on 
After having given n more full account, he |Stralx>] men 
lions the iivrrthi-iiw of Sodom, mid olhei cities mill the 
eumlilioii of tin 1 rountry thut tOilnttnl on it. 
PMMte, [x-i'iipii.iM .,i the l-'.act, II. i. :xi. 
(<) After and in nin.scquciicc of; from, an a cause: an, on 
this we separah '1. 
In his iiiu.nil inin<l lit- ituth debate 
\Vh:it follow -inn sorrow may on this arise. 
si,.:i... Lucrece, I. 18. 
Some of the chief innile a motion to join some here In a 
way of t I'a.lr itt tin' Hiune river ; on which a meeting was 
appomii-'i tn in .it ruiiri'Miiii- the same matter. 
N. Miirl'iii, New Kngluml's Memorial, p. 171. 
I In anl hfliiiiil me something like a person breathini;, 
on which I turned about, and . . . saw a man stiuuliw 
just over me. llrucc, Source of the Nile, I. 243. 
(/) At the time of : expressing occurrence in time : as, he 
arrived "/i Wednesday ; oil the evening Injfore the battle ; 
o/i public occasions. 
Whan sche sels here BO aek sche nelde on a time. 
William of Palerne (E. E. T. S.), 1. 580. 
I saw him and his wife coining from court, where Mrs. 
i 'la> puli was presented to her Majesty on her marriage. 
TluirhrrHij, Virginians, Ixxxiii. 
The good king gave order to let blow 
His Inn us for hunting on the morrow morn. 
Tennyton, Ueraint. 
4. Ill addition to: as, heaps OH heaps; loss on 
loss. 
Ruin upon ruin, rout on rout. 
Milton, P. L., il. 995. 
Mischiefs o/i mischiefs, greater still and more ! 
Tin' neighbouring plain with anus is covered o'er. 
Vryden, Aurengzebe, 1. 1. 
What have I done to all you people that not one of you 
has darkened my door in weeks on weeks? 
Harper"! May., LXXVIII. 89*. 
5. In, to, or into a state or condition of: as, 
ale on tap (that is, ready to be drawn) ; to set 
a house on li n ; all on a heap (that is, heaped 
up). Compare asleep, afire, etc., where a- was 
originally on. 
David, after he had served his own generation by the 
will of God, fell on sleep. Acts xiii. 36. 
The time of night when Troy was set on flre. 
Shall., 2 Hen. VI., 1. 4. 20. 
He with two others and the two Indiana . . . went on 
shore,. . . and when they were on sleep In the night, they 
killed them. Winthrop, Hist New England, L 176. 
Duenna. When I saw you, I was never more struck in 
my life. 
l.-uin,-. That was just my case too, madam : I was struck 
all on a heap, for my part. Sheridan, The Duenna, il. 2. 
The vilest transactions on record . . . have had de- 
fenders. H. Spencer. 
6. In the act or process of ; occupied with : as, 
on the march; on duty; on one's guard. Com- 
pare a-Jishing, a-hunting, where a- was origi- 
nally on. 
On huntyng be they riden roially. 
Chaucer, Knight's Tale, 1. 829. 
Being at the Dutch plantation, in the fore part of this 
year, a certain bark of Plimouth being there likewise on 
trading, he kept company with the Dutch Goveruour. 
Jv. Jforton, New England's Memorial, p. 176. 
It is Love that seta them both [imagination and mem- 
ory I on work, and may be said to be the highest Sphere 
whence they receive their Motion. 
1 1, w.il. Letters, I. i. 9. 
I mean that they are all gone on pilgrimage, both the 
good Woman and her four boys. 
llttit/t<tn, Pilgrim's Progress, p. '230. 
De Vargas was on the watch. Irving, Granada, p. 78. 
[On is used thus in innumerable phrases of an adjectival 
(or rather participial) or adverbial nature. The former 
can he represented by one of the participlesof a verb cor- 
responding in meaning to the noun governed : thus, on 
the watch (watching), on the march (marching), on flre 
(burning, kindled), on one's guard (guarded), on record (re- 
corded). For the latter an existing adverb may often be 
substituted : as, on a sadden (suddenly), on an impulse 
(impulsively), etc-1 
7t. In ; into : in various uses now generally ex- 
pressed by in or into : as, to break on pieces ; to 
cleave on two parts; to read or write on book. 
What 1) if.' is this, lady, to lede on this wise? 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 3289. 
Thou art lettred a litel ; who lerned the on boke? 
Piers Plowman (B), vii. Ml. 
And aftyre the prechynge on presence of lonles, 
The kyng in his eoueelle carpya thes wordes. 
Marie Arthure (E. E. T. S.), 1. G39. 
14 Alias ! myne hede wolle cleue on thre ! " 
Thus seyth another certayne. 
Pilgrims' Sea-Voyaye (E. E. T. 8.), 1. 55. 
Wee found one [Armenian] sitting in the midst of the 
congregation, . . . reading on a Bible in the Chaldean 
tongue. Sandys, Travailes, p. i)6. 
The proud Parnassian sneer, 
The conscious simper, and the jealous leer, 
Mix o/i his look. rope, Dunciad, ii. 7. 
8t. Over. 
By hym I reyne.l en the people and by the I haue loste 
my royame. Iliiit Kooil (E. E. T. S.\ p. 168. 
9. To. 
Be soche a manor that all.- maltalent be pardoned on 
bothe partyes. Merlin (E. E. T. s.), ill. 500. 
1109 
I was married on the elder sinter, 
And you on the youngest of a' the three. 
Jamie Telfer (Child's liallad*, VI. 109). 
[" Married on " Is still common colloquially in Scotland. | 
10f. At. 
Castor with his company come next after, 
Pollux with his pupull pursu on the laste. 
DeKtructioit of Troy (E. E. T. S.\ 1. 1150. 
And where that thow slepest on nyght. lokc that thow 
have lyght. Merlin (E. E. T. S.), 1. S. 
All this to be doon on ye Coste and charge of the seld 
Gylde. Kivjliih Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 19L, 
lit. With. 
He sels a child strait ther-on stremynge on Mode. 
Joseph of Arimatkie (E. E. T. S.X p. 18. 
He man-hit hym to Menelay, & met on the kyng, 
Woundit hym wickedly in his wale face, 
And gird hym to ground of his grete horse. 
Destruction of Troy (E. E. T. 8.X 1. 8288. 
12f. For. 
O sister dear, come to the door, 
Your cow is lowin on you. 
The Trumpeter of Fyvie (Child's Ballads, II. 204). 
13f. From. 
Thus has thou bet In thl beheste, 
Tharfor sum grace on the I crafe. 
Political Poemt, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 104. 
14f. By. 
Anon the Son gothe to the Prest of here Law, and 
preyethe him to take the Ydole, zif his Fadre or Modre or 
Freud schalle dye on that evylle or non. 
Mandemlle, Travels, p. 201. 
If it be on all men beforehand resolved on, to build mean 
houses, y (Jove 1 laboure is spared. 
Ciuhman, quoted in Bradford's Plymouth Plantation, p. 52. 
15f. Of. 
He was 
The ivy which had hid my princely trunk, 
And sink .1 iny verdure out on 't. 
SI,, it.. Tempest, i. 2. 87. 
A man that were laid on his death-bed 
Wold open his eyes on her to have sight 
Ballad of King Arthur (Child's Ballads, I. 236). 
There went this yeere, by the Companies records, 11. 
ships and 1216. persons to be thus disposed on. 
Quoted in Copt. JoAn Smith's Works, II. 40. 
If thou hast found an honie-combe, 
Eate thou not all, but taste on some. 
Herrick, The Hony-combe. 
On board, end. fire, hand, high, etc. See board, end, fire, 
etc., and aboardi. an end, afire, etc. On the alert, bias, 
cards, Jump, move, nafl, rod, sly, way, wing, etc. 
See the nouns. =Syn. On, Upon. Theseworus are In many 
uses identical in force, but upon is by origin (up > on) and 
in use more distinctly expressive of motion to the object 
from above or from the side. On has the same force, but 
is so widely used in other ways, and so often expresses 
mere rest, that it is felt by careful writers to be inadequate 
to the uses for which upon is preferred. 
II. adv. 1. In or into a position in contact 
with and supported by the top or upper part of 
something; up: as,keep your hat on; he stopped 
a street-car, and got on. 
Pisanio might have klll'd thee at the heart, 
And left this head on. Shot., Cymbeline, iv. 2. 323. 
2. In or into place, as a garment or other cover- 
ing, or an ornament : as, to pull on one's clothes ; 
to put on one's boots; to try on a hat. 
Put on the whole armour of Ood. I-'.ph. vi. 11. 
O wrathf nlly he left the bed, 
And wrathf ully his claes on did. 
Coapatriclc (Child's Ballads, I. 154), 
Stiff in Brocade, and pinch'd in Stays, 
Her Patches, Paint, and Jewels on. 
Prior, Phyllis's Age. 
She had on a pink muslin dress and a little white hat, 
and she was as pretty as a Frenchwoman needs to be to be 
pleasing. U. James, Jr., Pass. Pilgrim, p. 462. 
3. In or into place or position for use or action : 
as, to bring on the fruit or the coffee ; specifical- 
ly, into position on a stage or platform, before 
the footlights or an audience. 
I came to the side scene, just as my father was going on, 
to hear his reception ; It was very great, a perfect thunder 
of applause. 
F. A. KerrMe, Records of a Girlhood, Jan. 12, 1832. 
The Giant . . . an't on yet Dickens, Hard Times, ill. 7. 
To be behind the scenes at the opera, watching some 
Rubini or Mario go oil. and waiting for the round of ap- 
plause. //. James, Jr., Trans. Sketches, p. 269. 
4. In or into movement or action ; in or into 
a condition of activity from a state of confine- 
ment or restraint: as, to turn on the gas; to 
bring on a fit of coughing ; to bring o a contest. 
.Such discourse bring on 
As may advise him of his happy state. 
Milton, P. L, v. 233. 
All commanders were cautioned against bringing on an 
engagement. U. S. Grant, Personal Memoirs, I. 373. 
He was then requested to walk up to the electro-magnet 
and, judging only from his sensations, to state if the cur- 
rent were on or "ofl." Proc. Hoc. Psych. Kesearch, II. 56. 
5. In operation; in progress: as, the auction 
is going an ; the debate is on. 
O the blest gods ! so will you wish on me, 
When the rash mood Is on. Shak., Lear, ii. 4. 172. 
on 
The sound of heavy guns, faintly heard from the direc 
lion of Fort llemy. atnken by uhi.-h rvn> man . . . knew 
that a battle was on. The Crnlury, XXIX. 280. 
There are two more bulls n tonight. 
Mr*. Alexander, The Freres, xll. 
With a brisk, roaring flre on, I left for the spring to fetch 
some water and to make my toilet. 
J. Burrowjht, The Century, XXXVI. 619. 
6. In the same place or position ; without yield- 
ing: as, to hang, stick, or hold on. 
Grief Is an Impudent guest, 
A follower everywhere, a haiit- 
That words nor blows can drive away. 
Fletcher (and another), Queen of Corinth, HL i 
still I see the tenour of man's woe 
Holds on the same, from woman to begin. 
Milton, V. l..,xi. 681. 
7. To or at something serving as an obj.'.-l 
of observation: as, to look on without taking 
part ; to be a mere looker-on. 
My business In this state 
Made me a looker on here In Vienna. 
Shall., M. forM.,v. 1. 319. 
Nature Injur'd, scandallz'd, defll'd, 
Unveil'd her blushing cheek, look'd on, and smil'd. 
Cotcper, Expostulation, L 425. 
8. Forth; forward; onward; ahead: as, move 
on ; pass on. 
Come on a distant war no longer wage, 
But hand to hand thy country's foes engage. 
Pope, Iliad, xv. 668. 
(a) In the same course or direction : as, go straight on 
(that is, in continuance of some action, operation, or rela- 
tion that has been begun) ; In regular continuance or se- 
quence: as, go, write, say, laugh, keep on; go on with 
your story: how long will you keep on trilling? from father 
to son, from son to grandson, and so on. 
Leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ let us 
go on unto perfection. Heb. vt. 1. 
Sometimes they do extend 
Their view right on. Shak. , Lover's Complaint, 1. 26. 
We must on to fair England, 
To free my love from pine. 
The Jolly Goshawk (Child's Ballads, III. 289). 
She is affrighted, and now chid by heaven, 
Whilst we walk calmly on, upright and even. 
B. Jotuon, Prince Henry's Barriers. 
Sing on, sing on, for I can ne'er be cloy'd. 
Dryden, tr. of Virgil's Eclogues, ix. 39. 
The railway turns off; the road keeps on alongside of 
the bay, with the water on one side and the mountains 
on the other. E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 177. 
(6) In advance ; forward ; in the sequel. 
Further on is a round building on an advanced ground, 
which is ninety feet in diameter. 
Pococke, Description of the East, II. i. 253. 
Him and his noiseless parsonage, the pensive abode for 
sixty years of religions revery and anchoritish self-denial, 
I have described further on. 
De Quineey, Autob. Sketches, Iv. 
(<) In the direction of progress, advancement, achieve- 
ment, or attainment : as, to get on in the world ; to be 
well on in one's courtship. 
Command me. I will on. 
Fletcher (and ttnother\ False One, 1. 1. 
9. Toward; so as to approach ; near; nigh. 
Fierce events, 
As harbingers preceding still the fates. 
And prologue to the omen coming on. 
Shot., Hamlet, 1. 1. 123. 
The day was drawing on 
When th. in shouldst link thy life with one 
Of mine own house. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, Ixxxiv. 
Either off or on. See off.- End on. See nd. Neither 
Off nor on, irresolute ; fickle as regards mood or inten- 
tion : said of persons.-- Off and on. (a) In an intermit- 
tent manner ; from time to time. 
I've worked the sewers, of and on. for twenty year. 
Mayhew, London Labour and London Poor, II. 171. 
(6) Alternately away from and toward the shore : said of 
a ship : as, to stand off and on. On to, toward a posi- 
tion on or upon. Also written onto (see onb>2). [ Local. ] 
TO ft", nave, put, take, etc., on. See the verbs. 
On 1 (on), a. and n. [< onl, a</c.] I. a. In cricket, 
noting that part of the field to the left of a right- 
handed batter and to the right of the bowler: 
the opposite of off. 
U. n. In cricket, that part of the field to the 
right of the bowler and to the left of the batter, 
on^ti <* and n. An obsolete form of one. 
It chaunced me on day beside the shore 
Of silver streaming Thamesis to bee. 
Spenser, Ruins of lime, 1. 1. 
On 3 (on), prep. [< Icel. on, ao, usually on, mod. 
an = OS. ano = MD. an, on = OFries. ane, oni, 
one. an = OHO. ano, MHG. dne, an, G. ohne, 
without; akin to Goth, inn, without, Gr. avev, 
without, and to the negative prefix vn-: see 
MM- 1 .] Without: usually followed by a perfect 
participle with being or baring (which may be 
omitted) : as, could na ye mind, on being tauld 
saaftent [Scotrli.] 
I wud 'a gaen not o' that house on been bidden kiss a 
catip. IT. Alexander, Johnny Gibb of Oushetneuk, xxxviil. 
