moreadj.pron.adv.n.³prep.

Brit.

/mɔː/, U.S.

/mɔr/

Forms:

α. Old English mara, Old English mare (feminine and neuter), early Middle English mære, early Middle English maren, Middle English maure, Middle English mayr (northern), Middle English mere (transmission error), Middle English morow (transmission error), Middle English–1500s mar (chiefly northern), Middle English–1500s mare (chiefly northern); English regional (northern) 1600s 1800s mare, 1800s– maar, 1800s– mair, 1800s– meear, 1900s– mear; Scottish pre-1700 maer, pre-1700 maire, pre-1700 mar, pre-1700 mayir, pre-1700 mayr, pre-1700 mayre, pre-1700 meair, pre-1700 mer, pre-1700 1700s mare, pre-1700 1700s–1800s meir, pre-1700 1700s– mair, 1800s mear (Shetland), 1800s mehr, 1800s mere, 1900s– maer (Shetland); also Irish English 1800s– mair, 1800s– mare.

β. Middle English moar, Middle English mour, Middle English moyr, Middle English moyre, Middle English–1500s moare, Middle English–1500s moore, Middle English–1500s (1700s English regional (Lancashire)) moor, Middle English–1600s mor, Middle English– more, 1700s muore (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 moir, pre-1700 moire, pre-1700 moor, pre-1700 mor, pre-1700 mour, pre-1700 moyr, pre-1700 1700s– more.

Comparative (rare) Middle English marere.

Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.

Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian māra , Middle Dutch mēre (Dutch has the double comparative meerder ), Old Saxon mēro (Middle Low German mēr , also mēre , mē ), Old High German mēra , mēro (Middle High German mēr , mē , German (archaic) mehr- in mehres , neuter, mehre , plural; compare the double comparative forms Old High German mērōro , mēriro , Middle High German mērer , mērre , early modern German mehrer greater, more, German mehrere (plural) several), Old Icelandic meiri , Norn (Shetland) mire , mere (also adverb mire ), Swedish mera , Danish mere (the Swedish and Danish forms are the neuter adjective used adverbially), Gothic maiza < an adjectival base parallel to the adverbial base of mo adv.¹ Compare the following adverbial forms in West Germanic languages, either influenced by or secondary developments from the adjectival forms: Old Frisian mār, mēr, Middle Dutch meer (Dutch meer), Old Saxon mēr (Middle Low German mēr, mēre), Old High German mēr (Middle High German mēre, mēr, German mehr).Use of the neuter adjective as noun and as adverb is rare in Old English, as mā (see mo adv.¹ and discussion at that entry) was usual in both applications. In senses A. 1, A. 2, and A. 3 the adjective expresses the comparative degree corresponding to modern English great , much , and many respectively. Senses A. 2, A. 3 and A. 4 should be compared with earlier mo adv.¹ 1, 2 (and see note at that entry on the development of these adjectival uses). Branch A. II. is probably reinforced by the adverbial use at sense A. 4b. On the development of adverbial use with an adjective or adverb to form the comparative see note at sense C. 1c.

A. adj. and determiner.

I. As a comparative corresponding to senses of the positive adjectives great, much, and many.

1. As a comparative corresponding in sense to great.

†a. Of a material object: greater in size, larger (than another of the same or different type). Of persons and animals: taller, bigger. Frequently in more and less and variants: greater and smaller; from the largest to the smallest. Cf. senses D. 1, C. 3b. Obsolete.With reference to a city, country, etc., overlapping with sense A. 1e, sometimes with admixture of sense A. 1b.

ΘΚΠ

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > larger

moreeOE

greaterOE

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxi. 155 Ða nietenu ðonne, ðeah hie maran sien, hie beoð suiður ahæfen from eorðan.

OE Ælfric Homily (Trin. Cambr. B.15.34) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 552 Þa elebeamas beoð maran on wæstme, and þa berian grytran.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 626 Þær he het eft timbrian maran cyrican of stane.

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 179 (MED) Pisces maiores deuorant minores..þe more fishes in þe se eten þe lasse.

c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1701 (MED) Þo stod hauelok..Rith al bi þe heued more Þanne ani þat þer-inne stod.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 999 Yrlonde..More he is þan engelond.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2112 (MED) Mani contre þar-in es And dughti cites mare and lesse.

a1422 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 360 Þilke cofre w^t þe þre heuedes shal be y-set in a more Cofre.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 151 He founded the grete cytee Iȝonge in Cathay, þat is a gret del more þan Rome.

c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 500 Hit semed moche more Then I had any egle seyn.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 132 Þer is with-in my body a precious stone..and it is more þan ane egg.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 347 (MED) In all youre skylles more and les, for mysfowndyng fayll ye.

c1540 in Trans. London & Middlesex Archæol. Soc. 4 346 A more and a lesse quysshion of crymsyn velvet.

1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 20 Another kynde of hunting dog is to sent, of quhilkes sum ar mekle mair than vthir sum.

c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1922) II. 51 This Ile of Man contenis as it war twa ilandis, the first is southwardis and the mair cuntrie.

1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 247 Mair in a mair Dish. That is, a great deal more; an Answer to them who ask you if you will have any more, when you have gotten but very little.

1887 W. Morris Odyssey x. 396 And men again were they gotten, yet younger than afore, And fairer folk to look on, and mightier and more.

†b. Greater in number, quantity, amount, or duration. Obsolete.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 29 Pharao se kyning ferde him æthindan on git mid maran fyrde.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19566 Þatt miccle mare genge. Off lerninngcnihhtess wass att himm Þatt att iohan bapptisste.

c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 215 (MED) Me sal to dai mor makie offrinke þan an oþren dai.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 993 His name ðo wurð a lettre mor..For ðo wurd abram abraham.

c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 40 Yif the verrey motus of the mone be more than signes fro the verrey mot of caput.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 14047 (MED) Þe man þat he for-gaue þe mare det.

a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 3188 Wey I hys goode dedys and hys synne..weydyr of hem be more or mynne.

c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 117 All the tithis (both more ande smale).

1521 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 66 Sending a more power to hym..for his assistence.

?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Dv^v The danis with a more strenght enteryd the west part of this land.

1551 King Edward VI Chron. & Polit. Papers (1966) (modernized text) 164 The artificer will leave the town and for his more pastime will live in the country.

1669 Hist. Sir Eger 22 Seven winters he it bare, His life-time was but little mare.

†c. Modifying a noun which expresses quantity or amount, esp. as a proportion of a whole. In early use frequently in more deal (see deal n.¹); in later use only in the more part (see also part n.¹ Phrases 1a(c)). Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree

moOE

moreOE

the more partOE

lessa1616

mo'1858

no mo'1858

the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority

the more partOE

the best part ofOE

(the) more parta1350

(the) most parta1350

(the) most part alla1350

(the) most party1372

for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387

the better part ofa1393

the mo?a1400

most forcea1400

substancea1413

corsec1420

generalty?c1430

the greater partc1430

three quartersc1470

generalityc1485

the most feck1488

corpse1533

most1553

nine-tenths?1556

better half1566

generality?1570

pluralityc1570

body1574

the great body (of)1588

flush1592

three fourths1600

best1601

heap1609

gross1625

lump1709

bulk1711

majority1714

nineteen in twenty1730

balance1747

sweighta1800

heft1816

chief1841

the force1842

thick end1847

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxix. 334 Menig man wolde þone maran dæl his lifes aspendan on his lustum, and ðone læssan dæl on dædbote, gif he wiste hwænne he geendian sceolde.

1258 Proclam. Henry III in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1868–9) 21 (MED) Þo isetnesses..beon imakede..þurȝ þan to foren iseide rædesmen oþer þurȝ þe moare dæl [Fr. greignure partie] of heom.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3377 He let..de more del To kepen here ðing al wel.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 352 But more part of þis world erreþ here.

?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. ii. 189 Schrewes, whiche that contenen the more partie of men.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 113 (MED) In like fourme..is ruled..the more parte of all the reawmes of Affrike.

1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxxii. [ccxxviii.] 721 Tyll the kyng had assembled toguyder more nombre of noble men.

1533 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 155 In part of payment of ane mair soume.

1535 Bible (Coverdale) Acts xxvii. B The more parte off them toke councell to departe thence.

1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Bij^v I..learned so long there till I prou'd more halfe a very foole.

a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 270 The more Party of the Sutors of this your Realm.

1656–7 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1881) II. 537 Recevvit..in pairt payment of ane mair sowme.

1768 C. Smart Parables Jesus Christ lv. 112 The poor infidel and blind Are still the more part of mankind.

1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 117 The more part of them perished by falling over the rocks.

†d. Greater in power, authority, or importance. See also sense D. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > [adjective] > having superior or predominant authority

moreeOE

overc1175

surmontantc1400

upper1477

predominant1575

predominate1591

overswaying1601

predominated1800

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > more important

moreeOE

dominative1639

rather1657

important1894

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xli. 301 Se ure Aliesend..mara is & mærra eallum gesceaftum.

OE Ælfric Homily (Trin. Cambr. B.15.34) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 532 Cristes beboda, þe he bebead mannum, syndon miccle maran þonne Moyses lagu.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 131 (MED) Bitwuxe were and wife nes nefre mare mon þenne he.

c1300 St. Christopher (Harl.) 107 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 62 (MED) Ic am more þan al þe wordle iwis.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) John xiii. 16 The seruaunt is not more than his lord, neither apostle is more than he that sente him.

c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 102 (MED) Of which þre noon is more ne moost, But al oon god in persoones þre.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 2681 (MED) The body þe more lord is Þat lediþ the soule ofte amis.

?c1530 Let. Prester John f. 310 The name of ane preist is mair and wordiar thane the name of ane kyng.

†e. In the names of places, plants, churches, etc.: greater, superior, larger, more important (as distinguished from another of the same name), as (the) more Britain, (the) more Ind, (the) more smearwort, etc. Cf. less adj. 1c, lesser adj. 3, greater adj. 4. Obsolete.In quot. 1642, the reference to the place More Wenlock, rather then the standard Much Wenlock, is perhaps simply a translation of the Welsh mawr (see mere adj.¹).

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. xi. 77 Ofer ealle þa maran Asiam.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2223 Þe more brutaine.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 299 Aboute þat tyme Seint Mammertus..ordeyned solempne letanyes þat beeþ i-cleped þe Rogaciouns,..and beeþ i-cleped þe lasse letayne for difference of þe more letayne þat Gregorye ordeynede to be seide a Seynt Markes day.

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 172 Albania is a prouynce of þe more Asia.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1484 Þe mare world es þis world brade, And þe les es man.

1436 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 105 The chirche of Alhalowen the more.

?a1450 Agnus Castus (Stockh.) (1950) 177 (MED) Mercurialis is an herbe men clepe Mercurie or papwourtz or þe more smerewourt.

1477 Rolls of Parl. VI. 168/2 The Maners of Silby Mountsorell the more, and the lesse.

a1500 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 113 (MED) In the londe of more bretayngne, Schal ben a lorde of gret renoune.

c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 57 Then the Buship Aldunus dyd hallowe the more kyrk or Gret Kirke.

1642 in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 324 For goinge to More Wenlocke 00 01 00.

f. Modifying nouns of quality, condition, action, etc.: greater in degree or extent; more full. Now chiefly in (the) more's the pity.In modern use, the sense of more when qualifying an abstract noun is usually ‘a greater amount of, a greater level of’ (see sense A. 2a). It is unlikely, for example, that instances in which the adjective is adverbially modified by quantifiers, as a bit, a lot, some (see quot. 1993 at sense A. 2a), could be understood in other than this sense. In cases where there is a clear implication of scale, however, the sense ‘greater in degree’, is still current (see quot. 1883). Formations where degree is more clearly understood now occur only with greater, usually with the modified noun followed by of and a noun phrase, as ‘the greater seriousness of the situation’.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree

moOE

moreOE

the more partOE

lessa1616

mo'1858

no mo'1858

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > greater in degree or extent

moreOE

supreme1567

OE Blickling Homilies 35 Swa magon we þe maran blisse habban þa Easterdagas.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 He..dide mare yuel þanne god.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 2104 (MED) Eauer se þu mare wa & mare weane dest me..se þu wurchest..mi weole mare.

a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 169 Get is wunder of ðis wirm more ðanne man weneð.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 156 Vpe þe plein of salesbury þat oþer wonder is, Þat ston heng is icluped, non more wonder nis.

c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 228 For nis no gult her so gret his Merci nis wel more.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 5889 His moder wiste wel sche mihte Do Tereüs no more grief Than sle this child.

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) i. 643 Eke whit by blak..Ech set by other, more for other semeth.

1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 500 Ye dyd it off kyndenesse and in eschywyng off a moore yll þat myght befall.

a1500 (a1400) Sir Eglamour (Cambr.) (1844) 36 Above alle erthely thynges sche lovyd him mare,..So dud he hur..That was the more pete.

1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii. ii, in Wks. (1557) 208 So is it a much more faute to be therin rechelesse & negligent.

1562 J. Mountgomery in Archaeologia (1883) 47 233 I..dailie doe heare, of the greate decaie of parrishes in Ingland; the more ys the pittie.

1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Rogation Week i. 234 Borne among the number of Christian people, and thereby in a muche more nyghnes to saluation.

1632 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age sig. H4 Lets flye to some strong Cittadell, For our more safety.

1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 412 That the Lords &c: should proceede in their Coaches through the Citty for the more solemnity of it.

1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 102 And, for the more Verification, I and the said Witnesses have subscribed the same.

1797 R. M. Roche Children of Abbey (ed. 2) III. iii. 126 Poor thing, she is going fast indeed, and the more's the pity, for she is a sweet creature.

1818 T. Jefferson Anas in Writings (1903) I. 278 He did this the oftener and with the more earnestness.

1829 R. Southey Pilgrim to Compostella iv, in All for Love 181 To make the miracle the more, Of these feathers there is always store.

1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede III. v. xxxviii. 68 There's no amends I can make ye, lad—the more's the pity.

1883 G. Saintsbury in Academy 5 May 307/2 Forgetting that its chief function is to finish off and vignette isolated sketches of manner, character, and thought with more precision..than is possible or suitable in prose.

1972 N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel i. 31 ‘Well, anyway, Aunt Bed, considering I met her in your house.’ ‘More's the pity.’

1995 Guardian 4 Apr. ii. 9/5 You never hear of teenagers exploding, more's the pity.

g. [After post-classical Latin maior major adj.] Chiefly with the. The elder (of two brothers, etc.). Also in St James (also St Mary, etc.) the More. Opposed to less adj. 1e. Now only in the names of churches.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > senior person > [adjective]

morelOE

senior?a1475

sen.1676

senr.1763

primus1765

ma1791

majorc1823

maximus1848

the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > of two

morelOE

majorc1390

lOE tr. Trinubium Sanctae Annae in W. Keller Probleme der Englischen Sprache u. Kultur (1925) 116 Maria, þæs læsse Jacobes moder, and Maria, þæs mare Jacobes moder and Johannes þæs godspelleres, and Maria seo Magdalenissce, sohten urne drihten mid smerigeles inne his þruge.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 3486 (MED) O þir tua breþer..Þe less þe mare laght be þe fote.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21009 [I]ohn and iacob þe mar.

a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) Gen. xxvii. 1 And he clepide Esau, his moor sone [L. filium suum majorem].

1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. xii. 294 The firste of Maie is hallowed for Philippe and James the more.

1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits ix. 122 Of the same opinion was Cato the more.

1911 F. G. Brabant Berkshire 216 St. Mary the More, in the market-place, has been rebuilt except the massive tower.

h. Modifying a noun characterizing a person as a particular type: entitled to, deserving, or embodying the designation or characterization in a greater degree than previously acknowledged or deserved; more complete, worse, better. Now only in (the) more fool you (also him, etc.) (see fool n.¹ and adj. Phrases 4). Cf. great adj. 15b.In the phrase more fool you, more is now often interpreted as an adverb rather than an adjective, i.e. fool is interpreted as an adjective with more modifying it. Similarly, the phrase the more fool you is occasionally taken to be a clause with ellipsis of the verb to be, with the more an adverbial phrase modifying the predicate and more, hence, a noun.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree > entitled to designation in high degree > in greater degree

morec1390

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 857 And moore fooles ben they that kissen in vileynye.

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 232 ‘Whil th.ou were a ȝong boy a moche schrewe þou were.’..‘Now i am older woxe þou schalt me fynd a more!’

?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 190 (MED) Þus þes fonnyd ypocritis putten errour in ihu crist. But who ben more heretikis?

c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1880 (MED) Maboun, þe mare schrewe, Jn feld vp aros.

1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 852/2 The more fole is he, tant plus sot est il.

1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft ii. xi. 36 A more heretike than either Faustus or Donatus.

1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 143 A man cannot tell whether Apelles or Albert Durere were the more trifler.

1613–18 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1621) 21 The pressing necessity of the time that required a more man to vndergo the burthen of warre.

1631 T. Drue Life Dutches of Suffolke i. sig. B2^v She might, more foole she did not, but al's one All friends now, heeres my hand, my spleenes downe.

1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 129 The more Baron, the lesse Bishop, and more unmeet for the service of Rome.

1693 T. Southerne Maids Last Prayer iv. iii. 45 Some mischief-making Fiend, who woud'st assume the Title of an Angel, to be the more a Devil.

1734 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. IV 11 Who wickedly is wise, or madly brave, Is but the more a fool, the more a knave.

1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. iv. 160 ‘More Fool he,’ cried Slipslop, ‘it is a sign he knew very little of our Sect.’

1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon i. iv, in Fraser's Mag. Feb. 198/1 The more great, big, blundering fool you, for giving the gold piece to him.

1863 D. MacDonald David Elginbrod i. viii. 97 The mair sinner, he mair welcome.

1991 F. Weldon Darcy's Utopia (BNC) More fool you for leaving it in a car park.

†i. With in, of. Deeper or higher in; better endowed with. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > having some attribute in a great degree > in a greater degree

more1526

1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xix. f. cxlix Therfore he that delivered me vnto the, is moare in synne.

a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander 1838 Supois he be..Hiear than I..And mare of strength.

1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 lv. 15 The Duke, less numerous, but in courage more.

2. As a comparative corresponding to much.

a. Existing in greater quantity or amount; a greater quantity or amount of. In later use also modifying an abstract noun: a greater amount of, a greater level of (see note at sense A. 1f).Cf. earlier mo pron.¹ and n.¹ 2, mo adv.¹ 1, and see note in etymology above.more haste, less (etc.) speed: see haste n. Phrases 2a.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree > a greater quantity, amount, or degree of

moreeOE

any morec1300

eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxxii. 234 Gif þæt sar þonne mare sie do maran ele to.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1510 Ðe firme sune..sulde..hauen mete ðan at is mel More or ðe gungere twinne del [L. duplam..portionem].

c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 703 Vp on a day he gat hym moore moneye Than that the persoun gat in monthes tweye.

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 179 He wel moore vertu hath than myght.

a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 5872 (MED) Off Sarezynes was þer more plente, Syxty þousand, and ȝit moo.

a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 204 Thow skaffis and beggis mair beir and aitis Nor ony cripill in Karrik land abowt.

a1525 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 155 Affrica has..mar wildernes & waist landis..than Europia.

1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 38 (margin) The more hast y^e wurst speede.

1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 68 I haue lost more labour, then the transcripting of this Censure.

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 149 Perchance my Lord I show more craft then loue.

1611 Bible (King James) Exod. v. 9 Let there more worke be layde vpon the men, that they may labour therein.

1640 T. Carew Poems 19 Give me more love, or more disdaine.

1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 125 The higher we went, the more Gold we found.

1742 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer (ed. 4) I. 26 So that the Brewer is capacitated..to make more Ale.

1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iii. ii. 21 I should have..expected more openness and candour in a young lady.

a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 125 I recognize more genius in the latter.

1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cix. 527 Either do that, Sir, or waste in one day more oil than we make good in a year.

1894 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Real Charlotte I. xi. 152 He happened to have lost more money at the Galway races than he cared to think about.

1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 Had he but shown a little more firmness and astuteness.

1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xviii. 200 Young Mary Joe..heated more water than would have been needed for a hospital of croupy babies.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 100/4 Vines develop far more wood, and therefore more weight, than seems possible when the young creepers are planted.

1987 W. Hagelund Whalers no More xi. 165 More coal was shovelled over to the port side.

1990 B. Bettelheim Recoll. & Refl. ii. 121 Since religion in its organized form has lost its hold on many of us, there is more reason why we look to the arts to lift us onto a higher plane.

1993 Canad. Living Feb. Insert 20–1 (advt.) Try the traditional and tasty Oriental stir fry. For a bit more zing, visit the Zesty Thai or Mexican.

†b. Preceding a in a noun phrase. Cf. many adj. 1b. Obsolete. rare.

ΚΠ

1680 E. Hickeringill Curse ye Meroz 23 If there be but Two or Three phanaticks in a Parish,..they shall make more a noise, more a Disturbance,..then all the Rest.

3. As a comparative corresponding to many, with plural noun.

a. In predicative use: existing in greater number, more numerous; greater in number. Now rare.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] > greater number

moOE

moreOE

fele1340

better than1471

outnumbering1796

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xix. 188 Manega tacna, and micele yrmða, becumað on middanearde, ofer manna bearnum, maran and maran, oð þam gemænan ende.

c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 65 (MED) Þe deuel made Eretikes to wexen more & more.

1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. i. xx. f. 27^v As though they had ben thrise as many more in number then they wer.

1610 A. Hopton Baculum Geodæticum vi. xiv. 135 The sides of a tryangulate are more by 2, then the tryangles whereof he is made.

1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 448 Distinguished Slashes deck the Great; As each excells in Birth, or State His Oylet-holes are more, and ampler, The King's own body was a Samplar.

1885 Bible (R.V.) 2 Kings vi. 16 They that be with us are more [so 1762; 1611 moe] than they that be with them.

1902 N.E.D. at Quadric Used..where the variables are more than two.

b. In attributive use: existing in greater number, more numerous; a greater number of. [Compare earlier mo pron.¹ and n.¹ 1, mo adv.¹ 2, and see note in etymology above. Adjectival use of mo with a plural noun is more frequent in Middle English than the equivalent use of more, and even in so late (although frequently deliberately archaistic) a work as the Bible of 1611 mo is more often found in this use, although compare:

1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xviii. 8 The wood deuoured more people that day, then the sword deuoured.

]

ΚΠ

c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 206 Euere the moore flesshly kynredes that ben in helle, the moore cursynges, the more chidynges, and the moore deedly hate ther is among hem.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21629 Mar mightes has vr lauerd wroght, þan ani marn mai thing in thoght.

1463 Abbot of Langley in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 372 And more þinges..which I entytelyd in a scrowe.

a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 157 (MED) Yet were thei more [Fr. plus] peple be the haluendell than hadde Arthur.

1526 Grete Herball ccccxciii. sig. Bb.vi^v/2 Apples eaten raw doothe more dysseases than ony other fruytes.

1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 322 In humane lawes there be more things arbitrable than forceable.

1584 J. Lyly Alexander, Campaspe, & Diogenes iii. iv. sig. D2 So in painting, the more colours, the better counterfeit.

1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 168 There are more things in heauen and earth Horatio, Then are Dream't of, in your philosophie.

1614 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 164 It was agreed by the more voyces.

1656 A. Cowley On Death of Sir H. Wotton 4 Who had so many Languages in store, That onely Fame shall speak of him in More!

1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 15 There was never more lame and decrepit Fellows..as is now adays.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 17. ⁋6 If there shall be two or more Competitors for the same Vacancy.

1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 60 The more they multiply, the more friends you will have.

1785 W. Paley Moral & Polit. Philos. (1841) iii. iii. vi. 146 If to one man be allowed an exclusive right to five or more women.

1811 J. Austen Let. 6 June (1952) There are more gooseberries & fewer currants than I thought at first.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Morte d'Arthur in Poems (new ed.) II. 15 More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of.

a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1859) II. xl. 409 Nature never works by more..instruments than are necessary.

1928 Publishers' Weekly 26 May 2169 Promotion cannot be done without waste... But the idea back of the new mergers is the idea of outlets, of promotion, of selling more goods.

1976 G. Gordon 100 Scenes from Married Life 58 He had more teeth filled than she had; she could see the gold glinting.

2000 Ralph 7 July 133/1 Activities that use lots of muscle groups burn more kilojoules.

c. Nautical slang. In phrases: more days, more dollars and variants: the longer one stays at sea, the more one earns (see also quot. 1962); more ships than parish churches.

ΚΠ

1843 J. F. Cooper Ned Myers II. ii. 40 I knew there were more ships than parish churches.

1898 A. J. Boyd Shellback xv. 258 The captain was acting on the principle of ‘More days, more dollars’.

1905 S. Jefferson Life in Merchant Marine 56 The ship went too fast for them, since they calculate ‘more months, more money’.

1946 W. McFee In First Watch i. 28 There were more ships than parish churches.

1962 W. Granville Dict. Sailors' Slang 78/1 More days: more dollars! American Merchant seamen's phrase of the Second World War, meaning that the more days they were at sea the more ‘danger money’ they would receive. The term was used sarcastically by British Naval-men whose pay compared unfavourably with the Americans'.

II. Additional. Now frequently preceded by a quantifier, as any, many, no, some, or a number. [Compare adverbial use at sense C. 4b, and see note in etymology.]

N.E.D. (1908) labels these uses ‘Now rare except as preceded by an indefinite or numeral adj...and in archaic phrases’, but this judgement does not appear to be borne out by contemporary evidence.

a. With a plural noun: additional to the number specified or implied; an additional number of; further.This use is rarely attested before the late 16th cent.; until then mo was more usual (see mo adj.¹ 5a).

ΚΠ

OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) ii. xiv. 130 Ðe gedafenað, Petrus, þæt þu sume hwile geswigie, þæt þu nu gyta mæge maran þing oncnawan.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4032 Efte he sacrede deres mor.

1586 G. Pettie & B. Yong tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (rev. ed.) iv. f. 193^v He..without anie more wordes unballanced the ship.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 306 Let..all things [be] thought vpon, That may with reasonable swiftnesse adde More Feathers to our Wings.

1672 C. Manners in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 25 Wee have every day newes of more townes taken by the French in Holland.

1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 167 I had run so much Hazard.., nor had I any Mind to run any more Ventures.

1834 J. Gurwood in Duke of Wellington Dispatches I. 21 More troops being sent to their aid, a general action took place.

1869 Pall Mall Gaz. 15 Nov. 3 More grapes were now thrown in, and again the treaders set to work.

1926 C. Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 252 I said, Now, daddy, do you know any more tricks?

2000 Sci. Amer. Mar. 16/1 Pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods rather than more subdivisions, more mini-malls, more parking lots and more traffic.

b. With a singular noun: additional to the quantity specified or implied; an additional amount of; further.

ΚΠ

c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 834 (MED) Ischal al one Wiþute more ymone..Bringe hem þre to deþe.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 3541 (MED) Wiþ þat and wiþ mor catel He made þe castel of Arondel.

c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 1495 (MED) Þe lordes buþ þan a-paste wyþ-oute more a-do.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 209 Withouten ony more rehercyng..of maruaylles.

c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 118 (MED) His land suld be lost withouten lett mare.

c1500 (a1400) Sir Cleges (Ashm.) (1913) 225 (MED) It is tokenyng Off mour godnes þat is comyng; We shall haue mour plente.

1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 6 §1 Without eny more oyle.

1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. x. 185 Quha stickit him, withouttin proces moir.

1589–1600 Acct. Bk. W. Morton f. 63 For vii stane half of small takell to be wellding and mar tekell at xlvi s. the stane.

1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 82 Come Hostis, give us more Ale.

1758 J. Blake Plan Marine Syst. 3 If more room be wanted the orlop deck may be enlarged.

1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 413 Then the wife received some rent for the houses; and afterwards..the son was born, and..the widow received more rent: then the son died..and she received some more rent after his death.

1861 Photogr. News Alm. in Circ. Sc. I. 160/2 Add more silver, till the development is complete.

1927 P. G. Wodehouse Meet Mr. Mulliner ii. 56 At eleven o'clock he has his ‘elevenses’, consisting of coffee, cream, more bread and more butter.

1986 U. Holden Tin Toys (1987) iii. 26 She put more coal on, rattling the poker and tongs.

c. U.S. colloquial (chiefly regional (Appalachian)). one more ——: a very good, impressive, or notable ——.

ΚΠ

1912 Abilene (Texas) Daily Reporter 2 Apr. 1/2 After witnessing the performances the students dispersed and went home, having had one more time of their lives.

1947 A. Bland Behold a Cry vi. 42 ‘Sure is one more curious woman I got,’ Sam grumbled.

1986 J. Wear Sugarlands 68 I had worked so hard my muscles would not give, so I had one more time having her [sc. a daughter].

1991 L. Jones & B. E. Wheeler Hometown Humor, U.S.A. 184 I said, that sure was one more pucker, Sweetie, You really know your stuff.

B. pron.

I. Something greater.

1. As a comparative corresponding to much: something that is more.

a. A greater quantity, amount, degree, etc.

ΚΠ

eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xv. 93 Ne wilnien ge mare to witenne ðonne iow ðearf sie, ac witað ðæt ðæt iow gemetlic sie & iower ondefenu sien to witenne.

eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvi. 60 Sio [gitsung] ne con gemet, ne næfre ne bið g[e]healden on ðære nedðearfe, ac wilnað symle maran þonne he þurfe.

lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 453 Ac he mot ægðer witan ge læsse ge mare.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Oc æfre þe mare he iaf heom, þe wærse hi wæron him.

a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Duodecim Abusivis (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 111 Ðu gederast mare and mare [OE Corpus Cambr. 178 ma & ma]..and þine welan forrotiað biforan þine ehȝan.

c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 1550 (MED) Þet ha nowðer ne ete, lesse ne mare, tweolf dahes fulle.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 165 (MED) More þen he axede for Iosep he ȝaf.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 37 Þey made strikes liche as ounces..to schewe þat þere is more þan is in þe Hebrewes bookes.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 10219 (MED) Ilkan þan to þe temple broght Sirekin gift after þai moght, Sum wit lesse and sum wit mare.

a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 259 He wele telle al and more.

a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 142 Sum askis mair than he deservis.

1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 98^v Which by so much the more is to be borne, by how much the more it is perforce.

1607 Trag. Cæsar & Pompey (1911) i. vi. sig. C^v Heere may you surfet with delicious store, The more you see, desire to looke the more.

1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xvi. 17 And the children of Israel..gathered some more, some lesse.

1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 42 Where more is meant then meets the ear.

1669 A. Woodhead tr. Life St. Teresa (1671) ii. xvi. 114 In all her sickness..she did neither more nor less, but as the Infirmarian would have her.

1725 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §10 All the Parts taken collectively..must contain neither more nor less than the Whole.

1759 S. Johnson Rasselas xxvi The more we enquire, the less we can resolve.

1799 M. Robinson Thoughts on Condition of Women (ed. 2) 69 More than their husbands they should know.

1831 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein (rev. ed.) ii. 27 Men who had penetrated deeper and knew more.

1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby li. 511 I have found out a man, who, plainly knows more than he cares to tell at once.

1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. v. 177 The more I got, the more I asked.

1919 M. Sinclair Mary Olivier ii. xvii. 130 The more you do for people the less they love you.

1969 E. Connell Mr Bridge iv. 9 Julia was to blame for saddling him like a burro with more than he could carry during the day.

1984 M. Amis Money 357 It was better-quality stuff: it obviously cost more.

b. A greater quantity or amount of. In Old English also with noun in the genitive.

ΚΠ

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) iv. 215 Ðu cwæde þæt ic andbidode þæt ic ðe mare folces gestrynde.

OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 19 Sio hæte hæfð genumen þæs suðdæles mare þonne se cyle þæs norðdæles hæbbe.

lOE Laws: Rectitudines (Corpus Cambr.) iv. §1. 447 Toeacan ðam iii æceras to bene & ii to gærsyrðe; gyf he maran gærses beðyrfe, ðonne earnige ðæs, swa him man ðafige.

a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 385 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 231 (MED) Þo sullen more of him isien þe luueden hine more.

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 159 Hwen he of hire naueð ne leasse ne mare.

c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 254 Ne þorte he neure, ful iwis, Wilne more of paradis.

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5951 Of sorwe & sore Him com..euere þe leng þe more.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 260 The more he hath of worldes good, The more he wolde it kepe streyte.

a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) x. 131 For in tho dayis ther was but litle more off the reaume off Fraunce in the kynges handes, but þat parte wich is callyd the Ile off Fraunce.

a1525 Contempl. Synnaris l. 318, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 198 The maire of abstynens ay þe less desyre.

1590 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. ii. 196 Thow sperit at him gif he had mair of the poysane.

1625 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 223 Whosoeuer transportis any mair aff thair labouring..sall pay [etc.].

1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. ix An Heroique Poem requires..as much, or more of the Active Virtue, than the Suffering.

a1711 T. Ken Hymnarium 40 in Wks. (1721) II. The more of Spirit things contract, The more vivaciously they act.

1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 362 Many people would immediately perceive that they had more of this paper than was necessary.

1800 King George IV in Paget Papers (1896) I. 181 In short, the more I see of her and the more I probe her Heart the more perfect I see her.

1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. I. ii. ix. 509 The quack, that he may sell the more of his pills at one time, distributes them gratis at another.

1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iii. 28 The more I saw of my guide the more I liked him.

1915 H. James Let. 5 Mar. (1990) vi. 326 Gloat over your overwhelmedness & demand of you to serve me still more & more of it.

1966 B. Malamud Fixer (1969) vi. iii. 177 Not only was the food better, there was more of it.

1991 Sci. Amer. Sept. 78/1 Fiber..is something we can just keep making more of.

c. Something of greater importance or significance. to be more: to count for more, to be of greater importance. Chiefly used predicatively. Cf. much pron. and n. 1c. Frequently in adverbial phrases introducing a sentence or clause as expressing something that is more significant than what has preceded, as what is more, †and (that) more is.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important

moreOE

firstc1275

principala1393

chiefa1400

main chance1577

forefront1589

principal verb1602

centre of gravity1718

avatar1859

main stem1900

Big Apple1909

prima ballerina1923

centrepiece1937

OE Blickling Homilies 101 Se þe gesælig bið mæg hine sylfne be þære bysene læran, & eac þæt gyt mare is, þæt hie sceolan æfter þæm wlencum ece edwit þrowian, buton him seo soþe hreow gefultmige.

OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxix. 257 Swiðe god ðenung is..þæt gehwa godes ðearfum ðenige, and swiðost ðam eawfæstum godes ðeowum, ac swa ðeah mare is þæt man þa heofenlican lare secge þam ungelæredum.

c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 739 (MED) His gostli siht is swiþe cler. For þerwid he may knowe..God and yuel, lasse and more.

c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) 1 John iii. 20 If oure herte shal reproue us..God is more than oure herte.

c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. 2356 (MED) He brent in a double fyre Of loue and Ire..But for cause loue was þe more He was aferd..to done offencioun.

1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. x I shalle not ete the, For thow sholdest hurte my tendre stomak, and more is, I shall this day haue better mete.

a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 107 (MED) Lorde, þis is not o days werke ner children pley, but, þat more is, in this shorte worde is includid all perfeccioun of Religiose folke.

1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. i. sig. A.iij^v/1 Yea, and that more is, shuld by adoption make them the sonnes of God.

a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 222 To say I and no, to these particulars, is more then to answer in a Catechisme.

1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. 215 Ther is more in it, to keepe a prouince, then to make one.

1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim iv. 13 But when he speaks, his words are more than sounds, and have a sting in them which pierces the very heart.

1740 tr. C. de F. de Mouhy Fortunate Country Maid I. 130 The Griparts were never taken in yet, and what's more, never will.

1790 S. W. Morton Ouâbi Introd. p. vii Nothing of moment is undertaken without advising with them, and what is more, with the young men too.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere in Poems (new ed.) I. 158 Kind hearts are more than coronets.

1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 106 And the individual withers, and the world is more and more.

1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 168 Honour and shame were scarcely more to him than light and darkness to the blind.

1859 F. W. Farrar Julian Home xvi. 204 He'll carry all our provisions..up to the top, which is more than most of your A.C.'s would do.

1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 326 I made a vow..that I would never open that infernal Euclid book again, and, what is more, I never will! So that is straight.

1940 R. Postgate Verdict of Twelve i. 12 Father was not ‘noticing’; Mother was, and what's more would twist your arm till you screamed if you sulked and wouldn't answer.

1958 L. Durrell Balthazar vi. 139 And what's more, I told Abdul so in no uncertain terms.

1987 S. Bellow More die of Heartbreak 78 For some reason he always saw more in people than others were willing to see.

d. or more: at least, not less than, at the minimum.

(a) Indicating that an approximate expression of size, volume, period, quantity, etc., is intended as a conservative estimate or lowest approximation. Cf. sense A. 4b.

ΚΠ

OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) xli. 86 Seoð on wætere þearle to healfan dæle, & ðæs wæteres sy sester ful oððe mare.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1128 He wolde þurh his micele wiles ðær beon wær it tweolf monð oððe mare.

a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 1 (MED) Slep me hað mi lif forstole richt half oðer more.

c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 1783 I saw yow noght this fourtenyght or moore.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 87 (MED) Þere were..sixe water pottis sett, and ech of hem held a galoun or more.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 249 A damysell of þe age of x yere or mor.

c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 111 (MED) As whanne þe festre is antiquate or old as a ȝeer or two or ellis more.

1522–3 in J. Imrie et al. Burgh Court Bk. Selkirk (1960) 67 The quey..was tua ȝer ald and ane halff or mar.

1576 Kirkcudbright Town Council Rec. (1939) I. 1 Thay remanit thairefter vpoun xx dayis or mair.

1607 B. Jonson Volpone i. v. sig. C4^v Bastards, Some dozen, or more, that he begot on beggers.

1688 J. Barker Poet. Recreations i. 68 My dearest Brother, who is gone before, Half way will meet me in the Air, or more.

1765 Bartram's Jrnl. 5 in W. Stork Acct. E. Florida (ed. 2) A perch or more of palmetto-ground.

1800 W. Wordsworth Michael 473 Three years, or little more, did Isabel Survive her Husband.

1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 5 For a mile or more the doctor took the lead and kept it.

1906 J. Conrad Mirror of Sea ii. 4 Some pet vice, that must be left behind for a year or more.

1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering xii. 242 Fish must be cold-smoked from a few days to a week or more.

1985 W. Sheed Frank & Maisie vii. 153 Polio tethered me to my family's respective lives for the next year or more.

(b) Indicating that an exact expression of quantity, number, etc., is a minimum amount.

ΚΠ

1526 Grete Herball sig. Cciv^v/2 The vrynes be deuyded in .xx. partes or more.

1543 R. Record Ground of Artes i. sig. C Addition is the reduction and bryngynge of two numbers or more into one.

1649 Acts Interregnum (1911) II. 108 Three or more of the Justices of the upper Bench.

1795 E. Fenwick Secresy III. xxiii. 222 As eyes and noses are the common lot of all mankind, it may happen now and then that two or more may be greatly alike.

1835 R. Willis Remarks Archit. Middle Ages v. 41 At the same time there came in the practice of Foiling arches; that is, of uniting a series of three or more by their bases, so as to form one.

1925 Glasgow Herald 31 July 5 The most important is the Works Council Law of 1920, which requires a works council to be set up in each establishment employing 20 persons or more.

1984 S. Abraham & D. Llewellyn-Jones Eating Disorders ix. 110 Obesity is defined in several ways, one being when the Quetelet Index is 30 or more.

e. more or less: (with an expression of quantity, number, etc.) approximately.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [noun]

more or less1545

1545 Instr. to Cromwell in Cottonian MS Cleopatra F. 1 lf. 85 In recompens of that he shall haue yerly oute of the saide benefice so Improperede xijd. or ijs. for a yerly pension more or lesse.

1583 D. Ingram in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) iii. 560 They [sc. sheep]..liue together in heards, in some 500. as it happeneth, more or lesse.

1654 in Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1880) VI. 17 Twenty acres more or lesse of mowing ground upon the marsh.

1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 134 Which comes to pass in six, eight or twelve Moneths, more or less.

1709 London Gaz. No. 4509/3 Her Cargo of about 1000 Bushels of French Salt, more or less.

1798 Times 28 June 4/1 Consisting of 91 acres, more or less, of excellent..land.

1860 Amer. Agriculturist Dec. 356/1 Our four or five lines, more or less, are of as much value as 2000 acres of Long Island land.

1872 M. McLeod in A. McDonald Peace River 41 The Canot du M. was of six fathoms, measured within, and the C. du Nord about four, more or less.

1905 Statesman 22 Aug. 2/4 All that piece or parcel of vacant land containing by measurement one bigha fifteen cottahs more or less.

1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 14/2 I've been in love with Rawley since I was about three—more or less. And it's getting to be a good deal more lately.

1986 ‘A. Cross’ No Word from Winifred vi. 80 She is eighty more or less, and mumbles about herself as the ancient of days.

f. A truer case or example of a type of person or thing.

ΚΠ

1796 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1846) VII. p. lxxxviii He is a poor creature and more of a Genoese than an Englishman.

1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. vi. 94 He is more of a gentleman by a long way than most.

1904 Transvaal Agric. Jrnl. Oct. 185 The Transvaal kweekgras is shorter and more of a surface grass than the Bermuda grass.

2002 Times ii. 7/6 Eating in has become more of a gourmet phenomenon.

g. Used of something abstract in collocation with less indicating that the quality, etc., referred to is more or less quantifiable: the greater aspect, level, or limit. Now rare.

ΚΠ

1874 J. Morley On Compromise 64 There is no discoverable law fixing precisely the more or the less of these.

1884 B. Bosanquet et al. tr. H. Lotze Metaphysic ii. vii. 327 Such effects as do not directly display a more or a less.

1902 J. S. Phillimore Sophocles Introd. 83 The colouring of the phrase, its more or less of poetical and imaged quality.

2. As a comparative corresponding to many.

a. With plural agreement. A greater number of the type or kind of person or object specified (either by anaphora or with of and noun phrase). Also without anaphora: a greater number of people.the more the merrier: see merry adj. Phrases 2b.

ΚΠ

a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (Caius) 6469 (MED) Þe moo þer be, þe more j schal sloo.

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 53 Thare deid..of the Romaynis mare than xxiiij thousand.

1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 117 To resaue sa mony euangelis..as ȝe do and nane ma[v.r. mayr].

1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. D4 Some one or twaine, or more Of the maine Fautors.

a1633 G. Herbert Outlandish Prov. (1640) sig. C8^v More have repented speech then silence.

1639 N. N. tr. J. Du Bosc Compl. Woman i. 15 There are more who haunt the Schoole of Voluptousnes, then that of vertue.

1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 122 Nature hath compounded Mens Braines with more of the Sharp Atomes..and Womens with more of the round Atomes.

1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 265 More of their Patients recovered.

1724 A. Z. in J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. i. x. 23 There are more than a few Talents so exalted and so bright.., as cannot well miss catching and delighting the Eye.

1788 T. Jefferson Memorandum Tour from Paris in Sel. Writings (1984) 648 I am not sure there were more than two to each main beam.

1796 G. Colman Iron Chest Pref. p. iv Never one rehearsal, wherein one, or two, or more, of the Performers, very essential to the piece, were not absent.

1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 441 More of the purchaser's male ancestors have been descended from..the femes in the higher classes.

1817 J. Austen Sanditon xii, in Minor Wks. (1954) 424 Another Charity which I and a few more, have very much at heart—the establishment of a Charitable Repository at Burton on Trent.

1886 W. J. Tucker Life E. Europe 191 I could not touch another drop, unless more of the gentlemen join me.

1904 H. James Golden Bowl II. iv. viii She had put on too many things, overcharged herself with jewels, wore in particular more of them than usual.

1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 186 There were more than four on the barn.

1966 P. Willmott Adolescent Boys E. London vi. 105 More of the boys in the sample had got their first job through the Youth Employment Officer than any other single source.

1991 J. Rifkin Biosphere Politics v. xxxviii. 291 The parks are tropical forests that border on two or more of the countries.

1992 Equinox Aug. 96/3 Over the past decade, progressively more have chosen specialty camps..where they learn to ape the diminuendo of a Gould or the dipsy–doodle of a Gretzky.

b. more than one: several people, a number (out of those mentioned). Usually with singular agreement. [Compare French plus d'un, in similar pronominal use with singular agreement from mid 19th cent. or earlier.]

ΚΠ

1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans xxiii More than one had turned, as if to catch the meaning of his words.

1865 F. Oakeley Hist. Notes 103 More than one who took a part in the more extreme developments of the work has since been conspicuous on the rationalistic side of more recent controversies.

1899 K. Chopin Awakening xxv. 193 People turned their heads to look at her, and more than one lent an attentive ear to her utterances.

1927 Travel Nov. 53/1 Maidens came to watch the casting of the bell, since more than one had a lover in New Spain.

1967 J. M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour iii. 53 Schutz..set up experimental groups whose members were incompatible in that more than one was high in dominance.

II. Something additional.

3. An additional quantity, amount, or number.

a. Something else in addition to what is specified. Frequently modified by determiners expressing amount, as any, some, little, much; such phrases are also used adverbially. See also no more pron., n., adj., and adv.

ΚΠ

eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. ii. 56 Mare ic þyses gemyndgade þonne ic his mid ealle asæde; gif his hwa sie lustfull mare to witanne, sece him þonne self þæt.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 37 Tær tekenn mare inoh. Þu shallt tær onne findenn.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 Ȝif þu mare spenest of þine.

c1250 in Stud. Philol. (1931) 28 595 (MED) Ic wille ou sigge more.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 162 Ȝe þat louen & lyken to listen a-ni more.

a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 223 (MED) He ne wist..whiderward he schuld seche to se of hem more.

c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 1871 And moore we seen of Cristes secree thynges Than burel folk.

a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 89 Haue he neuere so mykyl, ȝyt he wold haue more.

c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1640 (MED) Þan seyde Lybeauus, ‘Wyltow more?’ And he answerede, ‘Nay.’

a1586 Lindsay MS f. 39^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Mar(e, Mair(e Gif ye will mair heirof, demand the auld harrauldis.

1655 O. Cromwell Speech 22 Jan. in Writings & Speeches (1945) (modernized text) III. 581 I could not say more upon this subject, if I listed to expatiate thereupon.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 145 This answer Proteus gave, nor more he said.

1710 M. Chudleigh Ess. Several Subj. 67 Neither Reason nor Religion will allow of any more.

1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews (ed. 2) I. i. vii. 44 She flew into a violent Passion, and refusing to hear more, ordered him instantly to leave the Room.

1772 E. Burke Corr. (1844) I. 384 As I have stated this matter so much at large,..it is not necessary to say more by this unconfidential conveyance.

a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) I. xv. 292 Containing little more than this assurance of success.

1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xix. 39 ‘I don't want to say any more,’ rejoined the goaded locksmith.

1895 E. E. Kay in Law Times Rep. 73 651/1 If the underwriters wanted to know more, they ought to have asked for information.

1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience vi For this extremity of pessimism to be reached, something more is needed than observation of life and reflection upon death.

1972 G. Lyall Blame the Dead ii. 10 You sounded a bit of a mystery man in those stories this morning—they'll want to know more.

1997 Sight & Sound Sept. 14/2 Bards, jongleurs, griots and yarnspinners..have all long known the value of leaving their listeners wanting more.

b. and more: and a larger quantity, amount, or number than that specified (frequently used to express an indefinite excess over a figure stated approximately). Formerly also (Scottish) †with the mair. Cf. sense A. 1d.In early Scottish use also with more modified by an adjective expressing degree (see quots. c1580, c1626).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > rather more than

and morec1230

and (also or) upward1555

and upwards1570

upward of1623

upwards of1721

rising1808

the rise of1834

c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 44 Þer ha lei iprisun. fouwer þusent ȝer & mare.

c1300 St. Nicholas (Laud) 154 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 245 (MED) Al þe contreie hadde i-nouȝ to mete and to sede To ȝer and more of þat corn.

c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 364 (MED) Niȝen woukes and mare þe mariners flet on flod.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 5056 (MED) He..kyst him, fourti sithes and mare.

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 205 (MED) I wold ȝeue ten pound, by Iesu Crist, and more.

1450 W. Lomnor in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 36 Peris Brusy..hadde x m^a Frenshe men and more.

1470 in J. Fullarton Rec. Burgh Prestwick (1834) 5 Four rodis witht the mar, liande [etc.].

1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. bii* Be it wes mydmorne and mare merkit on the day.

1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 44 We ar rycht sorie that this is treu for the maist part and mair.

1563–4 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 257 Quhairat thai remanit thir twa yeris bigane, with the mair.

c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. 476 The steppis..Of fyue fute breid and lytill mare.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 48 Had I not Fowre, or fiue women once, that tended me?.. Thou hadst; and more, Miranda.

c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1920) I. 4 He wes crucified..in the threttie thrid [year] of His aige with sum mair: viz. ane quarter ȝeir or thairby.

1641 in J. G. Smith Strathendrick & Inhabitants (1896) 4 About tua houris and mor therefter.

1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 294 The Whimbrel..is less by half than the Curlew, hath a crooked Bill, but shorter by an inch and more.

1705 K. Philips Lett. Orinda to Poliarchus xix We have heard nothing from England these ten Days and more.

1735 in R. O. Heslop Northumbld. Gloss. at Rock Now it will be twelve o'clock And more; for I've spun off my rock.

1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vii. ix. 386 A man so tost and toiled for twenty-four hours and more.

1856 W. E. Aytoun Bothwell i. xxv They call me savage, brutal, base, And more.

1894 R. B. Lee Hist. & Descr. Mod. Dogs: Non-sporting Div. iv. 107 The so-called Pyrenean guard dog we often see on our show benches, is a dog some one hundred and twenty pounds weight and more.

1934 Star (Johannesburg) 1 May 13 For the past 50 years and more Free Staters have been known among Dutch-speaking South Africans as Blikore.

1991 Hindu (Madras) 6 Dec. 12/1 The yield is now placed only at 120 lakh bales against the earlier expectation or 130 lakh bales and more.

†c. without more (also Scottish. but more, forout more): without anything or anyone else, in all; (in later use chiefly) without more ado, without delay. without less, without more (also Scottish. but min or more): without addition or diminution; exactly. Obsolete. [These expressions have alternatively been explained as originally showing a shortened form of demore , variant of demur n., or of its Old French etymon (see B. Lindström Middle Eng. withoute(n) More in Notes & Queries (1995) 21–2); if so, the expression was clearly interpreted by at least some Middle English writers as showing the present word, as shown by northern forms in quots. a1400 at sense A. 1a, c1480 at sense A. 1e, c1480².]

ΚΠ

c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 81 Þanne beþ þer in walis þre, wiþ oute Mor.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1186 (MED) To beriing þai his bodi bare Adam and eue, wit-outen mare.

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 133 They yave hym Antenor, withouten moore.

1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 2873 And anoon Iulyan wythout moor, For hir to presoun hys offycers sent.

c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 51 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 8 Na clathis he had, at ware gude, bot kirtil and clok, but mare.

c1480 (a1400) St. Andrew 128 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 67 Forowtine ony mare to þe bordale I wente ine hy.

a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1639 (MED) A barbor he callyd, with outen more, And shove hym bothe byhynd & byfore.

1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour 2732 in Wks. (1931) I. 280 Four hundreth stageis and four score In circuit, but myn or more.

1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus i. f. 15^v Inclining law but mair this Nimph anone,..Scho said [etc.].

a1625 King James VI & I Lusus Regius (1901) 14 He countis you done, & hopes, but ony maire, His time about to uinn the chimlay nuik.

1680 J. Cheyney Vindic. Oaths (ed. 2) 1 The first and lowest step or degree is a bare and simple affirmation and negation, or pronouncement of the matter without more, as to say,..‘My name is John.’

d. Further discussion of or debate about something, etc. Earliest in no more pron. and n. 1b. Now chiefly literary.

ΚΠ

c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 1707 Ho, Na moore [v.r. No more], vp peyne of lesyng of youre heed.

?1536 H. Latimer in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 149 Butt of thys my dewtye moor att moor leyser.

1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 87 But more of this at our next meeting.

1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vi. 20 Heere comes Lorenzo, more of this hereafter.

1692 T. Southerne Wives Excuse iii. i. 34 But more of this at leisure.

1776 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. p. li They would be stationed in the corners and bye-places of the Synopsis: stationed, not as now to give light, but to receive it. But more of this, perhaps, at some future time.

1797 A. Radcliffe Italian III. vii. 269 But more of this in private.

1863 Chem. News 14 Feb. 84/1 Lubricating Oils.—Some consignments to hand, of which more again.

1877 H. James American xx. 365 I can say nothing that is not cruel. Therefore let us part, without more of this.

1946 M. Lowry Let. 2 Jan. in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 501 There is such a thing as wandering attention that is the fault of neither reader nor writer: though more of this later.

1988 S. Rushdie Satanic Verses i. ii. 11 Gibreel remembered from his childhood..the fabled lunch-runners of Bombay (of which more later).

e. Chiefly literary. The additional or further quantity, amount, etc., referred to in a specific context. rare.

ΚΠ

1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xl. sig. D What hast thou then more then thou hadst before?.. All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more.

1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xvii. 106 He knows the depth to be so many fathoms, and more; but how much that more is, he hath no distinct notion at all.

1849 M. Arnold Strayed Reveller, & Other Poems 54 Know, man hath all which Nature hath, but more, And in that more lie all his hopes of good.

a1861 A. H. Clough Dipsychus ii. v, in Lett. & Remains (1865) 188 Hints haunt me ever of a more beyond.

f. more where that came from and variants: an additional supply of something; spec. one large enough to permit great or repeated consumption or use. Frequently in there's plenty more where that came from and variants, with implication that something may be eaten, drunk, etc., freely.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > possession > supply > [phrase] > plentiful or inexhaustible supply

more where that came from1810

1810 J. Porter Sc. Chiefs II. v. 92 I..told him not to spare it, it was a chilly night, and I should get more where it came from.

1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xi. 137 They might be certain there was plenty more where that came from.

1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xiii. 182 ‘There were more where that one came from,’ said Charl, when the sovereign had been taken up and handed to the landlady for safe keeping.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 285 And there's more where that came from, says he.

1954 R. P. Bissell High Water xxii. 270 Plenty more where this came from.

1973 S. Milligan More Goon Show Scripts 94 Crun. You see this we dug up just now? Do you recognise it? Bill. It appears to be a piece of mud. Minnie. And there's more where that came from.

1995 P. McCabe Dead School (1996) 14 He bought the willing suspension of your disbelief with the promise of more where this came from.

g. literary. Other persons than that or those mentioned. Cf. other pron. and n. 5b(b). rare.

ΚΠ

1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxx. 44 More than I, if truth were told, Have stood and sweated hot and cold.

h. more of the same: the continuance of the status quo; repetition or reproduction of what has become the established pattern of events, etc.; ‘the same old thing’, ‘the same old story’.

ΚΠ

1971 I. D. Illich Deschooling Society vi. 75 A political program which does not explicitly recognize the need for deschooling is not revolutionary; it is demagoguery calling for more of the same.

1990 N.Y. Mag. Nov. 20/3 No doubt, the 1992 Democratic National Convention..will be more of the same.

1995 Daily Tel. 1 Aug. 3/1 Temperatures soared into the nineties again,..with weathermen promising more of the same for the rest of the week.

1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) Pref. p. xii More of the same promises nothing but more of the same, with..a delegitimation of our political system.

2000 N.Y. Times 31 Dec. ii. 6/1 Definitely not more of the same, this troupe of Wonder Women tells us something is stirring, even exploding, in Japanese contemporary dance.

C. adv.

I. In a greater degree, etc.

1. In a greater degree, to a greater extent.

a. Modifying a verb, a prepositional phrase, or the whole predicate. Also modifying each of two balanced and (implicitly or explicitly) causally linked clauses within a sentence.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater quantity, amount, or degree

moeOE

moreOE

mo'1879

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent

moeOE

moreOE

furtherc1050

greaterc1230

furthermorea1300

heldera1400

largerlya1425

any more1533

farthera1535

furtherfortha1542

preferentially1864

worse1883

much more1912

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent > of an attribute

moreOE

OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 124 Praeteritvm Plvsqvamperfectvm is forðgewiten mare, þonne fulfremed, forðan ðe hit wæs gefyrn gedon.

?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þa was al Engle land styred mar þan ær wæs.

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4662 & mare lufesst tu þatt þing. Þann ohht off godess wille.

a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 47 For-þi þa engles hem heom rested mare þenn on sum oðer dei.

c1300 St. Andrew (Harl.) 69 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 545 (MED) His lyf scholde þe lengore ilaste & he þe more in pyne beo.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 88 (MED) Þe more þet he his yzyȝþ openliche, þe more he him loueþ þe stranglaker, þe more [Fr. plus] he him likneþ propreliche.

1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/2 For as myche I am a Justice, that more than an other comun man scholde have had me more discretly and peesfully.

a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 350 And þus þei loven more þer ordre þan Crist.

1431–2 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 70 And touching tidinges..I haue charged ye berar of this to certifie yow mor at large.

a1450 (a1401) Chastising of God's Children (Bodl.) (1957) 91 (MED) Hooli men..bien more tempted þan oþir men.

a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 19 Surely they wold mor extyme hyt then they dow.

1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. B4^v More he [sc. the baby] crowde, more we cride.

1597 T. Beard Theatre Gods Iudgements ii. xii. 289 To reuenge himselfe more at full vpon the Citizens.

1615 S. Daniel Hymens Triumph i. v. 17 Loue is a sicknesse full of woes..More we enjoy it, more it dyes.

1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 677 If any in the World need walk pendantly upon God more than others, the Minister is he.

1677 Earl of Orrery Treat. Art of War 15 More at home, and at ease, and safety.

1694 F. Bragge Pract. Disc. Parables xi. 384 A man is never more himself, than when he exercises his reason upon the best of objects, religion.

1706 A. Pope Let. 10 Apr. in Corr. (1956) I. 16 Some [verses]..I have entirely new express'd, and turned more into Poetry.

1735 G. Berkeley Reasons §7 The more he explains, the more I am puzzled.

1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 7 O Time! than Gold more sacred; more a Load Than Lead, to Fools.

1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 10 I shall be..more a man and less a brute.

1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. ix. 173 Every friend must be made still more her friend by them [sc. her sufferings] .

1855 W. Whewell in I. Todhunter William Whewell (1876) II. 404 The notion must be followed much more into detail than he has done.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ii. 112 The fine arts are addressed more to the imagination; the sciences to the intellect.

1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta I. i. 21 If you had encouraged him tooth and nail, you couldn't have fumed more at the loss of him.

1936 C. Sandburg People, Yes 62 The more you fill a barrel the more it weighs unless you fill it with holes.

1983 M. Keane Time after Time v. 102 He despised and mistrusted them, but feared more that they despised him.

2000 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 33 38 His theory of fever tended more towards the latter.

b. more and more: in an increasing degree; to an increasing extent.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > increasing in quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > increasingly

mo and moeOE

more and morec1175

c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 676 He wile himm færenn ȝiff he maȝȝ. & skerrenn mare. & mare.

a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 511 Chirches ben wursiped mor and mor.

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 5865 (MED) Þai rise and bredes ai mare and mare.

c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 17210 (MED) Þei..schewed ay meknes more and more.

a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 1260 (MED) God wote he was an hevy man therfore And ther with abisshid more and more.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 9 Greuand God ay moir and moir.

a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. ii. f. 9 But Kalander seeing him [sc. Musidorus] faint more and more, with carefull speede conueyed him to the most commodious lodging in his house.

1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 374 His cough breaketh more and more.

1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6024 Thereby more and more to concenter the acid parts.

1681 London Gaz. No. 1625/1 They of Liege do every day more and more exasperate things.

1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. vii. 277 Men grow daily more and more wicked.

c1750 J. Gutteridge in Gentleman's Mag. (1819) May 394/2 Harwood, my townsman, he invented first Porter to rival wine, and quench the thirst. Porter,..Whose reputation rises more and more.

1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Death Wallenstein ii. iii. 45 Where's he that will unravel This tangle, ever tangling more and more?

1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 138 The Shepherd Lord was honour'd more and more.

1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 44 At this he blushed more and more.

1905 J. Brierley Eternal Relig. 100 Hence more and more the idea will prevail that ignorance, unskill in things,..is in itself a kind of lower morality.

1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. v. 252 Portia watched these preparations with growing misgivings; they made her dread more and more that Eddie might not come.

1990 New Age Oct. 56/2 The world grows smaller and smaller, more and more interdependent.

c. Modifying an adjective or adverb to form the comparative.With most adjectives and adverbs of more than one syllable, and with all those of more than two syllables, this is the normal mode of forming the comparative. A few monosyllables (e.g. real, right, wrong, just) normally form their comparatives in this way instead of taking the suffix -er. [Traces of periphrastic comparison are found in Old English in the use of ma , bet , and swiþor with participles and occasionally with adjectives. Periphrastic comparison of adjectives and adverbs with more (and for the superlative most : see most adv. 1b) is found from early Middle English, although only sporadically before the 14th cent. Unlike modern usage, in Middle English periphrastic comparison is more common with monosyllabic or disyllabic adjectives than with adjectives of three or more syllables, although it is less common than comparison with -er (or -most ) for adjectives of any length in Middle English; the development of the modern distribution is illustrated by the frequency with which formation of the comparison of adjectives with three or more syllables with -er rather than with more is criticized in 18th-cent. and later normative grammars. It is uncertain to what extent the emergence of periphrastic comparison in English was influenced by analogy with French comparison with plus and le plus or Latin comparison with magis and maxime ; confusion between and subsequent identity of form of most adj. and superlatives in -most suffix (see note at that entry) may also have aided the process. See also -er suffix³, -est suffix.]

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a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 Þes we ahte to beon þe edmoddre and þa mare imete.

?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 30 (MED) Of more reufule song herde he neuere singe.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Ruth iii. 3 Be wasschyn..& cloþed wiþ þe more worschepeful cloþes.

a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 858 And what es mar horibel in stede Þan a man es when he es dede?

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 30 Ay the langar the mare couatous.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 555 He beheld hir mayr ynkirly.

c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 10^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Mar(e Quhat is the circle of the mair perfect?

1636 in J. D. Marwick & R. Renwick Charters rel. Glasgow (1906) II. 598 Mair navigabill.

1650 J. Milton Tenure of Kings (ed. 2) 47 That men may yet more fully know the difference betwee[n] Protestant Divines, and these Pulpit-firebrands.

1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 6. ⁋2 He finds Rest more agreeable than Motion.

1788 A. Hughes Henry & Isabella I. 180 He was..more gallant, more generous, more everything that is agreeable in youth, than his brother.

1821 R. Southey in C. C. Southey Life & Corr. R. Southey (1850) V. 106 His merits are every day more widely acknowledged.

1851 W. S. Landor Popery 30 It is more just that a bishop's salary should be reduced to a thousand a-year than an admiral's to three hundred.

1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic 348 The true law is far more complicated.

1922 V. Woolf Jacob's Room ii. 40 She always meant to go to a more distant ridge.

1939 J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath i. 3 Then it was June, and the sun shone more fiercely.

1956 S. Bedford Legacy iii. i. 113 My brother has a system too, but yours is more interesting.

1983 M. Keane Time after Time i. 2 No dog ever had a more loving heart.

2000 Barron's 13 Mar. 5/1 These days it more properly belongs to the venture capitalist.

d. Modifying monosyllabic and disyllabic adjectives and adverbs which have otherwise an inflected comparative in -er, e.g. busy, high, slow, true.This form is often now used either for special emphasis or clearness, or to preserve a balance of phrase with other comparatives with ‘more’, or to modify the whole predicate rather than the single adjective or adverb, esp. when followed by than (see sense A. 2).

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c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 70 (MED) A meiden..feier & freolich o wlite & o westum, ah ȝet, þet is mare wurð, steðelfest wiðinnen.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 63 (MED) Ac þe leazinges likinde byeþ more grat zenne.

?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 235 (MED) Was neuer at Saynt Denys feste holden more hy.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 203 (MED) The thridde Ryuere..renneth more faste þan ony of the toþere.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 304 I am a jantyllman borne, and of more hyghe lygnage than thou.

1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance Pref. sig. av There shalbe or it be longe, a more ample remembrance.

1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 1278 Which yet to prove more true, he meant to see, And an ey-witnes of each thing to bee.

?1614 W. Drummond Song: It was the time in Poems Their Armes more white then milke.

1645 Ordinance Lords & Commons for keeping Scandalous Persons from Sacrament 1 Neuer had they more high and strong engagements.

1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 118 Thou wilt live more well, and die much better.

1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. xv. 112 Calanus an Indian Philosopher, being Dysenterical, obtained leave of Alexander to burn himself for more quick dispatch.

1723 J. Barker Patch-work Screen for Ladies 125 With such Agility and Ease they go, The piercing Lightning seems to move more slow.

1765 O. Goldsmith Ess. in Busy Body 13 Oct. 15 With a voice more rough than the Staffordshire Giant's.

1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere vi, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 36 Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high.

1803–5 W. Wordsworth Solitary Reaper 21 Or is it some more humble lay?

1853 W. Whewell tr. H. Grotius De Jure Belli I. i. iii. 99 The opposite opinion, as it is the more common, so does it seem to us the more true.

1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. v. vi. §3. 348 The tackle for dipping is much more simple than that employed in whipping.

1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War ix. 100 The bronze noon was more quiet but not less deadly than the morning.

1951 N. Marsh Opening Night vi. 139 ‘I couldn't be more sorry,’ Percival said weakly.

1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) ix. 237 Professors are busy people, made even more busy by the fact that they..complicate small matters.

e. Prefixed to the inflected comparative of the adjective or adverb. Now regional (chiefly Scottish) and humorous.Multiple comparison is common in standard use until the 18th cent.

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c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4349 Þu eær muchele ahtere & ec mare hærdere.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 61 An eddre..þet yernþ more zuyþere þanne hors.

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 64 Hi byeþ more worse þanne þe gyewes.

a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 320 (MED) Whanne þei ben boþe broken, it is þe more worse.

?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 17 (MED) Þat lond is meche more hottere þan it is here.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1172 Ye shulde have the same dethe, othir ellis a more shamefuller dethe.

c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1905) III. Prol. to Acts 2 Be schort telling, rathir than..mare langare.

1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxviii^v [He] thought it more surer to heare the fayre wordes of the Constable,..then to geue credit to theyr vntrew..doynges.

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. T.i^v More excellenter it can not be, nor more suttler.

1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales iv. i. 89 He vsed sometime largesse and lauishing; but more oftner industrie and diligence.

1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 15 I should be glad..to see a more equaller Balance among Sea-men, and their Imployers.

1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. vi. 115 Chives are thick, round and sharp pointed horns that stand in the middle of flowers, which in some are more slenderer than in others.

1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 166 Captain Hawes ship got clear, wearing more rounder.

1752 S. Foote Taste i. 8 I have heard, good Sir, that every Body has a more betterer, and more worserer Side of the Face than the other.

1792 R. Bage Man as he Is II. xxv. 9 I should be more happier to part with you.

1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 56 But Paris was to me More lovelier than all the world beside.

1836 Chinese Repository 4 434 ‘More soon, more better; sendee chop-chop,’ I told him.

1859 J. P. Robson Song of Solomon in Northumberland Dial. i. 4 We'll consithur thaw luve mair nicer nor wine.

1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxx. 264 It made me feel much more easier than what I was feeling before.

1928 A. A. Jack Angry Heart 130 More nearer forty.

1985 L. Lochhead True Confessions 21 Oh life in Bohemia Could not 'ave been more seamier.

f. With ellipsis of the word or sentence modified. Now frequently with anaphoric so (see so adv. and conj. 4a) in more so (also, chiefly U.S., moreso). (all) the more: the rather, the more so (as, because, etc.).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent

more thanc1485

more so1735

more by token1816

1340 Ayenbite (1866) 127 He ssolde by..yblissed ine þise wordle and more ine þe oþre.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xiv. 30 Ȝou self han seen for my eeȝen ben liȝtned, for þi þat I tastide a litil of þis hony; myche more [a1425 L.V. hou myche more; L. quanto magis] if þe puple hadde etyn of þe prey of þeir enemys.

?1463 R. Cutler in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 260 And heuery man wyl sey wel þer-of, þe more cause he is a gentyl-man..and in gret penure.

1554 F. van Brunswick tr. A. de Montulmo Ryghte Excellente Treat. Astron. sig. E vj Mars..signifieth that mortal war shall happen amongest men, and the more because of his retrogradacion.

1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. Aa.iii^v I will we defar the wholl vntill to morow, the more for I thinke it well done we folow the L. Iulians counsell.

1640 O. Sedgwick Christs Counsell 84 How much more, when thy crowne is losing!

1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. i. x. 22 I may at this Day admire 'em the more, because I understand 'em somewhat better; tho' even still I am far from pretending that I sufficiently do so.

1735 G. Berkeley Def. Free-thinking in Math. §28 This is so plain that nothing can be more so.

1788 J. Madison in Federalist Papers lvii. 158 The districts in New Hampshire in which the senators are chosen immediately by the people, are nearly as large as will be necessary for her representatives in the congress. Those of Massachusetts are larger than will be necessary for that purpose. And those of New-York still more so.

1816 J. Austen Emma I. xii. 209 ‘I only want to know that Mr. Martin is not very, very bitterly disappointed.’ ‘A man cannot be more so,’ was his short, full answer.

1852 M. Arnold Farewell viii I too have wish'd, no woman more, This starting, feverish heart away.

1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales lii ‘Are the Welsh..as clannish as the Highlanders?’ said I. ‘Yes’, said he, ‘and a good deal more’.

1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. Prol. i. 7 The English servant was dressed like his master, but ‘more-so’.

1927 Dict. National Biogr. 1912–21 306/2 He loved Sir Walter Scott, all the more because he shared Scott's infinite love and sympathy with humanity.

1955 M. Allingham Beckoning Lady xi. 161 The only artists I've ever met were just like me only more so.

1980 P. O'Brian Surgeon's Mate (1992) iv. 120 He regretted it all the more because with the years Sir Joseph's tendency to prolixity had grown.

1997 C. Shaw Sc. Myths & Customs x. 223 Anyone perceived as being different from society's norms was a potential target—no-one moreso than the local wise-woman.

†g. Chiefly Scottish. more than: (used to exclude or deny a second sentence element that is parallel with one in a previous negative clause) in any greater degree than, to any greater extent than. Cf. any more adj., pron., n., and adv., no more pron. and n. 2. Obsolete.

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the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent

more thanc1485

more so1735

more by token1816

c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 214 A wood man..has na knaulage of wit na resoun mare than a beste.

a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 66 [There] suld..haue bene..na schame mare of thai membris nore thar wse, na js now of seing ore hering.

?1572 R. Sempill Premonitioun Barnis of Leith (single sheet) Nane of Scottis blude: In Scotland dar him self auow, Mair nor in Iurie dois the Iow.

1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts i. 560 Is there any reason in you..why I should respect you more than the very Ethiopians?

1838 J. Grant Sketches London 209 Faith, Sir! she did not come back again at a', mair than the ither.

h. more than ever (before): to an even greater degree.

ΚΠ

1559 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Troas v. sig. F.ii^v Astonied much the people were, and all, they her commende. And nowe much more then euer earst, they praysde her, at her ende.

1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades x. 186 Now more than euer must you striue, and put your force in vre, Sallet on head, and sword in hand, for nought must not be sure.

1595 R. Parry Moderatus vii. 80 No disquietnesse may be compared to the griefe of minde, wherewith he was continually vexed, and nowe much more then euer before, supposing that Floridas sudden departure was a Kalender of his ensuing calamities.

1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. iii. x Rustico's desire was more than ever inflamed at the sight of her beauty.

1650 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Exact Hist. Late Revol. Naples i. 24 Masaniello..began more then ever by sound of Drum to suscitat the peeple.

1705 G. Lockhart Let. to Duke Athole 15 Oct. in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. viii. 62 Her Majesty having now, more than ever before, devoted herself and interest to the Whigs, the Torys have no hopes of being succesfull in allmost anything..during this parliament.

1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 224 I felt more than ever how dear he was to me.

a1781 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip III (1783) iii. 172 The affairs of the Portuguese in India were more than ever neglected by the government at home.

1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. vi. 117 The bridge became more than ever an object of superstitious awe.

a1864 J. Clare Later Poems (1984) 50 When farewell upon my lips did quiver & all seemed lost—I loved her more then ever.

1895 T. Hardy Jude i. ii. 15 Jude went out,..feeling more than ever his existence to be an undemanded one.

1902 W. S. Maugham Mrs. Craddock xiv. 137 In his top-boots he looked more than ever the fox-hunting country squire.

1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 97 Annequin..had become more than ever a shell-trap.

1957 Economist 5 Oct. 31 To-day, more than ever before, exporters must plan globally, especially in view of the growing economic importance of the world's new markets.

1995 Guardian 14 Nov. ii. 7/1 They..note all the terrible contradictions that beset teenage girls, who now, more than ever before, are waylaid by forces that suggest they become everything except themselves.

i. to be (also act, etc.) more —— than the —— (themselves, etc.): to have adopted or developed the characteristics proper to the specified group or individual to a greater degree than the latter. Frequently depreciative. [In quot. 1845 translating German lutherischer als die Lutherischen (1842), itself echoing die aller besten Lutherischen (Luther, 1528); compare also French être plus royaliste que le roi ‘to be more royalist than the king’ (1814 or earlier, said to date from the time of Louis XVI), post-classical Latin Hibernicis ipsis Hibernior ‘more Irish than the Irish’ (recorded in use by R. H. Barham in 1843 in R. H. D. Barham Life & Lett. R. H. Barham (1870) II. 166).]

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1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. 499 Luther said, the papist Junkers were in this respect more Lutheran than the Lutherans themselves.

1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiv. 453 To reason more Jesuitically than the Jesuits themselves.

1859 Sat. Rev. 7 304/2 In all that makes religion objective, as he would say, the Church of Humanity is more churchish than the Church.

1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vii. [Aeolus] 115 How a Great Daily Organ is turned out... Nature Notes. Cartoons. Phil Blake's weekly Pat and Bull story... More Irish than the Irish.

1960 O. Manning Great Fortune iii. 219 They have become more Nazi than the Nazis.

1991 N.Y. Times c4/2 The decade was in many ways more 60's-ish than the 60's.

j. colloquial. more like: nearer (a specified number or quantity). Cf. like adj., adv., conj., and prep. Phrases 6c.

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1902 W. Headlam in Classical Rev. 16 348/1 Some 200 conjectures.., among which Mr. Housman considered 4 quite certain; I gladly adopted more like 12 in my prose version.

1982 Nature 11 Mar. 102/1 If most British dwellings can be ‘cabled up’—linked to some broadband distribution system capable of handling more like forty than four distinct video signals, as at present.

1994 Wine Spectator 31 Dec. 53/2 For vintage–dated Champagne, the bracket is more like $35 to $55 for most brands.

k. Caribbean (originally Jamaican). much more: (following a negative statement, with (sometimes illogical) ellipsis) much less.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent

moeOE

moreOE

furtherc1050

greaterc1230

furthermorea1300

heldera1400

largerlya1425

any more1533

farthera1535

furtherfortha1542

preferentially1864

worse1883

much more1912

1912 C. McKay Songs of Jamaica 59 Dere is no star fe light de way, much more de wite roun' moon.

1946 in Dict. Jamaican Eng. at Much more We could hardly breathe, much more touch.

1995 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage at Much adv. From a child my father never hit me in my own home, much more you the man I married.

2. Modifying one predicate or predicative adjunct as being applicable in greater measure or degree than another. Frequently either indicating that the one predicate, etc., is more correct than the other, or implying that this one is true, and the other not. Also used without a second predicate, etc., to indicate that this is the only one offered, there being no other. Cf. rather adv. 5.

ΚΠ

a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 39 (MED) Þe soðe luue of godd, hie is mare on werkes ðanne on wordes.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 1 Paralip. xi. 18 Þanne þese þre..wenten & drowen watir..& broȝten to dauiþ þat he schulde drynken þe whiche wolde not, but more [a1425 L.V. rather] offrede it to þe lord.

c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible f. 92 (MED) Loueris of lustis more þan of god.

1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 104 Fro day to day they apayred more thenne amended.

c1480 (a1400) St. Luke 40 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 247 Luke mad his ewangel syne, of thingis hard mar þan of sene.

1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. iv. sig. B^v He shall let fall all, And be more frayd than hurt.

1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 29 Which..was done more of pride than of compassion.

1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ii. sig. O2^v More huge in strength, then wise in workes he was.

1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes xxxv, in Wks. I. 778 A Prince, that rules by'example, more than sway.

1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 3 But here our Authors make a doubt, Whether he were more wise, or stout.

1694 Bp. J. Robinson Acct. Sueden iv. 47 This..qualifies them more for a Life of Labour and Fatigue, than of Art and Curiosity.

1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 20 More expedient for y^e clouding than clearing of the Scriptures.

1734 tr. C. Rollin Rom. Hist. III. vii. 449 Much more able with his tongue than his sword.

1799 H. More Strict. Mod. Syst. Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 147 To these have been opposed, with more presumption than prudence, the rights of woman.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. xxvi. 146 More dead than alive.

1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 331 The Puritans were more fanatical than superstitious.

1899 Westm. Gaz. 17 Aug. 2/1 The railways are laid more with a strategical purpose than with a view to [etc.].

1924 ‘Sapper’ Third Round vii. 189 The genuine Professor Scheidstrun appeared to be a harmless old poop, who was more sinned against than sinning.

1950 R. Heinlein Farmer in Sky vi. 58 George says I'm more acrobat than acrophobe.

1963 R. S. Thomas Bread of Truth 38 His arm half Lifted was more to ward off My foolishness.

1991 Newsweek 16 Dec. 82/2 He has more zest for argument than wisdom regarding what is worth arguing about.

a. more or less (also †less or more, †more or min, etc.): in a greater or lesser degree; to a greater or lesser extent; to all intents and purposes, virtually, essentially; nearly, almost. Also in negative contexts: not at all, hardly at all. Also occasionally as an adjectival phrase (esp. in Linguistics): designating a question which is answerable only in terms of degree (cf. yes-or-no adj. at yes adv., n., and int. Phrases 4).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > approximately (an amount) [phrase] > to a greater or lesser degree

more or less (also less or more, more or min, etc.)?c1225

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 74 Efter þet me luueð him mare oðer lesse.

c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 536 Ȝif þi neiheboure misdoþ þe, More or lasse wheiþer hit be.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1951 Riht so ne mor ne lesse.

?c1425 (c1390) G. Chaucer Fortune 61 The see may ebbe and flowen more or lesse.

?a1475 Lessons of Dirige (Douce) 143 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 125 Though I offende more or mynne.

1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 27^v Ought to folowe hym more or lesse euery persone after his habilite.

1593 T. Mortimer Will in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 338 I geue to my wife Aules merttimer A pese of de mayene groune..by estimacion vij ackeres or There A bout bet more or Les.

1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. iv. 74 This fluxe continued lesse or more for some few dayes after.

1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 182 It will more or less job against every Letter.

1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 21. ¶3 Lawyers..that are more or less passionate according as they are paid for it.

1755 Guthrie's Trial 112 (Jam.) The soul is pursued for guilt more or less, and is not law-biding; Christ Jesus is the city of refuge.

1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 827 Formerly fluxes more or less compound were employed for these purposes.

1855 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) I. 39 I certainly never believed, more or less, in the ‘essential doctrines’ of Christianity.

1863 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 173 I had had pain more or less in my left arm for two months.

1940 J. Buchan Memory Hold-the-Door v. 97 Lord Cromer, who had more or less educated himself, loved dearly a learned reference; even Lord Curzon could unbend joyfully and talk books.

1962 J. L. Austin et al. How to do Things with Words xii. 150 I call then these classes of utterance..by the following more-or-less rebarbative names:..Verdictives..Exercitives [etc.].

1963 Language 39 460 As far as the bees are concerned, it is clear that their behavior resembles that of an analog computer.., that is, a control machine of the more-or-less type, and not at all of a digital computer, of a yes-or-no type.

1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Ling. Sci. v. 124 But this, like synonymy, is a ‘more or less’ not a ‘yes or no’ relation.

1975 Country Life 13 Feb. 386/2 Every more-or-less sound horse was purchased for the Expeditionary Force by Civilian Re-mount Purchasing Officers.

1984 T. Mallon Bk. of one's Own (1985) ii. 42 The telephone has more or less killed letter-writing, and the camera has dealt a pretty severe blow to the travel diary.

2015 N. Smith tr. J. Nesbo Blood on Snow ix. 62 By that time..I had a more-or-less failed criminal career behind me.

†b. more and less (also more and min): altogether, entirely, as a whole. Cf. sense D. 1. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase]

more and lessa1400

by greatc1475

of greatc1503

more and min1578

as a whole1643

a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13664 (MED) Þair strijf he wist bath less and mare.

a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) 290 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 116 (MED) Lordis hande hath towched me more and myn.

c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 306 (MED) Clad all in purpur was she more & lesse.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 29 Quhat I haif tholit les and mair.

1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 243 I sall ȝow schaw the mater mair and min.

II. Additionally, in addition.

a. In negative, interrogative, or hypothetical contexts: in repetition or continuance of what has taken place up to a particular time; further, longer, again. Now poetic and regional (Shetland).The sense is equivalent to the now much more common adverbial use of any more (cf. sense B. 3a and any more adj., pron., n., and adv.). See also no more adv. Cf. evermore adv. and n., nevermore adv., once more at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 1.

ΚΠ

OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 46 Ne nan ne dorste of ðam dæge hyne nan þing mare axigean.

lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1129 Se þe þæt ne wolden done forgede his circe & his hus & his ham & nefra ma nan clepunge þær to na hafde mare.

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 6103 Heo to Brut-londe nolden maren senden gold ne garsume.

a1300 Passion our Lord 39 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 38 (MED) Anon he hyne byleuede more to vondy.

c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 304 Noght oo word spak he moore than was neede.

c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 265 Ther was noon with Gamelyn wolde wrastle more.

a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 3582 (MED) We ben vndone for euer here-after more.

1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. I Reueale any more his sute he durst not, because when he began to chat of loue she shakt him off.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 295 If thou more murmur'st.

1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 83. ⁋3 Little did I think I should ever have Business of this Kind on my Hands more.

1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 272. ¶1 She is now odious to her Mistress for having so often spoke well of me, that she dare not mention me more.

1785 W. Cowper Task v. 91 Where neither grub, nor root, nor earth-nut, now Repays their labour more.

1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 11 He ne'er again, at kirk or fair, Durst ever wi' her taigle mair.

1870 J. Ruskin Lect. Art vii. §182 Since their day, painting has never flourished more.

1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche iv. xiv. 45 But never call me woman more, if soon I cannot lure her from her height divine.

1902 A. Austin Tale of True Love 37 She is gone, and we shall never see her more.

1986 R. A. Jamieson Thin Wealth 150 He'll never be back in Glimmerwick more.

b. In addition to what has been specified or implied; further, besides; (of time) longer, from now (on), from then (on). Now used only after a designation of quantity or number (definite or indefinite).

ΚΠ

a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 3 (MED) Aduent..lasteð þre wuke fulle and sum del more.

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 314 Seggen..pater noster biuoren & Aue marie. efter mete alse & acrede mare [a1250 Nero moare].

a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 454 For the harm that myghte ek fallen moore.

1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 314 I wat nocht quhat mar say sall I.

1503 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 218 For ane steik bukram and vj quartaris mair to lyne the samyn.

1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 374 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 272 Baith breid and wyne and vþir thingis moir.

1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 41^v Of siluer, golde, or precious stones, and treasures many more.

c1578 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 241 The Lord Chauncellor..fee 419l. 0s. 0d. For his attendance in the Star-chamber, 200 0 0. More, by the names of annuities 300 0 0.

1587 F. Thynne Ann. Scotl. 430/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II To which he more added these speeches.

1589 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 142 Item, fyvetene schillingis for the price of ane hogheid; item, mair, twentie sex schillingis viij^d. for ane lang courchay; item, mair, twentie schillingis for ane cod and codwair.

1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 173 One thing more, That woman-hood denies my tong to tell.

1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes xxxiii, in Wks. I. 777 Ile not offend thee with a vaine teare more.

a1643 W. Cartwright Lady-errant v. i, in Comedies (1651) sig. e4^v This foreside blow Cuts off thrice three, this back-blow thrice three more.

1698 S. Clarke Scripture-justif. xii. 61 That I may give down-weight, I shall add these Reasons more.

1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 35 It will ripen in about a Month's time more.

1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 237 I won't have one Creature touch'd more, upon Pain of Death.

1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. i. 6 After an interval of twelve years, we had two sons more.

1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xv. 501 Only three years more were added to the term of his exile.

1800 S. T. Coleridge in Sir H. Davy's Rem. (1858) 82 I am compelled..to give a volume of letters from Germany, which will be a decent lounge book, and not an atom more.

1858 C. Patmore Espousals x, in Angel in House (ed. 2) II. 276 At Church, in twelve hours more, we meet!

1885 J. Runciman Skippers & Shellbacks 248 I'll snap your backbone across my knee if you meg half a second more.

1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 117 Pony up, boys. We'll have just one little smahan more.

1937 Amer. Home Apr. 50/2 Increase to 325° F. and bake about 30 minutes more.

1993 Discover Feb. 24/1 In a telomere, though, the same sequences of nucleotides is repeated over and over, a thousand times more.

a. [ < more (in sense B. 1) followed by than with an expression of number, amount, or quantity, used adverbially. Compare similar uses of plus quam in classical Latin. < ] more than.

(a) (With an expression of number, amount, or quantity) by an amount exceeding the number or quantity specified; similarly with multiplicative numerals, as more than once (corresponding to more than one treated as a unitary expression).

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent > in some specific respect

more thanOE

OE Homily: Invention of Cross (Auct. F.4.32) in M.-C. Bodden Old Eng. Finding of True Cross 83 Ic nat hit ne ne can forþan hit wæs gedon mare þonne for hundtiontigum gærum & ic eom iung & þæt ne geman.

?a1300 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Digby) (1907) 60 (MED) More þen xxx vinter hit is agon Þat þu hauest fonded me.

c1400 (?c1308) Adam Davy's 5 Dreams (1878) 38 (MED) It is more þan twelue moneþ gon.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 196 (MED) Þe scriptur of þaim is mor þan ccclxxij yere old.

a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. Prol. 12 Reid agane this volume mair than twys.

?1553 Respublica (1952) i. ii. 6 And yonder he cometh me thinketh more then half madde.

1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xviii Sheepe, which haue very long tayles more then a foote long.

1696 J. Dryden Lucian in Prose Wks. (1800) III. 360 For this reason he calls himself more than once an Assyrian.

1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 85 The earthquake..overwhelmed a chain of mountains of free stone more than 300 miles long.

1868 M. E. Grant Duff Polit. Surv. 48 His territories in Asia..are more than twenty-one times the size of Scotland.

1946 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Feb. 62/3 Erasmus sat to him more than once.

1990 A. Lurie Don't tell Grown-ups ii. 17 More than 150 years later it was still believed in high-minded progressive circles that fairy tales were unsuitable for children.

(b) Modifying an adjective, adverb, verb, or noun, indicating that the word thus modified is (in some obvious respect) inadequate to the intended meaning (sometimes hyphenated when the whole phrase is itself a premodifier); hence also in derivatives, as more-than-oneness.

ΚΠ

1572 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 168 The grit murtheris and mair then beastlie crewelteis usit..aganis the trew Christianis.

1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 58 It is..more then conjectured, that Mahomet grounded his devised Paradise, upon the Poets invention of Elisium.

a1626 F. Bacon Controv. Church Eng. in Wks. (1879) I. 344 It is more than time that there were an end..made of this immodest..manner of writing.

1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Third 9 So frequent Death, Sorrow, He more than causes, He confounds.

1777 Earl of Chatham Speech on Addr. 18 Nov. These more than popish cruelties.

1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 15 Dec. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 163 The orator was more than usually brilliant.

1819 Ld. Byron Mazeppa xiii. 521 'Twas more than noon.

1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 203 Places that it was hardly safe to have descended at more than a walk.

1847 B. Disraeli Tancred II. iii. v. 80 O, my more than sister, 'tis hell!

1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide xix. §116 My much more than disrespect for the Jamaica Committee.

1881 Punch 23 July 25/2 The same aged lover was bidding, with rather a ‘plummy’ voice, the More-than-Middle-Aged Heroine ‘good bye for ever’.

1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. p. xxvii The words trees, towns, boys, form an association-group through having the..meanings ‘more-than-oneness’ in common.

1960 Observer 20 Mar. 7 A greater degree of restraint in lending would be more than welcome to the authorities.

1994 Economist 17 Dec. 97/2 Strong Al..has been more-than-partially eclipsed by approaches that rely on using computers' ability to scan lots of information fast to spot patterns.

2003 Rev. Eng. Stud. 54 675 One more-than-quibble, however: all these..devices would have been enhanced by an index.

b. neither more nor less than and variants: exactly, precisely, (that) and nothing else. [Compare French ni plus ni moins que (earlier ne plus ne moins que, 1532 or earlier in Middle French), ni plus ni moins.]

ΚΠ

a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xvi. 440 (MED) For his vesage As brenneng Fyr it was To him there semeng, neþer more ne las.

a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 8 (MED) Boyle hom up with alle, no more ne mynne.

a1500 tr. La Belle Dame sans Mercy (Cambr.) 305 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 91 (MED) For my desyr is noþer mor ne lesse, But my seruysse to do, for your plesaunce.

1655 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) v. 164 Whose number was neither more nor lesse then the Poets nine Muses.

1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels I. 80 The Edification whereof would be best promoted by attributing to those Workmen neither more nor less than their Due.

1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. i. 110 The drama, which he will have contain neither more nor less than five Acts.

1790 F. Burney Diary Aug. (1842) V. 152 He left me neither more nor less than deluged in tears.

1828 Ld. Grenville Sinking Fund 45 The farmer who has sold his wheat at its market price, has obtained for it neither more nor less than a just equivalent.

1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xviii. 370 The first step which I took..was a very bold one. It was neither more nor less than the establishment of a shop for the sale of Testaments.

1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island ii. xi. 88 By a ‘gentleman of fortune’ they plainly meant neither more nor less than a common pirate.

1900 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 462 The ‘lucid matter’ of space is neither more nor less than star-spawn.

1947 H. Bongers Hist. & Princ. Vocab. Control i. iii. 56 The vocabulary of a language consists of:..Units neither more nor less than single words written without a break... These have been conveniently termed ‘monologs’.

1968 P. Martin tr. M. Pallottino Meaning of Archaeol. 160 The people of the Mycenaean civilization..were neither more nor less than the forebears of the Greeks of history.

a. As a sentence adverb: furthermore, in addition. Formerly frequently in nay more (now archaic), and more (rare in later use). Formerly also †more above. Cf. mairatour adv., moreover adv.

ΚΠ

?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 230 Ȝet Mare his children sone se he sunegede deadliche deiden alle clone.

a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 2446 (MED) And more yit, Of Chapmanhode he fond the weie.

1466 in F. B. Bickley Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 235 (MED) Item more, ij hygh Awter clothes..and more, a Massebooke..and more, and hoole Awbe, [etc.].

a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 85 Mair, it had bene goode for the commone weill of Scottland that [etc.].

1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 127 This in obedience hath my daughter showne me, And more about hath his solicitings..All giuen to mine eare.

1605 in M. Cash Devon Inventories 16th & 17th Cent. (1966) 20 A peare of silver Crookes..more two Chestes... More a peare of water barrells.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iv. 177 We are betroathd: nay more, our mariage howre..Determin'd of.

1683 T. Creech tr. Lucretius De Natura Rerum (ed. 2) ii. 43 But more, tis nothing strange that every Mass Seems quiet and at rest.

1734 M. Barber Poems 39 Was early learn'd, nay more, was early wise.

1762 T. Bridges Homer Travestie I. iv. 189 She guides his weapon where she list; Nay more, a touch of her soft hand, If fallen down, will make him stand.

1816 J. Keats Epist. to C. C. Clarke 57 Miltonian storms, and more, Miltonian tenderness.

1870 G. W. Dasent Ann. Eventful Life (ed. 4) II. 15 He was industrious, and more, he was handsome.

1905 A. R. Whitham Watchers by Cross ii. 15 Tradition..tells us that she was wealthy, influential and beautiful, and yet before her conversion living a life of worldliness,—more, a life of deadly sin.

1997 Chicago Tribune 17 Aug. vii. 10/4 More, too often, both Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal seem to be coasting on automatic pilot.

b. Chiefly Scottish and Irish English (northern). more betoken (also, chiefly Scottish, more by token, more for token, etc.) [compare token n. 15] : especially, in particular; moreover, besides. Also more belike (English regional (Yorkshire)): especially.

ΚΠ

a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 218 An auld wheelbarrow, mair for token, Ae leg an' baith the trams are broken.

1816 W. Scott Antiquary III. xi. 237 Ane suldna speak ill o' the dead—mair by token, o' ane's cummer and neighbour.

1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. xxi. 286 Our only danger will be from drug or pill; more by token, as there is a lot of apothecary's stuff aboard.

1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner i. 8 All this Jem swore he had seen, more by token, that it was the very day he had been mole-catching on Squire Cass's land.

1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down More betoken, besides, generally used when adding a circumstances to prove the correctness of a statement.

1885 D. Boucicault Shaughraun i. i. 11 To be sure, wasn't you by, and helped to persuade him? More betoken, you were a witness to the deed.

1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 160/2 [W. Yorkshire] More belike, more especially.

1930 Aberdeen Univ. Rec. Mar. 103 Mair b'token, the third scythe 'at vera year, aul' Tom Watson, wiz a lad o' that kin'.

1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. (at cited word) More betoken, moreover, besides; more especially.

c. Scottish and Irish English (northern). the more: although. Sc. National Dict. (1965) records the conjunction as still in use in south-west Scotland.

ΚΠ

1833 J. Kennedy Geordie Chalmers v. xv No praising mysel the mair I say't.

1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down at The more He did it, the more he said he wouldn't.

1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. (at cited word) I don't approve of the local dialect, the more it is spoken very widely in the community.

†D. n.³ As a comparative corresponding to great.

1. With plural agreement. People of high rank. more and less (also more and min): persons of all ranks; everyone without exception. (neither) more nor less: no one. Cf. great n. 2b, much pron. and n. 3. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > people collectively > [noun] > all people

all the worldOE

all ledea1275

more and minc1275

most and leasta1300

much and litec1330

mo and lessc1426

the whole world1530

cut and long tail1576

universal1596

general1604

universality1606

university1677

all outdoors1833

John Q.1937

the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is more important

morec1275

major1626

organ-grinder1957

c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15600 Nefden heo nane are of þan lasse no of þan mare.

c1300 Assumption of Virgin (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1901) l. 62 Heo seruede boþe lasse and more.

c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 4252 (MED) Þer ne scapede lasse ne more.

c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6650 ‘As armes!’ gred alle..Boþe þe more & þe lasse.

a1400 (?c1300) Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Royal) (1879) 136 Haue mercie on vs, more & mynne.

a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 345 I woll nat be knowyn of neythir more ne lesse.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 22 (MED) Fare well les, & fare well more..I will go me to hyde.

a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 148 (MED) Folk shall bow vnto his hand Both more and myn.

1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 43 Christ..gaif the same Till his Apostillis mair and min.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iv. 12 Both more and lesse haue giuen him the Reuolt, And none serue with him.

1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason vi. 116 Thereat was Argo brought up to the shore, And straight all landed from her, less and more.

2. [After post-classical Latin maior (Vulgate): compare major adj. 5.]

a. With plural agreement. Forefathers, ancestors. Also in plural. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun]

elder-fathereOE

fatherOE

elder971

alderOE

eldfatherOE

forme-fadera1200

ancestorc1300

grandsirec1300

aiela1325

belsirea1325

predecessora1325

forefather1377

morea1382

progenitorc1384

antecessorc1400

forn-fatherc1460

forebear1488

ancient1540

antecestrec1550

fore-grandsirec1550

grandfather1575

ascendant1604

forerunnera1616

ancienter1654

tupuna1845

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 4 Kings xv. 7 Þei birieden hym with his moris [L. maioribus] in þe cite of dauiy [read dauiþ].

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Paralip. xxi. 19 Þe puple dide not to hym þe deadis offis after þe maner of brennyng as it hadde don to þe more [a1425 L.V. grettere ether auncetris] of hym.

b. With plural agreement. Elders. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > old person > [noun] > old people collectively

morea1382

old folkc1385

aged1535

ancientry1548

olds1883

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxxii. 7 Aske þy fader, & he shal telle to þe, þy more [a1425 L.V. grettere men; L. maiores] & þei shal say to þe.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judges xi. 5 Þe more þurgh burthe [a1425 L.V. grettere men in birthe; L. maiores natu] wentyn fro galaad.

c. An older person. Also: the oldest. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > people > person > old person > [noun]

oldeOE

morea1382

olderc1450

ancient1502

mouldy chopsa1640

antediluvian1648

prediluvian1690

emerit1710

pelt1757

old fogey1793

antique1801

relic1832

old head1838

oldster1846

elderling1863

the Ancient of Days1935

senior citizen1938

OAP1942

golden ager1948

coffin dodger1954

wrinkly1972

crumbly1976

geriatric1977

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xliv. 12 Aserching bygynning fro þe more [a1425 L.V. mooste] vnto þe leest.

a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings v. 9 He smot þe men of eche citee fro litil vn to more [L. maiorem].

c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible f. 129^v (MED) Þe more shulde serue to þe lasse.

c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 354 (MED) One lete hym witt þat þe more of his sons was dead.

3. Something that is greater or larger (of two things compared). Usually with the. Cf. less pron. and n. 3a. Obsolete.

ΘΚΠ

the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > condition of being more than another > (a) greater amount

advantage1340

morea1398

vantage1398

the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > quality of being larger > one who or that which is

morea1398

bigger1546

a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 160 Fisshe is dyuerse in etyng, ffor somme eteþ eueryche oþer..and þe lesse is þe mores [L. maioris] mete.

c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 101 (MED) God ordand then grett lyghtys two..The moyr be for the day to go And the lesse to the nyȝt at attent.

a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 121 Looke þow haue tarrers two, a more & lasse for wyne.

a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 8266 If hir light bi day i-take be For þe sunne we may not hir y-se, For two liȝtis to-gidre wore, þe lasse is not i-seyn for þe more.

1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) 70 Nedes must the lesse be conteyned within the more.

1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliiii^v Euery cause is more and worthyer than thynge caused, and in that mores possessyon, al thinges lesse ben compted.

†E. prep. = plus prep. 1a.

Obsolete.

ΚΠ

1545 in State Papers Henry VIII (1830) I. 796 Item, 2 of the gretest hulkes that may be gotten, more the hulkes that rydeth within the havyn.

1694 W. Holder Treat. Harmony vi (plate facing p. 155) 5 to 4 more Diesis... 5 to 3, more Diesis & comma.

1706 W. Jones Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos 67 That Number more one.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

单词	more
释义	moren.¹ Brit. /mɔː/, U.S. /mɔr/, Canadian English /mɔr/ Forms: Old English moru, Old English–1500s 1700s– more, late Old English mora (rare), Middle English morre, Middle English 1800s– mor, Middle English–1600s moore, 1500s maure, 1500s moare, 1700s– maur, 1700s– moar, 1700s– moor, 1800s– mar, 1800s– mawer, 1800s– mawr, 1800s– mawre, 1800s– moer, 1800s– moir. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: < the Germanic base of Old Saxon moraha (Middle Low German mȫre), Old High German moraha, more (Middle High German morhe, morche, more, German Möhre carrot; a form without umlaut is preserved in German Mohrrübe), probably cognate with Russian morkov′ carrots (although at least some Slavonic forms are possibly borrowings from a Germanic language), and perhaps with ancient Greek βράκανα wild herbs, Latvian burkāns carrot.In Old English, in common with other short syllable weak feminine nouns (see A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §619.4), also with a by-form that has gone over to the ō-stem declension. Now chiefly English regional (south-western) and Newfoundland. 1. a. Originally: an edible root, as a carrot or parsnip. Later gen.: the root of a tree or plant; the fibrous roots of a tap root, etc. Also: tree stump. Now chiefly English regional (south-western) and Newfoundland. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > part of plant > root > [noun] moreeOE rootc1175 master-rootc1330 rootinga1400 radix1558 leg1597 taproot1601 top-root1651 tuberous root1668 heart-root1669 pivot1725 spill1766 tap1796 tutty-more1873 pneumatophore1891 stem root1901 heart-root1903 the world > plants > part of plant > part of tree or woody plant > [noun] > stump stock862 moreeOE stub967 zuche1358 stumpc1440 scrag1567 stool1577 brock1772 stow1774 hagsnar1796 stab1807 spronk1838 tree stool1898 the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > root vegetable > [noun] moreeOE rootOE bread-kind1697 provision1800 veld-kos1834 eOE Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) iii. viii. 312 Nim þas wyrte..wylisc moru, hnutbeames leaf,..clufþung, englisc moru, dynige. OE Brussels Gloss. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 301 Pastinace, moran. OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1900) II. 232 Se leofode on wæstene be wyrta morum lange. OE tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Vitell.) vii. 258 Ete nardes ear & wælwyrte moran. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 139 (MED) Moren and wilde uni was his mete. ?a1200 (?OE) Peri Didaxeon (1896) 35 Nim þanne earixena wyrtrumma and glædene more. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15917 Heo l[i]feden bi wurten. bi moren and bi rote. c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) 284 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 227 Ȝwite moren, ase it of herbes were, bi-fore heom he sette al-so. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 7228 A grene wexinge tre þat is fram þe more Ismite adoun..wanne it is..Itorn aȝen to is riȝte more..& biginþ to blowe, [etc.]. c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. xv. 289 (MED) Marie Magdeleyne by mores [c1400 C text moorus] lyued and dewes. c1460 (?c1400) Tale of Beryn 1056 (MED) A man I-passid ȝowith & is with-out lore May be wele I-likened to a tre without more. a1472 in J. J. Wilkinson Receipts & Expenses Bodmin Church (1875) 1 For olde tymber and moris, xj^d. 1486 Bk. St. Albans sig. biij Take the Juce of percelly Moris otherwise calde percelly Rootis. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball iii. lxxxviii. 441 The roote putteth foorth many branches or moores, spread abrode here and there. 1599 T. Moffett Silkewormes 6 Long Plantaine, Hysope, Sage, and Comfrey moares. 1725 London Gaz. No. 6447/4 Taking up small Moors of Wood. 1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (at cited word) Maur, More, or Maur, also in Gloucestershire, signifies a root; as, a strawberry-more. 1796 W. Marshall Provincialisms W. Devonshire in Rural Econ. W. Eng. I. 328 Mores, roots, whether of grass or trees (the ordinary name). 1858 C. M. Yonge Christmas Mummers v. 64 ‘The whole tree! No..if you can get Jeremy there to spare you one of the mores you may have it.’ [Note] The roots of a tree when grubbed up. 1885 R. Jefferies Open Air 211 The mars or stocks of the plants that do not die away. c1900 in Regional Lang. Stud. Newfoundland (1978) 8 26 More or Mores, the long roots of a tree spread out under the ground, also applied to the roots of the pond lilly, or Beaver More. 1977 Newfoundland Q. Dec. 37 A fire was..started and banked with sawdust and blackberry mores. b. A plant, a flower. Now English regional (Devon). ΘΚΠ the world > plants > [noun] thingc1300 vegetablec1484 plantisouna1500 plantouna1500 vegetabilitya1500 vegetativea1500 plant1551 fellow creature1572 vegetal1591 morea1599 vegetive1602 vegetant1605 vegetationa1641 a1599 E. Spenser Canto Mutabilitie vii. x, in Faerie Queene (1609) sig. Ii And all the earth..Was dight with flowres, that voluntary grew Out of the ground,..Tenne thousand mores of sundry sent and hew, That might delight the smell, or please the view. 1882 H. Friend Gloss. Devonshire Plant Names 39 ‘I've got a fine more of that in my garden,’ the people will say, when speaking of a flower, plant, or shrub. 1979 N. Rogers Wessex Dial. 83/1 More,..the plant itself, as in a ‘strawberry more’. †2. figurative. Origin, source; lineage, stock. Obsolete.In Middle English often in phrases, as crop and more, root and more; top ne more, etc. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [noun] welleOE mothereOE ordeOE wellspringeOE fathereOE headeOE oreOE wellspringOE rootc1175 morea1200 beginningc1200 head wella1325 sourcec1374 principlea1382 risinga1382 springinga1382 fountain14.. springerc1410 nativity?a1425 racinea1425 spring1435 headspring?a1439 seminaryc1440 originationc1443 spring wellc1450 sourdre1477 primordialc1487 naissance1490 wellhead?1492 offspringa1500 conduit-head1517 damc1540 springhead1547 principium1550 mint1555 principal1555 centre1557 head fountain1563 parentage1581 rise1589 spawna1591 fount1594 parent1597 taproot1601 origin1604 fountainhead1606 radix1607 springa1616 abundary1622 rist1622 primitive1628 primary1632 land-spring1642 extraction1655 upstart1669 progenerator1692 fontala1711 well-eye1826 first birth1838 ancestry1880 Quelle1893 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 217 An gerd sal spruten of iesse more. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Duodecim Abusivis (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 103 Auaricia..heo is more [OE Corpus Cambr. 178 wyrtruma] of elchere wohnesse. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1328 An he ne con þe bet þar uore Of clerkes lore top ne more. c1275 (?c1250) Owl & Nightingale (Calig.) (1935) 1422 Vp to þe toppe from þe more. c1300 Pilate (Harl.) 1 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 111 Pilatus was a liþer man and com of liþer more. a1350 (?c1280) Conception of Mary (Ashm.) 225 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1875) 1st Ser. 76 (MED) Þer scholde springe A ȝerde of Jessees more of dauid þe kynge, & aflour scholde springe of þulke more also. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 325^v Oon is more and roote and welle of multitude. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) v. 25 As she that was the sothfast crop [v.r. Rote] and more Of al his lust or joies herebifore. a1500 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Chetham) l. 70 A ffeyrer child was nevure none bore, Sithe god spronge of Jesses more. Compounds † more-loor n. [ < more n.¹ + loor n.] Obsolete the collapse of a plant owing to undermining of the roots. ΚΠ 1733 J. Tull Horse-hoing Husbandry xiii. 75 Another sort of lodging Blight there is, which some Call Moar-Loore,..mostly happens on light Land; this is when the Earth sinking away from the Roots, leaves the bottom of the Stalk higher than the subsided Ground, and then the Plant..falls down to the Earth. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † moren.² Forms: Old English mar- (in compounds), Old English mur- (in compounds), Old English–early Middle English mor- (in compounds), Middle English moor, Middle English moore, Middle English more, Middle English mour. Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin mōrus. Etymology: < classical Latin mōrus mulberry tree, related to mōrum black mulberry, blackberry, apparently cognate with (unless borrowed from) ancient Greek μόρον black mulberry, blackberry, Armenian mor mulberry, blackberry. Obsolete. A mulberry tree. Also more-beam, more tree.Recorded earliest in compounds. ΘΚΠ the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > berry-bush or -tree > [noun] > mulberry bush moreeOE mulberrya1300 mulberry treec1350 the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fruit-tree or -plant > [noun] > tree or plant producing edible berries > mulberry bush moreeOE mulberrya1300 mulberry treec1350 eOE (Mercian) Vespasian Psalter (1965) lxxvii. 47 Occidit in grandine uineas eorum et moros eorum in pruna : ofslog in hegle wingeardes heara & marbeamas heara in forste. OE tr. Medicina de Quadrupedibus (Vitell.) ii. 238 Cyme to þam treowe þe man hateþ morbeam [L. ad arborem mori]. c1225 ( Ælfric Gloss. (Worcester) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 545 Morus, morbeam. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Luke xvii. 6 Ȝe schulen seye to this more tree [v.r. tree moor; L. arbori moro], Be thou drawun vp by the roote. a1500 (c1340) R. Rolle Psalter (Univ. Oxf. 64) (1884) lxxvii. 52 He sloghe..thaire mours in ryme froist. Compounds General attributive. more-berry n. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Old Test. Summary: Maccabees (Julius) in W. W. Skeat Ælfric's Lives of Saints (1900) II. 104 Þa hæðenan..mid morberium gebyldon þa ylpas, forðan þe morberian him is metta leofost. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online December 2021). † moren.⁴ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymon: Latin morum. Etymology: < post-classical Latin morum (a1250 in a British source), also (with alteration of gender, as a result of reinterpretation of mora , plural of morum , as feminine singular) mora (1363 in Chauliac), specific use of classical Latin mōrum mulberry (see more n.²). Obsolete. rare. A small swelling or tumour resembling a mulberry. ΘΚΠ the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > swelling > [noun] > a swelling or protuberance ampereOE kernelc1000 wenc1000 knot?c1225 swella1250 bulchc1300 bunchc1325 bolninga1340 botcha1387 bouge1398 nodusa1400 oedemaa1400 wax-kernel14.. knobc1405 nodule?a1425 more?c1425 bunnyc1440 papa1450 knurc1460 waxing kernel?c1460 lump?a1500 waxen-kernel1500 bump1533 puff1538 tumour?1541 swelling1542 elevation1543 enlarging1562 knub1563 pimple1582 ganglion1583 button1584 phyma1585 emphysema?1587 flesh-pimple1587 oedem?a1591 burgeon1597 wartle1598 hurtle1599 pough1601 wart1603 extumescence1611 hulch1611 peppernel1613 affusion1615 extumescency1684 jog1715 knibloch1780 tumefaction1802 hunch1803 income1808 intumescence1822 gibber1853 tumescence1859 whetstone1886 tumidity1897 Osler's node1920 ?c1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (Paris) (1971) 450 Of þe more [?a1425 N.Y. Acad. Med. mora; L. mora] and of þe warte of þe eyȝe liddes. Thise þinges forsoþe ben growynges oute hyngynge wiþoute þe skyn, moste in þe corner of þe eyȝe. 1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. lxxxxv A Moore or a lytle lumpe of flesshe the whiche dothe growe in the browes or eares or in a mannes foundment or other places. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2019). moren.⁵ Brit. /ˈmɔːreɪ/, U.S. /ˈmɔreɪ/ Origin: A borrowing from Latin. Etymons: Latin mōrē, mōs, mōrē mēō. Etymology: < classical Latin mōrē, ablative of mōs manner, custom (see moral adj.). In sense 1 forming post-classical Latin phrases, after classical Latin phrases such as mōrē Rōmānō, mōrē Asiaticō (in post-classical Latin also Hibernico more , 12th cent. in a British source; more Turquesco in Cervantes: see quot. 1612 at sense 1) < mōrē + Rōmānō , Asiaticō , etc., ablative of adjective designating a particular nation or ethnic group; compare also mōrē maiōrum more majorum adv. In sense 2 < classical Latin mōrē mēō (tūō, etc.) < mōrē + mēō (tūō, etc.), ablative of possessive adjective.Compare isolated borrowing of classical Latin mōrē antīquō in the ancient manner ( < mōrē + antīquō , ablative of antīquus antique adj.):1976 Classical Q. New Ser. 26 180 The neatness with which the passage fits in with others is striking, and some will continue to find it moving, more antiquo. 1. In post-classical Latin phrases with adjectives relating to countries, peoples, etc., used adverbially with the sense ‘in accordance with the customs or traditions of the country (people, etc.) specified’, as more anglico, more celtico, more hibernico, more hispanico, more latino, more turcesco, etc. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > customs, values, and civilization > customs, values, or beliefs of a society or group > [adverb] > by Turkish, Spanish, etc., custom more turcesco1612 more hispanico1943 1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes Don-Quixote: Pt. 1 iii. vi. 176 Hee spoke to his Lord with his Cap in his hand, his head bowed, and his body bended (more Turcesco) [Sp. more Turquesco]. 1828 E. Bulwer-Lytton Pelham I. xxii. 177 I now sit, digesting with many a throe the iron thews of a British beef steak—more anglico, immeasurably tough. 1890 Athenatium 17 May 637/3 O'Byrne..gets shot by his followers, more Hibernico, in mistake for..Randal Fitzmaurice. a1896 G. Du Maurier Martian (1897) 271 Putting the cart before the horse, more Latino! 1935 Times Lit. 4 Apr. 222/2 The chiefdom..passed more Celtico to the Marquess of Huntly. 1943 G. Brenan Spanish Labyrinth vii. 154 The workmen..shot the offending mayor and, more hispanico, cut off his head and those of the police who had been killed in the fight and paraded them around the town. 1986 Oxf. Art Jrnl. Jan. 23/1 Gradenigo himself records the election on 29 Feb. 1759 more veneto..of two governors. 2. In post-classical Latin phrases with possessive adjectives, used adverbially. more meo (also more suo, more tuo): in my (also his, her, your) own way. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > kind or sort > individual character or quality > individual [phrase] > in one's own fashion more meoa1699 more suoc1842 a1699 P. Pett in R. Boyle by Himself & Friends (1994) v. 73 In that yeare it was printed, however the booksellers more suo antedated in the title 1661. 1810 R. Southey Select. from Lett. (1856) II. 203 The preface, more meo, is short and explicit. c1842 H. James Let. in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James (1935) I. 43 Let him try, and above all let him forgive more suo all my botherings. 1862 J. Brown Let. 18 Feb. (1912) 196 I wish you would give us a few letters more tuo, accurate and telling..for the Scotsman. a1937 J. L. Stocks Reason & Intuition (1939) xiv. 212 What Mill, more suo, offers us in the Logic is a compromise or middle position. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). moreadj.pron.adv.n.³prep. Brit. /mɔː/, U.S. /mɔr/ Forms: α. Old English mara, Old English mare (feminine and neuter), early Middle English mære, early Middle English maren, Middle English maure, Middle English mayr (northern), Middle English mere (transmission error), Middle English morow (transmission error), Middle English–1500s mar (chiefly northern), Middle English–1500s mare (chiefly northern); English regional (northern) 1600s 1800s mare, 1800s– maar, 1800s– mair, 1800s– meear, 1900s– mear; Scottish pre-1700 maer, pre-1700 maire, pre-1700 mar, pre-1700 mayir, pre-1700 mayr, pre-1700 mayre, pre-1700 meair, pre-1700 mer, pre-1700 1700s mare, pre-1700 1700s–1800s meir, pre-1700 1700s– mair, 1800s mear (Shetland), 1800s mehr, 1800s mere, 1900s– maer (Shetland); also Irish English 1800s– mair, 1800s– mare. β. Middle English moar, Middle English mour, Middle English moyr, Middle English moyre, Middle English–1500s moare, Middle English–1500s moore, Middle English–1500s (1700s English regional (Lancashire)) moor, Middle English–1600s mor, Middle English– more, 1700s muore (English regional); Scottish pre-1700 moir, pre-1700 moire, pre-1700 moor, pre-1700 mor, pre-1700 mour, pre-1700 moyr, pre-1700 1700s– more. Comparative (rare) Middle English marere. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian māra , Middle Dutch mēre (Dutch has the double comparative meerder ), Old Saxon mēro (Middle Low German mēr , also mēre , mē ), Old High German mēra , mēro (Middle High German mēr , mē , German (archaic) mehr- in mehres , neuter, mehre , plural; compare the double comparative forms Old High German mērōro , mēriro , Middle High German mērer , mērre , early modern German mehrer greater, more, German mehrere (plural) several), Old Icelandic meiri , Norn (Shetland) mire , mere (also adverb mire ), Swedish mera , Danish mere (the Swedish and Danish forms are the neuter adjective used adverbially), Gothic maiza < an adjectival base parallel to the adverbial base of mo adv.¹ Compare the following adverbial forms in West Germanic languages, either influenced by or secondary developments from the adjectival forms: Old Frisian mār, mēr, Middle Dutch meer (Dutch meer), Old Saxon mēr (Middle Low German mēr, mēre), Old High German mēr (Middle High German mēre, mēr, German mehr).Use of the neuter adjective as noun and as adverb is rare in Old English, as mā (see mo adv.¹ and discussion at that entry) was usual in both applications. In senses A. 1, A. 2, and A. 3 the adjective expresses the comparative degree corresponding to modern English great , much , and many respectively. Senses A. 2, A. 3 and A. 4 should be compared with earlier mo adv.¹ 1, 2 (and see note at that entry on the development of these adjectival uses). Branch A. II. is probably reinforced by the adverbial use at sense A. 4b. On the development of adverbial use with an adjective or adverb to form the comparative see note at sense C. 1c. A. adj. and determiner. I. As a comparative corresponding to senses of the positive adjectives great, much, and many. 1. As a comparative corresponding in sense to great. †a. Of a material object: greater in size, larger (than another of the same or different type). Of persons and animals: taller, bigger. Frequently in more and less and variants: greater and smaller; from the largest to the smallest. Cf. senses D. 1, C. 3b. Obsolete.With reference to a city, country, etc., overlapping with sense A. 1e, sometimes with admixture of sense A. 1b. ΘΚΠ the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [adjective] > larger moreeOE greaterOE eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xxi. 155 Ða nietenu ðonne, ðeah hie maran sien, hie beoð suiður ahæfen from eorðan. OE Ælfric Homily (Trin. Cambr. B.15.34) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 552 Þa elebeamas beoð maran on wæstme, and þa berian grytran. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) anno 626 Þær he het eft timbrian maran cyrican of stane. a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 179 (MED) Pisces maiores deuorant minores..þe more fishes in þe se eten þe lasse. c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1701 (MED) Þo stod hauelok..Rith al bi þe heued more Þanne ani þat þer-inne stod. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 999 Yrlonde..More he is þan engelond. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 2112 (MED) Mani contre þar-in es And dughti cites mare and lesse. a1422 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 360 Þilke cofre w^t þe þre heuedes shal be y-set in a more Cofre. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 151 He founded the grete cytee Iȝonge in Cathay, þat is a gret del more þan Rome. c1450 (c1380) G. Chaucer House of Fame 500 Hit semed moche more Then I had any egle seyn. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 132 Þer is with-in my body a precious stone..and it is more þan ane egg. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 347 (MED) In all youre skylles more and les, for mysfowndyng fayll ye. c1540 in Trans. London & Middlesex Archæol. Soc. 4 346 A more and a lesse quysshion of crymsyn velvet. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1888) I. 20 Another kynde of hunting dog is to sent, of quhilkes sum ar mekle mair than vthir sum. c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1922) II. 51 This Ile of Man contenis as it war twa ilandis, the first is southwardis and the mair cuntrie. 1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 247 Mair in a mair Dish. That is, a great deal more; an Answer to them who ask you if you will have any more, when you have gotten but very little. 1887 W. Morris Odyssey x. 396 And men again were they gotten, yet younger than afore, And fairer folk to look on, and mightier and more. †b. Greater in number, quantity, amount, or duration. Obsolete. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Let. to Sigeweard (De Veteri et Novo Test.) (Laud) 29 Pharao se kyning ferde him æthindan on git mid maran fyrde. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 19566 Þatt miccle mare genge. Off lerninngcnihhtess wass att himm Þatt att iohan bapptisste. c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 215 (MED) Me sal to dai mor makie offrinke þan an oþren dai. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 993 His name ðo wurð a lettre mor..For ðo wurd abram abraham. c1392 Equatorie of Planetis 40 Yif the verrey motus of the mone be more than signes fro the verrey mot of caput. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Fairf. 14) 14047 (MED) Þe man þat he for-gaue þe mare det. a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 3188 Wey I hys goode dedys and hys synne..weydyr of hem be more or mynne. c1460 in A. Clark Eng. Reg. Oseney Abbey (1907) 117 All the tithis (both more ande smale). 1521 in State Papers Henry VIII (1834) II. 66 Sending a more power to hym..for his assistence. ?1530 J. Rastell Pastyme of People sig. Dv^v The danis with a more strenght enteryd the west part of this land. 1551 King Edward VI Chron. & Polit. Papers (1966) (modernized text) 164 The artificer will leave the town and for his more pastime will live in the country. 1669 Hist. Sir Eger 22 Seven winters he it bare, His life-time was but little mare. †c. Modifying a noun which expresses quantity or amount, esp. as a proportion of a whole. In early use frequently in more deal (see deal n.¹); in later use only in the more part (see also part n.¹ Phrases 1a(c)). Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree moOE moreOE the more partOE lessa1616 mo'1858 no mo'1858 the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > a great part or proportion > the greater part, the majority the more partOE the best part ofOE (the) more parta1350 (the) most parta1350 (the) most part alla1350 (the) most party1372 for (also be, in) the most part (also deal, party)a1387 the better part ofa1393 the mo?a1400 most forcea1400 substancea1413 corsec1420 generalty?c1430 the greater partc1430 three quartersc1470 generalityc1485 the most feck1488 corpse1533 most1553 nine-tenths?1556 better half1566 generality?1570 pluralityc1570 body1574 the great body (of)1588 flush1592 three fourths1600 best1601 heap1609 gross1625 lump1709 bulk1711 majority1714 nineteen in twenty1730 balance1747 sweighta1800 heft1816 chief1841 the force1842 thick end1847 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxxix. 334 Menig man wolde þone maran dæl his lifes aspendan on his lustum, and ðone læssan dæl on dædbote, gif he wiste hwænne he geendian sceolde. 1258 Proclam. Henry III in Trans. Philol. Soc. (1868–9) 21 (MED) Þo isetnesses..beon imakede..þurȝ þan to foren iseide rædesmen oþer þurȝ þe moare dæl [Fr. greignure partie] of heom. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3377 He let..de more del To kepen here ðing al wel. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 352 But more part of þis world erreþ here. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. iv. pr. ii. 189 Schrewes, whiche that contenen the more partie of men. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) 113 (MED) In like fourme..is ruled..the more parte of all the reawmes of Affrike. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. ccxxxii. [ccxxviii.] 721 Tyll the kyng had assembled toguyder more nombre of noble men. 1533 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1905) VI. 155 In part of payment of ane mair soume. 1535 Bible (Coverdale) Acts xxvii. B The more parte off them toke councell to departe thence. 1577 N. Breton Floorish vpon Fancie sig. Bij^v I..learned so long there till I prou'd more halfe a very foole. a1648 Ld. Herbert Life Henry VIII (1649) 270 The more Party of the Sutors of this your Realm. 1656–7 in J. D. Marwick Extracts Rec. Burgh Glasgow (1881) II. 537 Recevvit..in pairt payment of ane mair sowme. 1768 C. Smart Parables Jesus Christ lv. 112 The poor infidel and blind Are still the more part of mankind. 1871 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest IV. xviii. 117 The more part of them perished by falling over the rocks. †d. Greater in power, authority, or importance. See also sense D. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > authority > [adjective] > having superior or predominant authority moreeOE overc1175 surmontantc1400 upper1477 predominant1575 predominate1591 overswaying1601 predominated1800 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [adjective] > more important moreeOE dominative1639 rather1657 important1894 eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xli. 301 Se ure Aliesend..mara is & mærra eallum gesceaftum. OE Ælfric Homily (Trin. Cambr. B.15.34) in J. C. Pope Homilies of Ælfric (1968) II. 532 Cristes beboda, þe he bebead mannum, syndon miccle maran þonne Moyses lagu. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 131 (MED) Bitwuxe were and wife nes nefre mare mon þenne he. c1300 St. Christopher (Harl.) 107 in F. J. Furnivall Early Eng. Poems & Lives Saints (1862) 62 (MED) Ic am more þan al þe wordle iwis. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) John xiii. 16 The seruaunt is not more than his lord, neither apostle is more than he that sente him. c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ (1867) 102 (MED) Of which þre noon is more ne moost, But al oon god in persoones þre. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 2681 (MED) The body þe more lord is Þat lediþ the soule ofte amis. ?c1530 Let. Prester John f. 310 The name of ane preist is mair and wordiar thane the name of ane kyng. †e. In the names of places, plants, churches, etc.: greater, superior, larger, more important (as distinguished from another of the same name), as (the) more Britain, (the) more Ind, (the) more smearwort, etc. Cf. less adj. 1c, lesser adj. 3, greater adj. 4. Obsolete.In quot. 1642, the reference to the place More Wenlock, rather then the standard Much Wenlock, is perhaps simply a translation of the Welsh mawr (see mere adj.¹). ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. xi. 77 Ofer ealle þa maran Asiam. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 2223 Þe more brutaine. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 299 Aboute þat tyme Seint Mammertus..ordeyned solempne letanyes þat beeþ i-cleped þe Rogaciouns,..and beeþ i-cleped þe lasse letayne for difference of þe more letayne þat Gregorye ordeynede to be seide a Seynt Markes day. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 172 Albania is a prouynce of þe more Asia. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 1484 Þe mare world es þis world brade, And þe les es man. 1436 in F. J. Furnivall Fifty Earliest Eng. Wills (1882) 105 The chirche of Alhalowen the more. ?a1450 Agnus Castus (Stockh.) (1950) 177 (MED) Mercurialis is an herbe men clepe Mercurie or papwourtz or þe more smerewourt. 1477 Rolls of Parl. VI. 168/2 The Maners of Silby Mountsorell the more, and the lesse. a1500 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 113 (MED) In the londe of more bretayngne, Schal ben a lorde of gret renoune. c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 57 Then the Buship Aldunus dyd hallowe the more kyrk or Gret Kirke. 1642 in Shropshire Parish Documents (1903) 324 For goinge to More Wenlocke 00 01 00. f. Modifying nouns of quality, condition, action, etc.: greater in degree or extent; more full. Now chiefly in (the) more's the pity.In modern use, the sense of more when qualifying an abstract noun is usually ‘a greater amount of, a greater level of’ (see sense A. 2a). It is unlikely, for example, that instances in which the adjective is adverbially modified by quantifiers, as a bit, a lot, some (see quot. 1993 at sense A. 2a), could be understood in other than this sense. In cases where there is a clear implication of scale, however, the sense ‘greater in degree’, is still current (see quot. 1883). Formations where degree is more clearly understood now occur only with greater, usually with the modified noun followed by of and a noun phrase, as ‘the greater seriousness of the situation’. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree moOE moreOE the more partOE lessa1616 mo'1858 no mo'1858 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > greater in degree or extent moreOE supreme1567 OE Blickling Homilies 35 Swa magon we þe maran blisse habban þa Easterdagas. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 He..dide mare yuel þanne god. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 2104 (MED) Eauer se þu mare wa & mare weane dest me..se þu wurchest..mi weole mare. a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 169 Get is wunder of ðis wirm more ðanne man weneð. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 156 Vpe þe plein of salesbury þat oþer wonder is, Þat ston heng is icluped, non more wonder nis. c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 228 For nis no gult her so gret his Merci nis wel more. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 5889 His moder wiste wel sche mihte Do Tereüs no more grief Than sle this child. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) i. 643 Eke whit by blak..Ech set by other, more for other semeth. 1477 J. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 500 Ye dyd it off kyndenesse and in eschywyng off a moore yll þat myght befall. a1500 (a1400) Sir Eglamour (Cambr.) (1844) 36 Above alle erthely thynges sche lovyd him mare,..So dud he hur..That was the more pete. 1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii. ii, in Wks. (1557) 208 So is it a much more faute to be therin rechelesse & negligent. 1562 J. Mountgomery in Archaeologia (1883) 47 233 I..dailie doe heare, of the greate decaie of parrishes in Ingland; the more ys the pittie. 1563 2nd Tome Homelyes Rogation Week i. 234 Borne among the number of Christian people, and thereby in a muche more nyghnes to saluation. 1632 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. Iron Age sig. H4 Lets flye to some strong Cittadell, For our more safety. 1685 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 412 That the Lords &c: should proceede in their Coaches through the Citty for the more solemnity of it. 1752 J. Louthian Form of Process (ed. 2) 102 And, for the more Verification, I and the said Witnesses have subscribed the same. 1797 R. M. Roche Children of Abbey (ed. 2) III. iii. 126 Poor thing, she is going fast indeed, and the more's the pity, for she is a sweet creature. 1818 T. Jefferson Anas in Writings (1903) I. 278 He did this the oftener and with the more earnestness. 1829 R. Southey Pilgrim to Compostella iv, in All for Love 181 To make the miracle the more, Of these feathers there is always store. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ Adam Bede III. v. xxxviii. 68 There's no amends I can make ye, lad—the more's the pity. 1883 G. Saintsbury in Academy 5 May 307/2 Forgetting that its chief function is to finish off and vignette isolated sketches of manner, character, and thought with more precision..than is possible or suitable in prose. 1972 N. Marsh Tied up in Tinsel i. 31 ‘Well, anyway, Aunt Bed, considering I met her in your house.’ ‘More's the pity.’ 1995 Guardian 4 Apr. ii. 9/5 You never hear of teenagers exploding, more's the pity. g. [After post-classical Latin maior major adj.] Chiefly with the. The elder (of two brothers, etc.). Also in St James (also St Mary, etc.) the More. Opposed to less adj. 1e. Now only in the names of churches. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > senior person > [adjective] morelOE senior?a1475 sen.1676 senr.1763 primus1765 ma1791 majorc1823 maximus1848 the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [adjective] > of two morelOE majorc1390 lOE tr. Trinubium Sanctae Annae in W. Keller Probleme der Englischen Sprache u. Kultur (1925) 116 Maria, þæs læsse Jacobes moder, and Maria, þæs mare Jacobes moder and Johannes þæs godspelleres, and Maria seo Magdalenissce, sohten urne drihten mid smerigeles inne his þruge. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 3486 (MED) O þir tua breþer..Þe less þe mare laght be þe fote. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21009 [I]ohn and iacob þe mar. a1425 (a1382) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) Gen. xxvii. 1 And he clepide Esau, his moor sone [L. filium suum majorem]. 1555 W. Waterman tr. J. Boemus Fardle of Facions ii. xii. 294 The firste of Maie is hallowed for Philippe and James the more. 1594 R. Carew tr. J. Huarte Exam. Mens Wits ix. 122 Of the same opinion was Cato the more. 1911 F. G. Brabant Berkshire 216 St. Mary the More, in the market-place, has been rebuilt except the massive tower. h. Modifying a noun characterizing a person as a particular type: entitled to, deserving, or embodying the designation or characterization in a greater degree than previously acknowledged or deserved; more complete, worse, better. Now only in (the) more fool you (also him, etc.) (see fool n.¹ and adj. Phrases 4). Cf. great adj. 15b.In the phrase more fool you, more is now often interpreted as an adverb rather than an adjective, i.e. fool is interpreted as an adjective with more modifying it. Similarly, the phrase the more fool you is occasionally taken to be a clause with ellipsis of the verb to be, with the more an adverbial phrase modifying the predicate and more, hence, a noun. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > that is such in a high degree > entitled to designation in high degree > in greater degree morec1390 c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 857 And moore fooles ben they that kissen in vileynye. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 232 ‘Whil th.ou were a ȝong boy a moche schrewe þou were.’..‘Now i am older woxe þou schalt me fynd a more!’ ?c1430 (c1400) J. Wyclif Eng. Wks. (1880) 190 (MED) Þus þes fonnyd ypocritis putten errour in ihu crist. But who ben more heretikis? c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1880 (MED) Maboun, þe mare schrewe, Jn feld vp aros. 1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 852/2 The more fole is he, tant plus sot est il. 1584 R. Scot Discouerie Witchcraft ii. xi. 36 A more heretike than either Faustus or Donatus. 1612 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 143 A man cannot tell whether Apelles or Albert Durere were the more trifler. 1613–18 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1621) 21 The pressing necessity of the time that required a more man to vndergo the burthen of warre. 1631 T. Drue Life Dutches of Suffolke i. sig. B2^v She might, more foole she did not, but al's one All friends now, heeres my hand, my spleenes downe. 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 129 The more Baron, the lesse Bishop, and more unmeet for the service of Rome. 1693 T. Southerne Maids Last Prayer iv. iii. 45 Some mischief-making Fiend, who woud'st assume the Title of an Angel, to be the more a Devil. 1734 A. Pope Ess. Man: Epist. IV 11 Who wickedly is wise, or madly brave, Is but the more a fool, the more a knave. 1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews I. ii. iv. 160 ‘More Fool he,’ cried Slipslop, ‘it is a sign he knew very little of our Sect.’ View more context for this quotation 1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon i. iv, in Fraser's Mag. Feb. 198/1 The more great, big, blundering fool you, for giving the gold piece to him. 1863 D. MacDonald David Elginbrod i. viii. 97 The mair sinner, he mair welcome. 1991 F. Weldon Darcy's Utopia (BNC) More fool you for leaving it in a car park. †i. With in, of. Deeper or higher in; better endowed with. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adjective] > having some attribute in a great degree > in a greater degree more1526 1526 Bible (Tyndale) John xix. f. cxlix Therfore he that delivered me vnto the, is moare in synne. a1540 (c1460) G. Hay tr. Bk. King Alexander 1838 Supois he be..Hiear than I..And mare of strength. 1667 J. Dryden Annus Mirabilis 1666 lv. 15 The Duke, less numerous, but in courage more. 2. As a comparative corresponding to much. a. Existing in greater quantity or amount; a greater quantity or amount of. In later use also modifying an abstract noun: a greater amount of, a greater level of (see note at sense A. 1f).Cf. earlier mo pron.¹ and n.¹ 2, mo adv.¹ 1, and see note in etymology above.more haste, less (etc.) speed: see haste n. Phrases 2a. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adjective] > greater in quantity, amount, or degree > a greater quantity, amount, or degree of moreeOE any morec1300 eOE Bald's Leechbk. (Royal) (1865) ii. xxxii. 234 Gif þæt sar þonne mare sie do maran ele to. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1510 Ðe firme sune..sulde..hauen mete ðan at is mel More or ðe gungere twinne del [L. duplam..portionem]. c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 703 Vp on a day he gat hym moore moneye Than that the persoun gat in monthes tweye. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 179 He wel moore vertu hath than myght. a1450–1509 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (1913) 5872 (MED) Off Sarezynes was þer more plente, Syxty þousand, and ȝit moo. a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 204 Thow skaffis and beggis mair beir and aitis Nor ony cripill in Karrik land abowt. a1525 in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1923) I. 155 Affrica has..mar wildernes & waist landis..than Europia. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 38 (margin) The more hast y^e wurst speede. 1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 68 I haue lost more labour, then the transcripting of this Censure. 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. ii. 149 Perchance my Lord I show more craft then loue. View more context for this quotation 1611 Bible (King James) Exod. v. 9 Let there more worke be layde vpon the men, that they may labour therein. View more context for this quotation 1640 T. Carew Poems 19 Give me more love, or more disdaine. 1720 D. Defoe Life Capt. Singleton 125 The higher we went, the more Gold we found. 1742 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer (ed. 4) I. 26 So that the Brewer is capacitated..to make more Ale. 1782 F. Burney Cecilia II. iii. ii. 21 I should have..expected more openness and candour in a young lady. a1834 S. T. Coleridge Specimens of Table Talk (1835) I. 125 I recognize more genius in the latter. 1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cix. 527 Either do that, Sir, or waste in one day more oil than we make good in a year. 1894 E. Œ. Somerville & ‘M. Ross’ Real Charlotte I. xi. 152 He happened to have lost more money at the Galway races than he cared to think about. 1895 R. L. Douglas in Bookman Oct. 23/1 Had he but shown a little more firmness and astuteness. 1908 L. M. Montgomery Anne of Green Gables xviii. 200 Young Mary Joe..heated more water than would have been needed for a hospital of croupy babies. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 100/4 Vines develop far more wood, and therefore more weight, than seems possible when the young creepers are planted. 1987 W. Hagelund Whalers no More xi. 165 More coal was shovelled over to the port side. 1990 B. Bettelheim Recoll. & Refl. ii. 121 Since religion in its organized form has lost its hold on many of us, there is more reason why we look to the arts to lift us onto a higher plane. 1993 Canad. Living Feb. Insert 20–1 (advt.) Try the traditional and tasty Oriental stir fry. For a bit more zing, visit the Zesty Thai or Mexican. †b. Preceding a in a noun phrase. Cf. many adj. 1b. Obsolete. rare. ΚΠ 1680 E. Hickeringill Curse ye Meroz 23 If there be but Two or Three phanaticks in a Parish,..they shall make more a noise, more a Disturbance,..then all the Rest. 3. As a comparative corresponding to many, with plural noun. a. In predicative use: existing in greater number, more numerous; greater in number. Now rare. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [adjective] > greater number moOE moreOE fele1340 better than1471 outnumbering1796 OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xix. 188 Manega tacna, and micele yrmða, becumað on middanearde, ofer manna bearnum, maran and maran, oð þam gemænan ende. c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 65 (MED) Þe deuel made Eretikes to wexen more & more. 1565 T. Stapleton tr. Bede Hist. Church Eng. i. xx. f. 27^v As though they had ben thrise as many more in number then they wer. 1610 A. Hopton Baculum Geodæticum vi. xiv. 135 The sides of a tryangulate are more by 2, then the tryangles whereof he is made. 1717 M. Prior Alma ii. 448 Distinguished Slashes deck the Great; As each excells in Birth, or State His Oylet-holes are more, and ampler, The King's own body was a Samplar. 1885 Bible (R.V.) 2 Kings vi. 16 They that be with us are more [so 1762; 1611 moe] than they that be with them. 1902 N.E.D. at Quadric Used..where the variables are more than two. b. In attributive use: existing in greater number, more numerous; a greater number of. [Compare earlier mo pron.¹ and n.¹ 1, mo adv.¹ 2, and see note in etymology above. Adjectival use of mo with a plural noun is more frequent in Middle English than the equivalent use of more, and even in so late (although frequently deliberately archaistic) a work as the Bible of 1611 mo is more often found in this use, although compare: 1611 Bible (King James) 2 Sam. xviii. 8 The wood deuoured more people that day, then the sword deuoured. ] ΚΠ c1390 G. Chaucer Parson's Tale 206 Euere the moore flesshly kynredes that ben in helle, the moore cursynges, the more chidynges, and the moore deedly hate ther is among hem. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 21629 Mar mightes has vr lauerd wroght, þan ani marn mai thing in thoght. 1463 Abbot of Langley in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 372 And more þinges..which I entytelyd in a scrowe. a1500 (?c1450) Merlin 157 (MED) Yet were thei more [Fr. plus] peple be the haluendell than hadde Arthur. 1526 Grete Herball ccccxciii. sig. Bb.vi^v/2 Apples eaten raw doothe more dysseases than ony other fruytes. 1574 E. Hellowes tr. A. de Guevara Familiar Epist. 322 In humane lawes there be more things arbitrable than forceable. 1584 J. Lyly Alexander, Campaspe, & Diogenes iii. iv. sig. D2 So in painting, the more colours, the better counterfeit. 1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 168 There are more things in heauen and earth Horatio, Then are Dream't of, in your philosophie. 1614 in H. J. F. Swayne Churchwardens' Accts. Sarum (1896) 164 It was agreed by the more voyces. 1656 A. Cowley On Death of Sir H. Wotton 4 Who had so many Languages in store, That onely Fame shall speak of him in More! 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 15 There was never more lame and decrepit Fellows..as is now adays. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 17. ⁋6 If there shall be two or more Competitors for the same Vacancy. 1775 E. Burke Speech Resol. for Concil. Colonies 60 The more they multiply, the more friends you will have. 1785 W. Paley Moral & Polit. Philos. (1841) iii. iii. vi. 146 If to one man be allowed an exclusive right to five or more women. 1811 J. Austen Let. 6 June (1952) There are more gooseberries & fewer currants than I thought at first. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Morte d'Arthur in Poems (new ed.) II. 15 More things are wrought by prayer Than this world dreams of. a1856 W. Hamilton Lect. Metaphysics (1859) II. xl. 409 Nature never works by more..instruments than are necessary. 1928 Publishers' Weekly 26 May 2169 Promotion cannot be done without waste... But the idea back of the new mergers is the idea of outlets, of promotion, of selling more goods. 1976 G. Gordon 100 Scenes from Married Life 58 He had more teeth filled than she had; she could see the gold glinting. 2000 Ralph 7 July 133/1 Activities that use lots of muscle groups burn more kilojoules. c. Nautical slang. In phrases: more days, more dollars and variants: the longer one stays at sea, the more one earns (see also quot. 1962); more ships than parish churches. ΚΠ 1843 J. F. Cooper Ned Myers II. ii. 40 I knew there were more ships than parish churches. 1898 A. J. Boyd Shellback xv. 258 The captain was acting on the principle of ‘More days, more dollars’. 1905 S. Jefferson Life in Merchant Marine 56 The ship went too fast for them, since they calculate ‘more months, more money’. 1946 W. McFee In First Watch i. 28 There were more ships than parish churches. 1962 W. Granville Dict. Sailors' Slang 78/1 More days: more dollars! American Merchant seamen's phrase of the Second World War, meaning that the more days they were at sea the more ‘danger money’ they would receive. The term was used sarcastically by British Naval-men whose pay compared unfavourably with the Americans'. II. Additional. Now frequently preceded by a quantifier, as any, many, no, some, or a number. [Compare adverbial use at sense C. 4b, and see note in etymology.] N.E.D. (1908) labels these uses ‘Now rare except as preceded by an indefinite or numeral adj...and in archaic phrases’, but this judgement does not appear to be borne out by contemporary evidence. 4. a. With a plural noun: additional to the number specified or implied; an additional number of; further.This use is rarely attested before the late 16th cent.; until then mo was more usual (see mo adj.¹ 5a). ΚΠ OE Wærferð tr. Gregory Dialogues (Hatton) (1900) ii. xiv. 130 Ðe gedafenað, Petrus, þæt þu sume hwile geswigie, þæt þu nu gyta mæge maran þing oncnawan. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4032 Efte he sacrede deres mor. 1586 G. Pettie & B. Yong tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (rev. ed.) iv. f. 193^v He..without anie more wordes unballanced the ship. a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 306 Let..all things [be] thought vpon, That may with reasonable swiftnesse adde More Feathers to our Wings. View more context for this quotation 1672 C. Manners in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 25 Wee have every day newes of more townes taken by the French in Holland. 1719 D. Defoe Life Robinson Crusoe 167 I had run so much Hazard.., nor had I any Mind to run any more Ventures. 1834 J. Gurwood in Duke of Wellington Dispatches I. 21 More troops being sent to their aid, a general action took place. 1869 Pall Mall Gaz. 15 Nov. 3 More grapes were now thrown in, and again the treaders set to work. 1926 C. Van Vechten Nigger Heaven 252 I said, Now, daddy, do you know any more tricks? 2000 Sci. Amer. Mar. 16/1 Pedestrian-friendly neighborhoods rather than more subdivisions, more mini-malls, more parking lots and more traffic. b. With a singular noun: additional to the quantity specified or implied; an additional amount of; further. ΚΠ c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 834 (MED) Ischal al one Wiþute more ymone..Bringe hem þre to deþe. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 3541 (MED) Wiþ þat and wiþ mor catel He made þe castel of Arondel. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 1495 (MED) Þe lordes buþ þan a-paste wyþ-oute more a-do. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 209 Withouten ony more rehercyng..of maruaylles. c1450 (?a1400) Wars Alexander (Ashm.) 118 (MED) His land suld be lost withouten lett mare. c1500 (a1400) Sir Cleges (Ashm.) (1913) 225 (MED) It is tokenyng Off mour godnes þat is comyng; We shall haue mour plente. 1511–12 Act 3 Hen. VIII c. 6 §1 Without eny more oyle. 1570 in J. Cranstoun Satirical Poems Reformation (1891) I. x. 185 Quha stickit him, withouttin proces moir. 1589–1600 Acct. Bk. W. Morton f. 63 For vii stane half of small takell to be wellding and mar tekell at xlvi s. the stane. 1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler iii. 82 Come Hostis, give us more Ale. View more context for this quotation 1758 J. Blake Plan Marine Syst. 3 If more room be wanted the orlop deck may be enlarged. 1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 413 Then the wife received some rent for the houses; and afterwards..the son was born, and..the widow received more rent: then the son died..and she received some more rent after his death. 1861 Photogr. News Alm. in Circ. Sc. I. 160/2 Add more silver, till the development is complete. 1927 P. G. Wodehouse Meet Mr. Mulliner ii. 56 At eleven o'clock he has his ‘elevenses’, consisting of coffee, cream, more bread and more butter. 1986 U. Holden Tin Toys (1987) iii. 26 She put more coal on, rattling the poker and tongs. c. U.S. colloquial (chiefly regional (Appalachian)). one more ——: a very good, impressive, or notable ——. ΚΠ 1912 Abilene (Texas) Daily Reporter 2 Apr. 1/2 After witnessing the performances the students dispersed and went home, having had one more time of their lives. 1947 A. Bland Behold a Cry vi. 42 ‘Sure is one more curious woman I got,’ Sam grumbled. 1986 J. Wear Sugarlands 68 I had worked so hard my muscles would not give, so I had one more time having her [sc. a daughter]. 1991 L. Jones & B. E. Wheeler Hometown Humor, U.S.A. 184 I said, that sure was one more pucker, Sweetie, You really know your stuff. B. pron. I. Something greater. 1. As a comparative corresponding to much: something that is more. a. A greater quantity, amount, degree, etc. ΚΠ eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) xv. 93 Ne wilnien ge mare to witenne ðonne iow ðearf sie, ac witað ðæt ðæt iow gemetlic sie & iower ondefenu sien to witenne. eOE King Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (Otho) xxvi. 60 Sio [gitsung] ne con gemet, ne næfre ne bið g[e]healden on ðære nedðearfe, ac wilnað symle maran þonne he þurfe. lOE Laws: Gerefa (Corpus Cambr.) iii. 453 Ac he mot ægðer witan ge læsse ge mare. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Oc æfre þe mare he iaf heom, þe wærse hi wæron him. a1225 ( Ælfric's Homily De Duodecim Abusivis (Lamb. 487) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 111 Ðu gederast mare and mare [OE Corpus Cambr. 178 ma & ma]..and þine welan forrotiað biforan þine ehȝan. c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 1550 (MED) Þet ha nowðer ne ete, lesse ne mare, tweolf dahes fulle. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 165 (MED) More þen he axede for Iosep he ȝaf. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1872) IV. 37 Þey made strikes liche as ounces..to schewe þat þere is more þan is in þe Hebrewes bookes. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 10219 (MED) Ilkan þan to þe temple broght Sirekin gift after þai moght, Sum wit lesse and sum wit mare. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) 259 He wele telle al and more. a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 142 Sum askis mair than he deservis. 1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 98^v Which by so much the more is to be borne, by how much the more it is perforce. 1607 Trag. Cæsar & Pompey (1911) i. vi. sig. C^v Heere may you surfet with delicious store, The more you see, desire to looke the more. 1611 Bible (King James) Exod. xvi. 17 And the children of Israel..gathered some more, some lesse. View more context for this quotation 1645 J. Milton Il Penseroso in Poems 42 Where more is meant then meets the ear. 1669 A. Woodhead tr. Life St. Teresa (1671) ii. xvi. 114 In all her sickness..she did neither more nor less, but as the Infirmarian would have her. 1725 I. Watts Logick i. vi. §10 All the Parts taken collectively..must contain neither more nor less than the Whole. 1759 S. Johnson Rasselas xxvi The more we enquire, the less we can resolve. 1799 M. Robinson Thoughts on Condition of Women (ed. 2) 69 More than their husbands they should know. 1831 M. W. Shelley Frankenstein (rev. ed.) ii. 27 Men who had penetrated deeper and knew more. 1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby li. 511 I have found out a man, who, plainly knows more than he cares to tell at once. 1886 J. Ruskin Præterita II. v. 177 The more I got, the more I asked. 1919 M. Sinclair Mary Olivier ii. xvii. 130 The more you do for people the less they love you. 1969 E. Connell Mr Bridge iv. 9 Julia was to blame for saddling him like a burro with more than he could carry during the day. 1984 M. Amis Money 357 It was better-quality stuff: it obviously cost more. b. A greater quantity or amount of. In Old English also with noun in the genitive. ΚΠ OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) iv. 215 Ðu cwæde þæt ic andbidode þæt ic ðe mare folces gestrynde. OE tr. Orosius Hist. (Tiber.) (1980) i. i. 19 Sio hæte hæfð genumen þæs suðdæles mare þonne se cyle þæs norðdæles hæbbe. lOE Laws: Rectitudines (Corpus Cambr.) iv. §1. 447 Toeacan ðam iii æceras to bene & ii to gærsyrðe; gyf he maran gærses beðyrfe, ðonne earnige ðæs, swa him man ðafige. a1200 (?c1175) Poema Morale (Trin. Cambr.) 385 in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 231 (MED) Þo sullen more of him isien þe luueden hine more. c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 159 Hwen he of hire naueð ne leasse ne mare. c1300 (c1250) Floris & Blauncheflur (Cambr.) (1966) l. 254 Ne þorte he neure, ful iwis, Wilne more of paradis. c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 5951 Of sorwe & sore Him com..euere þe leng þe more. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) v. 260 The more he hath of worldes good, The more he wolde it kepe streyte. a1475 J. Fortescue Governance of Eng. (Laud) (1885) x. 131 For in tho dayis ther was but litle more off the reaume off Fraunce in the kynges handes, but þat parte wich is callyd the Ile off Fraunce. a1525 Contempl. Synnaris l. 318, in W. A. Craigie Asloan MS (1925) II. 198 The maire of abstynens ay þe less desyre. 1590 in R. Pitcairn Criminal Trials Scotl. (1833) I. ii. 196 Thow sperit at him gif he had mair of the poysane. 1625 in J. Stuart Misc. Spalding Club (1852) V. 223 Whosoeuer transportis any mair aff thair labouring..sall pay [etc.]. 1693 J. Dryden Disc. conc. Satire in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires p. ix An Heroique Poem requires..as much, or more of the Active Virtue, than the Suffering. a1711 T. Ken Hymnarium 40 in Wks. (1721) II. The more of Spirit things contract, The more vivaciously they act. 1776 A. Smith Inq. Wealth of Nations I. ii. ii. 362 Many people would immediately perceive that they had more of this paper than was necessary. View more context for this quotation 1800 King George IV in Paget Papers (1896) I. 181 In short, the more I see of her and the more I probe her Heart the more perfect I see her. 1827 J. Bentham Rationale Judicial Evid. I. ii. ix. 509 The quack, that he may sell the more of his pills at one time, distributes them gratis at another. 1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. iii. 28 The more I saw of my guide the more I liked him. 1915 H. James Let. 5 Mar. (1990) vi. 326 Gloat over your overwhelmedness & demand of you to serve me still more & more of it. 1966 B. Malamud Fixer (1969) vi. iii. 177 Not only was the food better, there was more of it. 1991 Sci. Amer. Sept. 78/1 Fiber..is something we can just keep making more of. c. Something of greater importance or significance. to be more: to count for more, to be of greater importance. Chiefly used predicatively. Cf. much pron. and n. 1c. Frequently in adverbial phrases introducing a sentence or clause as expressing something that is more significant than what has preceded, as what is more, †and (that) more is. ΘΚΠ the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > that which is important > most important moreOE firstc1275 principala1393 chiefa1400 main chance1577 forefront1589 principal verb1602 centre of gravity1718 avatar1859 main stem1900 Big Apple1909 prima ballerina1923 centrepiece1937 OE Blickling Homilies 101 Se þe gesælig bið mæg hine sylfne be þære bysene læran, & eac þæt gyt mare is, þæt hie sceolan æfter þæm wlencum ece edwit þrowian, buton him seo soþe hreow gefultmige. OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xxix. 257 Swiðe god ðenung is..þæt gehwa godes ðearfum ðenige, and swiðost ðam eawfæstum godes ðeowum, ac swa ðeah mare is þæt man þa heofenlican lare secge þam ungelæredum. c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 739 (MED) His gostli siht is swiþe cler. For þerwid he may knowe..God and yuel, lasse and more. c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) 1 John iii. 20 If oure herte shal reproue us..God is more than oure herte. c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. 2356 (MED) He brent in a double fyre Of loue and Ire..But for cause loue was þe more He was aferd..to done offencioun. 1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. x I shalle not ete the, For thow sholdest hurte my tendre stomak, and more is, I shall this day haue better mete. a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 107 (MED) Lorde, þis is not o days werke ner children pley, but, þat more is, in this shorte worde is includid all perfeccioun of Religiose folke. 1577 H. I. tr. H. Bullinger 50 Godlie Serm. I. i. i. sig. A.iij^v/1 Yea, and that more is, shuld by adoption make them the sonnes of God. a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. ii. 222 To say I and no, to these particulars, is more then to answer in a Catechisme. View more context for this quotation 1619 E. M. Bolton tr. Florus Rom. Hist. 215 Ther is more in it, to keepe a prouince, then to make one. 1665 S. Patrick Parable of Pilgrim iv. 13 But when he speaks, his words are more than sounds, and have a sting in them which pierces the very heart. 1740 tr. C. de F. de Mouhy Fortunate Country Maid I. 130 The Griparts were never taken in yet, and what's more, never will. 1790 S. W. Morton Ouâbi Introd. p. vii Nothing of moment is undertaken without advising with them, and what is more, with the young men too. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Lady Clara Vere de Vere in Poems (new ed.) I. 158 Kind hearts are more than coronets. 1842 Ld. Tennyson Locksley Hall in Poems (new ed.) II. 106 And the individual withers, and the world is more and more. 1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. ii. 168 Honour and shame were scarcely more to him than light and darkness to the blind. 1859 F. W. Farrar Julian Home xvi. 204 He'll carry all our provisions..up to the top, which is more than most of your A.C.'s would do. 1894 J. D. Astley Fifty Years of my Life I. 326 I made a vow..that I would never open that infernal Euclid book again, and, what is more, I never will! So that is straight. 1940 R. Postgate Verdict of Twelve i. 12 Father was not ‘noticing’; Mother was, and what's more would twist your arm till you screamed if you sulked and wouldn't answer. 1958 L. Durrell Balthazar vi. 139 And what's more, I told Abdul so in no uncertain terms. 1987 S. Bellow More die of Heartbreak 78 For some reason he always saw more in people than others were willing to see. d. or more: at least, not less than, at the minimum. (a) Indicating that an approximate expression of size, volume, period, quantity, etc., is intended as a conservative estimate or lowest approximation. Cf. sense A. 4b. ΚΠ OE tr. Pseudo-Apuleius Herbarium (Vitell.) (1984) xli. 86 Seoð on wætere þearle to healfan dæle, & ðæs wæteres sy sester ful oððe mare. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1128 He wolde þurh his micele wiles ðær beon wær it tweolf monð oððe mare. a1300 in C. Brown Eng. Lyrics 13th Cent. (1932) 1 (MED) Slep me hað mi lif forstole richt half oðer more. c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 1783 I saw yow noght this fourtenyght or moore. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1869) I. 87 (MED) Þere were..sixe water pottis sett, and ech of hem held a galoun or more. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 249 A damysell of þe age of x yere or mor. c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 111 (MED) As whanne þe festre is antiquate or old as a ȝeer or two or ellis more. 1522–3 in J. Imrie et al. Burgh Court Bk. Selkirk (1960) 67 The quey..was tua ȝer ald and ane halff or mar. 1576 Kirkcudbright Town Council Rec. (1939) I. 1 Thay remanit thairefter vpoun xx dayis or mair. 1607 B. Jonson Volpone i. v. sig. C4^v Bastards, Some dozen, or more, that he begot on beggers. View more context for this quotation 1688 J. Barker Poet. Recreations i. 68 My dearest Brother, who is gone before, Half way will meet me in the Air, or more. 1765 Bartram's Jrnl. 5 in W. Stork Acct. E. Florida (ed. 2) A perch or more of palmetto-ground. 1800 W. Wordsworth Michael 473 Three years, or little more, did Isabel Survive her Husband. 1840 T. Hood Up Rhine 5 For a mile or more the doctor took the lead and kept it. 1906 J. Conrad Mirror of Sea ii. 4 Some pet vice, that must be left behind for a year or more. 1955 F. G. Ashbrook Butchering xii. 242 Fish must be cold-smoked from a few days to a week or more. 1985 W. Sheed Frank & Maisie vii. 153 Polio tethered me to my family's respective lives for the next year or more. (b) Indicating that an exact expression of quantity, number, etc., is a minimum amount. ΚΠ 1526 Grete Herball sig. Cciv^v/2 The vrynes be deuyded in .xx. partes or more. 1543 R. Record Ground of Artes i. sig. C Addition is the reduction and bryngynge of two numbers or more into one. 1649 Acts Interregnum (1911) II. 108 Three or more of the Justices of the upper Bench. 1795 E. Fenwick Secresy III. xxiii. 222 As eyes and noses are the common lot of all mankind, it may happen now and then that two or more may be greatly alike. 1835 R. Willis Remarks Archit. Middle Ages v. 41 At the same time there came in the practice of Foiling arches; that is, of uniting a series of three or more by their bases, so as to form one. 1925 Glasgow Herald 31 July 5 The most important is the Works Council Law of 1920, which requires a works council to be set up in each establishment employing 20 persons or more. 1984 S. Abraham & D. Llewellyn-Jones Eating Disorders ix. 110 Obesity is defined in several ways, one being when the Quetelet Index is 30 or more. e. more or less: (with an expression of quantity, number, etc.) approximately. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > [noun] more or less1545 1545 Instr. to Cromwell in Cottonian MS Cleopatra F. 1 lf. 85 In recompens of that he shall haue yerly oute of the saide benefice so Improperede xijd. or ijs. for a yerly pension more or lesse. 1583 D. Ingram in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations (1589) iii. 560 They [sc. sheep]..liue together in heards, in some 500. as it happeneth, more or lesse. 1654 in Rec. Early Hist. Boston (1880) VI. 17 Twenty acres more or lesse of mowing ground upon the marsh. 1683 T. Tryon Way to Health 134 Which comes to pass in six, eight or twelve Moneths, more or less. 1709 London Gaz. No. 4509/3 Her Cargo of about 1000 Bushels of French Salt, more or less. 1798 Times 28 June 4/1 Consisting of 91 acres, more or less, of excellent..land. 1860 Amer. Agriculturist Dec. 356/1 Our four or five lines, more or less, are of as much value as 2000 acres of Long Island land. 1872 M. McLeod in A. McDonald Peace River 41 The Canot du M. was of six fathoms, measured within, and the C. du Nord about four, more or less. 1905 Statesman 22 Aug. 2/4 All that piece or parcel of vacant land containing by measurement one bigha fifteen cottahs more or less. 1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 14/2 I've been in love with Rawley since I was about three—more or less. And it's getting to be a good deal more lately. 1986 ‘A. Cross’ No Word from Winifred vi. 80 She is eighty more or less, and mumbles about herself as the ancient of days. f. A truer case or example of a type of person or thing. ΚΠ 1796 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett. (1846) VII. p. lxxxviii He is a poor creature and more of a Genoese than an Englishman. 1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. I. vi. 94 He is more of a gentleman by a long way than most. 1904 Transvaal Agric. Jrnl. Oct. 185 The Transvaal kweekgras is shorter and more of a surface grass than the Bermuda grass. 2002 Times ii. 7/6 Eating in has become more of a gourmet phenomenon. g. Used of something abstract in collocation with less indicating that the quality, etc., referred to is more or less quantifiable: the greater aspect, level, or limit. Now rare. ΚΠ 1874 J. Morley On Compromise 64 There is no discoverable law fixing precisely the more or the less of these. 1884 B. Bosanquet et al. tr. H. Lotze Metaphysic ii. vii. 327 Such effects as do not directly display a more or a less. 1902 J. S. Phillimore Sophocles Introd. 83 The colouring of the phrase, its more or less of poetical and imaged quality. 2. As a comparative corresponding to many. a. With plural agreement. A greater number of the type or kind of person or object specified (either by anaphora or with of and noun phrase). Also without anaphora: a greater number of people.the more the merrier: see merry adj. Phrases 2b. ΚΠ a1450 (?a1300) Richard Coer de Lyon (A-version) (Caius) 6469 (MED) Þe moo þer be, þe more j schal sloo. c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 53 Thare deid..of the Romaynis mare than xxiiij thousand. 1563 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 117 To resaue sa mony euangelis..as ȝe do and nane ma[v.r. mayr]. 1605 B. Jonson Sejanus ii. sig. D4 Some one or twaine, or more Of the maine Fautors. View more context for this quotation a1633 G. Herbert Outlandish Prov. (1640) sig. C8^v More have repented speech then silence. 1639 N. N. tr. J. Du Bosc Compl. Woman i. 15 There are more who haunt the Schoole of Voluptousnes, then that of vertue. 1653 Duchess of Newcastle Poems & Fancies 122 Nature hath compounded Mens Braines with more of the Sharp Atomes..and Womens with more of the round Atomes. 1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 265 More of their Patients recovered. 1724 A. Z. in J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. i. x. 23 There are more than a few Talents so exalted and so bright.., as cannot well miss catching and delighting the Eye. 1788 T. Jefferson Memorandum Tour from Paris in Sel. Writings (1984) 648 I am not sure there were more than two to each main beam. 1796 G. Colman Iron Chest Pref. p. iv Never one rehearsal, wherein one, or two, or more, of the Performers, very essential to the piece, were not absent. 1804 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. III. 441 More of the purchaser's male ancestors have been descended from..the femes in the higher classes. 1817 J. Austen Sanditon xii, in Minor Wks. (1954) 424 Another Charity which I and a few more, have very much at heart—the establishment of a Charitable Repository at Burton on Trent. 1886 W. J. Tucker Life E. Europe 191 I could not touch another drop, unless more of the gentlemen join me. 1904 H. James Golden Bowl II. iv. viii She had put on too many things, overcharged herself with jewels, wore in particular more of them than usual. 1930 W. Faulkner As I lay Dying 186 There were more than four on the barn. 1966 P. Willmott Adolescent Boys E. London vi. 105 More of the boys in the sample had got their first job through the Youth Employment Officer than any other single source. 1991 J. Rifkin Biosphere Politics v. xxxviii. 291 The parks are tropical forests that border on two or more of the countries. 1992 Equinox Aug. 96/3 Over the past decade, progressively more have chosen specialty camps..where they learn to ape the diminuendo of a Gould or the dipsy–doodle of a Gretzky. b. more than one: several people, a number (out of those mentioned). Usually with singular agreement. [Compare French plus d'un, in similar pronominal use with singular agreement from mid 19th cent. or earlier.] ΚΠ 1826 J. F. Cooper Last of Mohicans xxiii More than one had turned, as if to catch the meaning of his words. 1865 F. Oakeley Hist. Notes 103 More than one who took a part in the more extreme developments of the work has since been conspicuous on the rationalistic side of more recent controversies. 1899 K. Chopin Awakening xxv. 193 People turned their heads to look at her, and more than one lent an attentive ear to her utterances. 1927 Travel Nov. 53/1 Maidens came to watch the casting of the bell, since more than one had a lover in New Spain. 1967 J. M. Argyle Psychol. Interpersonal Behaviour iii. 53 Schutz..set up experimental groups whose members were incompatible in that more than one was high in dominance. II. Something additional. 3. An additional quantity, amount, or number. a. Something else in addition to what is specified. Frequently modified by determiners expressing amount, as any, some, little, much; such phrases are also used adverbially. See also no more pron., n., adj., and adv. ΚΠ eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iii. ii. 56 Mare ic þyses gemyndgade þonne ic his mid ealle asæde; gif his hwa sie lustfull mare to witanne, sece him þonne self þæt. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) Ded. l. 37 Tær tekenn mare inoh. Þu shallt tær onne findenn. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 79 Ȝif þu mare spenest of þine. c1250 in Stud. Philol. (1931) 28 595 (MED) Ic wille ou sigge more. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 162 Ȝe þat louen & lyken to listen a-ni more. a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 223 (MED) He ne wist..whiderward he schuld seche to se of hem more. c1395 G. Chaucer Summoner's Tale 1871 And moore we seen of Cristes secree thynges Than burel folk. a1450 Castle Perseverance (1969) l. 89 Haue he neuere so mykyl, ȝyt he wold haue more. c1450 (a1400) Libeaus Desconus (Calig. A.ii) (1969) 1640 (MED) Þan seyde Lybeauus, ‘Wyltow more?’ And he answerede, ‘Nay.’ a1586 Lindsay MS f. 39^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Mar(e, Mair(e Gif ye will mair heirof, demand the auld harrauldis. 1655 O. Cromwell Speech 22 Jan. in Writings & Speeches (1945) (modernized text) III. 581 I could not say more upon this subject, if I listed to expatiate thereupon. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil Wks. 145 This answer Proteus gave, nor more he said. View more context for this quotation 1710 M. Chudleigh Ess. Several Subj. 67 Neither Reason nor Religion will allow of any more. 1742 H. Fielding Joseph Andrews (ed. 2) I. i. vii. 44 She flew into a violent Passion, and refusing to hear more, ordered him instantly to leave the Room. 1772 E. Burke Corr. (1844) I. 384 As I have stated this matter so much at large,..it is not necessary to say more by this unconfidential conveyance. a1817 J. Austen Northanger Abbey (1818) I. xv. 292 Containing little more than this assurance of success. View more context for this quotation 1841 C. Dickens Barnaby Rudge xix. 39 ‘I don't want to say any more,’ rejoined the goaded locksmith. 1895 E. E. Kay in Law Times Rep. 73 651/1 If the underwriters wanted to know more, they ought to have asked for information. 1902 W. James Varieties Relig. Experience vi For this extremity of pessimism to be reached, something more is needed than observation of life and reflection upon death. 1972 G. Lyall Blame the Dead ii. 10 You sounded a bit of a mystery man in those stories this morning—they'll want to know more. 1997 Sight & Sound Sept. 14/2 Bards, jongleurs, griots and yarnspinners..have all long known the value of leaving their listeners wanting more. b. and more: and a larger quantity, amount, or number than that specified (frequently used to express an indefinite excess over a figure stated approximately). Formerly also (Scottish) †with the mair. Cf. sense A. 1d.In early Scottish use also with more modified by an adjective expressing degree (see quots. c1580, c1626). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > a great quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > rather more than and morec1230 and (also or) upward1555 and upwards1570 upward of1623 upwards of1721 rising1808 the rise of1834 c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 44 Þer ha lei iprisun. fouwer þusent ȝer & mare. c1300 St. Nicholas (Laud) 154 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 245 (MED) Al þe contreie hadde i-nouȝ to mete and to sede To ȝer and more of þat corn. c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 364 (MED) Niȝen woukes and mare þe mariners flet on flod. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 5056 (MED) He..kyst him, fourti sithes and mare. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 205 (MED) I wold ȝeue ten pound, by Iesu Crist, and more. 1450 W. Lomnor in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 36 Peris Brusy..hadde x m^a Frenshe men and more. 1470 in J. Fullarton Rec. Burgh Prestwick (1834) 5 Four rodis witht the mar, liande [etc.]. 1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. bii* Be it wes mydmorne and mare merkit on the day. 1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 44 We ar rycht sorie that this is treu for the maist part and mair. 1563–4 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1877) 1st Ser. I. 257 Quhairat thai remanit thir twa yeris bigane, with the mair. c1580 ( tr. Bk. Alexander (1921) II. ii. 476 The steppis..Of fyue fute breid and lytill mare. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 48 Had I not Fowre, or fiue women once, that tended me?.. Thou hadst; and more, Miranda. c1626 H. Bisset Rolment Courtis (1920) I. 4 He wes crucified..in the threttie thrid [year] of His aige with sum mair: viz. ane quarter ȝeir or thairby. 1641 in J. G. Smith Strathendrick & Inhabitants (1896) 4 About tua houris and mor therefter. 1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. 294 The Whimbrel..is less by half than the Curlew, hath a crooked Bill, but shorter by an inch and more. 1705 K. Philips Lett. Orinda to Poliarchus xix We have heard nothing from England these ten Days and more. 1735 in R. O. Heslop Northumbld. Gloss. at Rock Now it will be twelve o'clock And more; for I've spun off my rock. 1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. vii. ix. 386 A man so tost and toiled for twenty-four hours and more. 1856 W. E. Aytoun Bothwell i. xxv They call me savage, brutal, base, And more. 1894 R. B. Lee Hist. & Descr. Mod. Dogs: Non-sporting Div. iv. 107 The so-called Pyrenean guard dog we often see on our show benches, is a dog some one hundred and twenty pounds weight and more. 1934 Star (Johannesburg) 1 May 13 For the past 50 years and more Free Staters have been known among Dutch-speaking South Africans as Blikore. 1991 Hindu (Madras) 6 Dec. 12/1 The yield is now placed only at 120 lakh bales against the earlier expectation or 130 lakh bales and more. †c. without more (also Scottish. but more, forout more): without anything or anyone else, in all; (in later use chiefly) without more ado, without delay. without less, without more (also Scottish. but min or more): without addition or diminution; exactly. Obsolete. [These expressions have alternatively been explained as originally showing a shortened form of demore , variant of demur n., or of its Old French etymon (see B. Lindström Middle Eng. withoute(n) More in Notes & Queries (1995) 21–2); if so, the expression was clearly interpreted by at least some Middle English writers as showing the present word, as shown by northern forms in quots. a1400 at sense A. 1a, c1480 at sense A. 1e, c1480².] ΚΠ c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 81 Þanne beþ þer in walis þre, wiþ oute Mor. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 1186 (MED) To beriing þai his bodi bare Adam and eue, wit-outen mare. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) iv. 133 They yave hym Antenor, withouten moore. 1447 O. Bokenham Lives of Saints (Arun.) (1938) 2873 And anoon Iulyan wythout moor, For hir to presoun hys offycers sent. c1480 (a1400) St. Peter 51 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 8 Na clathis he had, at ware gude, bot kirtil and clok, but mare. c1480 (a1400) St. Andrew 128 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 67 Forowtine ony mare to þe bordale I wente ine hy. a1500 (?a1425) Ipomedon (Harl.) (1889) 1639 (MED) A barbor he callyd, with outen more, And shove hym bothe byhynd & byfore. 1554 D. Lindsay Dialog Experience & Courteour 2732 in Wks. (1931) I. 280 Four hundreth stageis and four score In circuit, but myn or more. 1575 J. Rolland Treat. Court Venus i. f. 15^v Inclining law but mair this Nimph anone,..Scho said [etc.]. a1625 King James VI & I Lusus Regius (1901) 14 He countis you done, & hopes, but ony maire, His time about to uinn the chimlay nuik. 1680 J. Cheyney Vindic. Oaths (ed. 2) 1 The first and lowest step or degree is a bare and simple affirmation and negation, or pronouncement of the matter without more, as to say,..‘My name is John.’ d. Further discussion of or debate about something, etc. Earliest in no more pron. and n. 1b. Now chiefly literary. ΚΠ c1385 G. Chaucer Knight's Tale 1707 Ho, Na moore [v.r. No more], vp peyne of lesyng of youre heed. ?1536 H. Latimer in T. Wright Three Chapters Lett. Suppression Monasteries (1843) 149 Butt of thys my dewtye moor att moor leyser. 1580 J. Lyly Euphues & his Eng. (new ed.) f. 87 But more of this at our next meeting. 1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. vi. 20 Heere comes Lorenzo, more of this hereafter. View more context for this quotation 1692 T. Southerne Wives Excuse iii. i. 34 But more of this at leisure. 1776 J. Bentham Fragm. on Govt. Pref. p. li They would be stationed in the corners and bye-places of the Synopsis: stationed, not as now to give light, but to receive it. But more of this, perhaps, at some future time. 1797 A. Radcliffe Italian III. vii. 269 But more of this in private. 1863 Chem. News 14 Feb. 84/1 Lubricating Oils.—Some consignments to hand, of which more again. 1877 H. James American xx. 365 I can say nothing that is not cruel. Therefore let us part, without more of this. 1946 M. Lowry Let. 2 Jan. in Sursum Corda! (1995) I. 501 There is such a thing as wandering attention that is the fault of neither reader nor writer: though more of this later. 1988 S. Rushdie Satanic Verses i. ii. 11 Gibreel remembered from his childhood..the fabled lunch-runners of Bombay (of which more later). e. Chiefly literary. The additional or further quantity, amount, etc., referred to in a specific context. rare. ΚΠ 1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets xl. sig. D What hast thou then more then thou hadst before?.. All mine was thine, before thou hadst this more. View more context for this quotation 1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xvii. 106 He knows the depth to be so many fathoms, and more; but how much that more is, he hath no distinct notion at all. 1849 M. Arnold Strayed Reveller, & Other Poems 54 Know, man hath all which Nature hath, but more, And in that more lie all his hopes of good. a1861 A. H. Clough Dipsychus ii. v, in Lett. & Remains (1865) 188 Hints haunt me ever of a more beyond. f. more where that came from and variants: an additional supply of something; spec. one large enough to permit great or repeated consumption or use. Frequently in there's plenty more where that came from and variants, with implication that something may be eaten, drunk, etc., freely. ΘΚΠ the mind > possession > supply > [phrase] > plentiful or inexhaustible supply more where that came from1810 1810 J. Porter Sc. Chiefs II. v. 92 I..told him not to spare it, it was a chilly night, and I should get more where it came from. 1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) xi. 137 They might be certain there was plenty more where that came from. 1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge II. xiii. 182 ‘There were more where that one came from,’ said Charl, when the sovereign had been taken up and handed to the landlady for safe keeping. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. xii. [Cyclops] 285 And there's more where that came from, says he. 1954 R. P. Bissell High Water xxii. 270 Plenty more where this came from. 1973 S. Milligan More Goon Show Scripts 94 Crun. You see this we dug up just now? Do you recognise it? Bill. It appears to be a piece of mud. Minnie. And there's more where that came from. 1995 P. McCabe Dead School (1996) 14 He bought the willing suspension of your disbelief with the promise of more where this came from. g. literary. Other persons than that or those mentioned. Cf. other pron. and n. 5b(b). rare. ΚΠ 1896 A. E. Housman Shropshire Lad xxx. 44 More than I, if truth were told, Have stood and sweated hot and cold. h. more of the same: the continuance of the status quo; repetition or reproduction of what has become the established pattern of events, etc.; ‘the same old thing’, ‘the same old story’. ΚΠ 1971 I. D. Illich Deschooling Society vi. 75 A political program which does not explicitly recognize the need for deschooling is not revolutionary; it is demagoguery calling for more of the same. 1990 N.Y. Mag. Nov. 20/3 No doubt, the 1992 Democratic National Convention..will be more of the same. 1995 Daily Tel. 1 Aug. 3/1 Temperatures soared into the nineties again,..with weathermen promising more of the same for the rest of the week. 1996 W. Hutton State we're In (rev. ed.) Pref. p. xii More of the same promises nothing but more of the same, with..a delegitimation of our political system. 2000 N.Y. Times 31 Dec. ii. 6/1 Definitely not more of the same, this troupe of Wonder Women tells us something is stirring, even exploding, in Japanese contemporary dance. C. adv. I. In a greater degree, etc. 1. In a greater degree, to a greater extent. a. Modifying a verb, a prepositional phrase, or the whole predicate. Also modifying each of two balanced and (implicitly or explicitly) causally linked clauses within a sentence. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater quantity, amount, or degree moeOE moreOE mo'1879 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent moeOE moreOE furtherc1050 greaterc1230 furthermorea1300 heldera1400 largerlya1425 any more1533 farthera1535 furtherfortha1542 preferentially1864 worse1883 much more1912 the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent > of an attribute moreOE OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 124 Praeteritvm Plvsqvamperfectvm is forðgewiten mare, þonne fulfremed, forðan ðe hit wæs gefyrn gedon. ?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1140 Þa was al Engle land styred mar þan ær wæs. c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4662 & mare lufesst tu þatt þing. Þann ohht off godess wille. a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 47 For-þi þa engles hem heom rested mare þenn on sum oðer dei. c1300 St. Andrew (Harl.) 69 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S.-Eng. Legendary (1956) 545 (MED) His lyf scholde þe lengore ilaste & he þe more in pyne beo. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 88 (MED) Þe more þet he his yzyȝþ openliche, þe more he him loueþ þe stranglaker, þe more [Fr. plus] he him likneþ propreliche. 1411 Rolls of Parl. III. 650/2 For as myche I am a Justice, that more than an other comun man scholde have had me more discretly and peesfully. a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 350 And þus þei loven more þer ordre þan Crist. 1431–2 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 70 And touching tidinges..I haue charged ye berar of this to certifie yow mor at large. a1450 (a1401) Chastising of God's Children (Bodl.) (1957) 91 (MED) Hooli men..bien more tempted þan oþir men. a1538 T. Starkey Dial. Pole & Lupset (1989) 19 Surely they wold mor extyme hyt then they dow. 1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. B4^v More he [sc. the baby] crowde, more we cride. 1597 T. Beard Theatre Gods Iudgements ii. xii. 289 To reuenge himselfe more at full vpon the Citizens. 1615 S. Daniel Hymens Triumph i. v. 17 Loue is a sicknesse full of woes..More we enjoy it, more it dyes. 1662 W. Gurnall Christian in Armour: 3rd Pt. 677 If any in the World need walk pendantly upon God more than others, the Minister is he. 1677 Earl of Orrery Treat. Art of War 15 More at home, and at ease, and safety. 1694 F. Bragge Pract. Disc. Parables xi. 384 A man is never more himself, than when he exercises his reason upon the best of objects, religion. 1706 A. Pope Let. 10 Apr. in Corr. (1956) I. 16 Some [verses]..I have entirely new express'd, and turned more into Poetry. 1735 G. Berkeley Reasons §7 The more he explains, the more I am puzzled. 1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Second 7 O Time! than Gold more sacred; more a Load Than Lead, to Fools. 1797 W. Godwin Enquirer i. ii. 10 I shall be..more a man and less a brute. 1811 J. Austen Sense & Sensibility II. ix. 173 Every friend must be made still more her friend by them [sc. her sufferings] . View more context for this quotation 1855 W. Whewell in I. Todhunter William Whewell (1876) II. 404 The notion must be followed much more into detail than he has done. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. ii. 112 The fine arts are addressed more to the imagination; the sciences to the intellect. 1876 T. Hardy Hand of Ethelberta I. i. 21 If you had encouraged him tooth and nail, you couldn't have fumed more at the loss of him. 1936 C. Sandburg People, Yes 62 The more you fill a barrel the more it weighs unless you fill it with holes. 1983 M. Keane Time after Time v. 102 He despised and mistrusted them, but feared more that they despised him. 2000 Brit. Jrnl. Hist. Sci. 33 38 His theory of fever tended more towards the latter. b. more and more: in an increasing degree; to an increasing extent. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > increasing in quantity, amount, or degree [phrase] > increasingly mo and moeOE more and morec1175 c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 676 He wile himm færenn ȝiff he maȝȝ. & skerrenn mare. & mare. a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 511 Chirches ben wursiped mor and mor. a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 5865 (MED) Þai rise and bredes ai mare and mare. c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 17210 (MED) Þei..schewed ay meknes more and more. a1500 (a1450) Generides (Trin. Cambr.) 1260 (MED) God wote he was an hevy man therfore And ther with abisshid more and more. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 9 Greuand God ay moir and moir. a1586 Sir P. Sidney Arcadia (1590) i. ii. f. 9 But Kalander seeing him [sc. Musidorus] faint more and more, with carefull speede conueyed him to the most commodious lodging in his house. 1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 374 His cough breaketh more and more. 1673 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 8 6024 Thereby more and more to concenter the acid parts. 1681 London Gaz. No. 1625/1 They of Liege do every day more and more exasperate things. 1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. vii. 277 Men grow daily more and more wicked. c1750 J. Gutteridge in Gentleman's Mag. (1819) May 394/2 Harwood, my townsman, he invented first Porter to rival wine, and quench the thirst. Porter,..Whose reputation rises more and more. 1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller Death Wallenstein ii. iii. 45 Where's he that will unravel This tangle, ever tangling more and more? 1807 W. Wordsworth Poems II. 138 The Shepherd Lord was honour'd more and more. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato Dialogues I. 44 At this he blushed more and more. 1905 J. Brierley Eternal Relig. 100 Hence more and more the idea will prevail that ignorance, unskill in things,..is in itself a kind of lower morality. 1938 E. Bowen Death of Heart ii. v. 252 Portia watched these preparations with growing misgivings; they made her dread more and more that Eddie might not come. 1990 New Age Oct. 56/2 The world grows smaller and smaller, more and more interdependent. c. Modifying an adjective or adverb to form the comparative.With most adjectives and adverbs of more than one syllable, and with all those of more than two syllables, this is the normal mode of forming the comparative. A few monosyllables (e.g. real, right, wrong, just) normally form their comparatives in this way instead of taking the suffix -er. [Traces of periphrastic comparison are found in Old English in the use of ma , bet , and swiþor with participles and occasionally with adjectives. Periphrastic comparison of adjectives and adverbs with more (and for the superlative most : see most adv. 1b) is found from early Middle English, although only sporadically before the 14th cent. Unlike modern usage, in Middle English periphrastic comparison is more common with monosyllabic or disyllabic adjectives than with adjectives of three or more syllables, although it is less common than comparison with -er (or -most ) for adjectives of any length in Middle English; the development of the modern distribution is illustrated by the frequency with which formation of the comparison of adjectives with three or more syllables with -er rather than with more is criticized in 18th-cent. and later normative grammars. It is uncertain to what extent the emergence of periphrastic comparison in English was influenced by analogy with French comparison with plus and le plus or Latin comparison with magis and maxime ; confusion between and subsequent identity of form of most adj. and superlatives in -most suffix (see note at that entry) may also have aided the process. See also -er suffix³, -est suffix.] ΚΠ a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 5 Þes we ahte to beon þe edmoddre and þa mare imete. ?a1300 Iacob & Iosep (Bodl.) (1916) 30 (MED) Of more reufule song herde he neuere singe. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Ruth iii. 3 Be wasschyn..& cloþed wiþ þe more worschepeful cloþes. a1425 (a1400) Prick of Conscience (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 858 And what es mar horibel in stede Þan a man es when he es dede? c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 30 Ay the langar the mare couatous. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vii. 555 He beheld hir mayr ynkirly. c1570 Art of Music (BL Add. 4911) f. 10^v, in Dict. Older Sc. Tongue at Mar(e Quhat is the circle of the mair perfect? 1636 in J. D. Marwick & R. Renwick Charters rel. Glasgow (1906) II. 598 Mair navigabill. 1650 J. Milton Tenure of Kings (ed. 2) 47 That men may yet more fully know the difference betwee[n] Protestant Divines, and these Pulpit-firebrands. 1711 R. Steele Spectator No. 6. ⁋2 He finds Rest more agreeable than Motion. 1788 A. Hughes Henry & Isabella I. 180 He was..more gallant, more generous, more everything that is agreeable in youth, than his brother. 1821 R. Southey in C. C. Southey Life & Corr. R. Southey (1850) V. 106 His merits are every day more widely acknowledged. 1851 W. S. Landor Popery 30 It is more just that a bishop's salary should be reduced to a thousand a-year than an admiral's to three hundred. 1884 tr. H. Lotze Logic 348 The true law is far more complicated. 1922 V. Woolf Jacob's Room ii. 40 She always meant to go to a more distant ridge. 1939 J. Steinbeck Grapes of Wrath i. 3 Then it was June, and the sun shone more fiercely. 1956 S. Bedford Legacy iii. i. 113 My brother has a system too, but yours is more interesting. 1983 M. Keane Time after Time i. 2 No dog ever had a more loving heart. 2000 Barron's 13 Mar. 5/1 These days it more properly belongs to the venture capitalist. d. Modifying monosyllabic and disyllabic adjectives and adverbs which have otherwise an inflected comparative in -er, e.g. busy, high, slow, true.This form is often now used either for special emphasis or clearness, or to preserve a balance of phrase with other comparatives with ‘more’, or to modify the whole predicate rather than the single adjective or adverb, esp. when followed by than (see sense A. 2). ΚΠ c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (1973) 70 (MED) A meiden..feier & freolich o wlite & o westum, ah ȝet, þet is mare wurð, steðelfest wiðinnen. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 63 (MED) Ac þe leazinges likinde byeþ more grat zenne. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) ii. 235 (MED) Was neuer at Saynt Denys feste holden more hy. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 203 (MED) The thridde Ryuere..renneth more faste þan ony of the toþere. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 304 I am a jantyllman borne, and of more hyghe lygnage than thou. 1541 T. Elyot Image of Gouernance Pref. sig. av There shalbe or it be longe, a more ample remembrance. 1591 E. Spenser Prosopopoia in Complaints 1278 Which yet to prove more true, he meant to see, And an ey-witnes of each thing to bee. ?1614 W. Drummond Song: It was the time in Poems Their Armes more white then milke. 1645 Ordinance Lords & Commons for keeping Scandalous Persons from Sacrament 1 Neuer had they more high and strong engagements. 1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 118 Thou wilt live more well, and die much better. 1677 R. Gilpin Dæmonol. Sacra iii. xv. 112 Calanus an Indian Philosopher, being Dysenterical, obtained leave of Alexander to burn himself for more quick dispatch. 1723 J. Barker Patch-work Screen for Ladies 125 With such Agility and Ease they go, The piercing Lightning seems to move more slow. 1765 O. Goldsmith Ess. in Busy Body 13 Oct. 15 With a voice more rough than the Staffordshire Giant's. 1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere vi, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 36 Fly, brother, fly! more high, more high. 1803–5 W. Wordsworth Solitary Reaper 21 Or is it some more humble lay? 1853 W. Whewell tr. H. Grotius De Jure Belli I. i. iii. 99 The opposite opinion, as it is the more common, so does it seem to us the more true. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ Man. Brit. Rural Sports (ed. 12) i. v. vi. §3. 348 The tackle for dipping is much more simple than that employed in whipping. 1928 E. Blunden Undertones of War ix. 100 The bronze noon was more quiet but not less deadly than the morning. 1951 N. Marsh Opening Night vi. 139 ‘I couldn't be more sorry,’ Percival said weakly. 1981 R. Davies Rebel Angels (1983) ix. 237 Professors are busy people, made even more busy by the fact that they..complicate small matters. e. Prefixed to the inflected comparative of the adjective or adverb. Now regional (chiefly Scottish) and humorous.Multiple comparison is common in standard use until the 18th cent. ΚΠ c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 4349 Þu eær muchele ahtere & ec mare hærdere. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 61 An eddre..þet yernþ more zuyþere þanne hors. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 64 Hi byeþ more worse þanne þe gyewes. a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 320 (MED) Whanne þei ben boþe broken, it is þe more worse. ?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 17 (MED) Þat lond is meche more hottere þan it is here. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1172 Ye shulde have the same dethe, othir ellis a more shamefuller dethe. c1520 M. Nisbet New Test. in Scots (1905) III. Prol. to Acts 2 Be schort telling, rathir than..mare langare. 1548 Hall's Vnion: Edward IV f. ccxxviii^v [He] thought it more surer to heare the fayre wordes of the Constable,..then to geue credit to theyr vntrew..doynges. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. T.i^v More excellenter it can not be, nor more suttler. 1598 R. Grenewey tr. Tacitus Annales iv. i. 89 He vsed sometime largesse and lauishing; but more oftner industrie and diligence. 1669 S. Sturmy Mariners Mag. i. ii. 15 I should be glad..to see a more equaller Balance among Sea-men, and their Imployers. 1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory ii. vi. 115 Chives are thick, round and sharp pointed horns that stand in the middle of flowers, which in some are more slenderer than in others. 1694 Narbrough's Acct. Several Late Voy. 166 Captain Hawes ship got clear, wearing more rounder. 1752 S. Foote Taste i. 8 I have heard, good Sir, that every Body has a more betterer, and more worserer Side of the Face than the other. 1792 R. Bage Man as he Is II. xxv. 9 I should be more happier to part with you. 1832 Ld. Tennyson Œnone in Poems (new ed.) 56 But Paris was to me More lovelier than all the world beside. 1836 Chinese Repository 4 434 ‘More soon, more better; sendee chop-chop,’ I told him. 1859 J. P. Robson Song of Solomon in Northumberland Dial. i. 4 We'll consithur thaw luve mair nicer nor wine. 1884 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Huckleberry Finn xxx. 264 It made me feel much more easier than what I was feeling before. 1928 A. A. Jack Angry Heart 130 More nearer forty. 1985 L. Lochhead True Confessions 21 Oh life in Bohemia Could not 'ave been more seamier. f. With ellipsis of the word or sentence modified. Now frequently with anaphoric so (see so adv. and conj. 4a) in more so (also, chiefly U.S., moreso). (all) the more: the rather, the more so (as, because, etc.). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent more thanc1485 more so1735 more by token1816 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 127 He ssolde by..yblissed ine þise wordle and more ine þe oþre. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings xiv. 30 Ȝou self han seen for my eeȝen ben liȝtned, for þi þat I tastide a litil of þis hony; myche more [a1425 L.V. hou myche more; L. quanto magis] if þe puple hadde etyn of þe prey of þeir enemys. ?1463 R. Cutler in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 260 And heuery man wyl sey wel þer-of, þe more cause he is a gentyl-man..and in gret penure. 1554 F. van Brunswick tr. A. de Montulmo Ryghte Excellente Treat. Astron. sig. E vj Mars..signifieth that mortal war shall happen amongest men, and the more because of his retrogradacion. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer ii. sig. Aa.iii^v I will we defar the wholl vntill to morow, the more for I thinke it well done we folow the L. Iulians counsell. 1640 O. Sedgwick Christs Counsell 84 How much more, when thy crowne is losing! 1724 J. Henley et al. tr. Pliny the Younger Epist. & Panegyrick I. i. x. 22 I may at this Day admire 'em the more, because I understand 'em somewhat better; tho' even still I am far from pretending that I sufficiently do so. 1735 G. Berkeley Def. Free-thinking in Math. §28 This is so plain that nothing can be more so. 1788 J. Madison in Federalist Papers lvii. 158 The districts in New Hampshire in which the senators are chosen immediately by the people, are nearly as large as will be necessary for her representatives in the congress. Those of Massachusetts are larger than will be necessary for that purpose. And those of New-York still more so. 1816 J. Austen Emma I. xii. 209 ‘I only want to know that Mr. Martin is not very, very bitterly disappointed.’ ‘A man cannot be more so,’ was his short, full answer. 1852 M. Arnold Farewell viii I too have wish'd, no woman more, This starting, feverish heart away. 1862 G. Borrow Wild Wales lii ‘Are the Welsh..as clannish as the Highlanders?’ said I. ‘Yes’, said he, ‘and a good deal more’. 1876 W. Besant & J. Rice Golden Butterfly I. Prol. i. 7 The English servant was dressed like his master, but ‘more-so’. 1927 Dict. National Biogr. 1912–21 306/2 He loved Sir Walter Scott, all the more because he shared Scott's infinite love and sympathy with humanity. 1955 M. Allingham Beckoning Lady xi. 161 The only artists I've ever met were just like me only more so. 1980 P. O'Brian Surgeon's Mate (1992) iv. 120 He regretted it all the more because with the years Sir Joseph's tendency to prolixity had grown. 1997 C. Shaw Sc. Myths & Customs x. 223 Anyone perceived as being different from society's norms was a potential target—no-one moreso than the local wise-woman. †g. Chiefly Scottish. more than: (used to exclude or deny a second sentence element that is parallel with one in a previous negative clause) in any greater degree than, to any greater extent than. Cf. any more adj., pron., n., and adv., no more pron. and n. 2. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent more thanc1485 more so1735 more by token1816 c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Law of Armys (2005) 214 A wood man..has na knaulage of wit na resoun mare than a beste. a1513 J. Irland Meroure of Wyssdome (1926) I. 66 [There] suld..haue bene..na schame mare of thai membris nore thar wse, na js now of seing ore hering. ?1572 R. Sempill Premonitioun Barnis of Leith (single sheet) Nane of Scottis blude: In Scotland dar him self auow, Mair nor in Iurie dois the Iow. 1633 Bp. J. Hall Plaine Explic. Hard Texts i. 560 Is there any reason in you..why I should respect you more than the very Ethiopians? 1838 J. Grant Sketches London 209 Faith, Sir! she did not come back again at a', mair than the ither. h. more than ever (before): to an even greater degree. ΚΠ 1559 J. Heywood tr. Seneca Troas v. sig. F.ii^v Astonied much the people were, and all, they her commende. And nowe much more then euer earst, they praysde her, at her ende. 1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades x. 186 Now more than euer must you striue, and put your force in vre, Sallet on head, and sword in hand, for nought must not be sure. 1595 R. Parry Moderatus vii. 80 No disquietnesse may be compared to the griefe of minde, wherewith he was continually vexed, and nowe much more then euer before, supposing that Floridas sudden departure was a Kalender of his ensuing calamities. 1620 tr. G. Boccaccio Decameron I. iii. x Rustico's desire was more than ever inflamed at the sight of her beauty. 1650 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi Exact Hist. Late Revol. Naples i. 24 Masaniello..began more then ever by sound of Drum to suscitat the peeple. 1705 G. Lockhart Let. to Duke Athole 15 Oct. in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. viii. 62 Her Majesty having now, more than ever before, devoted herself and interest to the Whigs, the Torys have no hopes of being succesfull in allmost anything..during this parliament. 1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 224 I felt more than ever how dear he was to me. a1781 R. Watson Hist. Reign Philip III (1783) iii. 172 The affairs of the Portuguese in India were more than ever neglected by the government at home. 1820 W. Irving Sketch Bk. vi. 117 The bridge became more than ever an object of superstitious awe. a1864 J. Clare Later Poems (1984) 50 When farewell upon my lips did quiver & all seemed lost—I loved her more then ever. 1895 T. Hardy Jude i. ii. 15 Jude went out,..feeling more than ever his existence to be an undemanded one. 1902 W. S. Maugham Mrs. Craddock xiv. 137 In his top-boots he looked more than ever the fox-hunting country squire. 1923 R. Kipling Irish Guards in Great War I. 97 Annequin..had become more than ever a shell-trap. 1957 Economist 5 Oct. 31 To-day, more than ever before, exporters must plan globally, especially in view of the growing economic importance of the world's new markets. 1995 Guardian 14 Nov. ii. 7/1 They..note all the terrible contradictions that beset teenage girls, who now, more than ever before, are waylaid by forces that suggest they become everything except themselves. i. to be (also act, etc.) more —— than the —— (themselves, etc.): to have adopted or developed the characteristics proper to the specified group or individual to a greater degree than the latter. Frequently depreciative. [In quot. 1845 translating German lutherischer als die Lutherischen (1842), itself echoing die aller besten Lutherischen (Luther, 1528); compare also French être plus royaliste que le roi ‘to be more royalist than the king’ (1814 or earlier, said to date from the time of Louis XVI), post-classical Latin Hibernicis ipsis Hibernior ‘more Irish than the Irish’ (recorded in use by R. H. Barham in 1843 in R. H. D. Barham Life & Lett. R. H. Barham (1870) II. 166).] ΚΠ 1845 S. Austin tr. L. von Ranke Hist. Reformation in Germany (ed. 2) II. 499 Luther said, the papist Junkers were in this respect more Lutheran than the Lutherans themselves. 1855 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiv. 453 To reason more Jesuitically than the Jesuits themselves. 1859 Sat. Rev. 7 304/2 In all that makes religion objective, as he would say, the Church of Humanity is more churchish than the Church. 1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. vii. [Aeolus] 115 How a Great Daily Organ is turned out... Nature Notes. Cartoons. Phil Blake's weekly Pat and Bull story... More Irish than the Irish. 1960 O. Manning Great Fortune iii. 219 They have become more Nazi than the Nazis. 1991 N.Y. Times c4/2 The decade was in many ways more 60's-ish than the 60's. j. colloquial. more like: nearer (a specified number or quantity). Cf. like adj., adv., conj., and prep. Phrases 6c. ΚΠ 1902 W. Headlam in Classical Rev. 16 348/1 Some 200 conjectures.., among which Mr. Housman considered 4 quite certain; I gladly adopted more like 12 in my prose version. 1982 Nature 11 Mar. 102/1 If most British dwellings can be ‘cabled up’—linked to some broadband distribution system capable of handling more like forty than four distinct video signals, as at present. 1994 Wine Spectator 31 Dec. 53/2 For vintage–dated Champagne, the bracket is more like $35 to $55 for most brands. k. Caribbean (originally Jamaican). much more: (following a negative statement, with (sometimes illogical) ellipsis) much less. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > [adverb] > in or to a greater degree or extent moeOE moreOE furtherc1050 greaterc1230 furthermorea1300 heldera1400 largerlya1425 any more1533 farthera1535 furtherfortha1542 preferentially1864 worse1883 much more1912 1912 C. McKay Songs of Jamaica 59 Dere is no star fe light de way, much more de wite roun' moon. 1946 in Dict. Jamaican Eng. at Much more We could hardly breathe, much more touch. 1995 R. Allsopp Dict. Caribbean Eng. Usage at Much adv. From a child my father never hit me in my own home, much more you the man I married. 2. Modifying one predicate or predicative adjunct as being applicable in greater measure or degree than another. Frequently either indicating that the one predicate, etc., is more correct than the other, or implying that this one is true, and the other not. Also used without a second predicate, etc., to indicate that this is the only one offered, there being no other. Cf. rather adv. 5. ΚΠ a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 39 (MED) Þe soðe luue of godd, hie is mare on werkes ðanne on wordes. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 1 Paralip. xi. 18 Þanne þese þre..wenten & drowen watir..& broȝten to dauiþ þat he schulde drynken þe whiche wolde not, but more [a1425 L.V. rather] offrede it to þe lord. c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible f. 92 (MED) Loueris of lustis more þan of god. 1477 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Hist. Jason (1913) 104 Fro day to day they apayred more thenne amended. c1480 (a1400) St. Luke 40 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 247 Luke mad his ewangel syne, of thingis hard mar þan of sene. 1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue i. iv. sig. B^v He shall let fall all, And be more frayd than hurt. 1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 29 Which..was done more of pride than of compassion. 1590 E. Spenser Faerie Queene ii. ii. sig. O2^v More huge in strength, then wise in workes he was. 1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes xxxv, in Wks. I. 778 A Prince, that rules by'example, more than sway. 1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 3 But here our Authors make a doubt, Whether he were more wise, or stout. 1694 Bp. J. Robinson Acct. Sueden iv. 47 This..qualifies them more for a Life of Labour and Fatigue, than of Art and Curiosity. 1707 T. Hearne Remarks & Coll. (1886) II. 20 More expedient for y^e clouding than clearing of the Scriptures. 1734 tr. C. Rollin Rom. Hist. III. vii. 449 Much more able with his tongue than his sword. 1799 H. More Strict. Mod. Syst. Fem. Educ. (ed. 4) I. 147 To these have been opposed, with more presumption than prudence, the rights of woman. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. xxvi. 146 More dead than alive. 1857 H. T. Buckle Hist. Civilisation Eng. I. vii. 331 The Puritans were more fanatical than superstitious. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 17 Aug. 2/1 The railways are laid more with a strategical purpose than with a view to [etc.]. 1924 ‘Sapper’ Third Round vii. 189 The genuine Professor Scheidstrun appeared to be a harmless old poop, who was more sinned against than sinning. 1950 R. Heinlein Farmer in Sky vi. 58 George says I'm more acrobat than acrophobe. 1963 R. S. Thomas Bread of Truth 38 His arm half Lifted was more to ward off My foolishness. 1991 Newsweek 16 Dec. 82/2 He has more zest for argument than wisdom regarding what is worth arguing about. 3. a. more or less (also †less or more, †more or min, etc.): in a greater or lesser degree; to a greater or lesser extent; to all intents and purposes, virtually, essentially; nearly, almost. Also in negative contexts: not at all, hardly at all. Also occasionally as an adjectival phrase (esp. in Linguistics): designating a question which is answerable only in terms of degree (cf. yes-or-no adj. at yes adv., n., and int. Phrases 4). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > approximate quantity or amount > approximately (an amount) [phrase] > to a greater or lesser degree more or less (also less or more, more or min, etc.)?c1225 ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 74 Efter þet me luueð him mare oðer lesse. c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) 536 Ȝif þi neiheboure misdoþ þe, More or lasse wheiþer hit be. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) i. 1951 Riht so ne mor ne lesse. ?c1425 (c1390) G. Chaucer Fortune 61 The see may ebbe and flowen more or lesse. ?a1475 Lessons of Dirige (Douce) 143 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 125 Though I offende more or mynne. 1526 Pylgrimage of Perfection (de Worde) f. 27^v Ought to folowe hym more or lesse euery persone after his habilite. 1593 T. Mortimer Will in B. Cusack Everyday Eng. 1500–1700 (1998) 338 I geue to my wife Aules merttimer A pese of de mayene groune..by estimacion vij ackeres or There A bout bet more or Les. 1625 J. Hart Anat. Urines ii. iv. 74 This fluxe continued lesse or more for some few dayes after. 1683 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises II. 182 It will more or less job against every Letter. 1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 21. ¶3 Lawyers..that are more or less passionate according as they are paid for it. 1755 Guthrie's Trial 112 (Jam.) The soul is pursued for guilt more or less, and is not law-biding; Christ Jesus is the city of refuge. 1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 827 Formerly fluxes more or less compound were employed for these purposes. 1855 H. Martineau Autobiogr. (1877) I. 39 I certainly never believed, more or less, in the ‘essential doctrines’ of Christianity. 1863 J. W. Carlyle Lett. (1883) III. 173 I had had pain more or less in my left arm for two months. 1940 J. Buchan Memory Hold-the-Door v. 97 Lord Cromer, who had more or less educated himself, loved dearly a learned reference; even Lord Curzon could unbend joyfully and talk books. 1962 J. L. Austin et al. How to do Things with Words xii. 150 I call then these classes of utterance..by the following more-or-less rebarbative names:..Verdictives..Exercitives [etc.]. 1963 Language 39 460 As far as the bees are concerned, it is clear that their behavior resembles that of an analog computer.., that is, a control machine of the more-or-less type, and not at all of a digital computer, of a yes-or-no type. 1964 M. A. K. Halliday et al. Ling. Sci. v. 124 But this, like synonymy, is a ‘more or less’ not a ‘yes or no’ relation. 1975 Country Life 13 Feb. 386/2 Every more-or-less sound horse was purchased for the Expeditionary Force by Civilian Re-mount Purchasing Officers. 1984 T. Mallon Bk. of one's Own (1985) ii. 42 The telephone has more or less killed letter-writing, and the camera has dealt a pretty severe blow to the travel diary. 2015 N. Smith tr. J. Nesbo Blood on Snow ix. 62 By that time..I had a more-or-less failed criminal career behind me. †b. more and less (also more and min): altogether, entirely, as a whole. Cf. sense D. 1. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > wholeness > as a whole [phrase] more and lessa1400 by greatc1475 of greatc1503 more and min1578 as a whole1643 a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) 13664 (MED) Þair strijf he wist bath less and mare. a1450 Lessons of Dirige (Digby) 290 in J. Kail 26 Polit. Poems (1904) 116 (MED) Lordis hande hath towched me more and myn. c1500 (?a1475) Assembly of Gods (1896) 306 (MED) Clad all in purpur was she more & lesse. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 29 Quhat I haif tholit les and mair. 1578 J. Rolland Seuin Seages 243 I sall ȝow schaw the mater mair and min. II. Additionally, in addition. 4. a. In negative, interrogative, or hypothetical contexts: in repetition or continuance of what has taken place up to a particular time; further, longer, again. Now poetic and regional (Shetland).The sense is equivalent to the now much more common adverbial use of any more (cf. sense B. 3a and any more adj., pron., n., and adv.). See also no more adv. Cf. evermore adv. and n., nevermore adv., once more at once adv., conj., adj., and n. Phrases 1. ΚΠ OE West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 46 Ne nan ne dorste of ðam dæge hyne nan þing mare axigean. lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1129 Se þe þæt ne wolden done forgede his circe & his hus & his ham & nefra ma nan clepunge þær to na hafde mare. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) 6103 Heo to Brut-londe nolden maren senden gold ne garsume. a1300 Passion our Lord 39 in R. Morris Old Eng. Misc. (1872) 38 (MED) Anon he hyne byleuede more to vondy. c1387–95 G. Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol. 304 Noght oo word spak he moore than was neede. c1410 (c1350) Gamelyn (Harl. 7334) 265 Ther was noon with Gamelyn wolde wrastle more. a1450 St. Edith (Faust.) (1883) 3582 (MED) We ben vndone for euer here-after more. 1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. I Reueale any more his sute he durst not, because when he began to chat of loue she shakt him off. a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) i. ii. 295 If thou more murmur'st. View more context for this quotation 1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 83. ⁋3 Little did I think I should ever have Business of this Kind on my Hands more. 1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 272. ¶1 She is now odious to her Mistress for having so often spoke well of me, that she dare not mention me more. 1785 W. Cowper Task v. 91 Where neither grub, nor root, nor earth-nut, now Repays their labour more. 1814 W. Nicholson Tales in Verse 11 He ne'er again, at kirk or fair, Durst ever wi' her taigle mair. 1870 J. Ruskin Lect. Art vii. §182 Since their day, painting has never flourished more. 1885 R. Bridges Eros & Psyche iv. xiv. 45 But never call me woman more, if soon I cannot lure her from her height divine. 1902 A. Austin Tale of True Love 37 She is gone, and we shall never see her more. 1986 R. A. Jamieson Thin Wealth 150 He'll never be back in Glimmerwick more. b. In addition to what has been specified or implied; further, besides; (of time) longer, from now (on), from then (on). Now used only after a designation of quantity or number (definite or indefinite). ΚΠ a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 3 (MED) Aduent..lasteð þre wuke fulle and sum del more. ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 314 Seggen..pater noster biuoren & Aue marie. efter mete alse & acrede mare [a1250 Nero moare]. a1425 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (1987) ii. 454 For the harm that myghte ek fallen moore. 1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) xii. 314 I wat nocht quhat mar say sall I. 1503 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 218 For ane steik bukram and vj quartaris mair to lyne the samyn. 1568 (a1500) Freiris Berwik 374 in W. T. Ritchie Bannatyne MS (1930) IV. 272 Baith breid and wyne and vþir thingis moir. 1570 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandry (new ed.) f. 41^v Of siluer, golde, or precious stones, and treasures many more. c1578 in Coll. Ordinances Royal Househ. (1790) 241 The Lord Chauncellor..fee 419l. 0s. 0d. For his attendance in the Star-chamber, 200 0 0. More, by the names of annuities 300 0 0. 1587 F. Thynne Ann. Scotl. 430/1 in Holinshed's Chron. (new ed.) II To which he more added these speeches. 1589 Burgh Rec. Glasgow (1876) I. 142 Item, fyvetene schillingis for the price of ane hogheid; item, mair, twentie sex schillingis viij^d. for ane lang courchay; item, mair, twentie schillingis for ane cod and codwair. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus ii. iii. 173 One thing more, That woman-hood denies my tong to tell. View more context for this quotation 1616 B. Jonson Epigrammes xxxiii, in Wks. I. 777 Ile not offend thee with a vaine teare more. a1643 W. Cartwright Lady-errant v. i, in Comedies (1651) sig. e4^v This foreside blow Cuts off thrice three, this back-blow thrice three more. 1698 S. Clarke Scripture-justif. xii. 61 That I may give down-weight, I shall add these Reasons more. 1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry (1721) I. 35 It will ripen in about a Month's time more. 1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 237 I won't have one Creature touch'd more, upon Pain of Death. 1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. i. 6 After an interval of twelve years, we had two sons more. 1776 E. Gibbon Decline & Fall I. xv. 501 Only three years more were added to the term of his exile. 1800 S. T. Coleridge in Sir H. Davy's Rem. (1858) 82 I am compelled..to give a volume of letters from Germany, which will be a decent lounge book, and not an atom more. 1858 C. Patmore Espousals x, in Angel in House (ed. 2) II. 276 At Church, in twelve hours more, we meet! 1885 J. Runciman Skippers & Shellbacks 248 I'll snap your backbone across my knee if you meg half a second more. 1914 J. Joyce Dubliners 117 Pony up, boys. We'll have just one little smahan more. 1937 Amer. Home Apr. 50/2 Increase to 325° F. and bake about 30 minutes more. 1993 Discover Feb. 24/1 In a telomere, though, the same sequences of nucleotides is repeated over and over, a thousand times more. 5. a. [ < more (in sense B. 1) followed by than with an expression of number, amount, or quantity, used adverbially. Compare similar uses of plus quam in classical Latin. < ] more than. (a) (With an expression of number, amount, or quantity) by an amount exceeding the number or quantity specified; similarly with multiplicative numerals, as more than once (corresponding to more than one treated as a unitary expression). ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > high or intense degree > greatly or very much [phrase] > to a greater extent > in some specific respect more thanOE OE Homily: Invention of Cross (Auct. F.4.32) in M.-C. Bodden Old Eng. Finding of True Cross 83 Ic nat hit ne ne can forþan hit wæs gedon mare þonne for hundtiontigum gærum & ic eom iung & þæt ne geman. ?a1300 (a1250) Harrowing of Hell (Digby) (1907) 60 (MED) More þen xxx vinter hit is agon Þat þu hauest fonded me. c1400 (?c1308) Adam Davy's 5 Dreams (1878) 38 (MED) It is more þan twelue moneþ gon. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 196 (MED) Þe scriptur of þaim is mor þan ccclxxij yere old. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil Æneid (1959) vi. Prol. 12 Reid agane this volume mair than twys. ?1553 Respublica (1952) i. ii. 6 And yonder he cometh me thinketh more then half madde. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xviii Sheepe, which haue very long tayles more then a foote long. 1696 J. Dryden Lucian in Prose Wks. (1800) III. 360 For this reason he calls himself more than once an Assyrian. 1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) I. 85 The earthquake..overwhelmed a chain of mountains of free stone more than 300 miles long. 1868 M. E. Grant Duff Polit. Surv. 48 His territories in Asia..are more than twenty-one times the size of Scotland. 1946 Times Lit. Suppl. 9 Feb. 62/3 Erasmus sat to him more than once. 1990 A. Lurie Don't tell Grown-ups ii. 17 More than 150 years later it was still believed in high-minded progressive circles that fairy tales were unsuitable for children. (b) Modifying an adjective, adverb, verb, or noun, indicating that the word thus modified is (in some obvious respect) inadequate to the intended meaning (sometimes hyphenated when the whole phrase is itself a premodifier); hence also in derivatives, as more-than-oneness. ΚΠ 1572 in J. H. Burton Reg. Privy Council Scotl. (1878) 1st Ser. II. 168 The grit murtheris and mair then beastlie crewelteis usit..aganis the trew Christianis. 1615 G. Sandys Relation of Journey 58 It is..more then conjectured, that Mahomet grounded his devised Paradise, upon the Poets invention of Elisium. a1626 F. Bacon Controv. Church Eng. in Wks. (1879) I. 344 It is more than time that there were an end..made of this immodest..manner of writing. 1742 E. Young Complaint: Night the Third 9 So frequent Death, Sorrow, He more than causes, He confounds. 1777 Earl of Chatham Speech on Addr. 18 Nov. These more than popish cruelties. 1811 M. R. Mitford Let. 15 Dec. in A. G. L'Estrange Life M. R. Mitford (1870) I. v. 163 The orator was more than usually brilliant. 1819 Ld. Byron Mazeppa xiii. 521 'Twas more than noon. 1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales I. 203 Places that it was hardly safe to have descended at more than a walk. 1847 B. Disraeli Tancred II. iii. v. 80 O, my more than sister, 'tis hell! 1867 J. Ruskin Time & Tide xix. §116 My much more than disrespect for the Jamaica Committee. 1881 Punch 23 July 25/2 The same aged lover was bidding, with rather a ‘plummy’ voice, the More-than-Middle-Aged Heroine ‘good bye for ever’. 1924 H. E. Palmer Gram. Spoken Eng. p. xxvii The words trees, towns, boys, form an association-group through having the..meanings ‘more-than-oneness’ in common. 1960 Observer 20 Mar. 7 A greater degree of restraint in lending would be more than welcome to the authorities. 1994 Economist 17 Dec. 97/2 Strong Al..has been more-than-partially eclipsed by approaches that rely on using computers' ability to scan lots of information fast to spot patterns. 2003 Rev. Eng. Stud. 54 675 One more-than-quibble, however: all these..devices would have been enhanced by an index. b. neither more nor less than and variants: exactly, precisely, (that) and nothing else. [Compare French ni plus ni moins que (earlier ne plus ne moins que, 1532 or earlier in Middle French), ni plus ni moins.] ΚΠ a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Hist. Holy Grail xvi. 440 (MED) For his vesage As brenneng Fyr it was To him there semeng, neþer more ne las. a1475 Liber Cocorum (Sloane) (1862) 8 (MED) Boyle hom up with alle, no more ne mynne. a1500 tr. La Belle Dame sans Mercy (Cambr.) 305 in F. J. Furnivall Polit., Relig., & Love Poems (1903) 91 (MED) For my desyr is noþer mor ne lesse, But my seruysse to do, for your plesaunce. 1655 I. Walton Compl. Angler (ed. 2) v. 164 Whose number was neither more nor lesse then the Poets nine Muses. 1705 G. Stanhope Paraphr. Epist. & Gospels I. 80 The Edification whereof would be best promoted by attributing to those Workmen neither more nor less than their Due. 1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. i. 110 The drama, which he will have contain neither more nor less than five Acts. View more context for this quotation 1790 F. Burney Diary Aug. (1842) V. 152 He left me neither more nor less than deluged in tears. 1828 Ld. Grenville Sinking Fund 45 The farmer who has sold his wheat at its market price, has obtained for it neither more nor less than a just equivalent. 1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xviii. 370 The first step which I took..was a very bold one. It was neither more nor less than the establishment of a shop for the sale of Testaments. 1883 R. L. Stevenson Treasure Island ii. xi. 88 By a ‘gentleman of fortune’ they plainly meant neither more nor less than a common pirate. 1900 Edinb. Rev. Apr. 462 The ‘lucid matter’ of space is neither more nor less than star-spawn. 1947 H. Bongers Hist. & Princ. Vocab. Control i. iii. 56 The vocabulary of a language consists of:..Units neither more nor less than single words written without a break... These have been conveniently termed ‘monologs’. 1968 P. Martin tr. M. Pallottino Meaning of Archaeol. 160 The people of the Mycenaean civilization..were neither more nor less than the forebears of the Greeks of history. 6. a. As a sentence adverb: furthermore, in addition. Formerly frequently in nay more (now archaic), and more (rare in later use). Formerly also †more above. Cf. mairatour adv., moreover adv. ΚΠ ?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 230 Ȝet Mare his children sone se he sunegede deadliche deiden alle clone. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) iv. 2446 (MED) And more yit, Of Chapmanhode he fond the weie. 1466 in F. B. Bickley Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 235 (MED) Item more, ij hygh Awter clothes..and more, a Massebooke..and more, and hoole Awbe, [etc.]. a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) I. 85 Mair, it had bene goode for the commone weill of Scottland that [etc.]. 1604 W. Shakespeare Hamlet ii. ii. 127 This in obedience hath my daughter showne me, And more about hath his solicitings..All giuen to mine eare. 1605 in M. Cash Devon Inventories 16th & 17th Cent. (1966) 20 A peare of silver Crookes..more two Chestes... More a peare of water barrells. a1616 W. Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iv. 177 We are betroathd: nay more, our mariage howre..Determin'd of. View more context for this quotation 1683 T. Creech tr. Lucretius De Natura Rerum (ed. 2) ii. 43 But more, tis nothing strange that every Mass Seems quiet and at rest. 1734 M. Barber Poems 39 Was early learn'd, nay more, was early wise. 1762 T. Bridges Homer Travestie I. iv. 189 She guides his weapon where she list; Nay more, a touch of her soft hand, If fallen down, will make him stand. 1816 J. Keats Epist. to C. C. Clarke 57 Miltonian storms, and more, Miltonian tenderness. 1870 G. W. Dasent Ann. Eventful Life (ed. 4) II. 15 He was industrious, and more, he was handsome. 1905 A. R. Whitham Watchers by Cross ii. 15 Tradition..tells us that she was wealthy, influential and beautiful, and yet before her conversion living a life of worldliness,—more, a life of deadly sin. 1997 Chicago Tribune 17 Aug. vii. 10/4 More, too often, both Strauss and librettist Hugo von Hofmannsthal seem to be coasting on automatic pilot. b. Chiefly Scottish and Irish English (northern). more betoken (also, chiefly Scottish, more by token, more for token, etc.) [compare token n. 15] : especially, in particular; moreover, besides. Also more belike (English regional (Yorkshire)): especially. ΚΠ a1796 R. Burns Poems & Songs (1968) I. 218 An auld wheelbarrow, mair for token, Ae leg an' baith the trams are broken. 1816 W. Scott Antiquary III. xi. 237 Ane suldna speak ill o' the dead—mair by token, o' ane's cummer and neighbour. 1850 N. Hawthorne Scarlet Let. xxi. 286 Our only danger will be from drug or pill; more by token, as there is a lot of apothecary's stuff aboard. 1861 ‘G. Eliot’ Silas Marner i. 8 All this Jem swore he had seen, more by token, that it was the very day he had been mole-catching on Squire Cass's land. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down More betoken, besides, generally used when adding a circumstances to prove the correctness of a statement. 1885 D. Boucicault Shaughraun i. i. 11 To be sure, wasn't you by, and helped to persuade him? More betoken, you were a witness to the deed. 1903 Eng. Dial. Dict. IV. 160/2 [W. Yorkshire] More belike, more especially. 1930 Aberdeen Univ. Rec. Mar. 103 Mair b'token, the third scythe 'at vera year, aul' Tom Watson, wiz a lad o' that kin'. 1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. (at cited word) More betoken, moreover, besides; more especially. c. Scottish and Irish English (northern). the more: although. Sc. National Dict. (1965) records the conjunction as still in use in south-west Scotland. ΚΠ 1833 J. Kennedy Geordie Chalmers v. xv No praising mysel the mair I say't. 1880 W. H. Patterson Gloss. Words Antrim & Down at The more He did it, the more he said he wouldn't. 1996 C. I. Macafee Conc. Ulster Dict. (at cited word) I don't approve of the local dialect, the more it is spoken very widely in the community. †D. n.³ As a comparative corresponding to great. 1. With plural agreement. People of high rank. more and less (also more and min): persons of all ranks; everyone without exception. (neither) more nor less: no one. Cf. great n. 2b, much pron. and n. 3. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > people > people collectively > [noun] > all people all the worldOE all ledea1275 more and minc1275 most and leasta1300 much and litec1330 mo and lessc1426 the whole world1530 cut and long tail1576 universal1596 general1604 universality1606 university1677 all outdoors1833 John Q.1937 the mind > attention and judgement > importance > [noun] > one who is important > one who is more important morec1275 major1626 organ-grinder1957 c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15600 Nefden heo nane are of þan lasse no of þan mare. c1300 Assumption of Virgin (Cambr. Gg.4.27) (1901) l. 62 Heo seruede boþe lasse and more. c1330 (?c1300) Bevis of Hampton (Auch.) 4252 (MED) Þer ne scapede lasse ne more. c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) 6650 ‘As armes!’ gred alle..Boþe þe more & þe lasse. a1400 (?c1300) Lay Folks Mass Bk. (Royal) (1879) 136 Haue mercie on vs, more & mynne. a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 345 I woll nat be knowyn of neythir more ne lesse. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 22 (MED) Fare well les, & fare well more..I will go me to hyde. a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1897–1973) 148 (MED) Folk shall bow vnto his hand Both more and myn. 1567 Compend. Bk. Godly Songs (1897) 43 Christ..gaif the same Till his Apostillis mair and min. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) v. iv. 12 Both more and lesse haue giuen him the Reuolt, And none serue with him. View more context for this quotation 1867 W. Morris Life & Death of Jason vi. 116 Thereat was Argo brought up to the shore, And straight all landed from her, less and more. 2. [After post-classical Latin maior (Vulgate): compare major adj. 5.] a. With plural agreement. Forefathers, ancestors. Also in plural. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > kinsman or relation > ancestor > [noun] elder-fathereOE fatherOE elder971 alderOE eldfatherOE forme-fadera1200 ancestorc1300 grandsirec1300 aiela1325 belsirea1325 predecessora1325 forefather1377 morea1382 progenitorc1384 antecessorc1400 forn-fatherc1460 forebear1488 ancient1540 antecestrec1550 fore-grandsirec1550 grandfather1575 ascendant1604 forerunnera1616 ancienter1654 tupuna1845 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 4 Kings xv. 7 Þei birieden hym with his moris [L. maioribus] in þe cite of dauiy [read dauiþ]. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) 2 Paralip. xxi. 19 Þe puple dide not to hym þe deadis offis after þe maner of brennyng as it hadde don to þe more [a1425 L.V. grettere ether auncetris] of hym. b. With plural agreement. Elders. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > old person > [noun] > old people collectively morea1382 old folkc1385 aged1535 ancientry1548 olds1883 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1961) Deut. xxxii. 7 Aske þy fader, & he shal telle to þe, þy more [a1425 L.V. grettere men; L. maiores] & þei shal say to þe. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) Judges xi. 5 Þe more þurgh burthe [a1425 L.V. grettere men in birthe; L. maiores natu] wentyn fro galaad. c. An older person. Also: the oldest. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > people > person > old person > [noun] oldeOE morea1382 olderc1450 ancient1502 mouldy chopsa1640 antediluvian1648 prediluvian1690 emerit1710 pelt1757 old fogey1793 antique1801 relic1832 old head1838 oldster1846 elderling1863 the Ancient of Days1935 senior citizen1938 OAP1942 golden ager1948 coffin dodger1954 wrinkly1972 crumbly1976 geriatric1977 a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xliv. 12 Aserching bygynning fro þe more [a1425 L.V. mooste] vnto þe leest. a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1963) 1 Kings v. 9 He smot þe men of eche citee fro litil vn to more [L. maiorem]. c1425 Concordance Wycliffite Bible f. 129^v (MED) Þe more shulde serue to þe lasse. c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1905) II. 354 (MED) One lete hym witt þat þe more of his sons was dead. 3. Something that is greater or larger (of two things compared). Usually with the. Cf. less pron. and n. 3a. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > condition of being more than another > (a) greater amount advantage1340 morea1398 vantage1398 the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > largeness > [noun] > quality of being larger > one who or that which is morea1398 bigger1546 a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 160 Fisshe is dyuerse in etyng, ffor somme eteþ eueryche oþer..and þe lesse is þe mores [L. maioris] mete. c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) 101 (MED) God ordand then grett lyghtys two..The moyr be for the day to go And the lesse to the nyȝt at attent. a1475 J. Russell Bk. Nurture (Harl. 4011) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 121 Looke þow haue tarrers two, a more & lasse for wyne. a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) 8266 If hir light bi day i-take be For þe sunne we may not hir y-se, For two liȝtis to-gidre wore, þe lasse is not i-seyn for þe more. 1483 ( tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage of Soul (Caxton) (1859) 70 Nedes must the lesse be conteyned within the more. 1532 (c1385) Usk's Test. Loue in Wks. G. Chaucer ii. f. cccxliiii^v Euery cause is more and worthyer than thynge caused, and in that mores possessyon, al thinges lesse ben compted. †E. prep. = plus prep. 1a. Obsolete. ΚΠ 1545 in State Papers Henry VIII (1830) I. 796 Item, 2 of the gretest hulkes that may be gotten, more the hulkes that rydeth within the havyn. 1694 W. Holder Treat. Harmony vi (plate facing p. 155) 5 to 4 more Diesis... 5 to 3, more Diesis & comma. 1706 W. Jones Synopsis Palmariorum Matheseos 67 That Number more one. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online June 2022). morev.¹ Brit. /mɔː/, U.S. /mɔr/ Forms: Middle English morie, Middle English morye, Middle English– more, 1600s moare, 1800s– moory, 1900s– moor. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: more n.¹ Etymology: < more n.¹For forms in -ye or -y see -y suffix². Now regional. 1. intransitive. To take root, to become rooted. Chiefly figurative. Now English regional (chiefly south-western). ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (intransitive)] > be or become established morea1200 roota1382 to take roota1450 take1523 to take rooting1548 to be well warmed1565 seisin1568 to sit down1579 to come to stay1863 a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 163 (MED) Þe holie lorðewes, prophetes, apostles..sewen on þis lond godes word for sede and hit morede on here heorte. a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) 2354 Whanne me soweþ nywe sed, ar hit wole morye oþer springe, Ȝif þat lond is ffordryed..Me mot sende reyn and dieuz. 1607 R. Parker Scholasticall Disc. against Antichrist i. i. 42 They gaue them scope..not only to moare but also to spread, and finally to gaine that height in which at this day we find them. 1825 J. Jennings Observ. Dial. W. Eng. 56 To More, v.n. to root; to become fixed by rooting. 1888 F. T. Elworthy W. Somerset Word-bk. at Moory Nif you plant withen pitches the right time o' the year, 'tis winderful how quick they'll moory. a1903 J. S. F. Singleton in Eng. Dial. Dict. (1903) IV. 160/2 [Somerset] More [to take root, to form roots]. †2. transitive. To cause to become rooted or implanted; to establish. Usually in passive. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish arear?a800 astellc885 planteOE i-set971 onstellOE rightOE stathelOE raisec1175 stofnec1175 stablea1300 morec1300 ordainc1325 fermc1330 foundc1330 instore1382 instituec1384 establec1386 firmc1425 roota1450 steadfastc1450 establishc1460 institute1483 to set up1525 radicate1531 invent1546 constitute1549 ordinate1555 rampire1555 upset1559 stay1560 erect1565 makea1568 settle1582 stablish1590 seminarize1593 statuminatea1628 hain1635 bottom1657 haft1755 start1824 the world > movement > absence of movement > render immobile [verb (transitive)] > stabilize > fix firmly in place morec1300 ficchec1374 firmc1374 fix14.. staplec1400 stithc1480 perplant1548 settle1560 stay1565 lock1590 haft1755 sicker1824 brace1849 c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) 256 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 8 To one huy weren alle i-come, and weren i-morede suyþe faste, þat huy ne miȝten beo op i-nome. c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) 2834 (MED) Hure loue ys mored on þe ful vaste. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add.) f. 162^v Noþing on lyve may growe but ȝif he be roted and morede in substaunce of erþe. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Petyt) (1996) i. 15805 Þe folk was wele mored [a1450 Lamb. y-mored] & þe lond wele stored. 1593 T. Bilson Perpetual Govt. Christes Church 15 The grounding vs in faith, moring vs in hope, and rooting vs in charitie. 3. transitive. To uproot, dig up by the roots. With out, up. Now chiefly Newfoundland. ΘΚΠ the world > space > place > removal or displacement > extraction > extract [verb (transitive)] > root out or up louka1000 morec1325 roota1387 unroot?a1425 stubc1450 roota1500 rid?1529 root-walt?1530 subplant1547 supplant1549 root?1550 grub1558 eradicate1564 to stump up1599 deracinate1609 uproot1695 aberuncate1731 eracinate1739 rootle1795 disroot1800 piggle1847 c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 10263 (MED) Þe erchebissopes wodes..þe king het..Þat me morede al clene vp, þat þer ne bileuede non. 1890 J. D. Robertson Gloss. Words County of Gloucester at More sb. To more, to root up. 1977 Decks Awash 6 64 'E'd moor out timber in de fall. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † morev.² Forms: Middle English mare (northern), Middle English moore, Middle English mori, Middle English mory, Middle English–1500s more. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: more adj. Etymology: < more adj. Compare Middle Dutch mēren (Dutch vermeerderen, vermeren), Middle Low German mēren, Old High German mērōn (Middle High German mēren, German mehren). Obsolete. 1. transitive. To augment, to cause to increase, to exaggerate. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (transitive)] echeOE ekec1200 multiplya1275 morea1300 increase13.. vaunce1303 enlargec1380 augmenta1400 accrease1402 alargea1425 amply?a1425 great?1440 hainc1440 creasec1475 grow1481 amplea1500 to get upa1500 improve1509 ampliatea1513 auge1542 over1546 amplify1549 raise1583 grand1602 swell1602 magnoperate1610 greaten1613 accresce1626 aggrandize1638 majoratea1651 adauge1657 protend1659 reinforce1660 examplify1677 pluralize1750 to drive up1817 to whoop up1856 to jack up1884 upbuild1890 steepen1909 up1934 a1300 ( Declaration of Indulgences, Crediton, Devon in Britannica: M. Förster zum Sechzigsten Geburtstage (1929) 116 Se holiapopa lion þay ȝeuenisse iuas[t]nede and morede hit mid on þousent daȝe. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 79 Of þe guodes þet god him heþ ylend uor to mory [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues to multiplien; Fr. por multeplier]. 1340 Ayenbite (1866) 175 (MED) Efterward me ssel zigge naȝt onlepiliche þe zennes ac þe aboutestondinges alle þet moreþ þe zennes [c1450 Bk. Vices & Virtues maken þe synne grettere]. a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) vii. 1841 (MED) What he wol make lasse, he lasseth, What he wol make more, he moreth. a1422 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 451 In moryng the pris of the liuere. a1450 (c1435) J. Lydgate Life SS. Edmund & Fremund (Harl.) 891 in C. Horstmann Altengl. Legenden (1881) 2nd Ser. 392 (MED) So was he besy, the tresour, that men calle Rem publicam, to moren and amende. 1483 Vulgaria abs Terencio (T. Rood & T. Hunte) sig. ovi^v He dredith lest thy olde angyr or hardnes be mored or incresyd. 1530 Myroure Oure Ladye (Fawkes) (1873) ii. 209 Then the kynge of all blysse mored hys treasure puttynge in to yt a lyuynge sowle. 2. intransitive. To become larger or greater; to grow, to increase. ΘΚΠ the world > relative properties > quantity > increase in quantity, amount, or degree > [verb (intransitive)] forthwaxa900 wax971 growOE risec1175 anhigh1340 upwax1340 creasec1380 increasec1380 accreasea1382 augmenta1400 greata1400 mountc1400 morec1425 upgrowc1430 to run up1447 swell?c1450 add1533 accresce1535 gross1548 to get (a) head1577 amount1583 bolla1586 accrue1586 improve1638 aggrandize1647 accumulate1757 raise1761 heighten1803 replenish1814 to turn up1974 c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iii. 5096 Þei hym besouȝt..on her wo to rewe, Þat likly was to moren [a1420 Augustus morne] and renewe. c1475 (a1449) J. Lydgate Testament (Harl. 218) 309 in Minor Poems (1911) i. 340 For as ver ay moreth in grenesse, So doth childhode in amorous lustynesse. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2002; most recently modified version published online December 2021). > see also also refers to : -moresuffix < n.¹eOEn.²eOEn.⁴?c1425n.⁵1612adj.pron.adv.n.³prep.eOEv.¹a1200v.²a1300 see also
随便看	lime-scuttle lime-shells lime-sifter lime-silicate lime-sink lime-slab lime-soda lime-sour lime-sulphur lime-tree lime-twig lime-uranite lime-wagon lime-walk lime-wash lime-water lime-wavellite lime-white lime-wood lime-work lime-wort lime-yard limeade limeades limeash

moren.1

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moreadj.pron.adv.n.3prep.

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moren.⁵

moreadj.pron.adv.n.³prep.

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