| 释义 |
ironn.1 Forms: α. early Old English isaen (probably transmission error), early Old English isaern, early Old English isærn, early Old English iseren, early Old English iserre (Mercian, as adjective, dative singular feminine), Old English isrn (Northumbrian), Old English issern, Old English risn (transmission error), Old English–early Middle English isern, Old English (rare)–early Middle English ysern, early Middle English iserne (as adjective), late Middle English ayser (Yorkshire). β. Old English hisen (as adjective, rare), Old English isenn- (as adjective, inflected form, rare), Old English isn- (inflected form, rare), Old English isyn (rare), Old English isyn (as adjective, rare), Old English ysen (as adjective, rare), Old English ysenn- (as adjective, inflected form, rare), Old English–early Middle English isen, Old English (rare)–Middle English ysen, late Old English issen (as adjective), early Middle English his- (in compounds), Middle English is- (in compounds), Middle English ys- (in compounds), Middle English yse, Middle English ysn- (inflected form), Middle English yzen (south-eastern). γ. Old English yrenn- (as adjective, inflected form, rare), Old English (as adjective, rare) Middle English iryn, Old English (rare)–Middle English irenn- (inflected form), Old English–1500s iren, Old English (rare)–1500s yren, early Middle English irenn ( Ormulum), Middle English eiren, Middle English eren, Middle English erene, Middle English eryn, Middle English eyren, Middle English heren, Middle English heyron, Middle English hiron, Middle English hyren, Middle English hyrene, Middle English hyrone, Middle English hyryn, Middle English ieren, Middle English irene, Middle English irin, Middle English irinn, Middle English irren, Middle English irun, Middle English iryne, Middle English iyren, Middle English jren, Middle English jrenne, Middle English jron, Middle English yrene, Middle English yrin, Middle English yroun, Middle English yrovn, Middle English yrun, Middle English yrunn- (inflected form), Middle English yryne, Middle English–1500s yryn, Middle English–1600s irone, Middle English–1600s yron, Middle English–1600s yrone, Middle English– iron, late Middle English orn (transmission error), 1500s hyeren, 1500s ierell, 1500s ieron, 1500s ireron, 1500s ireyn, 1500s ironne, 1500s–1600s iyron, 1600s eyron; Scottish pre-1700 airone, pre-1700 ayron, pre-1700 ayrun, pre-1700 earin, pre-1700 earing, pre-1700 iren, pre-1700 irene, pre-1700 irin, pre-1700 irine, pre-1700 irone, pre-1700 iroun, pre-1700 irron, pre-1700 iryn, pre-1700 iryne, pre-1700 iyren, pre-1700 iyron, pre-1700 iyrone, pre-1700 iyryn, pre-1700 yrin, pre-1700 yrine, pre-1700 yron, pre-1700 yrone, pre-1700 yronn, pre-1700 yroun, pre-1700 yryn, pre-1700 1700s– iron, 1900s– airan; also Irish English (Wexford) 1800s eeren; N.E.D. (1900) also records a form late Middle English iyron. δ. Old English (rare)–Middle English irn- (inflected form), Middle English eyrn, Middle English herne, Middle English hirn- (in compounds), Middle English hirne, Middle English hyrn, Middle English hyrne, Middle English irnne, Middle English jrne, Middle English yrn- (inflected form), Middle English (1800s– English regional (Cumberland)) ern, Middle English–1500s erne, Middle English–1500s yrn, Middle English–1500s yrne, Middle English–1600s irn, Middle English–1600s irne, 1600s irnens (English regional (Shropshire); plural), 1600s yr'ne (poetic); U.S. regional 1800s iurn, 1900s– ahrn, 1900s– arn, 1900s– orn; Scottish pre-1700 airne, pre-1700 arne, pre-1700 erne, pre-1700 hyrne, pre-1700 irrne, pre-1700 jrne, pre-1700 yrn, pre-1700 yrne, pre-1700 1700s– airn, pre-1700 1700s– ern, pre-1700 1800s irne, pre-1700 (1800s– Shetland) irn, 1800s ir'n, 1900s– earn (Roxburghshire); also Irish English (northern) 1800s– airn, 1900s– ern. ε. early Middle English her- (in compounds), early Middle English hyr- (in compounds), Middle English eire, Middle English hire, Middle English ir- (in compounds), Middle English irre- (in compounds), Middle English jre, Middle English–1500s yr, Middle English–1600s yre, Middle English– ire (now English regional (south-western)), 1500s–1600s yer- (in compounds), 1600s ier- (in compounds); Scottish 1700s ire. ζ. early Middle English ȝern- (in compounds), Middle English ȝirne, Middle English ierne, Middle English yeren, Middle English yerin (in a late copy), Middle English yirn, Middle English–1500s iyrne, Middle English–1500s yern, Middle English–1500s yerne, 1500s hierne, 1500s iearne, 1500s iern- (in compounds), 1500s iornys (plural), 1500s jerne, 1500s yeirne, 1500s yeron, 1500s yerryn, 1500s yeryn, 1500s yeryne, 1500s yoiran, 1500s yoren, 1500s yorin, 1500s yoron, 1500s–1600s yorne; Scottish pre-1700 ierne, pre-1700 iyrne; N.E.D. (1900) also records a form late Middle English yeron. η. U.S. regional (chiefly southern and in African-American usage) 1800s iun, 1800s– i'n, 1900s– ahn, 1900s– ahun, 1900s– i'on, 1900s– i'un. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian īrsen, īrser, īrsern, īsern, īsarn, etc., Middle Dutch īser, īsen (Dutch ijzer), Old Saxon īsarn (Middle Low German īseren, īsern, īser, īsen), Old High German īsarn, īsan, īser (Middle High German īsen, German Eisen), Old Icelandic ísarn (rare and chiefly in early poetry; perhaps < a West Germanic language), Gothic eisarn < a Germanic base probably borrowed < the Celtic base of Gaulish īsarno- (in place names and personal names), Early Irish íarn (disyllabic in early use), íarann (Irish iarann, Scottish Gaelic iarann, Manx yiarn), Old Welsh -haern, -hearn (in personal names; Welsh haearn), Old Cornish -hoern, (in names also) iarn- (Middle Cornish horn), Old Breton hoiarn, (in names also) iarn- (Middle Breton, Breton houarn); further etymology uncertain (see note). Compare Old Icelandic járn (in some early texts also íarn, disyllabic), Old Swedish iarn, iærn (Swedish järn), Old Danish iarn (Danish jern), probably borrowed < Early Irish.Further etymology of the Germanic and Celtic bases. While it is not impossible that the Celtic and Germanic bases are cognate, it is more likely that the Germanic base was borrowed < Celtic in prehistory, alongside the introduction of iron technology to northern Europe (compare discussion in D. H. Green Lang. & Hist. Early Germanic World (1998) 154–5). Compare lead n.1, which may have a similar history. The underlying form has been variously interpreted, most commonly as: (i) a derivative of the Indo-European base of ore n.2; (ii) a derivative of the Indo-European base of ancient Greek ἱερός strong (probably a further sense of ἱερός holy, sacred: see hiero- comb. form); or (iii) a derivative of the Indo-European base of ancient Greek ἔαρ , εἶαρ blood (on account of the colour of iron oxide, especially as seen in iron ore); but these all pose phonological problems. Attempts have been made to resolve these problems by suggesting transmission via Illyrian. Borrowing into either Germanic or Celtic from a non-Indo-European substrate language has also been suggested. Form history in Old English. In Old English, the noun and the derived adjective have become formally identical in their stem forms (see discussion at iron adj.), and the pattern of attestation of the different phonological forms of the stem appears to be essentially the same for the noun and the adjective. It is occasionally difficult to distinguish between noun and adjective, especially in compounds and fixed phrases. In Old English the noun is a strong neuter. The inherited form īsern (see α. forms) has a long medial syllable, so syncope would not usually occur in this form and forms descended from it. Old English (chiefly West Saxon) īsen (see β. forms) probably represents a development within Old English, showing loss of r in īsern before stem-final n in reduced stress; compare similar developments in forms of barn n. and quartern n.1 The β. forms of the noun and adjective very occasionally show inflected forms such as īsn- , but these are unlikely to be inherited forms (contrast the form īrn- discussed below), and the usual inflected form is īsen- , without syncope. The adjective also shows a rare late West Saxon inflected form īsenn- , which, if not simply a hypercorrect spelling, might show assimilation rather than loss of r in īsern (compare also discussion of parallel γ. forms below). Old English īren (see γ. forms), which typically appears in Mercian and sources showing Mercian influence and also in verse (it is the predominant form in Beowulf), appears to be the result of a process of assimilation and simplification and perhaps also some kind of metathesis. However, the details are uncertain and disputed. It is, in particular, unclear whether īren represents a development within Old English or reflects a form inherited from Germanic. If the former, it may perhaps have arisen by metathesis of īsern to *īsren (compare the similar metathesis seen in Old Frisian īrsen ), followed by assimilation and simplification of sr to r . It has alternatively been suggested that r in īren is the reflex of Germanic z ; this z would either represent the reflex of s in a stress variant of the Germanic base (by Verner's Law) or perhaps be the result of distant assimilation of s to a following z (if the stem-final group was zn at the time). The stem-final consonant group would then show assimilation to nn (either < zn or < rn ) and subsequent simplification. Compare A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §459.4 note 3, R. M. Hogg & R. D. Fulk Gram. Old Eng. (2011) II. §2.21 note 3, and references cited there. Old Icelandic járn was formerly sometimes assumed to show a comparable development, but is now usually regarded as showing a separate borrowing from Early Irish. It is uncertain whether the isolated Old High German personal name form Hiranharto (if it represents a genuine variant of Isanhart , with Latin ablative ending) is in any way relevant to the Old English forms. An additional complication for the Old English γ. forms is represented by the inflected forms īrenn- (in Beowulf in īrenna (three times), apparently genitive plural of the noun in at least one instance, although perhaps in others representing an inflected form of the adjective) and īrn- (with apparent syncope in an originally short syllable, in contrast with īsern , as mentioned above). Their attestation in verse appears to indicate that they are genuinely inherited forms, suggesting that there were antecedent forms both with final geminate nn and with a single n . Different explanations have been offered for these variant stem forms within the framework of each hypothesis about the general origin of the γ. forms (see references above). Late West Saxon forms with initial y- (e.g. ysen at β. forms, yren at γ. forms) may indicate occasional laxing rather than rounding of the initial vowel (if not simply inverted spellings with y for i in areas where Old English had been unrounded); compare R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §5.173. Distribution of forms in Old and Middle English, and development of new form types in Middle English. Regarding the dialect distribution of the form types in Old English it has been suggested that the α. forms represent the original (universal) form, which was supplanted in the West Saxon and Kentish area by the β. forms and in the Mercian (and later in the Northumbrian) area by the γ. forms (see S. Kleinman in Neuphilologische Mitteilungen 98 (1997) 371–90). This analysis is to some extent supported by the Middle English evidence, which shows that the β. forms persisted longest in the south-east (compare B. Sundby Dial. & Provenance ‘Owl & Nightingale’ (1950) 188–94), with the γ. forms predominating in the midlands and north (and ultimately providing the standard English form). The γ. forms also gave rise to two new form types: the δ. forms (by syncope), chiefly midland and northern, and the ε. forms (with loss of final n ), chiefly south-west midland and southern (especially south-western). The ζ. forms are recorded sporadically from different locations, chiefly (but by no means exclusively) from former Danelaw counties and other areas with significant Scandinavian influence. In Middle English the stem vowel of the syncopated δ. forms was subject to shortening before the consonant cluster (especially, it seems, in northern Middle English); the resulting short ĭ was subsequently sometimes lowered to ĕ ; relengthening (probably by Open Syllable Lengthening in forms that had developed an epenthetic vowel between r and n ) gave the common modern Scots form airn /ern/ (compare A. J. Aitken & C. Macafee Older Sc. Vowels (2002) §§3.1, 4.1, and forms such as ayron, earin at γ. forms, apparently with epenthetic vowel). Further notes on variant forms. The late and isolated attestation of the form ayser at α. forms (no other α. forms are attested after the early Middle English period) has been explained as perhaps showing influence from a continental language (compare Middle Dutch īser and Middle Low German īser ). In the reduced β. forms (yse, ys-, etc.; compare c1400 at sense 1aβ. ) apparently earliest in occupational surnames, most commonly in ironmonger n. (e.g. Ailredus Ismangere (compare quot. 1164-5 at ironmonger n. 1), Johanne Hismongere (1296)), where the form may be the result of assimilation of nasals, but compare also Robert le Isblowere (1303). In ε. forms also earliest and (in early use) frequently in forms of ironmonger n. (especially as a surname; compare quot. c1200 at ironmonger n. 1). Compare the variant forms list at ironmonger n. With the form irnens at δ. forms perhaps compare ironen adj. In η. forms reflecting U.S. regional pronunciations (in non-rhotic varieties). Development of the modern pronunciation. The current standard pronunciation apparently arose from a variant of the type reflected by the γ. forms, showing loss of the vowel of the second syllable and probably the development of a syllabic nasal (as in the case of pattern n. and other words discussed at that entry), with subsequent loss of the syllabic quality of the nasal and development of a glide vowel between a diphthong and r , although the precise details are uncertain; for a detailed account see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. § 328. A similar pronunciation is recorded for environ in early modern English; although this pronunciation has become standard in the case of iron it was still criticized by some commentators in the 18th cent. Pronunciations not reflecting this development survive in regional varieties of English (Yorkshire and Scotland); compare Scottish Standard English /ˈaɪrən/. Notes on specific senses. With medieval and early modern uses compare Anglo-Norman and Old French, Middle French, French fer (10th cent. in sense ‘sword’ (compare senses 2a and 7), c1100 denoting the metal generally, and metal parts of weapons and implements more specifically) and its etymon classical Latin ferrum (see ferro- comb. form), both of which have similar semantic ranges. In iron and fire at sense 2a after classical Latin ferro ignique, lit. ‘with iron and fire’ (Cicero Philippics 11. 37) and ferro flammāque , lit. ‘with iron and flame’ (Cicero In Catilinam 2. 1). Considerably earlier currency of sense 24 (denoting the colour; compare iron adj. 5) is perhaps shown by the following Old English gloss, in which a form of the Old English noun apparently renders Latin ferrugo in its post-classical Latin sense ‘the colour of iron’ (see discussion at iron-grey adj. and n.). However, the interpretation of the gloss is very uncertain, and it is perhaps more likely that īsene (apparently dative singular) is to be taken in parallel to the noun sinderōme as a further explication of the preceding pair of adjectives, the whole meaning ‘grey, bluish, in respect of iron or rust’:eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker Lat.-Old Eng. Gloss. in MS Cotton Cleopatra A.III (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 193 Ferrugine, græg, hæwe isene oþþe sinderome.With this sense perhaps compare also Old English īsern used in early glossaries to render post-classical Latin alcion, alchior, apparently in the sense ‘kingfisher’, perhaps with reference to the metallic lustre of the bird's plumage:eOE Épinal Gloss. (1974) 4 Alchior, isærn [eOE Erfurt Gloss. isaern, eOE Corpus Gloss. isern, eOE Cleopatra Gloss. isen]. However, the meaning of these glosses is uncertain and disputed. (Compare also Old High German īsarn, īsarno, īsaro, and the compounds īsarnfogal, īsanfogal, all apparently in the sense ‘kingfisher’, and see further T. Vennemann in Interdisciplinary Jrnl. Germanic Linguistics & Semiotic Anal. 1 (1996) 113–45.) I. The substance. 1. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > iron > [noun] α. OE (1931) 1088 Tubal Cain..sulhgeweorces fruma wæs ofer foldan, siððan folca bearn ærest [read æres] cuðon and isernes [L. aeris et ferri], burhsittende, brucan wide. OE 14 Sum stan hatte magneten; gif þæt isern bið bufan þæm stane, hit wyle feallan on þane stan. OE tr. Bede (Cambr. Univ. Libr.) i. Introd. 26 Hit is eac berende on wecga orum ares & isernes [OE Corpus Cambr. irenes], leades & seolfres. 1405 in J. Raine (1836) I. 331 (MED) j cultellum de ayser. the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [noun] > callousness or hard-heartedness > type or emblem the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [noun] > hard substance or thing > typically the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [noun] eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory (Hatton) (1871) xxxvii. 267 Ðiss Israhela folc is geworden nu me..to tine & to iserne & to leade [L. stagnum et ferrum et plumbum] inne on minum ofne. OE tr. Defensor (1969) xlv. 290 Ferrum nostrę animę nequaquam perducitur ad subtilitatem..acuminis, si hoc non eras erit [read eraserit] alienę..lima prauitatis: isen ure sawle nates hwon byð gelædd to gehwædnysse scerpnysse gif þæt þu nære byð fremedre feole þwyrnysse. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine f. cxvij/1 How haue ye herte of yron, in what maner may ye so be harded so out of nature. 1532 W. Walter tr. G. Boccaccio sig. C.j I am not made of yron nor stone But of your flesshe and nature engendred. 1623 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher iii. ii. 425 Beare witnesse, all that haue not hearts of Iron . View more context for this quotation 1695 W. Temple 87 He had a Body of Iron, as well as a Heart of Steel. 1754 J. Elphinston tr. F. de S. de la Mothe-Fénelon I. xviii. 106 Those convincing turns..are of no manner of use here. The ears are stopt, and the hearts of iron. 1767 tr. C. di Beccaria Bonesana xxvii. 75 The hand of the legislator and the assassin were directed by the same spirit of ferocity; which..dictated laws of iron to slaves and savages. 1858 H. W. Longfellow 8 Short of stature he was,..deep-chested, with muscles and sinews of iron. 1873 R. Broughton III. 238 Embraced in the icy iron of his [sc. Death's] arms. 1927 J. Buchan xiv. 233 Whaur's the iron o' doctrine and the fire o' judgment in sic a bairnly screed? 1936 L. C. Douglas x. 212 The luminous novelty of her new freedom having worn through to the iron, she was in the market for diversion. 1984 A. Oakley (1985) 5 A woman with a dainty, mild-mannered appearance concealing a will of iron. 2010 (Nexis) 12 Feb. With his trademark glint in the eye and iron in the voice, John Tomlinson was a suitably strident General. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron 1823 Oct. 311 The carburetted cast-irons are probably no more than mixtures of this kind, and not particular combinations of cast-iron and carbon. 1827 3 186 In the cast-irons which have but little carbon, the affinity of the iron for that substance is too strong to allow it to separate and form graphite; such irons, therefore, remain white, even after a slow refrigeration. 1887 D. A. Low (1892) 77 The grey varieties of cast iron are called foundry irons..while the white varieties are called forge irons. 1932 May 146/2 High tensile irons, corrosion-resisting irons, and growth-resisting irons are now made in large quantities. 1998 Mar. 82/1 (advt.) Europe's largest producer of Meehanite continuously cast bar in grey, nodular and low alloyed irons. 2. In specific uses. society > armed hostility > war > [noun] the world > life > death > killing > slaughter > [noun] eOE tr. Bede (Tanner) iii. xiv. 204 Penda Mercna cyning cwom mid Mercna here in þa stowe, & all þa ðæ he meahte, mid iserne & fyres lege [L. ferro flammaque] fornom & forleas. OE Ælfric (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xvii. 173 Þa wearð þæt earme mennisc, for heora mandædum, sum mid hungre acweald, sum mid heardum isene. c1275 (?c1250) (Calig.) (1935) l. 1030 Hom ne mai halter ne bridel Bringe vrom hore wude wise, Ne mon mid stele ne mid ire [perh. read ise]. c1300 (c1250) (Cambr.) (1966) l. 6 Ne ire [a1400 Egerton yren] ne steil ne mai þe sle. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 219 [Alaric] destroyed al..wiþ yre and wiþ fuyre [L. ferro et igne]. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) I. cxiii. f. liv Wastynge, and destroyinge the Countrey with Fyre and Irne. 1608 D. Tuvill f. 66v To make way..through fieldes of Iron, and streames of blood, to that imperiall dignitie. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iv. 245 Meddle you must that's certain, or forsweare to weare iron about you. View more context for this quotation 1663 S. Butler i. iii. 163 What perils do inviron The Man that meddles with cold Iron! 1702 Earl of Peterborough et al. tr. J. de Torreil in tr. Demosthenes Pref. 86 This last, after he had sudued [sic] Gaul with Roman Iron, subdued Rome with Gallic Gold. 1795 tr. L. S. Mercier I. 13 The wild beasts, struck with alarm, abandon their dens to men, who, with iron and fire, open spacious alleys in woods. 1847 11 Sept. 22/3 Their lands are mortgaged to the foreigner; they are too indolent and powerless to redeem them either with the gold of labor or the iron of war. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 355 Charge Troy's children afield and fell them grimly with iron. 1898 1 Aug. 4/7 Bismarck..is known throughout the world as ‘the man of blood and iron’. The phrase was his own. Great questions (he said) are decided, not by speeches and majorities, but by iron and blood (1862). 1915 Mar. 213/1 Iron of battle whose harvesting shall yield A fruit of death. 1992 E. Pearce xvi. 155 By all accounts the sort of woman given to ruling provinces with fire and iron. society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > [noun] > bond(s) or fetter(s) or shackle(s) > specific iron OE (1992) xxii. 370 Se lichoma lið on eorðan isne genearwod & mid racentunge [prob. read racentum] geðryd & mid bendum gebunden. OE Wærferð tr. Gregory (Corpus Cambr.) (1900) iii. xxxi. 238 He..geband his swyran & his handa mid irene & hine þa beleac on swiþe nearwum fæstene. ?a1160 (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 In mani of þe castles wæron..rachenteges ðat twa oþer thre men hadden onoh to bæron onne;..ðat he ne myhte nowiderwardes ne sitten ne lien ne slepen, oc bæron al ðat iren. c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 19 Gederið in ower heorte..þe pinen þe prisuns þolieþ..þer ha liggeð wið irn heuie ifeðeret. c1380 (1879) l. 1194 (MED) Wiþ yre þay bounde hem faste, & left hem þer al mete-les. a1500 (c1350) (Cambr.) (1986) l. 1558 [They] ladd them wyth yron stronge. 1568 T. Hacket tr. A. Thevet xl. f. 61 The day before the execution, he shall be laide in his bed, and chained with Iron. 1640 R. S. tr. J. Drexel i. v. 122 It is God that bindes and ties us to a certaine course of life..; some with cords, and others with iron. 1685 R. Brady 471 In this Fight were taken..all the Nobles of Poictou and Anjou, who were fettered and manacled with Iron. 1789 M. Madan tr. Juvenal Satires vi, in I. 309 If with iron his right hand has clatter'd. 1899 C. Neufeld xix. 235 For ten years I had been so chained and weighted with iron that it was only with effort I was able to raise my feet from the ground. 1967 Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o xiii. 209 I saw men crawl on the ground..like cripples because their hands and feet were chained with iron. 2005 A. C. Metcalf iv. 116 He had escaped by diving off..and swimming ashore, despite the fact that his feet were shackled with iron. society > trade and finance > money > [noun] 1785 F. Grose Iron, money in general. 1906 E. Pugh i. 5 The iron you're goin' to give me. 1929 J. B. Booth ix. 158 A young subaltern..who, like so many of his kind, was shockingly short of ‘the ready iron’. 1966 C. Rougvie iii. 50 He was earning a bit of iron. 1983 M. Whiteford 52 Iron, money... ‘That's where the iron is.’ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > [noun] > articles made of 1822 III. iv. 128 Seest thou this other trim bit of iron; there are two bullets in it. 1946 25 Nov. 15/7 (advt.) Come on down here and take some of this old iron off my hands... I know my cars are as cheap as anyone else's. 1979 R. Jaffe (1980) iii. iii. 318 She was growing up to be a beauty. When she got the iron off her teeth, watch out. 1996 Dec. 56/1 It's great to see all this old iron plying the pavement rather than gathering dust in museums or rusting away in barns. 2008 D. Koontz 171 ‘Are you ironed’ means are you carrying iron, are you packing a gun? 3. the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medicines for specific purpose > restoratives, tonics, or stimulants > [noun] > tonic > mineral 1657 R. Tomlinson tr. J. de Renou Medicinal Materials ii, in sig. Ggg4 All Iron [L. ferrum..omne] is roborative. 1696 J. Pechey tr. T. Sydenham 461 They [sc. some Mineral-waters] cure Diseases more effectually than Iron, how much soever exalted by Art, as boasting Chymists talk. 1710 T. Fuller 406 Iron (according to Lemery) far excels Steel, for Medicinal Uses, because its not so compact; dissolves easily in the Body, and more freely gives out its virtue. 1772 W. Buchan (ed. 2) 653 Such medicines as tend to promote digestion, to brace the solids, and assist the body in preparing good blood... The principal of these are iron, the Peruvian bark, with other bitter and astringent medicines. 1803 10 186 It is cured by iron which has undergone no preparation, but the minutest division of its particles. 1857 E. L. Birkett (ed. 5) 256 The headache occasionally following the use of iron is readily prevented. 1916 29 Apr. 1413/2 If that patient were anemic, Mr. Hough, certainly I would give her iron. 1978 June 76/2 Taking iron or blood stimulants—or even transfusions—has been proposed. 2007 (Nexis) 13 May 1 a The doctor suggested that he take some iron and come back in a couple of weeks. the world > life > the body > vascular system > blood > components of blood > [noun] > other components 1799 H. Davy in T. Beddoes 128 One portion of the oxygen combines with the oxydable and acidifiable bases in the venous blood, and particularly with the iron; and from this oxydation arises the vermillion color of the arterial blood. 1834 8 Nov. 355/3 Animals are dependent upon both vegetable and inorganic matter; lime is an ingredient of the bone, and iron of the blood. 1884 H. N. Martin & E. G. Martin (ed. 4) viii. 261 Iron is an essential part of the blood, but in health we need no more than is contained in the vegetables and meat which we eat daily. 1928 Feb. 37/3 (advt.) Grape-nuts, made of wheat and malted barley, contributes to the body iron for the blood. 1952 A. M. Smith viii. 194 There are occasions..when a chlorosis of the leaves is produced as a result of a deficiency of iron. 2004 Spring 6/2 A genetic disorder characterized by excessive absorption of dietary iron. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > a stone > [noun] > meteorite > other meteorites 1802 (Royal Soc.) 92 212 Have not all fallen stones, and what are called native irons, the same origin?.. Are all, or any, the produce or the bodies of meteors? 1842 43 358 The imbedded grains of olivin in the Pallas iron of Siberia, and the Otampa iron of South America. 1868 5 75 The bodies which are comprised under the general name of meteorites have long since been arranged under two great divisions, the irons and the stones. 1920 19 56 In this scheme, meteorites are divided into four classes, viz. Irons, Stony-irons, Chondritic Stones, and Non-chondritic Stones. 1962 B. Mason ix. 130 All large meteorites are irons, and the average mass of an iron is much greater than that of a stone. 2005 (Royal Soc.) A. 363 2798 The relative proportions of stones, irons and comets are not well known. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron > sheet iron > corrugated iron 1843 20 Dec. ‘The house was an old one for the colony, and was made of wood, roof and all.’ Did our traveller expect to find the roof of iron or asphalte? 1885 9 Apr. 2 The walls and roof are of iron. 1924 ‘R. Daly’ iii. 28 The Residency was a large iron-and-weatherboard bungalow. 1956 G. Bowen (ed. 2) x. 115 Building paper should be used under the iron above the shearing board. 1957 D. Lessing xii. 216 He..lived with her in a shack made of iron and brick. 2011 (Nexis) 19 Nov. 26 (advt.) House: Weatherboard and iron on 1214 square metres. Inspect: Today, 11.45am to 12.30pm. II. An object made (or formerly made) of iron. society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > made of metal > iron eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory (Hatton) (1871) xxvi. 185 Se læce hyd his isern wið ðone monn ðe he sniðan wile. OE 15 Oft mec [sc. an ox] isern scod sare on sidan. OE Ælfric (Julius) (1881) I. 446 Se smið..genam ane hringan [of the coffin lid]... He teah ða þæt isen up swa eaðelice up of ðam stane swilce hit on sande stode. OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius (Vitell.) (1984) cxxxii. 170 Þu scealt onbutan hy delfan swa ðu hyre mid þam iserne [?a1200 Harl. 6258B ysene] na æthrine. c1175 (Burchfield transcript) l. 9956 Cristess goddcunndnessess mahht..iss bitacnedd..Þurrh þatt bulaxess irenn. c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 40 I þe muð sit tet irn. & o þe lihte tunge. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 39 Of ane of þase nayles gert..Constantyne make him ane yrne till his brydill. 1463–4 in J. T. Fowler (1898) I. 153 Pro factura de le milne Irennys. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert f. iiv It must be well steeled: and that shall cause..the yrons to last moche lengar. 1563 in R. Dickson & J. P. Edmond (1890) xv. 156 The said Ihonne had na vtheris guddis saifing his prenting irnis and letteris. 1611 Job xli. 7 Canst thou fill his skinne with barbed irons ? View more context for this quotation 1678 J. Moxon I. iv. 63 When you set the Iron of the Fore-Plain. 1748 I. 41 (note) With an Ice-Hook, which is an iron shaped like an S. 1790 Dec. 666 With the irons in his side, he is drawn up in a moment with a pulley. 1843 W. M. Thackeray Ravenswing i, in Apr. 470/1 A little more of the iron to the left whisker. 1850 J. Greenwood 126 Irons, the tools used by the caulkers for driving in the oakum. 1887 Aug. 240 The State..cannot add to its other irons the supervision of all that is interesting in art and architecture. 1909 G. Stein 20 She crinkles up her hair with irons so I have to laugh. 1962 6 Feb. 8 Don't keep that waffle iron on a top shelf! Instead of skillet-frying French toast, you can ‘waffle’ it in the iron. 1991 Jan. 4/4 In a bevel-down bench plane with the iron set at, say, 45 deg, the wedge angle is 45 deg with a ‘perfect’ edge. 2009 J. Struthers 143 The dancers wear wooden clogs fitted with irons that accentuate the rhythm of their dancing. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > side arms > sword > [noun] OE (2008) 892 Þæt swurd þurhwod wrætlicne wyrm,..dryhtlic iren. OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius (Vitell.) (1984) xxxii. 78 Wið slege isernes oððe stenges þeos ylce wyrt..wundurlice gehæleþ. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 23 Hu mei þe leche þe lechinen þa hwile þet iren sticat in þine wunde? a1400 (a1325) (Fairf. 14) l. 26924 Quilis þat irene is in wounde. is plaster nane mai make hit sounde. a1450 ( tr. Vegetius (Douce) (1988) f. 68v Oftener is hunger cause of victorie þan þe scharp yren. 1639 T. B. tr. J.-P. Camus Certain Moral Relations in S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus 211 Such biting replyes..that..hee would have sought to redresse it with an iron. society > occupation and work > equipment > marking tools > [noun] > branding-iron eOE (Royal) (1865) i. xxxviii. 96 Gif þæs dolges ofras synd to hea, ymb stric mid hate isene swiðe leohtlice þæt þæt fel hwitige. OE Aldhelm Glosses (Brussels 1650) in L. Goossens (1974) 274 Cauterio : mearcisene, bærnytte, [mearc]cingc. c1425 tr. J. Arderne (Sloane 6) (1910) 66 (MED) Som-tyme it byhoueþ for to cauterize þe wounde with an hote iron. ?c1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius (Cambr. Ii.3.21) (1886) i. pr. iv. 10 He comaundede þat..me[n] sholde marke hem on the forheued with an hoot yren and chasen hem owt of the towne. c1475 (a1400) J. Wyclif (1880) 303 (MED) Hauynge here conscience brent wiþ hoot yren of coueytise. a1500 (Sloane) (1890) 57 (MED) Ordygne you a strange iron to marke þem [sc. sheep] withe in þe forhede. 1583 J. Stockwood tr. J. von Ewich i. iv. f. 15v Let them not lacke launces to open the vaine, nor kniues to cut, nor yrons to seare. 1611 1 Tim. iv. 2 Hauing their conscience seared with a hote iron . View more context for this quotation 1613 S. Purchas 768 The women with an Iron pounce and race their bodies, legs..and armes, in curious knots. 1704 Cauting-iron, this is an Iron wherewith Farriers sear those part of an Horse that require Burning. 1796 A. Thomson tr. Suetonius 344 After deforming many persons of honorable rank, by branding them in the face with hot irons, he condemned them to the mines. 1826 J. Miers I. i. 16 One of these was spitted on an iron used for marking cattle. 1856 E. B. Browning ii. 68 As guiltless men may feel The felon's iron..and scorn the mark Of what they are not. 1908 June 747 What is wanted is courage..to apply the red-hot iron to the wound without regard to the interests and self-esteem of the ‘reconstitution’ party. 1972 T. A. Bulman iv. 23 He branded a bunch of cows with his own iron—III—and turned them loose. 1989 J. W. Evans (ed. 2) i. 57 The iron must be gently rocked back and forth and from side to side to ensure even contact. society > law > administration of justice > court proceedings or procedure > trying or hearing of cause > [noun] > trial > trial by ordeal > types of > equipment used in OE (Otho) ii. xiv. §1. 158 Ga he to hatum isene [lOE Rochester to þam hatum isene] & ladie [þa hand, m]id þe man tyhð, þæt þæt facen worhte. lOE (Rochester) iii. vi. 230 Ælc tiond age geweald, swa hwæðer he wille swa wæter swa isen. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 6950 (MED) Me broȝte vorþ þis fury ssares..Þe quene..stap vpe þis furi yre, euerich stape al clene. c1330 (?a1300) (1886) l. 2229 (MED) Wiþ hot yren..Sche þouȝt to make hir clene Of sake. c1450 (1904) I. 52 (MED) Þer was broght furth a hote yrn to prufe þe treuth with. a1500 (?c1425) (1936) 180 (MED) For to proue þe soþe wheþer sche were clene or noȝt, he made to be ordeyned a longe hote yre of the lengþe of xv feete þat his wyf schuld go vpon barfote. 1604 Abp. G. Abbot vi. 262 They shold go bare-footed, over certaine redde hot irons, & if they were burnt at all, then they were helde for guilty. 1797 W. Johnston tr. J. Beckmann III. 297 The defendant and the iron were consecrated by being sprinkled with holy water. 1847 32 270 By the laws of Edgar.., the iron to be handled weighed one pound if the ordeal was simple. 1949 J. L. LaMonte iii. 39 The judgment of his fellows played an important role as they could determine the weight of the iron. 2010 G. Falk vi. 110 The ordeal of hot irons consisted of handing the accused an iron that had been blessed and then heated. society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > tools used in coining > stamping irons or dies society > trade and finance > money > coining > [noun] > coiner > officers of the mint OE (Julius) (1994) 47 Feower siðon man awende mynetisena on his dagum..; and on þam frummynetslæge wæron twa and sixtig penega gewihte seolfres on anum penege. 1451 in (2007) 1451/10/14 The new yrnes that salbe maide salbe gravin with the cunye place. 1540 in (1814) II. 378/2 All personis þat..counterfutis þe kingis Irnis of cunȝe. 1566 in lf. 120 Robert Hornby, Clerk of the Irons. 1656 O. Cromwell in (1808) II. 408 The office of Sole-chiefe Engraver of the irons of and for the moneyes of us and our successors. 1663 in (1958) 28 389 No graver shall..worke any original or master punches, matrices, stamps and dyes or any irons for coyning. 1706 (new ed.) Clerk of the Irons, an Officer in the Mint, who is to take care that the Irons be clean and fit to work with. 1752 T. Carte III. 384 They proposed to coin their plate to pay them: but the mintmen stole off with their stamps and irons. 1817 R. Ruding II. 26 All manner of puncheons, irons, gravers, and other instruments belonging to the said mints. 1849 159 The superintendent, as clerk of the irons, keeps an account of all blank dies. 1873 13 143 It is not stated that the Protestant party went the length of using the irons to issue any coinage with. 1953 J. Craig xv. 260 The surveyor of melting and clerk of the irons was Spencer Perceval, MP. 1992 C. E. Challis 294 Possibly Mason and Martin forged the irons incorrectly in the first place; possibly the irons were ruined in the die sinker's hands. society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > [noun] > bond(s) or fetter(s) or shackle(s) > specific iron ?a1160 (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Diden an scærp iren abuton þa mannes throte & his hals ðat he ne myhte nowiderwardes ne sitten ne lien ne slepen. 1340 (1866) 128 Þe ilke þet is in prisone in ysnes and ine ueteres. c1425 (1923) 37 (MED) He..felt now nat as beforne, hym-self so chargid with ferramentis and Iryns. a1439 J. Lydgate (Bodl. 263) i. l. 5814 It were weel meriere a man to gon at large, Than with irenes be nailed to a blok. a1450 (Faust.) (1883) l. 3986 He seyȝe þat cursede Bryxin come..Stondying in an heyron þere. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) xvi. 369 And thenne he made to be broughte a grete payre of yrens, and fetred hym wyth theym, bothe hys fete togyder. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) I. clxii. f. lxxxxi The greuous correccyons that he sawe..as in werynge of Irons, and Guyues. 1588 R. Greene sig. Gv Pained with the burden of colde, and heauie Irons. 1607 B. Jonson v. xii. sig. O Thou art to lie in prison, crampt with irons, Till thou bee'st sick, and lame indeed. View more context for this quotation 1653 H. Cogan tr. F. M. Pinto xxxii. 126 The Jaylors clapt irons on our feet, and manacles on our hands. 1748 T. Smollett I. xxix. 260 I was loaded with irons, and stapled to the deck. 1782 July 376/1 He then ordered my irons to be knocked off, and proposed to me to go to Charlestown, and procure him intelligence. 1804 23 Dec. 3/2 To labour in a single iron every evening until dusk. 1861 H. A. Jacobs iv. 38 Could you have seen that mother clinging to her child, when they fastened the irons upon his wrists. 1900 July 8/1 There was a constant fear lest they get sick or escape their irons and capture the ship. 1968 May 37/2 Harry Houdini, free of cuffs and irons, took a great gulp of air and was hauled aboard the tug. 2003 4 Aug. 52/1 The irons locked on their hands and legs chafed them badly. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > pressing or ironing > ironing or pressing implements 1613 J. May v. 27 With a wet cloth and a hotte Iron, they ouerrunne those lists. 1677 H. Woolley 66 Draw them between your hands every way till they be little more than half dry, then smooth them with good hot irons the same way you did wash them. 1725 R. Bradley at Clear-starching Lay them upon the Board, with a Muslin over them, and iron them with an Iron not too hot. 1732 H. Fielding i. ix. 13 Thus burning from the Fire, the Washer lifts The red-hot Iron to make smooth her Shifts. 1841 C. Dickens i. x. 143 Coming to the fireplace for another iron. 1894 Oct. 23/2 The irons are quite unlike those in use in America, being very light... The laundress is obliged to use a great deal of pressure to make up for the lack of weight in the iron. 1947 1 287 Hughes unpacked his kit to find his number ones badly crushed, and cursing, he went in search of an iron. 1971 Nov. 26/2 Hold a household iron on the cloth while the iron's switch is set at the silk setting. 1998 Aug. 41/2 Remove the Bondaweb backing paper and fuse the shape in place with an iron. 2001 Apr. 104/1 Did I leave the iron on? society > occupation and work > industry > whaling and seal-hunting > whaling > whaling equipment > [noun] > harpoon 1613 W. Baffin in S. Purchas (1625) III. iv. v. 719 For the order of the Biscaines is, that who so doth strike the first Harping Iron into him, it is his Whale, if his Iron hold. 1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière 115 One of our Shallops coming too near the other Fish before they threw out their Irons. 1726 P. Dudley in (Royal Soc.) 33 263 Sometimes they will get away after they have been lanced and spouted blood, with Irons in them. 1771 tr. A.-J. Pernety 35 Those [porpoises] we took did always force the iron, and one of them twisted it like the end of a screw. 1853 8 Jan. 400 The harpoon or ‘iron’ as we whalers call it. 1882 June 562/2 My boatsteerer stood and placed himself in position with his iron ready to dart. 1902 F. T. Bullen xxi. 272 Don't waste line 'n' irons on these fish. 1922 W. J. Hopkins xviii. 181 Our whale had spouted his last spout, and lay quiet in the sea, with our irons still in him and our line fast to them. 2002 (Nexis) 11 Aug. e8 On the day Athneal killed a monster whale with his first iron (his first harpoon toss), he became like a god. the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > stirrup 1662 J. Heath 46 Now there was put on him a bridle and a saddle that had outworn its tree and irons. 1783 (Royal Soc.) 72 371 This iron, as well as the stirrup-leather, being the only damaged parts of the saddle that remained. 1836 17 New Ser. 59 The saddle tree, the irons, the mode of covering, and in fact all the parts may be the same with those now employed by different workmen. 1883 Aug. 499/1 Queen Bess can't win. Cluney lost his iron at that beggarly little obstacle. 1907 (1969) 304 Gentleman's spring-side safety irons, with Prussian sides. 1955 30 June 3/7 He bumped Gawthorpe badly, causing Nevett to stand up quickly in his irons. 2008 (Nexis) 8 July 31 He lost his iron and said he felt really untidy, but he was still as effective. the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > burglary > [noun] > instruments used by burglars 1681 2 He hid himself under the Bed, where he had the Iron in his hand with which he committed the Burglary. 1702 J. Vanbrugh iii. 34 (stage direct.) Pulls out some Irons, and forces the Lock. 1776 N. B. Halhed tr. xvii. 256 If a Man should find upon any Person Irons for breaking into Houses, or other Implements of Robbery, he shall call him a Thief, and apprehend him. 1941 V. Davis xix. 251 The bishop, cane, iron, or stick. 1962 25 Jan. 82/1 Tools for breaking into other people's premises are irons. the world > health and disease > healing > medical appliances or equipment > surgical supports > [noun] > calliper for leg 1697 R. Pierce i. x. 233 He was so well recover'd (by outgrowing his Weaknesses and Distortions) as to leave off his Irons, and to be settled at a School. 1789 M. Underwood (rev. ed.) II. 55 Nothing has seemed to do any good but irons to the legs, for the support of the limbs and enabling the patient to walk. 1839 C. Dickens viii. 67 Children..with irons upon their limbs, boys of stunted growth. 1884 W. Pye xxv. 319 Wooden splints are..preferable to ‘irons’. 1957 57 160 When the patient first went to school, one of his schoolfellows was a crippled boy who wore an iron on his leg. 1981 M. Cruickshank iii. v. 130 Many remained permanently in irons or confined to spinal chairs. 2006 H. Claire iv. 71 For nearly two years, till I was four and a half, I wore irons on my legs from ankles to hips. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [noun] > club > types of club 1793 Rec. Honourable Company Golfers 4 May in R. Clark (1875) 57 It is the unanimous opinion of this Company that no Member shall play on the Links with Irons all. 1857 (new ed.) II. 694/1 When a ball lies in whins or other hazards of a similar nature..the iron is the best club for freeing it from such impediments. 1894 5 Mar. 7/5 His opponent used the iron well and played a very good short game. 1908 J. Braid 312 The only club that could possibly get it there was an iron. 1977 17 June 28/1 (advt.) Uxbridge Golf Centre... 4 woods, Nos 1, 3, 4, 5 and Irons 3–9. 1987 Aug. 66/3 It's better to practise most of the time with the same club—something middle-of-the-range like a 6-iron. 2002 (National ed.) 4 Jan. c13/5 [He] played his first competitive round using a new set of Taylor Made irons. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > pistol 1828 J. Thompson i. 15 If ye dinna lay down my iron, I'll pop an earth-nut through ye. 1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ III. i. 7 Put down your irons..or..we'll drop ye where ye stand. 1939 ‘F. O'Brien’ 177 With that demented bully flourishing his irons every time he gets the sight of something he can shoot, nobody is safe. 1997 D. Simon & E. Burns (1998) 30 One of the Stricker and Ramsay boys..tilted the table and came out with his iron. society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > other mediums of exchange > [noun] > uncoined metal as medium of exchange > iron 1901 T. J. Alldridge xxi. 217 The value for one package being twenty irons, equal to 1s. 8d. in English money. 1936 G. Greene i. iii. 64 One could speculate in irons: the rate that day was twenty for fourpence. 1972 B. G. Dennis iii. 64 One iron, koluyīla as the Gbandes call it, is equivalent to one cent; twenty such irons constitute a unit. 1995 E. W. Dendel 79 An egg cost two irons. the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > cutlery 1905 E. W. Prevost 97/2 He's neah use for wark, but he's a gay good fist wee his irons. 1943 J. L. Hunt & A. G. Pringle 29 Eating irons, knife, fork, and spoon. 1950 J. Brooke i. 15 I said I thought some tea would be nice, only I hadn't any eating-irons yet, and didn't know where the mess was. 1992 C. Graham vi. 115 Guy picked up his irons, noted a measure of surprise in the gathering and put them down again. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > old, worn-out 1935 19 Feb. 28/1 ‘Iron’ is the dealer's name for an obsolete [automobile]. 1961 J. Stroud xi. 105 ‘This iron of yours ——’ began Frank. 1963 38 42 Iron, an old truck. 1967 M. Reynolds 9 Well, it would mean being able to maintain a decent hovercar rather than the..four wheel iron he was currently driving. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > a theatre > theatrical equipment or accessories > [noun] > curtain 1951 R. Southern in 171/2 Another curtain in the proscenium opening is the Safety or Fireproof Curtain, sometimes nicknamed the Iron. 1952 W. Granville 102 Iron's down. 1967 N. Marsh v. 112 ‘I'll take the Iron up and you can see Jeremy Jones's set for the first act.’ He..sent up the elegantly painted fireproof curtain. 1991 (Nexis) 26 July 15 I tend not to allow naked flames downstage of the irons. III. Other uses. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > non-British plants or herbs > [noun] > American or West Indian 1756 P. Browne ii. ii. 179 The slender reclining Iron... This beautiful little plant rises, generally, in an oblique direction. the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > iron or steel grey 1878 B. F. Taylor xii. 149 All tints of copper, all shades of iron. 1911 E. Wharton (1914) 301 In a sky of iron the points of the Dipper hung like icicles and Orion flashed his cold fires. 1923 24 Apr. 1 In the latest shades of..Iron, Parma, Gardenia. 2003 26 Sept. e38 The high-rise apartment buildings of Yorkville to the south, their faces alternating shades of iron, sandstone and cream. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of shot or stroke 1890 31 Oct. 103/2 He, however, atoned for this mishap by a splendid iron shot for his second... Gow's second, also an iron, was too strong. 1930 26 Sept. 1/4 The crowd cheered when Sweetser hit an iron 15 feet from the cup. 1965 18 Oct. 3/1 At the 16th he hit a seven iron to six feet for his two. 1993 (Nexis) 18 May (Sport section) 41 He hammered an iron to 2.5m for another birdie on the fifth. 2006 G. Norman & D. T. Phillips iv. 141 For my second shot, I hit a beautiful 4-iron to within 18 feet of the flagstick. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > pressing or ironing 1922 26 Nov. 7/4 (advt.) There are so many occasions where a little pressing is necessary to make the children presentable—or when one's own frock gets a little mussed and needs an iron to straighten it out. 1930 18 Oct. 9/2 Evening gowns of..satin or crepe that must need an iron upon unpacking. 1959 4 Sept. 4/1 (advt.) For knitting that..never shrinks or stretches or seats or sags or pills or fluffs or ever needs an iron. 1999 J. Arnott iii. 119 Find a half-clean shirt and give it an iron. 2010 K. Fry i. 3 I often think the whole of Hugh could do with an iron. His clothes are always creased. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual orientation > homosexuality > [noun] > a homosexual person > male 1936 ‘J. Curtis’ viii. 79 You gets into bed and goes straight off to kip, never touched me you didn't, you great iron. 1938 J. Phelan iv. 39 Harry had a young iron an' Painter butted in on him. 1961 E. Partridge xii. 58 Gorblimey, 'e's an iron, did'n yeh know? 1996 J. King (1997) 122 Closet bum bandit mate, that's what you are. Fucking iron on board a Chelsea coach. PhraseseOE (Mercian) (1965) civ. 15 (18) Ferrum pertransiuit animam eius : iren ðorhleorde sawle his. a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1965) Psalms civ. 19 Þei meekeden in stockis hise [sc. Joseph's] feet, iren passede þurȝ his lijf [a1425 L.V. irun passide by his soule]. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) civ. §17. 368 Yryn passid thorgh his saule. 1539 Psalms cv. 18 Whose fete they hurt in the stockes: the yron entred in to hys soule. a1626 L. Andrewes (1661) x. 462 The gals, that sin makes in the conscience, are the entering of the iron into our soul. 1698 R. South III. 428 But when the supporter it self fails..and the Iron enters into the very Soul, then baffled Nature must surrender and quit the Combat. 1768 L. Sterne II. 32 I saw the iron enter into his soul. 1796 July 452/1 She shook off her chains indeed, but ‘the iron had entered her soul’: and that nation..became contemptible to the rest of Europe. 1830 10 Apr. 218/1 Then it is that the iron enters his soul, and deeds are sometimes done at which humanity shudders. 1843 T. B. Macaulay Madame D'Arblay in Apr. 463/2 She was sinking into a slavery worse than that of the body. The iron was beginning to enter into the soul. 1906 U. Sinclair xxx. 392 It was what is called an ‘incendiary’ appeal,—it was written by a man into whose soul the iron had entered. 1933 ‘E. Cambridge’ iv. 129 That made six obviously easy chairs. No one would be left out, sitting on a straight chair and looking as if the iron had entered into their soul. 2010 S. Fry 312 But, willy nilly, the iron has entered your soul. OE Ælfric (Julius) (1881) I. 294 Gif ge þonne me forseoð and mine gesetnyssa awurpað, ic eac swyðe hrædlice on eow hit gewrece; ic do þæt seo heofen bið swa heard eow swa isen, and seo eorðe þærtogeanes swylce heo æren sy. a1500 W. Lichefeld Complaint of God (Caius) l. 525 in (1911) 34 525 (MED) Harder than iren is that hert That hath no pite of thy peyn. ?1526 G. Hervet tr. Erasmus sig. G.ivv Hart harder than horne, harder than yron. 1568 E. Dering i. 18 In resisting Gods spirite, more hard than yron. 1601 sig. Dvi Hee had a hundred mouthes and as many tongues, with a voice as strong as yron. 1674 R. Hooke 24 Feb. (1935) 88 Gorge told of the cabbidge tree its prodigious height, that its out side is exceeding hard as iron its middle all pith. 1712 H. Curzon I. 443 A piece of Rhinoceros Skin, hard as Iron, and half an Inch thick. 1751 T. Smollett II. lxi. 187 His heart was shod with a metal much harder than iron, which..nothing but hell-fire would be able to melt. 1828 2 356 He..squeezes her hand with fingers as cold as iron. 1861 T. Hughes II. xvi. 303 He looks as hard as iron, and tough as whipcord. 1918 Aug. 6/1 He looked healthy enough and as if he might be as strong as iron, as some bony men are. 1963 17 Mar. b10/1 Have you ever thought that your body could be..Faster than a bullet? Sharper than a knife? Harder than iron? 2013 (Nexis) 19 Feb. What we did have were homemade treats, such as..ship's chocolate which was hard as iron and bitter as sloes. P3. society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > [phrase] > in captivity eOE (Mercian) (1965) cvi. 9 (10) Ligatos in mendicitate et ferro : gebundne in weðelnisse & irene. OE (1932) cvi. 9 Þa þe her..lifdan, gebundenne [read gebundene] bealuwe feterum on wædle wrace and on iserne. a1400 Psalter (Vesp.) cvi. 10 in C. Horstmann (1896) II. 242/2 Sittand in schadow ofe dede and mirkenes, Bunden in iren and wrecchednes. 1539 Psalms cvii. 10 Soch as syt in darcknesse & in the shadow of death, beyng fast bound in mysery & yron. 1611 Psalms cv. 18 Ioseph..Whose feete they hurt with fetters: he was layd in iron. 1739 J. Cay I. sig. B They shall be sent unto the next gaol of the King, and imprisoned in iron, until they have satisfied their master. 1832 M. Scott Tom Cringle's Log in Aug. 154/2 You will waken de dronken sentry dere, when we shall all be put in iron. 2002 N. R. M. Menon IV. v. 206 Certify in the jailor's report book..that the fetters of every prisoner in iron are secure and clean. b. in (also into) irons. society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > fettered or shackled [phrase] society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > bind, fetter, or shackle [verb (transitive)] 1340 (1866) 128 Þe ilke þet is ine prisone in ysnes and ine ueteres. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland (Vernon) (1867) A. iv. l. 72 (MED) Þe kyng..Comaundede A Constable to casten him in Irens. a1464 J. Capgrave (Cambr. G. IV. 12) (1983) 142 Gilbert of Mydilton was..layd in yrunnes, and led to Londoun, and þere hanged and drawen in the site of the cardinales whech he had robbed. 1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy (1822) iii. 225 Virginius commandit the serjand to apprehend Ceso, and put him in irnis. c1540 (?a1400) (2002) f. 55v The kyng..ffor hir tales of truthe teghit hir in yernes. 1633 T. Stafford i. vii. 51 They were presently caried to Castle Lyshin,..and there straightly kept in Irons. 1676 tr. G. Guillet de Saint-Georges 272 They clapt him in irons. 1726 G. Shelvocke ii. 26 He would see the ring-leaders..punish'd..carrying them home in irons. 1736 Apr. 201/1 He is immediately put into Irons, and threatened with Death. 1788 13 Mar. The Emperor has ordered only one year's confinement in irons. 1862 C. F. Browne 194 I was carrid to Montgomry in iuns. 1884 D. Pae 124 Boatswain, if those fellows make any more noise, have them taken below and put in irons. 1922 189 562/2 Throughout the day he was in irons going from place to place with the officers. 1955 R. Wilson vii. 52 I'm more inclined to feel sorry for this little girl than clap her in irons. 1992 B. Unsworth xvi. 117 They canna put a lad in irons only for existin'. society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of wind > use of wind in sailing [phrase] > by succession of tacks > in irons 1832 F. Marryat II. iv. 50 The yards would not swing round..and the ship was in irons. 1846 H. Raikes 371 Neither helm or sails had any power over the ships, which were to use the common phrase..completely in irons. 1897 M. Kingsley 350 I was in a canoe that made such audaciously bad tacks, missed stays, got into irons, and in general behaved in a way that ought to have lost her captain his certificate. 1960 J. Barth iii. xviii. 733 The sloop had not anchored but only come up ‘in irons’ some distance from the pirate ship. 2005 J. Toghill 48/1 Catamarans (multihulls) can easily find themselves in irons. the world > action or operation > advantage > an opportunity > have opportunity [verb (intransitive)] > take opportunity c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) §70 Right so as whil þt Iren is hoot men sholde smyte. 1523 in (1836) IV. 85 And now the iron is hote, it is tyme to stryke. ?1615 G. Chapman tr. Homer (new ed.) xii. 487 [He] their iron strook At highest heat. 1623 Bp. J. Hall VII. O.T. xviii. 187 The iron was now hot with this heauenly fire, Elijah..strikes immediately. 1694 S. Slater 114 Strike Man, Woman, strike while the iron is hot, as soon as the wind blows spread your Sails. 1753 S. Foote i. 13 Then strike whilst the Iron's hot. 1786 May 232/1 I judged it time to strike while the iron was hot, so I consented. 1860 A. Trollope I. vi. 106 Strike when the iron's hot; that's my motto. 1882 Apr. 927/2 I've got to strike while the iron's hot, if I'm going to write out that logging-camp business. 1938 21 Aug. 6/7 How far the General might have gone had he struck when the iron was hot..is a question upon which the best judgments have differed ever since. 1983 R. Curtis & R. Atkinson Black Adder in R. Curtis et al. (1998) 100/2 I say strike now while the iron is hot! 2002 17 June 26/1 Bush aides admit that he gave the..speech ahead of schedule. ‘We wanted to strike while the iron was hot.’ P5. the world > action or operation > doing > activity or occupation > be occupied or busy (in or at something) [verb (intransitive)] > have (too) many occupations the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > find means to do something [verb (intransitive)] > use every means 1549 W. Paget Let. to Somerset 7 July in (P.R.O.: VIII No. 4) Put no more so many yrons in the fyre at ones. 1621 R. Burton iii. iv. i. ii. 728 Hee [sc. the Pope] hath more actors in his Tragedy, more yrons in the fire. 1624 J. Smith iv. 159 They that have many Irons in the fire, some must burne. 1645 J. Howell ii. xv. 23 That King..having too many irons in the fire at his own home. 1721 J. Kelly 255 Many Irons in the Fire, some must cool. 1728 C. Cibber ii. i. 29 Man. Is it full as practicable as what you have told me? Sir Fran. Ay,..you'll find that I have more Irons i' th' Fire than one! 1751 R. Paltock II. xiii. 142 I had now several important Irons in the Fire, and all to be struck whilst hot. 1852 A. Gray 28 July (1893) 391 College work is now over and I can get on with fewer irons in the fire. 1886 J. H. Overton vii. 118 [He] had far too many irons in the fire to find time for original research. 1889 Nov. 1/1 Unusual activity prevails just now among French-Canadian men of letters, each one of whom has an iron in the fire. 1911 E. Wharton 12 May (1988) 237 I wish you had definite news of some of your irons-in-the-fire, but the only one I believe in is your own sound brain & your own stout will. 1946 C. Bush i. 11 And he's got other irons in the fire. And he's got a new play shortly coming on. 1986 16 July 57/1 Do you by any chance find yourself with too many irons in the fire? 2004 17 May 63/3 TiVo has a lot of irons in the fire. I wouldn't write them off just yet. the world > action or operation > advantage > usefulness > use (made of things) > instrumentality > find means to do something [verb (intransitive)] > use every means 1572 J. Leslie f. 16 He therefore layed al his irons in the fyre, & leaft no stone vnremoued, or way vnattempted, to persuade her..to take to husband the said Earle Bothwel. 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 777 Now Pompey..vnder hand did lay all the yrons in the fire he could, to bring it to passe. 1696 tr. G. de Courtilz de Sandras 321 Wherefore putting all his Irons in the fire immediately, he manag'd it so well, that he obtain'd an Arrest. 1751 tr. I. 145 Without more Words, I will put every Iron in the Fire. 1762 T. Smollett I. iii. 62 Anthony Darnel had begun to canvass, and was putting every iron in the fire. 1840 C. G. Jenkins II. ix. 134 He puts all his ‘irons in the fire’, knows the points required, and spares not the means. 1849 A. Ross x. 170 Those who had been rejected put every iron in the fire, out of pure spite, to discourage those already engaged. 1919 R. Coldicott i. ii. 20 The position to be held was both wide and complicated. We put all our irons in the fire. the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > newness or novelty > new [phrase] 1683 D. A. 25 This is the ordinary defect of young and unexperienc'd Schollars, when they come first from the University, or as they say commonly, fresh off the Irons. 1786 Nov. 357/1 Fire-new, new off the irons, and the Scottish expression bren-new, have all the same origin. 1808 J. Jamieson at Irne New aff the irnes, a phrase used with respect to one who has recently finished his studies. 1824 W. Scott I. xiii. 229 I said that you were a gey sharp birkie, just off the irons. 1881 (1882) 27 i. 203 They [sc. patients at a family-run practice] are apt to look more with suspicion than admiration on your being ‘new off the irons’. 1907 12 Jan. 62/2 They as a Society were peculiarly fitted to take part in that work, because, if he might say so, they were fresh from the irons. 1917 J. L. Waugh 55 It struck me that..he had come—fresh off the erns, as it were—to me in either peace or war. Compounds C1. a. General attributive. OE Ælfric (St. John's Oxf.) 301 Ferrarius, isenwyrhta. lOE (Rochester) ii. 388 Hæbbe se teond cyre swa wæterordal swa ysenordal, swa hwæþer him leofra sy. c1405 (c1395) G. Chaucer (Ellesmere) (1875) l. 759 Orpyment brent bones, Iren Squames..in-to poudre grounden been ful smal. 1607 E. Topsell 182 The little scories or iron chips, which flie off from the Smithes hotte iron while he beateth it. 1738 G. Smith tr. ii. 70 You take..Reverberation prepared Iron Powder. 1756 B. Franklin Poor Richard Improved in (1963) VI. 333 Care must be taken not to let it stand long in the Sauce pan or Pot, lest it should acquire a brassy or iron Taste. 1785 W. Gibbons (title page) The present state of the Iron Trade between England and Ireland. 1847 26 The alizarate of iron dissolves..while the iron compound of the other substance remains behind. 1868 H. Watts V. 386 In the green portion [of the spectrum] alone, there exist no fewer than 70 bright iron lines. 1897 M. Kingsley 64 The Bubi is not only unlearned in iron lore, but he was learned in stone. 1959 2 Jan. 12/2 The disturbances of iron metabolism in hemochromatosis. 1967 19 Aug. 377/2 Owing to the strong chelation of the iron to the dextran, the high blood levels did not cause iron toxicity. 2005 L. H. Kaufman ii. 53 As the richest iron deposits were consumed, the mining companies developed technology to concentrate lower-grade ores. (b) 1575 J. Banister sig. O Merda ferri, Iron drosse, colde and drie, consolidatiue. 1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre (1799) I. 124 Look at the anfractuosities of a simple morsel of iron-dross. 1837 J. T. Smith tr. L. J. Vicat 1 Another looked upon smithy slag and iron-dross as the finest ingredients. 2001 V. L. Bullough 154 Also recommended was a suppository made of..colocynth pulp, mandrake, iron dross, sulfur scammony, and cabbage seed. 1695 J. Woodward 178 Crystallized Ores and Minerals, e.g. the Iron-Rhombs, the Tin Grains. ?1609 J. Healey tr. Bp. J. Hall iii. iv. 152 Here there is an Iron Rock [L. rupes..ferrea], iust like that Rocke of Lode-stone, which the Geographers say is vnder the North pole. a1650 G. Boate (1652) xvi. 127 The Iron-rock being full of joints, is with pick-axes easily divided. 1855 E. Emmons I. 150 The debris and soil is too deep to admit of removal for the single purpose of disclosing the extent of the quarry of iron rock. 1905 No. 48. 321 In the northern part of the main ore-bearing area the porphyry contains irregular masses of ‘iron rock’, which is chiefly a mixture of limonite and quartz. 2011 (Nexis) 16 Nov. c7 The design..uses Corten steel, which..will gradually weather and blend in with the surroundings of natural iron rock. 1530 J. Palsgrave 235/1 Iron ruste, ferrvge. 1658 tr. L. Lemnius ii. lii. 176 Tartar oyl will presently take off Iron rust and make it shine. 1873 J. W. Dawson vi. 110 Peroxide of iron or iron rust. 1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow ii. 19 Dissolve a speck of iron rust or iron oxide in strong hydrochloric acid. 2010 (Nexis) 19 Oct. He would sit with his father under a creaking fan, learning to paint on cloth with jaggery, iron rust and alum. 1830 J. G. Macvicar iii. 475 (heading) Iron salts and minerals. 1906 J. A. LeClerc tr. R. Robine & M. Lenglen vii. 193 A solution..which when treated with an iron salt yielded Prussian blue. 1926 E. Mayer viii. 160 Metallic compounds, especially iron salts, act as photocatalyzers. 2012 (Nexis) 24 Jan. 4 The soapy solution contains thousands of tiny bits of iron salts. 1614 W. Raleigh i. viii. §4. 138 The Calybes plough not their barren soile, But vndermine high hilles for iron Veines. 1777 R. E. Raspe tr. I. von Born xix. 175 The iron-veins are here running in slate. 1902 19 90 They excavated a large cavity into the side of Great and Little Doward, and followed the iron vein into the mountain. 2004 J. Harriss (ed. 2) i. 3 To the chagrin of German geologists who in 1871 had laid out the boundaries of Lorraine.., France discovered it had the largest iron vein in Europe on its side of the border. (c) In sense 3a. 1822 Apr. 153/1 Probably the majority of persons so affected would be rather injured than relieved by the iron pills recommended by the author. 1912 (Brit. Med. Assoc.) 203 The pills were..a form of Blaud's pill, somewhat weaker than the official iron pill. 2012 (Nexis) 8 Feb. The District Public Health Office..has stopped providing iron pills to pregnant women after they were found to be defective. 1894 34 135 Many of these patients cannot take iron in any form, either from imagination or fact, and refuse iron tablets with great persistency. 1957 (Brit. Med. Assoc.) (ed. 4) 147 Ferrous Carbonate Tablets, B.P.C. Synonyms: Blaud's tablets: iron tablets. 2005 (Nexis) 16 July 26 Iron tablets are among the most commonly used food supplements. 1837 11 Mar. 866/2 Dr. J. Johnson..advised the application of leeches to the vagina or groin, followed by the administration of iron tonics. 1933 E. C. Pearce 24 Good nourishing food,..combined with the use of iron tonics, is all that is necessary. 1973 J. Porter ix. 88 Getting her daughter to take a dose of iron tonic. (d) 1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker i. xxvii. 71 in i. The iron rich Copper Dross [Ger. die Eyssen reichen Kupffer]..may be used with Lead-oar in stead of old Iron. 1883 15 June 550/2 The iron-rich copper slags from Oker. 1934 3 Feb. 249/1 They compared the response of patients to large doses of iron and ammonium citrate with their response to an ‘iron-rich’ diet. 2010 D. A. Rothery ii. 33 The outer parts of the iron-rich cores of the Earth and Mercury must be molten today. 1788 J. St. John tr. L. B. Guyton de Morveau et al. 32 Plumbago..shall take the appellation of carburet of iron.] 1790 W. Nicholson tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy (new ed.) II. 193 The arsenic acid is separated from the alkali, and combines with the iron oxide [Fr. avec celle [sc. la chaux] du fer]. 1826 E. Emmons 220 Pittizite, see iron subsulphate. 1863 1 Aug. (advt.) Iron iodide..1s. 2d. oz. 1877 R. W. Raymond 397 To repair unavoidable losses in the iron-chloride of the bath. 1922 T. M. Lowry xliii. 828 In the melting operation the iron oxides combine with silica to form a fusible slag of iron silicate. 1939 29 460/1 Phosphatisation converts the work surfaces to a porous but adherent coating of iron phosphate. 1991 Mar. 135/1 Rapid burial of large amounts of organic matter may lead to the formation of iron carbonate. 2000 9 Dec. (Weekend Suppl.) 34/3 Iron chloride..has been commonly used by painters and artisans throughout the centuries. c. Objective with verbal and agent nouns (chiefly in sense 1). 1859–63 IV. 332 One species, G. ferruginia, or Rust-like Gallionella, is found in chalybeate or iron-containing waters. 1933 S. W. Cole (ed. 9) xi. 264 Cytochrome is an iron-containing pigment of wide distribution. 2003 (Rio Tinto plc) Mar. 15/3 Traditional blast furnaces..have a number of disadvantages. They require iron-containing ‘feed’ as lump ore, pellets or ‘sinter’. 1694 R. South II. 538 Such an Iron-digesting Faith have they. 2008 (Nexis) 26 Apr. 26 The Titanic is being eaten by an iron-digesting bacterium at the rate of 500 tonnes a year. 1611 R. Chester 105 The iron-drawing Lode-stone if you..place a peece of Iron vnder it..The Lodestone on the top will cause it moue. 1620 T. Granger 66 Heate is the essentiall propertie of fire, yron-drawing, of the loadstone. 1688 W. Canning 63 The wond'rous force of his Iron-drawing Rocks. a1852 E. Snow & F. D. Richards in A. L. Neff (1940) xiv. 306 We surveyed a tract of land.., embracing several sites on the creek for furnaces, foundries, a forge with iron-drawing works, and a nail factory. 1893 9 Nov. 381/1 The writer is inclined to the belief that iron-drawing originated in Germany and then extended to France about the end of the 15th century. 1922 (Massachusetts Dept. Labor & Industries) Index 155/1 Iron drawing machinery, employment of children on, 29. 1611 R. Chester 28 But iron-eating Time the Truth doth staine. 1630 M. Drayton Noahs Floud in 99 The Iron-eating Estridge. 1987 R. D. Ballard viii. 116 This phenomenon, the result of iron-eating bacteria, was well known. 1807 12 Tanning, Iron forging, and the Manufactory of Bone Lace, were formerly carried on. 1842 5 285/2 It is by such a process that iron forgings are so finished from the hammer, so as to require the least possible labour after. 1929 31 638 The Trobriander has no magic of iron-forging because he lives in a stone age. 2003 (Nexis) 3 May 23 A vast interactive exhibition area will provide the chance to try out traditional crafts and skills, such as knot-tying and iron forging. 1790 1 Mar. 1/1 A Large and General Assortment of..screw drivers, iron holders, sugar nippers. 1794 Feb. 72/2 Flat-irons, crimping-irons, iron-holders and heaters. 1858 P. L. Simmonds Iron-holder, a stand for a laundress's smoothing-iron. 2004 (Nexis) 26 Mar. j4 There are built-in, as well as free-standing, ironing boards. All of the boards have iron-holders. 1817 J. Farey III. xviii. 655 Chesterfield seems a very eligible situation, between the Lead-Mining and the Coal and Iron Mining districts, for one of those provincial Geological and Mineralogical Societies. 1868 G. H. Cook 55 Pitch.—This term has come into use among those engaged in iron mining, to express the characteristic descent of the iron ore beds beneath the surface. 1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow xvii. 247 Open-cast iron mining is ruining the country-side. 2002 (Nexis) 4 Sept. 19 The team is..excavating at the iron-mining trench, or openwork, known as ‘Roman Lode’, at Burcombe. 1824 4 Sept. A ruddy complexioned lad..by trade an iron moulder, and by name Thomas Woodcock. 1892 ‘M. Twain’ xi. 107 There wasn't any place for him but with the iron-moulder. 2010 (Nexis) 30 Nov. a24 His father, John, an iron molder who died in 1967. 1848 17 June All the necessary tools, such as engine lathes, iron planers, drills &c. 1941 June 124/2 An iron planer can reproduce itself to the extent of 90 percent of its own weight. 2000 T. C. Davis (2007) 441 James John Neilson..was employed as a fly man but his trade was iron planer. 1832 H. Lee 34 The iron-producing States. 1863 P. Barry 127 England is an iron-producing and iron-manufacturing country. 2009 176 10/1 Johnstown..was a thriving coal- and iron-producing town in the years after the Civil War. 1838 19 July I am an iron puddler by trade. 1871 15 July 85 There is not any labour so severe as that of the iron-puddler. 1992 23 Mar. 43/2 Laughlin had met an iron puddler named Jones. 1843 28 Oct. 313/1 I know of hardly any case, even that of soda furnaces and iron puddling furnaces, in which the opposite result would not take place. 1978 126 609/2 The last operational iron puddling furnace was recently removed from Bolton to the Coalbrookdale museum after no less than 100 years. 2002 55 5 Economic historians have debated the impact upon productivity of spinning mules, steam engines, and iron puddling. 1763 W. Lewis v. 314 In cases where one of the machines cannot supply air enough, as for the large iron smelting furnace, two pipes may be used. 1854 E. Ronalds & T. Richardson (ed. 2) I. 235 The mode of applying the hot blast to lead and iron smelting. 1889 July 263/2 Recently a mineral cotton has been made from the slag refuse of iron smelting. 1977 T. R. H. Davenport 7 The Hurutshe..developed iron-smelting on a considerable scale. 2007 Mar. 66/3 A cavernous former iron smelting works..proved to be the ideal space to stage the legendarily unstageable magnum opus. 1810 May 32 The large pulley of an iron-turner's wheel. 1993 S. McAughtry iv. 27 I was told this when I was fifteen by a playmate whose father was..an iron turner in the yard. 1844 S. Laing in tr. S. Sturluson III. Addit. Notes 367 The iron-using Caucasian race. 1865 E. B. Tylor ix. 247 The iron-using races of Southern Africa. 1990 Aug. 6 It remains difficult to see how peoples in Britain..could ‘evolve’ into iron-using Celtic-speaking peoples. d. Instrumental (in sense 1). (a) Forming adjectives. Some of the following could be construed as parasynthetic compounds of iron adj. (see Compounds 1a).1590 E. Spenser ii. v. sig. Q5 Hurling high his yron braced arme. 1798 J. Boaden ii. 30 Our nerves are iron-brac'd; our swelling hearts Are danger-proof. 1999 S. Heaney tr. (2000) 24 The iron-braced door turned on its hinge when his hands touched it. c1475 (?c1400) (1842) 103 Hauing þer consciens iren brondit. 1599 R. Allott f. 74v Demetrius Pheræus the tirant, who rather trusted an yron branded slauish Thracian, then his wife Thebe. 1997 (Nexis) 7 Nov. 80 Khaki-clad upper West Siders have been lining up for the iron-branded tables. 1861 213 The outer edge is riveted to the angle-iron along the sheer strake, where it is securely iron-caulked.] 1874 S. J. P. Thearle (new ed.) I. 135 The joint..in the bolt hole is iron-caulked. 1922 J. C. Van Dyke ix. 170 The dress was striking—a red or blue flannel shirt,..driving-boots to the knee with iron calked soles and heels. 1997 R. H. Jones i. 12 I have progressed from..cleated rubber soles to felts, and more recently to iron-caulked felts. 1798 J. L. Moore iii. 105 Rock'd by the storm, and toss'd upon the wave: Sleep on, nor feel thy iron-fastn'd home. 1858 P. L. Simmonds 205/2 Vessels whose planks and timbers are rivetted with iron nails and bolts instead of copper, are said to be iron-fastened. 2011 (Nexis) 16 Oct. (Unwind section) 3 The iron-fastened railcar doors pulled open. 1834 A. Marsh II. 277 Tears coursed rapidly down his iron-furrowed cheeks, and his mighty frame heaved like that of an infant. 1871 F. T. Palgrave 103 Across the iron-furrow'd way. 1913 A. Noyes 18 Up from their iron-furrowed beds The long lines with bowed heads Plunged to meet the hidden Death Across the naked plain. 1609 (new ed.) sig. B He tooke the summe of twenty pound of lawfull English money..out of his yron-garded chest. 1777 J. Hanway (ed. 2) I. 112/1 This iron-guarded floor, was only burnt black, or charred about a third part through. 2001 M. Daum 20 The iron-guarded windows of stale, one-room city apartments. 1843 Aug. 548 The iron-knotted oaken door grated on its hinges opened by a little deformed old woman. 1896 ‘M. Field’ ii. 49 He shall be scourged With the iron-knotted lash they use for slaves. 1962 F. G. Ryder tr. viii. 121 This knout had seven iron-knotted bands. 1838 E. Howard III. xxi. 309 Breaking the iron-rivetted chests..all the coin we found, either of gold or silver, we started into our two receptacles for recovered property. 1884 J. Parker III. 258 A gate iron-bound and iron-riveted. 2010 (Nexis) 4 July b2 The 87-foot iron-riveted tall ship is how most people would imagine a pirate vessel. 1817 iii. 22 The iron-sheathed points of his adversary's wooden shoes. 1820 W. Scott I. iii. 54 She rushed to him, clasped his iron-sheathed frame in her arms. 1998 R. Banks (1999) 129 I heard a horse clop past and the iron-sheathed wheels of a wagon. 1798 J. Middleton 17 Hampstead-hill consists of eight or ten feet of yellow iron-stained sand. 1876 G. Meredith in 1 June 829 A shape in stone, Sword-hacked and iron-stained. 1915 E. R. Lankester vii. 63 A few only iron-stained and yellow. 2001 65 189 Varieties of iron-stained sandstone from the Hook Norton Beds. 1789 12 375 Second trial of top-tackle iron-strapped blocks at Chatham. 2008 July 21/2 Post windmill, to one-third scale.., the main post rising from iron-strapped cross-trees set upon stone- and concrete-capped tapering brick piers. 1777 R. Potter tr. Æschylus 22 And land upon this iron-teeming [Gk. σιδηρομήτορα] earth. 1895 E. H. Pember tr. Æschylus Prometheus Bound in 138 How hast thou dared To leave the flood that bears thy name..To seek these iron-teeming wilds? 1576 T. Achelley tr. M. Bandello sig. Biiii To tosse the iron tipped pike, To gird the dart at length. 1861 J. G. Sheppard iii. 140 The iron-tipped arrows flew in clouds. 2008 3 Aug. (Herald-Times ed.) f2/1 In early days, skin kickers often would wear iron-tipped boots. (b) Forming nouns. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > [noun] > fitting out or equipping ships > sheathing 1863 P. Barry 14 Improvements in gunnery and the iron-casing of ships divest the strongest dockyards of more than half their once boasted power. e. With words denoting colour (chiefly similative). See also iron blue n. and adj., iron brown n. and adj., iron-grey adj. and n., iron-red n. and adj.Some of the formations listed below could alternatively be construed as compounds of iron adj. 5.1757 E. M. da Costa 186 The ground of this marble is of a fine slight iron black, or greyish black colour. 1868 J. D. Dana (ed. 5) 144 Paracolumbite is an iron-black mineral. 2011 D. Moles in G. Dozois 441 An iron-black monster with seven dragon heads. c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus iii. 213 Fruyt..they haue of vj fyngers length about in quantitie, and they be as it were iron coloured. 1693 No. 2843/4 He wears a French Iron coloured Drugget Coat. 1750 G. Hughes v. 139 This is a ligneous Wyth, with dark Iron-coloured Leaves. 1843 A. Bethune 5 His complexion had in it..little of that dusky hue which, for want of a better name, has been called iron coloured. 1909 S. W. Bushell (ed. 2) II. viii. 26 Bowls and cups with iron-coloured feet and brown mouths. 2002 (Nexis) 24 Oct. A small man with iron-colored hair who waves at every passing car. C2. the world > life > biology > organism > micro-organism > bacterium > [noun] > types of 1888 786 Bacteria which assume a rust-coloured hue were denominated iron-bacteria. 1901 H. W. Conn iii. 64 It is believed that the great deposits of bog iron ore and other iron compounds are to be attributed to this action of iron bacteria. 1955 K. V. Thimann xxi. 598 The iron bacteria are of two types, unicellular and multicellular. 2005 47 257 Iron bacteria, manganese oxidizing bacteria, acid producers, and heterotrophic bacteria were enumerated and identified in the pipeline. 1786 T. Baldwin lxxxx. 347 This Muffle is to be nearly filled with a Ton of Iron Borings. 1849 D. Campbell 183 Five parts of flowers of sulphur and eight parts of iron borings are mixed together, and projected gradually into a red-hot crucible. 1935 7 761 Waste gases, such as stack gas..may be used as a source of carbon dioxide and iron borings are a cheap supply of iron. 2001 35 3078/1 The iron is produced for use in concretes by rotary kiln processing of iron borings. the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun] > dye > types of dyes 1814 II. App. xvi. 282 The blue dyes from indigo, the buff from iron, and the green from these united, are fast colours.] 1836 T. Thomson in 3 282 See a specimen of Iron Buff, Records, i. 17. 1876 T. Sims in G. P. Bevan VI. 146 Iron buff may be produced by first saturating the cloth with a solution of ferrous sulphate, and then passing it through milk of lime. 1925 S. R. Trotman & E. R. Trotman xxxiii. 517 Iron buffs are fast to light, washing, and alkalis, but are sensitive to acids. 2009 H. E. Ahmed in T. Bechtold & R. Mussak iii. 35 Analysis of the colourfast yellow in two of his Twelfth Dynasty mummy linens indicated that colour came from iron buff. 1585 R. Parsons Pref. f. 9v The holie Apostle S. Paul, wel prophetied of them to his scholer Timothie, that they should haue, cauteriatam conscientiam, a seared and yron-burned conscience. 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden i. 84 Those yron-brent markes in Picts now seene, all bloodlesse as they die. 1852 J. Lees 8 The withered and scorched herbage presents the appearance of an iron-burnt blanket. 2005 (Nexis) 24 Jan. 4 Their iron-burnt shirts. the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > carbides > [noun] 1866 H. E. Roscoe xxxv. 310 When heated strongly, it [sc. potassium ferrocyanide] yields potassium cyanide and iron carbide. 1891 F. A. Abel Presidential Addr. in 23 The elimination, within the mass, of carbon as an iron-carbide perfectly stable at low temperatures. 1938 R. Hum xix. 511 Martensite..consists of interlacing crystals of iron and iron carbide, and is very hard. 2009 (Nexis) 8 May The presence of high amount of iron carbide also called ‘cementite’ renders these rails susceptible to corrosion. 1804 G. Atwood p. v Can an iron cement be made that will become hard and durable; or could liquid iron be poured into the joints? 1879 S. Hibberd 26 Iron Cements.—Their essential constituents are iron filings or borings. 1949 53 192/1 An interesting technical detail is furnished by the discovery of a kind of iron cement: iron rods, inbedded [sic] in mortar, were used in the cover of a heating pipe. 2002 9 Feb. 538/1 They..succeeded in making a breach in the iron cement wall. 1865 8 July 24/1 This invention consists..in a peculiar method of locating the chimney aperture relatively to the iron chamber and in an improved structure of exit flue. 1916 E. Schwarzkopf i. 6 The flames are driven back upon the iron on the hearth of the iron chamber by the peculiar form of the roof. 1953 VI. ic 447/2 The skilful construction of the iron chamber in Manasa–Mangal is..well-known. 1842 4 June 367/4 The Iron City.—This is the title of an excellent weekly paper published at Pittsburg, Pa. 1842 10 Sept. The subscriber [sc. John Irons]..has opened a Temperance Hotel, in fifth Street..and has hoisted an Iron Sign, ‘The Iron City Hotel’. 1872 M. S. De Vere 664 Pittsburg, in Pennsylvania, derives, from its enormous iron manufactories, the name of Iron City, by which it is universally known. 1924 13 Sept. i. 2/3 The famous Wiley Ave. and other parts of the ‘Iron City’ are decorated with gold and black.., bidding welcome to the 10,000 visitors and delegates. 2003 Aug. 192/3 He set up housekeeping on the 12th floor, sharing a room with his typewriter and golf clubs, weapons with which he meant to bring the Iron City to its knees. 1806 R. Alsop tr. F. Berni 29 With iron-clenched fist He at her face a furious blow addrest. 1823 W. Scott III. v. 116 A strong iron-clenched door admitted them. 1853 J. H. Burton II. xviii. 254 Their obdurate, unvaried surface might suit the English clown, with his heavy, iron-clenched shoes. 1996 (Nexis) 27 Jan. A hard, plastic stomach-pump insert is trapped in the iron-clenched teeth of a young woman. 1599 T. Nashe 38 It will embrawne and Iron crust his flesh. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered nutrition > [noun] > deficiency of iron 1892 J. P. Dudley II. iv. 98 The iron must be continued..until time sufficient elapses for the iron deficiency to be made up from the naturally suitable, organized foods. 1929 60 i. 51 The theory..that iron deficiency in the pasture was the cause of ‘Bush Sickness’, was finally adopted. 1956 18 Jan. 336/1 Metal-induced iron-deficiency in crop plants. 2011 (Nexis) 22 Feb. 12 Women of reproductive age may develop iron deficiencies if they cut meat consumption too far. the world > plants > disease or injury > [noun] > type of disease > deficiency diseases 1932 30 Jan. 255/2 The typical iron deficiency anæmia..does not show nervous symptoms. 1958 (St. John Ambulance Assoc.) xix. 241 The most important blood disease is anæmia, of which there are many varieties, the most common one being iron-deficiency anæmia. 2010 74 149 Cribra orbitalia, a condition indicative of iron deficiency anaemia, is seen as a generic indicator of childhood stress. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > soil qualities > [adjective] > iron-deficient the world > plants > disease or injury > [adjective] > of or having deficiency disease 1889 16 Mar. 595/1 Dr. T. C. Hayes traced the symptoms of chlorosis to blood changes, the corpuscles being affected and iron deficient. 1932 6 792/1 ‘Salt sick’ of cattle on certain iron-deficient sandy and residual soils has proved to be a nutritional anemia due to deficiency of Fe, or of Fe and Cu in the forage crops. 1956 14 Jan. 95/1 In iron-deficient plants there is observed an increase of the soluble forms of nitrogen, with a simultaneous decrease of its protein forms. 2012 (Nexis) 28 Jan. 24 Up to 80% of women are iron-deficient, even if the condition doesn't reach full-blown anaemia. the world > the universe > constellation > comet or meteor > meteor > [noun] > meteorite > aerosiderite > fall 1846 52 385 We find in the weight of the two iron-falls (Croatia, 1752, and Tennessee, 1835) as set off against that of all the stones.., a ratio approximating that of one (for irons) to twenty (for stones). 1897 5 128 There is normally a great excess of stone over iron falls. 1962 8 June 875/3 For the iron ‘falls’, Aroos..and Sikhote Alin, the Cl36 contents have been measured. 2009 P. Metevelis 224 Did they compare Canyon Diablo finds with more recent iron falls, and discover a family resemblance among them? 1660 R. Read xii. vi. 246 Thus being bound about you must lay it into the said Iron filings and red hot Emmel. 1706 I. Newton Let. 5 Mar. in (1977) VII. 443 The dust Gold was very foul & being Examined wth a Loadstone was found full of Iron filings. 1839 G. Bird 144 If a magnet be dipped in iron filings, it will attract, and cause them to adhere to its surface. 1955 K. Hutton & A. Swallow v. 57 About 50 mls. of acid will be adequate... Add iron filings a little at a time until no more gas is evolved. 2001 R. Joshi (2002) 310 More and more people joined the jhamela, the crowd attracting them like a magnet attracts iron filings. the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > tectosilicate > [noun] > quartz > other quartzes 1804 R. Jameson I. 134 Iron Flint. Eisenkiesel.—Werner... Its colour is yellowish brown. 1836 9 357 At Purfleet the name given to these flints is iron flints. 1843 J. E. Portlock 226 Silicate of Iron..occurs associated with Iron-flint at Tullybrick, Ballynascreen. 1921 J. A. Audley i. 20 Eisenkiesel, iron flint, or ferruginous quartz, encloses iron oxide and hydroxides, which give it a yellow or red colour. the world > action or operation > safety > [adjective] > safe or invulnerable > specific 1670 J. Dryden v. i. 56 I'le try if she be wholly Iron free. If not by Sword, then she shall dye by fire. 1697 J. Dryden Ded. Æneis in tr. Virgil sig. b4v It seems he [sc. Æneas] was no War-luck, as the Scots commonly call such Men, who they say, are Iron-free, or Lead-free. 1881 31 225 On looking at Preyer's map of ‘iron-free hæmatin’ a likeness to the present pigment is noticed. 1967 20 July 158/3 Accurately machined pole-pieces..would ensure better symmetry than currently used iron-free magnet coils. 2003 (Nexis) 17 June 19 We used special ironfree glass that gives a totally clear effect. a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. iv. 20 Ȝow forsoþe took þe lord & ladde out from þe yryn forneys of Egipt [L. de fornace ferrea Aegypti]. 1579 T. Rogers tr. J. Habermann 77 Bringing them out of the yron fornace of Pharao, through thy mighty and stretched out arme. 1612 S. Sturtevant xi. 78 Iron furnaces..may be much reformed and bettered with small charges, hauing our Ferricall inuention vnited to them. 1775 A. Burnaby (ed. 2) 47 About two miles above Colchester there is an iron furnace, a forge..and a bolting-mill. 1882 July 440/2 Dark City of Glasgow, pulses of some huge iron-furnace..illuminating it. 1970 R. W. Thomas Introd. 1/2 In 1574, of 58 iron furnaces in England, 51 were in the Weald. 2005 25 Apr. 10/1 Dry-stone mills, dams, bridges,..iron furnaces, lime kilns and distilleries are scattered throughout the landscape. society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [noun] > chain gang 1826 2 Aug. John Walker was brought forward to receive his sentence for Mr. Smith's robbery; 12 months to the iron gang. 1848 H. W. Haygarth iv. 35 Had escaped with one or two others from his ‘iron gang’. 1945 S. J. Baker ii. 44 A bullock wagon taking supplies to men in an iron gang. 1987 L. Murray (1991) 251 The iron gangs straighten from their sad Triangular thoughts to watch. the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > metal ore > iron ore > others the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > oxides and hydroxides > [noun] > corundum group A2 03 > haematite > other haematites 1792 J. Hailstone 75 Specular Iron Ore. Iron-Glance. 1816 R. Jameson (ed. 2) 251 The streak..is..dissimilar, as in specular iron-ore, or iron-glance. 1883 A. H. Church vii. 88 Black hæmatite is an oxide of iron occurring under several common names, as specular iron ore, iron glance, and micaceous iron ore. 1911 47 397 The conductivity of bismuth..may change by 60 per cent in different directions, and that of iron glance by 100 per cent. 1756 P. Browne ii. ii. 141 Spermacoce 5. Scandens... The iron-grass, or climbing Spermacoce. 1794 W. Pitt 27 Hard grass, iron grass, carnation grass (carex's): these, upon draining and top-dressing their native bogs, generally give way to the more valuable grasses. 1814 J. Lunan I. 128 This plant [sc. Spermacoce tenuior] has been called iron grass, and is found according to Browne only in the woods, where it grows, sometimes upright and sometimes as a climber. 1862 24 Apr. 2/3 Barren-looking table land covered with coarse grass, among which is a great quantity of iron-grass, which no animal cares to eat. 1920 W. E. Brenchley xiii. 207 Aira caespitosa..hassock, huff-caps, iron grass, sniddle, sniggle-grass [etc.]. 1964 E. Salisbury (ed. 2) v. 100 I found Chickweed on 26 per cent of the sites and Scentless Mayweed, Greater Plantain, Irongrass and Shepherd's Purse—on 15 to 16 per cent. 2002 36 110/2 Native plants [near Burra, S. Australia] include species of irongrass (Lomandra). the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > non-British timber trees > [noun] > Australasian 1844 C. Wilkes II. 188 The blue gum, (Eucalyptus piperita,) is employed for ship-building; the iron gum, (Eucalyptus resinifera,) for fencing. 1879 F. von Müller 1, s.v. Eucalyptus Raveretiana. Vernacularly it passes in the districts of its growth as ‘Grey Gum-tree’ and ‘Iron Gum-tree’. 1919 R. T. Baker 173 Eucalyptus Raveretiana, F. von M. ‘Thozet's Box’ or ‘Iron Gum Tree’…close-grained, very hard, and tough; valuable for building purposes. 1970 N. Hall et al. 46 Spotted iron gum (Qld) Eucalyptus maculata. 2003 (Nexis) 12 Oct. 130 Anthony and Penny's house..backs on to bushland, with towering iron gums at their back door. a1425 (Stonyhurst) f. 14v Ciniflo, an aske fist or iren heter. ?a1440 Hortus Vocab. in (1923) 45 267 (MED) A ferblowere, an yren hetere. 1817 May 180/2 Where there are no irons to be heated, the office of Iron-heater is a deception. 1851 Nov. 265/1 A box-iron was also shown, which by a flexible tube and a few gas jets inside, answered all the purposes of the iron heater, much more agreeable at a trifling expense. 1858 P. L. Simmonds Iron-heater, the piece of metal which is heated in the fire for a laundress's box-iron or Italian-iron. 1998 K. G. Wilkison iv. 67 Ola Chambliss Rice prized her 1903 charcoal-burning iron heater, but those without such a device heated flat-irons on the cook stove. 1771 J. Hill 218 (table) Iron jasper. 1843 J. E. Portlock 225 Micaceous Iron Ore..associated with Iron Jasper, and slightly titaniferous. 1966 H. M. E. Schürmann xii. 89 Similar iron jasper has been described from the Qusseir region. 1852 27 Nov. They are now manufacturing a most beautiful fabric of lace for window curtains, bed curtains, etc., of iron wire. Iron houses, iron ships, and now iron lace capes for the ladies. 1853 Mar. 139/1 Among other inventions just announced, we observe..‘iron lace’, said to be a most beautiful article, and of the most delicate texture. 1906 Nov. 173 The old French quarter of New Orleans seems like a city of iron lace, so lavishly did the old Creole builders make use of the wrought metal. 1973 31 Aug. (Suppl.) 1/1 Sydney itself, its old buildings, and the iron-lace terraces of Paddington, add an extra dimension. 2008 J. Arrigo & L. McElroy 50 A cast-iron gallery extends the length of the façade.., framed with iron lace in a rosebud pattern. 1785 E. Bancroft 9 The Iron Liquor alone may be used as the Mordant. 1874 W. Crookes 582 Its trough being charged with the iron liquor, or red liquor, as required, the pieces of calico are conducted twice through it. 1922 J. J. Sudborough (new ed.) vi. 157 Ferrous acetate, Fe(C2H3O2)2, is largely used in the form of ‘iron liquor’ as a mordant in dyeing. 2010 S. Duerr 44 You can create an easy iron mordant solution, or iron liquor, by soaking rusty found objects like nails [in vinegar]. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > transformer > [noun] > core loss 1889 11 Oct. 412/1 The difficulty is to determine the iron loss accurately. 1958 E. H. Frost-Smith xiii. 366 Excessive iron losses cause reduced gain. 2002 13 Jan. 135/1 In a 200 kVA transformer, it has been found, iron loss is 0.28 per cent. 1570 J. Foxe (rev. ed.) II. 2171/2 Rich. Woodman, by his occupation was an Irenmaker, dwelling in the parish of Warbleton, in the Countye of Sussex. 1752 Feb. 68/1 There is in all malleable iron (when hot) a fluid, which iron-makers commonly call cinder. 1875 W. D. Whitney ix. 155 The iron-maker..has occasion every day to say many things which would not be understood by a man of any of the other classes. 1922 22 Jan. 248/1 The attention of the iron makers of the United States has been turning toward the Southern iron ore fields. 1999 July 417/1 The Ironmakers of Coalbrookdale and the Steelmakers of Sheffield helped fire the Industrial Revolution in the United Kingdom. 1548 in E. Straker (1931) 269 Alexander Collyn hath begun to make a hammer for iron making in the parish of Lamberhurst in Sussex. 1667 T. Sprat 258 The Histories of Iron-making: of Lignum Fossile: of Saffron: of Alkermes: of Verdigreace. 1798 T. Wallace ii. viii. 225 If the Irish collieries were worked, it is probable they would afford us better means of succeeding in the iron making that England possesses. 1890 17 Feb. 2/6 If the miners strike, ironmaking will be stopped. 1969 J. C. Agarwal et al. in J. H. Strassburger II. xviii. 965 The regenerative heat exchange system that is employed in ironmaking. 2006 V. Smil iii. 107 The ultimate goal of innovative ferrous metallurgy—direct ironmaking that produces liquid metal from raw materials..remained elusive. society > occupation and work > workplace > places for working with specific materials > place for working with metal > [noun] > iron or steel 1518 in E. Straker (1931) 242 A myll builded upon the same grounde called an yron myll. 1559 in Hist. MSS Comm: Cal. MSS Marquis of Salisbury (1883) I. 164 in (C. 3777) XXXVI. 1 Now there are iron-mills English iron is sold at 9l. 1639 J. Shirley ii. sig. C3 How doe the Fennes? Goes the draning forward, and your Iron Mills? 1746 No. 8526/6 To be sold..The Life Estate of the said John Blackwood in several Tenements and Farms, and in an Iron Mill in Crayford. 1844 H. Stephens I. 415 The share is always formed from a plate forged for the express purpose at the iron-mills. 1904 12 267 There are now in Russia 826 iron mills, including in this number the factories of agricultural machinery, nail factories, engine, boiler, locomotive, and car factories. 2011 (Nexis) 4 June The Minister recapped that the JVP was responsible for closing down of the Bata factory, an Iron Mill in Kaduwela. the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > silicates > nesosilicates > [noun] > olivine group > monticellite 1910 C. H. Fulton viii. 250 In this group there is an artificial iron monticellite, CaFeSiO4. 1957 31 698 (heading) Kirschsteinite, a natural analogue to synthetic iron monticellite, from the Belgian Congo. 2010 R. B. Heimann iii. 80 Zone 3 comprises predominantly HP-tridymite, a black glass with fayalite,..and isostructural iron monticellite. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > mountain the world > the earth > land > landscape > high land > mountain > [noun] > type of 1656 J. Cotton 196 The stone cut out of the mountaine, that breaks the iron mountaine of Rome.] 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in (rev. ed.) 909 About..Melela, Hea, Hascora, the iron Mountain Rhahona [L. Rhahonam montem ferratum]..; Jo. Leo saith there is very excellent African honey made. 1684 J. Strype tr. J. Lightfoot Horæ Hebraicæ in II. 88 On the East coast of Perea: was also Σιδηροῦν ὄρος an iron mountain [L. Mons ferreus], witness Josephus. And without doubt, there were other such like mines. 1722 J. Macky II. 143 The Water you may imagine is very cold, coming from the Bowels of an Iron Mountain. 1838 24 Nov. 91/1 Having visited the Iron Mountain in Missouri..I am happy to add my testimony..respecting the remarkable deposites of iron ores. 1969 21 Nov. 27/3 The most poignant part of the trip was a visit to Hamersley [Western Australia] to see Mount Tom Price, the ‘iron mountain’. 2010 E. G. Nichols & K. J. Morse iv. 126 In 1948, U.S. Steel discovered..Cerro Bolívar, an iron mountain containing 400 million tons of 65 percent pure iron ore. 1855 J. A. Galbraith & S. Haughton i. 20 The meteoric stones proper are composed of minerals of volcanic origin... Together with a varying proportion of the meteoric iron-nickel alloy. 1875 Nov. 254/3 It is known that the iron-nickel meteorites often contain hydrogen in occlusion.] 1903 A. Geikie (ed. 4) I. i. i. 17 Well-known minerals of the earth's crust, including olivine (which comes next in abundance after iron-nickel). 1950 165 245/1 The bending fatigue properties were determined for electroformed sheets of iron-nickel. 1991 S. F. Mason vii. 82 Condensates formed..within the inner solar system had a high-temperature composition, metallic iron-nickel, SiO2, MgO, Al2O3, CaO, and other oxides, resembling the stony-iron meteorites. 2009 (Nexis) 24 Feb. Another [asteroidal lava type], the mesosiderites, are fragmented basalt lava flows mixed with metallic iron-nickel that then slowly cooled. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular timber trees or shrubs > [noun] > oak as timber tree the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > tree or shrub groups > oak and allies > [noun] > other oaks 1724 P. Miller II. sig. Hh6v White Oak, or Iron Oak. Quercus alba vel ferrea. 1838 J. C. Loudon III. 1846 Q[uercus] Cerris L. The bitter, or mossy-cupped, Oak…the Turkey Oak; the Iron, or Wainscot, Oak. 1908 N. L. Britton 342 It [sc. Quercus stellata, post oak] is also known as Box white oak, Iron oak [etc.]. 2012 (Nexis) 6 July b5 The winds that felled this specimen had to have been fierce, because post oaks are notably tough. They are sometimes called ‘iron oaks’. lOE (Rochester) ii. xxiii. §1. 162 Gif hit sy ysenordal, beon ðreo niht, ær man þa hand undo. 1720 J. Johnson tr. King Ethelstan's Laws Eccl. in I. sig. S2v If it be Iron-Ordeal, let it be three Nights before the Hand be undone. 1805 S. Turner tr. J. Thorpe Registrum Roffense in IV. v. ix. 336 The bishop said they must prove this by the iron ordeal. 1910 VIII. 252 The ordeal was often preceded by a two days' fast on bread and water in the case of the iron ordeal. 2005 N. Blomkvist vi. 356 According to the Östgöta Law the iron ordeal had been abolished by ‘Birger Jarl’. 1790Iron oxide [see Compounds 1b]. 1864 T. L. Phipson x. 256 In the lakes of Sweden there are vast layers of iron oxide almost exclusively built up by animalcules. 1913 N. Heaton (ed. 5) v. 155 Iron oxide is also the colouring principle of the group of pigments known as ‘earth colours’. 1979 59 309 Any magnetic particles (chiefly the iron oxides haematite and magnetite) of appropriate size behave like small compass needles. 2007 (Nexis) 27 Sept. 29 Oxygen is transported, as part of iron oxide, by geological movements deep beneath the Earth's crust. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > strata containing minerals 1811 W. Marshall 447 Even (is it here meant) to the three of four inch deep sands of Norfolk; tho resting on an iron ‘pan’! 1838 W. L. Rham Outl. Flemish Husbandry ii. 12 in (Libr. Useful Knowl.) (1840) III Between the sand and the loam, an indurated crust of earth cemented by carbonate of iron, which is well known to all improvers of poor sands by the name of the iron pan. 1912 H. B. Woodward xix. 248 There is a general absence of lime, and iron-pan is sometimes encountered in the subsoil. 2000 A. J. Whitten et al. (new ed.) viii. 254 The hard iron pan can cause temporary waterlogging of the soil after heavy rain. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of play 1879 24 Oct. 4/2 Ferguson led his opponent by the strokes being very successful off his iron play. 1892 10 58 All golf..is divided into three parts—driving, iron play, and putting. 1973 21 June 1806/3 An historic exhibition of iron play by a master of the game [sc. golf]. 2004 7 May 102/4 His driving is as wild as ever, his iron-play is inconsistent, and even Ollie's putter..is misbehaving. 1891 11 Dec. 4/1 A good iron player would have most telling effect here. 1950 11 Sept. 73/2 I've played a lot of golf,..but I have never seen an iron player to compare with him. 2006 (Midwest ed.) 16 July iii. 12/1 But there never has been a great iron player who hit his irons that far. 1935 Jan. 54 Even under the Peking regime officials with from ten to twenty years' service were not infrequently found. Officials with substantive posts were said to have ‘an iron rice-bowl’. 1962 E. Snow vi. lxxix. 604 All children now enjoy a fairly equal opportunity to make the most of what is offered: health care, education, recreation—and the ‘iron rice bowl’. 1979 5 385 A factory worker in Taiwan is subject to layoffs and firing; a government clerk at even the lowest level has ‘an iron rice bowl’. 2012 (Nexis) 29 Sept. 6 The transition to a more private economy in the 1990s abruptly overturned the iron rice bowl. 1865 47 445/2 They should be secured with a strong rope, and the tusks carefully cut off with a small iron saw, such as is used for cutting iron. 1889 Iron-saw, a circular saw for cutting hot iron. 1999 (Nexis) 13 Dec. 7 If we have proper tools, for example an iron saw, we could get iron of larger sizes. 1606 H. Peacham 67 Take a quantity of iron scales, and so many copper scales and waie them one against an other. 1797 J. Maclean ii. 58 The charcoal, the iron scales (black oxyd), and the retort should all have been exposed separately to an intense and long continued heat. 1876 28 July 864/2 Besides this wet fettling, a certain quantity of loose iron scale and ‘hammer slag’..is commonly thrown upon the furnace bottom. 1920 T. C. Thomsen v. 67 If metallic iron in the form of iron scale is present (from the steel drum or barrel) a magnet will detect it. 2009 M. S. Russell (ed. 3) i. 14 The same author also used iron scale in some of his compositions to give rockets a more luminous tail. 1837 21 June 396/2 The ease with which immense bars are cut off by huge iron shears, almost staggers credibility. 1914 19 Feb. 332/1 The Missouri supreme Court decided that an assistant in the operation of iron shears assumed the risk of stumbling while walking near the machine. 1987 28 662 A smith from the late 19th century had many tools and machines not available to earlier craftsmen—iron shears, mechanical blowers, post drills, reliable hacksaws. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of shot or stroke 1870 16 Apr. 4/7 Tom missed his iron shot. 1909 28 May 12/3 Maxwell..had made a splendid iron shot. 2011 15 May (Late ed.) (Sports section) 7/6 He flared the iron shot into the grassy moguls to the right of the green. 1756 P. Browne ii. ii. 179 The slender reclining Iron... This beautiful little plant rises, generally, in an oblique direction.] 1814 J. Lunan I. 430 (heading) Iron-shrub. Sauvagesia. 1890 P. Henderson (new ed.) 396/2 Sauvagesia,..The Iron Shrub or St. Martin's Herb, is a charming little tender annual, with pink or purple-red flowers. 1951 (Royal Hort. Soc.) IV. 1876/1 S[auvagesia] erecta. Iron shrub; St. Martin's Herb. 1855 II. (S.P.C.K.) i. 28 A substance more remarkably distinguished for its peculiar physical properties than its industrial value, was the iron sponge of a French exhibitor, M. Chenot. 1919 40 207/1 The earliest workers in iron must have been familiar with iron sponge in their crude forges. 2011 (Nexis) 9 Apr. The two officials are charged with providing Ahmed Ezz, free of charge and outside the required public auction, with a license to produce iron sponge. 1763 W. Lewis Index sig. Pppp3 Madder... Produces a black die on yellow iron stain. 1877 3 Aug. 861/2 The specimens..of the iron-stain are, however, at once distinguishable from the ravages of the Cemiostoma. 1880 I. 700 (Coffee) A minute fungus named Depazea maculosa, which causes the so-called ‘iron stain’, circular or elliptical blotches of an ochreish-yellow colour. 1938 8 81 Gray silt loam, definitely stratified, streaked and mottled with iron stains. 2000 (Nexis) 25 Dec. 1 One complaint: The water causes iron stains. 1840 E. Leslie 12 The best iron-stands are those with feet and handles. If a mere ring, they are likely to scorch the blanket, and to burn the fingers in removing them. 1913 D. H. Lawrence iv. 70 He..was vaguely aware of the clatter of the iron on the iron-stand, of the faint thud, thud on the ironing-board. 1987 O. Sharkey vi. 88 Three-legged iron-stands were widely used to accommodate the still-warm iron when not in use. 1882 J. H. Walsh I. 86 Damascus barrels are of various kinds, those in most general use being as follows: 1. Single iron steel Damascus [etc.].] a1884 E. H. Knight Suppl. 507/2 Iron steel, metal composed partly of steel and partly of iron. In the process of manufacture a thin sheet of iron is introduced between the surfaces to be united. 1908 Apr. 10/2 Steel rails and iron steel bars from $9 to $12 per ton. 1883 J. T. Brown 45 Two holes at forward end of shaft and one hole at the butt for making fast the iron-strap. 1968 B. Venables vi. 102 This iron-strap is a length of rope, not much longer than the shaft and of the same rope as the whaleline. 1984 T. G. Lytle ii. 20 Ten to twenty fathoms of line were coiled at the bow and the end was tied to the iron strap as previously described. 1790 W. Nicholson tr. A.-F. de Fourcroy (new ed.) II. 193 A small portion of sulphate of iron or martial vitriol [Fr. un peu de dissolution de vitriol martial].] 1834 5 Apr. 27/2 Iron sulphate (green vitriol) 2 oz., per oz. 2d. 1912 A. H. Phillips ii. xii. 540 Iron sulphates are not common in nature, as owing to their solubility they may occur only under very restricted conditions. 1986 J. A. Samson (ed. 2) vii. 207 Chlorosis of leaves..can be controlled by low volume spraying with iron sulphate or a chelate. 2002 (Nexis) 14 Sept. b2 The problem is that ink rich in iron sulphate makes the paper break down faster. 1814 J. Murray (ed. 3) I. 413 In some of the varieties of the alum of commerce,..it is often contaminated with a little sulphide of iron.] 1861 176 The sulphate of lime is reduced to a sulphide of calcium, and this latter converted into the iron sulphide. 1934 2 Nov. 401/2 Stony matter with small proportions of..iron sulphide (trolite [read troilite], 4.98 per cent.). 2012 (Nexis) 9 July 1 The smart prospector..knows that where there's that imposter, iron sulphide, the real stuff is often present. 1814 40 1668 Yellow-fringed Habenaria... The colour of every part of the flower, including the germen, is uniformly an iron-yellow. 1841 G. Field (new ed.) ix. 150 Iron yellow, jaune de fer, or jaune de Mars, etc., is a bright iron ochre, prepared artificially, of the nature of Sienna earth. 1869 T. W. Salter (new ed.) viii. 118 Iron Yellow, Or oxalate of protoxide of iron, has very unadvisedly been recommended as a pigment. 1907 L. F. Day xxiv. 198 Iron yellow with a little copper in it is the colouring matter of the famous Jaipur ruby red. 2011 36 319 Iron yellow and triacetin could not be detected. Derivatives 1549 T. Broke tr. J. Calvin sig. G.iv We haue nothing to do wyth these yron lyke Philosophers [L. cum ferrea ista philosophia]. 1656 T. Blount Ferrean,..iron-like, also hard-hearted, cruel. 1744 M. Akenside i. 31 It was a very hard, iron-like stone. 1831 J. Holland I. 231 If only partially effected the centre of the rod still exhibits its duller iron-like structure. 1908 17 Sept. 6/3 The discipline is as iron-like as ever. 2005 Autumn 117/2 The iron-like shell of its nut is virtually impossible to crack. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † ironn.2Origin: Probably a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: erne n. Etymology: Probably a variant of erne n., with the spelling influenced by confusion with forms of iron n.1 Middle Eng. Dict. (at cited word) alternatively tentatively suggests an origin as a variant of heron n., which is unlikely on semantic grounds, since quot. a1425 clearly refers to a bird of prey. In this quot., the English word renders post-classical Latin ixon, accusative singular of ixos (Vulgate: Deuteronomy 14:13), denoting an unidentified bird of prey, itself rendering Hebrew dā'āh (perhaps) kite (Leviticus 11:14, Deuteronomy 14:13). Obsolete. the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > eagles > eagle the world > animals > birds > order Falconiformes (falcons, etc.) > family Accipitridae (hawks, etc.) > [noun] > eagles > eagle > male a1425 (a1382) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Deut. xiv. 13 Vnclene eete ȝe not, that is, egle, and griffun, and a merlizon, and yron [a1425 L.V. ixon, L. ixon], that is, a whyte foul, lasse than a grijp, and of his kynde. a1500 (Cambr. Ff.5.48) (1875) 303 A fowkyn is an yrons [Thrn: Erlis] pray. 1623 H. Cockeram iii. at Hawks An Eagle, the male is called an Iran. 1655 I. Walton (ed. 2) i. 18 There is of short winged Hawks. The Eagle and Iron. 1688 R. Holme ii. 236/1 An Iron is the Male of an Eagle. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online December 2020). ironadj. Origin: Of multiple origins. Partly a word inherited from Germanic. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: iron n.1 Etymology: Partly (i) (originally) cognate with or formed similarly to Old Frisian īrsen , īseren , Middle Dutch īserijn , īserīn , īseren ( Dutch ijzeren ; compare Old Dutch sirnero , probably a transmission error for *isirnero , dative singular), Old Saxon īsarnīn (Middle Low German īseren , īserīn ), Old High German īsarnīn , īsernin , īserin , īsenin (Middle High German īserin , īseren , īsern , īsenin , German eisern ), Gothic eisarneins < the Germanic base of iron n.1 + the Germanic base of -en suffix4, and partly also (ii) (in later use) directly < iron n.1 Compare later ironen adj., which was re-formed within English < the elements corresponding to those of the earlier adjective. Compare also later irony adj. In Old English, already from the time of the earliest attestations, showing syncopation of the vowel of the ending and simplification of the resulting consonant cluster. Adjective and noun in Old English. For a full discussion of the forms see iron n.1 The Old English adjective (in each of the three main form types īsern , īsen , īren ) is formally identical in the (strong) nominative singular (all genders) with the noun (see iron n.1); it nevertheless represents a derivative formation from the same Germanic base (apparently reflecting earlier Old English *īsernen , *īsenen , *īrenen ; compare -en suffix4), having the expected adjectival inflections and showing agreement with nouns (compare e.g. quots. at sense 1). During the Middle English period the inflections disappeared, earliest in the north, and later in the south (where the plural in -e survived to c1400). The adjective was thenceforth indistinguishable from the attributive use of the noun (as e.g. in gold , silver , brass , for golden , silvern , brazen ), from which it is here separated purely on historical grounds. A new derivative adjective ironen adj. was formed in Middle English. Interpretation of compounds. Old English compounds such as īsernbend iron bond, īsernbyrne iron corslet, īsernhelm iron helmet, etc., in which the first element has the sense ‘made or consisting of iron’, almost certainly show iron n.1 rather than iron adj.; however, parallel collocations with iron adj. (inflected for case and number) are already attested in Old English (compare quots. at sense 1), and after the loss of adjectival inflection in Middle English any surviving compounds of this type would have been subject to reanalysis. Notes on specific senses. In many senses (especially in medieval and early modern use) originally translating classical Latin ferreus made of iron, resembling iron (see ferreous adj.), which has a similar semantic range. With senses 3a and 4a perhaps compare also the surname evidence cited at iron man n. Currency of sense 3a in early Middle English is perhaps implied by surnames, such as Alviva Yrento (1209), Roger Yrenfot (1251), Hnr. Hirenefot (c1273). Compare also Ironside n. With sense 5 compare earlier iron-grey adj. and the discussion at iron n.1 Earlier currency of this sense is perhaps implied by the surname Henr. Irenbard (1316), if it refers to the colour of the beard. Compare later iron-coloured adj. at iron n.1 Compounds 1e. In iron sleep and iron slumber at sense 7 after classical Latin ferreus somnus (Virgil Aeneid 10. 745, 12. 309), perhaps itself after ancient Greek χάλκεος ὕπνος brazen sleep (Homer Iliad 11. 241; compare quot. 1573). I. Made of iron. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [adjective] > made of iron society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [adjective] eOE (Mercian) (1965) cxlix. 8 Ad alligandos..nobiles eorum in uinculis ferreis : to gebindenne..eðele heara in bendum irnum. OE (Julius) 9 Aug. 175 Decius se casere hine het stingan mid irenum gyrdum tyndehtum. OE 43 Þonne bið he [sc. the unshriven man] geteald to þære fyrenan ea, & to þæm isenan hoce. OE Ælfric (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xviii. 178 Sum mære iungling com mid gyrde to me, seo wæs eal isen, and eac byrnende [L. cum virga ferrea ignita]. OE Ælfric tr. Basil 36 He byrð isenne helm and isene byrnan ðæt he ne beo gewundod fram his wiðerwinnan. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris (1868) 1st Ser. 121 (MED) Mid irenen neilen he wes on þere rode ifestned. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1963) l. 3907 Þa Bruttes..nomen longen ræftres... Þer weoren fifti hundred..þa herre endes ihodede mid irene bendes. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 6890 (MED) Lat nime foure yrene ssares..al a fure. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 427 Þe foure irene nayles þat Crist was i-nayled with to þe rode. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) l. 23240 (MED) Þaa dintes ar ful fers and fell, Herder þan es here irinn mell. ?a1425 (Egerton) (1889) 30 Enclosed with hie walles and yrne ȝates. 1483 (BL Add. 89074) (1881) 198 Iren, ferrum, ferreus. 1494–5 in H. J. F. Swayne (1896) 43 Michaeli Smyth pro..emendacione de lez Jronbondes iiijd. 1532 Inventory in J. Noake (1866) 157 A brasen morter, with a yerne pestell. 1534 Acc. in J. Noake (1866) 192 A new cartt with yernband whelys. 1549 c. 2 §7 No Person shall..occupy any Yeron Cards or Pickards, in rowing of any set Cloth. 1611 Deut. xxvii. 5 Thou shalt not lift vp any yron toole vpon them. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil 56 First Ceres..arm'd with Iron Shares the crooked Plough. View more context for this quotation 1715 A. Pope 16 There, on rude Iron Columns..The horrid Forms of Scythian Heroes stood. 1764 O. Goldsmith 22 Luke's iron crown, and Damien's bed of steel. 1805 R. W. Dickson I. Pl. 24 An iron pin or pivot, which runs through the centre of the bed-stone. 1861 M. Pattison in Apr. 415 An iron helmet and harness. 1863 H. W. Bates I. ii. 59 The entrance..was by an iron-grille gateway. 1920 E. Wharton i. xv. 132 An iron pot hung from an ancient crane. 1947 Mar. 80/2 The pentrough is iron, fed by a pipe and also enclosed. 1954 (News of World) 26 The body..was found..impaled upon an iron stake. 2006 C. Frazier iii. ii. 233 I sliced potatoes in thin rounds and arrayed them pinwheel fashion in an iron skillet. 1839 17 Apr. (advt.) Iron Store for Sale. To be disposed of, a large corrugated Iron Store-house. 1851 15 Nov. 1 To Be Sold, An Iron House. 1897 31 Nov. 31/1 In the same old iron shanty, looking bold as bold can be, There's a tow-haired girl a-serving, and I know she's fancy free. 1944 D. Stewart in D. M. Davin (1953) 270 We sat for hours..listening to the rain hammering on the iron roof. 1969 24 May 39/6 (advt.) Sans Souci old type fibro with iron roof. 2010 S. Bloomfield iv. 100 Around a million people live in a patchwork of iron shacks and market stalls. II. Resembling iron in some way. Cf. cast iron n. 2b. 3. the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [adjective] > robust OE Homily: Sunnandæges Spell (Corpus Cambr. 419) in A. S. Napier (1883) 215 Þeah ðe..þara [manna] æghwylc hæfde seofon heafda, and þara heafda gehwylc seofon tungan, and þara tungena gehwylc isene stemne, ne magon heo [altered to hi] ariman ealle þa wita, þe on helle syndon. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Isa. xlviii. 4 I kneȝ forsothe for thou art hard, and an irene senewe [L. nervus ferreus] thin haterel, and thi frount brasene. 1611 Isa. xlviii. 4 Thy necke is an yron sinew, and thy brow brasse. View more context for this quotation 1638 W. Rawley tr. F. Bacon 105 A man of an Iron Body and Minde. 1750 7 Apr. With Arms high stretch'd in Air, with heaving Breast, With Iron Lungs..Lo! England's Orator now stands confest. 1816 Ld. Byron xxv. 41 Though aged, he was so iron of limb, Few of our youth could cope with him. 1849 A. Alison (new ed.) I. i. 51 The iron and disciplined bands of Cromwell. a1864 J. D. Burns (1879) 338 The iron frame wasted by inward trouble. 1903 June 3538/2 Most men would have weakened then, but he was iron. 1971 11 Feb. 4/5 Tom's weakness was an iron liver. No amount of alcohol seemed capable of putting him to sleep. 2010 25 Mar. 14/2 This brunchtime banh mi crammed with toasted pig ears, smooth pork rillettes, and slices of pig head and pork belly—requires an iron stomach. the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [adjective] 1598 T. Bastard iv. xx. 90 Our statutes and our iron lawes. 1798 Duke of Wellington in Marquess Wellesley (1877) 764 We have now that iron frontier. 1836 S. Stickney I. xi. 109 Inborn prejudice plants an iron barrier between me and hope. 1899 G. Matheson xii. 168 There is no grasp so iron as the grasp with which an idea holds. 1913 IV. 1662/2 The ‘iron law’..of the mere subsistence wage taught that the general rate of wages constantly tends to starvation limit. 1977 D. Clement & I. La Frenais 178 I restrained him with an iron grip to the wrist. 1996 4 Feb. 24/5 It is still an iron rule that the New York Times never uses race or religion in its descriptions. the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [adjective] > very 1708 J. Oldmixon II. iii. 96 There's the Bastard Locust, the Iron Wood, so call'd from its Weight and Hardness. 1772 (Royal Soc.) 62 128 Acorns, saved from a tree..of the iron or wainscot species. 1834 T. Medwin I. 195 The compact and iron nature of the ground. 1856 Dec. 562/2 During the comparatively long period through which the tide ebbs and again rises, all its strength is wasted on the iron surface of the rock. 1919 I. F. Marcosson v. 143 This so-called Iron Bread, which is made of flour and water, is probably the simplest and purest-baked product that the American soldier eats. 2010 A. Monaghan 54 Standing guard through the frozen nights, drilling together, digging trenches in the iron earth. 4. Of a person, or his or her qualities, behaviour, etc. Cf. steely adj. 4a. the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [adjective] > inflexible OE tr. Defensor (1969) xxi. 171 Inter aepulas et inlecebras uoluptatum etiam ferreas mentes libido domat : betwuh estas & forspanincga lusta eac isene geþancu galnys gewylt. 1607 S. Hieron i. 28 Beg we of God therefore, that he would bind our yron neckes. 1798 B. Edwards (rev. ed.) iv. iii. 155 To what shall we ascribe this iron fortitude of mind? 1849 T. B. Macaulay II. ix. 476 The iron stoicism of William never gave way. 1852 Ld. Tennyson viii. 14 Their ever-loyal iron leader's fame. 1854 J. S. C. Abbott (1855) I. iii. 58 With the same exhaustless, iron, diligence. 1915 Apr. 247/1 I tried to make her let me have a few dollars..; but she was iron. 1952 J. Steinbeck (1958) vii. 49 He took no chances, held back his impatience with an iron control. 1986 R. Jenkins i. 5 He was iron in his determination never to complain about the scant notice which Roosevelt had taken of him. 1991 D. Rieff i. iii. 59 The iron will of L.A. businessmen to have it their own way remains unchanging. the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > callous or hard-hearted 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin iii. f. 136v The obstinate..now make it a sport with no lesse shamelesse face than iron heart [L. corde ferreo] to despise and set nought by the threatenings of God. 1596 E. Spenser v. x. sig. V8 Powring forth their bloud in brutishe wize, That any yron eyes, to see it would agrize. View more context for this quotation 1607 S. Hieron Remedie for Securitie in (1620) I. 439 The iron deadnesse of mens hearts. 1651 ‘A. B.’ tr. L. Lessius 13 There is no country so barbarous, or of so iron and hard a disposition. 1772 R. Cumberland iv. 49 Oh! if my fate depends upon her looks, they must be iron hearts that can withstand 'em. 1832 10 Mar. 160/2 He, with his iron nature just put off, Comes from the mart of noisy men awhile To witness holier vows than bind the world, And taste once more the fount of sympathy. 1872 E. H. Sears i. viii. 193 The shrieks from rows of crucified slaves fell on the iron ears of spectators with whom the throbs of pity were a childish weakness. 1994 G. Lee tr. Propertius ii. viii. 35 How many presents I gave! What poems I composed! But she was iron [L. ferrea]—she never said ‘I love you’. the mind > goodness and badness > badness or evil > [adjective] the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > harshness or severity > [adjective] 1574 J. Whitgift ix. ii. 490 The hote fornace and yron yoke of the popish Egipte. 1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in 254 This yron world..Brings downe the stowtest hearts to lowest state. 1665 T. Herbert (new ed.) 136 Abumansor one would think was born to an Iron destiny. 1778 V. Knox I. xxxviii. 318 The lust of dominion which disgraced the iron reign of the sullen, unlettered tyrant. 1795 E. Burke Fourth Let. Peace Regicide Directory in (1991) IX. 56 The first Republick in the World..is under her iron yoke. 1852 S. S. Cox xxxvi. 422 When baronial insolence ruled its serfs with iron sway. 1871 R. Ellis tr. Catullus lxiv. 203 Words which on iron deeds did sue for deadly requital. 1919 290 Iron discipline is as fatal as sentimentalism when one has in view the moral regeneration of the wrongdoer. 1950 31 Jan. b3/1 The iron actions and stubborn dealings of Russia. 1974 R. Heilbroner ii. 39 The eventual rise of ‘iron’ governments, probably of a military-socialist cast, seems part of the prospect that must be faced. 1997 S. R. Delany in 20 155 He ran his caravan of thieves and cut-throats with a metallic discipline that often verged on iron cruelty. the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > iron or steel grey the world > matter > colour > named colours > red or redness > [adjective] > brownish-red a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xvi. xi. 835 Abestone is a stoon of Archadia wiþ iren coloure [L. ferrei coloris]. 1587 W. Fulbeck sig. E5v Sunne shall be ouercast with an yron colour. 1632 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi 60 A Knight of a low stature, and iron hue. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil 68 The Sun..In Iron Clouds conceal'd the Publick Light. View more context for this quotation 1798 T. Gisborne 2 He spoke, and fix'd on heaven his iron eyes. 1847 C. Brontë I. ix. 137 How different had this scene looked when I viewed it laid out beneath the iron sky of winter! 1871 F. T. Palgrave 85 Earth all one tomb lies round me, Domed with an iron sky. 1908 M. D. Post viii. 161 He was thin and sharp, with iron hair. 1953 23 July 21/2 The statement promises relief in about two weeks from the iron color in the water supply. 1992 Oct. 38/1 Two days of iron skies in Boston. society > morality > moral evil > [adjective] > like Iron Age ?1532 T. Paynell tr. Erasmus vii. sig. G The worlde that we sine in nowe Is wors than the iron worlde [L. secula ferri] that men dyd so cal. a1591 H. Smith (1593) 508 Looke not for a golden life in an iron world. 1614 W. Raleigh i. i. ix. §3. 183 But they..account the times iniurious and yron. 1620 sig. A3v The iron deeds of an iron generation. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Pastorals ix, in tr. Virgil 41 In these hard Iron Times. 1760 tr. Virgil in T. Blacklock et al. 153 An iron race shall then no longer rage, But all the world regain the golden age. 1805 W. Scott i. Introd. 4 The bigots of the iron time. 1874 Sept. 293 So changed in Hesiod's verse advancing ages—The Iron Era sped to Brass of old. 1918 Jan. 123 The far sighted see beyond the iron present a golden future. 1961 54 132 The present or Iron race is evil and will become steadily worse. 2010 H. Van Noorden in G. R. Boys-Stones & J. H. Haubold ix. 187 The sharp contrast between the heroes and the iron generations in Hesiod's five-stage narrative. the world > life > death > [noun] > state or condition of 1573 T. Bedingfield tr. G. Cardano ii. sig. Diiv Homer doth call it brasen slepe. Virgil yron slepe [L. somnum..ferreum], either of which importeth forgetfulnes of al thinges. 1604 T. Dekker sig. F Detraction and Obliuion throw off their iron slumber. 1685 J. Dryden ii. 4 An Iron Slumber sate on his Majestick Eyes. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil 144 An Iron Slumber shuts my swimming Eyes [L. conditque natantia lumina somnus.] . View more context for this quotation 1724 G. Jeffreys v. i. 60 Let Caduan, starting from his iron Sleep, Howl in my Ears, Usurper, Parricide; And then I will believe. 1757 W. Wilkie iii. 62 The touch divine his iron slumber broke. 1835 E. Bulwer-Lytton II. vi. v. 348 His face was still locked, as in a vice, with that iron sleep. 1895 W. B. Yeats 50 So lived I and lived not..with creatures of dreams, In a long iron sleep. 1910 Mar. 291 The clamors of the centuries can disturb all quiets but one—the quiet of the dead. Yet a voice is coming that shall break this iron repose. 1920 A. Noyes 131 After all the loving, with lips and eyes a-light, Comes the iron slumber, and the endless night. 2009 M. Wickert tr. T. Tasso iii. 51 He falls; his eyes, their lids scarce open, keep a gaze of stern repose and iron sleep. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > degree, kind, or quality of sound > unpleasant quality > harsh or discordant quality > [adjective] 1807 E. Montague I. i. 1 The clock of the monastery had told in iron notes the midnight hour. 1871 A. C. Swinburne Prel. 105 Heard their songs' iron cadences. 1892 Aug. 755/1 The iron song of the hammering wheels. 1932 July 112/2 Iron notes from the second largest tuned bell in the world. 1965 D. Pearce v. 37 He drags his chain,..tinkling out an iron melody wherever he goes. 2009 P. Reeve (2010) xxvi. 220 A grinding iron voice. Compounds C1. Parasynthetic. a. Forming adjectives relating to the physical properties or attributes of a person or thing. Also in figurative contexts. Some of the following could alternatively be interpreted as showing instrumental compounds of iron n.1 (see Compounds 1d).1645 W. Lithgow 19 This Club hath a long iron-banded staffe. 1813 W. Scott iv. xxv. 190 Mortham's iron-banded chests. 1966 D. Sutherland i. ii. 24 The iron-banded wheels crunched on the gritty road. 2010 (Nexis) 25 June b6 His [sc. Lenin's] iron-banded focus on discipline from his followers. 1572 J. Bridges tr. R. Gwalther xii. 492 Neyther watch, nor yron chaynes, nor fast locked doores, nor yron barred gates [L. portae ferreae], were able to holde him. 1604 T. Middleton sig. F2v An Vsurers great Iron bard Chest. 1870 C. Dickens i. 3 The Sacristan locks the iron-barred gates that divide the sanctuary from the chancel. 2004 T. L. Lee & C. M. Anthony 99 The iron-barred windows of the English basement of the brownstone-turned-restaurant. 1647 J. Trapp (Matt. vi. 24) An iron-bowelled wretch. 1811 R. Bloomfield 32 Westward Great Doward, stretching wide, Upheaves his iron-bowel'd side. 1918 P. Casey & T. Casey v. 44 He is an iron-boweled man! 2010 P. Birkenhead xii. 217 A decisive, iron-boweled squidetarian who ordered his revolting lunch every day with a mere flick of his finger. 1792 II. 190 His nose striking against one of the iron capped hands of his brother Magog,..he began to bleed violently. 1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright 187 Upon no account should iron-capped insulators be made use of upon such lines. 1912 M. A. Bigelow iii. 9 The teacher may use a short piece of gas-pipe, iron capped at one end. 2010 H. Du Plessis (ed. 5) 240/2 Work boats..have stout wooden fendering, often iron capped for survival. 1590 E. Spenser i. vii. sig. F6v Disarmed all of yron-coted Plate. 1735 J. Thomson 263 The deep phalanx..Of iron-coated Macedon. 1863 15 37/2 It was discovered that iron-coated ships only were good for warlike purposes. 1995 Nov. 44 (table) Steel- or iron-coated with tin/lead mix: relatively inexpensive: easy to work. 1677 W. Hughes iii. iii. 102 An Iron-fac'd and Leaden-hearted..Person. 1824 W. Irving IV. 21 ‘Ah, that Kidd was a daring dog,’ said an iron-faced Cape Cod whaler. 1912 E. Sheldon 4 (stage direct.) He is a man of fifty—iron-faced, grey-haired, and angular. 2010 (Nexis) 1 Feb. 34 Where do the French get these iron-faced harpies? They can't all be the discarded mistresses of politicians. 1825 tr. F. H. K. de La Motte Fouqué I. xiii. 166 Her brother struck his cuirass with his iron-gloved [Ger. beerzten] right hand . 1876 ‘Ouida’ ii. 13 A giant murderer iron-gloved to slay you. a1918 W. Owen (1983) I. 86 To wrest thy hand from rivals, iron-gloved. 2011 (Nexis) 7 Jan. 85 He came into the [cricket] team as part of the recent England tradition of iron-gloved goalies who could bat a bit. 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Montague f. xxxv A man may view through al the towne By certayne windowes yron grated downe. 1814 W. Scott II. xv. 235 An huge iron-grated door..formed the exterior defence of the gateway. View more context for this quotation 1880 ‘M. Twain’ 375 A window of good size, iron-grated. 1997 Summer 28 There are still parks..where you can ramble around the woods without tripping over RV plug-ins or iron-grated barbecue pits. 1714 L. Theobald tr. Sophocles i. i. 17 The Iron-heel'd [Gk. χαλκόπους] avenging Fury, hidden hitherto in her dismal Mansions, will come now. 1887 G. Meredith 74 Iron-capped and iron-heeled. 1922 Oct. 28/1 Unions prevailed in Italy before iron heeled Mussolini commenced his march of destruction through that land. 2007 (Nexis) 28 Apr. 19 Franco's victorious Fascist dictatorship would press down the iron-heeled jackboot on the throat of liberty until his death in 1975. 1588 W. Raleigh 13 Sept. (1999) 46 I must allso praye you to sett a syde xxv toonnes of the ieron hooped e[mpty] caske for me. 1737 A. Pope VI. 110 Iron-hoop'd hogsheads of strong beer. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Ram, a long spar, iron-hooped at the ends, used for driving out blocks from beneath a vessel's keel. 2000 N. Philbrick (2001) i. 24 Large, iron-hooped containers each capable of holding 268 gallons of whale oil. 1694 R. Calef Let. 11 Jan. in (1700) ii. 15 The Attendants said that she was sometimes in Fit that none could open her Joynts, and that there came an Old Iron-jaw'd Woman and try'd, but could not do it. 1720 S. Fancourt 17 Such Reasoning..may be found too nervous and conclusive for the most iron-jaw'd Mathematician to tear in pieces. 1883 ‘M. Twain’ iii. 44 I'm the old original iron-jawed, brass-mounted..corpse-maker from the wilds of Arkansaw! 1926 E. Hemingway i. 6 A short, iron-jawed man. 1995 J. Shreeve (1996) xii. 323 The demi-ape has evolved abruptly into Modern Man: handsomely upright, resolute, full of clear-eyed, iron-jawed purpose. 1800 18 284 A strong iron-jointed timber brace. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in (new ed.) II. 109 Iron-jointed, supple-sinew'd, they shall dive, and they shall run. 1928 A. E. Pease 98/1 The iron-jointed handle of the kailpot. 1999 E. Abbott (2001) vii. 283 They [sc. chastity belts] have hip bands formed of anywhere from four to ten iron-jointed strips. 1831 C. G. F. Gore III. viii. 165 Valazy stood leaning against that iron-knobbed door. 1949 E. Blunden 41 At the iron-knobbed church door. 2000 P. Brendon ii. vii. 152 In his coffin were to be laid the iron-knobbed stick which he had taken on his tours of the trenches and a bunch of flowers picked for him in No Man's Land. 1828 T. Carlyle Burns in Dec. 277 Rose-coloured novels and iron-mailed epics. 1917 Dec. 82/2 If any out-of-date iron-mailed War Lord tries to deceive people into fear and hatred of their neighbors..they will laugh at his absurdity. 1989 R. R. McCammon 582 The drawing of Hitler squeezed in an iron-mailed fist. 1737 A. Pope V. 185 Opening the iron-nail'd door. 1826 9 Dec. 327/2 The iron-nailed horseshoe was unknown to the ancients. 1915 ‘R. Dehan’ xv. 103 The Business Department began to empty so much that you could see the eyebrows of clerks behind the iron-nailed unplaned deal counters. 2007 C. Harrison (2008) viii. 104 This time the two bodyguards came also, their iron-nailed boots ringing on the rough limestone. 1608 J. Day sig. A2 The Iron-pated Muse-mongers about the towne. 1866 D. G. Mitchell iv. 20 A few iron-pated farmers, and a few gentlemen of Irish extraction who keep tavern and stores, divide among themselves the official honors of the town. 1900 29 Dec. 13/2 Aha, the iron-pated old villain! 1995 D. Weber (1999) xxvi. 322 Tothas may be less iron-pated than I, but that's not making him one bit less worthy! 1733 iv. 16 A noble great Gate and Stone Steps leading into the Park, Iron-railed. 1893 F. W. L. Adams 130 Dusty iron-railed gardens. 1964 A. Wykes i. 10 He had set up an iron-railed podium. 2002 21 Dec. (Review section) 5/4 A grim, iron-railed staircase decorated with children's paintings of beings from outer space. 1637 N. Whiting 21 Such Crassian heapes of gold, Condemn'd to sleepe in iron-ribbed chests? 1801 Sept. 814/2 Are we to rely on the lawyer, who promises to lead us to those iron-ribbed chests? 1931 Oct. 22/1 Even the iron-ribbed hull groaned. 2007 (Nexis) 25 June a1 The judge ordered bailiffs to lead him from the iron-ribbed cage that serves as a dock. 1646 R. Crashaw Sospetto d'Herode ix, in 54 The Throne of th' Iron-Sceptred King. 1794 J. Whitehouse ix. 78 Who bids with blood-stained banner fly Iron-sceptred Tyranny? 1816 P. B. Shelley 82 The iron-sceptered Skeleton, Whose reign is in the tainted sepulchres. 1902 E. F. Henderson II. vi. 226 Scarcely had this iron-sceptred rule come to an end when the state..began a surprisingly rapid downward career. 1596 E. Spenser v. xii. sig. Y5 An huge Polaxe..Whose steale was yron studded, but not long. View more context for this quotation 1821 W. Scott I. xii. 213 One leaf of the iron-studded folding-doors stood carelessly open. 1903 May 30 In the wall in front of him was an iron-studded door. 2004 23 Jan. 22/1 Our 200-year-old finca is dark and cool, with heavy iron-studded doors and shuttered windows. 1601 A. Munday sig. H3v Opening (like hell) his iron toothed iawes. 1787 G. Washington Let. 1 July in (1997) Confederation Ser. V. 241 My principal motives for introducing the Hoe & common Iron toothed Harrows. 1860 S. E. Todd 311 The bottom and sides of open drains should be scratched over with an iron-toothed rake. 1992 C. Giles & I. H. Goodall ii. 17/1 The iron-toothed heckles through which bundles of flax were drawn. 1592 T. Nashe sig. Iv Wilt thou be so hardy and iron-visaged. 1822 Ld. Byron iv. i. 44 Brave iron-visaged fellows. 1911 July 69/1 An iron-visaged American woman, somewhat past middle age. 1983 26 June k1/5 Rip, as some call him, is iron-visaged and short-haired. 1804 J. Grahame 25 With studded doors, And iron-visor'd windows. 1894 15 Dec. 1215/1 Only a quarter of a century ago the Japanese soldiers still wore great grotesque iron-visored helmets with which to frighten the enemy. 2008 S. Glassman 1 They rode to their carts, dismounted, and let their servants garb them in coats of mail and iron-visored helmets. 1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso i. lxxxi. 17 The brasen trumpe of iron winged fame. 1743 W. Ellis (Dublin ed.) July i. 11 Some of their Ploughs have Iron-winged Wheels, others are only Wood, for Sands do not wear much. 1866 J. Brougham iii. i. 19 An army of iron-winged devils. 1996 (Nexis) 5 Oct. 19 A chandelier..and nearby wall sconces are adorned with iron-winged griffins. b. Forming adjectives (and derived nouns) indicating a person's character or demeanour. Cf. sense 4. 1683 tr. H. de Valois in tr. Eusebius et al. 697/1 Who is so iron-minded [L. ferreus animo, Gk. σιδήρεος τὴν ψυχήν], as not together with others to give evidence to the Truth? 1798 R. S. I. i. 7 There she staid till the iron-minded monster died. 1897 J. L. Allen xii. 168 Fighting it all over in his foolish, iron-minded way. 1968 28 Feb. 323/2 His blunt, iron-minded relatives in Yorkshire. 2010 (Nexis) 12 Apr. They displayed the sort of iron-minded determination that does not always accompany other New Zealand teams. 1876 Ld. Tennyson ii. ii. 51 This iron-mooded Duke. 1805 J. M. Good in tr. Lucretius I. 452/2 (note) These iron-nerved anatomists, indeed, were not contented with the contemplation of the dry and imperfect study of a corpse. 1885 G. Meredith I. xii. 252 Emma, whom she expected and sat armed to meet, unaccountably iron-nerved. 1973 E. Taylor (1974) xv. 230 Even the most iron-nerved desperado could hardly have withstood this double attack. 2001 B. Krahn iv. 56 They looked to their iron-nerved leader. 1772 June 232/1 Maternal Love!—The iron-soul'd Melt at thy touch. 1796 T. Holcroft v. i. 71 Take me to my friends! Quick! Quick, you iron-souled scoundrels! 1849 C. Brontë II. vi. 155 I suppose I am not considered iron-souled enough to be trusted in a crisis. 1919 T. Murray viii. 115 The iron souled Don Juan Manuel and the no less fearless and unrelenting Doña Encarnacion. 2011 P. Robinson xiii. 320 The iron-souled US Navy SEALs remained flat in the dusty scrubland. 1838 Jan. 89/2 Haughty iron-willed aristocrats. 1848 J. R. Lowell in 9 Nov. 96/1 In that far isle, whence, iron-willed, The new-world's sires their bark unmoored. 1951 M. McLuhan 67/1 Thurber's ‘Mother’ is a flint-eyed, iron-willed, Republican matriarch. 1991 8 Dec. ii. 27/5 His iron-willed authoritarianism. C2. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > outcrop of vein or stratum 1823 tr. A. von Humboldt 331 It exhibits..a very remarkable analogy with the earthy ochraceous (but not argentiferous) masses which the miners of Europe call vulgarly by the name of iron cap [Fr. chapeau de fer]. 1911 Mar. 166/1 The indication of a deposit of pyrites is the appearance of an outcrop of oxide of iron more or less honeycombed. This is called the ‘iron cap’, or in Cornwall ‘gossan’. 1999 Dec. 54/2 You'll find scheelite in any limestone area cut by granite, particularly in the vicinity of what's known as..iron cap. 1871 6 Feb. 3/1 A delay in the elections means the protraction of the armistice, and we much doubt whether the iron Chancellor will assent to that. 1889 Aug. 437/1 The iron Chancellor, the head of genius which guided the docile arm [sc. the old Emperor]. 1915 F. M. Hueffer ii. 127 The fall of the Iron Chancellor really did send a shock of alarm through the world. 1999 6 Dec. 119/2 Blair publicly rejoices that he has, in Gordon Brown, an ‘Iron Chancellor’. 2004 (Nexis) 16 Oct. (Jobs & Money section) 12 Germany was the first country to found a state pension system under the original ‘Iron Chancellor’, Otto von Bismarck. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > equipment for food preparation > [noun] > fish-gutter 1904 7 July 1/1 An interesting experiment is being tried at the Sehome cannery. It is doing away with Chinese labor. The ‘Iron chink’ a cleaning machine which butchers fish in every particular..has been installed by the management of the Sehome plant. 1914 14 Nov. 4/4 The ‘iron chink’ cuts off the heads, tails, and fins, dresses the fish at the rate of 3,000 per hour. 1963 5 Apr. 34/1 (advt.) Fishing company requires qualified iron chink operator. 1993 2 June 8/3 He..installed a second Iron Chink and remodeled the can-making line. society > armed hostility > military organization > insignia > [noun] > decorations or orders 1813 Apr. 353/2 His Majesty has instituted an order of merit, entitled, The Order of the Iron Cross, to commemorate the constancy displayed in the present great contest for liberty and independence. 1815 11 Dec. 2/3 Their names will follow, beginning with those who were decorated with the iron cross. 1871 July 24 The Crown Prince distributing the Iron Cross. 1914 11 Nov. 390/2 The Iron Cross. (For German looters.) 1944 V. G. Garvin tr. R. Gary xxvi. 114 My Frieda would rather have me back with pox than dead with the Iron Cross! 2008 7 Mar. 19/1 The German government was yesterday forced to scrap plans to reintroduce the Iron Cross. society > authority > office > symbol of office or authority > regalia > [noun] > crown > specific 1550 W. Lynne tr. J. Carion iii. f. clvi He went into Italy, and toke in Lombardy, where he was also crowned with an yron crown [L. ferrea corona, Ger. mit der eisern kron]. 1702 J. Savage 34 The Iron Crown. 1839 XIV. 104/2 At Pavia..the successors of Charlemagne were crowned with the iron crown of Lombardy as kings of Italy. 1861 J. G. Sheppard i. 12 Yet the German still guards, though no longer in a Lombard fortress, the iron Crown. 1920 22 June 19/4 Napoleon as ‘King of Italy’ placed on his brows the Iron Crown of the Lombards which Queen Theodolinda in the sixth century fashioned from one of the nails of the True Cross. 2006 R. Sale (ed. 8) 12/1 Both Charlemagne in the eighth century and Napoleon in the nineteenth century were crowned with the Iron Crown. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > title > title or form of address for persons of rank > [noun] > for grand-duke > of first duke of Wellington 1830 14 June 2/3 If the Irish Question be lost, Ireland has her Representative to accuse for it still more than the iron Duke and his worthy Chancellor. 1852 (title) The wisdom of Wellington; or maxims of the Iron Duke. 1957 XXIII. 501 As a diplomatist the ‘Iron Duke’..was no match for the ‘Iron Tsar’. 2010 D. Devonshire xxv. 332 These tall, narrow, red leather-fronted drawers, replicas of those that the Iron Duke took with him on his campaigns. the mind > emotion > pride > impudence > [noun] > impudent person the mind > will > decision > obstinacy or stubbornness > [noun] > obstinate or stubborn person 1697 C. Cibber v. 76 Hark you Iron-face! Art not thou a Perjur'd Rogue? 1824 T. Gaspey I. vii. 159 Shall I sleep in old Iron-face's house? I shall fancy it a giant's castle. 1979 V. C. Andrews 352 I'd never given that any thought, how he felt about that old witch ironface. society > authority > rule or government > politics > politics of other European countries > [noun] > specific Romanian party 1930 23 July 12/2 The police also raided the offices of the Iron Guard, an organization of young people engaged in anti-Semitic activities. 1934 210 M. Duca..was assassinated..by a student member of the Iron Guard. 1942 L. B. Namier 46 The Iron Guard, which was indebted to Germany for much of its income and of its revolutionary élan, indulged in the extremest forms of anti-Semitism, demanded a complete dictatorship with a social revolutionary programme. 1991 B. E. Close viii. 84 In Rumania, Octavian Goga, head of the Fascist Iron Guard, set about the economic and legal strangulation of Rumanian Jewry. 1693 J. Dennis 14 Great Russel does their Admirals assail With Thunder, Lightning, and with Iron Hail. 1828 S. Rogers vi. 42 No strangers to the iron-hail of war. 2000 P. T. Tucker (2011) vii. 113 These Kentucky cannoneers pounded the Georgians with double loads of canister, spraying the west end of the stone bridge with the iron hail. society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [noun] 1798 W. Munford Almoran & Hamet in ii. 56 Oft he exalts the wicked, and permits Their iron heel to crush the virtuous head. 1838 W. H. Prescott I. i. xi. 383 The green crop had no time to ripen, ere it was trodden down under the iron heel of war. 1893 1 375 He was being held up as ‘The Czar’—a man whose iron heels were crushing out American popular government. 1984 10 Feb. a3/1 He sees rate-capping as ‘the iron heel of Whitehall that is threatening to crush democratic local government in Britain’. 2007 34 508/1 Both South Korea and Taiwan..developed under the iron-heel of brutal dictatorships. 1903 6 Feb. 10/1 Pope Leo XIII. will celebrate..during the present year..his ‘Iron Jubilee’ as a priest—he was ordained seventy years ago. 2002 9 June (Media section) 9/4 We should be thinking ahead to 2022—and to a combined celebration of the BBC's centenary and the Queen's iron jubilee. society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > iron maiden 1859 S. S. Madders I. 317 ‘I think possibly the church had something to do with it, and the councils of that iron “maiden”.’ ‘What the instrument of torture?’ ‘Yes, the flesh and blood instrument always by her side.’ ‘You seem to have no great love for the iron maid.’ 1863 26 Dec. 410/2 Such Iron Maids existed in many German towns. Wittenberg had even two such machines. 1951 E. E. Cummings 10 Feb. (1969) 211 Later or sooner I always glimpse a miserably exhausted me—tortured in his ‘iron maid’—waiting & waiting. 2008 R. Gleason & J. Podrug xxvi. 114 A stay among the Inquisitors' smoldering coals and hot smoking pinchers, its Iron Maid and flame-shrouded stake. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > steering equipment > [noun] > helm > automatic steering devices 1923 Oct. 476/2 The result is now perfected in the mechanism known as the Sperry gyro-pilot, nicknamed by ships' officers ‘Iron Mike’. 1944 L. Brackett in Spring 64/1 I set the Iron Mike for Space Authority headquarters on Mars. 1956 A. G. Course ix. 130 Now we have a gyro-compass pilot or automatic helmsman—often known as an ‘iron mike’—which steers the ship. 2003 M. R. Rawlins iv. 25 Most of the time ships are steered by the automatic pilot, or ‘iron mike’. 1851 I. 194/2 Von Kleist, Baron, Neudeck, Bohemia.—Tinned sheet-iron. Thin sheet-iron, called iron-paper. 1889 Oct. 375 The dried iron paper has been exposed in contact with the negative. 1907 July 267/2 N. Adrianow has been experimenting with the preparation of iron paper. 1795 Nov. 456 The weight of the marl, bearing on twenty-four wheels, is discharged at so many points, that the iron road is much lighter, and consequently less expensive. 1838 F. Coghlan (title) The iron road book and railway companion. 1880 Oct. 722/2 On all the iron roads the freight trains were made up through long months to be concentrated on the lines leading into Chicago. 2004 L. Erdrich (2005) i. 1 She rose and went on, kept walking until she came to the iron road. society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > iron maiden 1837 Feb. 193/1 A recorded account of a new iron virgin having been constructed at Nuremberg in the year 1533. 1893 B. Stoker Squaw in 2 Dec. 24/3 When we got back to the chamber we found Hutcheson still opposite the Iron Virgin. 2004 J. I. Abecassis v. 130 She explains that the iron virgin was in fact an instrument of torture. society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy > as defence 1835 24 Dec. 412/1 What may hereafter be the great bulwark of the nation—the superiority of a fleet of British iron steam-ships—the iron walls of Old England! 1897 26 June 1/3 Fortified by the sense of our iron-walls. 2007 P. Brendon viii. 231 A prime concern was the security of Britain's iron walls. 1712 N. Bergier xxvi. 139 The common People of the Country call them by another Name, Iron Ways; either from the Hardness and Solidity of the Work..; or from the Colour of the small Flints..which compose the Surface of the said Ways. 1810 B. Silliman II. lxxiii. 265 The waggon runs on an iron way, with which the wheels are made to tally, that the carriage may not deviate from its course. 1850 12 Dec. 6/3 The company is to lay down the iron way on the remainder of the distance to Rennes. 1921 W. H. Blake tr. L. Hémon v. 85 The easy day's journey now separating them from the marvels of the iron way. 2011 W. G. Thomas (title) The Iron Way: railroads, the Civil War, and the making of modern America. 1867 5 Sept. Chicago rejoices in the ‘iron wedding’ between the fruitful fields of the Northwest and the iron track of Commerce. 1874 4 July 5/6 Busby, of Trenton, celebrated his ‘iron wedding’ one day last week. 1883 16 June The social advantages, mercantile convenience and political significance of the union of the two colonies by the iron wedding can hardly be over-estimated. 1889 J. A. Logan 53 The fifth anniversary is dubbed the wooden wedding... One year after the marriage is celebrated by the iron wedding. 1928 15 June 18 They receive a personal letter from the chief executive, accompanied..by a gift of..25 marks in the case of diamond or iron weddings. 1994 C. A. Schwantes i. i. 5/1 The ‘iron wedding’ also represented the juxtaposition of city and country. 1597 W. Shakespeare iv. ii. 29 I wil conuerse with iron witted fooles And vnrespectiue boies. View more context for this quotation 1831 W. Scott Count Robert vi, in (1832) 4th Ser. II. 140 Meantime I have placed him as an additional sentinel upon the iron-witted Count of Paris. 1981 L. James iii. 33 A creaky bureaucracy, lacking imagination, laöcooned in red tape and presided over by iron-witted generals. 1830 Ld. Tennyson 152 To embattail and to wall about thy cause With ironworded proof. 1896 H. Van Dyke ii. 50 Faith..is to be established by fortification, surrounded and entrenched with banquette and parapet, scarp and ditch and counterscarp of iron-worded proof. 1990 M. McCrory iv. 40 The iron-worded vows ensured that for the rest of their mortal days they would live as nuns. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online June 2022). ironv.1Origin: Formed within English, by conversion; originally modelled on a French lexical item. Etymon: iron n.1 Etymology: < iron n.1, originally after Anglo-Norman and Middle French ferrer (see ferrure n.).Compare (all attested only in past participle) Old High German isanen, isarnen, isarnōn to cover (an object) with iron (Middle High German īseren), Old Icelandic járna to mount (an object) in iron, to put (a person) in irons, to shoe (a horse). society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > coat or cover with metal > with specific metal c1450 tr. G. Deguileville (Cambr.) (1869) 57 It mis likede me of the burdoun that it was not yrened [Fr. ferré]. 1490 W. Caxton tr. (1885) xxii. 491 A palster well yrened for to bere in his hande. 1517 Will of John Fitzherbert in (1885) 7 239 ij horse harrowes yroned. 1652 W. Blith xxviii. 196 Let him not neglect a day, but Iron his plough with slipes or clouts in all the wearing places. 1793 11 195 Made of ash..and ironed as the model. 1816 S. T. Coleridge i. 10 The gate that was iron'd within and without. 1857 F. L. Olmsted vi. 400 Used to iron wagons and shoe horses in that country. 1905 Oct. 22/2 About 50 farm wagons are ironed annually, besides some spring wagons. 1977 Jan. 43/2 We had to take our clogs to be ‘ironed’. 2002 M. Bruegel 146 Samuel Fowks..ironed wheels and sleighs in the 1820s. society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > binding or fettering > bind, fetter, or shackle [verb (transitive)] > specific with iron 1577 R. Willes & R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria f. 243v They al weare theyr lyuereys, that is, boords at theyr neckes, yronned hand and foote. a1627 T. Middleton & W. Rowley (1653) iv. sig. H2v Iron him then, let the rest goe free. 1696 in M. Pitt (end matter) (advt.) Some of them being not only iron'd, and lodg'd with Hogs, Felons, and condemned Persons, but have had their Bones broke. 1764 D. E. Baker II. sig. Dd4 The Convicts being reconducted to Prison, were heavily ironed, and remained with no Hopes of Life, but from the Royal Mercy. 1794 E. Burke Speech against W. Hastings in (1827) XV. 457 The miserable victims were imprisoned, ironed, scourged. 1831 P. F. Tytler I. 276 Wallace was cast into a dungeon and heavily ironed. 1856 J. A. Froude II. 473 Mark Smeton, who had confessed his guilt, was ironed. 1911 68 284 The various gaols of mediaeval England, notwithstanding the thickness of their walls and the usual habit of ironing the prisoners, appear to have been easily broken. 1941 16 Feb. 13/2 Yellow Jack caught them and the skipper went mad, ironed the slaves in threes and heaved 'em overboard. 1994 1 May 54/5 The skipper was ironed inside his own cabin. 3. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (transitive)] > press or iron ?1670 iii. sig. A7v She Washt and Iron'd his Lace Band. a1680 Earl of Rochester Session of Poets in (1984) App. I. 134 Little Starcht-Johnny Crowne, at his elbowe he found; His Crevat-string new Iron'd. 1736 H. Fielding 10 Draw the Scene, and discover..her Maid Ironing her Linnen. 1761 H. D. Reynolds Diary 19 Jan. in E. Greg (1905) 13 Wash'd Blewing and Starching, and Ironed most of the small cloths. 1819 Jan. 47/1 Four shirts, one without a sleeve, another torn at the gusset, the rents in the four frills of the others, cannot be ironed down any longer. 1834 H. Martineau in June 305/1 A prodigious array of linen in the drying closet to be ironed. 1892 ‘Ouida’ in Dec. 797 The whole tendency of Socialism..is to iron down humanity into one dreary level. 1940 1 May 6/3 (advt.) Slight pressure provides pump action and fine, even spray permitting clothes to be ironed at once. 1977 Dec. 121/1 Among other chores, he ironed curtains in Foley's basement. 1999 E. O'Brien (2001) 54 Reena is ironing her hair, her cheek almost resting on the ironing board. 2011 25 Dec. 35/1 Franny, my shirts are a freakin' mess, and I need you to iron them for me. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (intransitive)] > iron or press 1731 14 Jan. 1/2 She went upstairs into the Laundry-Room, where the Maid was ironing. 1789 No. 44. 9 The servants are all ironing. 1841 C. Dickens i. x. 143 Mrs. Nubbles ironed away in silence for a minute or two. 1898 W. A. Wyckoff viii. 353 While she ironed she conversed in an easy, natural manner. 1938 Nov. 355/3 Saturday mornings she ironed and boiled and baked. 1974 M. Babson 37 Ginny had been ironing when she arrived. 2006 S. Townsend v. 43 He relaxes by watching the soaps while he's ironing. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (intransitive)] > iron or press > undergo ironing 1843 2 Mar. Suppl. 11/3 (advt) I have used your patent rice starch upwards of 12 months with much satisfaction. I find it irons with much greater ease without sticking to the iron. 1864 19 Mar. 9/1 (advt.) If other Starches don't succeed, One there is, all are agreed, Which irons smoothly, with great speed. 1912 67 Mercerized cotton damask washes well, irons smoothly, and is otherwise satisfactory. 1963 May 50/1 (advt.) Sta-Puf also smooths hard wrinkles in flatwork, eliminates much ironing. Shirts iron easier. 1997 C. Shields (1998) xii. 236 ‘Wonderful material,’ his mother said. ‘I'll bet it irons like a dream.’ Phrasal verbs With adverbs in specialized senses. to iron out the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > downward motion > causing to come or go down > cause to come or go down [verb (transitive)] > press or force down > make smooth by pressing down 1753 in L. Howard Let. to Compiler p. iii Sir Harry's Writings are like Ladies fine Laces which have been laid by..; but they may be sprinkled, smooth'd, and iron'd out by some modern Genius. 1790 D. Morison 148 When tightly plet and brawly iron'd out, They'll gar him look again I hae nae doubt. 1839 F. Trollope in Mar. 159/2 Betty..had learned to iron out tumbled dresses. 1858 O. W. Holmes (1865) ii. 15 Ironing out crumpled paragraphs, starching limp ones. 1949 F. Swinnerton vii. 80 Roly..had married a widow with children,..and been—in the cliché of the day—‘ironed out’. 1992 23 July a2/2 An increasingly homogenized country—a country that has been ironed out. 2005 18 Sept. 129/1 Pelaccio and his chef de cuisine were ironing out recipes for chili crab. the world > action or operation > easiness > find no difficulty in [verb (transitive)] > make easy or easier > resolve (difficulties) 1827 M. Corbett & M. Corbett III. xxi. 292 The child..actually refused to allow the creases to be ironed out of her frock to-day. 1850 3 July His countenance was illuminated..by those smiles which ever characterized it, until they were ironed out by the speech of Mr. B. Osborne. 1880 Apr. 316 Ironing out any difficulties of position or circumstance with the weight of our imperative oratory. 1905 31 Mar. 8 The differences between Chairman Flaherty..and Col. William A. Gaston are in a fair way to be amicably ironed out. 1971 28 Oct. 29/5 Like the great horseman he is, he patiently ironed out the kinks in plenty of time to catch Hush Money on the flat. 1971 1 Nov. 6/4 The new computer was delivered..last week... Ironing out the bugs will probably take until the new year. 2006 R. Everett xiv. 136 Hollywood inevitably irons out the wrinkles in an actor's psyche. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † ironv.2 Origin: Formed within English, by back-formation. Etymons: ironic adj., irony n., ironing n.2 Etymology: Back-formation < ironic adj., irony n., ironing n.2, etc.; sometimes used punningly after iron v.1 nonstandard or humorous. Obsolete. the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > caustic or ironic ridicule > ridicule caustically or ironically [verb (transitive)] 1793 ‘A. Pasquin’ (ed. 3) 99 ‘Why I am told you are the boldest hunter in the country,’ said a person opposite to the victim. ‘You are ironing me,’ replied the other seriously. 1840 F. Marryat III. 309 The fellow's ironing me. 1892 H. Holt xxvi. 278 But don't go to ironing me now. You interrupt the lecture. Where was I? the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > derision, ridicule, or mockery > caustic or ironic ridicule > use caustic or ironic ridicule [verb (intransitive)] the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > wit, wittiness > wit with words > irony > be ironic [verb (intransitive)] 1813 41 261 Others, who are blest with Mrs. Slipslop's second-hand knowledge and comprehension of words and rhetoric, will say, that I am ironing. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online September 2021). <  n.1eOE n.2a1425 adj.eOEv.1c1450 v.21793 |
