surfacen.
/ˈsəːfᵻs/, U.S. /ˈsərfəs/ 1. † e. Military. Part of one of the sides of an imaginary polygon upon which the plan of a fortification is constructed. Obsolete. rare.
a. The outside of an animal or plant body, or of an organ or structure within it; the outer boundary of the integument; (also) the inner boundary of a hollow or tubular organ or part.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > part of body > [noun] > surface
surface1594
body wall1861
the world > life > biology > physical aspects or shapes > specific areas or structures > [noun] > surface
surface1594
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. To Rdr. sig. a5 For euen the best of that kind doth represent vnto our eyes only so much of the surface of our own bodies as is directly before it.
1638 tr. F. Bacon Hist. Life & Death 46 It drives before it the grosser Parts of the Body; And protrudes them beyond the Superficies, or Surface of the Bodie.
1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson i. x. 101 Discoloured spots dispersed over the whole surface of the body.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 771 Polypodium. Capsules disposed in distinct circular dots on the under surface of the leaf.
1822 J. M. Good Study Med. IV. 350 Diseases affecting Internal Surfaces.
1861 R. Bentley Man. Bot. i. iv. 290 The surface of the style may be either smooth, or covered in various ways with glands and hairs.
1876 R. Routledge Discov. & Inventions 19th Cent. 335 The focussing-screen of the camera corresponds with the inner surface of the back of the eyeball.
1930 H. G. Newth Marshall & Hurst's Junior Course Pract. Zool. (ed. 11) p. xxi Vorticella is to be found attached to weeds or wood, whilst allied genera live attached to the surface of freshwater Crustacea.
1986 A. S. Romer & T. S. Parsons Vertebr. Body (ed. 6) xvii. 614 Teleosts appear to have small bodies embedded in the ventral surface of the kidneys.
2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 27/1 Each time we blink, we spread a protective film of basal tears across the surface of our eyes.
b. The outer boundary of the earth, in contact with the air; the upper boundary or top of solid ground, exposed to the air; the corresponding part of any planet; (Mining) the visible ground as distinct from underground workings and shafts.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > ground > [noun] > surface of
bosomOE
fielda1400
brim1572
surface1596
day1620
1596 tr. Deligtful Hist. Celestina xxiii. 164 So also am I most fortunate, qd. Celestina, winning by this meane the most valiant and gentlest knight who marcheth vpon the surface of this habitable earth.
1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion ix. 136 With sterne Eolus blasts,..Shee onely ouer-swells the surface of her bank.
1645 J. Milton On Christ's Nativity: Hymn xvii, in Poems 8 The aged Earth agast..Shall from the surface to the center shake.
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 127 Cucumers along the Surface creep. View more context for this quotation
1796 W. Marshall Rural Econ. W. Eng. II. 4 The surface is exceedingly broken, into sharp ridges.
1831 H. T. De la Beche Geol. Man. i. 8 If waters descend from the surface into a mine.
1868 J. N. Lockyer Elem. Lessons Astron. (1879) ix. §50. 313 On the Earth's surface, i.e. at 4,000 miles from its centre.
1878 Argosy 25 430 We parted at surface—he went down the shaft.
1881 Observatory Feb. 48 We need a greatly extended topography of the moon's surface.
1917 ‘I. Hay’ Carrying On iii. 68 In winter it is much warmer below the earth than upon its surface.
1926 Spectator 4 Sept. 354/2 The dark areas observable on the surface of Mars are vegetational regions.
1989 I. Taylor George Eliot (1990) i. 10 The coal was so near to the surface it made the land of little use beyond rough grazing.
2000 Newsweek 1 Jan. 66/3 The gas giants—Saturn, Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune—have no solid surface for probes to land on.
c. The outermost part of a solid object considered with respect to its form, texture, or extent; an exterior of a particular form or finish. Cf. superficies n. 4a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > with respect to form, texture, or extent
superficie1567
superficies1603
surface1605
1605 R. Dallington Suruey Great Dukes State Tuscany 16 Many Trauellers gazing onely on the beautie of their Citties, and the painted surface of their houses, thinke it the onely Paradize of Europe.
1650 W. Charleton tr. J. B. van Helmont Ternary of Paradoxes 25 This candid substance, in some places, where it petrifies and is changed into stone, induces a crustaceous surface..upon stones.
1789 D. Ramsay Hist. Amer. Rev. II. xviii. 147 The protrusions occasioned thereby formed a rough surface.
1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 408 It..forms the external coating of calculi, and may be distinguished by its unequal surface.
1833 H. Ellis Elgin Marbles II. v. 76 A thin surface has been carried away from the whole bas-relief.
1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 2/1 Take the surface off the paper with fine glass-paper.
1880 Academy 23 Oct. 299 We find in the work of this artist a finish and a perfection of surface rare [etc.].
1911 Times 24 May 53/5 Four thousand people occupy a ragged surface of rock at the remote Pacific outpost of Prince Rupert.
1975 Listener 14 Aug. 199/2 Poor roads—bad surfaces, dangerous bends and corners.
2001 Contra Costa (Calif.) Times (Nexis) 24 Feb. c6 In the morning, they stand up and turn the broad surface of their leaflets to the sun.
d. The visible area of the sea; the upper boundary or top of a body of water or other liquid.piezometric surface: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > parts or elements > surface
brima1552
surface1609
1609 P. Erondelle tr. M. Lescarbot Noua Francia 74 The [Newfoundland] Bancke..are mountaines grounded in the depth of the waters, which are raised vp..neere to the vpper surface [Fr. surface] of the sea.
1641 J. Jackson True Evangelical Temper iii. 209 Two pots floting upon a pond, or surface of a water with this word, ‘If we knock together, we sink together.’
a1660 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1645 (1955) II. 339 The Water of it, is fresh & swete on the surface, and salt at botome.
1776 P. Schuyler Let. 2 Dec. in J. Judd Corr. Van Cortlandt Family (1977) 135 The tops of the caissons might come up to within two feet of the surface of the water at ebb tide.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 150 The wat'ry stores that sleep Beneath the smiling surface of the deep.
1834 F. Marryat Jacob Faithful III. x. 168 Tom..dived after me, brought me up again to the surface.
1858 D. Lardner Hand-bk. Nat. Philos.: Hydrostatics, Pneumatics, & Heat (new ed.) 26 When a liquid contained in any vessel is in a state of rest, its surface will be horizontal.
1922 Glasgow Herald 27 Apr. 7 Submarine H 42 rose to the surface some 30 yards right ahead of the Versatile.
1937 J. Marquand Thank You, Mr. Moto v. 32 He..stared at the champagne in his glass, watching the bubbles rush up to the surface.
1990 Quarterly (U.S.) Spring 53 We had moved out into the deepest part of the pond..and kept having to duck beneath the surface because of the heat.
2001 Pract. Fishkeeping Feb. 12/2 Guppies and Platies will spend periods at the surface, especially when feeding.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > defensive walls > [noun] > exterior of wall
surface1704
1704 Mil. Dict. (ed. 2) Surface, is that part of the Exterior side, which is terminated by the Flank, prolong'd or extended, and the Angle of the nearest Bastion.
f. Aeronautics. An aerofoil of an aircraft. In later use chiefly with preceding modifying word.control surface: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > plane or aerofoil
sail1808
plane1809
deck1843
surface1843
aeroplane1866
aerocurve1894
airplane1896
aerofoil1907
sustainer1908
airfoil1922
1843 Mechanics' Mag. 8 Apr. 277/2 The main surfaces..are here placed one above the other, and each pair are connected together by strong shafts.
1894 Aeronautics Mar. 84/1 The only plan worth consideration is the one by which aeroplanes, or surfaces acting at an angle are propelled in a horizontal direction.
1905 G. Bacon Balloons 111 What are called ‘aeroplanes’—large flat surfaces, light but rigid inclined at a suitable angle to the horizon.
1909 C. C. Turner Aerial Navigation (1910) 311 Biplane, a flying apparatus with two main planes or ‘carrying surfaces’ one over the other.
1912 W. Wright in C. C. Turner Romance of Aeronaut. xvii. 178 A smaller surface set at a negative angle in front of the main bearing surfaces or wings will largely counteract the effect of the fore-and-aft travel of the centre of pressure.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia I. 377/1 The essential components of an airplane are a wing system to sustain it in flight, tail surfaces to stabilize the wing, movable surfaces (ailerons, elevators, and rudders) to control the attitude of the machine in flight, [etc.].
2008 I. Moir & A. Seabridge Aircraft Syst. (ed. 3) i. 43 The two outboard aileron surfaces and six spoiler surfaces on each wing are powered by conventional hydraulic actuators.
2.
a. The outermost boundary (or one of the boundaries) of any material object, immediately adjacent to air, fluid, or empty space, or to another object; = superficies n. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun]
scalec1400
superfice?c1400
superficie?a1425
overfacec1475
plata1522
superficies1530
situation1558
outface1570
upperface1583
surface1600
superface1633
periphery1664
1600 C. Edmondes Obseruations Fiue Bks. Caesars Comm. ii. x. 90 Polybius maketh the Target to containe two foot and an halfe in breadth, ouerthwart the conuex surface thereof; and the length foure foote.
1602 J. Tapp Seamans Kalender sig. A4 Certaine definitions... Surface or Superficies, is the vpper part of any thing.
a1706 J. Evelyn Sculptura (1906) ii. i. 8 The Rollers doe universally touch the imediate surfaces of the Table.
1715 tr. D. Gregory Elements Astron. I. i. §74. 158 If the contiguous Surfaces were perfectly smooth, there would be no impression of the Bodies upon one another.
1759 B. Franklin in Papers (1965) VIII. 262 Do Bodies in Vacuo resist being electrified? May not the Resistance arise rather from Airs, adhering closely to the Surfaces of Bodies.
1800 tr. E. J. B. Bouillon-Lagrange Man. Course Chem. II. 16 The matter must be calcined till it becomes of an orange yellow colour at the surface.
1831 D. Brewster Treat. Optics iv. 27 An optical prism..is a solid having two plane surfaces..which are called its refracting surfaces.
1889 J. J. Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. i. 5 The submerged part of a vessel at rest in still water is subjected to fluid pressure, which acts, at each point, in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the ship at that point.
1946 Antiques Oct. 268 The third type..were made in plaster of Paris molds and glazed on both inside and outside surfaces.
1997 Pract. Householder Oct. 40/2 Rim locks are fixed to the surface of the door whereas mortise locks fit into the door itself.
2010 Sci. Amer (U.K. ed.) Jan. 42/3 Crystals are highly ordered, self-nucleating structures similar to geometric prisms, with flat surfaces and sharp edges.
b. figurative. The most superficial layer or element of anything; that part or aspect which is apparent on casual consideration; outward appearance.Frequently in phrases, as on the surface: superficially. to come to the surface: to become apparent. See also to scratch the surface (of) at scratch v. 3a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [noun] > mere appearance
shroudc1175
frontc1374
appearancec1384
countenance?c1425
fard1540
show1547
habit1549
outside1578
glimpse1579
superficies?1589
species1598
out-term1602
paint1608
surface1613
superfice1615
umbrage1639
superficials1652
semblance1843
outer womana1845
outward man1846
patina1957
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [adverb] > mere outward appearance
utterlikec1175
outwardc1390
superficially1571
formally1596
on the surface1871
1613 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (rev. ed.) iii. xiii. 600 No quality is so vniversall in this surface of things, as variety and diversity.
1641 J. Gauden Love of Truth 23 Veritas in profundo: Truth is not obvious in the surface of things, but hath a depth, being sunk and retired from us, as now we are.
a1704 J. Locke Conduct of Understanding §27 in Posthumous Wks. (1706) 85 This is a sort of hovering about the Surface of things, without any insight into them or penetration.
1725 I. Watts Logick i. v. 115 There are some Persons who never arrive at any deep..Knowledge..because they are perpetually fluttering over the Surface of Things.
1781 W. Cowper Let. 17 Dec. (1979) I. 559 Prose answers..All the floating thoughts, we find Upon the surface of the mind.
1855 F. A. Paley Æschylus (1861) Pref. p. xiii In such passages..there is..scarcely a word that does not involve..a meaning that lies below the surface.
1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xvii. 75 They may have seen through the real motives of the invitation, but on the surface everything was..honourable.
1888 J. W. Burgon Lives Twelve Good Men II. v. 2 No name more readily rose to the surface of conversation than his.
1923 Times 5 Mar. 12/3 In the course of public discussions a vast amount of muddled Anglophobia has come to the surface.
1948 G. Greene Heart of Matter i. 4 He wanted passionately to be indistinguishable on the surface from other men.
1958 M. L. King Stride toward Freedom ii. 38 Beneath the surface, however, there was a ground swell of discontent.
1990 B. Bettelheim Recoll. & Refl. i. 21 If we wish to understand a man, we must search for what lies behind the surface.
3. Mathematics. A continuous extent having only two dimensions (length and breadth, without thickness), whether plane or curved, finite or infinite; an entity such as constitutes the boundary of a solid object (sense 2a) or separates two adjacent portions of space; = superficies n. 1; (in later use) spec. a geometric or topological space that is locally homeomorphic with the Euclidean plane; (also) a generalization of this, such as a hypersurface; an (n − 1)-dimensional submanifold of an n-dimensional manifold. surface of revolution n. a surface formed by the rotation of a line or curve about an axis.Fermi, Möbius, pedal, Poincaré, Riemann, ruled surface, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > geometry > surface > [noun]
superficec1400
superficies1530
surface1604
superficie1702
wave-surface1833
developable1847
quartic1854
scroll1862
conicoid1863
regulus1874
Riemann surface1876
tetrahedroid1889
construct1902
skew1902
trend surface1956
1604 R. Norton Math. Apendix sig. G3 A Superficies or Surface hath onely length and bredth without deepenesse.
1658 E. Phillips New World Eng. Words Surface, the same as Superficies.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. (at cited word) There are Plane Surfaces, and there are Crooked or Curved ones.
1743 W. Emerson Doctr. Fluxions 127 To find a Cone of the greatest Solidity under a given convex Surface and Base b.
1777 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 57 285 Conceive now a spherical surface..to be carried about with the revolving spheroid.
1830 H. Kater & D. Lardner Treat. Mechanics i. 4 The external limits of the magnitude of a body are lines and surfaces.
1830 J. R. Young Elem. Analyt. Geom. ii. ii. 247 The characteristic of surfaces of revolution is this, viz. that every section made by a plane perpendicular to a fixed axis is a circle, whose centre is in that axis.
1907 Amer. Jrnl. Math. 29 371 The intersection of the surface with any plane Z = c is a quartic curve.
1944 E. P. Northrop Riddles in Math. iv. 70 The resulting surface, called a ‘Möbius strip’, is a one-sided surface with but one edge.
1979 J. Muirden Sidgwick's Amateur Astronomer's Handbk. (ed. 4) iv. 54 Astigmatism will also be inherent in an objective whose surface (or surfaces) is not a surface of revolution.
1989 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) July 40/3 The energy as a function of all the states describes a surface in a space whose dimensions equal the number of spins.
2007 I. Stewart Why Beauty is Truth v. 73 Riemann generalized Gauss's work on surfaces to multidimensional spaces, which he called ‘manifolds’.
4. Superficial area or extent; = superficies n. 3. Also †figurative (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [noun] > a) dimension(s) > property of having two dimensions > surface extent or area
superficialty?a1425
area?a1560
capacity?a1560
superficies1571
content1576
spread1584
continenta1608
containdure1623
surfacea1640
superficiality1690
a1640 T. Jackson Μαραν Αθα (1657) 3341 This Doctrine is so necessarie for manifesting the just measure of their unthankfulnesse which perish, that without This we cannot take so much as a true Surface of it; not so much as the least Dimension of Sin.
a1690 S. Jeake Λογιστικηλογία (1696) 525 Plain Figures, called Isoperimeters, and also Bodies of Equal Surface, may be vastly different in their Area's and Solid Contents.
1798 C. Hutton Course Math. II. 48 To find the Solidity of a Sphere..multiply the surface by the diameter, and take 1/ 6 of the product for the content.
1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ Operative Mechanic 706 To find the Surface of a Cylindrical Ring.
1871 C. Davies Metric Syst. i. 12 The unit of surface is a square whose side is ten metres.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 18 Mar. 4/1 After the ‘pitch’ [of a propeller] the most important detail of design is the ‘surface’, which is usually taken to be the combined area of all the blades when laid out flat.
2004 Trans. Inst. Brit. Geographers 29 302/2 This same text also gives instruction on more general surveying problems: how to find the surface of a slope-sided field.
5. An extent or area of material considered as a medium for operations or use.work, working surface: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > considered as a subject for operations
surface1662
1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura v. 125 A much larger discourse..treating of the practise of Perspective upon irregular Surfaces.
1718 Free-thinker No. 53. 1 The Canvass is no longer a level, lifeless Surface.
1763 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting III. i. 34 His exuberant pencil was ready at pouring out gods, goddesses, [etc.]..over those public surfaces on which the eye never rests long enough to criticize.
1867 N. P. Burgh Mod. Marine Engin. 360/1 To calculate the area of the ‘frictional surfaces’.
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools 571 When the highest..degree of accuracy is required in a plane surface, its form may..be given approximately by the planing machine.
1883 Harper's Mag. June 59/2 The entire surface is covered with grotesque figures and foliage, boldly chased and highly polished.
1971 R. Brewer Approach to Print iv. 56 When rotating the ink is removed from the surface of the cylinder by a flexible metal blade.
2009 Victorian Nov. 6/1 Pioneering techniques were often employed, aimed at combining form and function: well-designed yet wipe-cleanable, durable surfaces.
Compounds
C1.
a. General attributive, locative, and objective, as surface crevice, surface light, surface ornament, surface product, surface production, surface stone, etc.; surface-borne, surface dry, surface-scratched, etc., adjectives; surface-hoe, etc., verb.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately.
ΚΠ
1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland vii. 48 The Surface-Productions..peculiar to the Mountains, Heaths, or Dales.
1836 Farmer's Mag. May 379/1 If weeds arise and threaten to surmount the plants, they must be kept under by surface-hoeing to the depth of an inch, with the ‘Dutch’, or thurst-hoe.
1843 J. C. Buckler Remarks upon Wayside Chapels 53 It is in fact, a surface ornament, employed to obliterate blank spaces of stone-work in Churches, screens, or monuments.
1851 G. A. Mantell Petrifactions iii. §5. 289 Chiselling away the surface stone.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 17 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Undrained, surface-scratched fields, so numerous in the defective cultivation of the present day.
1878 W. de W. Abney Treat. Photogr. xxi. 151 This prevents the chance of any of the prints getting surface-dry.
1897 A. Geikie Anc. Volcanoes Brit. I. 27 The surface-products of volcanic action.
1928 C. F. S. Gamble Story N. Sea Air Station xiii. 224 A pilot might sight..a submarine and a surface-borne craft like a cruiser or destroyer.
1944 Trans. Amer. Microsc. Soc. 63 218 The depth to which 1.0 per cent of the surface light penetrated..varied.
1985 Amer. Midland Naturalist 114 93 The majority of seeds were buried in surface crevices.
b.
surface action n.
ΚΠ
1826 Rep. Sel. Comm. Norwich & Lowestoft Navigation Bill 66 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 369) II. 383 Large quantities, both of sand and shingle, are..dispersed, or occasionally swept clean away; that effect is entirely produced by the surface action of the sea.
1844 G. Fownes Man. Elem. Chem. 104 Coal-gas..may be made to exhibit the phenomenon of quiet oxidation under the influence of this remarkable surface-action [of platinum, etc.].
1879 Encycl. Brit. X. 240/1 Epigene or Surface Action—the changes produced on the superficial parts of the earth.
1991 Proc. U.S. Naval Inst. June 100/1 (heading) The Navy..needs to..consider changes, such as using a Harpoon-equipped P-3 to back up Tomahawk-armed surface action groups.
2002 H. A. Stein et al. Fitting Guide Rigid & Soft Contact Lenses (ed. 4) xviii. 220/2 Benzalkonium chloride..acts by a surface action on microbial organisms.
surface break n.
ΚΠ
1873 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 141 There can be no question about finding this lode below the surface breaks.
1924 Bull. Nat. Res. Council (U.S.) 8 145 The success of this kind of work depends largely upon the maintenance given the road... Surface breaks are taken care of as fast as they occur.
2009 C. D. Hockensmith Millstone Quarries Powell County, Kentucky vi. 92 Millstone # 20... The eastern edge has a surface break 70 cm long.
surface crust n.
ΚΠ
1814 Mem. Wernerian Nat. Hist. Soc. 2 i. 44 Where descents were more rapid, there in many places, the surface-crust of the lava had burst.
1849 J. Gray Earth's Antiq. ii. 53 The surface-crust of the Earth.
2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) ii. 92 Rocks make the soil moister by covering it..and replacing a hard surface crust of soil that would otherwise promote rain runoff.
surface deposit n.
ΚΠ
1830 Gleanings Sci. Aug. 240 Immediately under the surface deposit, stiff tenacious clay was found, with brackish springs at from 60 to 80 feet.
1943 O. Stuhlman Introd. Biophysics v. 182 The phagocytosis-promoting substances of immune sera, opsonin or bacteriotropin, resurface the particles with..a surface deposit upon which the phagocytes can spread very rapidly.
2001 Oxoniensia 65 189 Harder pieces of dogger were probably selected, and these quite possibly came from boulders lying as surface deposits near to the site.
surface deposited adj.
ΚΠ
1898 F. Davis Romano-Brit. City of Silchester 16 The subsidence..of the surface-deposited material.
2011 J. H. Vandermeer Ecol. Agroecosyst. v. 199 Surface deposited casts are susceptible to being carried away by water.
surface drain n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage
gutteringc1420
strand1565
sewaging1610
thorough-draining1669
cuniculus1670
French drain1738
riggot?1746
bush-draining1748
surface drain1765
land-drain1767
pipe-draining1776
surface draining1777
fox1784
surface drainage1796
mole drain1804
soughing1808
acequia1811
well-draining1818
tile-draining1830
wedge-draining?1830
plug-draining1833
land-drainage1841
land-draining1841
mole-draining1842
trough gutter1856
mole-ditching1860
mole drainage1860
tile-drainagea1865
well point1867
karez1875
storm sewer1887
moling1943
tiling1943
storm drain1960
1765 C. Varlo Treat. Agric. i. xxii. 127 From these cut small surface drains eight or ten inches wide.
1840 C. Howard Farming at Ridgemont 132 in Brit. Husbandry (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III Forming the surface-drains (‘grips’) across the ridges.
2006 in U.S. Fed. News (Nexis) 21 Mar. A rainwater surface drain for use in roof drains comprises a substantially funnel-shaped reservatory for water.
surface drainage n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage
gutteringc1420
strand1565
sewaging1610
thorough-draining1669
cuniculus1670
French drain1738
riggot?1746
bush-draining1748
surface drain1765
land-drain1767
pipe-draining1776
surface draining1777
fox1784
surface drainage1796
mole drain1804
soughing1808
acequia1811
well-draining1818
tile-draining1830
wedge-draining?1830
plug-draining1833
land-drainage1841
land-draining1841
mole-draining1842
trough gutter1856
mole-ditching1860
mole drainage1860
tile-drainagea1865
well point1867
karez1875
storm sewer1887
moling1943
tiling1943
storm drain1960
1796 J. Donaldson Mod. Agric. II. xvi. 391 In how many instances does a shameful inattention, in regard both to under and surface drainage, appear even to the passing stranger?
1898 E. Howard To-morrow 48 Subways for sewerage and surface drainage.
1940 G. H. J. Adlam & L. S. Price Higher School Certificate Inorg. Chem. (ed. 2) xlv. 441 River-water is always diluted with a considerable amount of surface drainage.
2006 Gardens Monthly Apr. 51/1 To help improve surface drainage, fork in plenty of sharp grit..to your soil before planting.
surface draining n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > other types of drainage
gutteringc1420
strand1565
sewaging1610
thorough-draining1669
cuniculus1670
French drain1738
riggot?1746
bush-draining1748
surface drain1765
land-drain1767
pipe-draining1776
surface draining1777
fox1784
surface drainage1796
mole drain1804
soughing1808
acequia1811
well-draining1818
tile-draining1830
wedge-draining?1830
plug-draining1833
land-drainage1841
land-draining1841
mole-draining1842
trough gutter1856
mole-ditching1860
mole drainage1860
tile-drainagea1865
well point1867
karez1875
storm sewer1887
moling1943
tiling1943
storm drain1960
1777 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. July (1778) A more simple, and less expensive mode of surface-draining.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 13 In the surface-draining of land, different sorts of ploughs are in use in different places.
1901 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 14 Sept. 684/1 The bogs and pools were then drained by ordinary surface draining.
2003 M. G. Hatvany Marshlands v. 99 Surface draining of marshes and other inundated lands had been known for centuries.
surface dressed adj.
ΚΠ
1892 J. Anderson in J. R. Allen Early Christian Monuments Scotl. (1903) i. p. vi The stone..is not squared or surface-dressed.
1997 T. Ingraham in 18th-Cent. Woodworking Tools (2002) 141 By far the greatest volume of surface-dressed lumber was used in floors and siding.
2010 Journal (Newcastle) (Nexis) 16 June 21 Drivers..are urged to take extra care and follow the advisory speed limit signs on the newly surface dressed roads until essential road sweeping has taken place.
surface dressing n.
ΚΠ
1795 Rep. Comm. Board Agric. conc. Culture & Use Potatoes 116 A surface-dressing should be given of the mechanical class of manures.
1875 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener, & Country Gentleman 20 July 88/1 For most fruits an annual surface dressing, applied generally in the fall of the year, is all that is necessary.
1907 Commerc. Motor 9 May 256/1 With annual surface dressings of tar and fine shingle, and small repairs, those roadways are still, I believe, good and efficient.
2003 M. Rogers Highway Engin. vii. 212 The chippings used are central to the success of the surface dressing process as they provide essential skidding resistance.
surface dweller n.
ΚΠ
1855 Ladies Repository Nov. 674/1 These..sun-loving surface-dwellers on heaths and hill-sides.
1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs ii. 35 The order Neogastropoda includes both surface-dwellers on rocky shores and burrowing forms.
1993 Sci. Fiction Stud. Nov. 374 The literal grabbag dress of the surface dwellers who survive by looting, murdering, raping, and bartering.
2002 J. Gooderham & E. Tsyrlin Waterbug Bk. (2005) 145/1 Sometimes the surface dwellers will compete with the fully aquatic bugs for prey.
surface-dwelling adj.
ΚΠ
1866 R. Owen On Anat. Vertebr. II. xxvi. 381 The Rabbit needs but a slight modification of the limbs, as compared with the surface-dwelling Hare.
1958 J. E. Morton Molluscs viii. 151 In sessile or surface-dwelling lamellibranchs, pallial eyes are often abundant.
2003 J. E. Kirkley et al. in S. Pascoe & D. Gréboval Measuring Capacity in Fisheries 196 Offshore pelagic fish species are more readily accessible since they are usually surface dwelling and often form schools.
surface-feed v.
ΚΠ
1897 J. P. Whitney in E. A. Samuels With Rod & Gun in New Eng. xxii. 338 There are certain autumnal days when the conditions are favorable, when it would seem as if all the medium-sized trout in the waters were surface feeding.
1983 S. Cramp et al. Handbk. Birds Europe, Middle East & N. Afr. (1985) III. 754/2 Surface-feeds whilst swimming, sometimes searching with head and neck immersed.
2006 R. Hafele Nymph-fishing Rivers & Streams v. 90/1 It appears that fish are surface-feeding on newly emerged adults but are taking preemergent nymphs below the surface.
surface-feeder n.
ΚΠ
1835 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. I. 284/1 That it is found as a surface feeder in those parts of the sea that have the very extremes of seasonal change, is in itself a proof that its food must be seasonal.
1907 Westm. Gaz. 5 Jan. 3/3 Widgeons are entirely surface-feeding ducks, and like most surface-feeders they sleep out at sea by day.
2008 N.Y. Times Mag. 12 Oct. 72 Catfish weren't scavengers, as in nature, but rather sweet-tasting surface-feeders, raised in well water and fattened on corn and soy.
surface-feeding adj.
ΚΠ
1839 Gardener's Mag. May 279 He adopted as a principle the enriching of the surface soil and the encouragement of the surface-feeding roots.
1902 J. G. Millais (title) The natural history of the British surface-feeding ducks.
2002 Water Gardener July 93/2 The best way to limit their numbers is to introduce fish, especially surface-feeding orfe and rudd.
surface heat n.
ΚΠ
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 681 The roots of the celeriac may be taken up on the approach of frost, and preserved in sand or soil out of the reach of surface-heat.
2004 U.S. News & World Rep. 10 May 16/3 Airplane contrails..increase wispy cirrus clouds that trap surface heat, says a new report.
surface layer n.
ΚΠ
1824 Hist., Directory, & Gazetteer County Palatine of Lancaster I. iii. 85 Near Lancaster the surface layer gets more of a friable nature, and approaches to the state of a strong pure loam.
1875 J. W. Dawson Life's Dawn on Earth iv. 85 To deposit the final surface-layer of its shell.
1930 Meteorol. Gloss. (Meteorol. Office) (ed. 2) 46 Convectional rain, caused by the heating of the surface layers of the atmosphere which expand and rise.
2004 J. Emsley Vanity, Vitality, & Virility (2006) i. 27 Glycolic acid..removes surface layers of skin so that the active agents can reach the target cells.
surface run-off n.
ΚΠ
1898 Jrnl. Amer. Geogr. Soc. N.Y. 30 7 At times the volume of this surface run-off is so great as to produce temporary waterfalls of giant proportions.
2000 Monitor (Kampala) 27 Apr. 10/6 Surface run-off resulting from the..down-pours has washed away most of the soil covering the grave.
surface-sailing adj. Nautical.
ΚΠ
1904 Rapid Rev. Feb. 84/2 The submarine offers commercial advantages that will render it a dangerous rival to the surface-sailing vessel in particular waters.
surface skimmer n.
ΚΠ
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa III. xxiv. 145 I love to plague thee, who art..a surface-skimmer in learning, with out-of-the-way words and phrases.
1868 Eclectic Rev. Aug. 114 The mere surface-skimmer of books.
1992 B. Carson & C. Murphey Think Big ii. xv. 226 Some of these ‘surface skimmers’ of learning were my classmates in high school, college, and medical school.
surface-sow v.
ΚΠ
1869 Parl. Deb. 1869 (Victoria, Austral.) VIII. 1657/2 There was ample proof that surface sowing grass was the best method.
1915 J. R. Macdonald N.Z. Sheepfarming 106 The fallen bush lands and some of the scrub lands have been surface sown in English grasses.
2004 J. Hitchmough in N. Dunnett & J. Hitchmough Dynamic Landscape vi. 217 Where possible, sown sites should be rolled with a heavy roller post-sowing, especially if small seed has been surface sown.
surface sowing n.
ΚΠ
1817 J. Sinclair Code Agric. iv. 309 The principal modes of inserting the seed in the ground and covering it afterwards..may be treated of under four heads; broad-cast, or surface-sowing;—ploughing in;—drilling;—and dibbling.
1882 W. D. Hay Brighter Britain! I. viii. 197 In spite of..the rough ground, and the mere surface-sowing, our grass will carry four sheep per acre.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Apr. 309/2 The uncertain establishment of plants from the surface sowing of clover seeds.
2003 A. Steens Bromeliads Contemp. Garden 190/1 Surface sowing is essential, as bromeliad seed needs some light to germinate.
surface-sown adj.
ΚΠ
1830 M. Loudon First Love I. xxxiv. 361 This is First Love, indeed, with all its own luxuriance of blossom, yet as deep-rooted as the ties of kindred: how unlike the surface sown plant, Love at First Sight.
1888 Jrnl. Hort., Cottage Gardener & Home Farmer 22 Mar. 245/2 While surface-sown Peas would be suffering for want of moisture, these would be as green and fresh as possible.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Feb. 121/1 The more fertile surface-sown hill country of the North Island.
2004 G. Logsdon All Flesh is Grass xvii. 191 I wanted to compare surface-sown oats with oats lightly covered with soil.
surface sterilization n.
ΚΠ
1894 Twenty-third Ann. Rep. Local Govt. Board 1893–4, Suppl. 244 in Parl. Papers (C. 7538) In seven acute cases skin fragments were excised, after surface sterilisation, from the actual seat of the disease.
1954 R. E. Kirk & D. F. Othmer Encycl. Chem. Technol. XII. 914 The major applications have been in air sanitation and surface sterilization of food products.
2004 J. K. Stone et al. in G. M. Mueller et al. Biodiversity Fungi xii. 250/1 For root tissues, serial washing may be preferable to surface sterilization to obtain representative frequencies of fungal colonists.
surface-sterilize v.
ΚΠ
1904 U.S. Patent 755,519 1/1 After the tubercles are thoroughly washed and surface sterilized in the ordinary ways the interior of the tubercle is cut out.
1967 K. M. Smith Insect Virol. ix. 165 Pupae were surface-sterilized in 70% ethanol.
2002 D. Weigel & J. Glazebrook Arabidopsis iv. 64 Surface sterilize at least 100 seeds of each mutant line.
surface-sterilized adj.
ΚΠ
1909 Bull. Ohio Agric. Exper. Station No. 203. 232 (caption) Showing nutrient-glucose-agar, plate cultures of the scab fungus from surface-sterilized, scabby, wheat kernels.
2002 Ann. Bot. 89 78/2 Surface-sterilized seeds were plated on germination media.
surface-swimming adj. (and n.)
ΚΠ
1835 C. F. Partington Brit. Cycl. Nat. Hist. I. 449/2 From its beauty, its size, and its tameness, the swan is the best subject in which to study or observe the action of surface swimming.
1843 W. Yarrell Hist. Brit. Birds III. 446 The principal food of the Kittiwake is the small surface-swimming fry of fishes, and other soft marine animals.
1894 Nat. Sci. Sept. 210 A surface-swimming bird may..take to diving, and then is pretty certain to deteriorate in flying power.
1970 Commerc. Fisheries Rev. Apr. 4/1 The government of American Samoa seeks to broaden the islands' economic base by harvesting surface-swimming tunas.
2009 K. Pryor Reaching Animal Mind vi. 109 Spotters..prefer eight-to-ten-inch-long, surface-swimming prey such as flying fish.
surface-tapping n.
ΚΠ
1857 C. Dickens Little Dorrit ii. xx. 494 A knocker produced a dead flat surface-tapping.
surface temperature n.
ΚΠ
1825 Ann. Philos. New Ser. 10 334 I shall content myself..by adding a few facts to our information respecting the surface temperature of the Atlantic.
1893 A. S. Eccles Sciatica 19 The surface-temperature of the affected limb.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 17 Apr. a11/2 Some of the past major droughts appeared to be linked to a distinctive pattern of increases and reductions in surface temperatures of the Atlantic Ocean.
surface texture n.
ΚΠ
1841 Art-union Dec. 195/2 It would also possess another advantage over an ordinary oil-painting, in presenting a surface texture somewhat absorbent.
1904 A. W. Buel & C. S. Hill Reinforced Concrete xvii. 416 Lack of homogeneity in the concrete is another prolific cause of variation in the surface texture of concrete work.
2000 Building Design 18 Feb. 31/2 (advt.) This has the added advantage of providing a film that allows the surface texture of the wood to be seen.
C2.
a.
(a) With reference to the surface of the earth or ground (sense 1b), as surface bed, surface earth, surface manuring, surface mould, surface peat, surface sod, surface soil, surface spring, surface wind, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [adjective] > of two dimensions > relating to or involving two dimensions
superficialc1450
areal1676
surface1676
super1768
1676 J. Evelyn Philos. Disc. Earth 14 This surface-Mould is the best, and sweetest, being enriched with all that the Air, Dews, Showers, and Celestial Influences can contribute to it.
1691 J. Evelyn Kalendarium Hortense (ed. 8) 66 Take off the Surface-earth about an Inch or two deep.
1709 T. Robinson Ess. Nat. Hist. Westmorland & Cumberland xii. 70 The greatest Rains seldom moisten the Earth deeper than the Surface-Soil.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 160 The surface sods should be carefully pared off.
1850 D. T. Ansted Elem. Course Geol. 582 Surface beds and deposits.
1887 C. A. Moloney Sketch Forestry W. Afr. 105 We find surface-manuring best for the coffee-tree.
1939 E. D. Laborde tr. E. de Martonne Shorter Physical Geogr. (rev. ed.) ix. 125 The rainwater forms a superficial layer which gives rise to surface springs.
1989 A. Anderson Prodigious Birds 52 The moa skeletons were found in small clusters of individuals which Duff..thought might reflect load-bearing variations in the surface peat.
2003 Focus July 51/4 A tropical cyclone with maximum surface winds of less than 62km/h.
(b) Chiefly Mining. With the sense ‘occurring or taking place at or near the surface, as opposed to underground’, as , surface cut, surface mine, surface mining, surface ore, surface working, surface works, etc.See also surface damage n. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1830 Boston Transcript 15 Dec. 2/3 The surface mines, which are of very inferior importance, require no other labour than that necessary in washing the earth in rockers, or large inclined troughs with mercury.
1839 H. T. De la Beche Rep. Geol. Cornwall xv. 564 There are few regularly-planned surface-works.
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 215 Little work..has been done except surface-cuts and holes dug to trace the lode.
1937 Mineral. Mag. 24 508 The surface workings expose ochreous shales.
1982 Jrnl. Lat. Amer. Stud. 14 392 After only two years of mining surface ore, the company discovered that the mines' wealth did not go deeper.
2009 Private Eye 18 Sept. 30/3 An American coal producer based in Richmond..uses heavily destructive surface-mining practices such as mountain-top removal.
(c) With reference to persons employed in, or associated with, work at the surface of a mine, as opposed to underground, as surface captain, surface hand, surface labourer, surface worker, etc.See also surfaceman n. 1.
ΚΠ
1832 C. Babbage Econ. Machinery & Manuf. (ed. 2) xx. 199 A Surface-captain, with assistants, receives the ores raised.
1838 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. June 73 Surface Labourers..£2. 6. 0. Per Month.
1908 Proc. 13th Ann. Meeting Lake Superior Mining Inst. 248 He then went as surface captain and assistant superintendent to the Calumet & Hecla mine in 1868.
1919 Times 22 Jan. 14/2 We have now decided to extend the eight-hour shift to all surface hands.
1963 Times 2 Mar. 8/5 The miners' demands include pensions at 50 for underground workers and at 55 for surface workers.
2009 West Australian (Perth) (Nexis) 28 Jan. 64 Matters..reached a climax this morning, when some of the miners and surface labourers..ceased work without giving notice.
(d) Designating (esp. public) transportation at ground or sea level, as opposed to underground or air travel, as surface carriage, surface line, surface railway, surface transport, surface travel, etc.See also surface car n.
ΚΠ
1836 L. Herbert Engineer's & Mechanic's Encycl. II. 378 In the construction of all surface railways, the first object considered is the direction of the road.
1855 W. M. Gillespie Man. Princ. & Pract. Road-making (ed. 8) 316 A surface railroad being thus out of the question, two alternatives remain.
1899 Street Railway Jrnl. Feb. 94/1 The new electric surface lines are proving so immediately and unexpectedly popular that..the traffic..is dangerously near the topmost limit of capacity.
1909 N.Y. Evening Post (Semi-weekly ed.) 4 Mar. 1 On streets leading to these ferries surface travel was blocked by heavily laden vehicles stalled.
1927 New Republic 12 Oct. 208/2 Chicago, alas! despite the fact that it could undoubtedly solve its transportation difficulties by surface carriage,..has decided to go in for subways.
1977 National Observer (U.S.) 1 Jan. 2 Adams is also a critic of several leading schemes for deregulation of airlines and surface carriers.
2010 Irish Times (Nexis) 19 June 12 He and two companions set out to travel around the world on its polar axis, using only surface transport.
(e) Designating a postal service transporting mail by land or sea as opposed to by air, or the items so transported, as surface letter, surface parcel, surface post, etc. See also surface mail n. at Compounds 3.
ΚΠ
1943 Times 29 Oct. 4/5 Surface letters..intended for Christmas delivery to members of the Forces..must be posted not later than Wednesday, November 10.
1951 Overseas Air Mails (G.P.O.) Feb. 1/2 The general regulations applicable to ordinary surface parcels..apply to air parcels.
1969 Times 24 Nov. 29/4 Surface post travelling round the Cape to East Africa takes about three times as long as it did before the war.
1972 S. Amer. Handbk. 149 There are air-mail and surface postal services both internally and to all parts of the world.
1992 Straits Times (Singapore) (Nexis) 14 May Air and surface letter and parcel mail services will be available to Cambodia.
b.
(a) With reference to the surface of water or other liquid (sense 1d), as surface current, surface drift, surface ripple, surface towing, etc.
ΚΠ
1818 Philos. Mag. 51 302 The winds, and surface currents..are influenced generally in a similar way by the sun's power.
1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography 1 The surface ripples raised by the passing breeze.
1885 Science 15 Mar. 213 A steam launch, in which to make surface towings.
1939 E. D. Laborde tr. E. de Martonne Shorter Physical Geogr. (rev. ed.) vi. 104 The term plankton denotes the whole collection of animal or vegetable organisms, mostly of microscopic size, which drift at the mercy of the surface currents.
1970 Limnol. & Oceanogr. 15 595 Seasonal variations of surface temperature, heat exchange, surface drift, and surface winds along the west coast of South America.
2004 National Geographic Sept. 27/2 Warm, salty water flows from the tropical Atlantic north toward the Pole in surface currents like the Gulf Stream.
(b) Nautical. Designating or relating to (esp. military) activity that takes place at sea, as opposed to underwater or in the air.
ΚΠ
1880 19th Cent. Apr. 600 Let the great island-continent of Australia..be supposed to subside to the depth of the average sea-bed, so as to be altogether lost sight of not only by the surface navigator but by the deep-sea surveyor.
1953 T. Roscoe U.S. Destroyer Operations in World War II 457 Russell searched the area, but could find nothing but wind and wave. The war's last surface engagement was over.
1966 Pop. Mech. May 6/2 11 Firefish boats have been sunk to date, two by aircraft and the balance by surface guns aboard ships.
2005 B. C. Smith War comes to Plum Street vi. 129 Large naval forces fought surface battles for months around the Solomons.
(c) Nautical. Designating craft which move on the surface of the water, as opposed to submarine vessels, as surface craft, surface ship, surface vessel, surface warship, etc.
ΚΠ
1887 G. W. Hovgaard Submarine Boats iii. 71 The submarine vessel will be more difficult to drive through the water at low speeds than would be a corresponding surface vessel at the same speed.
1914 C. W. Domville-Fife Submarines, Mines & Torpedoes 10 The 1,500 surface warships engaged in this titanic struggle for the dominion of Europe.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 71 Attempts to lay mines by enemy surface-craft.
1982 A. Melville-Ross Trigger ii. 33 You don't have enough surface ships left for you to hoist your admiral's flag.
1999 Technol. & Culture 40 692 Similarly advanced surface craft..had less impact because they could not become invisible like the submarine.
c. figurative. With the sense ‘of or relating to the most obvious aspect or element of something; superficial’. Cf. sense 2b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > thing seen > appearance or aspect > [adjective] > mere outward appearance
utter?c1225
outwarda1382
superficial1531
external1564
formala1586
surface1828
apparitional1899
1828 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. Dec. 280 No vain surface-logic detains him.
1864 E. B. Pusey Daniel i. 43 The slight variations between the Aramaic of Daniel and Ezra are in conformity with their slight difference in age. But these are petty surface-questions.
1875 W. D. Whitney Life & Growth Lang. vi. 102 Skimming a mere surface comprehension off that which has a profound meaning.
1905 F. Young Sands of Pleasure ii. iv I always keep to mere acquaintance and surface friendships with such people.
1976 Black Belt Mar. 10/2 Anyone who attempts to write about another culture should have more than a surface knowledge of his subject.
2010 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 29 Aug. 10 It is only a surface similarity.
d. With reference to the surface of an electrical conductor, as surface conduction, surface electrification, etc.
ΚΠ
1837 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 20 124 The electricity of the adjacent parts would pass towards the unelectrified spaces, thus conferring by a surface conduction, a low charge to all the shaded parts.
1878 Encycl. Brit. VIII. 66/1 Surface electrification on insulators.
1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. xxxv. 594 If a pear-shaped conductor is charged..it will be found that the density of the surface electricity is a maximum at those points where the curvature is greatest.
2004 New Scientist 20 Nov. 26/1 And then there are the forthcoming ‘quantum effect’ surface-conduction emission displays (SEDs) that are due out next year.
e. Linguistics. With reference to the most superficial or easily observable level of language, as opposed to the underlying level revealed by ‘deep’ semantic and syntactic analysis. See also surface grammar at Compounds 3, surface structure n. at Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [adjective] > relating to deep or surface structure
structural1861
underlying1933
surface1967
1967 D. G. Hays Introd. Computational Linguistics viii. 155 Their system begins with a surface parser.
1969 Word 1967 23 47 Since generativists began to turn to the concept of deep grammar as input to the transformational rules that produce ‘surface’ sentences.
1972 R. M. W. Dixon Dyirbal Lang. N. Queensland v. 183 In some languages these relations are realized through separate words (‘surface verbs’).
2010 B. Abbott Reference viii. 188 The obvious mismatch between the surface syntax of such sentences and their interpretation.
C3. See also surfaceman n., surface-to-air adj., surface-to-surface adj., surface wave n.
surface-active adj. Physical Chemistry (of a substance) able to affect the wetting or surface tension properties of a liquid.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > liquid phase > [adjective] > substance affecting surface tension
surface-active1911
1911 F. Czapek Chem. Phenomena Life iv. 41 That substance which most depresses the surface tension, or is most surface-active, is generally accumulated in the surface layer.
1946 Nature 26 Oct. 585/2 The addition of divalent metallic ions greatly enhances the surface-active properties of anion-active detergents.
1994 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Apr. 44/3 Mayonnaise is stable because the egg yolk contains so-called surface-active molecules such as lecithins.
surface activity n. (a) activity on or at a surface, superficial activity; (b) the property of a substance of being surface-active.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > liquid phase > [noun] > surface tension > a substance affecting
surface activity1948
surfactant1950
1869 R. S. Foster Christian Purity i. 23 One cannot but inquiringly ask,..what the end must be. If he penetrate beneath the thin exterior crust of mere surface activity, into the discovery of hidden causes, he must [etc.].
1896 E. J. Houston & A. E. Kennelly Electric Incandescent Lighting ix. 168 The surface activity, which determines the brightness of the filament, is a quantity altogether distinct from the total-candle-power.
1948 M. E. Parker Food-plant Sanitation xii. 288 The surface activity of wetting agents, penetrants, and detergents.
1993 M. W. Klemens Amphibians & Reptiles Connecticut iii. 42 Spotted salamanders are fossorial with surface activity limited to wet nights.
2006 H. Gecol in R. J. Farn Chem. & Technol. Surfactants ii. 26 Surface activity is achieved when the number of carbon atoms in the hydrophobic tail is higher than 8.
surface area n. the area of a surface; the extent of something that is in contact with surrounding air or liquid.
ΚΠ
1824 Prize-ess. & Trans. Highland Soc. Scotl. 6 36 The evaporation does not take place in proportion to the quantity, but in proportion to the surface area, that is exposed to the atmosphere.
1861 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 24 485 Within the boundaries of Great Britain itself there was only a surface area of about 57 millions of statute acres.
1947 A. D. Imms Outl. Entomol. (ed. 3) ii. 54 These organs are tracheal gills and they serve to increase the surface area of the body for respiration.
2007 N. Rosen How to live Off-grid viii. 321 They use a sort of carbon lead mat which increases the surface area of lead available to the acid electrolyte.
surface blow n. (a) Engineering a device by which the surface water and scum in a steam boiler may be blown off; (b) a blow (blow n.2 1b) occurring when a whale is at the surface; (c) Metallurgy a defect in metal in the form of a small cavity on the surface of a casting.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [noun] > parts of > device for blowing off steam
surface blow1857
blow-cock1885
1857 U.S. Naut. Mag. & Naval Jrnl. Aug. 356 Boiler Appendages..3 check valves, 4 inches diameter. 3 surface blows, two of 2 inches, and one of 1¼ inches diameter. 3 bottom blows [etc.].
1946 N. E. Woldman in Magnesium (Amer. Soc. for Metals) 93 Due to the low specific gravity of magnesium alloys, castings of these alloys are susceptible to the formation of surface blows.
1981 E. Hoyt Whale called Killer 51 I had brought the Nagra to record surface blows of the whales in case any should come close.
1998 H. Hofer & M. L. East in A. P. Møller et al. Stress & Behavior 459 Fin whales shortened dives and reduced the number of surface blows in the presence of boats.
2000 J. Russell Steam & Diesel Power Plant Operators Exam. (ed. 4) xi. 46/2 A boiler with a surface blow operating continuously will not have to be blown down.
2001 P. Beeley Foundry Technol. (ed. 2) v. 255 Surface blows and pinholes can also result from pellets of unmilled clay.
surface blow-off n. Engineering the act of discharging surface water and scum from a boiler using a surface blow.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > boiler > [noun] > removal of water or air from
surface blow-off1852
blowing-off1863
blowing-througha1877
1852 R. Murray Rudimentary Treat. Marine Engines & Steam Vessels v. 59 (caption) Lamb's surface blow-off apparatus.
1977 E. B. Woodruff & H. B. Lammers Steam-plant Operation (ed. 4) v. 254 Surface blowoff is advantageous in skimming or removing oil from the boiler water.
2007 Code Federal Regulations, 46, Shipping (Office Federal Register) 129/2 Boilers equipped with a continuous blowdown valve on the steam drum are not required to be fitted with an additional surface blowoff connection.
surface brightness n. Astronomy the luminosity of a celestial object per unit area on the sky, typically expressed as the magnitude per square arc second.
ΚΠ
1910 Science 3 June 878/1 With the latest determinations of temperature and surface brightness, it appears that the fainter red stars are somewhat smaller, and presumably denser, than the sun.
1940 G. Gamow Birth & Death of Sun vi. 124 Estimate stellar temperatures even when we do not know their surface brightness.
2010 R. H. Sanders Dark Matter Probl. iv. 55 The visible radius is taken to be that point at which the surface brightness falls to a certain faint level (25 magnitudes per square arc second, or, roughly 5 solar luminosities per square parsec).
surface car n. U.S. (now rare) a tramcar running on a track level with the surface of the ground, as distinct from an elevated or underground track. Cf. sense Compounds 2a(d).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > public service vehicle > [noun] > tramcar
streetcar1832
road car1834
tram-carriage1868
tramway car1872
tram-car1873
surface car1879
tram1879
car1890
railbus1932
1879 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 24 Jan. 5/3 It is high time now to consider whether waiting an hour on a platform in the air is any more rapid transit than swinging to a greasy strap in a surface car.
1909 E. Banks Myst. Frances Farrington 103 She took a surface car to help her on her way.
1932 J. T. Farrell Judgment Day (1959) xiii. 213 Reluctantly he crossed to catch a surface car.
surface casing n. Oil Industry the layer of casing in a borehole which is nearest the surface and relatively large in diameter.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > oil and natural gas recovery equipment > [noun] > drilling equipment
surface casing1877
string1895
tubular goods1922
drill pipe1932
pup joint1937
drill string1948
turbodrill1948
tubular1975
1877 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 1876–7 16 375 It may be ‘drive pipe’, composed of a number of cast-iron cylinders joined together and driven through the deposit; or it may be..wrought-iron ‘surface casing’, put in in a somewhat similar manner.
2006 J. K. Warren Evaporites xii. 926/1 Surface casing in the well was originally set at a depth of 122 m, approximately at the base of the Santa Rosa fresh-water aquifer.
surface caterpillar n. any of various noctuid moth larvae that feed on plants just below the surface of the soil; a cutworm.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > member of (moth) > young > that live below surface of soil
surface caterpillar1843
surface grub1843
surface worm1859
1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 114 Tobacco-water will, for instance, kill the surface-caterpillars, if it come fairly in contact with their skins.
1916 F. R. Petherbridge Fungoid & Insect Pests on Farm ix. 98 There are a number of moths whose caterpillars damage many crops by feeding on them below the surface of the soil or at the soil level. This habit gives them the name of Surface Caterpillars.
2006 A. P. Draycott Sugar Beet xiii. 331/2 Cutworms, or surface caterpillars, are the larvae of various noctuid moths.
surface chemistry n. the branch of chemistry concerned with the surfaces of solids, or the interfaces between phases, and the chemical phenomena that occur there; (also) the chemical properties of a surface.
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the world > matter > chemistry > chemistry as a science > branches of chemistry > [noun]
physical chemistry1743
zymology1753
pneumatic chemistry1788
stoicheiometry1807
electrochemistry1811
phytochemistry1837
thermochemistry1844
actinochemistry1845
inorganic chemistry1847
phytochimy1847
biochemistry1848
microchemistry1853
palaeochemistry1854
actinology1855
photochemistry1860
physico-chemistry1860
zymotechny1860
anorganology1876
kinetics1884
structural chemistry1884
stereochemistry1890
spectrochemistry1893
cytochemistry1900
radiochemistry1904
immunochemistry1907
magnetochemistry1914
leptonology1917
surface chemistry1919
crystal chemistry1921
radiation chemistry1926
leptology1928
mechanochemistry1928
agrochemistry1930
sonochemistry1934
quantum chemistry1938
cosmochemistry1940
polymer chemistry1945
conductometry1946
topochemistry1948
proto-chemistry1962
stereology1963
biochem1968
femtochemistry1988
combinatorial chemistry1992
cheminformatics1996
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > phases > [noun] > study of
surface chemistry1919
1919 Univ. Virginia Rec. June 8 Physical, Inorganic, and Analytical chemistry will be treated, including such subjects as radio-chemistry, the chemistry of the rare elements, colloid and surface chemistry, etc.
1951 A. E. Alexander Surface Chem. p. v The study of surface chemistry gives an unusually clear insight into the real existence and behaviour of molecules.
1991 Lancet 5 Jan. 59/2 The biocompatibility of a stenting device is dependent on its surface chemistry.
2009 T. J. Bandosz in P. Serp & J. L. Figueiredo Carbon Materials for Catalysis ii. 80 Another well-known system where surface chemistry was found crucial for removal of pollutants is adsorption of sulfur dioxide.
surface chuck n. Engineering (now rare) a face chuck; = faceplate n. 2.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > lathe > [noun] > part holding work
mandrel1664
chock1665
pike1680
centre plate1717
carrier1733
chuck1806
screw chuck1827
grip-knob1833
faceplate1837
surface chuck1842
jaw-chuck1874
turning-carrier1877
screw worm chuck1881
steady1885
roller steady1911
1842 G. W. Francis Dict. Arts Surface Chuck, a chuck used for the purpose of holding any flat material, while the surface of it is turned flat and even.
1879 J. J. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. vi. 235 Surface chucks with holes are very generally preferred for metal turning.
1973 M. Molyneux in M. Langley Carbon Fibres in Engin. iii. 106 Components with a large surface area and a thin section may be held to a surface chuck using double-sided adhesive tape.
surface coated adj. (esp. of paper or cardboard) having a surface finished with a special coating.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > material for making paper > paper > [adjective] > having specific surface or texture
look-through1730
antique1826
surfaced1869
fibre-faceda1884
everdamp1888
surface coated1888
boardy1893
shivey1937
1888 Present Tariff Law & Bill H.R. 9051 (U.S. House of Representatives Comm. Ways & Means) 41 Surface-coated paper, and all manufactures of which surface-coated paper is a component material.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 23 Jan. 1/3 A firm interested in ‘surface-coated boards’.
1943 C. Duncan Man. Miniature Camera (ed. 2) iii. 34 The advantages of image brilliance and purity conferred by surface-coated glasses.
2001 C. Naydowski in F. W. Tegethoff et al. Calcium Carbonate 217/1 Over the last thirty years the demand for surface coated papers has profited from high annual growth rates.
surface colour n. colour exhibited by light reflected from the surface of something; colour of a surface; (Psychology) colour perceived as being on the surface of an object (contrasted with film colour n. at film n. Compounds 3).
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the world > matter > colour > [noun] > colour from reflected light
repercussion1665
surface colour1810
1810 W.Oram Precepts & Observ. Art of Colouring xi. 47 The shades of the waves seemed to be made with some of the surface colour, mixed with Cologn earth and a small touch of lake.
1876 Chem. News 20 Oct. 167/1 After drying for thirty hours..over oil of vitriol, a sample had a surface-colour greenish black, the under part being still yellow.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 8/1 The so-called ‘Favrile’ glass of Messrs. Tiffany of New York owes its effect entirely to surface colour and lustre.
1962 M. D. Vernon Psychol. of Perception v. 83 It will appear as ‘film’ colour and not as surface colour. The colour cannot be definitely localized as belonging to the surfaces of objects.
2009 R. Schubring in H. Rehbein & J. Oehlenschläger Fishery Products vii. 131 An easier method has been proposed that uses a combination of digital camera, computer and graphic software to analyse the surface colour of food products.
surface condensation n. Mechanics (in a steam engine) condensation of steam by a surface condenser.
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the world > matter > liquid > moisture or humidity > [noun] > condensed moisture > by a surface-condenser
surface condensation1838
1838 Mech. Mag. 13 Oct. 27/1 A boat fitted with such boilers, and Hall's or some other system of surface condensation, would be even safer than a boat fitted with low-pressure boilers.
2007 O. Thulesius Man who made Monitor iii. 22 Surface-condensation also helped to overcome troubles arising from boiler-incrustation.
surface condenser n. Mechanics (in a steam engine or steam turbine) a condenser in which low-pressure exhaust steam is condensed by contact with cold metallic surfaces, typically those of pipes through which cold water is circulated.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [noun] > parts of > condensers
condenser1769
surface condenser1843
tube-condenser1877
pickle pot1903
1843 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 6 396/1 The first branch applies more particularly to the employment of high steam and locomotive boilers, surface condensers, and double cylinder engines.
1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 824/1 Engines of large cylinder capacity to admit of great expansion, with surface-condensers and superheaters to the boilers.
2004 R. E. Putman Industr. Energy Syst. vii. 231 Industrial power generation plants and industries having shell and tube water cooled steam surface condensers..could realize similar results.
surface contact n. (a) contact between two surfaces; (b) Engineering used attributively with reference to a system of electric traction in which the current is conveyed to a vehicle through conductors on the surface of the roadway which become live only when the vehicle passes over them (now historical).
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the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > conductor used in transport > [adjective]
surface contact1897
1840 C. W. Williams Combustion of Coal i. vi. 115 The minimum, mean, and maximum effects of surface-contact are brought practically before us.
1897 U.S. Patent 589,786 1/1 My invention relates to electric railways operated by the well-known closed-conduit or surface-contact system.
1918 H. A. Foster Electr. Engineer's Pocket-bk. (ed. 7) 848 (caption) Diagram of connections for surface contact railway plate system.
1960 G. A. Glaister Gloss. Bk. 208 The ink is deposited on the paper by the lightest possible surface contact.
1988 D. Rees GCSE CDT—Design & Realisation xiii. 111 Because the Vee belt..has a larger surface contact with the pulley wheel, it will transmit larger loads.
2007 V. R. Vuchic Urban Transit Syst. & Technol. i. 17/2 Three main alternatives were explored: battery traction, continuous-contact conductors in underground conduit, and surface contact systems.
surface-couched adj. Embroidery (of a thread) held flat on the surface of the fabric by stitches looped over it; (of an object, design, etc.) decorated or worked using surface-couching.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [adjective] > embroidered > with specific stitches
darned1881
saddle-stitched1895
pin-stitched1898
surface-couched1905
underside-couched1936
1905 Burlington Mag. Apr. 65/1 The little silk points on ‘surface-couched’ gold are susceptible to the least rubbing.
1938 A. G. I. Christie Eng. Medieval Embroidery 25 The medieval English embroidery, preserved in the Musée de Cluny,..is surface-couched throughout.
1963 Opus Anglicanum (V. & A. Mus. Exhib. Catal.) 44/2 In the band with butterflies the metal threads are surface couched.
2005 E. Coatsworth in R. Netherton & G. R. Owen-Crocker Medieval Clothing & Textiles (2006) I. 9 The main elements of the design—foliage, animals, and birds—were surface-couched in gold thread.
surface couching n. a form of embroidery in which a (typically gold) thread is held flat on the surface of the fabric by stitches looped over it; cf. couch v.1 4b.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > sewn or ornamented textile fabric > [noun] > embroidery or ornamental sewing > done in specific stitches > couching > specific
brick stitch1842
brick couching1881
brick1882
spider couching1882
Vandyke couching1882
bricking1899
surface couching1927
underside-couching1936
1927 Burlington Mag. Dec. 285/2 Unlike the later surface couching, the earlier form is practically indestructible by legitimate use.
1963 Opus Anglicanum (V. & A. Mus. Exhib. Catal.) 14/1 Silver-gilt and silk thread in underside and surface couching and stem stitch.
2005 H. M. Stevens Myth & Magic Embroidery i. 32 Surface couching is an age-old technique for securing gold or other precious thread to the background fabric without ‘wasting’ any of such a valuable commodity on the reverse of the material.
surface crossing n. (in early use) a level crossing on a railway; (later chiefly) a pedestrian crossing on a road, as opposed to a bridge or subway.
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society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > level-crossing
farm crossing1839
level crossing1840
level crossing1841
surface crossing1841
railway crossing1851
1841 Penny Cycl. XIX. 251/1 When the Liverpool and Manchester line was projected,..no danger was anticipated from such intersections, which are called surface-crossings.
1918 Electric Railway Jrnl. 19 Oct. 693/1 Busy surface crossings of steam and street railway lines.
2004 Metro 1 Nov. (London ed.) 44/4 Replacement of bridges and subways with surface crossings.
surface damage n. damage to or on the surface of something; spec. damage done to the surface of the ground as a result of mining operations; (in plural) compensation payable for this.
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society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > compensation > [noun] > for mining damage
surface damage1786
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > surface works > damage done to surface by mining
surface damage1786
1786 A. Macmillan Suppl. Forms of Writing in Scotl. viii. 230 The said adventurers bind and oblige themselves to pay to the present tenant..whatever surface damages he may have a just title to demand.
1796 J. Fox Gen. View Agric. Glamorgan 20 The surface damage done to other large portions of land, in working mines of coal and iron ore.
1844 Rep. Select Comm. Commons' Inclosure 532 It would make great difference whether the owner of minerals should pay surface damages upon waste or inclosed lands.
1888 Times 2 Oct. 3/2 The second shell..did some surface damage, and badly injured the target's foundation.
1912 Trans. Inst. Mining Engineers 43 447 It was at one time thought that the only way to minimize surface damage by subsidence due to mine-workings was to leave immense pillars of coal.
1997 Law & Social Inq. 22 1025 Claims for surface damages.
2009 National Art Coll. Fund Rev. 2008–9 59/2 The picture is in exceptional condition. In contrast to the vast majority of paintings of this period, it has virtually no surface damage or later retouching.
surface density n. (a) density at a surface; (Physics) the density of energy states at the surface of a solid; (b) the quantity of something per unit area of surface, such as the quantity of electric charge per unit area of the surface of a solid.
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1833 Readings Sci. (Soc. Promoting Christian Knowl.) xix. 70 The refractive power of air, even at the surface density, is very small.
1873 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism I. i. ii. 87 The surface-density σ′ is that of the apparent electrification produced at the surface of the solid dielectric by induction.
1918 Concrete June 219/1 (heading) Silicate of soda for surface density [of concrete].
1935 C. J. Smith Intermediate Physics (ed. 2) v. xxxvii. 622 P, the polarization of the medium, is equal to the surface density of the electrification arising on the ends of an element.
1941 J. A. Stratton Electromagnetic Theory iv. 247 The vector M shall now represent the surface density of magnetization, the magnetic moment of the surface S per unit area.
1999 Sky & Telescope Mar. 35/2 When the overall surface density of stars is high enough, a self-gravitating disk may spontaneously form a bar.
2007 N. Majlis Quantum Theory Magnetism (ed. 2) xiii. 326 The surface density of states is lower than the bulk one at the band edges.
surface drive n. Australian and New Zealand Mining (now rare) a drive (drive n. 10) that is exposed to the air.
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1859 Argus (Melbourne) 19 Mar. 5/5 Their main shaft is 120 feet from the surface-drive, and cross-cuts the eastern lode.
1897 Papers & Rep. Minerals & Mining (N.Z. Mines Department) 75 Fourteen surface drives were put in, and a low level driven 270 ft., in order to cut the reef.
1902 J. H. M. Abbott Tommy Cornstalk iv. 57 There were from one hundred to one hundred and fifty Boers in a deep ditch—a ‘surface drive’ it would be in Australia—which lay just before the buildings.
1934 Burra (S. Austral.) Record 9 May 74/6 Surface drive off open cut advanced to 45 feet; lode 2 ft. wide.
surface effect n. (a) an artistic or literary effect lacking depth, a superficial effect; (b) an effect associated with, or only encountered near, a surface; (attributive) designating an air-cushion vehicle in which the cushion is sealed by rigid side walls and flexible seals fore and aft.
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the world > existence and causation > causation > effect, result, or consequence > [noun] > other types of effect
co-effect1768
ricochet1773
surface effect1837
emergent1874
dent1942
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > mechanically propelled vessels > [adjective] > utilizing air-cushion > types of hovercraft
stretched1960
surface effect1962
skirted1967
1837 Gentleman's Mag. (Philadelphia) Aug. 106/2 His dialogues, without straining for puns, or mere surface effects, are excerpta from veritable life.
1850 Aide-mémoire to Mil. Sci. II. 346 When a charge of powder was exploded in their vicinity, its surface effect was very much diminished.
1962 Marine Engin./Log Oct. 72/2 A surface-effect ship is being developed under a $370,000 MarAd contract.
1985 C. Jencks Mod. Movements Archit. (ed. 2) vii. 246 The basic objection was that the Townscape Philosophy was only interested in surface effects, in curing symptoms, not causes, of urban blight.
1993 Pop. Sci. Oct. 96/1 A hovering catamaran, or surface-effect ship, Smyge is currently being used to test a range of systems that may be placed in future Swedish Royal Navy small combat craft.
2000 C. D. Whiteman Mountain Meteorol. iii. 25 Microscale studies are usually confined to the layer of air from the earth's surface to an altitude where surface effects become negligible.
surface energy n. Physics the excess energy per unit area associated with the surface of a liquid or solid as compared with the bulk material.The concept was described by T. Young in 1805, in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 95 65–87, but the term surface energy does not occur there.
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1876 J. C. Maxwell in Encycl. Brit. V. 59/1 That part of the energy which depends on the area of the bounding surface of the liquid. We may call this the surface energy.
1895 C. S. Palmer tr. W. Nernst Theoret. Chem. i. iii. 79 P. Curie (1885) and others have suggested as a controlling factor [in the growth of crystals] a certain ‘surface energy’, analogous to that on the surface of liquids.
1963 New Scientist 18 July 143/3 A liquid will only attach and spread on a solid surface if there is an overall decrease in surface energy during the process.
1999 I. Kostov & R. I. Kostov Crystal Habits Minerals v. 72 The influence of surface energy on the development of crystal faces.
surface film n. a thin layer on the surface of a solid or a liquid that is differentiated in some way from the underlying bulk material.
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the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > coating or covering with a layer > [noun] > a coat or covering layer > thin
skina1475
weba1475
film1577
cuticle1658
cuticula1662
surface film1841
skim1951
1841 H. Miller Old Red Sandstone xiii. 246 The uncoloured patches are no mere surface films, for, when cut at right angles, their depth is found to correspond with their breadth.
1875 J. Croll Climate & Time x. 172 The whole of the surface-film, being chilled at the same time, sinks through the subjacent water.
1998 M. Poole Romancing Mary Jane vii. 93 There are two kinds of water boatman (perhaps one of them a backswimmer), rowing with hairy, oarlike legs just beneath the surface film.
2004 Outdoor Projects Summer 12/2 The more oil the varnish contains, the more flexible the surface film remains as it polymerizes.
surface find n. Archaeology an instance of finding an archaeological artefact on the surface of the ground, rather than by excavation; an artefact found in this way.
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1872 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 1 p. cxli This collection is the result of miscellaneous and surface finds.
1917 W. K. Moorehead Stone Ornaments Indians U.S. 170 A surface find in the Iroquoian area in New York is no sure indication that the artifact is Iroquoian.
1996 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 12 Mar. 8 The fact that there were no surface finds indicates more about visibility than the archaeological significance [of the site].
surface friction n. friction arising from the movement of an object through a medium or (less commonly) over a surface; = skin friction n. at skin n. Compounds 5; spec. the component of drag arising from forces acting tangentially on the surface of an aircraft or vessel.
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the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > resistance > friction > specific
internal friction1797
surface friction1834
skin resistance1855
static friction1865
skin friction1869
stiction1946
1834 Mechanics' Mag. 6 Dec. 163/1 Why? because there was less surface friction!
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 658 The surface-friction against the thread of the screw.
1875 Nature 16 Dec. 132/2 The resistance of the ship..consists of three items—namely, surface-friction, eddy-resistance, and wave-resistance.
1920 A. W. Judge Handbl. Mod. Aeronaut. 560 Surface friction of flat planes per single surface.
1990 T. Cunliffe Easy on Helm iii. 22 Surface friction between the flowing air and the sea's face is slowing down the breeze at deck-level more than it is at the masthead.
2008 Balloon Flying Handbk. 2008 (U.S. Dept. Transportation, Federal Aviation Admin.) 4-12 Surface friction is effective in slowing the wind up to an average altitude of 2,000 feet above the ground.
surface gauge n. (a) a rain gauge situated at ground level, spec. one with an opening flush with the ground; (b) Engineering a gauge for scribing straight lines on a workpiece or checking the height of a point on it, typically consisting of an adjustable scriber mounted on a stand.
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the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring flatness or roughness of surfaces
surface gauge1845
planometer1851
true plane1856
profilograph1880
profilometer1925
roughometer1926
1845 Proc. Royal Soc. Edinb. 1 350 The excess of the surface gauge over that which was three feet above the ground, was nearly identical.
1862 Minutes Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 21 611 The horizontal lines being obtained by a surface gauge working on the same true surfaces.
1971 Tools & their Uses (U.S. Navy Bureau of Naval Personnel) (1973) iii. 103 A surface gage is a measuring tool generally used to transfer measurements to work by scribing a line.
1977 Jrnl. Hydrol. 35 217 The pit gage recorded 112 mm (4.4 in.) catch; whereas, the nearby surface gage recorded only 4 mm (0.15 in.).
2002 R. L. Timings Engineering fundamentals vi. 173 The height over the component is checked with a DTI mounted on a surface gauge or a vernier height gauge.
surface grammar Linguistics the grammar of the most superficial or easily observable level of language, as opposed to that of an underlying level.
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1953 G. E. M. Anscombe tr. L. Wittgenstein Philos. Investig. i. 168e In the use of words one might distinguish ‘surface grammar’ from ‘depth grammar’. What immediately impresses itself upon us about the use of a word is the way it is used in the construction of the sentence, the part of its use..that can be taken in by the ear.—And now compare the depth grammar, say of the word ‘to mean’, with what its surface grammar [Ger. Oberflächengrammatik] would lead us to suspect.
1958 C. F. Hockett Course in Mod. Linguistics xxix. 249 This most apparent layer constitutes, we shall say, surface grammar. Beneath it lie various layers of deep grammar, which have much to do with how we speak and understand but which are still largely unexplored, in any systematic way, by grammarians.
2005 Philos. Stud. 122 200 We may be misled by the surface grammar of our language.
surface grinder n. Engineering a machine for grinding a surface to a high degree of flatness.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > surface-grinder
surface-grinding machine1876
surface grinder1879
1879 Internat. Exhib. Paris 1878: Rep. Commissioners Victoria 189/1 The Patent Surface Grinder shown by Fig. 239 is constructed to grind and buff the surfaces of any work too large to be taken to ordinary grinding or buffing machines.
1931 Pop. Sci. Sept. 85/1 In the small shop..great saving of materials and labor can be effected by shaping forming tools on the surface grinder rather than in the miller.
2008 H. A. Youseff & H. El-Hofy Machining Technol. xiii. 554 Small hand-operated tool room surface grinders are ideally suited for single parts such as dies, molds, gauges, and cutting tools.
surface-grinding machine n. Engineering = surface grinder n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > surface-grinder
surface-grinding machine1876
surface grinder1879
1876 Internat. Exhib. Official Catal. (U.S. Centennial Commission) (rev. ed.) III. 23/2 Surface-grinding machine, bolts, nuts, washers, rivets, wood screws, etc.
2002 R. Timings Engin. Fund. xii. 376 (table) You should understand..how to care for surface grinding machines in order to maintain their accuracy and alignments.
surface grub n. now rare (a) = surface caterpillar n.; (b) a leatherjacket (crane fly larva).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > member of (moth) > young > that live below surface of soil
surface caterpillar1843
surface grub1843
surface worm1859
1843 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 4 100 Among this portion of noxious insects are many large caterpillars, called by farmers and gardeners Surface-grubs, that commit very extensive depredations upon the turnips.
1889 J. Wrightson Fallow & Fodder Crops vi. 128 The surface grub, or leather jacket, is a formidable enemy of all the root crops.
1956 R. Sudell New Illustr. Gardening Encycl. (new ed.) 637/2 The chief pests [of the sweet violet] are red spiders and surface grubs.
surface-harden v. Metallurgy transitive to subject to surface hardening.
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1861 Repertory Patent Inventions 38 2 These clips if made of steel are tempered, or if of wrought-iron they are case or surface hardened.
1929 R. H. Sherry Steel Treating Pract. vi. 173 Nuts, bolts, washers, and other parts for which low-carbon steel is commonly used can be surface hardened to a degree sufficient for the service required.
2001 R. W. Cahn Coming of Materials Sci. vi. 245 Characterisation of materials surface-hardened by ion-implantation.
surface-hardened adj. Metallurgy that has been subjected to surface hardening.
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1842 U.S. Patent 2,824 1/1 The sheets are to be passed while hot through surface-hardened and polished rolls.
1925 H. Scott Origin Quenching Cracks 409 Differential deformations may be produced by constitutional differences, as in surface hardened steels.
2008 Engin. Fracture Mech. 75 1267 In the automotive industry, gears are usually made from surface hardened or case-hardened steels.
surface hardening n. Metallurgy the hardening of the surface of metal by any of various processes, as carburization or quench hardening.Now a more general term than case hardening.
ΚΠ
1861 Repertory Patent Inventions 38 3 With regard to the case or surface hardening, various means are efficient for this object.
1869 U.S. Patent 92,021 2/2 The tempering, and case or surface-hardening, are the final operations performed.
1929 Chem. Abstr. 23 3888 (heading) Study of surface-hardening of steel by nitridation.
2008 Sci. Lett. (Nexis) 26 Aug. 1466 An infrared process monitor was used to monitor..the infrared emissions during laser surface hardening of ferrous alloys.
surface integral n. Mathematics an integral taken over the whole area of a surface.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > calculus > [noun] > integral calculus > integration or integrability > integral
fluent1706
integral1728
gamma function1834
surface integral1867
Riemann integral1894
Cauchy's integral1898
Lebesgue integral1905
Stieltjes integral1914
convolution1934
1867 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. I. ii. vi. 408 The whole area of S over which the surface integrals..are taken is infinitely great.
1988 J. D. Barrow & F. J. Tipler Anthropic Cosmol. Princ. (rev. ed.) vii. 490 For closed universes, the surface integral can be taken over two disjoint spacelike hypersurfaces.
2006 M. W. Jackson Harmonious Triads v. 146 Green's theorem..relates the surface integral over some bounded region to a line integral over the boundary curve of that same region.
surface mail n. mail transported by land or sea, as opposed to by air; a postal service for transporting mail in this way; frequently opposed to airmail.
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society > communication > correspondence > postal services > [noun] > types of service > conveyance of mail by land or sea
surface mail1912
1912 Evening News (Sault Sainte Marie, Mich.) 27 Apr. The New York Mail company, which transfers all the surface mail in the eastern metropolis.
1946 R. Allen Home Made Banners xii. 156 Pop's reply was so long that it came by surface mail.
1989 Which? Sept. 417/3 He reported the missing item, which had been posted as unregistered surface mail.
2008 Women's Stud. Q. 36 (end matter) (advt.) International subscribers should add $10 per subscription for surface mail and $20 per subscription for air mail.
surface noise n. a background hiss heard when a gramophone record is played, caused by irregularities in the surface of the groove; any continuous background hiss resulting from irregularities in the recording medium. Also figurative.
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society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > [noun] > quality of reproduced sound
scratch1908
quality1913
surface noise1914
coloration1925
ambient noise1926
wow1932
pre-echo1935
hangover1940
presence1950
ambience1953
naturalness1966
overhang1971
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > continuous or protracted sound > sibilant sound > [noun] > on recording
scratch1908
surface noise1914
swish1949
sibilance1960
tape hiss1962
1914 Indianapolis Star 3 Nov. 6/5 [The records] must be made of a material smoother than glass (to get rid of the surface noise).
1931 B. Brown Talking Pictures 173 Scratch and surface noise are defects belonging to disc and film methods of reproduction respectively.
1983 Jrnl. Narr. Technique 13 53 These are cries that leap above the ‘surface noise’ of Indian life and Kipling's high volume prose.
2009 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 23 Nov. 6 It didn't matter how much you cleaned your records..that intensely annoying surface noise was always there.
surface paper n. now rare (chiefly historical) paper made with a special surface on one side and used esp. for photography or printing.
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society > communication > printing > paper > [noun] > types of printing paper
newspaper1756
tissue1780
surface paper1851
pulp paper1863
India paper1875
onion skin1879
news1887
bâtonné1892
Bible paper1926
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > photographic processes > processing and printing equipment > [noun] > paper
printing paper1593
photographic paper1840
gelatin paper1851
surface paper1851
print paper1858
Saxe paper1864
tissue1873
carbon paper1878
bromide paper1885
print-out paper1893
mezzotype1894
printing out paper1895
silver paper1898
gaslight paper1899
multigrade1940
contact sheet1959
1851 Med. Times 13 Sept. 295/1 A very simple yet pretty method of copying the form of a plant by photography,..consists in washing a good surface paper with a saturated solution of the ferro cyanuret of potassium.
1892 Photogr. Ann. II. 60 Use a paper which is white on one side... This paper can be bought at a stationer's under the name of surface paper.
1920 Amer. Ann. Photogr. 1921 (end matter) p. xxviii The illustrations are printed in the best possible style on special Surface paper.
2002 Jrnl. Amer. Inst. Conservation 41 212/2 A number of modern sources referred to ‘surface paper’, which was described as thin, evenly black on one side, and white on the reverse.
surface physics n. physics that deals with surfaces; spec. the branch of physical science that deals with the surface of a solid, or the interface between any two phases, and the physical phenomena that occur there.
ΚΠ
1928 J. H. Jeans Astron. & Cosmogony xvii. 412 Terrestrial chemistry, which deals only with these atoms, may properly be described as ‘surface-chemistry’; it must merge into a wider chemistry on passing inside a star. So also terrestrial physics is a mere ‘surface-physics’.
1940 R. B. Lindsay Gen. Physics for Students vi. 69 The laws concerning friction are as yet merely empirical... Evidently they depend on the state of the surface of a solid, and surface physics is just now beginning to receive the attention it deserves.
1991 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) Oct. 74/3 The field ionization source, which simply consists of an atomically sharp tip at whose point an electric field ionizes gas atoms, has long been an important tool in surface physics because it can produce images of individual atoms in the tip.
2005 Daily Mail (Nexis) 30 June 61 With a degree in physics and a PhD in solid state and surface physics, he first started working at nano-level commercially for a company that made magnetic recording heads, as used in computer disc drives.
surface plane n. (a) a plane forming or defining a surface; (b) Engineering = surface planer n.; (also) a carpenter's plane for planing a flat surface.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > planing
planer1596
planing machine1805
surface planer1806
surface planing1806
planing mill1844
surface plane1846
surfacer1866
thicknesser1920
1846 Mechanics' Mag. 8 Aug. 131 Problem I. Given the azimuth and declivity of a surface-plane inclined to the horizon,..to construct the surface of the cutting.
1873 C. P. B. Shelley Workshop Appliances ii. 43 In the various kinds of surface plane, the whole of these defects are remedied, and the result is a beautiful instrument, which for accuracy of performance surpasses all other hand tools.
1879 Proc. Royal Soc. 29 28 The surface plane between the two liquids.
1919 Cabinetmaking (Wisconsin. State Board Vocational Educ.) 8 (heading) Surface planes.
1922 Outlook 26 July 519/2 The surface plane of the river is materially higher than it was forty years ago.
1969 Adv. in Catalysis 20 169 The variations of the oxygen binding energy, at different surface planes of the same metal oxide, are large enough to modify the pattern of energies.
2005 H. Stechemesser & B. Dobiáš Coagulation & Flocculation (ed. 2) 47 The position of the surface plane, x = 0, can be freely chosen, provided that for x > 0 the solution is ideal with constant ε.
surface planer n. Engineering a machine for planing timber, a planing machine; = surface plane n. (b).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > planing
planer1596
planing machine1805
surface planer1806
surface planing1806
planing mill1844
surface plane1846
surfacer1866
thicknesser1920
1806 O. G. Gregory Treat. Mech. II. p. vi (heading) Surface-planer, &c. by Bramah.
1873 J. Richards On Arrangem. Wood-working Factories 131 Surface planers, that cut away a constant amount of wood, gauged from the surface that is planed.
2005 Woodworker May 36/2 A jointer or surface planer is used to create an accurate face and edge and a thickness planer is then used to plane the other two sides using the first two as a reference.
surface planing n. Engineering the use or action of a surface planer.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > other specific machine tools > [noun] > planing
planer1596
planing machine1805
surface planer1806
surface planing1806
planing mill1844
surface plane1846
surfacer1866
thicknesser1920
1806 O. G. Gregory Treat. Mech. II. 415 (heading) Surface-planing machinery.
1873 J. Richards On Arrangem. Wood-working Factories 131 The under cylinder of a double surfacing machine, or bottom cylinders generally, are examples of surface planing.
2005 Woodworker May 36/2 In many situations the surface planing and thickness planing are undertaken by the same machine.
surface plate n. †(a) a strip of iron serving as a rail of a railway (obsolete rare); (b) Engineering an accurately made flat plate, typically of granite or iron, for testing the trueness of a flat surface.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > instrument for checking markings
straight-edge1812
surface plate1822
winding sticks1823
society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > track > parts and fittings of rails
string-piece1789
carriage1816
chair1816
pedestal1816
surface plate1822
web1835
frog1837
switch-bar1837
snake-head1845
fish1847
fish-joint1849
plate nail1849
fishing-key1852
fish-plate1855
joint-chair1856
rail chair1864
railhead1868
lead1871
fish-bar1872
splice-piece1875
fish-plating1881
splice-jointa1884
splice-bar1894
1822 London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 3 242 The dimensions of the bars..intended to form the upper surface of a rail-way..are recommended to be 15 or 16 feet long..and ½ inch thick. At every eighteen inches or two feet of the length of the surface plate, a bolt is passed through.
1846 C. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. II. 865 The operator must be provided with the means of testing the progressive advance of the work, he should therefore possess a true straight-edge, and a true surface-plate.
1953 K. J. Hume & G. H. Sharp Pract. Metrol. (1965) ii. xlii. 218 Remove the centres and examine them for straightness against a good surface plate, preferably lapped.
2003 R. Dawkins Devil's Chaplain i. 56 A ‘surface plate’ is a precisely machined plane surface, used for judging the flatness of objects.
surface pressure n. the pressure exerted on a solid surface; spec. the pressure of the atmosphere at the earth's surface, atmospheric pressure.
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1820 A. H. Chambers Observ. Formation Turnpike Roads 21 A road composed of natural materials; where from their shape, if small and globular, the surface pressure is not likely to be much otherwise than directly perpendicular.
1841 Remarks Mr. Benjamin Rankin's Patent Wood Pavement 4 Every key or surface block is supported by four base blocks, and by all equally; and..no surface pressure can separate them laterally.
1912 C. J. P. Cave Struct. Atmosphere Clear Weather v. 49 The persistent Northerly current cannot be accounted for by surface pressure or temperature distribution.
1952 F. Whiteley Gear Manuf.: Bk. 5 i. 10 The gears should have an equal margin of safety to withstand..the surface pressure on the teeth, and the bending stress on the wormshaft.
2002 P. Herring Biol. Deep Ocean iii. 62 Respiration rates of deep-sea organisms measured at surface pressures may give a very misleading picture of the rates in situ.
surface-printed adj. Printing printed by surface printing.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > [adjective]
surface-printed1848
planographic1897
1848 London Jrnl. Arts, Sci., & Manuf. 33 118 Brocaded stuffs, in which the figures or designs are introduced in the process of weaving, possess a decided superiority over surface-printed goods.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. III. 2457/2 Books, newspapers, woodcuts, and lithographs are all surface-printed.
1992 Gibbons Stamp Monthly Mar. 9/1 Demand for surface printed issues was high, with little remaining unsold.
surface printing n. Printing (a) printing, esp. of a textile, using a wooden roller bearing the pattern (contrasted with roller printing, using a metal roller); (b) any kind of lithographic printing; (c) printing from images or type in relief on the printing surface (contrasted with recess printing and lithographic printing); letterpress printing.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > [noun]
surface printing1822
sectioplanography1837
planography1912
1822 London Jrnl. Arts & Sci. 3 9 The machinery..is designed to produce surface printing in one colour only.
1844 E. A. Parnell Appl. Chem. 138 The only mode of printing which remains to be noticed is ‘surface printing’, which is merely a modification of roller printing, the cylinder being made of wood instead of copper.
1863 E. Noyce Boy's Bk. Industr. Information 138 It is divided into two kinds, plate-printing and surface-printing. That from type or blocks, having the marks which are to be impressed raised, is called surface-printing, while that in which the lines or marks are cut in, is called plate-printing.
1911 J. A. Ullman Printing Ink 7 Next we come to Surface Printing, which is based upon a design upon a plane surface, which design is so made or chemically treated, that it has an affinity for the ink, while the rest of the surface repels the ink. Such processes are Lithography..and the Gelatin process. Finally we come to the printing which is done from a surface in relief, or Typographic Printing.
1950 Postage Stamps NZ II. 187 The electrotype plates for surface printing from which the Government Life Insurance stamps of this period were produced were in use for over 30 years.
2004 K. Lacasse & W. Baumann Textile Chemicals v. 221 In surface printing, the printing and not printing areas of the form are almost on the same layer.
surface process n. Printing the process of surface printing; an instance of this.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > photographic processes > [noun] > printing > types of
sun painting1839
sun-printing1853
surface process1865
contact printing1876
silver-printing1878
pigment printing1879
bromide printing1885
printing out1889
screen process1890
gaslight printing1899
projection printing1923
1865 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 8 Dec. 51/2 In directions to artists working in Palmer's Gly-photography—really the most successful of all surface processes hitherto—there appears the following passage.
1970 Oxf. Compan. Art 974/2 For tonal reproductions of the highest class ‘collotype’ is used. This also is a surface process.
2007 A. Hurwitz & M. Day Children & their Art (ed. 8) ix. 152/2 Surface process, lithography. The image is drawn directly on the stone (or metal) surface with a greasy crayon or ink.
surface rib n. Architecture a rib (rib n.1 7) applied to the surface of vaulting purely for decoration.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > vaulting > rib
ogive1290
rib1608
branch1793
vaulting rib1830
nook-rib1835
surface rib1835
transom-rib1835
wall-rib1835
lierne1842
cross-rib1858
formeret1872
1835 R. Willis Remarks Archit. Middle Ages vii. 82 These three classes of ribs may be designated as Groin Ribs, Ridge Ribs, and Surface Ribs.
1890 C. H. Moore Devel. & Char. Gothic Archit. i. 18 (note) The additional ribs, liernes, tiercerons, etc., which appear in the later forms of vaulting,..are mere surface ribs having no real function.
2007 M. Child Discovering Churches & Churchyards 112 There was an increase in the quantity of surface ribs.
surface road n. originally and chiefly U.S. a road running along the surface of the ground, as distinct from one which is elevated or underground.In early use applied to railroads; now more usually to roads for motor vehicles.
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society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > a railway > of specific construction
rackway1825
surface road1835
light railway1842
switchback1863
rack railway1879
monorail1884
chair road1895
cog-railway1896
mono-railway1902
cog-wheel system1904
monoline1992
1835 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 10 Jan. 6/1 By the Report..we learn from the progress of the work of Embankment, that there are now 65 miles of Surface Road, of which 27 miles are filled up level to the Rails.
1903 N.Y. Evening Post 3 Sept. 6/4 The short-haul business is well provided for by the existing surface roads.
1993 Archit. Rev. Jan. 39 The construction..of the high-level urban motorway along the water's edge, with the surface road running beneath it.
surface roller n. Printing a roller used in surface printing to convey ink to the surface being printed; spec. one of wood rather than metal; (also) a roller that is in immediate contact with the surface of a sheet or web being processed by a machine.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > other surface-printing > [noun] > textiles > equipment
rolling press1675
cylinder1764
surface roller1815
colour plate1819
colour pan1834
hand block1835
sieve1839
toby tub1842
wheelbarrow-machine1856
tension-rail1890
1815 S. Parkes Chem. Ess. II. 176 Mr. Adam Parkinson of Manchester has lately invented a machine capable of printing at one time, by means of one cylinder and two surface rollers,..three distinct colours.
1922 Color Trade Jrnl. 10 176/1 The surface roller can never produce as good a thing as the hand block.
1985 H. Clark Textile Printing 11/2 During the early nineteenth century Lancashire printers used surface rollers and copper cylinders together in the aptly named union or mule machines.
2003 W. E. Hawkins Plastic Film & Foil Web Handling Guide ii. 26 The third roller is a cylindrical metal surface roller driven by the line range drive. The speed of this roller is used for setting the draw between the nip rolls and the last upstream tension isolation station.
surface science n. (a) a science concerned with the surface of something; spec. the branch of physical science that deals with the properties of the surface of a solid, or the interface between any two phases, and the phenomena occurring there; (b) science concerned only with superficial matters, science that lacks depth.
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1864 Dublin Univ. Mag. Aug. 158/1 What relation can be traced between..knowledge of the cellular and fibrile arrangement of the brain substance and the surface science of phrenology?
1888 H. P. Blavatsky Secret Doctr. II. 573 There was..the purely intellectual and metaphysical, or the ‘inner Science’, and the as purely materialistic or ‘surface science’.
1910 G. K. Chesterton What's Wrong with World iii. vi. 189 It is the same with the relations of our hasty and surface science, with the problem of sexual dignity and modesty.
1932 P. De Kruif Men against Death 349 It was surface science. It was rough and primitive.
1947 J. J. Bikerman Surface Chem. Industr. Res. iii. 180 Some remarks on corrosion from the point of view of surface science are made in §§162–165.
1982 G. A. Somorjai in D. R. Schryer Heterogeneous Atmospheric Chem. 88/1 Catalytic studies of this type often utilize the various techniques of modern surface science to analyze the atomic surface structure and composition of the working catalyst.
2004 Times (Nexis) 28 Oct. 39 We hope that the UK-built Surface Science Package will send back the first measurements from the surface of Titan.
surface scientist n. (a) a scientist concerned only with superficial matters (rare); (b) an expert or specialist in surface science.
ΚΠ
1896 Swami Vivekananda Yoga Philos. Pref. p. vii Surface scientists, unable to explain the various extraordinary mental phenomena, strive to ignore their very existence.
1962 Bell Laboratories Rec. 40 284/1 Because he wants to study the surface and not the bulk, the surface scientist must devise experiments and equip himself with diagnostic tools which are specific to the surface.
2009 C. C. M. Mody in R. B. Freeman & D. L. Goroff Sci. & Engin. Careers U.S. ix. 299 They needed to convince the large numbers of senior managers and surface scientists/semiconductor physicists within these organizations that they could contribute rigorous knowledge to those disciplines.
surface shelter n. an air-raid shelter or similar structure constructed wholly or mostly at ground level, as opposed to underground.Frequently with reference to shelters built for the protection of civilians from bombing raids during the Second World War (1939–45).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > shelter or screen > [noun] > air-raid shelter
police box1855
air raid shelter1917
shelter1918
surface shelter1922
Anderson shelter1939
dugout1940
Morrison shelter1941
tube shelter1942
1922 P. S. Bond Field Engin. 121 A surface shelter is one built wholly or almost wholly above ground level.
1940 New Statesman 19 Oct. 375 He is getting worried about his wife and children in their surface shelters.
2010 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) (Nexis) 3 July 26 Bryan would spend more than the odd night huddled in a surface shelter in Wellington Square.
surface speed n. (a) the circumferential speed of a rotating wheel, bobbin, tool, etc.; (b) the speed of which a submarine is capable when moving on the surface of the water.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > action or motion of vessel > [noun] > speed in specific manner or conditions
surface speed1859
sea-speed1887
stern speed1904
hump speed1915
1859 Repertory Patent Inventions 34 227 A series of cylinders, constructed and arranged so as to have an increase of surface speed, either by increase of diameters respectively, or in the relative times of rotation.
1885 Times 1 Oct. 6/1 The greatest surface speed attained is a little over eight knots.
1907 Textile World Rec. June 408/1 Cotton is fed into practically all machines by means of a roller or rollers revolving at a fixed surface speed.
1976 G. Cook Silent Marauder i. 58 The K-class steam-driven submarine..could produce a surface speed of twenty-four knots.
2003 P. Smid CNC Programming Handbk. (ed. 2) xii. 82 Based on the surface speed and the cutter diameter..machine spindle speed can be calculated in revolutions per minute.
surface structure n. Linguistics the immediately observable syntactic elements forming an utterance or sentence (closely reflected by its phonetic realization), as contrasted with the logical form underlying such elements; (also) a representation of a sentence or utterance arranged with labels and brackets to show the relationship of these constituent parts; frequently opposed to deep structure (deep structure n. at deep adj. Compounds 2).
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the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > syntax or word order > [noun] > deep or surface structure
surface structure1964
deep structure1965
1964 N. Chomsky Current Issues in Ling. Theory i. 10 Thus the syntactic component must provide for each sentence (actually, for each interpretation of each sentence) a semantically interpretable deep structure and phonetically interpretable surface structure, and, in the event that these are distinct, a statement of the relation between these structures.
1971 Archivum Linguisticum 2 131 I shall use the traditional term Article to refer to the, a, this, etc. when I am characterizing them as surface-structure elements.
1977 E. von Glaserfeld in D. M. Rumbaugh Lang. Learning by Chimpanzee v. 103 In this context it must be said that Chomsky's introduction of the terms ‘surface structure’ and ‘deep structure’..seemed a step in the right direction.
1988 Language 64 362 Much of Chomsky 1973 is devoted to working out assumptions that will allow him to maintain a surface structure [John believes [s Bill to be insane]].
2006 Linguistics & Philos. 29 382 The distinguishing feature of such variables is that they do not correspond to any syntactic argument in the surface structure.
surface tension n. the tension of the surface of a liquid caused by the attraction of the particles in the surface layer to the bulk liquid, which tends to minimize the surface area of the liquid; the tendency of the surface of a liquid to resist an external force.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > [noun] > surface-tension
surface tension1852
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > liquid phase > [noun] > surface tension
surface tension1852
1852 Ann. Rep. Progress Chem. 1849 3 3 The same number is also proportional to the surface-tension of water.
1918 E. W. Hilgard Soils 118 The expansion suffered by water in freezing necessarily tends to separate the soil particles previously held together by the surface tension of the capillary water.
1952 Galaxy Aug. 18/2 But, of course, it was impossible to penetrate a bubble. The surface tension was too strong.
1999 C. B. Inlander et al. Over-the-counter Doctor (rev. ed.) 256/2 Dentifrices contain..surfactants—foaming agents that reduce the surface tension of a liquid to make an object more ‘wettable’.
2006 J. T. Costa Other Insect Societies xii. 359 The bugs can momentarily gain a burst of speed..by altering the surface tension of the water beneath their bodies.
surface water n. (a) the surface layer of a body of water; (b) water that collects on the surface of the ground.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > [noun] > water on land > on surface of ground
surface water1793
1743 S. Hales Descr. Ventilators 72 The cold Surface Water of Rivers.
1793 Earl of Dundonald Descr. Estate Culross 21 Blue clay, forming a..barrier against surface water.
1850 D. T. Ansted Elem. Course Geol. 461 The surface-water, when in excess, penetrates into the sub-soil.
1860 M. F. Maury Physical Geogr. Sea (ed. 8) ix. §430 The surface-water of Loch Lomond.
1912 Internat. Rev. der Gesamt. Hydrobiol. u. Hydrographie 5 250 Holway..attributed the cold surface water to an upwelling of bottom water.
1994 S. Butala Perfection of Morning vi. 101 Almost every summer by July nearly all the naturally collected surface water has evaporated in the intense heat.
surface winding n. (a) a winding of wire on the surface of an object, esp. in an electric motor; (b) Manufacturing Technology the winding of a film, web, or wire on to a drum that is rotated by contact with a driven roller, rather than directly.
ΚΠ
1900 U.S. Patent 652,638 2/1 This talcite thread with its surface winding may now be given any form of spiral, wave, or festoon.
1903 U.S. Patent 742,523 4/1 Paper-winding mechanism... My improved surface-winding device comprises a roll..driven by a ratchet-wheel..and a second roll.
1938 A. E. Clayton Performance & Design Direct Current Machines (ed. 2) i. 3 Taking first the case of the—now obsolete—smooth armature and surface winding.
1963 Cryogenics 3 146/2 On the surface of the superconductive specimen..is a surface winding s with N turns made of a very thin wire.
1992 K. R. Osborn & W. A. Jenkins Plastic Films ii. 50 An additional advantage of surface winding is that the downward pressure of the driven roll on the film tends to squeeze out the air layer.
surface worm n. (a) a gribble (genus Limnoria); (b) = surface caterpillar n.; (c) a worm found at or near the surface of the ground, ocean, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > member of (moth) > young > that live below surface of soil
surface caterpillar1843
surface grub1843
surface worm1859
1859 Proc. Inst. Civil Engineers 18 85 The Limnoria Terebrans, or surface worm, as it is often called, but which, in fact, is a species of shrimp.
1880 Nature 15 Apr. 569/1 There are surface-worms, hydroids, bryozoa, barnacles, and fish represented by close allies on the deep-sea bottom.
1881 Trans. Wisconsin State Agric. Soc. 19 480 In Europe they are called surface worms or grubs, because they are found in the destructive period of their existence near the surface of the ground.
1961 Dock & Harbour Authority July 89/1 A common gribble or sea louse resembling the wood louse in appearance, sometimes known as the ‘surface worm’ in spite of its being slipper-shaped.
2007 S. J. Arceivala & S. R. Asolekar Wastewater Treatm. (ed. 3) x. 290 Surface worms assimilate a small part of the ingested material and excrete out the rest as a granular ‘cast’.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
surfacev.
/ˈsəːfᵻs/, U.S. /ˈsərfəs/ 1. transitive. To give a (particular kind of) surface to; to cover the surface of (with something); to smooth or polish the surface of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > give a specific kind of surface to [verb (transitive)]
surface1775
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > perform general or industrial manufacturing processes [verb (transitive)] > smooth surface
planish1622
strip1831
surface1837
grind1888
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > surfacing or cladding > clad or cover [verb (transitive)]
silea1525
case1674
reface1809
surface1897
clad1939
1775 W. Marshall Minutes Agric. 11 Apr. (1778) Surfacing and re-harrowing Up-field.
1792 Impartial Def. Established Church 25 The Doctor..exhibits to us the appearance of a troubled wave, surfaced with oil.
1837 Blackwood's Mag. 41 186 Soft-cushioned and aerated ground, surfaced and inlaid with thinnest mother-of-pearl.
1875 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. II. 1393/1 Marble-scourer, a rubber for surfacing marble slabs.
1897 Outing 30 233/1 The track is surfaced with cement.
1933 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 37 2 In Europe our aerodromes, being surfaced with excellent turf, are available for landing in every direction.
1990 Pract. Woodworking Mar. 32/2 I surfaced various pieces of hard and softwoods at differing depths of cut,..and the surfaces produced were both true and exceedingly smooth.
2010 Irish Times (Nexis) 21 Jan. 6 The committee's chairman..told the Minister that surfacing roads by tarring and chipping was the greatest waste of money possible.
2. intransitive. Chiefly Australian. To extract gold or other valuable minerals from surface deposits, esp. by washing. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > by specific method
shammel1778
surface1852
gouge1931
opencast1959
1852 Times 18 Nov. 6/3 It is a deep ‘location’, and the miners have hitherto only been surfacing.
1860 L. A. Meredith Over the Straits iv. 133 I've been surfacing this good while; but quartz-reefin's the payinest game now.
1906 Queensland Dept. Mines Geol. Surv. No. 201 16 Practically the whole of the northern and eastern slopes of the hill have been ‘surfaced’.
1944 Sydney Morning Herald 12 Jan. 6/6 In some districts gold is obtainable by surfacing or by using a wash-pan in the creeks.
3.
a. transitive. To bring or raise to the surface.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise to the surface
surface1885
1885 Money Market Rev. 29 Aug. 331/2 To surface the tinstuff now accumulated.
1949 T. Roscoe U.S. Submarine Operations World War II xviii. 237/2 Surfacing the submarine in the dusk, he started her in on the approach.
1959 Times 14 Feb. 8/7 Of all the green things which he [sc. a coypu] surfaced he chose to eat only the succulent roots of the reeds.
2008 UK Newsquest Regional Press (Bradford) (Nexis) 27 Mar. Robinson worked for four years down a mine..surfacing coal which was used for heat and power in homes, factories, trains and ships.
b. intransitive. To come to the surface, esp. to rise to the surface of water. Also in figurative contexts. Apparently rare before mid 20th cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] > rise to the surface
risea1398
surface1897
1897 Overland Monthly Dec. 488/2 Under firm pressure he [a yellowtail] will surface, and sound again.
1898 Pall Mall Mag. Nov. 358 [The fish] surfaced within a few feet of me.
1947 Times 15 Dec. 7/3 Creeping like a mole through a tunnel, he surfaced and made off.
1948 Jrnl. Mammalogy 29 183 Numerous schools of small tuna surfacing and feeding on the same bait.
1965 M. Shadbolt Among Cinders xxvi. 276 I swam down a gloomy passage..and surfaced in a gently lighted room.
1974 L. Deighton Spy Story xviii. 192 Nuclear subs go faster submerged... When we surfaced they did the usual tests.
2009 Hana Hou! (Hawaiian Airlines) Feb. 45/1 We spent the next seven minutes buddy-breathing before we surfaced and headed to the diver shop to get more tanks.
4. figurative.
a. intransitive. Of a thought, emotion, etc.: to arise in the mind or consciousness; to rise, well up.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > [verb (intransitive)] > rise up
swellc1386
risec1390
to well up1846
surge up1853
surface1945
1945 Sat. Evening Post 20 Oct. 10/3 He jerked around, his anger surfacing. ‘There are some people’, he said bluntly, ‘who should be dead.’
1977 S. Cooper & L. Wanerman Psychotherapists 174 His anger and upset surfaced again, as he tossed a rubber knife back and forth.
1988 New Scientist 25 Aug. 56/1 With memories surfacing of once being given a can of chocolate-covered bees.
2003 K. Robards Beachcomber xxx. 302 Another terrifying thought surfaced through the maelstrom that was swirling through her brain, and her eyes popped open.
2011 S. J. Pasagic Anc. Whisper i. 9 As this thought hit him, rage and hate surfaced.
b. transitive. Chiefly North American. To bring to public notice; to draw attention to. In early use also: spec. to expose or reveal the identity of (a spy, defector, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > disclose or reveal [verb (transitive)]
unwryc825
unhelec1000
to draw forthc1175
unhillc1200
to bring forth?c1225
unsteekc1250
let witc1275
uncovera1300
wraya1300
knowc1300
barea1325
shrivec1374
unwrapc1374
again-covera1382
nakena1382
outc1390
tellc1390
disclosea1393
cough1393
unhidea1400
unclosec1400
unhaspc1400
bewrayc1405
reveal1409
accusea1413
reveil1424
unlocka1425
unrekec1425
disclude?1440
uncurec1440
utter1444
detect1447
break1463
expose1483
divinec1500
revelate1514
to bring (also put) to light1526
decipher1529
rake1547
rip1549
unshadow1550
to lay to sight1563
uppen1565
unlace1567
unvisor?1571
resign1572
uncloak1574
disshroud1577
spill1577
reap1578
unrip1579
scour1585
unharboura1586
unmask1586
uncase1587
descrya1591
unclasp?1592
unrive1592
discover1594
unburden1594
untomb1594
unhusk1596
dismask1598
to open upc1600
untruss1600
divulge1602
unshale1606
unbrace1607
unveil1609
rave1610
disveil1611
unface1611
unsecret1612
unvizard1620
to open up1624
uncurtain1628
unscreen1628
unbare1630
disenvelop1632
unclothe1632
to lay forth1633
unshroud1633
unmuffle1637
midwife1638
dissecret1640
unseal1640
unmantle1643
to fetch out1644
undisguise1655
disvelop1658
decorticate1660
clash1667
exert1692
disinter1711
to up with1715
unbundlea1739
develop1741
disembosom1745
to open out1814
to let out1833
unsack1846
uncrown1849
to bring (out) in (also into) the open1861
unfrock1866
disbosom1868
to blow the lid off1928
flush1950
surface1955
to take or pull the wraps off1964
1955 N.Y. Times 6 Mar. iv. 2/6 In Moscow last week the authorities ‘surfaced’ a brilliant British atomic scientist who had disappeared behind the Iron Curtain five years ago.
1963 J. Joesten They call it Intelligence i. iv. 45 Now and then secret agents are purposely ‘surfaced’.
1974 Anderson (S. Carolina) Independent 23 Apr. 1 b/2 Rep. Dan Marrett..surfaced the controversial issue.
1984 Dance Theatre Jrnl. May 7/3 We are planning to surface it [sc. a film], to bring it up, in Olympics week!
2010 N.Z. Herald (Nexis) 15 Feb. Toyota has been exemplary at surfacing problems in the factory and stopping production before a crisis was reached.
c. intransitive. Of a thing, fact, etc.: to come to public attention; to emerge or come to prominence, esp. after a period of obscurity or concealment.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > intimation or making known > intimate or make known [verb (intransitive)] > come to general notice
transpire1748
surface1955
1955 Herald-Press (St. Joseph, Mich.) 18 Feb. 11/1 When the Derby (El Paso) city council recently voted for 24-hour police-service..the problem surfaced again.
1968 Jrnl. Higher Educ. 39 317 We are faced with a revolution in communications, elements of which have recently surfaced in the press under the term McLuhanism.
1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant xxvii. 318 She wanted me to be prepared if it ever surfaced, if anyone for any reason ever remembered and tried to use the information.
1983 Times 21 Mar. 24/7 New allegations surfaced at the weekend.
2010 N.Y. Times Mag. 31 Jan. 20 A new movement in jazz has surfaced over the past few years.
d. intransitive. Of a person: to become fully conscious or alert, esp. after sleep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > state of being awake > be or remain awake [verb (intransitive)] > become awake
awakenc885
awakec1000
i-wakec1275
wakea1300
wakenc1300
dawc1330
ofwakec1330
adawc1400
wake1533
to rouse out1803
upwake1842
surface1959
the mind > attention and judgement > attention > notice, observation > take note, observe [verb (intransitive)] > be or become alert
wakec897
waken1825
to wake to1836
surface1959
1959 H. Hamilton Answer in Negative ii. 33 He was rather silent over the meal... It was only when they had returned to the drawing-room that he really surfaced and returned to the case.
1968 D. O'Grady Bottle of Sandwiches 49 He surfaced from his plonk-induced snore-off.
1988 D. Profumo Sea Music (1989) i. 11 James drifted to sleep, but later he surfaced suddenly from the rhythm of his dream.
2006 Daily Mail (Nexis) 24 Apr. 17 It was three weeks before I surfaced out of unconsciousness.
e. intransitive. Of a person: to appear in public, esp. after a period of isolation or concealment; to emerge from seclusion.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > be visible [verb (intransitive)] > appear or become visible
ariseOE
to come in (also to, on, etc.) placec1225
'peara1382
appear1382
kithea1400
to show out?a1425
muster?1435
to come forthc1449
to look outa1470
apparish1483
to show forth1487
come1531
to come out?1548
peer1568
to look through1573
glimpse1596
loom1605
rise1615
emicate1657
emike1657
present1664
opena1691
emerge1700
dawn1744
to come down the pike1812
to open out1813
to crop out1849
unmask1858
to come through1868
to show up1879
to come (etc.) out of thin air1932
surface1961
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > visibility > be visible [verb (intransitive)] > appear or become visible > make an appearance
atewOE
splaya1400
compearc1470
to come ona1635
exhibit1656
to figure in1812
show your shapes1828
to show one's neb (also nose, etc.)1841
surface1961
1961 Life 23 June 42/2 A smug thug surfacing... It was Castro's week to gloat.
1968 ‘R. Simons’ Death on Display xii. 180 ‘Has there been any sign of that damned Tebaugh woman yet?’ ‘Afraid not... She still hasn't surfaced.’
1975 New Yorker 21 Apr. 133/1 Members of revolutionary committees that were created by the Communists over the past several years in all South Vietnamese provinces have now surfaced.
2009 ‘R. Keeland’ tr. S. Larsson Girl who played with Fire xxvii. 479 An A.P.B. was sent out to say that Lisbeth Salander had at last surfaced.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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