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单词 act
释义

actn.

Brit. /akt/, U.S. /æk(t)/
Forms: Middle English act (plural), Middle English–1600s acte, Middle English– act, 1500s–1600s actt; Scottish pre-1700 ac, pre-1700 accke, pre-1700 acte, pre-1700 actt, pre-1700 aick, pre-1700 ak, pre-1700 auct, pre-1700 1700s– ack, pre-1700 1700s– act, 1800s ac'.
Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a borrowing from French. Partly a borrowing from Latin. Etymons: French acte; Latin āctus; Latin āctum.
Etymology: < Anglo-Norman and Middle French acte legal text (1333 in Anglo-Norman), (record of) Act of Parliament (14th cent. in Anglo-Norman), (good or bad) deed (1504), action (as opposed to speech) (1521), section of a play composed of scenes (16th cent.) and its two etymons: (1) classical Latin āctus (u- stem) physical movement, motion, mode of action, movement, action, activity, doing, duty, work, transaction, performance, administration, conduct, method, employment, performance (of a play), representation, delivery (of a speech), part or division of a play, session of a discussion, moral conduct, behaviour, deed, exploit, (of celestial objects) function, (usually with qualifying adjective) sexual act (2nd cent. a.d.), in post-classical Latin also actuality, reality (6th cent.), study or advancement at university (frequently from 13th cent. in British sources), parliamentary statute (1456, 1457 in British sources; < āct- , past participial stem of agere (see agent adj.) + -tus , suffix forming verbal nouns); and (2) classical Latin āctum (usually in plural ācta ) deed, transaction, great action, achievement, exploit, official decree, enactment, written record of events, use as noun of neuter of past participle of agere (see agent adj.). Compare Catalan acta legal record of a fact, contract, obligation, etc., (in plural) acts of the martyrs, saints, etc. (a1600), Spanish acta (1256–63), Portuguese ato (14th cent.), Italian atto (in philosophy) that which is realized (late 13th cent.), action, conduct (a1306). Classical Latin āctus is also attested in the senses: action of driving cattle or carts, right of way, road for cattle, cart-track, path, course, linear land measure, series, sequence (of numbers), process of waxing or diminishing, progress. In sense 1 after post-classical Latin Actus apostolorum (Vulgate), Acta apostolorum (3rd cent.). Compare the following uses of Latin Actus apostolorum in an English context in Old English and Middle English:OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 330 Se ðridda godspellere is Lucas,..and he ða godspel awrat.., and actus apostolorum eac he gesette.lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 47 Se mycla hunger on Siria þe wes forewitegad on Actibus Apostolorum [OE Tiber. B.iv octabus Apostolorum, lOE Parker on þare boc Actus Apostolorum] þurh Agabum þone witegan. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 359 Arator, a subdecon of Rome..made þe book Actus Apostolorum al in vers of sixe feet. ▸ c1426 J. Audelay Poems (1931) 32 In actibus apostolorum þer may ȝe rede Hou þe goodys of hole cherche sumtyme were i-sempde.?c1430 (?1382) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 521 In Actibus Apostolorum is seid þus. In the following example actum probably represents a hybrid form with the Old English dative plural ending (rather than showing the Latin accusative singular, which would be unexpected):OE St. Michael (Corpus Cambr.) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 159 Swa hit sægð in actum apostolorum.
I. Something done; the action or process of achieving this.
1. In plural, with capital initial, and frequently with the. More fully Acts of the Apostles. (The name of) one of the books of the New Testament which immediately follows the Gospels and relates the history of the early Christian Church.
ΚΠ
a1382 Prefatory Epist. St. Jerome in Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) vii. l. 157 Þe actez of þe apostlez forsoþe þe nakid story semen to sowne & to weuen þe childhode of þe bering chirch.
c1425 Prose Versions New Test.: Deeds (Cambr.) (1904) p. 123 (MED) Here bigynnes þo actus of apostuls.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1872) IV. 405 (MED) Seynte Luke and Seynte Paule did wryte the Actes of the Apostles in the cite of Rome.
1539 C. Tunstall Serm. Palme Sondaye (1823) 55 It appereth playnly in the x. of the actes.
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. (new ed.) II. Rom. Argt. sig. ii As Luke in the xxi chapiter of thactes reherseth.
c1604 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 106 The Evangiles and Acts, teach us what to beleeve, but the Epistles of the Apostles what to do.
1668 T. Hyde Let. to Boyle 23 Feb. in R. Boyle Wks. (1744) V. 592/2 The printing of St. Luke and the Acts in the Malayan letter, would make about thirty sheets.
1749 D. Hartley Observ. Man ii. ii. 78 When the Genuineness of the Acts of the Apostles, and of St. Paul's Epistles, is thus deduced, the Truth of the Facts mentioned in them will follow from it.
1790 W. Paley Horæ Paulinæ Rom. i. 10 This..brings the narrative in the Acts nearer to an accordancy with the epistle.
1833 C. F. Crusé tr. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. (ed. 2) ii. x. 59 It is also recorded in the book of Acts.
1885 Jrnl. Soc. Bibl. Lit. June 6 The Didachographer seems also to have some slight acquaintance with Luke and Acts and some epistles of Paul.
1920 Harvard Theol. Rev. 13 136 How alluring and yet how elusive is the personality of the self-effacing Diarist of the Acts!
1975 Times 30 Dec. 9/5 Miss Manning falls into the common error of using the Acts of the Apostles as the primary source of information rather than the Apostle's own letters.
2006 A. Beaujon Body Piercing saved my Life xi. 262 Wiess's Christianity comes from possibly the most emo book of the whole Bible, Acts.
2.
a. gen. Something done or effected; a deed.sex, speech act, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > an act or deed
deedc825
i-wurhtc888
workOE
casec1325
acta1393
actiona1393
operationc1395
featc1420
exploitc1425
commissionc1475
factc1487
practice1547
part1561
practisement1581
issuea1616
performancea1616
performenta1641
factum1641
coup1791
stunt1904
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) Prol. l. 405 (MED) Thei leve noght..Upon her acte to procede.
c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 347 And al youre Actes red and songe [c1475 Bodl. actys].
a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 141 Thai haue no hartes to do so terable an acte.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lix. 12 Thorow God we shal do greate actes, for it is he that shal treade downe oure enemies.
1584 H. Llwyd & D. Powel Hist. Cambria 99 The prowesse and worthie actes of the ancient Brytaines.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. As worthy an acte as euer he did.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 54 An Act and Deed, that makes one Heart, Become another's counter-part.
1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels I. 87 The General Judgment shall extend, not only to Mens Overt, but even their most secret Acts.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 356 My opinions..come from one..who in his last acts does not wish to belye the tenour of his life.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. iii, in Poems 98 And snatch some Portion of their Acts from Fate.
1863 Austin's Province Jurispr. (ed. 2) II. xviii. 85 The only objects which can be called acts, are the consequences of Volitions... The involuntary movements which are the consequences of certain diseases, are not acts.
1890 G. Saintsbury in New Rev. Feb. 138 A most ghastly act of high treason is being committed.
1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience xviii. 441 He is present to all time. Even our free acts are known beforehand to Him.
1954 M. Procter Hell is City ii. ii. 47 I'll do you if it's my last act in life. I'll swing for you with pleasure.
1990 Law & Human Behaviour 14 216 The forensic investigator will let the entire crime scene, including the victim, tell, in effect, what kind of person committed this act.
b. An operation of the mind.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > [noun] > action, operation of the mind
acta1425
stir1563
working1598
mentation1850
mentalism1874
a1425 (?a1400) Cloud of Unknowing (Harl. 674) (1944) 3 (MED) Þei ben ful graciously disposid..to be parceners in þe hieȝste pointe of þis contemplatiue acte.
1582 R. Parsons Def. Censure 103 I maye make a resolution with my selfe, that I will not goe [to church]: and then this acte of resolution in my mynd is..the ground of the sinne.
1629 A. Richardson Logicians School-master 285 According to the act of our reason in beholding these things, so must our Logicke proceed.
1694 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding (new ed.) ii. xxi. 134 Desiring and willing are two distinct Acts of the mind.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron II. vii. xxiii. 184 An Abstracter or Refiner shall so analyse the most simple instantaneous Act of the Mind, as to distinguish therein divers Faculties and Tendencies.
1754 J. Edwards Careful Enq. Freedom of Will ii. x. 91 An Act of Choice or Preference is a comparative Act, wherein the Mind acts with Reference to..Things that are compared.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. I. xxi. 491 To every act of consciousness belongs a determinate molecular arrangement of the brain.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. II. xx. 168 I can[n]ot feel them by a pure mental act of attention unless they belong to quite distinct parts of the body.
a1927 E. B. Titchener Systematic Psychol. (1929) iii. 194 The importance of the ‘act’ in modern psychology derives from the work of Brentano.
1936 A. J. Ayer Lang., Truth & Logic vii. 188 We do not accept the realist analysis of our sensations in terms of subject, act, and object.
2001 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 20 Dec. 16/2 The mental act of securing a grasp on reality must precede the poetic act.
c. Something done as an outward sign of a condition, state, or feeling. Frequently in act of hope, act of love, and similar uses.act of faith: see the final element.
ΚΠ
c1475 (?c1451) Bk. Noblesse (Royal) (1860) 20 Was never so worshipfulle an act of entreprise done in suche a case.
1485 W. Caxton in Malory's Morte Darthur Pref. sig. iij They shalle fynde many Ioyous and playsaunt hystoryes, and noble & renomed actes of humanyte, gentylnesse and chyualryes.
1582 in Bible (Rheims) Rom. iii. 22 (margin) To beleeue in him, here compriseth not only the act of faith, but of hope & charitie.
?1620 L. Knatchbull in T. Matthew Life Lady L. Knatchbull (1931) ii. vi.135 I began with much more earnestness to make new Acts of Contrition, of Reverence, and of Love.
1688 J. Dryden tr. D. Bouhours Life St. Francis Xavier i. 6 The intention of God was..to give her an opportunity of exercising an heroick act of Charity.
1768 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. 477 This hath been declared by the legislature to be an act of bankruptcy, upon which a commission may be sued out.
a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1771) I. ii. 27 God required of him this act of obedience.
1828 C. Swan tr. A. Manzoni Betrothed Lovers III. viii. 260 The father bowed his [head], with an act of sorrow and resignation.
1894 C. N. Robinson Brit. Fleet 179 To-day, ‘dipping the flag’ is an act of courtesy.
1905 E. Wharton House of Mirth ii. v. 381 Her worldly wisdom would have counselled her against such an act of abnegation.
1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari (1964) x. 241 This was perhaps the most moving of all their gestures, this instant act of trust between them and the harsh desert earth.
1990 M. S. Peck Bed by Window i. 5 Kenneth bent down and kissed her quickly on the head. Marlene did the same. For both, it was more an act of love than of affection.
d. euphemistic. With the. The act of procreation; sexual intercourse. Cf. in the act (of) at Phrases 1, act of love n. at Phrases 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > sexual intercourse
ymonec950
moneOE
meanc1175
manredc1275
swivinga1300
couplec1320
companyc1330
fellowred1340
the service of Venusc1350
miskissinga1387
fellowshipc1390
meddlinga1398
carnal knowinga1400
flesha1400
knowledgea1400
knowledginga1400
japec1400
commoning?c1425
commixtionc1429
itc1440
communicationc1450
couplingc1475
mellingc1480
carnality1483
copulation1483
mixturea1500
Venus act?1507
Venus exercise?1507
Venus play?1507
Venus work?1507
conversation?c1510
flesh-company1522
act?1532
carnal knowledge1532
occupying?1544
congression1546
soil1555
conjunction1567
fucking1568
rem in re1568
commixture1573
coiture1574
shaking of the sheets?1577
cohabitation1579
bedding1589
congress1589
union1598
embrace1599
making-outa1601
rutting1600
noddy1602
poop-noddy1606
conversinga1610
carnal confederacy1610
wapping1610
businessa1612
coition1615
doinga1616
amation1623
commerce1624
hot cocklesa1627
other thing1628
buck1632
act of love1638
commistion1658
subagitation1658
cuntc1664
coit1671
intimacy1676
the last favour1676
quiffing1686
old hat1697
correspondence1698
frigging1708
Moll Peatley1711
coitus1713
sexual intercourse1753
shagging1772
connection1791
intercourse1803
interunion1822
greens1846
tail1846
copula1864
poking1864
fuckeea1866
sex relation1871
wantonizing1884
belly-flopping1893
twatting1893
jelly roll1895
mattress-jig1896
sex1900
screwing1904
jazz1918
zig-zig1918
other1922
booty1926
pigmeat1926
jazzing1927
poontang1927
relations1927
whoopee1928
nookie1930
hump1931
jig-a-jig1932
homework1933
quickie1933
nasty1934
jig-jig1935
crumpet1936
pussy1937
Sir Berkeley1937
pom-pom1945
poon1947
charvering1954
mollocking1959
leg1967
rumpy-pumpy1968
shafting1971
home plate1972
pata-pata1977
bonking1985
legover1985
knobbing1986
rumpo1986
fanny1993
?1530 in R. Fiddes Life Wolsey (1724) Collect. 213 The Matrymonie was consummate by that Act.]
?1532 Glasse of Truthe sig. E4 So hit is in profe of the truthe of carnall copulation and bodily knowledge. Wherin there is no wytnesse communely that depose of the very acte, but onely of the nere circumstances precedynge or folowynge the acte.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice i. iii. 82 When the worke of generation was Betweene these wolly breeders in the act . View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) John viii. 4 This woman was taken in adultery, in the very act . View more context for this quotation
1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. lxxxix. sig. Aa The Act, remaines Adultery still:..nor can a Man vnact it againe.
1714 tr. Case of Impotency Debated II. ii. 82 But without refining upon Words, incubisse operi nuptiali does not barely signify conatum, it signifies the very Act.
1798 tr. L. F. L. de Lignac Physical View Man & Woman I. vii. 295 Excessive corpulence sometimes opposes generation; and even the act from whence it must result.
1855 tr. P. Quesnel Gospels II. 406 An adulteress taken in the very act.
1923 H. Crane Let. 9 May (1965) 133 They do everything but the Act itself right on the stage.
1959 N. Mailer Advts. for Myself (1961) 177 They do not talk about the act when it has failed to fire.
2005 M. Atwood Penelopiad vii. 45 Odysseus was not one of those men who, after the act, simply roll over and begin to snore.
†3. Fact, reality, as opposed to intention, possibility, etc. Chiefly in in act. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [noun]
truthc1330
acta1398
in existencea1425
realty1440
veritya1634
reality1647
actualness1668
actuality1675
thinghood1845
factual1855
out there1955
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 29v Þe noblest þinges & schappis [L. forme] of kynde & of craft þat buþ I-hud comeþ forþ in acte & in dede.
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 64 (MED) Þer is forsoþ anoþer speciale maner of restreynyng flux þat is redi to be made, þof alle it be not in acte [L. actu non sit].
c1450 Art Nombryng in R. Steele Earliest Arithm. in Eng. (1922) 47 Seith Boice in Arsemetrike that vnyte potencially is al nombre, and none in act.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iv. iii. 136 If I in act, consent, or sinne of thought, Be guiltie. View more context for this quotation
1653 H. More Antidote against Atheisme Ep. Ded. sig. ⁂2v Plato if he were alive again, might finde his timorous Supposition brought into absolute Act.
a1676 M. Hale Primitive Originat. Mankind (1677) 109 They are only in possibility, and not in act.
1775 J. Harris Philos. Arrangem. xvi. 397 There are things existing in act, in reality, in actuality (call it as you please) we have the evidence both of our Senses, and of our internal Consciousness.
1875 H. Ellison Stones from Quarry 204 Thou could'st not love me if thou didst not find Some good in me; been, being, or to be; In act, or thereof possibilitie.
4. Activity, action, as opposed to passivity; an active principle. Chiefly in pure act: = actus purus n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun]
pitheOE
i-cundeeOE
roota1325
substancec1330
juicec1380
marrowa1382
formc1385
acta1398
quidditya1398
substantial forma1398
inward1398
savourc1400
inwardc1450
allaya1456
essencya1475
being1521
bottom1531
spirit?1534
summary1548
ecceity1549
core1556
flower1568
formality1570
sum and substance1572
alloy1594
soul1598
inwardness1605
quid1606
fibre1607
selfness1611
whatness1611
essentialityc1616
propera1626
the whole shot1628
substantiala1631
esse1642
entity1643
virtuality1646
ingeny1647
quoddity1647
intimacy1648
ens1649
inbeing1661
essence1667
interiority1701
intrinsic1716
stamen1758
character1761
quidditas1782
hyparxis1792
rasa1800
bone1829
what1861
isness1865
inscape1868
as-suchness1909
Wesen1959
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 28v Mannes body of þe whiche body þe soule is act & perfectioun.
1607 J. Davies Summa Totalis sig. F1v God's a pure Act (which ne're was Passiue know'n).
1652 J. Burroughes Expos. Hosea (ed. 2) v. 92 Grace is called the Divine nature, and God (we know) is a pure act, and it is called the life of God.
1694 R. L'Estrange Fables (1714) clxv. 179 Nothing can be more contrary to God Himself, who is a Pure Act, then the Sleeping and Drowsing away of our Life and Reason.
a1708 W. Beveridge Private Thoughts Relig. (1709) 32 But my Reason tells me, God is a pure Act, and therefore how can he suffer any Punishments?
a1834 S. T. Coleridge Lit. Remains (1839) IV. 211 Whatever is necessarily of him (God of God, Light of Light), is necessarily all act.
1894 Philos. Rev. 3 151 To cause motion in anything is nothing but to reduce it from potentiality to act.
1965 D. Weissman Dispositional Properties iii. 142 Emphasizing the activity of mind to the exclusion of other considerations, Kant implies that mind is pure act, and hence that mind is what it does.
1983 A. Richardson & A. Bowden New Dict. Christian Theol. 4/1 Only the unmoved mover is pure act; it alone has no potentiality to any further modification in any way.
5.
a. A record of transactions, actions, or decrees; a document which verifies facts; spec. an account of the life and deeds of a person, esp. a saint or martyr. Frequently in plural.In quot. 1398 as a mass noun.Now historical except in final act n. (also with capital initials) a document containing a formal summary of the proceedings of an international conference.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > types of legal or official document > [noun] > record of transactions or decrees
act1398
1398 Acts Parl. Scotl. (1844) I. 211/1 Articlys that beys done or executyt in the said office sal be putte in act with the day & place.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 316 Who so wol seke actes of sondry Remes [M]ay rede of dremes many a wonder thyng.
1477 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 182 Heirapon the said Thomas askyt an ac and rolment of the cowrt.
1483 in G. Neilson & H. Paton Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1918) II. Introd. p. cxiv Quhilk some was recoverit..befor the Auditouris of causes..as in thair act made thairupon mare fullely is proportit.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ezra vi. 2 A boke, & in it was there an acte wrytten after this maner.
1634 Watertown Rec. i One of them..shall keep the Records and Acts of the towne.
1674 S. Butler Hudibras (new ed.) i. i. 10 He could reduce all things to Acts.
1704 R. Nelson Compan. Festivals & Fasts (ed. 2) i. Prelim. Instr. 7 In the Acts of the Martyrdom of St. Ignatius we find.
1789 Constit. U.S. iv. §1 Full faith and credit shall be given in each state to the public acts, records and judicial proceedings of every other state.
1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) i. i. 6 Placed at the ducal table, cover'd o'er With..petitions, Despatches, judgments, acts, reprieves, reports.
1833 N. Chipman Princ. of Govt. viii. v. 268 If we look at the doings of conventions, we find that they all, in their final act, used words of compact.
1920 W. R. Thayer Art of Biogr. ii. 55 A new and prolific variety [of biography] sprang up. I refer of course to the lives or acts of the saints.
1933 Eng. Hist. Rev. 48 100 With tolerably conscientious parish officers, the obstinate would find themselves registered in the Acts of Court as a matter of course.
1990 F. C. F. Earney Marine Mineral Resources (2005) ii. 29 Those not signing the Convention but who signed the Final Act are eligible to participate as observers in the deliberations of the Commission but cannot vote.
b. Also with capital initial. Something transacted in council, or in a deliberative assembly; (the name of) a decree or statute passed by a legislative body, a court of justice, etc. Cf. Act of Parliament n., enactment n. 2.Cat-and-Mouse, Marriage, Official Secrets, Riot Act, etc.: see the first element.Act of Explanation, Act of Settlement, etc.: see the final element.with the meaning of the act: see meaning n.2 2d.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > [noun] > a legislative enactment
act1422
enact1467
establishment1481
enaction1631
advice1654
measure1742
enactment1821
1422 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1834) III. 17 (MED) A special act maad in parlement..and by auctoritee of parlement confermed.
1425 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1425 §12. m. 2 As proveth of recorde by þe same acte, and in þis fourme.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 350 The sentens of thys acte is..that the seyd abbas & couent sholde receyue ther afturward all thythys of hey.
?a1500 (?1458) in J. H. Parker Some Acct. Domest. Archit. (1859) III. ii. 43 This was preved acte also in the Perlement.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Josh. xxiv. F Iosua wrote this acte in the boke of the lawe of God.
1640 in J. Nicholson Minute Bk. War Comm. Covenanters Kirkcudbright 24 Nov. (1855) 98 All fugitives must be apprehendit and punished conforme to the actes.
1693 tr. J. Le Clerc Mem. Count Teckely ii. 91 The Male-contents demanded a general Act of Indempnity.
a1704 T. Brown Declam. Praise Wealth in Wks. (1707) I. i. 121 Before this Proclamation past into an irrevocable Act.
1795 Sewel's Hist. Quakers (ed. 3) II. vii. 66 They asked him if he knew not of an act against meetings.
1839 T. Keightley Hist. Eng. (new ed.) I. 373 An act of attainder was passed against York, Salisbury, their wives and children.
1858 Ld. St. Leonards Handy Bk. Prop. Law xiii. 80 The object of the Act was to protect mothers from the tyranny of husbands who ill-use them.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 17 Feb. 5/1 The catching of birds with hooks in Cornwall has been stopped by an Act passed last year.
1972 G. Geis Not Law's Business? ii. 32 The Sexual Offences Act in Great Britain..lifted the ban under criminal law against consensual adult homosexuality in private.
1992 Amer. Libraries Mar. 260/2 Freedom of Information Day, established by an Act of Congress, is observed on Mar. 16, the birthday of fourth President James Madison.
6. The process of doing something; acting, action, operation. Cf. in the act (of) at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > [noun]
workOE
operationa1393
workmanshipc1400
actionc1405
act?a1425
workinga1425
activityc1485
executiona1530
play1548
workfulness1570
inworking1587
acting1605
agency1606
operancea1625
transaction1663
operancyc1811
outworking1846
mediacy1854
functioning1856
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 16v Þe acte [?c1425 Paris acte i. dede] of þe stomac forsoþ is for to dygeste bi þe hete of his owne carnositee.
c1425 tr. J. Arderne Treat. Fistula (Sloane 6) (1910) 70 (MED) Þer owe to be putte noþing cold in acte bot hote, ffor..cold þingz in acte bene enemys to bonez.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. clxxviv The Acte of Frenshmen standynge moche in ouer Rydynge of theyr Aduersaryes by force of Speremen.
1594 M. Drayton Ideas Mirrour sig. Hv Wise in conceite, in acte a very sot.
1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 422 The greene Emeraud..sometimes happeneth to breake euen in the act of coiture.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi v. §2. 136 The Materiall cause [of the rainbow] is not water in act.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. II 9 The rising Tempest puts in act the Soul.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 340 To give such act and utt'rance as they may To extasy too big to be suppress'd.
1850 E. B. Browning Poems (new ed.) II. 193 And hear the flow of souls in act and speech.
1888 Lockwood's Dict. Mech. Engin. 296 Run out, the escape of metal from a mould during the act of pouring, due to open joints somewhere.
1962 Listener 19 July 94/2 In their use of chance in the act of painting figurative painters today undoubtedly owe much to abstract expressionism.
1978 A. Kavanagh Shape of Baptism vi. 163 That world is a paschal world, and baptism..is the compound process of act and reflection by which one enters such a world.
2003 Times (Nexis) 19 Mar. 14 Wenders has found the act of photography a precious release from the demands and burdens of film-making.
7.
a. An argument publicly maintained in defence of a thesis by a degree candidate as part of an examination, or by a student in order to demonstrate proficiency in a subject. Frequently in to keep acts: to defend a thesis in this way. Cf. opponency n. 2. Now chiefly historical.The term is still officially used at Cambridge University as the name of the examination taken by candidates for the degree of Doctor of Medicine. During the Act candidates are assessed by means of a viva and may also be required to perform a clinical examination; candidates who have passed are said to have kept the Act.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > examination > [noun] > university examinations > dissertation or disputation
act1549
exercise1563
apposition1660
vesper disputations1715
vespery1886
1549 T. Chaloner tr. Erasmus Praise of Folie sig. Mivv At their Actes and Comencements ye dooe see theim swadled in with so many cappes, coyues, and furde hoodes as they weare.
1592 T. Nashe Strange Newes 279 Acts are but idle wordes, and..Pumps and Pantofles...therefore do no Acts..onelie..to Oxford they trudge,..and there are confirmed in the same degree they took at Cambridge.
1641 R. Greville Disc. Nature Episcopacie ii. vii. 118 They desire they may have leave (as Probationers) to exercise, or keepe Acts, before the Church; 'till the Church shall approve of them.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 42 At the time..were divers created Doctors without attendance to keep Acts.
1766 R. Farmer Let. 12 Feb. in Percy Lett. (1946) II. 104 The exercise required is 2 Acts and 1 Opponency..and then I will clear you of the College and University for 30 Guineas.
1785 W. Coxe Trav. into Poland, Russia, Sweden, & Denmark (ed. 2) II. vii. vi. 379 The students..ought also, according to the statutes of the university, to put on the same dress when they keep their acts.
1827 Q. Rev. June 231 At Cambridge [medical] students must still keep acts, and produce certificates of having attended the professor's class.
1877 Cambr. Univ. Cal. 51 The Degree of Bachelor in Divinity, for which the requisite Exercises are, one Act, and an English Sermon. The Act is required to be kept in the following manner:..The Candidate shall read a thesis composed in Latin by himself on some subject approved by the Professor; the Professor or graduate presiding, shall bring forward arguments or objections in English for the Candidate to answer [etc.].
1935 D. A. Winstanley Unreformed Cambr. ii. 58 No examination was imposed and the only exercise required was a single act.
1951 V. de S. Pinto Eng. Biogr. in 17th Cent. 222 The ‘Common’ or ‘Public Act’..was the occasion on which the candidates for their degrees ‘kept acts’ or publicly defended their theses.
2007 Statutes & Ordinances Univ. Cambr. 461 The persons conducting the Act shall examine the candidate viva voce on questions connected with the work submitted as well as other medical subjects.
b. Oxford University. With capital initial. The ceremony to mark the completion of degrees, during which theses were publicly defended; cf. commencement n. 2a. In later use historical.The Act took place in early July, and the ceremony typically included sermons, music, and increasingly satirical speeches (see terrae filius n. 2); the last Act was held in 1733. See also Act Sermon n., Act Sunday n., Act Term n. at Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > educational administration > university administration > taking degree or graduation > [noun]
commencementa1387
proceeding1479
act1587
commencing1588
graduationa1639
manumissiona1662
determination1665
determining1675
inceptionc1680
bachelorizinga1739
post-graduation1920
1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. iii. 149/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) I In Oxford this solemnitie is called an Act, but in Cambridge they vse the French word Commensement.
1607 R. Parker Scholasticall Disc. against Antichrist i. ii. 89 For proofe heereof, what need I goe further then to an Vniuersitie Acte, where before a confluence and concourse of people,..a Doctor incipient in Diuinitie publisheth these verses.
1713 R. Steele in Guardian 3 June 2/2 This Paper is written with a Design to make my Journey to Oxford agreeable to me, where I design to be at the Publick Act.
1733 G. Berkeley in A. C. Fraser Life & Lett. Berkeley vi. 207 The approaching Act at Oxford is much spoken of.
1810 A. Chalmers Hist. Colleges, Halls, & Public Buildings Univ. Oxf. 464 A design was formed of erecting some building for the Act exercises, &c. which had formerly been performed in St. Mary's church.
1818 Oxf. Univ. & City Guide 141 A Bachelor of Divinity receives his Degree seven years from the time of his Regency, which is taken out the first Act after his Master's Degree. The Act is the first Tuesday in July.
1935 L. H. D. Buxton & S. Gibson Oxf. Univ. Ceremonies 93 In 1733 the Act was again revived for the last time, and was rendered memorable by the series of concerts given by Handel in the Sheldonian Theatre.
2007 F. Henderson in L. Postlewate & W. Hüsken Acts & Texts 338 The Act was one of the very few occasions when a wide variety of outsiders were invited to view university life.
†8. = auto-da-fé n. 1b; a burning of heretics. Cf. act of faith n. 2. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > heresy > search for heresy > [noun] > burning
auto1563
heretic-burning1570
act of faith1600
Bonnering1613
auto-da-fé1697
act1709
1709 J. Strype Ann. Reformation xx. 228 In this act also were burnt the bones and picture of D. Ægidio.
II. Senses relating to theatre and pretence.
9.
a. Each of the main divisions of a play or other dramatic work. Cf. one-act adj. and n., three-act adj. at three adj. and n. Compounds 3a(a); also scene n. 2a(a), entr'acte n. Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > act of a play
actc1520
jornada1656
c1520 tr. Terence Andria i. i, in Terens in Eng. sig. A.iii The furst scene of the furst Act.
1565 T. Norton & T. Sackville Gorboduc (title page) The Tragedie of Gorboduc Where of three Actes were wrytten by Thomas Nortone, and the two laste by Thomas Sackuyle.
1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Henry VIII Epil. 3 Some come to take their ease, And sleepe an Act or two. View more context for this quotation
a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover v, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. D3/2 Away then, our Act's ended.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 156. ⁋8 An act is only the representation of such a part of the business of the play as proceeds in an unbroken tenor, or without any intermediate pause.
1769 ‘Junius’ Stat Nominis Umbra (1772) I. xxiii. 174 Can age itself forget that you are now in the last act of life?
a1780 J. Harris Philol. Inq. (1781) ii. vi. 143 The antient choruses between the acts were probably sung, and perhaps the rest was delivered in a species of recitative.
1840 T. De Quincey Theory Greek Trag. in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 149/1 The very meaning of an act is, that in the intervals, the suspension of the acts, any possible time may elapse, and any possible action go on.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest II. x. 507 We are approaching the close of the first act of our great drama.
c1915 J. A. Herman tr. J. Benavente (title) The smile of Mona Lisa: a play in one act.
1936 Times 19 Aug. 15/2 The 5th Brigade were marching on the Rother to cross and be ready for the final act.
1984 Mod. Lang. Stud. 14 18 Natasha's entrance..appears not only in the long night of Act Three..but also at the beginning and in the middle of Act Two.
2004 S. Press Compl. Idiot's Guide Screenwriting (ed. 2) i. 6 If you've ever wondered why we have three acts in modern screenplays, blame Aristotle.
†b. Theatre. A piece of music played between acts. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [noun] > musical interlude between acts of play
act1606
intermedio1876
1606 J. Marston Parasitaster Actus Quintus. Whilest the Act is a playing, Hercules and Tiberio enters, Tiberio climes the tree, and is received above by Dulcimel.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Midsummer Night's Dream (1623) iii. iii. (stage direct.) (ad fin.) They sleepe all the Act.
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Changeling (1653) iii. sig. D3v (stage direct.) In the Act time Deflores hides a naked Rapier.
1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry ii. sig. F (stage direct.) Here a passage ouer the Stage, while the Act is playing for the Marriage of Charalois with Beaumelle, &c.
10.
a. A piece of entertainment, typically forming (part of) the repertoire of an artist or group, and often presented as one of a series in a variety programme, circus, etc.; a performance. Cf. a hard act to follow n. at Phrases 9.balancing, double, vanishing act, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > [noun] > a performance > item in
turn1715
act1828
routine1866
number1908
shtick1948
1828 Times 14 Aug. 2/1 To conclude with the comic equestrian act of The Stag Hunt.
1873 Galaxy Aug. 288/2 The same kind of pleasure seems to be derived from it that the audience at a circus derives from ‘acts’ on the flying trapeze or double-summersaults.
1890 B. Hall Turnover Club vi. 63 The usual attraction was ‘Professor Etherio, the flying man’, who did a rope-walking act.
1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage xviii. 228 Their act was booked for a tour by the African theatres.
1975 R. S. Denisoff Solid Gold i. 27 Revulsion became Alice Cooper's ticket to pop-music fame. Kinky sex and violence became important parts of the band's act.
2008 Sunday Star (Nexis) 6 Jan. 25 The Las Vegas magician nearly killed by a tiger in his act is planning an amazing comeback with a new wild animal act.
b. The performer or performers of such a piece of entertainment; an entertainer or group of entertainers; a band. Frequently with modifying word.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > performer > [noun] > types of performer
pantomimus1589
amateur1757
figure1767
feature1801
débutant1824
warhorse1836
moke1890
trouper1890
chair-warmer1909
act1919
single1923
single act1952
warm-up man1959
warmer-up1960
1919 F. Hurst Humoresque 300 Two specialty acts and a pair of whistling Pierrots.
1929 Daily Express 12 Jan. 3/5 New comedy acts are needed most. These, if found, will be helped to find better material and to buy attractive costumes.
1971 Rolling Stone 24 July 12/2 The customers..aren't going to be able to take a chance on the unknown or lesser known acts if the record is priced too high.
1978 A. Slide Aspects Amer. Film Hist. v. 53 Theatres would book not only the Kinemacolor films, but also vaudeville acts in support. One such vaudeville act was Lillian Russell.
1992 Making Music May 6/4 Our business is being destroyed by the corporate greed of the record industry, and they're not only ripping off the acts, they're ripping off the public as well.
11. colloquial (originally U.S.). With modifying noun, in extended use. Frequently in to do the —— act.Sometimes with the implication of pretence or superficiality (cf. sense 12).
a. The action of behaving in the manner of a specified person or type, esp. as a performance or for show; (also) an instance of this.With quot. 1885 cf. baby act n. 1.
ΚΠ
1885 C. F. Lummis Let. 15 Feb. in Lett. from Southwest (1989) 286 All the time playing the baby act, and whining for help.
1894 R. Bridges Overheard in Arcady 56 I didn't do no cry-baby and holy cherub act.
1907 M. C. Harris Tents of Wickedness 41 She was going to do the Melburn act and ride roughshod over prejudices.
1943 R. L. Bellem Lake Left-handed Moon iii, in W. Kittredge & S. M. Krauzer Great Amer. Detective (1978) 174 Who was the big bald-headed bozo pulling the sneak act?
1996 F. Weldon Worst Fears 117 Haven't we had enough of this grieving widow act?
2002 L. McNab et al. Skills in Eng. xix. 181 One of the lads did his Sir Galahad act and asked the girls if I was bothering them; told me to clear out or he'd sort me.
b. The action of engaging in behaviour or activities associated with a specified thing.
ΚΠ
1885 A. E. Costello Our Police Protectors (ed. 2) 475 He..may have done the ‘baby act’, by carrying..an abandoned foundling, to the [police headquarters].
1896 G. Ade Artie 112 I go and get a cigar with him and do the friendship act.
1974 N. Freeling Dressing of Diamond 33 Bernard was doing his hospitality act.
1998 Evening Standard (Nexis) 7 Apr. 20 Ruby notionally honours the seriousness of this subject by doing her ingenuous wide-eyed ‘empathy’ act.
12. figurative. A piece of acting, a pretence; a display of exaggerated or feigned behaviour. Cf. to put on an act at Phrases 8.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > [noun] > theatrical or exaggerated behaviour > display of
act1928
pantomime1941
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > [noun] > of theatrical kind > instance of
act1928
1928 J. M. Barrie Peter Pan i, in Plays 20 We are doing an act; we are playing at being you and father.
1953 X. Fielding Stronghold iii. ii. 192 This might have been an act designed to impress us.
1968 Phylon 29 81 Morry..tried to give the impression of a confident, successful salesman... But it was all an act, for under the pose he felt shaky.
2008 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 29 Feb. (Seven) 29 Juno drops her act long enough for us to see that beneath all that sark she's a sweetie.

Phrases

P1. in the act (of) [after classical Latin in āctū] : in the process (of); in the middle of doing something. Also in the very act of. Frequently in to catch someone in the act: to surprise someone in the middle of doing something wrong or shameful (cf. sense 2d).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > in action [phrase] > in the act
with the deedc1450
in the act (of)1555
to catch a person in the fact1712
in (occasionally the) hock1859
1555 E. Bonner Profitable & Necessarye Doctryne sig. Dv All other sacramentes do consist onely in the vse of them, that is to saye, in the very acte of ministration and receauynge of them.
1611 [see sense 2d].
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 189 Theeves taken..in the very Act of stealing of cloath, are instantly beheaded with an Engine, without any further Legal Proceedings.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 39 And off the loud Oaths go, but while Th'are in the very Act, recoyl.
c1746 J. Hervey Medit. (1818) 220 It is in the very act to fly.
1785 Times 14 Jan. 3/4 The people of the house caught her in the act of removing the things; and so prevented the completion of her design.
1826 R. Southey Vindiciæ Ecclesiæ Anglicanæ 86 He was in the very act of death.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. vii. 106 My sister catching him in the act.
1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour v. 78 When armour was in the act of ceasing to be worn.
1948 D. Wehl Birth of Indonesia xii. 177 The Netherlands Government..could not but feel that they had been interrupted in the very act of bringing to birth the Indonesian Commonwealth.
1955 V. Nabokov Lolita II. xxvii. 164 My lurking eye..would make out from afar a half-naked nymphet stilled in the act of combing her Alice-in-Wonderland hair.
1991 D. Dabydeen Intended (1992) 33 Greater than the crime of sheep-stealing was that of being caught in the act. No man really worth his salt would be so foolish as to be discovered.
P2.
Act of State n. (also with lower-case initials) an act passed (or occasionally performed) by the executive power of an independent state, (now esp.) an act which relates to foreign affairs or foreign citizens.
ΚΠ
1605 F. Bacon Of Aduancem. Learning ii. sig. I It was giuen, not by a formall Decree or Act of State, as it was used amongst the Romane Emperours; but by an inward assent and beleefe. View more context for this quotation
1684 T. Southerne Disappointment iii. i. 31 And by an act of State, this very day We are oblig'd, as all good Subjects ought, To bring by turns our Wives and Daughters in.
1780 Parl. Hist. Eng. (1814) XX. 1167 The idea of an act of state, or the resolution of the Crown.
1883 J. F. Stephen Hist. Criminal Law II. xvi. 61 The question to which I refer is, whether the criminal law applies to what have sometimes been described as acts of State?
1942 H. Byas Govt. by Assassination xxiv. 324 The Japanese Emperor is not an autocrat; every act of state must be made on the advice and responsibility of an official person.
2004 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 24 Jan. 16 He also said he needed to make a proper examination of the facts before being able to decide on whether the alleged false imprisonment of the asylum-seekers amounted to an act of state.
P3. act and deed: part of a formula used when signing and sealing a legal instrument; also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal document > [phrase] > formula used in signing and sealing
act and deed1609
1609 Euerie Woman in her Humor sig. F Flau. Strike hands vpon the same, I am yours to commaund... Lent. Marcus, Tullius, and Cicero. Then you deliuer this as your act and deede? Flau. I doe, and seale it with this——.
1663 T. Jordan Royal Arbor Loyal Poesie 52 It was his fate to fall in Love, With a fair Lady of good fame, And being on both sides agreed, They in one Contract mix their flame, And seal it as their act and deed.
1756 D. Garrick Let. in C. Oman David Garrick (1958) 177 The act and deed of the wife, in such cases [sc. business matters], pass for nothing.
1827 R. V. Barnewall & C. Cresswell Rep. Cases King's Bench V. 671 [He] produced the parchment, placed it on the table, signed his name, and then said, ‘I deliver this as my act and deed’, putting his finger at the same time on the seal.
1877 W. S. Gilbert Sorcerer i. 9 They deliver it—they deliver it As their Act and Deed!
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 156/2 In law it means any instrument in writing, for declaring or justifying the truth of a bargain or transaction, as: ‘I deliver this as my act and deed.’
2003 Certificate of Incorporation in Company News Feed (2004) (Nexis) 2 Aug. In Witness Whereof, the undersigned..does hereby declare and certify that this is the act and deed of the Corporation and the facts stated herein are true.
P4.
act of God n. originally Law the operation of uncontrollable natural forces; an instance or result of such forces; frequently in the context of insurance.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Fenton Treat. Vsurie iii. vii. 148 Wee haue further found it to be an vngodly gaine, which is assured against euery act of God, as Vsurie is.
1648 J. March Reports 104 This difference betwixt the Act of God, and the Act of the party.
1703 Ld. Holt in Raymond Reports 909 He is bound to answer for the goods at all events but acts of God and the king's enemies.
a1740 J. Comyns Rep. Cases King's Bench (1744) 520 If Condition be subsequent, it is become impossible by Act of God, the sister dying before the Wife.
1812 Bill of Lading in Mariner's Mirror (1964) 50 284 The Act of God, the King's Enemies, Fire and all and every other Dangers and Accidents of the Seas..save Risk of Boats, so far as ships are liable thereto, excepted.
1931 M. Lowry Let. 8 Sept. in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 102 In case of thunderbolt or act of God which may make it impossible for us to meet in Cambridge, [etc.].
2008 Sunderland Echo (Nexis) 5 Apr. Irwin Mitchell are arguing that the accident was not an act of God and could have been avoided.
P5.
act of grace n. a formal pardon; spec. a free and general pardon, granted by Act of Parliament.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > moral or legal constraint > immunity or exemption from liability > forgiveness > [noun] > general pardon
amnesty1592
act of grace1638
1638 Earl of Traquaire et al. Let. in W. Balcanquhall Large Declar. Tumults Scotl. (1639) 289 Your former act of Grace expressed in your [sc. Charles I's] Proclamation and Declaration anent the maintenance of the true Religion.
1649 Εἰκων Βασιλικη ix. 53 Is this the reward and thanks I am to receive for those manie Acts of Grace I have lately passed?
1768 T. Randolph Sermon 18 The pleading the Act of Grace in proper Form is what more immediately restores the Rebel to the Privileges.
1827 H. Hallam Constit. Hist. Eng. II. xv. 460 In the next [parliament] William took the matter into his own hands by sending down an act of grace.
1920 A. L. Cross Shorter Hist. Eng. & Greater Brit. xxxvii. 444 He [sc. William III] forced an Act of Grace on the angry and revengeful Whigs, he was largely responsible for the Toleration Act.
1997 P. Yancey What's so amazing about Grace? i. 12 Parliament declares an ‘act of grace’ to pardon a criminal.
P6.
act of love n. (usually with the) sexual intercourse; (also) an instance of this; cf. sense 2d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > [noun] > sexual intercourse
ymonec950
moneOE
meanc1175
manredc1275
swivinga1300
couplec1320
companyc1330
fellowred1340
the service of Venusc1350
miskissinga1387
fellowshipc1390
meddlinga1398
carnal knowinga1400
flesha1400
knowledgea1400
knowledginga1400
japec1400
commoning?c1425
commixtionc1429
itc1440
communicationc1450
couplingc1475
mellingc1480
carnality1483
copulation1483
mixturea1500
Venus act?1507
Venus exercise?1507
Venus play?1507
Venus work?1507
conversation?c1510
flesh-company1522
act?1532
carnal knowledge1532
occupying?1544
congression1546
soil1555
conjunction1567
fucking1568
rem in re1568
commixture1573
coiture1574
shaking of the sheets?1577
cohabitation1579
bedding1589
congress1589
union1598
embrace1599
making-outa1601
rutting1600
noddy1602
poop-noddy1606
conversinga1610
carnal confederacy1610
wapping1610
businessa1612
coition1615
doinga1616
amation1623
commerce1624
hot cocklesa1627
other thing1628
buck1632
act of love1638
commistion1658
subagitation1658
cuntc1664
coit1671
intimacy1676
the last favour1676
quiffing1686
old hat1697
correspondence1698
frigging1708
Moll Peatley1711
coitus1713
sexual intercourse1753
shagging1772
connection1791
intercourse1803
interunion1822
greens1846
tail1846
copula1864
poking1864
fuckeea1866
sex relation1871
wantonizing1884
belly-flopping1893
twatting1893
jelly roll1895
mattress-jig1896
sex1900
screwing1904
jazz1918
zig-zig1918
other1922
booty1926
pigmeat1926
jazzing1927
poontang1927
relations1927
whoopee1928
nookie1930
hump1931
jig-a-jig1932
homework1933
quickie1933
nasty1934
jig-jig1935
crumpet1936
pussy1937
Sir Berkeley1937
pom-pom1945
poon1947
charvering1954
mollocking1959
leg1967
rumpy-pumpy1968
shafting1971
home plate1972
pata-pata1977
bonking1985
legover1985
knobbing1986
rumpo1986
fanny1993
1638 J. Shirley Dukes Mistris v. sig. H4 Where consents meete in the act of love, The pleasures multiply to infinite.
1685 J. Dryden tr. Lucretius Nature of Love in Sylvæ 94 Nor can the vain decrees of Pow'rs above, Deny production to the act of Love, Or hinder Fathers of that happy name, Or with a barren Womb the Matron shame.
1760 Mod. Part Universal Hist. XVII. 102 It is frequently so contrived between the husband and his wife, that he should surprize the gallant in the act of love.
1875 J. Davenport Curiositates Eroticæ Physiologiæ iii. 73 The structure of the generative parts would lead to the supposition that men are most favored in the act of love.
1918 Birth Control Rev. May 6/1 The higher plane where there is reciprocal interest and mutual joy in the act of love.
1979 Chicago Rev. 30 No. 4. 109 The persona of ‘The Corridor’..peeps through a keyhole at an act of love.
2007 Yoga Mag. Oct. 51/2 For more than 8,000 years of Chinese history, the ‘Sexual Kung Fu Method’ of retaining seminal fluid during the act of love remained a deep secret.
P7.
act of honour n. Law and Business (now disused) a notarial act arranging the payment or acceptance of a protested bill of exchange by a third party acting to protect the good name or credit of the drawer or endorser.
ΚΠ
1771 Act 12 Geo. III c. 73 in D. Pickering Statutes at Large XXIX. 217 The bill is not re-conveyed to him by indorsation, if he produces a receipt for the value by act of honour, or a missive letter from the protesting indorsee.
1849 J. H. Freese Commerc. Class-bk. 34 The party for whose honor a bill has been accepted, must..have the needful document, that is, a protest for non-acceptance and act of honor sent to him.
1882 P. D. Shaw Negotiable Instruments Act 1881 267 The notarial act of honor must be founded on a declaration made by the payer for honor.
1920 C. F. Dolle Law of Business Paper & Securities 261 He..writes out a separate declaration for honor and identifies it with the protest by reference to it, thus completing the notarial act of honor.
1967 Lloyd's List Law Rep. 2 406/1 The act of  honour was..exactly the same in each case.
P8. colloquial (originally U.S.). to put on an act: to behave insincerely, to act a part, to pretend.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > pretend, dissemble [verb (intransitive)]
letc1000
faitc1330
counterfeitc1374
dissimulec1374
feignc1400
showc1405
supposea1450
fare1483
simule?a1500
dissemble1523
pretend1526
frame1545
cloakc1572
jouk1573
pretent1582
disguisea1586
devise1600
semble1603
coin1607
insimulate1623
fox1646
sham1787
dissimulate1796
gammon1819
to let on1822
simulate1823
possum1832
simulacrize1845
to put on an act1929
to put on (also up) a show1937
prat1967
1929 Chillicothe (Missouri) Constit.-Tribune 12 Sept. 7/2 ‘I'm not putting on an act!’ protested Molly. ‘I'm telling you the truth.’
1934 J. O'Hara Appointment in Samarra (1935) viii. 235 You put on some kind of an act with Caroline, and..she fell for it.
1959 Times 1 Apr. 8/3 Some men were injured and some were ‘putting on an act’.
1995 L. Coverdale tr. A. Ernaux Frozen Woman 35 My mother disapproves of ‘fusspots’ and thinks crying is simply putting on an act.
1999 T. Harnden Bandit Country (2000) 511 Some who are openly anti SF (security forces) in public, are probably putting on an act to impress the real terrorists.
P9.
a hard act to follow n. (also a tough act to follow) colloquial (originally U.S.) an impressive person or thing, viewed as being difficult to rival or surpass.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > [noun] > an act or deed > exceptional or remarkable
adventurec1300
bearinga1387
feata1400
hardiment1487
facta1525
derring-do1579
achievement1583
adventry1616
coup d'éclat1668
exploit1725
venture1810
stunt1892
a hard act to follow1942
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > excellence > [noun] > excellent person or thing
carbunclea1350
swanc1386
phoenixc1400
diamondc1440
broocha1464
surmounterc1500
sovereign?a1513
primrose peerless1523
superlative1577
transcendent1593
Arabian birda1616
crack1637
first rate1681
peach1710
phoenicle1711
admiration1717
spanker1751
first-raterc1760
no slouch of1767
nailer1806
tip-topper1822
ripper1825
ripstaver1828
apotheosis1832
clinker1836
clipper1836
bird1839
keener1839
ripsnorter1840
beater1845
firecracker1845
pumpkin1845
screamer1846
stunner1847
bottler1855
beaut1866
bobby-dazzler1866
one out of the box1867
stem-winder1875
corker1877
trimmer1878
hot stuff1884
daisy1886
jim-dandy1887
cracker1891
jim-hickey1895
peacherino1896
pippin1897
alpha plus1898
peacherine1900
pip1900
humdinger1905
bosker1906
hummer1907
good egg1914
superstar1914
the berries1918
bee's knee1923
the cat's whiskers1923
smash1923
smash hit1923
brahma1925
dilly1935
piss-cutter1935
killer1937
killer-diller1938
a hard act to follow1942
peacheroo1942
bitch1946
brammerc1950
hot shit1960
Tiffany1973
bollocks1981
1937 Chicago Tribune 31 Dec. 9/3 That's new year rapping at the door. In stage parlance, the newcomer to the bill hasn't a very tough act to follow.]
1942 Syracuse (N.Y.) Herald-Jrnl. 6 Mar. 27/2 No run-of-the-mill millionaire..could ever take his place. As he had often said himself, he was a hard act to follow.
1963 San Francisco Examiner 14 Dec. 16 With his own yacht and his own particular brand of charm, [he] is a hard act to follow.
1975 Chem. Week 12 Mar. 22/1 Tough acts to follow:..companies in three other principal CPI segments are somewhat less sanguine about topping last year's results.
1975 Business Week 3 Nov. 24 (heading) A hard act to follow; after the third-quarter surge in GNP, growth is sure to be slower.
1981 P. F. Boller Presidential Anecd. ii. 24 It was not easy being the second President of the United States; George Washington was a hard act to follow.
1996 Independent 13 Mar. 3/2 Her determination and championing of tourism will be a tough act to follow.
P10. colloquial.
a. Originally U.S. to get into (also in on) the act and variants: to become a participant; to involve oneself in some advantageous venture or activity.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate together or with [verb (intransitive)] > participate
common1357
to take partc1384
communea1393
participe1511
participate1531
join1560
share1570
to bear a part1596
intercommon1626
to join in1785
to be in it1819
to stand in1858
to get into (also in on) the act1947
(to be) in on the act1951
to muck in1952
to opt in1966
1947 Life 3 Feb. 53/2 (advt.) Everybody's getting in on the act! Seems like all my customers are going for the oil the experts use.
1947 Current Biog. 1946 168/1 The Durante quips (‘I've got a million of 'em’, ‘Everybody wants to get into da act’,..) are ‘timelessly colorful’.
1958 Spectator 22 Aug. 239/1 President Chamoun got back into the act by announcing that they would not be asked to withdraw from the Lebanon.
1974 B. Friel Freedom of City i. 41 As you know as well as me there's a lot of strange characters knuckled in on the act that didn't give a shite about real civil rights.
1989 L. Bryce Influential Woman (1990) vii. 113 Under pressure to get their own way, or just to get in on the act, people can be quite nasty and aggressive to each other.
2000 Brill's Content Aug. 117/2 Even Burger King is getting into the act, with Net-based videoconferencing available in two New York City locations.
b. (to be) in on the act: (to be) involved in some advantageous venture or activity.
ΘΚΠ
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > [adverb]
yferea1200
i-menec1200
in ferec1275
in commona1382
alongst with1582
along1600
in harness1873
in tow (with)1907
in tandem1930
(to be) in on the act1951
society > society and the community > social relations > association, fellowship, or companionship > associate together or with [verb (intransitive)] > participate
common1357
to take partc1384
communea1393
participe1511
participate1531
join1560
share1570
to bear a part1596
intercommon1626
to join in1785
to be in it1819
to stand in1858
to get into (also in on) the act1947
(to be) in on the act1951
to muck in1952
to opt in1966
1951 ‘J. Tey’ Daughter of Time viii. 100 Morton had been very much ‘in on the act’.
1967 Listener 22 June 835/2 No one for a moment supposes that Friendly will not be in on the act.
1984 R. M. Kanter Change Masters (1990) xi. 323 The project center was clearly integrative... Now all divisions were in on the act simultaneously.
2004 Independent 15 Sept. 10/1 Real musical samples are set to be the next big thing in ringtones. But with record companies in on the act, they won't come at pocket money prices.
P11. colloquial (originally U.S.). to clean up one's act: to start behaving more appropriately, responsibly, or acceptably; to give up bad behaviour, illegal activity, drug use, etc.In quot. 1950 with literal reference to a stage act.
ΚΠ
1950 Chicago Tribune 2 June i. 16/5 Since..she is coming back as a guest on his show next Tuesday we hope that she will utilize the time in cleaning up her act. It was too suggestive for TV last Tuesday.
1966 N.Y. Times 30 Dec. 19/4 Did the early Dallas teams have bad guys?.. ‘They're all gone now and I'm still here. I've cleaned up my act.’
1988 ‘Ultra Violet’ Famous for 15 Minutes xxx. 251 He planned to clean up his act, but in a last celebration bought a speedball, a mixture of coke and heroin.
1992 Economist 15 Feb. 28/3 Newspapers were given 18 months from January last year to clean up their act. If they failed, a law would be introduced to restrict their freedom to invade people's privacy.
2003 D. Gaines Misfit's Manifesto ix. 174 I wondered if maybe we, too, could go ‘New Way’. Clean up our act, make ourselves more acceptable.
P12. colloquial (originally U.S.). to get one's act together: to sort out one's (muddled or disorganized) life, business, etc.; to galvanize oneself into acting effectively.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > amending > provide a remedy [verb (intransitive)] > put matters right > by (re-)organizing effectively
to put (or set) one's house in order1583
to get one's act together1973
the world > action or operation > amending > restoration > restoration of a person > recovery from misfortune, error, etc. > [verb (intransitive)]
upkevera1375
warisha1386
recovera1387
respite1587
to get one's act together1973
1973 San Antonio (Texas) Light 1 Apr. 22/2 I've got a two-storey Cape Cod house with a badminton court in the backyard and a pool and an orange tree..and I'm getting my act together, man.
1984 Times 22 May 3/1 We need to get our act together... Users have been divided so far and are being picked off by the publishers one by one.
1995 Daily Star 25 Apr. 44/1 She got her act together at halfway and showed a fine turn of speed.
1997 I. Rankin Black & Blue (1998) xxvii. 381 Not many defences left, have you?.. Time to get your act together.

Compounds

act drop n. Theatre a painted curtain or piece of scenery which is lowered between acts.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > scenery > pieces of
side shutter1634
drop1781
flat1795
back-scene1818
border1824
profile1824
act drop1829
set piece1859
profiling1861
profile wing1873
backing1889
profile piece1896
revolve1900
construction1924
wood-wing1933
cutout1949
1829 Times 5 Jan. 2/1 The scenery entirely new, a new act drop, new music.., and the whole theatre newly decorated.
1890 G. B. Shaw in Star 28 Apr. 2/3 She made a very marked impression which the audience gave vehement emphasis to after each descent of the act-drop.
2007 Canberra Times (Nexis) 11 Sept. a8 No long pauses for set changes here; the scene simply moves downstage, an act drop comes in and the actors continue in front of it.
act psychology n. the doctrine that consciousness should be analysed in terms of discrete mental acts and their relationship to external entities; cf. structuralism n. 2.Originally propounded by the German psychologist Franz Brentano (1838–1917), although he did not use an equivalent term.
ΚΠ
1912 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 23 494 The act-psychology seems to me to reach its reductio ad absurdum in S. Alexander's Foundations and Sketch-plan of a Conational Psychology.
2003 F. E. Goodson Evol. & Function of Cognition i. 5 They not only brought the act psychology of Brentano into central focus, but also directly anticipated the direction and subject matter of modern-day cognitive psychology.
Act Sermon n. Oxford University (now historical) a sermon preached on Act Sunday.
ΚΠ
1641 W. Twisse Of Morality 4th Commandm. iii. 38 Him that preached the act Sermon on the Lords Day in the afternoone.
1730 T. Sharp Enq. into Causes of Infidelity (title page) Deliver'd at St. Mary's in Cambridge, Before the University: The former being an Act-Sermon, on May 18. The other on the Commencement-Sunday, June 29, 1729.
1836 Ann. Reg. 1835 App. to Chron. 232/2 The subject of Dr. Elrington's lectures was, ‘the proof of christianity’.., which lectures were printed in Dublin in 8vo. 1796, together with the Act Sermon, which he preached Nov. 15, 1795, for the degree of doctor of divinity.
1986 L. S. Sutherland in L. S. Sutherland & L. G. Mitchell Hist. Univ. Oxf. V. xiii. 402 In his celebrated Act sermon of 1733, well before he became bishop of Oxford, Secker had enlarged upon the advantages enjoyed by the English universities over those of Europe.
Act Sunday n. Oxford University (now historical) the Sunday during the Act (sense 7b) on which two of the new Doctors of Divinity preached; the last Sunday of Act Term.
ΚΠ
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah xix. 414 This Sermon was preached on the Act Sunday.
1773 H. Whitfield Sermon Univ. Oxf. 11 July (title page) Preached Before The Uiversity [sic] of Oxford, In St. Mary's Church, On Act Sunday, July the 11th, 1773.
1814 Oxf. Univ. Cal. p. vi Act Sunday. Sermons at St. Mary's. Preachers appointed by the Vice-chancellor.
1997 K. Fincham in N. Tyacke Hist. Univ. Oxf. IV. iv. 181 The latter's sermon had been preached on Act Sunday, during the ceremonies marking the end of the academic year, which ensured a large public audience.
Act Term n. Oxford University (now historical) the term in which the Act (sense 7b) took place; Trinity term.
ΚΠ
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 363 Matriculated in the University as a member of that house in Act term, an. 1595.
a1735 T. Hearne Life (1772) 13 In Act Term 1703. he took the Degree of Master of Arts.
1899 Oxf. Univ. Cal. May 20 Oxford Trinity or Act Term begins. May 30, Trinity Law Term begins.
1986 V. H. H. Green in L. S. Sutherland & L. G. Mitchell Hist. Univ. Oxf. V. xxii. 627 The committee recommended that the Easter and Act terms should be consolidated to form the Trinity term.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

actv.

Brit. /akt/, U.S. /æk(t)/
Forms: late Middle English– act, 1500s–1600s acte, 1600s actt; Scottish pre-1700 ac, pre-1700 ackin (past participle), pre-1700 1700s– act, pre-1700 1800s– ack, pre-1700 1900s– ak; U.S. regional 1800s– ac', 1900s– ack; also Caribbean 1900s– ack.
Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin āct-, agere.
Etymology: < classical Latin āct-, past participial stem of agere to drive, to come, go, to cause to move, to push, to set in motion, stir up, to emit, to make, construct, produce, to lead, bring, to drive back or away, to urge, incite, to do, perform, achieve, accomplish, to take action, to do something, to work at, to be busy at, to be busy, to work, to stage (a play), to take a part in (a play), to perform (a part) in a play, to perform (in a play), to play the part of, to behave as, to pretend to be, to strive for, to carry out, execute, discharge, to manage, administer, to celebrate, observe, to spend (time), to experience, enjoy, to live, to proceed, behave, to transact, to discuss, argue, debate, to arrange, agree on, to decree, enact, to press, urge, plead, to deliver (a speech) < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek ἄγειν to lead, bring, drive, Sanskrit aj- to drive. Compare earlier act n., enact v.Most of the main senses of this word have earlier parallels at act n.; the noun is likely to have influenced the semantic development of the verb.
†1. In early use esp. in conventional formulas.
a. transitive. To decide judicially (a case at law). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 88 (MED) These thynges were i-actid or doo In þe conuentuall church of Seynte ffrideswith at oxonforde, In þe vigile of Seynte marye Mawdelen.
a1475 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Godstow Nunnery (1905) i. 70 (MED) These þinges were I-gife & actid in þe parisshe of Carthrop of lincolne diocese, þe yere..Millesimo CCCo lvj.
b. transitive. Scottish. To enter in a book of record; = enact v. 1. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > enter on record
writeOE
setc1175
embreve?c1225
enrolc1350
enter1389
rollc1400
enact1467
act1475
enchroniclea1513
ascribe1532
re-enter1535
to put down1574
register1597
inscroll1600
emologea1639
spread1823
to book in1860
to sign on1879
log1889
sign1894
to sign out1916
to sign in1924
1475 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Edinb. (1869) I. 32 Thai to be ratifiit and apprufit siclik as thir actis, and to be actit and transsumpt in the commoun buke of Edinburgh.
1479 Extracts Rec. in W. Chambers Charters Burgh Peebles (1872) 185 [To] caus the clerk to ac that deliuerans in the common buk.
1514 in W. Fraser Lennox (1874) II. 211 The saidis lordis..ar content that [thir presentis] be ackit in the officialis bukis of Glasgow.
1589 W. Fraser Bk. of Carlaverock (1873) I. 283 This oure band and obligatioun be actit and registrat in the Buikis of Secret Counsaill, to have the strenth of ane act and decrete of the Lordis thairof.
1732 J. Louthian Form of Process 90 Sufficient Caution and Soverty, acted in the Books of Adjournal, that he shall compear..within the Tolbooth..in the Hour of Cause..for the crime..mentioned.
c. transitive. To ordain or decree, esp. as a legal statute or act; = enact v. 2. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legislation > make (laws) or establish as law [verb (transitive)] > decree
putc1390
statute1397
inact1432
ordinance1440
enact1464
act1483
enactizea1618
edict1652
1483–7 in I. S. Leadam Sel. Cases Star Chamber (1911) II. 39 By a Statut made in the tyme of King Edward the thurde..it was actid and ordeynyd..that no maner of person shuld be put to aunswere without it were apon a due presentment afore his Justices.
1488–9 Court Rec. 14 Jan. in E. Beveridge Burgh Rec. Dunfermline (1917) vi. 8 The qwhilk day it is ackit that qwha that alegis that ony reuelis the assis and cannocht appreft it he Sal be punist as he had done it hymself and tyn thar fredom.
1505 in R. W. Greaves 1st Ledger Bk. of High Wycombe (1956) 59 It is abyled and stedfastely acted from this day.
c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1920) I. 242 The act [of Parliament] Anent registratioun foirsaid Is of new maid & acted In favouris of the clerk register and his deputtis be his maiestie Jac. 6. parl. 22. act. 16.
1708 in W. Cramond Church of Grange (1898) 71 It was acted that no person sued [read sned] the trees of the kirkyard under the faillie of half-merk for every cutted branch.
d. transitive. Scottish. In passive: (of a person) to have one's name formally entered in a record as being under a bond or obligation. Also reflexive: to register (oneself) in this way. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > register [verb (transitive)]
book?c1225
descrivec1325
registera1393
rollc1440
describea1475
regestc1475
act1492
enregister1523
registrate1570
to book up1577
matriculate1586
imbook1587
muster1587
immatriculate1602
imbreviate1609
re-register1807
to check in or out1918
society > communication > record > written record > register or record book > register [verb (reflexive)]
act1492
register?1530
1492 in Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes (1839) I. 221/1 Thai consent..that Thomas Kennedy..be ackit to content & pay..twentj li.
1553 in R. Renwick Extracts Rec. Royal Burgh of Lanark (1893) 23 Wylem Lowre, burges of Lanark, akkit hymself..to pay to David Blake..all the expens and costis.
1603 in Mariner's Mirror (1922) 8 56/1 Androw Umphray of Berrie became actit Cautioner and Sovertie in the Sheriff and Comissar buikes of Zeitland and Orknay.
1656 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1881) II. 349 That the haill fleschours..be put in ward quhill they act themselfis to sell thair haill tallow..according to the tounis statutis.
1669 in J. Maidment Misc. Abbotsford Club (1837) 95 The said Mungo..becam acted not to truble, molest, or wrong the said Thome.
2.
a. intransitive. To perform actions, to do things; to take action.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > act or do [verb (intransitive)]
workeOE
i-do971
doOE
to shift one's handa1300
performa1382
practisec1475
skift?a1534
handle1535
act1583
enact1593
actuate1620
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. vi. 266 The mind being stained ye body is filthie though it neuer did act, but not contrariwise.
1616 B. Jonson Epicœne iv. i, in Wks. I. 565 If [a woman has] a fat hand, and scald nailes, let her carue the lesse, and act in gloues. View more context for this quotation
1684 Scanderbeg Redivivus vi. 133 The Emperour obliged himself to Act with an Army of Sixty Thousand Men against the Turks.
1736 tr. T.-S. Gueullette Mogul Tales I. 39 Supposing it best, and safest for him to comply with the Instructions he had received, he immediately acted as Cothrob had desired.
1756 E. Burke Vindic. Nat. Society 8 We begin to think and to act from Reason and from Nature alone.
1833 H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. iv. 54 I never could act for myself in my life.
1846 R. Peel Speech on Resignation of Ministers 29 June in Speeches (1853) IV. 716 Acting..from pure and disinterested motives.
1910 E. M. Forster Howards End viii. 63 And when she did act, no one could accuse her of indecision then.
1958 M. L. King Stride toward Freedom iii. 46 This is no time to talk; it is time to act.
1997 W. F. Brundage Under Sentence of Death ii. 96 Shackleford claimed that Chase acted alone in promoting the peace warrant against him.
b. intransitive. To behave, to comport oneself. Frequently with adverbial complement.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > behave, conduct, or bear oneself [verb (intransitive)]
i-bereeOE
workeOE
makeOE
fere1154
walka1200
steera1250
to take onc1275
fare1340
to fare with oneself1340
containa1375
to let latesa1400
usea1400
dealc1400
rulea1425
act1593
comport1616
carry1650
deport1667
demean1678
behave1721
conduct1754
to carry on1828
1593 A. Chute tr. Remonstrances f. 9v Is it possible to haue acted with more wittie endeuours then you haue doone euen to the end?
a1695 H. Wharton One & Twenty Serm. preach'd Lambeth Chapel (1698) viii. 216 Can it be, that we are perswaded of the Truths of these things, and yet Act as though we had neither Souls nor Reasons?
1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 10 Who does the best his circumstance allows, Does well, acts nobly; Angels could no more.
a1770 J. Jortin Serm. (1772) VII. i. 13 Who..believe in Christ, with a resolution to act suitably to this persuasion.
1847 R. Anderson Let. 19 Mar. in Artillery Officer in Mexican War (1911) 85 It will be well for me at once to excuse myself by stating why I cannot act better.
1876 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (ed. 2) IV. xviii. 145 In overcoming the hostility of the West, William acted as he always did act.
1884 J. H. Wylie Hist. Eng. Henry IV I. 268 He often acted like a half-wit or a madman.
1912 New Castle (Pa.) News 21 Feb. 2/3 The local man had noticed the cats acting queerly in the morning.
1947 G. Vidal In Yellow Wood ii. ix. 119 Mrs Stevanson didn't know their names but she acted as if they were her dearest friends.
1999 Cosmopolitan (U.K. ed.) Mar. 109/3 Whether he's a catcalling stranger or a friend of a friend who's had a few beers too many and grabs you for a grope, it's difficult to know how to act.
c. intransitive. With on, upon. To take action according to or in the light of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > act in accordance with [verb (transitive)]
goOE
sue?c1335
suit1647
act1649
to live up to1650
assimilate1792
1649 E. Reynolds Humble Proposals Learned & Pious Divines 3 Our hearers..who though through fear or other private ends may themselves have subscribed, yet retain low thoughts of us, as if we acted on the like principles.
1696 tr. J. Abbadie Hist. Conspiracy against King 134 They were all engag'd in the same Design, acted upon the same Principles, and were influenc'd by the same Motives and Expectations.
1736 Bp. J. Butler Analogy of Relig. Introd. p. vi. This method then of concluding and determining being practical, and what, if we will act at all, we cannot but act upon in the common Pursuits of Life [etc.].
1794 C. B. Wadstrom Ess. Colonization I. vii. 73 Let us act on plans worthy of men of good hearts and clear understandings.
1814 J. Austen Mansfield Park III. x. 201 It was somehow or other ascertained, or inferred, or at least acted upon, that they were not at all afraid. View more context for this quotation
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess ii. 34 If more there be, If more and acted on, what follows?
1884 Cent. Mag. Jan. 329/2 When a Scotch prince hated a man, he very commonly acted on the maxim, ‘If you want a thing well done, do it yourself’.
1936 G. Clark Place in Sun (1937) i. i. 11 Most of them acted on the assumption that their wishes and interests..were to be paramount.
1984 Which Micro? Dec. 70/1 The interrupt service routine can act upon the data and fire a rocket for example.
1992 N. Ryan & J. Jenkins Miracle Man ii. 37 I'm a believer in gut feelings. I pay a lot of attention to how I feel inside, and very few times have I acted on that and been wrong.
d. intransitive. To do the duties of a particular office or position, esp. temporarily. Cf. acting adj. 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [verb (transitive)] > discharge a duty or office > temporarily
act1649
1649 W. Prynne Substance Speech House of Commons Ep. to Rdr. 17 Sundry Members of the Commons House, being both Members of the Generall Councell and Army..and sitting and acting in both.
1699 Act 5 Will. III in Acts & Laws Massachusetts-Bay (1726) 124 The next Commission Officer..shall have, use and exercise the same Powers and Authorities..until the return of the Colonel... And such Officer so acting shall Post away the Intelligence thereof.
1720 Present State Brit. Court 102 The Deputy Lieutenants, who he is to select from the best Gentry in the Country, and are to act in his Absence.
1746 W. Wilkes Short Hist. State of Man 144 Moses..by a special Command and Authority of God, acted in a Post above any earthly King.
1804 Ld. Nelson in Disp. & Lett. (1846) VI. 199 I..have appointed Mr. Edward Flin, of the Victory, to act in the Bittern..a copy of whose Acting-Order is also herewith transmitted..I therefore hope their Lordships will confirm the appointment.
1851 Statute in Charter & Ordinances City of Salem (1853) 3 The respective ward officers..shall..continue to act there until others shall be chosen and qualified in their stead.
1930 Brownsville (Texas) Herald 11 Nov. 1/7 He became..an American consul in Mexico and acted in that post at Guadalajara throughout the Cristero or religious rebellion.
1957 J. M. Beck Govt. Nova Scotia v. 66 Ten years were to elapse, however, before the latter would permit the assistant justices to act in his absence.
2008 Fiji Times (Nexis) 16 Aug. 3 Mr Rickman has been appointed to act in the position until a new chairman is appointed to the post.
e. intransitive. To serve as an authorized or official representative for, esp. in a legal context; to speak, work, etc., on (also in) behalf of as an authorized representative.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > delegated authority > action or function of a delegate or deputy > act as deputy for [verb (transitive)]
spelec960
representc1390
to bear the person of?1533
reprehend1598
act1651
personate1651
rep1951
the world > time > change > exchange > substitution > supplanting or replacement > take the place of or replace [verb (intransitive)]
to stand for ——lOE
to give steadc1340
to stand in a person's stead?a1515
to do (obs.), fill, serve, supply the stead of1558
to fill the room of1562
to usurp the place of1574
suppullulate1601
to stead upa1616
to take the place ofa1616
succenturiate1630
act1651
succeed1692
to do duty1825
1651 New Remonstr. 2 The Countries from whence they came, elected men to act for them, not Gods, Saints, or Angels.
a1677 I. Barrow Treat. Pope's Supremacy (1680) 244 The whole Church then was a Body consisting of several confederations of Bishops, acting in behalf of their Churches.
1746 T. Wright in P. Floyer Proctor's Pract. in Eccl. Courts (ed. 2) Introd. p. xxii No Proctor can be admitted without..Letters Procuratory under the Promoter's Hand and Seal, authorizing him to Act for him in the Case.
1794 J. Gifford Reign Louis XVI 212 A prescribed number of electors..who are to act for the whole in the choice of a representative to the states.
1858 A. Trollope Dr. Thorne III. iv. 54 The doctor found himself in continual litigation with a low Barchester attorney, who was acting on behalf of his, the doctor's, own ward.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 448/1 A proxy..which they are requested to sign and return, naming such persons as they desire to act for them at the meeting.
1960 G. A. Glaister Gloss. Bk. 274/2 The right of the Publishers Association to act on behalf of its publisher members in ensuring that the conditions of supply of net books were observed.
1992 D. Pannick Advocates v. 145 No one suggests that barristers have to like or admire their clients or to enjoy acting on their behalf.
2004 H. Kennedy Just Law (2005) ii. 42 Ben Emmerson QC, who acted for the internees before the Special Immigration Appeals Commission.
f. intransitive. With as. To do the work of, to serve as; to perform a particular function.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > expediency > [verb (transitive)] > serve for or as
servea1387
serve1388
gain1603
act1654
1654 Jus Divinum Ministerii Evangelici (Provinc. Assembly London) x. 161 If we should not follow the examples of the Apostles in those things in which they acted as ordinary Elders, we should be left at uncertainties.
1667 J. Tombes Theodulia iii. 91 The praeelection or consent of the Congregation in which a Minister is to act as an Officer, is not so..necessary to his Office.
1757 G. Washington Let. in Writings (1889) I. 492 The commissary used to act as wagon-master.
1766 T. Clap Ann. Yale-Coll. 27 The Rev. Mr. Woodbridge acted as Moderator.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 490 He had no scruple about acting as chaplain.
1879 G. C. Harlan Eyesight ii. 25 They [sc. the eye-lashes] are delicately sensitive to the slightest touch, and act as feelers to warn the eye of the approach of any small object.
1925 F. S. Fitzgerald Great Gatsby 72 I am..full of interior rules that act as brakes on my desires.
1959 F. Bowers Textual & Lit. Crit. iii. 112 It is an ignorant view..that bibliography acts as a blue-nosed and puritanical censor to take all the joy out of the textual critic's life.
1991 U.S. News & World Rep. 27 May 47 Chandra Shekhar..is now acting as caretaker prime minister.
g. intransitive. To come up to an assumed standard; to behave according to; to fulfil or carry out in practice.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > observance or carrying out a promise, law, etc. > observe or carry out a promise, law, etc. [verb (transitive)] > advice, method, or principle > act in full accordance with
to live up to1650
act1747
1670 Bp. S. Parker Disc. Eccl. Politie vi. 178 As long as men act up to it [sc. this principle], there is no Remedy, but Innovations must be Endless.
1729 W. Law Serious Call v. 74 Then it must be our glory and happiness..to act up to the excellency of our rational nature.
1747 in Colonial Rec. Pennsylvania (1851) V. 149 As long as you shall act up to your Engagements.
1846 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. in Wks. II. 99/1 Your lordship acts up to your tenets.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 63 That..the members of the Church of England would act up to their principles.
1901 Times 3 Jan. 10/5 The Militia is a force which has always done its utmost under difficulties to act up to the best traditions of that Army of which it is proud to form an auxiliary part.
1915 W. S. Maugham Of Human Bondage xx. 82 He could not understand that a man might sincerely say things as a clergyman which he never acted up to as a man.
2007 Nation (Pakistan) (Nexis) 9 Mar. Islam is much more than acting up to the tenets and principles of its faith.
3.
a. transitive. To perform (a play, film, or similar dramatic work); to represent (something) dramatically; to act out. Also in extended use: to feign, simulate (a particular emotion, feeling, or personality trait).to act the part and variants: see part n.1 Phrases 3d(a).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (transitive)]
act1585
come1721
inact1900
play-act1962
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > deceit, deception, trickery > dissimulation, pretence > semblance, outward show > present speciously [verb (transitive)]
showc1175
feignc1340
clothe1393
colourc1400
gloze1430
pretence1548
whiten1583
maska1593
vizard1628
tissuea1639
to whiten up1746
act1790
veneer1875
histrionize1876
window dress1913
1585 Queenes Entertainem. Woodstocke sig. C3 This Comedy was presented, acted before her Maiesty.
1594 M. Drayton Matilda sig. B2 Acting her passions on our stately stage.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 438 It was neuer acted: or if it were, Neuer aboue twice, for as I remember, It pleased not the vulgar.
1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 246 Play-houses, where the parts of women are acted by women, and too naturally passionated.
1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. vi. 23 To act the Fable into a reality. View more context for this quotation
1702 London Gaz. No. 3823/4 No Permission shall be given for acting Plays.
1790 E. Burke Refl. Revol. in France 8 This would be to act over again the scene of the criminals condemned to the gallies. View more context for this quotation
1823 C. Lamb Grace before Meat in Elia 210 A present sense of the blessing, which can be but feebly acted by the rich.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. 474 Sunderland acted calumniated virtue to perfection.
1858 C. Dickens Let. 3 Feb. (1995) VIII. 514 It is extremely well acted by all concerned.
1921 Times 8 Jan. 8/2 At Bedford College for Women there were acted the trial scene from The Frogs and the second and 15th Idylls of Theocritus.
1924 E. O'Neill Welded i. 115 Don't act moral indignation!
2002 World Mag. (Nexis) 14 Sept. The film is acted and directed with such simple charm and obvious sincerity that the familiarity of the story doesn't put it at too much of a disadvantage.
b. intransitive. To perform an assumed role in a play, film, or other dramatic work; to be an actor. Also in extended use: to pretend, to put on an act. Cf. play-act v. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > acting > act [verb (intransitive)]
playa1450
to play (also act) a (also one's) part1540
representa1547
act1598
interlude1608
personate1623
to tread the stage (the boards)1691
perform1724
to go on1769
theatricalize1794
histrionize1851
play-act1856
1598 J. Marston in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 27 Say who acts best? Drusus or Roscio?
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. T5 I saw women acte, a thing that I neuer saw before, though I haue heard that it hath beene sometimes vsed in London.
a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover ii. ii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. B4v/2 Plague act yee, I'le act no more.
1717 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 1 Jan. (1965) I. 292 No Women are suffer'd to act on the stage.
1740 C. Cibber Apol. Life C. Cibber vi. 120 I was more abash'd to rehearse so remarkable a Part before the Actors..than to act before an Audience.
1823 European Mag. & London Rev. July 89/2 This charming actress..has been too often degraded by being obliged to act in male attire.
1841 Times 28 Dec. 5/2 The new actor, Mr. Hudson, who played Gratiano, appears an acquisition; he acted with great liveliness and confidence.
1931 W. S. Maugham Six Stories 231 I'm not a sportsman. I don't care a damn for hunting and shooting and playing cricket. I was only acting.
1951 M. Kennedy Lucy Carmichael ii. 76 Those dreary girls you get in every Drama School who can't act for toffee.
1968 N.Y. Times 23 July 41 (heading) Norman Mailer enlists his private army to act in film.
2002 Courier Mail (Queensland) (Nexis) 21 Sept. m4 Carroll is a man who loves to act, and is again enjoying the pace of rehearsing for the stage after his recent role on the big screen.
c. transitive. To play (a character) in a play, film, or similar dramatic work. Now chiefly in extended use: to behave as or like (a specified type of person or animal), to play the part of; usually with the before the object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > imitation > imitate [verb (transitive)]
evenlecheOE
resemble?c1400
imitate1534
sequest1567
succeed1577
act1599
pattern1601
similize1606
like1613
echoa1616
sample1616
ape1634
transcribe1646
copy1648
copy1649
mime1728
borrowa1847
to make likea1881
replicate1915
society > communication > representation > role-playing > play the part of [verb (transitive)]
to bear the person of?1533
act1599
personate1604
comediate1624
tip1712
impersonate1715
come1721
role-play1951
1599 J. Rainolds Overthrow Stage-playes 79 The ingenuousnes of the boy that represented Melantho, opposed to the noblenes of Lentulus who did act Laureolus.
1641 T. Herbert Answer to Mercuries Message 6 He that can best dissemble can best write, Ye that doe so can act the Hypocrite.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. xvi. 80 He that acteth another, is said to beare his Person, or act in his name.
1727 J. Swift Let. to very Young Lady in Misc. II. 320 A Wise Man..soon grows weary of acting the Lover and treating his Wife like a Mistress.
1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fourth 32 She gives the Soul a Soul that acts a God.
1796 G. Morris in J. Sparks Life G. Morris (1832) III. 98 It is to act, not to be, the monarch, and he suits better the theatre than the throne.
1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (ed. 3) I. xxvi. 390 What was it but to act the child, to ask how many times a fellow-Christian should offend against us.
1890 Cent. Mag. Apr. 911/1 Possum-fat..makes you laugh at everything and act the fool generally.
1929 W. P. Ridge Affect. Regards 61 Haven't I got enough trouble without you acting the goat in this fashion?
1993 Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) (Nexis) 9 Feb. e3 Every actor—and the occasional actress—keen on serious theater at some point or another feels compelled to act Hamlet.
1994 E. McNamee Resurrection Man (1998) xxiv. 220 Big Ivan's happy as a pig in shit acting the sectarian killer.
d. intransitive. Of a play: to be particularly suited for performance, to be performed; (with adverb of quality) to be performable in a particular way.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > a play > [verb (intransitive)] > be susceptible of performance
act1668
1668 T. Shadwell Sullen Lovers iii. 34 'Tis a Play that shall Read and Act with any Play that ever was born.
1789 T. Twining tr. Aristotle Treat. Poetry 168 Whose productions..read better than they act.
1821 Ld. Byron in E. J. Trelawny Rec. Shelley (1858) 29 My plays won't act..my poesy won't sell.
1916 S. Kaye-Smith John Galsworthy 17 Galsworthy's plays have the advantage of acting well—unlike much literary drama.
1946 Rev. Eng. Stud. 22 145 If to say that a play ‘will not act’ condemns it, to say that it ‘acts well’ may be but a left-handed compliment, implying merely that it gives a clever actor full scope for his tricks.
2000 Mod. Lang. Rev. 95 470 [Henry IV, Pt. 2] is a work of Shakespeare's maturity, it acts well.., and the scenes of its political plot contain powerful writing.
e. intransitive. With adjective as complement: to behave (esp. dissemblingly) in a manner suggestive of a particular characteristic, quality, or emotion. Now chiefly colloquial.
ΚΠ
1813 Ann. Reg. 1812 Poetry 558 Observe the prudent; they in silence sit;..they hazard nothing, nothing they assume, But know the useful art of acting dumb.
1872 Times 23 Oct. 6/6 Mrs. Fair acted crazy, with some little success, after the fatal occurrence, and when her trial came on..her counsel chiefly rested the defence upon Mrs. Fair's alleged susceptibility to spasmodic fits of insanity.
1913 D. C. Goodman Hagar Revelly v. 40 You are acting sad, John, and you ought to be happy now.
1952 J. Steinbeck East of Eden xli. 475 ‘Everybody is laughing at us. I want to get out of town.’ ‘You act mad.’ ‘I'm not mad.’
1954 V. Randolph Pissing in Snow (1976) 55 The womenfolks all heard the story..but they had to act innocent like they didn't know what them boys meant.
2000 A. Sayle Barcelona Plates 31 She didn't stop and park though, as most do, but kept rolling, nervous but acting all casual.
4.
a. transitive. To bring about, perform, do (a thing or process). Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > doing > do [verb (transitive)]
i-wurchec888
i-dreeeOE
doeOE
dightc1000
workOE
haveOE
fet1297
takec1380
gara1400
playc1410
practisec1475
bedrive1481
fetch1530
perpetrate1535
act1590
exert1662
1590 T. Lodge Rosalynde: Euphues Golden Legacie f. 59 I haue a friend that is deeply experienst in Negromancie and Magicke, what arte can doo shall bee acted for thine aduantage.
a1592 R. Greene Hist. Orlando Furioso (1594) sig. Aivv There did I act as many braue attempts.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. vii. xliv. 375/1 Dunstan..who not onely did refuse to act his Coronation.
1651 N. Bacon Contin. Hist. Disc. Govt. viii. 88 Whereby they did get power to act other enormities mentioned in the Charge.
1655 T. Stanley Hist. Philos. I. iii. 19 I do most act the businesse of the Common-wealth, if I practise it onely.
a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 477 Lord Twedale saw, that..he would act over his former extravagances.
1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil i. xi. 189 Had Satan been able to have acted anything by Force.
1791 T. Paine Rights of Man i. 136 Measures which at other times it would censure, it now approves, and acts persuasion upon itself to suffocate its judgment.
1801 T. Moore Ring 170 Now Austin was a reverend man, Who acted wonders maint.
1819 P. B. Shelley Cenci i. iii. 13 You seem too light of heart..To act the deeds that rumour pins on you.
1929 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover (Paris ed.) p. vi Our ancestors have so assiduously acted sex without ever thinking it or realising it, that now the act tends to be mechanical, dull, and disappointing.
†b. transitive. To put in motion, to motivate; to actuate, animate. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > cause to move [verb (transitive)]
stira1023
icchec1175
wawc1290
movea1382
remble1579
rouse1582
agitate1592
act1597
to put in (also into, to) motion1597
activate1624
actuate1641
animate1646
ferment1667
to feague away1671
to carry about1680
excite1694
jee1722
bestir1813
emotion1831
to set on1855
send1864
motion1929
the world > action or operation > cause to operate [verb (transitive)]
work1591
act1597
to put onc1842
operate1847
trip1897
the mind > will > motivation > motivate [verb (transitive)]
movec1325
occasion?1529
to put in mind1579
act1597
motive1657
actuate1736
motivate1863
1597 W. Perkins Reformed Catholike i. 16 Mans will must first of all be acted and moved by grace, and then it also acteth, willeth, and moveth it selfe.
1602 W. Warner Albions Eng. (rev. ed.) xiii. lxxvi. 316 Thy Senses fiue that acte thy life; thy Speache, whereby to many Thou doest communicate thy selfe, saue God disclameth any.
a1676 H. Guthry Mem. (1702) 54 The People of Scotland are much acted by their Ministers Doctrine.
a1687 W. Petty Polit. Arithm. (1691) iii. 54 Ships, and Guns do not fight of themselves, but Men who act and manage them.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 287. ¶1 If I shall be told that I am acted by Prejudice, I am sure it is an honest Prejudice.
1733 A. Pope Ess. Man ii. 49 Self-Love, the Spring of Motion, acts the Soul.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. lviii. 275 Mrs. Howe was acted by the springs I set at work.
1851 H. Bushnell Christ in Theol. 336 [The soul] is brought into such a close, interior union with the will and spirit of God that it is acted by God.
†c. transitive. To carry out in action (a plan, command, purpose). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > carrying out > execute, perform, or carry out [verb (transitive)]
lasteOE
ylastc888
wieldeOE
doeOE
dreeOE
forthOE
fremeOE
workOE
affordOE
full-bringc1175
fulfila1225
perfurnisha1325
complishc1374
performc1384
achievea1393
chevisea1400
practic?a1425
exploitc1425
execute1477
furnish1477
through1498
practa1513
enure1549
chare1570
enact1597
act1602
to carry out1608
outcarry1611
celebrate1615
complya1616
peract1621
tide1631
implement1837
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. ii. sig. D Tis iust that subiectes acte commaunds of kings.
1659 Reynolds in T. Burton Diary (1828) IV. 302 Our enemies..take an advantage of a parliament sitting to act all their plots.
1693 in tr. J. Le Clerc Mem. Count Teckely Pref. p. xi A formed Design, intended to be acted in one Place after another, throughout Europe.
1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. i. 426 Th' unwilling Heralds act their Lord's Commands.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 59 To live by law Acting the law we live by without fear.
5.
a. intransitive. Of a thing: to exert influence, to produce an effect; to operate, fulfil a function.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operate [verb (intransitive)]
operate1603
act1651
play1677
tick1931
1651 Perfect Diurnall No. 62. 823 There is a strong Spirit acting among them of division.
1669 D. Foot Let. 11 Oct. in H. Oldenburg Corr. (1969) VI. 278 They alike conclude, that Salts act best in a State of Solution.
1751 S. Johnson Rambler No. 141. ⁋2 A combination of inconsiderable circumstances, acting when his imagination was unoccupied.
1772 N. D. Falck Treat. Venereal Dis. iii. iii. 348 A diuretic must be first received into the blood before it can act so.
1812 W. Taylor in Monthly Rev. 69 384 Rapid composition acts best.
1870 W. S. Jevons Elem. Lessons Logic xxix. 251 When several causes act at once.
1929 H. A. A. Nicholls & J. H. Holland Text-bk. Trop. Agric. (ed. 2) i. iv. 29 This dust, which is called pollen, acts when applied to the stigma in such a way as to fertilize the flower.
1971 M. F. K. Fisher Among Friends viii. 123 If we worked up enough body heat and had the right amount of spit we could keep it [sc. tar mixed with dust] melted so that it acted almost like chewing gum.
1991 Science 11 Oct. 290/1 The time point in the response at which the drug begins to act is delayed.
b. intransitive. To exert influence or to have an effect on (also upon) a person or thing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > operation upon something > have effect on [verb (transitive)]
rineOE
takec1300
concern1446
redound1460
work1487
touch1491
solicit1601
salutea1616
enact1616
affect1630
reach1637
attinge1640
act1655
influence1661
irradiate1668
vibrate1845
involve1847
inwork1855
to cut ice (with someone)1894
dent1931
impact1935
to make (also put) a dent in1942
1655 Chymical, Medicinal, & Chyrurg. Addr. 33 The Salts act on the Sulphur of which they rob the Mercury.
1667 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 2 556 He..sheweth how those Principles run through all Minerals, Vegetables, and Animals, by their manifold Combinations, and various ways of acting on one another.
1772 N. D. Falck Treat. Venereal Dis. ii. v. 125 The sharp, and stimulating particles of bodies..act momentary, on the nerves at the first contact, and gradually abate.
1786 Med. Comm. for 1785 i. i. 24 It appeared, that it [sc. gastric fluid] did not act on plants as an aqueous fluid, but as a real solvent.
1809 S. T. Coleridge Friend 12 Oct. 140 Reason to act on Man must be impersonated.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 437 The clear liquor..is acted on by a rod of zinc.
1855 D. Brewster Mem. Life I. Newton (new ed.) I. xii. 322 One sphere will act upon another with a force directly proportional to their quantities of matter.
1928 R. M. May tr. S. Ramón y Cajal Degeneration & Regeneration Nerv. Syst. I. 374 Several neurotropic currents may act simultaneously on the same cone of growth.
1955 R. Sutcliff Outcast (1999) vi. 79 Beric looked up to encounter a grin and a cocked eyebrow of amused understanding that somehow failed to act on him as it did on most people.
1998 Times (Nexis) 6 Feb. There are two strong forces acting on the world economy at present and they are pushing in opposite directions.
c. intransitive. Mathematics. to act on: (of a function, operator, etc.) to have as an argument; to have its arguments in (a set); (of a group) to produce a transformation of the elements of (a set).
ΚΠ
1862 Messenger Math. 1 82 It will be convenient in certain cases to consider a Quaternion as a machine, which when it acts on a vector turns it about a definite axis.]
1887 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 9 299 θ1 acts on u only.
1930 C. Eckart & F. C. Hoyt tr. W. Heisenberg Physical Princ. Quantum Theory 71 Operators acting on the Schrödinger function.
1964 Jrnl. Math. & Mech. 13 837 (title) Almost periodic transition operators acting on the continuous functions on a compact space.
1990 Q. Jrnl. Math. 41 110 The automorphism group of a thin complex acts freely on the set of chambers.
2007 Bull. Symbolic Logic 13 7 A acts on this Hilbert space by left multiplication.
6. intransitive. Horse Racing (originally British). Of a horse: to perform well in a race.
ΚΠ
1938 S. Donoghue Donoghue Up! xix. 190 He needed a lot of holding together on those turns and twists but he was able to act on the course and he won easily.
1978 Times 1 Nov. 11/4 The ground is very hard, and few horses really act on it.
1986 Racing Post 25 Apr. 32/4 If he acts on the course he'll be hard to beat because I didn't have him 100 per cent at Newbury.
2004 Courier Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 27 Aug. g12 Lightly raced and unlike a lot of the foreign horses can act on soft and firm going.

Phrasal verbs

With adverbs in specialized senses. to act out
1. transitive. To perform, to translate into action; (Psychoanalysis) to express (repressed or unconscious feelings) in overt behaviour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [verb (transitive)] > other mental illness
reject1931
to act out2002
?1616 W. Goddard Satirycall Dialogue sig. E2 Oh hee that well cann actt-out such sweete partes.
1653 G. Goodman Two Great Myst. Christian Relig. 92 The truth of these promises, continued in many prophesies, acted out in Types, resembled in figures, [etc.].
1673 E. Pearse Great Concern v. 55 Alas! How have we..acted out the enmity and rebellon [sic] of our natures against him?
1799 S. Hopkins Life & Char. Susanna Anthony v. 158 It will serve to strengthen and establish the faith of real christians to find one experiencing, expressing and acting out, in a higher and more eminent degree, those christian graces and exercises, which they have experienced in a lower measure.
1836 Amer. Q. Rev. 19 463 They pledged themselves with their pens, and then acted their pledges out.
1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes vi. 363 To speak out, to act out, what Nature has laid in him.
1934 A. Tate in New Republic 14 Mar. 128/1 The characters..suffer no dramatic alteration; an episode ends when they have acted out enough of the moral to please the poet.
1965 G. McInnes Road to Gundagai xi. 192 He persuaded the boys to act out episodes from the Odyssey and the Aeneid.
1983 N. Humphrey Consciousness Regained vii. 75 Human ancestors were acting out the physiological states of fear or jealousy long before they were in a position to have insight into them.
2002 Time Out N.Y. 5 Sept. 151/2 You don't want to waste your time with some patronizing nimrod who's only interested in how you can help him act out his porno fantasies.
2. intransitive. Originally U.S. Esp. of a child or adolescent: to misbehave, to behave antisocially, esp. as a deliberate response to an unwelcome or distressing situation.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > behave badly [verb (intransitive)]
misbehave1703
misdemean1765
to go on1778
to cut up1787
perform1891
to act out1913
1913 Dial. Notes 4 3 Act out, to misbehave, of children in school, etc. Orono [Maine].
1974 H. L. Foster Ribbin', Jivin', & Playin' Dozens ii. 46 The child with a learning or physical problem or disability may act-out to divert attention from, for example, his inability to read.
1985 J. Adams Good Intentions v. 43 He's been acting out in very safe ways—lying to you, stealing from you, getting in dutch at school.
1999 New Yorker 29 Mar. 103/1 Betty was also a delusional sociopath who acted out at the trial..and hawked personal information about her daughter to the tabloids.
 to act up
1. intransitive. colloquial. Cf. to play up 3b at play v. Phrasal verbs 1.
a. Of a person or animal: to act in an abnormal or exaggerated manner; to misbehave.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > unruliness > be unruly [verb (intransitive)]
fling1531
reul1691
to act up1903
1879 Globe (Atchison, Kansas) 26 Sept. Atchison's celebrated fakir, John Kingston, has been acting up again.
1903 A. Adams Log of Cowboy xviii. 275 The horse of some peeler..acted up one morning.
1923 J. Colton & C. Randolph Rain i. 9 What's the trouble?—Old man acting up again?
1956 J. Hearne Stranger at Gate xxxvii. 282 ‘I'm sorry,’ he said, ‘I'm acting up a bit. I feel pretty tight inside.’
1964 New Statesman 20 Nov. 786/2 She would have to ‘act up’ to convince anyone that her mental health is in danger.
1991 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Oct. 90/1 All children talk back and act up from time to time.
b. Of a thing, esp. a mechanical device: to cause difficulty, to malfunction. Of a part of the body or an ailment: to cause a person pain or other problems.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > [verb (intransitive)] > operate in a faulty manner
misperform1656
misbehave1851
to act up1887
malfunction1941
to go ape1985
1887 Boston Daily Globe 20 Dec. 6/1 Then the engine acted up and wouldn't make steam.
1909 G. Stratton-Porter Girl of Limberlost xiv. 268 Let me rest a few seconds; my feet are acting up again.
1972 New Yorker 26 Aug. 51/1 The oscilloscope may start acting up.
1984 J. Kelman Busconductor Hines iv. 207 It's my angina acting up.
2001 R. Joshi Last Jet Engine Laugh (2002) 53 I was stuck in the bathroom, angry about the toilet suction acting up again.
2. intransitive. To perform the duties of a more senior office or position, esp. temporarily. Cf. sense 2d.Not in North American use.
ΚΠ
1968 Lancet 16 Mar. 586/1 Extra pay for excessive duty combined with the responsibility of a higher post (acting-up allowance).
1976 Times 20 May 31/6 (advt.) Applicants must..have acquired sufficient experience to enable them to ‘act up’ in the absence of the Personal Assistant.
1996 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 2 Jan. 1 Last night more than 20 firefighters had been stood down for enforcing a union workban on ‘acting up’, doing the duties of more senior officers.
2002 Police Rev. 2 Aug. 12/1 Under the previous regulations, officers who ‘acted up’ were paid a salary commensurate with their new rank.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, November 2010; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

> as lemmas

ACT
ACT n. British advance corporation tax.
ΚΠ
1972 Accountant 25 Sept. 378/1 The three aims of avoiding transitional penalties, securing a windfall ACT (advance corporation tax) relief for dividends paid before that date and escaping an ACT forfeit for dividends paid after it.
1998 Economist 21 Mar. 36/2 At present, firms pay each financial year's tax (apart from any ACT already paid) in one lump.
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ACT
ACT n. U.S. Education American College Testing (or Test).A proprietary name.
ΚΠ
1959 Daily Rev. (Hayward, Calif.) 8 Sept. 6/1 ACT will charge each student $3, and levy no charge against the high school.
1975 Ebony Mar. 79/1 The ACT has four parts: mathematics, English, social studies and natural sciences.
2006 B. Fey Statistics Hacks ii. 52 An officer could enter the student's ACT score into the regression formula and predict his GPA.
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ACT
ACT n. Australian Capital Territory.
ΚΠ
1938 Official Year Bk. Austral. 390 A.C.T.
2007 L. Wallis et al. in C. Smith & H. Burke Digging it up Down Under v. 147 Weather conditions in the ACT can change rapidly, so when in the field make sure that you have adequate clothing, water and first-aid supplies.
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