of Normandy 265 In February or March, but the earlier the better, the rice-balks are harrowed down.
1880 E. Glaister Needlework v. 49 The letters are made in linen tape, unbleached, the yellower the better.
1921 Amer. Woman Jan. 16/2 To avoid the multiplied chin, sleep with head low, the lower the better.
1951 W. S. Burroughs Let. 24 Apr. (1993) 82 So far as I'm concerned the sooner he sails off into the sunset the better.
1986 P. Leigh Fermor Between Woods & Water (1988) v. 111 He had a passion for limericks, the racier the better.
1994 J. Birmingham He died with Felafel in his Hand (1997) viii. 173 Oh I love parties, the bigger the better.
P4.
a. so much the better: used to indicate that a specified action, event, situation, etc., will have a generally welcome or personally advantageous result, or an additional subsidiary benefit.Typically used in conditional statements (with if) positing a particular scenario in terms of its potentially desirable outcome.
ΚΠ
?a1425 MS Hunterian 95 f. 151v, in Middle Eng. Dict. at Much(e Ȝif þat it be a childe þat cheweþ and he be fastinge, so moche it is þe better.
1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xxxiii. f. xiiv/2 The messangers reported to the kyng..that they coude fynde no man but that was redy to abyde the aduenture of batayle. It is so moche the better quod the kyng.
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece ii. c. 383 If you make two razes on each side, it shall bee so much the better.
1738 A. Pope One Thousand Seven Hundred & Thirty Eight 4 Laugh at your Friends, and if your Friends are sore, So much the better, you may laugh the more.
1856 ‘E. S. Delamer’ Flower Garden 2 If we can show finer and more remarkable specimens than our neighbours, so much the better.
1905 Times 14 Oct. 7/3 If in telling the truth we succeed also in shocking the bourgeois, why, so much the better!
1997 A. H. Carter First Cut (1998) iii. 295 If a light snow in an ill-equipped city forces us to stay at home once in a while so that we can ponder our lives, so much the better.
2006 Inside Edge June 89/2 Not everybody is paying attention to your play, and..if someone pegs you as a moron, so much the better.
b. so much the better for ——: used to suggest that an event, situation, strategy, etc., will be beneficial or profitable to the person or thing specified, often at the expense of others. Cf. so much the worse for —— at worse adj. and n. Phrases 1b(b).Sometimes used ironically or with a pejorative implication of heedless self-interest.
ΚΠ
?1592 H. Barwick Breefe Disc. Weapons f. 17 If it be a Musket, so much the better for my purpose.
1672 E. Ravenscroft Citizen turn'd Gentleman i. i. 11 He is a fool too..? So much the better for her... She'l..rule the rost as long as she lives.
1749 Ladies Advocate 116 Suppose it was cold frosty Weather; so much the better for her Health; the Air would do her good.
1888 H. R. Haggard Mr. Meeson's Will vi. 87 Business is business; and if I happen to have got to windward of the young woman, why, so much the better for me.
1917 A. Cahan Rise of David Levinsky ix. xvi. 290 Why, of course they have got another partner. Of course they have... So much the better for you. Let them go to the eighty black years.
1989 M. Mathabane Kaffir Boy in Amer. (1990) xxxvii. 225 The Marxist strategy of ‘emmiseration’—let the people become hungrier and poorer, so much the better for the revolution.
2016 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 23 Jan. (Review section) 42 The undisputed queen of British baking returns to our screens trailing reports of a failed attempt to crack America... So much the better for us if it enables her to make more homegrown cookery shows.
P5. (all) the better to: so as to (do something) more easily or effectively.
ΚΠ
?a1430 T. Hoccleve Clothing of Virgin (Huntington) l. 103 in Minor Poems (1970) ii. 293 Heer-aftir the bettre to speede, And in hir grace cheerly for to stonde, Hir psalteer for to seye let vs fonde.
1508 J. Fisher Treat. Penyt. Psalmes Prol. sig. aav That all tho persones that ententyfely rede or here them may be styred the better to trace the way of eternall saluacyon.
1597 W. Raleigh Let. 30 Oct. (1999) 174 Of whos good service and the better to incorag others wee humble pray your lordships to have consideration.
1635 R. Brathwait tr. M. Silesio Arcadian Princesse iv. 168 Wee should willingly addresse our discourse unto you, all the better to satisfie our selves how those artfull experiments have wrought with you.
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. xi. 202 The better to come at it with the Tool.
1725 New Canting Dict. at High-pads They have a Vizor-Mask, and two or three Perukes of different Colours and Make, the better to conceal themselves.
1763 Ann. Reg. 1762 84 Rioters..called White Boys, from their wearing shirts over their other cloaths, the better to distinguish each other by night.
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose Introd., in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. III. 136 The right side of his head a little turned up, the better to catch..the clergyman's voice.
1875 tr. J. Grimm & W. Grimm in Wonder-world 22 ‘Oh! but, Granny, what a terrible big mouth you have!’ ‘All the better to eat you with!’ And scarcely had the wolf uttered this, than..he..seized poor Little Red-Riding-Hood.
1930 C. Beaton Diary in Self Portrait with Friends (1979) iii. 30 Rex Whistler could not resist touching up the flowing chevelure and mustachios, the better to conform with the other murals.
1988 P. Monette Borrowed Time x. 264 He'd spent three years in Paris..walking around and sitting over coffee, all the better to people-watch.
2008 P. Hensher Northern Clemency 3 Both had the habit, at a party, of moving swiftly to the back wall the better to watch arrivals.
P6.
a. In phrases where the contextual sense is ‘greater in quantity or amount’. Cf. sense A. 5.
(a) or better: or a larger quantity, amount, or number than that specified; or more.
ΚΠ
1438 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1992) App. B. 511 The rafteris shulle contayne in the foot viij enches or better.
1555 R. Eden tr. G. F. de Oviedo y Valdés Summarie Gen. Hist. W. Indies in tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde f. 177 The golde..is..of .xxii. caractes or better in fynesse.
1686 S. Sewall Letter-Bk. (1886) I. 32 A small trus of Bever in a box weighing sixteen pounds or better.
1736 Compl. Family-piece ii. ii. 256 A Piece of thin Sheet-lead rolled up, of about an Ounce or better, makes the best Plummet.
1876 3rd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1875–6 160 He would point out to me a horse with the remark..‘can take a forty clip or better any day in the week’.
1889 N.Y. Times 15 Sept. 13/2 All officers and members of organizations armed with the Remington rifle scoring 25 points or better at 200 and 500 yards..were accounted ‘marksmen’.
1921 R. W. Chambers Little Red Foot xxxi. 344 A body of green-coats,—some three hundred or better,—marching down the Schenectady road.
1942 Fortune Nov. 60/1 A flight timer that will clock pursuit planes traveling 400 m.p.h. or better.
1987 Canad. Geographic Dec. 76/2 Half of the school's 44 graduates were Ontario Scholars, with averages of 80 percent or better.
2012 C. Haines Bonefire of Vanities iii. 42 Mariam Littlefield has been dead for two decades or better.
(b) and better: and a larger quantity, amount, or number than that specified; and more. Now rare.
ΚΠ
a1450 E. Clere in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 32 He seith to me he is þe last in þe tayle of his lyflode, þe qweche is cccl marke and better.
1521 in W. C. Dickinson Sheriff Court Bk. Fife (1928) 229 The hors wes wortht viij merkis & bettir.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1382/1 Woorth one hundred and twentie pounds and better.
1630 J. Wadsworth Eng. Spanish Pilgrime (new ed.) iii. 15 Vntill nine and better they are exercised in repeating.
1679 R. Hooke Lectiones Cutlerianae 49 One root.., with all the growth out of it, I have found weighing ten pounds and better.
1744 B. Lynch Guide to Health i. iii. 47 An extraordinary long Life, even of an hundred Years and better.
1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. iv. 62 Ah! poor man! he has been dead these eight years and better . View more context for this quotation
1823 W. Scott Peveril I. vi. 164 Pursued by half a score of horsemen, and better.
1903 W. E. B. Du Bois Souls of Black Folk ii. 28 The very name of the Bureau stood for a thing in the South which for two centuries and better men had refused even to argue.
1931 PMLA 46 1306 He's been a-livin' here these last six weeks an' better.
1994 Colorado Springs Gaz. Tel. 27 Mar. c10/4 The river holds a number of true ‘hogs’—fish of 5 pounds and better.
b. better than: more than.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] > greater number
moOE
moreOE
fele1340
better than1471
outnumbering1796
1471 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 352 That shall dysseavayll hym better than a cc marc.
1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Hist. Descr. Worlde 129 Able to furnish better then ten thousand men with horse.
1686 R. Plot Nat. Hist. Staffs. vii. 239 The bodies..being better than an inch long.
1739 F. Blomefield Ess. Topogr. Hist. Norfolk I. 708 This Town was better than a Mile long, and as much broad.
1769 T. Gray Let. 26 Jan. in Corr. (1971) III. 1054 It is better than three weeks since I wrote to you.
1823 C. Lamb On Some of Old Actors (new ed.) in Elia 399 I think it is now better than five-and-twenty years ago.
1874 H. S. Caswell Walter Harland xxiii. 133 It's better than a month ago, I dreamed of bein' over here.
1958 Musical Q. 44 271 William Bergsma..has for better than a decade been recognized by some as a highly provocative musical talent.
2005 J. Horne Desire Street 50 Kyles was better than a month into this nightmare, a month and a million miles from the world he had known across town.
†c. with the better: with a larger quantity, amount, or number than that specified; and more. Cf. with the mair at more pron. 3b. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. L.8 Then ought he to haue al tithes paid him whatsoeuer with the better.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 163 When his father was 62 yeares old with the better.
1690 W. Walker Idiomatologia Anglo-Lat. 333 To pay what one hath borrowed with the better.
P7. for the better: resulting, or so as to result, in a better state, condition, or situation. Cf. for the best at best adj., n.1, and adv. Phrases 3b(a).
ΚΠ
c1450 (a1400) R. Lavynham Treat. Seven Deadly Sins (Harl. 211) (1956) 2 It is for þe better þt god suffryth oftetyme a prowd man..to fallyn in to sum gret opyn synne.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 148 Jt war than spedefull, yat sik a man war put off for the better.
1592 H. Arthington Seduction To Rdr. sig. A3v I finde nothing in substance added to the originall, but certaine wordes and sentences changed for the better.
a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 556 Risen with the same love and affection, He had before: Not changed it, neither. Yes, changed it: (I said not well in that:) but, changed it for the better.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) ii. vii. 200 River-Fish..will alter their figure, some for the better and some for the worse, being put into Ponds.
1700 J. Dryden Fables Pref. sig. *D If I have alter'd him any where for the better.
1781 R. Twining Jrnl. 12 Aug. in Sel. Papers Twining Family (1887) 31 The scene changed, and changed for the better.
1805 M. Lewis Jrnl. 16 June in Jrnls. Lewis & Clark Exped. (1987) IV. 300 Two dozes of barks and opium..had produced an alteration in her pulse for the better.
1870 S. H. Hodgson Theory of Pract. I. iv. xxxii. 234 Suppose that the expectation is falsified for the better, that we expect to be paid pence and are paid pounds.
1921 R. S. Woodworth Psychol. 534 Introduce a nice young lady into an officeful of men, and the atmosphere changes, often for the better.
1941 E. Linklater Man on my Back xxiii. 322 There was a decisive turn for the better when the old runrig system of agriculture was discarded.
2012 Sight & Sound Apr. 24/1 Almost every year the competition gets a critical pasting..but this year I did notice a shift for the better.
P8. euphemistic. a better place: heaven. Esp. in to go to a better place and variants: to die. Cf. a better world at world n. 1b.
ΚΠ
1481 tr. Cicero De Senectute (Caxton) sig. i2v The soule goeth in to a better place, and where it shal be better than it was in this present life.
?1555 T. Paynell tr. J. L. Vives Office of Husband sig. Dd.iv Forasmuch as by death he goeth to a better place, lette him not care for suche thinges as he leaueth here.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 207 I will giue him a present shrift, and aduise him for a better place. View more context for this quotation
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 302. ⁋14 Ye guardian Angels,..lead her gently hence innocent and unreprovable to a better Place.
1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon (ed. 2) i. 59 The pious old Man, who's Riches was Grace, Leaving the Earth for a better Place.
1814 W. Scott Waverley III. xxii. 340 Many of those who would have rejoiced most freely upon these joyful espousals, are either gone to a better place, or are now exiles from their native land. View more context for this quotation
1826 ‘G. Penseval’ Labours Idleness ii. 114 ‘Poor soul!—Well: she is in a better place now,’ I rejoined, not knowing what to say, and recurring to the usual mode of consolation.
1991 T. Mo Redundancy of Courage (1992) xx. 259 Mortars ranged along the known co-ordinates to blast us to a better place.
1992 I. Banks Crow Road iii. 56 Your grandmother has gone to a better place, Prentice.
P9.
a. something is better than nothing and variants: it is better to receive a portion of or alternative to what one wants than to receive nothing at all. [Compare Middle French mieulx vault aucun bien que neant (c1401).]
ΚΠ
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. x. sig. D And by this prouerbe appereth this o thyng, That alwaie somewhat is better than nothyng.
1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 iii. vii. 181 I will weare it as I may: for something is better then nothing.
1726 T. Burnett Demonstr. True Relig. 35 Being is better, than not being, or something is better, than nothing.
1831 Lancet 23 Apr. 124/1 The merest tyro in political economy knows..that something is better than nothing; that half a loaf is better than no bread.
1951 Law & Contemp. Probl. 16 46 Pending Utopia, it is suggested, something is better than nothing.
1992 L. E. Goodman Neoplatonism & Jewish Thought 186 Something is better than nothing; a world in which evolution occurs is better than one in which no such process is possible.
2013 Huffington Post (Nexis) 30 Oct. The piecemeal approach is not totally bad. Something is better than nothing.
b. better than nothing: used to indicate that having something inferior to what one wanted or expected is preferable to having nothing at all.
ΚΠ
1658 J. Durham Comm. Bk. Revelation 63 This consideration is alleged..as a reason to put men to write..; it was..better than nothing.
1751 E. Justice Amelia 111 If I only get what will buy fine Tea, 'tis better than nothing.
1865 ‘Ouida’ Strathmore I. ii. 22 The rabbits were tame [sport] in comparison with the..pheasants..; but still they were better than nothing.
1885 E. P. Warren & C. F. M. Cleverly Wanderings ‘Beetle’ 15 Bread and butter was better than nothing.
1919 Outing Mar. 325/1 A shower is better than a tub bath. A washbowl or any other contrivance is better than nothing.
1987 D. Poliquin Obomsawin Sioux Junction (1991) xvi. 128 The food wasn't exactly five-star, but it was better than nothing.
2000 E. Garcia Anonymous Rex ii. 23 One grand's better than nothing.
P10. to think (the) better of.
a. To form a better opinion of; to look upon more favourably.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > [verb (transitive)] > esteem more than before
to think (the) better of1560
value1614
1560 A. L. tr. J. Calvin Serm. Songe Ezechias iv. 71 Let the fathers then thinke better of this then they haue bene accustomed.
1574 J. Whitgift Def. Aunswere to Admon. ii. iii. 103 I will not charge you so, but will thinke better of you, vntill the contrarie do more appeare.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. iii. 14 To make vs no better thought of a little helpe will serue. View more context for this quotation
1699 B. Jenks Bell rung to Prayers 47 The Universality of Sober Men..cannot but think the better of these Families, that shew such Exemplary Piety, as all the rest ought to Imitate.
1750 G. Jeffreys Let. 23 Sept. in J. Duncombe Lett. Eminent Persons Deceased (1772) II. cxxv. 184 There was a time when this Polydore had reason to think better of her.
1793 J. Wilde Addr. Soc. Friends of People 63 He might even think better of Mr Burke's political knowledge, were he now alive, than he did in the year 1778.
1800 M. Edgeworth Castle Rackrent 172 Nay, don't be denying it, Judy, for I think the better of ye for it.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona iii. 31 I judged..he would think the better of me if I knew my questions.
1909 G. Stein Three Lives 128 I think better of you every day I see you, and I like to talk with you all the time now.
1948 D. Thomas Let. 25 May (1987) 675 I do not think any better of a verse because it takes weeks, and quires, to complete it.
2010 A. Munro in New Yorker 11 Oct. 95/2 She offered Howard one, saying, quite audibly, ‘Don't mind Daddy.’ He accepted, but didn't think the better of her. Spoiled rich miss. Unmannerly.
b. To decide not to do (something) after reconsideration. Frequently in to think better of it.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > reverse or abandon one's purpose or intention [verb (transitive)] > abandon, give up, or discontinue
forhightc1000
forswearOE
forletc1175
sdeign1590
to think (the) better of1752
to get off ——1951
1648 T. Gage Eng.-Amer. xx. 172 Though this in drunkennes were agreed upon, yet in sobernes the good Christians thought better of what they had agreed upon.
1752 Bp. W. Warburton Lett. (1809) 116 I resolved to be prepared for them (who, by the way, thought better of it).
1781 M. P. Andrews Dissipation ii. iv. 23 His Lordship's library. So I will—No, I won't, now I think better of it; for what can his library produce to entertain me?
1812 Examiner 21 Sept. 596/1 The enemy's General thought better of it,—beat a retreat.
1884 Harper's Mag. Feb. 430/1 The..gentleman seems to have thought better of his contrariness.
1917 A. Cahan Rise of David Levinsky (1993) ix. xii. 273 I was going to parade the ‘quip’ before Max and Dora, but thought better of it.
1992 J. Torrington Swing Hammer Swing! xiv. 122 About to scatter some milk powder into my char, I thought the better of it.
2003 S. Mackay Heligoland (2004) vii. 114 He reflects that she really ought to have the place alarmed..but thinks better of saying so.
P11. to be better than one's word (also promise): to do more than one has promised. Cf. as good as one's word (also promise) at good adj., n., adv., and int. Phrases 4e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (intransitive)] > go beyond bounds > beyond what one has promised
to be better than one's word (also promise)1627
1627 T. Gataker Ieroboams Sonnes Decease 33 God oft in such cases is better than his word.
1690 T. Burnet Theory of Earth iv. 167 God may be better than His word.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones III. viii. xiv. 283 I was indeed better than my Word: For I returned to him that very Afternoon. View more context for this quotation
1769 J. Hall-Stevenson Yorick's Sentimental Journey Continued IV. 87 When Madame de Rambouillet alighted to rien que pisser, she was better than her word.
1843 C. Dickens Christmas Carol v. 78 Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more.
1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna I. xiii. 169 Minnie was better than her promise.
1905 W. Cheney Way of North xv. 195 Marfa Alexandrovna had been better than her word and had furnished us not only with an interpreter, but also bearers to advance our loads.
1966 T. Clancy Marine (new ed.) 295 Colonel Newman was better than his word, and the big CH-53E with its security team arrived eighteen minutes after the emergency call.
1995 J. Dean Managing Primary School (ed. 2) x. 133 It is better to err on the cautious side and then please people by being better than your word.
P12. Forming attributive phrases with than, as better-than-average, better-than-chance, etc.See also better than ordinary at ordinary adj. 2c.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > specifically of a thing
betterOE
better-than-average1725
better-quality1844
better-class1849
better-type1928
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > [adjective]
likelya1400
seemlya1400
probable?a1425
allowablec1443
seeming?c1450
apt1528
topical1594
liking1611
suspicable1651
presumable1655
feasible1656
suspected1706
in the cards1764
on the cards1788
in the dice1844
liable1888
better-than-chance1964
1725 J. Sedgwick New Treat. Liquors vii. 124 The Prescription of Bleeding ought to be from the Hands of a better than six Months educative Understanding.
1829 tr. C. Malte-Brun Universal Geogr. (new ed.) IV. ci. 165 Thirty-four thousand hundred weight of a better than ordinary quality are obtained every year in Hungary.
1848 Prairie Farmer May 156/1 The class of youth I have had under my care would, in some respects, afford a better than average chance for the success of the experiment.
1938 J. Hilton To you, Mr. Chips i. 21 The school was perhaps a better-than-average example, both educationally and structurally, of its type.
1944 Sun (Baltimore) 4 Mar. 9/4 A better-than-fair horse, which he..guided to second place..in the $7,500-McClennan.
1964 Language 40 262 A better-than-chance probability that a language will possess certain features.
1994 Investors Chron. 28 Jan. 50/3 Lonrho rose 8p on these better than expected figures.
P13. better the devil you know than the devil you don't and variants: it is wiser to deal with someone or something which is familiar, though undesirable, than to risk a change that might lead to an even worse situation. Now frequently shortened to better the devil you know.
ΚΠ
1586 D. Rowland tr. Lazarillo de Tormes sig. H6v The olde prouerbe: Better is the euill knowne, than the good which is yet to knowe.]
1827 New Times 1 Sept. We may as well pay it [sc. rent] to..our countrymen as to strangers [on the principle]..laid down in the proverb, ‘better the devil we do know, than the devil we do not know’.
1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers ii. vii. 123 ‘Better the d—— you know than the d—— you don't know,’ is an old saying..but the bishop had not yet realised the truth of it.
1929 K. S. Prichard Coonardoo ii. 31 Better the devil you know than the devil you don't know, and you'll always rule the roost, I suppose.
1959 M. Spark Memento Mori x. 135 Godfrey had always seemed better than the devil she did not know.
1997 A. Garland Beach 71 In one direction there were gunmen... In the other direction we didn't know what we might find... Better the devil you know is a cliché I now despise.
2007 Independent 10 Feb. (Save & Spend section) 5/2 The company seemed to think it was a case of ‘better the devil you know’.
P14. may the better man win and variants = may the best man win at best adj., n.1, and adv. Phrases 7.
ΚΠ
1845 Spirit of Times 24 May 148/1 The men are to run [the race] between twelve and two o'clock... We hope that ‘both may be well on the day, and the better man win’.
1876 Peru (Indiana) Republican 6 Oct. Hurrah for Hayes and Tilden [sc. electoral candidates] and may the better man win!
1922 Dunkirk (N.Y.) Evening Observer 8 July 1/3 May the better woman win and the better woman I think and hope is Suzanne [Lenglen].
1985 Jet 15 Oct. 47/1 I knew I had to do my best and let the better man win. And believe it or not, the better man won.
2005 Times 28 Oct. 96/2 Was that gesture..an unspoken ‘play well and may the better man win’, the golfing equivalent of two boxers touching gloves?
P15.
a. better cheap: see cheap n.1 8. the fewer the better cheer: see cheer n.1 Phrases 6. to have seen better days: see day n. Phrases 9b(a). the better deal: see deal n.1 1d. the better foot before: see foot n. and int. Phrases 8. to go (one) better: see go v. 36. the grey mare is the better horse: see grey adj. and n. Phrases 1a. to have the better hand: see hand n. Phrases 2i(a). two heads are better than one: see head n.1 Phrases 5c. to be on the better side of the hedge: see hedge n. Phrases 1. neither barrel better herring: see herring n. 2. one's better judgement: see judgement n. Phrases 3. to kiss better: see kiss v. 6n. to know better: see know v. Phrases 9c. to know no better: see know v. Phrases 9a. better luck next time: see luck n. Phrases 4c. to build a better mousetrap: see mousetrap n. 2e. for want of a better name: see name n. and adj. Phrases 5. one's better nature: see nature n. 7b. better than a poke in the eye with a sharp stick: see poke n.5 1b. his room is better than his company: see room n.1 9b. to say better: see say v.1 and int. Phrases 3a(d). to have the better end of the staff: see staff n.1 Phrases 7. streets better: see street n. and adj. Phrases 6c. take better way with you: see way n.1 and int.1 Phrases 5b. a woman, a dog, and a walnut tree, the more you beat them the better they be: see woman n. Phrases 1c. a bird in the hand is better than two in the wood: see wood n.1 5e. for better, for worse: see worse adj. and n. Phrases 3b.
b. Proverbial phrases in sense A. 3a. better (to be) the head of a dog than the tail of a lion: see head n.1 Phrases 5d. better late than never: see late adv. Phrases 3. better wed over the mixen than over the moor: see mixen n. Phrases 2. better dead than red: see red adj. and n. Phrases 10. better (to be) safe than sorry: see safe adj. Phrases 15. better (to be) sure than sorry: see sure adj., adv., and int. Phrases 10.

Compounds

C1. Compounds of the adverb.
a. Combining with participles with the sense ‘in a better way or manner’, (also) ‘more fully, more’ to form adjectives, as better-behaved, better-balanced, better-born, better-considered, better-dressed, better-educated, better-equipped, better-informed, better-knowing, better-known, better-loved, better-organized, better-regulated, etc. Cf. best adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 1a(a), Compounds 1a(b).Frequently forming comparatives of corresponding compounds with well.
ΚΠ
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1491 (MED) A beter bi-loued barn was neuer born.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 344 A bettre envyned man was neuere noon.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 193 With lasse labour and cost mai be had the perfiter and fuller and better representing ymage of the same thing.
1595 tr. ‘J. Borget’ Divels Legend sig. A3v That great, faire, well cut, and better combed beard.
1616 G. Markham tr. C. Estienne et al. Maison Rustique (rev. ed.) v. xvii. 549 To resort to the better-knowing husbands.
1630 Bp. J. Hall Occas. Medit. lxxi. 177 No Law bindes vs to read all; but the more we can take in, and digest, the better-liking must the minds needs be.
1660 H. More Explan. Grand Myst. Godliness i. v. 11 In what fitter, more significant or better-becoming way could it be expressed then already it is in the Beginning of that Gospel?
1677 tr. A.-N. Amelot de La Houssaie Hist. Govt. Venice 23 Such Gentlemen..as thereby become better-affected to the Venetian Nobility.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 126 For Empire he design'd, Is better born. View more context for this quotation
1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Sensus Communis: Ess. Freedom of Wit 80 An honest Heart is only a more cunning one: and Honesty and good Nature, a more deliberate, or better regulated Self-Love.
1756 M. Calderwood Jrnl. (1884) 9 June i. 8 I am Scots, and the Scots and Welch are near relations, and much better born than the English.
1760 Mod. Part Universal Hist. XVII. vii. 59 A race of mulattoes soon sprung up, more healthy than the European women, better-liked, and more congenial to the blacks.
1784 Polit Mag. Apr. 253/2 Asking them to trace back the building of Gour..or of the better known Palibothra of the ancients.
1791 J. Bentham Let. c30 Apr. in Corr. (1981) IV. 270 There was not a better behaved young woman in the whole parish.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy I. x. 250 Neglecting the minor and better-balanced chances of the game.
1820 W. Scott Abbot II. viii. 268 To cumber our better-advised devotions.
1826 S. Smith in Edinb. Rev. Dec. 85 His awe of better dressed men and better taught men.
1855 E. C. Gaskell North & South I. v. 64 To learn his change of opinion..from her better-informed child.
1856 Farmer's Mag. Nov. 431 A more matured and better-considered measure.
1861 Amer. Agriculturist Jan. 24/2 They have become better armed and more exasperated by the whites.
1910 B. E. Stevenson Amer. Men of Mind (1913) ix. 312 It is doubtful if there is a better-loved woman in America today than Helen Gould.
1956 Life 2 Apr. 30/2 Is this news helpful to men on earth; does it make them better-behaved?
1975 L. Perl Slumps, Grunts, & Snickerdoodles xii. 97 The traditional way to do this was to toss the biscuit dough onto a smooth-topped tree stump or, in better-equipped kitchens, onto a heavy wooden ‘biscuit block’.
1988 P. Cloud Oasis in Space xvi. 438/2 This led to ever-fleeter grazers..and ever-swifter, stealthier, or better-organized predators.
2006 Attitude Nov. 104/2 The display at the National features some of his better-known paintings.
2007 N.Y. Times Mag. 4 Mar. 20/2 Singapore introduced a series of measures to encourage its better-educated citizens to start families.
b. Forming parasynthetic adjectives and derived nouns in -ed, as better-humoured, better-natured, better-omened, better-principled, better-willed, better-witted, etc. Cf. best adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 1a(d).
ΚΠ
1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 307 That shall cause hym to be the betere wyllyd.
1557 R. Edgeworth Serm. very Fruitfull sig. B.iii (table) Narration of .ii. craftes men, of whiche the better witted thriued worse.
1594 R. Carew tr. T. Tasso Godfrey of Bulloigne i. 33 Tall were the men, and led they could not be By one more strong, or better skil'd then he.
1609 Epist. in W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida (2nd issue) sig. ¶2 And haue parted better wittied then they came.
1624 B. Jonson Neptunes Triumph sig. C2 A stocke To graft the greener Emerald on Or any better-waterd stone.
1680 G. Hickes Spirit of Popery 48 A great, and better Principled Lady.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks I. iii. 254 His better-humour'd and more agreeable successor.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks I. iii. 310 Growing better-natur'd, and enjoying more..the pleasures of society.
1827 T. Carlyle Richter in Edinb. Rev. June 177 Richter was much better-natured than Johnson.
1860 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem (1861) III. clxxi. 198 The move of a better-omened man.
1875 H. W. Beecher Plymouth Pulpit 1 May 137 Some men are better-eyed than others. Some men have better hearing than others.
1881 Cent. Mag. Nov. 153/1 Mr. Wilde is wise and better-hearted than he paints himself.
1940 Rotarian Aug. 46/3 The better-minded class of boys have been with the movement since its inception.
1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) 119 There had been other and better-natured fairies who had made me intelligent and energetic.
1992 Economist 22 Feb. 92/3 Claims that Lloyd's is running out of cash are exaggerated. Its bosses say it is better-reserved than most insurance companies.
c.
(a) Forming complementary adjectives, as better-smelling, better-sounding, better-tasting, etc. best adj., n.1, and adv. Compounds 1a(c).
ΚΠ
1606 G. Closse Parricide Papist sig. B4 He sacrificeth to God a better smelling oblation then theyrs.
1656 A. Cowley Davideis iii. 114 in Poems Zippor is the more known, more authentical, and better sounding Name.
1715 ‘E. Standfast’ Let. Advice T. Brett 116 Having all along confirmed their Sentiment with better seeming Testimonies from Antiquity, than I ever observed in any of their Writings.
1860 Wisconsin Jrnl. Educ. Sept. 132 We have seldom seen a better appearing body of teachers.
1871 C. Morfit Pract. Treat. Manuf. Soaps iii. 41 They..yield a better smelling soap.
1903 Westm. Gaz. 15 Aug. 7/1 For various reasons, chief of which is the multitude of better-paying investments, the public are not buying Goschens.
1950 San Antonio Light 9 Aug. 9 b Smarter looking, better feeling shoes.
1985 Pop. Sci. Nov. 37/1 I've never used a better sounding, more useful phone.
2009 N. N. Chen Food, Med., & Quest for Good Health 3 Primates spend a lot more time looking for better-tasting fruits than simply eating those they can easily gather.
(b)
better-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1757 ‘Sir W. Freeman’ Lett. Several Occas. vii. 29 I never remember to have seen a better looking set of people than his servants are.
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. xiv. 217 I was by far the better-looking chap of the two.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 139/3 (advt.) Cleaner, whiter, better looking clothes are assured by Horton Kleen-Zoning.
2011 Vanity Fair Feb. 150/1 Justin Bieber is actually better-looking in person than in photographs.
C2. Compounds of the adjective.
a. In noun phrases used attributively.
better-class adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > specifically of a thing
betterOE
better-than-average1725
better-quality1844
better-class1849
better-type1928
1849 Literary World (N.Y.) 22 Sept. 217/3 From the better class houses bounding it to the absurd brick and mortar building across it.
1890 W. F. Butler Sir Charles Napier 7 Merchants or local better-class farmers.
2011 Art Q. Autumn 18/1 The decoration of these pistols is nothing more than bog-standard Rococo decoration found on hundreds of better-class pistols.
better-quality adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > specifically of a thing
betterOE
better-than-average1725
better-quality1844
better-class1849
better-type1928
1844 Niles' National Reg. 22 June 272/1 Better quality beef in demand, all others neglected.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 12 Aug. 11/3 Better-quality teas.
2002 Racing Pigeon Pict. Internat. Aug. 19/2 Feather quality is heritable, with certain families having better-quality, silkier feathers.
better-type adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > specifically of a thing
betterOE
better-than-average1725
better-quality1844
better-class1849
better-type1928
1928 D. A. Spencer et al. Factors Wool Production Range Rambouillet Sheep (U.S. Dept. Agric. Techn. Bull. No. 85) 47 Heavier fleeces from the better-type ewes.
1958 Spectator 8 Aug. 196/1 The better-type delivery library.
1993 Accounting Rev. 68 536 The impetus for disclosure comes from the desire of better-type firms to communicate with the financial market.
b.
better self n. (chiefly with possessive adjective) the better part of a person's nature.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > disposition or character > [noun] > good part of character
better self1599
virtu1906
1599 R. Allott Wits Theater Little World f. 76 Alcibiades, the Scholler of Socrates, was the fayrest and welfauoredst Boy in all Athence, whose soule he loued, which was Alcibiades better selfe.
1647 W. Tipping Remarkable Life & Death Lady Apollina Hall 6 This indulgency..did but serve to advance and strengthen corrupt nature in her against her better self.
1763 W. Warburton Doctr. Grace II. 302 If..he be commanded to deny himself, I should conclude, it was not his better self, his Reason, but the worse, his Passions.
1820 J. Keats Lamia ii, in Lamia & Other Poems 31 In self despite, Against his better self.
1930 Washington Post 9 Feb. (Junior Post section) 5/4 A little voice said, ‘Look at hers, look at hers,’ but her better self said, ‘Play fair.’
2011 Guardian (Nexis) 26 Mar. (Guide Suppl.) 59 We witness Margaret's quiet personal struggle as her better self fights the seductive pull of Nucky's world.
better star n. now rare (chiefly with possessive adjective) a planet or constellation which influences a person's fortunes for the better; cf. star n.1 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > [noun]
superior planet1577
better star1600
planet1640
planetary1819
exoplanet1992
1600 S. Nicholson Acolastus his After-witte sig. E My Halcyon daies of blisse and happines..I giue to those whom better starres doe blesse.
1633 J. Ford Broken Heart i. iii. sig. C2 It had beene A fault of iudgement in me..not to weigh and thanke My better Starres, that offered me the grace Of so much blisfulnesse.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i. 7 Thy better Stars Are join'd to shed their kindest Influence on thee.
1840 W. M. Thackeray Shabby Genteel Story iv, in Fraser's Mag. July 101/1 I must stay here—and be hanged to the place,—until my better star shall rise.
1902 Border Mag. May 93/2 At length, however, Jock's better stars withdrew their lustre, and..he was seized and hurried a prisoner to Newcastle.
better will n. greater goodwill.In quot. OE corresponding in sense to goodwill n. 1.In quot. 1357 corresponding in sense to goodwill n. 3a.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Homily (Cambr. Ii.4.6) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1967) I. 486 Se mann bið oþer, fram his yfele abroden to beterum willan þurh ðæs Gastes gife.
J. Gaytryge Lay Folks' Catech. (York Min.) (1901) l. 565 To gif yhou better will for to kun tham.
1462 J. Pampyng in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 248 Because of such tales yowr tenauntes owe hym the bettir will.
a1675 J. Lightfoot Genuine Remains (1700) 201 That a Saint of God in the State of Holiness that we speak of, hath a better Will toward God, than Adam had in Innocency.
1785 G. Forster tr. A. Sparrman Voy. Cape Good Hope I. ii. 38 To make me suspect, that they had no better will towards me, than they have to others of a different nation from themselves.
2018 @Spinozasrose 17 July in twitter.com (OED Archive) As a tactic to create better will towards just peace, it completely failed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

betterv.1

Brit. /ˈbɛtə/, U.S. /ˈbɛdər/
Forms: Old English beterian, Old English betrian, Old English gebeorode (past participle, plural, transmission error), early Middle English ȝebetered (past participle), Middle English beter, Middle English betred (past tense), Middle English bettred (past tense), Middle English bettrede (past participle), Middle English bettyr, Middle English– better; also Scottish pre-1700 beter.
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian beteria , betria to atone, amend, to improve, Middle Dutch beteren to make better, mend, improve, compensate, punish, reconcile (Dutch beteren ), Old Saxon betiron , betoron to improve, make better (Middle Low German bēteren ), Old High German bezzirōn to improve, enrich, edify (Middle High German bezzern , German bessern ), Old Icelandic betra to improve, Old Swedish bætra to improve, to repair, to make amends (for a crime) (Swedish bättra ), Danish bedre to atone, improve, edify < the same Germanic base as better adj.In Old English the prefixed form gebeterian (compare y- prefix) is also attested in the sense ‘to improve, amend’ (compare sense 1a). Compare also bettering n.
rare between Old English and 15th cent.
1.
a.
(a) transitive. To make better; to improve, ameliorate; to enhance.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (transitive)]
beetc975
betterOE
goodOE
sharpa1100
amendc1300
enhance1526
meliorate1542
embetter1568
endeara1586
enrich1598
meliorize1598
mend1603
sweeten1607
improve1617
to work up1641
ameliorate1653
solace1667
fine1683
ragout1749
to make something of1778
richen1795
transcendentalize1846
to tone up1847
to do something (also things) for (also to)1880
rich1912
to step up1920
uprate1965
up1968
nice1993
OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iv. xvi. 283 He þonne gyt se cræftga sceawað & smeðað, he gehyreþ, þæt hi [sc. his works] beoð geherede, & swa þeah he ne blinneþ, þæt he betriende [L. meliorando] bete þa & efnette.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 133v (MED) If it be larded with piper..þe effecte of it is bettered or amended [?c1425 Paris bettrede; L. melioratus].
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) ii. xvii. sig. dvii I did it to this entent that it sholde better thy courage.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 49 Thei bee neither any thyng encreased or ferthered in cunnyng, nor yet any thyng emended or bettered in their liuyng.
1581 Compendious Exam. Certayne Ordinary Complaints iii. f. 50v Oure Townes myght bee soone..far bettered.
1585 Abp. E. Sandys Serm. v. 81 Graunted that some rites..might be bettered or omitted.
1650 R. Gell Αγγελοκρατια Θεου 48 He will improve and better the land he holds.
1698 A. Fletcher Two Disc. Affairs Scotl. ii. 13 They thought they did them no wrong if they did not better their condition.
1711 J. Greenwood Ess. Pract. Eng. Gram. 10 As to our daily borrowing abundance of Words, I cannot think our Language is better'd by it.
1769 Extraordinary North Briton 22 Apr. 298 His death had not much bettered the state of the kingdom.
1822 M. Graham Jrnl. 7 Nov. in Captain's Wife (1993) 131 In order to better the condition, if possible of the nuns of Chile.
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1876) III. xiii. 311 His chances were distinctly bettered by the transfer of the Crown to a dynasty of which he might almost count as a member.
1906 Spectator 30 June 1043/2 Irrelevance and confusion are worsened, not bettered, when advanced under the cloak of a distinguished reputation.
1931 H. S. Williams Bk. of Marvels 27 The practical value of the method in bettering tonal quality in large-scale production has been successfully demonstrated.
1992 Sci. Amer. June 87/3 Is there anything fans can do to better their lot?
2010 New Yorker 7 June 54/2 They wanted to see the English knocked out, to better their own team's chances.
(b) transitive. spec. To make morally better; to improve the moral standing or character of.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > reform, amend, or correct [verb (transitive)] > make morally better
bettereOE
moralize1633
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxxi. 205 Ða scamfæstan beoð oft mid gemetlicre lare gebetrode.
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xliii. 68 Hy for ðære sceame and for gewande þara, þe him onlociað, gebeterede syn [a1225 Winteney ȝebeterede syn; L. emendentur] and eft cafran to Godes þeowdome.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 349 Siþ þei witen not who is beterid by entryng into þes ordris.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 161 (MED) Oþer creaturis ben beterid, and noon ben worsid, bi þis ȝifte, For bi þe manheed of Crist..alle manere creaturis serven God in betere stat.
?1556 E. P. in tr. T. Cranmer Confut. Verities Pref. sig. A.iiiiv In oure hartes we were full of pryde, malice, enuye, couetousnesse, backebitynge, rioting, harlot hauntinge, no whitte bettered at all, then we were before.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1351/1 Are you not resolued to better your life?
a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1593) 1004 If we wil be bettered and increased by the worde, wee must bee as new borne babes.
1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 40 Instructing and bettering the Nation at all opportunities.
1698 Life T. Firmin 42 If the universal Lord seeks to reclame, and to better us, by Favours, and Graces; do we dare to argue against the Example set by Him.
1754 G. Whitefield Let. 3 Jan. in Wks. (1771) III. 57 I could wish she was bettered by affliction.
1849 J. Ruskin Seven Lamps Archit. vii. 194 We think too much..of bettering men by giving them advice and instruction.
1897 Pop. Sci. Feb. 537 Are we, who belong to the predominating class of society, bettered by our acts toward those who are not in harmony with the methods and motives that have made society what it is?
1918 M. M. Parker Art Clubs are Trumps 17 We must be earnest and patient and believe in..the potent power of Art, to better us as women.
1981 J. L. Haley Apaches iii. 377 The prisoners were ‘reconstructed’ by housing them among several prominent families, where the attempt to better them was almost universally minimal.
2004 A. Levy Small Island xxii. 247 She had come, she told me, with a whisper and wink, to take me away and better me.
(c) transitive. In passive. To be made better in health; to be caused or enabled to recover from illness. Now archaic and rare.Now only with allusion to quot. 1611.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > heal or cure [verb (transitive)] > specifically a person or part
wholeeOE
healc1000
betterOE
i-sundienc1175
salvea1225
botenc1225
savea1250
warishc1250
recurea1382
curec1384
mendc1390
remedya1470
cheerc1540
loosea1637
to pull through1816
rehab1973
OE Rule St. Benet (Tiber.) (1888) xxxvi. 68 Ac ubi meliorati fuerint, a carnibus more solido [read solito] omnes abstineant : þ'onne [perh. read þæt þonne] hi beoð gebeorode [read gebetrode] fram flæsclicum mid gewunelic þeaw ealle & hi forhabban.
1611 Bible (King James) Mark v. 26 A certaine woman which..had spent all that she had, and was nothing bettered.
1655 N. Culpeper et al. tr. L. Rivière Pract. Physick xvii. iii. i. 626 They [sc. exanthemata] break forth..in great quantity, so that the sick party is thereby bettered, and the symptoms lessened.
1891 N. Indian Notes & Queries Dec. 156/2 My wife has been ill for two months, and has been nothing bettered by all the medicines of the physicians.
1910 World's Work Apr. 12848/2 Like the poor woman of Galilee, they previously had suffered many things of many physicians, and had spent all they had and were nothing bettered.
b. transitive (reflexive). To improve one's character, financial or social condition, level of education, etc.; (in later use esp.) to achieve a higher social position or status.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > cause to prosper or flourish [verb (transitive)] > increase prosperity of
mend?a1400
better1557
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > advance or progress [verb (reflexive)] > raise oneself in rank, power, or prosperity
better1557
mend1632
1557 W. Peryn Spirituall Exercyses Introd. sig. Aivv Purpose euermore (by godes grace and blessyd helpe) to better your selfe, and all shall be well.
1582 R. Mulcaster 1st Pt. Elementarie Peroration 246 To vse honest and wise means, such as law of arms doth admit, to better himself in bootie & spoil.
1655 W. Gouge & T. Gouge Learned Comm. Hebrewes (xiii. 5) iv. 48 So great hope of bettering himself.
1745 J. Swift Direct. to Servants 6 A poor Servant is not to be blamed if he strives to better himself.
1792 M. Wollstonecraft Vindic. Rights Woman iv. 164 Girls marry merely to better themselves, to borrow a significant vulgar phrase.
1840 F. Marryat Poor Jack i. 6 She left to better herself, and obtained the situation of nurse.
1887 M. A. Post Poverty Hollow 49 A house-carpenter..agreed to take me into his shop until I could better myself.
1921 W. E. Heitland Agricola lxi. 444 The power to migrate or emigrate with the view of ‘bettering himself’ is conferred on the wage-earner by modern facilities for travel.
1992 J. Trollope Men & Girls (1993) ii. 27 She'd wanted him to be a lawyer, after Cambridge, she'd wanted him to better himself.
2009 Independent 28 Feb. 47/4 He certainly wouldn't have been put off by her uneducatedness..or her desire to better herself.
2.
a. intransitive. To become better, to improve. Cf. bettering n. 2. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > improvement > [verb (intransitive)] > improve or grow better
betterOE
goodOE
risec1175
mend1546
meliorize1598
to mend one's hand1611
improve1642
meliorate1655
brighten1659
ameliorate1728
to look up1806
to tone up1881
raise1898
graduate1916
to shape up1938
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 146 Melioror, ic betrige.
1594 J. Sylvester tr. O. de La Noue Profit Imprisonm. sig. D4v Whence commes it that so many men in prison..In steed of bettering thear, wax wurser then before?
a1718 T. Parnell Poems Several Occasions (1721) 131 But Beauty gone, 'tis easier to be wise; As Harpers better, by the loss of Eyes.
1839 T. Carlyle Chartism ii. 10 The general condition of the poor must be bettering instead of worsening.
1883 R. Broughton Belinda II. ii. viii. 113 The day has bettered.
1932 F. Davis What Price Wall Street? ii. 29 The repute of the London stock broker bettered slowly.
1946 J. Masefield Poems 207 If times are bad, Times must be bettering, master; so be bold.
b. intransitive. spec. To improve in health; to recover from an illness. Cf. better adj. 7. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1611 W. Adams Let. 23 Oct. in A. Farrington Eng. Factory in Japan (1991) I. 65 Many died and of the sicknes fewe bettered.
1646 J. Hope Diary in Misc. Sc. Hist. Soc. (1958) IX. 132 He bettered by degrees.
1801 S. T. Coleridge Coll. Lett. (1956) II. 676 Mrs Coleridge has been ill..but is bettering.
1868 M. Clymer Aitken's Sci. & Pract. Med. (new ed.) II. iii. iii. xiv. 978 In three cases..both iodine and iodide of potassium were tried without benefit... Two of them bettered slowly when taking no medicine.
1906 Brooklyn Med. Jrnl. Oct. 302/2 She slowly bettered but not, seemingly, because of any treatment.
1952 V. Paradise Tomorrow the Harvest xxvii. 250 Of those close by, only Mary Grant stayed away. ‘She's bettering,’ Adam reported. ‘But I must hurry home right after the burying, for the children all have bad colds, too.’
2010 M. Frazer Play of Piety i. 8 I'm bettering... When I first came in here, you'd not have seen me sit up the way I did just now. So, yes, I'm bettering.
†3. intransitive. To prevail, to have the mastery. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > mastery or superiority > have or gain mastery, superiority, or advantage [verb (intransitive)]
risec1175
to have the higher handa1225
to have the besta1393
bettera1400
vaila1400
to win or achieve a checka1400
surmount1400
prevaila1425
to have (also get) the better handa1470
to go away with it1489
to have the besta1500
to have (also get, etc.) the better (or worse) end of the staff1542
to have ita1616
to have (also get) the laugh on one's side1672
top1718
beat1744
to get (also have) the right end of the stick1817
to have the best of1846
to go one better1856
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) xii. 4 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 144 Leswhen mi witherwin he sai, I betred againes him ai.
a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) lxiv. 3 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1896) II. 193 Wordes of wike bettred ouer vs nou.
4.
a. transitive. To do or be better than (someone or something); to surpass, excel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > outdo or surpass [verb (transitive)]
overstyeOE
overshinec1175
overgoc1225
passc1225
surmountc1369
forpassc1374
overmatcha1375
overpassa1382
to pass overa1393
overcomec1400
outpass?a1425
exceedc1425
precedec1425
superexcelc1429
transcendc1430
precel?a1439
outcut1447
overgrowc1475
to come over ——a1479
excel1493
overleapa1500
vanquish1533
outweigh1534
prevent1540
better1548
preferc1550
outgo1553
surpassa1555
exsuperate1559
cote1566
overtop1567
outrun1575
outstrip1579
outsail1580
overruna1586
pre-excel1587
outbid1589
outbrave1589
out-cote1589
top1590
outmatch1593
outvie1594
superate1595
surbravec1600
oversile1608
over-height1611
overstride1614
outdoa1616
outlustrea1616
outpeera1616
outstrikea1616
outrival1622
antecede1624
out-top1624
antecell1625
out-pitch1627
over-merit1629
outblazea1634
surmatch1636
overdoa1640
overact1643
outact1644
worst1646
overspana1657
outsoar1674
outdazzle1691
to cut down1713
ding1724
to cut out1738
cap1821
by-pass1848
overtower1850
pretergress1851
outray1876
outreach1879
cut1884
outperform1937
outrate1955
one-up1963
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Pref. 15 Begrieued to see his thing bettered.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 22 Each day still better others happines. View more context for this quotation
1623 H. Cockeram Eng. Dict. iii. at Isæan Salmon, which is..not to be betterd in any part of the world.
1750 P. Shaw Reflector iii. 251 It is best to retain the old Regulations, when they cannot be bettered by new ones.
1820 J. Keats Lamia i, in Lamia & Other Poems 16 Jove heard his vows, and better'd his desire.
1846 J. Ruskin Mod. Painters II. 115 It hardly betters the blocks..in barbers' windows.
1911 B. Matthews Study of Versification x. 214 Dryden followed Waller and easily bettered his model because he was truly a poet.
1946 E. Radford Unusual Words 287 As to its meaning, we cannot better the description given by Vincent Trowbridge.
1985 Sunday Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 27 Oct. Guests can stay in a resort complex I have rarely seen bettered anywhere.
2004 Opera News Mar. 87/1 The..Choir could scarcely be bettered, and the London Philharmonic Orchestra plays the score for all it's worth.
b. transitive. To improve on, surpass (a price offered elsewhere, a previously achieved score or record, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > be great in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > be greater than in quantity, amount, or degree
surmountc1374
passa1387
exceedc1400
to come over ——a1479
surpassa1555
outstrip1579
top1582
outnumber1598
over-reckona1635
turn1716
overgang1737
overspring1801
rise1838
overvault1851
override1867
better1873
1873 National Live-stock Jrnl. (Chicago) Apr. 116/1 He has been on the turf for several years, and each year he has bettered the record of the preceding one.
1880 Furniture Gaz. 20 Nov. 314/2 If there were more unity among the manufacturers they would have a much greater opportunity for bettering the prices.
1883 Outing Sept. 420/1 For three separate years he has won the 100 yards dash, and bettered his time on each occasion.
1911 H. I. Greene Barbara of Snows iv. 72 Mr. Meyer spoke first and Mr. Findley can't better the bid.
1946 Times-Picayune (New Orleans) 18 Feb. 14/1 Samuels broke the world record in the bench press with a total of 335 pounds, bettering by five pounds the old mark.
1989 R. Whiting You gotta have Wa (1990) iii. 61 Kinugasa bettered Lou Gehrig's record for durability of 2,130 games in a row.
2008 T. Balf Major vii. 108 The next day he rewrote the record books again, bettering his previous marks at every distance he attempted.
†5. intransitive. To be advantageous or beneficial. Cf. profit v. 1b. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [verb (intransitive)]
to take wall1591
better1592
to take place1602
to be a huckleberry to (or over) someone's persimmon1832
1592 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) viii. xxxviii. 171 It betters not to tarrie.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).

betterv.2

Brit. /ˈbɛtə/, U.S. /ˈbɛdər/
Origin: Formed within English, by clipping or shortening. Etymon: English had better.
Etymology: Short for had better (see better adj. 4b). Compare earlier better v.1The negative construction bettern't , formed with the reduced cliticized form (spelt n't ) of not adv., is attested from at least the second half of the 19th cent. (compare quots. 1868, 1907 ). Compare with further reduction the form bettn't, recorded occasionally in representations of children's speech from a similar date.
An invariable modal verb, normally complemented by the bare infinitive.
colloquial (originally U.S.). Had better (see better adj. 4b); should.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > be advantageous or beneficial to [verb (transitive)]
helpc1000
goodOE
steadc1175
to do (one) boot?c1225
advancec1330
profitc1330
availc1384
servea1398
vaila1400
vailc1400
prevail1442
advantage?1459
vantagec1460
bootc1540
benefit1549
conduce?1577
to serve (one) in some, no stead1601
bonify1603
answer1756
better1833
to stand to ——1841
to stand (a person or thing) in (good, etc.) stead1887
1833 S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing xviii. 82 I thought you better be at home to work on the farm; for your father..is hauled up with the rumatize so.
1846 J. J. Hooper Some Adventures Simon Suggs (1851) i. 154 You better mind the holes in them ere rocks.
1868 J. H. Mathews Maggie & Bessie iv. 59 ‘Grandpa,’ she said, ‘bettern't we go the other way?’
1907 R. Fry Let. 27 May (1972) I. 287 It has been a great temptation..just to go off into this wonderful country alone... But I didn't know when he might come till this afternoon and so I thought I bettern't.
1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) iii. 53 Brace better meet that train.
1968 Listener 9 May 596/2 You better get those two guys inside.
2000 Z. Smith White Teeth (2001) ix. 227 We don't want to burn ourselves to death, now do we? I better find some black plastic and gaffer tape.
2012 J. Dane On Dark Wing xix. 303 ‘Next time, make sure you're legal, son.’ ‘I better write that down, sir.’
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.21614adj.n.1adv.eOEv.1eOEv.21833
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