| 释义 |
▪ I. want, n.1 Now dial.|wɒnt|
Forms: 1 wand, wond; 4–6 wonte, 7 wounte, 5– wont; 6 wante, (vant), 6– want; 9 dial. waunt, wunt, woont, (h)unt, (h)oont, etc. (see Eng. Dial. Dict.).
[OE. wand, wǫnd = Sw. dial. vand (cited by Aasen), Norw. vand, vaand, vond, vønd, mole, also shrew (also in comb. moldvond ‘earth-mole’, in contradistinction to vatsvond water-rat, and in vandskjer shrew, synonymous with musskjer, where the first element is mus mouse). The word is possibly a shortened form of the synonymous compound OE. wandeweorpe, MLG. wandworp, windeworp, wannewörpe, mod.LG. winneworp (Doornkaat Koolman), in which the second element (f. Teut. *werp- to throw) corresponds to that of mouldwarp. The root seems clearly to be the Teut. *wend-: *wand- to turn (see wind, wend vbs.); prob. the word has reference to the winding passages made by the animal.
The word is found in the 8th c. glossaries, but does not again appear till near the end of the 14th c. All the ME. and mod. Eng. forms agree in the unexplained substitution of t for the final d of the OE. form. The word is unknown to the dialects of the northern and north-east midland counties, but is elsewhere in common use.]
A mole.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) T 16 Talpa, wond [Epinal wand, Erfurt uuond, Leiden uoond.] 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) I. 339 Þere [sc. in Ireland] lakkeþ..wontes, and oþere venemous bestes [L. talpis et cæteris venenosis]. 14..Metr. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 625/9 Wont, talpa. 1509Barclay Shyp of Folys 206 b, A slouthfull creature is..as a molle, or vant mete and able For to do profyte within a garden grene. 1530Palsgr. 286/2 Want beest a molle, taulpe. 1566Act 8 Eliz. c. 15 §2 For the Heades of everie Moldwarpe or Wante one halfpeny. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osorius 113 b, By this Argument you may playnely perceave unlesse you wilbe wilfully blind like a want. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts 498, I do vtterly dissent from all them that holde opinion that the Mole or Want is of the kinde of Myse. 1610R. Vaughan Water-Workes E 2 b, As Wountes or Moles, hunt after wormes. 1660Guillim's Displ. Heraldry iii. xvii. (ed. 4) 207 He beareth, Argent, a Cheuron between three Moles or Wants, Sable. 1686Plot Staffordsh. 196 Part of a stone..that prettily represented a Mole or Want. a1800Pegge Suppl. Grose, Want, a mole. Herefordshire; where it is pronounced Wunt. 1829J. L. Knapp Jrnl. Nat. 146 The mole, want, mouldwarper, or mould⁓turner (talpa Europæa) is common with us. 1884Blackw. Mag. Dec. 785/2 Not much bigger than a mouse or small want.
b. Comb., as want-catcher, want-killer, want-taker; want-hill, a molehill.
1598T. Bastard Chrestoleros (1880) 21 Walking the fieldes a *wantcatcher I spide. 1905Athenæum 16 Sept. 371/1, I can..remember..sitting..in the chimney corner of the house at Luccombe of..the parish want-catcher.
14..Lat.-Eng. Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 615/10 Talpefodium, a *wonthylle. 1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 380/1 Grumus,..an hop hil, mole-hill, or want hill.
1610R. Vaughan Water-Workes R 2, Were it not for my brauing-trench and my stankes, I should neuer need the vse of a *Want-killer.
1533in Lett. & Papers Henry VIII, VI. No. 914. 392 [Deposition] of John Shubrocke, of Northover, *wanttaker.
▪ II. want, n.2|wɒnt|
Also 2–3 wannt, 4–5 wont, 4–6 wante, 6 wannte.
[a. ON. vant neut. of van-r adj. lacking, missing (see wane a.), also quasi-n. in such expressions as var þeim vettugis vant, they were in want of nothing; var vant kýr, a cow was missing. Mod. NFris. waant lack, fault (Sylt), need, lack, necessity, starvation (Amrum), is perhaps derived from the vb. of identical form (see want v.), and ultimately of Scandinavian origin. In English also, in later usage, the n. is often a direct derivative from the vb. (q.v.). Cf. also quart a. and n.1, scant a. etc.]
†1. predicatively, or quasi-adj. (Something that is) wanting, missing. In Ormin const. with dative. Obs. rare.
c1200Ormin 14398 Acc hemm wass wannt gastlic innsihht I þeȝȝre gode lare. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 1914 Troye newe ys Trenouant, Two wordes in one, & non ys want. c1400Rule St. Benet xxvii. 22 Þe gude herde, þat lefte in þe munte ane wane of a hundrez sep, and yede at seke þis ane þat was want.
2. a. Deficiency, shortage, lack (of something desirable or necessary, esp. a quality or attribute).
no want (of): no lack, abundance (of). without want: without deficiency in any point (obs.).
a1300Cursor M. 10406 Þai þat stad er in þair blis, Witvten want has alle þair wis. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 131 Now wyl I of hor seruise say yow no more, For vch wyȝe may well wit no wont þat þer were. 1530Palsgr. 286/2 Want of beauty, laideur. 1587L. Mascall Bk. Cattle, Hogs (1596) 261 The forrests and commons are most conuenient for them to feede on..where there is want of such trees ye must haue them to other feeding ground. 1611Bible Judg. xix. 19 There is both straw and prouender for our asses, and there is bread and wine also for me and for thy handmaid..: there is no want of any thing. 1651Hobbes Leviath. i. viii. 34 'Tis the want of Discretion that makes the difference. 1684Roscommon Ess. Transl. Verse 114 Immodest words admit of no defence, For want of Decency is want of Sense. 1775Franklin Let. to M. Dumas 9 Dec., Their total want of English is at present an obstruction to their getting any employment among us. 1825Scott Talism. x, He retained also a general sense of respect for his own reputation, which sometimes supplies the want of the better principles by which reputation is to be maintained. 1844H. H. Wilson Brit. India III. 97 The want of cattle for the conveyance of stores and baggage was one of the most serious obstacles of the march of the army. 1859H. Kingsley G. Hamlyn xxxiv, A miserable faction..have assumed the reins of government, and, in spite of three votes of want of confidence, persist in retaining the seals of office. 1870Pall Mall Gaz. 23 Sept. 10/1 Owing to the confusion incident to this arrangement, or want of arrangement, the duties proper to each institution are inefficiently discharged. 1884Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 616/2 note, The deceased was also guilty of negligence or of want of reasonable care contributing to the accident.
†b. pl. Instances of shortage. Obs.
1660in J. Simon Ess. Irish Coins (1749) 127 And so proportionable for greater or less wants of weight in the said pieces [coins]. a1700Evelyn Diary 23 June 1689, An extraordinary drowth, to the threatening of great wants as to the fruits of the earth. 1751C. Labelye Westm. Bridge 75 Difficulties occasioned by..frequent Wants of Stone, which was kept from us by long easterly Winds.
c. for (occas. by, from, in, through) want of: for lack of; because of the absence or deficiency of.
c1400Destr. Troy 12085 Antenor..denyet hym onon, þat noqwere he knew Þat commly be keppet, ne in cloese haldyn. Þen wrathid þo worthi [Agamemnon] for wont of þe burde. 1556Rec. Inverness (New Spalding Club) I. 2 That day..assingit to James Paterson..to preif quhat skayth he had sustenit in want of his boyt quhilkis Necoll Kar intromettit with. 1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 31 For want of seede, land yeeldeth weede. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 172 For often haue you writ to her: and she in modesty, Or else for want of idle time, could not againe reply. 1608Pennyless Parl. Threadbare Poets in Harl. Misc. (1744) I. 180 Many, for Want of Wit, shall sell their Freehold for Tobacco-pipes and red Petticoats. a1633G. Herbert Outlandish Prov. (1640) 499 For want of a naile the shoe is lost, for want of a shoe the horse is lost, for want of a horse the rider is lost. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 796 'Twas then that Buffalo's, ill pair'd, were seen To draw the Carr of Jove's Imperial Queen For want of Oxen. 1742Kames Decis. Crt. Sess. 1730–52 (1799) 55 When a man is pinched for want of money, he will submit to any conditions, however hard, to come at it. 1808E. S. Barrett Miss-led General 136 They could not pursue them for want of cavalry. 1848Dickens Dombey xlv, I have deferred doing so, for want of opportunity. 1872Bryant Pract. Surg. (1884) I. 778 Umbilical Hernia..is common in children from want of closure of the umbilicus. 1889‘J. S. Winter’ Mrs. Bob x. (1891) 125 He..had no notion of losing anything for the want of asking for it. 1891Law Times XCII. 125/1 An agreement in writing which they cannot produce in the County Court for want of a stamp.
†d. in (rarely in the) want of: failing; in the absence of (something needed or desired). Obs.
1655Culpepper etc. Riverius x. vi. 298 In want of Milk, you may give Almond Milk, or Barley Cream, or Rice Milk. 1729Butler Serm. Wks. 1874 II. 186 There is just the same reason for quiet resignation in the want of every thing equally unattainable.
3. a. The state of lacking the necessaries of life; penury; destitution. Also, the condition of lacking food; famine; starvation. to come to want: to be reduced to penury.
1340–70Alex. & Dind. 857 For-þi bi-houus ȝou, haþel, harde to libbe & wo drie in þis word for wante & for nede! Ibid. 867 Swich hungur as ȝe han by-houus ȝou þolie, &, be ȝou lef oþur loþ libben in wante. 1597Extracts Munic. Acc. Newcastle (1848) 44 Paide for the charges of buringe 9 poore folkes who died for wante in the streetes, for their graves making, 3s. 1610Shakes. Temp. iv. i. 116 Scarcity and want shall shun you, Ceres' blessing so is on you. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. vii. xix, And with him [Porneius] Wastefulnesse, that all expended, And Want, that still in theft and prison ended. 1653Ramesey Astrol. Restored 241 The People generally shall be driven to want. a1718Prior Knowledge 622 Whilst We struggle in this Vale beneath, With Want and Sorrow. 1766Goldsm. Hermit 13 Here to the houseless child of want My door is open still. 1782F. Burney Cecilia iv. x, Who could have thought of his living so among the great folks, and then coming to want! 1840Dickens Old C. Shop lxxiii, Through the same kind agency, his mother was secured from want, and made quite happy. 1866Macdonald Ann. Q. Neighb. ix. (1878) 162 Many was the time that want had come in at her door. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. cxii. III. 607 In Europe..he will perceive that by far the greater number lead very laborious lives, and are..liable to fall into want. 1900R. S. Barbour Thoughts (1909) 46 Want is a mighty leveller.
Prov.1736Bailey (fol.) s.v. Waste, Wilful Waste makes woful Want.
†b. pl. Straits; circumstances (or times) of want, hardship, suffering, etc. Obs.
1588Penry (title) A viewe of some part of such publike wants and disorders as are in the seruice of God, within..Wales. 1614Ralegh Hist. World iii. x. §13. 124 Hitherto the danger of enemies and miseries of weather and wants, had kept the companie in firme unitie. 1653Holcroft Procopius, Vandal Wars ii. 47 In the mean time Jabdas leaving a sufficient guard for the Castle was gone up to the top of Aurasium, fearing to be blockt up in the Castle, and reduced to wants. 1697Dryden æneis vii. 1009 Rough Saticulans, inur'd to Wants. 1731in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 380 Ere long I shall be reduced to great wants.
†4. The fact that a person (rarely a thing) is not present; absence. Obs.
c1480Henryson Want of Wyse Men 8 Now sele is sorow, this is a wofull werde, Sen want of wyse men makis fulis to sit on binkis. 1581A. Hall Iliad i. 4 Sith I needes muste yeelde hir vp,..(Ah) take hir then..hir want I rather craue, Than that this people here, should not their health and safety haue. 1590Spenser F.Q. i. viii. 11 As when..An heard of Bulles..Do for the milkie mothers want complaine. 15912nd Pt. Troub. Raigne K. John (1611) 73 The King entreats your soonest speed To visit him, who on your present want, Did ban and curse his birth, himselfe and me. 1610B. Jonson Sp. Pr. Henry's Barriers 114 For being deprest a while, Want makes vs know the price of what we auile. 1611Tourneur Ath. Trag. v. ii, The price of things is best known in their want. a1625Fletcher Women Pleas'd iii. iii. (1647) 34/2 Lord... No roome in all the Court but we search'd through it Her women found her want first and they cry'd to us. 1633Shirley Witty Fair One i. i, I leaue her to your trust, And in my absence doubt not you will be Both Vncle and Father. Wor. Willingly... I know she is your study, in your want I will put on your jealousie. 1831James Phil. Augustus ii, The want of his gauntlets and brassards showed his arms covered with a quilted jacket of crimson silk.
5. a. A condition marked by the lack of some necessary thing, or requiring some extraneous aid or addition; need; also, an instance of this, and so freq. pl. (passing into the quasi-concr. sense ‘requirement’, 5 b). Phrase, a (long-)felt want (also in sense 5 b). to supply (anticipate, consult, provide for, etc.) one's wants: to satisfy (provide for, etc.) one's needs.
1578H. Wotton Courtlie Controv. 251 The Grecian Prince..caried a bagge full of winde to supply his want at all times. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. i. iii. 141, I would..Supplie your present wants. 1611Bible Judg. xix. 20 Let all thy wants lie vpon me; only lodge not in the street. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 62 The Citizens lay up corne brought out of Poland, and according to the wants of Europe, carry it into many kingdomes. 1648Gage West Ind. 127 The Fryers..upon a sudden want or occasion take out from thence as much fish as will give the whole Cloister a dinner. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. 88 Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Men have a right that these wants should be provided for by this wisdom. Among these wants is to be reckoned the want, out of civil society, of a sufficient restraint upon their passions. 1819Shelley Cenci ii. ii. 12 The eldest son of a rich nobleman..has wide wants, and narrow powers. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xi, Day after day, and night after night, found her still by the pillow of the unconscious sufferer, still anticipating his every want. 1876Mozley Univ. Serm. xv. 258 As soon as one great want is satisfied another arises, and then another.
b. quasi-concr. Something needed or required; a requirement, desideratum. Freq. pl. Also, something that one wishes to have (as opposed to what one needs or requires).
1579in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 430 That no..tymber be ladden or transported oute of this towne..salfe onely fuell of wood for fyre and the presente wannte of repayringe of the shippis. 1589Hakluyt Voy. Ep. Ded. ⁋1 He pointed with his wand to all the knowen..Empires, Kingdomes, Dukedomes, and Territories of ech part, with declaration also of their speciall commmodities, & particular wants. c1645Howell Lett. (1650) I. 169 For the soil of Spain, the fruitfulness of their vallies recompences the sterility of their hills; corn is their greatest want. 1785Paley Mor. Philos. vi. xi. (1786) 593 Habitual superfluities become real wants. 1850Carlyle Latter-d. Pamph. i. (1872) 37 Your want of wants, I say, is that you be commanded in this world. 1861F. Nightingale Nursing 5 The remedies are just as well known; and among them is certainly not the establishment of a Child's Hospital. This may be a want. 1872Bookseller 2 Apr. 341 Advt., Wants and Vacancies. A Medium for the Selection of Servants and Situations. Price One Penny [bi-monthly]. 1875J. H. Bennet Winter Medit. (ed. 5) 408 Vividness in colour probably becomes an actual want to southerners. 1881Jowett Thucyd. I. 177 You will gain the alliance of a great naval power, and a navy is your chief want. 1946G. M. Trevelyan English Social History (ed. 2) xii. 388 Tea, porcelain and woven cotton goods were now being imported..in such quantities that they came within reach of the mass of the population. They created new wants and..demand was so great that home-manufacturers took to making cotton goods and china ware. 1950Sport 24–30 Mar. 19/4 (Advt.), Clubs..can use our national net-work of experts to provide grounds, fixtures, insurance, fund-raisers and all club wants. 1955W. J. Bate Achievement of Samuel Johnson (1978) ii. 70 General wishes have to localize themselves into definite wants. 1977Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. xii. 1/4 The first-floor laundry room is definitely more a ‘need’ than a ‘want’ item nowadays. 1983J. Barzun Stroll with W. James 280 He did not fall into the trap of supposing that a child's needs are the same as his wants.
c. in want of: in need of; not having, or having in insufficient measure. in no want of: having abundantly.
1694Stanhope Epictetus etc. i. 28 Inanimate Creatures..are oftentimes in great want of some Quality or other; Heat, or Cold, or Drought, or Moisture. 1710Steele Tatler No. 5 ⁋5 Their Troops were in Want of all Manner of Necessaries. 1769Blackstone Comm. IV. ii. 31 A man in extreme want of food or clothing. 1837W. Irving Capt. Bonneville II. 269 You are more in want of horses than I am: keep him. 1853Dickens Bleak Ho. xii, She is in no want of words to shower upon Rosa.
d. Proverbial phrase, then want must be your master, etc., used in refusing a demand expressed by ‘I want ―’.
1731–8Swift Pol. Conversat. i. 59, I want that Diamond-Ring of yours. Why, then, Want's like to be your Master. 1828[J. P. Collier] Punch & Judy 80 Punch. Come up stairs: I want you. Judy. Then want must be your master. I'm busy.
e. ? A sense of need. rare.
1820Shelley Sensit. Pl. i. 11 Like a doe in the noontide with love's sweet want. 1894‘G. Egerton’ Discords 179 The band..strike up.. a weird witching thing with a want in it.
6.
†a. A defect, failing, fault; a shortcoming; rarely a natural blemish. Obs., and apparently almost confined to the 17th c.
1592Babington Notes Genesis ix. 38 Greater men then wee haue had theyr wants. 1599T. M[oufet] Silkwormes 18 So perfit loue in mortals is not found Some little warts or wants in all we spie. 1603Breton Post Packet Mad Lett. (Grosart) 14/1 Touching my husband, though his wants were grieuous, yet to want him is my greatest sorrow. 1611Beaum. & Fl. King & No K. i. (1619) 6 Were shee So perfect, that no one of her owne sex Could finde a want. 1635Maldon (Essex) Borough Deeds Bundle 80 No. 2 b, For repairinge and amendinge of the wants and present decayes of the bridges. 1677Sedley Ant. & Cl. Wks. 1722 I. 122 A Sceptre may for pers'nal wants attone. 1728Young Love Fame ii. (1757) 95 Wants of all kinds are made to fame a plea; One learns to lisp; another, not to see.
b. Sc. to have a want, to be mentally deficient.
1825Jamieson, Suppl. s.v., To Hae a want, to be under mental imbecility. 1826Galt Last of Lairds vii. 62 The whutch maid her jeer me as if I had a want, and been daft likewyse. 1879‘S. Tytler’ in Good Wds. 349 He has a ‘want’, you know, and is not fit for much.
7. A gap, hole, hollow. Obs. exc. dial. rare.
1663Baxter Div. Life i. x. (1664) 82 The wants in the wheels of your watch are as useful to the motion as the nucks or solid parts. 1725Bradley's Family Dict. s.v. Saddle, The Saddle should be placed exactly on the middle of the Back, the Fore-bow just at the Want of the Shoulders. 1828Carr Craven Gloss., Want, a deficiency or hollow place in a piece of timber, or the edge of a board.
8. Coal-mining. = nip n.1
1867[See nip n.1].
9. Comb. as want-begotten, want-creating ppl. adjs.; want column (sense 5; cf. also ellipt. use of wanted pa. pple. in advertisements); see want v. 4; similarly want ad(vertisement).
1897Chicago Record 1 Mar. 10/4 Record ‘*want ads’ bring results. 1919Mencken Amer. Lang. 160 Ad-writer, want-ad,..and ad-man, are already accepted in technical terminology. 1940R. Chandler Farewell, my Lovely vii. 43 The Montgomery killing hadn't even made the want-ad section. 1977C. McFadden Serial (1978) xlv. 96/1 The want ads..no longer solicited secondhand Hide A Beds.
1887Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 12 Jan. 5/3 The World is treating Mr. Conkling as it treats its circulation and its ‘*want’ advertisements upon occasion. 1919F. Hurst Humoresque 116 She took to..scanning want-advertisements as she stood at the news-stand.
1850Tennyson In Mem. xxvii. 12, I envy not in any moods..The heart that never plighted troth But stagnates in the weeds of sloth; Nor any *want-begotten rest.
1884E. W. Nye Baled Hay 239 The *want column of the Chicago News..has the following: ‘Twelve ‘frightful examples’ wanted.’ 1901W. R. H. Trowbridge Lett. her Mother to Eliz. iv. 14 Lady Beatrice found her [her cook] in the Want column of the Standard.
1897M. Kingsley W. Africa 651 The manifold, *want-creating culture of modern European civilisation and education.
▪ III. want, v.|wɒnt|
Also 2–3 (Orm.) wannte, 3 wonti(e, 3–5 wont(e, 3–7 wante, 4–5 wantt(e, Sc. 4–6 vant, 5 whante, 6 waunt.
[prob. a. ON. vanta wk. vb. impers. = MSwed. vanta, also vantas refl., Swed. dial. vanta to be wanting, Norw. (Aasen) vanta to be lacking, absent, also trans. to lack, Da. (Jutland dial.) vante trans. to lack. From Scandinavian also is prob. mod. NFris. waant to need, fail, lack, do without (pers. and impers.). ON. vanta perh. represents an earlier *wanatōn with a derivative -t suffix not connected with the neut. adj. ending seen in the n.]
1. a. intr. To be lacking or missing; not to exist; not to be forthcoming; to be deficient in quantity or degree. In early use const. with dative or to. rare since the 17th c., and now arch. (to be wanting is current; see wanting ppl. a.)
a1225Ancr. R. 194 Hwonne ou ne wonteð nowiht, þeonne ueineð he mid ou. Ibid. 406 Ne þunche hire neuer wunder þauh hire wontie þe Holi Gostes froure. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2155 Ðan coren wantede in oðer lond, Ðo ynug [was] vnder his hond. a1300Cursor M. 3053 Þam wanted brede, þeir water es gan, Hope of lijf ne had þai nan. 13..Northern Passion 156/440* So it bifell þe folk had care ffor þat þam wanted water þare. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 593 Bot proud man of þis tas na hede For hym wantes skille, þat hym suld lede. 1375Barbour Bruce v. 422 And it is to perelouss thing In castell till assegit be, Quhar that ane vantis of this thre, Vittale, or men with thair armyng. c1460Sir R. Ros La Belle Dame 449 To give the good where it wanteth, trewly, That were resoun and a curteys maner. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop II. ix, They whiche ben on lyue haue some whiche drede them but theyr drede wantith and faylleth whan they ben dede. 1488Acc. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 89 To a sclatar for the poyntin of al the place of Stirling, and for sclaytis that wantit and lyme, xij li. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 81 Where obedyence wanteth (sayth saynt Austyn) there is no goodnes. 1546J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 42 Diners can not be long, where deinties want. 1579Spenser Sheph. Cal. June 3 Tell me, what wants me here, to worke delyte? a1592Greene Jas. IV, iv. iv, O wearie life, where wanteth no distresse. 1598R. Grenewey Tacitus, Ann. iv. ii. (1622) 90 The armies were to be supplied with a new muster. For voluntarie men now wanted: or if there were any; they were not of so vertuous and modest a cariage. 1630Earl of Manchester in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 273 If your help be in this business, as I know it shall not want, it is no matter though your hand wanted to the certificate. a1648Ld. Herbert Hen. VIII (1683) 17 Besides, that in France there neuer wanted discontented Persons, who would joyn with his Forces. 1827Hallam Const. Hist. I. viii. 465 There wanted not reasons in the cabinet of Charles for placing the navy at this time on a respectable footing. 1830Gen. P. Thompson Exerc. (1842) I. 245 There wants a collection of dying speeches of nefarious governments.
†b. To fall short of a certain amount. Obs.
1472–3Rolls of Parlt. VI. 56/2 All such sommes of money, as shall want or lak of the forseid sommes.
†c. To be lacking to complete a certain total or achieve a result. Const. of or negative clause. Also impers., in absolute uses of 2 d: hem wantiþ, they are not fully qualified; there wants, something is lacking (const. to with inf.); it wants of six (o'clock), it is not quite six. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 14667 Littel wantid þat þam [? read þai ne with Gött.] war wode. 13..Gaw. & Gr. Knt. 1062 & of þat ilk nwȝere bot neked now wantez. 13..E.E. Allit. P. B. 739 ‘And fyne wont of fyfty,’ quod god, ‘I schal forȝete alle & wyth-halde my honde for hortyng on lede. c1380Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 434 Þei feynen falsliche þat þei ben vikeris of Crist; for likliche hem wantiþ to be þe leeste membre þat Crist haþ ordeyned to be of his Chirche. 1618J. Wilkinson Treat., Of a Court Leet 79 b, The steward may impanell any stranger, if there want to make xii. of y⊇ Iury. 1639Du Verger tr. Camus' Admir. Events 164 He..abusing him with injurious words, & threats, (& as he was surly & apt to strike) little wanted of blows. 1697Dryden æneis xii. 937 Then, shall I see Laurentum in a flame, Which only wanted to compleat my shame. 1709Mrs. Manley Secret Mem. (1720) IV. 136 The Prince was true to his Letter. It wanted of Six, when in my Man's Apparel I got to the Grotto, but found Endymion in possession of it. 1768Wilkes Hist. Eng. I. Introd. 13 The fire had been long laid, and there only wanted such a spark to force a blaze.
†d. To fail (const. with dative or to); to give out; to be insufficient for (a purpose, etc.). Obs.
c1400Rom. Rose 2530 But word and wit, with chere ful pale, Shul wante for to telle thy tale. a1400–50Wars Alex. 5480 Or els þai tillid þaim to þe trees as þe buke tellis, And gert þaim laike with þaim so lange till þaim þe life wantis. 1553Eden Treat. Newe Ind. Ded. (Arb.) 6 One whose good will hath not wanted to gratifie your grace with a better thing if mine abilitie were greater. 1598Hakluyt Voy. I. 58 But they of the citie fought manfully against them, with engines, dartes, and arrowes, and when stones wanted they threw siluer, and especially melted siluer.
†e. To fail to do something; to be wanting (in one's endeavours). Obs.
In quot. 1576 perh. ‘to lack the wherewithal’, to be too poor.
1426Lydg. De Guil. Pilgr. 16733 For thow, lady, ffayllest neuere, nor thow wantest nat to do socour and helpe to alle that deuoutly besechyn and prayen vn-to the. 1576Common Conditions 216 (Brooke) Like beggers wee liue and want to pay rent. 1643J. Burroughes Exp. 1st 3 ch. Hosea xviii. 455 So far as you want in your endeavours after this, so far there is an evil.
† f. To be a defaulter; to be absent, missing. Obs.
1435Misyn Fire of Love ii. iv. 76 Saluum me fac deus, quoniam defecit sanctus, þat is to say: ‘lorde, make me sayffe, for þe sayntis wantys.’ c1440Alphabet of Tales 169 In þe kurk of Palernens was þer a certan dean þat sent a servand of his to seke a palfray of his þat hym wantid. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 290 Ane man that office suld beir be tyme at this tyde, He will be found in his fault, that wantis foroutin weir. c1480Henryson Wolf & Wether 45 In all thingis he [the wether] counterfait the Dog; For all the nicht he stude and tuke na sleip, Swa that weill lang thair wantit not ane Hog. 1600E. Blount tr. Conestaggio 153 For there wanted aboue sixe thousand souldiers of them which had been leuied.
2. a. trans. Not to have; to be without, to lack; to have too little of; to be destitute of, or deficient in; to fail to have, or get. Now rare, exc. with object a desirable quality or attribute; in Palæography and Bibliography, to lack (a leaf or a page).
c1200Ormin 13380 All þatt wannteþþ Cristess hald All sinnkeþþ inntill helle. a1352Minot Poems vii. 103 Sir Philip wanted all his will, Þat was wele on his sembland sene. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiv. (Pelagia) 23 Wantande nathing of bewte, Þat in a woman suld fundyn be. c1460Towneley Myst. xiii. 421 Full wofull is the householde That wantys a woman. c1470Henry Wallace vi. 340 Thre thousand haill off likly men in wer, And feill on fute quhilk wantyt hors and ger. c1480Henryson Cock & Fox 2 Thocht brutall beistis be Irrationall, That is to say, wantand discretioun. a1533Frith Disput. Purgat. Wks. (1573) 22 We haue all sinned and want the glory whiche before God is allowed. 1560Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872) 262 Tua beddis wantand the sydis nixt the wall. 1577in W. H. Turner Select. Rec. Oxford (1880) 395 Everye one that shall wante his gowne shall lose his place. 1625Burges Pers. Tithes 67 It is a thousand pitties they should want blowes who will doe nothing without them. 1684tr. Bonet's Merc. Compit. i. 16 If you want Peaches, you may use Juice of soure Apples. 1700Dryden Monum. Fair Maiden Lady 2 Below this Marble Monument is laid All that Heav'n wants of this Celestial Maid. 1710Hearne Collect. (O.H.S.) III. 80 He has sent 3 Lectures to be printed at Oxford (they wanting Arabick Types at Cambridge). 1728T. Sheridan tr. Persius iii. (1739) 48 It is very natural that Sciences should be ridiculed by those who want them. 1793Burns Selkirk Grace 2 Some hae meat, and canna eat, And some wad eat that want it. 1836[J. Grant] Random Recoll. Ho. Lords xvi. 402 His matter wants vigour and depth, and his manner is deficient in energy. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iii. I. 302 Mulgrave, though he wanted experience, wanted neither parts nor courage. 1852R. A. Willmott Pleas. Lit. (ed. 2) vi. 37 The Library of Petrarch wanted the Divine Comedy, until Boccaccio sent it decorated with gold. 1876L. Stephen Eng. Th. 18th C. I. 170 A purely optimistic creed always wants any real stamina. 1895M. R. James Catal. MSS. Sidney Sussex Coll. 114 Vellum... Cent. xiv, xv... Collation: a8 (wants 1, 2) b8–ff8. 1976Anglo-Saxon England V. 150, i8 wants 1.
†b. To be free from (something undesirable).
1631May tr. Barclay's Mirr. Mindes i. 206 The English which want somewhat of the pompous shew of the French humanity, doe want much more of their barbourous cruelty. 1787[Beattie] Scoticisms 105 We wanted the plague in Scotland, when they had it in England. a1791Grose Olio (1792) 110 [Scotsman loq.] I am much better indeed; I have wanted the gout these three months.
†c. To spare (labour). Obs. (? nonce-use.)
1573–80Tusser Husb. (1878) 10. I haue no labour wanted to prune this tree thus planted, whose fruite to none is scanted, in house or yet in feeld.
d. To come short by (so much) of completing a certain total or attaining a certain result. Now chiefly impers. in telling the time of day: it wants (so many minutes) of (now more commonly to) such an hour. † Formerly often to want little, want nothing, etc. used personally and impers., const. of with vbl. n., to with inf., or negative clause, to indicate a close approach to the attainment of a certain result.
In referring to the time of day this form of expression is now becoming less usual: the ordinary phrase is it is (so many minutes) to (such an hour).
c1420Anturs of Arth. 584 (Douce MS.) He wanted noȝte to be slayne þe brede of ane hare. 1530Palsgr. 771/1 It wanted but a lytell that I was nat taken. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 217 We had now some two miles to Ierusalem, yet in the very Hauen, we wanted little of perishing. 1638tr. Bacon's Hist. Life & Death 135 Eight Men, whose Age computed together, made up eight hundred yeares; In so much, that what some of them wanted of an hundred, others exceeded as much. 1653Clarke Papers (Camden) III. 6 Lettres came from the Generalls that they wanted a dayes sayle from the Dutch fleete, but were in great hopes to overtake them. 1665Hooke Microgr. 201 If it chanced to want anything of being perfectly opposite. 1699Bentley Phalaris Addenda 541 They wanted two years of Man's Age. 1727Swift Let. to Sheridan 29 Aug., I now want only three months of sixty. 1748Anson's Voy. i. i. 7 His squadron wanted three hundred seamen of their complement. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xi. v, Of my fortune not one farthing could be touched till I was of age, of which I wanted now more than two years. 1784Henley Note on Beckford's Vathek (1868) 126 It wanted little but that the genii had pressed on him in crowds. 1830James Step-mother lxxix. III. 326 You vagabond, you said it was ten o'clock, and it wants twenty minutes. 1834Tracts for Times No. 22. 5 It still wanted a considerable time to school. 1848Dickens Dombey lv, ‘How goes the time? My watch is unwound.’ ‘Wants a few minutes of five o'clock, sir.’ 1865Trollope Belton Est. vi. 59 It only wants five minutes to dinner. 1891W. C. Russell Marriage at Sea xi, It wanted but twenty minutes to eight. 1905R. Bagot Passport iii. 25 Although it wanted yet twenty minutes to midnight the church was nearly full.
†e. To be deprived of, to lose. Obs.
c1480Henryson Wolf & Wether 35, I [sc. the wether] sall not spair To follow him [sc. the wolf] als fast as did ȝour Doig, Swa that, I warrand, ȝe sall not want ane hoig. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxxiii. 42 He cowth gif cure for laxatyve, To gar a wicht horss want his lyve. 1535Coverdale Isa. xxxviii. 10, I thought I shulde haue gone to the gates of hell in my best age, and haue wanted the residue of my yeares. 1536Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) II. 89 He maid mony lawis for the liberte of haly kirke; He that dang ane preist suld want his hand. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. I. 121 Lat him want his sword, and thair eftir avoyd his cumpanie. 1695A. Telfair New Confut. Sadd. (1696) 4 The Pot-hooks and Hanger were carried out of the Chimney, and being wanted four days, they found them at last in a Cockloft. 1724Ramsay's Tea-t. Misc. (1733) I. 14, I neither wanted ew nor lamb While his flock near me lay.
† f. To feel the loss of, to miss. Obs.
1623Webster Duchess Malfi iii. ii, You shall want him, For know an honest states-man to a Prince, Is like a Cedar, planted by a Spring. 1626B. Jonson Staple of N. i. vi, I must needes say, I lost an Officer of him, a good Bayliffe, And I shall want him; but all peace be with him. 1749Chesterfield Let. to Son 14 Nov., You should be alerte, adroit, vif; be wanted, talked of, impatiently expected, and unwillingly parted with in company.
†g. To fail to recollect. Obs. rare.
c1381Chaucer Parl. Foules 287 And manye a mayde of whiche the name I wante. a1500Flower & Leaf 150 Diamondes fyne and rubies rede, And many another stoon, of which I want The names now.
¶h. (Confused use.) who cannot want the thought? who can help thinking?
1605Shakes. Macb. iii. vi. 8 Who cannot want the thought, how monstrous It was for Malcolme, and for Donalbane To kill their gracious Father?
i. wanting (pres. pple.), not having, deprived of, without; (in definitions of a smaller quantity by its difference from a larger) lacking, less, minus. Obs. exc. Sc.
1536in [Ledwich] Antiq. Sarisb. (1771) 192 A cross, with Abraham offering up Isaac, and a lamb behind him, with an Angel wanting one wing. 1570Billingsley Euclid i. def. ii. 2 A lyne is..length wantyng breadth and thicknes. 1593Shakes. Rich. II, ii. iii. 10 What a wearie way From Rauenspurgh to Cottshold will be found, In Rosse and Willoughby, wanting your companie. 1629Hobbes Thucydides ii. 89, 10000 Talents wanting 300. a1700Evelyn Diary 27 Feb. 1645, Three chips of the real Crosse; one of the nailes, wanting a point. 1726Swift Gulliver ii. i, I measured the Tail of the dead Rat, and found it to be two Yards long wanting an Inch. 1777A. Adams in Fam. Let. (1876) 268 'Tis four months wanting three days since we parted. 1809Bawdwen Domesday Bk. York etc. 246 In Scireburne (Sherborn) with the Berewicks, the archbishop has 100 carucates of land, wanting four. 1886Stevenson Kidnapped xviii, I would not go wanting sword and gun, and with a long fishing-rod. Ibid. xx, I have come wanting a water-bottle.
j. To go or do without. Usually in negative expressions, esp. with cannot, etc. Obs. exc. dial.
1562W. Bullein Bulwark, Bk. Simples (1579) 27 The fysher and Fouler must haue hempe to make their nettes. And no Archer can want his Bowstring. a1572Knox Hist. Ref. Wks. 1846 I. 287, I can nott weall want him, or some preachar. I can nott put away sic ane man. 1592Kyd Sol. & Pers. v. i. 37 And sweete Perseda, I will stay with you, From Brusor my beloued; and Ile want him Till he bring backe Erastus vnto you. 1606Chapman Mons. d'Olive ii. i, Tabacco, that excellent plant, the vse whereof (as of fift Element) the world cannot want. 1637Rutherford Let. to Ld. Craighall 10 Aug., Ye have a fair occasion to gratifie Christ now, if ye will..want the night's sleep with your suffering Saviour one hour. 1644Milton Areop. (Arb.) 48 Such books are..usefull drugs.., wherewith to temper and compose effective and strong med'cins, which mans life cannot want. 1667― P.L. v. 365 By descending from the Thrones above, Those happie places thou hast deignd a while To want, and honour these. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. III. 568 Servants, in those Countries where long and loose Garments are worn, could not, without great inconvenience, want a part of Cloathing so necessary for Expedition. 1772Cowper Let. to J. Hill 27 June, I had rather want many things, any thing, indeed, that this world could afford me, than abuse the affection of a friend. 1814Jane Austen Mansf. Park I. vi. 119 To want a horse and cart in the country seemed impossible. 1818Scott Br. Lamm. xxix, A worthless old play-fellow of mine, whose company I would rather want than have. 1880Antrim & Down Gloss. s.v., We can't want the pony the day.
†k. to want (gerundial inf.): to seek, not forthcoming. Obs. rare—1.
1563Homilies II, Rogation Wk. iii. 243 b, Remember I say once againe your duetie of thankes, let them be neuer to want.
3. intr. (partly absol. of sense 2).
†a. simply. To be in want of something implied by the context, or of the necessaries of life. Obs.
13..Lay-Folks Mass-Bk. App. iv. 311 He wrot so faste til þat he want, For his parchemyn skin was so scant. 1579Hake Newes out of Powles (1872) E v b, Though their bellies want: Their backs must brauely clothed be. 1618J. Taylor (Water P.) Penniless Pilgr. F 4 b, Master James Acmootye comming for England, said, that if I would ride with him, that neither I nor my horse should want betwixt that place and London. 1620Westward for Smelts (Percy Soc.) 31 He [sc. the King] being moved to see one so well featur'd (as she was) to want, entertained her for one of his pages. a1626Bacon Use of Law (1630) 84 marg., If the Executors doe want they may sell any Legacie to pay Debts. 1679[T. Kirke] Mod. Acc. Scot. 13 In the Highlands,..if one Man has two Cows, and another wants, he shall soon supply himself from his Neighbour. 1684Contempl. St. Man ii. iii. (1699) 147 It was a Position of the Stoicks, that he was not Poor who wanted, but he who was necessitated.
†b. to want of: to lack, not to have, or to have in insufficient measure: = the trans. sense 2.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 4586 Þe same wyse does a wolfe þat wantis of his pray. c1500Melusine 147 He demanded of them what they ayled, and yf they wanted of eny thing. 1600F. L. Ovid's Remedie of Love i. D 1 b, Are her teeth blacke or wants shee of the best? Relate some merry iest that shee may grinne. 1672Marvell Reh. Transp. i. 69 Though you may discover the same fury, yet it wants of the same vigour. 1658Whole Duty Man xvii. §8 We want of the due compassion, if we can be content our poor brother should have one hour of unnecessary suffering, when we [etc.]. 1730Savery in Phil. Trans. XXXVI. 301 And if ever it is found otherwise, I cannot but think that Load⁓stone wants of Perfection. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) II. 52 However brilliant a diamond may be..it wants of its value and lustre till suitably set. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 89 Unwrought gold and silver want considerably of that lustre and brightness they appear in at goldsmiths' shops.
c. to want for: (chiefly in negative context) to suffer from the want of; to be ill-provided with; in later use also, to be lacking in (some quality). to want for nothing: to have no lack of any of the necessaries or comforts of life.
1607Shakes. Timon iii. ii. 10 Fye no, doe not beleeue it: hee cannot want for money. 1652in Verney Mem. (1907) I. 519 Let her want for nothing. 1652Wadsworth tr. Sandoval's Civ. Wars Spain 325 Though it was Lent, their Bishop gave them leav to eat flesh, so they wanted for no good cheer. 1679Dryden & Lee Œdipus i. 12 While Argos is a People, think your Thebes Can never want for Subjects. 1714Mrs. Manley Adv. Rivella 54 The Ambassador did not want either for Friends in England, nor in Hilaria's own Family. 1733Pope Let. to Swift 28 May, It will not want for Satire. 1747E. Poston Pratler I. 74, I hope thou art well, and dost not want for the common Necessaries of Life. 1786A. M. Bennett Juvenile Indiscr. III. 153 But that was his misfortune, as he wanted not for perseverance, cunning, or cold blood, the three grand characteristics of a Scotchman. 1838Dickens O. Twist xxxviii, Mrs. Bumble..did not want for spirit, as her yoke⁓fellow could abundantly testify. 1858Carlyle Fredk. Gt. vii. v. (1873) II. 295 Frederika did not want for temper, as the Hohenzollerns seldom do. 1882P. Fitzgerald Recreat. Lit. Man (1883) 227 But she did not want for pluck or courage, as every streetboy knew. 1885‘Ouida’ Rainy June (1901) 90 He was happy and wanted for nothing.
4. a. trans. To suffer the want of; to have occasion for, need, require; to stand in need of (something salutary, but often not desired. Hence colloq. senses 4 and 5 are often humorously contrasted.)
In advertisements the pa. pple. wanted is used elliptically (= F. on demande, G. wird gesucht), prefixed or appended to the designation of the kind of person or thing sought for; e.g. ‘Wanted, a governess’; ‘Experienced bookkeepers wanted’; ‘Wanted, any early books on America.’ Similarly, wanted to purchase.
c1470Henry Wallace I. 446 Deyr cusyng, pray I the, Quhen thow wantts gud, cum fech ynewch fra me. 1530Palsgr. 771/1, I wante monaye, argent me fault. 1593Shakes. 3 Hen. VI, v. i. 66 Oh welcome Oxford, for we want thy helpe. 1630Winthrop Let. in New Eng. (1825) I. 379 Though we have not beef and mutton, &c. yet (God be praised) we want them not; our Indian corn answers for all. 1694Motteux Rabelais v. Epist. Pantagruel's Lymosin 251 Incluse with Sylves behind, and Lakes before us, Our outward man wants something that's calorous. 1737Wesley Jrnl. 18 Dec., I was seized with a violent Flux, which I felt came not before I wanted it. 1766Goldsm. Hermit viii, Man wants but little here below, Nor wants that little long. 1770Langhorne Plutarch, Solon (1879) I. 97/2 The soothsayers declared, that there were certain abominable crimes which wanted expiation. 1791Jrnls. Ho. Comm. XLVII. 373/2 Throwing the Timber, fresh cut, into Salt Water, and letting it lie there till wanted. 1827Faraday Chem. Manip. xv. (1842) 367 A tube is wanted for the conveyance of fluids. 1836Dickens Sk. Boz, Streets—Night, He must want his tea, poor man, after his dirty walk from the Docks. 1853Lytton My Novel vi. xiv, She wants some one to read to her, and tend on her—she is old, and has no children. She wants a companion, and prefers a girl of your age to one older. Will this suit you? 1884‘Mark Rutherford’ Deliverance v. (ed. 9) 74 He had got a notion in his head that his mind wanted rest and reinvigoration. 1898‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner viii. 85 The nurse whose services had not hitherto been wanted, had..spent some pleasant weeks at a pension at Scheveningen.
b. With vbl. n. or inf. (esp. pass.) as object (now chiefly colloq.). it wants doing (it wants to be done): it needs doing, should be done. one wants to do it (this way): one's best, or proper course is to do it; one should do it, etc.
The idiom (common colloq. in North and North-midlands) by which the verb apparently takes two objects, a n. or pron. and a vbl. n. that in sense governs it (as, I want that doing is perhaps a blend of it wants doing, and I want it done.
1563–83Foxe A. & M. 2123/1 For we may in no wise betray the case of God, nor will not doe, but susteine it to the vttermost of our powers... But hereunto we want presently indifferent vsing [? = ‘we need to be impartially treated’]. 1587Nottingham Rec. IV. 216 We present the Bull Ringe to want raylinge. 1697Vanbrugh Prov. Wife ii. ii, Madam. Inteed Matam, to say de trute, he wanted leetel good breeding. Lady Fan. Good breeding! He wants to be can'd, Madamoiselle. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 160 My goats wanted to be milked. 1724R. Fiddes Morality Pref., p. cxix, A train of accusations which, severally, want to be proved themselves. 1741Middleton Cicero II. viii. 359 The merit of this speech is too well known, to want to be enlarged upon here. 1791R. Mylne 2nd Rep. Thames Navig. 13 The Banks of the [Lock] Chamber want to be laid down properly, and some Trees cut down. 1865‘L. Carroll’ Alice in Wonderland vii. (1866) 96 ‘Your hair wants cutting’, said the Hatter. 1868E. B. Denison Life Bp. Lonsdale 172 Those who wanted a church consecrating, or a meeting to be held. 1898‘H. S. Merriman’ Roden's Corner xiv. 146 ‘That loose-shouldered chap Roden is a scoundrel,’ he said bluntly,..‘and wants thumping.’
5. a. To desire, wish for. Often with inf. as object.
1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 2 All such as want to ride in Post-haste from one World to the other. 1727A. Hamilton New Acc. E. Ind. I. v. 52 If either want to be separated during the term limited, there must be a Commutation of Money paid by the separating Party to the other, according as they can agree. 1751G. Lavington Enthus. Meth. & Papists iii. (1754) 127 Cheats mingle the Flower or Seed among the Food of those whom they want to defraud. 1840Dickens Old C. Shop xxxiii, If every one of your clients is to force us to keep a clerk, whether we want to or not, you had better leave off business. 1871Mozley in Liddon Pusey (1897) IV. 221 What you mention about persons actually not wanting an hereafter is a horrible feature of the day. 1885‘Mrs. Alexander’ At Bay iv, Now I have got over my first foolish fear of him, he is so gentle and polite, and seems to want to be friends with my father. 1895Law Times Rep. LXXIII. 650/1 If the under⁓writers had wanted to know they could have asked at once. 1902J. F. Rusling European Days & Ways 299 Blücher wanted to hang or shoot Napoleon as an outlaw and monster. 1902R. Bagot Donna Diana x. 116 She came repeatedly to the Castelnuovo gardens, generally accompanied by Frau von Raben, but occasionally, when the latter was wanted to drive with her cousins, by Princess San Rocco's maid.
b. To desire (a person) to (do something). Also, U.S., with clause as object.
1845S. Judd Margaret i. ix, I want you to be a good boy. 1852H. C. Kimball in Brigham Young's Jrnl. Discourses (1859) VI. 256 If this is your determination, I want you should manifest it by raising your right hands. 1903C. L. Burnham Jewel ii, Mr. Evringham wants you should saddle his horse and bring her round. 1918Oxford Mag. 21 June 343/1 Most of them do not make it quite plain what they want the teacher [of the Classics] to do.
c. To wish to see, or speak to (a person); to desire the presence or assistance of one (for a specified purpose). Frequently pass.
wanted! sometimes used ellipt. (for ‘you are wanted’). Cf. shop!
c1760Challoner in E. Burton Life (1909) II. xxiv. 28 We will spend our evenings, as much as possible, at our own lodgings, so that we may be found by those who shall want us for the sick. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho xxv, ‘Retire!’ said Barnardine sternly: ‘you are not wanted:’ and as Emily said nothing, Annette obeyed. 1825T. Hook Sayings Ser. ii. Passion & Princ. vi, When from a side and smaller door a female enquired ‘whom he pleased to want’. 1837Dickens Pickw. ii, ‘Winkle—Winkle!’ shouted Mr. Tupman, calling into the inner room.’.. ‘You're wanted—some one at the door.’ 1842Tennyson Locksley Hall 2 Leave me here, and when you want me, sound upon the bugle horn. 1866Trollope Claverings v, ‘She is not likely to press herself where she is not wanted’.
d. wanted (pa. pple.): colloq. or humorous ellipsis for wanted by the police, said of persons whose apprehension is required for some offence.
1812J. H. Vaux Flash Dict., Wanted, when any of the traps or runners have a private information against a family person [sc. a thief] and are using means to apprehend the party, they say, such a one is wanted. 1838Dickens O. Twist xliii, ‘Yes, he was wanted.’ ‘Very particular?’ inquired Mr. Bolter. ‘No,’ replied the Jew, ‘not very. He was charged with attempting to pick a pocket,’ [etc.]. 1905Times 5 Sept. 5/5 The prisoner..said he wished to give himself up, having heard that he was ‘wanted’.
e. what does he want with (such or such a person or thing)? = ‘What is his object in dealing with (the person)?’ or ‘Why should he care to possess (the thing)’. Also (chiefly U.S.) const. of.
1828W. Taylor Hist. Surv. Germ. Poetry I. 309 (tr.) Death, what can you want of Fanny? With your lipless teeth and sockets, How should you contrive to kiss her? 1831Scott Ct. Rob. vii, Once more, what dost thou want with me? and why hast thou the boldness to watch me? 1855Knickerbocker XLV. 136 Salt, Miss? What do you want of salt? 1862Mrs. H. Wood Channings xxiv, It is an incredible mystery. What could he want with the money? The tale told, about his having debts, has no foundation. 1868Browning Ring & Bk. vi. 105 Men, for the last time, what do you want with me? 1884‘Mark Twain’ Huck. Finn xxxv. 357 What do we want of a saw? 1897McCarthy Own Times V. xxi. 489 What does the Irishman want with tobacco, or wine, or spirits? it might perhaps fairly be asked. But then comes the other question, ‘What does the Englishman want of wine, or spirits, or cigars?’ 1914G. Atherton Perch of Devil ii. 246 But what does he want of two cottages?
f. With ellipsis of a verb of motion, to want out (in, etc.): to wish to go out (in, etc.). colloq. (orig. Sc., north. Ir., and U.S. colloq.).
1836J. D. Davidson Diary 29 Oct. in Jrnl. Southern Hist. (1935) I. 354 He still called out in a plaintive, infant tone, ‘I want in’—‘I want in’. 1844W. Jamie Muse of Mearns 86 (E.D.D.) A sturdy chap..Cam to the door and wanted in. 1870J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 10 Jenny, are ye wantin' oot 'Mang the knowes to frisk aboot? 1887Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 3 Sept., The turnkey says if the prisoner had informed him he wanted out, he would have been released. 1888Advance (Chicago) 6 Dec. 798 Just then he heard a knock at the door, and told me that some one wanted in. 1893Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch 19 Sept., An old gentleman who was drawn to serve on the grand jury..wanted off, and when the court asked for excuses he said [etc.]. 1897Crockett Lad's Love xxiii. 236 It was cold and he wanted back to the inn fire-side. 1925Amer. Speech I. 149/2, I want out at the bank because this sack of silver is too heavy to pack around with me. 1959E. Ambler Passage of Arms viii. 219 They can keep everything... We just want out. 1973Time Out 2–8 Mar. 14/1 One of the kids who had paid his money..wanted out. 1973Nature 28 Sept. 173/2 Britain may just be weary of industrial growth and may be saying in quite a sophisticated way that it wants out regardless of the cost. 1977Zigzag Mar. 24/1, I had no regrets about leaving... I just wanted out. 1979A. Hailey Overload iii. i. 194 Well, I'm not afraid, or proud, or anything any more. I just want out. 1984Guardian 5 Nov. 17/4 In recent weeks the Federal Reserve chairman Mr Paul Volcker has reportedly told friends that he wants out and would be interested in the presidency of the World Bank. 1985Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Jan. 102/2 If you want out, it is just about possible to live, if only internally, a better life.
6. Comb.: † want-grace, one who lacks grace, a reprobate: cf. lack-grace, scapegrace. See also want-wit.
1603J. Davies (Heref.) Microcosm. (Grosart) 57/2 And rather then they should not die by force, Or want a Want-grace to performe the Deede, Their Vncle and Protector must perforce Their Crowne from Head, and Head from Life divorce. 1621R. Brathwait Nat. Embassie 31 Thus may adulterous want-graces looke into Tereus fall.
▪ IV. want
obs. pa. tense of ween v. |