taskn.
/tɑːsk/, /task/, U.S. /tæsk/ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > payment or service to feudal superior > [noun]
gavelc725
tacka1300
servicec1300
customc1390
servagec1400
taskc1400
homage1440
under-aid1579
reddendoa1630
workdaya1634
render1647
darg-days-
1114–18 Laws Hen. I c. 78 §5 Persoluantur uel in taschis uel huiusmodi suggerendis, sicut de b[a]st[ar]dis est institutum.]
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 17918 This is the somme that Gregays aske, That thei wole haue vnto her taske: Ten hundrid thousand pound of golde.
14.. in Wars Eng. in France (1864) II. 525 Tasques, taylles, inposicione of the comyns.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 487/1 Taske, or talyage, taliagium, taxa.
c1475 Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 454 Grete exaccions and taskes.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 279/2 Taske that a prince gadereth, taulx.
1624 Maldon (Essex) Borough Deeds (Bundle 108, lf. 12) xxd. payd the collectors of the taske for twoe fifteenes and tenths.
a1625 H. Finch Law (1636) 298 High Collectors of any Taske, Subsedie, or lone.
1766 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. II. v. 75 By statute 25 Edw. I. c. 5 & 6..it was enacted, that the king should take no aids or tasks but by the common assent of the realm.
2.
a. A piece of work imposed, exacted, or undertaken as a duty or the like; originally, a fixed or specified quantity of labour or work imposed on or exacted from a person; later, the work appointed or assigned to one as a definite duty.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [noun] > piece of work or task > allotted or imposed
tax1390
taska1400
stint1533
society > morality > duty or obligation > [noun] > a duty or moral necessity > a charge, trust, or duty > imposed on one
tax1390
taska1400
enjoint1413
penalty1601
enjoinder1894
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 29000 Has he [sc. Christ] sett vs certain task Quilk ar þai bones for to ask.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5872 And taron sett he men at ask Of ilk dai to yeild þair task [Fairf. taske].
c1400 St. Alexius (Laud 622) 675 Nouȝth as a Man of task.
1530 Bible (Tyndale) Exod. v. f. viiiv Wherfore haue ye not fulfilled youre taske in makinge brycke?
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Rom. iv. f. viiiv The Iewes..whiche hauyng..become christian men, & worke no longer now, as it wer by tasque, but vnfainedly & purely put theyr trust in him.
1574 J. Baret Aluearie T 64 The Taske or worke that one is appointed to dooe.
1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 64 A task we know is a proportion of work, not doing the same thing absolutely every day, but so much.
1699 Bp. G. Burnet Expos. 39 Articles (1700) xxv. 283 Prayers gone through as a Task can be of no value.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 111. ¶6 The Silk-worm, after having spun her Task, lays her Eggs and dies.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 8 July 105 She..appoints them a task of needle-work.
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 435 In getting fuel from the woods..one cord is the task for a day.
1892 B. F. Westcott Gospel of Life 272 Each age has its own task, and we can dimly see our own.
b. spec. A portion of study imposed by a teacher; a lesson to be learned or prepared; spec. (Winchester College slang) an essay or composition to be written. Now archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > study > subject or object of study > [noun] > exercises or homework
lesson?c1225
renderc1380
vulgars1520
practicec1541
theme1545
example1562
tax1564
repetition1579
exercise1612
praxis1612
recreation1633
pensum1667
vacation-exercisea1668
version1711
task1737
thesisa1774
dictation1789
challenging1825
holiday task1827
devoir1849
homework1852
vulgus1857
cram-book1858
rep1858
banco1862
prep1866
classwork1867
preparation1875
work card1878
vacation-task1904
society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > essay > [noun] > essay as exercise
theme1545
task1980
1737 W. Shenstone Poems upon Var. Occasions 18 Eftsoons the Urchins to their Tasks repair; Their Books of Stature small take they in Hand.
1760 B. Franklin Idea Eng. School 22 These Lessons might be given over Night as Tasks.
1811 Ld. Byron Hints from Horace 231 Fines, tutors, tasks, conventions threat in vain.
1900 J. S. Farmer Public School Word-bk. 201 Task, (subs.) (Winchester), all kinds of composition other than an Essay or Vulgus.
1901 Northern Whig 8 May (E.D.D.) An Ulster lad, when at school, gets his ‘tasks’.
1980 ‘T. Hinde’ Sir Henry & Sons xv. 151 The weekly essay..called a task, is written by every boy in the school.
c. Psychology. A piece of work or an exercise given to a subject in a psychological test or experiment. Cf. aufgabe n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > developmental psychology > acquisition of knowledge > test of mental ability > [noun] > task in test
aufgabe1902
task1913
1913 H. Münsterberg Psychol. & Industr. Efficiency xviii. 237 We know how the consciousness of the task to be performed has an organizing influence on the system of those psychophysical acts which lead to the goal.
1951 G. Humphrey Thinking 99 The energy [for mental operations] may..conceivably originate in..the task or motive.
1972 Jrnl. Social Psychol. 87 96 Sixty males received..electric shocks of varying magnitude from a confederate during a 10-trial probability estimation task.
3. In more general sense: Any piece of work that has to be done; something that one has to do (usually involving labour or difficulty); a matter of difficulty, a ‘piece of work’. Cf. job n.2 4.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [noun] > piece of work or task
workOE
notec1400
turnc1480
piece of work1533
job1557
employment1579
task1597
spot of work1689
day job1798
number1928
the world > action or operation > undertaking > [noun] > an undertaking > thing(s) to be done > a (difficult) task
workOE
piece of work1533
job of work1557
tesh1596
task1597
stunt1880
aufgabe1902
dreich1984
the world > action or operation > difficulty > types of difficulty > [noun] > difficulty or laboriousness > a difficult or laborious task
travailc1350
labour of Hercules?a1475
task1597
punisher1827
back-breaker1867
bashing1940
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II ii. ii. 145 Alas poore Duke the taske he vndertakes, Is numbring sands, and drinking Oceans drie. View more context for this quotation
1637 T. Morton New Eng. Canaan ii. i. 62 My taske..is to intreat of the naturall indowments, of the Country.
1652 R. Brome Joviall Crew ii. sig. F1 Alass poor knave! How hard a tasque it is to alter Custome!
1754 Connoisseur No. 42. ⁋7 To rescue our Native Language..is a task worthy those who are accounted Ornaments of our Seats of Learning.
1841 W. Spalding Italy & Ital. Islands III. 101 Never had sovereigns been called upon to perform a task more difficult than that which lay before the restored princes of Italy.
1858 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) III. xvii. 525 He had taken upon himself a task beyond the ordinary strength of man.
Phrases
a. at task: (a) at so much for a specified amount or piece of work, by the piece; (b) ? taken to task, blamed (a doubtful sense, the reading being uncertain).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [adverb] > by the piece
to task1476
at task1477
by task1601–2
1477–8 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 364 Helyng and poyntyng in dyvers places atte Taske.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King Lear (1623) i. iv. 323 Yet vnder pardon You [printed Your] are much more at task [1619 attaskt] for want of wisedome, Then prai'sd for harmefull mildnesse.
b. by task, to task, by the piece.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [adverb] > by the piece
to task1476
at task1477
by task1601–2
1476–7 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 363 Swaryng of timber to carpenters to taske viijd.
1601–2 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) II. 628 Item for caruing the eight beastes by taske.
1803 Naval Chron. 15 58 A job note..an actual statement of the work performed by job and task.
c. under task, under the command of a taskmaster; by compulsion. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > obedience > compulsion > under compulsion [phrase]
on compulsion1598
under task1671
under a force1681
with a pistol at (also to) one's head1892
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 35 To grind in Brazen Fetters under task With this Heav'n-gifted strength. View more context for this quotation
P2. to take to task: †(a) to undertake as one's task or special piece of work; †(b) to challenge (a person) to a task; †(c) to take (a person or thing) in hand, to deal with; (d) esp. (in current use), to deal with or tackle in the way of fault-finding or censure, to call to account about a matter: cf. task v. 5, tax v. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)]
underfoc893
fandOE
onfangOE
undernimc1000
takec1175
to take tillc1175
to take toa1250
underfongc1330
undertakea1340
to take in (also on) handa1350
undertakec1385
attamec1386
to take in (also on) handc1390
embrace1393
emprisec1410
to put to one's hand (also hands)c1410
to go upon ——c1450
enterprise?1473
to set (one's) hand to1477
go?a1500
accept1524
assume1530
to hent in (also upon) handc1540
to swallow up1544
to take to task1546
to go into ——?1548
to set in hand1548
to fare about1563
entertain1569
undergo1606
to set about ——1611
to take up1660
to come at ——1901
society > occupation and work > duties > [verb (transitive)] > undertake as one's task
to take to task1546
fait1635
society > society and the community > dissent > competition or rivalry > challenge or challenging > challenge (a person) [verb (transitive)]
provoke1474
to take to task1546
dare1580
assay1604
challenge1610
defy1674
banter1789
brag1843
to fuck with ——c1947
the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)] > tackle or proceed to deal with
entreat?a1450
overtakea1500
to go on ——1508
take1523
to go about ——?1533
to set upon ——1555
fall1589
to turn one's hand1628
to take to task1649
tackle1847
to take on1898
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > blame > [verb (transitive)]
accuseOE
witea1000
blamec1200
lastc1225
awreakc1275
friec1300
lack1340
impugn1377
aretc1386
default1489
remord1522
culpate1548
tax1548
finger-point1563
witen1589
attask1608
refounda1653
thank1667
bumble1675
to take to task1682
twitter1749
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > rebuke or reprove [verb (transitive)]
threac897
threapc897
begripea1000
threata1000
castea1200
chaste?c1225
takec1275
blame1297
chastya1300
sniba1300
withnima1315
undernima1325
rebukec1330
snuba1340
withtakea1340
reprovec1350
chastisea1375
arate1377
challenge1377
undertake1377
reprehenda1382
repreync1390
runta1398
snapea1400
underfoc1400
to call to account1434
to put downc1440
snebc1440
uptakec1440
correptc1449
reformc1450
reprise?c1450
to tell (a person) his (also her, etc.) own1450
control1451
redarguec1475
berisp1481
to hit (cross) one over (of, on) the thumbs1522
checkc1530
admonish1541
nip1548
twig?1550
impreve1552
lesson1555
to take down1562
to haul (a person) over the coals1565
increpate1570
touch1570
school1573
to gather up1577
task1580
redarguate?1590
expostulate1592
tutor1599
sauce1601
snip1601
sneap1611
to take in tax1635
to sharp up1647
round1653
threapen1671
reprimand1681
to take to task1682
document1690
chapter1693
repulse1746
twink1747
to speak to ——1753
haul1795
to pull up1799
carpet1840
rig1841
to talk to1860
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
rawhide1895
to tell off1897
to tell (someone) where he or she gets off1900
to get on ——1904
to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908
strafe1915
tick1915
woodshed1935
to slap (a person) down1938
sort1941
bind1942
bottle1946
mat1948
ream1950
zap1961
elder1967
1546 Accts. Osney & St. Frideswyde's (MS. Wood, D. 2, p. 585) To a laborer pulling downe stone at Osney church, for ye masons yt took ye walle to taske at frideswides.
1570 J. Dee in H. Billingsley tr. Euclid Elements Geom. Math. Præf. sig. aiiijv Geographie did principally take the Element of the Earthes description..to taske.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie iii. xix. 206 He..would take any common souldier to taske at wrastling, or weapon, or in any other actiuitie..of armes.
1649 Bp. J. Hall Resol. & Decisions iii. x. 348 Apollos..knew nothing but the Baptisme of John: till Aquila and Priscilla took him to task, and more perfectly expounded to him the way of God.
1682 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 19 George Royse..took his principles to taske and exposed them very smartly.
1740 tr. C. de F. de Mouhy Fortunate Country Maid I. 82 What is the Matter, my pretty Girl?..has any one been taking you to Task?
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. vi. 205 [He] shut the door and called him to task.
1822 Examiner 365/1 The Quarterly is taken to task for neglecting its duty.
1890 A. Conan Doyle Capt. Polestar 205 My employer took me severely to task.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. See also taskmaster n., etc.
a. (In sense 1.)
task-book n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > book > kind of book > textbook or book of instructions > [noun] > school book
schoolbook1581
copybook1598
task-book1624
class book1788
cram-book1858
workbook1873
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > [noun] > tax list or book
stent-roll1517
king's books1536
tax-roll1545
task-roll1577
task-book1624
tax-booka1640
cadastre1804
cataster1855
tax-list1898
1624 Maldon (Essex) Borough Deeds (Bundle 108, lf. 8) xs. payd to Samwell Chese for new writing of the taske booke (in parchment) this yere.
task-cope n.
ΚΠ
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 21 To aquyte the said Seynt Marie preest of the taske Abbot's cope and alle manner charges generally at ony [time] askyd by ony manner of mene.
task-gatherer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > tax collection > [noun] > tax-collector
catchpoleOE
publicanc1175
tallagerc1400
leviera1513
vectigal1535
renter?1536
task-gatherer1552
exactor1570
uptaker1576
exacter1596
mise-gatherer1597
taxer1603
tax-taker1610
raiser1611
summonitor1617
summonisterc1625
riding officer1675
zamindar1683
tax-gatherer1693
desai1698
amildar1761
amil1763
collector1772
tax-master1796
tehsildar1799
taxman1803
tax-receiver1830
tax-collector1833
the taxes1874
revenuer1877
revenue1880
levyist1923
T-man1938
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Taske gatherer, exactor.
task-money n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun]
hirec1000
shipec1000
shipingc1275
servicec1300
soldc1330
wage1338
payment1370
reward1371
pay?a1400
mercedec1400
remunerationc1400
souldie1474
emolument1480
soldery1502
stipend?1518
entertainment1535
task-money1593
consideration1607
gratuitya1637
wadage1679
addling1757
solde1852
treatment1852
screw1853
time1877
money1887
wage payment1923
1593 Jack Straw i, in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1874) V. 379 Thou hast thy task-money for all that be here.
task-roll n.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > [noun] > tax list or book
stent-roll1517
king's books1536
tax-roll1545
task-roll1577
task-book1624
tax-booka1640
cadastre1804
cataster1855
tax-list1898
1577 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep., App. Pt. V in Parl. Papers 1884–5 (C. 4576-I) XLII. App. iv. 439 A taske rowle made for the manor of Romseley.
b. in senses 2, 3.
(a)
task assignment n.
ΚΠ
1964 G. L. Cohen What's Wrong with Hospitals? i. 17 The nursing profession has therefore perfected its own technique of fragmentation: ‘task assignment’. This enables one patient's needs to be split up among many nurses.
task-book n.
ΚΠ
1882 J. Parker Apostolic Life I. 17 Some men hardly can open the Bible..because they remember that in early days it was the task-book.
task-house n.
ΚΠ
1847 Ld. Lindsay Sketches Hist. Christian Art I. Introd. 168 There was my place of prayer, there the task-house of my most wretched flesh.
task-labour n.
ΚΠ
1813 Ann. Reg. 1812 Gen. Hist. 161/2 The working of mines, and other task labour.
1838–9 F. A. Kemble Jrnl. Resid. Georgian Plantation (1863) 28 In the part of Georgia where this estate is situated, the custom of task labour is universal.
task-labourer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > slavery or bondage > [noun] > slave
theowc893
thrallc950
young manOE
slavec1290
boyc1300
servanta1325
bondc1330
bondmana1340
manciplea1387
man's-bond?a1400
thrillc1480
thrillmanc1480
serf1483
bondservant1535
bondslave1561
bondling1587
slave-boy1607
slave-labourer1607
chattel1649
bondsman1713
livestock1755
esne1819
thirl-man1871
task-labourer1897
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > drudge or slave-labourer
slave-labourer1607
fag1770
slave1774
sweatee1889
task-labourer1897
1897 A. Drucker tr. von Ihering Evol. Aryans 116 The Egyptians knew no mercy for their task-labourers.
task-lord n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > taskmaster
taskmaster1530
tasker1598
task-lord1606
exactor1609
task-man1856
task-officer1859
1606 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iii. 59 They labour hard, eate little, sleeping lesse, No sooner layd, but thus their Task-lords presse.
task-officer n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > taskmaster
taskmaster1530
tasker1598
task-lord1606
exactor1609
task-man1856
task-officer1859
1859 J. H. Ingraham Pillar of Fire i. viii. 135 Enrolling them under task-officers.
task performance n.
ΚΠ
1970 Jrnl. Gen. Psychol. Jan. 91 The findings of this study that the task performance of internals was better.
task-reading n.
task role n.
ΚΠ
1967 J. M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour iv. 71 The task roles of providing ‘fuel’, putting the ‘threads’ of the discussion together, and clarification, were generally performed by the same person; the social roles of making tactful comments to heal hurt feelings, and joking, were performed by others.
task-verse n.
ΚΠ
1875 J. R. Lowell Wks. (1890) IV. 360 At school Wordsworth wrote some task-verses on subjects imposed by the master.
(b)
task-directed adj.
ΚΠ
1973 J. S. Bruner Beyond Information Given xvii. 302 The picture of development drawn thus far is much too task-directed, too playless to be characteristic of the first year of life.
task-like adj.
ΚΠ
1830 F. A. Kemble Let. in Rec. Girlhood (1878) II. iv. 115 With what task-like feeling I set about most of my work.
task-orientated adj.
task-oriented adj.
ΚΠ
1953 Jrnl. Abnormal & Soc. Psychol. 48 401 (heading) Coding noise in a task-oriented group.
1971 J. Z. Young Introd. Study Man xx. 273 Both social and task-oriented behaviours are relatively consistent for both boys and girls from about 4 to 12 years.
1974 tr. W. F. Wertheim Evol. & Revol. i. 38 Equally, modernity in political structure is positively related to a task-oriented bureaucracy and a recruitment on the basis of skills.
task-related adj.
ΚΠ
1956 J. Klein Study of Groups viii. 112 If a member proposes that the group shall rehearse a play and another says that he hates play-acting, that is a task-related contribution.
1972 Accountant 21 Sept. 357/2 A more task-related analysis might be used.
C2.
task group n. a naval taskforce, or a subdivision of such a force.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > a naval force or fleet > [noun] > part of force for special duty
detachment1678
task group1943
1943 Daily Tel. 23 Oct. 1/4 Capt. Mackintosh, as the senior commanding officer, commanded a Task Group, which included one of the latest battleships and American destroyers.
1952 Time 22 Dec. 17/1 No land~based bomber—including the Japanese Kamikaze—has ever sunk a U.S. carrier while the carrier was traveling in a task group.
1979 Navy News Feb. 2/1 Ships in a Royal Navy task group broke off from their work surveying the coast of Iran last month to ferry British and American dependants away from the troubled country.
task-man n. an officer who sets a task, a taskmaster.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > taskmaster
taskmaster1530
tasker1598
task-lord1606
exactor1609
task-man1856
task-officer1859
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 435 One cord is the task for a day... The taskman selecting the trees..that he judges will split easiest, one hundred a day.
task-note n. a memorandum of work done by the piece, a job-note: see quot. 1803 at Phrases 1b.
ΚΠ
1803 Naval Chron. 15 58 Is there any particular form of job or task note?
task-system n. the system of working by the piece.
ΚΠ
1863 P. Barry Dockyard Econ. 57 Examined as to the operation of what is known as the task and job system.
Draft additions June 2014
taskbar n. Computing (esp. in Windows systems) a bar along the edge of the display of a graphical user interface (usually the bottom edge) containing icons that represent applications that are running and installed applications that can be launched.
ΚΠ
1994 InfoWorld 23 May 160/1 You have a clear desktop with one icon, named ‘My Computer’, and a simple task bar at the bottom.
2004 Future Music May 30/2 The PatchMix DSP utility..is launched by clicking on the small task-bar icon.
2012 Lifehacker (Nexis) 24 July I made a shortcut to that, from the Desktop, and pinned it to the Taskbar.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
taskv.
/tɑːsk/, /task/, U.S. /tæsk/ I. Senses relating to a tax or piece of work.† 1. transitive. To impose a tax upon; to tax; to exact tribute from. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > tax > taxation > levy (a tax) [verb (transitive)] > tax (a person or thing)
layc1330
tailc1330
taxc1330
scot1432
patise1436
sess1465
task1483
assessa1513
cessa1513
lot1543
toust1565
imposea1618
talliate1762
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 64 b/2 He shal taske and dyme your corn and sheues.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. sig. Ai This yere lost the kinge normandy and Angeoy and euery plough land [was] tasked at iij. s. for to gete it ageyne.
1530 [see sense 2a]. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iv. iii. 94 He..in the necke of that taskt the whole state. View more context for this quotation
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xcii. 152/1 All the townes men [were] tasked euery one at a certaine summe of mony.
1642 D. Rogers Naaman 424 He taskes thee not to the cost of Jewish worship, or Popish wast.
2.
a. To force, put, or set (a person) to a task; to impose a task on; to assign a definite amount of work to.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [verb (transitive)] > assign a task to a person
setc1175
task1530
hight1590
taska1592
stint1844
let1850
to set on1852
society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > vest authority in a person [verb (transitive)] > commission to do something
assign1297
chargec1300
ordainc1330
commita1402
limitc1405
commisea1470
task1530
taska1592
consign1705
detail1837
betask1857
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 753/1 I taske, I put or sette one to his taske what laboure he shall do or what he shall paye, je tauxe.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost ii. i. 20 But now to taske the tasker. View more context for this quotation
1667 A. Woodhead tr. Life St. Teresa ii. xi. 93 Let her task, and employ them in..Exercises.
1785 W. Cowper Task ii. 23 Thus man devotes his brother, and destroys;..Chains him, and tasks him, and exacts his sweat With stripes.
1828 Marly: Planter's Life in Jamaica 154 The negroes complained more of the [fact] of being tasked, than..of the additional labour.
b. Const. to, with, with n. or infinitive. Often figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake [verb (transitive)] > impose a task on
taska1592
society > occupation and work > duties > [verb (transitive)] > assign a task to a person
setc1175
task1530
hight1590
taska1592
stint1844
let1850
to set on1852
society > authority > delegated authority > investing with delegated authority > vest authority in a person [verb (transitive)] > commission to do something
assign1297
chargec1300
ordainc1330
commita1402
limitc1405
commisea1470
task1530
taska1592
consign1705
detail1837
betask1857
a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. H3 To taske your selfe to such a tedious life, As die a maid.
1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iv. i. 9 Nay taske me to my word, approue me Lord. View more context for this quotation
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxii. sig. E3v O least the world should taske you to recite, What merit liu'd in me that you should loue. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 38 A Haruest man..task'd to mowe Or all, or loose his hyre. View more context for this quotation
1726 E. Fenton in A. Pope et al. tr. Homer Odyssey V. xx. 134 Twelve female slaves..Task'd for the royal board to bolt the bran From the pure flour.
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. II. v. iii. 21 Man alone..tasks creation to assist him, in murdering his brother worm!
1975 Sentinel (Ottawa) III. ii. 3/2 Capt. Ditter was tasked to help prepare this issue.
1980 Oxf. Star 20 Nov. (advt.) A small engineering team tasked with the design, building and commissioning of high volume production lines.
3. transferred and figurative.
a. To occupy or engage fully or burdensomely; to subject to severe burden, labour, or trial; to put a strain upon; to put in a condition of stress or difficulty; to put to the proof; = tax v. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > of difficulty: beset (a person) [verb (transitive)] > make difficult > make excessive demands or put strain on
strain1609
taska1616
tax1672
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [verb (transitive)] > put the limbs or faculties to abnormal exertion
swinkc1300
strain1446
stress1540
to put, set, place, etc. on the rack1599
taska1616
tax1672
force1825
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. vi. 29 Doctor Caius..Shall..shuffle her away, While other sports are tasking of their mindes. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 6 Some things of weight, That taske our thoughts. View more context for this quotation
1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. x. 61 You must not task me too high.
1840 W. Irving Oliver Goldsmith I. 14 He tasked his slender means to the utmost in educating him.
1872 J. Yeats Growth Commerce 115 It tasked his diplomatic skill to effect his departure in safety.
b. spec. To test the soundness of (a ship's timbers, a plank, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > build a ship [verb (transitive)] > test soundness of timbers
task1803
1803 Naval Chron. 10 259 That..frigate is..to be, what is called in the language of the dock yard, tasked, to see if her timbers are sound.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Tasking, examining a vessel to see whether her timbers are sound.
4. To give or portion out (work) as a task.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > duties > [verb (transitive)] > assign a task to a person > give (work) as task
seta1300
taska1641
a1641 R. Montagu Acts & Monuments (1642) vii. 438 They have their work for the day tasked out unto them.
1812 [see tasked adj. at Derivatives]. II. Senses relating to censure or reproval.
5. To take to task; to censure, reprove, chide, reprehend; = tax v. 6. Now const. with.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > rebuke or reprove [verb (transitive)]
threac897
threapc897
begripea1000
threata1000
castea1200
chaste?c1225
takec1275
blame1297
chastya1300
sniba1300
withnima1315
undernima1325
rebukec1330
snuba1340
withtakea1340
reprovec1350
chastisea1375
arate1377
challenge1377
undertake1377
reprehenda1382
repreync1390
runta1398
snapea1400
underfoc1400
to call to account1434
to put downc1440
snebc1440
uptakec1440
correptc1449
reformc1450
reprise?c1450
to tell (a person) his (also her, etc.) own1450
control1451
redarguec1475
berisp1481
to hit (cross) one over (of, on) the thumbs1522
checkc1530
admonish1541
nip1548
twig?1550
impreve1552
lesson1555
to take down1562
to haul (a person) over the coals1565
increpate1570
touch1570
school1573
to gather up1577
task1580
redarguate?1590
expostulate1592
tutor1599
sauce1601
snip1601
sneap1611
to take in tax1635
to sharp up1647
round1653
threapen1671
reprimand1681
to take to task1682
document1690
chapter1693
repulse1746
twink1747
to speak to ——1753
haul1795
to pull up1799
carpet1840
rig1841
to talk to1860
to take (a person) to the woodshed1882
rawhide1895
to tell off1897
to tell (someone) where he or she gets off1900
to get on ——1904
to put (a person) in (also into) his, her place1908
strafe1915
tick1915
woodshed1935
to slap (a person) down1938
sort1941
bind1942
bottle1946
mat1948
ream1950
zap1961
elder1967
1580 G. Harvey Let. to Spenser in Wks. (1884) I. 87 If it lyke you in the meane while..to see howe I taske a young Brother of myne.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 181 There is another pretty fable in Esop, tasking discontented persons vnder the name of Frogs.
1614 J. Cooke Greenes Tu Quoque F j I call thee vp, and taske thee for thy slownesse.
1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry i. sig. Cv To say, the late dead Marshall The father of this young Lord heere, my Clyent, Hath done his Country great and faithfull seruice, Might taske me of impertinence.
1965 K. Graham Eng. Crit. of Novel iv. 117 Trollope is another offender who is frequently tasked with endangering the wholeness of his novels.
1976 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Feb. 197/1 He tasks Taylor with suggesting that Hegel reappeared in Anglo-Saxon thought at the turn of the century.
Derivatives
tasked adj. /tɑːskt//-æ-/
/tɑːskt//-æ-/ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [adjective] > hired for piecework
tasked1812
1812 J. Sinclair Acct. Syst. Husb. Scotl. i. 82 The tasker, (or thresher who worked by tasked work), had to take it from the heap,..to lay it on the floor, to shake it well, and then to thresh it.
1852 ‘I. Marvel’ Dream Life 199 The fruits..hanging heavily from the tasked trees.
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 435 It is the driver's duty to make the tasked hands do their work well.
ˈtasking n. and adj.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > rebuke or reproof > [noun]
telingeOE
chastiment?c1225
snapinga1300
snibbinga1300
reproving?1316
undernimminga1325
correctiona1340
threapening1340
admonishingc1350
reproofa1375
scourgingc1374
correptionc1380
repreyningc1390
reprehensiona1413
undertakingc1430
rebuke?a1439
admonition1440
correptingc1449
rebut?c1450
reprehendingc1450
redargution1483
reproval1493
increpation1502
prisec1540
tasking1543
check1588
improof1590
snubbing1600
threap1636
compellation1656
reprovement1675
reprimanding1698
rowing1812
lecturing1861
carpeting1888
eldering1912
woodshedding1940
stick1956
1543 Harding's Chron. cxvi. viii. P vj b Saint Edmundes landes he hurt by great taskyng [Bodl. MSS. taxinge] And tallage.
1848 J. R. Lowell Vision Sir Launfal i. 4 Bubbles we earn with a whole soul's tasking.
1872 J. S. Blackie Ascent Cruachan v, in Lays of Highlands 103 We have done our tasking bravely, With the thews of Scottish men.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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