| 释义 |
▪ I. rope, n.1|rəʊp|
Forms: α. 1–4 rap, 2–5, Sc. 7–9 rape; 4 rayp, 6–9 raip(e, 6 raipp; 8–9 raep, 9 dial. reap(e, reeap. β. 3–4 rop, 4–7 roop(e, 5–6 roppe, 6–7 roap(e; 3– rope.
[Common Teut.: OE. ráp masc., = OFris. râp (in silrâp; WFris. reap, EFris. rôp, but NFris. riap:—*rêp), MDu. and Du. reep, MLG. rêp, reep, reip (LG. rêp), OHG. and G. reif, ON. reip neut. (Icel., Fær., Norw. reip, Sw. rep, † reep, Da. reb, † reeb, reeff, etc.), Goth. raip (in skaudaraip shoe-thong). In the Lex Salica (c 490) the Old Frankish form appears to be Latinized as reipus (only in a transferred sense), and from early Teutonic the word passed into Finnish as raippa rod, twig.]
I.
1. a. A length of strong and stout line or cordage, usually made of twisted strands of hemp, flax, or other fibrous material, but also of strips of hide, pliant twigs, metal wire, etc.
In technical use the name of rope is given to cordage above one inch in circumference, and the largest sizes are called cables. For the nautical names of special ropes, as bolt-, breast-, bucket-, buoy-rope, see the first element.
αc725,c825[see sense 2]. c888K. ælfred Boeth. xiii, Ne mæᵹ hit mon..mid rape ᵹebindan. c950Lindisf. Gosp. John ii. 15 [He] ᵹeworhte..suuopa of rapum. 971Blickl. Hom. 241 Hraðe hie sendon rap on his sweoran, and hie hine tuᵹon ᵹeond þære ceastre lanan. 1154O.E. Chron. (Laud MS.) an 1140, Me læt hire dun on niht of þe tur mid rapes. c1175Lamb. Hom. 47 Me nom rapes and caste in to him for to draȝen hine ut of þisse putte. c1205Lay. 1099 Heo rihten heora rapes, heo rærden heora mastes. 1375Barbour Bruce iii. 691 Ankyrs, rapys, baith saile and ar, And all that nedyt to schipfar. a1400–50Alexander 1520 He..sammes þaim on aithire side with silken rapis. c1470Henry Wallace vii. 201 A bauk was knyt all full of rapys keyne. 1508Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen 331, I wald haif ridden him to Rome, with ane raip in his heid. a1585Montgomerie Flyting 403 Thir ladies lighted fra their horse, And band them with raipes. 1718Ramsay Christ's Kirk Gr. iii. xii, His young wife..sneg'd the raips..We'er knife that day. 1783Burns Mailie's Elegy vii, Wae worth that man wha first did shape That vile, wanchancie thing—a raep!
βc1275Lay. 20333 Hii worpen vt one rop and Baldolf hine igrop. 1303R. Brunne Handl. Synne 8055 Aboute þe body a rope þey wonde, And to þe bere fast þey bonde. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) III. 199 Meny yuy stalkes i-bounde in a schorp rope. c1400Destr. Troy 13020 Hir hondes bounden at hir backe bigly with ropes. 1489Caxton Faytes of A. i. xvii. 49 Bounden togider and wel teyed with ropys. 1535Coverdale Judges xvi. 8 The prynces of the Philistynes broughte vp vnto her seuen new roapes. 1581J. Bell Haddon's Answ. Osor. 218 b, Chayned with an Iron Roape, and lying under hys table amongest dogges. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 249 Their daggers, and a rope of leather thongs, wherewithall they entred the battail. 1627Capt. Smith Seaman's Gram. v. 20 The standing ropes are the shrouds and staies. 1673–4Grew Anat. Pl. (1682) 139 The Barque of any Tree, as of Willow (whereof are usually made a sort of Ropes). 1720Pope Iliad xxiii. 139 With proper Instruments they take the Road, Axes to cut, and Ropes to sling the Load. 1781Gibbon Decl. & F. xix. (1787) II. 133 Tying their legs together with ropes, they dragged them through the streets. 1841Penny Cycl. XX. 156/1 Ropes formed of iron wire have been..introduced to a considerable extent. 1872Yeats Tech. Hist. Comm. 70 Ropes were used in the gymnasium by the ancient Greeks.
b. fig. or in fig. contexts.
c1000ælfric Hom. I. 208 Anra ᵹehwilc manna is ᵹewriðen mid rapum his synna. c1200Vices & Virtues 45 For us te warnin þat ure ropes ne to-breken. c1200Ormin 15818 Þeȝȝ wrohhtenn rap þurrh sinnfull lif To draȝhenn hem till helle. a1300Cursor M. 21920 Ded sal rug us til his rape. 13..K. Alis. 6282 (Laud MS.), Now þe kyng haþ al þis in his rope, He shipped swiþe in to Ethiope. 1434Misyn Mending Life 107 Abundance of Riches, flaterynge of wymmen, Fayrnes or bewte of ȝouthe: þis is þe threfold rope þat vnnethis may be brokyn. 1560Rolland Seven Sages 88 Gif ȝe may not eschaip, Than ar ȝe baith but dout tane in the raip. 1624Bedell Lett. xi. 156, I haue met with sundry that pull this roape as strongly the other way.
c. Used without article, as a material.
1769Falconer Dict. Marine s.v. Rope-bands, Certain pieces of small rope or braided cordage. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 1076 Two, three, or more strands of shroud or hawser⁓laid rope. 1876Voyle & Stevenson Milit. Dict. 352/1 The strength of Manilla rope is less than that of hemp rope.
2. In various special uses:
a. A stout line used for measuring; a sounding line; hence in later use, a certain measure of length, esp. for walling or hedging. Now local. Also rope-length.
c725Corpus Gloss. (Hessels) B 178 Bolides, sundᵹerd in scipe vel metrap. c825Vesp. Ps. civ. 11 Cweoðende ðe ic selle eorðan rap erfes eowres.
1562Act 5 Eliz. c. 4 §15 What Wages every Workman..shall take..for Ditching, Paving, Railing or Hedging, by the Rod, Pearch,..Rope or Foot. 1597Skene De Verb. Sign. s.v. Particata, Ane rod, ane raip, ane lineal fall of measure, are all ane,..for ilk ane of them conteinis sex elnes in length. 1797Billingsley Agric. Somerset 79 The expence of a list-wall may be thus calculated per rope of twenty feet running length. 1850Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XI. ii. 728 Dry walls, built 4 feet high at 1d. a foot (20d. per rope length). 1886in Eng. Dial. Dict. s.v., To the Agricultural Labourer who shall best dig and lay a Rope and Half of Hedge.
b. A line stretched between two points at some height above the ground, upon which an acrobat performs various feats. (See also tight-rope.)
1620Sir S. D'Ewes in Coll. Life & T. Jas. I (1851) 117 A pretty pastime called dancing upon the ropes. 1695Dryden Dufresnoy's Art Paint. Pref. 49 Like a skilfull dancer on the Ropes (if you will pardon the meanness of the similitude). 1707J. Stevens tr. Quevedo's Com. Wks. (1709) 434 She..exercis'd her self upon the Streight Rope. 1740Somerville Hobbinol i. 303 Thus on the slacken'd Rope The wingyfooted Artist..Stands tott'ring.
fig.1612Webster White Devil v. ii, See, see Flamineo..Is dancing on the ropes there, and he carries A money-bag in each hand, to keep him even.
c. pl. The cords marking off a prize-ring or other enclosed space; the ropes marking the boundary of a cricket ground. Phr. on the ropes: see quot. 1958; also fig.
1829P. Egan Boxiana 2nd Ser. II. 158 Lenney found himself hanging on the ropes, where he was milled down. 1854Dickens Hard T. ii, He would..bore his opponent..to the ropes, and fall upon him neatly. 1859Lever D. Dunn xxx, This unforeseen ‘bolt over the ropes’. 1888R. H. Lyttelton in Steel & Lyttleton Cricket xvi. 439 There is a strong cord running all round the ground, every decently hard hit is certain to reach the ropes if the ball once passes the fieldsman. 1892Sporting Life 31 May 3/4 Among his hits were three drives over the ropes for 6. 1901G. B. Shaw Admirable Bashville ii. i. 302 The Australian Champion and his challenger..fought to a finish... The bold Ned Skene revisited the ropes to hold the battle for his quondam novice. 1904A. A. Milne in Punch 18 May 358/1 Time was I cared for cricket,..Cutting a ball to the ropes for four. 1924‘W. Fabian’ Sailors' Wives xv. 175 You've got him on the ropes. They tell me he shows signs of matrimony. 1958F. C. Avis Boxing Reference Dict. 78 On the ropes, said of a boxer who is forced back on to the ropes by his opponent, or is lying helpless on them. 1971Times 27 Sept. 9/8 Griffith was defenceless against the ropes and his own corner as Monzon unleashed a string of straight rights and lefts. 1972Times 16 May (Wall Street Suppl.) p. iv/2 A good section of the industry was on the ropes and there were times when I wondered if it would survive. 1976J. Snow Cricket Rebel 168 (caption) Ray Illingworth hooks..in the England v West Indies Test at the Oval, 1973. The ball, arrowed, is on its way to the ropes. 1977J. Laker One-Day Cricket 88 Three further perfectly timed shots had cleared the boundary ropes. 1977New Yorker 25 July 70/3 Miss Wade was on the ropes several times in the first set, but she stayed in there and managed to win it, 7–5. 1980Tablet 26 Jan. 81/3 There is talk that the Kennedy campaign is not just ‘on the ropes’, but that it is plain dead.
d. A clothes-line.
1833Carlyle in Froude Life (1882) II. 365 To-day white sheets hang triumphantly on the rope.
e. U.S. A lasso.
1888Cent. Mag. Feb. 506/1 The rope, whether leather lariat or made of grass, is the one essential feature of every cowboy's equipment.
f. transf. A type of lodging-house (see quot. 1836).
1836Dickens Pickw. (1837) xvi. 160 The twopenny rope..is just a cheap lodgin'house, vere the beds is twopence a night... They has two ropes, 'bout six foot apart, and three from the floor, which goes right down the room; and the beds are made of slips of coarse sacking, stretched across 'em... At six o'clock every mornin', they lets go the ropes at one end, and down falls all the lodgers. 1973L. Heren Growing up Poor in London i. 10 One of the ropes, or lodging houses, was home for Indian pedlars... The rope was next to a pub.
g. A skipping-rope. Cf. to jump rope s.v. jump v. 1 f.
1874R. L. Stevenson in Portfolio V. 116 A mistress of the art of skipping..the rope passed over her black head and under her scarlet-stockinged legs with a precision and regularity that was like machinery. 1927C. V. Goddard in Word Lore II. 128 Never leave the rope empty Go to church on Ash Wednesday. 1959I. & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolch. xii. 239 People from the surrounding villages bring great lengths of clothes-line with them, and skip ten and even fifteen abreast in each rope. 1978J. Irving World According to Garp vii. 133 Jumping rope for half an hour in a corner of the gymnasium.
h. Mountaineering. A climbing-rope. So transf., a group of climbers, esp. one that is roped together. Also attrib. and fig.
1892C. T. Dent Mountaineering ii. 71 There is no part of the Alpine equipment for those who intend to go above the snow line..more important than the rope. 1919G. D. Abraham On Alpine Heights & Brit. Crags i. 10 The legs of both were steadied by the second climber, who secured the rope around a projecting knob of rock. 1935R. L. G. Irving Romance of Mountaineering vii. 114 Tom de Lépiney runs out fifty metres of rope in crossing, held by the rope from as high as possible. 1935D. Pilley Climbing Days iv. 84 And for those who did not lead, but still desired to take the share of responsibility which falls to any genuine member of a rope, a climb would help. 1941C. Kirkus Let's go Climbing iii. 46 When a rope travelling south meets a rope travelling west the result is apt to be rather like a Maypole dance. 1955M. E. B. Banks Commando Climber v. 89 Lower down we passed under some tottering, unstable-looking séracs, in company with an Italian and a French rope. 1965A. Blackshaw Mountaineering vii. 195 A wet rope should not be left coiled, as this will delay drying and encourage deterioration. 1968P. Crew Encycl. Dict. Mountaineering 100/2 In artificial climbing rope management can become very complicated. 1972D. Haston In High Places iv. 52 We reckoned on teaming up two ropes of two, Eley with me and Geoff with Dennis English. 1979D. Clark Dread & Water ii. 33 It's up to you and your pals on the same rope to make your own decisions as the need crops up.
i. A rope suspended vertically in a gymnasium for climbing and other exercises.
1903Handbk. Physical Training (Admiralty) i. 30 For rope climbing the class will be formed up about 4 paces from the ropes. 1940McClow & Anderson Play Gymnastics 87 Small boys who are free in the gymnasium show a great interest in equipment upon which they can climb or from which they can hang. They never seem to tire of swinging on the ropes. 1965D. R. Casady et al. Handbk. Physical Fitness Activities xii. 96/2 When climbing the rope, one must climb down as well as up.
3. a. A cord for hanging a person; a halter; the hangman's cord. So transf., capital punishment. Also in phr. to take a rope, to hang oneself.
c1290St. James 117 in S. Eng. Leg. I. 37 Ane Rop he dude a-boute is necke, and ladde him toward is dome. 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 9212 An rop me dude aboute is nekke, he suor honge he ssolde. c1300Cursor M. 16501 A rape he gatt al priueli,..þer-wit him-self he hang. c1330R. Brunne Chron. Wace (Rolls) 10010 Þer ostages..he heng..wyþ rop & streng. c1440Alph. Tales 178 Sho hangid hur selfe. And as sho did it þe rape braste, & sho was still on life. c1489Caxton Sonnes of Aymon xi. 281, I promyse..to lende you a rope, yf ye have nede of it. 1535Lyndesay Satyre 2450, I think to se thy craig gar ane raip crack. a1585Montgomerie Flyting 96 Goe ride in a raipe for this noble new ȝeir. a1649Drummond of Hawthornden Hist. Jas. V, Wks. (1711) 112 Because they could not agree among themselves about those who should stretch the Ropes,..they escaped all the Danger. 1670Cotton Espernon i. iii. 127 An old man..told me this story,..being one of those set apart for the Rope. 1713Arbuthnot John Bull ii. iii, When these Wretches had the Rope about their Necks. 1781Cowper Retirem. 584 All had long suppos'd him dead, By cold submersion, razor, rope, or lead. 1857Borrow Romany Rye xli, He used to say, that they were fools, who did not always manage to keep the rope below their shoulders. 1898Besant Orange Girl ii. ix, I feel..as if the rope was already round my neck. 1934H. N. Rose Thes. Slang 18/1 Jim got a rope this morning. 1935A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 98/2 Rope, hanging. 1935J. Hargan Gloss. Prison Lang. 7 Rope, take a, to hang oneself, to commit suicide. 1950H. E. Goldin Dict. Amer. Underworld Lingo 180/2 Rope, capital punishment by hanging; (loosely) capital punishment by any means. 1976Leicester Mercury 14 Oct. 4/4 The complete disregard for law and order which is so prevalent today is the direct result of the policies of himself and most members of the Labour Government which resulted in the cane being abolished for disobedient schoolboys, the birch for thugs and the rope for murderers.
†b. Used in angry exclamations. Obs.
1598R. Bernard Terence, Andria i. ii, What's the matter now with him? What a rope ailes hee? What a diuell would he haue? 1599Porter Angry Wom. Abingdon (Percy Soc.) 46 Boy. Hold fast by the bucket, Hodge. Hod. A rope on it! 1682N. O. Boileau's Lutrin iv. 19 What the Rope ails you? (cry'd the testy Lacquey).
†c. As an allusive or derisive cry. Obs.
1591Shakes. 1 Hen. VI, i. iii. 53 Winchester Goose, I cry, a Rope, a Rope. Now beat them hence. 1663Butler Hud. i. i. 546 He understood..What Member 'tis of whom they talk when they cry Rope, and Walk Knave, walk.
4. In various figurative phrases:
a. to give one rope (enough, or plenty of rope), to allow one free scope or action, esp. in order that he may embarrass or commit himself. So to have plenty of rope, etc.
a1659Bp. Brownrig Serm. (1674) I. iii. 42 Give them rope, and scope enough, let them do their utmost. 1672R. Wild Poet. Licent. 28 The Papists swelling is the way to burst, Let them have Rope enough, and do their worst. 1687Settle Refl. Dryden 67 Give our Commentator but Rope, and he hangs himself. 1855[see hang v. B. 3 b]. 1887J. Hawthorne Tragic Mystery xiv, Evidently, the best way..was to give him plenty of rope wherewith to hang himself. 1892‘Anstey’ Voces Populi, Free Speech, I appeal to you, give this man rope—he's doing our work splendidly.
b. to come, or run, to the end of one's rope, (a) to be finally checked in wrong-doing; (b) to come to the end of one's resources, to be at the end of one's tether. So at the end of one's rope, one's rope is out, etc.
1686tr. Chardin's Coronat. Solyman 106 Being run to the end of his Rope, as one that had no more Excuses to make. 1898Besant Orange Girl Prol. 7 His rope is certainly long out, so that he is kept from Tyburn Tree by some special favour. Ibid. ii. xii, They have come to the end of their rope: their time is up. 1931F. L. Allen Only Yesterday ii. 32 Physically the President was almost at the end of his rope. 1943M. Carpenter Experiment Perilous 214 I've come, I think, to the end of my rope. 1954N. Coward Future Indefinite v. vi. 321 What I had been dreading for a long time happened. I collapsed finally and knew that I had come to the end of my rope. 1971Ink 12 June 7/4 On Monday, 24 May, the Mans strikers—now at the end of their rope financially—voted to accept the compromise proposals. 1977Transatlantic Rev. lx. 79 Judy was at the end of her rope.
c. to know the ropes, to understand the way to do something; to be acquainted with all the dodges. So to learn, put one up to, the ropes. Also to show one, understand, the ropes.
1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast ix, The captain, who..‘knew the ropes’, took the steering oar. 1850‘J. Timon’ Sketch 18 Aug. in Opera Goer (1852) II. 186 The belle of two weeks standing, who has ‘learned the ropes’. 1854Congress. Globe 33rd Congress I Sess. App. 893/2 They are familiar with all the dodges of the season, understand the ropes about town [etc.]. 1860T. C. Haliburton Season-Ticket viii. 226 Tell me..about Canada, and show me the ropes. 1874Slang Dict. 271 ‘To know the ropes,’ is to be conversant with the minutiæ of metropolitan dodges, as regards both the streets and the sporting world. 1876Besant & Rice Gold. Butterfly xliii, You've sought me out, and gone about this city with me; you've put me up to ropes. 1882Sala Amer. Revis. (1885) 54 The foreigner who does not ‘know the ropes’ — that is to say, who is crassly ignorant. 1894Maskelyne Sharps & Flats 98 The circle was composed entirely of men who thought they ‘knew the ropes’ as well as he did. a1911D. G. Phillips Susan Lenox (1917) II. ii. 20 I'll show you the ropes... You'll find the job dead easy. 1937‘G. Orwell’ Road to Wigan Pier ix. 182, I would find out about tramps and how you got in touch with them..and then, when I..knew the ropes well enough, I would go on the road myself. 1949E. Waugh Loved One 133 Mr. Schultz had found a young man to take Dennis's place and Dennis was spending his last week at the Happier Hunting Ground in showing him the ropes. 1973G. Greene Honorary Consul i. i. 26 Fortnum knew the local ropes. He saved the Ambassador a lot of trouble. 1976J. I. M. Stewart Young Pattullo ii. 43, I was being made aware..that I didn't quite know the ropes.
d. on the high ropes: see high a. 17 h.
e. to pull the ropes, to direct or influence events. ? Obs.
1876W. G. Nash Century of Gossip iv. 70, I cum purty near..tellin' 'em that Elton wouldn't pull a rope for him, if he got the nominashun. 1900G. N. Boothby Maker of Nations i. 19 You do require to know the ropes. And what is more, you require to be very careful how you pull those ropes when you are familiar with them.
f. money for old rope: see money n. 6 h.
II.
5. a. A quantity of some material twisted together in the form of a rope; a rope-like structure; a thing having the elongated form of a rope or cord.
1394Earl Derby's Exp. (Camden) 158 Diuersis operariis facientibus ropez de dicto feno. 1523Fitzherb. Husb. §25 For to knowe whanne it [hay] is wyddred ynoughe, make a lyttell rope of the same. 1610Markham Masterp. ii. cx. 391 With a soft rope of hay. 1677Grew Anat. Fruits (1682) 187 By the Length..do run a pair of little Vascular Ropes. 1686Goad Celest. Bodies i. ii. 2 A Fog which sometimes casts it self into Shreds or Ropes, and..furls up into Gossamere. 1731Miller Gard. Dict. s.v. Asplenium, Seed⁓pods..furnish'd with a little round Rope. 1759Mills tr. Duhamel's Husb. i. viii. (1762) 44 This would only raise a long unwieldy rope of turf. 1843Civil Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. VI. 38/2 The effect of this..is to form a running rope of water in the pipe. 1891T. Hardy Tess xxxix, An immense rope of hair like a ship's cable.
b. a rope of sand, something having no coherence or binding power.
1624Gataker Transubst. 152 Like ropes of sand (as wee are wont to say) doe these things hang together. 1670Clarendon Contempl. Ps. Tracts (1727) 583 Which destroys all possible security and confidence in this rope of sand, which Tradition is. 1780Gouv. Morris in Sparks Life & Writ. (1832) I. 222 Our union will become a mere rope of sand. 1800J. Adams Wks. (1854) IX. 87 Sweden and Denmark, Russia and Prussia, might form a rope of sand, but no dependence can be placed on such a maritime coalition. 1894F. M. Elliot Roman Gossip iv. 124 The alliance fell through of itself like a rope of sand.
c. (See quot. 1950.) Also attrib., as rope silk.
1880L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery i. 4 ‘Embroidery’, or Bobbin Silk..is manufactured in what is technically called ‘rope’, that is, with about twelve strands in each thread. When not ‘rope’ silk, it is in single strands, and is then called ‘fine’ silk. 1910Art Needlework 2/2 Arden's ‘Hazel’ Embroidery No. 3... As thick as (and closely resembling) those silks called ‘Rope’ and ‘Cable’, it can be used for merely outlining with long and short stitch. 1950Mercury Dict. Textile Terms 430/1 Rope silk, an embroidery silk thread consisting of singles doubled into threads and these doubles again doubled to form a strong thread.
d. U.S. slang. A cigar.
1934H. McLellan in Detective Fiction Weekly 10 Nov. 29/2 He jerked a cigar out of her mouth... ‘It burns my stomach to see a dame smoking a rope’. 1940Amer. Speech XV. 335/2 A cigar is rope. 1960Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 433/2 Rope, a cigar... Occasional use in comic papers and by would-be wits. 1978H. Wouk War & Remembrance vii. 66 Carter Aster was smoking a long brown Havana tonight. That meant his spirits were high; otherwise he consumed vile gray Philippine ropes.
e. Anthrop. A system of descent or inheritance in which the link is formed from father or mother to the children of the opposite sex (see quot. 1935).
1935M. Mead Sex & Temperament x. 176 Instead..of organizing people into patrilineal groups or matrilineal groups.. the Mundugumor have a form of organization that they call a rope. A rope is composed of a man, his daughters, his daughters' sons, his daughters' sons' daughters; or if the count is begun from a woman..her sons, her sons' daughters..[etc.]. 1953A. K. C. Ottaway Educ. & Society ii. 25 Inheritance [among Mundugumor] passes from father to daughter, and then to her son. This is known as a ‘rope’. 1968Internat. Encycl. Social Sci. VIII. 405/2 Men may be linked cross-sexually to their mothers, and women to their fathers, to produce the alternating or cross-sexual system of the ‘rope’. 1976H. Reading Dict. Social Sci. 181 Rope, descent group resulting from alternating descent.
f. slang. Marijuana.
1944D. Burley in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 211 Marijuana-Weed—..rope. 1945L. Shelly Jive Talk Dict. 16/2 Rope... Marijuana cigarette. 1972[see muggle3].
g. Astr. A group of magnetic lines of force twisted together.
1961H. W. Babcock in Astrophysical Jrnl. CXXXIII. 577 The fluid shear will be affected by the increased magnetic viscosity of local field concentrations, and these will be twisted into more or less discrete flux strands or ‘ropes’... The flux ropes may be visualized as roller bearings. 1977Nature 21 Apr. 686/1 More than 90% of the total magnetic flux, outside pores and sunspots, that emerges from the sun is confined to ropes that are only a few hundred kilometres across.
6. a. A number of onions, etc., strung or plaited together. Also ellipt.
1469–70Durh. Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 93 Pro 14 Rapys del unyons. 1562J. Heywood Prov. & Epigr. (1867) 206 Wilt thou hand vp with ropes of ynions? 1622Massinger & Dekker Virg. Mart. ii. iii, Let us both be turned into a rope of onions if we do not! 1674S. Jeake Arith. (1696) 66 Garlick. In 1 Hundred 15 Ropes. In 1 Rope 15 Heads. 1706E. Ward Hud. Rediv. (1707) I. iv. 19 Be sure you never trust..The Value of a Rope of Onions With him that halts 'twixt two Opinions. 1794Stedman Surinam (ed. 2) II. xix. 70 From the middle of the branches appears the seed, hanging down also in the form of a large rope of onions. 1890Pall Mall G. 9 June 7/2 ‘Ropes’ of ova being washed ashore from the weeds along the banks.
b. A thick string of pearls. Also ellipt.
1617T. Roe Jrnl. 6 Oct. in Purchas Pilgrimes (1625) I. iv. xvi. 571, I told him I had a rich Pearle, and some other ropes faire. 1630Davenant Just Italian iii. i, This orient Roap is yours and you must wear't. 1632Massinger City Madam iii. iii, Rubies, sapphires, And ropes of orient pearl. 1665Sir T. Herbert Trav. (1677) 140 About his neck [was] a rope of carcanet of great Oriental Pearl. 1870Disraeli Lothair xxxiii, The Justinianis have ropes of pearls—Madame Justiniani..gives a rope to every one of her children when they marry. 1931Amer. Speech VII. 113 Get this rope to the fence before we fall for receiving. 1966A. Loos Girl like I vii. 145 Gaby Deslys..wore ‘ropes’ of pearls, as they were then called.
†c. fig. A long series. Obs.
1621Burton Anat. Mel. iii. iv. i. iii. (1651) 673 A rope of Popes, that by their greatness and authority bear down all before them. 1631R. Bolton Comf. Affl. Consc. (1635) 32 An aspersion..that not all the bloud of that rope of Popes, which constitute Antichrist, could ever be able to expiate.
7. a. A viscid or gelatinous stringy formation in beer or other liquid. Also attrib.
1747H. Glasse Cookery xvii. 150 The best Thing for Rope Beer. 1846Tizard Brewing (ed. 2) 532 The viscid and oily effect termed ‘the rope’. 1857G. Bird Urin. Deposits (ed. 5) 278 They will..form dense masses in the urine, hanging in ropes like the thickest puriform mucus. 1869Blackmore Lorna D. vii, I count him no more than the ropes in beer.
b. A bacterial condition of bread and the like in which it may be drawn into strands.
Cf. quot. 1850 s.v. ropiness.
1899J. Blandy Baker's Guide (ed. 4) iii. 169 (heading) Rope in cakes. 1921W. & W. C. Jago Technol. Bread-Making xvii. 345 During hot weather bread is liable to an outbreak of the disease called ‘rope’. Ibid., Modern writers agree in ascribing rope to bacterial activity. 1972Sci. Amer. Mar. 18/1 Baked goods, for example, go stale rapidly. Once made, they are often exposed to mold spores that become active in warm weather or high humidity. In bread the spores produce a condition called ‘rope’.
III. attrib. and Comb. (in senses 1–3).
8. a. Attrib. in sense ‘made of rope’, as rope-basket, rope bed, rope bedstead, rope-bit, rope-breeching, rope-bridge, rope-buffer, rope-cable, rope sling, rope sole, rope tow, etc.
1848tr. Hoffmeister's Trav. Ceylon, etc. ix. 330 We saw only a few solitary men, with rope-baskets on their arms.
1925H. Crane Let. 17 June (1965) 208 A lot of wonderful old rope beds and furniture came right along with it. 1972E. Wigginton Foxfire Bk. 140 The rope bed was once the only bed to be found in this area.
1971Canad. Antiques Collector Sept.–Oct. 15/1 Another early..bed is the low poster rope bedstead.
1940C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil's Georgics iii. 61 Try a rope-bit In his mouth now and then.
1816Sir H. Douglas Milit. Bridges 167 Rope-bridges were formerly much used in war.
1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rural Sports 79/1 The former size [of gun] may be used with a rope-breeching, which is attached to the bows of the punt.
1923Rope-bridge [see jhula]. 1961L. van der Post Heart of Hunter 10, I was possibly the only person who could start this kind of interpretation; who could be this kind of improvised little ropebridge over the deep abyss between the modern man and the first person of Africa. 1965A. Nicol Truly Married Woman 39 It used to take them about an hour to make a detour to cross..on the swinging rope bridge.
1876Preece & Sivewright Telegraphy 171 The pad or rope-buffer b is next placed over this.
1836Penny Cycl. VI. 260/1 If provided only with rope cables it is necessary to ride with a bower-anchor and a kedge.
1820Scoresby Arc. Regions II. 234 All the oars are fixed by rope-grommets to a single thole.
1882‘Ouida’ Maremma I. ii. 45 Its miserable horses straining at their rope harness.
1805R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. 415 The ploughman driving by means of rope reins.
1901Merwin & Webster Calumet ‘K’ i. 5 ‘Slack away!’ he called to the engineers, and he cast off the rope sling. 1957Clark & Pyatt Mountaineering in Brit. xvi. 239 Rope-slings were used thus as early as 1931. 1971C. Bonington Annapurna South Face xi. 127 Standing in a rope sling, suspended from a peg, he was able to reach up to another crack above the overhang and hammer in a further peg, clipped in another sling and pulled himself up.
1894T. Eaton & Co. Catal. Spring & Summer 31/1 White canvas bathing shoes, rope soles. 1964Rope sole [see mess-boy s.v. mess n. 7]. 1965Economist 25 Dec. 1416/3 In the [U.S.] National Forests there are 199 developed winter sports sites equipped with 164 chair lifts..312 rope tows and 48 ski jumps. 1968Globe & Mail (Toronto) 13 Jan. 35/7 London's Ski Club with seven rope tows. 1978W. F. Buckley Stained Glass xv. 147 He found it irresponsible that his thoughts should turn to skiing, which he longed to attempt in the lofty Alps after several winters of rope tows in Vermont during hectic weekends away from Yale.
b. Attrib. in misc. uses, as rope-boy, rope-knout, rope-machinery, rope-manufacture, rope-pattern, rope skipping, rope socket, rope-traction, rope-trade, etc.
1952Landfall Sept. 206 Ropeboys just standing can feel cocky pride in shouting. 1970Guardian 26 Nov. 13/2 A rope boy, in climbing diction, is a second man who spends patient hours securely belayed as he holds or pays out the rope for a leader.
a1918W. Owen Mental Cases in Poems (1920) 8 Thus their hands are plucking at each other; Picking at the rope-knouts of their scourging.
1838Civ. Eng. & Arch. Jrnl. I. 320/2 On Huddart's Rope Machinery... The above communication on the improvements in rope manufacture [etc.].
1890Sayce Hittites vii. 116 The so-called rope-pattern occurs once or twice on Babylonian gems.
1969R. D. Abrahams Jump-Rope Rhymes p. xv, Rope skipping..with men..is now part of the training program for some athletic activity..rather than a game.
1889Cent. Dict., Rope-socket. 1935Discovery Apr. 118/2 Actual drilling is done by a ‘string’ of tools... At the top of the string is the connecting rope socket, which permits the tools to turn freely, ensuring a round hole.
1841Penny Cycl. XIX. 260/2 Rope-traction..is attended with great expense from the wear of the ropes.
1886Encycl. Brit. XX. 845/1 A distinct branch of the rope trade.
c. Objective with agent-nouns, as rope-bearer, rope-hauler, rope-layer, rope-spinner, etc. Also rope-maker.
1599Nashe Lenten Stuffe 27 Not a slop of a ropehaler they send forth to the Queenes ships, but hee is first broken to the Sea in the Herring mans Skiffe. 1640–1Canterb. Marriage Licences (MS.), Robert Adman [of Wye] rope-layer. 1723Lond. Gaz. No. 6186/10 William Buckland,..Ropespinner. Ibid. No. 6187/4 James Cleaver,..Rope-Weaver. 1801T. S. Surr Splendid Misery I. 125 Her Ladyship is the best rope-skipper we have. 1841Penny Cycl. XX. 154/2 Some of the principal rope-manufacturers of Great Britain. 1887P. McNeill Blawearie 121 Straight to my companion went the rope-bearers.
d. Objective, with vbl. ns. and pres. pples., as rope-breaking, rope-climbing, rope-closing, rope-laying, rope-making, rope spinning, etc.
1791Bentham Panopt. i. Postscr. 162 Any rope-making legislator, or any legislator's rope-making friend. 1815Kirby & Sp. Entomol. xiii. (1818) I. 406 A process more singular than that of rope-spinning. 1835Ure Philos. Manuf. 62 Rope-making and wire-working belong also to this head. 1847Halliw. s.v., The ancient custom of rope-pulling is always strictly observed in Ludlow on Shrove Tuesday. 1886Encycl. Brit. XX. 846/1 An American rope-laying machine is in use. Ibid., They receive no fore⁓twist in the rope-closing apparatus. 1903[see sense 2 i above]. 1926Daily Colonist (Victoria, B.C.) 17 July 10/2 Mr. Ash..had plenty of thrills among the Mexican bandits and cattle thieves, during which time he became expert with the revolver, the lasso, and rope spinning. 1965D. R. Casady et al. Handbk. Physical Fitness Activities xii. 96/2 Rope climbing promotes the development of a strong grip. 1969G. E. Evans Farm & Village xi. 126 This saddler's shop, with ‘a rope-spinning ground’ behind it was sold by auction in July 1875 at the Lion Inn, Debenham. 1975F. Kennedy Alberta was my Beat viii. 92 Guy Weadick..when he found that he could not successfully ride outlaw horses, turned to rope spinning.
e. With pa. pples. or adjs., as rope-fastened, rope-girt, rope-held, rope-muscled, rope-shaped, rope-soled, rope-swung, etc.
1699R. L'Estrange Erasm. Colloq. (1725) 269 He would take Care that this Tribe of Half-shod, and Rope-girt People should never fail. 1780Fawkes tr. Apollonius Rhodius, Argonautics i. 1235 Here the rope-fasten'd stone they heave on shore, Which serv'd as anchor to the ship before. 1839Lindley Introd. Bot. 450 Rope-shaped,..formed of coarse fibres resembling cords. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 37 They have the advantage of rope-stropt leading blocks. 1876M. Collins Blacksm. & Scholar II. 22 A huge brown rope-muscled hand. 1892Sladen Japs at Home xxvi, Pilgrims of every degree, from the rope-shod pauper, to the swaggering plutocrat.
1920Blackw. Mag. Apr. 507/2 He was dressed quaintly in well-washed dungarees,..a gaudy waist-cloth, rope-soled shoes [etc.]. 1955M. Allingham Beckoning Lady iii. 39 She was wearing a bright blue dress.. and rope-soled shoes. 1973G. Mitchell Murder of Busy Lizzie iv. 47 She pulled on a pair of rope-soled shoes.
1957A. Clarke Too Great a Vine 23 Rope-swung victims ring that bell.
9. Special combs., as rope-bark, U.S., the shrub Dirca palustris, also called leather-wood and moose-wood; rope-barrel, = rope-roll; rope border (esp. in Basketry), a border resembling the twisted strands of rope; rope-boring, the boring of wells with a drill suspended and worked by means of a rope; rope brown, a type of strong brown paper orig. made from old rope; rope burn, a burn caused by the friction of a rope; hence as v. trans.; rope-chain, an ornamental chain (for a watch, etc.) of a rope-pattern; † rope-craft, rope-making; rope-dance, a performance on the tight-rope; rope-drill, a form of military drill in which a stretched rope is used to represent part of a company; rope embroidery silk = sense 5 c above; rope-end, = rope's-end; rope-ferry, a ferry worked by a rope; rope-grass (see quot. 1848); rope-ground, a rope-walk; rope horse, a horse ridden by one roping an animal; † rope-law, hanging; † rope-leap, death by hanging; rope-moulding, a moulding of a rope-pattern; rope-paper, -pump (see quots.); rope-quoit, a quoit made of a ring of rope, used for playing on board ship; rope race, the compartment or passage through which a driving-rope passes; rope-railway, a railway on which rope-traction is employed; † rope-rhetoric (?); rope rider (see quot.); rope-ring, a ring for boxers marked off by a rope; rope-roll, a cylinder or drum on which drawing-ropes are wound; rope-runner, † one who has run from the rope; (see also quot. a 1886); rope-sheaf (see rope-barrel); rope-sight, in bell-ringing, facility in judging when to pull a rope, from the position and movement of others; rope silk: see sense 5 c above; rope stitch (see quot. 1882); rope-trick, † (a) ? a punning or illiterate distortion of ‘rhetoric’; (b) a juggling trick or sleight-of-hand involving a rope or ropes; freq. in Indian rope-trick; also fig.; rope-twine, ? thick twine, or rope-yarn; rope-twister, an implement for making hay or straw ropes; rope-walker, a rope-dancer; hence rope-walking vbl. n.; rope-way, (a) = rope-railway; (b) a rope used as a means of transport; rope-weed, -wind (see quots.); rope wrapping = rope brown above.
Various technical combs., such as rope-clamp, rope-clutch, rope-elevator, etc. are explained in Knight Dict. Mech.
1851Dunglison Med. Dict., *Rope Bark, Dirca palustris.
1811Farey in W. H. Marshall Review (1817) IV. 110 A turn-tree, or *rope-barrel, for winding up the Ore in small tubs. 1839Ure Dict. Arts 982 Inclined-plane machines, which are moved either by vertical rope-barrels, or horizontal rope-sheaves.
1897Private Life of Queen xxiv. 201 A very simple cornice..composed of the conventional ‘egg and dart’ and ‘*rope’ borders. 1912T. Okey Introd. Art of Basket-Making ix. 100 The Rope Border—This, a modification of the plaited border, may be carried out by numbering six stakes in succession and doubling the first two. 1953A. G. Knock Willow Basket-Work 26 The simplest and smallest rope border was used on the oval buff shopping basket.
1888Chambers's Encycl. II. 331/2 The *rope-boring machinery of Mather and Platt of Salford..is in extensive use. 1902Encycl. Brit. XXX. 763/2 In Europe rods, either of iron or wood, seem to be preferred, though rope boring is by no means unknown.
1908R. W. Sindall Manuf. of Paper vi. 27 *Rope browns are common papers made of fairly strong material of a miscellaneous character, this name having been derived from the fact that rope and similar fibre were at one time used exclusively. 1914E. A. Dawe Paper & its Uses xvii. 115 Brown wrapping papers are made of various materials and in many qualities and substances. Rope browns, air-dried, cylinder-dried are three kinds. 1926Paper Terminol. (Spalding & Hodge, Ltd.) 23 Rope brown, a quality of brown paper manufactured from old rope. 1955S. C. Gilmour Paper xxii. 251 The thickness of a quality such as Rope Brown would appear to the touch to be much in excess of the same substance in an M. G. Pure Kraft.
1905Outing July 415/1 Before we left that camp Rodney and Sue were sleek and fat, and my bruises and *rope-burns were healed. 1944B. A. Botkin Treas. Amer. Folklore i. iv. 132 The red rope-burn that he wore about his permanently stiff neck, usually hidden by a bandana, was his only diploma. 1948Faulkner Intruder in Dust vii. 159 A big saddleless black mule with a rope-burn on its neck. 1965A. Blackshaw Mountaineering viii. 217 (caption) He is wearing gloves to protect his hands from rope burns should the leader fall.
1966M. & O. Murie Wapiti Wilderness v. 54 There was such friction from the mule's wild lunges that my palms were rather badly *rope-burned.
a1490Botoner Itin. (Nasmith, 1778) 167 Le domum de *rope-crafft.
1883J. Parker Tyne Chylde 7 Life was a *rope-dance, a swing, a butterfly chase.
1844Regul. & Ord. Army 295 Squad or Light Infantry Drill;..*Rope Drill, &c.
1895Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 90/3 *Rope Embroidery Silk..very coarse. 1897Sears, Roebuck Catal. 321/2 Corticelli Rope Embroidery Silk..A course [sic] silk, for bold designs..when rapid work is required.
1859Geo. Eliot A. Bede v, Hunting Will Maskery out of the village with *rope-ends and pitchforks.
1788M. Cutler in Life, etc. (1888) I. 399 It is a *rope-ferry. 1897Outing XXIX. 564/1 To cross the river by the old rope ferry.
1848Craig, *Rope-grass, the common name of the plants of the genus Restio, from the supple shoots of many of the species being used as withes at the Cape of Good Hope.
1799Hull Advertiser 21 Dec. 1/1 To enter into partnership in a *Rope-Ground. 1841Penny Cycl. XX. 154/1 Spinning rope-yarns..in the rope-ground, or rope-walk.
1944R. F. Adams Western Words (1945) 131/2 When running an animal to be roped, the educated *rope horse knows when the cowboy takes down his rope and what is expected of him. 1961R. P. Hobson Rancher takes Wife i. 19 Rhino was a good rope horse.
1592Warner Alb. Eng. vii. xxxvii, Both did fault in one same ill. Yeat *rope-law had the Youth, the Fryar liv'd Cleergie knaved still.
1611Cotgr., Demisaut, a halfe-leape; also, the *roape-leape, or some mens last-leape.
1836H. G. Knight Archit. Tour Normandy 199 The most common mouldings are the billet,..hatchet, nebule, star, *rope. 1875W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 103 Quaint pepper-box turrets, rope mouldings, crow-stepped gables.
1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 115 *Rope paper, strong packing paper of various sizes made largely of old rope.
1815J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 146 A *rope pump, which consists of a rope rapidly revolving over two pulleys, one of which is at the top and the other in the water of the well.
1893F. F. Moore I Forbid Banns xii, He went amidships to where a game of *rope quoits was being played.
1892J. Nasmith Students' Cotton Spinning xii. 400 In arranging the blowing rooms it is now customary to separate them from the main building by the *rope race.
a1890Engineer LXVIII. 454 (Cent.), *Rope railways, as they were called, or rope-ways for transmitting..goods.
1596Nashe Saffron Walden Ep. Ded., Vtterly thou bewrayest thy non-proficencie in the Doctors Paracelsian *rope-retorique.
1903Sci. Amer. 23 May 392/2 In soft-coal mines the man in charge of the cable train is called a *rope rider. In bringing his cars out of the mine he sits upon the ring which connects the cable with the train.
1813Sporting Mag. XLI. 40 A stand up fight in a twenty feet *rope-ring.
1851Greenwell Coal-trade Terms, Northumb. & Durh. 45 The diameter of a *rope-roll should not be less than 8 feet. 1875Martin Winding Mach. 64 We must give up using metallic ropes wound upon rope-rolls in working from great depths.
1612Beaum. & Fl. Coxcomb ii. iii, Stand further friend: I doe not like your *rope-runners. a1886All Year Round (Cent.), A rope-runner is pretty much the same as a break⁓man on a goods-train.
1902Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 521/1 He [sc. the bellringer] has to bear in mind,..what bell or bells are striking immediately before or after him—this being ascertained chiefly by ‘*ropesight’ i.e., the knack..of seeing which rope is being pulled immediately before and after his own. 1956G. E. Evans Ask Fellows who cut Hay xviii. 143 The science of change-ringing is something of a mystery to the layman... ‘It's all right once you get rope-sight,’ one old ringer confided. 1975Islander (Victoria, B.C.) 16 Mar. 12/3 He must start pulling his bell before the bell that he is following has sounded, so he must be able to recognize from the movement of the ropes (without hearing the sound) when he should start to pull his own rope, and this art of recognition is called ‘ropesight’. 1977Church Times 20 May 8/5 The ability to see one's path in this dancing maze is called ropesight, and is an essential attribute for a change ringer.
1880L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery iii. 28 *Rope stitch..should..have the appearance of a twisted rope. 1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlework 192/2 Rope Stitch..is similar to Crewel and Stem Stitch in appearance, and only differs from those stitches in being worked from the top of the material downwards. 1899E. T. Masters Bk. Stitches 81 Knotted rope stitch is effective for coarse outlines. 1932D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 55/2 Chain, pekinese, appliqué, Portuguese border and rope stitch..are useful for working this type of letter.
1596Shakes. Tam. Shr. i. ii. 112 That's nothing; and he begin once, hee'l raile in his *rope trickes. 1887Encycl. Dict. VI. i. 182/1 Rope-trick.., a juggling feat, introduced into England from America by the Brothers Davenport, in 1864. The performer was bound with ropes in a cabinet, or to a chair; the lights were then lowered, and on their being raised he was discovered at liberty, having been released, it was said, by spiritual agency. 1894A. Lang Cock Lane 106 Thus, when Ibn Batuta, the old Arabian traveller, tells us that he saw the famous rope-trick performed in India—men climbing a rope thrown into the air, and cutting each other up, while the bodies revive and reunite—he very candidly adds that his companion, standing by, saw nothing out of the way, and declared that nothing occurred. 1907Maskelyne & ‘Devant’ in ‘D. Devant’ My Magic Life (1931) xii. 131 We are prepared to pay a salary at the rate of {pstlg}5,000 a year to any man who can perform the Rope Trick as described in the legend... He is to stand out in the open air... He is to throw one end of a rope into the air, and the other end is to be on the ground. The rope is to become stiffened; a boy is to climb up it and disappear into space.
1922L. H. Branson Indian Conjuring ix. 76 (heading) The Indian rope trick. 1953― Lifetime of Deception xxxviii. 206 The Indian ‘Jadoo-wallah’ is a much over-rated performer, particularly as the world-famous Indian rope trick has never been performed. This is a statement of fact. 1958Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Jan. 26/5 These are no ugly moral questions, no probings of primitivism: Sir Maurice blandly marshals the material..and the miracle (or rope trick, according to one's viewpoint) is duly performed. 1977Private Eye 4 Mar. 17/3 For what such massive buying operations did was to ensure that the Slater share price resembled the Indian rope trick, defying gravity.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 55 Small Ropes and *Rope-twine. Ibid. ii. (Globe) 395 One of the English Men with a Piece of Rope-Twine..ty'd his two Feet fast together.
1844H. Stephens Bk. Farm III. 969 A hay-rope, twisted on the spot..with a *rope-twister or thraw-crook.
1615Sandys Trav. 77 Grammarian, painter, *rope walker—All knowes The needy Greek—bid go to heaven, he goes. 1862E. A. Hall Diary 2 Jan. in O. A. Sherrard Two Victorian Girls (1966) ii. 289 Spent an hour at the Crystal Palace and saw the rope-walker, Blondin. 1942E. Sitwell Street Songs 11 We watched the sonambulists, rope-walkers, argonauts.
1881Gen. Statutes State of Michigan (1882) I. 539 Any person..who shall apprentice, give away, let out or otherwise dispose of any such child to any person in or for the vocation, service or occupation of *rope or wire walking..shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor. 1890[see act n. 7 c]. 1957Encycl. Brit. XIX. 547/1 Rope-walking, the art of walking, dancing and performing tricks on a rope or wire stretched between two supports.
1889Engineer LXVIII. 454/1 Rope railways, as they were called, or *ropeways, for transmitting minerals and goods, seem to be rapidly growing in favour, especially for mining purposes. 1928Daily Mail 7 Aug. 8/5 Next week's programme includes instruction in the use of heavy derricks and aerial ropeways. 1941‘R. West’ Black Lamb & Grey Falcon II. 925 If you have to have a rope-way, you have to have Germans... All the decent funiculars in the world are made by a German company. 1950tr. Mountaineering Handbk. (Assoc. Brit. Members Swiss Alpine Club) x. 116 To transport loads, injured people or materials over precipices, ravines, large crevasses or torrents, where possible fix a rope over the obstacle..the anchorage at the ends of a ropeway should be firm enough to meet all eventualities. 1963Economist 30 Nov. 911/1 Aerial ropeways and chairlifts can be pretty profitable.
1611Cotgr., Voluble, Withiwind, Bindweed, *Roapweed.
1855Miss Pratt Flower. Pl. IV. 17 Field Bindweed..has many country names, as *Ropewind, Withywind.
1937*Rope wrapping [see acid-proof adj. s.v. acid n. 4].
▪ II. rope, n.2 Now dial.|rəʊp|
Forms: 1 rop (hrop), 4–5 pl. roppes (5 roppis), 7 rop, 7, 9 rap, 9 rapp; 5– pl. ropes (5 ropys), 7– rope.
[OE. rop (hrop), = MDu. rop, of uncertain relationship; in later use becoming identical in form with prec.]
A gut, entrail, intestine. Freq. in pl.
c1000Sax. Leechd. II. 230 On þære wambe & on þam roppe & smæl þearmum. c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 113 Colum, hrop. 1340Ayenb. 62 He is ase þe gamelos þet leueþ by þe eyr and naȝt ne heþ ine his roppes bote wynd. 13..E.E. Allit. P. C. 270 He glydes in by þe giles,..Relande in by a rop, a rode þat hym þoȝt. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. lxiv. (Bodl. MS.), He þat eteþ benes alwey contynualli haþe ache & gnawinge in guttes & in roppes. c1430Two Cooker-bks. 39 Take þe Roppis with þe talour, & parboyle hem. c1460J. Russell Bk. Nurture in Babees Bk. (1868) 149 Fried mete þat stoppes and distemperethe alle þe body, bothe bak, bely, & roppes. 1530Palsgr. 263/2 Ropes in the small guttes. 1674Ray N.C. Words 59 In the South the Guts prepared and cut out for Black Puddings or Links are called Ropes. c1700Kennett in MS. Lansd. 1033, fol. 328 The guts of fowls are calld raps in Kent. 1772Graves Spir. Quix. x. xi, A brace of ostriches roasted, at the upper end, with the ropes on a toast. a1793G. White Selborne (1853) 275 The entrails..might have been dressed like the ropes of a woodcock. 1828–in many dial. glossaries.
▪ III. † rope, n.3 Obs.
Forms: 1 hrop, 2 rop, 4 roupe.
[OE. hróp, = Fris. rop, MDu. and Du. roep, OHG. ruof (G. ruf), ON. hróp (Norw. and Sw. rop, Da. raab), Goth. hrôps: cf. rope v.2]
Outcry, clamour, cries of distress or lamentation.
The spelling roupe may be due to confusion with roup.
971Blickl. Hom. 185 Þær biþ a wop & hrop & toþa grist⁓bitung. c1205Lay. 15066 Þer wes wop, þer wes rop, & reuliche iberen. 13..Seuen Sag. 1185 (W.), With lourand chere,..Hond wringging, and loud roupe, And here visage al biwope.
▪ IV. rope, v.1|rəʊp|
Also 4 north. raip(e.
[f. rope n.1 Cf. ON. reipa to fasten with a rope (whence early northern ME. raipe), MLG. repen, reepen, MDa. rebe, to measure with a rope.]
1. a. trans. To tie, bind, fasten, or secure with a rope. Also with up.
a1300Cursor M. 24023 Vn-reufulli þai can him raipe, Ful snoberli him or to snaipe.
c1515Cocke Lorell's B. 12 Some roped y⊇ hoke, some y⊇ pompe, and some y⊇ launce. 1610Markham Masterp. ii. cx. 391 Then rope his legs with a soft rope of hay. 1639T. de Grey Compl. Horsem. (1656) 373 Rope up all his legges to the body, not suffering him to lie down. 1787Marshall E. Norfolk (1795) II. 387 To Rope, to tedder; as a horse. 1856Kane Arct. Expl. II. xvi. 169 Every bag was, in sailor-phrase, roped and becketed; in ordinary parlance, well secured by cordage. 1873Black Pr. Thule xxv. 417 The slain deer roped on to the pony. 1889J. Abercrombie Eastern Caucasus 3 In less than half an hour the baggage was in, every thing roped tight and we were jolting at a rapid pace.
transf.1862Tyndall Mountaineer. xi. 90 We skirt a pile of moraine-like matter, which is roped compactly together by the roots of the pines.
b. In mountaineering, to attach (persons) to each other by means of a rope for greater safety. Also absol., and with up.
1862Tyndall Mountaineer. ii. 14 We accordingly rope ourselves, and advance along the edge of the fissure. 1871L. Stephen Playgr. Eur. ii. iv. 312 Guides have sometimes objected to rope a party together. 1974Times 18 Feb. 2/7 They had set out yesterday morning to climb Zero Gulley. About half way up Mr. Beattey slipped and fell 100ft, landing on a ledge. Mr. Thomas was roped to him. 1976D. Clark Dread & Water i. 8 Redruth was climbing solo on a pretty easy pitch... Silk was roped to a partner.
1865Sat. Rev. 29 July 141/2 The question of roping or not roping is always a fertile source of discussion in the Alps. 1894G. M. Fenn Alpine Valley I. 133 Shall we rope together? 1922E. R. Eddison Worm Ouroboros xii. 177 They roped at the foot of the glacier that came down from the saddle, some five thousand feet above them. 1925Climbers' Club Jrnl. XVII. 41 We roped up at the foot of the rocks at ten o'clock and serious climbing began at once. 1950T. Longstaff This my Voyage ii. 16 We struck the arête at seven fifteen and after a bite, roped up. 1952Morin & Smith tr. Herzog's Annapurna ix. 138 We roped up in the same order in which we had camped. 1965A. Blackshaw Mountaineering vii. 198 The party should rope at the bottom of the first pitch of the climb.
c. to rope it, to make use of the rope in order to proceed with greater safety.
1881Stevenson Virg. Puerisque (1895) 163 An Alpine climber roping it over a peril.
d. To assist with ropes.
1890H. S. Hallett 1000 Miles 400 Just below the island..is a very long rapid, down which we were roped. 1925E. F. Norton Fight for Everest: 1924 115 It was one of our rules that any party of porters..must be met at the Col and escorted and roped over the intricate route into camp. 1976A. White Long Silence ii. 18 It had been a difficult climb... He..roped me most of the way.
e. to rope down (intr. and trans.), to descend by means of a double rope fixed above; to make an abseil.
1931Climbers' Club Jrnl. XVII. 204 The next little excitement was when we came to the top of..the Grand Diable... One has to rope down it. 1935D. Pilley Climbing Days vi. 122 This roping down..is a trick one gets used to. 1943E. Shipton Upon that Mountain iv. 78 We reached a gap about 30 feet deep, and roped down into it. 1945G. W. Young Mountain Craft (ed. 4) iv. 152 Climbers, shy still of claiming it as a national practice, still struggle alternatively with ‘rappel’ and ‘Abseilung’, so as to put a wrapper..of dark foreign distinction about new methods of roping down. 1955P. Bauer Kanchenjunga Challenge i. i. 22 We roped down with flashes of lightning as our only illumination. 1965A. Blackshaw Mountaineering viii. 239 (heading) Roping down (abseiling or rappelling).
2. To inclose or mark off (a certain space) with a rope. Usually const. in, off, out, round.
1738in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) 20 The ground will be roped round as usual. 1809Sporting Mag. XXXIII. 228 A thirty-feet ring, roped, was the field of blood. 1824Scott St. Ronan's xvii, Traversing..as limited a space of ground as if it had been actually roped in for their pedestrian exercise. 1866Pall Mall G. No. 450. 199/2 The ground is roped out. 1889Cent. Dict. s.v. rope1 v., A space in front of the pictures was roped off to prevent injury to them. 1921A. Huxley Crome Yellow xxviii. 298 It was the hour for the dancing..a space had been roped off. 1976S. Wales Echo 23 Nov., A section of the centre had to be roped off yesterday to enable schools to use the sports facilities.
3. Naut. (See quot. 1846.)
1846A. Young Naut. Dict. s.v., To rope a sail, is to sew the bolt-rope round its edges. 1882Nares Seamanship (ed. 6) 12 A square sail is roped on the after side. Ibid. 130 All fore-and-aft sails are roped on the port side.
4. a. U.S. and Austr. To catch with a rope; to lasso. Also fig. (see ropeable a.).
1848G. F. Ruxton Life Far West (1849) 20 Maybe you'll get ‘roped’ by a Rapaho afore mornin'. 1884‘R. Boldrewood’ Melb. Mem. xxi. 150 You could ‘rope’..any Clifton colt or filly, back them in three days, and within a week ride a journey.
b. to rope in, to draw into some enterprise; to ensnare, to lure or decoy; to arrest (rare). Orig. U.S.
1848Bartlett Dict. Amer. 278 To rope in, to take or sweep in collectively; an expression much used in colloquial language at the West. 1859― (ed. 2) 370 Rope in, to decoy, viz., into a mock-auction establishment, a gambling-house, etc. 1899Somerville & Ross Irish R.M. 275, I won't be roped into this kind of business again. 1916‘Boyd Cable’ Action Front 10 They..roped in my captain to identify me. 1925D. G. Mackail in Strand Mag. Sept. 254/2 I'm sorry for you, my man, but..another twenty-four hours, and we might have been roping you in, too. 1929― How Amusing! 108 He remembered now; they'd roped him in as a godfather. 1970Nature 2 May 395/1 Despite its ability to attract private funds, the zoo has been less successful at roping in the public. 1973E. Page Fortnight by Sea xi. 120 I've roped in the Pagets for a game, it seems she plays golf too. 1978Lancashire Life Mar. 96/2 Much of it can be a do-it-yourself operation, in which the whole family can be roped in to help. 1981N. Freeling One Damn Thing iv. 30 The gendarmes..sent the urban police to rope in the rest of the band.
5. Racing.
a. To pull back or check (a horse) so as to prevent it from winning in a race.
1857G. Lawrence Guy Liv. ix, Where the bold yeomen, in full confidence that their favourite will not be ‘roped’, back their opinions manfully for crowns. 1887Black Sabina Zembra 311 They declare he roped Redhampton at Liverpool.
b. absol. To lose a race intentionally by holding back.
1882Sydney Slang Dict. 7/2 Rope, to lose a race purposely: to swindle one's backers or the public by a ‘cross’ or prearranged race, in which the best man or best horse is made to ‘rope’ or run behind. 1887Cyclist 14 Sept. 1203/1 In athletics the only men who can make it really worth while to ‘rope’ are the back⁓mark men. 1894A. Morrison M. Hewitt, Investigator ii, He wouldn't dare to rope under my very eyes. 1904R. Thomas Swimming ii. 44 A racer is said to rope when he does not exert himself to the utmost, in order to make out that he is not so good a swimmer as he really is, that he may thus get an advantage in the next handicap for which he enters.
6. a. intr. To be drawn out into a filament or thread; to become viscid or ropy.
1565Golding Ovid's Met. i. (1593) 4 Then Isikles hung roping downe. 1584R. Scot Discov. Witchcr. xii. xxi. (1886) 229 It will rope like birdlime, that you maie wind it about a Sticke. 1601Holland Pliny xi. xv, If a man touch it, rope it wil and draw small slimie threds after it. 1644Plattes in Hartlib's Legacy (1655) 231 They put it into Coolers, and when it is well cooled it will rope like oyl. 1743Lond. & Country Brew. iii. (ed. 2) 167 It causes..their Bread to rope as well as their Beer. 1797F. Baily Jrnl. Tour N. Amer. (1856) 181 By trying whether it will rope betwixt the finger and thumb. 1854Pharmac. Jrnl. XIII. 366 His syrups thicken (technically called roping).
b. trans. To pull, draw out, or twist into the shape of a rope.
1843P. Parley's Ann. IV. 363 They dabbed the treacle into each other's eyes, and roped it over each other's shoulders. 1887Meredith Ball. & Poems 9 Old Kraken roped his white moustache.
▪ V. † rope, v.2 Obs.
[OE. hrópan (pa. tense hréop), = OFris. (h)rôpa, MDu. and Du. roepen, OS. hrôpan (LG. rôpen), OHG. hruofan, etc. (G. rufen), ON. hrópa (Norw. and Sw. ropa, Da. raabe): cf. Goth. hrôpjan. Prob. of imitative origin.]
intr. To utter a cry or shout; to cry out. Hence ˈroping vbl. n.
a1000Guthlac 878 Þa wrohtsmiðas wop ahofun, hreopun hreðlease. c1000Ags. Ps. (Thorpe) cxlvi. 10 Se þe mete syleð..hrefnes briddum, þonne heo hropende him ciᵹeað to. a1225Ancr. R. 330 Mid þus onwille halsunge [she] weopeð & gret [T. ropes; C. ropeð] efter sume helpe. c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 242 Lions, beres, bath bul and bare, That rewfully gan rope and rare. 1549Compl. Scot. vi. 39 The ropeen of the rauynis gart the crans crope.
▪ VI. † rope, v.3 Obs. rare.
[? Related to repe v.1]
trans. To lay hold of. Hence ˈroping vbl. n., touching, probing (of a matter).
a1225Ancr. R. 128 Þe uoxes..draweð al into hore holes, þet heo muwen arepen & arechen [C. ropin & rimen; T. repen & rinen]. Ibid. 314 Unneaðe, þauh a last, þuruh þen abbodes gropunge [T. ropinge; C. reping], he hit seide.
▪ VII. † rope, v.4 Obs. rare.
[Of obscure origin.]
intr. ? To fall in torrents. Hence ˈroping ppl. a.
a1400–50Alexander 4176 Þan fell þar fra þe firmament, as it ware fell sparkis, Ropand doun o rede fire, þan any rayn thikire. c1400Destr. Troy 3693 With a ropand rayne rugh was the se. Ibid. 4631, 9637.
▪ VIII. rope
obs. f. rape n.4; obs. pa. tense of reap v. |