† veryn.
Obsolete. rare.
(Meaning obscure; occurring only as part of a charm.)
ΚΠ
c1386 G. Chaucer Miller's Tale 299 Ihesu Crist and seint Benedight Blesse this hous from euery wikked wight For nyghtes uerye [v.rr. very(e, verie, verray] the white pater noster.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online June 2021).
Veryn.2
/ˈvɛri/, /ˈvɪəri/, U.S. /ˈvɛri/ Used attributively with reference to a coloured pyrotechnic flare projected from a special pistol for signalling or temporarily illuminating an area; as Very light, Very pistol, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military organization > signals > [noun] > light signal
Very light1907
fairy light1916
pistol flare1916
pistol light1916
society > communication > indication > signalling > visual signalling > luminous signals > [noun] > pyrotechnic signals
blue light1761
fire shell1765
Indian light1787
Bengal light1791
Indian fire1831
flare-up light1858
flare1883
Very1907
fairy light1916
Aldis lamp1917
Aldis1918
Bengal fire1941
flame float1942
Bengal flash1946
1907 Jrnl. Mil. Service Inst. U.S. 41 368 In connection with night signaling it may be well here to mention the Very system,..found serviceable in sea-coast signaling.
1915 D. O. Barnett Let. 17 Mar. in In Happy Memory 95 When the ‘Very’ pistol came, I fired a rocket.
1917 R. Nichols in E. B. Osborn Nurse in Arms 49 Before he was aware The ‘Verey’ light had risen..on the air It hung glistering.
1920 Blackwood's Mag. June 747/2 Very flares were continually being fired into the air to light up dark corners.
1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War ii. 16 Another officer..showed me..how to fire a flare... He had with him a cumbrous brass gun, called a duck-gun; from this he fired a Vérey cartridge.
1930 C. R. Samson Fights & Flights 177 My sole equipment consisted of an electric torch..and a Verey-light pistol.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. XI. 390/1 The Very pistol, a short-barrelled smooth-bore weapon of 1-in. or 1½ in. calibre, firing a cartridge which is in effect a short roman candle throwing up a single star, is the most generally used pyrotechnic signal.
1976 ‘A. York’ Dark Passage xiii. 162 He..found a Very pistol..and fired. The glowing orange ball arced over his head, and then hung, perhaps a hundred feet above the yacht.
1981 J. B. Hilton Playground of Death ii. 15 What we were really playing at was War... A Roman candle..was a Very light.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1933; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
veryadj.adv.n.1
/ˈvɛri/, U.S. /ˈvɛri/ A. adj.
I. That is in truth or reality, and related uses; true, faithful.† 5. † 6. Of a friend, servant, etc.: true, faithful, sincere, staunch; = true adj. 1. Obsolete.Very common in the 16th cent. In later use perhaps merely intensive.† 7. in extended use.1596 W. Lambarde Perambulation of Kent (rev. ed.) 225 In the yeere, 1146. was founded Boxley in Kent, the verie daughter of Clareualle.
1. Really or truly entitled to the name or designation; possessing the true character of the person or thing named; properly so called or designated; = true adj. 7.Very common from c1300 to c1600; now rare except as an echo of Biblical usage.† d. Full, thorough, unqualified. Obsolete.† e. spec. in Law. (See quot. 1607.) Obsolete.
a. Of persons, or the Deity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [adjective] > truly entitled to the name
soothc950
soothfasta1250
veryc1250
veryc1450
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named > of persons, the deity
rightOE
soothfasta1250
veryc1250
veryc1450
veritable1649
α., β.
γ., δ.c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 310 Siþ Crist, verrest bischop of alle, cursede not for his tiþes.c1403 J. Lydgate Temple Glas 571 Nou am I cauȝt vnder subieccioun, Forto bicome a verre homagere, To god of loue.c1460 Wisdom 15 in Macro Plays 36 Þe belowyde sone.., Spows of þe chyrche, & wery patrone.1526 Bible (Tyndale) Mark xi. f. lxij All men counted Ihon, that he was a veri prophett.1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) iii. 323 Thow arte the certayne hope of wretches, very mother of motherlesse.1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clv She had one poynt of a very woman:..she was..mutable, and turnyng.1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxijv Very God of very God.1574 A. Golding tr. A. Marlorat Catholike Expos. Reuelation 21 In respect wherof he is called the sonne of man, that is too say, verie man.1615 W. Bedwell tr. Mohammedis Imposturæ ii. §53 God is a very spirit.a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 102 Th' are very Men, not Things That move by Puppet-work.1801 M. Edgeworth Mlle Panache ii, in Moral Tales III. 133 ‘I confess, I am a very woman,’ said lady Augusta, with a sigh.1854 R. C. Trench Synonyms New Test. (ed. 2) §8. 30 But he is ἀληθινός,..very God, as distinguished from idols and all other false gods.1857 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 9 July in Eng. Notebks. (1997) II. vi. 322 Thence we went into Queen Mary's room, and saw that beautiful portrait—that very Queen and very woman.c1250 Kent. Serm. in Old Eng. Misc. 27 Be þet hi offrede gold..seawede þet he was sothfast kink, and be þet hi offrede Stor..seawede þet he was verray prest.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 22729 A clude..bar him vp, wonder bright; Warrai man and godd warrai.
a1380 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 32/1 A mayden, forsoþe, wente her in, But now forsoþe, as i seo con, Ȝonde sitteþ a verrei mon.
a1400 Guy Warw. 3568 Wele haþ Gij don þat day, As gode kniȝt & verray.
a1400–50 Alexander 389 A verra victor a-vansid with all þe vayne werde.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xv. 66 He..es a haly prophete and a verray in worde and in dede.
1413 Pilgr. Sowle (1483) i. xv. 14 Ihesu,..that were of Mary veray mayd bore in veray flesshe and bloode.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. ciiiiv Grant me confort this day As thow art god verray.
1509 J. Fisher Mornynge Remembraunce Countesse of Rychemonde (de Worde) sig. Bii All the lerned men of Englonde to whome she was a veray patronesse.
?1521 J. Fisher Serm. agayn Luther sig. Aijv To be vnto her in all suche stormes a veray comforter.
1533 J. Gau tr. C. Pedersen Richt Vay 37 Be this word..he is veray God.
b. Of abstract things, conditions, or qualities.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named
rightOE
verya1300
verya1387
perfectc1387
propera1398
veritable1483
real?1505
dinkum1914
α.
β., δ.1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 1659 Þere was verry matrymony, with oute fleshly dede of any.c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 315 Crist axiþ here mekenes and poverte, wiþ verri pees.1422 J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. 146 This goodis of Fortune or of kynde..be not werry goodys, for now thay byth, and now thay bythagone.1486 Bk. St. Albans a ij Therfore thys book fowlowyng in a dew forme shewys veri knawlege of suche plesure.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 13 I haue very trust on god, that..ye shall not be deed ther-fore.a1500 (?c1450) Merlin i. 11 Thou..haste very repentaunce of herte.1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection ii. sig. Hiiv A generall syght of the principles and processe of very religion.1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance Pref. sig. avv The most preciouse garment of very nobylitie.1572 J. Jones Benefit Bathes of Buckstones f. 5 Which wee abusively call worldely wealth, when as very wealth, is health.?1637 T. Hobbes tr. Aristotle Briefe Art Rhetorique i. 59 The written Law is but seeming Iustice; the Law of Nature very Iustice.1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxvi. 147 Also, Unwritten Customes..by the tacite consent of the Emperour..are very Lawes.1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise i. 58 Half dead with very death still drawing nigh.a1300 Cursor Mundi 26103 And þan we sal þe pointes rede þat warrai scrifte al of has nede.
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 15 For riȝt-wisnesse generaly is fulfillinge of lawe, and so fulfillinge of Goddis lawe is verrei riȝt-wisnesse.
c1400 (?c1380) Pearl l. 1184 So was hit me dere þat þou con deme, In þys veray avysyoun.
c1412 T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum 3313 Mercy..Of herte is a verray compassioun Of othir menys harm.
c1440 Pallad. on Husb. ix. 91 The fertilitee Of withi, reede, aller, yvy, or vyne That ther is water nygh is verrey signe.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 3 Our antecessowris..We lat ourslide throw werray sleuthfulnes.
1539 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) II. 202 Under the colour of a veray peax, whiche is neuertheles but a cloked and furred peax.
1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 12 Thre of the gretast ydolis,..verray ydolis in deid.
c. Of material things.
ΚΠ
a1330 Roland & V. 129 For to wite þe soþe þere, Ȝif þe relikes verray were.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 193 Ech lyuyng man is verier..ymage of Crist..than is eny vnquyk stok.
c1480 (a1400) St. Martha 188 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 290 Scho..bad þame hyre in askis lay, & schaw til hyre a croice verra.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xvi. xlvii. 569 It is harde..to knowe betwene the very precyous stones and fals.
1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Decades of Newe Worlde 326v Many bouwes and branches..muche like vnto verye trees that are in owlde woddes.
1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) i. 23 The other parts which we call compound, or instrumentall, which are the verie members of the bodie.
1592 T. Tymme Plaine Discouerie Ten Eng. Lepers sig. Kv They which are out of their wittes do not see the verie things, but the fantasies of their passion.
1678 T. Hobbes Decameron Physiologicum ix. 106 Such Iron were indeed a very and vigorous Loadstone.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adjective] > complete or without qualification
perfectc1350
very1446
1446 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 339 The said maister..shal do his verray diligence to pourvey..a place as gode.
1496 Rolls of Parl. VI. 512/1 The said Quene is of verrey will and mynde, that the same Erle shall be truly and fully contented.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > [adjective] > immediate or direct > in actual contact (of persons)
very1528
immediate1548
1528–30 tr. T. Littleton Tenures (new ed.) f. xxxviiiiv But yf it be very lorde & very tenaunte and the tenaunte maketh a feoffement in fee. [So Coke On Litt. (1628) 269.]
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Yyy2/1 Very Lord, and very Tenent..are they that be immediate Lord & Tenent one to the other.
2. With limitation (usually expressed by the or a possessive) to particular instances: The true or real; that is truly or properly entitled to the name. Now archaic.† d. Proper, correct. Obsolete. rare.
a. Of material things or places.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named
rightOE
verya1300
verya1387
perfectc1387
propera1398
veritable1483
real?1505
dinkum1914
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 255 Ysidre seiþ þat verray [L. proprie dicta] Germania haþ in þe est side þe mouth of þe ryuer Danubius.
1414 Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. ii. 120 The materyall bred that was before is turnyd into Chrystys verray body.
c1480 (a1400) St. Christopher 61 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 341 Þe king can ma þe takine of þe croice verra on hyme.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xx. 329 Than he made vpon hym the signe of the very crosse.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Biiv Their iourney..signifieth the iourney to the very Ierusalem.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) John vi. 55 For my flesh is ye very meate, and my bloude is ye very drynke.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 61 He is the way, trothe, lyfe, and lycht, The varray [v.r. verray, verie] port, till heaven full rycht.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan i. i. 4 Though..the reall, and very object seem invested with the fancy it begets in us.
1849 J. M. Neale Hymns for Sick (1906) 26 Thy very Flesh and Blood.
b. Of abstract things, conditions, etc.
ΚΠ
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (1868) iii. pr. iii. 69 And by a maner þouȝt..ȝe looken from a fer til þilk verray fyn of blisfulnesse.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (1839) xii. 139 Thei that scholden ben converted to Crist..ben thorghe oure Wykkednesse..fer fro us and straungeres fro the holy and verry Beleeve.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 65 But the trewe and verry vndirstonding ther of is this.
c1465 Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 3 Þe welfare of Edward Rex moste riall, That is þe verie purpos that we labure fore.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. aiiii The verray cause of his come I knew noght the cace.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection Pref. sig. Aii Euery religiouse persone shulde intende the perfeccion of his soule, which is the very peas of the spirit.
a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 7 Thys ys the veray true & cyvyle lyfe.
1574 St. Avstens Manuell in Certaine Prayers S. Augustines Medit. sig. Svj The very wisedome of God shall shewe him selfe to them.
1647 J. Saltmarsh Sparkles of Glory (1847) 80 Pastors,..who cannot now minister as the oracles of God, nor according to the very gifts of the Holy Ghost then.
1859 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem II. lxxxvii. 57 The vulgar animosity against a skin,—the stamp of lowly-mindedness, and very indication of cart blood.
c. Of persons or the Deity.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [adjective] > truly entitled to the name
soothc950
soothfasta1250
veryc1250
veryc1450
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > accurately so named > of persons, the deity
rightOE
soothfasta1250
veryc1250
veryc1450
veritable1649
c1450 Mirour Saluacioun 3 Xrist, goddes verray son and wysdame.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 22 The verray pape sanct jnnocent had bene put out [by a false pope].
1534 W. Turner tr. J. von Watt Of Olde God & Newe sig. Bj After yt ye eternall & the verye god had shewed hym selfe vnto Adam.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Celebr. Holye Communion f. cxxviv He is the very Pascall Lambe.
1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 184 The Priestis..ar the verray Antichristis.
1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 21 His minde was enlightened to know the onely very God.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iv. i. 66 What would you say to me now, and I were your verie, verie Rosalind? View more context for this quotation
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > [adjective] > conforming to a standard rule
rightOE
justc1384
verya1425
orderly1542
ruled1551
normatic1598
formal1635
solemn1639
regular1643
mathematical1776
reglementary1800
rule-right1877
a1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Digby) xv Þough þer be alauntes of alle hewese, þe verrey hewe of þe good alauntes..shuld be white with a blake spotte aboute þe eres.
3. In emphatic use, denoting that the person or thing may be so named in the fullest sense of the term, or possesses all the essential qualities of the thing specified. Cf. veritable adj. 3.Common from c1550 to c1700; now chiefly in the superlative, frequently qualifying something bad, objectionable, or undesirable. Occasionally repeated in order to give additional emphasis.
a. With a or the preceding (or rarely without article), or with plural noun.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > in emphatic use
very1384
as or so very a1560
veritable1831
(a)
(b)1593 R. Hooker Of Lawes Eccl. Politie ii. vii. 119 Which insolency must be represt, or it will be the verie bane of Christian religion.1649 Articles of Peace with Irish Rebels 38 The intermedling of Governors and parties in this Kingdom, with sidings and parties in England, have been the very betraying of this kingdom to the Irish.1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 393. ¶2 A Region, which is the very Reverse of Paradise.1729 W. Law Serious Call xiv. 234 Mortification, of all kinds, is the very life and soul of piety.1779 J. Warner in J. H. Jesse G. Selwyn & his Contemp. (1844) IV. 308 And then for owls, it is their very kingdom.1872 J. Morley Voltaire i. 5 Voltaire was the very eye of modern illumination.1883 Manch. Examiner 29 Nov. 5/4 The atmosphere of most of the courts..is the very reverse of healthy.1384 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Prol. 259 Thow thynkist in thyn wit..That he nys but a verray propre fole.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope vi He..is a very fole.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 2 Kings xxii. 19 They shall become a very desolacion and curse.
?1542 H. Brinkelow Complaynt Roderyck Mors xxv. sig. H7 Euery one of them is become a very Nero.
a1577 G. Gascoigne Princelie Pleasures Kenelworth sig. C.iijv, in Whole Wks. (1587) Heauen was not heauen, it was rather a verye Hell.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. F j b When he was dead, Valentinian his sonne a very childe, was by the army stiled Augustus.
1662 W. Petty Treat. Taxes 83 Not to rate..wool until it be cloth, or rather until it be a very garment.
1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires vi. 112 When Poor, she's scarce a tollerable Evil; But Rich, and Fine, a Wife's a very Devil.
1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 157. ⁋1 Marius was then a very Boy.
a1790 B. Franklin Autobiogr. (1981) i. 41 The Attorney, was a very Knave.
1826 B. Disraeli Vivian Grey II. iii. vi. 73 Oh! it is madness; very, very madness.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein II. ix. 285 Sigismund Biederman will aid him willingly, and he is a very horse at labour.
1888 J. Inglis Tent Life Tigerland 1 North Bhangulpore..is admittedly even for India a very sportman's paradise.
b. With a inserted between the adjective and the noun qualified, esp. as or so very a. Cf. so adv. and conj. 14e. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > utter
to the hard ——c1400
as or so very a1560
a fool (also man, etc.) in print1600
of the first (also finest, best, etc.) water1824
dyed in the wool1830
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > foundation in fact, validity > [adjective] > in emphatic use
very1384
as or so very a1560
veritable1831
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccccv There can no man be imagined so very a coward or so barbarouse.
1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus Adæque miser, euen as very a wretch.
1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 14 For often times sene, no more very a knaue, than he that doth counterfet most to be graue.
1634 W. Tirwhyt tr. J. L. G. de Balzac Lett. 352 I will onely content myself to protest that you were never so very a poet, as when you spake of me.
1667 S. Pepys Diary 29 July (1974) VIII. 364 He is as very a wencher as can be.
1704 J. Trapp Abra-Mule iii. i. 1047 Thou cam'st to find as very a Madman As ever rav'd in Chains.
1739 A. Hill in S. Richardson Corr. (1804) I. 36 I was so very a boy when I suffered that light piece of work to be published, that [etc.].
1748 S. Richardson Corr. (1804) I. 182 A thing..so very a nothing in itself.
1804 H. Martin Helen of Glenross IV. 118 So very a soldier.
1828 W. Scott Tapestr. Chamb. ⁋47 I sank back in a swoon, as very a victim to panic terror as ever was a village girl.
1844 C. MacFarlane Camp of Refuge (1897) v. 77 Without knowing..how very a prisoner she is in her own manor-house.
c. In the comparative verier and (in later use more commonly) the superlative veriest.
ΚΠ
(a)
(b)1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 327/2 [The] Veryest foole, le plus fol.?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xxx. sig. K j v He hath erred euen in the principall, and as I might tearme them the veriest trifles.1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) iii. 126 I know not which of these two sortes are the veriest fooles.1630 W. Prynne Anti-Arminianisme 155 He is no more..for the Elect, then hee is for the veriest Reprobates.1695 W. Congreve Love for Love iii. i. 42 I swear, Mr. Benjamin is the verriest Wag in nature; an absolute Sea-wit.1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 11. ⁋5 His Sons and his Sons Sons, have all of 'em been the veriest Rogues living.1743 R. Blair Grave 33 The veryest Gluttons do not always cram.1780 Mirror No. 104 From the same causes, the veriest trifle..had become to him an object of importance.1833 T. Chalmers On Power Wisdom & Goodness of God I. ii. 117 There is no enjoyment whatever in the veriest hell of assembled outcasts.1859 C. Kingsley Misc. (1860) I. 227 Poetry, which read by the veriest schoolboy makes music of itself.1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) 200 Even the deep sinking at the Rosebridge Colliery is but the veriest dent in the earth's surface.1548 T. Cooper Bibliotheca Eliotæ (rev. ed.) at Certus There is no veryer knaue.
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 767/1 The Lord will..suffer vs to come home verier fooles and doltes then wee went.
1648 Hunting of Fox 40 Your selves, veryer beasts then the hogs you lost.
1681 J. Flavell Method of Grace vii. 145 To represent it as a verier trifle, and needless thing than these his Agents have done.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 93 Where the stump of the Tree stood..it meets with not a few visitants so much verier stocks than it self, as to fall down and Worship it.
1733 A. Pope Impertinent 6 A verier Monster than on Africk's Shore The Sun e're got, or slimy Nilus bore.
1814 R. Southey Who counsels Peace? iv All too long in blood had he been nurst, And ne'er was earth with verier tyrant curst.
1856 W. E. Aytoun Bothwell (1857) 8 A verier knave ne'er stepped the earth.
a1861 A. H. Clough Dipsychus ii. iv, in Lett. & Remains (1865) 185 A verier Mercury, express come down To do the world with swift arithmetic.
4. † a. Truthful, true; sure, reliable. Obsolete.† c. Of decisions, etc.: just, true. Obsolete.† d. of very (due) right, justly, properly, rightly, truly. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > of statement: agreeing with reality
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
truea1250
very1303
strait1340
honesta1400
soothfulc1400
precisec1443
veritable1474
just1490
perfect1523
faithful1529
sincere1555
unmangled1557
truthful?1567
neat1571
oraculous1612
punctual1620
oracular1631
unvamped1639
strict1645
unembroidered1649
ungarbled1721
unexaggerated1770
veracious1777
unfictitious1835
unexaggeratinga1854
uncooked1860
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > reliability > [adjective]
sickerc1100
very1303
certainc1325
trustyc1390
soothfasta1400
surea1400
unfailingc1400
unfailablea1525
unfallible1529
infailable1561
reliable1569
cocksurea1575
faithful1611
infalliblea1616
well-proven1639
unfallida1641
indefailable1693
securea1729
pukka1776
1303 R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne 9965 Þese wurdes are verry and clere; Dauyd hem seyth yn þe sautere.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 3473 Oure lauerd..Had don hir in to sikernes, Thoru his werrai prophecie, Quat suld be þaa childer vie.
c1450 Mirour Saluacioun 34 Come lord yt thi prophets be fonden lele and verray.
c1450 Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 516 A verey prove cowthe not be hade in that mater, wherefore the kynge grawntede to þeim bothe theire lyves.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 87 Sekyrly I hop that Thomas prophecy Off Hersildoune sall weryfyd be In him.
a1505 in C. L. Kingsford Chron. London (1905) 222 This yere..came veray tydynges vnto the kyng.. that the frensh kyng was dede.
b. Of truth: exact, simple, real, actual.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adjective]
soothc825
soothlyc888
soothfastc950
rightOE
lealc1330
verilya1340
veryc1386
truea1398
soothfulc1400
real1440
vray1460
trothlike1544
of verityc1550
verimenta1592
correct1705
truthful1781
truthy1848
unillusory1853
straight-up1910
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] > exactly as specified
veryc1386
justc1400
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 158 This is a verray sooth with outen glose.
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 66 Herkenes now, and ȝe may here The werre sothe alle plenere.
c1425 J. Lydgate Assembly of Gods 1226 And I shall yow tell the verrey sothe of all.
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) lviii. 85 And alle this is very trouth.
a1535 T. More Dialoge of Comfort (1553) ii. xvi. sig. K.iiv If he..can by no meanes be shugged out of his dead slepe, but will nedes take his dreame for a very trueth.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 iii. ii. 219 In very truth sir,..I had as liue be hangd sir as go. View more context for this quotation
1611 J. Florio Queen Anna's New World of Words Verità, truth, veritie, verie-sooth.
1668 N. Culpeper & A. Cole tr. T. Bartholin Anat. (new ed.) i. v. 8 To speak the very truth.
1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. xi. 173 He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood.
1882 Myers Teneriffe vii And is the World's in very truth An impercipient Soul?
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > rightness or justice > [adjective]
righteOE
rightfula1225
skilful1340
veryc1440
justc1450
fair-minded1645
dextera1734
just-minded1825
square dinkum1888
fair dinkum1912
c1440 Gesta Romanorum (Add. MS.) i. xlvii. 202 Therfore we are turned agayn, to here a verrey dome, what is for to done of this thynge.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 86 b/1 Alle they meruaylled and said that thys was a veray and ryght good answere of the question.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > dueness or propriety > [phrase]
on (also upon) righteOE
by (good, etc.) rightc1330
to rightsc1330
well and truly1348
of very (due) right?a1366
to righta1382
at right1487
in one's way1691
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb]
mid or with (‥) soothc888
soothfastlya890
soothfastc950
rightOE
yeaOE
soothlyOE
soothOE
trulyc1225
soothrightc1275
purec1300
verament1303
verily1303
purelyc1325
verimentc1325
indeedc1330
veirec1330
soothfully1340
faithlyc1350
of very (due) right?a1366
leallya1375
amenc1384
in soothnessc1386
verya1387
in certaina1400
truea1400
without(en) wougha1400
in veirec1400
in deedc1405
without famec1430
in veramentc1450
utterlyc1460
veritably1481
veritable1490
voirably1501
seriously1644
quite1736
quite1881
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 1627 This welle is clepid, as welle is knowen, The welle of Love, of verray right.
c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 7 Fortune gaff him eke prosperite, and richesse, Withe scripture appering in ther sighte, To him applyed of verray dew righte.
c1440 J. Lydgate Horse, Goose & Sheep 57 Eques, ab ‘equo’ is seid of verray riht And cheualere is saide of cheualrye.
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur x. lxxxvi. 565 I and ony knyght..oughte of veray ryght socoure and rescowe soo noble a knyghte as ye are.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. MMvi He that of very right owed the cappe.
e. in (also †of) very deed: see deed n. 5c.
a. Exact or precise, as opposed to approximate; = true adj. 6. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective]
rightOE
namely?c1225
lealc1330
very1338
truec1400
justc1425
exquisite1541
precise?a1560
jump1581
accuratea1599
nice1600
refined1607
punctual1608
press?1611
square1632
exact1645
unerring1665
proper1694
correct1705
pointed1724
prig1776
precisivea1805
as right as a trivet1835
spot on1936
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 83 How mykelle lond & rent holy kirke had to a prowe, Alle þei did extend to witte þe verrey valowe.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Deut. xxv. 15 Weiȝt thow shalt haue iust and verrey, and euen busshel and verrey shal be to thee.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §17. 9 Euermo this cercle equinoxial turnyth Iustly fro verrey est to verrey west.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 40 The seid places with the portenances [to] be soold to the verray valew.
1485–6 in Hist. MSS Comm.: 10th Rep.: App. Pt. V: MSS Marquis of Ormonde &c. (1885) 318 in Parl. Papers (C. 4576-I) XLII. 1 The veray value of the same.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 53 The very time as Theophrastus wryteth, is at the spring.
1594 W. West Symbolæogr.: 2nd Pt. ii. Chancerie §95 Gently requiring him..to deliver..such and so many of the said sheepe,..or the verie value thereof.
1652 M. Nedham tr. J. Selden Of Dominion of Sea 33 They are not well agreed about the very particular place.
1657 J. Trapp Comm. Job xxxix. 25 Horses will perceive aforehand the very time of the fight.
b. Of a copy, writing, etc. Obsolete. (Cf. A. 10c.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > following original exactly > as copy
very1470
1470–85 T. Malory Morte d'Arthur xix. xiii. 796 And by cause I haue lost the very mater of la cheualer du charyot I departe from the tale of sir Launcelot.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VII f. xlixv His awne confession written with hys awne hande, the very copy wherof hereafter ensueth.
ΘΚΠ
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > [adjective]
soothfastc825
truefastOE
i-treowec1000
unfakenOE
trueOE
sickerc1100
trigc1175
strustya1250
steel to the (very) backa1300
true as steela1300
certainc1325
well-provedc1325
surec1330
traistc1330
tristc1330
trustya1350
faithfula1382
veryc1385
sada1387
discreet1387
trust1389
trothfulc1390
tristya1400
proveda1425
good-heartedc1425
well-trusted?a1439
tristfulc1440
authorizablea1475
faithworthy?1526
tentik1534
fidele1539
truthfulc1550
suresby1553
responsible1558
trestc1560
reliable1569
cocksurea1575
sound1581
trustful1582
truepenny1589
true (also good, sure) as touch1590
probable1596
confident1605
trustable1606
axiopistical1611
loyala1616
reposeful1627
confiding1645
fiducial1647
laudable1664
safe1667
accountable1683
serious1693
sponsible1721
dependable1730
unfailing1798
truthya1802
trustworthy1829
all right1841
stand-up1841
falsehood-free1850
right1856
proven1872
bankable1891
secure1954
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Lucrece. 1686 To..drawe to memorye The verry wif, the verry trewe Lucresse.
c1386 G. Chaucer Wife of Bath's Tale 348 Pouerte a spectakele is, as thynkyth me, Thorw whech he may his veray frend i-see.
c1487–1500 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) I. 474 Your verrey bedeman the provost of the kynges College.
a1500 (a1475) G. Ashby Dicta Philosophorum l. 245 in Poems (1899) 53 Who that cannat disseure wise from bad Shal haue no verrey freendes þat be sad.
1532 T. Cromwell in R. B. Merriman Life & Lett. T. Cromwell (1902) I. 347 My veraye Frend and Felow Mr. John Welsborne.
1584 B. R. in tr. Herodotus Famous Hyst. To Rdr. I ende. Your very friende. B. R.
1607 R. C. tr. H. Estienne World of Wonders 283 A gentlewoman of Lorraine, my very friend.
1608 S. Rowlands Humors Looking Glasse 14 A Gentleman a verie friend of mine.
1676 W. Wycherley Plain-dealer iii. i Sir, Sir, your very Servant; I was afraid you had forgotten me.
a. Of persons: truly or rightfully standing in a certain position or relationship; rightful, lawful, legitimate. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > [adjective]
righteOE
kindc1300
rightfulc1330
truec1384
righteous1391
lawfula1400
just?1435
legitimec1450
legitimatea1460
verya1466
justc1540
reable1581
sib1701
competent1765
a1466 R. Taverham in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 322 I am very heyre, by the discease of my fader, to a place called Keswyk.
1495 Act 11 Hen. VII c. 56 Preamble, Landes..to the whiche the vere owners be now restored by dyvers actes.
1513 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1884) V. 51 I do give my full power..unto my saide suster Lucie, and I do charge hir, as she is very mother of my saide nece [etc.].
1545 in J. D. Marwick & R. Renwick Charters rel. Glasgow (1906) II. 509 His varray lawful cessionaris, donatouris and assignais.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 789 Neither King Edwarde himselfe, nor the Duke of Clarence were lawfully begotten, nor were they very children of the Duke of Yorke.
1606 Munim. Melros (Bannatyne Club) 657 We..constitutis..Oure verrie lauchfull vndoubtit and irreuocabill Procuratouris, actoris, factoris [etc.].
b. Legally valid or established. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > rule of law > [adjective] > legally valid
authentica1387
vailable1433
available1451
mightyc1460
stronga1475
very1475
authentical?1531
valid1571
validate1586
forcible1587
validous1603
1475 Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 24 To be put in rememoraunce of youre auncien enheritaunce, verray right and title in youre duchies of Gascoigne and Guien.
1487 Munim. Melros (Bannatyne Club) 618 Þe Abbot..hes verray richt to þe erde siluer of þe quer of þe said Kirk.
II. That is precisely or exactly, and related uses; exactly corresponding.
8. † c. Qualifying pronouns in order to give emphasis. Sometimes emphasizing identity (cf. sense A. 10b). Obsolete.
a. Used as an intensive, either to denote the inclusion of something regarded as extreme or exceptional, or to emphasize the exceptional prominence of some ordinary thing or feature.In very common use from the 16th cent. With slight change of syntax the sense may commonly be expressed by the adverbs ‘even’ or ‘actually’. Various types of context (with the, possessives, etc.) are illustrated in the several groups of quotations; the use in (d) is now obsolete, and that in (c) a rare archaism.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [adjective] > used as an intensive
veryc1386
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree > entitled to designation in high degree
fullOE
muchc1275
greata1398
very1712
veritable1862
(a)
(b)1535 Bible (Coverdale) Hab. iii. A In thy very wrath thou thinkest vpon mercy.1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Rogation Week iv. ⁋2 To striue for our very rightes and dueties, with the breche of loue & charitie,..is vtterly forbydden.1595 W. S. Lamentable Trag. Locrine i. i. 68 A greater care torments my verie bones.1600 in J. Morris Troubles Catholic Forefathers (1872) (modernized text) 1st Ser. i. iv. 194 Oftentimes their very beds they lie upon..are sold before their faces.1620 T. Granger Syntagma Logicum 100 Yet in their verie mutuall relation there is also force of arguing to explicate a sentence.1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel To Rdr. p. ii The Chyrurgeon's work of an Ense rescindendum, which I wish not to my very Enemies.1705 tr. W. Bosman New Descr. Coast of Guinea iii. 27 You may imagine what Case we were in when one of them began to hack our very doors with an Ax.1768 O. Goldsmith Good Natur'd Man i. 6 His very mirth is an antidote to all gaiety.1807 G. Crabbe Parish Reg. i, in Poems 62 His very soul was not his own.1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. i. 1/2 That we do not..see what is passing under our very eyes.1836 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (1837) III. vi. 86 The plain and solemn sense which they bear on their very front.1880 J. McCarthy Hist. our Own Times III. xlvii. 433 His very defects were a main cause of his popularity.(c)1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John 118 b So nowe they sawe certainly at very hande the thing to be true.?a1560 L. Digges Geom. Pract.: Pantometria (1571) i. xvii. sig. E iij v And yet in conueying of waters any great distance, very experience wil bewray an error.1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. R.iii There needeth no art, bicause verye nature her self createth and shapeth menne apt to expresse pleasantly.1609 Bible (Douay) I. Num. xiv. comm. It is so absolutely necessarie in everie communitie to have one Superior of al, that verie mutiners themselves do ever choose such a one.1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 233 They keepe the Roman Lent, but more strictly, abstaining from Fish, and very Oyle (which they use for butter).1649 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Use of Passions 81 The noise of Trumpets puts them in good humor, and..very hurts do animate their courage.1657 Cromwell in T. Burton Diary (1828) II. 329 Their greatest persecution hath been of the people of God,..as I think very experiences will sufficiently demonstrate.1851 J. Keble Occas. Papers (1877) 240 By the way in which things are managed all Apostolic authority is denied in the Church, and very unbelievers may settle what we are to believe.(d)1616 in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) vii. 158 For fear that his very being my brother left..some impression of the truth of his accusations.1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. v. x. sig. Mm4 Those Beams, which derive a new Glory from their very being broken.c1386 G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale 565 Ran cow and calf, and eek the verray hogges Sore fered were for berkyng of dogges.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Luke ii. f. lxxvv The swearde shall pearce the very hert off the.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xcvi. 6 The very heauens declare his rightuousnes, & all people se his glory.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 8 b All Coronells and Captaines of footmen, yea euen the verie Lieutenants generalls.
1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Eromena 180 Sore was she troubled with vomiting, so as having nothing in her stomack, she cast up the very pure bloud.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iv. 184 The Provost..being provided for in all particulars, to the very points of his hose.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 306. ⁋1 It goes to the very Soul of me to speak what I really think of my Face.
1729 A. Pope Dunciad (new ed.) iii. 326 (note) All tastes and degrees of men, from those of the highest Quality to the very Rabble.
1782 F. Burney Cecilia IV. vii. ix. 120 The very air was rent with cries.
1823 W. Scott Quentin Durward III. x. 267 He flew like the very wind.
1832 S. Warren Passages from Diary of Late Physician II. iii. 122 The room was crammed to the very door.
1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iii. §5. 140 The very retainers of the royal household turned robbers.
1891 ‘J. S. Winter’ Lumley xv. 105 It's absurd on the very face of it.
b. Emphasizing nouns which denote extremity of degree or extent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > utter or absolute
shirea1225
purec1300
properc1380
plainc1395
cleana1400
fine?a1400
entirec1400
veryc1400
starka1425
utterc1430
utterlyc1440
merec1443
absolute1531
outright1532
cleara1535
bloodyc1540
unproachable1544
flat1553
downright1577
sheer1583
right-down?1586
single1590
peremptory1601
perfecta1616
downa1625
implicit1625
every way1628
blank1637
out-and-outa1642
errant1644
inaccessional1651
thorough-paced1651
even down1654
dead1660
double-dyed1667
through stitch1681
through-stitched1682
total1702
thoroughgoing1719
thorough-sped1730
regular1740
plumb1748
hollow1751
unextenuated1765
unmitigated1783
stick, stock, stone dead1796
positive1802
rank1809
heart-whole1823
skire1825
solid1830
fair1835
teetotal1840
bodacious1845
raw1856
literal1857
resounding1873
roaring1884
all out1893
fucking1893
pink1896
twenty-four carat1900
grand slam1915
stone1928
diabolical1933
fricking1937
righteous1940
fecking1952
raving1954
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §1. 14 Ley thi reule vp that same day, & thanne wol the verray point of thy rewle sitten in the bordure, vp-on the degree of thy sonne.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 806/1 At the very dawnyng of the daye.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 820/1 In the very myddes..of a thyng.
1560 Bible (Geneva) John viii. 4 The Scribes..said,..Master, this woman was taken in adulterie, in the verie act.
1565 W. Allen Def. & Declar. Doctr. Purgatory To Rdr. f. 4 That matter, whiche..I perceiued, of all other causies in the world, most to touche the very sore of hæresye.
1590 H. Swinburne Briefe Treat. Test. & Willes ii. f. 61 He that is at the very pointe of death.
1605 W. Camden Remaines i. 1 It cannot be impertinent, at the verie enterance, to say somewhat of Britaine.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. 116 From the very brims of Tigris banke, as farre as to Euphrates, there was no greene thing left.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 401 He..then draws the lower part of that noose close up to the very corner of it.
1851 ‘L. Mariotti’ Italy in 1848 359 The Milan government, we are informed, was a bankrupt from the very outset.
1872 Routledge's Every Boy's Ann. 347/1 Reduce this movement to the very minimum.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 18 Quiet slow sure money-making proves the matter's very root.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [adjective] > qualifying pronouns to give emphasis
very1542
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 281 I wys even veray I myself am ye manne.
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. Luke i. f. 17 And verai he shal be the expectacion of all nacions.
1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer i. sig. F.iiii For very suche make the greatnes & gorgeousnes of an Oracion.
1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant xv. 26 I'm turn'd a laughing-stock To boyes, & those, that su'd to tend my Flock,..these (euen very these) Flout at my sorrowes.
1632 P. Holland tr. Xenophon Cyrupædia 200 And this is even very she, whom you..were wont to sport with.
a1701 C. Sedley Venus & Adonis in Wks. (1776) 56 I am ty'd to very thee By ev'ry thought I have.
d. Coupled with own.
ΚΠ
1863 A. W. Kinglake Invasion of Crimea (1877) I. vi. 89 A prince who wielded with his own very hand the power of All the Russias.
1884 J. H. Ewing Mary's Meadow (1886) 72 I had to have it, for my very own.
9. 1812 G. Crabbe Tales xviii. 331 Fondly she pleaded and would gently sigh, For very pity, or she knew not why.1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 191 The sailors mutinied from very hunger.1878 in G. P. Lathrop Masque of Poets 31 For veriest joy her red mouth laughs.
a. Neither more nor less than (that expressed by the noun qualified); exactly that specified without qualification; = sheer adj. 8.Qualifying abstract nouns, esp. those denoting emotions or conditions, and usually following a preposition, esp. for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > [adjective] > of persons, statements, or actions: not limited
veryc1405
unqualified1658
c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 152 For verray fere so wolde hir herte quake.
a1440 Partonope 849 She gynneth to wepe For verray joye.
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 37 I yeve..to my neve..my best purs..and xxli. to put ther inne,.. and wil he be servyd apart with the fyrst, of verray love.
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 65 [He] throu verray fors was the first lorde of that realme.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Zech. viii. 4 Soch as go with staues in their hondes for very age.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 168 The Sommer was so hote that men dyed with very heat.
1577 R. Holinshed Hist. Scotl. 157/1 in Chron. I Through verie dipleasure of suche iniuries as shee daylye susteyned at the handes of his concubines, shee founde meanes to strangle him.
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iv. 12 As a man who..for very spight Still will be tempting him who foyls him still. View more context for this quotation
b. With a limiting or restrictive force: That alone to the exclusion of any thing else; = mere adj.2 5.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > [adjective] > without addition or qualification > bare or mere
mereeOE
nakedOE
barec1200
purec1325
singlec1421
very1548
nude1551
absolute?1570
blank1596
female1602
clear1606
1548 in W. Page Certificates Chantries County of York (1895) II. 495 Having no other promocions but theyre verye stipende or wages.
1574 W. Bourne Regim. for Sea (1577) xix. 50 b Then haue they no other helpe but onely the very account of the shippes way.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) ii. iv. 9 Your very goodnesse, and your company, Ore-payes all I can do. View more context for this quotation
1618 in J. Gutch Collectanea Curiosa (1781) II. 424 There be..17,000 Sheets of paper in that Book, which, upon ordinary account, cometh to eight hundred and fifty pound, the very writing.
1657 O. Cromwell Speech 23 Jan. (Carlyle) So give me leaue, in a very word or two, to congratulate with you.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i At thy very Name My eager Heart springs up.
1703 N. Rowe Fair Penitent i. i Sure 'tis the very Error of my Eyes.
1817 J. Mill Hist. Brit. India II. v. vii. 595 The Governor-General treated the very request as a high offence.
1843 A. W. Pugin Apol. Revival Christian Archit. 40 The very weight and massiveness of the work causing it frequently to settle and give.
1894 P. H. Hunter James Inwick xii. 153 The verra mention o' Tod-Lowrie's name was eneuch.
10. Used (after the, this, that, etc.) to denote or emphasize complete or exact identity:(b)a1643 J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 151 We have but little reason to expect, that God should gratifie us in the very individual thing that we desire.1681 J. Dryden Absalom & Achitophel 3 Those very Jewes, who, at their very best, Their Humour more than Loyalty exprest, Now, wondred.1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. III. 566 Each are continually intent upon that very thing, to which Each are respectively appointed.1780 Mirror No. 99 The supposition, that this is the very character which Shakespeare meant to allot him.1813 J. Austen Pride & Prejudice III. i. 24 Seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people, against whom his pride had revolted. View more context for this quotation1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. i. 6 They..take for granted the very question at issue.1891 Law Times 90 463/1 The contents of the deed were falsely stated by the very person who ought to have advised her on such legal matters.
a. Of points of time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [adjective] > of points of time
very1582
1582 Bible (Rheims) Luke x. 20 In that very houre he reioyced in spirit, and said [etc.].
1615 J. Day Festivals 20 Even in this nicke of time, this very, very instant.
1617 F. Moryson Itinerary i. 193 The bell of that Church was sounded upon the verie day of Saint Bartholmew.
1683 Britanniæ Speculum Pref. p. ii To which..this our Island has been so fortunate as to have been subjected from its very first being inhabited to this very Day.
a1721 M. Prior Down-Hall (1723) xxviii Come this very instant.
1738 J. Swift Compl. Coll. Genteel Conversat. 141 She died just this very Day Seven Years.
1796 J. G. Stedman Narr. Exped. Surinam I. i. 29 On the very day of our debarkation.
1818 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. (ed. 2) II. 268 It is a rule of law..that a remainder must vest, either during the continuance of the preceding estate, or at the very instant of its determination.
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 90 My lady fair the conjuror plays This very night.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. v. 643 Jeffreys gave directions that Alice Lisle should be burned alive that very afternoon.
b. In general use.In quots. under (b) corresponding to a defining or restrictive clause which follows the noun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [adjective]
the ilkeOE
selfeOE
oneOE
no nothera1325
that ilk (thilk) same1390
one self?a1425
selfsamec1425
the same self1503
proper1523
one (and the) selfsame1531
self-said1548
one and the same1551
identical1581
the same very1590
the very same1597
individuala1602
individually the same1604
a (also one) selfly1605
very1611
same1621
numerical1624
numeric1663
identic1664
synonymous1789
1611 Bible (King James) Psalms xxxv. 8 Into that very destruction let him fall. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. i. 79 Why this is..the very hand: the very words. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. 76 When we haue mark'd with blood those sleepie two.., and vs'd their very Daggers. View more context for this quotation
1657 A. Sparrow Rationale Bk. Common Prayer (new ed.) 22 We are taught to pray, ‘And lead us not into temptation’,..which very method holy church here wisely imitates.
1661 Act 13 Chas. II c. 9 §6 All the Papers..shall bee duely preserved and..the very Originals sent up intirely and without fraud to the Court of Admiralty.
1712 J. Arbuthnot App. to John Bull Still in Senses i. 6 Timothy Trim whom they did in their Conscience believe to be the very Prisoner.
1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 390 We put neither folio nor any thing else over the very Dedication.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian x, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 276 ‘Young woman,’ said he, ‘your sister's case must certainly be termed a hard one.’ ‘God bless you, sir, for that very word!’ said Jeanie.
1836 J. Gilbert Christian Atonem. vii. 279 It must be made apparent, that what was demanded of human nature was the perfection of that very human nature.
1875 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) I. 394 First of all answer this very question.
c. Of words: exactly corresponding to those of an original or previous statement.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > truthfulness, veracity > [adjective] > following original exactly
line by line1487
perfect1523
verbal1598
sound1599
verya1616
literala1627
verbatim1651
undepraved1686
literatim1774
letter-perfect1867
line for line1876
a16161 [see sense A. 10b].
1778 T. Jefferson Autobiogr. App., in Wks. (1859) I. 146 Preserving, however, the very words of the established law.
1839 H. Hallam Introd. Lit. Europe II. i. 70 He has..neglected to quote the very words of his authorities.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. xv. 281 I said it, I said it. Those were my very words!
d. the very thing, the thing exactly suitable or requisite.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > suitability or appropriateness > [noun] > that which is suitable or appropriate
the very thing1768
ticket1838
to be a person's meat1875
glove-fit1910
1768 L. Sterne Sentimental Journey I. 90 It occurred to me, that that was the very thing.
1802 J. West Infidel Father II. 123 This behaviour was certainly the very thing.
1868 Newman Let. in The Month July (1909) 66 I am both surprised and glad at your news... I think it is the very thing for you.
B. adv.† 1.
a. Truly, really, genuinely; in or with truth or reality; truthfully. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
c1384 G. Chaucer Hous of Fame ii. 571 It..hath so very hys lykenes That spack the word.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 22973 Bot mani man þat wele can rede vnderstandis noȝt al verray quat þe vale of Iosaphat is to say.
c1400 (?c1380) Patience l. 333 I dewoutly awowe, þat verray bes halden, Soberly to do þe sacrafyse when I schal saue worþe.
c1440 Bone Florence 1928 The abbas, and odur nonnes by, Tolde hyt full openlye, That hyt was so verraye.
c1485 Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 357 The compyler here-of shuld translat veray so holy a story.
b. Qualifying an adjective or past participle. Obsolete.Not always clearly distinguishable from B. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb]
mid or with (‥) soothc888
soothfastlya890
soothfastc950
rightOE
yeaOE
soothlyOE
soothOE
trulyc1225
soothrightc1275
purec1300
verament1303
verily1303
purelyc1325
verimentc1325
indeedc1330
veirec1330
soothfully1340
faithlyc1350
of very (due) right?a1366
leallya1375
amenc1384
in soothnessc1386
verya1387
in certaina1400
truea1400
without(en) wougha1400
in veirec1400
in deedc1405
without famec1430
in veramentc1450
utterlyc1460
veritably1481
veritable1490
voirably1501
seriously1644
quite1736
quite1881
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 329 But for he was verray repentaunt he was exciled for þe fey.
1423 Kingis Quair clxix O! verray sely wrech, I se wele by thy dedely coloure pale, Thou art to feble of thy-self to streche Vpon my quhele.
?c1450 in G. J. Aungier Hist. & Antiq. Syon Monastery (1840) 335 None schal be ouer skypped in any wyse for any suche chaunge, withe oute a very resonable cause.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) viii. 191 Two thousand knyghtes.., & all yonge men of pryme berde, whiche were very frenshe.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 244/1 Both those tonges [i.e. Greek and Latin] wer as verye vulgare as ours.
c1593 in Spalding Club Misc. I. 5 Your Maiestie and the consell hes to Judg gif thay be lauchful, and uerray qualifiit.
2. In a high degree or measure; to a great extent; exceedingly, extremely, greatly.Sometimes emphasized in speaking, and italicized in printing, to give additional force. (Cf. A. 4.)
a.
(a) Qualifying positive adjectives (and participial adjectives) used predicatively, attributively, or absolutely. very high and low frequency (Telecommunications): see VHF n., VLF n. at V n. Initialisms 2; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > radio wave > specific frequencies
very high and low frequency1488
VHF1932
UHF1937
VLF1938
S.H.F.1948
VOR1955
α.
δ. a1500–34 Cov. Corp. Christi Pl. ii. 513 Those fowlys the ar full far fro me And werie yvill for me to fynde.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 327/2 Very good, fort bon.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 828/1 Very farre, very hye, very lowe, etc.a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 317 The said pest come in the towne of kirkcaldie that thair deit verrie mony.?1589 in F. Collins Wills & Admin. Knaresborough Court Rolls (1902) I. 169 My father..ys a verye old man.1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. 56 This isle is very scarce of oile and of corne.1600 J. Pory tr. J. Leo Africanus Geogr. Hist. Afr. iv. 224 Batha, whereof now there remaine but very few ruines.1661 Prince Rupert in 11th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1887) App. V. 8 Tell him that [I] am very glad to heere of his recouvry.1677 A. Marvell Let. 22 Mar. in Poems & Let. (1971) II. 190 A Bill for exporting Coals free or at very easy Custome.1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 44. ⁋6 I have, I fear, huddled up my Discourse, having been very busy.1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth V. 56 They lay very large eggs, some of them being above five inches in diameter.1799 E. Dubois Piece Family Biogr. III. 175 You say this to relieve me, and 'tis very kind of you.1803 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 10 304 An intermittent tendency was also very observable in some instances.1838 T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 580 A soft mass,..very soluble in alcohol.1856 Ld. Granville in Life (1905) I. 211 Very few of our Embassy were invited [to the party].1880 B. Disraeli Endymion II. xxxi. 324 Cards of invitation to banquets and balls and concerts, and ‘very earlies’.1920 Radio Rev. Sept. 579 (heading) Circuit for producing very high frequencies.1938 Admiralty Handbk. Wireless Telegr. 1938 I. Nomenclature of Waves On the basis of a recent C.C.I.R. recommendation, promulgated in French; a suitable nomenclature, likely soon to be accepted internationally, may be given in English as follows:—Below 30 kc/s... Very Low Frequencies (V.L./F.).1958 Economist 26 July 271 With very high frequency radio broadcasting..providing almost perfect reception, the collector of classical music..can make high fidelity recordings..on a £2 tape.1967 Electronics 6 Mar. 68/2 Navy project officers expect a go-ahead..on construction of a worldwide very-low-frequency Omega navigation system.1972 McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 229/2 Some of the techniques developed for determining the geodetic coordinates for land use..can be applied at sea... In addition, the very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique is potentially applicable.1974 Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XV. 425/1 The variation of carrier frequency is known as the frequency deviation, and for very-high-frequency broadcasting it can reach ±75 kilohertz.1976 Time 24 May 64/3 The Japanese government..has declared the development of Very Large Scale Integrations—the technical heart of the next generation of computers—a ‘national project’.1978 J. M. Pasachoff & M. L. Kutner University Astron. xxvi. 667 With this ability, astronomers can make up an interferometer of two or more dishes very far apart, even thousands of kilometers. This technique is called very-long-baseline interferometry.1982 Times 14 Jan. (Information Technol. Suppl.) p. v/4 Very large-scale integration (VLSI)... VLSI puts as many as 100,000 components on a chip.1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 86 Erle Patrik than till Berweik couth persew, Ressawide he was and trastyt werray trew.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 328 In the latine it hath a veray good grace.
1554–5 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Edward VI (1914) 173 Of verey fayer quaint & strange attier.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclv Machlin (a veraye fayre Towne..in Brabant).
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 4 To pray me think it is verray necessarie.
(b) Mountaineering. very difficult, very severe: two of the categories used in classifying rock climbs; also absol.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > mountaineering or climbing > [adjective] > types of terrain
holdless1922
wind-slab1936
very severe1951
thin1955
chossy1965
1951 E. Coxhead One Green Bottle iii. 86 ‘Ah yes, the Amphitheatre Buttress... An easy Difficult, isn't it?’ She..herself led Very Difficults, and occasionally..an easy Severe.
1969 ‘A. Garve’ Ascent of D. 13 ii. 35 I've been climbing ever since I was a kid... I've done more Very Severes than I can remember.
b. Qualifying another adverb.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very
tooc888
swith971
wellOE
wellOE
fullOE
rightc1175
muchc1225
wellac1275
gainlya1375
endlyc1440
hard?1440
very1448
odda1500
great1535
jolly1549
fellc1600
veryvery1649
gooda1655
vastly1664
strange1667
bloody1676
ever so1686
heartily1727
real1771
precious1775
quarely1805
murry1818
très1819
freely1820
powerfula1822
gurt1824
almighty1830
heap1832
all-fired1833
gradely1850
real1856
bonny1857
heavens1858
veddy1859
canny1867
some1867
oh-so1881
storming1883
spanking1886
socking1896
hefty1898
velly1898
fair dinkum1904
plurry1907
Pygmalion1914
dinkum1915
beaucoup1918
dirty1920
molto1923
snorting1924
honking1929
hellishing1931
thumpingly1948
way1965
mega1966
mondo1968
seriously1970
totally1972
mucho1978
stonking1990
1448 R. Hungerford in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 520 Vere hartely your, Molyns.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 814/1 Very erly in the mornyng, au plus matyn.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 843/2 Very gladly, moult voulentiers. Very hardly, a paynes... Very seldome, peu souuent.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iv. vi. sig. G.ijv But very well I wist he here did all in scorne.
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 22 The gouernour hard thir vordis verrey plesandlie.
1631 B. Jonson New Inne Dram. Pers. Sir Glorious Tipto..talkes gloriously of any thing, but very seldome is in the right.
1664 Bp. J. Taylor Disswasive from Popery ii. viii. 118 For if it were [necessary], very extremely few would do their duty.
1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks (ed. 3) 130 The next day we set out very betimes in the Morning towards Mount Alverne.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 58. ¶4 Several Pieces which have lived very near as long as the Iliad it self.
1795 Gentleman's Mag. 65 543/1 Nonjuring clergymen and their families partook very largely of his benevolence.
1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 567 Courts of equity would do very ill by not adopting that rule.
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 158 The spindles should revolve very quickly in the spinning frame.
1867 A. T. Drane Christian Schools II. iii. 129 The school at Sempringham very soon became famous.
c. Qualifying past participles used predicatively or attributively: = Very much. (See much adj. 1c.) Also exceptionally with like vb.The correctness of this usage, which has been prevalent from the middle of the 17th cent., depends on the extent to which the participle has acquired a purely adjectival sense.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > by or to a great degree or extent
mickleseOE
mickleeOE
sevensitheOE
highOE
muchc1225
wellc1300
fara1400
goodlya1450
long?a1475
farlya1500
largea1522
muchly1621
very1641
heartily1727
lot1839
lot1855
big time1957
batshit1993
1641 K. Digby Honour Maintained sig. A3 At which the good Knight seemed very much discontent.
1664 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1912) 3rd Ser. 215 Faber, A Jerman,..being a very suspected person, reather of crafty principalls.
a1719 J. Addison Dialogues Medals in Wks. (1721) I. ii. 451 Many very valued pieces of French, Italian, and English appear in the same dress [i.e. dialogue].
1782 R. Cumberland Anecd. Painters (1787) II. 90 I was a very interested and anxious spectator.
1792 W. Roberts Looker-on No. 14. 106 Betty..looked very pleased at several passages.
1804–6 S. Smith Elem. Sketches Moral Philos. (1850) 54 A very over-rated man.
1842 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. Mar. in Lett. & Jrnls. (1885) I. 112 I am becoming very hurried.
1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life III. 60 I should so very like to know who this Mr. Ball and his daughter are.
1874 G. W. Dasent Half a Life III. 177 Her foot is very swollen.
1879 W. E. Gladstone Gleanings Past Years I. iii. 79 In this rather confused and very disappointed letter.
d. With a negative, frequently denoting ‘only moderately’, ‘rather un——’.
ΚΠ
1710 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 31 Oct. (1948) I. 77 Then it went off, leaving me sickish, but not very.
1739 J. Sparrow tr. H. F. Le Dran Observ. Surg. lxxxi. 282 It was not very adherent to any other Place than the Coccyx.
a1871 G. Grote Fragm. Ethical Subj. (1876) i. 24 They leave them unnoticed, and are not very willing to admit them in their full extent at all.
e. Qualifying a noun or proper name used adjectively (for emphasis).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > assertion or affirmation > [adjective] > qualifying noun or proper name to give emphasis
very1937
1937 A. H. Gardiner in Mélanges de Linguistique et de Philologie offerts à J. van Ginneken 310 Predicatival examples are not very frequent, e.g. She is very Boston, Surely that knock (i.e. at the front door) is John.
1968 Listener 21 Mar. 389/3 The total effect is very Kirov: it has more in common with the Leningrad Cinderella..than with ours.
1978 Hot Car July 87/5 Scallops, a very fifties paint idea, consisting of a long U-shaped design, the ends of which taper off to points.
3. In purely intensive use.† c. With adverbs of time, place, or manner: Exactly, precisely, just; = even adv. 5. Obsolete.
a. Emphasizing superlatives, esp. best, last, next.†Also with virtual superlatives, as principal.
ΚΠ
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Diijv He will see the..wyth the swallowe verye firste That cummes into that place.
1654 T. Gataker Disc. Apol. 17 This fel out to be the verie next day after Qeen Elizabeths decease.
1664 in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 188 A greater meeting..at her house then ever, the very next Sunday after the Sessions.
1684 Scanderbeg Redivivus vi. 142 The City was now reduc'd to the very last Extremity.
a1732 F. Atterbury Serm. Several Occas. (1734) I. 163 How then should the very Best of us..expect..to be free from them?
1753 J. Collier Art Tormenting, Gen. Rules (1811) 199 If you know yourself to be of some consequence, although not the very principal person of the party.
1767 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy IX. xxx. 128 In the very next page.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 308 Three of the very richest subjects in England.
1865 S. Baring-Gould Bk. Were-wolves v. 53 Whenever they stray in the very least.
1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 143 You have missed the very best thing in Kandy.
b. Denoting and emphasizing absolute identity or difference, esp. with same or opposite.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > relationship > identity > [adverb] > very same or opposite
very?a1500
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly > denoting absolute identity
very?a1500
the world > relative properties > relationship > contrariety or contrast > [adverb] > very (opposite)
very1835
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > utterly > denoting absolute difference
very1835
?a1500 Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) 215 It is the vereye same [blind man].
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. Socrates §86 e iij Plato,..whiche in rebukyng hym [Socrates] did committe the veraye selfe same faulte, that he rebuked.
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 26 That's it, I would haue said, the verie same. View more context for this quotation
1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors 182 That which happen'd on the very same day the year before.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 44. ¶6 Whose Murther he would revenge in the very same Place where it was committed.
1781 W. Cowper Table Talk 388 He trod the very self-same ground you tread.
1833 I. Taylor Fanaticism i. 7 The very same spirit of kindness which should rule us in the performance of a task such as the one now in hand.
1835 T. Mitchell in tr. Aristophanes Acharnians 690 (note) The very opposite word was of course expected.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb]
rightlyeOE
righteOE
evenOE
evenlya1225
redlyc1275
justicelya1375
justilya1375
justlya1375
redilya1375
trulya1375
properlya1382
precisec1392
preciselyc1392
truec1392
straitlya1395
leala1400
arightc1405
by linec1420
justlyc1425
featlya1450
rule-righta1450
to the letter?1495
exquisitely1526
evenliklya1530
very1530
absolutely1538
jump1539
just1568
accurately1581
punctually1581
jumplya1586
arights1596
just so1601
plumb1601
compassly1606
nicelya1616
squarely1626
justa1631
adequately1632
mathematicallya1638
critically1655
exquisitively1660
just1665
pointedly1667
faithfully1690
correctlya1704
jus1801
jest1815
jes1851
neat1875
cleanly1883
on the nose1883
smack-dab1892
spot on1920
forensically1974
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > exactly so, just
rightOE
evenOE
alrightOE
allOE
evenlya1375
preciselyc1443
very1530
meet1543
on the spot1884
(right) on the button1925
spot on2009
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > exactly so, just > of place
righteOE
evenc1300
very1530
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > exactly so, just > of time
evenOE
rightlOE
very1530
(a)
(b)1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 823/2 Very here, very ther, droit cy, droit la.a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher Two Noble Kinsmen (1634) v. vi. 99 In this place first you fought: ev'n very here I sundred you. View more context for this quotation(c)a1592 R. Greene Comicall Hist. Alphonsus (1599) ii. sig. D1v What newes is this, and is it very so? Is our Alphonsus yet in humane state?1632 R. Sanderson 12 Serm. 98 Very so ought we to conceiue the meaning of the vniversall particle ‘Every man’.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 808/1 Evyn very now, tout fyn mayntenant.
a1555 J. Philpot tr. C. S. Curione Def. Authority Christ's Church in R. Eden Exam. & Writings J. Philpot (1842) (modernized text) 334 It is possible some part of the Church for a time to be deceived when..they have a zeal of the truth,..yea, very then when they err, and plunge into any vice or sin.
a1556 N. Udall Ralph Roister Doister (?1566) iv. vi. sig. G.iij But when gost thou for him? M. M. That do I very nowe.
a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) Sol. viii. 41 Did not that voice, that voted Wisdome vain But very now, now cry it up again?
1644 J. Maxwell Sacro-sancta Regum Majestas 74 If we alleadge Ignatius, it is to be feared he'l fare no better, for a great Scholar..hath very now rejected all we have of him.
4. Repeated in order to convey greater emphasis. Also veryvery (as one word).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > very
tooc888
swith971
wellOE
wellOE
fullOE
rightc1175
muchc1225
wellac1275
gainlya1375
endlyc1440
hard?1440
very1448
odda1500
great1535
jolly1549
fellc1600
veryvery1649
gooda1655
vastly1664
strange1667
bloody1676
ever so1686
heartily1727
real1771
precious1775
quarely1805
murry1818
très1819
freely1820
powerfula1822
gurt1824
almighty1830
heap1832
all-fired1833
gradely1850
real1856
bonny1857
heavens1858
veddy1859
canny1867
some1867
oh-so1881
storming1883
spanking1886
socking1896
hefty1898
velly1898
fair dinkum1904
plurry1907
Pygmalion1914
dinkum1915
beaucoup1918
dirty1920
molto1923
snorting1924
honking1929
hellishing1931
thumpingly1948
way1965
mega1966
mondo1968
seriously1970
totally1972
mucho1978
stonking1990
1649 in E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 128 I have a verry verry great jealousy Lord Digby will be left in the lurch.
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler 137 He [the salmon] is very, very seldom observed to bite at a Minnow..and not oft at a fly. View more context for this quotation
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year (1896) 46 It was indeed very, very, very dreadful.
1807 R. Wilson Private Diary 13 July (1862) II. 317 The retribution may be just but it is very very severe.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. I. 306 ‘I think him pleasant, and handsome, and—.’ ‘Oh! very, very,’ said George.
1836 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers (1837) ii. 17 Oh! I see..negus too strong here—liberal landlord—very foolish—very.
1969 A. Lurie Real People 16 Croquet's become veryvery intense this year.
1977 Transatlantic Rev. No. 60. 68 You have a very nice face... And were veryvery nice to me.
C. n.1 † a. Truth, verity. Obsolete. rare.† b. for, in, or into very, = Truly, verily. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [noun]
soothc950
soothOE
rightOE
soothnessc1275
soothness1297
soothshipc1320
soothhead1340
very1382
trotha1387
trutha1391
verity1422
veriment1528
true?1531
trueness1559
veriness1574
reality1604
veracity1664
veridicalness1727
the fact of the matter1808
truthfulness1835
actualité1840
the straight1866
satya1879
straight goods1892
veridicalitya1901
truth value1903
dinky1941
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Rom. Prol. Thes reuokith the apostle to the verrey [a1425 L.V. treuthe] and the gospels bileue.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [adverb] > assuredly, indeed
soothlyc825
forsoothc888
wiselyc888
sooth to sayOE
i-wislichec1000
to (‥) soothOE
iwis?c1160
certesa1250
without missa1275
i-witterlic1275
trulyc1275
aplight1297
certc1300
in (good) fayc1300
verily1303
certain1330
in truthc1330
to tell (also speak, say) the truthc1330
certainlya1375
faithlya1375
in faitha1375
surelya1375
in sooth1390
in trothc1390
in good faitha1393
to witc1400
faithfullyc1405
soothly to sayc1405
all righta1413
sad?a1425
in certc1440
wella1470
truec1480
to say (the) truth1484
of a truth1494
of (a) trotha1500
for a truth?1532
in (of) verity1533
of verityc1550
really1561
for, in, or into very?1565
indeed1583
really and truly1600
indeed and indeed1673
right enough1761
deed1816
just1838
of a verity1850
sho1893
though1905
verdad1928
sholy1929
ja-nee1937
only1975
deffo1996
?1565 Smyth that forged New Dame sig. a.ii I am mayster of all, That smyteth wyth hamer or mall And so may thou me call I tell the for veray.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus ii. f. 31 Ane messinger said scho, into verray Thair erandis gais, baith nicht and als be day.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus ii. f. 19 [Ter]psichore [the] fift is callit in verray.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1917; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
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n.c1386
n.21907
adj.adv.n.1c1250