or 
Examine, first, impartially each Fair, 
Hi, ii :i nli Mils. o<- eondomB, or spare. 
Coiigrecr. tr. ..f (Hill's Art of Love. 
(2) Whether ... or (rarely or ... to), In indirect ques- 
tions. 
Inquire wlmt tin :m< ii-nts thought concerning tlie pres- 
ent fnimc of this wurld, whether it was to perish or uo. 
T. Dunut, Theory <if tfic Earth, ill. 1. 
E'en Ajax paus'd (so thick the jav'lins fly). 
si i -pii'il bark, mid doubted or to live or (lie. 
Pope, Iliad, xv. 883. 
Whether they were his lady's marriage belle, 
Or prophets of them in his fantasy, 
4ZSI 
tiiiriiHt.] lu her., one of the tinctures the 
metal gold, often represented by n yellow col- 
or, and in engraving conven- 
tionally by dots upon a white 
ground. See litirtiin: and cut: 
under counter-changed and num 
ter-company. 
Ills coat is not in or, 
Nor does the world run yet on wheels 
with him. 
Beau, and Ft. , Woman-Hater, Iv. 2. 
or't, itron. A Middle English form of your. 
oracle 
lav diagram that it is a square, or a figure with four equal 
sides and equal angles. 
{Or sometimes begins a sentence, In this case expressing 
an alternative with the foregoing sentence, or merely a 
transition to some fresh argument or illustration. 
Or what man Is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, 
-or (ace. -orem), the terminus of -tor (= Gr. 
-Tup), after an orig. preceding t -sor, forming 
nouns of agent from verbs (rarely directly from 
other nouns), as in orator, one who prays or 
speaks, an orator, legislator, one who proposes a 
will lie give him a stone? Mat. vil. 9.] law, legislator, imperdtor, one who commands, 
Or else, else ; otherwise, [strictly speaking, a redundant an emperor, confessor, one who confesses, re- 
phrase, as or and else are equivalent in meaning.] 
This abbot, which that was an holy man, 
As monkes been, or elles oughten be. 
Chaucer, I'rioress's Talc, 1. 191. 
The best rider, like the best hunter, is invariably either 
dead or elite a resident of some other district. 
T. Koosewlt, The Century, XXXVI. 837. 
tor, one who rules, serif tor, one who writes, au- 
iliim; one who hears, senator, one who is an elder 
or counselor, a senator, etc.] An apparent suf- 
fix, the terminus of the suffix -tor, -sor, of Latin 
origin, forming nouns of agent from verbs. The 
verb is often not directly represented in English, as In 
doctor, rector, lector, orator, victor, numttor, etc. , but is com- 
monly existent in -atev, as in demonstrator, illuminator, 
illustrator, generator, etc., or in -itel, -it', as in depositor, 
auditor, etc., or without such suffix, as in instructor, actor, 
corrector, etc., the noun in -or being in such instances 
actually or optionally interchangeable with a noun in -ri , 
as instructor or instructer, etc., but the fonu in -or being 
generally preferred. Compare -or2. 
II. prep. Before; ere; sooner than; rather -or 2 . [Also in some nouns, and formerly in all, 
,, : as or this (before this} : or lone ( before -V < ME. -or, -our, < OF. -cor, -eor, -eur, F. 
or 11 (or), ado., prep., and conj. [< ME. or, at; 
a var. of er, (tr, < AS. air, before: see ere 1 , of 
which or is a var. form.] I. adv. Before; 
previously; already. 
He was of Lyndesay, als I ore told. 
Rob. ofBrunne, p. 11. 
than : as, or this (before this) ; or long (before ' "V < M*,. -or, -our, < y* . -eor ,-eour -eu 
lo ) -eur = Sp. Pg. -ailor = It. -atorc, < L. -ator (ace. 
Ich ne shal do me or daye to the dere churche, 
And huyre matyns and masse, as ich a monke were. 
Piers Plowman (C), viii. 66. 
For so may fall we sail tham fang. 
And marre tham or to-morne at none. 
Fort Plays, p. 89. 
These lookes (nought saying) do a beneflce seeke, 
And be thou sure one not to lacke or long. 
Spenser, Mother Hub. Tale, 1. 601. 
III. CON/. 1. Before; ere. 
Man, thenke vppon my ryghtwysnes, 
And make a-mendis or that thou dye. 
Political Poems, etc. (ed. Furnivall), p. 174. 
Blysse thi mouthe or thou it etc, 
The better schalle be thl dyete. 
Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 17. 
But or he gaed, he vow'd and vow'd, 
The castle should sweep the ground. 
LammiHn (Child's Ballads, III. 307). 
It was 14 or 15 dayes or they set any ordinance on land. 
llaklmjt's Voyages, II. 78. 
He that marries or he be wise, will die or he thrive. 
Ray, Proverbs (1878), p. 370. 
But or we go to the declaration of this psalm, it shall _ or 4 [OF -or -our -ur F -cur = Sp. Pg. -or 
ie profitable and convenient to shew who did write this T '. \ a ..'/f' nr (,, ,,\ ,,.,\ n pr> riren, i lilt 
.saini Bp. Fisher, Heven Penitential Psalms, vii. = J* -" r e > } * - r (neut. -US), ace. -orel, Ult. 
= E. -er 2 , the comparative suffix: see -r 2 .] A 
suffix of Latin origin appearing in compara- 
tives, used in English with a distinct compara- 
tive use, as in the adjectives major, minor, ju- 
nior, senior, prior, but also commonly in nouns, 
as major, minor, prior, junior, senior, etc. It is 
not felt or used as an English formative. 
or-. [ME. or-, < AS. or- = OS. or- = OFries. or- 
= D. oor- = MLG. or- = OHG. MHG. G. ur- = 
Goth, us-, an accented prefix, orig. identical 
with AS. a- (orig. *ar- = OHG. ar-, er-, ir-, 
MHG. er-, etc.), E. a-, and with the prep. OHG. 
ur = Goth. , out: see a- 1 . The same prefix, 
AS. a-, appears accented and disguised in oak- 
um, q. v.] A prefix of Anglo-Saxon origin, ap- 
pearing unrecognized as a prefix and with no 
separate significance in ordeal, art, and a few 
other words now obsolete. 
-dtorem).'] A termination (apparent suffix) of 
Latin origin, contracted through Old French 
from an original Latin -ator. in English it is 
merged with -orl, as in emperor, ultimately from Latin im- 
perator; governor, ultimately from Latin gitbernator, etc.; 
or with -erl, as in laborer, ultimately from Latin laborator; 
preacher, ultimately from Latin prcedicator, etc. It ap- 
pears as -iour, -ior, usually -iour (from OF. -eour), in savior, 
saviour, ultimately from Latin salcator. 
or 3 . [Also in older words -owr; < ME. -our, -or, 
-ur, < OF. -or, -our, -ur, F. -eur = Sp. Pg. -or = It. 
-ore, < L. -or, orig. -os, ace. -orem, a suffix forming 
nouns, usually abstract, from verbs in -ere, as 
cator, heat, < calere, be hot, f rigor, cold, < fri- 
gere, be cold, oZor, odor, smell, < olere, smell, hor- 
ror, shrinking, < horrere, shrink, terror, fear, < 
terrere, make afraid, etc.; or nouns, sometimes 
concrete, not from verbs, as honor, hoaos, honor, 
arbor, arbos, a tree, etc.] A suffix of some 
nouns of Latin origin, either abstract, as in 
odor, horror, terror, honor, etc., or concrete, as 
in arbor, a tree, etc. It is not felt or used as 
an English formative. 
be pri 
psalm 
2. Sooner than ; rather than. 
Now is routhe to rede how the red noble 
Is reuerenced or the rode. 
Piers Plowman (B), XT. 502. 
He'll grant the tribute, send the arrearages, 
Or look upon our Romans, whose remembrance 
Is yet fresh in their grief. Shak. , Cymbeline, ii. 4. 1J,. 
3. Than. 
Yow that, I wot wel, weldej more slyjt 
Of that art, bi the half, or a hundreth of seche 
As 1 am. 
Sir Oawayne and the Green Knight (E. E. T. S.), 1. 1543. 
4. Lest Or ever, or e'er, before ever, before . . . 
ever, the adverb ever by contraction assuming the form of 
the adverb err, and or ere becoming thus a seeming dupli- 
cation of ere. with which or is ultimately identical, though 
now in this phrase sometimes mistaken for orl. 
A-say or euer thow trust ; 
When dtide is doun, hit ys to lat. 
Booke of Precedence (E. E. T. S., extra wr.), i. 42. ora't (6'ra), . [AS. ora. Cf . ore.] AnAnglo- 
The lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their Saxon money of account. In the laws of Edward 
the Elder and Gnthrnm, the ora was equivalent to 2J 
shillings of the time. In the Doomsday Book the ora was 
equal to 20 pence. 
Ora 2 , n. Plural of os 2 . 
orach, orache (or'ach), n. [Also orrach, and 
formerly arrach; < F. arroche, orach, prob. < L. 
atriplex, orach: see Atriplex.] One of several 
Old World plants of the genus Atriplex, espe- 
cially A. hortensis, the garden-orach. See Atri- 
jilrr and mountain-spinach. The common orach is 
A. patula. a weed and seaside plant of both hemispheres. 
bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den. 
Dan. vl. 24. 
Tliis heart 
Shall break into a hundred thousand flaws, 
Or ere I'll weep. Shak., Lear, ii. 4. 288. 
The shepherds on the lawn, 
Or e'er the point of dawn, 
Sat simply chatting in a rustick row. 
Milton, Nativity, 1. 86. 
I, or ere that season come, 
Escaped from every care. 
T, On Liberties token with Milton's Remains. 
ni-rli 1 I'Sentchl in uses e\- The sea-orach, yt. Wnrntfa, of the coasts of Europe. Is also 
. used as a spinach. See cut in next column.- Dog's- 
ccpt in the phrase or i-rt'i; or en; which is still ora ch. Same as noteAioeed. - Orach moth, a lepidop- 
sometimes used.] 
terous insect, Hadtna atriplicis. 
Or 3 (or), H. [< ME. or, < OF. (and F.) or = Sp. oracle (or'a-kl), . [< ME. oracle, < OF. (and 
wo = Pg. oro = It. oro, < L. aitrum. gold : see F. ) oracle = Sp. ordculo = Pg. oraculo It. ora- 
1. Orach (A triplex fatuta } ; 2. the inflorescence ; a. a male (lower : 
4, a female flower ; c , the fruit with the calyx. 
cola, < L. oracitlum, syncopated orarlum,9, divine 
announcement, a prophecy, a place where such 
were given, < orarc, pray: see oration.] 1. In 
daxs.antiq. : (a) An utterance given by a priest 
or priestess of a god, in the name of the god 
and, as was believed, by his inspiration, in an- 
swer to a human inquiry, usually respecting 
some future event, as the success of an enter- 
prise or battle, or some proposed line of con- 
duct. Such oracles exerted for centuries a strong Influ- 
ence upon the course of human affairs, the belief of both 
the medium and the questioner in their divine inspiration 
being In most cases genuine. The oracles themselves, 
however, were often ambiguous or at least obscure. The 
prestige of the chief oracular seats of Greece was powerful 
in the promotion of good government and justice. After 
the introduction of Christianity the utterance of oracles 
gradually ceased. It was a common belief of early Chris- 
tians that the oracles actually proceeded from evil spirit*. 
Though I am satisfied and need no more 
Than what I know, yet shall the oracle 
Give rest to the minds of others. 
Shak., W. T.. II. 1.190. 
(6) The deity who was supposed to give such 
answers to inquiries. 
The oracles are dumb, 
No voice or hideous hum 
Rims thro' the arched roof in words deceiving. 
MUton, Nativity, 1. 173. 
Oracles are brief and final in their utterances. 
0. W. Holmes, Emerson, iv. 
(c) The place where oracular answers were giv- 
en ; the sanctuary, temple, or adytum whence 
the supposed supernatural responses proceed- 
ed. The Greeks surpassed every other nation In both the 
number and the celebrity of their oracles. Those of Zeus at 
Dndona in Epirus, of Apollo at Delphi, and of Trophonius 
near Lebadeia in Boeotia enjoyed the highest reputation. 
Thither come, 
And let my grave-stone be your oracle. 
Shak., 1. of A., v. 1. 222. 
2. Hence, by extension (a) The communica- 
tions, revelations, or instruction delivered by 
God to or through his prophets : rarely used in 
the singular: as, the oracfen of God; the divine 
oracfes. 
This Is he ... who received the lively orades to give 
unto us. Acte vii. 38. 
They presume that the law doth speak with all indiffer- 
ency ; that the law hath no side-respect to their persons ; 
that the law is, as it were, an oracle proceeded from wisdom 
and understanding. Hooker, Ecclea. Polity, i. 10. 
(6) The sanctuary or most holy place in the 
temple, in which was deposited the ark of the 
covenant (1 Ki. vi. 19) : sometimes used for the 
temple itself. 
The priest* brought in the ark of the covenant of the 
Lord unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the 
most holy place, even under the wings of the cheruhims. 
1 Ki. Tiii. 6. 
(c) A source or repository of the divine will 
that may be consulted or drawn upon. 
God hath now sent his living aracU 
Into the world to teach his Anal will. 
Milton, P. R., 1. 460. 
3. An uncommonly wise person, whose opin- 
ions are of great authority, and whose determi- 
nations are not disputed. 
I am Sir Oracle, 
And when I ope my lips let no dog bark. 
Shak., M. of V., 1. 1. 9S. 
Sleek Odalisques, or oracles of mode. 
Tennyson, Princess, it 
4. A wise saying or an authoritative decision 
given by such a person. 
