sewern.¹

Brit.

/ˈsuːə/,

/ˈsjuːə/, U.S.

/ˈsuər/,

/sʊ(ə)r/

Forms: Also Middle English suer(e, 1500s sewar, souer, 1600s sewre, sure, 1600s seward. See also syre n., syver n. (Scottish; probably unconnected), and shore n.⁴

Etymology: < Old French (north-eastern) se(u)wiere channel to carry off overflow from a fishpond (latinized seweria , 1264 in Du Cange) < Latin type *exaquāria (compare medieval Latin exaquātōrium ), < *exaquāre (Latin ex- out + aqua water), whence Old French essever to drain off, with which are connected Old French essevour , -eur , esseouer , essouere drain, ditch. (For the phonology compare ewer n.¹) Until the 16th cent. chiefly in legal formulæ as representing the earlier Anglo-Latin sewera or Anglo-Norman sewer(e . In the collocations ‘Commission of sewers’, ‘works of sewers’, etc., the word had virtually a much wider meaning than sense 1 above; it practically denotes any means of defence against inundation from the sea. The formula enumerating the things placed under the control of the commissioners begins with ‘walls’ (1322 more fully ‘sea-walls’, murorum maritimorum ) and mentions ‘sewers’ only in the fifth or sixth place. This had already attracted the attention of lawyers early in the 17th cent.; in 1622 Callis ( Stat. Sewers, ed. 1647, p. 57) states that ‘some compound the word of sea and were ’ (= weir n., defence). Although sense 1 is certainly genuine, and the etymology is well established, it seems not impossible that there may have been some early confusion with a native compound of the formation suggested by the writers referred to by Callis. No instance of Old English *sǽ-wer , however, is known; a (? plural) sǽ-wǽre , of obscure meaning, occurs a.d. 1045 (Kemble Cod. Dipl. No. 776): ‘Se iggað æt portes bricge & healfe sæ-wære & se mylnstede æt Mannæs bricge.’ The Anglo-Latin derived verb sewerare (1314 in Rolls of Parl. I. 319/1) appears to mean ‘to protect from flood’. The pseudo-etymological spelling seward (quot. 1623 for Commission of Sewers n. at sense 3a) is noteworthy. Skinner (Etymol. 1671, s.v.) erroneously attributes to Minsheu the statement that the word ‘was formerly written seward, perhaps < seaward, either because they [sewers] are made towards the sea, or because they ward off the sea’.

1. An artificial watercourse for draining marshy land and carrying off surface water into a river or the sea. Also water-sewer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > ditch

dikec893

gripa1000

ditch1045

fosselOE

water-furrowlOE

sow1316

furrowc1330

rick1332

sewer1402

gripplec1440

soughc1440

grindle1463

sheugh1513

syre1513

rain?1523

trench1523

slough1532

drain1552

fowsie?1553

thorougha1555

rean1591

potting1592

trink1592

syver1606

graft1644

work1649

by-ditch1650

water fence1651

master drain1652

rode1662

pudge1671

gripe1673

sulcus1676

rhine1698

rilling1725

mine1743

foot trench1765

through1777

trench drain1779

trenchlet1782

sunk fence1786

float1790

foot drain1795

tail-drain1805

flow-dike1812

groopa1825

holla1825

thorough drain1824

yawner1832

acequia madre1835

drove1844

leader1844

furrow-drain1858

1299 Memoranda LTR 26 & 27 Edw. I, m. 51 (Public Rec. Office) Per defectum reparacionis Walliarum Water~gangarum et Sewerarum contra impetum fluctuum aque Humbrie.]

1402-3 [see sewer-gate n. at Compounds 2].

1461 Rolls of Parl. V. 493/1 For Sewers, Walles of Mersshes, Dyches, Gutters.

1482 Rolls of Parl. VI. 210 Makyng of Sewers for avoidyng of lake waters.

1543 in Lett. & Papers Henry VIII XVIII. ii. 118 For skoryn of a water souer.

1610 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1884) I. 200 Tho. Skarth of Carlton in Cleveland, theldest, [presented] for stopping of the water-sewer upon the West Shortflatt.

1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxv. 105 One generall Sewer, which seemeth to diuide, Low Holland from the High.

1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 22 §22 It shall..be lawful for the Occupier..of Land..adjoining to any..Sewer..to take..such Gravel, Soil,..and Weeds.

in extended use.1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxvij The great ryuer of Wharfe, which is the great sewer of y^e broke, & of all the water comyng from Towton.

a. An artificial channel or conduit, now usually covered and underground, for carrying off and discharging waste water and the refuse from houses and towns. common sewer n. a drain through which all or a large part of the sewage of a town passes, a main drain collecting and discharging the contents of auxiliary drains. Cf. shore n.⁴The development of this sense (c1600) is probably due to the fact that the drainage of towns near tidal rivers had come under the control of the commissioners of sewers. See Act 3 Jas. I, c. 14 (1606).Technically, ‘sewer’ is distinguished from ‘drain’, the latter being restricted to channels used ‘for the Drainage of one Building only or Premises within the same Curtilage’ (Act. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 112 §147).

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer

cockey1390

gutterc1440

soughc1440

sew1475

withdraught1493

sink1499

syre1513

closet1531

draught1533

vault1533

drain1552

fleet1583

issue1588

drainer1598

guzzle1598

shore1598

sewer1609

vennel1641

cloaca1656

cuniculus1670

pend1817

thurrock1847

sewer line1977

1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. i. 73 Ther. Sweet draught, sweet quoth a, sweet sinke, sweet sure .

1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 423 A sewer within the ground to ridde away filth.

1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Gesse, a common sinke or sewer.

1619 M. Drayton Barons Warres v. xli, in Poems (rev. ed.) 71 Vnder whose Floore, the common Sewer past Vp to the same, a loathsome stench that cast.

1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer ii. 387 It was no noysome Ayre, no Sewre or Stinke.

1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 446 As one who long in populous City pent, Where Houses thick and Sewers annoy the Aire.

1684 J. P. von Valcaren Relation Siege Vienna 42 Some Men were discovered in the Common-Sewer.

1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm.-Bridge 72 Drains or Sewers discharging themselves into a small Arch.

1834 Rep. Sel. Comm. Metrop. Sewers 136 Open and Covered Sewers built within the Ranelagh Level.

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 389/2 Fleet Ditch, which was perhaps the first main sewer of London.

1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 713/1 For small sewers, circular pipes of glazed earthenware..are used, from 6 inches to 18 inches in diameter... Where the capacity of an 18-inch circular pipe would be insufficient, built sewers are used in place of earthenware pipes.

b. transferred and figurative.

ΘΚΠ

the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > foulness or filth > [noun]

fenc897

foulnessOE

foulhead1340

filthiness?1504

lepry1526

fedity1542

leprosy?1555

fulsomeness1563

disdain1590

obscenitya1618

sewer1647

fetidness1704

putridity1823

fetidity1829

disgustingness1851

feculence1860

grunginess1978

1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 16 This Island hath from time to time been no other then as a sewer to empty the superfluity of the German Nations.

1738 S. Johnson London 94 London! the needy villain's general home, The common sewer of Paris, and of Rome.

1766 W. Falconer Demagogue 13 His black entrails, faction's common sewer.

1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 3 A territory, Wherein were bandit earls,..Assassins,..this common sewer of all his realm.

1884 R. C. Praed Zéro ix The moral sewer of Europe.

1945 N. Mitford Pursuit of Love vii. 56 Who is that sewer with Linda?

3. Law.

a. Commission of Sewers n. (a) a royal commission issued to a number of persons (hence called Commissioners of Sewers) constituting them a temporary court with authority for the repair and maintenance of ‘walls, ditches, banks, gutters, sewers, gotes, causeys, bridges, streams and other defences by the coasts of the sea and marsh ground lying and being within the limits of’ a specified district liable to inundation from the sea or rivers; also, the body of commissioners of sewers for a district; (b) a body of municipal officers (abolished by Act 60 & 61 Vict. c. 133, 1897) who were responsible for the control of the ‘sewers’ (sense 2) in the City of London; these officers were first appointed in pursuance of the Act 19 Chas. II, c. 8 (1667), and were invested with the title and jurisdiction of commissioners of sewers by the Act 7 Anne, c. 32 (1708).The term ‘Commission of Sewers’ (Anglo-Norman Commission de Sewerez, de Sewers) occurs first in 1427 (Rolls of Parl. IV. 333/1 and Act 6 Hen. V, c. 5), but the issue of similar commissions is recorded in 1314 (Rolls of Parl. I. 319/1) and in 1322 (Placit. Abbrev. 339/1).

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > commission or commissioner(s) of sewers

Commission of Sewers1444

sewer1616

society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > commission > types of commission

commission of oyer and terminer1414

Commission of Sewers1444

commission of the peace?1457

oyer and terminer1469

commission of rebellion1589

commission of lunacy1679

commission of bankruptcy1684

1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 109/1 Hit was ordeyned..that by x yere then next folwyng, severals Commissions of Sewers shuld be made unto divers persones.

1504 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Court of Requests (1898) 9 The kynges Commyssioners of Sewers.

c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 227 One of the Kyngs Commysioners of Sewers.

1531–2 Act 23 Hen. VIII c. 5 §2 The authoritie to you yoven by the Commission of Sewers.

1623 F. Bacon Ordinances Admin. Chancery (1642) §94. 20 The Commission of Sewards.

a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 135 If a Collector or Officer of Sewers do distrain a man, or do any other act contrary to an Inhibition of Sewers to him directed by the Commissioners of Sewers.

1708 London Gaz. No. 4442/4 The Commissioners of Sewers for the Levels of Havering and Dagenham.

1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 22 §60 The Words ‘Court’ and ‘Court of Sewers’..shall..be deemed to mean every Court..of any Six or more Commissioners of Sewers.. named in any Commission of Sewers.

1848 Act 11 & 12 Victoria c. 112 §3 The Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers.

1881 Ann. Local Taxation Returns 112 Monies Raised and Expended by Commissioners of Sewers during the Year last ended.

b. law of sewers n. a local law relating to embankment and draining. Statute of Sewers n. the Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 5, relating to the issuing of Commissions of Sewers.† work of sewers n. any of the works of defence against floods (e.g. a seawall, ditch, bank, gutter, sewer, etc.) to which commissions of sewers relate.

ΘΚΠ

society > law > types of laws > [noun] > legal or administrative

Ragmanc1400

Statute of Sewers1571

Poynings' Act1613

Poynings' Law1622

Statute of Limitations1641

Act (or Bill) of Indemnity1647

new tables1664

Habeas Corpus Act1705

Judicature Act1782

continuance act1863

stay-law1880

ripper1885

reception statute1931

thirty-year rule1966

sunshine law1968

society > law > types of laws > [noun] > relating to drainage

law of sewers1571

sewer law1785

the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun]

work of sewers1571

1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 9 §3 Concerning the execution of any suche Lawes Ordynaunces and Constitutions of Sewers.

1605–6 Act 3 Jas. I c. 14 The saide Statute of Sewers [23 Hen. VIII, c. 5].

a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 133 If one oppose against a Law of Sewers.

a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 138 If one do suffer a Wall, Bank, or other work of Sewers to fall into decay for want of repairing.

1661 N. N. Narr. Drayning Fenns 4 A Law of Sewers made at St. Ives.

1835 Tomlins' Law Dict. Romney-marsh. A large tract of land in the county of Kent..which is governed by certain..laws of sewers.

4. Elliptical for: Commissioner of Sewers. Obsolete exc. Historical.

ΘΚΠ

society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > commission or commissioner(s) of sewers

Commission of Sewers1444

sewer1616

1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Sewer..one that hath authoritie to ouerlooke water courses.

1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 247 The Sewers are Commissioners that sit by vertue of their Commission and authority grounded upon divers statutes, to enquire of all nusances and offences committed by the stopping of rivers [etc.].

1675 Ashmole Mem. (1717) 53 This Morning a Jury of Sewers set out my Brick Wall made towards the High-way.

1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Clerk of the Sewers, an Officer belonging to the Commissioners of Sewers, who writes down all Things they do, by virtue of their Commission.

1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 7 436 Some of the family were ‘sewers’ of Wisbech.

Compounds

C1. General attributive.

sewer-assessment n.

ΚΠ

1814 Regent's Park 72 He misunderstood the nature of the sewer assessments.

sewer authority n.

ΚΠ

1893 Daily News 25 Nov. 5/1 The Corporation..are at once the sewer authority and the road authority.

sewer-ditch n.

ΚΠ

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 390/1 Open sewer-ditches, into which drains were emptied.

sewer grating n.

ΚΠ

1897 W. Rye Songs Norfolk 42 He cut his wife up into small pieces and dropped her down sewer gratings.

† sewer law n. Obsolete (see 3b.)

ΘΚΠ

society > law > types of laws > [noun] > relating to drainage

law of sewers1571

sewer law1785

1785 J. Phillips Treat. Inland Navigation 40 The works done in pursuance of this Act, not to be subject to the sewer-laws.

sewer-man n.

ΚΠ

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 383/1 (heading) Of the Sewermen and Nightmen of London.

sewer-rate n.

ΚΠ

1823 Rep. Sel. Comm. Sewers Metropolis 15 in Parl. Papers V. 1 Laying a sewer rate over the whole district.

1848 Act 11 & 12 Victoria c. 112 §77 Every District Sewers Rate to be made under this Act.

sewer-scent n.

ΚΠ

1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 54 And it's funny my dear young men, that you in your twenties should love the sewer scent Of obscenity.

sewer-stench n.

ΚΠ

1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 54 A vapour of rottenness out of their mouths, like sewer-stench wreathing.

sewer-water n.

ΚΠ

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 409/1 I..regard the Thames in the neighbourhood of the metropolis as nothing less than diluted sewer-water.

C2.

sewer-air n.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic gases > [noun] > sewer-gas

sewer-gas1849

sewer-air1859

1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing i. 12 A current of sewer air from an ill-placed sink, ascending in a continual stream by a well-staircase.

1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 313 Similar symptoms may follow poisoning by sewer air, if this be concentrated.

sewer-block n. a stoneware brick used for building the walls of sewers.

ΘΚΠ

society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > brick > [noun] > brick for specific use

paving brick1703

lump1787

right1884

sewer-block1884

1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 50/1 Sanitary stoneware..including drain-pipes..sewer-blocks [etc.].

sewer-gas n. atmospheric air mixed with gas formed by the decomposition of sewage.

ΘΚΠ

the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic gases > [noun] > sewer-gas

sewer-gas1849

sewer-air1859

the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > noxious vapour or gas > other noxious vapours or gases

sewer-gas1849

autogas1914

exhaust fumes1937

1849 in E. R. Pike Human Docs. Victorian Golden Age (1967) 276 These gases, which so many people are daily inhaling..are identically the same in nature with..sewer-gas.

1870 W. H. Corfield Treatm. Sewage 174 It would be difficult to imagine a more ingenious method for delivering sewer gases at high pressure into houses than the one above described.

1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 716/1 The corrosive action of sewer gas.

† sewer-gate n. Obsolete a floodgate at the mouth of a drain or watercourse.

ΘΚΠ

the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > gate, lock, or sluice

hatchOE

clowa1250

lock1261

water lock1261

sluice1340

water gate1390

sewer-gate1402

spay1415

floodgatec1440

shuttlec1440

spayer1450

gate1496

falling gate1524

spoye1528

gote1531

penstock1542

ventil1570

drawgate1587

flood-hatch1587

turnpike1623

slaker1664

lock gate1677

hatchway1705

flash1768

turnpike-lock1771

sluice-gate1781

pound-lock1783

stop-gate1790

buck gate1791

slacker1797

aboiteau1802

koker1814

guard-lock1815

falling sluice1819

lasher1840

fender1847

tailgate1875

weir-hatch1875

wicket1875

1402–3 in Middle Eng. Dict. at Seuer [An entry about new gates to the sluice of the] suergate.

sewer-heading n. (see heading n. 13).

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer > passage driven through for

sewer-heading1890

1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 236/2 Note on a Boulder met with in driving a Sewer-Heading in Liverpool.

sewer-hunter n. one who searches sewers.

ΘΚΠ

the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > types of search or searching > one who searches sewers for valuables

sewer-hunter1851

tosher1851

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 151/2 The sewer-hunters usually go in gangs of three or four for the sake of company.

sewer lagoon n. U.S. = sewage lagoon n. at sewage n. Compounds 2.

ΚΠ

1959 Washington Post 31 Oct. b1/5 To construct the outfall line to the location of the sewer lagoons would require trenches in excess of 25 feet.

sewer line n. U.S. a pipeline that is a sewer.

ΘΚΠ

the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer

cockey1390

gutterc1440

soughc1440

sew1475

withdraught1493

sink1499

syre1513

closet1531

draught1533

vault1533

drain1552

fleet1583

issue1588

drainer1598

guzzle1598

shore1598

sewer1609

vennel1641

cloaca1656

cuniculus1670

pend1817

thurrock1847

sewer line1977

1977 It May 6/3 (caption) Rosselli and his back-up man went down a manhole behind the fence..and followed the sewer-line away from Dealey Plaza.

sewer-rat n. the brown rat ( Mus decumanus) common in sewers and drains.

ΘΚΠ

the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > genus Rattus (rat) > rattus norvegicus (brown rat)

Norway rat1753

wharf-rat1823

sewer-rat1851

trench rat1916

1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 431/1 The sewer-rat is..said by the Jacobites to have come in with the first George.

1888 Wood Farmer's Friends & Foes 23 Sewer~rats, of course, are to some extent beneficial.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

sewern.²

/ˈsjuːə/

Forms: α. Middle English–1500s sewere, Middle English–1600s sewar, Middle English seware, ceware, Middle English–1500s sever, 1500s sawere, 1600s sewre, Middle English– sewer; β. 1500s shewere, shower, 1500s–1600s shewer.

Etymology: aphetic < Anglo-Norman asseour, < Old French asseoir to cause to sit, seat < Latin assidēre , < ad- + sedēre to sit. assewer n. is not recorded so early as the aphetic form. The β-forms are assimilated to shew, show.

Now historical.

a. An attendant at a meal who superintended the arrangement of the table, the seating of the guests, and the tasting and serving of the dishes. Down to the 15th cent. it was the designation of an officer of the Royal Household; it survived somewhat later as the title of a ceremonial office at coronations.

ΘΚΠ

the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [noun] > server of food > as servant

sewera1387

trenchepaina1400

dish-bearerc1440

serverc1450

waiter1528

disher1598

trencher-groom1607

trencher-squire1628

trencher-waiter1639

under-sewer1669

suffragi1863

α.

a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 251 Olyver, cheef sewere of þe kynges bord.

c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 639 As sewer in a god assyse he serued hem fayre, Wyth sadde semblaunt & swete of such as he hade.

c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 67/2 Ceware at mete.

1447–50 Q. Marg. Lett. (Camden) 97 Oure trusty and welbeloved Squier Thomas Burneby, sewer of our mouth.

1464 Rolls of Parl. V. 535/2 Oure Servaunt William Wade, Squier, Sewer of oure Chambre.

15.. in W. Jones Crowns & Coronat. (1883) 119 [At the coronation of Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII, 1487] the lorde Fitz-water, sewer, or dapifer, attended.. and served the messes.

1570 Bk. Precedence (Harl. 1440) in F. J. Furnivall Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1869) 17 A viscount..may haue Caruer and Sewer, with there Towells, when they sett there seruisse on the table.

a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. (stage direct.) Enter a Sewer, and diuers Seruants with Dishes and Seruice ouer the Stage.

1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 129 The dropsied Host, like to a Sewre did strut To marshall every dish.

1669 E. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 2) 257 The Sewers of the Chamber are 8.

a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1661 (1955) III. 279 Gent: Ushers daily Waiters: Sewers, Carvers & Cupbearers in Ordinary.

1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. i. 178 The sewer with savoury meats Dish after dish, served them.

1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. v. 146 Let the master of my lord's household see that both clerk and sewer taste the dishes which the one dresses and the other serves.

1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iv. 168 (note) Atholl performed the part of sewer, and Morton of carver.

β. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xxxi. 36 b/1 Sir yuan of Leschell was shewer and sir Gracyen bare his cuppe.1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. Pref. sig. Aa.vii I beshrew suche a shewer, as so serueth in the Souper, that he conuayth awaye the best dyshe.1553 in W. Jerdan Rutland Papers (1842) 119 Therle of Sussex claymethe to be shewer at dyner the daye of the coronacion.1565 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. II. 204 Athall shower, Morton carvar, Crayforde cupbearer.1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. E3^v (stage direct.) Enter the Vsher and the Shewer, the meate goes ouer the Stage.

b. figurative and in figurative context.

ΚΠ

?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1808 in Shorter Poems (1967) 112 His maister sewer [1579 Edinb. Sewar], hecht vertuus discipline.

1641 J. Milton Animadversions 7 It shew'd but green practise..to blurt upon the eares of a judicious Parliament with such a presumptuous and over-weening Proem: but you doe well to be the Sewer of your owne messe.

1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxiv. 192 Som such place, as may stile them the Sewers, or the Yeomen Ushers of Devotion.

This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online September 2021).

单词	sewer
释义	sewern.¹ Brit. /ˈsuːə/, /ˈsjuːə/, U.S. /ˈsuər/, /sʊ(ə)r/ Forms: Also Middle English suer(e, 1500s sewar, souer, 1600s sewre, sure, 1600s seward. See also syre n., syver n. (Scottish; probably unconnected), and shore n.⁴ Etymology: < Old French (north-eastern) se(u)wiere channel to carry off overflow from a fishpond (latinized seweria , 1264 in Du Cange) < Latin type exaquāria (compare medieval Latin exaquātōrium* ), < exaquāre (Latin ex-* out + aqua water), whence Old French essever to drain off, with which are connected Old French essevour , -eur , esseouer , essouere drain, ditch. (For the phonology compare ewer n.¹) Until the 16th cent. chiefly in legal formulæ as representing the earlier Anglo-Latin sewera or Anglo-Norman sewer(e . In the collocations ‘Commission of sewers’, ‘works of sewers’, etc., the word had virtually a much wider meaning than sense 1 above; it practically denotes any means of defence against inundation from the sea. The formula enumerating the things placed under the control of the commissioners begins with ‘walls’ (1322 more fully ‘sea-walls’, murorum maritimorum ) and mentions ‘sewers’ only in the fifth or sixth place. This had already attracted the attention of lawyers early in the 17th cent.; in 1622 Callis ( Stat. Sewers, ed. 1647, p. 57) states that ‘some compound the word of sea and were ’ (= weir n., defence). Although sense 1 is certainly genuine, and the etymology is well established, it seems not impossible that there may have been some early confusion with a native compound of the formation suggested by the writers referred to by Callis. No instance of Old English sǽ-wer , however, is known; a (? plural) sǽ-wǽre* , of obscure meaning, occurs a.d. 1045 (Kemble Cod. Dipl. No. 776): ‘Se iggað æt portes bricge & healfe sæ-wære & se mylnstede æt Mannæs bricge.’ The Anglo-Latin derived verb sewerare (1314 in Rolls of Parl. I. 319/1) appears to mean ‘to protect from flood’. The pseudo-etymological spelling seward (quot. 1623 for Commission of Sewers n. at sense 3a) is noteworthy. Skinner (Etymol. 1671, s.v.) erroneously attributes to Minsheu the statement that the word ‘was formerly written seward, perhaps < seaward, either because they [sewers] are made towards the sea, or because they ward off the sea’. 1. An artificial watercourse for draining marshy land and carrying off surface water into a river or the sea. Also water-sewer. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > ditch dikec893 gripa1000 ditch1045 fosselOE water-furrowlOE sow1316 furrowc1330 rick1332 sewer1402 gripplec1440 soughc1440 grindle1463 sheugh1513 syre1513 rain?1523 trench1523 slough1532 drain1552 fowsie?1553 thorougha1555 rean1591 potting1592 trink1592 syver1606 graft1644 work1649 by-ditch1650 water fence1651 master drain1652 rode1662 pudge1671 gripe1673 sulcus1676 rhine1698 rilling1725 mine1743 foot trench1765 through1777 trench drain1779 trenchlet1782 sunk fence1786 float1790 foot drain1795 tail-drain1805 flow-dike1812 groopa1825 holla1825 thorough drain1824 yawner1832 acequia madre1835 drove1844 leader1844 furrow-drain1858 1299 Memoranda LTR 26 & 27 Edw. I, m. 51 (Public Rec. Office) Per defectum reparacionis Walliarum Water~gangarum et Sewerarum contra impetum fluctuum aque Humbrie.] 1402-3 [see sewer-gate n. at Compounds 2]. 1461 Rolls of Parl. V. 493/1 For Sewers, Walles of Mersshes, Dyches, Gutters. 1482 Rolls of Parl. VI. 210 Makyng of Sewers for avoidyng of lake waters. 1543 in Lett. & Papers Henry VIII XVIII. ii. 118 For skoryn of a water souer. 1610 in Quarter Sessions Rec. (N. Riding Rec. Soc.) (1884) I. 200 Tho. Skarth of Carlton in Cleveland, theldest, [presented] for stopping of the water-sewer upon the West Shortflatt. 1622 M. Drayton 2nd Pt. Poly-olbion xxv. 105 One generall Sewer, which seemeth to diuide, Low Holland from the High. 1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 22 §22 It shall..be lawful for the Occupier..of Land..adjoining to any..Sewer..to take..such Gravel, Soil,..and Weeds. in extended use.1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. clxxxvij The great ryuer of Wharfe, which is the great sewer of y^e broke, & of all the water comyng from Towton. 2. a. An artificial channel or conduit, now usually covered and underground, for carrying off and discharging waste water and the refuse from houses and towns. common sewer n. a drain through which all or a large part of the sewage of a town passes, a main drain collecting and discharging the contents of auxiliary drains. Cf. shore n.⁴The development of this sense (c1600) is probably due to the fact that the drainage of towns near tidal rivers had come under the control of the commissioners of sewers. See Act 3 Jas. I, c. 14 (1606).Technically, ‘sewer’ is distinguished from ‘drain’, the latter being restricted to channels used ‘for the Drainage of one Building only or Premises within the same Curtilage’ (Act. 11 & 12 Vict. c. 112 §147). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer cockey1390 gutterc1440 soughc1440 sew1475 withdraught1493 sink1499 syre1513 closet1531 draught1533 vault1533 drain1552 fleet1583 issue1588 drainer1598 guzzle1598 shore1598 sewer1609 vennel1641 cloaca1656 cuniculus1670 pend1817 thurrock1847 sewer line1977 1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida v. i. 73 Ther. Sweet draught, sweet quoth a, sweet sinke, sweet sure . View more context for this quotation 1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 423 A sewer within the ground to ridde away filth. 1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Gesse, a common sinke or sewer. 1619 M. Drayton Barons Warres v. xli, in Poems (rev. ed.) 71 Vnder whose Floore, the common Sewer past Vp to the same, a loathsome stench that cast. 1628 G. Wither Britain's Remembrancer ii. 387 It was no noysome Ayre, no Sewre or Stinke. 1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ix. 446 As one who long in populous City pent, Where Houses thick and Sewers annoy the Aire. View more context for this quotation 1684 J. P. von Valcaren Relation Siege Vienna 42 Some Men were discovered in the Common-Sewer. 1739 C. Labelye Short Acct. Piers Westm.-Bridge 72 Drains or Sewers discharging themselves into a small Arch. 1834 Rep. Sel. Comm. Metrop. Sewers 136 Open and Covered Sewers built within the Ranelagh Level. 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 389/2 Fleet Ditch, which was perhaps the first main sewer of London. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 713/1 For small sewers, circular pipes of glazed earthenware..are used, from 6 inches to 18 inches in diameter... Where the capacity of an 18-inch circular pipe would be insufficient, built sewers are used in place of earthenware pipes. b. transferred and figurative. ΘΚΠ the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > foulness or filth > [noun] fenc897 foulnessOE foulhead1340 filthiness?1504 lepry1526 fedity1542 leprosy?1555 fulsomeness1563 disdain1590 obscenitya1618 sewer1647 fetidness1704 putridity1823 fetidity1829 disgustingness1851 feculence1860 grunginess1978 1647 N. Bacon Hist. Disc. Govt. 16 This Island hath from time to time been no other then as a sewer to empty the superfluity of the German Nations. 1738 S. Johnson London 94 London! the needy villain's general home, The common sewer of Paris, and of Rome. 1766 W. Falconer Demagogue 13 His black entrails, faction's common sewer. 1859 Ld. Tennyson Enid in Idylls of King 3 A territory, Wherein were bandit earls,..Assassins,..this common sewer of all his realm. 1884 R. C. Praed Zéro ix The moral sewer of Europe. 1945 N. Mitford Pursuit of Love vii. 56 Who is that sewer with Linda? 3. Law. a. Commission of Sewers n. (a) a royal commission issued to a number of persons (hence called Commissioners of Sewers) constituting them a temporary court with authority for the repair and maintenance of ‘walls, ditches, banks, gutters, sewers, gotes, causeys, bridges, streams and other defences by the coasts of the sea and marsh ground lying and being within the limits of’ a specified district liable to inundation from the sea or rivers; also, the body of commissioners of sewers for a district; (b) a body of municipal officers (abolished by Act 60 & 61 Vict. c. 133, 1897) who were responsible for the control of the ‘sewers’ (sense 2) in the City of London; these officers were first appointed in pursuance of the Act 19 Chas. II, c. 8 (1667), and were invested with the title and jurisdiction of commissioners of sewers by the Act 7 Anne, c. 32 (1708).The term ‘Commission of Sewers’ (Anglo-Norman Commission de Sewerez, de Sewers) occurs first in 1427 (Rolls of Parl. IV. 333/1 and Act 6 Hen. V, c. 5), but the issue of similar commissions is recorded in 1314 (Rolls of Parl. I. 319/1) and in 1322 (Placit. Abbrev. 339/1). ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > commission or commissioner(s) of sewers Commission of Sewers1444 sewer1616 society > law > administration of justice > process, writ, warrant, or order > [noun] > commission > types of commission commission of oyer and terminer1414 Commission of Sewers1444 commission of the peace?1457 oyer and terminer1469 commission of rebellion1589 commission of lunacy1679 commission of bankruptcy1684 1444 Rolls of Parl. V. 109/1 Hit was ordeyned..that by x yere then next folwyng, severals Commissions of Sewers shuld be made unto divers persones. 1504 in I. S. Leadam Select Cases Court of Requests (1898) 9 The kynges Commyssioners of Sewers. c1530 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1846) 3rd Ser. II. 227 One of the Kyngs Commysioners of Sewers. 1531–2 Act 23 Hen. VIII c. 5 §2 The authoritie to you yoven by the Commission of Sewers. 1623 F. Bacon Ordinances Admin. Chancery (1642) §94. 20 The Commission of Sewards. a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 135 If a Collector or Officer of Sewers do distrain a man, or do any other act contrary to an Inhibition of Sewers to him directed by the Commissioners of Sewers. 1708 London Gaz. No. 4442/4 The Commissioners of Sewers for the Levels of Havering and Dagenham. 1833 Act 3 & 4 William IV c. 22 §60 The Words ‘Court’ and ‘Court of Sewers’..shall..be deemed to mean every Court..of any Six or more Commissioners of Sewers.. named in any Commission of Sewers. 1848 Act 11 & 12 Victoria c. 112 §3 The Metropolitan Commissioners of Sewers. 1881 Ann. Local Taxation Returns 112 Monies Raised and Expended by Commissioners of Sewers during the Year last ended. b. law of sewers n. a local law relating to embankment and draining. Statute of Sewers n. the Act 23 Hen. VIII, c. 5, relating to the issuing of Commissions of Sewers.† work of sewers n. any of the works of defence against floods (e.g. a seawall, ditch, bank, gutter, sewer, etc.) to which commissions of sewers relate. ΘΚΠ society > law > types of laws > [noun] > legal or administrative Ragmanc1400 Statute of Sewers1571 Poynings' Act1613 Poynings' Law1622 Statute of Limitations1641 Act (or Bill) of Indemnity1647 new tables1664 Habeas Corpus Act1705 Judicature Act1782 continuance act1863 stay-law1880 ripper1885 reception statute1931 thirty-year rule1966 sunshine law1968 society > law > types of laws > [noun] > relating to drainage law of sewers1571 sewer law1785 the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > flood or flooding > structures protecting from water or flooding > [noun] work of sewers1571 1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 9 §3 Concerning the execution of any suche Lawes Ordynaunces and Constitutions of Sewers. 1605–6 Act 3 Jas. I c. 14 The saide Statute of Sewers [23 Hen. VIII, c. 5]. a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 133 If one oppose against a Law of Sewers. a1642 R. Callis Reading of Statute of Sewers (1647) iii. 138 If one do suffer a Wall, Bank, or other work of Sewers to fall into decay for want of repairing. 1661 N. N. Narr. Drayning Fenns 4 A Law of Sewers made at St. Ives. 1835 Tomlins' Law Dict. Romney-marsh. A large tract of land in the county of Kent..which is governed by certain..laws of sewers. 4. Elliptical for: Commissioner of Sewers. Obsolete exc. Historical. ΘΚΠ society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > commission or commissioner(s) of sewers Commission of Sewers1444 sewer1616 1616 J. Bullokar Eng. Expositor Sewer..one that hath authoritie to ouerlooke water courses. 1641 Rastell's Termes de la Ley (new ed.) f. 247 The Sewers are Commissioners that sit by vertue of their Commission and authority grounded upon divers statutes, to enquire of all nusances and offences committed by the stopping of rivers [etc.]. 1675 Ashmole Mem. (1717) 53 This Morning a Jury of Sewers set out my Brick Wall made towards the High-way. 1706 Phillips's New World of Words (new ed.) Clerk of the Sewers, an Officer belonging to the Commissioners of Sewers, who writes down all Things they do, by virtue of their Commission. 1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 7 436 Some of the family were ‘sewers’ of Wisbech. Compounds C1. General attributive. sewer-assessment n. ΚΠ 1814 Regent's Park 72 He misunderstood the nature of the sewer assessments. sewer authority n. ΚΠ 1893 Daily News 25 Nov. 5/1 The Corporation..are at once the sewer authority and the road authority. sewer-ditch n. ΚΠ 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 390/1 Open sewer-ditches, into which drains were emptied. sewer grating n. ΚΠ 1897 W. Rye Songs Norfolk 42 He cut his wife up into small pieces and dropped her down sewer gratings. † sewer law n. Obsolete (see 3b.) ΘΚΠ society > law > types of laws > [noun] > relating to drainage law of sewers1571 sewer law1785 1785 J. Phillips Treat. Inland Navigation 40 The works done in pursuance of this Act, not to be subject to the sewer-laws. sewer-man n. ΚΠ 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 383/1 (heading) Of the Sewermen and Nightmen of London. sewer-rate n. ΚΠ 1823 Rep. Sel. Comm. Sewers Metropolis 15 in Parl. Papers V. 1 Laying a sewer rate over the whole district. 1848 Act 11 & 12 Victoria c. 112 §77 Every District Sewers Rate to be made under this Act. sewer-scent n. ΚΠ 1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 54 And it's funny my dear young men, that you in your twenties should love the sewer scent Of obscenity. sewer-stench n. ΚΠ 1929 D. H. Lawrence Pansies 54 A vapour of rottenness out of their mouths, like sewer-stench wreathing. sewer-water n. ΚΠ 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 409/1 I..regard the Thames in the neighbourhood of the metropolis as nothing less than diluted sewer-water. C2. sewer-air n. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic gases > [noun] > sewer-gas sewer-gas1849 sewer-air1859 1859 F. Nightingale Notes on Nursing i. 12 A current of sewer air from an ill-placed sink, ascending in a continual stream by a well-staircase. 1899 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. VIII. 313 Similar symptoms may follow poisoning by sewer air, if this be concentrated. sewer-block n. a stoneware brick used for building the walls of sewers. ΘΚΠ society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > brick > [noun] > brick for specific use paving brick1703 lump1787 right1884 sewer-block1884 1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 50/1 Sanitary stoneware..including drain-pipes..sewer-blocks [etc.]. sewer-gas n. atmospheric air mixed with gas formed by the decomposition of sewage. ΘΚΠ the world > matter > chemistry > organic chemistry > organic gases > [noun] > sewer-gas sewer-gas1849 sewer-air1859 the world > matter > gas > [noun] > fumes or vapour > noxious vapour or gas > other noxious vapours or gases sewer-gas1849 autogas1914 exhaust fumes1937 1849 in E. R. Pike Human Docs. Victorian Golden Age (1967) 276 These gases, which so many people are daily inhaling..are identically the same in nature with..sewer-gas. 1870 W. H. Corfield Treatm. Sewage 174 It would be difficult to imagine a more ingenious method for delivering sewer gases at high pressure into houses than the one above described. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 716/1 The corrosive action of sewer gas. † sewer-gate n. Obsolete a floodgate at the mouth of a drain or watercourse. ΘΚΠ the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [noun] > artificially confined water > contrivance for impounding water > gate, lock, or sluice hatchOE clowa1250 lock1261 water lock1261 sluice1340 water gate1390 sewer-gate1402 spay1415 floodgatec1440 shuttlec1440 spayer1450 gate1496 falling gate1524 spoye1528 gote1531 penstock1542 ventil1570 drawgate1587 flood-hatch1587 turnpike1623 slaker1664 lock gate1677 hatchway1705 flash1768 turnpike-lock1771 sluice-gate1781 pound-lock1783 stop-gate1790 buck gate1791 slacker1797 aboiteau1802 koker1814 guard-lock1815 falling sluice1819 lasher1840 fender1847 tailgate1875 weir-hatch1875 wicket1875 1402–3 in Middle Eng. Dict. at Seuer [An entry about new gates to the sluice of the] suergate. sewer-heading n. (see heading n. 13). ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer > passage driven through for sewer-heading1890 1890 Hardwicke's Sci.-gossip 26 236/2 Note on a Boulder met with in driving a Sewer-Heading in Liverpool. sewer-hunter n. one who searches sewers. ΘΚΠ the world > action or operation > endeavour > searching or seeking > [noun] > types of search or searching > one who searches sewers for valuables sewer-hunter1851 tosher1851 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 151/2 The sewer-hunters usually go in gangs of three or four for the sake of company. sewer lagoon n. U.S. = sewage lagoon n. at sewage n. Compounds 2. ΚΠ 1959 Washington Post 31 Oct. b1/5 To construct the outfall line to the location of the sewer lagoons would require trenches in excess of 25 feet. sewer line n. U.S. a pipeline that is a sewer. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] > sewer cockey1390 gutterc1440 soughc1440 sew1475 withdraught1493 sink1499 syre1513 closet1531 draught1533 vault1533 drain1552 fleet1583 issue1588 drainer1598 guzzle1598 shore1598 sewer1609 vennel1641 cloaca1656 cuniculus1670 pend1817 thurrock1847 sewer line1977 1977 It May 6/3 (caption) Rosselli and his back-up man went down a manhole behind the fence..and followed the sewer-line away from Dealey Plaza. sewer-rat n. the brown rat ( Mus decumanus) common in sewers and drains. ΘΚΠ the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > order Rodentia or rodent > superfamily Myomorpha (mouse, rat, vole, or hamster) > [noun] > family Muridae > genus Rattus (rat) > rattus norvegicus (brown rat) Norway rat1753 wharf-rat1823 sewer-rat1851 trench rat1916 1851 H. Mayhew London Labour II. 431/1 The sewer-rat is..said by the Jacobites to have come in with the first George. 1888 Wood Farmer's Friends & Foes 23 Sewer~rats, of course, are to some extent beneficial. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). sewern.² /ˈsjuːə/ Forms: α. Middle English–1500s sewere, Middle English–1600s sewar, Middle English seware, ceware, Middle English–1500s sever, 1500s sawere, 1600s sewre, Middle English– sewer; β. 1500s shewere, shower, 1500s–1600s shewer. Etymology: aphetic < Anglo-Norman asseour, < Old French asseoir to cause to sit, seat < Latin assidēre , < ad- + sedēre to sit. assewer n. is not recorded so early as the aphetic form. The β-forms are assimilated to shew, show. Now historical. a. An attendant at a meal who superintended the arrangement of the table, the seating of the guests, and the tasting and serving of the dishes. Down to the 15th cent. it was the designation of an officer of the Royal Household; it survived somewhat later as the title of a ceremonial office at coronations. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [noun] > server of food > as servant sewera1387 trenchepaina1400 dish-bearerc1440 serverc1450 waiter1528 disher1598 trencher-groom1607 trencher-squire1628 trencher-waiter1639 under-sewer1669 suffragi1863 α. a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 251 Olyver, cheef sewere of þe kynges bord. c1400 (?c1380) Cleanness l. 639 As sewer in a god assyse he serued hem fayre, Wyth sadde semblaunt & swete of such as he hade. c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 67/2 Ceware at mete. 1447–50 Q. Marg. Lett. (Camden) 97 Oure trusty and welbeloved Squier Thomas Burneby, sewer of our mouth. 1464 Rolls of Parl. V. 535/2 Oure Servaunt William Wade, Squier, Sewer of oure Chambre. 15.. in W. Jones Crowns & Coronat. (1883) 119 [At the coronation of Elizabeth, queen of Henry VII, 1487] the lorde Fitz-water, sewer, or dapifer, attended.. and served the messes. 1570 Bk. Precedence (Harl. 1440) in F. J. Furnivall Queene Elizabethes Achademy (1869) 17 A viscount..may haue Caruer and Sewer, with there Towells, when they sett there seruisse on the table. a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. vii. (stage direct.) Enter a Sewer, and diuers Seruants with Dishes and Seruice ouer the Stage. 1637 N. Whiting Le Hore di Recreatione 129 The dropsied Host, like to a Sewre did strut To marshall every dish. 1669 E. Chamberlayne Angliæ Notitia (ed. 2) 257 The Sewers of the Chamber are 8. a1684 J. Evelyn Diary anno 1661 (1955) III. 279 Gent: Ushers daily Waiters: Sewers, Carvers & Cupbearers in Ordinary. 1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Odyssey in Iliad & Odyssey II. i. 178 The sewer with savoury meats Dish after dish, served them. 1821 W. Scott Kenilworth II. v. 146 Let the master of my lord's household see that both clerk and sewer taste the dishes which the one dresses and the other serves. 1864 J. H. Burton Scot Abroad I. iv. 168 (note) Atholl performed the part of sewer, and Morton of carver. β. 1525 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles II. xxxi. 36 b/1 Sir yuan of Leschell was shewer and sir Gracyen bare his cuppe.1533 T. More Answere Poysened Bk. Pref. sig. Aa.vii I beshrew suche a shewer, as so serueth in the Souper, that he conuayth awaye the best dyshe.1553 in W. Jerdan Rutland Papers (1842) 119 Therle of Sussex claymethe to be shewer at dyner the daye of the coronacion.1565 in H. Ellis Orig. Lett. Eng. Hist. (1824) 1st Ser. II. 204 Athall shower, Morton carvar, Crayforde cupbearer.1602 W. S. True Chron. Hist. Ld. Cromwell sig. E3^v (stage direct.) Enter the Vsher and the Shewer, the meate goes ouer the Stage. b. figurative and in figurative context. ΚΠ ?1553 (c1501) G. Douglas Palice of Honour (London) iii. l. 1808 in Shorter Poems (1967) 112 His maister sewer [1579 Edinb. Sewar], hecht vertuus discipline. 1641 J. Milton Animadversions 7 It shew'd but green practise..to blurt upon the eares of a judicious Parliament with such a presumptuous and over-weening Proem: but you doe well to be the Sewer of your owne messe. 1649 J. Milton Εικονοκλαστης xxiv. 192 Som such place, as may stile them the Sewers, or the Yeomen Ushers of Devotion. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online September 2021). sewern.³ Brit. /ˈsəʊə/, U.S. /ˈsoʊər/ Forms: Middle English sower, Middle English sawer, 1600s shewer, Middle English, 1700s– sewer. Etymology: < sew v.¹ + -er suffix¹. One who sews. ΘΚΠ the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > one who seamsterc995 sewster1391 sewer1399 seamstress1615 fine-drawer1702 stitch-man1710 sewist1867 feller1883 1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iii. 165 Seuene goode sowers sixe wekes after Moun not sett þe seemes ne sewe hem aȝeyn. 1481 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 314 That no man of the forsayde crafte [of tailors] set no new sawer a-warcke a-bofe the spasse of xv. days. 1483 Cath. Angl. 331/2 A Sewer, filator, sutor, sutrix. ?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 795/21 Hec sutrix, a sewer. 1652 in Beck Gloves (1883) 152 [The Craft] ordains every boy and fial to take such work from his Master as his shewers cast. 1755 S. Johnson Dict. Eng. Lang. Sewer..He that uses a needle. 1870 Echo 30 Dec. The sewer has it placed on a long table round which she travels, stitching as she goes. 1880 J. W. Zaehnsdorf Art of Bookbinding 21 It will be better if the cords are a little to the right of the press, so that the sewer may get her or his left arm to rest better on the press. 1891 E. Peacock Narcissa Brendon II. 108 She was not only a neat sewer, but could cut out men's shirts. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). sewerv.¹ Brit. /ˈsuːə/, /ˈsjuːə/, U.S. /ˈsuər/, /sʊ(ə)r/ Forms: Also 1500s sewar. Etymology: < sewer n.¹ †1. transitive. To drain. Obsolete. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > ditch [verb (transitive)] > drain otherwise sewer1565 run1665 land-drain1767 pipe-drain1796 sough1797 mole-drain1844 tile-drain1844 well point1867 1565 in Archaeologia Cantiana (1880) 13 269 A cricke, or water~wey, sewared or dryed upp. 2. To furnish (a town, road, etc.) with a system of sewers. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > provide with sewers [verb (transitive)] sewer1854 sewage1884 1854 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 15 i. 155 These towns have been sewered under the improved system. 1877 Rep. Comm. Plan for Govt. Cities N.Y. in J. Bryce Amer. Commonw. (1888) II. li. 287 To grade, pave, and sewer streets. Derivatives ˈsewering n. ΘΚΠ the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > sanitation > provision of sewers > [noun] sewering1865 environmental services1926 1865 3rd Rep. Comm. Sewage of Towns 210 The sewering of towns on correct principles ought to be promoted, so as to ensure cleanliness, comfort, and health. 1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 9 July 2/1 In some of the southern cities of America..sewering, draining, and scavenging have brought about great improvement. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2022). † sewerv.² Etymology: < sewer n.² Obsolete. rare. intransitive. To act as sewer at a meal. ΘΚΠ the world > food and drink > food > serving food > [verb (intransitive)] servec1275 sewc1440 pour1539 to wait on the cup, the trencher, the table1552 sewerc1553 wait1568 to wait up1654 to serve away1709 help1805 to wait (the) table1827 to sling hash1860 to be mother1934 c1553 in Grose's Antiquarian Repertory (1809) IV. 652 A Gent. to sewerer yf they were not otherwise occupyed in the Q. busynesse. 1623 J. Minsheu Dict. Spanish & Eng. (at cited word) To Sewer or taste before, vide Hazer salva. a1641 J. Finett Philoxenis (1656) 156 His assertion was not followed for the better convenience of the said Officers carving and sewering. 1647 H. Hexham Copious Eng. & Netherduytch Dict. To Sewer, voor-smaecken, voor-tasten. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1913; most recently modified version published online March 2021). < n.¹1402n.²a1387n.³1399v.¹1565v.²c1553
随便看	novelry novels novelshop novelsick novelspinner novelstudied noveltaster novelties noveltiness novelty novelty hunter novelty item not to be able for nuts not to be able for toffee not to be able or fit to hold a candle to not to be able to do a thing for nuts not to be able to do a thing for toffee not to be able to keep one's eyes off not to be able to take one's eyes off not to be born for oneself not to be born for oneself alone not to be born for oneself etc not to be born for oneself only not to be half the etc one used to be not to be half the etc one used to etc

sewern.1

Compounds

sewern.2

sewern.3

sewerv.1

Derivatives

† sewerv.2

sewern.¹

sewern.²

sewern.³

sewerv.¹

† sewerv.²