lowen.
/laʊ/, U.S. /laʊ/, Scottish English /lʌʊ/ Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern).
1. Flame, fire; (as a count noun) a flame, a fire; a blaze. Also: the gleam or glow of a fire, flame, etc.Recorded earliest in on lowe at Phrases 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > [noun] > flame or blaze
leye971
blazeOE
lowec1175
flamec1384
fire-flamea1450
burning1695
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 16185 Teȝȝ alle þrenngdenn ut. Off all þatt miccle temmple. All alls itt wære all oferr hemm O loȝhe.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Titus) (1963) 129 Cherubines sword..of lohe [?c1225 Cleo. lei; a1250 Nero lai].
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 643 Al-so hege ðe lowe sal gon, So ðe flod flet de dunes on.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 5739 (MED) Him thoght brennand he sagh a tre, Als it wit lou war al vm-laid.
a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) l. 9431 Lowe and reke with stormes melled.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 1054 The rude low rais full heych adown that hauld.
1533 J. Bellenden tr. Livy Hist. Rome (S.T.S.) i. xvi. 88 His hede apperit (as It war blesand) in ane rede low.
a1627 A. Craig Pilgrime & Heremite (1631) sig. A2v The Coale that mee burnes to the bone, will I blow, Though Liver, Lungs, and Lights, fly vp in a low.
1786 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 104 By my ingle-lowe I saw..A tight, outlandish Hizzie.
1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf iii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 68 The low of the candle, if the wind wad let it bide steady.
1849 C. Brontë Shirley I. iv. 76 A verse blazing wi' a blue brimstone low.
1896 S. R. Crockett Grey Man i. 6 A circle of faces that shone fierce and dark in the lowe of the furnace.
1924 A. Gray Any Man's Life 44 By the lowe o' the fire I wad look at your bonny hair.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song 108 There was a light right plain enough, more than a light, a lowe that crackled to yellow and red.
1978 Jrnl. Lakeland Dial. Soc. (1979) No. 40. 42 A peet fire wid a gud lowe..oft lit up menny a happy pictur..int' farm et Hill Top.
2001 J. Paisley Not for Glory 80 He laid the sticks oan the paper, lit it an watched the lowes blacken an curl it till it caught.
2. figurative (chiefly poetic). A burning or passionate feeling, esp. of love. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > [noun]
heatc825
earnestOE
fervour1340
ardourc1386
fever heata1398
burning1398
lowea1425
fervencec1430
ferventnessc1430
flame1548
ardency1549
fervency1554
fire1579
calenture1596
inflammation1600
warmth1600
brimstonea1616
incandescence1656
fervidness1692
candency1723
glow1748
white heat1814
hwyl1899
a1425 Rule St. Benet (Lansd.) (1902) 44 (MED) And loke þat þe lowe of envie and hateredin ne brenne noht hir herte.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 3108 (MED) A Prince mot..his angir refreyne..hym owyþ knowe His errour and qwenche þat firy lowe.
c1586 J. Stewart Poems (1913) 20 Ȝit sall I biet the low, Low quhilk combuirs my ardent douce desyre.
1603 Philotus lv. sig. C2 The raging low, the feirce and flaming fyre That dois my breist and body al combure.
1786 R. Burns Poems 178 The sacred lowe o' weel plac'd love, Luxuriantly indulge it.
1812 Scots Mag. Dec. 944/2 The leal lowe of love lights each blythe maiden's e'e.
1885 R. F. Burton tr. Arabian Nights' Entertainm. III. cxxxiv. 30 Thou knowest how I fry in flaming lowe of love.
1888 B. R. Anderson Broken Lights 98 Dat's da only plan love kens to raise a lowe.
1913 J. L. Waugh Cracks wi' Robbie Doo 45 The fire at which the torch o' early love was lit is seldom the yin that keeps the lowe alunt in the days that are to come.
1926 ‘H. MacDiarmid’ Penny Wheep 25 Wha sauch-like i' the lowe o' luve Lies sabbin' noo!
3. English regional (northern).
a. A small candle or other naked flame, used as a light by miners. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > [noun] > types of
pudding1527
lucidary1687
glim1699
lowe1793
pilot light1906
laylight1932
glim lamp1942
ambient lighting1947
1793 Northumberland Garland 67 The low it went out, and my marrow went wrang.
1816 J. H. H. Holmes Treat. Coal Mines Durham & Northumberland 76 On getting to the bottom of a shaft the appearance is truly grotesque and dismal; rugged roofs..just shown by the miserable light of a miner's low.
1853 Trapper's Petition in True Briton 28 July 899/2 'Tis very dark, and that small low You gave me, soon will burn away.
1881 R. W. Raymond Gloss. Mining & Metall. Terms 55 A ‘piece of lowe’ is part of a candle.
1920 A. H. Fay Gloss. Mining & Mineral Industry 409/1 Low, a candle or other naked light carried by a miner. Also spelled Lowe.
2002 D. Norman Catch of Consequence (2003) xvii. 317 ‘Gi' us your lowe.’ He took both candles and held them up.
b. A type of torch used in the catching of salmon; the light cast by this. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > other fishing equipment > [noun] > fishing light
lowe1814
fishing-light1832
jacklight1841
pit lamp1860
1814 J. Hodgson in J. Raine Mem. J. Hodgson (1857) I. 146 For making lows or fish-lights for fishing in the night.
1856 T. Arkle in Denham Tracts (1892) I. 315 This used to be done with a low and a leister.
1897 H. A. Macpherson Hist. Fowling vii. 61 One of the Esk poachers..told me that the reflection of the lantern or candles, cast upon the fish, is still known to the members of his fraternity as the ‘Lowe’ or ‘Low’.
Phrases
P1. in (also on) (a) lowe: on fire, alight, in flames (frequently to set in a lowe and variants). Also figurative. Scottish in later use.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > ablaze or aflame [phrase]
in (also on) (a) lowec1175
on blaze1393
on or of a flame1490
on flame1656
in flames1697
in a flame1817
c1175O loȝhe [see sense 1].
c1390 (?c1350) Joseph of Arimathie (1871) l. 687 (MED) Heom þouȝte he leomede as liht al on a lowe.
?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 14070 Þe tundir, bronston, & fire hote, kindled on lowe & vp smote.
?c1422 T. Hoccleve Ars Sciendi Mori l. 703 in Minor Poems (1970) i. 204 Whan þat a greet toun set is on a lowe.
1597 A. Montgomerie Cherrie & Slae 731 Wil, flatterit him,..And set him in ane low.
1613 S. Hutton tr. J. M. de Franchis Of Most Auspicatious Marriage iii. cix. 65 The waxen Torch no sooner feeles The scorching heat of Lemnius fire approaching: But straight's on low.
1736 A. Ramsay Let. 10 May in Scots Mag. (1784) Aug. 397/2 Then, then my saul was in a low.
1815 W. Scott Guy Mannering I. x. 159 She [sc. a vessel] was..in a light low.
1838 A. Rodger Poems & Songs 257 They've torn her mantle, an' her curch They've set on lowe.
1865 G. MacDonald Alec Forbes I. viii. 51 Ye wad hae the hoose in a low aboot oor lugs.
1901 G. D. Brown House with Green Shutters xxi. 221 ‘You could set fire to his braith!’ cried Wabster. ‘A match to his mouth would send him in a lowe.’ ‘A living gas jet!’ said Brown.
1986 B. Holton tr. S. Nai'an Men o the Mossflow iii, in Edinb. Rev. Aug. 18 Shi Jin gaed ti the midmaist haa an set it in a lowe.
P2. Scottish. to take (a) lowe: to catch fire. Also figurative.
ΚΠ
1699 G. Turnbull Diary 20 Feb. in Misc. Sc. Hist. Soc. (1893) 1 381 Being in the chamber alone att the fire his cloths tooke low, and were all burnt.
1722 A. Ramsay Tale Three Bonnets ii. 18 Soon my Beard will tak a Low.
1764 W. Hunter Black Bird 136 There was an auld wife had a wie pickle tow, And she wad gae try the spinning o't, But louten her down, her rock [i.e. flax] took a low, And that was an ill beginning o't.
1814 W. Nicholson Tales 124 To light her pipe she thought nae sin in—Teazin' her tow; Countin' wi' care her costs an' winnin', The stock took low!
1983 Chapman 37 44 A reid dawin. Sun and Yirth jurmummelt. A bairn's face taks lowe i the causey.
P3. Scottish. to set lowe to: to set fire to.
ΚΠ
1823 E. Logan St. Johnstoun III. vi. 147 Gie us our noble Yearl, or we'll set low to the lodging, and smeek ye out!
1889 H. Johnston Chron. Glenbuckie 19 Just put a fingerfu' o' poother i' the pan, and set lowe to it wi' a bit o' match-paper.
1986 R. A. Jamieson Shoormal 32 Kerry da neidfyre t'da herths o wir warld An dere set lowe t'fresh dry hedder.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
lowev.
/laʊ/, U.S. /laʊ/, Scottish English /lʌʊ/ Chiefly Scottish and English regional (northern).
1. intransitive. To be ardent or passionate; to burn with love, passion, etc. Cf. lowe n. 2. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > become inflamed with passion
heata1225
tind1297
lowea1333
anheat1340
to catch firec1400
kindlea1450
to take firea1513
inflame1559
broil1561
calenturea1657
a1333 in C. Brown Relig. Lyrics 14th Cent. (1924) 22 Of þe uader and þe sone þou ȝyf ous knoulechinge, To leue þat uul of boþe þou euer boe louinge.
1720 A. Ramsay Poems 306 A' lowan wi' Love, my Fancy did rove.
a1810 R. Tannahill When John & me were Married in Poems (1846) 116 And love will lowe in cottage low, As weel's in lofty ha'.
1859 A. Whitehead Legends of Westmorland 42 Next, Poet Burns, whase soul of flame Low'd reet an left, an blaz'd his flame.
1920 A. Gray Songs & Ballads 31 But ae thing bides unchanging The love that lowes in my breast.
2. † b. intransitive. Scottish. With up. Of a thought, idea, etc.: to flash into a person's mind. Obsolete. rare.
a. intransitive. literal. To be on fire; to burn, blaze; (also) to glow, gleam. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > burning > fire or flame > become fire [verb (intransitive)] > blaze or flame
blaze?c1225
flame1377
lowec1400
steamc1405
flamble1557
aflamec1623
blazen1716
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 236 Grener..Þen grene aumayl on golde lowande bryȝter.
a1500 Sir Degrevant (Cambr.) (1949) l. 1452 Arcangelus of rede golde..Lowynge ful lyȝth.
1646 J. Hope Diary in Misc. Sc. Hist. Soc. (1958) IX. 176 Lett it stand so long as it lowes or flammes.
1723 A. Ramsay Tea-table Misc. I. 44 Dryest Wood will eithest low.
1827 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae xxx, in Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Jan. 100 North. Look at your right hand... Shepherd. Its a' lowin.
1870 E. Peacock Ralf Skirlaugh I. 197 Each individual brick shone and ‘lowed’ with the intense heat.
1894 S. R. Crockett Raiders vi. 66 Transferring the flame when it lowed up to the bowl of his..pipe.
1902 J. E. Dent in Eng. Dial. Dict. III. 676/1 [Durham] It lowed like a cannle.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song 109 He..saw the flames lapping and lowing at the kitchen end of the house.
1985 D. Purves Lang Tale o Weidae & hir Thrie Dochters (SCOTS) The ingil lowed bricht in the sheinin fyreplace.
ΚΠ
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona xxx. 362 It lowed up in my mind that this was the girl's father.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, September 2013; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.c1175v.a1333