thispron.adj.

Brit.

/ðɪs/, U.S.

/ðɪs/

Forms: 1. singular nominative

α. masculine Old English–Middle English þes, (Old English þæs, þis), Middle English ( Orm.) þiss, -tiss, Middle English þis, (Middle English þus, Middle English þeos); Middle English– this.

β. neuter Old English–Middle English þis, (Old English þæs), ( Orm.) þiss, -tiss, Middle English þes.?670 Bewcastle Column in Old Eng. Texts 124 Þis sigbecn þun setton.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John i. 30 Ðæs is of ðæm ic cuæð.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John vi. 42 Ahne is ðis se hælend?OE Beowulf 1702 Þæt ðes eorl wære geboren betera!c1175 Lamb. Hom. 49 Þes put bitacneð deopnesse of sunne.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Nu is þes prest uorþe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8453 Þa þus [read þis; c1300 Otho þes] dom wes isæid.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1902 Þoru þes signe.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 41 Þes boȝ heþ manie tuygges.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. γ) (Rolls) III. 253 Þeos Salon his lawes.

γ. feminine Old English ðios, ( ðius, ðyus), Old English–Middle English þéos, Middle English þies, þyos, Middle English þas, Middle English þis, Middle English þues.c825 Vesp. Psalter cviii[i]. 27 Ðæt witen ðætte hond ðin ðeos is.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xii. 30 Ne fore mec stefn ðius [Rushw. ðios] cuom.a1000 Boeth. Metr. xx. 118 Þios eorðe.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 30 Þeos stefen.c1160 Hatton Gosp. John xii. 30 Þyos stefne.c1160 Hatton Gosp. John vii. 36 Hwæt ys þies spræce þe he sprecð?c1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Nis þas weorld nawiht.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Ðeos sunne fordeð eiðer ȝe saule ȝe lichoma.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1032 Þus is þas [c1300 Otho þis] burh i-uaren.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 133 Þeos [c1300 Otho þis] ȝunge wiman.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 5579 To wonye þer as in hor owe, & a þis alf [MS. α (c 1350) a þeos half] noȝt. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 421 In preysinge of þis [γ þues] Elfleda.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. γ) (Rolls) III. 13 Þeos queene.

2. accusative

α. masculine Old English–Middle English þisne, (Old English þysne, þeosne), Middle English þesne, Middle English þusne, Middle English þerne.

β. neuter Middle English þæs).c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xliv. 324 gehieren men ðisne cwide.971 Blickl. Hom. 11 He gelfylde þysne middangeard.971 Blickl. Hom. 15 Eal þæt folc þe þis wundor geseah.c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints (1890) II. 38 Oþ þeosne andweardan dæg.c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1012 Þet hi woldon þisne eard healdan.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Al þe hebreisce folc..sungun þisne lofsong.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 27 Þesne mon ic habbe itaken.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2036 Þis wes þe feiruste mon þe æuere æhte ær þusne [read þisne; c1300 Otho þisne] kinedom.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 416 Iche wlle þesne [c1300 Otho þisne] king læden mid me seolfan.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 110 Asscanius heold þis drihliche lond.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 5104 Þis auisyon þat þe aungel him sede.c1315 Shoreham vii. 716 For þou areredst þerne storm.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 94 Þerne gardyn zette þe greate gardyner þet is god þe uader.13.. R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) App. H. 145 Þe king..þisne heiȝe man igrop.

γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þás, Middle English þes, ( Orm.) þiss.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care 2 (heading) Hu S. Gregorius ðas boc gedihte þe man Pastoralem nemmað.c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xv. 15 Arecce us gelicnisse þas.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Þer efter arerde god þas laȝe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1023 Þas [c1300 Otho þes] burh he luuede swiðe.

3. dative.

α. β. masculine and neuter Old English þisum, þysum, ðissum, Middle English þisen, ðise, þis, Middle English þissen, þisse, Middle English þis.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 21 Eac þeh ge cweþan to þisum [Lindisf. ðissum, Hatton þisen] munte, Ahefe þe upp.a1131 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1124 Sende se papa of Rome to ðise lande.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4943 A þisse londe.

γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þisse, þissere, ( þysse), Old English–Middle English þisser, Middle English þesser, þeser, Middle English þusse, Middle English þese, þis, Middle English þise, Middle English þyssere.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 32 Ne on þisse worulde ne on þære toweardan.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Wið-ute þeser laȝe.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Ærndraces of þisser laȝe.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 An þesser laȝe.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Heo is unbunden in þisse newe laȝe.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 91 On þissere tide.a1200 Moral Ode 342 Fared bi þusse strete.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 59 On þese wise.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2653 I þissere [c1300 Otho þisse] burh.c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 292/148 Criede in þusse place.c1315 Shoreham Poems i. 1449 Inne þe elde lawe þe ordre a-gan, Ine tokne of þyssere newe.a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) xxxvi. 98 On þusse manere, ant in þilke forme, sal þe writ ben idressed.

4. genitive.

α. β. masculine and neuter Old English þises, þys(s)es, Old English–Middle English þisses, Middle English þesses, Middle English þisis.c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. i. §1 Þisne ymbhwyrft þises middangeardes.a1000 Boeth. Metr. xxiv. 3 Ofer heane hrof heofones þisses.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 230 Wið þesses wreches woreldes luue.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 148 Þis hwelpes nurice.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 414 Ich habbe þisses [c1300 Otho þis] folkes king. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Tobit vii. 5 Tobie, of the whiche thou askest, is thisis fader [a1425 L.V. the fadir of this man].

γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þisse, Middle English þissere.c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 22 Be-hygdnis weorulde þisse.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 22 Eornfullness þisse worulde.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 21 For þisse weorlde lewnesse.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 105 Þa sorinessen þissere sterke worlde.

5. General uninflected form. Middle English ( Orm.) þiss, tiss, Middle English þis, (Middle English tis, þes, Middle English thus, Middle English–1500s thys), Middle English– this.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 411 & ȝet tiss goddspell seȝȝþ off hemm [etc.].c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 303 & tohh þatt tiss elysabæþ..Wass þuss off aaroness kinn.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 95 & wha se wilenn shall þiss boc. Efft oþerr siþe writenn.c1220 Bestiary 88 Al is man so is tis ern.c1220 Bestiary 276 Ðis little wile ðe we on ðis werld wunen.a1440 Sir Degrev. 387 Her is comen to thus walle,..Sire Degrevvant the gode knyȝt.1478 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 613 To handyll well..thys mater now thys Lent.1551 R. Robinson in tr. T. More Vtopia Epist. sig. ✠v^v This my poore present.1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Thys, hic, hæc, hoc.Plural these n.

Etymology: Originally the singular neuter, nominative and accusative, now the sole singular form of the Old English demonstrative þes , þéos , þis , corresponding to Old Frisian *this , thius (thisse ), thit , Old Saxon *these , thius (thesu ), thit , Old High German dese , -er (later diser , dirro ), desiu (disiu ), diz , Old Norse masculine and feminine þesse , þessi , neuter þetta ; a Norse and West Germanic formation, produced by adding se , si (probably = Gothic sai ‘see, behold’) to the simple demonstrative represented by the adj., pron.², and n.¹ and that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n., as shown by the early Old Norse Runic forms sá-si , sú-si , þat-si , accusative singular þan-si , þá-si , þat-si , dative þaim-si , plural neuter þau-si . Later the compound was felt as a single word and inflected at the end, the initial þ being also extended to the masculine and feminine nominative singular, making *þá-si , *þú-si , in Old Norse þesse , -i , in Old English þe-s , þío-s or þéo-s . Gothic expressed the sense differently, viz. by adding to the demonstrative sa , sô , þata , the strengthening particle -uh , making sah , sôh , þatuh , plural masculine þáih . The Old English nominative plural was þás , less commonly þǽs , Middle English þēs ; the former now represented by those pron. and adj. (which functions as plural of that ), the latter by these n. In Old English the word was thus inflected: Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter PluralNominativeþesþéos, þíosþisþás, þǽsAccusativeþisneþásþisþás, þǽsDativeþis(s)umþisseþisumþisumGenitiveþis(s)esþisseþis(s)esþissaInstrumentalþýs, þísþýs, þís In Middle English these forms were gradually eliminated or reduced, until by 1200 in some dialects, and by 15th cent. in all, þis alone remained in the singular. Forms and Inflections. (For plural see these n.)

Signification.

I. Demonstrative Pronoun.

1. Indicating a thing or person present or near (actually in space or time, or ideally in thought, esp. as having just been mentioned and thus being present to the mind); spec. as being nearer than some other (hence opposed to that, or in earlier and dialect use to yon: see 3, also that adj. 3).

a. a thing (concrete or abstract).Sometimes, for emphasis (in modern use), placed (as subject) after the noun (as pred.) with ellipsis of is: cf. that pron.² 1a.

a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) Pref. i. 2 For þinre ðearfe & for þinre ðeode ic þis awrat.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) i. 27 Hwæt ys þis?

1056–66 Inscr. on Dial. Kirkdale Ch. Yorks. Þis is dæges sol merca.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 110 Al þis was ȝwile icluped þe march of walis.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 22476 Þe toþer day..It sal be wel wer þan þiis.

1477 J. Pympe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 418 Thys beyng the vj lettyr that I have send yow.

c1580 Merry Ieste 1100 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. IV. 225 This yong man was glad, ye may be sure, That he had brought hys wyfe to this.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 132 O Stephano, ha'st any more of this ?

a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Beggers Bush iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ll3/2 This is the wood they live in.

1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa II. i. v. 6 The greatnesse of it's horror had this of advantagious, that it made Death a Comparative Good.

1699 J. Vanbrugh False Friend ii. i A very humdrum marriage this.

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. cx. 402 This of Bavaria is a gallant and polite court.

1809 W. Windham Let. 23 July in Speeches Parl. (1812) I. 108 Terrible news this from Germany!

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iii. v. 198 It has grown to be no country for the Rich, this.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 63 A gracious gift to give a lady, this!

1912 N.E.D. at This Mod. This is what I like.

b. a person. Now indicating a person actually present, or a person speaking or (interrog.) being spoken to on a telephone, etc., and always as subject of the verb to be, with the person as predicate; in which position the neuter þis was used in Old English (so German dies ist mein bruder). (Cf. that pron.² 1b) †he this, she this, this man, this woman: see also 3. Obsolete.

c825 Vesp. Psalter xxiii[i]. 5 Ðes onfoeð bledsunge from dryhtne.

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. iii. 17 Ðis is sunu min leof [c975 Rushw. þis is min sune].

c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 10–11 Hua is ðis?..ðis is ðe hælend.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 10–11 Hwæt is þes?..þis ys se hælend.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 2 Þes [Lind., Rushw. þis Hatton þes] is iohannes se fulluhtere.

c1275 Passion our Lord 244 in Old Eng. Misc. 44 Þer arysen tweyne and bigunne to speke, Þes seyde hwat he wolde þe temple al to-breke.

c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 855 (904) This is so gentil and so tender of herte.

c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 52 More þan Jonas is he þis.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18209 A ded man suilk als tis es an.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11351 Quen þat sco þis can iesus se.

c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vi. 19 He þis, by cause he was ane aliene,..was putte oute of þe land.

1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert 77 And þis þat schuld be his successour he lerned for to do lich as he saide.

1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 629 Hector was but a Troyan in respect of this .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 295 What a blunt fellow is this growne to be!

1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 52 This this is she To whom our vows and wishes bend.

1808 W. Scott Marmion i. xxv. 47 This were a guide o'er moor and dale;..If this same Palmer will me lead.

1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 2 This is my house and this my little wife.

a1912 Mod. This is our new inspector.

1947 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Jan. 17 (caption) Very well, we'll expect you at nine this evening. Who did you say this was?

c. Referring to a fact, act, or occurrence, or a statement or question, mentioned or implied in the preceding context. (Cf. that pron.¹ 1c.)

c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. viii. §1 Þa þis gedon wæs.

c893 tr. Orosius Hist. ii. i. §3 On þæm ilcan geare þe þiss wæs.

a1123 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1101 And þis þa mid aðe gefæstnodan.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1340 All þiss wass don forr heore ned.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14776 Quen iesus had said tis [Fairf., Gött., Trin. Cambr. þis] and mare, He left all his disciplis þar.

c1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxv. 2910 Fore þis þane rais þe gret debaite.

c1500 Melusine (1895) 368 Euer thinking vpon this that Melyor had said to hym.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. ii. 47 Why this it is, to be a peeuish Girle.

1693 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. I. iv. 152 They said this as a Jeer to the Jews.

1808 L. Murray Eng. Gram. Illustr. I. iii. 305 Bodies which have no taste, and no power of affecting the skin, may, notwithstanding this, act upon organs which are more delicate.

1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. II. vi. 171 This was years ago, Four hundred, full.

1954 G. Kersh in D. Knight 100 Yrs. Sci. Fiction (1969) 223 So you came back to life—more than four hundred years ago! Is this right?

1965 Times 16 Mar. 13/4 I cannot refrain from a violent protest against the ever increasing use of ‘this’ instead of ‘that’: e.g., ‘Will you come to supper tomorrow?’ Answer: ‘This would be very nice.’

1970 Nature 4 Apr. 47/2 The reader..may come to think that this new approach to mathematics is not worth while. This would be a shame.

d. Pointing to a statement, proposal, or question which immediately follows. Also: the present or existing (colloquial). Cf. sense 5b.

ΚΠ

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 11 Soðlice þis is þæt bigspell, þæt sæd ys godes word.

1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8719 He bihet god & þat folc an biheste þat was þys, To alegge alle luþer lawes..& þe betere make.

c1400 Gamelyn 603 My reed is now this, Abide we no lenger.

c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 42 The question disputed amongis hem was þis, Fro whens þat euel comth.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Dan. v. E This is the scripture, that is written vp: Mane, Thetel, Phares.

1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 78 This aboue all, to thy owne selfe be true.

1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. ii. 86 Yet all of us hold this for true, No Faith is to the wicked due.

1785 J. Boswell Tour Hebrides 26 Sept. 319 This [ed. 2 the present] Talisker.

1858 M. Arnold Merope 895 I speak no word of boast, but this I say: A private loss here founds a nation's peace.

e. After various prepositions (after, before, by, ere, etc.), = ‘this time’; i.e. either, the present time, the time of speaking or writing; or, in narrative, the time just mentioned. (Cf. that pron.¹ 1d; also now adv., conj., n.¹, and adj. Phrases 1, then adv. 7.)

c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care Pref. 6 Hu sio lar Lædengeðeodes ær ðysum [Hatt. MS. ðissum] oðfeallen wæs.

a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. vii. 40 Ða wæs se dema æfter ðyssum..gedrefed.

c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) cxx. 7 Of þisson forð awa to worulde.

a1300 Floriz & Bl. 430 Ihc wulle fonde what i do may Bituene þis and þe þridde day.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 925 After ðis spac god to abram.

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 21 For it hath proeved ofte er this.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 7252 Be þis [Vesp. wit þis] his hare was waxin new.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3007 Bi þis come sarra to þe tide, O birth sco moght not ouerbide.

1571–2 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. II. 130 Frome this furth I sall and will beare fayth and trew allegeance.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iii. 38 I shall betweene this and Supper, tell you most strange things.

1656 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa V. iii. iv. 221 My Souldiers having (during this) taken a little refreshment.

1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 19 Some Time after this,..they fired three Muskets.

1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 49 By this the sun is setting.

1922 W. B. Yeats Player Queen i. 20 The basket-makers and the sieve-makers will be out by this.

1971 in Sc. National Dict. (1974) IX. 283/2 I'll hae plenty adee atween this and Whitsunday.

f. After a preposition, or as object of a verb: = ‘this place’. (Now (in colloquial use) more usually here: cf. here n.)

c1460 Towneley Myst. (1836) 137 The best wyse that we may hast vs outt of this here.

1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 2191 Betwixt this and Dumbartane.

1802 T. Jefferson Let. 15 July in Wks. (1905) IX. 390 I shall leave this on the 21st.

1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Money ii. v The finest player..between this and the Pyramids.

1869 W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 177 You filthy beast, get out of this.

Categories »

g. Strengthened by here immediately following (cf. II. i. i): see here adv. 1d. dialect and vulgar.

†2. In Old English and early Middle English, used (like that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n.) with the verb to be in the plural in reference to a plural predicate.This was a collective use of the singular neuter.

c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iii. §4 Sint þis nu þa god & þa edlean þe þu ealne weg gehete.

c893 tr. Orosius Hist. iii. i. §7 Þiss wæron ealle Creca leode.

c1000 Ælfric Exodus i. 1 Thys synd Israela bearna naman.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12670 Þis weoren þa sixe.

a. In contrast to that: now almost always of things; esp. in this and (or) that = one thing (or person) and (or) another. So †he this..he that = this (or the one) man..that (or the other) man (quot. 1426). Also occasionally this..this = one thing (or person)..another; also this..the other. this, that, and (also or) the other, every sort (of), every possible or imaginable (also adj. or as adv.).

1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 210 In ech of hem he fint somwhat That pleseth him, in this or that.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8502 Þat tre was ded [Trin. Cambr. deþ], þis sal be lijf.]

1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 20110 He thys ys wroth, he that ys glad.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) James iv. 15 For that ye ought to saye: yff the lorde will.., let vs do this or thatt.

1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. L4 It shalbe reported that I sayd this and that, and my wordes shalbe depraued.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1958) IX. 101 A Ruby will conduce best to the expressing of this, and an Emeraud of this.

1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires iv. 49 This is not Fair; nor Profitable that; Nor t'other Question Proper for Debate.

1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 227 Because one man did this, that truly I must do that.

18.. M. Arnold Epil. Lessing's Laocoön 116 This through the Ride upon his steed Goes slowly by, and this at speed.

1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well II. i. 24 I am sure I aye took your part when folk miscaa'd ye, and said ye were this, that, and the other thing.

1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 381 At their..feast they sat Thinking their thoughts, and spoke of this or that.

1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 98 Cursing the grinning and sheepish private for a this, that, and the other crazy, play-acting idiot.

1918 Nation (N.Y.) 7 Feb. 161/1 They..offered us a contract in this, that, or the other company, whose dividend-paying record had been thus and so.

1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime xvii. 255 It's a bit awkward what with this and that and the other thing.

b. spec. (after Latin idiom.) The latter: in contrast to that = the former (that pron.² 3b).

c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 21 Ffor sunne & wynde hem make a tegument, Lest they in this be shake, in that to brent.

1591 A. Fraunce (title) The Countesse of Pembrokes Yuychurch. Conteining the affectionate life, and vnfortunate death of Phillis and Amyntas: That in a Pastorall; This in a Funerall.

1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. lxxxvii. sig. Z6 Travaile..makes a wise man better, and a foole worse. This gaines nothing but the gay sights, vices, exaticke gestures, and the Apery of a Countrey.

1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 50 Warm water..mixed with hot and cold will lessen the heat in that, and the cold in this.

1868 S. J. Stone Penny Hymn Bk. 13 Go forth! firm Faith on every heart, Bright Hope on every helm, Through that shall pierce no fiery dart, And this no fear o'erwhelm.

c. With That, as quasi-proper names (with capital T), indefinitely denoting one person and another. So ‘No. [= number] This..No. That’.

1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XVI xliv. 86 Miss That or This, or Lady T'other.

1864 J. H. Newman Apologia (1904) i. 9/2 He..placed me between Provost This and Principal That.

d. As quasi-n.: a this or a that = one thing or another (in quot. 1656, one or other person of consequence); also nonce-plural thises and thats.

1656 O. Cromwell Speech 17 Sept. in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) IV. 265 A company of mean fellows,..not a lord, nor a gentleman, nor a man of fortune, nor this nor that, amongst them.

1866 J. Ruskin Ethics of Dust v. 100 You..begin to think that it is a chastisement, or a warning, or a this or that or the other of profound significance.

1895 Harper's Mag. Nov. 952/1 There were many thises and thats put together.

4. Phrases. all this: cf. all that at that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n. Phrases 1c(a); for all this, notwithstanding this: cf. for prep. 23a like this, of this kind; in this manner, thus: cf. like adj. 1; like adv. 1b; that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n. Phrases 1c.

c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1006 (Laud) Ac for eallum þissum se here ferde swa he sylf wolde.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3791 FOr al ðis, oðer day ðor was nest, Agenes moyses and is prest Gan al ðis folc wið wreðe gon.

a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 288 Yet the friction shall not for all this become four times as great.

1858 J. H. Newman Sel. Ess. 213 The monks were not so soft as all this, after all.

1881 A. J. Duffield tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. 548 To go like this..is like looking for..the bachelor in Salamanca.

1881 W. S. Gilbert Patience ii. 30 You hold yourself like this, You hold yourself like that, By hook and crook you try to look both angular and flat.

1889 C. C. Rhys Up for Season 76 Of what could we talk on an evening like this?

II. Demonstrative determiner.

a. Modifying a noun, to indicate a thing or person present or near (actually or in thought), esp. one just mentioned: cf. 1.The use before a possessive pronoun (e.g. this my son) is archaic, the periphrasis with of being now substituted, as with that: cf. that adj. 1.this morning, this afternoon, this evening now always mean ‘the morning (etc.) of to-day’ (whether past, present, or future): cf. this morning at morning n., adv., and int. Phrases 1f.

c893 tr. Orosius Hist. ii. viii. §1 Þysne nyttan cræft, þeh he arlic næ re, funde heora tictator, Camillis hatte.

c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care 3 (Hatton MS.) (heading) Ðeos boc sceal to wiogora ceastre.

a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. v. 32 Þes casere framlice rehte ða cynewisan.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 15 Ðeos stow ys weste.

1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. On þis gær wærd þe king Stephne ded.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 473 & he þiss zakaryas wass. Bitwenenn oþre prestess..to serrfenn sett.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Þes wimmannes name.

a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Ich habbe i-sungen þe ðesne englissce lai.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4026 Al-so leun is migtful der, So sal ðis folc ben migtful her.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 Þis article zette saynt andreu.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xv. 24 For this my sone was deed, and hath lyued aȝen.

c1400 Brut 100 Þis Elfride hade a sone þat me callede Edwynne.

?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1869) II. 285 Whiche consuetude peple of that cuntre vse in to this tyme presente.

1518 in Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 46 This last Sonday he send his..men.

1554 J. Christopherson in Maitland Ess. (1849) 302 He had bene better a great deale to have lived amonge Turkes & Saracenes then amonge this kind of folke.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. i. 15 And this our life exempt from publike haunt.

1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie 163 This five yeares Consulship intoxicated him.

a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 408 We have thought good to omit the same for this present.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 18. ¶1 It is my Design in this Paper to deliver..a faithful Account of the Italian Opera.

1772 Sheridaniana (1826) 47 I have this moment heard that Sheridan is returned.

1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. xiii. 334 To do battle for her in this her cause.

1851 Ld. Tennyson To Queen v Take, Madam, this poor book of song.

b. Referring to something which is mentioned immediately after. (Cf. the use of that for something mentioned before: see that adj. 1.)

c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xliv. 324 gehieren men ðisne cwide: Hald ðine ælmessan, ðylæs ðu hie forweorpe.

a1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Ic wille settan mi wed betwuxe me and eow to þisan behate, þat is [etc.].

a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 19 And sigge stondinde þesne vreisun. Uisita quesumus domine habitationem istam.

c1440 Alphabet of Tales 186 He began to syng þis antem, ‘O! pastor eterne’.

1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxv. 180 In a russet banner..There was wrytten this worde, Detraction.

1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 577 Upon this account indeed they had great cause to rejoyce, because now they knew they had a sure Friend in Heaven.

1703 R. Thoresby Let. 27 Apr. in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 418 This additional list of local words is larger than I expected.

1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 63 I..confine myself to this one consideration, viz. [etc.].

c. In phrases denoting or referring to the present state or stage of existence; esp. this life at life n. 12c, this world n.

c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 14 Þa ðe..of carum..þiss lifes synt for-þrysmede.

c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 187 To freurende þo forsineȝede of þis wrecche woreld.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xv. 53 For this corruptible must putt on incorruptibilite: and this mortall must put on immortalite.

?1703 T. Ken Morning, Evening & Midnight Hymn (new ed.) 4 That this vile Body may, Rise Glorious at the awful day.

d. Referring to something as known, talked about, or (as in quot. a1616²) inferred; esp. (colloquial) to something now in vogue or recently introduced. (Cf. that adj. 1b.) Also, the present or existing.

ΚΠ

1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. i. viii. 46 Numa, this civil and Illustar prince.

1582 W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. d7^v Raised and vpholden by this new religion.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xiii This lamentable losse of Constantinople.

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iv. 68 Get you some of this distill'd carduus benedictus .

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 283 Where should they Finde this grand Liquor?

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) i. ii. 157 Oh this learning, what a thing it is.

1773 J. Boswell Jrnl. 22 Aug. in Jrnl. Tour Hebrides (1785) 86 We were told this Mr. Waller was a plain country gentleman.

1788 H. Walpole Let. 26 July (1918) Suppl. II. 24 Do you know the medals of gold belonged to this Lord Pembroke's grandfather?

a1912 Mod. colloq. What do you think of this wireless telegraphy? This railway strike is a serious business.

a1933 Mod. I knew the last doctor very well. I don't get on with this one.

e. Used before a date, esp. (now only) in legal or formal documents.

ΘΠ

the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adjective]

present1340

nowa1393

presentary?a1425

unrun1474

modernc1485

hodiern?a1513

actual1525

modernal1542

instantc1550

this1582

immediate1605

current1608

nowadays1609

nowaday1632

hodiernal1656

living1659

running1659

daily1663

existent1676

existing1827

present-day1833

presential1878

today1908

1582 L. Kirby Let. 10 Jan. in W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. B5^v I bid you farewel, this x. of Ianuarie 1582.

1603 R. Parsons Let. 6 July in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1906) 2 218 And with this I byd you most hartely farewell..this 6 of July 1603.

1648 Cromwell Procl. in Carlyle Lett. & Sp. (1871) II. 55 Given under my hand, this 20th September, 1648.

1739 in J. O. Payne Rec. Eng. Catholics of 1715 (1889) 53 I, William Plowden, being this 31st March, 1739, full 70 years of age.

f. Used instead of these pron. and adj. 3 to modify a plural noun or numeral; esp. (now only) with a plural treated as a singular (e.g. means, odds), or with a numeral expression denoting a period of time taken as a whole (in this case usually = ‘just past or completed’, or more rarely ‘just beginning’). So also this many a day (year, etc.) = these many days, this period of many days (etc.) just past.The earlier evidence is often doubtful from the fact that this was long one of the forms of these: see γ. forms at these pron. and adj.

ΘΠ

the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adjective] > this period of time (in immediate past or future)

thisc1450

c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 13136 Þis [c1275 Calig. þeos] þreo cnihtes bolde.]

c1450 Cov. Myst. (1841) xiv. 132 More..Than evyr ther was this thowsand ȝere.

c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 1097 Þoȝhe ȝe sege þis seuyn ȝere, Castell gete ȝe none here.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ix. 7 Whan the quene hard thys tidyngis.

1550 T. Cranmer Def. Sacrament sig. *iv^v Where-with they haue this many yeares deluded and bewitched the world.

1578–1600 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 164 This lang and mony ane day.

1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. vi. vii. 225 Which will bleed this many a yeere.

1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. ii. 24 Within this three houres will faire Iuliet wake.

1779 Mirror No. 55. ⁋7 By this means..even the worthiest men..may be led into fatal errors.

1832 R. Southey Ess. I. 9 Unless there be something to weigh against this fearful odds.

1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide xv. 92 The silence has kept my own heart heavy this many a day.

1883 L. Oliphant Altiora Peto II. 261 This last six months.

†g. this bearer (bringer) = the bearer of this.

1493 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 106 I pray you that I may be answered by my servant, this bearer.

c1495 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 106 I desire..you to send me a copple with my servant, this bringer.

c1533 T. Cranmer Let. 6 Oct. in Remains (1833) I. 55 This bringer P. M. sueth unto me to write unto you in his favour.

1623 J. Ussher Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. lix. 91 I received your Graces Letter brought by this Bearer.

1630 W. Bedel Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. clxi. 440 These things I write now in exceeding post-haste, in respect that this Bearer goes away so presently.

h. this once; this same (ilk); this side: see once adv. 11, same pron. 2, 4 (ilk adj.¹, pron.¹, and n.), side n.¹ 19a(b).

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15928 Þis ilk es an Of his felauscep for-soth.

c1480 (a1400) St. George 931 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 202 Þis sammyne aray, þat now þou seis me haf.

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. vi. 36 This ilk cursit fame.

c1542 Udall in Flügel Neueng. Lesebuch I. 352 Be good maister to me this oons.

1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) I. 4 A little on this Side the Whalebone, a Place so called because [etc.].

i. Strengthened by here immediately following: see here adv. 1d (Cf. that there at there adv. 2c(b).) Now dialect or vulgar.

ΚΠ

c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 203 God forbede þat ony Cristene man understonde, þat þis here synsynge and criynge..be þe beste servyce of a prest.

1762 S. Foote Orators ii. 38 I should be glad to know, how my client can be try'd in this here manner.

†j. this other phr. = ‘the other’ (other adj. 3b).

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5672 Wil þu me sla as þu did an, þis oder day.

1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 133 Hee..saide this other day you ought him a thousand pound.

a1605 (c1422) T. Hoccleve Complaint (Durh.) 309 in Minor Poems (1892) i. 106 This othar day a lamentacion of a wofull man in a boke I sye.

k. In unliterary narrative: referring to a person, place, etc., not previously mentioned or implied. Originally U.S.

ΚΠ

1922 S. Lewis Babbitt viii. 116 Did you read about this fellow that went and paid a thousand dollars for ten cases of red-eye that proved to be nothing but water?

1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) ii. 41 They dug this great big trench with bull-dozers.

1969 J. Fabian & J. Byrne Groupie (1970) xvi. 111 The rest of the letters were all written on small sheets of blue notepaper in this really childish handwriting.

1976 Drive Nov. 24/1 It was on the Chester road, in Birmingham. I saw this car with the keys in the ignition.

6. In contrast to that: properly denoting the nearer of two things, but often vaguely indicating one thing as distinct from another, esp. in this and (or) that.. = one and (or) another.. So also †this..this.. (quots. a1500, a1631); this..the other.. (quot. 1717); this..the next.. (quot. 1768). Cf. 3 above.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 19 Thou wold I gaf hym this shefe? or this sheyfe?

1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Kij^v Showyng it to be true in this substaunce, and that substaunce.

1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xl^v The cause of this or that precept.

1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. c j b Those turne this way and that way in the hande.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost (1623) v. ii. 914 You that way; we this way.

a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1953) VI. 179 How Rheubarb, or how Aloes came by this, or this vertue, to purge this, or this humour.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 204 This Way, and that, th' impatient Captives tend.

1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 494 This man pursues What if he gain'd he could not use: And t'other fondly hopes to see What never was, nor e'er shall be.

1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. i. xvi. 58 Truth..must not be measured by the Convenience of this or that Man.

1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 1 He laughs this minute with one, and cries the next with another.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Morte d'Arthur in Poems (new ed.) II. 6 Both his eyes were dazzled, as he stood, This way and that dividing the swift mind, In act to throw. [Cf. Virgil Æn. iv. 285.]

1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 128 The temporary..superiority of this or that Bretwalda.

1930 R. Graves Ten Poems More 11 Neat this-way-that-way and without mistake.

1937 C. Day Lewis Starting Point i. iii. 51 The field was scored..with streaking,..incessant this-way that-way movement.

Compounds

Combinations and special collocations. See also thiskin adj., thiswise adv., this world n.

this child n. see child n. Phrases 5.

† this gate n. Obsolete (in) this way, thus (cf. thus-gate adv.).

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [phrase] > in this, some, any, etc., way > in this way

in such manner1297

thus1426

this gate1513

of this sortc1550

on this sort1557

thissena1652

1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xi. 28 Turnus, lat ws persew Troianys this gayt.

1872 C. Gibbon For King i Come this gate.

1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona i. 12 Ye're no likely to gang far this gate.

† ˈthis half n. obsolete this side (half n. 1a, 2); a (on) this half = on this side of (see also a-this-half adv.).

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6995 A þas hælf [c1300 Otho a þis half] þere Humbre.

1476 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 494 xij myle on thysehalff Roome the Lorde Ryverse was robbyd off alle hys jowellys.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiii^v Is nat euery thynge a thishalfe god? made buxome to mannes contemplation.

ˈthis-how adv. [after somehow] in this manner, thus (in quot. as noun).Apparently an isolated use.

ΘΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in this way

thusc888

soa1250

sogatea1300

sogates13..

thus-gatec1300

on thiskin wisea1400

thiswisea1400

thus-gatesa1400

thuswisea1400

thisc1420

a-thus-gatec1460

thus ways1616

this-a-way1834

thusly1865

this-how1868

so-fashion1890

1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. I. i. 37 The somehow may be thishow.

ˈthis-like adj. like this, such as this, of this kind (cf. these-like adj. at these pron. and adj. Compounds).

ΘΠ

the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adjective] > such > such a

sica1400

this-like1880

1880 W. Watson Prince's Quest 34 The passion..voiced itself in this-like monotone.

this-side adj.

1917 19th Cent. Jan. 118 Those on the other side can only use this-side terms and similies and analogies.

ˈthis-way-ward adv. towards this way, in this direction.

ΘΠ

the world > space > direction > [adverb] > to or towards some thing or place > to or towards this place or direction

hitherc725

hereOE

hitherwarda1100

hitherwardsc1200

heretoc1275

hither1340

hereunto1509

hitherto1535

hereaway1549

this-way-ward1662

this-a-way1903

1662 S. Pepys Diary 7 May (1970) III. 78 He left the Queene and fleet in the bay of Biscay, coming this way-ward.

† this while adv. (also †this whiles) Obsolete during this time, or the time in question; meanwhile; the while.

ΘΠ

the world > time > [adverb] > meanwhile

all the whilec888

to whilec950

the whilec960

amongOE

emethena1300

to whilesa1300

therewhilesc1320

that whilesc1330

i-whilesa1340

in (that, this, which, etc.) meantime1340

in the meanwhilea1375

(all) the (also this, that) meantimea1382

in the mean season (also space)a1382

the mean seasona1382

the meanwhilea1382

in the meantimec1384

for the meanwhilec1390

in the mean(s) whilesc1390

the whilesa1400

the whilsta1400

whilsta1400

(in) the meanwhile that?1418

therewhilec1430

mesne1439

meanwhile1440

for the meantime1480

while1508

in the while1542

in the mean1565

in the mean way1569

interim1580

in (that, this, which, etc.) meanwhilea1593

meantimea1593

this while1594

mean space1600

among-hands?1609

between (betwixt obsolete or archaic) whiles1647

ad interim1701

per interim1724

interimistically1890

1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xiii. 236 A thousand inconueniences come into his fancie, which hold him in suspense, and this-while the occasion of the remedie passeth away.

1644 K. Digby Two Treat. ii. Concl. 455 Making roome for this soule rauishing contemplation, by remouing this whiles all other images of things farre from me.

1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 3 This while the greatest part of us perished on the shallowes.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online December 2020).

单词	this
释义	thispron.adj. Brit. /ðɪs/, U.S. /ðɪs/ Forms: 1. singular nominative α. masculine Old English–Middle English þes, (Old English þæs, þis), Middle English ( Orm.) þiss, -tiss, Middle English þis, (Middle English þus, Middle English þeos); Middle English– this. β. neuter Old English–Middle English þis, (Old English þæs), ( Orm.) þiss, -tiss, Middle English þes.?670 Bewcastle Column in Old Eng. Texts 124 Þis sigbecn þun setton.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John i. 30 Ðæs is of ðæm ic cuæð.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John vi. 42 Ahne is ðis se hælend?OE Beowulf 1702 Þæt ðes eorl wære geboren betera!c1175 Lamb. Hom. 49 Þes put bitacneð deopnesse of sunne.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 81 Nu is þes prest uorþe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 8453 Þa þus [read þis; c1300 Otho þes] dom wes isæid.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1902 Þoru þes signe.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 41 Þes boȝ heþ manie tuygges.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. γ) (Rolls) III. 253 Þeos Salon his lawes. γ. feminine Old English ðios, ( ðius, ðyus), Old English–Middle English þéos, Middle English þies, þyos, Middle English þas, Middle English þis, Middle English þues.c825 Vesp. Psalter cviii[i]. 27 Ðæt witen ðætte hond ðin ðeos is.c950 Lindisf. Gosp. John xii. 30 Ne fore mec stefn ðius [Rushw. ðios] cuom.a1000 Boeth. Metr. xx. 118 Þios eorðe.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 30 Þeos stefen.c1160 Hatton Gosp. John xii. 30 Þyos stefne.c1160 Hatton Gosp. John vii. 36 Hwæt ys þies spræce þe he sprecð?c1175 Lamb. Hom. 35 Nis þas weorld nawiht.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 103 Ðeos sunne fordeð eiðer ȝe saule ȝe lichoma.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1032 Þus is þas [c1300 Otho þis] burh i-uaren.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 133 Þeos [c1300 Otho þis] ȝunge wiman.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 5579 To wonye þer as in hor owe, & a þis alf [MS. α (c 1350) a þeos half] noȝt. ▸ a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 421 In preysinge of þis [γ þues] Elfleda.1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (MS. γ) (Rolls) III. 13 Þeos queene. 2. accusative α. masculine Old English–Middle English þisne, (Old English þysne, þeosne), Middle English þesne, Middle English þusne, Middle English þerne. β. neuter Middle English þæs).c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xliv. 324 gehieren men ðisne cwide.971 Blickl. Hom. 11 He gelfylde þysne middangeard.971 Blickl. Hom. 15 Eal þæt folc þe þis wundor geseah.c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints (1890) II. 38 Oþ þeosne andweardan dæg.c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1012 Þet hi woldon þisne eard healdan.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 5 Al þe hebreisce folc..sungun þisne lofsong.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 27 Þesne mon ic habbe itaken.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2036 Þis wes þe feiruste mon þe æuere æhte ær þusne [read þisne; c1300 Otho þisne] kinedom.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 416 Iche wlle þesne [c1300 Otho þisne] king læden mid me seolfan.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 110 Asscanius heold þis drihliche lond.1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 5104 Þis auisyon þat þe aungel him sede.c1315 Shoreham vii. 716 For þou areredst þerne storm.1340 Ayenbite (1866) 94 Þerne gardyn zette þe greate gardyner þet is god þe uader.13.. R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) App. H. 145 Þe king..þisne heiȝe man igrop. γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þás, Middle English þes, ( Orm.) þiss.c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care 2 (heading) Hu S. Gregorius ðas boc gedihte þe man Pastoralem nemmað.c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xv. 15 Arecce us gelicnisse þas.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Þer efter arerde god þas laȝe.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1023 Þas [c1300 Otho þes] burh he luuede swiðe. 3. dative. α. β. masculine and neuter Old English þisum, þysum, ðissum, Middle English þisen, ðise, þis, Middle English þissen, þisse, Middle English þis.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 21 Eac þeh ge cweþan to þisum [Lindisf. ðissum, Hatton þisen] munte, Ahefe þe upp.a1131 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1124 Sende se papa of Rome to ðise lande.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4943 A þisse londe. γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þisse, þissere, ( þysse), Old English–Middle English þisser, Middle English þesser, þeser, Middle English þusse, Middle English þese, þis, Middle English þise, Middle English þyssere.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xii. 32 Ne on þisse worulde ne on þære toweardan.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Wið-ute þeser laȝe.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 Ærndraces of þisser laȝe.a1175 Cott. Hom. 235 An þesser laȝe.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 9 Heo is unbunden in þisse newe laȝe.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 91 On þissere tide.a1200 Moral Ode 342 Fared bi þusse strete.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 59 On þese wise.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2653 I þissere [c1300 Otho þisse] burh.c1290 S. Eng. Leg. I. 292/148 Criede in þusse place.c1315 Shoreham Poems i. 1449 Inne þe elde lawe þe ordre a-gan, Ine tokne of þyssere newe.a1325 Statutes of Realm (2011) xxxvi. 98 On þusse manere, ant in þilke forme, sal þe writ ben idressed. 4. genitive. α. β. masculine and neuter Old English þises, þys(s)es, Old English–Middle English þisses, Middle English þesses, Middle English þisis.c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. i. §1 Þisne ymbhwyrft þises middangeardes.a1000 Boeth. Metr. xxiv. 3 Ofer heane hrof heofones þisses.c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 230 Wið þesses wreches woreldes luue.?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 148 Þis hwelpes nurice.c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 414 Ich habbe þisses [c1300 Otho þis] folkes king. ▸ a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Tobit vii. 5 Tobie, of the whiche thou askest, is thisis fader [a1425 L.V. the fadir of this man]. γ. feminine Old English–Middle English þisse, Middle English þissere.c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xiii. 22 Be-hygdnis weorulde þisse.c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiii. 22 Eornfullness þisse worulde.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 21 For þisse weorlde lewnesse.c1175 Lamb. Hom. 105 Þa sorinessen þissere sterke worlde. 5. General uninflected form. Middle English ( Orm.) þiss, tiss, Middle English þis, (Middle English tis, þes, Middle English thus, Middle English–1500s thys), Middle English– this.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 411 & ȝet tiss goddspell seȝȝþ off hemm [etc.].c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 303 & tohh þatt tiss elysabæþ..Wass þuss off aaroness kinn.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 95 & wha se wilenn shall þiss boc. Efft oþerr siþe writenn.c1220 Bestiary 88 Al is man so is tis ern.c1220 Bestiary 276 Ðis little wile ðe we on ðis werld wunen.a1440 Sir Degrev. 387 Her is comen to thus walle,..Sire Degrevvant the gode knyȝt.1478 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 613 To handyll well..thys mater now thys Lent.1551 R. Robinson in tr. T. More Vtopia Epist. sig. ✠v^v This my poore present.1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Thys, hic, hæc, hoc.Plural these n. Etymology: Originally the singular neuter, nominative and accusative, now the sole singular form of the Old English demonstrative þes , þéos , þis , corresponding to Old Frisian this , thius* (thisse ), thit , Old Saxon these , thius* (thesu ), thit , Old High German dese , -er (later diser , dirro ), desiu (disiu ), diz , Old Norse masculine and feminine þesse , þessi , neuter þetta ; a Norse and West Germanic formation, produced by adding se , si (probably = Gothic sai ‘see, behold’) to the simple demonstrative represented by the adj., pron.², and n.¹ and that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n., as shown by the early Old Norse Runic forms sá-si , sú-si , þat-si , accusative singular þan-si , þá-si , þat-si , dative þaim-si , plural neuter þau-si . Later the compound was felt as a single word and inflected at the end, the initial þ being also extended to the masculine and feminine nominative singular, making þá-si , þú-si , in Old Norse þesse , -i , in Old English þe-s , þío-s or þéo-s . Gothic expressed the sense differently, viz. by adding to the demonstrative sa , sô , þata , the strengthening particle -uh , making sah , sôh , þatuh , plural masculine þáih . The Old English nominative plural was þás , less commonly þǽs , Middle English þēs ; the former now represented by those pron. and adj. (which functions as plural of that ), the latter by these n. In Old English the word was thus inflected: Singular Masculine Feminine Neuter PluralNominativeþesþéos, þíosþisþás, þǽsAccusativeþisneþásþisþás, þǽsDativeþis(s)umþisseþisumþisumGenitiveþis(s)esþisseþis(s)esþissaInstrumentalþýs, þísþýs, þís In Middle English these forms were gradually eliminated or reduced, until by 1200 in some dialects, and by 15th cent. in all, þis alone remained in the singular. Forms and Inflections. (For plural see these n.) Signification. I. Demonstrative Pronoun. 1. Indicating a thing or person present or near (actually in space or time, or ideally in thought, esp. as having just been mentioned and thus being present to the mind); spec. as being nearer than some other (hence opposed to that, or in earlier and dialect use to yon: see 3, also that adj. 3). a. a thing (concrete or abstract).Sometimes, for emphasis (in modern use), placed (as subject) after the noun (as pred.) with ellipsis of is: cf. that pron.² 1a. Π a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) Pref. i. 2 For þinre ðearfe & for þinre ðeode ic þis awrat. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) i. 27 Hwæt ys þis? 1056–66 Inscr. on Dial. Kirkdale Ch. Yorks. Þis is dæges sol merca. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 110 Al þis was ȝwile icluped þe march of walis. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Coll. Phys.) l. 22476 Þe toþer day..It sal be wel wer þan þiis. 1477 J. Pympe in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 418 Thys beyng the vj lettyr that I have send yow. c1580 Merry Ieste 1100 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. IV. 225 This yong man was glad, ye may be sure, That he had brought hys wyfe to this. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. ii. 132 O Stephano, ha'st any more of this ? View more context for this quotation a1640 J. Fletcher et al. Beggers Bush iii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ll3/2 This is the wood they live in. 1655 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa II. i. v. 6 The greatnesse of it's horror had this of advantagious, that it made Death a Comparative Good. 1699 J. Vanbrugh False Friend ii. i A very humdrum marriage this. 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. cx. 402 This of Bavaria is a gallant and polite court. 1809 W. Windham Let. 23 July in Speeches Parl. (1812) I. 108 Terrible news this from Germany! 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iii. v. 198 It has grown to be no country for the Rich, this. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Aylmer's Field in Enoch Arden, etc. 63 A gracious gift to give a lady, this! 1912 N.E.D. at This Mod. This is what I like. b. a person. Now indicating a person actually present, or a person speaking or (interrog.) being spoken to on a telephone, etc., and always as subject of the verb to be, with the person as predicate; in which position the neuter þis was used in Old English (so German dies ist mein bruder). (Cf. that pron.² 1b) †he this, she this, this man, this woman: see also 3. Obsolete. Π c825 Vesp. Psalter xxiii[i]. 5 Ðes onfoeð bledsunge from dryhtne. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. iii. 17 Ðis is sunu min leof [c975 Rushw. þis is min sune]. c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xxi. 10–11 Hua is ðis?..ðis is ðe hælend. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxi. 10–11 Hwæt is þes?..þis ys se hælend. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 2 Þes [Lind., Rushw. þis Hatton þes] is iohannes se fulluhtere. c1275 Passion our Lord 244 in Old Eng. Misc. 44 Þer arysen tweyne and bigunne to speke, Þes seyde hwat he wolde þe temple al to-breke. c1374 G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde iii. 855 (904) This is so gentil and so tender of herte. c1380 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. in Sel. Wks. II. 52 More þan Jonas is he þis. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 18209 A ded man suilk als tis es an. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11351 Quen þat sco þis can iesus se. c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) vi. 19 He þis, by cause he was ane aliene,..was putte oute of þe land. 1451 J. Capgrave Life St. Gilbert 77 And þis þat schuld be his successour he lerned for to do lich as he saide. 1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 629 Hector was but a Troyan in respect of this . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) i. ii. 295 What a blunt fellow is this growne to be! View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Arcades in Poems 52 This this is she To whom our vows and wishes bend. 1808 W. Scott Marmion i. xxv. 47 This were a guide o'er moor and dale;..If this same Palmer will me lead. 1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 2 This is my house and this my little wife. a1912 Mod. This is our new inspector. 1947 Sun (Baltimore) 8 Jan. 17 (caption) Very well, we'll expect you at nine this evening. Who did you say this was? c. Referring to a fact, act, or occurrence, or a statement or question, mentioned or implied in the preceding context. (Cf. that pron.¹ 1c.) Π c893 tr. Orosius Hist. i. viii. §1 Þa þis gedon wæs. c893 tr. Orosius Hist. ii. i. §3 On þæm ilcan geare þe þiss wæs. a1123 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1101 And þis þa mid aðe gefæstnodan. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1340 All þiss wass don forr heore ned. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 14776 Quen iesus had said tis [Fairf., Gött., Trin. Cambr. þis] and mare, He left all his disciplis þar. c1425 Wyntoun Cron. ix. xxv. 2910 Fore þis þane rais þe gret debaite. c1500 Melusine (1895) 368 Euer thinking vpon this that Melyor had said to hym. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) v. ii. 47 Why this it is, to be a peeuish Girle. View more context for this quotation 1693 J. Edwards Disc. conc. Old & New-Test. I. iv. 152 They said this as a Jeer to the Jews. 1808 L. Murray Eng. Gram. Illustr. I. iii. 305 Bodies which have no taste, and no power of affecting the skin, may, notwithstanding this, act upon organs which are more delicate. 1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. II. vi. 171 This was years ago, Four hundred, full. 1954 G. Kersh in D. Knight 100 Yrs. Sci. Fiction (1969) 223 So you came back to life—more than four hundred years ago! Is this right? 1965 Times 16 Mar. 13/4 I cannot refrain from a violent protest against the ever increasing use of ‘this’ instead of ‘that’: e.g., ‘Will you come to supper tomorrow?’ Answer: ‘This would be very nice.’ 1970 Nature 4 Apr. 47/2 The reader..may come to think that this new approach to mathematics is not worth while. This would be a shame. d. Pointing to a statement, proposal, or question which immediately follows. Also: the present or existing (colloquial). Cf. sense 5b. ΚΠ c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 11 Soðlice þis is þæt bigspell, þæt sæd ys godes word. 1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 8719 He bihet god & þat folc an biheste þat was þys, To alegge alle luþer lawes..& þe betere make. c1400 Gamelyn 603 My reed is now this, Abide we no lenger. c1450 J. Capgrave Life St. Augustine (1910) 42 The question disputed amongis hem was þis, Fro whens þat euel comth. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Dan. v. E This is the scripture, that is written vp: Mane, Thetel, Phares. 1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iii. 78 This aboue all, to thy owne selfe be true. 1664 S. Butler Hudibras: Second Pt. ii. ii. 86 Yet all of us hold this for true, No Faith is to the wicked due. 1785 J. Boswell Tour Hebrides 26 Sept. 319 This [ed. 2 the present] Talisker. 1858 M. Arnold Merope 895 I speak no word of boast, but this I say: A private loss here founds a nation's peace. e. After various prepositions (after, before, by, ere, etc.), = ‘this time’; i.e. either, the present time, the time of speaking or writing; or, in narrative, the time just mentioned. (Cf. that pron.¹ 1d; also now adv., conj., n.¹, and adj. Phrases 1, then adv. 7.) Π c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care Pref. 6 Hu sio lar Lædengeðeodes ær ðysum [Hatt. MS. ðissum] oðfeallen wæs. a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. vii. 40 Ða wæs se dema æfter ðyssum..gedrefed. c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) cxx. 7 Of þisson forð awa to worulde. a1300 Floriz & Bl. 430 Ihc wulle fonde what i do may Bituene þis and þe þridde day. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 925 After ðis spac god to abram. 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 21 For it hath proeved ofte er this. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 7252 Be þis [Vesp. wit þis] his hare was waxin new. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3007 Bi þis come sarra to þe tide, O birth sco moght not ouerbide. 1571–2 Reg. Privy Council Scotl. II. 130 Frome this furth I sall and will beare fayth and trew allegeance. a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. iii. 38 I shall betweene this and Supper, tell you most strange things. View more context for this quotation 1656 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa V. iii. iv. 221 My Souldiers having (during this) taken a little refreshment. 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 19 Some Time after this,..they fired three Muskets. 1818 J. Keats Endymion i. 49 By this the sun is setting. 1922 W. B. Yeats Player Queen i. 20 The basket-makers and the sieve-makers will be out by this. 1971 in Sc. National Dict. (1974) IX. 283/2 I'll hae plenty adee atween this and Whitsunday. f. After a preposition, or as object of a verb: = ‘this place’. (Now (in colloquial use) more usually here: cf. here n.) Π c1460 Towneley Myst. (1836) 137 The best wyse that we may hast vs outt of this here. 1535 D. Lindsay Satyre 2191 Betwixt this and Dumbartane. 1802 T. Jefferson Let. 15 July in Wks. (1905) IX. 390 I shall leave this on the 21st. 1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Money ii. v The finest player..between this and the Pyramids. 1869 W. S. Gilbert Bab Ballads 177 You filthy beast, get out of this. Categories » g. Strengthened by here immediately following (cf. II. i. i): see here adv. 1d. dialect and vulgar. †2. In Old English and early Middle English, used (like that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n.) with the verb to be in the plural in reference to a plural predicate.This was a collective use of the singular neuter. Π c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iii. §4 Sint þis nu þa god & þa edlean þe þu ealne weg gehete. c893 tr. Orosius Hist. iii. i. §7 Þiss wæron ealle Creca leode. c1000 Ælfric Exodus i. 1 Thys synd Israela bearna naman. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12670 Þis weoren þa sixe. 3. a. In contrast to that: now almost always of things; esp. in this and (or) that = one thing (or person) and (or) another. So †he this..he that = this (or the one) man..that (or the other) man (quot. 1426). Also occasionally this..this = one thing (or person)..another; also this..the other. this, that, and (also or) the other, every sort (of), every possible or imaginable (also adj. or as adv.). Π 1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis II. 210 In ech of hem he fint somwhat That pleseth him, in this or that. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8502 Þat tre was ded [Trin. Cambr. deþ], þis sal be lijf.] 1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville Pilgrimage Life Man 20110 He thys ys wroth, he that ys glad. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) James iv. 15 For that ye ought to saye: yff the lorde will.., let vs do this or thatt. 1583 A. Nowell et al. True Rep. Disput. E. Campion sig. L4 It shalbe reported that I sayd this and that, and my wordes shalbe depraued. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1958) IX. 101 A Ruby will conduce best to the expressing of this, and an Emeraud of this. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Persius Satires iv. 49 This is not Fair; nor Profitable that; Nor t'other Question Proper for Debate. 1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family II. 227 Because one man did this, that truly I must do that. 18.. M. Arnold Epil. Lessing's Laocoön 116 This through the Ride upon his steed Goes slowly by, and this at speed. 1823 W. Scott St. Ronan's Well II. i. 24 I am sure I aye took your part when folk miscaa'd ye, and said ye were this, that, and the other thing. 1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise I. i. 381 At their..feast they sat Thinking their thoughts, and spoke of this or that. 1916 ‘B. Cable’ Action Front 98 Cursing the grinning and sheepish private for a this, that, and the other crazy, play-acting idiot. 1918 Nation (N.Y.) 7 Feb. 161/1 They..offered us a contract in this, that, or the other company, whose dividend-paying record had been thus and so. 1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime xvii. 255 It's a bit awkward what with this and that and the other thing. b. spec. (after Latin idiom.) The latter: in contrast to that = the former (that pron.² 3b). Π c1440 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 21 Ffor sunne & wynde hem make a tegument, Lest they in this be shake, in that to brent. 1591 A. Fraunce (title) The Countesse of Pembrokes Yuychurch. Conteining the affectionate life, and vnfortunate death of Phillis and Amyntas: That in a Pastorall; This in a Funerall. 1628 O. Felltham Resolves: 2nd Cent. lxxxvii. sig. Z6 Travaile..makes a wise man better, and a foole worse. This gaines nothing but the gay sights, vices, exaticke gestures, and the Apery of a Countrey. 1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 50 Warm water..mixed with hot and cold will lessen the heat in that, and the cold in this. 1868 S. J. Stone Penny Hymn Bk. 13 Go forth! firm Faith on every heart, Bright Hope on every helm, Through that shall pierce no fiery dart, And this no fear o'erwhelm. c. With That, as quasi-proper names (with capital T), indefinitely denoting one person and another. So ‘No. [= number] This..No. That’. Π 1824 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto XVI xliv. 86 Miss That or This, or Lady T'other. 1864 J. H. Newman Apologia (1904) i. 9/2 He..placed me between Provost This and Principal That. d. As quasi-n.: a this or a that = one thing or another (in quot. 1656, one or other person of consequence); also nonce-plural thises and thats. Π 1656 O. Cromwell Speech 17 Sept. in Writings & Speeches (1947) (modernized text) IV. 265 A company of mean fellows,..not a lord, nor a gentleman, nor a man of fortune, nor this nor that, amongst them. 1866 J. Ruskin Ethics of Dust v. 100 You..begin to think that it is a chastisement, or a warning, or a this or that or the other of profound significance. 1895 Harper's Mag. Nov. 952/1 There were many thises and thats put together. 4. Phrases. all this: cf. all that at that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n. Phrases 1c(a); for all this, notwithstanding this: cf. for prep. 23a like this, of this kind; in this manner, thus: cf. like adj. 1; like adv. 1b; that pron.¹, adj., adv., and n. Phrases 1c. Π c1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. ann. 1006 (Laud) Ac for eallum þissum se here ferde swa he sylf wolde. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3791 FOr al ðis, oðer day ðor was nest, Agenes moyses and is prest Gan al ðis folc wið wreðe gon. a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 288 Yet the friction shall not for all this become four times as great. 1858 J. H. Newman Sel. Ess. 213 The monks were not so soft as all this, after all. 1881 A. J. Duffield tr. M. de Cervantes Don Quixote II. 548 To go like this..is like looking for..the bachelor in Salamanca. 1881 W. S. Gilbert Patience ii. 30 You hold yourself like this, You hold yourself like that, By hook and crook you try to look both angular and flat. 1889 C. C. Rhys Up for Season 76 Of what could we talk on an evening like this? II. Demonstrative determiner. 5. a. Modifying a noun, to indicate a thing or person present or near (actually or in thought), esp. one just mentioned: cf. 1.The use before a possessive pronoun (e.g. this my son) is archaic, the periphrasis with of being now substituted, as with that: cf. that adj. 1.this morning, this afternoon, this evening now always mean ‘the morning (etc.) of to-day’ (whether past, present, or future): cf. this morning at morning n., adv., and int. Phrases 1f. Π c893 tr. Orosius Hist. ii. viii. §1 Þysne nyttan cræft, þeh he arlic næ re, funde heora tictator, Camillis hatte. c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care 3 (Hatton MS.) (heading) Ðeos boc sceal to wiogora ceastre. a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. v. 32 Þes casere framlice rehte ða cynewisan. c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 15 Ðeos stow ys weste. 1154 Anglo-Saxon Chron. On þis gær wærd þe king Stephne ded. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 473 & he þiss zakaryas wass. Bitwenenn oþre prestess..to serrfenn sett. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 141 Þes wimmannes name. a1240 Ureisun in Cott. Hom. 199 Ich habbe i-sungen þe ðesne englissce lai. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4026 Al-so leun is migtful der, So sal ðis folc ben migtful her. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 12 Þis article zette saynt andreu. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xv. 24 For this my sone was deed, and hath lyued aȝen. c1400 Brut 100 Þis Elfride hade a sone þat me callede Edwynne. ?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1869) II. 285 Whiche consuetude peple of that cuntre vse in to this tyme presente. 1518 in Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 46 This last Sonday he send his..men. 1554 J. Christopherson in Maitland Ess. (1849) 302 He had bene better a great deale to have lived amonge Turkes & Saracenes then amonge this kind of folke. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. i. 15 And this our life exempt from publike haunt. View more context for this quotation 1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie 163 This five yeares Consulship intoxicated him. a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 408 We have thought good to omit the same for this present. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 18. ¶1 It is my Design in this Paper to deliver..a faithful Account of the Italian Opera. 1772 Sheridaniana (1826) 47 I have this moment heard that Sheridan is returned. 1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe III. xiii. 334 To do battle for her in this her cause. 1851 Ld. Tennyson To Queen v Take, Madam, this poor book of song. b. Referring to something which is mentioned immediately after. (Cf. the use of that for something mentioned before: see that adj. 1.) Π c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xliv. 324 gehieren men ðisne cwide: Hald ðine ælmessan, ðylæs ðu hie forweorpe. a1175 Cott. Hom. 225 Ic wille settan mi wed betwuxe me and eow to þisan behate, þat is [etc.]. a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 19 And sigge stondinde þesne vreisun. Uisita quesumus domine habitationem istam. c1440 Alphabet of Tales 186 He began to syng þis antem, ‘O! pastor eterne’. 1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1845) xxxv. 180 In a russet banner..There was wrytten this worde, Detraction. 1686 J. Scott Christian Life: Pt. II II. vii. 577 Upon this account indeed they had great cause to rejoyce, because now they knew they had a sure Friend in Heaven. 1703 R. Thoresby Let. 27 Apr. in J. Ray Corr. (1848) 418 This additional list of local words is larger than I expected. 1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 63 I..confine myself to this one consideration, viz. [etc.]. c. In phrases denoting or referring to the present state or stage of existence; esp. this life at life n. 12c, this world n. Π c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Luke (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 14 Þa ðe..of carum..þiss lifes synt for-þrysmede. c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 187 To freurende þo forsineȝede of þis wrecche woreld. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) 1 Cor. xv. 53 For this corruptible must putt on incorruptibilite: and this mortall must put on immortalite. ?1703 T. Ken Morning, Evening & Midnight Hymn (new ed.) 4 That this vile Body may, Rise Glorious at the awful day. d. Referring to something as known, talked about, or (as in quot. a1616²) inferred; esp. (colloquial) to something now in vogue or recently introduced. (Cf. that adj. 1b.) Also, the present or existing. ΚΠ 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (1901) I. i. viii. 46 Numa, this civil and Illustar prince. 1582 W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. d7^v Raised and vpholden by this new religion. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xiii This lamentable losse of Constantinople. 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iii. iv. 68 Get you some of this distill'd carduus benedictus . View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 283 Where should they Finde this grand Liquor? View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) i. ii. 157 Oh this learning, what a thing it is. 1773 J. Boswell Jrnl. 22 Aug. in Jrnl. Tour Hebrides (1785) 86 We were told this Mr. Waller was a plain country gentleman. 1788 H. Walpole Let. 26 July (1918) Suppl. II. 24 Do you know the medals of gold belonged to this Lord Pembroke's grandfather? a1912 Mod. colloq. What do you think of this wireless telegraphy? This railway strike is a serious business. a1933 Mod. I knew the last doctor very well. I don't get on with this one. e. Used before a date, esp. (now only) in legal or formal documents. ΘΠ the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adjective] present1340 nowa1393 presentary?a1425 unrun1474 modernc1485 hodiern?a1513 actual1525 modernal1542 instantc1550 this1582 immediate1605 current1608 nowadays1609 nowaday1632 hodiernal1656 living1659 running1659 daily1663 existent1676 existing1827 present-day1833 presential1878 today1908 1582 L. Kirby Let. 10 Jan. in W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. B5^v I bid you farewel, this x. of Ianuarie 1582. 1603 R. Parsons Let. 6 July in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1906) 2 218 And with this I byd you most hartely farewell..this 6 of July 1603. 1648 Cromwell Procl. in Carlyle Lett. & Sp. (1871) II. 55 Given under my hand, this 20th September, 1648. 1739 in J. O. Payne Rec. Eng. Catholics of 1715 (1889) 53 I, William Plowden, being this 31st March, 1739, full 70 years of age. f. Used instead of these pron. and adj. 3 to modify a plural noun or numeral; esp. (now only) with a plural treated as a singular (e.g. means, odds), or with a numeral expression denoting a period of time taken as a whole (in this case usually = ‘just past or completed’, or more rarely ‘just beginning’). So also this many a day (year, etc.) = these many days, this period of many days (etc.) just past.The earlier evidence is often doubtful from the fact that this was long one of the forms of these: see γ. forms at these pron. and adj. ΘΠ the world > time > relative time > immediacy > [adjective] > this period of time (in immediate past or future) thisc1450 c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1978) l. 13136 Þis [c1275 Calig. þeos] þreo cnihtes bolde.] c1450 Cov. Myst. (1841) xiv. 132 More..Than evyr ther was this thowsand ȝere. c1475 (?c1425) Avowing of King Arthur (1984) l. 1097 Þoȝhe ȝe sege þis seuyn ȝere, Castell gete ȝe none here. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ix. 7 Whan the quene hard thys tidyngis. 1550 T. Cranmer Def. Sacrament sig. iv^v Where-with they haue this many yeares deluded and bewitched the world. 1578–1600 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent.* (1801) II. 164 This lang and mony ane day. 1596 T. Danett tr. P. de Commynes Hist. vi. vii. 225 Which will bleed this many a yeere. 1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet v. ii. 24 Within this three houres will faire Iuliet wake. View more context for this quotation 1779 Mirror No. 55. ⁋7 By this means..even the worthiest men..may be led into fatal errors. 1832 R. Southey Ess. I. 9 Unless there be something to weigh against this fearful odds. 1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide xv. 92 The silence has kept my own heart heavy this many a day. 1883 L. Oliphant Altiora Peto II. 261 This last six months. †g. this bearer (bringer) = the bearer of this. Π 1493 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 106 I pray you that I may be answered by my servant, this bearer. c1495 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 106 I desire..you to send me a copple with my servant, this bringer. c1533 T. Cranmer Let. 6 Oct. in Remains (1833) I. 55 This bringer P. M. sueth unto me to write unto you in his favour. 1623 J. Ussher Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. lix. 91 I received your Graces Letter brought by this Bearer. 1630 W. Bedel Let. in R. Parr Life J. Usher (1686) Coll. clxi. 440 These things I write now in exceeding post-haste, in respect that this Bearer goes away so presently. h. this once; this same (ilk); this side: see once adv. 11, same pron. 2, 4 (ilk adj.¹, pron.¹, and n.), side n.¹ 19a(b). Π a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 15928 Þis ilk es an Of his felauscep for-soth. c1480 (a1400) St. George 931 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 202 Þis sammyne aray, þat now þou seis me haf. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iv. vi. 36 This ilk cursit fame. c1542 Udall in Flügel Neueng. Lesebuch I. 352 Be good maister to me this oons. 1748 Defoe's Tour Great Brit. (ed. 4) I. 4 A little on this Side the Whalebone, a Place so called because [etc.]. i. Strengthened by here immediately following: see here adv. 1d (Cf. that there at there adv. 2c(b).) Now dialect or vulgar. ΚΠ c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 203 God forbede þat ony Cristene man understonde, þat þis here synsynge and criynge..be þe beste servyce of a prest. 1762 S. Foote Orators ii. 38 I should be glad to know, how my client can be try'd in this here manner. †j. this other phr. = ‘the other’ (other adj. 3b). Π a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Gött.) l. 5672 Wil þu me sla as þu did an, þis oder day. 1598 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 iii. iii. 133 Hee..saide this other day you ought him a thousand pound. View more context for this quotation a1605 (c1422) T. Hoccleve Complaint (Durh.) 309 in Minor Poems (1892) i. 106 This othar day a lamentacion of a wofull man in a boke I sye. k. In unliterary narrative: referring to a person, place, etc., not previously mentioned or implied. Originally U.S. ΚΠ 1922 S. Lewis Babbitt viii. 116 Did you read about this fellow that went and paid a thousand dollars for ten cases of red-eye that proved to be nothing but water? 1946 K. Tennant Lost Haven (1947) ii. 41 They dug this great big trench with bull-dozers. 1969 J. Fabian & J. Byrne Groupie (1970) xvi. 111 The rest of the letters were all written on small sheets of blue notepaper in this really childish handwriting. 1976 Drive Nov. 24/1 It was on the Chester road, in Birmingham. I saw this car with the keys in the ignition. 6. In contrast to that: properly denoting the nearer of two things, but often vaguely indicating one thing as distinct from another, esp. in this and (or) that.. = one and (or) another.. So also †this..this.. (quots. a1500, a1631); this..the other.. (quot. 1717); this..the next.. (quot. 1768). Cf. 3 above. Π a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 19 Thou wold I gaf hym this shefe? or this sheyfe? 1552 T. Wilson Rule of Reason (rev. ed.) sig. Kij^v Showyng it to be true in this substaunce, and that substaunce. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. xl^v The cause of this or that precept. 1598 A. M. tr. J. Guillemeau Frenche Chirurg. c j b Those turne this way and that way in the hande. a1616 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost (1623) v. ii. 914 You that way; we this way. a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1953) VI. 179 How Rheubarb, or how Aloes came by this, or this vertue, to purge this, or this humour. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 204 This Way, and that, th' impatient Captives tend. 1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 494 This man pursues What if he gain'd he could not use: And t'other fondly hopes to see What never was, nor e'er shall be. 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. i. xvi. 58 Truth..must not be measured by the Convenience of this or that Man. 1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 1 He laughs this minute with one, and cries the next with another. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Morte d'Arthur in Poems (new ed.) II. 6 Both his eyes were dazzled, as he stood, This way and that dividing the swift mind, In act to throw. [Cf. Virgil Æn. iv. 285.] 1867 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest I. iii. 128 The temporary..superiority of this or that Bretwalda. 1930 R. Graves Ten Poems More 11 Neat this-way-that-way and without mistake. 1937 C. Day Lewis Starting Point i. iii. 51 The field was scored..with streaking,..incessant this-way that-way movement. Compounds Combinations and special collocations. See also thiskin adj., thiswise adv., this world n. this child n. see child n. Phrases 5. † this gate n. Obsolete (in) this way, thus (cf. thus-gate adv.). ΘΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [phrase] > in this, some, any, etc., way > in this way in such manner1297 thus1426 this gate1513 of this sortc1550 on this sort1557 thissena1652 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid xii. xi. 28 Turnus, lat ws persew Troianys this gayt. 1872 C. Gibbon For King i Come this gate. 1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona i. 12 Ye're no likely to gang far this gate. † ˈthis half n. obsolete this side (half n. 1a, 2); a (on) this half = on this side of (see also a-this-half adv.). Π c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 6995 A þas hælf [c1300 Otho a þis half] þere Humbre. 1476 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 494 xij myle on thysehalff Roome the Lorde Ryverse was robbyd off alle hys jowellys. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer i. f. cccxxxiiii^v Is nat euery thynge a thishalfe god? made buxome to mannes contemplation. ˈthis-how adv. [after somehow] in this manner, thus (in quot. as noun).Apparently an isolated use. ΘΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in this way thusc888 soa1250 sogatea1300 sogates13.. thus-gatec1300 on thiskin wisea1400 thiswisea1400 thus-gatesa1400 thuswisea1400 thisc1420 a-thus-gatec1460 thus ways1616 this-a-way1834 thusly1865 this-how1868 so-fashion1890 1868 R. Browning Ring & Bk. I. i. 37 The somehow may be thishow. ˈthis-like adj. like this, such as this, of this kind (cf. these-like adj. at these pron. and adj. Compounds). ΘΠ the world > relative properties > relationship > similarity > [adjective] > such > such a sica1400 this-like1880 1880 W. Watson Prince's Quest 34 The passion..voiced itself in this-like monotone. this-side adj. Π 1917 19th Cent. Jan. 118 Those on the other side can only use this-side terms and similies and analogies. ˈthis-way-ward adv. towards this way, in this direction. ΘΠ the world > space > direction > [adverb] > to or towards some thing or place > to or towards this place or direction hitherc725 hereOE hitherwarda1100 hitherwardsc1200 heretoc1275 hither1340 hereunto1509 hitherto1535 hereaway1549 this-way-ward1662 this-a-way1903 1662 S. Pepys Diary 7 May (1970) III. 78 He left the Queene and fleet in the bay of Biscay, coming this way-ward. † this while adv. (also †this whiles) Obsolete during this time, or the time in question; meanwhile; the while. ΘΠ the world > time > [adverb] > meanwhile all the whilec888 to whilec950 the whilec960 amongOE emethena1300 to whilesa1300 therewhilesc1320 that whilesc1330 i-whilesa1340 in (that, this, which, etc.) meantime1340 in the meanwhilea1375 (all) the (also this, that) meantimea1382 in the mean season (also space)a1382 the mean seasona1382 the meanwhilea1382 in the meantimec1384 for the meanwhilec1390 in the mean(s) whilesc1390 the whilesa1400 the whilsta1400 whilsta1400 (in) the meanwhile that?1418 therewhilec1430 mesne1439 meanwhile1440 for the meantime1480 while1508 in the while1542 in the mean1565 in the mean way1569 interim1580 in (that, this, which, etc.) meanwhilea1593 meantimea1593 this while1594 mean space1600 among-hands?1609 between (betwixt obsolete or archaic) whiles1647 ad interim1701 per interim1724 interimistically1890 1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits xiii. 236 A thousand inconueniences come into his fancie, which hold him in suspense, and this-while the occasion of the remedie passeth away. 1644 K. Digby Two Treat. ii. Concl. 455 Making roome for this soule rauishing contemplation, by remouing this whiles all other images of things farre from me. 1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 3 This while the greatest part of us perished on the shallowes. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online December 2020). thisadv. Brit. /ðɪs/, U.S. /ðɪs/ Etymology: In I. probably Old English þýs , þís , instrumental case of this pron. and adj.; in II. apparently adverb use of accusative singular neuter (compare that adj.). In some instances, perhaps an alteration of thus adv. I. In this way. †1. In this way or manner; like this; thus. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > [adverb] > in this way thusc888 soa1250 sogatea1300 sogates13.. thus-gatec1300 on thiskin wisea1400 thiswisea1400 thus-gatesa1400 thuswisea1400 thisc1420 a-thus-gatec1460 thus ways1616 this-a-way1834 thusly1865 this-how1868 so-fashion1890 c1420 Chron. Vilod. 3123 When þis lomb had þis y ron þrye þe tomb abouȝt. c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 729 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 28 And þis he ȝalde þe spyrit. a1529 J. Skelton Magnyfycence (?1530) sig. Ciiii^v I wyll not haue it, so I wyll haue it this. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 368 And this the King of Scottland depairtit out of France. 1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. C What am I that thou shouldst contemne me this ? View more context for this quotation II. To this extent. †2. a. To this extent or degree; as much as this; thus. Obsolete except as in sense 2b. (Cf. that adj. 4.) ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > degree or relative amount of a quality, action, etc. > [adverb] > to this or that extent thusa700 soc888 asOE so mucha1225 such ac1275 as‥soc1340 thisc1460 c1460 Wisdom 936 in Macro Plays 66 To clense þe soull wyche ys þis fowll. ?a1500 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) II. 11 Elles this boulde durste he not be, To make such araye. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccclxxviii. 631 Let vs go forwarde, let vs nat be this a colde to make warr. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 60 This vmbeset I am on eurie syde. b. Qualifying an adjective or adverb, originally chiefly of quantity, esp. this much (where this is perhaps felt as the pronoun = ‘as much as this’; cf. that adv. 2); now also qualifying other adjectives and adverbs (grading into an intensive). ΚΠ c1460 Wisdom 982 in Macro Plays 67 I be-gyn awake, I that þis longe hath slumberyde in syne. 1586 Sir F. Walsingham in Leycester's Corr. (Camden) 230 This myche have I receyved from her majestye. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 62 And this far of the Iles called Hebrides. 1675 R. Baxter Catholick Theol. ii. viii. 190 Having said this much preparatorily. 1763 C. Johnstone Reverie (new ed.) I. 23 He might have spared himself the trouble even of this much. 1877 J. Ruskin Fors Clavigera VII. lxxxii. 324 Perhaps this much of Plato is enough for one letter. 1884 J. P. Norris in Shakespearian May 181 None of the portraits mentioned by Walpole are dated this early. 1885 J. J. Murphy in Brit. Q. Rev. July 100 The Agnostic argument..must go this far if it is to be valid. 1932 J. Leatham Fisherfolk 13 A'm this aul', an' I never had a sy-ystem! 1967 Boston Sunday Herald 30 Apr. (Mag.) 34/2 I have a stack of telegrams this thick. 1971 Where Dec. 376/3 Yet the picture is usually not even this good. Most teachers..talk much more than half the time in their classes, and the time that is left is not all used for children talking. 1972 Real Estate Rev. Winter 8/2 Keep in mind, however, that no existing property is this typical. 1976 Woman's Day (N.Y.) Nov. 154/2 I haven't felt this well in years. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1912; most recently modified version published online March 2020). < pron.adj.c825adv.c1420
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thispron.adj.

Compounds

thisadv.