piecenv.
/ˈpiːsn/, U.S. /ˈpis(ə)n/ 1. transitive. To join or piece together; to repair; spec. to rejoin (broken threads or ends) in spinning. Now chiefly English regional.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [verb (transitive)] > join
wup1815
piecen1831
1831 [see piecening n. at Derivatives].
1835 A. Ure Philos. Manuf. 180 The children have..to piecen their slubbing ends with double rapidity.
1887 19th Cent. Dec. 820 The building..has been piecened and enlarged from time to time.
1895 T. Pinnock Black Country Ann. I can piecen that chaney [= china] cup wi' coagulin.
1924 J. H. Wilkinson Leeds Dial. Gloss. 166 Ah've brokken mi booitlääce, muttha..will ya piecen it fomma.
1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey Wodds & Doggerybaw: Lincs. Dial. Dict. 225/1 Piecen, to mend, or to stick the pieces of something together again.
2. intransitive. U.S. regional. To eke out; to round off. Also transitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > completing > complete (an action or piece of work) [verb (transitive)] > bring to an end or conclusion > provide with a conclusion
to finish off1830
piecenc1900
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > make complete [verb (transitive)] > complete, fill up, or make up > by supplying what is wanting
performa1382
supplyc1480
upmake1485
to make up1488
mend?a1505
to stop, to fill (in or up), to supply a gap?1523
to eke out1596
help out (also through)1600
size1608
echea1616
inch out1620
to eke up1633
supplete1664
lengthen1670
supplement1749
to husband out1762
sort1880
piecenc1900
c1900 in Amer. Speech 49 (1974) 63 We piecened out our bait.
1943 R. P. Tristram Primer for Amer. 116 When the flour barrel ran low, They piecened with meal and made it go.
1975 J. Gould Maine Lingo 208 Piecen out, To round out the sum total: ‘He ate enough for a horse, and then piecened out with two slabs of pie!’
Derivatives
ˈpiecening n. the action or task of joining broken threads in spinning. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1831 C. T. Thackrah Effects of Arts on Health 74 Preparation of Wool... Tucking, Scribbling, (as Slubbing), Carding and Piecening.
1843 Penny Mag. Suppl. June 243/2 It was Whitehead of Bury who introduced the plan of ‘piecening’, by which much time is saved in spinning cotton.
1932 P. Bentley Inheritance iii. ii. 260 Jonathan could not remember what it was... But it was something about piecening.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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