| 释义 |
▪ I. just, n.1
Older form of joust n.
▪ II. † just, n.2 Obs.
Also iuste, iuyste, ioust.
[a. OF. juste, juiste, juyste, ad. med.L. justa (sc. mensūra) right measure (of drink); the vessel holding this (Du Cange).]
A large-bellied pot with handles, used for holding wine or beer.
1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VII. 121 Hym was ȝoven a iuste [printed viste, MS. Harl. 1900 (ibid. 513) iust, L. iusta] of gold, honoured wonderfully wiþ precious stones. 14..Voc. in Wr.-Wülcker 598/16 Obba,..a Juyste. c1440Promp. Parv. 268/2 Iuste, potte. a1529Skelton Elynour Rummyng 192 For they go to roust Streyght over the ale⁓ioust.
attrib.1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiii. 83, I shal iangle to þis Iurdan with his iust wombe.
▪ III. just, a.|dʒʌst|
[a. F. juste (= Pr. just, Sp., Pg. justo, It. giusto) or immed. ad. L. jūstus righteous, equitable, rightful, f. jūs right, law, justice.]
1. That does what is morally right, righteous. just before (with) God or, simply, just: Righteous in the sight of God; justified. Now chiefly as a Biblical archaism.
1382Wyclif Ezek. xxxiii. 12 The riȝtwijsnesse of a iust man [Vulg. justitia justi; 1388 The riȝtfulnesse of a riȝtful man]. ― Luke i. 6 Sothli thei bothe weren iuste [so 1388: Vulg. justi] bifore God. ― Rom. iii. 26 That he be iust [so 1388: Vulg. justus], and iustifyinge him that is of the feith of Ihesu Crist.1526Tindale Matt. v. 45 He..sendeth his reyne on the iuste and on the iniuste [Vulg. bonos et malos]. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 6 Scripture, declareth playnly, howe it is faith that maketh us iust before God. 1561T. Norton Calvin's Inst. iii. iv. §28. 211 The iustest man passeth no one day wherein he falleth not many times. 1659Shirley Ajax & Ulysses iii, Only the actions of the just Smell sweet and blossom in the dust. 1719Watts Hymn, ‘Not to the terrors’ iii, Behold the spirits of the just, Whose faith is turn'd to sight! 1824R. Hall Wks. (1832) VI. 355 God can be at once the just and the justifier.
†b. absol. in singular. Obs. or arch.
1382Wyclif Acts vii. 52 The prophetis..that bifore teelden of the comynge of the iust [1611 the Iust one]. 1526Tindale Acts vii. 52 That iust whom ye haue betrayed. 1535Coverdale Ps. xxxvi[i]. 12 The vngodly layeth wayte for the iust, & gnasȝsheth vpon him with his tethe [so 1611 and R.V.].
2. Upright and impartial in one's dealings; rendering every one his due; equitable.
1382Wyclif 1 John i. 9 If we knowlechen oure synnes, he is feithful and iust [Vulg. justus] that he forȝiue to us our synnes. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop ii. Proem, The good ond Iuste be not subget to the lawe as we fynde and rede of alle the Athenyens. 1503Dunbar Thistle & Rose 122 Scho..bawd him be als just to awppis and owlis, As vnto pacokkis. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 209, I mistrust not the Iudges, because thei are iuste. 1605Shakes. Lear v. iii. 170 The Gods are iust, and of our pleasant vices Make instruments to plagve vs. 1725Pope Odyss. xiii. 249 Some juster prince perhaps had entertained, And safe restored me to my native land. 1771Junius Lett. lvi. 294 How much easier it is to be generous than just. 1850Tennyson In Mem. Prol., Thou madest man, he knows not why..And Thou hast made him: Thou art just. 1853Lytton My Novel v. iii, He was just, but as a matter of business. He made no allowances. 1860Ruskin Mod. Paint. V. ix. i. §13. 204 Just! What is that?..dealing equitably or equally.
†b. Faithful or honourable in one's social relations. Const. of, to. Obs.
1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. ii. 90 He was my Friend, faithfull, and iust to me. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia i. 3 He was very iust of his promise. 1727Pope Epit. R. Digby, Just of thy word, in ev'ry thought sincere. 1809Campbell Gert. Wyom. iii. xxix, Friend to more than human friendship just.
3. a. Consonant with the principles of moral right or of equity; righteous; equitable; fair. Of rewards, punishments, etc.: Deserved, merited.
c1400Destr. Troy 214 More it Ioyes me, Iason, of þi iust werkes. c1430Hymns Virg. 114 The hiȝest lessoun þat man may lere Is to lyue iust lijf. 1553Eden Treat. Newe Ind. (Arb.) 5 If honest commendacions be a iust reward dew to noble enterprises. 1590R. Hitchcock Quintess. Wit 5 That warre is iust, that is necessarye. 1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 33, I will never rest, till I have executed just vengeance on him that unjustly slew thee. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. viii, You'll think it just that I should give them an opportunity to retaliate. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge vi, Is this fair, or reasonable, or just to yourself?
quasi-n.1667Milton P.L. vi. 381 Strength from Truth divided and from Just..naught merits but dispraise.
b. Constituted by law or by equity, grounded on right, lawful, rightful; that is such legally; † legally valid (obs.).
c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 17 The degre be just successioune..Unto the kyng is now descended doune. 1542in Marsden Sel. Pl. Crt. Adm. (1894) I. 116 Being in his lyfetyme juste owner and possessor of a certayne waterboote. 1642Perkins' Prof. Bk. ix. §581. 253 Where a just grant or other thing cannot take effect without a deed. 1667Milton P.L. ii. 38 We now return To claim our just inheritance of old. 1712–14Pope Rape Lock iii. 60 The rebel Knave, who dares his prince engage, Proves the just victim of his royal rage. 1726–31Tindal Rapin's Hist. Eng. (1743) II. xvii. 100 Another Person has a juster title than she to the Crown. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. iv. I. 443 He [James II] would still go as far as any man in support of her [his country's] just liberties.
4. Having reasonable or adequate grounds; well-founded.
c1374Chaucer Troylus iii. 1178 (1227) Al quyt from euery drede and teene As she þat Iuste cause hadde hym to triste. 1553T. Wilson Rhet. (1580) 217 Images we maie chaunge, as the matter shall give iuste cause. 1633P. Fletcher Purple Isl. xi. xii, A simple maid, With justest grief and wrong so ill apaid. 1792Anecd. W. Pitt II. xxix. 130 The excuse is a valid one if it is a just one. 1796E. Hamilton Lett. Hindoo Rajah I. 45 Alas! my fears were just. The pure spirit had fled. 1858Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. II. lxxiv. 23 The justest object of jealousy to wise men in all ages.
5. Conformable to the standard, or to what is fitting or requisite; right in amount, proportion, æsthetic quality, etc.; proper; correct.
c1430Lydg. Min. Poems (Percy Soc.) 60 Iuste weight halte justly the balaunce. 1588W. Smith Brief Descr. Lond. (Harl. MS. 6363 lf. 13) If they ffynd [the weights] not Iust: they breake them. 1598Yong Diana 491 A maruellous sweete concent keeping iust time and measure. 1671R. Bohun Wind 67 So that a just and moderate condensation is necessary to the constitution of Winds. 1734J. Ward Introd. Math. ii. xi. (ed. 6) 139 The First Root is 300 being less than Just. 1750Johnson Rambler No. 23 ⁋9 Rules for the just opposition of colours, and the proper dimensions of ruffles and pinners. 1821J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. iii. (1871) 74 The first of these injunctions..commands that the standards should be just. 1877E. R. Conder Bas. Faith v. 203 The just balance between the moral and intellectual sides of his nature is often destroyed.
b. Mus. in just interval, just intonation, etc.: Harmonically pure; sounding perfectly in tune.
1850Gen. P. Thompson (title) Theory and Practice of Just Intonation. 1878W. H. Stone Sci. Basis Music v. §90 The differences of the old [mean-tone] and equal systems [of temperament], and their respective departures from just intonation. 1881Broadhouse Mus. Acoustics 353 Just Intonation, where all the Fifths and Thirds are perfect, used only by singers and theorists.
6. Of speech, ideas, opinions, arguments, etc.: In accordance with reason, truth, or fact; right; true; correct. Often with mixture of sense 3.
1490Caxton Eneydos xxi. 77 He refuseth to lene his eeres for to vnderstande my wordes that ben soo iuste and resonable. a1610Healey Theophrastus (1636) 20 He maintaineth, that strangers speake wiser and juster things than his own fellow-citizens. 1725Pope Odyss. iii. 306 Much he knows, and just conclusions draws From various precedents, and various laws. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) V. 136 A single glance of a good plate or a picture imprints a juster idea that a volume could convey. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. II. lxxv. 618 To present a just picture of American public opinion one must cut deeper.
†b. Of a copy, description, calculation, etc.: Exact, accurate. [So F. juste.] Said also of personal agents. Obs.
1563Winȝet Four Scoir Thre Quest. To Rdr., Wks. 1888 I. 60 We sett furth this iust copie without altering or eiking ony thing. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 33 Having given you a just account..of the bread and drink of this Island. 1691Swift Athen. Soc., Like a just map. 1704J. Pitts Acc. Mahometans Pref. (1738) 7, I have since procured a just Translation. 1727Swift What passed in London, I am apt to think his calculation just to a minute. 1798G. Forster Journ. Bengal to Eng. I. 80 The Hindoos of this day are just imitators, and correct workmen; but they possess merely the glimmerings of genius.
†7. Adapted to something else, or to an end or purpose; appropriate; suitable. Obs.
c1384Chaucer H. Fame ii. 211 [It] stant eke in so Iuste a place That euery sovne mot to hyt pace. 1664Evelyn Kal. Hort. Introd. (1729) 187 How many Things to be done in their just Season. c1665Mrs. Hutchinson Mem. Col. Hutchinson (1846) 32 He was very liberal to them, but ever chose just times and occasions to exercise it. 1684R. Waller Nat. Exper. 10 Our Instrument remains still unalterably just to every place where 'tis made use of.
†8. Of clothing, armour, etc.: Well adjusted, fitting exactly. Hence, Fitting too closely, tight. [So F. juste.] Obs.
a1400Sir Perc. 273 His hode was iuste to his chynne. c1400Destr. Troy 9505 Mekull iust armur. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 38 Streite and welle sittinge and iuste, that sum tyme the fruite that was in me suffered payne and was in perelle. 1649Lovelace Poems, Aramantha, It [a robe] sate close and free, As the just bark unto the Tree.
†9. Of a calculated result, measure, amount, number, date, etc.: Exact, as opposed to approximate. Also with defining word: That is exactly what is designated; = ‘(the) exact..’. Obs.
c1391Chaucer Astrol. ii. §3 To haue take a Iust Ascendent by their Astrilabie. 1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. iv, Open your compasse to the iust length of y⊇ line. 1594Acc.-Bk. W. Wray in Antiquary XXXII. 118 [He] owes me..the just some of iijli. xixs. id. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iv. i. 327 If thou tak'st more Or lesse then a iust pound. 1608Willet Hexapla Exod. 875 The forepart of the court was a iust square. 1655Fuller Ch. Hist. ix. iv. §3 We cannot exactly tell the just time thereof. 1723–4Chambers tr. Le Clerc's Treat. Archit. I. 105 It shou'd be rais'd to the just height of the Windows. 1759B. Martin Nat. Hist. Eng. I. Cornwall 4 Its Height and just Balance.
†b. Of an instrument, natural action, etc.: Exact or uniform in operation, regular, even. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Sompn. T. 382 Thou shalt me fynde as Iust as is a squyre. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 26 The vnfallible motion of the Planets, the iuste course of the yeere. 1665–6Phil Trans. I. 61 An instrument composed of two Rulers..will be no longer just at all. 1721Bailey, Just Divisors are such Numbers or Quantities which will divide a given Number or Quantity, so as to leave no Remainder. 1769Sir W. Jones Pal. Fortune in Poems, etc. (1777) 23 Mark'd the just progress of each rolling sphere.
†10. Corresponding exactly in amount, duration, position, etc.; equal; even, level. Obs.
1551Robinson tr. More's Utop. ii. iv. (1895) 141 Dyuydynge the daye and the nyghte into xxiiii iust houres. 1594Blundevil Exerc. iii. i. xxxiii. (1636) 343 Untill the last degree of the said Signe do appeare just with the upper edge of the Horizon. c1630Risdon Surv. Devon §46 (1810) 52 That..well in Derbyshire, which ebbeth and floweth by just tides. 1725Pope Odyss. xiv. 483 The destin'd victim to dis-part In sev'n just portions.
†b. Characterized by or involving exact correspondence. Obs.
1753Hogarth Anal. Beauty xi. 83 They meet in just similitude. 1802Paley Nat. Theol. xvi. (1819) 258 In consequence of the just collocation, and by means of the joint action of longitudinal and annular fibres.
†11. That is such properly, fully, or in all respects; complete in amount or in character; full; proper, ‘regular’. just battle, in quot. 1603, a regular (pitched) battle [= OF. juste bataille]. just age (years), full age or age of discretion. Obs.
1588H. G. tr. Cataneo (title) Briefe Tables to know redily how manie ranckes of footemen..go to the making of a iust battaile. 1588D. Rogers in Ellis Orig. Lett. Ser. ii. III. 148 They are not minded to Crowne the yonge kinge, before he come to just yeares. 1603Knolles Hist. Turks (1621) 663 The skirmish was like to have come to a just battell. a1618Sylvester Judith To Rdr., I am the first in Fraunce who in a just Poem hath treated in our tongue of sacred things. 1622Bacon Hen. VII 42 This warre was rather a suppression of Rebels, then a warre with a iust Enemie. 1624Bedell Lett. x. 136 It would require a iust volume to shew it. 1668Culpepper & Cole Barthol. Anat. iii. i. 128 When a man comes to a just age. 1732Berkeley Alciphr. i. §12 Published..sometimes in just volumes, but often in pamphlets and loose papers. 1778R. Lowth Transl. Isaiah ix. 7 note, A just poem, remarkable for the regularity of its disposition, and the elegance of its plan.
12. nonce-use. That just is or takes place: cf. just adv. 5.
1884Browning Ferishtah, Two Camels 117 A lip's mere tremble, Look's half hesitation, cheek's just change of colour.
13. Comb.
a. with a pple. (or another adj.), where just is adverbial in sense, = justly: as just-borne, just-conceived, just-consuming, just-dooming, just-judging, just-kindled, just-tempered, just-thinking; just gentle.
b. parasynthetic, as just-minded (whence just-mindedness).
1595Shakes. John ii. i. 345 Before we will lay downe our *iust-borne Armes.
1633Ford Love's Sacr. v. i, The boundless spleen Of *just-consuming wrath.
1598Sylvester Du Bartas ii. ii. i. Noah 94 The deeds of Heav'ns *just-gentle king.
Ibid. 350 In my *just-kindled ire.
1848Buckley Iliad 110 *Just-minded, wise-reflecting Bellerophon.
1887Pall Mall G. 20 Aug. 2/2 Confidence in the *just-mindedness of their employers.
1829E. S. Swaine in Bischoff Woollen Manuf. (1842) II. 238 At the very name of a drawback or bounty..the *just-thinking legislator must shrink with an instinctive distrust.
▪ IV. just, v.1
Older form of joust v.
▪ V. just, v.2|dʒʌst|
[Aphetic f. adjust.]
trans. To adjust. Hence ˈjusting vbl. n.
1628in G. Barry Orkney Isl. App. (1805) 473 That every pundlar be justed and made equal with the King's pundlar. 1883Pall Mall G. 28 Sept. 14/1 Thoroughly understands gauging, justing, and every branch of the business to the minutest details.
▪ VI. just, adv.|dʒʌst|
[f. just a.: cf. adverbial use of F. juste.]
1. Exactly, precisely; verily, actually; closely: cf. even adv. 6. Formerly often even just. Qualifying a prep., adv., or advb. phrase; or (in e, f, g) an adj., pron., or n.a. Of place or position. just at, in, over (etc.) the = at, in, over (etc.) the very. † just to, right up to, even to, as far as to; just to the, to the very.
a1400Morte Arth. 1123 The gyaunt he hyttez, Iust to the genitales; and iaggede thame in sondre. 1463Bury Wills (Camden) 39 That ymage to be set just ageyn the peleer. a1533Ld. Berners Huon lxxxiii. 259 He passyd iust by kyng Charlemayn. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 287 There was also a chapel iust by, wherin were burning innumerable Tapers. 1568Grafton Chron. II. 267 The Englishe Marshalles ranne abroade even iust to Parys, and brent Saint Germayns. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme 2 Euen iust in the place whereupon the Sunne riseth. 1617Moryson Itin. 160 You have now hit me just where my paine lies. 1665R. Hooke Microgr. v. 9 They double all the Stuff that is to be water'd, that is, they crease it just through the middle of it. 1711Steele Spect. No. 254 ⁋6 A beautiful young Creature who sat just before me. 1745De Foe's Eng. Tradesman xxv. (1841) I. 248 We are butted and bounded just where we were in queen Elizabeth's time. 1749Fielding Tom Jones vii. x, Here is a very creditable, good house just by. 1884Sir N. Lindley in Law Rep. 25 Chanc. Div. 319 The case..appears to me to break down just at the critical point. Mod. You know where the path crosses a small stream: I met him just there; yes, just at that spot.
b. Of time.
1574Bourne Regim. for Sea Introd. (1577) C iij, Then ryseth the Sunne at fiue of the clocke iust, and setteth at seuen of the clocke iust. 1599Shakes. Hen. V, ii. iii. 13 A parted eu'n iust betweene Twelue and One. 1672C. Manners in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 25 Mr. Cooper..actually began it, but just then fell dangerously sicke. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 59 Just that Day Twelvemonth you left me Aboard Ship at Gravesend. 1777Johnson Lett. to Mrs. Thrale 6 Oct., I purpose soon to be at Lichfield, but know not just when. 1853Lytton My Novel iii. iv, Just at that precise moment, who should appear but Mr. Stirn! 1895Bookman Oct. 18/1 New Guinea was filling a good deal of colonial thoughts just then.
c. Of manner. just as = precisely in the way that, in the very way that. just so, (a) precisely in that way; exactly as has been said; (b) in the required or appropriate manner; (c) very close or friendly; (d) neatly and tidily; also as adj.; just-so story, a story which purports to explain the origin of something; a myth.
1607–12Bacon Ess., Custom & Educ. (Arb.) 368 To heare Men professe,..give great wordes, and then doe iust as they have done before. 1665R. Hooke Microgr. lx. 57 A Sphere, which will..grow bigger, just after the same manner..as the waves or rings on the surface of the water. 1735Pope Ep. Lady 161 She speaks, behaves, and acts just as she ought. 1751Richardson in Johnson Rambler No. 97. ¶ 24 When I courted and married my Lætitia, then a blooming Beauty, every Thing passed just so! 1794Massachusetts Spy 3 Sept. (Th.), A few years ago, every body supposed that if people did not behave just so, they ought to be punished. 1819Byron Juan ii. clxvii, He was in love..so was she Just in the way we very often see. 1824‘A. Singleton’ Lett. 18 Their just so garb, which, when adopted, was the court costume of the time, makes them [sc. Quakers] appear like antediluvians. 1831J. Constable Let. 4 Dec. (1966) IV. 361 Was it now in its first state, I would rejoice to publish it just so. 1836C. Elliott Hymn, Just as I am, without one plea. 1881Grant White England xvi. 388 Just so, just so, is the most common phrase of general assent. 1886Lantern (New Orleans) 15 Sept. 4/2 It looks as though the contractors and the aldermen are just so, and fully understand each other. 1887Parish & Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. 85 He's got a bad master, but he will have everything done just-so; and you wunt please him without everything is just-so. 1891E. Peacock N. Brendon I. 117, I will do just as you advise. 1902Kipling (title) Just so stories. 1922J. Strachey tr. Freud's Group Psychol. x. 90 This is only a hypothesis..a ‘Just-So Story’. 1930Times Lit. Suppl. 27 Feb. 155/2 The charm of an album of Just-so stories, such as proves that even the humblest members of the human race possess..the saving grace of vision. 1952L. MacNeice Ten Burnt Offerings 76 Reposed on a Sunday lap in the just-so room. 1960R. Pound Selfridge i. 8 He always looked as if he had just come out of the bandbox. His mother..kept him just so. 1969E. Bishop Compl. Poems 198 A raccoon..was the executioner. He was very fastidious and did everything just so. 1969R. A. Noblett Stavin' Chain 5 Now Stavin' Chain wuz a man just so: When he got good whiskey, he would gurgle it slow. 1973Times Lit. Suppl. 25 May 576/2 At first sight My Country is another of these just-so stories.
d. Of degree. just as, just so, to the same degree as.
1551Recorde Pathw. Knowl. i. xix, Then shall you make one right line iuste as long as two of those vnequall sides. 1688J. Smith Baroscope 51 So much of it as may sink it down just so low as the End of the Gage. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xx, Finding that my expectations were just as great as my purse. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. vii. II. 209 His object was to grant just so much favour to them as might suffice to frighten the Churchmen into submission. 1889R. S. S. Baden-Powell Pigsticking 146 All other articles can be obtained just as well on the spot.
e. Of amount, number, or quantity: with a n. or adj.
1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 38 Such as..haue either iust nothing, or else very little at all. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. i. 7 Euen iust the sum that I do owe to you. 1596― Merch. V. iv. i. 326 Nor cut thou lesse nor more But iust a pound of flesh. 1653H. More Antid. Ath. i. vii. (1712) 20 There are just five regular Bodies. c1717Prior Epitaph 12 They did just Nothing all the Day. 1821J. Q. Adams in C. Davies Metr. Syst. iii. (1871) 229 The troy weights..had then been just one century in use. 1883Daily News 22 Sept. 4/5 It is just a fortnight since Mr. Gladstone embarked.
f. Of likeness, sameness, identity, or the contrary, with a n. or adj. just it, precisely the very thing or point in question.
1594Hooker Eccl. Pol. iv. iv. §1 They go about to make us belieue that they are just of the same opinion. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. i. 56 'Tis iust the fashion. 1657R. Ligon Barbadoes (1673) 39 As dry as Stock-fish, and just such meat for flesh, as that is for fish. 1796Jane Austen Pride & Prej. ii, The astonishment of the ladies was just what he wished. 1809Malkin Gil Blas vii. ii. ⁋3 You seem to be just the thing for him. 1851Mayne Reid Scalp Hunt. ii. 19 St Vrain said I was just the man for their life. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. II. iii, ‘You have eaten it all the season’. ‘That's just it’, answered Herbert. ‘I have eaten so much of it that I am sick of it’. 1865Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 252 One cannot do just what one likes best.
g. Used freely before a demonstrative, an interrogative introducing a subject-clause, etc. orig. U.S.
1884G. B. Goode Fisheries U.S. Sect. v. II. 543 Just what makes the best lodgement for oyster spawn..has been greatly discussed. Ibid. 544 Just how many bushels a man will place on an acre depends upon both his means and his judgment. 1900Hempl in School Rev. (U.S.) June 322 Just this happened in Latin. 1960R. A. Knox Occasional Sermons 227 Many who value the name of Christian still find it reasonable to believe that he did just that. 1971You Sept. 24/1 Doctors and researchers are spending their energies and our money on finding out just how the female body ticks. 1974Times Lit. Suppl. 8 Mar. 243/5 One wonders just how biased a view we develop of the human ecology of tropical Africa.
h. not just: not exactly, not quite.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. xix, Our guide being something before us, and not just in sight. 1816Chalmers Let. in Life (1851) II. 59, I told you..that I was not just so well.
†2.
a. In an exact or accurate manner; so as to correspond exactly; with precision; accurately; punctually; correctly. Obs.
1549–62Sternhold & H. Ps. ciii. 14 The Lord that made vs knoweth our shape, Our mould and fashion iust. 1575Gamm. Gurton ii. ii, Her cock..yt nightly crowed so iust. 1590Swinburne Testaments 19 b, Borrowing that definition, which agreeth so iust with their testamentes. c1600Shakes. Sonn. cix, I returne againe Iust to the time. 1667Pepys Diary 1 Oct., The instrumental musick he had brought by practice to play very just. 1743T. Jones in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 405, I..send the enclosed plan, which describes the ground very near just.
†b. So as to fit exactly; in a close-fitting way: cf. just a. 8. Obs.
1561J. Daus tr. Bullinger on Apoc. (1573) 16 b, This [coat] cleaueth iust to the body. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 310 The first pin would be somewhat flat in the midst, to the intent that the other, being round, may..close the juster together. 1676G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i, You love to have your clothes hang just, sir.
†3. In replies and expressions of assent; = ‘Exactly so’, ‘just so’, ‘right’. Also even just. Obs.
a1533Frith Answ. Rastel Wks. (1573) 14 Euen iust, if heauen fell we should catche larkes. 1588Shakes. Tit. A. iv. ii. 24 O 'tis a verse in Horace, I know it well... Moore. I iust, a verse in Horace. 1600― A.Y.L. iii. ii. 281 Iaq. Rosalinde is your loues name? Orl. Yes, Iust. 1694Congreve Double Dealer iii. ii, F. You know laughing without a jest is as impertinent; hee! as, as—C. As dancing without a fiddle. F. Just, i' faith! 1698Vanbrugh Prov. Wife ii. ii, T. I guess the dialogue, madam, is supposed to be between your majesty and your first minister. Lady F. Just.
4. absol. of time: Exactly at the moment spoken of; precisely now (or then).
a. with retrospective reference: Not before this (or that) moment; hence loosely, A very little before; with little preceding interval; within a brief preceding period; very recently.
b. with prospective reference: Not after this (or that) moment; hence loosely, A very little after, ‘directly’, ‘in a moment’, very soon; also, of state or condition, On the point of being.., all but, very nearly. (See also just now in 7.)
1667Milton P.L. iv. 863 The western point, where those half-rounding guards Just met, and closing stood in squadron joind. 1671R. Bohun Wind 177 Winds..where they come just off from the Burning Sands. 1681–6J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 548 With what a stern and terrible Majesty he sits upon yonder flaming Throne, from whence he is now just ready to exact of ye a dreadful Account. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 430 Broken Boughs and Thyme, And pleasing Casia just renew'd in prime. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. xviii, Presently the captain replied, ‘Tell his excellency I am just a coming’. 1758S. Hayward Serm. v. 145 The apostle had just been speaking of Jesus Christ. 1768Sterne Sent. Journ. (1778) II. 10 (Fille de Chambre), I was just bidding her—but she did it of herself. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) VI. 492 His only child was just dead. 1884Daily News 23 May 5 The writer adds that he ‘saw a man just dead, and he was crawling towards us’. [Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., Pembrokesh. ‘He's just dead’ = likely to die soon.] Mod. I have just seen him cross the street.
5. No more than; only, merely; barely. Often preceded by but or only.
a. qualifying a vb. or adj.
1665R. Hooke Microgr. vii. 38 Distilled water, that is so cold that it just begins to freeze. 1693Dryden Juvenal (1697) p. lxxv, Let Horace, who is the Second, and but just the Second, carry off the Quivers and the Arrows. 1735Pope Ep. Lady 50 She..was just not ugly, and was just not mad. 1739Chesterfield Lett. (1774) I. xxxvi. 125 He can just be said to live, and that is all. 1810Scott Lady of L. iii. ii, The Western breeze Just kissed the lake, just stirred the trees. 1826― Woodst. xiii, Everard had but just time to bid Wildrake hold the horses. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ii. I. 157 Men who..seemed to think that they had given an illustrious proof of loyalty by just stopping short of regicide. 1889R. S. S. Baden-Powell Pigsticking 98 Fissures just wide enough to admit a horse's leg.
b. with a n.
1785Burns 1st Ep. Lapraik ix, I am nae Poet, in a sense, But just a Rhymer, like, by chance. 1865Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 279 Just a line to say that all goes well. 1884W. C. Smith Kildrostan 92 Doris is not a Cleopatra..she's just a Highland lady Touched with an Eastern strain.
c. Used to extenuate the action expressed by a verb, and so to represent it as a small thing.
1815Scott Wav. lxiii, As it's near the darkening, sir, wad ye just step in by to our house? 1826Disraeli Viv. Grey ii. xvi, I will just walk on till I am beneath her window. 1862G. Macdonald D. Elginbrod vii. 129 Just tell my maid to bring me an old pair of gloves. 1884F. M. Crawford Rom. Singer I. 4 Just imagine whether you are not quite as able to feed him as Gigi is. 1898F. Montgomery Tony 13 Mother! do just get in with me for a few minutes till the train starts.
6. a. No less than; absolutely; actually, positively; really; quite; neither more nor less than, simply.
1726J. M. Trag. Hist. Chev. 84 When I heard this melancholy News, I was just ready to expire with Grief. 1768Ross Helenore i. 11 They were a' just like to eat their thumb That he with Nory sae far ben should come. Ibid. 30 Her stinking breath Was just enough to sconfise ane to death. 1838J. Grant Sk. Lond. 209 She jost did, Sir. 1863Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. xix, If anybody asked you for your head, ma'am, you'd just cut it off and give it. 1866Ruskin Crown of Olives (1873) 75 ‘But what has all this to do with our Exchange?’..My dear friends, it has just everything to do with it. a1901Mod. colloq. He's got a double first, isn't it just splendid? 1937A. Huxley Ends & Means xii. 199 In the abstract this scheme seems good enough; but in practice it just doesn't work. 1962Listener 18 Jan. 135/1 The functionalist revolution just doesn't seem to have reached architectural photography. Ibid. 25 Oct. 694/2 It is just not true that cultivated people are able to pronounce equally on films, books, paintings, the theatre. 1972Newsweek 10 Jan. 34/1 Now most businessmen think they just have to have a guard.
b. As an emphatic expletive, strengthening an assertion: Truly, indeed.
1855Smedley H. Coverdale v. 26 Won't they be surprised to see us, just? c1863T. Taylor in M. R. Booth Eng. Plays of 19th Cent. (1909) II. 119 Ain't it a bore, just! c1875‘Brenda’ Froggy's Little Brother (new ed.) iv. 41 ‘Now, haven't we 'ad a supper just?’ exclaimed Froggy with satisfaction. 1891Newcastle Even. Chron. 19 Mar. 3/4 Mr. Williamson. Was it a ferocious dog? Witness. It was, just. 1894Kipling Let. 28 July in C. E. Carrington Rudyard Kipling (1955) ix. 217 Won't New York be hot—just! a1901Mod. Sc. A. I did not take it! B. You did just. 1903A. Bennett Leonora viii. 228 ‘He's a good dancer.’ ‘I should think he was!..Isn't he just, mother?’ 1904E. Nesbit Phoenix & Carpet v. 94 ‘Luv us!’ said Ike, ‘ain't it been taught its schoolin', just!’ 1930J. B. Priestley Angel Pavement i. 16 She let herself go all right, didn't she just! 1943K. Tennant Ride on Stranger (1968) iv. 36 ‘I don't believe you'd do that anyway yourself. Just grab money.’ ‘Wouldn't I just,’ her mentor said exultantly.
c. just too bad, unfortunate but inevitable.
1935H. L. Ickes Secret Diary (1953) I. 270 If, in the course of his investigation, Glavis runs across your brother or my son, that will be just too bad, but it will be in the line of his duty. 1938Auden & Isherwood On Frontier ii. 75 If some one's mistaken or lying or mad, Or if we're defeated, it will be just too bad. 1962J. F. Powers Morte d'Urban ix. 199 Well, isn't that just too bad? 1962‘S. Woods’ Bloody Instructions viii. 87, I admit you'll come in for some rough handling, and that's just too bad.
7. just now.
a. Exactly at this point of time; at this exact moment; precisely at present.
1681–6J. Scott Chr. Life (1747) III. 324 The Prince of Devils is just now mustering up all his Legions against me. 1860Mrs. Carlyle Lett. III. 43 Just now I am too vexed for making a good story. 1867Freeman Norm. Conq. I. v. 394 Just now he did nothing to check the panic. Mod. That is his residence; but he is not there just now.
b. But now; only a very short time ago.
1633Ford 'Tis Pity i. iv, My barber told me just now, that there is a fellow come to town [etc.]. 1711Addison Spect. No. 106 ⁋6 The good Man whom I have just now mentioned. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 296 As you were saying just now.
c. Directly, immediately, very soon, presently. Also S. Afr. [tr. Afrikaans netnou].
1682D'Urfey Butler's Ghost i. 75 That I will, Cries he. But (quoth the Squire) just now T'must be. 1879Trollope Thackeray ix. 187, I will give one or two instances just now. 1901Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., Cumberl. I'll come just now. [So in most local dialects.] 1939‘D. Rame’ Wine of Good Hope i. iii. 40 ‘Well, eat then,’ said Lowell. ‘I'll come just now.’ 1953N. Gordimer Lying Days ii. ix. 92 ‘Well,’ I said, ‘I'll open it just now—.’ 1966A. Sachs Jail Diary xvi. 143 ‘Would you mind switching off the light after you lock up.’ ‘The men on cell duty will do that just now.’
8. Comb. with pples., and with adjs.
1605Sylvester Du Bartas ii. iii. iv. Captaines, Just-Duked Josuah cheers the Abramides To Canaans Conquest. 1818Bentham Ch. Eng. 55 An infant? Yea, a just-born infant. 1847L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. (1876) 297 A just-bearable specimen of the way in which ladies of quality could write. 1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. lxiii, Her curls in as much disorder as a just-awakened child's. 1884F. H. Myers in Fortn. Rev. 613 The companionship of the just-elder sister. 1885J. K. Jerome On the Stage 27 There being a dismal, just-got-up sort of look about him. |