do 
For she, that doth me all this wo endure, 
Ne rekketh never whether I synke or rtete. 
Chaucer, Knights Tale, 1. 1588. 
I'miii 1rriis:i]i'iii he dede. hem come 
Into the holy place of Home. 
Political I'oems, etc. (oil. Furnlvall), p. 127. 
Hut ye knowe not the cause why, but yef I do yow to 
vndirstiiiHlr. Merlin(B. E. T. S.), lit. 03i 
Then on his Im-st hla victor footc he thrust : 
With that lie cryde ; " Mercy ! doc me not dye." 
Spenser, F. (J., II. v. 12. 
Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of 
God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. 
2 Cor. vili. 1. 
lit. To cause : with an infinitive (without to) : 
as, he did make (that is, he caused to make) : 
"to do make a castell," Palsgrave, 1530 (that is, 
to cause to make a castle, or to cause a castle 
to be made or erected). 
lie estward hath upon the gate above, 
In worachlpe of Venus, goddesse of Love, 
Don make an auter and an oratorye. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 1047. 
And he founde wyth him one his sone of the age of ten 
yeres whom he dyde doo baptyse. and lyfte him fro the 
fonte. Holy Rood (E. E. T. 8.), p. 183. 
12. To hoax; cheat; swindle; humbug; over- 
reach : as, to do a man out of his money. [Fa- 
miliar slang.] 13f. To outdo, as in fighting ; 
beat; overcome. 
I have done the Jew, and am in good health. 
H. Humphreys. 
To do away, (at) To give up ; lay aside. Chaucer. (b) 
To put away ; remove ; annul ; abolish ; obliterate : now 
usually in the form to do away with. 
It [praise] is the most excellent part of our religious 
worship ; enduring to eternity after the rest shall be done 
away. Bp. Atterbury, Sermons, 1. 1. 
Time's wasting hand has done away 
The simple Cross of Sybil Grey. 
Scott, Marmlon, vi. 37. 
To do (a person) brown. See brown. 
Why they'll laugh at and quiz us all over the town, 
We are all of us done so uncommonly brown f 
Barham, Ingoldsby Legends, I. 287. 
TO do duty for, to take the place of ; act as a substitute 
for. To do no curet, to do no force. See the nouns. 
To do one cheert. See ckeeri. TO do one proud, to 
make one feel proud : as, sir, you do me proud. (Colloq. 
or jocular.] To do one right*, to do one reason t, to 
pledge one in drinking. 
Do me right, 
And dub me knight. 
Shak., 2 Hen. IV., v. 3 (song). 
Your master's health, sir, 
I'll do you reason, sir. 
Take, Adventures of Five Hours. 
To do one's business, to do one's diligence. See the 
nouns. To do Over, (a) To repeat the doing of; per- 
form again : as, do your exercise over. (6) To coat, as 
with paint ; smear. [Rare.] 
Boats . . . done over with a kind of slimy stuff. Defw. 
To do the business for. See business. To do to death. 
See death. To do up. (at) To put up ; raise ; open. See 
dup. 
Up the wyndow dide he hastily. 
Chaucer, Miller's Tale, 1. 613. 
(b) To wrap and tie up, as a parcel : as, do up these books 
neatly, and send them oft at once. (.) To dress and fas- 
ten, as the hair. 
It is easy to be merry and good-humored when one's 
new dress flts exquisitely, and one's hair hasn't been frac- 
tious In the doing up. 
Mrs. Whitney, Leslie Goldthwaite, Iv. 
(d) To freshen, as a room with paint, paper, and uphol- 
stery, or a garment by remodeling. 
An old black coat which I have had done up, and smart- 
ened with metal buttons and a velvet collar. 
Shelley, In Dowden, I. 389. 
(f) To iron, or starch and iron : as, a laundress who does 
up muslins well. To do with, (a) To effect or accom- 
plish through employment or disposal of: as, I don't 
know what to do with myself, or with my leisure. 
There dwellen gode folk and resonable, and manye 
Crlstene men amonges hem. that ben so riche, that the! 
wyte not what to done with hire Godes. 
MandeviUe, Travels, p. 300. 
What will He Do with It? [title of a book). Bulwer. 
(b) To have concern or business with ; deal with ; get on 
with : as, I can da nothing vnth this obstinate fellow. 
To have to do with, to have concern or connection with. 
What have I to do with you? 
2 Sam. xvi. 10. 
All things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him 
with whom we hare to do. Heb. iv. 13. 
I vow, Amintor, I will never eat, 
(tr ilrink, or sleep, or ham to do with that 
That may preserve life. 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, T. 4. 
Dangle. What has a woman to do with politics, Mrs. 
Dangle ? 
Mrs. Danfllf. And what have you to do with the theatre, 
Mr. Dangle < Sheridan, The Critic, i. 1. 
What '8 to do here? what is the matter here? what is 
all this abniif: 
Whaft to do here, Thomas Tapster? Let's withdraw. 
Shak., M. for M., 1. 2. 
1711 
II. intrant. 1. To act; be in action; be ac- 
tive in performing or accomplishing; exert 
one's self in relation to something. 
Doing is activity, and he will still be doitvi. 
Shak., Hon. V., ill. 7. 
Be but your self, 
And do not talk, but do. 
Fletcher (and another 1), Prophetess, iv. 1. 
Mechanic soul, thou must not only do 
With Martha, but with Mary ponder too. 
(Jwtrlet, Emblems, Iv. 7, Eplg. 
Let us then be up and doing. 
Longfellow, Psalm of Life. 
2. To act or behave ; conduct one's self : with 
adverbial adjuncts indicating manner of act- 
ing: as, to do well by a man. 
If your Spirit will not let you retract, yet you shall do 
well to repress any more Copies of the Satire. 
II'.H-'I/. Letters, 11. 2. 
Behold God hath judg'd and don to him in the sight of 
all men according to the verdict of his owne mouthe. 
Milton, Elkonoklastos, ill. 
3. To succeed (well or ill) in some undertaking 
or action ; get along ; come through. 
On the Tuesday they went to the tourney ; where they 
did very nobly. Stow (Arber's Eng. Garner, I. 478). 
4. To arrange ; contrive ; shift : as, how shall 
we do for food t 
How shall we do for money for these wars? 
Shak., Rich. IL, U. 2. 
How shall I do to answer as they deserve your two last 
letters ? llichardson. 
5. [Of. the equiv. OF. comment le faites^votist 
lit. how do you make itt G. was machen sief 
lit. what make you f The sense of do 1 in this 
usage merges in do 2 . See do 2 , dow l .~\ To be 
(well or ill) ; be in a state with regard to sick- 
ness or health ; fare : as, we asked him how he 
did; how do you dot 
How does my cousin Edward, uncle ? 
B. Jomon, Every Man In his Humour, i. 1. 
Sir John Walter asked me lately how you did, and wished 
me to remember him to you, Howell, Letters, I. iv. 24. 
My dear Lady Sneerwell, how do you do to-day ? Mr. 
Snake, your most obedient. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, i. 1. 
Have done, desist ; give over. 
Moses. Sir, this is Mr. Premium, a gentleman of thestrict- 
est honour and secresy ; . . . Mr. Premium, this is 
Charles S. Pshaw ! have done. Sir, my friend Moses is 
a very honest fellow, but a little slow at expression. 
Sheridan, School for Scandal, Hi. 3. 
TO do for. (a) To act for or in behalf of ; provide or 
manage for : as, he do well for his family. (6) To ruin ; 
defeat effectually ; injure fatally. 
This pretty smooth dialogue has done for me. 
Goldsmith, She Stoops to Conquer, li. 
" They have done for me at last, Hardy, " said he [Nelson ], 
as he was raised up from the deck ; " my backbone is shot 
through." Amer. Cyc., XII. 222. 
To do without, to dispense with ; succeed or get along 
without : as, I can do in I limit the book till Saturday. 
The Romance words are some of them words which we 
cannot do without for some particular purposes, but which 
are not, by the first needs of speech, always on our lips. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lecte., p. 163. 
To have done With, to have come to an end of ; have fin- 
ished ; cease to have part or interest In or connection with : 
as, I have done with speculating ; I have done with you for 
the future. 
III. auxiliary and substitute. 1 . As an auxil- 
iary, do is inflected, while the principal verb is 
in the infinitive without to, and originally and 
strictly the object of do : thus, / do know is I 
perform an act of knowing. Compare shall and 
will. 
O blessed Bond ! O happy Marriage ! 
Which diiost the match 'twixt Christ and vs presage ! 
Sylvester, tr. of Du Bartas's Weeks, L 6. 
The youth did ride, and soon dt'd meet 
John coming back amain. Cowper, John Gilpin. 
Certain uses of do as an auxiliary, with both transitive 
and intransitive verbs, may be pointed out. (a) In form- 
ing interrogative and negative expressions : as, do you 
want this book ? I do not long for it ; does he do his work 
well ? he doet not do it as well as I expected. 
You seem to marvel I do not marry all this while, con- 
sidering that I am post the Meridian of my Age. 
Howell, Letters, I. vi. 60. 
(6) With the imperative, sometimes, to help the expres- 
sion of the subject : as, do thou go (instead of go, or go 
thou) ; do you stay here (instead of stay, or stay you here). 
(c) To express emphasis : as, I do wish you had seen him ; I 
did see him ; d be quick ; do not (don't) do that, (d) Some- 
times (now chiefly in poetry, where it is often used for 
merely metrical reasons, but formerly often in prose) 
merely as an inflection of the principal verb, with no other 
effect. 
A fair smooth Front, free from least Wrinkle, 
Her Eyes (on me) like Stars do twinkle. 
Howell, Letters, I. v. 21. 
Greeks and Jews, together with the Turks, doe inhabit 
the towne, and are admitted their churches and syna- 
gogues. Sandys, Travailes, p. 21. 
doab 
For deeds doe die, how ever noblle donne, 
And thoughts of men do as themselves decay. 
Spenser, Ruins of Time, 1. 400. 
Bos. My lord, you once did love me. 
Ham. So 1 do still, by these pickers and stealers. 
Mnl... Hamlet, 111. 2. 
This just reproach their virtue does excite. Dryden. 
2. Do, being capable of denoting any kind of 
action required oy the circumstances in con- 
nection with which it is used, is often employed 
as a substitute for the principal verb, or for the 
whole clause directly dependent upon it, to 
avoid repetition : as, conduct your business on 
sound principles ; so long as you do. you are safe. 
In such an expression there is an ellipsis either o( the prin- 
cipal verb or of thu, that, these things to, etc. : as, I in- 
tend to come, but If I do not you will know how to act ; 
so long as you do (so), you are safe. 
The next morow we sayd masse as we ded the tewysday 
be for. Torkinyton, Dlarle of Eng. Travell, p. 45. 
I held it great Injustice to believe 
Thine enemy, and did not 
Beau, and Fl., Maid's Tragedy, Iv. 2. 
Thus my Soul still moves Eastward, as all the heavenly 
Bodies do. Howell, Letters, I. vi. 32. 
I ... chose my wife as she did her wedding-gown, not 
for a fine glossy surface, but for such qualities as would 
wear well. GoUtmith, Vicar, L 
do 1 (dS), n. [Formerly also doe; < do 1 , .] If. 
Endeavor; duty; all that is required of one, or 
that one can do. 
No sooner does he peep into 
The world but he has done his do*. 
5. Butler, Hudlbraa. 
" But," says he, " I have done my do in helping to get 
him out of the administration of things for which he U 
not flt." Pepyt, Diary, III. 816. 
2f. To-do; bustle; tumult; stir; fuss. 
Dissenters in Parliament may at length come to a good 
end, tho' flrst there be a great deal of do. 
Selden, Table-Talk, p. 8L 
To Graham College, where a great deal of do and for- 
mality in choosing of the Council and Officers. 
Pepyt, Diary, April 11, 1666. 
3. A trick ; a cheat ; a hoax. [Slang.] 
I thought it was a do, to get me out of the house. 
Dickens, Sketches. 
do 2 (d8). v. i. ; pret. did, pp. done, ppr. doing. 
[Now identifier in form and inflection with the 
much more common and comprehensive verb 
do 1 . The senses of do 1 and do 2 , v. i., are so 
intermingled that it is impossible to separate 
them completely. All uses not obviously be- 
longing to do 2 it is best to refer to do 1 . Same 
as Sc. and E. dial, dow, which is phonetically 
the right modern form: see dow 1 .] To suit; be 
fit or suitable ; serve the purpose or end in view ; 
avail ; suffice : as, will this do t 
Abs. Well, recruit will do let it be so. 
Fag. O, sir, recruit will do surprisingly. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, U. 1. 
"Let women vote!" cries one. "Why, wives and 
daughters might be Democrats, while their fathers and 
husbands were Whigs. It would never do." 
W. PhiUipi, Speeches, p. 24. 
Not so careful for what is best as for what will do. 
Lowell, Blglow Papers, Int. 
To do for, to suit for ; serve as ; answer the purpose of ; be 
sufficient lor; satisfy: as, this piece of timber will do for 
the corner post ; a trusty stick will do for a weapon ; very 
plain food will do for me. 
Of course, it is a great pleasure to me to sit and talk 
with Mre. Benson, while you and that pretty girl walk up 
and down the piazza all the evening ; but I'm easily satis- 
fled, and two evenings did for me. 
C. D. Warner, Their Pilgrimage, p. 6S. 
dqSf. An old English form of done, past parti- 
ciple of do 1 . 
With thy Rygth kne lette hit be do, 
Thy worshyp thou mayst saue so. 
rtun Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 13. 
do* (do), . [A mere syllable, more sonorous 
than ut, for which it is substituted.] In solmi- 
zation, the syllable now commonly used for the 
first tone or key-note of the musical scale, and 
also for the tone C (as the key-note of the typi- 
cal scale of the pianoforte keyboard). About 
1670 it replaced the Aretinian ut, which Is still somewhat 
used in France. In the tonic sol-fa system It is spelled 
doA, and indicated by its initial d; its significance is lim- 
ited to the first tone of the scale, without reference to the 
keyboard. In teaching sight- singing by the help of sol- 
mization, two general methods are in use : (a) the/:ri-do 
method, in which do is always applied to tones bearing 
the letter-name C, whether they are key -notes or not; and 
(6) the momblf-do method, in which do Is always applied 
to the key-note, whatever be its letter-name. The second 
method is generally regarded as the more scientific, and 
is far the more practical, although the flrst has had the 
support of many excellent musicians. 
do. An abbreviation of ditto. 
doab 1 (dob), n. [Ir. dob, plaster, gutter, mire; 
dobaim, I plaster, daub.] A dark sandy clay 
found in the neighborhood of many bogs in Ire- 
