| 释义 |
powern.1 Origin: A borrowing from French. Etymons: French poer, poeir. Etymology: < Anglo-Norman poer, poere, poeir, poir, poier, power, pouer, pouair, pouoir, povoir, poair, poayr, poiair, poiar, poar, poor, pooir, etc., and Old French poeir, poer, poier, poor, Old French, Middle French pooir, Middle French pouvoir, povoir, pouoir, poair, poir, etc. (9th cent. as podir ; French pouvoir , with v developed in hiatus) ability (to do something) (9th cent.), authority (12th cent.), physical strength (12th cent.), army, armed force (13th cent.), jurisdiction, administrative area (13th cent.), right to act on another's behalf (13th cent.), domain, realm (14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), period of validity (14th cent. or earlier in Anglo-Norman), act by which one gives someone the right to act on another's behalf (1468), property which a thing possesses (c1320) < pooir , poer , poeir , poier , etc. (French pouvoir ) to be able to < post-classical Latin potere (Vetus Latina), analogical alteration of classical Latin posse to be able to (see posse n.1). Compare Old Occitan poder, Catalan poder (13th cent. or earlier), Spanish poder (11th cent.), Portuguese poder (13th cent.), Italian potere (12th or 13th cent.). With the French verb compare Old Occitan poder, Catalan poder, Spanish poder, Portuguese poder, Italian potere. Norn (Shetland) puri power, is < Scots. Variation in the first syllable in Middle English reflects that shown in Anglo-Norman and Old French; the usual modern English form power shows the regular development of Middle English ū (spelt ou , ow ). The β forms show loss of the vowel of the second syllable. With uses in phrases compare Anglo-Norman a mun poer , de mun poer , ove mun poer , solum mun poer , etc. (also a mes poers , etc.), Old French a mon poer , etc., to the best of my (your, etc.) ability (12th cent.), Anglo-Norman de poer a , de poer able to (14th cent. or earlier). In sense 12d originally translating German Potenz (see potence n.2; J. Steiner 1826, in Jrnl. f. die reine u. angewandte Math. 1 164). In sense 17 originally translating German Mächtigkeit (G. Cantor 1878, in Jrnl. f. die reine u. angewandte Math. 84 242). I. As a quality or property. 1. the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > strong or powerful the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [noun] > great or ability to affect strongly c1300 St. James Great (Laud) 179 in C. Horstmann (1887) 39 (MED) Anon hadde þis luþere worm is pouwer al ilore, Þat hit ne miȝhte ane fot forþere passe. c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 8 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale (1930) 288 (MED) In Litel Bretaygne was a kyng Of gret poer in alle þing, Stif in armes vnder sscheld. c1384 (Royal) Apoc. ix. 19 Sotheli, the power of horsis is in the mouth of hem and in the taylis of hem. (Harl. 221) 411 Power, or strengthe, potestas, robur, fortitudo, nisus, vigor. c1454 R. Pecock 18 (MED) Y holde me content..whi a beestis soul bigynneþ and endiþ to be bi power of þe bodi. a1500 (?a1425) (Harl.) (1889) 1586 (MED) He wold be more assayed ere..Of his strenghe and his powere. c1540 J. Bellenden tr. H. Boece (1821) I. 136 Scho answerit, scho..wald have slane hir ennime; and laikit na gud will, howbeit hir power failyeit. 1567 (1897) 16 The power spirituall of Christis blude. 1612 M. Drayton iii. 44 The Bathes..Giuing that naturall power, which by the vig'rous sweate, Doth lend the liuely Springs their perdurable heate. 1668 T. Shadwell i. 11 He has great power in Corranto's and Jiggs. 1738 J. Wesley (new ed.) ii. viii Thou art declar'd my Son with Power. a1770 Whitefield in J. R. Leifchild (1855) 300 I rode to St. Ives, and preached to many who gladly attended to hear the word. A great power seemed to accompany it. 1838–9 F. A. Kemble (1863) 28 Bring them by power of lungs. 1893 G. Chesney III. ii. xxi. 12 Lionel was mounted on an obvious screw, but in good going condition, and with plenty of power. 1909 G. Stein 94 John certainly that very morning had felt strongly Melanctha's power as a woman. 1977 J. D. MacDonald xxxiv. 341 The hurricane had great reach and scope and power, blowing down walls and trees and power lines. 1989–90 Winter 41/1 To have exerted so powerful a fascination for so long is in itself a tribute to the immense power of his imagery. society > authority > power > [noun] > political or national power 1701 No. 3758/7. 4/1 Your Glorious Design of Re-establishing a just Ballance of Power in Europe. 1719 W. Wood (ed. 2) 315 The excellence of our Constitution,..would invite great Numbers over to us, exceedingly add to our Power and Strength, and make us more a Balance to the Greatness of any Country in Europe. 1760 C. Johnstone II. xii. 101 You [sc. the French], who, they [sc. the English] say, could never have resisted the power of Spain, or established your liberties, if their queen Elizabeth had not hearkened to the cries of your poor, distressed states. 1846 B. Jowett in (1897) I. v. 157 My balance of power would be..France and England against Pansclavismus and despotism. 1897 LIV. 354 In order to consolidate the power of Germany, he was for increasing the resources of the two chief German states, Prussia and Austria. 1938 R. J. Sontag i. iv. 88 This was contempt for British statesmen and the British army; but not for the potential power of the British Empire. 1991 June 79/1 Washington's core global commitments..were assumed when U.S. power was at it zenith..when America was responsible for half the world's manufacturing output. 2. the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] society > authority > power > [noun] society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > [noun] > an army c1300 Holy Cross (Laud) 244 in C. Horstmann (1887) 8 (MED) Seint Daui þe kyng cam, þat was of so gret power [a1325 Corpus Cambr. poer; c1390 Vernon pouweer]. c1330 (Auch.) (1882) 178 Lorain & lombardye..Schal be in þi pouwer. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) vii. 2932 (MED) The pouer Of hem that weren in astat Was sauf. a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer (Hunterian) 6632 I wole not determine Of prynces power, ne defyne..If it so fer may strecche in this. a1464 J. Capgrave (Cambr. Gg.4.12) (1983) 174 Þe kyng held a parlement at London, fro whech mite no man of power absent him. 1535 2 Kings xiv. 5 Now whan he had gotten the power of the kyngdome, he smote his seruauntes which had smytten the kynge his father. 1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay iv. xxxvi. 159 They haue foure patriarches..,which doe command and haue power of the orientall churches. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) i. ii. 55 Thy father was the Duke of Millaine and A Prince of power . View more context for this quotation a1634 E. Coke (1648) iv. 36 Of the power and jurisdiction of the Parliament, for making of laws in proceeding by Bill, it is so transcendent and absolute, as it cannot be confined either for causes or persons within any bounds. 1685 R. Baxter Rom. xiii An Usurper's Strength may be resisted; but Rightful Power or Authority may not. 1779 J. Moore (1789) I. xliv. 372 Nothing can be a greater check to the wantonness of power. 1835 J. H. Newman (1837) I. i. 7 Cut away by Supreme Power. 1887 Ld. Acton Let. in L. Creighton (1904) I. xiii. 372 Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. 1922 R. B. Perry xii. §3 161 It does not mean that the man of power will be malicious or consciously cruel in the sense of enjoying the sufferings inflicted on others. 1964 L. Woolf ii. 132 Nearly all good editors..become megalomaniacs and suffer from the hallucination that they control and exercise great power. 1996 W. Hutton (rev. ed.) ii. 31 Absolute power has become corrupting. society > authority > delegated authority > [noun] society > authority > delegated authority > [noun] > to act society > authority > lack of subjection > permission > [noun] > permission to act c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 761 in C. Horstmann (1887) 128 (MED) On me nastþu power non swych destresse for-to do. c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 10326 (MED) Þe pope send er sonde To erchebissops & bissops & ȝifþ ech poer In is bissopriche, þe & þine to amansi ver & ner. 1447 V. 129/2 Praye the Kyng..that the Chauncellere of Inglond..have fulle auctorite and poier to make as well the saide Executours..to appere afore hym in the Kynges Chauncerye. a1450 (1969) l. 1497 Petyr and Powle, apostoly, To whom God ȝafe powere to lese and bynde. 1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer i. f. 6 Graunting powre & leaue. a1628 J. Carmichaell (1957) No. 557 Gang to the devill and bischop yow, the pape hes gevin yow power. 1700 T. Brown vii. 85 I left my self full power to drop my Indian Traveller as often as I saw convenient. 1856 J. A. Froude I. ii. 85 The bishops, who had power to arrest laymen on suspicion of heresy,..had no power to imprison priests. 1998 M. Reaves (1999) ii. 26 Ducas gave him his own asson , a gourd filled with rattlesnake vertebrae, a sacerdotal sceptre which granted him the power to call upon Legba. society > authority > power > influence > [noun] c1300 St. Dunstan (Laud) 49 in C. Horstmann (1887) 20 (MED) Þis holi Abbod, seint Dunston, hadde gret power With þe king Eadmund; þo he was king, he was is conseiller. c1390 G. Chaucer 2250 Neuere in thy lyf to thy wyf ne to thy child ne to thy freend, ne yeue no power ouer thy self. 1535 1 Sam. xxv. 2 The man was of great power, and had thre thousande Shepe, and a thousande Goates. 1617 F. Moryson ii. i. ii. 79 Beseeching him to vse his power, in mediating licence vnto him, that he might come ouer for a short time, to kisse the Queenes hand. 1698 C. Trotter v. i. 54 You know his Power with her. 1781 R. B. Sheridan i. i My power with the managers is pretty notorious. 1829 J. Mill II. xxi. 166 A man's Power means the readiness of other men to obey him. 1874 J. R. Green vii. §3. 366 The greatness of the Queen [sc. Elizabeth] rests above all on her power over her people. 1920 D. H. Lawrence xxx. 493 Her pity for him was as cold as stone, its deepest motive was hate of him, and fear of his power over her, which she must always counterfoil. 1991 J. Chang (1993) viii. 205 In Chinese tradition the person with the most power over a married woman was always her mother-in-law. society > authority > power > [noun] > political power within a state 1759 W. Robertson I. ii. 108 Without the invidious name of Protector, he succeeded to all the power and influence of which Somerset was deprived. 1806 in L. Hutchinson 56 (note) From the moment of Cardinal Richelieu's coming into power under Louis the XIIIth, to Neckar's return to power after his rustication under Louis the XVIth. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. 193 To employ the power which they possessed in the state for the purpose of making their king mighty and honoured. 1884 18 Feb. 5/2 Sinking individual opinion whenever it threatens to interfere with the tenure of power. 1924 3 Nov. 13/1 It is now clear, the Izvestia continues, that the Labour Party cannot win power by peaceful methods. 1955 R. T. McKenzie i. ii. 53 All concerned happened to be more eager to preserve the unity of the [Conservative] party and the decorum of the proceedings than they were to win power for themselves. 1992 Mar. 122/3 (advt.) The Greens: What they believe, their prospects in the U.S., and what if they achieved power? society > society and the community > social relations > association for a common purpose > [noun] > group associated for common purpose 1966 29 Dec. 6/2 The issue from the demonstrators' point of view is ‘student power’ a theme taken from the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee which advocates ‘black power’ for Negroes. The advocates of ‘student power’..convinced several thousand students to boycott classes. 1972 (Columbia Univ.) Apr. 2/2 What is important is that you come out, have gay pride and leave the dance with a sense of Gay power. 1975 30 Dec. 8/8 The old form a powerful group—‘grey power’ to adopt Professor Wilensky's phrase. 1987 J. Saltman 25 His blithely insouciant watercolour and pencil illustrations are a light-hearted complement to texts..which take a satirical, child-power stance, delighting in the oral story-telling and supreme silliness so loved by pre-schoolers. 1994 Oct. 81/1 The rise in recent years of foul-mouthed and foul-minded female musicians..has conspired to invent something that has become known as Girl Power. 2005 (Nexis) 18 July 24 Parent power has helped bring healthier meals to the table at an East Cleveland school. 3. c1330 (?c1300) (Auch.) (1898) 215 (MED) God..ȝaf to man fre power To chese..Off god and yuel. c1384 (Douce 369(2)) x. 18 I haue power for to putte it, and I haue power for to take it eftsoone. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius v. pr. ii. 199 Men han no power to don nothing ne wilne nothing. a1470 T. Malory (Winch. Coll.) 926 Hit shall nat lyghe in youre power..to perish me as much as a threde. a1500 ( Vision E. Leversedge in (1905) 9 26 (MED) My saule had no power to a-byd. 1588 G. Babington vi. 410 That hee would..keepe vs from apposings aboue our power to satisfie. 1611 M. Smith in Transl. Pref. 2 By his power and wisdome he built a Temple. 1690 J. Locke ii. vii. 53 Power..is another of those simple Ideas, which we receive from Sensation and Reflection. For observing in our selves, that we do, and can think; and that we can, at pleasure, move several parts of our Bodies which were at rest. 1713 G. Berkeley i. 46 Is it not in your Power to open your Eyes? 1785 T. Reid Let. in I. 65/2 Power to produce an effect, supposes power not to produce it; otherwise it is not power but necessity. 1810 M. Brunton II. xvii. 67 ‘Oh no! no!’ cried Laura, ‘I must leave you while yet I have the power to do right.’ 1858 D. Lardner (new ed.) 46 Fishes have the power of changing their bulk by the voluntary distension of an air-vessel. 1886 F. H. Burnett ii. 51 He took pleasure in sneering at people and making them feel uncomfortable, when he had the power to do so, because they were sensitive or proud or timid. 1937 H. Gwynne-Vaughan & B. F. Barnes (ed. 2) 5 The power of movement of attached gametangia is very limited. 1969 C. Ives ii. viii. 235 There is an innate quality in human nature which gives man the power to sense the deeper causes..underlying all progress. 1992 N. Postman x. 166 Words that you have been taught not to use.., when used too often, are stripped of their power to shock, to embarrass. 2005 (Nexis) 14 July h3 Global poverty and ethnic strife continue, she said, while people with the power to help instead muddle themselves in partisan sniping. the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > an ability or power society > law > legal document > types of legal or official document > [noun] > document giving legal authority the world > life > the body > system > [noun] > organ > faculty or function of the world > action or operation > ability > [noun] > an ability or power > collectively c1454 R. Pecock 27 (MED) In ech parfite, notable beest, and þerfore mych raþir in man, ben v inward sensitijf wittis, or v inward sensitijf witti powers. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine 352/1 In theyr bodye whiche is made of four complexions and in theyr Sowle in whiche ben thre poures. 1526 W. Bonde iii. sig. EEEiv Memory, reason & wyll. And these ben the .iii. powers of the soule. a1586 Sir P. Sidney tr. (1823) xx. v I know that He heares mee, Yea, heares with powers and helps of helpfull hand. a1599 King James VI & I (1944) 155 The blessing or curse of the parentis hes almaiste euer a prophetike pouaire ioined uith it. 1655 Ld. Orrery IV. ii. v. 437 Our powers of gratitude proportionated our cause. 1661 J. Glanvill xi. 96 When we speak of Powers and Faculties of the Soul, we intend not to assert..their real distinction from it, or each other, but only a modal diversity. 1725 I. Watts i. vi. §9 We must consider it in its Powers and Capacities either to do or suffer. 1736 Bp. J. Butler i. i. 25 Several things..affect all our living Powers, and at length suspend the Exercise of them. 1792 H. H. Brackenridge (1937) I. i. 11 The great secret of preserving respect, is the..cultivating and shewing to the best advantage the powers that we possess, and the not going beyond them. 1818 S. E. Ferrier I. xvii. 226 The task of administering succour to the afflicted fair one therefore devolved upon Miss Becky, whose sympathetic powers never had been called into action before. 1869 E. A. Freeman III. xii. 81 The laureate of William taxes his powers to the uttermost to set forth the greatness of the prince. 1878 R. Browning 199 Powers that fain Else would soar, condemned to grovel. 1932 E. Peverly Kimball iii. 139 He seemed to know that his own emotional powers were weak. 1960 C. Day Lewis i. 17 A handful of aged voters who..through failing sight or powers of concentration confused C.S. with C.D. Lewis on their voting papers. 2005 (Nexis) 15 May (Night & Day Suppl.) 34 If you were a superhero what would your special power be? 4. the world > action or operation > advantage > efficacy > [noun] a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) iv. 2572 (MED) To the rede and to the whyte, This Ston hath power to profite. a1400 (c1303) R. Mannyng (Harl.) 10631 (MED) For no þyng haþ powere Aȝens þe sacrement of þe autere. a1450 (1978) 131 (MED) For fier kyndel, bifore al oþere þynges, hath power to restreyne humorus. a1500 in A. Zettersten (1968) 23 (MED) Stonys..in many caases have pouer, where erbis and medecynes may not avayle. a1550 (c1477) T. Norton (Sloane 1873) (1975) 2845 (MED) Oon fornace bi me is fownde of newe..Whose secrete powere with studye sowgth And with grete coste was deerly bogth. 1597 W. Shakespeare ii. ii. 24 Within the infant rinde of this small flower, Poyson hath residence, and medecine power . View more context for this quotation 1656 A. Cowley Davideis i. 37 in Which Texts are ill produced by the Magick-mongers for a proof of the power of Charms. 1690 J. Locke ii. xxiii. 139 Powers therefore, justly make a great part of our complex Ideas of Substances. He, that will examine his complex Idea of Gold, will find several of its Ideas, that make it up, to be only Powers, as the Power of being melted, but of keeping its weight in the Fire, of being dissolved in Aq. Regia. 1716 M. Davies II. To Rdr. 10 Bathing the parts affected with the Powers of Amber, Sage and Rosemary. a1771 T. Gray Imit. Propertius in (1814) II. 88 The power of herbs can other harms remove. 1800 3 346 We have ascertained the power of the absorbents to be so great, as to take up not only such animal secretions as hog's lard, &c., but even grosser substances. 1860 J. Tyndall ii. ii. 241 The red rays of the spectrum possess a very high heating power. 1871 B. Jowett tr. Plato I. 26 The power of heat to burn. 1913 H. Chapman Jones iii. 52 To make a lens of larger diameter without lessening its powers in other ways, necessitates a more thorough correction of its aberrations. 1931 A. Uttley xv. 203 Oxlips share with falling stars, the new moon, white bluebells, the first cuckoo, and four-leaved clover the power of granting a wish. 2005 (Nexis) 11 Apr. 47 The ancient Egyptians understood the power of crystals and the pharaohs wore stones such as malachite in their headdresses to bring wisdom. the mind > language > linguistics > study of speech sound > speech sound > [noun] > of a letter, word, etc. the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > meaning > meaning of linguistic unit > [noun] > context > contextual meaning of word c1450 in D. Thomson (1984) 42 How many thyngis falleth to a coniunccion? Thre. Whych thre? Power, figure, and ordur. How many spyces hath the power of coniunccion? Fyue, by the ‘Donet’: copulatyf, disiunctyf, expletyf, racionel, and causell. 1531 J. Vaus (new ed.) ii. sig. eeij Ane coniunctione may be of diuers power, now rationale, now causale. 1551 J. Hart (1955) i. 118 We may use a certaine, good, and easi writing, onli folowing our pronunciation, and keping the letters in their auncient, Simple, and Singuler powers. a1637 B. Jonson Eng. Gram. iii. 40 in (1640) III W, Is but the V. geminated in the full sound, and though it have the seate of a Consonant with us, the power is alwayes Vowellish, even where it leades the Vowell in any Syllabe. 1738 E. Chambers (ed. 2) at Force In our language, the s between two Vowels has the Force or power of a z. 1824 J. Johnson II. xii. 470 There are twenty-six letters..the names, powers, and sounds of which are as follow. 1871 J. Earle v. 208 In the familiar salutation, ‘How d'ye do?’ we have the same verb in two powers. 1898 at G In early ME. [= Middle English], or perh. in late OE. [= Old English], the palatal stop developed into the complex sound (dʒ), thus coinciding with the power of G before e, i, in contemporary French. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > vein > thickness or depth of 1839 A. Ure 316 The power of this vein is 8 feet. 5. society > law > legal power > [noun] c1395 G. Chaucer 1320 Thanne hadde he, thurgh his iurisdiccioun, Power to doon on hem correccioun. 1423 IV. 256/2 The Justices of the Pees in all Shires of the Roialme, Mairs, Baillifs, havyng poair to enquere of the Pees, may inquere, here, and termine all the defautes aforeseid. a1525 2148 The rok..has na power ferther for to do Than be the king he is direct to. 1569 R. Grafton II. 370 He was demaunded how he could make anye entreatie of peace, hauing no power so to do? 1684 J. Erskine (1893) 84 They had the power of the justiciary as well as of the council. 1771 W. Ellis in ‘Junius’ (1772) II. xlviii. 181 He was careful not to assume any of those powers, which the Constitution had placed in other hands. 1818 W. Cruise (ed. 2) IV. 168 Powers or authorities by which one person enabled another to do an act for him, were well known to the common law. 1910 I. 422/1 In 1903 the powers and duties formerly vested in the commissioners of the Office of Works, relating to the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, were transferred to the board. 2005 (Nexis) 29 July 4 Anti-terror detectives are expected to make full use of their powers to hold suspects for 14 days without charge. c1430 (1844) I. 343/2 Fyrst call the soytoure, syne rede the justice powere. 1482 in J. D. Marwick (1871) 155 Eftir the tenour of the pouir maid be the saidis provest [etc.]..to the saidis procuratouris and as at mar lenth is contenit in the samyn pouir of procuratory. 1561 in J. H. Burton (1877) 1st Ser. I. 172 Pretendit procuratouris..hes nocht schawin ony procuratorie or power to that effect. 1656 in J. A. Clyde (1937) I. 14 Any duik..being absent..may send a pouer subscribit to any of that estait [etc.]. 1706 No. 4209/3 A Forged Power..for receiving the said Money. 1844 J. Williams (1845) ii. iii. 232 If the power should require a deed only, a will will not do. 1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh II. 1379/1 A power which authorises the execution of a deed or the transfer of stock at the Bank of England must itself be conferred by deed. c. Law. society > law > legal document > types of legal or official document > [noun] > document giving legal authority > specific 1710 Act 9 Anne 14 Oct. c. 8 in (1714) 141 Be it therefore Enacted, &c. That all Deeds, Conveyances, Mortgages, Letters of Attorney or Powers of Agency, Commissions, Bonds, [etc.]. 1794 (Greenock Banking Company) 4 The last article of the condescendence amounts to this, that Mr. Dunlop had extensive powers of agency. 1880 R. D. Blackmore Mary Anerley xlviii, in July 89 Now he had hopes of even more than that; of owning a good house and fair estate, and henceforth exerting his remarkable powers of agency on his own behalf. 1920 19 52 An ineffective act may be validated by a new dependent jural act (e.g., simple ratification by an infant after attaining his majority, of a power of agency). 2004 G. M. Bennett viii. 130 There is a camouflaged hazard in giving your backup trustee even these limited powers of agency. society > law > legal document > types of legal or official document > [noun] > document giving legal authority > specific 1716 7 Neither shall the Seal..be affixed to any Instrument whatsoever.., Policies and Powers of Attorney for Voting..excepted. 1747 B. Franklin Let. 1 Oct. in (1887) II. 92 As he has your power of attorney..I think to put your letter to Mr. Hughes into his hands. 1796 H. Wansey 233 The person in whose name the Certificate stands..gives a Power of Attorney to the purchaser, to have it transferred in his name. 1836 F. Marryat III. xi. 212 A power of attorney will be all that is requisite. 1889 July 223/1 Mamma is excused with a headache, but she has left me power of attorney to ask questions about our little venture. 1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh II. 1379/1 A power of attorney is usually a special instrument in the form of a deed poll, but it may form part of a deed containing other matter. 2000 K. Charles (2001) xviii. 344 After her mother's death and especially in her father's final illness..she had been given power of attorney to draw money out of the building society as needed. society > law > legal power > [noun] > extent or range of jurisdiction a1400 in K. W. Engeroff (1914) 66 By-þynne þe power of þe town. a1400 in K. W. Engeroff (1914) 68 Also, no man out of fraunchyse..ne may bouþe halde, ne bygge, by-þynne þe power of þe town. c1430 in K. W. Engeroff (1914) 71 And it be leyde wyt-ynne þe power of þe toun to selle. II. As a person, body, or thing. 7. society > armed hostility > military power > [noun] c1300 St. Wulstan (Laud) 65 in C. Horstmann (1887) 72 (MED) Willame Bastard..let him greiþi folk i-nouȝ and gret poer with [him] nam..and to Enguelonde he cam. c1330 (?a1300) (Auch.) (1973) 3427 (MED) Þai wil comen anon, y wot, And help þe oȝain king Lot And elleswhere [wiþ] her power. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) ii. 928 (MED) He with pouer goth to seke Ayein the Scottes forto fonde The werre which he tok on honde. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 3966 (MED) Esau..com again wit his poer [v.rr. pouer, powere]. c1450 (?a1400) (Ashm.) 2056 (MED) Fey fallis in þe fild fele of þire othire, Þe pouwere of Persy, in partis many. a1500 (c1465) in J. Gairdner (1880) 63 (MED) This yere the Duke of Yorke..went overe þe see with a ryall power. 1526 W. Bonde i. sig. Dvv Deliuered from the dyuell and all his hoste or power. 1543 ( (1812) 99 (MED) He went to Roome with greate power Of Britons strong, with Flemynges and Barbayns. 1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus vii. f. 128 Satibarzanes..was with a power of horsemen entered againe amonges the Arians. a1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece (1858) 5020 Sayand..thai had power aneuche To fecht witht thame. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. i. 42 Brutus and Cassius Are leuying Powers; We must straight make head. View more context for this quotation 1641 (new ed.) f. 262 One of them entreth into the Church with great power of Lay men, and holdeth the other out with force and armes. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti I. 6/2 The Albanians, who fought against Pompey with such a Power of Horse. 1805 W. Scott iv. xxi. 112 Two hundred of my master's powers. 1819 W. Wordsworth i. 213 His bones, and those of all his Power Slain here in a disastrous hour! 1823 J. Galt II. xiii. 131 A most respectit and pious officer of the town's power. society > law > law enforcement > law-enforcement or peace-officer > [noun] > body of men summoned as posse a1325 (2011) vii. 56 He [sc. the sheriff] leue alle oþer þinges, ant nime mid him þe pouer of his schire. 1527 (new ed.) f. ccvv The shyryf & vnder shyryff of the shire where suche ryot, assemble, or rowte is made her after shal come with the power of the shire yf nede be for to areste theym. 1607 J. Cowell sig. Ccc4v Power of the countie, (posse comitatus)..containeth the ayde and attendance of all Knights, gentlemen, yeomen, labourers, seruants, apprentises, and villaines. 1653 D. Osborne (1888) xxiii. 116 He comes with the power of the county to demand her..being Sheriff. 1657 W. Prynne 135 That commandment may be made to the Sheriff and Justices of the Peace of every Shire, to raise the power of the Shire for the repressing of Routs and Riots. 1751 T. Smollett IV. xcvii. 55 He would find it impracticable to withstand the whole executive power of the county, which he could easily raise to apprehend and secure him. 1765 W. Blackstone I. ix. 343 For keeping the peace and pursuing felons, he may command all the people of his county to attend him; which is called the posse comitatus, or power of the county. 1848 J. J. S. Wharton 533/2 Posse comitatus, the power of a county, including the aid and attendance of all knights and other men above the age of fifteen within the county. 1959 Earl Jowitt & C. Walsh II. 1366/2 Posse comitatus, the power of the county; an assemblage of the able-bodied male inhabitants above the age of fifteen of a county, except peers and clergymen. 1991 R. Grant (BNC) 197 The Earl of Holland, as Chief Justice of the Forest, obtained authority for the sheriff of Berkshire to raise the power of the county to apprehend the rioters. 8. society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Rom. xiii. 1 Euery soule, or lyuynge man, be suget to hiȝer poweris. a1500 (c1410) (Hunterian) (1976) i. 334 (MED) Euery man & woman mote be soget & meke to þe poweris abouyn hym & to his souereynys. 1509 S. Hawes (1845) xxvii. 127 O power so hye in dignitie! O prynce victorious and famous emperour! 1525 Bp. J. Clerk in H. Ellis (1827) 2nd Ser. I. 308 The powares of Italye, withe the helpe off his Holynes, shold be able to kepe the Emperor owt off Italye. 1613 in W. Fraser (1889) II. 120 Be ordonance of heighar powars. 1631 R. Johnson (ed. 6) i. v. sig. F2v If she be guilty, I cannot pitty her, that will cause the ruine of so good a Prince: for higher powers must giue example vnto their subiects. 1738 J. Wesley (new ed.) iii. v Thou hast quell'd the adverse Power. 1771 25 Mr. Prim is a power among great folks. 1835 W. Wordsworth 198 But element and orb on acts did wait Of Powers endued with visible form, instinct With will. 1874 J. P. Mahaffy xii. 282 This remarkable banker, who was evidently something of a power in Greece. 1918 T. Q. Dumont viii. 71 You are a power in the world. 1954 T. S. Eliot ii. 64 I want to be a power in the City, On the boards of all the solidest companies. 2003 (Nexis) 14 Sept. b1 She is the daughter of William A. Delmont, a power in the Conservative Party. society > authority > [noun] > those in authority c1384 (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Rom. xiii. 1 Forsoth there is not power no but of God; sothli tho thingis that ben of God, ben ordeyned.] 1526 Rom. xiii. 1 The powers that be are ordeyned off God. 1611 Rom. xiii. 1 The powers that be, are ordeined of God. View more context for this quotation 1692 J. Tyrrell (1694) iv. 245 The Powers that be, that is, the Princes and Emperours who now govern the World, are ordained and appointed by God, and that thus it is God himself tells us. 1749 D. Hartley ii. iv. 372 Good Men ought to submit to the Ecclesiastical Powers that be, for Conscience-sake. 1793 W. B. Stevens 24 Feb. (1965) 70 The Selfishness and Timidities essential to his nature..make him cling to the Powers that be. 1814 W. Scott III. xix. 281 The cautious Baillie justly observed, that..the tenantry and villagers might become riotous in expressing their joy, and give offence to the ‘powers that be’, a sort of persons for whom the Baillie always had unlimited respect. View more context for this quotation 1886 R. Kipling 16 Feb. 7 Potiphar Gubbins, C.E., Is dear to the Powers that Be. 1930 25 Mar. 23/7 One can only express the hope that the Power-that-be in Nanking will realize the desirability for proceeding slowly and gradually. 1976 Oct.–Nov. 2/3 I feel that the powers-that-be have expected too much to happen too quickly. 2004 H. Kennedy (2005) ii. 31 It ran a railroad through our basic liberties and protections but it was such a boon for the powers that be they clung to it like molluscs. society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation 1658 W. Sanderson 719 Their Desires to have a Peace accorded between the King and Parliament, that so they might concur together for the..setling of the Protestant Religion, in all the three Kingdoms, and with the assistance of the States to defend it against all foreign powers. 1688 Bp. G. Burnet 21 Nor is any thing more inconsistent with Government, than the interposition of Foreign Powers, nor more deeply resented by the Laws of all Nations, than abetting of it. 1726 (title) Acta Regia: or, an account of the treaties, letters and instruments between the monarchs of England and foreign powers..translated from the French of M. Rapin. 1790 G. Chalmers (title) A Collection of Treaties between Great Britain and other Powers. 1847 L. H. Kerr tr. L. von Ranke 448 It had been approved of by the Commissioners, whom she, as the Power in possession of the Sovereignty, had appointed. 1872 E. A. Freeman xii. §17. 229 Spain..soon became the greatest power in Europe. 1901 Feb. 182 That the United States had the capacity to be a Sea Power. 1969 13 Nov. 657/2 The United States will keep its actual treaty commitments. It will ‘provide a shield if a nuclear power threatens the freedom of a nation allied with us’. 2004 11 Oct. 69/2 The Kremlin demands to be taken seriously as a world power and as an active member of the Group of Eight industrial nations. 9. the world > the supernatural > deity > [noun] the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > religious oaths (referring to God) > other religious oaths c1425 (c1400) (Cambr.) (1895) 6 (MED) To þee alle aungelis, to þee heuenes & alle maner poweris, To þee cherubyn and seraphyn, crien wiþ vois wiþ-oute ceessing: Holi! Holi! Holi! a1513 J. Irland (1965) II. 49 He had overcummyn all their powaris of myrknes. a1525 Bk. Sevyne Sagis 1684, in W. A. Craigie (1925) II. 53 Thar' may na power' do þaim dammage. a1586 J. Rowll Cursing l. 1 in W. A. Craigie (1919) I. 161 Devyne poware of michtis maist. 1600 W. Shakespeare iv. i. 289 I would she were in heauen, so she could intreate some power to change this currish Iew. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. iii. 73 For which foule deed, The Powres, delaying (not forgetting) haue Incens'd the Seas..Against your peace. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil 146 And then adore the Woodland Pow'rs with Pray'r. View more context for this quotation 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer I. iii. 192 There land, and pay due victims to the pow'rs. 1753 T. Gray Hymn to Adversity in 26 Daughter of Jove, relentless Power. 1786 R. Burns (1968) I. 194 O wad some Pow'r the giftie gie us To see oursels as others see us! 1815 J. H. Payne Trial Without Jury i, in (1940) V. 16 Powers of mercy! Is not that my daughter? Could I but speak with her alone! 1835 T. Hood iii I reckon, by the pow'rs! I've lost ten pound by your not being stiffer! 1891 T. Hardy I. xviii. 236 The decline of belief in a beneficent Power. 1913 A. F. Irvine 73 Och, be th' powers, Jamie, me hair stud like th' brisels on O'Hara's hog. 1954 ‘W. March’ vi. 127 She had never been religious in the accepted sense of the word, but she'd always believed in the power that had once shaped the universe, and guided it now. 1991 R. Bocock (BNC) 71 In the early phases of civilization's development..people project their inner emotions and impulses outwards and thereby populate a universe with various spirits and supernatural powers. the world > the supernatural > deity > angel > [noun] > order of > powers a1425 (c1395) (Royal) (1850) Coloss. i. 16 For in hym alle thingis ben maad in heuenes and in erthe, visible and vnuysible, ether trones, ether dominaciouns ether princehodes, ethir poweris [a1425 E.V. potestates; L. potestates] [Greek ἐξουσίαι]. 1560 i. 16 By him were all things created, which are in heauen, and which are in earth..whether they be Thrones, or Dominions, or Principalities, or Powers [1534 Tindale to 1557 Geneva, maieste or lordshippe, ether rule or power].] ?1566 W. P. tr. C. S. Curio 73 These were their names,..Angels, Arch-angels,..Powers, Cherubines, and Seraphines. a1656 Bp. J. Hall (1659) i. vii. 45 The presumption of those men, who..have taken upon them to marshall these Angelicall spirits... In the third [Hierarchy] of speciall government, placing..Powers, forty times more then Principalities: Mights, fifty more then Powers. 1667 J. Milton v. 601 Thrones, Dominations, Princedoms, Vertues, Powers . View more context for this quotation a1711 T. Ken Hymnotheo vii, in (1721) III. 200 Pow'rs for Centurions in God's Hosts renown'd. 1756 A. Butler II. 317 The fathers from the sacred oracles distinguish nine Orders of these holy spirits, namely, the Seraphims, Cherubims and Thrones; Dominations, Principalities and Powers; Virtues, Archangels and Angels. 1814 H. F. Cary tr. Dante III. xxviii. 113 [Dominations, first; Virtues, second;] and powers the third. 1873 J. Keble (new ed.) 101 The Powers and Thrones above. 1899 C. E. Clement 26 The Princedoms and Powers of Heaven are represented by rows and groups of angels. 1957 F. L. Cross 1094/2 Powers, acc. to medieval angelology, the sixth order of angels in the celestial hierarchy. 1998 (Nexis) 23 Aug. f2 In medieval angelology, there are nine orders of spiritual beings. From the highest to the lowest in rank, they are: seraphim, cherubim, thrones, dominations or diminions, virtues, powers, principalities, archangels, and angels. the world > relative properties > quantity > greatness of quantity, amount, or degree > [noun] > (a) great quantity or amount the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > a large number or multitude the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > [noun] > a large number or multitude > of individuals, people 1489 (Fairf.) (1877) I. 394 And cheis na man for he lordschip, na blude, Na grete pouware [a1500 Marchm., ?1508 Chepman & Myllar power] of riches [ Maitl. powar nor riches] to counsale. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Cornw. 194 Imploying a power of poor people, in Polling..Gutting, Splitting, Powdering and Drying them [sc. pilchards]. 1671 H. M. tr. Erasmus 323 What sumptuous silken vestments were there... What a power of golden candlesticks. 1680 J. Crowne i. 4 They have a power o' money. 1716 J. Addison i. 1 This Spirit will bring a power of Custom to the George. 1770 T. Gray Let. 14 Sept. in (1971) III. 1146 It will do you a power of good one way or another. 1837 A. Sherwood Gazetteer Georgia (ed. 3) in H. Wentworth (1944) 473/2 He has read a power. He has a power of corn or negroes. He can lift a power. 1852 W. M. Thackeray 24 Dec. (1946) III. 158 What a power of pretty girls there are at the balls! 1899 O. Seaman (1900) 40 He was an all-round man, a scholar: knew a power of botany. 1907 J. M. Synge iii. 65 Widow Quin. Didn't you hear him telling he was crazed at times? Philly. I heard him telling a power. 1947 22 May 3/4 There's a power of difference between farming now and when I was a lad. a1974 R. Crossman (1975) I. 400 Two days at Prescote have done me a power of good. 1995 J. M. Sims-Kimbrey 231/2 Power, a great deal of. A lot of... ‘Theer's a power o' good corn in yon field uv 'isn, theer is’. 2003 16 May a3/4 If you can make most people stop drinking at a hazardous level, you have done them a power of good. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > veil > types of society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > equipment or accessories of wedding > [noun] > wedding garment(s) > veil 1526 1 Cor. xi. 10 For this cause ought the woman to haue power in her heed, for the angels sake [ Coverdale a power vpon hir heade, Great, Geneva, 1611, power on her h., Rheims povver vpon her head]. ?1548 W. Lynne tr. sig. Bivv As Paule sayth..we go attyred and haue a power vpon our heades... And therfore must I nowe (for as much as my louynge husband..is dead) lette hange my power or vayle downewardes from my heade,..hauynge no power or husbande that hath rule of me. 1625 T. Godwin vi. iv. 289 For this cause (namely in signe of subjection) ought the woman to have power on her head, 1 Cor. 11. 10, where by power, the Apostle vnderstandeth a veile. III. Scientific uses. 12. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > quadrilateral > square 1570 H. Billingsley in tr. Euclid ii. Introd. f. 60 The power of a line, is the square of the same line. 1752 J. L. Cowley iii. ii. 64 When a line is marked at its ends with two Capital Letters as A and B, its Product or second Power..is the square ABCD. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adverb] > in relation to squares of magnitudes 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid x. f. 229 Right lines commensurable in power are such, whose squares one and the selfe same..area..doth measure. 1655 T. Stanley I. i. 17 Pythagoras sacrificed a Hecatomb, having found out, that the hypotenuse of a right angled triangle, is of equall power to the two sides, including the right angle. 1660 tr. I. Barrow x. 194 Right lines are commensurable in power, when the same space does measure their squares. 1669 S. Sturmy i. ii. 40 How to finde two Lines, which together shall be equal in Power to any Line given. 1702 V. Mandey tr. J. J. Hainlin ii. v. 352 A Rectangled Parallelogram D O R E... The Diagonal of this Parallelogram D E is equal in power to the Sides D O and O E, or D R and R E. 1788 J. Williamson tr. Euclid II. x. 83 The straight lines commensurable in length are always so in power, but..those commensurable in power are not always so in length. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > into or by itself > product of 1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch 1360 Unitie it self is quadrat and foure-square, as being that which is the power of it selfe. a1690 S. Jeake (1696) 297 Multiply alternately..the Numbers given by the Powers of these alternate Indices for the reduced Surdes. 1743 W. Emerson 25 If any Term be divided by the first Power of the variable Quantity; then the Fluxion of that Term must be found by itself thus. 1807 T. Young I. xiii. 141 A wire... The stiffness varying as the fourth power of the diameter, that is, as the square of its square. 1903 9 May 4/5 The adventures of Sherlock Holmes are cerebrality raised to the power of n. 1913 E. Rutherford in 6th Ser. 26 709 The scattering coefficient varied inversely as the fourth power of the velocity. 1969 6 Mar. 302/1 The improbability of the positive results obtained is of the order of ten to the power of 50. 1995 4 Mar. 46/2 His [sc. Fermat's] so-called ‘Little Theorem’ for example, states that for any prime p and whole number n, subtracting n from n raised to the power p always leaves a number divisible by p. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > curve > [noun] > with regard to distance 1872 E. Olney III. 323 The power of a point in the plane of a circle is the rectangle of the distances from the point to the intersections of the circumference by a line passing through the point. 1885 C. Leudesdorf tr. L. Cremona 58 If through a point O any chord be drawn to cut a circle in P and Q, the rectangle OP . OQ is called the power of the point with regard to the circle. 1945 52 169 Prove that the sum of the n2 powers of n given points with respect to the n spheres having for diameters the n segments joining the given points to a variable point in space is constant. 1992 H. Eves i. 38 The material we are concerned about is that centered around the concepts of orthogonal circles, the power of a point with respect to a circle, the radical axis of a pair of circles, [etc.]. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > parts which provide power > [noun] > mechanical powers the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > active mechanical force > ratio of load to force applied > mechanical advantage by use of machine society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > [noun] > power of 1671 (Royal Soc.) 6 2286 The Five Mathematical Powers (as they are called) or noted Engines for the facilitation of Motion. 1704 J. Harris I. (at cited word) The Six Mechanical Faculties;..which are usually stiled the Six Mechanick Powers. 1710 J. Harris II Powers Mechanick, of these there are five usually accounted. 1727–41 E. Chambers (at cited word) The mechanical powers, are the balance, lever, wheel, pully, wedge, and screw. 1805 Let. 13 July in (1936) 16 183 Occasional Lectures on the mechanic Powers, Hydraulics, Hydrostatics, [etc.]. 1827 N. Arnott I. 154 No mechanical power or machine generates force. 1839 G. Bird 71 Inclined plane. The action of this mechanical power depends upon the simple principle [etc.]. 1960 13 234 This revised section on mechanical powers was included in a second edition of The School of Arts. 1988 132 413 Three air pumps, mechanical powers, electrical machine, pyrometers, [etc.]. 14. Optics. the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > lens > [noun] > qualities of lenses the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > magnification or magnifying instruments > [noun] > magnifying glass 1673 T. Henshaw Let. 9 Dec. in H. Oldenburg (1975) X. 375 I doubt ye Anatomy of vegetables will not bee much farther advanced till ye power of microscopes bee more improved. 1742 H. Baker i. viii. 32 For such as the Proportion of the natural Sight to the Focus of the Lens is, such will be its Power of magnifying. 1831 J. Murray 39 If the power of the glass lens be 24, that of the diamond would be 64. 1854 B. Powell (ed. 2) 53 The light is polarized by this plate, and being then refracted by two plano-convex glasses (termed the power), is afterwards received on a semi-transparent calico screen. c1865 J. Wylde I. 67/1 Another pair of lenses is generally placed between the ‘power’ (that is, the last lens in front of the arrangement) and the condensers. 1875 T. H. Huxley & H. N. Martin (1877) 21 Having found an Amœba, examine with a higher power. 1939 T. L. Green i. 17 Examine a prepared slide with a hand-lens or low power of the microscope. 1997 Mar. 22/2 The degree of magnification depends on the power of the close-up lens you buy. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > refraction > [noun] > refractive power 1738 R. Smith I. ii. iii. 109 Convex lenses of different shapes that have equal focal distances, when put into each others places, have equal powers upon any pencil of rays to refract them to the same focus. 1794 G. Adams II. xxii. 471 [Newton's telescopes] in power were compared to a six feet refractor. 1821 J. F. W. Herschel in (Royal Soc.) 111 224 Instead of speaking of the focal lengths of lenses or the radii of their surfaces, I speak of their powers and curvatures, always designating by the former expression, the quotient of unity by the number of parts of any scale which the focal length is equal to... This mode of expression does no violence to propriety, as the magnifying power of a lens is really inversely proportional to its focal length. 1921 H. H. Emsley & W. Swaine tr. A. Gleichen (ed. 2) iii. 37 The power of a series of thin lenses placed in contact is equal to the sum of the powers of the separate lenses. 1984 D. C. Giancoli xxxv. 684 A nearsighted eye has near and far points of 12 cm and 17 cm, respectively. What lens power is needed for this person to see distant objects clearly? 15. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] the world > matter > physics > mechanics > force > [noun] > active mechanical force 1696 V. Mandey & J. Moxon ii. vii. 42 As often as the disposition of the Machine increases the force of the power; so often, if the power and the weight change places, the force of the power is abated, and so much the resistance of the weight encreased. 1728 H. Pemberton 55 Caused..from the influence of the power of gravity united with the general laws of motion. 1728 E. Chambers Power, in Mechanics, a Force, which being apply'd to a Machine, tends to produce Motion... If the Power be a Man, or a Brute, it is call'd an animate Power; if the Air, Water, Fire, Gravity, or Elasticity, and inanimate Power. 1808 J. Duncan vi. 272 Plans..for the purpose of working the weaving loom by the application of power. 1815 J. Smith I. 294 Three things are always to be considered..; a weight to be raised; the power by which it is to be raised; and the instrument or engine by which that power acts upon the weight. 1869 21 399 Indian Tramway..adapted according to local circumstances to cattle or locomotive power. 1958 A. Marshack x. 177 The second-stage rocket will climb under power to 130 miles, when it will reach a speed of 11,000 m.p.h. 1994 Jan. 97/3 They require less power, and thus are less demanding on batteries. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > [noun] 1889 7 Jan. 2/3 (advt.) [To let] good Shopping, with and without power. 1904 W. R. Bowker v. 96 (caption) Low-tension system for power and lighting. 1966 14 May 734/1 Customers prepared to accept ‘interruptable’ electricity and have their power cut at peak hours can buy electricity very cheap indeed. 1980 B. Pym (1981) xxviii. 201 The jacket potatoes had been cooking slowly for two hours when the power went off. 1999 9 Oct. 4/4 Eastern, the country's biggest power supplier, will be expected to cut the distribution element of its bills by 20 per cent. 16. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > as distinguished from hand-labour 1806 O. G. Gregory II. 357 The usual method of estimating the effects of engines by what are called ‘horse powers’ must inevitably be very fallacious. 1807 T. Young I. xxvii. 320 We must estimate the ultimate value of the power [of a machine], by the joint ratio, or the product, of the force and the velocity. 1822 M. Edgeworth 7 Jan. (1971) 314 Sydney Smith to frighten a little boy who was going to school..told him that..the boys were flogged with three-usher power—as good as what he said of a man's eating with a 3-parson power. 1882 G. M. Minchin 263 The term ‘power’..signifies time-rate of doing work, and it is already in practical use in the expression ‘horse power’, which stands for 33,000 foot-pounds per minute. 1924 A. J. Allmand & H. J. T. Ellingham (ed. 2) xxv. 637 The simplest type of carbide furnace is the low power discontinuous ingot furnace with hearth electrode, now almost obsolete. 1952 17 Nov. 95/1 The pilot simply adjusts his throttle for more power during takeoff and landing. 1973 Sept. 604/2 It was not possible to evaluate the speakers under domestic conditions but it was quite clear that..they are capable of handling very high power. 1996 T. Clancy lv. 749 Two seconds later, the SPY search radar jacked up its power to four million watts. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] > advantage of 1823 XIII. 64/2 The power of the pulley is as 7 to 1. 1850 XVII. 483/2 In treating of the second meaning of the word power, or its synonym, mechanical advantage, we must separately consider a machine just balanced, and one in which an additional force applied gives motion. 1877 S. B. Luce (ed. 6) vi. 82 A tackle..attached to a runner... The power gained is eight times. 1908 28 1001/3 It is best to use a finer thread than eight to the inch with longer nuts (to compensate for finer-thread weakness) so as to multiply the power by reducing the rate of pull. 1921 T. J. J. Christian iv. 202 By the power of a tackle we mean its mechanical advantage. 1996 J. Mellor xiv. 195 If one tackle is clapped on another, the powers are multiplied. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > [noun] 1942 21 Sept. 115 [Locomotive] engines are called ‘power’ or ‘hogs’. 1953 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark (1954) §82a/1 Motor; engine—1. chugger, coffee grinder, mill, percolator, power, stove. 1962 37 134 Power,..all the locomotives owned by a company. The expression is heard, ‘The company has lots of power.’ 1973 44 245 A light engine crew moves power from one location to another. 1973 44 259 Power, 1: Number and type of locomotives on a train. 2: Locomotives available at a given time. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > property or measure of 1903 B. Russell xliii. 364 To prove that there are powers higher than the continuum. 1953 A. A. Fraenkel i. 79 The cardinal of the continuum, often called the power of the continuum. 1981 81 624 Which diffused finite Borel measures exist on 'small' topological spaces, that is, spaces whose cardinality is less than c, the power of the continuum? 2004 M. Potter x. 173 The set of closed subsets of ℝ also has the power of the continuum. 1933 J. Neyman & E. S. Pearson in 29 498 The probability of rejecting the hypothesis tested, H0, when the true hypothesis is Hi..may be termed the power of the critical region w with respect to Hi. 1980 W. J. Conover (ed. 2) ii. 85 The power is seen to range from .0115 for p close to .05 to 1.0000 for p equal to 1.0. 2005 38 615 Joints reconstructed using an augmented Weaver–Dunn repair were not significantly more (or less) mobile than normal joints.., although the power of the test to detect this difference was low (power = 0.107). Phrasesthe world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [phrase] > with all one's might c1300 St. Thomas Becket (Laud) 724 in C. Horstmann (1887) 127 (MED) Þe Erchebischop of Euerwyke fondede for-to bringe A-cord and loue, bi is pouwer, bi-twene thomas and þe king. c1400 (a1376) W. Langland (Trin. Cambr. R.3.14) (1960) A. v. 75 (MED) To apeire hym be my power I pursuide wel ofte. 1453 in F. B. Bickley (1900) II. 203 (MED) The saide prest..shall..kepe all the Vestmentis, Juelx, ornamentis, and other goodes belonging to the saide Chaunterie withoute any dispoiling or hurting therof bi all his power. a1513 W. Dunbar (1998) I. 111 Falsett no feit hes nor deffence, Be power, practik nor puscence. society > authority > [phrase] the world > action or operation > ability > able, capable, or competent [phrase] the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > potentiality > [adverb] c1325 (c1300) (Calig.) 7895 To drawe to him þe heyemen þat in poer were þo. a1382 (Bodl. 959) Ruth i. 1 In þe daies of oon juge, whan þe jugis weren beforn in power, þer is maad grett hungyr in þe erþe. 1572 (a1500) (1882) 889 The tane is in power to mak that presoun. 1656 T. Stanley II. v. 68 That Intellect which is alwaies in act,..is better then that Intellect which is in power. 1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman III. viii. 114 The more to cross the desire and humour of those who would observe the feast of Christmas, the men then in power commanded a strict fast to be on that day kept and observed. 1739 D. Hume I. i. 44 They are not really and in fact present to the mind, but only in power. 1792 R. Bage IV. cxx. 266 The flattery of domestics is but a poor substitute for the rich adulation paid to men in power. 1830 1 736 The moral man is nothing—the circumstantial man, or the man in power, every thing. 1888 2 Aug. 81/3 It was..natural for them to support the party in power. 1955 13 Aug. 7/2 The People's Party, then in power, deplored their rivals' use of the boycott weapon. 1991 (Mod. Lang. Assoc. Amer.) 8/1 I want to decode the perverse discourse of those in power. 1340 (1866) 164 (MED) Prowesse is huanne corage onworþeþ al þet ne is naȝt in his pouer. ?a1425 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius v. pr. vi. 273 If it be in my power to chaunge my purpos, than schal I voiden the purveaunce of God. a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich xliv. 600 (MED) He hym Sawgh In this Manere..hym to slen In his powere. 1544 in A. I. Cameron (1927) 72 I pray God tha com newer haym for layk he wald dow to owr sornem, qwelk sal not lay in hes power. 1640 R. Brathwait xv. 108 God forbid Mistresse, that I should suffer that, if it be in my power to prevent. 1697 in R. Renwick (1910) 157 It shall yet be in thair pouer to tak such other measurs as is fitt. 1748 J. Livingston Let. 16 June in J. Judd (1977) 3 I. Am Sorry You Tax me so Severely for not Acquainting You when Sisr Hanna was to be Marryed which was not in my Power.as I.was not Advised Thereof till Thursday. 1790 W. Bligh 10 They imagined it in their power to fix themselves in the midst of plenty. 1844 B. Webster i. i. 16 I rush headlong into the battle, where I have a presentiment, the hazard of war will one day place her in my power. 1861 W. H. Russell in 3 Aug. Ready to afford any information in their power. 1906 E. Dyson xiv. 185 He gave up beer..in order to have it in his power to shout the young lady to 2 s. seats at the Royal. 1940 E. Hazelton Haight iii. 63 He wished to get rid of the young man or get him in his power so that he would not present charges. 1984 R. Dahl 79 Once you had..set foot on the dormitory floor, you were in the Matron's power. 1993 R. Jenkins (Anglia TV shooting script) (O.E.D. Archive) 4th Ser. Episode 3. 31 I will do everything in my power to preserve your anonymity and that's all I can do. the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [phrase] > with all one's might 1384 I. 349/2 Ilk an of the lordes..sall set let tharin at thair powair. c1390 G. Chaucer 306 Hate of synne..destroyeth synne bothe in hym self and eek in oother folk, at [v.rr. as; as to] his power. ?a1400 (a1338) R. Mannyng (Petyt) (1996) i. l. 10661 Þer horses at þer powere ronnen. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 176v (MED) I, forsoþ, in degreez folowe G. in þe laste 6 bokez farmacorum..And som expercence [read experience] of myne after my power [L. iuxta posse]. 1472 in (1879) I. 165 The sade John sal kepe his land fra guld efter his powar. 1535 Tobit iv. 8 Be mercifull after ye power. Yf thou hast moch, geue plenteously. 1627 S. Rutherford (1863) I. 35 Your's at all power in the Lord Jesus, S.R. a1649 W. Drummond (1711) 138 I Shall fortify and defend the true Holy, Catholick and Christian Religion..at all my Power. the world > action or operation > ability > able, capable, or competent [phrase] c1390 G. Chaucer 2936 We been nat of power to maken his amendes. a1425 (a1400) (Galba & Harl.) (1863) 3748 (MED) A man may here with his hande Make asethe for another lyfande, Þe whilk es noght of power þar-to. c1443 R. Pecock (1927) 24 (MED) Siþen what euer þing is of power forto knowe a lawe, is þerby of power forto knowe defautis and synnys doon anentis þilk lawe. c1480 (a1400) St. Cecilia 564 in W. M. Metcalfe (1896) II. 384 Þo þu of poware wes þe lyf to tak of ony man, of powere wes þu neuir ȝet þan to quhykine man þat ded had bene. ?1543 T. Phaer tr. J. Goeurot xii. f. lxviv Yf ye be of power, ye maye drynke a good draught of ypocras..after meate. 1637 J. Milton 6 Of power to cheate the eye with bleare illusion. the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > exert oneself or make an effort [verb (intransitive)] > do one's utmost c1390 G. Chaucer 4534 O Venus..this Chauntecleer..in thy seruyce dide al his power. c1425 J. Lydgate (Augustus A.iv) iii. 2044 (MED) Þis ȝong, lusty knyȝt Dide his power & his fulle myȝt..to haue born hym doun. a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve (Harl. 4866) (1897) 1855 And for to write it wel, do thi poweer [rhyme clere]. c1485 ( G. Hay (2005) 12 He did his power to put jt doune. a1500 tr. A. Chartier (Rawl.) (1974) 216 (MED) Thanne all suche as were of goode wille and corage acceptid grettely his wisedam and grauntid to do theire powere in the same. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart I. clxxxii. 216 Shame haue he that dothe nat his power to distroy all. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. xlij Christierne made all his power agaynste them. 1657 J. Howell 371 Where he may know any wrong or prejudice to be done to the King, he shall put and do all his power and diligence that to redresse. the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [phrase] > with all one's might c1400 J. Wyclif (1871) III. 479 Doyng ȝoure bisynes upon ȝoure connynge ande powere. the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [phrase] > with all one's might a1300 I. 241 A leur poer e a leur esseint.] ?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena (Harl.) (1966) 284 (MED) He..schulde..rowe forþ vndir the whyngis and fynnes of religyoun, keping þe same religyoun aftir þe first entent to his power vnto þe deeþ. c1450 King Ponthus (Digby) in (1897) 12 6 (MED) By Mahounde, Ser, me aght to councell you truly to my power. 1490 W. Caxton tr. xiii. 48 She..cheryssheth and enterteyneth hym to her power. 1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart I. 138 The man they wolde haue defended to the best of their powers. 1569 R. Grafton II. 686 King Reyner did also help his daughter to hys small power. 1588 in L. B. Taylor (1942) I. 41 It salbe resistit to the uttermeist of our powars. 1631 J. Weever 137 Three things..I remember to haue kept to my power. 1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman IV. xxi. 307 There was no particular debauched action, or extravagancy done in London, but he would boast himself to be the Author of it, and imitate it to his power. 1715 D. Defoe I. i. v. 114 To the best of my Power you shall do it no more. 1786 F. Burney 28 Nov. (1842) III. 232 I wished them well..but I distanced them to the best of my power. 1814 W. Scott I. xxv. 274 He soothed our hero, however, to the best of his power, and began to turn his thoughts on revenge for his insulted honour. View more context for this quotation 1847 W. M. Thackeray (1848) xxxix. 357 Seated at the piano with the utmost gravity, and squalling to the best of her power. 1927 V. Woolf i. vi. 56 He has toiled honestly, given to the best of his power, and till he has no more left to give. 2003 (Nexis) 29 May 5 g I want to take responsibility for trying to tell the greater truth of her story to the best of my powers. P9. society > faith > church government > member of the clergy > clerical superior > pope > [noun] > office of 1536 R. Taverner tr. P. Melanchthon f. 19v The power of the keys is greatly made of by shewynge howe greate comforte it bryngeth to troubled consciences & that god requireth fayth to thende that we shulde gyue credence to that absolution. 1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane f. ccxxixv The power of the keyes. 1651 T. Hobbes xlii. 276 This part of the Power of the Keyes, by which men were thrust out from the Kingdom of God, is that which is called Excommunication. 1701 R. Burscough iii. 86 The Power of the Keys was immediately from Christ, and the Sacraments were of his Institution. 1755 S. Buell 38 It is the Ministers and not the People that are to exercise the Power of the Keys. 1791 G. Berkeley 14 It follows undeniably that this Power of the Keys, which was originally vested in the Apostles, must continue in the Church through all Ages. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. iv. 466 Lewis..was in turn accused by the Pope of encroaching on the spiritual power of the keys. 1896 J. A. Froude vi. 134 There was stumbling again at the power of the keys, and at the splendour and assumptions of the hierarchy. 1916 J. Joyce iv. 183 No angel or archangel in heaven, no saint, not even the Blessed Virgin herself has the power of a priest of God: the power of the keys, the power to bind and to loose from sin. 1990 H. Chadwick i. 48 Callistus also offended Hippolytus' moral rigorism by asserting that the power of the keys entrusted by the Lord to his church did not exclude authority to restore to communion penitent adulterers. the world > space > distance > [phrase] > that may be reached > within range or reach 1548 W. Patten N iv b Within pour of batrie. P11. society > authority > power > [noun] > great or supreme power 1553 T. Wilson iii. f. 103 Beinge a slaue to his master (who hadde power of life & deathe ouer him) he was condempned to be cast to the wylde beastes at Rome. 1565 A. Golding tr. Caesar i. f. 12 An offyce that lasteth but from yere to yere, and for the tyme hath absolute power of life and deathe. 1651 T. Hobbes ii. xxi. 109 We are not to understand, that by such Liberty, the Soveraign Power of life, and death, is either abolished, or limited. 1690 T. Betterton ii. i. 22 As a sign We give him absolute power of Life, and Death, Bind this Sword to his Side. 1730 J. Thomson ii. ii. 20 A captive, O'er whom the Gods, thy Fortune, and thy Virtue, Have given unquestion'd power of life and death. 1753 J. Hanway I. li. 336 The Begler-begs have the power of life and death, as have also those Sardares, who are on the frontiers. 1798 H. Brand iv. iii. 83 Three days I give the Town to their sole pillage; With power of life and death o'er ev'ry citizen. 1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian xi, in 2nd Ser. I. 309 The people take the power of life and death out of the hands of the rightful magistrate into their ain rough grip. 1863 H. Cox iii. viii. 719 (note) The power of life and death, which by martial law belonged to the Lord High Admiral. 1929 Jan. 16/1 So say the cards of the tarrot, the cards that have the power of life and death among my people. 1994 A. Theroux 221 The fasces, a bundle of elm rods coupled with an axe, symbolizing in ancient Rome a consul's powers of life and death..is always bound by a red cord. P12. 1573 J. Bridges 1035 By your own confession, the power of the sworde, and putting to death, is not giuen to the Bishop. 1636 E. Reynolds 19 Jurisdiction coercitive, or the power of the Sword. 1649 J. Milton x. 96 If the power of the Sword were any where separate and independing from the power of Law. 1702 J. Humfrey 14 It is possible for a King, having the sole Power of the Sword, and the making all Officers, to use these Two Rights, to Check-mate all other whatsoever they be, of the Lords and Commons both. 1772 S. Maese III. xliii. 252 A Mohommedanism, to which they are very zealous of making proselytes, not by the force of argument, but by the power of the sword. 1838 H. W. Herbert II. iii. i. 75 The Independents..were formidable from the talents of the leaders, the enthusiasm of the mass, the real justice of their cause, and, above all, from the fact that they possessed the power of the sword, the army being almost unanimously in their favour. 1863 12 Feb. 8/6 In those days the management of the Militia meant simply the power of the sword, for the Militia represented the only military force of the state. 1926 F. W. Blackmar iv. xix. 304 Most of their conquests were accomplished by the power of the sword. 1999 27 Mar. c5 The Chinese Communist Party derives its legitimacy not from the power of the sword (the tanks in Tiananmen Square were very ineffective).., but rather from the power of the purse. P13. society > authority > power > influence > [noun] > one who or that which influences > influential person > behind the scenes 1770 W. Pitt Speech 2 Mar. in Apr. 249 A long train of such practices has at length unwillingly convinced me, that there is something within the court [in Parl. Hist. (1813) XVI. 843 something behind the throne] greater than the King himself.] 1783 W. Godwin vi. 193 He complained..that the open treachery, that was practised against him, was abetted by secret influence; and that he found ‘a power behind the throne, greater, than the throne itself’. 1787 44 No instance can more fully demonstrate his independence of any power behind the throne than his conduct in the East-India business. 1866 A. H. Lincoln in W. H. Herndon (1889) III. 513 I told him [sc. Lincoln] once of the assertion I had heard coming from the friends of Seward, that the latter was the power behind the throne; that he could rule him. 1875 ‘M. Twain’ Old Times Mississippi vi, in June 728/1 A power behind the throne that was greater than the throne itself. It was the underwriters! 1931 W. Holtby vii. 277 I'd been..generally working in the background, but then I liked to be the power behind the throne. 1989 Sept. 39/4 While studio heads come and go he continues to reign as the power behind the throne. 2000 C. Whitcomb & J. Whitcomb xl. 433 While her public popularity went up and down, Nancy never faltered in her private role as the power behind the throne. the world > action or operation > prosperity > in prosperous condition [phrase] > fortunately > wish for another's good fortune 1831 S. Lover 140 More power to your elbow, Paddy, my boy. 1867 T. Carlyle (1881) II. App. 321 More power to him! 1932 E. Glasgow 12 Jan. (1958) 112 I read and enjoyed and admired the articles by Allen Tate. They are fine and true. More power to him. 1973 P. Moyes viii. 107 ‘I'm trying to find Griselda, you see.’ ‘In that case, more power to your arm.’ 1989 Apr. 29/1 If what I did is going to be of some use to younger players then power to them. Compounds C1. a. General attributive and objective. 1901 30 405 If the phase difference..had been but 3½° instead of 7°, the power absorption would have been 1 H.P. and not 2 H.P. 1993 V. E. Mitchell iii. 34 There is a major spike in the lower frequencies, almost like the power absorption curve of a biaxial shield generator. 1806 R. Forsyth III. 97 A power-blast to excite the furnace fires. 1938 92 58 The temperature thus obtained was insufficent to make the iron actually fluid, as in modern power-blast furnaces. 1991 (Nexis) 10 Sept. c10 Connors' serve, unlike Boris Becker's powerblast, tends to put less stress on his body. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > [noun] > company producing 1832 May 431/2 The Norwich Water Power Company, with a capital of $40,000, have constructed a dam on the Schetucket river. 1924 29 Nov. 239/1 With such an unusually large consumption of current,..the electric light, heat, and power companies can afford to sell power at a low cost. 2000 M. Hamid vii. 72 I call the power company, hoping that it's just..a breakdown. 1886 25 Sept. 11/1 It is stated that the company has been established for the purpose of providing in certain districts in the town of Birmingham a system of motive power distribution by compressed air produced at a central station. 1947 31 Jan. 4/5 I am aware that this question of power distribution is one of the most vital problems we have got to face. 2000 13 Nov. c12/2 I.B.M...says the carriers improve the reliability, power-distribution and cooling functions in chips. 1892 Feb. 40/1 Mill owners..and others engaged in manufacturing, who are now obliged to depend upon engines..are asking themselves if it is not possible to adopt some other method of power generation and transmission. 1906 3 Mar. 4/4 Bulk power generation. 1990 B. Bodlund et al. in J. Leggett xiv. 348 Many new types of power-generation systems could be constructed in Sweden. 1912 15 Mar. 7/1 Control of the chief consumers of power both insures a market for power and excludes others. This connection between great power groups and the agencies that directly serve the public is of serious public significance. 1977 17 Feb. 223/2 Directors should be appointed for their competence, not because of the power group they represent. 2002 17 Mar. ii. 37/4 They have perfected the long process through which they try, person by person, power group by power group, to get the permission and money they need to complete their projects. society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful person 1854 26 July 6/1 The power-holders meant one thing, the people meant another. 1927 A. Huxley 29 Power-holders to whose material advantage it would have been to wield their power ruthlessly. 2002 11 Apr. 12/3 This is why variations of fascism or communism have been more alluring to power-holders or power-grabbers in the developing world. 1918 14 Aug. 6/1 A new peace hunger is evident in Germany. Its pangs are made poignant by food hunger. And both are becoming too strong for the old German land and power hunger. 1946 ‘G. Orwell’ 17 He seems to assume that power-hunger..is a natural instinct. 1988 P. Fussell Power of Facing Unpleasant Facts in (1990) 99 One thing that's not at all clear is what reasons other than self-importance and power-hunger Ms. Dworkin has for expecting criticism to be more respectful toward her political ideas than to any other person's. 1902 9 Apr. The power impulses that control the eyes and eyelids are in that part of the brain which lies almost directly behind them. 1936 L. Wirth & E. A. Shils tr. K. Mannheim iii. 124 Observing the mass-mind, especially its power-impulses and their functioning. 1971 36 671/2 Spencer is here much like..Hegel, in his philosophy of history, making the mastery- or power-impulse of great men contribute to the uses of human freedom. 2004 (Nexis) 1 Feb. 26 Overlapping power impulses provide smooth torque in both forward and reverse directions. 1933 4 Apr. 1/2 The Power Instinct. Children are born with the desire to exercise power over people and things about them. 1941 10 364/1 The Nazis will probably have to rely on the survival..of a group of the ‘fittest’ or toughest who do not succumb but whose power-instincts are strong enough to carry them to the heights of leadership. 1999 (Nexis) 25 June e i. 1/3 The three stories in ‘Bash’ are correspondingly all, in different ways, about the power instinct, about the animalistic urge for control. 1959 9 Oct. 575/3 Over large tracts of their lives the winds of the Hobbesian power-logic blow unchecked. 1993 J. Caputo & M. Yount i. 18 Yount exposes the power logic of conservative arguments against affirmative action to show that they are misanthropic. 1946 A. Koestler 296 It startles me that its up-to-date, stream-lined power logics should be accompanied by all this maudlin opera stuff. 1998 D. Pels vii. 205 The traditional ‘property’ and ‘power’ logics have to some extent interfused. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [noun] > temporary failure 1905 6 Sept. 5/2 The combinations of machines for given purposes. Friction and power losses, and prevention. 1960 1 Mar. 129/2 It sharply cuts power-loss in transmission and hydraulics. 1982 i. 24 It represents half a volt drop and 10 watts of power loss! society > authority > power > [noun] > desire for power 1914 24 Aug. 4/2 Vengeance, power-lust, festering jealousy Triumph, and grim carnage stalks abroad. 1923 D. H. Lawrence xvi. 344 The land..invites parasites now... What would happen if the power-lust came that way? 1993 June 48/3 America kept the Soviets out of the Gulf only to be burned repeatedly by local actors and events: Islamic zealots..feckless allies..and, finally, Saddam Hussein and his power lust. 1939 R. E. Baber xviii. 590 To this writer, infantilism, the will to power, emotional slavery, narcissism, psychological incest, neurotic bondage, ego and power mania,..exhibitionism—these and other ugly beasts..are household pets in nearly all homes. 1971 20 May 434/1 Psychology students studying power-mania. 1996 34 184 A black American ex-civil rights leader who establishes a pseudo-religious cult..to service his own greed, powermania, and polygamous lust. the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [noun] > irrational loves and desires > person 1943 A. Hynd i. 29 No sacrifice was too great for any man to make if the land where freedom had its birth was being threatened by the machinations of the greatest aggregation of merciless power-maniacs that the world had ever known. 1983 Sept. 22 The ‘P.F.’ is an eccentric creature at best, and a crude power maniac at worst. 1919 G. E. Partridge ii. vi. 238 We must take a fair and tolerant view of the power motive that exists in all nations, and try to understand what it means to be of another nationality and to have ambitions like our own. 1943 8 53/2 There is a tendency for neither side to discuss the matter on the basis of the power-motives involved. 2005 (Nexis) Feb. 17 A set of personal dispositions that..has attracted less attention in charismatic leadership research is leaders' motives, such as the power motive and the tendency to use power in a morally responsible way. 1870 W. Graham 98 This word represents the rulers of this world as mere power-possessors. 1921 11 Apr. 6/5 Let the power possessors on both sides realize that..it is for them not only to define their respective powers and rights, but to protect..the sacred interests of the common people. 1998 P. A. Stadter in R. Waterfield tr. Plutarch 84 It was this desire that led to his ambition..to be the leading citizen of Athens, and therefore to his willing acceptance of the clashes between himself and the city's power-possessors and leaders. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > other types of engine > [noun] > other specific engines 1859 H. W. Beecher 256 He is to be a power-producer; he is to see the success of his ministry in the church which he builds up. 1868 8 July 18/2 Coal is the best power producer known to practical science. 1906 27 Oct. 765/2 The internal combustion engine is coming..rapidly into favour as a cheap power-producer for almost every kind of work. 1994 17 Jan. c1/2 Utilities are girding for the day when rival power producers will be free to enter their territories. 1888 27 Apr. 201/1 As far as mere economy of power-production goes, the question is easily answered: the efficiency of a stationary steam-plant is greater than that of a locomotive-engine. 1903 9 Dec. 6/5 A revolution in power-production might result. 1991 Sept. 3/1 Read about how slagging-combustor technology links agriculture and power production in the People's Republic of China. the world > relative properties > relationship > [noun] > between persons, communities, etc. > relations > between nations or states society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation > relationship between 1902 8 39 Freedom..consists not less of a power-relation to others, of the possibility of making oneself count within this relation, of making others tributary or subject. 1958 9 Aug. 158/1 The meeting..symbolises the change in the power-relations of the Communist world. 1994 Spring 141/1 The university is a workplace as well as a site for teaching, and..it is suffused with power relations. society > authority > power > [noun] > pursuit of power > one who 1858 3041/1 It is not the capitalist, the merchant, the banker, the honest laborer, and the largest tax payer in the city who are opposed to commissions, but the professed politician, the place and power seeker. 1946 ‘G. Orwell’ 4 The English Puritans, the Jacobins, the Bolsheviks, were in each case simply power-seekers. 1979 P. Alexander xxiii. 246 He was the perfect example of the power-seeker... He'd tread on anyone's face to get to the top. 1922 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) xxi. 347 Yield to the deep power-soul in the individual man, and obey implicitly. society > authority > power > [noun] > hierarchy of power 1938 M. Lerner in C. Read ii. 192 The aggressions of the judicial power cannot be understood unless we see them as part of the attempt to maintain the existing power structures in our peculiar form of capitalist democracy. 1977 4 July 6/1 Brezhnev already ranked No. 1 in the Kremlin power structure and was accorded the diplomatic status due a chief of state nearly everywhere he went. 2002 11 Feb. 9/4 The power structure from kingship to knighthood is closely examined. society > authority > power > [noun] > contest for power 1920 29 394 From the power-struggle of the nations in the world-war we are turning to a stage on which the idea of justice shall rule and operate as a dominating force in the councils of the nations. 1993 23 Dec. 13/1 Avoid a serious power struggle with co-workers. 1883 1 June 489/2 An hydraulic system of power-transmission has been adopted at Penhouet, France. 1891 28 Sept. 13/6 A power transmission..from the Palmengarten..to the exhibition, a distance of about four kilomètres. 1993 19 June 4/2 Electricity supply companies are already interested in buying superconducting fault current limiters, a safety device for power transmission lines. 1940 15 May 3/6 The pilot..manoeuvres not to point his aircraft at the enemy, but to allow his gunner, who is a highly trained shot with the power turret, to bring his guns to bear. 1943 1 Sept. 3/5 The bombers will dwarf the Flying Fortresses. They will have multiple-gun power turrets. 2004 (Nexis) 9 Aug. 54 It is the fall of 1943, wartime, and I am an Air Force corporal, most recently an instructor in machine guns and power turrets at the Lowry Aircraft Armament School. society > authority > power > [noun] > desire for power 1922 D. H. Lawrence (N.Y. ed.) xxi. 346 But the deep power-urge is not conscious of its aims. 2001 (Nexis) 10 Nov. His pathological dislike of politicians was grounded in a belief that they only entered politics in the first place to satisfy craven power urges. 1941 3 159 The world of the Eastern European minor powers was, politically speaking, a power-vacuum which depended for its continued existence on a balance of the surrounding great powers. 1990 Dec. 410/2 Opportunists who had grasped a chance to capitalize on the confusion and the power vacuum that emerged after the Ceausescus. 1831 T. Carlyle Schiller in Mar. 149/1 The ‘Power-words and Thunder-words,’ as the Germans call them, so frequent in the Robbers, are altogether wanting here. 1862 E. M. Goulburn I. i. vi. 88 As if He had said, ‘My words are power-words indeed. They take effect’. 1951 G. W. Allport in T. Parsons & E. A. Shils 378 He [sc. the child] often acquires power-words of violent opprobrium. 1968 114 1184/2 I think it unfortunate that the blurb claims this book to be ‘objectively scientific’, because the volume can stand on its own without the support of power words. 1994 July 41/2 Today, EDI (also known by the '90s power word electronic commerce) accounts for about 5 percent of daily business transactions. 1841 T. Arnold 462 (Notes) Faith without reason, is not properly faith, but mere power worship; and power worship may be devil worship. 1941 ‘G. Orwell’ Eng. your Eng. in i. 17 Power-worship..has never touched the common people. 1995 23 Sept. 27/6 Even more remote from Carlylean power-worship was that vast corpus of Victorian popular biography..devoted to the triumphs of self-help. b. With the sense ‘operated, driven, or done by mechanical or electrical power’. society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [noun] > sudden rapid descent > descent prior to landing > landing approach > types of 1938 42 416 We may conclude, therefore, that, for the average pilot, the power approach (or the undershoot technique) is a feasible method of approaching and landing. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > bellows 1880 C. A. Edwards ii. v. 65 The pneumatic action..by which the bulk of the pressure is taken from the key, by means of small power-bellows. 1930 N. S. B. Gras vi. 72 Besides the power bellows there was the rolling and slitting of iron and the grinding of tools by power. 1963 31 May 17/2 For the nation's golfers—a new golf ball, colored woods for the fashion-conscious woman, a glove softener, bag covers, a practice ball that will measure your drive, some new putters and a power-cart. 2003 (Nexis) 20 June b3 Entry fee includes the round of golf with a power cart, lunch and dinner. 1900 2 July The indications are that about all the sail and small power craft in the harbor will participate. 1954 J. M. M. Fisher & R. M. Lockley v. 126 The oceanic sea-birds have solved these problems of mobility by becoming sailplanes as well as power-craft. 1987 G. Turner 3 Only the powercraft's wake disturbed the placid bay. 1844 H. Stephens II. 211 A power-crane. 1912 B. F. Cresson & C. W. Staniford 24 Elevators and small power cranes lift freight to the various deck levels. 1993 (Nexis) 24 Nov. 1 The power crane is working overtime at the construction site of a county government building in St. Charles. society > occupation and work > equipment > piercing or boring tools > [noun] > drill > power drills 1867 4 May 286/1 Self-feeding hand and power drill for drilling holes in metals, etc. 1961 16 Mar. 334/1 Nowhere is a power drill more useful than in the garage. 2003 Nov. 62/1 There's a wide variety of dowelling jigs available, normally used with a power drill to form the holes. 1826 W. Scott 24 Nov. (1939) 282 The people..in great discontent on account of the power engines. 1944 4 134 Less than a year later a private entrepreneur, Georg Christian Freund, entered the field of power-engine building. 2005 (Nexis) 19 Aug. The company also plans to introduce new products for ship propulsion systems and power engines. the world > food and drink > farming > [noun] > types of farming 1913 17 Mar. 4/5 The first solid trainload of power-farming machinery to enter this sunny land. 1952 J. W. Day xvi. 185 Substituting cheap modern power-farming for expensive hand and animal labour. 1994 Special Issue 17 Traditions are waning before the combined attack of television, ‘power-farming’ techniques and tree processing machinery. 1831 J. Holland I. 89 The blocks..are prepared at the power forges. 1895 20 Nov. Manufacturing and other establishments supplied with power forges are nowadays equipped with power blowers. society > occupation and work > equipment > driving or beating tools > [noun] > hammer > mechanical and power hammers 1856 1 Mar. 540/1 Most power hammers obtain their force by their accelerated velocity in their fall. 1973 J. G. Tweeddale II. iv. 90 Most of the work done on power hammers is hot working of steels. 2001 C. H. Wendel 99/2 Over the years, hammers were developed especially for plow work, but with the coming of the power hammer, the work was much easier than before. society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > others 1869 3 July 8/1 It is a valuable improvement, since it furnishes a more safe and convenient arrangement in the laborious process of hoisting.., and for power hoists, provides at once for the slipping off, stretching or breaking of belt. 1972 ‘G. Black’ (1973) ix. 139 A contractor's lorry..with a power hoist. 2003 (Nexis) 11 July Williams was operating a power hoist when he accidentally set a 6,000-pound steel mold down on a 440-volt welder power cord on the floor. 1853 A. Ure II. 467 The vessel is now cut off at the base with small wire; is dried, turned on a power lathe, and polished as above described. 1875 E. H. Knight II. 1262/2 The power-lathe is driven by horse-power, water, or steam. 1996 30 377 Power-lathes were more common. 1833 20 Sept. 2/6 The chief advantage enjoyed by the owner of the power machine is, that he works it with no labour but that of superintendence. 1927 T. Woodhouse 81 Practically coincident with the hand knitting of jumpers and the like came the hand-machine knitting and the power-machine knitting of all kinds of garments. 1988 D. Rees xi. 96 Portable power machines..can be used where they are required which may be outdoors as well as indoors. 1886 14 Aug. 37 Now we've got the American Durand's power-milker. 1940 4 Oct. 9/3 Man wanted to work on dairy farm, by the month; all year job at good wages; single man of middle-age preferred. We use tractor and power milker. 1835 21 Oct. 5/2 The fine-spinning power-mills at Manchester, where 350 hanks are spun. 1895 I. 583/2 A great number of large power-mills have sprung up. 1992 C. Giles & I. H. Goodall iii. 110/2 The special tenurial arrangements within room and power mills seem not to have been reflected in their design. the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > lawn-mower 1913 31 Mar. 11/3 The club has purchased a power mower and roller and it is now in Kenosha ready to be put to work on the greens just as soon as the grass is ready for cutting. 1993 P. Ouellette ii. 27 In the far distance, a boom box punches out some speed metal, and a symphony of power mowers blends in a vague mechanical hum. 1822 6 (Front Matter) p. ii Boston: Treadwell's Power Press. 1841 C. Cist (advt.) They have in their Printing establishment..five Power Presses in good order, propelled by water, each of which can throw off daily, five thousand impressions. 1967 E. Chambers i. 3 The operation of printing consists, first, in damping the stone—with a wet sponge in hand-press printing or with a wet roller in power-press work. 1991 Sept. 27 Capacity includes power presses, up to 60-ton, double-action drawing press, 25-ton CVA, roll feed with coil handling and straightening equipment. 1907 Power-pulley. 1915 2 Aug. 14/6 A detachable power pulley goes with each machine, for use with motor or gasoline engine. 1999 (Nexis) 5 Nov. 76 This gives a self-cleaning triangular track design and also keeps the power pulley well-away from field surface dirt. 1893 6 May J. E. Bickett has just completed an eccentric power riveting machine for Rate & Son's glove factory. 1970 15 Mar. Premium grade Star linings are secured to the shoe by precision power riveting. 1997 (Nexis) Dec. 18 The POP MCS 5800 rechargeable blind riveting tool provides a power riveting alternative to conventional pneumatic and electrical tools. society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > saw > [noun] > power saws 1831 D. Webster Introd. Lect. before Mechanics' Inst. in I. 184 From this description of the primitive power-saw, it would seem that it was probably fast only at one end, and that the brock and rigall performed the part of the arm, in the common use of the handsaw. 1905 R. Kipling 19 A force that would whip the teeth out of a power-saw. 1995 Mar. 18/2 He eventually bought a power saw and became a faller. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] 1901 26 July For a time, and until the lessons of experience have produced their usual results, there will be a certain amount of failure to get perfect work out of power vehicles. 1916 Feb. 83/1 The power-vehicle is also invaluable for communication between commanders and their units. 1995 21 July 20/5 They join battle in their new ‘Zords’—animal-shaped power vehicles—with Ooze's metallic monsters. 1825 20 Aug. 3/6 If power-weaving be so much more preferable and cheap as it is described, in Heaven's name let those who choose resort to it. 1907 6 Apr. 13/6 The machinery and power weaving looms used by us to manufacture Rugs, makes a far better Rug than those made by hand looms. 1998 51 538 Power-weaving was a later development, not establishing itself until after the mid-century. the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > wringing > machine for 1876 (Mass. State Hospital, Danvers) 58 The main laundry, in the same building, is to be fitted up with boilers, power wringers, etc., run by a fifteen horse-power steam engine. 1957 1 Dec. 10/5 There is no national test for power wringers so test the safety release yourself before buying. 1993 (Nexis) 12 June c2 We also apprenticed at the hand-cranked wringer. Eventually, there was a washing machine with a power wringer, but extreme caution had to be used. c. With the sense ‘used in generating, distributing, measuring, or applying mechanical or electrical power’. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [noun] > hydroelectric power > dam used in 1890 29 Mar. Work on the power dam in Ogden canyon has commenced, about 100 men being employed, and before long the works will be ready to furnish power enough to run all the factories that will be located in ten years. 1996 (Ontario Northland Railways) 2 i. 6/3 Automation of the power dams in the 1970s eliminated the need for people and Fraserdale, once a thriving community of 350 hydro employees, was closed. 1854 W. Johnson 91/2 There are two kinds of power levers, distinguished by the position of the fulcrum as regards the power and the resistance. 1923 G. Collins xiv. 305 Luckily, I had just strength enough to reach up and touch the power-lever. 2003 (Nexis) 19 Oct. a8 The threats underscore the Republicans' tight control of Congress's power levers despite their narrow majorities in both houses. 1865 29 Apr. 280/3 The combination of a power meter..with an apparatus used to aerate and vaporize liquid hydro carbons. 1903 B. 6 66 Power Meter... This is an apparatus, patented by A. F. Nagle, for measuring the i.h.p., or rather the indicated work in a given time, at one end of an engine cylinder. 1992 23 311/2 Single element pyroelectrical detectors are widely used in spectroscopy, power meters and for intruder alarms. 1900 16 220 This rail..is known as the ‘power rail’, it forming one terminal of the electrical system. 1962 23 May 9/3 Another advantage..is that the overhead power rail and driving wheels are blocked in by a sort of conduit, thus assuring protection against all weather hazards. 2005 (Nexis) 21 Mar. 12 Cadence and ARM automated the insertion of level shifters, hooking them up to power rails and optimizing placement for area and timing. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [noun] 1887 11 Oct. 1/9 Dr. J. H. Wiest, of York, is at present in Philadelphia, making estimates and plans for a Power Station at Hanover by his new Electric System. 1901 18 Mar. 2/6 The development of power-stations all over the country. 1992 ‘B. Vine’ (BNC) 105 London Transport Underground still draws its power from Lots Road, the vast elegant power station that overshadows Chelsea Harbour. 1888 22 Nov. Mr. Fertick..has come here to set up the engine and power works of the Electric Street Railway Company. 1900 27 Apr. 5/2 The..power works adjacent to the river. 1991 24 599 He thereby made it possible for the Victoria Falls and Transvaal Power Company to have ‘the largest power-works in the world’ by 1914. d. Objective (with participles and verbal nouns). 1907 30 Jan. 7/1 The company is getting ready to duplicate the transmission from the power plant to Tonopah and this will increase the power-carrying capacity to three times what it is at present. 1972 7 June 17/3 The Eastern Electricity Board propose to spend £100,000 in putting underground power carrying lines which would otherwise denigrate areas of natural beauty. 2005 (Nexis) 23 Feb. That forced us or motivated us into an architecture where all of the context, all of the power carrying was done on the back of a solar cell. 1919 10 Mar. 6/4 What would France do if she did not have an army with which to protect herself against the power-craving of Germany? 1974 32 361/2 The hero's power-craving fantasies embodied in assertive action call forth the counter-assertion of the controlling force. 2005 (Nexis) 27 June a11 Its claims that the New York senator is a power-craving liar, adulterer and frustrated lesbian have been far less well-received..by political commentators. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [adjective] 1866 22 Sept. 200/1 To this ignorance must be attributed the persistent and repeated attempts to construct a self-acting and power-generating machine—a perpetual motion. 1915 F. W. Taussig (1930) i. 42 Similar is the more recent history of the Diesel motor, whose possibilities for the future of power-generating may prove immense. 1992 May 16/2 (caption) The transmuting waste heats the liquid-sodium coolant, which in turn produces high-pressure steam that drives a power-generating turbine. 1846 28 July 2/2 I took up a small piece of the sparkling metal—it was gold ore—pure, power-giving gold. 1906 W. C. Gordon i. iii. 41 Simple statements of facts may be ‘power-giving’ or inspiring, if the facts are rightly chosen and skilfully arranged. 1992 24 July 12/8 The discovery of three victims, including two children, whose bodies had been mutilated for muti , or power-giving potions. 1893 23 Apr. 2/2 Every day the courts are taking greater powers to themselves... Every day they create precedents in the way of power grabbing which pave the way for even greater encroachments. 1923 28 Oct. 18/2 The power-grabbing interests are too strong for us to get many needed improvements. 1973 H. L. Nieburg ix. 188 Hamlet..may be seen as a pampered, power-grabbing postadolescent. 1993 Sept. 121/3 She's doggedly pursuing a new style of leadership based not on power grabbing but on consensus building. 1925 28 July 4/1 He fought to wrest control of the democratic organization from the hands of power-greedy bosses. 1981 S. Hoffmann i. 11 Even those who would like to pursue loftier goals cannot escape from the contest waged by the power greedy. 1994 21 111 Those who had put their hopes once again in the former leftist MIR had to witness how power-greedy, cynical, and corrupt left-wing criollo politicians could be. 1875 4 68 The theory that between the vibrating power-inducing outside world and the tense power-holding brain there exists a film of psychoplasmic matter capable under certain circumstances of feeling pleasure. 1977 62 858/1 The legally bound and power-holding sector of samurai were prohibited by their code from economically gainful activity. 1998 A. D. Smith i. ii. 30 Industrial societies..require a homogeneous culture uniting all the members of a state, since in such societies, everyone is mobile, everyone must be a clerk, communication must be context-free and power-holding must be impersonal. society > authority > power > [adjective] > pursuing or desiring power 1914 25 Jan. 1/1 Power-hungry men still are trying and will try to make honest members of the Republican party believe that their party is all that these sincere members of that party would have it to be. 1946 ‘G. Orwell’ A. Koestler in 134 Spartacus, however, is not represented as power-hungry, nor, on the other hand, as a visionary. 1989 Aug. 3/2 (advt.) The FlexCache 33/386Z delivers the most performance for all power hungry desktop applications. 1926 28 May 11/3 Its refining schedule is set to admit no entry of the dull, heavy, speed-killing, power-losing elements of the crude petroleum. 1980 19 Aug. 11/3 They still say that power-sharing is as unacceptable as power-losing by universal adult suffrage. 1998 29 785/1 The interpartner competitive motive for bargaining power and control..provides the incentive for both partners to monitor the changes in their power positions, and for the power-losing partner to make replenishing actions. 1836 2 383/2 The power-loving nature of man would be enabled, first, to throw around the mass an illusive gilded snare—afterwards, to crush it in its iron despotic grasp. 1953 T. K. Quinn i. 18 He hates every injustice, loves freedom and prefers the cause and the company of the poor to that of the rich and power-loving. 1991 35 223 Parnok noted Cvetaeva's power-loving nature in the aforementioned ‘Sonnet’. society > authority > power > [adjective] > pursuing or desiring power 1836 J. Elliot (ed. 2) IV. App. 621 (note) Ultimately, it [sc. the veto] oppressed the lower orders, excluded them from the councils of the nation, and made them the passive instruments of power-lusting demagogues. 1959 S. Spender tr. F. Schiller iii. iv. 61 Your uncle, the power-lusting cardinal. 1994 104 529 While powerful ins may beat power-lusting outs once or twice or thrice, the democratic electorate will eventually turn against its masters. 1845 J. E. Carpenter 65 Its power-propelling properties were vain. 1973 8 Feb. 15/2 (advt.) Pace Command front-wheel drive lets you set the power-propelling speed to match your stride. And choose the best cutting speed for your grass. society > authority > power > [noun] > pursuit of power society > authority > power > [adjective] > pursuing or desiring power 1855 July 197 There is not..on the one hand a power-possessing class who strive to keep their position, and on the other hand a power-seeking class, who seek to share this position with them. 1910 I. 914/2 The masses resisted the encroachments of the conquerors and the power-seeking minorities. 1997 J. Curthoys ii. 36 Power-seeking is not as futile as the early theorists believed. 1950 16 150 This superiority complex took the form of a doctrine of power-sharing with Almighty god, the theory of the divine right of kings. 1978 P. Cosgrave ii. 34 It was widely believed that if there had not been a general election in February 1974 his Northern Ireland ‘power-sharing’ executive would have worked. 1991 13 Aug. 57/1 Negotiations with Slovakia over power-sharing in a renewed federation were not going well. 1922 28 5 Among the secondary and derived causes..are..the militaristic interests, such as the power-thirsty governing class. 1951 H. Arendt v. 141 Hobbes..proceeded from this insight to a plan for a body politic best fitted for this power-thirsty animal. 1999 8 Nov. 49/1 In 1477, some of the power-thirsty Pazzi family, in league with the pope, were busily hatching a plot to rid Florence of Lorenzo. 1790 R. Merry 13 While none but pow'r-usurping slaves are free. 1865 S. S. Nicholas 2nd Ser. 34 Not so as to these ambitious, power-loving, power-usurping, power-abusing politicians. 1952 2 Mar. 8/1 Mr. Pegler's constant crusade against the power-usurping unions. 2003 (Nexis) 21 Oct. Although Meta's accusation of power ‘usurping’ had some truth in it, Nano knows he cannot dictate totally within the party. e. Instrumental. 1856 T. Aird (new ed.) 139 Let the National Will Power-arm the State. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [adjective] > having (specific) mechanical power the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > operation of machinery > [adjective] society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > steam engine > [adjective] 1835 A. Ure 334 The power-driven machines of a factory. 1935 No. 326/2 A new power-driven spray painting outfit which can be carried by hand and can be run from an ordinary lighting socket has recently been produced. 2001 14 Nov. 16/4 Many power-driven people had ‘psycho-toxic childhoods’ which left them struggling with needs that had not been met in their youth. 1907 68 130 Seed dresser, for hand or power driving. 1998 (Nexis) 29 Aug. c7 Drywall screws are Phillips head screws with a deeply cut groove for power driving. a1736 R. Savage Poet's Dependance in Apr. 225/1 See..Meekness depress'd, and pow'r-elated pride. 1873 J. Richards 143 This distinction..between a power-feeding and a hand-feeding machine. 1874 T. Dunlap 192 Fritz's power feeding tables, by the aid of which three men roll an ingot weighing a ton in four minutes. 1974 26 Mar. 17/6 (advt.) High greening power feeding for lawns that need ‘something extra’. 1937 6 Mar. 4/3 Newspapers once respected by world intellingence..are now no more than ghostly and ghastly travesties on the power and prestige they once possessed before a power-obsessed state coverted them into house organs for the hierarchy of demagogues and dictators who rule. 2002 G. K. Kieh in G. K. Kieh & I. R. Mukenge iv. 39 Having proven to be an unreliable marauding band of..power-obsessed individuals with no nationalistic agenda for Angola, UNITA fell out of favor with the United States. C2. attributive in specific senses. society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > chemical fuel > [noun] > liquid 1919 Rep. Interdepartmental Comm. Alcohol for Power 4 in (Cmd. 218) X. 117 Some sections of the community believe that the words ‘industrial alcohol’ refer to an inferior spirit for drinking purposes. We recommend, therefore, that all alcohol for power or traction purposes should be described as ‘power alcohol’... This description has already been adopted in Australia. 1920 c. 18 §11 In this section the expression ‘power methylated spirits’ means any methylated spirits (other than mineralised methylated spirits) which are intended to be used in generating mechanical power. 1934 2 693/2 It is quite a recent innovation to market a ‘power’ kerosine. 1938 F. Clune 172 For years Sugarlanders have advocated the production of power alcohol from molasses. 1957 I. 543/1 The use of power methylated spirits practically ceased during World War II. 1992 W. T. Parsons & E. G. Cuthbertson 28/2 In Queensland, control has been obtained by pouring 25 to 50 ml of power kerosene onto the growing point of each plant. society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [adjective] > other attributes society > leisure > sport > types of play, actions, or postures > [adjective] > other actions or types of play 1932 1 Oct. 10/4 (headline) Charlie Root will heave fast balls at power hitters. Chicagoans must do utmost to prevent sweep of World Series. 1948 B. Hogan (title) Power golf. 1959 29 May 4/7 A power player, he went for every shot. 1959 12 July 12/1 His splendid piece of power-running. 1967 J. Thigpen (title) Power volleyball for girls and women. 1973 25 Aug. 13/1 Henry Aaron will..establish himself unquestionably as the greatest power hitter in baseball history. 1992 19 Jan. viii. 3/21 The stereotype remains that N.F.C. teams play power football and that A.F.C. teams stress more of a finesse and passing game. 2005 (Nexis) 10 July i7 It's not uncommon for Hollywood power players to ego-stroke the big stars, currying favour by letting them know they are sooo wonderful. 1979 J. Abrahams et al. (film shooting script) (O.E.D. Archive) 39 (stage direct.) The Chief extends his right hand for conventional handshake. Striker shows him power grip. 1985 25 Feb. 38 A year-round tan is a good, successful, power look. 1988 2 Jan. (Weekend Mag. section) 10/2 Every morning, he put on the Savile Row suit and the gold chain bracelet and the power suspenders and he slicked back his hair. 1991 21 Oct. 74/1 Together the Robinsons are a nonpareil power couple who cut a broad swath through the toniest boardrooms and ballrooms of the corporate elite. 2002 M. Beaumont (2003) xiv. 165 It doesn't matter what poncey power-diet a star is on, there's something about the smell of a knob of dripping melting on a hotplate that gets them every time. C3. 1950 24 Dec. 6/2 Left center, the power alley for right-hand hitters, is no more than 350-odd feet from the plate. 1999 Mar. 147/2 Back in the days..when the power alleys of the Polo Grounds were the length of runways, hitting a home run was a prodigious feat. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > audibility > sound magnification or reproduction > [noun] > amplifier 1947 Apr. 410 (diagram) Grass AC High-Freq. Power Amp. 1980 H. S. Bennett iv. 194 Eventually there'll be another cabinet with two more SROS, and a power amp for each one of them. 1998 Apr. 26/4 Most power amps have some kind of ‘soft-start’ circuitry to eliminate any massive thumps on powering up; the VC800 actually gives a little squeak. the world > physical sensation > hearing and noise > audibility > sound magnification or reproduction > [noun] > amplifier 1920 58 896/1 The grid of the power amplifier is given a negative potential. 1961 G. A. Briggs 16 The final stage is the power amplifier designed to feed the loudspeaker with a few watts of audio power. 1999 Jan. 56/2 Conrad-Johnson..offers a five-channel power amplifier that's more than ready for film soundtracks and the digital surround sound encoded on DVD movies. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > as distinguished from hand-labour > assisting manual operation 1954 19 Apr. 16/2 (advt.) And to take the ‘drive’ out of driving, Ford offers five modern power assists. 1967 Apr. 22/2 The conventional hydraulic brakes are still effective, even when the power assist from the vacuum system fails. 1994 Mar. 19/3 The steering is speed sensitive, whereby power assist slightly decreases as speed increases. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > as distinguished from hand-labour > assisting manual operation society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > expressing speed or acceleration > power assisting manual operation 1959 1 Sept. 12/2 One of the technical improvements in cars that has taken place unobtrusively during the past four years has been the provision of power-assistance for the brakes. 1970 25 Sept. 65/1 The steering was light even though power-assistance is not fitted. 1997 Mar. 83/2 Pin-sharp steering with no power assistance. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [adjective] > having (specific) mechanical power > assisting manual operation society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [adjective] > of or relating to motor vehicles > having specific qualities 1928 21 Mar. (verso front cover) (advt.) The power-assisted brakes give absolute control over the car under all conditions. 1950 (B.S.I.) i. 38 Power-assisted control, a flying control in which the force needed to move the surface is provided partly by electrical or hydraulic means and partly by the pilot's physical effort. 1959 1 Mar. 21/5 The power-assisted steering is one of the best I have tried; it spins back swiftly after sharp corners. 1980 K. Amis ix. 97 Theodore Markov was riding his power-assisted bicycle up the drive of a large house. 1993 24 May 6 (advt.) Steering is power-assisted to make driving decidedly more pleasant. 1985 12 July vii. 66/5 Tina Turner's power ballad ‘We Don't Need Another Hero’. 1991 (Nexis) 15 Sept. 22 It is just another power ballad: lumbering, predictable, prosaic, lurching from bathos to bombast. 2002 1 Jan. 64/2 Her voice is a showstopper, and she writes power-ballad choruses in order to show it. 1966 10 June 6/7 The basic ‘6’ has a flat-6 aircooled engine..which produces over 230 bhp—and this power is spread over an exceptionally wide power-band. 2001 Aug. 35/4 The base engine puts out 115 bhp at 6000 rpm and 110 lb.-ft. of torque at 4500 rpm with the meat of the powerband residing between 3000 and 5000. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > frequency > band of frequencies or wavelengths > interval separating limits of 1965 Sept. 457/2 Power bandwidth is the curve of maximum output power (for the defined total distortion) versus frequency, plotted with logarithmic scales on both axes. 1977 May 1773/2 The power bandwidth of the overall system (which is of course determined by that of the power amplifier) I found to be a little more restricted at its upper end than in some modern amplifiers. society > authority > power > [noun] > source of power 1929 19 121 Questions of the power base of our industries and of its organization..are going to come up against our policies of unlimited individualism, [etc.] 1943 8 52/2 He must seek a power-base which is not controlled by them. 1976 June 79/2 Franco passed on without ever heeding the advice of his more intelligent supporters, who urged him to prepare his successor a power-base at the centre of the political spectrum. 1991 R. B. Parkinson 11 The infiltration of foreigners into the eastern delta culminated in a culturally distinct powerbase there. society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation > with its allies society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > international agreements > [noun] > alliance or confederacy > ally > group of allied states 1925 23 Sept. 6/3 To create in effect a West-European power bloc against the Russian bear. 1960 14 Apr. The Commonwealth should be a sort of Power bloc acting together for agreed purposes in a world of blocs. 1991 K. Maguire iv. 98 Even if the ANC leadership wish to relax sanctions in order to relax tension between the power blocs, opposition..may prevent them from doing so. society > authority > power > [noun] > powerful person or body > powerful state or nation > with its allies society > occupation and work > equipment > lifting or hoisting equipment > [noun] > tackle > pulley(s) mounted in case > types of society > authority > rule or government > politics > international politics or relations > international agreements > [noun] > alliance or confederacy > ally > group of allied states 1928 H. Quigley & R. T. Clark 154 Something akin to an Alpine power block radiating out to cover ultimately a European zone. 1960 M. Sharcott ii. 37 The power block has come into use so that the men no longer have to pull the net by hand. 1999 J. R. Nicolson v. 71 A power block situated aft was becoming a standard fitting on both seiners and trawlers. 2003 4 Aug. 80/1 We are a thoroughly secularized lot, all the more skeptical of God-talk given the rise of fervid evangelical power blocks at home and abroad. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > [noun] > controlling authority the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > board for switches or meters 1904 45 444 The power-board is a handsome marble panel equipped with Weston ammeter and voltmeter arranged for taking readings. 1918 38 For every electric-power district there shall be an Electric-power Board.] 1938 R. Finlayson in D. M. Davin (1953) 242 The Power Board was brought to the pass at last of having to build a special concrete foundation for the poles. 1950 Aug. 183/1 In New Zealand in the present [electricity] shortages there is an increasing tendency among power boards to adopt rationing. 1973 ‘D. Halliday’ ii. 30 The power board is on the wall of the darkroom. 1977 26 May 19/1 (heading) Power board fined over fitter's death. 1988 J. Frame ix. 54 He could hardly wait to plug the extension lead into the ‘Power board’ (four outlets individually switched). 1895 9 Feb. 6/2 They broke all the windows in the [tram] car and destroyed the power box. 1909 7 July 19/3 The signalling is operated from an electro-pneumatic power box at Central Station and four manual boxes. 1992 Mar. 114/1 Resignalling..will replace 13 signal boxes by an extra panel in Leeds powerbox. 2004 (Nexis) 26 Jan. 3 a Two heavy rollers were started up and driven through the main gates to the yard. A powerbox outside the yard was damaged by the rollers. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > devices to retard or stop motion > brake or braking apparatus > types of 1865 W. Loughridge 30 You can base your calculations for leverage for the brakesman or for a power brake with more certainty, as the coefficient of friction of the wrought iron rail and wrought iron shoe are generally about the same. 1896 G. Richmond tr. G. Lieckfeld ii. 29 The simplest and oldest of the power brakes is that shown in fig. 3, ‘The Prony Brake’. 1953 8 June 11/2 (advt.) The new Packard gives you the Big Important Three for today's swift, tough, give-and-take traffic: power brakes, power steering and power shifting. 1993 Dec. 144/3 Among the predicted features of postwar cars were power steering, power brakes, fuel injection, and automatic transmission. 1909 14 June 3/3 They have been running a power breaker up there and have been doing a good business but the continued heavy rains have made the ground too soft for their heavy engine. 1961 17 Mar. 14/5 (advt.) John Deere Killefer power breaker model 25 subsoil attachment. 1969 29 Mar. 20/5 The main power breaker at the transmitter has been replaced. 1992 July 509/2 The powerbreaker residual current protected safety plug provides protection against electrocution. 1980 12 Nov. c1/3 It's the power breakfast, political not literary... The literary types wander into their offices after 10. 1987 30 Jan. 4/7 The pre-dawn frost was still thick around the early birds of St James's Park when Mrs Thatcher, two members of her Cabinet and two junior Ministers hurried across Parliament Square yesterday for Whitehall's first ‘power breakfast’. 1990 T. Ruprecht 341 For ‘power breakfasts’ like museli [sic]..both [restaurants]..have a reputation among the Bay Street and downtown business crowd. 1993 (Electronic ed.) 9 Aug. 3 For more than three decades, the dons of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party would meet business leaders each month for a power breakfast. Over miso soup or grilled fish, they cut secret deals to help turn Japan into an economic superpower. 2001 (Nexis) 8 Jan. 66 He passes up power breakfasts to stay home and eat with his four kids. society > communication > telecommunication > telegraphy or telephony > telegraphy > telegraph > [noun] > other parts of telegraphs 1918 25 Apr. 2/6 For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty in preparing and executing the visual and power buzzer schemes of a division. 1928 E. Blunden xxvi I think I have the slightest aptitude for understanding the principle of electricity, the mechanism of the ‘fullerphone’ or ‘power buzzer’. 1972 25 Nov. 16/6 He was responsible for building a trench wireless set... This was at a time when one of the earlier means of communication was the so-called ‘power buzzer’ whose operation immediately brought down a shower of shells round the transmitting station. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > cable 1890 19 Feb. 5/3 It is possible that rails, with the necessary connections, suitable for electric cars will be laid, so that if at any time an electric system was decided upon all that would be necessary would be the hanging of the power cable. 1959 E. H. Clements xi. 182 One of Douglas's tall poles bearing the power-cable across the open forest. 1986 20 May 1/3 Other safety features included a chamber of nitrogen around the reactor, duplicate and well-protected power cables, and advanced control equipment. 1857 15 Aug. 386/3 I also claim the power capstan, n, and its coupling, q. society > travel > rail travel > rolling stock > [noun] > locomotive > railway carriage incorporating engine 1936 Nov. 356/1 The Union Pacific RR. has two twelve-car diesel-electric trains, of which the first two coaches are the power cars, each containing a 1,200 b.h.p. engine. 1986 May 5/2 It was gratifying to hear the York station lady announcer advise that an HST was late due to it working on one power car only. 1972 M. Saunders in 25 Sept. 3/1 The aggro, as the English would call it, comes out in his guitar work (power chords at their ultimate) and song-writing. 2000 17 Oct. i. 23/3 Scott chipped out powerchords and chunks of lead guitar. 1956 J. Murray & P.V. Karpovich xiii. 198 Power cleans are done..in sets of three repetitions. 1990 29 May 38/5 Winter training in Lanzarote brought a personal best power clean of 135kg. 2015 (Electronic ed.) 19 Mar. c1 My squat and power-clean numbers are up, my dead-lifting is up, and my weight is up. 1986 23 May a29/2 In the weight room, he said, he had been power cleaning 355 pounds and bench pressing 350 pounds. 2014 Feb. 18/2 Picking up a 450cc four-stroke in the middle of a race can be the aerobic equivalent of stopping on the side of the track to power-clean a 225-pound barbell. 1930 21 Sept. c8/2 The length of the power cord should not have any influence in the choice of the location of the radio set. 1998 Mar. 14/3 Organizers need protection from being taken to the cleaners when someone trips over a power cord in the dark. 1923 G. Frankau Et Debellare Superbos in I. 185 We grasped this sword for gain's sake, caste, nor king Power-crazed to his own people's ruining. 1994 I. Welsh 104 I don't believe in that brand of feminism that says it's only men that are powercrazed warmongers. 1925 24 June Spain has come to the realization that the Moors are not vindictive, or power-crazy, but just wish to protect their rights. 2002 May 31/2 This book..paints the now-familiar picture of Mugabe as the power-crazy despot whose cronies have embezzled at the country's expense. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [noun] > temporary failure 1927 18 May 8/5 There will be many power cuts, particularly in congested residential districts. 1952 M. Allingham iv. 74 When we get a power cut the whole blessed police system is liable to go out of action. 1988 P. Toynbee 43 Me—worried just now about a power-cut depriving me of my electric blanket! the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear fuel > [noun] > power per unit volume 1953 W. E. Unbehaun (U.S. Atomic Energy Comm. AECD-3712) 40 Power density, a measure of the power per unit of reactor core volume. 1955 (United Nations) 3 238/2 The power density is highest in the seed with a value of better than 200 watts/cm3. 1986 6 Dec. 10/4 At Chernobyl the hydrogen mixed with air and caused many secondary explosions... In addition the PWR has an exceptionally high power density. 1942 (Air Ministry) 2 95 The value of power ditching is so great that the pilot should always ditch before fuel is quite exhausted. society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [noun] > sudden rapid descent 1928 12 Oct. 11/2 There are dozens [of words connected with flying] that everyone already knows, like ‘take-off’, ‘gliding’,..‘inside loop’, ‘outside loop’ and ‘power dive’. 1930 R. Duncan vi. 55 In a power dive, terrific drag is exerted on the main planes with a downward pressure on the tailplane. 1954 373 Aeroplanes flew at increasing speeds, reaching the threshold of the speed of sound in level flight and much higher speeds in power dives from high altitudes. 1994 Summer 27/1 The fish's power dive away from the boat made the hookset even more secure. society > travel > air or space travel > action of flying (in) aircraft > specific flying operations or procedures > [verb (intransitive)] > descend > suddenly and steeply 1929 15 Sept. 2/3 Forgotten were the daring aces of the army who had been power-diving in formations that took one's breath away. 1973 J. Wainwright 24 Young Shaw had chucked himself over the guard-rail and power-dived into eternity. 1992 N. Stephenson iii. 20 They would have to arrange for a 747 cargo freighter packed with telephone books and encyclopedias to power-dive into their unit every couple of minutes. 1904 29 June 4/1 The trouble with Russia is that it does not pay half enough attention to the truths which Tolstoi has been dinning into the ears of a power-drunk aristocracy. 2004 (Nexis) 24 Sept. (Guide Suppl.) 98 This show paints a nightmare picture of a power-drunk madman crouched over the banks of monitors, where he watches his victims. society > travel > air or space travel > a means of conveyance through the air > aeroplane > parts of aircraft > [noun] > attached compartment housing something > housing an engine 1916 1 Nov. 802/1 There is quite a long distance separating these gondolas—or ‘power-eggs’, as the Naval Air Service calls them—from the forward car. 1931 16 Jan. 49/1 The revolution counters and oil-thermometers for the outboard engines are mounted on their respective power-eggs, clearly visible for the pilots. 1961 F. K. Mason 292 The two Griffon prototypes..were to be..replaced by Griffon 61 ‘power eggs’ at a later date, so becoming the Tempest IV. society > society and the community > social class > nobility > aristocracy or upper class > [noun] 1942 H. W. Weigert x. 241 They, and with them the critics in the Anglo-American world, underestimated the impetus of this power élite in Germany. 1988 P. Monette xii. 308 Cocaine wasn't a problem till it started turning up among the children of..the Washington power elite. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure > ending in a power 1893 A. Cayley in 15 3 The power-ending terms or power-enders, bc2, b5, which end in a power. 1884 A. Cayley in 7 60 We see that each column begins with a non-unitary term (term without the letter b), and that it ends with a power-ending term (product wherein the last letter enters as a power)—thus, weight 8. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > [noun] > alternating circuit > ratio the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > non-conduction, insulation > [noun] > substance or contrivance > property of 1892 J. A. Fleming in 21 606 The ninth column gives a number which it is convenient to call the power-factor of the transformer at no load—it is the ratio of the true to the apparent watts. If the currents and pressures were simple sine functions, then the power-factor in that case would be the cosine of the angle of lag of primary current behind the primary terminal potential difference. 1912 J. A. Fleming in 49 323 The power factor and conductance of dielectrics under alternating electromotive force of low voltage. 1967 M. Chandler iv. 133 It [sc. zircon porcelain] has not only a low power factor, but also good electrical properties in general. 1992 July 553/2 Power factor correction is provided by the RS range of lighting capacitors. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > place of power generation > [noun] > temporary failure 1904 151 This provision against power failure is so effective that delays of more than four or five minutes to cars through feeder troubles are quite rare. 1961 29 Nov. 22 The impact with the utility pole caused a brief power failure in the immediate area of the accident. 1990 L. Kennedy 353 Halfway between Victoria and Gatwick there was a power failure, the lights went out and the train ground to a halt. 1969 31 Jan. ii. 3/1 A Bucks' spokesman said the club ‘has been looking for a long time for a power forward who is a quality rebounder’. 2004 29 Mar. 4/4 The Clips have Elton Brand at power forward, and if Chris Kaman and Chris Wilcox develop, they'll have a good collection of big men. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > alternating current > [noun] > rate of recurrence > in supplying power 1938 A. 169 267 Paschen's law held for power-frequency voltages and impulse voltages of a variety of waveshapes for pressures down to 10 cm. Hg. 1967 M. Chandler iv. 130 Although excellent for insulation at power frequencies, porcelain is far from being the ideal insulating material where high frequencies..are involved. 2005 (Nexis) 5 Sept. 45 The blades have to turn at nearly constant rpm to keep the ac power frequency steady. society > authority > power > [noun] > contest for power 1903 13 Dec. 4/1 If we are to play the world-power game to the limit, let's cut out all that ‘solemn and binding’ cant Representative Hitt speaks of.] 1923 H. G. Wells in 19 Sept. 11/3 Napoleon III. did not grasp this admirable occasion for statecraft... All the rules of the great power game required that he should. 1994 J. Galloway xvi. 247 Dependencies build up, then the power games: the moral blackmail, the intellectual blackmail, the guilt. society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > gas or types of gas > [noun] 1901 10 Jan. 257/2 On power-gas and large gas-engines for central stations. 1972 Oct. 26/2 Ludwig Mond, the great chemist and industrialist who dominated chemical technology in England until his death in 1909, made improvements in the production of what he called ‘power gas’ and used it to fuel the reciprocating gas engines that generated electricity for his electrochemical works. 1905 15 Feb. 8/1 Since the World called attention to the purposes of the power-grab companies to grab as much of the power of the [Niagara] Falls during the present session as possible, Senators..have been receiving protests. 1930 19 Jan. 4/1 The identity of the..backers of the secret Boulder Dam Power Company..remains a profound mystery... If the mysterious sponsors..are contemplating a huge power grab at the expense of the state there is all the more reason for complete publicity. 1940 21 Feb. 1/4 A bill..providing for federal regulation of all grain elevators..was assailed..as an attempted ‘power grab’ by the agriculture department. 2000 A. Bourdain (2001) 87 I've seen cunning, powerful, even wildly successful men fall victim to this kind of delusional power grab, this sudden urge to expand the empire. 2004 (Nexis) 21 Dec. 26 As a young medical student, he participated in the 1968 Baathist coup that later paved the way for Saddam's own power grab. 1906 9 Feb. 4/5 ‘It is nothing less than an insult to the nation to propose to turn..Niagara Falls into a huge power house to make electricity..’... Public sentiment to this effect has been voted thousands of times. But something more than that is required to stop the vandals and power grabbers. 1933 C. Connolly Spring Revol. in (1946) iii. 179 Whether a patriot or a power-grabber, he was ridiculous. 1994 W. Shaw (1995) vii. 188 The..chairman of the parliamentary group on cults at the time of the Waco siege..sees cults as power grabbers. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [adjective] > capacity to handle power 1929 7 Jan. 20/2 The ‘Lion’ loud-speaker..embodies many new principles and certainly gives the quality and power-handling capacity usually credited only to the moving-coil type. 1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards viii. 174 The mesa transistor should also be competitive as far as power-handling capability and ease of fabrication are concerned. 1998 Aug. 24/2 With power handling up to 200W and sensitive to 91bB, these stand-mounted speakers are about to become the stuff of legend. 2004 (Nexis) 25 Apr. 16 Normally, in a tight bend, a front drive car will spin the inside wheel uselessly, which means the one on the outside suddenly has to do all the steering and power-handling. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [noun] > relationship between quantities > other 1919 6th Ser. 38 637 We know of no theoretical reason for supposing that the power-law will give a better approximate representation than any other law, e.g. a sine-law. 1968 24 257/1 Davis & Zerlin..have suggested that..the amplitude of the averaged vertex response varies with the loudness of the stimulus according to a power law with an exponent of 0·4. 2005 24 Mar. (Life section) 24/1 The long tail is named after the type of power law curve you get when you plot the sales of CDs, computer games and other products, or the popularity of websites, or the frequency of word use in a language. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > degree of 1929 H. Fletcher iii. 68 A change of the power level of a sound by one decibel is approximately the smallest that the ear can detect. 1945 H. D. Smyth viii. 85 The production goal..was set at a figure which meant that the pile should operate at a power level of 1000 kw. 2003 Feb. 60/3 They are transmitted to ensure a minimum signal power level of between −160 and −166 dBW (160 to 166 decibels below one watt) at the earth's surface. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical power, electricity > distribution system > [noun] > transmission line 1894 A. T. Snell iii. 91 For very heavy power lines, in which copper cables of about 19/16 s.w.g. are used, the stalks are forged of cast steel. 1956 17 Mar. 536/2 At this remote desert location, interference due to artificial signals from electromagnetic devices and power-lines was negligible. 1970 T. Hughes 69 It was a naked powerline, 2000 volts. 1999 M. Padmanabhan in H. Gilbert (2001) 243/2 (stage direct.) The other two Agents have attached a power-line to the unit and at this moment activate the systems. It twinkles with small LCDs. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric current > [noun] > for driving machinery 1904 177 The total number of arc lamps attached to the system is over 10,000 and the power load aggregates 15,000 horse power in motors. 1905 9 Mar. 9/2 It is only by the increase of the ‘power-load’ which we supply that we can hope to reduce the price of electricity for lighting purposes. 1997 19 Dec. 2033/2 The CBFR seems to have about the same 2 megawatts per square meter of power load that Rostoker et al. attribute to a Tokamak. society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [adjective] > relating to loading of coal by machine 1943 102 145 The point we are anxious about is whether there is mechanized machinery for taking big power-loaded outputs from such a dip as 1 in 6. 1963 12 Jan. 142/1 The industry raised its average percentage of power-loaded coal from 49 to 59 per cent between the two years. 1971 81 178 Output on power-loaded coal faces was no longer dependent on human effort. society > occupation and work > equipment > mining equipment > [noun] > machine for loading or packing broken material 1943 102 40 The present development of the Meco-Moore power-loader differs from that of a few years ago. 1956 F. S. Atkinson in D. L. Linton 269 Intensive efforts are being made to replace the hand-loading of coal on to conveyors by mechanical power-loaders. 1995 13 July 14/2 (advt.) Power loader.., industrial digger loader.., Ford 4000 tractor c/w power loader. 1979 L. Eisenberg in Oct. 35/1 (heading) The taste and glory of the power lunch. 1980 27 Apr. 18/3 ‘You mean gravlax,’ I said instantly, ‘one of the “power lunches” served at The Four Seasons.’ 1984 L. Dienhart & E. M. Pinsel (title) Power lunch: how you can profit from more effective business lunch strategy. 1995 10 Apr. 100/3 The Grill Room is where the term power lunch got its start in the seventies, and many of those same moguls are still deciding the fate of Third World countries..over Perrier and paillard. 2000 F. Walker in J. Adams et al. 45 I followed his gaze around the Course dining room, totally alienated from all the little power-hunches over power lunches taking place all around us. 1984 (Nexis) 13 Feb. 109 With all the other power lunchers vying for tables, it's not surprising that those who are unaware of the backstage competition are placed in what is frequently called ‘Siberia’. 1994 5 Sept. 109/1 Implicit was the notion that most top execs today are mere number crunchers and power lunchers, who have lost touch with the hands-on reality of what their companies produce. 2001 (Nexis) 13 Jan. 14 The Metro Bar and Grill has hit the right spot with Birmingham's suits and power lunchers since it opened over a year and a half ago. 1984 (Nexis) 13 Feb. 109 Here's a quick definition of power lunching to keep in mind. It's the studied practice of using control of a business meeting at lunch to gain your business objectives. 1997 Sept. 116/2 (advt.) Hearty portions of delicious north Italian cuisine in this basement location beneath Old Bond Street DKNY. A spacious yet warm venue for serious power lunching. 2001 (Nexis) Mar. 64 With so much on the line, you can't afford poor manners to be your deal breaker. In fact, there are subtle rules and etiquette to power lunching. the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > morbidly preoccupied > specific 1898 15 Jan. Everybody hereabouts has gone power-mad, says a letter from Niagara Falls, and no wonder, for each day as it passes but adds to the certainty that wealth..is to be gotten out of Niagara's green waters by those who have dared to harness the world's greatest cataract. 1939 P. G. Chadwick ii. 80 Edom Beldite, ‘the power-mad myriadaire’,..became Edom Beldite, ‘the man who sacrificed his millions that Britain might not be disarmed when the crisis came.’ 1992 M. Medved ii. iv. 56 From their headquarters in the local church, they follow a power-mad preacher called Malachi. 1654 R. Whitlock 396 These are sawcy Truths to obtrude on the Power-mongers..of the World. 1879 3 Jan. The power-monger wants no better tools for his purposes than besotted and ignorant masses, who move at the word of command. 1961 16 Feb. 10/5 Intellectuals have been found flat on their faces for powermongers to walk over. 1988 H. S. Thompson 22 Not much has changed with powermongers since Caligula's time. 1965 17 195 The greed and power-mongering of labor contributed mightily to the farmer's problems. 1990 J. Stoltenberg in M. S. Kimmel 249 They are very much the values that male supremacists tend to have: taking, using, estranging, dominating—essentially, sexual powermongering. 1972 11 Feb. 2/3 SAC becomes a political issue for aspiring, power-mongering candidates to dwell on. 1993 25 Apr. 29/1 The power-mongering reactionary lawyer who died of AIDS. 1980 25 Aug. 13/6 The renewed energy he brought with him led to more speculation that perhaps he had used the 90-minute absence from stage to take a power nap. 1992 (Nexis) 9 Jan. Lech Walesa, aged 48, the president of Poland, takes ten-minute ‘power naps’ during the day, and sometimes dozes while standing... He needs only five hours sleep a night. 2001 (Nexis) 24 Mar. Art banks on the 15-minute power nap, saying it gets him through the rest of his long days. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile fabric or an article of textile fabric > textile fabric > textile fabric manufactured in specific way > [noun] > consisting of loops or looped stitches > knitted fabric > types of > elastic or stretch 1938 12 Sept. 20/7 (advt.) For light-as-air freedom and down-to-earth control, wear Miss Today! Made for the young deb or stately matron—these miraculous little garments of panels of power net Lastex and satin Lastex mold, hold and control in a most pleasing manner! 1963 17 Apr. 16/7 The company will manufacture power-net, fish-net, marquisette curtaining and other fabrics in the Natal area. 1996 10 June 32/1 (advt.) A special powernet will flatten your tummy and alluring lace will caress your legs. society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > oil or types of oil > [noun] 1957 R. J. Forbes & D. R. O'Beirne iii. 256 For correct operation it was essential that the ‘power oil’ should be free from impurities and it was therefore necessary to wash it thoroughly above ground. 1972 L. M. Harris xi. 108 The direct system has individual power-oil lines from the drill vessel to the individual functions on the subsea stack. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > operation of machinery > [adjective] 1901 20 Dec. 5/3 The hull will be much subdivided, and sliding water-tight power-operated doors will be provided. 1962 1 Dec. 1155/1 Conventional prosthetic limbs may in fact be incapable of substantial development, but power-operated ones seem certain to become much more practical and effective. 1993 Oct. 80/2 Anyone doubting this analogy can check out the garage which has bi-parting, power-operated barn doors. 1944 5 Jan. 3/2 An army truck which..knocked down a power pole..was blamed for the power outage here about ten o'clock Christmas night. 1999 S. Rushdie (2000) viii. 223 The phones weren't working and there were power outages..during the hottest hours of the day. society > occupation and work > equipment > pump > [noun] > other types of pump the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > source of energy or power > self-contained the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electric charge, electricity > [noun] > unit supplying power society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > motor > [noun] > others the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > transformer > [noun] > supplying power 1937 80 194/2 This is derived from two grid-controlled rectifier valves operated from a ‘power pack’ of the usual construction. 1967 (B.S.I.) viii. 21 Power pack, a motor-pump combination for producing power for hydraulic equipment. 1971 J. Z. Young iv. 69 The mitochondria carry the respiratory enzymes, and are hence called the power packs of the cell. 1972 F. Bradbury iii. 43 In a large plant..the control desk and the power pack may be separated by some distance or may be installed in separate machinery spaces. 1973 21 Oct. 3/1 (advt.) Penske Road Race... It's big-time racing excitement in a box! With power pack, 2 cars and hand controls, 30-ft. of track. 2002 Dec. 75/1 12V RoadStart Emergency Power Pack. Delivers 1000 Amps initial starting power. Starts up to 30 cars before recharging. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > source of energy or power > self-contained the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactive isotope > specific isotopes > [noun] > polonium > as power source 1958 C. C. Adams et al. viii. 196 Auxiliaries. These include taxis and propulsion ‘guns’ for individual men in space suits, or reaction power packages attached like outboard motors to large objects. 1982 i. 54 Refer to the base diagrams..for finding the pin connections of the..TO-3 metal power and the TO-220 plastic power packages. 1994 D. Halberstam vii. 89 With Mantle, Henrich thought, it was as if God had taken the ideal body necessary for a great hitter, and then simply made it wider and stronger, extending the power package, but not the strike zone. the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear reactor > [noun] > designed to produce power 1945 H. D. Smyth vii. 70 The whole of a power pile..has to be enclosed in very thick walls of concrete, steel, or other absorbing material. 1999 (Nexis) 7 Apr. b9 The AEC rules for power piles require them to be in a sealed, steel-reinforced room that will contain the explosion and radioactive byproducts. 1935 16 July 6/2 (cartoon caption) Hal is a power pitcher—he puts all he has on every ball he throws. 1991 26 Aug. 117/2 I'm making a name for myself as a power pitcher. I threw eight pitches that hit 99 (miles per hour)..this year, and more than that reached between 95 and 98. the world > space > relative position > support > [noun] > that which supports > a vertical support, post, or stake > supporting power lines 1893 6 Apr. 4/4 Any person who shall post..any bill, or placard, poster, notice, announcement or advertisement..to any telegraph, electric light, or power pole or water hydrant within the city of Davenport,..shall be guilty of a misdemeanor. 1994 S. Butala viii. 137 On my daily walks I liked to go far enough to be out of sight of power poles and lines, buildings, fences, any sign of human occupancy. society > leisure > the arts > music > type of music > pop music > [noun] > other pop music 1967 20 May 2/2 Explained Pete [Townshend]: ‘Power-pop is what we [sc. The Who] play—what the Small Faces used to play.’ 1983 1 Dec. d9/1 This so-called psychedelic movement, embodying both revisionists and revivalists, touches on diverse styles: garage, folk-rock, power pop, psychedelia and mid-period Dylan. 1992 21 Dec. 15/1 Def Leppard..the premier power pop band in the world has its share of horror stories. 2001 Nov. 280/2 Hence the inclusion of early-1970s power-pop band Badfinger, a prime example of the revisionist-Snob penchant for elevating the reputations of flagrantly second-rate bands. 1993 16 Sept. (Rio Suppl.) e7/1 These punk power popsters have an edge that bubble-gummy Hollywood bands rarely have. 1994 2 June 25/1 It may be a million miles away musically from Peter Case's days as the leader of the power popsters the Plimsouls, but fans of the gifted singer/songwriter will want to check out his latest and decidedly stripped-down effort, ‘Peter Case Sings Like Hell’. 2002 31 Oct. 152 Matthew Sweet To Understand—The Early Recordings... Lost nuggets from the power popster. 1949 25 Apr. 17/5 The press attache of the British embassy informed him..that a campaign of ‘power projection’ must be begun in Britanski Soyuznik [sc. a Russian-language newspaper]. 1957 H. W. Weigert et al. viii. 279 Military bases overseas and overland are the visible expressions of such power projection abroad. 2005 May 21/1 Power projection and the control of maritime approaches have become the main missions of modern naval forces. the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > nuclear fission > nuclear reactor > [noun] > designed to produce power 1946 (Dept. of State, U.S.) iii. i. 35 Such power reactors would ‘burn’ the active materials and require replenishing from time to time. 1962 (B.S.I.) 80 Breeder and converter reactors may also be power reactors. 1982 Oct. 60/1 Some 82 power reactors are now licensed for operation in the U.S. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > processes > [noun] > response to signal 1962 R. F. Graf 234/2 Power response, the frequency-response capabilities of an amplifier running at or near its full rated power. 1963 July 354/1 The power response at 10W output is −3dB at 15 c/s and 15 kc/s. 1970 J. Earl iii. 68 The latest ‘quality’ amplifiers..boast a power response which is almost as good as the frequency response. 2002 50 1/1 To alleviate the directional mismatch problem, the spatial power response of the PB processor in the vicinity of the look direction can be widened. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > chair for reclining in 1952 30 Nov. a31/4 Original with Lincoln is the four-way power seat, which permits an infinite number of seat adjustments. 1976 N. Thornburg iv. 108 The car, a late-model Buick Century, seemed to have every possible piece of optional equipment, including power seats. 2010 J. Erjavec xxiii. 687/2 Power seats allow the driver or passenger to adjust the seat to the most comfortable position. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set > sequence > series > infinite 1884 6 257 Analytic functions of one variable therefore, which possess an addition equation and have an infinite number of polar singularities can be displayed as quotients of two power-series which converge for all finite arguments, and are periodic. 1938 F. E. Terman v. 136 For electrode voltages such that the instantaneous plate current never became zero, the characteristics of a tube could be expressed in forms of the following power series. 1981 A. D. Pierce v. 233 The latter is approximated by a power-series expansion in w truncated to first order, such that R ≃ (a2 + z2)½ + wa (a2 + z2)−½ sin ψ. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > numerical arrangement > [noun] > set 1953 A. A. Fraenkel ii. 96 The set of all subsets of S may..be called the power-set of S. 1982 W. S. Hatcher iii. 97 Cantor proved, by contradiction, that the set of all subsets (the power set) of a given set must have greater cardinality than the set itself. 2004 M. Potter 210 One of the simplest ways in which this failure manifests itself is in the relation to the question of the cardinality of the power set. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > transmission > automatic 1945 S. Nearing i. 5 Magna Charta marked the English power-shift from monarch to lords spiritual and temporal. 1951 18 July 2/2 (advt.) You have the only tractor in its class with two-clutch control, power-shift rear wheels, and Hydraulic Traction Booster. 1999 D. Haslam 293 The power shift in pop to the regions post-Beatles is addressed in The Sound of the City. 2004 (Nexis) 4 June 72 Using a four-speed powershift should give more productivity from the machine when on loader duties. society > occupation and work > equipment > digging or lifting tools > [noun] > shovel > other shovels 1902 30 July 3/3 Along with the engine will be the power shovels and with the aid of these the work of grading will progress more rapidly than in the past. 1991 R. Krueger et al. x. 322 (caption) A power shovel loads western coal into a 200-t diesel-electric truck. 1957 9 Oct. 29/1 Power shower. A new portable air pressurized shower unit designed to wash away acid contamination on personnel at guided missile launching sites is described in Chemical Week. 1960 8 Apr. 7/1 (advt.) Outwashes every other dishwasher..thanks to G-E's new power shower. 1990 D. Holloway (rev. ed.) viii. 107/3 A power shower needs its own 22mm supplies: cold from the cold water cistern and hot from the side of the hot water cylinder via an ‘Essex’ flange. 1960 2 Mar. 12/7 Sport and economy cars began rolling on a course which..had little or no adhesion. Power slides and drifts were common. 1999 Aug. 48/4 We've also recreated the stunning power-slides and the bumper cam view as the car weaves through the traffic. 1961 4 June c1/3 As your confidence builds you begin to forget the brake and try just ‘leaving off’ the gas pedal and power slide through the hairpins. 1987 (Nexis) 11 May f1 Some of my neighbors must have wondered why I was powersliding this big Ford down the gravel-covered dead-end road near my home. 1998 Feb. 94/1 On the long straights cars were getting up to 50 or 60mph before powersliding round corners and smashing their way through multiple collisions. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical appliances or devices > [noun] > socket 1922 21 May 17/2 This home was built by the owner and..contains many light and power sockets. 2000 17 Nov. ii. 24/2 Smart rooms have desks with built-in power sockets; adjustable lights; and multi-format VCR and DVD. 1955 50 1028 Another..representation of the random disturbance is given by the Fourier transform of the autocorrelation function, the power spectral density function. 1997 Oct. T16/1 This is achieved by computing the power spectral densities of the captured ‘time domain’ signals. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > [noun] > range of wavelengths > distribution of energy the world > matter > physics > mechanics > types of motion > [noun] > wave > shape, speed, period, length, etc. > distribution of energy of wave-form 1944 23 282 The second part is devoted principally to the fundamental result that the power spectrum of a noise current is the Fourier transform of its correlation function. 1989 I. Stewart ix. 180 A quasiperiodic signal has a power spectrum consisting mostly of sharp spikes. 1995 Aug. 51/2 Calculating the so-called power spectrum of this time sequence provided us with a convenient measure of the information content of the switching relative to its own noise. society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > steering, suspension, or wheels > types of steering system 1907 3 Feb. 11/3 Two distinct patents have been granted for inventions providing motor-vehicles with power steering gear, or steering engines. 1914 Sept. 430/2 (heading) New flywheel and power-steering apparatus.] 1932 10 Dec. 739/2 The greatest need for power steering exists undoubtedly in connection with heavy trucks and buses. 1986 C. Culpin (ed. 11) i. 2/1 Power steering is fitted as standard on almost all high power tractors. 2007 G. McNicholl 82/2 Connect the tie rod ends through the bottom of the front hole of the steering arms if power steering is going to be installed. 1954 28 Oct. iii. 11/1 (advt.) Craftsman power strip. 1988 (Nexis) 29 Feb. 1 We don't want to go to a mall. We don't want to be a power strip center. We want the individualism. 1991 b10/3 Power strips..are shopping centers that include deep discount stores..as well as large movie theaters. 2003 (Nexis) 1 Oct. 11 The rack houses six units, and has a 6-input powerstrip accommodating all six individual power supplies from a single AC plug. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > piston > movement in 1903 9 May 218/2 Such engines have only one power stroke in every four. 1958 J. E. Morton ii. 42 The paired wings..rest horizontally... The animal moves upwards or forwards by sculling with them, twisting them at the ‘wrist’ to allow a power stroke at both the upward and downward beat. 1966 E. Rudinger 113 In a four-stroke engine, there is only one power stroke in every four. 1991 Feb. 90/1 I should have my heel below the pedal during the power stroke and above it during recovery. 2000 P. W. B. Semmens & A. J. Goldfinch iv. 148 The average pressure on the piston throughout the power stroke..is theoretically the same as the boiler-pressure related to atmospheric. 1932 18 Oct. 3/4 (heading) Tariff oil and power suits in U.S. Supreme Court... One case involved..the tariff act: another oil production and the third—power. 1958 22 Aug. 8/3 The power suit brought..against the city of Beatrice and Norris Rural Public Power System will be resumed here Sept. 15. 1978 (Nexis) 29 Sept. d16 Four outfits are essential for the well dressed pastor... 1. Business Power suit... ‘This outfit..should be worn for important meetings when you want to meet businessmen on their level, but on your terms.’ 2001 K. Walker & M. Schone xix. 180 Officers and inmates and bystanders recognized the man in the power suit as the era's most famous defense attorney. 1989 29 Sept. a12/4 Mr. Brown, a 48-year-old Washington lawyer, is power-suited, enlivened only by the sober maroon of a tie. 2004 (Nexis) 16 Jan. 13 All around me, those highly talented, once powersuited women are struggling. 1887 28 Oct. 209/1 This valuable property..is really managed by the department of physics in all except its power-supply. 1962 J. H. Simpson & R. S. Richards xv. 370 A collector decoupling filter, in which a resistor of value R is placed between the collector bias resistor and the power supply. 1996 D. Burrluck & J. Seabury in P. Trynka 14/2 The rectifier tube(s) in the power supply added a forgiving quality by ‘sagging’ when the amplifier was pushed hard. 1996 13 Mar. 1/4 The solar mower uses no fossil fuels and no mains power supply. 1933 8 Mar. 13/5 (advt.) The new..engines develop power surge far beyond that which you would expect from engines of such moderate nominal horse power. 1984 M. A. Jarman 98 The red dials and VU meters jerk with each power surge, Howling Wolf's deep blues oscillating on the stereo at full volume. 2000 7 Mar. 35/2 A ‘power surge’ blew out the company's electronic channels and crashed its web and phone dealing operations. society > authority > rule or government > oppression > [noun] > oppressive regime 1868 26 Oct. 6/6 Instead of having one general manager, a council of three should be appointed... This plan..would be an improvement on the ‘one man power system’ so popular in America. 1920 30 156 But the power-system, with its disadvantages, is itself the out-growth of the chronic individualism and laissez faire attitude of the American scholar. 1943 J. S. Huxley vii. 59 A naked power-system cannot tolerate tolerance or face even intellectual opposition. 1970 C. Furtado in I. L. Horowitz ii. 46 Allowing the landlord class to augment its share in aggregate income and to consolidate its position in the power system. 1990 31 May 21/1 The word ‘woman’ seems to mean, for many feminists, ‘person oppressed by a male power system’. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > [noun] > capacity for exertion of mechanical force > as distinguished from hand-labour > transmission of society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > [noun] > transmission of power 1928 19 Aug. 7 (advt.) A power take-off can be fitted to the gear box to work a tyre pump by engine power. 1958 1 July (Agric. Suppl.) p. viii/2 The mechanism of the trailer is driven with the power-take-off from the tractor and unloads at the rate of three tons in seven minutes. 1987 A. Miller (1988) viii. 506 It was a power takeoff shaft to drive spraying equipment for fruit trees I intended to plant. 1940 22 July 17/6 With a great display of power tennis, Wood and Shields ran the score to 4–0 in the final set before they tired. 1953 1 Aug. 9/7 Both played power tennis, trying to out-slug the other. 1992 4 July 19/4 Arthur Ashe..says he doubts anyone under 6 feet can win the tournament in this era of power tennis. 2008 3 July 72/3 Nadal turned out to be the true muscle man as he put on an awesome display of power tennis. 1984 20 Aug. c1/2 The same Republicans you see in Washington take off their silk power ties and tie red bandanas around their necks. 2000 7 Feb. 20/2 Natty in blue pinstripes and a red polka-dot power tie, the candidate speaks warmly of children and hope and national unity. society > occupation and work > equipment > tool > types of tools generally > [noun] > powered 1878 Apr. 649/1 With power tools the hard stiff iron is moulded cut or bent into any form as easily as if it were so much silk. 1953 E. G. Hamilton (title) Power tools for the home craftsman. 2000 F. Bleasdale vi. 140 My father loved the power-tool I had got him although I didn't know what it did. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > [noun] > ratio of machine's power to its weight the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > motor > [noun] > power ratio 1937 13 Apr. (Brit. Motor Suppl.) p. vi/4 It is of 4½ litres capacity, and the power-to-weight ratio is given at 4·2lb. a brake horse-power. 1971 Apr. 72 (advt.) Reyrolle Hydraulics axial piston pumps and motors. Fixed or variable displacement, with excellent power-to-weight ratio (up to 2·8 hp/lb). 1993 June 33/1 An ingenious rotary-engine design developed by researchers at West Virginia University promises a high power-to-weight ratio and extreme smoothness. 1912 20 Aug. William Kesgler..climbed to the top of a power tower..and was shocked to death. 2005 (Nexis) 13 Dec. b1 The view..could soon include the tops of 90-foot power towers under the latest route proposed for a major electric transmission line. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > parts of > transmission 1943 C. G. Barger I. iv. 107 (heading) Power train. 1946 W. H. Crouse i. 24 The power train consists of a series of gears and shafts, which mechanically connect the engine shaft with the car wheels. 1966 10 Sept. 1040/2 Chrysler has gained substantial sales in the United States in the past four years since it began offering a 5-year, 50,000-mile guarantee for the ‘power train’ (engine-transmission-rear-axle) of its American-built cars. 1986 26 Nov. 39/2 Other changes to the powertrain include a new rear gearbox mounting, lightened flywheel and modified propshaft. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > [noun] > power transformer 1929 K. Henney xvi. 403 A.-c. voltages are likely to be picked up by the cores of audio transformers if they are near power transformers carrying a.-c. currents. 1994 Sept. 144/2 Ray had used a cheap power transformer in that amp which made a lot of hum. the world > matter > physics > solid state physics > semiconductivity > transistor > [noun] 1957 W. E. Clason 226 Heat sink, used with power transistors to dissipate heat. 1959 K. Henney (ed. 5) x. 34 The increased ruggedness of the supply due to the inherently stable physical structure of the power transistor. 1996 B. Duncan in P. Trynka 86/2 More improvements arrived as the previous bipolar transistors used in the output stages of most amplifiers were replaced by MOS power transistors (or MOS-FETs) which combined great ruggedness with speed. 1937 6 Oct. 21/6 Bill Dickey, on form, will round out the power trio on which the Yankees relied so much this season. 1970 28 Dec. 26 (advt.) The power trio is ushering in a ‘New Culture’ with genius..combining good melodic feeling with an honest harder-than-rock sound. 1999 18 267 The power trio's minimalist instrumentation produced a tough, bare-bones sound. 2001 (Nexis) 16 May 27 The problem with any new animated series from America is that it is inevitably up against the power trio of The Simpsons, Beavis and Butthead and South Park. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [noun] > vacuum tube or thermionic valve 1924 J. A. Moyer & J. F. Wostrel vii. 103 The volume of sound may be increased by using a power tube of, say, 5 watts of electric power, in the last stage of amplification. 1982 iv. 162 Several power tubes with indirectly heated cathodes..have come out recently. 1885 4 Oct. 12/7 The English Mechanic thus sums up the question: ‘It would be to the advantage of power users if a series of exhaustive experiments were made in order to obtain some thoroughly reliable data.’ 1975 (Nexis) 20 Jan. 86 Power users, both large and small, must start adjusting to the realities of the energy squeeze. 1983 (Nexis) June 92 1-2-3 is a program for the power user—the manager who has come to think of the VisiCalc-level programs as so many subcompacts trying to do jobs for which a pickup truck is what you really need. 1996 26 Mar. 11/5 We've gotten all the groups to work together—environmentalists, power users, Native American tribes, irrigators. 2002 11 Dec. b12 (advt.) Continue to license the full-featured Microsoft suite for power users who create complex, macro-laden spreadsheets or presentations with elaborate, animated builds. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [noun] > vacuum tube or thermionic valve 1919 W. D. Owen x. 38 Power valves need to be very hard otherwise the plate voltage would cause a discharge across the space. 1944 June 163/2 Although power valves are used, they are only lightly loaded and HT volts and current are quite low. 1958 July 32/2 Pressurized fluid is fed to the power valve which..actuates the brake. 1993 Jan. 187/1 (advt.) Mesa Boogie 6L6GC power valves, 1 pair, new, £16 ono. 2001 July 28/1 The centrifugal ball-ramp device will be replaced by an electric motor and a cable-actuated power valve. 1952 9 June 5/1 (advt.) Get the most for your dishwasher dollar—revolving power-wash arm.., separate blower fan! 1981 20 Oct. p. vi/2 (advt.) Electric window lifts.., headlamp power wash and head restraints make this easily one of the best equipped medium price saloons. 1997 P. Cornwell (1998) ii. 23 A powerwash where tracks were being hosed off on their way back out to life's roads and highways. 1920 13 Oct. 8/6 (advt.) Enlist the aid of the..Electric Washer! Clothes snowy white,—Power-washed and power-wrung in an hour or less. 1981 (Nexis) 24 July 16 The paint on our 44-year-old house is peeling..and we need to repaint... Should the clapboards be power-washed before repainting? 2002 21 Apr. 8/4 Once a year, about, I wheel my fridge into my freight elevator, down out the garage, and I powerwash the sucker. 1903 F. Tucker in R. W. DeForest & L. Veiller II. 37 The laundry is fitted with 6 sets of tubs, 12 drying closets, ironing boards, a laundry stove, soap boiler, power washer, and wringer. 1939 17 May 16/3 (advt.) Get a thorough car wash—with our Power Washer. 1993 K. Jellison iv. 117 Farm families..observed in 1940 worked and lived year-round on their farms... Women used available technology..to free up more time for production, with their use of mechanical refrigerators and power washers. 2001 27 Jan. 63/1 (advt.) Blast away dirt in seconds with the multi-purpose power washer! 1960 4 Dec. 22 a/5 (advt.) Dishwasher... Features power washing and power temperature drying. 1964 8 July 6/4 (advt.) Dishes get cleaner!.. Features durable porcelain inside and out with guided action power washing that eliminates hand rinsing! 1987 (Nexis) 2 Jan. Machine powerwashing is a visually impressive operation utilizing chemical cleaners and high-pressure hydraulics to get the sidewalks immaculately clean. 1998 31 Dec. 10/6 (advt.) Garden Maintenance & Clearouts. Landscaping, Patios, Slabbing, Tiling, Painting, Power Washing, Concrete Work, etc. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical engineering > motor > [noun] > power ratio 1831 9 Jan. 58/3 Volumetric efficiency is important..in that it affects the power-weight ratio of an engine. 1950 Sept. 25/2 The Swiss Federal Railways has improved the power-weight ratio of single-phase mainline types [of locomotives]. 1976 J. Lukasiewicz 69 In view of large power/weight ratio and high adhesion, electric locomotives have small axle loadings. 1951 20 May c12/2 (advt.) Oldsmobile ‘98’ Convertible—Radio, heater, Hydramatic. Whitewall tires, power windows. 2002 22 Sept. 7/5 The standard PT Cruiser from Chrysler features..low-backed bucket front seats with driver and passenger inboard armrests..and power windows. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > transmission of electricity, conduction > wire as conductor > [noun] 1890 Mar. 322 No sane person would now undertake to erect aërial electric light and power wires in any locality in which telegraph or telephone wires were numerous, if compelled to comply strictly with the regulations. 1902 H. A. Foster 766 Special precautions of this kind must be taken where sharp angles occur, or where any wires might possibly come in contact with electric light or power wires. a1969 J. Kerouac (1972) 353 The great spindly tin-like crane towers of the trans-territorial electric power wires standing in serried gloom with pendant droop of head shapes. 1990 6 Nov. (Orange County ed.) e3/4 Geo Takoma..broke some rules in establishing ‘Power Yoga’, an intense hourlong session filled with stretching and visualization exercises. 2000 21 Sept. 27/2 No fitness regime has caused more excitement in recent years than Ashtang Vinyasa Yoga, the so-called ‘power yoga’ developed in India in the last century by Sri T. Krishnamacharya. 1959 8 Nov. ii. 20/1 Revere announces a group of 8mm power-zoom electric eye-matic cameras... Focal length is varied by means of push buttons. 1994 June 114/2 (advt.) Power zoom lens that lets you frame mountains or faces with the push of a button. 2000 (Nexis) 1 Dec. I don't know why all zoom lenses aren't manual. A powerzoom serves no real benefit on a still-image camera. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online June 2022). powern.2 Origin: Apparently a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Etymon: poor n.2 Etymology: Apparently a variant of poor n.2 British regional. the world > animals > fish > class Osteichthyes or Teleostomi > superorder Paracanthopterygii > order Gadiformes (cod) > [noun] > family Gadidae > genus Gadus > trisopterus minutus (poor-cod) 1713 G. Jago in 163 Asellus mollis minimus. Cornub. Poor vel Power dictus. 1769 T. Pennant (new ed.) III. iv. 150 Poor or Power. 1836 W. Yarrell II. 161 The Power, or Poor Cod, the smallest of its genus, so called, it is said, on account of its diminutive size, seldom exceeding six or seven inches in length. 1880 T. Q. Couch E. Cornwall Words in M. A. Courtney & T. Q. Couch Power, the fish, Gadus minutus. 1963 R. M. Nance 130 Power, the poor-cod. 1996 C. I. Macafee 261/1 Power cod, a fish: the poor-cod. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). powerv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: power n.1 Etymology: < power n.1 With sense 3 compare earlier powered adj. society > authority > power > make powerful [verb (transitive)] 1592 in R. Hyrde tr. J. L. Vives (new ed.) i. sig. Fv With silence bothe wisedome & chastitie be sweetly powred [1529 poudered]. 1729 E. Young v. xx Trade gilt their titles, power'd their state. 2. the world > movement > progressive motion > specific manner of progressive motion > move progressively in specific manner [verb (intransitive)] > forcibly or violently 1862 W. Collins III. vii. iv. 310 I'm a battered old hulk, with my seams opening, and my pumps choked, and the waters of Death powering in on me as fast as they can. 1941 24 Mar. 9/3 Paul Waner, staging a determined comeback, is in the best shape he has seen for many a season. He gained several pounds in Havana and is powering the ball. 1958 25 Oct. 6/7 East St Louis powered to the top of the Southwestern Conference pile with a 33–6 pounding of Alton. 1972 J. Mosedale ix. 129 The key play sent Nagurski powering toward the line. 1982 (Nexis) 18 June a20 Carlos Caszely powered the ball wide of both the goalkeeper, Friedl Koncilia, and the post. 1994 23 Aug. (Brisbane ed.) 14/6 Bob Hawke's appearance on 60 Minutes last Sunday attracted 1.983 million viewers and helped the show power into the No.1 spot. society > travel > travel by water > [verb (intransitive)] > in specific type of craft 1964 28 Sept. 14/8 The boat powered over a three-mile oval course. 1975 2 Apr. 21/2 We had to power most of the way, that's how little wind there was. 1998 (Nexis) 12 Jan. 13 A large video screen showed various boats powering through the waters. the world > matter > physics > energy or power of doing work > supply with energy [verb (transitive)] > supply with power the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > carry on vigorously [verb (transitive)] > make vigorous or energetic 1898 W. F. Durand v. 326 (heading) Powering ships. 1929 31 Jan. 3/8 His plane is a Travelaire, powered with a whirlwind motor. 1937 13 Oct. 15/6 A canoe powered by an out-board motor. 1954 4 313 Creative activity is often..powered by the drive to accomplish. 1959 29 June 12/7 The big traction engines that had powered the carousels. 1973 Feb. 102/3 It is the gravitational energy from the falling material, rather than the rotation, that probably powers the X-ray sources. 1976 22 May 9/4 The Japanese car is..powered with a larger version of the stratified-charge engine. 1996 Jan. 59/1 Because of an ethanol shortage in Sweden, the city council of Stockholm permitted surplus red wine to be used to power the country's buses. Phrasal verbs With adverbs in specialized senses. to power up 1923 23 Sept. 11/3 The present type of airplane is capable of being refined and powered up until it will do 440 miles an hour. 1925 29 Nov. 24/3 On this night I was all powered up, clean shirt, pants all pressed, and my curly hair all plastered down. 1963 30 Aug. 4/3 Timmy..commandeered the wheel [of the speedboat]... ‘Let's go a little faster, Mommy.’ We powered up and moved off behind the racers. 1969 5 Mar. 5/2 They will power up all the L.E.M.'s control systems and then fire the descent engine. 1979 J. Oberg in O. Davis 17 The new spin rate would ‘power up’ the planet's internal dynamo. 1986 (Nexis) 13 Oct. 18 Memphis Computer Retailers are powering up to offer versions of the 80386 microprocessor. 1986 T. Clancy (1988) xxxv. 592 Instantly the radar intercept officer in the rear seat powered up the fighter's AWG-9 radar. 1996 Nov. 45/2 PC Cards don't work on some early models if the system is powered up while attached to a docking station. 1996 R. Kaiho & M. Gregson tr. A. Yoshimura vi. 58 As they watched the aircraft powering up for its take off dash they felt an extreme tension. 1983 Aug. 48 The change to longer spreaders with less spreader deflection has given you the ability to produce fuller mainsail shapes and to effectively sheet the jib closer to the mainsail with less jib sheet tension. You can ‘power up’ as you never have before. 1988 Sept.–Oct. 62/1 If the breeze drops to the extent that you need to power up, then go through the..process..finally easing the genoa sheet. 1999 May 89 I had set my 7.2m sail with a little less downhaul than usual, about 1 inch, so as to power up the sail more. 1961 V. I. Grissom in 23 July 42/6 I would power down the capsule, take off my helmet, and blow the hatch. 1965 27 Aug. 2/7 By powering down, demanding that the fuel cell produce less electricity and water, the problems were controlled. 1970 16 Apr. 1/2 The equipment had been powered down and the lunar module had cooled. 1983 (Nexis) Oct. 90 This utility lets you position the heads outside the normal data area before powering down, so they come to rest where they can't do any damage. 1986 (Nexis) 28 Apr. 11 Repeaters can be installed or removed from the rack-mounting assembly without powering down other repeaters. 1993 15 Jan. 2/1 A notebook..adapts to the work habits of the user—powering down selected functions between keystrokes and other periods of system inactivity. 2000 1 July a12/3 Home appliances..can be programmed to do the greatest amount of work during off-peak periods and to power down during peak loads. 2000 9 Dec. 41/1 The amygdala and other subcortical areas closely associated with emotion processing, which are normally ‘powered down’ when performing cognitive tasks, instead remained fully active. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, December 2006; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < |
