| 释义 |
▪ I. last, n.1|lɑːst, læst|
Forms: 1 lást, lǽst, lǽste, 4–8 laste, 4–5 lest(e, 4– last.
[OE. lást masc., footstep, lǽst fem., boot, lǽste fem., shoemaker's last, cogn. w. Du. leest masc., OHG. leist (MHG. leist, mod.G. leiste(n masc.), last, ON. leist-r foot, sock (Sw., Da. läst last), Goth. laist-s footstep, track (ἴχνος), cogn. w. OHG. (wagan) -leisa track, rut (MHG. leis(e fem., geleis truckway, mod.G. geleise, gleise rut); by most recent scholars referred to a Teut. root *lais- (:lī̆s-) to follow a track (whence in immaterial sense Goth. lais pret.-pres., I know, and the related words: see learn v., lore), cogn. w. L. līra furrow. Some, however, would connect it with the Teut. *laiþ-, laiđ- (: OE. líðan to go); see load n.]
†1. A footstep, track, trace. After OE. only in Sc. phrase not a last: nothing, not at all.
Beowulf (Z.) 132 Hie þæs laðan last sceawedon. 971Blickl. Hom. 127 Man dæᵹhwamlice þa moldan nimeþ on þæm lastum. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xxxiv. (Pelagia) 102 Oure verray spouse, rekis nocht a laste how foule ore vnfaire we be. Ibid. xliii. (Cecile) 580 Þu ma with þi handis taste, Þo þu ma nocht se a laste. a1500Ratis Raving i. 2339 That louit neuer his lord a last.
2. A wooden model of the foot, on which shoemakers shape boots and shoes.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 125/32 Calopodium uel mustricula, læste. a1300Sat. People Kildare xiii. in E.E.P. (1862) 154 Hail be ȝe sutlers [? read sutars] wiþ ȝour mani lestes. c1440Promp. Parv. 298/2 Leste, sowtarys forme, formula. 1483Cath. Angl. 209/1 A Laste of a sowter, formula. 1589Greene Menaphon (Arb.) 54 That as he were a Coblers eldest sonne, would by the laste tell where anothers shooe wrings. 1644Jessop Angel of Eph. 6 These Lawyers..stretch Scripture as they please, just as the Shoe-maker doth his leather with his teeth, to fit it to his Laste. 1714Gay Trivia i. 35 Should the big Laste extend the shoe too wide. 1810Sporting Mag. XXXV. 192 [A prize-fight] between two brethren of the last. 1842Dickens Amer. Notes (1850) 69/2 Occasionally there is a drowsy sound from some lone weaver's shuttle, or shoemaker's last.
b. transf. and fig. ? Obs.
a1592H. Smith Wks. (1866–7) I. 391 All three are of one last. 1604Dekker Honest Wh. Wks. 1873 II. 138, I set my braines vpon an vpright Last. 1607Middleton Michaelm. Term i. i, Here's gallants of all sizes, of all lasts. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 372 Lesse matters set on the Friers lasts, make seely Papists beleeve [etc.]. 1625Fletcher Noble Gent. iii. ii, As though his spirit were a last or two Above his veines and stretcht his noble hide. 1647N. Bacon Disc. Govt. Eng. i. liii. (1739) 94 The Normans had reduced the Saxon law..unto their own Last, which stretched their desire as far as the estate would bear.
c. With allusion to the proverb let the cobbler stick to his last (‘Ne sutor ultra crepidam’).
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. ii. 40 Heere it is written, that the Shoo-maker should meddle with his Yard, and the Tayler with his Last. 1605Heywood If you know not me Wks. 1874 I. 210 Shoomaker, you goe a little beyond your last. 1692–4R. L'Estrange Fables ccxxv. (1708) 245 The Cobler is not to go beyond his Last. 1768–74Tucker Lt. Nat. (1834) II. 330 To enter upon these discussions would be carrying the shoemaker beyond his last. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) III. 53 Great evil may arise from the cobbler leaving his last and turning into..a legislator.
3. Comb., as last-maker.
1583Faversham Par. Reg. (MS.), John Wythers, an olde man, a lastmaker. 1825J. Nicholson Operat. Mechanic 8 The second sort of lever is presented to us in the cutting-knives used by last-makers.
▪ II. last, n.2|lɑːst, læst|
Forms: 1 hlæst, 4–6 laste, lest(e, (6 lasse), 4– last.
[OE. hlæst neut., corresp. to OFris. hlest, MLG., MDu., Du. last masc. and fem., OHG. hlast, last masc. and fem. (MHG., mod.G. last fem.); according to the now prevailing view repr. a pre-Teut. type *klat-sto- (-sti-), parallel with *klat-to- represented by ON. hlass neut., load; f. *klat- root of lade v.
Some scholars still adhere to the older view that WGer. *hlast- and ON. hlass both represent a pre-Teut. *klatt-, the divergence being conjectured to be due to difference of accentual conditions.]
†1. A load, burden, weight carried. Obs.
Beowulf (Z.) 52 Men ne cunnon secgan..hwa þæm hlæste on-feng. c1000Riddles ii. 15 (Gr.) Saᵹa, hwa mec þecce oþþe hu ic hatte, þe þa hlæst bere. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles iv. 74 Than lay the lordis a-lee with laste and with charge, And bare aboute the barge and blamed the maister.
2. A commercial denomination of weight, capacity, or quantity, varying for different kinds of goods and in different localities. Cf. G. last.
Originally the ‘last’ must have been the quantity carried at one time by the vehicle (boat, wagon, etc.) ordinarily used for the particular kind of merchandise. As a weight, it is often stated to be (like the Ger. weight of the same name) nominally equivalent either to 2 tons or to 4,000 lbs. In wool weight it is 4368 lbs. (= 12 sacks). A last of gunpowder is said to be 2,400 lbs. (= 24 barrels), and of feathers or flax 1,700 lbs.
The equivalence of the last of wool with 12 sacks seems to have led to an association of the word with the number twelve. Thus a last of hides was formerly 12 dozen (also 20 dickers of 10 hides each); of beer 12 barrels; of pitch 12 (sometimes 14) barrels; of cod and herrings 12 barrels (but of red herrings and pilchards 10,000 to 13,200 fish).
As a measure for grain and malt, the last was in the 16th c. 12 quarters, but is now 10 quarters = 80 bushels.
[1314–5Rolls of Parlt. I. 312/2, iiii. lest' & dim' de quyre.] 1333–4Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 30 In uno last et ix M1 allec. melioribus emp...vjli. vjs. viijd. 1390–1Earl Derby's Exped. (Camden) 58 Et pro j laste de beer..Et pro j laste de vino de Ryne. 1396–7Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 600 In j last bituminis, 34s. 1428in Surtees Misc. (1888) 2 John Bower proferd to sell hym a laste of osmundes. 1469Househ. Ord. (1790) 102 White Herringes a laste, that is to say, xij barrelles. c1483Caxton Dialogues vi. 21 Men selle the goodes,.. By sackes or by lastes. 1486Naval Acc. Hen. VII (1896) 15 A last of pitch and Tarre. 1509–10Act 1 Hen. VIII, c. 20 §1 For the Subsidie..of every laste of hydes lxvjs. viijd. 1540Act 32 Hen. VIII, c. 14 For every laste of whete and rye xxvis. viiid. 1548Privy Council Acts (1890) II. 174 Serpentyne pouldre, iij lestes. 1583Satir. Poems Reform. xlv. 882 To get a licence..For fortie last of Inglis beir. 1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Serplaith, Item 24 meales makis ane Last. Item, of meille and malt called coist, ane last makis ane Scottish chalder. 1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe Ep. Ded. (end), For a whole laste of redde Herrings. 1612Hopton Conserv. Yeares 164 A Last of Wooll is 4368 pounds, or 12 Sackes. 1640in Entick London II. 170 Quern⁓stones, the last. 1665Lond. Gaz. No, 8/1 Sixteen Lasts of Gunpowder, and Four thousand Musquets are brought in hither. 1725Bradley Fam. Dict., s.v., A Last of Cod Fish is twelve Barrels; a Last of Herrings is twenty Cades, or ten Thousand. 1727Ibid. s.v. Ale, Twelve Ale-Barrels making a Last. 1750Carte Hist. Eng. II. 418 An extraordinary duty of ten shillings on a sack of wool, and a last of leather for one year. 1753Hanway Trav. (1762) I. vii. lxxxvi. 401 They have..exported fourteen thousand lasts. or twenty-eight thousand tuns English of all sorts of grain. 1875Stubbs Const. Hist. II. xvi. 412 A grant of..forty shillings on the last of leather. 1884Brit. Almanac & Companion 33 A Yarmouth last of herrings is supposed to count 13,200 fish. 1893Lang Red Fairy Bk. 318 Someone who could brew a hundred lasts of malt at one brewing. 1894R. Leighton Wreck Golden Fleece 143 A single ‘last’ [of herrings] being equal to ten thousand fish.
†b. transf. A huge indefinite number. Obs.
c1386Chaucer Prioress' Prol. 4 God yeve this Monk a thousand last quade yeer. 1581Rich Farew. Milit. Profess. T j, Goyng his waie to his sweete harte, tellyng her the whole discourse..with a whole laste of kisses. 1712Arbuthnot John Bull iii. ix, Ten thousand last of devils haul me, if I don't love thee as I love my life.
†3. A unit in the measurement of a ship's burden = 2 tons (occas. 1 ton). Obs.
1643Declar. Lords & Comm., Reb. Irel. 46 The ship called Saint Michaell the Archangell of burden an hundred and twentie Lasts or Tuns. 1722Lond. Gaz. No. 6096/3 The..Snow..is of the Burthen of 50 or 60 Tons or 25 or 30 Lasts. 1796in Morse Amer. Geog. II. 52 The Swedish vessels which perform the voyage to China, are generally of four hundred lasts burden.
†4. ? A dozen (of hawks). Obs.
162.Horsey Trav. (Hakl. Soc.) 234 Two white garr⁓faulkens, a last of girckens and a last of sloght faulcons and two gashaukes.
†5. Shetland. last of land: a quantity of land = 18 merks. Obs.
1605Feu Contract in Mill Diary (1889) 193 The said twa last of land in Sandwick. a1733Shetland Acts 36 in Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. (1892) XXVI. 201 That none have more swine than four upon a last of land over winter.
▪ III. † last, n.3 Obs.
Also 3–4 lest.
[a. ON. lǫst-r (genit. lastar, dat. lesti):—OTeut. *lahst-uz, f. *lah-, whence OHG. lahan, OE. léan to blame. CF. lahter.]
A fault, vice, sin; blame; also, a physical blemish.
c1175Lamb. Hom. 145 Summe men luuieð..galiche lectres and luðere lastes. c1200Ormin 4522 Forr grediȝnesse iss hefiȝ lasst Biforenn Godess eȝhne. c1205Lay. 22974 Þe mon þe him weore lað him cuðe last finde. c1300Cursor M. 22324 (Edin.) Wiþoutin laste al his liccame. a1310in Wright Lyric P. x. 37 Betere is were thunne boute laste, then syde robes ant synke into synne. c1380Sir Ferumb. 459 For þoȝ y ben in batail schent it ys no lest for hem.
▪ IV. last, n.4|lɑːst, læst|
Also 5 lest.
[f. last v.1]
1. Continuance, duration. Now rare.
a1300Cursor M. 19562 In last o cristen mans lijf. c1470Henry Wallace vi. 90 Fy on fortoun, fy on thi frewall quheyll; Fy on thi traist, for her it has no lest. 1587Fleming Contn. Holinshed III. 1549/2 Things memorable, of perpetuitie, fame, and last. a1626Bacon New Atl. (1650) 29 These Drinks are of Severall Ages, some to the Age or Last of forty yeares. 1884Pall Mall G. 12 Jan. 4/2 Another omission, and a more important one, from the point of view of the literary last of the book, is [etc.].
2. Power of holding on or out; ‘staying’ power.
1857Hughes Tom Brown ii. vii, It's a fair trial of skill and last between us and them [the masters]. 1865Pall Mall G. 16 May 10 His [a waterman's] ‘last’ is not in the same proportion to his pace as that of the amateur.
▪ V. last, n.5 Obs. exc. Hist.|lɑːst, læst|
[ad. Anglo-Latin lastum, lestum (Domesday Book lest), used as the regular equivalent of late OE. lǽþ lathe n.1
The etymology is obscure: it is difficult on the ground of sense to suppose the word to be connected with last n.2, or with the OF. lest loading of a ship. It is also difficult on the ground of form to connect the word with OE. lǽþ; it is conceivable that the Norman lest might represent this by sound-substitution, but no analogous instance is known.]
= lathe n.1 Also as the designation of an administrative assembly (see quot. 1670); more fully last-court.
1086Domesday Bk. I. 1/3 Has..leges regis concordant hostes de quatuor Lestis, hoc est Boruuar Lest, & Estrelest & Linuuartlest & Wiuuartlest. c1120Rochester Bridge-bote Charter in Birch Cart. Sax. III. 658 (Latin text), Postea sexta pera debet fieri de holingeburna et de toto illo lesto quæ [sic] ad hoc pertinet. Ibid. (O.E. text) Þonne is syo syoxte per to holingan burnan & to eallan þam læþe. a1272Charter Romney Marsh (1597) 73 Si aliquis..conuincatur per testimonium Balliui et Iuratorum in communi lasto, amercietur [etc.]. c1380W. Thorn Chron. in Twysden Hist. Angl. Scriptores decem (1652) 1777 Hic [sc. Elfredus] constituit Hundred & Lestes. 1570–6Lambarde Peramb. Kent (1826) 165 Of this place the whole Last of Shipwey (conteining twelve Hundrethes) at the first tooke, and yet continueth, the name. 1662Dugdale Imbanking 54 Also it was decreed and ordained that twice every year, for ever, there should be held a principal and general Last, within the said Land and Marsh. 1670Blount Law Dict., Last also, in the Marshes of East Kent, signifies a Court held by Twenty four Jurats, and summoned by the two Bailiffs thereof, wherein they make Orders, lay and levy Taxes, impose Penalties, &c. For preservation of the said Marshes. 1729in Jacob Law Dict. 1753in Chambers Cycl. Supp.
▪ VI. last, a., adv., and n.6|lɑːst, læst|
Forms: 1 latost, (lætest), 2–3 latest, latst, (3 Ormin lattst), 3 least, 3, 4–5 (Sc.) lest(e, 4–6 laste, 6 Sc. laist, 4– last.
[OE. latost, Northumb. lætest, superl. of læt adj., late adv. Cf. OFris. letast, lest, OS. latst, last, lętist (MLG. lest, Du. laatst, lest), OHG. laȥȥôst, lęȥist (MHG. letzest, letzst, letst, mod.G. letzt), ON. latast-r. The syncopation of the vowel before -st must have originated in the inflected forms; for the subsequent dropping of the t cf. best. The mod. latest does not descend from early ME. latest, but is a new-formation on the positive.]
A. adj. Following all others; coming at the end.
I. As simple adjective.
1. a. Following all the others in a series, succession, order, or enumeration; subsequent to all others in occurrence, existence, etc. spec. in Cricket, (the) last man (in): the batsman who is not out at the end of an innings; the man who goes in to bat last; hence the last pair, last wicket.
For the syntactical relation involved in last comer and the like, cf. early riser, etc. (See early a. 1 a note.)
c1200Ormin 4168 Þe sefennde, þe lattste daȝȝ, He sette þeȝȝm to resste. a1300Cursor M. 1492 Þe formast werld adam be-gan, þar-of lameth [i.e. Lamech] þe last man. 1340Ayenb. 245 Þe laste yefþe and þe meste and Þe heȝeste is þe yefþe of wysdom. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 58 In þe laste chapitle of þe firste book. c1440Promp. Parv. 288/2 Laste, save one, penultimus. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII 244 She was the last of the right lyne and name, of Plantagenet. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xii. 51 It is bot waist Mo wirde to taist, Ȝe haif my laist. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 12 b, A prophete that sayd Maximilian should be the last Germaine Emperour. 1604E. G[rimstone] D'Acosta's Hist. Indies v. xxviii. 415 The twelfth and last month was called Aymara. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Dernier, The last commers get the maisterie. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 223 This last clause..is added by the Talmudists. 1667Milton P.L. v. 166 Fairest of Starrs, last in the train of Night, If better thou belong not to the dawn. Ibid. xii. 330 Of Kings The Last. 1724De Foe Mem. Cavalier (1840) 275 This was the last day of May. 1794Mrs. Radcliffe Myst. Udolpho iv, The sun now gave his last light. 1800Wordsw. Waterfall & Eglantine, The Briar quaked—and much I fear Those accents were his last. 1842Tennyson Love & Duty 65 A hundred times In that last kiss, which never was the last, Farewell, like endless welcome, lived and died. 1864― En. Ard. 217 When the last of those last moments came. 1864Le Fanu Uncle Silas II. v. 70 So the morning came—my last for many a day at Knowl.
Cricket.1773Kentish Gaz. 24 July, Surry. Yaldin, Last man in, 17. Kent. Mr. Hussey, Last man in, 0. 1833J. Nyren Young Cricketer's Tutor 113 Small went in the last man for fourteen runs, and fetched them. 1870Times 20 July 10/3 Southerton appeared as ‘last man’. 1897H. Newbolt Vitai Lampada in Admirals All 21 An hour to play and the last man in. 1953R. Webber Australians in Eng. 155 Oldfield (123) and Mailey (46 not out) added 124 for the last wicket in only 40 minutes. 1957R. Campbell Coll. Poems II. 101 No last-man-in has ever batted With a more desperate intent. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 iii. 88 The last pair, perched not uncomfortably for forty-nine minutes, had put on 20 runs.
b. With a cardinal numeral. In this combination two varieties of word-order are commonly used. (a) The more frequent form till the 17th c. appears to be the two (three, etc.) last (= F. les deux derniers, G. die zwei letzten); the variant seven the last appears in one example. (b) The form the last two (three, etc.) is now the more frequent of the two, exc. where last is equivalent to ‘last-mentioned’; see also 3. Also preceded by an ordinal number, to denote how many places from the end of a series an object, name of a person, etc., occurs.
(a)1382Wyclif Rev. xv. i, Seuen aungels hauinge seuen the laste plages [so 1388, with v.rr. the laste seuene, the seuene laste; later versions the seven last(e]. c1450ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 144 A veyne by twene two laste fyngeres. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 1 b, The two last dayes [perteyneth] to the contemplatyue lyfe. 1710C. Wheatly Ch. Eng. Man's Companion 51 The two last of these versicles. a1715Burnet Own Time (1724) I. 591 Three parliaments had sat. The two last had not mentioned him. 1779–81Johnson L.P., Young Wks. IV. 242 The three last stanzas are not more remarkable for just rhymes. 1818Hazlitt Lect. Eng. Poets iii, Chaucer, Spenser, Shakespeare, and Milton... The two last have had justice done them by the voice of common fame.
(b)1388[see (a)]. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. iv. 205, In the 12th and 13th, or last two Columns of your Journal. 1805Johnson's Dict. s.v. Disloyal, The last three [ed. 1755 three latter] senses are now obsolete. 1833Regul. Instr. Cavalry i. 98 Place the last three fingers behind the steel. 1898Daily News 8 Aug. 6/5 The last two volumes (fifth and sixth) of their new edition of Macaulay's History.
1880W. F. Skene Celtic Scotl. III. 122 Dathi the second last of the pagan monarchs of Ireland. 1938I. Goldberg Wonder of Words ix. 186 There are technical names for words having accented last, second-last, and third-last syllables. 1963J. Lusby in B. James Austral. Short Stories 235 Before breakfast on our second-last day the Eccentric stood facing Mooney on the sand.
c. Coupled with least.
a1586Sidney Arcadia i. (1633) 14 Among many strange conceits you told me..truely even the last..would not seem the least unto me. 1589Nashe Pref. to Greene's Menaphon (Arb.) 17 For the last, though not the least of them all. 1595Spenser Col. Clout 444 And there, though last, not least, is Aetion. 1599H. Buttes Dyets drie Dinner C iij, Both these, are of last and least request. 1601Shakes. Jul. C. iii. i. 189 Though last, not least in loue. 1852Dickens Bleak Ho. lviii, Volumnia..is a prey to horrors of many kinds. Not last nor least among them, possibly, is a horror of what may befall her little income.
d. ellipt. The last day (of a month). Also more generally, the final portion of a period of time, esp. in the last of pea-time; also fig. Now N. Amer.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 110 The last of June. 1596Acc. Bk. W. Wray in Antiquary XXXII. 119 This laste of octobr. 1630Wadsworth Pilgr. vi. 52 He..dyed, Nouember the last, 1623. 1683Tryon Way to Health v. (1697) 86 From the midle of June to the last of October. 1834W. A. Caruthers Kentuckian in N.Y. I. 190 Our parson whines it out like an old woman in the last of pea⁓time. 1883Century Mag. Oct. 921/2 The snipe usually makes its appearance in New Jersey and New York about the last of March or the first of April. 1904E. Robins Magnetic North I. 63 Things looked pretty much like the last of pea time. 1908L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xxxvi. 405 There is a distinguished oculist coming to the Island the last of June. 1931A. E. Martin Hist. U.S. II. ii. 24 By the last of May he had formulated his plan and on the twenty-ninth he issued two proclamations.
e. In spatial sense: Utmost, extreme, remotest (rare). † Also, hindmost, rearmost.
a1225Leg. Kath. 586 Clerkes..of alle clergies ut of Alixandres lond þe alre leste ende [v.rr. laste, leaste]. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 239 The kyng rode to the last ende of the ranke where the Speares or Pencyoners stoode. 1549in Strype Eccl. Mem. II. App. DD. 104 The L. Gray was fain..to retyre to our last horsemen and footmen. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxviii. 102 The land's last verge Holds him.
f. last across (the road): a children's game in which each tries to be the last to cross a road (or railway) safely in front of an approaching vehicle (or train). Also fig.
1904A. B. F. Young Compl. Motorist ix. 230 If it seems good to them [sc. children] to play at ‘last across’, you had better go very gingerly in their neighbourhood. 1914‘I. Hay’ Knight on Wheels xi. 108 A frisky calf, encountered by the way, almost wrecked its own prospects of ever becoming veal by an untimely indulgence in the game of ‘Come to Mother, or Last Across the Road’. 1928Sunday Dispatch 15 July 11/3 Socialist back-benchers are playing a dangerous game of ‘last across’ with Mr. Speaker—just seeing how far they can go at question time without being ‘named’. 1957Times 12 Mar. 4/6 Engine drivers are threatening to refuse to drive trains over a section of track..because children are using it for a game of ‘last across’. 1958R. Liddell Morea ii. iv. 103 Chickens seemed to be playing ‘last across the road’;..dogs tried to meet us head on. 1969‘A. Hall’ Striker Portfolio v. 45 We finished up playing ‘Last Across’ and he cut it too fine.
2. a. Belonging to the end or final stage, esp. belonging to the end of life or the end of the world. (In some applications only a contextual use of sense 1.) † last age: the closing years of life, old age. the (four) last things (Theol.; = L. quatuor novissima): Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell. last words, a person's dying words.
c1200Vices & Virtues (1888) 19 Ðes werȝinge nis bute erres of ðare laczste [? = latste or lasste]. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 5 Of ðe lateste to-cume of ure louerd specð þe holie boc on oðer stede. 1382Wyclif Wisd. iv. 8 The laste age [1388 eelde, Vulg. senectus] forsothe wrshipeful is not longe durende. 1382― 1 Cor. xv. 52 In a moment, in the smytinge of an yȝe, in the laste trumpe. 1440J. Shirley Dethe K. James 29 Translated..bi youre symple subget John Shirley, in his laste age. 1479Earl Rivers (title) The book named Cordyal which treteth of the four last and final thinges. 1522More De Quat. Noviss. in Works (1557) 76/2 The busi minding of thy .iiii. last things, and the depe consideracion therof, is the thyng that shal kepe thee fro synne. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 216 b, He confessed his doctryne constantlye even to the laste breathe. 1606(title) Foure-fould Meditation, of the foure last things: viz...of the Houre of Death. Day of Iudgement. Paines of Hell. Ioyes of Heauen. a1621Beaum. & Fl. Thierry & Theod. v. ii, Bear vm vnto their last beds. 1638Baker tr. Balzac's Lett. (vol. II.) 59 Having performed to him the last duties. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 763 With his last Voice, Eurydice, he cry'd. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 403 That sun..Which from the first has shone on ages past, Enlights the present, and shall warm the last. 1734J. Trapp (title) Thoughts upon the four last things... A poem in four parts. 1781Cowper Truth 564 'Twas the last trumpet—see the Judge enthroned. 1808Scott Marm. vi. xxxiii. 366 ‘Charge, Chester, charge! On, Stanley, on!’..Were the last words of Marmion. 1833J. H. Newman Arians iv. iii. (1876) 326 Hosius..with his last breath, abjured the heresy. 1845G. Bush Anastasis p. v, The great scheme of Scriptural Eschatology, or the doctrine of the last things. 1864C. M. Yonge Trial II. xi. 189 Come, come,..there must be some last words. 1897J. A. Beet Last Things xix. 231 This vision of glory..will be the closing scene of our study of the Last Things. a1916H. James Middle Years (1917) iv. 49 Those ‘last words’ of the raffiné that were chanted and crooned in the damask-hung temple of the Grosvenor Gallery. 1945E. Waugh Brideshead Revisited i. vii. 173, I can't remember all he told me..plenary indulgences, four last things. 1948, etc. [see famous a. 1 c]. 1975J. Aiken Voices in Empty House viii. 190 The four last things are death, judgement, heaven and hell. 1975R. Player Let's talk of graves i. 31 Languishing in the Condemned Cell, contemplating the Last Things.
b. † (one's) last day: the day of one's death (obs.). the last day: the Day of Judgement, the end of the world. the last days: the concluding period in the life or history of (a person, etc.); also the period including and immediately preceding the Last Judgement. Similarly the last time, last times.
a1300Cursor M. 5458 Thinges..þat..suld in last dais bi-tidd. Ibid. 23928 On min aun last dai. 1340Hampole Pr. Consc. 1986 Þe last day of man is hyd. Ibid. 2596 Swilk als his last day fyndes a man..Swilk mon he be demed at þe ende. 1388Wyclif Isa. ii. 2 And in the laste daies the hil of the hous of the Lord schal be maad redi in the cop of hillis. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 189 b, Before the laste daye of judgement. 1611Bible John vi. 39, I should lose nothing, but should raise it vp againe at the last day. ― 1 Pet. i. 5 Ready to be reuealed in the last time [ἐν καιρῷ ἐσχάτῳ]. Ibid. 20 Who..was manifest in these last times [ἐπ' ἐσχάτων τῶν χρόνων] for you. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 548 Our English first had Trade heere in the last times of Queene Elizabeth. 1651Hobbes Leviath. iii. xli. 262 The day of Judgment, (which is therefore also called, the last day). 1834Lytton (title) The Last Days of Pompeii. 1883R. W. Dixon Mano i. iv. 10 Wherefore the last days seem to be begun.
c. last end: the very end, † the utmost extremity or limit; esp. the end of life, death. (Cf. MHG. das letzte ende; OE. had se ýtemesta ende.) arch. and dial.
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xiv. 133 Allas! þat ricchesse shal reue and robbe mannes soule Fram þe loue of owre lorde at his laste ende! c1425Wyntoun Cron. ix. Prol. 31 Off this Tretys the last end Tyl bettyr than I am, I commend. 1450–1530Myrr. our Ladye 260 This I haue writen vpon this antempne for the laste ende semeth darckely spoken. 1611Cotgr. s.v. Final, Fin finale, the last end of all. 1611Bible Num. xxiii. 10 Let mee die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his. c1625Milton Death Fair Infant 77 Till the worlds last-end shall make thy name to live. 1637Sc. Bk. Com. Prayer, Public Baptism (Rubric), At the last end, the Presbyter..shall say this exhortation following. 1889N.W. Linc. Gloss., I caame at th' start, an' I've seed th' last end on it [a sale]... She's been aailin' a long time, poor thing, bud her last end's cum'd at last.
d. Phr. if it's the last thing I (etc.) do: used to indicate a very strong desire to do something.
1921E. O'Neill Emperor Jones 180, I kills you, you white debil, if it's de last thing I evah does! 1938M. Allingham Fashion in Shrouds ix. 146 He's got to go on that plane. If it's the last thing he does he's got to go back today. 1971‘D. Cory’ Sunburst iii. 44, I want to kill him if it's the last thing I do. 1972P. Newton Sheep Thief xv. 119 I'll get that bloke if it's the last thing I do.
3. a. Occurring or presenting itself next before a point of time expressed or implied in the sentence; the present time, or next before; most recent, latest. † the last age: recent times.
With a cardinal numeral the order is now always the last two (three, etc.).
1377Langl. P. Pl. B. xviii. 311 And now for thi last lesynge ylore we haue Adam, And al owre lordeship. 1411Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/1 The last Parlement of oure sayd liege Lord. a1548Hall Chron., Hen. IV, 18 So muche was their courages abated..with the remembraunce of the last conflicte and batail. 1562Winȝet Cert. Tractates i. Wks. 1888 I. 7 Ȝour eldaris in the last aige foresaid. 1598Shakes. Merry W. iv. ii. 98 To meete him at the doore with it, as they did last time. 1610― Temp. v. i. 153 When did you lose your daughter? In this last Tempest. 1660F. Brooke tr. Le Blanc's Trav. 246 For those three or four last Ages. 1669Marvell Corr. cxxx. Wks. 1872–5 II. 294 Having writ to you last post saves me the labor of a long letter this. 1678T. Rymer (title) The Tragedies of the last Age consider'd. 1750Johnson Rambler No. 71 ⁋11 Among the improvements made by the last centuries in human knowledge. 1797–1805S. & Ht. Lee Canterb. T. V. 292 He wore his best Brutus wig, which was curled in the last new taste. 1804Med. Jrnl. XII. 166 In the last fortnight, a number of subjects..have been submitted to the test. 1843H. Miller in J. L. Watson Life R. S. Candlish vi. (1882) 78 The events of the last twelve days. 1885J. Payn Talk of Town I. 168, ‘I say, my astute young friend..where have you been to these last three hours?’ a1902Mod. We have been having bad weather these last few weeks.
b. Said esp. of the period, season, etc., occurring next before the time of writing or speaking, as last Wednesday, last Christmas. last day (now dial.), yesterday; † last morning, yesterday morning; last evening, yesterday evening. Cf. equivalent phrases in B. 2 b.
(Orig. used with a demonstrative, this or the, and still sometimes with the former when a very recent date is indicated; with the names of days and months, the adj. may precede or follow the n., as last Tuesday or Tuesday last, last January or January last.)
c1340Cursor M. 16122 (Trin.) A siȝt Þat she in hir slepyng say þis ilke laste nyȝt. a1400–50Alexander 2785 Two..Þat lost wer nowe þe last day. 1502Privy Purse Exp. Eliz. of York (1830) 110 Tharrerags of the last yere. a1553Udall Royster D. ii. i. (Arb.) 33 Loe yond the olde nourse that was wyth vs last day. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 201 b, Commyng thither the laste yere in Decembre. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 86 Last morning You could not see to wipe my shooes. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 96 On Bartholmew day last 1613. 1677E. Smith in 12th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 37 His Majesty..went on Munday last to Windsor to see his workemen. 1711Steele Spect. No. 53 ⁋4 Yours of Saturday last. 1712Addison Spect. No. 305 ⁋1 In the Daily Courant of last Friday. 1784Cowper Tiroc. 834 Their breath a sample of last night's regale. 1787Burns Humble Petit. Bruar Water iii, Last day I grat wi' spite and teen, As Poet Burns came by. 1795Cowper Pairing Time Anticipated 28 A Finch..With golden wing and satin poll, A last year's bird. 1816Byron Ch. Har. iii. xxviii, Last noon beheld them full of lusty life, Last eve in Beauty's circle proudly gay. 1847Halliwell, Last-day, yesterday. West. 1872Raymond Statist. Mines & Mining 185 Last fall a Chicago merchant shipped a fair stock of merchandise to Eldorado.
c. With ellipsis of letter. Now chiefly in commercial use.
1638Wotton Let. to Dr. C. in Reliq. (1651) 501, I find in the bowels of your last..much harsh and stiffe matter from Scotland. c1645Howell Lett. I. vi. xv. (1650) 202 Your last unto me was in French of the first current. 1749Fielding Tom Jones xviii. iv, My worthy friend, I informed you in my last.
d. ellipt. (colloq.) (A person's) latest joke, freak, characteristic action or utterance.
a1902Mod. Have you heard Professor X.'s last?
4. That comes at the end of a series arranged in order of rank or estimation; lowest. Chiefly ellipt.
1382Wyclif Mark ix. 34 If any man wole be the first among ȝou, he schal be the laste, and mynystre of alle. 1601Chester in Shaks. C. Praise 43 King Arthur the last of the nine Worthies. 1709Pope Ess. Crit. 196 Oh may some spark of your celestial fire, The last, the meanest of your sons inspire. 1774Goldsm. Nat. Hist. (1776) IV. 183 [The manati] may be indiscriminately called the last of beasts, or the first of fishes. 1781Cowper Expost. 242 The last of nations now, though once the first. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus xlix. 6 He as easily last among the poets As thou surely the first among the pleaders.
5. a. Remaining or arrived at after others have disappeared, have been removed, exhausted, or spent; the only remaining; last lap [lap n.3 5 b]: the final circuit of a track, course, etc.; also fig.
1382Wyclif Luke xii. 59 Thou schalt not go thennis, til thou ȝelde also the last ferthing. 1388― Amos ix. 1, Y schal sle bi swerd the laste of hem. 1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 120 Than flye they unto her, as unto the laste ancker. Ibid. 216 They of necessitie doe flee to the laste remedye. 1596Spenser State Irel. Wks. (Globe) 682/2 Such an one I could name, upon whom..our last hopes now rest. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iv. ii. 44 Wee readie are to trye our fortunes, To the last man. 1613― Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 453 Take an Inuentary of all I haue, To the last peny. 1637Milton Lycidas 71 That last infirmity of Noble mind. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 274 Having spent the last Remains of Light. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 20 This night our last Slave run away. 1742Lady M. W. Montagu Let. to Mr. Wortley 10 June, Being always at his last shirt and last guinea. 1781Cowper Hope 378 Mercy, fled to as the last resort. a1836O. W. Holmes Last Leaf viii, If I should live to be The last leaf upon the tree. 1857Buckle Civiliz. I. xii. 686 There can be no doubt that rebellion is the last remedy against tyranny. 1885Daily News 1 Sept. 2/5 At half-distance the positions remained unaltered, and, as they began the last lap, it appeared to be any one's race. 1908Daily Chron. 7 Mar. 7/5 Such an event [sc. a cycling race]..is declared to have been won on the last-lap sprint. 1922Joyce Ulysses 234 Bang of the lastlap bell spurred the halfmile wheelmen to their sprint. 1926O. Barfield Hist. in Eng. Words 56 There is a..tendency to transmute..[modern sports] terms into lively idiom. In this way we can use..the last lap. 1932Discovery Dec. 393/1 We learned that weather conditions there had improved and that, for the last lap, we might expect better flying conditions.
b. With the application defined by a relative clause or to with inf. Often with idiomatic force = ‘most unlikely’, ‘most unwilling’, ‘most unsuitable’.
a1450Knt. de la Tour. (1868) 61 The .ix. foly, and the last, that Eue dede was the grettest. 1513More in Grafton Chron. (1568) II. 757 In the Sommer last that ever he sawe. 1535Coverdale 2 Sam. xix. 11 Why wyl ye be the last to fetch the kynge agayne vnto his house? a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VIII, 243 b, This was the last Monke that was seen in his clothyng in Englande. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. i. i. 161, I am the last that will last keepe his oath. 1659B. Harris Parival's Iron Age 138 This was the last favour Fortune did this Darling of hers. 1751Fielding Amelia IV. x. vii. 74 This was indeed almost the last man in the World, whose company he wished for. 1790Cowper Catharina 9 The last evening ramble we made,—Catharina, Maria, and I. 1832H. Martineau Life in Wilds iv. 53 One of the last men we could spare. 1838Prescott Ferd. & Is. ii. xvi. III. 251 She was the last person to be approached with undue familiarity. 1840H. Reeve tr. A. de Tocqueville's Democracy in Amer. IV. iv. iii. 269, I am the last man to contend that these propensities are unconquerable. 1852Mrs. Stowe Uncle Tom's C. xxx. 279 It's the last night we may be together. 1861Gen. P. Thompson Audi Alt. (ed. 2) III. clxxvii. 213 Bellona is the last of the goddesses to be flirted with. 1967Listener 28 Sept. 395/3 Degas was the last man to believe in untutored brilliance.
6. a. After which there is nothing to be done or said; final, conclusive, definitive. ? Now only in the collocation last word.
1654Bramhall Just Vind. vii. (1661) 228 All Christian Nations do challenge this right..to be the last Judges of their own liberties and priviledges. Ibid. viii. 232 The Catholick Church..is the last visible Judg of controversies, and the supream Ecclesiastical Court. 1678Butler Hud. iii. ii. 1330 Money that like the Sword of Kings, Is the last Reason of all things. 1751Johnson Rambler No. 142 ⁋8 Whatever shall be the last decision of the law. 1881S. Colvin Pref. to Select. Landor's Writings (1882) 6 Concerning this part of Landor's work,..Mr. Swinburne has in those two felicitous lines said the last word. 1891Church Oxford Movement x. 167 It [Evangelical theology] regarded the Epistles of St. Paul as the last word of the Gospel message. 1933Punch 17 May 543/3 Although to my mind the Inverness alterations are absolutely the last word [in modernity], opinions are bound to differ. 1936Discovery Apr. 130/1 The book cannot be the last word on M. Coué. 1966Listener 6 Jan. 12/2 The Trombay establishment is the last word in nuclear sophistication. 1973Archivum Linguisticum IV. 12 Perhaps it is most reasonable to leave the last word to Pidgin.
†b. last hand: the final or finishing stroke or touch.
1614Selden Titles Hon. Ded. a iij, Some yeer since it was finish't, wanting, only in some parts, my last hand. 1648–1865 [see hand n. 13 b]. 1676Dryden Dram. Wks. (1725) IV. 81 To recommend it to the King's perusal, before the last Hand was added to it. 1704Swift's T. Tub To Rdr., Whether the work received his last hand or whether he intended to fill up defective places. 1715–20Pope Iliad xviii. 702 Thus the broad shield complete the artist crown'd With his last hand.
7. Reaching its ultimate limit; attaining a degree beyond which one cannot go; utmost, extreme. Now chiefly in phr. of the last importance. (Cf. F. dernier.) Also last cry [tr. Fr. le dernier cri]: something in the newest fashion. Cf. dernier a. c.
a1674Clarendon Hist. Reb. xiv. §139 He told the earl that he would impart a secret to him of the last importance. 1693Dryden Lucretius ii. 13 Their last endeavours bend To outshine each other. 1705Stanhope Paraphr. II. 424 One of the last Affronts, capable of being passed upon any Man. 1711Light to Blind in 10th Rep. Hist. MSS. Comm. App. v. 110 A Prince, who with the last zeal is desir'd by suffering nations. 1775Harris Philos. Arrangem. (1841) 348 Demosthenes, in whom rhetoric attained its last perfection. 1827Scott Napoleon xxxvi, Territory of the last and most important consequence. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. ix. II. 395 Their Church was suffering the last excess of injury and insult. 1875E. White Life in Christ iii. xxii. (1878) 325 The citation of these words..in order to support the speculation..seems to the last degree perverse. 1881Mahaffy Old Greek Educ. iii. 26 Rowing..was of the last importance in their naval warfare. 1916W. J. Locke Wonderful Year x. 133 A morning coat (last cry of Bond Street).
ellipt.1667Milton P.L. ix. 1079 Even shame, the last of evils. 1727Fielding Love in Sev. Masques i. v, Well, positively, going into a bookseller's shop is to me the last of fatigues.
8. Special collocations. last brood, last spring (see laspring), terms denoting a young salmon at a certain stage of growth.
1861Act 24–5 Vict. c. 109 §4.
¶ For last cast, l. ditch, l. extremity, l. gasp, l. heir, l. honour(s, l. legs, l. multiplier, l. name, l. post, l. straw, l. will, see the ns.
II. absol. (quasi-n.)
9. In certain absolute uses.
a. With a demonstrative or relative adj.: The last-mentioned person or thing.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 44 b, Which two last were not agreed upon. 1640Bp. Hall Chr. Moder. (Ward) 33/2 These two last will teach him to acknowledge and admire other men's better faculties. 1697W. Dampier Voy. I. 215 With a Fireship and 3 Tenders, which last had not a constant crew. 1796H. Hunter tr. St.-Pierre's Stud. Nat. (1799) I. 418 It..contains, as it ought, the history of the knowledge, and of the errors of his time. These last are sometimes imputed to him very unjustly. 1864M. E. Braddon H. Dunbar II. iii. 43 To this last, love is faith.
†b. the last (advb.): at last, finally. Sc. Obs.
c1340Cursor M. 6818 (Trin.) Þe flesshe þat beest bifore haþ tast Ete ȝe not þerof þe last [Cott., Fairf. a last(e]. a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 35 [They] maid greit lauboris and trawellis to bring them to peace and concord whill the last they brocht them togither in S. Geillis kirk.
c. The latest or most recent part; conclusion, end.
1607Shakes. Temp. i. ii. 107 Sit still, and heare the last of our sea-sorrow. 1669Sturmy Mariner's Mag. i. 18 We will draw to the last with a Man of War in Chase and taking of her Prize. 1918Galsworthy Five Tales 308 The last of daylight from without mingled with faint intrusion from the lamp within. 1943K. O'Brien (title) The last of summer.
†d. The last time. Obs. rare.
1601Shakes. All's Well v. iii. 79 The last that ere I tooke her leaue at Court.
e. The last day or last moments (of a life); the end of life, death. Chiefly with a possessive.
1382Wyclif Ecclus. xxx. 1 That he glade in his laste [Vulg. ut lætetur in novissimo suo]. 1618Bolton Florus iv. vi. (1636) 303 Who would not wonder that those most wise men used not their own hands at their last? a1635Naunton Fragm. Reg. (Arb.) 44 The haughtinesse of his spirit, which accompanied him to his last. 1671Milton Samson 1426 The last of me or no I cannot warrant. 1748Richardson Clarissa VII. 418 She regrets to this hour, and declares that she shall to the last of her life, her cruel treatment of that sister. 1817Byron Manfred iii. i. 88 When Rome's sixth Emperor was near his last. 1860Lever One of them xlvi, As he drew nigh his last his sufferings gave little intervals of rest. a1902Mod. Towards the last the pain seemed to leave him, and his end was very peaceful.
f. one's last: the last thing a person does or can do; used esp. with certain verbs, the n. implied by them being understood, e.g. to breathe one's last (sc. breath), to look one's last (sc. look).
1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. v. iii. 112 Eyes looke your last. Armes take your last embrace. 1593,1714[see breathe v. 10 c]. 1597Shakes. Lover's Compl. 168 The one a palate hath that needs will taste, Though Reason weep, and cry ‘It is thy last’. 1607― Timon iii. vi. 100 This is Timons last. a1711Ken Hymnotheo Poet. Wks. 1721 III. 68 On his Cross breathing his painful last. 1717Addison Ovid's Met. ii. Poems (1790) 118 The swans..now sung their last, and dy'd. 1790Burns Tam o' Shanter 73 The wind blew as 'twad blawn its last. 1864Le Fanu Uncle Silas II. v. 71, I was looking my last..on the old house, and lingered.
†g. The utmost, the extremity. Obs.
1633T. Stafford Pac. Hib. ii. xxiii. (1810) 433 Hee and all his would rather endure the last of misery, then bee found guilty of so fowle a treason.
h. colloq. The end of one's dealings with something.
1816Scott Old Mort. in Tales My Landlord 1st Ser. II. x. 241 ‘Ye hae seen the last o' me, and o' this bonny dye too,’ said Jenny, holding between her finger and thumb a silver dollar. 1854Dickens Hard T. i. viii, If it was ever to reach your father's ears I should never hear the last of it. 1862Mrs. H. Wood Mrs. Hallib. III. xvii. 218 Dick little thought the manufactory had seen the last of him [sc. Cyril]. 1889‘Mark Twain’ Connecticut Yankee 280 That is the last you are going to see of him till he emerges on the other side. 1910‘M. Rutherford’ More Pages from Jrnl. 22, I shall be thankful to see the last of you! 1924G. B. Shaw St. Joan vi. 97 Her heart would not burn, my lord; but everything that was left is at the bottom of the river. You have heard the last of her.
10. In phrases formed with prepositions.
a. at last, at the last (ME. at or a þan laste, atte laste; also alast(e, o least, alast adv.; in Ormin att tallre lattste = at the last of all): at the end, in the end, finally, ultimately. In ME. poetry often = ‘in fine’, ‘after all’.
c1200Ormin 13319 Te Laferrd Jesu Crist Himm seȝȝde att tallre lattste, Nu shallt tu nemmnedd ben Cefas. c1205Lay. 26785 A þan laste [c 1275 at þan laste] ne mihte mon wite wha oðerne smite. a1225Leg. Kath. 41 O least wið stronge tintreohen & licomliche pinen. c1340Cursor M. 4274 (Trin.) At þe laste hit most be kidde. 1362Langl. P. Pl. A. ii. 110 Hit schal bi-sitten oure soules sore atte laste. c1374Chaucer Boeth. ii. pr. vi. 54 And at þe laste I may conclude þe same þinge of al þe ȝiftes of fortune. c1386― Prol. 707 Trewely to tellen atte laste, He was in chirche a noble ecclesiaste. a1400–50Alexander 1007 Be þe floure neuer sa fresche it fadis at þe last. a1450Knt. de la Tour (1868) 18 Atte the laste she waxe right familier with me. 1535Coverdale Ps. lxxxix. 13 Turne the agayne (o Lorde) at the last, and be gracious vnto thy servauntes. 1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. v. i. 130 Happilie I haue arriued at the last Vnto the wished hauen of my blisse. 1620Skelton Quix. II. iv. iv. 46 It is not lost, that comes at last. 1668Dryden Even. Love Prol. 28 But at the last you threw them off with scorn. 1681J. Flavel Meth. Grace v. 67 Nothing can comfort a man that must to hell at last. 1711Steele Spect. No. 2 ⁋1 His Temper being jovial, he at last got over it. 1819Shelley Cenci ii. i. 57 O! before worse comes of it 'Twere wise to die: it ends in that at last. 1821Keats Isabella xxii, And at the last, these men of cruel clay Cut Mercy..to the bone. 1868Dickens Uncomm. Trav. xxviii, At last to my great joy, I received notice of his safe arrival. 1886Ruskin Præterita I. 268 Here at last I had found a man who spoke only of what he had seen, and known.
b. at († the) long last: at the end of all; finally, ultimately. [Perh. associated with last n.4]
1523Skelton Garl. Laurel 1398 How than lyke a man he wan the barbican With a sawte of solace at the longe last. 1692R. L'Estrange Fables cxcviii. 168 This Woman, I say..was at the Long-Last prevail'd upon to hear the Will read. 1864Carlyle Fredk. Gt. IV. 211 At long last, on Sunday. 1870Lowell Study Wind. 131 We can find a useful and instructive solace in a hearty abuse of human nature, which at the long last is always to blame. 1923W. de la Mare Private View (1953) 244 And at long last the acquisition of a technical mastery in any art..is by no means nothing but a gain. 1926Manch. Guardian Weekly Feb. 104/1 The Government followed up the references to agriculture..by launching at long last its land policy. 1936King Edward VIII in Times 12 Dec. 14/4 (abdication speech) At long last I am able to say a few words of my own. a1936Kipling Something of Myself (1937) vi. 159 At long last we were left apologising to a deeply-indignant people. 1971J. Aiken Nightly Deadshade ii. 21 Someone answers the phone at long last, making me jump.
†c. by the last: at the latest. Obs.
a1175Cott. Hom. 231 He..sette ænne deȝie þat hi alle be þe latst to þa deȝie þer were. Ibid. 235. c 1330 Arth. & Merl. 4786 (Kölbing) And that strengþe him last Fort arne⁓morwe bi þe last.
†d. in the last: in the end, finally. Obs. rare.
1607Shakes. Cor. v. vi. 42 And in the last, When he had carried Rome, and that we look'd For no lesse Spoile, then Glory.
e. to the last: † (a) to the utmost; (b) up to or until the end, esp. up to the last moment of life, to the point of death; also till the last.
c1400Destr. Troy 12015 When the Cité was sesit & serchet to the last. 1602Shakes. Ham. ii. i. 100 He seem'd to finde his way without his eyes, For out adores he went..And to the last, bended their light on me. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. xvi. (1840) 326 He was always the same to the last. c1730Moribundus in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 380 This fate must necessarily attend the honestest who pays to the last. 1780Cowper Progr. Err. 107 It..brands him to the last What atheists call him—a designing knave. 1849Macaulay Hist. Eng. v. I. 665 To the last she preserved a tranquil courage. 1855Ibid. xii. III. 196 The men who guarded these walls..were determined to resist to the last. 1864Tennyson Aylmer's F. 714 And these had been together from the first; They might have been together till the last. 1878F. Hall in Nation (N.Y.) XXVI. 422/1 Almost from his boyhood, and to the very last, his thoughts were well-nigh engrossed by the radical problems of mind and matter. 1885Manch. Exam. 23 May 5/4 He refused to the last the religious consolations which the Archbishop of Paris was wishful to offer him.
B. adv.
1. After all others; at the latest time; at the end.
Occas. coupled with least.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. (Sedgefield) xxxiv. §10 Þær þær..hit hraðost weaxan mæᵹ & latost wealowian. c975Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xxii. 27 Þe lætest [Lindisf. ðe læt⁓mesta] þonne ealra & þæt wif ek a-swalt. 1382Wyclif 2 Sam. xix. 11 Whi ben ȝe comen last to brynge aȝen the kyng into his hows? c1420Pallad. on Husb. x. 155 Gith is last eke in this mone ysowe. c1450ME. Med. Bk. (Heinrich) 145 Geue þe seek to drinke last, when he gos to bedde. 1526Tindale Matt. xxii. 27 Laste of all the woman dyed also. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 160 He that cumth last make all fast. c1600Shakes. Sonn. xc. 9 If thou wilt leave me, do not leave me last. 1613― Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 444 Love thy selfe last. 1667Milton P.L. iii. 278 Nor man the least Though last created. 1715–20Pope Iliad xxiii. 607 Last came Admetus, thy unhappy son. 1808Scott Marm. i. viii, Last, twenty yeomen two and two.
2. a. On the occasion next before the present; in the last instance; most lately; latest.
a1300Cursor M. 3989 Vte-ouer þis flum, last quen i ferd. c1300Havelok 678 Þanne i last[e] spak with þe. 1526Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W. 1531) 307 Those seuen wordes..whiche thou spake last before thy moost precyous deth. 1591Shakes. Two Gent. ii. i. 12, I was last chidden for being too slow. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage (1614) 632 Since I last published these Relations, certaine Letters have beene printed. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. xiii. (1840) 280 He came last from Astracan. 1818Cruise Digest (ed. 2) III. 408 The paternal grandmother of the person last seised. 1819Shelley Cenci v. ii. 22 When did you see him last? 1822― Hellas 209 The robes they last On Death's bare ribs had cast.
†b. last past, also Sc. last by past, last was: (with dates) = last a. 3 b; also (of a period of time) extending to the present, (the) past (year, etc.). Obs.
1411Rolls of Parlt. III. 650/1 The Saterday neghst after the fest of Seint Michael last passed. 1461Paston Lett. No. 368 I. 543 The Bysshop of Norwich sente us on Thrusday laste paste to gader the dymes. 1484Caxton Fables of æsop iv. xvii, What hast thou done al the somer last passed. 1549Latimer 1st Serm. bef. Edw. VI (Arb.) 19 Sermons..preached in Lente last past. a1557Diurn. Occurr. (Bannatyne) 123 Vpoun the xxv day of August last by past. 1559Kennedy Let. in Wodr. Soc. Misc. (1844) 266 The day..(quhilk wes Sounday last wes). 1711Steele Spect. No. 48 ⁋2 The Beau has varied his Dress every Day of his Life for these thirty Years last past. Ibid. No. 53 ⁋7, I am a Gentleman who for many Years last past have been well known to be truly Splenetick.
3. As the last thing to be mentioned or considered; in the last place, lastly.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 114 b, Belmen are hyred..to declare the name..also wher and whan they shal be buried, and last to exhorte the people to praye for the dead. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, v. v. Epil., First, my Feare: then, my Curtsie: last, my Speech. 1613― Hen. VIII, iii. ii. 403 Last, that the Lady Anne, Whom the King hath in secrecie long married, This day was view'd in open. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 354 You may Conceive such half conjectures as I do, From her fixed paleness, and the lofty grief Of her stern brow..and last From this. 1851Kingsley Yeast xvii, Last, but not least, is it not the very property of man that he is a spirit invested with flesh and blood?
4. In the end, finally.
1667Milton P.L. vi. 797 By force or fraud Weening to prosper, and at length prevaile Against God and Messiah, or to fall In universal ruin last. Ibid. xi. 542 In thy blood will reigne A melancholly damp of cold and dry To waigh thy spirits down, and last consume The Balme of Life. a1700Dryden Ovid's Met. x. Pygmal. 12 Pleas'd with his Idol, he commends, admires, Adores; and last, the Thing ador'd, desires. 1859Tennyson Enid 42 The King Mused for a little on his plea, but, last, Allowing it, the prince and Enid rode..to the shores of Severn. 1871R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 239 So for a while that charge did Theseus faithfully cherish. Last, it melted away.
C. Combinations.
Comb.
1. Chiefly of the adv. with ppl. adjs., as last-born, last-cited, last-erected, last-made, last-mentioned, last-named.
1868Milman St. Paul's 230 And, *last-born, Christian tolerance and charity.
1659Pearson Creed (1859) 164 If then we consider the two *last-cited verses by themselves. 1863H. Cox Instit. i. viii. 129 The last cited statute.
1807Vancouver Agric. Devon (1813) 97 In the *last-erected cottages, I..have made a double roof.
1626Jackson Creed viii. i. v. §1 The new and *last-made visible creature man.
1863Lyell Antiq. Man 25 This *last-mentioned race.
1838Dickens O. Twist xlii, The *last-named apartment. 1869Dunkin Midn. Sky 59 The last-named being near the horizon.
2. occas. of the adj. qualifying a n., the whole being used attrib., as last-century, last-chance, last-gasp, last-resort, last-time, last-war, last-wicket; last-minute, (given, done, made, etc.) at the latest possible time.
1876Geo. Eliot Dan. Der. II. xx. 12 Last-century children.
1962Aeroplane CIV. 18/1 Carbon deposits had clogged the ‘last chance’ filter, causing the oil starvation of No. 2 bearing in the JT3D-1 turbofan. 1963J. Lusby in B. James Austral. Short Stories 234 He was giving the Eccentric a last-chance test in individual combat. 1974G. Jenkins Bridge of Magpies xvi. 239 It was a desperate last-chance throw.
1921D. H. Lawrence Let. 2 Mar. (1962) II. 643 K.—who is doing the last-gasp touch. 1971R. Thomas Backup Men xxii. 191 All last-gasp businesses with no need for much of a front. 1972Sat. Rev. (U.S.) 6 May 34/3 Our strategists have spoken too often of ‘last-gasp’ offensives for us to believe that this one will be any different.
1920Ladies' Home Jrnl. May 140/2 Last-minute sketches from Paris. 1929J. B. Priestley Good Companions ii. iii. 329 Jimmy had a last-minute inspiration. 1931E. Linklater Juan in Amer. iii. i. 204 I've been doing some last-minute Christmas shopping. 1948‘J. Tey’ Franchise Affair xix. 227 A last-minute reprieve with the rope round the hero's neck? 1974M. Yorke Mortal Remains ii. i. 39 People were trying to buy last-minute tickets for the day's excursions.
1950J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 170 The pull-away should only be used as a last-resort defence. 1965H. Kahn On Escalation i. 10 The threat of a strike or a lockout is ever present as a last-resort pressure for compromise.
1894W. C. Simpson in Mem. (1899) 132 The votes are to be given to the most pressing last-time case.
1942S. Spender Ruins & Visions 42 The ghastly last-war voices. 1959Encounter July 29/2 The plan..envisaged the defence of Western Europe almost completely in last-war terms.
1909Westm. Gaz. 1 June 12/2 A great last-wicket stand might once in a way occur. 1975Times 6. Jan. 7/7 A last-wicket partnership of 37 between Mallett and Thomson.
Add:[A.] [2.] [a.] † last change, the passing over from life into death.
1670Evelyn Sylva (ed. 2) ix. 61 The top-leaves and oldest would be gathered last of all, as being most proper to repast the worms with towards their last change. 1863S. Dobell in E. Arnold et al. A Welcome 92 Love shall be Love: in that transcendent whole Clear Nature from the swift euthanasy Of her last change, transfigured shall arise.
e. last hurrah (orig. U.S.) [the title of E. O'Connor's novel The Last Hurrah (1956), which was filmed in 1958], the final act in a politician's career; hence, any final performance or effort, a swansong.
1967National Observer (U.S.) 9 Jan. 1/2 Mr. Rockefeller insists his recovery from Presidential fever is complete... Presumably, this campaign is Nelson Rockefeller's last hurrah. 1976Times Lit. Suppl. 16 Apr. 456/5 A new era of American party politics which endured without much change until its last hurrah with Hubert Humphrey's abortive campaign for the presidency in 1968. 1991Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) 22 Sept. v. 6/3 There's no question this is probably the last hurrah for this club.
[3.] e. last ship Naut. slang, the ship on which a sailor previously served (recalled with nostalgia and typically viewed as superior in some or all respects to the present one).
1883Melton & Oliphant Cruise of U.S.S. Galena 70 Seated on the spar-deck,..they would tell..of the times they had, when, on the ‘last ship’, or in the ‘Tidalyatalay’, they sailed around the world. 1932S. G. S. McNeil In Great Waters iii. 50 The real sailor always had everything of the best in his last ship! 1947Seafarers' Log 26 Dec. 13/4 This is the old familiar case of the ‘good old last ship’ where everything was so much better and so much cleaner. 1956E. N. Rogers Queenie's Brood 10 Your last ship and your next ship are always the best.
[5.] [a.] every last: see every a. 1 f. [8.] † last music, the overture to a theatrical performance, formerly so called (esp. as a call to performers backstage) when this was the last of several pieces of music played by the orchestra.
1780G. Colman Manager in Distress 16, I was just going to ring-in the *last musick. 1849Theatrical Programme 23 July 60/2 At the call of ‘last music’, i.e. the commencement of the overture, the first peeper through the curtain announced [etc.].
[B.] [2.] c. last in, first out: (a) Accounting, (designating) a method of accounting in which all goods of the same kind are valued at the price paid for those most recently acquired. See *LIFO n. (a.).
1934NACA Yearbk. (Nat. Assoc. Cost Accountants, U.S.) 100 This inventory system is called the ‘Last In, First Out’ system... It provides for charging current costs against current sales. 1945Ibid. 81 A number of companies are using the last-in, first-out, or lifo method of valuing inventories. 1979Daily Tel. 30 Nov. 21/2 The amount by which third quarter earnings would be reduced under that last-in first-out (LIFO) basis would have been {pstlg}350 million and {pstlg} 675 million for the nine months. 1985Times 11 July 13/2 The Revenue inserted a clause changing the calculation of gains on the sale of a part holding of shares from last-in-first-out (lifo) to assuming that the first holding of shares acquired was the one being sold.
(b) Computing, (pertaining to, using, or designating) a procedure in which the item removed from a buffer, queue, etc., is the one that has been most recently added to it.
1963IEEE Trans. Electronic Computers XII. 872 A ‘push-down’ list is one that is manipulated in a last-in, first-out manner. 1968D. E. Knuth Art of Computer Programming I. ii. 236 Stacks have been called..last-in-first-out (‘LIFO’) lists. 1973C. W. Gear Introd. Computer Sci. vii. 291 Thus the last item to be put into a stack is the first item to be removed. (For this reason, it is also called a Last In First Out queue or a LIFO queue).
[C.] [1.] last-born (also absol.).
1837Carlyle Fr. Rev. II. v. i. 170 Pet son (her *last born?) of the Scarlet Woman. 1952J. Steinbeck East of Eden xvii. 171 It was a criminal thing to leave your last-born..sitting there by a hole in the ground with no one to care for him. 1972S. Fisher Female Orgasm (1973) i. 37 Female firstborns had less liberal ideas about sex than lastborns. However, onlyborns and middleborns were very similar in their sexual attitudes.
▸ last chance saloon n.after Last Chance Saloon, a popular name in the American West of the late 19th and early 20th centuries for the last saloon passed before leaving a street or town now chiefly Brit. a place seen as the last refuge of the unsuccessful or desperate; a situation offering one final opportunity or hope for success.
[1890Centralia (Wisconsin) Enterprise & Tribune (Electronic text) 1 Sept. He has been running a ‘last chance’ saloon.] 1949Nebraska State Jrnl. 12 Oct. 6/3 We've got a ‘*last chance’ saloon of sorts in New York today, tho its polite name is United Nations. 1981Times 16 Oct. 15/1 British industry, the late Sir John Methven once remarked, is in ‘the last chance saloon’. 2001B. Broady In this Block there lives Slag 210 Even the Care In The Community boys behaved themselves: it was literally their last chance saloon.
▪ VII. last, v.1|lɑːst, læst|
Forms: 1 lǽstan, léstan, 2–4 lasten, lesten, 3 læsten, leasten, Orm. lasstenn, 4–5 laste, -in, leste, -yn, lesst, 5–6 Sc. lest, 4– last; also ylast. pa. tense 1 lǽste, 2 lastede, 3 læste, leaste, 4–5 last(e, leste, 4 lasted(e, -et, -id(e, lested(e, 4, 6 lastit, 5– lasted. pres. pple. 4 lastand(e, -onde. pa. pple. 4 last, 5 Sc. lestyd. See also ylast.
[OE. lǽstan wk. vb., corresponds to OFris. lâsta, lêsta to fulfil, to pay (duties), OS. lêstian to execute, OHG. (MHG., mod.G.) leisten to afford, yield, Goth. laistjan to follow, f. OTeut. laisti- (-to-): see last n.1]
†1. trans.
a. In OE. only: To follow (a leader; with dat.), to follow, pursue (a course, a practice; with acc.)
b. To accomplish, carry out, execute (a command), perform (a promise); to pay (tribute), to abide by, maintain (peace). Obs.
Beowulf (Gr.) 2663 Leofa biowulf læst eall tela. 837Charter of Badanoð in O.E. Texts 450 Ic biddo..ðæt se monn se hiᵹon londes unnen to brucanne ða ilcan wisan leste on swæsendum to minre tide. 971Blickl. Hom. 185 Gif þu wilt his wordum hyran & his bebodu læstan, þu forleosest þin rice. a1000Boeth. Metr. i. 27 (Sedgefield) Þeah wæs maᵹorinca mod mid Crecum, ᵹif hi leodfruman læstan dorsten. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 189 He him seluen com and lestede his bihese. c1205Lay. 9848 Þu mine fader swore to lasten alche ȝere..gauel in to Rome. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2906 Ðat ic ðe haue hoten wel, Ic it sal lesten euerilc del. c1315Shoreham 65 To leste Of chaste professioun Hys solempne by-heste. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 383 [Philip] wolde by-hote more þan he wolde laste. a1420Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 2218 Hym oghte..heete naght a deel By word ne bond, but if he wole it laste. 1480Caxton Chron. Eng. ccxvii. 204 This pees for to holde and last.
2. a. intr. Of a state of things, a process, period of time: To continue, endure, go on.
a900Cynewulf Crist 1288 Þonne him daᵹas læstun. 1154O.E. Chron. an. 1137 (Laud MS.) And ðet lastede þa xix wintre wile Stephne was King. c1200Ormin 2228 And tatt himm shollde hiss kinedom A lasstenn butenn ende. a1225Ancr. R. 20 Siggeð non efter mete..þe hwule þet sumer lested. c1250Gen. & Ex. 2952 Ðis wreche, in al egypte riȝt, Lestede fulle seuene niȝt. 13..Sir Beues 2789 (MS. A.) So be-twene hem leste þat fiȝt, Til it was þe þerke niȝt. c1430Hymns Virg. 87 It is likened to a schadewe þat may not longe leste. a1500Flower & Leaf 288 The justes last an houre and more. 1535Stewart Cron. Scot. xxi. 96 This seige lastit langer nor the seigeris thairof luikit ffor. 1580Sidney Ps. ix. iii, Their renown, which seem'd so like to last, Thou dost put out. 1611Bible Judg. xiv. 17 Shee wept before him the seuen dayes, while the feast lasted. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 405 For length of Ages lasts his happy Reign. 1781Cowper Hope 746 These shall last when night has quenched the pole. 1806Med. Jrnl. XV. 507 The pain returned about eleven, and lasted till one. 1855Macaulay Hist. Eng. xviii. IV. 190 While the civil war lasted, his vassals could not tend their herds..in peace. 1895Law Times XCIX. 499/2 Even if fine weather lasts, days are considerably shorter at this time of year.
†b. With complement or prepositional phrase: To continue in a specified condition, course of action, etc.; to remain or dwell in (at, etc.) a place. Also, to last long that{ddd}not, to be a long time before doing so-and-so. Obs.
c1250Gen. & Ex. 4147 And ðoȝ him [Moyses] lestede hise siȝte briȝt. c1340Cursor M. 2479 (Trin.) Abraham last & his þan Bisyde þe lond of canaan. 1375Barbour Bruce xx. 272 In liff quhill he lestit ay, With all our fais dred war we. c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 71 Graunte þi seruauntes grace to laste trewe in þe gospel. 1382― Acts xii. 16 Forsoth Petre lastide knockynge. c1385Chaucer L.G.W. 791 Cleopatra, And longe hym thoughte that the sunne laste That it nere gon vndyr the se a doun. c1400Apol. Loll. 38 If þei last in þer synne,..þer blessing is turnid in to cursing. c1470Henry Wallace i. 412 On athir side full fast on him thai dange; Gret perell was giff thai had lestyt lang. 1513Douglas æneis x. v. 51 Amangis the fludis for to leyf and lest. 1667Milton P.L. vi. 693 Whence in perpetual fight they needs must last Endless, and no solution will be found.
3. a. To hold out, continue fresh, unbroken, undecayed, unexhausted. Also (now rarely) of persons: To continue in life. Also with out.
a1300Cursor M. 12764 Ferli þam thoght hu he moght last, Wit sua gret trauail and fast. 1390Gower Conf. II. 195 While thilke mirrour last, Ther was no lond, which [etc.]. c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) ii. 5 Þai trowed þat he schuld hafe bene hingand apon þat crosse als lang as þat crosse myght last. a1400–50Alexander 989 Aires for nane alyens quils Alexander lastis. 1486Bk. St. Albans E v, While that frute may last his time is neuer past. 1596Shakes. Merch. V. iii. ii. 207 At last, if promise last, I got a promise of this faire one heere To haue her loue. 1602― Ham. v. i. 183 A Tanner will last you nine year. 1631Gouge God's Arrows iii. §65. 304 To annoint their rolles..with a liquour..which kept them from rotting, and made them last the longer. 1703Moxon Mech. Exerc. 239 Those..Bricks..will last to Eternity. 1715–20Pope Iliad xxiv. 779 The rock for ever lasts, the tears for ever flow. 1849Ruskin Sev. Lamps vi. §6. 168, I would have, then, our ordinary dwelling-houses built to last. 1874Helps Soc. Press. ii. 17 The cows do not last a third part of the time that they would last in the country. 1881Mrs. J. H. Riddell Senior Partner III. 56 What would hinder him lasting out to ninety [years] or a hundred even? 1884Spectator 4 Oct. 1286/1 He was able by rationing the townsmen as well as his troops to make this supply last to the present time. 1921G. B. Shaw Back to Methuselah iv. ii. 194 You people lived on the assumption that you were going to last out for ever and ever and ever.
b. With indirect obj.: To suffice for a person's (or animal's) requirements for a specified time.
1530Palsgr. 604/1 This gowne hath lasted him longe. 1698Fryer Acc. E. India & P. 263 A stock of Hard Eggs..which will last them from Spahaun to the Port. 1719De Foe Crusoe ii. iv. (1840) 71 They should have a proportion of corn given them to last them eight months. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. I. vi. 56 Our two bears lasted the cormorants but eight days. 1893Earl Dunmore Pamirs II. 112 As much corn..as will last us a month.
c. quasi-trans. (a) To continue in vigour as long as or longer than (something else). Now only with out. † (b) To sustain, hold out under or against.
c1500Lancelot 811 Bot al to few thei war, and mycht nocht lest This gret Rout that cummyth one so fast. 1603Shakes. Meas. for M. ii. i. 139 This will last out a night in Russia When nights are longest there. a1611Beaum. & Fl. Maid's Trag. iii. ii, I pray, my legges Will last that pace that I will carrie them. 1658Sir T. Browne Hydriot. v. 27 Old Families last not three Oakes. 1875Jowett Plato (ed. 2) IV. 290 He who lasts out his competitors in the game without missing, shall be our King. 1878Spurgeon Treas. Dav. Ps. civ. 23 If labour lasts out the average daylight it is certainly all that any man ought to expect of another.
†4. To extend in space; to reach, stretch. Obs.
c1205Lay. 5819 Ne leaste hit [a ditch] na wiht ane mile. 13..K. Alis. 2596 Of his people theo grete pray Laste twenty myle way. c1315Shoreham 3 Thy laddre nys nauȝt of wode That may to hevene leste. c1386Chaucer Clerk's T. 266 Ther..deynteuous vitaille..may be founde as fer as last ytaille. c1400Lanfranc's Cirurg. 108 Þe firste boon..lastiþ to þe seem þat departiþ þe heed quarter. c1450Merlin 274 More than a myle lasted the route. 1470–85Malory Arthur xvii. iv, He hunted in a woode of his whiche lasted vnto the see. 1493Festivall (W. de W. 1515) 53 b, Than he was ware of a pyller of fyre that lasted from erth to heuen. 1577Hellowes Gueuara's Chron. 29 A broad high waye that lasted two leagues and halfe.
▪ VIII. † last, v.2 Obs. rare—1.
[OE. (ᵹe)hlæstan, f. hlæst last n.2]
trans. To load, burden.
[c900tr. Bæda's Hist. v. ix. (1890) 412 Mid þy heo ða þæt scip ᵹehlested hefdan mid þæm þingum.] 13..E.E. Allit. P. A. 1145, I loked among his meyny schene, How þay wyth lyf wern laste & lade.
▪ IX. † last, v.3
[ON. lasta, f. last-, lǫstr blame.]
trans. To blaspheme, blame.
a1225Juliana 70 And feng to fiten his mawmez and lasten his lauerd. a1225Ancr. R. 352 Preise him, laste him,..al him is iliche leof. c1300Thrush & Night. 107 in Hazl. E.P.P. I. 52 Thou lastest hem, thou hauest wou.
▪ X. last, v.4|lɑːst, læst|
[f. last n.1]
trans. To put (a boot or shoe) on the last.
1880Times 21 Sept. 4/4 Light boots..are lasted inside out, sewed by machine as by hand, and then turned. |