drivern.
/ˈdrʌɪvə/, U.S. /ˈdraɪvər/ I. A person who drives something and related senses.
1.
a. A person who controls and guides the direction of a plough; esp. a person who drives the animal or animals drawing a plough as distinct from the person holding the plough (see plough holder n. at plough n.1 Compounds 1b). Cf. plough driver n.
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the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > breaking up land > ploughing > [noun] > ploughman or woman > controller of draught animals
driverc1390
plough driver?c1475
gadsman?a1500
ploughboy1544
goadster1837
forelooper1863
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 690 Me prikeþ þe Oxe in þe plouh..Þe more he torneþ out of his tylde, Þe driuere wole him boxe.
?c1475 Catholicon Anglicum (BL Add. 15562) f. 97v (MED) A plugh dryuer [1483 BL Add. 89074 Ploghe dryfer] stigarius, bostio, stiuarius.
1764 R. Burn Hist. Poor Laws ii. 12 Swineherd 6s. A woman labourer 6s... A driver of the plough 7s.
1822 New Eng. Farmer 5 Oct. 75/3 Two yokes of Oxen; ploughman, Levi Gates, driver, Nathaniel Gates; work performed in 24 minutes 58 seconds—18 furrows.
1853 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 453/1 The plough itself was looked upon with as much superstitious affection by its driver, as a Mahratta gun is considered by its peculiar artillerymen.
1908 Black Cat Dec. 2 A plow team working without a driver—that certainly beats me!
1986 W. R. Duggan Econ. Anal. Southern Afr. Agric. v. 106 A driver's strategy was to keep the oxen moving in a straight line at a fast, even pace.
b. A person who drives, herds, or rounds up animals.See also bullock-driver n., cow-driver n., field driver n., mule-driver n., pig-driver n., stock-driver n., etc.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > hunter in forest
driver1391
woodmana1425
1391 in L. T. Smith Exped. Prussia & Holy Land Earl Derby (1894) 87 (MED) Cuidam dryuer pro fugacione boum.
1452 J. Osbern in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 80 The dryvers ought of the catell fro Sparham ground to Lyng grownd wasse Hugo Sadde..Nicholaus Gatesend.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 215/2 Drivar of camelles, chamelier.
1540 Act 32 Henry VIII c. 13 §5 in Statutes of Realm (1963) III. 759 The same..drivours shall cause the same unprofitable beastis..to be killed.
1691 Blount's Νομο-λεξικον (ed. 2) Thistle-take,..if in driving Beasts over the Common, the Driver permits them to graze or take but a Thistle, he shall pay a half-peny a Beast to the Lord of the Fee.
1723 Coll. Old Ballads II. 225 Goat-keepers, Geese-drivers, and Grinders of Corn.
1885 J. Nimmo Rep. Range & Ranch Cattle Business U.S. 76 Great herds, which..were sold cheaply to drivers to drive eastward to the ranges beyond the Rocky Mountains.
1944 V. Stefansson Arctic Man. (1945) xiii. 464 The drivers gradually close in and the caribou enter the V-shaped area through which they are driven at a speed of from 5 to 8 miles per hour.
2009 Washington Post (Nexis) 9 June b5 He helped out with the family finances by working as a cattle driver at the Kansas City stockyards.
c. A person who drives a vehicle by directing the animal drawing it, or by operating its controls; (in later use chiefly) spec. a person who drives a car.See also bus driver n., cab driver n., chariot-driver n., coach driver n., drunk driver n., engine driver n., racing driver n., stage-driver n., taxi driver n., train driver n., truck-driver n., etc.Pilot is the usual term for the person who controls an aircraft; however, the word driver is used colloquially (see e.g. quot. 1946).
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > driver or operator of vehicle > [noun]
driver?c1450
leader1497
Jehu1694
wagoner1841
car boy1843
pilot1926
?c1450 Life St. Cuthbert (1891) l. 6016 (MED) All þe dryuers ware agaste, Þat þe sledd suld ga our faste.
1587 A. Fleming et al. Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) III. Contin. 1542/2 Yet had they for their horsse, their court, and their driuer but onelie twelue pence a daie.
1602 T. Lodge tr. Josephus Wks. 264 Chariots that haue no driuers to conduct them.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey III. xiii. 99 Fiery coursers in the rapid race Urg'd by fierce drivers thro' the dusty space.
1757 E. Perronet Mitre (new ed.) i. 25 Drivers of stages and machines, A drinking, surly crew; ‘You want a cast, an outside seat; Well, sir, you'll walk before and wait.’
1812 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 55 An excellent chaise with a decent driver.
1895 To-day 13 Apr. 292/1 The other hansom was quite out of sight, and though my driver soon made up for lost time, he had at length admitted..that the check had proved fatal.
1946 J. H. Burns Gallery 120 Most were American airplane drivers.
1947 H. Miller Let. 18 Sept. in A. Nin & H. Miller Literate Passion (1989) 387 Don't try to drive across country if you are not a good driver—it's nerve-racking.
1963 Weekly News (Auckland) 8 May 53/1 Two drivers were sprawled on the track after one of the worst smashes at a trotting meeting in the North Island this season.
2011 Guardian 11 Nov. 22/1 A cautionary reminder for cyclists and drivers about what can happen when bike and vehicle come into contact.
d. In Ireland: a person employed to round up and impound a tenant's cattle (also household possessions, etc.) as a means of recovering rent owed to a landlord. Cf. drive v. 3d. Now historical.
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1697 Act for making Collectors Receipts 5 And to prevent the Extortions and Oppressions which may be committed by their [sc. the Collectors'] Bailiffs, or Drivers, on the Tenants Liable to pay such Quit-Rent, Crown-Rent, Composition-Rent, or other Rent.
1847 J. H. Tuke Visit to Connaught 21 The landlord's ‘driver’ was pursuing his calling, seizing almost every little patch of oats or potatoes.
2015 Clogher Rec. 22 41 The shooting dead..on 1 December 1834 of a James Hughes by an unidentified policeman of the 21 police assisting the five drivers in the collection of tithes.
e. North American. A person who transports logs to a sawmill by floating them down a river. Cf. drive v. 9d. Now historical. Recorded earliest in river-driver n. See also timber-driver n.
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the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > transport of logs > one who
rafter1741
driver1825
river-driver1825
rear crew1851
loadera1862
skidder1870
floater1889
river hog1902
river rat1905
boom-man1908
river pig1908
rearing crew1944
1825 Bangor (Maine) Reg. 12 May 1/3 The master river driver shall account for the proceeds of the sale of said logs, to aid in defraying the expenses of driving the river, annually.
1852 Eliza Cook's Jrnl. 30 Oct. 9/1 The logs are apt to get jammed together between the rocks, and the driver has constantly to be on the alert to preserve his raft.
1917 Paper Trade Jrnl. 5 July 12/2 He was breaking a jam when thrown into the river and carried to his death. He was recognized as the best driver on the river for many years.
2018 P. Fox Northland ii. 18 Explorers, trappers, and log drivers used ten-foot black cedar shafts, harvested from bogs, to pole up the Saint Croix almost as fast as they could make it down.
2. Without reference to physical movement.
a. A person who drives an action, activity, or project forward.See also law-driver n.
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the world > movement > impelling or driving > [noun] > one who or that which
driver1569
impellent1644
impulsor1653
pulsor1666
impeller1686
1569 J. Leslie Def. Honour Marie Quene of Scotl. i. f. 36v And by hym thys wycked dryft, and the drivers and contrivers therof were discovered to the Quene.
1571 Act 13 Elizabeth I c. 8 §3 in Statutes of Realm (1963) IV. i. 542 Solicitors and Drivers of Bargaynes.
1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem i. ix. 80 A dangerous driver at Popery and Sedition.
1812 Sporting Mag. 40 52 The best curler, has generally the power of arranging the order of the game; and whoever is last in order gives directions to all the rest..He is called the driver and the first the lead.
1992 Economist 30 May 20/3 Marketing men are taking over from engineers as the drivers of the industry.
2008 Kerryman (Ireland) (Nexis) 3 Dec. Principals and deputy principals..are the key drivers of change management within the education system.
b. Something that causes a particular process, action, course of events, etc., to occur or develop; a motivating factor or force; a reason something happens or progresses in a particular way.
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the mind > will > motivation > [noun] > incitement or instigation > that which incites or instigates
prickleOE
pritchOE
alighting1340
brodc1375
bellowsc1386
pricka1387
motivec1390
prompting1402
preparativec1450
stirmentc1460
incentive?a1475
fomenta1500
farda1522
instigation1526
pointing1533
swinge1548
spur1551
whetstone1551
goad1567
promptitude1578
alarm1587
inducement1593
solicitor1594
incitement1596
inflammation1597
instance1597
excitement1604
moving spirit1604
heart-blood1606
inflamer1609
rouser1611
stimulator1614
motioner1616
incensivea1618
incitative1620
incitation1622
whettera1625
impulsivea1628
excitation1628
incendiary1628
dispositive1629
fomentationa1631
switch1630
stirrer1632
irritament1634
provocative1638
impetus1641
driving force1642
driving power1642
engagement1642
firer1653
propellant1654
fomentary1657
impulse1660
urgency1664
impeller1686
fillip1699
shove1724
incitive1736
stimulative1747
bonus1787
stimulus1791
impellent1793
stimulant1794
propulsion1800
instigant1833
propulsive1834
motive power1836
evoker1845
motivity1857
afflatus1865
flip1881
urge1882
agent provocateur1888
will to power1896
a shot in the arm1922
motivator1929
driver1971
co-driver1993
1971 Res. in Aeronaut. & Space (Langley Research Center, NASA) (rev. ed.) iii. 62 The priority of performance objectives usually makes aerodynamic design the major driver of advanced aircraft developments.
2000 Cape Times 19 July i. 2/3 Continued pressure from food prices increases and global oil prices hovering at high levels were the main drivers behind the index moves.
2014 D. Hong Mr. Hong 19 Deliciousness is now the main driver when it comes to all the food I make.
3. An overseer of enslaved labourers on a plantation (now historical); (in later use also) a foreman, supervisor, or other person in charge of a workforce, esp. one who is harsh or exacting. Cf. driveress n. at Derivatives.See also gang driver n., slave driver n. 1, etc.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to status > [noun] > overseer or foreman > of gang of slaves
driver1755
society > authority > control > person in control > [noun] > superintendent > supervisor or overseer > of slaves
driver1755
Negro-driver1771
nigger-driver1833
1755 B. Franklin Observ. conc. Increase Mankind 6 in W. Clarke Observ. Late & Present Conduct French Reckon then the..Expence of a Driver to keep him at Work..and compare the whole Amount with the Wages of a Manufacturer of Iron or Wool in England.
1791 Abridgm. Minutes of Evid. Comm. Slave-trade (House of Commons) 39 One or two white drivers who have only sticks to lean on..direct the black drivers to touch up those [slaves] they think remiss.
1837 R. Southey Poet. Wks. II. 56 That inhuman driver [1797 trader] lifts on high The mangling scourge.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 233/1 ‘Drivers’, or those who compel the men in their employ to do more work for the same wages.
1887 Cent. Mag. Nov. 110/1 A ‘driver’ is the foreman of a gang of laborers. On some plantations the title of foreman is coming into use, the negroes objecting to the old word.
1951 W. R. Burnett Little Men, Big World (2015) vii. 75 The Commissioner..he's quite a driver, if you know what I mean.
1958 V. S. Naipaul Suffrage of Elvira (1969) iii. 42 As a driver he could always put pressure on his labourers.
2019 William & Mary Q. 76 229 The division of labor enabled Barbadian planters to increase productivity by forcing their slaves to work in regimented fashion under the close supervision of whip-holding drivers.
4. A person who drives a nail, stake, etc., into something, esp. one employed to do so. Cf. sense 7a.See also piledriver n. 1b.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific tools or equipment > [noun] > with nails, rivets, or spikes
riveter1307
driver1769
nailer1803
spiker1884
1769 W. Richardson in Philos. Trans. 1768 (Royal Soc.) 58 20 The weight of a hammer did not contribute so much in driving a nail, as the quickness of the motion given it by the driver.
a1774 O. Goldsmith Surv. Exper. Philos. (1776) I. 238 If..the wedge be twice as long..the driver will cleave his wood with twice greater force.
1829 S. Glover Hist. County of Derby I. 58 When the holers have finished their operations, a new set of men, called hammer-men, or drivers, enter the works.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 8 Feb. 3/1 The man was a ‘hammerer’—i.e., a driver of rivets into boilers, &c.
1991 Atlanta Jrnl. & Constit. (Nexis) 25 Mar. j1 Spring might be the season house builders, real estate agents and nail drivers point to as the end of a three-year slump in Gwinnett County's residential sales market.
5. U.S. A horse trained to be driven in harness. Now rare.
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1844 Boston Post 16 Nov. A valuable bay mare..warranted sound and kind in all harness, good driver and fine traveller.
1876 3rd Rep. Vermont State Board Agric. 1875–6 168 Stylish, enduring roadsters, trotters and gentlemen's drivers, standing from fifteen to fifteen and one-half hands high.
1902 A. D. McFaul Ike Glidden in Maine viii. 61 This is a pretty good driver you've got here.
1983 F. Sadler Romance Fitzroy Harbour xi. 164 The standard bred driver was a combination of two different strains and tended to be very touchy but very strong and fast when the best of its two parents showed up in their colt.
6. A driver ant.
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > member of genus Dorylus
driver ant1843
driver1847
army ant1870
safari ant1910
siafu1959
1847 Trans. Entomol. Soc. London 1847–1849 5 8 The mandibles of the Driver of the first class are very prominent and formidable, strongly hooked, having one tooth.
1910 W. M. Wheeler Ants iv. 66 The degeneration of the lateral eyes in the workers has proceeded furthest in the African drivers (Dorylus) and American legionary ants (Eciton). In the former the eyes have disappeared completely.
1966 C. Sweeney Scurrying Bush vi. 84 Small, reddish-brown drivers clung to my toes.
2003 G. Waldbauer What Good are Bugs? (2004) ix. 252 Unlike army ants, drivers dig nests in the soil, and their colonies are usually much larger.
II. Something used for driving and related senses.† 9. An instrument, consisting of a bundle of willow rods, used when hunting pheasant, to flush the birds from bushes and undergrowth. Cf. drive v. 3c. Obsolete.† 11. Shipbuilding. The furthest forward fore-and-aft bracing timber in a wooden launching cradle for large ships. Obsolete.
7.
a. A tool, component, or machine for driving a part or object into or out of something.Quot. 1625 may possibly illustrate sense 4.See also nail driver n. 2, nut driver n., piledriver n. 1a, pipe driver n., postdriver n., screwdriver n. 1, tack-driver n., etc.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun]
drivel1296
beater1611
plegnic1612
driver1625
madge1870
1625 T. Middleton Game at Chæss iii. sig. F Mischiefe must find a deepe nayle and a driuer.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 344/1 A Pavers Maul, or Mall, or Mallet..is of some termed a Driver.
1831 Trans. Soc. Encouragem. Arts, Manuf., & Commerce 48 184 Each punch has a rising fin with an inclined ridge or back e, down which the drivers d slide to protrude the punches.
1862 Sci. Amer. 25 Jan. 54/2 The cannon shall have a three-quarter or five-eighth-inch hole..with a deep slot to insert a driver.
1935 Iron Age 7 Nov. 42/3 The geometric pattern of the Phillips head provides that the screw shall hold to the taper point of the driver and may be brought into position with one hand.
2017 G. Tallent My Absolute Darling xxx. 400 After the deer got into the garden, she'd..purchased two rolls of eight-four chicken wire and fence posts and a fence-post driver.
b. A wedge-shaped tool used by coopers in conjunction with a mallet to drive hoops on to a barrel. Also: a machine, or component of a machine, which drives hoops on to barrels.See also hoop-driver n.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun] > other driving or beating tools
driver1659
set1812
stone-breaker1827
pout1849
impactor1916
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > other specific machines > [noun]
reeler1598
driver1659
rubber1747
heading machine1795
bruiser1809
finisher1835
stripper1835
physionotype1836
rotary1836
tetraspaston1842
netting-machine1846
speeder1847
dresser1855
spacer1857
starcher1862
bronzing liquid, machine1865
finishing machine1869
grader1869
brain machine1872
peanut roaster1872
bending machine1874
screw-machine1876
tire-upsetting-machine1877
buncher?1881
flax-breaker1889
oscillator1889
fluoroscope1893
fluorometer1897
mucker1916
spray dryer1921
paver1926
teabagger1940
burster1950
icemaker1953
laminator1958
slipform (concrete) paver1958
extruder1959
Zamboni1965
manipulator1968
wave machine1968
pipelayer1969
walking machine1971
1659 C. Hoole tr. J. A. Comenius Orbis Sensualium Pictus lxxx. 165/1 Then he bindeth them with Hoops, which he tyeth fast with small Twigs, by means of a Cramp-Iron, and he fitteth them on with a Mallet and a Driver.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 318/1 A Driver [is] a piece of Wood cut in the form of a Wedge..with this by the help of Blows with the Addice, all sorts of Hoops are driven fast upon Barrels.
1892 P. Benjamin Mod. Mechanism 42 The sectional drivers which move the hoop nearly surround the barrel, being circular in form.
2009 Guardian 18 Apr. (Work section) 4/2 Then all that is left is to use..your driver to hammer the hoops home, and your stamp to put your mark on the finished product.
8. A boat equipped with a drift net for catching herring, mackerel, or pilchard. (see drift n. 11b); a person who fishes on such a boat. Cf. drive v. 5, drifter n. c. Now chiefly historical.In later use typically with reference to boats fishing off the coast of Cornwall.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > fishing vessel > [noun] > drifter
drover1584
drivera1643
drift-boat1851
drifter1883
a1643 J. Borough Soveraignty Brit. Seas (1651) 117 Besides 700. Strand boates, 400. Evars, and 400. Sullits, Drivers and Todboates, wherewith the Hollanders fish upon their owne coasts.
1839 Cornwall Royal Gaz. 11 Oct. Our drivers have been pretty successful during the past week. Those who have used mackerel nets have taken nightly, about 120.
1907 Cornishman 12 Sept. 7/4 As the drivers are catching pilchards every day, there could be a constant supply sent to the English markets.
2003 Western Morning News (Plymouth) (Nexis) 28 Oct. 23 Barnabas, a 40ft lug-rigged mackerel driver, is believed to be the only surviving example of a class of vessel which would have been a common sight off the Cornish coast up until the Second World War.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > fowling > fowling equipment > [noun] > bundle of rods to beat bushes
driver1674
1674 N. Cox Gentleman's Recreation iii. 208 Take your Instrument called a Driver, which is made of strong white Wands or Osiers set fast in a handle,..,with this Driver you must make a gentle noise.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. Driver..used in the taking pheasant powts, in the method called driving..With this instrument the sportsman having fixed his nets, drives the young birds into them.
10. Nautical. Any of various sails set at the stern of a boat or ship; spec. (a) †an additional fore-and-aft sail set above or behind the mizzen to provide extra power in light air (obsolete); (b) a smaller fore-and-aft sail used in place of the mizzen in heavy weather.See also driver-boom n., driver yard n.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > sails set near stern > specific
driver1750
ringtail1769
spanker1794
storm mizzen1794
jigger1831
1750 Minutes Proc. Trial Rear-Admiral Knowles 92 Did you see any of these studding Sails, or Driver set?
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 217 The Driver or Spanker Sail Is bent as a temporary matter.
1798 Jrnl. of ‘Vanguard’ Dec. in Ld. Nelson Dispatches & Lett. (1845) III. 209 A very stormy passage, in which the Vanguard split her three topsails and the driver though it was brailed up.
1803 J. Davis Trav. U.S.A. x. 425 There were studding-sails set aloft and alow; royals, sky-scrapers, and moon-rakers; driver and ring-tail; flying jib, and jib of jibs.
1891 St. Nicholas Sept. 876/1 If a severe blow comes on, you can sail in safety with jib and driver alone, the mainsail being furled.
1902 Christmas Bells 14 We hoisted the driver on the punt and set forth for our rendezvous of the previous evening.
2013 J. Stockwin Caribbee vii. 169 The makeshift driver was jerking up and on the other masts sail was being shown to the wind.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > shipbuilding > specific kind of timber
compass-timber1686
driver1781
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > slip on which ships built or repaired > framework on which vessel rests > timbers supporting ship when launching
ways1581
bilge-ways1769
dogshore1780
driver1781
slice1791
puppet1792
stopping up1805
dog1831
dagger1838
bulge-ways1850
poppet1850
trigger1867
1781 M. Stalkartt Naval Archit. Dict. 216 Driver, the foremost spur in the bulgeways, the heel of which is fayed to the foreside of the foremost poppet, and the sides placed to look fore and aft.
12. Weaving. In a loom: a small device which travels backwards and forwards in the shuttle-box and drives the shuttle to and fro through the warp; = picker n.2
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > weaving > loom > shuttle race > tray or case at end of > part of
picker1794
driver1797
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 835/2 Moving the handle H, with a sudden jerk, towards the box b, the driver D forces the shuttle with a rapid motion thro' the warp till it strikes d.
1882 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 14 Jan. 5025/3 The manufacture of fabrics having woofs of different colors requires the use of several shuttles and boxes containing the different colors at the extremity of the driver's travel.
1964 Textile Industries Sept. (Buyers' Guide section) 1-96/1 Unique design allows sensitive transmission of the vibration on energy from the driver end to the viscosity sensing paddle and back to the output signal end.
13. Mechanics.
a. A part of a machine, typically a wheel, which transmits motion to other parts, or to which power is directly applied; a driving wheel.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [noun]
wheela1100
trendle1324
trindle?c1343
strindlec1500
follower1805
driver1819
dial wheel1841
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > parts which provide power > [noun] > transmitters
carrier1733
pitman1813
driver1819
friction-cone1842
universal joint1856
cardan joint1868
reach rodc1871
Hooke coupling1883
friction-disc1888
impeller1890
transmission-gear1894
transmission1906
fluid flywheel1930
Hooke's joint1930
torque converter1934
fluid coupling1940
UJ1970
1819 A. Rees Cycl. VIII. at Clock-making A proportioned pinion must be made somewhat smaller for a small wheel than for a large one, and also smaller when driven than when it is the driver.
1879 J. J. Holtzapffel Turning & Mech. Manip. IV. 196 Motion is transmitted by the contact of an arm or pin, the driver, on the chuck, with an arm or carrier attached to the work.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 25 Sept. 7/1 The Atlantic engine..had four driving wheels, two rear wheels which are called trailers, and four wheels in front of the drivers.
2012 J. Bird Sci. Engin. (ed. 4) xxiv. 223/1 The number of teeth on the driver and follower are in direct proportion to the circumference of these wheels.
b. With modifying word(s) in compounds designating bicycles, motor vehicles, etc., in which power is applied to specified wheels or axles, as all-wheel driver, double driver, front driver, rear driver, etc.
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1881 Graphic 14 May (advt.) Double Driver. Makers: The Coventry Machinists' Co.
1895 Cyclists' Touring Club Gaz. Dec. 372 I did not see one solitary specimen of the front driver.
1935 Piqua (Ohio) Daily Call 13 May 7/5 The four-wheel driver, finished off in the pastel shades or orchid and beige, made its initial test run with Rose at the wheel this week.
1988 Road & Track Nov. 96/1 It's almost spooky how much extra grip the all-wheel-driver has over the rear-driver.
2014 S. Dharmapala Saree (2015) 322 She had to hang onto the parcels for dear life as the three-wheel driver careered around the narrow rural roads.
14. Sheep-shearing. A leather strap on a pair of hand shears designed to prevent one's hand from slipping.
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1887 National Stockman & Farmer 22 Sept. 450/3 We were particularly impressed with the shears with a leather driver.
1892 Hummer (Wagga) 6 Feb. (Suppl.) He has shorn his last ‘tally’, ‘cut out’ his last shed,..Neither ‘knocker’ nor ‘driver’ will need now he's dead.
1978 D. G. Jardine Shadows on Hill 130 They had received their two free pairs of blades..and had spent many hours at the two big grindstones ‘taking them down’, attaching drivers, jockeys, spurs and knockers.
2012 www.farmingforum.co.uk 22 June (forum post, accessed 3 Feb. 2021) Alot of pi55ing around setting them [sc. shears] putting on the driver and stops.
15.
a. Electronics. A circuit or device that provides a signal which powers or directs the functioning of another circuit or device. Cf. drive v. 14b.See also Compounds 2.
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1924 S. R. Roget Dict. Electr. Terms 68/2 Driver, an expression sometimes used for a source of oscillations in radio telegraphy, particularly in connection with testing operations.
1928 A. R. Nilson & J. L. Hornung Pract. Radio Telegr. xii. 124 It is seen that the alternator functions as a ‘driver’ and tends to maintain oscillations of a continuous character (undamped wave, Fig. 84a).
1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors xi. 246 The fourth method, direct coupling, may be used advantageously..in the coupling of a driver to a power stage.
2017 R. Lenk & C. Lenk Pract. Lighting Design with LEDs (ed. 2) vii. 87 How much capacitance is needed depends on the power level of the driver and the switching frequency.
b. Acoustics. A device that converts an electrical audio signal into mechanical vibration or sound. Often with distinguishing word, as high-frequency driver, loudspeaker driver, etc.
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1925 U.S. Patent 1,551,105 2/2 The viscosity coupler permits the change in characteristic of the coupling means between the driver and the diaphragm.
1967 A. Badmaieff & D. Davis How to build Speaker Enclosures ii. 19 Every enclosure alters in some way the performance of the driver placed in it.
1998 J. Nathan Back-to-basics Audio vi. 115 Operation at high levels requires that the Doppler Effect has to be overcome by crossing over to a separate high frequency driver.
2012 R. Izhaki Mixing Audio (ed. 2) 73 We must ensure that each driver is only fed with the frequencies it specializes in reproducing.
16. Computing. A piece of software which enables a computer to communicate with a particular piece of hardware or peripheral device. More fully device driver.Often with preceding word as audio driver, printer driver, etc.
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1968 Proc. Automatic Support Syst. Symp. Adv. Maintainability 1A-9/1 The Control Programs are commonly referred to as ‘drivers’. They are subroutines used to control and monitor the FLT equipment.
1971 W. W. Black Introd. On-line Computers v. 100 Each device driver communicates with one specific device.
1996 P. K. McBride Windows 95 Clear & Simple 134 Windows 95 is equipped with drivers for almost all printers currently in use.
2010 Sunday Times (Nexis) 21 Mar. (Features section) 34 I recently bought a computer running Windows 7, only to find that my Canon scanner no longer works because of the lack of a suitable driver.
2020 L. Gabrielli Developing Virtual Synthesizers VCV Rack iii. 78 The AUDIO module is the interface to the outer world. It allows signals in and out the rack. A sound card and audio driver must be selected.
III. Senses relating to cricket and golf.
17. Golf.
a. A golfer considered in terms of ability at driving (see drive v. 8c). Chiefly with modifying adjective.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > player > types of
outgoera1382
putter1842
driver1847
approacher1887
brassy player1894
long-handicapper1899
penalty-carrier1908
socketer1912
pinsplitter1916
chipper1923
four-baller1927
hacker1934
shotmaker1974
low-ball hitter1979
1847 R. Chambers Sel. Writings II. 318 Some men are good putters without being good drivers.
1867 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 492 There is the ‘long driver’, who hits as far in two strokes as a ‘short driver’ does in three.
1931 Port Arthur (Texas) News 8 July 11/1 I used to be a straight driver,..but..I have developed the most beautiful nose-diving hook you ever saw.
1992 Economist 8 Aug. 88/3 The obvious exception to the rule is last year's winner, ‘Long John’ Daly, the longest driver in golf.
b. A golf club designed to hit the ball a long distance, esp. the club having the longest shaft, a large head, and a low degree of loft; (also) a stroke made with such a club.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [noun] > club > types of club
play club1685
putting club1690
gentlemen's club1709
putter1783
spoon1790
iron1793
sand-iron1796
whip-club1808
cleek1829
driving putter1833
bunker-iron1857
driver1857
niblick1857
putting iron1857
baffing-spoon1858
mid-spoon1858
short spoon1858
sand-club1873
three-wood1875
long iron1877
driving cleek1881
mashie1881
putting cleek1881
track-iron1883
driving iron1887
lofting-iron1887
baffy1888
brassy1888
bulger1889
lofter1889
lofter1892
jigger1893
driving mashie1894
mid-iron1897
mashie-niblick1907
wood1915
pinsplitter1916
chipper1921
blaster1937
sand-wedge1937
wedge1937
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of shot or stroke
putta1754
like1790
drive1829
tee-shot1850
gobble1857
push shot1865
iron shot1870
push stroke1873
drive-off1884
slice1886
raker1888
foozle1890
hook1890
iron1890
top1890
sclaff1893
brassy shot1894
run1894
chip shot1899
chip1903
pull1903
skimmer1903
draw shot1904
brassy1906
pitch-and-run1908
windcheater1909
air shot1920
chip-in1921
explosion1924
downhiller1925
blast1927
driver1927
shank1927
socket1927
recovery1937
whiff1952
pinsplitter1961
comebacker1965
bump-and-run1981
1857 H. B. Farnie Golfer's Man. iii. 17 Drivers..are distinguished by their long, tapering, and flexible shafts, their small raking heads, and the powerful feel they have when handled. There are two members of this class; the play club, and the grassed driver.
1927 Courier & Advertiser (Dundee) 6 Aug. 6/5 Bell, who is not yet 14 years of age, played a driver from the tee.
1994 Daily Tel. 1 Nov. 23/6 He would not..spend £200 on a new driver, or pay the £2,500 debenture, plus £650 annual membership, demanded by some of the new golf clubs in the area.
2009 Golf Digest (Nexis) Sept. 118 He propped a ball up on a peg, clocked it with his driver and headed off down the fairway.
18. Cricket.† a. An attacking stroke by which the ball is hit forcefully in front of the wicket with a straight bat; = drive n. 9b(a). Obsolete.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke
long ball1744
nip1752
catch1816
no-hit1827
cut1833
short hit1833
draw1836
drive1836
square hit1837
skylarker1839
skyer1840
skyscraper1842
back-cut1845
bum1845
leg sweep1846
slog1846
square cut1850
driver1851
Harrow drive1851
leg slip1852
poke1853
snick1857
snorter1859
leg stroke1860
smite1861
on-drive1862
bump ball1864
rocketer1864
pull1865
grass trimmer1867
late cut1867
off-drive1867
spoon1871
push1873
push stroke1873
smack1875
Harrow drive1877
pull-stroke1880
leg glance1883
gallery-hit1884
boundary-stroke1887
glide1888
sweep1888
boundary1896
hook1896
leg glide1896
backstroke1897
flick1897
hook stroke1897
cover-drive1898
straight drive1898
square drive1900
edger1905
pull-drive1905
slash1906
placing stroke1907
push drive1912
block shot1915
if-shot1920
placing shot1921
cow-shot1922
mow1925
Chinese cut1937
haymaker1954
hoick1954
perhapser1954
air shot1956
steepler1959
mishook1961
swish1963
chop-
1851 Brighton Gaz. 31 July 8/1 Brown..made a fine cut for 2 off Sherman, which was immediately followed by a fine leg hit for 4, another driver for 2, a beautiful on hit for 3, for which he was much cheered.
1862 Windsor & Eton Express 18 July His [sc. C. L. Hornby's] fine contribution of 68 contained a fine driver for six, three threes, and nine twos.
b. A cricket bat with regard to its quality or suitability for playing drives (drive n. 9b(a)), or attacking strokes more generally. Frequently with modifying adjective as fine, good, etc., or in brand names for cricket bats. Now rare.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > equipment > [noun] > bat
cricket-staff?1575
cricket bat1622
bat1706
willow1846
willow weapon1850
driver1883
1883 Sheffield Daily Tel. 17 May 8/7 (advt.) ‘Special Driver’ bat (Frowd's Patent).
1897 K. S. Ranjitsinhji Jubilee Bk. Cricket iv. 146 It ought not to take long to find out the kinds of wood and the kinds of grain which are likely to constitute a good driver and a good laster.
1945 Murray Pioneer (S. Austral.) 4 Jan. 8/3 The bat is made by Wisden's (London) and is a Ben. Barnett ‘three-star’ Perfect Driver—a valuable article today.
2003 Country Life 6 Mar. 89/1 A Royal County Driver cricket bat by Stuart Surridge..signed not only by the (probably) 1948 England and Australia Test teams..but also by the Gloucester, Surrey..and Combined Service elevens.
c. A batter who plays the drive (drive n. 9b(a)). Chiefly with modifying adjective indicating the skill or batting style of the batter.See also off-driver n., straight driver n.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > types of batsman
sticker1832
short runner1833
punisher1846
slogger1850
blocker1851
cutter1851
swiper1853
top scorer1860
stick1863
left-hander1864
smiter1878
centurion1886
driver1888
pad-player1888
poker1888
spectacle-maker1893
back-player1897
hooker1900
under-runner1903
puller1911
square cutter1920
straight driver1925
stroke-maker1927
goose-gamer1928
stroke-player1935
flasher1936
sweeper1961
tonker1977
1888 R. H. Lyttelton in A. G. Steel & R. H. Lyttelton Cricket (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) ii. 45 The driver meets it with a more or less horizontal bat, and hits it forward between cover-point and mid-off.
1952 M.C.C. Cricket Coaching Bk. iii. 81 All really fine drivers have been able and ready to drive the ball in the air over the bowler's or the in-fields' heads.
1998 Hobart (Tasmania) Mercury (Nexis) 11 Nov. He is an elegant driver and should enjoy Australian pitches.
2004 Birmingham Post (Nexis) 28 Aug. (Sport section) 34 Like quite a few of the guys used to playing on the spongy Bristol wickets, he's a good driver and cutter.
Compounds
C1. With adverbs, forming compound agent nouns corresponding to adverbial combinations of drive v., as in driver away, driver down, driver out, driver up, etc.
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?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) iv. pr. vi. l. 3990 Who is ellys kepere of good or dryuere awey of yuel but god.
a1475 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Cambr. Gg.1.16) (1997) iii. lx. 139 She is maistres of trowþe,..dryver awei [a1500 Trin. Dublin dryuer awey] of sorowe, taker awei of drede.
1684 tr. T. Bonet Guide Pract. Physician vi. 210/2 Certainly when Nature expells nothing in the Disease..how shall the Physician, Nature's servant, dare any such thing, and presently fly to drivers out and Sudorificks..in the cure?
1893 E. J. Ellis & W. B. Yeats Wks. William Blake II. 289 The Shadowy Female, who is the real driver-down of Milton into the Ulro.
1915 Internat. Sugar Jrnl. 17 59 ‘Governments’ were the big buyers—the real and largest drivers up of prices.
2007 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 18 Aug. (Weekend section) 15 The ancients revered elder as a tree mother, a driver away of evil spirits.
C2. Electronics. As a modifier, designating circuits or devices that function as drivers (sense 15a), as driver circuit, driver stage, driver transistor, etc.
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1933 ‘R. Stranger’ Dict. Wireless Terms 54 Driver valve, a valve used in conjunction with a transformer before a class B valve in class B amplification circuits.
1948 G. N. Glasoe & J. V. Lebacqz Pulse Generators iv. 124 The driver circuit is not an oscillator in the same sense as the circuit used in television, and may more properly be referred to as a ‘regenerative pulse generator’.
1948 J. A. Pierce et al. Loran ix. 295 [This] requirement is met by the use of a c-w driver stage that amplifies the output of the 90-kc/sec generator to a level of about 20 watts.
1970 J. Earl How to choose Tuners & Amplifiers ii. 51 The majority of power amplifiers have their push-pull output transistors driven direct from a pair of driver transistors.
1995 Electronics World & Wireless World June 527/1 Each uses four nmos fets for the driver output and, in most cases, external heat sinks are not needed.
2009 D. Self Audio Power Amplifier Design Handbk. (ed. 5) vi. 150 If they are too large, the source impedance seen by the driver emitter is unduly increased.
C3. Compounds with driver or driver's.
driver ant n.
Brit. /ˈdrʌɪvər ant/
, /ˈdrʌɪvər ant/U.S. /ˈdraɪvər ˌænt/
, /ˈdraɪvər ˌænt/West African English /ˌdraiva ˈant/
any of various tropical ants of the subfamily Dorylinae, esp. the genus Dorylus, which forage in large columns that prey mainly on insects and spiders; cf. sense 6.Also called army ant, safari ant./ˌdraiva ˈant/ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > ant > member of genus Dorylus
driver ant1843
driver1847
army ant1870
safari ant1910
siafu1959
1843 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 3 Oct. African black, or Driver ants.
1865 J. G. Wood Homes without Hands xxiv. 447 They are called Driver Ants because they drive before them every living creature.
1975 E. O. Wilson Sociobiol. xx. 399/1 A colony of the African driver ant Dorylus wilverthi..may contain as many as 22 million workers weighing a total of over 20 kilograms.
2011 Sci. Amer. Dec. 66/2 In Gabon I once saw an antelope, caught in a snare, eaten alive by a colony of driver ants.
driver assist n. an automotive system or set of systems that provides feedback, warnings, or other assistance to the driver of a vehicle; = driver assistance n.Frequently as a modifier.
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1990 Rep. to U.S. Congr. Intelligent Vehicle-highway Syst. (U.S. Dept. Transportation) iii. 14 A number of AVC [sc. automated vehicle control] technologies available or under development include: Antilock braking systems; Speed control systems; Adaptive speed control; driver warning system; Driver assist system.
2019 Geelong Advertiser 20 July Most car makers have some form of lane keeping assistance and active cruise control to keep you in your lane at a safe distance from the car in front–the Tiguan's driver assist works better than most.
driver assistance n. an automotive system or set of systems that provides feedback, warnings, or other assistance to the driver of a vehicle, esp. by taking over aspects of the control of the vehicle's movement; (also) the use of such technology.Frequently as a modifier.
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1987 A. J. R. Pawley in 6th Ann. Conf. Automotive Electronics 151 These other facilities could begin with additional driver assistance, followed by other travel information, leading finally to a wide range of business and private information services.]
1994 Creating Tomorrow's Surface Transportation Syst.: Hearing before Subcomm. Technol., Environment & Aviation of Comm. Sci., Space & Technol. (U.S. House of Representatives, 103rd Congr., 2nd Sess.) 22 This transition is expected to be initially through partial control and driver assistance systems which augment the control of the vehicle, and, subsequently, through fully automated systems operating on dedicated freeway type facilities.
2015 L. Neckermann Mobility Revol. iii. 107 Sensor-based solutions for driver assistance use algorithms as well as cameras and radar to create a comprehensive three-dimensional picture of surroundings that can be monitored at speed.
2019 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 23 Apr. 1 In-car warnings also remind drivers that..[this] is only a driver-assistance system and is not intended to pilot cars on its own.
2021 Independent 29 Mar. 49 There are the traditional car manufacturers exploring what is possible with existing technologies like driver assistance.
driver-boom n. Nautical a boom on which a driver (sense 10) is set.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > pole controlling position of sail > types of
portlof1432
outligger1481
bumkin?c1613
driver-boom1750
ringtail-boom1769
spanker-boom1813
swinging-boom1840
jackyard1862
whisker pole1954
wishbone1984
1750 Minutes Proc. Trial Rear-Admiral Knowles 202 I then ordered..the distinguishing Lights along the Driver Boom to be shewn.
1799 Naval Chron. 1 442 Her driver boom [is] gone.
2015 W. Davies & M. Mudie HMS Trincomalee 52 The jaws for the driver boom are supported on boom stays and..are held in place by a parrel around the mast.
driver fatigue n. symptoms of tiredness experienced by a person driving a motor vehicle.
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the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > [noun] > specific
breathlessness1612
overfatigue1727
standstill1788
footsoreness1849
heat exhaustion1861
staleness1868
burn-out1903
chronic fatigue1908
driver fatigue1922
bonk1952
the wall1974
1922 N.Y. Times 19 Mar. xiii. 5/4 They saw in the Liberty..the smoothly setting brakes, and the soft clutch which prevent the slightest semblance of driver fatigue.
2000 Independent 19 Sept. 1/2 One in five deaths on the road is due to driver fatigue, with an estimated 1,000 serious injuries and more than 100 deaths a year caused by lorry drivers falling asleep.
driver-only adj. designating a public transport vehicle that is operated by the driver only, without a guard, conductor, etc., on board; of or relating to such a vehicle.
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1952 Manch. Guardian 23 Oct. 10/4 The corporation has already ordered four of the driver-only buses.
1966 Irish Times 6 Apr. 9/5 Next Monday brings the innovation of a Red Arrow service. Single decker and for driver-only operation.
2019 Basingstoke Gaz. (Nexis) 31 Aug. The union wants an end to driver-only trains where no guards are on duty.
driver's ed n. (also driver ed, drivers' ed; also with capital initials) North American colloquial training or a course of instruction in driving a motor vehicle, esp. a course that includes supervised instruction while driving as well as lessons about traffic law (= driver's education n.).Frequently as a modifier, as in driver's ed class, driver's ed course, driver's ed teacher, etc.
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1950 Coshocton (Ohio) Tribune 27 Jan. 2/2 Pedestrians beware: with the semester's end comes also the end of first semester Driver's Ed classes.
1967 Changing Times Oct. 43/2 There are those who maintain that driver ed, like other nonacademic subjects, has no place in our public school system.
2020 Cleburne (Texas) Times-Rev. (Nexis) 7 Feb. In his seven years as a driver's ed teacher, he has seen little reluctance from students when it comes to ‘clicking’ their seat belts.
driver's education n. (also driver education, drivers' education; also with capital initials) training or a course of instruction in driving a motor vehicle, esp. a course that includes supervised instruction while driving as well as lessons in traffic law.Frequently as a modifier, as in driver's education class, driver's education course, driver's education teacher, etc.
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1923 Brandon (Manitoba) Daily Sun 19 May (Automotive section) 11/3 (headline) Truck maintenance, driver education and good service.
1937 Jrnl. Health & Physical Educ. Sept. 401/1 We have observed the steadily increasing number of high schools including driver education in their programs.
1985 Telegraph (Brisbane) (Nexis) 5 Feb. Driver education programs will be introduced to Queensland schools this year.
2017 J. P. Shatkin Born to be Wild ii. 35 Numerous studies show that driver's education classes do not reduce the frequency of automobile accidents among young drivers.
driver-side n. (also driver's side) the side of a vehicle where the driver sits, as opposed to the passenger's side; now frequently as a modifier, as in driver-side door, driver-side window, etc.
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1826 Hereford Jrnl. 6 Dec. He was overtaken..by a person riding furiously, who rode on the driver's side.
1876 Rep. Certain Accidents on Railways: Pt. 3 105/1 in Parl. Papers (C. 1577) LXIV. 225 The cord was tied to the handrail on the driver's side.
1947 Bradford (Pa.) Era 9 Oct. 14/6 (advt.) Wanted—Driver's side door for 1937 Ford two door.
1956 Helena (Montana) Independent 8 Apr. 3/1 Ogle points to a broken left-hand, driver-side window in his own 1953 model car.
2000 N.Y. Times 1 May a1/1 It was turning into a good night: he had already picked up a dozen fares and $270, tucking the bills into his ashtray, his shoes and a compartment on the driver-side door.
driver's licence n. a licence which allows a person to operate a vehicle; (now) esp. a document permitting a person to drive a motor vehicle; = driving licence n. at driving n. Compounds 3a.In Britain and Ireland the more usual term is now driving licence.
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1863 Allen's Indian Mail 26 Feb. 178/1 The fee for a driver's licence is fixed at two rupees.
1904 Evening News & Evening Mail (London) 16 Nov. 4/5 Miss Kitty Lord..was fined £7..for furiously driving a motor-car..[and] failing to produce a driver's licence.
2004 S. Grafton R is for Ricochet (2005) vi. 60 My driver's license expired while I was in the can... Maybe tomorrow we can go to the DMV.
driver's test n. a test of a person's ability to drive a vehicle; (now) esp. an official test of a motorist's competence which must be passed in order to obtain a full driving licence.In Britain and Ireland the more usual term is now driving test n.
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1910 Times of India 27 June 5/6 (advt.) A diligent and sober Parsee, passed First-Class Motor Mechanic and driver's test, seeks engagement.
2019 Chicago Daily Herald (Nexis) 17 Dec. 10 I just got my voter registration completed when I also took my driver's test.
driver yard n. Nautical a yard on which a driver (sense 10) is set.
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society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > yard > yards on foremast
fore-topgallant-sail-yard1626
fore-yard1627
driver yard1757
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > yard > other yards
sprityard1485
peggy1494
spritsail yard1514
topgallant yard1514
main-topgallant-yard1588
driver yard1757
square yards1769
1757 Trial Honourable Admiral Byng App. 2/2 Spare Jib Boom and Driver Yard very much damaged.
1794 D. Steel Elements & Pract. Rigging & Seamanship I. 180 The Driver-yard is a small yard, which expands the head of the driver without the peek of the gaff, to which it is hoisted by haliards.
2000 Jrnl. Mediterranean Stud. 10 66 Ferguson & Carr made a new main boom, gaff, jib, and driver yards, replaced blocks, made new oars for the gig, and did some rigging work.
Derivatives
ˈdriveress n. a female driver; esp. a female overseer of enslaved labourers on a plantation (see sense 3) (now historical).
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1661 J. Sparrow tr. J. Böhme Brief Expos. Six Points v. 10 in tr. J. Böhme Several Treat. It is not the Omnipotencie, but the Driveresse in the Power and Might, or Introducer into the Power and Might.
1824 T. Cooper Facts Negro Slaves in Jamaica 49 I have seen many gangs of little boys and girls at work in the field before the driveress, who, however, always had her whip.
1863 St. James's Mag. 6 152 The driveress of the celebrated ponies in the silver harness.
2003 N. Hopkinson Salt Roads 2 Sixteen hours each day they had us working to bring the sugar in, and old Cuba the driveress would still push the first gang to pluck weeds sometimes into the deep of the night.
ˈdrivership n. the role or position of a driver (in various senses of the noun); (also) skill in driving.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > [noun] > art of driving horse-drawn vehicle
coachmanship1776
drivership1792
whip1792
whipmanship1797
whip-craft1865
1792 Scots Mag. Aug. 413/2 By the hurricane of 1780, finding his eye-sight impaired, he voluntarily surrendered the drivership, requesting permission to superintend the estate.
1860 All Year Round 8 Sept. 511 They go on performing surpassing feats of drivership.
2010 @ErraticArtist 2 Sept. in twitter.com (accessed 27 Feb. 2020) Night driving is among my least favorite activities. Had to switch drivership with mom.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2021; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1390