释义 |
oatn.Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with West Frisian oat , Dutch oot , Dutch regional (West Flanders) ate , ote , (Zeeland) ōōt , ōōte , all in sense ‘wild oat’ (compare sense 3); further etymology uncertain: perhaps < the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek οἰδεῖν to swell (see atter n.). In most Germanic languages the word for oat is derived from the base of haver n.2Oat differs from other names of cereals, ancient or modern, as wheat , barley (bigg , bear ), rye , rice , maize , millet , and from its own synonym haver , in that, while these are mass nouns, the collective form of which is singular, and with no plural form in ordinary language, oat is an individual singular, the collective or mass sense of which has to be expressed by the plural, e.g. ‘Is the crop rye or oats?’, ‘Wheat, barley, and oats are cereals’. It seems likely that the word originally denoted not the plant or its produce, but an individual grain (compare groats n.). The morphological singular as a collective, although not common, is attested in Middle English (see sense 1b). The usual plural form in Old English is ātan , and forms with plural in -n survive until the late 15th cent.; forms with plural in -s first appear in the mid 13th cent. The Old English form ǣte shows i-mutation, and is reflected in such later forms as Middle English ete , Older Scots eat , etc. Forms in w- show the development of a back glide (voiced labiovelar approximant /w/) before long open ō in Middle English (compare the forms wote , woat , whoat , and (with subsequent shortening) wotte , watt , wot , wat ). In some dialects Middle English long open ō was raised to long close ō before the operation of the great vowel shift (compare the form woote ); the resultant early modern English long ū was frequently shortened giving the current regional pronunciations /wʊt/, /wʌt/ (compare the forms wut , wutt , whut ; and see also discussion s.v. one adj., n., and pron.). The orthoepist C. Cooper ( Grammatica (1685)) draws attention to the latter development when he describes the pronunciations wun for ‘one’ and wuts for ‘oats’ as ‘barbarous speaking’ (see further E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §431); J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 549 records forms with the reflex of early modern English long ū (with and without initial w-) widely throughout England, but especially from counties in the north midlands and north, and in the south-west; Surv. Eng. Dial. records the pronunciation /wʊt/ from Cheshire. Forms in y- show the parallel development of a front glide (voiced palatal approximant /j/) before e (see E. J. Dobson Eng. Pronunc. 1500–1700 (ed. 2, 1968) II. §430); Eng. Dial. Dict. records such forms as in recent use in Yorkshire, Durham, Northumberland, and Cumberland (although J. Wright Eng. Dial. Gram. (1905) 548–9 records no examples from the north of England); Sc. National Dict. records pronunciations reflecting such forms from south-western, southern, and east central Scotland. 1. The grain of a hardy cereal plant (see sense 2), used as a food for people and animals, esp. horses. the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > oats eOE (Royal) (1865) i. xxxv. 84 Genim bean mela oþþe ætena, oððe beres. a1200 Recipe (Faust. A.x) in T. O. Cockayne (1866) III. 292 Nim atena gratan. c1230 (?a1200) (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 161 Me nimeð ed uuel dettur aten [a1250 Nero oten; a1250 Titus ates] for hweate. c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon (Calig.) (1978) 14600 He gon ȝeoten draf and chaf and aten. c1330 (?c1300) (Auch.) 1531 (MED) Nas mete ne drinke be-fore him leid, Hey ne oten ne water clere. c1395 G. Chaucer D. 1963 A yif that couent half a quarter otes. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) 10110 (MED) Whete cornes wyl nat prykke As otes dowun or barlykke. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. iv. 45 A taile for Ten quarteris of otis. ?a1450 (Stockh.) (1950) 122 (MED) Apium risus..cerfoylle..hatz a quyte flour and long seed lyke to otyn. c1500 (1895) 127 That ootis shuld be gyuen to the horses. a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in (1998) I. 204 Thow skaffis and beggis mair beir and aitis. c1530 Househ. Accts. Hampton Court in E. Law (1885) I. 367 4 boshells of wotes at 4d. the boshell. 1559 in (1899) App. iii. 74 ve peckes wootes. 1601 F. Tate (1876) 14 Hay and otes, litter and shoing and other necessaries for iiij horses. 1654 E. Gayton iii. i. 68 He is to be interdicted Oats and all Flatulent and erecting dyet for a Moneth. 1673 G. Fox in (1914) July 98 Pease & barly & woats 2 shilens a bueshell. 1732 J. Arbuthnot i. 251 Oats, cleansing, resolving, and pectoral. 1792 J. Sinclair IV. 386 The..hinds..receive 10 bolls oats, 2 bolls barley, and 1 boll peas, which two last articles are called hummel corn. 1818 R. Wilbraham 31 Wuts,..oats. 1857 E. Acton i. vi. 75 In the south of England oats are not employed for bread, but only for feeding horses. 1880 R. Jefferies i. 8 I met Hilary..and listened to a long tirade which he delivered against ‘wuts’. 1949 6 May Stingy, miserable farmers who refused to give oats to hens. 2001 Oct. 41 Beta-glucan in oats can have a favourable effect on blood sugar level. c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 752 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale (1930) 310 (MED) He taiede vp his palefrai; Inouȝ he fond of hote and hai. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden (St. John's Cambr.) (1865) I. 405 They eteth brede, colde and hote, Of barliche and of oote. a1399 in W. G. Benham (1907) 10 (MED) For malt and ote, a pynte be hepe. a1450 (?a1390) J. Mirk (Claud.) (1974) 1371 (MED) Hast þow ouer-holde corne or ote [v.r. wote] Or oþer þynge þat come neuer to note? a1475 (Sloane) (1862) 53 (MED) For sethe ray. Take ote; strey and draghe hit clene. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats > an oat 1598 Riddle 55: Idle Braine, & Wanton Eie in Lecherie, iugling fast and loose, Doth gaine his bushell for each oate, That comes into the gozlings throate. 1604 T. Dekker & T. Middleton sig. A4v I ha not an oate to throw at a horse. 1629 J. Shirley i. i There wil be scarce an Oate betweene the leane iade, and the fat Gelding. 1682 N. Grew iv. iii. i. 181 A Cluster of other little Bags, about the bigness of an Oate. 1709 E. Ward IV. 164 Fools, for want of Judgment, oft esteem, Like Æsop's Cock, an Oat before a Jem. 1780 A. Young (Dublin ed.) I. 288 Nor would the horses touch an oat, while they could get carrots. 1860 N. Hawthorne II. xxiii. 256 They were concocted mostly of lime, with a grain of oat or some other worthless kernel in the midst. 1870 May 705 That astute philosopher who got down his horse's food to a peck, a quart, a pint, a gill, nay a solitary oat a day. 1931 J. Masefield 16 Another [locust] came and fleshed his tooth Right to the bitter kernel of an oat. 1981 R. Kelly 150 Every form that spills its seed is godly only the unjust holds back the tilth preferring to tithe spirit for an oat of matter. 2. The cereal which yields this grain, which may be any of several grasses of the genus Avena, but principally Avena sativa, having loose panicles of large pendulous two- or three-flowered spikelets and widely grown in cool temperate regions. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats > the oat plant or variety of the oat eOE (1890) 22/2 Auena, atę. a1200 ( 22 Aluena, ate. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add.) f. 216 Ote, is an herbe and þe seed þer of acordeþ to vse of men and of hors. (Harl. 221) 372 Ote, or havur corne, Avena. 1577 N. Breton 4 So my rude brayne..no kynd of fruite would yeeld: New broken vp, will now yet beare an Ote. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach i. f. 31 The Oate is not daungerous in the choyse of his grounde, but groweth like a good fellowe in euery place, where no seede els wyll growe. c1600 (1833) 181 Aittis and peis growand thair about. 1620 T. Venner ii. 40 It receiueth a singular cooling qualitie from the Oate. 1775 J. Ash Avena, the oat. 1854 C. Fox ix. 100 In Scotland, the oat yields very large crops. 1879 i. 17 The oat is the hardiest of all cereal plants. 1946 A. Nelson i. vii. 174 In some peculiar varieties of oat the fruit escapes naturally from the leaves. 1974 A. J. Huxley (1978) xxvii. 338 The resultant hybrid was irradiated and a stable, resistant oat was selected. lOE (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1124 Man sælde..þæt acer sæd aten þæt is feower sed læpas to feower scillingas. c1300 Childhood Jesus (Laud) 990 in C. Horstmann (1875) 1st Ser. 34 (MED) Þe feld with Otene was al bi gon. a1425 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 664/13 Hec auena, otys. a1450 ( tr. Vegetius (Douce) f. 81 (MED) Þere is no bettir metynge wiþ enemyes þan..whan þey ben besiliche ocupied aboute hey makyng or otus repinge. ?1543 (new ed.) sig. A.iiv Aperium is an herbe clepyd Cherfoyle, or Cheruyle. This herbe hath smal leuys lyke hemloke, but this herbe is swete in sauour, and he hath a whyte flower & a long sede lyke otes. 1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach i. f. 30v Of the grayne, Oates are the fyrst that are sowed..and this kind prospereth in riche and newe broken vp ground exceedingly. 1599 H. Porter sig. E3v A man..need not to aske, What time a yeere twere good to sow his Oates, Nor yet his Barley. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 61 Ceres..thy rich Leas Of Wheate, Rye, Barley, Fetches, Oates and Pease. View more context for this quotation 1671 H. M. tr. Erasmus 181 Nor do they sell it [sc. hay] much cheaper than oats itself. 1785 W. Marshall Minutes in (1790) II. 167 Many oats..have this year been ‘sheaved’: namely, mown outward, gathered from the swaths, bound, and shucked. 1786 R. Burns 23 Let..Aits set up their awnie horn. 1808 C. Vancouver vii. 181 It has occurred..for lay oats to have been made the breaking-crop. 1843 J. A. Smith (ed. 2) 105 Upon the same field which will yield only one harvest of wheat, two successive crops of barley may be raised, and three of oats. 1916 4 Aug. 3 The cutting of winter oats is now common in the home counties, and the crops are bulking well in stook. 1975 B. Bender v. 97 Both oats and rye seem to have been introduced into Europe as weeds in barley and wheat crops. 1992 D. Neuhaus in 11 319 He is a city kid and can't tell oats from alfalfa. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert f. ix There be .iii. maner of otes, that is to say red otes, blake otes, and rough otes. 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens iv. xiii. 467 The pilde Otes are sowen in the gardens of Herboristes. ?1609 G. Chapman tr. Homer v. sig. L Two horse to euery one, That eat white Barley and blacke Otes, and do no good at all. 1686 R. Plot vi. 204 A sort of red-Oate sowne thereabout. 1736 iii. 351 There are two sorts, the White or Polish Oat..and the black Oat. 1760 R. Brown 82 White oats..come up sooner, and top the weeds better than black. 1762 J. Mills I. 409 Red Oats are much cultivated in Derbyshire. 1805 R. W. Dickson I. 578 In the Siberian or Tartarian oat the grains are thin and small. 1856 J. C. Morton (new ed.) II. 483/1 Potato oats grown for ten or a dozen of years on late and inferior soil, are totally different in sample and straw from those grown upon fine firm loams. 1946 A. Nelson vii. 174 In some peculiar varieties of oat the fruit escapes naturally from the leaves, and these kinds are known as naked oats or huskless oats. 1987 18 June 19 Echidna oats can make milling quality and millers are taking them even though they are not the preferred variety. 2001 3 Feb. 17/2 They fight weeds by planting winter crops such as black oats. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats > oat plants 1790 21 Aug. 3/2 From a single oat.—One hundred, and thirty three wrides, or stalks. 1882 50 I was shown the bunch which had produced twenty-one stalks from a single oat. 1887 W. Hillhouse tr. E. Strasburger 265 The haulm of an oat which is infected with rusty uredo-patches. 1974 A. J. Huxley (1978) xxi. 261 Surrounded by weeds, an oat could only produce 500m of roots in a season. the world > plants > particular plants > plants perceived as weeds or harmful plants > weed > [noun] > wild oat the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats eOE (1974) 32 Lolium, atae. eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in J. J. Quinn (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1956) 81 Zizania, atan, vel lasor. OE (Northumbrian) xiii. 30 Colligite primum zizania : geadriges uel somniges ærist ða unwæstma uel wilde ata. ?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker (1884) I. 785/13 Hec avicula, wyld hote. 1551 W. Turner sig. E vj Ther are ij. kyndes of otes: the one is called in English comonly, otes: and the other..wild otes. 1567 G. Turberville tr. G. B. Spagnoli vi. 64 Howe chaunst that stinking weedes the graine do ouergrowe, And wilde and barraine Oates oppresse the hoped Haruest so? 1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens iv. xiii. 467 Also there is a barren Ote, of some called the purre Otes, of others wilde Otes..The Purwottes or wilde Otes, commeth vp in many places amongst wheate and without sowing. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics i, in tr. Virgil 56 And oats unblest, and Darnel domineers. View more context for this quotation 1796 W. Withering (ed. 3) II. 166 Avena..pratensis..Meadow Oat. Heaths and high chalkey lands. 1819 D. B. Warden II. 538 Water oats, or wild rice (Zizania aquatica) grows in the soft marshes of the eastern parts [of Louisiana]. 1835 W. J. Hooker 53 A. fatua, wild Oat..A. strigosa, bristle-pointed Oat. 1865 G. Bentham II. 973 False-Oat. Arrhenatherum avenaceum, Beauv... In meadows, hedges, and thickets. 1950 J. E. Lousley vi. 87 From Staines..Mr. D. H. Kent lists the following [calcicoles]:..Downy Oat, Helictotrichon pubescens, and Upright Brome. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > made of straw 1587 T. Thomas at Avena Oates, a pipe made of an oaten strawe. 1638 J. Milton Lycidas in Obsequies 22 in That strain I heard was of a higher mood. But now my oat proceeds. 1648 R. Herrick sig. T8 That thou shalt swear, my Pipe do's raigne Over thine Oat, as Soveraigne. 1747 W. Mason 22 Thus the fond swain on doric oate essay'd, Manhood's prime honours downing on his cheek. 1751 T. Warton Elegy of Death of Late Frederic Prince of Wales in (1802) II. 24 O for the warblings of the Doric ote, That wept the youth deep-whelm'd in ocean's tide! 1834 W. S. Roscoe 41 Pan to thee decreed An oat to win the ear of morn, Sweeter than harp or horn. a1876 M. Collins Greek Idyl iv, in (1886) 82 While an old shepherd with his oat Pipes to the autumn breezes. 1914 M. J. Cawein 181 Pan chuckled; set his oat To the owlet's feathered throat, Bade it blow a wildwood note. 1966 L. MacNeice (1979) 37 I thought a shepherd was a poet—On his flute—On his oat. 1857 ‘Ducange Anglicus’ 14 Oats and chaff,..footpath. 1935 A. J. Pollock 82/1 Oats and chaff, footpath. Phrases With reference to the feeding of horses with oats. See also wild oat n.1831 22 Dec. 1/1 Whether the pony felt his oats,..He took a frightful canter. 1869 P. T. Barnum i. 33 My father..installed me as clerk in this country store. Of course I ‘felt my oats’. 1897 C. M. Flandrau 85 I suppose he was feeling his oats when he captained his class eleven. 1947 Nov. 939/1 A dynamic run-about met grandparents' eyes instead—boisterous, obstreperous, inclined to obstinacy, obviously feeling her oats. 1971 D. Lees i. 17 The Manchester circulation is nudging the one and a half million a day mark and they are beginning to feel their oats. 1990 F. Dannen (1991) xii. 240 Whether it was the Thriller phenomenon or euphoria over the departure of Dick Asher, Walter must have been feeling his oats when he bid for the Stones. the world > health and disease > ill health > a disease > disorders of internal organs > disordered nutrition > [adjective] > with loss of appetite 1873 W. G. Wills Luralie, Water Sprite i. v, in 26 I'm very cross and very ill—I'm off my oats. 1890 R. Kipling in Aug. 254 I'm a bit restless and off my oats. 1898 17 Dec. (Red Page) The horse is a power in Australia, and a few choice expressions spring from horses..out of collar aptly describes out of work; off his oats, sickness or state of offishness. 1930 P. G. Wodehouse iv. 98 The poor kid, who's quite off her oats about him. 1949 D. M. Davin ii. ii. 99 What's the matter, John? Off your oats this morning? 2002 (Nexis) 8 May Jason talked about how his grandmother had been unwell of late. I told him that my dear old grandmother..had been off her oats too. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > sexual activity > engage in sexual activity [verb (intransitive)] > achieve sexual gratification 1923 J. Manchon 209 To have one's oats, faire des bêtises avec une femme, courir la gueuse. 1965 W. Dick 188 I was kissing her excitedly and passionately. You're doin' O.K., Cookie, you're gonna get your oats tonight for sure, I thought to myself. 1976 P. Hill vii. 90 She wouldn't let you have your oats... You wanted to go to bed with her..she wouldn't have it. 1994 6 Mar. vii. 15/1 Sex education would explain..that it is sexual restraint and consideration for the opposite sex–and not ‘getting their oats’–that it is the sign of real manhood. Compounds C1. a. (a) General attributive. 1858 B. Taylor xxxii. 333 The bread made apparently of saw-dust, with a slight mixture of oat-bran. 1900 26 Apr. 5/6 Porridge made from oat-bran husks. 1990 Jan. 14/2 Oat bran may be helpful in lowering levels of cholesterol—one of the biggest causes of coronary problems. a1500 (Sloane) (1890) 52 (MED) Let your provynder be medled wt whete chafe or ote chaffe but not with barle chafe, for þt hurtithe þem in þe mowthe. 1844 Jan. 29 Near a narrow broken window, stood a wooden frame..that supported a bed of oat-chaff, sewed up in a dirty tattered sack. 1976 52 156 At a field site, 30 feet from a highway, oat chaff contained 31.4 ppm (mcg/g/dw) of lead. 1743 W. Ellis (Dublin ed.) Aug. xiii. 41 (heading) Frosts improve Grounds for an Oat Crop. 1880 T. McGrath xi. 113 The growing oat crop struggles with the perennial thistle, dock, and prassia. 1958 H. G. Sanders (ed. 3) 300 The oat crop is not a good one to combine. 1806 R. Forsyth III. 348 Oat-dust from the mill..makes part of the mixture. 1909 L. H. Bailey III. 100 (table) Name of feed... Oats..Oat meal..Oat feed or shorts..Oat dust..Oat hulls. c1300 in W. W. Capes (1908) 172 (MED) In campo qui dicitur le Otfeld. 1835 D. P. Thompson viii. 80 He had that morning turned the horse into the oat-field instead of the pasture. 1972 M. M. Postan (1975) iv. 57 The area under oats in Whitney fell sharply..and so it did in most other places where larger oatfields had been created in the process of reclamation. 1472 in C. Rogers (1879) I. 162 A turs of fresche ate fodder. 1554 in C. Rogers (1880) II. 116 Ait fodder. 1897 I. P. Roberts 383 (table) Oat fodder. 1924 J. H. Robinson xi. 198 Feed..all the green feed they will eat, in the shape of corn-fodder cut fine, clover or oat-fodder. 1853 A. Gray (ed. 4) 335 (caption) Vertical section of an Oat-grain. 1859 ‘G. Eliot’ III. vi. liii. 293 He was honest even to the splitting of an oat-grain rather than take beyond his acknowledged share. 1950 E. Mallenby xiii. 276 High phytase also accompanies high phytate in particular parts of the oat grain. the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > prepared grains a1475 (Sloane) (1862) 20 Bray þen with wyne, With ote grotis and whyte brede eke. 1855 Feb. 139/1 Pliny..represents the Germans as living upon oat groats. 1954 E. W. Eckey 295 The oat kernels without hulls (oat groats) contain about 6 to 6½ per cent fat. 1733 W. Ellis 200 They both are the cause of a lean strain, like Oat-grouts that make the Oatmeal. 1945 (Manitoba Dept. Agric. & Immigration) 5 Coarsely Ground Oat Grouts. 1607 G. Markham v. 11 A fewe pease or Beanes mixt with oate hulles which are taken from oates when you make Oate-meal. 1893 G. E. Dartnell & E. H. Goddard Oat-hulls, oat chaff and refuse. 1944 E. F. Degering in M. B. Jacobs I. iii. 84 The commercial source of the pentoses for this reaction is waste pentosans such as corncobs, cottonseed hulls, oat hulls, peanut shells, and straw. 1830 M. Donovan I. vii. 253 The worts were allowed to filter through the stratum of oat-husks and heath. 1907 J. Sinclair xviii. 783 In the middle of the day..a mixture of a pound and a half of ground decorticated cotton cake, and a pound and a half of oat husks is given. 1981 F. Manolson & A. Fraser in K. Thear & A. Fraser vii. 192/1 A common irritant is an oat-husk, part of the scaly covering of a grain of oats, that flattens itself on the eyeball. a1500 (Sloane) (1890) 46 (MED) As for þe oxon..yevynge þem euery weke in ote shevis þe prise a j d..x ote shevis yeldyn a bushell of otys. 1818 J. Keats i. 32 Hast thou a symbol of her golden hair? Not oat-sheaves drooping in the western sun; Not–thy soft hand, fair sister! 1977 14 7 The oat sheaves are grown locally: the oats are cut and stacked with the grain still in the husk and fed to cattle in this form. 1863 J. S. Hittell 104 In some localities the oat-stalks were so high, that men sitting erect on horseback could not see each other. 1929 C. Aiken 342 At noon, Tithonus..climbing the oatstalk with his hairy legs, met grey Arachne. 1983 (Nexis) 8 Sept. 22 Wheat straw is made up of wheat stalks, oat straw of oat stalks. a1500 (Sloane) (1890) 55 (MED) Let þer hay be meled withe whete strawe or elis with ote strawe. a1650 D. Calderwood (1845) VI. 27 A scheaffe of oat straw was sold for fourtie shillings in Edinburgh. 1859 A. Cary 7 [He] lay..with a bundle of oat-straw for his pillow. 1980 D. K. Cameron vi. 56 With his oat-straw, they would be the back of his beasts' winter diet. 1652 W. Blith 62 Lay it down to grass either upon the Oat-stubble, which will soard exceeding well the second year, if not the first; or upon wheat or Rie. 1743 W. Ellis (Dublin ed.) Aug. xiii. 42 A Gentleman plowed up his Oat Stubble in January, and harrowed in Thetches. 1808 C. Vancouver vii. 168 The oat-stubbles are cleaned immediately after harvest. 1949 41 97 Horned larks were seen..in fields of oat stubble. (b) With the sense ‘made from oats’. 1693 5 I had rather a' been drinking Oat-Ale at a Cake-house. 1886 C. E. Doble in T. Hearne II. 449 A draught of oat-ale. 1909 16 Sept. 4/2 Among the delicacies offered to Lichfield visitors just now are oat-ale and oat-cakes. 1705 T. Hearne in (1885) I. 55 He mentions Malt & Oat Beer. 1967 E. M. Beeuwkes et al. iii. 210/1 (note) Mr. Lorenz..states that ‘Mum’, often called ‘Brunswick Oat Beer’ in the 1600's, is similar to, if not identical with ‘spruce beer’. 1799 T. R. Malthus 2 Aug. (1966) 217 Some..have been obliged to live upon the bark bread, with a little mixture of oat flour perhaps..sprinkled with it. 1805 R. Heber Jrnl. 18 Aug. in A. Heber (1830) I. ii. 65 He had extensive store-houses for salt meat and fish, as well as for oat flour, hops, malt, butter and cheese. 1998 (Nexis) 21 Jan. b6 Oat flour is made from groats that have been ground into powder. (c) With the sense ‘containing or intended for oats’. 1851 A. O. Hall 5 It was a modest commercial plain..with..bits of machinery, and ploughs, and oat bags, and hay bales. 1948 M. Uren 161 The bunk consisted of oat bags sewn together and nailed onto a framework of poles. 1825 30 July 126/1 He unfortunately fell astride over an oat-bin. 1943 9 July 27/1 Twice I had deep, penetrating and non-bleeding wounds, once from a thorn in my foot and again from a rusty nail in the oat bin in the stable. 2000 (Nexis) 23 Nov. Peter and Patricia Thompson have the looks that would make a mule back away from an oat bin. 1812 P. Hawker (1893) I. 45 We observed his people at oat cart. b. Objective. (a) 1850 28 Oat Crusher, or Bruiser... This implement is constructed for the purpose of bruising (not grinding) grain that is given as a food to animals. 1898 8 Feb. 3/5 I saw a bean crusher, a chaff cutter and an oat bruiser. 1902 at Oat Oat-consumer. 1850 28 Oat Crusher, or Bruiser. 1954 R. Wailes ii. 33 Some post mills, although not large, seemed to be crammed full of auxiliary machinery, bolters, wire machines, jog-scrys or jumpers and oat crushers. 1969 E. H. Pinto 140 Oat crushers—see rollers. 1902 at Oat Oat-importer. 1675 in (1933) 160 Oatshiller. 1723 No. 6222/10 Robert Wadford, late of Preston..Oat-Shiller. (b) 1872 Oct. 307/1 The natural oat-bearing area of the State may be safely set down at 25,000 square miles. 1893 Duke of Argyll xi. 337 Piece of oat-bearing land. 1863 J. S. Hittell 178 The largest oat-growing counties in the state are [etc.]. 1892 E. Reeves 82 Invercargill..is our chief oat-growing country. 1954 115 305 Blight..seriously decreased yields in most oat-growing areas of the U.S.A. in 1947. 1854 C. Fox ix. 99 The chief oat-producing States are [etc.]. 1947 20 June 631/2 Many of the heaviest oat-producing areas of northern United States. c. Parasynthetic and similative. a1824 Ld. Byron Eng. Bards & Sc. Reviewers in (1898) I. 336 First in the oat-fed phalanx shall be seen The travelled Thane. 1870 R. Broughton I. 190 A young oats-fed mare. 1996 10 Apr. 7/3 Mr Walker argues that a tasty oat-fed cheval roast is less ‘off the wall’ than ostrich, crocodile or buffalo steaks. 1845 1 Mar. 222 The oat-shaped or nucleated body. 1897 29 554/1 Black oat-shaped worms. 1976 51 39/2 The head is covered by armor, but this takes the form of small oat-shaped scales or plates. C2. 1676 (Royal Soc.) 11 651 The commodiousness of this kind of Hygroscope in comparison of those made of wild Oat-beards. 1875 7 180/1 Select a thin and light piece of straw..and attach it to the end of the oat beard with a drop of..glue. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > bread > [noun] > oatmeal bread 1549 in W. Cramond (1891) I. 24 The quhitt breid and aitt breid to be sauld..as the prices of quhytt and meill stands for the tyme. 1656 in J. Stuart (1872) II. 162 The counsell discharges all ait bread to be baikin, except aucht d. ait loaves. 1780 A. Young (Dublin ed.) I. 213 Their diet is milk, potatoes, and oat bread. 1822 J. M. Good I. 251 Attached to toast-and-water, which he made with oat-bread boiled in the water. 1974 12 Dec. 1845/2 Siot..was a pint of buttermilk poured on to a half cup of crushed oat bread. 1926 24 July 6/3 Friedjof Nansen, the form horse in the opener, ran his race, but..Lady Inver dominated most of the running and had a winning margin over the Log Cabin oat-burner at the end. 1941 21 July 11/4 There isn't a galloper in the lot who can say ‘I'm the boss’, so your milkman's oat burner might do just as well as any of 'em. 1973 B. Broadfoot v. 50 Them oatburners never broke down. 1990 R. Baker iii. viii. 109 The kid doesn't even mention Tom Mix's oatburner Tony. the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > eating specific substances or food > [noun] > eating of other substances > eaters of other substances a1668 W. Davenant Vacation in London in (1673) 291 And white Oate-eater that does dwell; In Stable small at Sign of Bell. 1987 (Nexis) 1 May c1 The oat eaters in this year's Kentucky Derby are not preceded by much good opinion. 1994 (Nexis) 22 Apr. 14 The Scots, newly arrived at the Court in London, were considered uncouth, uncultured, and oat-eaters to boot! the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > seed eaters > [noun] > family Emberizidae > subfamily Emberizinae (bunting) > plectrophenax nivalis (snow-bunting) 1793 J. Sinclair VII. 461 A small bird, rather less than a sparrow, resorts here in winter..and is called by the people here oat-fowls, because they prey on the oats. 1813 G. Montagu at Bunting— Snow Snow-fowl. Oat-fowl. 1885 C. Swainson 72 Snow bunting..Oatfowl. 1742 (ed. 14) Oat-gavel, avenae vectigales. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats > hair or villi 1847 I. 623 Other kinds of intestinal calculi..consist principally of the filamentous portion of the grain of oats..and are sometimes known by the popular designation of oat-hair calculi. the world > food and drink > food > animal food > [noun] > fodder > fodder for horses the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > oats > oat sheaves 1843 14 148 Those [horses] getting oat-hay..are as fat as they can be. 1899 30 June 5/3 ‘Oat hay’..consists of oat sheaves with the oats not thrashed out of them. 1983 L. R. Miller & K. Gilman 110 (caption) He's raking oat hay. the world > food and drink > farming > farm > farmland > land raising crops > [noun] > oat-land or -field OE Bounds (Sawyer 1347) in D. Hooke (1990) 308 To þære fyrh þæs bisceopes at londes. 1290 in J. E. B. Glover et al. (1934) 99 Robert atte Otlond. 1339 Manorial Documents in (1936) 34 41 (MED) Walterus Edward reddit in manus domini vnam acram terre de hotelond. 1580 Edinb. Test. VII. f. 350v, in at Ate His duelling hous,..croftis,..aitland and beirland. 1821 J. Clare II. 104 Multitudes of crowding beans; And flighty oatlands of a lighter hue. 1972 M. M. Postan iv. 76 Much of it, even the poor oatlands, continued to be exploited for corn-growing. the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > malting > [noun] > malt > other types of malt ?a1425 (?1373) (1938) f. 9 (MED) Take a galon of gode stronge worte imade of otyr malt and boyle ham well. 1707 J. Mortimer 278 In Kent, where they commonly Brew with one half Oat malt and the other half Barley-malt. a1948 E. Anderson in B. James (1963) 324 ‘And what, dear child, are they?’ ‘Oh, walnut rinds, oat-malt, beans, [etc.]’. the world > food and drink > food > dairy produce > [noun] > milk > milk substitutes or alternatives 1844 10 Feb. 1/1 Oat-milk..is a pure vegetable substance, and made by washing pure chaff with pure water, till the water becomes white as milk... The water is then boiled till it becomes a nice thick jelly; if too thick, more water can be added. 1885 24 Jan. (heading) Oat milk. A fine drink for any time of the year is made simply by stirring a teaspoonful of oatmeal in a tumbler of water, with or without a pinch of salt. 1980 E. Esko & W. Esko ii. i. 104 Oat-milk is very delicious when used in making desserts. 2019 @Strangeland_Elf 31 Oct. in twitter.com (accessed 15 Nov. 2019) I'm so millennial even my shampoo is made out of oat milk and almond milk. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > milling or grinding > [noun] > corn-mill 1482 Will of William Robyns in S. Flood (1993) 68 I woll that Katherine, my wyffe, shall have the howse & londes with the ote myll lying next unto the Hospitall of Seint Julyans terme of her lyf. 1686 R. Plot ix. 337 I was shewed an Oat-Mill, that husk't the Oats and winnow'd them, and then ground them to meal. 1837–40 T. C. Haliburton (1862) 497 Hold up your old oatmill, and see if you can snuff the stable at minister's. 1855 J. C. Smith 723/1 The v[illage] on the bank of [the] Ottawa r[iver] contains an Episcopal church, 3 stores, 2 flouring m[ills], 2 oat mills, 4 saw mills, & 250 inhabitants. 1994 (Nexis) Jan. 16 The plant opened in 1991 and is one of the largest oat mills in North America. society > trade and finance > trader > traders or dealers in specific articles > [noun] > in grain 1300 in G. Fransson (1935) 60 (MED) Thom. Le Otmongere. 1327 in H. T. Riley (1868) 167 Denis le Otemonger. society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > type of film > [noun] > western 1937 12 318 Oats Opera, a western film. 1941 20 Mar. 18/2 It looks like the oats opera has been washed behind the ears and brought into the parlor. 1993 20 Apr. 49/5 The Charge at Feather River is a better than passable (if politically incorrect) oat opera, but as spectacle, it harks back to one of Buffalo Bill's precinema Wild West shows. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > made of straw 1586 W. Webbe tr. Virgil Aeglogue i, in sig. H.ij All in a fine oate pipe these sweete songs lustilie chaunting. 1615 R. Brathwait Loves Labyrinth in Let not your vernant bosome so retaine, All comfort from the oat-pipe of a Swaine. 1672 E. Benlowes iii Birds..Warbling sweet Notes.., Answer'd by Oat-pipes of each harmless Swain. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > wind instrument > pipe > [noun] > made of straw a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil (1957) i. Prol. 511 I the ylk wmquhile that in the small ait reid Tonit my sang. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > sieving > sieve or riddle 1743 W. Ellis (ed. 2) 254 Some Maltsters, to improve the small Sort of Welch Coal, sift it thro' an Oat-Ridder. the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation of grain > [noun] > sieving > sieve or riddle 1446 Inventory in H. Fishwick (1907) 80 (MED) In the haghous..j litell gryndelston, ij redels, j oteredell, iij Muk waynes. 1502 in XII. f. 84 Ane bere riddill..ane ait riddill. 1853 H. Stephens I. 456/1 Oat chaff..is very commonly used in the country to fill the tickings of beds, for which purpose the chaff is riddled through an oat-riddle, and the grosser refuse left in the riddle thrown aside. the world > food and drink > food > corn, cereals, or grain > [noun] > oats 1531 Acts Lords of Council Civil Causes XLII. f. 149, in at Ate-sede Labouring of the ground and sawing of the aite seide and beir seid. 1586 Edinb. Test. XVII. f. 21, in at (Ate-sede) Tua bollis aittis or than the price thairof, as aittis sellis in ait seid tyme. 1684 in T. Bell (1897) 360 Dayes of solemne fasting..befor oatseed and harvest. 1875 W. Alexander 35 Gin ye war throu wi' the hurry o' the ait-seed, ye man jist tak' twa days' leasure. 1988 J. J. Graham & J. Tait VIII. 44 Daddy takes his straen kishie over his shoulder and throws abroad the clean oat seed. the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > non-arboreal (larks, etc.) > [noun] > family Motacillidae > genus Motacilla > other types of 1864 J. C. Atkinson Oat-seed-bird, Ray's wagtail. 1885 C. Swainson 44 Grey wagtail (Motacilla melanope)..Oat seed bird (Yorkshire). 1979 F. Greenoak 292 Their spring return is, like that of the Pied Wagtail, marked by ‘seed’ names such as Barley Bird and Oat-seed Bird. the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > oatmeal > hard fragment 1887 A. H. Buck IV. 153/2 What are called oat-stones are solid but light bodies, composed of the closely felted fibres and husks of oats. 1897 T. C. Allbutt et al. III. 835 These concretions comprise the ‘oat-stones’ or avenoliths, which are composed of the indigestible fragments of oatmeal. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > thistles 1548 W. Turner sig. A.v Acanthium..maye be called in englishe otethistle, because the seedes are like vnto rough otes. 1706 (new ed.) Oat thistle or Oatland-thistle. 1954 E. W. Eckey Index 819/2 Oat thistle (Onopordon Acanthium). This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online June 2022). † oatv.Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: oat n. Etymology: < oat n. Compare corn v. N.E.D. (1902) gives the pronunciation as (ōut) /əʊt/. U.S. Obsolete. the world > food and drink > food > providing or receiving food > feeding animals > [verb (transitive)] > feed horses 1732 B. Lynde Diary 9 May in B. Lynde & B. Lynde (1880) 26 Next morning..dined at Hampton;..thence to Greenland, where oated, and for 2 horses and drink, 2s. 1770 J. Adams 30 June (1961) I. 354 Oated my Horse at Newbury. 1788 M. Cutler Jrnl. 6 Aug. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler (1888) I. 402 After oating, we went on to Martin's. 1855 P. T. Barnum 70 Old ‘Bob’ was duly oated and watered. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2004; most recently modified version published online September 2018). < n.eOEv.1732 |