supplen.
/ˈsʌp(ə)l/, U.S. /ˈsəp(ə)l/, Scottish English /ˈsup(ə)l/, /ˈsʌp(ə)l/, Irish English /ˈsʌp(ə)l/ Chiefly Scottish, Irish English (northern), and English regional (northern).† 2. A cudgel. Obsolete. rare.
1. The part of a flail that strikes the grain in threshing.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > threshing > flail > part of
flail-capc1440
flail-staffc1440
flail-swinglec1440
swinglec1440
swipplea1450
supple1556
flinging-tree1786
flail-stone1851
flapper1854
swindle1857
swingletree1858
1556 Haddington Burgh Rec. 29 Oct. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Soupill That na wandis, sowpills,..& siklyk geir, pay na thing, bot alanerly custume.
1634 Rec. Baron Court Colstoun (MS) 8 Dec. Unlawes Pak. Nycolsone in eastmanis in 40s. for cutting and transporting tua soupellis furth of the lairds wode & geving tham to Pak. Ormistoun, confest.
1660 J. Nicholson Diurnals 27 Feb. in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue He had cuttit 2 supples of oak and did goe to the place where he had hyd one and brought it out.
1701 G. Baillie Househ. Bk. (1911) 9 For 2 sives and 2 ridles 1 li. 10 s. suples 8 s... i. 18. 0. For expence of selling 20 bolls oats, i. 6. 0.
1789 D. Davidson Thoughts Seasons 143 The scatter'd ears That frae the swingin supple spread afar.
1807 J. Stagg Misc. Poems (new ed.) 14 A lang flail souple full'd his neif.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 989 The flail consists of two parts, the hand-staff or helve..and the supple or beater.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Soople, Souple, Swipple, the loose, swinging arm of a flail.
1908 Essex Rev. 17 181 It [sc. the flail] is manipulated by holding the handle or handstaff in both hands, and swinging the souple over the head in a rotary manner.
1915 P. MacGill Rat-pit (1920) x. 229 He was hit with the supple iv a flail across the head.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. Soople, a swipple (the part of a flail that strikes the grain).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > club or stick > [noun]
sowelc893
treec893
cudgelc897
stinga900
bat?c1225
sticka1275
clubc1275
truncheon14..
bourdonc1325
bastona1400
warderera1400
plantc1400
kibble1411
playloomc1440
hurlbatc1450
ploykc1450
rung1491
libberlac1500
waster1533
batonc1550
macana1555
libbet1562
bastinado1574
crab-tree comb1593
tomahawkc1612
billeta1616
wiper1622
batoon1637
gibbeta1640
crab-bat1647
kibbo1688
Indian club1694
batterdasher1696
crab-stick1703
bloodwipea1705
bludgeon1730
kierie1731
oaken towel1739
crab1740
shillelagh1772
knobstick1783
pogamogganc1788
whirlbat1791
nulla-nulla1798
waddy1800
kevel1807
supple1815
mere1820
hurlet1825
knobkerrie1826
blackthorn1829
bastera1833
twig1842
leangle1845
alpeen1847
banger1849
billy1856
thwack-stave1857
clump1868
cosh1869
nulla1878
sap1899
waddy1899
blunt instrument1923
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering II. 51 A gude oak souple in his hand.
1827 W. Scott Two Drovers in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. I. xiii. 304 They had their broadswords, and I have this bit supple (showing a formidable cudgel).
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
suppleadj.
/ˈsʌpl/, U.S. /ˈsəpəl/ I. Physical senses.
1. Of a soft or yielding consistency; not rigid or hard.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > [adjective]
lithec888
merroweOE
neshOE
tender?c1225
softa1250
unharda1300
supplec1325
melchc1350
unsad1398
slobbery?a1425
lushc1440
mulch?1440
gentle1555
mellow1577
softly1589
tenerous1598
siddow1601
maumy1728
frush1848
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 4577 (MED) Þoru hauberc & þoru is coler, þat nere noþing souple, He smot of is heued.
?c1425 Recipe in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (Arun. 334) (1790) 442 Take swynes lire and sethe hit and hewe hit smalle,..ande make hit right souple.
c1535 Ploughman's Tale i. sig. A.ii Of sondrie sydes that be sewe It semeth that some ben vnsounde: For some be great growen vngrounde Som ben souble, symple and small.
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall ii. sig. Gviii The moushrom that doth spring in meades, or in a supple grounde: Is beste.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Mollificative, that mollifies or makes soft, that makes tender or supple.
1664 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense 77 in Sylva It will now be good to Beat, Roll, and Mow Carpet-walks, and Camomile; for now the ground is supple.
1754 J. Robertson in Philos. Trans. 1753 (Royal Soc.) 48 30 The spongy substance of its extremities supple, yielding to the least pressure.
1807 W. Wood Zoography III. 217 Good cork ought to be supple, elastic, neither ligneous nor porous, and of a reddish colour.
1850 C. H. Moore tr. C. von Rokitansky Man. Pathol. Anat. III. xi. iv. 305 Muscles thus altered may be in an unnaturally lax, supple, soft, and friable condition.
1900 A. Dillon Greek Kalends (1905) 24 Supple earth that takes imprint of thumb.
1992 Privilége (Air Canada) Spring 4/4 Take a midnight stroll on soft, supple sands, then rise early for a pre-dawn paddle or swim in Dickenson Bay.
2. Easily bent or folded without breaking or cracking; easily manipulated or moulded; pliant, flexible, elastic.
a. Of a material, or a thing in respect of its material.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > pliableness > [adjective]
tougha700
lithyc1000
softc1330
weak?a1366
plianta1382
persha1398
plyinga1398
lithec1400
supplec1400
plicable?a1425
curvable?1440
lethec1440
scretec1440
pliablec1475
bowable1483
bowing1483
waldinc1485
supple1513
flexible1548
limber1565
lither1565
bending1567
osier1577
wiry1588
buxom1590
withy1598
suppliable1599
renderingc1600
fluxible1607
winding1609
bendable1611
flippant1622
flexive1629
flexile1633
maniable1633
compliant1667
flectible1705
limp1706
yieldy1757
complying1774
limberly1782
willowy1791
switchy1810
wandy1825
twistable1853
bendsome1861
whippy1867
swack1868
bendy1873
c1400 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx De Institutione Inclusarum (Vernon) (1984) 34 (MED) Flex is ibete wit a betyl to be þe mor suple to werk.
c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 203 Hise bootes souple, his hors in greet estaat.
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) i. l. 5170 To shaue my berd and farse my visage With oynementis..To make it souple.
c1460 My Fayr Lady in J. O. Halliwell Select. Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1840) 201 Hire pylche souple.
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) ii. xi. sig. V7v Her bellie..Like Alablaster faire and sleeke, But soft and supple satten like.
1657 R. Ligon True Hist. Barbados 109 They [sc. gloves] will wash and not shrinke in the wetting, and weare very long and soople.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 104 For his soft Neck, a supple Collar make Of bending Osiers. View more context for this quotation
a1731 J. Hughes Miscellanies (1737) 194 Sheath'd all in Steel, and wrought with Art so nice, The supple Metal to the Body plies.
1792 in A. Young Ann. Agric. 18 13 It renders the skin supple, and cleanses away all the scurf that proceeds from over heat.
1832 S. Waring Minstrelsy of Woods i. 24 Bands of soft supple leather were passed round their legs, to which a ring and cord were attached.
1871 G. H. Napheys Prevention & Cure Dis. ii. vi. 581 The material [of the dress] should be soft and supple.
1922 Amer. Anthropologist 24 181 The Indians used bear fat and other oils to rub the body in order to make the skin supple and healthy.
1966 A. Trocchi tr. A. P. de Mandiargues Girl on Motorcycle i. 9 Her hands were covered by gloves of supple black leather.
2005 New Yorker 23 May 85/2 And it was here that Chanel staged her coup: the introduction of supple cardigan suits, devoid of embellishment, that skimmed an uncorseted body.
b. Of internal parts of the body.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > internal organs > [adjective] > pliant
supplea1450
a1450 Dis. Women (Sloane) in B. Rowland Medieval Woman's Guide to Health (1981) 166 With wyne softely moiste þe marice ofte tymes till it wexe souple & softe [a1500 Yale nesche] & þanne esilich putt it into þe membre ther it shulde be.
1710 T. Fuller Pharmacopœia Extemporanea 2 Midling Ale..scoureth..Slimy Filth, from off the..Glands; turns it over the Pylorus; and leaves a balmy, benign Litus instead, to keep all supple and easy.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Lentise Their Ends and middle Veins are reddish, supple, and gluey.
1750 tr. C. N. Le Cat Physical Ess. Senses 7 A spiritous Lymph moistens these Papillæ, renders them supple and elastic.
1839 Med. Examiner 30 Nov. 758/1 Right lung rather smaller than natural, supple, crepitating, most firm in inferior lobe.
1914 H. Elliot tr. J. B. Lamarck Zool. Philos. ii. iv. 219 Among the solid internal parts of animals, those that are supple are animated throughout life by an orgasm.
1949 A. Daniélou Yoga ii. vi. 68 The lungs should be kept supple; they will be able to take in more air.
2010 A. Barat & S. Shenoy in S. E. Wilson Vascular Access (ed. 5) xxv. 186 When the flow in the fistula is low, the supple vein wall tends to collapse as the dialysis pump flow approaches intra-access flow.
c. Of something relatively long and firm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > pliableness > [adjective]
tougha700
lithyc1000
softc1330
weak?a1366
plianta1382
persha1398
plyinga1398
lithec1400
supplec1400
plicable?a1425
curvable?1440
lethec1440
scretec1440
pliablec1475
bowable1483
bowing1483
waldinc1485
supple1513
flexible1548
limber1565
lither1565
bending1567
osier1577
wiry1588
buxom1590
withy1598
suppliable1599
renderingc1600
fluxible1607
winding1609
bendable1611
flippant1622
flexive1629
flexile1633
maniable1633
compliant1667
flectible1705
limp1706
yieldy1757
complying1774
limberly1782
willowy1791
switchy1810
wandy1825
twistable1853
bendsome1861
whippy1867
swack1868
bendy1873
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xi. xiii. 7 The sowpill schaftis baldly sche On athir sydis thik sparpellis and leyt fle.
?a1600 ( R. Sempill Legend Bischop St. Androis in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. xlv. 378 This poysoned preicheor of Godis word Is not vnlyk ane suple suord.
1745 W. Smith Nat. Hist. Nevis iv. 103 To catch them [sc. tarantulas], one must run a supple Wand or Stick into the holes, which being stirred gently makes them run out by the top.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XV. 8/2 The branches..must also raise themselves upwards by the constant direction of the nutritious juice, which at first scarce meets any resistance in a tender supple branch.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xiii. 114 A fearful instrument of flagellation, strong, supple, wax-ended, and new.
1872 W. Black Strange Adventures Phaeton xxxi. 411 Persistently whipping the stream with his supple fly-rod.
1900 A. E. T. Watson Young Sportsman 22 The special tackle for this is a long and supple rod, upright rings, a Nottingham reel without check or complications..and quill or cork float.
1938 C. L. R. James Black Jacobins i. 6 Sometimes it [sc. a whip] was replaced by the rigoise or thick thong of cow-hide, or by the lianes—local growths of reeds, supple and pliant like whalebone.
2007 E. Kraft On Wing vii. 57 The person sitting next to me, a woman I guessed, carefully dressed as an evenly tanned marshmallow on a supple stick cut from a cherry tree.
3.
a. Capable of bending easily; moving easily, nimbly, or gracefully.
(a) Of the body, limbs, etc. See also supple knee n. at Compounds 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [adjective]
leathwakec1000
lithebyc1000
starka1275
stiffc1305
standing1340
bainc1440
waldinc1485
resolveda1500
supplea1500
lash1513
limber1582
sagging1599
laxed1623
unslakeda1625
laxated1652
springy1674
gangling1764
lithesome1768
swack1768
unslackened1770
lissoma1800
wandle1803
loose-limbed1823
loose1846
unslacked1848
saggy1853
loose-jointed1859
loose-hung1869
gangly1871
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 70 Vse a lytel trauaill yn ridynge... It dryues out wyndys, comfortys þe body, and makys hit souple.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xi. xv. 141 Hyr sowpil crag inclynand.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 325/1 Souple, lythe, souple.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. iii. 107 I doe beseech you (That are of suppler ioynts) follow them swiftly. View more context for this quotation
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 233 The Ioints are more Supple to all Feats of Actiuitie.
1747 S. Richardson Clarissa I. xviii. 121 Limbs so supple; Will so stubborn!
1804 W. Earle Obi v. 52 I knew that labor would strengthen your young body, even to hardihood, expanding your supple joints, enlarging your bones, and nerving every fibre with acquired strength to aid that of nature.
1831 J. Hogg in Mirror 25 June 430/1 His shape So like a frame, whereon to hang a suit Of dandy clothes;—his small straight back and arms. His thick, bluff ankles, and his supple knees, Plague on't!
1862 W. Collins No Name III. iv. iii. 142 Our arms don't long to be round that supple waist.
1922 J. Eisenberg Weight & Relaxation Method for Pianoforte iv. 43 Wrists Must Be Supple and Natural.
1975 J. Herbert Fog x. 115 Her figure, although not stunning, was firm yet supple, curvy, but certainly not fat.
2007 C. Mazza Waterbaby 258 She watched his supple knees and hips absorb the upwelling and subsiding.
(b) Of a person or animal.It is possible that quot. 1530 at sense 3a(a) could represent, or include, this sense, though contemporary supporting evidence is lacking.
ΚΠ
1639 R. Baillie Let. 28 Sept. (1841) I. 212 The English..did gaze much with admiration upon these souple fellows [sc. the Highlanders] with their playds, targes, and dorlachs.
1758 J. Armstrong Sketches 12 The easy Actions of the most supple Arabian that ever was drest by St. Amour.
1781 J. Moore View Soc. Italy (1790) II. xlix. 52 We all bowed to the ground; the supplest of the company had the happiness to touch the sacred slipper.
1827 W. Scott Surgeon's Daughter in Chron. Canongate 1st Ser. II. iv. 115 If he listed to tak some [dancing] lessons, I think I could make some hand of his feet, for he is a souple chield.
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. ii. 40 The Horse..will be rendered supple, active, and obedient.
1873 W. H. Dixon Hist. Two Queens IV. xix. i. 4 Henry at thirty-five was still a young man in the flower of life: tall, fair, and supple.
1912 B. Macfadden Macfadden's Encycl. Physical Culture II. i. 616 The experience of thousands of our students and patients has shown that when they put themselves into this environment and training, their bodies begin to grow. They become more supple, more active and more vigorous.
1955 R. K. Murray Red Scare ii. 24 Tall, lean, supple, and with countenance aflame, he could spellbind audiences as he leaned far over the edge of the platform.
2008 H. Rolston in A. Carlson & S. Lintott Nature, Aesthetics, & Environmentalism xix. 334/1 The canines of the wild dogs have carved the impala's muscles; the impala's fleet-footedness shapes a more supple dog.
b. Of movements, etc.: characterized by flexibility of body or limb.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > bodily movement > [adjective] > qualities of bodily movement > elastic
supple1599
springing1655
springy1749
buoyant1835
fawn-like1838
elastic1848
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet iv. i. 102 Each part depriu'd of supple gouernment, Shall stiffe and starke, and cold appeare like death. View more context for this quotation
1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love iii. v. sig. F4v Maintein your station, Briske, and Irpe, shew the supple motion of your plyant body. View more context for this quotation
1697 G. Stanhope tr. P. Charron Of Wisdom I. i. iii. 27 Here likewise are the Lungs, a soft, rare, and spongy Substance, supple and pliable in their Motions.
1718 J. Chamberlayne tr. B. Nieuwentyt Relig. Philosopher I. ix. xiv. 210 A Fat or Greasie Matter, which renders the Limbs smooth, and supple in their Motions.
1778 Earl of Pembroke Mil. Equitation 63 I define the supple trot to be that in which the horse at every motion that he makes, bends and plays all his joints.
1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 66 Keep a firm, steady, and supple position of the body.
1853 C. Brontë Villette II. xxvi. 234 Her movements had the supple softness, the velvet grace of a kitten.
1896 H. Monroe John Wellborn Root v. 143 The effect is one of athletic dignity and power, with the supple grace of perfect poise.
1947 Billboard 10 May 41/2 Pair's supple movements, building up to difficult one-hand twists, climaxed by an iron-neck stunt, collected some of the show's strongest hands.
1984 G. Jones Hist. Vikings (rev. ed.) iv. i. 338 The young of the feline and ursine species in their most supple and strenuous postures.
2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 2 Feb. b6/2 It was hard not to compare her amusing but often marchy stage movement with the slinkier, more supple performances Jean Kopperud gave..in the 1980s.
4. Of oil, etc.: promoting softness, pliancy, flexibility, or elasticity. Also in figurative contexts.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > extracted or refined oil > [adjective] > other attributes of oil
supple1548
high-flash1899
slushing1920
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke iv. f. lviiv There is nothyng more lentyl, supple, or caulme, then oile.
1566 T. Drant tr. Horace Medicinable Morall sig. Dvj For weryed with my bookishe gase, I noynte with supple oyle, My loytrous limmes.
1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 12 Bring..sowple oyle, his bodie for to bast.
1599 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. King Edward IV sig. M2v His defiance and his dare to warre, We swallow with the supple oyle of peace.
?c1599 ‘Ignoto’ in J. Davies & C. Marlowe Epigr. & Elegies sig. D4v I cannot dally, caper, dance, and sing, Oyling my saint with supple sonnetting.
1616 T. Adams Divine Herball 16 No means on earth can soften the heart; whether you annoint it with the supple balmes of entreaties, or thunder against it the bolts of menaces, or beate it with the hammer of mortall blowes.
a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 704 Christ to annoint; this, is a kind of annointing: and no Ointment so precious, no Oile so supple, no Odor so pleasing, as the knowledge of it.
1708 E. Cook Sot-weed Factor 8 His manly Shoulders such as please Widows and Wives, were bathed in Grease, Of Cub and Bear, whose supple Oil Prepar'd his Limbs 'gainst Heat or Toil.
1763 R. Bentley Patriotism iv. 52 This happy Compost with its supple Oil Invigorates and opes the Soil.
1810 C. Lucas Joseph xviii. 193 Here supple oils, and wines medicinal, And aromatics, sense-reviving, are In fit recess station'd.
1945 Life 17 Dec. 66/2 (advt.) Rich supple oils that soothe finger-tips to beauty.
2009 M. A. Potter in J. Sharlet et al. Believer, Beware 35 All along the hallways, bishops and cardinals watched us pass...They looked miserable, each and every one of them, but their vestments were rendered in expensive, supple oils, the most vibrant purples and reds.
5. literary. Of a wind: blowing gently, light and soft.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [adjective] > gentle
plaina1425
small1542
soft-footed1603
supple1648
favonian1656
zephyrian1661
slack1670
zephyrousa1750
zephyry1791
zephyrean1793
1648 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple (ed. 2) 34 Be they such As sigh with supple wind, Or answer artfull touch.
1868 Little Corporal June 90/2 Or, where a streamlet parts the grass, She feels the supple zephyrs pass.
1953 J. Griffin tr. J. Giono Horseman on Roof vi. 92 A warm and extremely supple wind had arisen.
1972 Jrnl. Arabic Lit. 3 126 My heart was touched by the soft supple winds One roseate morning when thy languishing lashes Smiled and revealed the prettiest ever eyes.
2006 M. C. Crosby Amer. Plague ii. iii. 56 Amid shimmering light and supple breezes on August 23, the Board of Health finally declared a yellow fever epidemic in Memphis.
II. figurative and non-physical senses.
6. Yielding readily to persuasion or influence; obedient, compliant. With to.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > manageability > [adjective] > compliant
ablec1384
obedientc1400
supplec1405
accordinga1425
plianta1425
serviablea1425
appliable1449
bowablec1449
applicant?c1500
pliablea1513
applying?1529
flexible?1531
maniablea1604
correspondenta1616
compliable1641
compliant1642
complaisant1647
flexile1651
complacential1658
complying1668
commode1674
complaisential1689
applicable1702
complacent1790
unprotesting1792
c1405 (c1375) G. Chaucer Monk's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 414 In youthe..this maister..maked hym so louyng and so souple That longe tyme it was er tirannye Or any vice dorste in hym vncouple.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 3376 A feloun firste though that he be Aftir thou shalt hym souple se.
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 281 For all þe herte, tunge, and dede, arn so harde as grauell-stonys,..but it arn supple ynow to þe world, to þe flesch, & to þe deuyll.
a1500 W. Hilton Mixed Life (Royal) in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 21 Breke downe the vnbuxomnes of the body..that itt myght be souple and redy and not moch contrarious to the spirite.
1593 J. Udall Comm. Lament. Ieremy iii. 106 Pray earnestly vnto the Lord to mollifie our hard hearts, and to make them supple and pliable to his holy will.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. i. 55 When we haue stufft These Pipes..With Wine and Feeding, we haue suppler Soules Then in our Priest-like Fasts. View more context for this quotation
1633 G. Herbert Holy Baptism in Temple ii. ii Let me be soft and supple to thy will.
1669 S. Pepys Diary 12 Jan. (1976) IX. 412 It being about the manner of paying a little money to Chatham-yard; wherein I find the Treasurers mighty supple.
1704 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion III. xiv. 371 Cromwell did not find the Parliament so supple to observe his Orders, as he expected they would have been.
1735 H. Walpole Let. to Ld. Harrington 2 Oct. in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. i. 261 His Lordship's supple and mild temper.
1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. i, in Poems 62 Sad, silent, supple; bending to the blow, A slave of slaves.
1861 Sat. Rev. 23 Nov. 528 The City Marshal of Baltimore has been arrested, and a suppler instrument fills his place.
1886 R. L. Stevenson Kidnapped i. 4 Be soople, Davie, in things immaterial.
1913 Dial. Notes 4 5 My girl got a lickin' at school; when she came home she was real souple.
1993 R. Wright tr. M. Delbrel Joy of Believing 282 This surrender requires that we be men and women who are fully alive, totally submissive to the Word of God and totally supple and responsive to the impulses of the Spirit.
7. Chiefly depreciative. Compliant or accommodating from selfish or ulterior motives; artfully or servilely complaisant or obsequious.
a. Of an action, manner, means, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > servility > [adjective] > specifically of actions or qualities
servile?1529
slavish1565
supple1566
villainous1607
over-awful1641
prone1645
uningenuous1660
flexible1826
serfish1879
cringy1880
prostrative1890
1566 T. Nuce tr. Octavia i. iv. sig. Ci Nay rather cause your angry moody make, With souple cheere his fury for to slake.
1610 G. Fletcher Christs Victorie xxv Lickt with soft and supple blandishment, Or spoken to disparagon his praise.
1633 J. Ford 'Tis Pitty shee's Whore ii. sig. D Call me not deare, Nor thinke with supple words to smooth the grosenesse Of my abuses.
1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης iii. 22 By smooth and supple words..to make som beneficial use or other eev'n of his worst miscarriages.
1690 Ld. Lansdowne Brit. Enchanters 689 We Britons slight Those supple arts which foreigners delight.
1743 London Mag. Apr. 177/2 The supple Addresses, and sedulous Applications of Courtiers.
1783 Gentleman's Mag. Jan. 47 Things like thee, by soft approaches, Fawning, servile, supple arts, Crowd their toilettes, fill their coaches: Things like thee possess their hearts.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor viii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. II. 142 The supple arts by which he had risen in the world.
1841 R. W. Emerson Man Reformer in Lect. in Wks. (1906) II. 236 The ways of trade are grown selfish to the borders of theft, and supple to the borders..of fraud.
1906 A. Colvin Making of Mod. Egypt iii. 53 In intellect, in acquirements, in experience, and in the supple arts of convincing men, Nubar Pasha was head and shoulders higher than any of his contemporaries.
2002 Chron. Higher Educ. 2 Aug. 4 Coriolanus succeeds so well that he must run for office, must learn the supple art of politics.
b. Of a person.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > humility > servility > [adjective]
go-by-ground?a1300
thrall1398
abjectc1430
manly?c1430
servicious1440
serviceable1483
servile1537
tame1563
slavish1565
demiss1572
submissive1572
cringing1579
fawning1585
incrouching?1593
vassal1594
scraping1599
obsequious1602
spaniel1606
observing1609
deprostrate1610
supplea1616
vernile1623
shrugging1629
wormy1640
compliable1641
thrall-like1641
obeisant1642
inservient1646
truckling1656
cringeling1693
benecking1705
subservient1714
footman-like1776
bingeing1805
sidling1821
toadying1863
crawlsome1904
toadyish1909
crawling1941
ass-kissing1942
society > authority > subjection > obedience > manageability > [adjective] > compliant > artfully or servilely
supplea1616
flexible1826
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. ii. 26 His assent is not by such easie degrees as those, who hauing beene supple and courteous to the People, Bonnetted, without any further deed, to haue them at all into their estimation, and report. View more context for this quotation
a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1666 (1955) III. 470 By no meanes fit for a sopple & flattering Courtier.
1726 J. Swift Paraphr. Hor. i. Ode xiv. 55 Like supple Patriots of the modern Sort, Who turn with ev'ry Gale that blows from Court.
1775 H. Croft Brother's Advice to Sisters 52 Ye supple sons and daughters of Prudence—ye worldly-witted wights—ye who will condescend to bow the meekest, joblike, knee.
1812 G. Crabbe Tales v. 91 That servile, supple, shrewd, insidious throng.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 246 Cunning, supple, shameless, free from all prejudices, and destitute of all principles.
1884 R. W. Church Bacon iii. 61 The shrewd and supple lawyers who hung on to the Tudor and Stuart Courts.
1904 H. S. Williams Historians' Hist. World (1909) XVII. vii. 365 This supple, crafty, active, sober, intriguing, unprincipled foreigner was just the man that was required to act as spy and confidential agent.
1973 C. M. Woodhouse Capodistria v. 110 They constantly used of him [sc. Capodistria] the conventional epithets which seemed to fit his nationality—wily, rusé, supple, crafty.
2001 Observer 17 June i. 25/6 I am confident that the ever-supple Mr Willetts will have no difficulty manufacturing a philosophy of Portilloism to get him through the contest for the Tory leadership.
8. In positive sense: (of a person or thing) flexible in mind, quality, character, or nature; adapting or bending readily to situations and circumstances; elastic, fluid, versatile.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > adaptability to circumstances > [adjective]
supple1593
accommodating1642
well-natured?1649
adaptable1692
accommodant1693
accommodative1776
adaptative1815
adaptive1863
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 7 The supple and tidy constitution of his [sc. Apuleius'] omni-sufficient Witt.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso xli. 83 They studied to find out flexible people, of easie and supple wits, who could accommodate their own Nature to that of others.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 171 Some wiser rule..Supple and flexible as Indian cane, To take the bend his appetites ordain.
1859 Dwight's Jrnl. Music 16 Apr. 17/2 This singer's voice, supple, pure, intelligent, and correct.
1879 F. W. Farrar Life & Work St. Paul I. v. xvii. 309 His supple address and determination saved Rome from a revolution.
1937 Dict. National Biogr. 1922–30 173/2 He was too pragmatical and not sufficiently supple in debate.
1984 Listener 25 Oct. 40/3 His prose is..supple,..moving with the rhythms of the spoken voice.
2006 New Yorker 8 May 49/3 Sunni Maliki..[is] a relatively supple creed that is remote from the fundamentalisms espoused by the jihadis.
9. Scottish and Irish English (northern). Clever; cunning.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > [adjective] > ingenious
craftlyOE
craftyOE
quainta1250
enginefulc1400
maliciousc1425
industriousc1487
curious1489
ingenious1576
daedal1590
Daedalian1607
fertile-headed1632
knacky1710
supple1710
tricksome1821
tactical1883
tricky1887
fertile-brained1894
the world > action or operation > ability > skill or skilfulness > cunning > [adjective]
warec888
craftyOE
hinderyeapc1000
yepec1000
foxc1175
slya1200
hinderc1200
quaint?c1225
wrenchfulc1225
wiltfula1250
wilyc1330
subtle1340
cautelous138.
sleightful1380
subtile1387
enginousa1393
wilfula1400
wilyc1407
sleighty1412
serpentinec1422
ginnousa1425
wittya1425
semyc1440
artificial?a1475
sleight1495
slapea1500
shrewdc1525
craftly1526
foxy1528
gleering?1533
foxish1535
insidious1545
vafrous1548
wily beguile1550
wilely1556
fine1559
todly1571
practic1585
subdolous1588
captious1590
witryff1598
cautel1606
cunninga1616
versute1616
shiftfula1618
artificious1624
insidiary1625
canny1628
lapwing-like1638
pawky?a1640
tricksome1648
callid1656
versutious1660
artful1663
slim1674
dexterous1701
trickish1705
supple1710
slid1719
vulpinary1721
tricksy1766
trickful1775
sneck-drawing1786
tricky1786
louche1819
sneck-drawn1820
slyish1828
vulpine1830
kokum1839
spidery1843
dodgy1861
ladino1863
carney1881
slinky1951
1710 T. Ruddiman in G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneis (new ed.) Gloss. Gird, a trick... Metaph. taken from a gird or hoop. Whence we say a souple trick; and to go about one; i. e. deceive or beguile.
1718 A. Ramsay Christ's-kirk on Green ii. 17 A souple Taylor to his Trade.
1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. xii. 269 It's Gil Hobson, the souple tailor frae Burgh.
1846 C. I. Johnstone Edinb. Tales III. 276/2 The Master fancies the Knight means him a souple trick.
1864 W. D. Latto Tammas Bodkin xxvii. 282 Hae ye heard o' the souple scheme the scoondrel fell upon to break aff the correspondence between Tam an' his intended?
1987 B. Holton tr. S. Nai'an Men o the Mossflow ii, in Sc. Corpus Texts & Speech Tho he wisna the skilliest o fechters, he kent richt throulie the tactics o battle, an souple wis his craft i the pratticks o weir.
1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. 320/2 Souple, supple,..glib, smart.
Compounds
C1. † supple Tam n. Obsolete Scottish a toy representing the human figure, with limbs moved by string; cf. supplejack n. 3.
supple knee n. literary referring to an obeisance, and usually implying insincerity, obsequiousness, or cowardice; cf. sense 7.Now chiefly echoing or alluding to quot. 1597 or quot. 1667.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iv. 32 A brace of draimen bid, God speed him wel, And had the tribute of his supple knee . View more context for this quotation
c1616 R. C. Times' Whistle (1871) vi. 2829 It cost him nothing but a supple knee, And oyly mouth & much observancie.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost v. 788 Will ye submit your necks, and chuse to bend The supple knee ? View more context for this quotation
1744 E. Young Complaint: Night the Sixth 16 Religion, publick Order, Both exact External Homage, and a supple Knee.
1781 W. Cowper Table Talk 127 Servility with supple knees, Whose trade it is to smile, to crouch, to please.
1829 Casket Jan. 41 A dandy's side arms are his whiskers; a Demagogue's his supple knees.
1864 Atlantic Monthly Sept. 299/1 Others, again,..had come to me with hat in hand and supple knees, to beg my permission to allow them to dramatize my novel.
1903 L. Cox City of Dead 57 Yet oft to cringe, on supple knees, Are office-seekers given.
1918 G. T. Raymond Uncensored Celebrities 110 People of every party think it the proper thing to pay him the tribute of their usually far from supple knees.
2004 D. S. Long & T. York in S. Hauerwas & S. Wells Blackwell Compan. Christian Ethics v. xxv. 339 Surely, ‘contract’ is safer than ‘gift’... It prevents us from ‘bending the supple knee’ before those who would seek our indebtedness.
supple scone n. Scottish (now rare) a thin scone, usually made with barley meal.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > cake > [noun] > a cake > griddle cake > scone
scone1513
supple scone1786
barley-scone1820
brunie1821
potato scone1885
1786 R. Burns Poems 23 On thee aft Scotland chows her cood, In souple scones, the wale o' food!
1803 T. Campbell Let. 2 Mar. in W. Beattie Life & Lett. T. Campbell (1849) I. xvii. 458 Two phenomena in Staffordshire remind one of Scotland—oaten bread, not made like our girdle-cakes, but baked after the daintier fashion of our supple scones.
1862 J. G. Smith Old Churchyard 83 There were crumpy farles o' cake an' souple scones to spare.
1900 R. Bird Paul of Tarsus 241 There, too, was the dining-table on the ground, where the men and boys sat cross-legged, and dipped their supple scones into the broth and sour milk.
supple silk n. [probably an alteration of souple silk at souple adj.] a type of silk from which only a portion of the gummy sericin has been removed; = souple silk at souple adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric made from specific material > made from silk > [noun] > types of > made from specific forms of silk fibre or thread
fillatrice-stuff1714
souple1828
supple silk1835
raw silk1866
schappe1885
souple silk1885
1835 J. Bowring Second Rep. Commerc. Rel. France & Great Brit. 51 in Sel. Rep. & Papers House of Commons (1836) XXIII. Of late years it has been the custom to use supple silks for the warp, dyed, for the inferior qualities.
1918 Illustr. Milliner Jan. 116/1 Flat appliqué roses, made of the green-blue braid and of supple silk in dull rose, pink and blue.
2006 A. K. R. Choudhury Textile Prepar. & Dyeing 781 Partial degumming in the blended form may be carried out by boiling with sulphuric acid and magnesium sulphate (or soap) as in the case of scappe or supple silk.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > toy or plaything > doll > other figures > [noun] > movable by string or wire
puppet1538
marionettea1645
pantine1748
supplejack1776
supple Tam1825
string-jack1863
jumping-jack1883
monkey on a stick1926
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy II. xiv. 305 It [sc. a horse]'s a grand bargain... The stringhalt will gae aff when it's gaen a mile; it's a weel-kenn'd ganger; they ca' it Souple Tam.]
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Souple Tam, a child's toy placed against a wall, which, being pulled by a string, shakes and seems to dance.
1833 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log II. i. 28 The Captain and the first Lieutenant were bobbing in the stern-sheets of their respective gigs like a couple of souple Tams.
1842 R. Chambers Pop. Rhymes Scotl. (new ed.) 46/1 And ye'll get a coatie, And a pair o' breekies—Ye'll get a whippie and a supple Tam!
a1854 E. Grant Mem. Highland Lady (1988) I. iv. 84 She made us..ladies and gentlemen of pasteboard... They were refined Souple Tams.
1894 P. H. Hunter James Inwick (1896) xvi. 147 Ye've been in his han's like a bairn's Souple Tam—he has pu'd the strings an' gar't ye jump ony gait he wanted.
C2. Chiefly literary. Parasynthetic. † supple-mouthed adj. Obsolete† supple-visaged adj. Obsolete rare
supple-chapped adj.
ΚΠ
1602 J. Marston Hist. Antonio & Mellida Induct. sig. A3v A supple-chapt flatterer.
1899 J. D. Quackenbos Enemies & Evidences of Christianity 56 Women easily captivated by supple-chapped Hindu graduates from English colleges.
1927 Connoisseur Dec. 198/1 Who, then, could be the supple-chapped wearer of the hood and bells whose grinning countenance..figures so noticeably on a plaster cast of some panelling..at the Victoria and Albert Museum?
supple-faced adj.
ΚΠ
1931 V. Woolf Waves 100 The little men at the next table... Supple-faced, with rippling skins.
1999 E. Hoagland Tigers & Ice 116 The supple-faced boatswain, Vladimir, and the comely, skinny seaman..both wore other American giveaways.
supple-kneed adj.
ΚΠ
?a1656 J. Poole Eng. Parnassus (1657) 68 Camel, Bunchie, towre-backt, bunch-backt, rough, ugly, deformed, supple-kneed, kneeling, crowching.
1762 London Mag. July 388/2 Each supple-kneed sycophant bows.
1849 G. S. Burleigh Maniac 86 But at home oppression's panders, Supple-kneed to base commanders.
1906 London Q. Rev. July 5 Lasserre bent before the storm;..he withdrew the whole edition from circulation... The Italian romance-writer is less supple-kneed.
2008 M. Hofmann tr. F. Wander Seventh Well ix. 113 I could picture him striding through the streets of his little Ukrainian town, with the supple-kneed walk of an experienced rider.
supple-limbed adj.
ΚΠ
1835 C. J. Latrobe Rambler in N. Amer. I. xvii. 296 The time occupied by the supple-limbed black boys, Proteus and William, in drawing out the long table, laying the cloth, and other preliminary preparations, will not be far short of an hour.
1882 ‘Ouida’ In Maremma I. 205 A large, sinewy, supple-limbed man.
1951 Life 8 Jan. 63/2 In between jobs as grocery boy, embroiderer and newspaper peddler, he turned out hundreds of curvaceous and supple-limbed statues, gradually whittled and chopped his way into the forefront of US sculptors.
2009 A. Rutherford Raiders from North (2010) ii. viii. 132 He had politely watched the antics of jugglers, fire-eaters and supple-limbed acrobats.
supple-minded adj.
ΚΠ
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Ii3 A very gentle and supple-minded Zelmane.
1632 L. Anderton tr. E. Campion Campian Englished x. 188 Charke, who so inhumanely doth conuitiate me, tearing asunder my good name and reputation, should in all equitie be of a more gentil flexure, and more supple-minded towards me.
1830 A. M. Porter Barony I. i. 9 Supple-minded men are often enabled, by their very indifference about the means they employ, to attain excellent ends.
1897 Nature 30 Sept. 514/2 This sentence explains the whole book, which is rather like the special pleading of an extremely supple-minded barrister than the work of an impartial historian.
1962 A. Cobban Hist. Mod. France (ed. 2) I. v. 205 A realist in public business, supple-minded, indifferent at heart as to the form of government so long as it favoured his own success and served the aggrandisement or the recovery of the nation, Thiers was at that time..marked for headship.
2005 L. Sellers Training & Showing Versatility Ranch Horse p. ix While side passing wouldn't be required of the horse much, the fact that he was supple-minded enough to perfect the skill was proof of a good horse.
ΚΠ
1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie In Lectores sig. B3 Some supple mouth'd slaue..striuing to vilefie My darke reproofes.
1606 B. Rich Faultes f. 5 Supple-mouthed Parasites,..that can pamper itching sensuality, that to please humors can carows with Alexander, abstaine with Romulus, eate with the Epicures, fast with the Stoicks.
supple-sinewed adj.
ΚΠ
1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 109 Iron-jointed, supple-sinew'd, they shall dive.
1906 C. M. Doughty Dawn in Brit. IV. xv. 163 Some fret, at fires, and supple sinewed bows.
2007 M. K. Beran Forge of Empires iii. xxx. 340 When a sickly man, dancing naked in a rented room, dreams of hurling lances with the supple-sinewed Hellenes, he has not embraced life—he has invented a new mode of myth.
supple-tempered adj.
ΚΠ
1865 J. R. Lowell Ode at Harvard Commem. vi. 27 They could not choose but trust In that sure-footed mind's unfaltering skill, And supple-tempered will.
1905 A. H. Smyth Writings B. Franklin I. 37 Thirty years of versatile practice, and rigorous relentless self-criticism, had forged a supple-tempered style ‘that bent like perfect steel to spring again and thrust’.
supple-thewed adj.
ΚΠ
a1892 B. H. Boake Where Dead Men Lie (1897) 87 A supple-thewed, desert-bred rover, with naught to commend him but this: That he was her idol, her lover, who'd fettered her heart with a kiss.
1959 R. Graves Coll. Poems 317 Free from the cramps of yesterday, Clear-eyed and supple-thewed.
2007 Courier Mail (Austral.) (Nexis) 10 Nov. 84 Clear-eyed and supple-thewed after eight sweet hours of uninterrupted beauty sleep.
ΚΠ
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas III. ix. iii. 387 The part of a supple-visaged son-in-law sat upon me to perfection.
C3. Chiefly literary. Adverbially with present participial adjectives, as supple-moving, supple-sliding, etc.
ΚΠ
1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer iii. f. cccliiii The euen draught of the wyre drawer, maketh the wyre to ben euen and supple werchynge.
1838 H. W. Torrens tr. Bk. Thousand Nights & One Night I. 163 By his supple moving hips, his taper waist, and silky skin.
1860 Ld. Tennyson Sea Dreams 164 My eyes..Read rascal in the motions of his back, And scoundrel in the supple-sliding knee.
a1903 T. Brooksbank tr. H. Heine Wks. (1904) IX. 77 Of course I know that the stout oak must fall, While supple-bending river reeds stand fast After, just as before the tempest-blast.
1906 W. E. Smyser Tennyson iv. 145 The poet has drawn a vivid portrait of unctuous and supple-sliding hypocrisy.
1922 Cosmopolitan Feb. 31/2 She recognized the man at once; the man who climbed out of a roadster drawn up before the hotel opposite, that man tall, lithe and supple-moving.
1963 Life 19 Apr. 88/3 Shebani, the young, smart, supple-moving chauffeur and gun bearer, is also of the Nyamwezi tribe.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
supplev.
/ˈsʌpl/, U.S. /ˈsəpəl/ 1. † a. transitive. To cause to yield or be submissive; to make compliant or complaisant; to soften, mollify (the heart or mind) or the heart of mind of. Frequently with to. Also with infinitive. Obsolete.In later use, perhaps merging with figurative uses of other senses.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > manageability > manage [verb (transitive)] > make compliant
supplea1393
subdue1598
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 4890 Thus this tirannysshe knyht Was soupled.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 2244 And he that pride hath hym withynne Ne may his herte in no wise Meken ne souplen to seruyse.
c1460 Tree & 12 Frutes (McClean) (1960) 59 Þe buttir of cristes passioun is broute in to þe chirne of þe herte forto sople it and make it softe a yenst al maner anguissis.
1532 T. More Confut. Tyndale in Wks. 437/1 Menne are so supled and made humble in hert, yt they will willingly goe shew themselfe their own sinnes to the priest.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xiv. 81 Hee meekeneth and suppleth them as if a wilde beaste were tamed.
1626 J. Donne Serm. Whitehall 45 Men soupled and entendred with Matrimoniall loue.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. x. 258 Martha..seeks to entender and mollifie, and supple him to impressions of mercy and compassion.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. ii. 94 Suppled with Sicknesse, he confessed his Fault.
a1703 W. Burkitt Expos. Notes New Test. (1753) (Luke xxiii.) 222/1 How powerful must that Grace be,..which suppled [earlier supplied] that Heart in a Moment, which had been hardening in Sin for so many Years.
1733 D. Neal Hist. Puritans I. iii. 93 They believed Justification by Faith alone; which Faith was not only an Opinion, but a certain Persuasion wrought by the Holy Ghost, which did illuminate the Mind, and supple the Heart to submit itself unfeignedly to God.
1760 L. Sterne Serm. III. 212 To mollify the hearts and supple the temper of your race.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering III. xvi. 316 When I conclude my examination of Dirk Hatteraick to-morrow—Gad, I will so supple him!
1897 T. W. Koch Dante in Amer. 55 How far had the Italian language been subdued and suppled to the uses of poetry or prose before his time?
1913 L. J. Vance Joan Thursday xix. 191 How easily was man suppled to the spell!
1922 B. Matthews Tocsin of Revolt vi. 106 We must confess our constant inferiority to those who speak French, a language that lends itself to epigram because it has been suppled to the needs of a highly cultivated society of the nation most distinguished for its intelligence among the moderns.
b. intransitive and (now only) transitive (reflexive). To become submissive or compliant to. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > manageability > be manageable [verb (intransitive)] > be or become compliant
plya1393
supplec1450
to come to (a person's) bow1570
comply1641
society > authority > subjection > obedience > obey or be obedient to [verb (transitive)] > comply with the will of
suea1300
conform1482
to dance to or after (a person's) pipe, whistle1546
morigerate1623
comply1650
correspond1677
supple1741
c1450 Jacob's Well (1900) 280 Here hertys arn so harde..þat it mowe noȝt brestyn ne supplyn to goodnes.
1523 J. Skelton Goodly Garlande of Laurell sig. fv Suppleyng to fame I besought her grace.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xxxviii. 392 Having a Spirit above suppling himself to an unworthy Mind for sordid Interest sake.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa IV. xxviii. 171 Then her family, my bitter enemies!—To supple to them, or, if I do not, to make her as unhappy, as she can be from my attempts.
1862 E. Bulwer-Lytton Strange Story II. xxi. 152 Whether it was that..my mind could more pliantly supple itself to her graceful imagination.
1876 Ld. Tennyson Harold i. i. 7 And he hath learnt, despite the tiger in him, To sleek and supple himself to the king's hand.
1914 L. J. Vance Lone Wolf vii. 66 They had him cornered, without alternative other than to supple himself to their will.
1935 J. D. Beresford Peckover 201 It was not only her looks that attracted him, but also the effect of sympathy, of understanding, of a happy tendency to supple herself to his wishes.
a. To soften the consistency of, reduce the hardness of. Also figurative. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > soften [verb (transitive)]
neshOE
supplea1398
mollify?a1425
softa1425
soften?a1425
unharden1552
intenerate1595
malax1634
tender1725
untemper1758
leath1796
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iv. iv. 142 As blood doþ rennynge in þe veynes of þe body, so doþ þe veynes of watir, for it moistiþ þe dryenes of þe erþe, and disposiþ it and soupliþ [L. habilitat] to bere fruyt.
a1475 ( S. Scrope tr. Dicts & Sayings Philosophers (Bodl. 943) (1999) 226 A man shulde ponyshe a shrewe liche as iren is soupled withoute [?read with oon] hamour [DSPhilos. fyled with a fyle] of iren.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. f. xviiiv Hote and moyst thynges which haue properte to lenifye and sople.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 88 His onely bloud being kept warme suppleth the Adamant stone.
c1595 Countess of Pembroke Psalme cxlvii. 26 in Coll. Wks. (1998) II. 249 The rayne..Supples the clodds of sommer-scorched fields.
1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades vi. 469 She that supples earth with blood.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (i. 4) 63 Nor all the baulme in Gilead can so supple their positions, that we may ioyne with them.
1660 R. Allestree Gentlemans Calling 14 The Earth..must be mollified and suppled with their sweat, before it will become penetrable.
1710 T. Fuller Pharmacopœia Extemporanea 2 The sweeter, softer and thicker Ale is, the more it suppleth, filleth and nourisheth.
1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Walnut The Shells grow tender, especially, if you supple 'em a little in warm Cows Milk.
1732 E. Smith Compl. Housewife (ed. 5) 261 This Medicine..will..soften the Asperity of the Humours.., and will relax and supple the Solids, at the same time.
1853 Veterinarian June 329 Oil and oleaginous compounds may penetrate dead horn, and supple or soften it.
1867 M. Arnold On Study Celtic Lit. 181 The hard unintelligence, which is just now our bane..must be suppled and reduced by culture.
b. spec. To soften (a wound, swelling, etc.) by applying an unguent, a poultice, etc. Also: to anoint with oil. Also in figurative contexts. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatment by topical applications > treat by topical applications [verb (transitive)] > salve or anoint
salvea800
smearc950
anointa1375
supplea1425
epithem1543
assalve1570
baste1570
taint1578
scarify1596
obviscate1684
a1425 St. Anthony l. 21 in Anglia (1881) 4 119 Fulle holy mene sayd þai myght not endure bot if hyre bodys werne suppullyd wyt oynement.
1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. liii. sig. Mv/1 Supple the wounde with oyle of roses.
1526 W. Tyndale Prol. to New Test. The Evangelion,..whych sowpleth, and swageth the wondes of the conscience.
1530–1 Bible (Tyndale) Jonah Prol. To sowple thy soule with the oyle of theyr swete blessynges.
1538 Prymer in Eng. after Vse of Sarum sig. O Thou haste soupled myn heade in oyle: and my cuppe beynge full is ryght goodly.
1540 R. Jonas tr. E. Roesslin Byrth of Mankynde i. f. xviiiv Anoyntmentes wherewith ye maye sople the priuie place.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 201 With the floures of Lillies there is made a good Oyle to supple, mollifie & digest.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. v. sig. Gg5 Shee..Into his wound the iuice thereof did scruze, And round about..The flesh therewith shee suppled and did steepe.
1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 315 Apply them to supple, mollifie, ripen, and dissolue all kindes of tumours hote or colde.
1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (ii. 1) 336 He seeketh to wound and gall, but he healeth nor suppleth not.
1644 J. Milton Areopagitica 38 All the faith and religion that shall be there canoniz'd, is not sufficient..to supple the least bruise of conscience.
1662 H. Hibbert Syntagma Theologicum 156 Pouring in oyl to supple and heal.
a1688 J. Bunyan Acceptable Sacrifice in Wks. (1853) I. 711 Wash me, Lord, supple my wounds, pour Thy wine and oil into my sore.
1709 H. Hooton Bridle for Tongue ii. iii. 63 Use mollifying Ointments, and mundifying Waters, to cleanse and supple the Wound, and heal the Sore.
1785 European Mag. & London Rev. Oct. 317/1 For the sting of a Gnat.—Quid laudanum, in a small quantity, just enough to supple the wound, is a known cure.
1864 J. Rudall Fruits from Canaan's Boughs 83 The spiritual man finds Hagar's fountain to quench his thirst, the widow's meal to sustain him in time of want,..the Samaritan's oil to supple his wounds, and Christ's cross to sustain him.
3.
a. To make more manipulable or mouldable, or bendable or foldable without breaking or cracking; to make (skin, leather, etc.) pliant or flexible. Also in figurative contexts.† (b) transitive. spec. = souple v. Cf. souple n. Obsolete.
(a) transitive. Generally.
ΚΠ
a1500 in G. Henslow Med. Wks. 14th Cent. (1899) 89 Anoynte the seke with a litil popilion and that schal supple the skyne and make it esy.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 726/2 I shall sowple your gloves.
1559 P. Morwyng tr. C. Gesner Treasure of Euonymus 366 Wull vnskoured suppled in wine or vinegar.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxiii. viii. 171 Touching the bitter Almond tree, the decoction of the roots thereof, doth supple the skin and lay it even and smooth without wrinkles.
1638 W. Davenant Madagascar 19 Rude, dull Mariners..this Oyntment use Not to perfume, but supple their parch'd Shooes.
1722 Philos. Trans. 1720–21 (Royal Soc.) 31 168 After they have soaked the Hide for some time, they stretch and supple it.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. xxi. 215 When we have chafed and suppled the tough bow.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 767 When the skins have been sufficiently swelled and suppled by the branning, they may receive the first oil.
1871 S. Ringer Handbk. Therapeutics (ed. 2) 207 Oils and fats are used to lubricate and to supple the skin when it has lost its elasticity, and become dry, hard, and liable to crack.
1901 K. P. Wormeley tr. C.-A. Sainte-Beuve in tr. Marquis d'Argenson Jrnl. & Mem. I. Introd. 14 Chauvelin..had constantly sounded and pumped him..for ideas;..endeavouring to polish him, supple him, draw him out of theories, and no doubt despairing in the end of doing so.
1915 J. Buchan Nelson's Hist. War iii. 90 Men lame from hard new boots not yet suppled by use.
1922 E. J. Wall Pract. Color Photogr. xiv. 195 This may make the leather harsh and stiff, but it can be easily suppled by pulling and working between the hands.
1930 W. J. Woodhouse Composition Homer's Odyssey xi. 94 When they had suppled the bow with melted lard, the suitors in turn made essay to string it, but all failed.
1998 J. Opland tr. in Xhosa Poets & Poetry ii. 58 He's a hide thong suppled by fathers and grandfathers.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > perform general or industrial manufacturing processes [verb (transitive)] > other processes
cure1633
scribe1678
refinish1820
retort1850
prick1872
supple1876
whizz1882
steam-cure1910
linish1971
1876 J. Périnaud & J. Marchal Brit. Patent 3018 (1877) 1 (heading) A process of suppling dyed silk fabrics.
1877 Textile Colourist Feb. 102 Périnaud, for ‘Suppling re-dyed silks.’-—Dated 23rd September, 1876.—French patent.
1903 H. Rayner Silk Throwing & Waste Silk Spinning vii. 80 The tangled lumps or masses of crossed fibres have been beaten, suppled, and opened.
b. intransitive. Chiefly literary. To become more manipulable or mouldable, or bendable or foldable without breaking or cracking; to become more pliant or flexible.
ΚΠ
1841 C. Fleming & J. Tibbins Grand Dictionnaire Français-Anglais II. 73/2 Le cuir s'assouplit dans l'eau, leather supples, is suppled, in water.
1845 R. Browning Garden Fancies in Bells & Pomegranates No. VII: Dramatic Romances & Lyrics ii. viii And clasps were cracking and covers suppling!
1997 G. Taylor in J. Elder & C. O'Connell Voices & Echoes 161 Warning the tree spirits To..withdraw Their wending regard inch By revering inch, undulant as it Is from branch suppling through Sap rising.
4. To make capable of bending easily; to increase the flexibility of by exercise and training. Also figurative and in figurative contexts.
a. With the body, limbs, etc., as object.
(a) transitive. Literally.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > loose or stiff condition > [verb (transitive)]
leesea1325
lithe1362
unloosec1390
relax?a1425
supple1526
supply1534
nimble1581
relaxate1598
lax1661
limber1748
unstiffen1855
untense1970
1526 Grete Herball sig. Eiv/2 Agaynst payne of the synewes and shrynkynge, anoynte them often in the bath or by the fyre and it wyll appease the payne and conforte or souple the synewes.
1570 J. Foxe Actes & Monumentes (rev. ed.) I. 70/1 Contrary to thexpectation of men, his body was in the latter punishment and tormentes soupled and restored.
1613 R. Harcourt Relation Voy. Guiana 55 He..went..to the Bath, and washed..his hand..therein, which soopled his fingers in such manner, that..hee could stirre and stretch them out.
1652 H. L'Estrange Americans No Iewes 14 Oyle..such as he carried with him..to supple his joints and tired Limbs.
1663 J. Mayne tr. Lucian Part of Lucian sig. Bbb3 I must think that the best and most proportionable exercise, which both supples the body, and renders it flexible, and pliant.
1735 Sportsman's Dict. I. at Journey Some people will have their horses legs rubbed down with straw as soon as they are brought into the stable, thinking to supple them by that means.
1765 Ld. Chesterfield Lett. (1932) (modernized text) VI. 2665 The hot bath..supples my stiff rheumatic limbs.
1832 I. Weld Statist. Surv. County Roscommon 266 The want of early practice, however, to supple the fingers, marred his progress on that instrument.
1881 T. A. M'Carthy Calisth. & Drilling 17 This exercise is to strengthen the leg and upper arm, supple the shoulders, and expand the chest.
1921 G. V. Henry in J. F. Wall As to Mil. Training vi. 250 The mounted exercises should be started with those intended to supple the upper portions of the body.
2002 G. R. Howard Vine & Fig Tree x. 142 The pitchers and loaders worked with a swinging rhythm that suppled their muscles and prevented them becoming so tired.
(b) transitive. figurative and allusively.
ΚΠ
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iii. xviii. 139 His seven thousand whose knees were not suppled with the Baalisme of that age.
1659 J. Arrowsmith Armilla Catechetica 395 Cheerfulness supples the joynts of our hearts, and so rendereth them nimble and active in holy performances.
a1663 A. Cant Serm. National Covenant (1713) 20 His legs were soupled with consolation, which made him run.
1745 E. Young Consolation 108 His balmy Bath, That supples..The various Movements of this nice Machine.
1752 B. Thornton Have at You All 30 Jan. 70 Repentance appears, whose business it is to supple the Knees to adoration.
1848 Bentley's Misc. 23 284 Venison pasties, veal pies, cold turkey, and iced champagne, are..requisite now-a-days to supple the stiff necks of unbelievers in Archæological identities.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona vii. 75 Ye'll have to soople your back-bone, and think a wee pickle less of your dainty self.
1916 J. D. Beresford These Lynnekers i. xii. 240 He would supple his back to nobody.
1948 T. Brooke in A. C. Baugh Lit. Hist. Eng. ii. v. 440 The Marprelate controversy and the quarrel of Harvey and Nashe suppled the joints of English prose almost incredibly.
b. transitive. With a person or animal, spec. a saddle horse, as object.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > [verb (transitive)] > training horses in specific ways
manage1561
pace1595
school1608
way1639
supple1753
traffic-proof1971
a1555 J. Philpot in M. Coverdale Certain Lett. Martyrs (1564) 240 Christ annoynt vs, that we may be suppled in these euil dayes to runne lyghtly, vnto the glory of the lord.
1749 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 15 May (1932) (modernized text) IV. 1345 Apply yourself diligently to your exercises of dancing, fencing, and riding,..to fashion and supple you.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) To supple a horse, in the manege, is to make him bend his neck, shoulders, and sides, and to render all the parts of his body more pliable.
1801 W. Frazer tr. F. R. de la Guérinière Treat. Horsemanship xviii. 161 The reason for this weakness..is doubtless because the snaffle is always used, whereas it should only be so in the beginning to supple them.
1812 in G. Thomas Local Militia Paymaster 137 Quickness is not at first to be required, for it is the result of practice alone; yet care should be taken to supple the recruit, and banish the air of the rustic.
1861 J. Brown Horæ Subs. II. 256 Old broken-down thorough-breds that did wonders when soopled.
1897 R. Kipling Captains Courageous ii. 45 Manuel bowed back and forth to supple himself.
1905 Jrnl. Mil. Service Instit. U.S. 36 566 The colt..should be longed so as early to develop his powers, to supple him and finally to familiarize him with man.
1921 W. Camp Training for Sports viii. 101 If he had taken a few minutes each day out of season to supple himself and prepare his muscles for the strain they were to undergo, he could have prevented this injury.
1990 N. Bartle tr. A. Knopfhart Fund. of Dressage i. v. 30 A horse of good conformation and of equable temperament can be suppled easily and quickly.
2006 K. Schmitt Seamless Seat xi. 204 Doing strengthening work before thoroughly suppling the horse makes whatever is strong stronger, but leaves tensions in place and continues to bypass what is weak or slack.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > softness > pliableness > make pliable [verb (transitive)]
linnow1572
supple1609
unstiffen1611
the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > reduce in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (transitive)] > tone down
temperc1000
modifyc1385
softenc1410
tame?a1500
qualify1536
temperatea1540
extenuate1561
supple1609
dilute1665
palliate1665
weaken1683
subdue1723
lower1780
modulate1783
to shade away1817
to water down1832
to water down1836
sober1838
veil1843
to tone down1847
to break down1859
soothe1860
tone1884
to key down1891
soft-pedal1912
1609 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet i. xxix. f. 33v Mint..supples the sharpnes of the tongue.
1612 J. Donne Lett. (1651) 91 That nothing hath soupled and allayed the D. of Lerma in his violent greatnesse, so much as the often libels made upon him.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1954) VII. 111 Some of them mollifie and souple the impossibility into a difficulty.
1642 R. Harris Serm. preached to House of Commons 20 There is no temptation so strong, but faith will conquer it: no affliction so great, but faith will supple it.
1656 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme Aurora xv. 349 Mollifyeth, softneth or suppleth the astringent quality.
6. transitive. gen. To make more flexible, varied, or robust.
ΚΠ
1887 J. R. Lowell Democracy & Other Addr. 240 To set free, to supple and to train the faculties.
1901 J. Mollison Poems 180 Come..souple thou my pen tae screed, A rhymin' line or twa.
1944 H. J. C. Grierson & J. C. Smith Crit. Hist. Eng. Poetry (1946) xli. 557 Miss Sitwell has taught us to see things we never saw before, and has helped to supple the rhythms and freshen the diction of English verse.
1990 Friends of Wine Spring 11/2 (advt.) Ages and supples the wines of Côte de Beaune, Côte de Nuits.
Phrasal verbs
ΚΠ
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cccxxxiiijv He powreth out the oyle and suppleth it in.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.1556
adj.c1325v.a1393- staurolites
- staurolith
- staurolitic
- staurology
- stauromicroscope
- stauroscope
- stauroscopic
- stauroscopically
- staurotide
- staurotidiferous
- staurotypous
- staurus
- stave
- stave and tail
- stave away
- stave bolt
- stave bucket
- stave church
- stave drum
- stave in
- stave maker
- stave manufacturer
- stave mill
- stave rhyme
- stave tankard