membershipn.

1643 T. Goodwin et al. Apol. Narration 8 We..received also some of the members of their Churches..into communion in the Sacraments and other ordinances, by virtue of their relation of membership retained in those Churches.

1648 J. Beaumont Psyche x. ccxlv. 174 Men whose mystick obligation Of mutuall Membership, doth them invite To carefull Tendernesse and free Compassion.

1727 Minutes Yearly Meeting Soc. Friends (1783) 26 Mar. Any person denied by a Monthly Meeting is adjudged as disowned by Friends..till by his repentance..he is reconciled to Friends, or reinstated in membership among them.

1792 H. H. Brackenridge Mod. Chivalry I. ii. i. 51 If you will let Teague go, I will engage him a membership.

1830 Biblical Repertory & Theol. Rev. 244 No one shall be admitted to membership in their respective churches, unless he will give this pledge.

1874 J. R. Green Short Hist. Eng. People iv. §4. 192 A seven years' apprenticeship formed the necessary prelude to full membership of any trade-gild.

1938 Life 4 Apr. 56/1 (caption) Membership in this swankest of societies is a greater honor than membership in the House of Lords.

1975 Economist 10 May 44/3 Spanish EEC membership..would be put squarely on the Brussels agenda.

1992 D. F. Gates & D. K. Shah My Life in LAPD xx. 307 Officers will spot these ‘wannabes’ hanging around gang members..and talk to them about the downside of gang membership.

1844 Ladies' Repository Jan. 19 He had hitherto been in the habit of sitting on one of the seats at the side of the altar, generally occupied by the stricter portion of the membership.

1850 ‘Bat’ Cricketer's Man. (rev. ed.) 87 The..club..compris[es] in its membership several promising young players.

1884 Harper's Mag. June 148/1 A large membership is necessary.

1921 R. M. Jones Later Periods Quakerism I. iv. 131 These Overseers..were in the course of time charged with responsibility for the moral life of the membership.

1939 Sat. Rev. Lit. (U.S.) 23 Dec. 12/1 Its membership could hardly be said to be in a snit.

1958 Church Times 14 Feb. 10/3 With its membership growing, part of the accommodation in the retreat house has had to be taken to house the brethren.

1975 Aviation Week 24 Feb. 23/1 If the UAW membership does not approve the offer, the union has scheduled a strike.

1992 Challenge (Nexis) Sept. 47 A prerequisite for the democratic firm's efficient operation is that its membership enjoy significant residual claimancy status.

1890 Overland Monthly June 588/2 The ideal labor union would be composed of men of the same trade, none being admitted until thoroughly competent, so that a membership card would be equivalent to a certificate of ability.

1925 Glasgow Herald 25 Apr. 10 They were Communists and were carrying membership cards of Communist cells.

1989 J. Honey Does Accent Matter? ii. 26 ‘Where did you go to school?’ became the membership card of the new caste of ‘public school men’.

1860 Jrnl. Statist. Soc. 23 369 The needful funds would be provided, as in other similar cases, by a small membership fee.

1928 Jrnl. Philos. 25 97 The proposed increase of membership fees for the Eastern Division from $1.00 to $2.00..would very happily increase the prospects of a surplus.

1997 A. Wood EastEnders (BBC TV script) (O.E.D. Archive) Episode 575. 71 It's not a question of being picky Phil. If they can afford the membership fee I charge then they're the right clientele.