highadj.n.²

Brit.

/hʌɪ/, U.S.

/haɪ/

Forms:

α. early Old English haeh- (in compounds and derivatives), early Old English he- (in derivatives), early Old English heaw- (inflected form), Old English ea- (inflected form, rare), Old English earre (dative singular feminine, perhaps transmission error), Old English hæ- (in derivatives), Old English hæa- (in derivatives), Old English hæah- (in compounds), Old English hæh- (Mercian, in compounds), Old English he- (inflected form), Old English hea (weak declension, all genders), Old English hea- (inflected form), Old English heach- (inflected form), Old English heag- (inflected form and in compounds and derivatives), Old English hearr (dative singular feminine, transmission error), Old English heg- (inflected form), Old English hegh- (Northumbrian, in compounds), Old English heh- (inflected form), Old English hęh- (Northumbrian, in compounds), Old English heig- (inflected form), Old English henre (dative singular feminine, transmission error), Old English heo- (chiefly Northumbrian, in derivatives), Old English–early Middle English hea- (in compounds and derivatives), Old English–early Middle English heah, Old English–early Middle English heg- (in derivatives), Old English (chiefly Anglian)–early Middle English heh, late Old English hæg- (inflected form), late Old English hæhg- (inflected form), late Old English heach- (Kentish, in derivatives), late Old English heæ- (Kentish, in derivatives), late Old English heæh (Kentish), late Old English heohan (weak declension, dative, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English aȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English eȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English hæȝ-, early Middle English hæh, early Middle English hæhȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English hage- (in compounds), early Middle English hah, early Middle English hahcne (accusative singular masculine), early Middle English hahȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haiȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haih, early Middle English heaȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heahȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heg, early Middle English heȝh- ( Ormulum, inflected form), early Middle English hehȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heiȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heih- (in derivatives), Middle English egh, Middle English ehgh (transmission error), Middle English eyȝe, Middle English hech, Middle English hee, Middle English heeȝ, Middle English heegh, Middle English heȝ, Middle English heȝe, Middle English hegȝ, Middle English hegh, Middle English heghe, Middle English hehe, Middle English hehge, Middle English hei, Middle English heie, Middle English heiȝ, Middle English heiȝe, Middle English heiȝgh, Middle English heiȝh, Middle English heighe, Middle English heih, Middle English heij, Middle English heyg, Middle English heyȝ, Middle English heyȝe, Middle English heygh, Middle English heyȝhe, Middle English heyghi (perhaps transmission error), Middle English heyghie (perhaps transmission error), Middle English heyȝk, Middle English heyh, Middle English heyye, Middle English 1600s haye, Middle English–1500s he, Middle English–1500s heigh, Middle English–1500s heyghe, Middle English–1600s hey, Middle English–1600s heye, 1900s– haigh (nonstandard); English regional (chiefly north-western) 1700s– hee, 1800s heigh, 1800s– heegh, 1800s– heeh, 1800s– hey; Scottish pre-1700 haich, pre-1700 haiche, pre-1700 he, pre-1700 hea, pre-1700 hech, pre-1700 hegh, pre-1700 heghe, pre-1700 hei, pre-1700 heiche, pre-1700 heie, pre-1700 heighe, pre-1700 heye, pre-1700 1700s–1800s hee, pre-1700 1700s– heich /hix/, pre-1700 1700s– heigh, pre-1700 1800s hey, pre-1700 1900s– heych, 1700s–1800s heegh, 1800s he- (in compounds), 1800s heehh, 1800s– heech, 1900s– heh (Dundee); Irish English 1800s heagh (northern), 1800s– heigh.

β. Old English hieh (rare), Old English hieh- (inflected form), Middle English hieȝ, Middle English hieȝe, Middle English hiegh, Middle English hig- (in derivatives), Middle English hiȝ, Middle English hiȝe, Middle English higȝ, Middle English hiȝhe, Middle English highȝ, Middle English hih, Middle English hihe, Middle English hii, Middle English hij, Middle English hiyhe, Middle English huy, Middle English huye, Middle English hyeȝ, Middle English hyg (perhaps transmission error), Middle English hyȝ, Middle English hyȝe, Middle English hyȝgh, Middle English hyghȝ, Middle English hyh, Middle English hyhe, Middle English hyhȝ, Middle English hyhȝe, Middle English hyye, Middle English nyȝe (transmission error), Middle English yȝe, Middle English (1900s– nonstandard, esp. in sense B. 13) hi (see also hi adj.), Middle English–1500s hieghe, Middle English–1500s hy, Middle English–1600s highe, Middle English–1600s hye, Middle English–1600s hygh, Middle English–1600s hyghe, Middle English–1600s (1900s– English regional) hie, Middle English– high, 1500s hige, 1500s hyegh, 1500s hyeghe, 1500s hygge, 1800s– hoigh (English regional (northern)), 1800s– 'igh (regional and nonstandard), 1900s– igh (regional and nonstandard); U.S. regional (North Carolina) 1900s– hoi, 1900s– hoigh, 1900s– hoy; Scottish pre-1700 hi, pre-1700 hiche, pre-1700 hieche, pre-1700 hiegh, pre-1700 hyche, pre-1700 hye, pre-1700 hyech, pre-1700 1700s hy, pre-1700 1700s– hich, pre-1700 1700s– hie, pre-1700 1700s– high, pre-1700 1800s hiech, 1800s hi'- (in compounds); also Irish English 1800s hia (Wexford), 1800s hoigh.

See also higher adj., adv., and n.¹ and highest adj., n., and adv.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hāch (West Frisian heech), Old Dutch hōg, hō (Middle Dutch hooch, Dutch hoog), Old Saxon hōh (Middle Low German hō, hōch), Old High German hōh (Middle High German hōch, German hoch), Old Icelandic hár, hór, Gothic hauhs, also (from a variant of the same base, showing Verner's Law) Old Swedish högher (Swedish hög), Danish høgh (Danish høj), further etymology uncertain and disputed.Further etymology. Suggested Indo-European etymologies include connections variously: with Tocharian A koc , Tocharian B kauc high; with Lithuanian kaukas bump, swelling, kaukaras elevation, hill; with Sanskrit śávīra- strong, powerful; with Serbian and Croatian kuka hook and (with a suffix) Russian kuča , Polish kuczka , both in sense ‘heap’; or with the Germanic base of German Hügel and Old Icelandic haugr (see how n.²); some explanations embrace more than one of these suggested connections. Form history. In Old English the inflected forms of hēah (Anglian hēh , with smoothing) regularly show loss of the voiceless velar fricative and contraction (giving an inflected stem hēa- in West Saxon). However, there is a (later) alternative development with voicing of the velar fricative (originally only in inflected forms: compare Old English hēag- ) by analogy with words in which such alternation of voiceless and voiced fricative is etymological. The Middle English and later sound history reflects divergent developments of ēh parallel to those of long close ē before a palatal described at eye n.¹, with the standard modern pronunciation ultimately reflecting Middle English raising to ī in parts of the midlands and south (with later loss of the final fricative). In Older Scots the regular output of the Old English inflected form hēage- is shown by such forms as he , hee , hie , hye (reflecting a pronunciation /hiː/); however, this has since been largely superseded by the doublet form heich ( /hix/) (relatively uncommon before the 16th cent.), the reflex of the Old English uninflected nominative form hēah . (Old English hīeh is attested only in the Cambridge Psalter gloss and is apparently of different origin from the later β. forms, perhaps a hypercorrect spelling; compare forms of highest adj.). Specific uses. With high time at sense A. 16b compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French haut temps (1396 or earlier). With use with reference to the voice (sense A. 17a) compare classical Latin altā voce with a raised or loud voice. With use as noun, especially with reference to places, position, or altitude (senses B. 2, B. 3, and B. 4) compare Dutch hōi (Middle Dutch hoge), Old Saxon hōhi (Middle Low German hȫge), Old High German hōhi (Middle High German hōhe, hœhe, German Höhe), Gothic hauhei.

A. adj. In most senses the opposite of low adj.For coverage of the comparative and superlative forms, see higher adj. and highest adj. Where important for the history of a particular use, quotations for the comparative higher are included at this entry.

I. Senses relating to distance above or below a base level.

a. Measuring a great distance from top to bottom; extending far upward; lofty, tall. Also: rising considerably from a surface (cf. high relief n.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] > great or considerable

higheOE

steepOE

heaven-highOE

highlyOE

brentc1400

hightc1480

hichty1513

procere1542

tall1548

spiringa1552

towereda1552

tower-like1552

upstretched1563

airy1565

excelse1569

haughty1570

topless1589

lofty1590

procerous1599

kiss-sky1603

skyish1604

topful?1611

aspiringc1620

sky-high1622

hiddy1632

tiptoed1632

sublime1635

towering1638

soaring1687

mountain high1693

clamberinga1717

skied1730

towery1731

pyramidic1740

skyey1750

skyward1792

skyscraping1797

exulting1798

high-reaching1827

steepling1892

high-rise1964

hi1972

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) ciii. 17 Montes excelsi : muntes heae.

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxviii. 96 Gif þæs dolges ofras synd to hea ymb stric mid hate isene swiðe leohtlice þæt þæt fel hwitige.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxii. 358 Entas woldon aræran ane burh & ænne stypel swa heahne [a1225 Lamb. hehne] þæt his hrof astige oð heofon.

OE Blickling Homilies 27 He hine lædde upon swiþe hea dune.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 3626 Þe heye hul to hom was a castel.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. iv. 8 A ful heeȝ hill.

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 483 Ther saw he hertes with hir hornes hye [v.rr. highe, hihe, hyȝe, hee].

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 4863 He clynterand torres.

1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 300 In heich haddyr Wallace and thai can twyn.

a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 700 To þe hight of þe hye dyke.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4 The trees so straight and hy.

1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 52 Besides, is arme or shoulder swelled into a high bunch or tumour, which did put him vnto painfull torments.

1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. I4^v Fair clustred buildings..with high spires to heaven yborn.

1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 150 Clad in Black Gowns..with high round Caps flat at top.

1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iii. 7 This [frog] differs from the former in having a high protuberance in the middle of the back, forming a very sharp angle.

1776 R. Twiss Tour Ireland 125 The upper lake..is quite encompassed with high mountains.

1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 23 The walls are high, the gates are strong.

1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ix. 285 There are high banks or rocks at the angler's back, so that he cannot send his line behind him.

1871 Ann. Rep. Indiana State Hort. Soc. App. 136 It may be a gilt frame, with high mouldings upon the outer edge, or it may be of more humble pretension.

1917 Geogr. Jrnl. 50 172 Great red macaw parrots flew from top to top of the high trees.

1962 A. Norton Lord of Thunder i. 15 The reputed home of these God Ones was the high mountains of the northeast.

2010 Independent 21 Dec. (Viewspaper section) 6/3 We had to walk to school and on occasions had to burrow our way through high banks of drifted snow.

b. Of a person: great in height, tall. Also of a person's height or stature: large, tall.In later use chiefly regional and in comparisons (see sense A. 3b).

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [adjective]

higheOE

longeOE

elegant1516

tall1530

procere1542

tallish1748

towering1756

sesquipedalian1857

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xii. 194 Wæs he Oswine se cyning ge on onsyne fæger ge on bodie heah [L. statura sublimis].

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 106 Me coman to silhearwan atelices hiwes swa heage swa entes.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 963 Þus þe hæȝe scaðe ferde to helle.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1071 He was strong man and hey.

?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 270 Achilles was..an hyghe man of grete stature.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. ii. 10 Stronge people and hye of stature.

1658 T. Bromhall Hist. Apparitions 8 A huge and formidable Man of a high stature.

1738 London Evening-Post 5 Jan. A private Man belonging to Lalleck's Regiment of Horse, who was a fine Person and of high Stature.

1818 ‘T. Brown’ Brighton I. 135 High in person, he soon got high in office; and if his uprightness of principle went hand-in-hand with his erectness of stature, it is well.

1886 H. James Princess Casamassima i. viii. 92 Hyacinth saw her high, lean figure sway to and fro in the dim little room.

1994 S. Robinson Lady Dangerous i. 9 Of high stature like his nephew, he reminded Liza of the illustrations of knights in Le Morte d'Arthur, for he personified doomed beauty and chivalry.

c. Of an item of clothing: high-necked. Now historical.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > having specific parts > neckline

decolouredc1430

high1590

low-cuta1600

low1818

low-necked1830

low-neck1858

décolleté1884

semi-high1905

boat-shaped1921

turtle-necked1931

crew neck1940

polo-collared1946

polo-necked1948

plunge-line1949

plunge-necked1949

crew-necked1950

plunge neck1951

scoop-necked1955

bateau-necked1959

1590 tr. True Disc. Stubbe Peeter 13 This vilde Woolfe..could not pearce the choller of the Childes coate, being high and very well stiffened & close claspt about her neck.

1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xvii. 124 By a sentence of the Court it was decreed, those high neckclothes should be no longer worne, if they were not a little cleft and open before.

1794 S. Rowson Fille de Chambre (new ed.) xii. 56 They have made my gown so abominably high, I declare I appear quite round shouldered.

1827 Lady's Mag. Sept. 511/1 Muslin canezous over high dresses.

1857 E. C. Gaskell Let. ?13–14 Sept. (1966) 471 My grey carmelite, & black moiré, high, & next to no collars.

1875 L. Troubridge Jrnl. in Life amongst Troubridges (1966) x. 102 I had a chemisette to make my gown high, and no ornaments.

1937 J. Laver Taste & Fashion xiii. 185 In the early [eighteen-] sixties, it is interesting to note, there was less décolletage in good families in France than in England. The high dress was worn at dinner parties even of a formal kind.

1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 230/2 Boat-shaped neckline..high in front and back, wide at sides.

1987 M. Bence-Jones Twilight of Ascendancy iii. 52 Requests from ladies to be allowed..to appear at the Castle in ‘high dress’ or ‘halt high dress’ instead of the prescribed décolletage.

2006 C. Clay King, Kaiser, Tsar xii. 213 She greeted Anne warmly and told her to change into a ‘high dress’, because she was to dine with Her Majesty.

d. Printing. Having a specified or standard height to paper (distance from foot to face); (also, esp. in high to paper) having a greater such distance than that which is required. Cf. low to paper at low adj. 2d.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [adjective] > projecting

high1683

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 28 They [sc. head-sticks] are Quadrat high, straight, and of an equal thickness all the length.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. iii. 116/2 Bearer, is a Riglet made Letter high and fastned to the Frisket.

1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 243 Good Press-work will expose the defects, and shew where letters are cast either too high, or too low, to paper.

1834 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal (Cabinet Cycl.) III. vii. 126 The letters or types..are composed, or, as the printers term it, set up into a page in the ordinary manner, care being taken to use the high spaces and quadrats commonly employed in stereotyping.

1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 698/2 Spaces and quadrats were formerly only three-fourths of an inch in height; but, since electrotyping has become so common, they are almost invariably cut high, i.e., up to the shoulder of the type.

1916 Vocational Educ. Surv. Richmond, Va. (U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics) 111 Iron bearers, type high, are placed all around the type matter before the form is locked up.

2007 B. Moser Ashen Sky 39 The very precise blocks..are produced at the universal ‘type high’ measure—.918 inch—which allows the blocks to be locked up and printed with the type.

a. Situated far above the ground or some other base; far up; having a lofty position.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xi. 268 Se ðe gebigde þone heagan heofenlican bigels.

OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. vii. 49 Þæt mynstre [read mynster] wæs geseted in heanum cnolle þæs muntes.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 129 Þe heouene is swiðe hech.

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. av^v Al yai that ar wrocht vndir ye hie hevin.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Tobit iii. 10 At this voyce wente Sara in to an hye chamber of hir house.

1678 T. Jordan Triumphs of London 8 A Shrine, or Indian Structure erected according to the Dorick order of Architecture, adorned with lively pieces of Imagerie round about, and, on the high extremity, is exalted a Masculine lively person.

1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 75 Their Sconces lying so high, that they had a great command of us.

1776 R. Chandler Trav. Greece i. 2 The sharp end is very often high in the air.

1816 U. Brown Jrnl. in Maryland Hist. Mag. 11 358 Thence up said River 3 Miles to John Rush's where we put up & was kindly treated, he being the highest setler up that River.

1821 R. Southey Vision of Judgem. i. 2 The clouds had gather'd above them High in the middle air, huge, purple, pillowy masses.

1836 A. Taylor & J. Taylor Star in Rhymes for Nursery i Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 226 [He] Climb'd to the high top of the garden-wall.

1874 H. Chadwick Base Ball Man. 30 Chances for fly-catches from short, high balls.

1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. xvi. 122 High plains where there is no moistness or mistiness in the atmosphere.

1982 C. Willis in S. Williams Hugo & Nebula Award Winners from Asimov's Sci. Fiction (1995) 43 There was a constant, deafening thunder broken by the occasional droning of the planes high overhead.

2004 Conservation Action (N.Z. Dept. of Conservation) July 9/2 On the high slopes of the Craigieburn Range..there are hundreds of large penwiper plants.

b. Of a celestial object: not low in the sky; far from the horizon.In quot. lOE in figurative context; cf. sense A. 8b.In quot. 1613 perhaps sense A. 2a.

ΚΠ

lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 32 Eall þis þu myht geþencan be gode..: he is seo hea sunne.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. vi. 525 Somer is hoot and drye... And þanne þe sonne is most hiȝe aboue vs.

c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Brussels) (1940) ii. §22. f. 89^v As heiȝ is the pool artik fro the orizonte as the equinoxial is fer fro the cenith.

c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 188 The high sun Was comyn into colde with a course low.

1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 267 And when the moone is high and septentrionall, the tide is not so vehement as when she is meridionall, bicause that being then more neere to the earth, she doth the more exercise hir power.

1637 S. Rutherford Let. 8 Sept. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) 364 Oh for the long day & the high sun & the fair garden & the King's great citie up above these visible heavens!

1719 in Philos. Trans. 1717–19 (Royal Soc.) 30 993 The Moon was not too high to be well observed with a Forestaff.

1789 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum iii. 301 The moon..That's blinkin in the lift sae hie.

1804 W. L. Bowles Spirit of Discov. 308 Whose volcanic fires A thousand nations view, hung like the moon High in the middle waste of heaven.

1917 R. Kipling Diversity of Creatures 237 A high sun over Asia shouting: ‘Rise and shine!’

1981 C. A. Ronan Pract. Astron. 61 Grus (the Crane) is very close to the zenith, while Sagittarius (the Archer), Pavo (the Peacock) and Hydrius (the Sea Serpent) are high in the sky.

2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon vi. 90 It was six-fifteen on the Russian spring evening, the sun high in the sky still, in anticipation of the ‘White Nights’ for which the Russian summer is justly famous.

c. Chiefly with capital initial. Prefixed to the names of countries or districts, designating the upper (or inland) part, as High Asia, High Germany, High Furness, etc.Some related uses are treated as main entries: see High Dutch n. and adj., High German n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > [adjective]

overOE

upa1400

uppera1400

high?a1425

uplandsa1525

uplandish1551

highland1595

upland1610

high country1612

uphill1613

Highlandish1632

uplying1877

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [adjective] > in high position

superiora1393

uppera1400

high?a1425

?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 3 Egipte þe hie and þe lawe.

1530 Proper Dyaloge Gentillman & Husbandman (new ed.) sig. Cvj^v Euene as they dyd in hygh Germany To the Emperour lewes of Bauerye.

1578 W. B. tr. Appian of Alexandria Aunc. Hist. Romanes Warres ii. 137 Antiochus had the rule of many nations in high Asia, and of all that inhabite the sea coast, sauing a fewe.

1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxv. 105 One generall Sewer, which seemeth to diuide, Low Holland from the High.

a1735 W. Derham Life Mr. Ray in J. Ray Select Remains (1760) 58 All the Birds, Fishes, &c. which they saw, as they passed through High and Low Germany.

1774 T. West Antiq. Furness p. xlv The woodlanders of High Furness were charged with the care of the flocks and herds.

1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 644 The Suffolk-punches, which are common in the district called High Suffolk.

1869 W. W. Hunter (title) A Comparative Dictionary of the Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia.

1925 E. A. Powell Beyond Utmost Purple Rim iii. 66 A quest for an almost extinct variety of wild sheep found only in the High Atlas.

2008 Independent 8 Feb. 43/2 Life for the nomads of High Asia has never been anything other than tough, but this winter has beset them with unprecedented problems.

d. Medicine. Situated in the upper part of the body, section of the body, limb, or organ; spec. = proximal adj. 2a. Also: occurring in, involving, or relating to such a position; designating such a position.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > positions or directions in body > [adjective] > specific

rightOE

lefta1200

lowera1400

furtherc1400

lateral?a1425

sinistera1500

upper1528

anterior?1541

inferior1563

superior1566

oblique1578

high1588

ascendant1611

prone1646

peripherial1653

internal1657

supine1661

peripherical1690

gawk1703

ascending1713

adducent1722

submental1722

adductory1752

subdorsal1783

syntropic18..

atlantal1803

mesiad1803

mesial1803

proximal1803

sternal1803

distal1808

peripheral1808

peripheric1818

ventripetal1819

submedial1825

anteriormostc1826

subvertebral1827

afferent1828

sinistral1828

rostral1834

interganglionic1835

submedian1836

mesian1837

haemal1839

supravaginal1844

neural1846

symmetrical1851

suprameatal1853

paraxial1861

posterial1866

hypaxial1873

postaxial1873

preaxial1873

transmedial1876

transmedian1876

mediad1878

horizontal1881

mesal1881

prosomatic1882

dextrad1883

paramedian1890

prorsal1890

ventro-dorsal1895

midsagittal1898

ventro-axial1902

ventro-posterior1903

ipsilateral1907

parasagittal1907

ventromedial1908

homolateral1910

suprasellar1912

supratemporal1975

1588 W. Clowes Prooued Pract. Young Chirurgians v. 100 The xiii. is the situation of the member in a high or lowe part of the body, for vlcers in the superior members are easy to be cured, but in the inferior hard.

1687 Chirurgorum Comes i. ii. 16/2 I Answer, That all those parts which are above the Navel, including also the Liver and Stomach, are accounted high: but the parts below the Liver are accounted Low, as the Kidneys, and Genitals in Man and Woman.

1698 J. Keill Anat. Humane Body 235 It [sc. the fibula] lies in the outside of the Leg, and its upper end which is not so high as the Knee, receives the lateral knob of the upper end of the Tibia.

1740 Philos. Trans. 1737–8 (Royal Soc.) 40 371 No other method but that of the high Operation can facilitate the Extraction [from the bladder] of an extraneous Body, whose Branches cannot fail causing considerable Lacerations.

1760 E. Nihell Treat. Art Midwifery 266 If the foetus is still high in the uterus, and the situation of it does not indicate a readiness for extrusion.

1784 B. Bell Treat. Theory & Managem. Ulcers (ed. 3) §viii. 334 So high in the thigh that a tourniquet could not be applied.

1834 Lancet 20 Sept. 1020/1 This high position of the testicles in the cavity of the abdomen..corresponds with the position of the ovaries in the opposite sex.

1912 G. L. Hunner in J. H. Musser & A. O. J. Kelly Handbk. Pract. Treatm. 716 Stone low in the ureter in men, and stone in women just too high for vaginal removal, may best be reached through a low McBurney or rectus muscle incision.

1952 Mich. Alumnus Q. Rev. 59 109 The nurse in charge of the ward kept telling the enlisted man that it must be a high enema, and he was so annoyed at having to give it anyhow, and especially to a German prisoner, that he finally said, ‘Well, is this high enough?’.

2005 S. C. Basu Male Reprod. Dysfunction xii. 251/2 The epididymal function seems to be taken over by the more proximal segments allowing pregnancies even in the case of high anastomosis.

3. Having a degree of height specified or indicated by comparison.

a. With a premodifying noun phrase consisting of a noun denoting or implying a measure of upward distance premodified by a numeral or quantifier (e.g. ten foot high). Also forming part of such a phrase used attributively (e.g. an 80-foot high tower, a ten foot high ceiling) or introduced by of (e.g. a building of nine storeys high).Frequently with a premodifying noun denoting a physical object used as a measure of height. chin-high, face-high, knee-high, man-high, roof-high, etc.: see the first element.

(a) Having a specified upward dimension or extent; (so much) in height. Cf. sense A. 1.In Old English with the measure (and sometimes also the numeral) in the genitive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective]

highOE

high-seta1382

sovereigna1425

airy1565

sublime?1567

haughty1570

supernal1599

aerial1608

upward1622

high-top1653

superincumbent1659

supern1703

highish1778

high-up1831

high-level1842

altitudinous1868

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective]

highOE

heighted1892

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) i. 185 Wyrc þe nu ænne arc þreo hund fæðma lang & fifti fæðma wid & þritig fæðma heah.

OE Genesis A (1931) 1308 Þu þær [read þæt] fær gewyrc fiftiges wid, ðrittiges heah[and] þreohund lang elngemeta.

OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 2 June (2013) 110 Þa stod þær gyldenu onlicnes, twelf elna heah.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 565 Ðat arche was...l.^ti elne wid and .xxx.^ti heg.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1419 An ellen hyȝe þei wore.

a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 14 Euery kniȝt schulde haue..a stake ypiȝt in þe erþe of vi fote hiȝe aboue þe erþe.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxvi^v Ouer their coardes was streyned wollen clothes of light blew: this roofe was .lxxx. fote high.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 35 Sevin, or viii. cubites hich.

c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 181 A rych herse..of nyne stories heigh.

1633 T. James Strange Voy. 43 The snow was..halfe legge high.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 70 A piece of small Wyer about a quarter and half quarter of an Inch high.

1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. vi. 92 The common Size of the Natives is somewhat under six Inches high.

1795 Times 24 June 3/1 A slight buffon tucker of two inches high.

1825 Kingston (Upper Canada) Chron. 7 Jan. 3/3 Bulls and Oxen to run at large—Fences 5 feet high.

1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 747 The Cabbage Palm..is..a lofty tree 170 to 200 feet high.

1901 M. C. Dickerson Moths & Butterflies i. 12 A small milk-white egg..less than one-twentieth of an inch high.

1943 Triumphs of Engin. 182/1 Each has its aeroplane landing ground, telephone, telegraph, and 80-foot high wireless towers.

1993 Canad. Living July 4/2 An encyclopedia-high smoked meat sandwich.

2006 Nature 2 Nov. 44/2 (caption) This white-coloured sulphate evaporite cliff (about 10 metres high).

(b) Situated at a specified distance above the ground or some other base or level; (so far) up. Cf. sense A. 2.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > situated at specific high level

high1582

1582 A. Golding tr. Ioyful & Royal Entertainment sig. E4^v Hee turned towardes the Coopers streete, in the street called Cheeslane to the great Market place, which was full of Torches of waxe, and of Barrelles of pitche vpon long poles vp to the highest windowes, which commonly are fiue stories high.

1662 J. Strype in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 178 A very handsome [Chamber], and one pair of stairs high.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 62 She lay in the Garret four Story high.

1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 5 The limit of atmospheric air, supposed to be forty-five miles high.

1856 M. F. Tupper Paterfamilias's Diary of Everybody's Tour 162 Our first act was to ascend to the top landing of its aerial lantern, between five and six hundred steps high.

1920 B. Harrow Eminent Chemists 158 She established herself in the ‘east side’ section of the town, in a small back room, four flights high, to which she carried her own coal.

1982 R. Kahn Seventh Game ii. 33 He threw a fastball pecker-high that abruptly sailed in toward Haskell's groin.

1990 Countryside Winter 162/1 A yurt is basically a round tent with walls, about 16 feet in diameter, with a 10-foot high ceiling topped by a pointed roof.

2013 New Yorker 27 May 56/1 The ceilings were eleven feet high.

b. Expressing relative upward extension: having (more, less, or a specified) extent from top to bottom; esp. (of a person) having (a specified) stature.

ΚΠ

1579 S. Gosson Ephemerides Phialo ii. f. 40^v If thou be but a hoppe on my Thumbe, as high as three horsloues, or stand on a Moulehill to looke into a mustarde pot.

1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies ii. 248/2 Another strange beast called Coaty , as high as a Hare.

a1652 R. Brome New Acad. ii. ii. 33 in Five New Playes (1659) For I did beat a boy as high as my selfe Yesterday, with one hand.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 360 If the fore Wheels were as high as the hinder Wheels.

1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 173 The Grass..being as high as our Mid-Thigh.

1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. I. viii. 405 The man can see, by the height of the water in the pump cistern, how high it is in all the rest.

1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxvi. 400 Ever since I was a boy about half as high as the brass-headed stick o' my wery respectable friend, Blazes, there.

1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb (ed. 2) vii. 45 I dinna believe but ye're near as heich's Peter there.

1886 D. C. Murray Rainbow Gold II. (new ed.) ii. 34 I've known him from the time he was as high's the table.

1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IX. 837/3 The shōji..are approximately as high as the tatami are long.

2012 S. J. Troupe & D. R. Troupe How Nicholas became Santa Clause ii. 39 A large bald, muscular man as high as Zili's horse.

4. Designating a body of water, tide, etc.

†a. Of the sea, water, etc.: deep. Cf. high sea n. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

OE Wanderer 82 Sume wig fornom, ferede in forðwege, sumne fugel oþbær ofer heanne holm.

OE Genesis A (1931) 1451 He þa ymb seofon niht sweartum hrefne of earce forlet æfter fleogan ofer heah wæter haswe culufran on fandunga hwæðer famig sæ deop þa gyta dæl ænigne grenre eorðan ofgifen hæfde.

OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 48 Crist..þone halgan Petrum be ðære handa gelædde upp on þam heagan brymme, þæt þæt ða sælican yða hine forswelgan ne mihton.

c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. i. l. 162 (MED) Riȝt so is loue a ledere..And in þe herte þere is þe heuede and þe heiȝ welle.

a1425 (a1400) Titus & Vespasian l. 1764 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1904) 112 32 (MED) Wolt þou me swere..Wiþ me to wende to Jerusalem Ouer þe see, þe hiȝe streem?

b. Of the tide: at its maximum height. See also high tide n. 2, high water n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > tide > type of tide > [adjective] > full (of tides)

fullOE

higha1387

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 59 Þe hiȝe flood of occean ariseþ [?a1475 anon. tr. swellethe] vp þe costes of Bretaine foure score cubitis hiȝe.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 723 (MED) Of flodes hihe and ebbes lowe Upon his [sc. the moon's] change it schal be knowe.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xxi. 667 Þe first day of waxinge of þe mone he is more copiouse þan oþer tymes, for þan þe see is moste ful and hiȝe.

1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 970 After the which winde followed so high a tide, that it drowned the marshes on Essex side and Kent.

1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 138 The 4. of March (the tide being high) there entred 21. saile into the gollet, the enemie shott two through.

1696 Famous Tryal between T. Neale & Lady Ivy 26 At high Flood doth the Water come in there at this time?

1770 Trial M. Campbell for Murder A. Earl 27 Nature itself points out..the margin of the water at all times, whether at high or low sea.

1837 ‘P. Parley’ Tales about Sea ii. 15 When the water is high, it is called high tide; when it is low, it is called low tide.

1939 Oxnard (Calif.) Daily Courier 18 Apr. 1/8 The last attempt to get the barge off the sands was made Monday evening when the tide was high at 6:30 o'clock.

2002 Integrative & Compar. Biol. 42 846/1 When the tide is high, flowing water can generate large hydrodynamic forces on attached organisms.

c. Of the sea: characterized by large swells; rough; stormy.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [adjective] > characterized by swells

high1569

swelly1722

1569 N. Haward tr. Seneca Line of Liberalitie ii. xxxv. f. 90 It shall blow merueilous fowle wether, and be hygh and rough seas.

?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses v. 81 Neptune raisd A huge, a high, and horrid sea, that seisd Him and his ship.

1693 H. Higden Wary Widdow iv. 37 'Tis all Prise Brandy and as true as ever came from Nantz. Guard the Bowle Boy, least a high Sea should overset it.

1793 tr. G. B. Du Bocage Petit Neptune Français vii. 129 In this Gulf..the sea is very high with the winds from the offing, and you should not be safe there when they are blowing from the west.

1869 Edinb. Evening Courant 26 Aug. Heavy northerly gales sprung up, which continued without intermission, and the sea being high caused the vessel to labour heavily.

1903 Irish Monthly Feb. 100 Sometimes the weather was so wild and the seas so high that for days the boats could not venture out.

2002 R. Mykle Killer 'Cane (2006) viii. 120 He had never experienced such high seas. This was more than a hurricane, he thought.

d. Of a river, lake, etc.: raised above the usual water level; swollen or in flood as a result of heavy rains or melting snow. See also high water n. 1.

ΚΠ

1574 T. Tymme tr. J. de Serres Three Partes Comm. Ciuill Warres Fraunce viii. sig. Uuu.iii The Riuers would be so highe with showers of raine, that men could not passe ouer the sayd Riuers.

1604 W. Traheron tr. P. Mexia Hist. Rom. Emperors 455 Raine, which fell..in such sort, that the water was so high, that the riuers and lakes of Italie ouerflowed and drowned an infinit number of people and cattell.

1661 T. Salusbury tr. B. Castellus Mensuration Running Waters ii. 55 in Math. Coll. & Transl. I The quantity of the Water which runneth, whilst the River is high, to that which ran, whilst it was low, hath the proportion [etc.].

1790 J. Bruce Trav. Source Nile III. vi. xviii. 716 These cisterns are now full of filth; though in disrepair, the water, when the Nile is high insinuates itself into them.

1883 Forest & Stream 17 May 310/1 The lake is very high to-day: the snow water is still running in.

1915 Delphi (Indiana) Jrnl. 22 July 1/1 Shirrar, the oldest boy, noticed that the creek was high and unusually swift.

2000 Dædalus Summer 90 The state's rivers have become popular places for downstream travel in rented canoes, usually in the spring when the water is high.

a. Of a person's forehead: large in distance from the eyes or eyebrows to the hairline or top of the head. Cf. high-browed adj. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [adjective] > types of

brentc1400

high?c1450

steep1509

high-browed?1614

broad-fronteda1616

bluff1665

low-browed1734

lofty1798

baby-browed1843

bluff-browed1851

beautiful-browed1913

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 22 (MED) Whanne the pie sawe a balled or a pilled man, or a woman with an high forhede.

1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 18 I coniure thee by Rosalindes bright eye, high forehead, and scarlet lip.

1686 True Fortune-teller (ed. 2) xxvi. 125 The Sanguine he [sc. Jupiter] governs most, causing the party to have a fine white skin.., eyes a dark brown, a high forehead, and four lines appearing therein.

1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. xxxix. 18 Her fore-head was high and wrinkled, her eyes large, grey and prominent.

1828 Token 186 It needed not much observation to discover that she was beautiful; and her high brow seemed to speak of lofty thoughts.

1851 Manch. Examiner & Times 25 Oct. 6/2 His forehead, high and broad, is deeply wrinkled.

1922 C. A. Player Arms & Men 67 His brow is high, and above it curls grey hair.

1991 A. R. Morlan Amulet iv. 111 The few long crinkled hairs combed over Wally's ever-growing bald patch (‘Walter has a high forehead,’ his wife was fond of explaining) flopped back to their natural side.

2008 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 1 June 8 With her heart-shaped face, large eyes and high forehead, she is the perfect choice to play a cartoon character brought to life.

b. Of a person's cheekbones: prominent, pronounced.

ΚΠ

1693 A. P. tr. S. de la Loubère New Hist. Relation Kingdom Siam ii. i. 27 The shape of their Faces..is broad and high at the Cheek-bones.

1750 London Mag. July 316/1 They have a great head with black lank hair, a large flat face.., their cheek bones extremely high.

1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies iii. 22 His features were..not unlike those of Napoleon, but sharpened up, with high Indian cheek-bones.

1895 Cosmopolitan Mar. 594/2 The high cheek-bones scarcely mar the just balancing of the features of the face of this pueblan beauty.

1948 Life 2 Feb. 35/2 Her face was oval-shaped, her cheekbones high and her features delicate.

1988 B. W. Aldiss Forgotten Life iv. 99 He was a sturdily built man with a beaky face and high cheek bones.

2007 E. Danticat Brother, I'm Dying i. ii. 28 With her high cheekbones and pouty lips she looked like a calendar girl or carnival queen.

6. Of physical actions: extending to or from a height; performed at a height. Cf. high hurdle n. and adj. at Compounds 4, high jump n. 2.With nouns of action and directly related to high adv. 1, e.g. a high leap is closely related to to leap high.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > performed at a height

high1566

1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. cxlv. f. 100^v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Surbating..is a beating of the houe agaynst the grounde,..it commeth sometyme by meanes of euil shooing lying to flat to his foote, or by going long barefote, and sometyme by the hardenesse of the ground, and highe lifting of the horse.

a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 279 Which should sustaine the bound and high curuet Of Marses fierie steed.

1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 142 It is not the large Stride, or High Lift, that makes the Speed.

1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists iii. i. 192 You might well expect the Fate of Icarus, for your high-soaring.

1762 G.-A. Gallini Treat. Art of Dancing 78 All are pleased with a brilliant execution, in the quick motion of the legs, and the high springs of the body.

1868 Morning Star 19 June Judging the bound of the ball when it lands after a high throw.

1891 H. S. Constable Horses, Sport & War 20 High action will cause splints, speedy-cuts, and other unsoundnesses.

1955 Athletics (Know the Game Ser.) 15 High jumping: Western roll; straddle; Eastern cut-off.

1968 Listener 23 May 682/1 For a high cross a well-trained full-back..is good enough.

2006 ‘L. Burana’ Try ii. 11 The puller yanked open the gate and the squat palomino made a high dive into the arena.

7. Phonetics. Of a vowel: produced with (the highest part of the body of) the tongue in a position raised close to the roof of the mouth; showing auditory characteristics typical of sounds traditionally described as being so articulated.The term close is preferred in the terminology favoured by the International Phonetic Association.For an explanation of this system of vowel classification, see mid adj. 2b(a).Frequently in combination with other adjectives indicating position, as high-mixed, high-narrow; for more established uses of this type, see Compounds 3c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of

openeOE

sharp?1533

simple1582

small1599

soft1625

obscurea1637

round1710

slender1755

close1760

wide1824

lowered1836

narrow1844

labialized1856

orinasal1856

central1857

reduced1861

free1864

high1867

low1867

mid1867

mixed1867

rounded1867

unrounded1871

raised1876

unreduced1894

obscured1897

spread1902

lax1909

slack1909

tense1909

centralized1926

flat1934

r-coloured1935

checked1943

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 101 The vowels..are represented in script by a single symbol for each class of vowels; the varieties ‘high’, ‘mid’, and ‘low’ in each class, being shown by the mere ascent and descent of the lines.

1874 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds 43 As a general rule the high vowels i and u have retained their positions, but in Dutch the short i is now represented by the mid-front-wide.

1909 O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. i. viii. 231 The great vowel-shift consists in a general raising of all long vowels with the exception of the two high vowels.

1964 R. Jakobson & M. Halle in D. Abercrombie Daniel Jones 98 The ‘high-narrow’ vowels are particularly short.

2009 Oceanic Linguistics 48 315 A voiceless velar fricative similar to standard German ch when not adjacent to a high vowel.

II. Ranking above other people or things in class, status, or quality, and related senses.

a. Of a person or his or her attributes: of exalted rank, status, dignity, or estimation. Also of a person's reputation or position in society: exalted, favoured, highly esteemed. Cf. high life n. 2, high society n. at Compounds 4.For use in titles, see Compounds 1c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]

higheOE

drightlikeOE

highlyOE

drightfula1225

prouda1275

principalc1385

solemna1387

gentlec1390

high and mighty1400

imperial?c1400

royalc1405

kinglyc1425

sublimatec1425

lordfulc1429

lordlyc1440

assumpt1447

raiseda1450

haught1470

kinglikec1485

lordlike1488

triumphant1494

greatlya1500

princely?a1510

supereminent1531

princelike1532

lofta1547

lofty1548

regal1561

supernal1562

haughty1563

excelse1569

queen-like?1571

majestical1578

erecteda1586

augustious1591

ennobled1592

imperious1592

enthronized1593

august1594

high-born1598

sublimed1602

jovial1604

majestic1606

enthroned1609

starred1615

exalted1623

majestuous1633

reared1638

sublimary1655

majestative1656

kingrik1663

superb1663

grand1673

celse1708

stilted1744

canonized1790

queenly1791

apotheosized1794

princified1857

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > exalted in rank

higheOE

stern of slatec1300

greatc1325

differentc1384

excellentc1400

haught1470

upper1477

elevate?1504

of sort1606

sublime1606

eminenta1616

exalted1623

elevated1665

uppish1797

ranking1847

high-up1848

high-ranking1850

superimposed1861

salt1868

top-ranking1936

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun]

higheOE

high life?a1518

towna1616

world1618

grand monde1673

society1693

beau monde1712

fine world1740

monde1765

tonc1770

high society1782

fashion1807

all the world1808

society1840

smart set1851

swelldom1854

Fifth Avenue1858

fashionabledom1859

haut monde1864

the big cheesea1910

higlif1911

haute Bohème1925

café society1937

jet set1949

beautiful people1950

society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > superior

greata1382

higha1400

seniora1513

superordinate1615

high-ranking1850

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xcviii. 2 Dominus in sion magnus et excelsus super omnes populos : dryhten in sion micel & heh ofer alle folc.

OE Beowulf (2008) 57 Him eft onwoc heah Healfdene.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17393 Þatt heȝhe maȝȝstre nicodem.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 19 He wes hali and mihti and heh ouer heouene and ouer eorða.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10964 And þus þer cleopede Howel hæhes cunnes.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 16 Prede ys..þe wel special ald [read aid] to þe dyeule huer-of he be-gyleþ þe heȝe men.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17300 Ouer þo iewes..As her prince an hy man.

?c1430 (a1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 199 Grete richessis and heiȝe statis.

1490 W. Caxton in tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) Prol. 3 Princes & lordes of hie estate.

1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies sig. B.iiij^v They that..doe lyue in sinne.., not vttering the frutes that do belong to suche an high profession.

1568 in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 328 Befoir that hich grand Roy.

1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. 152 In any either hie or low kinde of life.

1613 T. Middleton Triumphs of Truth sig. D2 Like one of High-bloud that hath married Base.

1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 172 For him I reckon not in high estate Whom long descent of birth Or the sphear of fortune raises.

1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 54. 344 Sir Francis Walsingham was..high in the Queen's Favour.

1769 T. Gray Ode at Installation Duke of Grafton 5 High Potentates and Dames of royal birth.

1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 22/2 The high position France had attained in 1684.

1921 F. S. Mathews Field Bk. Wild Birds & their Music (rev. ed.) 103 The Field Sparrow is a gentle little creature whose..expressive song have won for him a high place in the estimation of all bird-lovers.

1956 Public Opinion Q. 20 612 The old upper class of traditional Americans were fearful of losing their high social status as their wealth was relatively diminished by the rise of other groups.

2009 J. Foster tr. P. Manes As if it were Life iii. 251 The head of the women's section, Mrs. Frič, was leaving with her husband, who had held a high position in the supplies office.

b. With emphatic or superlative force, in high God, high heaven.

ΚΠ

OE Riddle 40 22 Se ana god se þisne hean heofon healdeþ ond wealdeþ.

OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxliv. 1 Ic me heahne god hæbbe to kyninge.

lOE tr. Alcuin De Virtutibus et Vitiis (Vesp.) in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 98 Se heage God gesihð þa eadmedan.

a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Deeds vii. 48 The hiȝ God dwellith not in thingis maad bi hoond.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vi. sig. Hh2 Whence all the world deriues the glorious Features of beautie, and all shapes select, With which high God his workmanship hath deckt.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 124 Man, proud man, Drest in a little briefe authoritie..Plaies such phantastique tricks before high heauen, As makes the Angels weepe.

1707 S. Cobb Poems 51 Whene'er High God shall whet his angry Sword, The Rising Sun shall see True Faith restor'd.

1833 J. E. Alexander Transatlantic Sketches II. i. 4 ‘They won't be able to face you..without a fleet.’ ‘Oh! tarnation, no..nothing under high heaven; we will knock h—ll out of them.’

1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 254 Hereafter..We two may meet before high God.

1915 D. A. Mackenzie Myths Babylonia & Assyria vii. 147 Then he made the abode of Ea in the deep, and the abode of Anu in high heaven.

a1935 W. Lewis Journey into Barbary (1983) 214 A position of abject submission to a High God.

1997 T. Petsinis French Mathematician (1998) xx. 186 The acrid stench of sewers rising to high heaven.

a. Of exalted quality, character, or style; of a lofty, elevated, or superior kind; refined, sophisticated; honourable. Cf. high art n. at Compounds 4, high comedy n. at Compounds 4, high culture n. (b) at Compounds 4, high-minded adj. 2, high thinking at thinking n. 1c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > surpassing excellence > [adjective] > and superior in quality

higheOE

finec1330

supreme1567

uppera1586

nature-graceda1618

de luxe1819

nature-favoured1877

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 459 Sio hea lar is betere manegum monnum to helanne, & feawum to secgganne.

eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. xvi. 448 Wrat he eac heah boc & weorðlice de uirginitate.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 17 Þa ȝet he ȝef us ane heȝe ȝefe.

a1250 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Titus) (1940) 157 Þu ofearnest meiden to beo engle euening i þe heȝe blisse of heuene.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 16 (MED) Þei clepen it hey riȝt-wisnenesse.

1485 W. Caxton tr. Lyf St. Wenefryde sig. aii A man of hye merite.

?a1535 To City of London (Vitellius) in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 276 Of high renoun, riches and royaltie.

1569 J. Rogers Glasse Godly Love 183 Surely it is an highe and pure love.

1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. i. vi. sig. M8 He, whose high Reason, and exalted Piety, has..plac'd him above them.

1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 404 Where now are all your high Resolves at last?

1757 S. Foote Author i. 8 His Peculiarities require infinite Labour and high Finishing.

1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xiii. 144 High minds, of native pride and force, Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse!

1817 P. B. Shelley Hymn Intell. Beauty v Hopes of high talk with the departed dead.

1870 Blaine's Encycl. Rural Sports (rev. ed.) §460 The account given is not in unison with our notions of high play.

1928 Amer. Mercury Oct. 207/2 The story of Cousin George's achievements includes a glorious part in most of the high deeds performed by Cotton Belt clerico-politicians.

1958 Visct. Montgomery Mem. (1961) 40 Under them I was taught a high sense of duty.

2012 Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado) (Nexis) 4 May For those of a high mind, magnanimity becomes essential in the personal battle with the ‘real evil’ in our world.

b. Of great consequence; important, grave, serious. Formerly also of punishment: †severe (obsolete). Cf. high treason at treason n. 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > grave or serious

heavy971

highOE

earnestfula1400

solemn1420

weighty1489

ponderousa1500

chargeablea1513

serious1531

earnest1533

gravous1535

capitala1538

deep1598

grave1824

OE Genesis A (1931) 2373 Abraham..heht þæt segn wesan [read wegan] heah gehwilcne, þe his hina wæs wæpnedcynnes.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 66 Heh wikenn. alls itt semeþþ.

Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 31 Worldli bisshopis..moun condempne the king..in poyntis of highe eresie bi here lawe.

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1051 A heȝe ernde & a hasty me hade fro þo woneȝ.

c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 697 The kyng comaundeth..Vp peyne of hangyng and on heigh Iuyse That he ne sholde suffren..Custance..for tabyde.

a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 40 (MED) Þis was an hi punschyng' & an hard.

c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 81 Wise ynough to conduyte an [MS and] hy matier.

1534 tr. Erasmus Bellum Erasmi sig. Dvi^v The common weale is in moste hyghe ieoperdie and perylle to be loste.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. ii. 5 A high and capitall errour.

1686 Earl of Sunderland Let. 13 Feb. in T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 320 Making a composition..for the high Misdemeanour they have been guilty of.

1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 213 The accusation is a very high one.

1730 in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 249 Of very high consequence to the whole kingdom.

1789 Constit. U.S. ii. §4 The President, Vice-President, and all Civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors.

1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. iv. 225 When tidings of high weight were borne To that lone island's shore.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 126 On pain of his high displeasure.

1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. vii. 81 Accused of high crimes and misdemeanours against the state.

1932 ‘E. M. Delafield’ Provinc. Lady goes Further 50 Am obliged to take high line with Robert and compel him to listen to me whilst I tell him about the flat.

1992 World Monitor Feb. 45/4 Here I am..—once charged with high crimes against the state and threatened with a death sentence—about to ride freely into Moscow.

c. Advanced, abstruse, difficult to comprehend; (also) †difficult to perform, arduous (obsolete). In later use frequently with nouns denoting a subject of study (cf. higher adj. 4).

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adjective] > difficult to do or accomplish

higheOE

grievousc1386

steep1598

arduous1718

leg-breaking1835

knobby1862

nut-cracking1982

the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [adjective]

higheOE

dighela1000

deepc1000

darkOE

starkOE

dusk?c1225

subtle1340

dimc1350

subtilea1393

covert1393

mystica1398

murka1400

cloudyc1400

hard?c1400

mistyc1400

unclearc1400

diffuse1430

abstractc1450

diffused?1456

exquisitec1460

obnubilous?a1475

obscure?a1475

covered1484

intricate?a1500

nice?a1500

perplexeda1500

difficilea1513

difficult1530

privy1532

smoky1533

secret1535

abstruse?1549

difficul1552

entangled1561

confounded1572

darksome1574

obnubilate1575

enigmatical1576

confuse1577

mysteriousa1586

Delphic1598

obfuscatea1600

enfumed1601

Delphicala1603

obstruse1604

abstracted1605

confused1611

questionable1611

inevident1614

recondite1619

cryptic1620

obfuscated1620

transcendent1624

Delphian1625

oraculous1625

enigmatic1628

recluse1629

abdite1635

undilucidated1635

clouded1641

benighted1647

oblite1650

researched1653

obnubilated1658

obscurative1664

tenebrose1677

hyperbyssal1691

condite1695

diffusive1709

profound1710

tenebricose1730

oracular1749

opaque1761

unenlightening1768

darkling1795

offuscating1798

unrecognizable1817

tough1820

abstrusive1848

obscurant1878

out-of-focus1891

unplumbable1895

inenubilable1903

non-transparent1939

eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 98 Ardui [propositi], ðæs hean hades.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xxiv. 7 Ful heeȝ to the fool wisdam.

a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 16 She asked hym many an hye questioun, and he answered hir sufficiantly.

1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xvii. 913 He was worthi a prynce to be Yat couth with sa hey a thing But gret tynsaill bring till ending.

a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. D.ij So high sentences, as he wrot.

a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 46 (MED) When they suche high thinges take in hande, Which they in no wise vnderstande.

a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 4^v Neuer passe farre forward in hie and hard sciences.

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms cxxxix. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderfull for me: it is high, I cannot attaine vnto it.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 602 Speculations high or deep.

1743 W. Worthington Ess. on Man's Redempt. Pref. p. v Where any Thing therein seems too hard or high for its Comprehension, there humbly to acquiesce.

1788 W. Agutter Serm. Death J. Henderson 7 In the investigation of high and abstruse subjects, he displayed a bold originality of mind, deep thought, close reasoning, and a lively imagination.

1818 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 483/1 Though men of high science, like Leslie or Playfair, may smile at the papers of a senior wrangler.

1887 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 35 303/1 Not for a moment is it intended here to deprecate the use of high mathematics.

1909 Math. Gaz. 5 25 As to the thief, his business required a very high knowledge of Mathematics. (Laughter).

1992 S. Holloway Courage High! xvi. 133/1 Now came a period of discussion over the..standard of engine efficiency... This was high theory compared with the practical problems of the day.

2004 N.Y. Times 27 June iv. 1/3 Iraq... Ask yourself whether this colossal American enterprise will fail or succeed. This is not high science, only pedestrian calculation.

d. Of living things: occupying a high rank in the (notional) hierarchy of creation; having a highly developed or complex organization. Cf. higher adj. 5.

ΘΚΠ

the world > life > biology > biological processes > evolution > [adjective] > processes or types of evolution

high?1548

recapitulative1836

retrogressive1853

transmutational1861

ontogenetic1869

convergent1871

phylogenetic1876

correlative1877

ontogenic1878

phylogenetical1879

phytogenetic1882

monotypic1888

phytogenetical1888

polytypic1888

ontogenal1890

phylogenal1890

recapitulatory1890

tachygenetic1893

ontogenetical1894

anagenetic1896

orthogenic1896

orthogenetic1899

macroevolutionary1937

microevolutionary1937

proterogenetic1938

speciational1944

parapatric1953

cladogenetic1957

allochronic1960

stasigenetic1965

stasipatric1967

speciating1970

punctuational1976

tachygenic-

?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. B God hath appoynted me, Mankynde to ouerse, And in hys hart to sytt. To teache hym, for to knowe, In the creatures hygh and lowe, Hys gloryouse mageste.

1640 G. Abbot Whole Bk. Iob Paraphr. xxviii. 171 Nature is an utter stranger to it, it is hid from the knowledge of all creatures, high or low, one or other.

a1752 R. Erskine Job's Hymns (1753) 68 Wide as the universe, ev'n so Hath God his table spread; And all his creatures high and low, Still at his cost are fed.

1897 Science 17 Dec. 901/2 Without this power and the plasticity which results from it the multitudinous parts of high animals could not well be coordinated.

1922 W. Partridge Aids Bacteriol. (ed. 4) xvi. 168 Lower members of the group have both asexual and sexual methods of reproduction, while among the high fungi sexual development is less evident.

1943 Philos. Sci. 10 21 Indeed, it is possible that one of the features of the discontinuity of behavior observable when comparing humans with other high mammals may lie in that the other mammals are limited to predictive behaviour of a low order.

1982 J. Gardner Mickelsson's Ghosts ii. x. 394 Anguish among people, high apes and low apes, geniuses and fools.

2008 B. S. Hewlett & B. L. Hewlett Ebola, Culture & Politics 143 Fleeing during rapid-killing outbreaks also may be rooted in the genes of high primates as well as in humans.

10. Chief, principal, main; special, solemn. Now chiefly in particular collocations: see also high altar n., high day n.¹ 1, high road n., high street n., etc.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective]

firsteOE

headOE

highOE

greatc1350

upperestc1374

chief1377

singular1377

principala1382

royalc1425

cardinal1440

pre-eminenta1460

praisea1475

main1480

maina1525

primary1565

captain1566

arch1574

mistressa1586

capital1597

topless1609

primea1616

metropolitan1635

transeminent1660

whole1675

uppermost1680

primus inter pares1688

topping1694

Sudder1787

par excellence1839

banner1840

primatial1892

OE Daniel 665 Nabochodonossor..heold hæleða gestreon and þa hean burh.

OE Homily (Bodl. 340) (Dict. Old Eng. transcript) Þeah ðe us syn ealle þa halgan drihtenlican tida..to weorðienne and to wuldrienne, hwæðere þeos [sc. Holy Saturday] is ofer ealle oðre heah, and halig.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 45 (MED) Reste ȝefe þen sunne-dei a þet cume þin heh domes dei.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 5422 Vor þe heye tounes in þe lond & þe castles þer to Mid gode kniȝtes let astory.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10428 For þair hei fest sake.

a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 341 He was not clepid..hiȝ disciple of Crist.

1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos xxii. sig. Fv^v We wryte..the hyghe festes wyth rede lettres of coloure of purpre.

a1556 R. Chancellor in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1598) I. 237 A place..where the hie market is holden on Saint Nicholas day.

a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) ii. 88 There is no difference touching repairs of the High streams and the highways in my opinion.

?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 72 Houses which front high and Principal Streets.

1702 Brief Hist. Trade Eng. 152 The most principal and high Streets, even from Aldgate to Westminster.

1791 J. Trapp tr. J. W. von Archenholz Picture of Italy II. ix. 52 The vast magnitude of this church becomes most visible on high feasts.

1842 C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. 636/1 Holy-grass, this grass is said to be used at high festivals, for strewing the churches in Prussia.

1878 R. Browning Let. 28 Sept. (1966) 69 On our return, we found the little town enjoying high market-day, and its privilege of rowing and screaming over a bargain.

1900 Overland Monthly Nov. 458/1 On the next high feast day the combat should take place—a combat to the death, with one chance in a million for the man.

1972 Jewish Chron. 1 Sept. 22/1 (advt.) For the high festivals: Machsorim—Tallisim—Kittles—Coppels. Unrivalled selection of New Year cards.

11. Showing pride or self-importance; haughty, pretentious, arrogant, overbearing; (in response to hurt pride) resentful, angry, heated. Chiefly (now literary) of words, actions, feelings, etc.; occasionally also (now regional) of a person.In high words (cf. high words at word n. 2d) now often merged with sense A. 17a.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > [adjective]

highOE

rankOE

proudOE

quaint?c1225

stoutc1315

proud-heartedc1400

gobbedc1440

pridyc1485

high-minded?1503

superb1561

proud-heart1591

tiptoe1593

sublime1596

high-headed1599

magnificent1603

side1673

vaunty1724

perked-up1754

spicy1768

jelly1828

Latin1914

the mind > emotion > anger > indignation or resentment > [adjective] > characterized by or showing

wrothc1000

highOE

wrackfulc1230

indignant1590

snarling1599

umbrageous1601

indignatorya1624

resenting1634

resentful1656

affronted1663

bridling1673

begrudging1693

wrathy1873

OE St. Eustace (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 198 Efne þu wære nu oð þis upahafen on þisse worulde æhtum.., nu gedafnað þe þæt þu beo geeaðmet of þire hean idelnysse.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 753 Heȝe word he spekeð. þat alle heo wullet quellen quic þat heo findeð.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9104 Þoru som heye herte þer wax a lute strif Bituene þe erl of aungeo, & þe emperesse is wif.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 116 His hert, that wes stout and he [1489 Adv. hey], Consalit hym allane to byde.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 2 High wordes makiþ not a man holy & riȝtwise.

1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxxxi. 313 A man of hye mynde, right cruell, and full of yuell condycions.

c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxvii. 31 Quhen scho growis heich, I draw on dreich, To vesy and behald the end.

1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 12 No Christian Prince not drunk with high mind..would arrogate so unreasonably above human condition.

1661 S. Pepys Diary 20 Mar. (1970) II. 57 Endeed, the bishops are so high, that very few do love them.

1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 67 The Soldiery..grew very high, and would obey no Orders..but of their own making.

1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 [She] had from her Infancy discovered so imperious a Temper (usually called a High Spirit) that [etc.].

1781 W. Cowper Truth 93 High in demand, though lowly in pretence.

1806 R. Cumberland Mem. (1807) II. 156 The wild woman..was at high words with the witches.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 404 Many who talked in high language about sacrificing their lives and fortunes for their country.

1918 R. D. Holmes Yankee in Trenches 25 Yer blinkin' 'igh wif yer wants, ayen't ye?

1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 4 Feth! it's a dizzy, restless warl', When folk sae heich maun turn and harle.

1935 G. Jones Four Icelandic Sagas 139 The change was unattended by anything more remarkable than some high words at the Althing.

1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) v. 184 Being delayed by some high words with my servant for leaving my close-stool uncleansed.

12.

a. Of the condition of an animal, crop, or of soil: resulting from heavy feeding or fertilization. Usually as an undesirable quality. Cf. high farming n. at Compounds 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > rank

rank?1440

rankish1495

over-rank1689

high1886

the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land suitable for cultivation > [adjective] > manured or fertilized > too much

high1902

a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 74 Noman kepe his flesch to hee, Bot his frele flesch menly to fede.

c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 241 Yf a man haue an hors and kepe hym not to hye, He may then reull hym.

1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 338 If shee [sc. the hawke] bee high and not well enseamed, hir meate must be throughly washed, that it may skowre hir the better.

1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xliii. 872 In the beginning of autumne they [sc. hawkes] must be brought downe by laxatiue medicines, if they be too high, as namely by giuing them aloes with their meate.

1794 T. Wedge Gen. View Agric. Chester 36 This disease most frequently happens, when a cow calves either in hot weather, or when in very high condition.

1834 W. Youatt Cattle xvi. 553 This occurs particularly in young cows after their first calving, and when they are in a somewhat too high condition.

1861 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1860: Agric. 472 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (36th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 48) VIII At the proper season the broad bean is sown, and in the spring it is turned into the ground for manure, making the soil high and allowing the cotton roots to spread and strike deep.

1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 116 Hill ewes are never in too high condition; the danger is all the other way.

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 361/1 It is better not to grow barley after roots fed off by sheep, as this rotation leaves the land..in too ‘high’ a condition... By taking barley as a second corn crop, the latter following roots fed off, or a ‘high’ crop, [etc.].

1995 Agric. Hist. Rev. 43 184/1 A naturally fertile soil might be out of condition, and a naturally poor soil in high condition.

b. Of food, drink, or eating: rich in flavour or quality; luxurious.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > [adjective] > strong-tasting

strongeOE

stithc1000

violenta1398

tartc1405

froughc1420

high?c1430

lecherous1474

strong1588

brusque1601

valiant1607

pertish1635

haut-goût1645

full-flavoured1736

lively1770

gamey1820

ory1854

zestful?1855

robust1873

tangy1875

stewy1895

the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > rich or luxurious

rich1340

lecherous1474

gaudy1540

voluptuous1544

high1616

genteel1660

decadent1967

?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 157 To drynke heiȝe wynes.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 45 Plato checked and rebuked Aristippus for that he was so sweete mouthed, and drouned in the voluptuousnesse of high fare.

1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 10 Like a horse, Full of high feeding.

1616 in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) vi. 138 It was over high meat for my weak stomach to digest.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §48 Almonds that are not of so high a taste as Flesh.

1692 L. D. Check to Debauchery vii. 62 Strong Meats, strong Drinks, high Sauces are not convenient, as being many times very hurtful to the Memory and Understanding.

1729 W. Law Serious Call vi. 83 High eating and drinking, fine cloaths, and fine houses.

1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady Pref. p. viii A gross, full, high Diet, is [improper] for a poor, thin, low, valetudinary Creature.

1735 J. Swift Stella at Wood-Park in Wks. II. 213 Prouder than the D——l, With feeding high, and Treatment civil.

1825 W. H. Hilton tr. A. Jullien Wine-merchant's Compan. i. 4 After made dishes, or high cheese, all wines appear good, or at least much better than they really are.

1878 Chambers's Jrnl. 2 Feb. 69/1 We may rely on it that the servants of Dives himself had strongly defined ideas as to the proportion of high feasting that should accompany the purple and fine linen of their patron.

1883 F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs 2 Patient under blows and abstemious under high-feeding.

1908 E. Higginson Alaska xxi. 252 The event was celebrated by solemn Mass, followed by high eating and higher drinking.

1913 J. J. Henderson Sci. Food Selection Introd. 4 They are forced to eat high foods, such as richly cooked meats and foods containing a high percentage of carbon.

2013 USA Today (Nexis) 29 Mar. 4 d My private three-day adventure—a tantalizing mix of high dining and lowly street food, with a tasty serving of culture and history on the side—steeps me in the world of authentic Cantonese cuisine.

†c. U.S. Of tobacco: moist. Cf. earlier in high case at case n.¹ 5b. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > [adjective] > moist

high1789

1789 Amer. Museum June 540/2 If the tobacco is too high in case when it is struck, it will be apt to rot when it gets into a sweat.

1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Agric. 322 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 2) VI Tobacco should not be too moist, or ‘high’ as it is termed, when put in the stalk-bulks.

1865 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1861–4 5 669 Care must be taken that the tobacco does not imbibe too much moisture, or get too high in case before it is bulked.

d. Of meat, esp. game: tending towards decomposition; slightly tainted; usually as a desirable condition. Hence: having a strong odour. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of meat > [adjective] > high

higha1817

a1817 J. Austen Watsons in Wks. (1954) VI. 344 As the partridges were pretty high, D^r Richards would have them sent away to the other end of the Table.

1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 112 The fish is rather high.

1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 161 A jest or a proverb (if a little high he liked them none the worse).

1879 F. T. Pollok Sport Brit. Burmah I. 168 Alligators and crocodiles..prefer their food very high.

1901 E. Step Shell Life iv. 52 Carnivorous mollusks..are found in lobster-pots baited with ‘high’ fish which they have smelled through the water.

1979 J. Raban Arabia through Looking Glass vii. 299 The room was high with the thin stink of their preservative.

2010 Times (Nexis) 1 May (Mag.) 69 A dish of roast wood pigeon which was unbelievably high (really, really whiffy, like the most ancient pheasant nailed to an outhouse wall and forgotten).

13.

a. Extreme in opinion (esp. religious or political); carrying an opinion or doctrine to an extreme. Cf. high Tory n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > extreme opinion, dogmatism > [adjective]

high?1535

Arctic1593

magistral1596

forward1608

confident1611

magisterial1635

pragmatic1638

high-flown1640

affirmative1650

thetical1653

positive1658

pragmatical1660

dogmatical1662

dogmatic1681

unargumentative1722

ultra1820

doctrinaire1834

cocksure1842

doctrinary1846

unevidential1853

Doctrinarian1878

pontificating1922

fundamentalist1928

hardcore1951

society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > extreme

high?1535

ultra1820

hard right1846

straight1856

extremist1907

extremistic1921

loony1977

?1535 tr. M. Luther Treat. Good Workes sig. d.vii^v That confydence y^t they maye be saued by theyr workes, for els they make a god & sauyoure of theyr workes, whch is hyghe ydolatrye.

1591 H. Barrow Plaine Refut. Giffardes Bk. i. 40 Their former superstition in tyme of high poperie.

1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (iii. 6) 662 We obserue in the multitude the high atheisme.

1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. xi. 162 High Royalists will maintain, that murmuring and muting against Princes differ only in degree, not in kinde.

1675 T. Brooks Golden Key sig. b3 To prove (against the Socinians, and the high Atheists of the day..) that there is a Hell, a place of torment.

1775 D. Leonard Massachusettensis iii. 35 These committees generally consist of the highest whigs, or at least there is some high whig upon them, that is the ruling spirit of the whole.

1798 T. Scantlebury Rights of Protestants Asserted 40 Men born out of due time; above two centuries too late for the favourable reception of their High-Catholic principles.

1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm (1867) iv. 77 A..plunge from the pinnacle of high belief, into the bottomless gulf of universal scepticism.

1840 Mirror of Parl. (3rd Sess., 14th Parl.) 1 446/1 I do not mean the high Conservative party, but that off-set from it—that moderate, I may call it that Liberal Conservative party.

1898 ‘Thormanby’ Kings of Turf 247 When he was but three-and-twenty, he was elected member for Stockbridge, as an adherent of those high Whig principles with which his family had been so long identified.

1974 Financial Times 15 Aug. 22/4 High Whiggery..was bound to develop into a curious, and glacial, kind of bitter conservatism.

1997 Church Times 24 Jan. 15/5 Those brave Scottish souls who ran counter to the increasingly dominant High Calvinist orthodoxy, and dared to preach the indiscriminate nature of God's prevenient grace.

b. Frequently with capital initial. = High Church adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Anglicanism > High Church > [adjective]

Canterburian1570

high-flying1678

high1681

tantivy1681

Laudian1691

High Church1704

altitudinarian1752

Anglo-Catholic1838

1681 J. Pennyman Abstr. Quakers Challenge (single sheet) I do challenge any of the Teachers amongst the Baptists, or Independents, or Presbyters, or Papists, or Jesuits, high Priests and low Priests; for these are all blind Guides, and their Profession is rotten.

1706 M. Tindal Rights Christian Church iv. 145 'Tis no wonder they [sc. the Highfliers] treat them [sc.16th-cent. Reformers] so, since in all their Notions concerning the Power of the Clergy, they are too High for the Reformation.

1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 220. ⁋3 The present Constitution of our Church, as divided into High and Low.

a1734 R. North Examen (1740) ii. v. §49 345 Conformable Loyal Gentlemen, whom we will cry down for High Men, that is Adherents to Popery.

1827 W. Wordsworth Sacheverel 9 High and Low, Watch-words of Party, on all tongues are rife; As if a Church..must owe To opposites and fierce extremes her life.

1867 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 15/1 They had to talk..about the music in Masterton church, and whether the new vicar was High or Low, which was a very difficult question for Powys.

a1890 R. W. Church Oxf. Movement (1891) xvi. 295 It was a high Anglican sermon.

1932 R. Lehmann Invit. Waltz i. iii. 41 The High antics of the new curate, his duckings, wavings, uprisings at the altar.

1944 D. Welch In Youth is Pleasure iv. 70 A lamp of ruby glass and gilt hung in front of a holy picture. ‘Is he Roman Catholic, or only High?’ thought Orvil.

2010 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 27 Feb. 29 The rumour went round that he rode a donkey through the church on Palm Sunday. For Fr Lowe was High, indeed an Anglo-Catholic, and anything, almost, could be believed of his services.

†14. Zealous, eager, keen. Esp. with for. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > zeal or enthusiasm > [adjective]

needfulOE

anguishous?c1225

eager?a1300

throc1330

fierce1377

desirousc1386

affectuousa1400

yeverousa1400

inwardc1402

earnestful?1406

rathe?c1450

zealing1459

increc1480

affectual1483

zealous1526

affectioneda1533

jealous1535

heartyc1540

affectivec1550

earnest1563

pricking1575

forward1587

affectionate1598

passiveless1602

zealful1602

full-hearteda1616

wholehearted1644

intense1645

high1649

covetous1652

thorough-hearted1656

keen as mustard1659

fell1667

fervent1673

smirk1674

zealed1679

prest1697

strenuous1713

enthusiastic1741

enthusiastical1755

whole-souled1821

con amore1828

lyrical1875

mustard1919

gung ho1942

the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > high-spiritedness > [adjective]

moodyOE

fierce1297

jollyc1330

fieryc1430

high-stomached1546

stout-stomached1549

hearteda1552

generous1581

high-spirited1588

high-hearteda1625

high-mettleda1626

high1649

fire-souled1823

gingery1823

stomachy1896

the mind > will > wish or inclination > willingness > [adjective] > eager

yevereOE

frecka1000

cofc1000

fousOE

sharpc1000

anguishous?c1225

eager?a1300

hardya1387

hetera1400

yeverousa1400

belivea1450

forthward1488

yapc1500

ertand1508

tite?a1540

high1649

fell1667

forwardeda1674

agog1683

enthusiastic1777

empressé1878

rearing1904

press-on1948

1649 Levellers New Remonstr. sig. A3^v The Priests are high for concluding a Union.

a1680 J. Bargrave Pope Alexander VII (1867) i. iv. 10 He is high for the House of Austria, and would be flayed alive for the King of Spain.

1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 611 The house of lords were high on the lord Huntington and Marlboroughs commitment.

1704 C. Leslie Wolf Stript 4 I venture, for it's a Venture at this Time, to own the name of an High-Church-Man. No man thinks it a Disparagement to be High, that is Zealous in any good thing.

1706 M. Tindal Rights Christian Church iv. 144 Our first Reformers were as Low for Church, as they were High for Religion.

1721 J. Trenchard & T. Gordon 4th Coll. Cato's Polit. Lett. in London Jrnl. 40 The same worthy, but waggish Pens, represent him with the same Breath, as an abandon'd Atheist, and a bigotted Presbyterian; while others plainly prove him a flaming Jacobite, and an arrant Republican; that is, one who is high for Monarchy, and one who is against all Monarchy.

III. Greater than average, or above the normal level, in value, size, quantity, or intensity, and related senses.

15.

a. Great, or greater than normal, in amount, level, size, or intensity; extreme; strong, forcible, violent.Frequently with implied reference to position in a vertical graduated scale.high explosive: see Compounds 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective]

hardOE

heavyc1000

highOE

highlyOE

stourc1275

largec1330

intensec1400

violent1430

profoundc1450

vehementc1485

intensive1526

advanceda1533

vengeable1532

Herculean1602

well-advanced1602

deep1605

dense1732

abysmal1817

intensitive1835

holy1837

high-level1860

major1942

OE Exodus 19 Heah wæs þæt handlean and him hold frea.

lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxviii. 350 Þa gestod hine heah weder and stormsæ.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 152 He bihet to meaðin ham wið swiðe heh mede.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iv. x. 159 Rede vreyne and hiȝe [L. vrina rubæ et intensa] of colour; sore hedeache; wakinge.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 976 Þe wenches..folȝed..Trynande ay a hyȝe trot þat torne never dorsten.

c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 940 Now looketh is nat that an heigh folye.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xii. 106 When ryches is he, Then comys pouerté.

a1535 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. (1557) 1272/1 What state..hath not high cause to tremble and quake?

1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Ardentissimus color A very high or glisteryng redde colour.

1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 15 Where they are in high request.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 432 Till the high Feauor seeth your blood to froth.

1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 5 Wee had the winde high and large.

1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 4 High hopes of living to be brave men, and worthy patriots.

1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 61 Even their Crowes are white, to as high a degree as our Swans.

1693 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 438 Earl of Westmorland also died, as 'tis reported, with high drinking.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 104 The Plague was so high, as that there dy'd 4000 a Week.

1789 M. Madan in New & Literal Transl. Juvenal & Persius II. 326 Who think it an high joke.

1796 F. Burney Camilla V. ix. xii. 230 Mr. Westwyn, unbribed by the high praise of his son.

1816 M. Keating Trav. Eur. & Afr. II. 92 This fine country..whose people class morally so high in the scale of mankind.

1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 350 (note) The temperature in London was as high as 93°. 5.

1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 958 An essential constituent of several of the high explosives.

1937 Washington Post 19 Mar. 15/7 I saw dozens of our sisters having their hair done, their faces reassembled and their nails brought to a high shine.

1942 Lancet 26 Dec. 759/2 An instrument which holds out high promise of useful service to the clinician.

1990 H. Thurston Tidal Life 28/3 The rays redden his already naturally high colour.

2000 Vancouver Province (Nexis) 28 Mar. b5 The impeccably high standards of musicianship this band always displays.

b. Of a price, rate, amount, percentage, etc.: having a large numerical value. Also: (of a commodity) high-priced, expensive, costly; (of money) lent out at a high rate of interest; (of a currency) having a relatively high exchange rate.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective]

high1542

strong1599

rank1604

exorbitant1670

extravagant1707

stiff1824

sky-high1829

steep1856

stratospherical1936

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective] > dear or expensive

dear1044

costful1340

costious1340

costlewa1387

costlya1400

costy?c1430

prized1500

high1542

high-priced1591

expenseful1605

chary1610

expensivea1661

salt1710

dearthful1786

big ticket1906

pricey1932

exclusive1942

up-market1972

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 88 Images and porteratures of menne wer in olde tyme bought at high prices.

1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 69 To sel their liues at as high a rate as possibly they can.

1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo x. 422 If moneys be here low and elsewhere high, how is this knowne but by the valuation of Exchange?

1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 180 This presently makes the Exchange very high.

1713 J. Swift Part of 7th Epist. Horace Imitated 11 I suppose now Stocks are high.

1783 G. Bishop Observ. Smuggling 18 The fair traders are burthened with high duties and obliged to be under very troublesome excise laws.

1804 W. Tennant Indian Recreat. (ed. 2) I. 65 Rent in Calcutta still continues high.

1823 Ld. Byron Age of Bronze xiv. 29 But bread was high, the farmer paid his way.

1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 249 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Low-trained hedges may be necessary where land is limited in area, and high in price.

1879 F. Rutley Study of Rocks xii. 226 The name domite..has been applied to trachytes which contain a high percentage of silica.

1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! xvii. 209 This palace alone is worth a fortune, situated..in the fashionable quarter of St. Petersburg, where land is very high.

1913 Los Angeles Times 20 Sept. ii. 1/5 (heading) Movie rights come high; Jack London sues to restrain screen productions of his work, and to recover damages.

1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxviii. 439 Vegetable matter, largely deprived of its hydrogen and containing a high proportion of carbon, is found in horizontal seams of coal.

1964 New Scientist 27 Aug. 482/3 ‘Prediabetes’, or the early stages, has been found in a surprisingly high percentage of the population.

1988 Oxf. Rev. Econ. Policy Winter 60 The high dollar..as well as improvements in global telecommunications have been important factors contributing to increased production abroad by US companies.

1991 Guardian 1 Nov. 28/2 Prices are high. Customers are greeted by the cloakroom attendant and the floor manager and shown to a table.

2007 S. China Morning Post (Nexis) 14 Nov. (Business section) 2 Mr Lu expects gold to remain high, despite a correction in recent days to just over $800 an ounce.

c. Originally (of a gold or silver alloy): †having a high or a specified proportion of the pure metal (obsolete). In later use (in high carat): designating such a proportion. Cf. fine adj. 2a(b).

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [adjective] > proportion of precious metal to alloy

high1594

1594 H. Plat Jewell House 85 (heading) The golde being 24 Carots high, & the siluer 12 ounces fine.

1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker ii. xli. 209 in Fleta Minor i Let it cement again (as before) 24 hours, do this till the Gold is very clean, and high to your delight.

1818 C. Kelsall Contantine & Eugene 238 The gold might indeed have been of the same high carat, but more substantial.

1912 Dental Brief 17 152 It is a wise precaution to flow around the dowel, about where it is to be soldered to the crown, high carat solder or pure gold, raising the temperature sufficiently high to make it flow freely.

1998 A. L. Luthi Sentimental Jewellery 36/2 A dealer will sometimes test for gold and can tell you if a particular piece is high carat.

2005 D. M. Jacobson & G. Humpston Princ. Brazing v. 197/2 This is because pure gold and high-carat gold alloys anneal and soften when heated above about 450° C.

d. Geography. Designating a latitude that is far from the equator (and, therefore, designated by a high number); located at such a latitude.See also high Arctic adj. and n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > geodetic references > [adjective] > latitude > far from equator (of latitude)

high1601

1601 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Galvano Discov. World 59 These were the first Spanyards which had beene in so high a latitude toward the north.

1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 16 572 This, tho' it be of little consequence near the Equinoctial, will make a great error in high Latitudes, where the Sun rises and sets obliquely.

1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. v. 182 Very high latitudes not far from the polar circle.

1788 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) VI. 282 Many other provinces in America, even as high as Newfoundland and Nova-Scotia.

1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. Voy. Northern Whale-fishery 31 This kind of fog, peculiar to high latitudes.

1881 A. Leslie tr. A. E. Nordenskiöld Voy. Vega II. xi. 42 The acquaintance I had made..with the bird-world of the high north.

1974 U.S. Contrib. Polar Exper. (National Acad. Sci. U.S.A.) II. iii. 18 The dynamics of the circulation in high southern latitudes should be examined with coupled global models of the atmospheric, oceanic, and cryospheric systems.

2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) 1 Their high northern latitude meant a short summer growing season in which to produce pasture grass and hay.

e. Of a stake (literal or figurative): large. Also: played for large stakes.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [adjective] > played for high stakes

high1640

silver1748

no-limit1915

high-stakes1922

1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 221 When their owne Fame shall come to be questioned; they hold that too precious a prize, too high a stake to bee hazarded.

1672 tr. P. de Clérembault Conversations ii. 36 They plaid only to pass the time as one ought always with true friends; for if high play destroy not friendship, yet it may lessen it.

1699 Country Gentleman's Vade-mecum xv. 111 These Vermine play at high Games, nothing will serve some of them less than a Settlement of two or three Hundred per Annum, a Coach, fine Lodgings, Plate, China and other things suitable for a Whore of Rank.

1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers sig. A2^v If Pleasure be all, why is the Stake so high?

1783 H. Bright Praxis 72 The Moment you give up yourself to Gaming for high Stakes, unseasonable Banqueting, and impure Brothel-Houses.

1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. vi. 130 He frequented, when he was in London, all the houses where high play is carried on; and was so much accustomed to see thousands paid and received at these places as matters of course.

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth i, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 13 You are playing a high game, look you play it fairly.

1887 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 5 Feb. 21/2 A notice cautioning members against high play.

1891 Atlanta Const. 9 June 1/6 He was a habitue of gambling houses and rolled the bones for very high stakes.

1918 C. E. Mulford Man from Bar-20 xiii. 128 If th' stakes are high an' the breaks anywhere near equal, I'll risk my last dollar or my last breath.

1925 Work-Whitehead Auction Bridge Bull. Oct. 5 In circles where high play predominates, there was introduced a variation of the above count, called ‘Le Vulnerable’.

1992 Evening Standard (Nexis) 25 Feb. 10 But in the evenings he liked to play high poker for stakes and drink Thai whisky.

2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 16 Apr. c1/1 This new Middle East cold war comes complete with its own spy-versus-spy intrigues, disinformation campaigns, shadowy proxy forces..and very high stakes.

f. Cards. Of a playing card: having the largest, or a particularly large, numerical value in the context of a particular game, part of a game, or hand. With the name of the card prefixed (as ace-high adj. at ace n.¹ and adj.¹ Compounds, king high, etc.): (of a hand or suit) having the specified card as the highest. Cf. sense B. 6.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [adjective] > of specific value in game

small1672

guarded1742

high1742

blank1895

wild1927

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [adjective] > type of hand or suit

strong1626

high1742

lay-down1906

biddable1926

void1934

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [adjective] > attributes of player

flush1591

strong1626

high1846

trickless1927

short-suited1935

1742 E. Hoyle Short Treat. Whist vi. 41 You thereby gain a Trick, which you could not have done but by playing the high Cards, and by keeping a small one to play to your Partner.

1846 in W. T. Porter Quarter Race in Kentucky 92 When I looked at my hand, thar was the King, Jack, Nine, and Deuce,—I led my King—‘High!’ says I.

1868 W. B. Dick Mod. Pocket Hoyle 9 In the games of All- Fours and Sixty-Six, in which the highest cut has the deal, and Ace is high, and in Scat, where the highest Scat Card is high.

1870 A. S. Evans Our Sister Republic x. 246 An United States Minister, who, in spite of his professed knowledge of the game, has been known to lay down two large pairs, when his opponent, who only held ace high, raised him with six hundred dollars already on the board.

1887 ‘S. Cumberland’ Queen's Highway 276 Had I a ‘flush’ with ‘king high’ some one would be sure to rake in the shekels with ‘ace high’.

1916 R. F. Foster Auction Bridge for All vii. 27 High cards, two sure tricks, are just as necessary in the major suits as in the minor suits.

1945 A. A. Ostrow Compl. Card Player 578 Oklahoma Rummy.., the cards rank in sequence as in standard rummy, but ace is high only and never low. Deuces are wild.

1964 N. Squire Bidding at Bridge xxi. 172 You may rely upon two defensive tricks when your partner opens the bidding. These may not be in the actual suit he mentions, because it might, for example, be Knave high.

1993 D. Burrus & R. Gittines Technotrends (1994) v. 97 It was what is known in poker as a Big Cat: king high, eight low, no pair, which only loses to a flush (all cards of the same suit).

2006 P. Jillette & M. D. Lynn How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker (new ed.) 37 Most guys can't lay down a straight, and my queen-high straight beat his jack-high straight.

g. Nautical. Designating a vessel or its head: near the wind, pointing close to the wind. Cf. no higher at higher adj., adv., and n.¹ Phrases 2b.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > [adjective] > close to the wind

high1863

1863 S. B. Luce Seamanship (ed. 2) xxv. 471 Should the ship be standing along on a taut bowline, and the quartermaster perceives that a cloth or two of the main-topsail was lifting, he cries out, No higher! by which he means that the ship is not only too high, or too near the wind, but that she should go off a little.

1951 M. A. Michael tr. H. Thesleff Farewell Windjammer xv. 214 The trade wind was coming... Our principle then was not to keep too high in the wind. We were not close-hauled and sailed with full sails so as to make good headway.

1982 C. Coulter Devil's Embrace vii. 69 ‘I believe you said we were too high in the wind?’ he said coolly, as the yacht glided smoothly..in the trough of a wave.

h. In predicative use. With in. Of a substance: containing a large proportion of (a constituent substance).

ΚΠ

1877 Rep. Commissioners, Inspectors, & Others Educ. Dept. Philadelphia Internat. Exhib. XIX. 303 The coal is high in sulphur.

1905 Trans. Inst. Naval Architects 47 ii. 369 Lines which are technically known as ‘ghosts’, namely lines of metal high in sulphur and phosphorus.

1955 H. J. Grossman Guide to Wines, Spirits & Beers (rev. ed.) vi. 83 Heavy wines, abundant in esters, high in alcoholic content, and in great demand for blending.

1989 Parents Dec. 50/3 Be careful with soft drinks—they are very high in sugar and have no other nutrients.

16.

a. Of a time of day or season (esp. summer): well advanced; fully come, complete. Cf. high day n.¹ 2, high noon n. 1, high season n. at Compounds 4.The notion of the sun being high in the sky may be present in uses relating to daytime and summer; contrast the uses relating to night and winter at deep adj. 15a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > time of prosperity

highOE

golden age1561

halcyon days1570

gilded age1655

heyday1751

high point1787

millennium1821

palmy days1837

up1843

clover summer1866

flower-time1873

belle époque1910

glory-days1956

the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective] > late or well-advanced

highOE

late1583

onwarda1586

deep1601

far gone1607

advanced1653

tardive1905

OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xlviii. 74 Þonne on lenctenfæsten ræden heora bec from ærmorgenne oð heane undern [L. usque tertia plena].

a1300 Passion our Lord 657 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 56 At þon heye vndarne..Þer hi were to-gadere.

c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 151 Bi þat hit was middai hiȝ, Floriz was þe brigge niȝ.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2066 (MED) I seiȝ hire nouȝt seþ hieȝ midniȝt.

c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. l. 105 At heiȝ prime perkyn lette þe plouȝ stonde.

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xiii. sig. Fii We will dine fyrst..it is noone hy.

1569 J. Leslie Def. Honour Marie Quene of Scotl. i. f. 41 When they were ons gotten abowte hyghe midnight to sleape in theire bedds, ye might haue ronge a greate-bell over theire heades, longe ere they wolde wake.

1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans sig. A4 It was high-spring, and all the way Primros'd, and hung with shade.

1693 G. Pooley in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 673 Sometimes the Courses, Seams or Rakes..are perpendicular, which they call the High time of the Day, or Twelve a Clock.

1711 P. Abercromby Martial Atchievem. Scots Nation I. ii. ii. 335 The Heat of the Weather was excessive, and the Season of the Year, it being high Summer, absolutely unfit for War in Africk.

1843 J. B. Heraud Life & Times Girolamo Savonarola iii. 101 Never will he set: whether it be high midday or deep midnight, he continues to shine like the summer sun in the remotest North.

1847 D. M. Mulock in Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 17 Apr. 246/1 It was high summer too on the earth.

1980 Gourmet Feb. 17/2 Redolent of basil and dressed with a rich tomato sauce,..it's a dish that manages to recapture high summer.

2010 J. Powell Breaking of Eggs (2011) ix. 161 We went there often, piling on to Uncle Szmul's cart and riding out into the country on those blissful days of high summer.

b. high time: fully at or (now usually) nearly past the time when something should happen or be done. Frequently with that or to do something.

ΚΠ

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xix. l. 139 Til plenitudo temporis hih tyme a-prochede.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1990 (MED) Go home to þi mete, It is hy tyme.

1518 H. Watson tr. Hystorye Olyuer of Castylle xxx. sig. G. iij^v It was hyghe tyme to goo in to the courte.

1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. vii. 37 It was..high time to make a contrarie lawe.

1611 Bible (King James) Rom. xiii. 11 Now it is high time to awake out of sleepe.

1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 42. 273 It is high Time for every Englishman to exert himself in Behalf of his Country.

1813 ‘H. Bull-Us’ Diverting Hist. John Bull & Brother Jonathan (ed. 2) xii. 62 He began to think it was high time to toe the mark.

1883 R. Churchill Speech Edinb. 20 Dec. in Speeches 1880–1888 (1889) I. 90 It is time, and high time, to pull up. Concede nothing more to Mr. Parnell.

1910 Outlook 25 June 365/2 In so far as that policy finds expression in the common and statutory law of to-day, it is high time that the law was changed in the interest of the people.

1942 Life 11 May 24/3 It was high time for the people of the United States to..quit agonizing about their future interest in baseball.

2007 News Rev. Messenger (Adelaide) (Nexis) 31 Oct. 28 It is high time licensing hours were trimmed back to no later than 10pm each night.

c. Of a person's age: far on in years; advanced. Now chiefly in high old age. Cf. ripe adj. 8b.In quot. c1400: mature.

ΚΠ

c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 844 (MED) Gawayn glyȝt on þe gome..A hoge haþel for þe nonez, & of hyghe eldee.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1002 Þan answard him..all his proud princes..Hathils of hiȝe age Auncient kniȝtis.

1609 H. Broughton Def. Concent of Script. sig. D2 He..professed Greeke, from 18. and read and practised it to high olde age.

1782 tr. J. H. Campe Robinson the Younger II. xxx. 264 They attained to a high age, in peace, health and useful activity.

1863 J. L. W. Thudichum Treat. on Gall-stones vi. 210 A lesser number of persons of high age is living than of middle-aged people.

1899 Christian-Evangelist 13 July 884/1 Our good Father above gave to our brother unusual vigor of body and mind up to a high age.

1929 Times 6 Sept. 8/3 The survival of parents into a high old age in those ranks..is responsible in part for the reduced rate of reproduction in that group.

2012 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 1 Jan. 17 All her grandfather—then in high old age—wanted to do was sit in his studio and paint.

d. Of a period of time or era, esp. with regard to its art or architecture: fully developed, at its peak. Cf. High Renaissance n. at Compounds 4.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > period > [adjective] > fully developed

high1806

1806 G. D. Whittington Tour Spain & Portugal 37 The Host (or Corpus Christi) in a high Gothic frame-work of gold, under a rich canopy, surrounded by a blaze of candles.

1830 D. Brewster Edinb. Encycl. IX. 231/1 It consists of narrow crooked streets full of angles, and is distinguished from almost every other town in the kingdom, by its high Gothic buildings, and a number of old Gothic churches. The houses are in general small and low.

1854 Irish Q. Rev. Mar. 89 Between this speculation, and his patronage of high medieval art, and his military occupations..the pile of money in his chest begins to decrease.

1951 N. Pevsner Middlesex (Buildings of Eng.) Introd. 20 In secular architecture High Victorian earnestness (and gloom) reign supreme in the buildings of Harrow School.

1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The high middle ages.

a1963 C. S. Lewis Discarded Image (1964) vii. 182 Hence a modern finds those [chronicles] of the Dark Ages suspiciously epic and those of the High Middle Ages suspiciously romantic.

1965 K. Charlton Educ. Renaissance Eng. ii. 21 Such was the education of the High Middle Ages.

1972 Country Life 23 Mar. 696/3 The high Victorian Gothic style.

2000 A. Hastings in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 205/1 There is good evidence that even in the high Middle Ages ordination to the priesthood by non-bishops was allowed in some cases.

17.

†a. Of the voice: raised, elevated, loud. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > loud or resonant > raised (of voice)

highlyOE

highOE

hautaina1375

raised1579

exalted1711

uplifted1828

elevated1829

OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxxii. 3 Singað him niwne sang, and heriað hine swyþe wel mid heare stemne.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2780 God sente an steuene, brigt and heg:—‘Moyses, moyses, do of ðin s[h]on’.

c1450 (?a1400) Duke Rowland & Sir Otuell (1880) l. 835 And vp he keste ane heghe cry.

1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. aiii With highe and clamorous wordes or speche.

1565 in W. K. Clay Liturg. Services Q. Eliz. (Parker Soc.) 521 After the Psalm the prayer following shall be said by the minister alone, with a high voice.

1646 F. Hawkins tr. Youths Behaviour (ed. 4) iii. 21 Shew no sign of choler, nor speak to him with too high an accent.

1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 77/1 Nor did he read it in so high a voice, that I should hear it.

1824 M. White Beatrice I. iv. 82 Lady Holt's low voice was even then high enough to be heard by Beatrice, who distinctly heard the words, ‘plainest in the family’.

1851 Amer. Whig Rev. June 484 He has spoken, nevertheless, though his announcement has not been high enough to be heard satisfactorily.

b. Of or with reference to a musical sound: produced or characterized by relatively rapid acoustic vibrations; acute in pitch; shrill.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adjective] > high

higha1393

high-pitched1597

high-set1603

high-pitch1614

high-tuned1623

high-toned1754

high-keyed1830

upper1843

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 171 Nou hihe notes and nou lowe, As be the gamme a man mai knowe.

a1450 Musical Treat. in Speculum (1935) 10 261 (MED) Whan þe tenor is hye the countertenor may be low, and whan þe tenor is low þan þe countertenor may be þe mene.

1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 353 An Heigh or shrill sound. Extentus sonus.

1577 H. Bull tr. M. Luther Comm. 15 Psalmes (new ed.) 144 Thou beginnest with to high a note, as the Asse doth, and therefore thou makest an ill ende.

1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 166 Songs which are made for the high key.

1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 29 Raise your Treble or first string as high as you conceive it will hold without breaking.

1705 S. Sewall Diary 28 Dec. (1973) I. 538 I..went into a Key much too high.

1818 T. Moore Mem. (1853) II. 167 The Duke said, in his high, squeak tone of voice [etc.].

1875 tr. P. Blaserna Theory of Sound iv Every ear..distinguishes a high note from a low one..The low notes are characterised by the small number, the high notes by the large number of their vibrations per second.

1899 K. Chopin Awakening i. 3 Madame Lebrun was bustling in and out, giving orders in a high key to a yard-boy whenever she got inside the house.

1913 L. C. Elson et al. Mod. Music & Musicians I. 93/1 Her [sc. Lucrezia Agujari's] high notes were clear and agreeable all through the altissimo octaves.

1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock v. iii. 203 The children were scouting among the rubble with pistols from Woolworth's... Someone said in a high treble: ‘Stick 'em up.’

2011 New Yorker 6 June 84/2 Strobing vibrato, whispering, shrieking, flinty high notes that enter an octave above your expectation.

c. Of the volume of a sound: raised, increased; loud.Originally and chiefly with reference to the audio output from a loudspeaker, etc., or the volume level or setting controlling this.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective]

loud971

stithc1000

strongOE

greata1375

stiff1377

wrastc1400

boistousc1430

stourc1440

big1549

routing1567

thundering?1576

full-mouthed1594

thunderous1606

tonitruous1606

thundery1608

trump-like1609

full-mouth1624

voluminousa1635

rousing1640

altisonous1661

lusty1672

tonitrual1693

rending1719

trumpet-like1814

foudroyant1840

clarion1842

trumpeting1850

trumpet-toned1851

loudish1860

tonitruant1861

tonant1891

thunderful1898

high1923

wham-bam1960

1923 Radio June 36/2 This circuit is shown in detail..with an additional power stage for operating a loud speaker at a high volume.

1947 Sci. News Let. 25 Jan. 64/1 A flash baton enables a practicer to follow a beat visually, while the audible beat can be modulated from slight to high loudness.

1967 Washington Post 12 Mar. h13/3 A soldier..was watching ‘Combat’ on the ward TV set, in full color and with the sound up high.

1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 30 May 12/2 A squad of F-18 Hornet jet fighters who, depending on how you feel about being buzzed at high volume, either terrorize or entrance the whole city for a week each summer.

2012 Men's Health Apr. 148/3 According to the National Office of Health Statistics, 12% of men develop tinnitus as they age, and listening to music through headphones at high volumes is a proven contributor.

18. Of an event, period of time, etc.: early in date, ancient; (of a date) early. Now rare.The notion of ascending the ‘stream of time’ may be present in some uses.

ΘΚΠ

the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > ancient or of early origin

oldeOE

olden daysa1400

for-oldc1400

ancient1475

(as) old as Adama1599

antiquary1599

high1601

primal1604

hoary1609

grandeval1650

Noachal1661

patriarchal1806

(as) old as the hills1819

world-old1837

eld1854

age-old1860

far-back1869

Noachian1874

pornial1883

1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Worlde 32 Of no higher times, then when they first began.

1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. xxii. 330 The nominal observation of the several dayes of the week..is very high, and as old as the ancient Egyptians.

1669 W. Somner Chartham News 6 From Saxon Monuments and Records I could easily trace the name up to a very high date, by many examples.

1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. i. sig. a2 Poems of high antiquity.

1793 J. Hely in tr. R. O'Flaherty Ogygia I. Addr. 6 Too high a date.

a1834 W. Beckford Jrnl. 5 Nov. in Jrnl. Portugal & Spain (1954) (modernized text) 260 The origin of this singular custom dates as high as the days of St. Vincent.

1875 F. H. A. Scrivener 6 Lect. Text New Test. 17 A genuine semblance of high antiquity.

1948 G. R. Driver Semitic Writing p. vi Their dates are too high, possibly by as much as two centuries, for the first dynasty of Babylon.

19.

a. Excited by alcoholic drink, drunk, intoxicated. Also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk

fordrunkenc897

drunkena1050

cup-shottenc1330

drunka1400

inebriate1497

overseenc1500

liquor1509

fou1535

nase?1536

full1554

intoxicate1554

tippled1564

intoxicated1576

pepst1577

overflown1579

whip-cat1582

pottical1586

cup-shota1593

fox-drunk1592

lion-drunk1592

nappy1592

sack-sopped1593

in drink1598

disguiseda1600

drink-drowned1600

daggeda1605

pot-shotten1604

tap-shackled1604

high1607

bumpsy1611

foxed1611

in one's cups1611

liquored1611

love-pot1611

pot-sick1611

whift1611

owl-eyed1613

fapa1616

hota1616

inebriated1615

reeling ripea1616

in one's (or the) pots1618

scratched1622

high-flown?1624

pot-shot1627

temulentive1628

ebrious1629

temulent1629

jug-bitten1630

pot-shaken1630

toxed1635

bene-bowsiea1637

swilled1637

paid1638

soaken1651

temulentious1652

flagonal1653

fuddled1656

cut1673

nazzy1673

concerned1678

whittled1694

suckey1699

well-oiled1701

tippeda1708

tow-row1709

wet1709

swash1711

strut1718

cocked1737

cockeyed1737

jagged1737

moon-eyed1737

rocky1737

soaked1737

soft1737

stewed1737

stiff1737

muckibus1756

groggy1770

muzzeda1788

muzzya1795

slewed1801

lumpy1810

lushy1811

pissed1812

blue1813

lush1819

malty1819

sprung1821

three sheets in the wind1821

obfuscated1822

moppy1823

ripe1823

mixed1825

queer1826

rosined1828

shot in the neck1830

tight1830

rummy1834

inebrious1837

mizzled1840

obflisticated1840

grogged1842

pickled1842

swizzled1843

hit under the wing1844

obfusticatedc1844

ebriate1847

pixilated1848

boozed1850

ploughed1853

squiffy?1855

buffy1858

elephant trunk1859

scammered1859

gassed1863

fly-blown1864

rotten1864

shot1864

ebriose1871

shicker1872

parlatic1877

miraculous1879

under the influence1879

ginned1881

shickered1883

boiled1886

mosy1887

to be loaded for bear(s)1888

squiffeda1890

loaded1890

oversparred1890

sozzled1892

tanked1893

orey-eyed1895

up the (also a) pole1897

woozy1897

toxic1899

polluted1900

lit-up1902

on (also upon) one's ear1903

pie-eyed1903

pifflicated1905

piped1906

spiflicated1906

jingled1908

skimished1908

tin hat1909

canned1910

pipped1911

lit1912

peloothered1914

molo1916

shick1916

zigzag1916

blotto1917

oiled-up1918

stung1919

stunned1919

bottled1922

potted1922

rotto1922

puggled1923

puggle1925

fried1926

crocked1927

fluthered1927

lubricated1927

whiffled1927

liquefied1928

steamed1929

mirackc1930

overshot1931

swacked1932

looped1934

stocious1937

whistled1938

sauced1939

mashed1942

plonked1943

stone1945

juiced1946

buzzed1952

jazzed1955

schnockered1955

honkers1957

skunked1958

bombed1959

zonked1959

bevvied1960

mokus1960

snockered1961

plotzed1962

over the limit1966

the worse for wear1966

wasted1968

wired1970

zoned1971

blasted1972

Brahms and Liszt?1972

funked up1976

trousered1977

motherless1980

tired and emotional1981

ratted1982

rat-arsed1984

wazzed1990

mullered1993

twatted1993

bollocksed1994

lashed1996

1607 B. Jonson Volpone i. v. sig. D^v When I am high with mirth, and wine; then, then.

1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) x. 496 He's high with wine.

1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat iii. ii. sig. F3^v When we are at the banquet, And high in our cups.

1741 L. Theobald Happy Captive ii. iii. 20 When, high in Mirth and Wine, His solemn Festival he celebrates.

1846 J. Taylor Upper Canada 106 I met three gentlemen..and they were all high.

1848 N. Ames Childe Harvard ii. 71 Could an abstraction of an ox-team, plough; Or men ‘get high’ by drinking abstract toddies?

1852 G. B. Cheever Reel in Bottle v. 103 We say of a drunken man that he gets high; so these people get high on the fumes of their own vanity.

1892 Nation (N.Y.) 28 July 66/3 I was told that Governor and legislators would get high on whiskey illegally sold on the evening of the very day when they had passed a stringent amendment to the [Maine] law.

1943 M. Millar Wall of Eyes iv. 51 She was feeling high and she said she wanted to drive.

1999 New Scientist 13 Nov. 36/3 You also feel high all the time, like you just drank a martini. It's a side effect of breathing compressed air called nitrogen narcosis.

b. Emotionally uplifted, in a good mood; elated, lively, uproarious; chiefly in high spirits, high (old) time.Chiefly as a positive attribute. For the sense ‘animated through anger’, see sense A. 11.Later use with on (see quot. 1977) may represent extended use of either sense A. 19a or A. 19c.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [adjective]

blitheOE

merryOE

golikc1175

lustya1225

playfulc1225

jollyc1305

merrya1350

jocund?c1380

galliardc1386

in (also on) a (merry, etc.) pinc1395

mirthfula1400

baudec1400

gayc1400

jovy1426

jocantc1440

crank1499

envoisiesa1500

as merry as a cricket1509

pleasant1530

frolic?1548

jolious1575

gleeful1586

buxom1590

gleesome1590

festival1592

laughter-loving1592

disposed1593

jucund1596

heartsomec1600

jovial1607

jovialist1610

laughsome1612

jocundary1618

gaysome1633

chirpinga1637

jovialissime1652

airy1654

festivous1654

hilarous1659

spleneticala1661

cocket1671

cranny1673

high1695

vogie1715

raffing?1719

festal1724

as merry (or lively) as a grig1728

hearty1755

tittuping1772

festive1774

fun-loving1776

mirthsome1787

Falstaffian1809

cranky1811

laughful1825

as lively as a cricket1832

hurrah1835

hilarious1838

Bacchic1865

laughterful1874

griggish1879

banzai1929

slap-you-on-the-back1932

the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > [adjective] > elated

jollyc1305

elated1615

elevateda1640

on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672

high1695

elate1702

uppisha1704

vaudyc1720

in fine (also good, high) leg1808

exalté1831

in high snuff1840

bucked1907

thrilled1908

twitterpated1942

1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ii. 43 Sweet Melodious Lays, Such as bright Spirits, in high Raptures sing, Around the Throne of their Eternal King.

1732 Coll. New State Songs 20 Poor Moll in high Glee From the Moment it came, Assum'd all the Airs of Imperial Dame.

1768 J. Byron Narr. Patagonia 46 The men were in high spirits from the prospect they had of getting off in the long-boat.

1782 F. Burney Diary & Lett. (1842) II. 149 Daddy Crisp..as usual, high in glee and kindness at the meeting.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 435 When his health was good and his spirits high, he was a scoffer.

1869 B. Harte Luck of Roaring Camp (1871) 226 These are high old times, ain't they?

1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xxiii. 451 Santa Fe De San Francisco—so the old Spaniards named it—is a high old city.

1897 Windsor Mag. Jan. 269/1 I've had a high old time hunting up six dozen of '53.

1914 J. B. Ellis Woodneys v. 67 Last night I made everything all right with Nellie; so this morning I was feeling high.

1941 E. Bowen Look at all those Roses 255 Those two will be having a high old time, with the cat away.

1977 A. Cooke Six Men ii. 54 The small band..were high on the waggishness with which young college types cover up their self-consciousness.

1986 S. Penman Here be Dragons (1991) (U.K. ed.) ii. x. 715 Will was in recklessly high spirits; he insisted upon dancing with Joanna and Gwladys.

2012 E. Herzog Cardiac Care Unit Survival Guide 406/2 It is then when people often become intolerant of problems that did not bother them as much when they were in a high mood.

c. Under the influence of, stimulated by, an illicit drug or drugs. Frequently with on.Cf. earlier extended use in quot. 1852 at sense A. 19a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [adjective]

intoxicated1576

drunk1585

besotted1831

drugged1871

dopey1896

doped1903

piped1906

lit1912

loaded1923

high1932

polluted1938

stone1945

straight1946

impaired1951

on the nod1951

buzzed1952

stoned1953

hung1958

strung out1959

zonked1959

shot1964

out of (also off) one's bird1966

ripped1966

wiped1966

amped1967

tanked1968

wrecked1968

whacked out1969

wired1970

jagged1973

funked up1976

annihilated1980

junked out1982

obliterated1984

caned1992

wankered1992

twatted1993

1932 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/4 High, under the influence of a narcotic.

1935 Down Beat Feb. 1/3 These girls ‘go to town’, like a bunch of jigs ‘high on weed’.

1951 N.Y. Times 13 June 24/5 We would go out together and get high. I used to sleep with him whenever we got high.

1969 New Scientist 29 May 455/1 It is far safer to drive a car when high on marihuana than when drunk.

1995 Sun (Baltimore) 3 Oct. b4/1 Mr. Lemon, who was high on cocaine and heroin at the time, cooperated with Officer Early as she led him into the emergency room.

d. colloquial. Highly interested in, keen on.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > [adjective] > enthusiastic (about or for)

servile1581

enamorate1599

mad1744

bugs1908

high1933

1933 D. Runyon in Collier's 10 June 7/3 Little Alfie is very high on Last Hope and will not stand for anybody insulting this particular horse.

1951 Billboard 25 Aug. 47/2 He is high on the advantages of mobile units over stationary ones, claiming that..the former brings in more cash than the latter.

1966 L. Deighton Billion-dollar Brain xxii. 240 It's about Signe... She's high on you, you know.

1972 Guardian 30 Oct. 2/5 ‘I am not high on the Thieu brand of Government,’ he [sc. McGovern] said, noting that 40,000 people had been executed..by it.

2002 C. Metro & T. Altherr Safe by Mile iii. 84 Roger has called me about you. We can use an outfielder, and he was very high on you.

B. n.² In several senses of Middle English or later date, this noun arises as part of an explicit contrast with low n.²

a. That which is high (in various senses).

ΚΠ

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvi. 99 Ðætte hie [prob. read he] sua healicra ðinga wilnigende ne forsio his niehstan untrume.., ne eft for hiera untrymnesse ne forlæte ðæt he ne wilnige ðæs hean [L. appetere alta derelinquat].

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxvi. 1391 And by accorde of hyȝ and lowe [L. concordia grauis et acuti], þerof comeþ ful swete notes.

1517 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxiv. 109 It dooth decerne the god frome badnes The hye the lowe, the foule the fayrnes.

1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. B7 Mediocre [sc. style], a meane betwixt high and low, vehement and slender.

1605 Z. Jones tr. P. le Loyer Treat. Specters f. 54^v Those [things] which were beheld by the lesser Angle, are lesser, and by the equall, are equall, by the high are high.

1761 Universal Mag. Nov. 267/2 Bound in Hymen's sacred tyes, The low, the high, discording joys Of sense and reason blend.

1839 R. Keith tr. E. W. Hengstenberg Christol. Old Test. III. 477 The low is made high, and the high low, i.e. all is changed from the lowest to the highest.

1888 F. Hartmann Magic, White & Black (ed. 3) vi. 157 Instead of the low serving the high, the high is made to serve the low.

1901 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 12 557 If the arrangement gave two low and one high, the high was accented.

1995 N.Y. Times 19 Jan. h27/5 This juxtaposition of high and low, the constant citation of the repertory and the compulsive use of clichés just prove that P.D.Q...was the first post-modern composer.

b. the Most High (also with lower-case initials): the Supreme Being; God. Formerly also †the High. Cf. highest n. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun]

the Most HigheOE

highesteOE

alwaldendOE

drightinOE

godOE

King of kingsOE

heavenOE

lordOE

sky?1518

gossea1556

beingc1600

deity1647

Master of the Universe1765

Morimo1824

Molimo1861

Gawd1877

big guy1925

Modimo1958

eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter: Canticles & Hymns (1965) vii. 10 (8) Cum diuiderit excelsus gentes : ðonne todaeleð se hea ðiode.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds vii. 48 But the hiȝe [a1425 New Coll. Oxf. heeȝ God, L.V. hiȝ God; L. excelsus] dwellith not in maade thingis by hond.

1479 Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (Caxton) ii. iii Our lorde hath thundred from heuen, and the moost hyghe hath vttred his voys.

1539 Bible (Great) Num. xxiv. f. lxiij^v/2 He hath sayd that heareth the wordes of God, and hath y^e knowledge of the most hye, and beholdeth the vysion of the almyghtie.

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms lxxiii. 11 How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? [1382 Wyclif in heiȝte; 1388 an heiȝe; 1535 Coverdale the most hyest] .

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 906 A despite don against the most High .

1755 Man No. 28. 6 Revelation represents the Most-High to us as the most beneficent fountain of joy.

1806 R. Fellowes tr. J. Milton Second Def. in C. Symmons Prose Wks. John Milton VI. 440 Those money-changers..do not merely truckle with doves but with the dove itself, with the Spirit of the Most High.

1881 G. A. Jackson Fathers of Third Cent. 143 We are subject only to the Most High,..demons having power over us only as we are alienate from him.

1903 Messiah Pulpit 16 Jan. 3 The first man..was a workingman, raised up from the dust by the Most High to be His day's man.

2000 Big Issue 4 Sept. 27/3 Pray For Me sees him on top..form, blasting out righteous calls to get badly caned and praise the most high.

c. People of high birth, rank, or status as a class. Usually with plural agreement; frequently with the. Also (frequently without the) in high and low: people of all conditions. Cf. low n.² 3a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > all kinds of

high and lowa1200

all manner of?c1225

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] > person of

proudOE

higha1200

estate1399

honourablea1450

statec1449

dignitya1525

high and mighty1576

palasinc1580

titular1605

sublimity1610

dignitary1672

person of condition1673

figure1692

title1817

titulary1824

Hon.1836

high-up1882

high-ranker1899

a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 164 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 225 Þar sullen efninges ben to þe heie and to þe loȝe.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11441 Þer scal þe hehȝe beon æfne þan loȝe [c1300 Otho to þan lowe].

a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 17 He shulde ben yknowe boþe of heȝe ant of lowe for treytour.

a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 1252 Curtesye That preised was of lowe and hye.

1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. lij^v Deutero. xvij. warneth iudges to kepe them vppright and to loke on no mans person, y^t is, that they preferre not y^e hye before the lowe.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xlviii[i]. 2 Hye & lowe, riche & poore, one with another.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. iv. sig. D1 All the people of this countrie from high to lowe, is giuen to those sportes of the witte.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. i. 108 He wooes both high and low, both rich & poor, both yong and old.

1665 J. Raunce Certain Things (single sheet) The high, the low, the rich and poor shall bend, At those sad woes which God on them will send.

1729 J. Bramston Art of Politicks 29 The Low are said to take Fanaticks Parts, The High are bloody Papists in their Hearts.

1776 London Mag. Sept. 467/2 Their rulers too must hear..a different language in the words of the great Judge of high and low.

1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 157 That all might mark, knight, menial, high and low.

1828 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. III. xvi. 473 He was..fairspoken, both to high and low.

1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xviii. 306 Look at the high and the low, all the world over, and it's the same story.

1894 W. E. Gladstone tr. Horace Odes iii. i. 15 One lot for high and low to draw.

1922 Gas Age 15 Apr. 468 It goes without saying that in the matter of treatment there should be no distinctions or discriminations between the big and the little, the high and low, and the rich and the poor.

1968 M. Collis Somerville & Ross xxv. 258 How came it that Admiral Boyle, living in quiet retirement and much liked by high and low, was singled out?

2004 N.Y. Times Mag. 3 Oct. 40/1 At street level, though, New York used to be the place where high and low mixed it up.

2. A high place, region, or point; a height, an eminence. Now chiefly Geology and Scottish (esp. in highs and howes: heights and hollows).In quot. a1382 spec.: = high place n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > high place or part

highnesseOE

highOE

altitude?a1475

haut1502

excelse1610

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke i. 78 Per uiscera misericordiae dei nostri in quibus uisitauit nos oriens ex alto : ðerh ðoht miltheortnise godes uses in ðæm gesohte us ariseð of heh uel of heofnum.

OE Order of World 83 Swa teofenede, se þe teala cuþe, dæg wiþ nihte, deop wið hean, lyft wið lagustream, lond wiþ wæge.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings x. 13 Forsoþe he cesede to prophecyen & cam to þe heȝe [a1425 L.V. an hiȝ place; L. ad excelsum].

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 391 Harez, herttez also, to þe hyȝe runnen.

c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 1146 Þai tiltin togederz..Fro þe heghe of þe hyll vnto þe harde roche.

1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War iv. xii. f. cxvi^v They came to the highe of the mountaigne and were in the viewe and sight of the ennemyes all ready to fyght.

1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 416 b There must be a thyrd place..in the highe betwixt heaven and hell I suppose.

1721 A. Ramsay To Ld. Dalhousie 52 She..scours o'er heighs and hows a' day.

a1822 Sir A. Boswell Sheldon Haughs in R. Chambers Misc. Pop. Sc. Poems (1862) 168 Frae heighs and hows, frae hames and ha's.

1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 24 We enter Kirkcoman parish among heighs and howes.

1906 J. F. Fergus Carmina Urbis Et Ruris 64 There 'mid its bonny heighs and howes, 'Mid flower-strewn dells and bosky knowes, Ye reigned supreme.

1949 K. Patchen Red Wine & Yellow Hair 64 Is life the meat that swings the falcon down from his highs? Yes, a poisoned bait in the trap of a vicious fancier.

1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 931 The Azores Platform, a topographic high associated with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 37° and 40° North.

3. The state or condition of being high; high position. Frequently preceded by a preposition; cf. on high at Phrases 3, from on high at Phrases 3b.

ΚΠ

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 Adam ure forme feder..alihte from hehe in to lahe.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 219 Adam..fel out of hiȝe in to lowh.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xxvi To thende he falleth not from hyhe to lowe.

a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lviii. §10. 208 Thou takis me vp fra my laghe in til thi heghe.

c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. l. 1586 Ȝonder ar the folk men may nocht fle, That spekis on law and strekis on hie.

1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World I. vii. 132 There's a Rise and a Fall—there's two as natural Rambles or Transitions from Low to High, and High to Low agen, as..you'l find agen in all our works.

a1783 H. Brooke Poet. Wks. (1792) I. 389 O, what a Fall! a steep from high to low!

1825 T. Carlyle Life Schiller ii. 120 Those careless felicities, those varyings from high to low.

1948 I. L. Seeligmann Septuagint Version of Isaiah 90 It is precisely this notion of wandering and roaming, from high to low..which immediately calls to mind certain scenes..from the papyri relating to Ptolemaic Egypt.

1968 M. Allwright Roundabout xii. 84 I remembered the pot of stew left sizzling on the hot plate and the hot plate left on at high.

2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 7 Mar. iii. 4/4 Stanford and St. Joseph's headed into college basketball's final regular-season weekend unbeaten. The hype machine has been cranked up to high.

†4. Height, altitude; (figurative) highest pitch, acme (cf. height n. 12). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [noun] > above a certain level

heightc1290

highheadc1300

higha1398

altitudea1449

sideness?a1475

alturea1547

pitch1590

mounture1613

eminency1625

eminence1658

haut1686

elevation1732

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point

prickOE

heighta1050

full1340

higha1398

pointc1400

roofa1500

top-castle1548

ruff1549

acmea1568

tip1567

noontide1578

high tide1579

superlative1583

summity1588

spring tide1593

meridian1594

period1595

apogee1600

punctilio1601

high-water mark1602

noon1609

zenith1610

auge1611

apex1624

culmination1633

cumble1640

culmen1646

climax1647

topc1650

cumulus1659

summit1661

perigeum1670

highest1688

consummation1698

stretch1741

high point1787

perihelion1804

summary1831

comble1832

heading up1857

climacteric1870

flashpoint1878

tip-end1885

peak1902

noontime1903

Omega point1981

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxi. 790 Paradys is a place y-set in þe eeste... And is moost fer and recheþ in hiȝe [L. altitudine] as it were to þe cercle of þe mone.

?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) l. 20565 (MED) Fife fote of hegh es þat mare, Withouten manes crafte four squar.

c1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 75 Rered more þen an enche of hegh.

1541 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1862) 3 161 To big and compleit the revestrie of the paroche kirk..with ane walter tabill at the heich that it is now vnder the thak.

1639 J. Canne Stay against Straying 72 Such a practice, is the high of delusion and deph [sic] of dissimulatio [sic].

1775 C. Hutton Diarian Misc. III. 91 Let be shown The heigh of this stupendous cone.

5. A state of great success or happiness; a high point in the life or development of a person or thing. rare before 20th cent.

ΚΠ

1727 Visct. Bolingbroke Occas. Writer 9 As for ups and downs, highs and lows, I think there is nothing at all in them. We great Folks..are liable to these Vicissitudes.

1871 Expos. Epist. to Romans 123 For who is as He was? No highs and lows, as the energy of the apostle could and did experience, but the calmness of unvarying perfection was there.

1933 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 12 Feb. (Automotive section) 1/2 I expect to see trap plays brought to a new high in development.

1968 Listener 22 Feb. 228/2 The series manifestly represented a new high in the adaptation of fiction to film.

1987 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 13 June Biggs..talked candidly about his incredible life, the highs, the lows, his family and the memories.

2000 Vanity Fair Oct. 152/1 Catherine O'Hara, whose other film work..hasn't touched the highs of her SCTV creations, such as the ultra-needy nightclub legend Lola Heatherton.

6. Cards. In all fours (all fours n. 3) and similar card games: the highest trump in play during a round, providing a player with one game point; esp. the ace of the trump suit. Also: the game point awarded for this. high-low-jack n. (also high-low-jack and the game) the game of all fours.In earlier books referred to as highest. The high represents one of the four game points available during each round. In the game of all fours the point is awarded to the player to whom the card is dealt.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > trump cards

triumph1563

trump1563

ruff1598

five-finger1611

honour1674

high1793

low1818

trumph1819

sancho1875

Dix1908

ruffer1934

1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester x. 111 This Game I conceive is called All-Fours from Highest, Lowest, Jack and Game, which is the Set as some play it.

1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester x. 113 Sometimes you are highest, lowest, Jack, and Game.]

1793 J. O'Keeffe London Hermit i. 16 You can't conceive what a variety of high—low—jack—and game, since the morning we parted at the Shakespeare, you in a post-chaise for Dover.

1814 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved (new ed.) 170 All-fours..derives its name from the four chances therein, for each of which a point is scored, namely, high, the best trump out; low, the smallest trump dealt; jack, the knave of trumps; game, the majority of pips reckoned from such of the following cards as the respective players have in their tricks; viz. every ace is counted as 4; king 3; queen 2; knave 1; and ten for 10.

1843 ‘J. Slick’ High Life N.Y. II. 214 Under the table..was a hull squad of playin cards..as if somebody had got beat a playing high-low-jack and the game.

1864 W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle 148 The high and the low always belong to the original possessor of those trumps.

1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I High-low-jack. Same as All-fours.

1898 B. Kirkby Lakeland Words 72 High-low, a card game. High-low, Jack an' t' gam.

1911 R. F. Foster Compl. Hoyle 328 As High, Jack, and Game are always counted by the player holding those points at the end of the play, there can be no question about them: but serious disputes sometimes arise as to who played Low... It is even possible, if there is no other trump or counting card in play, for the Jack to be High, Low, Jack, and the Game.

1963 G. F. Hervey Handbk. Card Games 16 The players then turn up their tricks and score for High, Low, Jack and Game.

1990 D. Parlett Oxf. Guide Card Games 257 The point for High goes to the player dealt the highest trump in play (not all cards being dealt out).

1994 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 13 July i. 19/1 I want her passion for playing high-low-jack-and-the-game on Saturday night held up to ridicule by the nation's foremost satirists.

2004 N. Katz Everything Card Games Bk. (new ed.) 122 After all six tricks have been played, each team adds up the points collected in their hand for High, Low, Jack, Game, Right Pedro, and Left Pedro.

7. In plural. High notes (in music); high frequencies (of sound). rare before 20th cent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > high frequency

highs1845

treble1930

top1940

1845 H. Milton Lady Cecilia Farrencourt II. i. 32 The opening of the door gave Mrs. Major Hopkins new vigour; the louds and the longs, the highs and the lows, the trills, and the shakes, and the crashes, were all repeated with increased power.

1931 U.S. Patent 1,818,987 1/1 In radio and like loud speakers wherein the diaphragm is driven by a single unit, such unit..may be pitched to a low resonance to accentuate the reproduction of the low frequencies and slight the value of the highs.

1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ii. 46 Such screens have the advantage of being dual purpose: used dead side to the microphone, they will damp down the highs: with the bright side forward, the highs will be emphasized.

1981 Musical Times 122 96 I associate the extreme highs (11 to 15 kHz) particularly with intimacy.

1986 Electronic Musician Aug. 53/1 With this mode, the keyboard range is extended..and can produce piercing highs and subterranean lows.

2011 New Yorker 26 Sept. 22/2 The song has Aretha-like highs and not many lows.

8. With the and capital initial. A particular high street, esp. the High Street in Oxford.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > specific street

Watling Street1569

pall-mall1656

high1853

Corso1876

Great White Way1902

1853 ‘C. Bede’ Adventures Mr. Verdant Green x. 88 He at once sallied forth to ‘do the High’, and display his new purchases.

a1879 L. A. Montefiore Ess. & Lett. (1881) 302 Hauski was walking along the High (in Oxford, High Street is called the High, Broad Street the Broad, and so on), smoking a huge cigar.

1888 R. Kipling Plain Tales from Hills 242 If I 'ad a stayed at 'Ome, I might a' married that gal and a kep' a little shorp in the 'Ammersmith' Igh.

1906 A. Quiller-Couch From Cornish Window 158 Yet if at last not less her lover You in your hansom leave the High [etc.].

1921 C. S. Lewis Let. 10 May (1966) 59 It is still pleasant to see fewer foreign visitors pacing the High with guide books.

1955 Times 11 Aug. 7/6 A proposal..to close Magdalen Bridge,..preventing the High from being used as a motor thoroughfare.

2007 Times (Nexis) 26 May (Features section) 5 She finds herself prowling the High in Oxford, and roaring..at the Bodleian Library.

9. Chiefly North American colloquial = high school n. 1a. Chiefly in names of schools. Cf. junior high n. at junior adj. and n. Special uses, senior high n. at senior adj. and n. Compounds 1.

ΘΚΠ

society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > secondary school

high schoolc1417

academyc1550

real school1765

central school1794

secondary school1809

real scholar1822

lyceum1827

Realschule1833

gymnasium1834

continuation-school1837

college1841

lycée1865

middle school1870

high1871

senior school1871

senior high1909

secondary modern school1943

comprehensive1947

secondary1962

community college1967

multilateral1967

sec-mod1968

1871 Boston (Mass.) Almanac 1872 64 High and Grammar Schools, and Masters... Eng High, Bedford st. Charles M. Cumston. Girls' High and Normal, Newton Street. Ephraim Hunt. Roxbury High, S. M. Weston.

1908 Official Basket Ball Rules 1908–9 39 Dorchester High, after a hard season, was the winner in the X division, and Boston Latin School in the Y division.

1930 H. Crane Let. 29 Nov. (1965) 359 I left East High without even a diploma—in my junior year.

1963 H. Garner in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 49 He had graduated from technical high, and was going to university in the fall.

1992 Daily Mail 16 July 3 The common is a favourite meeting point for the King's College boys and the girls from Wimbledon High.

2008 New Yorker 4 Feb. 42/2 According to a 2007 study, Weequahic High is now deemed a ‘dropout factory’—a designation accorded schools with a dropout rate of forty per cent or higher.

10. Meteorology. An area of high atmospheric pressure; a weather system characterized by high pressure, spec. an anticyclone. Cf. high pressure n. 1b. Also figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > movements and pressure conditions > [noun] > atmospheric pressure > (area of) high pressure

high pressure1826

high1878

1878 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 310 These high and low areas, or ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ as they are technically known, travel.

1901 Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1900 332 The hot wave..seemed to join forces with the permanent high over the ocean.

1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose 290 A high had come along that the Met had not been able to forecast.

1966 New Statesman 27 May 759/1 There are..highs and lows of political intensity: right now, we are approaching a moderate high.

2003 Independent 1 Aug. 9/6 An ‘Azores high’ will send temperatures soaring to 24–26C.

11.

a. The highest point within a given (usually statistical) range; a high level exceeding that previously attained; an overall maximum, a record.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > [noun] > that which surpasses others of the same kind

record1860

best1874

high1899

1899 Economist (Chicago) 16 Dec. 716/3 The following table..gives the high of December 8 and the low of December 14, when the decline was checked.

1928 Weekly Disp. 3 June 7/2 When he buys, they buy; the lot of them can create..a new ‘high’ in any share in which Mr. Durant fancies.

1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife ii. 29 An all-time high in adenoidal growth.

1959 Encounter Sept. 59/1 Beckett's stock has reached a steady high at Langham Place.

1973 Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. 122 186 Scores could range from a high of 64..to a low of 1.

2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Aug. c1/3 The number of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments hit a new high.

b. The actual or predicted maximum temperature for a certain place and period.

ΚΠ

1916 Salt Lake Tribune 23 May 14/4 Temperatures varied throughout the state from a low of zero..to a high of 90 degrees at Black Rock.

1964 Climatological Data Okla. (U.S. Weather Bureau) 73 100/1 Daily highs of 100° and above prevailed statewide.

1995 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 1 Mar. 4 A week later, temperatures in Sydney fell to 17C, seven [sic] degrees below the expected high of 25C.

2007 L. Mariner Cleared for Takeoff II. ix. 59 The forecast for tomorrow then, is cool and sunny, with an expected high of 73 degrees.

12. = high gear n. at Compounds 4. Frequently in in (also into) high. Cf. low n.² 9.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > specific gear

bottom gear?1865

high gear1889

low gear1895

fourth1900

second gear1902

first gear1907

second1907

first1909

second speed1912

high1914

low1914

1914 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 7 Mar. 75/1 There is no possibility..of stripping gears, when changing from high to low, or back to high.

1919 Munic. Jrnl. (N.Y.) 12 Apr. 260/2 Fan belt is broken, transmission needs attention, car slips in low, car slips in reverse, clutch slips in high [etc.].

1962 A. Huxley Island vii. 99 It's like shifting gears: you have to go into neutral before you change into high.

2002 Farmers Guardian (Nexis) 22 Feb. 35 High, low, reverse and neutral are on a left hand shift lever working horizontally.

13. colloquial.

a. A state of euphoria induced by the taking of an illicit drug or drugs. Also (esp. in on a high) any state of elation or high spirits. Cf. sense A. 19.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [noun] > drug-induced euphoria

rush1834

sleigh-ride1925

high1944

1944 G. B. Wallace & E. V. Cunningham Marihuana Probl. City of N.Y. ii. 37 In smoking, increasing the number of cigarettes usually increased the sensation described as ‘high’, but here also there was no uniformity in individuals or groups.

1950 N. Cassady Let. 25 Sept. (2005) 158 I spent a month..getting hi before and after each trip. During these hi's I was more amazed than usual by the whole panorama of life I saw daily.

1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie xv. 145 The high came on slow. Peyote high is something like benzedrine high.

1967 Listener 3 Aug. 130/1 It is not easy..to describe the effect of a trip on LSD or a marijuana high.

1989 Looks Dec. 102/3 I'm constantly on the phone, but meeting famous celebs keeps me on a high.

2001 FourFourTwo Aug. 61/2 One might naturally expect him to still be on a high, revelling in the joy of winning three trophies.

2013 Vanity Fair Mar. 383/1 A heroin high comes in waves, not all at once.

b. A drug which induces a state of euphoria.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > stimulant drug(s)

sweets1961

high1962

uppie1966

upper1968

1962 R. G. Reisner Bird 149 Bird introduced this nutmeg to the guys. It was a cheap and legal high.

1971 Rolling Stone 24 June 38/3 (advt.) Herbal Highs. A book on legal, organic highs.

1987 N. Spinrad Little Heroes 98 Chemical highs like speed and reds and smack.

2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 29 May (News section) 15 The growing use of hybrid and complex synthetic ‘highs’ made in illegal labs from mixtures of chemicals, with unknown side-effects, posed a new threat to the health of young people using the new drugs.

Phrases

P1. with (also † in, through) a high hand: with imperious or absolute exercise of power; imperiously. Also in with a higher hand, to take the high hand, etc. [Compare post-classical Latin in manu excelsa, lit. ‘in a high hand’ (Vulgate), and also manus alta force, altior manus upper hand (both 14th cent. in British sources).]

ΚΠ

OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) xxxii. 27 Vre hand is heah [L. manus nostra excelsa] & ne worhte Drihten ðas ðingc.]

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxiii. 3 Þer fore þei goon forþ..in an hiȝ hond [1535 Coverdale thorow an hye hande; 1611 King James with an high hand; L. in manu excelsa].

a1555 J. Bradford Godlye Medytacyon (1559) sig. E.i Suffer hym not to seduce the symple sort with his fonde opinion, that his false gods, blind mumbling, fayned religion or his folishe supersticion, doth geue hym suche conquestes, suche victories, suche triumphe, and so high hand ouer vs.

1596 Bp. W. Barlow tr. L. Lavater Three Christian Serm. ii. 92 Much more will hee scourge them that sinne with an hie hand.

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 7 Carrying..all a kinde of high hand over their wiues.

1676 W. Allen Serious & Friendly Addr. Non-conformists 171 In truth he had with a high hand forbidden it.

1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. xxxiv. 189 My busy Apprehension immediately suggested to me, that I was to be terrified, with a high Hand, into a Compliance with some new Scheme or other.

1774 J. Johnson Let. 6 Apr. in Joshua Johnson's Letterbk. (1979) 131 I have no doubt of establishing our reputations..and much to the prejudice of Molleson and some others who have heretofore held a high hand.

1808 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) IV. 96 An army that, to be successful and carry things with a high hand, ought to be able to move.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iv. ii. 240 The dominant party carrying it with a high hand.

1880 E. Lynn Linton Rebel of Family I. ii. 47 He..carried things with a higher hand than once she would have thought possible.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 147 I took the high hand in despair, said there must be no talk of Irvine coming back.

1932 Pop. Aviation Dec. 360/2 It is the high hand of authority that is choking the life out of a young and promising industry.

1999 Evening Standard (Nexis) 4 Mar. 33 With the Convention on Human Rights a part of British law, it would mean his office couldn't take a high hand and reject what it considered obscene out of hand.

2007 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 10 Nov. 3 There is a certain type of customer who is lovely with myself, or the owner, but who seems to treat the rest of the staff with a high hand.

P2. high and dry.

a. Of a vessel (or occasionally a person): cast or drawn up on the shore out of the water. Also in extended use: out of harm's way, safe.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > liquid > dryness > dry [phrase] > above surface or level of water

high and dry1727

society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > [phrase] > laid up or out of commission

out of commission1533

in ordinary1754

high and dry1851

1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxi. 254 To the great Admiration of all concerned, the Ship was high and dry in the Morning, in a Valley on the South Side of the River of Goa, about half a Mile within the Land.

1759 J. Lindsay Voy. Coast Afr. viii. 67 The wreck of a ship (which lies here high and dry on the shore).

1822 R. G. Wallace 15 Years in India 48 Another surf sent Ensign George True high and dry on the beach.

1838 C. Dickens Let. ?26 July (1965) I. 421 I no sooner get myself up, high and dry, to attack him [sc. Oliver Twist] manfully than up come the waves of each month's work.

1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 359 Dry dock..for laying up ships of war out of commission, or ships ‘in ordinary’, high and dry.

1867 J. C. Patteson in C. M. Yonge Life J. C. Patteson (1874) II. xi. 275 I am high and dry, and have..a broad ladder—up to my house. The Mahaga lads and I call it my tree-house.

1927 J. Galsworthy Castles in Spain 169 A true work of art remains beautiful and living, though an ebb tide of fashion may leave it for the moment high and dry on the beach.

1941 W. S. Maugham Writer's Notebk. (1949) 305 The river has flowed on and left him high and dry on the bank. The writer has his little hour..but an hour is soon past.

1985 Times 31 Oct. 32/5 First efforts to pull her off were unsuccessful and she remained high and dry to wait for the evening tide.

2004 Stuart (Florida) News (Nexis) 8 Oct. (Sport section) c3 I don't think we really knew how many boats we had on our waterways until we saw them high and dry in our backyards.

b. figurative. Out of the current of events or progress, ‘stranded’ (sometimes with allusion to senses A. 8, A. 11, or A. 19, and to dry adj. 17).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being exclusive > exclusiveness [phrase] > out of events or progress

high and dry1831

the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > [phrase] > not taking part in action

high and dry1881

sidelines1895

1831 Amer. Monthly Mag. (Boston) Mar. 824 The tide of the multitude has gone down. The theatre is left high and dry, like the skeleton of the mighty horse in the camp of the Dorians.

1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xlviii. 551 Turns his back on ev'ry thing as made his service a creditable one, and leaves me, high and dry, without a leg to stand upon.

1881 E. W. Hamilton Diary 18 June (1972) I. 146 Meanwhile, Dr. Flood's successor had been appointed, and Dr. Flood was left high and dry without preferment owing to an undoubted breach of faith on the part of Duckworth.

1907 Model Engineer 24 Oct. 406/1 I am high and dry in the country and find accumulators a nuisance. There is a colliery here from which I can get a 220-volt continuous current.

1960 Times 30 Aug. 11/6 Cella's back-heel, so deceptive, so utterly unexpected, left Rossano high and dry.

2005 Independent 16 Aug. 25/6 A community that a couple of generations ago were brought here as ‘economic migrants’, then left high and dry when the cotton mills closed.

c. colloquial. Of or relating to the old High Church party within the Church of England, as distinguished from that which originated with the 19th-cent. Oxford Movement. Now historical.

ΚΠ

1839 Gospel Standard Mar. 71 To us it savours too much of the barren high and dry church of England divinity; and it bears too close a resemblance to the wooden, sapless, head-knowledge doctrinalists in the church.]

1843 Times 16 Nov. 4/6 The high and dry party justly censured the so-called Evangelicals as being Dissenters in disguise.

1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers 39 That party which is now scandalously called the high-and-dry church.

1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 282 Principles..which went beyond that particular defence which high-and-dry men thought perfection.

1968 G. S. Haight George Eliot i. 8 Religion in the Evans family had been of the old-fashioned high-and-dry sort.

1994 P. B. Nockles Oxf. Movement in Context 40 For the Tractarians, the term ‘Anglican’ came to denote a ‘High and Dry’ form of attachment to the Church of England.

2003 S. Maughan in A. Porter Imperial Horizons of Brit. Protestant Missions 37 Strong ideals of church unity, imperial engagement, and enthusiastic activism—uncharacteristic emphases within the conventional ‘high and dry’ party.

P3. on high (rarely upon high).

a. In or to a height, above, aloft; spec. up to or in heaven. Cf. ahigh adv.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb]

upc888

highOE

highlyOE

thereupc1000

anovenOE

overOE

boveOE

on, upon (the) lofta1100

aloftc1175

bibufennc1175

on higha1200

abovec1225

anovenonc1300

in heighta1340

on or upon height1340

ahighc1350

outh1389

over loftc1430

aheight1477

supernally1596

lofty-like1604

sublimely1625

way up1843

thereabove1891

the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > in upward direction

on higha1200

on or upon height1340

of lofta1400

on, upon (the) loft1487

the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [adverb] > in Heaven

in the highestOE

on higha1200

abovea1325

alofta1400

within the veil1528

up there1938

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 111 (MED) Ure helende..was þis dai heued on hegh.

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 95 (MED) Ðe faste hope hafð hire stede up an heih.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 11104 Hii..ladde him vpe þe tour an hei.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 708 All thinges..On hei, on lau, on land, on see.

c1410 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Cambr. Dd.4.24) (1902) l. 849 Hire to disporte vp-on the banke an [c1475 Trin. Oxf. on] heigh.

1480 Cronicles Eng. (Caxton) ccxliii. sig. s8 There hir hedes were sette vpon high.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xl. D Lift vp youre eyes an hie, and considre.

1611 Bible (King James) Psalms cxiii. 5 The Lord our God, who dwelleth on high .

1687 J. Dryden Song St. Cecilia's Day Chorus The Trumpet shall be heard on high, The Dead shall live, the Living die.

1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 258 Caprea, where the Lanthorn fix'd on high Shines like a Moon through the benighted Sky, While by its Beams the wary Sailor steers.

1760 A. Murphy Desert Island iii. 56 Teach our souls To bend in love, in gratitude, and praise To the All-good on high, who thus befriends The cause of innocence.

1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 19 Apr. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 131 That heart-breathed sigh Which for thy life ascends on high.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 305 From boats below, and roofs on high.

1903 A. Kautz Ink in Bloom 18 Oh, Thought, Carrier bird! To those far summits fly! This message bear nearer to God upon high.

1914 J. S. Wrightnour Rift in Cloud 63 While on high, in sunny air, swallows fly alow, or soar O'er a higher area floor.

1931 L. Binyon tr. Dante Inferno i, in Coll. Poems II. 240 For that Lord Emperor who doth reign on high..Wills not that I to his city come too nigh.

2007 L. H. Ellis tr. R. Borghini Il Reposo 194 The people are shown in different poses in appropriate scale, looking at Christ on high sending thunderbolts down at the people.

b. from on high (rarely from high): from a high place or position; spec. from heaven.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > from on high or heaven

from higha1225

the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [adverb] > from Heaven

heavenlyOE

from higha1225

celestially1593

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 (MED) Adam..alihte from hehe in to lahe.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2327 Þe Amyral þat was so riche ys falle doun fram an heȝ.

a1456 (a1402) J. Trevisa tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (BL Add.) f. 107 He shal visyte yowe..and comeþe frame heghe to vs þat sitteþe in derknesse.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John iii. f. cxxiij He that commeth from an hye is above all.

1531 W. Tyndale Expos. Fyrste Epist. St. Jhon Prol. sig. Aiiij^v He which ever crepith..can not fal frome an hie.

1557 Bible (Whittingham) John iii. 31 He that commeth from an hye, is aboue all.

1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 78 The dayspring from on high hath visited us.

1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §832 For Raine, and other Dew, that fall from high, cannot preserue the Smell.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 116 Their Flocks Father (forc'd from high to leap) Swims down the Stream.

1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 7 Ambition This shall tempt to rise, Then whirl the Wretch from high.

1821 R. Heber in Evangelical Mag. July 316 We, whose souls are lighted With wisdom from on high.

1859 F. Wharton Treat. Theism 249 He forgot that to raise a pierless bridge that was to be eternal, its support must be derived from on high.

1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate ii. vi. 249 Now the Boreley family consider that they have a special mandate, bestowed from on high, to deal with everything that regards the horse.

1992 Economist 29 Feb. 74/2 Managers, carrying out instructions from on high, may not know whether the farm they run is in profit or loss.

2009 Independent 22 Oct. (Life section) 9/5 It's like having God the Father come down from on high.

†c. Also of high. With a raised voice; loudly; aloud. Obsolete (archaic and poetic in later use).

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adverb] > with raised voice or loudly

loud971

highc1225

on highc1225

highlyc1275

mainlyc1300

with full (also open) mouthc1300

alouda1325

greatly1340

ahigha1400

loudlya1400

on or upon heightc1405

on, upon (the) loftc1420

on loudc1450

in heightc1480

big1556

to the loudesta1616

full-mouthedly1681

in loud1682

stentoriously1685

trumpet-mouthed1767

at the top of one's throat1819

out loud1821

stentorianly1880

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 884 Come aburh-reue..ant tus on heh cleopede: ‘O kene king!’

c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 1288 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 143 He..aros op and bi-gan to telle is tale on heiȝ [c1300 Harl. 2277 anheȝ].

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 139 (MED) Whan þis was set & stabled, & pes cried on hii, Henry þe ȝong kyng ȝede to Normundie.

?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 40 He herde hem..iangle, and borde of high [e] .

1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) ii. 62 He..called of heyghe, ‘Barons! kepe well that Reynawde scape not.’

?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Bv Yf we call any thynge on hye The tauerner wyll answere.

1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 8318 Than said on heich this nobill empreour [etc.].

1602 S. Patrick tr. I. Gentillet Disc. Wel Governing iii. xxx. 322 Every one wept for joy, and cryed on high: That assuredly the citie of Rome was most happie, invincible and eternall, by this concord.

1659 D. Pell Πελαγος 313 Some of the prisoners have been heard to shout on high.

1766 T. Francklin Earl of Warwick v. ii. 59 He rais'd his voice on high, And stop, he cry'd, your sacrilegious hands.

1821 R. S. Hawker Tendrils 81 With triumph spread the festal board, And shout on high the joyful lay.

1878 B. M. Ranking Bjorn & Bera ii. 70 The while he, frowning, spoke on high: ‘Ah, harlot, and my father's bane!’

†d. figurative. To an intense or high degree. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase]

a great dealc1000

much dealc1225

on highc1400

little1483

good and proper1508

not smally1548

a deal1756

in a big way1840

more than somewhat1930

c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 124 Til ich, wratth, waxe an hyh and walke with hem bothe.

†e. Perhaps: openly, publicly. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > manifestation > manifestness > openness or unconcealedness > [adverb]

barelyc950

beforeOE

openlyOE

nakedly?c1225

in a person's bearda1250

opelyc1275

apertly1297

commonlya1325

opena1325

overtlyc1325

pertlya1375

plainc1380

in (also on) opena1382

in apertc1384

plainlyc1390

in open (also general) audiencea1393

aperta1400

in commonaltya1400

outa1400

without laina1400

in commonc1400

publishlyc1400

pertc1410

in publicc1429

on higha1450

in pert1453

to a person's facea1470

into heightc1480

forthward?1504

but hidel?1507

publicly1534

uncolouredly1561

roundly1563

famously1570

vulgarly1602

above board1603

round1604

displayedly1611

on (also upon) the square?1611

undisguisedly1611

broadly1624

discoveredly1659

unveiledly1661

under a person's nose1670

manifestly1711

before faces1762

publically1797

overboard1834

unashamedly1905

upfront1972

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 744 Suche on he was alle his leuyng.

†P4. in high and low: in all parts; in all points or respects; wholly, entirely. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > in respect of everything or part > in every respect

through all thingeOE

at all pointsa1375

from point to pointa1393

at all rightsc1405

in high and lowc1405

in generala1413

every incha1450

all in allc1475

at all sorts1612

all round1867

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 27098 (MED) Alle þis werld, on lagh and hei, Es nackind forwit cristis ei.]

c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 816 And we wol ruled been at his deuys In heigh and logh.

1428 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 5 (MED) In hegh and lawe he submyt hym to ye grace and awarde of ye Mayr and Counsell.

a1475 J. Shirley Death James (BL Add. 5467) in Miscellanea Scotica (1818) II. 8 The Lordes cosentid..yn hie and low, to mayntene all that he wold tak on hand to say.

?1605 J. Davies Wittes Pilgrimage sig. X1 verso Byas also dothe ryght well shewe, Of wrath the discommoditie: Saying that it in hygh and lowe, To counsayle is chiefe enemye.

1682 H. Care Hist. Popery IV. 42 He got to himself alone the Domination In Alto & Basso, (As Feudal Lawyers speak) in High and Low; or, absolutely in All and over All.

P5. colloquial. on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope) and variants: in an elated, disdainful, or enraged mood. Now rare (only in historical contexts).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > anger > [adjective]

irrec825

gramec893

wemodc897

wrothc950

bolghenc1000

gramelyc1000

hotOE

on fireOE

brathc1175

moodyc1175

to-bollenc1175

wrethfulc1175

wraw?c1225

agrameda1300

wrathfula1300

agremedc1300

hastivec1300

irousa1340

wretheda1340

aniredc1350

felonc1374

angryc1380

upreareda1382

jealous1382

crousea1400

grieveda1400

irefula1400

mada1400

teena1400

wraweda1400

wretthy14..

angryc1405

errevousa1420

wrothy1422

angereda1425

passionatec1425

fumous1430

tangylc1440

heavy1452

fire angry1490

wrothsomea1529

angerful?1533

wrothful?1534

wrath1535

provoked1538

warm1547

vibrant1575

chauffe1582

fuming1582

enfeloned1596

incensed1597

choleric1598

inflameda1600

raiseda1600

exasperate1601

angried1609

exasperated1611

dispassionate1635

bristlinga1639

peltish1648

sultry1671

on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672

nangry1681

ugly1687

sorea1694

glimflashy1699

enraged1732

spunky1809

cholerous1822

kwaai1827

wrathy1828

angersome1834

outraged1836

irate1838

vex1843

raring1845

waxy1853

stiff1856

scotty1867

bristly1872

hot under the collar1879

black angry1894

spitfire1894

passionful1901

ignorant1913

hairy1914

snaky1919

steamed1923

uptight1934

broigus1937

lemony1941

ripped1941

pissed1943

crooked1945

teed off1955

ticked off1959

ripe1966

torqued1967

bummed1970

the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adverb]

dignelyc1374

hautainlyc1400

deignouslyc1440

disdaininglyc1485

royally?c1500

disdainouslya1513

haughtly1523

superciliously1528

disdainishly?1529

disdainfullya1533

disdainedly1535

lordlikea1555

squeamishly1571

haughtily1572

state1579

coy1581

lordly1589

overly1610

lordlily1611

condescendingly1653

on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672

coyly1673

cavalierly1718

slightily1740

skeigh1792

patronizingly1834

Olympically1839

superiorly1844

Olympianly1871

superior1891

the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > [adjective] > elated

jollyc1305

elated1615

elevateda1640

on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672

high1695

elate1702

uppisha1704

vaudyc1720

in fine (also good, high) leg1808

exalté1831

in high snuff1840

bucked1907

thrilled1908

twitterpated1942

1672 Vindic. of Clergy 81 At length he shows upon the High Rope, and advances to the top of his design, his elaborate Description of the Vicar.

1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Rope Upon the High-ropes, Cock-a-hoop.

1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais v. xviii He was upon the High-Rope and began to rail at them like mad.

1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer ii. 27 All upon the high ropes! His uncle a Colonel!

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxi. 304 I went there the night before last, but she was quite on the high ropes about something.

1850 C. M. Yonge Henrietta's Wish vi. 76 That is what you call being on the high rope, isn't it?

1868 S. Brooks Sooner or Later II. xi. 116 If they were not all on the high ropes the thing might be settled quietly enough, but Haslop believes her an angel, and Dormer won't let her know what is said.

1944 G. Heyer Friday's Child xiii. 140 Mr Ringwood agreed that when George was in his high ropes there was no knowing at all what mad act he would take it into his head to commit.

P6.

high priori adj. [a humorous alteration of a priori adv., originally (in high priori road) after high road n.] (of a method of reasoning, an assumption, etc.) lofty, unfounded.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > [adverb]

presumptively1593

presumably1658

antecedently1668

high priori1742

presumedly1848

assumedly1881

sans dire1881

assumably1883

the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [adjective] > assuming loftiness

high priori1742

priori1762

1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 463 We nobly take the high Priori Road.

1790 R. Porson Lett. to Travis vii. 163 Thus far I have thought fit to take the high priori road of reasoning; that if I have any attentive readers..they may learn to weigh the probabilities of an assertion before they agree to its truth.

1851 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 3) I. iii. 209 I am unable to see why we should be..constrained to travel the ‘high priori road’ by the arbitrary fiat of logicians.

1873 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 420 The days when mind was considered exclusively the domain of theologians and metaphysicians, and mental diseases were treated according to ‘high priori’ notions instead of medical science.

1923 Jrnl. Philos. 20 141 The purely logical approach to metaphysical problems is somewhat out of fashion. High priori grounds and necessary being are threatened with banishment.

1987 D. G. Marshall in G. H. Hartman Unremarkable Wordsworth Introd. p. viii Close reading again proved its validity against ‘high priori’ historicism.

P7. on the high horse: see horse n. 24b.

P8. colloquial (chiefly U.S.) to be in high cotton (also clover) and variants: to live well; to prosper, be well off; to be in a comfortable or advantageous position; cf. to live (or be) in clover at clover n. 3.

ΚΠ

1840 Sun (Baltimore) 2 June 1/4 Whenever she married she would immediately reap the benefit of it in sugar and old rum. Three weeks I spent in high clover.

1848 N.Y. Herald 4 Mar. 1/4 There were letters received from him in town a day or two since, from Candella, stating that he was doing well and in high clover.

1915 Amer. Artisan & Hardware Rec. 20 Mar. 15/2 That was the time when the industrial promoter was in high clover.

1933 Port Arthur (Texas) News 12 Dec. 8/1 Sabine district grid fans are lollin' in high cotton this week—with two championship football contests on the calendar.

1975 J. Nazel Shakedown i. 26 After tomorrow night, we'll both be able to take it easy. We'll be walking in high cotton.

1998 Washington Times (Electronic ed.) 23 July Courier was livin' in high clover in the early '90s.

2005 T. L. Rioux From Sawdust to Stardust vii. 116 If the westerns kept doing well or if he could get a television series of his own, then the Kelleys would be in high cotton.

P9. Originally U.S. colloquial. how is that for high?: an exclamation inviting admiration. Now somewhat rare. [Perhaps with allusion to the high in all fours or similar games (see sense B. 6), but popularized in a song (see quot. 1869¹).]

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > expressions of commendation [interjection] > inviting commendation

how is that for high?1869

sock it to me (them, etc.)!1963

1869 Billy Emerson's Oh! How is that for High? (sheet music) 4 A charming girl this afternoon, I saw come tripping by, And as I looked she winked at me, Oh! how is that for High?

1869 Plymouth (Indiana) Weekly Democrat 11 Feb. Three concerts in Chicago brought her $8,000. How's that for high?

1870 Harvard Advocate 25 Nov. 54/1 ‘Sic semper stultibus’, is what a worthy member of '73 stuck on to a Freshman's door, after putting himself to the trouble..of tearing down said Fresh's card. How's that for high?

1887 F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin xviii. 315 ‘How's that for high, boys?’ concluded the narrator, when he had told his tale. ‘That's on top,’ declared Black Jack; ‘that takes the cake.’

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vii. [Aeolus] 119 What about that, Simon?..How's that for high?

2004 T. Fleming Passionate Girl (2009) 417 At the end of each week, I send Dick Connolly a list of the men. Sometimes with a little description of what we did. How's that for high?

P10. slang high as a kite: exceptionally elated, euphoric; very drunk or under the influence of an illicit drug or drugs. Cf. sense A. 19. Cf. also earlier as high as a kite at high adv. Phrases 1.

ΚΠ

1903 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 210/2 All wrapped up in my hopes, and feeling as high as a kite, I seek in Hankow the fisherman to whom I had attached the learned Mandarin's poor little son.

1938 Catal. Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office) 33 131/2 (title of song) I'm high as a kite..Sid Bass.

a1966 M. Allingham Cargo of Eagles (1968) iv. 54 He..gave them a champagne lunch in a marquee..and held a sale. By then everyone was as high as a kite.

2004 Voice 22 Mar. (24 Seven section) 10/3 But social dancing—you give me a little shandy, I'll get high as a kite and I will dance you under the table!

Compounds

C1. Compounds in Old English and their later reflexes.In Old English the adjective hēah (in various senses) frequently occurs in compounds with a noun as second element. These are true compounds (with invariable first element); however, in Middle English the reflexes of such compounds are typically reinterpreted as syntactic combinations of adjective and noun.In modern English surviving in a relatively small number of fixed collocations noted below, esp. in the names of offices and dignities and in official titles.

a. With literal sense ‘lofty, tall, not low’, also ‘deep’. [Compare Old English hēahbeorg (high) mountain, hēahclif high cliff, hēahflōd high tide, deep water, hēahland highland n. 1a, hēahtimber tall building, etc. Some compounds show the first element passing into Compounds 1b, as hēahaltare high altar n., hēahdēor stag, hēahsǣ high sea n. 1, hēahsetl (see high settle at settle n.¹ 2b), hēahwēofod high altar.]

ΚΠ

OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xix. 13 Adduxit foras iesum et sedit pro tribunali : gebrohte bute ðone hælend & sætt fore ðæm hehsedle.

OE Homily (Corpus Cambr. 421) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 262 Swa bið eac gelice be þam heaclifum and torrum, þonne hi hlifiað feor up ofer þa oðre eorðan.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Swa swiðe he lufode þa headeor swilce he wære heora fæder.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 91 (MED) Þe children..him brohten into þe holie temple, alse in his heorðliche heg settle.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 159 He wende to sceoten þat hea der; & ihitte his aȝene fader.

b. Designating a thing, with the sense ‘high in degree, rank, or dignity, excellent, main, chief’. [Compare Old English hēahburh chief city, capital city, hēahcræft high or excellent skill, hēahfrēols great feast day, hēahnama exalted or illustrious name, hēahstrǣt high street n., hēahsynn deadly sin, capital sin, crime, hēahtīd high tide n. 1, hēahweg highway n. 1a, etc., and perhaps also hēahmæsse (see High Mass n. at Compounds 4).]

ΚΠ

OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 5 Annuntia populo meo scelera eorum : gisægi folce minum hehsynna hiara.

OE Daniel 698 Feonda folc feran cwome herega gerædum to þære heahbyrig þæt hie Babilone abrecan mihton.

OE Confessionale Pseudo-Egberti (Tiber.) in Anglia (1889) 12 518 Bebeorh þe wið þa eahta heahsynna.

lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. i. 244 To Constentinopolim, þær is Creca heahburg and heora cynestol.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 111 He makede ane heȝe burh [c1300 Otho eȝe borȝ]; Albe Lingoe wes ihaten.

c. In names of offices and dignities, with the sense ‘chief, principal, highest, head, arch-’, sometimes passing into the absolute sense ‘of high rank or dignity, exalted, lofty’; also in official titles, frequently denoting the supreme officer or dignitary, or the officer who fulfils a particular function to the state or head of state, as high angel, high bailiff, high bishop, high bode, high chamberlain, high deacon, high father, high master, etc.After Old English usually written as two words, but sometimes hyphenated.In later use chiefly in historical contexts, except in some of the titles treated elsewhere. See High Admiral n. 1 (also Lord High Admiral n.), Lord High Chancellor n., High Commissioner n., High Constable n. at constable n. 5b (also Lord High Constable, variant of Constable of England n. at constable n. 2b), High Justice n., High Marshal at marshal n. 2a, high reeve at reeve n.¹ 1c, high sheriff at sheriff n. 2a, high steward n. at steward n. 9, High Treasurer at treasurer n. 1b. [Compare Old English hēahboda archangel, hēahcyning (see high king n. at Compounds 4), hēahealdor (chief) ruler, hēahealdormann (chief) ruler, patrician, hēahfæder patriarch, also as an epithet of God, hēahgerēfa (see high reeve at reeve n.¹ 1c), hēahlǣce master physician, hēahsācerd chief priest, hēahþegn chief officer, captain, apostle, angel, hēahwita chief councillor, etc.]

ΘΚΠ

the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [adjective] > ruling or majestic

highOE

supremea1522

majestical1583

majestatic1659

majestaticala1695

OE Blickling Homilies 25 Se ham is gefylled mid heofonlicum gastum, mid englum & heahenglum, mid heahfæderum & apostolum.

OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 61 Eft hine axode se heahsacerd, eart þu Crist?

OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1002 Þa ongemang þissum ofsloh Leofsige ealdorman Æfic þæs cynges heahgerefan.

lOE Laws of Wihtræd (Rochester) Prol. 12 Ðær wæs Birhtwald, Bretone heahbiscop.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17107 Þatt kine dom. þatt godd. Heh faderr rixleþþ inne.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 125 Ure drihten sende his heg engel gabriel to on old man.

a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 219 Angeli, boden; archangeli, hahboden [OE Royal healice bodan].

c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 61 Ear þen he were under Maximien hehest i Rome, þet is heh reue.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 1873 (MED) Hiȝ dekne ich wile make þe.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5008 (MED) Þar vs tok þe hei baili.

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 270 Heiȝe maister in Egipte J was.

a1425 (?c1375) N. Homily Legendary (Harl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 154 Þat he high-dekin at þe mes Godspell aw him to rede.

1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxiii. 19 The hye captayne toke hym by the hond and went a parte with hym out of the waye.

1549 T. Solme in H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie To Rdr. sig. Aii The office of the high bishoppe.

1556 R. Robinson tr. T. More Utopia (ed. 2) sig. Avii Sente thether by the hieghe Byshoppe.

1805 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 33 The contest for the high stewardship at Cambridge, between Lord Hardwick and Lord Sandwich.

a1819 R. Watt Bibliotheca Brit. (1824) II. 4 C iv b Townley, James..High Master of the Merchant-Taylor's School.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xxi. 615 The High Bailiff then walked round the three companies of horsemen.

1873 tr. Ann. Ulster in Trans. Royal Irish Acad.: Antiquities 24 246 Fothudh, high-bishop of Alba, rested in Christ.

1907 Irish Monthly Nov. 597 A sanctuary of silence it is, and of fair, celestial musings; a house of holiness, in which, it well might seem, high angels would not disdain to abide.

2010 Solihull News (Nexis) 3 Dec. 54 (caption) The Curry Republic is officially opened by Henley-in-Arden High Bailiff John Rutherford.

C2. In noun phrases used attributively.Occasionally some of these are used predicatively.

a. With the sense ‘having, characterized by, or operating with a high degree or amount of (the specified quality or activity)’.

high-accuracy adj.

ΚΠ

1931 U.S. Patent 1,804,330 2/1 It is also advisable to protect high accuracy instruments of this character from the rather severe vibration met with on aeroplanes.

1988 J. R. Leigh Temperature Measurem. & Control 44 High-accuracy measurement of ultrasonic velocity in a liquid.

2007 N. A. Paradis et al. Cardiac Arrest (ed. 2) ix. 184 All errors of a high-accuracy instrument must be small.

high-action adj.

ΚΠ

1888 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Dec. 1335/1 On admission he was quite unable to stand, and now he can walk about the ward, though his gait is of the high-action type.

1899 A. Church & F. Peterson Nerv. & Mental Dis. 308 The high-action gait is usually well marked, as the extensors of the leg are generally affected with the muscles below the knee.

1974 Ebony May 40/1 Cicely is not against a high-action, adventure film.

2004 Impact Aug. 33/2 It could have been darkly satirical. It could have been high-action drama.

high-affinity adj.

ΚΠ

1938 Jrnl. Amer. Leather Chemists Assoc. 33 42 The affinities of mixtures of sulphite cellulose with high affinity vegetable tannins were measured.

1962 Science 22 June 1032/3 The biosynthesis of high-affinity antibodies.

2010 T. W. Sadler Langman's Med. Embryol. (ed. 11) xv. 250/1 Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone bind to a specific high-affinity intracellular receptor.

high-bandwidth adj.

ΚΠ

1952 Television Engin. Apr. 14/3 Few attempts appear to have been made to generate high bandwidth video signals from pictures, writing, or opaque subjects.

1955 N.Z. Jrnl. Sci. & Technol. B. 36 635 Performance tests carried out on a supply with a high-bandwidth amplifier and cathode-ray oscilloscope.

1993 Harper's Mag. Jan. 26/1 High-bandwidth, interactive television.

2006 Icon May 70/2 Schwarz of Nissan relies on these tools too, using high-bandwidth internet connections to exchange data with Japan.

high-capacity adj.

ΚΠ

1888 Railway Press 2 Nov. 14/1 It was thought at one time..that this high capacity waggon would be only serviceable in cases of long runs of one, two, or three hundred miles.

1926 Motor Boating Oct. 183/1 (advt.) They are ready-connected, high-capacity batteries in water-proof steel cases, ideal for motor-boat ignition.

1959 R. Pound & G. Harmsworth Northcliffe (1960) xi. 293 There were abundant..lakes and rivers to supply the huge quantities of water required for high-capacity paper mills.

2001 Contact May 54/2 The real bonus with the SL45 is its high-capacity removable memory.

high-caste adj.

ΚΠ

1820 London Lit. Gaz. 13 May 316/2 The warmth and good will with which the Colonel's hircarrah (himself a high-caste Hindoo) endeavoured to save the unhappy woman.

1862 H. Beveridge Comprehensive Hist. India II. vi. ii. 587 The high-caste Brahmins.

1948 O. C. Cox Caste, Class, & Race 33 The high-caste man will be veritably horror-stricken if by accident he should come into contact with a Pariah.

2005 New Internationalist July 22/2 Mariamma..was on her way home from collecting firewood when Kumarasami, a high-caste landowner, attempted to rape her.

high-class adj.

ΚΠ

1833 Encycl. Brit. V. 137/1 A great division of labour and numerous highly skilled artizans are consequently employed in the various stages in the construction of a high-class carriage.

1864 A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (1880) 168 Facilities for securing a high-class education.

1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 7/3 The Boston Symphony being about the only high-class organization in the country that does not have union men.

1971 W. Hanley Blue Dreams xix. 313 A high-class hooker couldn't be entirely without redeeming social value.

2007 Independent 3 Apr. (Extra section) 12/4 Wine contains powerful antioxidants; thus the wine bath has become a high-class spa treatment known as vinotherapy.

high-compression adj.

ΚΠ

1899 U.S. Patent 632,169 2/2 The blowpipes or burners are high compression in that the air is compressed through very much reduced tubes.

1958 Times 6 Nov. 7/5 All high compression engines respond to high-octane, highly anti-knock fuel.

2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 9 Apr. iii. 17/2 Members of the group rebuilt the engine..putting in high-compression pistons and a hot-cam like the original.

high-cost adj.

ΚΠ

1885 Rep. Consuls U.S. on Commerce No. 57. 30 In regard to other articles the system works in the same manner, a low-cost article paying the same duty as a high-cost article of the same variety.

1931 G. B. Ford Building Height, Bulk & Form (title page) Uneconomic types of buildings on high-cost land.

1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 259 German farmers were high-cost producers.

2010 Daily Tel. 26 Nov. 31/1 In the high-cost South East, describing a household with a total income of £44,000 as wealthy would raise a horse laugh.

high-current adj.

ΚΠ

1882 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 31 Dec. 4/7 With such a battery, a high-current machine might be used to deliver electricity to the point where needed, and where it could be drawn off as a current of low and safe electro-motive force.

1943 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 47 289 The two parts to be joined are connected to the secondary terminals of a low-voltage high-current transformer.

2000 P. Scherz Pract. Electronics for Inventors iv. 177 Its extremely high input resistance and low input current make it a good choice for powering high-voltage or high-current analog circuits.

high-dose adj.

ΚΠ

1836 Lancet 26 Mar. 20/1 Homœopathy or the infinitesimal system holds a middle place between the bread-pill medicine..and the high-dose schools caricatured by the slaughterers of the ‘College of Health’.

1949 Jrnl. Faculty Radiologists Oct. 98 There is a small but definite risk that high dose treatment of supraclavicular glands may be followed after a period of relief from the effects of the neoplasm, by brachial neuritis.

2007 N.Y. Times Mag. 17 June 55/1 Allowing an opioid-naïve recovering crack addict to start on high-dose pills and control her own dosage..seems reckless.

high-efficiency adj.

ΚΠ

1886 Electrician & Electr. Engineer (U.S.) Jan. 7/1 A higher cost of a mechanical horse-power hour than four cents will decrease the relative ultimate costs for the high efficiency lamps, such as the Stanley 44 volt.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 70/1 (advt.) Timken engineers apply the broadest experience in the industry to designs and plans for high-efficiency, low-cost heating.

2010 Independent 2 Jan. 9/1 A key component of high-efficiency magnets and hard disc drives.

high-field adj.

ΚΠ

1926 E. C. Kemble in Bull. National Res. Council No. 57. 336 The components of the high field triplet should have a fine structure comparable in scale to that of the original multiple line.

1968 C. G. Kuper Introd. Theory Superconductivity vii. 130 Superconducting materials used for high-field magnets.

2007 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 Mar. 1 A powerful, ‘high-field’ magnet and a special breast coil to generate a magnetic field around the breast.

high-gain adj.

ΚΠ

1926 U.S. Patent 1,595,100 1/1 This invention relates to repeaters and more particularly to high gain repeaters for commercial purposes.

1990 P. Theroux Chicago Loop v. 61 It's a high-risk, high-gain business.

2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 15 Nov. (Central ed.) r11/1 The team used a laptop equipped with a high-gain antenna to hijack a standard-issue Nokia..phone.

high-intensity adj.

ΚΠ

1853 M. Faraday in Athenæum 25 June 774/3 The electric discharge from different sources produces this effect, but the high intensity spark of the electric machine is that best fitted for the purpose.

1937 Discovery Feb. 45/1 For production of the screen image a high intensity automatic arc is being used.

1998 Zest Sept. 126/3 We would do circuit-training, which is a series of high-intensity exercises such as press-ups, sit-ups, crunches and skipping.

2009 W. G. Hopkins & N. P. A. Hüner Introd. Plant Physiol. (ed. 4) xv. 272/1 A single brief period of high-intensity rainfall.

high-investment adj.

ΚΠ

1920 T. S. Woolsey Stud. French Forestry xi. 334 Most of the high-investment returns from forest properties are really due to speculative increases in local values.

1960 Encounter 15 iv. 10 The average rate of profit..need not be lower in a high-investment than a high-consumption economy.

2004 Globe & Mail (Canada) (Nexis) 2 Oct. f1 We are making Britain a high-investment economy.

high-latitude adj.

ΚΠ

1875 J. D. Dana Geol. Story 224 There must have been some exterminations as a consequence of the cold of the Glacial period, and of the ice of high latitude regions.

1909 T. C. Chamberlin in Tidal & Other Probl. Carnegie Inst. Publ. No. 107 51 No distinction between the most ancient rocks of the high-latitude and the low-latitude regions, in the matter of compressional characters, has, I believe, ever been detected.

2008 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 May a16 Living in a northern, high-latitude country could be a risk because geography determines how much vitamin D people are able to make from sun exposure.

high-order adj.

ΚΠ

1936 Proc. IRE 24 912 It is..extreme high order harmonic distortion which makes the reception of frequency modulation over a multipath medium far more distorted than the reception of amplitude modulation over the same medium.

1968 L. Fox & D. F. Mayers Computing Methods for Scientists & Engineers vii. 134 Economization was effected just by removing successive high-order terms.

1998 Wine & Spirits Fall 55/1 It's a vision that both psychiatrists and gourmets today would consider a high-order displacement activity.

high-output adj.

ΚΠ

1914 Power 8 Sept. 341/1 Since the high-output method has been adopted, it has been found possible for the two 1400-hp. engines alone to deal with the load requirements.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 48/2 (advt.) The best high-output combine in the world.

2001 Mod. Railways Aug. (Special Rep. Suppl.) p. xx The Railtrack/Jarvis alliance undertaking the work decided to acquire high output machinery.

high-potential adj.

ΚΠ

1860 C. J. Hempel Homoeopathy 194 The vagaries of the extraordinary high-potential transcendentalism which has flashed upon the Homœopathic School like a meteor from an unknown sky.

1954 Ess. in Crit. 4 313 The value of high-potential person-to-person situations.

1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors iv. 68 A particle such as an electron can pass through a high-potential barrier if the barrier is sufficiently thin.

2008 J. W. Jewett & R. A. Serway Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Mod. Physics (ed. 7) II. xxviii. 786 Charges move from the high-potential end of a resistor toward the low-potential end.

high-precision adj.

ΚΠ

1903 North-China Herald 23 Apr. 765/3 They are engaged in high precision researches on the value of g, and of the different magnetic elements.

1960 Times 18 Nov. 4/6 The first essential..is a network of high-precision stations.

2007 Vanity Fair June (On Time Suppl.) 51/1 A chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds.

high-prestige adj.

ΚΠ

1926 U. G. Weatherly Social Progr. xx. 339 High-prestige classes possess specialized culture codes that are the product of generations of superior status.

1959 V. Packard Status Seekers (1960) vi. 84 A few old high-prestige neighbourhoods manage..to maintain their status.

1995 Appl. Linguistics 16 487 ‘International’ languages..are used for high-prestige purposes, while the local language is progressively confined to the domestic, private sphere.

high-price adj.

ΚΠ

1776 Civil Prudence 40 People will take high price goods rather than take a much less value in money.

1871 Belfast News-Let. 15 May His reason for giving her high-price goods so low was that he could not conveniently lay his hands on cheaper goods.

1906 Daily Chron. 27 Sept. 3/6 The benefits of the high-price policy which they choose to pursue.

1999 EuroBusiness Sept. 50/1 She was not an adolescent consumer of high-price designer clothes.

high-priority adj.

ΚΠ

1917 Manch. Guardian 21 May 2/1 (advt.) Draughtsman.., used to elevating and conveying, for high priority Government work.

1945 Fortune Mar. 113/1 There are few high-priority issues in the President's workbasket that do not, at one point or another, flick past him.

1989 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 6 June 2 Intravenous drug users remain a high priority group to be targeted in education and behaviour change programs.

2011 D. O. Smith Managing Res. University iii. 39 What good is a..plan that doesn't identify specific high-priority areas for future investment?

high-quality adj.

ΚΠ

1881 E. Matheson Aid Bk. Engin. Enterprise Abroad II. xv. 40 To make the pieces lighter by the use of high quality material (such as steel), or by subdivision, to make them lighter because more numerous.

1910 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 12/1 Until plenty of high-quality beet is procurable.

1948 Wireless World Jan. 2/1 Most high-quality radio receiver units will provide an output of well over 4 volts.

2012 Independent 28 May 21/2 Colour coded chopping boards plus four high-quality, full tang knives.

high-risk adj.

ΚΠ

1915 Painter & Decorator Apr. 207/1 In some trades (white lead, structural iron, and other high-risk industries) the depreciation is rapid.

1963 Economist 14 Dec. 1175/2 All the ‘high-risk’ mothers.

2012 Vanity Fair July 28/1 JPMorgan Chase announced earlier this spring that the firm had lost $2 billion in high-risk trading.

high-security adj.

ΚΠ

1932 N.Y. Times 15 Feb. 5/4 Establishment of an institution for psychopathic delinquents, preferably within the walls of some high security prison.

1991 H. Rheingold Virtual Reality i. i. 18 In Honolulu, I inspected a teleoperated machine-gun..at a high-security US Marine Corps research facility.

2010 Independent 27 Nov. 3/1 Damien Hirst's controversial platinum-plated, diamond-encrusted human skull..has languished unseen in a secret high-security vault.

high-status adj.

ΚΠ

1941 Amer. Sociolog. Rev. 6 350 White servants..as well as almost all Negroes, are called by their first names by the high-status whites.

1965 Language 41 295 An honored or high-status person.

2003 Independent 30 Dec. (Review section) 6/3 A person who once had a high-status or high-paying job and must now work in a menial or lower paying job.

high-vacuum adj.

ΚΠ

1893 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 5 May 624/1 The phosphorescent glow of the novel high-frequency, high-voltage, high-vacuum lamps.

1936 A. Lowy & B. Harrow Introd. Org. Chem. (ed. 4) xxvi. 284 Dibutyl phthalate..is used in high-vacuum distillations.

2009 Toronto Star (Nexis) 2 June a3 Understanding how the weightless, high-vacuum environment..affects the human body is increasingly important.

high-value adj.

ΚΠ

1904 Exper. Station Work 27 (Farmer's Bull. No. 210) 6 Attention was called to the profitable use by the New Jersey Stations of liberal applications of nitrate of soda on high-value market garden crops.

1963 Rep. Comm. Inq. Decimal Currency iii. 17 in Parl. Papers 1962–3 (Cmnd. 2145) XI. 195 Because workable cent systems with high-value major units are available..we preferred cent systems to mil ones.

2011 J. Buchan Trawlerman viii. 157 Our daring provided us with some good catches, with a lot of flatfish, plaice and lemon sole: high-value produce that fetched top dollar at the markets.

b. With the sense ‘having, characterized by, or operating with a high degree of (the specified physical property)’.

high-amplitude adj.

ΚΠ

1915 Boys' Life July 40 The high amplitude buzzer designed by the Crystaloi Company for their detector.

1956 Nature 21 Jan. 121/1 High-amplitude effects in reflexion amplifiers.

2009 J. Corey-Bloom & R. B. David Clin. Adult Neurol. i. ii. 28/2 The after-coming slow wave is also high-amplitude..and lasts about 300 msec.

high-conductivity adj.

ΚΠ

1866 Electric Light: Copy of Corr. 42 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 313) LXVI. 193 There is practically no loss of light by the transmission of the magneto-electric currents through a length of ‘high conductivity’ wire of large size.

1933 Mining & Metall. 14 340/1 Oxygen-free high-conductivity copper..that is now being commercially offered for the first time represents a notable achievement in electro-metallurgy.

2003 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 25 Aug. 6 The cable..has a high conductivity core for more efficient transmission of bass signals.

high-energy adj.

ΚΠ

1911 U.S. Patent 1,010,900 1/1 In order to secure a satisfactory and efficient high-energy lamp of this character it is therefore necessary to make use of a plurality of arcs.

1938 Nature 29 Oct. 781/1 Excitation..is..due..to the production of numbers of fairly high-energy electrons.

2010 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 24 Aug. e1/3 The first of the packages..held..a high-energy glucose gel to help the miners begin to recover their digestive systems.

high-impedance adj.

ΚΠ

1896 U.S. Patent 563,692 4/1 The equalizing resistances and the substation call-bell are all placed in series in the signaling-circuit, and the high-impedance annunciator-coils placed in shunt-circuits.

1949 Wireless World Apr. 136/1 There seems to be a trend towards the use of high-impedance windings in high-fidelity pickups.

2004 Computer Music (Beginners Special) Apr. 14/2 These high-impedance jack sockets allow you to plug a guitar directly into the soundcard without loss of level or tone.

high-permeability adj.

ΚΠ

1898 Proc. Royal Soc. 63 313 The steel used is high permeability magnet steel.

1941 Jrnl. Brit. Inst. Radio Engineers 2 101 A group of metallurgists and electrical technicians concentrated on the problem of high permeability materials.

2009 B. D. Cullity & C. D. Graham Introd. Magn. Materials (ed. 2) xiii. 471 One class of antitheft, or antishoplifting, systems uses a short length of high-permeability ribbon or wire as the tag or target which is attached to the article to be protected.

high-potency adj.

ΚΠ

1868 A. J. Bellows How not to be Sick 300 I am very sure that my high-potency neighbor, who never gives medicine lower than the thirtieth dilution, and claims to be the only pure homeopathist in Boston, makes many more visits.

1899 S. O. L. Potter Handbk. Materia Medica, Pharmacy, & Therapeutics (ed. 7) 178 Parke, Davis & Co. furnish high-potency serums in hermetically-sealed glass bulbs, containing as many as 1,750 units per cc.

1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics xiii. 526 High-potency drugs such as the phenothiazines..could be incorporated.

2003 Independent 1 May (Review section) 3/4 Some high-potency hash oil, extracted with solvents.

high-purity adj.

ΚΠ

1907 Amer. Sugar Industry & Beet Sugar Gaz. 20 May 222/1 The importance of the high purity beet is quite evident.

1936 Metals Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Metals) 925 (heading) Electrical properties of high-purity annealed aluminium wire.

2004 J. Emsley Vanity, Vitality, & Virility (2006) vi. 194 Exxon Mobil Chemicals, part of the giant oil company, produces high-purity polymers for chewing gums.

high-resistance adj.

ΚΠ

1870 Telegrapher 16 July 373/3 If the line were 1,000 miles in length instead of 100 the gain, by using the high resistance magnets, would be in still greater ratio.

1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) ii. 17 The most economical system for general experimental electrochemical work is the employment of a high-resistance milliamperemeter.

2005 T. Martin How to Diagnose & Repair Automotive Electr. Syst. iii. 40/2 An analog meter will give false readings if used to measure high resistance computer circuits.

high-stability adj.

ΚΠ

1930 U.S. Patent 1,778,461 2/1 Take 231 parts of a high stability sand, as for example, that..commonly used in asphalt pavements in Washington, D. C.

1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors ix. 108 High-stability, close-tolerance components are required in the measuring circuits.

2011 Hobart Mercury (Nexis) 22 Jan. 2 An alternative could be..low-capacity, high-stability batteries that can charge and discharge quickly.

high-strength adj.

ΚΠ

1877 Anglo-Amer. Times 15 June 20/3 (advt.) N. Mathieson and Co., Manufacturers of high strength Bleaching Powder.

1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 416/1 High-strength brass.

1961 Times 13 Dec. 21/6 High-strength..paper bags.

2003 National Geographic Jan. 57/1 Kevlar belongs to a class of carbon fibers called aramids, used in high-strength applications such as antiballistic vests.

high-temperature adj.

ΚΠ

1817 W. Nisbet Picture Present State Royal Coll. Physicians 259 Dr. Sutton has been led to condemn, in strong and just terms, the high temperature system adopted so generally in this unfortunate malady [sc. pulmonary consumption].

1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxiii. 620 There is a high-temperature form which is stable only above 1367°.

2013 New Scientist 20 Apr. 60/1 (advt.) PhD studentships to develop new materials and structures for high temperature electrochemistry.

c. With the sense ‘containing a relatively high proportion of (the specified substance)’.See also high-carbon adj. (a) at Compounds 4, high-fibre adj. at Compounds 4.

high-carbohydrate adj.

ΚΠ

1906 Amer. Sugar Industry & Beet Sugar Gaz. 8 331/1 In the case of these animals a part of the high carbohydrate force-feed can readily be supplied by sugar pulp.

1968 H. O. Mackey & J. P. Mackey Handbk. Dis. Skin (ed. 9) vi. 39 Deficiency of this vitamin [sc. B2] is common in people on a high carbohydrate diet.

2004 Edge (Univ. Toronto) Fall 5/2 Some high-protein foods..are successful in suppressing appetite for longer periods of time than high-carbohydrate foods.

high-cholesterol adj.

ΚΠ

1937 Amer. Heart Jrnl. 14 685 Atherosclerosis can be induced in rabbits by high cholesterol feedings.

1970 T. Williams Let. 14 Aug. in Five O'Clock Angel (1991) 207 Oliver got much the same ultimatum but he still indulges himself in some high-cholesterol food.

2012 Free Radical Biol. & Med. 53 1411 Feeding zebrafish a high-cholesterol diet results in hypercholesterolemia, vascular lipid accumulation, and extreme lipoprotein oxidation.

high-fat adj.

ΚΠ

a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 211 Then will the markets be open for lean oxen, which the graziers buy to eat up the oughts, and rowety grass the high-fat oxen had left.

1899 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 21 1049 For 1898 the seed for the high-fat plot was all from corn which grew from high-fat corn in 1897, twenty-four ears being selected.

1946 Nature 7 Sept. 350/1 A high-fat diet.

2011 Daily Tel. 29 July 4/5 Psychological factors may help override humans' wired-in preference for high-fat, sugary foods.

high-nitrogen adj.

ΚΠ

1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 208/1 High-nitrogen foods.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. 113/1 3 cwt per acre of the high-nitrogen compound in the seedbed should not affect it.

2005 M. Bartholomew Square Foot Gardening v. 67 For those vegetables which need a high-nitrogen fertilizer..I use the same basic mix with two extra parts of bloodmeal added to the other ingredients.

high-protein adj.

ΚΠ

1899 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 21 1042 By planting plots with both high-protein and low-protein corn..results may be obtained which show the influence of selected seed.

1964 ‘D. Shannon’ Root of all Evil (1966) v. 66 Sure, she gives me the high-protein diet, and I'm still learning to drink coffee without sugar.

2006 Esquire Sept. 76/2 Organic spelt, a low-gluten, high-protein wheat, became his all-consuming preoccupation.

C3.

a. With agent noun, denoting a person who performs the function expressed to a high degree.

high attainer adj.

ΚΠ

1654 J. Trapp Comm. Job iv. 13 So do the Enthusiasts, and high-attainers.

1762 A. Croswell Let.to Rev. A. Cumming 23 Many high Attainers thro' the Land, hold that unconverted Persons should not pray.

1991 B. Moon Guide to National Curriculum (ed. 3) vii. 105 These pupils are likely to include some with physical, sensory, or other impairment who are high attainers.

high feeder n.

ΚΠ

1667 H. Oldenburg Let. 8 Oct. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 348 The like not being to be lookt for from Beer-drinkers and High feeders.

1727 D. Defoe Conjugal Lewdness xii. 321 The high Feeders are the high Livers.

1833 J. Flamank Treat. Happiness I. v. 73 Abstinence is beneficial for the high feeder, both with regard to his body and his mind.

1876 H. Stewart Shepherd's Man. 133 The high-bred mutton sheep are high feeders.

1922 J. F. Williams Personal Hygiene Appl. ix. 263 The drunkard, the chronically fatigued, the soft liver, and the high feeder—these are types that show a weakened resistance to infection.

2012 C. Abbott Everything Small-Space Gardening Bk. xii. 149 You can amend and fertilize one bed at a time, utilizing it to plant the high feeders.

b. Parasynthetic.

high-angled adj.

ΚΠ

1875 Nature 20 May 60/1 He showed the fallacy of the present system of using high-angled objectives for these purposes to the exclusion of those of small angular aperture.

1900 Harper's Weekly 24 Mar. 271/2 High-angled shell fire and..shrapnel.

1992 T. Davies Modest Pageant 67 High-angled shot of old Tucker in bed.

high-arched adj.

ΚΠ

1615 E. Sandys Sacred Hymns 54 Th'Eternal, Selfbeeing, Lord; who mounts on heavens high arched frame.

1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) x. sig. S8 High-arch'd roofes.

1727 W. Somervile Occas. Poems 225 His high-arch'd neck he proudly rears.

1851 E. Lear Jrnls. Landscape Painter in Albania 310 One of those parapetless, high-arched constructions.

1909 J. Miller Poems I. 208 California soon shall wear..each hue That yonder hangs high-arched mid air!

2007 J. M. Graham et al. Pediatric ENT xiv. 135/1 ‘Adenoidal facies’ has been defined as a long, thin face with malar hypoplasia, high-arched palate, narrow maxillary arch, and malocclusion.

high-backed adj.

ΚΠ

1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine Index sig. Aaaa3^v High-backed or ridged.

1684 London Gaz. No. 1949/4 A thick short Gelding somewhat high Back'd.

1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxix. 156 The high-backed oaken chair.

1923 Harmsworth's Househ. Encycl. III. 2063/3 Head Chair, this is a high-backed chair fitted with a rest for the head.

2012 Earthmovers Apr. 17 A simple instrument panel, single light switch, throttle lever, high-backed seat with a seatbelt and joystick pods.

high-banked adj.

ΚΠ

1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia ii. 64 Now from this mountaines steepe right side First doth the Riuer Tyber glide: And high-bankt Rutuba withall.

1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives VII. cxxv. 171 A narrow lane, with a high-banked hedge on each side.

1899 Daily News 25 Dec. 5/2 A dangerous high-banked river.

2010 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 17/1 The combination of air pressure and centrifugal force that would keep the car stuck to the pavement on the high-banked turns of Talladega's track.

high-bodiced adj.

ΚΠ

1863 Lady's Newspaper 28 Feb. The sleeves of a velvet Zouave jacket follow the same rule as those of the high bodiced dress.

1999 Irish Times (Nexis) 7 Sept. 3 Pintucking was used, and worked well on a high-bodiced sludge green coat, and on the jacket of a claret wool suit.

high-boned adj.

ΚΠ

1732 S.-Carolina Gaz. 8 July 4/1 The said horse hath a Star in his Forehead, a swish Tail, is high-bon'ed, and Hogg-back'd.

1876 D. Gorrie Summers & Winters in Orkneys I. 39 Old men leading highboned crummies equally grave.

2003 Independent 1 July 14/1 Her fine high-boned features and the patrician whinny of her voice made her an instantly recognisable..icon.

high-bosomed adj.

ΚΠ

1762 J. Macpherson Fingal ii. 24 The hunter shall shed a tear on my stone; and sorrow dwell round the high-bosomed Bragéla.

1881 Harper's Mag. Dec. 82/2 The lofty sails High-bosomed sister-goddesses Became.

1900 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 4/3 The broad-faced, high-bosomed model is the palpable grandmother of many Rubenses.

1961 Times 25 Apr. 20/7 The white high-bosomed dress of Empire style.

2000 D. Morgan in G. Banham & C. Blake Evil Spirits vi. 89 The high-bosomed, big-wombed woman ‘he’ wants to become.

high-bridged adj.

ΚΠ

1767 E. Lloyd Conversation 22 On high-bridg'd Noses polish'd Glasses ride (For Glasses are the Politician's Pride).

1871 ‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshman 138 A Quixotic gentleman, of ancient lineage, in whose high-bridged and defiant nose the Indian saw a resemblance to an eagle's beak.

1992 New Yorker 24 Aug. 54/2 The van itself feels less like a car than like some high-bridged, sure-ruddered freighter.

high-buttoned adj.

ΚΠ

1841 Knickerbocker Jan. 60 The little man..whose shorts, and fair-tops, high-buttoned jacket, silver shoulder-knots, and bushy hair curled over his varnished cap, give an air of the pompous.

1870 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig 3 Aug. Children were not so well behaved since the mothers had taken to wearing high buttoned boots and given up slippers.

1960 N.Y. Times 31 Jan. 55/1 In the high-buttoned days of 1900,..133 men were graduated with a minimum of sentimentality from City College.

a2002 R. Mathew Tense Little Lives (2007) 237 How ladylike the dress of tasteful, ungarish blue, with the respectable high-buttoned collar—so truly decent.

high-carriaged adj.

ΚΠ

1664 S. Pepys Diary 28 Feb. (1971) V. 67 His Lady a very high-carriaged but comely big woman.

1858 Amer. Vet. Jrnl. July 199 When we..call to mind the flat-sided, roach-backed little biped, then called a mule, and contrast it with the symmetrical, high-carriaged, spirited one of to-day, we have much to encourage us.

1970 Field & Stream Oct. 185/1 Pointers, unlike setters, always stand their game in the classic high-carriaged sense.

high-ceilinged adj.

ΚΠ

1850 Reasoner 7 246 Though the cooking stoves were in the same high-ceilinged room in which we sat, it was not hot nor close.

1907 Daily Chron. 30 July 4/4 It was a high-ceilinged, sombre room.

1975 L. Perl Slumps, Grunts, & Snickerdoodles x. 88 The immense riches that bought high-ceilinged mansions, vast tracts of cultivated lands,..and a gracious and elegant style of living.

2007 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 107 Large-scale living in high-ceilinged, huge-windowed rooms and equally large views to the moors.

high-collared adj.

ΚΠ

1783 Morning Herald 20 Aug. High-collared coats and long sleeves.

1828 Pocket Mag. 2 298 What the voluptuous waltz affords of flirting to the high-collared dandy, and the deeply-flounced belle of Grosvenor-square, the rural pastimes of this Arcadian cottage may well dispense with.

1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi xxxviii. 404 Grandpa and grandma,..stiff, old-fashioned, high-collared, puff-sleeved.

1992 New Yorker 3 Feb. 39/1 A commandingly tall figure..with..a high-collared dash of the cavalier about him, he was attired this morning in a charcoal-gray suit.

2002 E. A. Gargan River's Tale i. 18 A young woman in a high-collared, Chinese-style blue satin jacket nursed an infant.

high-complexioned adj.

ΚΠ

1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion xiii. 221 The high-complection'd Leame.

1711 P. H. Impartial View Two Late Parl. 236 The High-complexion'd Clergy.

1839 Tait's Mag. Mar. 157/2 The strapping, bright-eyed, high-complexioned, bold-spirited belle of Silverton.

1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 11 June 11 I will think of Sir Arthur as a a kindly high-complexioned old chap well fed and watered on beef and claret.

high-couraged adj.

ΚΠ

1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain ii. xxxvii. 101 Wee are not powerful enough..to quell that high couraged stubborn People.

1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. i. iii. §6. 69 Some very high-couraged dogs are very difficult to make ‘back’.

2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 16 May 22 Her male former Cabinet colleagues..prove only that they are uneasy when locking horns with a logical, thoroughly decent and high-couraged woman.

high-crowned adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [adjective] > hat > having specific types of crown

copping-tanked1586

high-crowned1598

steeple-moulded1710

steeple-crowned1804

bell-crowned1823

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [adjective] > like a cap > types of cap

lugged1489

marabas1538

tarfed1545

unbanded1570

high-crowned1598

brimless1615

Phrygian1618

poked1631

round-eared1724

winkered1804

peakless1844

shadeless1852

Mother Hubbard1877

visorless1889

fore and aft1940

visored1950

1598 R. Hakluyt tr. W. de Rubruquis in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 104 The Russian men..weare vpon their heads certain sharpe, & high-crowned hats made of felt, much like vnto a sugar loafe.

a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. 69 Your hats too high crownd.

1777 C. Powys Diary 14 Jan. in Passages from Diaries Mrs. Powys (1899) 193 Farewell the high-crown'd head, the cushioned tête.

1868 Queen Victoria Jrnl. 46 Welshwomen in their curious high-crowned..hats.

1998 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 July 12/2 The green hat (a bright, high-crowned, short-billed affair in a style once popular among Rastafarians).

high-domed adj.

ΚΠ

1796 H. Tresham Sea-sick Minstrel 15 The high-dom'd hat.

1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes v. 258 Mighty fleets and armies, harbours and arsenals, vast cities, high-domed, many-engined.

1883 Science 14 Sept. 347/2 I have, however, seen a high-domed, abandoned igloo..slowly subside from the top until this touched the floor.

1968 I. W. Cornwall Prehistoric Animals & their Hunters vii. 149 The head was high-domed with a deep depression at the nape of the neck.

1977 R. Coover Public Burning 29 But then suddenly Scotland Yard of Great Britain arrests a high-domed bespectacled atomic scientist named Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs.

2002 B. Moore Magician's Wife xii. 188 Emmeline saw an encampment of tents grouped around a large, high-domed, gaily pelmeted central structure.

high-featured adj.

ΚΠ

1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) vii. 184 The daughter was a very fair high-featured lass.

1801 Edinb. Advertiser 17 Mar. 170/4 Having the high featured mountain of Clock-na-Baine in full view.

1875 J. W. De Forest Playing the Mischief viii. 30 His face was long, thin, high-featured, and distinguished, if not handsome.

1904 E. Glasgow Deliverance i. 4 At this a lean and high-featured matron, encased in the rigidity of her Sunday bombazine, gave a prim poke with her umbrella in the ribs of a sparrow-like little man.

1994 Dealerscope Merchandising Sept. 76 Sanyo is shipping two new high-powered, high-featured microwave ovens for fall.

high-fenced adj.

ΚΠ

a1666 A. Jackson Annot. Isaiah (1682) xxvi. 262 Even God's poor afflicted people shall subdue those their high fenced Cities under their power.

1755 J. N. Scott Ess. transl. Homer 24 The Day will come, when high-fenc'd Troy, tho' built By Hands divine, must fall.

1842 Christian Reg. & Boston Observer 29 Oct. 174/3 The rich ae walled in within their high fenced enclosures stuffed with downy cushions, while the poor are shivering in the cold draughty corners of the edifice.

1874 St. Nicholas Jan. 139/1 A little colt was heard whinnying alone in the high fenced lot on the side of the hill.

1905 W. D. Howells London Films i. 8 The black trees and their electric-green buds in the high-fenced square.

1995 R. P. Rivera Fabricated Mexican xxxix. 165 A high-fenced yard with a weathered sign that read ‘Burrow's Auto Wrecking’ loomed as a dead end.

high-flavoured adj.

ΚΠ

1712 W. Goldwin Poet. Descr. Bristol 15 The Orange Plant indulg'd with warmest Rays High-flavour'd Scents, and Golden Fruit displays.

1748 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 491 The raspberries were particularly high-flavoured.

1819 N. Amer. Rev. June 79 That high flavoured originality which continues to excite the attention and to charm.

1918 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 18 566 Keeping many meats for some time before they are eaten is essential to make them tender and high-flavored.

1994 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. c3/4 Tom kha kai, the Thai national soup of coconut milk and chicken with lemon grass, is almost erotic in its high-flavoured creaminess.

high-foreheaded adj.

ΚΠ

1593 T. Kelway tr. A. Ferrier Learned Astron. Disc. Natiuities ii. i. f. 31^v Men neyther white nor blacke: leane: of smal stature: long fingered: long faced: high fore-headed.

1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. C Of a sweet aspect, but high-foreheaded.

1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Jan. 3/1 High-foreheaded, colourless Madonnas.

1950 Marvel Sci. Stories (Electronic ed.) Nov. The head! High foreheaded it was, and not low and receding.

2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Dec. a25/1 We climbed from stone-tool wielding Homo erectus with sloping brows to high-foreheaded Homo urbanis, man the inventor of the city.

high-fronted adj.

ΚΠ

1606 J. Marston Wonder of Women i. ii. sig. B^v Sister and wife of Ioue High fronted Iuno.

1783 G. Crabbe Skull 15 Jove with attention heard Pigmalion's vow; Now shew'd his wrath on his high fronted brow.

1845 Rover 31 May 173/1 His high fronted shoes accorded with his quaint attire, which no one seemed to consider strange.

1872 Mich. Teacher Nov. 385 He gave her a seat behind a high-fronted desk, where she could see no one.

1950 R. P. Warren World Enough & Time ix. 332 But it would matter for Crawford,..to suffer the barbs and ironies of a gentleman like Mr. Madison, high-fronted, correct and severe in his black, confident in rank and power.

2011 Nanaimo (Brit. Columbia) Daily News (Nexis) 14 Feb. b7 Anyway, the dress was high-fronted, long-sleeved, and, modestly by L.A. standards, just a few inches above the knee.

high-gabled adj.

ΚΠ

1824 J. Porter Duke Christian of Luneburg I. xii. 229 The high gabled houses, with their successive stories pending over each other, rendered the streets beneath almost totally dark.

1895 Monthly Illustrator 5 307 He wanders leisurely under the shadows of the tall trees that fringe the roads and lend a rustic grace to the quaint, high-gabled cottages.

1941 Life 27 Oct. 69 Before the high-gabled Flemish town of Courtrai a mighty French cavalry army, led by Count Robert of Artois, was drawn up in battle array.

1986 Mass. Rev. 27 704 After witnessing the daring acrobatics of an American parachute fiend.., he climbed up on the high gabled roof of his house and hurled himself courageously into space, clasping an open umbrella in his hand.

2008 Independent 22 Mar. (Mag.) 11/3 This shingle strand with its row of austere, high-gabled houses..has an end-of-the world feel.

high-hedged adj.

ΚΠ

1722 J. Macky Journey through Eng. (ed. 2) I. i. 23 Behind this Green-house are Variety of high hedged Walks, affording delicious Visto's.

1904 Westm. Gaz. 3 Aug. 2/3 In the shady high-hedged garden.

2009 Vanity Fair Jan. 145/1 On high-hedged roads everywhere, for-sale signs are nearly as prevalent as in southern Florida.

high-hilled adj.

ΚΠ

1754 Psalms of David iv. civ. 257 The untam'd goats their high-hill'd refuge know.

1807 J. Barlow Columbiad vi. 224 Gates in their van, on high-hill'd Bemus rose.

1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad lv. 83 Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began.

1996 Sunday Times (Nexis) 9 June Macbeth, king of high-hilled Scotland, is back and he's not just here for the nasty things in life.

high-horned adj.

ΚΠ

1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades iv. 65 Eating most flesh of high-hornd beeues, and drinking cups ful crounde.

1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 76 All those steep Mountaines, whose high horned tops The mistie cloake of wandring Clouds enwraps.

1729 G. Adams tr. Sophocles Trachiniæ ii. v, in tr. Sophocles Trag. II. 194 One was a River's Might in the Shape of a high horned four footed Bull.

2004 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 16 June d7 A high-horned black, white-face called Split Decision from the Rod Schellenberg/Bob Baird stable.

high-legged adj.

ΚΠ

1759 tr. M. Adanson Voy. Senegal 78 These birds..were high-legged, and had a very long neck.

1855 Knickerbocker 46 227 Rude, high-legged reels and ‘hoe-downs’.

1898 Youth's Compan. 6 Oct. 464/1 The apparition of the unshaven ‘rough’ in his red shirt and high-legged boots was so threatening that Mr. Little retreated down-stairs.

1955 A. MacLean H.M.S. Ulysses i. 32 He..clambered into his high-legged armchair.

2005 K. Slaughter Faithless (2006) 56 She was wearing a pair of high-legged cotton briefs that Sara always associated with the elderly.

high-lineaged adj. now rare

ΚΠ

1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 450 You, high-lineag'd guardians of the state, Attend these stranger-guests to their new seats.

1873 J. D. Lang Poems 155 Byron their leader, whose high-lineaged muse Walks a vile pimp and caters for the stews!

1953 E. Johnston Legendary Mizners ii. 22 His retinue of high-lineaged pets was part of his scenery.

high-motived adj. now rare

ΚΠ

1830 New Monthly Mag. 29 598 The Right Honourable Secretary never for a moment forgets the conduct and unruffled demeanour of a high-motived and independent gentleman.

1921 Friend 5 Sept. 98/1 An intelligent, deep-searching, but high motived criticism is a most valuable instrument of progress.

high-notioned adj.

ΚΠ

1748 S. Richardson Clarissa V. xxv. 218 An high-notioned dear soul!

1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 101 Starchy, stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, disdainful, cross.

1915 Monthly Bull. Missouri State Board Agric. Apr. 76 Any woman in those days who would pay a dollar for a pure-blooded drake or change the male stock every year was ‘terribly high-notioned’.

high-peaked adj.

ΚΠ

1704 Coll. Voy. & Trav. III. 820/1 A high-peak'd Mountain, accounted the highest in the Indies, call'd Pico de Adam.

1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings II. xxxix. 14 High-peaked saddle.

1991 H. Rheingold Virtual Reality iii. x. 222 The modern suburban single-family dwellings were recognizably Japanese, with blue-tile high-peaked roofs.

high-pooped adj.

ΚΠ

1821 tr. Homer Iliad I. xviii. 191 Him he found in front of his high-pooped ships, revolving within his mind those things which had already happened.

1889 19th Cent. Jan. 54 The high-pooped galleys.

1921 W. de la Mare Veil & Other Poems 74 That midnight-stealing, high-pooped galliass, Sleep.

1992 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 24 July 18 A majestic P. & O. liner was berthed beside our ferry, while freight ships from around the world stood in mid-harbor, surrounded by high-pooped, square-sailed junks.

high-priced adj.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective] > dear or expensive

dear1044

costful1340

costious1340

costlewa1387

costlya1400

costy?c1430

prized1500

high1542

high-priced1591

expenseful1605

chary1610

expensivea1661

salt1710

dearthful1786

big ticket1906

pricey1932

exclusive1942

up-market1972

1591 Richard II in I. Koskenniemi Stud. Vocab. Eng. Drama (1962) i. i. 89 High-priced wines of France.

1607 R. Hacket 2 Fruitful Serm. 15 To pleasure thee, she breedeth in paine; and bringeth forth in sorrow, high priced children, chiefe of mans desires.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. ix. 256 The Honesty of this..Boy was somewhat high—that is, somewhat high-priced .

1823 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 1st Ser. (ed. 7) I. 12 Rare..and high-priced.

1962 B.S.I. News July 19/1 It was no use building a high-priced article for 20–30 years' service if it was to be outmoded by advancing techniques.

2011 Wired June 38/2 Most cities recommend that mass transit riders keep their high-priced electronics concealed.

high-principled adj.

ΚΠ

1648 N. Cowling Word to LII London Ministers 13 Those people..being no higher principled than in the carnall commandement of godlinesse given by Moses.]

1709 W. Stephens Modest Reply to Unanswerable Answer 12 All those high-principled Prerogative-Men, who have distinguish'd themselves by the Characteristick of Loyalty, have ever been distinguish'd also by offering up Incense to Popery.

1875 J. H. Ewing Six to Sixteen iv. 35 Things which have made high-principled Eleanor stand aghast.

1902 ‘M. Twain’ in N. Amer. Rev. May 615 The high-principled newspaper adds a daily betterment to the character-fabric of another million.

2002 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 May 72/4 Book reviewing then was lively but not high-principled: backs were scratched or tomahawked, and merit did not always decide which.

high-ranked adj.

ΚΠ

1658 R. Brathwait Honest Ghost 86 To tax such vices as raigne now and then Amongst the best and highest-ranked men.]

1771 Vicar of Bray II. xxv. 89 By Mr. Windham's countenance..was Mrs. Arundel a welcome guest, with the well-bred, the high ranked, and best informed females.

1899 Amer. Monthly Rev. of Reviews July 46/1 Can an article published in a provincial paper be trusted on equal terms with a confidential report of some high-ranked public officer?

2012 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 27 Apr. Canter defeated some high-ranked players on his way to winning the Nottingham Tennis Europe tournament.

high-roofed adj.

ΚΠ

1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 282 In the high Rooffed Hall of this house, sometime stood a large Firre Pole, which reached to the roofe therof.

a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 267 Like our Churches, highroofed within but with a..low Gate.

1871 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Odyssey I. v. 121 His high-roofed palace.

1912 Irish Monthly June 341 Mudstained implements hanging in the high-roofed, cobwebbed barn.

2003 New Yorker 26 May 75/1 Weekend rallies flood the Mendocino or Montpelier back roads with high-roofed Model A's and Chevys.

high-shouldered adj.

ΚΠ

1594 S. Daniel Cleopatra iv, in Delia (new ed.) sig. L5^v Such was his threatning brow, such was his grace. High shouldred, and his forehead euen as hie.

1697 London Gaz. No. 3313/4 A tall thin Man, high Shoulder'd.

1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing vi, in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 204/2 The little, high-shouldered, vulgar thing.

1997 Oxoniensia 61 84 Squat high-shouldered jar with girth grooves.

high-sided adj.

ΚΠ

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Raquettes, the high-sided periwigs, or wires of haire, worne heretofore by Gentlewomen.

1772 W. Cauty Natura, Philosophia & Ars in Concordia 7 I also designed and explained the necessity of a high-sided caisson of 28 feet, by which the workmen might be protected from every obstruction, even that of the tides themselves.

1870 Daily News 18 Oct. 2/2 To build a high-sided ship submergible in action.

1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 26 Jan. 65/3 Force the lacerated trimmings up a delivery chute into a high-sided trailer.

2001 Poultry World May 16/3 Material can be tipped into the centre of high-sided trailers.

high-souled adj.

ΚΠ

1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis xiii. 266 They th'vngentle Sprite obaid; And from her Mothers bosom drew the Maid, (High-sould, vnhappie, more then feminine,) To his resembled tomb.

a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Qq4/1 Be sure You keepe your Sister, (the high-sould-Cleopatra,) Both close and short enough, she may not see him.

1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xv. 71 My high-soul'd..Master.

1826 Monthly Mag. Sept. 291 We had high-souled, and high-foreheaded Dons and Grandees.

1930 A. Huxley Let. 14 June (1969) 337 English reviews..have been rather snorty and high-souled about the book.

1995 D. Donoghue Walter Pater xv. 163 Pater confused the issue by presenting Winckelmann, the first adept of Greek calm, as entirely high-souled.

high-thoughted adj.

ΚΠ

1596 B. Griffin Fidessa i. sig. B High-thoughted (like to her) with bountie laden.

1820 J. Keats Lamia ii. in Lamia & Other Poems 33 She set herself, high-thoughted, how to dress The misery in fit magnificence.

a1861 E. B. Browning Victor Emanuel entering Florence in Last Poems (1862) 60 This is our beautiful Italy's birthday; High-thoughted souls, whether many or fewer, Bring her the gift, and wish her the good.

1919 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. 44 383 How little high-thoughted statesmanship remains to guide the destinies of Europe.

high-towered adj.

ΚΠ

c1602 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid Elegies iii. xii. sig. F2^v Hauing wandred now through sea and land, Built walles high towred with a prosperous hand.

1613 H. Peacham Nuptiall Hymnes i, in Period of Mourning (new ed.) sig. E4 Yee wash high towred wals.

1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere II. ii. iii. 330 A high towered rock.

1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 224 They their tents Against these high-towered infant walls uptowered.

1996 A. Michaels Fugitive Pieces i. 6 The ingenious nail-less wooden houses, ramparts, and the high-towered city gates.

high-vaulted adj.

ΚΠ

1625 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Noe in tr. Part of Du Bartas 1 The wauy territorie Of people skalie-backt, all this high vaulted story, Wherein the thundring God by his e'rlasting might Hath placed sentinel Sunne for day, Moone for night.

1737 R. Glover Leonidas ix. 319 To adorn the mansions of the great, Or dignify some God's high-vaulted fane.

1824 tr. E. T. A. Hoffmann Devil's Elixir I. i. 9 A high vaulted apartment, adorned with devotional pictures.

1913 J. C. R. Dorr Last Poems 122 In the high-vaulted temple of my heart There is an oratory thine alone.

1995 M. Lewis Singapore: Rough Guide 51/1 The cathedral was constructed in high-vaulted, neo-Gothic style, using Indian convict labour.

high-viced adj. now rare

ΚΠ

a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 110 Some high-Vic'd City.

1798 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit. (ed. 7) iv. 347 The allurements of a great and high-viced town.

1907 E. Saltus Lords of Ghostland vii. 178 Subsequently manumitted, they formed a colony that in the high-viced city resembled Esther in the seraglio of Ahasuerus.

high-waisted adj.

ΚΠ

1786 Hibernian Mag. Aug. 408/2 The breeches are made excessively high-waisted.

1841 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 732/2 His unamiable, long-nosed, high-waisted, female relatives..were certainly not worth painting.

1920 E. Ferber Half Portions ix. 282 There might generally be seen lounging about the doorway..a little group of slim, flat-heeled, low-voiced young men in form-fitting, high-waisted suits.

2012 Shout 13 June 8/1 Emma looked gorgeous in a high-waisted skirt, leather jacket and patterned shirt combo.

high-walled adj.

ΚΠ

1537 M. Coverdale tr. Goodly Treat. Faith f. xxxiiii^v The indwellers of the lond were stronge and myghty men, and that theyr cyties were hygh walled.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Haultmuré High-walled.

1773 J. Macpherson tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 36 The fall of high-walled Troy.

1858 Harper's Mag. Apr. 578/1 A long-high-walled chamber..with rows of pigeon-holes on all sides.

1972 R. Angell Summer Game 299 The fans are here, and an immense noise—a cheerful, 53,634-man vociferosity—utterly fills the green, steep, high-walled box of Tiger Stadium.

2005 C. Mann 1491 ii. vii. 235 Dominated by nine high-walled imperial palace-tombs and five cathedral-like ceremonial complexes, the city was both exemplary in its grandeur and oddly empty.

high-wheeled adj.

ΚΠ

1720 A. Hill Gideon ii. 88 They carry their Wives and Children along with them in huge high-wheel'd cover'd Carts.

1841 E. Rigby Resid. Shores Baltic II. xv. 33 Our neighbours..are now seen driving about..in their high-wheeled carriages.

1877 A. Sewell Black Beauty iii. xxxvii. 185 At ten o'clock we started, in a light high-wheeled gig, which ran so easily, that after the four-wheeled cab, it seemed like nothing.

1967 Amer. Scholar 37 132/2 I sometimes sat beside Herbert Alexander on the driver's seat of his high-wheeled wagon, looking out over the backs and heads of the horses.

2012 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 6 Oct. 4 One struggles to imagine a male lawmaker being chided to behave in a gentlemanly fashion... The complaint belongs to the era of handlebar moustaches and high-wheeled bikes.

† high-witted adj. Obsolete

ΚΠ

c1425 Serm. (BL Add.) in G. Cigman Lollard Serm. (1989) 61 Þat þis blessid chyld, aftur þat he was born, was leid in stide of his cradel in a cracche..bitokeneþ not onely þat he came to saue hiȝe wyttede men and grete clerkis, but also semple, bustis, beestliche men.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 7^v This high witted manne dyd euidently shewe that thyng that maketh vs false herted in takyng peines and laboures, to be rather our imaginacion and conceipte, then the veray laboures in deede.

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iv. 35 Hie witted Tamora.

1651 J. Rocket Christian Subj. i. 3 High witted, boasting, and verball professors, that practised and professed themselves polemical, critical, and much historicall in Divinity.

1870 W. H. Sparks Mem. Fifty Years xxiv. 355 High-spirited or high-witted men, whose souls, when mellowed with glorious wine, leap from their lips sublimated in words swollen with wit.

high-zoned adj. rare

ΚΠ

1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 468 Hail queen, of Persia's high-zoned dames supreme..!

2010 J. W. Tunnell et al. Encycl. Texas Seashells iii. 50/1 On Aransas Pass jetty rocks the high-zoned interrupted periwinkle..has a higher acute upper thermal limit.

c. Phonetics. With adjectives indicating horizontal position, with the sense ‘designating a vowel sound that is both high and ——, or the position of the tongue in articulating such a sound’. Cf. sense A. 7.

high-back adj.

ΚΠ

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 76 The ‘rounded’ vowels are called ‘High-Back Round’.., ‘High-Back Wide Round’ [etc.].

1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. 15 u: high-back rounded, as in wolf.

1961 R. B. Long Sentence & its Parts xix. 422 (heading) High-back /u/.

2000 Jrnl. Linguistics 36 54 The constraint that prevents a high back vowel from occurring word-initially.

high-central adj.

ΚΠ

1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. I. xxviii/2 In English a high-central vowel is not usual.

1962 Amer. Speech 37 169 This diphthong may be described as beginning at a somewhat retracted low-front position and terminating at an open, slightly rounded, high-central position.

1992 Amer. Speech 67 62 A diphthong with a low-front onset or a close mid-central onset, and a high-central offglide.

high-front adj.

ΚΠ

1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 75 The ‘outer’ consonant corresponding to the ‘High-Front’ vowel, and the ‘inner’ to the ‘Low-Front’ vowel.

1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. 16 oi: mid-back rounded + high-front.

1994 J. Harkins Bridging Two Worlds vi. 161 The difference between the high front vowels of these two words, and the voicing distinction in their final stops, are neutralised.

high-mid adj.

ΚΠ

1919 G. P. Krapp Pronunc. of Standard Eng. in Amer. i. 6 One might consider five positions, as follows, high, high-mid, mid, low-mid, low.

1934 Amer. Speech 10 111/1 Some speakers assume the high-mid position immediately in the er words.

1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlvi. 32 Long, unrounded, high-mid front vowel.

2007 Oceanic Linguistics 46 1 It has developed three new vowels and an unusual system of double vowel harmony that requires both High-Mid avoidance and Tense-Lax agreement.

C4. In other collocations with specialized use.

high-altitude adj. located, occurring, or performed at a high altitude; functioning or designed for use at a high altitude.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > relating to height above the ground or sea level > at a high altitude

haught1587

high-altitude1870

1870 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 5 Nov. 483/1 The closure to invalids of so many Mediterranean stations rather invites a trial of the high altitude resorts of Switzerland.

1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 106 This hateful duty of high-altitude cooking.

1966 Electronics 3 Oct. 181 Also in the national space lineup is project ‘621’, aimed at developing recoverable high-altitude sounding rockets.

2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 11 June 40/4 The world's high-altitude glaciers—the ‘water towers’ in the Himalayas and the Andes that irrigate so much of the world—are already melting.

high-angle adj. characterized by or involving a large angle of elevation; spec. (of guns and gunfire) operating or occurring at a large upward angle of elevation.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [adjective] > type of firing

popping1753

point-blank1765

sharpshooting1806

high-angle1856

straight-shooting1901

pot-shotting1943

ripple-fired1954

1856 H. H. Maxwell tr. A. Taubert Use Field Artillery 53 Such cover is only to be taken advantage of when the position is secure from a sudden attack, and where the high angle fire [Ger. der hohe Bogenwurf] suffices.

1943 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 27 Oct. 266 A high-angle 4-in. gun being demonstrated to a ‘Dems’ class.

1963 Listener 28 Mar. 569/2 The mere novelty (for television drama) of the high-angle viewpoint gave the shot a sly edge.

2004 D. Zucchino Thunder Run xii. 191 They were close enough to see the target, so they didn't have to adjust their high-angle fire with the help of spotters.

high art n. (and adj.) highly refined or sophisticated art; also occasionally as adj.

ΚΠ

1794 European Mag. & London Rev. Apr. 286/2 A great foreign artist, on coming into this country, said, that had he only heard Sir Joshua's last discourse in praise of Michael Angelo, and seen that great national ornament Somerset-House, he should have been sure that the English Nation were far advanced in high art.

1848 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 11 Feb. (1954) I. 247 I cannot recognize the truth of all that is said about the necessity of religious fervour to high art.

1856 C. Kingsley Plays & Puritans 31 They railed in their ignorance..at high art and all art.

1883 ‘V. Lee’ in P. Gunn Vernon Lee (1964) vii. 88 A long pseudo-medieval ballad... It felt so completely high art.

1906 E. Garnett in D. Defoe Capt. Singleton p. viii Rembrandt's choice of beggars..for his favourite subjects seemed a low and reprehensible taste in ‘high art’.

1964 S. Hall & P. Whannel Pop. Arts i. ii. 55 These popular arts..were not objects of contemplation like the works of high art, but communal artifacts.

2010 Time Out N.Y. 20 May 53/2 With their hollow, zombie eyes, quizzical semi squints and fingerlike ropes of flesh on their faces, the figures float between life and death, pop culture and high art.

high band adj. (a) designating a shirt collar or roll-neck in the form of a band that comes high up on the neck; (now typically) designating a mandarin collar; (b) Electronics designating an audio or video system using a high carrier frequency, which allows more bandwidth for the signal; of, relating to, or involving such a system.

ΚΠ

1893 Locomotive Engineer's Monthly Jrnl. Jan. 40/1 The home dressmaker will find that the best fitting high band collar is made by cutting it perfectly bias.

1930 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 49 1394/2 The frequencies included in the various bands were as follows: high band, 1500-5600 cycles per sec.; middle band, 750—1500 cycles per sec., [etc.]

1990 Video Maker July 39/1 A simple comparison could be drawn with that of a High Band camcorder in still frame mode.

2010 J. Taggart & J. Walker I don't have Thing to Wear vi. 117 High band collars and turtlenecks are almost universally flattering.

high beam n. chiefly North American and Australian the setting at which a vehicle's headlights are undipped and brightest; (usually in plural) a beam from a headlight on this setting; cf. main beam n. at main adj.² Compounds 2.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > headlight > main beam

brights1920

high beam1932

full beam1934

main beam1964

1914 Soc. Automobile Engin. Bull. July 330 Admitting that a rather high beam-candlepower is necessary, as we all know, for lighting up dark highways.]

1932 Key West (Florida) Citizen 19 Oct. 4/3 If your lights are on the high beam there is the added danger—to you—that the driver of the approaching car will swerve and crash into you.

1970 R. Thorp & R. Blake Music of their Laughter 131/2 I flipped on the high beams, the two guys in front of me put their hands up to their eyes.

2006 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 17 Feb. g37 Dip your lights..then immediately switch back to high beam when the other vehicle has passed.

high bicycle n. now historical a bicycle with a tall front wheel and a small rear one; = high wheel n. 2, high-wheeler n. (b), penny farthing n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > early type of > with one large and one small wheel

high-wheeler1866

high bicycle1874

high wheel1876

ordinary1888

penny farthing1891

1874 Notts. Guardian 9 Oct. 7/6 In riding a high bicycle, not only the forward motion but the balance has to be preserved.

1878 Sun (N.Y.) 27 Oct. 4/6 It is claimed for the machine [sc. ‘the Safety Bicycle’] that it is equal in speed to that of its more showy, though less safe rival, the high bicycle.

1901 L. T. Hobhouse Mind in Evol. iii. 30 I remember being thrown by a sudden accident over the handles of an old-fashioned high bicycle.

2002 Technol. & Culture 43 358 Before pneumatic tires appeared, rear-driving safeties had effectively replaced the ordinary and the high bicycle was doomed.

high bidder n. the person who holds the highest bid at any time during an auction; (esp.) one who wins an auction with the highest final bid; cf. highest adj. 2.

ΚΠ

1695 T. Houghton Alteration of Coyn (new ed.) 16 It is absolutely necessary that all Endeavours be used to preserve them [sc. Silver and Gold], especially in these times, when they are in demand by so many high Bidders abroad.

1781 Town & Country Mag. Apr. 179/1 The late lord L——n, was the first high bidder at this Cyprian auction.

1854 National Mag. Jan. 45/2 I have often thought of selling one of the boys to a high bidder from the Southern market, but hitherto have been restrained by the odium that it brings upon a man among his neighbors.

1962 Life 12 Oct. 129 The high bidder for the Emmons place was Alex Walsh, a wholesale hardware man, who stands with his wife and 10 children on the second floor sun porch.

2000 Risks Digest (ACM Forum) (Electronic text) 11 Sept. A bookmarkable Web page which shows the item description, the time remaining before the auction ends, the current high bid, and the eBay identity of the high bidder.

high blood n. and adj. (a) n. colloquial high blood pressure; hypertension; (b) adj. Philippine English angry, agitated.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [noun] > high or low pressure

shock1804

hypertension1893

hypotension1893

hyperpiesis1895

hyperpiesia1915

high blood1987

the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > [noun] > discontent with prevailing state of affairs > person

angry young man1951

angry1957

AYM1958

high blood1987

1987 Toronto Star 22 Mar. a20/1 Terms like ‘low blood’ for anemia and ‘high blood’ for hypertension came up regularly and were readily understood.

1997 Eng. is Asian Lang.: Proc. Conf. Manila, 1996 55 Why are you so high blood again? What's upsetting you?

2013 Star-News (Wilmington, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 16 June 4 d Claiming he suffers from ‘high blood’, Brother Vern has invited himself in for a long spell of recuperation.

high-blooded adj. of or relating to noble descent; from a highly regarded family, from well-respected stock.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of descent or breeding

ykynde1420

generous1574

well-bred1585

well-descended1591

well nutrimenteda1592

high-descended1600

well-derived1600

high-bred1613

highly bred1625

high-blooded1632

of (good, noble, etc.) familya1639

pedigree1861

1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry ii. sig. E3 Where heauenly vertue in high blouded veines Is lodg'd.

1794 T. Jefferson Let. 2 Apr. in Papers (2000) XXVIII. 48 One of the mares..is as highblooded as any one in the state.

1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 300 A high-blooded greyhound.

1871 Bell's Life in London 15 July 6/7 Here is a proof that in high blooded animals particularly, ‘in breeding’ has the same effect as on man.

1918 Amer. Nut Jrnl. Feb. 26/2 My neighbors having native trees on their home grounds were sought out and permission craved to work their common pecan trees with buds from my high-blooded purchases.

1997 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman (Nexis) 22 Feb. e12 The high-blooded characteristics that were evident in Seattle Slew on Pulpit's sire side and Mr. Prospector on his dam side.

high bourgeois n. and adj. [after French haut bourgeois haut bourgeois n. or haute bourgeoisie haute bourgeoisie n.] (a) n. (with the and plural agreement) the French upper middle class; (later also) the upper middle class of other countries (now historical and rare); (b) adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the French upper middle class or (later) the upper middle class of other countries.

ΚΠ

1836 L. Ritchie Magician I. i. 20 The hoods of black or red cloth worn by the high bourgeois did not appear to his judgment to be far inferior in richness to the silk and velvet of the nobility.

1874 Daily News 16 July 5/5 The attendance of..the high bourgeois society of Montreuil in Sunday clothes, and an artistic use of flags, gave colour and loveliness to the ceremonial.

1907 A. Cohn in J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (new ed.) Introd. p. xv Like many of the high bourgeois of France, Pierre Eyquem had energetically striven to shift the basis of the family's greatness.

1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 31 I cannot think of a single modern high-bourgeois home, in which mahogany plays more than a casual and inconspicuous part.

1971 M. Walker German Home Towns v. 160 Special marriage provisions and other devices opened the channels between the exempted high bourgeois and the nobility.

2008 Guardian (Nexis) 27 Dec. 44 He [sc. Harold Pinter] pursued the theme in Party Time, showing an affluent, smugly insular high-bourgeois world indifferent to the erosion of civil liberties.

high breast adj. now chiefly historical (of a waterwheel) = pitch-back adj.; cf. breast wheel n.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [adjective] > driven by water from above or below

overshotc1535

undershoot1602

undershot1610

pitch-back1825

high breast1833

1795 O. Evans Young Mill-wright & Miller's Guide i. 107 Given, a high breast-wheel,..where the water is shot on at d.]

1833 W. Templeton Millwright & Engineer's Pocket Compan. (ed. 2) 112 Example 2—Given 16 cubic feet of water per second, to be applied to a high breast, or an overshot wheel, with 2 feet head, and 10 feet fall; required the power.

1880 Encycl. Brit. XII. 523/2 With greater variation of head-water level, a pitch-back or high breast wheel is better.

1904 M. L. Taylor in G. D. Harris Underground Waters Southern Louisiana (U.S. Geol. Surv.) 82 A high breast wheel 24 feet in diameter develops the power under a head of 22 feet.

2013 K. W. Wright Hist. Andover Ironworks 37 This primitive pipe..supplied water to a wooden trough called the penstock, where sluice gates regulated the flow to a high-breast water wheel.

high C n. Music a musical note, two octaves above middle C (see middle C n. at middle adj. and n. Compounds 1a), at or near the upper limit of a soprano's vocal range; also the note an octave below this similarly at or near the upper limit of a tenor's vocal range; sometimes (in extended use) as the type of a very high note.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [noun] > high pitch > high sound or note

sharp1612

treblea1616

high C1837

society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > diatonic scale series > notes in diatonic scale > notes of specific scales

bemola1327

bequarrea1350

rec1550

G1562

E1596

B1597

A1609

Ca1616

middle C1660

A (also C, D etc.) sharp1783

high C1837

H1880

1837 Musical World 27 Jan. 83 The B flat..is the highest horn used in this country; though the high C horn is used abroad.

1898 G. B. Shaw Perfect Wagnerite 61 A specifically contrapuntal theme, points d'orgue, and a high C for the soprano.

1904 G. H. Lorimer Old Gorgon Graham: More Lett. vii. 152 When she began to snore in her upper register and to hit the high C, he judged the coast was clear.

1975 D. DeNitto & W. Herman Film & Crit. Eye v. 69 Looming shadows at an inappropriate moment can imbue a scene with melodrama, like a tenor in an opera holding a high C when asking someone to pass the wine.

1998 Gramophone Jan. 99/3 Sembrich has some odd irregularities of vibration and when she decides to try for something above the high C we rather wish she would not.

2012 J. Irving In One Person (2013) v. 128 Gerda Mühle could be vibrant but effortless from a low G to dizzying flights above high C.

high-calibre adj. (a) of a high standard; high-quality; (of a person) highly capable; very skilled, experienced, etc.; (b) (of a gun) having a large bore or calibre; (also of a bullet or other projectile) having a large diameter.

ΚΠ

1893 Boston Daily Globe 28 July 5/4 Each event contained a sufficient number of high caliber horses to make the racing interesting throughout.

1893 Ann. Rep. Chief of Ordnance to Secretary of War (U.S.) 643 A close analysis of the Gordon carriage shows that it is as readily adaptable to high caliber guns of great length as to any other.

1916 Boys' Life June 36/1 (advt.) Camp Wyola... High calibre college men as councillors.

1920 J. Dos Passos One Man's Initiation—1917 (1922) iv. 32 Now and then, like some ungainly bird, a high calibre shell trundled through the air overhead.

1967 J. R. Brandon Theatre in Southeast Asia (1974) viii. 163 Government schools..offer high-caliber instruction to young people.

1998 Private Eye 9 Jan. 4/3 (advt.) Our client, a..consultancy supplying IT/Banking Services, seeks high calibre candidates with at least 2 years expertise.

2011 Vanity Fair Aug. 134/1 You start with a brain shot from a helicopter with a high-caliber weapon, not less than a .375.

high-calorie adj. designating or relating to food or a diet that is high, or relatively high, in calories; cf. low-calorie adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3.

ΚΠ

1898 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 14 Apr. 349/2 In Experiment I fresh thyroid preparations, with high calorie feeding, were given.

1954 K. B. Roberts in H. W. Florey Lect. Gen. Pathol. xii. 236 When high calorie diets were given, however, the respiratory quotients were nearer unity, suggesting a utilisation of carbohydrates.

2011 Vanity Fair June 205/2 When someone mentioned his dramatic weight loss, he laughed it off, saying, ‘I'll get a McFlurry’, referring to the high-calorie dessert served at McDonald's.

high camp n. and adj. (a) n. camp (camp n.⁵ 1a) of a kind regarded as either sophisticated or extreme; (b) adj. sophisticatedly or extremely camp (camp adj.).

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > smart

gallantc1420

galliard1513

fine1526

trickly1580

pink1598

genteel1601

sparkful1605

sparkish1657

jaunty1662

spankinga1666

shanty1685

trig1725

smartish1738

distinguished1748

nobby1788

dashing1801

vaudy1805

swell1810

distingué1813

dashy1822

nutty1823

chic1832

slicked1836

flash1838

rakish1840

spiffy1853

smart1860

sassy1861

classy1870

spiffing1872

toffish1873

tony1877

swish1879

hep1899

toffy1901

hip1904

toppy1905

in1906

floozy1911

swank1913

jazz1917

ritzy1919

smooth1920

snappy1925

snazzy1931

groovy1937

what ho1937

gussy1940

criss1954

high camp1954

sprauncy1957

James Bondish1966

James Bond1967

schmick1972

designer1978

atas1993

as fine as fivepence-

1954 C. Isherwood World in Evening ii. iii. 125 High Camp is the whole emotional basis of the Ballet..and of course of Baroque art.

1963 Punch 5 June 830/1 Gerda Charles..makes her young, with-it, high camp.

1964 New Statesman 6 Mar. 373/2 The..show starts depressingly, and the aura of high camp threatens to asphyxiate.

1968 Listener 27 June 843/2 The melodramatic trappings might have had a certain aesthetic high-camp value.

2004 Metro 1 Nov. (London ed.) 27/1 Any expectations that Pam could revive the once-thriving celeb ‘bonkbuster’ genre are dashed with this lacklustre tome, which is far from the high-camp page-turner that Anderson's history suggests it could have been.

2009 Independent 30 May (Mag.) 14/2 People come for the schtick and the strip, the glamour and high camp, and they're always knocked out by it.

high campery n. extremely camp artistic expression or behaviour; cf. high camp n. and adj.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > [noun] > theatrical or exaggerated behaviour > camp behaviour, speech, etc.

camp1909

camping1922

high campery1965

1965 Harper's Bazaar Nov. 15 The high-campery of his fantasy portraits.

2011 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 14 Feb. (Guide section) 12 Somehow, amid the high campery, strains of drama ring true, as beloved characters tackle some big dilemmas.

high-carbon adj. (a) designating materials, esp. steel, containing a relatively high proportion of carbon; made from such a material; (b) relating to or characterized by a relatively high level of carbon dioxide emission.

ΚΠ

1878 U.S. Patent 200,724 2/1 The resulting product (our recarburizer) is not only sufficiently rich in carbon, but is comparatively free from silicon, manganese, and sulphur, and is thereby peculiarly adapted for use in lieu of the ordinary recarburizing agents for the manufacture of a high-carbon Bessemer steel exceptionally free from manganese and silicon.

1938 Connecticut: Guide to Roads, Lore, & People (Federal Writers' Project) 387 At the Forge Plant,..cherry-red bars of high-carbon, high-chrome steel are fabricated into bearings for automobiles.

1998 U.S. Newswire (Nexis) 29 June The President said..that China can avoid the mistakes that the developed world made over the last 30 years in developing a very high carbon energy base.

2001 D. Levine At Dawn of Modernity ii. 165 These high-carbon tools may have been sharper than their modern equivalents, which are forged with steel alloys that retard rust at the cost of making it difficult to obtain an easily sharpened and long-lasting edge.

2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 Nov. a12/2 Our argument is that because there is an economic turndown, it is just the time to tackle the transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy.

high chancellor n. now chiefly historical any of various high-ranking officials; esp. the supreme officer or dignitary of a state or nation.In use with reference to England and Scotland (in historical contexts): the highest officer of the Crown; cf. Lord High Chancellor n.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > chancellor

chancellor1623

chancellor-

society > authority > office > holder of office > high officials of state > [noun] > Lord High Chancellor or Great Seal

Chancellor of EnglandOE

(Lord) Keeper of the Great Seal1545

Lord Keeper1562

custos sigilli1589

society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > first minister of a ruler or state > chief minister in European governments

chancellor1611

1547 J. Bale Lattre Examinacyon A. Askewe f. 64^v Compare me here Pylate with Wrisleye the hygh chauncellour of Englande.

1764 London Mag. May 271/2 Grand treasurer of Lithuania, grand son-in-law to prince Czartorinski high chancellor of Lithuania.

1870 M. E. Cumming Bruce Family Rec. Bruces & Cumyns 283 In 1346, Charteris was High Chancellor of Scotland.

1990 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 26 June (Special Suppl. section) 16 The master calligrapher Celalzade Mustafa Pasa..was the High Chancellor of the Divan (the Sultan's council)..from 1534 to 1557.

high change n. (also with capital initials) now historical the time of greatest activity in a mercantile exchange (cf. change n. 2); the exchange itself at such a time (cf. sense A. 16).

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > traffic in stocks and shares > (sudden or great) activity

high change1656

movement1847

flurry1876

boomlet1880

1656 R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 191 Her breech rings high Change and she must away.

1685 Rampant Alderman i. 5 Here he comes, and Company with him: 'Tis high Change time, and the place will fill presently.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 69. ¶1 I look upon High-Change to be a great Council, in which all considerable Nations have their Representatives.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 39/1 The Old Clothes Exchange, like other places known by the name..has its daily season of ‘high change’.

1854 G. G. Foster Fifteen Minutes around N.Y. iii. 16 But at this particular hour of the day—this ‘High Change’, as it is called par excellence—the millionaires and magnates of the city..meet here.

1913 Austral. Mining Standard 4 Dec. 502/2 After the high water mark had been touched at High 'Change, lower prices were accepted in the Vestibule.

1919 G. Bigwood Cotton (new ed.) viii. 103 The ‘high change’ at Shawe' s is about six, and at eight o'clock every person must quit the house, as no liquor is ever served out after that hour.

2012 G. Boyce in G. Harlaftis et al. World's Key Industry vii. 117 ‘High change’, that is, freight transacting, occurred between 11.30 and 11.45 and from 3.45 to 4.00 each day.

high-cheekboned adj. (of a person or a person's face) having prominent or pronounced cheekbones; cf. sense A. 5b.

ΚΠ

1761 Whitehall Evening-post 12–14 Mar. He is a lean tall Man, thin Visaged.., high Cheek boned, with a flat longish Chin.

1774 Morning Chron. 7 Feb. A high cheek-boned Highlander afforded some entertainment with his universal address of ‘De you ken me, Sar.’

1872 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 14 Mar. Our people are rather overdoing the thing in paying such homage to these almond-eyed, bow-legged, stunted, high cheek-boned Orientals.

1946 B. J. Hendrick Lincoln's War Cabinet i. 8 His countenance, always scrupulously shaved, high cheekboned, in his latter years slightly shriveled, was long and narrow.

2010 T. Fort Against Flow (2011) ix. 76 Márta was a strong, solid woman with a handsome, high-cheekboned face.

high-coloured adj. (a) of an intense or bright colour; (b) figurative highly coloured, florid, expressive, vivid.

ΚΠ

1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani vi. sig. E.ij^v The one [of two twynnes] was reed, hygh coloured and rough with heare: the other smothe.

1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Niij A manne maie be high coloured..and yet not blacke.

1610 G. Markham Maister-peece i. xiv. 38 If the vrine..be..high-coloured, bright and cleare like lamber and not like amber.

1746 C. Macklin Henry VII i. iii. 18 Such high-colour'd Patriotism Shou'd be rewarded.

1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 143 Urine high-coloured.

1851 G. Brimley in Fraser's Mag. July 108/2 To translate into bald prose those high-coloured and nobly musical passages of the Prelude.

1889 B. W. Howard Open Door xiv. 252 Mariele..and Rickele quickly dispersed to regale themselves at a booth, where an old woman sold bretzels, acidified raspberry-shrub, and floury high-colored bonbons.

1908 V. Jacob Hist. Aythan Waring xxiv. 253 The high-coloured description of the assault had recalled to her mind an episode that had taken place a few months earlier in western England.

1925 F. M. Ford No More Parades 309 There were two girls who kept a tea-shop in Poperinghe... High coloured.

2005 J. M. Coetzee Slow Man xxvii. 222 An inconsequential story about being taken for a ride by the gypsies, the high-coloured gypsy woman and the handsome gypsy youth.

high comedy n. comedy of a sophisticated or intellectual nature (cf. low comedy n. 1); (also) something which is very funny.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > one who or that which is comical

comedy1535

toy1542

jest1602

joke1670

comic1674

high comedy1707

humorous1753

comicality1796

funny1852

funniosity1871

hot sketch1917

pisser1918

riot1919

panic1921

cocasserie1934

yell1938

mess1952

crack-up1961

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun] > comedy > specific

low comedy1608

farce1676

light comedy1698

high comedy1707

comedy of manners1822

comedietta1823

Adelphi screamer1830

commedia dell'arte1877

musical comedy1903

comédie noire1958

alternative comedy1980

1707 P. A. Motteux Farewel Folly Prol. A farce! We shall be mawl'd—At least, I fear it. After high Comedy who'll ever bear it? 'Tis your Oat Ale, or Small Beer, after Claret.

1761 tr. C. Batteux Course Belles Lettres II. 364 We are not talking of low comedy or high comedy, but of the comic only.

1805 Monthly Mirror Feb. 135 Mr. Pritchard, in high comedy, is an excellent actor.

1895 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 27 Apr. 549/2 After the exasperatingly bad acting one constantly sees at the theatres where high comedy and ‘drama’ prevail, it is a relief to see even simple work creditably done.

1963 Observer 12 May 28/3 Miss Murdoch is one of the sharpest writers of high comedy at present active in the theatre.

1990 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. May (Corr.) 4/3 Such phrases as ‘the objectivism of the self-expressionistic device’ and the ‘significance of total experience’ are high comedy indeed!

2011 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 14 Nov. 30 Dame Patricia (as I hereby dub her) has triumphed in Shakespeare at Stratford, in high comedy in the West End, and in Broadway musicals and operetta.

high command n. [frequently rendering equivalent foreign-language expressions, as German Oberbefehl] the commander-in-chief and associated senior staff of an army, navy, or air force.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [noun] > staff officer > staff of officers

ordinary1526

generality1578

generalty1643

staff1781

état-major1805

headquarters1812

horse guards1826

higher command1842

high command1904

family1907

1904 tr. in Jrnl. Mil. Service Inst. U.S. 35 79 All negligence in the organization and preparation of the high command, as well as in foreseeing the proper part to be played by the government, may have disastrous consequences.

1918 Times 7 June 6/1 The German High Command chose yesterday to issue its claims as to booty captured by the ‘Army Group of the German Crown Prince’.

1943 P. Jordan Diary 13 Jan. 136 This is one more repetition of the high command's consistent error, combined with the typical amateur's belief that you must always be ‘doing something’.

2010 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 9 Dec. 22/2 Operation Jaque..involved duping the rebel high command into believing that the helicopter-borne military rescuers were members of a humanitarian aid group that had come to inspect the hostages.

high contracting party n. International Law a state which has signed or ratified a treaty.

ΚΠ

1727 ‘Count Sinzendorf’ Let. 20 Feb. in Acct. True Author Two Infamous Libels 30 You may be able to destroy those Falshoods and Calumnies which have been charged on the high contracting Parties of the Treaty of Vienna.

1843 New-Hampsh. Statesman & State Jrnl. 29 Sept. A kind of..armistice..has been entered into between the high contracting parties.

1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 17 July 27/1 The High Contracting Parties..announced their desire to ‘cease centuries of confrontation’.

2014 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 18 July As a high contracting party to the Geneva Convention, what can Britain do?

high contrast n. and adj. Photography and Printing (a) n. contrast (contrast n. 2b) that is relatively high, or higher than that of an original picture or scene; (b) adj. having or presenting high contrast.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [noun] > contrast, etc.

high contrast1895

gamma1903

contrast1911

step wedge1931

1895 Ann. Astron. Observatory Harvard Coll. 32 15 The former may be brought out by printing and reprinting upon a plate giving high contrast, which however at the same time brings out the irregularities in the film of the original.

1961 G. Millerson Technique Television Production iii. 47 Subject contrast must be kept down, by preventing high-contrast surfaces appearing in the same shot.

1977 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) 13 Apr. 10 (advt.) Sharp, clean, high-contrast copies with half-tones comparable to offset printing.

1996 Sky & Telescope Sept. 30/3 Eyepieces that yield extremely sharp images of impressively high contrast.

2008 Daily Tel. 4 Jan. 29/2 Shot in luminous, high-contrast black and white, it has the rugged if faintly self-important authority of a Hemingway short story.

high cross n. a large cross, often made of stone, set on a pedestal in a marketplace or other central space in a town or village; cf. cross n. 7b. [Attested earlier as a place name: Hyecrosse, Hertfordshire (1418; earlier Heyecrouch (1360); now High Cross).]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > artefacts > symbol (general) > Christian symbols or images > [noun] > cross > monumental

palm cross1442

high cross1457

pulpit cross1598

Calvary1815

society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > cross > in town or village

market cross1425

high cross1457

crossc1465

1457 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 99 For makyng faste of the emagys at the hye Croce..xijd.

1486 Short & Brief Memory First Progresse King Henry VII in P. McGrath Bristol Misc. (1985) 4 And at the High Cross there was a pageant ful of maydyn children richely besene, and Prudence had the speech as ensueth.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxliiii Causing Gartier, principal kyng at armes, to make a publique Proclamacion at the high Crosse in the market place of Edenboroughe.

1609 in Digby Myst. (1882) p. xix The pentice at y^e highe crosse.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) i. i. 131 To be whipt at the hie crosse euerie morning.

1697 London Gaz. No. 3336/3 A great Bonfire at the High-Cross.

1713 E. Ward Hist. Grand Rebellion II. 220 We may see the Proclamations made At the High-Cross, no other Issue had Than to incense the People but the more.

1810 D. Lysons & S. Lysons Magna Brit. II. 614 In 1583 a conduit was begun by the contrivance of an ingenious workman for conveying water to the High-cross at the expence of the citizens.

1898 M. Stokes High Crosses of Castledermot & Durrow Introd. p. xii The High Cross at Clonmacnois and the Cross of Tuam, though dedicated to the memory of two Irish kings, were certainly not over their graves.

1993 R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1994) 206 A high-cross that was damaged by vandals.

high culture n. (a) a form of land cultivation making extensive use of soil improvement; = high farming n. (now historical); (b) highly refined artistic or intellectual achievement; the manifestation of this in art, music, literature, etc.; the appreciation of this, cultural sophistication.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > types of farming

high culture1771

scientific farming1789

metaying1792

high farming1815

petite culture1848

sharefarming1857

urban agriculture1860

bush-farming1866

mixed farming1872

dry farming1878

co-aration1883

co-ploughing1883

smallholding1889

power-farming1913

dry-land farming1914

third(s)-and-fourth(s)1940

link system1950

green revolution1968

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > extensive use of fertilizers

high culture1771

high farming1815

1771 Monthly Rev. Apr. 308 Although in common management a gravelly loam is superior to a clayey, yet not in high culture, as the profit per acre on the latter exceeds the former.

1803 Ann. Agric. 40 239 High culture will be found not only to change the quality of the grass, from bad to good, but will also increase the quantity.

a1812 J. S. Buckminster Serm. (1814) xxiii. 401 With this high culture of the female imagination, and this invisible influence and authority in criticism, France had also produced the best female instructers of the world.

1818 tr. J. von Müller Univ. Hist. I. i. 21 Persia..a region of high culture from the earliest age, where traces of the pure religion of Zerdusht, which he brought among the nations from Mount Albordi, may still be recognized.

1849 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 20 Sept. (1954) I. 308 She is a person of high culture according to the ordinary notions of what feminine culture should be.

1908 Manch. Guardian 2 Dec. 13/5 Other means of inducing crops to grow combine with high culture—i.e., good tillage and manuring—to form the intensive system.

1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House Pref. in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War p. viii The only part of our society in which there was leisure for high culture.

2007 P. J. Pauly Fruits & Plains 6 For them [sc. horticulturists], high culture meant..well-rotted manure and hand weeding.

2007 Daily Tel. 17 Oct. 20/2 They should have been groomed for academia... They needed lessons in articulacy, high culture and a sense of the wider world.

high definition n. and adj. (a) n. a high degree of definition (definition n. 5c) in a visual image, spec. that provided by a relatively large number of scanning lines in a televised image; also in extended use; (b) adj. characterized by or making use of such a degree of definition.Abbreviated HD.

ΚΠ

1870 Lancet 30 Apr. 618/2 Some further remarks on high definition.

1933 Television 6 lxix. 373/1 Other companies, too, may..be given similar opportunities of providing high-definition television apparatus for transmission experiments.

1960 M. McLuhan Let. 7 Mar. (1987) 262 The same materials put in print have the visual code in High Definition and the speech goes into very Low Definition and print is read silently and on a single plane.

1975 B. V. Barlow Astron. Telescope ii. 26 Until fairly recently its function has been wholly photographic, in which it excels because it combines large linear aperture with very low focal ratio and high definition over a wide angular field.

2013 New Yorker 6 May 54/3 He threw a specialty pitch, on occasion, that served as a good advertisement for the effects of high-definition television.

high dependency adj. originally and chiefly British providing or requiring a high level of medical treatment and supervision.

ΚΠ

1971 Lancet 3 July 43/2 It seems, therefore, that postoperative pain will continue to be inadequately treated until these patients are looked after in a recovery or high-dependency area, where medical and nursing staff, adequate in both numbers and training, are in constant attendance.

1980 Jrnl. Operational Res. Soc. 31 803 Treatment costs..tend to include such items as doctors' time, high dependency nursing, X-ray and laboratory tests.

1995 Nursing Times 22 Mar. 52/3 I have no recollection of being in the high-dependency unit in the days that followed or of being visited by friends.

2006 Parramatta (Austral.) Advertiser (Nexis) 19 Apr. 20 Patients are all high dependency and require 24-hour specialist nursing care.

high dilutionist n. Homeopathy (now historical) an advocate of high or extreme dilution of homeopathic remedies.

ΘΚΠ

the world > health and disease > healing > healer > alternative practitioner > [noun] > homoeopath

homoeopath1830

homoeopathist1830

high dilutionist1846

globulist1850

decillionist1865

dilutionist1892

1846 Homœopathic Examiner 1 323 We believe that the means used by the high dilutionists are too feeble to counteract any severe disease.

1892 J. Ellis Personal Experience Physician 11 Dr. Gray was a low dilutionist... I called on Dr. Edward Bayard, who was a high dilutionist.

1908 Brit. Homœpathic Rev. Oct. 596 If the high dilutionists will not accept any of these experimental tests,…let them leave us at least to work in peace at our materia medica and clinical medicine.

2009 M. P. Hacker et al. Pharmacology v. 78/2 He [sc. Alfred J. Clarke] also made strong efforts to portray homeopathy as monolithic ‘high-dilutionists’ in order to further ensure the marginalization of homeopathy.

high diver n. a person who dives into water from a great height, esp. as part of a performance or competition; a participant in high diving.

ΚΠ

1890 Era 14 June Miss Ada Webb, champion lady high diver of the world, on Wednesday next gives a grand aquatic entertainment at Bromley Swimming Baths.

1907 Billboard 6 July 12/3 Harry Edwards..and wife, once known as Miss Sprague, the high-diver, are now running the Golden West, at Pine Beach.

1946 Liberty 25 May 76/3 Because he had been a high diver, his job was to rig scaffoldings for the lights high above the sound stages.

2003 Film Comment Jan. 76/2 She has always filmed people as if they were creatures (ant-like soldiers, bird-like high divers).

high diving n. the action or sport of diving into water from a great height; this as an event in a diving competition.

ΚΠ

1878 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 19 Aug. A swimming match is to take place at Dave Whittaker's school... The programme includes..swimming under water, high diving, spring-board diving [etc.].

1963 Times 16 Feb. 11/1 Another short drop leads to the edge of the lake with its bathing station and a surrealist structure built for high diving.

1996 TNT Mag. 8 July 17/3 The 22-year-old from Brisbane is considered Australia's best chance of an Olympic medal since Dick Eve won gold in the plain high diving..in the 1924 Paris Games.

2012 M. Saayman Introd. Sports Tourism x. 335 Competition cliff diving is an outgrowth of Olympic high diving.

high doh n. (a) a name used for the eighth note of the scale in the tonic sol-fa system, being an octave higher than doh (see doh n.); (b) Scottish and Irish English used figuratively (esp. in up to (also at) high doh and variants) to denote a state of extreme agitation or nervous excitement.

ΚΠ

1869 W. S. Ross Syst. Elocution i. 14 It will..be an excellent practice to commence at high doh and read down the scale.

1923 School Music Rev. 15 Apr. 256/2 The class..notices the position of high Doh as compared with that of low Doh.

1943 C. M. Maclean Tharrus Three ix. 109 Jock certainly was at high Doh.

1947 Chambers's Jrnl. No. 17 269/1 Reuben P. was up to high doh with delight.

1988 J. C. Catford Pract. Introd. Phonetics (1994) viii. 166 With the starting doh at 700 Hz, the ‘high doh’..will have exactly twice the frequency, that is 1400 Hz.

1998 Irish Times 9 Mar. 6 The children have been at high-doh all week waiting for their daddy.

2005 C. Brookmyre All Fun & Games until Somebody loses Eye (2006) 154 Dad's up to high doh.

high-dollar adj. originally and chiefly North American involving large amounts of money; very expensive or profitable.

ΚΠ

1966 Pop. Mech. Oct. 124/1 New in the high-dollar market for 1967 are a four-door Thunderbird and Cadillac's front-drive Eldorado.

1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 May (Real Estate section) e1 A glut could develop as plans for conversions of several high-dollar rental complexes intown and nearby move into the selling stage.

1989 Car & Driver Sept. 118/1 It doesn't say Daddy Flauntbucks in the way of the high-dollar German labels, either.

2004 L. A. Burke & J. E. Moore in J. W. Beard Managing Impressions with Information Technol. iii. 63 These perceptions are fuelled by..the reality of high-dollar salaries lurking around the proverbial corner.

high-duty adj. (a) subject to heavy customs duty; (b) designed to perform heavy tasks; = heavy-duty n. at heavy adj.¹ 24b.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > [adjective] > liable to duty > subject to heavy duty

high-duty1740

1740 Answers for F. Paterson Supervisor of Excise 1 There was a very large Quantity of high Duty or prohibited Goods aboard.

1818 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 294/1 All high duty goods should be warehoused at importation, in warehouses to be provided to the satisfaction of the proper officers.

1889 Engin. & Building Rec. 3 Aug. 137/1 The Worthington high-duty pump is said to accomplish this result in an entirely different and very satisfactory way by means of two small oscillating cylinders.

1920 Ham's Yearbk. I. 173 In the case of high-duty goods..the issuing officer will send an advice..to the Inspector-General of Waterguard.

1947 J. G. Pearse in Nature 11 Jan. 51/1 The production of still stronger high-duty irons.

2000 A J Focus May 12/4 Jablite Foil-Faced extra high-duty roofboard from Vencel Resil is bringing insulation benefits.

high-end adj. of, relating to, or associated with the more expensive section of the market for a particular product; top-quality, sophisticated.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > merchandise > [adjective] > condition or quality of goods

middling1550

pedlaryc1555

shop-rid1620

shopworn1666

loyal1690

braided1721

country-damaged1847

shop-soiled1865

shoddy1882

as new1898

low-end1899

service weight1919

designer1940

high-end1956

loaded1968

market-leading1972

pound shop1989

1956 Billboard 23 June 28/3 The Aristocrat, a special hi-fi AM-FM radio tuner, is standard equipment with the high-end model Eldorado.

1977 New Yorker 6 June 96/3 It stands to reason that ‘high end’ means expensive,..but why does ‘promotional’, as well as ‘low end’ mean cheap?

1989 Financial Weekly 9 Feb. 36/2 Japanese companies have..shifted emphasis to such high-end products as large-screen televisions.

2012 Independent 23 July 34/1 The internet's role in the democratisation of high-end fashion is well documented, from street-style blogs to live-streamed catwalk shows.

high explosive n. an explosive substance, such as dynamite, TNT, etc., which explodes more rapidly and powerfully than gunpowder; (as a mass noun) such material; (attributive) designating an explosive device armed with such a substance.In technical contexts sometimes: spec. a substance in which explosion proceeds faster than the speed of sound.In quot. 1846 probably showing explosive adj. modified by high as an adverb (cf. high adv. Compounds 3) rather than an attributive use of this compound.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > explosive material > [noun] > types of

high explosive1876

panclastic1883

1846 Morning Post 17 Oct. 7/1 The gas being mixed with the atmospheric air in the blast pipe, would form a high explosive mixture.]

1876 Sun (N.Y.) 11 May All of the high explosives contain nitro-glycerine.

1892 C. N. Hake & W. Macnab tr. M. Berthelot Explosives & their Power 2 Generally speaking, we mean by ‘high’ explosives, those in which the chemical transformation is very rapid, and which exert a crushing or shattering effect.

1915 Ann. Rep. Board Regents Smithsonian Inst. 1914 261 The high-explosive shell [sic] carry from about 3 per cent to about 30 per cent of their weight in high explosive.

1941 Ann. Reg. 1940 95 The bulk of the damage had been caused not by high explosive but by incendiary bombs.

2011 P. M. Maniscalco & H. T. Christen Homeland Security xi. 164/1 Dynamite is a high explosive that generates a shock wave of 14,000 to 16,000 fps.

high farming n. now historical a form of land cultivation making extensive use of soil improvement.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > types of farming

high culture1771

scientific farming1789

metaying1792

high farming1815

petite culture1848

sharefarming1857

urban agriculture1860

bush-farming1866

mixed farming1872

dry farming1878

co-aration1883

co-ploughing1883

smallholding1889

power-farming1913

dry-land farming1914

third(s)-and-fourth(s)1940

link system1950

green revolution1968

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > extensive use of fertilizers

high culture1771

high farming1815

1815 Lit. Panorama Mar. 822 What do you take to be the difference between high farming and the old ordinary course?

1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. I. 215 To apply the high farming of Europe to any American lands.

1894 G. B. Shaw in Fortn. Rev. 61 480 High farming cannot increase the natural rent of an acre.

1966 Listener 1 Sept. 307/2 By 1939 British agriculture..had ceased to rely on the high farming we had developed in our own land.

2003 Econ. Hist. Rev. 56 271 During the ‘age of high farming’ in the 1850s—when mixed farming reached its technical optimum in England—the national distribution of arable farm land closely mirrored the Norfolk four-course.

high fashion n. and adj. (a) n.expensive, fashionable clothes or accessories produced by leading designers; also in extended use; = haute couture at couture n.; (b) adj. designating clothes or accessories of this kind.

ΚΠ

1870 A. Watts in A. A. Watts Life Alaric Watts (1884) II. 333 High fashion is usually low art.

1939 Life 20 Nov. 78 (advt.) Eight other high-fashion Coty shades offer an exciting choice.

1959 News Chron. 10 Aug. 6/5 The high-fashion hats seen in Paris.

1963 Listener 28 Feb. 370/1 The Education Board of the R.I.B.A. now finds its stodgy, nineteenth-century type syllabus at least partly in tune with the high fashion of the day.

1982 Times 15 June 9/1 High fashion skirts are being worn very short (the ra-ra) or very long (the prairie).

2007 Independent 2 June (Save & Spend section) 9/1 Arm candy. These high-fashion bags are from Emmerson.

high-fibre adj. containing a high proportion of dietary fibre.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > high in dietary fibre

high-fibre1908

1908 W. P. Brooks Poultry Keeping for Egg Production 58 In most of these experiments barley and oats have been used freely in the high fibre rations.

1937 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 May 907/1 I have used diets with a high-fibre content such as bran [in cases of constipation].

1973 D. P. Burkitt in Proc. Nutrition Soc. 32 148 Now that a low-fibre diet is known to be the cause of the disease, a high-fibre diet is becoming the standard treatment.

2008 Time Out N.Y. 10 Apr. 1/1 My friends all seem to only eat high-fiber cereal, so I reached out to friends in the Midwest for their Frosted Flakes boxes.

high finance n. financial transactions of a large or complex nature, or the financial institutions which deal with these.

ΘΚΠ

society > trade and finance > financial dealings > [noun] > concerned with large sums

high finance1840

1830 Encycl. Americana III. 581/1 You find, therefore, in Prussia Wirkliche-Geheime-Ober-Finanz-Räthe (real-privy-high-finance-counsellors)!]

1840 Morning Herald (N.Y.) 13 Jan. Mr. Dunlap, the President of the United States Bank, is esteemed a very honorable, clever, good fellow, but a good deal of a blockhead in high finance.

1905 McClure's Mag. 25 48 In other words, we could eat our cake and have it, too—which is one secret of high finance.

1934 L. Mumford in W. Frank Amer. & Alfred Steglitz ii. 50 Advertising, insurance, and high finance, the divine trinity that rules the world of industry.

1936 Discovery Sept. 280/2 It is not big guns nor even high finance that ultimately rules the world.

1998 Independent 21 Jan. (City Plus section) 4/3 I've just attended a seminar given by..a style consultant..on how to look the part if you want to get ahead in the world of high finance and corporate affairs.

high-flash adj. (of an oil or other flammable substance) having a flashpoint at a relatively high temperature (and so unlikely to ignite spontaneously); cf. high-flashpoint adj.; contrasted with low-flash adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > extracted or refined oil > [adjective] > other attributes of oil

supple1548

high-flash1899

slushing1920

1899 Westm. Gaz. 14 Feb. 4/3 A fourth high-flash oil.

1969 Earthquake Engin. Res. (National Acad. Sci. U.S.A.) viii. 287 Indirect metering, using air or high-flash oils, is distinctly preferable to direct metering of high-pressure gas and oils.

2012 S. van Woenzel Oil Traders' Word(s) 279 Products with a flashpoint below 55° Celsius/131° Fahrenheit are called low flash products. Different rules for handling in logistics would apply for this type of oil compared with ‘high flash’ oil.

high-flashpoint adj. = high-flash adj.

ΚΠ

1897 Engin. Mag. 13 970 Only two makers—namely, Roots & Venables, of London, and Petter & Boll, of Yeovil—have so far attempted with any success to use motors worked with kerosene or high-gravity and high-flashpoint oils.

2004 F. Maroukian Chef's Secrets viii. 211 Once you've learned to start with a screaming hot pan and a high-flash-point oil, you'll forgo those peeling nonstick-coated pans.

high-flux adj. having, characterized by, or relating to a high concentration of flux (flux n. 9); contrasted with low-flux adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > [adjective] > of flux: high-density

high-flux1941

the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [adjective] > having many particles per second

high-flux1941

1941 U.S. Patent 2,232,662 1/1 This increase in flux at one of the pole-tips more or less saturates the high-flux tip.

1990 A. F. Chalmers Sci. & its Fabrication v. 78 The lapse of interest in high-flux gravitational waves.

2008 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 Sept. 1 The high flux reactor in Petten, in the Netherlands, was shut down unexpectedly last month.

high forest n. [compare Middle French haute forest (a1400; French haute forêt)] forest consisting of tall trees, esp. ones which have not been coppiced or pollarded; a forest of this kind; cf. highwood n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > planted, cultivated, or valued

high forest1477

planting1535

plantation1669

woodwork1712

wooding1788

the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > wood of tall trees or lacking undergrowth

highwoodc1275

high forest1477

hautboy1677

open wood1790

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 93 For the londe was right fertyle... the trees charged with fruyt. the wodes & hye forestes [Fr. les forests] full of wilde bestes & veneson.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. f. clv^v/1 They shulde mete all with their puyssaunce on the fronters of Gales at a castell in the hyghe forest [Fr. de haultes forestz] called Gedeours.

1677 R. Thoroton Antiq. Notts. 505/2 The second Keeping is the High Forest.

1796 Sc. Reg. 6 154 The little lake, which is an expansion of the river, now appeared in view; on the east side are extensive marshes, and on the other, high forests and orange groves.

1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 398/2 In..Germany..care is always taken that in high forest there is a good stock of self-sown trees before the old crop is entirely removed.

1959 Times 2 June 12/6 Growing conifers as high forest.

2010 J. Obua & J. G. Agea in F. Bongers & T. Tennigkeit Degraded Forests E. Afr. iii. 73 Uganda's forest sector had a worldwide reputation, particularly for research into tropical high forest management.

high franchise n. now historical and somewhat rare the right of voting in parliamentary or other elections, consequent upon paying high rates or owning property of high value.

ΚΠ

1770 Gentleman's & London Mag. July 391/1 To deprive the subject of this high franchise and birthright..is directly contrary to the fundamental laws and freedom of this realm.

1841 Citizen Jan. 3/1 In England, the high franchise of £50 occupying yearly rent-payers..works so slavishly ill for the people,—so servilely well, for the Tory aristocracy.

1886 C. A. Fyffe Hist. Mod. Europe II. ii. 117 It [sc. the electoral law] retained the high franchise fixed by the Charta.

1904 S. Afr. Native Affairs Comm. 1903–5 IV. 681 We must have a high franchise always in South Africa; the circumstances demand it.

1991 P. Bryan Jamaican People 1880–1902 (2000) ii. 14 Those who favoured a high franchise in order to reduce black and coloured participation appear to have outdone themselves in 1884.

high-fructose corn syrup n. a sweetener made from cornflour (maize starch) in which some glucose has been converted to fructose; abbreviated HFCS.High-fructose corn syrup is used in commercially produced food and soft drinks as a cheap alternative to sucrose.

ΚΠ

1974 Los Angeles Times 8 Aug. f19/1 This new natural nutritive sweetener HFCS—high fructose corn syrup—can be substituted for a portion of the sugar-sucrose or medium invert sugar.

1992 J. Shute Life-size ix. 107 I started reading the cereal boxes. Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, wheat, oat flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil..[etc.]

2014 Nat. Health Apr. 16/2 The switch away from sucrose to cheaper corn-derived high-fructose corn syrup, which more readily converts to fat, is clearly partly responsible for the health mess we are now in.

high-fusing adj. having a relatively high fusing temperature; spec. designating a dental ceramic or alloy with a fusing temperature above either 1065°C (the melting point of gold) or c1300°C.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [adjective] > porcelain > types of porcelain

hard1776

Nantgarw1820

reticulated1881

grand feu1888

high-fusing1893

paste bodied1915

1893 R. I. Med. Sci. Monthly 1 140 The bodies I use in this work are numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Wilmington make, but any medium fusing body will answer... I have tried both Parker's and Closes' but both are too high fusing.

1947 R. E. Jager & R. E. Pollard U.S. Patents Powder Metall. (Nat. Bureau Stand.) v. 107 (table) Manufacturing ductile filaments by heating rods of high-fusing metals molded from metal powders, hung vertically until rods elongate to proper length.

2010 J. A. von Fraunhofer Dental Materials at Glance xix. 39/2 High-fusing porcelains are primarily used for jacket crowns or denture teeth, consisting of previously unfired feldspar, kaolin and quartz.

† high game n. (chiefly with capital initials) Obsolete (with the) a form of cheating at cards.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card-sharping or cheating > [noun] > methods of

palm1664

high game1665

palming1671

slick1674

brief1680

gammoning1700

shoulder-dash1711

bridge1773

weaving1803

bridging1843

palmistry1859

slipping1864

stocking1887

big mitt1903

1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. lvi. 375 At last my friend played the High Game, as the term of Art renders it; that is, he gave me two Trays and an Ace, and reserved for himself two Trays and a Duce.

1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xvi. 135 One most egregious piece of Roguery..playing the High-game at Putt.

1708 Brit. Apollo: Supernumerary Paper July When by engrossing a Commodity, I keep it at an Extravagant Price, 'tis somewhat like the High Game at Putt, You are at last bound to have this or none, and at my Price too, or I shall get your Customer.

1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. ii. 249 To the games already mentioned we may add the following; put, and the high game; plain dealing, wit and reason, costly colours, [etc.].

high gear n. a gear in which the ratio between the speed of rotation of the driving mechanism of a vehicle and that of the driven wheels is large, so that an engine, cyclist, etc., has to produce fewer revolutions for the same distance travelled and the overall speed of the vehicle is high; also figurative and in figurative contexts; cf. low gear n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > specific gear

bottom gear?1865

high gear1889

low gear1895

fourth1900

second gear1902

first gear1907

second1907

first1909

second speed1912

high1914

low1914

1889 Bow Bells 26 July 83/2 The chain wheel..rotates freely upon the axle, except when on high gear, when it rotates with the axle.

1916 Triad 10 Jan. 43 To rush blindly into the high gear would be fatal... A man must keep his head.

1945 Fortune Mar. 84/1 (advt.) Their profits clicked into high gear. And the national economy hitchhiked right along with them.

1975 Audubon Mar. 17/1 The huge factories between Baton Rouge and New Orleans had begun to crank up into high gear and were ready to vomit their wastes into the air.

2011 C. Jordan Travelling Triathlete 76 Apparently I spin too much in a high gear when I cycle which will not develop my power.

high-geared adj. having gearing in which the ratio between the driving mechanism and the driven wheel is large; (in extended use) fast-moving, active.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > brisk or active

sprindeOE

whata1000

braga1350

prestc1390

yarea1400

stirringc1400

startingc1440

actious1441

actuala1470

activea1522

queemc1540

skeetc1540

lively1567

alive-like1582

pragmatical1590

spruce1590

agilious1599

brisk1599

sprightly?c1599

brisky1600

alives-like1601

alacrious1602

smart1602

eyebright1603

whisking1611

deedy1615

vibrant1616

sprunt1631

perking1653

alert1654

exilient1654

alacrative1657

eveillé1676

budge1691

jaunty1705

spry1746

sprack1747

alive1748

high-geared1795

rash1805

spicy1828

live1830

deedful1834

yary1855

sprucy1858

alacritous1859

sprackish1882

brash1884

up-and-coming1889

up and doing1901

loose1907

bright-eyed and bushy-tailed1936

buzzy1978

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [adjective] > having high gears

high-geared1795

1795 O. Evans Young Mill-wright & Miller's Guide i. xii. 113 This shews her to be too high geared.

1884 County Gentleman 17 May 634/3 The low, steady stroke by which a rider propels a high-geared machine.

1899 Daily News 13 Feb. 5/3 Our high-geared population.

1906 A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined v. 169 Gater's high-geared bicycle.

1924 H. Crane Let. 12 Jan. (1965) 169 Working at high speed as one does in such high geared agencies.

1992 Car Feb. 55/3 The S800's delights include rat-and-pigeon steering so light and high-geared that changing direction requires little more than a flexing of fingertips.

2009 USA Today (Nexis) 23 Feb. 3 a A high-geared Mardi Gras also translates into vital tourism revenue for the city.

high-gloss adj. (of paint, varnish, etc.) having a hard shiny surface when dry; (of a surface or finish) very glossy, highly polished; also figurative.

ΚΠ

1884 Goshen (Indiana) Daily News 29 Mar. 4/5 Paints..in all shades of color, for household use... Furniture varnish—high gloss.

1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 74/1 A high gloss interior paint.

1938 Amer. Home Oct. 56/3 The main bath has high-gloss black walls, simulating black glass.

1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final xlii. 432 He had most recently produced the high-gloss mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies.

2004 Budget Decorating Ideas 14 47 Use semi- or high-gloss paint in a bright shade like parrot-green..or daffodil-yellow.

high-go n. colloquial (now chiefly in historical contexts) a festive celebration, esp. of a boisterous or rowdy nature; a drinking bout, a spree.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > [noun] > noisy or riotous

revela1375

riotc1440

revel-rout1587

wassail1603

randan1640

rant1650

high-go1774

splore?a1786

gilravagea1796

spree1804

lark1811

spray1813

shindy1821

randy1825

randy-dandy1835

batter1839

flare-up1844

barney1850

jamboree1868

tear1869

whoop-up1876

beano1888

razzle1892

razzle-dazzle1893

bash1901

1774 S. E. Mulliken Jrnl. 21 Mar. in Harvard Graduate's Mag. (1902) June 534 We have a high go at my Chamber in ye evening likewise there is al around the College.

1786 J. Q. Adams Diary 15 Mar. (1981) II. 2 The Sophimore Class had what is called in College, an high-go. They assembled all together in the Chamber, of one of the Class; where some of them got drunk, then sallied out and broke a number of windows.

1822 C. Dibdin Life in London (2nd) (frontispiece) Replete with High Goes, Prime Chaunts, and Out-and-out Sprees.

1826 New Monthly Mag. 16 355 Our volatile high-go's were troublesome enough to every body.

1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxvii. 306 The last night they..were getting into a high-go, when the captain called us off.

1912 M. R. Bangs High Bradford 36 Now, Cap'n, now for a high-go... Let's see you pat Juba. Come, come, hit it up, Beriah, hit it up.

2002 B. Mai Kate of Kentucky 297 ‘But, she didn't marry him!’ ‘Right you are, but that didn't stop the rest o' us from havin' a high-go at it.’

high grinding n. now chiefly historical the grinding of flour with the upper millstone initially slightly raised, allowing subsequent separation of flour and bran; = high milling n.; frequently attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > [noun]

milling1466

millering1761

mealinga1810

flouring1855

farination1859

high grinding1869

gristing1883

corn-grinding1905

1869 Cultivator & Country Gentleman 1 Apr. 251/3 The proportion of adhering flour is much less than in bran from high-grinding.

1994 N. L. Kent & A. D. Evers Technol. Cereals (ed. 4) 140/2 Hard wheat, from the Danube basin, was ideally suited to the high-grinding system.

2005 K. T. H. Farrer To Feed Nation viii. 77 High grinding permitted better separation of bran and germ, but in addition to flour produced middlings (or sharps) which had to be ground further.

high-growth adj. Business (of a company, stock, etc.) that is increasing greatly in size or value.

ΚΠ

1958 SRI Jrnl. 2 20/1 It appears that high-growth companies are most heavily concentrated in the high-growth industries.

1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Business & Finance section) c1 After the possible tax changes..that $1 on the high-growth stock would be worth only $2.05.., considerably less than the high-yieldings, no-growth stock.

1989 J. C. Campbell in T. Ishida & E. S. Krauss Democracy in Japan vi. 126 The high-growth economy became a moderate-growth economy.

2008 S. A. Shane Fool's Gold? (2009) viii. 153 It's just not possible for angels to back a large number of high-growth start-ups every year.

high heid yin n. [ < high adj. + heid, variant of head n.¹ + yin, variant of one pron.] colloquial (chiefly Scottish) a person of high rank, position, or importance; a grandee, a bigwig; (in plural) the powers that be, the top brass.

ΚΠ

1918 Caledonian Apr. 28/1 Spud had had such a pleasant outing that he replied—My dear Wifie, The motor was A1. It made me feel a high heid yin.

1942 Manch. Guardian 6 Feb. 4/7 A cousin o' the wife's has gotten on awfu' weel and he's a high heid yin in Edinburgh University.

1972 B. Bryden Willie Rough 46 Christ, if any o the high heid-yins saw me even talkin tae you two, I'd get the fuckin bag!

1995 J. Barclay Paras over the Barras (2002) v. 78 Well, the generals and a'them high heid yins jumped intae a motor boat and dashed across the river.

2014 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 6 June 29 He was propping up his red-blooded credentials as High Heid Yin of the Ulster people.

high holiday n. (in sense (b) usually with capital initials) (a) an important festival, esp. a religious one; cf. high day n.¹ 1; (b) spec. (in plural) the Jewish festivals of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, sometimes also including the intervening days.Allocation of early examples to this lemma or to high holy day n. is problematic. See note at holiday n.

ΚΠ

a1425 N. Homily Legendary (Harl. suppl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 145 (MED) Yf it be right þat we for pray..on þis high haly-day.

1539 J. Hilsey Man. Prayers sig. EE.i^v To syng or saye theyr accustomed seruyce for those holydayes in theyr Churches, so that they do not the same solemply nor do rynge to the same after the maner vsed in hygh holydayes.

1572 E. Dering Briefe & Necessary Instr. To Rdr. sig. A.ij^v The most dronken imaginations, with which they so defiled their Festiual and high holydaies.

1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxv. 556 A high holliday this was, solemnised with all kind of ceremonies that could be devised.

1636 W. Sampson Virtus post Funera Vivit 48 Where are the Muses? are they all asleepe? Do they their fathers high holiday keepe?

1764 London Mag. Jan. 27/2 This extraordinary measure of procrastinating that high holiday [sc. Shrove Tuesday] till March the 4th.

1797 R. Heron New Gen. Hist. Scotl. III. v. i. 396 Cast himself at the monarch's feet on a high holiday, before the altar in the chapel of the abbey of the Holy-Rood.

1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd II. v. viii. 183 An ivory-headed Indian cane, which he only displayed at pace and yule, and other high holidays.

1890 Methodist Rev. July 617 Jewish pupils..had, according to their religion, the perfect right to remain away from them [sc. their studies] during their high holidays.

1893 W. Pilling tr. B. Mitre Emancipation S. Amer. xii. 130 On the 17th January, 1817, there was high holiday in the city of Mendoza. The streets and plaza were decorated with flags and streamers.

1927 S. Dingol in H. P. Fairchild Immigrant Backgrounds ix. 132 They rush to the synagogues on the high holidays and fill them to capacity.

1973 Synagogue Light Sept. 42/2 The festival prayer book, the Machzor, is used during the High Holidays because many additional prayers not recited throughout the year are read on these days.

2008 C. Delors Mistress of Revol. vii. 38 He was dressed rather for hunting than for a high holiday, in a plain suit of green cloth and leather boots that came up to his thighs.

high holy day n. (in sense (b) frequently with capital initials) (a) an important religious festival; (b) spec. (in plural) = high holiday n. (b).Allocation of early examples to this lemma or to high holiday n. is problematic. See note at holiday n.

ΚΠ

1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccccxxxij^v/2 On the solempne and hygh holy dayes with grete preparacion he receyued the body of our lord.

1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. ii. 226 Who euer tolde you, either of any office, that your Subdeacons had in the Holy Ministerie, or of any greate highe Holy Daies, of Duplex, or magis Duplex, or principal Solemne Feastes in the Churche of God in al that time?

1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 225 My great chaine, which I kept in store for high Holy-dayes, and great Feasts.

1681 E. Sherman 2nd Pt. Birth & Burning Image St. Michael 9 The Ministers don't say second Service at Communion-Table, nor don't say any part of the Communion Service at Communion-Table, at any time but only on Communion-dayes, or some perhaps upon High Holy-dayes.

1739 W. Stephens Jrnl. 11 June in Jrnl. Proc. Georgia (1742) II. 39 Whit-Monday. High Holy-Day among most of our common People in Town; but such as were concerned in planting, could spare no Time from close Attendance in dressing their Land.

1835 Hebrew Rev. 20 Feb. 335/2 The daily service was continued without interruption, even on the Sabbath and high holy days; on which occasions, however, additional offerings and ceremonies took place.

1879 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 403/1 All his pride lies in some little gift or talent which he fancies he possesses, and can use only on high holy-days.

1905 J. H. Greenstone in C. S. Bernheimer Russ. Jews in U.S. v. 162 With the approach of the high holy days, a season when every Jew feels the need of a synagogue, a reader was engaged and seats sold to members or non-members.

1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 10 The Procurator held the vestments of the high priest and, under Roman dicta, unlocked them on the morning before high holy days.

2006 N. Alderman Disobedience i. 1 The Rav had brought them through the High Holy Days, had remained standing during the two-hour service at the end of the Yom Kippur fast.

high hook n. Angling colloquial (chiefly as a title) the person who hooks the most or the largest fish; cf. high line n. 1.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > angler > with good catch

high hooka1813

high line1856

high liner1868

a1813 A. Wilson & C. L. Bonaparte in Constable's Misc. (1831) 68 47 They are sometimes seen high in the air..with part of a fish in one claw, which they seem proud of, and to claim high hook, as the fishermen call him who takes the greatest number.

1894 Outing 24 259/2 F. was high hook with a five and a half pounder.

1986 P. Matthiessen Men's Lives (1988) ii. vi. 68 Bill..had the best equipment and a veteran crew that was usually ‘high hook’.

2002 N. Karas Brook Trout (new ed.) iv. 335 Aris's fantastic ability to make long casts from shore made him high hook.

high-horsed adj. on the high horse; arrogant; see horse n. 24b.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > arrogance > [adjective]

wlonkOE

moodyOE

rankOE

surquidous1377

insolentc1386

wantona1393

arrogantc1405

angardc1425

surquidrousc1430

stately1448

imperiala1456

superbious1509

succudrous1513

surquidant1528

ruffling1543

controlling1564

lustya1568

cocking1568

superbous1581

bog1592

swaggering1596

superarrogant1598

arrogating1601

pyrgopolinizing1605

high-handed1606

outbearing1607

high-horsed1613

dictatory1639

bardish1641

self-assuming1647

superbient1647

huffy1680

dictatorial1692

huffish1755

cobby1785

high-riding1831

braggadocious1853

snouty1858

you-be-damned1887

1613 T. Milles tr. P. Mexia et al. Treasurie Auncient & Moderne Times 714/1 Willing to be dismounted from their high horsed frenzies.

1882 Chums: Tale of Queen's Navy II. iii. 68 Nodding to Armstrong, who was left alone to entertain the now rather high-horsed old lady, he hurried off.

1900 Westm. Gaz. 6 Feb. 3/2 To..ride off high-horsed on the theory that the battle had to be fought.

1928 Observer 22 Jan. 14/5 The high-horsed fanatics of universal Communism.

1994 Sunday Times (Nexis) 3 Apr. Only while he is anathematising deconstruction does Scruton display all the high-horsed fury which makes him unmistakably identical with the Scourge of the Left.

high-humidity adj. characterized by or utilizing high relative humidity.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [adjective] > seasoning or preserving

high-humidity1921

1921 Pop. Mech. Sept. 450/2 The lumber is ‘casehardened’, and is drier outside than inside. Use a steaming or high-humidity treatment to moisten and soften the surface.

1972 Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 49 898/2 The shell vials were incubated under diffuse incandescent light in a high humidity room at 22 C.

2005 N. Kornum & M. Bjerre Grocery E-Commerce 232 USDA recommends a high humidity environment (80-95% relative humidity) for most fresh produce.

high hurdle n. and adj. (a) n. (chiefly in plural) a hurdle at its highest setting; (esp. with the) a race involving such hurdles; (b) adj. designating a race involving high hurdles.

ΚΠ

1865 London Rev. 1 Apr. 344/2 When it comes to taking ten flights of high hurdles on a soil something like a field prepared for turnips, after a heavy shower, the men run under very evident constraint.

1888 R. M. Hurd Hist. Yale Athletics App. 143 H. Mapes, Columbia, lowered the records in both hurdle races, doing the high hurdles in 16⁴/ ₅ sec. and the low hurdles in 26²/ ₅sec.

1890 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Daily Tribune 22 Mar. 4/2 Taking the hurdle with the knee first is the way A. A. Jordan, who won the amateur championship at the high hurdle race for four years, used so successfully.

1895 Outing 26 455/1 Oxford won all the runs, the high hurdle, and tied in the high jump with Yale, losing only the weights and broad jump.

1935 Times 23 Mar. 6/1 On last year's form A. G. Pillbrow should win the High Hurdles, but recently he has been over-exercised.

1993 Chicago Tribune 19 June ii. 6/4 Illinois' most dominant track athlete will attempt a trifecta of the long jump, triple jump and 110-meter high hurdles.

2005 Afr. News (Nexis) 12 Feb. The race became a high hurdle marathon and we could no longer hold the centre to the very end.

high hurdler n. a participant or competitor in the high hurdles.

ΚΠ

1890 N.Y. Times 5 Nov. 3/1 Williams, the Yale hurdler, who holds the amateur record for the high hurdlers at 120 yards, made many runs.

1930 Times 1 Dec. 7/3 There are two critical tests of a high hurdler—the straightness of his leg and the nearness of his landing to the hurdle—and Tisdall would have satisfied the most fastidious observer.

2011 P. Collins Among Fans ix. 132 In all of sport, few things are more graceful than the sight of the great high hurdlers—a ‘Skeets’ Nehemiah, a Colin Jackson—flowing across the barriers at a sprinter's speed.

high-income adj. (a) (of an investment) offering large dividends or a high rate of interest; (b) denoting a person who or group which earns or brings in a large income; of or relating to such a person or group.

ΚΠ

1909 Atlanta Const. 5 May 15/7 The extra security enjoyed by this class of shares and the high income return yielded by them in comparison with other investment securities.

1937 Amer. Speech 12 315/2 His store..makes little attempt to attract a high-income clientele.

1980 R. G. Ridker & W. D. Watson To choose Future ix. 385 Compared to most other high-income countries, the United States is still a land- and water-rich nation.

2013 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 22 Apr. 18 They have lost low-income customers..and gained high-income clients who on average have almost three products.

high key n. and adj. Art and Photography (a) n. the prevalence of light colours and tones, typically with little contrast, in a painting, photograph, etc.; an instance of or mood marked by this; frequently attributive; contrasted with low key n. 1; (b) adj. light or bright in tone.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > photograph by style or subject

high key1849

carte1861

carte-de-visite1861

wedding group1861

vignette1862

studio portrait1869

press photograph1873

cameo-type1874

war picture1883

mug1887

panel1888

snapshot1890

fuzz-type1893

stickyback1903

action photograph1904

action picture1904

scenic1913

still1916

passport photo1919

mosaic1920

press photo1923

oblique1925

action shot1927

passport photograph1927

profile shot1928

smudgea1931

glossy1931

photomontage1931

photomural1931

head shot1936

pin-up1943

mug shot1950

wedding photograph1956

wedding photo1966

full-frontal1970

photofit1970

split beaver1972

upskirt1994

selfie2002

1849 Bull. Amer. Art-Union 2 28 It is impossible..to produce on canvas the same high key of light which exists in nature.

1902 Brush & Pencil 11 8 You see at once from the predominance of light-toned pigments that I paint in a rather high key.

1991 J. Richardson Life of Picasso I. x. 153 They recall the high key of El Greco's mannerist palette.

2006 N. Morris in C. Jones & G. Jolliffe Guerilla Film Makers Handbk. (new ed.) vi. 277 On one side you have a high key, sexy shot that you cannot match in the reverse for various logistic reasons.

high-kilted adj. chiefly Scottish (of a woman) wearing one's skirt tucked up; (figurative) indecorous, immodest.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing clothes tucked up

kilted1724

high-kilteda1792

tucked up1845

a1792 in R. H. Cromek Reliques R. Burns (1808) 200 High kilted was she, the coat aboon her knee.

1809 W. Scott in Q. Rev. 1 22 In one or two passages the muse may have slightly trespassed upon decorum, where in the language of Scottish song, ‘High kilted was she, As she gaed ou're the lea’.

1810 A. Cunningham et al. Remains Nithsdale & Galloway Song 13 She is a gude, sonsie, sweet an' kindlie quean; and tho' she may gang a wee thing ‘high kilted’ at times, she's gawcie an' modest for a' that.

1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. v. 87 Who..had been carried home, in compassion, by some high-kilted fish-wife.

1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg ii, in New Monthly Mag. 60 257 To dazzle the world with the precious limb,—Nay, to go a little high-kilted.

1914 N. Munro New Road xiv The river where some girls, high-kilted to the thighs, were posting blankets.

2012 E. Stewart Up Yon Wide & Lonely Glen 318 (notes) It also has a distinctly ‘high kilted’ flavour as shown in the first verse.

high king n. †(a) a great king, a supreme king (obsolete); (b) a king to whom other rulers owe allegiance.

ΚΠ

OE Beowulf (2008) 1039 Þæt wæs hildesetl heahcyninges.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1022 Hit iwerð seodðen [emended in ed. to seoððen] þat aræs of Brutus kunne þat was an heh king.

1542 Dyalogue Defensyue for Women sig. D.iv Of .v. Cyties the people perysshed, great and small In punysshement of that synne, by the hyghe kynge & lorde Pharao of Egypt.

a1761 W. Harris Hist. Dublin (1766) ix. 158 The Irish language distinguisheth the office of king by two words, namely, airdrigh, or the high king; i. e. the supreme monarch; and righ-beag, i. e. the little or petty-king; in latin regulus, who was a provincial or inferior king.

1890 J. Healy Insula Sanctorum 559 It was to this lonely but sweet retreat that Ireland's last High-king retired to die.

1956 J. Needham Sci. & Civilisation in China II. xviii. 580 Some think..that Shang-Ti was a transcendentalisation of the function of the Emperor or bronze-age High King.

2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Aug. 3/2 A number of heavy chains made of pairs of solid silver links are perhaps best seen as regalia for the many regional sub-kings who owed allegiance to the high king.

high law n. cant (now historical) highway robbery.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > highway robbery

high lawc1555

highway robbery1611

padding1649

pad1652

snaffling-lay1752

scamp1786

c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay sig. B.v Sackynge Lawe signifieth horedome, Hyghe law, robbery, Figginge law, picke purse crafte.

c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay 18 Other terms, as sacking law, high law, figgin law, and such like.

1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage f. 7 There be also other Lawes, as High Law, Sacking Law, Figging Law, Cheting Law.

1620 in J. S. Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 14 If a Bung be got by the hie Law, Then straight I doe attend them.

1913 F. Aydelotte Elizabethan Rogues & Vagabonds iv. 98 High Law, or highway robbery..was a kind of thieving which seems to have been considered fit for a gentleman.

high lawyer n. cant (now historical) a highwayman, esp. one on horseback.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman

routerc1300

malandryna1438

stradarolle1562

highpad1567

highway robber1577

way-beatera1586

lance-man1589

high lawyer1591

St. Nicholas' clerk1598

outrider1599

bidstand1600

land-pirate1608

highwayman1617

pad1652

knight of the road1665

rum-padder1665

paddist1671

rum pad1688

pad-thief1690

gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700

snaffler1728

gentleman1778

scamp1782

scampsman1799

bandolero1832

ladrone1832

Spring-heeled Jack1838

road agent1840

agent1876

1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage f. 9 High Lawyers, Versers, Nips, Conny-catchers.

1610 S. Rid Martin Mark-all 50 Such as robbe on horse-backe were called high lawyers.

a1640 J. Day & H. Chettle Blind-beggar (1659) sig. C2^v He wo'd be your prigger, your prancer, your high-lawyer.

1919 C. Whibley Lit. Stud. 133 The adventurer who practised this dangerous art was called a High Lawyer, and to succeed he needed nothing less than a bold, stern look, a stout heart, and a good sword.

high lead n. Forestry a high overhead cable used in the transport of logs from a logging site; = high line n. 2; frequently attributive.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > transport of logs

flume1784

log-rollinga1792

drive1835

river-driving1843

river drive1845

sluice-way1851

sacking1860

timber drivea1861

skidding1877

log-running1878

skid road1880

rigging1897

swamping1902

log-drivea1904

high lead1905

high-lining1919

1905 Illustr. Descr. Approved Devices (Lidgerwood Manuf. Co., U.S.) 80 The high lead of the pulling lines on the snaking and loading machine enables the snaking crew to pile up a great number of logs when the loading crew is delayed for want of cars.

1925 A. Philip Crimson West 144 He yawned sleepily. ‘Got to fix a “spar-tree” for a “high-lead” to-morrow, so I better hit the hay.’

1951 W. F. Heald Scenic Guide Oregon 17 Modern ‘high lead’ and ‘skidder’ logging whisks tree sections.

1991 J. D. Matthews Silvicultural Syst. vi. 83 Where the high lead system of skidding is used, most of the defective and otherwise unmerchantable trees are also felled to clear the patch.

2007 Continental Modeller Aug. 501 (caption) This scratchbuilt donkey engine hauls the high lead and also powers the heel boom for loading the logs onto skeleton cars.

high-lift adj. that lifts or raises something to a greater height than is usual; spec. (of aircraft wings) producing more lift (lift n.² 5e(a)) than is usual.

ΘΚΠ

the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > [adjective] > lifting > lifting high

high-lift1836

1836 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 10 Dec. 778/3 Mr. Douglas..may now safely challenge any skeptic in the plan of high dams and high lift locks, to prove that they are..less durable than those of the ordinary height and lift of 8 feet.

1921 Discovery Apr. 96/2 High-lift wings are, of course, those that give the highest lift-drift ratio.

1958 Times Rev. Industry June 20/1 A new, high-lift boom machine.

2006 Canberra Times (Nexis) 24 Feb. a20 High-lift jacks have been around for years.

high-lived adj. now rare of or relating to the high life; frequenting high society; (also, esp. of a horse) lively, frisky (cf. high-lifed adj. 2).

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [adjective]

townishc1450

of mode1676

fashionable1712

smart1719

high-lifed1733

social1741

high-lived1757

West Endish1855

Fifth Avenue1858

mundane1904

societified1912

Park Avenue1923

1757 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1877) III. 1180 Several emaciated high liv'd Epicures.

1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 30 All pretensions to high life or high-lived company.

1865 Christian Observer Nov. 840 It must not be forgotten that there are two kinds of worldliness—a high-lived worldliness—the worldliness of ambition, and pomp, and grandeur; and a low-lived worldliness.

1909 C. D. Marsh Loco-weed Dis. 11 The first symptom of loco poisoning is often a change in the general condition of the animal. If high-lived the animal becomes somewhat dull.

1920 F. C. Hooker Long Dim Trail xxxii. 283 A dandy horse, alright, but too high-lived for Cavalry work.

high-liver n. (a) a person who lives the high life; (b) a person who professes a higher spiritual life than the ordinary (rare).

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > sensuous pleasure > luxury or luxurious living > [noun] > one who lives luxuriously

delicatea1382

high-liver1715

feather-bedder1952

sweet-lifer1967

society > faith > aspects of faith > piety > sanctimoniousness > [noun] > person

Pharisee1539

card gospeller1550

lip-gospeller?1556

saint1563

table-gospeller1570

separatist1620

Christera1650

canter1652

high-liver1715

cant1725

pietist1767

devil dodger1791

goody1816

creeping Jesusc1818

Mawworm1825

goody-two-shoes1843

Pecksniff1844

goody-goody1872

goody-good1879

lip-Christian1882

plaster saint1890

holy Willie1916

1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 86 The unclean Devil haunts the Families of the rich, the gallant, and the high Livers.

1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 59 Small imperceptible irritations of the minutest fibres or filaments, caused by the pungent salts of wines and sauces, do so shake and disturb the microcosms of high livers, as often to raise tempests in courts and senates.

1881 J. W. Buel Border Outlaws 166 All the band were known to be high livers during their periods of plenty.

1888 Forum (U.S.) Aug. 692 Among these high-livers and faith-curers.

1926 People's Home Jrnl. Feb. 30/4 (advt.) Give your digestive system a chance, and it will function with almost any kind of food—even doughnuts; baked beans... Hearty eaters—hard smokers—high livers—use Stuart's.

2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 30 Apr. a6/2 He attacked ‘the cynicism of the gauche caviars’, the high-livers on the left.

† High Mail n. [ < high adj. + mail n.⁵] Obsolete = High Mall n.; cf. the Mail at mail n.⁵

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > [noun] > a period of > specific

nooning1552

after-dinner1576

wheta1628

High Mail1676

High Mall1712

Sabbath-day1734

Blue Monday1790

noonscape1819

noon-spell1839

children's hour1853

smoke-ho1874

welting1964

1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. iii. 48 'Tis now but high Mail Madam, the most entertaining Time of all the Evening.

High Mall n. now historical the time of day when the throng of promenaders in the Mall in London (mall n.¹ 2) is at its height; also in extended use.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > [noun] > a period of > specific

nooning1552

after-dinner1576

wheta1628

High Mail1676

High Mall1712

Sabbath-day1734

Blue Monday1790

noonscape1819

noon-spell1839

children's hour1853

smoke-ho1874

welting1964

society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > [noun] > day or season of > at specific time of day

High Mall1712

1712 Spectator No. 437. ⁋4 Were you to see Gatty walk the Park at high Mall.

1792 R. Bage Man as he Is II. xlvi. 174 There is no thinking well in the streets of Westminster; but the park, when it is not high mall, affords tolerable opportunity.

a1845 R. H. Barham Wedding-day in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 3rd Ser. iii. i. 33 I have seen him walking at high Mall.

1889 C. Teesdale in Duke of Beaufort et al. Driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xviii. 342 At High Mall on the Newski there are always certain equipages to be seen that attract the greatest amount of admiration and criticism.

1991 J. Garreau Edge City i. 4 Back then, its denizens even had a name for the hour when the throng of promenaders ‘giggling with their sparks’ was at its height. They called it High Mall.

2004 Eng. Lit. Hist. 71 127 The Frenchified Sir Fopling, who, with his train of Gallic-sounding servants, attracts everyone's attention in the social theater of High Mall.

high mallow n. †(a) marsh mallow ( Althaea officinalis) or hollyhock ( Alcea or Althaea species) (obsolete rare); (b) U.S. common mallow, Malva sylvestris.

ΚΠ

1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xlv. sig. k.ii^v/1 Take y^e erbe of Uyolette, herbam Mercurialis,..malowe or pappyl, hye Malowe [L. Bismalue], Beta romana, of eche halfe an handefull.

1526 Grete Herball sig. ✠.ii^v/2 Altea, hye malowe.

1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. I. 112 Malva sylvestris, Linn. High Mallow.

1904 N. Blanchan Nature's Garden 114 The Common High Mallow, Cheeseflower, or Round Dock.

2010 J. Kallas Edible Wild Plants vii. 103 Most research in this genus has been done on Malva sylvestris (high mallow).

High Mass n. chiefly Roman Catholic Church (also with lower-case initials) a mass which is celebrated with full ceremonial and is sung rather than spoken (opposed to Low Mass n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3); esp. a Latin mass of the Tridentine Rite celebrated with the assistance of a deacon and subdeacon. [Compare Old Frisian hāchmisse, Middle Dutch homisse, hoochmisse (Dutch hoogmis), Middle Low German hōchmisse, hōmisse, Middle High German hōhe messe, hōchmesse (German hohe Messe, †Hochmesse), Old Icelandic hámessa, Old Swedish höghmässa (Swedish högmässa), Old Danish høgmesse (Danish højmesse), also post-classical Latin alta missa (frequently from c1100 in British sources), Anglo-Norman and Old French haute messe (late 12th cent.; Middle French, French haute messe).]

ΘΚΠ

society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > mass > kinds of mass > [noun] > high

High MassOE

great massa1492

solemn mass1626

OE tr. Theodulf of Orleans Capitula (Corpus Cambr.) xlv. 403 Ðonne bebeode we þæt nænig mon nanes metes onbite, ærþon þe seo þenung gefylled sy þære heahmæssan [L. ante puplicum peractum officium].

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1125 He sang ðone hehmesse on Eastrendæi æt Cristes wefod.

c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) l. 77 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 202 For him heo songun þe heiȝe-masse.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 373 Þan he wolde synge þe hiȝe masse [L. majorem missam].

c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 650 Whan þ^t the heighe masse was ydoon.

1490 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 46 At hie mestim.

1529 T. More Dyalogue i, in Wks. 127 Vpon y^e sondaye at high masse time.

1677 London Gaz. No. 1247/1 Having passed his Noviceship, he celebrated High Mass on Friday last.

1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed v. 93 In the high or solemn Mass the Gospel is sung by the Deacon.

1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 279 Bearing branches of yew in their hands, as the readiest substitute for palm boughs, they marched..to hear High Mass.

1869 L. M. Alcott Little Women II. xviii. 266 Laurie..went out to hear High Mass at Saint Stefan's.

1904 C. Wordsworth & H. Littlehales Old Service-bks. Eng. Church 21 The church was rarely used on Sundays more than three times, i.e. for Mattins at 6 or 7, for High Mass then at 9, and for Evensong at 2 p.m.

1993 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Misreadings 136 Three hundred scalzed Carmelites are simultaneously saying solemn High Masses for the success of the voyage.

High Mightiness n. [after Dutch hoogmogendheid (see hogen mogen n. and adj.)] now historical (with possessive adjective) a title of respect given chiefly to members of the States General of the Netherlands; frequently in plural; also ironic; cf. high and mightiness n.

ΚΠ

1621 tr. P. Peck Proposition in Congregation of Gen. States sig. A3 Assuring your High Mightinesses likewise of the like good and sincere intention of the Catholike Maiestie.

1702 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical (ed. 2) iv. 52 Now for that Majestical Man and Woman there, stand off, there is no coming within a Hundred Yards of their High Mightinesses, they have revolted like the Dutch.

1707 London Gaz. No. 4389/2 Monsieur Lintelo, Envoy Extraordinary of the States General, delivered the King a Letter from their High Mightinesses.

1792 M. Cutler Let. 5 Mar. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 486 However important their High Mightinesses of Congress may appear abroad, they appear here..as small as other people.

1825 R. P. Ward Tremaine II. vii. 68 To lay my whip across his high mightyness's shoulders.

1883 W. Black Shandon Bells xxx Being particular about good dinners..is beneath their high mightinesses' notice.

1987 R. Mettam in I. Scouloudi Huguenots in Brit. xii. 205 The French monarch..found it difficult to fathom the behaviour of the self-styled ‘hogen-mogen’ men, Their High Mightinesses the Staten-generaal.

2010 New Yorker 27 Sept. 82/3 Adams had wanted to call him His Most Benign Highness, and Washington was fond of His High Mightiness.

high milling n. now chiefly historical a technique of milling in which the grain undergoes repeated cycles of crushing and sorting, with a gradual reduction in the space between the millstones, ultimately yielding a fine white flour.

ΚΠ

1875 E. N. Horsford Rep. Vienna Bread 76 The Hungarian flour produced by high milling is, in the points of purity, whiteness, yield and keeping qualities, not equaled by that of any other country.

1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 458/1 In high milling the velocity is low; the grinding surfaces at first remote.

1958 T. N. Morris in C. Singer et al. Hist. Technol. V. 30 On the continent of Europe..the problem of brittleness was overcome by ‘high milling’, in which the stones are at first set far enough apart merely to break or ‘end’ the wheat and are brought closer together in stages.

high-necked adj. having a high neck; (of an item of clothing) high in the neck.

ΚΠ

1539 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 33 Ane gowne of crammasy satyne heich nekkit.

1657 E. Porter Trin-unus-deus x. 143 Not an high neckt Swan, nor a proud Peacock.

1844 N. P. Willis Lady Jane i. 539 High-neck'd gowns.

1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad II. xvii. 185 To lead away the high-necked steeds.

1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown xii. 159 Today flannel underwear is almost as obsolete as the long black equestrian tights, high-necked, long-sleeved nightgowns for women.

1941 J. D. D. Bacon World in his Heart ii. 20 He met Potiphar, the tall brown horse, and watched Sparrow bandage his hock, and Satty showed him how to stretch out an apple flat on his hand, for the great, high-necked creature.

2011 Daily Tel. 22 Sept. 15/6 Pleated, gold-buttoned trousers, some of them slashed up the sides to reveal bare legs, and worn with bugle beaded boleros and high necked blouses.

high-nosed adj. having a high or long nose; (figurative) having a keen sense of smell; (also) haughty, arrogant.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > [adjective] > having sense of smell > having acute

tender-noseda1425

nosedc1425

high-nosed1548

quick-nosed1561

well-nosed1568

scented1579

well-scented1579

quick-scented1590

nose-wise1596

sagacious1607

scentful1616

nasute1699

nice-scented1777

osmatic1880

nim-nosed1936

1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxvij A goodly Prince, stately of countenaunce, mery of chere, broune coloured, great iyes, high nosed, bigge lipped.

1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. A3 Well favored, but high nosed.

1658 F. Osborne Advice to Son: 2nd Pt. 132 Our high-Nos'd Hypocriticall Zelots, that pretent to smell ranck Idolatry in all professions, but their own.

1762 Amer. Gazetteer III. at Taumaco He was tall, and full-bodied, of a sallow complexion, grey-eyed, high-nosed.

1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Night & Morning II. xii. 61 They were good, excellent, high-nosed, flat-bosomed spinsters, sentimentally fond of their brother.

1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth 38 Harvey announced ‘Mrs. and the Misses Clarke,’ and a thin, very high-nosed person, followed by two buffish girls, came forward.

1957 M. Stewart Thunder on Right v. 60 Though Doña Francisca may have a temper and a high-nosed Spanish way with her..she's a good doctor in sickness.

2004 Guardian (Nexis) 11 Nov. (Features section) 12 The professor maintains that the big-eyed, high-nosed look is not so much a western look as an internationally recognised ideal.

high note n. a successful or positive point in a sequence of events or period of time, esp. in to end (also start) on a high note (and variants); cf. sense A. 17b, to hit a high note at note n.² 7c.

ΚΠ

1894 Spectator 22 Sept. 380/1 The authoress of ‘An Island Garden’..starts on a high note..and becomes quite awe-stricken over the blossoms with which she decorates her ‘shrine’.

1900 M. Beerbohm in Sat. Rev. 14 July 44/2 I gave them [sc. my reasons] merely because they will explain equally why a play ought not to end on a high note, and will thus confuse the anti-anti-climax party.

1940 P. Atwater Probl. of Admin. in Social Work xvi. 284 Even a campaign that fails to reach the goal can close on a high note of appreciation.

1989 R. J. Dinkin Campaigning in Amer. vii. 186 President Kennedy's New Frontier started off on a high note with talk of ‘Camelot’ and truly idealistic goals.

2012 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Nov. (Sport section) 11 It's the last tournament of the year, we are all looking forward to going out on a high note.

high-occupancy vehicle n. originally and chiefly North American a motor vehicle carrying more than a specified minimum number of people (typically 2 or 3), which is therefore permitted to use a traffic lane reserved for such vehicles on certain designated roads; abbreviated HOV; frequently attributive, esp. in high-occupancy vehicle lane.

ΚΠ

1969 Traffic Engin. July 27/3 A program of reserving all or a portion of a highway facility for high-occupancy vehicles.

1979 Times 23 Nov. 22/3 In the United States there have been experiments with traffic lanes set aside for what the Americans call ‘high-occupancy vehicles’.

1992 J. R. Dominguez & V. Robin Your Money or your Life vi. 186 Congested cities are putting in high-occupancy vehicle lanes so that carpoolers can zip by the single-occupancy vehicles.

2013 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 21 June a12 Work has begun on an upgrade for U.S. 36 that will incorporate a special fast lane for high-occupancy vehicles.

highpad n. cant (now archaic or historical) †(a) a road, a highway; = pad n.³ 1a; (obsolete rare); (b) a highwayman, esp. one on horseback; = high lawyer n. (opposed to low pad n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3).

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun]

streetOE

wayOE

gatec1175

roda1231

roddin1502

fare1509

highpad1567

pad1567

road1581

chimin1613

ribbon1923

the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman

routerc1300

malandryna1438

stradarolle1562

highpad1567

highway robber1577

way-beatera1586

lance-man1589

high lawyer1591

St. Nicholas' clerk1598

outrider1599

bidstand1600

land-pirate1608

highwayman1617

pad1652

knight of the road1665

rum-padder1665

paddist1671

rum pad1688

pad-thief1690

gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700

snaffler1728

gentleman1778

scamp1782

scampsman1799

bandolero1832

ladrone1832

Spring-heeled Jack1838

road agent1840

agent1876

1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Giiii Nowe byng we a waste to the hygh pad the ruffmanes is by.

1653 Mercurius Democritus No. 77. 604 A Company of High Padds,..having an intention to rob a Kentish Farmer, made a counterfeit Warrant to search for John Lilburn.

1684 True Acct. Behaviour Abraham Bigs 2 He had been..Guilty of all manner of Offences as to Robery, except, that of the High-Pad.

1740 Poor Robin sig. C4^v Sol Radix in Combustion with Mercury and Venus..portends great Danger to your Gallants of the High-pad, that some of them will end their Days by..the running Noose.

1785 Edinb. Mag. Aug. 42/2 The fair dealer is one who keeps the broad road, and robs without disguise. He is otherwise called high pad or highwayman.

c1825 Mod. Flash Dict. High pads, thieves, or footpads, who rob on the highway, on foot, of the same class as scamps or spicers.

1842 P. Egan Capt. Macheath iii. 35 The High-pad quickly cut the farmer's towel in twain.

1949 P. C. Hoffman They also Serve iii. 20 In those days of highpads, footpads, and other spivs.., the tradesman lived above his shop.

2010 M. Nichols Viscount's Unconventional Bride (2011) ii. 45 I fear highpads are the scourge of travellers and one needs to defend oneself.

† high-palmed adj. Obsolete having antlers topped with palms (palm n.² 3).

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [adjective] > having antlers > having flattened stems

palmedc1425

palmingc1425

high-palmed1612

1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion vii. 108 The goodly Heards of high-palm'd Harts.

1617 W. Drummond Forth Feasting sig. B3^v High-palmed Harts amidst our Forrests runne.

1841 G. A. Hansard Bk. Archery 148 They hint that many a ‘high-palmed hart’ returned unscathed to his lair.

high-pass adj. chiefly Electronics designating a filter that passes only those signal components with a frequency higher than some cut-off frequency, and attenuates signal components with a lower frequency.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [adjective] > relating to types of filter

low-pass1917

high-pass1921

all-pass1930

narrow-cut1964

1921 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 40 235 The portion of the line which is used in common is connected with the carrier apparatus through a ‘high-pass’ filter.

1946 Nature 13 July 47/1 A high-pass filter in the circuit..attenuated the low-frequency response of the microphone.

2002 Sound & Vision May 43/1 You can select ‘small’ speaker size for the surround- and center-channel outputs, which imposes a set of high-pass filters on those channels.

high-performance adj. (a) (of an aircraft or motor vehicle) designed to achieve high speeds; of or relating to such a vehicle; (b) (of a manufactured product) designed to perform to a high level or standard; highly resilient; (also) of, relating to, or demanding such performance.

ΚΠ

1919 Aerial Age Weekly 15 Sept. 17/1 The..Strutter was originally designed as a high-performance two-seater fighter, with a 100 h.p. Clerget engine.

1963 Observer 24 Nov. 37/3 What the Italians call the Gran Turismo..is a high-performance car with good luggage space, very comfortable seats for two and..occasional seats.

1966 T. Wisdom High-performance Driving ii. 17 You need more skill for high-performance road-driving than you do for competitive motoring.

1973 Nature 6 Apr. 420/1 Natural rubber is still the preferred polymer for many high performance applications.

2000 Independent 3 May i. 2/2 A fair-sighted government would create the economic circumstances now for what is inevitable: a demand for the manufacture of low-pollution and less high performance vehicles.

2011 N.Y. Mag. 19 Sept. 64/4 If progressive surfing..is your thing, then this is your store: Unsound specializes in high-performance surfboards.

high point n. the point or period at which something is at its best or most highly developed; the peak; the best moment or part of something.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > time of prosperity

highOE

golden age1561

halcyon days1570

gilded age1655

heyday1751

high point1787

millennium1821

palmy days1837

up1843

clover summer1866

flower-time1873

belle époque1910

glory-days1956

the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point

prickOE

heighta1050

full1340

higha1398

pointc1400

roofa1500

top-castle1548

ruff1549

acmea1568

tip1567

noontide1578

high tide1579

superlative1583

summity1588

spring tide1593

meridian1594

period1595

apogee1600

punctilio1601

high-water mark1602

noon1609

zenith1610

auge1611

apex1624

culmination1633

cumble1640

culmen1646

climax1647

topc1650

cumulus1659

summit1661

perigeum1670

highest1688

consummation1698

stretch1741

high point1787

perihelion1804

summary1831

comble1832

heading up1857

climacteric1870

flashpoint1878

tip-end1885

peak1902

noontime1903

Omega point1981

1787 D. O'Bryen View of Treaty of Commerce with France (ed. 2) 49 The woollen manufacture of France arrived not at the high point of its prosperity, until about the year 1760.

1846 Trans. Amer. Agric. Assoc. i. 26 The farm having reached its high point of tillage, by suitable means, is now to be cropped for profit.

1887 W. E. Hatcher Life J. B. Jeter ix. 204 Dr. Jeter called to his assistance another evangelist, who at that time was at the high point of his career.

1958 Times 19 Feb. 10/4 Dikter vid gränsen, published in 1935, marked a high point in his work.

1987 R. P. Jhabvala Three Continents ii. 232 The high point of the trip was our visit to what Lindsay liked to think of as her ancestral village.

2013 Australian (Nexis) 18 Mar. (Features section) 15 Daniel..barely drew breath before launching into the impassioned fourth movement, which proved the high point of the evening.

high pole adj. consisting of or relating to closely spaced forest trees with tall but relatively narrow trunks.

ΚΠ

1882 Indian Forester 8 397 Rate of upward growth, until the high pole stage is reached, somewhat slower than that of the principal species.

1920 T. S. Woolsey Stud. French Forestry v. 81 In the pole stands the suppressed and damaged trees are removed, and in the high pole stands quite heavy thinnings in the top story are begun.

1974 R. A. de Rosayro in Nat. Resources Humid Trop. Asia (UNESCO) 187/1 A preliminary classification based on the physiognomony of the forest and further subdivided by floristic composition distinguishes five main forest types, namely, (a) mixed high forest, (b) pure high forest, (c) high pole forest, (d) low pole forest, (e) stunted forest.

1996 K. MacKinnon et al. Ecol. Kalimantan iii. 123 Mixed swamp forest, high forest and high pole forest.

high polymer n. and adj. (a) n. a polymer consisting of a large number of monomers (and typically having a high molecular weight); (b) adj. that consists of a large number of monomers.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > chemistry > polymer chemistry > polymers > [noun] > types (by structure) > high molecular weight

high polymer1887

1887 J. E. Reynolds Exper. Chem. Junior Students lx. 241 This [sc. C₆H₁₂O₆] is given as the simplest expression for starch; but that body is probably a high polymer of this.

1915 F. J. Moore Outl. Org. Chem. (ed. 2) xviii. 307 The results of analysis correspond to the formula, C₁₀H₁₆, but the true formula must be some large multiple of this, as there is every reason to think that the substance [sc. India rubber] is a high polymer.

1946 Nature 27 July 122/1 The most important new dielectrics are usually of the high-polymer type.

1968 C. T. Greenwood & W. Banks Synthetic High Polymers i. 3 A high polymer is simply a chemical substance which is made up of giant molecules.

2010 J. Gonsalves Econ. Bot. & Ethnobotany v. 224 The raw material of the rayon industry is high-polymer alpha cellulose, prepared in a pure form from wood pulp or cotton linters.

high private n. U.S. Military colloquial (now historical and rare) (a) (with reference to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.) a cadet in the fourth and final year, esp. one who has not attained cadet officer rank; (b) an ordinary private soldier; a private.The meaning in quot. 1833 is uncertain but it may be a figurative use of sense (a).Quot. 1895 purports to represent in ‘substance’ words apparently spoken in 1836 by U.S. frontiersman Davy Crockett (1786–1836), but no contemporary evidence has been found to corroborate this.

ΚΠ

1833 Christian Intelligencer 13 Dec. 202/5 We are not yet Governor, and therefore it is not our duty to call the attention of the Legislature to the subject..but as a ‘high private’ it is our privilege to suggest and recommend, and we do so most seriously and earnestly.

1834 Mil. & Nav. Mag. U.S. Mar. 27 I..felt quite as proud of my being a ‘plebe’, as the third-class-man of his more dignified appellation of ‘Caitif’, the second-class-man of ‘old cadet’; or the first-class-man of ‘high private’.

1845 Crystal Fount & Rechabite Recorder 29 Nov. 185/1 It is truly ridiculous to keep men—the non-commissioned officers and ‘high privates’—standing an hour or so in the muddy streets, so that the ‘ossifers’ may enter some mansion or other to liquor up.

1870 Phrenol. Jrnl. & Packard's Monthly Nov. 363/2 I..enlisted as a high private in the rear rank of a Confederate cavalry regiment.

1895 J. Sutherland in J. S. Ford Origin & Fall Alamo 27 All the honor that I desire is that of defending as a high private, in common with my fellow citizens, the liberties of our common country.

1960 B. Catton in Amer. Heritage Picture Hist. Civil War 418/2 A great many enlisted men in the Northern armies could win officers' commissions in these [Negro] regiments, and a high private who saw a chance to become a lieutenant or a captain was likely to lose a great deal of his antagonism to the notion of Negro soldiers.

1982 J. Jakes North & South viii. 117 Among the first classmen, Orry was the only one not given a rank. He remained, as an old joke put it, a high private, which..showed how little his superiors thought of him.

high-proof adj. †(a) able to withstand severe testing (cf. proof n. 9a) (obsolete); (b) containing a high proportion of alcohol, of high relative strength (cf. proof n. 10a).

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > strong

strongeOE

stalec1300

mainc1400

nappyc1460

starkc1485

nase?1536

huff-cap1599

nippitatum1600

intoxicating1604

inebriating1610

distempering1613–18

inebriative1615

toxing1635

hogen mogen1653

napping1654

humming1675

hard1700

inebriousa1704

ebrietating1711

bead-proof1753

steeve1801

high-proof1810

pithy1812

stiff1813

inebriant1828

reverent1837

a little more north1864

ebriating1872

rorty1950

1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 124 We are high proofe melancholie.

1651 H. Vaughan Olor Iscanus 23 Tears are beauteous in a Victorie, Nor are wee so high-proofe, but griefe will find Through all our guards a way to wound the mind.

?1723 New Hist. Trojan Wars (new ed.) ii. viii. 72 Achilles provided a strong knotty Spear, and high-proof Armour.

1810 T. Mortimer Gen. Dict. Commerce, Trade, & Manuf. at Distillation With thirty gallons of proof spirits, it will yield about twenty gallons of high-proof goods.

1858 L. Feuchtwanger Fermented Liquors ix. 75 For raising low-proof spirits to proof spirits with high proof spirits, multiply the number of gallons by the number of degrees which the high-proof spirits are above proof.

1914 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 62 724/2 A high-proof alcohol has been distilled after the fermentation.

2010 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 20/2 The science of making small-batch, high-proof alcohol has remained largely unchanged for centuries.

high-ranker n. a person, animal, or thing ranked highly in some scale, esp. a person of elevated social status.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] > person of

proudOE

higha1200

estate1399

honourablea1450

statec1449

dignitya1525

high and mighty1576

palasinc1580

titular1605

sublimity1610

dignitary1672

person of condition1673

figure1692

title1817

titulary1824

Hon.1836

high-up1882

high-ranker1899

1899 Amer. Machinist 13 Apr. 304/3 It is from the lower ranks that true knowledge comes, if the high-rankers get it at all.

1958 W. J. H. Sprott Human Groups ix. 147 When he played against a gang high-ranker, he was seldom ‘on form’.

1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 18 High-rankers and C.I.D. wallahs bobbing in and out.

2002 Nature 5 Sept. 61/2 High-rankers are hopeful reproductives. They do little work, and one of them, usually the beta, replaces the gamergate if she dies.

High Renaissance n. (also with lower-case initials) the period in the Italian Renaissance from the end of the 15th cent., which is regarded as the pinnacle of artistic attainment; frequently attributive.

ΚΠ

1866 13th Rep. Sci. & Art Dept. Comm. Council Educ. App. 338 in Parl. Papers XXV. 337 The architecture of the several parts of the institution..is in the purest style of the older Venetian high renaissance.

1874 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 3 409 The Early Renaissance, extending from the Pisan period to the middle of the fifteenth century; the other the High Renaissance, from 1450 to the death of Raphael.

1930 Baedeker's Northern Italy (ed. 15) 622 The fine Palazzo Larderel.., formerly Palazzo Giacomini, in the High Renaissance style, by Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1558–80).

1944 Burlington Mag. Jan. 13/2 He was sufficiently adaptable to learn..some later developments of the High Renaissance.

1956 K. Clark Nude ix. 341 The root of high-renaissance taste.

1962 Listener 18 Oct. 601/1 This happened during the mid-sixteenth century, in the aftermath of the High Renaissance.

2000 A. Shanks in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 343/2 Sensuous, perspectival, full of lavish theatrical effects, high Renaissance painting is art at its boldest.

high-rent adj. (a) (of a property) let at a high rent; (b) (of an area, neighbourhood, etc.) characterized by high rents, expensive to live in; (in extended use) affluent, exclusive.In quot. 1883 with reference to the renting of water privileges.

ΚΠ

1883 F. A. Walker Polit. Econ. iv. ii. 226 Above these, are found low-rent privileges and high-rent privileges, the measure of rent being the degree of productiveness.

1891 G. Gunton Princ. Social Econ. iii. iv. 234 The migratory movement of the laborers..is constantly from low-rent countries to high-rent countries, from the rural districts where the rent is low to the cities where rent is high.

1915 Evening World (N.Y.) 2 Mar. 3/4 They select a high rent apartment, and then the next step is to fill it with magnificent furniture.

1973 Billboard 13 Jan. 20/3 In the high rent districts, where kids get a $15 or $20 allowance, they..may buy LP's that they really don't want or need.

1996 H. Romo Latino High School Graduation (1997) viii. 178 The family moved into a small, high-rent, two-bedroom house in a predominantly Black neighborhood.

2009 D. Sax Save Deli (2010) vii. 103 Both were risky ventures in newly gentrified, high-rent neighborhoods.

high-res adj. [shortened < high-resolution adj.] = high-resolution adj.

ΚΠ

1963 PMI Photo Methods for Industry May 23/2 (table) 70mm Films... Kodak Films... Panatomic-X Ext. fine grain, high res., mod. speed.

1970 Bull. Atomic Scientists Feb. 26/2 (table 3) Television Low-Res..High-Res.

1991 Macworld Sept. 20/2 QMS to introduce high-res printers..that can put out 600 by 600 resolution.

2006 Time Out N.Y. 27 July 95/4 So Matt walks in with a video camera. ‘Very high-res, good for stills,’ he says.

high-resolution adj. (of an image) having a high degree of resolution (resolution n.¹ 6); (also) producing such images.

ΚΠ

1917 Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 29 21 The complex structure of lines under ordinary conditions shown by high-resolution spectrographs.

1946 Nature 19 Oct. 550/2 Using the high-resolution system of the R.C.A. type E.M.U. microscope as a diffraction camera, we have attempted to find some feature of the diffraction by oxides.

1955 Sci. Amer. June 100/3 The great density of information storage that is possible through the use of high-resolution photographic emulsions.

2010 Daily Tel. 4 Nov. 16/8 This advance brings us a step closer to the goal of realistic holographic telepresence with high-resolution, human-size, 3D images.

high-riser n. a type of child's bicycle having small wheels, an elongated saddle, and exaggeratedly raised handlebars; cf. chopper n.¹ 7b.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle

forty-four1821

roadster1875

rear-steerer1882

pneumatic1890

path-racer1896

featherweight1901

free-wheeler1908

fairy cycle1920

superbike1935

sit-up-and-beg1939

bakfiets1956

high-riser1965

all-terrain cycle1970

chopper1971

mountain bike1972

shopper1973

mixte1975

BMX1978

cruiser1978

ojek1983

boda boda1995

e-bike1998

fixie2001

ghost bike2004

1965 Pop. Sci. Aug. 110 Those bizarre-looking bikes with elevated saddles and exaggeratedly high handlebars are what the trade calls ‘high risers’.

1988 S. E. McKay New Child Safety Handbk. 110/1 Physically, some three year olds are capable of riding mini-two-wheelers (BMX, highrisers, etc.).

2004 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N. Z.) (Nexis) 21 Aug. (Features section) 17 Chief designer Alan Oakley sketched the design on the back of an envelope while flying back to England from America, where he'd been to study the craze in high-riser and ape-handlebar cycles.

high-rising adj. Phonetics (esp. of a tone) that begins high in pitch before rising.

ΚΠ

1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 12 The gliding tones can also begin at any height—low-rising (ˏ), high-rising (´), etc.

1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. i. 13 High-Rising. Nucleus-tone.

1951 Z. S. Harris Methods in Struct. Ling. 57 High-rising [intonation] for impatient question.

1997 Eng. World-Wide 18 121 The invariant tag eh, and the high rising terminal contour..are significantly more frequent in Maori than in Pakeha speech.

high-stakes adj. designating a gambling game in which the stakes are high (cf. sense A. 15e); (hence in extended use of any situation or activity) high-risk, dangerous; having the potential for very significant gains or losses.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [adjective] > played for high stakes

high1640

silver1748

no-limit1915

high-stakes1922

1922 O. R. Cohen in Sat. Evening Post 18 Mar. 13/1 Mr. Sneed passed on, en route to a high-stakes poker party.

1979 J. Anderson & J. Boyd Confessions of Muckraker ix. 233 During the months before a high-stakes trial, he was continually leaving Washington late at night..to seek out the witness or the document that would turn another tide.

1992 Raising Standards for Amer. Educ. (Nat. Council Educ. Standards & Testing) 5 The assessments eventually could be used for such high-stakes purposes for students as high school graduation..and certification for employment.

2013 Guardian (Nexis) 4 Dec. 13 Labour will signal its hardening opposition to the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’—high-speed, high-stakes gambling machines—by forcing a vote in the Commons today.

high season n. the peak time of year for a particular activity, occurrence, etc.; spec. (a) the season of highest rainfall in a particular region, the period when water levels are highest (cf. sense A. 4d); (b) the most popular time to visit a resort, hotel, tourist attraction, etc., when prices are highest.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wet weather > [noun] > rainy season (tropical)

rains1615

rainy season1655

long rains1670

season1707

monsoon1747

high season1759

plum rains1894

wet1897

bai-u1910

kharif1920

1759 tr. M. Adanson Voy. Senegal 166 Rice is the only grain sown at Gambia in the lands overflown by the rains of the high season.

1769 F. Gentleman Stratford Jubilee i. 7 The High Season at Bath, where the Extravagants eat silver.

1835 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 459 In the high season, the river spreads for miles over marshes.

1888 Practitioner Oct. 256 Something like 10,000 persons annually visit Rome..during the ‘high season’, filling the hotels to overflowing.

1918 W. Cather My Ántonia ii. xiv. 232 It was the high season for summer flowers.

1971 New York 31 May 36/2 Be sure to notice whether the price includes the high-season supplement.

1993 Calif. Hist. 72 256/2 Tulare Lake covered 200,000 acres and measured 75 miles by 25 during its high season.

2005 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 11 May (Drive section) 7 Tour buses, crowds and parking hassles in the high season can tend to make you wonder whether you're actually getting away from it all.

high-sighted adj. having the sight directed upwards; (figurative) supercilious, ambitious.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adjective]

overmoodeOE

highlyOE

overmoodOE

overmoodyOE

orgelc1175

dangerous?c1225

orgula1275

orgulousc1275

fiercec1290

hautain1297

highfulc1325

squeamousc1325

deignousc1330

digne1340

disdainousc1374

sirlya1375

lordlyc1390

high-hearteda1398

haught1430

haut1430

coppedc1449

excellentc1450

fastidious?a1475

loftyc1485

dain?1507

hichty1513

stiff-necked1526

supercilious1528

haughty1530

taunt?a1534

disdainfula1542

high in the instep1555

skeighc1560

queen-like?1571

surlyc1572

stately1579

coy1581

paughtya1586

steya1586

disdained1598

dortya1605

lordlike1605

overly1606

magnatical1608

stiff1608

surly-borne1609

high-sighted1610

lofty-minded1611

sublimed1611

patronizing1619

lording1629

sublimated1634

cavaliering1642

uncondescending1660

nose-in-the-air1673

sidy1673

fastuose1674

uncondescensive1681

condescending1707

stiff-rumped1728

fastidiose1730

cavalier1751

ogertful1754

pawky1809

supercilian1825

splendid1833

touch-me-not1852

pincé1858

high-stepping1867

eyeglassy1871

sniffy1871

cavalierly1876

snifty1889

Olympian1900

ritzy1920

mugwumpish1923

blasé1930

stiff-arsed1937

nose-high1939

1610 H. Broughton Reuelation Holy Apocalyps vi. 7 The Lyon-harted, the pacient ox, the wise man, the high sighted eagle.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 117 Let high-sighted-Tyranny range on.

1780 T. Day Speech to Freeholders of Essex in C. J. Fox Speech on Reduction of Sinecure Places 22 High sighted tyranny hovers over the whole, and marks her victims by lot.

1830 J. C. Odiorne Opinions on Speculative Masonry 216 What appeared to be envious clamor, injustice, and persecution to all but the high sighted eye.

1968 L. Holofcener Before You go 5 While the city may attract and contain a few Those-in-Charge, High-Sighted individuals, most are followers with no careers, just jobs.

1984 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 30 Mar. 21 Shaker schools have long been accustomed to dealing with high-sighted students and parents whose careers and backgrounds made school involvement second nature.

2012 D. Saunders in L. de Sutter & K. McGee Deleuze & Law x. 187 By one-third distance, he is distressed that his high-sighted gaze is sighting nothing up there.

high sign n. colloquial any of various gestures or signals (sometimes surreptitious) made with the hand held up, esp. one indicating that all is well or that the coast is clear.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > [noun] > a gesture > surreptitious

inkling1598

high sign1888

1888 Railroad Brakeman's Jrnl. July 312/1 Nesbit and old ‘Walkabout’, are registering their names and giving the high sign right enough, and both of them wear shoes now.

1896 Brotherhood Locomotive Firemen's Mag. Oct. 304/1 I proudly give the ‘high sign’, feeling certain that no competing or opposition line can offer the safety, comfort and protection afforded by yours.

1903 R. L. McCardell Conversat. Chorus Girl 111 When who should peek-a-boo in but my friend!.. I gave him the high sign, but he passed me up.

1946 P. G. Wodehouse Joy in Morning xxv. 229 As soon as he is in a melting mood, you give me the high sign, and I carry on from there.

1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xii. 72 He gave us the high sign with thumb touching forefinger.

2000 Oxf. Amer. May 117/1 Joel, from his director's chair, flashes me the high sign.

high-sign v. transitive to give a high sign to (a person); also intransitive.

ΘΚΠ

society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > make gestures [verb (transitive)] > gesture to surreptitiously

tip1749

high-sign1918

1918 Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen's Mag. 1 Feb. 31/1 Five minutes before we high-signed, a couple of hours later, a gent with a broad expanse of waist-line wheezes up through the gangway.

1920 Red Polled Jrnl. 10 Nov. 19/1 We've got to high-sign them to watch their step..or they will be walking into the natives, who, by now, must have hemmed us in on all sides.

1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xxv. 185 I high-signed him to follow.

high society n. people who are fashionable, wealthy, and influential, regarded as forming a distinct group in a community.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun]

higheOE

high life?a1518

towna1616

world1618

grand monde1673

society1693

beau monde1712

fine world1740

monde1765

tonc1770

high society1782

fashion1807

all the world1808

society1840

smart set1851

swelldom1854

Fifth Avenue1858

fashionabledom1859

haut monde1864

the big cheesea1910

higlif1911

haute Bohème1925

café society1937

jet set1949

beautiful people1950

1782 D. O'Bryen Def. Earl Shelburne 9 He esteems the ease and politeness inseparable from a man in the habits of high society, as sufficient, without resorting to any artificial means of creating notice, or impressing regard.

1796 Weekly Entertainer 25 July 69 The small allowance his father could afford him falling very short of the expences high society led him into.

1818 Brit. Rev. Feb. 52 It is difficult..to represent with accuracy any part of life with which we are not personally conversant; and Miss Edgeworth has, we believe, this advantage in drawing her portraitures of what is called high society.

1891 Law Times 91 21/2 It is ridiculous that grave disputes..should be kept waiting while the dirty linen of high society is..washed in public.

1920 D. Parker et al. (title) High society. Advice as to Social Campaigning,and Hints on the Management of Dowagers, Dinners, Debutantes, Dances,and the Thousand and One Diversions of Persons of Quality.

1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird xi. 155 The police..would spoil the leisurely high-society image. Dirty little men running over the Begum's nice holiday island.

2010 New Yorker 11 Oct. 16/3 Lee Hall's play depicts the group's formation.., neither patronizing its working-class heroes nor over-satirizing the high society that embraced them.

high step n. (a) (in plural) a stepladder (frequently in a pair of high steps) (now rare); (b) a military step in which the feet and knees are raised high.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > step-ladder

pairc1450

steps1693

stand-ladder1712

stepladder1751

library stepsc1762

high step1776

trap-ladder1855

society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > marching > step > specific

sidestep1757

slow step1763

quickstep1766

high step1776

lockstep1787

goose-step1806

balance-step1833

1776 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Apr. 290 The shadow of a pair of high steps, projected on the several leaves of a folding screen.

1789 J. Christie Catal. Houshold Furnit. Duchess of Kingston 49 Two Venetian window blinds, a pair of high steps and 7 glass lamps.

1857 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 2 Mar. 1/2 The two companies then formed together, two by two, and with the music at their head, marched through the city. Their whitened appearance, together with the high step of the gallant captain..was highly amusing to the citizens.

1889 Infantry Drill i. 32 (heading) The High Step.

1894 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Choice of Evils II. viii. 199 He was exceedingly busy with hammer and nails, and the ‘high steps’, putting up fresh curtains.

1907 H. A. Jones Middleman ii. 47 A window over the bench: a pair of high steps just below the chintz curtain.

1969 Daily Tel. 10 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 32/1 The music [of the Celts] is the wail of the bagpipe, played to the jig and the fling and the high-step whirl.

1996 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 17 Feb. 8 c The overture to Die Fledermaus lurched and braked in lieu of Viennese rubato betwixt waltz and high-step march.

2011 Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) (Nexis) 12 May b1 Churchland High does corps style. High step is described as a high-energy style of marching, while corps is more about precision.

high stool n. a tall stool.Formerly typically used by people doing clerical work.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > stool > [noun] > high

high stool1576

stool1836

stand-rest1877

1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health iv. f. 215^v The truncheon or small blocke of woode, set on a high stoole, y^e apter to beare the Bucket, equall to the heade, and nose of the instrument placed.

1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour iii. 18 I'le carry nothing but an high stool a field, and with two sticks a cross I'le stand upon that in the midst of the field, and take the distances to every angle, and I'le measure three acres to your one.

1787 G. Colman Inkle & Yarico i. 16 What wou'd I give now, to be perch'd upon a high stool, with our brown desk, squeez'd into the pit of my stomach—scribbling away on an old parchment!

1825 H. Wilson Mem. III. 76 The Duchess of Beaufort..appears never so happy nor so comfortable as when he is perched upon a high stool by her side.

1892 C. M. Yonge That Stick I. xiii. 139 Whatever promise there may have been..must have been nipped upon the top of a high stool.

1935 G. Greene Eng. made Me i. 1 For half an hour she had sat on the same high stool, half turned from the counter.

2008 Time Out N.Y. 10 July 17/1 We settle onto high stools at Reiner's cozy Spanish ‘wind-down spot’, the candlelit Bar Jamón.

high table n. and adj. (a) n. a table raised above the rest at a public dinner; spec. (in a university college) the table at which the head of house and fellows sit; (b) adj. erudite, donnish.

ΘΚΠ

society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > dining table > high table

high boardc1330

high tablec1400

c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 1082 (MED) Forþ gooþ Alisaundre..Riȝth vnto þe heiȝe table.

1554–5 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 363 ix yeardes of Ossenbrydge for a towell to the hye tabyll, iiijs. vjd.

1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Triumph of Faith xx. 212 Here is a high table, and bread; and a by-board, or an after-table.

1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 237 The Dean then went up to the Steps at the High-Table.

1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. i. 15 No one feeds at the high table except the dons.

1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. I. 116 A dais in parquet-work for the high table.

1927 D. Heathcote Sweden xii. 205 The mulled claret for which the high table of St. John's College, Oxford, has become so famous.

1933 H. Allen Anthony Adverse III. viii. lxi. 1006 There was also the retable above the high table adorned with cascades of silver and crystal suns.

1995 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 15 Oct. 4/4 They have relied for far too long on the sort of high-table sneering represented in Mr. Clark's review.

2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers v. 203 I have sat at High Table and dined off turbot Mornay.

high tea n. British, Australian, and New Zealand a meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening, typically consisting of a cooked dish, bread and butter, and tea.If a main meal in the evening, more commonly called tea (cf. tea n.¹ 4a), although in this case tea may not be served alongside the food.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > tea

tea1738

high tea1787

tea and turn out1806

supper1818

tousy tea1835

meat tea1842

thé complet1856

low tea1883

thick tea1886

tea-supper1892

cream tea1964

1787 Blenheim Lodge II. xiii. 13 Just as we were at high tea, Doctor Shatford made his appearance.

1831 F. A. Kemble Rec. Girlhood 14 June (1878) III. 49 We did not return home till near nine, and so, instead of dinner, all sat down to high tea.

1856 E. G. K. Browne Hist. Tractarian Movement (ed. 2) 251 At one of the ‘High Teas’ of S. Barnabas.

1884 Girl's Own Paper May 427/2 For people who are not in the habit of giving dinner-parties..high tea is a capital institution.

1922 W. S. Maugham On Chinese Screen xlix. 193 He thought of the high tea to which he sat down when he came home from school.., a slice of cold meat, a great deal of bread and butter and plenty of milk in his tea.

1957 London Mag. Nov. 53 We ate high-tea made of fresh salmon, or mushrooms we'd risen at dawn to gather.

2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 171 High tea..was an amalgam of afternoon tea and an evening meal.

high-tempered adj. †(a) of an elevated or superior character or nature (obsolete rare); (b) (of a person) irascible, quick to anger; hot-headed.

ΚΠ

1599 A. Gibson in tr. A. de Pontaymeri Womans Woorth sig. A8 Those fierse spirits of high temperd wit, That drinke the dewe of heauen continually: They could haue graced you with termes more fit.

1767 Let. to Marquis of Granby 15 Some who enter into the Army, soon discover that they possess not enough of this high-tempered Spirit to qualify them for the military Character.

1828 Vermont Watchman & State Gaz. 9 Dec. She became angry, said he cared nothing about her, &c. She was a high tempered woman.

a1927 A. J. Beveridge A. Lincoln (1928) I. ix. 507 Mrs. Lincoln was irritable and high tempered. Her loud shrill voice could be heard across the street.

2011 L. Apple Family Legacy of H. Clay i. 10 The community knew him as a high-tempered street brawler and bowie-knife fighter.

high-tensile adj. having a high tensile strength.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > constitution of matter > strength > [adjective] > specific

high-tensile1884

1884 Amer. Engineer 1 Aug. 41/1 As a rule low tensile is preferred to high tensile in boiler steel.

1937 Archit. Rev. 81 268 (caption) A welded tubular bus frame seat, utilizing the strength of high-tensile alloy tube.

2001 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 13 Jan. h15 With high-tensile steel..it's stronger than any other steel-framed house on the market.

high-test adj. of high quality, purity, or strength; meeting very high standards.

ΚΠ

1869 Leeds Mercury 17 Dec. 2/3 Business has been done in high test oil at 1s. 8½d., and in standard white 1s. 8½d.

1911 Jrnl. Amer. Soc. Mech. Engineers Dec. 27 (advt.) Made from high-test steel bars and warranted fully as the best projecting screw made.

1942 Fortune Nov. 205/1 These convert ordinary crudes into high-test gas that needs a much smaller addition of alkylates to raise it to 100 octane.

2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 Nov. i. 35/2 He was a coffee obsessive partial to high-test espresso.

high-ticket adj. colloquial (originally U.S.) (of consumer goods, merchandise, etc.) highly priced or whose purchase would constitute a major expense; chiefly in high-ticket item; cf. big ticket n. (b) at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

1943 D. L. Cohn Love in Amer. iv. 113 If household machinery is to be bought, he [sc. the husband] may be called in as counsel because..the purchase of ‘high-ticket’ merchandise causes the family budget to run a high fever.

1946 Nation's Business Jan. 7/3 The catalog houses, of course, suffered severe setback [sic] when the war wiped out hard goods which were their high ticket items.

1986 Billboard 27 Dec. 90/1 Customers are wrapping up high-ticket purchases in order to take advantage of sales tax deductions before the new tax law takes effect.

2008 Bournemouth Echo (Nexis) 28 Feb. Retailers..that sell high ticket items like furniture and carpets are worst hit because the consumer is holding back from spending large amounts of cash.

high-velocity adj. characterized by, involving, or producing a high speed (cf. high-speed adj.); spec. (of a gun) capable of discharging a projectile with great force and speed; (of a projectile) discharged in this way.

ΘΚΠ

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > others

stocked1497

breeched1575

chambered1611

tower-proof1673

triggerless18..

hair-triggered1806

vizyless1828

high-velocity1854

sighted1859

calibred1887

recoilless1888

sham-damn1895

silenced1909

silencered1935

multicalibre1983

society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of bullet or shell

armour-piercinga1686

rifled1797

high-velocity1854

smooth-bore1859

subcalibre1863

whistling1864

full-metal-jacketed1896

full-metal-jacket1898

pipsqueak1916

1854 Mechanics' Mag. 15 Apr. 337 Whitelaw's patent high-velocity steam-engines for driving screw-propellers.

1882 Constr. Vessels of War (U.S. House of Representatives, 47th Congr., 1st Sess.) App. 226 Suppose, then, we should be unable to produce these high-velocity guns.

1934 Discovery June 155/2 The jet of high-velocity air is about 8 feet across.

2001 R. Nicoll White Male Heart (2002) 55 The reverberating crash of the rifle spread out across the hill, an instantaneous whine and the sound of a high-velocity bullet hitting a peatbank.

high-vis adj. [shortened < high-visibility adj.] colloquial = high-visibility adj. (a).In forms hi-viz and hi-vis, a proprietary name for a number of products in various fields.

ΚΠ

1959 Flying Mag. Apr. 86 (advt.) Hi-Viz^® ‘Safety Sight’ Fluorescent Aircraft Paint..excellent for runways and boundary markers, field ground markings and maintenance trucks, hangars, wind tees and air-markers.]

1979 Brit. Columbia Lumberman Jan. 68/2 I have seen in both B.C. and Ontario..the popular use of protective clothing, ear and eye protection, safety shoes and all manner of bright high vis clothing.

1991 Sky Warriors 1 ii. 25/2 Painted in its usual ‘high-vis’ red and white scheme, it stood with four others of the type on the hardstanding.

2007 J. Turner Brainstorm i. 4 Security guards, in their yellow high-vis jerkins, were hired to pace the territory.

high-visibility adj. (a) designating something which is very bright or highly visible; spec. designating fluorescent or reflective outer clothing worn as a safety measure; (b) that attracts a high amount of public attention; very prominent.

ΚΠ

1919 Theatre Mag. Feb. 121/1 De Mille's newest Artcraft production, ‘Don't Change Your Husband’, to adorn which these high visibility bathing costumes were designed.

1926 City Manager Mag. Mar. 199 (advt.) Last year 143 cities used High Visibility Yellow on their streets.

1970 N.Y. Times 5 June 1 A group of top party leaders in Congress who were aware of discussions with Mr. Shriver about a new, high-visibility national campaign assignment for him.

1977 Amer. Motorcyclist May 26/1 A high-visibility vest complete with AMA insignia.

1992 B. Gill Death of Love i. 21 Power..had even been mentioned as a candidate for president, which under the Irish constitution was a largely ceremonial but high-visibility post.

2011 Independent 19 Aug. (Viewspaper section) 9/3 In recent correspondence about cyclists' safety and helmets, there has been no mention of wearing high-visibility clothing.

high-wage adj. earning a large wage; well paid.

ΚΠ

1878 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 26 506/1 The majority of the houses of the working community, even of a steady, high-wage class, are without it [sc. a porch] entirely.

1956 J. M. Mogey Family & Neighbourhood 5 Before 1920 Oxford had not been a high-wage town.

1964 S. M. Miller in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 294 The high-wage..occupations.

2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Oct. 43/3 If contingent employment is becoming the norm..among the ‘creative class’ of high-wage professionals..what are the prospects for sustainable livelihoods?

high warp n. Weaving (now historical) (esp. in the weaving of tapestry) warp that is vertical rather than horizontal; a method of weaving employing a vertical warp; frequently attributive; contrasted with low warp n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3.

ΘΚΠ

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [adjective] > other

strait1439

flocked1607

high warp1728

shot1763

wattled1865

double-face1873

starey1884

loopy1902

wrung1902

multi-ply1926

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [adjective] > weaving > types of

high warp1728

plain-weave1888

waffle1930

folk weave1938

leno1964

the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [adjective] > weaving > types of loom

high warp1728

webless1820

overpick1869

shuttleless1888

needleloom1933

1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Tapestry This high Warp Tapistry goes on much more slowly than the low Warp.

1750 Wonders Nature & Art I. 169 The Loom for Tapestry of the high Warp consists of four principal Pieces.

1927 H. Norris Costume & Fashion II. iii. 140 A method of weaving with a high warp was adopted about 1280 in the manufacture of tapestry.

2004 Artichoke Fall 24/2 In fragment 9, Kidd has chosen to pay tribute to her own textile tradition of high-warp tapestry as it appeared in Renaissance verdures during the 16th century.

high-wheeler n. now historical (a) any vehicle with particularly large or tall wheels; (b) spec. a bicycle with a tall front wheel and a small rear one; = high bicycle n., high wheel n. 2, penny farthing n.

ΘΚΠ

society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > early type of > with one large and one small wheel

high-wheeler1866

high bicycle1874

high wheel1876

ordinary1888

penny farthing1891

1866 ‘A. Locker’ Sweet Seventeen (ed. 2) xiii. 156 I fancied it might be a West-End order. West-End orders frequently come in a high-wheeler [sc. a carriage].

1891 Cycling 14 Mar. 128/1 A friend of his who had commenced his riding career on a Safety had just ordered a high wheeler.

1894 Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) 22 Dec. 23/6 All the locomotives of that time ran to tall wheels... I would like to see one of those high-wheelers given a trial these days.

1895 N.Y. Times 15 Apr. 6/2 The variety of out-of-date mounts was again remarkable. The old high wheelers were in evidence, and so was the tricycle.

1910 Gas Engine Mar. 147/1 As at all Chicago [automobile] shows, there are a number of newer Western cars which make their appearance, and..the high-wheeler is not seen to any great extent.

2002 Springfield (Mass.) Libr. & Museums Q. Spring 2/2 The 1877 Weston bicycle, one of the first highwheelers imported into the United States, helped spawn a small but vigorous cycling community.

high wine n. wine or other alcoholic drink containing a high percentage of alcohol.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > types of wine > [noun] > strong wine

high wine?c1430

nit1699

?c1430Heiȝe wynes [see sense A. 12b].

1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth x. sig. F.i^v Hyghe wynes as malmyse maye be kepe longe.

1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar i. 125 He, that is used to drink high wines, is sick if he hath not his proportion to what degree soever his custome hath brought his appetite.

1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana ii. 184 Put the Bird, which is to be preserved, in a proper vessel, and cover him with High Wines, or the first Running of the Distillation of Rum.

1871 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1869–70 8 143 The necessity would still exist for converting..corn into beef and pork and highwines.

1874 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 28 July Jamaica and St. Croix rum is made of double refined highwines, French coloring..alum, aloes, and prune juice.

1958 J. Carew Black Midas vi. 112 They drank highwine and bush rum from half-pint tumblers.

1994 Beaver Dec. 44/1 High wine is usually over-proof spirits mixed with juice or wine.

high wire n. and adj. (a) n. a high tightrope; (figurative) an activity or situation requiring great skill or judgement; (b) designating an act or person using a high wire or resembling such an act.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > rope-walking or dancing > rope or wire

ropeeOE

low rope?c1635

slack-rope1749

slack wire1753

tightrope1801

blondin1863

high wire1863

slackline2002

1863 Christian Cabinet 1 July 309/1 On Thursday evening a gymnast, named Valerio, was engaged in walking along a high wire rope at the Cremorne Gardens, when it gave way and he fell heavily to the ground.

1896 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Monthly Jrnl. June 520/2 Bro. John W. Hardy..has a son, Master James C. Hardy, who is distinguished as the world's youngest high-wire artist.

1907 Billboard 6 July 13/4 Will H. Hill, in his new and original high-wire act.

1962 Listener 10 May 822/3 The bulk of the poems go all out for intellectual sophistication... He is not at his ease on the intellectual high wire.

1988 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator 19 Apr. a11/1 A trapeze artist..wouldn't quit her high-wire act despite the pleading of her family.

2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 Feb. 42/3 It was a high-wire strategy, for Obama, this invocation of our collective human messiness.

high yellow n. and adj. (also high yalla, high yaller, high yella) originally and chiefly U.S. (now usu. considered offensive) (a) n. a black or mixed-race person having light brown skin; (b) adj. of, relating, to, or designating such a person.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > mixed race > [noun] > person

mongrel1542

of (the) half blood1697

half-caste1758

half-breed1760

lip-lap1798

quarter-breed1821

half-blood1826

half-and-half1827

quarter-blood1827

quarter-caste1859

mixed blooda1862

brown1862

miscegen1864

yellowbelly1867

breed1870

redbone1890

miscegenate1898

high yellow1910

samba1958

lightie1991

1910 Chicago Defender 17 Sept. 3/2 The P.O. Dude..who is crazy about a certain piano player (a high yellow) who lives on Dearborn.

1913 Sat. Evening Post 8 Nov. 10/1 He traded fer a straw hat an' commenced runnin' wid chocolate-browns. Huh! Nothin' won't suit Virgil now 'cep' de high yallers.

1937 W. Lewis Blasting & Bombardiering iv. viii. 241 At present I should be living in a villa just outside Paris with a Japanese cook and a Zulu butler, with three highyaller kids getting ready to go to Eton.

1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board iii. 61 [He] had played and danced with various mulatto and ‘high yaller’ girls back home in Nashville.

1969 ‘J. Morris’ Fever Grass xviii. 158 The big high yellow nodded at him with impersonal cordiality.

1990 J. C. Oates Because it is Bitter ii. vii. 169 There are nine white cheerleaders on the varsity squad, all so pretty, and one high yalla..first time in school history that a nonwhite girl has been so honored.

2005 M. M. Frisby Wifebeater xi. 72 Where the hell you hear that from?.. I'm high yellow to the core baby but you can see that I'm handling.

high-yield adj. = high-yielding adj.; spec. designating a nuclear weapon with a high explosive force.

ΘΚΠ

the world > existence and causation > creation > [adjective] > creating, fashioning, shaping, or forming > producing > high-yield

superfetatious1668

high-yield1912

large-yield1921

1912 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. Oct. 622 (title) High-yield municipal bonds.

1929 Bull. Oregon State Agric. College Exper. Station No. 245. 6 Yield per acre is a dominant factor in cost, accounting for a difference of approximately 4c per pound between the low-yield and high-yield groups.

1957 Wall St. Jrnl. 25 Jan. 1/3 The announcement added high-yield devices (hydrogen bombs) are never tested in Nevada.

2006 Foreign Affairs Mar. 45 The air force..is significantly improving its remaining ICBMs by installing the MX's high-yield warheads.

2011 Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) (Nexis) 23 Jan. Technology used to develop high yield rice varieties since the green revolution has now approached saturation point.

high-yielding adj. producing a good yield; highly productive.

ΚΠ

1856 Glasgow Herald 25 Apr. 5/5 In flax there has been little change during the past week; good high yielding qualities maintain their value.

1935 Economist 26 Jan. 212/2 Namoe Tongan Rubber Estates in Sumatra..have just been planted with selected high-yielding clones.

1999 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 5 Jan. (Business & Finance section) 3/6 High yielding treasury bills.

2012 Independent 15 Oct. 49/1 Foreign expats have always been a high-yielding target for HMRC.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2022).

单词	high
释义	† highn.¹ Forms: early Old English hege- (Kentish, in derivatives), early Old English hygi- (Northumbrian, in compounds), Old English hig- (in derivatives), Old English hyge, Old English–early Middle English hige, early Middle English hiȝ ( Ormulum), early Middle English huȝe (south-west midlands), early Middle English huie (south-west midlands), early Middle English huiȝe (south-west midlands). Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hei , Middle Dutch hoge , heuge (Dutch heug ), Old Saxon hugi (Middle Low German hōge , hȫge ), Old High German hugu (Middle High German huge , hüge ), Old Icelandic hugr , Swedish hugher , hogher (Swedish håg ), Old Danish hugh (Danish hu ), Gothic hugs < a Germanic base with the sense ‘thought, understanding, mind’, further etymology uncertain. Compare how n.¹ Compare also hight n.¹In Old English a strong masculine (i-stem) showing i-mutation of the stem vowel (u to y) and palatalization of stem-final g caused by the original vowel of the inflectional suffix. The Middle English forms show the expected reflex of Old English y (east midland i, west midland u). Obsolete. Mind, thought; intention, purpose, determination. ΘΚΠ the mind > will > intention > [noun] > intention or purpose willeOE highOE thoughtOE intent?c1225 achesounc1230 attenta1250 couragec1320 devicec1320 minda1325 studya1382 understanding1382 suggestionc1390 meaninga1393 i-minda1400 minta1400 tent1399 castc1400 ettlingc1400 affecta1425 advicec1425 intention1430 purposec1430 proposea1450 intendment1450 supposing?c1450 pretensionc1456 intellectionc1460 zeal1492 hest?a1513 minting?a1513 institute?1520 intendingc1525 mindfulness1530 cogitationa1538 fordrift1549 forecast1549 designing1566 tention1587 levela1591 intendiment1595 design1597 suppose1597 aim1598 regarda1616 idea1617 contemplationa1631 speculation1631 view1634 way of thinking1650 designation1658 tend1663 would1753 predetermination1764 will to art1920 OE Seafarer 96 Ne mæg him þonne se flæschoma, þonne him þæt feorg losað.., ne hond onhreran ne mid hyge þencan. OE Daniel 117 Næs him bliðe hige, ac him sorh astah. OE Battle of Maldon (1942) 312 Hige sceal þe heardra, heorte þe cenre, mod sceal þe mare, þe ure mægen lytlað. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2777 Aȝȝ..soþfasst hiȝ. & hope onn himm. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 119 Bidde we nu þe holigost þat he haue milce of us and gife us hige and mihte to forleten and bireusen and beten ure sinnes. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1515 Cordoille..nom hire leaf-fulne huie [c1300 Otho oþ] þat heo liȝen nolden. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 2451 Þe duc..him to seide mid sohfeste huȝe [c1300 Otho oþe]. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online September 2021). highadj.n.² Brit. /hʌɪ/, U.S. /haɪ/ Forms: α. early Old English haeh- (in compounds and derivatives), early Old English he- (in derivatives), early Old English heaw- (inflected form), Old English ea- (inflected form, rare), Old English earre (dative singular feminine, perhaps transmission error), Old English hæ- (in derivatives), Old English hæa- (in derivatives), Old English hæah- (in compounds), Old English hæh- (Mercian, in compounds), Old English he- (inflected form), Old English hea (weak declension, all genders), Old English hea- (inflected form), Old English heach- (inflected form), Old English heag- (inflected form and in compounds and derivatives), Old English hearr (dative singular feminine, transmission error), Old English heg- (inflected form), Old English hegh- (Northumbrian, in compounds), Old English heh- (inflected form), Old English hęh- (Northumbrian, in compounds), Old English heig- (inflected form), Old English henre (dative singular feminine, transmission error), Old English heo- (chiefly Northumbrian, in derivatives), Old English–early Middle English hea- (in compounds and derivatives), Old English–early Middle English heah, Old English–early Middle English heg- (in derivatives), Old English (chiefly Anglian)–early Middle English heh, late Old English hæg- (inflected form), late Old English hæhg- (inflected form), late Old English heach- (Kentish, in derivatives), late Old English heæ- (Kentish, in derivatives), late Old English heæh (Kentish), late Old English heohan (weak declension, dative, perhaps transmission error), early Middle English aȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English eȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English hæȝ-, early Middle English hæh, early Middle English hæhȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English hage- (in compounds), early Middle English hah, early Middle English hahcne (accusative singular masculine), early Middle English hahȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haiȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English haih, early Middle English heaȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heahȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heg, early Middle English heȝh- ( Ormulum, inflected form), early Middle English hehȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heiȝ- (inflected form), early Middle English heih- (in derivatives), Middle English egh, Middle English ehgh (transmission error), Middle English eyȝe, Middle English hech, Middle English hee, Middle English heeȝ, Middle English heegh, Middle English heȝ, Middle English heȝe, Middle English hegȝ, Middle English hegh, Middle English heghe, Middle English hehe, Middle English hehge, Middle English hei, Middle English heie, Middle English heiȝ, Middle English heiȝe, Middle English heiȝgh, Middle English heiȝh, Middle English heighe, Middle English heih, Middle English heij, Middle English heyg, Middle English heyȝ, Middle English heyȝe, Middle English heygh, Middle English heyȝhe, Middle English heyghi (perhaps transmission error), Middle English heyghie (perhaps transmission error), Middle English heyȝk, Middle English heyh, Middle English heyye, Middle English 1600s haye, Middle English–1500s he, Middle English–1500s heigh, Middle English–1500s heyghe, Middle English–1600s hey, Middle English–1600s heye, 1900s– haigh (nonstandard); English regional (chiefly north-western) 1700s– hee, 1800s heigh, 1800s– heegh, 1800s– heeh, 1800s– hey; Scottish pre-1700 haich, pre-1700 haiche, pre-1700 he, pre-1700 hea, pre-1700 hech, pre-1700 hegh, pre-1700 heghe, pre-1700 hei, pre-1700 heiche, pre-1700 heie, pre-1700 heighe, pre-1700 heye, pre-1700 1700s–1800s hee, pre-1700 1700s– heich /hix/, pre-1700 1700s– heigh, pre-1700 1800s hey, pre-1700 1900s– heych, 1700s–1800s heegh, 1800s he- (in compounds), 1800s heehh, 1800s– heech, 1900s– heh (Dundee); Irish English 1800s heagh (northern), 1800s– heigh. β. Old English hieh (rare), Old English hieh- (inflected form), Middle English hieȝ, Middle English hieȝe, Middle English hiegh, Middle English hig- (in derivatives), Middle English hiȝ, Middle English hiȝe, Middle English higȝ, Middle English hiȝhe, Middle English highȝ, Middle English hih, Middle English hihe, Middle English hii, Middle English hij, Middle English hiyhe, Middle English huy, Middle English huye, Middle English hyeȝ, Middle English hyg (perhaps transmission error), Middle English hyȝ, Middle English hyȝe, Middle English hyȝgh, Middle English hyghȝ, Middle English hyh, Middle English hyhe, Middle English hyhȝ, Middle English hyhȝe, Middle English hyye, Middle English nyȝe (transmission error), Middle English yȝe, Middle English (1900s– nonstandard, esp. in sense B. 13) hi (see also hi adj.), Middle English–1500s hieghe, Middle English–1500s hy, Middle English–1600s highe, Middle English–1600s hye, Middle English–1600s hygh, Middle English–1600s hyghe, Middle English–1600s (1900s– English regional) hie, Middle English– high, 1500s hige, 1500s hyegh, 1500s hyeghe, 1500s hygge, 1800s– hoigh (English regional (northern)), 1800s– 'igh (regional and nonstandard), 1900s– igh (regional and nonstandard); U.S. regional (North Carolina) 1900s– hoi, 1900s– hoigh, 1900s– hoy; Scottish pre-1700 hi, pre-1700 hiche, pre-1700 hieche, pre-1700 hiegh, pre-1700 hyche, pre-1700 hye, pre-1700 hyech, pre-1700 1700s hy, pre-1700 1700s– hich, pre-1700 1700s– hie, pre-1700 1700s– high, pre-1700 1800s hiech, 1800s hi'- (in compounds); also Irish English 1800s hia (Wexford), 1800s hoigh. See also higher adj., adv., and n.¹ and highest adj., n., and adv. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hāch (West Frisian heech), Old Dutch hōg, hō (Middle Dutch hooch, Dutch hoog), Old Saxon hōh (Middle Low German hō, hōch), Old High German hōh (Middle High German hōch, German hoch), Old Icelandic hár, hór, Gothic hauhs, also (from a variant of the same base, showing Verner's Law) Old Swedish högher (Swedish hög), Danish høgh (Danish høj), further etymology uncertain and disputed.Further etymology. Suggested Indo-European etymologies include connections variously: with Tocharian A koc , Tocharian B kauc high; with Lithuanian kaukas bump, swelling, kaukaras elevation, hill; with Sanskrit śávīra- strong, powerful; with Serbian and Croatian kuka hook and (with a suffix) Russian kuča , Polish kuczka , both in sense ‘heap’; or with the Germanic base of German Hügel and Old Icelandic haugr (see how n.²); some explanations embrace more than one of these suggested connections. Form history. In Old English the inflected forms of hēah (Anglian hēh , with smoothing) regularly show loss of the voiceless velar fricative and contraction (giving an inflected stem hēa- in West Saxon). However, there is a (later) alternative development with voicing of the velar fricative (originally only in inflected forms: compare Old English hēag- ) by analogy with words in which such alternation of voiceless and voiced fricative is etymological. The Middle English and later sound history reflects divergent developments of ēh parallel to those of long close ē before a palatal described at eye n.¹, with the standard modern pronunciation ultimately reflecting Middle English raising to ī in parts of the midlands and south (with later loss of the final fricative). In Older Scots the regular output of the Old English inflected form hēage- is shown by such forms as he , hee , hie , hye (reflecting a pronunciation /hiː/); however, this has since been largely superseded by the doublet form heich ( /hix/) (relatively uncommon before the 16th cent.), the reflex of the Old English uninflected nominative form hēah . (Old English hīeh is attested only in the Cambridge Psalter gloss and is apparently of different origin from the later β. forms, perhaps a hypercorrect spelling; compare forms of highest adj.). Specific uses. With high time at sense A. 16b compare Anglo-Norman and Middle French haut temps (1396 or earlier). With use with reference to the voice (sense A. 17a) compare classical Latin altā voce with a raised or loud voice. With use as noun, especially with reference to places, position, or altitude (senses B. 2, B. 3, and B. 4) compare Dutch hōi (Middle Dutch hoge), Old Saxon hōhi (Middle Low German hȫge), Old High German hōhi (Middle High German hōhe, hœhe, German Höhe), Gothic hauhei. A. adj. In most senses the opposite of low adj.For coverage of the comparative and superlative forms, see higher adj. and highest adj. Where important for the history of a particular use, quotations for the comparative higher are included at this entry. I. Senses relating to distance above or below a base level. 1. a. Measuring a great distance from top to bottom; extending far upward; lofty, tall. Also: rising considerably from a surface (cf. high relief n.). ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] > great or considerable higheOE steepOE heaven-highOE highlyOE brentc1400 hightc1480 hichty1513 procere1542 tall1548 spiringa1552 towereda1552 tower-like1552 upstretched1563 airy1565 excelse1569 haughty1570 topless1589 lofty1590 procerous1599 kiss-sky1603 skyish1604 topful?1611 aspiringc1620 sky-high1622 hiddy1632 tiptoed1632 sublime1635 towering1638 soaring1687 mountain high1693 clamberinga1717 skied1730 towery1731 pyramidic1740 skyey1750 skyward1792 skyscraping1797 exulting1798 high-reaching1827 steepling1892 high-rise1964 hi1972 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) ciii. 17 Montes excelsi : muntes heae. eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) i. xxxviii. 96 Gif þæs dolges ofras synd to hea ymb stric mid hate isene swiðe leohtlice þæt þæt fel hwitige. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxii. 358 Entas woldon aræran ane burh & ænne stypel swa heahne [a1225 Lamb. hehne] þæt his hrof astige oð heofon. OE Blickling Homilies 27 He hine lædde upon swiþe hea dune. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 3626 Þe heye hul to hom was a castel. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. iv. 8 A ful heeȝ hill. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 483 Ther saw he hertes with hir hornes hye [v.rr. highe, hihe, hyȝe, hee]. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 4863 He clynterand torres. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 300 In heich haddyr Wallace and thai can twyn. a1500 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Trin. Dublin) l. 700 To þe hight of þe hye dyke. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4 The trees so straight and hy. 1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 52 Besides, is arme or shoulder swelled into a high bunch or tumour, which did put him vnto painfull torments. 1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. I4^v Fair clustred buildings..with high spires to heaven yborn. 1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 150 Clad in Black Gowns..with high round Caps flat at top. 1769 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) III. iii. 7 This [frog] differs from the former in having a high protuberance in the middle of the back, forming a very sharp angle. 1776 R. Twiss Tour Ireland 125 The upper lake..is quite encompassed with high mountains. 1821 P. B. Shelley Epipsychidion 23 The walls are high, the gates are strong. 1867 F. Francis Bk. Angling ix. 285 There are high banks or rocks at the angler's back, so that he cannot send his line behind him. 1871 Ann. Rep. Indiana State Hort. Soc. App. 136 It may be a gilt frame, with high mouldings upon the outer edge, or it may be of more humble pretension. 1917 Geogr. Jrnl. 50 172 Great red macaw parrots flew from top to top of the high trees. 1962 A. Norton Lord of Thunder i. 15 The reputed home of these God Ones was the high mountains of the northeast. 2010 Independent 21 Dec. (Viewspaper section) 6/3 We had to walk to school and on occasions had to burrow our way through high banks of drifted snow. b. Of a person: great in height, tall. Also of a person's height or stature: large, tall.In later use chiefly regional and in comparisons (see sense A. 3b). ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > bodily height > tallness > [adjective] higheOE longeOE elegant1516 tall1530 procere1542 tallish1748 towering1756 sesquipedalian1857 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) iii. xii. 194 Wæs he Oswine se cyning ge on onsyne fæger ge on bodie heah [L. statura sublimis]. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 106 Me coman to silhearwan atelices hiwes swa heage swa entes. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 963 Þus þe hæȝe scaðe ferde to helle. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1071 He was strong man and hey. ?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) II. lf. 270 Achilles was..an hyghe man of grete stature. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Deut. ii. 10 Stronge people and hye of stature. 1658 T. Bromhall Hist. Apparitions 8 A huge and formidable Man of a high stature. 1738 London Evening-Post 5 Jan. A private Man belonging to Lalleck's Regiment of Horse, who was a fine Person and of high Stature. 1818 ‘T. Brown’ Brighton I. 135 High in person, he soon got high in office; and if his uprightness of principle went hand-in-hand with his erectness of stature, it is well. 1886 H. James Princess Casamassima i. viii. 92 Hyacinth saw her high, lean figure sway to and fro in the dim little room. 1994 S. Robinson Lady Dangerous i. 9 Of high stature like his nephew, he reminded Liza of the illustrations of knights in Le Morte d'Arthur, for he personified doomed beauty and chivalry. c. Of an item of clothing: high-necked. Now historical. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [adjective] > having specific parts > neckline decolouredc1430 high1590 low-cuta1600 low1818 low-necked1830 low-neck1858 décolleté1884 semi-high1905 boat-shaped1921 turtle-necked1931 crew neck1940 polo-collared1946 polo-necked1948 plunge-line1949 plunge-necked1949 crew-necked1950 plunge neck1951 scoop-necked1955 bateau-necked1959 1590 tr. True Disc. Stubbe Peeter 13 This vilde Woolfe..could not pearce the choller of the Childes coate, being high and very well stiffened & close claspt about her neck. 1653 T. Urquhart tr. F. Rabelais 2nd Bk. Wks. xvii. 124 By a sentence of the Court it was decreed, those high neckclothes should be no longer worne, if they were not a little cleft and open before. 1794 S. Rowson Fille de Chambre (new ed.) xii. 56 They have made my gown so abominably high, I declare I appear quite round shouldered. 1827 Lady's Mag. Sept. 511/1 Muslin canezous over high dresses. 1857 E. C. Gaskell Let. ?13–14 Sept. (1966) 471 My grey carmelite, & black moiré, high, & next to no collars. 1875 L. Troubridge Jrnl. in Life amongst Troubridges (1966) x. 102 I had a chemisette to make my gown high, and no ornaments. 1937 J. Laver Taste & Fashion xiii. 185 In the early [eighteen-] sixties, it is interesting to note, there was less décolletage in good families in France than in England. The high dress was worn at dinner parties even of a formal kind. 1957 M. B. Picken Fashion Dict. 230/2 Boat-shaped neckline..high in front and back, wide at sides. 1987 M. Bence-Jones Twilight of Ascendancy iii. 52 Requests from ladies to be allowed..to appear at the Castle in ‘high dress’ or ‘halt high dress’ instead of the prescribed décolletage. 2006 C. Clay King, Kaiser, Tsar xii. 213 She greeted Anne warmly and told her to change into a ‘high dress’, because she was to dine with Her Majesty. d. Printing. Having a specified or standard height to paper (distance from foot to face); (also, esp. in high to paper) having a greater such distance than that which is required. Cf. low to paper at low adj. 2d. ΘΚΠ society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > composed type > [adjective] > projecting high1683 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 28 They [sc. head-sticks] are Quadrat high, straight, and of an equal thickness all the length. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. iii. 116/2 Bearer, is a Riglet made Letter high and fastned to the Frisket. 1770 P. Luckombe Conc. Hist. Printing 243 Good Press-work will expose the defects, and shew where letters are cast either too high, or too low, to paper. 1834 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal (Cabinet Cycl.) III. vii. 126 The letters or types..are composed, or, as the printers term it, set up into a page in the ordinary manner, care being taken to use the high spaces and quadrats commonly employed in stereotyping. 1888 Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 698/2 Spaces and quadrats were formerly only three-fourths of an inch in height; but, since electrotyping has become so common, they are almost invariably cut high, i.e., up to the shoulder of the type. 1916 Vocational Educ. Surv. Richmond, Va. (U.S. Bureau Labor Statistics) 111 Iron bearers, type high, are placed all around the type matter before the form is locked up. 2007 B. Moser Ashen Sky 39 The very precise blocks..are produced at the universal ‘type high’ measure—.918 inch—which allows the blocks to be locked up and printed with the type. 2. a. Situated far above the ground or some other base; far up; having a lofty position. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xi. 268 Se ðe gebigde þone heagan heofenlican bigels. OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) i. vii. 49 Þæt mynstre [read mynster] wæs geseted in heanum cnolle þæs muntes. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 129 Þe heouene is swiðe hech. 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. av^v Al yai that ar wrocht vndir ye hie hevin. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Tobit iii. 10 At this voyce wente Sara in to an hye chamber of hir house. 1678 T. Jordan Triumphs of London 8 A Shrine, or Indian Structure erected according to the Dorick order of Architecture, adorned with lively pieces of Imagerie round about, and, on the high extremity, is exalted a Masculine lively person. 1700 S. L. tr. C. Frick Relation Voy. in tr. C. Frick & C. Schweitzer Relation Two Voy. E.-Indies 75 Their Sconces lying so high, that they had a great command of us. 1776 R. Chandler Trav. Greece i. 2 The sharp end is very often high in the air. 1816 U. Brown Jrnl. in Maryland Hist. Mag. 11 358 Thence up said River 3 Miles to John Rush's where we put up & was kindly treated, he being the highest setler up that River. 1821 R. Southey Vision of Judgem. i. 2 The clouds had gather'd above them High in the middle air, huge, purple, pillowy masses. 1836 A. Taylor & J. Taylor Star in Rhymes for Nursery i Up above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 226 [He] Climb'd to the high top of the garden-wall. 1874 H. Chadwick Base Ball Man. 30 Chances for fly-catches from short, high balls. 1915 W. Cather Song of Lark i. xvi. 122 High plains where there is no moistness or mistiness in the atmosphere. 1982 C. Willis in S. Williams Hugo & Nebula Award Winners from Asimov's Sci. Fiction (1995) 43 There was a constant, deafening thunder broken by the occasional droning of the planes high overhead. 2004 Conservation Action (N.Z. Dept. of Conservation) July 9/2 On the high slopes of the Craigieburn Range..there are hundreds of large penwiper plants. b. Of a celestial object: not low in the sky; far from the horizon.In quot. lOE in figurative context; cf. sense A. 8b.In quot. 1613 perhaps sense A. 2a. ΚΠ lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 32 Eall þis þu myht geþencan be gode..: he is seo hea sunne. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. vi. 525 Somer is hoot and drye... And þanne þe sonne is most hiȝe aboue vs. c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Brussels) (1940) ii. §22. f. 89^v As heiȝ is the pool artik fro the orizonte as the equinoxial is fer fro the cenith. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 188 The high sun Was comyn into colde with a course low. 1601 R. Dolman tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. III. 267 And when the moone is high and septentrionall, the tide is not so vehement as when she is meridionall, bicause that being then more neere to the earth, she doth the more exercise hir power. 1637 S. Rutherford Let. 8 Sept. in Joshua Redivivus (1664) 364 Oh for the long day & the high sun & the fair garden & the King's great citie up above these visible heavens! 1719 in Philos. Trans. 1717–19 (Royal Soc.) 30 993 The Moon was not too high to be well observed with a Forestaff. 1789 R. Burns in J. Johnson Scots Musical Museum iii. 301 The moon..That's blinkin in the lift sae hie. 1804 W. L. Bowles Spirit of Discov. 308 Whose volcanic fires A thousand nations view, hung like the moon High in the middle waste of heaven. 1917 R. Kipling Diversity of Creatures 237 A high sun over Asia shouting: ‘Rise and shine!’ 1981 C. A. Ronan Pract. Astron. 61 Grus (the Crane) is very close to the zenith, while Sagittarius (the Archer), Pavo (the Peacock) and Hydrius (the Sea Serpent) are high in the sky. 2000 T. Clancy Bear & Dragon vi. 90 It was six-fifteen on the Russian spring evening, the sun high in the sky still, in anticipation of the ‘White Nights’ for which the Russian summer is justly famous. c. Chiefly with capital initial. Prefixed to the names of countries or districts, designating the upper (or inland) part, as High Asia, High Germany, High Furness, etc.Some related uses are treated as main entries: see High Dutch n. and adj., High German n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > [adjective] overOE upa1400 uppera1400 high?a1425 uplandsa1525 uplandish1551 highland1595 upland1610 high country1612 uphill1613 Highlandish1632 uplying1877 society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > a land or country > part of country or district > [adjective] > in high position superiora1393 uppera1400 high?a1425 ?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 3 Egipte þe hie and þe lawe. 1530 Proper Dyaloge Gentillman & Husbandman (new ed.) sig. Cvj^v Euene as they dyd in hygh Germany To the Emperour lewes of Bauerye. 1578 W. B. tr. Appian of Alexandria Aunc. Hist. Romanes Warres ii. 137 Antiochus had the rule of many nations in high Asia, and of all that inhabite the sea coast, sauing a fewe. 1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxv. 105 One generall Sewer, which seemeth to diuide, Low Holland from the High. a1735 W. Derham Life Mr. Ray in J. Ray Select Remains (1760) 58 All the Birds, Fishes, &c. which they saw, as they passed through High and Low Germany. 1774 T. West Antiq. Furness p. xlv The woodlanders of High Furness were charged with the care of the flocks and herds. 1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 644 The Suffolk-punches, which are common in the district called High Suffolk. 1869 W. W. Hunter (title) A Comparative Dictionary of the Non-Aryan Languages of India and High Asia. 1925 E. A. Powell Beyond Utmost Purple Rim iii. 66 A quest for an almost extinct variety of wild sheep found only in the High Atlas. 2008 Independent 8 Feb. 43/2 Life for the nomads of High Asia has never been anything other than tough, but this winter has beset them with unprecedented problems. d. Medicine. Situated in the upper part of the body, section of the body, limb, or organ; spec. = proximal adj. 2a. Also: occurring in, involving, or relating to such a position; designating such a position. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > positions or directions in body > [adjective] > specific rightOE lefta1200 lowera1400 furtherc1400 lateral?a1425 sinistera1500 upper1528 anterior?1541 inferior1563 superior1566 oblique1578 high1588 ascendant1611 prone1646 peripherial1653 internal1657 supine1661 peripherical1690 gawk1703 ascending1713 adducent1722 submental1722 adductory1752 subdorsal1783 syntropic18.. atlantal1803 mesiad1803 mesial1803 proximal1803 sternal1803 distal1808 peripheral1808 peripheric1818 ventripetal1819 submedial1825 anteriormostc1826 subvertebral1827 afferent1828 sinistral1828 rostral1834 interganglionic1835 submedian1836 mesian1837 haemal1839 supravaginal1844 neural1846 symmetrical1851 suprameatal1853 paraxial1861 posterial1866 hypaxial1873 postaxial1873 preaxial1873 transmedial1876 transmedian1876 mediad1878 horizontal1881 mesal1881 prosomatic1882 dextrad1883 paramedian1890 prorsal1890 ventro-dorsal1895 midsagittal1898 ventro-axial1902 ventro-posterior1903 ipsilateral1907 parasagittal1907 ventromedial1908 homolateral1910 suprasellar1912 supratemporal1975 1588 W. Clowes Prooued Pract. Young Chirurgians v. 100 The xiii. is the situation of the member in a high or lowe part of the body, for vlcers in the superior members are easy to be cured, but in the inferior hard. 1687 Chirurgorum Comes i. ii. 16/2 I Answer, That all those parts which are above the Navel, including also the Liver and Stomach, are accounted high: but the parts below the Liver are accounted Low, as the Kidneys, and Genitals in Man and Woman. 1698 J. Keill Anat. Humane Body 235 It [sc. the fibula] lies in the outside of the Leg, and its upper end which is not so high as the Knee, receives the lateral knob of the upper end of the Tibia. 1740 Philos. Trans. 1737–8 (Royal Soc.) 40 371 No other method but that of the high Operation can facilitate the Extraction [from the bladder] of an extraneous Body, whose Branches cannot fail causing considerable Lacerations. 1760 E. Nihell Treat. Art Midwifery 266 If the foetus is still high in the uterus, and the situation of it does not indicate a readiness for extrusion. 1784 B. Bell Treat. Theory & Managem. Ulcers (ed. 3) §viii. 334 So high in the thigh that a tourniquet could not be applied. 1834 Lancet 20 Sept. 1020/1 This high position of the testicles in the cavity of the abdomen..corresponds with the position of the ovaries in the opposite sex. 1912 G. L. Hunner in J. H. Musser & A. O. J. Kelly Handbk. Pract. Treatm. 716 Stone low in the ureter in men, and stone in women just too high for vaginal removal, may best be reached through a low McBurney or rectus muscle incision. 1952 Mich. Alumnus Q. Rev. 59 109 The nurse in charge of the ward kept telling the enlisted man that it must be a high enema, and he was so annoyed at having to give it anyhow, and especially to a German prisoner, that he finally said, ‘Well, is this high enough?’. 2005 S. C. Basu Male Reprod. Dysfunction xii. 251/2 The epididymal function seems to be taken over by the more proximal segments allowing pregnancies even in the case of high anastomosis. 3. Having a degree of height specified or indicated by comparison. a. With a premodifying noun phrase consisting of a noun denoting or implying a measure of upward distance premodified by a numeral or quantifier (e.g. ten foot high). Also forming part of such a phrase used attributively (e.g. an 80-foot high tower, a ten foot high ceiling) or introduced by of (e.g. a building of nine storeys high).Frequently with a premodifying noun denoting a physical object used as a measure of height. chin-high, face-high, knee-high, man-high, roof-high, etc.: see the first element. (a) Having a specified upward dimension or extent; (so much) in height. Cf. sense A. 1.In Old English with the measure (and sometimes also the numeral) in the genitive. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] highOE high-seta1382 sovereigna1425 airy1565 sublime?1567 haughty1570 supernal1599 aerial1608 upward1622 high-top1653 superincumbent1659 supern1703 highish1778 high-up1831 high-level1842 altitudinous1868 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adjective] highOE heighted1892 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) i. 185 Wyrc þe nu ænne arc þreo hund fæðma lang & fifti fæðma wid & þritig fæðma heah. OE Genesis A (1931) 1308 Þu þær [read þæt] fær gewyrc fiftiges wid, ðrittiges heah[and] þreohund lang elngemeta. OE Old Eng. Martyrol. (Julius) 2 June (2013) 110 Þa stod þær gyldenu onlicnes, twelf elna heah. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 565 Ðat arche was...l.^ti elne wid and .xxx.^ti heg. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 1419 An ellen hyȝe þei wore. a1450 ( tr. Vegetius De Re Militari (Douce) f. 14 Euery kniȝt schulde haue..a stake ypiȝt in þe erþe of vi fote hiȝe aboue þe erþe. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxvi^v Ouer their coardes was streyned wollen clothes of light blew: this roofe was .lxxx. fote high. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 35 Sevin, or viii. cubites hich. c1600 Wriothesley's Chron. Eng. (1875) I. 181 A rych herse..of nyne stories heigh. 1633 T. James Strange Voy. 43 The snow was..halfe legge high. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 70 A piece of small Wyer about a quarter and half quarter of an Inch high. 1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. i. vi. 92 The common Size of the Natives is somewhat under six Inches high. 1795 Times 24 June 3/1 A slight buffon tucker of two inches high. 1825 Kingston (Upper Canada) Chron. 7 Jan. 3/3 Bulls and Oxen to run at large—Fences 5 feet high. 1858 R. Hogg Veg. Kingdom 747 The Cabbage Palm..is..a lofty tree 170 to 200 feet high. 1901 M. C. Dickerson Moths & Butterflies i. 12 A small milk-white egg..less than one-twentieth of an inch high. 1943 Triumphs of Engin. 182/1 Each has its aeroplane landing ground, telephone, telegraph, and 80-foot high wireless towers. 1993 Canad. Living July 4/2 An encyclopedia-high smoked meat sandwich. 2006 Nature 2 Nov. 44/2 (caption) This white-coloured sulphate evaporite cliff (about 10 metres high). (b) Situated at a specified distance above the ground or some other base or level; (so far) up. Cf. sense A. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > situated at specific high level high1582 1582 A. Golding tr. Ioyful & Royal Entertainment sig. E4^v Hee turned towardes the Coopers streete, in the street called Cheeslane to the great Market place, which was full of Torches of waxe, and of Barrelles of pitche vpon long poles vp to the highest windowes, which commonly are fiue stories high. 1662 J. Strype in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eminent Literary Men (1843) (Camden) 178 A very handsome [Chamber], and one pair of stairs high. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 62 She lay in the Garret four Story high. 1839 R. S. Robinson Naut. Steam Engine Explained 5 The limit of atmospheric air, supposed to be forty-five miles high. 1856 M. F. Tupper Paterfamilias's Diary of Everybody's Tour 162 Our first act was to ascend to the top landing of its aerial lantern, between five and six hundred steps high. 1920 B. Harrow Eminent Chemists 158 She established herself in the ‘east side’ section of the town, in a small back room, four flights high, to which she carried her own coal. 1982 R. Kahn Seventh Game ii. 33 He threw a fastball pecker-high that abruptly sailed in toward Haskell's groin. 1990 Countryside Winter 162/1 A yurt is basically a round tent with walls, about 16 feet in diameter, with a 10-foot high ceiling topped by a pointed roof. 2013 New Yorker 27 May 56/1 The ceilings were eleven feet high. b. Expressing relative upward extension: having (more, less, or a specified) extent from top to bottom; esp. (of a person) having (a specified) stature. ΚΠ 1579 S. Gosson Ephemerides Phialo ii. f. 40^v If thou be but a hoppe on my Thumbe, as high as three horsloues, or stand on a Moulehill to looke into a mustarde pot. 1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies ii. 248/2 Another strange beast called Coaty , as high as a Hare. a1652 R. Brome New Acad. ii. ii. 33 in Five New Playes (1659) For I did beat a boy as high as my selfe Yesterday, with one hand. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 360 If the fore Wheels were as high as the hinder Wheels. 1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 173 The Grass..being as high as our Mid-Thigh. 1771 A. Young Farmer's Tour E. Eng. I. viii. 405 The man can see, by the height of the water in the pump cistern, how high it is in all the rest. 1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxvi. 400 Ever since I was a boy about half as high as the brass-headed stick o' my wery respectable friend, Blazes, there. 1871 W. Alexander Johnny Gibb (ed. 2) vii. 45 I dinna believe but ye're near as heich's Peter there. 1886 D. C. Murray Rainbow Gold II. (new ed.) ii. 34 I've known him from the time he was as high's the table. 1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IX. 837/3 The shōji..are approximately as high as the tatami are long. 2012 S. J. Troupe & D. R. Troupe How Nicholas became Santa Clause ii. 39 A large bald, muscular man as high as Zili's horse. 4. Designating a body of water, tide, etc. †a. Of the sea, water, etc.: deep. Cf. high sea n. Obsolete. ΚΠ OE Wanderer 82 Sume wig fornom, ferede in forðwege, sumne fugel oþbær ofer heanne holm. OE Genesis A (1931) 1451 He þa ymb seofon niht sweartum hrefne of earce forlet æfter fleogan ofer heah wæter haswe culufran on fandunga hwæðer famig sæ deop þa gyta dæl ænigne grenre eorðan ofgifen hæfde. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 48 Crist..þone halgan Petrum be ðære handa gelædde upp on þam heagan brymme, þæt þæt ða sælican yða hine forswelgan ne mihton. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. i. l. 162 (MED) Riȝt so is loue a ledere..And in þe herte þere is þe heuede and þe heiȝ welle. a1425 (a1400) Titus & Vespasian l. 1764 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1904) 112 32 (MED) Wolt þou me swere..Wiþ me to wende to Jerusalem Ouer þe see, þe hiȝe streem? b. Of the tide: at its maximum height. See also high tide n. 2, high water n. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > tide > type of tide > [adjective] > full (of tides) fullOE higha1387 a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 59 Þe hiȝe flood of occean ariseþ [?a1475 anon. tr. swellethe] vp þe costes of Bretaine foure score cubitis hiȝe. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 723 (MED) Of flodes hihe and ebbes lowe Upon his [sc. the moon's] change it schal be knowe. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. xiii. xxi. 667 Þe first day of waxinge of þe mone he is more copiouse þan oþer tymes, for þan þe see is moste ful and hiȝe. 1580 J. Stow Chrons. of Eng. 970 After the which winde followed so high a tide, that it drowned the marshes on Essex side and Kent. 1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 138 The 4. of March (the tide being high) there entred 21. saile into the gollet, the enemie shott two through. 1696 Famous Tryal between T. Neale & Lady Ivy 26 At high Flood doth the Water come in there at this time? 1770 Trial M. Campbell for Murder A. Earl 27 Nature itself points out..the margin of the water at all times, whether at high or low sea. 1837 ‘P. Parley’ Tales about Sea ii. 15 When the water is high, it is called high tide; when it is low, it is called low tide. 1939 Oxnard (Calif.) Daily Courier 18 Apr. 1/8 The last attempt to get the barge off the sands was made Monday evening when the tide was high at 6:30 o'clock. 2002 Integrative & Compar. Biol. 42 846/1 When the tide is high, flowing water can generate large hydrodynamic forces on attached organisms. c. Of the sea: characterized by large swells; rough; stormy. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > state of sea > [adjective] > characterized by swells high1569 swelly1722 1569 N. Haward tr. Seneca Line of Liberalitie ii. xxxv. f. 90 It shall blow merueilous fowle wether, and be hygh and rough seas. ?1614 G. Chapman tr. Homer Odysses v. 81 Neptune raisd A huge, a high, and horrid sea, that seisd Him and his ship. 1693 H. Higden Wary Widdow iv. 37 'Tis all Prise Brandy and as true as ever came from Nantz. Guard the Bowle Boy, least a high Sea should overset it. 1793 tr. G. B. Du Bocage Petit Neptune Français vii. 129 In this Gulf..the sea is very high with the winds from the offing, and you should not be safe there when they are blowing from the west. 1869 Edinb. Evening Courant 26 Aug. Heavy northerly gales sprung up, which continued without intermission, and the sea being high caused the vessel to labour heavily. 1903 Irish Monthly Feb. 100 Sometimes the weather was so wild and the seas so high that for days the boats could not venture out. 2002 R. Mykle Killer 'Cane (2006) viii. 120 He had never experienced such high seas. This was more than a hurricane, he thought. d. Of a river, lake, etc.: raised above the usual water level; swollen or in flood as a result of heavy rains or melting snow. See also high water n. 1. ΚΠ 1574 T. Tymme tr. J. de Serres Three Partes Comm. Ciuill Warres Fraunce viii. sig. Uuu.iii The Riuers would be so highe with showers of raine, that men could not passe ouer the sayd Riuers. 1604 W. Traheron tr. P. Mexia Hist. Rom. Emperors 455 Raine, which fell..in such sort, that the water was so high, that the riuers and lakes of Italie ouerflowed and drowned an infinit number of people and cattell. 1661 T. Salusbury tr. B. Castellus Mensuration Running Waters ii. 55 in Math. Coll. & Transl. I The quantity of the Water which runneth, whilst the River is high, to that which ran, whilst it was low, hath the proportion [etc.]. 1790 J. Bruce Trav. Source Nile III. vi. xviii. 716 These cisterns are now full of filth; though in disrepair, the water, when the Nile is high insinuates itself into them. 1883 Forest & Stream 17 May 310/1 The lake is very high to-day: the snow water is still running in. 1915 Delphi (Indiana) Jrnl. 22 July 1/1 Shirrar, the oldest boy, noticed that the creek was high and unusually swift. 2000 Dædalus Summer 90 The state's rivers have become popular places for downstream travel in rented canoes, usually in the spring when the water is high. 5. a. Of a person's forehead: large in distance from the eyes or eyebrows to the hairline or top of the head. Cf. high-browed adj. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > forehead > [adjective] > types of brentc1400 high?c1450 steep1509 high-browed?1614 broad-fronteda1616 bluff1665 low-browed1734 lofty1798 baby-browed1843 bluff-browed1851 beautiful-browed1913 ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 22 (MED) Whanne the pie sawe a balled or a pilled man, or a woman with an high forhede. 1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 18 I coniure thee by Rosalindes bright eye, high forehead, and scarlet lip. View more context for this quotation 1686 True Fortune-teller (ed. 2) xxvi. 125 The Sanguine he [sc. Jupiter] governs most, causing the party to have a fine white skin.., eyes a dark brown, a high forehead, and four lines appearing therein. 1748 T. Smollett Roderick Random II. xxxix. 18 Her fore-head was high and wrinkled, her eyes large, grey and prominent. 1828 Token 186 It needed not much observation to discover that she was beautiful; and her high brow seemed to speak of lofty thoughts. 1851 Manch. Examiner & Times 25 Oct. 6/2 His forehead, high and broad, is deeply wrinkled. 1922 C. A. Player Arms & Men 67 His brow is high, and above it curls grey hair. 1991 A. R. Morlan Amulet iv. 111 The few long crinkled hairs combed over Wally's ever-growing bald patch (‘Walter has a high forehead,’ his wife was fond of explaining) flopped back to their natural side. 2008 Sun Herald (Sydney) (Nexis) 1 June 8 With her heart-shaped face, large eyes and high forehead, she is the perfect choice to play a cartoon character brought to life. b. Of a person's cheekbones: prominent, pronounced. ΚΠ 1693 A. P. tr. S. de la Loubère New Hist. Relation Kingdom Siam ii. i. 27 The shape of their Faces..is broad and high at the Cheek-bones. 1750 London Mag. July 316/1 They have a great head with black lank hair, a large flat face.., their cheek bones extremely high. 1835 W. Irving Tour on Prairies iii. 22 His features were..not unlike those of Napoleon, but sharpened up, with high Indian cheek-bones. 1895 Cosmopolitan Mar. 594/2 The high cheek-bones scarcely mar the just balancing of the features of the face of this pueblan beauty. 1948 Life 2 Feb. 35/2 Her face was oval-shaped, her cheekbones high and her features delicate. 1988 B. W. Aldiss Forgotten Life iv. 99 He was a sturdily built man with a beaky face and high cheek bones. 2007 E. Danticat Brother, I'm Dying i. ii. 28 With her high cheekbones and pouty lips she looked like a calendar girl or carnival queen. 6. Of physical actions: extending to or from a height; performed at a height. Cf. high hurdle n. and adj. at Compounds 4, high jump n. 2.With nouns of action and directly related to high adv. 1, e.g. a high leap is closely related to to leap high. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > performed at a height high1566 1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. cxlv. f. 100^v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe Surbating..is a beating of the houe agaynst the grounde,..it commeth sometyme by meanes of euil shooing lying to flat to his foote, or by going long barefote, and sometyme by the hardenesse of the ground, and highe lifting of the horse. a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. iii. 279 Which should sustaine the bound and high curuet Of Marses fierie steed. View more context for this quotation 1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 142 It is not the large Stride, or High Lift, that makes the Speed. 1709 Ld. Shaftesbury Moralists iii. i. 192 You might well expect the Fate of Icarus, for your high-soaring. 1762 G.-A. Gallini Treat. Art of Dancing 78 All are pleased with a brilliant execution, in the quick motion of the legs, and the high springs of the body. 1868 Morning Star 19 June Judging the bound of the ball when it lands after a high throw. 1891 H. S. Constable Horses, Sport & War 20 High action will cause splints, speedy-cuts, and other unsoundnesses. 1955 Athletics (Know the Game Ser.) 15 High jumping: Western roll; straddle; Eastern cut-off. 1968 Listener 23 May 682/1 For a high cross a well-trained full-back..is good enough. 2006 ‘L. Burana’ Try ii. 11 The puller yanked open the gate and the squat palomino made a high dive into the arena. 7. Phonetics. Of a vowel: produced with (the highest part of the body of) the tongue in a position raised close to the roof of the mouth; showing auditory characteristics typical of sounds traditionally described as being so articulated.The term close is preferred in the terminology favoured by the International Phonetic Association.For an explanation of this system of vowel classification, see mid adj. 2b(a).Frequently in combination with other adjectives indicating position, as high-mixed, high-narrow; for more established uses of this type, see Compounds 3c. ΘΚΠ the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > vowel > [adjective] > types of openeOE sharp?1533 simple1582 small1599 soft1625 obscurea1637 round1710 slender1755 close1760 wide1824 lowered1836 narrow1844 labialized1856 orinasal1856 central1857 reduced1861 free1864 high1867 low1867 mid1867 mixed1867 rounded1867 unrounded1871 raised1876 unreduced1894 obscured1897 spread1902 lax1909 slack1909 tense1909 centralized1926 flat1934 r-coloured1935 checked1943 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 101 The vowels..are represented in script by a single symbol for each class of vowels; the varieties ‘high’, ‘mid’, and ‘low’ in each class, being shown by the mere ascent and descent of the lines. 1874 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds 43 As a general rule the high vowels i and u have retained their positions, but in Dutch the short i is now represented by the mid-front-wide. 1909 O. Jespersen Mod. Eng. Gram. i. viii. 231 The great vowel-shift consists in a general raising of all long vowels with the exception of the two high vowels. 1964 R. Jakobson & M. Halle in D. Abercrombie Daniel Jones 98 The ‘high-narrow’ vowels are particularly short. 2009 Oceanic Linguistics 48 315 A voiceless velar fricative similar to standard German ch when not adjacent to a high vowel. II. Ranking above other people or things in class, status, or quality, and related senses. 8. a. Of a person or his or her attributes: of exalted rank, status, dignity, or estimation. Also of a person's reputation or position in society: exalted, favoured, highly esteemed. Cf. high life n. 2, high society n. at Compounds 4.For use in titles, see Compounds 1c. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective] higheOE drightlikeOE highlyOE drightfula1225 prouda1275 principalc1385 solemna1387 gentlec1390 high and mighty1400 imperial?c1400 royalc1405 kinglyc1425 sublimatec1425 lordfulc1429 lordlyc1440 assumpt1447 raiseda1450 haught1470 kinglikec1485 lordlike1488 triumphant1494 greatlya1500 princely?a1510 supereminent1531 princelike1532 lofta1547 lofty1548 regal1561 supernal1562 haughty1563 excelse1569 queen-like?1571 majestical1578 erecteda1586 augustious1591 ennobled1592 imperious1592 enthronized1593 august1594 high-born1598 sublimed1602 jovial1604 majestic1606 enthroned1609 starred1615 exalted1623 majestuous1633 reared1638 sublimary1655 majestative1656 kingrik1663 superb1663 grand1673 celse1708 stilted1744 canonized1790 queenly1791 apotheosized1794 princified1857 society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [adjective] > exalted in rank higheOE stern of slatec1300 greatc1325 differentc1384 excellentc1400 haught1470 upper1477 elevate?1504 of sort1606 sublime1606 eminenta1616 exalted1623 elevated1665 uppish1797 ranking1847 high-up1848 high-ranking1850 superimposed1861 salt1868 top-ranking1936 society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun] higheOE high life?a1518 towna1616 world1618 grand monde1673 society1693 beau monde1712 fine world1740 monde1765 tonc1770 high society1782 fashion1807 all the world1808 society1840 smart set1851 swelldom1854 Fifth Avenue1858 fashionabledom1859 haut monde1864 the big cheesea1910 higlif1911 haute Bohème1925 café society1937 jet set1949 beautiful people1950 society > authority > office > holder of office > [adjective] > superior greata1382 higha1400 seniora1513 superordinate1615 high-ranking1850 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) xcviii. 2 Dominus in sion magnus et excelsus super omnes populos : dryhten in sion micel & heh ofer alle folc. OE Beowulf (2008) 57 Him eft onwoc heah Healfdene. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17393 Þatt heȝhe maȝȝstre nicodem. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 19 He wes hali and mihti and heh ouer heouene and ouer eorða. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 10964 And þus þer cleopede Howel hæhes cunnes. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 16 Prede ys..þe wel special ald [read aid] to þe dyeule huer-of he be-gyleþ þe heȝe men. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 17300 Ouer þo iewes..As her prince an hy man. ?c1430 (a1400) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 199 Grete richessis and heiȝe statis. 1490 W. Caxton in tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) Prol. 3 Princes & lordes of hie estate. 1547 Certain Serm. or Homilies sig. B.iiij^v They that..doe lyue in sinne.., not vttering the frutes that do belong to suche an high profession. 1568 in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 328 Befoir that hich grand Roy. 1581 R. Mulcaster Positions xxxvii. 152 In any either hie or low kinde of life. 1613 T. Middleton Triumphs of Truth sig. D2 Like one of High-bloud that hath married Base. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 172 For him I reckon not in high estate Whom long descent of birth Or the sphear of fortune raises. View more context for this quotation 1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 54. 344 Sir Francis Walsingham was..high in the Queen's Favour. 1769 T. Gray Ode at Installation Duke of Grafton 5 High Potentates and Dames of royal birth. 1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 22/2 The high position France had attained in 1684. 1921 F. S. Mathews Field Bk. Wild Birds & their Music (rev. ed.) 103 The Field Sparrow is a gentle little creature whose..expressive song have won for him a high place in the estimation of all bird-lovers. 1956 Public Opinion Q. 20 612 The old upper class of traditional Americans were fearful of losing their high social status as their wealth was relatively diminished by the rise of other groups. 2009 J. Foster tr. P. Manes As if it were Life iii. 251 The head of the women's section, Mrs. Frič, was leaving with her husband, who had held a high position in the supplies office. b. With emphatic or superlative force, in high God, high heaven. ΚΠ OE Riddle 40 22 Se ana god se þisne hean heofon healdeþ ond wealdeþ. OE Paris Psalter (1932) cxliv. 1 Ic me heahne god hæbbe to kyninge. lOE tr. Alcuin De Virtutibus et Vitiis (Vesp.) in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 98 Se heage God gesihð þa eadmedan. a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Deeds vii. 48 The hiȝ God dwellith not in thingis maad bi hoond. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene iii. vi. sig. Hh2 Whence all the world deriues the glorious Features of beautie, and all shapes select, With which high God his workmanship hath deckt. a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) ii. ii. 124 Man, proud man, Drest in a little briefe authoritie..Plaies such phantastique tricks before high heauen, As makes the Angels weepe. View more context for this quotation 1707 S. Cobb Poems 51 Whene'er High God shall whet his angry Sword, The Rising Sun shall see True Faith restor'd. 1833 J. E. Alexander Transatlantic Sketches II. i. 4 ‘They won't be able to face you..without a fleet.’ ‘Oh! tarnation, no..nothing under high heaven; we will knock h—ll out of them.’ 1859 Ld. Tennyson Guinevere in Idylls of King 254 Hereafter..We two may meet before high God. 1915 D. A. Mackenzie Myths Babylonia & Assyria vii. 147 Then he made the abode of Ea in the deep, and the abode of Anu in high heaven. a1935 W. Lewis Journey into Barbary (1983) 214 A position of abject submission to a High God. 1997 T. Petsinis French Mathematician (1998) xx. 186 The acrid stench of sewers rising to high heaven. 9. a. Of exalted quality, character, or style; of a lofty, elevated, or superior kind; refined, sophisticated; honourable. Cf. high art n. at Compounds 4, high comedy n. at Compounds 4, high culture n. (b) at Compounds 4, high-minded adj. 2, high thinking at thinking n. 1c. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > surpassing excellence > [adjective] > and superior in quality higheOE finec1330 supreme1567 uppera1586 nature-graceda1618 de luxe1819 nature-favoured1877 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 459 Sio hea lar is betere manegum monnum to helanne, & feawum to secgganne. eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) v. xvi. 448 Wrat he eac heah boc & weorðlice de uirginitate. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 17 Þa ȝet he ȝef us ane heȝe ȝefe. a1250 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Titus) (1940) 157 Þu ofearnest meiden to beo engle euening i þe heȝe blisse of heuene. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 16 (MED) Þei clepen it hey riȝt-wisnenesse. 1485 W. Caxton tr. Lyf St. Wenefryde sig. aii A man of hye merite. ?a1535 To City of London (Vitellius) in J. Small Poems W. Dunbar (1893) II. 276 Of high renoun, riches and royaltie. 1569 J. Rogers Glasse Godly Love 183 Surely it is an highe and pure love. 1665 R. Boyle Occas. Refl. i. vi. sig. M8 He, whose high Reason, and exalted Piety, has..plac'd him above them. 1715 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 404 Where now are all your high Resolves at last? 1757 S. Foote Author i. 8 His Peculiarities require infinite Labour and high Finishing. 1808 W. Scott Marmion iii. xiii. 144 High minds, of native pride and force, Most deeply feel thy pangs, Remorse! 1817 P. B. Shelley Hymn Intell. Beauty v Hopes of high talk with the departed dead. 1870 Blaine's Encycl. Rural Sports (rev. ed.) §460 The account given is not in unison with our notions of high play. 1928 Amer. Mercury Oct. 207/2 The story of Cousin George's achievements includes a glorious part in most of the high deeds performed by Cotton Belt clerico-politicians. 1958 Visct. Montgomery Mem. (1961) 40 Under them I was taught a high sense of duty. 2012 Daily Camera (Boulder, Colorado) (Nexis) 4 May For those of a high mind, magnanimity becomes essential in the personal battle with the ‘real evil’ in our world. b. Of great consequence; important, grave, serious. Formerly also of punishment: †severe (obsolete). Cf. high treason at treason n. 2a. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > grave or serious heavy971 highOE earnestfula1400 solemn1420 weighty1489 ponderousa1500 chargeablea1513 serious1531 earnest1533 gravous1535 capitala1538 deep1598 grave1824 OE Genesis A (1931) 2373 Abraham..heht þæt segn wesan [read wegan] heah gehwilcne, þe his hina wæs wæpnedcynnes. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 66 Heh wikenn. alls itt semeþþ. Remonstr. against Romish Corruptions (Titus) (1851) 31 Worldli bisshopis..moun condempne the king..in poyntis of highe eresie bi here lawe. c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1051 A heȝe ernde & a hasty me hade fro þo woneȝ. c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 697 The kyng comaundeth..Vp peyne of hangyng and on heigh Iuyse That he ne sholde suffren..Custance..for tabyde. a1450 (c1400) in D. M. Grisdale 3 Middle Eng. Serm. (1939) 40 (MED) Þis was an hi punschyng' & an hard. c1500 Three Kings' Sons (1895) 81 Wise ynough to conduyte an [MS and] hy matier. 1534 tr. Erasmus Bellum Erasmi sig. Dvi^v The common weale is in moste hyghe ieoperdie and perylle to be loste. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica i. ii. 5 A high and capitall errour. View more context for this quotation 1686 Earl of Sunderland Let. 13 Feb. in T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. (1871) I. v. 320 Making a composition..for the high Misdemeanour they have been guilty of. 1699 R. Bentley Diss. Epist. Phalaris (new ed.) 213 The accusation is a very high one. 1730 in Swift's Lett. (1768) IV. 249 Of very high consequence to the whole kingdom. 1789 Constit. U.S. ii. §4 The President, Vice-President, and all Civil officers of the United States, shall be removed from office on impeachment for, and conviction of, treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors. 1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. iv. 225 When tidings of high weight were borne To that lone island's shore. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 126 On pain of his high displeasure. 1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. vii. 81 Accused of high crimes and misdemeanours against the state. 1932 ‘E. M. Delafield’ Provinc. Lady goes Further 50 Am obliged to take high line with Robert and compel him to listen to me whilst I tell him about the flat. 1992 World Monitor Feb. 45/4 Here I am..—once charged with high crimes against the state and threatened with a death sentence—about to ride freely into Moscow. c. Advanced, abstruse, difficult to comprehend; (also) †difficult to perform, arduous (obsolete). In later use frequently with nouns denoting a subject of study (cf. higher adj. 4). ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > difficulty > [adjective] > difficult to do or accomplish higheOE grievousc1386 steep1598 arduous1718 leg-breaking1835 knobby1862 nut-cracking1982 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [adjective] higheOE dighela1000 deepc1000 darkOE starkOE dusk?c1225 subtle1340 dimc1350 subtilea1393 covert1393 mystica1398 murka1400 cloudyc1400 hard?c1400 mistyc1400 unclearc1400 diffuse1430 abstractc1450 diffused?1456 exquisitec1460 obnubilous?a1475 obscure?a1475 covered1484 intricate?a1500 nice?a1500 perplexeda1500 difficilea1513 difficult1530 privy1532 smoky1533 secret1535 abstruse?1549 difficul1552 entangled1561 confounded1572 darksome1574 obnubilate1575 enigmatical1576 confuse1577 mysteriousa1586 Delphic1598 obfuscatea1600 enfumed1601 Delphicala1603 obstruse1604 abstracted1605 confused1611 questionable1611 inevident1614 recondite1619 cryptic1620 obfuscated1620 transcendent1624 Delphian1625 oraculous1625 enigmatic1628 recluse1629 abdite1635 undilucidated1635 clouded1641 benighted1647 oblite1650 researched1653 obnubilated1658 obscurative1664 tenebrose1677 hyperbyssal1691 condite1695 diffusive1709 profound1710 tenebricose1730 oracular1749 opaque1761 unenlightening1768 darkling1795 offuscating1798 unrecognizable1817 tough1820 abstrusive1848 obscurant1878 out-of-focus1891 unplumbable1895 inenubilable1903 non-transparent1939 eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn Minor Lat.-Old Eng. Glossaries in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 98 Ardui [propositi], ðæs hean hades. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Prov. xxiv. 7 Ful heeȝ to the fool wisdam. a1450 St. Katherine (Richardson 44) (1884) 16 She asked hym many an hye questioun, and he answered hir sufficiantly. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) xvii. 913 He was worthi a prynce to be Yat couth with sa hey a thing But gret tynsaill bring till ending. a1533 Ld. Berners tr. A. de Guevara Golden Bk. M. Aurelius (1546) sig. D.ij So high sentences, as he wrot. a1550 ( G. Ripley Compend of Alchemy (Bodl. e Mus.) f. 46 (MED) When they suche high thinges take in hande, Which they in no wise vnderstande. a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) i. f. 4^v Neuer passe farre forward in hie and hard sciences. 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms cxxxix. 6 Such knowledge is too wonderfull for me: it is high, I cannot attaine vnto it. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 602 Speculations high or deep. View more context for this quotation 1743 W. Worthington Ess. on Man's Redempt. Pref. p. v Where any Thing therein seems too hard or high for its Comprehension, there humbly to acquiesce. 1788 W. Agutter Serm. Death J. Henderson 7 In the investigation of high and abstruse subjects, he displayed a bold originality of mind, deep thought, close reasoning, and a lively imagination. 1818 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. 483/1 Though men of high science, like Leslie or Playfair, may smile at the papers of a senior wrangler. 1887 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 35 303/1 Not for a moment is it intended here to deprecate the use of high mathematics. 1909 Math. Gaz. 5 25 As to the thief, his business required a very high knowledge of Mathematics. (Laughter). 1992 S. Holloway Courage High! xvi. 133/1 Now came a period of discussion over the..standard of engine efficiency... This was high theory compared with the practical problems of the day. 2004 N.Y. Times 27 June iv. 1/3 Iraq... Ask yourself whether this colossal American enterprise will fail or succeed. This is not high science, only pedestrian calculation. d. Of living things: occupying a high rank in the (notional) hierarchy of creation; having a highly developed or complex organization. Cf. higher adj. 5. ΘΚΠ the world > life > biology > biological processes > evolution > [adjective] > processes or types of evolution high?1548 recapitulative1836 retrogressive1853 transmutational1861 ontogenetic1869 convergent1871 phylogenetic1876 correlative1877 ontogenic1878 phylogenetical1879 phytogenetic1882 monotypic1888 phytogenetical1888 polytypic1888 ontogenal1890 phylogenal1890 recapitulatory1890 tachygenetic1893 ontogenetical1894 anagenetic1896 orthogenic1896 orthogenetic1899 macroevolutionary1937 microevolutionary1937 proterogenetic1938 speciational1944 parapatric1953 cladogenetic1957 allochronic1960 stasigenetic1965 stasipatric1967 speciating1970 punctuational1976 tachygenic- ?1548 J. Bale Comedy Thre Lawes Nature ii. sig. B God hath appoynted me, Mankynde to ouerse, And in hys hart to sytt. To teache hym, for to knowe, In the creatures hygh and lowe, Hys gloryouse mageste. 1640 G. Abbot Whole Bk. Iob Paraphr. xxviii. 171 Nature is an utter stranger to it, it is hid from the knowledge of all creatures, high or low, one or other. a1752 R. Erskine Job's Hymns (1753) 68 Wide as the universe, ev'n so Hath God his table spread; And all his creatures high and low, Still at his cost are fed. 1897 Science 17 Dec. 901/2 Without this power and the plasticity which results from it the multitudinous parts of high animals could not well be coordinated. 1922 W. Partridge Aids Bacteriol. (ed. 4) xvi. 168 Lower members of the group have both asexual and sexual methods of reproduction, while among the high fungi sexual development is less evident. 1943 Philos. Sci. 10 21 Indeed, it is possible that one of the features of the discontinuity of behavior observable when comparing humans with other high mammals may lie in that the other mammals are limited to predictive behaviour of a low order. 1982 J. Gardner Mickelsson's Ghosts ii. x. 394 Anguish among people, high apes and low apes, geniuses and fools. 2008 B. S. Hewlett & B. L. Hewlett Ebola, Culture & Politics 143 Fleeing during rapid-killing outbreaks also may be rooted in the genes of high primates as well as in humans. 10. Chief, principal, main; special, solemn. Now chiefly in particular collocations: see also high altar n., high day n.¹ 1, high road n., high street n., etc. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > pre-eminence > [adjective] firsteOE headOE highOE greatc1350 upperestc1374 chief1377 singular1377 principala1382 royalc1425 cardinal1440 pre-eminenta1460 praisea1475 main1480 maina1525 primary1565 captain1566 arch1574 mistressa1586 capital1597 topless1609 primea1616 metropolitan1635 transeminent1660 whole1675 uppermost1680 primus inter pares1688 topping1694 Sudder1787 par excellence1839 banner1840 primatial1892 OE Daniel 665 Nabochodonossor..heold hæleða gestreon and þa hean burh. OE Homily (Bodl. 340) (Dict. Old Eng. transcript) Þeah ðe us syn ealle þa halgan drihtenlican tida..to weorðienne and to wuldrienne, hwæðere þeos [sc. Holy Saturday] is ofer ealle oðre heah, and halig. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 45 (MED) Reste ȝefe þen sunne-dei a þet cume þin heh domes dei. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 5422 Vor þe heye tounes in þe lond & þe castles þer to Mid gode kniȝtes let astory. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 10428 For þair hei fest sake. a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 341 He was not clepid..hiȝ disciple of Crist. 1490 W. Caxton tr. Boke yf Eneydos xxii. sig. Fv^v We wryte..the hyghe festes wyth rede lettres of coloure of purpre. a1556 R. Chancellor in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1598) I. 237 A place..where the hie market is holden on Saint Nicholas day. a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) ii. 88 There is no difference touching repairs of the High streams and the highways in my opinion. ?1677 S. Primatt City & Covntry Purchaser & Builder 72 Houses which front high and Principal Streets. 1702 Brief Hist. Trade Eng. 152 The most principal and high Streets, even from Aldgate to Westminster. 1791 J. Trapp tr. J. W. von Archenholz Picture of Italy II. ix. 52 The vast magnitude of this church becomes most visible on high feasts. 1842 C. W. Johnson Farmer's Encycl. 636/1 Holy-grass, this grass is said to be used at high festivals, for strewing the churches in Prussia. 1878 R. Browning Let. 28 Sept. (1966) 69 On our return, we found the little town enjoying high market-day, and its privilege of rowing and screaming over a bargain. 1900 Overland Monthly Nov. 458/1 On the next high feast day the combat should take place—a combat to the death, with one chance in a million for the man. 1972 Jewish Chron. 1 Sept. 22/1 (advt.) For the high festivals: Machsorim—Tallisim—Kittles—Coppels. Unrivalled selection of New Year cards. 11. Showing pride or self-importance; haughty, pretentious, arrogant, overbearing; (in response to hurt pride) resentful, angry, heated. Chiefly (now literary) of words, actions, feelings, etc.; occasionally also (now regional) of a person.In high words (cf. high words at word n. 2d) now often merged with sense A. 17a. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > [adjective] highOE rankOE proudOE quaint?c1225 stoutc1315 proud-heartedc1400 gobbedc1440 pridyc1485 high-minded?1503 superb1561 proud-heart1591 tiptoe1593 sublime1596 high-headed1599 magnificent1603 side1673 vaunty1724 perked-up1754 spicy1768 jelly1828 Latin1914 the mind > emotion > anger > indignation or resentment > [adjective] > characterized by or showing wrothc1000 highOE wrackfulc1230 indignant1590 snarling1599 umbrageous1601 indignatorya1624 resenting1634 resentful1656 affronted1663 bridling1673 begrudging1693 wrathy1873 OE St. Eustace (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 198 Efne þu wære nu oð þis upahafen on þisse worulde æhtum.., nu gedafnað þe þæt þu beo geeaðmet of þire hean idelnysse. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 753 Heȝe word he spekeð. þat alle heo wullet quellen quic þat heo findeð. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 9104 Þoru som heye herte þer wax a lute strif Bituene þe erl of aungeo, & þe emperesse is wif. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 116 His hert, that wes stout and he [1489 Adv. hey], Consalit hym allane to byde. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 2 High wordes makiþ not a man holy & riȝtwise. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccxxxi. 313 A man of hye mynde, right cruell, and full of yuell condycions. c1560 A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) xxvii. 31 Quhen scho growis heich, I draw on dreich, To vesy and behald the end. 1649 J. Milton Tenure of Kings 12 No Christian Prince not drunk with high mind..would arrogate so unreasonably above human condition. 1661 S. Pepys Diary 20 Mar. (1970) II. 57 Endeed, the bishops are so high, that very few do love them. 1703 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion II. vi. 67 The Soldiery..grew very high, and would obey no Orders..but of their own making. 1710 R. Steele Tatler No. 231. ⁋2 [She] had from her Infancy discovered so imperious a Temper (usually called a High Spirit) that [etc.]. 1781 W. Cowper Truth 93 High in demand, though lowly in pretence. 1806 R. Cumberland Mem. (1807) II. 156 The wild woman..was at high words with the witches. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 404 Many who talked in high language about sacrificing their lives and fortunes for their country. 1918 R. D. Holmes Yankee in Trenches 25 Yer blinkin' 'igh wif yer wants, ayen't ye? 1922 T. S. Cairncross Scot at Hame 4 Feth! it's a dizzy, restless warl', When folk sae heich maun turn and harle. 1935 G. Jones Four Icelandic Sagas 139 The change was unattended by anything more remarkable than some high words at the Althing. 1993 P. Ackroyd House of Dr. Dee (1994) v. 184 Being delayed by some high words with my servant for leaving my close-stool uncleansed. 12. a. Of the condition of an animal, crop, or of soil: resulting from heavy feeding or fertilization. Usually as an undesirable quality. Cf. high farming n. at Compounds 4. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > rank rank?1440 rankish1495 over-rank1689 high1886 the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land suitable for cultivation > [adjective] > manured or fertilized > too much high1902 a1425 Templum Domini in R. Cornelius Figurative Castle (Ph.D. diss., Bryn Mawr Coll.) (1930) 74 Noman kepe his flesch to hee, Bot his frele flesch menly to fede. c1475 Mankind (1969) l. 241 Yf a man haue an hors and kepe hym not to hye, He may then reull hym. 1575 G. Turberville Bk. Faulconrie 338 If shee [sc. the hawke] bee high and not well enseamed, hir meate must be throughly washed, that it may skowre hir the better. 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xliii. 872 In the beginning of autumne they [sc. hawkes] must be brought downe by laxatiue medicines, if they be too high, as namely by giuing them aloes with their meate. 1794 T. Wedge Gen. View Agric. Chester 36 This disease most frequently happens, when a cow calves either in hot weather, or when in very high condition. 1834 W. Youatt Cattle xvi. 553 This occurs particularly in young cows after their first calving, and when they are in a somewhat too high condition. 1861 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1860: Agric. 472 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (36th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 48) VIII At the proper season the broad bean is sown, and in the spring it is turned into the ground for manure, making the soil high and allowing the cotton roots to spread and strike deep. 1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 116 Hill ewes are never in too high condition; the danger is all the other way. 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXVI. 361/1 It is better not to grow barley after roots fed off by sheep, as this rotation leaves the land..in too ‘high’ a condition... By taking barley as a second corn crop, the latter following roots fed off, or a ‘high’ crop, [etc.]. 1995 Agric. Hist. Rev. 43 184/1 A naturally fertile soil might be out of condition, and a naturally poor soil in high condition. b. Of food, drink, or eating: rich in flavour or quality; luxurious. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > [adjective] > strong-tasting strongeOE stithc1000 violenta1398 tartc1405 froughc1420 high?c1430 lecherous1474 strong1588 brusque1601 valiant1607 pertish1635 haut-goût1645 full-flavoured1736 lively1770 gamey1820 ory1854 zestful?1855 robust1873 tangy1875 stewy1895 the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > rich or luxurious rich1340 lecherous1474 gaudy1540 voluptuous1544 high1616 genteel1660 decadent1967 ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 157 To drynke heiȝe wynes. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 45 Plato checked and rebuked Aristippus for that he was so sweete mouthed, and drouned in the voluptuousnesse of high fare. 1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. i. 10 Like a horse, Full of high feeding. View more context for this quotation 1616 in J. Russell Haigs of Bemersyde (1881) vi. 138 It was over high meat for my weak stomach to digest. 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §48 Almonds that are not of so high a taste as Flesh. 1692 L. D. Check to Debauchery vii. 62 Strong Meats, strong Drinks, high Sauces are not convenient, as being many times very hurtful to the Memory and Understanding. 1729 W. Law Serious Call vi. 83 High eating and drinking, fine cloaths, and fine houses. 1733 G. Cheyne Eng. Malady Pref. p. viii A gross, full, high Diet, is [improper] for a poor, thin, low, valetudinary Creature. 1735 J. Swift Stella at Wood-Park in Wks. II. 213 Prouder than the D——l, With feeding high, and Treatment civil. 1825 W. H. Hilton tr. A. Jullien Wine-merchant's Compan. i. 4 After made dishes, or high cheese, all wines appear good, or at least much better than they really are. 1878 Chambers's Jrnl. 2 Feb. 69/1 We may rely on it that the servants of Dives himself had strongly defined ideas as to the proportion of high feasting that should accompany the purple and fine linen of their patron. 1883 F. M. Crawford Mr. Isaacs 2 Patient under blows and abstemious under high-feeding. 1908 E. Higginson Alaska xxi. 252 The event was celebrated by solemn Mass, followed by high eating and higher drinking. 1913 J. J. Henderson Sci. Food Selection Introd. 4 They are forced to eat high foods, such as richly cooked meats and foods containing a high percentage of carbon. 2013 USA Today (Nexis) 29 Mar. 4 d My private three-day adventure—a tantalizing mix of high dining and lowly street food, with a tasty serving of culture and history on the side—steeps me in the world of authentic Cantonese cuisine. †c. U.S. Of tobacco: moist. Cf. earlier in high case at case n.¹ 5b. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > [adjective] > moist high1789 1789 Amer. Museum June 540/2 If the tobacco is too high in case when it is struck, it will be apt to rot when it gets into a sweat. 1850 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1849: Agric. 322 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (31st Congr., 1st Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 20, Pt. 2) VI Tobacco should not be too moist, or ‘high’ as it is termed, when put in the stalk-bulks. 1865 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1861–4 5 669 Care must be taken that the tobacco does not imbibe too much moisture, or get too high in case before it is bulked. d. Of meat, esp. game: tending towards decomposition; slightly tainted; usually as a desirable condition. Hence: having a strong odour. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > preparation of meat > [adjective] > high higha1817 a1817 J. Austen Watsons in Wks. (1954) VI. 344 As the partridges were pretty high, D^r Richards would have them sent away to the other end of the Table. 1825 C. M. Westmacott Eng. Spy II. 112 The fish is rather high. 1870 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows 161 A jest or a proverb (if a little high he liked them none the worse). 1879 F. T. Pollok Sport Brit. Burmah I. 168 Alligators and crocodiles..prefer their food very high. 1901 E. Step Shell Life iv. 52 Carnivorous mollusks..are found in lobster-pots baited with ‘high’ fish which they have smelled through the water. 1979 J. Raban Arabia through Looking Glass vii. 299 The room was high with the thin stink of their preservative. 2010 Times (Nexis) 1 May (Mag.) 69 A dish of roast wood pigeon which was unbelievably high (really, really whiffy, like the most ancient pheasant nailed to an outhouse wall and forgotten). 13. a. Extreme in opinion (esp. religious or political); carrying an opinion or doctrine to an extreme. Cf. high Tory n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > expressed belief, opinion > extreme opinion, dogmatism > [adjective] high?1535 Arctic1593 magistral1596 forward1608 confident1611 magisterial1635 pragmatic1638 high-flown1640 affirmative1650 thetical1653 positive1658 pragmatical1660 dogmatical1662 dogmatic1681 unargumentative1722 ultra1820 doctrinaire1834 cocksure1842 doctrinary1846 unevidential1853 Doctrinarian1878 pontificating1922 fundamentalist1928 hardcore1951 society > authority > rule or government > politics > party politics > groups or attitudes right to left > [adjective] > extreme high?1535 ultra1820 hard right1846 straight1856 extremist1907 extremistic1921 loony1977 ?1535 tr. M. Luther Treat. Good Workes sig. d.vii^v That confydence y^t they maye be saued by theyr workes, for els they make a god & sauyoure of theyr workes, whch is hyghe ydolatrye. 1591 H. Barrow Plaine Refut. Giffardes Bk. i. 40 Their former superstition in tyme of high poperie. 1612 T. Taylor Αρχὴν Ἁπάντων: Comm. Epist. Paul to Titus (iii. 6) 662 We obserue in the multitude the high atheisme. 1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. xi. 162 High Royalists will maintain, that murmuring and muting against Princes differ only in degree, not in kinde. 1675 T. Brooks Golden Key sig. b3 To prove (against the Socinians, and the high Atheists of the day..) that there is a Hell, a place of torment. 1775 D. Leonard Massachusettensis iii. 35 These committees generally consist of the highest whigs, or at least there is some high whig upon them, that is the ruling spirit of the whole. 1798 T. Scantlebury Rights of Protestants Asserted 40 Men born out of due time; above two centuries too late for the favourable reception of their High-Catholic principles. 1829 I. Taylor Nat. Hist. Enthusiasm (1867) iv. 77 A..plunge from the pinnacle of high belief, into the bottomless gulf of universal scepticism. 1840 Mirror of Parl. (3rd Sess., 14th Parl.) 1 446/1 I do not mean the high Conservative party, but that off-set from it—that moderate, I may call it that Liberal Conservative party. 1898 ‘Thormanby’ Kings of Turf 247 When he was but three-and-twenty, he was elected member for Stockbridge, as an adherent of those high Whig principles with which his family had been so long identified. 1974 Financial Times 15 Aug. 22/4 High Whiggery..was bound to develop into a curious, and glacial, kind of bitter conservatism. 1997 Church Times 24 Jan. 15/5 Those brave Scottish souls who ran counter to the increasingly dominant High Calvinist orthodoxy, and dared to preach the indiscriminate nature of God's prevenient grace. b. Frequently with capital initial. = High Church adj. ΘΚΠ society > faith > sect > Christianity > Protestantism > Anglicanism > High Church > [adjective] Canterburian1570 high-flying1678 high1681 tantivy1681 Laudian1691 High Church1704 altitudinarian1752 Anglo-Catholic1838 1681 J. Pennyman Abstr. Quakers Challenge (single sheet) I do challenge any of the Teachers amongst the Baptists, or Independents, or Presbyters, or Papists, or Jesuits, high Priests and low Priests; for these are all blind Guides, and their Profession is rotten. 1706 M. Tindal Rights Christian Church iv. 145 'Tis no wonder they [sc. the Highfliers] treat them [sc.16th-cent. Reformers] so, since in all their Notions concerning the Power of the Clergy, they are too High for the Reformation. 1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 220. ⁋3 The present Constitution of our Church, as divided into High and Low. a1734 R. North Examen (1740) ii. v. §49 345 Conformable Loyal Gentlemen, whom we will cry down for High Men, that is Adherents to Popery. 1827 W. Wordsworth Sacheverel 9 High and Low, Watch-words of Party, on all tongues are rife; As if a Church..must owe To opposites and fierce extremes her life. 1867 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 15/1 They had to talk..about the music in Masterton church, and whether the new vicar was High or Low, which was a very difficult question for Powys. a1890 R. W. Church Oxf. Movement (1891) xvi. 295 It was a high Anglican sermon. 1932 R. Lehmann Invit. Waltz i. iii. 41 The High antics of the new curate, his duckings, wavings, uprisings at the altar. 1944 D. Welch In Youth is Pleasure iv. 70 A lamp of ruby glass and gilt hung in front of a holy picture. ‘Is he Roman Catholic, or only High?’ thought Orvil. 2010 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 27 Feb. 29 The rumour went round that he rode a donkey through the church on Palm Sunday. For Fr Lowe was High, indeed an Anglo-Catholic, and anything, almost, could be believed of his services. †14. Zealous, eager, keen. Esp. with for. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > zeal or enthusiasm > [adjective] needfulOE anguishous?c1225 eager?a1300 throc1330 fierce1377 desirousc1386 affectuousa1400 yeverousa1400 inwardc1402 earnestful?1406 rathe?c1450 zealing1459 increc1480 affectual1483 zealous1526 affectioneda1533 jealous1535 heartyc1540 affectivec1550 earnest1563 pricking1575 forward1587 affectionate1598 passiveless1602 zealful1602 full-hearteda1616 wholehearted1644 intense1645 high1649 covetous1652 thorough-hearted1656 keen as mustard1659 fell1667 fervent1673 smirk1674 zealed1679 prest1697 strenuous1713 enthusiastic1741 enthusiastical1755 whole-souled1821 con amore1828 lyrical1875 mustard1919 gung ho1942 the mind > emotion > courage > spirit > high-spiritedness > [adjective] moodyOE fierce1297 jollyc1330 fieryc1430 high-stomached1546 stout-stomached1549 hearteda1552 generous1581 high-spirited1588 high-hearteda1625 high-mettleda1626 high1649 fire-souled1823 gingery1823 stomachy1896 the mind > will > wish or inclination > willingness > [adjective] > eager yevereOE frecka1000 cofc1000 fousOE sharpc1000 anguishous?c1225 eager?a1300 hardya1387 hetera1400 yeverousa1400 belivea1450 forthward1488 yapc1500 ertand1508 tite?a1540 high1649 fell1667 forwardeda1674 agog1683 enthusiastic1777 empressé1878 rearing1904 press-on1948 1649 Levellers New Remonstr. sig. A3^v The Priests are high for concluding a Union. a1680 J. Bargrave Pope Alexander VII (1867) i. iv. 10 He is high for the House of Austria, and would be flayed alive for the King of Spain. 1692 N. Luttrell Diary in Brief Hist. Relation State Affairs (1857) II. 611 The house of lords were high on the lord Huntington and Marlboroughs commitment. 1704 C. Leslie Wolf Stript 4 I venture, for it's a Venture at this Time, to own the name of an High-Church-Man. No man thinks it a Disparagement to be High, that is Zealous in any good thing. 1706 M. Tindal Rights Christian Church iv. 144 Our first Reformers were as Low for Church, as they were High for Religion. 1721 J. Trenchard & T. Gordon 4th Coll. Cato's Polit. Lett. in London Jrnl. 40 The same worthy, but waggish Pens, represent him with the same Breath, as an abandon'd Atheist, and a bigotted Presbyterian; while others plainly prove him a flaming Jacobite, and an arrant Republican; that is, one who is high for Monarchy, and one who is against all Monarchy. III. Greater than average, or above the normal level, in value, size, quantity, or intensity, and related senses. 15. a. Great, or greater than normal, in amount, level, size, or intensity; extreme; strong, forcible, violent.Frequently with implied reference to position in a vertical graduated scale.high explosive: see Compounds 4. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] hardOE heavyc1000 highOE highlyOE stourc1275 largec1330 intensec1400 violent1430 profoundc1450 vehementc1485 intensive1526 advanceda1533 vengeable1532 Herculean1602 well-advanced1602 deep1605 dense1732 abysmal1817 intensitive1835 holy1837 high-level1860 major1942 OE Exodus 19 Heah wæs þæt handlean and him hold frea. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. xxxviii. 350 Þa gestod hine heah weder and stormsæ. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) l. 152 He bihet to meaðin ham wið swiðe heh mede. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. iv. x. 159 Rede vreyne and hiȝe [L. vrina rubæ et intensa] of colour; sore hedeache; wakinge. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 976 Þe wenches..folȝed..Trynande ay a hyȝe trot þat torne never dorsten. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 940 Now looketh is nat that an heigh folye. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xii. 106 When ryches is he, Then comys pouerté. a1535 T. More Treat. Passion in Wks. (1557) 1272/1 What state..hath not high cause to tremble and quake? 1565 T. Cooper Thesaurus at Ardentissimus color A very high or glisteryng redde colour. 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 15 Where they are in high request. a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 432 Till the high Feauor seeth your blood to froth. View more context for this quotation 1634 T. Herbert Relation Some Yeares Trauaile 5 Wee had the winde high and large. 1644 J. Milton Of Educ. 4 High hopes of living to be brave men, and worthy patriots. 1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 61 Even their Crowes are white, to as high a degree as our Swans. 1693 A. Wood Life & Times (1894) III. 438 Earl of Westmorland also died, as 'tis reported, with high drinking. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 104 The Plague was so high, as that there dy'd 4000 a Week. 1789 M. Madan in New & Literal Transl. Juvenal & Persius II. 326 Who think it an high joke. 1796 F. Burney Camilla V. ix. xii. 230 Mr. Westwyn, unbribed by the high praise of his son. 1816 M. Keating Trav. Eur. & Afr. II. 92 This fine country..whose people class morally so high in the scale of mankind. 1820 W. Scoresby Acct. Arctic Regions I. 350 (note) The temperature in London was as high as 93°. 5. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. II. 958 An essential constituent of several of the high explosives. 1937 Washington Post 19 Mar. 15/7 I saw dozens of our sisters having their hair done, their faces reassembled and their nails brought to a high shine. 1942 Lancet 26 Dec. 759/2 An instrument which holds out high promise of useful service to the clinician. 1990 H. Thurston Tidal Life 28/3 The rays redden his already naturally high colour. 2000 Vancouver Province (Nexis) 28 Mar. b5 The impeccably high standards of musicianship this band always displays. b. Of a price, rate, amount, percentage, etc.: having a large numerical value. Also: (of a commodity) high-priced, expensive, costly; (of money) lent out at a high rate of interest; (of a currency) having a relatively high exchange rate. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective] high1542 strong1599 rank1604 exorbitant1670 extravagant1707 stiff1824 sky-high1829 steep1856 stratospherical1936 society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective] > dear or expensive dear1044 costful1340 costious1340 costlewa1387 costlya1400 costy?c1430 prized1500 high1542 high-priced1591 expenseful1605 chary1610 expensivea1661 salt1710 dearthful1786 big ticket1906 pricey1932 exclusive1942 up-market1972 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 88 Images and porteratures of menne wer in olde tyme bought at high prices. 1608 D. Tuvill Ess. Politicke, & Morall f. 69 To sel their liues at as high a rate as possibly they can. 1622 G. de Malynes Consuetudo x. 422 If moneys be here low and elsewhere high, how is this knowne but by the valuation of Exchange? 1692 J. Locke Some Considerations Lowering Interest 180 This presently makes the Exchange very high. 1713 J. Swift Part of 7th Epist. Horace Imitated 11 I suppose now Stocks are high. 1783 G. Bishop Observ. Smuggling 18 The fair traders are burthened with high duties and obliged to be under very troublesome excise laws. 1804 W. Tennant Indian Recreat. (ed. 2) I. 65 Rent in Calcutta still continues high. 1823 Ld. Byron Age of Bronze xiv. 29 But bread was high, the farmer paid his way. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 249 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Low-trained hedges may be necessary where land is limited in area, and high in price. 1879 F. Rutley Study of Rocks xii. 226 The name domite..has been applied to trachytes which contain a high percentage of silica. 1889 A. C. Gunter That Frenchman! xvii. 209 This palace alone is worth a fortune, situated..in the fashionable quarter of St. Petersburg, where land is very high. 1913 Los Angeles Times 20 Sept. ii. 1/5 (heading) Movie rights come high; Jack London sues to restrain screen productions of his work, and to recover damages. 1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxviii. 439 Vegetable matter, largely deprived of its hydrogen and containing a high proportion of carbon, is found in horizontal seams of coal. 1964 New Scientist 27 Aug. 482/3 ‘Prediabetes’, or the early stages, has been found in a surprisingly high percentage of the population. 1988 Oxf. Rev. Econ. Policy Winter 60 The high dollar..as well as improvements in global telecommunications have been important factors contributing to increased production abroad by US companies. 1991 Guardian 1 Nov. 28/2 Prices are high. Customers are greeted by the cloakroom attendant and the floor manager and shown to a table. 2007 S. China Morning Post (Nexis) 14 Nov. (Business section) 2 Mr Lu expects gold to remain high, despite a correction in recent days to just over $800 an ounce. c. Originally (of a gold or silver alloy): †having a high or a specified proportion of the pure metal (obsolete). In later use (in high carat): designating such a proportion. Cf. fine adj. 2a(b). ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [adjective] > proportion of precious metal to alloy high1594 1594 H. Plat Jewell House 85 (heading) The golde being 24 Carots high, & the siluer 12 ounces fine. 1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker ii. xli. 209 in Fleta Minor i Let it cement again (as before) 24 hours, do this till the Gold is very clean, and high to your delight. 1818 C. Kelsall Contantine & Eugene 238 The gold might indeed have been of the same high carat, but more substantial. 1912 Dental Brief 17 152 It is a wise precaution to flow around the dowel, about where it is to be soldered to the crown, high carat solder or pure gold, raising the temperature sufficiently high to make it flow freely. 1998 A. L. Luthi Sentimental Jewellery 36/2 A dealer will sometimes test for gold and can tell you if a particular piece is high carat. 2005 D. M. Jacobson & G. Humpston Princ. Brazing v. 197/2 This is because pure gold and high-carat gold alloys anneal and soften when heated above about 450° C. d. Geography. Designating a latitude that is far from the equator (and, therefore, designated by a high number); located at such a latitude.See also high Arctic adj. and n. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > geodetic references > [adjective] > latitude > far from equator (of latitude) high1601 1601 R. Hakluyt tr. A. Galvano Discov. World 59 These were the first Spanyards which had beene in so high a latitude toward the north. 1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 16 572 This, tho' it be of little consequence near the Equinoctial, will make a great error in high Latitudes, where the Sun rises and sets obliquely. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter Voy. round World by Anson ii. v. 182 Very high latitudes not far from the polar circle. 1788 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) VI. 282 Many other provinces in America, even as high as Newfoundland and Nova-Scotia. 1823 W. Scoresby Jrnl. Voy. Northern Whale-fishery 31 This kind of fog, peculiar to high latitudes. 1881 A. Leslie tr. A. E. Nordenskiöld Voy. Vega II. xi. 42 The acquaintance I had made..with the bird-world of the high north. 1974 U.S. Contrib. Polar Exper. (National Acad. Sci. U.S.A.) II. iii. 18 The dynamics of the circulation in high southern latitudes should be examined with coupled global models of the atmospheric, oceanic, and cryospheric systems. 2005 J. Diamond Collapse (2006) 1 Their high northern latitude meant a short summer growing season in which to produce pasture grass and hay. e. Of a stake (literal or figurative): large. Also: played for large stakes. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [adjective] > played for high stakes high1640 silver1748 no-limit1915 high-stakes1922 1640 R. Brathwait Ar't Asleepe Husband? 221 When their owne Fame shall come to be questioned; they hold that too precious a prize, too high a stake to bee hazarded. 1672 tr. P. de Clérembault Conversations ii. 36 They plaid only to pass the time as one ought always with true friends; for if high play destroy not friendship, yet it may lessen it. 1699 Country Gentleman's Vade-mecum xv. 111 These Vermine play at high Games, nothing will serve some of them less than a Settlement of two or three Hundred per Annum, a Coach, fine Lodgings, Plate, China and other things suitable for a Whore of Rank. 1714 T. Lucas Mem. Most Famous Gamesters & Sharpers sig. A2^v If Pleasure be all, why is the Stake so high? 1783 H. Bright Praxis 72 The Moment you give up yourself to Gaming for high Stakes, unseasonable Banqueting, and impure Brothel-Houses. 1793 C. Smith Old Manor House II. vi. 130 He frequented, when he was in London, all the houses where high play is carried on; and was so much accustomed to see thousands paid and received at these places as matters of course. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth i, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 13 You are playing a high game, look you play it fairly. 1887 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 5 Feb. 21/2 A notice cautioning members against high play. 1891 Atlanta Const. 9 June 1/6 He was a habitue of gambling houses and rolled the bones for very high stakes. 1918 C. E. Mulford Man from Bar-20 xiii. 128 If th' stakes are high an' the breaks anywhere near equal, I'll risk my last dollar or my last breath. 1925 Work-Whitehead Auction Bridge Bull. Oct. 5 In circles where high play predominates, there was introduced a variation of the above count, called ‘Le Vulnerable’. 1992 Evening Standard (Nexis) 25 Feb. 10 But in the evenings he liked to play high poker for stakes and drink Thai whisky. 2011 Wall St. Jrnl. 16 Apr. c1/1 This new Middle East cold war comes complete with its own spy-versus-spy intrigues, disinformation campaigns, shadowy proxy forces..and very high stakes. f. Cards. Of a playing card: having the largest, or a particularly large, numerical value in the context of a particular game, part of a game, or hand. With the name of the card prefixed (as ace-high adj. at ace n.¹ and adj.¹ Compounds, king high, etc.): (of a hand or suit) having the specified card as the highest. Cf. sense B. 6. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [adjective] > of specific value in game small1672 guarded1742 high1742 blank1895 wild1927 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [adjective] > type of hand or suit strong1626 high1742 lay-down1906 biddable1926 void1934 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > [adjective] > attributes of player flush1591 strong1626 high1846 trickless1927 short-suited1935 1742 E. Hoyle Short Treat. Whist vi. 41 You thereby gain a Trick, which you could not have done but by playing the high Cards, and by keeping a small one to play to your Partner. 1846 in W. T. Porter Quarter Race in Kentucky 92 When I looked at my hand, thar was the King, Jack, Nine, and Deuce,—I led my King—‘High!’ says I. 1868 W. B. Dick Mod. Pocket Hoyle 9 In the games of All- Fours and Sixty-Six, in which the highest cut has the deal, and Ace is high, and in Scat, where the highest Scat Card is high. 1870 A. S. Evans Our Sister Republic x. 246 An United States Minister, who, in spite of his professed knowledge of the game, has been known to lay down two large pairs, when his opponent, who only held ace high, raised him with six hundred dollars already on the board. 1887 ‘S. Cumberland’ Queen's Highway 276 Had I a ‘flush’ with ‘king high’ some one would be sure to rake in the shekels with ‘ace high’. 1916 R. F. Foster Auction Bridge for All vii. 27 High cards, two sure tricks, are just as necessary in the major suits as in the minor suits. 1945 A. A. Ostrow Compl. Card Player 578 Oklahoma Rummy.., the cards rank in sequence as in standard rummy, but ace is high only and never low. Deuces are wild. 1964 N. Squire Bidding at Bridge xxi. 172 You may rely upon two defensive tricks when your partner opens the bidding. These may not be in the actual suit he mentions, because it might, for example, be Knave high. 1993 D. Burrus & R. Gittines Technotrends (1994) v. 97 It was what is known in poker as a Big Cat: king high, eight low, no pair, which only loses to a flush (all cards of the same suit). 2006 P. Jillette & M. D. Lynn How to Cheat Your Friends at Poker (new ed.) 37 Most guys can't lay down a straight, and my queen-high straight beat his jack-high straight. g. Nautical. Designating a vessel or its head: near the wind, pointing close to the wind. Cf. no higher at higher adj., adv., and n.¹ Phrases 2b. ΘΚΠ society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > [adjective] > close to the wind high1863 1863 S. B. Luce Seamanship (ed. 2) xxv. 471 Should the ship be standing along on a taut bowline, and the quartermaster perceives that a cloth or two of the main-topsail was lifting, he cries out, No higher! by which he means that the ship is not only too high, or too near the wind, but that she should go off a little. 1951 M. A. Michael tr. H. Thesleff Farewell Windjammer xv. 214 The trade wind was coming... Our principle then was not to keep too high in the wind. We were not close-hauled and sailed with full sails so as to make good headway. 1982 C. Coulter Devil's Embrace vii. 69 ‘I believe you said we were too high in the wind?’ he said coolly, as the yacht glided smoothly..in the trough of a wave. h. In predicative use. With in. Of a substance: containing a large proportion of (a constituent substance). ΚΠ 1877 Rep. Commissioners, Inspectors, & Others Educ. Dept. Philadelphia Internat. Exhib. XIX. 303 The coal is high in sulphur. 1905 Trans. Inst. Naval Architects 47 ii. 369 Lines which are technically known as ‘ghosts’, namely lines of metal high in sulphur and phosphorus. 1955 H. J. Grossman Guide to Wines, Spirits & Beers (rev. ed.) vi. 83 Heavy wines, abundant in esters, high in alcoholic content, and in great demand for blending. 1989 Parents Dec. 50/3 Be careful with soft drinks—they are very high in sugar and have no other nutrients. 16. a. Of a time of day or season (esp. summer): well advanced; fully come, complete. Cf. high day n.¹ 2, high noon n. 1, high season n. at Compounds 4.The notion of the sun being high in the sky may be present in uses relating to daytime and summer; contrast the uses relating to night and winter at deep adj. 15a. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > time of prosperity highOE golden age1561 halcyon days1570 gilded age1655 heyday1751 high point1787 millennium1821 palmy days1837 up1843 clover summer1866 flower-time1873 belle époque1910 glory-days1956 the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adjective] > late or well-advanced highOE late1583 onwarda1586 deep1601 far gone1607 advanced1653 tardive1905 OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xlviii. 74 Þonne on lenctenfæsten ræden heora bec from ærmorgenne oð heane undern [L. usque tertia plena]. a1300 Passion our Lord 657 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 56 At þon heye vndarne..Þer hi were to-gadere. c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 151 Bi þat hit was middai hiȝ, Floriz was þe brigge niȝ. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 2066 (MED) I seiȝ hire nouȝt seþ hieȝ midniȝt. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. vii. l. 105 At heiȝ prime perkyn lette þe plouȝ stonde. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. xiii. sig. Fii We will dine fyrst..it is noone hy. 1569 J. Leslie Def. Honour Marie Quene of Scotl. i. f. 41 When they were ons gotten abowte hyghe midnight to sleape in theire bedds, ye might haue ronge a greate-bell over theire heades, longe ere they wolde wake. 1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans sig. A4 It was high-spring, and all the way Primros'd, and hung with shade. 1693 G. Pooley in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 673 Sometimes the Courses, Seams or Rakes..are perpendicular, which they call the High time of the Day, or Twelve a Clock. 1711 P. Abercromby Martial Atchievem. Scots Nation I. ii. ii. 335 The Heat of the Weather was excessive, and the Season of the Year, it being high Summer, absolutely unfit for War in Africk. 1843 J. B. Heraud Life & Times Girolamo Savonarola iii. 101 Never will he set: whether it be high midday or deep midnight, he continues to shine like the summer sun in the remotest North. 1847 D. M. Mulock in Chambers's Edinb. Jrnl. 17 Apr. 246/1 It was high summer too on the earth. 1980 Gourmet Feb. 17/2 Redolent of basil and dressed with a rich tomato sauce,..it's a dish that manages to recapture high summer. 2010 J. Powell Breaking of Eggs (2011) ix. 161 We went there often, piling on to Uncle Szmul's cart and riding out into the country on those blissful days of high summer. b. high time: fully at or (now usually) nearly past the time when something should happen or be done. Frequently with that or to do something. ΚΠ c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xix. l. 139 Til plenitudo temporis hih tyme a-prochede. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1990 (MED) Go home to þi mete, It is hy tyme. 1518 H. Watson tr. Hystorye Olyuer of Castylle xxx. sig. G. iij^v It was hyghe tyme to goo in to the courte. 1581 W. Lambarde Eirenarcha i. vii. 37 It was..high time to make a contrarie lawe. 1611 Bible (King James) Rom. xiii. 11 Now it is high time to awake out of sleepe. View more context for this quotation 1713 R. Steele Englishman No. 42. 273 It is high Time for every Englishman to exert himself in Behalf of his Country. 1813 ‘H. Bull-Us’ Diverting Hist. John Bull & Brother Jonathan (ed. 2) xii. 62 He began to think it was high time to toe the mark. 1883 R. Churchill Speech Edinb. 20 Dec. in Speeches 1880–1888 (1889) I. 90 It is time, and high time, to pull up. Concede nothing more to Mr. Parnell. 1910 Outlook 25 June 365/2 In so far as that policy finds expression in the common and statutory law of to-day, it is high time that the law was changed in the interest of the people. 1942 Life 11 May 24/3 It was high time for the people of the United States to..quit agonizing about their future interest in baseball. 2007 News Rev. Messenger (Adelaide) (Nexis) 31 Oct. 28 It is high time licensing hours were trimmed back to no later than 10pm each night. c. Of a person's age: far on in years; advanced. Now chiefly in high old age. Cf. ripe adj. 8b.In quot. c1400: mature. ΚΠ c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 844 (MED) Gawayn glyȝt on þe gome..A hoge haþel for þe nonez, & of hyghe eldee. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 1002 Þan answard him..all his proud princes..Hathils of hiȝe age Auncient kniȝtis. 1609 H. Broughton Def. Concent of Script. sig. D2 He..professed Greeke, from 18. and read and practised it to high olde age. 1782 tr. J. H. Campe Robinson the Younger II. xxx. 264 They attained to a high age, in peace, health and useful activity. 1863 J. L. W. Thudichum Treat. on Gall-stones vi. 210 A lesser number of persons of high age is living than of middle-aged people. 1899 Christian-Evangelist 13 July 884/1 Our good Father above gave to our brother unusual vigor of body and mind up to a high age. 1929 Times 6 Sept. 8/3 The survival of parents into a high old age in those ranks..is responsible in part for the reduced rate of reproduction in that group. 2012 Sunday Tel. (Nexis) 1 Jan. 17 All her grandfather—then in high old age—wanted to do was sit in his studio and paint. d. Of a period of time or era, esp. with regard to its art or architecture: fully developed, at its peak. Cf. High Renaissance n. at Compounds 4. ΘΚΠ the world > time > period > [adjective] > fully developed high1806 1806 G. D. Whittington Tour Spain & Portugal 37 The Host (or Corpus Christi) in a high Gothic frame-work of gold, under a rich canopy, surrounded by a blaze of candles. 1830 D. Brewster Edinb. Encycl. IX. 231/1 It consists of narrow crooked streets full of angles, and is distinguished from almost every other town in the kingdom, by its high Gothic buildings, and a number of old Gothic churches. The houses are in general small and low. 1854 Irish Q. Rev. Mar. 89 Between this speculation, and his patronage of high medieval art, and his military occupations..the pile of money in his chest begins to decrease. 1951 N. Pevsner Middlesex (Buildings of Eng.) Introd. 20 In secular architecture High Victorian earnestness (and gloom) reign supreme in the buildings of Harrow School. 1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. (at cited word) The high middle ages. a1963 C. S. Lewis Discarded Image (1964) vii. 182 Hence a modern finds those [chronicles] of the Dark Ages suspiciously epic and those of the High Middle Ages suspiciously romantic. 1965 K. Charlton Educ. Renaissance Eng. ii. 21 Such was the education of the High Middle Ages. 1972 Country Life 23 Mar. 696/3 The high Victorian Gothic style. 2000 A. Hastings in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 205/1 There is good evidence that even in the high Middle Ages ordination to the priesthood by non-bishops was allowed in some cases. 17. †a. Of the voice: raised, elevated, loud. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adjective] > loud or resonant > raised (of voice) highlyOE highOE hautaina1375 raised1579 exalted1711 uplifted1828 elevated1829 OE King Ælfred tr. Psalms (Paris) (2001) xxxii. 3 Singað him niwne sang, and heriað hine swyþe wel mid heare stemne. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2780 God sente an steuene, brigt and heg:—‘Moyses, moyses, do of ðin s[h]on’. c1450 (?a1400) Duke Rowland & Sir Otuell (1880) l. 835 And vp he keste ane heghe cry. 1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. aiii With highe and clamorous wordes or speche. 1565 in W. K. Clay Liturg. Services Q. Eliz. (Parker Soc.) 521 After the Psalm the prayer following shall be said by the minister alone, with a high voice. 1646 F. Hawkins tr. Youths Behaviour (ed. 4) iii. 21 Shew no sign of choler, nor speak to him with too high an accent. 1776 Trial Maha Rajah Nundocomar for Forgery 77/1 Nor did he read it in so high a voice, that I should hear it. 1824 M. White Beatrice I. iv. 82 Lady Holt's low voice was even then high enough to be heard by Beatrice, who distinctly heard the words, ‘plainest in the family’. 1851 Amer. Whig Rev. June 484 He has spoken, nevertheless, though his announcement has not been high enough to be heard satisfactorily. b. Of or with reference to a musical sound: produced or characterized by relatively rapid acoustic vibrations; acute in pitch; shrill. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adjective] > high higha1393 high-pitched1597 high-set1603 high-pitch1614 high-tuned1623 high-toned1754 high-keyed1830 upper1843 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. l. 171 Nou hihe notes and nou lowe, As be the gamme a man mai knowe. a1450 Musical Treat. in Speculum (1935) 10 261 (MED) Whan þe tenor is hye the countertenor may be low, and whan þe tenor is low þan þe countertenor may be þe mene. 1574 J. Baret Aluearie H 353 An Heigh or shrill sound. Extentus sonus. 1577 H. Bull tr. M. Luther Comm. 15 Psalmes (new ed.) 144 Thou beginnest with to high a note, as the Asse doth, and therefore thou makest an ill ende. 1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke 166 Songs which are made for the high key. 1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 29 Raise your Treble or first string as high as you conceive it will hold without breaking. 1705 S. Sewall Diary 28 Dec. (1973) I. 538 I..went into a Key much too high. 1818 T. Moore Mem. (1853) II. 167 The Duke said, in his high, squeak tone of voice [etc.]. 1875 tr. P. Blaserna Theory of Sound iv Every ear..distinguishes a high note from a low one..The low notes are characterised by the small number, the high notes by the large number of their vibrations per second. 1899 K. Chopin Awakening i. 3 Madame Lebrun was bustling in and out, giving orders in a high key to a yard-boy whenever she got inside the house. 1913 L. C. Elson et al. Mod. Music & Musicians I. 93/1 Her [sc. Lucrezia Agujari's] high notes were clear and agreeable all through the altissimo octaves. 1938 G. Greene Brighton Rock v. iii. 203 The children were scouting among the rubble with pistols from Woolworth's... Someone said in a high treble: ‘Stick 'em up.’ 2011 New Yorker 6 June 84/2 Strobing vibrato, whispering, shrieking, flinty high notes that enter an octave above your expectation. c. Of the volume of a sound: raised, increased; loud.Originally and chiefly with reference to the audio output from a loudspeaker, etc., or the volume level or setting controlling this. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > loudness > [adjective] loud971 stithc1000 strongOE greata1375 stiff1377 wrastc1400 boistousc1430 stourc1440 big1549 routing1567 thundering?1576 full-mouthed1594 thunderous1606 tonitruous1606 thundery1608 trump-like1609 full-mouth1624 voluminousa1635 rousing1640 altisonous1661 lusty1672 tonitrual1693 rending1719 trumpet-like1814 foudroyant1840 clarion1842 trumpeting1850 trumpet-toned1851 loudish1860 tonitruant1861 tonant1891 thunderful1898 high1923 wham-bam1960 1923 Radio June 36/2 This circuit is shown in detail..with an additional power stage for operating a loud speaker at a high volume. 1947 Sci. News Let. 25 Jan. 64/1 A flash baton enables a practicer to follow a beat visually, while the audible beat can be modulated from slight to high loudness. 1967 Washington Post 12 Mar. h13/3 A soldier..was watching ‘Combat’ on the ward TV set, in full color and with the sound up high. 1993 N.Y. Times Mag. 30 May 12/2 A squad of F-18 Hornet jet fighters who, depending on how you feel about being buzzed at high volume, either terrorize or entrance the whole city for a week each summer. 2012 Men's Health Apr. 148/3 According to the National Office of Health Statistics, 12% of men develop tinnitus as they age, and listening to music through headphones at high volumes is a proven contributor. 18. Of an event, period of time, etc.: early in date, ancient; (of a date) early. Now rare.The notion of ascending the ‘stream of time’ may be present in some uses. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > ancient or of early origin oldeOE olden daysa1400 for-oldc1400 ancient1475 (as) old as Adama1599 antiquary1599 high1601 primal1604 hoary1609 grandeval1650 Noachal1661 patriarchal1806 (as) old as the hills1819 world-old1837 eld1854 age-old1860 far-back1869 Noachian1874 pornial1883 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Worlde 32 Of no higher times, then when they first began. 1646 Sir T. Browne Pseudodoxia Epidemica v. xxii. 330 The nominal observation of the several dayes of the week..is very high, and as old as the ancient Egyptians. View more context for this quotation 1669 W. Somner Chartham News 6 From Saxon Monuments and Records I could easily trace the name up to a very high date, by many examples. 1774 T. Warton Hist. Eng. Poetry I. Diss. i. sig. a2 Poems of high antiquity. 1793 J. Hely in tr. R. O'Flaherty Ogygia I. Addr. 6 Too high a date. a1834 W. Beckford Jrnl. 5 Nov. in Jrnl. Portugal & Spain (1954) (modernized text) 260 The origin of this singular custom dates as high as the days of St. Vincent. 1875 F. H. A. Scrivener 6 Lect. Text New Test. 17 A genuine semblance of high antiquity. 1948 G. R. Driver Semitic Writing p. vi Their dates are too high, possibly by as much as two centuries, for the first dynasty of Babylon. 19. a. Excited by alcoholic drink, drunk, intoxicated. Also in extended use. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > thirst > excess in drinking > [adjective] > drunk fordrunkenc897 drunkena1050 cup-shottenc1330 drunka1400 inebriate1497 overseenc1500 liquor1509 fou1535 nase?1536 full1554 intoxicate1554 tippled1564 intoxicated1576 pepst1577 overflown1579 whip-cat1582 pottical1586 cup-shota1593 fox-drunk1592 lion-drunk1592 nappy1592 sack-sopped1593 in drink1598 disguiseda1600 drink-drowned1600 daggeda1605 pot-shotten1604 tap-shackled1604 high1607 bumpsy1611 foxed1611 in one's cups1611 liquored1611 love-pot1611 pot-sick1611 whift1611 owl-eyed1613 fapa1616 hota1616 inebriated1615 reeling ripea1616 in one's (or the) pots1618 scratched1622 high-flown?1624 pot-shot1627 temulentive1628 ebrious1629 temulent1629 jug-bitten1630 pot-shaken1630 toxed1635 bene-bowsiea1637 swilled1637 paid1638 soaken1651 temulentious1652 flagonal1653 fuddled1656 cut1673 nazzy1673 concerned1678 whittled1694 suckey1699 well-oiled1701 tippeda1708 tow-row1709 wet1709 swash1711 strut1718 cocked1737 cockeyed1737 jagged1737 moon-eyed1737 rocky1737 soaked1737 soft1737 stewed1737 stiff1737 muckibus1756 groggy1770 muzzeda1788 muzzya1795 slewed1801 lumpy1810 lushy1811 pissed1812 blue1813 lush1819 malty1819 sprung1821 three sheets in the wind1821 obfuscated1822 moppy1823 ripe1823 mixed1825 queer1826 rosined1828 shot in the neck1830 tight1830 rummy1834 inebrious1837 mizzled1840 obflisticated1840 grogged1842 pickled1842 swizzled1843 hit under the wing1844 obfusticatedc1844 ebriate1847 pixilated1848 boozed1850 ploughed1853 squiffy?1855 buffy1858 elephant trunk1859 scammered1859 gassed1863 fly-blown1864 rotten1864 shot1864 ebriose1871 shicker1872 parlatic1877 miraculous1879 under the influence1879 ginned1881 shickered1883 boiled1886 mosy1887 to be loaded for bear(s)1888 squiffeda1890 loaded1890 oversparred1890 sozzled1892 tanked1893 orey-eyed1895 up the (also a) pole1897 woozy1897 toxic1899 polluted1900 lit-up1902 on (also upon) one's ear1903 pie-eyed1903 pifflicated1905 piped1906 spiflicated1906 jingled1908 skimished1908 tin hat1909 canned1910 pipped1911 lit1912 peloothered1914 molo1916 shick1916 zigzag1916 blotto1917 oiled-up1918 stung1919 stunned1919 bottled1922 potted1922 rotto1922 puggled1923 puggle1925 fried1926 crocked1927 fluthered1927 lubricated1927 whiffled1927 liquefied1928 steamed1929 mirackc1930 overshot1931 swacked1932 looped1934 stocious1937 whistled1938 sauced1939 mashed1942 plonked1943 stone1945 juiced1946 buzzed1952 jazzed1955 schnockered1955 honkers1957 skunked1958 bombed1959 zonked1959 bevvied1960 mokus1960 snockered1961 plotzed1962 over the limit1966 the worse for wear1966 wasted1968 wired1970 zoned1971 blasted1972 Brahms and Liszt?1972 funked up1976 trousered1977 motherless1980 tired and emotional1981 ratted1982 rat-arsed1984 wazzed1990 mullered1993 twatted1993 bollocksed1994 lashed1996 1607 B. Jonson Volpone i. v. sig. D^v When I am high with mirth, and wine; then, then. View more context for this quotation 1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) x. 496 He's high with wine. 1639 P. Massinger Unnaturall Combat iii. ii. sig. F3^v When we are at the banquet, And high in our cups. 1741 L. Theobald Happy Captive ii. iii. 20 When, high in Mirth and Wine, His solemn Festival he celebrates. 1846 J. Taylor Upper Canada 106 I met three gentlemen..and they were all high. 1848 N. Ames Childe Harvard ii. 71 Could an abstraction of an ox-team, plough; Or men ‘get high’ by drinking abstract toddies? 1852 G. B. Cheever Reel in Bottle v. 103 We say of a drunken man that he gets high; so these people get high on the fumes of their own vanity. 1892 Nation (N.Y.) 28 July 66/3 I was told that Governor and legislators would get high on whiskey illegally sold on the evening of the very day when they had passed a stringent amendment to the [Maine] law. 1943 M. Millar Wall of Eyes iv. 51 She was feeling high and she said she wanted to drive. 1999 New Scientist 13 Nov. 36/3 You also feel high all the time, like you just drank a martini. It's a side effect of breathing compressed air called nitrogen narcosis. b. Emotionally uplifted, in a good mood; elated, lively, uproarious; chiefly in high spirits, high (old) time.Chiefly as a positive attribute. For the sense ‘animated through anger’, see sense A. 11.Later use with on (see quot. 1977) may represent extended use of either sense A. 19a or A. 19c. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > merriment > [adjective] blitheOE merryOE golikc1175 lustya1225 playfulc1225 jollyc1305 merrya1350 jocund?c1380 galliardc1386 in (also on) a (merry, etc.) pinc1395 mirthfula1400 baudec1400 gayc1400 jovy1426 jocantc1440 crank1499 envoisiesa1500 as merry as a cricket1509 pleasant1530 frolic?1548 jolious1575 gleeful1586 buxom1590 gleesome1590 festival1592 laughter-loving1592 disposed1593 jucund1596 heartsomec1600 jovial1607 jovialist1610 laughsome1612 jocundary1618 gaysome1633 chirpinga1637 jovialissime1652 airy1654 festivous1654 hilarous1659 spleneticala1661 cocket1671 cranny1673 high1695 vogie1715 raffing?1719 festal1724 as merry (or lively) as a grig1728 hearty1755 tittuping1772 festive1774 fun-loving1776 mirthsome1787 Falstaffian1809 cranky1811 laughful1825 as lively as a cricket1832 hurrah1835 hilarious1838 Bacchic1865 laughterful1874 griggish1879 banzai1929 slap-you-on-the-back1932 the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > [adjective] > elated jollyc1305 elated1615 elevateda1640 on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672 high1695 elate1702 uppisha1704 vaudyc1720 in fine (also good, high) leg1808 exalté1831 in high snuff1840 bucked1907 thrilled1908 twitterpated1942 1695 R. Blackmore Prince Arthur ii. 43 Sweet Melodious Lays, Such as bright Spirits, in high Raptures sing, Around the Throne of their Eternal King. 1732 Coll. New State Songs 20 Poor Moll in high Glee From the Moment it came, Assum'd all the Airs of Imperial Dame. 1768 J. Byron Narr. Patagonia 46 The men were in high spirits from the prospect they had of getting off in the long-boat. 1782 F. Burney Diary & Lett. (1842) II. 149 Daddy Crisp..as usual, high in glee and kindness at the meeting. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iv. 435 When his health was good and his spirits high, he was a scoffer. 1869 B. Harte Luck of Roaring Camp (1871) 226 These are high old times, ain't they? 1873 J. H. Beadle Undeveloped West xxiii. 451 Santa Fe De San Francisco—so the old Spaniards named it—is a high old city. 1897 Windsor Mag. Jan. 269/1 I've had a high old time hunting up six dozen of '53. 1914 J. B. Ellis Woodneys v. 67 Last night I made everything all right with Nellie; so this morning I was feeling high. 1941 E. Bowen Look at all those Roses 255 Those two will be having a high old time, with the cat away. 1977 A. Cooke Six Men ii. 54 The small band..were high on the waggishness with which young college types cover up their self-consciousness. 1986 S. Penman Here be Dragons (1991) (U.K. ed.) ii. x. 715 Will was in recklessly high spirits; he insisted upon dancing with Joanna and Gwladys. 2012 E. Herzog Cardiac Care Unit Survival Guide 406/2 It is then when people often become intolerant of problems that did not bother them as much when they were in a high mood. c. Under the influence of, stimulated by, an illicit drug or drugs. Frequently with on.Cf. earlier extended use in quot. 1852 at sense A. 19a. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [adjective] intoxicated1576 drunk1585 besotted1831 drugged1871 dopey1896 doped1903 piped1906 lit1912 loaded1923 high1932 polluted1938 stone1945 straight1946 impaired1951 on the nod1951 buzzed1952 stoned1953 hung1958 strung out1959 zonked1959 shot1964 out of (also off) one's bird1966 ripped1966 wiped1966 amped1967 tanked1968 wrecked1968 whacked out1969 wired1970 jagged1973 funked up1976 annihilated1980 junked out1982 obliterated1984 caned1992 wankered1992 twatted1993 1932 Evening Sun (Baltimore) 9 Dec. 31/4 High, under the influence of a narcotic. 1935 Down Beat Feb. 1/3 These girls ‘go to town’, like a bunch of jigs ‘high on weed’. 1951 N.Y. Times 13 June 24/5 We would go out together and get high. I used to sleep with him whenever we got high. 1969 New Scientist 29 May 455/1 It is far safer to drive a car when high on marihuana than when drunk. 1995 Sun (Baltimore) 3 Oct. b4/1 Mr. Lemon, who was high on cocaine and heroin at the time, cooperated with Officer Early as she led him into the emergency room. d. colloquial. Highly interested in, keen on. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > love > liking or favourable regard > [adjective] > enthusiastic (about or for) servile1581 enamorate1599 mad1744 bugs1908 high1933 1933 D. Runyon in Collier's 10 June 7/3 Little Alfie is very high on Last Hope and will not stand for anybody insulting this particular horse. 1951 Billboard 25 Aug. 47/2 He is high on the advantages of mobile units over stationary ones, claiming that..the former brings in more cash than the latter. 1966 L. Deighton Billion-dollar Brain xxii. 240 It's about Signe... She's high on you, you know. 1972 Guardian 30 Oct. 2/5 ‘I am not high on the Thieu brand of Government,’ he [sc. McGovern] said, noting that 40,000 people had been executed..by it. 2002 C. Metro & T. Altherr Safe by Mile iii. 84 Roger has called me about you. We can use an outfielder, and he was very high on you. B. n.² In several senses of Middle English or later date, this noun arises as part of an explicit contrast with low n.² 1. a. That which is high (in various senses). ΚΠ eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xvi. 99 Ðætte hie [prob. read he] sua healicra ðinga wilnigende ne forsio his niehstan untrume.., ne eft for hiera untrymnesse ne forlæte ðæt he ne wilnige ðæs hean [L. appetere alta derelinquat]. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxxvi. 1391 And by accorde of hyȝ and lowe [L. concordia grauis et acuti], þerof comeþ ful swete notes. 1517 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1928) xxiv. 109 It dooth decerne the god frome badnes The hye the lowe, the foule the fayrnes. 1586 A. Day Eng. Secretorie i. sig. B7 Mediocre [sc. style], a meane betwixt high and low, vehement and slender. 1605 Z. Jones tr. P. le Loyer Treat. Specters f. 54^v Those [things] which were beheld by the lesser Angle, are lesser, and by the equall, are equall, by the high are high. 1761 Universal Mag. Nov. 267/2 Bound in Hymen's sacred tyes, The low, the high, discording joys Of sense and reason blend. 1839 R. Keith tr. E. W. Hengstenberg Christol. Old Test. III. 477 The low is made high, and the high low, i.e. all is changed from the lowest to the highest. 1888 F. Hartmann Magic, White & Black (ed. 3) vi. 157 Instead of the low serving the high, the high is made to serve the low. 1901 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 12 557 If the arrangement gave two low and one high, the high was accented. 1995 N.Y. Times 19 Jan. h27/5 This juxtaposition of high and low, the constant citation of the repertory and the compulsive use of clichés just prove that P.D.Q...was the first post-modern composer. b. the Most High (also with lower-case initials): the Supreme Being; God. Formerly also †the High. Cf. highest n. 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > [noun] the Most HigheOE highesteOE alwaldendOE drightinOE godOE King of kingsOE heavenOE lordOE sky?1518 gossea1556 beingc1600 deity1647 Master of the Universe1765 Morimo1824 Molimo1861 Gawd1877 big guy1925 Modimo1958 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter: Canticles & Hymns (1965) vii. 10 (8) Cum diuiderit excelsus gentes : ðonne todaeleð se hea ðiode. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Deeds vii. 48 But the hiȝe [a1425 New Coll. Oxf. heeȝ God, L.V. hiȝ God; L. excelsus] dwellith not in maade thingis by hond. 1479 Earl Rivers tr. Cordyal (Caxton) ii. iii Our lorde hath thundred from heuen, and the moost hyghe hath vttred his voys. 1539 Bible (Great) Num. xxiv. f. lxiij^v/2 He hath sayd that heareth the wordes of God, and hath y^e knowledge of the most hye, and beholdeth the vysion of the almyghtie. 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms lxxiii. 11 How doth God know? and is there knowledge in the most High? [1382 Wyclif in heiȝte; 1388 an heiȝe; 1535 Coverdale the most hyest] . View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vi. 906 A despite don against the most High . View more context for this quotation 1755 Man No. 28. 6 Revelation represents the Most-High to us as the most beneficent fountain of joy. 1806 R. Fellowes tr. J. Milton Second Def. in C. Symmons Prose Wks. John Milton VI. 440 Those money-changers..do not merely truckle with doves but with the dove itself, with the Spirit of the Most High. 1881 G. A. Jackson Fathers of Third Cent. 143 We are subject only to the Most High,..demons having power over us only as we are alienate from him. 1903 Messiah Pulpit 16 Jan. 3 The first man..was a workingman, raised up from the dust by the Most High to be His day's man. 2000 Big Issue 4 Sept. 27/3 Pray For Me sees him on top..form, blasting out righteous calls to get badly caned and praise the most high. c. People of high birth, rank, or status as a class. Usually with plural agreement; frequently with the. Also (frequently without the) in high and low: people of all conditions. Cf. low n.² 3a. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > generality > in general [phrase] > all kinds of high and lowa1200 all manner of?c1225 society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] > person of proudOE higha1200 estate1399 honourablea1450 statec1449 dignitya1525 high and mighty1576 palasinc1580 titular1605 sublimity1610 dignitary1672 person of condition1673 figure1692 title1817 titulary1824 Hon.1836 high-up1882 high-ranker1899 a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 164 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 225 Þar sullen efninges ben to þe heie and to þe loȝe. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 11441 Þer scal þe hehȝe beon æfne þan loȝe [c1300 Otho to þan lowe]. a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 17 He shulde ben yknowe boþe of heȝe ant of lowe for treytour. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 1252 Curtesye That preised was of lowe and hye. 1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. lij^v Deutero. xvij. warneth iudges to kepe them vppright and to loke on no mans person, y^t is, that they preferre not y^e hye before the lowe. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms xlviii[i]. 2 Hye & lowe, riche & poore, one with another. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. iv. sig. D1 All the people of this countrie from high to lowe, is giuen to those sportes of the witte. a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) ii. i. 108 He wooes both high and low, both rich & poor, both yong and old. View more context for this quotation 1665 J. Raunce Certain Things (single sheet) The high, the low, the rich and poor shall bend, At those sad woes which God on them will send. 1729 J. Bramston Art of Politicks 29 The Low are said to take Fanaticks Parts, The High are bloody Papists in their Hearts. 1776 London Mag. Sept. 467/2 Their rulers too must hear..a different language in the words of the great Judge of high and low. 1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 157 That all might mark, knight, menial, high and low. 1828 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. III. xvi. 473 He was..fairspoken, both to high and low. 1852 H. B. Stowe Uncle Tom's Cabin I. xviii. 306 Look at the high and the low, all the world over, and it's the same story. 1894 W. E. Gladstone tr. Horace Odes iii. i. 15 One lot for high and low to draw. 1922 Gas Age 15 Apr. 468 It goes without saying that in the matter of treatment there should be no distinctions or discriminations between the big and the little, the high and low, and the rich and the poor. 1968 M. Collis Somerville & Ross xxv. 258 How came it that Admiral Boyle, living in quiet retirement and much liked by high and low, was singled out? 2004 N.Y. Times Mag. 3 Oct. 40/1 At street level, though, New York used to be the place where high and low mixed it up. 2. A high place, region, or point; a height, an eminence. Now chiefly Geology and Scottish (esp. in highs and howes: heights and hollows).In quot. a1382 spec.: = high place n. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [noun] > high place or part highnesseOE highOE altitude?a1475 haut1502 excelse1610 OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: Luke i. 78 Per uiscera misericordiae dei nostri in quibus uisitauit nos oriens ex alto : ðerh ðoht miltheortnise godes uses in ðæm gesohte us ariseð of heh uel of heofnum. OE Order of World 83 Swa teofenede, se þe teala cuþe, dæg wiþ nihte, deop wið hean, lyft wið lagustream, lond wiþ wæge. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings x. 13 Forsoþe he cesede to prophecyen & cam to þe heȝe [a1425 L.V. an hiȝ place; L. ad excelsum]. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 391 Harez, herttez also, to þe hyȝe runnen. c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 1146 Þai tiltin togederz..Fro þe heghe of þe hyll vnto þe harde roche. 1550 T. Nicolls tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War iv. xii. f. cxvi^v They came to the highe of the mountaigne and were in the viewe and sight of the ennemyes all ready to fyght. 1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius 416 b There must be a thyrd place..in the highe betwixt heaven and hell I suppose. 1721 A. Ramsay To Ld. Dalhousie 52 She..scours o'er heighs and hows a' day. a1822 Sir A. Boswell Sheldon Haughs in R. Chambers Misc. Pop. Sc. Poems (1862) 168 Frae heighs and hows, frae hames and ha's. 1875 W. McIlwraith Guide Wigtownshire 24 We enter Kirkcoman parish among heighs and howes. 1906 J. F. Fergus Carmina Urbis Et Ruris 64 There 'mid its bonny heighs and howes, 'Mid flower-strewn dells and bosky knowes, Ye reigned supreme. 1949 K. Patchen Red Wine & Yellow Hair 64 Is life the meat that swings the falcon down from his highs? Yes, a poisoned bait in the trap of a vicious fancier. 1993 Jrnl. Petrol. 34 931 The Azores Platform, a topographic high associated with the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between 37° and 40° North. 3. The state or condition of being high; high position. Frequently preceded by a preposition; cf. on high at Phrases 3, from on high at Phrases 3b. ΚΠ a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 Adam ure forme feder..alihte from hehe in to lahe. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 219 Adam..fel out of hiȝe in to lowh. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope xxvi To thende he falleth not from hyhe to lowe. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lviii. §10. 208 Thou takis me vp fra my laghe in til thi heghe. c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. l. 1586 Ȝonder ar the folk men may nocht fle, That spekis on law and strekis on hie. 1691 J. Dunton Voy. round World I. vii. 132 There's a Rise and a Fall—there's two as natural Rambles or Transitions from Low to High, and High to Low agen, as..you'l find agen in all our works. a1783 H. Brooke Poet. Wks. (1792) I. 389 O, what a Fall! a steep from high to low! 1825 T. Carlyle Life Schiller ii. 120 Those careless felicities, those varyings from high to low. 1948 I. L. Seeligmann Septuagint Version of Isaiah 90 It is precisely this notion of wandering and roaming, from high to low..which immediately calls to mind certain scenes..from the papyri relating to Ptolemaic Egypt. 1968 M. Allwright Roundabout xii. 84 I remembered the pot of stew left sizzling on the hot plate and the hot plate left on at high. 2004 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 7 Mar. iii. 4/4 Stanford and St. Joseph's headed into college basketball's final regular-season weekend unbeaten. The hype machine has been cranked up to high. †4. Height, altitude; (figurative) highest pitch, acme (cf. height n. 12). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [noun] > above a certain level heightc1290 highheadc1300 higha1398 altitudea1449 sideness?a1475 alturea1547 pitch1590 mounture1613 eminency1625 eminence1658 haut1686 elevation1732 the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point prickOE heighta1050 full1340 higha1398 pointc1400 roofa1500 top-castle1548 ruff1549 acmea1568 tip1567 noontide1578 high tide1579 superlative1583 summity1588 spring tide1593 meridian1594 period1595 apogee1600 punctilio1601 high-water mark1602 noon1609 zenith1610 auge1611 apex1624 culmination1633 cumble1640 culmen1646 climax1647 topc1650 cumulus1659 summit1661 perigeum1670 highest1688 consummation1698 stretch1741 high point1787 perihelion1804 summary1831 comble1832 heading up1857 climacteric1870 flashpoint1878 tip-end1885 peak1902 noontime1903 Omega point1981 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xv. cxi. 790 Paradys is a place y-set in þe eeste... And is moost fer and recheþ in hiȝe [L. altitudine] as it were to þe cercle of þe mone. ?a1425 (?a1350) T. Castleford Chron. (1940) l. 20565 (MED) Fife fote of hegh es þat mare, Withouten manes crafte four squar. c1450 in T. Austin Two 15th-cent. Cookery-bks. (1888) 75 Rered more þen an enche of hegh. 1541 in Proc. Soc. Antiquaries Scotl. (1862) 3 161 To big and compleit the revestrie of the paroche kirk..with ane walter tabill at the heich that it is now vnder the thak. 1639 J. Canne Stay against Straying 72 Such a practice, is the high of delusion and deph [sic] of dissimulatio [sic]. 1775 C. Hutton Diarian Misc. III. 91 Let be shown The heigh of this stupendous cone. 5. A state of great success or happiness; a high point in the life or development of a person or thing. rare before 20th cent. ΚΠ 1727 Visct. Bolingbroke Occas. Writer 9 As for ups and downs, highs and lows, I think there is nothing at all in them. We great Folks..are liable to these Vicissitudes. 1871 Expos. Epist. to Romans 123 For who is as He was? No highs and lows, as the energy of the apostle could and did experience, but the calmness of unvarying perfection was there. 1933 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 12 Feb. (Automotive section) 1/2 I expect to see trap plays brought to a new high in development. 1968 Listener 22 Feb. 228/2 The series manifestly represented a new high in the adaptation of fiction to film. 1987 Courier-Mail (Brisbane) (Nexis) 13 June Biggs..talked candidly about his incredible life, the highs, the lows, his family and the memories. 2000 Vanity Fair Oct. 152/1 Catherine O'Hara, whose other film work..hasn't touched the highs of her SCTV creations, such as the ultra-needy nightclub legend Lola Heatherton. 6. Cards. In all fours (all fours n. 3) and similar card games: the highest trump in play during a round, providing a player with one game point; esp. the ace of the trump suit. Also: the game point awarded for this. high-low-jack n. (also high-low-jack and the game) the game of all fours.In earlier books referred to as highest. The high represents one of the four game points available during each round. In the game of all fours the point is awarded to the player to whom the card is dealt. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > trump cards triumph1563 trump1563 ruff1598 five-finger1611 honour1674 high1793 low1818 trumph1819 sancho1875 Dix1908 ruffer1934 1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester x. 111 This Game I conceive is called All-Fours from Highest, Lowest, Jack and Game, which is the Set as some play it. 1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester x. 113 Sometimes you are highest, lowest, Jack, and Game.] 1793 J. O'Keeffe London Hermit i. 16 You can't conceive what a variety of high—low—jack—and game, since the morning we parted at the Shakespeare, you in a post-chaise for Dover. 1814 C. Jones Hoyle's Games Improved (new ed.) 170 All-fours..derives its name from the four chances therein, for each of which a point is scored, namely, high, the best trump out; low, the smallest trump dealt; jack, the knave of trumps; game, the majority of pips reckoned from such of the following cards as the respective players have in their tricks; viz. every ace is counted as 4; king 3; queen 2; knave 1; and ten for 10. 1843 ‘J. Slick’ High Life N.Y. II. 214 Under the table..was a hull squad of playin cards..as if somebody had got beat a playing high-low-jack and the game. 1864 W. B. Dick Amer. Hoyle 148 The high and the low always belong to the original possessor of those trumps. 1893 I. K. Funk et al. Standard Dict. Eng. Lang. I High-low-jack. Same as All-fours. 1898 B. Kirkby Lakeland Words 72 High-low, a card game. High-low, Jack an' t' gam. 1911 R. F. Foster Compl. Hoyle 328 As High, Jack, and Game are always counted by the player holding those points at the end of the play, there can be no question about them: but serious disputes sometimes arise as to who played Low... It is even possible, if there is no other trump or counting card in play, for the Jack to be High, Low, Jack, and the Game. 1963 G. F. Hervey Handbk. Card Games 16 The players then turn up their tricks and score for High, Low, Jack and Game. 1990 D. Parlett Oxf. Guide Card Games 257 The point for High goes to the player dealt the highest trump in play (not all cards being dealt out). 1994 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 13 July i. 19/1 I want her passion for playing high-low-jack-and-the-game on Saturday night held up to ridicule by the nation's foremost satirists. 2004 N. Katz Everything Card Games Bk. (new ed.) 122 After all six tricks have been played, each team adds up the points collected in their hand for High, Low, Jack, Game, Right Pedro, and Left Pedro. 7. In plural. High notes (in music); high frequencies (of sound). rare before 20th cent. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > [noun] > high frequency highs1845 treble1930 top1940 1845 H. Milton Lady Cecilia Farrencourt II. i. 32 The opening of the door gave Mrs. Major Hopkins new vigour; the louds and the longs, the highs and the lows, the trills, and the shakes, and the crashes, were all repeated with increased power. 1931 U.S. Patent 1,818,987 1/1 In radio and like loud speakers wherein the diaphragm is driven by a single unit, such unit..may be pitched to a low resonance to accentuate the reproduction of the low frequencies and slight the value of the highs. 1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio ii. 46 Such screens have the advantage of being dual purpose: used dead side to the microphone, they will damp down the highs: with the bright side forward, the highs will be emphasized. 1981 Musical Times 122 96 I associate the extreme highs (11 to 15 kHz) particularly with intimacy. 1986 Electronic Musician Aug. 53/1 With this mode, the keyboard range is extended..and can produce piercing highs and subterranean lows. 2011 New Yorker 26 Sept. 22/2 The song has Aretha-like highs and not many lows. 8. With the and capital initial. A particular high street, esp. the High Street in Oxford. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > street > [noun] > specific street Watling Street1569 pall-mall1656 high1853 Corso1876 Great White Way1902 1853 ‘C. Bede’ Adventures Mr. Verdant Green x. 88 He at once sallied forth to ‘do the High’, and display his new purchases. a1879 L. A. Montefiore Ess. & Lett. (1881) 302 Hauski was walking along the High (in Oxford, High Street is called the High, Broad Street the Broad, and so on), smoking a huge cigar. 1888 R. Kipling Plain Tales from Hills 242 If I 'ad a stayed at 'Ome, I might a' married that gal and a kep' a little shorp in the 'Ammersmith' Igh. 1906 A. Quiller-Couch From Cornish Window 158 Yet if at last not less her lover You in your hansom leave the High [etc.]. 1921 C. S. Lewis Let. 10 May (1966) 59 It is still pleasant to see fewer foreign visitors pacing the High with guide books. 1955 Times 11 Aug. 7/6 A proposal..to close Magdalen Bridge,..preventing the High from being used as a motor thoroughfare. 2007 Times (Nexis) 26 May (Features section) 5 She finds herself prowling the High in Oxford, and roaring..at the Bodleian Library. 9. Chiefly North American colloquial = high school n. 1a. Chiefly in names of schools. Cf. junior high n. at junior adj. and n. Special uses, senior high n. at senior adj. and n. Compounds 1. ΘΚΠ society > education > place of education > school > [noun] > secondary school high schoolc1417 academyc1550 real school1765 central school1794 secondary school1809 real scholar1822 lyceum1827 Realschule1833 gymnasium1834 continuation-school1837 college1841 lycée1865 middle school1870 high1871 senior school1871 senior high1909 secondary modern school1943 comprehensive1947 secondary1962 community college1967 multilateral1967 sec-mod1968 1871 Boston (Mass.) Almanac 1872 64 High and Grammar Schools, and Masters... Eng High, Bedford st. Charles M. Cumston. Girls' High and Normal, Newton Street. Ephraim Hunt. Roxbury High, S. M. Weston. 1908 Official Basket Ball Rules 1908–9 39 Dorchester High, after a hard season, was the winner in the X division, and Boston Latin School in the Y division. 1930 H. Crane Let. 29 Nov. (1965) 359 I left East High without even a diploma—in my junior year. 1963 H. Garner in R. Weaver Canad. Short Stories (1968) 2nd Ser. 49 He had graduated from technical high, and was going to university in the fall. 1992 Daily Mail 16 July 3 The common is a favourite meeting point for the King's College boys and the girls from Wimbledon High. 2008 New Yorker 4 Feb. 42/2 According to a 2007 study, Weequahic High is now deemed a ‘dropout factory’—a designation accorded schools with a dropout rate of forty per cent or higher. 10. Meteorology. An area of high atmospheric pressure; a weather system characterized by high pressure, spec. an anticyclone. Cf. high pressure n. 1b. Also figurative. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > movements and pressure conditions > [noun] > atmospheric pressure > (area of) high pressure high pressure1826 high1878 1878 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 310 These high and low areas, or ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ as they are technically known, travel. 1901 Yearbk. U.S. Dept. Agric. 1900 332 The hot wave..seemed to join forces with the permanent high over the ocean. 1958 ‘N. Shute’ Rainbow & Rose 290 A high had come along that the Met had not been able to forecast. 1966 New Statesman 27 May 759/1 There are..highs and lows of political intensity: right now, we are approaching a moderate high. 2003 Independent 1 Aug. 9/6 An ‘Azores high’ will send temperatures soaring to 24–26C. 11. a. The highest point within a given (usually statistical) range; a high level exceeding that previously attained; an overall maximum, a record. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > outdoing or surpassing > [noun] > that which surpasses others of the same kind record1860 best1874 high1899 1899 Economist (Chicago) 16 Dec. 716/3 The following table..gives the high of December 8 and the low of December 14, when the decline was checked. 1928 Weekly Disp. 3 June 7/2 When he buys, they buy; the lot of them can create..a new ‘high’ in any share in which Mr. Durant fancies. 1939 ‘N. Blake’ Smiler with Knife ii. 29 An all-time high in adenoidal growth. 1959 Encounter Sept. 59/1 Beckett's stock has reached a steady high at Langham Place. 1973 Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. 122 186 Scores could range from a high of 64..to a low of 1. 2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 21 Aug. c1/3 The number of homeowners behind on their mortgage payments hit a new high. b. The actual or predicted maximum temperature for a certain place and period. ΚΠ 1916 Salt Lake Tribune 23 May 14/4 Temperatures varied throughout the state from a low of zero..to a high of 90 degrees at Black Rock. 1964 Climatological Data Okla. (U.S. Weather Bureau) 73 100/1 Daily highs of 100° and above prevailed statewide. 1995 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 1 Mar. 4 A week later, temperatures in Sydney fell to 17C, seven [sic] degrees below the expected high of 25C. 2007 L. Mariner Cleared for Takeoff II. ix. 59 The forecast for tomorrow then, is cool and sunny, with an expected high of 73 degrees. 12. = high gear n. at Compounds 4. Frequently in in (also into) high. Cf. low n.² 9. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > specific gear bottom gear?1865 high gear1889 low gear1895 fourth1900 second gear1902 first gear1907 second1907 first1909 second speed1912 high1914 low1914 1914 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 7 Mar. 75/1 There is no possibility..of stripping gears, when changing from high to low, or back to high. 1919 Munic. Jrnl. (N.Y.) 12 Apr. 260/2 Fan belt is broken, transmission needs attention, car slips in low, car slips in reverse, clutch slips in high [etc.]. 1962 A. Huxley Island vii. 99 It's like shifting gears: you have to go into neutral before you change into high. 2002 Farmers Guardian (Nexis) 22 Feb. 35 High, low, reverse and neutral are on a left hand shift lever working horizontally. 13. colloquial. a. A state of euphoria induced by the taking of an illicit drug or drugs. Also (esp. in on a high) any state of elation or high spirits. Cf. sense A. 19. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > effects of drugs > [noun] > drug-induced euphoria rush1834 sleigh-ride1925 high1944 1944 G. B. Wallace & E. V. Cunningham Marihuana Probl. City of N.Y. ii. 37 In smoking, increasing the number of cigarettes usually increased the sensation described as ‘high’, but here also there was no uniformity in individuals or groups. 1950 N. Cassady Let. 25 Sept. (2005) 158 I spent a month..getting hi before and after each trip. During these hi's I was more amazed than usual by the whole panorama of life I saw daily. 1953 W. S. Burroughs Junkie xv. 145 The high came on slow. Peyote high is something like benzedrine high. 1967 Listener 3 Aug. 130/1 It is not easy..to describe the effect of a trip on LSD or a marijuana high. 1989 Looks Dec. 102/3 I'm constantly on the phone, but meeting famous celebs keeps me on a high. 2001 FourFourTwo Aug. 61/2 One might naturally expect him to still be on a high, revelling in the joy of winning three trophies. 2013 Vanity Fair Mar. 383/1 A heroin high comes in waves, not all at once. b. A drug which induces a state of euphoria. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > an intoxicating drug > [noun] > stimulant drug(s) sweets1961 high1962 uppie1966 upper1968 1962 R. G. Reisner Bird 149 Bird introduced this nutmeg to the guys. It was a cheap and legal high. 1971 Rolling Stone 24 June 38/3 (advt.) Herbal Highs. A book on legal, organic highs. 1987 N. Spinrad Little Heroes 98 Chemical highs like speed and reds and smack. 2013 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 29 May (News section) 15 The growing use of hybrid and complex synthetic ‘highs’ made in illegal labs from mixtures of chemicals, with unknown side-effects, posed a new threat to the health of young people using the new drugs. Phrases P1. with (also † in, through) a high hand: with imperious or absolute exercise of power; imperiously. Also in with a higher hand, to take the high hand, etc. [Compare post-classical Latin in manu excelsa, lit. ‘in a high hand’ (Vulgate), and also manus alta force, altior manus upper hand (both 14th cent. in British sources).] ΚΠ OE Old Eng. Hexateuch: Deut. (Claud.) xxxii. 27 Vre hand is heah [L. manus nostra excelsa] & ne worhte Drihten ðas ðingc.] a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Num. xxxiii. 3 Þer fore þei goon forþ..in an hiȝ hond [1535 Coverdale thorow an hye hande; 1611 King James with an high hand; L. in manu excelsa]. a1555 J. Bradford Godlye Medytacyon (1559) sig. E.i Suffer hym not to seduce the symple sort with his fonde opinion, that his false gods, blind mumbling, fayned religion or his folishe supersticion, doth geue hym suche conquestes, suche victories, suche triumphe, and so high hand ouer vs. 1596 Bp. W. Barlow tr. L. Lavater Three Christian Serm. ii. 92 Much more will hee scourge them that sinne with an hie hand. 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 7 Carrying..all a kinde of high hand over their wiues. 1676 W. Allen Serious & Friendly Addr. Non-conformists 171 In truth he had with a high hand forbidden it. 1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. xxxiv. 189 My busy Apprehension immediately suggested to me, that I was to be terrified, with a high Hand, into a Compliance with some new Scheme or other. 1774 J. Johnson Let. 6 Apr. in Joshua Johnson's Letterbk. (1979) 131 I have no doubt of establishing our reputations..and much to the prejudice of Molleson and some others who have heretofore held a high hand. 1808 Duke of Wellington Dispatches (1837) IV. 96 An army that, to be successful and carry things with a high hand, ought to be able to move. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iv. ii. 240 The dominant party carrying it with a high hand. 1880 E. Lynn Linton Rebel of Family I. ii. 47 He..carried things with a higher hand than once she would have thought possible. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters 147 I took the high hand in despair, said there must be no talk of Irvine coming back. 1932 Pop. Aviation Dec. 360/2 It is the high hand of authority that is choking the life out of a young and promising industry. 1999 Evening Standard (Nexis) 4 Mar. 33 With the Convention on Human Rights a part of British law, it would mean his office couldn't take a high hand and reject what it considered obscene out of hand. 2007 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 10 Nov. 3 There is a certain type of customer who is lovely with myself, or the owner, but who seems to treat the rest of the staff with a high hand. P2. high and dry. a. Of a vessel (or occasionally a person): cast or drawn up on the shore out of the water. Also in extended use: out of harm's way, safe. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > liquid > dryness > dry [phrase] > above surface or level of water high and dry1727 society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > [phrase] > laid up or out of commission out of commission1533 in ordinary1754 high and dry1851 1727 A. Hamilton New Acct. E. Indies I. xxi. 254 To the great Admiration of all concerned, the Ship was high and dry in the Morning, in a Valley on the South Side of the River of Goa, about half a Mile within the Land. 1759 J. Lindsay Voy. Coast Afr. viii. 67 The wreck of a ship (which lies here high and dry on the shore). 1822 R. G. Wallace 15 Years in India 48 Another surf sent Ensign George True high and dry on the beach. 1838 C. Dickens Let. ?26 July (1965) I. 421 I no sooner get myself up, high and dry, to attack him [sc. Oliver Twist] manfully than up come the waves of each month's work. 1851 Official Descriptive & Illustr. Catal. Great Exhib. II. 359 Dry dock..for laying up ships of war out of commission, or ships ‘in ordinary’, high and dry. 1867 J. C. Patteson in C. M. Yonge Life J. C. Patteson (1874) II. xi. 275 I am high and dry, and have..a broad ladder—up to my house. The Mahaga lads and I call it my tree-house. 1927 J. Galsworthy Castles in Spain 169 A true work of art remains beautiful and living, though an ebb tide of fashion may leave it for the moment high and dry on the beach. 1941 W. S. Maugham Writer's Notebk. (1949) 305 The river has flowed on and left him high and dry on the bank. The writer has his little hour..but an hour is soon past. 1985 Times 31 Oct. 32/5 First efforts to pull her off were unsuccessful and she remained high and dry to wait for the evening tide. 2004 Stuart (Florida) News (Nexis) 8 Oct. (Sport section) c3 I don't think we really knew how many boats we had on our waterways until we saw them high and dry in our backyards. b. figurative. Out of the current of events or progress, ‘stranded’ (sometimes with allusion to senses A. 8, A. 11, or A. 19, and to dry adj. 17). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > quality of being exclusive > exclusiveness [phrase] > out of events or progress high and dry1831 the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > [phrase] > not taking part in action high and dry1881 sidelines1895 1831 Amer. Monthly Mag. (Boston) Mar. 824 The tide of the multitude has gone down. The theatre is left high and dry, like the skeleton of the mighty horse in the camp of the Dorians. 1844 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit xlviii. 551 Turns his back on ev'ry thing as made his service a creditable one, and leaves me, high and dry, without a leg to stand upon. 1881 E. W. Hamilton Diary 18 June (1972) I. 146 Meanwhile, Dr. Flood's successor had been appointed, and Dr. Flood was left high and dry without preferment owing to an undoubted breach of faith on the part of Duckworth. 1907 Model Engineer 24 Oct. 406/1 I am high and dry in the country and find accumulators a nuisance. There is a colliery here from which I can get a 220-volt continuous current. 1960 Times 30 Aug. 11/6 Cella's back-heel, so deceptive, so utterly unexpected, left Rossano high and dry. 2005 Independent 16 Aug. 25/6 A community that a couple of generations ago were brought here as ‘economic migrants’, then left high and dry when the cotton mills closed. c. colloquial. Of or relating to the old High Church party within the Church of England, as distinguished from that which originated with the 19th-cent. Oxford Movement. Now historical. ΚΠ 1839 Gospel Standard Mar. 71 To us it savours too much of the barren high and dry church of England divinity; and it bears too close a resemblance to the wooden, sapless, head-knowledge doctrinalists in the church.] 1843 Times 16 Nov. 4/6 The high and dry party justly censured the so-called Evangelicals as being Dissenters in disguise. 1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers 39 That party which is now scandalously called the high-and-dry church. 1864 J. H. Newman Apologia 282 Principles..which went beyond that particular defence which high-and-dry men thought perfection. 1968 G. S. Haight George Eliot i. 8 Religion in the Evans family had been of the old-fashioned high-and-dry sort. 1994 P. B. Nockles Oxf. Movement in Context 40 For the Tractarians, the term ‘Anglican’ came to denote a ‘High and Dry’ form of attachment to the Church of England. 2003 S. Maughan in A. Porter Imperial Horizons of Brit. Protestant Missions 37 Strong ideals of church unity, imperial engagement, and enthusiastic activism—uncharacteristic emphases within the conventional ‘high and dry’ party. P3. on high (rarely upon high). a. In or to a height, above, aloft; spec. up to or in heaven. Cf. ahigh adv. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb] upc888 highOE highlyOE thereupc1000 anovenOE overOE boveOE on, upon (the) lofta1100 aloftc1175 bibufennc1175 on higha1200 abovec1225 anovenonc1300 in heighta1340 on or upon height1340 ahighc1350 outh1389 over loftc1430 aheight1477 supernally1596 lofty-like1604 sublimely1625 way up1843 thereabove1891 the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > in upward direction on higha1200 on or upon height1340 of lofta1400 on, upon (the) loft1487 the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [adverb] > in Heaven in the highestOE on higha1200 abovea1325 alofta1400 within the veil1528 up there1938 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 111 (MED) Ure helende..was þis dai heued on hegh. a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 95 (MED) Ðe faste hope hafð hire stede up an heih. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 11104 Hii..ladde him vpe þe tour an hei. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 708 All thinges..On hei, on lau, on land, on see. c1410 (c1395) G. Chaucer Franklin's Tale (Cambr. Dd.4.24) (1902) l. 849 Hire to disporte vp-on the banke an [c1475 Trin. Oxf. on] heigh. 1480 Cronicles Eng. (Caxton) ccxliii. sig. s8 There hir hedes were sette vpon high. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Isa. xl. D Lift vp youre eyes an hie, and considre. 1611 Bible (King James) Psalms cxiii. 5 The Lord our God, who dwelleth on high . View more context for this quotation 1687 J. Dryden Song St. Cecilia's Day Chorus The Trumpet shall be heard on high, The Dead shall live, the Living die. 1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 258 Caprea, where the Lanthorn fix'd on high Shines like a Moon through the benighted Sky, While by its Beams the wary Sailor steers. 1760 A. Murphy Desert Island iii. 56 Teach our souls To bend in love, in gratitude, and praise To the All-good on high, who thus befriends The cause of innocence. 1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 19 Apr. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 131 That heart-breathed sigh Which for thy life ascends on high. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 305 From boats below, and roofs on high. 1903 A. Kautz Ink in Bloom 18 Oh, Thought, Carrier bird! To those far summits fly! This message bear nearer to God upon high. 1914 J. S. Wrightnour Rift in Cloud 63 While on high, in sunny air, swallows fly alow, or soar O'er a higher area floor. 1931 L. Binyon tr. Dante Inferno i, in Coll. Poems II. 240 For that Lord Emperor who doth reign on high..Wills not that I to his city come too nigh. 2007 L. H. Ellis tr. R. Borghini Il Reposo 194 The people are shown in different poses in appropriate scale, looking at Christ on high sending thunderbolts down at the people. b. from on high (rarely from high): from a high place or position; spec. from heaven. ΘΚΠ the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > from on high or heaven from higha1225 the world > the supernatural > deity > heaven > [adverb] > from Heaven heavenlyOE from higha1225 celestially1593 a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 (MED) Adam..alihte from hehe in to lahe. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 2327 Þe Amyral þat was so riche ys falle doun fram an heȝ. a1456 (a1402) J. Trevisa tr. Gospel of Nicodemus (BL Add.) f. 107 He shal visyte yowe..and comeþe frame heghe to vs þat sitteþe in derknesse. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John iii. f. cxxiij He that commeth from an hye is above all. 1531 W. Tyndale Expos. Fyrste Epist. St. Jhon Prol. sig. Aiiij^v He which ever crepith..can not fal frome an hie. 1557 Bible (Whittingham) John iii. 31 He that commeth from an hye, is aboue all. 1611 Bible (King James) Luke i. 78 The dayspring from on high hath visited us. View more context for this quotation 1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §832 For Raine, and other Dew, that fall from high, cannot preserue the Smell. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 116 Their Flocks Father (forc'd from high to leap) Swims down the Stream. View more context for this quotation 1747 T. Gray Ode Eton Coll. 7 Ambition This shall tempt to rise, Then whirl the Wretch from high. 1821 R. Heber in Evangelical Mag. July 316 We, whose souls are lighted With wisdom from on high. 1859 F. Wharton Treat. Theism 249 He forgot that to raise a pierless bridge that was to be eternal, its support must be derived from on high. 1949 N. Mitford Love in Cold Climate ii. vi. 249 Now the Boreley family consider that they have a special mandate, bestowed from on high, to deal with everything that regards the horse. 1992 Economist 29 Feb. 74/2 Managers, carrying out instructions from on high, may not know whether the farm they run is in profit or loss. 2009 Independent 22 Oct. (Life section) 9/5 It's like having God the Father come down from on high. †c. Also of high. With a raised voice; loudly; aloud. Obsolete (archaic and poetic in later use). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adverb] > with raised voice or loudly loud971 highc1225 on highc1225 highlyc1275 mainlyc1300 with full (also open) mouthc1300 alouda1325 greatly1340 ahigha1400 loudlya1400 on or upon heightc1405 on, upon (the) loftc1420 on loudc1450 in heightc1480 big1556 to the loudesta1616 full-mouthedly1681 in loud1682 stentoriously1685 trumpet-mouthed1767 at the top of one's throat1819 at the top of one's throat1819 out loud1821 stentorianly1880 c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 884 Come aburh-reue..ant tus on heh cleopede: ‘O kene king!’ c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 1288 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 143 He..aros op and bi-gan to telle is tale on heiȝ [c1300 Harl. 2277 anheȝ]. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 139 (MED) Whan þis was set & stabled, & pes cried on hii, Henry þe ȝong kyng ȝede to Normundie. ?c1450 tr. Bk. Knight of La Tour Landry (1906) 40 He herde hem..iangle, and borde of high [e] . 1490 W. Caxton tr. Foure Sonnes of Aymon (1885) ii. 62 He..called of heyghe, ‘Barons! kepe well that Reynawde scape not.’ ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Bv Yf we call any thynge on hye The tauerner wyll answere. 1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 8318 Than said on heich this nobill empreour [etc.]. 1602 S. Patrick tr. I. Gentillet Disc. Wel Governing iii. xxx. 322 Every one wept for joy, and cryed on high: That assuredly the citie of Rome was most happie, invincible and eternall, by this concord. 1659 D. Pell Πελαγος 313 Some of the prisoners have been heard to shout on high. 1766 T. Francklin Earl of Warwick v. ii. 59 He rais'd his voice on high, And stop, he cry'd, your sacrilegious hands. 1821 R. S. Hawker Tendrils 81 With triumph spread the festal board, And shout on high the joyful lay. 1878 B. M. Ranking Bjorn & Bera ii. 70 The while he, frowning, spoke on high: ‘Ah, harlot, and my father's bane!’ †d. figurative. To an intense or high degree. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] a great dealc1000 much dealc1225 on highc1400 little1483 good and proper1508 not smally1548 a deal1756 in a big way1840 more than somewhat1930 c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. vii. l. 124 Til ich, wratth, waxe an hyh and walke with hem bothe. †e. Perhaps: openly, publicly. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > communication > manifestation > manifestness > openness or unconcealedness > [adverb] barelyc950 beforeOE openlyOE nakedly?c1225 in a person's bearda1250 opelyc1275 apertly1297 commonlya1325 opena1325 overtlyc1325 pertlya1375 plainc1380 in (also on) opena1382 in apertc1384 plainlyc1390 in open (also general) audiencea1393 aperta1400 in commonaltya1400 outa1400 without laina1400 in commonc1400 publishlyc1400 pertc1410 in publicc1429 on higha1450 in pert1453 to a person's facea1470 into heightc1480 forthward?1504 but hidel?1507 publicly1534 uncolouredly1561 roundly1563 famously1570 vulgarly1602 above board1603 round1604 displayedly1611 on (also upon) the square?1611 undisguisedly1611 broadly1624 discoveredly1659 unveiledly1661 under a person's nose1670 manifestly1711 before faces1762 publically1797 overboard1834 unashamedly1905 upfront1972 a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) l. 744 Suche on he was alle his leuyng. †P4. in high and low: in all parts; in all points or respects; wholly, entirely. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > the whole or all > that is all or the whole [phrase] > in respect of everything or part > in every respect through all thingeOE at all pointsa1375 from point to pointa1393 at all rightsc1405 in high and lowc1405 in generala1413 every incha1450 all in allc1475 at all sorts1612 all round1867 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 27098 (MED) Alle þis werld, on lagh and hei, Es nackind forwit cristis ei.] c1405 (c1387–95) G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 816 And we wol ruled been at his deuys In heigh and logh. 1428 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 5 (MED) In hegh and lawe he submyt hym to ye grace and awarde of ye Mayr and Counsell. a1475 J. Shirley Death James (BL Add. 5467) in Miscellanea Scotica (1818) II. 8 The Lordes cosentid..yn hie and low, to mayntene all that he wold tak on hand to say. ?1605 J. Davies Wittes Pilgrimage sig. X1 verso Byas also dothe ryght well shewe, Of wrath the discommoditie: Saying that it in hygh and lowe, To counsayle is chiefe enemye. 1682 H. Care Hist. Popery IV. 42 He got to himself alone the Domination In Alto & Basso, (As Feudal Lawyers speak) in High and Low; or, absolutely in All and over All. P5. colloquial. on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope) and variants: in an elated, disdainful, or enraged mood. Now rare (only in historical contexts). ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > anger > [adjective] irrec825 gramec893 wemodc897 wrothc950 bolghenc1000 gramelyc1000 hotOE on fireOE brathc1175 moodyc1175 to-bollenc1175 wrethfulc1175 wraw?c1225 agrameda1300 wrathfula1300 agremedc1300 hastivec1300 irousa1340 wretheda1340 aniredc1350 felonc1374 angryc1380 upreareda1382 jealous1382 crousea1400 grieveda1400 irefula1400 mada1400 teena1400 wraweda1400 wretthy14.. angryc1405 errevousa1420 wrothy1422 angereda1425 passionatec1425 fumous1430 tangylc1440 heavy1452 fire angry1490 wrothsomea1529 angerful?1533 wrothful?1534 wrath1535 provoked1538 warm1547 vibrant1575 chauffe1582 fuming1582 enfeloned1596 incensed1597 choleric1598 inflameda1600 raiseda1600 exasperate1601 angried1609 exasperated1611 dispassionate1635 bristlinga1639 peltish1648 sultry1671 on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672 nangry1681 ugly1687 sorea1694 glimflashy1699 enraged1732 spunky1809 cholerous1822 kwaai1827 wrathy1828 angersome1834 outraged1836 irate1838 vex1843 raring1845 waxy1853 stiff1856 scotty1867 bristly1872 hot under the collar1879 black angry1894 spitfire1894 passionful1901 ignorant1913 hairy1914 snaky1919 steamed1923 uptight1934 broigus1937 lemony1941 ripped1941 pissed1943 crooked1945 teed off1955 ticked off1959 ripe1966 torqued1967 bummed1970 the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adverb] dignelyc1374 hautainlyc1400 deignouslyc1440 disdaininglyc1485 royally?c1500 disdainouslya1513 haughtly1523 superciliously1528 disdainishly?1529 disdainfullya1533 disdainedly1535 lordlikea1555 squeamishly1571 haughtily1572 state1579 coy1581 lordly1589 overly1610 lordlily1611 condescendingly1653 on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672 coyly1673 cavalierly1718 slightily1740 skeigh1792 patronizingly1834 Olympically1839 superiorly1844 Olympianly1871 superior1891 the mind > emotion > pleasure > joy, gladness, or delight > [adjective] > elated jollyc1305 elated1615 elevateda1640 on (also upon) the high ropes (also rope)1672 high1695 elate1702 uppisha1704 vaudyc1720 in fine (also good, high) leg1808 exalté1831 in high snuff1840 bucked1907 thrilled1908 twitterpated1942 1672 Vindic. of Clergy 81 At length he shows upon the High Rope, and advances to the top of his design, his elaborate Description of the Vicar. 1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew at Rope Upon the High-ropes, Cock-a-hoop. 1708 P. A. Motteux Wks. F. Rabelais v. xviii He was upon the High-Rope and began to rail at them like mad. 1773 O. Goldsmith She stoops to Conquer ii. 27 All upon the high ropes! His uncle a Colonel! 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxxi. 304 I went there the night before last, but she was quite on the high ropes about something. 1850 C. M. Yonge Henrietta's Wish vi. 76 That is what you call being on the high rope, isn't it? 1868 S. Brooks Sooner or Later II. xi. 116 If they were not all on the high ropes the thing might be settled quietly enough, but Haslop believes her an angel, and Dormer won't let her know what is said. 1944 G. Heyer Friday's Child xiii. 140 Mr Ringwood agreed that when George was in his high ropes there was no knowing at all what mad act he would take it into his head to commit. P6. high priori adj. [a humorous alteration of a priori adv., originally (in high priori road) after high road n.] (of a method of reasoning, an assumption, etc.) lofty, unfounded. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > belief > supposition, surmise > taking for granted, presumption > [adverb] presumptively1593 presumably1658 antecedently1668 high priori1742 presumedly1848 assumedly1881 sans dire1881 assumably1883 the mind > mental capacity > lack of understanding > foolishness, folly > absurdity, incongruity > [adjective] > assuming loftiness high priori1742 priori1762 1742 A. Pope New Dunciad 463 We nobly take the high Priori Road. 1790 R. Porson Lett. to Travis vii. 163 Thus far I have thought fit to take the high priori road of reasoning; that if I have any attentive readers..they may learn to weigh the probabilities of an assertion before they agree to its truth. 1851 J. S. Mill Syst. Logic (ed. 3) I. iii. 209 I am unable to see why we should be..constrained to travel the ‘high priori road’ by the arbitrary fiat of logicians. 1873 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 420 The days when mind was considered exclusively the domain of theologians and metaphysicians, and mental diseases were treated according to ‘high priori’ notions instead of medical science. 1923 Jrnl. Philos. 20 141 The purely logical approach to metaphysical problems is somewhat out of fashion. High priori grounds and necessary being are threatened with banishment. 1987 D. G. Marshall in G. H. Hartman Unremarkable Wordsworth Introd. p. viii Close reading again proved its validity against ‘high priori’ historicism. P7. on the high horse: see horse n. 24b. P8. colloquial (chiefly U.S.) to be in high cotton (also clover) and variants: to live well; to prosper, be well off; to be in a comfortable or advantageous position; cf. to live (or be) in clover at clover n. 3. ΚΠ 1840 Sun (Baltimore) 2 June 1/4 Whenever she married she would immediately reap the benefit of it in sugar and old rum. Three weeks I spent in high clover. 1848 N.Y. Herald 4 Mar. 1/4 There were letters received from him in town a day or two since, from Candella, stating that he was doing well and in high clover. 1915 Amer. Artisan & Hardware Rec. 20 Mar. 15/2 That was the time when the industrial promoter was in high clover. 1933 Port Arthur (Texas) News 12 Dec. 8/1 Sabine district grid fans are lollin' in high cotton this week—with two championship football contests on the calendar. 1975 J. Nazel Shakedown i. 26 After tomorrow night, we'll both be able to take it easy. We'll be walking in high cotton. 1998 Washington Times (Electronic ed.) 23 July Courier was livin' in high clover in the early '90s. 2005 T. L. Rioux From Sawdust to Stardust vii. 116 If the westerns kept doing well or if he could get a television series of his own, then the Kelleys would be in high cotton. P9. Originally U.S. colloquial. how is that for high?: an exclamation inviting admiration. Now somewhat rare. [Perhaps with allusion to the high in all fours or similar games (see sense B. 6), but popularized in a song (see quot. 1869¹).] ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > approval or sanction > commendation or praise > expressions of commendation [interjection] > inviting commendation how is that for high?1869 sock it to me (them, etc.)!1963 1869 Billy Emerson's Oh! How is that for High? (sheet music) 4 A charming girl this afternoon, I saw come tripping by, And as I looked she winked at me, Oh! how is that for High? 1869 Plymouth (Indiana) Weekly Democrat 11 Feb. Three concerts in Chicago brought her $8,000. How's that for high? 1870 Harvard Advocate 25 Nov. 54/1 ‘Sic semper stultibus’, is what a worthy member of '73 stuck on to a Freshman's door, after putting himself to the trouble..of tearing down said Fresh's card. How's that for high? 1887 F. Francis Saddle & Mocassin xviii. 315 ‘How's that for high, boys?’ concluded the narrator, when he had told his tale. ‘That's on top,’ declared Black Jack; ‘that takes the cake.’ 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vii. [Aeolus] 119 What about that, Simon?..How's that for high? 2004 T. Fleming Passionate Girl (2009) 417 At the end of each week, I send Dick Connolly a list of the men. Sometimes with a little description of what we did. How's that for high? P10. slang high as a kite: exceptionally elated, euphoric; very drunk or under the influence of an illicit drug or drugs. Cf. sense A. 19. Cf. also earlier as high as a kite at high adv. Phrases 1. ΚΠ 1903 Macmillan's Mag. Jan. 210/2 All wrapped up in my hopes, and feeling as high as a kite, I seek in Hankow the fisherman to whom I had attached the learned Mandarin's poor little son. 1938 Catal. Copyright Entries (U.S. Copyright Office) 33 131/2 (title of song) I'm high as a kite..Sid Bass. a1966 M. Allingham Cargo of Eagles (1968) iv. 54 He..gave them a champagne lunch in a marquee..and held a sale. By then everyone was as high as a kite. 2004 Voice 22 Mar. (24 Seven section) 10/3 But social dancing—you give me a little shandy, I'll get high as a kite and I will dance you under the table! Compounds C1. Compounds in Old English and their later reflexes.In Old English the adjective hēah (in various senses) frequently occurs in compounds with a noun as second element. These are true compounds (with invariable first element); however, in Middle English the reflexes of such compounds are typically reinterpreted as syntactic combinations of adjective and noun.In modern English surviving in a relatively small number of fixed collocations noted below, esp. in the names of offices and dignities and in official titles. a. With literal sense ‘lofty, tall, not low’, also ‘deep’. [Compare Old English hēahbeorg (high) mountain, hēahclif high cliff, hēahflōd high tide, deep water, hēahland highland n. 1a, hēahtimber tall building, etc. Some compounds show the first element passing into Compounds 1b, as hēahaltare high altar n., hēahdēor stag, hēahsǣ high sea n. 1, hēahsetl (see high settle at settle n.¹ 2b), hēahwēofod high altar.] ΚΠ OE (Northumbrian) Lindisf. Gospels: John xix. 13 Adduxit foras iesum et sedit pro tribunali : gebrohte bute ðone hælend & sætt fore ðæm hehsedle. OE Homily (Corpus Cambr. 421) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 262 Swa bið eac gelice be þam heaclifum and torrum, þonne hi hlifiað feor up ofer þa oðre eorðan. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 1086 Swa swiðe he lufode þa headeor swilce he wære heora fæder. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 91 (MED) Þe children..him brohten into þe holie temple, alse in his heorðliche heg settle. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 159 He wende to sceoten þat hea der; & ihitte his aȝene fader. b. Designating a thing, with the sense ‘high in degree, rank, or dignity, excellent, main, chief’. [Compare Old English hēahburh chief city, capital city, hēahcræft high or excellent skill, hēahfrēols great feast day, hēahnama exalted or illustrious name, hēahstrǣt high street n., hēahsynn deadly sin, capital sin, crime, hēahtīd high tide n. 1, hēahweg highway n. 1a, etc., and perhaps also hēahmæsse (see High Mass n. at Compounds 4).] ΚΠ OE (Northumbrian) Liturgical Texts (Durham Ritual) in A. H. Thompson & U. Lindelöf Rituale Ecclesiae Dunelmensis (1927) 5 Annuntia populo meo scelera eorum : gisægi folce minum hehsynna hiara. OE Daniel 698 Feonda folc feran cwome herega gerædum to þære heahbyrig þæt hie Babilone abrecan mihton. OE Confessionale Pseudo-Egberti (Tiber.) in Anglia (1889) 12 518 Bebeorh þe wið þa eahta heahsynna. lOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Bodl.) (2009) I. i. 244 To Constentinopolim, þær is Creca heahburg and heora cynestol. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 111 He makede ane heȝe burh [c1300 Otho eȝe borȝ]; Albe Lingoe wes ihaten. c. In names of offices and dignities, with the sense ‘chief, principal, highest, head, arch-’, sometimes passing into the absolute sense ‘of high rank or dignity, exalted, lofty’; also in official titles, frequently denoting the supreme officer or dignitary, or the officer who fulfils a particular function to the state or head of state, as high angel, high bailiff, high bishop, high bode, high chamberlain, high deacon, high father, high master, etc.After Old English usually written as two words, but sometimes hyphenated.In later use chiefly in historical contexts, except in some of the titles treated elsewhere. See High Admiral n. 1 (also Lord High Admiral n.), Lord High Chancellor n., High Commissioner n., High Constable n. at constable n. 5b (also Lord High Constable, variant of Constable of England n. at constable n. 2b), High Justice n., High Marshal at marshal n. 2a, high reeve at reeve n.¹ 1c, high sheriff at sheriff n. 2a, high steward n. at steward n. 9, High Treasurer at treasurer n. 1b. [Compare Old English hēahboda archangel, hēahcyning (see high king n. at Compounds 4), hēahealdor (chief) ruler, hēahealdormann (chief) ruler, patrician, hēahfæder patriarch, also as an epithet of God, hēahgerēfa (see high reeve at reeve n.¹ 1c), hēahlǣce master physician, hēahsācerd chief priest, hēahþegn chief officer, captain, apostle, angel, hēahwita chief councillor, etc.] ΘΚΠ the world > the supernatural > deity > Christian God > nature or attributes of God > [adjective] > ruling or majestic highOE supremea1522 majestical1583 majestatic1659 majestaticala1695 OE Blickling Homilies 25 Se ham is gefylled mid heofonlicum gastum, mid englum & heahenglum, mid heahfæderum & apostolum. OE West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) xiv. 61 Eft hine axode se heahsacerd, eart þu Crist? OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1002 Þa ongemang þissum ofsloh Leofsige ealdorman Æfic þæs cynges heahgerefan. lOE Laws of Wihtræd (Rochester) Prol. 12 Ðær wæs Birhtwald, Bretone heahbiscop. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 17107 Þatt kine dom. þatt godd. Heh faderr rixleþþ inne. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 125 Ure drihten sende his heg engel gabriel to on old man. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Initio Creaturae (Vesp. A.xxii) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 219 Angeli, boden; archangeli, hahboden [OE Royal healice bodan]. c1225 (?c1200) St. Juliana (Bodl.) l. 61 Ear þen he were under Maximien hehest i Rome, þet is heh reue. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) l. 1873 (MED) Hiȝ dekne ich wile make þe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5008 (MED) Þar vs tok þe hei baili. c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 270 Heiȝe maister in Egipte J was. a1425 (?c1375) N. Homily Legendary (Harl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 154 Þat he high-dekin at þe mes Godspell aw him to rede. 1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xxiii. 19 The hye captayne toke hym by the hond and went a parte with hym out of the waye. 1549 T. Solme in H. Latimer 2nd Serm. before Kynges Maiestie To Rdr. sig. Aii The office of the high bishoppe. 1556 R. Robinson tr. T. More Utopia (ed. 2) sig. Avii Sente thether by the hieghe Byshoppe. 1805 N. Nicholls Corr. with Gray (1843) 33 The contest for the high stewardship at Cambridge, between Lord Hardwick and Lord Sandwich. a1819 R. Watt Bibliotheca Brit. (1824) II. 4 C iv b Townley, James..High Master of the Merchant-Taylor's School. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. IV. xxi. 615 The High Bailiff then walked round the three companies of horsemen. 1873 tr. Ann. Ulster in Trans. Royal Irish Acad.: Antiquities 24 246 Fothudh, high-bishop of Alba, rested in Christ. 1907 Irish Monthly Nov. 597 A sanctuary of silence it is, and of fair, celestial musings; a house of holiness, in which, it well might seem, high angels would not disdain to abide. 2010 Solihull News (Nexis) 3 Dec. 54 (caption) The Curry Republic is officially opened by Henley-in-Arden High Bailiff John Rutherford. C2. In noun phrases used attributively.Occasionally some of these are used predicatively. a. With the sense ‘having, characterized by, or operating with a high degree or amount of (the specified quality or activity)’. high-accuracy adj. ΚΠ 1931 U.S. Patent 1,804,330 2/1 It is also advisable to protect high accuracy instruments of this character from the rather severe vibration met with on aeroplanes. 1988 J. R. Leigh Temperature Measurem. & Control 44 High-accuracy measurement of ultrasonic velocity in a liquid. 2007 N. A. Paradis et al. Cardiac Arrest (ed. 2) ix. 184 All errors of a high-accuracy instrument must be small. high-action adj. ΚΠ 1888 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 15 Dec. 1335/1 On admission he was quite unable to stand, and now he can walk about the ward, though his gait is of the high-action type. 1899 A. Church & F. Peterson Nerv. & Mental Dis. 308 The high-action gait is usually well marked, as the extensors of the leg are generally affected with the muscles below the knee. 1974 Ebony May 40/1 Cicely is not against a high-action, adventure film. 2004 Impact Aug. 33/2 It could have been darkly satirical. It could have been high-action drama. high-affinity adj. ΚΠ 1938 Jrnl. Amer. Leather Chemists Assoc. 33 42 The affinities of mixtures of sulphite cellulose with high affinity vegetable tannins were measured. 1962 Science 22 June 1032/3 The biosynthesis of high-affinity antibodies. 2010 T. W. Sadler Langman's Med. Embryol. (ed. 11) xv. 250/1 Testosterone and dihydrotestosterone bind to a specific high-affinity intracellular receptor. high-bandwidth adj. ΚΠ 1952 Television Engin. Apr. 14/3 Few attempts appear to have been made to generate high bandwidth video signals from pictures, writing, or opaque subjects. 1955 N.Z. Jrnl. Sci. & Technol. B. 36 635 Performance tests carried out on a supply with a high-bandwidth amplifier and cathode-ray oscilloscope. 1993 Harper's Mag. Jan. 26/1 High-bandwidth, interactive television. 2006 Icon May 70/2 Schwarz of Nissan relies on these tools too, using high-bandwidth internet connections to exchange data with Japan. high-capacity adj. ΚΠ 1888 Railway Press 2 Nov. 14/1 It was thought at one time..that this high capacity waggon would be only serviceable in cases of long runs of one, two, or three hundred miles. 1926 Motor Boating Oct. 183/1 (advt.) They are ready-connected, high-capacity batteries in water-proof steel cases, ideal for motor-boat ignition. 1959 R. Pound & G. Harmsworth Northcliffe (1960) xi. 293 There were abundant..lakes and rivers to supply the huge quantities of water required for high-capacity paper mills. 2001 Contact May 54/2 The real bonus with the SL45 is its high-capacity removable memory. high-caste adj. ΚΠ 1820 London Lit. Gaz. 13 May 316/2 The warmth and good will with which the Colonel's hircarrah (himself a high-caste Hindoo) endeavoured to save the unhappy woman. 1862 H. Beveridge Comprehensive Hist. India II. vi. ii. 587 The high-caste Brahmins. 1948 O. C. Cox Caste, Class, & Race 33 The high-caste man will be veritably horror-stricken if by accident he should come into contact with a Pariah. 2005 New Internationalist July 22/2 Mariamma..was on her way home from collecting firewood when Kumarasami, a high-caste landowner, attempted to rape her. high-class adj. ΚΠ 1833 Encycl. Brit. V. 137/1 A great division of labour and numerous highly skilled artizans are consequently employed in the various stages in the construction of a high-class carriage. 1864 A. McKay Hist. Kilmarnock (1880) 168 Facilities for securing a high-class education. 1913 Sat. Evening Post (Philadelphia) 22 Feb. 7/3 The Boston Symphony being about the only high-class organization in the country that does not have union men. 1971 W. Hanley Blue Dreams xix. 313 A high-class hooker couldn't be entirely without redeeming social value. 2007 Independent 3 Apr. (Extra section) 12/4 Wine contains powerful antioxidants; thus the wine bath has become a high-class spa treatment known as vinotherapy. high-compression adj. ΚΠ 1899 U.S. Patent 632,169 2/2 The blowpipes or burners are high compression in that the air is compressed through very much reduced tubes. 1958 Times 6 Nov. 7/5 All high compression engines respond to high-octane, highly anti-knock fuel. 2006 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 9 Apr. iii. 17/2 Members of the group rebuilt the engine..putting in high-compression pistons and a hot-cam like the original. high-cost adj. ΚΠ 1885 Rep. Consuls U.S. on Commerce No. 57. 30 In regard to other articles the system works in the same manner, a low-cost article paying the same duty as a high-cost article of the same variety. 1931 G. B. Ford Building Height, Bulk & Form (title page) Uneconomic types of buildings on high-cost land. 1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 259 German farmers were high-cost producers. 2010 Daily Tel. 26 Nov. 31/1 In the high-cost South East, describing a household with a total income of £44,000 as wealthy would raise a horse laugh. high-current adj. ΚΠ 1882 St. Louis (Missouri) Globe-Democrat 31 Dec. 4/7 With such a battery, a high-current machine might be used to deliver electricity to the point where needed, and where it could be drawn off as a current of low and safe electro-motive force. 1943 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 47 289 The two parts to be joined are connected to the secondary terminals of a low-voltage high-current transformer. 2000 P. Scherz Pract. Electronics for Inventors iv. 177 Its extremely high input resistance and low input current make it a good choice for powering high-voltage or high-current analog circuits. high-dose adj. ΚΠ 1836 Lancet 26 Mar. 20/1 Homœopathy or the infinitesimal system holds a middle place between the bread-pill medicine..and the high-dose schools caricatured by the slaughterers of the ‘College of Health’. 1949 Jrnl. Faculty Radiologists Oct. 98 There is a small but definite risk that high dose treatment of supraclavicular glands may be followed after a period of relief from the effects of the neoplasm, by brachial neuritis. 2007 N.Y. Times Mag. 17 June 55/1 Allowing an opioid-naïve recovering crack addict to start on high-dose pills and control her own dosage..seems reckless. high-efficiency adj. ΚΠ 1886 Electrician & Electr. Engineer (U.S.) Jan. 7/1 A higher cost of a mechanical horse-power hour than four cents will decrease the relative ultimate costs for the high efficiency lamps, such as the Stanley 44 volt. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 70/1 (advt.) Timken engineers apply the broadest experience in the industry to designs and plans for high-efficiency, low-cost heating. 2010 Independent 2 Jan. 9/1 A key component of high-efficiency magnets and hard disc drives. high-field adj. ΚΠ 1926 E. C. Kemble in Bull. National Res. Council No. 57. 336 The components of the high field triplet should have a fine structure comparable in scale to that of the original multiple line. 1968 C. G. Kuper Introd. Theory Superconductivity vii. 130 Superconducting materials used for high-field magnets. 2007 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 28 Mar. 1 A powerful, ‘high-field’ magnet and a special breast coil to generate a magnetic field around the breast. high-gain adj. ΚΠ 1926 U.S. Patent 1,595,100 1/1 This invention relates to repeaters and more particularly to high gain repeaters for commercial purposes. 1990 P. Theroux Chicago Loop v. 61 It's a high-risk, high-gain business. 2004 Wall St. Jrnl. 15 Nov. (Central ed.) r11/1 The team used a laptop equipped with a high-gain antenna to hijack a standard-issue Nokia..phone. high-intensity adj. ΚΠ 1853 M. Faraday in Athenæum 25 June 774/3 The electric discharge from different sources produces this effect, but the high intensity spark of the electric machine is that best fitted for the purpose. 1937 Discovery Feb. 45/1 For production of the screen image a high intensity automatic arc is being used. 1998 Zest Sept. 126/3 We would do circuit-training, which is a series of high-intensity exercises such as press-ups, sit-ups, crunches and skipping. 2009 W. G. Hopkins & N. P. A. Hüner Introd. Plant Physiol. (ed. 4) xv. 272/1 A single brief period of high-intensity rainfall. high-investment adj. ΚΠ 1920 T. S. Woolsey Stud. French Forestry xi. 334 Most of the high-investment returns from forest properties are really due to speculative increases in local values. 1960 Encounter 15 iv. 10 The average rate of profit..need not be lower in a high-investment than a high-consumption economy. 2004 Globe & Mail (Canada) (Nexis) 2 Oct. f1 We are making Britain a high-investment economy. high-latitude adj. ΚΠ 1875 J. D. Dana Geol. Story 224 There must have been some exterminations as a consequence of the cold of the Glacial period, and of the ice of high latitude regions. 1909 T. C. Chamberlin in Tidal & Other Probl. Carnegie Inst. Publ. No. 107 51 No distinction between the most ancient rocks of the high-latitude and the low-latitude regions, in the matter of compressional characters, has, I believe, ever been detected. 2008 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 16 May a16 Living in a northern, high-latitude country could be a risk because geography determines how much vitamin D people are able to make from sun exposure. high-order adj. ΚΠ 1936 Proc. IRE 24 912 It is..extreme high order harmonic distortion which makes the reception of frequency modulation over a multipath medium far more distorted than the reception of amplitude modulation over the same medium. 1968 L. Fox & D. F. Mayers Computing Methods for Scientists & Engineers vii. 134 Economization was effected just by removing successive high-order terms. 1998 Wine & Spirits Fall 55/1 It's a vision that both psychiatrists and gourmets today would consider a high-order displacement activity. high-output adj. ΚΠ 1914 Power 8 Sept. 341/1 Since the high-output method has been adopted, it has been found possible for the two 1400-hp. engines alone to deal with the load requirements. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 8 Mar. 48/2 (advt.) The best high-output combine in the world. 2001 Mod. Railways Aug. (Special Rep. Suppl.) p. xx The Railtrack/Jarvis alliance undertaking the work decided to acquire high output machinery. high-potential adj. ΚΠ 1860 C. J. Hempel Homoeopathy 194 The vagaries of the extraordinary high-potential transcendentalism which has flashed upon the Homœopathic School like a meteor from an unknown sky. 1954 Ess. in Crit. 4 313 The value of high-potential person-to-person situations. 1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards Physical Princ. Junction Transistors iv. 68 A particle such as an electron can pass through a high-potential barrier if the barrier is sufficiently thin. 2008 J. W. Jewett & R. A. Serway Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Mod. Physics (ed. 7) II. xxviii. 786 Charges move from the high-potential end of a resistor toward the low-potential end. high-precision adj. ΚΠ 1903 North-China Herald 23 Apr. 765/3 They are engaged in high precision researches on the value of g, and of the different magnetic elements. 1960 Times 18 Nov. 4/6 The first essential..is a network of high-precision stations. 2007 Vanity Fair June (On Time Suppl.) 51/1 A chronometer is a high-precision watch capable of displaying the seconds. high-prestige adj. ΚΠ 1926 U. G. Weatherly Social Progr. xx. 339 High-prestige classes possess specialized culture codes that are the product of generations of superior status. 1959 V. Packard Status Seekers (1960) vi. 84 A few old high-prestige neighbourhoods manage..to maintain their status. 1995 Appl. Linguistics 16 487 ‘International’ languages..are used for high-prestige purposes, while the local language is progressively confined to the domestic, private sphere. high-price adj. ΚΠ 1776 Civil Prudence 40 People will take high price goods rather than take a much less value in money. 1871 Belfast News-Let. 15 May His reason for giving her high-price goods so low was that he could not conveniently lay his hands on cheaper goods. 1906 Daily Chron. 27 Sept. 3/6 The benefits of the high-price policy which they choose to pursue. 1999 EuroBusiness Sept. 50/1 She was not an adolescent consumer of high-price designer clothes. high-priority adj. ΚΠ 1917 Manch. Guardian 21 May 2/1 (advt.) Draughtsman.., used to elevating and conveying, for high priority Government work. 1945 Fortune Mar. 113/1 There are few high-priority issues in the President's workbasket that do not, at one point or another, flick past him. 1989 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 6 June 2 Intravenous drug users remain a high priority group to be targeted in education and behaviour change programs. 2011 D. O. Smith Managing Res. University iii. 39 What good is a..plan that doesn't identify specific high-priority areas for future investment? high-quality adj. ΚΠ 1881 E. Matheson Aid Bk. Engin. Enterprise Abroad II. xv. 40 To make the pieces lighter by the use of high quality material (such as steel), or by subdivision, to make them lighter because more numerous. 1910 Westm. Gaz. 21 Apr. 12/1 Until plenty of high-quality beet is procurable. 1948 Wireless World Jan. 2/1 Most high-quality radio receiver units will provide an output of well over 4 volts. 2012 Independent 28 May 21/2 Colour coded chopping boards plus four high-quality, full tang knives. high-risk adj. ΚΠ 1915 Painter & Decorator Apr. 207/1 In some trades (white lead, structural iron, and other high-risk industries) the depreciation is rapid. 1963 Economist 14 Dec. 1175/2 All the ‘high-risk’ mothers. 2012 Vanity Fair July 28/1 JPMorgan Chase announced earlier this spring that the firm had lost $2 billion in high-risk trading. high-security adj. ΚΠ 1932 N.Y. Times 15 Feb. 5/4 Establishment of an institution for psychopathic delinquents, preferably within the walls of some high security prison. 1991 H. Rheingold Virtual Reality i. i. 18 In Honolulu, I inspected a teleoperated machine-gun..at a high-security US Marine Corps research facility. 2010 Independent 27 Nov. 3/1 Damien Hirst's controversial platinum-plated, diamond-encrusted human skull..has languished unseen in a secret high-security vault. high-status adj. ΚΠ 1941 Amer. Sociolog. Rev. 6 350 White servants..as well as almost all Negroes, are called by their first names by the high-status whites. 1965 Language 41 295 An honored or high-status person. 2003 Independent 30 Dec. (Review section) 6/3 A person who once had a high-status or high-paying job and must now work in a menial or lower paying job. high-vacuum adj. ΚΠ 1893 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 5 May 624/1 The phosphorescent glow of the novel high-frequency, high-voltage, high-vacuum lamps. 1936 A. Lowy & B. Harrow Introd. Org. Chem. (ed. 4) xxvi. 284 Dibutyl phthalate..is used in high-vacuum distillations. 2009 Toronto Star (Nexis) 2 June a3 Understanding how the weightless, high-vacuum environment..affects the human body is increasingly important. high-value adj. ΚΠ 1904 Exper. Station Work 27 (Farmer's Bull. No. 210) 6 Attention was called to the profitable use by the New Jersey Stations of liberal applications of nitrate of soda on high-value market garden crops. 1963 Rep. Comm. Inq. Decimal Currency iii. 17 in Parl. Papers 1962–3 (Cmnd. 2145) XI. 195 Because workable cent systems with high-value major units are available..we preferred cent systems to mil ones. 2011 J. Buchan Trawlerman viii. 157 Our daring provided us with some good catches, with a lot of flatfish, plaice and lemon sole: high-value produce that fetched top dollar at the markets. b. With the sense ‘having, characterized by, or operating with a high degree of (the specified physical property)’. high-amplitude adj. ΚΠ 1915 Boys' Life July 40 The high amplitude buzzer designed by the Crystaloi Company for their detector. 1956 Nature 21 Jan. 121/1 High-amplitude effects in reflexion amplifiers. 2009 J. Corey-Bloom & R. B. David Clin. Adult Neurol. i. ii. 28/2 The after-coming slow wave is also high-amplitude..and lasts about 300 msec. high-conductivity adj. ΚΠ 1866 Electric Light: Copy of Corr. 42 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 313) LXVI. 193 There is practically no loss of light by the transmission of the magneto-electric currents through a length of ‘high conductivity’ wire of large size. 1933 Mining & Metall. 14 340/1 Oxygen-free high-conductivity copper..that is now being commercially offered for the first time represents a notable achievement in electro-metallurgy. 2003 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 25 Aug. 6 The cable..has a high conductivity core for more efficient transmission of bass signals. high-energy adj. ΚΠ 1911 U.S. Patent 1,010,900 1/1 In order to secure a satisfactory and efficient high-energy lamp of this character it is therefore necessary to make use of a plurality of arcs. 1938 Nature 29 Oct. 781/1 Excitation..is..due..to the production of numbers of fairly high-energy electrons. 2010 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 24 Aug. e1/3 The first of the packages..held..a high-energy glucose gel to help the miners begin to recover their digestive systems. high-impedance adj. ΚΠ 1896 U.S. Patent 563,692 4/1 The equalizing resistances and the substation call-bell are all placed in series in the signaling-circuit, and the high-impedance annunciator-coils placed in shunt-circuits. 1949 Wireless World Apr. 136/1 There seems to be a trend towards the use of high-impedance windings in high-fidelity pickups. 2004 Computer Music (Beginners Special) Apr. 14/2 These high-impedance jack sockets allow you to plug a guitar directly into the soundcard without loss of level or tone. high-permeability adj. ΚΠ 1898 Proc. Royal Soc. 63 313 The steel used is high permeability magnet steel. 1941 Jrnl. Brit. Inst. Radio Engineers 2 101 A group of metallurgists and electrical technicians concentrated on the problem of high permeability materials. 2009 B. D. Cullity & C. D. Graham Introd. Magn. Materials (ed. 2) xiii. 471 One class of antitheft, or antishoplifting, systems uses a short length of high-permeability ribbon or wire as the tag or target which is attached to the article to be protected. high-potency adj. ΚΠ 1868 A. J. Bellows How not to be Sick 300 I am very sure that my high-potency neighbor, who never gives medicine lower than the thirtieth dilution, and claims to be the only pure homeopathist in Boston, makes many more visits. 1899 S. O. L. Potter Handbk. Materia Medica, Pharmacy, & Therapeutics (ed. 7) 178 Parke, Davis & Co. furnish high-potency serums in hermetically-sealed glass bulbs, containing as many as 1,750 units per cc. 1962 F. I. Ordway et al. Basic Astronautics xiii. 526 High-potency drugs such as the phenothiazines..could be incorporated. 2003 Independent 1 May (Review section) 3/4 Some high-potency hash oil, extracted with solvents. high-purity adj. ΚΠ 1907 Amer. Sugar Industry & Beet Sugar Gaz. 20 May 222/1 The importance of the high purity beet is quite evident. 1936 Metals Handbk. (Amer. Soc. Metals) 925 (heading) Electrical properties of high-purity annealed aluminium wire. 2004 J. Emsley Vanity, Vitality, & Virility (2006) vi. 194 Exxon Mobil Chemicals, part of the giant oil company, produces high-purity polymers for chewing gums. high-resistance adj. ΚΠ 1870 Telegrapher 16 July 373/3 If the line were 1,000 miles in length instead of 100 the gain, by using the high resistance magnets, would be in still greater ratio. 1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham Princ. Appl. Electrochem. (ed. 2) ii. 17 The most economical system for general experimental electrochemical work is the employment of a high-resistance milliamperemeter. 2005 T. Martin How to Diagnose & Repair Automotive Electr. Syst. iii. 40/2 An analog meter will give false readings if used to measure high resistance computer circuits. high-stability adj. ΚΠ 1930 U.S. Patent 1,778,461 2/1 Take 231 parts of a high stability sand, as for example, that..commonly used in asphalt pavements in Washington, D. C. 1963 B. Fozard Instrumentation Nucl. Reactors ix. 108 High-stability, close-tolerance components are required in the measuring circuits. 2011 Hobart Mercury (Nexis) 22 Jan. 2 An alternative could be..low-capacity, high-stability batteries that can charge and discharge quickly. high-strength adj. ΚΠ 1877 Anglo-Amer. Times 15 June 20/3 (advt.) N. Mathieson and Co., Manufacturers of high strength Bleaching Powder. 1940 Chambers's Techn. Dict. 416/1 High-strength brass. 1961 Times 13 Dec. 21/6 High-strength..paper bags. 2003 National Geographic Jan. 57/1 Kevlar belongs to a class of carbon fibers called aramids, used in high-strength applications such as antiballistic vests. high-temperature adj. ΚΠ 1817 W. Nisbet Picture Present State Royal Coll. Physicians 259 Dr. Sutton has been led to condemn, in strong and just terms, the high temperature system adopted so generally in this unfortunate malady [sc. pulmonary consumption]. 1922 T. M. Lowry Inorg. Chem. xxxiii. 620 There is a high-temperature form which is stable only above 1367°. 2013 New Scientist 20 Apr. 60/1 (advt.) PhD studentships to develop new materials and structures for high temperature electrochemistry. c. With the sense ‘containing a relatively high proportion of (the specified substance)’.See also high-carbon adj. (a) at Compounds 4, high-fibre adj. at Compounds 4. high-carbohydrate adj. ΚΠ 1906 Amer. Sugar Industry & Beet Sugar Gaz. 8 331/1 In the case of these animals a part of the high carbohydrate force-feed can readily be supplied by sugar pulp. 1968 H. O. Mackey & J. P. Mackey Handbk. Dis. Skin (ed. 9) vi. 39 Deficiency of this vitamin [sc. B2] is common in people on a high carbohydrate diet. 2004 Edge (Univ. Toronto) Fall 5/2 Some high-protein foods..are successful in suppressing appetite for longer periods of time than high-carbohydrate foods. high-cholesterol adj. ΚΠ 1937 Amer. Heart Jrnl. 14 685 Atherosclerosis can be induced in rabbits by high cholesterol feedings. 1970 T. Williams Let. 14 Aug. in Five O'Clock Angel (1991) 207 Oliver got much the same ultimatum but he still indulges himself in some high-cholesterol food. 2012 Free Radical Biol. & Med. 53 1411 Feeding zebrafish a high-cholesterol diet results in hypercholesterolemia, vascular lipid accumulation, and extreme lipoprotein oxidation. high-fat adj. ΚΠ a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 211 Then will the markets be open for lean oxen, which the graziers buy to eat up the oughts, and rowety grass the high-fat oxen had left. 1899 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 21 1049 For 1898 the seed for the high-fat plot was all from corn which grew from high-fat corn in 1897, twenty-four ears being selected. 1946 Nature 7 Sept. 350/1 A high-fat diet. 2011 Daily Tel. 29 July 4/5 Psychological factors may help override humans' wired-in preference for high-fat, sugary foods. high-nitrogen adj. ΚΠ 1902 Encycl. Brit. XXV. 208/1 High-nitrogen foods. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 15 Mar. 113/1 3 cwt per acre of the high-nitrogen compound in the seedbed should not affect it. 2005 M. Bartholomew Square Foot Gardening v. 67 For those vegetables which need a high-nitrogen fertilizer..I use the same basic mix with two extra parts of bloodmeal added to the other ingredients. high-protein adj. ΚΠ 1899 Jrnl. Amer. Chem. Soc. 21 1042 By planting plots with both high-protein and low-protein corn..results may be obtained which show the influence of selected seed. 1964 ‘D. Shannon’ Root of all Evil (1966) v. 66 Sure, she gives me the high-protein diet, and I'm still learning to drink coffee without sugar. 2006 Esquire Sept. 76/2 Organic spelt, a low-gluten, high-protein wheat, became his all-consuming preoccupation. C3. a. With agent noun, denoting a person who performs the function expressed to a high degree. high attainer adj. ΚΠ 1654 J. Trapp Comm. Job iv. 13 So do the Enthusiasts, and high-attainers. 1762 A. Croswell Let.to Rev. A. Cumming 23 Many high Attainers thro' the Land, hold that unconverted Persons should not pray. 1991 B. Moon Guide to National Curriculum (ed. 3) vii. 105 These pupils are likely to include some with physical, sensory, or other impairment who are high attainers. high feeder n. ΚΠ 1667 H. Oldenburg Let. 8 Oct. in R. Boyle Corr. (2001) III. 348 The like not being to be lookt for from Beer-drinkers and High feeders. 1727 D. Defoe Conjugal Lewdness xii. 321 The high Feeders are the high Livers. 1833 J. Flamank Treat. Happiness I. v. 73 Abstinence is beneficial for the high feeder, both with regard to his body and his mind. 1876 H. Stewart Shepherd's Man. 133 The high-bred mutton sheep are high feeders. 1922 J. F. Williams Personal Hygiene Appl. ix. 263 The drunkard, the chronically fatigued, the soft liver, and the high feeder—these are types that show a weakened resistance to infection. 2012 C. Abbott Everything Small-Space Gardening Bk. xii. 149 You can amend and fertilize one bed at a time, utilizing it to plant the high feeders. b. Parasynthetic. high-angled adj. ΚΠ 1875 Nature 20 May 60/1 He showed the fallacy of the present system of using high-angled objectives for these purposes to the exclusion of those of small angular aperture. 1900 Harper's Weekly 24 Mar. 271/2 High-angled shell fire and..shrapnel. 1992 T. Davies Modest Pageant 67 High-angled shot of old Tucker in bed. high-arched adj. ΚΠ 1615 E. Sandys Sacred Hymns 54 Th'Eternal, Selfbeeing, Lord; who mounts on heavens high arched frame. 1627 T. May tr. Lucan Pharsalia (new ed.) x. sig. S8 High-arch'd roofes. 1727 W. Somervile Occas. Poems 225 His high-arch'd neck he proudly rears. 1851 E. Lear Jrnls. Landscape Painter in Albania 310 One of those parapetless, high-arched constructions. 1909 J. Miller Poems I. 208 California soon shall wear..each hue That yonder hangs high-arched mid air! 2007 J. M. Graham et al. Pediatric ENT xiv. 135/1 ‘Adenoidal facies’ has been defined as a long, thin face with malar hypoplasia, high-arched palate, narrow maxillary arch, and malocclusion. high-backed adj. ΚΠ 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine Index sig. Aaaa3^v High-backed or ridged. 1684 London Gaz. No. 1949/4 A thick short Gelding somewhat high Back'd. 1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxix. 156 The high-backed oaken chair. 1923 Harmsworth's Househ. Encycl. III. 2063/3 Head Chair, this is a high-backed chair fitted with a rest for the head. 2012 Earthmovers Apr. 17 A simple instrument panel, single light switch, throttle lever, high-backed seat with a seatbelt and joystick pods. high-banked adj. ΚΠ 1614 A. Gorges tr. Lucan Pharsalia ii. 64 Now from this mountaines steepe right side First doth the Riuer Tyber glide: And high-bankt Rutuba withall. 1792 T. Holcroft Anna St. Ives VII. cxxv. 171 A narrow lane, with a high-banked hedge on each side. 1899 Daily News 25 Dec. 5/2 A dangerous high-banked river. 2010 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 17/1 The combination of air pressure and centrifugal force that would keep the car stuck to the pavement on the high-banked turns of Talladega's track. high-bodiced adj. ΚΠ 1863 Lady's Newspaper 28 Feb. The sleeves of a velvet Zouave jacket follow the same rule as those of the high bodiced dress. 1999 Irish Times (Nexis) 7 Sept. 3 Pintucking was used, and worked well on a high-bodiced sludge green coat, and on the jacket of a claret wool suit. high-boned adj. ΚΠ 1732 S.-Carolina Gaz. 8 July 4/1 The said horse hath a Star in his Forehead, a swish Tail, is high-bon'ed, and Hogg-back'd. 1876 D. Gorrie Summers & Winters in Orkneys I. 39 Old men leading highboned crummies equally grave. 2003 Independent 1 July 14/1 Her fine high-boned features and the patrician whinny of her voice made her an instantly recognisable..icon. high-bosomed adj. ΚΠ 1762 J. Macpherson Fingal ii. 24 The hunter shall shed a tear on my stone; and sorrow dwell round the high-bosomed Bragéla. 1881 Harper's Mag. Dec. 82/2 The lofty sails High-bosomed sister-goddesses Became. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 26 Jan. 4/3 The broad-faced, high-bosomed model is the palpable grandmother of many Rubenses. 1961 Times 25 Apr. 20/7 The white high-bosomed dress of Empire style. 2000 D. Morgan in G. Banham & C. Blake Evil Spirits vi. 89 The high-bosomed, big-wombed woman ‘he’ wants to become. high-bridged adj. ΚΠ 1767 E. Lloyd Conversation 22 On high-bridg'd Noses polish'd Glasses ride (For Glasses are the Politician's Pride). 1871 ‘M. Legrand’ Cambr. Freshman 138 A Quixotic gentleman, of ancient lineage, in whose high-bridged and defiant nose the Indian saw a resemblance to an eagle's beak. 1992 New Yorker 24 Aug. 54/2 The van itself feels less like a car than like some high-bridged, sure-ruddered freighter. high-buttoned adj. ΚΠ 1841 Knickerbocker Jan. 60 The little man..whose shorts, and fair-tops, high-buttoned jacket, silver shoulder-knots, and bushy hair curled over his varnished cap, give an air of the pompous. 1870 Bangor (Maine) Daily Whig 3 Aug. Children were not so well behaved since the mothers had taken to wearing high buttoned boots and given up slippers. 1960 N.Y. Times 31 Jan. 55/1 In the high-buttoned days of 1900,..133 men were graduated with a minimum of sentimentality from City College. a2002 R. Mathew Tense Little Lives (2007) 237 How ladylike the dress of tasteful, ungarish blue, with the respectable high-buttoned collar—so truly decent. high-carriaged adj. ΚΠ 1664 S. Pepys Diary 28 Feb. (1971) V. 67 His Lady a very high-carriaged but comely big woman. 1858 Amer. Vet. Jrnl. July 199 When we..call to mind the flat-sided, roach-backed little biped, then called a mule, and contrast it with the symmetrical, high-carriaged, spirited one of to-day, we have much to encourage us. 1970 Field & Stream Oct. 185/1 Pointers, unlike setters, always stand their game in the classic high-carriaged sense. high-ceilinged adj. ΚΠ 1850 Reasoner 7 246 Though the cooking stoves were in the same high-ceilinged room in which we sat, it was not hot nor close. 1907 Daily Chron. 30 July 4/4 It was a high-ceilinged, sombre room. 1975 L. Perl Slumps, Grunts, & Snickerdoodles x. 88 The immense riches that bought high-ceilinged mansions, vast tracts of cultivated lands,..and a gracious and elegant style of living. 2007 Guardian (Nexis) 3 Mar. (Weekend Suppl.) 107 Large-scale living in high-ceilinged, huge-windowed rooms and equally large views to the moors. high-collared adj. ΚΠ 1783 Morning Herald 20 Aug. High-collared coats and long sleeves. 1828 Pocket Mag. 2 298 What the voluptuous waltz affords of flirting to the high-collared dandy, and the deeply-flounced belle of Grosvenor-square, the rural pastimes of this Arcadian cottage may well dispense with. 1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi xxxviii. 404 Grandpa and grandma,..stiff, old-fashioned, high-collared, puff-sleeved. 1992 New Yorker 3 Feb. 39/1 A commandingly tall figure..with..a high-collared dash of the cavalier about him, he was attired this morning in a charcoal-gray suit. 2002 E. A. Gargan River's Tale i. 18 A young woman in a high-collared, Chinese-style blue satin jacket nursed an infant. high-complexioned adj. ΚΠ 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion xiii. 221 The high-complection'd Leame. 1711 P. H. Impartial View Two Late Parl. 236 The High-complexion'd Clergy. 1839 Tait's Mag. Mar. 157/2 The strapping, bright-eyed, high-complexioned, bold-spirited belle of Silverton. 1994 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 11 June 11 I will think of Sir Arthur as a a kindly high-complexioned old chap well fed and watered on beef and claret. high-couraged adj. ΚΠ 1652 J. Wadsworth tr. P. de Sandoval Civil Wars Spain ii. xxxvii. 101 Wee are not powerful enough..to quell that high couraged stubborn People. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. i. iii. §6. 69 Some very high-couraged dogs are very difficult to make ‘back’. 2003 Birmingham Evening Mail (Nexis) 16 May 22 Her male former Cabinet colleagues..prove only that they are uneasy when locking horns with a logical, thoroughly decent and high-couraged woman. high-crowned adj. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [adjective] > hat > having specific types of crown copping-tanked1586 high-crowned1598 steeple-moulded1710 steeple-crowned1804 bell-crowned1823 the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [adjective] > like a cap > types of cap lugged1489 marabas1538 tarfed1545 unbanded1570 high-crowned1598 brimless1615 Phrygian1618 poked1631 round-eared1724 winkered1804 peakless1844 shadeless1852 Mother Hubbard1877 visorless1889 fore and aft1940 visored1950 1598 R. Hakluyt tr. W. de Rubruquis in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 104 The Russian men..weare vpon their heads certain sharpe, & high-crowned hats made of felt, much like vnto a sugar loafe. a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley Old Law (1656) v. 69 Your hats too high crownd. 1777 C. Powys Diary 14 Jan. in Passages from Diaries Mrs. Powys (1899) 193 Farewell the high-crown'd head, the cushioned tête. 1868 Queen Victoria Jrnl. 46 Welshwomen in their curious high-crowned..hats. 1998 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 16 July 12/2 The green hat (a bright, high-crowned, short-billed affair in a style once popular among Rastafarians). high-domed adj. ΚΠ 1796 H. Tresham Sea-sick Minstrel 15 The high-dom'd hat. 1841 T. Carlyle On Heroes v. 258 Mighty fleets and armies, harbours and arsenals, vast cities, high-domed, many-engined. 1883 Science 14 Sept. 347/2 I have, however, seen a high-domed, abandoned igloo..slowly subside from the top until this touched the floor. 1968 I. W. Cornwall Prehistoric Animals & their Hunters vii. 149 The head was high-domed with a deep depression at the nape of the neck. 1977 R. Coover Public Burning 29 But then suddenly Scotland Yard of Great Britain arrests a high-domed bespectacled atomic scientist named Klaus Emil Julius Fuchs. 2002 B. Moore Magician's Wife xii. 188 Emmeline saw an encampment of tents grouped around a large, high-domed, gaily pelmeted central structure. high-featured adj. ΚΠ 1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) vii. 184 The daughter was a very fair high-featured lass. 1801 Edinb. Advertiser 17 Mar. 170/4 Having the high featured mountain of Clock-na-Baine in full view. 1875 J. W. De Forest Playing the Mischief viii. 30 His face was long, thin, high-featured, and distinguished, if not handsome. 1904 E. Glasgow Deliverance i. 4 At this a lean and high-featured matron, encased in the rigidity of her Sunday bombazine, gave a prim poke with her umbrella in the ribs of a sparrow-like little man. 1994 Dealerscope Merchandising Sept. 76 Sanyo is shipping two new high-powered, high-featured microwave ovens for fall. high-fenced adj. ΚΠ a1666 A. Jackson Annot. Isaiah (1682) xxvi. 262 Even God's poor afflicted people shall subdue those their high fenced Cities under their power. 1755 J. N. Scott Ess. transl. Homer 24 The Day will come, when high-fenc'd Troy, tho' built By Hands divine, must fall. 1842 Christian Reg. & Boston Observer 29 Oct. 174/3 The rich ae walled in within their high fenced enclosures stuffed with downy cushions, while the poor are shivering in the cold draughty corners of the edifice. 1874 St. Nicholas Jan. 139/1 A little colt was heard whinnying alone in the high fenced lot on the side of the hill. 1905 W. D. Howells London Films i. 8 The black trees and their electric-green buds in the high-fenced square. 1995 R. P. Rivera Fabricated Mexican xxxix. 165 A high-fenced yard with a weathered sign that read ‘Burrow's Auto Wrecking’ loomed as a dead end. high-flavoured adj. ΚΠ 1712 W. Goldwin Poet. Descr. Bristol 15 The Orange Plant indulg'd with warmest Rays High-flavour'd Scents, and Golden Fruit displays. 1748 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 491 The raspberries were particularly high-flavoured. 1819 N. Amer. Rev. June 79 That high flavoured originality which continues to excite the attention and to charm. 1918 Amer. Jrnl. Nursing 18 566 Keeping many meats for some time before they are eaten is essential to make them tender and high-flavored. 1994 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 5 Feb. c3/4 Tom kha kai, the Thai national soup of coconut milk and chicken with lemon grass, is almost erotic in its high-flavoured creaminess. high-foreheaded adj. ΚΠ 1593 T. Kelway tr. A. Ferrier Learned Astron. Disc. Natiuities ii. i. f. 31^v Men neyther white nor blacke: leane: of smal stature: long fingered: long faced: high fore-headed. 1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. C Of a sweet aspect, but high-foreheaded. 1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 30 Jan. 3/1 High-foreheaded, colourless Madonnas. 1950 Marvel Sci. Stories (Electronic ed.) Nov. The head! High foreheaded it was, and not low and receding. 2009 Wall St. Jrnl. 17 Dec. a25/1 We climbed from stone-tool wielding Homo erectus with sloping brows to high-foreheaded Homo urbanis, man the inventor of the city. high-fronted adj. ΚΠ 1606 J. Marston Wonder of Women i. ii. sig. B^v Sister and wife of Ioue High fronted Iuno. 1783 G. Crabbe Skull 15 Jove with attention heard Pigmalion's vow; Now shew'd his wrath on his high fronted brow. 1845 Rover 31 May 173/1 His high fronted shoes accorded with his quaint attire, which no one seemed to consider strange. 1872 Mich. Teacher Nov. 385 He gave her a seat behind a high-fronted desk, where she could see no one. 1950 R. P. Warren World Enough & Time ix. 332 But it would matter for Crawford,..to suffer the barbs and ironies of a gentleman like Mr. Madison, high-fronted, correct and severe in his black, confident in rank and power. 2011 Nanaimo (Brit. Columbia) Daily News (Nexis) 14 Feb. b7 Anyway, the dress was high-fronted, long-sleeved, and, modestly by L.A. standards, just a few inches above the knee. high-gabled adj. ΚΠ 1824 J. Porter Duke Christian of Luneburg I. xii. 229 The high gabled houses, with their successive stories pending over each other, rendered the streets beneath almost totally dark. 1895 Monthly Illustrator 5 307 He wanders leisurely under the shadows of the tall trees that fringe the roads and lend a rustic grace to the quaint, high-gabled cottages. 1941 Life 27 Oct. 69 Before the high-gabled Flemish town of Courtrai a mighty French cavalry army, led by Count Robert of Artois, was drawn up in battle array. 1986 Mass. Rev. 27 704 After witnessing the daring acrobatics of an American parachute fiend.., he climbed up on the high gabled roof of his house and hurled himself courageously into space, clasping an open umbrella in his hand. 2008 Independent 22 Mar. (Mag.) 11/3 This shingle strand with its row of austere, high-gabled houses..has an end-of-the world feel. high-hedged adj. ΚΠ 1722 J. Macky Journey through Eng. (ed. 2) I. i. 23 Behind this Green-house are Variety of high hedged Walks, affording delicious Visto's. 1904 Westm. Gaz. 3 Aug. 2/3 In the shady high-hedged garden. 2009 Vanity Fair Jan. 145/1 On high-hedged roads everywhere, for-sale signs are nearly as prevalent as in southern Florida. high-hilled adj. ΚΠ 1754 Psalms of David iv. civ. 257 The untam'd goats their high-hill'd refuge know. 1807 J. Barlow Columbiad vi. 224 Gates in their van, on high-hill'd Bemus rose. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad lv. 83 Westward on the high-hilled plains Where for me the world began. 1996 Sunday Times (Nexis) 9 June Macbeth, king of high-hilled Scotland, is back and he's not just here for the nasty things in life. high-horned adj. ΚΠ 1598 G. Chapman tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades iv. 65 Eating most flesh of high-hornd beeues, and drinking cups ful crounde. 1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. iii. 76 All those steep Mountaines, whose high horned tops The mistie cloake of wandring Clouds enwraps. 1729 G. Adams tr. Sophocles Trachiniæ ii. v, in tr. Sophocles Trag. II. 194 One was a River's Might in the Shape of a high horned four footed Bull. 2004 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 16 June d7 A high-horned black, white-face called Split Decision from the Rod Schellenberg/Bob Baird stable. high-legged adj. ΚΠ 1759 tr. M. Adanson Voy. Senegal 78 These birds..were high-legged, and had a very long neck. 1855 Knickerbocker 46 227 Rude, high-legged reels and ‘hoe-downs’. 1898 Youth's Compan. 6 Oct. 464/1 The apparition of the unshaven ‘rough’ in his red shirt and high-legged boots was so threatening that Mr. Little retreated down-stairs. 1955 A. MacLean H.M.S. Ulysses i. 32 He..clambered into his high-legged armchair. 2005 K. Slaughter Faithless (2006) 56 She was wearing a pair of high-legged cotton briefs that Sara always associated with the elderly. high-lineaged adj. now rare ΚΠ 1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 450 You, high-lineag'd guardians of the state, Attend these stranger-guests to their new seats. 1873 J. D. Lang Poems 155 Byron their leader, whose high-lineaged muse Walks a vile pimp and caters for the stews! 1953 E. Johnston Legendary Mizners ii. 22 His retinue of high-lineaged pets was part of his scenery. high-motived adj. now rare ΚΠ 1830 New Monthly Mag. 29 598 The Right Honourable Secretary never for a moment forgets the conduct and unruffled demeanour of a high-motived and independent gentleman. 1921 Friend 5 Sept. 98/1 An intelligent, deep-searching, but high motived criticism is a most valuable instrument of progress. high-notioned adj. ΚΠ 1748 S. Richardson Clarissa V. xxv. 218 An high-notioned dear soul! 1859 J. C. Hotten Dict. Slang 101 Starchy, stuck-up, high-notioned, showily dressed, disdainful, cross. 1915 Monthly Bull. Missouri State Board Agric. Apr. 76 Any woman in those days who would pay a dollar for a pure-blooded drake or change the male stock every year was ‘terribly high-notioned’. high-peaked adj. ΚΠ 1704 Coll. Voy. & Trav. III. 820/1 A high-peak'd Mountain, accounted the highest in the Indies, call'd Pico de Adam. 1835 N. P. Willis Pencillings II. xxxix. 14 High-peaked saddle. 1991 H. Rheingold Virtual Reality iii. x. 222 The modern suburban single-family dwellings were recognizably Japanese, with blue-tile high-peaked roofs. high-pooped adj. ΚΠ 1821 tr. Homer Iliad I. xviii. 191 Him he found in front of his high-pooped ships, revolving within his mind those things which had already happened. 1889 19th Cent. Jan. 54 The high-pooped galleys. 1921 W. de la Mare Veil & Other Poems 74 That midnight-stealing, high-pooped galliass, Sleep. 1992 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 24 July 18 A majestic P. & O. liner was berthed beside our ferry, while freight ships from around the world stood in mid-harbor, surrounded by high-pooped, square-sailed junks. high-priced adj. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > high price or rate > [adjective] > dear or expensive dear1044 costful1340 costious1340 costlewa1387 costlya1400 costy?c1430 prized1500 high1542 high-priced1591 expenseful1605 chary1610 expensivea1661 salt1710 dearthful1786 big ticket1906 pricey1932 exclusive1942 up-market1972 1591 Richard II in I. Koskenniemi Stud. Vocab. Eng. Drama (1962) i. i. 89 High-priced wines of France. 1607 R. Hacket 2 Fruitful Serm. 15 To pleasure thee, she breedeth in paine; and bringeth forth in sorrow, high priced children, chiefe of mans desires. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones IV. xii. ix. 256 The Honesty of this..Boy was somewhat high—that is, somewhat high-priced . View more context for this quotation 1823 I. D'Israeli Curiosities of Lit. 1st Ser. (ed. 7) I. 12 Rare..and high-priced. 1962 B.S.I. News July 19/1 It was no use building a high-priced article for 20–30 years' service if it was to be outmoded by advancing techniques. 2011 Wired June 38/2 Most cities recommend that mass transit riders keep their high-priced electronics concealed. high-principled adj. ΚΠ 1648 N. Cowling Word to LII London Ministers 13 Those people..being no higher principled than in the carnall commandement of godlinesse given by Moses.] 1709 W. Stephens Modest Reply to Unanswerable Answer 12 All those high-principled Prerogative-Men, who have distinguish'd themselves by the Characteristick of Loyalty, have ever been distinguish'd also by offering up Incense to Popery. 1875 J. H. Ewing Six to Sixteen iv. 35 Things which have made high-principled Eleanor stand aghast. 1902 ‘M. Twain’ in N. Amer. Rev. May 615 The high-principled newspaper adds a daily betterment to the character-fabric of another million. 2002 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 23 May 72/4 Book reviewing then was lively but not high-principled: backs were scratched or tomahawked, and merit did not always decide which. high-ranked adj. ΚΠ 1658 R. Brathwait Honest Ghost 86 To tax such vices as raigne now and then Amongst the best and highest-ranked men.] 1771 Vicar of Bray II. xxv. 89 By Mr. Windham's countenance..was Mrs. Arundel a welcome guest, with the well-bred, the high ranked, and best informed females. 1899 Amer. Monthly Rev. of Reviews July 46/1 Can an article published in a provincial paper be trusted on equal terms with a confidential report of some high-ranked public officer? 2012 Oxf. Mail (Nexis) 27 Apr. Canter defeated some high-ranked players on his way to winning the Nottingham Tennis Europe tournament. high-roofed adj. ΚΠ 1598 J. Stow Suruay of London 282 In the high Rooffed Hall of this house, sometime stood a large Firre Pole, which reached to the roofe therof. a1634 W. Austin Devotionis Augustinianæ Flamma (1635) 267 Like our Churches, highroofed within but with a..low Gate. 1871 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Odyssey I. v. 121 His high-roofed palace. 1912 Irish Monthly June 341 Mudstained implements hanging in the high-roofed, cobwebbed barn. 2003 New Yorker 26 May 75/1 Weekend rallies flood the Mendocino or Montpelier back roads with high-roofed Model A's and Chevys. high-shouldered adj. ΚΠ 1594 S. Daniel Cleopatra iv, in Delia (new ed.) sig. L5^v Such was his threatning brow, such was his grace. High shouldred, and his forehead euen as hie. 1697 London Gaz. No. 3313/4 A tall thin Man, high Shoulder'd. 1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing vi, in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 204/2 The little, high-shouldered, vulgar thing. 1997 Oxoniensia 61 84 Squat high-shouldered jar with girth grooves. high-sided adj. ΚΠ 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Raquettes, the high-sided periwigs, or wires of haire, worne heretofore by Gentlewomen. 1772 W. Cauty Natura, Philosophia & Ars in Concordia 7 I also designed and explained the necessity of a high-sided caisson of 28 feet, by which the workmen might be protected from every obstruction, even that of the tides themselves. 1870 Daily News 18 Oct. 2/2 To build a high-sided ship submergible in action. 1960 Farmer & Stockbreeder 26 Jan. 65/3 Force the lacerated trimmings up a delivery chute into a high-sided trailer. 2001 Poultry World May 16/3 Material can be tipped into the centre of high-sided trailers. high-souled adj. ΚΠ 1626 G. Sandys tr. Ovid Metamorphosis xiii. 266 They th'vngentle Sprite obaid; And from her Mothers bosom drew the Maid, (High-sould, vnhappie, more then feminine,) To his resembled tomb. a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Qq4/1 Be sure You keepe your Sister, (the high-sould-Cleopatra,) Both close and short enough, she may not see him. 1741 S. Richardson Pamela III. xv. 71 My high-soul'd..Master. 1826 Monthly Mag. Sept. 291 We had high-souled, and high-foreheaded Dons and Grandees. 1930 A. Huxley Let. 14 June (1969) 337 English reviews..have been rather snorty and high-souled about the book. 1995 D. Donoghue Walter Pater xv. 163 Pater confused the issue by presenting Winckelmann, the first adept of Greek calm, as entirely high-souled. high-thoughted adj. ΚΠ 1596 B. Griffin Fidessa i. sig. B High-thoughted (like to her) with bountie laden. 1820 J. Keats Lamia ii. in Lamia & Other Poems 33 She set herself, high-thoughted, how to dress The misery in fit magnificence. a1861 E. B. Browning Victor Emanuel entering Florence in Last Poems (1862) 60 This is our beautiful Italy's birthday; High-thoughted souls, whether many or fewer, Bring her the gift, and wish her the good. 1919 Amer. Catholic Q. Rev. 44 383 How little high-thoughted statesmanship remains to guide the destinies of Europe. high-towered adj. ΚΠ c1602 C. Marlowe tr. Ovid Elegies iii. xii. sig. F2^v Hauing wandred now through sea and land, Built walles high towred with a prosperous hand. 1613 H. Peacham Nuptiall Hymnes i, in Period of Mourning (new ed.) sig. E4 Yee wash high towred wals. 1773 J. Hawkesworth Acct. Voy. Southern Hemisphere II. ii. iii. 330 A high towered rock. 1850 J. S. Blackie tr. Æschylus Lyrical Dramas I. 224 They their tents Against these high-towered infant walls uptowered. 1996 A. Michaels Fugitive Pieces i. 6 The ingenious nail-less wooden houses, ramparts, and the high-towered city gates. high-vaulted adj. ΚΠ 1625 W. Lisle tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Noe in tr. Part of Du Bartas 1 The wauy territorie Of people skalie-backt, all this high vaulted story, Wherein the thundring God by his e'rlasting might Hath placed sentinel Sunne for day, Moone for night. 1737 R. Glover Leonidas ix. 319 To adorn the mansions of the great, Or dignify some God's high-vaulted fane. 1824 tr. E. T. A. Hoffmann Devil's Elixir I. i. 9 A high vaulted apartment, adorned with devotional pictures. 1913 J. C. R. Dorr Last Poems 122 In the high-vaulted temple of my heart There is an oratory thine alone. 1995 M. Lewis Singapore: Rough Guide 51/1 The cathedral was constructed in high-vaulted, neo-Gothic style, using Indian convict labour. high-viced adj. now rare ΚΠ a1616 W. Shakespeare Timon of Athens (1623) iv. iii. 110 Some high-Vic'd City. View more context for this quotation 1798 T. J. Mathias Pursuits of Lit. (ed. 7) iv. 347 The allurements of a great and high-viced town. 1907 E. Saltus Lords of Ghostland vii. 178 Subsequently manumitted, they formed a colony that in the high-viced city resembled Esther in the seraglio of Ahasuerus. high-waisted adj. ΚΠ 1786 Hibernian Mag. Aug. 408/2 The breeches are made excessively high-waisted. 1841 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Dec. 732/2 His unamiable, long-nosed, high-waisted, female relatives..were certainly not worth painting. 1920 E. Ferber Half Portions ix. 282 There might generally be seen lounging about the doorway..a little group of slim, flat-heeled, low-voiced young men in form-fitting, high-waisted suits. 2012 Shout 13 June 8/1 Emma looked gorgeous in a high-waisted skirt, leather jacket and patterned shirt combo. high-walled adj. ΚΠ 1537 M. Coverdale tr. Goodly Treat. Faith f. xxxiiii^v The indwellers of the lond were stronge and myghty men, and that theyr cyties were hygh walled. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Haultmuré High-walled. 1773 J. Macpherson tr. Homer Iliad I. ii. 36 The fall of high-walled Troy. 1858 Harper's Mag. Apr. 578/1 A long-high-walled chamber..with rows of pigeon-holes on all sides. 1972 R. Angell Summer Game 299 The fans are here, and an immense noise—a cheerful, 53,634-man vociferosity—utterly fills the green, steep, high-walled box of Tiger Stadium. 2005 C. Mann 1491 ii. vii. 235 Dominated by nine high-walled imperial palace-tombs and five cathedral-like ceremonial complexes, the city was both exemplary in its grandeur and oddly empty. high-wheeled adj. ΚΠ 1720 A. Hill Gideon ii. 88 They carry their Wives and Children along with them in huge high-wheel'd cover'd Carts. 1841 E. Rigby Resid. Shores Baltic II. xv. 33 Our neighbours..are now seen driving about..in their high-wheeled carriages. 1877 A. Sewell Black Beauty iii. xxxvii. 185 At ten o'clock we started, in a light high-wheeled gig, which ran so easily, that after the four-wheeled cab, it seemed like nothing. 1967 Amer. Scholar 37 132/2 I sometimes sat beside Herbert Alexander on the driver's seat of his high-wheeled wagon, looking out over the backs and heads of the horses. 2012 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 6 Oct. 4 One struggles to imagine a male lawmaker being chided to behave in a gentlemanly fashion... The complaint belongs to the era of handlebar moustaches and high-wheeled bikes. † high-witted adj. Obsolete ΚΠ c1425 Serm. (BL Add.) in G. Cigman Lollard Serm. (1989) 61 Þat þis blessid chyld, aftur þat he was born, was leid in stide of his cradel in a cracche..bitokeneþ not onely þat he came to saue hiȝe wyttede men and grete clerkis, but also semple, bustis, beestliche men. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes i. f. 7^v This high witted manne dyd euidently shewe that thyng that maketh vs false herted in takyng peines and laboures, to be rather our imaginacion and conceipte, then the veray laboures in deede. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iv. 35 Hie witted Tamora. View more context for this quotation 1651 J. Rocket Christian Subj. i. 3 High witted, boasting, and verball professors, that practised and professed themselves polemical, critical, and much historicall in Divinity. 1870 W. H. Sparks Mem. Fifty Years xxiv. 355 High-spirited or high-witted men, whose souls, when mellowed with glorious wine, leap from their lips sublimated in words swollen with wit. high-zoned adj. rare ΚΠ 1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus Tragedies 468 Hail queen, of Persia's high-zoned dames supreme..! 2010 J. W. Tunnell et al. Encycl. Texas Seashells iii. 50/1 On Aransas Pass jetty rocks the high-zoned interrupted periwinkle..has a higher acute upper thermal limit. c. Phonetics. With adjectives indicating horizontal position, with the sense ‘designating a vowel sound that is both high and ——, or the position of the tongue in articulating such a sound’. Cf. sense A. 7. high-back adj. ΚΠ 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 76 The ‘rounded’ vowels are called ‘High-Back Round’.., ‘High-Back Wide Round’ [etc.]. 1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. 15 u: high-back rounded, as in wolf. 1961 R. B. Long Sentence & its Parts xix. 422 (heading) High-back /u/. 2000 Jrnl. Linguistics 36 54 The constraint that prevents a high back vowel from occurring word-initially. high-central adj. ΚΠ 1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. I. xxviii/2 In English a high-central vowel is not usual. 1962 Amer. Speech 37 169 This diphthong may be described as beginning at a somewhat retracted low-front position and terminating at an open, slightly rounded, high-central position. 1992 Amer. Speech 67 62 A diphthong with a low-front onset or a close mid-central onset, and a high-central offglide. high-front adj. ΚΠ 1867 A. M. Bell Visible Speech: Sci. Universal Alphabetics 75 The ‘outer’ consonant corresponding to the ‘High-Front’ vowel, and the ‘inner’ to the ‘Low-Front’ vowel. 1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. 16 oi: mid-back rounded + high-front. 1994 J. Harkins Bridging Two Worlds vi. 161 The difference between the high front vowels of these two words, and the voicing distinction in their final stops, are neutralised. high-mid adj. ΚΠ 1919 G. P. Krapp Pronunc. of Standard Eng. in Amer. i. 6 One might consider five positions, as follows, high, high-mid, mid, low-mid, low. 1934 Amer. Speech 10 111/1 Some speakers assume the high-mid position immediately in the er words. 1966 Publ. Amer. Dial. Soc. xlvi. 32 Long, unrounded, high-mid front vowel. 2007 Oceanic Linguistics 46 1 It has developed three new vowels and an unusual system of double vowel harmony that requires both High-Mid avoidance and Tense-Lax agreement. C4. In other collocations with specialized use. high-altitude adj. located, occurring, or performed at a high altitude; functioning or designed for use at a high altitude. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adjective] > relating to height above the ground or sea level > at a high altitude haught1587 high-altitude1870 1870 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 5 Nov. 483/1 The closure to invalids of so many Mediterranean stations rather invites a trial of the high altitude resorts of Switzerland. 1925 E. F. Norton in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 106 This hateful duty of high-altitude cooking. 1966 Electronics 3 Oct. 181 Also in the national space lineup is project ‘621’, aimed at developing recoverable high-altitude sounding rockets. 2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 11 June 40/4 The world's high-altitude glaciers—the ‘water towers’ in the Himalayas and the Andes that irrigate so much of the world—are already melting. high-angle adj. characterized by or involving a large angle of elevation; spec. (of guns and gunfire) operating or occurring at a large upward angle of elevation. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > [adjective] > type of firing popping1753 point-blank1765 sharpshooting1806 high-angle1856 straight-shooting1901 pot-shotting1943 ripple-fired1954 1856 H. H. Maxwell tr. A. Taubert Use Field Artillery 53 Such cover is only to be taken advantage of when the position is secure from a sudden attack, and where the high angle fire [Ger. der hohe Bogenwurf] suffices. 1943 Hutchinson's Pict. Hist. War 27 Oct. 266 A high-angle 4-in. gun being demonstrated to a ‘Dems’ class. 1963 Listener 28 Mar. 569/2 The mere novelty (for television drama) of the high-angle viewpoint gave the shot a sly edge. 2004 D. Zucchino Thunder Run xii. 191 They were close enough to see the target, so they didn't have to adjust their high-angle fire with the help of spotters. high art n. (and adj.) highly refined or sophisticated art; also occasionally as adj. ΚΠ 1794 European Mag. & London Rev. Apr. 286/2 A great foreign artist, on coming into this country, said, that had he only heard Sir Joshua's last discourse in praise of Michael Angelo, and seen that great national ornament Somerset-House, he should have been sure that the English Nation were far advanced in high art. 1848 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 11 Feb. (1954) I. 247 I cannot recognize the truth of all that is said about the necessity of religious fervour to high art. 1856 C. Kingsley Plays & Puritans 31 They railed in their ignorance..at high art and all art. 1883 ‘V. Lee’ in P. Gunn Vernon Lee (1964) vii. 88 A long pseudo-medieval ballad... It felt so completely high art. 1906 E. Garnett in D. Defoe Capt. Singleton p. viii Rembrandt's choice of beggars..for his favourite subjects seemed a low and reprehensible taste in ‘high art’. 1964 S. Hall & P. Whannel Pop. Arts i. ii. 55 These popular arts..were not objects of contemplation like the works of high art, but communal artifacts. 2010 Time Out N.Y. 20 May 53/2 With their hollow, zombie eyes, quizzical semi squints and fingerlike ropes of flesh on their faces, the figures float between life and death, pop culture and high art. high band adj. (a) designating a shirt collar or roll-neck in the form of a band that comes high up on the neck; (now typically) designating a mandarin collar; (b) Electronics designating an audio or video system using a high carrier frequency, which allows more bandwidth for the signal; of, relating to, or involving such a system. ΚΠ 1893 Locomotive Engineer's Monthly Jrnl. Jan. 40/1 The home dressmaker will find that the best fitting high band collar is made by cutting it perfectly bias. 1930 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 49 1394/2 The frequencies included in the various bands were as follows: high band, 1500-5600 cycles per sec.; middle band, 750—1500 cycles per sec., [etc.] 1990 Video Maker July 39/1 A simple comparison could be drawn with that of a High Band camcorder in still frame mode. 2010 J. Taggart & J. Walker I don't have Thing to Wear vi. 117 High band collars and turtlenecks are almost universally flattering. high beam n. chiefly North American and Australian the setting at which a vehicle's headlights are undipped and brightest; (usually in plural) a beam from a headlight on this setting; cf. main beam n. at main adj.² Compounds 2. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > headlight > main beam brights1920 high beam1932 full beam1934 main beam1964 1914 Soc. Automobile Engin. Bull. July 330 Admitting that a rather high beam-candlepower is necessary, as we all know, for lighting up dark highways.] 1932 Key West (Florida) Citizen 19 Oct. 4/3 If your lights are on the high beam there is the added danger—to you—that the driver of the approaching car will swerve and crash into you. 1970 R. Thorp & R. Blake Music of their Laughter 131/2 I flipped on the high beams, the two guys in front of me put their hands up to their eyes. 2006 Herald Sun (Melbourne) (Nexis) 17 Feb. g37 Dip your lights..then immediately switch back to high beam when the other vehicle has passed. high bicycle n. now historical a bicycle with a tall front wheel and a small rear one; = high wheel n. 2, high-wheeler n. (b), penny farthing n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > early type of > with one large and one small wheel high-wheeler1866 high bicycle1874 high wheel1876 ordinary1888 penny farthing1891 1874 Notts. Guardian 9 Oct. 7/6 In riding a high bicycle, not only the forward motion but the balance has to be preserved. 1878 Sun (N.Y.) 27 Oct. 4/6 It is claimed for the machine [sc. ‘the Safety Bicycle’] that it is equal in speed to that of its more showy, though less safe rival, the high bicycle. 1901 L. T. Hobhouse Mind in Evol. iii. 30 I remember being thrown by a sudden accident over the handles of an old-fashioned high bicycle. 2002 Technol. & Culture 43 358 Before pneumatic tires appeared, rear-driving safeties had effectively replaced the ordinary and the high bicycle was doomed. high bidder n. the person who holds the highest bid at any time during an auction; (esp.) one who wins an auction with the highest final bid; cf. highest adj. 2. ΚΠ 1695 T. Houghton Alteration of Coyn (new ed.) 16 It is absolutely necessary that all Endeavours be used to preserve them [sc. Silver and Gold], especially in these times, when they are in demand by so many high Bidders abroad. 1781 Town & Country Mag. Apr. 179/1 The late lord L——n, was the first high bidder at this Cyprian auction. 1854 National Mag. Jan. 45/2 I have often thought of selling one of the boys to a high bidder from the Southern market, but hitherto have been restrained by the odium that it brings upon a man among his neighbors. 1962 Life 12 Oct. 129 The high bidder for the Emmons place was Alex Walsh, a wholesale hardware man, who stands with his wife and 10 children on the second floor sun porch. 2000 Risks Digest (ACM Forum) (Electronic text) 11 Sept. A bookmarkable Web page which shows the item description, the time remaining before the auction ends, the current high bid, and the eBay identity of the high bidder. high blood n. and adj. (a) n. colloquial high blood pressure; hypertension; (b) adj. Philippine English angry, agitated. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered pulse or circulation > [noun] > high or low pressure shock1804 hypertension1893 hypotension1893 hyperpiesis1895 hyperpiesia1915 high blood1987 the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > discontent or dissatisfaction > [noun] > discontent with prevailing state of affairs > person angry young man1951 angry1957 AYM1958 high blood1987 1987 Toronto Star 22 Mar. a20/1 Terms like ‘low blood’ for anemia and ‘high blood’ for hypertension came up regularly and were readily understood. 1997 Eng. is Asian Lang.: Proc. Conf. Manila, 1996 55 Why are you so high blood again? What's upsetting you? 2013 Star-News (Wilmington, N. Carolina) (Nexis) 16 June 4 d Claiming he suffers from ‘high blood’, Brother Vern has invited himself in for a long spell of recuperation. high-blooded adj. of or relating to noble descent; from a highly regarded family, from well-respected stock. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of descent or breeding ykynde1420 generous1574 well-bred1585 well-descended1591 well nutrimenteda1592 high-descended1600 well-derived1600 high-bred1613 highly bred1625 high-blooded1632 of (good, noble, etc.) familya1639 pedigree1861 1632 P. Massinger & N. Field Fatall Dowry ii. sig. E3 Where heauenly vertue in high blouded veines Is lodg'd. 1794 T. Jefferson Let. 2 Apr. in Papers (2000) XXVIII. 48 One of the mares..is as highblooded as any one in the state. 1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 300 A high-blooded greyhound. 1871 Bell's Life in London 15 July 6/7 Here is a proof that in high blooded animals particularly, ‘in breeding’ has the same effect as on man. 1918 Amer. Nut Jrnl. Feb. 26/2 My neighbors having native trees on their home grounds were sought out and permission craved to work their common pecan trees with buds from my high-blooded purchases. 1997 Austin (Texas) Amer.-Statesman (Nexis) 22 Feb. e12 The high-blooded characteristics that were evident in Seattle Slew on Pulpit's sire side and Mr. Prospector on his dam side. high bourgeois n. and adj. [after French haut bourgeois haut bourgeois n. or haute bourgeoisie haute bourgeoisie n.] (a) n. (with the and plural agreement) the French upper middle class; (later also) the upper middle class of other countries (now historical and rare); (b) adj. of, relating to, or characteristic of the French upper middle class or (later) the upper middle class of other countries. ΚΠ 1836 L. Ritchie Magician I. i. 20 The hoods of black or red cloth worn by the high bourgeois did not appear to his judgment to be far inferior in richness to the silk and velvet of the nobility. 1874 Daily News 16 July 5/5 The attendance of..the high bourgeois society of Montreuil in Sunday clothes, and an artistic use of flags, gave colour and loveliness to the ceremonial. 1907 A. Cohn in J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. (new ed.) Introd. p. xv Like many of the high bourgeois of France, Pierre Eyquem had energetically striven to shift the basis of the family's greatness. 1934 A. Huxley Beyond Mexique Bay 31 I cannot think of a single modern high-bourgeois home, in which mahogany plays more than a casual and inconspicuous part. 1971 M. Walker German Home Towns v. 160 Special marriage provisions and other devices opened the channels between the exempted high bourgeois and the nobility. 2008 Guardian (Nexis) 27 Dec. 44 He [sc. Harold Pinter] pursued the theme in Party Time, showing an affluent, smugly insular high-bourgeois world indifferent to the erosion of civil liberties. high breast adj. now chiefly historical (of a waterwheel) = pitch-back adj.; cf. breast wheel n. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > wheel > [adjective] > driven by water from above or below overshotc1535 undershoot1602 undershot1610 pitch-back1825 high breast1833 1795 O. Evans Young Mill-wright & Miller's Guide i. 107 Given, a high breast-wheel,..where the water is shot on at d.] 1833 W. Templeton Millwright & Engineer's Pocket Compan. (ed. 2) 112 Example 2—Given 16 cubic feet of water per second, to be applied to a high breast, or an overshot wheel, with 2 feet head, and 10 feet fall; required the power. 1880 Encycl. Brit. XII. 523/2 With greater variation of head-water level, a pitch-back or high breast wheel is better. 1904 M. L. Taylor in G. D. Harris Underground Waters Southern Louisiana (U.S. Geol. Surv.) 82 A high breast wheel 24 feet in diameter develops the power under a head of 22 feet. 2013 K. W. Wright Hist. Andover Ironworks 37 This primitive pipe..supplied water to a wooden trough called the penstock, where sluice gates regulated the flow to a high-breast water wheel. high C n. Music a musical note, two octaves above middle C (see middle C n. at middle adj. and n. Compounds 1a), at or near the upper limit of a soprano's vocal range; also the note an octave below this similarly at or near the upper limit of a tenor's vocal range; sometimes (in extended use) as the type of a very high note. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [noun] > high pitch > high sound or note sharp1612 treblea1616 high C1837 society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > system of sounds or intervals > [noun] > diatonic scale series > notes in diatonic scale > notes of specific scales bemola1327 bequarrea1350 rec1550 G1562 E1596 B1597 A1609 Ca1616 middle C1660 A (also C, D etc.) sharp1783 high C1837 H1880 1837 Musical World 27 Jan. 83 The B flat..is the highest horn used in this country; though the high C horn is used abroad. 1898 G. B. Shaw Perfect Wagnerite 61 A specifically contrapuntal theme, points d'orgue, and a high C for the soprano. 1904 G. H. Lorimer Old Gorgon Graham: More Lett. vii. 152 When she began to snore in her upper register and to hit the high C, he judged the coast was clear. 1975 D. DeNitto & W. Herman Film & Crit. Eye v. 69 Looming shadows at an inappropriate moment can imbue a scene with melodrama, like a tenor in an opera holding a high C when asking someone to pass the wine. 1998 Gramophone Jan. 99/3 Sembrich has some odd irregularities of vibration and when she decides to try for something above the high C we rather wish she would not. 2012 J. Irving In One Person (2013) v. 128 Gerda Mühle could be vibrant but effortless from a low G to dizzying flights above high C. high-calibre adj. (a) of a high standard; high-quality; (of a person) highly capable; very skilled, experienced, etc.; (b) (of a gun) having a large bore or calibre; (also of a bullet or other projectile) having a large diameter. ΚΠ 1893 Boston Daily Globe 28 July 5/4 Each event contained a sufficient number of high caliber horses to make the racing interesting throughout. 1893 Ann. Rep. Chief of Ordnance to Secretary of War (U.S.) 643 A close analysis of the Gordon carriage shows that it is as readily adaptable to high caliber guns of great length as to any other. 1916 Boys' Life June 36/1 (advt.) Camp Wyola... High calibre college men as councillors. 1920 J. Dos Passos One Man's Initiation—1917 (1922) iv. 32 Now and then, like some ungainly bird, a high calibre shell trundled through the air overhead. 1967 J. R. Brandon Theatre in Southeast Asia (1974) viii. 163 Government schools..offer high-caliber instruction to young people. 1998 Private Eye 9 Jan. 4/3 (advt.) Our client, a..consultancy supplying IT/Banking Services, seeks high calibre candidates with at least 2 years expertise. 2011 Vanity Fair Aug. 134/1 You start with a brain shot from a helicopter with a high-caliber weapon, not less than a .375. high-calorie adj. designating or relating to food or a diet that is high, or relatively high, in calories; cf. low-calorie adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3. ΚΠ 1898 Boston Med. & Surg. Jrnl. 14 Apr. 349/2 In Experiment I fresh thyroid preparations, with high calorie feeding, were given. 1954 K. B. Roberts in H. W. Florey Lect. Gen. Pathol. xii. 236 When high calorie diets were given, however, the respiratory quotients were nearer unity, suggesting a utilisation of carbohydrates. 2011 Vanity Fair June 205/2 When someone mentioned his dramatic weight loss, he laughed it off, saying, ‘I'll get a McFlurry’, referring to the high-calorie dessert served at McDonald's. high camp n. and adj. (a) n. camp (camp n.⁵ 1a) of a kind regarded as either sophisticated or extreme; (b) adj. sophisticatedly or extremely camp (camp adj.). ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > fashionableness > [adjective] > smart gallantc1420 galliard1513 fine1526 trickly1580 pink1598 genteel1601 sparkful1605 sparkish1657 jaunty1662 spankinga1666 shanty1685 trig1725 smartish1738 distinguished1748 nobby1788 dashing1801 vaudy1805 swell1810 distingué1813 dashy1822 nutty1823 chic1832 slicked1836 flash1838 rakish1840 spiffy1853 smart1860 sassy1861 classy1870 spiffing1872 toffish1873 tony1877 swish1879 hep1899 toffy1901 hip1904 toppy1905 in1906 floozy1911 swank1913 jazz1917 ritzy1919 smooth1920 snappy1925 snazzy1931 groovy1937 what ho1937 gussy1940 criss1954 high camp1954 sprauncy1957 James Bondish1966 James Bond1967 schmick1972 designer1978 atas1993 as fine as fivepence- 1954 C. Isherwood World in Evening ii. iii. 125 High Camp is the whole emotional basis of the Ballet..and of course of Baroque art. 1963 Punch 5 June 830/1 Gerda Charles..makes her young, with-it, high camp. 1964 New Statesman 6 Mar. 373/2 The..show starts depressingly, and the aura of high camp threatens to asphyxiate. 1968 Listener 27 June 843/2 The melodramatic trappings might have had a certain aesthetic high-camp value. 2004 Metro 1 Nov. (London ed.) 27/1 Any expectations that Pam could revive the once-thriving celeb ‘bonkbuster’ genre are dashed with this lacklustre tome, which is far from the high-camp page-turner that Anderson's history suggests it could have been. 2009 Independent 30 May (Mag.) 14/2 People come for the schtick and the strip, the glamour and high camp, and they're always knocked out by it. high campery n. extremely camp artistic expression or behaviour; cf. high camp n. and adj. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > affected behaviour or affectation > [noun] > theatrical or exaggerated behaviour > camp behaviour, speech, etc. camp1909 camping1922 high campery1965 1965 Harper's Bazaar Nov. 15 The high-campery of his fantasy portraits. 2011 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 14 Feb. (Guide section) 12 Somehow, amid the high campery, strains of drama ring true, as beloved characters tackle some big dilemmas. high-carbon adj. (a) designating materials, esp. steel, containing a relatively high proportion of carbon; made from such a material; (b) relating to or characterized by a relatively high level of carbon dioxide emission. ΚΠ 1878 U.S. Patent 200,724 2/1 The resulting product (our recarburizer) is not only sufficiently rich in carbon, but is comparatively free from silicon, manganese, and sulphur, and is thereby peculiarly adapted for use in lieu of the ordinary recarburizing agents for the manufacture of a high-carbon Bessemer steel exceptionally free from manganese and silicon. 1938 Connecticut: Guide to Roads, Lore, & People (Federal Writers' Project) 387 At the Forge Plant,..cherry-red bars of high-carbon, high-chrome steel are fabricated into bearings for automobiles. 1998 U.S. Newswire (Nexis) 29 June The President said..that China can avoid the mistakes that the developed world made over the last 30 years in developing a very high carbon energy base. 2001 D. Levine At Dawn of Modernity ii. 165 These high-carbon tools may have been sharper than their modern equivalents, which are forged with steel alloys that retard rust at the cost of making it difficult to obtain an easily sharpened and long-lasting edge. 2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 Nov. a12/2 Our argument is that because there is an economic turndown, it is just the time to tackle the transition from a high-carbon to a low-carbon economy. high chancellor n. now chiefly historical any of various high-ranking officials; esp. the supreme officer or dignitary of a state or nation.In use with reference to England and Scotland (in historical contexts): the highest officer of the Crown; cf. Lord High Chancellor n. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > holder of office > official of royal or great household > [noun] > chancellor chancellor1623 chancellor- society > authority > office > holder of office > high officials of state > [noun] > Lord High Chancellor or Great Seal Chancellor of EnglandOE Chancellor of EnglandOE (Lord) Keeper of the Great Seal1545 Lord Keeper1562 custos sigilli1589 society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > first minister of a ruler or state > chief minister in European governments chancellor1611 1547 J. Bale Lattre Examinacyon A. Askewe f. 64^v Compare me here Pylate with Wrisleye the hygh chauncellour of Englande. 1764 London Mag. May 271/2 Grand treasurer of Lithuania, grand son-in-law to prince Czartorinski high chancellor of Lithuania. 1870 M. E. Cumming Bruce Family Rec. Bruces & Cumyns 283 In 1346, Charteris was High Chancellor of Scotland. 1990 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 26 June (Special Suppl. section) 16 The master calligrapher Celalzade Mustafa Pasa..was the High Chancellor of the Divan (the Sultan's council)..from 1534 to 1557. high change n. (also with capital initials) now historical the time of greatest activity in a mercantile exchange (cf. change n. 2); the exchange itself at such a time (cf. sense A. 16). ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > traffic in stocks and shares > (sudden or great) activity high change1656 movement1847 flurry1876 boomlet1880 1656 R. Fletcher Poems in Ex Otio Negotium 191 Her breech rings high Change and she must away. 1685 Rampant Alderman i. 5 Here he comes, and Company with him: 'Tis high Change time, and the place will fill presently. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 69. ¶1 I look upon High-Change to be a great Council, in which all considerable Nations have their Representatives. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 39/1 The Old Clothes Exchange, like other places known by the name..has its daily season of ‘high change’. 1854 G. G. Foster Fifteen Minutes around N.Y. iii. 16 But at this particular hour of the day—this ‘High Change’, as it is called par excellence—the millionaires and magnates of the city..meet here. 1913 Austral. Mining Standard 4 Dec. 502/2 After the high water mark had been touched at High 'Change, lower prices were accepted in the Vestibule. 1919 G. Bigwood Cotton (new ed.) viii. 103 The ‘high change’ at Shawe' s is about six, and at eight o'clock every person must quit the house, as no liquor is ever served out after that hour. 2012 G. Boyce in G. Harlaftis et al. World's Key Industry vii. 117 ‘High change’, that is, freight transacting, occurred between 11.30 and 11.45 and from 3.45 to 4.00 each day. high-cheekboned adj. (of a person or a person's face) having prominent or pronounced cheekbones; cf. sense A. 5b. ΚΠ 1761 Whitehall Evening-post 12–14 Mar. He is a lean tall Man, thin Visaged.., high Cheek boned, with a flat longish Chin. 1774 Morning Chron. 7 Feb. A high cheek-boned Highlander afforded some entertainment with his universal address of ‘De you ken me, Sar.’ 1872 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 14 Mar. Our people are rather overdoing the thing in paying such homage to these almond-eyed, bow-legged, stunted, high cheek-boned Orientals. 1946 B. J. Hendrick Lincoln's War Cabinet i. 8 His countenance, always scrupulously shaved, high cheekboned, in his latter years slightly shriveled, was long and narrow. 2010 T. Fort Against Flow (2011) ix. 76 Márta was a strong, solid woman with a handsome, high-cheekboned face. high-coloured adj. (a) of an intense or bright colour; (b) figurative highly coloured, florid, expressive, vivid. ΚΠ 1533 tr. Erasmus Enchiridion Militis Christiani vi. sig. E.ij^v The one [of two twynnes] was reed, hygh coloured and rough with heare: the other smothe. 1551 T. Wilson Rule of Reason sig. Niij A manne maie be high coloured..and yet not blacke. 1610 G. Markham Maister-peece i. xiv. 38 If the vrine..be..high-coloured, bright and cleare like lamber and not like amber. 1746 C. Macklin Henry VII i. iii. 18 Such high-colour'd Patriotism Shou'd be rewarded. 1799 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 1 143 Urine high-coloured. 1851 G. Brimley in Fraser's Mag. July 108/2 To translate into bald prose those high-coloured and nobly musical passages of the Prelude. 1889 B. W. Howard Open Door xiv. 252 Mariele..and Rickele quickly dispersed to regale themselves at a booth, where an old woman sold bretzels, acidified raspberry-shrub, and floury high-colored bonbons. 1908 V. Jacob Hist. Aythan Waring xxiv. 253 The high-coloured description of the assault had recalled to her mind an episode that had taken place a few months earlier in western England. 1925 F. M. Ford No More Parades 309 There were two girls who kept a tea-shop in Poperinghe... High coloured. 2005 J. M. Coetzee Slow Man xxvii. 222 An inconsequential story about being taken for a ride by the gypsies, the high-coloured gypsy woman and the handsome gypsy youth. high comedy n. comedy of a sophisticated or intellectual nature (cf. low comedy n. 1); (also) something which is very funny. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pleasure > laughter > causing laughter > [noun] > one who or that which is comical comedy1535 toy1542 jest1602 joke1670 comic1674 high comedy1707 humorous1753 comicality1796 funny1852 funniosity1871 hot sketch1917 pisser1918 riot1919 panic1921 cocasserie1934 yell1938 mess1952 crack-up1961 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > drama > [noun] > comedy > specific low comedy1608 farce1676 light comedy1698 high comedy1707 comedy of manners1822 comedietta1823 Adelphi screamer1830 commedia dell'arte1877 musical comedy1903 comédie noire1958 alternative comedy1980 1707 P. A. Motteux Farewel Folly Prol. A farce! We shall be mawl'd—At least, I fear it. After high Comedy who'll ever bear it? 'Tis your Oat Ale, or Small Beer, after Claret. 1761 tr. C. Batteux Course Belles Lettres II. 364 We are not talking of low comedy or high comedy, but of the comic only. 1805 Monthly Mirror Feb. 135 Mr. Pritchard, in high comedy, is an excellent actor. 1895 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 27 Apr. 549/2 After the exasperatingly bad acting one constantly sees at the theatres where high comedy and ‘drama’ prevail, it is a relief to see even simple work creditably done. 1963 Observer 12 May 28/3 Miss Murdoch is one of the sharpest writers of high comedy at present active in the theatre. 1990 Artist's & Illustrator's Mag. May (Corr.) 4/3 Such phrases as ‘the objectivism of the self-expressionistic device’ and the ‘significance of total experience’ are high comedy indeed! 2011 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 14 Nov. 30 Dame Patricia (as I hereby dub her) has triumphed in Shakespeare at Stratford, in high comedy in the West End, and in Broadway musicals and operetta. high command n. [frequently rendering equivalent foreign-language expressions, as German Oberbefehl] the commander-in-chief and associated senior staff of an army, navy, or air force. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > leader or commander > officer or soldier of rank > [noun] > staff officer > staff of officers ordinary1526 generality1578 generalty1643 staff1781 état-major1805 headquarters1812 horse guards1826 higher command1842 high command1904 family1907 1904 tr. in Jrnl. Mil. Service Inst. U.S. 35 79 All negligence in the organization and preparation of the high command, as well as in foreseeing the proper part to be played by the government, may have disastrous consequences. 1918 Times 7 June 6/1 The German High Command chose yesterday to issue its claims as to booty captured by the ‘Army Group of the German Crown Prince’. 1943 P. Jordan Diary 13 Jan. 136 This is one more repetition of the high command's consistent error, combined with the typical amateur's belief that you must always be ‘doing something’. 2010 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 9 Dec. 22/2 Operation Jaque..involved duping the rebel high command into believing that the helicopter-borne military rescuers were members of a humanitarian aid group that had come to inspect the hostages. high contracting party n. International Law a state which has signed or ratified a treaty. ΚΠ 1727 ‘Count Sinzendorf’ Let. 20 Feb. in Acct. True Author Two Infamous Libels 30 You may be able to destroy those Falshoods and Calumnies which have been charged on the high contracting Parties of the Treaty of Vienna. 1843 New-Hampsh. Statesman & State Jrnl. 29 Sept. A kind of..armistice..has been entered into between the high contracting parties. 1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 17 July 27/1 The High Contracting Parties..announced their desire to ‘cease centuries of confrontation’. 2014 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 18 July As a high contracting party to the Geneva Convention, what can Britain do? high contrast n. and adj. Photography and Printing (a) n. contrast (contrast n. 2b) that is relatively high, or higher than that of an original picture or scene; (b) adj. having or presenting high contrast. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > qualities and effects > [noun] > contrast, etc. high contrast1895 gamma1903 contrast1911 step wedge1931 1895 Ann. Astron. Observatory Harvard Coll. 32 15 The former may be brought out by printing and reprinting upon a plate giving high contrast, which however at the same time brings out the irregularities in the film of the original. 1961 G. Millerson Technique Television Production iii. 47 Subject contrast must be kept down, by preventing high-contrast surfaces appearing in the same shot. 1977 South China Morning Post (Hong Kong) 13 Apr. 10 (advt.) Sharp, clean, high-contrast copies with half-tones comparable to offset printing. 1996 Sky & Telescope Sept. 30/3 Eyepieces that yield extremely sharp images of impressively high contrast. 2008 Daily Tel. 4 Jan. 29/2 Shot in luminous, high-contrast black and white, it has the rugged if faintly self-important authority of a Hemingway short story. high cross n. a large cross, often made of stone, set on a pedestal in a marketplace or other central space in a town or village; cf. cross n. 7b. [Attested earlier as a place name: Hyecrosse, Hertfordshire (1418; earlier Heyecrouch (1360); now High Cross).] ΘΚΠ society > faith > artefacts > symbol (general) > Christian symbols or images > [noun] > cross > monumental palm cross1442 high cross1457 pulpit cross1598 Calvary1815 society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > structure or erection > cross > in town or village market cross1425 high cross1457 crossc1465 1457 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 99 For makyng faste of the emagys at the hye Croce..xijd. 1486 Short & Brief Memory First Progresse King Henry VII in P. McGrath Bristol Misc. (1985) 4 And at the High Cross there was a pageant ful of maydyn children richely besene, and Prudence had the speech as ensueth. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxliiii Causing Gartier, principal kyng at armes, to make a publique Proclamacion at the high Crosse in the market place of Edenboroughe. 1609 in Digby Myst. (1882) p. xix The pentice at y^e highe crosse. a1616 W. Shakespeare Taming of Shrew (1623) i. i. 131 To be whipt at the hie crosse euerie morning. 1697 London Gaz. No. 3336/3 A great Bonfire at the High-Cross. 1713 E. Ward Hist. Grand Rebellion II. 220 We may see the Proclamations made At the High-Cross, no other Issue had Than to incense the People but the more. 1810 D. Lysons & S. Lysons Magna Brit. II. 614 In 1583 a conduit was begun by the contrivance of an ingenious workman for conveying water to the High-cross at the expence of the citizens. 1898 M. Stokes High Crosses of Castledermot & Durrow Introd. p. xii The High Cross at Clonmacnois and the Cross of Tuam, though dedicated to the memory of two Irish kings, were certainly not over their graves. 1993 R. Doyle Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha (1994) 206 A high-cross that was damaged by vandals. high culture n. (a) a form of land cultivation making extensive use of soil improvement; = high farming n. (now historical); (b) highly refined artistic or intellectual achievement; the manifestation of this in art, music, literature, etc.; the appreciation of this, cultural sophistication. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > types of farming high culture1771 scientific farming1789 metaying1792 high farming1815 petite culture1848 sharefarming1857 urban agriculture1860 bush-farming1866 mixed farming1872 dry farming1878 co-aration1883 co-ploughing1883 smallholding1889 power-farming1913 dry-land farming1914 third(s)-and-fourth(s)1940 link system1950 green revolution1968 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > extensive use of fertilizers high culture1771 high farming1815 1771 Monthly Rev. Apr. 308 Although in common management a gravelly loam is superior to a clayey, yet not in high culture, as the profit per acre on the latter exceeds the former. 1803 Ann. Agric. 40 239 High culture will be found not only to change the quality of the grass, from bad to good, but will also increase the quantity. a1812 J. S. Buckminster Serm. (1814) xxiii. 401 With this high culture of the female imagination, and this invisible influence and authority in criticism, France had also produced the best female instructers of the world. 1818 tr. J. von Müller Univ. Hist. I. i. 21 Persia..a region of high culture from the earliest age, where traces of the pure religion of Zerdusht, which he brought among the nations from Mount Albordi, may still be recognized. 1849 ‘G. Eliot’ Let. 20 Sept. (1954) I. 308 She is a person of high culture according to the ordinary notions of what feminine culture should be. 1908 Manch. Guardian 2 Dec. 13/5 Other means of inducing crops to grow combine with high culture—i.e., good tillage and manuring—to form the intensive system. 1919 G. B. Shaw Heartbreak House Pref. in Heartbreak House, Great Catherine, & Playlets of War p. viii The only part of our society in which there was leisure for high culture. 2007 P. J. Pauly Fruits & Plains 6 For them [sc. horticulturists], high culture meant..well-rotted manure and hand weeding. 2007 Daily Tel. 17 Oct. 20/2 They should have been groomed for academia... They needed lessons in articulacy, high culture and a sense of the wider world. high definition n. and adj. (a) n. a high degree of definition (definition n. 5c) in a visual image, spec. that provided by a relatively large number of scanning lines in a televised image; also in extended use; (b) adj. characterized by or making use of such a degree of definition.Abbreviated HD. ΚΠ 1870 Lancet 30 Apr. 618/2 Some further remarks on high definition. 1933 Television 6 lxix. 373/1 Other companies, too, may..be given similar opportunities of providing high-definition television apparatus for transmission experiments. 1960 M. McLuhan Let. 7 Mar. (1987) 262 The same materials put in print have the visual code in High Definition and the speech goes into very Low Definition and print is read silently and on a single plane. 1975 B. V. Barlow Astron. Telescope ii. 26 Until fairly recently its function has been wholly photographic, in which it excels because it combines large linear aperture with very low focal ratio and high definition over a wide angular field. 2013 New Yorker 6 May 54/3 He threw a specialty pitch, on occasion, that served as a good advertisement for the effects of high-definition television. high dependency adj. originally and chiefly British providing or requiring a high level of medical treatment and supervision. ΚΠ 1971 Lancet 3 July 43/2 It seems, therefore, that postoperative pain will continue to be inadequately treated until these patients are looked after in a recovery or high-dependency area, where medical and nursing staff, adequate in both numbers and training, are in constant attendance. 1980 Jrnl. Operational Res. Soc. 31 803 Treatment costs..tend to include such items as doctors' time, high dependency nursing, X-ray and laboratory tests. 1995 Nursing Times 22 Mar. 52/3 I have no recollection of being in the high-dependency unit in the days that followed or of being visited by friends. 2006 Parramatta (Austral.) Advertiser (Nexis) 19 Apr. 20 Patients are all high dependency and require 24-hour specialist nursing care. high dilutionist n. Homeopathy (now historical) an advocate of high or extreme dilution of homeopathic remedies. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > healing > healer > alternative practitioner > [noun] > homoeopath homoeopath1830 homoeopathist1830 high dilutionist1846 globulist1850 decillionist1865 dilutionist1892 1846 Homœopathic Examiner 1 323 We believe that the means used by the high dilutionists are too feeble to counteract any severe disease. 1892 J. Ellis Personal Experience Physician 11 Dr. Gray was a low dilutionist... I called on Dr. Edward Bayard, who was a high dilutionist. 1908 Brit. Homœpathic Rev. Oct. 596 If the high dilutionists will not accept any of these experimental tests,…let them leave us at least to work in peace at our materia medica and clinical medicine. 2009 M. P. Hacker et al. Pharmacology v. 78/2 He [sc. Alfred J. Clarke] also made strong efforts to portray homeopathy as monolithic ‘high-dilutionists’ in order to further ensure the marginalization of homeopathy. high diver n. a person who dives into water from a great height, esp. as part of a performance or competition; a participant in high diving. ΚΠ 1890 Era 14 June Miss Ada Webb, champion lady high diver of the world, on Wednesday next gives a grand aquatic entertainment at Bromley Swimming Baths. 1907 Billboard 6 July 12/3 Harry Edwards..and wife, once known as Miss Sprague, the high-diver, are now running the Golden West, at Pine Beach. 1946 Liberty 25 May 76/3 Because he had been a high diver, his job was to rig scaffoldings for the lights high above the sound stages. 2003 Film Comment Jan. 76/2 She has always filmed people as if they were creatures (ant-like soldiers, bird-like high divers). high diving n. the action or sport of diving into water from a great height; this as an event in a diving competition. ΚΠ 1878 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Daily Sentinel 19 Aug. A swimming match is to take place at Dave Whittaker's school... The programme includes..swimming under water, high diving, spring-board diving [etc.]. 1963 Times 16 Feb. 11/1 Another short drop leads to the edge of the lake with its bathing station and a surrealist structure built for high diving. 1996 TNT Mag. 8 July 17/3 The 22-year-old from Brisbane is considered Australia's best chance of an Olympic medal since Dick Eve won gold in the plain high diving..in the 1924 Paris Games. 2012 M. Saayman Introd. Sports Tourism x. 335 Competition cliff diving is an outgrowth of Olympic high diving. high doh n. (a) a name used for the eighth note of the scale in the tonic sol-fa system, being an octave higher than doh (see doh n.); (b) Scottish and Irish English used figuratively (esp. in up to (also at) high doh and variants) to denote a state of extreme agitation or nervous excitement. ΚΠ 1869 W. S. Ross Syst. Elocution i. 14 It will..be an excellent practice to commence at high doh and read down the scale. 1923 School Music Rev. 15 Apr. 256/2 The class..notices the position of high Doh as compared with that of low Doh. 1943 C. M. Maclean Tharrus Three ix. 109 Jock certainly was at high Doh. 1947 Chambers's Jrnl. No. 17 269/1 Reuben P. was up to high doh with delight. 1988 J. C. Catford Pract. Introd. Phonetics (1994) viii. 166 With the starting doh at 700 Hz, the ‘high doh’..will have exactly twice the frequency, that is 1400 Hz. 1998 Irish Times 9 Mar. 6 The children have been at high-doh all week waiting for their daddy. 2005 C. Brookmyre All Fun & Games until Somebody loses Eye (2006) 154 Dad's up to high doh. high-dollar adj. originally and chiefly North American involving large amounts of money; very expensive or profitable. ΚΠ 1966 Pop. Mech. Oct. 124/1 New in the high-dollar market for 1967 are a four-door Thunderbird and Cadillac's front-drive Eldorado. 1979 Washington Post (Nexis) 5 May (Real Estate section) e1 A glut could develop as plans for conversions of several high-dollar rental complexes intown and nearby move into the selling stage. 1989 Car & Driver Sept. 118/1 It doesn't say Daddy Flauntbucks in the way of the high-dollar German labels, either. 2004 L. A. Burke & J. E. Moore in J. W. Beard Managing Impressions with Information Technol. iii. 63 These perceptions are fuelled by..the reality of high-dollar salaries lurking around the proverbial corner. high-duty adj. (a) subject to heavy customs duty; (b) designed to perform heavy tasks; = heavy-duty n. at heavy adj.¹ 24b. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > impost, due, or tax > duty on goods > [adjective] > liable to duty > subject to heavy duty high-duty1740 1740 Answers for F. Paterson Supervisor of Excise 1 There was a very large Quantity of high Duty or prohibited Goods aboard. 1818 Gentleman's Mag. Apr. 294/1 All high duty goods should be warehoused at importation, in warehouses to be provided to the satisfaction of the proper officers. 1889 Engin. & Building Rec. 3 Aug. 137/1 The Worthington high-duty pump is said to accomplish this result in an entirely different and very satisfactory way by means of two small oscillating cylinders. 1920 Ham's Yearbk. I. 173 In the case of high-duty goods..the issuing officer will send an advice..to the Inspector-General of Waterguard. 1947 J. G. Pearse in Nature 11 Jan. 51/1 The production of still stronger high-duty irons. 2000 A J Focus May 12/4 Jablite Foil-Faced extra high-duty roofboard from Vencel Resil is bringing insulation benefits. high-end adj. of, relating to, or associated with the more expensive section of the market for a particular product; top-quality, sophisticated. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > merchandise > [adjective] > condition or quality of goods middling1550 pedlaryc1555 shop-rid1620 shopworn1666 loyal1690 braided1721 country-damaged1847 shop-soiled1865 shoddy1882 as new1898 low-end1899 service weight1919 designer1940 high-end1956 loaded1968 market-leading1972 pound shop1989 1956 Billboard 23 June 28/3 The Aristocrat, a special hi-fi AM-FM radio tuner, is standard equipment with the high-end model Eldorado. 1977 New Yorker 6 June 96/3 It stands to reason that ‘high end’ means expensive,..but why does ‘promotional’, as well as ‘low end’ mean cheap? 1989 Financial Weekly 9 Feb. 36/2 Japanese companies have..shifted emphasis to such high-end products as large-screen televisions. 2012 Independent 23 July 34/1 The internet's role in the democratisation of high-end fashion is well documented, from street-style blogs to live-streamed catwalk shows. high explosive n. an explosive substance, such as dynamite, TNT, etc., which explodes more rapidly and powerfully than gunpowder; (as a mass noun) such material; (attributive) designating an explosive device armed with such a substance.In technical contexts sometimes: spec. a substance in which explosion proceeds faster than the speed of sound.In quot. 1846 probably showing explosive adj. modified by high as an adverb (cf. high adv. Compounds 3) rather than an attributive use of this compound. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > explosive material > [noun] > types of high explosive1876 panclastic1883 1846 Morning Post 17 Oct. 7/1 The gas being mixed with the atmospheric air in the blast pipe, would form a high explosive mixture.] 1876 Sun (N.Y.) 11 May All of the high explosives contain nitro-glycerine. 1892 C. N. Hake & W. Macnab tr. M. Berthelot Explosives & their Power 2 Generally speaking, we mean by ‘high’ explosives, those in which the chemical transformation is very rapid, and which exert a crushing or shattering effect. 1915 Ann. Rep. Board Regents Smithsonian Inst. 1914 261 The high-explosive shell [sic] carry from about 3 per cent to about 30 per cent of their weight in high explosive. 1941 Ann. Reg. 1940 95 The bulk of the damage had been caused not by high explosive but by incendiary bombs. 2011 P. M. Maniscalco & H. T. Christen Homeland Security xi. 164/1 Dynamite is a high explosive that generates a shock wave of 14,000 to 16,000 fps. high farming n. now historical a form of land cultivation making extensive use of soil improvement. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > types of farming high culture1771 scientific farming1789 metaying1792 high farming1815 petite culture1848 sharefarming1857 urban agriculture1860 bush-farming1866 mixed farming1872 dry farming1878 co-aration1883 co-ploughing1883 smallholding1889 power-farming1913 dry-land farming1914 third(s)-and-fourth(s)1940 link system1950 green revolution1968 the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > fertilizing or manuring > [noun] > extensive use of fertilizers high culture1771 high farming1815 1815 Lit. Panorama Mar. 822 What do you take to be the difference between high farming and the old ordinary course? 1848 J. S. Mill Princ. Polit. Econ. I. 215 To apply the high farming of Europe to any American lands. 1894 G. B. Shaw in Fortn. Rev. 61 480 High farming cannot increase the natural rent of an acre. 1966 Listener 1 Sept. 307/2 By 1939 British agriculture..had ceased to rely on the high farming we had developed in our own land. 2003 Econ. Hist. Rev. 56 271 During the ‘age of high farming’ in the 1850s—when mixed farming reached its technical optimum in England—the national distribution of arable farm land closely mirrored the Norfolk four-course. high fashion n. and adj. (a) n.expensive, fashionable clothes or accessories produced by leading designers; also in extended use; = haute couture at couture n.; (b) adj. designating clothes or accessories of this kind. ΚΠ 1870 A. Watts in A. A. Watts Life Alaric Watts (1884) II. 333 High fashion is usually low art. 1939 Life 20 Nov. 78 (advt.) Eight other high-fashion Coty shades offer an exciting choice. 1959 News Chron. 10 Aug. 6/5 The high-fashion hats seen in Paris. 1963 Listener 28 Feb. 370/1 The Education Board of the R.I.B.A. now finds its stodgy, nineteenth-century type syllabus at least partly in tune with the high fashion of the day. 1982 Times 15 June 9/1 High fashion skirts are being worn very short (the ra-ra) or very long (the prairie). 2007 Independent 2 June (Save & Spend section) 9/1 Arm candy. These high-fashion bags are from Emmerson. high-fibre adj. containing a high proportion of dietary fibre. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > qualities of food > [adjective] > high in dietary fibre high-fibre1908 1908 W. P. Brooks Poultry Keeping for Egg Production 58 In most of these experiments barley and oats have been used freely in the high fibre rations. 1937 Brit. Med. Jrnl. 1 May 907/1 I have used diets with a high-fibre content such as bran [in cases of constipation]. 1973 D. P. Burkitt in Proc. Nutrition Soc. 32 148 Now that a low-fibre diet is known to be the cause of the disease, a high-fibre diet is becoming the standard treatment. 2008 Time Out N.Y. 10 Apr. 1/1 My friends all seem to only eat high-fiber cereal, so I reached out to friends in the Midwest for their Frosted Flakes boxes. high finance n. financial transactions of a large or complex nature, or the financial institutions which deal with these. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > financial dealings > [noun] > concerned with large sums high finance1840 1830 Encycl. Americana III. 581/1 You find, therefore, in Prussia Wirkliche-Geheime-Ober-Finanz-Räthe (real-privy-high-finance-counsellors)!] 1840 Morning Herald (N.Y.) 13 Jan. Mr. Dunlap, the President of the United States Bank, is esteemed a very honorable, clever, good fellow, but a good deal of a blockhead in high finance. 1905 McClure's Mag. 25 48 In other words, we could eat our cake and have it, too—which is one secret of high finance. 1934 L. Mumford in W. Frank Amer. & Alfred Steglitz ii. 50 Advertising, insurance, and high finance, the divine trinity that rules the world of industry. 1936 Discovery Sept. 280/2 It is not big guns nor even high finance that ultimately rules the world. 1998 Independent 21 Jan. (City Plus section) 4/3 I've just attended a seminar given by..a style consultant..on how to look the part if you want to get ahead in the world of high finance and corporate affairs. high-flash adj. (of an oil or other flammable substance) having a flashpoint at a relatively high temperature (and so unlikely to ignite spontaneously); cf. high-flashpoint adj.; contrasted with low-flash adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > extracted or refined oil > [adjective] > other attributes of oil supple1548 high-flash1899 slushing1920 1899 Westm. Gaz. 14 Feb. 4/3 A fourth high-flash oil. 1969 Earthquake Engin. Res. (National Acad. Sci. U.S.A.) viii. 287 Indirect metering, using air or high-flash oils, is distinctly preferable to direct metering of high-pressure gas and oils. 2012 S. van Woenzel Oil Traders' Word(s) 279 Products with a flashpoint below 55° Celsius/131° Fahrenheit are called low flash products. Different rules for handling in logistics would apply for this type of oil compared with ‘high flash’ oil. high-flashpoint adj. = high-flash adj. ΚΠ 1897 Engin. Mag. 13 970 Only two makers—namely, Roots & Venables, of London, and Petter & Boll, of Yeovil—have so far attempted with any success to use motors worked with kerosene or high-gravity and high-flashpoint oils. 2004 F. Maroukian Chef's Secrets viii. 211 Once you've learned to start with a screaming hot pan and a high-flash-point oil, you'll forgo those peeling nonstick-coated pans. high-flux adj. having, characterized by, or relating to a high concentration of flux (flux n. 9); contrasted with low-flux adj. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > magnetism > [adjective] > of flux: high-density high-flux1941 the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [adjective] > having many particles per second high-flux1941 1941 U.S. Patent 2,232,662 1/1 This increase in flux at one of the pole-tips more or less saturates the high-flux tip. 1990 A. F. Chalmers Sci. & its Fabrication v. 78 The lapse of interest in high-flux gravitational waves. 2008 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 6 Sept. 1 The high flux reactor in Petten, in the Netherlands, was shut down unexpectedly last month. high forest n. [compare Middle French haute forest (a1400; French haute forêt)] forest consisting of tall trees, esp. ones which have not been coppiced or pollarded; a forest of this kind; cf. highwood n. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > planted, cultivated, or valued high forest1477 planting1535 plantation1669 woodwork1712 wooding1788 the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > wood or assemblage of trees or shrubs > [noun] > wood of tall trees or lacking undergrowth highwoodc1275 high forest1477 hautboy1677 open wood1790 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 93 For the londe was right fertyle... the trees charged with fruyt. the wodes & hye forestes [Fr. les forests] full of wilde bestes & veneson. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. f. clv^v/1 They shulde mete all with their puyssaunce on the fronters of Gales at a castell in the hyghe forest [Fr. de haultes forestz] called Gedeours. 1677 R. Thoroton Antiq. Notts. 505/2 The second Keeping is the High Forest. 1796 Sc. Reg. 6 154 The little lake, which is an expansion of the river, now appeared in view; on the east side are extensive marshes, and on the other, high forests and orange groves. 1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 398/2 In..Germany..care is always taken that in high forest there is a good stock of self-sown trees before the old crop is entirely removed. 1959 Times 2 June 12/6 Growing conifers as high forest. 2010 J. Obua & J. G. Agea in F. Bongers & T. Tennigkeit Degraded Forests E. Afr. iii. 73 Uganda's forest sector had a worldwide reputation, particularly for research into tropical high forest management. high franchise n. now historical and somewhat rare the right of voting in parliamentary or other elections, consequent upon paying high rates or owning property of high value. ΚΠ 1770 Gentleman's & London Mag. July 391/1 To deprive the subject of this high franchise and birthright..is directly contrary to the fundamental laws and freedom of this realm. 1841 Citizen Jan. 3/1 In England, the high franchise of £50 occupying yearly rent-payers..works so slavishly ill for the people,—so servilely well, for the Tory aristocracy. 1886 C. A. Fyffe Hist. Mod. Europe II. ii. 117 It [sc. the electoral law] retained the high franchise fixed by the Charta. 1904 S. Afr. Native Affairs Comm. 1903–5 IV. 681 We must have a high franchise always in South Africa; the circumstances demand it. 1991 P. Bryan Jamaican People 1880–1902 (2000) ii. 14 Those who favoured a high franchise in order to reduce black and coloured participation appear to have outdone themselves in 1884. high-fructose corn syrup n. a sweetener made from cornflour (maize starch) in which some glucose has been converted to fructose; abbreviated HFCS.High-fructose corn syrup is used in commercially produced food and soft drinks as a cheap alternative to sucrose. ΚΠ 1974 Los Angeles Times 8 Aug. f19/1 This new natural nutritive sweetener HFCS—high fructose corn syrup—can be substituted for a portion of the sugar-sucrose or medium invert sugar. 1992 J. Shute Life-size ix. 107 I started reading the cereal boxes. Sugar, high-fructose corn syrup, wheat, oat flour, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil..[etc.] 2014 Nat. Health Apr. 16/2 The switch away from sucrose to cheaper corn-derived high-fructose corn syrup, which more readily converts to fat, is clearly partly responsible for the health mess we are now in. high-fusing adj. having a relatively high fusing temperature; spec. designating a dental ceramic or alloy with a fusing temperature above either 1065°C (the melting point of gold) or c1300°C. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > pottery or ceramics > [adjective] > porcelain > types of porcelain hard1776 Nantgarw1820 reticulated1881 grand feu1888 high-fusing1893 paste bodied1915 1893 R. I. Med. Sci. Monthly 1 140 The bodies I use in this work are numbers 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5, Wilmington make, but any medium fusing body will answer... I have tried both Parker's and Closes' but both are too high fusing. 1947 R. E. Jager & R. E. Pollard U.S. Patents Powder Metall. (Nat. Bureau Stand.) v. 107 (table) Manufacturing ductile filaments by heating rods of high-fusing metals molded from metal powders, hung vertically until rods elongate to proper length. 2010 J. A. von Fraunhofer Dental Materials at Glance xix. 39/2 High-fusing porcelains are primarily used for jacket crowns or denture teeth, consisting of previously unfired feldspar, kaolin and quartz. † high game n. (chiefly with capital initials) Obsolete (with the) a form of cheating at cards. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card-sharping or cheating > [noun] > methods of palm1664 high game1665 palming1671 slick1674 brief1680 gammoning1700 shoulder-dash1711 bridge1773 weaving1803 bridging1843 palmistry1859 slipping1864 stocking1887 big mitt1903 1665 R. Head Eng. Rogue I. lvi. 375 At last my friend played the High Game, as the term of Art renders it; that is, he gave me two Trays and an Ace, and reserved for himself two Trays and a Duce. 1674 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester xvi. 135 One most egregious piece of Roguery..playing the High-game at Putt. 1708 Brit. Apollo: Supernumerary Paper July When by engrossing a Commodity, I keep it at an Extravagant Price, 'tis somewhat like the High Game at Putt, You are at last bound to have this or none, and at my Price too, or I shall get your Customer. 1801 J. Strutt Glig-gamena Angel-ðeod iv. ii. 249 To the games already mentioned we may add the following; put, and the high game; plain dealing, wit and reason, costly colours, [etc.]. high gear n. a gear in which the ratio between the speed of rotation of the driving mechanism of a vehicle and that of the driven wheels is large, so that an engine, cyclist, etc., has to produce fewer revolutions for the same distance travelled and the overall speed of the vehicle is high; also figurative and in figurative contexts; cf. low gear n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > specific gear bottom gear?1865 high gear1889 low gear1895 fourth1900 second gear1902 first gear1907 second1907 first1909 second speed1912 high1914 low1914 1889 Bow Bells 26 July 83/2 The chain wheel..rotates freely upon the axle, except when on high gear, when it rotates with the axle. 1916 Triad 10 Jan. 43 To rush blindly into the high gear would be fatal... A man must keep his head. 1945 Fortune Mar. 84/1 (advt.) Their profits clicked into high gear. And the national economy hitchhiked right along with them. 1975 Audubon Mar. 17/1 The huge factories between Baton Rouge and New Orleans had begun to crank up into high gear and were ready to vomit their wastes into the air. 2011 C. Jordan Travelling Triathlete 76 Apparently I spin too much in a high gear when I cycle which will not develop my power. high-geared adj. having gearing in which the ratio between the driving mechanism and the driven wheel is large; (in extended use) fast-moving, active. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > [adjective] > brisk or active sprindeOE whata1000 braga1350 prestc1390 yarea1400 stirringc1400 startingc1440 actious1441 actuala1470 activea1522 queemc1540 skeetc1540 lively1567 alive-like1582 pragmatical1590 spruce1590 agilious1599 brisk1599 sprightly?c1599 brisky1600 alives-like1601 alacrious1602 smart1602 eyebright1603 whisking1611 deedy1615 vibrant1616 sprunt1631 perking1653 alert1654 exilient1654 alacrative1657 eveillé1676 budge1691 jaunty1705 spry1746 sprack1747 alive1748 high-geared1795 rash1805 spicy1828 live1830 deedful1834 yary1855 sprucy1858 alacritous1859 sprackish1882 brash1884 up-and-coming1889 up and doing1901 loose1907 bright-eyed and bushy-tailed1936 buzzy1978 society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [adjective] > having high gears high-geared1795 1795 O. Evans Young Mill-wright & Miller's Guide i. xii. 113 This shews her to be too high geared. 1884 County Gentleman 17 May 634/3 The low, steady stroke by which a rider propels a high-geared machine. 1899 Daily News 13 Feb. 5/3 Our high-geared population. 1906 A. Bennett Whom God hath Joined v. 169 Gater's high-geared bicycle. 1924 H. Crane Let. 12 Jan. (1965) 169 Working at high speed as one does in such high geared agencies. 1992 Car Feb. 55/3 The S800's delights include rat-and-pigeon steering so light and high-geared that changing direction requires little more than a flexing of fingertips. 2009 USA Today (Nexis) 23 Feb. 3 a A high-geared Mardi Gras also translates into vital tourism revenue for the city. high-gloss adj. (of paint, varnish, etc.) having a hard shiny surface when dry; (of a surface or finish) very glossy, highly polished; also figurative. ΚΠ 1884 Goshen (Indiana) Daily News 29 Mar. 4/5 Paints..in all shades of color, for household use... Furniture varnish—high gloss. 1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 74/1 A high gloss interior paint. 1938 Amer. Home Oct. 56/3 The main bath has high-gloss black walls, simulating black glass. 1990 J. Eberts & T. Ilott My Indecision is Final xlii. 432 He had most recently produced the high-gloss mini-series Reilly, Ace of Spies. 2004 Budget Decorating Ideas 14 47 Use semi- or high-gloss paint in a bright shade like parrot-green..or daffodil-yellow. high-go n. colloquial (now chiefly in historical contexts) a festive celebration, esp. of a boisterous or rowdy nature; a drinking bout, a spree. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > [noun] > noisy or riotous revela1375 riotc1440 revel-rout1587 wassail1603 randan1640 rant1650 high-go1774 splore?a1786 gilravagea1796 spree1804 lark1811 spray1813 shindy1821 randy1825 randy-dandy1835 batter1839 flare-up1844 barney1850 jamboree1868 tear1869 whoop-up1876 beano1888 razzle1892 razzle-dazzle1893 bash1901 1774 S. E. Mulliken Jrnl. 21 Mar. in Harvard Graduate's Mag. (1902) June 534 We have a high go at my Chamber in ye evening likewise there is al around the College. 1786 J. Q. Adams Diary 15 Mar. (1981) II. 2 The Sophimore Class had what is called in College, an high-go. They assembled all together in the Chamber, of one of the Class; where some of them got drunk, then sallied out and broke a number of windows. 1822 C. Dibdin Life in London (2nd) (frontispiece) Replete with High Goes, Prime Chaunts, and Out-and-out Sprees. 1826 New Monthly Mag. 16 355 Our volatile high-go's were troublesome enough to every body. 1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxvii. 306 The last night they..were getting into a high-go, when the captain called us off. 1912 M. R. Bangs High Bradford 36 Now, Cap'n, now for a high-go... Let's see you pat Juba. Come, come, hit it up, Beriah, hit it up. 2002 B. Mai Kate of Kentucky 297 ‘But, she didn't marry him!’ ‘Right you are, but that didn't stop the rest o' us from havin' a high-go at it.’ high grinding n. now chiefly historical the grinding of flour with the upper millstone initially slightly raised, allowing subsequent separation of flour and bran; = high milling n.; frequently attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > [noun] milling1466 millering1761 mealinga1810 flouring1855 farination1859 high grinding1869 gristing1883 corn-grinding1905 1869 Cultivator & Country Gentleman 1 Apr. 251/3 The proportion of adhering flour is much less than in bran from high-grinding. 1994 N. L. Kent & A. D. Evers Technol. Cereals (ed. 4) 140/2 Hard wheat, from the Danube basin, was ideally suited to the high-grinding system. 2005 K. T. H. Farrer To Feed Nation viii. 77 High grinding permitted better separation of bran and germ, but in addition to flour produced middlings (or sharps) which had to be ground further. high-growth adj. Business (of a company, stock, etc.) that is increasing greatly in size or value. ΚΠ 1958 SRI Jrnl. 2 20/1 It appears that high-growth companies are most heavily concentrated in the high-growth industries. 1977 Washington Post (Nexis) 15 Sept. (Business & Finance section) c1 After the possible tax changes..that $1 on the high-growth stock would be worth only $2.05.., considerably less than the high-yieldings, no-growth stock. 1989 J. C. Campbell in T. Ishida & E. S. Krauss Democracy in Japan vi. 126 The high-growth economy became a moderate-growth economy. 2008 S. A. Shane Fool's Gold? (2009) viii. 153 It's just not possible for angels to back a large number of high-growth start-ups every year. high heid yin n. [ < high adj. + heid, variant of head n.¹ + yin, variant of one pron.] colloquial (chiefly Scottish) a person of high rank, position, or importance; a grandee, a bigwig; (in plural) the powers that be, the top brass. ΚΠ 1918 Caledonian Apr. 28/1 Spud had had such a pleasant outing that he replied—My dear Wifie, The motor was A1. It made me feel a high heid yin. 1942 Manch. Guardian 6 Feb. 4/7 A cousin o' the wife's has gotten on awfu' weel and he's a high heid yin in Edinburgh University. 1972 B. Bryden Willie Rough 46 Christ, if any o the high heid-yins saw me even talkin tae you two, I'd get the fuckin bag! 1995 J. Barclay Paras over the Barras (2002) v. 78 Well, the generals and a'them high heid yins jumped intae a motor boat and dashed across the river. 2014 Belfast Tel. (Nexis) 6 June 29 He was propping up his red-blooded credentials as High Heid Yin of the Ulster people. high holiday n. (in sense (b) usually with capital initials) (a) an important festival, esp. a religious one; cf. high day n.¹ 1; (b) spec. (in plural) the Jewish festivals of Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, sometimes also including the intervening days.Allocation of early examples to this lemma or to high holy day n. is problematic. See note at holiday n. ΚΠ a1425 N. Homily Legendary (Harl. suppl.) in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 145 (MED) Yf it be right þat we for pray..on þis high haly-day. 1539 J. Hilsey Man. Prayers sig. EE.i^v To syng or saye theyr accustomed seruyce for those holydayes in theyr Churches, so that they do not the same solemply nor do rynge to the same after the maner vsed in hygh holydayes. 1572 E. Dering Briefe & Necessary Instr. To Rdr. sig. A.ij^v The most dronken imaginations, with which they so defiled their Festiual and high holydaies. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxv. 556 A high holliday this was, solemnised with all kind of ceremonies that could be devised. 1636 W. Sampson Virtus post Funera Vivit 48 Where are the Muses? are they all asleepe? Do they their fathers high holiday keepe? 1764 London Mag. Jan. 27/2 This extraordinary measure of procrastinating that high holiday [sc. Shrove Tuesday] till March the 4th. 1797 R. Heron New Gen. Hist. Scotl. III. v. i. 396 Cast himself at the monarch's feet on a high holiday, before the altar in the chapel of the abbey of the Holy-Rood. 1830 J. Galt Lawrie Todd II. v. viii. 183 An ivory-headed Indian cane, which he only displayed at pace and yule, and other high holidays. 1890 Methodist Rev. July 617 Jewish pupils..had, according to their religion, the perfect right to remain away from them [sc. their studies] during their high holidays. 1893 W. Pilling tr. B. Mitre Emancipation S. Amer. xii. 130 On the 17th January, 1817, there was high holiday in the city of Mendoza. The streets and plaza were decorated with flags and streamers. 1927 S. Dingol in H. P. Fairchild Immigrant Backgrounds ix. 132 They rush to the synagogues on the high holidays and fill them to capacity. 1973 Synagogue Light Sept. 42/2 The festival prayer book, the Machzor, is used during the High Holidays because many additional prayers not recited throughout the year are read on these days. 2008 C. Delors Mistress of Revol. vii. 38 He was dressed rather for hunting than for a high holiday, in a plain suit of green cloth and leather boots that came up to his thighs. high holy day n. (in sense (b) frequently with capital initials) (a) an important religious festival; (b) spec. (in plural) = high holiday n. (b).Allocation of early examples to this lemma or to high holiday n. is problematic. See note at holiday n. ΚΠ 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende f. ccccxxxij^v/2 On the solempne and hygh holy dayes with grete preparacion he receyued the body of our lord. 1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. ii. 226 Who euer tolde you, either of any office, that your Subdeacons had in the Holy Ministerie, or of any greate highe Holy Daies, of Duplex, or magis Duplex, or principal Solemne Feastes in the Churche of God in al that time? 1622 J. Mabbe tr. M. Alemán Rogue ii. 225 My great chaine, which I kept in store for high Holy-dayes, and great Feasts. 1681 E. Sherman 2nd Pt. Birth & Burning Image St. Michael 9 The Ministers don't say second Service at Communion-Table, nor don't say any part of the Communion Service at Communion-Table, at any time but only on Communion-dayes, or some perhaps upon High Holy-dayes. 1739 W. Stephens Jrnl. 11 June in Jrnl. Proc. Georgia (1742) II. 39 Whit-Monday. High Holy-Day among most of our common People in Town; but such as were concerned in planting, could spare no Time from close Attendance in dressing their Land. 1835 Hebrew Rev. 20 Feb. 335/2 The daily service was continued without interruption, even on the Sabbath and high holy days; on which occasions, however, additional offerings and ceremonies took place. 1879 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 403/1 All his pride lies in some little gift or talent which he fancies he possesses, and can use only on high holy-days. 1905 J. H. Greenstone in C. S. Bernheimer Russ. Jews in U.S. v. 162 With the approach of the high holy days, a season when every Jew feels the need of a synagogue, a reader was engaged and seats sold to members or non-members. 1957 J. Bishop Day Christ Died (1959) 10 The Procurator held the vestments of the high priest and, under Roman dicta, unlocked them on the morning before high holy days. 2006 N. Alderman Disobedience i. 1 The Rav had brought them through the High Holy Days, had remained standing during the two-hour service at the end of the Yom Kippur fast. high hook n. Angling colloquial (chiefly as a title) the person who hooks the most or the largest fish; cf. high line n. 1. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fisher > [noun] > angler > with good catch high hooka1813 high line1856 high liner1868 a1813 A. Wilson & C. L. Bonaparte in Constable's Misc. (1831) 68 47 They are sometimes seen high in the air..with part of a fish in one claw, which they seem proud of, and to claim high hook, as the fishermen call him who takes the greatest number. 1894 Outing 24 259/2 F. was high hook with a five and a half pounder. 1986 P. Matthiessen Men's Lives (1988) ii. vi. 68 Bill..had the best equipment and a veteran crew that was usually ‘high hook’. 2002 N. Karas Brook Trout (new ed.) iv. 335 Aris's fantastic ability to make long casts from shore made him high hook. high-horsed adj. on the high horse; arrogant; see horse n. 24b. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > arrogance > [adjective] wlonkOE moodyOE rankOE surquidous1377 insolentc1386 wantona1393 arrogantc1405 angardc1425 surquidrousc1430 stately1448 imperiala1456 superbious1509 succudrous1513 surquidant1528 ruffling1543 controlling1564 lustya1568 cocking1568 superbous1581 bog1592 swaggering1596 superarrogant1598 arrogating1601 pyrgopolinizing1605 high-handed1606 outbearing1607 high-horsed1613 dictatory1639 bardish1641 self-assuming1647 superbient1647 huffy1680 dictatorial1692 huffish1755 cobby1785 high-riding1831 braggadocious1853 snouty1858 you-be-damned1887 1613 T. Milles tr. P. Mexia et al. Treasurie Auncient & Moderne Times 714/1 Willing to be dismounted from their high horsed frenzies. 1882 Chums: Tale of Queen's Navy II. iii. 68 Nodding to Armstrong, who was left alone to entertain the now rather high-horsed old lady, he hurried off. 1900 Westm. Gaz. 6 Feb. 3/2 To..ride off high-horsed on the theory that the battle had to be fought. 1928 Observer 22 Jan. 14/5 The high-horsed fanatics of universal Communism. 1994 Sunday Times (Nexis) 3 Apr. Only while he is anathematising deconstruction does Scruton display all the high-horsed fury which makes him unmistakably identical with the Scourge of the Left. high-humidity adj. characterized by or utilizing high relative humidity. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > [adjective] > seasoning or preserving high-humidity1921 1921 Pop. Mech. Sept. 450/2 The lumber is ‘casehardened’, and is drier outside than inside. Use a steaming or high-humidity treatment to moisten and soften the surface. 1972 Ann. Rev. Plant Physiol. 49 898/2 The shell vials were incubated under diffuse incandescent light in a high humidity room at 22 C. 2005 N. Kornum & M. Bjerre Grocery E-Commerce 232 USDA recommends a high humidity environment (80-95% relative humidity) for most fresh produce. high hurdle n. and adj. (a) n. (chiefly in plural) a hurdle at its highest setting; (esp. with the) a race involving such hurdles; (b) adj. designating a race involving high hurdles. ΚΠ 1865 London Rev. 1 Apr. 344/2 When it comes to taking ten flights of high hurdles on a soil something like a field prepared for turnips, after a heavy shower, the men run under very evident constraint. 1888 R. M. Hurd Hist. Yale Athletics App. 143 H. Mapes, Columbia, lowered the records in both hurdle races, doing the high hurdles in 16⁴/ ₅ sec. and the low hurdles in 26²/ ₅sec. 1890 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Daily Tribune 22 Mar. 4/2 Taking the hurdle with the knee first is the way A. A. Jordan, who won the amateur championship at the high hurdle race for four years, used so successfully. 1895 Outing 26 455/1 Oxford won all the runs, the high hurdle, and tied in the high jump with Yale, losing only the weights and broad jump. 1935 Times 23 Mar. 6/1 On last year's form A. G. Pillbrow should win the High Hurdles, but recently he has been over-exercised. 1993 Chicago Tribune 19 June ii. 6/4 Illinois' most dominant track athlete will attempt a trifecta of the long jump, triple jump and 110-meter high hurdles. 2005 Afr. News (Nexis) 12 Feb. The race became a high hurdle marathon and we could no longer hold the centre to the very end. high hurdler n. a participant or competitor in the high hurdles. ΚΠ 1890 N.Y. Times 5 Nov. 3/1 Williams, the Yale hurdler, who holds the amateur record for the high hurdlers at 120 yards, made many runs. 1930 Times 1 Dec. 7/3 There are two critical tests of a high hurdler—the straightness of his leg and the nearness of his landing to the hurdle—and Tisdall would have satisfied the most fastidious observer. 2011 P. Collins Among Fans ix. 132 In all of sport, few things are more graceful than the sight of the great high hurdlers—a ‘Skeets’ Nehemiah, a Colin Jackson—flowing across the barriers at a sprinter's speed. high-income adj. (a) (of an investment) offering large dividends or a high rate of interest; (b) denoting a person who or group which earns or brings in a large income; of or relating to such a person or group. ΚΠ 1909 Atlanta Const. 5 May 15/7 The extra security enjoyed by this class of shares and the high income return yielded by them in comparison with other investment securities. 1937 Amer. Speech 12 315/2 His store..makes little attempt to attract a high-income clientele. 1980 R. G. Ridker & W. D. Watson To choose Future ix. 385 Compared to most other high-income countries, the United States is still a land- and water-rich nation. 2013 Austral. Financial Rev. (Nexis) 22 Apr. 18 They have lost low-income customers..and gained high-income clients who on average have almost three products. high key n. and adj. Art and Photography (a) n. the prevalence of light colours and tones, typically with little contrast, in a painting, photograph, etc.; an instance of or mood marked by this; frequently attributive; contrasted with low key n. 1; (b) adj. light or bright in tone. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > a photograph > [noun] > photograph by style or subject high key1849 carte1861 carte-de-visite1861 wedding group1861 vignette1862 studio portrait1869 press photograph1873 cameo-type1874 war picture1883 mug1887 panel1888 snapshot1890 visite1891 fuzz-type1893 stickyback1903 action photograph1904 action picture1904 scenic1913 still1916 passport photo1919 mosaic1920 press photo1923 oblique1925 action shot1927 passport photograph1927 profile shot1928 smudgea1931 glossy1931 photomontage1931 photomural1931 head shot1936 pin-up1943 mug shot1950 wedding photograph1956 wedding photo1966 full-frontal1970 photofit1970 split beaver1972 upskirt1994 selfie2002 1849 Bull. Amer. Art-Union 2 28 It is impossible..to produce on canvas the same high key of light which exists in nature. 1902 Brush & Pencil 11 8 You see at once from the predominance of light-toned pigments that I paint in a rather high key. 1991 J. Richardson Life of Picasso I. x. 153 They recall the high key of El Greco's mannerist palette. 2006 N. Morris in C. Jones & G. Jolliffe Guerilla Film Makers Handbk. (new ed.) vi. 277 On one side you have a high key, sexy shot that you cannot match in the reverse for various logistic reasons. high-kilted adj. chiefly Scottish (of a woman) wearing one's skirt tucked up; (figurative) indecorous, immodest. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing clothes tucked up kilted1724 high-kilteda1792 tucked up1845 a1792 in R. H. Cromek Reliques R. Burns (1808) 200 High kilted was she, the coat aboon her knee. 1809 W. Scott in Q. Rev. 1 22 In one or two passages the muse may have slightly trespassed upon decorum, where in the language of Scottish song, ‘High kilted was she, As she gaed ou're the lea’. 1810 A. Cunningham et al. Remains Nithsdale & Galloway Song 13 She is a gude, sonsie, sweet an' kindlie quean; and tho' she may gang a wee thing ‘high kilted’ at times, she's gawcie an' modest for a' that. 1824 W. Scott Redgauntlet I. v. 87 Who..had been carried home, in compassion, by some high-kilted fish-wife. 1840 T. Hood Miss Kilmansegg ii, in New Monthly Mag. 60 257 To dazzle the world with the precious limb,—Nay, to go a little high-kilted. 1914 N. Munro New Road xiv The river where some girls, high-kilted to the thighs, were posting blankets. 2012 E. Stewart Up Yon Wide & Lonely Glen 318 (notes) It also has a distinctly ‘high kilted’ flavour as shown in the first verse. high king n. †(a) a great king, a supreme king (obsolete); (b) a king to whom other rulers owe allegiance. ΚΠ OE Beowulf (2008) 1039 Þæt wæs hildesetl heahcyninges. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1022 Hit iwerð seodðen [emended in ed. to seoððen] þat aræs of Brutus kunne þat was an heh king. 1542 Dyalogue Defensyue for Women sig. D.iv Of .v. Cyties the people perysshed, great and small In punysshement of that synne, by the hyghe kynge & lorde Pharao of Egypt. a1761 W. Harris Hist. Dublin (1766) ix. 158 The Irish language distinguisheth the office of king by two words, namely, airdrigh, or the high king; i. e. the supreme monarch; and righ-beag, i. e. the little or petty-king; in latin regulus, who was a provincial or inferior king. 1890 J. Healy Insula Sanctorum 559 It was to this lonely but sweet retreat that Ireland's last High-king retired to die. 1956 J. Needham Sci. & Civilisation in China II. xviii. 580 Some think..that Shang-Ti was a transcendentalisation of the function of the Emperor or bronze-age High King. 2004 Times Lit. Suppl. 20 Aug. 3/2 A number of heavy chains made of pairs of solid silver links are perhaps best seen as regalia for the many regional sub-kings who owed allegiance to the high king. high law n. cant (now historical) highway robbery. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > robbery > [noun] > highway robbery high lawc1555 highway robbery1611 padding1649 pad1652 snaffling-lay1752 scamp1786 c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay sig. B.v Sackynge Lawe signifieth horedome, Hyghe law, robbery, Figginge law, picke purse crafte. c1555 Manifest Detection Diceplay 18 Other terms, as sacking law, high law, figgin law, and such like. 1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage f. 7 There be also other Lawes, as High Law, Sacking Law, Figging Law, Cheting Law. 1620 in J. S. Farmer Musa Pedestris (1896) 14 If a Bung be got by the hie Law, Then straight I doe attend them. 1913 F. Aydelotte Elizabethan Rogues & Vagabonds iv. 98 High Law, or highway robbery..was a kind of thieving which seems to have been considered fit for a gentleman. high lawyer n. cant (now historical) a highwayman, esp. one on horseback. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman routerc1300 malandryna1438 stradarolle1562 highpad1567 highway robber1577 way-beatera1586 lance-man1589 high lawyer1591 St. Nicholas' clerk1598 outrider1599 bidstand1600 land-pirate1608 highwayman1617 pad1652 knight of the road1665 rum-padder1665 paddist1671 rum pad1688 pad-thief1690 gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700 snaffler1728 gentleman1778 scamp1782 scampsman1799 bandolero1832 ladrone1832 Spring-heeled Jack1838 road agent1840 agent1876 1591 R. Greene Notable Discouery of Coosenage f. 9 High Lawyers, Versers, Nips, Conny-catchers. 1610 S. Rid Martin Mark-all 50 Such as robbe on horse-backe were called high lawyers. a1640 J. Day & H. Chettle Blind-beggar (1659) sig. C2^v He wo'd be your prigger, your prancer, your high-lawyer. 1919 C. Whibley Lit. Stud. 133 The adventurer who practised this dangerous art was called a High Lawyer, and to succeed he needed nothing less than a bold, stern look, a stout heart, and a good sword. high lead n. Forestry a high overhead cable used in the transport of logs from a logging site; = high line n. 2; frequently attributive. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > forestry or arboriculture > lumbering > [noun] > transport of logs flume1784 log-rollinga1792 drive1835 river-driving1843 river drive1845 sluice-way1851 sacking1860 timber drivea1861 skidding1877 log-running1878 skid road1880 rigging1897 swamping1902 log-drivea1904 high lead1905 high-lining1919 1905 Illustr. Descr. Approved Devices (Lidgerwood Manuf. Co., U.S.) 80 The high lead of the pulling lines on the snaking and loading machine enables the snaking crew to pile up a great number of logs when the loading crew is delayed for want of cars. 1925 A. Philip Crimson West 144 He yawned sleepily. ‘Got to fix a “spar-tree” for a “high-lead” to-morrow, so I better hit the hay.’ 1951 W. F. Heald Scenic Guide Oregon 17 Modern ‘high lead’ and ‘skidder’ logging whisks tree sections. 1991 J. D. Matthews Silvicultural Syst. vi. 83 Where the high lead system of skidding is used, most of the defective and otherwise unmerchantable trees are also felled to clear the patch. 2007 Continental Modeller Aug. 501 (caption) This scratchbuilt donkey engine hauls the high lead and also powers the heel boom for loading the logs onto skeleton cars. high-lift adj. that lifts or raises something to a greater height than is usual; spec. (of aircraft wings) producing more lift (lift n.² 5e(a)) than is usual. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > [adjective] > lifting > lifting high high-lift1836 1836 Amer. Railroad Jrnl. 10 Dec. 778/3 Mr. Douglas..may now safely challenge any skeptic in the plan of high dams and high lift locks, to prove that they are..less durable than those of the ordinary height and lift of 8 feet. 1921 Discovery Apr. 96/2 High-lift wings are, of course, those that give the highest lift-drift ratio. 1958 Times Rev. Industry June 20/1 A new, high-lift boom machine. 2006 Canberra Times (Nexis) 24 Feb. a20 High-lift jacks have been around for years. high-lived adj. now rare of or relating to the high life; frequenting high society; (also, esp. of a horse) lively, frisky (cf. high-lifed adj. 2). ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [adjective] townishc1450 of mode1676 fashionable1712 smart1719 high-lifed1733 social1741 high-lived1757 West Endish1855 Fifth Avenue1858 mundane1904 societified1912 Park Avenue1923 1757 in Catal. Prints: Polit. & Personal Satires (Brit. Mus.) (1877) III. 1180 Several emaciated high liv'd Epicures. 1762 O. Goldsmith Citizen of World II. 30 All pretensions to high life or high-lived company. 1865 Christian Observer Nov. 840 It must not be forgotten that there are two kinds of worldliness—a high-lived worldliness—the worldliness of ambition, and pomp, and grandeur; and a low-lived worldliness. 1909 C. D. Marsh Loco-weed Dis. 11 The first symptom of loco poisoning is often a change in the general condition of the animal. If high-lived the animal becomes somewhat dull. 1920 F. C. Hooker Long Dim Trail xxxii. 283 A dandy horse, alright, but too high-lived for Cavalry work. high-liver n. (a) a person who lives the high life; (b) a person who professes a higher spiritual life than the ordinary (rare). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > physical sensibility > sensuous pleasure > luxury or luxurious living > [noun] > one who lives luxuriously delicatea1382 high-liver1715 feather-bedder1952 sweet-lifer1967 society > faith > aspects of faith > piety > sanctimoniousness > [noun] > person Pharisee1539 card gospeller1550 lip-gospeller?1556 saint1563 table-gospeller1570 separatist1620 Christera1650 canter1652 high-liver1715 cant1725 pietist1767 devil dodger1791 goody1816 creeping Jesusc1818 Mawworm1825 goody-two-shoes1843 Pecksniff1844 goody-goody1872 goody-good1879 lip-Christian1882 plaster saint1890 holy Willie1916 1715 R. South 12 Serm. IV. 86 The unclean Devil haunts the Families of the rich, the gallant, and the high Livers. 1744 G. Berkeley Siris (ESTC T72826) 59 Small imperceptible irritations of the minutest fibres or filaments, caused by the pungent salts of wines and sauces, do so shake and disturb the microcosms of high livers, as often to raise tempests in courts and senates. 1881 J. W. Buel Border Outlaws 166 All the band were known to be high livers during their periods of plenty. 1888 Forum (U.S.) Aug. 692 Among these high-livers and faith-curers. 1926 People's Home Jrnl. Feb. 30/4 (advt.) Give your digestive system a chance, and it will function with almost any kind of food—even doughnuts; baked beans... Hearty eaters—hard smokers—high livers—use Stuart's. 2008 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 30 Apr. a6/2 He attacked ‘the cynicism of the gauche caviars’, the high-livers on the left. † High Mail n. [ < high adj. + mail n.⁵] Obsolete = High Mall n.; cf. the Mail at mail n.⁵ ΘΚΠ society > leisure > [noun] > a period of > specific nooning1552 after-dinner1576 wheta1628 High Mail1676 High Mall1712 Sabbath-day1734 Blue Monday1790 noonscape1819 noon-spell1839 children's hour1853 smoke-ho1874 welting1964 1676 G. Etherege Man of Mode iii. iii. 48 'Tis now but high Mail Madam, the most entertaining Time of all the Evening. High Mall n. now historical the time of day when the throng of promenaders in the Mall in London (mall n.¹ 2) is at its height; also in extended use. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > [noun] > a period of > specific nooning1552 after-dinner1576 wheta1628 High Mail1676 High Mall1712 Sabbath-day1734 Blue Monday1790 noonscape1819 noon-spell1839 children's hour1853 smoke-ho1874 welting1964 society > leisure > social event > festive occasion > [noun] > day or season of > at specific time of day High Mall1712 1712 Spectator No. 437. ⁋4 Were you to see Gatty walk the Park at high Mall. 1792 R. Bage Man as he Is II. xlvi. 174 There is no thinking well in the streets of Westminster; but the park, when it is not high mall, affords tolerable opportunity. a1845 R. H. Barham Wedding-day in Ingoldsby Legends (1847) 3rd Ser. iii. i. 33 I have seen him walking at high Mall. 1889 C. Teesdale in Duke of Beaufort et al. Driving (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xviii. 342 At High Mall on the Newski there are always certain equipages to be seen that attract the greatest amount of admiration and criticism. 1991 J. Garreau Edge City i. 4 Back then, its denizens even had a name for the hour when the throng of promenaders ‘giggling with their sparks’ was at its height. They called it High Mall. 2004 Eng. Lit. Hist. 71 127 The Frenchified Sir Fopling, who, with his train of Gallic-sounding servants, attracts everyone's attention in the social theater of High Mall. high mallow n. †(a) marsh mallow ( Althaea officinalis) or hollyhock ( Alcea or Althaea species) (obsolete rare); (b) U.S. common mallow, Malva sylvestris. ΚΠ 1525 tr. H. von Brunschwig Noble Experyence Vertuous Handy Warke Surg. xlv. sig. k.ii^v/1 Take y^e erbe of Uyolette, herbam Mercurialis,..malowe or pappyl, hye Malowe [L. Bismalue], Beta romana, of eche halfe an handefull. 1526 Grete Herball sig. ✠.ii^v/2 Altea, hye malowe. 1843 J. Torrey Flora State N.Y. I. 112 Malva sylvestris, Linn. High Mallow. 1904 N. Blanchan Nature's Garden 114 The Common High Mallow, Cheeseflower, or Round Dock. 2010 J. Kallas Edible Wild Plants vii. 103 Most research in this genus has been done on Malva sylvestris (high mallow). High Mass n. chiefly Roman Catholic Church (also with lower-case initials) a mass which is celebrated with full ceremonial and is sung rather than spoken (opposed to Low Mass n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3); esp. a Latin mass of the Tridentine Rite celebrated with the assistance of a deacon and subdeacon. [Compare Old Frisian hāchmisse, Middle Dutch homisse, hoochmisse (Dutch hoogmis), Middle Low German hōchmisse, hōmisse, Middle High German hōhe messe, hōchmesse (German hohe Messe, †Hochmesse), Old Icelandic hámessa, Old Swedish höghmässa (Swedish högmässa), Old Danish høgmesse (Danish højmesse), also post-classical Latin alta missa (frequently from c1100 in British sources), Anglo-Norman and Old French haute messe (late 12th cent.; Middle French, French haute messe).] ΘΚΠ society > faith > worship > sacrament > communion > mass > kinds of mass > [noun] > high High MassOE great massa1492 solemn mass1626 OE tr. Theodulf of Orleans Capitula (Corpus Cambr.) xlv. 403 Ðonne bebeode we þæt nænig mon nanes metes onbite, ærþon þe seo þenung gefylled sy þære heahmæssan [L. ante puplicum peractum officium]. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1125 He sang ðone hehmesse on Eastrendæi æt Cristes wefod. c1300 St. Patrick's Purgatory (Laud) l. 77 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 202 For him heo songun þe heiȝe-masse. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1879) VII. 373 Þan he wolde synge þe hiȝe masse [L. majorem missam]. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer Merchant's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 650 Whan þ^t the heighe masse was ydoon. 1490 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 46 At hie mestim. 1529 T. More Dyalogue i, in Wks. 127 Vpon y^e sondaye at high masse time. 1677 London Gaz. No. 1247/1 Having passed his Noviceship, he celebrated High Mass on Friday last. 1737 R. Challoner Catholick Christian Instructed v. 93 In the high or solemn Mass the Gospel is sung by the Deacon. 1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth xi, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 279 Bearing branches of yew in their hands, as the readiest substitute for palm boughs, they marched..to hear High Mass. 1869 L. M. Alcott Little Women II. xviii. 266 Laurie..went out to hear High Mass at Saint Stefan's. 1904 C. Wordsworth & H. Littlehales Old Service-bks. Eng. Church 21 The church was rarely used on Sundays more than three times, i.e. for Mattins at 6 or 7, for High Mass then at 9, and for Evensong at 2 p.m. 1993 W. Weaver tr. U. Eco Misreadings 136 Three hundred scalzed Carmelites are simultaneously saying solemn High Masses for the success of the voyage. High Mightiness n. [after Dutch hoogmogendheid (see hogen mogen n. and adj.)] now historical (with possessive adjective) a title of respect given chiefly to members of the States General of the Netherlands; frequently in plural; also ironic; cf. high and mightiness n. ΚΠ 1621 tr. P. Peck Proposition in Congregation of Gen. States sig. A3 Assuring your High Mightinesses likewise of the like good and sincere intention of the Catholike Maiestie. 1702 T. Brown Amusem. Serious & Comical (ed. 2) iv. 52 Now for that Majestical Man and Woman there, stand off, there is no coming within a Hundred Yards of their High Mightinesses, they have revolted like the Dutch. 1707 London Gaz. No. 4389/2 Monsieur Lintelo, Envoy Extraordinary of the States General, delivered the King a Letter from their High Mightinesses. 1792 M. Cutler Let. 5 Mar. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler Life, Jrnls. & Corr. M. Cutler (1888) I. 486 However important their High Mightinesses of Congress may appear abroad, they appear here..as small as other people. 1825 R. P. Ward Tremaine II. vii. 68 To lay my whip across his high mightyness's shoulders. 1883 W. Black Shandon Bells xxx Being particular about good dinners..is beneath their high mightinesses' notice. 1987 R. Mettam in I. Scouloudi Huguenots in Brit. xii. 205 The French monarch..found it difficult to fathom the behaviour of the self-styled ‘hogen-mogen’ men, Their High Mightinesses the Staten-generaal. 2010 New Yorker 27 Sept. 82/3 Adams had wanted to call him His Most Benign Highness, and Washington was fond of His High Mightiness. high milling n. now chiefly historical a technique of milling in which the grain undergoes repeated cycles of crushing and sorting, with a gradual reduction in the space between the millstones, ultimately yielding a fine white flour. ΚΠ 1875 E. N. Horsford Rep. Vienna Bread 76 The Hungarian flour produced by high milling is, in the points of purity, whiteness, yield and keeping qualities, not equaled by that of any other country. 1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 458/1 In high milling the velocity is low; the grinding surfaces at first remote. 1958 T. N. Morris in C. Singer et al. Hist. Technol. V. 30 On the continent of Europe..the problem of brittleness was overcome by ‘high milling’, in which the stones are at first set far enough apart merely to break or ‘end’ the wheat and are brought closer together in stages. high-necked adj. having a high neck; (of an item of clothing) high in the neck. ΚΠ 1539 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 33 Ane gowne of crammasy satyne heich nekkit. 1657 E. Porter Trin-unus-deus x. 143 Not an high neckt Swan, nor a proud Peacock. 1844 N. P. Willis Lady Jane i. 539 High-neck'd gowns. 1870 W. C. Bryant tr. Homer Iliad II. xvii. 185 To lead away the high-necked steeds. 1929 R. S. Lynd & H. M. Lynd Middletown xii. 159 Today flannel underwear is almost as obsolete as the long black equestrian tights, high-necked, long-sleeved nightgowns for women. 1941 J. D. D. Bacon World in his Heart ii. 20 He met Potiphar, the tall brown horse, and watched Sparrow bandage his hock, and Satty showed him how to stretch out an apple flat on his hand, for the great, high-necked creature. 2011 Daily Tel. 22 Sept. 15/6 Pleated, gold-buttoned trousers, some of them slashed up the sides to reveal bare legs, and worn with bugle beaded boleros and high necked blouses. high-nosed adj. having a high or long nose; (figurative) having a keen sense of smell; (also) haughty, arrogant. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > smell and odour > [adjective] > having sense of smell > having acute tender-noseda1425 nosedc1425 high-nosed1548 quick-nosed1561 well-nosed1568 scented1579 well-scented1579 quick-scented1590 nose-wise1596 sagacious1607 scentful1616 nasute1699 nice-scented1777 osmatic1880 nim-nosed1936 1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. lxxvij A goodly Prince, stately of countenaunce, mery of chere, broune coloured, great iyes, high nosed, bigge lipped. 1641 Naunton's Fragmenta Regalia sig. A3 Well favored, but high nosed. 1658 F. Osborne Advice to Son: 2nd Pt. 132 Our high-Nos'd Hypocriticall Zelots, that pretent to smell ranck Idolatry in all professions, but their own. 1762 Amer. Gazetteer III. at Taumaco He was tall, and full-bodied, of a sallow complexion, grey-eyed, high-nosed. 1841 E. Bulwer-Lytton Night & Morning II. xii. 61 They were good, excellent, high-nosed, flat-bosomed spinsters, sentimentally fond of their brother. 1900 E. Glyn Visits of Elizabeth 38 Harvey announced ‘Mrs. and the Misses Clarke,’ and a thin, very high-nosed person, followed by two buffish girls, came forward. 1957 M. Stewart Thunder on Right v. 60 Though Doña Francisca may have a temper and a high-nosed Spanish way with her..she's a good doctor in sickness. 2004 Guardian (Nexis) 11 Nov. (Features section) 12 The professor maintains that the big-eyed, high-nosed look is not so much a western look as an internationally recognised ideal. high note n. a successful or positive point in a sequence of events or period of time, esp. in to end (also start) on a high note (and variants); cf. sense A. 17b, to hit a high note at note n.² 7c. ΚΠ 1894 Spectator 22 Sept. 380/1 The authoress of ‘An Island Garden’..starts on a high note..and becomes quite awe-stricken over the blossoms with which she decorates her ‘shrine’. 1900 M. Beerbohm in Sat. Rev. 14 July 44/2 I gave them [sc. my reasons] merely because they will explain equally why a play ought not to end on a high note, and will thus confuse the anti-anti-climax party. 1940 P. Atwater Probl. of Admin. in Social Work xvi. 284 Even a campaign that fails to reach the goal can close on a high note of appreciation. 1989 R. J. Dinkin Campaigning in Amer. vii. 186 President Kennedy's New Frontier started off on a high note with talk of ‘Camelot’ and truly idealistic goals. 2012 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Nov. (Sport section) 11 It's the last tournament of the year, we are all looking forward to going out on a high note. high-occupancy vehicle n. originally and chiefly North American a motor vehicle carrying more than a specified minimum number of people (typically 2 or 3), which is therefore permitted to use a traffic lane reserved for such vehicles on certain designated roads; abbreviated HOV; frequently attributive, esp. in high-occupancy vehicle lane. ΚΠ 1969 Traffic Engin. July 27/3 A program of reserving all or a portion of a highway facility for high-occupancy vehicles. 1979 Times 23 Nov. 22/3 In the United States there have been experiments with traffic lanes set aside for what the Americans call ‘high-occupancy vehicles’. 1992 J. R. Dominguez & V. Robin Your Money or your Life vi. 186 Congested cities are putting in high-occupancy vehicle lanes so that carpoolers can zip by the single-occupancy vehicles. 2013 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 21 June a12 Work has begun on an upgrade for U.S. 36 that will incorporate a special fast lane for high-occupancy vehicles. highpad n. cant (now archaic or historical) †(a) a road, a highway; = pad n.³ 1a; (obsolete rare); (b) a highwayman, esp. one on horseback; = high lawyer n. (opposed to low pad n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3). ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > [noun] streetOE wayOE gatec1175 roda1231 roddin1502 fare1509 highpad1567 pad1567 road1581 chimin1613 ribbon1923 the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > thief > robber > [noun] > highwayman routerc1300 malandryna1438 stradarolle1562 highpad1567 highway robber1577 way-beatera1586 lance-man1589 high lawyer1591 St. Nicholas' clerk1598 outrider1599 bidstand1600 land-pirate1608 highwayman1617 pad1652 knight of the road1665 rum-padder1665 paddist1671 rum pad1688 pad-thief1690 gentleman (also squire) of the pad1700 snaffler1728 gentleman1778 scamp1782 scampsman1799 bandolero1832 ladrone1832 Spring-heeled Jack1838 road agent1840 agent1876 1567 T. Harman Caueat for Commen Cursetors (new ed.) sig. Giiii Nowe byng we a waste to the hygh pad the ruffmanes is by. 1653 Mercurius Democritus No. 77. 604 A Company of High Padds,..having an intention to rob a Kentish Farmer, made a counterfeit Warrant to search for John Lilburn. 1684 True Acct. Behaviour Abraham Bigs 2 He had been..Guilty of all manner of Offences as to Robery, except, that of the High-Pad. 1740 Poor Robin sig. C4^v Sol Radix in Combustion with Mercury and Venus..portends great Danger to your Gallants of the High-pad, that some of them will end their Days by..the running Noose. 1785 Edinb. Mag. Aug. 42/2 The fair dealer is one who keeps the broad road, and robs without disguise. He is otherwise called high pad or highwayman. c1825 Mod. Flash Dict. High pads, thieves, or footpads, who rob on the highway, on foot, of the same class as scamps or spicers. 1842 P. Egan Capt. Macheath iii. 35 The High-pad quickly cut the farmer's towel in twain. 1949 P. C. Hoffman They also Serve iii. 20 In those days of highpads, footpads, and other spivs.., the tradesman lived above his shop. 2010 M. Nichols Viscount's Unconventional Bride (2011) ii. 45 I fear highpads are the scourge of travellers and one needs to defend oneself. † high-palmed adj. Obsolete having antlers topped with palms (palm n.² 3). ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [adjective] > having antlers > having flattened stems palmedc1425 palmingc1425 high-palmed1612 1612 M. Drayton Poly-olbion vii. 108 The goodly Heards of high-palm'd Harts. 1617 W. Drummond Forth Feasting sig. B3^v High-palmed Harts amidst our Forrests runne. 1841 G. A. Hansard Bk. Archery 148 They hint that many a ‘high-palmed hart’ returned unscathed to his lair. high-pass adj. chiefly Electronics designating a filter that passes only those signal components with a frequency higher than some cut-off frequency, and attenuates signal components with a lower frequency. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [adjective] > relating to types of filter low-pass1917 high-pass1921 all-pass1930 narrow-cut1964 1921 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 40 235 The portion of the line which is used in common is connected with the carrier apparatus through a ‘high-pass’ filter. 1946 Nature 13 July 47/1 A high-pass filter in the circuit..attenuated the low-frequency response of the microphone. 2002 Sound & Vision May 43/1 You can select ‘small’ speaker size for the surround- and center-channel outputs, which imposes a set of high-pass filters on those channels. high-performance adj. (a) (of an aircraft or motor vehicle) designed to achieve high speeds; of or relating to such a vehicle; (b) (of a manufactured product) designed to perform to a high level or standard; highly resilient; (also) of, relating to, or demanding such performance. ΚΠ 1919 Aerial Age Weekly 15 Sept. 17/1 The..Strutter was originally designed as a high-performance two-seater fighter, with a 100 h.p. Clerget engine. 1963 Observer 24 Nov. 37/3 What the Italians call the Gran Turismo..is a high-performance car with good luggage space, very comfortable seats for two and..occasional seats. 1966 T. Wisdom High-performance Driving ii. 17 You need more skill for high-performance road-driving than you do for competitive motoring. 1973 Nature 6 Apr. 420/1 Natural rubber is still the preferred polymer for many high performance applications. 2000 Independent 3 May i. 2/2 A fair-sighted government would create the economic circumstances now for what is inevitable: a demand for the manufacture of low-pollution and less high performance vehicles. 2011 N.Y. Mag. 19 Sept. 64/4 If progressive surfing..is your thing, then this is your store: Unsound specializes in high-performance surfboards. high point n. the point or period at which something is at its best or most highly developed; the peak; the best moment or part of something. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > prosperity > [noun] > time of prosperity highOE golden age1561 halcyon days1570 gilded age1655 heyday1751 high point1787 millennium1821 palmy days1837 up1843 clover summer1866 flower-time1873 belle époque1910 glory-days1956 the world > action or operation > prosperity > advancement or progress > [noun] > state of or advanced condition > highest point prickOE heighta1050 full1340 higha1398 pointc1400 roofa1500 top-castle1548 ruff1549 acmea1568 tip1567 noontide1578 high tide1579 superlative1583 summity1588 spring tide1593 meridian1594 period1595 apogee1600 punctilio1601 high-water mark1602 noon1609 zenith1610 auge1611 apex1624 culmination1633 cumble1640 culmen1646 climax1647 topc1650 cumulus1659 summit1661 perigeum1670 highest1688 consummation1698 stretch1741 high point1787 perihelion1804 summary1831 comble1832 heading up1857 climacteric1870 flashpoint1878 tip-end1885 peak1902 noontime1903 Omega point1981 1787 D. O'Bryen View of Treaty of Commerce with France (ed. 2) 49 The woollen manufacture of France arrived not at the high point of its prosperity, until about the year 1760. 1846 Trans. Amer. Agric. Assoc. i. 26 The farm having reached its high point of tillage, by suitable means, is now to be cropped for profit. 1887 W. E. Hatcher Life J. B. Jeter ix. 204 Dr. Jeter called to his assistance another evangelist, who at that time was at the high point of his career. 1958 Times 19 Feb. 10/4 Dikter vid gränsen, published in 1935, marked a high point in his work. 1987 R. P. Jhabvala Three Continents ii. 232 The high point of the trip was our visit to what Lindsay liked to think of as her ancestral village. 2013 Australian (Nexis) 18 Mar. (Features section) 15 Daniel..barely drew breath before launching into the impassioned fourth movement, which proved the high point of the evening. high pole adj. consisting of or relating to closely spaced forest trees with tall but relatively narrow trunks. ΚΠ 1882 Indian Forester 8 397 Rate of upward growth, until the high pole stage is reached, somewhat slower than that of the principal species. 1920 T. S. Woolsey Stud. French Forestry v. 81 In the pole stands the suppressed and damaged trees are removed, and in the high pole stands quite heavy thinnings in the top story are begun. 1974 R. A. de Rosayro in Nat. Resources Humid Trop. Asia (UNESCO) 187/1 A preliminary classification based on the physiognomony of the forest and further subdivided by floristic composition distinguishes five main forest types, namely, (a) mixed high forest, (b) pure high forest, (c) high pole forest, (d) low pole forest, (e) stunted forest. 1996 K. MacKinnon et al. Ecol. Kalimantan iii. 123 Mixed swamp forest, high forest and high pole forest. high polymer n. and adj. (a) n. a polymer consisting of a large number of monomers (and typically having a high molecular weight); (b) adj. that consists of a large number of monomers. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > polymer chemistry > polymers > [noun] > types (by structure) > high molecular weight high polymer1887 1887 J. E. Reynolds Exper. Chem. Junior Students lx. 241 This [sc. C₆H₁₂O₆] is given as the simplest expression for starch; but that body is probably a high polymer of this. 1915 F. J. Moore Outl. Org. Chem. (ed. 2) xviii. 307 The results of analysis correspond to the formula, C₁₀H₁₆, but the true formula must be some large multiple of this, as there is every reason to think that the substance [sc. India rubber] is a high polymer. 1946 Nature 27 July 122/1 The most important new dielectrics are usually of the high-polymer type. 1968 C. T. Greenwood & W. Banks Synthetic High Polymers i. 3 A high polymer is simply a chemical substance which is made up of giant molecules. 2010 J. Gonsalves Econ. Bot. & Ethnobotany v. 224 The raw material of the rayon industry is high-polymer alpha cellulose, prepared in a pure form from wood pulp or cotton linters. high private n. U.S. Military colloquial (now historical and rare) (a) (with reference to the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y.) a cadet in the fourth and final year, esp. one who has not attained cadet officer rank; (b) an ordinary private soldier; a private.The meaning in quot. 1833 is uncertain but it may be a figurative use of sense (a).Quot. 1895 purports to represent in ‘substance’ words apparently spoken in 1836 by U.S. frontiersman Davy Crockett (1786–1836), but no contemporary evidence has been found to corroborate this. ΚΠ 1833 Christian Intelligencer 13 Dec. 202/5 We are not yet Governor, and therefore it is not our duty to call the attention of the Legislature to the subject..but as a ‘high private’ it is our privilege to suggest and recommend, and we do so most seriously and earnestly. 1834 Mil. & Nav. Mag. U.S. Mar. 27 I..felt quite as proud of my being a ‘plebe’, as the third-class-man of his more dignified appellation of ‘Caitif’, the second-class-man of ‘old cadet’; or the first-class-man of ‘high private’. 1845 Crystal Fount & Rechabite Recorder 29 Nov. 185/1 It is truly ridiculous to keep men—the non-commissioned officers and ‘high privates’—standing an hour or so in the muddy streets, so that the ‘ossifers’ may enter some mansion or other to liquor up. 1870 Phrenol. Jrnl. & Packard's Monthly Nov. 363/2 I..enlisted as a high private in the rear rank of a Confederate cavalry regiment. 1895 J. Sutherland in J. S. Ford Origin & Fall Alamo 27 All the honor that I desire is that of defending as a high private, in common with my fellow citizens, the liberties of our common country. 1960 B. Catton in Amer. Heritage Picture Hist. Civil War 418/2 A great many enlisted men in the Northern armies could win officers' commissions in these [Negro] regiments, and a high private who saw a chance to become a lieutenant or a captain was likely to lose a great deal of his antagonism to the notion of Negro soldiers. 1982 J. Jakes North & South viii. 117 Among the first classmen, Orry was the only one not given a rank. He remained, as an old joke put it, a high private, which..showed how little his superiors thought of him. high-proof adj. †(a) able to withstand severe testing (cf. proof n. 9a) (obsolete); (b) containing a high proportion of alcohol, of high relative strength (cf. proof n. 10a). ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [adjective] > strong strongeOE stalec1300 mainc1400 nappyc1460 starkc1485 nase?1536 huff-cap1599 nippitatum1600 intoxicating1604 inebriating1610 distempering1613–18 inebriative1615 toxing1635 hogen mogen1653 napping1654 humming1675 hard1700 inebriousa1704 ebrietating1711 bead-proof1753 steeve1801 high-proof1810 pithy1812 stiff1813 inebriant1828 reverent1837 a little more north1864 ebriating1872 rorty1950 1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing v. i. 124 We are high proofe melancholie. View more context for this quotation 1651 H. Vaughan Olor Iscanus 23 Tears are beauteous in a Victorie, Nor are wee so high-proofe, but griefe will find Through all our guards a way to wound the mind. ?1723 New Hist. Trojan Wars (new ed.) ii. viii. 72 Achilles provided a strong knotty Spear, and high-proof Armour. 1810 T. Mortimer Gen. Dict. Commerce, Trade, & Manuf. at Distillation With thirty gallons of proof spirits, it will yield about twenty gallons of high-proof goods. 1858 L. Feuchtwanger Fermented Liquors ix. 75 For raising low-proof spirits to proof spirits with high proof spirits, multiply the number of gallons by the number of degrees which the high-proof spirits are above proof. 1914 Jrnl. Royal Soc. Arts 62 724/2 A high-proof alcohol has been distilled after the fermentation. 2010 Atlantic Monthly Apr. 20/2 The science of making small-batch, high-proof alcohol has remained largely unchanged for centuries. high-ranker n. a person, animal, or thing ranked highly in some scale, esp. a person of elevated social status. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > rank > [noun] > person of proudOE higha1200 estate1399 honourablea1450 statec1449 dignitya1525 high and mighty1576 palasinc1580 titular1605 sublimity1610 dignitary1672 person of condition1673 figure1692 title1817 titulary1824 Hon.1836 high-up1882 high-ranker1899 1899 Amer. Machinist 13 Apr. 304/3 It is from the lower ranks that true knowledge comes, if the high-rankers get it at all. 1958 W. J. H. Sprott Human Groups ix. 147 When he played against a gang high-ranker, he was seldom ‘on form’. 1973 J. Wainwright Pride of Pigs 18 High-rankers and C.I.D. wallahs bobbing in and out. 2002 Nature 5 Sept. 61/2 High-rankers are hopeful reproductives. They do little work, and one of them, usually the beta, replaces the gamergate if she dies. High Renaissance n. (also with lower-case initials) the period in the Italian Renaissance from the end of the 15th cent., which is regarded as the pinnacle of artistic attainment; frequently attributive. ΚΠ 1866 13th Rep. Sci. & Art Dept. Comm. Council Educ. App. 338 in Parl. Papers XXV. 337 The architecture of the several parts of the institution..is in the purest style of the older Venetian high renaissance. 1874 Trans. Royal Hist. Soc. 3 409 The Early Renaissance, extending from the Pisan period to the middle of the fifteenth century; the other the High Renaissance, from 1450 to the death of Raphael. 1930 Baedeker's Northern Italy (ed. 15) 622 The fine Palazzo Larderel.., formerly Palazzo Giacomini, in the High Renaissance style, by Giovanni Antonio Dosio (1558–80). 1944 Burlington Mag. Jan. 13/2 He was sufficiently adaptable to learn..some later developments of the High Renaissance. 1956 K. Clark Nude ix. 341 The root of high-renaissance taste. 1962 Listener 18 Oct. 601/1 This happened during the mid-sixteenth century, in the aftermath of the High Renaissance. 2000 A. Shanks in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 343/2 Sensuous, perspectival, full of lavish theatrical effects, high Renaissance painting is art at its boldest. high-rent adj. (a) (of a property) let at a high rent; (b) (of an area, neighbourhood, etc.) characterized by high rents, expensive to live in; (in extended use) affluent, exclusive.In quot. 1883 with reference to the renting of water privileges. ΚΠ 1883 F. A. Walker Polit. Econ. iv. ii. 226 Above these, are found low-rent privileges and high-rent privileges, the measure of rent being the degree of productiveness. 1891 G. Gunton Princ. Social Econ. iii. iv. 234 The migratory movement of the laborers..is constantly from low-rent countries to high-rent countries, from the rural districts where the rent is low to the cities where rent is high. 1915 Evening World (N.Y.) 2 Mar. 3/4 They select a high rent apartment, and then the next step is to fill it with magnificent furniture. 1973 Billboard 13 Jan. 20/3 In the high rent districts, where kids get a $15 or $20 allowance, they..may buy LP's that they really don't want or need. 1996 H. Romo Latino High School Graduation (1997) viii. 178 The family moved into a small, high-rent, two-bedroom house in a predominantly Black neighborhood. 2009 D. Sax Save Deli (2010) vii. 103 Both were risky ventures in newly gentrified, high-rent neighborhoods. high-res adj. [shortened < high-resolution adj.] = high-resolution adj. ΚΠ 1963 PMI Photo Methods for Industry May 23/2 (table) 70mm Films... Kodak Films... Panatomic-X Ext. fine grain, high res., mod. speed. 1970 Bull. Atomic Scientists Feb. 26/2 (table 3) Television Low-Res..High-Res. 1991 Macworld Sept. 20/2 QMS to introduce high-res printers..that can put out 600 by 600 resolution. 2006 Time Out N.Y. 27 July 95/4 So Matt walks in with a video camera. ‘Very high-res, good for stills,’ he says. high-resolution adj. (of an image) having a high degree of resolution (resolution n.¹ 6); (also) producing such images. ΚΠ 1917 Publ. Astron. Soc. Pacific 29 21 The complex structure of lines under ordinary conditions shown by high-resolution spectrographs. 1946 Nature 19 Oct. 550/2 Using the high-resolution system of the R.C.A. type E.M.U. microscope as a diffraction camera, we have attempted to find some feature of the diffraction by oxides. 1955 Sci. Amer. June 100/3 The great density of information storage that is possible through the use of high-resolution photographic emulsions. 2010 Daily Tel. 4 Nov. 16/8 This advance brings us a step closer to the goal of realistic holographic telepresence with high-resolution, human-size, 3D images. high-riser n. a type of child's bicycle having small wheels, an elongated saddle, and exaggeratedly raised handlebars; cf. chopper n.¹ 7b. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > other types of bicycle forty-four1821 roadster1875 rear-steerer1882 pneumatic1890 path-racer1896 featherweight1901 free-wheeler1908 fairy cycle1920 superbike1935 sit-up-and-beg1939 bakfiets1956 high-riser1965 all-terrain cycle1970 chopper1971 mountain bike1972 shopper1973 mixte1975 BMX1978 cruiser1978 ojek1983 boda boda1995 e-bike1998 fixie2001 ghost bike2004 1965 Pop. Sci. Aug. 110 Those bizarre-looking bikes with elevated saddles and exaggeratedly high handlebars are what the trade calls ‘high risers’. 1988 S. E. McKay New Child Safety Handbk. 110/1 Physically, some three year olds are capable of riding mini-two-wheelers (BMX, highrisers, etc.). 2004 Evening Standard (Palmerston North, N. Z.) (Nexis) 21 Aug. (Features section) 17 Chief designer Alan Oakley sketched the design on the back of an envelope while flying back to England from America, where he'd been to study the craze in high-riser and ape-handlebar cycles. high-rising adj. Phonetics (esp. of a tone) that begins high in pitch before rising. ΚΠ 1888 H. Sweet Hist. Eng. Sounds (new ed.) 12 The gliding tones can also begin at any height—low-rising (ˏ), high-rising (´), etc. 1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. i. 13 High-Rising. Nucleus-tone. 1951 Z. S. Harris Methods in Struct. Ling. 57 High-rising [intonation] for impatient question. 1997 Eng. World-Wide 18 121 The invariant tag eh, and the high rising terminal contour..are significantly more frequent in Maori than in Pakeha speech. high-stakes adj. designating a gambling game in which the stakes are high (cf. sense A. 15e); (hence in extended use of any situation or activity) high-risk, dangerous; having the potential for very significant gains or losses. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > [adjective] > played for high stakes high1640 silver1748 no-limit1915 high-stakes1922 1922 O. R. Cohen in Sat. Evening Post 18 Mar. 13/1 Mr. Sneed passed on, en route to a high-stakes poker party. 1979 J. Anderson & J. Boyd Confessions of Muckraker ix. 233 During the months before a high-stakes trial, he was continually leaving Washington late at night..to seek out the witness or the document that would turn another tide. 1992 Raising Standards for Amer. Educ. (Nat. Council Educ. Standards & Testing) 5 The assessments eventually could be used for such high-stakes purposes for students as high school graduation..and certification for employment. 2013 Guardian (Nexis) 4 Dec. 13 Labour will signal its hardening opposition to the ‘crack cocaine of gambling’—high-speed, high-stakes gambling machines—by forcing a vote in the Commons today. high season n. the peak time of year for a particular activity, occurrence, etc.; spec. (a) the season of highest rainfall in a particular region, the period when water levels are highest (cf. sense A. 4d); (b) the most popular time to visit a resort, hotel, tourist attraction, etc., when prices are highest. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wet weather > [noun] > rainy season (tropical) rains1615 rainy season1655 long rains1670 season1707 monsoon1747 high season1759 plum rains1894 wet1897 bai-u1910 kharif1920 1759 tr. M. Adanson Voy. Senegal 166 Rice is the only grain sown at Gambia in the lands overflown by the rains of the high season. 1769 F. Gentleman Stratford Jubilee i. 7 The High Season at Bath, where the Extravagants eat silver. 1835 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 459 In the high season, the river spreads for miles over marshes. 1888 Practitioner Oct. 256 Something like 10,000 persons annually visit Rome..during the ‘high season’, filling the hotels to overflowing. 1918 W. Cather My Ántonia ii. xiv. 232 It was the high season for summer flowers. 1971 New York 31 May 36/2 Be sure to notice whether the price includes the high-season supplement. 1993 Calif. Hist. 72 256/2 Tulare Lake covered 200,000 acres and measured 75 miles by 25 during its high season. 2005 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 11 May (Drive section) 7 Tour buses, crowds and parking hassles in the high season can tend to make you wonder whether you're actually getting away from it all. high-sighted adj. having the sight directed upwards; (figurative) supercilious, ambitious. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > haughtiness or disdainfulness > [adjective] overmoodeOE highlyOE overmoodOE overmoodyOE orgelc1175 dangerous?c1225 orgula1275 orgulousc1275 fiercec1290 hautain1297 highfulc1325 squeamousc1325 deignousc1330 digne1340 disdainousc1374 sirlya1375 lordlyc1390 high-hearteda1398 haught1430 haut1430 coppedc1449 excellentc1450 fastidious?a1475 loftyc1485 dain?1507 hichty1513 stiff-necked1526 supercilious1528 haughty1530 taunt?a1534 disdainfula1542 high in the instep1555 skeighc1560 queen-like?1571 surlyc1572 stately1579 coy1581 paughtya1586 steya1586 disdained1598 dortya1605 lordlike1605 overly1606 magnatical1608 stiff1608 surly-borne1609 high-sighted1610 lofty-minded1611 sublimed1611 patronizing1619 lording1629 sublimated1634 cavaliering1642 uncondescending1660 nose-in-the-air1673 sidy1673 fastuose1674 uncondescensive1681 condescending1707 stiff-rumped1728 fastidiose1730 cavalier1751 ogertful1754 pawky1809 supercilian1825 splendid1833 touch-me-not1852 pincé1858 high-stepping1867 eyeglassy1871 sniffy1871 cavalierly1876 snifty1889 Olympian1900 ritzy1920 mugwumpish1923 blasé1930 stiff-arsed1937 nose-high1939 1610 H. Broughton Reuelation Holy Apocalyps vi. 7 The Lyon-harted, the pacient ox, the wise man, the high sighted eagle. a1616 W. Shakespeare Julius Caesar (1623) ii. i. 117 Let high-sighted-Tyranny range on. View more context for this quotation 1780 T. Day Speech to Freeholders of Essex in C. J. Fox Speech on Reduction of Sinecure Places 22 High sighted tyranny hovers over the whole, and marks her victims by lot. 1830 J. C. Odiorne Opinions on Speculative Masonry 216 What appeared to be envious clamor, injustice, and persecution to all but the high sighted eye. 1968 L. Holofcener Before You go 5 While the city may attract and contain a few Those-in-Charge, High-Sighted individuals, most are followers with no careers, just jobs. 1984 Christian Sci. Monitor (Nexis) 30 Mar. 21 Shaker schools have long been accustomed to dealing with high-sighted students and parents whose careers and backgrounds made school involvement second nature. 2012 D. Saunders in L. de Sutter & K. McGee Deleuze & Law x. 187 By one-third distance, he is distressed that his high-sighted gaze is sighting nothing up there. high sign n. colloquial any of various gestures or signals (sometimes surreptitious) made with the hand held up, esp. one indicating that all is well or that the coast is clear. ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > [noun] > a gesture > surreptitious inkling1598 high sign1888 1888 Railroad Brakeman's Jrnl. July 312/1 Nesbit and old ‘Walkabout’, are registering their names and giving the high sign right enough, and both of them wear shoes now. 1896 Brotherhood Locomotive Firemen's Mag. Oct. 304/1 I proudly give the ‘high sign’, feeling certain that no competing or opposition line can offer the safety, comfort and protection afforded by yours. 1903 R. L. McCardell Conversat. Chorus Girl 111 When who should peek-a-boo in but my friend!.. I gave him the high sign, but he passed me up. 1946 P. G. Wodehouse Joy in Morning xxv. 229 As soon as he is in a melting mood, you give me the high sign, and I carry on from there. 1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xii. 72 He gave us the high sign with thumb touching forefinger. 2000 Oxf. Amer. May 117/1 Joel, from his director's chair, flashes me the high sign. high-sign v. transitive to give a high sign to (a person); also intransitive. ΘΚΠ society > communication > indication > gesturing or gesture > make gestures [verb (transitive)] > gesture to surreptitiously tip1749 high-sign1918 1918 Brotherhood of Locomotive Firemen & Enginemen's Mag. 1 Feb. 31/1 Five minutes before we high-signed, a couple of hours later, a gent with a broad expanse of waist-line wheezes up through the gangway. 1920 Red Polled Jrnl. 10 Nov. 19/1 We've got to high-sign them to watch their step..or they will be walking into the natives, who, by now, must have hemmed us in on all sides. 1962 ‘K. Orvis’ Damned & Destroyed xxv. 185 I high-signed him to follow. high society n. people who are fashionable, wealthy, and influential, regarded as forming a distinct group in a community. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > the common people > specific classes of common people > fashionable society > [noun] higheOE high life?a1518 towna1616 world1618 grand monde1673 society1693 beau monde1712 fine world1740 monde1765 tonc1770 high society1782 fashion1807 all the world1808 society1840 smart set1851 swelldom1854 Fifth Avenue1858 fashionabledom1859 haut monde1864 the big cheesea1910 higlif1911 haute Bohème1925 café society1937 jet set1949 beautiful people1950 1782 D. O'Bryen Def. Earl Shelburne 9 He esteems the ease and politeness inseparable from a man in the habits of high society, as sufficient, without resorting to any artificial means of creating notice, or impressing regard. 1796 Weekly Entertainer 25 July 69 The small allowance his father could afford him falling very short of the expences high society led him into. 1818 Brit. Rev. Feb. 52 It is difficult..to represent with accuracy any part of life with which we are not personally conversant; and Miss Edgeworth has, we believe, this advantage in drawing her portraitures of what is called high society. 1891 Law Times 91 21/2 It is ridiculous that grave disputes..should be kept waiting while the dirty linen of high society is..washed in public. 1920 D. Parker et al. (title) High society. Advice as to Social Campaigning,and Hints on the Management of Dowagers, Dinners, Debutantes, Dances,and the Thousand and One Diversions of Persons of Quality. 1971 ‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Doctor Bird xi. 155 The police..would spoil the leisurely high-society image. Dirty little men running over the Begum's nice holiday island. 2010 New Yorker 11 Oct. 16/3 Lee Hall's play depicts the group's formation.., neither patronizing its working-class heroes nor over-satirizing the high society that embraced them. high step n. (a) (in plural) a stepladder (frequently in a pair of high steps) (now rare); (b) a military step in which the feet and knees are raised high. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > equipment > ladder > [noun] > step-ladder pairc1450 steps1693 stand-ladder1712 stepladder1751 library stepsc1762 high step1776 trap-ladder1855 society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > marching > step > specific sidestep1757 slow step1763 quickstep1766 high step1776 lockstep1787 goose-step1806 balance-step1833 1776 London Rev. Eng. & Foreign Lit. Apr. 290 The shadow of a pair of high steps, projected on the several leaves of a folding screen. 1789 J. Christie Catal. Houshold Furnit. Duchess of Kingston 49 Two Venetian window blinds, a pair of high steps and 7 glass lamps. 1857 Daily Evening Bull. (San Francisco) 2 Mar. 1/2 The two companies then formed together, two by two, and with the music at their head, marched through the city. Their whitened appearance, together with the high step of the gallant captain..was highly amusing to the citizens. 1889 Infantry Drill i. 32 (heading) The High Step. 1894 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Choice of Evils II. viii. 199 He was exceedingly busy with hammer and nails, and the ‘high steps’, putting up fresh curtains. 1907 H. A. Jones Middleman ii. 47 A window over the bench: a pair of high steps just below the chintz curtain. 1969 Daily Tel. 10 Jan. (Colour Suppl.) 32/1 The music [of the Celts] is the wail of the bagpipe, played to the jig and the fling and the high-step whirl. 1996 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 17 Feb. 8 c The overture to Die Fledermaus lurched and braked in lieu of Viennese rubato betwixt waltz and high-step march. 2011 Virginian-Pilot (Norfolk, Va.) (Nexis) 12 May b1 Churchland High does corps style. High step is described as a high-energy style of marching, while corps is more about precision. high stool n. a tall stool.Formerly typically used by people doing clerical work. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > stool > [noun] > high high stool1576 stool1836 stand-rest1877 1576 G. Baker tr. C. Gesner Newe Jewell of Health iv. f. 215^v The truncheon or small blocke of woode, set on a high stoole, y^e apter to beare the Bucket, equall to the heade, and nose of the instrument placed. 1658 G. Atwell Faithfull Surveyour iii. 18 I'le carry nothing but an high stool a field, and with two sticks a cross I'le stand upon that in the midst of the field, and take the distances to every angle, and I'le measure three acres to your one. 1787 G. Colman Inkle & Yarico i. 16 What wou'd I give now, to be perch'd upon a high stool, with our brown desk, squeez'd into the pit of my stomach—scribbling away on an old parchment! 1825 H. Wilson Mem. III. 76 The Duchess of Beaufort..appears never so happy nor so comfortable as when he is perched upon a high stool by her side. 1892 C. M. Yonge That Stick I. xiii. 139 Whatever promise there may have been..must have been nipped upon the top of a high stool. 1935 G. Greene Eng. made Me i. 1 For half an hour she had sat on the same high stool, half turned from the counter. 2008 Time Out N.Y. 10 July 17/1 We settle onto high stools at Reiner's cozy Spanish ‘wind-down spot’, the candlelit Bar Jamón. high table n. and adj. (a) n. a table raised above the rest at a public dinner; spec. (in a university college) the table at which the head of house and fellows sit; (b) adj. erudite, donnish. ΘΚΠ society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > table > [noun] > dining table > high table high boardc1330 high tablec1400 c1400 (?a1300) Kyng Alisaunder (Laud) (1952) 1082 (MED) Forþ gooþ Alisaundre..Riȝth vnto þe heiȝe table. 1554–5 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. (1886) III. 363 ix yeardes of Ossenbrydge for a towell to the hye tabyll, iiijs. vjd. 1645 S. Rutherford Tryal & Triumph of Faith xx. 212 Here is a high table, and bread; and a by-board, or an after-table. 1711 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1889) III. 237 The Dean then went up to the Steps at the High-Table. 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. i. 15 No one feeds at the high table except the dons. 1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. I. 116 A dais in parquet-work for the high table. 1927 D. Heathcote Sweden xii. 205 The mulled claret for which the high table of St. John's College, Oxford, has become so famous. 1933 H. Allen Anthony Adverse III. viii. lxi. 1006 There was also the retable above the high table adorned with cascades of silver and crystal suns. 1995 N.Y. Times Bk. Rev. 15 Oct. 4/4 They have relied for far too long on the sort of high-table sneering represented in Mr. Clark's review. 2007 J. McCourt Now Voyagers v. 203 I have sat at High Table and dined off turbot Mornay. high tea n. British, Australian, and New Zealand a meal eaten in the late afternoon or early evening, typically consisting of a cooked dish, bread and butter, and tea.If a main meal in the evening, more commonly called tea (cf. tea n.¹ 4a), although in this case tea may not be served alongside the food. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > tea tea1738 high tea1787 tea and turn out1806 supper1818 tousy tea1835 meat tea1842 thé complet1856 low tea1883 thick tea1886 tea-supper1892 cream tea1964 1787 Blenheim Lodge II. xiii. 13 Just as we were at high tea, Doctor Shatford made his appearance. 1831 F. A. Kemble Rec. Girlhood 14 June (1878) III. 49 We did not return home till near nine, and so, instead of dinner, all sat down to high tea. 1856 E. G. K. Browne Hist. Tractarian Movement (ed. 2) 251 At one of the ‘High Teas’ of S. Barnabas. 1884 Girl's Own Paper May 427/2 For people who are not in the habit of giving dinner-parties..high tea is a capital institution. 1922 W. S. Maugham On Chinese Screen xlix. 193 He thought of the high tea to which he sat down when he came home from school.., a slice of cold meat, a great deal of bread and butter and plenty of milk in his tea. 1957 London Mag. Nov. 53 We ate high-tea made of fresh salmon, or mushrooms we'd risen at dawn to gather. 2009 J. Struthers Red Sky at Night 171 High tea..was an amalgam of afternoon tea and an evening meal. high-tempered adj. †(a) of an elevated or superior character or nature (obsolete rare); (b) (of a person) irascible, quick to anger; hot-headed. ΚΠ 1599 A. Gibson in tr. A. de Pontaymeri Womans Woorth sig. A8 Those fierse spirits of high temperd wit, That drinke the dewe of heauen continually: They could haue graced you with termes more fit. 1767 Let. to Marquis of Granby 15 Some who enter into the Army, soon discover that they possess not enough of this high-tempered Spirit to qualify them for the military Character. 1828 Vermont Watchman & State Gaz. 9 Dec. She became angry, said he cared nothing about her, &c. She was a high tempered woman. a1927 A. J. Beveridge A. Lincoln (1928) I. ix. 507 Mrs. Lincoln was irritable and high tempered. Her loud shrill voice could be heard across the street. 2011 L. Apple Family Legacy of H. Clay i. 10 The community knew him as a high-tempered street brawler and bowie-knife fighter. high-tensile adj. having a high tensile strength. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > constitution of matter > strength > [adjective] > specific high-tensile1884 1884 Amer. Engineer 1 Aug. 41/1 As a rule low tensile is preferred to high tensile in boiler steel. 1937 Archit. Rev. 81 268 (caption) A welded tubular bus frame seat, utilizing the strength of high-tensile alloy tube. 2001 Daily Tel. (Austral.) (Nexis) 13 Jan. h15 With high-tensile steel..it's stronger than any other steel-framed house on the market. high-test adj. of high quality, purity, or strength; meeting very high standards. ΚΠ 1869 Leeds Mercury 17 Dec. 2/3 Business has been done in high test oil at 1s. 8½d., and in standard white 1s. 8½d. 1911 Jrnl. Amer. Soc. Mech. Engineers Dec. 27 (advt.) Made from high-test steel bars and warranted fully as the best projecting screw made. 1942 Fortune Nov. 205/1 These convert ordinary crudes into high-test gas that needs a much smaller addition of alkylates to raise it to 100 octane. 2007 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 25 Nov. i. 35/2 He was a coffee obsessive partial to high-test espresso. high-ticket adj. colloquial (originally U.S.) (of consumer goods, merchandise, etc.) highly priced or whose purchase would constitute a major expense; chiefly in high-ticket item; cf. big ticket n. (b) at big adj. and adv. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1943 D. L. Cohn Love in Amer. iv. 113 If household machinery is to be bought, he [sc. the husband] may be called in as counsel because..the purchase of ‘high-ticket’ merchandise causes the family budget to run a high fever. 1946 Nation's Business Jan. 7/3 The catalog houses, of course, suffered severe setback [sic] when the war wiped out hard goods which were their high ticket items. 1986 Billboard 27 Dec. 90/1 Customers are wrapping up high-ticket purchases in order to take advantage of sales tax deductions before the new tax law takes effect. 2008 Bournemouth Echo (Nexis) 28 Feb. Retailers..that sell high ticket items like furniture and carpets are worst hit because the consumer is holding back from spending large amounts of cash. high-velocity adj. characterized by, involving, or producing a high speed (cf. high-speed adj.); spec. (of a gun) capable of discharging a projectile with great force and speed; (of a projectile) discharged in this way. ΘΚΠ society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > [adjective] > others stocked1497 breeched1575 chambered1611 tower-proof1673 triggerless18.. hair-triggered1806 vizyless1828 high-velocity1854 sighted1859 calibred1887 recoilless1888 sham-damn1895 silenced1909 silencered1935 multicalibre1983 society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of bullet or shell armour-piercinga1686 rifled1797 high-velocity1854 smooth-bore1859 subcalibre1863 whistling1864 full-metal-jacketed1896 full-metal-jacket1898 pipsqueak1916 1854 Mechanics' Mag. 15 Apr. 337 Whitelaw's patent high-velocity steam-engines for driving screw-propellers. 1882 Constr. Vessels of War (U.S. House of Representatives, 47th Congr., 1st Sess.) App. 226 Suppose, then, we should be unable to produce these high-velocity guns. 1934 Discovery June 155/2 The jet of high-velocity air is about 8 feet across. 2001 R. Nicoll White Male Heart (2002) 55 The reverberating crash of the rifle spread out across the hill, an instantaneous whine and the sound of a high-velocity bullet hitting a peatbank. high-vis adj. [shortened < high-visibility adj.] colloquial = high-visibility adj. (a).In forms hi-viz and hi-vis, a proprietary name for a number of products in various fields. ΚΠ 1959 Flying Mag. Apr. 86 (advt.) Hi-Viz^® ‘Safety Sight’ Fluorescent Aircraft Paint..excellent for runways and boundary markers, field ground markings and maintenance trucks, hangars, wind tees and air-markers.] 1979 Brit. Columbia Lumberman Jan. 68/2 I have seen in both B.C. and Ontario..the popular use of protective clothing, ear and eye protection, safety shoes and all manner of bright high vis clothing. 1991 Sky Warriors 1 ii. 25/2 Painted in its usual ‘high-vis’ red and white scheme, it stood with four others of the type on the hardstanding. 2007 J. Turner Brainstorm i. 4 Security guards, in their yellow high-vis jerkins, were hired to pace the territory. high-visibility adj. (a) designating something which is very bright or highly visible; spec. designating fluorescent or reflective outer clothing worn as a safety measure; (b) that attracts a high amount of public attention; very prominent. ΚΠ 1919 Theatre Mag. Feb. 121/1 De Mille's newest Artcraft production, ‘Don't Change Your Husband’, to adorn which these high visibility bathing costumes were designed. 1926 City Manager Mag. Mar. 199 (advt.) Last year 143 cities used High Visibility Yellow on their streets. 1970 N.Y. Times 5 June 1 A group of top party leaders in Congress who were aware of discussions with Mr. Shriver about a new, high-visibility national campaign assignment for him. 1977 Amer. Motorcyclist May 26/1 A high-visibility vest complete with AMA insignia. 1992 B. Gill Death of Love i. 21 Power..had even been mentioned as a candidate for president, which under the Irish constitution was a largely ceremonial but high-visibility post. 2011 Independent 19 Aug. (Viewspaper section) 9/3 In recent correspondence about cyclists' safety and helmets, there has been no mention of wearing high-visibility clothing. high-wage adj. earning a large wage; well paid. ΚΠ 1878 Jrnl. Soc. Arts 26 506/1 The majority of the houses of the working community, even of a steady, high-wage class, are without it [sc. a porch] entirely. 1956 J. M. Mogey Family & Neighbourhood 5 Before 1920 Oxford had not been a high-wage town. 1964 S. M. Miller in I. L. Horowitz New Sociol. 294 The high-wage..occupations. 2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 22 Oct. 43/3 If contingent employment is becoming the norm..among the ‘creative class’ of high-wage professionals..what are the prospects for sustainable livelihoods? high warp n. Weaving (now historical) (esp. in the weaving of tapestry) warp that is vertical rather than horizontal; a method of weaving employing a vertical warp; frequently attributive; contrasted with low warp n. at low adj. and n.² Compounds 3. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [adjective] > other strait1439 flocked1607 high warp1728 shot1763 wattled1865 double-face1873 starey1884 loopy1902 wrung1902 multi-ply1926 the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [adjective] > weaving > types of high warp1728 plain-weave1888 waffle1930 folk weave1938 leno1964 the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [adjective] > weaving > types of loom high warp1728 webless1820 overpick1869 shuttleless1888 needleloom1933 1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Tapestry This high Warp Tapistry goes on much more slowly than the low Warp. 1750 Wonders Nature & Art I. 169 The Loom for Tapestry of the high Warp consists of four principal Pieces. 1927 H. Norris Costume & Fashion II. iii. 140 A method of weaving with a high warp was adopted about 1280 in the manufacture of tapestry. 2004 Artichoke Fall 24/2 In fragment 9, Kidd has chosen to pay tribute to her own textile tradition of high-warp tapestry as it appeared in Renaissance verdures during the 16th century. high-wheeler n. now historical (a) any vehicle with particularly large or tall wheels; (b) spec. a bicycle with a tall front wheel and a small rear one; = high bicycle n., high wheel n. 2, penny farthing n. ΘΚΠ society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicle propelled by feet > [noun] > cycle > bicycle > early type of > with one large and one small wheel high-wheeler1866 high bicycle1874 high wheel1876 ordinary1888 penny farthing1891 1866 ‘A. Locker’ Sweet Seventeen (ed. 2) xiii. 156 I fancied it might be a West-End order. West-End orders frequently come in a high-wheeler [sc. a carriage]. 1891 Cycling 14 Mar. 128/1 A friend of his who had commenced his riding career on a Safety had just ordered a high wheeler. 1894 Evening Star (Washington, D.C.) 22 Dec. 23/6 All the locomotives of that time ran to tall wheels... I would like to see one of those high-wheelers given a trial these days. 1895 N.Y. Times 15 Apr. 6/2 The variety of out-of-date mounts was again remarkable. The old high wheelers were in evidence, and so was the tricycle. 1910 Gas Engine Mar. 147/1 As at all Chicago [automobile] shows, there are a number of newer Western cars which make their appearance, and..the high-wheeler is not seen to any great extent. 2002 Springfield (Mass.) Libr. & Museums Q. Spring 2/2 The 1877 Weston bicycle, one of the first highwheelers imported into the United States, helped spawn a small but vigorous cycling community. high wine n. wine or other alcoholic drink containing a high percentage of alcohol. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > types of wine > [noun] > strong wine high wine?c1430 nit1699 ?c1430Heiȝe wynes [see sense A. 12b]. 1542 A. Borde Compend. Regyment Helth x. sig. F.i^v Hyghe wynes as malmyse maye be kepe longe. 1649 Bp. J. Taylor Great Exemplar i. 125 He, that is used to drink high wines, is sick if he hath not his proportion to what degree soever his custome hath brought his appetite. 1769 E. Bancroft Ess. Nat. Hist. Guiana ii. 184 Put the Bird, which is to be preserved, in a proper vessel, and cover him with High Wines, or the first Running of the Distillation of Rum. 1871 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1869–70 8 143 The necessity would still exist for converting..corn into beef and pork and highwines. 1874 Galveston (Texas) Daily News 28 July Jamaica and St. Croix rum is made of double refined highwines, French coloring..alum, aloes, and prune juice. 1958 J. Carew Black Midas vi. 112 They drank highwine and bush rum from half-pint tumblers. 1994 Beaver Dec. 44/1 High wine is usually over-proof spirits mixed with juice or wine. high wire n. and adj. (a) n. a high tightrope; (figurative) an activity or situation requiring great skill or judgement; (b) designating an act or person using a high wire or resembling such an act. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > acrobatic performance > [noun] > rope-walking or dancing > rope or wire ropeeOE low rope?c1635 slack-rope1749 slack wire1753 tightrope1801 blondin1863 high wire1863 slackline2002 1863 Christian Cabinet 1 July 309/1 On Thursday evening a gymnast, named Valerio, was engaged in walking along a high wire rope at the Cremorne Gardens, when it gave way and he fell heavily to the ground. 1896 Brotherhood of Locomotive Engineers Monthly Jrnl. June 520/2 Bro. John W. Hardy..has a son, Master James C. Hardy, who is distinguished as the world's youngest high-wire artist. 1907 Billboard 6 July 13/4 Will H. Hill, in his new and original high-wire act. 1962 Listener 10 May 822/3 The bulk of the poems go all out for intellectual sophistication... He is not at his ease on the intellectual high wire. 1988 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator 19 Apr. a11/1 A trapeze artist..wouldn't quit her high-wire act despite the pleading of her family. 2009 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 26 Feb. 42/3 It was a high-wire strategy, for Obama, this invocation of our collective human messiness. high yellow n. and adj. (also high yalla, high yaller, high yella) originally and chiefly U.S. (now usu. considered offensive) (a) n. a black or mixed-race person having light brown skin; (b) adj. of, relating, to, or designating such a person. ΘΚΠ the world > people > ethnicities > division of mankind by physical characteristics > mixed race > [noun] > person mongrel1542 of (the) half blood1697 half-caste1758 half-breed1760 lip-lap1798 quarter-breed1821 half-blood1826 half-and-half1827 quarter-blood1827 quarter-caste1859 mixed blooda1862 brown1862 miscegen1864 yellowbelly1867 breed1870 redbone1890 miscegenate1898 high yellow1910 samba1958 lightie1991 1910 Chicago Defender 17 Sept. 3/2 The P.O. Dude..who is crazy about a certain piano player (a high yellow) who lives on Dearborn. 1913 Sat. Evening Post 8 Nov. 10/1 He traded fer a straw hat an' commenced runnin' wid chocolate-browns. Huh! Nothin' won't suit Virgil now 'cep' de high yallers. 1937 W. Lewis Blasting & Bombardiering iv. viii. 241 At present I should be living in a villa just outside Paris with a Japanese cook and a Zulu butler, with three highyaller kids getting ready to go to Eton. 1947 ‘N. Shute’ Chequer Board iii. 61 [He] had played and danced with various mulatto and ‘high yaller’ girls back home in Nashville. 1969 ‘J. Morris’ Fever Grass xviii. 158 The big high yellow nodded at him with impersonal cordiality. 1990 J. C. Oates Because it is Bitter ii. vii. 169 There are nine white cheerleaders on the varsity squad, all so pretty, and one high yalla..first time in school history that a nonwhite girl has been so honored. 2005 M. M. Frisby Wifebeater xi. 72 Where the hell you hear that from?.. I'm high yellow to the core baby but you can see that I'm handling. high-yield adj. = high-yielding adj.; spec. designating a nuclear weapon with a high explosive force. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > creation > [adjective] > creating, fashioning, shaping, or forming > producing > high-yield superfetatious1668 high-yield1912 large-yield1921 1912 Lippincott's Monthly Mag. Oct. 622 (title) High-yield municipal bonds. 1929 Bull. Oregon State Agric. College Exper. Station No. 245. 6 Yield per acre is a dominant factor in cost, accounting for a difference of approximately 4c per pound between the low-yield and high-yield groups. 1957 Wall St. Jrnl. 25 Jan. 1/3 The announcement added high-yield devices (hydrogen bombs) are never tested in Nevada. 2006 Foreign Affairs Mar. 45 The air force..is significantly improving its remaining ICBMs by installing the MX's high-yield warheads. 2011 Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) (Nexis) 23 Jan. Technology used to develop high yield rice varieties since the green revolution has now approached saturation point. high-yielding adj. producing a good yield; highly productive. ΚΠ 1856 Glasgow Herald 25 Apr. 5/5 In flax there has been little change during the past week; good high yielding qualities maintain their value. 1935 Economist 26 Jan. 212/2 Namoe Tongan Rubber Estates in Sumatra..have just been planted with selected high-yielding clones. 1999 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 5 Jan. (Business & Finance section) 3/6 High yielding treasury bills. 2012 Independent 15 Oct. 49/1 Foreign expats have always been a high-yielding target for HMRC. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online December 2022). highv. Brit. /hʌɪ/, U.S. /haɪ/ Forms: Old English geheed (past participle, in transcript of lost MS), Old English gehigde (past participle, plural), Old English hean, Old English hyn, late Old English geheged (past participle), early Middle English ȝeheȝod (past participle), early Middle English hæhȝe (south-west midlands), early Middle English hæie (south-west midlands), early Middle English heche, early Middle English hege, early Middle English heȝhenn ( Ormulum), early Middle English hehe, early Middle English hehȝi (south-western), early Middle English hehi (south-west midlands), early Middle English heiȝi (south-east midlands), Middle English heden (plural past indicative), Middle English heȝe, Middle English heȝi (southern), Middle English hei, Middle English heie, Middle English heiȝe, Middle English heþ (3rd singular present indicative), Middle English heyhid (past participle), Middle English hiȝe, Middle English hihe, Middle English hye, Middle English hyȝe, Middle English hyghe, Middle English–1500s hegh, Middle English–1500s heghe, Middle English–1500s hey, Middle English–1500s hie, Middle English–1500s highe, 1500s–1600s 1900s– high; Scottish pre-1700 he, pre-1700 hee, pre-1700 heich, pre-1700 hey, pre-1700 hie, 1700s height (past participle), 1700s high. N.E.D. (1898) also records a form Middle English high. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian heia , Old Dutch -hōen (in irhōen to raise, to exalt; Middle Dutch hōgen , Dutch hoogen ), Middle Low German hȫgen to raise, to exalt, Old High German hōhen to exalt (Middle High German hœhen to raise, to exalt, German höhen to raise, now rare), Gothic hauhjan to exalt, all weak Class I verbs < the Germanic base of high adj. (see note). Compare (with a variant of the same base: see high adj.) Old Swedish höghia to raise, to exalt (Swedish höja), Danish høghæ (Danish regional høje to raise).In Old English there are probably two transitive verbs derived from the Germanic base of high adj., although each is so rare that the attested forms are difficult to analyse. Both show intervocalic loss of stem-final h : (i) a weak Class II contracted verb hēan ; and (ii) a weak Class I contracted verb (with i-mutation of the stem vowel due to the suffix), which appears as late West Saxon hȳn (compare also Mercian (prefixed) -hēst , -hēþ , respectively 2nd and 3rd singular present indicative). At least some forms of the weak Class I verb probably had a stem-final semivowel (West Saxon hīeg- ; perhaps reflected in late West Saxon gehīgde* , inflected past participle), although the precise development is uncertain and disputed. With the equivalent Mercian stem form hēg- compare Middle English heie* (which is already attested in the ‘AB language’ of the south-west midlands, although compare also Middle English hei , form of high adj.). This postulated Mercian form would have been homonymous with an entirely different weak Class I verb, Old English hēgan (usually prefixed as gehēgan ) to perform, to hold (a meeting), to achieve, cognate with Old Icelandic heyja to perform, to hold (a meeting); further etymology uncertain. It has been suggested that this verb, which does not otherwise survive into Middle English, merged with the reflexes of the Old English derivatives of the base of high adj., influencing the forms and to a lesser degree also the sense of the verb in Middle English; see further S. R. T. O. d'Ardenne Þe Liflade ant te Passiun of Seinte Iuliene (1961) 158–9. In connection with this assumed merger, it is potentially relevant that the only attestation of unprefixed hēgan in Old English, in a difficult and disputed passage of verse, has sometimes been interpreted as showing the sense ‘to exalt, to worship’ (compare sense 1a) rather than ‘to perform’:OE Daniel 207 Hie þære geþeahte wæron, hæftas hearan, in þisse hean byrig, þa þis hegan ne willað, ne þysne wig wurðigean. Already from late Old English onwards, however, the forms of high v. clearly begin to be strongly influenced by those of high adj. (compare the past participle form gehēged , and see discussion at high adj. and n.²). This is also true of the senses of the word, and in part, especially in late or intransitive uses (compare sense 2b), the verb is probably re-formed from the adjective. In Old English prefixed forms of the weak Class I verb are also attested, as gehēð (he) raises up, exalts (compare y- prefix), uphēst (you) lift up (compare up- prefix). 1. a. transitive. To exalt, extol; to elevate to heaven; to make holier. Also in figurative contexts. Now archaic and rare. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > exaltation or glorification > exalt or glorify [verb (transitive)] heavec825 higheOE brightenOE clarifya1340 glorifya1340 enhancec1374 stellifyc1384 biga1400 exalt?a1400 raisea1400 shrinea1400 to bear up?a1425 enhighc1440 erect?a1475 assumec1503 amount1523 dignifya1530 to set up1535 extol1545 enthronize1547 augment1567 sublimate?1567 sublime1568 assumptc1571 begoda1576 royalize1589 suscitate1598 swell1601 consecrate1605 realize1611 reara1616 sphere1615 ingreata1620 superexalta1626 soara1627 ascend1628 rise1628 embroider1629 apotheose1632 grandize1640 engreaten1641 engrandizea1652 mount1651 intronificate1653 magnificent1656 superposit1661 grandify1665 heroify1677 apotheosize1695 enthrone1699 aggrandize1702 pantheonize1801 hoist1814 princify1847 queen1880 heroize1887 eOE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Tanner) ii. iv. 106 Laurentius..ongon fromlice þa staðolas þære cyrican..ecan & [to] forðspownisse gedefre heannisse..mid singalum bysenum arfæstre wyrcnesse he ongon hean [OE Corpus Cambr. hyn] & miclian. OE Order of World 42 Þa [gesceafte] nu in þam þream þurh þeodnes hond heaþ ond hebbaþ þone halge [read halgan] blæd. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 57 (MED) Þe holie man fasteð forto hegen his sete on heuene, and to eken his holinesse. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 25 Bledsed be þi name on us swo þat we on alle ure þanke þe heien. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7410 Churichen we scullen hæhȝen [c1300 Otho hehȝi] & hæðene-scipe hatien. c1350 (a1333) William of Shoreham Poems (1902) 51 Þet no god hap ne heȝi hyne, Ne non harm hyne don deste In mode. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 4125 (MED) He sal heghe himself to be Aboven þe haly trinite. c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 78 Crie, cese not, hie þi voyce as a troump, and schew to my peple þer synnis. 1494 W. Hilton Scala Perfeccionis (de Worde) i. xviii. sig. ci^v Who so hieth himself, he shalbe lowed, and who so lowyth himself, he shalbe hyed. 1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Surueyeng xi. f. 21 Highe no man for no hate. c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. l. 3452 Of riches, rentis and of citeis,..Quhair-throw that I sa heyit is. 1935 E. R. Eddison Mistress xviii. 366 But Your choice maketh good: higheth the thing You choose. †b. intransitive. To be exalted; to rise towards heaven, become holier. Obsolete. ΚΠ c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6016 God man riseþþ aȝȝ upp warrd..& heȝheþþ aȝȝ. Biforenn godess ehne. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 59 As ȝe wulleð þet ha [þouhtes] climben & hechentowart heouene. c1440 in C. Horstmann Yorkshire Writers (1895) I. 295 Fra þe erthe to þe ayere to be-halde with a meke herte heghand one heghte, clymbande to þe clouddes. a1500 (?a1400) Stanzaic Life of Christ (Harl. 2250) (1926) l. 10346 Quyll he brennes in monnes mynde Tho hert is towarde heuen hyghyng. 2. †a. transitive. To make high or higher in position or degree; to raise, lift up. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > make to go up or cause to rise [verb (transitive)] > raise heave971 hevenOE onheaveOE rearOE highOE arearc1175 to set above (also aloft, high, on high)c1275 upbraidc1275 to set upc1290 lifta1300 upheavea1300 upraisea1300 upreara1300 enhancec1300 araise1303 hance1303 uplifta1340 lift1362 raisec1384 upbear1390 uphancec1390 advancea1393 haut?a1400 to put upa1400 verec1400 hainc1440 inhigh1483 elevate1497 uphigh1513 alifta1522 height1530 heighten1530 exalt1535 extol1549 sublevate1559 rouse?1567 attol1578 elate1578 vaunce1582 dight1590 higher1592 tower1596 to fetch up1612 relevate1620 screwa1625 transcend1635 stilt1649 allevate1696 stiltify1860 OE Aldhelm Glosses (Royal 5 E.xi) in A. S. Napier Old Eng. Glosses (1900) 168/1 [Turrem eidem minaci proceritate in edito] porrectam, gehydne. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9204 Nu sket shall illc an dale beon All heȝhedd upp. & filledd. a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. xxix^v Syluer..was hyghed to xl. d. an vunce. 1539–41 MS Accts. Masters of Wks. VII. f. 24, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Heich To vj men lauborand & lachand the listis..thris, & vther thris heichand the samyn. 1632 in L. B. Taylor Aberdeen Council Lett. (1942) I. 358 To have the..silver money heichit to the proportion of the golden moneyis. 1684 in A. Jervise Mem. Angus & Mearns (1885) II. 299 To Alexr Adam measson to hie the stons for the use of the croce. 1759 in Aberdeen Jrnl. Notes & Queries (1911) 2 252 Therefor he thought it proper, the fore part thereof should be height. b. intransitive. To become high or higher in position or degree; to rise, mount up, ascend. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > rise or go up [verb (intransitive)] styc825 astyc950 ariseOE upstyOE to step upOE upcomec1000 to come upOE to go upOE upwendc1200 runge?c1225 amountc1275 upgoa1325 heavec1325 uparise1340 ascend1382 higha1393 lifta1400 risea1400 skilla1400 uprisea1400 raisec1400 rearc1400 surmount1430 to get upc1450 transcenda1513 springa1525 upmounta1560 assurge?1567 hove1590 surgea1591 tower1618 hoist1647 upheave1649 to draw up1672 spire1680 insurrect1694 soar1697 upsoar1726 uprear1828 higher1889 a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) viii. l. 587 Now it hiheth, now it loweth, Now stant upriht, now overthroweth. a1584 S. Borough in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) ii. 314 It..hieth..foure fadome water. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. xviii. xviii The river Nilus higheth apace untill he be risen to his ful heigth. 1633 T. James Strange Voy. 35 The tydes doe high about some 6 Foot. 1966 D. J. Crowley I could talk Old-story Good 67 High, tide, high! 1972 Field & Stream Mar. 144 Garrigus missed a snow goose highing in the wind, then instantly corrected and centered the bird stone dead. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). highadv. Brit. /hʌɪ/, U.S. /haɪ/ Forms: Old English hea, Old English heage, Old English heah, Old English–early Middle English heh, early Middle English eȝe, early Middle English hæȝe (south-west midlands), early Middle English hæhȝe (south-west midlands), early Middle English heaȝe, early Middle English hecȝe, early Middle English heg, early Middle English heȝen (south-west midlands), early Middle English heȝhe, early Middle English hehe, Middle English hay, Middle English hech, Middle English hee, Middle English heȝe, Middle English hei, Middle English heie, Middle English heiȝ, Middle English heiȝe, Middle English heigh, Middle English hey, Middle English heye, Middle English heyȝe, Middle English heygh, Middle English heyghe, Middle English hȝe, Middle English hiȝ, Middle English hiȝe, Middle English hihe, Middle English hy, Middle English hye, Middle English hyȝ, Middle English hyȝe, Middle English hygh, Middle English hyghe, Middle English hyhe, Middle English–1600s hie, Middle English– high, 1800s– 'igh (regional and nonstandard), 1900s– igh (regional and nonstandard); Scottish pre-1700 he, pre-1700 hech, pre-1700 hee, pre-1700 heiche, pre-1700 hey, pre-1700 heych, pre-1700 hiegh, pre-1700 hye, pre-1700 1700s–1800s hie, pre-1700 1800s heigh, pre-1700 1800s– heich, 1700s–1800s hich, 1700s– high, 1800s haigh, 1900s– heech (north-eastern). See also higher adj., adv., and n.¹ and highest adj., n., and adv. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian hāge , Old Dutch hō , Old Saxon hōho , Old High German hōho (Middle High German hōhe ) < the Germanic base of high adj.In the Old English forms heah, heh already formally identical with uninflected high adj. and probably originally representing the neuter accusative singular of high adj. or its Germanic base; in the form heage apparently showing the regular adverbial ending -e (and in the form hea with contraction: compare discussion at high adj.). The subsequent form history runs parallel to that of high adj. (see discussion at that entry). For coverage of the comparative and superlative forms, see higher adv. and highest adv. Where important for the history of a particular use, quotations for the comparative higher are included at this entry. I. Senses corresponding to high adj. I. 1. a. To or into a high place, position, or point; so as to be high or tall. ΘΚΠ the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb] upc888 highOE highlyOE thereupc1000 anovenOE overOE boveOE on, upon (the) lofta1100 aloftc1175 bibufennc1175 on higha1200 abovec1225 anovenonc1300 in heighta1340 on or upon height1340 ahighc1350 outh1389 over loftc1430 aheight1477 supernally1596 lofty-like1604 sublimely1625 way up1843 thereabove1891 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > [adverb] > to a great or considerable height highOE heaven-high?1518 loftily1548 tower-wise1581 a-cock-hye1598 tally1611 eminently1620 spirally1806 sky-high1818 toweringly1822 OE Phoenix 521 Þonne bryne stigeð heah to heofonum. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xx. 341 Beheald þas sunnan hu heage heo astihð. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 6057 Forr ærn maȝȝ fleȝhenn i þe lifft full heȝhe towarrd heoffne. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 105 & þach hafleon hechȝe. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3380 He and aaron and hur ben gon Heg up to a dune. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) i. l. 626 (MED) [The sun] had his chare whirled vp so hyȝ..Þat he had made in þe crabbis hede His mansioun. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxix The ryuer rose so high that yt ouerflowed all the countrey. 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Myrroure for Magistrates Glendower i The fall of such as clymbe to hye. c1600 (?c1395) Pierce Ploughman's Crede (Trin. Cambr. R.3.15) (1873) l. 494 Wo worþe ȝou, wyȝtes..Þat þe toumbes of profetes tildeþ vp heiȝe! 1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. iv. 109 O sad strapado of the soul, to be hoised up so high, and then cast down suddenly so low. 1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Vibrissæ, are the Hairs which grow in the Nostrils: They..stop any Filth from ascending too high up into the Nostrils. 1752 S. Foote Taste i. 5 How high did your Genius soar? 1836 Dublin Univ. Mag. May 593/2 ‘Oh, pile the beacon high!’ she cried, heaping on the dry fuel. 1886 Student's Jrnl. Mar. 3/1 The great danger was that some day the hundreds of pounds of pressure would tear this casing out and blow it high in the air. 1926 J. Devanny Butcher Shop i. 11 He always stood awhile beside the classers' benches to glory in the amber piles reaching high. 1961 F. C. Avis Sportsman's Gloss. 111/2 Beamer, a ball aimed high by the bowler, often to the height of the batsman's head. 2006 New Yorker 12 June 80/1 I'd climb high above the coastline and fly through lazy loops and slow rolls. b. In a high position; at a high altitude; far up, aloft.Often overlapping with or difficult to distinguish from the adjective used as the complement of a verb; cf. high adj. 2a. ΚΠ OE Phoenix 641 Þeah he on eorþan her þurh cildes had cenned wære.., hwæþre his meahta sped heah ofer heofonum halig wunade. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 146 Þa beseah Dioclitianus..to ðam halgan were þe ðær swa heage stod. c1225 (?OE) Soul's Addr. to Body (Worcester) (Fragm. G) l. 40 Feire þu were imerked heie on þine heafde [mid þ]en holie ele. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 244 (MED) Whanne he lieþ in his bed his heed mote lie hiȝe. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 2086 (MED) He sittes wit drightin hei o loft. 1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) x. l. 302 To god a vow I mak beforn..to hyng the heych to-morn. c1500 Melusine (1895) xxiv. 168–9 Thenne made the captayn fyre to be putte high vpon the garde for manere of token. 1587 J. Higgins Mirour for Magistrates (new ed.) Bladud xxiii Fly not so high for feare you fall so lowe. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. i. 26 Scaffolds born up twelue foot high from the ground. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 1 High on a Throne of Royal State..Satan exalted sat. View more context for this quotation ?a1775 W. Bartram Trav. Georgia & Florida in Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. (1943) 33 153/1 They are as big bodied as a hen Turkey..the eyes large & placed high on the head. 1803 Battle of Otterbourne in W. Scott Minstrelsy Sc. Border (ed. 2) I. 37 They lighted high on Otterbourne, And threw their pallions down. 1813 J. Hogg Queen's Wake ii. xiii. 185 They seated her high on a purple sward. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 382 A gun is said to be laid high when too much elevated. 1883 A. Roberts Gossipping Guide Wales p. xxxviii/1 The ice flowed high across the ridge and escaped down Cwm-dyli into Nant Gwynant. 1927 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Magic Mountain I. v. 417 He held the ladle high and let the sweet arrack punch run..into the glasses they held towards him. 1967 M. Craven I heard Owl call my Name xvi. 102 He knew the black brants that fed late on the eel grass of Izemberg Bay, passing high over the village. 2000 S. M. Warsh To die in Spring xxii. 194 The van's headlights were bobbing high off the ground and glared into her mirror. c. Esp. with reference to the movement or gait of a horse: with the feet lifted relatively high above the ground. Cf. low adv. 1c. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > horse defined by speed or gait > [adverb] > with big or high steps high?1611 large1642 ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xxiii. 318 Tydides was at hand; His horse ranne high, glanc't on the way, and vp they tost the sand. 1686 London Gaz. No. 2164/4 Trots well, but gallops somewhat high. 1705 R. Steele Tender Husband iii. 33 You're so gay—and dance so very high. 1771 R. Berenger tr. Xenophon Treat. Horsemanship x, in Hist. & Art Horsemanship I. 260 When he is at liberty in a pasture, and meets with other horses, and especially Mares, he..trots high and stately. 1834 Monthly Rev. Feb. 190 Lady Wroughton was..mounted on a milk-white Arab horse, which cantered high and short. 1889 B. Harte Cressy iv. 85 The figure of Uncle Ben was already indistinct among the leaves, but from the motion of his shoulders he seemed to be still stepping high and softly. 1916 R. Jeffers Californians 97 Of the two horses one was white... So tall he was, and trotted high. a1965 S. Jackson Nightmare in L. J. Hyman & S. H. Steward Just Ordinary Day (1996) i. 44 Twelve drum majorettes..marched six abreast down the street, stepping high and flinging their batons into the air. 2011 R. Clements Revenger vii. 47 It was drawn by four white stallions, all proudly harnessed with feathers and shields, their forelegs trotting high and in time. d. Far up towards the source (of a river).Sometimes difficult to distinguish from sense 1b. ΚΠ 1765 D. Fenning et al. New Syst. Geogr. (new ed.) II. 493/2 The tide flows so high up the Seine, that vessels of above two hundred tons burthen can come up hither. 1815 Niles' Weekly Reg. 2 Sept. 29/1 It will probably be the last of August before Mr. G. Kennedy arrives with the Indians high upon the Missouri and Mississippi. 1881 G. F. Swain Rep. Water-power Southern Atlantic Water-shed 77 It is hoped to secure 9 feet of water as high as Smith's Mills, 46 miles from the mouth. 1994 New Yorker 2 May 80/3 Quehueriono is hidden in dense forest high on the crystal-clear Shiripuno River. 2. In or into a high latitude on the earth's surface; far from the equator. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > geodetic references > [adverb] > latitude downwarda1387 downwards1577 high1662 aloft1805 latitudinally1853 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 10 in Voy. & Trav. Ambassadors They put the Caspian Sea too high, and consequently allow Persia a greater breadth from North to South, than it really hath. 1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 13 Having been..as high as the Cape of Good Hope. 1784 in J. Cook & J. King Voy. Pacific II. iv. vi. 396 We had traced it [sc. the river Turnagain] as high as the latitude of 61° 30'. 1837 R. Mudie Spring iv. 76 The land in the northern hemisphere..ranges high into the polar latitudes. 1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. iv. 30 Our expedition met it as high as Storoë Island, in latitude 71°. 1908 E. J. Chambers Great Mackenzie Basin i. 21 The grape..has been found growing wild as high as latitude 51° in the Northwest. 2006 A. Steffen et al. Worldchanging (2008) 526/1 In 1996, John Tarduno and his Paleomagnetic Research Group stumbled across a unique fossil find high above the Arctic Circle. II. Senses corresponding to high adj. II. 3. †a. In a proud or haughty manner; overbearingly; presumptuously. Also: with indignation or anger. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > emotion > pride > [adverb] sideOE highOE proudlyOE proudc1384 moodilyc1400 highlya1425 orgulousa1470 strutlyc1480 orgulouslya1500 loftily1548 stoutlya1554 state1579 garishly1593 pridefullya1600 aloft1613 great1625 pridinglya1677 Olympically1839 the mind > emotion > anger > indignation or resentment > [adverb] highOE unworthilyc1384 highlya1425 unkindly1550 offensively1589 stomachously1593 stomachfully1611 resentingly1698 resentfully1744 huffishly1755 indignantlya1783 offendedly1804 huffily1860 snarlingly1862 huffingly1864 grudgefully1882 injuredly1886 miffily1958 miffishly1968 the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > unintelligibility > depth, obscurity > [adverb] deeplyc888 highOE darkOE dimly?c1225 darklyc1350 mistilya1382 murklya1400 subtlya1500 obscurelya1527 confuselya1530 diffuselyc1530 confusedly?1531 diffusedly1567 difficultly1568 indistinctly1580 enigmatically1590 perplexedly1603 subtilely1605 abstrusely1611 cloudily1651 oracularly1654 perplexly1670 reclusely1673 irrecognizably1841 Pickwickianly1866 delphically1927 OE Daniel 597 Ac his mod astah, heah fram heortan. OE Paris Psalter (1932) lxxiv. 5 Ne ahebbað ge to hea eowre hygeþancas, ne ge wið gode æfre gramword sprecan. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng Handlyng Synne (Harl.) l. 3298 Þer-for þys yche peyne y drygh, For y bare me yn pryde so hygh. c1450 ( J. Walton tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Linc. Cathedral 103) 8 His lettres in-to Rome þan he sent For to destroyen al þat heresye..Theodoricus took þis wonder hyhe For he hym-self was only on of þo. c1540 (?a1400) Gest Historiale Destr. Troy (2002) f. 33 I shuld tere out þi tunge..for chateryng so high. 1579 S. Gosson Schoole of Abuse f. 21^v Nor the rich suffred to looke to hye. 1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) III. 433 He..did talk very high, how he would have a French cook, and a master of his horse. 1765 T. Hutchinson Hist. Colony Massachusets-Bay, 1628–91 (ed. 2) i. 105 Wiggan went on, and determined to defend his right by the sword. The other threatened as high. a1853 R. Wardlaw Posthumous Wks. (1861) I. 393 He resents it, as implying a reflection on his own penetration. He takes it short and high. 1854 M. J. Holmes Tempest & Sunshine xvi. 230 I s'pose I did go on high and swar like a pirate. †b. In a learned or recondite manner; abstrusely. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > scholarly knowledge, erudition > [adverb] clergially1377 clerklyc1440 high?a1475 eruditely1529 learnedly1549 scholarlike1551 scholastically1559 scholar-likely1599 scholarly1602 clerk-like1604 scientiously1651 ?a1475 (a1396) W. Hilton Scale of Perfection (Harl. 6579) i. xliv. f. 27^v (MED) I haue here bifore spoken to heie to þe..I wile now falle doun to þe as lowe as þou wilt. 1613 J. Lepton in W. Leighton Teares or Lament. sig. A2^v Those lines..do with such generall learning richly shine,..That men may see, thou canst write high or low. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 558 Others..reason'd high Of Providence, Foreknowledge, Will, and Fate. View more context for this quotation a1684 R. Leighton Serm. (1692) ii. 33 What avails it..to dispute and discourse high concerning the Trinity, and want humility, and so displease that Trinity. c. figurative. Towards or at a lofty or ambitious goal. Frequently in to aim high (cf. to aim high at aim v. 5a(b)). ΚΠ 1605 W. C. tr. C. Paschal False Complaints xix. 117 It is euery mans worke to looke at that which is before his feete, But it is thy office [sc. Prince], to looke further and to aime higher. 1639 W. Saltonstall tr. Ovid Ovid de Ponto ii. v. sig. D5^v The gravity of the matter quite outwent My strength, which could not such a worke attempt. Yet the will ayming high doth merit praise. 1730 Polit. State Great-Brit. Feb. 217 We shall say nothing on one Side or other to this Scheme, only that indeed it aims high. 1761 J. Hanway Refl., Ess. & Medit. Life & Relig. II. 316 Few women of low fortunes have power to adventure much, except in love; but to one that aspires high, and succeeds, five hundred fall as sacrifices. 1861 G. W. Thornbury Brit. Artists II. viii. 177 The views of Scott intensify rapidly in Rome; he determines more and more, cost what it may, to strive high. 1874 L. W. Church From Plough to Pulpit III. xxxiv. 55 Thee mun look up, my lad; shoot high. A little ambition helps a man on. 1921 J. Buchan Path of King xiv. 281 It would be a shame to you if you didn't look high, for you're a young man with all the world before you. 1964 Life 13 Nov. 40/2 Young Bob Taft Jr., reaching high for the senatorial seat in Ohio and further luster for his family name. 1992 Independent 4 Aug. 12/3 What are the implications of this for women aiming high? Must they be better, more hard-working than the men? Must they play office politics? 4. a. At or to a high degree, level, or standing; to a great extent, greatly. Also: forcibly; strongly.Now chiefly expressed by highly adv. 4a in standard English, except with implied reference to a position on a (notional) vertical graduated scale. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] stronglyeOE felec950 strongeOE highlyOE highOE greatlya1200 stourlya1225 greata1325 dreec1330 deeplya1400 mightya1400 dreichlyc1400 mighty?a1425 sorec1440 mainlyc1450 greatumly1456 madc1487 profoundly1489 stronglya1492 muchwhata1513 shrewlya1529 heapa1547 vengeance?1548 sorely1562 smartlyc1580 mightly1582 mightily1587 violently1601 intensively1604 almightily1612 violent1629 seriously1643 intensely1646 importunately1660 shrewdly1664 gey1686 sadly1738 plenty1775 vitally1787 substantively1795 badly1813 far1814 heavily1819 serious1825 measurably1834 dearly1843 bally1939 majorly1955 sizzlingly1956 majorly1978 fecking1983 OE Paris Psalter (1932) liv. 4 Ys me on hreðre heah heorte gedrefed and me fealleð on fyrhtu deaðes. lOE King Ælfred tr. St. Augustine Soliloquies (Vitell.) (1922) i. 49 Þu hyt [sc. wisdom] secst hwillum swa hea, hwilum swa deope, þæt ic ongyte nu þæt ic ne æom swylc swilce ic wende. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 260 Hechȝe [c1230 Corpus hehe; a1250 Nero heie] stod he þe spec on þisse wise. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 873 Abram is folc made hem dredi; So heg, so long ne spared hem nogt, Alle he ben ðor to gronde brogt. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame (Fairf. 16) (1878) l. 1599 Triton..lete a certeyn wynde to goo That blewe so hydously and hye That hyt ne left not a skye In alle the welkene. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 2200 (MED) Mast hiȝe ȝe ere hersid & herid of ȝoure strenthe. 1547 T. Cranmer Certayne Serm. sig. I.ii^v Your tradicions, which men esteme so highe, be abhominacion before God. 1567 R. Sempill in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. 53 Thocht he war neuer exalted so hie. 1651 J. French Art Distillation v. 113 Rectifie the Spirit as high as you can. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 146 Both Heav'n and Earth shall high extoll Thy praises. View more context for this quotation 1711 Spectator 19 Dec. 24 How often is he mortified with the very praises he receives, if they do not rise so high as he thinks they ought? 1720 D. Defoe Mem. Cavalier 142 My Father..feared there was some about the King who exasperated him too much against the Scots, and drove things too high. a1833 L. Haynes in T. M. Cooley Sketches Life & Char. L. Haynes (1837) ix. 131 Men have a great love to worldly objects—esteem them high, like Judas. 1881 J. Baldwin Art School Managem. x. v. 490 The aim should be to grade too low rather than too high. 1911 M. R. James More Ghost Stories Antiquary 195 I thought I heard someone answering outside the house, but I could not be sure because of the wind blowing so high. 1993 G. Bear Moving Mars 201 ‘How are you Ori?’ ‘I'm high pleased, ma'am.’ 2011 J. Sharma Empire's Garden iii. 75 Planters ranked them high in terms of resilience, labouring ability, and resistance to disease. b. With a raised voice; loudly. Now rare (nonstandard and regional). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adverb] > with raised voice or loudly loud971 highc1225 on highc1225 highlyc1275 mainlyc1300 with full (also open) mouthc1300 alouda1325 greatly1340 ahigha1400 loudlya1400 on or upon heightc1405 on, upon (the) loftc1420 on loudc1450 in heightc1480 big1556 to the loudesta1616 full-mouthedly1681 in loud1682 stentoriously1685 trumpet-mouthed1767 at the top of one's throat1819 at the top of one's throat1819 out loud1821 stentorianly1880 c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) l. 914 Heo kaste up hire hehnen ant cleopede toward heouene ful heh mid hire heorte. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 120 Þe sopere..ȝeiȝeð hech hwat he bereð. c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 4739 (MED) Þe folk schirsten [read schriȝten] so heiȝe and loude Þat it schilled into þe cloude. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) l. 948 Scho haldis out hire hede & heȝe to him callis. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) iv. 416 The cry rais hydwisly and hee. ?1520 J. Rastell Nature .iiii. Element sig. Ciiij What haste hast thou That thou spekyst so hye. a1648 Ld. Herbert Life (1976) 100 You must doe mee the honor to speake high for I am deafe. 1656 R. Sanderson 20 Serm. 407 The tongue may boast great things, and talk high. 1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison I. xxv. 177 The gentleman seemed to speak high, as if he threatened her. 1814 F. Burney Wanderer V. lxxxvii. 247 Putting a young gentlewoman out of countenance by talking so high. 1878 P. Merritt & G. Conquest Velvet & Rags ii. 28 Hush! do not speak so high. 1921 in R. P. Weeks Commonw. vs. Sacco & Vanzetti (1958) 97 Q. Was your voice weak the day Michael J. Connolly was on the stand and you called him a liar?.. A. I don't speak very high when I called that man a liar. 2020 S. Blackhall in Lallans 97 43 Scurries skelloch heich, syne flichter aff. c. At a high rate, amount, or price. ΚΠ 1340 [implied in: Ayenbite (1866) 44 (MED) Lyeȝe, zuerie, and uorzuerie, þe heȝere to zelle hare chapuare. (at higher adv. 2)]. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 7304 For ȝoure richesse to heȝe ȝe rise. 1652 E. Nicholas Papers (1886) I. 284 [He] hath bid very high for it. 1691 A. Gavin Frauds Romish Monks 407 Not in a condition to spend as high as others. 1799 Agric. Surv. Lincs. 329 In rotten years, the sheep that feed on the salt marsh..sell very high. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. vi. 65 Lewis consented to go as high as twenty five thousand crowns. 1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xvii. 62 Every..heart beat high with joy at the news. 1935 G. Santayana Last Puritan ii. xviii. 284 The thing was well worth the money, even if the tickets came rather high. 1969 Daily Tel. 26 Aug. 14/3 Full motorisation of Britain's cities..might go as high as £12,000 million. 2003 D. L. Scott Wall St. Words (ed. 3) 27 Basis trading is undertaken when the investor feels one security is priced too high or too low relative to the price of another security. d. Richly, luxuriously; to excess. Now chiefly in to live high; cf. to live high on the hog at hog n.¹ Phrases 8. Now chiefly U.S. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > lack of moderation or restraint > [adverb] unordinatelyc1384 untemperately1398 unmeasurablyc1400 unmannerly?a1425 unmeasurablec1443 inordinatelyc1450 riotously?c1450 immoderately1482 surfeitlyc1503 unsoberlyc1540 dissolutely1561 intemperantly1561 unbridledly1561 hard1569 intemperately1576 ahoit1598 high1602 extravagantly1660 overboard1931 1602 B. Jonson Poetaster iv. ix. sig. I3^v If Loue be then thy Obiect, change not life, Liue high, and happie still. View more context for this quotation 1667 S. Pepys Diary 29 July (1974) VIII. 363 Where it seems people do drink high. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 105 When once he's broken, feed him full and high . View more context for this quotation 1725 D. Defoe Compl. Eng. Tradesman I. x. 137 'Tis the mode to live high, to spend more than we get. 1740 H. Bracken Farriery Improv'd (ed. 2) II. v. 103 If you feed a young Horse high, he should have Exercise. 1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 62 A small dog..not to be fed too high. 1896 Bachelor of Arts 3 18 So he sees the world, wildishly, capriciously, sleeping low and drinking high. 1934 I. Gershwin I knew him When in Compl. Lyrics (1993) 232/1 He's living high in Beverly; Three butlers he employs. 2006 B. Chance Bully iii. 36 She could get thirty cents on the dollar for those checks and she was living high. e. With reference to the seasoning of food: to a high degree, strongly.In quot. 1793 in figurative context. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > seasoning > [adverb] > to a high degree high1661 1661 W. Rabisha Whole Body Cookery 199 These kind of meats ought to be seasoned high. 1689 Bp. G. Burnet Tracts I. 96 It tasted high of Spicery, though she assured me there was not one grain of Spice in it. 1737 T. Salmon Mod. Hist. XXIX. 181 They [sc. Peruvians] never eat Joints of Meat..but having cut their dry'd Flesh in Pieces, stew'd and season'd it high with Axi or Pepper. 1793 Ann. Agric. 21 119 A dish peppered high enough for palates case-hardened by the ragouts of revolution kitchens. 1846 A. Soyer Gastron. Regenerator 467 Add the beans, drain quite dry, season rather high. 1881 A. Fisher What Mrs. Fisher Knows about Old Southern Cooking 17 Crabs should be seasoned high to be nice. 1977 Narr. S. I. Wagoner in G. P. Rawick Amer. Slave XIX. 355 The eating was plentiful with fresh killed beef or pork,..with potatoes and vegetables seasoned high with the meats. 2000 E. Donoghue Slammerkin ii. 91 Nothing too tasty, ‘nothing spiced high enough to inflame the female constitution,’ as the Matron put it. †5. a. Far on in time; late in the year. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > [adverb] > far on or late in a period of time high1523 latewardly1720 deep1822 c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 656 May þou traw for tykle þat þou t[em]e moȝtez, And I so hyȝe out of age, and also my lorde. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. xc. 112 That yere [Easter] fell so hye that it was nere to thentring of May. 1577 R. Holinshed Chron. II. 558/2 Thys yeare Easter day fell so high as it possibly might, that is to witte, on Saint Markes day. 1613 S. Purchas Pilgrimage 266 The moneth Ramazan..is their Lent; falling sometime high, sometime low. b. Far back in time; early. Obsolete.Cf. quot. 1774 at higher adv. 2. ΘΚΠ the world > time > relative time > the past > [adverb] > backwards in time or into the past > far back high1662 1662 J. Evelyn Sculptura iii. 26 For we shall not here ascend so high as Promotheus. 1724 A. Collins Disc. Grounds Christian Relig. 208 Not the least ground to date the Samaritan Pentateuch so high as the times of Jeroboam. 6. With reference to music or song: at a high pitch; in or to a high note or range of notes. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [adverb] > high higha1425 a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 717 Summe high and summe eke lowe songe Vpon the braunches grene spronge. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Astrophel & Stella (1591) 29 Trebbles sing high, so well as bases deepe. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 40 Your true loues coming, That can sing both high and low. View more context for this quotation 1660 G. Mackenzie Aretina ii. 214 Sir, those strings are not well tuned, which are tuned too high. 1743 E. Chambers Cycl. (ed. 5) II. at Violin The first method is best, where the song goes very low, the second, where it goes very high. 1773 C. Burney Present State Music in Germany II. 176 The compass of her voice was so extraordinary, that neither to sing high nor low, gave her trouble. 1855 Musical World 28 June 89/3 Its range must not go too high for ordinary Bass voices. 1876 Eng. Mechanic & World of Sci. 26 May 287/1 It will be well to crook the cornet as low as possible, to reap the advantage of writing the part as high as possible. 1921 F. S. Mathews Field Bk. Wild Birds & their Music (rev. ed.) 209 The voice is pitched very high. 1987 R. S. Brindle New Music (ed. 2) viii. 68 In other passages symbols indicate that each performer must play ‘as high as possible’. 2008 Q May 81/3 If she sings it high, there's a risk she'll miss the top notes. Phrases P1. as high as a kite, higher than a kite: extremely high (usually in figurative context). See also higher than (or as high as) Gilderoy's kite at Gilderoy n. Cf. high as a kite at high adj. and n.² Phrases 10. ΚΠ 1860 Southern Literary Messenger Dec. 460/1 You must forget him, give him up at once, be short to him, send him as high as a kite if he dares to address you. 1863 L. M. Alcott Hospital Sketches (1960) 35 I keeled over, feelin' as if I was blowed higher'n a kite. 1889 Chambers's Jrnl. 584/1 I meant to pass the time of day with him, and no more; but all of a sudden he up and tells me a thing as knocked me as high as a kite. 1936 J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle iv. 45 Sooner or later some girl'd get knocked higher than a kite. a1979 N. Ray I was Interrupted (1993) 100 Lines went haywire, actions went haywire, Arthur got thrown higher than a kite. P2. high and low. †a. Wholly, entirely; in all respects. Cf. in high and low at high adj. and n.² Phrases 4. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > completely [phrase] high and low1397 every (also ilk, ilka) stick?a1400 root and rind?a1400 hair and hide?c1450 stout and routc1450 bane and routc1480 overthwart and endlonga1500 (in) hide and hairc1575 right out1578 horse and footc1600 flesh and fella1616 root and branch1640 stab and stow1680 stoop and roop1728 stick, stock, stone dead1796 rump and stump1824 stump and rump1825 rump and rig1843 good and1885 1397–8 Rolls of Parl.: Richard II (Electronic ed.) Parl. Sept. 1397 Pleas §7. m. 4 I submetted me to my lord..and putte me heygh' and lowe in hiis mercy and in hiis grace. 1447 Bridgewater Borough Munim. l. 910 (MED) To þe whiche arbitrament the seid John & William were bound by obligations to stond þereto hye & lowe. 1673 M. Stevenson Norfolk Drollery 122 No, (Debora) thou Daughter of old Al'ce, I love not high and low, a wench of Wales. b. Up and down, here and there; in every place or part. Chiefly in to search (hunt, etc.) high and low. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > here, there, etc. > [phrase] > everywhere far and near or nighOE in length and (in) breadth (or brede)a1250 high and low1525 here, there, and everywherea1593 in every stead1596 through long and broad ——1617 from Dan to Beersheba1738 all along the line1877 all over the auction1930 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. cvii. f. ccxix^v/2 They sertched highe and lowe and founde for trouthe that he was nat there. 1606 A. Craig Amorose Songes sig. H^v Thus high and low I looked where I lay, Yet neither fruite nor flower was like my Hay. 1678 T. Duffett Psyche Debauch'd i. iii. 41 Hoe, make hast, and go Hunt for great Sisters high and low. 1703 P. Motteux et al. tr. M. de Cervantes Hist. Don Quixote III. xxviii. 279 Galloping after your Tail high and low, thro confounded cross Roads and By-Ways. 1773 Literary Reg. 5 44/1 Search was made after him high and low, backwards and forwards; but all to no purpose. 1822 J. W. Croker Diary 11 Jan. in Croker Papers (1885) I. 247 He..missed his snuff-box, and there was..a search high and low. 1895 Academy 12 Oct. 294/2 Although the publishers have searched high and low, they have not [etc.]. 1922 Atlantic Monthly July 32/2 The laundry is delivered at the door, and she scurries high and low in search of funds. 1958 K. Amis I like it Here i. 16 Anyway, we've hunted high and low, boy, believe me. Not a bloody twitter. 2010 F. Goldsmith Readers' Advisory Guide Graphic Novels 69 An elegant vampire who has just broken off with a young woman looks high and low for a satisfying replacement partner. P3. Originally U.S. high, wide, and handsome and variants: in a carefree or stylish manner; in great style. ΚΠ 1891 Eau Claire (Wisconsin) Weekly Leader 26 Jan. The N. M. has got some salve that will make anyone step high, wide and handsome. 1907 S. E. White Arizona Nights (U.K. ed.) 35 Tim could talk high, wide, and handsome when he set out to. 1932 ‘Spindrift’ Yankee Slang 21 High, wide and handsome, in good or great style. Common shout at a rodeo: ‘Ride him, Cowboy, high, wide and handsome.’ 1939 P. G. Wodehouse Uncle Fred in Springtime iii. 50 He has a nasty way of lugging Pongo out into the open and..proceeding to step high, wide and plentiful. 1958 L. van der Post Lost World of Kalahari (1961) vii. 155 The day was riding high, wide and handsome into the deeps of the incredible blue sky. 2012 Scotsman (Nexis) 27 Jan. 43 It must be chastening for Japanese industry. It rode high, wide and handsome until the country's property/stock market bubble burst in 1990. P4. to play high. a. To gamble for high stakes. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > play at cards [verb (intransitive)] > actions or tactics pass1599 pluck1606 pulla1625 to play high1640 to follow suit1643 to play at forsat1674 lead1677 overdrawc1805 stand1813 retract1823 underplay1850 to hold up1879 to throw in one's hand1893 build1901 build-down1983 society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > games of chance > play games of chance [verb (intransitive)] > stake > type of stake to play high1640 butter1671 set up one's rest1680 to play low1735 paroli1835 to go one's pile1836 to go nap1894 parlay1895 double up1940 1640 J. D. Knave in Graine iii. sig. G4 That joviall night is come: They have beene playing high, and potting deepe. 1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 320 I said to my Comrade, the Gentlemen play too high for us, come let us go. 1770 Oxf. Mag. 5 Suppl. 253/1 They played high,..at a quarter of a guinea a fish, or five guineas the full rubber. 1834 H. J. Nott Novellettes of Traveller I. 216 He was fond of card-playing,..but as far as I heard, he never played high. 1859 J. Lang Wanderings in India 9 The good players are playing high. Gold mohur points. 1901 G. A. Henty Col. Thorndyke's Secret xii. 178 Some men..play high, but a good many who go there only risk a few guineas. 1997 J. Feather Diamond Slipper xiii. 199 The king held the bank. ‘We play high, Princess,’ he warned with a jocular smile. b. Cards. To play a card of a high value. ΚΠ 1829 E. M. Arnaud Epitome Whist 60 When you can preserve tenace or command to P. in that or another suit by playing high. 1885 R. A. Proctor How to play Whist ii. 33 By playing high second hand you waste a good card. 1902 B. Leigh et al. Princ. & Pract. Whist 83 A short lead from such a hand as this..might subject the leader's partner to the necessity of playing high in a suit which he will be called upon to defend single handed. 1979 J. Nicholson How to play Solo (rev. ed.) 41 If the first lead were high, all would play high. 2000 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 31 July e6/4 The whist players developed three rules of thumb: cover an honor with an honor, third player play high, and second player play low. P5. to run high. a. Of the sea or (occasionally) another body of water: to move with a strong, swift current; to have high waves. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > be violent [verb (intransitive)] > be manifested forcibly to run high1598 the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > movement of waves > move restlessly about [verb (intransitive)] > run high, surge, or heave flash1387 lifta1400 walterc1400 waverc1425 welter1489 jaw1513 roll?1532 surge1566 billow1596 to run high1598 estuate1658 to run steep1894 roil1913 1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies iii. xxxvi. 394/2 The next night following the wind came west, but because as then the Sea ranne verie high, we let not our sailes fall. 1609 R. Cottington True Hist. Disc. Muley Hamets xvii. sig. H^v Seeing the Sunne declyneth towardes the winter Tropike, the Seas will beginne to runne high and rough. 1655 E. Terry Voy. E.-India 27 The waves running high, they split their boat at their landing. 1682 in T. Badeslade Hist. Anc. & Present State Navigation Kings-Lyn (1725) 113 The..downfall Waters are stopped by these Brooks running high. 1717 tr. A. F. Frézier Voy. South-Sea 14 The Sea ran too high to send Boats. 1779 Sc. Mag. Mar. 166/2 The sea running high that evening, they were not able to land. 1836 F. Marryat Mr. Midshipman Easy II. iii. 89 The sea runs high, and the boat may be dashed to pieces on the rocks. 1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 92 If the sea was running high the utmost nicety in steering..would be essential. 1920 F. W. Coburn Hist. Lowell i. 6 The Pawtucket Falls, particularly when the river runs high, have a wildness that approaches grandeur. 2012 Press (Christchurch, N.Z.) (Nexis) 30 June 3 The southerly sea has been running very high this week. b. figurative. To be prominent, vigorous, or vehement; to manifest strongly or intensely. ΚΠ 1615 P. Simson Short Compend Hist. First Ten Persecutions II. v. iv. 28 That great Idole..runneth so high in their heades, that the flatterers of the bishop of Rome would absolue him, as a man whose actions came not vnder the iudicature of mortall men. 1618 G. Chapman tr. Hesiod Georgicks ii. 27 Therefore feast, To make the spirits runne high in their Inquest. 1649 S. Richardson Divine Consol. 87 Our love to God runs high. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 125. ¶1 When the Feuds ran high between the Round-heads and Cavaliers. 1764 W. Watson in Philos. Trans. 1763 (Royal Soc.) 53 11 At times..her fever ran very high. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. II. ix. 416 The disputes..had repeatedly run so high that bloodshed had seemed to be inevitable. 1893 Earl of Dunmore Pamirs II. 28 Party spirit ran high. 1925 Amer. Mercury Oct. 192/2 The anti-gambling fever then running high in the local purity squad. 1958 Times 26 Sept. 19/2 Local partisanship will no doubt run high between Bristol,..and their old..rivals Gloucester. 2008 S. Armitage Gig (2009) 90 Amongst the women..feelings are running high, especially after supper when they are packed off to bed while the gentlemen kick back with brandy and cigars. P6. to live (or eat) high off (also on) the hog: see hog n.¹ Phrases 8. Compounds C1. a. With participial adjectives.Some of the more established compounds of this type are entered separately at Compounds 1b. ΚΠ OE Death of Edward (Tiber. B.i) 30 Se froda..befæste þæt rice heahþungenum menn, Harolde sylfum, æþelum eorle. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xiv. xxxii. 712 Þe most hiȝe stroutynge parties of cragges ben yclepid scopuli. 1594 J. Dickenson Arisbas sig. G 3^v An high-pac'd Muse treading a lofty march. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear vii. 386 High Iudging Ioue. View more context for this quotation 1670 J. Eachard Grounds Contempt of Clergy 38 The high tossing and swaggering Preaching. a1732 T. Boston Sovereignty & Wisdom of God (1737) 67 A proud and high bended Spirit. 1780 T. Davies Mem. Life David Garrick (1781) II. xxxviii. 122 High seasoned venison, delicious turtle, and excellent claret. 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus i. iv. 11/2 Some silent, high-encircled mountain-pool..into whose black deeps you fear to gaze. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right II. xvi. 82 The well-groomed, high conditioned team..plunged at their collars. 1924 Amer. Mercury Nov. 306/1 I who considered man a high-perfected glass where loveliness could lie reflected. 1950 M. Culver in H. Brickell O. Henry Prize Stories 1951 (1951) 87 Tall buck Negroes in high-hitched pants and bulging shoulder pads; girls in gay dresses. 2000 Nature Conservancy May 7/4 Springtails—tiny, high-bounding bugs..with unmatched abilities to decompose forest litter. b. high-aimed adj. ΚΠ 1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode x, in Steps to Temple 54 Thy high-aym'd hopes. 1743 E. Young Complaint: Night the Fifth 58 The conscious Forest trembles at the Shock, And Hill, and Stream, and distant Dale, resounds These high-aim'd Darts of Death. 1847 J. Davis Jack Ariel I. iii. 62 A high aimed buzzing ball cut in two the standing part of the weather mizen-top-gallant brace. 1907 Scribner's Mag. Dec. 724/1 A volley of high-aimed guns..gave Alta Vista almost the vim of a cow-town in jubilee. 2009 G. Smith Mounted Warriors 233 If their high-aimed arrows arcing down did not kill, then at least they wounded and discomfited. high-aiming adj. ΚΠ 1763 in T. Birch Lett. F. Bacon 329 You may observe last parliament, though an high-aiming parliament, yet..not a mention of me. 1852 Ladies Repository Jan. 40/2 She..does that which no high-aiming, pure-bosomed female could do—she pollutes her marriage vow. 1904 Rev. of Reviews Oct. 399/2 The indirect method of firing, made possible by the long range and consequently high-aiming elevations of modern field guns. 2012 Bangor (Maine) Daily News (Nexis) 20 Nov. More freedom for high-aiming schools to better serve the needs of all pupils is possible. high-aspiring adj. ΚΠ 1573 C. Yelverton in G. Gascoigne & F. Kinwelmersh Iocasta Epil. in G. Gascoigne Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 163 Lo here the fruite of high aspiring minde, Who weeues to mount aboue the mouing skies. 1633 T. May Reigne Henry II v. sig. I6 There when she found her crime, she check'd againe That high aspiring thought. a1766 J. Leland Disc. Var. Subj. (1769) III. iii. 64 We behold the high aspiring Mountains and lowly Vales. 1827 T. Carlyle in Edinb. Rev. Oct. 351 So many noble, tender, and high-aspiring minds. 1999 New Yorker 2 Aug. 23/1 The plague of griefs and scandals that have dogged the hard-living, high-aspiring Kennedy clan. high-blazing adj. ΚΠ 1585 J. Sharrock tr. C. Ocland Valiant Actes & Victorious Battailes Eng. Nation ii. sig. L^v High blasing sparkles belching vp, in circles to the skies. 1665 R. Wild Grateful Non-conformist (single sheet) I'd sacrifice them to the flame Of an high-blazing Satyr. 1794 J. Hurdis Tears Affect. 85 He saw..Behind him God's high-blazing fiery sword. 1883 London, Edinb., & Dublin Philos. Mag. Sept. 721 It is not improbable that the high-blazing faculæ consist of bubbles of hydrogen and oxygen in the proportion to form explosive gas. 1992 D. F. Crow Glastonbury i. iii. 47 Warriors gather in festive feasting around the high-blazing fire. high-braced adj. ΚΠ 1751 T. Stack tr. R. Mead Med. Precepts 306 Copulation, When age adult and high-braced nerves invite, Should neither be immod'rately desir'd, Nor dreaded to excess. 1805 T. Maurice Vindic. Mod. Hist. Hindostan 85 Men..of high-braced vigorous sinews, impatient for action. 1907 Nelson's Encycl. IX. 569/1 In the case of roofs and of high-braced structures generally, a horizontal pressure due to the wind has also to be taken into account. 2009 K. Foster All Roads lead Me Back to You iii Domingo..turned his attention from the high-braced bosoms and sequined sombreros of Univisión to the clatter in the kitchen. high-built adj. ΚΠ a1592 R. Greene Frier Bacon (1594) sig. C^v The battelments, That compast high built Babell in with towers. 1671 J. Milton Samson Agonistes 1069 Haughty as is his pile high-built and proud. View more context for this quotation 1778 D. Garrick in H. Fielding Fathers Epil. p. vii With what brisk firing..Did I attack these high-built castles. 1880 Ld. Tennyson Revenge ix Ship after ship..their high-built galleons. 1937 W. M. Raine Bucky follows Cold Trail iv. 38 They buried him as he was, without even removing the high-built shoe he used. 2012 Nottingham Post (Nexis) 15 Nov. 15 The avenue's private road and high built wall offers the perfect sense of security. high-climbing adj. ΚΠ 1526 W. Tyndale Prol. Epist. Rom. sig. b vii^v Here muste a marke be sett vn to those vnquiett, busie and hye climyng spirites. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 546 The brow of some high-climbing Hill. View more context for this quotation 1784 J. Abercrombie Propagation & Bot. Arrangem. Plants & Trees II. 681/2 High-climbing Oriental and Syrian Rough Bindweed. 1820 D. Wordsworth Jrnl. 21 Aug. (1941) II. 173 The richness of the overhanging and high-climbing woods. 1925 N. E. Odell in E. F. Norton et al. Fight for Everest: 1924 329 The results of the Second Expedition to Mount Everest..went to show that two schools of thought prevailed from the experiences of the high-climbing parties. 2004 Northern Woodlands Summer 4/2 Virgin's bower, a high-climbing vine of moist areas, is flowering. high-cut adj. ΚΠ 1701 View of Paris 58 All the Avenues and Alleys to the Fountains are lin'd with high cut Hedges. 1824 R. Monteath Forester's Guide & Profitable Planter (ed. 2) xxxvi. 372 A stool that was formerly high cut, to be cut and dressed down to the surface of the ground. 1941 D. Monroe et al. Family Expenditures for Clothing (U.S. Dept. Agric.) iv. 46 A pair of heavy shoes, perhaps high-cut and weatherproof for wear at work and school in bad weather. 2004 Independent 10 Nov. (Review section) 6/2 Black tulle high-cut briefs and delicately beribboned brassieres. high-dressed adj. ΚΠ 1690 D. Winn et al. From Yearly Meeting York 2 The new Changable unnecessary Fashons of high dressed Heads, which is so extreamely run into by the People of the World. 1774 W. Falconer Ess. Bath Waters II. 123 Great moderation in the use of fermented liquors is proper, and of high dressed food. 1864 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia IV. xvi. i. 248 Innumerable high-dressed gentlemen, gods of this lower world. 2008 E. Layton Bride for his Convenience v. 53 The women shone out from among them, some with huge egret plumes rising from their high-dressed hair. high-famed adj. ΚΠ 1604 J. Marston Malcontent iv. iv. sig. H3^v The God of ghostes, From glomie shades that spread the lower coastes, Calles fower high famed Genoa Dukes to come. 1714 A. E. Three Disc. i. 3 This Topick, my Auditors, has been Elegantly touch'd by the most high-fam'd Writers. 1850 Daily National Intelligencer (Washington) 7 Feb. (advt.) Four more of those superb Pianos, from the high-famed and extensive manufactory of Chickering. 1987 Hist. Relig. 27 25 The identity of the future high-famed warrior. high-flushed adj. ΚΠ 1757 E. Young Sea-piece Ded. vii, in Wks. 243 High-flush'd success and pale defeat. 1857 A. Smith City Poems 19 Pleasure,..With high-flushed cheeks and loose dishevelled hair, Flung herself 'cross his path. 1992 A. Thorpe Ulverton iv. 85 I ventured to say to Miss Fieldhouse..that the Chaplain's cheek was high-flushed—and his voice had a tubercule clatter to it. high-heaped adj. ΚΠ 1620 T. Matthew tr. St. John of Avila Audi Filia lxxxviii. 400 The brightly burning, & high heaped loue, which inhabited that most holy soule. 1795 C. Lucas Old Serpentine Temple 16 The high heap'd earth. 1856 J. R. Lowell Lett. (1894) I. 304 There were the same high-heaped shagbark trees. 1916 F. Rolt-Wheeler Monster-hunters xi. 347 The high-heaped fire sent its beacon gleam against the sky. 2013 Independent on Sunday (Nexis) 17 Mar. (New Review) 39 My evenings of drink-fuelled carb-loading on high-heaped white rice with added fatty pork are behind me. high-hung adj. ΚΠ ?a1656 J. Poole Eng. Parnassus (1657) 350 High hung mills mak most noise, and grind least. 1681 J. Dryden Spanish Fryar v. 65 By the high-hung Tapers light I cou'd discern his Cheeks were glowing red. 1727 E. Boyd Æolus & Pluto in Variety: a Poem 91 But had you seen a high-hung Meteor glare; That long had choak'd its Beams in smoky Air. 1882 W. D. Howells Mod. Instance i. 12 She leaned back in her chair,..lifting her head to stare at the high-hung mezzotints and family photographs on the walls. 1963 Manhattan (Kansas) Mercury 19 Mar. 7/2 High hung clouds aren't likely to soak you down, no matter how grim they may appear. 2007 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 25 Nov. xiv. 12 The space is now airy.., with dark paneled walls, a ribbon of high-hung mirrors and rows of stunning sconces. high-laced adj. ΚΠ 1803 Morning Post 22 Dec. The Captain..wore his cap, pantaloons, and boots, or high laced shoes, for the inspection of His Majesty. 1930 D. H. Lawrence Love among Haystacks 87 Even then, I lack high-laced boots and one stocking. 2006 S. M. Stirling Sky People iii. 75 High-laced boots,..and automatic pistols at their belts. high-lying adj. ΚΠ 1638 W. Rawley tr. F. Bacon Hist. Nat. & Exper. Life & Death 117 Dionysius Areopagita..was called The Bird of Heaven, for his High lying Divinitie. 1793 G. Robertson Gen. View Agric. Mid Lothian 49 It is believed..that a much finer breed may be introduced with advantage, on the greater part of the high lying pastures of this county. 1877 W. Black Green Pastures & Piccadilly i, in Examiner 6 Jan. 13/1 On the northern side of this high-lying park. 1934 Discovery June 166/2 The more high-lying burials..contained ‘reserved slip’ pottery. 2000 Cape Times 19 July i. 1/1 In high-lying parts of the Eastern Cape, the mercury would drop to −7°C tomorrow. high-mounted adj. ΚΠ 1600 R. S. tr. P. de Mornay 4 Bks. Inst., Use & Doctr. Eucharist iii. xiv. 320 These loftie and hyperbolicall speeches, with this exceeding ryot & lauish laying out of such high mounted speeches. 1767 J. Gough Britannia 14 High-mounted Medleys on the cram'd Machines. 1857 E. J. Lewis Amer. Sportsman xxvii. 381 Reasonably high-mounted guns are far preferable to the ‘low-mounted’. 1914 Proc. Engineers' Soc. Western Philadelphia 30 646 The second plan..was based on the use of high mounted lights. 2005 Pilot Oct. 7/3 Sigma also makes an efficient floatplane with its high-mounted engine. high-mounting adj. ΚΠ 1592 R. Dallington tr. F. Colonna Hypnerotomachia f. 32^v In the streight passage of the valie betwixt the extensed and highe mounting rockes. 1611 B. Jonson Catiline ii. sig. D4 I'am not taken With a Cob-Swan, or a high-mounting Bull, As foolish Leda, and Europa were. View more context for this quotation 1789 J. F. Stanfield Guinea Voy. i. 7 The refluent boat evades the sight, High-mounting waves the vessels disunite. 1880 A. Trollope Duke's Children I. xvii. 200 Within that little body there was a high-mounting heart. 1916 J. Matt tr. D. W. Switalski in G. Pfeilschifter German Culture, Catholicism & World War (Amer. ed.) viii. 147 A mass-phenomenon which, as a high-mounting raging ocean wave,..angrily sweeps before it everything that attempts to block its path. 2009 E. Thalheimer Cycling in Italy 320 If you're riding a mountain bike and riding off-road you'll probably want high-mounting front panniers to give you more clearance. high-perched adj. ΚΠ 1646 R. Crashaw Musicks Duell in Steps to Temple 104 The grumbling Base In surly groanes disdaines the Trebles Grace. The high-perch't treble chirps at this. 1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France (Dublin ed.) 28 Light clouds often sailing under the feet of the high-perched inhabitants. 1854 C. D. Badham Prose Halieutics x. 161 This forlorn high-perched bird reproduced to our memory another scene of kindred sadness. 1906 Westm. Gaz. 16 June 12/2 Each high-perched farmhouse was changed by sunset glamour to a magic castle. 2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 17 Oct. v. 12/1 The heart of this enticing region..is a thread of high-perched towns. high-piled adj. ΚΠ 1599 R. Linche Fountaine Anc. Fiction sig. Aaij Only this sence they haue, for e're to hold Their high-pil'd heapes of all-preuailing gold. 1687 H. Higden Mod. Ess. 10th Satyr Juvenal 20 By weight too large [he] Did th' high pil'd Storyes overcharge. 1761 tr. C. Batteux Course Belles Lettres III. vi. 50 You must depart; and an heir shall possess these high-piled riches. 1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. 12 28 She is led up from hall to hall of the high-piled edifice. 1932 V. Woolf Common Reader 2nd Ser. 226 Its high-piled metaphors. 1995 C. D. Short Shining Shining Path xvii. 258 Bar queens with their inch-long eyelashes and high-piled nests of bleached hair. high-placed adj. ΚΠ 1592 W. Wyrley Lord Chandos in True Vse Armorie 46 High placed crests that hautie helme doth hold. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iv. i. 114 High plac'd Macbeth. View more context for this quotation 1796 T. Fleming in J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XVIII. i. 6 The high-placed mansion, the picturesque grounds, and the extensive improvements. 1859 E. D. E. N. Southworth Hidden Hand 217 That high-placed, dark, and lonely window. 1963 Listener 7 Feb. 261/3 The high-placed moderates on the Parliamentary side (Essex, Manchester, and company). 2013 K. Lee et al. in P. D. Zelazo Oxf. Handbk. Devel. Psychol. I. ix. 346/1 Young infants' differential preference for faces with high-placed features may be a result of the viewpoint from which they typically view faces. high-pointing adj. ΚΠ 1755 J. Smith Printer's Gram. iv. 87 We find some of these high-pointing Gentlemen propose to increase the number of Points in use. 1834 Monthly Repository Jan. 38 The boats with their high pointing sterns. 1911 F. F. Ayer Bell & Wing 22 From the under-dike of them To each high-pointing spike of them! 2002 M. Zuk Sexual Select. (2003) viii. 125 A heron with a high-pointing bill may be called dominant. high-prized adj. ΚΠ 1596 R. Linche Certaine Sonnets in Diella sig. B3^v Empresse of loue, my harts high-prized Iewell, Learne of the Doue, to loue and to be milde. a1644 F. Quarles Solomons Recantation (1645) xii. 35 His high priz'd benefits. 1739 W. Broome Poems on Several Occasions (ed. 2) 202 High-priz'd Commodities Bought to no end! 1831 Mirror of Lit. Suppl. No. 517. 323/1 The festoons of flowers and foliage which one sees round some of the scarce and high-prized tradesmen's cards. 1919 W. L. Gaston & A. R. Humphrey Hist. Custer County, Nebraska xix. 667/1 They have..a splendid complement of the high-prized porkers which in these days contribute so materially to profitable farming. 2012 Geelong (Austral.) Advertiser (Nexis) 1 Sept. 77 He was a high-prized recruit..and he's had a lot of media attention. high-raised adj. ΚΠ 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch Liues 577 Fine built chambers, and high raised turrets to gase a farre. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 290 High-rais'd mounts. 1709 A. Hill Full Acct. Ottoman Empire xix. 157 The high rais'd Fret-work of the Floor, is wonderfully fine and stately. 1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) I. 194 After such high-raised expectations, the result was shame and ignominy. 1906 Out West Mar. 189 That long, narrow, high-raised peninsula..presented a high, uninterrupted plateau. 2004 A. Hollinghurst Line of Beauty ix. 235 But Ronnie had to get on—he offered his hand, coming down at an angle from a high raised elbow. high-reared adj. ΚΠ 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. x. sig. K^v Soft rombling brookes, that gentle slomber drew; High reared mounts, the lands about to vew. View more context for this quotation 1641 J. Milton Reason Church-govt. 26 The lofty minds of an age or two after..thought it a poore indignity, that the high rear'd government of the Church should..squat into a Presbytery. 1793 Anthologia Hibernica Apr. 309/1 Yonder ivy-mantled tow'r, Whose high-rear'd spire the tell of time hath stood. 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxxvii. 53 The high-reared head of Clee. 1999 M. Hayder Birdman 187 A green car, a beautiful, high-reared classic car, swung out into the alley. high-resolved adj. ΚΠ ?1590 A. Munday tr. First Bk. Amadis of Gaule xiv. f. 66^v Your intent proceedeth from a high resolued minde. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iv. 64 With a power Of high resolued men. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Goodwin Innocency & Truth Triumphing 69 An High-resolved Presbyterian. 1857 Ld. Dufferin Lett. from High Latitudes (ed. 3) 349 There is passion yet in the quivering lip, and triumph on the high-resolved brow. 1902 A. W. Ward in T. F. Tout & J. Tait Hist. Ess. (1907) xii. 325 The experiences of the unfortunate Winter-King's high-resolved consort bring before us..the great unsettlement of the Thirty Years' War. 2009 R. Sharon Royal Blood v. 62 I suggest you bank that high-resolved gleam in your eye, runt. high-revving adj. ΚΠ 1930 N.Y. Times 5 Jan. a38/1 The very small high ‘revving’ engine and the light type of body used on the cheap family car in England are quite suitable to the country where the roads generally are of excellent quality. 2004 Vancouver Sun (Nexis) 4 June e1 Passing slower traffic or accelerating onto a freeway is a blast with six speeds and a high-revving motor. high-seasoned adj. ΚΠ 1663 E. Waterhouse Fortescutus Illustratus xxi. 261 He steeps them in high-seasoned counsel. 1752 G. Berkeley Farther Thoughts Tar-water in Misc. 23 High-seasoned Food and strong Liquors. 1845 E. Robinson Whitehall I. xix. 222 This behoneying and larding of women with high-seasoned compliments. 1907 Northwestern Christian Advertiser 13 Mar. 25/1 Think of the tons of high-seasoned game, sweetmeats and appetizers crammed into this little four-ounce mill [sc. the stomach]. 2010 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 18 Dec. m5 Fried dumplings stuffed with a lot of high-seasoned moist pork with plenty of green onion. high-seated adj. ΚΠ a1592 R. Greene Orpharion (1599) 15 Her beauty as it is excellent, so it is high seated. 1599 R. Roche Eustathia sig. E2^v High-seated Salomon, (that held his throne) Fel to fond lust, and had more faultes then one. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost vii. 585 Heav'ns high-seated top. View more context for this quotation 1794 R. Jephson Rom. Portraits 109 The mistress of mankind, high-seated Rome, From this great day expects her final doom. 1890 Ann. Surg. 11 208 For very high-seated carcinoma the sacral method is the only one possible. 1998 F. H. De Souza No. 3, Templeton Place v. 80 We climbed in.., Freda and I facing John and Lee with their backs to the high-seated driver. high-soaring adj. ΚΠ 1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. xi. sig. V To whom she eke inclyning her withall, As a faire stoupe of her high soaring thought. View more context for this quotation 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. v. 124 Farre high soaring ore thy praises. View more context for this quotation 1774 Crit. Rev. May 394 Hear he what says relative to his muse, when the high-soaring Phaeton occurs to his thoughts. 1837 Knickerbocker Nov. 436 The high-soaring breeze, the breath of heaven, makes a stilly music in the neighboring pines. 1908 Pacific Unitarian Nov. 15/2 We..remind our high-soaring brother, that the super-terrene element in which he floats so grandly is no more his native element than ours. 1994 Boys' Life Jan. 58/1 (advt.) Authentically detailed high-soaring paper airplane. high-strutting adj. ΚΠ a1398hiȝe stroutynge [see Compounds 1a]. 1784 W. Hayley Mausoleum i, in Plays 374 Trope is the rhymer devoid of invention, Who talks in a high strutting style of the stars. 1890 Globe Apr. 213 Bacon..had city tastes and high-strutting..city feelings. 1959 Billboard 9 Mar. 58/2 Their addition bolstered the number of high strutting majorettes in the parade to 450. 2007 K. A. Spaulding Running for their Lives xii. 121 Stepping as proudly as the horses, he'd parade the tall, gracious, high-strutting creatures out to the track. high-swelling adj. ΚΠ 1578 G. Best True Disc. Passage to Cathaya iii. 21 So highe swelling tides with continuaunce of so deepe waters. 1625 R. Montagu Appello Cæsarem ii. v. 153 Calling themselves in their high-swelling stiles, Lords of Lords, God of the earth, &c. 1789 T. Clements Jrnl. 24 Dec. in Last Voy. of Guardian (1990) 41 She went back on the top of a high swelling sea. 1831 P. Leicester Arthur of Brittany I. i. 9 The fire of his black, sparkling eye well proclaimed the high-swelling soul that animated him to sublimest deeds. 1962 N.Z. Jrnl. Geol. & Geophysics 5 480 Exceptionally high-swelling coal with volatile contents over 21%. 2009 C. Doyle Lessons from Cape i. 1 He imagined it as a vast beach with high-swelling waves and lots of places that sold lobster. high-swollen adj. ΚΠ 1596 Raigne of Edward III sig. E3^v The rancor of their high swolne harts. View more context for this quotation 1648 J. Beaumont Psyche iv. 78/2 This high-swoln mountain of Deformity Once vie'd with Beauties self. 1782 J. Brown Christian Jrnl. (ed. 4) 24 Yonder crawls the high swollen toad. 1813 W. Scott Bridal of Triermain iii. xiii. 148 The waters' high-swoln tide. 1914 E. Worchester Relig. & Life ii. vii. 156 What a contradiction to the demands of the theory of high-swollen enthusiasm! 1996 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 6 Apr. 23 He and Keith ran down the beach, stripped off and plunged into the high-swollen sea. high-throned adj. ΚΠ ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads xx. 280 High-thron'd Ioue, cried out. 1792 T. Dermody Poems 20 Illustrious Regent of the sky, High-throned Lord of Light. 1886 G. Gissing Demos III. 282 Before that high-throned poet-soul Adela bent in humble reverence. a1915 R. Brooke Coll. Poems (1919) 96 There, most quiet and, as a child, most wise, High-throned you sit, and gracious. 2002 S. Joseph Bear me Safely Over 127 Then without fanfare they were all four in the courtroom before the high-throned judge and the district attorney. high-towering adj. ΚΠ 1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Huntington Libr. copy) sig. C2 To clippe the winges of a high towring Faulcon. 1647 J. Monson Short Ess. Afflictions 32 Afflictions are sent..to correct the high-towring vapour of Pride. 1793 W. Hodges Trav. India iv. 73 The high towering cliffs on the north coast. 1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus ii. ii. 33/2 A high-towering, wide-shadowing tree. 1901 L. Smirnow Candle-light 193 High-tow'ring peaks Rise sheer above her. 2001 W. McNeill Dodgers Encycl. ix. 363/1 Duke Snider got the hall rolling with his 24th homer, a high-towering drive over the scoreboard. C2. high-descended adj. descended from people of high rank or social status; of noble lineage. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > social class > nobility > [adjective] > of descent or breeding ykynde1420 generous1574 well-bred1585 well-descended1591 well nutrimenteda1592 high-descended1600 well-derived1600 high-bred1613 highly bred1625 high-blooded1632 of (good, noble, etc.) familya1639 pedigree1861 1600 R. Carr in tr. Mahumetane Hist. Ep. Ded. sig. A.iij^v Multitudes of Princes and high discended families. 1762 J. Macpherson Fingal iii. 37 He praised the daughter of the snow; and Morvern's high-descended chief. 1816 W. Scott Old Mortality x, in Tales my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 233 Lady Margaret held, with the high-descended serjeant of dragoons, the conference which we have detailed. 1920 M. Hewlett Light Heart xx. 166 Then came in one Dag Ringsson, a high-descended chief long exiled from Norway. 2002 W. V. Clausen Virgil's Aeneid iii. 50 Virgil..defers to Dido's state and person: she is a queen, Sidon's high-descended daughter. high-dried adj. and n. (a) adj. (of a foodstuff or other natural product) that has had a large proportion of its moisture content removed; (b) n. †high-dried snuff (obsolete). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > snuff > [noun] > types of high-dried1681 Spanish1681 roderigo1692 bergamot1701 musty1709 myrtle1715 Portuguesea1721 rappee?1726 Scotch1739 macoubac1740 blackguard1782 Irish1806 Lundyfoot1811 prince's mixture1813 cephalic1828 taddy1869 the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > snuff > [adjective] > type of snuff high-dried1681 1681 S. Pordage tr. T. Willis Of Feavers in Remaining Med. Wks. iv. 77 The Blood (like Beer brew'd with too high dry'd Mault) being too sharp, and torrid. 1756 S. Foote Englishman return'd from Paris i. 14 Two Pound of high-dry'd Glascow [snuff]. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. x. 266 I have always a chat with Mrs Glass when I purchase my Scots high-dried. 1858 ‘G. Eliot’ Amos Barton ii, in Scenes Clerical Life I. 48 If Mr. Barton had shaken into that little box a small portion of Scotch high-dried, he might have [etc.]. 1918 Coll. Papers Lab. Physiol. Chem. (Yale Univ.) 457 The ‘high dried’ cabbage..was spread out in hot air ovens. 2001 R. Singh Encycl. Dict,. Bio-Medicine II. 429 High-dried rhubarb from Szechwan has been imported in longitudinal slices. high-fed adj. fed richly or to excess; well-fed. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > [adjective] > fed or nourished > well fed or nourished fatc893 well-nourishedc1300 full-feedinga1382 well-feda1398 feasted1440 well-nurturedc1450 home-fed1573 corn-fed1576 stall-fed1589 repleted1592 well-feasted1611 high-fed1612 succulent1673 corn-fed1787 1612 J. Rawlinson Mercy to Beast 31 Hold these fat and high-fed horses to hardmeate, lest they begin to recalcitrate and kicke. a1641 A. Munday et al. Bk. Sir Thomas More (1911) 49 But we..hauing seene better dayes, now know the lack of glorie, that once rearde eche high fed back. View more context for this quotation 1743 R. Blair Grave 15 The high-fed Worm..Riots unscar'd. 1898 Cosmopolitan Aug. 436/2 The high-fed classes and races display on the whole a richer vitality. 2007 J. S. McAlister Long Arm of Larva ii. 28 Low-fed larvae had longer arms than high-fed larvae. high-finished adj. highly elaborated, refined, or accomplished; finished to a high standard. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > ornamental art and craft > [adjective] > artistically executed or ornamented wrought1455 elaborated1596 conceited1598 elaborate1621 wroughted1656 exact1667 high-wrought1684 inextricable1692 worked1696 fancied1709 high-finished1744 1744 W. Guthrie tr. Cicero De Finibus ii. vii, in tr. Cicero Morals 81 Thus, Torquatus, I have given you a high finish'd Picture of the Honestum, which entirely consists of the four Virtues you have mention'd. 1861 G. W. Thornbury Brit. Artists I. 34 They wanted high-finished Cipriani Venuses. 1977 Field & Stream June 68/1 (advt.) Body parts are quality, high-finished fiberglass. 2000 E. White in R. Canning Gay Fiction Speaks iii. 95 This is a book I've labored on long and lovingly. Every detail seems to me burnished or high-finished. high-functioning adj. that functions or operates at a high level, esp. (in later use) with reference to a person with a mental or developmental disorder or the disorder itself. ΚΠ 1916 Musical Q. 2 23 I am proud of our high functioning art [sc. music]. It is this peering into the indefinite, the infinite and unknown which makes us see the unseen. 1954 Social Sci. 29 192/2 Broader concepts of political and economic democracy..seem to be served when, in economic policy, the private sector clearly dominates a high-functioning economic system. 1987 Jrnl. Health & Social Behavior 28 41/2 High-functioning patients (i.e., able to take care of the range of life activities, not very hampered by their psychological problems) are often given a diagnosis which will not hinder them. 2003 Guardian (Nexis) 18 Mar. (Health section) 10/5 High-functioning autism can be very hard to spot. It's often mistaken for conduct disorder. high-grown adj. (a) that has grown high or tall; (b) overgrown with tall vegetation. ΚΠ 1598 J. Marston Scourge of Villanie i. iv. sig. D4 Glad if themselues, as sporting fooles be made, To get the shelter of some high-growne shade. 1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xviii. 7 Search euery acre in the hie growne field. 1633 T. James Strange Voy. 7 The tenth, all the morning, was very foule weather: and a high-growne Sea. 1725 D. Defoe Tour Great Brit. II. iii. 13 The well-planted Parks, and high grown Woods. 1795 A. B. Cristall Poet. Sketches 134 Bitter remembrance deep pervades his soul, The glistening lake, the high-grown trees he knew. 1899 Harper's Mag. Oct. 663/1 The path lay along a lovely watercourse, overshadowed by high-grown canes and shrubs, through which we pushed a way. 1984 J. A. Phillips Machine Dreams 205 Billy led Danner across the high-grown meadow to the side of the building. 2012 Times of India (Nexis) 15 Oct. Sources said the chief minister would not approve of a park without high-grown plants, and the corporation would have to wait for a few months for the small plants to grow. high-paid adj. and n. (a) adj. that is paid a high wage; earning good pay; (of a job, etc.) that pays well; (b) n. (with the and plural agreement) high-paid employees as a class. ΚΠ 1739 ‘Philalethes’ Case between Clothiers, Weavers, & Other Manufacturers 25 Such is the Difference between the high-paid, idle, debauch'd Manufacturer,..and the low-paid diligent and sober Husbandman. ?1795 T. J. Mathias Imperial Epist. from Kien Long 18 Forced..From all the hallowed dignities of life, His high-paid duties, and his sacred home, Exiled in lewd Italian climes to roam. 1887 G. E. McNeill Labor Movement v. 171 The skilled and the unskilled, the high-paid and the low-paid, all joined hands. 1888 Boston Daily Globe 16 Aug. 4/5 We do compete with them to the extent of over $100,000,000 worth a year of manufactures, produced by your high-paid labor. 1946 Life 25 Nov. 138/2 The opening to women of high-paid jobs outside the home led to flight from the kitchen. 1970 Guardian 9 Jan. 10/2 It would be reasonable to demand some restraint on the part of the high-paid to limit the inflationary cost of total wage rises. 2003 E. Winslow Blind Faith Introd. 4 Stock options grant high-paid executives a free lottery ticket to riches beyond imagination. high-paying adj. that pays, at a high rate; (of a job) well-paid. ΘΚΠ society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [adjective] > paid by wages > well-paid well-paid1590 well-hired1593 well-metalled1609 well-feed1646 highly paid1799 high-paying1833 1833 Rep. Select Comm. Manuf., Commerce, & Shipping 711 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 690) VI. 1 The high-paying houses said to the weavers that there was no necessity for working at under-prices. 1895 Sketch 1 May 54/2 Hold Nitrate Rails if you want a high-paying investment. 1963 H. Mitgang Man who rode Tiger vii. 136 Seabury had to accommodate a high-paying client by taking on a matrimonial case. 2000 N.Y. Mag. 24 July 26/3 He's grown up now, with a high-paying job and a nice loft downtown. high-scoring adj. (of a game) featuring many goals, points, etc.; (of a player, participant, etc.) that achieves a high score; that scores many goals, points, etc. ΚΠ 1867 Notts. Guardian 25 Jan. 7/6 Holdsworth holding his own with 93 not out (the highest score in this very high-scoring match). 1914 Science 20 Nov. 754/1 As the table shows, the initially high-scoring individuals made an equal gain in speed and somewhat less gain in accuracy. 1960 J. Brosnan Long Season 201 Most of the time a potentially high-scoring team will run up a potful of runs in one or two games. 1976 Morecambe Guardian 7 Dec. 8/7 Both sides played fast, open rugby to produce a high scoring game. 2004 G. Cross Cute & Cool vi. 169 The problem was compounded when pinball games offered payouts to high-scoring players. high-sniffing adj. colloquial contemptuous, disdainful. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > [adjective] > contemptuous ollinga1200 hokerfula1275 scorningc1325 deignousc1330 despitousa1340 disdainousc1374 lightlya1400 scornfula1400 despiteous14.. endeignousc1400 hathlya1425 spitefulc1440 despitefula1450 fastidious?a1475 contemptuous1534 disdainfula1542 huff-nosed1542 lightliful1552 dainful1577 contemptible1594 sdeignful1596 disdained1598 contemptful1604 contemning1605 overlookinga1619 slight1632 slightinga1637 slightya1640 despisable1644 despicable1662 sneering1692 scornful1704 saucy1716 vilipendinga1722 fastidiose1730 unappreciating1833 scorny1836 high-sniffing1837 sniffy1871 sneery1872 sneerful1880 pejorativea1888 dismissive1930 sniffish1933 fuck you1962 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. iii. vii. 206 This defection of contemptuous diplomatic Dumouriez falls heavy on the fine-spoken high-sniffing Hommes d'état. 1906 Daily Chron. 12 July 3/3 High-sniffing pretenders..affect to find in Mr. Meredith's poetry naught that is obscure. 2001 J. O'Neill At Swim, Two Boys (2002) xi. 279 Them high-sniffing nobs eye-glassing you would have any man out of sorts. high-spending adj. that spends large or excessive sums of money; (also) characterized by high or lavish spending. ΚΠ 1909 Washington Post 16 Mar. 3/6 One Frenchman says that to the extravagant ways of the American millionaire's wife has been due the ‘transformation of our servants..into tyrannical, high-spending grafters.’ 1957 Analysts Jrnl. Aug. 65/2 Problems arise in government finance when a high-spending nation cannot readily borrow, tax, or issue more paper money. 1981 Weekly World News 7 July 28/4 She shuns the glittery, high-spending life that many stars live. 2011 T. J. Iverson in L. Dwyer Discov. of Tourism Econ. vii. 98 The local inhabitants of Nusa Dua have gained very little from the high-spending tourists who stay in the enclave. high-thundering adj. that thunders loudly or vehemently (in various senses of the verb).Frequently as an epithet of Zeus or Jupiter, as god of thunder. ΚΠ 1585 J. Sharrock tr. C. Ocland Valiant Actes & Victorious Battailes Eng. Nation i. sig. C.iii High thundring Ioue this day, Hath hard my voyce, and hath betooke into your handes a pray. 1631 R. Fludd Answer vnto M. Foster iii. i. 22 These bold and high thundering Iudges or condemners, and vilifiers of Iehouah's power. 1789 R. Alves Edinburgh xiv. 163 The murmuring roar of the high-thundering Euxine. 1875 H. W. Longfellow Pandora ii Commissioned by high-thundering Zeus. 2010 P. Waters Philosopher Prince iii. 75 Is High-Thundering Zeus pleased with his hecatomb? C3. In combination with an adjective: greatly, extremely; to a high degree. Now rare.Frequently hyphenated, to show that high qualifies the following adjective, not the noun.Usually expressed by highly adv. 4. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > by or to a great degree or extent mickleseOE mickleeOE sevensitheOE highOE muchc1225 wellc1300 fara1400 goodlya1450 long?a1475 farlya1500 largea1522 muchly1621 very1641 heartily1727 lot1839 lot1855 big time1957 batshit1993 OE tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (Corpus Cambr.) iv. xxv. 348 Þæt he swa heahhluttrum mode & bilewitum [eOE Tanner hluttre mode & bilwitre] & smyltre wilsumnesse [L. simplici ac pura mente tranquillaque deuotione] Drihtne þeowode. OE Regularis Concordia (Tiber.) (1993) iv. 5 Huius precellentissime [read precellentissimi] regis sagaci monitu spiritaliter conpuncti : ðyses heahyldestan cyncges mid smeagre mynegunge gastlice onbryrde. a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) i. i. 15 So full of shapes is fancie, That it alone, is high fantasticall. View more context for this quotation 1664 R. Boyle Exper. & Considerations Colours iii. xxxiii. 279 A high Red Tincture. 1720 A. Pope tr. Homer Iliad V. xviii. 433 High eminent amid the Works divine. 1744 J. Thomson Summer in Seasons (new ed.) 92 He [sc. a serpent].., Whose high-concocted Venom thro' the Veins A rapid Lightning darts. 1865 Union Rev. 3 266 They use such high-learned words. 1937 S. F. Armstrong Brit. Grasses (ed. 3) xiii. 264 Both superphosphate and high-soluble basic slag are usually much more efficient fertilisers for grass than low-soluble slags. C4. In combination with a verb. Chiefly poetic.Frequently hyphenated, to make the construction clear. ΚΠ 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. x. sig. K6 Saxon kinges, that haue..High reard their royall throne in Britans land. 1632 T. Hawkins tr. P. Matthieu Vnhappy Prosperitie 240 Shee stirred and high-reared her creast. 1735 J. Miller Seasonable Reproof 10 Stall-fed Tartuff reclining in his Seat, High heap'd his Board, himself brimfull of Meat. 1788 Gentleman's Mag. Nov. 1008/2 The billows high lifted the boat. 1819 W. Wordsworth Peter Bell i. 32 With deliberate action slow, His staff high-raising, in the pride of skill. 1894 St. Nicholas Apr. 529/1 Side by side one sees the little San Joaquin River stern-wheelers, high-piled with wheat. a1927 C. Mair Dreamland (1974) 98 Or on the mountain summit stood, High-gazing o'er the forests wide. 2006 H. Frommer Old-time Baseball ii. 49 The ball was so ‘rubberized’ that it high-bounced its way in the outfield over the head of the fielder. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † highint. Origin: A variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: hi int. Etymology: Variant of hi int. Compare earlier heigh int. Obsolete. An exclamation used to express annoyance, surprise, etc. Cf. hey int. 1a.With quot. 1760 cf. heigh-ho int.hi is now the usual form. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > cry or shout (loudness) > cry or shout [interjection] > specific call or hail heya1225 halec1300 hillaa1400 what hoc1405 hoc1430 oyeza1450 heh1475 hi?c1475 oy1488 whata1556 holla1598 sola1598 hillo1603 hallow1674 woo-hoo1697 hip1735 yo-ho1748 high1760 yo-heave-ho1790 holla ho!1796 whoo-ee1811 hello1826 tit1827 hullo1857 ahoy1885 yoo-hoo1924 hi-de-hi1941 1760 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy II. xii. 76 High! ho! sigh'd my father. 1806 M. L. Weems Life G. Washington (ed. 5) ii. 10 High! why not, my son? 1879 W. S. Gilbert Wedding March iii. i. 23 Ho! High! Hold hard! Will you be quiet? What do you want? This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2014; most recently modified version published online June 2022). > see also also refers to : hiehighint. < n.¹OEadj.n.²eOEv.eOEadv.OEint.1760 see also
随便看	polygyny polygyral polyhaemia polyhalite polyhaploid polyhedra polyhedral polyhedral disease polyhedrally polyhedric polyhedrical polyhedroid polyhedrometric polyhedrometry polyhedron polyhedrons polyhedroses polyhedrosis polyhedrous polyhedrous glass polyhemia polyhex polyhistor polyhistorian polyhistorians

† highn.1

highadj.n.2

Phrases

Compounds

highv.

highadv.

Phrases

Compounds

† highint.

> see also

† highn.¹

highadj.n.²