elbown.
/ˈɛlbəʊ/, U.S. /ˈɛlˌboʊ/ 1.
a. The outer part of the joint between the fore and the upper arm.
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the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > arm > [noun] > elbow
elbowc1000
cubit1544
ply1575
knop1652
ancon1706
noop1818
capitellum1825
c1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 158 Cubitum, fædm betwux elboga and handwyrste.
c1150 Voc. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 536 Ulna, elbowe.
a1300 Fragm. 322 in Popular Treat. on Sc. 139 Thelbowes to the schare.
c1325 Gloss. W. de Biblesw. in T. Wright Voc. 147 Helbowes, coudes.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8086 Þair armes hari wit hirpild hid War sette til elbous in þair side.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 184 A much berd..Watȝ euesed al vmbe-torne, a-bof his elbowes.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 137 Elbowe, cubitus.
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 749/6 Hic cubitus, a helbowe.
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 138 Wae be vnto thame..quha sewis soft kods to putt vnder euerie Elbok.
1622 T. Overbury et al. Characters in His Wife (11th impr.) sig. G4v Turnes..from one Elbow to another.
1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode i. i. 12 He was Yesterday at the Play, with a pair of Gloves Up to his Elbows.
1714 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. c24 Sept. (1965) I. 226 People that knock others with their Elbows..are sure of a good place [in a crowd].
1787 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 215 To see our elbucks wheep, And a' like lamb-tails flyin.
1816 S. T. Coleridge Christabel i. 17 She..on her elbow did recline To look at the lady Geraldine.
1879 J. Stainer Music of Bible 122 Irish bagpipes are inflated by the elbow, Scotch by the mouth.
b. The point resembling an elbow in the shoulder or hock of quadrupeds.
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the world > animals > animal body > general parts > body and limbs > [noun] > limb > fore limb or leg > part corresponding to elbow
elbow1607
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 408 The Curbe..is a long swelling beneath the Elbow of the hough.
1789 W. H. Marshall Rural Econ. Glocestershire (E.D.S.) Elbows, the shoulder-points of cattle.
1908 Animal Managem. (War Office) 330 For the horse, a small sausage-shaped pillow, long enough to surround the pastern..will be found to prevent the elbow touching the ground when lying down.
1908 [see elbow-brushing n. at Compounds 2]. 2. transferred. Anything resembling an elbow.
a. A sharp bend in the course of a river, road, etc.
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the world > space > shape > curvature > types of curvature > [noun] > sharpness of curve > sharp curve or bend
elbow1591
quirk1601
kink1899
the world > space > direction > [noun] > straight or constant direction > deviation from > a turn > abrupt
elbow1591
sharp turn1877
1591 R. Percyvall Bibliotheca Hispanica Dict. at Ahocinarse el rio To run with turnings or elbows.
1618 Bp. J. Hall Righteovs Mammon 71 The current..speeds forward from one elbow of earth vnto another.
1780 H. Walpole Vertue's Anecd. Painting (ed. 2) IV. vii. 141 The elbows of serpentine rivers.
1788 A. Young Jrnl. 13 Oct. in Trav. France (1792) i. 99 The road..presents from an elbow the finest view of a town I have ever seen.
1861 E. A. Beaufort Egypt. Sepulchres II. xxiii. 311 The ravine..turns with a sudden elbow round the end of mount Silpius.
b. A forward or outward projection; a corner.
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the world > space > shape > angularity > [noun] > angle or corner > external or projecting
angle1532
elbow1626
piend1715
the world > space > shape > unevenness > projection or prominence > [noun] > a projecting part
hornc1275
outshooting1310
nosec1400
startc1400
spout1412
snouta1425
outbearingc1425
outstanding?c1425
relish1428
jeta1500
rising1525
shoulder1545
jutting1565
outshootc1565
prominence1578
forecast1580
projection1592
sprout1598
eye1600
shooting forth1601
lip1608
juttying1611
prominent?1611
eminence1615
butting1625
excursiona1626
elbow1626
protrusion1646
jettinga1652
outjetting1652
prominency1654
eminency1668
nouch1688
issuanta1690
out-butting1730
outjet1730
out-jutting1730
flange1735
nosing1773
process1775
jut1787
projecture1803
nozzle1804
saliency1831
ajutment1834
salience1837
out-thrust1842
emphasis1885
cleat1887
outjut1893
pseudopodiuma1902
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §472 Fruit-trees or Vines, set upon a Wall against the Sun, between Elbows and Buttresses of Stone, ripen more than upon a plain Wall.
1691 T. Hale Acct. New Inventions p. cvii Some Elbows of Wharfs..being taken away.
1749 T. Nugent Grand Tour III. 195 Ancona..The name of this city is said to be owing to its situation, because of the elbow (ἀγκων)..which the shore makes in that place.
1829 R. Southey Sir Thomas More (1831) I. 120 You cross a wall and the elbow of a large tree that covers it.
1830 W. Phillips Mt. Sinai iv. 504 Departing day Behind the mountain's elbow disappear'd.
1876 R. D. Blackmore Cripps II. xiv. 217 The elbow of a hedge jutted forth upon the common.
c. Mechanics. An angle in a tube, etc.; a short piece of pipe bent at an angle to join two long straight pieces.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > devices for securing or uniting parts
key1434
chevel-bolt1480
strop1573
gimbals1577
gimmals1598
gimmera1603
strap1620
bridle1667
key band1735
screw-joint1810
locking plate1812
safety pin1822
king bolt1839
square coupling1845
holding-down bolt1846
ball joint1849
pinholder1854
knuckle-joint1860
bayonet-joint1870
elbow1874
fox-key1874
split-pin1875
cotter-pin1881
elbow-joint1881
banjo-frame1888
holding-down pin1892
holding-down ring1899
feather1908
banjo union1922
1778 Philos. Trans. 1777 (Royal Soc.) 67 643 As the elbow made a right angle, the tube itself was of course horizontal.
1874 E. H. Knight Amer. Mech. Dict. I. 777/1 Elbow, 1. The junction of two parts having a bent joint. A knee or toggle joint... 2. A bend, as of a stove-pipe.
1880 W. MacCormac Antiseptic Surg. 147 The tube should..have no elbows.
d. Architecture (see quot.)
ΚΠ
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 584 Elbows of a Window, the two flanks of panelled work, one under each shutter.
1842 J. Gwilt Encycl. Archit. Gloss. 969 Elbow, the upright sides which flank any panelled work, as in windows below the shutters, etc.
1869 J. H. Parker Conc. Gloss. Terms Archit. (ed. 3) 102 Elbows, the projections on the side of stalls.
e. Nautical (see quot.)
ΚΠ
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Transl. French Terms Cable tourné,..a foul hause, a cross or elbow in the hause.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. Elbow in the hawse. When a ship, being moored in a tideway, swings twice the wrong way, thereby causing the cables to take half a round turn on each other.
f. dialect (see quot. 1877, and cf. elbow-health n. at Compounds 2).
ΚΠ
1877 E. Peacock Gloss. Words Manley & Corringham, Lincs. Elbow, the conical hollow in the bottom of a wine-bottle.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > parts of chairs > arm
leaning-post1535
stay1560
elbow1611
arm1652
armrest1852
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Accoudoir Vne chaire à accoudoirs, a chaire with elbowes.
1679 Marriage of Charles II 3 A great Chair with elbows.
1750 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. II. 14 Elbows (as the sides of chairs are now called).
1785 W. Cowper Task i. 60 But elbows still were wanting; these, some say, An alderman of Cripplegate contriv'd.
4. Phrases:
a. at the, one's elbow(s): close by, very near; in close attendance; also figurative; so from the, one's elbow: away from one's side.
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the world > space > distance > nearness > near by [phrase] > close to a person
by a person's sidec1275
at the, one's elbow(s)1548
1548 Duke of Somerset Epist. Inhabitauntes Scotl. 243 Ye haue youre enemies..at your elbowe.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions vi. 47 In the elder yeares, reason at the elbow must serue the student.
1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. 143 You are not able to spare him from your elbow.
1698 J. Vanbrugh Æsop (1730) ii. i. 230 Talk of the Devil and he's at your elbow.
1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. i. 38 I..found at my elbow a pretty little girl.
b. up to the elbows: literal; also figurative engrossed in work, excessively busy.
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a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) iii. i. 108 Let vs bathe our hands in Caesars blood Vp to the Elbowes. View more context for this quotation
1883 A. Robson Dead Letter ii. v Up to our Elbows making Damson Jam.
c. to be out at elbow(s: to have a coat worn out at the elbows, to be ragged, poor, in bad condition; hence, in same sense, out-at-elbowed adj. (nonce-word). So, in contrary sense, in at elbows (rare).
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the mind > possession > poverty > in impoverished state [phrase]
to the boneOE
to be out at elbow(sa1616
in (also at) low water1785
down on the knuckle-bone1883
(down) on one's uppers1886
on the rocks1889
down and out1901
on the outer1915
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. i. 58 He cannot [speake] Sir: he's out at Elbow. View more context for this quotation
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 95 Sir Ulic Mackilligut..is said to be much out at elbows.
1825 M. M. Sherwood Lady of Manor (ed. 2) I. vi. 238 He was himself just now so terribly out at elbows, that he could not command a hundred pounds.
1841 W. M. Thackeray Second Funeral Napoleon i Seedy out-at-elbowed coats.
1858 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia II. viii. iv. 318 Several things known to be out at elbows in that Country.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch II. iv. xxxviii. 287 Pay that hardly keeps him in at elbows.
1885 Times 28 May There is an out-at-elbows look about some quarters of Dublin.
d. †to scratch, rub the elbow: to show oneself pleased, to chuckle.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > be pleased [verb (intransitive)] > show oneself pleased
to scratch, rub the elbow1598
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 109 One rubbd his elbow thus, and fleerd, and swore, A better speach was neuer spoke before. View more context for this quotation
1598 E. Guilpin Skialetheia sig. B6 He'le..scratch the elbow too To see two Butchers curres fight.
e. to shake the elbow: to play at dice (arch). †knight of the elbow: a gambler.
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society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [noun] > player of games of chance
tavlereOE
playera1387
gamera1450
adventurer1474
gamester1549
come you seven1605
tableman1608
knight of the elbow1705
sitter1748
gambler1784
gamestress1828
playman1844
sport1856
spieler1859
punter1860
tiger-hunter1896
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > play at dice [verb (intransitive)]
taveleOE
dicec1440
rifle1590
to shake the elbow1705
jeff1837
to touch ivory1864
to roll (the, them) bones1891
1705 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. 26 Nov. (1885–6) I. 100 Money which..he squander'd away in shaking his Elbow.
1760 T. Brown Wks. II. 46 Knight of the elbow.
1826 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxv, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Apr. 498 Many good and great men have shook the elbow.
f. †to suck at (one's) elbow: to play the parasite, sponge upon (one).
ΚΠ
1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxixv He had many..that daily sucked at his elbowe.
g. to lift one's (or the) elbow: to drink immoderately. Similarly to bend the elbow; to crook the elbow: see crook v.1 1d.
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the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [verb (intransitive)]
to drink deepa1300
bousec1300
bibc1400
to drink drunk1474
quaff1520
to set cock on the hoopa1535
boll1535
quass1549
tipple1560
swillc1563
carouse1567
guzzle1579
fuddle1588
overdrink1603
to drink the three outs1622
to bouse it1623
sota1639
drifflec1645
to drink like a fisha1653
tope1668
soak1687
to play at swig1688
to soak one's clay (or face)1704
impote1721
rosin1730
dram1740
booze1768
to suck (also sup) the monkey1785
swattle1785
lush1811
to lift up the little finger1812
to lift one's (or the) elbow1823
to crook one's elbow or little finger1825
jollify1830
to bowse up the jib1836
swizzle1847
peg1874
to hit the booze, bottle, jug, pot1889
to tank up1902
sozzle1937
to belt the bottle1941
indulge1953
1823 P. Egan Grose's Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue (rev. ed.) at Lift To lift one's hand to one's head; to drink to excess, or to drink drams. To lift or raise one's elbow; the same.
1915 J. Conrad Victory i. vi. 130 I would watch them lifting their elbows at my expense.
1928 Daily Express 7 Mar. 15/4 Many a young man who has been lifting his elbow too frequently in Dublin is packed off to Melleray for a cure.
1938 D. Runyon Take it Easy xiii. 247 A great change comes over Haystack Duggeler. He stops bending his elbow and helps Hattie cook and wash the dishes.
1939 J. B. Priestley Let People Sing iv. 86 I only hope to goodness this couple we're picking up this afternoon don't lift the elbow too much.
1967 Coast to Coast 1965–6 145 He's not much chop. Too fond of bending the elbow.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. Also elbow-chair n., elbow grease n., elbow-joint n., elbow room n.
elbow-cushion n.
ΚΠ
1659 J. Milton Considerations touching Hirelings 84 A pulpited divine..a lollard..over his elbow-cushion.
elbow-guard n.
ΚΠ
1869 C. Boutell tr. J. P. Lacombe Arms & Armour x. 190 Elbow-guards, or coudières..were rarely adopted till after the year 1300.
elbow-point n.
ΚΠ
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 44 Bored with elbow-points through both his sides.
C2.
elbow-bombard n. [translating Italian bombardo cubito] a kind of cannon in which the breech was at right angles with the bore.
ΚΠ
1881 W. W. Greener Gun & its Devel. 20 It was called the elbow bombard.
elbow-brushing n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1908 Animal Managem. (War Office) 330 Elbow brushing in the camel is a serious condition resulting from the friction of the elbow pad against the side in animals which are tied in at the elbow and whose toes are turned out.
elbow-cloak n. ? a cloak reaching down to the elbows only.
ΚΠ
?1620 S. Rowlands Paire of Spy-knaues An elbow cloake, because wide hose and garters May be apparent in the lower quarters.
elbow-deep adj. (see quot.; cf. 2f and elbow-health).
ΚΠ
1642 T. Taylor God's Judgem. ii. vii. 102 No man was able to contend with him in his..Elbow-deep Healths.
elbow-health n. figurative a bumper.
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the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > a drink of > large drink
pulla1500
rousea1593
load1594
carouse1599
elbow-healtha1627
skinful1788
swag1819
nor'-wester1835
long beer1892
snootful1918
a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. 61 The nimble Fencer..that..gave me Those elbow Healths.
elbow-length adj. reaching to the elbow.
ΚΠ
1897 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 104. 231/2 This length is very stylish, and known as the elbow length.]
1904 Westm. Gaz. 26 May 10/1 Fashion launched on us the mandate that all sleeves must be elbow length.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 9 Jan. 4/1 I find for everyday wear the elbow-length cream ‘Viyella’ gloves hard to beat.
1932 D. C. Minter Mod. Needlecraft 148/2 An elbow-length sleeve.
1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage ii. 54 Gloves..elbow length with more elaborate decoration for evening wear.
elbow-piece n. (a) in plate armour, a covering for the juncture of the plates meeting at the elbow; (b) a piece of tubing forming an elbow.
ΚΠ
1778 Philos. Trans. 1777 (Royal Soc.) 67 643 This tube was connected to the receiver of the air-pump by means of an elbow-piece of brass.
elbow-pipe n. a pipe having a bend resembling an elbow; cf. 2c.
ΚΠ
1861 W. Fairbairn Iron viii. 166 An elbow-pipe..establishes a communication..between the blast-pipe and the tuyere.
1883 Specif. Alnwick & Cornhill Railway 22 Proper elbow pipes and connections to be made with existing drains.
elbow-polish n. = elbow grease n.
ΚΠ
1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede I. i. vi. 132 Genuine ‘elbow-polish’, as Mrs. Poyser called it.
elbow-shaker n. (see quot.).
ΚΠ
1725 New Canting Dict. Elbow-shaker, a Gamester or Sharper.
elbow-shaking n. and adj. playing at dice.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [adjective]
elbow-shaking1700
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > dice-playing > [noun] > dicing
dice-playc1440
dicing1456
dice-playingc1490
elbow-shaking1850
dice-box1857
jeffing1875
1700 W. Joy in G. Farquhar Constant Couple Prol. sig. Aiiiv Your Elbow-shaking Fool, that lives by's Wits.
1850 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis II. xxii. 222 It's been..cut into..by..your master, with his helbow-shakin', and his bill discountin'.
elbow-sleeve n. a sleeve reaching only to the elbow.
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the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > covering spec parts of body > arm > types of
poke1402
foresleeve1538
long sleeve1538
lumbard1542
puller out1543
maunch1550
hand sleeve1585
French sleeve1592
poke sleeve1592
puff1601
trunk sleeve1603
stock-sleeve1611
hoop-sleeve1614
puff sleevec1632
short sleeve1639
hanging sleeve1659
engageants1690
jockey-sleeve1692
pudding-sleeve1704
Amadis1814
gigot1824
leg of mutton1824
bishop sleeve1829
mutton-leg sleeve1830
balloon sleeve1837
gigot-sleeve1837
bag-sleeve1844
pagoda sleeve1850
mameluke sleeve1853
angel sleeve1859
elbow-sleeve1875
sling-sleeve1888
sleevelet1889
pagoda1890
bell-sleeve1892
kimono sleeve1919–20
dolman1934
1875 L. Troubridge Jrnl. in Life amongst Troubridges (1966) 117 A pretty white muslin with..elbow sleeves, plissées with lace.
1899 Daily News 24 June 4/6 Some of the smart people compromise by adopting elbow sleeves with very long gloves rucked up the whole length of the fore-arm.
1899 Daily News 22 July 4/3 Elbow sleeves have come in with the heat.
1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xiii. 130 Diana is having a new dress made with elbow sleeves.
elbow-wind n. a wind blowing sideways.
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the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind as means of propulsion > other
topsail1390
side winda1398
quarter wind1523
quartern wind1592
elbow-winda1722
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1752) 113 A face or back-wind signifies little, nor the elbow-wind neither to peas and vetches.
Draft additions April 2020
elbow bump n. (a) a blow with or to the elbow; an injury resulting from this; (b) a gesture (usually of greeting or farewell) in which two people lightly tap their elbows together as an alternative to a handshake or embrace, esp. in order to reduce the risk of spreading or catching an infectious disease.
ΚΠ
1902 Buffalo (N.Y.) Courier 15 Mar. (Carriers' ed.) 11/1 An elbow bump sent blood spurting from Tom's nose.
1956 Hammond (Indiana) Times 8 Aug. a12/1 Although an occasional elbow bump and stubbed toe are unavoidable at the pool, serious accidents are few.
1981 Miami News 13 Feb. (Home ed.) c1/2 Gene Banks of the Duke basketball team speaks of the hand slap, high five,..elbow bump and other varieties of shakin'.
2006 N.Y. Times 12 Feb. iv. 1/3 (caption) When the avian flu comes, if it comes, do the ‘elbow bump’ and don't be a straphanger.
2020 Evening Times (Glasgow) (Nexis) 28 Mar. 9 Before strict social distancing rules came into force, Abby and her mother Joanne visited her grandmother, great-grandmother and aunty to share some birthday cake and greet them with a safe elbow bump.
Draft additions 1993
An attack of nervous stiffening of the playing arm suffered by tennis players, which reduces the effectiveness of their shots. Usually as the elbow. Cf. yips n.Not to be confused with tennis elbow n. at tennis n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of visible parts > [noun] > disorders of arm
tennis elbow1883
tennis arm1887
elbow1964
1964 M. Slapak in Armstrong & Tucker Injury in Sport xiv. 219 Each ‘elbow’ must be treated on its own merits, the problem posed by a Davis Cup player with a mild attack and a club player with the same injury being vastly different.
1977 Tennis World Sept. 17/1 If a player is nervous he ‘muffs’, ‘flubs’ or ‘blows’ his shots, and is said to be suffering from ‘the elbow’ or just ‘elbow’... It refers to a psychosomatic complaint: a miserable tightness in the racket arm at crucial moments which makes a player pull his punches.
1985 Times 26 Feb. 29/1 Tennis players suffer from ‘the elbow’, a nervous stiffening of the playing arm which makes for an instant loss of touch and accuracy.
Draft additions 1993
elbow-pad n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for arms > [noun] > elbow-pad
elbow-pad1904
1904 Official Basket Ball Rules (U.S. Amateur Athletic Union) 192 (advt.) Spalding's Leather Covered Pads... Can be readily attached to any part of a jersey... No. 2. Elbow Pad.
1968 P. E. Hartman Lacrosse Fundamentals ix. 111 Football forearm pads, elbow pads and football shoulder pads have been substituted with success for other types of padding.
1986 Sunday Tel. 31 Aug. (Colour Suppl.) 19/2 He has forearm pads, elbow pads, bicep pads and knee-stabilisers (to stop his knees being broken from a sideways blow).
Draft additions January 2002
British colloquial. to give (a person) the elbow: to dismiss or reject (a person), esp. insensitively or unceremoniously; to break off a relationship with (a person) peremptorily. Also (in extended use): to discard or abandon (something). Cf. big E n. at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2, cold shoulder n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > indifference > be indifferent or show indifference to [verb (transitive)] > dismiss or reject (something) indifferently
to toss off1845
to shrug (something) off or aside1909
to give (a person) the elbow1938
the mind > language > statement > refusal > [verb (transitive)] > reject or cast off a person
refusec1390
wavescha1400
denyc1400
rejectc1450
replya1500
repudiate1534
to fling off1587
reprobate1747
veto1839
to tie a can to (or on)1926
to give (a person) the elbow1938
wipe1941
1938 P. G. Wodehouse Code of Woosters viii. 177 After all, the Woosters did come over with the Conqueror..and a fat lot of good it is coming over with Conquerors, if you're simply going to wind up being given the elbow by Aberdeen terriers.
1983 Tucker's Luck Ann. 1984 12/2 You really think I should give her the elbow?.. Tough, innit? She'll get over it, they always do!
1988 New Musical Express 27 Feb. 3/4 Top of the Pops..given the elbow from American networks after just five weeks..failed to attract the audience expected of it.
2000 N. Griffiths Grits (2001) 45 Av given Sarah..the old El Bow... A know that's a terrible fuckin thing tuh say.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
elbowv.
/ˈɛlbəʊ/, U.S. /ˈɛlˌboʊ/ 1. transitive. To thrust with the elbow; to jostle; also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking in specific manner > strike in specific manner [verb (transitive)] > strike with pushing action > give a push to > with the elbow
elbow1608
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xvii. 43 A soueraigne shame so elbows him. View more context for this quotation
1672 J. Dryden Conquest Granada ii. i. i. 74 Grown more strong, it..Elbows all the Kingdoms round about.
1691 J. Norris Pract. Disc. Divine Subj. 199 They have scarce room to pass in without elbowing and justling one another.
1710 R. Steele & J. Addison Tatler No. 253. ⁋8 Must our Sides be elbowed, our Shins broken?
1876 J. R. Green Stray Stud. Eng. & Italy 190 The trader elbowing the noble and the artisan the trader.
2. To thrust aside with the elbow; also, to elbow off, out of (anything). Chiefly figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > pushing and pulling > push and pull [verb (transitive)] > push > aside
shouldera1400
to bear off1627
shunt1706
elbow1712
horn1851
breast1853
shove1861
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 484. ⁋5 It is ever want of breeding..to be..elbow'd out of his honest ambition.
1712 J. Arbuthnot App. to John Bull Still in Senses i. 6 He us'd to..elbow his Fellow-Servants to get near his Mistress.
1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. 485 They would elbow our own Aldermen off the Royal Exchange.
1884 Manch. Examiner 13 Nov. 5/2 The small farming class have been gradually elbowed out of their holdings.
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1636 T. Heywood Challenge for Beautie v. sig. H4 That Picke-devant that elbowes next the Queene.
1681 T. Manningham Two Disc. 50 (T.) He..grows hot and turbid..elbows in all his philosophick disputes.
1767 Babler II. 195 To be elbowing it among people of fashion.
1885 L. Wingfield Barbara Philpot III. xii. 291 Beaux elbowed for a place.
4.
a. quasi-reflexive. To force one's way by elbowing; const. into, through.
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1863 C. C. Clarke Shakespeare-characters vi. 162 She..elbows herself in wherever she sees business going on.
b. quasi-transitive. To make (one's way) by elbowing.
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1833 H. Martineau Berkeley the Banker i. vii. 132 A carrier had left the market early to elbow his way into the bank.
5. intransitive. To make an ‘elbow’ in one's path, go out of the direct way.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > travel in specific course or direction > direct one's course [verb (intransitive)] > change course or turn off > diverge from direct course > make a detour
to cast, fet, fetch, go, take a compass?a1500
to fetch a windlass1530
to fetch about1551
to fetch, make, take a circuit1665
elbow1804
detour1836
1804 R. Southey in J. W. Robberds Mem. W. Taylor (1843) I. 503 I would elbow out of my way to Norwich.
1840 W. Irving Englishman at Paris in Knickerbocker Mag. Nov. 429 Elbowing along, zig-zag.
6. (See quot.)
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1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Elbow To jut out in angles. Dict.
1775 in J. Ash New Dict. Eng. Lang.
1832 in N. Webster Dict. Eng. Lang. ; and in mod. Dicts.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1891; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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