| 释义 |
▪ I. mend, n.|mɛnd|
Also 4–6 mende; 6–9 Sc. pl. as sing. mense, (6 mens).
[Partly aphetic for amend (see amends); partly f. mend v.]
†1. Recompense, reparation; also, something given as compensation. Obs.
a. pl. in form; usually construed as sing.
a1300Cursor M. 23152 Vnnethes sal man find an in lede þat wel will scriue þam o þis sake, ne for na consail mendes mak. 1399Langl. Rich. Redeles 292 Men myȝtten as welle have huntyd an hare with a tabre, as aske ony mendis ffor that thei mysdede. c1450Holland Howlat 72 Bot quha sall mak me ane mendis of hir worth a myte? a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 19 He.. promissit that he suld haue ane suffiecent mense of the quene. Ibid. 147. 1590 Spenser F.Q. ii. i. 20 All wrongs haue mendes. 1592Kyd Sol. & Pers. ii. i. 46 Why then the mends is made, and we still friends. 1670R. Lassels Voy. Italy II. 268 This country made us a full mends for all the ill way we had had before. a1733Shetland Acts in Proc. Soc. Ant. Scot. (1892) XXVI. 200 That no mends be made for corn eaten within cornyards. 1779D. Graham Writ. (1883) II. 21 That's better mense for a fault, than a' your mortifying o' your members. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf x, Westburnflat hasna the means..to make up our loss; there's nae mends to be got out o' him, but what ye take out o' his banes.
b. sing. for, to (a person's) mend: for his reparation or restoration (from sin). to mend: as a recompense.
a1300Cursor M. 6723 (Cott.) If he sla animans thain, Thritti schiling o siluer again Sal man giue þe lord to mend [a 1300–1400 Gott. to mendes]. c1315Shoreham Poems ii. 128 And ase he þoled þane deþ, Leuedy, for oure mende. Ibid. vii. 831 To mannes mende. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 302 To mak mende & mak alle stable. 1646Deposit. York Castle (Surtees) 9 note, And pray to God for mend.
†2. pl. Means of obtaining restoration or reparation; remedy. Obs.
c1450Holland Howlat 29 Mendis and medicyne for mennis all neidis. 1530Palsgr. 666/1 If I pricke you with my daggar you have your mendes in your hande. 1606Shakes. Tr. & Cr. i. i. 68. 1655 W. Gurnall Chr. in Arm. i. 53 If any mischief befalls him, the mends is in his own hands.
†3. pl. Improvement in health. Obs.
1624Witch Trial in Abbotsford Club Misc. I. 137 The said Margaret Corstoun haueing contractit seiknes, dwyned be the space of foure monethis, and could get no mendis.
†4. to the mends: ‘to boot’. Sc. Obs.
1636Rutherford Lett. (1862) I. lxxi. 185, I will verily give my Lord Jesus a free discharge of all that I..laid to His charge, and beg Him pardon, to the mends.
5. Phr. on the mend: (of a person, his health, etc.) recovering from sickness; (of affairs, trade, etc.), improving in condition.
1802Coleridge in Mrs. Sandford T. Poole & Friends (1802) II. 77 [My] health has been on the mend ever since Poole left town. 1897Daily News 27 July 11/4 Home trade in finished linens is perhaps on the mend.
6. An act of mending, a repair; a repaired hole, etc., in a fabric.
1888Housewife III. 436/1 If the mend is dampened and pressed with a hot iron it is almost unnoticeable. 1900Daily News 28 Nov. 10/2 Mrs. A. is reluctant to let her clothes be seen by Mrs. B., for fear that lady should notice the rents and mends. 1903Blackw. Mag. Dec. 803/2 A mend in the sole [of a stocking].
†7. Comb.: mends-making, reparation, atonement. Obs.
c1400Cursor M. 28617 (Cott. Galba) Schrift aw to be thrinfalde, with rewth in hert, and schewing to preste, and mendes making. 1530Tindale Answ. More iv. ii. Wks. (1573) 320/1 And as for mendes making with worldly things, that do to thy brother whom thou hast offended.
▪ II. mend, v.|mɛnd|
[aphetic f. amend v.
The aphetic form, however, occurs in our quots. earlier than the original form. Cf. AF. mender in one MS. (St. John's, Camb.) of Wadington's Manuel des Pechiez l. 10.]
I. To remove or atone for defects.
1. a. trans. To free (a person, his character or habits) from sin or fault; to improve morally; to reform; occas. to cure of (a fault). Now arch. or dial. exc. in phr. to mend one's manners, ways.
c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 217 On þe helde laȝe het ure drihten þat me ne sholde none man bitechen, bute he were teid to menden chirche. a1300Cursor M. 22436 Þar es nam[an]..þat he ne his liif agh to mend. Ibid. 26507 Quen þou art mendid o þi sin. c1430ABC of Aristotle in Babees Bk., It schal neuere greue a good man þouȝ þe gilti be meendid. 1562J. Heywood Epigr. i. R, If euery man mende one, all shall be mended. 1679Penn Addr. Prot. i. ix. Wks. 1825 III. 39 A descreet and cool hand may direct the blow right..when men of fury rather ease their passion, than mend their youth. 1711Addison Spect. No. 112 ⁋7 If he does not mend his Manners. 1766Goldsm. Vic. W. xxvii, Though the instruction I communicate may not mend them [prisoners], yet it will assuredly mend myself. 1868Freeman Norm. Conq. (1877) II. viii. 211 That turbulent prelate had mended his ways. 1891Baring-Gould Urith xxxix, Have you seen how a little dog is mended of lamb worrying?
†b. refl. To reform oneself. Obs.
a1300Cursor M. 25548 Þou send vs, lauerd! wijt and will to mend us of vr dedis ill. 14..Tundale's Vis. 2326 (Wagner) He warned alle..To mende hem here, before her dede. 1596Harington Metam. Ajax (1814) 134 Let both the writer and the readers endeavour to mend ourselves. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 50 Bid the dishonest man mend himself.
c. intr. for refl. Now rare exc. in the proverb it is never too late to mend.
a1300Cursor M. 23264 For þai mai haf na might to mend. 1404–826 Pol. Poems v. 22 [He] þat nyl not mende, but ay don ylle. 1550Crowley Last Trump. 1436 Their conscience..saieth thei were Told of their fault, & woulde not mende. 1605Shakes. Lear ii. iv. 232 Let shame come when it will, I do not call it... Mend when thou can'st, be better at thy leisure. c1645Howell Lett. (1655) IV. xxxviii. 92 It is never over-late to mend. 1785–6Burns Addr. to Deil xxi, O wad ye tak a thought an' men'! 1842S. Lover Handy Andy xxi, ‘She's very young, Sir’. ‘She'll mend of that, ma'am. We were young once ourselves’. 1873Black Pr. Thule ix, I am afraid that you are a very foolish boy..but I hope to see you mend when you marry.
2. a. To remove the defects of (a thing); to correct (what is faulty); to improve by correction or alteration. Now only occas. as a transf. use of sense 5.
† to mend (one's) mood: to become more cheerful.
a1300Cursor M. 10434 Leuedi, sco said, for drightin dere, þou mend þi mode and turn þi chere. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 69, I salle þe make..my chefe Justise, þe lawes to mend & right. c1420Pallad. on Husb. xii. 530 For brousty oil, whit wex is to resolue In fynest oil [etc.]. So wol hit mende odour and taast also. 1461Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) I. 309 The sayd lawe was mendyt by autorite of a semble. 1577B. Googe Heresbach's Husb. i. (1586) 19 Heathy, Brushy, & Grauelly ground: may these be made fruitefull, and mended [L. corrigi & fœcundari] by arte. 1631–2High Commission Cases (Camden) 237, I wish that you..that are soe ready to fynd faultes were sett to mend the booke of common prayer. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. ii. 324 Salt Earth and bitter are not fit to sow, Nor will be tam'd and mended by the Plough. 1707Mortimer Husb. 74 So where Marle is not laid too thick..it will often mend Clays. 1724A. Collins Gr. Chr. Relig. 20 Divines; who seem to pay little deference to the Books of the New Testament, whose text they are perpetually mending in their sermons, commentaries, and writings, to serve purposes. 1820Cobbett Gram. Eng. Lang. xiv. (1847) 89 Never think of mending what you write. Let it go. No patching; no after pointing. 1872Skeat Chaucer's Astrolabe (E.E.T.S.) 87, I have mended the text as well as I could by words, &c., inserted between square brackets. 1901T. R. Glover Life & Lett. 4th C. 90 The last three books [of Q. Smyrnaeus]..are beyond revision. To be mended they must be re-written.
b. intr. To become less faulty. Of conditions: To become less unfavourable, improve.
a1300–1400Cursor M. 24490 (Gött.) All mi licam bigan to light, And mi mode to mend. 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 75 As sowre ale mendth in summer. c1645Howell Lett. (1655) II. xlix. 58, I hope the times will mend. 1708Prior Turtle & Sparrow 416 Matters at worst are sure to mend. 1736Berkeley Querist ii. §5 Wks. 1871 III. 519 Whether..our State will mend, so long as property is insecure among us? 1826Penn in Pa. Hist. Soc. Mem. I. 418 Our condition here..mends upon us. 1876Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. 2 Things did not mend as time went on.
3. a. trans. To rectify, remedy, remove (an evil); to correct, put right (a fault, anything amiss).
a1300Cursor M. 644 Here [sc. the garden of Eden] lastes lijf wit-oten end, Her es nathing for to mend. Ibid. 5417 Bath he [Ioseph] did his lauerd byyate, And mended nede in þair state. c1374Chaucer Troylus v. 1425 She wolde come, and mende al that was mis. c140026 Pol. Poems iv. 137 Thouȝ holy chirche shulde fawtes mend, Summe put hem of for mede. 1500–20Dunbar Poems xxviii. 14 Sowtaris, with schone weill maid and meit, Ȝe mend the faltis of ill maid feit. 1590Shakes. Com. Err. iii. ii. 107 She sweats... That's a fault that water will mend. 1677Moxon Mech. Exerc. 20 You must examine where the fault is, and taking the Pin out, mend the fault in the Joynt. 1710Steele Tatler No. 168 ⁋4 There is no Way of mending such false Modesty. 1816Scott Bl. Dwarf x, But how ye are to put yoursells up, I canna see! And what's waur, I canna mend it. 1819Shelley Cenci iii. i. 302 Poverty, the which I sought to mend By holding a poor office in the state.
†b. To correct (a mistake, something erroneous). Obs.
1563–7Buchanan Reform. St. Andros Wks. (1892) 9 Na man sal mend otheris faltis [sc. mistakes in a lesson] vntil they cum to the regent. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Dec., I have mistaken the day of the month, and been forced to mend it thrice.
c. intr. Of a fault: To undergo rectification.
1712Pope Spect. No. 408 ⁋7 The Fire of Youth will of course abate, and is a Fault,..that mends every Day.
4. trans. To make amends or reparation for, atone for (a misdeed, an injury); also absol. to make reparation. Occas. const. dat. of person. Obs. exc. in the proverb, least said soonest mended.
a1300Cursor M. 20251 If I haf anithing mis-wroght,..I wil it mend. Ibid. 26223 And he þat bath [church & man] þair bleith has blend, A-gains bath be-hous him mend. c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 303 To while pape Boniface duellid opon þis, To gyue dome þorgh grace, to mende boþe þer mys. 1426Audelay Poems 12 Ȝif thai wyl mend that thai do mys, to have remyssyon. 1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 29 Ye maie syr (quoth he) mend three naies with one yée. 1607Shakes. Cor. iii. ii. 26 Come, come, you haue bin too rough,..you must returne, and mend it. 1670Ray Prov. 285 Little said, soon mendit. [Cf. 1659 Howell Prov. 9/1 Little said soon amended.] 1733in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 185 One soon learns to stop when it is wished, or to mend what is said amiss. 1841Lytton Nt. & Morn. iv. viii, At present, ‘least said soonest mended’.
5. a. To restore to a complete or sound condition (something broken, decayed, worn, etc.); to repair or make good (the defective part). Also to mend up. Phr. to mend one's fences: see fence n. 5 c.
Now the prevailing sense: the others, so far as they survive, being more or less coloured by this. The vb. is now ordinarily used only with such objects as are commonly said to be ‘worn’, ‘broken’, or ‘torn’ (e.g. articles of clothing or furniture, tools, fences); e.g. we do not speak of ‘mending’ a house. To mend a road, however, is still current.
1362Langl. P. Pl. A. iii. 53 Þer nis nouþur Wyndou ne Auter, Þat I ne schulde maken oþur mende. c1375Sc. Leg. Saints xiii. (Marcus) 81 Þe bochoure wes mendand þe scho. 1487in T. Gardner Hist. Dunwich (1754) 153 Payd the Glas-wryȝte for mendyng Seynt Krysteferys Wyndown. 1535Coverdale Mark i. 19 As they were in the shyppe mendynge their nettes. 1617Moryson Itin. i. 186 As if I had been so good a husband, as to mend my own clothes. 1639in Coll. Conn. Hist. Soc. (1897) VI. 5 All the fences..shall be mended vp. 1747in Amer. Speech (1940) XV. 228/2, I went to mamacock & Crossman Lot & mended up fence. 1756–7tr. Keysler's Trav. (1760) I. 229 The rough and stony roads have been mended. 1833S. Smith Life & Writings J. Downing lvi. 192 They've got their clothes pretty much mended up, and they look quite tidy. 1854M. L. Charlesworth Ministering Children ii. 19 Mamma is going to give me all Edward's old warm stockings, if I mend them up quite neat! 1878Jevons Prim. Pol. Econ. 29 Hedges and ditches are mended when there is nothing else to do. 1888Housewife III. 436/2 After mending the holes, the thin places..should be run thickly backwards and forwards.
transf. and fig. (cf. 2).
1500–20Dunbar Poems xxviii. 22 And ȝe tailȝouris, with wellmaid clais Can mend the werst maid man that gais. 1597Shakes. 2 Hen. IV, iii. ii. 176.
b. To repair the garments of (a person). colloq.
1876W. S. Gilbert Sorcerer ii. (1886) 24 She will tend him, nurse him, mend him, Air his linen [etc.]. 1881Gd. Words 844/2 She ‘washed and mended’ him to the envy of the neighbours.
c. To adjust, set right. Obs. exc. Naut.
c1515Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some y⊇ longe bote dyde launce, some mende y⊇ corse. 1601Shakes. All's Well iii. ii. 7 Why he will looke vppon his boote, and sing: mend the Ruffe and sing. 1606― Ant. & Cl. v. ii. 322. 1682 Dryden & Lee Duke of Guise ii. ii. (1683) 16 Yes, I wou'd make every Glance a Murder. Mend me this Curle. 1832Marryat N. Forster xxvi, He therefore turned the hands up, ‘mend sails’, and took his station amidship on the booms, to see that this the most delinquent sail, was properly furled. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk., To mend sails, to loose and skin them afresh on the yards.
d. † to mend the lights: to trim the lamps, or snuff the candles (obs.). to mend a fire: to add fuel to it (cf. the earlier beet v.). to mend a pen: to cut a worn quill pen so as to make it fit for its purpose.
c1480Henryson Test. Cress. 36, I mend the fyre and beikit me about. 1625B. Jonson Staple of News Induct., Book-holder. Mend your lights, Gentlemen, Master Prologue, beginne. marg., The Tiremen enter to mend the lights. 1720Petrie Rules Deportm. iii. Wks. (1877) 21 Do not spit in the Fire, nor offer to mend it. 1820Keats Lett. (1958) II. 262, I have been writing with a vile old pen the whole week... The fault is in the Quill: I have mended it. 1834H. Martineau Farrers i. 15 Jane shook her head as she carefully mended the fire. 1863A. Blomfield Mem. Bp. Blomfield I. viii. 223 We all sit and mend our pens and talk about the weather.
6. a. trans. To restore to health, cure, heal. arch.
13..St. Nicholas 349 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 15 Þai praid all to saint Nicholas Þat [dede] man þore forto rays & mend. 13..St. Lucy 8 ibid. 17 Scho..fand no medcyn hir might mend. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §46 There be dyuers waters, & other medicyns, that wolde mende hym. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iii. 113 Yearly thy Herds in Vigour will impair, Recruit and mend 'em with thy Yearly Care. 1736in Swift's Lett. (1766) II. 235, I daily see such numbers of people mended by them [these waters], that [etc.]. 1883R. W. Dixon Mano i. v. 14 And slowly some we mended of their ill, And pitied all.
transf. and fig.1831Lamb Elia Ser. ii. Ellistoniana, Sir A― C―..who mends a lame narrative almost as well as he sets a fracture. 1870Morris Earthly Par., Son of Croesus (1903) 153/2 And August came the fainting year to mend With fruit and grain.
b. intr. To regain health; to recover from sickness. † Const. of. Also to mend up.
1500–20Dunbar Poems xxii. 59 May nane remeid my melady Sa weill as ȝe..And gif I mend nocht hestely. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §46 There be some shepe that wyll be blynd a season, and yet mende agayn. 1663Chas. II in Julia Cartwright Henrietta of Orleans (1894) 149 She mends very slowly. 1712–13Swift Jrnl. to Stella 22 Feb., The Queen is slowly mending of her gout. 1810Shelley Zastrozzi xi, The health of Verezzi, meanwhile, slowly mended. 1840Dickens Barn. Rudge v, The fever has left him, and the doctor says he will soon mend. 1877A. Sewell Black Beauty (c 1878, ed. 5) xliv. 217 The farrier said he [sc. a horse] might mend up enough to sell for a few pounds. 1897Hughes Medit. Fever v. 194 One day of injudicious dietary..in a case that is mending, may cause a serious relapse.
c. Of a wound, etc.: To heal. Of a malady: To abate. Now dial.
1607Shakes. Timon v. i. 190 My long sicknesse Of Health, and Liuing, now begins to mend. 1804Abernethy Surg. Obs. 140 An ulcer mends in one part though it may spread in another. 1869A. C. Gibson Folk-Sp. Cumbld. 163 His hand mendit weel—(He hed gud healin flesh,..hed Joe).
II. Without distinct reference to defect: To make better, ameliorate, improve.
7. a. trans. To improve the condition or fortune of. Now rare or Obs. exc. refl., to better oneself, make an advantageous change in one's condition.
c1330R. Brunne Chron. (1810) 244 Wardeyns gode he sette, to stabille þe lond & mende [orig. Establye ses lays, fet l'estat melliour]. c1330― Chron. Wace (Rolls) 6552 Wiþ waryson he schold þem [marriageable maidens] mende. 1558Richmond Wills (Surtees) 122, I wyll yt the pore folkes of the church rawe be mended with bygge. 1625Bacon Ess., Innov. (Arb.) 527 Whatsoeuer is New is vnlooked for; And euer it mends Some, and paires Other. 1632Lithgow Trav. iii. 84 He could not mend himselfe, in regard of my shelter. 1678Bunyan Pilgr. i. (1862) 58 Your service was hard..therefore..I did as other considerate persons do, look out, if perhaps I might mend myself. 1719De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 390 Whether it was by Negligence in guarding them, or that they thought the Fellows could not mend themselves, I know not, but one of them run away. 1790Burke Fr. Rev. (ed. 2) 40 How either he or we should be much mended by it, I cannot imagine. 1876J. Richardson Cummerl. Talk Ser. ii. 183 If..he duddent know what way to gang to mend his-sel, he hed to grub away fra leet to dark for a canny laal.
†b. Sc. To profit, advantage (a person); absol. to avail. (In negative and interrogative contexts.)
c1470Gol. & Gaw. 1069 It may nocht mend the ane myte to mak it so teugh. c1475Rauf Coilȝear 653 He saw thair was na meiknes nor mesure micht mend. c1560A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xx. 22 Off all thy wo and cair It mends the not to mene. 1572Satir. Poems Reform. xxx. 126 Quhat will it mend to murne thy senses out?
†8. To improve (a person) physically. Also intr. (of a child) to thrive (cf. 10 b). Obs.
a1400–50Alexander 464 Outhire mete has mendid þe full mekill..Or ane has stollen in my stede. c1500Melusine 103 Melusyne..had so grete care for her children that they mended & grewe so wel that euery one that saw them meruaylled. 1810Hogg Birniebouzle 8 I'll hunt the otter an' the brock,..An' pu' the limpet aff the rock, To batten an' to mend ye.
†9.
a. To improve by additions (e.g. wages, prices).
c1440Pol. Rel. & L. Poems 272 Fals iudas, to mendyn hys purs, To ded hath hym sold. c1470Harding Chron. (1812) 366 The market he so mended manyfolde. 1510Extracts Aberd. Reg. (1844) I. 81 Thai sall caus him be pait yerlie of tene pundis..quhill thai be of puyschance to mend him his fee. 1583Stubbes Anat. Abus. ii. (1882) 88 If his liuing be too little, then ought the church to mend it. 1600Shakes. A.Y.L. ii. iv. 94 And we will mend thy wages. 1697Dryden Virg. Georg. iv. 196 Sometimes white Lillies did their Leaves afford, With wholsom Poppy-flow'rs to mend his homely Board.
b. intr. To improve in amount or price.
16022nd Pt. Return fr. Parnass. H 2, Then let vs leaue this baser fidling trade, For though our purse should mend, our credit fades. 1812Examiner 7 Sept. 563/2 Wool mending in price.
†c. trans. To supplement, make up the deficiency of. (See also 12 a.) Obs.
1590Shakes. Com. Err. iv. iii. 60 Wee'll mend our dinner here. 1638in Birch Life Milton M.'s Wks. 1738 I. 16, I would have been bold, in our vulgar phrase, to mend my draught, for you left me with an extreme Thirst. 1711Swift Jrnl. to Stella 9 Oct., I was forced to lie down at twelve to-day, and mend my night's sleep.
10. a. To improve in quality; to render more excellent; to ameliorate (conditions, etc.). Now rare.
1603Florio Montaigne ii. Epist., So neyther is one vertue fit for all, nor all fit for one vertue: nor is that one so excellent, but by more it might be mended. 1605Bacon Adv. Learn. ii. xxii. §5 Tacitus observeth how rarely raising of the fortune mendeth the disposition. 1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 19 Trees..as they grow in yeeres, bignesse, and strength; so they mend their fruit. 1672Grew Anat. Plants §43 Some Vegetables lose their Smell,..others, keep it,..others, mend it. 1700Dryden Fables Pref. *D, Chaucer..has mended the Stories which he has borrow'd, in his way of telling. 1712Addison Spect. No. 383 ⁋4 The fifty new Churches will very much mend the Prospect. 1781W. Blane Ess. Hunting (1788) 21 Directions for mending and improving the Breed [of dogs]. 1781Cowper Hope 451 The Sacred Book..speaks, with plainness art could never mend. 1796Morse Amer. Geog. II. 47 Cattle are small... And they would be more so, were not the breed mended by a mixture with those of other countries. 1847L. Hunt Men, Women, & B. II. x. 208 The Fieldings, till Henry came up to mend the reputation, were not thought very clever. 1854Tennyson To F. D. Maurice x, How best to help the slender store, How mend the dwellings, of the poor.
†b. intr. To grow better in quality, improve. Obs.
1546J. Heywood Prov. (1867) 75 Than wolde ye mend..as sowre ale mendth in summer. 1601Shakes. Twel. N. i. v. 80 What thinke you of this foole Maluolio, doth he not mend? 1705Addison Italy (Rome to Naples) 174 St. Peters seldom answers Expectation at first entering it, but..mends upon the Eye every Moment. 1712― Spect. No. 543 ⁋1 Though it [the human body] appears formed with the nicest Wisdom, upon the most superficial Survey of it, it still mends upon the Search.
c. To recover from, get better of, grow out of.
1881J. Fothergill Kith & Kin III. ii. 43 He had always trusted that the boy would mend of such outlandish indifference.
11. trans. To improve upon, surpass, better. In early use with personal obj. Now only colloq. to produce something better than.
c1320Sir Tristr. 555 Bot y þe mendi may, Wrong þan wite y þe. 1588Shakes. L.L.L. v. ii. 329 In Vshering Mend him who can. Mod. A very good story: I don't think I can mend it.
III. Phrases and Combinations.
12. Phrases.
a. to mend (a person's) cheer: † (a) to cheer, comfort (cf. cheer n.1 3); (b) to improve the fare of (cf. cheer n.1 6).
a1300Cursor M. 4232 His oþer suns com ilkan sere For to mend þair fader chere. c1350Will. Palerne 647 Þanne þis maiden melior gan menden here chere. 1727Boyer Dict. Royal s.v. Mend, I'll try if I can mend your Chear, J'essayerai..de vous mieux regaler. 1814Scott Ld. of Isles iii. xii, A bow full deftly can he bend, And if we meet a herd, may send A shaft shall mend our cheer.
†b. In asseverative phrases, esp. so God mend me. Also in pious wishes, as God mend all. Obs.
c1400Laud Troy Bk. 433 Lordynges, so god me mende, Lamedon me to ȝow sende. 1568Jacob & Esau i. iii. B j b, The most gentle yong man aliue, as God me mende. 1592Shakes. Rom. & Jul. i. v. 81 Youle not endure him, God shall mend my soule. 1600― A.Y.L. iv. i. 193. 1611 ― Cymb. v. v. 68 Heauen mend all. 1789Wolcot (P. Pindar) Subj. for Painters Wks. 1812 II. 136 Where'er they go, poor imps God mend 'em!
c. to mend or end: either to improve or (if that be impossible) to put an end to; in early use chiefly = ‘to kill or cure’; also, † to correct or finish (a work). † Formerly also intr., either to die or recover.
1578T. Wilcocks Serm. Pawles 74 Plague: what hathe it done? it hathe mended as manye as it hathe ended. 1603Florio Montaigne 11 Epist., That perfect-vnperfect Arcadia, which..your all praise-exceeding father..lived not to mend or end-it. 1613Purchas Pilgrimage 805 When the King of Mexico sickened, they vsed to put a Visor on the face..of some..Idol, which was not taken away till he mended or ended. 1648Eikon Bas. xv. 123, I had the Charitie to interpret, that most part of My Subjects fought against My supposed Errors, not My Person; and intended to mend Mee, not to end Mee. c1680Hickeringill Hist. Whiggism Wks. 1716 I. i. 21, I had rather we should mend than end. 1884J. Morley in Times 31 July 11/4 The..question of mending or ending the House of Lords.
d. to mend the matter, to mend matters: to improve the state of affairs concerning a person or thing. Often used ironically.
1690Locke Hum. Und. ii. xvii. §16, I suppose they will thereby very little mend the matter, or help us to a more clear and positive idea. 1719De Foe Crusoe (Globe) 295 To mend the Matter,..it continued snowing. 1869Freeman Norm. Conq. (1875) III. xii. 253 No one will argue that he would have mended matters had he fulfilled his promise.
e. to mend (one's) pace: to travel faster.
1602Shakes. Ham. v. i. 64 Your dull Asse will not mend his pace with beating. 1667Milton P.L. x. 859 Justice Divine Mends not her slowest pace for prayers or cries. 1781Cowper Expost. 151 Judgment, however tardy, mends her pace When Obstinacy once has conquered Grace. 1851D. Jerrold St. Giles vii. 66 He mended his pace, and..jerked the pony into a trot.
† f. to mend one's hand: to improve one's work or conduct. Obs.
1685Dryden Alb. & Alban. Pref., Ess. (ed. Ker) I. 280 If it finds encouragement, I dare promise myself to mend my hand, by making a more pleasing fable. 1781C. Johnston Hist. J. Juniper I. 65 His nurse..being threatened to be turned off, if she did not mend her hand.
g. to make or mend (absol.): see make v.1 1 c.
†13. Comb. with ns. (often as quasi-proper names) with the sense ‘one who mends{ddd}’, as mend-all, mendbreech, mend-fault, mend-market.
c1470Harding Chron. ccviii. Argt. (1812) 366 Howe syr Robert Vmgreuile brent Pebles on there market daye..and after the Scottes called hym Robyne Mendmarket. 1573Tusser Husb. (1878) 179 Feare flea smocke and mendbreech, for burning their bed. 1643Baker Chron. (1674) 190 Jack Cade..styling himself Captain Mend-all, marched..to Blackheath. 1654Whitlock Zootomia 174 The Commonwealth might better spare many famous for feats of Armes, than these Learned Mend-faults (in men, or States).
▪ III. mend
obs. form of mind. |