> as lemmas

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.