| 释义 |
▪ I. very, a., adv., and n.1|ˈvɛrɪ|
Forms: α. 3–5 (6 Sc.) verray (4 verrai, -aie, 6 Sc. varray), 4–6 werray (4 werrai, warrai, 6 Sc. warray), veray (5–6 veraye, weray), verai; 4–6 verrey (4 verrei, ferrey, 5 werrey), verey (5 uerey, vereye, 7 Sc. werey). β. 4–5 verra, 6 Sc. vera, werra; 8–9 Sc. vera, 9 Sc. and north. verra; 6–7 (9 north.) vara, 9 Sc. varra. γ. 4–5 verre (5 vere), 5–6 werre (6 were). δ. 4–5 verri, verry (5, 9 dial. werry), 6–7 Sc. verrie (6 werrie), 9 dial. varry, vurry; 4–6 veri, 5– very (5 vary, 5, 7 Sc., wery), 5–6 verye, 5–7 verie (6 werie, Sc. vearie).
[a. AF. verrai, verrey, verai, veray, OF. verai, varai, vrai (mod.F. vrai, Pr. verai), f. the stem of L. vērus true.]
A. adj.
I.
1. Really or truly entitled to the name or designation; possessing the true character of the person or thing named; properly so called or designated; = true a. 5.
Very common from c 1300 to c 1600; now rare except as an echo of Biblical usage.
a. Of persons, or the Deity.
α, βc1250Kent. Serm. in O.E. Misc. 27 Be þet hi offrede gold..seawede þet he was sothfast kink, and be þet hi offrede Stor..seawede þet he was verray prest. a1300Cursor M. 22729 A clude..bar him vp, wonder bright; Warrai man and godd warrai. 13..Guy Warw. 3568 Wele haþ Gij don þat day, As gode kniȝt & verray. a1380in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1878) 32/1 A mayden, forsoþe, wente her in, But now forsoþe, as i seo con, Ȝonde sitteþ a verrei mon. a1400–50Alexander 389 A verra victor a-vansid with all þe vayne werde. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xv. 66 He..es a haly prophete and a verray in worde and in dede. 1413Pilgr. Sowle i. xv. (Caxton, 1483) 14 Ihesu,..that were of Mary veray mayd bore in veray flesshe and bloode. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 957 Grant me confort this day, As thow art God verray! 1509Fisher Funeral Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 301 All the lerned men of Englonde to whome she was a veray patronesse. 1521― Serm. agst. Luther i. Ibid. 313 To be vnto her in all suche stormes a veray comforter. 1533Gau Richt Vay 37 Be this word..he is veray God.
γ, δc1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 310 Siþ Crist, verrest bischop of alle, cursede not for his tiþes. c1403Lydg. Temple Glas 571 Nou am I cauȝt vnder subieccioun, Forto bicome a verre homagere, To god of loue. c1450Myrroure our Ladye 323 Thow arte the certayne hope of wretches, very mother of motherlesse. c1460Wisdom 15 in Macro Plays 36 Þe belowyde sone.., Spows of þe chyrche, & wery patrone. 1526Tindale Mark xi. 32 All men counted Ihon, that he was a veri prophett. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 150 b, She had one poynt of a very woman,..she was..mutable, and turnyng. 1549Bk. Com. Prayer, Comm. Creed, Very God of very God. 1574tr. Marlorat's Apocalips 21 In respect wherof he is called the sonne of man, that is too say, verie man. 1615Bedwell Moham. Imp. ii. §53 God is a very spirit. a1680Butler Rem. (1759) I. 102 Th' are very Men, not Things That move by Puppet-work. 1801M. Edgeworth Moral T., Mlle. Panache (1832) 252, ‘I confess, I am a very woman,’ said Lady Augusta, with a sigh. 1854Trench Synonyms §8 (ed. 2) 30 But he is ἀληθινός,..very God, as distinguished from idols and all other false gods. 1857Hawthorne Eng. Note-Bks. (1870) II. 329 Thence we went into Queen Mary's room, and saw that beautiful portrait—that very queen and very woman.
b. Of abstract things, conditions, or qualities.
αa1300Cursor M. 26103 And þan we sal þe pointes rede þat warrai scrifte al of has nede. 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 1184 So was hit me dere þat þou con deme, In þys veray avysyoun. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 15 For riȝt-wisnesse generaly is fulfillinge of lawe, and so fulfillinge of Goddis lawe is verrei riȝt-wisnesse. c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 3313 Mercy..Of herte is a verray compassioun Of othir menys harm. c1440Pallad. on Husb. ix. 91 The fertilitee Of withi, reede, aller, yvy, or vyne That ther is water nygh is verrey signe. c1470Henry Wallace i. 3 Our antecessowris..We lat ourslide, throw werray sleuthfulnes. 1539Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) II. 202 Under the colour of a veray peax, whiche is neuertheles but a cloked and furred peax. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tractatis i. Wks. (S.T.S.) I. 12 Thre of the gretast ydolis,..verray ydolis in deid.
β, δ1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 1659 Þere was verry matrymony, with oute fleshly dede of any. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. I. 315 Crist axiþ here mekenes and poverte, wiþ verri pees. 1422Yonge tr. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv. 146 This goodis of Fortune or of kynde..be not werry goodys, for now thay byth, and now thay bythagone. c1450Merlin i. 11 Thou..haste very repentaunce of herte. Ibid. 13, I haue very trust on god, that [etc.]. 1486Bk. St. Albans a ij, Therfore thys book fowlowyng in a dew forme shewys veri knawlege of suche plesure. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 24 A generall syght of y⊇ principles & processe of very religyon. 1540–1Elyot Image Gov. 7 The moste preciouse garment of verie nobilitee. 1572J. Jones Bathes Buckstone 5 Which wee abusively call worldely wealth, when as very wealth, is health. 1651Hobbes Leviath. ii. xxvi. 147 Also, Unwritten Customes..by the tacite consent of the Emperour..are very Lawes. a1679― Rhet. xvi. (1681) 39 The written Law is but seeming justice; the Law of Nature very justice. 1868Morris Earthly Par. i. 58 Half dead with very death still drawing nigh.
c. Of material things.
a1330Roland & V. 129 For to wite þe soþe þere, Ȝif þe relikes verray were. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xvii. (Martha) 188 Scho..bad þame hyre in askis lay, & schaw til hyre a croice verra. c1449Pecock Repr. ii. ix. 193 Ech lyuyng man is verier..ymage of Crist..than is eny vnquyk stok. 1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xvi. xlvii. 569 It is harde..to knowe betwene the very precyous stones and fals. 1555Eden Decades (Arb.) 356 Many bouwes and branches,..muche like vnto verye trees that are in owlde woddes. 1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. i. (1586) 23 The other parts which we call compound, or instrumentall, which are the verie members of the bodie. 1592Timme Ten Eng. Lepers K j b, They which are out of their wittes do not see the verie things, but the fantasies of their passion. 1678Hobbes Decam. ix. 106 Such Iron were indeed a very and vigorous Loadstone.
†d. Full, thorough, unqualified. Obs.
1446in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 339 The said maister..shal do his verray diligence to pourvey..a place as gode. 1496Rolls of Parlt. VI. 512/1 The said Quene is of verrey will and mynde, that the same Erle shall be truly and fully contented.
†e. spec. in Law. (See quot. 1607.) Obs.
1544tr. Littleton's Tenures (1574) 96 b, But if it be verye lord and verye tenaunt, and the tenaunte maketh a feoffement in fee. [So Coke On Litt. (1628) 269.] 1607Cowell Interpr. s.v., Very Lord, and very Tenent,..are they that be immediate Lord & Tenent one to the other.
2. With limitation (usually expressed by the or a possessive) to particular instances: The true or real; that is truly or properly entitled to the name. Now arch.
a. Of material things or places.
c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xix. (Christopher) 61 Þe king can ma Þe takine of þe croice verra on hyme. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 255 Ysidre seiþ þat verray [L. proprie dicta] Germania haþ in þe est side þe mouth of þe ryuer Danubius. 1414Lay Folks Mass Bk. App. ii. 120 The materyall bred that was before is turnyd into Chrystys verray body. c1450Merlin xx. 329 Than he made vpon hym the signe of the very crosse. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 4 Theyr iourney..signifyeth the iourney to y⊇ very Jerusalem. 1535Coverdale John vi. 55 For my flesh is y⊇ very meate, and my bloude is y⊇ very drynke. 1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 61 He is the way, trothe, lyfe, and lycht, The varray [v.r. verray, verie] port, till heaven full rycht. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. i. 4 Though..the reall, and very object seem invested with the fancy it begets in us. 1849Neale Hymns for Sick (1906) 26 Thy very Flesh and Blood.
b. Of abstract things, conditions, etc.
c1374Chaucer Boeth. iii. pr. iii. (1868) 69 And by a maner þouȝt..ȝe looken from a fer til þilk verray fyn of blisfulnesse. c1400Mandeville (1839) xii. 139 Thei that scholden ben converted to Crist..ben thorghe oure Wykkednesse..fer fro us and straungeres fro the holy and verry Beleeve. c1449Pecock Repr. i. xii. 65 But the trewe and verry vndirstonding ther of is this. c1465Pol., Rel., & L. Poems (1903) 3 Þe welfare of Edward Rex moste riall, That is þe verie purpos that we labure fore. c1470Gol. & Gaw. 161 The verray cause of his come I knew noght the cace. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, Euery religious persone sholde intende the perfeccyon of his soule, whiche is the very peace of the spiryte. 1538Starkey England i. i. 10 Thys ys the veray true and cyuyle lyfe. 1577St. Aug. Manual (Longman) 106 The very wisedome of God shall shew himselfe to them. 1647J. Saltmarsh Sparkles Glory (1847) 80 Pastors,..who cannot now minister as the oracles of God, nor according to the very gifts of the Holy Ghost then. 1859Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. Part. II. lxxxvii. 57 The vulgar animosity against a skin,—the stamp of lowly-mindedness, and very indication of cart blood.
c. Of persons or the Deity.
c1450Mirour Saluacioun 3 Xrist, goddes verray son and wysdame. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 24 The verray pape sanct Innocent had bene put out [by a false pope]. 1523[Coverdale] Old God & New (1534) B j, After yt y⊇ eternall & the verye god had shewed hym selfe vnto Adam. 1548–9(Mar.) Bk. Com. Prayer, Comm., Pref. Easter 126 He is the very Pascall Lambe. 1567Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.) 184 The Priestis..ar the verray Antichristis. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. iv. i. 71 What would you say to me now, and I were your verie, verie Rosalind? 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 21 His minde was enlightened to know the onely very God.
†d. Proper, correct. Obs.—1
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xv, Þough þer be alauntes of alle hewese, þe verrey hewe of þe good alauntes..shuld be white with a blake spotte aboute þe eres.
3. In emphatic use, denoting that the person or thing may be so named in the fullest sense of the term, or possesses all the essential qualities of the thing specified. Cf. veritable a. 3.
Common from c 1550 to c 1700; now chiefly in the superlative, freq. qualifying something bad, objectionable, or undesirable. Occasionally repeated in order to give additional emphasis.
a. With a or the preceding (or rarely without article), or with pl. n.
(a)1384Chaucer L.G.W. 259 (Prol.), Thow thynkist in thyn wit..That he nys but a verray propre fole. 1484Caxton Fables of Auian vi, He..is a very fole. 1535Coverdale 2 Kings xxii. 19 They shall become a very desolacion and curse. 1545Brinklow Compl. xxv. 75 Euery one of them is become a very Nero. 1576Gascoigne Kenelworth Castle Wks. 1910 II. 122 Heaven was not heaven, it was rather a verye Hell. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. F j b, When he was dead, Valentinian his sonne a very childe, was by the army stiled Augustus. 1662Petty Taxes 83 Not to rate..wool until it be cloth, or rather until it be a very garment. 1693Dryden Juvenal vi. 592 When Poor, she's scarce a tollerable Evil; But Rich, and Fine, a Wife's a very Devil. 1711Steele Spect. No. 157 ⁋1 Marius was then a very Boy. 1771Franklin Autobiog. Wks. 1840 I. 55 The attorney was a very knave. 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey iii. vi, Yes, it is madness; very, very madness. 1829Scott Anne of G. xxi, Sigismund Biederman will aid him willingly, and he is a very horse at labour. 1888J. Inglis Tent Life in Tigerland 1 North Bhangulpore..is admittedly even for India a very sportman's paradise.
(b)1593Hooker Eccl. Pol. ii. vii. §6 Which insolency must be repressed, or it will be the very bane of Christian religion. 1648Art. Peace in Milton's Wks. (1851) IV. 546 The intermedling of Governours and Parties in this Kingdom, with Sidings and Parties in England, have been the very betraying of this Kingdom to the Irish. 1712Addison Spect. No. 393 ⁋2 A Region, which is the very Reverse of Paradise. 1729Law Serious C. xiv. 234 Mortification, of all kinds, is the very life and soul of piety. 1779Warner in Jesse Selwyn & Contemp. (1844) IV. 308 And then for owls, it is their very kingdom. 1872Morley Voltaire 5 Voltaire was the very eye of modern illumination. 1883Manch. Exam. 29 Nov. 5/4 The atmosphere of most of the courts..is the very reverse of healthy.
b. With a inserted between the adj. and the n. qualified, esp. as or so very a. Cf. so adv. 14 d. Now rare or Obs.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 405 There can no man be imagined so very a coward or so barbarouse. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Adæque miser, euen as very a wretch. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 69 For oftentimes seene, no more verie a knaue than he that doth counterfait most to be graue. 1634W. Tirwhyt tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. I) 352, I will onely content myself to protest that you were never so very a poet, as when you spake of me. 1667Pepys Diary 29 July, He is as very a wencher as can be. 1704J. Trapp Abra-Mulé iii. i. 1047 Thou cam'st to find as very a Madman As ever rav'd in Chains. 1739A. Hill in Richardson's Corr. (1804) I. 36, I was so very a boy when I suffered that light piece of work to be published, that [etc.]. 1747–8Richardson Ibid. I. 182 A thing..so very a nothing in itself. 1804H. Martin Helen of Glenross IV. 118 So very a soldier. 1828Scott Tapestr. Chamb. ⁋47, I sank back in a swoon, as very a victim to panic terror as ever was a village girl. 1844C. Macfarlane Camp of Refuge v. (1897) 77 Without knowing..how very a prisoner she is in her own manor-house.
c. In the comp. verier and (in later use more commonly) the superl. veriest.
(a)1548Cooper Elyot's Dict. s.v. Certus, There is no veryer knaue. 1579Tomson Calvin's Serm. Tim. 767/1 The Lord will..suffer vs to come home verier fooles and doltes then wee went. 1648Hunting of Fox 40 Your selves, veryer beasts then the hogs you lost. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace vii. 145 To represent it as a verier trifle, and needless thing than these his agents have done. a1701Maundrell Journ. Jerus. (1732) 94 Where the stump of the Tree stood it meets with not a few Visitants so much veryer stocks than it self, as to fall down and worship it. 1735Pope Donne's Sat. iv. 28 A verier monster than on Africk's shore, The Sun e'er got, or slimy Nilus bore. 1814Southey ‘Who counsels peace?’ iv, All too long in blood had he been nurst, And ne'er was earth with verier tyrant curst. 1840Clough Dipsychus ii. vi. 111 A verier Mercury, express come down To do the world with swift arithmetic. 1856Aytoun Bothwell (1857) 8 A verier knave ne'er stepped the earth.
(b)1530Palsgr. 327/2 [The] Veryest foole, le plus fol. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xxx. K j b, He hath erred euen in the principall, and as I might tearme them the veriest trifles. 1581G. Pettie Guazzo's Civ. Conv. iii. (1586) 126, I know not which of these two sortes are the veriest fooles. 1630Prynne Anti-Armin. 155 He is no more..for the Elect, than hee is for the veriest Reprobate. 1695Congreve Love for L. iii. vi, I swear Mr. Benjamin is the verriest Wag in nature; an absolute Sea-wit. 1709Steele Tatler No. 11 ⁋5 His Sons and his Sons Sons, have all of 'em been the veriest Rogues living. 1742Blair Grave 642 The veryest Gluttons do not always cram. 1780Mirror No. 104, From the same causes, the veriest trifle..had become to him an object of importance. 1833Chalmers Const. Man (1835) I. ii. 129 There is no enjoyment whatever in the veriest hell of assembled outcasts. 1859Kingsley Misc. (1860) I. 227 Poetry, which read by the veriest schoolboy makes music of itself. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 200 Even the deep sinking at the Rosebridge Colliery is but the veriest dent in the earth's surface.
4.
†a. Truthful, true; sure, reliable. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 3473 Oure lauerd..Had don hir in to sikernes, Thoru his werrai prophecie, Quat suld be þaa childer vie. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 9965 Þese wurdes are verry and clere; Dauyd hem seyth yn þe sautere. 1375Barbour Bruce ii. 87 Sekyrly I hop that Thomas prophecy Off Hersildoune sall verray be In him. c1450Mirour Saluacioun 34 Come lord yt thi prophets be fonden lele and verray. c1450Harl. Contin. Higden (Rolls) VIII. 516 A verey prove cowthe not be hade in that mater, wherefore the kynge grawntede to þeim bothe theire lyves. a1505Chron. Lond. (Kingsford) 222 This yere..came veray tydynges vnto the kyng.. that the frensh kyng was dede.
b. Of truth: Exact, simple, real, actual.
c1386Chaucer Sqr.'s T. 158 This is a verray sooth with outen glose. c1400Laud Troy Bk. 66 Herkenes now, and ȝe may here The werre sothe alle plenere. c1425Lydg. Assembly of Gods 1226 And I shall yow tell the verrey sothe of all. 1483Caxton G. de la Tour e vij b, And alle this is very trouthe. 1534More Comf. agst. Trib. ii. Wks. 1193/2 If he..can by no meane be shogged oute of his deadde slepe, but wil nedes take hys dreame for a verye trouth. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 237 In very truth, sir, I had as lief be hang'd sir, as goe. 1611Florio, Verità, truth, veritie, verie-sooth. 1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. i. v. 8 To speak the very truth. 1850Hawthorne Scarlet L. xi. (1852) 133 He had spoken the very truth, and transformed it into the veriest falsehood. 1882Myers Teneriffe vii, And is the World's in very truth An impercipient Soul?
†c. Of decisions, etc.: Just, true. Obs.
c1440Gesta Rom. i. xlvii. 202 (Addit. MS.), Therfore we are turned agayn, to here a verrey dome, what is for to done of this thynge. 1483Caxton Gold. Leg. 86 b/1 Alle they meruaylled and said that thys was a veray and ryght good answere of the question.
†d. of very (due) right, justly, properly, rightly, truly. Obs.
a1366Chaucer Rom. Rose 1627 This welle is clepid, as welle is knowen, The welle of Love, of verray right. c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 7 Fortune gaff him eke prosperite, and richesse, Withe scripture appering in ther sighte, To him applyed of verray dew righte. c1440― Hors, Shepe & G. 57 Eques, ab ‘equo’ is seid of verray riht And cheualere is saide of cheualrye. 1470–85Malory Arthur x. lxxxvi. 565, I and ony knyght..oughte of veray ryght socoure and rescowe soo noble a knyghte as ye are. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 117 He that of very ryght owed y⊇ cappe.
e. in (or † of) very deed: see deed n. 5 c.
†5.
a. Exact or precise, as opposed to approximate; = true a. 4. Obs.
1338R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 83 How mykelle lond & rent holy kirke had to a prowe, Alle þei did extend to witte þe verrey valowe. 1382Wyclif Deut. xxv. 15 Weiȝt thow shalt haue iust and verrey, and euen busshel and verrey shal be to thee. c1391Chaucer Astrol. i. §17 Euermo this cercle equinoxial turnyth Iustly fro verrey est to verrey west. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 40 The seid places with the portenances [to] be soold to the verray valew. 148510th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 318 The veray value of the same. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. ii. (1586) 53 The verie time, as Theophrastus writeth, is at the spring. 1594West Symbol. ii. Chancerie §95 Gently requiring him..to deliver..such and so many of the said sheepe,..or the verie value thereof. 1652Needham tr. Selden's Mare Cl. 33 They are not well agreed about the very particular place. 1657Trapp Comm. Job xxxix. 25 Horses will perceive aforehand the very time of the fight.
b. Of a copy, writing, etc. Obs. (Cf. 10 c.)
1470–85Malory Arthur xix. xiii. 796 And by cause I haue lost the very mater of la cheualer du charyot I departe from the tale of sir Launcelot. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VII, 49 b, His awne confession written with hys awne hande, the very copy wherof hereafter ensueth.
†6. Of a friend, servant, etc.: True, faithful, sincere, staunch; = true a. 1. Obs.
Very common in the 16th c. In later use perh. merely intensive.
c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 1686 Lucretia, To..drawe to memorye The verry wif, the verry trewe Lucresse. c1386― Wife's T. 348 Pouerte a spectakele is, as thynkyth me, Thorw whech he may his veray frend i-see. a1475G. Ashby Dicta Philos. 245 Who that cannat disseure wise from bad Shal haue no verrey freendes þat be sad. c1487–1500in Willis & Clark Cambridge (1886) I. 474 Your verrey bedeman the provost of the kynges College. 1532Cromwell in Merriman Life & Lett. (1902) I. 347 My veraye Frend and Felow Mr. John Welsborne. 1584B. R. tr. Herodotus To Rdr., I ende. Your very friende. B. R. 1607R. C[arew] tr. Estienne's World of Wonders 283 A gentlewoman of Lorraine, my very friend. 1608Rowlands Humors Looking Gl. 14 A Gentleman a verie friend of mine. 1676Wycherley Pl. Dealer iii. i, Sir, Sir, your very Servant; I was afraid you had forgotten me.
†7.
a. Of persons: Truly or rightfully standing in a certain position or relationship; rightful, lawful, legitimate. Obs.
1461Paston Lett. II. 68, I am very heyre, by the disceas of my fader, to a place called Keswyk. 1495Act 11 Hen. VII, c. 56 Preamble, Landes..to the whiche the vere owners be now restored by dyvers actes. 1513Test. Ebor. (Surtees) V. 51, I do give my full power..unto my saide suster Lucie, and I do charge hir, as she is very mother of my saide nece [etc.]. 1545Charters rel. Glasgow (1906) II. 509 His varray lawful cessionaris, donatouris and assignais. 1568Grafton Chron. (1809) II. 105 Neither King Edward himselfe nor the Duke of Clarence were lawfully begotten, nor were they very children of the Duke of Yorke. 1606Munim. Melros (Bann. Cl.) 657 We..constitutis..Oure verrie lauchfull vndoubtit and irreuocabill Procuratouris, actoris, factoris [etc.].
transf.1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 203 In the yeere, 1146, was founded Boxley in Kent, the verie daughter of Clarevalle.
b. Legally valid or established. Obs.
1475Bk. Noblesse (Roxb.) 24 To be put in rememoraunce of youre auncien enheritaunce, verray right and title in youre duchies of Gascoigne and Guien. 1487Munim. Melros (Bann. Cl.) 618 Þe Abbot..hes verray richt to þe erde siluer of þe quer of þe said Kirk.
II.
8. a. Used as an intensive, either to denote the inclusion of something regarded as extreme or exceptional, or to emphasize the exceptional prominence of some ordinary thing or feature.
In very common use from the 16th cent. With slight change of syntax the sense may commonly be expressed by the advs. ‘even’ or ‘actually’. Various types of context (with the, possessives, etc.) are illustrated in the several groups of quotations; the use in (d) is now obsolete, and that in (c) a rare archaism.
(a)c1386Chaucer Nun's Pr. T. 565 Ran cow and calf, and eek the verray hogges Sore fered were for berkyng of dogges. 1526Tindale Luke ii. 35 The swearde shall pearce the very hert off the. 1535Coverdale Ps. xcvi. 6 The very heauens declare his rightuousnes, & all people se his glory. 1590Sir J. Smyth Disc. Weapons Ded. 8 b, All Coronells and Captaines of footmen, yea euen the verie Lieutenants generalls. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 180 Sore was she troubled with vomiting, so as having nothing in her stomack, she cast up the very pure bloud. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. iv. 184 The Provost..being provided for in all particulars, to the very points of his hose. 1712Steele Spect. No. 306 ⁋1 It goes to the very Soul of me to speak what I really think of my Face. 1728Pope Dunc. iii. Notes (1736) 223 All tastes and degrees of men, from those of the highest quality to the very rabble. 1782F. Burney Cecilia vii. ix, The very air was rent with cries. 1823Scott Quentin D. xxxiii, He flew like the very wind. 1832Warren Diary Late Physic. II. iii. 122 The room was crammed to the very door. 1874Green Short Hist. iii. §5 (1882) 140 The very retainers of the royal household turned robbers. 1891‘J. S. Winter’ Lumley xv, It's absurd on the very face of it.
(b)1535Coverdale Hab. iii. 2 In thy very wrath thou thinkest vpon mercy. 1563Homilies ii. Rogation Week iv. ⁋2 To striue for our very rightes and dueties, with the breche of loue & charitie,..is vtterly forbydden. 1595Locrine i. i. 68 A greater care torments my verie bones. 1600in Morris Troubles Cath. Foref. (1872) i. iv. 194 Oftentimes their very beds they lie upon..are sold before their faces. 1620T. Granger Div. Logike 100 Yet in their verie mutuall relation there is also force of arguing to explicate a sentence. 1681Dryden Abs. & Archit. To Rdr., The Chyrurgeon's work of an Ense rescindendum, which I wish not to my very Enemies. 1705tr. Bosman's Guinea 27 You may imagine what Case we were in when one of them began to hack our very doors with an Ax. 1768Goldsm. Good-n. Man i. i, His very mirth is an antidote to all gaiety. 1807Crabbe Par. Reg. i. 725 His very soul was not his own. 1831Carlyle Sart. Res. i. i, That we do not..see what is passing under our very eyes. 1836J. H. Newman Par. Serm. (1837) III. vi. 86 The plain and solemn sense which they bear on their very front. 1880McCarthy Own Times III. xlvii. 433 His very defects were a main cause of his popularity.
(c)1548Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. John 118 b, So nowe they sawe certainly at very hande the thing to be true. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) K iij, There needeth no art, bicause very nature hir selfe createth and shapeth men apt to expresse pleasantly. 1571Digges Pantom. i. xvii. E iij b, And yet in conueying of waters any great distance, very experience wil bewray an error. 1609Bible (Douay) Numb. xiv. comm., It is so absolutely necessarie in everie communitie to have one Superior of al, that verie mutiners themselves do ever choose such a one. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 233 They keepe the Roman Lent, but more strictly, abstaining from Fish, and very Oyle (which they use for butter). 1649Earl of Monmouth tr. Senault's Use Passions (1671) 81 The noise of Trumpets puts them in good humor, and..very hurts do animate their courage. 1657Cromwell in Burton's Diary (1828) II. 329 Their greatest persecution hath been of the people of God,..as I think very experiences will sufficiently demonstrate. 1851Keble Occas. Papers & Rev. (1877) 240 By the way in which things are managed all Apostolic authority is denied in the Church, and very unbelievers may settle what we are to believe.
(d)1616in J. Russell Haigs (1881) vii. 158 For fear that his very being my brother left..some impression of the truth of his accusations. 1665Boyle Occas. Refl. v. x. (1675) 335 Those Beams, which derive a new Glory from their very being broken.
b. Emphasizing ns. which denote extremity of degree or extent.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §1 Ley thi reule vp that same day, & thanne wol the verray point of thy rewle sitten in the bordure, vp-on the degree of thy sonne. 1530Palsgr. 806/1 At the very dawnyng of the daye. Ibid. 820/1 In the very myddes..of a thyng. 1560Bible (Geneva) John viii. 4 The Scribes..said,..Master, this woman was taken in adulterie, in the verie act. 1565Allen Def. Purgat. (1886) 3 That matter which..I perceived of all other causes in the world, most to touch the very core of heresy. 1590Swinburne Testaments 61 He that is at the very pointe of death. 1605Camden Rem. 1 It cannot be impertinent, at the verie enterance, to say somewhat of Britaine. 1609Holland Amm. Marcell. 116 From the very brims of Tigris banke, as farre as to Euphrates, there was no greene thing left. 1771Luckombe Hist. Printing 401 He..then draws the lower part of that noose close up to the very corner of it. 1851Gallenga Italy 359 The Milan government, we are informed, was a bankrupt from the very outset. 1872Routledge's Ev. Boy's Ann. 347/1 Reduce this movement to the very minimum. 1878Browning La Saisiaz 18 Quiet slow sure money-making proves the matter's very root.
†c. Qualifying pronouns in order to give emphasis. Sometimes emphasizing identity (cf. sense 10 b). Obs.
1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 281, I wys even veray I myself am y⊇ manne. 1548― Erasm. Par. Luke i. 17 And verai he shal be the expectacion of all nacions. 1561T. Hoby tr. Castiglione's Courtyer i. (1577) E v, For very such make the greatnesse and gorgeousnesse of an Oration. 1624Quarles Job xv. 26 I'm turn'd a laughing-stock To boyes, & those, that su'd to tend my Flock,..these (euen very these) Flout at my sorrowes. 1632Holland Cyrupædia 200 And this is even very she, whom you..were wont to sport with. a1701Sedley Venus & Ad. Wks. (1766) 56, I am ty'd to very thee By ev'ry thought I have.
d. Coupled with own.
1863Kinglake Crimea (1877) I. vi. 89 A prince who wielded with his own very hand the power of All the Russias. 1884J. H. Ewing Mary's Meadow (1886) 72, I had to have it, for my very own.
9. a. Neither more nor less than (that expressed by the n. qualified); exactly that specified without qualification; = sheer a. 8.
Qualifying abstract nouns, esp. those denoting emotions or conditions, and usually following a prep., esp. for.
c1386Chaucer Frankl. T. 132 For verray feere so wolde hir herte quake. a1440Partonope 849 She gynneth to wepe For verray joye. 1456Sir G. Haye Law Arms (S.T.S.) 69 [He] throu verray fors was the first lord of that realme. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 37, I yeve..to my neve..my best purs..and xxli. to put ther inne,.. and wil he be servyd apart with the fyrst, of verray love. 1535Coverdale Zech. viii. 4 Soch as go with staues in their hondes for very age. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 168 The Sommer was so hote that men dyed with very heat. 1577Holinshed Hist. Scot. in Chron. I. 157/1 Through verie dipleasure of suche iniuries as shee daylye susteyned at the handes of his concubines, shee founde meanes to strangle him. 1671Milton P.R. iv. 12 As a man who..for very spight Still will be tempting him who foyls him still.
1812Crabbe Tales xviii. 73 Fondly she pleaded and would gently sigh, For very pity, or she knew not why. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 191 The sailors mutinied from very hunger. 1878Masque Poets 31 For veriest joy her red mouth laughs.
b. With a limiting or restrictive force: That alone to the exclusion of any thing else; = mere a.2 5.
1546Yorks. Chantry Surv. (Surtees) 495 Having no other promocions but theyre verye stipende or wages. 1574Bourne Regiment for Sea xix. (1577) 50 b, Then haue they no other helpe but onely the very account of the shippes way. 1611Shakes. Cymb. ii. iv. 9 Your very goodnesse, and your company, Ore-payes all I can do. 1618in Gutch Coll. Cur. II. 424 There be..17,000 Sheets of paper in that Book, which, upon ordinary account, cometh to eight hundred and fifty pound, the very writing. 1657Cromwell Speech 23 Jan. (Carlyle), So give me leaue, in a very word or two, to congratulate with you. 1703Rowe Fair Penit. i. i, At thy very Name My eager Heart springs up. Ibid., Sure 'tis the very Error of my Eyes. 1817Jas. Mill Brit. India II. v. vii. 595 The Governor-General treated the very request as a high offence. 1843A. W. Pugin Apol. Reviv. Chr. Archit. 40 The very weight and massiveness of the work causing it frequently to settle and give. 1894P. H. Hunter Jas. Inwick xii. 153 The verra mention o' Tod-Lowrie's name was eneuch.
10. Used (after the, this, that, etc.) to denote or emphasize complete or exact identity:
a. Of points of time.
1582N. T. (Rhem.) Luke x. 20 In that very houre he reioyced in spirit, and said [etc.]. 1610Day Festivals i. (1615) 20 Even in this nicke of time, this very, very instant. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 193 The bell of that Church was sounded upon the verie day of Saint Bartholmew. 1683Brit. Spec. Pref. p. ii, To which..this our Island has been so fortunate as to have been subjected from its very first being inhabited to this very Day. a1721Prior Down-Hall xxviii, Come this very instant. 1738Swift Pol. Conversat. 141 She died just this very Day Seven Years. 1796Stedman Surinam I. i. 29 On the very day of our debarkation. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) II. 268 It is a rule of law..that a remainder must vest, either during the continuance of the preceding estate, or at the very instant of its determination. 1820Keats St. Agnes xiv, My lady fair the conjuror plays This very night. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 643 Jeffreys gave directions that Alice Lisle should be burned alive that very afternoon.
b. In general use.
In quots. under (b) corresponding to a defining clause which follows the n.
1598Shakes. Merry W. ii. i. 84 Why this is..the very hand: the very words. 1605― Macb. i. vii. 76 When we haue mark'd with blood those sleepie two.., and vs'd their very Daggers. 1611Bible Ps. xxxv. 8 Into that very destruction let him fall. 1657Sparrow Bk. Com. Prayer 22 We are taught to pray, ‘And lead us not into temptation’,..which very method holy church here wisely imitates. 1661Act 13 Chas. II, c. 9 §6 All the Papers..shall bee duely preserved and..the very Originals sent up intirely and without fraud to the Court of Admiralty. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. i, Timothy Trim; whom they did, in their conscience, believe to be the very prisoner. 1771Luckombe Hist. Print. 390 We put neither folio nor any thing else over the very Dedication. 1818Scott Hrt. Midl. xxxv, ‘Young woman,’ said he, ‘your sister's case must certainly be termed a hard one’. ‘God bless you, sir, for that very word!’ said Jeanie. 1836J. Gilbert Chr. Atonem. vii. (1852) 201 It must be made apparent, that what was demanded of human nature was the perfection of that very human nature. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) I. 394 First of all answer this very question.
(b)1641J. Shute Sarah & Hagar (1649) 151 We have but little reason to expect, that God should gratifie us in the very individual thing that we desire. 1681Dryden Abs. & Achit. i. 61 Those very Jews who at their very best Their Humour more than Loyalty exprest Now wondred. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. III. 566 Each are continually intent upon that very thing, to which Each are respectively appointed. 1780Mirror No. 99, The supposition, that this is the very character which Shakespeare meant to allot him. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. x, Seeking the acquaintance of some of those very people, against whom his pride had revolted. 1857Buckle Hist. Civiliz. I. i. 6 They..take for granted the very question at issue. 1891Law Times XC. 463/1 The contents of the deed were falsely stated by the very person who ought to have advised her on such legal matters.
c. Of words: Exactly corresponding to those of an original or previous statement.
1598[see b]. 1778Jefferson Autobiog. App., Wks. 1859 I. 146 Preserving, however, the very words of the established law. 1838–9Hallam Hist. Lit. II. ii. i. §57. 51 He has neglected to quote the very words of his authorities. 1865Kingsley Herew. xv, I said it, I said it. Those were my very words!
d. the very thing, the thing exactly suitable or requisite.
1768Sterne Sent. Journ., Montriul (1778) I. 90 It occurr'd to me that that was the very thing. 1802Mrs. J. West Infidel Father II. 123 This behaviour was certainly the very thing. 1868Newman Let. in The Month July (1909) 66, I am both surprised and glad at your news... I think it is the very thing for you.
B. adv.
†1.
a. Truly, really, genuinely; in or with truth or reality; truthfully. Obs.
13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 333, I dewoutly awowe, þat verray bes halden, Soberly to do þe sacrafyse when I schal saue worþe. c1375Cursor M. 22973 (Fairf.), Bot mani man þat wele can rede vnderstandis noȝt al verray quat þe vale of Iosaphat is to say. c1384Chaucer H. Fame ii. 571 It..hath so very hys lykenes That spack the word. c1440Bone Florence 1928 The abbas, and odur nonnes by, Tolde hyt full openlye, That hyt was so verraye. c1485Digby Myst. (1882) ii. 357 The compyler here-of shuld translat veray so holy a story.
b. Qualifying an adj. or pa. pple. Obs.
Not always clearly distinguishable from next.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) V. 329 But for he was verray repentaunt he was exciled for þe fey. 1423Jas. I Kingis Q. clxix, O! verray sely wrech, I se wele by thy dedely coloure pale, Thou art to feble of thy-self to streche Vpon my quhele. c1450in Aungier Syon (1840) 335 None schal be ouer skypped in any wyse for any suche chaunge, withe oute a very resonable cause. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon viii. 191 Two thousand knyghtes.., all yonge men of pryme berde, whiche were very frenshe. 1529More Dyaloge iii. Wks. 244/1 Both those tonges [i.e. Greek and Latin] wer as verye vulgare as ours. c1593in Spalding Club Misc. I. 5 Your Maiestie and the consell hes to Judg gif thay be lauchful, and uerray qualifiit.
2. In a high degree or measure; to a great extent; exceedingly, extremely, greatly.
Sometimes emphasized in speaking, and italicized in printing, to give additional force. (Cf. 4.)
a. Qualifying positive adjs. (and ppl. adjs.) used predicatively, attributively, or absolutely. very high and low frequency (Telecommunications): see VHF, VLF s.v. V 5 b; freq. attrib.
αc1470Henry Wallace i. 86 Erle Patrik than till Berweik couth persew; Ressawide he was and trastyt werray trew. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. 328 In the latine it hath a veray good grace. 1554–5in Feuillerat Revels Q. Mary (1914) 173 Of verey fayer quaint & strange attier. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 255 Machlin (a veraye fayre Towne..in Brabant). a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 4 To pray me think it is verray necessarie.
δa1500–34Cov. Corp. Christi Pl. ii. 513 Those fowlys the ar full far fro me And werie yvill for me to fynde. 1530Palsgr. 327/2 Very good, fort bon. Ibid. 828/1 Very farre, very hye, very lowe, etc. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 317 The said pest come in the towne of kirkcaldie that thair deit verrie mony. 1588Knaresborough Wills (Surtees) I. 169 My father..ys a verye old man. 1600J. Pory tr. Leo's Africa 56 This isle is very scarce of oile and of corne. Ibid. iv. 224 Batha, whereof now there remaine but very few ruines. 1661Prince Rupert in 11th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. V. 8 Tell him that [I] am very glad to heere of his recouvry. 1676–7Marvell Corr. Wks. (Grosart) II. 530 A Bill for exporting Coals free, or at a very easy custome. 1709Steele Tatler No. 44 ⁋6, I have, I fear, huddled up my Discourse, having been very busy. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 56 They lay very large eggs, some of them being above five inches in diameter. 1799E. Du Bois Piece Family Biog. III. 175 You say this to relieve me, and 'tis very kind of you. 1803Med. Jrnl. X. 304 An intermittent tendency was also very observable in some instances. 1838T. Thomson Chem. Org. Bodies 580 A soft mass,..very soluble in alcohol. 1856Ld. Granville in Life (1905) I. 211 Very few of our Embassy were invited [to the party]. 1880Disraeli Endym. lxvii, Cards of invitation to banquets and balls and concerts, and ‘very earlies’. 1920Radio Rev. Sept. 579 (heading) Circuit for producing very high frequencies. 1938, etc. [see VLF s.v. V 5 b]. 1958Economist 26 July 271 With very high frequency radio broadcasting..providing almost perfect reception, the collector of classical music..can make high fidelity recordings..on a {pstlg}2 tape. 1967Electronics 6 Mar. 68/2 Navy project officers expect a go-ahead..on construction of a worldwide very-low-frequency Omega navigation system. 1972McGraw-Hill Yearbk. Sci. & Technol. 229/2 Some of the techniques developed for determining the geodetic coordinates for land use..can be applied at sea... In addition, the very-long-baseline interferometry (VLBI) technique is potentially applicable. 1974Encycl. Brit. Macropædia XV. 425/1 The variation of carrier frequency is known as the frequency deviation, and for very-high-frequency broadcasting it can reach {pm}75 kilohertz. 1976Time 24 May 64/3 The Japanese government..has declared the development of Very Large Scale Integrations—the technical heart of the next generation of computers—a ‘national project’. 1978Pasachoff & Kutner University Astron. xxvi. 667 With this ability, astronomers can make up an interferometer of two or more dishes very far apart, even thousands of kilometers. This technique is called very-long-baseline interferometry. 1982Times 14 Jan. (Information Technol. Suppl.) p. v/4 Very large-scale integration (VLSI)... VLSI puts as many as 100,000 components on a chip.
(b) Mountaineering. very difficult, very severe: two of the categories used in classifying rock climbs; also absol.
1951, etc. [see severe a. 9 b]. 1969‘A. Garve’ Ascent of D. 13 ii. 35 I've been climbing ever since I was a kid... I've done more Very Severes than I can remember.
b. Qualifying another adverb.
1448Paston Lett. I. 76 Vere hartely your, Molyns. 1530Palsgr. 814/1 Very erly in the mornyng, au plus matyn. Ibid. 843/2 Very gladly, moult voulentiers. Very hardly, a paynes... Very seldome, peu souuent. a1553Udall Royster D. iv. vi. (Arb.) 70 But very well I wist he here did all in scorne. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 22 The gouernour hard thir vordis verrey plesandlie. 1630B. Jonson New Inn Dram. Pers., Sir Glorious Tipto..talks gloriously of any thing, but very seldom is in the right. 1664Jer. Taylor Dissuas. Popery ii. §8. 118 For if it were [necessary], very extremely few would do their duty. 1691tr. Emilianne's Frauds Rom. Monks (ed. 3) 130 The next day we set out very betimes in the Morning towards Mount Alverne. 1711Addison Spect. No. 58 ⁋4 Several Pieces which have lived very near as long as the Iliad it self. 1795Gentl. Mag. 543/1 Nonjuring clergymen and their families partook very largely of his benevolence. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 510 Courts of equity would do very ill by not adopting that rule. 1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 158 The spindles should revolve very quickly in the spinning frame. 1867A. T. Drane Chr. Schools II. iii. 129 The school at Sempringham very soon became famous.
c. Qualifying past pples. used predicatively or attributively: = Very much. (See much adv. 1 c.) Also exceptionally with like vb.
The correctness of this usage, which has been prevalent from the middle of the 17th cent., depends on the extent to which the participle has acquired a purely adjectival sense.
1641in Nicolas Priv. Mem. Digby (1827) Introd. p. lix, At which the good Knight seemed very discontented. 1664Extr. St. P. rel. Friends iii. (1912) 215 Faber, A Jerman,..being a very suspected person, reather of crafty principalls. 1702Addison Dial. Medals ii. (1726) 35 Many very valued pieces of French, Italian, and English appear in the same dress [i.e. dialogue]. 1782R. Cumberland Anecd. Painters (1787) II. 90, I was a very interested and anxious spectator. 1792W. Roberts Looker-on No. 14 (1794) I. 179 Betty..looked very pleased at several passages. 1804Syd. Smith Mor. Philos. (1850) 54 A very over-rated man. 1842Geo. Eliot Life in Lett. & Jrnls. (1885) I. 112, I am becoming very hurried. 1874G. W. Dasent Half a Life III. 60, I should so very like to know who this Mr. Ball and his daughter are. Ibid. 177 Her foot is very swollen. 1876–7Gladstone Glean. (1879) I. 79 In this rather confused and very disappointed letter.
d. With a negative, freq. denoting ‘only moderately’, ‘rather un―’.
1710Swift Jrnl. to Stella 31 Oct., Then it went off, leaving me sickish, but not very. 1758J. S. Le Dran's Observ. Surg. (1771) 269 It was not very adherent to any other Place than the Coccyx. a1871Grote Eth. Fragm. i. (1876) 24 They leave them unnoticed, and are not very willing to admit them in their full extent at all.
e. Qualifying a n. or proper name used adjectively (for emphasis).
1937[see predicatival a.]. 1968Listener 21 Mar. 389/3 The total effect is very Kirov: it has more in common with the Leningrad Cinderella..than with ours. 1978Hot Car July 87/5 Scallops, a very fifties paint idea, consisting of a long U-shaped design, the ends of which taper off to points.
3. In purely intensive use.
a. Emphasizing superlatives, esp. best, last, next.
† Also with virtual superlatives, as principal.
1567Drant Horace, Ep. vii. D iij, He will see the..wyth the swallowe verye firste that cummes into that place. 1654Gataker Disc. Apol. 17 This fel out to be the verie next day after Qeen Elizabeths decease. 1664Extr. St. P. rel. Friends ii. (1911) 188 A greater meeting..at her house then ever, the very next Sunday after the Sessions. 1684Scanderbeg Rediv. vi. 142 The City was now reduc'd to the very last Extremity. 1717Atterbury Serm., 1 Pet. ii 21 (1734) I. vi. 163 How then should the very Best of us..expect..to be free from them? 1753J. Collier Art Torment., Gen. Rules (1811) 199 If you know yourself to be of some consequence, although not the very principal person of the party. 1767Sterne Tr. Shandy ix. xxx, In the very next page. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 308 Three of the very richest subjects in England. 1865Baring-Gould Werewolves v. 53 Whenever they stray in the very least. 1892E. Reeves Homeward Bound 143 You have missed the very best thing in Kandy.
b. Denoting and emphasizing absolute identity or difference, esp. with same or opposite.
a1500Chester Pl. (Shaks. Soc.) 215 It is the vereye same [blind man]. 1542Udall Erasm. Apoph. i. Socrates §86 e iij, Plato,..whiche in rebukyng hym [Socrates] did committe the veraye selfe same faulte, that he rebuked. 1601Shakes. All's Well ii. iii. 29 That's it, I would haue said, the verie same. 1662J. Davies tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 182 That which happen'd on the very same day the year before. 1711Addison Spect. No. 44 ⁋6 Whose Murther he would revenge in the very same Place where it was committed. 1781[see selfsame a. 1]. 1833I. Taylor Fanat. i. 7 The very same spirit of kindness which should rule us in the performance of a task such as the one now in hand. 1835T. Mitchell Acharn. of Aristoph. 690 note, The very opposite word was of course expected.
†c. With advs. of time, place, or manner: Exactly, precisely, just; = even adv. 6. Obs.
(a)1530Palsgr. 808/1 Evyn very now, tout fyn mayntenant. a1553Udall Roister D. iv. vi. (Arb.) 70 T. Trusty. But when gost thou for him? M. Mery. That do I very nowe. a1555Philpot Exam. & Writ. (Parker Soc.) 334 It is possible some part of the Church for a time to be deceived when..they have a zeal of the truth,..yea, very then when they err, and plunge into any vice or sin. 1644Maxwell Prerog. Chr. Kings 74 If we alleadge Ignatius, it is to be feared he'l fare no better, for a great Scholar..hath very now rejected all we have of him. 1645Quarles Sol. Recant. viii. 41 Did not that voice, that voted Wisdome vain But very now, now cry it up again?
(b)1530Palsgr. 823/2 Very here, very ther, droit cy, droit la. 1612Two Noble K. v. iv. 115 In this place first you fought: ev'n very here I sundred you.
(c)a1592Greene Alphonsus ii. ii, What newes is this? and is it very so? Is our Alphonsus yet in humane state? 1632Sanderson Serm. 98 Very so ought we to conceiue the meaning of the vniversall particle ‘Every man’.
4. Repeated in order to convey greater emphasis. Also veryvery (as one word).
1649Nicholas Papers (Camden) 128, I have a verry verry great jealousy Lord Digby will be left in the lurch. 1653Walton Angler 137 He [the salmon] is very, very seldom observed to bite at a Minnow..and not oft at a fly. 1722De Foe Plague (1896) 46 It was indeed very, very, very dreadful. 1807Sir R. Wilson Priv. Diary 13 July (1862) II. 317 The retribution may be just but it is very very severe. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Man of Many Fr. I. 306, ‘I think him pleasant, and handsome, and—.’ ‘Oh! very, very,’ said George. 1837Dickens Pickw. iii, Oh! I see..; negus too strong here—liberal landlord—very foolish—very. 1969A. Lurie Real People 16 Croquet's become veryvery intense this year. 1977Transatlantic Rev. lx. 68 You have a very nice face... And were veryvery nice to me.
C. n.
†a. Truth, verity. Obs.—1
1382Wyclif Rom. Prol., Thes reuokith the apostle to the verrey [1388 treuthe] and the gospels bileue.
†b. for very, in very, or into very, = Truly, verily. Obs.
15..Smyth & his Dame 52 in Hazl. E.P.P. III. 203, I am mayster of all, That smyteth with hamer or mall, And so may thov me call, I tell the for ueray. c1550Rolland Crt. Venus ii. 96 Terpsichore [the] fift is callit in verray. Ibid. 772 Ane messinger said scho, into verray Thair erandis gais, baith nicht and als be day.
▪ II. † very(e) Obs.—1
(Meaning obscure; occurring only as part of a charm.)
c1386Chaucer Miller's T. 299 Ihesu Crist and seint Benedight Blesse this hous from euery wikked wight For nyghtes uerye [v.rr. very(e, verie, verray] the white pater noster.
▪ III. very(e)
obs. Sc. ff. wary v., weary a., worry v. |