give 
Oao'st thou my letter to .Julia? filiak-., T. (i. of V., i. 1. 
First a. very rich drain was served, and at dinner wine 
was given round, thut 1 had presented him with, which 
was a very extraordinary thing. 
Pocock:'. Description of the East, I. 81. 
2. To deliver or convey, in various general or 
figurative senses, (a) To bestow; confer; grant: as, 
to give power or authority. 
And som tym he >/a/good and granntede hele, 
Bothe lyf and lyiue as hym Instc. he wrmihte. 
Piers Plowman (C), xxii. 104. 
This done, the procession procedyd forth, ami we folowed 
with prayers and contemplation, as deuoutlyas Almyghty 
God yaws vs grace. Sir H. Uuylforde, i'ylgrymage, p. 25. 
For the same reason that I would not grasp at jwwers 
not yiveii, 1 would not surrender nor abandon powers which 
are given. D. Webster, Speech at Pittsburg, July, 1833. 
(b) To supply ; furnish : as, to give aid or comfort to the 
enemy. 
We do not dispute Pitt's integrity ; but we do not know 
what proof he had given of it when he was turned out of 
the army. Macaulay, William Pitt. 
Mere accuracy is to Truth as a plaster-cast to the mar- 
ble statue ; it gives the facts, but not their meaning. 
Lowell, Harvard Anniversary. 
(c) To impart ; communicate : as, to give a twist to a rope ; 
to give motion or currency to something; to give lessons 
In drawing ; to give instruction In Greek ; to give an opin- 
ion ; to give counsel or advice. 
This name es swete & loyful, gyfand sothfast comforth 
vnto mans hert. 
Uampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. S.), p. 1, note 4. 
The King of Sardinia has not only carried his own char- 
acter and success to the highest pitch, but seems to have 
given a turn to the general face of the war. 
Walpole, Letters, II. 15. 
She went to his shop, riding on an ass, to give herself 
consequence. E. W. Law, Modern Egyptians, I. 146. 
(d) To accord ; allow : as, to give one a hearty reception ; 
to give the accused a fair trial, or the benefit of a doubt ; 
to give permission. 
You must always give your men of great reading leave 
to show their talents on the meanest subjects, says Euge- 
uius ; it is a kind of shooting at rovers : where a man lets 
fly his arrow without taking any aim, to show his strength. 
Addiion, Ancient Medals, i. 
Ot) To ascribe, attribute, or impute to. 
You sent me deputy for Ireland ; 
Far from his succour, from the king, from all 
That might have mercy on the fault thou gait'tt him. 
Shot., Hen. VIII., iii. 2. 
If you would not give it to my modesty, allow it yet to 
my wit ; give me so much of woman and cunning as not to 
betray myself impertinently. 
B. Jonson, Bartholomew Fair, Iv. 2. 
(/) To administer : as, to give one a blow ; to give medi- 
cine. 
I could for each word give a cuff. 
Fletcher (and another), Two Noble Kinsmen, ill. 1. 
3. To yield, (a) To yield as a product or result; pro- 
duce ; bring forth ; afford : as, a process giving the best 
results ; to give satisfaction or pleasure. 
The number of men being divided by the number of 
ships gleet four hundred and twenty-four men a-piece. 
Arbuthnot. 
She didn't give any milk ; she gave bruises ; she was a 
regular Alderney at that. Dickens, Hard Times, p. 255. 
Give largely retains the meaning of geben, to yield, as 
"give a good crop," and in connection with the weather 
it is not uncommon to hear "give rain" or "give snow " 
Trans. Amer. Philol. Ass., XVII., App., p. xiii. 
(6) To be a source, cause, or occasion of : as, to give offense 
or umbrage ; to (five trouble. 
No rank mouth'd slander there shall pice offence, 
Or blast our blooming names, as here they do. 
Quartet, Emblems, v. 18. 
They are of a Kind too contemptible to give. Scandal. 
Congreve, Way of the World, i. 3. 
(c) To yield or concede ; allow : as, to give odds in a game. 
(a) To yield or relinquish to another ; surrender : as, to 
give ground ; to give one's self up to justice ; to give way. 
And when the hardiest warriors did retire, 
Richard cried "Charge ! and give no foot of ground." 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., i. 4. 
(e) To emit; utter: as, to give a sigh or a shout; to give 
the word to go. 
At his entrance before the Kins, all the people gaue a 
great shout. Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, 1. 162. 
So you must be the first that gives this sentence 
Shak., M. for M., IL 2. 
Thus having niourn'd, he gave the word around, 
To raise the breathless body from the ground. 
Dryden, JSneid, xi. 
4. To take or allow as granted ; concede ; per- 
mit; admit, (at) To grant or concede as a fact; ad- 
mit to be; acknowledge: with to be understood, or some- 
times with for expressed. 
To give her lost eternally . . . 
My soul bleeds at mine eyes. 
iliddleton, Game at Chess, i. 1. 
I gave them lost, 
Many days since. B. Jonson, Catiline, v. 2. 
Fall what can fall, if, ere the sun be set, 
I see you not, give me dead. 
Fletcher, Spanish Curate, Iv. 4. 
This garland shews I give myself forsaken. 
Fletcher, Witdgoose Chase, Iv. 1. 
Though oppress'd and fallen, 
I give not heaven for lost. Milton, P. L , ii. 14. 
2522 
(b) To grant permission or opportunity to ; give leave to ; 
allow; enable. 
It is given me once again to behold my friend. Rowe. 
Then yiee thy friend to shed the sacred wine. Pope. 
(c) To grant as a supposition; suppose; assume: as, let 
AB be given as equal to CD. 
Uirrn the proper cause or combination of causes, in the 
absence of counteracting causes, the effect always occurs. 
J. M. Slgg, Mind, XII. 560. 
5. To devote; addict: as, to gice one's self to 
study ; to be much given to idleness. 
I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life. 
1 Sam. i. 11. 
But we will give ourselves continually to prayer, and tu 
the ministry of the word. Acts vi. 4. 
She is yieen too much to alllcholly and musing. 
Shak., M. W. of W., i. 4. 
6. To provide or supply, as something de- 
manded, or obligatory, or required by the cir- 
cumstances : as, to give bonds or bail ; to give 
evidence in court ; to give chapter and verse. 
7. To show or put forth, hold forth, or present. 
(a) To present as a pledge : as, I give you my word of hum u . 
(b) To present for acceptance, consideration, or treatment; 
put forward for acceptance or consideration ; tender ; 
offer : as, to gi ve a ball or a dinner ; to gioe a toast ; to 
give an exhibition. 
It was there [at the "Crown and Lion' J that the county 
assemblies were given. It was in the assembly rooms that 
the rare meetings on Church and State affairs were held. 
Saturday Rev., Feb., 1874, p. 174. 
Our ponderous squire will give 
A grand political dinner 
To half the squirelings near. 
Tennyson, Maud, xx. 
(c) To present to the eye or mind ; exhibit ; manifest : as, 
to gin promise of a good day ; to give hope of success ; to 
give evidence of ability. 
The young Baraka't soon gave promise of his becoming 
a hero. E. W. Lane, Modern Egyptians, II. 119. 
(d) To put forth, or present the appearance of putting 
forth, an effort resulting in ; perform : as, the ship gave a 
lurch. 
The frightened billows gave a rolling swell. 
ilickle, tr. of Camoens's Lusiad (1771). 
[In these and similar locutions in which give is followed by 
a noun, it corresponds in sense to a verb derived from that 
noun : thus, to give assent, attentitm, battle, chase, occasion, 
warning, etc., = to assent, attend, battle, chase, occasion, 
warn, etc.] 
8. To cause; make; enable: as, gice him to 
understand that I cannot wait longer. 
First, I gice you to understand 
That Great Saint George by name 
Was the true champion of our land. 
The flevenChampion* of Christendom (Child's Ballads, 1. 84). 
Each man, as his judgment gives him, may reserve his 
Faith or bestow it. Milton, Hist. Eng., ii. 
9t. To put; bestow or place; set: as, to girc 
fire to a thing. See below. 
yeue vndirnethe a Her til the watir of blood be distillid 
by the pipe of the lemhike into a glas clepid amphora, rljt 
clene. Book of Quinte Essence (ed. Furnivall), p. 12. 
10t. To misgive. 
I go blindfold whither the course of my ill hap carries 
me. for now, too late, my heart gives me this our separat- 
ing can never be prosperous. Sir P. Sidney, Arcadia, iii. 
I will looke to that. But I cannot tell indeede how my 
minde gives me, that all is not well. 
Terence in English (1614). 
Methought 
He should be beaten for 't ; my mind so gave me, sir, 
I could not sleep for 't. 
Fletcher {and another?), Nice Valour, v. 1. 
lit. To bear as a cognizance. 
They may give the dozen white luces in their coat. 
Shak., M. W. of W., i. 1. 
I gice the flaming heart, 
It is my crest. 
Middleton, More Dissemblers besides Women, i. 3. 
Give me, I prefer or prefer to have : a common collo- 
quial phrase expressing preference for a thing. 
As for me, give me liberty, or give me death ! 
Patrick Henry, Speech, March, 1775. 
Give me the good old times. Bulwer. 
Give me your hands. See hand. Give you good event, 
good morrow*, etc., archaic elliptical expressions for 
'od give you good even, good morrow, etc. Such phrases 
were still further contracted to God gi' god-den, godigoden 
etc. Seegood, a. Toglveaback. See backi. Toglve 
a bit of one's mind. See bits. TO give aim, a han- 
dle, a loose, etc. See the nouns. To give audience, 
(at) To listen ; be carefully attentive. 
When he speaketh, giue audyence, 
And from him doe not shrinke. 
Babeei J3ooi(E. E. T. S.), p. 75. 
(b) To grant an interview or a hearing : said of sovereigns, 
judges, and other persons in authority : as, to give audi- 
ence to an envoy. To give away, (a) To alienate (the ti- 
tle to or property of a thing) ; make overto another; trans- 
fer : as, to give away one's books ; to give away a bride. 
Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our 
lives is given aicay from ourselves. Bp. Atterbury. 
(b) To cause or permit to be known; let out; betray: as, 
to give away a secret : to rjice the whole thing away. [Chief- 
ly colloq.] (ct) To allow to be lost ; lose by neglect. 
Be merry, Cassio, 
For thy solicitor shall rather die 
Than gin thy cause away. 
Shak., Othello, iii. 3. 
. See 
give 
To give back, to return ; restore. To give battle. * 
battlel. TO give birth to, to bear or bring forth, su. _ 
child; hence, to be the origin or cause of: as, religious 
differences have given birth to many s^cts. 
There is some pre-eminence conferred by a family hav- 
ing for five successive gem-rations <jirfn birth to individu- 
al-. dMtagoWMd l>y their merits. Brougham. 
To give chase, effect. See the nouns. To give ear, tc 
listen; pay attention ; give heed. 
o Kve, in evil hour thou didst gice ear 
To that false worm, of whomsoever taught 
To counterfeit man's voice. Milton, P. L., ix. 1067. 
The uproar and terror of the night kept people long 
awake, sitting with pallid faces 'living ear. 
ft. L. Stevenson, Treasure of Franchard. 
To give fire, (at) To fire off ; make a discharge, as of fire- 
arms. 
A man of John Oldham's, having a musket, which had 
been long charged with pistol bullets, not knowing of It, 
gacejire, and shot three men. 
Winthrop, Hist. New England, I. 98. 
(b) To give the word to fire. To give fire to, to set on 
fire. [Rare.] 
One took a piece, and by accident gave Jire to the pow- 
der, which blew up the deck. 
Winthrnp, Hist. New England, I. 146. 
To give forth, to publish ; tell ; report publicly. 
Soon after it was given forth, and believed by many, that 
the king was dead. Sir J. Hayward. 
Recommending to some of us with him [George Fox] the 
dispatch and dispersion of an epistle, just given forth by 
him, to the churches of Christ throughout the world. 
Penn, Rise and Progress of Quakers, v. 
To give ground. See grounds . To give in, to declare ; 
make known ; tender : as, to <//'' in one's adherence to a 
party. To give it to one, to rate, scold, or beat one 
severely. [Colloq. ] To give line, rein, head, etc., to 
slacken or pay out the line (as in angling) or the reins (as 
in riding or driving), and thus give full liberty; hence, to 
give more play, freedom, or scope : as, give him line; give 
the horse his head; to give rein to one's fancy. 
Falkenterg's horse . . . began to plunge and rear. "I 
will give him his head fora little way, and turn again and 
meet you," called Falkenberg. 
Mrs. Alexander, The Freres, xxii. 
To give mouth. See mouth. To give no forcet. See 
to make no force, under forcel. To give Off. (a) To send 
out ; put forth ; emit : as, to gioe of branches ; the fire 
gave o/n dense smoke. 
For in all ganglia save, perhaps, the very simplest, the 
corpuscles or vesicles give off processes more or less nu- 
merous, and usually more or less branched. 
//. Spencer, Prin. of Psychol. (2d ed.), 21. 
((/t) To resign; abandon; relinquish ; give up: as, they 
gave of the voyage. 
Did not the prophet 
Say, that Iwfore Ascension-day at noon, 
My crown I should give off' Sliak., K. John, v. 1. 
He . . . gave off all partnership (excepte in name), as 
was found in y issue of things. 
Bradford, Plymouth Plantation, p. 301. 
To give one a flap with a foxtail*. See foxtail. To 
give one a hat. see hat. To give one a rope's end. 
See end. To give one fits. See /!M. To give one 
place, to give precedence to one ; yield to one's claims. 
Sit thou not in the highest place, 
Where the good man is present, 
But gyue him place: his maners marke 
Thou with graue aduysement. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 103. 
To give one's hand. See hand. To give one's self 
away, to betray one's self ; expose one's secret thought 
or intention, as by a lapse of the tongue or a careless ac- 
tion. [Colloq.] Toglve one's self up. (a) To surren- 
der one's self, as to the authorities, (b) To despair of one's 
recovery; conclude one's self to be lost, (c) To resign or 
devote one's self. 
Let us give ourselves wholly up to Christ in heart and de- 
sire. Jer. Taylor, Holy Living. 
To give one the bag, canvas, dor, geek, hat, sack, 
etc. See the nouns. To give one the lie In his throat', 
to accuse one of outrageous lying ; throw back, as it were, 
a lie into the throat from which it proceeded. To give 
(one) the Blip, to slip away from ; escape from stealthily ; 
elude : as, to give the police the slip. 
Being sufficiently weary of this mad Crew, we were will- 
Ing to give them the slip at any place from whence we 
might hope to get a passage to an English Factory. 
Dampier, Voyages, I. 402. 
Difficulty enough I had to bring this fellow. I don't 
know what's the matter ; hut if I had not held him by 
force, he'd have given, me the slip. 
Sheridan, The Rivals, iv. 2. 
To give (one) the time of day, or the day, to greet 
sociably ; salute in a friendly way. 
But he ... would not so them slay, 
But gently waking them gave them the time of day. 
Spenser, F. Q., VI. xi. 38. 
Sweetly she came, and with a modest blush, 
Gave him the day, and then accosted thus. 
W. Browne, Britannia's Pastorals, i. 2. 
To give out. (a) To hand out ; distribute : as, to give 
out rations, (b) To emit ; send out : as, it gives out a bad 
odor. 
The damp birch sticks gave out a thick smoke, which 
almost stitied us. B. Taylor, Northern Travel, p. 121. 
(c) To issue; assign; announce; publish; report: as, to 
give out the lessons for the day ; it was given out that he 
was bankrupt. 
Ay, but, master, take heed how you give this out ; Hor- 
ace is a man of the sword. B. Joueon, Poetaster, iv. 4. 
