ashn.1
/aʃ/, U.S. /æʃ/ 1. (a) A well-known forest tree, indigenous to Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa, and noted in Teutonic literature from the earliest times; having silver-grey bark, graceful pinnate foliage, a peculiar winged seed or samara called the ‘ash-key,’ and very tough close-grained wood valuable for implements. (b) The tribe of trees Fraxineæ, family Oleaceæ, including the common ash ( Fraxinus excelsior) with several American species, and the manna or flowering ashes ( Ornus Europæa and rotundifolia). American ash: Fraxinus americana.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > ash and allies > [noun]
ashc700
fraynec1325
wood-browna1400
wild ash1552
white ash1578
manna tree1665
black ash1673
white ash1683
water ash1709
manna ash1715
hoop-ash1763
red ash1773
shrew-ash1776
blue ash1783
swamp ash1794
weeping ash1807
green ash1810
cockscomb ash1850
Oregon ash1857
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > [noun] > ash as timber tree
ashc700
fraynec1325
wood-browna1400
c700 Epinal Gloss. 416 Fraxinus, aesc.
935 Chart. Æthelstan in Cod. Dipl. V. 221 On ðæne ealdan æsc.
a1300 W. de Biblesworth in Wright Voc. 171 De frene, of asse.
c1305 St. Kenelm 171 in Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 52 A gret asch..stent in þulke place.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 5248 Þe Emperour him liȝt a-doun anon, Vnder an Aychs.
c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer Knight's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 2058 Wylow, Elm, Plane, Assh.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 143 Esche, tre, fractinus [1499 Pynson fraxinus].
1504 in T. Stapleton Plumpton Corr. (1839) 188 The okes are sold..& the aches.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xi. iii. 80 The heich eschis soundis thar and heir For dyntis rude of the scharp stelyt ax.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A4 The warlike Beech, the Ash for nothing ill.
1744 F. Moore Voy. Georgia 98 The trees in the grove are mostly bay,..hickory, American ash.
1754 J. Hill Useful Family Herbal 17 The Manna Ash..is a lower Tree than the common Ash.
1808 R. Anderson et al. Ballads in Cumberland Dial. (new ed.) I cowr'd my ways down, ahint our young eshes.
1847 I. A. Blackwell tr. Edda in T. Percy et al. tr. P. H. Mallet Northern Antiq. (rev. ed.) 411 The ash Yggdrasill..is the greatest and best of all trees. Its branches spread over the whole world, and even reach above heaven.
1866 C. A. Johns in J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. 506 Several American species of ash resemble the European ash in general appearance and qualities.
1872 D. Oliver Lessons Elem. Bot. (new ed.) ii. 207 The wood of the Ash is very tough and elastic, and valued by cart- and wheelwrights.
1897 G. B. Sudworth Nomencl. Arborescent Flora U.S. 327 Fraxinus americana, White Ash..Common names [include]..American Ash (Iowa).
1923 Times 17 Sept. 22/2 The high prices asked for American ash tended to check the demand.
1980 Jrnl. Biogeogr. 7 370/1 By 50–60 years the character of the forest changes, with sugar maple, beech, hemlock and American ash becoming more abundant.
2. The wood or timber of the ash-tree.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > wood of specific trees > [noun] > ash
ashc1380
Pennsylvania ash1810
c1380 J. Wyclif Sel. Wks. (1871) III. 500 An ymage..of oke or of asshe.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 390 A grete growe spere of aissh.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 260 Ash is a species of wood very common in Britain.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > spear or lance > [noun] > shaft of spear
spear-shafta900
ashOE
shaftc1000
truncheon13..
tree?a1366
timberc1400
sting?a1500
spear-staff1530
steal1530
rodc1540
stale1553
stave1873
staff-
OE Beowulf 1772 Æscum ond ecgum.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) iv. v. 109 That body, where against My grained Ash an hundred times hath broke. View more context for this quotation
1700 J. Dryden Chaucer's Palamon & Arcite iii, in Fables 67 The tourney is allow'd but one Career, Of the tough Ash, with the sharp-grinded Spear.
4. wild ash n. identified by the herbalists sometimes with the mountain ash, sometimes with the Ornus of the continent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > ash and allies > [noun]
ashc700
fraynec1325
wood-browna1400
wild ash1552
white ash1578
manna tree1665
black ash1673
white ash1683
water ash1709
manna ash1715
hoop-ash1763
red ash1773
shrew-ash1776
blue ash1783
swamp ash1794
weeping ash1807
green ash1810
cockscomb ash1850
Oregon ash1857
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > berry-bush or -tree > [noun] > mountain ash
quick treeeOE
wycheOE
quickena1400
foldc1420
rowan-tree1483
quickbeam?1537
wild ash1552
field ash1578
mountain ash1597
quicken berry1597
whitten1633
witchen1664
quickenberry tree1671
wicky1681
rowan1751
narrow-leaved service tree1793
sorb1796
bastard mountain ash1800
roundwood1846
fowler's service tree1859
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Ashe called a wylde ashe with greate leaues, Ornus.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 71 Wild ashe trees grow in the rooky or craggi mountaynes.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 748 Pliny and Columella calleth it Ornus, and Fraxinus, syluestris..In English, Quickebeame, feelde Ashe, wild Ashe, and white Ashe.
Compounds
C1. attributive and in other combinations, as ash-bud, ash-plank, ash-spear, ash-staff, ash-tree, ash-wood; and in many Old English compounds, in sense 3, as æsc-here a company armed with spears, æsc-plega ‘spear-play,’ war, æsc-róf ‘spear-famed’, noble.
ΚΠ
OE Judith 217 Him þæt hearde wearð æt ðam æscplegan eallum forgolden.
OE Judith 336 Hi to mede hyre of ðam siðfate sylfre brohton, eorlas æscrofe, Holofernes sweord ond swatigne helm.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 15 Asche tre, fraxinus.
1495 Trevisa's Bartholomeus De Proprietatibus Rerum (de Worde) xvii. lxii. sig. Pvi/1 Yf a serpent be sette bytwene a fyre & asshe [a1398 BL Add. aisshene] leuys: he woll fle in to the fire.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall Ded. sig. A2 With a quarter Ashe staffe on my shoulder.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel iii. vi. 68 The tough ash spear, so stout and true.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Gardener's Daughter in Poems (new ed.) II. 20 More black than ashbuds in the front of March.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) IV. 130/1 The timbers..commonly in use in our carriage factories are English ash-plank.
C2.
a.
ash-fly n. a fly and grub found on the ash-tree and used by anglers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 24 Oak-fly, Ash fly, or Woodcock fly, found on the body of an Oak or Ash.
ash-grub n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > bait > worms and grubs
angletwitcheOE
wormc1320
codwormc1450
redwormc1450
gentle1577
touchangle1581
bob1589
Jack1601
dug1608
codbait1620
caddis-worm1627
caddis1653
cockspur1653
lob-worm1653
marsh worm1653
gilt tail1656
cadew1668
cad1674
ash-grub1676
clap-bait1681
whitebait1681
earth-bob1696
jag-tail1736
buzz1760
treachet1787
angleworm1788
cow-turd-bob1798
palmer bob1814
slob1814
angledog1832
caddis-bait1833
sedge-worm1839
snake feeder1861
hellgrammite1866
easworm1872
cow-dung bob1880
snake doctora1883
1676 C. Cotton Compl. Angler 353 The Ash-grub..is plump, milkwhite..with a red head.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 19 Bark-worm, or Ash-grub.
ash-key n. the winged two-celled seed or samara of the ash-tree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > ash and allies > [noun] > seed pod
ash-key1440
chat1562
kite-key1578
cat-keys1694
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 143 Esch key, frute, clava in fractinus.
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 6 Called in Inglishe ashe keyes because they hang in bunches after the manner of keyes.
1795 Barker in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 85 412 The hedge fruits were in great abundance, excepting ash-keys.
ash-leaf n. an early potato with leaves resembling those of the ash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > root vegetables > potato > potato plant > varieties of
magpie1797
rose1807
ash-leaf1845
magnum bonum1882
1845 Morning Chron. 22 Nov. 5/2 The Wimborne kidneys..are not springing like the ash-leafs.
ash-leaf maple n. U.S. the box elder.
ΚΠ
1868 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1865–6 6 390 The Box Elder of our river bottoms comes back to us under the name of..Ash Leaf maple.
ash-leaved maple n. any tree of the genus Negundo; U.S. box-elder.
ΚΠ
1797 Encycl. Brit. at Acer.
1832 D. J. Browne Sylva Americana 103 The ash-leaved maple attains the height of 40 or 50 feet.
1846 D. J. Browne Trees Amer. 106 Ash-leaved Maple..[in] other parts of Anglo-America.
ash maple n. U.S. the box elder.
ΚΠ
1834 Southern Literary Messenger Nov. 98/1 On emerging from the wilderness, the customary variety of oak, ash maple, and hickory presents itself.
1861 Trans. Illinois State Agric. Soc. 1859–60 4 449 The Box Elder or Ash Maple is decidedly and distinctly a maple, as its name—Acer negundo—indicates.
ash-swale n. U.S. a swale or swamp in which the ash is the prevailing tree.
ΚΠ
1839 in Trans. Mich. Agric. Soc. (1856) 7 368 It follows mainly the course of two brooks,..and embraces the intervening ash swales.
ash-swamp n. U.S. a swale or swamp in which the ash is the prevailing tree.
ΚΠ
1668 Boston Town Rec. 7 42 The first tree..is..A chestnut by the ash swampe.
1708–9 Lancaster Rec. 305 He hath one piece laid out..in an ash swamp.
1789 J. Morse Amer. Geogr. 143 The descriptive names of maple, ash, and cedar swamps.
b.
ash-leaved adj.
ΚΠ
1843 G. Darling in Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 77 The delicate early ash-leaved kidney.
Draft additions June 2013
ash dieback n. any of several diseases of ash trees of the genus Fraxinus, with symptoms typically including the progressive death of branches; (now esp.) a serious disease of the European ash, F. excelsior, caused by the ascomycete fungus Hymenoscyphus pseudoalbidus (also called Chalara fraxinea); cf. die-back n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > fungal > associated with trees
heart rot1808
white rot1828
sap-rot1838
red rot1847
conk1851
soft rot1886
pine blister1889
silver-leaf1890
leaf shedding1891
pine rust1893
leaf cast1894
partridge-wood1894
larch blister1895
needle-cast1895
sooty mould1901
white pine blister rust1909
larch needle cast1921
coral-spot1923
ink disease1923
pocket rot1926
wood rot1926
Dutch elm disease1927
oak wilt1942
ash dieback1957
1913 New Jersey State Hort. Soc., 38th Ann. Session, 1912 45 Ash (Fraximus [sic] americana L.)... Die back—Cause undetermined.]
1957 Forest Sci. 3 75/1 White Ash, Fraxinus americana L., has been dying in increasing numbers in New York State and other parts of the Northeast during the past 15 years from an unknown disease commonly called ash dieback.
1961 Post-Standard (Syracuse, N.Y.) 10 May 19/4 The cause of the disease, ‘ash dieback’ was unknown, but it was killing trees in many parts of the state [sc. New York].
1983 New Scientist 13 Jan. 76/2 A survey of ash die-back, a condition involving massive loss of foliage in ash trees, covered 3000 kilometers of roads between York and Watford.
2001 Buffalo (N.Y.) News (Nexis) 6 May (Local section) b4 It's uncertain if ash die-back is the result of pathogens, pollution or something else.
2012 Guardian 27 Sept. (G2 section) 3/1 All Britain's estimated 80m ash trees could be lost to the fungal disease known as ‘ash dieback’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
ashn.2
/aʃ/, U.S. /æʃ//ˈæʃɪz/. Forms: singular Old English asce, Old English–Middle English axe, Middle English aske, Middle English esche, esssse, aische, asch, Middle English–1500s ashe, Middle English– ash (northernMiddle English–1500s asse; Scottish1500s as, alse, 1500s– ass). plural Old English ascan, axsan, Middle English æscan, Middle English–1500s axan, axen, Middle English acxen, axin, Middle English asken, Middle English asshen, Middle English aishen, Middle English aisshen, aischin, aschen, aschyn, 1500s axsen, haxyn, 1800s dialect axen, axan). β. Middle English ( Orm.) asskess, Middle English askes, Middle English axses, axes, assches, aschis, Middle English askys, askis, Middle English–1500s asshes, Middle English aisshes, aysshes, aischis, 1500s (Scottish asses, assis), Middle English– ashes. 1. The powdery residue, composed chiefly of earthy or mineral particles, left after the combustion of any substance.
a. plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > products of burning > [noun] > ashes or cinders
easlea1000
ashc1000
coalOE
fire-izelsa1325
cinderc1400
sawdusta1873
α.
β. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1001 Tatt lac wass brennd & turrnedd all till asskess.1366 Mandeville's Trav. xxviii. 289 Undir the assches there offe.c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness (1920) l. 626 Vnder askeȝ ful hote.1413 J. Lydgate Pilgr. of Sowle ii. lviii. 56 Hit brenneth in to asshes.a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1957) ii. x. 52 Fyllit with assis red.1556 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbs Eng. Tounge (rev. ed.) i. x. sig. Biiiiv I proud, and thou proud, who shall beare thashes out.1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil Wks. 53 Sprinkle sordid Ashes all around. View more context for this quotation1718 Lady M. W. Montagu Let. 4 Jan. (1965) I. 373 The hot ashes commonly Sets the house on fire.1816 S. T. Coleridge Christabel i. 12 The brands were dying, Amid their own white ashes lying.c1000 Ags. Ps. ci. 10 Ic anlic ætt æscean hlafe.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. I. 334 Heortes hornes axan.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 95 Þe ȝiscare..lið euer iþen asken.
c1386 G. Chaucer Squire's Tale 247 It was Wonder to maken of fern Asshen [v.r. aschyn, aisshen, aschen] glas.
1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine Golden Legende 224/2 A loof baken under asshen.
1515 in E. Hobhouse Churchwardens' Accts. (1890) 68 For ye ledde haxyn..iiiis. iiiid.
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball 271 [Dill] made into axsen.
1597 J. Gerard Herball ii. 429 The axen or ashes.
1863 W. Barnes Poem in Dorset Dial. in Sat. Rev. 124 The fleäme's red peaks, till axan white Did quench em.
b. collective singular.
ΚΠ
1250 Laȝamon Brut 25989 Al bi-walewed in axe.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. 536 Hii sende Al the brut aske withoute.
a1300 E.E. Psalter ci. 10 Aske as bred I et.
a1300 Havelok 2840 Sket was [he] on þe asse leyd..And brend til asken.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Amos ii. 1 He brente the boonys of the kyng of Ydume vn to ash.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Cock & Jasp l. 68 in Poems (1981) 5 Scraipand amang the as.
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) I. 7 Also thair principall toun, Brynt it in as.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) i. 16 Brynt in puldir ande asse.
1819 W. Scott Bride of Lammermoor x, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. I. 282 What wad ye collect out of the sute and the ass?
1868 E. R. Sill Hermitage v. 6 A charring ember, smouldering into ash.
c. simple singular. (Now chiefly in scientific language.)
ΚΠ
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 2649 Ded wex hire hew & lyk an asch to sene.
1799 W. Taylor in J. W. Robberds Mem. W. Taylor (1843) I. 287 Burn my last letter to an irrecollectable ash.
1864 A. C. Swinburne Atalanta 2074 My heart is within me As an ash in the fire.
1868 J. D. Dana Syst. Mineral. (ed. 5) 747 Hircite..after complete combustion leaves an ash.
d. The residue of wine when evaporated to dryness.
ΚΠ
1875 Encycl. Brit. I. 173/2 The ash, or involatile constituents of wine, should range between 0·19 and 0·5 per cent.
2. The similar powdery matter ejected from volcanoes; = volcanic ash n. at volcanic adj. and n. Compounds 2. (For other special products of similar nature, see black ash n.2, bone ash n. at bone n.1 Compounds 6, pearl ash n., potash n.)In this sense now collective singular. ashes = kinds of ash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > ejected volcanic material > [noun] > ash
ash1667
pozzolana1684
volcanic ash1776
trinacrite1854
Santorin earth1868
pumicite1916
1667 Philos. Trans. 1665–6 (Royal Soc.) 1 377 (title) A shower of ashes in the Archipelago.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. at Pot-Ashes Fern also makes excellent Pot-Ashes.
1804 J. Pinkerton Mod. Geogr. (new ed.) II. 476 With furious volcanic shocks..The ashes were borne to the distance of 150 miles.
1868 H. Watts Dict. Chem. (1877) V. 326 Black Ash or Ball Soda.
3. transferred or figurative. Ruins, remains. to lay in ashes: to burn to the ground, destroy utterly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [noun] > demolition > a ruin or wreck > ruins
tatter1402
ash1553
downfall1575
destruction1585
parietines1621
masure1623
detriments1632
wreck1713
wrecking1855
lagan1906
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > destroy [verb (transitive)] > devastate or lay waste (a place, etc.)
harryc893
fordoc900
awesteeOE
westeeOE
losec950
harrowc1000
destroyc1230
wastec1275
ravishc1325
to lie waste1338
exilea1382
to-wastea1382
unronea1400
desolatea1425
vast1434
fruster?a1513
to lay waste1535
wipe1535
devast1537
depopulate1548
populate1552
forwaste1563
ruinate1564
havoc1575
scourge1576
dispopulate1588
destitute1593
ravage1602
harassa1618
devastate1638
execute1679
to make stroy of1682
to lay in ashes1711
untown1783
hell-rake1830
uncity1850
1553 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Eneados ii. vii. 122 O ȝe cauld assis of Troy.
1647 A. Cowley Given Heart in Mistress iv Then shall Love keep the ashes..Of both our broken Hearts.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 163. ¶7 Whole Kingdoms laid in Ashes.
1877 Bryant Ruins Italica The envy of earth's cities once wert thou—A weary solitude and ashes now!
1879 J. A. Froude Cæsar xii. 159 Where the ashes of the Sertorian rebellion were still smouldering.
4.
a. From the ancient custom of burning the bodies of the dead: That which remains of a human body after cremation or (transferred) total decomposition; hence poetically for ‘mortal remains, buried corpse’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > dead body > [noun]
lichc893
dust?a1000
holdc1000
bonesOE
stiff onea1200
bodyc1225
carrion?c1225
licham?c1225
worms' food or ware?c1225
corsec1250
ashc1275
corpsec1315
carcass1340
murraina1382
relicsa1398
ghostc1400
wormes warec1400
corpusc1440
scadc1440
reliefc1449
martc1480
cadaverc1500
mortc1500
tramort?a1513
hearse1530
bulk1575
offal1581
trunk1594
cadaverie1600
relicts1607
remains1610
mummya1616
relic1636
cold meat1788
mortality1827
death bone1834
deader1853
stiff1859
the world > life > death > disposal of corpse > cremation > [noun] > ashes
ashc1275
moulda1400
cindersa1547
cremains1950
c1275 Sinners Beware in Old Eng. Misc. 78 Þe wurmes hine ifyndeþ, To axe heo hyne gryndeþ.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 4368 Sche shal be brent..& þe aschis of hire body with Þe wind weue.
1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Rolls Ser.) VII. 5 Þe holy axes of seint Wilfrede þe bisshop.
1460 in Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1866) 128 Ther be..þe askes of Iohne þe baptyste.
1528 T. More Dialogue Heresyes i, in Wks. 110/1 And of ye ashes of one heritique springeth up manye.
1683 E. Hooker in J. Pordage Theologia Mystica Pref. Epist. 31 Rake not up the Ashes of the Dead.
c1761 T. Gray Elegy xxiii, in Poems (1768) 117 Ev'n in our ashes live their wonted fires.
1842 T. B. Macaulay Horatius xxvii Facing fearful odds For the ashes of his fathers And the temples of his Gods.
1852 Ld. Tennyson Ode Wellington ix The mortal disappears; Ashes to ashes, dust to dust.
b. the ashes n. Cricket a term originating in a mock obituary notice published in the Sporting Times 2 Sept. 1882, after the sensational victory of Australia at the Oval on Aug. 29 of that year, announcing the cremation of the dead body of English Cricket and the taking of the ashes to Australia; hence, the losing or winning of the rubber in the series of test matches played periodically between the chosen representatives of English and Australian cricket is frequently described as the loss, or the recovery (if previously lost) or retaining (if previously held) of the ashes.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > [noun] > cricket-match > series
series1899
the ashes1903
1882 Sporting Times 2 Sept. In Affectionate Remembrance of English Cricket Which died at the Oval on 29th August, 1882. Deeply lamented by a large circle of sorrowing friends and acquaintances. R.I.P. N.B.—The body will be cremated and the ashes taken to Australia.]
1903 Warner in Westm. Gaz. 8 Dec. 2/1 If we fail to bring home ‘the ashes’ it will certainly not be for want of trying.
1921 Glasgow Herald 21 Jan. 8 We must accept the transference of the ‘Ashes’ philosophically.
5. Dust of the ground. (Hence used to express man's mortal constitution.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [noun] > liability to
ashc950
deathlinessOE
deadliness?c1225
mortalityc1400
mortalness1530
dyingness1700
sparrow-fall1946
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > kind of earth or soil > [noun] > dust of the ground
dustc825
ashc950
powderc1300
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. x. 14 Sceaccas ða asca of fotum.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 159 Euch eorðlich achte nis buten eorðe & esken.
c1315 Shoreham 107 Thench thou nart bote esche.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 137 Huet am ich bote esssse and spearken.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Mal. iv. 3 Thei shuln be ashe vndir the soole of ȝoure feet.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Mal. iv. 3 They shalbe like the asshes vnder the soles of your fete. [So in 1611.]
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xvii. 120 Al men ar eird ande alse.
1588 A. King tr. P. Canisius Cathechisme or Schort Instr. 130 Quhairfoir than art thow proude, thow earthe and assis?
1706 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ i. 111 Lord, what shall Earth and Ashes do? We would adore our Maker too.
6.
a. (Used, in reference to the colour of wood ashes, to express excessive pallor of the countenance.) Hence the phrase pale as ashes, and ashes used poetically for ‘death-like paleness’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > skin > complexion > paleness > [noun] > of face
wana1300
ashc1374
tallow-face1597
whey countenance1604
lily1713
suet face1896
c1374 G. Chaucer Anelida & Arcite 173 Other coloure thanne Asshen hath she noone.
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. i. 61 Turn'd pale as Ashes, or a Clout.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 12. ¶3 Ghosts as pale as Ashes.
1814 Ld. Byron Lara i. xxviii. 599 The lip of ashes, and the cheek of flame.
1870 Ld. Tennyson Golden Supper in Holy Grail 188 And I,..saw his face Fire, and dead ashes and all fire again Thrice in a second.
b. Ash-colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > ashy grey
crane-colour1517
ash-grey1826
ash1876
1876 Field & Forest 2 41 Admitting that tephrocotis ‘has the least ash on the head’, how can this fact be attributed to climatological influences?
7. (From the employment of ashes among Eastern nations in token of mourning, used in many phrases symbolizing the expression of grief or repentance.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > sorrow or grief > lamentation or expression of grief > [noun] > symbol of grief
ashc950
society > morality > virtue > righteousness or rectitude > reform, amendment, or correction > repentance or contrition > [noun] > symbols of
ashc950
sackclotha1400
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xi. 21 In asca..hreownisse dydon [Rushw. ascan].
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xi. 21 On axan.
c1160 Hatton G. On æscan.
c1375 Eng. Wycliffite Serm. ccxviii, in Sel. Wks. (1871) II. 187 Do penaunce in aishen and hayre.
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 2 i. ii. 197 Repents..not in ashes and sackcloth, but in new silke, and olde sacke. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Jonah iii. 6 Couered him with sackcloth, & sate in ashes . View more context for this quotation
1859 J. S. Mill On Liberty ii. 52 A deplorable error and misfortune, for which humanity should mourn in sackcloth and ashes.
Phrases
ash of roses n. (also ashes of roses) a greyish-pink colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [noun] > shades of red > pale red or pink
incarnationa1475
carnation?1533
peach colour1573
maiden's blush1598
maiden blush1600
flesh-colour1611
gridelinc1640
incarnadine1661
pinka1669
peach bloom1716
pompadour1761
rose pink1772
salmon-colour1813
orange-pink1820
peachiness1820
maiden rose1827
pinkiness1828
peach-blow1829
peach1831
pink madder1835
flesh-tint1839
pinkness1840
rose du Barry1847
flesh1852
almond1872
ash of roses1872
nymph-pink1872
rose Pompadour1872
salmon1873
pinkishness1874
mushroom1884
salmon-pink1884
naturelle1887
shell-pink1887
sunrise1890
sultan pink1899
mushroom colour1900
sunblush1925
flesh tone1931
magnolia1963
1872 Young Englishwoman Nov. 599/1 Marmotte, a dark ashes-of-roses shade.
1893 Daily News 17 May 3/4 The soft greyish pink known as ‘ashes of roses’.
1901 R. Kipling Five Nations (1903) 113 Opal and ash-of-roses, Cinnamon, umber, and dun.
1927 Daily Express 14 Mar. 5 Pomegranate, mulberry red, mushroom, and ashes of roses, a colour that looks like blue ash with a touch of flame, are among the fashion reds.
Compounds
C1.
a. In a similative relation.
ash-brown adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > brown or brownness > [noun] > greyish brown
mouse-brown1792
suede1873
smoke1882
antelope1889
string1914
ash-brown1921
oatmeal1927
1921 Glasgow Herald 25 June 5/7 The spotted fly-catchers..are ash-brown above with a central dark line on the head feathers.
1959 Times 8 Sept. 12/7 On the log wall was an ashbrown felt.
ash-grey adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > ashy grey
crane-colour1517
ash-grey1826
ash1876
1826 T. Bewick Hist. Brit. Birds (ed. 6) I. 53 Minute specklings of white, ash-grey, and brown.
1889 W. B. Yeats Wanderings of Oisin 125 An ash-grey feather.
1904 W. de la Mare Henry Brocken 88 The cadent wail of the ash-grey birds.
ash-looking adj.
ΚΠ
1853 E. K. Kane U.S. Grinnell Exped. xlvii. 438 Ash-looking silt from the ground-up gneisses.
ash-white adj.
ΚΠ
1873 R. Broughton Nancy III. 113 His face growing even more ash-white than it was before.
b. Passing into parasynthetic compounds.
ash-bellied adj. having a belly the colour of ashes.
ΚΠ
1811 G. Shaw Gen. Zool. VIII. 214 Ash-bellied Creeper.
ash-colour n. (used attributively.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > ashy grey
crane1517
crane-coloured1549
crane-feather1557
ash-coloura1586
subcineritious1657
cinereous1661
cinerealc1878
a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1593) iii. sig. Ii4 A faire smock, wroughtal in flames of ash-coullour silke and golde.
1768 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. (new ed.) II. ii. 438 The forehead is a reddish ash-colour.
ash-coloured adj. of the colour of ashes, whitish- or brownish-grey.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cendré..ash-coloured.
1656 in Roxburghe Ballads (1883) IV. 490 A Wench with an ash-coloured face.
1852 M. Arnold Empedocles on Etna, & Other Poems 89 The sweet blue eyes—the soft, ash-colour'd hair.
c. Also in instrumental relation.
ash-smeared adj.
ΚΠ
1900 R. Kipling Kim i, in McClure's Mag. Dec. 123/1 Then there were holy men, ash-smeared fakirs by their brick shrines.
1927 D. H. Lawrence Mornings in Mexico 160 Some of these ash-smeared men held armfuls of snakes.
C2. Special combinations (chiefly attributive). Also Ash Wednesday n., askebathe n., askefise n. † ashes-cloth n. Obsolete a cloth to carry ashes in.† ashes-dodding n. Obsolete the strewing of the head with ashes on Ash Wednesday. † ash-stone n. Obsolete = ash-drawer n.
ash-barrel n. chiefly U.S. a barrel for holding ashes; also occasionally ashes barrel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes
ash-tub1620
ash-box1833
ash-barrel1846
ashcan1872
ash-bin1883
ashcan1899
1846 D. Corcoran Pickings 61 They were..knocking over the ashes barrels, shying stones at the lamps.
1870 ‘F. Fern’ Ginger-snaps 55 Garbage-heaps and ash-barrels before the door of poverty.
1905 R. Kipling Actions & Reactions (1909) 6 That wilderness which is reached from an ash-barrel of a station called Charing Cross.
1947 E. Paul Linden on Saugus Branch 136 The Protestant deacons..did not fail to note..the empty bottles in the ash barrels.
ash-bed n. a thick layer of ash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum > stratum by constitution > ash
ash-bed1849
1849 R. I. Murchison Siluria iv. 77 Felspathic agglomerates and Ash-beds.
ash-bin n. a receptacle for ashes and household refuse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes
ash-tub1620
ash-box1833
ash-barrel1846
ashcan1872
ash-bin1883
ashcan1899
1883 Pall Mall Gaz. 29 Dec. 10 There were no ashbins.
ash-blond adj. and n. (also ash-blonde) (a) adj. applied to hair of a light blond colour; (b) n. the colour itself; a person with hair of this colour.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [noun] > person having light
blonde1822
tow-head1829
blondie1882
strawberry blond1884
bottle blonde1898
ash-blond1903
peroxide1903
peroxide blonde1909
platinum blonde1931
the world > life > the body > hair > colour of hair > [adjective] > light hair
yellowOE
blonde1481
towy1858
blondine1867
red-blond1875
strawberry blond1884
ash-blond1903
tow-like1907
bottle blonde1908
blondish1961
strawish1978
1903 Daily Chron. 9 Mar. 3/1 My hair is a beautiful ash-blonde.
1926 Bulletin & Scots Pictorial 29 June 10/3 A mass of ash-blond hair was braided and coiled around her head.
1947 E. Hyams William Medium x. 197 They were ash-blondes, with heavenly skins and large blue eyes.
ash-blue n. a chemical product of copper and lime-water.
ash-boat n. (see quot.)
ΚΠ
1909 Daily Chron. 18 Aug. 7/4 Ships in harbour are not allowed to throw their ashes overboard, but must signal for the ‘ash-boat’.
ash-box n. a receptacle for ashes, (a) a pan beneath a fire-grate, (b) a dust-bin.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes
ash-tub1620
ash-box1833
ash-barrel1846
ashcan1872
ash-bin1883
ashcan1899
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace > ash-pan under grate
ash-pan1568
ash-drawer1802
ash-box1833
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §605 The bottoms of these chambers should have an ash-box fitted into them.
1847 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1846 261 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (29th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. 52) III The chamber of combustion and its grate and ash-box.
ash-cake n. one baked on or under hot ashes.
ashcan n. chiefly U.S. = ash-bin n.; also figurative; in U.S. Services' slang, a depth charge.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes
ash-tub1620
ash-box1833
ash-barrel1846
ashcan1872
ash-bin1883
ashcan1899
1899 W. C. Morrow Bohemian Paris 103 The rows of heaped ash-cans that lined the way.
1919 World's Work Oct. 604/2 The depth charge looked like the innocent domestic ash can, and that was the name by which it soon became popularly known.
1920 Chambers's Jrnl. Mar. 151/2 One of them upsets the ash can.
1944 W. H. Auden For Time Being (1945) 71 In a wet vacancy among the ash cans.
1959 G. Jenkins Twist of Sand iv. 68 ‘I give it five minutes before the ash-cans come.’.. Waiting for a depth-charge attack is probably as bad as the attack itself.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes > cloth for carrying ashes
ashes-cloth1461
nash-cloth1611
1461–83 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 85 They shalle have aysshes clothes..to fetche aysshes in from every mannes chambres.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > other practices > [noun] > ashes-dodding
ashes-dodding1554
1554 T. Becon Humble Supplicacion sig. Bvv Bread worshipping, asshes dodding fyre and tapers halowing.
ash-drawer n. (a) obsolete name of the tourmaline, from its electric properties; (b) a drawer for ashes beneath a fire-grate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > cyclosilicates > [noun] > tourmaline
ash-stone1760
tourmaline1760
ash-drawer1802
tourmalinite1896
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace > ash-pan under grate
ash-pan1568
ash-drawer1802
ash-box1833
1802 Edinb. Rev. 3 307 Ashdrawer as the English name for a tourmaline.
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §599 With the fire-places near the hearth, with front bars beveled inwards, and with an ash-drawer, the fender may be made very low.
1920 Chambers's Jrnl. Apr. 264/2 An ash-drawer is arranged under the grate with the hot chamber below it.
ash-fire n. a low fire of ash and cinders used in chemical operations.
ash-furnace n. a furnace used in glass-making.
ash-grate n. a grate that fits over the ash-hole.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace > grate
grate1605
fire grate1620
purgatory1707
stove-grate1730
stovea1756
ash-grate1833
basket-grate1889
well-fire1895
well grate1898
hob-grate1915
combination grate1940
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §605 The ash-grate, being taken out, and its contents thrown in the dusthole, might be replaced, and the chamber again filled with coals.
1837 Mag. Domestic Econ. III. 111 There should be an ash-grate and pit made under the fire-place, that the ashes may drop through the ash-grate into the pit, and leave the cinders over it.
ash-heap n. a heap of ashes; also, a collection of ashes and household refuse; hence, ash-heap-cake (= ash-cake n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > products of burning > [noun] > ashes or cinders > heap of ashes
ash-heapc1650
c1650 R. Herrick Wks. (Halliw.) I. 176 Ash-heapes, in the which ye use Husbands and wives by streakes to chuse.
1839 W. B. Stonehouse Hist. Isle of Axholme 47 Monday ash-heap cake, with butter in a hole in the middle.
c1870 J. G. Murphy Comm. Lev. x. 19 The sin-sacrifice..was to be burnt on the ash-heap.
ash-hoist n. a hoist for removing ashes from the ash-pit of an engine house, the stokehold of a vessel, etc.
ΚΠ
1920 Blackwood's Mag. Sept. 303/2 The noise of the ash-hoist greeted his ear.
ash-hole n. a hole beneath a fireplace or furnace into which the ashes fall; also, a hole in which ashes and household refuse are thrown away.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > hearth or floor of furnace > parts of
ash-hole1651
workstone1667
ash-pit1797
sow1843
cinderblock1868
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > place for disposing of refuse > hole or pit > for ashes
ash-pit1797
ash-hole1818
1651 J. French Art Distillation iii. 84 The Ash-hole..must be as wide as the Furnace.
1818 S. E. Ferrier Marriage xxviii I saw you..throw all the good dreaming-bread into the ash-hole.
1871 J. R. Lowell My Study Windows in C. Gibbon Casquet of Lit. (1877) I. 394/1 The ash-hole of the glass-furnace.
ash-hopper n. U.S. a lye cask, resembling a hopper in a mill.
ΚΠ
1809 Trans. Amer. Philos. Soc. 6 ii. 240 ‘Cubic salts’..thrown upon the ash-hoppers..are supposed to assist in precipitating the lime.
1843 ‘R. Carlton’ New Purchase 51 Most time, man, you'll have to work your own ash-hopper.
1885 ‘C. E. Craddock’ Prophet Great Smoky Mountains i. 18 Some fifteen or twenty hounds that suddenly materialized from the ash-hopper.
ash-house an outhouse for receiving ashes.
ΚΠ
1807–8 W. Irving Salmagundi iv. 73 He once shook down the ash-house, by an artificial earthquake.
ash-leach n. a hopper or tub in which wood-ashes are placed that the alkaline salts may be dissolved from them.
ash-like adj. resembling ashes.
ΚΠ
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Cendré, ashy, ash-like.
ash-man n. one who covers himself with, or lives in the, ashes; a collector and remover of ashes.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > aspects of faith > piety > asceticism or mortification > [noun] > one who covers himself with or lives in ashes
ash-man1625
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > one who > one who removes ashes
ash-man1873
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes ii. 1478 Dervises..sleeping at night in the warme ashes, with which they besmeare their bodies. These Ashmen suffer not the Rasor to come upon their heads.
1873 T. B. Aldrich Marjorie Daw 142 He has fought the ashman's boy, the grocer's boy [etc.].
1959 ‘E. Fenwick’ Long Way Down iii. 22 The ashman's visits: depressing, but routine.
ash-oven n. = ash-furnace n.
ash-pan n. a utensil (fitted beneath a grate) in which the ashes are collected and removed; †also = ash-hole n.; also, earlier term for ash-tray.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > heating or making hot > that which or one who heats > [noun] > a device for heating or warming > devices for heating buildings, rooms, etc. > hearth or fireplace > ash-pan under grate
ash-pan1568
ash-drawer1802
ash-box1833
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > ash-tray
ash-pan1857
ashtray1887
1568 Bible (Bishops') 1 Kings vii. 50 The ashpannes [other vers. censers] of pure golde.
1727 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Oeconomique (Dublin ed.) at Chimney The Ash-pan..must be dug in the Hearth, of a convenient Depth.
1857 E. Fitzgerald Let. 3 Oct. (1889) I. 265 The last Cheroot he had tried lay three quarters smoked in its little China ash-pan.
1883 Army & Navy Co-op. Soc. Catal. Ash Pans in brass, steel, and Berlin Black.
1898 G. B. Shaw Mrs. Warren's Profession iv. p. 216 A double writing-table..with a cigar box, ash pans.
ash-pit n. = ash-hole n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > place for disposing of refuse > hole or pit > for ashes
ash-pit1797
ash-hole1818
society > occupation and work > equipment > furnace or kiln > furnace > parts of furnace > [noun] > hearth or floor of furnace > parts of
ash-hole1651
workstone1667
ash-pit1797
sow1843
cinderblock1868
1797 Encycl. Brit. at Furnace The ashes drop down into a cavity..called the ash-pit.
1864 E. A. Parkes Man. Pract. Hygiene i. ix. 276 Proximity of ashpits..causing contamination to the air.
ash-pone n. [pone n.2] U.S. an ash-cake.
ΚΠ
1824 ‘A. Singleton’ Lett. from South & West 78 What slaves I have seen have fared coarsely upon their hoe-cakes and ash-pone.
1832 S. G. Goodrich Syst. Univ. Geogr. 260 Hoe-cake..and ash-pone, a coarse cake baked under the ashes, are in common use, as bread.
ash-receiver n. U.S. an ashtray.
ΚΠ
1930 D. Parker Laments for Living 62 The ash-receivers, of Japanese manufacture, were in the form of grotesque heads..given..mouths stretched into great gapes, into which those who had the heart for it might flick their ashes.
ash-riddling n. the northern custom of riddling ashes on the hearth on St. Mark's Eve as a method of divination.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by natural phenomena > [noun] > by fire > by ashes
tephromancy1652
ash-riddling1825
1825 J. T. Brockett Gloss. North Country Words Ass-riddlin, the riddling or sifting of the ashes on the hearth, on the eve of St. Mark. The superstitious notion is, that, should any of the family die within the year, the shoe will be impressed on the ashes.
1893 K. Simpson Jeanie o' Biggersdale 240 Ash-riddling is an old custom which I like to keep up.
ash-shoot n. a shaft through which the ashes are shot, or are raised from the stokehold to the deck of a ship.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > other parts of body of vessel > [noun] > opening in deck > vertical aperture > shaft passing through decks
trunk1862
ash-shoot1889
1889 Cent. Dict. Ash-shoot.
1898 R. Kipling Fleet in Being 5 I heard Swinburne laying down the law to his juniors by the ash-shoot.
1920 Blackwood's Mag. Sept. 303/2 He..watched the fireman unhook his first bucket of ashes from the hoist and carry them to the ash-shoot.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > cyclosilicates > [noun] > tourmaline
ash-stone1760
tourmaline1760
ash-drawer1802
tourmalinite1896
1760 B. Wilson in Philos. Trans. 1759 (Royal Soc.) 51 308 Experiments made upon the Tourmalin, or Ashstone.
ashtray n. a small bowl or other receptacle for tobacco-ash.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > ash-tray
ash-pan1857
ashtray1887
1887 R. Kipling Germ Destroyer in Civil & Mil. Gaz. 17 May 5/1 He tipped a paper bag full of his filty powder into the big silver ash-tray.
1926 M. Sutherland One o' the Herd v A lacquered Chinese table with..a box of cigarettes and an ashtray upon it.
ash-tub n. = ash-bin n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > clearing of refuse matter > refuse disposal > [noun] > receptacle for refuse > receptacle for ashes
ash-tub1620
ash-box1833
ash-barrel1846
ashcan1872
ash-bin1883
ashcan1899
1620 F. Quarles Feast for Wormes 40 Though thou chuse an Ash-tub for thy bed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
† ashn.3
Obsolete.
= ache n.2, as in sweet ash: hare's parsley ( Anthriscus sylvestris); and ash of Jerusalem: probably dyer's woad ( Isatis tinctoria).
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > plants used in dyeing > [noun] > woad
woadeOE
ash of Jerusalem1548
glastum?c1550
pastel1578
straw woad1612
dyer's woad1860
dyer's weed1866
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.iiiv Wyld wad is called in Englishe ashe of Hierusalem.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
ashn.4
/aʃ/, U.S. /æʃ/ The name of the Old English runic letter ᚫ, corresponding to æ in the alphabetic writing of Old English, to which letter the name is also applied by modern scholars; named, like other runes, from the word of which it was the initial.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written character > name of written character > [noun] > runic or Old English or Middle English
asha1000
thornc1000
wynnc1300
thorn-letter1902
a1000 Runic Poem (1915) 22 Æsc biþ oferheah, eldum dyre.
a1000 in C. Williamson O.E. Riddles of Exeter Bk. (1977) 95 Se torhta Æsc, an an linan.
1840 Archaeologia 28 338 (Fig.) Æsc.
1883 I. Taylor Alphabet II. viii. 219 The rune asc..derived from epsilon, denoting a.
1915 B. Dickins Runic & Heroic Poems 4 To the original 24 letters the English eventually added six, æsc, ac, yr, ear, calc, gar, if not a seventh ior.
1942 E. V. K. Dobbie Anglo-Saxon Minor Poems 159 The rune for æsc, ‘ash’..[was] used for the sound æ after the early Anglo-Saxon sound change a > æ.
1955 R. Quirk & C. L. Wrenn Old Eng. Gram. i. 8 Æ is called ‘ash’, the OE word æsc ‘ash’ being the name of the corresponding runic letter.
1964 T. Pyles Orig. & Devel. Eng. Lang. ii. 29 The æ was called æsc ‘ash’, the name of the runic symbol which represented the same sound, though it in no way resembled the Latin-English digraph.
1985 R. W. Burchfield Eng. Lang. ii. 7 The runes..were..powerful, symbolically representing simple concepts, in that each character was also a word: thus ash..meant ‘ash-tree; a ship made from the ash’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
ashv.1
/aʃ/, U.S. /æʃ/ dialect.
To flog with an ash-stick. Cf. to birch.
ΚΠ
1877 in F. Ross et al. Gloss. Words Holderness (E.D.S.) 57/1
1940 F. Kitchen Brother to Ox i. 4 ‘Ashing a lad's behind’ was the recognized form of punishment.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
ashv.2
/aʃ/, U.S. /æʃ/ To sprinkle or strew with ashes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > state of being scattered or dispersed > scatter [verb (transitive)] > sprinkle > sprinkle (a surface) with something > (as) with specific substance
sandc1374
snowc1400
be-ash1530
gravel1543
bemeal1598
kern1613
meal1613
powder-sugar1654
ash1655
sawdust1882
1655 J. Howell 4th Vol. Familiar Lett. v. 14 They ashe and powder their pericraniums.
1874 Daily News 30 Dec. 3/6 The trotting track..was very slippery, and had to be ashed.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1885; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
> as lemmas
ASH
ASH n.
Brit. /aʃ/
, /aʃ/U.S. /æʃ/
Action on Smoking and Health./æʃ/ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > [noun] > good health > state of being conducive to > organization
Sokol1910
World Health Organization1945
W.H.O.1946
ASH1968
the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > [noun] > anti-smoking society
ASH1968
1968 Christian Sci. Monitor 30 Jan. 5/1 Most recently there is the formation of the brand new Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) to act as a legal arm of the antismoking forces.
1983 Listener 30 June 36/1 After talking to ASH..I use the word ‘lethal’ advisedly.
2008 Evening Standard (Nexis) 28 Nov. 6 Until yesterday, Ash campaigners were convinced they had strong support for the proposals being in an NHS Bill in next week's Queen's Speech.
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