easementn.
/ˈiːzm(ə)nt/, U.S. /ˈizmənt/ 1.
a. Something that provides ease, comfort, benefit, or assistance; an aid; a comfort. Usually in plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > easiness > aid, help, or assistance > [noun] > that which or one who helps or means of help
redeeOE
helpc893
bootOE
friendOE
lithc1275
helpera1300
a helping handa1300
helpingc1330
bieldc1352
succour?a1366
supplementc1384
easementa1398
succourer1442
aid?1473
assister1535
assistant?1541
adminicle1551
mystery1581
second1590
auxiliatory1599
subsidium1640
suffragan1644
facilitation1648
adminiculary1652
auxiliary1656
auxiliar1670
ally1794
Boy Scout1918
assist1954
facilitator1987
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. v. lxii. 281 Þe fleische is as it were a nedeful tapet and esement for þilke bones [L. quasi culcitra et necessarium fulcimentum].
1595 A. Hartwell tr. G. T. Minadoi Hist. Warres Turkes & Persians v. 198 When they founde that they had still remaning so much money, and other easements, as might suffice to comfort the afflicted mindes of the souldiers besieged in the forte, they resolued to goe onwardes.
1609 in J. Skene tr. Regiam Majestatem ii. f. 26 Nane of them [sc. our subjects] sall..carie..anie kind of armour: or horse, or other aismentis, to the comon enemies of our Realme.
1691 H. Maydman Naval Speculations 186 I proceed to the Emoluments and Profits of the Officers,..and also their Privileges for themselves, and Instruments under them, that they be not abused, nor discountenanced, nor their Cabins Store-Rooms, and Easements taken from them.
a1701 H. Maundrell Journey Aleppo to Jerusalem (1703) 28 On each hand of every seat were placed crutches... Their use is for the Priest to lean upon: the Service being sometimes so long, that they cannot well stay it out without the assistance of such easements.
1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. x. 271 It is a rule with curious Pressmen, not to give Proofs a high colour, nor to use very wet paper for them, but instead of these easements to give them a long and slow pull, that the Matter may come off clean and fair, so that every letter may appear full and plain.
1832 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 26 May What are breakwaters, light-houses, and other improvements in the channels and mouths of our rivers,..other than so many easements, facilities, and securities afforded by Government, for the safe and speedy transportation of persons and goods?
1908 Friend 12 Dec. 182/1 Other loving and beloved ones insist on contributing regularly other little comforts and easements for her.
1978 R. V. Jones Most Secret War (1979) ii. xxxvii. 415 I had no easements such as a staff car, and my civilian rations were substantially lower than those of the serving officers who worked under me.
2001 J. Wilt in T. Fessenden et al. Puritan Origins Amer. Sex 286 Lone DuPres..at the age of eighty-six is still seeking in the countryside near the Convent the herbs that mark her as the midwife of Ruby, though the community has now turned away from her easements to the starker comforts of science.
b. The action or fact of providing ease, comfort, etc.; benefit, assistance; (in early use, sometimes) satisfaction, enjoyment. Also: an instance of this. Now rare. †at one's easement: at one's convenience (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > [noun]
lustc888
lustfulnessa900
queemnesseOE
mirtheOE
estec1000
winOE
queemc1175
sweetness?c1225
solace1297
dutea1300
lustinga1300
joyingc1300
jollityc1330
lustiheadc1369
lustinessc1374
sweet1377
voluptyc1380
well-pleasinga1382
pleasancec1385
pleasurea1393
volupta1398
easementc1400
pleasingc1400
complacencec1436
pleasec1475
satisfaction1477
likancea1500
oblectation1508
beauty1523
aggradation1533
pleasurancec1540
joc1560
likement1577
contentment1587
beloving1589
gratification1598
savouriness1599
entertain1601
pleasedness1626
well-apaidness1633
well-pleasedness1633
pleasingness1649
complacency1652
adlubescence1656
enjoyment1665
volupe1669
musica1674
pleasantry1740
barrel of fun (laughs, etc.)1915
the world > action or operation > advantage > convenience > [noun] > personal convenience
avenantc1400
easementc1400
commodity1493
convenientness1579
conveniencya1628
convenience1679
convenancy1769
c1400 Brut (Rawl. B. 171) 194 He wolde nouȝt abide in Scotland in wynter seson, for esement of his peple.
c1425 in C. L. Kingsford Stonor Lett. & Papers (1919) I. 42 (MED) Þe tyme þat ȝe and John Martyn mowe speke to-kedyr ate ȝour bothe esement.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 120 Into esement of him silf and also of his neiȝbour, a man mai singe, pleie, and lauȝe vertuoseli.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 52v A place..ordannt for esment of hir.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 152 Nature vnwilling that humane life should want any easement, hath so prouided..the labour of Camels.
1652 D. Lupton Tythe-taker's Cart Overthrown (title page) Pen'd for the General Satisfaction and Easement of all the People of England.
1713 W. Derham Physico-theol. iii. iv. 72 An admirable Easement, Refreshment, and great Benefit to the Valetudinarian, feeble Part of Mankind.
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §267 To leave our..loose materials, stowed away in the store-room,..was indeed a great easement to us.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 322 I had the cast of a horse from Ferrybridge, and divers other easements.
1824 T. Gaspey Witch-finder I. xiii. 291 I sustain no trifling loss by delaying here for your easement.
1889 C. Bell tr. G. Ebers Margery I. xviii. 269 In this hot summer-tide it could not have been for his easement that he worse the tagged lappets, which fell..from his shoulders over the sleeves of his velvet tunic.
1941 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 6–8 Mar. (1995) 51 Marriage..will offer as many difficulties to the purity proper to that state, as it provides easements.
2010 J. Donovan European Local-color Lit. i. 14 The rights, freedoms, and opportunities envisaged for women in liberal feminism, as well as the comforts and easements offered by modern inventions.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > refreshment or invigoration > [noun]
heartingOE
coolingc1350
refreshinga1382
recreationa1393
easement?a1400
rehetinga1400
freshing1422
refrigery?a1425
refectionc1450
refreshmenta1470
refrigeration1502
corroborating1530
recreating1538
comfortation1543
repast1546
rousing?a1563
refocillation1570
refresh1592
inanimationa1631
recruita1643
irrigationa1660
quicking1661
invigoration1662
reinvigoration1663
recuperation1703
rally1826
recruiting1840
energizing1841
recreance1842
inspiriting1846
animation1855
recruitment1862
inspiritment1886
pepping up1916
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 10863 For þe plente of fisch & flesch, wod & water, hay & gresse, of housyng & oþer esement.
1423 in E. F. Jacob & H. C. Johnson Reg. Henry Chichele (1937) II. 267 (MED) Þei may have esement in a place icallet Hornes place.
1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng i. f. 1v A..place of easment to put in catell.
a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 93 Meit and drink, fyre, claithis and easment.
c1650 (a1500) Eger & Grime (Percy) (1933) 196 Easment for me and my hackney.
1820 W. Scott Monastery II. iii. 94 If Sir Piercie Shafton's affairs had permitted him to honour with his company our poor house of Saint Mary's, he might have had less to complain of in respect of easements.
3. The process or means of giving or obtaining relief from anything considered troublesome or unpleasant.† a. Redress of a grievance; compensation, recompense. Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1405 in H. M. Flasdieck Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1926) 33 (MED) Sir Roger schal relese and for ȝefe to the forsaide John Bagger and other Baillies..al the damagez that be recouered be the same assis; for qwych graunte and easementz the forsaide Baillies, Burgeis and Comuners shul graunte [etc.].
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Reeve's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 259 Som esement has lawe shapen vs.
1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 713/1 Certayne honorable and discret personages,..the which presenting the same letters vnto the sayde assembly, should declare the griefe of the whole Realme, and require some redresse and easement therein.
b. The action of relieving the body by urinating or defecating. Frequently in noun phrases designating locations or facilities used for urination or defecation, as house of easement, place of easement, stool of easement, etc. Also: †a privy (obsolete). Now historical. †to do one's easement: to urinate or defecate (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > privy or latrine > [noun]
gongOE
privy?c1225
room-housec1275
chamber foreignc1300
wardrobea1325
privy chamberc1325
foreignc1390
siegec1400
stool1410
jakes1432
house of easementa1438
kocayc1440
siege-hole1440
siege-house1440
privy house1463
withdraught1493
draught1530
shield1535
bench-hole1542
common house1542
stool1542
jakes house1547
boggard1552
house of office?1560
purging place1577
little house1579
issue1588
Ajax1596
draught-house1597
private1600
necessary house1612
vault1617
longhouse1622
latrine1623
necessary1633
commonsa1641
gingerbread officea1643
boghouse1644
cloaca1645
passage-house1646
retreat1653
shithouse1659
closet of ease1662
garderobe1680
backside1704
office1727
bog?1731
house of ease1734
cuz-john1735
easing-chair1771
backhouse1800
outhouse1819
netty1825
petty1848
seat of ease1850
closet1869
bathroom1883
crapper1927
lat1927
shouse1941
biffy1942
shitholec1947
toot1965
shitter1967
woodshed1974
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [noun]
purgationa1387
shitting1386
officec1395
outpassinga1398
subduction?a1425
easementa1438
cuckingc1440
siegea1475
evacuation?1533
stool1541
egestion1547
dunging1558
purging1579
stooling1599
cackc1600
motion1602
dejection1605
excretion1640
exclusion1646
purgament1650
exoneration1651
disenteration1654
orduring1654
crapping1673
passage1681
seat1697
opening1797
defecation1825
excreting1849
poopc1890
movement1891
job1899
shit?1927
crap1937
dump1942
soiling1943
gick1959
jobbie1981
pooh1981
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > defecation or urination > defecation > [verb (intransitive)]
dritea1000
to do one's filthheadc1300
shit?c1335
to go to siegec1400
scumbera1425
cack1436
to do one's easementa1438
to ease nature, ease oneselfc1440
skite1449
to do of one's needingsc1475
fen1486
dung1508
spurge1530
to cover his feet1535
lask1540
stool1540
to exonerate nature1542
file1564
fiant1575
cucka1605
wray1620
exonerate1631
excrement1632
to do one's ease1645
sir-reverence1665
excrementizec1670
nest1679
poop1689
move1699
defecate1837
crap1874
mire1918
to make a mess1928
mess1937
to go poo-poo (also poo-poos)1960
potty1972
to do a whoopsie (or whoopsies)1973
pooh1975
a1438 Bk. Margery Kempe (1940) i. 181 (MED) He cowd not don hys owyn esement to gon to a sege.
1463 in Archaeologia (1923) 74 156 (MED) An hous of Easement sette in the West side of the same entre.
1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. sig. K.i/2 If he may not do his easement then make hym a purgacyon.
1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions i. v. 51 In the easemente of vrine, the men rowked doune.
1565 Borough Court Perth in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue (1937) I. 44/1 Ane aisment and closat with ane bowall with dur & dur cheikis.
1610 A. Cooke Pope Ioane 7 Of a stoole of easement, to trie the Popes sexe, there is no where any mention.
1655 tr. C. Sorel Comical Hist. Francion iii. 73 In the night time, I haunted the Court yards with a Bulls peezle in my breeches, to belabour those who..went to the houses of Easement.
1712 J. Digby tr. Epicurus Morals 124 The Souldiers..found him in a House of Easement.
1789 J. White Earl Strongbow II. 61 The platforms, where the Danes had strode in warlike shew..had long been appropriated to the easement of nature.
1826 G. Craddock Let. 21 Aug. in T. Sokoll Essex Pauper Lett. (2001) 469 Every time I go to a place of easement my fundament Comes down.
1886 5th Ann. Rep. State Board Health New Hampsh. 1885–6 160 No person shall erect or continue such place of easement so near to any other dwelling that it may become offensive.
1912 Public Health Rep. (U.S. Public Health Service) 27 863 It is the duty of every keeper of a summer resort to provide clean, well-screened places of easement for his guests, and to see to it that the fecal material deposited can not escape.
2007 Sunday Times (Nexis) 9 Sept. (Culture) 50 Waste from a medieval ‘house of easement’ sited at the end of Friar Lane that contained as many as 128 seats.
c. Relief from or alleviation of pain, suffering, discomfort, etc.; the easing or lifting of any burden, constraint, requirement, difficulty, etc.; (also) an instance of this.† dogs of easement n. Obsolete rare a set of hounds brought in the course of a hunt to replace those which have become tired; cf. relay n.1 1.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > state of being consoled or relieved > [noun] > consolation or relief
lightingOE
leathc1175
comfort?c1225
solacec1290
solacec1290
lithec1300
comfortingc1320
allegeancec1325
swaging1340
froa1350
releasec1350
consolationc1374
legeancec1390
reliefa1393
comfortationa1400
leathinga1400
swagea1400
allegementa1425
alleviation?a1425
recreation?a1425
refrigery?a1425
lighteningc1425
recomfortc1425
mitigation?1435
recomforting1487
recreancea1500
allevation1502
easement1533
solacy1534
ease1542
cheer1549
assuagement1561
refreshing1561
easing1580
recomfortation1585
recomforture1595
assuage1596
allevement1599
mitification1607
allayment1609
solagement1609
levation1656
solacement1721
solation1757
soulagement1777
consolement1797
de-tension1949
de-tensioning1952
tea and sympathy1953
1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani xi. sig. G.iv There is no rest or easement of myseries, in so moche that the more they haue laboured the greuouser is the payne.
c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 122v We exiled for euermore our easement to laite.
1583 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin Serm. on Deuteronomie xviii. 105/2 In sted of easement he findeth himself tormented dubble.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xxix. 855 Then also you must let slip some of your fresh dogs, or dogs of easement [Fr. chiens de relais].
1671 I. Barrow Duty & Reward of Bounty 5 Every thing..that may conduce to the support of the life, or the health, or the welfare in any kind of his Neighbour, to the succour or relief of his indigency, to the removal or easement of his affliction.
1702 L. Echard Gen. Eccl. Hist. i. i. 43 In the beginning of his Government, the Jews address'd themselves to Tiberius for an Easement of their Imposts.
1796 E. Burke Let. to Noble Lord 6 I certainly stand in need of every kind of relief and easement.
1839 Tait's Edinb. Mag. June 365/2 Seeking a little easement of their swollen purses.
1852 G. Bancroft Hist. Amer. Revol. II. ix. 191 Grenville promised that the tax..should be reduced to three shillings in the pound, an easement to the landed interest of 500,000l.
1930 Financial Times 3 Jan. 3/3 A rapid easement in the money situation.
1985 Times 3 Jan. 11/6 Those patients who will soon be expected to pay for the easement of their pain.
2002 Church Times 26 July 8/3 The contemporary pursuit of spirituality offers little more than easement of inner tension.
4. Chiefly Law. A right to make limited use of, or enjoy a specific benefit from, a piece of land belonging to another. Cf. profit à prendre n.Now the most common sense.In the United Kingdom an easement requires both a dominant and servient piece of land (see dominant land at dominant adj. 3, servient adj. 1a); in the United States an easement may be granted to a person or group of people instead of being tied to a dominant piece of land.Frequently with modifying word: see also conservation easement n. at conservation n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > law > legal right > rights to do or use something > [noun] > right of using another's property
easement1405
1405 in H. M. Flasdieck Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1926) 32 Wyth al maner of profitez and easementz, That is to seyn: costumz of pedders, wreke of the see, ankerage.
1444 in R. R. Sharpe Cal. Let.-bks. London (1911) K. 295 (MED) Please it to you..to graunte that he may be made sure of his lyflode, housyng, and easement of the gardyn.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. ccxvi/2 They in Bruges had promysed hym in tyme paste, tenne or .xii. thousande frankes yerely: to haue to theym the easment of the ryuer of Lys.
1580 E. Knight Triall of Truth f. 52 The Tenaunt must giue a large fyne, besides some reparations left vndone for him to doe, for the easement of the house.
1607 J. Cowell Interpreter sig. Bb1/2 Easement, (esamentum) is a seruice that one neighbour hath of another by charter or prescription, without profite, as a way through his ground..or such like.
1647 City-law Guild-Hall London 9 The wife after the death of her husband, shal have of the tenement within the City..the Hall, the principall chamber, and the celler, wholly; and her easement in the Kitchin, the chiefe table and curtilage in common, or other necessaries to her appertaining for terme of her life.
1727 W. Nelson Laws Eng. conc. Game 115 'Tis true an Easement (as a Way) may be claimed without setting forth to what it appertains, and so may a Liberty, but an Interest cannot.
1791 I. Espinasse Digest Law Actions Nisi Prius II. 446 If it does not appear that the land over which the easement is claimed is the defendant's freehold, it is sufficient in the declaration to state the injury only.
1834 S. Nevile & W. M. Manning Rep. Court King's Bench 2 772 The objection was, that nothing was enjoyed but a mere easement, without any interest in the soil.
1875 K. E. Digby Introd. Hist. Law Real Prop. iii. 127 If the purposes for which the land of another are used merely tend to the more convenient enjoyment of another piece of land, the right is called an easement.
1913 Rep. N.Y. Public Service Comm., 1st District I. viii. 287 The streets subject to the railroad's easement and other public utility easements which had been previously granted.
1921 W. F. Rench Roadway & Track ii. 29 Where a right of way is granted merely as an easement during such time as it shall be used for the purpose of a railroad, it may be lost by intentional abandonment.
1978 Audubon Sept. 8/3 U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service acquired perpetual easements to 22,000 acres of choice North Dakota waterfowl area where, for $128 an acre, owners agreed not to burn, ditch, drain, or level the wetlands.
2007 Daily Tel. 9 Jan. (Business section) 8/3 Most work is complete but we need to seek an easement from East Sussex County Council to install our cables under a private roadway.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > accommodation or lodging > [noun]
harbourc1150
gesteningc1200
wickingc1275
guestinga1300
harbourya1300
harbergery1303
hostela1325
harbergagec1386
housinga1400
easement?a1425
lodging1454
hostryingec1470
harbourage1570
hospitage1611
accommodationa1616
commodation1725
lodgement1805
up-putting1815
hutmenta1857
up-put1866
mudhif1888
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > outhouse(s) > [noun]
little houseOE
outhouse1301
housingc1384
house of officec1405
officesa1422
easement?a1425
shed1457
outhousing1583
outbuilding1600
outroom1602
outoffice1630
office-house1632
out-hut1856
shedding1883
nushnik1945
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 139 Schippes..made with halles & chambres & oþer eysementes.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. liv/2 Alle suche easmentis fixed vnto houses or to soile by suche tenementis..shall alwey remayn to the owner of the soyle as percels of ye same soyle or tenement.
a1687 W. Petty Papers (1927) I. 79 Survey taken Annis 56 and 57, of all the howseing within all the walled towns of Ireland..together with their gardens, easements, the present Condicion of repaire &c.
1768 A. Ross Fortunate Shepherdess 142 My boughts of good store are no scanty, My byrs are well stocked wi' ky, Of meal i' my girnels is plenty, An' twa or three easments forby.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker II. 227 The bills in their houses [sc. in Scotland] say, they have different easements to let.
1809 Aberdeen Jrnl. 18 Jan. A Garden, with Brew-house, Washing and Dressing-houses, Peat-house and Cellars, and various other easements and accommodations, all completely inclosed.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2016; most recently modified version published online September 2021).
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n.a1398