loftn.
/lɒft/, /lɔːft/, U.S. /lɔft/, /lɑft/ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > sky, heavens > [noun]
roofeOE
welkinc825
heaveneOE
heightOE
heavenOE
liftOE
loftOE
welkin1122
skies?a1289
firmamentc1290
skewa1300
spherea1300
skewsc1320
hemispherec1374
cope of heavenc1380
clouda1400
skya1425
elementc1485
axle-treea1522
scrowc1540
pole1572
horizona1577
vaulta1586
round?1593
the cope1596
pend1599
floor1600
canopy1604
cope1609
expansion1611
concameration1625
convex1627
concave1635
expansum1635
blue1647
the expanse1667
blue blanket1726
empyrean1727
carry1788
span1803
overhead1865
OE Ælfric Hexameron (Hatton 115) 46 Heo [sc. seo eorðe] ne lið on nanum ðinge ac on lofte heo stynt þurh þæs anes mihte þe ealle þing gesceop.
a1175 Cotton Hom. 217 Heo is..loftes leom and all hiscefte ȝimston.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 222 He makeð þe fisses in þe sa, þe fueles on þe lofte.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. 35/55 Huy comen fleo oppe in þe loft ouer þe apostle seint Ieme.
c1330 King of Tars 686 Let seche bi lofte and bi grounde, Yif eny Cristene prisoun mighte be founde.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. i. 88 He is a-counted to þe gospel on grounde and on lofte [1377 aloft].
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 3719 Two iuste goddis, Lyuond in the lofte with lordships in heuyn.
1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene i. i. sig. A8v And euery drizling raine vpon the loft.
a. on, upon (the) loft: (a) = aloft adv. and prep. in various senses; (b) in a high voice, loudly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb]
upc888
highOE
highlyOE
thereupc1000
anovenOE
overOE
boveOE
on, upon (the) lofta1100
aloftc1175
bibufennc1175
on higha1200
abovec1225
anovenonc1300
in heighta1340
on or upon height1340
ahighc1350
outh1389
over loftc1430
aheight1477
supernally1596
lofty-like1604
sublimely1625
way up1843
thereabove1891
the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > voice or vocal sound > quality of voice > [adverb] > with raised voice or loudly
loud971
highc1225
on highc1225
highlyc1275
mainlyc1300
with full (also open) mouthc1300
alouda1325
greatly1340
ahigha1400
loudlya1400
on or upon heightc1405
on, upon (the) loftc1420
on loudc1450
in heightc1480
big1556
to the loudesta1616
full-mouthedly1681
in loud1682
stentoriously1685
trumpet-mouthed1767
at the top of one's throat1819
at the top of one's throat1819
out loud1821
stentorianly1880
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > in upward direction
on higha1200
on or upon height1340
of lofta1400
on, upon (the) loft1487
a1100 Old Eng. Hom. (Napier) in Mod. Lang. Notes (1889) May 278/2 Þæt stænene cweartern stod eall on lofte fram þære eorðan.
a1225 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Lamb.) 83 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 165 He makede fisses in þe se and fuȝeles in þe lifte [a1225 Trin. Cambr. on þe lofte, ?c1250 Egerton inne þe lofte, a1300 Jesus Oxf. in þe lufte].]
a1300 K. Horn 974 Reynild, mi doȝter, Þat sitteþ on þe lofte.
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Man of Law's Tale (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 179 My souereyn plesaunce Ouer alle thyng outtaken crist on lofte.
c1420 Anturs of Arth. 619 Þene his lemmane one loft skrilles and skrikes.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 5503 The [=they] sawe hym sett on lofte And weren of hym socoured ofte.
c1450 (c1350) Alexander & Dindimus (Bodl.) (1929) l. 122 And reed gan schine, Þat his lem on þe loft liȝht ȝaf aboute.
c1450 (c1400) Sowdon of Babylon (1881) l. 3250 Therfore thoue shalt be honged on lofte.
c1450 Two Cookery Bks. 78 Couche hem in a faire chargeour, and ley the partrich on loft.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xiii. 652 And it, that wondir lawch wer ere, Mon lowp on loft in the contrere.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Preaching of Swallow l. 1711 in Poems (1981) 67 The lark on loft with vther birdis smale.
?1507 W. Dunbar Tua Mariit Wemen (Rouen) in Poems (1998) I. 44 Than all thai leuch apon loft with latis full mery.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. cii*v Than said he loud vpone loft [etc.].
1535 W. Stewart tr. H. Boethius Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 194 On ane litter, that buir him hie on loft.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 348 I luikit vp on loft.
b. by loft: in height.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > in height [phrase]
by loft1377
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 45 And ȝit maken it..Bothe as longe and as large bi loft [1393 aloft] & by grounde.
c. of loft: from above. Also used for aloft adv. and prep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > direction > specific directions > [phrase] > in upward direction
on higha1200
on or upon height1340
of lofta1400
on, upon (the) loft1487
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) l. 22143 Thoner of loft falle sal he gere & trees þrali blomis bere.
a1400–50 Alexander 791* Ledes hym [the horse] forth of þat loge and þen of-lofte lepys.
d. over loft = aloft adv. and prep.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > high position > [adverb]
upc888
highOE
highlyOE
thereupc1000
anovenOE
overOE
boveOE
on, upon (the) lofta1100
aloftc1175
bibufennc1175
on higha1200
abovec1225
anovenonc1300
in heighta1340
on or upon height1340
ahighc1350
outh1389
over loftc1430
aheight1477
supernally1596
lofty-like1604
sublimely1625
way up1843
thereabove1891
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > deck
hatcha1375
orlop1420
over loftc1430
loft1488
deck1513
floor1683
main deck1730
c1430 J. Lydgate Minor Poems (Percy Soc.) 6 Midde of the brigge ther was a toure over loft.
3.
a. An upper chamber, an attic; an apartment or chamber in general; spec. (see quot. 1593).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > [noun]
clevec825
chamber?c1225
loftc1385
clochera1400
room1438
roomth1567
receipt1593
stance1632
receptacle1634
stanza1648
apartment1715
slum1819
space1921
shovel and broom1928
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > room > types of room by situation > [noun] > upper room or loft
sollarc897
roostOE
loftc1385
cellara1400
roofc1405
garret1483
solier1483
hall of stage1485
coploft1571
cockloftc1580
tallet1586
cotloft1642
chamber1644
kitchen loft1648
vance-roof1655
sky-parlour1777
attic1818
soleret1851
overhead1949
dormer room1951
society > faith > artefacts > monastic property (general) > monastery or convent > parts of monastery > [noun] > refectory > part of
loft1593
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Hypermnestra. 2706 And at the wyndow lep he fro the lofte.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 12277, l. 12279 In a loft was in þe tun, A child þar kest a-noiþer don, Vte of the loft vnto þe grund.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 1096 Ȝe schal lenge in your lofte & lyȝe in your ese.
1489 in T. Dickson Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1877) I. 119 For the mendin of the Thesauraris houss dure and the loyft that byrnt.
1490 W. Caxton tr. Eneydos xxi. 77 Whan thou were in the highe lofte of thy grete towres thou sawe the see alle troubled.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. I. vii. 159 While they were there..sodeynly the Ioystes of the loft fayled, and the people fell downe.
1593 in Anc. Rites Durham (1903) 86 The mounckes dyd al dyne together at one table, in a place called ye lofte, wch was in ye west end of ye fratree aboue ye seller.
1611 Bible (King James) 1 Kings xvii. 19 He..caried him vp into a loft, where he abode, and laide him vpon his owne bed. View more context for this quotation
1756 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 364 I preached at five in a large loft.
1874 J. C. Geikie Life in Woods (ed. 2) ii. 33 One end of my sister's loft was packed..with part of it [furniture].
b. The apartment over a stable, usually appropriated to hay and straw. (Cf. hayloft n.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > cultivation of plants or crops > storage or preservation of crops > [noun] > hay store
hay-housea1000
loft1530
hayloft1570
hay-barn1577
tallet1586
hay-tallat1697
hay-box1885
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 240/2 Lofte for haye or corne, garnier.
1607 J. Norden Surueyors Dialogue v. 238 Some kind of loft or hay tallets, as they call them in the west.
1629 tr. S. Pelegromius Descr. S'hertogenbosh 41 There was slain a Burger..as he was a measuring the Priests Corne in the Laught.
1741 in A. Laing Lindores Abbey (1876) xiv. 137 (note) [He] carried off the whole slates, lofts, jests and timber thereof.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality v, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. II. 101 A wooden bed, placed in a loft half full of hay.
c. A pigeon-house. Hence, a flock (of pigeons).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping birds > [noun] > keeping or breeding pigeons > dovecote
culver-house1340
dovehouse14..
columbairec1420
dovecotec1425
pigeon house1442
columbary1549
louvre1579
loft1735
pigeonry1840
pigeonnier1880
the world > animals > birds > perching birds > order Columbiformes (pigeons, etc.) > [noun] > family Columbidae > pigeon > flock of
kit1880
school1880
loft1899
1735 J. Moore Columbarium 3 Let your Loft be large enough to contain the Number of Pigeons you intend to keep.
1876 R. Fulton Illustr. Bk. Pigeons 53 We cannot advise any one to breed more than twelve pairs of Carriers in any one loft, however large.
1899 Westm. Gaz. 20 Nov. 8/2 A loft of the best Yorkshire racing pigeons was established at Durban some time ago.
4. A gallery in a church or public room. (Cf. organ loft n., rood loft n.)
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > artefacts > division of building (general) > gallery > [noun]
loft1504
gallery1630
tribune1865
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > porches, balconies, etc. > [noun] > interior gallery
loft1504
gallery1715
1504 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 429 The loftis in the chapel of Strivelin.
1562 W. Turner Bk. Natures Bathes Eng. f. 2, in 2nd Pt. Herball Certayn loftes shoulde be bylded ryght over som parte of the fyrst or principall bath.
1573 J. Davidson Breif Commendatioun Vprichtnes xli. 92 Ȝe Lords also, that dois frequent The loft in Sanct Geills Kirk.
1666 S. Pepys Diary 15 Nov. (1972) VII. 371 I also to the Ball, and with much ado got up to the Loft, where with much trouble I could see very well.
a1730 Gideon Guthrie (1900) 71 They provided a good large house..and..plenished it very well with Pulpit, lofts, and Pews.
1849 W. M. Thackeray Pendennis (1850) I. xv. 132 The two schools had their pews in the loft on each side of the organ.
1893 A. Gordon Earl of Aberdeen 191 The minister..turned to the loft in which ‘my Lord’ was seated.
5. † b. The deck or half-deck of a ship. Obsolete.† c. The ceiling or flooring of a room. Obsolete.
a. A floor or story in a house. Obsolete exc. U.S. ‘one of the upper floors of a warehouse’ ( Cent. Dict.).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > [noun] > floor or storey
stagea1300
storeyc1384
loft1526
floor1585
sollar1585
contignation1592
roof1600
flat1801
piano1835
row1873
level1968
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Acts xx. 9 A certayne yonge man named Eutichos..fell doune from the thyrde lofte and was taken vp deed.
c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece Hyst. & Cron. Scotl. xvi. xiii. f. 238v/1 Ane woman hauand commiseratioun on this duk, leit meill fall doun throw ye loftis of ye toure. Be quhilkis his lyfe wes certane dayis sauit.
1600 R. Hakluyt tr. G. B. Ramusio in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) III. 367 The houses..are very great, and the least of them with one lofte aboue head, and some of two and of three loftes.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Bucks. 135 Roger..finished the ground-room and second loft.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > part of vessel above water > [noun] > deck
hatcha1375
orlop1420
over loftc1430
loft1488
deck1513
floor1683
main deck1730
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 267 Wallace..On the our-loft kest him quhar he stud.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) ix. l. 244 Go wndyr loft.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > floor > [noun]
fleta1000
floorc1000
floorth1303
loftingc1540
contignation1592
loft1596
contabulation1615
flooring1624
planchera1825
contablature1827
ground1847
Rory O'More1857
floor level1874
Rory1938
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > roof > ceiling > [noun]
roofeOE
firstOE
first-roofOE
silour1424
siling1483
ceiling1535
loftingc1540
loft1596
floor1600
plafond1664
top1709
ceil1840
planchment1874
laquearia1922
overhead1942
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene v. vi. sig. R4 All sodainely the bed, where she should lie, By a false trap was let adowne to fall Into a lower roome, and by and by The loft was raysd againe, that no man could it spie. View more context for this quotation
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1891) 78 This perswadeth me to be one of the causes whie in ould buildinges are found so manye vawtes and soe few loftes, for that in these watrye walles the beames in shorte tyme doe rott & soe the loftes decaye.
d. A place where sails are manufactured; = sail-loft n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > shipyard or boat-yard > [noun] > place where sails are made or stored
sail-loft1769
sail-house1884
loft1938
1938 T. North Yacht Sails xii. 113 When a new sail leaves the loft it should be perfect.
1959 W. R. Bird These are Maritimes iii. 92 He learned his trade in his father's loft in West Pubnico... There are only two other ‘lofts’ in the Maritimes.
1973 Observer 3 June (Colour Suppl.) 18/3 His personal sails are no better than his customers’. ‘They go through the loft as part of the system.’
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > bough or branch > as layer in tree height
loft1535
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > a layer > [noun] > horizontal layer or tier
chessc1460
loft1535
tier1569
rank1573
storey1594
degree1611
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Esdras vi. 25 With a lofte of tymbre of the same countre, yee with a new loft.
1567 J. Maplet Greene Forest f. 81v The Elephant espying him sitting on the loft of a tree, runneth [etc.].
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 536 Let them climb vp higher to the vpper boughs, leauing alwaies vpon euery loft or scaffold..one branch of the old hard wood, and another young imp or twig.
1673 J. Milton At Vacation Exercise in Poems (new ed.) 65 And hills of Snow and lofts of piled Thunder.
1686 J. Goad Astro-meteorologica ii. ii. 162 We often times see Clouds as in several Stories, Lofts or Scenes, one over another.
7. Golf.
a. Slope (in the head of the club) backwards from the vertical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [noun] > club > parts of club
horn1743
loft1887
socket1887
bone1890
hose1893
1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 159 A much lofted iron is very difficult to use... A medium amount of loft is best.
b. The action of ‘lofting’; also, a lofting hit or stroke.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > [noun] > types of play
putting1690
short game1858
approach1879
iron play1879
pitch1889
duffing1890
hook1890
loft1890
lofting1895
slicing1899
bunkering1909
socketing1911
shanking1924
foozling1927
Stableford1937
shotmaking1969
1890 W. Simpson in H. G. Hutchinson et al. Golf (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 200 For short approaches, there are weighty authorities who assert that the distances are most easily controlled by loft and spin.
c. figurative. Elevation, uplift.
ΚΠ
1925 Brit. Weekly 12 Nov. 159/2 We need more loft in our thinking than our fathers had.
Compounds
C1. General attributive. (In sense 3.)
loft-floor n.
ΚΠ
1419 in J. T. Fowler Memorials Church SS. Peter & Wilfrid, Ripon (1888) III. 147 In grundwallyng et emend. unius loftflore et alios defectus.
loft-room n.
ΚΠ
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xxxi. 306 A bed in the wholesome loft-room by the stable.
loft-window n.
ΚΠ
a1600 in Evergreen (1761) I. 191 The Ladys lukit frae their loft Windows, God bring our Men weil back again.
C2.
loft-bombing n. (see quot. 19561).
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities in the air > [noun] > air operation > bombing raid > dropping of bombs > manner of
area bombardment1918
straddling1919
pattern-bombing1933
terror-bombing1933
dive-bombing1935
firebombing1935
blind-bombing1940
blitzing1940
coventrating1940
nuisance bombing1940
scatter bombing1940
coventration1942
carpet bombing1943
obliteration bombing1943
skip-bombing1943
shuttle bombing1944
atom bombing1945
atomic bombing1945
clobbering1948
loft-bombing1956
1956 Time 24 Sept. 36 Its [sc. a low-flying fighter-bomber's] bombing can be made extremely accurate, but if it uses any ordinary bombing system, such as dive-bombing, it is apt to be vaporized by the fireball springing up under its tail. The best way to avoid this misadventure is ‘loft-bombing’, which uses the speed of the airplane to make the bomb behave like an artillery shell.
1956 Time 24 Sept. 36 The main advantage of loft-bombing..is not the range of the bomb, but the time that it spends in the air while the airplane is making its get-away.
1960 Aeroplane 99 352/2 The first L.A.B.S. manœuvre was complete by an A3D, in which loft bombing had been pioneered by Cmdr. H. F. Lang.
loft-dried adj.
ΚΠ
1888 C. F. Cross & E. J. Bevan Text-bk. Paper-making 145 They are then sized, if required, by dipping them into a solution of gelatine: again slightly pressed, and hung up on lines or poles to dry. Such paper is called loft-dried.
Draft additions June 2006
loft conversion n. (a) chiefly North American the conversion and partitioning of (the top floor of) an industrial building or warehouse into commercial or (more usually) residential space; a residential apartment created in this way; (b) chiefly British the adaptation of an attic into a living space, esp. a bedroom.
ΚΠ
1960 N.Y. Times 28 Oct. 51/1 Loft Conversion Planned... The building, which is occupied largely by furniture manufacturers, will be converted into showrooms for the decorator trade.
1968 Times 10 Aug. 23/5 (advt.) Loft conversions, home extensions and conservatories. Tailor made to suit your home.
1977 N.Y. Times 19 Aug. b4/3 Extension of the loft-conversion privileges of SoHo district south of Greenwich village to boroughs other than Manhattan.
1991 HomeFlair Mar.–Apr. 37/1 (caption) Independent teenagers can have their own bedsits with a loft conversion.
2005 Edmonton (Alberta) Jrnl. (Nexis) 29 Apr. a1 Reinvigorating old Edmonton structures, including..several loft conversions in the warehouse district.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† loftadj.
Obsolete. rare.in combination.1590 R. Wilson Three Lordes & Three Ladies London G 2 b Downe with your point, no loft borne Lances here By any stranger be he foe or friend.
Raised aloft, elated, elevated. The first quot. may belong to lofty adj., of which it would then be the earliest example.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > upward movement > raising > [adjective] > raised
rearedc1330
araisedc1340
loft14..
upraisedc1400
upreared1422
raiseda1450
uplentc1450
sublevate?1523
enhancedc1540
elevated1553
well-raised1575
elevate1598
extolled1608
exalteda1616
relevated1635
elatea1730
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > majesty, glory, or grandeur > [adjective]
higheOE
drightlikeOE
highlyOE
drightfula1225
prouda1275
principalc1385
solemna1387
gentlec1390
high and mighty1400
imperial?c1400
royalc1405
kinglyc1425
sublimatec1425
lordfulc1429
lordlyc1440
assumpt1447
raiseda1450
haught1470
kinglikec1485
lordlike1488
triumphant1494
greatlya1500
princely?a1510
supereminent1531
princelike1532
lofta1547
lofty1548
regal1561
supernal1562
haughty1563
excelse1569
queen-like?1571
majestical1578
erecteda1586
augustious1591
ennobled1592
imperious1592
enthronized1593
august1594
high-born1598
sublimed1602
jovial1604
majestic1606
enthroned1609
starred1615
exalted1623
majestuous1633
reared1638
sublimary1655
majestative1656
kingrik1663
superb1663
grand1673
celse1708
stilted1744
canonized1790
queenly1791
apotheosized1794
princified1857
14.. J. Audelay Poems (Douce 302) lf. 29/2 Semele to se, o bold corage, Louele & lofte of his lenage.
a1547 Earl of Surrey Poems (1964) 27 In neyther fortune loft nor yet represt.
1557 Earl of Surrey et al. Songes & Sonettes (new ed.) f. 92 Absence my frende workes wonders oft. Now bringes full low that lay full loft.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2021).
loftv.
/lɒft/, /lɔːft/, U.S. /lɔft/, /lɑft/ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with loft
loft1563
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > floor > floor with planks or boards
plank1432
plancher1439
planchc1516
boarden1552
loft1563
contabulate1623
1563 Stanford Chwardens' Acc. in Antiquary XVII. 169/1 For Loftyng the Toure & laying the plankes beneyth.
1603 J. Stow Suruay of London (new ed.) 277 It is now lofted through, and made a store house for clothes.
a1615 Balnagown MS in W. R. Baillie Breve Cron. Earlis of Ross (1850) 20 He caused to joist and loft the chamber.
1646 in W. W. Hening Statutes at Large: Coll. Laws Virginia (1823) I. 337 That they [houses] be lofted with sawne boardes and made with convenient partitions.
a1661 W. Brereton Trav. (1844) 43 The largest..coy-house I have seen, lofted overhead to lay corn.
2. To store (goods or produce) in a loft. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > supply > storage > store [verb (transitive)] > in specific place
house1439
garner1474
loft1518
cellar1550
pantry1637
warehouse1799
yard1878
dump1956
1518 Waterford Arch. in 10th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1885) App. v. 326 No freman..shall house, loft, nor seller ony straunge marchant goods.
1785 G. Washington Notes in Writings (1891) XII. 229 The remainder of the Crop which was measured and lofted must be accted. for by the Overseer.
1951 E. Sewell in Duckett's Reg. July 105 Blenheims will keep till Christmas, if lofted cool and dry.
3. absolute.1887 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Nov. 697 You may loft in the sand and be little the worse.1890 H. G. Hutchinson in H. G. Hutchinson et al. Golf (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 243 He takes the light iron into his hand..to loft over..that sluggish little burn.
a. Golf, etc. To hit (a ball) into the air or strike it so as to lift it over an obstacle. Also, to hit the ball over (an obstacle).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > [verb (transitive)] > play ball in specific way
tossc1530
send1782
place1819
dowf1825
loft1857
belt1870
screw1881
smash1882
English1884
carry1889
slice1890
mishit1903
balloon1904
rainbow1906
rifle1914
tuck1958
stroke1960
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > play golf [verb (transitive)] > type of play or stroke
drive1743
draw1842
heel1857
hook1857
loft1857
founder1878
to top a ball1881
chip1889
duff1890
pull1890
slice1890
undercut1891
hack1893
toe1893
spoon1896
borrow1897
overdrive1900
trickle1902
bolt1909
niblick1909
socket1911
birdie1921
eagle1921
shank1925
explode1926
bird1930
three-putt1946
bogey1948
double-bogey1952
fade1953
1857 H. B. Farnie Golfer's Man. in Golfiana Misc. (1887) 173 The player should practise lofting his ball directly into the hole.
1881 R. Forgan Golfer's Handbk. 30 You may boldly take your Light Iron and try to ‘loft’ your ball over the other, and so drop or roll into the hole.
1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 138 If there is a high face to loft.
1887 W. G. Simpson Art of Golf 151 If taken..too clean, it [the lofted iron] will skim it a hundred yards with the force that would have lofted it fifty.
1927 M. A. Noble Those ‘Ashes’ 193 Macartney..was going very quickly, picking out the gaps in the field or lofting the ball over the heads of the in-fielders.
1950 W. Hammond Cricketers' School facing p. 96 W. Hammond hits a 6; position correct for lofting the ball over mid-on.
1963 Times 8 June 4/2 Soon afterwards Hunte lofted Allen over mid-off for four, before Allen for the second time in the day, had the last word with a batsman trying to attack him.
1970 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 28 Sept. 18/6 Rookie Paul McKay lofted the final Hamilton punt, a high 47-yard spiral.
1972 J. Mosedale Football vi. 91 Tittle lofted the ball..over the heads of the other players.
1974 News & Reporter (Chester, S. Carolina) 22 Apr. 10-A/6 Guy Meadow lofted a sacrifice fly and Clayton, up for the second time in the inning, singled again.
b. transferred and figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > impelling or driving > impel or drive [verb (transitive)] > by impact or force > by striking or beating > into the air or over an obstacle
knocka1616
loft1883
1883 J. Martine Reminisc. Royal Burgh Haddington 120 He [sc. a goat]..thought nothing of pouting and ‘lafting’ folk.
1902 J. M. Barrie Little White Bird xxiv. 282 We had lofted him out of the story, and did very well without him.
1948 G. H. Johnston Death takes Small Bites v. 110 Her eyes, bright with strain, lofted above the murals to the great range behind the town.
1952 C. Day Lewis tr. Virgil Aeneid iv. 76 As Aurora was rising out of her ocean bed And the day-beam lofted.
1960 L. P. Gartner Jewish Immigrant ix. 251 The banner of the Hebrew national..renaissance was lofted.
1971 D. Meiring Wall of Glass vii. 57 He would..loft his bag up the hotel stairs himself..instead of handing it to the orderly.
4. To keep (pigeons) in a ‘loft’ or flock.
ΚΠ
1898 Westm. Gaz. 25 Oct. 5/1 They [pigeons] could be ‘lofted’ in Whitehall or in Pall-mall.
Derivatives
ˈlofter n. Golf a lofting-iron.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [noun] > club > types of club
play club1685
putting club1690
gentlemen's club1709
putter1783
spoon1790
iron1793
sand-iron1796
whip-club1808
cleek1829
driving putter1833
bunker-iron1857
driver1857
niblick1857
putting iron1857
baffing-spoon1858
mid-spoon1858
short spoon1858
sand-club1873
three-wood1875
long iron1877
driving cleek1881
mashie1881
putting cleek1881
track-iron1883
driving iron1887
lofting-iron1887
baffy1888
brassy1888
bulger1889
lofter1889
lofter1892
jigger1893
driving mashie1894
mid-iron1897
mashie-niblick1907
wood1915
pinsplitter1916
chipper1921
blaster1937
sand-wedge1937
wedge1937
1892 Pall Mall Gaz. 15 Mar. 3/1 A ridge of snow..necessitated in many cases the use of a ‘lofter’ instead of the regulation ‘putter’.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1903; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.OE
adj.14..
v.1518