† ˈbittern.2
Obs.
One who has charge of a ‘bit’ or fire-bucket; a fireman.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > extinguishing fire > [noun] > fire-fighting > fireman > specific
bitterc1467
engineman1724
pipeman1763
vamp1877
nozzle man1885
pumper1912
smoke-jumper1940
tillerman1968
first responder1975
c1467 Eng. Gilds (1870) 371 That the Bitters be redy when eny parylle of fuyre ys.
c1467 Eng. Gilds (1870) 382 That the bitters be redy with hur horses and bittes to brynge water.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online September 2011).
ˈbittern.3
Naut.
(See quots.)Hence, perh. bitter end at end n. 6b: but cf. bitter adj. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > anchoring equipment > [noun] > anchor rope or cable > turn of about the bitts
bitter1627
bitting1769
weatherbitt1769
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. vii. 30 A Bitter is but the turne of a Cable about the Bits, and veare it out by little and little. And the Bitters end is that part of the Cable doth stay within boord.
1630 J. Taylor Wks. To let fall an anchor, which being done, the tide running very strong, brought our ship to so strong a bitter, that the fast which the Portugals had upon us brake.
1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Sailor's Word-bk. 103 A ship is ‘brought up to a bitter’ when the cable is allowed to run out to that stop..When a chain or rope is paid out to the bitter-end, no more remains to be let go.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2016).
bitteradj.n.1
/ˈbɪtə/, /-(ə)rə/, /-(ə)rᵻst/, U.S. /ˈbɪdər/ A. adj.† 5.
1.
a. One of the elementary sensations of taste proper (i.e. without any element arising through the nerves of touch): obnoxious, irritating, or unfavourably stimulating to the gustatory nerve; disagreeable to the palate; having the characteristic taste of wormwood, gentian, quinine, bitter aloes, soot: the opposite of sweet; causing ‘the proper pain of taste’ (Bain).
ΚΠ
OE Guthlac B 868 Nænig monna wæs of þam sigetudre siþþan æfre godes willan þæs georn, ne gynnwised, þæt he bibugan mæge þone bitran drync þone Eue fyrn Adame geaf, byrelade bryd geong.
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 129 Ðet weter of egipte..þe wes sur and bitere.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 6348 Water bitter sum ani brin.
c1400 Mandeville's Trav. viii. 99 A lytille Broke of Watre, that was wont to ben byttre.
a1616 Shakespeare Two Gentlemen of Verona (1623) ii. iv. 147 When I was sick, you gaue me bitter pils. View more context for this quotation
1626 Bacon Sylua Syluarum §21 The Second [water will have] more of the Tast, as more bitter or Biting.
1759 E. Burke Philos. Enq. Sublime & Beautiful (ed. 2) Introd. 8 All men are agreed to call vinegar sour, honey sweet, and aloes bitter.
1868 A. Bain Mental & Moral Sci. i. ii. 38 Taste proper comprehends sweet and bitter tastes..The acrid combines the fiery with the bitter.
1884 Cornhill Mag. 628 Bitter things in nature..are almost invariably poisonous.
b. fig. Unpalatable to the mind; unpleasant and hard to ‘swallow’ or admit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > [adjective] > unpleasant
loatha700
unsweetc890
grimlyc893
unquemeOE
un-i-quemeOE
evila1131
sourc1175
illc1220
unhightlyc1275
unwelcomec1325
unblithec1330
unnetc1330
unrekena1350
unagreeablec1374
uncouthc1380
unsavouryc1380
displeasantc1386
unlikinga1398
ungaina1400
crabbedc1400
unlovelyc1400
displeasing1401
eschewc1420
unsoot1420
mislikinga1425
unlikelya1425
unlustya1425
fastidiousc1425
unpleasantc1430
displicable1471
unthankfulc1475
displeasant1481
uneasy1483
unpleasinga1500
unfaring1513
badc1530
malpleasant?1533
noisome1542
thanklessa1547
ungrate1548
untoothsome1548
ungreeable1550
contrary1561
disagreeable1570
offensible1575
offensive1576
naughty1578
delightlessa1586
undelightful1585
unwisheda1586
unpleasurable1587
undelightsomec1595
dislikeful1596
disliking1596
ungrateful1596
unsweet?a1600
distastive1600
impleasing1602
distasting1603
distasteful1607
unsightly1608
undelectable1610
disgustful1611
unrelishing1611
waspisha1616
undeliciousa1618
unwished-for1617
disrelishing1631
unenjoyed1643
unjoyous1645
mirya1652
unwelcomed1651
unpleasivea1656
sweet1656
injucund1657
insuave1657
unpalatable1658
unhandsome1660
undesirable1667
disrelishablea1670
uncouthsome1684
shocking1703
nasty1705
embittering1746
indelectable1751
undelightinga1774
nice and ——1796
unenjoyablea1797
ungenial1796
uncomplacent1805
ungracious1807
bitter1810
rotten1813
uncongenial1813
quarrelsome1825
grimy1833
nice1836
unrelished1863
bloody1867
unbewitching1876
ferocious1877
displeasurable1879
rebarbative1892
charming1893
crook1898
naar1900
peppery1901
negative1902
poisonous1906
off-putting1935
unsympathetic1937
piggy1942
funky1946
umpty1948
pooey1967
minging1970
Scrooge-like1976
sucky1984
stank1991
stanky1991
1810 S. T. Coleridge Friend (1865) 166 Some bitter truths, respecting our military arrangements.
c. bitter lake n. = salt lake n.; spec. as the name of certain lakes in Egypt; (see also quot. 1882).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > [noun] > other types
pene-lake1668
salina1697
slough1714
salt lake1763
bayou1766
lagoon1769
cut-off1773
prairie1820
maar1826
boating lake1834
serpentine1837
soda lake1839
bitter lake1843
stream-lake1867
shott1878
crater-lake1879
playa1885
oxbow lake1887
kettle-hole lake1902
mortlake1902
oxbow1902
seepage lake1934
paternoster lake1942
soda pan1976
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > salt or soda lake
salinec1450
salt-pan1494
pan1573
salt-wich1610
salina1697
salt-pond1697
salt lake1763
natron lake1821
soda lake1839
bitter lake1843
shott1878
soda pan1976
1843 E. Clarkson Suez Navigable Canal 7 The Bitter Lakes would fill up at any time from the Red Sea.
1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. iii. ii. 395 Saline lakes, considered chemically, may be grouped as salt lakes, where the chief constituents are sodium and magnesium chlorides with magnesium and calcium sulphates: and bitter lakes, which usually are distinguished by their large percentage of sodium carbonate as well as chloride and sulphate.
1957 Encycl. Brit. XXI. 517/2 Finally in the summer of 1869 the waters of the Mediterranean and the Red Sea were united [by the Suez Canal] in the Bitter lakes.
d. bitter pepper: Xanthoxylon Daniellii of China ( Treas. Bot.).
2. transf.
a. Of anything that has to be ‘tasted’ or endured: Attended by severe pain or suffering; sore to be borne; grievous, painful, full of affliction.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [adjective] > bitter to the heart or mind
bitter971
attery?c1225
bitingc1374
salt1513
bitterful?1526
wormwood1594
brinisha1617
971 Blickl. Hom. 229 Þu me ne syle on þone biterestan deað.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4829 Her heo sculeð ibiden. bitterest [c1300 Otho biterest] alre baluwen.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Trin. Cambr.) l. 4827 For bittur hongur þat is bifalle.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy vi. 2502 Soche bargens are bytter þat hafe a bare end.
1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil First Foure Bookes Æneis ii. 40 Soom Greeks shal find yt bitter, before al we be slaghtred.
1828 Scott Fair Maid of Perth iii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. III. 59 The time of separation now approached. It was a bitter moment.
1839 C. Thirlwall Hist. Greece VII. 285 For Eurydice she still reserved what she thought a bitterer death.
1850 Tennyson In Memoriam vi. 6 That loss is common would not make My own less bitter, rather more. View more context for this quotation
b. to the bitter end: to the last and direst extremity; to death itself. So commonly used: but the history is doubtful: see bitter n.3 Cf. Bible: Prov. v. 4.
ΚΠ
1849 Congress. Globe 12 Dec. 23, I am unfortunately among those who voted for the gentleman from Indiana, even ‘to the bitter end’.
1850 Congress. Globe 9 Apr. App. 434 Our defence is a just one, and will be maintained by us to the ‘bitter end’.
1921 L. Strachey Queen Victoria vi. 210 He would go on, working to the utmost and striving for the highest, to the bitter end.
1955 G. Greene Loser takes All i. ix. 62 A wife ought to believe in her husband to the bitter end.
3. † b. ‘Sour,’ morose, peevish. Obs.
a. Hence, of a state: Intensely grievous or full of affliction; mournful; pitiable.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [adjective]
out-sharpinga1382
bitterc1485
c1485 Digby Myst. iii. 997 Thys sorow is beytterar þan ony galle.
1594 Shakespeare Titus Andronicus v. iii. 88 Nor can I vtter all our bitter greefe. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Job iii. 20 Wherefore is light giuen to him that is in misery, and life vnto the bitter in soule? View more context for this quotation
1815 Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone ii. 31 Concealing In solitude her bitter feeling.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > anger > irascibility > ill-naturedness > sourness or bitterness of temper > [adjective]
bitter?c1225
sour?c1225
envenomedc1375
envenomousa1420
crabbed1565
gallish1595
verjuice1598
vinegar-tart1599
soury1647
acrid1681
acrious1682
sourish1688
embittered1694
subacid1760
verjuiced1836
acidulent1837
vinaigrous1837
vinegar1847
vinegary1847
soured1848
acerbic1853
acidulous1865
acerbate1869
acerbitous1870
snake-headed1920
sour-pussed1952
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 94 Aȝein bittere ancres dauid seið þis fers.
4. Expressing or betokening intense grief, misery, or affliction of spirit.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [adjective] > expressing or betokening bitterness
sorec1200
bitterc1230
sadc1400
c1230 Hali Meid. 43 Marie Magdalene wið bittre wopes bireowseð hare gultes.
c1330 Arth. & Merl. 1018 His moder..swithe bitter ters lete.
1611 Bible (King James) Gen. xxvii. 34 Esau..cried with a great and exceeding bitter cry. View more context for this quotation
1650 R. Stapleton tr. F. Strada De Bello Belgico ii. 29 No complaints were bitterer then the Abbots and Monks.
1853 C. Kingsley Hypatia I. iv. 75 Bursting into bitter tears.
1884 (title) ‘The Bitter Cry of Outcast London.’
a. Causing pain or suffering; injurious, baleful, cruel, severe. Obs.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > savagery > [adjective]
grimlyc893
retheeOE
grim971
bitterOE
bremec1175
grillc1175
grimfula1240
cruel1297
sturdy1297
fiercea1300
fellc1300
boistousa1387
felonousc1386
savagea1393
bestiala1398
bremelya1400
felona1400
hetera1400
cursedc1400
wicked14..
vengeablec1430
wolvishc1430
unnatural?1473
inhuman1481
brutisha1513
cruent1524
felonish1530
mannish1530
abominate1531
lionish1549
boarish?1550
truculent?c1550
unhumanc1550
lion-like1556
beastly1558
orped1567
raw?1573
tigerish?1573
unmanlike1579
boisterous1581
savaged1583
tiger-like1587
yond1590
truculental1593
savage wild1595
tigerous1597
inhumane1598
Neronian1598
immane1599
Phalarical1602
ungentle1603
feral1604
savagious1605
fierceful1607
Dionysian1608
wolvy1611
Hunnish1625
lionly1631
tigerly1633
savage-hearted1639
brutal1641
feroce1641
ferocious1646
asperous1650
ferousa1652
wolfish1674
tiger1763
savage-fierce1770
Tartar1809
Tartarly1821
Neroic1851
tigery1859
Neronic1864
unmannish1867
inhumanitarian1947
the world > action or operation > manner of action > violent action or operation > severity > [adjective]
heavyc825
grimc900
strongeOE
hardeOE
drearyOE
eileOE
sweerOE
deara1000
bitterOE
tartc1000
smartOE
unridec1175
sharp?c1225
straitc1275
grievousc1290
fellc1330
shrewda1387
snella1400
unsterna1400
vilea1400
importunea1425
ungainc1425
thrallc1430
peisant1483
sore?a1513
weighty1540
heinous?1541
urgent?1542
asperous?1567
dure1567
spiny1586
searching1590
hoara1600
vengible1601
flinty1613
tugging1642
atrocious1733
uncannya1774
severe1774
stern1830
punishing1833
hefty1867
solid1916
OE Beowulf 2692 Fyrdraca..heals ealne ymbefeng biteran bánum.
a1225 St. Marher. 11 Þet balefulle wurm ant þet bittre best.
a1300 Cursor Mundi 697 Þe nedder was noght bitter.
1330 R. Mannyng Chron. 35 He tok bittere Estrild, dukes douhter Orgare.
a1616 Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) iv. ii. 79 It is a bitter Deputie. View more context for this quotation
1630 R. Norton tr. W. Camden Hist. Princesse Elizabeth ii. 72 The gouernement of the French was bitter.
b. of instruments of torture.
ΚΠ
a1225 Juliana 17 Ibeaten wið bittere besmen.
1598 Shakespeare Henry IV, Pt. 1 i. i. 27 Naild, For our aduantage on the bitter crosse. View more context for this quotation
6.
a. Characterized by intense animosity or virulence of feeling or action; virulent.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > harmfulness > bitterness > [adjective]
bitter971
festereda1398
sourc1450
rancorous1566
infestered1570
amarulent1583
stomachous1590
enfested1591
fellifluous1656
vitriolic1841
971 Blickl. Hom. 25 Onbærnde mid þære biteran æfeste.
1377 Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 64 For a bitter bataille..Lyf and deth in þis derknesse her one fordoth her other.
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) James iii. 14 If ȝe han bittir zeel, or enuy, and striuynges ben in ȝoure hertis.
1655 T. Fuller Church-hist. Brit. iii. 44 No medium betwixt not loving and bitter hating.
1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Hist. Jewish Wars ii. iii. §1 in tr. Josephus Genuine Wks. Sabinus..made a bitter search after the kings money.
1838 Macaulay in G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay (1876) I. vii. 9 In politics a bitter partisan.
1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. 446 The bitter animosity of James.
b. Const. to, against.
ΚΠ
1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) Coloss. iii. 19 Men, loue ȝe ȝoure wyues, and nyle ȝe be bitter to hem [1611 against them].
1609 Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iv. i. 69 You are too bitter to your country-woman. View more context for this quotation
1833 H. Martineau Tale of Tyne i. 20 She had..been bitter against them.
7. Of words (or the person who utters them): Stinging, cutting, harsh, keenly or cruelly reproachful, virulent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > unkindness > bitterness > [adjective]
bitterc1175
stomaching1579
amarulent1583
stomachous1590
gall-ful1596
gall-wet1597
virulent1607
stomachful1610
rancorousa1616
gallsome1633
bitter-hearted1775
vitriolic1841
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > disapproval > reproach > [adjective] > bitterly
bitterc1175
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 95 He ne remde ne of bitere speche nes.
?c1200 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 9786 Fulle off bitterr spæche.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie i. xi. 20 To taxe the common abuses and vice of the people in rough and bitter speaches.
1608 Shakespeare King Lear iv. 131 A bitter foole. View more context for this quotation
1611 Bible (King James) Job xiii. 26 For thou writest bitter things against mee. View more context for this quotation
a1616 Shakespeare As you like It (1623) iii. v. 70 As fast as she answeres thee with frowning lookes, ile sauce her with bitter words. View more context for this quotation
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 433. ¶6 They would reproach a Man in the most bitter Terms.
1828 T. Carlyle in Foreign Rev. 1 442 Faust is no longer the same bitter and tempestuous man.
8. Of wind, cold, etc.: Sharp, keen, cutting, severe; hence of the weather: Bitingly cold.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adjective] > sharp or bitter
fellc1330
snithinga1350
sharpc1435
hoar?a1500
sneaping1598
shrewd1603
bittera1616
snithe1671
cutting1798
stingy1823
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > [adjective] > very intensely cold > nipping or piercing
snippinga1400
piercingc1425
sharpc1435
nipping1563
sneaping1598
eager1603
bittera1616
huncha1825
a1616 Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 185 Freize, freize, thou bitter skie. View more context for this quotation
1667 R. Boyle Origine Formes & Qualities (ed. 2) The Night proving very bitter..I found the Glasse crack'd..by the violence of the Frost.
1697 Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 110 To fend the bitter Cold. View more context for this quotation
1796 J. Morse Amer. Universal Geogr. (new ed.) II. 308 The frosts are consequently bitter in winter.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. v. ii. 295 A cold bitter drizzling rain.
1875 M. Pattison I. Casaubon 255 He caught his death in the boat on a bitter Palm Sunday.
B. n.1
1.
a. That which is bitter; bitterness. lit. and fig.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > taste and flavour > sourness or acidity > [noun] > bitterness or acridity > bitter substance
bitterOE
austere1684
bittern1775
gall-drop1796
absinth1843
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [noun] > that which is bitter
bitterOE
bitternessa1382
sourc1400
OE Cynewulf Elene 1244 Ic wæs weorcum fah, synnum asæled, sorgum gewæled, bitrum gebunden.
a1240 Lofsong in Lamb. Hom. 215 Euer bið ðet swete abouht mid twofold of bittre.
c1390 (a1376) Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. v. 99 Þat al my breste Bolleþ for bitter of my galle.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xxi. 128 A little bitter mingled in our Cup, leaves no relish of the sweet.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. iii. vi. 192 Surfeited with the Sweets of Marriage, or disgusted by its Bitters . View more context for this quotation
1832 Tennyson Dream Fair Women lxxix, in Poems (new ed.) 142 All words,..Failing to give the bitter of the sweet.
b. A bitter part.
ΚΠ
1860 O. W. Holmes Professor at Breakfast-table iv. 104 When you can get the bitter out of the partridge's thigh, you can make an enlightened commonwealth of Indians.
2. A bitter medicinal substance: now usually in pl. bitters n., q.v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > [noun] > a medicine or medicament > bitter medicine
bitter1711
bitters1713
1711 Swift Lett. (1767) III. 101, I still drink Dr. Radcliffe's bitter.
1711 W. King et al. Vindic. Sacheverell 63 He..may..be provok'd to mix a little Bitter with his Wine.
1887 N.E.D. at Bitter, Mod. Camomile yields a useful bitter.
3. (A glass of) bitter beer. colloq.
ΚΠ
1857 ‘C. Bede’ Mr. Verdant Green Married x. 78 Mr. Verdant Green and Mr. Bouncer..turned into the coffee-room of ‘The Mitre’ to ‘do bitters’, as Mr. Bouncer phrased the act of drinking bitter beer.
1863 Trollope Rachel Ray I. iii. 41 Going into Parliament..just as they pleased, like the modern heroes of the bitter cask.
1864 J. C. Hotten Slang Dict. (new ed.) 75 ‘To do bitters’, to drink beer.—Oxford.
1874 Hotten's Slang Dict. (rev. ed.) 84 ‘To do a bitter’, to drink beer.—Originally Oxford, but now general.
1894 G. Moore Esther Waters xxx. 236 A dozen pots of beer..and a few glasses of bitter.
1896 H. G. Wells Wheels of Chance ix, Every public-house..meant a lemonade and a dash of bitter.
1896 H. G. Wells Wheels of Chance xviii, A lemonade and bitter, please.
1901 Westm. Gaz. 8 June 6/3 A bitter having been brought, he quaffed it to his second's health.
1942 Penguin New Writing 14 133 The barmaid..replied there was nothing left but bitter and old-and-mild.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online December 2016).
bitterv.
/ˈbɪtə/, /-(ə)rə/, /-(ə)rᵻst/, U.S. /ˈbɪdər/ΚΠ
897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care 425 Ðætte us biterige sio hreowsung.
2. trans. To make bitter; fig. to embitter (obs.).
ΚΠ
c1175 Lamb. Hom. 23 A lutel ater bitteret [h] muchele swete.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 229 Four þingesȝef mon þencheð..Maȝen maken him to soreȝen. & bittren his heorte.
a1620 M. Fotherby Atheomastix (1622) i. xii. §5. 132 Men in sad taking, bitter'd with affliction.
1622 H. Sydenham Serm. (1637) 309 Shall I bitter vertue, & sweeten vice?
1713 W. Ellis London & Country Brewer (1742) i. 7 Such hasty Dryings, or Scorchings, are also apt to bitter the Malt.
1815 Encycl. Brit. IV. 131 This plant [Bog-bean] is used in the north of Europe to bitter the ale.
1911 J. C. Lincoln Cap'n Warren's Wards xv. 245, I managed to come out of it without lettin' it bitter my whole life.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2016).
bitteradv.
/ˈbɪtə/, /-(ə)rə/, /-(ə)rᵻst/, U.S. /ˈbɪdər/ = bitterly adv.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [adverb] > in manner attended with bitter suffering
bitter971
bitterlyc1000
bitinglyc1374
atterlichec1400
grillc1400
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > cold weather > [adverb] > bitterly
bitter1604
piercingly1834
nippingly1890
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > coldness > [adverb] > in a nipping or piercing manner (of cold)
eagerly1603
bitter1604
nipping1795
piercingly1834
nippingly1890
the mind > emotion > suffering > mental anguish or torment > bitterness of heart > [adverb]
bitterlyc1000
savouringly1647
bitter1824
971 Blickl. Hom. 195 Hit weorþeþ þe swiþe bitere forgolden.
?a1325 in W. Heuser Kildare-Gedichte (1904) 93 Þou salt hit rew bitter and sore.
1393 Langland Piers Plowman C. xvii. 220 The biterour he shal a-bygge bote yf he [wel] worche.
1604 Shakespeare Hamlet i. i. 6 Tis bitter cold, And I am sick at hart. View more context for this quotation
1707 C. Cibber Double Gallant (ed. 2) i. 7 My Lady is bitter Young and Gamesome.
1824 T. Campbell Wounded Hussar How bitter she wept o'er the victim of war!
1886 R. L. Stevenson Strange Case Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde 73 [A butler says] ‘This drug is wanted bitter bad, sir.’
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1887; most recently modified version published online June 2016).
> see also
also refers to : bitter-comb. form
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n.2c1467n.31627adj.n.1971v.897adv.971see also