| 释义 |
▪ I. turn, n.|tɜːn|
Forms: 3– turn; also 3–7 turne, 4–6 torn, torne, 4–7 tourne, 5–7 tourn, 6 terne.
[Partly a. AF. *torn, turn, tourn, = OF. tor, tour, F. tour (= Pr. torn, tor, Cat. torn, Sp., Pg., It. torno):—L. torn-us (acc. -um), a. Gr. τόρνος turning-lathe. Cf. for the form, F. jour, AF. jorn:—L. diurn-um. In English, partly treated as n. of action from turn v. (So OF. torne, tourne, fr. tourner vb.) See also tour n. from the later French form.]
I. Rotation, and connected senses. (Cf. turn v. I, II.)
1. The action of turning about an axis or centre, as a wheel; rotation, revolution. Now rare.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 79 On walkenes turn wid dai and niȝt Of foure and twenti time riȝt. c1400Rom. Rose 5470 Froward Fortune.., Whanne high estatis she doth reverse, And maketh hem to tumble doune Off hir whele, with sodeyn tourne. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxiv. 8 Fortoun sa fast hir quheill dois cary; Na tyme bot turne can [v.r. in turning can it] tak rest. c1680Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism ii. Wks. 1716 I. 111 Fortune's-wheel..is always..upon the Turn. 1879J. Martineau Hours Th. (1880) II. i. 6 You may expect a prize from the turn of a lottery.
2. a. An act of turning; a movement of rotation (total or partial); esp. a single revolution, as of a wheel.
1481Caxton Myrr. iii. viii. 148 The sonne..gooth euery yere aboute the heuen one torne. 1596Davies Orchestra lxxi, A gallant daunce,..With loftie turnes and capriols. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. i. vi, The Giddy turns of Fortune's Wheel. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 35 He darts his Zagaye..with a turn of hand that doubles the force of it. 1759Smeaton in Phil. Trans. LI. 157 The turns of the sails in a given time will be as the square of the velocity of the wind. 1849Clough Dipsychus ii. ii. 32 And hear the soft turns of the oar! 1872Ruskin Fors Clav. (1896) I. xix. 370 In a few turns of the hands of the..clock.
b. (roasted, done, etc.) to a turn, i.e. exactly to the proper degree, precisely right: orig. in reference to the turns of the spit.
1780Mackenzie Mirror No. 93 ⁋12 The beef was roasted to a turn. 1864D. G. Mitchell Sev. Stor. 11 The chops were done to a turn.
c. turn of the scale(s, the slight advantage given to the buyer by which the article sold overbalances the weight and brings down the scale-pan. Hence, a very slight degree or amount, a very little (just enough to turn the scale: see turn v. 58).
In quot. 1888 the turn of a hair = a close chance, a ‘narrow shave’. But cf. not to turn a hair, in hair n. 8 n.
1888Century Mag. May 127/1 It was the turn of a hair that they hadn't buried him alive. 1890‘R. Boldrewood’ Col. Reformer (1891) 218 All that's a turn too good for making slaughter-yard bacon, does for the Chinamen.
d. turn of the screw: an additional twist to tighten up the hold; an extra twist given to a thumbscrew by way of increasing the torture (in quots. fig.).
1796[see screw n.1 2 a]. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xxiv. 331 (heading) A turn of the screw. 1898H. James Turn of Screw 4 If the child [in a ghost story] gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children? 1940Manch. Guardian Weekly 1 Mar. 175 Even more far-reaching schemes of increasing direct taxation..are certain to be realised..whenever the psychological ground is favourable for this further turn of the screw. 1973Listener 14 June 785/2 The first turns of the screw on the car commuter are already being prepared. The GLC wants to put up parking fines from {pstlg}4 to {pstlg}20.
3. A brain-disease of sheep and cattle, caused by a hydatid, and characterized by giddiness: = gid1. Also transf. a beast affected with this (quot. 1658).
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §62 heading, The turne, and remedy therfore. 1651Manchester Crt. Leet Rec. (1887) IV. 51 Sellinge a beast..yett had the turne. 1658Ibid. 243 Sellinge parte of a Turne which was not Markettable. 1718F. Hutchinson Witchcraft ix. (1720) 162 Twirl like a Calf that hath the Turn. 1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 1168 The Turn or Giddy is a disorder with which these animals [sheep] are often seized.
4. A movement round something, a twist; spec. Naut. an act of passing a rope once round a mast or other object.
1743Bulkeley & Cummins Voy. S. Seas 115 All Hands haul'd, took a Turn round the Main-Mast, and went aft. 1881Whitehead Hops 35 The young bines only take short turns, and cannot lay hold of supports which are stout at the base. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 256 The blocks..act like a sailor's ‘turn and a half’.
5. Mus. A melodic ornament consisting of a group of three (four, or five) notes, viz. the principal note (on which it is performed) and the notes one degree above and below it.
In the common turn or direct turn, the note above precedes, and that below follows, the principal note; in the inverted turn or back-turn, the note below precedes and that above follows; in either case, the principal note is repeated at the end, and sometimes also precedes. turn of a shake: see quot. 1881 s.v. shake n.1 5.
1801Busby Dict. Mus. 1818― Gram. Mus. 143 Full, or Double Turn. Partial Turn. Inverted Turn. 1868Browning Ring & Bk. i. 1210 Clavecinist debarred his instrument, He yet thrums—shirking neither turn nor trill,..on dumb table-edge.
6. The condition of being, or direction in which something is, twisted or convoluted; hence, a portion or ‘length’ of something of a convoluted or twisted form, corresponding to one whole revolution; a (single) coil or twist; a round (of coiled rope, etc.); (Naut.) a twist of rope round a mast, etc.
1669Ray in Phil. Trans. IV. 1011 Observations Concerning the odd Turn of some Shell-snailes..The Turn of the wreaths is from the right hand to the left. 1678Lond. Gaz. No. 1269/4 A dapple gray Mare,..a feather under the mane, two turns in the forehead. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VII. 32 Its convolutions are more numerous. The garden snail has but five turns at the most; in the sea snail the convolutions are sometimes..ten. 1827D. Johnson Ind. Field Sports 83 Wound round with a few turns of fine silk. 1884Higgs Magn. & Dynamo Electr. Machines 214 We can..calculate the length..of the turns wound on a magnetic core, if we divide the length of the coil by the number of turns. 1886R. Brown Spunyarn & Spindrift vii. 91, I..jumped to let go of the main-sheet. But Lord! we was in the white water almost before I could cast the turns off. 1930Sea Breezes 74 Brushing off the snow and hammering gasket turns warmed my hands.
7. Something that turns or spins round; a rotatory apparatus or contrivance.
a. A lathe; now only applied to a watchmaker's lathe, also called a pair of turns.
b. A spinning-wheel, windlass, or the like; in quot. 1578, a top. ? Obs. exc. dial.
c. = turntable 2.
a.1483Cath. Angl. 397/2 A Turne of a turnour, tornus. 1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Vu tour.., a turne, as boule faite au tour, a boule made at the turne. 1668Phil. Trans. III. 795 An Artist, that polishes Optick-Glasses on a Turn. 1884F. J. Britten Watch & Clockm. 202 The wheel..is put in a pair of turns. Ibid. 205 The hollows of small pinions are often polished in the turns.
b.c1564in Noake Worc. Relics (1877) 10 A spynynge turne and a spolynge turne. 1578Lyte Dodoens vi. vi. 664 Almost like to a little Turne or Peare, brode beneath, and narrow aboue. 1675Phil. Trans. X. 452 It shot off the Turne at the mouth of the Pit. 1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 342/1 An Engine called a Turne, or the Turne Engine..by which great Weights are lifted up. 1870R. S. Hawker Footpr. Far Cornw. 88 The mother stood by her turn or wheel, and span.
c.a1668R. Lassels Voy. Italy (1670) II. 71 A grate..where..infants are put into a squar hole of a Turne, and so turned in by night. 1808Lady Jerningham Lett. (1896) I. 321 Her victuals were put in a turn, like at a Convent. 1932G. F.-H. Berkeley Italy in Making I. xviii. 268 At suitable points were inset ‘turns’, similar to those used in convents, so as to enable the servants to hand in food for both the cardinals and their attendants, without themselves entering the isolated wing. 1966M. C. Lorang Footloose Scientist in Mayan America 90 Food was passed into the dining room through a ‘turn’..—a hollow roller set into the wall so that when one side is open, the other side is closed.
II. Change of direction or course, and connected senses. (Cf. turn v. III, IV, V.)
8. a. An act of turning or facing another way; a change of direction or posture.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy iv. 3273 Fortunys variaunce,..And sodeyn torn of hir false visage. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. ii. v. 59 He's bound vnto Octauia. Cleo. For what good turne? Mes. For the best turne i' th' bed. 1754Richardson Grandison (1810) IV. xxxii. 237 Her..half-saucy turns upon him. 1827Scott Surg. Dau. xiv, Shooting a glance at his..companion by a turn of the eye. 1847Tennyson Princess iv. 375 She..made a sudden turn As if to speak.
b. ‘A step off the ladder at the gallows’ (J.); hanging. Cf. turn v. 74 d. Now rare or Obs.
1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 49 What man will venture a turne at the Gallows, for a little small siluer chalice?
c. Change of position (by a rotatory movement) of something inanimate, as a die when thrown.
1801Strutt Sports & Past. Introd. iii. 4 Stake their liberty upon the turn of the dice. 1802M. Edgeworth Moral T. (1816) I. xi. 89 Few people chose to venture a hundred guineas upon the turn of a straw. 1809Malkin Gil Blas v. i. ⁋29 Florence and her dowry therefore were lost..by a turn of the dice.
d. Cards. The dealing or inversion of two cards in faro; hence to call the turn, to guess the order of the last three cards in the pack. Also fig.
1864W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle 207 The two cards drawn from the dealer's box—one for the bank and the other for the player..constitute a turn. 1889Cent. Dict. s.v. faro, The showing of two cards constitutes a ‘turn’. After each turn new bets are made for another, down to the last three cards of the pack; the only betting allowed after this is on ‘calling the turn’, or guessing which will show first. 1901H. James Sacred Fount 44 The face of Guy Brissenden, as recognizable at a distance as the numbered card of a ‘turn’. 1908Sat. Even. Post 5 Dec. 18/2 Ye-e-s, but this Wallingford person called the turn. 1940D. W. Maurer Big Con viii. 257 The odds are always greater on the last turn, and anyone who wins on that play may make a young fortune. 1964A. Wykes Gambling vii. 169 When three [cards] are left (the ‘last turn’), players bet on the order of their appearance.
e. Cricket. A deviation of the ball's course after pitching; = break n.1 5.
1900P. F. Warner Cricket in Many Climes 190 The Newlands ground is the most difficult to make runs on in the whole of South Africa, the bowlers always being able to get considerable turn on the ball. 1977Observer 30 Jan. 23/8 A deficit of even 50 runs..could pose problems for England because the spinners have already begun to extract a lot of turn.
9. Printing. A reversal of type in composing; also concr. a type turned face downwards so as to produce a square black mark on the proof, in place of a missing letter.
1888J. H. Hessels in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 693/1 The whole of the last reference-line is put in upside down... A ‘turn’ of this magnitude could hardly have occurred [etc.].
10. a. An act (or, rarely, the action) of turning aside from one's course; deflection, deviation; a round-about course, a detour. Also fig.
a1300Cursor M. 4323 (Cott.) Qua folus lang, wit-outen turn, Oft his fote sal find a spurn. c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xxx, Þen he shulde make a longe turne and vmbicaste aboute by somme wayes, or by pathes. c1530Ld. Berners Arth. Lyt. Bryt. (1814) 327 And some behelde the hye tournes & tournynges of the sakers & gerfawcons. 1685–6Stillingfl. Serm. (1698) III. i. 13 True Repentance is the turn of the whole Soul from the Love, as well as the Practice of Sin. 1689–90Temple Ess. Heroic Virt. Wks. 1731 I. 222 The Arians..made easy Turns to the Mahometan Doctrines, that professed Christ to have been so great and so divine a Prophet. 1874G. J. Whyte-Melville Uncle John xxiii, To follow him through the many turns and windings of his wearisome..chase. 1892Greener Breech Loader 231 The woodcock..is one of the most difficult birds to bag;..its turn to right and left being most erratic.
b. in phr. at every turn: usually fig. at every change of circumstance (cf. 18); hence, on every occasion, constantly, continually.
(Cf. quot. 1579 in turning vbl. n. 4 b.)
1590Shakes. Mids. N. iii. i. 114 Ile leade you about a Round, Through bogge, through bush, through brake,..And neigh, and barke, and grunt,..Like horse, hound, hog,..at euery turne. c1685South Serm., Will for Deed (1715) 377 One or both..being used by Men, almost at every Turn, to elude the Precept. 1735Berkeley Reasons etc. §2 Wks. 1871 III. 340 Should he at every turn say such uncouth things. 1876Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. ix. 131 Compelled to disgust his supporters at every turn. 1907Blackw. Mag. Apr. 48 Palaces of rusticated stone meet us at every turn.
11. a. A place or point at which a road, river, or the like turns, or turns off; a curved or bent part of anything; a bend, curve, or angle.
1412–20Lydg. Chron. Troy i. 1367 Thoruȝ many halle and many riche tour, By many tourn and many diuerse way. 1513Douglas æneis ix. vii. 26 The horsmen than prekis, and fast furth sprentis To weil beknawin pethis, and turnys [and] wentis. 1688R. Holme Armoury iv. xi. (Roxb.) 438/2 Annoynted..in.. the breast, betweene the shoulders, in the Joynts, and turne of the Armes. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Pulse (1778) I. 163 There are two turns; and be so good as to take the second. 1816Byron Ch. Har. iii. lv. Song iv, The river nobly..flows,..And all its thousand turns disclose Some fresher beauty. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. xxiii. 286 They..walked around the turn of the cape.
b. ,
c. Mining. (See quots.)
b.1681T. Houghton Rara Avis Gloss. (E.D.S.), Turn, a pit sunk in some part of a drift; if the mine be deep, there is many of these turns, one below another. 1824J. Mander Derbysh. Miner's Gloss. s.v., Eight, ten, or twelve fathoms is [a depth] common for a Turn; and note, that a vein which is wrought ninety or a hundred fathoms must have divers Turns.
c.1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms Northumb. & Durh. 55 Turns, curved plates, made of cast metal, used at a branch-off tramway in the workings. 1886J. Barrowman Sc. Mining Terms 69 Turn,..the arrangement of rails, sleepers and pulleys at a curve on a haulage road.
d. Golf. The point in the course (after the ninth hole) at which the players begin the return journey.
1899Golf Illustrated 1 Sept. 336/2 The hole was halved, as were also the eighth and ninth... The match..was all square at the turn. 1930Cambridge Daily News 24 Sept. 7/3 Compston, who went out in 37 and was five up at the turn, won by seven and five.
12. Arch. The curved flank or haunch of an arch, between the key-stone and the foot. ? Obs.
1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. I. 53/2 An Arch is..a conjunction..of wedges, whereof some..are call'd the foot.., those in the middle above, the Key.., and those on the sides.., the Turn, or Ribs of the Arch.
13. The act of turning so as to face about or go in the opposite direction; reversal of position or course; turning back. on the turn, in or close upon the act of turning, at the turning-point. Also fig. esp. in turn of the tide, etc. (cf. tide n. 9).
1669R. Fleming Fulfill. Script. (1801) I. 302 Antichrist should be at his height and his kingdom upon the turn. 1690C. Nesse O. & N. Test. I. 271 The half-turn, from West to North. Ibid., The whole turn from West to East. Ibid., The round turn from sin to Christ. 1782F. Burney Cecilia vii. v, Whether we shall go on, or take a turn back? 1796― Camilla V. 540 Such turns in the tide of fortune. 1862R. H. Patterson Ess. Hist. & Art 329 Fine Art is at a low ebb. But..the tide is on the turn.
14. Coursing. The act of suddenly turning, as a hare when closely pursued, and making off more or less in the opposite direction, or at least at a considerable angle from the direction of pursuit. Usually in phr. to give the hare (etc.) a turn, said of the hound.
1575Turberv. Venerie 246 A Cote is when a Greyhounde goeth endways by his fellow and giueth the Hare a turne (which is called setting a Hare aboute). 1670Narborough Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 30 A Greyhound..gave Chase to one of them, and at last gave her a turn. 1834T. Thacker Courser's Comp. I. 183 A turn to be reckoned one point; but if the hare turn not, as it were round, she only wrenches... A wrench is when she strikes off..at about a right angle. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Sports i. iii. viii. 212/1 It is a Turn if the hare is forced more than 45 degrees, and one point is to be scored.
†15.
a. A journey, expedition, tour, course. Obs.
c1400St. Alexius (Laud 622) 341 He took his tourne From Rome. 1570Levins Manip. 191/13 Turne,..cursus. 1665Chas. II in Julia Cartwright Henrietta of Orleans (1894) 224, I am goeing to make a little turne into dorset sheere for 8 or 9 dayes. 1734H. Walpole Let. Oct., in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 254 His design to take a turn into England.
b. A sheriff's tour, or court: see tourn.
†c. Venery. Pairing of roe-deer. Obs.
1486Bk. St. Albans E iv b, Then shall the Roobucke gendre with the Roo..Then is he calde a Roobucke goyng in his turne. 1610J. Guillim Heraldry iii. xiv. (1660) 166 You shall sey Roe goeth to his Tourne.
16. a. An act of walking or pacing around or about a limited area, as a park, garden, or sequence of streets; a short walk (or ride) forth and back, esp. by a different route; a stroll.
a1591H. Smith Wks. (1866) I. 185 Go now and walk in thy galleries, fetch one turn more before thou be turned out of door. 1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 162 A turne or two Ile walke To still my beating minde. 1710Steele Tatler No. 160 ⁋2, I took several Turns about my Chamber. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5336/1 He..has..taken a Turn on Horse⁓back on the Isle. 1823Scott Quentin D. Introd., This circumstance of explanation and remark..occupied us during two or three turns upon the long terrace. 1867Trollope Chron. Barset xlvii, I will take a turn round the garden.
b. Knitting. See quot.
1893E. Rosevear Text-bk. Needlework, etc. 406 A Turn is used for two rows in the same stitches backwards and forwards.
III. Change in general. (See also sense 36.) Cf. turn v. VI.
17. The action, or an act, of turning or changing; change, alteration, modification; in quot. 1901, change of colour. rare exc. as in next sense. on the turn, turning sour, as food; of the weather or the season, changing.
1597Hooker Eccl. Pol. v. xxxviii. §1 An admirable facilitie which musique hath to expresse..the turnes and varieties of all passions. 1726Leoni tr. Alberti's Archit. I. 3/2 Sudden Turns and Changes in the Air, from Hot to Cold, and from Cold to Hot. c1850Arab. Nights (Rtldg.) 251 One..would fain have given a turn to these melancholy ideas by singing a little air to her lute. 1901‘L. Malet’ Sir R. Calmady iii. ii, The turn of the leaf was very brilliant.
18. spec.
a. A change in affairs, conditions, or circumstances; vicissitude; revolution; esp. a change for better or worse, or the like, at a crisis; hence, sometimes, the time at which such a change takes place. (Often fig. from or associated with 10.)
1607Shakes. Cor. iv. iv. 12 Oh World, thy slippery turnes! Friends now fast sworn..shall within this houre..breake out To bitterest Enmity. 1622Bacon Hen. VII 217 The State of Christendome might by this late Accident haue a turne. 1725B. Higgons Rem. Burnet i. Hist. Wks. 1736 II. 71 Why the Republicans..made so little Opposition to a Turn of State [the Restoration] which must infallibly be their Ruin. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. xviii. II. 120 The engagement..was maintained with various and singular turns of fortune. 1842Tennyson Two Voices 55 Some turn this sickness yet might take. 1892W. Ramage Last Words 65 Two turns are possible in a crisis: the issue may be favourable or fatal.
b. turn of life: a name for the time, or symptoms, of cessation of menstruation: = change of life (change n. 3 d).
1834Cooper Good's Study Med. (ed. 4) IV. 54 note, When menstruation is about to cease, the period is called ‘the change or turn of life’. 1860Mayne Expos. Lex., Turn of Life, popular term for the constitutional disturbance frequently attendant on the cessation of the catamenia.
c. The point at which one named period of time gives way to the next; the beginning or end of a named period of time, regarded in relation to the transition point between it and the preceding or following period; spec. (a) turn of the century, the beginning or end of the century under consideration; also (usu. with hyphens) attrib. or as adj.; (b) turn of the year, the end of winter and the beginning of spring; also, the beginning of the calendar year.
1853R. S. Surtees Mr Sponge's Sporting Tour lxxi. 395 Who doesn't know the chilling feel of an English spring, or rather of a day at the turn of the year before there is any spring? 1859G. Meredith R. Feverel xxv, In the turn of the year. 1926O. Barfield Hist. in Eng. Words xi. 195 Just before the turn of the century there burst..upon England that strange explosion..the Romantic Movement. 1934J. C. Powys Autobiogr. vii. 300 How well I remember watching out the turn of the centuries—the nineteenth becoming the twentieth—in the little dining-room at Court House. 1935Discovery Oct. 310/2 It is interesting to compare Dr Burr's notes, dating back to the turn of the century, with present conditions. 1947R. Church in M. Balcon et al. Eng. Lang. & Lit. xii. 200/2 Blatant imperialism shouted with a loud voice round the turn of the last Victorian years. 1947W. H. Lewis in Ess. presented to C. Williams 140 If they reached the port at the turn of the year,..the galleys, stripped to their hulls, would be emerging from their winter hibernation. 1952G. Sarton Hist. Sci. I. xx. 512 We know that Autolycos was the teacher of..Arcesilaos of Pitane (315–240)... This suggests that he resided in Pitane and fixes the date approximately, the turn of the century. 1955E. Blishen Roaring Boys iv. 251 The school lavatories..were a product of turn-of-the-century parsimony. 1955I. & P. Opie Oxford Dict. Nursery Rhymes 4 Romantic lyrics of a decidedly free nature..which were carefully rewritten to suit the new discrimination at the turn of the last century. 1955Time & Tide 19 Nov. 1503/1 Can those who were young in the nineteen-twenties..remember the favourites as vividly as their elders recollect the tunes of the century's turn? 1961I. Murdoch Severed Head xiii. 120, I brought to mind that it was New Year's eve. Some nearer bells took up the peal... Soon it would be the turn of the year. 1961Times 29 Dec. 11/7 Mr. William Brodie's sets, vaguely turn-of-the-century. 1965C. E. Pocknee Parson's Handbk. (ed. 13) p. xiv, At the turn of this century there were many who were in that state. 1968A. M. Farrer Interpretation & Belief (1976) 190 It was as a doctrine of free will that Neo-Platonism was embraced by St Augustine at the turn of the fourth to the fifth century. 1970New Scientist 17 Sept. 563/1 The latest estimates suggest that the area will be short of..1 270 000 cu.m. a day in 1981, and more than three million cu.m. a day by the turn of the century. 1970H. Braun Parish Churches i. 22 At the turn of the millennium the monastic churches were quite enormous. 1970Daily Tel. 26 Feb. 6/2 It was inevitable that at the turn of the decade there should appear yet more ‘condition of Britain’ analyses. 1971Ibid. 23 Aug. 8 At the turn of the year, Kuala Lumpur officials talked confidently of reduced Communist terrorism along the Thai-Malaysia border. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 29 May 9/1 Her modest, turn-of-the-century home on a quiet street in Indianapolis. 1976Church Times 9 July 6/2 He begins with a splendid assembly of Church of England men all earnestly proclaiming, at the turn of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, doctrines then trendy. 1977K. M. E. Murray Caught in Web of Words xv. 282 In 1897 James had set himself the target of completing half the letters of the alphabet by the turn of the century. 1979Sci. Amer. Dec. 96/1 The evolutionary significance of the original Neanderthal discovery and of other human remains uncovered at Paleolithic sites was not apparent until the turn of the 20th century. 1981‘W. Haggard’ Money Men xi. 122 What was still called the parlour..was vintage turn of the century.
19. A momentary shock caused by sudden alarm, fright, or the like. colloq. (Cf. 25 b.)
1846Dickens Cricket on Hearth ii, What a hard-hearted monster you must be, John, not to have said so, at once, and saved me such a turn! 1860Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. i. vii, Mrs. Tulliver gave a little scream as she saw her, and felt such a ‘turn’ that she dropt the large gravy-spoon into the dish. 1886Besant Children of Gibeon ii. xix, It was only a dream... But it gave me a terrible turn.
IV. Senses denoting actions of various kinds.
†20. A movement, device, or trick, by which a wrestler attempts to throw his antagonist: = F. tour.
a1225Ancr. R. 280 He iseih hu ueole þe grimme wrastlare of helle breid up on his hupe, & werp, mid þe haunche turn, into golnesse. c1325Metr. Hom. 83 Bot sinful man gers him [the devil] oft schurne, And castis him wit his awen turne. c1400Gamelyn 244 Of all the tornes that he cowthe he schewed him but oon, And caste him on the lefte syde that three ribbes to-brak. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 162 He is cast in his owne turne, that is likly And yet in all turnes he turnth wonders quikly.
21. A subtle device of any kind; a trick, wile, artifice, stratagem. ? Obs.
a1225Ancr. R. 78 Vre strencðe..aȝein þes deofles turnes & his fondunges. c1380Sir Ferumb. 796 Y warne þe of a torn..Y leuede ȝond on a buchyment sarasyns wonder fale. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxiv. 221, I thynke to playe hym a tourne. 1697Vanbrugh Relapse v. iii, Come, no equivocations, no Roman turns upon us. 1720Waterland Eight Serm. Pref. 30 The unlearned Reader..may be easily imposed upon by little Turns, and Fallacies. 1735H. Walpole Let. 9 Sept., in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 259 A variety of artifices and turns.
†22. An act, deed, proceeding; a deed of valour, feat, exploit. Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 192 In þe creatores cort com neuer more, Ne neuer see hym with syȝt for such sour tournez. 1415Hoccleve To Sir J. Oldcastle ii, Was no knyghtly turn no where, Ne no manhode shewid in no wyse, But Oldcastel wolde, his thankes, be there. 1590Reg. Privy Council Scot. IV. 560 He had done greitar turnis nor to ding oute all thair harnis.
23. An act of good or ill will, or that does good or harm to another; a service: almost always with qualifying word, as good turn, a benefit; bad turn, evil turn, ill turn, † shrewd turn, an injury. Cf. to do the turn in 30 b (c).
13..Cursor M. 4330 (Cott.) Sco [Potiphar's wife] waited him wit a werr turn. c1386Chaucer Pard. T. 487 Hadde I nat doon a freendes torn to thee? c1440Alphabet of Tales lviii. 43, I hafe yit in my mynde a little gude turn at þou did me. Ibid. xcvii. 72 Thow hase done me ane ill turn. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 98 Wysshe hym a shrewde turne, or saye, I wolde the deuyll had hym. 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 34 One good tourne askth an other. 1647H. More Cupid's Conflict xlv, He..Requiteth evil turns with hearty love. 1654H. L'Estrange Chas. I (1655) 15 One good turn deserves another. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 242 Ready..to do us any ill turn. 1886G. R. Sims Ring o' Bells, etc. vii. 198, I did the lass a bad turn when I took her away.
24. A stroke or spell of work; a piece of work; a task, job. Sc. ? Obs. exc. in hand's turn (see hand n. 59).
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxx. (Theodera) 121 Of sorcery scho cuth do, And as scho mycht did turne and chare. 1572Satir. Poems Reform. xxxii. 35 Thay..brocht thair butter and egges To Edinburgh Croce, and did na vther turne. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. ii. xli. 36 b, The over-lord sall doe all the turnis and affairs perteining to the heire. 1791J. Learmont Poems 331 My turns are lying to do.
25. a. A spell or bout of action, a ‘go’; spec. a spell of wrestling; hence, a contest (quot. 1829). Now often associated with sense 28.
c1380Sir Ferumb. 335 Þov hast y dremed of venesoun; þov mostest drynke a torn. a1400–50Alexander 2276, I walde..now wrastyll a turne. a1500Chester Pl. vii. 246 A turne to take have I tight with my maistores. 1653Clarke Papers (Camden) III. 9 Yesterday wee had another turne in the House. 1829Scott Anne of G. xxv, We have seen..so many turns betwixt York and Lancaster. 1877Spurgeon Serm. XXIII. 643 You young people, I like to see you run, and I am glad to take a turn at it myself. 1882Furnivall in E.E. Wills Ded. 8 Since I first saw the Boxes and their contents at Doctors' Commons,..I always meant to have a turn at them.
b. An attack of illness, faintness, or the like; also, a fit of passion or excitement. (Cf. 19.)
1775A. Adams in Fam. Lett. (1876) 97 Jonathan is the only one..in the family who has not had a turn of the disorder. 1859Tennyson Merlin & V. 519 Not so much from wickedness, As some wild turn of anger, or a mood Of overstrain'd affection. 1913E. Wharton Custom of Country i. ii, Her mother..sat in a drooping attitude, her head sunk on her breast, as she did when she had one of her ‘turns’ [of palpitation].
c. pl. A name for monthly courses or catamenia.
1857Dunglison Med. Lex., Turns, menses.
†26. An event, circumstance, occurrence, hap. (Not always clearly distinguishable from 18.) In quot. 1719, a series or course of events (cf. 25). Obs. or merged in other senses.
1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 853/1 Beside the losse of our time, there is a worse turne followeth it, and more deadly. 1596Spenser F.Q. vi. x. 18 The shepheard..broke his bag-pipe quight, And made great mone for that unhappy turne. 1708S. Centlivre Busie Body v. i, Pox on 't, this is an unlucky turn. What shall I say? 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xiii. 268 To bring this long turn of our affairs to a conclusion.
V. Occasion, etc.
†27. The occasion or time at which something happens. (Cf. 18, 26.) Obs.
13..Cursor M. 19445 (Cott.) He sagh him croised þat ilk turn Þat he for staning suld not skurn. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 154 Richard at þat turne gaf him a faire Juelle.
28. a. The time for action or proceeding of any kind which comes round to each individual of a series in succession; (each or any one's) recurring occasion of action, etc. in a series of acts done, or to be done, by (or to) a number in rotation. (Often in adverbial phrases: see below.)
c1393Chaucer Scogan 42 Tak euery man his torn as for his tyme. 1586B. Young Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iv. 188 It came to L. Iohns turne to drinke. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, ii. ii. 105 Then 'twas my turne to fly, and now 'tis thine. 1642Denham Sophy Prol. 10 His turne will come, to laugh at you agen. 1697Collier Ess. ii. Envy 113 Every one has a fair Turn to be as Great as he pleases. 1719Young Paraphr. Job 5 Wks. 1757 I. 204 At length misfortunes take their turn to reign, And ills on ills succeed. 1778C. Jones Hoyle's Games Impr. 79 If..the last Player plays out of his Turn. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 553 It was Northumberland's turn to perform this duty. 1885Manch. Exam. 12 Feb. 5/3 The manufacturers have had their share [of protection]; now it is the turn of the corn growers and cattle breeders.
b. Phrases. (a) by turns (also † by turn), one after another in regular succession; successively, in rotation. (b) in turn, in turns, each in due succession: = (a). (in turn is also used rhetorically like in one's turn: see next.) (c) in one's turn, in one's due order in the series. (Often also used rhetorically to indicate an act duly or naturally following a similar act on the part of another, but without the notion of pre-arranged succession.) (d) turn about, turn and turn about (also rarely turn and turn): advb. in turn, by turns, alternately († sometimes preceded by possessive: cf. (c)); adj. performed in turn, mutual, reciprocal (rare); n. the action of doing something in turn; alternate or successive turns at doing something. (e) out of (one's) turn: out of one's due order or place in a series; to talk or speak out of (one's) turn: to say more than one ought to say, to speak inadvisedly or tactlessly.
(a)1538Elyot, Vicissatim, by tymes, by tournes. Vicissim, by tourne, nowe one, nowe an nother. 1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. iv. 76 [They] by change and turnes..keepe watch. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 598 The damn'd..feel by turns the bitter change Of fierce extreams. 1712Steele Spect. No. 508 ⁋3 He is by turns outrageous, peevish, froward and jovial. a1839Praed Poems (1864) II. 13 He aped each folly of the throng, Was all by turns and nothing long. c1850Arab. Nights (Rtldg.) 326 They slept only by turns, in order to guard against wild beasts.
(b)1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 59 The next and last in turne, are those letters familiar. 1688Prior Ode v, Why does each consenting Sign With prudent Harmony combine In Turns to move? 1832Tennyson Pal. Art, ‘I send you here a sort of allegory’ 14 He that shuts Love out, in turn shall be Shut out from Love. 1883Fenn Middy & Ensign xxxv, They would take it in turns to sleep. 1908[Miss Fowler] Betw. Trent & Ancholme 303 The daughters in turn riding on pillion-seat.
(c)1573–80Baret Alv. T 430 By course, or euerie man in his turne, alternis. 1710W. King Heathen Gods & Heroes xi. (1722) 44 Argus..had a hundred Eyes, two of which sleeping in their Turns, the rest continu'd waking. 1781Cowper Charity 74 To see the oppressor in his turn oppressed. 1861M. Pattison Ess. (1889) I. 47 A committee..in which every Hanse town was in its turn represented, according to a fixed cycle. 1864Bryce Holy Rom. Emp. viii. (1875) 143 Germany became in her turn the instructress of the neighbouring tribes.
(d)1650Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Man bec. Guilty 357 Being weary of obeying, they fain would command their turn about. 1709T. Robinson Vind. Mosaick Syst. 94 The Cock..Sitting upon the Eggs his turn about. 1802H. Martin Helen of Glenross II. 14 To complete the turn⁓about good offices, Frances can marry your cast-off Sedley. 1821Scott Kenilw. xv, Fit to sit low at the board, carve turn about with the chaplain. 1833T. Hook Widow & Marquess vii, Turn-about is all fair play. 1834[S. Smith] Lett. J. Downing xxvii. (1835) 176 When one gets drunk, tother keeps sober, and so they take turn and turn about. 1840E. E. Napier Scenes & Sports For. Lands II. v. 174 We took it turn and turn to send out [etc.]. 1848Mrs. Gaskell Mary Barton ix. (1882) 23/2 We took it turn and turn about to sit up and rock th' babby.
(e)1888Rules of Golf 5 Playing out of turn. 1930‘Sapper’ Finger of Fate 186 Well, old boy, our Lady Carrington was talking a little out of her turn. I don't blame her—it's a bit disconcerting to lose a thing like that. 1939I. Baird Waste Heritage vi. 79 Easy, Eddy, I shouldn't have spoken out of turn there. 1945J. B. Priestley Three Men in New Suits i. 7 I'm talking out of my turn, I expect—as usual. 1969P. Roth Portnoy's Complaint 14, I voluntarily and out of my turn set the table. 1978P. Van Greenaway Man called Scavener ix. 123 I'm going to talk out of turn and you'll be welcome to tell me I should mind my own business.
29. spec.
a. The time during which one workman or body of workmen is at work in alternation with another or others; a shift. (Cf. 24.)
1793Smeaton Edystone L. §230, I proposed to visit each company..once in each company's turn, if wind and weather should permit. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining, Turn, the hours during which coals, &c., are being raised from the mine. 1897Worc. County Express 3 Apr., In the turn's work, six hours, Potts would have been able to make 1½ dozen shades.
b. Theatr. ‘A public appearance on the stage, preceding or following others’ (Farmer Slang); an item in a variety entertainment; also transf. applied to the performer.
1715D. Ryder Diary 19 Sept. (1939) 101 There was rope dancing and tumbling... There were now and then some good humorous turns came in that made us laugh with a just pleasure. 1861E. Cowell Diary 16 Apr. in M. W. Disher Cowells in America (1934) 293 Mr. Odgen, not appreciated and evidently uncomfortable, would not sing a second ‘turn’. 1889G. B. Shaw London Music in 1888–89 (1937) 234 Five out of six of the ‘turns’ are of the deadliest dulness. 1890Even. News & Post 9 June 1/7 The wire-walking of Mme. Zuila and her little girl..furnishes a clever and interesting turn. 1905Daily News 15 July 8 An animal ‘turn’ new to England will be seen at the Palace Theatre... Kern and his Mimic Dog have been drawing crowded houses..in Paris. 1907Times 30 Jan 6/6 Under the barring clause the gentleman, who is not a big turn, did not appear.
30. a. Requirement, need, exigency; purpose, use, convenience. arch. (Chiefly in special phrases; see below.)
1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 33/1 To serue to burne for many a turne. 1602Life T. Cromwell ii. iii, We hardly shall finde such a one as he, To fit our turnes. 1659Hammond On Ps. xviii. 5 Annot. 99 Ropes or cords are proper for that turne. 1788Jefferson Writ. (1859) II. 354 Such persons as his turn and time might render desirable. 1881Mrs. J. H. Riddell A. Spenceley I. 285 You will answer my turn..as well as another.
b. Phrases. (a) to serve one's turn: to answer one's purpose or requirement; to suffice for or satisfy a need; to be useful or helpful in an emergency; to suit, answer, serve, avail, ‘do’. Also in passive. So: † (b) to serve a (this, that, etc.) turn (obs.). (c) to serve the turn; also † to do the turn (cf. 23). † (d) to serve turn; also with inf. = to serve to do something (obs.). † (e) to serve or do the turn of, to serve the purpose of, do instead of (obs.). (f) to serve one's (one's own, or a) turn (said of the person): to compass one's own purpose; to consult one's own need. (Cf. (a).) † Also with by, on, upon: to operate by or upon another in order to gain one's end; to make use of for one's own purposes. † (g) for one's turn: (suitable) for one's requirement or purpose (obs.).
(a)1540Palsgr. Acolastus ii. iii. L iij b, Loke thou serue my tourne, what so euer I saye [orig. Fac uerbis meis subseruias]. 1576Gascoigne Steel Gl. Wks. 1910 II. 159 Let not the Mercer pul thee by the sleeve For sutes of silke, when cloth may serve thy turne. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. xvi. (1739) 32 The turns both of Pope and King were competently served. 1742Fielding Jos. Andrews i. xiv, Nothing would serve the fellow's turn but tea. a1859Macaulay Hist. Eng. xxiii. V. 72 Pipes he could not obtain; but a cow's horn perforated served his turn.
(b)1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 10 It serueth other turnes beside. 1586in Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. (1914) 117 The lord chauncellor should have a serjant at armes..and hathe none,..his gentleman ussher sarvethe that torne. a1628Preston New Covt. (1634) 17 All the fish in the Sea should be..little enough to serve such a turne. 1687Dryden Hind & P. iii. 65, I serv'd a turn, and then was cast away.
(c)1551in Feuillerat Revels Edw. VI (1914) 57 Furnysshed of suche thinges..as yourself shall thyncke convenient to serue the turne. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. iii. i. 131 A cloake as long as thine will serue the turne? 1594J. Melvill Diary (Wodrow Soc.) 318 The forces that war reposit on to do the turn. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. Advt. C iij b, Where the Fear of God is not, no Art can serve the turn. 1731Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Wine, A little Yeast,..or even a little new Wine may serve the Turn. 1768Ross Helenore ii. 79 Nor will sick aff setts do the turn wi' me.
(d)a1638Mede Wks. (1672) 68 To say the Ark was brought thither upon this occasion, will not serve turn. 1667Poole Dial. betw. Protest. & Papist (1735) 91 This may serve Turn, to let you see, that I had Warrant to say, that [etc.]. 1700Tyrrell Hist. Eng. II. 847 When the Lyon's Skin alone would not serve turn, he knew how to make it out with that of the Fox.
(e)1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. 49 b, Some Pompe is to be made, or Kettell, Myll, or such like, as may serue the turne of a naturall streame. a1653Binning Serm. (1845) 605 Imputed righteousness comes in as a covering over the man's nakedness, and doth the turn of perfect inherent holiness. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. ix, As if there werena men eneugh in the castle, or as if I couldna serve the turn of ony o' them that are out o' the gate.
(f)1581Mulcaster Positions v. (1887) 32 Necessitie caught hold of it, to serue her owne tourne. 1583Golding Calvin on Deut. iii. 13 Although Iethro was an heathen man: yet did God serue his owne turne by him [orig. Dieu s'est servi de luy] in this behalfe. 1604Shakes. Oth. i. i. 42, I follow him to serue my turne vpon him. 1664Butler Hud. ii. ii. 123 If the Dev'l, to serve his turn, Can tell Truth. 1697Bentley Phal. (1699) 114 Changing a plain Reading against the Authority of three MSS,..purely to serve a turn. 1759Bp. Hurd Moral Dial. iv. 154 A parade of courage, put on to serve a turn, and keep her people in spirits. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xii. III. 208 Those slanderers who had accused him of affecting zeal for religious liberty merely in order to serve a turn.
(g)1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue 38 b, To judge, if that..shalbe for their turne or no. 1625Ussher in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 132 For my turne he is altogether unfit. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. xii. 256 When..I could find a ship for my turn. 1773Life N. Frowde 25, I am not a Man for their turn.
VI. Various other abstract senses, of later development.
31. Style, character, quality; esp. style of language, arrangement of words in a sentence. (Cf. turn v. 5 b.)
1601B. Jonson Poetaster iii. i, Doubtlesse this gallants tongue has a good turne when hee sleeps. 1692Dryden St. Euremont's Ess. Pref. 6 A Purity of Language, and a beautiful turn of Words, so little understood by modern Writers. 1697Bentley Phal. (1699) 158 It has not the Turn and Composition of a Greek Name. 1718Free thinker No. 80 ⁋3 Her Turn of Wit was gentle, polite, and insinuating. 1825Mrs. Sherwood Yng. Forester i. 5 Such a turn of behaviour as enabled him to conceal much roguery under a smooth appearance. 1869Gladstone Juv. Mundi i. 15 A careful comparison..between the Odyssey and Iliad, and of a number of particulars of turn and manner.
32. (with a and pl.) A modification of phraseology for a particular effect, or as a grace or embellishment; a special point or detail of style or expression (in literary work, or transf. in art, etc.).
1693Dryden Juvenal Ded. (1697) 84 Had I time, I cou'd enlarge on the beautiful Turns of Words and Thoughts; which are as requisite in this, as in Heroique Poetry. 1705Addison Italy, Ferrara 121 There is a Turn in the Third Verse that we lose by not knowing the Circumstances. 1738Earl of Oxford in Portland Papers (Hist. MSS. Comm.) VI. 178 The dress of this person..gives a turn and life to the other figures... He is leading her up and has one foot upon the step, which gives a fine turn. 1868G. Duff Pol. Surv. 4 His felicitous turns of expression.
33. Form, make, mould, cast (of a material object). Cf. turn v. 5 a. ? Obs.
1702Addison Dial. Medals ii. (1726) 84 The Roman poets, in their descriptions of a beautiful man, so often mentioning the Turn of his Neck and Arms. 1709Steele Tatler No. 75 ⁋8 The Turn of Faces he meets as soon as he passes Cheapside-Conduit. 1748Anson's Voy. iii. iii. 325 For..rollers..the body of the coco-nut tree was..useful;..its smoothness and circular turn..fitted it for the purpose.
34. a. Natural inclination, disposition, bent; aptitude, capacity for something. Usually const. for (rarely to), or with defining adj. (Cf. turn v. 5 c.)
1702Rowe Tamerl. Ded., That happy Turn which your Lordship has to Business. 1736Butler Anal. Introd. 6 A person of such a Turn of Mind. 1749Wesley Acc. School at Kingswood 3 They..learn, (those who have a Turn for it) to make Verses. a1763W. King Lit. & Polit. Anecd. (1819) 67 Ladies..who have a fine understanding and a turn to poetry. 1812Sir H. Davy Chem. Philos. 15 He [Roger Bacon] was a man of a truly philosophical turn, desirous of investigating nature. 1821Scott Kenilw. xi, But Flibberti⁓gibbet..hath that about him which may redeem his turn for mischievous frolic. 1844Alb. Smith Adv. Mr. Ledbury i, Mr. Ledbury was of an inquiring turn of mind. 1854Milman Lat. Chr. iv. i. (1864) II. 190 The rude and simple Arab had..no turn to or comprehension of metaphysical subtlety. 1871G. H. Napheys Prev. & Cure Dis. i. ii. 58 Persons of a dyspeptic turn.
b. transf. That to which (the age or time) is disposed. (Cf. the fashion, the rage.) rare—1.
1709Swift Advanc. Relig. Wks. 1755 II. i. 114 This is not to be accomplished [but] by introducing religion as much as possible to be the turn and fashion of the age.
†c. ? Aptitude, talent. Obs. rare—1.
1721Cibber Refusal i. (1777) 19 Honest Witling is not to be put out of humour, I see. Gran. No, faith, nor out of countenance. Wit. Not I, faith..; and a man of turn may say any thing to me.
†d. A particular element of the disposition; a characteristic; in quot. 1745, a characteristic act.
1729Law Serious C. vi. (1732) 84 Some turn of mind, which every good Christian is called upon to renounce. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 313 A true French turn, and not unlike old Lewis le Grand's singing Te Deum for being defeated. 1764Sterne in Traill Life (1882) 85 This amiable turn of his character.
e. turn of speed, capacity for speed, ability to run or go fast.
1867in Sir M. G. Gerard Leaves fr. Diaries iii. 65 Showing an unexpected turn of speed. 1894Sir J. D. Astley 50 Y. my Life I. 35, I discovered that I possessed a fair turn of speed.
35. Direction, tendency, drift, trend. (Cf. turn v. 26, 28.)
1704M. Henry Commun. Comp. iv. Wks. 1853 I. 312/1 If this blessed turn be given to the bent of my soul. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. vi. 143 Providence gave a..happy turn to all this. 1736Butler Anal. ii. vii. 355, I know no pretence for saying the general turn of them [prophecies] is capable of any other [application]. 1815Scott Guy M. xxxii, ‘What turn did your conversation take?’ said Glossin. 1845J. Coulter Adv. in Pacific xiii. 180 Four days after, I discovered what gave my thoughts a new turn.
36. A change from the original intention; a particular construction or interpretation put upon something: usually with give.
1710Palmer Proverbs 141 His best actions [are] thrown by and lessen'd by false turns. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vii. v, For heaven's sake, sir,..do not give so cruel a turn to my silence. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. x, You are giving it a turn which that gentleman did by no means intend. 1850A. Jameson Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863) 85 The turn which they have given to the story differs altogether from what I conceive to be the real significance.
VII. Various technical senses.
37. A measure of various commodities, etc. (? the quantity dealt with at one ‘turn’ or stroke of work: cf. 24).
a. A quantity or measure by which some fish are sold: of loose haddocks it is ten stone or 140 lbs.: see also quot. 1674.
b. (See quot. 1805.)
c. A load of wood or other commodity; also in Logging: see quot. 1905.
d. Fur trade. A bundle of sixty skins.
e. Mining. The number of cars filled by a miner during his turn or shift (cf. 29 a).
a.1674S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 66 Soles. In 1 Turn 4. 1882Daily News 9 Mar. 2/8 Plaice, 30s. per turn. 1895Times 7 Jan. 3/5 Haddocks,..25s. to 30s. per turn.
b.1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 923 Turn of Water.—As much as can be distributed at a single operation by the management of the hatches within the reach of the labourers employed. 1862M. D. Colt Went to Kansas 99 Have just been to the spring for my turn of water. 1981Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. lxviii. 48 Turn of water.., a container in each hand.
c.1792G. Cartwright Jrnl. Coast of Labrador I. p. xvi, Turn of timber, So much as a man can carry on his shoulders. 1888J. C. Harris in Harper's Mag. Apr. 704/2 Sometimes he would bring a ‘turn’ of wood, sometimes a bag of meal or potatoes. 1893Daily News 9 Jan. 5/7 Another has slipped while carrying a ‘turn’ of deal upon his shoulders. 1905Terms Forestry & Logging (U.S. Dep. Agric., Forestry, Bulletin No. 61), Turn,..two or more logs coupled together end to end for hauling.
d.1891in Cent. Dict. 189719th Cent. Nov. 737 A turn means sixty skins and the rate of pay is 11d per turn.
38. The amount of some commodity turned out or produced: = turn-out 9.
1875R. F. Martin tr. Havrez' Winding Mach. 9 The steel cages..had worked for four years, with a daily ‘turn’ of 637 tons (coal and dirt together).
39. Comm. (in full, turn of the market): A change in price, or the difference between the buying and selling prices, of a stock or commodity; the profit made by this.
1857Sat. Rev. 18 Apr. 348/2 Nobody understands the turn of the market better than Tomkins. 1870J. K. Medbery Man & Mysteries Wall Street 78 This neat profit is called a ‘turn’. 1882Bithell Counting-Ho. Dict., Turn of the Market. The ‘turn of the market’, or the ‘jobbers' turn’, is the difference between the two prices quoted in the official lists for stocks, shares, &c...Consols are quoted 993/4 to 7/8, and it means that the jobber, when asked the price of Consols at that moment, was prepared to give 993/4 for them, or to sell them at 997/8. The difference between the two is the compensation to the jobber. 1885Pall Mall G. 23 May 5/2 Brokers coming together without paying exorbitant ‘turns’ to the middleman—that is, the jobber. 1897Daily News 28 June 2/7 Tows, hemps, and flaxes are also the turn dearer. 1913E. Wharton Custom of Country ii. xi, In consequence of a lucky ‘turn’ in the Street.
VIII. Collocations and Combinations.
40. With adverbs, forming n. phrases corresponding to the adverbial combinations of the verb (see turn v. VIII): as turn in, an act of turning in. (Most commonly with hyphen or as one word; see turn-, turnabout, etc.)
1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. iii. i, Now for..a glass of grog, and then for a turn in.
41. attrib. and Comb., as turn-claimer (see quot.), † turn-keeping n. and adj., turn movement. turn toll: see toll n.1 2 g. See also turn-serving. turns (rarely turn) ratio Electr., the ratio of the number of turns on the primary of a transformer to the number on the secondary, or vice versa.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. i. 195 A rocke about whose foote the tides turne-keeping play. 1708Constit. Watermen's Co. xxxiii. 38 The Country-Watermen shall have equal Privilege and Turn keeping with the Towns-men. 1892Labour Commission Gloss., Turn-claimers, the persons occupied in a coal-mine who possess the privilege of claiming a ‘ben’.., that is a tub to fill in turn. 1908Installation News II. 14 The switch has a turn movement worked from the outside. 1927R. E. Brown Alternating-Current Machinery iii. 66 The turn ratio of a transformer may be obtained from the designer or may be approximately measured by determining the ratio of the indications of two voltmeters. 1965Wireless World Sept. 431/2 The number of turns on each coil, the turns ratio and the inductances are in no sense critical. 1976Ryder & Thomson Electronic Circuits & Systems xii. 286 A loudspeaker of 4 Ω can be made to appear as 400 Ω on the primary side if we use a transformer with the turns ratio a = √(400/4) = ..10.
▸ Poker. With the. In Hold 'Em and Omaha: the dealing of the fourth of the five community cards; the card itself (also turn card). Cf. flop n.1 Additions.
1990San Diego Poker in rec.gambling (Usenet newsgroup) 21 Feb. Four people stayed in (two high pairs and two calling stations) which was just fine with me when the turn brought the case 4. 1999J. May Shut Up & Deal i. 48, I win a monster pot with a king-jack when I make a straight on the turn, and all of the sudden I'm ahead in the game. 2002A. Bellin Poker Nation i. 5 The up cards are revealed in the following pattern: the first three at once (known as the flop), then the fourth alone (called the turn card), and then the last (the river card). 2004Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 12 Sept. iii. 16/4 The turn and river both came 9s.
▪ II. turn, v.|tɜːn|
Forms: α. 1 tyrnan, 3 tuyrne; 3 teorne, 3–5 terne, 5 tern. β. 1 turnian, 3 (Orm.) turrnenn, (3–4 teurne), 3–7 turne, 4–6 Sc. twrn(e, 4– turn; 3–6 torne, 4–6 tourne, 4–7 torn.
[OE. tyrnan and turnian, both ad. L. tornāre to turn in a lathe, round off, f. torn-us a lathe, a turner's wheel = Gr. τόρνος a carpenter's tool to draw circles with, compasses, whence τορνεύειν to turn, work with a lathe; perhaps reinforced in ME. by OF. torner, turner, tourner, F. tourner, Pic. torner, Prov., Sp. tornar, It. tornare, all:—L. tornāre; cf. OHG. turnen, Icel. turna to turn (turnera to tilt, joust, Norw. dial. tunna to swing, whirl), ad. F. tourner.
On the twofold representation of L. tornāre in OE. see Pogatscher Latein. u. Roman. Lehnworte im Altenglischen, §§9, 159, 271; he shows that the umlauted tyrnan must have already existed c 600.
The pa. pple. in Southern Eng. in the 12–13th c. had commonly the prefix i-, y-, i-tyrnd, i-turned, and the pa. tense was freq. i-turnde; there is also one instance of the infinitive i-turnen in the earlier text of Layamon, but no known instance in OE. of a compound *ᵹetyrnan or *ᵹeturnian; these ME. forms with i-, y- have therefore been included here.]
General arrangement of senses. I. To rotate or revolve, and derived uses: 1–3. II. To form or shape by rotation, and derived uses: 4–5. III. To change or reverse position: *Senses denoting change of position: 6–9; **Senses denoting reversal of position: 10–12. IV. To change or reverse course or direction: *denoting change of course or direction: 13–18; **denoting reversal of course or direction: 19–21. V. Senses allied to III and IV, but referring specially to direction or destination: 22–34. VI. To change, alter: *general senses: 35–43; **specific senses: 44–47. VII. Phrases, *with n.: 48–60; **with adj. or advb. phrase: 61–63; ***with another verb: 64. VIII. In comb. with adverbs (turn about, again, aside, in, out, up, etc.): 65–81. (Combinations formed on the vb.-stem are given in a separate article, turn-, or as Main words.)
I. To rotate or revolve, and derived senses.
1. trans. To cause to move round on an axis or about a centre; to cause to rotate or revolve, as a wheel.
See also turn about, 65 c; turn round, 79 d.
c1000ælfric Saints' Lives xiv. 93 Þa tyrndon þa hæðenan hetelice þæt hweowl. a1300Cursor M. 23719 (Cott.) Dame fortune turnes [Gött. ternes] þan hir quele And castes vs dun vntil a wele. c1440Promp. Parv. 507/2 Turnon forthe, idem quod trolle [502/2 Tryllyn, or trollyn, volvo]. 1599Shakes. Much Ado ii. i. 261 She would haue made Hercules haue turnd spit. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. ii. 38 There were two Boys.., one turning a wheel by the handle, to grind the Coffee, and the other boyling it. 1781Cowper Retirement 334 Waters turning busy mills. 1852Thackeray Esmond iii. ix, Preparing paste, and turning rolling-pins.
b. To cause to move round, or (usually) partly round, in this way, esp. for opening or closing something: as a key, tap, door-handle, screw, etc.
a1300Cursor M. 16906 (Cott.) Þe prince o preistes..sperd it wit a mikel stan, To turn i-nogh had tuent [? twenty]. 1382Wyclif Prov. xxvi. 14 As a dore is turned in his heeng. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, v. iii. 36 Giue me leaue, that I may turne the key, That no man enter. 1655[see cock n.1 12]. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. 401 He..turned all the cocks that were then open, and stopped the water. 1880P. Greg Errant III. xi. 158 The lamp was turned very low. [Cf. 72 g.] 1890Fenn Double Knot III. xiv. 192 She softly turned the handle of the door.
c. To perform by revolving, as a somersault.
1860[see somersault]. 1863[see coach-wheel 3]. 1864[see cart-wheel n. 3]. 1881[see Catherine wheel 4].
2. intr. To move round on an axis or about a centre; to rotate, revolve, whirl, spin, as a wheel; to move partly round in this way, as a door or the like upon hinges, a key, a weathercock, etc.
See also turn about, 65 a; t. round, 79 a.
c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 270 Se firmamentum went on ðam twam steorran, swa swa hweoᵹel tyrnð on eaxe. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1453 Nykeres..brynge schip⁓men..To som swelw to turne or steke. c1435Torr. Portugal 188 They tornyd xxxii tymys, In armys walloyng fast. 1560Bible (Genev.) Prov. xxvi. 14 As the dore turneth vpon his henges. 1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. xi. (Arb.) 111 The Roundell or Spheare is.. most voluble and apt to turne. 1698J. Keill Exam. Th. Earth (1734) 109 Jupiter..turns round his own Axis in..ten hours. 1796F. Burney Camilla I. 259 A little boy..turning head over heels. 1843Macaulay Horatius lxix, The kid turns on the spit. 1890Mrs. Laffan Louis Draycott iii. ii, The key turned and grated in the lock.
b. fig. To revolve (as time, etc.). In later use said chiefly of the head or brain: To have a sensation as of whirling; to be affected with giddiness; to reel, swim, be in a whirl. (Cf. 45 c, 79 a.)
c1000ælfric Hom. (Th.) I. 514 Þa arleasan turniað on ymbhwyrfte. c1200Ormin 3641 All þiss middellærdess þing Aȝȝ turrneþþ her & wharrfeþþ..swa summ þe wheol. c1230,1398[see turning vbl. n. 1 b]. c1400Destr. Troy 9400 The tyme of the tru turnyde to end. 1605Shakes. Lear iv. vi. 23 How fearefull..And dizie 'tis, to cast ones eyes so low... Ile looke no more, Least my braine turne. 1853M. Arnold Requiescat 9 Her life was turning, turning, In mazes of heat and sound. 1892Stevenson & L. Osbourne Wrecker vi. 93, I looked at the handbill and my head turned.
3. turn on or turn upon (fig.):
a. To hinge upon, depend on, have as the centre or pivot of movement or action.
1661J. Stephens Procurations 26 They that turn upon this hinge, I mean that receive Procurations upon the ground of Custome. 1712Swift Conduct of Allies ⁋35 Great Events often turn upon very small Circumstances. 1823Examiner 268/2 The plot..turns upon the secret marriage of Claudio. 1892Sat. Rev. 2 Jan. 2/2 The contest..is to turn on Home Rule.
b. To have as its subject, be about or concerned with, relate to: usually said of conversation or debate.
App. orig. a development of prec. sense, but often associated with other senses: cf. 28.
1711Addison Spect. No. 119 ⁋7 As the two Points of Good Breeding, which I have..insisted upon, regard Behaviour and Conversation, there is a third which turns upon Dress. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 49 That the conversation might turn upon somewhat instructive. 1879M. Pattison Milton xiii. 203 The Dutch drama turns entirely on the revolt of the angels. 1884Manch. Exam. 26 May 4/7 The debate..did not turn upon any..practical proposition.
II. To form or shape by rotation, and derived senses.
4. trans. To shape, esp. into a rounded form, by cutting with a chisel or similar tool while rotating in a lathe; to form, work, or make by means of a lathe. Also absol. to work with a lathe.
c1305Land Cockayne 68 in E.E.P. (1862) 158 Þe pilers of þat cloistre alle Beþ i-turned of cristale. 1341–2Ely Sacr. Rolls (1907) II. 117 In le turning xxx bases pro columpnis. c1440Promp. Parv. 507/2 Turnon, or throwe treyne [S. trene] vessel, torno. 1504in Bury Wills (Camden) 101, I wyll that my sonne..shall haue..also ij cheyres, on turnyd and the other closse. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa v. 253 Such as turne wooden vessels. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Club) 212 A famous turner.., he turns things in ivory that would exceed beleif. 1796Jane Austen Let. 1 Sept. (1952) 8 Frank..enjoys himself here very much, for he has just learnt to turn. 1833J. Holland Manuf. Metal II. 140 In turning..metals..and even wood, much depends upon the proper management of the tools. 1858Ramsay Remin. iv. (1870) 80 He..taught us to saw, and to plane, and to turn.
b. Building. To form, construct, build (an arched or vaulted structure).
1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 256 You may turn Arches over those insufficient places,..and..Arches inversed, or upside down. 1720W. Stukeley Mem. & Corr. (Surtees) I. 32 At this time [1706–7]..the great arch of boards was made to turn the Cupola of St. Pauls. 1828J. Elmes Metrop. Improv. 88 The arches for the coal-cellars [were] turned.
c. Cookery. To pare off the rind or peel of (an orange, lemon, etc.) round and round in a long narrow thin strip; to stone (an olive) in this way.
1706Phillips (ed. Kersey), Turning (among Confectioners) a..manner of paring..Oranges and Lemons when the..Rind..is par'd off very thin and narrow..; turning it [the knife] round about the Fruit, so as the Peel may be extended to a very great length. 1846A. Soyer Cookery 43 Turning or peeling mushrooms is an art that practice alone can attain. 1904Daily Chron. 6 June 8/5 Soak the olives in cold water.., drain thoroughly and proceed to ‘turn’ them... This means to peel them very evenly..so that it unfolds..in one strip, which will close up again..without the stone in the centre when done.
d. Knitting and Lace-making. To make in a curved form: see quots.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 504/1 Turn Heel—See Knitting Stockings. Ibid. 504/2 To Turn a Scallop: work across to the inside..but instead of completing the edge, work back with the same pair of Bobbins [etc.]... Repeat until the scallop has been rounded. 1902R. Bagot Donna Diana viii. 93 She was always knitting, and appeared to be in a perpetual state of turning the heel of a stocking.
5. fig. To shape, form, or fashion artistically or gracefully:
a. a material object: usually into a rounded form, as if shaped on a lathe. Chiefly in pa. pple.
1616B. Jonson Devil an Ass ii. vi, This smooth, round, And well torn'd chin. 1695Blackmore Pr. Arthur iv. 88 He turn'd their Orbs, and polish'd all the Stars. 1711Steele Spect. No. 2 ⁋5 His Person is well turn'd. 1847L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. I. xiv. 273 The hand long, delicate, and well turned. 1855Thackeray in Yates' Recoll. (1884) I. 280 The T of the signature..is [not] near so elegant as my ordinary T's are;..my attention was drawn off just as I was turning it.
b. a piece of literary work, a tune, a compliment, etc.
1636B. Jonson Discov. Wks. (Rtldg.) 762/2 Cast not away the quills..; but bring all to the forge and file again; torn it anew. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. C j b, The Reader..is not to expect that the Language should be so Accurate, nor the Style so well turned, as [etc.]. 1791Boswell Johnson an. 1754, Some studied compliments, so finely turned, that [etc.]. 1849Thackeray Pendennis ix, If I could turn a tune,..I should sing. 1850W. Irving Goldsmith xv. 178 Turning a couplet.
†c. pa. pple. Of a person (or the mind, etc.): Naturally adapted, fitted, or ‘cut out’ for some pursuit. Obs.
1671Temple Let. to de Witt Wks. 1731 II. 247, I find I am better turned for making a good Gard'ner. 1723in Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. (1912) 56 note, A head the most turned for business of any I have known. 1728Swift Jrnl. Mod. Lady 36 By nature turn'd to play the rake. 1767Woman of Fashion I. 41 A Genius like her's, is little turn'd to Business.
d. to turn a profit (U.S.): to earn or make a profit.
1969Time 21 Jan. 44 Partly because of the competition from IBM it is unlikely to turn a profit before 1970. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 14 Aug. 4/1 The iron rule of business dictates staying open anytime there's a decent chance to turn a profit.
III. To change or reverse position.
* Senses denoting change of position.
6. intr. To move or shift (by a rotary motion, or through an angle) so as to change one's posture or position; esp. to shift the body (as on an axis) from side to side; to twist or writhe about.
to make a person turn in his grave: see grave n.1 1 d.
c1000ælfric Hom. (Th.) II. 508 He ealle ᵹefæstnode heora fet to eorðan... Hi tyrndon mid bodiᵹe, ᵹebiᵹedum sceancum. c1205Lay. 4586 Scipen þer sunken... In þa teonfulle sæ Torneden sæiles. c1394P. Pl. Crede 543 But he lepe vp on heiȝ,..& þi name lakke Wiþ proude wordes... And turne as a tyrant þat turmenteþ him-selue [etc.]. 1500–20Dunbar Poems lxix. 11, I walk [= wake], I turne, sleip may I nocht. a1700Dryden (J.), I turn'd, and try'd each corner of my bed, To find if sleep were there, but sleep was lost. 1827Scott Chron. Canongate v, Turning to the other side to enjoy his slumbers. 1881Mrs. E. Lynn Linton My Love II. v. 92 It is enough to make your poor father turn in his grave. 1888[see grave n.1 1 d].
b. To move circularly or as on a pivot, so as to face all ways successively, or so as ultimately to face in the opposite direction. (Cf. 2, 10.)
1500–20Dunbar Poems lxvi. 43 On thair conscience..May turne aucht oxin and ane wane. 1644Evelyn Diary 8 Feb., Capable of containing an hundred coaches to turne commodiously. 1893Chamb. Jrnl. 28 Jan. 50/2 She veered as if she would turn within her own length.
c. Said of the scale or beam of a balance, or of the balance itself: To move up or down from the horizontal position. (Cf. 49, 58.)
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 330 If the scale doe turne But in the estimation of a hayre. 1654tr. Scudery's Curia Pol. 59 To weigh in the Scales and not discern how the Beam turnes. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. ii. (1842) 25 Another balance..turning with about one-half or one-third of a grain.
7. trans. To alter the position or posture of (an object) by moving it through an angle; to move (a thing or person) into a different posture.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xvii. 183 Vnfolden or folden, my fuste & myn paume, Al is but an hande [= one hand] how so I torne it. c1440Promp. Parv. 507/1 Turnon a thynge, verto, verso. 1578Banister Hist. Man v. 65 Some partes of the skinne are wholly immouable, and resistant to turne. 1644S. Kem Messengers Prepar. 22 He speaks too late..for a reprieve, when the ladder is turned. 1711Addison Spect. No. 120 ⁋14 When she [a hen] has laid her Eggs.., what Care does she take in turning them frequently! 1720Watts Moral Songs, Sluggard i, As the door on its hinges, so he on his bed Turns his sides, and his shoulders, and his heavy head. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. ix. 100 He cannot be lifted up or even turned in bed, without having a tendency to faint. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iv, He took up a paper-knife, which he turned restlessly to and fro.
b. refl. = senses 6, 6 b. Obs. or arch.
13..Sir Beues (A.) 4414 Þat lane was so narw..He ne Arondel, is stede, Ne miȝte him terne. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. Prol. 144 Vpon the braunches..In hire delyt, they turned hem ful ofte. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. xvi. (Percy Soc.) 75, I myght not lye styll; On every syde I tourned me ful ofte.
8. fig. To consider in different aspects; to revolve in the mind. (See also turn over, 78 e.)
1725[see turn about, 65 e]. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Sutherl. (Colburn) 54 Turn these things in your mind. 1891Strand Mag. II. 483/2, I pondered over it, and turned it every way in my mind.
9. To give a curved or crooked form to; to bend or twist; † to fold (quot. 1303); † to form by twisting, to plait (quot. 1665); to bend or twist round something so as to encircle it (quot. 1821); to form by bending (quot. 18272). (Cf. turn down, 72 a.)
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1153 [He] bade hym take A sak..And..turne hyt tweyfolde..And ley hyt on hys fadyr for colde. 14..Sloane MS. 1986 lf. 19 b, Wyspes drawen out at fote and syde, Wele wrethyn and turnyd. 1665Hooke Microgr. xxvii. 149 Let all the sides of this Box be turned of Basket-work. 1821Scott Kenilw. xiv, A bonnet..encircled with a gold chain turned three times round it. 1827― Surg. Dau. xiv, His mustaches were turned and curled. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xiv. (1842) 307 Those [tubes] which are turned or bent, and soldered with gold, will not bear the high temperature.
b. spec. To bend back (the edge of a sharp instrument) so as to make it useless for cutting; to blunt in this way. to turn edge, to have the edge thus bent, to become blunt. Also fig.
a1568R. Ascham Scholem. (Arb.) 32 Quicke wittes are..like ouer sharpe tooles, whose edges be verie soone turned. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, ii. i. 180 This Newes I thinke hath turn'd your Weapons edge. 1639Fuller Holy War v. iii. (1647) 234 However at this time they might turn edge, they had formerly been true blades for his Holinesse. 1673–4Grew Anat. Trunks ii. vii. §3 It turns not the edge of their Knives. 1714R. Fiddes Pract. Disc. ii. 82 A difficulty sufficient to turn the edge of the finest wit. 1879J. C. Shairp Burns viii. 193 When the caustic wit is beginning to get too biting, the edge of it is turned by a touch of kindlier humour.
c. to turn (a person) round one's (little) finger, a proverbial phrase denoting that one can ‘do what one likes’ with him. (Cf. turn and wind, 64 b.)
1855[see finger n. 3 a]. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxv. (1889) 244, I am sure one could turn him round one's finger.
d. intr. for pass. To assume a curved form, to bend; to become blunted by bending. (See also turn again, 66 e.)
[1579: see turn again, 66 e.] 1815J. Smith Panorama Sc. & Art I. 4 If..it be too soft,..the edge will turn or bend.
** Senses denoting reversal of position.
10. trans. To reverse the position or posture of; to move into the contrary position, so that the upper side becomes the under (= turn upside down), or the front the back; to invert.
See also turn about, 65 d; turn over, 78 a; turn round, 79 e. to turn turtle: see turtle n.2 2.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 103 Wi list þu turnd [orig. L. pronus] on þe eorðe? aris. c1440Douce MS. 55 lf. 15 b, Folde vppe the cake..& turne it onys in the panne. 1533J. Heywood Johan A iv b, It were tyme for to tourne The pye, for ywys it doth borne. 1577B. Googe tr. Heresbach's Husb. 46 The grasse being cutte, must be well tedded and turned. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 268 They turn a half minute Sand-Glass. 1706Phillips s.v. Literal Fault, When a Letter is..transpos'd or turn'd. 1773Boswell Tour Hebrides 3 Oct., When he turned his cup at Aberbrothick, where we drank tea. 1868C. M. Yonge Pupils of St. John vii. 97 He turned his horse, and was about to flee. 1875Ruskin Fors Clav. V. liii. 117 Her..fine legerdemain in turning pancakes.
†b. fig. To invert the order of, to reverse; to convert (a proposition). Obs.
a1569A. Kingsmill Godly Advise (1580) 20 Christe tourned Water into Wine. Turne not his miracle, make not, I meane, water of wine. 1654Z. Coke Logick 114 These..are not to be turned; Christ is a vine; Bread is Christs body.
11. spec.
a. To reverse (a leaf of a book) in order to read (or write) on the other side (or on the next leaf); to do this with the leaves of (a book) in succession, to read or search through. (See also turn over, 78 b, and leaf n.1 7 b.)
In quot. c 1830, to find and open at the place in (the service-books) for the organist and choir; cf. turn up, 81 h.
c1275Lay. 46 Laweman þes bokes bi[h]eolde An þe leues tornde [c 1205 wende]. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. iii. 337 Had she loked þat oþer half and þe lef torned. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 167 Handes..redy to turne theyr boke. 1599Davies Immort. Soul Introd. xiv, When we have all the learned Volumes turn'd. 1688S. Penton Guard. Instruct. (1877) 67 Able to read Greek, and turn the Lexicon upon occasion. c1830G. Elvey in Bumpus's Cathedrals, Canterbury (1906) 36 Going down..to turn the books for the service one morning. Mod. I had just turned the leaf of my diary and begun to write on the other side.
b. To reverse the position of the turf, or of the soil, in ploughing or digging, so as to bring the under parts to the surface. Also absol.
In quot. 1844, to bring (seed) under by doing this. See also turn in, 73 b; turn over, 78 c; turn up, 81 f.
c1477Caxton Jason 81 Thou shalt yoke hem and make hem to tourne foure rodd of londe. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §4 Howe these plowes shulde be tempered, to plowe and turne clene. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 138 Starting, with a bound He turns the Turf, and shakes the solid Ground. 1799Ht. Lee Canterb. T., Old Woman's T. (ed. 2) I. 392 The earth has been newly turned. 1825Mirror V. 278/2 He..when turning peats walked..fearlessly among the Hags of Lochar Moss. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 62 The seed being sown on the surface, and turned under by a shallow furrow with the plough. 1892Sat. Rev. 11 June 671/1 The first sod of the..Railway was turned on Tuesday.
c. To reverse (a garment, etc.) so that the inner side becomes the outer, to turn inside out; hence, to alter or remake by putting the inner side outward.
1483,1552[implied in turned ppl. a. 6 c]. 1557[implied in turncoat]. 1576–[see coat n. 13]. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 44 A paire of olde breeches thrice turn'd. 1680V. Alsop Mischief Impos. Ep. Ded., Like an old Livery new turn'd and fresh trim'd up. 1834Mrs. Carlyle Lett. (1883) I. 10, I am now turning my pelisse. 1893Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 11 Feb. 774/2 A way of turning an old frock. (See also turn one's coat 51.)
12. To cause (the stomach) to reject or revolt against the food (also transf. and fig., as in quots. 1749, 1818); to turn the stomach of, to nauseate, to disgust extremely.
1622Mabbe tr. Aleman's Guzman d'Alf. ii. 355, I may not giue it a worse word, for feare of turning thy stomake. 1738Pope Epil. Sat. ii. 182 This filthy simile..Quite turns my stomach. 1749Fielding Tom Jones i. i, The one provokes..the most languid appetite, the other turns and palls that which is..keenest. 1818Byron Ch. Har. iv. lxxvi, The daily drug which turn'd My sickening memory. 1892Temple Bar Mag. Sept. 35 Questions that would turn the stomach of a school inspector.
b. intr. Of the stomach: To be affected with nausea.
1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. iv. 78 Their stomachs turned at this sight. c1850Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.) 159 He was obliged to take it out of his mouth again, for his stomach turned against it.
IV. To change or reverse course.
* Senses denoting change of course or direction.
13. trans. To alter the course of; to cause to go another way; to divert, deflect. (In quot. c 1200 refl. = 16.)
See also turn aside, 67 a; turn off, 74 f. turn house (Mining): see quot. 1778, and cf. house n.1 7 c.
c1200Ormin 6568 Þatt ta þreo kingess turrndenn hemm Ut off þe rihhte weȝȝe, & forenn till Herode. c1205Lay. 4092 He turnde his fare & ferd feorh riht to Wales. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 4624 As a shyppe þat ys turned with þe roþer. c1330― Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8165 Do scope þis water, & turn þe borne. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. i. 136 You shall haue Trent turn'd. a1648Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 66 His Rod over the left Ear of his Horse, which he is to use for turning him every way. a1680Charnock Attrib. God (1834) II. 67 You..see a..flight of birds..turn wing another way. 1778Pryce Min. Cornub. 99 If they are working or driving from east to west,..and perceive the Lode is gone,..they..turn house as they call it, or, in other words, they drive north or south. 1794Act for inclosing South Kelsey 12 Such..Path so stopped up or turned. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 48 They turn'd the winding rivulet's course.
b. To check the course of; to cause to go aside or retreat (cf. 19); to throw off, keep out (wet).
c1620Sanderson Serm. (1689) 204 Like an unruly colt..; no ground will hold him, no fence turn him. a1658Cleveland Inund. Trent 60 We whose unliquor'd Hides will turn no wet. 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 51 Spreading thorns that turn'd a summer shower. 1843Macaulay Horatius xliv, With shield and blade Horatius Right deftly turned the blow. 1891Eng. Illustr. Mag. IX. 153 The snapping of a dry stick is not sufficient to turn the tiger.
c. Cricket. Of the bowler: to cause the ball to ‘break’ (break v. 32 b). Also intr. of the ball: to break or turn in its course after pitching.
1898G. Giffen With Bat & Ball iii. 47 There are very few men bowling at Mac's pace who can turn the ball on the Adelaide Oval. 1909W. G. Grace W. G.'s Little Book iii. 33, I don't know the moment he delivers the ball which way it will turn on pitching. 1928Morning Post 2 July 15/1 Garland-Wells is slow right, and can turn the ball both ways. 1930Ibid. 16 July 11/6 The bowlers were making the ball turn more than before luncheon. 1955[see flight v. 7].
14. fig. To divert or deflect from a course of action, purpose, thought, etc.; to alter the course of (something immaterial); † sometimes (with mixture of sense 34), to pervert, misapply (obs.).
See also turn aside, 67 a; turn off, 74 f.
c1200Ormin 14240 Swa to turrnenn all þe boc Till þeȝȝre grediȝnesse. a1225Leg. Kath. 1514 Ne mei me nowðer teone ne tintreohe turnen From mi leofmonnes luue. a1340Hampole Psalter xvii. 41, I sall noght be turnyd fra þat entent. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 95 How torne they the lawe and statutes at their pleasir. 1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, v. iv. 59 Will nothing turne your vnrelenting hearts? c1622Fletcher Prophetess iii. iii, It is not in thy power to turn this destiny. 1687Dryden Hind & P. iii. 34 She turn'd the talk. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxviii, No submission can turn our severe master. 1859Jephson Brittany xvi. 273, I..turned the conversation to something else. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. I. v. 55 These thirty six votes turned the election. [Cf. 49, 58.]
†b. To mislead, beguile, cheat. Obs. rare—1.
c1386Chaucer Can. Yeom. Prol. & T. 618 Hym to bigile he thoghte..Til he had terned hym, he koude nat blynne.
†c. refl. To change one's course of action. Obs.
1535Coverdale Josh. xxiv. 20 Yf ye forsake the Lorde,..then shall the Lorde turne him, and do you euell. ― Ps. xc. 13 Turne the agayne (o Lorde) at the last, and be gracious vnto thy seruauntes.
15.
†a. To transfer, hand over. (Cf. turn over, 78 h.) Also intr. in passive sense. Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 185 He dude his wille þar-offe, swo ich wile mine, nu hit [property] is to me iturnd. c1290Beket 243 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 113 Þis holi Man was i-torned fram þe office of holi churche To a gret office of þe worlde. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 301 Þe abbot was i-chaunged and i-torned [orig. L. translatus est] to his owne abbay in Normandie. 1400in Ancestor July (1904) 14 Yef it so be that Sir Nicholl deye..I wil that the fornseyd place wyth alle the portenans torne to Anneys Nook myn servant. 1535Coverdale 1 Chron. xi. [x.] 14 Therfore slewe he him, & turned the kyngdome vnto Dauid. ― Lam. v. 2 Oure enheritaunce is turned to the straungers.
b. ‘To keep passing in a course of exchange or traffick’ (J.); to cause (money or commodities) to circulate.
See also turn over, 78 i. to turn the penny, to turn an honest penny: see penny 9 k, honest a. 4 b.
1605B. Jonson Volpone i. i, I turne no moneys, in the publike banke. 1673Temple Ess. Adv. Trade Irel. in Misc. (1680) 119 Hide, Tallow, Butter..yield the readiest Money of any [commodities] that are turned in this Kingdom. 1863D. G. Mitchell Farm Edgewood 214 The shopkeeper, who turns his capital three or four times in a year.
16. intr. To change one's course, so as to go in a different direction; to deviate.
See also turn aside, 67 b; t. away, 69 f; t. down, 72 i; t. in, 73 e; t. off, 74 k; t. up, 81 u.
13..Sir Beues (A.) 3669 Out of þe way ȝhe gan terne Ase ȝhe wolde do hire dedes derne. 1375Barbour Bruce iii. 106 Quhen þai þe king..Saw sua behind his mengne rid, And saw him torne sa mony tid. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 41 Hee runnes farre that neuer turnes. 1645Evelyn Diary 21 Feb., Turning a little down we came to another piazza. 1797Mrs. Radcliffe Italian i, As they turned into the Strada di Toledo he had nearly lost them. 1827Scott Highl. Widow v, He..turned from the road, and descended the path towards the hut. 1894Baring-Gould Kitty Alone II. 164, I shall turn to the left, and leave the road.
fig.1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 292 Imminent miserie,..(they say) together with the almes, turneth from them to the poore man. 1697Dryden æneid Ded., Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 202 Virgil..turns short on the sudden into some similitude, which diverts..your attention from the main subject.
b. Naut. To beat to windward; to tack.
1569Sir J. Hawkins Voy. (Hakl. Soc.) 37 With contrary windes blowing, whereby for feare of the shore we were faine to hale off to haue ankerhold, sometimes a whole day and a night turning vp and downe. 1633T. James Voy. 93 We turned amongst this Ice, staying the Ship. 1706Lond. Gaz. No. 4215/3 The Wind being at North-East, they turned all that day.., but could not fetch Torbay. 1835Marryat Pirate xvi, The sloop of war..continued to turn to wind⁓ward. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Turn to windward, to, to gain on the wind by alternate tacking.
†c. turn about (something); to walk or travel round, circumambulate. Obs.
1585T. Washington tr. Nicholay's Voy. iii. xxi. 110 b, They goe turning seuen times about a fouresquare towre. 1642Tasman Jrnl. in Acc. Sev. Late Voy. i. (1694) 135 In turning about this Island there appeared very few Men.
d. Of the wind: To shift, so as to blow from a different quarter.
1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 587 Unlesse the winde turne from West into the South. 1702Marwood Diary in Cath. Rec. Soc. Publ. VII. 121 After Noon the Wind turned, and it rayned a little.
e. Of a road, path, line, etc.: To change direction, as at a bend or curve; also, to branch off at an angle from the main road or line.
1535Coverdale Josh. xix. 34 Their border..goeth out vnto Iordane, and turneth westwarde to Asnoth Thabor. 1821Scott Kenilw. xiii, Following the smith down a lane which turned to the left hand towards the river. 1892Harper's Mag. May 907/2 Railways turn and curve through the valleys.
17. trans. To bend one's course so as to get to the other side of; to go or pass round (a corner, etc.). See also corner n.1 2 b.
1687–1877 [see corner n.1 2 b]. 1743P. Francis tr. Hor. Odes i. i. 6 To turn with kindling wheels the goal. 1820Belzoni Egypt & Nubia iii. 318 With the expectation, that on turning the next angle, I should have the glorious sight. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xx. IV. 493 Before Columbus had crossed the Atlantic, before Gama had turned the Cape.
b. Mil. To get round (an enemy's position, etc.); also fig. See also turn flank, 55.
1845–6Trench Huls. Lect. Ser. ii. i. 152 Not so much anxiously defending our own position as confidently turning theirs. 1861Mill Utilit. v. 84 These are difficulties;..and many devices have been invented to turn rather than to overcome them. 1892Black & White 19 Mar. 371/2 The skill of the attack in turning the Russian defences.
c. In Assoc. Football, etc., to get round (an opponent at close quarters) by making it necessary for him to change direction.
1976E. Dunphy Only a Game? (1977) iv. 121 He turns full backs, he does unusual things on the ball, he creates unusual situations. 1980Times 3 Apr. 13/2 Francis..turned Buchan and sent in a stinging shot.
18. To pass, get beyond (a particular age, time, or amount).
1789Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 90 Let a man once turn sixty..and his natural heirs are sure of him. 1844W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scotl. xxxvii. (1855) 290, I had turned my fourteenth year. 1893Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 10 June 524/3 It had turned a quarter past one. 1899Q. Rev. Jan. 194 The vast ‘Coleccion de documentos inéditos’ is turning the hundred in the numbering of its volumes.
b. pa. pple. (in active sense) with or (now more usually in England) without of: Having passed (a particular age or time); more than, past.
1700Congreve Way of World iii. viii, I hear he is turn'd of forty. 1703Farquhar Inconstant i. i, D. Sirrah, What's a Clock? P. Turn'd of Eleven, Sir. 1789Mrs. Piozzi Journ. France I. 21 The little knot of unmarried females turned fifty. 1890Fenn Double Knot I. i. 84 I'm nineteen,..and you are turned twenty. 1892Harper's Mag. Aug. 450/2, I was young then—only just turned of two-and-twenty. And now,..I am turned of forty-five!
** Senses denoting reversal of course or direction.
19. trans. To reverse the course of; to cause to go in the opposite direction: = turn back, 70 a. Also fig.
turn the dice (quot. a 1700), to reverse the luck.
13..Cursor M. 20713 (Cott.) Feres, gon we son onan, And turn we þis processiun. 1664Howard & Dryden Ind. Queen ii. ii, Till this strange man had power to turn the tide, And carry conquest unto any side. a1700Dryden Cock & Fox 754 But see how Fortune can confound the Wise, And when they least expect it, turn the Dice.
20. intr. To reverse one's, or its, course; to begin to go, or to tend, in the opposite direction; to be reversed: = turn back, 70 e. (lit. and fig.)
c1205Lay. 7547 He..turnde to flæme [c 1275 tornde to flende]. a1400Cato's Morals 170 in Cursor M. p. 1671 Quen þi hap turnis baft, and logh þou lise. 1593Shakes. Lucr. 646 My vncontrolled tide Turnes not, but swels the higher by this let. 1689Lond. Gaz. No. 2518/3 About four in the Afternoon the Tide turn'd. 1827Disraeli Viv. Grey v. xiv, Stocks fell.., the exchange turned, money became scarce. 1867J. B. Rose tr. Virgil's æneid 337 Before a woman do ye turn and flee? 1885‘L. Malet’ Col. Enderby's Wife iii. iv, I fancied..the luck would turn.
†21. intr. To go or come back; to return. (See also turn again, 66 b.) Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 11526 (Cott.) Þai had in wil þat ilk night To torn be herods. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1619 (Hypsipyle & Medea) So that ȝe schal nat die But turnyn sound hom to ȝoure tessalye. c1420Anturs of Arth. 284 Turne þou to tuskayne. 1594Shakes. Rich. III, iv. iv. 184 Ere from this warre thou turne a Conqueror.
†b. Of property: To return to the former possessor; to revert. (See also turn again, 66 c.) Obs.
1500Reg. Mag. Sig. Scot. 537 Landis..To be haldin to the said Patrik and hys airis maill.., the quhilkis failyeand turnand to me..and my airis.
†c. trans. To give or send back; to return. Obs.
1593Shakes. Rich. II, iv. i. 39, I will turne thy falshood to thy hart, Where it was forged, with my Rapiers point. 1637B. Jonson Sad Sheph. i. ii, She'll turn us thanks.
V. Senses allied to III and IV, but referring specially to direction or destination.
22. a. trans. To change the direction of; to direct another way, or different ways alternately (esp. the eyes or face); sometimes, to avert (= turn away, 69 a); also, to cause to face in the opposite direction (= turn round, 79 e).
a1300Cursor M. 4311 (Cott.) Fleand turn þou noght þin ei. c1300St. Margarete 128 Þe justise..nolde loke þerto Ac bihuld abac & tournde his eȝen. c1450Myrc Par. Pr. 63 Tuynde [v.r. Turne] þyn ye þat thow ne se The cursede worldes vanyte. c1460Towneley Myst. iii. 336 For lak nor for gille wille I turne my face Tille I haue..spon a space on my rok. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 353 Often he turns his Eyes, and..Surveys the pleasing Kingdoms. 1842Tennyson Walking to Mail 38 Jack, turn the horses' heads and home again. 1842― Day-Dream Prol. 17 Turn your face, Nor look with that too-earnest eye.
b. refl. To change one's position (or course) so as to face (or go) another way: = c. arch.
13..Cursor M. 17288 + 224 (Cott.) Scho tourned hir and saȝe our lord stand nere. c1400Destr. Troy 11000 Turnes yow full tyte, & taries a while. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. i. 74 Turne thee Benuolio, looke vpon thy death. 1849M. Arnold Sick King in Bokhara 127 Turning him quickly to go in.
c. intr. To change one's position so as to face in the contrary, or a different, direction; to face about.
right turn!, left turn!, as military words of command = turn (through a right angle) to the right, to the left; right about turn! = turn (by a movement to the right) so as to face in the opposite direction (see right about).
c1275Lay. 26576 Þo tornden hii sone..And ech his sweord swiþe droh. 1388Wyclif John i. 38 Jhesu turnede, and say hem suynge hym. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lix. 205 Whan they aprochyd nere, Huon sodenly tournyd. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. v. vii. 33 Turne slaue and fight. 1667Milton P.L. viii. 507 Seeing me, she turn'd. 1780C. Simeon in Carus Life (1847) 19 Turning at the Creed, [I] saw the table covered. 1844Dickens Mart. Chuz. ii, He..turned upon his heel, and walked out. 1890A. Gissing Vill. Hampden II. iv. 72 He recognised her figure, but never turned to look behind.
23. With reference chiefly to the new direction taken. (See also uses with adverbs in VIII.)
a. trans. To direct, present, point (towards or away from some specified person or thing, or in some specified direction).
c1205Lay. 20658 Turnden [c 1275 tornde] heo heore ordes, Stikeden & sloȝen Al þat heo neh comen. c1230Hali Meid. 17 Þu most turne þe rug [= back]. a1330Roland & V. 341 An image..Stode on a roche..Þe face of him was turned souþe riȝt. c1425Wyntoun Cron. v. xiv. 5608 Be þe takyn þat þat ymage Had turnyt fra Romule his wissage. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxxxii. 254 He tournyd his face to her warde. 1583B. Melbancke Philotimus H j b, You are so wetherwise, turninge your tayle into euery wynde. 1667Milton P.L. ix. 527 His gentle dumb expression turn'd at length The Eye of Eve to mark his play. a1700Dryden Ovid's Met. xiii. Acis, Pol. & Galatea 111 Plums, to tempt you, turn their glossy side. 1756M. Calderwood in Coltness Collect. (Maitl. Cl.) 205 The armies upon which the eyes of all Europe are turned. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxxvi, D'Hymbercourt turned two culverins on the gate. 1880L. Stephen Pope vi. 157 A soured man prefers to turn his worst side outwards.
b. refl. = next sense. arch. (See also e.)
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xviii. (Egipciane) 265, I ma nocht me turne to þe. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xvi. 72 When a man turnez him to þe este. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Communion (Rubric), Then the priest shall turne hym to the people. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 138 Turne you where your Lady is. 1725Pope Odyss. iii. 603 The Monarch turns him to his royal guest. 1812Cary Dante, Paradise xxii. 2 To the guardian of my steps I turn'd me.
c. intr. To change one's position so as to face towards or away from some specified person or thing; to direct oneself; to face (with implied change of direction). See also e.
c1325Spec. Gy Warw. 435 For toward hem he wole turne Boþe wraþful and eke sterne. c1425Cursor M. 11711 (Trin.) Iesu turned to þat tre. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. i. 189 Turne this way Henry, and regard them not. 1602Harington Nugæ Ant. (ed. Park 1804) I. 321 To turne askante from her condition withe tearlesse eyes. 1754Gray Poesy 37 Where'er she turns the Graces homage pay. 18..T. Moore Irish Melodies, ‘She is far from the land’ i, But coldly she turns from their gaze, and weeps. 1890A. Gissing Vill. Hampden II. xiii. 273 All faces turned towards him as he rose.
†d. (without the notion of change.) To have a specified direction or aspect; to face. Obs. rare.
1535Coverdale Ezek. xliii. 1 He brought me to y⊇ dore, that turneth towarde the east. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies iii. xxi. 188 In places whereas the land..turnes from the shadow of the mountaines.
e. In not to know which way to turn (or turn oneself arch.), and similar phrases, the sense is partly lit. and partly fig. (= what course to take, what to do: cf. 28 c).
c1400Brut xxxix. 146 He hade so miche to done wiþ þe Erl Randulf..& wiþ Hugh Bigot..þat he ne wist whider to turne. 1526Tindale Luke xxi. 25 They shall not tell which waye to turne them selves. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. Advt. C iij b, We have been at our wits end, and knew not which way in the World to turn our selves. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. x. 219 They knew not which way to turn themselves. 1825Waterton Wand. S. Amer. iii. iii. 270 There is a vast deal of knowledge to be picked up..whichever way we turn ourselves. 1885Sir W. V. Field in Law Times Rep. LII. 651/1 She did not know which way to turn to find means.
24. a. trans. To direct in the way of movement; to set going in a particular direction; to bend the course of.
a1300Cursor M. 13476 (Cott.) If þai..turn ham [= home] þair wai, Bi þe wai son faile sal þai. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. V 49 In whiche..just quarel al good persons shal rather set bothe theyr feete forwarde, then once to turne theyr one heale backward. 1692Prior Ode in Imit. Horace x, Where-e'er old Rhine his fruitful Water turns. 1891New Rev. Oct. 347 He then turned his steps towards the south.
b. refl. = next sense. arch.
a1240Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 257 Al þat hird..turneð ham treowliliche to wit hare lauerd. a1300Cursor M. 2391 (Cott.) Abram turned him to þe south. c1482J. Kay tr. Caoursin's Siege of Rhodes ⁋7 And thenne they tourned theyme in the see toward Rhodes. 1700S. L. tr. Fryke's Voy. E. Ind. 306 We turned our selves to a River. 1867J. B. Rose tr. Virgil's æneid 342 Turn thee hither, turn thee.
c. intr. To direct one's course; to set oneself to go in a particular direction: usually with implied change of course (cf. 16); sometimes almost synonymous with ‘go’ or ‘come’, with special reference to destination.
c1200Ormin 6596, & tatt te kingess turrndenn efft Till þeȝȝre rihhte weȝȝe. c1290S. Eng. Leg. I. 25/54 Þat he scholde after þis lijf tuyrne into þulke blis. c1380Sir Ferumb. 3545 Þay..in-to þe paleys þan tornde. c1470Golagros & Gaw. 2 The king turnit on ane tyde towart Tuskane. a1631Donne Poems (1650) 58 Turne thou ghost that way, and let me turne this. 1653Walton Angler i. 38, I thought we had wanted three miles of the thatcht House..but now we are at it, we'l turn into it. 1893Cornh. Mag. Nov. 474 Thither their footsteps turn.
25. trans. To cause or command to go; to send, drive; esp. (with qualifying adv. or advb. phrase) to send or order away, dismiss.
See also turn away, 69 c; t. off, 74 b; t. out, 76 c, e. In quot. 1903 app. short for turn loose (61 b).
1526Tindale Heb. xi. 34 [They] turned to flyght the armees of the alientes. 1545R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 88 Where they turned with so fewe Archers so many Frenche⁓men to flight. 1586A. Day Eng. Secretary ii. (1625) 118 They are turned at the last quite forth by the elbowes. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iii. i. 18 Push him out of dores..turne him going. a1649Winthrop New Eng. (1853) II. 267 A vessel..was fallen into the hands of D'Aulnay, who had made prize of her, and turned the men upon an island. 1782F. Burney Cecilia vii. ix, You will not..turn me from your door. 1891L. Keith Halletts II. ii. 37 He would turn me adrift without the smallest consideration. 1903A. Adams Log Cowboy xiii, Five six-shooters were turned into the ceiling.
b. spec. To drive or put forth (beasts) to pasture. (See also t. out, 76 d.) Also in fig. or allusive use (= prec. sense).
16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. i. ii. 268 Clap a lock on their feete, and turne them to commons. 1646J. Lilburne Unhappy Game Scotch & Eng. 12 When the King hath got all, he'll turne our brethren to grasse. 1765Museum Rust. IV. 183 Let the grass take head for about..three weeks, before you turn your sheep upon it. 1825Scott Betrothed x, It's like old Raoul and I will be turned to grass with the lord's old chargers. 1847Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. i. 35 The privilege of turning stock into the park.
c. To put, cast, or convey into a receptacle or the like; now esp. by inverting the containing vessel (cf. 10), or diverting into a new channel (cf. 13).
In quot. 1598 turn into = ‘put into’ (a different dress), with mixture of sense ‘change’ (branch VI).
1594Shakes. Rich. III, i. ii. 261 But first Ile turne yon Fellow in [= into] his Graue. 1598― Merry W. v. v. 214, I knew of your purpose: turn'd my daughter into white. 1844Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. V. i. 107 The sewers..may be cleansed by turning some water into them out of a large pond. 1901T. J. Alldridge Sherbro ii. 15 A common method to detect bad kernels is to turn them into great casks containing water.
d. intr. for pass.
1801Naval Chron. VI. 76 At the top of the tide she turned off the stocks.
26. fig. trans. To direct or set (thought, desire, speech, action, etc.) towards (or away from) something. Usually const. to, rarely on, upon.
† In quot. 1659, to direct, refer (a person) to something (cf. 28 d).
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 59 We and ure heldrene habbæð ben turnd fro him [God] eure siððen þe deuel com on neddre liche to adam. a1225Ancr. R. 52 Eue biheold o þen uor⁓bodene eppele,..& turnde hire lust þer toward, & nom & et þerof. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6824 Þe luþer men of dene⁓march..To hor olde luþerhede iturnd adde hor þoȝt. c1325Metr. Hom. Prol. 32 An unkind man es he, That turnes alle his thoht fra the. c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 6 Al his fantasye Was turned for to lerne Astrologye. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour F ij b, Moche merueylled the neyghbours how she had tourned her herte to loue suche a pryour. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 420 b, Turning his talke to him. 1659H. Thorndike Wks. (1846) II. 504 Those who..turn simple..Christians to that translation. 1727Swift What passed in Lond. Wks. 1755 III. i. 183 His mind was wholly turned upon spiritual matters. 1823Scott Quentin D. xi, He turned his thoughts from this subject of reflection. 1863A. Blomfield Mem. Bp. Blomfield II. iii. 90 He could turn the whole force of his mind at a moment's notice on any subject. 1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. iv. xviii, We..turned our attention to poor Tom.
b. To cause or induce (a person, etc.) to take a particular course; to direct the course of (events, etc.) arch.
c1386Chaucer Knt.'s T. 380 Wel hath ffortune y-turned thee the dys. 1390Gower Conf. III. 73 The kinge he torneth at his wille, And makth him forto dreme. c1400Destr. Troy 2943 Throgh which treason betydes, & ternes vmqwhile Bolde men to batell and biker with hond. 1611Shakes. Wint. T. iii. i. 15 Great Apollo Turne all to th' best.
27. refl. To direct one's mind, will, attention, etc. to or from a person or thing: = 28, 28 b, 28 c. Now rare or arch.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 Turneð ȝiu to me, and ich wile turnen me to ȝiu. c1200Ormin 6586 He þatt turrneþþ himm fra Crist..Forrleoseþþ sawless soþe lihht. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xli. (Agnes) 242 Men sal..twrne þaim to þe cristine fay. 1535Coverdale Exod. xxxii. 12 O turne the from the fearcenesse of thy wrath. 1539Bible (Great) Ps. xxv. 16 Turne the vnto me, and haue mercy vpon me. 1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 87 Ynough for hym, yea, and more then he can well turne hym to. 1832Examiner 92/1 They were compelled to turn themselves to other employments.
28. intr. To direct one's mind, desire, or will to or from some person, thing, or action.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 61 We turnen ofte to him, and fro him. c1315Shoreham Poems i. 122 Þaȝ he torni to senne aȝen. c1475Partenay 518 Vnto my purpos torn shall I therfore. 1539Bible (Great) Exod. xxxii. 12 Turne from thy fearse wrath. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 173 Turnand till Goddis infinite. 1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. i. §8 Ideas..make not deep Impressions..till the Understanding turn inwards upon it self, and reflect on its own Operations. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 8 Where'er I roam,..My heart untravell'd fondly turns to thee. 1891‘M. Maartens’ Old Maid's Love II. iii. 46 She turned from the thought of scandal with impatience.
b. spec. To direct one's attention to a different subject; to begin to speak or think of something else.
c1374Chaucer Troylus ii. 639 (688) Now lat vs stynte of Troylus.., and late vs tourne [v.rr. torne, turne] faste Vnto Criseyde. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxi. (Clement) 622 Off þis matere now no mare I tel, Bot to þe story twrne I sel Of sancte clement. 1836W. Irving Astoria III. lvi. 188 It is with a feeling of momentary relief we turn to something of a more pleasing complexion. 1880L. Stephen Pope ii. 43 Let us now turn from the poems to the author's personal career.
c. To direct one's attention to something practically; to apply oneself to or take up an occupation or pursuit.
1667Milton P.L. v. 630 Forthwith from dance to sweet repast they turn. 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 99 What is that which I should turn to..? Every door is barr'd with gold, and opens but to golden keys. 1891Sat. Rev. 26 Dec. 730/1 He turned next to log-splitting.
d. turn to: to refer to, look up, consult (a book, list, table, etc.).
1631Cotton (title) A Complete Concordance..By helpe whereof any passage of holy Scripture may bee readily turned unto. 1693Locke Educ. §172 Helvicus's Tables may be..turned to on all occasions. 1850Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XI. ii. 400 To their reports the reader must turn for accurate information. 1886K. S. Macquoid Sir J. Appleby II. viii. 111 He took up a local paper and turned to the list of visitors.
e. To resort, betake oneself, have recourse to (a person, etc.); to appeal to for help or support.
1821Clare Vill. Minstr. II. 80 He turns to heaven to witness what he feels. 1869A. W. Ward tr. Curtius' Hist. Greece II. iii. iii. 472 The Milesians were unable to maintain themselves in Priene and turned to Athens. 1890Clark Russell Ocean Trag. I. i. 20 You are the one man..that I should turn to in such a time. 1912Jrnl. Friends' Hist. Soc. IX. 204 Once more we have to turn to a German writer for information.
† f. To tend, have a tendency to something. Obs.
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 365 Tale tende we non þat turneþ to harme. Ibid. 469 When we tenden any tale þat turneþ to bourde. 1583Leg. Bp. St. Androis 976 Whairto it turnes I can not tell.
29. trans. To induce or persuade to adopt a (different) religious faith (usually with implication of its truth or excellence), or a religious or godly (instead of an irreligious or ungodly) life; to convert; less commonly in bad sense, to pervert (cf. 14). Obs. or merged in other senses, except as in c.
†a. Const. to, into; from. Obs.
c1200Ormin 169 He shall turrnenn mikell flocc..till þe rihhte læfe. c1205Lay. 12734 Heo þencheð..to..turne to heðenesse Þa hæȝe & þa læsse. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 4956 Seint birin þe bissop..Þat in to þis lond..ysend was. To turne þe king of west sex, kingilf, to cristendom. a1375Joseph Arim. 11 In þe nome of þe fader Ioseph him fole⁓wede, And hedde I-turned to þe feyþ fifti with him-seluen. c1380Antecrist in Todd 3 Treat. Wyclif 122 Þei shal..bowe a wey from trewþe and ben turned in to fables. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 107 We scholde nouȝt tarye to be yturned to God. c1440Promp. Parv. 507/2 Turne, to badnesse, perverto. 1513More Rich. III (1641) 14 But if grace turne him to wisedome. 1579W. Wilkinson Confut. Familye of Loue, Brief Descr. iij b, Who sought to peruert and turne from the truth xii godly Christians.
†b. simply. Obs.
c1305St. Swithin 10 in E.E.P. (1862) 43 Seint berin her bi weste wende And turnde þe king kenewold as oure louerd him grace sende. 1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xv. 540 Many miracles he wrouȝte man for to turne. 1539Bible (Great) Jer. xxxi. 19 As soone as thou turnest me, I shall refourme my selfe. c1592Marlowe Jew of Malta iv. i, Why, brother, you converted Abigail..One [friar] turn'd my daughter, therefore he shall die. 1692Locke Toleration ii. Wks. 1727 II. 266 The two Reynold's (..one a Protestant, the other a Papist) who upon the exchange of Papers between them, were both turn'd.
c. To induce or persuade (a person) to act against his country, former associates, etc., esp. as a spy.
1971C. Egleton Last Post for Partisan xvi. 162 ‘How did they turn you?’ ‘I was shopped... They said I could save my neck if I helped them, and so I agreed.’ 1973T. Allbeury Choice of Enemies vii. 32 It's my assessment that this officer gave no information to the Russians and was not turned by them. 1979A. Boyle Climate of Treason ix. 309 The process of cornering and ‘turning’ the Fifth Man made such limited sharing of the secret almost inevitable. 1982Times 27 Aug. 2/4 Several have been ‘turned’ only after being shown evidence from another ‘supergrass’.
30. intr. To adopt a different (esp. the true) religion, or a godly life; to be converted.
a. Const. to. (Now merged in sense 28.)
a1225St. Marher. 22 Turnden þa þurh þis to criste swiðe monie. c1300Cursor M. 22119 (Edinb.) If þai wil noȝte turne til his lare, He sal taim sla wiþoutin spare. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 335 Þe kyng of Bulgares and his men tornede to Cristes fey and bileve. [c1410Hampole's Psalter lxxxvi. 3 (MS. U2) Þai resceyf sinfull men that will torune [? tourne] to me. c1590Marlowe Faust. v. 8 Abjure this magic, turn to God again. 1891Temple Bar Dec. 599 It is never too late to turn to God. ]
b. simply. To be converted; to repent. arch.
c1300Cursor M. 19013 (Edinb.) Þis wordis herd, þair hertis gan turne, alsua for þaire misdedis murne. 13..Ibid. 16762 + 148 (Cott.) Mony þat stode & saȝe..Torned & wore baptized. 1526Tindale Matt. xviii. 3 Except ye tourne and become as children. 1679Establ. Test 45 So would they say to all Protestants,..Turn, or burn. 1876W. Arnot Anchor of Soul 333 If..the lost shall turn, they will get life in the Lord.
c. To go over to another side or party; to revolt, desert. Const. to. arch. (b) Now, of a criminal, to become an informer, to ‘grass’.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9891 Richard þe kinges sone,..Aȝen is fader turnde to þe king of france alas! 13..Cursor M. 15137 (Cott.) All þis werld es turnand Til him. c1470Henry Wallace i. 110 Erle Patrik than..Till our fa turnd, and harmyng did ws mast. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, i. i. 151 All will reuolt from me, and turne to him. 18..J. Forbes Battle of Corichie ix. in A. Whitwell Bk. Sc. Ball. (1857) 556 Whan the haf o' the Gordones desertit, An' turnit wi' Murray in a crack.
(b)1977Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. i. 24/3 Like many other informants, Bompensiero ‘turned’ in order to avoid jail. 1982Times 27 Aug. 2 (heading) Pressures that lead a man to ‘turn’.
31. trans. To direct or bring to bear in the way of (active) opposition; to retort or cause to recoil upon; to proceed to use against.
1297[see turn one's hand, 56 a]. 1538Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 125 By this meane their owne craft..shalbe torned into their owne neckes. a1641Bp. R. Montagu Acts & Mon. iii. (1642) 184 To wrest his weapon out of his hands, and turne it upon himselfe. 1687Atterbury Answ. Consid. Spirit Luther 48 Luther's Conscience..turn's these very reasonings upon him. 1839J. Yeowell Anc. Brit. Ch. x. (1847) 107 Her cruel masters turned their ruthless hands against every thing and person that had a religious character. 1855Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVI. ii. 569 He has sufficient security that the disclosure will not be turned against himself.
b. To direct against in feeling; to make antagonistic; to imbue with hatred or dislike.
1831Examiner 722/2 The hearts of the poor were turned in bitterness against the rich. 1881Mrs. E. Lynn Linton My Love xi, Not even Papa could turn me against Cyril.
32. intr. To recoil upon; to fall upon with disastrous effect; to have an adverse tendency or result. Now rare or Obs., or merged in next.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 359 Now bygynneth þi gyle ageyne þe to tourne. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 351 Certis synne of siche children turneþ into heed of þer fadir. 1550J. Coke Eng. & Fr. Heralds §71 (1877) 80 Thus your bostes, syr heralde, turne upon your heles. 1625Bacon Ess., Empire (Arb.) 305 The destruction of Demetrius, Sonne to Philip the Second of Macedon, turned vpon the Father, who died of Repentance. 1660Trial Regic. 24 Court. There is nothing you can say, but Guilty, or Not guilty. All other discourses turn upon your self. a1715Burnet Own Time (1823) I. ii. 430 (an. 1667) The Dutch war had turned so fatally on the king. 1881Gardiner & Mullinger Stud. Eng. Hist. i. viii. 153 It turns upon those who attempt it, as the Florentine people turned upon Savonarola.
33. intr. To change one's position in order to attack or resist someone; to take up an attitude of opposition; to oppose oneself; with on or upon, to assail suddenly or violently (in act or word); with against, usually implying a change from previous friendliness.
See also turn again, 66 d; turn round, 79 c.
13..in Pol. Songs (Camden) 189 Hue turnden hem aȝeynes with suerd ant with launce. 1477Earl Rivers (Caxton) Dictes 72 Be not gladde of the euill fortune of another, for thou knowest not howe the worlde may tourne ayenst the. 1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, ii. iv. 297 Should I turne vpon the true Prince? 1625Bacon Ess., Friendship (Arb.) 169 Pompey turned vpon him againe, and..bad him be quiet. 1804A. Duncan Mariner's Chron. II. 241 At this place, Mr. Hamilton met with a large seal, or sea-lion, and fired a brace of balls into him, upon which the animal turned upon him open-mouthed. 1854Thackeray Rose & Ring iii, These people who are following you will be the first to turn against you. 1865Kingsley Herew. xxxii, The king turned on his courtiers, glad to ease his own conscience by cursing them. 1887F. W. Robinson In Bad Hands I. 33 The impudence of some people..would make a worm turn. 1892Black & White 12 Mar. 327/2 His adulators of yesterday are prepared to turn and rend him.
34. trans. To apply to some use or purpose; to make use of, employ.
See also turn one's hand to, 56 b; turn to account, 62 b. † In quot. a 1225, to dedicate to a saint.
a1225Ancr. R. 18 To þeo halewen þet ȝe habbeð to þurh luue iturnd ower weouedes. 1398Munim. de Melros (Bann. Cl.) 489 To be distreignede..and in[to] þaire profite to be turnide. 1445in Charters rel. Glasgow (1906) 440 A certane sowm..beforehand..payit be the said Davy and in myne use turnit. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. i. ii. §1 Virgil, turning his pen to the advantage of his country. 1711Addison Spect. No. 251 ⁋2, I..would willingly turn my Head to any thing for an honest Livelihood. 1821Scott Kenilw. vi, I trust that what I have spoken..will not be turned to my ruin. 1873Mrs. Oliphant Innocent II. iii. 33 An old house..which she had turned to a great many uses.
b. To set (a person) to some work or employment; in quot. 1781 Naut. = turn up, 81 r.
1781Archer in Naval Chron. XI. 283 Turn all hands! make sail! 1869Hughes Alfred Gt. xii. 139 The whole manhood of the kingdom might have been..turned upon this work. 1892Blackw. Mag. CLI. 204/2 To turn the whole country on a deserter, and so take him dead or alive.
VI. To change, alter.
* General senses.
35. trans. To change, transmute; to alter, make different, or substitute something else (of the same kind) for. Now rare or Obs. exc. as in 37, 40 or associated with other senses: cf. turn colour, 52.
† turn sides (quot. 1736), to change sides, go over from one side to the other.
c1230Hali Meid. 9 Godd ne schop hit neauer swuch, Ah Adam & eue turnden hit to beo swuch þurh hare sunne. a1300Cursor M. 10434 (Cott.) Mend þi mode and turn þi chere. c1400Mandeville (1839) viii. 86 An Aungel helde Jacob stille, & turned his name, & cleped him Israel. c1470Golagros & Gaw. 1066 Schir Gawane tretit the knight to turn his entent. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon vii. 170 Whan the barons sawe reynawde & bayarde so torned, they began to laughe. 1566Drant Horace, Sat. viii. F vj b, But pleasure hath lyke Circes cuppes yturnde them from their Kynde. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 249 Some deere friend dead, else nothing in the world Could turne so much the constitution Of any constant man. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 340 Orus writeth, that there is a Fish of this name which turneth sex. 1736T. Lediard Life Marlborough II. 524 Their good Fortune..may, hereafter, turn Sides. 1892Temple Bar Mag. Jan. 144 Suddenly she turned the subject. Ibid. Apr. 485 They..turned their dresses and their opinions.
36. intr. To undergo change or alteration; to become different, to change; in quot. 1599, to be fickle or inconstant. rare (exc. as in 38, 39).
c1175Lamb. Hom. 91 Þa þet folc þis iherde, þa iturn[d]e heore mod. c1275Lay. 3069 His euhe [= hue] torne[d] and..Bicom alse a blac cloþ. 14..Sir Beues (MS. C.) 1283 + 47 Al his þouȝt bygan to tern. 1474Caxton Chesse iii. iii. (1883) 98 Whan fortune torneth and perishith ther abideth not to hym one frende. 1599? Shakes. Pass. Pilgr. vii, She bad loue last, and yet she fell a turning. 1732Pope Ep. Bathurst 379 Things change their titles, as our manners turn. 1894Parry Stud. Gt. Composers, Schubert 226 How to make the form turn and vary.
37. trans. with into or to: To change, transform, or convert into; to cause to become (something else).
c1175Lamb. Hom. 97 Petrus wes fixere [= fisher] þene iturnde þe ilcan godes gast to apostle. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 45 Þanne is here foshipe turnd al to frendshipe. c1275Passion of our Lord 10 in O.E. Misc. 37 He..turnde water to wyne. a1350Hampole Poems Wks. 1895 I. 78 Ihesu es lufe þat lastes ay:..Ihesu þe nyght turnes to þe day, þe dawyng in til spryng. 1413Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton 1483) iv. xxviii. 73 The floure is forfaded and al the beaute therof torned to nouȝt. 1484Caxton Fables of Alfonce xi, The goddes..haue torned my daughter in to this catte. a1569[see 10 b]. 1631Weever Anc. Fun. Mon. 433 This religious house is now turned into an Hospitall. 1765Gray Shakespeare 11 May not honey's self be turn'd to gall? 1853J. H. Newman Hist. Sk. (1873) II. i. ii. 63 A river overflows and turns a fruitful plain into a marsh.
b. To change into, cause to become of (a specified nature, form, or aspect).
1390Gower Conf. II. 326 Echon of hem..Was torned into a briddes kinde. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) iv. 13 He schall turne þat damysell in to hir riȝt schappe. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 75 She turns herself into all shapes. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxv. 132 Then is the Counsell turned into the nature of a Command.
c. transf. To exchange for; to get something else instead of; also, to substitute something else for. Cf. convert v. 15.
c1449Pecock Repr. v. xiv. (Rolls) 557 Eer than he haue turnede or chaungid the iewelis into money. c1537R. De Benese Measurynge Lande F iv b, Ye must turne the perches in to pence. c1593Trag. Rich. II, ii. iii. 23 My iewells and my plaite are turnd to coyne. 1697Dryden Virg. Past. vii. 51 Thy Marble Statue shall be turn'd to Gold. 1827Jarman Powell's Devises (ed. 3) II. 97 He laid some stress upon the fact of the real estate being turned into personal. 1855Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVI. ii. 557 [They] turned their little stock into Cash.
†d. With inverse construction: To form by change out of. Obs. nonce-use.
1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 180 Whiche worde Aue was turned out of Eua, & made Aue, & that not without great mistery.
38. intr. with into or to: To change into; to be changed, transformed, or converted into; to become.
c1250Long Life 3 in O.E. Misc. 156 Fair weder turneð ofte into reine. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xiv. 19 Al hus sorwe to solas þorgh þat songe turnede. c1400Brut cc. 228 Þe sonne þo turnede into blode. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 93 Lest our Ire turne to enuy, and our enuy to hate. 1660Boyle New Exp. Phys. Mech. xxxvii. 312 Water turning from perspicuous to white. 1764Goldsm. Trav. 86 These rocks, by custom, turn to beds of down. 1892Monthly Packet May 532 The monkeys did not turn into men, the men turned into monkeys.
b. To change into, become of (a specified nature, form, or aspect).
1678J. Phillips Tavernier's Trav. ii. xxii. 155 The milk will turn to the colour of an Apostemated matter. 1856Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVII. ii. 482 Black cattle have been observed to turn..to a dun colour.
39. intr. with compl. To change so as to be, to become.
a. with adj. compl. (in quot. 1303 with advb. phr.).
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 6584 With wykked man, þou turnest as he. 1450Paston Lett. I. 158 Therwith he turned pale colour. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 103 Saiyng: that God was turned Englishe, and the devill would not helpe Fraunce. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. ii. 48 Turne giddie, and be holpe by backward turning. 1626Bacon Sylva §851 Cygnets from Gray turne White. 1758R. Brown Compl. Farmer (1759) 111 When..the stalk begins to die, and to turn brown. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xxii, ‘It is my mother!’ said Lucy, turning as pale as ashes, and clasping her hands together. 1861Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XXII. i. 48 The milk is apt to turn sour. 1888‘J. S. Winter’ Bootle's Childr. viii, Lassie turned very white, and gasped for breath.
b. with n. compl. (most commonly without article). Freq. as pa. pple. modifying a n.
1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. i. 82 Vnlesse the diuell himselfe turne Iew. 1660Fuller Mixt Contempl. (1841) 172 The remedy turned the malady of the land. 1758S. Hayward Serm. xvii. 531 A mother must turn monster if she does not love her babe. 1853Lytton My Novel v. ix, Did not you turn..a common stage-player, sir? 1879Dowden Southey vi. 178 Under such strokes a courageous heart may turn coward. 1879W. Minto Defoe x. 170 He had seen Whig turn Tory and Tory turn Whig. 1945, etc. [see poacher1 1 b]. 1964Eng. Studies XLV. 382 Their Scandinavian conquerors-turned-neighbors. 1973E. Schumacher Small is Beautiful i. iii. 44 The economist-turned-econometrician is unwilling..to face the question. 1982Times Lit. Suppl. 10 Sept. 968/3 Jerome's father was a Nonconformist preacher, turned architect, turned mine-owner.
c. turn after (of offspring): to become or grow like, to ‘take after’ (the parent).
1848Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IX. ii. 256 Where one parent is sound and the other diseased the progeny may turn after the former; but then it is just as likely to turn after the latter.
40. trans. with compl. (usually adj.) To change so as to make{ddd}; to make (so) by alteration; to render.
1607Shakes. Timon iv. iii. 499 It almost turnes my dangerous Nature wilde. 1732Pope Ep. Cobham 163 That gay Free-thinker,..What turns him now a stupid silent dunce? 1821Clare Vill. Minstr. I. 23 His fears would turn him chill. 1849Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. X. i. 177 It turns the fibre black. 1904S. Weyman Abbess of Vlaye xiv, With a..shock of the mind that turned her hot.
†41.
a. trans. To change so as to bring into some specified condition: e.g. to turn into madness = to cause to become mad, to make mad. Obs.
In quot. c 1400, to set on fire; in quot. 1470–85 torned vnto helpyng (?) = brought into a condition of recovery, ‘getting better’.
1382Wyclif Mark iii. 21 Thei seiden, for he is turnyd in to wodenesse. c1400Destr. Troy 7112 The Troiens þaire tore shippis hade turnyt on fyre. 1470–85Malory Arthur xiii. xiii. 631 He asked syr Melyas how it stood with him. Thenne he sayd he was torned vnto helpyng, god be thanked. 1608Topsell Serpents (1658) 701 Dionysius,..being turned by Juno into madnesse.
†b. intr. To get into some specified condition: e.g. to turn into ire = to become angry. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 12252 Þen Thelamon was tenfull, & turnyt into yre.
42. trans. with into or to: To make the subject of (praise, mockery, etc.); now chiefly in phr. to turn (a thing) into ridicule (see ridicule n.1 3 b).
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 143 He wolde torne [v.r. teurne] hit to bourde and to lawȝhynge. 1533Gau Richt Vay (S.T.S.) 13 Thay that..twrnis the halie writ to lichtlines and scorne. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. ii. v. 223 It cannot but turn him into a notable contempt. 1611― Cymb. iv. i. 23 Her Father..may..be a little angry..: but my Mother..shall turne all into my commendations. 1673–1784 [see ridicule n.1 3 b]. 1891E. & D. Gerard Sensitive Pl. I. ii. vii. 276 Does any one turn the true poet..into ridicule?
†43. intr. with to: To lead to as a consequence; to become the cause or occasion of; to result in, bring about. (See also turn to account, 62 a.) Obs. or merged in other senses.
c1200Ormin Ded. 18 Þu þohhtesst tatt itt mihhte wel Till mikell frame turrnenn. c1205Lay. 25574 Let þu mi sweuen To selþen iturnen. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 7711 Þe vnriȝt ido to poueremen to such mesaunture turnde. c1350Will. Palerne 254 Perauenture þurth goddis grace to gode may it turne. 1422tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. xxxvii. 194 Yef hit shold torn to pereill of the child. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 42 Fearynge lest this broile..would tourne to his vtter destruction. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iii. § 93. 355 Their plots turned to their owne damage. a1774Goldsm. Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776) II. 147 To deduce any general theory that shall turn to public benefit.
†b. to turn (a person) to (something): to result in or bring about for the person; to put him to (trouble, etc.); to be for his (advantage, etc.). Obs.
Orig. intr. with dative of person; afterwards taken as trans. with the person as direct object.
c1200Ormin Ded. 150 Ȝiff þeȝȝ all forrwerrpenn itt, Itt turrneþþ hemm till sinne. c1230Hali Meid. 7 Serue Godd ane, & alle þinge schulen þe turnen to gode. 13..Guy Warw. (A.) 898 Wiþ him he wald iusti, It turned him to vilani [Caius MS. And therof hym befelle grete vilanye]. 1463in Acts Parlt. Scotl. (1874) XII. 28/2 That occupatioun & vse þat I sal haue of þe said landis..sal turn ȝou na ȝoure successowris in na preiudice. 1523Ld. Berners Froiss. I. cccxlii. 537 It shall tourne hym to moche blame. Ibid. ccccxxxvi. 767 He was as thanne xl. dayes iourney from thens, but..he rode it in fourtene dayes..whiche tourned to hym [prob. = hym to] a great valyantnesse. [Orig. On luy doit tourner a bonne voulenté et vaillance.] 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. v. 16 All the trouble thou hast turn'd me to. 1607― Cor. iii. i. 284 A word or two, The which shall turne you to no further harme, Then so much losse of time. 1610― Temp. i. ii. 64 O my heart bleedes To thinke oth' teene that I haue turn'd you to.
** Specific senses.
44. trans. To change from one language or form of expression to another; to translate or paraphrase; to render. Also absol.
c1200Ormin Ded. 129, & tærfore hafe icc turrnedd itt Inntill Ennglisshe spæche. a1225Juliana 2 Þat is of latin iturnd into englisch. a1300Cursor M. 21108 (Cott.) God⁓spell he turnd in tung of ind. 14..Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS. (E.E.T.S.) I. App. 407 This romance turned [a] Munk of sallay out of a frenche romance. 1548Turner Names of Herbes (1881) 62 Picea is called in greeke as Theodore Gaza turneth, pitys. 1605Camden Rem. (1637) 86 Others untruely turne it [Robert] Red-beard. 1700Dryden Fables Pref., Ess. (ed. Ker) II. 248, I..resolved to put their merits to the trial, by turning some of the Canterbury Tales into our language, as it is now refined. 1711Addison Spect. No. 39 ⁋6 If the Writer laid down the whole Contexture of his Dialogue in plain English, before he turned it into Blank Verse. 1735Pope Prol. Sat. 180 The Bard..Who turns a Persian tale for half a Crown. 1879M. Pattison Milton vii. 90 In 1648 he turned nine psalms, and..in 1653, ‘did into verse’ eight more.
b. To alter the phrasing of (a sentence); to word differently, give another turn to.
1593Shakes. Lucr. 1539 She..turn'd it thus, it cannot be, I find, But such a face should beare a wicked mind. 1869Browning Ring & Bk. xii. 651 How he dares reprehend both high and low! Else had he turned the sentence ‘God is true And every man a liar—save the Pope’. 1895North & Hillard Latin Prose Comp. (1901) 24 The English has to be turned; e.g. ‘The Greeks, having captured Troy, burnt it’, cannot go straight into Latin, because Latin has no Perfect Participle Active.
45. To disturb or overthrow the mental balance of; to impair the power of judgement of; to make mad or crazy, distract, dement, infatuate.
a. with the brain or head as obj.
c1340Hampole Prose Tr. 17 He..ouertrauells by ymaginacions his wittes, and by vndiscrete trauellynge turnes þe braynes in his heuede. 1601R. Johnson Kingd. & Commw. (1603) 167 The Arabians..delight in sower milke, or Cosmus, a kind of charmed-sower-mares milke verie forcible to turne the braine. 1683Apol. Prot. France iv. 40 The Prince's head was a little turned. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. i. 8 My head was..turned with..whimsies. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf v, Your plays and romances have positively turned your brain. 1861Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. xxxv, You have been making serious love to Patty, and have turned the poor girl's head.
†b. with the person as obj. Obs.
c1400Destr. Troy 3272 All tourniet with tene,..Wailyng & weping. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 136 b, Albeit they did not chaunge him wholy,..yet did they turne him & confounde him. 1709Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) II. 300 It quite turn'd him, and destroy'd his Memory.
c. intr. for pass. of the head. rare. (Cf. 2 b.)
1852M. Arnold Second Best 8 So many books thou readest,..That thy poor head almost turns. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay xi, I trust the poor man's head hasn't turned with all his troubles.
46. trans. To make sour, taint (milk or fermented liquor); † in early use, to coagulate, curdle. Also fig.
1548Elyot, Coagulum..a courde or creame, the ruen of a beaste, wherewith mylke is tourned. 1563T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 164 A Hogshead..of white wine Lees, not yet turned and sowr. 1670Dryden 2nd Pt. Conq. of Granada iii. i, Love..'Tis soon made sour, and turn'd by jealousy. 1722De Foe Col. Jack (1840) 138 This..turned the very blood within my veins. 1887M. B. Edwards Next of Kin Wanted II. x. 130 A thunderstorm to-night might turn the syllabub.
b. intr. To become sour or tainted, as milk or fermented liquor; † in early use, To become curdled. Also transf. and fig.
1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 147 Some vse to put into the bottome of the payles, the greene kernelles of the Pine apple, and milking into them, doo cause it so to turne. 1594Lyly Moth. Bomb. ii. v, If it thunder, though all the Ale and Beere in the towne turne, it will be constant. 1623Massinger Bondman i. iii, The blood turns! 1727Bradley's Fam. Dict. s.v. Chocolate, If you would have Milk Chocolate, take as much Milk as you do Water,..and take care it does not turn. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 602 A thunder⁓storm sometimes destroys the coagulating power in the whole laminæ at once; or causes the glue to turn on the nets, in the language of the manufacturer.
47. intr. To change colour, become of a different colour (as ripening fruit, fading leaves, hair in old age): = turn colour, 52.
† turn upon, to verge upon or shade off into (a different colour). Obs.
1578Lyte Dodoens iii. lxxix. 428 In the middle of the sayde flowers are many smal hearie threddes..turning vpon yellowe. 1888Howells Annie Kilburn iv, When her hair had begun to turn. 1892Daily News 8 Nov. 6/2 No two trees turn alike; in every group each member wears his own livery. 1893Argosy Jan. 71 Really some ripe strawberries?.. Ours are not turning yet.
b. trans. To change the colour of.
1791Hamilton Berthollet's Dyeing II. ii. iii. ix. 233 The silk being distributed on the rods.., lemon-juice..is poured into the bath, till it is of a fine cherry colour. This is called turning (virer) the bath. 1867A. Sartoris Week Fr. Country Ho. i. 17 Poplars, already turned by the season.
VII. Phrases.
Phrases.
* with n. obj.
(For turn cat in pan, t. the (other) cheek, t. a hair, t. the (or a new) leaf, t. the penny, t. the tables, t. tippet, t. turtle, t. wind, see the ns.)
48. turn the (or one's) back: to turn away, go away; turn the back upon, to depart from, abandon: see back n.1 24 g.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 8486 When þey wer sondred, þey tur[n]d þe bak. c1400–1866 [see back n.1 24 g]. 1581Earl Morton in Calr. Scott. Pap. VI. 14, I was purposed to have..turned my backe upon Scotland while I had sene further.
49. turn the balance or beam: to preponderate: = turn the scale, 58.
1590Shakes. Mids. N. v. i. 324 A Mote [ed. 1623 Moth] wil turne the ballance, which Piramus which Thisby is the better. 1602― Ham. iv. v. 157 Thy madnesse shall be payed by waight, Till our Scale turnes the beame. 1722Wollaston Relig. Nat. iii. 59 When there is nothing in the opposite Scale..this [probability] in the course of nature must turn the beam. 1892Eng. Illustr. Mag. X. 36 A straw will often suffice to turn the balance.
50. turn bridle: to turn one's horse and ride back; to retreat, as a rider. (In first quot. fig.)
1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 731/2 If there bee but one man that turneth backe the bridle [orig. qui aura tourné bride], wee seeme to seeke such occasions to become wicked and lewde. 1653Holcroft Procopius, Pers. Wars ii. 60 The Persians..drave them out of the fastnesses, and then turn'd bridle. 1825Scott Betrothed xiii, Were I you, my Lady Eveline,..I would turn bridle yet; for this old dungeon seems little likely to afford food or shelter to Christian folk. 1892Black & White 9 Jan. 47/1 We turned bridle and trotted back.
51. turn one's coat: to change one's principles or party: see coat n. 13, and cf. turncoat.
1565R. Shacklock Hatchet of Heresyes 74 Howe many tymes Melancthon hath turned his cote in this one opinion. 1577Grange Golden Aphrod., etc. O iij b, Now must I turne my coate and cleaue vnto my God, Desiring pardon for my crime. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist ix. vii. §24 That all the Protestants would either turn their Coats, Copies, arms, or fly away. 1819Scott Leg. Montrose xvii, Sir John Urrie, a soldier.., who had already changed sides twice during the Civil War, and was destined to turn his coat a third time before it was ended. 1946G. Millar Horned Pigeon ix. 130 Like good policemen all over the world, they were only too willing to turn their coats (to keep law and order, of course). 1981Times Lit. Suppl. 2 Jan. 7/5 What prompted Sohō, Japanese intellectuals have endlessly debated, to ‘turn his coat’ in the 1890s?
52. turn (one's) colour: to change colour, become of a different colour; of a person, to become pale or red in the face (now rare).
[1450: cf. 39 a.] 1602Shakes. Ham. ii. ii. 542 Looke where he ha's not turn'd his colour, and ha's teares in's eyes. 1720Mrs. Manley Power of Love (1741) VI. 346 She turned colour, and was much surprized to see so great a Company. 1899Tit-Bits 19 Aug. 420/2 [These] buttons..do not turn colour. Mod. The fruit is beginning to turn colour.
53. turn a deaf ear: to refuse to listen: cf. ear n.1 3 d.
1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xviii. (1687) 176 Turn a deaf ear to him, and do not go along with him. 1793R. Hall Apol. Freed. Press 45 They..turn a deaf ear to their complaints. 1855Dickens Dorrit ii. xxiii, Affery..turned a deaf ear to all adjuration.
54. turn edge: see 9 b.
55. turn..flank: Mil. to get round an enemy's flank so as to make an attack in flank or in rear (cf. 17 b); hence fig. to ‘get round’, circumvent, or outwit a person.
1813Wellington in Gurw. Desp. (1839) X. 596 Sir Lowry Cole..retired..because his right flank was turned. 1841–4Emerson Ess., Circles Wks. (Bohn) I. 128 There is not a piece of science, but its flank may be turned to-morrow. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. India ii. ii. II. 45 Detaching..seven companies to turn the left flank of the position.
56. turn one's hand.
a. To make an attack upon: cf. 31. arch.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 6070 Suan þe duc of denemarch, bigan to turne is hond. & after þat he adde destrued þe souþhalf of þis lond, He wende & robbede al þis lond al þe norþ side. 1382Wyclif 2 Sam. xxiv. 17, I biseche, be thin hoond turned aȝens me, and aȝens the hows of my fader. 1839[see sense 31]. 1877Queen's Printers' Bible-Aids 134 David..entreating him [God] to spare the innocent people, and to turn his hand upon himself.
b. with to: To apply oneself to, set to work at, take up as an occupation: cf. 34.
1703Steele Tender Husb. ii. i, A good Servant should turn his Hand to every thing in a Family. 1856Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVII. ii. 358 [He] can turn his own hand to the plough when wanted. 1867Smiles Huguenots Eng. ii. (1880) 22 [He] was ready to turn his hand to anything that might enable him to earn a living.
57. turn head: to turn and face an enemy; to show a bold opposing front: the opposite of turn tail. Cf. head n.1 29. ? Obs.
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 102 He..Turnes head against the Lyons armed Iawes. 1677N. Cox Gentl. Recreat. (ed. 2) 17 When Deer..turn head against the Hounds, we say, they Bay. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier i. 125 Twas to no Purpose to turn Head, no Man would stand by us.
58. turn the scale: to cause one scale of a balance to descend: said of an additional weight, usually a slight or just sufficient one; hence fig. to preponderate so as to determine the success or superiority of one of two opposing parties or sides.
1603Shakes. Meas. for M. iv. ii. 32 You waigh equallie: a feather will turne the Scale. 1697Dryden æneid x. 736 A single Soul's too light to turn the Scale. 1814[see scale n.1 4]. 1874Stubbs Const. Hist. I. x. 311 The scale was turned in favour of strong measures by the voice of the native troops.
b. with at, in lit. sense: To weigh slightly more than.
1889J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat 283 He had weighed it carefully..and it turned the scale at thirty-four pounds. 1892Photogr. Ann. II. 883 A case containing a 1/4-plate camera..turning the scale at 6 lbs.
59. turn tail.
a. (orig. in Falconry) To turn the back and flee; to run away, retreat: see tail n.1 11 d.
1575Turberv. Flaconrie 126 Most commonly if a yong hawke be let flee at olde game shee will turne tayle. a1586–1719 [see tail n.1 11 d]. 1841B. Hall Patchwork II. vii. 139 As soon as my companion turned tail..I was compelled..to run for it likewise. 1891G. D. Galton La Fenton v, He turned tail and fled.
b. with on or upon: To abandon, forsake.
1624Quarles Job v. 4 As a Truant-Scholler..turnes speedy tayle Upon his tedious booke. 1807[see tail n.1 11 d]. 1852James Agnes Sorel (1860) I. 14 [They] have turned tail upon their former faith.
†c. To turn in opposition or defiance: in proverbial phrase (see quots., and cf. 33, 66 d). Obs.
1611Middleton & Dekker Roaring Girle D.'s Wks. 1873 III. 158 Tread vpon a worme they say twill turne taile. 1641G. Raleigh Albania 28 There is not the least Worme, but being trodden upon will turne taile.
†60. turn one's tale: to tell a different story, ‘change one's tune’. Obs.
1535Coverdale Ecclus. xxvii. 23 Whan thou art present, he shal..prayse thy wordes: but at the last he shall turne his tayle [1560 tale] and slaunder thy sayenge. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. 13 Then they all turned their tales, and began to deride poor Christian behind his back.
** with compl. adj. or advb. phr. (prep. + n., etc.)
(See also in and out 2, inside out (inside A. 4), top over tail (top n.1 25 d), topsy-turvy, upside down, out of (or at) window, the wrong side out.)
61. turn loose. trans. To set free (an animal) and allow to go loose; transf. and fig. to free from restraint and allow to go where, or do as, one will; to leave to oneself or one's own devices.
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 190 If hee should intend this voyage toward my wife, I would turne her loose to him. 1679Dryden Tr. & Cr. i. ii, He's the ablest man for judgment in all Troy; you may turn him loose, i' faith. 1765Treat. Dom. Pigeons 77 He braces a letter under the wings of a Pigeon,..and..turns it loose. 1892Sat. Rev. 9 Jan. 40/2 They are turned loose to graze on the succulent grasses.
b. To discharge, fire off (a bullet, or a firearm); also (humorously) fig. intr. with on, to speak to, address (cf. open fire, fire n. 14). U.S.
1874J. W. Long Amer. Wild Fowl xxvi. 269 When they are coming to your decoys down-wind..as they double back to alight, ‘turn it loose’ at the middle of the cluster. 1903A. Adams Log Cowboy x, The chief could not speak a word of English..; when I turned loose on him in Spanish, he..signed back to his band. Ibid. xiii, Somebody..turned his gun loose into the air.
c. trans. and intr. Also turn aloose. To let go (of), to leave hold (of). U.S. dial.
1906Dialect Notes III. 162 Turn loose,..to get rid of, let go. 1910Ibid. 457 Turn it loose,..let go of it. 1929W. Faulkner Sound & Fury 199 He turned my hands loose. 1934C. Carmer Stars fell on Alabama 139, I jus' got to hold you now. I can't turn you aloose. 1935T. Wolfe Of Time & River iii. xlii. 376 You git his other hand, Jim, an' try to make him turn a-loose. a1938― Web & Rock (1947) 34 ‘You turn loose of me,’ the captive panted, ‘I'll show you who's the cry-baby!’ 1966R. Price Generous Man (1967) i. 63 ‘Safe! We're in awful danger. Turn loose, old fool!’ He turned loose and lay flat, small on the ground.
62. turn to account.
†a. intr. To result in profit or advantage (cf. 43 and account n. 5); to be profitable, to ‘pay’; also with dat. of person (prob. often taken as direct object: cf. 43 b). Obs.
1675G. R. tr. Le Grand's Man without Passion 227 Sometimes troubles turn us to account. a1677Barrow Serm. Wks. 1716 I. 10 Any of us may..throughly compass and carry it on; which will exceedingly turn to accompt. a1692H. Pollexfen Disc. Trade (1697) 20 Bullion or Coyn will turn them to a better Account. 1700Wallis in Collect. (O.H.S.) I. 326 It may turn to good account. 1727Swift Modest Prop. Wks. 1755 II. ii. 61 They will not yield above three pounds..which cannot turn to account either to the parents or kingdom. 1743Pococke Descr. East I. 134 Of late the West India coffee..has sold so cheap, that it does not turn to account to send it to England.
b. trans. To make use of for one's advantage or profit (cf. 34); to employ profitably.
1826Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) I. vii. 267 Whether I shall ever find time..to turn to account the instructions of Neukomm. 1870Tyndall Notes Lect. Electr. §20 Others have turned to account mechanically the attraction exerted by electro-magnetic cores on bars of iron. 1878L. Stephen Johnson i. 11 He could at least turn his talents to account.
63. turn to bay: to turn and defend oneself, as a hunted animal at bay (see bay n.4 3); also fig.
1810Scott Lady of L. i. viii, The Stag must turn to bay, Where that rude rampart barred the way. 1832Macaulay Armada 25 So glared he when at Agincourt in wrath he turned to bay. 1849― Hist. Eng. vi. II. 137 The colonists turned to bay with the stubborn hardihood of their race.
*** with another verb.
†64. turn and wind (in specific uses). Obs.
a. intr. and refl. To turn this way and that; to go or move in a winding course.
a1300Cursor M. 6540 (Cott.) He ne wist queþer it bettur war To turn or winde him forþar mare. 1634Sir T. Herbert Trav. 20 In Mæanders [the dancers] turne and winde themselues. 1676D'Urfey Mad. Fickle iv. ii, Turn and wind Like Foxes in a storme. c1680Beveridge Serm. (1729) I. 462 We see how all things wind and turn and work together, till they accomplish the end for which they were designed. 1824Scott Redgauntlet Let. iv, A tall man, well mounted on a strong black horse, which he caused to turn and wind like a bird in the air.
†b. trans. To turn this way and that, as a rider his horse; fig. to manage according to one's pleasure, to do what one will with. (Cf. 9 c.)
1596Shakes. 1 Hen. IV, iv. i. 109 To turne and winde a fierie Pegasus. 1606Sir G. Goosecappe i. iv. in Bullen O. Pl. III. 26 Wee will turne her, and winde her, and make her so plyant, that we will drawe her thorugh a wedding ring yfaith. 1673Milton True Relig. Wks. 1851 V. 414 An ordinary Protestant, well read in the Bible, may turn and wind their Doctors.
†c. To put in circulation, circulate, cause to pass in exchange: = turn over, 78 i. (Cf. 15 b.) Obs.
1598R. Grenewey Tacitus' Ann. iv. iv. (1622) 93 By turning and winding base merchandise in Affrica and Sicilia, he gayned his liuing. 1686tr. Chardin's Coronat. Solyman 92 All the money that we turn and wind is the Kings.
VIII. In combination with adverbs.
65. turn about. (See also simple senses and about adv.)
* intr. †a. To move circularly on an axis; to rotate, revolve: = turn round, 79 a. Obs.
c1000Sax. Leechd. III. 254 Seo firmamentum tyrnþ symle onbutan us under þyssere eorðan & bufan..& ealle ða steorran þe hyre on fæste synd turniað onbutan mid hyre.
a1300Holy Rode 379 in Leg. Rood 48 Þer-aboute he let do Þe fourme of sonne and mone and of sterres also Scyne as it hem-sulf were and turne aboute vaste. 1539Bible (Great) Prov. xxvi. 14 Lyke as the dore turneth aboute vpon the thresholde. 1609Bible (Douay) Numb. xxviii. 14 Through al monethes, that succede one another as the yeare turneth about.
b. To reverse one's position or course; to turn so as to face or go in the opposite direction: = turn round, 79 b. Now rare.
1303[see turning vbl. n. 4]. 13..Sir Beues (A.) 4070 ‘Fro whanne komeþ þis fair deistrer?.. Which is þe kroupe? terne about!’ Aboute he ternde þe deistrer. 1526Tindale John i. 38 Jesus turned about, and sawe them folowe. 1676Dryden Aureng-z. v. i, The Morning, as mistaken, turns about, And all her early fires again go out. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) I. xx. 358 They began to retire, and turn about. 1804Man in Moon 191, I turned about and went to sleep again. 1868Morris Earthly Par., Man born to be King 250 He..turned about and left him there.
** trans. †c. To cause to rotate or revolve: = sense 1. Obs.
1483Caxton G. de la Tour F viij, [They] made hym to tourne aboute a mylle as a blynde hors. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 348/1 They..doe but turne about the pot. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 34 The other Foot [of the compasses] being turned about, will..touch the Line AG.
d. To alter or reverse the position of; to put into a different, or the opposite, position (by a rotatory motion): = turn round, 79 e; refl. = b. Now rare or Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 15951 (Cott.) Jesus þan turnd him abute. c1300Ibid. 23223 (Edinb.) Quil þou moht turn þin hand about. 13..[see b]. c1550Song Sir A. Barton iii. in Surtees Misc. (1888) 65 King Henry was stout, and turnd hime about. 1590Spenser F.Q. ii. iii. 42 So [she] turned her about, and fled. 1826F. Reynolds Life & Times I. 174 Give me only time to turn myself about, and something must soon turn up trumps. [Cf. 79 b, note.]
e. To turn this way and that; to move or push about; also fig. = turn over, 78 e.
1598Shakes. Merry W. v. v. 108 Pinch him, and burne him, and turne him about. 1610― Temp. ii. ii. 118 'Prethee doe not turne me about, my stomacke is not constant. 1725Watts Logic ii. iv. §3 Turn these Ideas about in your Mind.
66. turn again. (See also simple senses and again adv.)
* intr. †a. To face round the other way (usually in order to go back): = turn back, 70 e. arch.
a1300Cursor M. 12594 (Cott.) At þe vte-cuming o þe yatte He turnd again. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) iv. 13 Scho turned agayne with a hidous crie. 1678[See again A. 1 b]. 1818Scott Rob Roy xxi, Few turned again to take some minutes' voluntary exercise.
†b. To return, go back (= sense 21). Obs.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 87 Ihc wile turnen agen to mine huse. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 7241 Alle þase þat tylle helle wendes..Salle never after turne ogayne. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 872 Naked out of my fadres hous, quod she, I cam and naked moot I turne agayn. c1420Anturs of Arth. 292 Ther salle..Ane torne home a-ȝayne [v.r. ye shullene turne ayene] for that tydynge. c15111st Eng. Bk. Amer. (Arb.) Introd. 33/1 To tourne ageyne unto there owne lande. 1535Coverdale Ruth i. 11 But Naemi sayde: Turne agayne my doughters, why wolde ye go with me? 1612R. Johnson Song Sir Richard Whittington v. in Crown-Garl. Gould. Roses B v b, London bells sweetly rung... Euermore sounding so, turne againe Whittington: For thou in time shalt grow, Lord Maior of London. 1640Shirley Constant Maid ii. ii, Six bells in every steeple, And let them all go to the city tune,—Turn again, Whittington. 1667Pepys Diary 2 Sept., I took a coach and went home⁓wards; but then turned again, and to White Hall.
†c. fig. To return to a former condition (or possessor: cf. 21 b); to revert. Obs. (or merged in other senses).
1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 5232 To leue hys synne..And turne aȝen to lyfe and grace. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) iv. 12 Þan sall scho turne agayne to hir awen kynde and be a womman. c1450Godstow Reg. 198 Aftur þ⊇ deceasse of þ⊇ foreseyde..þ⊇ foreseyde mansyon with hys pertinences shulde turne holly & fully a-geyne to þ⊇ foreseyde abbas & couent. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. vii. 162 His bigge manly voice, Turning againe toward childish trebble, pipes And whistles in his sound. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 597 Till..he turns agen To his true Shape.
†d. To turn in opposition or defiance; in quot. 1393, to recoil on; cf. 32, 33. Obs.
c1330Arth. & Merl. (Kölbing) 6871 Þe Sarrazins turned oȝen On king Vrien. 1393Langl. P. Pl. C. xxi. 402 Now by-gynneþ thi gyle a-gayn on þe turne. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV 199 What worme is touched, and will not once turne again? 1641in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 199 A worme will turne agayne if it be trod on.
†e. Of an edge: To bend back so as to become blunted: = sense 9 d. Obs.
1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. Feb. 203 The Axes edge did oft turne againe.
** trans. † f. refl. = a, b. Obs.
c1275Passion of our Lord 653 in O.E. Misc. 55 Hi turnden heom ayeyn..to iherusalem. 13..Cursor M. 12608 (Gött.) Ioseph and mari þaim turned againe To sek him. c1420Chron. Vilod. 1739 When þe messagers seyen herre so stedfaste..Þey tur[n]den hem aȝeyne. 1539Bible (Great) Ps. xc. 13 Turne the agayne (O Lorde) at the last, and be gracious.
†g. trans. To cause to turn back (in various senses); to avert (cf. 13 b); to drive back, repel (cf. 19, 25); to convert (= 29). Obs.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 288 To turnen aȝen þis þondir þat it persiþ noȝt. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 233 By his witte and sleiþe þe Hunnes were i-torned aȝen. 1483Cath. Angl. 397/1 To Turne agayn to gudnes,..conuertere.
67. turn around. (See simple senses and around adv.) = turn round, sense 79. orig. U.S.
1880‘Mark Twain’ Tramp Abroad xiii. 119, I could see the dim blur of the windows, but in my turned-around condition they were exactly where they ought not to be. 1919E. O'Neill Moon of Caribbees 114 Smitty does not turn around. 1925F. Scott Fitzgerald Great Gatsby i. 9 Turning me around by one arm. Ibid. ix. 208 He opened it at the back cover and turned it around for me to see. 1932W. Faulkner Light in August xiv. 315 When he sat up he found that the sun..now shone upon him from the opposite direction. At first he believed that he was merely turned around. Then he realised that it was now evening. 1945Dylan Thomas in Horizon Feb. 83 The weather turned around. 1963J. Joesten They call it Intelligence i. iv. 45 A spy..caught..usually is given a chance to switch sides..such a helpless foreign agent is being ‘turned around’. 1967V. C. Welburn Johnny So Long ii. ii. 63 He shakes his hands high at the crowd, then turns around and does it to Judy. 1971Sci. News 13 Feb. 108 Children..with severe behavioral problems..are treated in a ‘family’ situation... An innovative school program helps ‘turn youngsters around’. 1971Black World Mar. 54/1, I felt so sorry for them and they wuz so turned around that one day over to Tony's crib I got high wid em. 1972B. Moore Catholics i. 21 Order them to turn that boat around and send it back for him. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 29 May 3/4 This thing is so close, so fragile, that anything could happen tomorrow to turn it around. 1977J. D. MacDonald Condominium xxxiii. 322 We're past our marker... More than a mile. We can turn around. 1978Globe & Mail (Toronto) 16 May 5/1 The Ontario Government has announced a..campaign to turn around the image Ontarians have gained as boorish and unfriendly hosts to foreign visitors.
68. turn aside: see simple senses and aside adv.a. trans.: cf. 13, 14. In quot. 13..refl. (= b); cf. 7 b.
13..Coer de L. 355 The baroun turnyd hym asyde. 1535Coverdale Isa. xliv. 20 Folishnesse of herte hath turned them a syde. a1648Ld. Herbert Autobiog. (1824) 114 Lieutenant Prichard..taking me by the shoulder, turned me aside. 1718Free-thinker No. 62 ⁋14 The Gods were beseeched to turn aside the Event. 1892Cornh. Mag. May 478 He had never been turned aside from the execution of his purpose.
b. intr.: cf. 6, 16, 28.
1535Coverdale Deut. v. 32 Turne not asyde nether to y⊇ right hande ner to the lefte. 1560Bible (Genev.) Exod. iii. 3, I wil turne aside now, and se this great sight. ― Ps. xl. 4 Blessed is the man, that..regardeth not the proude, nor suche as turne aside to lies. 1606Shakes. Ant. & Cl. i. iii. 76, I prythee turne aside, and weepe for her. 1844Ld. Brougham A. Lunel (1872) I. xiv. 282 The Baron turned not aside from his argument. 1891Temple Bar Mag. Dec. 581 He turned aside and crept in at the open door.
69. turn away. (See simple senses and away adv.)
* trans. a. To avert (one's face, etc.); in quot. 1827, to place so as to be directed away from something (cf. 23 d).
c1175Lamb. Hom. 53 Swa sone se hi beoð iturnd awey from heom. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 8 His preiere is cursid..þat turneþ a-wey his eris. 1382― Ps. xii[i]. 1 Lord..hou longe thou turnest awei thi face fro me? 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 148 Each turne away his face. 1782Cowper Anti-thelyphthora 87 She saw,—and turn'd her rosy cheek away. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xv. (1842) 327 In filling the fresh jar with water, its mouth is to be turned away from the gas jars. 1889F. M. Peard Paul's Sister v, She..turned away her head.
b. fig. To divert; to avert (calamity, etc.): cf. 14, 26; in quot. 1848 = turn off, 74 g.
1382Wyclif Ps. liii[i]. 7 [5] Turne awei euelis to myn enemys. ― Isa. xliii. 13, I shal werchen, and who shal turnen awei it? c1591in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden) 79 To turne awaie the peoples likinge from him. 1658Whole Duty Man v. 112 Deprecation,..when we pray to God to turn away some evil from us. 1848Thackeray Bk. Snobs xxvi, Which question Lady Hawbuck turned away with a sudden query regarding her..daughters.
c. To send away, dismiss; spec. to dismiss from service; † in quot. c 1400, ? to take away, carry off. (Cf. 25.)
c1400Destr. Troy 8553 He was takon full tite & turnyt away. 1598Shakes. Merry W. i. iii. 4, I must turne away some of my followers. a1654Selden Table-T. (Arb.) 63 The Master of the House may turn away all his Servants. 1793Regal Rambler 17 The footman..was turned away without wages or warning. 1866Mrs. Gaskell Wives & Dau. xxiii, He has turned away all the men off the new works. 1901W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. Mother to Eliz. vii, We were lucky to get rooms.., for they are turning people away.
d. refl. = e, f. Obs. or arch.
1375Barbour Bruce i. 167 [He] turnyt him in wreth away. 1382Wyclif Ezek. xviii. 24 If a iust man shal turne hym awei fro his riȝtwisness.
** intr. e. To turn so as to face away from some person or thing; to avert one's face; also fig.: cf. 22 c, 23 c, 28.
a1300Floriz & Bl. 744 Al wepinge he turnde away. 1470–85Malory Arthur xiii. viii. 623 The kyng tourned awey and myghte not speke for wepynge. 1593Shakes. 2 Hen. VI, iii. ii. 74 What, dost thou turne away, and hide thy face? 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge xxii, ‘Oh, very well—if you're in a huff’, cried Miggs, turning away. 1865Ruskin Sesame ii. §91 Instead of trying to do this, you turn away from it.
f. To leave the straight course, deviate; to be averted: cf. 16. Obs. or arch.
1535Coverdale Ezek. xviii. 24 Yf the rightuous turne awaye from his rightuousnes. 1611Bible Gen. xxvii. 45 Vntill thy brothers anger turne away from thee.
†g. To go away, depart; to vanish. (Cf. 24 c.) Obs. rare.
1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 516 Naked,..I cam Hyder,..And naked I sal turne away. c1425Cursor M. 22472 (Trin.) Whenne alle þinge shul turne away.
70. turn back. (See simple senses and back adv.)
* trans. a. To reverse the course of, drive back, cause to retreat: cf. 19.
1535Coverdale Jer. xxi. 4, I will turne backe the weapens..wherwith ye fight agaynst the kinge of Babilon. 1872Morley Voltaire vi. (1886) 314 The man who turned the tide back. 1880R. Mackenzie 19th Cent. iii. ix. 448 To arrest and turn back the mightiest power.
b. To send or give back, return: cf. 21 c. Obs. exc. U.S.
1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, i. i. 34 Sir Iohn Vmfreuill turn'd me backe With ioyfull tydings. 1606― Tr. & Cr. ii. ii. 69 We turne not backe the Silkes vpon the Merchant When we haue spoyl'd them. 1672Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal ii. iii. (Arb.) 55 These insolent Raskals have turn'd 'em all back upon my hands again. 1927Publishers' Weekly 12 Feb. 610 We felt that the only course open to us in view of the authors' feelings in the matter was to offer to turn back the book to them, subject to their disposal.
c. To reverse the direction of; to direct backwards: cf. 22 a, 23 a.
In quot. 1845, to expose by reversing: = turn over, 78 c.
1663Bp. Patrick Parab. Pilgr. xxxiv. (1687) 417 They heard the noise of an horses heels behind them. Which causing them to turn their eyes back [etc.]. 1825Scott Talism. ii, It were better..to turn back thy horse's head towards the camp of thy people. 1845Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VI. ii. 344 Both heaps [of potatoes] have now been turned back, and none are diseased.
d. To fold or double back or over (part of a garment, etc.) Also in pa. pple. with with = turned up with: see 81 e.
1869H. S. Leigh Carols of Cockayne 166 He turn'd back his cuffs, and he put back his hair. 1913Play Pictorial No. 130. 18/2 A gown of green paon broché crêpe de chine, draped..with tulle,..turned back with handsome cream guipure.
** intr. e. To reverse one's position so as to face (and, usually, go) in the opposite direction; to turn and go back: cf. 20, 22 c, 23 c, 24 c.
1535Coverdale Ps. cxiii[i]. 5 Whatayled the..thou Iordan that thou turnedst backe? 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. ii. i. 2 Can I goe forward when my heart is here? Turne backe dull earth, and find thy Center out. 1816Scott Antiq. vii, ‘Turn back! turn back!’ exclaimed the vagrant. 1843Macaulay Horatius lii, He..thrice came on in fury, And thrice turned back in dread. 1886Mrs. E. Lynn Linton P. Carew xxv, He had put his hand to the plough, and he was not the man to turn back.
† f. To come or go back, return: cf. 21. Obs.
c1600Shakes. Sonn. cxliii. 11 Turne back to me. 1611Bible 2 Kings i. 5 When the messengers turned backe vnto him, he said.., Why are ye now turned backe? 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 37 We turned back again into Persia.
†71. turn by. trans. To set aside, reject (a candidate): cf. by adv. 2. (Also with by as prep.: cf. by prep. 16 c.) Obs.
1705Hearne Collect. 7 Dec. (O.H.S.) I. 119 When he stood for orders [he] was turn'd by for Deficiency. [1709Ibid. II. 294 Reasons..not reckon'd as sufficient for turning Mr. Littleton by his Degree.] 1803J. Adams in Harvard Grad. Mag. IX. 349, I was in a great fright, and expected to be turned by.
72. turn down. (See simple senses and down adv.)
* trans. a. To fold or double down; to bend downwards: cf. 9.
1601Shakes. Jul. C. iv. iii. 273 Is not the Leafe turn'd downe Where I left reading? 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §273 The cramps..were turned down at each end. 1828[H. Best] Italy as it is 128 The beds..were all, in the housewife's phrase, turned down. 1841Thackeray Gt. Hoggarty Diam. vii, Nothing could make him..refrain from wearing his collars turned down.
b. To turn upside down, to invert; to turn (a card) face downwards: cf. 10.
1763Brit. Mag. IV. 117 Sometimes she turns down my cup herself, after the first dish, because..tea is nervous. 1859FitzGerald Omar lxxv, Turn down an empty Glass! 1890Fenn Double Knot III. viii. 115 The played cards were solemnly turned down.
c. To put down, send to a lower position (as in a class at school; also fig.): cf. 25. Obs. exc. U.S.
1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 69 You beyng ignoraunt what difference is betwixt an affirmative, & a negative proposition, must be turned doune agayne behinde the Schoolehouse doore. 1693Dryden Examen Poeticum Ded., Ess. (Ker) II. 3 Julius Scaliger would needs turn down Homer and abdicate him. 1876‘Mark Twain’ Tom Sawyer vi. 71 He took his place{ddd}in the spelling class, and got ‘turned down’, by a succession of mere baby words. 1946G. Wilson Fidelity Folks 136 We had regular places in the line and turned down those who could not spell a word.
d. orig. U.S. slang. To rebuke, snub, ‘put down’; to reject, refuse to accept.
1891Cent. Dict. s.v., To turn down..(c) to snub; suppress. (Slang, U.S.) 1897Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 14 Jan. 7/6 Secretary Olney was turned down by the Senate..in his effort to have the vote on the extradition treaties..reconsidered. 1900Montreal Gaz. 3 Mar. 2/7 [Denmark] turns down America's offer. 1913E. Wharton Custom of Country ii. xvi, The Ararat investigation had been..quashed,..and Elmer Moffatt ‘turned down’. 1915J. Churchill Let. 11 Aug. in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1972) III. Compan. ii. 1128 Everybody seemed to have ‘turned it down’. 1927A. Conan Doyle Case-Bk. Sherlock Holmes x. 261 A quarter's rent..in advance and no arguing about terms. In these times a poor woman like me can't afford to turn down a chance like that. 1951Sport 7–13 Jan. 17/1 Many of our suggestions are turned down. 1956A. H. Compton Atomic Quest iii. 202, I had been approached with regard to college and university presidencies... I had..turned them down. 1958P. Gibbs Curtains of Yesterday xxvii. 214 Many nations..put forward plans for a gradual process of disarmament, and each plan was turned down by the other delegations. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion i. vii. 70 A lot of attractive, eligible men kept asking Annabel for dates, and she didn't like having to turn them down.
e. colloq. To drink down, ‘toss off’ (? obs.); also in Brewing, to put (liquor) into a vat to ferment. (Cf. 25 c.)
1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 150 Asking for a flask of champaign, [he] turned it down without taking it once from his head. 1826Art Brewing (ed. 2) 109 Turned down 28 barrels of liquor, at 158 deg. 1844W. H. Maxwell Sports & Adv. Scotl. xxxvi. (1855) 289 We turned down a second tumbler.
f. Sporting, etc. To put (game, etc.) in a place to stock it.
1891Field 26 Dec. 963/3 Foxes..are turned down in order that the supply may be kept up. 1892Ibid. 19 Nov. 793/3, I would urge all farmers to turn down some Indian game cocks in their yards.
g. To lower (a lamp, gas) by turning the handle or stop-cock: cf. 1 b; to lower the temperature of (an electrical appliance, heating system, etc., and transf., that which it heats or cooks), orig. by turning a knob or switch; to reduce the volume of sound from (a radio, record-player, etc.), usu. by turning a knob or switch; to turn (a knob or switch) in order to reduce the temperature, volume of sound, etc. Cf. sense 81 m below.
1868M. E. Braddon Dead Sea Fr. xix, Love's torch..flames anew before we turn it down for ever. 1892Harper's Mag. LXXXIV. 283/2 She..turned the lamps down low. 1941N. Marsh Death & Dancing Footman (1942) xv. 277 ‘To get back to the wireless.’.. ‘I turned it down.’.. ‘You turned it down... Not off. Down.’.. ‘I turned it down, and five minutes later somebody turned it up.’ 1950B. Pym Some Tame Gazelle x. 111 The beef..would be roasted to a cinder by now, unless Emily had had the sense to turn down the oven. 1961J. Stroud Touch & Go v. 48 ‘Excuse me if I just turn my liver down?’.. She hustled back into the kitchen. 1966P. Willmott Adolescent Boys ix. 170 He was alone, playing records... He said, ‘Just a minute, I'll turn this down.’ 1969‘D. Rutherford’ Gilt-Edged Cockpit vi. 93 Could you turn that transistor down a bit? 1970‘A. Gilbert’ Death wears Mask ix. 138 Miss Buxton's client..began to fidget under her drier and call out something about it being too hot. ‘Turn it down, dear,’ said Miss Buxton crisply. 1970J. Porter Dover strikes Again ii. 30 Old Mr Revel..switched on the television set. Miss Kettering..turned the volume control right down. 1975Guardian 21 Jan. 5/1 Turn down your heating a couple of degrees. 1975‘M. Sinclair’ Long Time Sleeping xii. 143 He stopped to turn down the potatoes.
h. To let down with a winch or the like.
1929[see sense 81 s below].
** intr. i. To bend one's course downwards (with change of direction); to turn aside and go down: cf. 16.
c1595Capt. Wyatt R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 29 Commaundinge him that they shoulde..turne downe unto the other carvell. 1833T. Hook Parson's Dau. i. i, Opposite the limekilns, as you turn down to the Duke's Head, near the turnpike. 1887P. M'Neill Blawearie 88 Long before the men in general began to turn down, he had every box in the pit-bottom filled.
j. To bend downwards: cf. 9 d.
1885‘L. Malet’ Col. Enderby's Wife iii. ii, The corners of his mouth began to turn down in an ominous fashion.
k. Of business or economic activity or fortune; to decline, worsen.
1960Economist 8 Oct. 261/1 Wall Street has shown an impressive record of moving ahead of business activity. In the recession of 1957–58..it turned down in July, one month before the index of industrial production; and turned up again in December, four months before production did. 1980Daily Tel. 23 July 19 Unemployment is rising fast in all the major economies, partly because the economic cycle is turning down.
73. turn in. (See simple senses and in adv.)
* trans. a. To send, drive, put, or take in: cf. 25, 25 b, 25 c. Also, to hand in or over; spec. to betray or surrender to the police; to trade in; to give up, to stop (freq. with it). Also, to register, to produce (a result or performance, etc., of a specified kind). † In quot. c 1300 refl. = e below.
c1300St. Brandan 472 Ther cam out a grislich wiȝt..Thurf suart and berning al his eȝen upe hem he caste, And turnde him in anon. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 373 He turned in amongst them some of his foresaid children. 1762in W. Wing Ann. Steeple Aston (1875) 63 No horse or sheep to be turn'd in under the penalty of twenty shillings..for each offence. 1830R. Dawson Present State of Australia v. 201, I asked him..the reason of his having been ‘turned in’, as they call it, to government. 1891F. W. Robinson Her Love & His Life iv. x, You will turn in the cash by wholesale. 1912Technical World Mag. June 403/1 When they discover any part of the track..which they cannot readily repair they turn in a signal that summons the roadmaster. 1919in F. A. Pottle Stretchers (1930) 359 Tomorrow we will turn in what few articles of equipment we have not left at Merritt. 1926J. Black You can't Win vii. 85 If either of you gets grabbed..and thinks he can get a light jolt by turning me in, he's wrong. 1931H. Crane Let. 15 July (1965) 376 I'm very glad that you spoke about the check... I couldn't figure it out any other way than that you had waited until the following month before turning it in. 1938F. A. Pottle Boswell & Girl from Botany Bay 17 Bligh published a book..and Edwards turned in a report to the Admiralty. 1947A. Huxley Let. 27 July (1969) 573 Jessica Tandy..is a first-rate actress and seems to be likely to turn in a performance which will make most of the more celebrated Hollywood stars look merely silly. 1948C. Day Lewis Otterbury Incident iii. 23 ‘I'll kill myself, then.’ ‘Turn it in, Nick!’ Ted punched him in a friendly way. 1952L. Durrell Let. 4 Nov. in Spirit of Place (1969) 114 I've turned in my resignation and we are clearing off in December. 1958Listener 23 Oct. 632/2 This company, in common with many others, turned in a sizeable loss. Ibid. 13 Nov. 777/1 They didn't have to pay anything really [sc. for a new car];..they've turned in their old one..and that only left a {pstlg}50 balance. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. 39/5 Doug Acomb and Frank Hamill scored two goals each as their line turned in one of its best performances of the season. 1971Sci. Amer. July 5 It turns in the kind of performance that delivers up to 25 miles per gallon. 1973L. Meynell Thirteen Trumpeters iv. 66 ‘Turn it in, Hooky,’ he advised himself. ‘Go while the going's good.’ 1977M. Sokolinsky tr. Merle's Virility Factor xii. 236 If she'd gone to bed with you, she would have enjoyed it—and then she'd have turned you in. 1978‘M. Yorke’ Point of Murder iii. 35 His Ford Escort..was being turned in for an older car with a higher mileage on the clock. 1979SLR Camera Mar. 53/3 At full aperture the 75mm f2.8 optic turned in a surprisingly good performance. 1982Sunday Tel. 1 Aug. 5/3 It [sc. the year 1981–82] has seen Sotheby's turn in its first loss in over 20 years.
b. Agric. To bury or cover (weeds, stubble, manure) by turning the soil over them in digging or ploughing; to dig or plough into the ground. Also with the ground as obj. (Cf. 11 b, 25 c.)
1563T. Hill Art Garden. (1593) 3 The Gardens..should be..both well digged and turned in with dung. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 22 In the Spring the ground being mellowe..the weedes are then best turned in. 1864Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XXV. ii. 526 Not to turn in the wheat-stubble much before Christmas. Ibid. 528 The clover-lands that I have just turned in for roots. 1866Ibid. Ser. ii. II. i. 170 Loamy land is ploughed a second time before winter, and the manure turned in.
c. To bend or fold inwards: cf. 9. Also Naut.: see quot. 1867.
1572in Feuillerat Revels Q. Eliz. (1908) 159 White Rownde plates turnde in with a crest. 1721Swift George-Nim-Dan-Dean's Answ. 18 Thus a wise tailor is not pinching, But turns at every seam an inch in. 1776Withering Brit. Plants (1796) IV. 201 Pileus pale yellow,..edge turned in, 1 ½ to 2 inches over. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Turn in a dead eye or heart, to, to seize the end of a shroud or stay, &c., securely round it.
d. To cause to point or face inwards: cf. 7, 23 a.
1851Mayhew Lond. Labour (1861) III. 200/2, I gives 'em..the bandy jig, that's dancing with my toes turned in. 1865Morn. Star 27 Jan., To turn the tallies in. That is to put the tallies against the wall, so that they should not be seen. 1870Daily News 19 July 6 Go-ahead, a good mare..turns in her toes a little.
** intr. e. To turn aside and go in (to a place, house, room, etc.): cf. 16, 24 c.
1535Coverdale Judg. iv. 18 Iael wente forth to mete Sissera, & sayde..: Turne in my lorde. 1658W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. verse 14. iii. ix. 257 Even they sometimes turne in at the fairest signe. 1888Miss Tytler Blackhall Ghosts II xv. 23 Hearing your stable clock strike as I turned in at your gate.
f. (orig. Naut.) To go to bed. colloq.
1695Congreve Love for L. iii. xv, Mrs. F. I believe it's late. B... An you think so, you had best go to Bed... I mean to toss a Can..afore I turn in. 1837T. Hook Jack Brag xiii, Jack ‘turned in’, as the sailors say. 1891N. Gould Double Event 218 It's late..and quite time we turned in.
g. To change its course and go inwards; † of an eruption, to disappear (opp. to break out).
a1776R. James Diss. Fevers (1778) 29 Small-pox..which turned in the seventh day of the eruption and went off in the most desirable manner. 1862Pycroft Cricket Tutor 35 Spinning bowling is always liable to turn in or break away contrary to all expectation.
h. To have an inward direction, point inwards: as, ‘his toes turn in’. (Cf. 23 c, d.)
74. turn off. (See simple senses and off adv.)
* trans. a. To strip off, peel off. Also intr. for pass. (Cf. 4 c.) ? Obs.
1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 108 The Crystalline..becomes White, and turns off in..Laminae..like unto the Coats of an Onion. Ibid. 109 We cut this..thin Membrane, and turn off..one or more of the Laminae of the Crystalline Humour.
b. To dismiss, send away; spec. to discharge from service or employment: cf. turn away, 69 c.
In quot. 1841, = turn loose (61).
1564Harding Answ. Welles Chalenge xi. 128 If any deuout person require to be partetaker with the priest,..he is not tourned of, but with all gentlenes admitted. 1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 220 You that haue turn'd off a first so noble wife. 1676Earl of Essex in Essex Papers (Camden) II. 73 It not being reasonable to turne off an old servant without some provision. 1768Goldsm. Good-n. Man i, Pay him his wages and turn him off. 1841Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. II. ii. 152 His unshod cattle..were turned off to regale themselves upon the neighbouring waste. 1892Temple Bar Mag. Mar. 321 A packer had been turned off for carelessness.
†c. To give over, resign, consign (to). Obs.
1667Decay Chr. Piety (J.), We are not so wholly turned off to that reversion, as to have no supplies for the present. 1674Govt. Tongue x. 185 The murmurer seems to be turn'd off to the company of those doleful Creatures..which were to inhabit the ruines of Babylon.
d. To hang (on a gallows): orig. to turn off the ladder (cf. 7, and ladder n. 1 b). Now rare or Obs.
[1594Nashe Unfort. Trav. Wks. (Grosart) V. 185 A fidler cannot turne his pin so soone, as he would turn a man of the ladder.] 1680C. Nesse Church Hist. 143 His own mule..as it were, turns him off the ladder..he turns himself off when he had tyed his halter. 1715J. Chappelow Right Way Rich (1717) 64 The executioner has him upon the ladder..and turns him off in an instant. 1840Thackeray Catherine viii, I've seen a many men turned off. 1888‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms I. i. 8 You can have..anything you like..you unfortunate young beggar, until you're turned off.
e. humorously (? fig. from prec.). To marry, join in marriage. (Cf. to tie the knot.)
1759H. Walpole Let. to G. Montagu 16 May, Lord Weymouth is to be married on Tuesday, or, as he said himself, to be turned off. 1833Marryat P. Simple xxxix, They will be turned off next Friday, and I only wish you were here to dance at the weddings. 1891S. Mostyn Curatica 157, I sent a reply..wishing her every happiness and consenting ‘to turn her off’.
f. To deflect, divert (lit. and fig.): cf. 13, 14.
1716Addison Freeholder No. 34 ⁋6 To turn off the Thoughts of the People from busying themselves in Matters of State. 1719De Foe Crusoe (1840) II. vi. 151 He turned off the discourse to the rest. 1736T. Lediard Life Marlborough III. 75 To turn off the Waters of the River..which made the Inundations. 1846H. G. Robinson Odes Horace ii. xvii, Had Faunus not turn'd off the stroke.
g. spec. To give a different turn to; to divert attention from, or alter the effect of (a remark, etc.).
1744Ozell tr. Brantome's Sp. Rhodomontades 18 He turn'd it off with a Laugh, which was only Teeth out⁓wards. 1886G. Gissing Isabel Clarendon viii, Ada seemed about to rise, but turned it off in an arrangement of her dress. 1892Blackw. Mag. CLI. 88/2 That's all very fine;..you may turn it off in that way, but the fact remains.
h. To stop the flow of (water, gas, electric current, etc.) by turning a tap or the like (cf. 1 b), or by closing a sluice; to shut off; to turn out (a light). Also with the tap, etc. or transf. an electrical appliance, a recording or broadcast, etc. as obj. Also fig., esp. (colloq.) to put (a person) off, to repel, to disillusion, to cause to lose interest.
1850Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XI. i. 199 The waste steam..may be..turned on or off by a cock. 1886Law Times Rep. LIII. 676/1 The gas is turned off at eleven o'clock. 1891L. Keith Lost Illusion II. xiv. 101 She did not turn the gas off at the meter. 1892Black & White 23 Jan. 116/2 The electric lights..were turned off. 1892Monthly Packet Dec. 656 When the water is running away one must hurry up and turn off the tap. 1965Harper's Bazaar Apr. 173 Turned off: Humperdinck turns me off. 1966P. Willmott Adolescent Boys iii. 51 You can always get a bit if you want it, with the girls with the big mouths... But that sort of thing turns you off after a while. 1967B. Patten Little Johnny's Confession 33 Until death comes and turns me off. 1968J. Hudson Case of Need ii. vi. 128, I was just turned off, I wasn't paying attention. 1969J. Gaskell Sweet Sweet Summer 70 Or for the water and electric to stay on all the time, instead of being turned off after midnight. 1971Radio Times 18 Nov. 80, I wonder how many viewers turned off the play, as we did. 1972Daily Tel. 5 Feb. 14 [He] is kinky for short-back-and-sides and turned off by long-haired television performers. 1973Sci. Amer. Dec. 14/2 Having become ‘turned off’ by economics, I was not sure what I wanted to be. 1975Nature 20 Nov. 228/1 The male [cichlid fish] has bright colour patterns which he can turn on and off quickly. 1977I. Shaw Beggarman, Thief i. viii. 101 School was a big part of his life and he couldn't just turn it off because it would be unimportant to grown-ups at this time. 1979Financial Rev. 24 Oct. 10/1 Many voters were turned off by a strike in the last moment of the campaign. 1982Times 21 Oct. 3, I had three frigates badly turned off in terms of capability. We were running out of steam.
i. To complete and get off one's hands; to produce (with skill or facility): = turn out, 76 j.
In quot. 1897, to accomplish (a distance) swiftly.
[1684New Hampshire Prov. Papers (1867) I. 521 The actions go on, and are turned off hand apace, twelve at a clap.] 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge xxxix, ‘When I [the hangman] look at that hand and remember the helegant bits of work it has turned off.’ [With play on sense d.] 1855Poultry Chron. III. 160 The hens were..square short-legged birds, likely to turn off some good chickens. 1879M. Pattison Milton ix. 108 Turning off 300 pages of fluent Latin. 1897Outing (U.S.) XXX. 242/2 We [cyclists] rode on through Harrisonburg and turned off the twenty-five miles to..Staunton.
j. To turn the soil so as to form (a furrow); in quot. 1858, to round off (a corner) in ploughing.
1842Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. i. 11 Admiring..its [the Scotch plough's] apparent facility in cleaving and turning off the furrow. 1858Ibid. XIX. ii. 277 One plough goes and turns off the corners.
** intr. (See also a.) k. To turn away or aside from the direct road; to deviate; also transf. of a road or path, to branch off: cf. 16, 16 e.
1687Norris Misc., To his Muse iv, Where with noise the waters creep Turn off with Care, for treacherous rocks are nigh. 1742Pope Dunc. iv. 525 The vulgar herd turn off to roll with Hogs. 1776Pennsylv. Even. Post 27 June 320/2 A road that turns off on the left hand. 1820W. Irving Sketch Bk. (1859) 11 He turned off, through a gate, into some ornamented grounds. 1892Leisure Hour Jan. 188/1, I took a wrong turning, or kept straight on when I ought to have turned off.
l. To fall off in quality, ‘go off’, change for the worse; to wither and fall off; also, of food, etc.: to become sour or bad. Also with compl. adj.
1797Monthly Mag. III. 489 The Rye-Grass and Clovers are expected..to turn off light. 1813Jane Austen Lett. (1884) II. 202 The day turned off..and we came home in some rain. 1846Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. ii. 380 My ash⁓leaf potatoes..looked healthy; they, however, turned off sickly in June... The Shaw[s]..were short in the haulm, and turned off by the middle of July. 1889Devonsh. Provinc. in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., I think the chutney's turned off, sir.
75. turn on.
a. trans. To induce a flow of (water, steam, gas, electric current) by turning a tap or stop-cock (cf. 1 b), or by opening a sluice; also with the tap, etc. or transf. an electrical appliance, a recording or broadcast, etc. as obj.; also intr. for pass. (quot. 1890); also fig. to turn the tap(s) on, to start weeping; to turn it on, to make a particular effort, esp. to be charming; to turn on the heat: see heat n. 12 b.
In quot. 1877 of piped music.
1833H. Martineau Loom & Lugger i. i. 10 He turned on the gas in his back room to an unusual brightness. 1846Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VII. ii. 403 The steam being turned on. 1866‘Mark Twain’ Screamers (1871) xxix. 149 There was a good deal of honest snickering turned on this time. 1874J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Par. Churches 186 Having certain jets [of gas] turned on at full. 1877Punch's Almanack for 1878 14 Dec. 3/1 Now, recollect, Robert, at a quarter to nine turn on ‘Voi che sapete’ from Covent Garden. 1883Daily Tel. 8 Feb. 3/2 When she had finished her song she fell a crying... She can turn the taps on at a moment's notice. 1890M. W. Hungerford Born Coquette xiii, A moon..warranted to last for eight hours and to turn on at any moment. 1891Review of Rev. 14 Nov. 523/2 The electric lamp that glows..when the current is turned on. 1892Blackw. Mag. CLI. 79/2 A sluice might be turned on to flood a certain meadow. 1892Black & White 21 May 674/2 A woman who turned on her smiles as we do the electric light. 1930A. P. Herbert Water Gipsies iii. 23 They had the wireless, which they turned on often for the ‘jazz’ bands. 1930R. Macaulay Staying with Relations iii. 43 They turned on a gramophone and danced. 1948M. Laski Tory Heaven i. 7 ‘Don't turn it on till the eleven o'clock news,’ Janice called out. 1966Listener 24 Nov. 779/1 Thomas could turn it on and brilliantly, when he wanted to. 1976E. Dunphy Only a Game? (1977) ii. 52 But Preston, who knows? They could turn it on under the floodlights. 1981T. Heald Murder at Moose Jaw xii. 144 She used to be some looker... And she could turn it on. But not any more.
b. To set (a person) to do something; to employ: cf. 34 b. colloq.
1893Chamb. Jrnl. 8 July 419/2 Ainsworth had turned him on to assist him in ‘doing’ the theatres.
c. To excite, interest, fill with enthusiasm; to intoxicate with drugs, to introduce to drugs; to arouse sexually. Also const. to the object of interest, etc. slang (orig. U.S.).
1903H. James Ambassadors xxii. 291 One of his sisters..had observed her somewhere with me. She had spoken to her brother—turned him on. 1953W. Burroughs Junkie ii. 31 We kept the weed in Marian's apartment, turned her on for all she could use, and gave her a 50 per cent commission on sales. 1965Harper's Bazaar Apr. 173 Bach really turns me on. 1966Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) Winter 8 Turn on,..to excite sexually. 1966Guardian 18 Apr. 13/4 Police in New York said that they had seized enough of the drug LSD to ‘turn on’ the entire population of New York if it was put in the water supply. 1967J. Hayes Deep End 16 The excitement in her eyes deepened. ‘You turn me on, man.’ 1967Melody Maker 29 July 10/6 There is a compulsive beat so maybe even the nation's half-wits may be turned on to Lloyd. 1972J. Brown Chancer iv. 53 It must be about this time he turns her on too—onto heroin. 1975J. I. M. Stewart Gaudy ix. 173 It's a funny thing..how quite sure I was she wasn't going to turn me on. 1976News of World 14 Mar. 5/3 Dinner jacket, wing collar, and bow tie may not sound the sort of gear to turn on a teeny bopper. 1976National Observer (U.S.) 10 Apr. 14/5 My work is important. When I can turn on a student or write a good paper, I'm really happy, I'm elated. 1979S. Wilson Glad Hand i. v. 30 Well..it's probably God's way of saying He takes a rather dim view of what turns you on.
d. intr. To become intoxicated; to take drugs. Also with to, to become interested in. slang (orig. U.S.).
1955[see pod n.2 1 c]. 1967Sunday Truth (Brisbane) 2 Apr. 63/2 According to Dr. Timothy Leary, the avowed leader of the LSD set, you can turn-on without using drugs. 1969Gandalf's Garden iv. 9/1 It was about this time I had turned on to Zen. 1970New Scientist 12 Nov. 314/1 Young people who turn on by sniffing the vapour of airplane glue..sometimes..drop dead. 1971Nature 12 Feb. 462/2 Increasingly scientists are ‘turning on’ to the human environment. 1976Maclean's Mag. 17 May 22/3 More and more teen-agers..are turning on with alcohol. 1979R. Jaffe Class Reunion iii. iii. 242 She walked in while I was turning on so I offered her some [marijuana].
76. turn out. (See simple senses and out adv.)
* trans. †a. ? To change from one's normal condition, to ‘put out’; or ? to divert from one's course. Obs. rare—1.
c1320Cast. Love 1211 In wonhope weore his disciples..Ac þou weore studefast..Ne miȝte þe no þing tornen out.
b. To put or take out by a rotary movement (in quot. 1892, on a lathe); † to bore or gouge out.
13..Erasmus in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 202 Þe turmentours..turnyng oute his ien withe wymbles. 1892Photogr. Ann. II. 286 Extending frame and reversing back mitred, keyed and glued up; the front turned out for circular disc.
c. To cause to go or come out; to drive out or forth, to expel; also (trans. of o), to fetch or summon out (quots. 1867, 1903). Cf. 25.
1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 82 He turnde hir out at doores. 1611Beaum. & Fl. Knt. Burning Pest. iii. v, Open the doore, and turne me out those mangy companions. 1672Villiers (Dk. Buckhm.) Rehearsal ii. iv. (Arb.) 61 If they heard us whisper, they'l turn us out. 1832Examiner 418/1 If he ever turned out a tenant for voting against him. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., Turn out the guard! the order for the marines of the guard to fall in, on the quarter⁓deck, in order to receive a superior officer. 1894Baring-Gould Queen of L. I. viii. 86 ‘Turn him out!’ was shouted from the further side of the hall. 1903R. B. Smith in 19th Cent. Mar. 436 One raven..managed more than once to ‘turn out’ the guard, who thought they were summoned by the sentinel.
d. To drive or put out (beasts) to pasture or to the open, or (pheasants, etc.) into a covert: cf. 25 b.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 360 b, The cattel which the townes men daily turned out into the pasture. 1679J. Goodman Penit. Pard. ii. iv. (1713) 229 He hath now, like Nebuchadnezzar, been turned out to grass. 1802G. Montagu Ornith. Dict. (1831) 424 Lord Caernarvon..turned out several [ring pheasants] at his seat at Highclere. 1853Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XIV. i. 64 The colts were turned out on the open commons.
e. To dismiss or eject from office or employment.
1588J. Udall Diotrephes (Arb.) 16 Neither will the Churche euer be in quiet vntill you be all turned out. 1667in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 41 The..Captain hath..turned out some of his said Company that have refused to compound for lesse than the King's pay. 1708Constit. Watermen's Co. xviii, If any..of the Rulers or Auditors shall happen to dye, or be turned out for Corruption. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ii, I am very sorry he lost the election... It was the radical mining people that turned him out. 1892Sat. Rev. 17 Dec. 705/2 They will seize ‘the first occasion’ to turn the Government out.
f. To put (things) out of a house, room, or receptacle; to empty out by sloping or inverting the containing vessel.
1666in Verney Mem. (1907) II. 255 My hous is not yet burnt, but all I have turn'd out. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. (1842) 420 The small quantity of fluid remaining..is to be turned out, by inclining the tube. 1892Blackw. Mag. CLI. 190/1, I shall turn out all your furniture.
g. (transf. from f.) To clear (a receptacle or room) of its contents; to empty (usually for the sake of examining or re-arranging the contents).
1809Malkin Gil Blas vii. xi. ⁋6 The enraged marquis..turning her whole house out at window. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. i. xxi, She turned out his pockets. 1887E. F. Byrrne Heir without Heritage III. iii. 66, I will go to my room..and turn my drawers out. 1894Hall Caine Manxman 211 She overhauled the linen; turned out every room twice a week.
h. To put or throw (land) out of cultivation.
1813J. Taylor Arator 117 The phrase ‘the land is killed and must be turned out’, has become common over a great portion of the United States. 1856Olmsted Slave States 373 The greater part, even of these once rich low lands, that had been in cultivation, were now ‘turned out’, and covered..with..broom-sedge and brushwood.
i. To put out, extinguish (a lamp, gas) by turning a tap or the like.
1884Punch 27 Dec. 310/2 Then the gas was turned out. 1905E. Glyn Viciss. Evangeline 237 She..was turning out the light.
j. To finish making and get off one's hands; to dispose of as a finished product; to produce (usually implying rapidity, facility, or skill): = 74 i.
[1757W. Thompson R.N. Advoc. 47 Casks would..be turn'd out of their Hands, fit for the several Purposes.] 1847L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. II. vi. 86 Books were books in those days, not batches, by the baker's dozen, turned out every morning. 1878Besant & Rice Celia's Arb. xv, No place..could..turn out more splendid ships' figure-heads. 1878L. Stephen Johnson ii. 16 A man who turned out books as a bricklayer turns out houses or a tailor coats. 1913E. H. D. Sewell in Daily Graphic 26 Mar. 14/2 La Touche..is one of the best half-backs Sedbergh has ever turned out.
k. To equip, ‘rig out’, ‘get up’.
1812[implied in turn-out n. 7]. 1833[see turned ppl. a. 8]. 1886C. E. Pascoe Lond. of To-day xli. (ed. 3) 354 At either of these places the visitor may be sure of being turned out ‘one of the best-dressed men in London’. 1892Pictorial World 4 June 12/1 Coaches were fewer..but they were better ‘turned out’.
l. To refer to, look up: = turn up, 81 h. rare.
1834Tracts for Times No. 29. 8 To turn out for him the texts he had referred to. 1895Rashdall Universities II. 329 Turning out the word..in the indices of..chroniclers.
m. To alter the position of so as to bring it to the outside. (In quot. with figurative allusion.)
1605Shakes. Lear iv. ii. 9 He..told me I had turn'd the wrong side out.
n. To direct or cause to point outwards.
1697J. Lewis Mem. Dk. Glocester (1789) 12 Turning out his toes. 1813Prichard Phys. Hist. Man. (1837) II. 138 The lips are thick without being turned out. 1892Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 5 Nov. 270/3 Do not reject a nag, though he may turn out his toes a little.
** intr. o. To turn aside and go out; to go away, depart, ‘clear out’; to go forth, sally forth (usually with the notion of some compelling force, or of leaving a place of safety or comfort for one of danger or discomfort).
1473J. Warkworth Chron. (Camden) 18 A prest that turnyd oute at his messe and the sacrament in his handys, whanne Kynge Edwarde came with his swerde into the chirche. 1649Baxter Saints' R. iii. x. §4 If there be but one gap open..how ready are we to..turn out at it? 1700T. Brown Amusem. Ser. & Com. 21 Turn out there you Country Put, says a Bully with a Sword two Yards long. 1763C. Johnston Reverie II. 9 To run into danger with delight, turning out to a man, at the first mention of the matter. 1811Regul. & Ord. Army 15 The Line turns out without arms whenever any part of the Royal Family..comes along the Front of the Camp. 1889Jessopp Coming of Friars ii. 86 When the Friars came into a village,..the whole population would turn out to listen.
p. To get out of bed. (Cf. 73 f.) colloq.
1805W. Irving in Life & Lett. (1864) I. 154 The next morning on turning out, I had the first glimpse of old England. 1837Marryat Dog-fiend vi, ‘Turn out’, said Dick. c1847in R. C. Winthrop Rem. For. Trav. (1894) 14 (attributed to Dk. Wellington) When a man begins to turn at all in bed, it is time for him to turn out.
q. To leave one's abode and betake oneself to some outside occupation. spec. (Austral. slang) to become a bush-ranger.
1793[Earl Dundonald] Descr. Estate of Culross 42 He had two sons..ready to turn out in the sea line. 1862Western Post 24 Sept. 2/2 He was immediately told by the robber they ought to turn out. 1888‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery Under Arms xxii, What lay we're going upon and whether we're all greed in our mind to turn out. 1891L. Keith Halletts x, She may have to turn out and be a governess. 1910J. Cameron Spell of Bush 131 [The bush] had been his home; for even before he had ‘turned out’, four walls had never held Michael Moran for long.
r. To abandon one's work; to go out on strike.
1806[implied in turn-out n. 2]. 1825Examiner 79/1 The journeymen spinners..have turned out for an advance of wages. 1871W. Phillips Labor Question 17 He becomes a railway conductor. If that doesn't suit him, he turns out, and becomes the agent of an insurance office. 1885Manch. Exam. 23 June 5/1 It is expected that the whole of the operatives will turn out against the reduction.
s. To bend or be directed outwards. (intr. of n.)
1676Wiseman Chirurg. Treat. vii. x. 498 The Ancle-bone is apt to turn out on either side, by..Relaxation of the Tendons. 1807–26[see turning vbl. n. 12]. Mod. His toes turn out.
t. (a) To come about in the end or issue; to result, eventuate.
Now always with adv., advb. phr., or as; † also absol. (obs. rare: nearly = turn up, 81 w).
1735Walpole Let. 19 Oct. in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. i. 264 As things have fortunately turn'd out. 1786A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. III. 85 Who knows what may turn out? 1830Baroness Bunsen in Hare Life (1879) I. ix. 353 Our expedition up Vesuvius turned out very well. 1891Law Times XC. 460/2 A speculator..whose transactions..had turned out disastrously to himself.
(b) with compl. To come to be, become ultimately (and so be found or known to be).
1744M. Bishop Life & Adv. 98 She has turned out a very undutiful Child. 1769Lady M. Coke Jrnl. 13 May (1892) III. 70 The day has turned out better then I expected it. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 140 Why then do the sons of good fathers often turn out ill? 1883W. E. Norris No New Thing vii, What a pretty girl Nellie..has turned out!
(c) To be ultimately found or known, to prove to be (without implication of becoming).
Const. usually with inf.; also with simple compl. (cf. (b)).
1790Paley Horæ Paul. ii. §1 We have that time turning out, upon examination, to be in all the same. a1859De Quincey Autobiog. Sk. vii. Wks. 1863 XIV. 205 note, These propositions, not..seeming to be true and turning out false, but..wearing an air of falsehood and turning out true. 1859Thackeray Virgin. xxi, That he should turn out to be the son of my old schoolfellow. 1893Sir R. Ball Story of Sun 81 The result turns out to be considerably less. 1907J. H. Patterson Man-Eaters of Tsavo App. i. 331 His photograph..unfortunately turned out a failure. Mod. He pretended to be destitute, but turns out to have had {pstlg}200 in the bank.
77. turn out of. (See simple senses and out of.)
a. trans. To drive, send, or put out of (a place), or dismiss from (a position or office), forcibly or peremptorily; to expel or eject from; † formerly more widely, to put or take out of in any way; fig. to bring out of, deliver from; to dissuade from.
c1300Havelok 154 He [= they]..preyden cristes hore, Þat he wolde turnen him [Athelwold] Vt of þat yuel. c1430in Hymns Virg. 108 Ȝif þei talke of tales vn-trewe, Þou torn hem out of þat entent. 1562Child-Marriages 104 The said Roger turnid the said mare out of the Close. 1610Holland Camden's Brit. (1637) 518 His dead Corps was..turned out of his grave. 1690E. Gee Jesuit's Memorial Introd. 2 He was..turned out of his Fellowship. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. viii, The tenants..were not actually turned out of doors among the snow wreaths. 1890F. M. Crawford Cigarette-maker's Rom. v, He turned me out of the house.
†b. To do out of, deprive or strip of. Obs.
1545R. Ascham Toxoph. i. (Arb.) 88 They..turned so many out of theyr Iackes. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 56 To torne you out of your weapons.
c. To put or empty out of (a vessel) by inverting it.
1791Gentl. Mag. Jan. 25/1 Like a pudding turned out of a bason.
d. intr. To get out of, leave, quit. (Cf. 76 o, p.)
1860Dickens Uncomm. Trav. x, My last special feat was turning out of bed at two, after a hard day. 1892Chamb. Jrnl. 1 Oct. 638/1 Five is an early hour to turn out of bed.
78. turn over. (See simple senses and over adv.)
* trans. a. To turn (something) from its position on to one side, or from one side to the other, or upside down; to invert, reverse; to knock over, overturn, upset; refl. (now rare) = j below. Cf. senses 7, 10, and over adv. 4 b, c.
c1375Cursor M. 8611 (Fairf.) Þe toþer womman childe ho hent..Ho turned hir ouer wiþ hit in arme. a1635Sibbes Confer. Christ & Mary (1656) 12 We must..turn over every stone,—use all kind of means, till we find him. 1710Addison Tatler No. 243 ⁋3 He turned himself over hastily in his Bed. 1897Boston (Mass.) Jrnl. 4 Jan. 1/2 The ‘Blue Goose’ saloon, which is situated in the middle of the river, was turned over by the flood. Mod. Turn the patient over on his right side (or, on his face).
b. To reverse (a leaf, or the successive leaves, of a book) in order to read (or write) on further; to read or search through, peruse (a book) by doing this. Cf. 11 a.
to turn over a new leaf (fig.): see leaf n.1 7 b.
1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. i. (1895) 84 If I, sely man, should..wylle them to turne ouer the leafe, and learne a newe lesson. 1635in Foster Crt. Min. E. India Co. (1907) 16 The Company were surprized..when the Voyages were turned over. 1711Steele Spect. No. 75 ⁋2 Turning over the Leaves, she reads alternately, and speaks. 1821Scott Kenilw. xxii, The countess..turning over such rare volumes as would now make the fortune of twenty retail booksellers. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay ii, ‘I must read it again,’ said Glynn,..as he turned over the pages.
c. To reverse or shift (soil, hay, etc.) so as to expose the under parts, or different parts successively: cf. 11 b.
1737Bracken Farriery Impr. (1756) I. 25 The same ground has not been turned over for a Hundred Years. 1842Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. III. i. 43 The trench-plough..turns over from 10 to 18 inches of clean soil. 1862Ibid. XXIII. 51 Turn over and lighten up the hay.
d. To reverse and shift successively (papers or other articles lying flat in a heap) for the purpose of examining those that are beneath.
1798S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T., Yng. Lady's T. II. 405 In turning over his papers.., Sir Edward laid his hand on the will. 1887E. F. Byrrne Heir without Heritage III. iii. 66 She..began to turn over the linen and examine it.
e. fig. To agitate or revolve in the mind, go through and examine mentally, consider and reconsider: cf. 8.
1821W. Irving Sketch Bk., Royal Poet, After closing the volume, he turns its contents over in his mind. 1850Tait's Mag. XVII. 118/1 The rumour induces us to turn over again this question. 1902V. Jacob Sheep-Stealers x, Turning over in his mind what possible pretext he could invent for an early visit.
f. To turn off the ladder in hanging: = 74 d.
1678Butler Hud. iii. ii. 598 As Criminals condemn'd to suffer, Are blinded first, and then turn'd over. 1702[see turning vbl. n. 12]. 1882J. Taylor Sc. Covenanters 37 Just before he was turned over, the..intrepid sufferer lifted the napkin from his face and exclaimed, [etc.].
†g. To drink off, swallow at one draught: cf. 72 e. Obs.
1796Hist. Ned Evans I. 115 He turned over a full bumper to the toast.
h. To transfer, hand over, make over, deliver, commit (to); spec. to transfer (an apprentice) to another master, (a sailor) to another ship (cf. turn-over n. 2); in quot. 16322, to convert to a different use.
1552Huloet, Turne ouer, transuerto. a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (1629) 63 He excusing himselfe, and turning ouer the fault to fortune. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 91 [He] was turned ouer to the new Captaine for fiue yeares more. Ibid. vi. 273 That house..is turned ouer for a shelterage to sheepe. 1744M. Bishop Life & Adv. 41 Our Ship was condemned, and the Men turned over, some on board the Breda, and some to the Ipswich. 1795Lupton's Thous. Notable Th. xiv. 254 The chamberlain of London attends..to enrol and turn over apprentices. 1890Mrs. H. Wood House of Halliwell i, She would..turn over to her all the sewing. 1925W. L. Cross Life Sterne I. 175 Robert Dodsley had just turned over the management of his business to his brother. 1930Publishers' Weekly 5 Apr. 1896 By retiring and turning the business over to his son. Ibid. 1917 Columbia University has just come into possession of the famous collection of works on economics which Professor E. R. A. Seligman..has turned over..for a price of one-half, or less. 1930Harper's Mag. July 196 My German instinct to care for my own child kept me from turning her over to someone else.
i. Comm. To pass or hand over in the way of exchange; to employ in business, to invest and realize; to sell or dispose of goods to the amount of (a specified sum). Cf. 15 b. Also in extended sense.
1611L. Barry Ram-Alley i. B iv b, Some hundred bookes..I haue Turnd ouer..But that is nothing for a studient. Or a Stationer: they turne them ouer too. 1863Fawcett Pol. Econ. ii. (1876) 260 Their capital is not unfrequently turned over ten times in the course of the year. 1890Spectator 6 Sept., His land can produce corn but once a year, and he cannot ‘turn over’ his capital so invested. 1893Gd. Words Mar. 187/1 Thousands of dollars were being turned over hourly. 1971Nature 24 Dec. 483/2 Sminthopsis crassicaudata turns over water at about three times the rate of Dasycercus cristicauda. 1976Ibid. 22 July 280/1 This indicates that the bulk of dentinal protein is not turned over.
j. To search; to ransack (usu. in order to commit robbery). Criminals' slang.
1859Hotten Dict Slang, Turned over, to be stopped and searched by the police. 1925[see drum v. 9 b]. 1960Observer 25 Dec. 7/6 The drummers, those squalid day⁓time operators who turn over empty semi-detached villas while the housewives are out shopping. 1971[see goon 2]. 1981L. Meynell Hooky goes to Blazes vi. 83 What about that girl's bedroom that got turned over?
k. To distress, upset, affect with nausea. Cf. sense 81 k. colloq.
1865Dickens in All Year Round 7 Dec. 47/2 The discovery turned me over. 1962N. Streatfeild Apple Bough ix. 126 Proper turned me over, you did. I don't want to lose my old man yet. 1972New Society 11 May 302/1 Escalope I had, though what they do to those calves turns me over.
l. To cause (an engine, propeller, etc.) to revolve.
1913Autocar Handbk. (ed. 5) vii. 143 The motor should be able to turn the engine over at not less than 150 r.p.m. 1927C. A. Lindbergh We v. 75 Learning how to turn the propellers over in starting the engine. 1976P. Alexander Death of Thin-Skinned Animal xx. 209 He..pulled the wires away from the ignition switch and tied them together. This turned the [car] engine over but she wouldn't start without the choke. She was..cold.
m. Printing. To carry over (a letter, part of a word, etc.) to the next line.
1925Hart's Rules for Compositors & Readers (ed. 27) 64 In most divisions it is the consonantal letter that should be turned over. 1981I. A. Gordon in N.Z. Listener 14–20 Feb., The fragmented word is ‘turned over’ into the following line.
n. U.S. Sport. To lose possession of (the ball) to the opposing team.
1971Tuscaloosa (Ala.) News 29 Jan. 8/5 We knew we could force Kentucky to turn the ball over and we did. 1979Honolulu Advertiser 8 Jan. c4/1 We turned over the ball and we just didn't score.
** intr. o. To turn on to one side, or from one side to the other, or upside down; to reverse itself; to be upset, fall over, capsize; to roll about. Cf. a, and sense 6.
1660[implied in turn-over n. 1]. 1845J. Coulter Adv. in Pacific vii. 87 [The whale] died, and turned over in a few minutes. 1892Illustr. Sport & Dram. News 17 Dec. 486/1 They cannot turn over if pushed, but must right themselves immediately. 1895B. M. Croker Village T. (1896) 88, I had watched the big rohu turning lazily over in the river. 1899Tit-Bits 28 Oct. 97/3 Turn over and go to sleep.
p. To be transferred, to shift. (Cf. h.) rare.
1851Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. i. 287 The embankment has been made on that portion which is not liable to ‘turn over’ [i.e. be shifted by the tide].
q. Of a body or part of a body or any collective whole: to replace or renew its constituent parts, to renew itself or be replaced.
1956Planning XXII. 155 The entire research staff has turned over on an average about every three years as the various studies have been completed. 1971J. Z. Young Introd. Study Man xii. 151 The body..has some parts that turn over very little..while others turn over so efficiently that we do not normally think of them as suffering wear. 1973Times 17 Apr. 4/7 Nearly three-quarters of the men..have stayed. The other 27 per cent have ‘turned over’ several times.
r. Of an engine, etc.: to revolve.
1978T. Gifford Glendower Legacy (1979) 281 He..heard the engine turning over;..the boat quivered.
79. turn round. (See simple senses and round adv.)
* intr. a. To move round on an axis or centre; to revolve, rotate. Also fig. of the brain or head, to be affected with giddiness. Cf. 2, 2 b.
c1400Destr. Troy 453 Hir Ene as a trendull turned full rounde, First on hir fader,..And sethyn on þat semely. c1500[see round adv. 6]. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. ii. 20 He that is giddie thinks the world turns round. 1676Marvell Mr. Smirke 11 As it fares with those whose Brain turnes round. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 54 Making a leap,..they fall a turning round with their naked feet. 1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 31 Oct., I had a fit of giddiness: the room turned round for about a minute. 1824Scott St. Ronan's xxxvi, The strangeness of the news..made Mowbray's head turn round.
b. To turn so as to face in the opposite direction; to reverse one's position or course; to face about; to turn from one side to the other. Cf. 6, 22 c.
Also fig. in such phrases as to give one time to turn round, i.e. to get into the proper position or condition for doing something required.
1591[see turning vbl. n. 12]. 1787‘G. Gambado’ Acad. Horsemen (1809) 38 If his horse has stopt and turned round five thousand times with him. 1802F. Burdett Let. 18 Aug. in H. Maxwell Creevey Papers (1903) I. i. 3, I have scarcely time to turn round, but will not defer sending a line in answer to your very kind letter. 1830Debates in Congress 29 Mar. App. 105 Payment is..suffered to lie occasionally until the bank can turn round. 1856Sir B. Brodie Psychol. Inq. I. iv. 137 We see persons turn round in their sleep. 1886Lesterre Durant vi, She turned round to where her brother stood. 1911A. Bennett Hilda Lessways (ed. 2) iii. ii. 226 He simply walked out of the office!.. Didn't give me time to turn round. 1969Listener 14 Aug. 217/2 Before my parents could turn round and ask what I was going to do for a living, I went back and announced I'd already got a job as a ship's musician.
c. fig. To change to the opposite opinion, state of mind, etc.; esp. to change from a friendly to a hostile attitude; with on or upon, to assail suddenly, esp. in words (cf. 33).
1822Examiner 427/1 The Alderman being absent, our schemer turns round, and personates the Alderman. 1846Dickens Dombey (1848) v. 38 You're a good little thing..; and yet you turn round on me, because there's nobody else. 1863Kingsley Water Bab. v, Now he turned round and abused it. 1891Law Times XCI. 405/2 [They] cannot turn round on the executors and blame them.
** trans. d. To cause to revolve or rotate (cf. 1); also, to cause to face in all directions successively.
c1633Milton Arcades 66 Those that hold the vital shears, And turn the Adamantine spindle round. 1731Pope Ep. Burlington 135 In Books, not Authors, curious is my Lord; To all their dated Backs he turns you round. 1823H. J. Brooke Introd. Crystallogr. 28 If we now turn round the circle with its attached crystal. 1857Tennyson Geraint & Enid 740 The maiden..robed herself, Helped by the mother's careful hand and eye,..Who, after, turn'd her daughter round, and said, She never yet had seen her half so fair.
e. To put into the opposite position or direction, to reverse (lit. and fig.): cf. 10, 10 b.
1858J. Martineau Stud. Chr. 40 The Prophets, whom we shall very imperfectly understand, if we suppose them mere historians, for whom God had turned round time the other way. 1887Times (weekly ed.) 11 Nov. 4/3 He has..turned it right round and made it say exactly the opposite of what it does say.
f. To cause to face in a different direction; refl. = b above (arch.). Also fig. to induce (a person) to take an opposite course or view (quot. 1860).
1628Feltham Resolves ii. [i.] xxxii. 101 That Philosopher..turn'd him round, and vanisht. a1765[see round adv. 8]. 1782Cowper Gilpin 51 Turning round his head, he saw Three customers come in. 1850Tennyson In Mem. xliv. 14 If such a dreamy touch should fall, O turn thee round, resolve the doubt. 1860Geo. Eliot Mill on Fl. iii. viii, The utter impossibility of ever turning Mr. Tulliver round.., or getting him to hear reason.
g. In pa. pple. Confused, disorientated. U.S. dial.
1877R. I. Dodge Plains Great West 46 To me, Detroit is always in Canada, and New Orleans always on the right bank of the Mississippi, because I happened to be ‘turned round’ when I first arrived in those cities.
h. To prepare (a ship, aircraft, etc.) for its return journey. Cf. turn-round 1.
1942R.A.F. Jrnl. 16 May 13 Cleanliness also shortens the time it takes to turn a ship round. 1972Nature 21 Apr. 363/1 Is there..a chance that supersonic aircraft can be turned round at international airports with the speed that will be necessary if operators are to make..the fullest use of their capital investment?
i. = sense 29 c above.
1966New Statesman 6 May 657/2 SOE's intrigues included..‘turning round’ captured agents. 1974‘J. le Carré’ Tinker, Tailor xxi. 180 All right. The Russians have turned Tarr round... What sort of plant can he be when we don't believe a word he says?
80. turn to.
a. intr. To apply oneself to some task or occupation; to set to work. Cf. 28 c.
1813Southey March to Moscow vi, But the Russians stoutly they turned-to Upon the road to Moscow. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast iii, The watch..‘turning to’ at daybreak and washing down, scrubbing, and swabbing the decks. 1893Chamb. Jrnl. 8 July 421/1 She..would turn to again and earn a living.
b. trans. To set (a person) to work. Cf. 34 b.
1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xii. 27 We were turned-to upon the rigging.
81. turn up. (See simple senses and up adv.)
* trans. a. To direct or bend upwards (also fig.); in pa. pple. often denoting the form of a projecting part or border of something; in quot. 1707, to have (such a part) bent or directed upwards. Cf. 9.
In Bookbinding, to flatten the back of (a book) with trindles, in preparation for cutting the front edge: see trindle n. 4.
c1510More Picus B v, He exhorted them to turne vp theyr myndes to loue God. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 6 b, Bootes with pykes turned vp. 1607E. Sharpham Fleire v. (1610) H ij, A Puritane [damn'd] for saying Grace without turning vp the white of his eyes. 1623Gouge Serm. Extent God's Provid. §15 A red cap, over a white linnen one turned up about the brimmes. 1707Mortimer Husb. (1721) I. 259 A sort of Duck that turns up the Bill more than the common kind. 1819Scott Leg. Montrose Introd., The right side of his head a little turned up, the better to catch..the clergyman's voice. 1877[see turning vbl. n. 12]. 1888Miss Tytler Blackhall Ghosts II. xv. 12 He even..turned up the collar of his morning coat.
b. esp. in phr. to turn up one's nose (as an expression of contempt): usually fig. (turn up one's nose at = despise, scorn).
1779F. Burney Diary 20 Oct., Mr. Thrale..turned up his nose with an expression of contempt. 1836Marryat Midsh. Easy xxiv, Miss Julia, who turned up her nose at a midshipman.
c. To turn upside down, invert (now esp. in order to examine what is beneath); † to overthrow, demolish; fig. to upset, throw into disorder (obs.). Cf. 10.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI 137 b, No doubt, but kyng Charles, and the whole publique wealthe of Fraunce, had been turned vp, and cleane ouerthrowen. 1581A. Hall Iliad iv. 71 You should haue seene them [the walls of Thebes] torne, & turned vp from the rout. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 29 Turne the Tables vp. 1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. (1729) 191 Turn up your Bee-hives, and sprinkle them. 1843Miall in Nonconf. III. 209 Men who turn up words that they may see the ideas that lie under them. 1848Thackeray Van. Fair vii, The chairs are turned up heads and tails along the walls.
d. To fold over (a garment or part of one) so as to shorten it; to shorten (a garment or part of one) by increasing the width of the hem or by making a hem; to increase the width of (a hem); also transf. with the person as obj.
1611Cotgr., Rebrasser, to turne, fould, or tucke vp, the sleeues, &c. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 375 They turn up their sleeves above the Elbow. 1836[see turned 8]. 1896Hare Story my Life I. ii. 136 If any of the children behaved ill during the service, they were turned up and soundly whipped then and there. 1918E. & M. Wallbank Dress-Cutting & Making xiv. 89 To turn up the skirt to the required length, a skirt gauge..may be used. Ibid. xxi. 126 Turn up the hem, fell down the pleats. 1958M. Johnson Sewing the Easy Way (1960) 127 Turn up the hem, matching seam upon seam. 1976J. Tate tr. Bodelsen's Operation Cobra xi. 54 Margrethe had borrowed a skirt from her mother and was busy turning it up. 1979R. Rendell Make Death love Me iii. 29 Pam turned up the hem of an evening skirt.
e. In pa. pple. of a garment: Having the border turned or folded over and covered with some ornamental material. † In quot. 1573 app. transf. to decorate, adorn.
1537Test. Ebor. (Surtees) VI. 72 My mariage gowne of russet damaske, with the sleves turne[d] upe with russet velvet. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 100 [Plants] to turn vp their house, and to furnish their pot. 1714Lond. Gaz. No. 5270/7 A..Cap of Crimson Velvet, turn'd up with Ermine. 1850Tait's Mag. XVII. 749/1 A green blouse up with red.
f. To turn (soil, etc.) so as to bring up the under parts to the surface, as by digging or ploughing, or with the snout or paws, as an animal (cf. 11 b); to dig or plough up; also, to bring to the surface (something buried) by digging, etc.
1563Homilies ii. Rogation Week iv. (1640) 235 They doe wickedly, which doe turne up the ancient terris of the fields. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. 44 Take heede of Swyne, that spoyle and turne vp the grounde ilfauoredly. a1613J. Dennys Secr. Angling ii. xlvii, Yealow bobs turnd vp before the Plough. 1667Milton P.L. vii. 213 The vast..Abyss Outrageous as a Sea,..Up from the bottom turn'd by furious windes. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) VI. 226 The neck is furnished with very strong muscles, which enable it the readier to turn up the sand. 1833J. Davidson Brit. & Rom. Rem. Axminster 27 A man digging a hole for a gate-post,..turned up a golden ornament. 1843Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. IV. ii. 116 Turn up the earth with a trowel.
g. To turn (a card) face upwards; esp. to do this in dealing to determine the trump suit (cf. turn-up n. 3).
1611Shakes. Cymb. ii. iii. 2 The most coldest that euer turn'd vp Ace. 1709Brit. Apollo II. No. 18. 2/2 D...turns up the last Card for Trump. 1891Field 28 Nov. 842/3 The card turned up by the second hand is the king.
h. To find in a book, a set of papers, etc. some passage or document; to look up, refer to. (With the book, etc., or the passage, as obj.) Cf. 11 a, 78 b.
‘In the Durham Cathedral Choir to turn up means to look out and place ready the music for the organist and singers’ (Canon J.T. Fowler).
1710Steele Tatler No. 179 ⁋11 When I turn up some Masterly Writer to my Imagination. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxi, She then turned up the ritual. 1892Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 7 May 267/2, I have not time now to turn up my old notes on the subject. Mod. Turn up the article in the Encyclopædia.
i. To lay (a person or animal) on the back; to turn belly upwards; hence, to kill.
In quot. 1850 causal of y below.
1740tr. De Mouhy's Fort. Country-Maid (1741) I. 62 Go your ways, or I'll turn you up as I would a Hare. 1832P. Hawker Diary (1893) II. 46, I turned up two [geese] with the first barrel, and the other with the second. 1844Stephens Bk. Farm II. 95 You will have to turn him up, as it is termed; that is, the sheep is set upon his rump with his back down and his hind-feet pointing upwards and outwards. 1850Scoresby Cheever's Whalem. Adv. xiv. (1859) 212 After Captain Hosmer had succeeded in ‘turning up’ his whale.
j. to turn up one's heels (or toes), to die; to turn up (a person's) heels, to lay low, kill: see heel n.1 24, toe n. 5 j.
k. To turn the stomach of (see 12); to nauseate; also fig.
1892Chamb. Jrnl. 11 June 375/2 Men who have never known what sea-sickness is..get thoroughly ‘turned up’ with the awful motion and vibration. 1932S. Gibbons Cold Comfort Farm xii. 178 Turns you up, don't it, seein' ter-day's dinner come in 'anging round someone's neck? 1968M. Woodhouse Rock Baby i. 11 You don't like the rules. Well, well, Giles. Do you know, sometimes you science boys turn me up.
†l. To roll up, twist up in a wrapper. Obs. rare.
1701Lond. Gaz. No. 3741/4 A painted Fan..turned up in a white Paper.
m. To turn the handle or tap of (a lamp or gas-jet) so as to raise the wick, or increase the flow of gas, and thus make it burn more brightly; to raise the temperature of (an electrical appliance, heating system, etc., and transf., that which it heats or cooks), orig. by turning a knob or switch; to increase the volume of sound from (a radio, record-player, etc.), usu. by turning a knob or switch; to turn (a knob or switch) in order to increase the temperature, volume of sound, etc. Cf. sense 72 g above.
1889Repent. P. Wentworth II. v. 105 He..turned up his reading lamp. 1893Kipling Many Invent. 102 Turn up the gas a little, I want to go on reading. 1941[see sense 72 g above]. 1962A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 259 The volume can be turned up louder. 1967‘E. Lindall’ Time too Soon v. 57 Put on your hi-fi... Just turn it up a bit more. 1971M. Lee Dying for Fun ix. 53 The producer of the radio magazine programme turned up his loudspeaker. 1976W. Corlett Dark Side of Moon ii. 85 It is colder... I must turn up the central heating. 1978Sci. Amer. Apr. 67/1 The microscope [operating] is then turned up to high magnification (25 or 40 diameters).
† n. ? To excite, rouse. Obs. rare.
1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 63, I shall please the wise, though the malicious turne vpp their gall.
o. To set free, turn loose; to discharge or release (a prisoner). Cf. 25. Now only slang.
1653H. More Antid. Ath. iii. ii. §2 The Horse..for his unserviceableness..was fain to be turned up loose in the pasture. 1715Lond. Gaz. No. 5368/4 Which said..Gelding was turned up by the said Rogues. 1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict. s.v., A person acquitted by a jury, or discharged by a magistrate..is said to be turned up. 1904A. Griffiths 50 Y. Public Service xxiii. 354 They are not brothers, only brother convicts, who ‘did time’ together.., were ‘turned up’ together.
p. To give up, renounce, abandon, cast off, discard, ‘throw up’. Now only slang. Also imp. with it, stop it!
1621Burton Anat. Mel. iii. iv. ii. i. (1651) 685 He..married wives, and turned them up as he thought fit. 1643Trapp Comm. Gen. xii. 1 Many follow God..as a dog doth his master, till he meet with carrion; and then turn him up. 1885Punch 13 June, So turn up the job,..And leave it to me! 1893Illustr. Sport. & Dram. News 10 June 532/3 After one disastrous round..I intimated to the champion my intention to turn it up. 1945J. B. Priestley Three Men in New Suits i. 6 Turn it up, will you... You're arguing with yourself. 1948M. Allingham More Work for Undertaker (1949) x. 127 Turn it up... Keep it for your reminiscences. 1961J. B. Priestley Saturn over Water xvii. 240 ‘Are you sure you can trust her?’ ‘Yes, Joe. So turn it up.’
q. Naut. To cause to appear above the horizon; to come in sight of: = raise v.1 24 a. Also transf.
1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 82, I was sent to Surat. In a week's time we turned it up. 1859Sala Tw. round Clock (1861) 25 Keep struggling; and..you will eventually turn up Printing House Square.
r. Naut. To summon (the crew) on deck.
1782in Ann. Reg. 1783 (1785) 122/2 The main-sail a-back; all hands turned up; the main-clue garnets manned. 1805in Nicolas Nelson's Disp. (1846) VII. 164 note, Ceased firing and turned the hands up to clear the wreck. 1835Marryat Pirate ix, ‘Turn the hands up’,..said the captain.
s. To draw up with a winch or the like.
1911D. H. Lawrence Prussian Officer (1914) 282 The winding-engine rapped out its little spasms. The miners were being turned up. 1929― Pansies 82 My father was a working man And a collier was he, At six in the morning they turned him down And they turned him up for tea.
** intr. t. To bend or point upwards; to have an upward direction: cf. 9 d. Also fig.
1608Topsell Serpents (1658) 675 The tail is very long, at the end and turning up like a Vipers tail. 1710Steele Tatler No. 245 ⁋2 Nose very broad at bottom, and turning up at the end. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xvi. (1842) 417 The apparatus delivering gas should always be made to turn up at the end. 1974Nature 22 Feb. 514/2 Lillie presented preliminary evidence that the zodiacal light spectrum turns up below 2,500 Å. 1977Evening Post (Nottingham) 27 Jan. 4/5 The rate of inflation has turned up again and we must expect to see some further deterioration in the next few months.
u. To turn aside and go up; to make one's way up: cf. 16.
c1350Will. Palerne 2906 Sche went..to þe castel, & turned vp to þe heiȝest tour. c1450in Aungier Syon (1840) 334 Alle seruyse ended..they schal echone turne up in to ther stalles, and say..knelynge fyftene Aues. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 60, I turned up to a sorry kind of inn.
v. Naut. To beat up to windward; to tack. Also with it. Cf. 16 b.
1569[see 16 b]. a1647Pett in Archæologia (1796) XII. 227 We weighed and turned up with the wind at South-west as high as Lambeth. 1682W. Hedges Diary (Hakl. Soc.) I. 31 We..bore down about 2 or 3 miles to 2 sloops which could not turn it up to us. 1701Cunningham in Phil. Trans. XXIII. 1201 We were forced to turn it up against Wind and Current all the way. 1711Littleton Let. 13 Aug. in Lond. Gaz. No. 4906/3 We turn'd up to Windward as far as Donna Maria Bay. 1745P. Thomas Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 178 We had run three or four Leagues too far to Lee⁓ward, which we now had to turn up.
w. (often intr. for refl. or pass. of various trans. senses.) To make its (or one's) appearance; to present itself (or oneself) casually or unexpectedly; to occur, appear, be discovered or encountered (as if exposed by turning something over, by turning face upwards, by turning the leaves of a book, etc.); to arrive or present oneself (with no connotation of unexpectedness or casualness); freq. neg., to fail to arrive when expected (colloq.).
1704N. N. tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. I. 255 Hoping a Card might turn up to better their Fortunes. 1715M. Davies Athen. Brit. I. 202 He open'd the New Testament at a venture, and pray'd that such a Place might turn up as might comfort him in his last moments. 1755Monitor No. 10. I. 82 They must watch..the..occasions, which in the whirl of time will turn up. 1809Malkin Gil Blas x. vi. ⁋2 It seems incredible that Raphael should turn up in such a guise! 1824Whewell in Life (1881) 97 Leaving directions to have the thing sent after me if it should turn up. 1827Examiner 731/2 When..a flat cries ‘head’.., a ‘tail’ is sure to turn up. 1849Dickens Dav. Copp. xi, ‘And then’, said Mr. Micawber,..‘I shall, please Heaven, begin to be beforehand with the world,..if—in short, if anything turns up’. 1889W. E. Norris Miss Shafto 170 You didn't expect me to turn up here, did you? 1903Somerville & ‘Ross’ All on Irish Shore i. 18 And if you'll believe me, the two chaps there had never turned up at all. 1939G. B. Shaw Geneva iii. 52 The judge himself hasnt turned up. 1977Arab Times 14 Dec. 2/5 Let women everywhere from this day on encourage men to have the courage not to turn up for war. 1979J. Cooper Class iv. 84 At prep schools they insist you turn up [at sports days] and then ignore you. 1981R. Hayman K iv. 38 They..turned up in large numbers to the general meetings.
x. with compl. To appear or present itself in a specified character; to be found to be: nearly = turn out, 76 t (b), (c).
to turn up rough, to become angry or quarrelsome (cf. cut up rough, cut v. 60 l). to turn up trumps, to turn out favourably (see trump n.2 2).
1756Monitor No. 39. I. 374 A great deal of waste land and timber.., which by care and cultivation, must in time turn up a great thing. 1831Examiner 534/1 A lottery ticket which has turned up a prize. 1872Judy 29 May 59/2 (Farmer) Have the ornaments [= handcuffs] handy, in case he should turn up rough.
y. Of soil (intr. for pass. of f, with qualifying phr. or compl.).
1855Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVI. i. 176 Such soils turn up as a fine mould. Ibid. 197 The soil..will turn up raw and stubborn. 1858Ibid. XIX. i. 186 It [a soil] is all exceedingly sticky when wet, and, if ploughed in that state, turns up in large masses, which as they dry become hard as rock.
z. ‘To turn belly upward: said of a dying whale’ (Cent. Dict. 1891). Cf. quots. 1850 in i, and 1845 in 78 o (turn over).
aa. slang. To throw up or abandon one's work. (Cf. o, p.)
1904A. Griffiths 50 Y. Public Service xiii. 173 Smith..‘turned up’ one day, in other words refused to labour on the works.
*** trans., and intr. (for refl.) bb. Of doubtful sense: app. to prostitute; to prostitute oneself. Obs.
1670Dryden 1st Pt. Conq. Granada Epil. 12 Fame is false to all that keep her long; And turns up to the fop that's brisk and young. 1678Butler Hud. iii. i. 824 Prepost'rously would have all women Turn'd up to all the world in common. 1682Dryden Abs. & Achit. ii. 383 'Tis a leading card to make a whore To prove her mother had turned up before. [Cf. turn-up n. 1.]
Add:[III.] [7.] c. To twist (an ankle) out of position, esp. by landing awkwardly; to wrench or sprain. orig. U.S.
1868L. M. Alcott Little Women iii. 51 It's nothing; I turned my foot a little—that's all. 1951E. Paul Springtime in Paris xv. 286 Busse..leaped quickly, hit the lower level of the street pavement on a slant, and almost turned his ankle. 1983‘E. Peters’ Devil's Novice x. 133 He had turned an ankle and foot under him in falling, and would find it difficult and painful to put any weight upon it for some time. |