dissolvev.
/dɪˈzɒlv/ I. Transitive senses.figurative.1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xiv. 106 Make your choise of very few words dactilique, or..dissolue and breake them into other feete.1642 T. Fuller Holy State iii. xxiv. 221 We may for a while dissolve our continued discourse into a dialogue.† 4. To relax, weaken, enfeeble, in body or bodily strength. Obsolete.† 6. To release from life; to cause the dissolution or death of; usually in passive to die, depart. Obsolete.Used chiefly with reference to Philippians i. 23, where the Vulgate has the passive dissolvī for the original active ἀναλῦσαι (here = ‘depart’; also transitive = ‘dissolve’). Various notions were apparently attached to the expression by those who used it, some associating it with the dissolution of the bodily framework (cf. quots. c1384 at sense 1, c1400 at sense 1, c1400 at sense 1); some thinking of the dissolution of the union between soul and body, etc.† 8. Medicine. To disperse (morbid humours), reduce (swellings), remove or assuage (pains or ailments). (Also absol.) Obsolete.‘Employed variously and vaguely according to context.’ ( N.E.D.)
1. To loosen or put asunder the parts of; to reduce to its formative elements; to destroy the physical integrity; to disintegrate, decompose. (Now rare or Obsolete except as associated with other senses.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > cause bad condition in [verb (transitive)] > cause to decompose, crumble, or melt away
dissolvec1384
consume1585
break1597
moulder1603
moulter1636
discoagulatea1658
open1686
disintegrate1794
decompose1841
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Cor. v. 1 If oure erthely hous of this dwellyng be dissolued..we han a bildyng of God, an hous not maad by hondis, euerlastinge.
c1400 Three Kings Cologne 123 Þe bodyes of þes III kyngis wexed corrupt and were dissolued & turned in to powdre.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 139 Now cled in gold, dissoluit now in as.
1611 T. Coryate Crudities sig. Ii7 If it were a strong bridge, they could not dissolue it with so great expedition.
1722 W. Wollaston Relig. of Nature ix. §8. 195 Whether that soul..can think at all when the body is quite dissolved.
1775 J. Priestley Exper. & Observ. Air (ed. 2) I. 266 Vegetable and animal substances dissolved by putrefaction..emit phlogiston.
1841 R. W. Emerson Intellect in Ess. 1st Ser. (London ed.) 327 Water dissolves wood and stone and salt.
2. To melt or reduce into a liquid condition.
a. To melt by heat; to fuse. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > making or becoming liquid > action or process of melting > melt [verb (transitive)]
formeltc893
meltOE
dissolve1382
rend1558
eliquate1638
discoagulatea1658
fuse1681
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 2 Pet. iii. 10 Elementes shulen be dissolued bi hete.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 342 Þe gummys schulen be..dissolued wiþ fier.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 522/1 I dissolve, as heate dothe lycour, whan it is frosen.
1577 R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria Hist. Trauayle W. & E. Indies f. 231v Before the Sunne hath warmed the ayre, and dissolued the Ise.
1793 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse (ed. 2) §274 The metal at each end having a considerable heat, it was found practicable to dissolve both the ends of the former masses.
b. To liquefy by contact with or immersion in a liquid; to diffuse the molecules of (a solid or gas) in a liquid so that they are indistinguishable from it; to melt (in something), make a solution n. of. (Predicated of a personal agent, or of the liquid.) dissolve away, out: to remove or extract (from a compound mass) by dissolving.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > making or becoming liquid > action or process of dissolving > dissolve [verb (transitive)]
melteOE
defy1393
dissolvea1475
decoct1540
remiss?1541
liquefy1547
solve1794
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 68 Men axen comounly, whi salt is dissolved þus, but cristal and oþere stoones ben not loosid as oþir salt.]
a1475 Bk. Quinte Essence (1889) 9 Putte þanne yn þe watir corosyue, Sal armoniac; and þat watir wiþoute doute wole dissolue gold into watir.
1563 T. Gale Certaine Wks. Chirurg. iv. ii. f. 61v The..Hammoniacum dissolued in Uineger.
1682 N. Grew Exper. Solution Salts vii. i. §18 in Anat. Plants 299 Two Ounces of Water will dissolve three Ounces of Loaf-Sugar.
1791 W. Hamilton tr. C.-L. Berthollet Elements Art of Dyeing I. i. i. i. 11 The iron may be dissolved in the muriatic acid.
1854 J. Scoffern in Orr's Circle Sci. Chem. 24 Various salts..may be dissolved out by lixiviation.
1873 A. W. Williamson Chem. for Students (ed. 3) xiv. §87 At 15° C. water dissolves about twice its volume of chlorine gas.
1875 J. W. Dawson Life's Dawn on Earth iv. 83 By dissolving away their shells with acid.
3. In various figurative applications of senses 1, 2: esp. To melt or soften the heart or feelings of; to cause to ‘melt’ into tears, grief, etc.; to relax or enervate with pleasure, luxury, etc.; to immerse or absorb in some engrossing occupation. Chiefly in passive. (Now rare except in dissolved in tears, or in direct figures from sense 2b.)
ΚΠ
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure xxxiv. xix Her hardy harte she gan for to dissolve.
1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 43 In Service high, and Anthems cleer, As may..Dissolve me into extasies.
1679 W. Penn Addr. Protestants i. 38 Dissolv'd in Pleasures, he worshipp'd no other God.
1707 I. Watts Hymns & Spiritual Songs ii. 87 Dissolve my Heart in Thankfulness, And melt my Eyes to Tears.
1800 E. Hervey Mourtray Family IV. 183 Mrs. Lenmer was dissolved in tears the whole evening.
1807 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 1st Ser. (ed. 5) I. 7 Henry Rantzau..whose days were dissolved in the pleasures of reading.
1843 T. Carlyle Past & Present iii. iii. 204 Action hangs, as it were, dissolved in Speech.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > cause to be ill [verb (transitive)] > make weak
fellOE
wastec1230
faintc1386
endull1395
resolvea1398
afaintc1400
defeat?c1400
dissolvec1400
weakc1400
craze1476
feeblish1477
debilite1483
overfeeble1495
plucka1529
to bring low1530
debilitate1541
acraze1549
decaya1554
infirma1555
weaken1569
effeeble1571
enervate1572
enfeeble1576
slay1578
to pull downa1586
prosternate1593
shake1594
to lay along1598
unsinew1598
languefy1607
enerve1613
pulla1616
dispirit1647
imbecilitate1647
unstring1700
to run down1733
sap1755
reduce1767
prostrate1780
shatter1785
undermine1812
imbecile1829
disinvigorate1844
devitalize1849
wreck1850
atrophy1865
crumple1892
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 16 To myche slepinge..febliþ his vertewes..To myche wakynge dissolfiþ & consumeþ hys spirites.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. (Roxb.) xviii. 81 Þe grete violence of hete, þat dissoluez þaire bodys.
?c1550 tr. P. Vergil Three Bks. Eng. Hist. (1844) 180 That sorceres Elyzabeth the quene..with her witchcraft hath so enchantyd me that by thanoyance thereof I am dissolvyd.
1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Agst. Gluttony Oft commeth sodaine death..by banquetyng sometyme the members are dyssolued.
5. To loosen, unfasten, detach, release, set free. (literal and figurative.) archaic.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > liberation > set free [verb (transitive)] > from confinement
unbindc950
to let freec1000
aletOE
to let out1154
loosea1225
slakec1374
loosen1382
to let goc1384
releasec1384
unloosec1400
unlockc1410
dissolvec1420
relievec1450
unloosen?a1475
to set at liberty1509
enlargea1513
to let at large1525
to let loose1530
to turn loose?1566
enfranchise1569
to turn up1573
enfranch1581
unkennel1589
unwind1596
to cast loosec1600
disimmure1611
disimprison1611
unhamper1620
to let abroad1633
unfold1633
disencloister1652
disencage1654
discagea1657
disincarcerate1665
eliminate1745
unspherea1806
unmew1818
unbottle1821
uncage1837
unbag1854
bust1921
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. iv. 29 Yit must it [the vine-stalk] be dissolved ever amonge Oute of this bonde, lest it..Be letted to encrece.
1548 Act 2 & 3 Edw. VI c. 23. §1 The partie who disired to be dissolved from the marriage.
1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus iv. f. 59v Venus gart ane..Nimphe..Dissolue his handis quhilks..fast bundin war.
1606 G. W. tr. Justinus Hist. 87 b Occasion..to pull and dissolue their neckes out of the yoke.
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads viii. 44 There his horse he check'd, Dissolved them from his chariot.
1730 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons 111 As the soft touch dissolv'd the virgin-zone.
1817 P. B. Shelley Laon & Cythna i. xiii. 7 Dissolve in sudden shock those linked rings.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > cause of death > cause death [verb (transitive)]
to be the death ofOE
slayc1000
reavec1230
dissolvec1374
visita1382
extinguish1540
expiate1594
to carry away1603
to carry off1679
devive1869
to settle the number of a person's mess1881
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. i. pr. iii Ofte a swifte houre dissolueþ þe same man, þat is to seyne whan þe soule departiþ fro þe body.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Philipp. i. 23 Hauynge desyr for to be dissolued, or departid the soule fro body.
c1450 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi i. xii He desiriþ deþe, þat he miȝt be dissolued & be wiþ crist.
1565 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. (1611) 294 The Saints, which are dissolued, & reigne with Christ.
a1592 H. Smith Serm. on Phil. i. 23 Good cause had Paul to desire to be with Christ: yet he will not dissolve himself, but desireth to be dissolved.
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 566 Paul phraseth it, a Wish equall to the Gold searching Chymists endeavours, I desire to be dissolved, melted down.
a1670 J. Hacket Scrinia Reserata (1693) ii. 227 A squinancy..and a shortness of breath..which dissolved him in the space of twelve hours.
1736 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) I. 37 O when shall I wish to be dissolved?
7.
a. To cause to vanish or disappear from existence; to bring to nought, undo, destroy, consume.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to
undoc950
shendOE
forfarea1000
endc1000
to do awayOE
aquenchc1175
slayc1175
slayc1175
stathea1200
tinea1300
to-spilla1300
batec1300
bleschea1325
honisha1325
leesea1325
wastec1325
stanch1338
corrumpa1340
destroy1340
to put awayc1350
dissolvec1374
supplanta1382
to-shend1382
aneantizec1384
avoidc1384
to put outa1398
beshenda1400
swelta1400
amortizec1405
distract1413
consumec1425
shelfc1425
abroge1427
downthringc1430
kill1435
poisonc1450
defeat1474
perish1509
to blow away1523
abrogatea1529
to prick (also turn, pitch) over the perka1529
dash?1529
to bring (also send) to (the) pot1531
put in the pot1531
wipea1538
extermine1539
fatec1540
peppera1550
disappoint1563
to put (also set) beside the saddle1563
to cut the throat of1565
to throw (also turn, etc.) over the perch1568
to make a hand of (also on, with)1569
demolish1570
to break the neck of1576
to make shipwreck of1577
spoil1578
to knock on (in) the head (also rarely at head)1579
cipher1589
ruinate1590
to cut off by the shins1592
shipwreck1599
exterminate1605
finish1611
damnify1612
ravel1614
braina1616
stagger1629
unrivet1630
consummate1634
pulverizea1640
baffle1649
devil1652
to blow up1660
feague1668
shatter1683
cook1708
to die away1748
to prove fatal (to)1759
to knock up1764
to knock (or kick) the hindsight out or off1834
to put the kibosh on1834
to cook (rarely do) one's goose1835
kibosh1841
to chaw up1843
cooper1851
to jack up1870
scuttle1888
to bugger up1891
jigger1895
torpedo1895
on the fritz1900
to put paid to1901
rot1908
down and out1916
scuppera1918
to put the skids under1918
stonker1919
liquidate1924
to screw up1933
cruel1934
to dig the grave of1934
pox1935
blow1936
to hit for six1937
to piss up1937
to dust off1938
zap1976
c1374 G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. i. pr. iii. 10 Þe cloudes of sorowe dissolued and don awey, I..receyuede mynde to knowe þe face of my fyciscien.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. lxxxviiiv To desolue the siege and raise the assault.
1563 W. Fulke Goodle Gallerye Causes Meteors iii. f. 35 A great Circle about the Moone, betokeneth great colde..But if it vanyshe awaye and be dissolued altogether, it is a signe of fayre weather.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 120 Occasion..whereby the peace and happinesse of Thebes might be dissolved.
1772 W. Jones Poems 22 Each gay phantom was dissolv'd in air.
1877 J. Tyndall in Daily News 2 Oct. 2/5 That promise is a dream dissolved by the experience of eighteen centuries.
b. Cinematography and Television. To cause (a picture) to become faint or fade away (into another); similarly intransitive (cf. 13). Cf. dissolving adj. b. Hence as n., the act or process of dissolving a picture; a dissolving scene in a cinema film; a piece of apparatus with the aid of which this is produced.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > television > production of television broadcast > transmit by television [verb (transitive)] > devices
dissolve1912
lap-dissolve1927
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > filming > special effect > special effects [verb (transitive)] > fade
dissolve1912
fade1918
lap-dissolve1927
cross-fade1937
1845 Poster for Assembly Rooms, Nottingham Dissolving Views & the Chromotrope.]
1912 F. H. Richardson Motion Picture Handbk. (ed. 2) 378 A dissolving effect with one lens is an impossibility.
1915 F. H. Richardson Motion Picture Handbk. (ed. 3) 606 Dissolving moving picture.
1915 F. H. Richardson Motion Picture Handbk. (ed. 3) 606 Many operators who run two machines dissolve one reel into the next.
1918 H. Croy How Motion Pictures are Made vii. 176 The second means of accomplishing a fade picture is by means of the dissolving shutter... The dissolving shutter is a mechanical device which, while the shutter is revolving, is closed by a blade slowly passing over the opening until it is entirely closed.
1918 H. Croy How Motion Pictures are Made vii. 178 The so-called ‘dissolve’, by which the figures of the scene gradually disappear while those of a succeeding scene slowly take their place.
1923 F. A. Talbot Moving Pictures xx. 274 The conventional type of studio camera..is equipped with what is known as the mechanical automatic ‘dissolve’.
1954 Encounter Aug. 52/1 The fade and the dissolve as means of visual transition from scene to scene.
1959 J. Halas & R. Manvell Technique Film Animation xix. 171 It [sc. the work book] must also show how each shot or sequence is to be punctuated, whether by a straight cut, a fade or a dissolve.
1960 N. Kneale Quatermass & Pit i. 14 Dissolve..to a brass name-plate.
1960 N. Kneale Quatermass & Pit iii. 86 Slow Dissolve..to the Rocket Group laboratory.
1970 New Yorker 31 Oct. 132/3 Their sexual bouts lead to quick dissolves.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medical treatment > treatments removing or dispersing matter > remove or disperse [verb (transitive)] > disperse, etc., humours or morbid matter
cleansec1000
resolvea1398
slaya1400
dissolvec1400
evacuec1400
mundify?a1425
repel?a1425
attenuate1533
evacuate1533
discuss?1537
divert?1541
extenuate1541
intercide?1541
educe1574
scour1577
attray1579
clenge1582
divertise1597
derive1598
revel1598
display1607
draw1608
incide1612
correct1620
fuse1705
lavage1961
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 136 Riȝt as þe mater of þe frenesie..bi emplastris wiþoutforþ I-leie is dissolued.
c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 238 Anoþer electuarie þat dissoluiþ akynge in ioyntis.
1577 J. Frampton tr. N. Monardes Three Bookes i. f. 6 In griefes of swellynges..it [sc. oil] taketh them away & doth dissolue them.
1582 J. Hester tr. L. Fioravanti Compend. Rationall Secretes i. xxiii. 26 You must dissolue the Catarre first, and then helpe the Feuer.
1610 G. Markham Maister-peece ii. clxxiii. 483 It cleanseth and dissolueth, and also comforteth.
1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden liv It is available in all cold Diseases..dissolving wind very powerfully.
9.
a. To break up, dismiss, disperse (an assembly or collective body); to put an end to the association or connection of; to terminate the existence of (a constituted body or association, e.g. of the monasteries, and now esp. of Parliament).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > cancellation, revocation > annul, cancel, revoke [verb (transitive)] > deprive of status, undo
undoc970
loose1340
unfoundc1430
dissolvea1513
unconfirm1551
disestablish1598
untie1609
discribe1647
unestablish1649
unappoint1682
negative1793
uncollegiate1851
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) I. cxxxii. f. lxviii When ye Kyng had orderyd his Matiers..he dissoluyd this counceyll.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clixv To be perswaded to dissolue his armye.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxij The kyng dissolved his Parliament.
1587 J. Hooker tr. Giraldus Cambrensis Vaticinall Hist. Conquest Ireland ii. xxiii. 46/2 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II A religious house of Greie friers..since dissolued in king Henrie the eights time.
1758 S. Johnson Idler 14 Oct. 217 Our school was now dissolved.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Morte d'Arthur in Poems (new ed.) II. 14 But now the whole Round Table is dissolved.
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. vi. 33 Parliament shall not be dissolved on the death of the sovereign.
b. elliptical. = dissolve parliament.
ΚΠ
1868 M. E. Grant Duff Polit. Surv. 16 He immediately dissolved and succeeded in throwing out most of the leading supporters of his predecessor.
10. † b. To part, sunder (things united). Obsolete.
a. To undo (a tie, bond, knot); to put an end to, bring to an end (a relation of union, connection, or association, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > bring to ruin or put an end to > binding relationships, vows, etc.
unbindc1175
unsteekc1250
loose1340
dissolvec1380
unknita1382
sundera1400
untwinec1400
unsolder1538
unlace1577
untwind1600
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. III. 163 Ffor prestis ben weddid wiþ God by holdyng of his lawe, and þis bond is dissolvyd both in lif and offis.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. lxxxvi The..amitie betwene the Frenche and Scottishe nacions should be shortly broken and dissolued.
1558 Bp. T. Watson Holsome Doctr. Seuen Sacramentes xxvii. f. clxix The Knot of Matrimonie..can not be broken and dissolued.
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 95 An excellent sympathy and union, till Ganganna dissolv'd it, having beene till then betwixt 'em.
1767 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. (new ed.) II. 187 It is advantageous for the joint-tenants to dissolve the jointure.
1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xvi. 384 They dissolved the sacred ties of custom and education.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 63 When..the marriage is dissolved.
1853 C. Brontë Villette I. iii. 37 The league..thus struck up was not hastily dissolved.
a1897 Mod. They have dissolved partnership, and started each on his own account.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > separation > separate [verb (transitive)]
to-twemec893
sunderOE
asunderOE
shedOE
dealOE
shill1049
skillc1175
to-twinc1175
twinc1230
disseverc1250
depart1297
slita1300
to-throwc1315
parta1325
drevec1325
devisec1330
dividec1374
sever1382
unknit?a1425
divorce1430
separea1450
separate?a1475
untine1496
to put apart1530
discussa1542
deceper1547
disseparate1550
apart1563
unjoint1565
shoal1571
divisionatea1586
single1587
dispart1590
descide1598
disassociate1598
distract1600
dissolve1605
discriminate1615
dissociate1623
discerpa1628
discind1640
dissunder1642
distinguish1648
severize1649
unstring1674
skaila1833
cleave1873
dirempt1885
1605 Bp. J. Hall Medit. & Vowes II. §49 It vnites one Christian soule to another so firmely, that no outward occurrences..can dissolue them.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) v. v. 216 She and I (long since contracted) Are now so sure that nothing can dissolue vs. View more context for this quotation
11. † b. To do away with as false or erroneous; to refute, confute. Obsolete.† c. To deny or reject the authority of. [representing Latin solvere of the Vulgate in 1 John iv. 3.] Obsolete.
a. To undo (something formally ordained or established); to destroy the binding power, authority, force, or influence of; to annul, abrogate.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > memory > effacement, obliteration > cancellation, revocation > annul, cancel, revoke [verb (transitive)]
fordoOE
allayOE
withdrawc1290
withclepe13..
again-callc1390
to call againc1390
repealc1390
revokec1400
unmakec1400
rive1415
annulc1425
abroge1427
uncommandc1430
discharge?a1439
retreatc1443
retract1501
cancela1513
abrogate?1520
dissolve1526
extinct1531
rescind1531
abrenounce1537
infringe1543
recall1565
unwrite1577
extinguish1590
exauctorate1593
relinquish1594
unact1594
to strike off1597
undecide1601
unpass1606
to take off1609
to draw back1610
reclaim1615
to put back1616
abrenunciate1618
unrip1622
supersedeate1641
to set off1642
unassure1643
unorder1648
to ask away1649
disdetermine1651
unbespeak1661
undecree1667
reassumea1675
off-break1702
circumduct1726
raise1837
resiliate1838
denounce1841
disorder1852
pull1937
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection i. sig. Ei It dissolueth & loseth all vowes.
1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1149 To frustrate and dissolve these Magic spells. View more context for this quotation
1749 tr. C. Rollin Anc. Hist. (ed. 3) X. 146 To dissolve and annul all we have enacted.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel iii. xiii. 74 The running stream dissolved the spell, And his own elvish shape he took.
1891 Law Times 90 403/1 The Court of Appeal..dissolved an injunction granted by Justice Kekewich.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > refutation, disproof > refute, disprove [verb (transitive)]
answerOE
bitavelena1225
allayc1275
confoundc1384
concludea1400
conclusea1400
forblenda1400
gainsaya1400
rejag1402
to bear downc1405
redarguea1425
repugn?a1425
reverse?c1430
improvec1443
reprovea1513
dissolve1529
revince1529
convince1530
confute1533
refel1534
refute1545
void1570
evict1583
infringe1590
reprehend1597
revert1598
evince1608
repel1613
to take off1618
unbubblea1640
invalid1643
invalidate1649
remove1652
retund1653
effronta1657
dispute1659
unreason1661
have1680
demolish1691
to blow sky-high1819
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes 67 b/1 Whych obieccyon the author answereth and dyssolueth.
1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Uv The faulte that is in the forme..maie be dissolued, when we shewe that the conclusion, is not well proued, by the former proposicions.
a1555 J. Philpot tr. C. S. Curione Def. Authority Christ's Church in R. Eden Exam. & Writings J. Philpot (1842) (modernized text) 414 All that these men are wont to allege..be all ready dissolved and..confuted.
1853 M. Müller in W. Thomson Outl. Laws of Thought (ed. 3) §129. 351 We may dissolve (λύειν) the argument by showing its unfitness for proof because of some formal defect.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > statement > repudiation or refusal to acknowledge > repudiate or refuse to acknowledge [verb (transitive)]
dissolve1382
denyc1384
renaya1450
forswearc1475
repudy1477
disallowa1513
abrenounce1537
repudiate1560
have1579
disclaim1596
renounce1617
abrenunciate1618
unowna1657
disown1666
refute1886
slam1973
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) 1 John iv. 3 Ech spirit that dissolueth [gloss, or fordoith] Jhesu is not of God [so 1582 Rhem.; L. qui solvit, after a Gk. v.r. ὃ λύει].
1645 J. Milton Tetrachordon 43 Our Lord..intended not to dissolve Moses.
12. To solve, resolve, explain (a question, doubt, etc.). archaic.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > resolving of problem, solution > find solution, solve [verb (transitive)]
findOE
assoilc1374
soil1382
contrive1393
to find outc1405
resolvea1438
absolvea1525
solute?1531
solve?1541
dissolve1549
get1559
salvec1571
to beat out1577
sort1581
explicate1582
untiea1586
loose1596
unsolve1631
cracka1640
unscruple1647
metagrobolize1653
to puzzle out1717
to work out1719
to get around ——1803
to dope out1906
lick1946
to get out1951
1549 H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie 5th Serm. sig. Oviv I wyll nowe..retourne to my question and dissolue it.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 17 All..that could not dissolue that Riddle, she presently slew.
1611 Bible (King James) Dan. v. 16 I haue heard of thee, that thou canst make interpretations, and dissolue doubts. View more context for this quotation
1842 Ld. Tennyson Two Voices in Poems (new ed.) II. 127 Thou hadst not between death and birth Dissolved the riddle of the earth.
II. Intransitive senses.
13. To lose its integrity or consolidation; to become disintegrated; to vanish or disappear gradually, come to an end. Now usually taken as figurative from sense 14, to melt away.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > condition of matter > bad condition of matter > deteriorate in condition [verb (intransitive)] > decompose, crumble, or melt away
melteOE
fleetc1384
dissolvec1420
unbindc1450
loosec1480
moulder1531
mirtlec1540
mould1542
moulter1568
mutter1609
mosker1612
disband1633
dust1636
dissipatea1676
deliquesce1792
decompose1793
disintegrate1817
c1420 Pallad. on Husb. xi. 496 A multitude of reysons puld they take, And myghtely with yerdes first hem bete Until this with the grapes so desolve.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. vii. 142 All þe world..shal desolue & faylle.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. UUUiv His senewes and vaynes brast, and the hole frame of the ioyntes of his..body dissolued & losed.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iv. i. 154 The great Globe it selfe, Yea, all which it inherit, shall dissolue, And like this insubstantiall Pageant faded Leaue not a racke behinde. View more context for this quotation
1660 F. Brooke tr. V. Le Blanc World Surveyed 265 It dissolved to nothing like a mist.
1807 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 1st Ser. (ed. 5) I. 15 The unsuccessful author..dissolved away in his own weakness.
1820 P. B. Shelley Ode to Liberty xix, in Prometheus Unbound 222 As summer clouds dissolve, unburthened of their rain.
1886 A. Winchell Walks & Talks in Geol. Field 163 The illusion dissolves.
14. To become liquefied, to melt:
a. with heat. Now rare or Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > making or becoming liquid > action or process of melting > melt [verb (intransitive)]
melteOE
dissolve?c1450
discandya1616
fuse1800
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 4480 Þe paynyms pride it sall expire, And dissolue as wax at fyre.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Diiijv What waxe so frozen but dissolues with tempring? View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 51 While Mountain Snows dissolve against the Sun. View more context for this quotation
1729 T. Cooke Tales 40 The Wreck of Nature, the prodigious Day, When adamantine Rocks dissolv'd away.
1802 F. W. Blagdon tr. P. S. Pallas Trav. Southern Provinces Russ. Empire I. 9 The deep snow in the streets began to dissolve.
b. To become liquefied by contact with or immersion in a liquid; to melt; to become diffused in a liquid, forming a solution.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > making or becoming liquid > action or process of dissolving > dissolve [verb (intransitive)]
defyc1420
dissolve1638
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 297 The fruit [banana] put into your mouth, dissolves and yeelds a most incomparable relish.
1682 N. Grew Exper. Solution Salts vii. i. §29 in Anat. Plants 299 The Crystals of Tartar..will scarce at all dissolve in Water.
1718 J. Quincy Pharmacopœia Officinalis i. vi. 25 We find Sugar will dissolve in the strongest Solution of Common Salt that can be made.
1873 A. W. Williamson Chem. for Students (ed. 3) xi. §67 Olefiant gas dissolves considerably in water.
15. In various figurative applications of preceding senses: To become faint, faint away; to become softened in feeling, to ‘melt’ (into tears, etc.); to become resolved into something else, like a solid becoming liquid.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > weeping > weep [verb (intransitive)] > burst or dissolve into tears
to burst a-weepc1275
distilc1374
still1412
to burst (out, forth) on weeping1564
dissolve1608
to melt to (also in, into) tears1609
to burst into tears1717
burst a-crying1825
blurt1830
to burst out crying1863
to break into weeping1866
to turn the tap(s) on1883
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xxiv. 200 I am almost ready to dissolue, hearing of this. View more context for this quotation
1673 W. Cave Primitive Christianity iii. ii. 250 He dissolved into tears.
a1719 J. Addison tr. Ovid Met. in Wks. (1758) I. 177 The God dissolves in pity at her death.
1761 D. Hume Hist. Eng. III. lix. 279 He dissolved into a flood of tears.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia I. v. v. 587 Full of alarm dissolving into joy.
16. Of an assembly or collective body: To break up into its individual constituents; to disperse; to lose its aggregate or corporate character.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter or be dispersed [verb (intransitive)] > break up (of an assembly)
sunderc1225
dissolvea1535
to break up1535
disband1598
dissemblea1626
dismiss1809
separate1885
to let out1888
a1535 T. More Hist. Richard III in Wks. (1557) 65/1 The company dissolued and departed.
1548 W. Patten Exped. Scotl. sig. O.vijv Our campe shoold this day dissolue.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 506 The Stygian Councel thus dissolv'd . View more context for this quotation
1766 W. Gordon Gen. Counting-house 30 When a fixed company dissolves.
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess iv. 91 She, ending, waved her hands: thereat the crowd Muttering, dissolved.
17. To lose its binding force or influence.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) v. i. 64 The charme dissolues apace. View more context for this quotation
c1750 W. Shenstone Elegies xi. 3 The charm dissolves; the aerial music's past.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1896; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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