low 
Hence lower?, below, etc.] I. n. 1. Lying or 
being below the general or natural level or 
plane ; depressed in place or position ; at some 
depth or distance downward; deep: as, low 
ground ; a low valley ; the lower regions. 
I . shall set thee in the l<m< parts of the earth. 
Ezek. xxvi. 20. 
The lowest bottom shook 
Of Erebus. MUton, P. L., U. 883. 
2. Below the usual standard of height; falling 
below the customary level or position : as, a 
low bow; a low tide (that is, an ebb-tide unusu- 
ally depressed) ; low tide or low water (used 
absolutely, without an article, for the state of 
the tide or the water at its greatest normal de- 
pression of level). 
Giving place to flexure and low bending. 
Shalt., Hen. V., iv. 1. 
In considering any tide we find, especially in estuaries, 
that the interval from high to low water is longer than 
that from low to high water. Encyc. Brit., XXIII. 353. 
3. Not high in position; not far above a nat- 
ural or generally recognized plane or level : as, 
the sun is low (that is, not far above the hori- 
zon); a bird of low flight; a low shelf. 
The weakness of our ship, the badnes of our saylers, and 
our ignorance of the coast, caused vs carry but a low sayle. 
Quoted in Capt. John Smith's Works, I. 105. 
A glimmering land, 
Lit with a l<nv large moon. 
Tennyson, Palace of Art. 
4. Not high in upward extent; having little 
vertical extension; of no great height; mod- 
erate or deficient in altitude or stature; not 
lofty: opposed to high, lofty, and tall: as, low 
hills, plants, or trees ; a low house or wall ; a 
man of low stature ; a low forehead. 
Lenges all at laysere, and lokes one the wallys 
Whare' they ware laweste the ledes to assaille. 
Morte Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. 2430. 
He was rather low than tall. 
C. Mather, Mag. Chris., lit 1. 
A low, lean, swarthy man is he. 
WhiUier, Mogg Megone, i. 
Low knolls 
That dimpling died into each other. 
Tennyson, Aylmer's Field. 
5. Not high in a scale of reckoning; below the 
usual rate, reckoning, or value; moderate; 
meager; cheap: as, low wages, rates, prices; a 
low estimate ; wheat was low. 
The salaries were too low to afford even those indul- 
gences which are necessary to the health and comfort of 
Europeans in a tropical climate. Macaulay, Lord Olive. 
6. Not high in number ; indicating or indicated 
by a small number ; expressed By numerals in- 
dicating few: as, a low number; low latitudes 
(those expressed in low numbers, and there- 
fore near the equator). 7. Not high in grade, 
position, station, state, or account ; of inferior 
grade; humble in rank; lowly: as, people of 
low estate; the lower classes; the lower walks 
of life. 
Thou hast made him a little lower than the angels. 
Ps. viii. 5. 
Both low and high, rich and poor, together. Ps. xlix. 2. 
Why then was this forbid ? why, but to awe? 
Why, but to keep ye low and ignorant? 
Milton, P. L., ix. 704. 
8. Not high in character or condition, (a) Not 
full or strong ; lacking in fullness, strength, or force ; 
weak ; feeble ; depressed : as, low fortune ; low hopes ; a 
low pulse or state of health ; low spirits ; his affairs are at 
a low ebb. 
This exceeding posting day and night 
Must wear your spirits low. 
Skat., All's Well, v. 1. 2. 
Their sinking state and low affairs 
Can move your pity, and provoke your cares. 
Addison, tr. of Virgil's Georgics, iv. 
(b) Not haughty or proud ; meek ; lowly. 
for loue of her [their] lowe hertis cure lorde hath them 
graunted 
Here penaunce and her pnrgatorie here on this erthe. 
Piers Plowman (B), vii. 104. 
My Lord Falmouth, ... his generosity, good-nature, 
desire of public good, and low thoughts of his own wisdom. 
Pepys, Diary, Aug. 30, 1668. 
(c) Lacking in dignity, refinement, or principle ; vulgar ; 
groveling; abject; mean; base: as, low associates; low 
tastes ; a low companion ; low life ; a low trick. 
If they are obliged to stop by day, the boatmen fre- 
quently pass away the time in acting some low farces. 
Pococke, Description of the East, 1. 16. 
As if nine tenths of the calamities which have befallen 
the human race had any other origin than the union of 
high intelligence with low desires. 
Macaulay, Lord Bacon. 
9. Not high in quality or degree, (a) Not exces- 
sive or intense ; not violent ; moderate : as, low heat ; Imv 
temperature ; a low fever. 
That acceptance of the inevitable which is the lowent 
form of content. Mrs. Oliphant. Poor Gentleman, xiv. 
3530 
(b) In optics, of slight refrangibility (that is. having a 
relatively great wave-length), (c) In logic, having little 
logical extension ; narrow ; predicable of few objects, (d) 
Not rich or highly seasoned ; plain; simple: as, low diet. 
(e) Holding Low-church views. See Low-churchman. 
That variety of evangelical clergyman to which the late 
Mr Conybeare gave the name of " low and slow " a vari- 
ety which, we believe, flourishes chiefly in the midland 
counties. Quarterly Rev., Oct., 1860, p. 49. 
(/) In biol., of lowly, simple, or generalized structure ; 
not high in the scale of organization ; not highly diifer- 
entiated or specialized: as, low protozoan animals; low 
cryptogamic plants. 
10. Of sounds: (a) Not loud; gentle; soft. 
Her voice was ever soft, 
Gentle, and toe an excellent thing in woman. 
Shale., Lear, v. 3. 273. 
The low moan of an unknown sea, 
Tennyson, Palace of Art. 
(6) Relatively grave in pitch ; produced by rel- 
atively slow vibrations; depressed; flat: op- 
posed to high. 
You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of 
my compass. Shak., Hamlet, iii. 2. 383. 
High and low. See high. In or for high and lowt. 
See high. Low area, in meteor., a region where the at- 
mospheric pressure is lower than over the surrounding 
region. LOW bass, soprano, tenor, either a voice or 
a voice-part of one of these varieties that extends to an un- 
usually low pitch, or the lower of two basses, sopranos, 
tenors, etc., in a given piece. Low blast, in smelting and 
other metallurgic operations, a blast delivered to the fur- 
nace at low pressure, as compared with the pressure of the 
blast required when the temperature of the furnace-charge 
approaches the melting-point. Low boat, in sporting, the 
boat whose occupants kill the least game or the fewest fish. 
LOW carte. See cartel. Low caste. See casteZ, 1. 
Low celebration, in the usage of many Anglican church- 
es, a celebration of the eucharist without music or other 
adjuncts: opposed to high celebration. See high. Low 
Church. See Low-church, and Episcopal Church, under 
episcopal. Low color. See color. Low comedian, 
an actor of farcical comic parts. Low Countries, the 
Netherlands. Low dawn. See dawn. Low Dutch. See 
Dutch, 5. Low embroidery, embroidery which is not in 
high relief or padded, and is without flies or applications. 
Lower case. See case-', 6. Lower Chalk, in geol., the 
name given to a member of the Chalk formation, dis- 
tinguished by the absence of flints and by the superior 
hardness of the chalk, which is sometimes used for build- 
ing-stone. Lower criticism, culmination, house, etc. 
See the nouns. Lower Empire, a name sometimes given 
to the Byzantine empire. Lower greensand, in Eng. 
geol., a division of the Lower Cretaceous. It lies between 
the Gault and the Wealden. In the south of England it 
consists of clays, sandstones, and limestones, and is in 
part fluviatile and in part marine. In the northern coun- 
ties it is exclusively marine. It is generally considered 
as being the equivalent of the Upper Neocomian (which 
see) of continental geologists. Lower masts, the princi- 
pal masts. Lower rigging, the rigging belonging to the 
lower masts and yards. Lower Silurian. See Silurian. 
Lower table. Same as culet, 2. Lower yards, the 
lowermost yards of a vessel. Lowfever, German, Latin. 
See the nouns. Low grounds. See ground^. Low lat- 
itude latitude near the equator. Low mass, milling, 
etc. See the nouns. Low-potential system, low-re- 
sistance system. See multiple arc (under multiple), po- 
tential, aim resistance. Low relief. Same as bas-relief. 
Low steam, steam having a low pressure or expansive 
force. Low Sunday, the Sunday next after Easter: so 
called because, while included within the limits of the 
highest of all festivals, that of Easter, it is by compari- 
son lower or less exalted than Easter day itself. It has 
been the custom since very early times to repeat most of 
the Easter Sunday service on this day. Officially called in 
the Roman Catholic Church Domintea, in Alois that is, 
the Sunday in white garment*, from the white robes worn 
in early times by those who had been baptized just before 
Easter. Also called Alb Sunday, Quasimodo, and in the 
Greek Church Antipaseha, the Touching of St. Thomas or 
the Sunday of St. Thomas (the gospel being John xx. 19- 
31), and sometimes New Sunday, fj Sevrtpoirpwr^ KvpiaKj, 
literally the second-first Sunday, an expression similar to 
the ' second-first Saobath ' (translated 'second Sabbath af- 
ter the first ') of Luke vi. 1. Low to paper, in printing, 
below the standard height: said of type. Low water. 
See water. Low Wine. See wine. To lie low. See 
Kei.=Syn. 8(). Mean, Groveling, etc. (see abject), base, 
ignoble, vile, vulgar, common, dishonorable, cheap, ple- 
beian, shabby. See list under mean%. 
II. n. 1. In card-playing, a certain card, often, 
but not always, the lowest trump, the holding 
or taking of which confers certain advantages. 
See all-fours. 2. In meteor., same as low area. 
3. pi. Low level land. Halliwell. [Prov.Eng.] 
low 2 (16), adv. [< ME. lotce, louwe, loge, lahe(= 
D. laag = Dan. lav t), adv.; < low 2 , a.] 1. Near 
the ground ; not aloft ; not high : as, to fly low ; 
to aim low. 
Art thou the last of all mankind to know 
That party fights are won by aiming low? 
0. W. Holmes, The Disappointed Statesman. 
2. In a mean condition: in composition: as, a 
low-born fellow or lass. 3. Late, or in time 
approaching the present. 
In that part of the world which was first inhabited, even 
as low down as Abraham's time, they wandered with their 
flocks and herds. Locke. 
4. With a depressed voice ; not loudly: as, speak 
Jow. 5. In music: (a) Not loudly; quietly; 
softly. (61 At a low or grave pitch. 
Low-churchman 
Iow 2 t (16), r. [< ME. loiren, lateen, lof/hcn (= 
Icel. liEijja = D. laayeii), make low, humble; < 
tow 2 , a. Cf. Iower2.\ I. trans. 1. To lower. 
The value of guineas was lowed from one-and-twenty 
shillings and sixpence to one-and-twenty shillings. Swift. 
2. To bring low; humble. 
Lawand thame-selfe to the Sacramentes of haly kyrke. 
Hampole, Prose Treatises (E. E. T. 8.), p. 42. 
Ho so ... 
For the loue of oure lorde Imnlh hym to be poure, 
He shal haue an hundredfolde of heuene-ryche blisse. 
Piers Plowman (C), xiii. 157. 
II. intrans. To go low; descend; fall. 
Fortune hath euer be muable, 
And male no while stonde stable ; 
For nowe it hieth, nowe it loweth, 
Now slant vpright, now ouerthroweth. 
Gower, Coat. Amant., viii. 
low 3 (16), n. [Also dial, Imtyh, law; < ME. low, 
lowe, lawe, < AS. Maw, hliew, a hill, mound, = 
OS. hleo = OHG. hleo, leo, MHG. le = Goth. 
Maiw, a mound (grave) ; perhaps = L. clwus, a 
hill, slope: see clivous, acclivity, declivity.] A 
hill; a small eminence; a mound, either nat- 
ural or artificial. The word is now only in provincial 
use. It is found as an element of several place-names in 
-low or -law, as in Ludlow, Lammerlaw, etc. 
Nogt saued watz bot Segor that sat on a lawe, 
The thre ledez ther-in, Loth and his dejter. 
Alliterative Poems (ed. Morris), ii. 992. 
I've been to the top of tire Caldon Low, 
The midsummer-night to see. 
Mary Howitt, Fairies of the Caldon Low. 
low 3 (16), v. t. [< lou>3, .] To heap or pile up. 
Halliwell. [Prov. Eng.] 
low 4 (lou), n. [< ME. lowe, loghe, lotfie, < Icel. 
logi = Sw. l&ga = Dan. lue, a fire, = OHG. 
*loho, MHG. G. lohe = MLG. lo, lowe = OFries. 
loga, a flame ; akin to AS. leg, Kg, > ME. leye, 
leie, etc., a fire (see lay 8 ) ; from the root, *luh, 
of light 1 , etc.: see Ugh ft.'] Flame; fire; blaze. 
[Obsolete or prov. Eng. and Scotch.] 
His ene flamtnet as the fire, or a fuerse low. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. S.), 1. 5582. 
There sat a bottle in a bole 
Beyont the ingle lowe. 
Burns, The Weary Fund o' Tow. 
low 4 (lou), v. i. [< ME. lowen, flame ; < low*, .] 
To flame; blaze. [Obsolete or prov. Eng. and 
Scotch.] 
A vast, unbottom'd, boundless pit, 
Fill'd fou o' lowin' brunstane. 
Burns, Holy Fair. 
Iow 6 t. An obsolete preterit of laugh. 
low 6 (lou), v. A dialectal form of allow' 1 . 
lowbell (lou'bel), . [< low*: + j c zzi.] i. A 
bell used in a certain kind of fowling by night, 
the birds being made to lie close by the sound 
of the bell and blinded by a light, so as to be 
easily taken by a net which is thrown over 
them. 
The fowler's lowbell robs the lark of sleep. 
W. Ring, Art of Love, i. 47. 
2. A bell hung on the necks of sheep or other 
animals. 
Maria. And I am worse, a woman that can fear 
Neither Petruchio Furius, nor his fame. . . . 
Petru. If you can carry 't so, 'tis very well. 
Bianca. No, you shall carry it, sir. 
Petru. Peace, gentle low-bell. 
Fletcher, Tamer Tamed, i. 3. 
Now commonly he who desires to be a Minister, looks 
not at the Work, but at the Wages ; and by that Lure or 
Loubel, may be toald from Parish to Pai ish all the Town 
over. Milton, Considerations. 
lowbell (lou'bel), v. t. [< lowbell, n.] To scare 
with a lowbell, as birds in fowling. 
lowbelling (lou'bel"ing), n. [Verbal n. of loin- 
bell, v.] Fowling with a lowbell. 
This sport [fowling with nets] . . . some call . . . low- 
&e#m<7; and the use of it istogowithagreatlight, . . . with 
a bell in your other hand, . . . and you must ring it always 
after one order. 
Quoted in Strutt's Sports and Pastimes, p. 98. 
low-boy (16'boi), n. If. A Whig and Low-church- 
man. Davies. 
No fire and faggot ! no wooden shoes ! no trade-sellers ! 
a low-boy, a low-boy ! Mrs. Centlivre, Gotham Election. 
2. A chest of drawers supported on short legs. 
See high-boy, 2. [New Eng.] 
Low-church (16'cherch), a. Laying little stress 
on church authority and usage; evangelical: 
used specifically of those in the Anglican 
Church who are known as Low-churchmen, and 
of their principles. 
Low-churchism (16 'eherch // izm), n. [< Love- 
church + -ism.'] Low-church principles. 
Low-churchman (lo'cherch'man), . One of 
those members of the Anglican"Church who do 
not consider possession of the apostolic suc- 
cessio7i essential to constitute a valid ministry. 
