somewhatn.adv.

Brit.

/ˈsʌmwɒt/, U.S.

/ˈsəmˌ(h)wɑt/,

/ˈsəmˌ(h)wət/

Forms: α. Middle English sumhwat, sumwhet ( Orm. summwhatt), Middle English–1500s sumwhat (Middle English sumwhate, sumwat(t, 1500s sumwhatt); Middle English sumquat, Middle English sumqwat, 1500s Scottish sumquhat; Middle English somȝwat, Middle English–1500s somȝwhatt, Middle English–1600s somȝwhat; Middle English somwat, Middle English–1500s somwatt; Middle English– somewhat. β. dialect1700s sumet, 1800s summat, summut, zum'ot, etc.

Etymology: < some adj.¹ + what pron. Down to the end of the 16th cent. written either as one word or as two.

= something n. and adv.

A. n.

a. A certain amount, esp. in the way of statement, information, etc. Frequently with of (= concerning). Now archaic.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > some, any, or indefinite amount

somec1000

anyOE

somewhatc1175

a little wightc1275

society > communication > information > [noun] > piece of

somewhatc1175

communication1481

informationa1527

intelligence1570

adviso1591

intelligencies1623

data1645

footnote1711

steer1899

mail1975

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 958 Summ whatt icc habbe shæwedd ȝuw. Till ȝure sawle fode.

a1225 Leg. Kath. 506 Schaw sumwhet of ham, for hwi ha beon wurðe for to beon iwurðge.

a1300 Cursor Mundi 1496 Spek we sumquat of caym kyn.

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 672 To thi help yet sumwhat can I say.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vii. 27 Now hafe I schortly talde ȝow sum what of bawme.

1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiv I wold reherce somwhat of her demeanyng in this behalue.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxiv. ii Joyne with me, Somwhat to speake of his due praise.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 133 It is strange, how long some Men will lie in wait, to speake somewhat, they desire to say.

a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 40 I will relate somewhat concerning the Earl of Antrim.

1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. ii. 274 Exasperated at somewhat his antagonist had said.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I vii. 6 Narrating somewhat of Don Juan's father.

b. Some (material or immaterial) thing of unspecified nature, amount, etc. Now archaic or dialect.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something

somethingc1000

thingOE

somewhatc1230

somewhat else, more, over1390

something1577

what1654

something or other1706

sumptin1767

sumthin1822

sumfin1823

summink1875

α.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 27 Swa don eauer sumhwet þet god mahe of awakenin.

c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 54 He it nolde bi-leue, Ȝwane ani pouere man him bede, bote he him som-ȝwat ȝeue.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3722 It bi-tokenes sum-what treuli, god turne it to gode!

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 210 In ech of hem he fint somwhat That pleseth him.

c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) i. xv. 14 Late myn estate with som what be amendyd.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iii. xvi I deye for honger; gyue me somwhat to ete.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. iv. 8 We are in povertie: but not utterly without somwhat.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 340 Such as were wicked..made a shewe as though they would do somewhat.

a1627 T. Middleton Witch (1945) iii. i. 999 Nothing lives but has a Ioy in some-what.

1694 J. Dryden Love Triumphant ii. i. 24 I know not why, but somewhat prompts me To Read this folded Page.

1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. viii. 134 I observed..somewhat that looked like a Boat overturned.

1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 13 He perceived somewhat glitter amid the grass.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. xi. 273 The tools were worth somewhat.

1842 N. Hawthorne in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) I. 441 I have been looking to receive somewhat in the shape of a letter..from you.

1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xiv Some folk say he's not right in his head; or turned miser, or somewhat.

proverbial.1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. x. sig. D Alwaie somewhat is better than nothyng.1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. C.iii Boude wands serue for sumwhat.β. 1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 59 Yaurs may..seaav sumet agayn they er aud.1838 J. Grant Sketches London 39 There was no lack either of ‘summut’ to drink or ‘summut’ to eat.1839 in Latham Handbk. Eng. Lang. (1860) 148 Presently, zum 'ot..went dump!1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. i. 10 A man must learn summat beside Gospel to make them things.

c. Followed by an adjective.

ΚΠ

1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 74 Insteed of meeting with what I look'd for, I met with somewhat more admirable.

1681 Pref. in T. Hobbes Art of Rhetoric sig. A4^v May be presumed to contain somewhat excellent.

1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The parts..are bound together by somewhat Oleaginous.

1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless I. i. 3 Miss Betsy, who had..somewhat extremely engaging in her manner of behaviour.

1836 R. W. Emerson Spirit in Nature in Wks. (1906) II. 166 It is essential to a true theory of nature and of man, that it should contain somewhat progressive.

1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. ix. §1. 125 [They] mistook the sensation for somewhat half divine.

†d. by somewhat, by a certain (small) amount.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to some (small) extent

in (also by, with) measurec1225

in mannerc1425

somewhat1542

in some sort1556

in some (also a) measure1600

by somewhat1653

something of a(n)1711

(a) sort of, o', a, sorter1790

1653 W. Ramesey Astrologia Restaurata 61 Yet he is the swifter of the two by somewhat.

a. With dependent genitive: Some part, portion, amount, etc., of something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a or some part of something

somedeala900

somethingc1200

somewhat1297

portionc1390

sharea1450

sort1575

something1654

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7587 So þat vewe contreies beþ in engelonde, Þat monekes nabbeþ of normandie somwat in hor honde.

1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 22 Þer..a noþer chapelle standes, & somwhat of þat tre, þei bond vntille his handes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4739 Len vs sumquat o þi sede, Was neuer ar sua mikel nede.

c1400 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. α) (Rolls) II. 69 In þis citee is somwhat of þat famous wal.

c1440 Wycliffite Bible Gen. xl. 4 Sumdel [v.r. sum whatt] of tyme passide.

1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 18 It is thought there is somewhat of theyr dooings in his works.

1658 W. Sanderson Graphice 33 Observe to hit the virtues of the Piece, and to refuse the Vices; for all Masters have somewhat of them both.

a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1683) II. 93 Doth she not every where present spectacles of delight (somewhat of lively picture, somewhat of gay embroidery, somewhat of elegant symmetry).

1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. liii. 147 By quitting somewhat of his royal prerogative.

1779 Mirror No. 10 By that too great niceness..they may mingle somewhat of disgust and uneasiness even in the highest and finest pleasures.

1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxvi. 600 A conversation of which he could not help hearing somewhat.

1876 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets vi. 232 It must be acknowledged that somewhat of this applies to Tennyson's variations upon Theocritus.

b. Const. of with a positive adjective. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Man become Guilty 36 Tis the desire of seeing somewhat of new which draws us forth.

1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love i. i. 7 Somewhat of mournful, sure, my Ears does wound.

1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless I. ii. 12 These words, as it proved, had somewhat of prophetic in them.

1855 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 10 Sept. in Eng. Notebks. (1997) I. iii. 317 Except somewhat of fantastic in the shape of the clock-tower.

c. = something n. 2c.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [noun] > a certain degree of > that is such to a certain degree

something of a(n)1711

somewhat1841

1841 A. Helps On Treatm. Suitors in Ess. (1842) 110 You will naturally endeavour to give somewhat of a detailed explanation.

1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. 3 It was somewhat of a surprise to me.

1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. 88 He was also somewhat of a time-server.

a. With limiting word or particle, as somewhat else, more, over, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something

somethingc1000

thingOE

somewhatc1230

somewhat else, more, over1390

something1577

what1654

something or other1706

sumptin1767

sumthin1822

sumfin1823

summink1875

(a)

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 96 As thogh I hadde lost a Ring Or somwhat elles.

1579 T. Lodge Protogenes 29 These things are not the chiefest poynts you shote at, thers somewhat els sticketh in your stomak.

1665 J. North in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1912) 3rd Ser. 235 I haue some-what els to ymparte vnto you.

1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ I. at Some I must talk of somewhat else.

(b)a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxv. 1363 Þe superparticularis nombre conteyneþ in comparisoun al þe lasse nombre and somwhat ouer.1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes iii. ii. 235 in Wks. II You are a Courtier, Sir, or somewhat more.a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 8 I shall therefore only say somewhat more of my Mother.

b. somewhat between adv. = something n. 1d.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > condition of being mean or average > average [phrase] > something between

somewhat between1823

1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. xii. 283 His gesture..was noble, and at the same time resigned, somewhat between the bearing of a feudal noble and of a Christian martyr.

a. A thing, quality, etc., worth considering or regarding; a person of note or importance.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > worthy of notice > of considering

somewhatc1384

considerable1642

considerability1652

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Gal. ii. 6 Forsoth thei that weren seen for to be sumwhat, no thing to me ȝauen to gidere.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Gal. vi. 3 Iff a man seme to hym silfe that he is somwhat when in dede he is nothynge.

1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant iv. i. 58 Nay, the Foole is a handsome Foole, that's somewhat.

1838 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 32 It were a strange thing indeed if there were not somewhat in such men as Milton, Sidney [etc.].

1842 Ld. Tennyson St. Simeon Stylites in Poems (new ed.) II. 59 They think that I am somewhat... The silly people take me for a saint.

1859 D. Masson Life Milton I. 721 The living society of a place is also somewhat.

†b. of somewhat, for some purpose. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > useful [phrase] > for some purpose

of somewhata1400

a1400 Sir Perc. 854 It servede hym of somwhatt The wylde fyre that he gatt.

a. With a, the, etc., and plural. A certain undefined or unknown thing, quality, amount, etc.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something > a something

thinga1325

somewhat1598

what1654

1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence Andria ii. i, in Terence in Eng. 30 In the meane season I hope some-what may be done...That some-what will proue iust nothing.

1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 210 Pretty Somewhats they would meane, but sure They understand not themselves any more than I do.

1685 tr. B. Gracián y Morales Courtiers Oracle 220 Several men would be great, if they wanted not a somewhat, without which they never attain to the height of perfection.

1795 A. Hughes Jemima I. 218 He has a somewhat in his voice..so pleasant.

1806 H. Siddons Maid, Wife, & Widow II. 247 A habit of delivering his sentiments with a somewhat of more than dictatorial petulance.

1857 J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson I. 126 Sending to Hodgson a somewhat which he had left behind him.

b. With preceding adjective.

ΚΠ

1685 tr. B. Gracián y Morales Courtiers Oracle 117 The secret charm, or the unexpressible somewhat; which the French call Le Je-ne-sai-quoi.

1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §80 Matter is an unknown somewhat—neither substance nor accident.

1785 M. Cutler Let. 28 Feb. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 229 I now believe, at least, that there is a certain somewhat, which produced a rotary motion in a sword.

1827 S. T. Coleridge Table-talk 30 Aug. Painting is the intermediate somewhat between a thought and a thing.

1855 R. Browning One Word More ix Thus achievement lacks a gracious somewhat.

c. Const. of or with adjective following.

ΚΠ

1817 M. Keating Trav. I. 272 Still here attaches..a somewhat of disgraceful to the idea of intoxication.

1825 W. Scott Let. 12 Oct. (1935) IX. 245 They require the atmosphere of a cigar and the amalgam of a sum'mat comfortable.

a1858 R. A. Vaughan Ess. & Remains (1858) I. 50 A somewhat of their spirit of love..he found ever afterwards indispensable to his heart.

B. adv. In a certain degree or measure; to some (slight or small) extent; slightly, a little; rather.

a. Qualifying a verb.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > somewhat

somedealc725

halfc1175

somewhatc1175

somethingc1275

little whatc1384

somedeallyc1400

measurablec1420

somewhatlyc1450

somewisec1450

somepartc1485

parta1500

something1548

rather1573

some1575

rathera1684

sunket1686

somethingisha1726

measurably1756

rather1770

rather1772

somec1780

sumthin1786

wee1816

sumfin1852

sumptin1852

measuredly1860

sumpin1889

part-way1954

ish1986

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16881 Þær þurrh wass sene þatt he þa. Summ whatt bigunnenn haffde. To lefenn o þe laferrd crist.

c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf.) Prol. 71 Ye be diligent To forthren me somwhat in my labour.

c1410 Sir Cleges 147 Jn with hyr he gan goo, And sumwatt mendyd hys chere.

c1440 Partonope 4915 To her suster dyd she spek And somwhat her hert to her breke.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxvi. 28 Sumwhatt thou bryngest me in mynde for to be come christen.

1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Diij These drugges..though they sumwhat please the tast, yet make the bosome stinke.

1646 J. Gaule Select Cases Conscience 56 Hereupon it hath been somwhat dissented.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 308/1 The short Graver, which turneth up somewhat at the end.

1780 Mirror No. 82 Sir George Rodney's success has somewhat lessened their force.

1812 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Paradiso ii. 53 She somewhat smiled.

1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 389 The Forms of these ejaculations varied somewhat.

b. Qualifying a preposition.

ΚΠ

1492 King Henry VII Let. in G. Griffiths Hist. Tong (1894) 224 Desiring you that somwhat bifor the said tyme ye wol addresse you unto us.

1600 in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 35 Somwhat before the play began.

1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 91 To drink somewhat beyond the bounds of exact Temperance.

1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 10 Spirit of nitre consists of somewhat above one fourth of pure acid.

1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I i. 3 Sent to the devil, somewhat ere his time.

c. somewhat as, in much the same way, to some extent, as.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > in the same way as

in manner ofa1375

in resemblance ofa1393

at (also till, in) (the) likening ofa1500

somewhat as1872

1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 1 We may think of Voltairism somewhat as we think of Catholicism.

1894 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 16 It ran or rather hirpled somewhat as follows.

a. Qualifying an adjective, adv., or clause.

ΚΠ

(a)

c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame 1097 But for the ryme ys lyght and lewed Yit make hyt sumwhat agreable.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11054 Þat mensking þam bi-tuin, Was sum-quat diuers, als i wene.

c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 48 If þat ilke mater be not hard but sumwhat neische.

1466 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 324 For a sadelle sumwhat worne, ij.s. viij.d.

c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xliii. 144 His coloure was sum what pale.

1595 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 335 His vtterance was somwhat vnready.

1668 J. Dryden Sr Martin Mar-all v. 65 Would I were hang'd if it be not somewhat probable.

1750 tr. C. Leonardus Mirror of Stones 92 [It] is a stone of a crystal colour, and somewhat obscure.

1780 Mirror No. 105 Somewhat a-kin to the lovers of detraction are the offence-takers.

1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 15 Their practice is governed by principles somewhat different.

1885 Manch. Examiner 12 May 5/2 It would seem..that the struggle was somewhat indecisive.

(b)1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth iv. sig. C.ii The seller vnder the pantry sette somwhat abase.1592 T. Kyd Trueth Murthering of Brewen 4 When it drew somewhat late.1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 20 in Justa Edouardo King Begin, and somwhat loudly sweep the string.1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 195 One, who, having somewhat unexpectedly succeeded to the family title.1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows ii. xvii. 116 If..we Are counted somewhat deeply in their debt.1869 J. Ruskin Queen of Air i. §32 Somewhat saucily.(c)1578 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. III. 35 Mony injurious wordis, sumquhat in contempt of our Soverane Lord.1608 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Serres Gen. Inventorie Hist. France (1611) 457 A cunning woman, and some-what of her fathers humor.1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 27 Now was Christian somwhat in a muse. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor viii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 233 The hounds and huntsmen seemed somewhat at a stand.1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham II. xv. 138 Somewhat of a lugubrious nature.1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. iii. 49 Martin looked somewhat at a loss for an answer, till his wife supplied him with one.

b. With a comparative adjective or adverb.

ΚΠ

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xi. 46 It es sumwhat hyer þan oþer placez of þe citee.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xxii I blowe in hit for to haue it somwhat more cold than hit is.

?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Aiiij And somwhat wyser, be they also than we.

1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lv. 117 Somewhat more playnely to shewe a true immediate reason..wee acknowledge [etc.].

1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. vi. 275 The men of this place are black, but the women are some~what fairer.

1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 241 The Lower Earthy Strata would be settling somewhat closer together.

1768 Woman of Honor III. 233 A range of thirteen chests rather somewhat larger than the common size.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 173 The pan being brought to somewhat more than a red heat.

1866 T. Carlyle in J. W. Carlyle Lett. & Mem. (1883) III. 255 She..went home somewhat better.

1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 359 Tell me.., in somewhat plainer terms, what you mean!

c. With of the and a superlative adjective or adverb.

ΚΠ

1561 T. Hoby Chief Conditions Gentylwoman in tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer sig. Zz.iii Not to make wise to abhorr companie and talke, though somewhat of the wantonnest.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue i. 30 I got mee (though somewhat of the latest) hungry.

1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 218 The revenues of this Archbishoprick are somewhat of the meanest.

1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii*, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. II. 51 Your morning-draught has been somewhat of the strongest.

d. With a or an inserted before the adjective (or noun) qualified.

ΚΠ

1588 J. Read tr. F. Arcaeus Compend. Method f. 69^v Barriga..receaued a wounde in his brest, with somewhat a long sword.

a1646 J. Gregory Posthuma (1649) 198 This was somwhat a tolerable impietie, for such great Astronomers to adore the Host of Heaven.

1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies vi. 79 [He] may vouchsafe his Assistance also unto us who are somewhat a larger Congregation.

1740 S. Johnson Drake in Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 510 Being obliged by this Accident to somewhat a longer Residence among the Moors.

1817 W. Whewell in J. M. Douglas Life & Corr. W. Whewell (1881) 25 I must acknowledge myself somewhat an idle correspondent so far as writing goes.

1891 A. Mozley Lett. J. H. Newman I. iii. 103 There were certainly..definite points about him which made him somewhat a difficulty.

e. Preceded by an article or pronoun.

ΚΠ

1779 Mirror No. 61 The contempt in which, to a somewhat unreasonable degree, he holds modern refinement.

1820 W. Scott Monastery II. vii. 234 The cooling my somewhat too much inflamed visage.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 180 Her admonitions were given in a somewhat perfunctory manner.

f. Used as adj.

ΚΠ

1819 T. Moore in Mem. (1853) II. 250 Lady Frances W. was to have come with them, but, to my somewhat disappointment, she had been called away.

†3. somewhat…somewhat, partly…partly.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [adverb]

a-party1340

somewhat…somewhat1390

partily1497

parta1500

partly1523

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 2 I wolde..wryte a bok betwen the tweie, Somewhat of lust, somewhat of lore.

c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) i. xxx. 34 He is lettid by the wey somwhat by foly of hym self, somwhat by other.

a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 38 Þai may ete and drynk and go, and somwhat sitte and somwhat slepe.

1552 H. Latimer Serm. (1607) 301 A king.., which was not their lawfull nor naturall king, but somewhat with craft and subtilty, and somewhat with power had gotten the Crowne.

†4. Followed by with the and a superlative, = something adv. 2f. Obsolete. rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to some (small) extent

in (also by, with) measurec1225

in mannerc1425

somewhat1542

in some sort1556

in some (also a) measure1600

by somewhat1653

something of a(n)1711

(a) sort of, o', a, sorter1790

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 252^v [She] begoonne some~what with the soonest to have whyte heares in hir hedde.

1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie Pref. Ep. 2 Such discourse which might peraduenture be somewhat with the longest.

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 215 A small towne this is, standing somewhat with the lowest.

5. somewhat like adj. in various senses. In quot. a1620: †at a fairly reasonable price.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being satisfactory > [adverb]

wellOE

sufficientlyc1380

acceptably1479

competently1541

somewhat like1593

tant bien que mal1765

bearably1784

unobjectionably1797

fairly1836

decently1846

OK1886

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > low price or rate > [adverb] > cheaply > inexpensively

reasonably1590

somewhat like1593

unexpensively1816

inexpensively1837

1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 146 Alhough she were a lustie bounsing rampe, somewhat like Gallemella.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Bellastre,..passable, so so, some~what like.

a1620 J. Dyke Divers Select Serm. (1640) 379 If a man will sell a commodity, hee will sell it somewhat like, or hee will keepe it.

1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 165 It was somewhat like a Sturgeon, but was much whiter.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxx. 109 Why this is talking somewhat like.

1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. viii. 172 It's summat-like to see such a man as that i' the desk of a Sunday!

1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 194 This is somewhat like the one examined by Schrötter.

6. more than somewhat, very, extremely; very much.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase]

a great dealc1000

much dealc1225

on highc1400

little1483

good and proper1508

not smally1548

a deal1756

in a big way1840

more than somewhat1930

1930 D. Runyon in Collier's 13 Sept. 7/3 I am now more nervous than somewhat.

1938 D. Wheatley Uncharted Seas xi. 190 I thought my nerve was pretty good, but this scares me more than somewhat.

1945 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) 5 40 Citizens have been known to leave the premises.., being more than somewhat apprehensive of future developments.

1964 P. G. Wodehouse Frozen Assets viii. 143 She said quite a number of things that wounded my sensitive nature more than somewhat.

1974 V. Gielgud In Such a Night vii. 67 It burned me up more than somewhat.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	somewhat
释义	somewhatn.adv. Brit. /ˈsʌmwɒt/, U.S. /ˈsəmˌ(h)wɑt/, /ˈsəmˌ(h)wət/ Forms: α. Middle English sumhwat, sumwhet ( Orm. summwhatt), Middle English–1500s sumwhat (Middle English sumwhate, sumwat(t, 1500s sumwhatt); Middle English sumquat, Middle English sumqwat, 1500s Scottish sumquhat; Middle English somȝwat, Middle English–1500s somȝwhatt, Middle English–1600s somȝwhat; Middle English somwat, Middle English–1500s somwatt; Middle English– somewhat. β. dialect1700s sumet, 1800s summat, summut, zum'ot, etc. Etymology: < some adj.¹ + what pron. Down to the end of the 16th cent. written either as one word or as two. = something n. and adv. A. n. 1. a. A certain amount, esp. in the way of statement, information, etc. Frequently with of (= concerning). Now archaic. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > [noun] > some, any, or indefinite amount somec1000 anyOE somewhatc1175 a little wightc1275 society > communication > information > [noun] > piece of somewhatc1175 communication1481 informationa1527 intelligence1570 adviso1591 intelligencies1623 data1645 footnote1711 steer1899 mail1975 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 958 Summ whatt icc habbe shæwedd ȝuw. Till ȝure sawle fode. a1225 Leg. Kath. 506 Schaw sumwhet of ham, for hwi ha beon wurðe for to beon iwurðge. a1300 Cursor Mundi 1496 Spek we sumquat of caym kyn. c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde i. 672 To thi help yet sumwhat can I say. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vii. 27 Now hafe I schortly talde ȝow sum what of bawme. 1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Aiv I wold reherce somwhat of her demeanyng in this behalue. a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. Psalmes David (1823) xxxiv. ii Joyne with me, Somwhat to speake of his due praise. 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 133 It is strange, how long some Men will lie in wait, to speake somewhat, they desire to say. a1715 Bp. G. Burnet Hist. Own Time (1724) I. 40 I will relate somewhat concerning the Earl of Antrim. 1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. ii. 274 Exasperated at somewhat his antagonist had said. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I vii. 6 Narrating somewhat of Don Juan's father. b. Some (material or immaterial) thing of unspecified nature, amount, etc. Now archaic or dialect. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something somethingc1000 thingOE somewhatc1230 somewhat else, more, over1390 something1577 what1654 something or other1706 sumptin1767 sumthin1822 sumfin1823 summink1875 α. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 27 Swa don eauer sumhwet þet god mahe of awakenin. c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 54 He it nolde bi-leue, Ȝwane ani pouere man him bede, bote he him som-ȝwat ȝeue. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 3722 It bi-tokenes sum-what treuli, god turne it to gode! 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 210 In ech of hem he fint somwhat That pleseth him. c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) i. xv. 14 Late myn estate with som what be amendyd. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope iii. xvi I deye for honger; gyue me somwhat to ete. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) 2 Cor. iv. 8 We are in povertie: but not utterly without somwhat. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 340 Such as were wicked..made a shewe as though they would do somewhat. a1627 T. Middleton Witch (1945) iii. i. 999 Nothing lives but has a Ioy in some-what. 1694 J. Dryden Love Triumphant ii. i. 24 I know not why, but somewhat prompts me To Read this folded Page. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. viii. 134 I observed..somewhat that looked like a Boat overturned. 1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 13 He perceived somewhat glitter amid the grass. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. xi. 273 The tools were worth somewhat. 1842 N. Hawthorne in S. Longfellow Life H. W. Longfellow (1891) I. 441 I have been looking to receive somewhat in the shape of a letter..from you. 1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xiv Some folk say he's not right in his head; or turned miser, or somewhat. proverbial.1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. x. sig. D Alwaie somewhat is better than nothyng.1555 J. Heywood Two Hundred Epigrammes with Thyrde sig. C.iii Boude wands serue for sumwhat.β. 1790 A. Wheeler Westmorland Dial. 59 Yaurs may..seaav sumet agayn they er aud.1838 J. Grant Sketches London 39 There was no lack either of ‘summut’ to drink or ‘summut’ to eat.1839 in Latham Handbk. Eng. Lang. (1860) 148 Presently, zum 'ot..went dump!1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. i. 10 A man must learn summat beside Gospel to make them things. c. Followed by an adjective. ΚΠ 1665 R. Hooke Micrographia 74 Insteed of meeting with what I look'd for, I met with somewhat more admirable. 1681 Pref. in T. Hobbes Art of Rhetoric sig. A4^v May be presumed to contain somewhat excellent. 1721 R. Bradley Philos. Acct. Wks. Nature 4 The parts..are bound together by somewhat Oleaginous. 1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless I. i. 3 Miss Betsy, who had..somewhat extremely engaging in her manner of behaviour. 1836 R. W. Emerson Spirit in Nature in Wks. (1906) II. 166 It is essential to a true theory of nature and of man, that it should contain somewhat progressive. 1850 F. W. Robertson Serm. 3rd Ser. ix. §1. 125 [They] mistook the sensation for somewhat half divine. †d. by somewhat, by a certain (small) amount. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to some (small) extent in (also by, with) measurec1225 in mannerc1425 somewhat1542 in some sort1556 in some (also a) measure1600 by somewhat1653 something of a(n)1711 (a) sort of, o', a, sorter1790 1653 W. Ramesey Astrologia Restaurata 61 Yet he is the swifter of the two by somewhat. 2. a. With dependent genitive: Some part, portion, amount, etc., of something. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a or some part of something somedeala900 somethingc1200 somewhat1297 portionc1390 sharea1450 sort1575 something1654 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 7587 So þat vewe contreies beþ in engelonde, Þat monekes nabbeþ of normandie somwat in hor honde. 1330 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 22 Þer..a noþer chapelle standes, & somwhat of þat tre, þei bond vntille his handes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4739 Len vs sumquat o þi sede, Was neuer ar sua mikel nede. c1400 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. α) (Rolls) II. 69 In þis citee is somwhat of þat famous wal. c1440 Wycliffite Bible Gen. xl. 4 Sumdel [v.r. sum whatt] of tyme passide. 1588 T. Kyd tr. T. Tasso Housholders Philos. f. 18 It is thought there is somewhat of theyr dooings in his works. 1658 W. Sanderson Graphice 33 Observe to hit the virtues of the Piece, and to refuse the Vices; for all Masters have somewhat of them both. a1677 I. Barrow Wks. (1683) II. 93 Doth she not every where present spectacles of delight (somewhat of lively picture, somewhat of gay embroidery, somewhat of elegant symmetry). 1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. liii. 147 By quitting somewhat of his royal prerogative. 1779 Mirror No. 10 By that too great niceness..they may mingle somewhat of disgust and uneasiness even in the highest and finest pleasures. 1848 W. M. Thackeray Vanity Fair lxvi. 600 A conversation of which he could not help hearing somewhat. 1876 E. C. Stedman Victorian Poets vi. 232 It must be acknowledged that somewhat of this applies to Tennyson's variations upon Theocritus. b. Const. of with a positive adjective. Now rare. ΚΠ 1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Man become Guilty 36 Tis the desire of seeing somewhat of new which draws us forth. 1670 J. Dryden Tyrannick Love i. i. 7 Somewhat of mournful, sure, my Ears does wound. 1751 E. Haywood Hist. Betsy Thoughtless I. ii. 12 These words, as it proved, had somewhat of prophetic in them. 1855 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 10 Sept. in Eng. Notebks. (1997) I. iii. 317 Except somewhat of fantastic in the shape of the clock-tower. c. = something n. 2c. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [noun] > a certain degree of > that is such to a certain degree something of a(n)1711 somewhat1841 1841 A. Helps On Treatm. Suitors in Ess. (1842) 110 You will naturally endeavour to give somewhat of a detailed explanation. 1863 M. Howitt tr. F. Bremer Greece & Greeks II. 3 It was somewhat of a surprise to me. 1868 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest (1877) II. 88 He was also somewhat of a time-server. 3. a. With limiting word or particle, as somewhat else, more, over, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something somethingc1000 thingOE somewhatc1230 somewhat else, more, over1390 something1577 what1654 something or other1706 sumptin1767 sumthin1822 sumfin1823 summink1875 (a) 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 96 As thogh I hadde lost a Ring Or somwhat elles. 1579 T. Lodge Protogenes 29 These things are not the chiefest poynts you shote at, thers somewhat els sticketh in your stomak. 1665 J. North in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1912) 3rd Ser. 235 I haue some-what els to ymparte vnto you. 1736 R. Ainsworth Thes. Linguæ Latinæ I. at Some I must talk of somewhat else. (b)a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxv. 1363 Þe superparticularis nombre conteyneþ in comparisoun al þe lasse nombre and somwhat ouer.1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes iii. ii. 235 in Wks. II You are a Courtier, Sir, or somewhat more.a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 8 I shall therefore only say somewhat more of my Mother. b. somewhat between adv. = something n. 1d. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > condition of being mean or average > average [phrase] > something between somewhat between1823 1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward II. xii. 283 His gesture..was noble, and at the same time resigned, somewhat between the bearing of a feudal noble and of a Christian martyr. 4. a. A thing, quality, etc., worth considering or regarding; a person of note or importance. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > worthy of notice > of considering somewhatc1384 considerable1642 considerability1652 c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Gal. ii. 6 Forsoth thei that weren seen for to be sumwhat, no thing to me ȝauen to gidere. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Gal. vi. 3 Iff a man seme to hym silfe that he is somwhat when in dede he is nothynge. 1669 J. Dryden Wild Gallant iv. i. 58 Nay, the Foole is a handsome Foole, that's somewhat. 1838 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 32 It were a strange thing indeed if there were not somewhat in such men as Milton, Sidney [etc.]. 1842 Ld. Tennyson St. Simeon Stylites in Poems (new ed.) II. 59 They think that I am somewhat... The silly people take me for a saint. 1859 D. Masson Life Milton I. 721 The living society of a place is also somewhat. †b. of somewhat, for some purpose. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > useful [phrase] > for some purpose of somewhata1400 a1400 Sir Perc. 854 It servede hym of somwhatt The wylde fyre that he gatt. 5. a. With a, the, etc., and plural. A certain undefined or unknown thing, quality, amount, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > existence > [noun] > entity, being, or thing > something > a something thinga1325 somewhat1598 what1654 1598 R. Bernard tr. Terence Andria ii. i, in Terence in Eng. 30 In the meane season I hope some-what may be done...That some-what will proue iust nothing. 1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 210 Pretty Somewhats they would meane, but sure They understand not themselves any more than I do. 1685 tr. B. Gracián y Morales Courtiers Oracle 220 Several men would be great, if they wanted not a somewhat, without which they never attain to the height of perfection. 1795 A. Hughes Jemima I. 218 He has a somewhat in his voice..so pleasant. 1806 H. Siddons Maid, Wife, & Widow II. 247 A habit of delivering his sentiments with a somewhat of more than dictatorial petulance. 1857 J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson I. 126 Sending to Hodgson a somewhat which he had left behind him. b. With preceding adjective. ΚΠ 1685 tr. B. Gracián y Morales Courtiers Oracle 117 The secret charm, or the unexpressible somewhat; which the French call Le Je-ne-sai-quoi. 1710 G. Berkeley Treat. Princ. Human Knowl. §80 Matter is an unknown somewhat—neither substance nor accident. 1785 M. Cutler Let. 28 Feb. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) II. 229 I now believe, at least, that there is a certain somewhat, which produced a rotary motion in a sword. 1827 S. T. Coleridge Table-talk 30 Aug. Painting is the intermediate somewhat between a thought and a thing. 1855 R. Browning One Word More ix Thus achievement lacks a gracious somewhat. c. Const. of or with adjective following. ΚΠ 1817 M. Keating Trav. I. 272 Still here attaches..a somewhat of disgraceful to the idea of intoxication. 1825 W. Scott Let. 12 Oct. (1935) IX. 245 They require the atmosphere of a cigar and the amalgam of a sum'mat comfortable. a1858 R. A. Vaughan Ess. & Remains (1858) I. 50 A somewhat of their spirit of love..he found ever afterwards indispensable to his heart. B. adv. In a certain degree or measure; to some (slight or small) extent; slightly, a little; rather. 1. a. Qualifying a verb. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > somewhat somedealc725 halfc1175 somewhatc1175 somethingc1275 little whatc1384 somedeallyc1400 measurablec1420 somewhatlyc1450 somewisec1450 somepartc1485 parta1500 something1548 rather1573 some1575 rathera1684 sunket1686 somethingisha1726 measurably1756 rather1770 rather1772 somec1780 sumthin1786 wee1816 sumfin1852 sumptin1852 measuredly1860 sumpin1889 part-way1954 ish1986 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16881 Þær þurrh wass sene þatt he þa. Summ whatt bigunnenn haffde. To lefenn o þe laferrd crist. c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women (Fairf.) Prol. 71 Ye be diligent To forthren me somwhat in my labour. c1410 Sir Cleges 147 Jn with hyr he gan goo, And sumwatt mendyd hys chere. c1440 Partonope 4915 To her suster dyd she spek And somwhat her hert to her breke. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxvi. 28 Sumwhatt thou bryngest me in mynde for to be come christen. 1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Diij These drugges..though they sumwhat please the tast, yet make the bosome stinke. 1646 J. Gaule Select Cases Conscience 56 Hereupon it hath been somwhat dissented. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 308/1 The short Graver, which turneth up somewhat at the end. 1780 Mirror No. 82 Sir George Rodney's success has somewhat lessened their force. 1812 H. F. Cary tr. Dante Paradiso ii. 53 She somewhat smiled. 1877 J. D. Chambers Divine Worship Eng. 389 The Forms of these ejaculations varied somewhat. b. Qualifying a preposition. ΚΠ 1492 King Henry VII Let. in G. Griffiths Hist. Tong (1894) 224 Desiring you that somwhat bifor the said tyme ye wol addresse you unto us. 1600 in C. M. Ingleby & L. T. Smith Shakespeare's Cent. Prayse (1879) 35 Somwhat before the play began. 1735 S. Johnson tr. J. Lobo Voy. Abyssinia 91 To drink somewhat beyond the bounds of exact Temperance. 1756 C. Lucas Ess. Waters i. 10 Spirit of nitre consists of somewhat above one fourth of pure acid. 1819 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto I i. 3 Sent to the devil, somewhat ere his time. c. somewhat as, in much the same way, to some extent, as. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [phrase] > in the same way as in manner ofa1375 in resemblance ofa1393 at (also till, in) (the) likening ofa1500 somewhat as1872 1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 1 We may think of Voltairism somewhat as we think of Catholicism. 1894 S. R. Crockett Stickit Minister 16 It ran or rather hirpled somewhat as follows. 2. a. Qualifying an adjective, adv., or clause. ΚΠ (a) c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame 1097 But for the ryme ys lyght and lewed Yit make hyt sumwhat agreable. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11054 Þat mensking þam bi-tuin, Was sum-quat diuers, als i wene. c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 48 If þat ilke mater be not hard but sumwhat neische. 1466 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 324 For a sadelle sumwhat worne, ij.s. viij.d. c1515 Ld. Berners tr. Bk. Duke Huon of Burdeux (1882–7) xliii. 144 His coloure was sum what pale. 1595 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 335 His vtterance was somwhat vnready. 1668 J. Dryden Sr Martin Mar-all v. 65 Would I were hang'd if it be not somewhat probable. 1750 tr. C. Leonardus Mirror of Stones 92 [It] is a stone of a crystal colour, and somewhat obscure. 1780 Mirror No. 105 Somewhat a-kin to the lovers of detraction are the offence-takers. 1826 D. Booth Art of Brewing (ed. 2) 15 Their practice is governed by principles somewhat different. 1885 Manch. Examiner 12 May 5/2 It would seem..that the struggle was somewhat indecisive. (b)1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth iv. sig. C.ii The seller vnder the pantry sette somwhat abase.1592 T. Kyd Trueth Murthering of Brewen 4 When it drew somewhat late.1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 20 in Justa Edouardo King Begin, and somwhat loudly sweep the string.1797 H. Lee Canterbury Tales I. 195 One, who, having somewhat unexpectedly succeeded to the family title.1851 E. B. Browning Casa Guidi Windows ii. xvii. 116 If..we Are counted somewhat deeply in their debt.1869 J. Ruskin Queen of Air i. §32 Somewhat saucily.(c)1578 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. III. 35 Mony injurious wordis, sumquhat in contempt of our Soverane Lord.1608 E. Grimeston tr. J. de Serres Gen. Inventorie Hist. France (1611) 457 A cunning woman, and some-what of her fathers humor.1678 J. Bunyan Pilgrim's Progress 27 Now was Christian somwhat in a muse. View more context for this quotation1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor viii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 233 The hounds and huntsmen seemed somewhat at a stand.1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham II. xv. 138 Somewhat of a lugubrious nature.1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. iii. 49 Martin looked somewhat at a loss for an answer, till his wife supplied him with one. b. With a comparative adjective or adverb. ΚΠ c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xi. 46 It es sumwhat hyer þan oþer placez of þe citee. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xxii I blowe in hit for to haue it somwhat more cold than hit is. ?1518 A. Barclay Fyfte Eglog sig. Aiiij And somwhat wyser, be they also than we. 1597 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie v. lv. 117 Somewhat more playnely to shewe a true immediate reason..wee acknowledge [etc.]. 1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. vi. 275 The men of this place are black, but the women are some~what fairer. 1696 W. Whiston New Theory of Earth iv. 241 The Lower Earthy Strata would be settling somewhat closer together. 1768 Woman of Honor III. 233 A range of thirteen chests rather somewhat larger than the common size. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 173 The pan being brought to somewhat more than a red heat. 1866 T. Carlyle in J. W. Carlyle Lett. & Mem. (1883) III. 255 She..went home somewhat better. 1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 359 Tell me.., in somewhat plainer terms, what you mean! c. With of the and a superlative adjective or adverb. ΚΠ 1561 T. Hoby Chief Conditions Gentylwoman in tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer sig. Zz.iii Not to make wise to abhorr companie and talke, though somewhat of the wantonnest. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue i. 30 I got mee (though somewhat of the latest) hungry. 1656 P. Heylyn Surv. Estate France 218 The revenues of this Archbishoprick are somewhat of the meanest. 1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor ii, in Tales of my Landlord* 3rd Ser. II. 51 Your morning-draught has been somewhat of the strongest. d. With a or an inserted before the adjective (or noun) qualified. ΚΠ 1588 J. Read tr. F. Arcaeus Compend. Method f. 69^v Barriga..receaued a wounde in his brest, with somewhat a long sword. a1646 J. Gregory Posthuma (1649) 198 This was somwhat a tolerable impietie, for such great Astronomers to adore the Host of Heaven. 1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies vi. 79 [He] may vouchsafe his Assistance also unto us who are somewhat a larger Congregation. 1740 S. Johnson Drake in Gentleman's Mag. Oct. 510 Being obliged by this Accident to somewhat a longer Residence among the Moors. 1817 W. Whewell in J. M. Douglas Life & Corr. W. Whewell (1881) 25 I must acknowledge myself somewhat an idle correspondent so far as writing goes. 1891 A. Mozley Lett. J. H. Newman I. iii. 103 There were certainly..definite points about him which made him somewhat a difficulty. e. Preceded by an article or pronoun. ΚΠ 1779 Mirror No. 61 The contempt in which, to a somewhat unreasonable degree, he holds modern refinement. 1820 W. Scott Monastery II. vii. 234 The cooling my somewhat too much inflamed visage. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 180 Her admonitions were given in a somewhat perfunctory manner. f. Used as adj. ΚΠ 1819 T. Moore in Mem. (1853) II. 250 Lady Frances W. was to have come with them, but, to my somewhat disappointment, she had been called away. †3. somewhat…somewhat, partly…partly. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [adverb] a-party1340 somewhat…somewhat1390 partily1497 parta1500 partly1523 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 2 I wolde..wryte a bok betwen the tweie, Somewhat of lust, somewhat of lore. c1400 Pilgr. Sowle (1859) i. xxx. 34 He is lettid by the wey somwhat by foly of hym self, somwhat by other. a1425 tr. Arderne's Treat. Fistula 38 Þai may ete and drynk and go, and somwhat sitte and somwhat slepe. 1552 H. Latimer Serm. (1607) 301 A king.., which was not their lawfull nor naturall king, but somewhat with craft and subtilty, and somewhat with power had gotten the Crowne. †4. Followed by with the and a superlative, = something adv. 2f. Obsolete. rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > smallness of quantity, amount, or degree > small of quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > to some (small) extent in (also by, with) measurec1225 in mannerc1425 somewhat1542 in some sort1556 in some (also a) measure1600 by somewhat1653 something of a(n)1711 (a) sort of, o', a, sorter1790 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 252^v [She] begoonne some~what with the soonest to have whyte heares in hir hedde. 1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie Pref. Ep. 2 Such discourse which might peraduenture be somewhat with the longest. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 215 A small towne this is, standing somewhat with the lowest. 5. somewhat like adj. in various senses. In quot. a1620: †at a fairly reasonable price. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being satisfactory > [adverb] wellOE sufficientlyc1380 acceptably1479 competently1541 somewhat like1593 tant bien que mal1765 bearably1784 unobjectionably1797 fairly1836 decently1846 OK1886 society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > low price or rate > [adverb] > cheaply > inexpensively reasonably1590 somewhat like1593 unexpensively1816 inexpensively1837 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 146 Alhough she were a lustie bounsing rampe, somewhat like Gallemella. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Bellastre,..passable, so so, some~what like. a1620 J. Dyke Divers Select Serm. (1640) 379 If a man will sell a commodity, hee will sell it somewhat like, or hee will keepe it. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 165 It was somewhat like a Sturgeon, but was much whiter. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VI. xxx. 109 Why this is talking somewhat like. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. viii. 172 It's summat-like to see such a man as that i' the desk of a Sunday! 1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 194 This is somewhat like the one examined by Schrötter. 6. more than somewhat, very, extremely; very much. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] a great dealc1000 much dealc1225 on highc1400 little1483 good and proper1508 not smally1548 a deal1756 in a big way1840 more than somewhat1930 1930 D. Runyon in Collier's 13 Sept. 7/3 I am now more nervous than somewhat. 1938 D. Wheatley Uncharted Seas xi. 190 I thought my nerve was pretty good, but this scares me more than somewhat. 1945 Tee Emm (Air Ministry) 5 40 Citizens have been known to leave the premises.., being more than somewhat apprehensive of future developments. 1964 P. G. Wodehouse Frozen Assets viii. 143 She said quite a number of things that wounded my sensitive nature more than somewhat. 1974 V. Gielgud In Such a Night vii. 67 It burned me up more than somewhat. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online June 2022). < n.adv.c1175
随便看	aestheticize aestheticized aestheticizes aestheticizing aestheticlooking aesthetics aesthiology aestho-physiology aesthophysiology aestiferous aestival aestivate aestivated aestivates aestivating aestivation aestivations aestivator aestive aestivo-autumnal aestivoautumnal aestuant aestuous aesture aesymnetic