sieven.
/sɪv/, U.S. /sɪv/, /siv/ 1.
a. A utensil consisting of a circular frame with a finely meshed or perforated bottom, used to separate the coarser from the finer particles of any loose material, or as a strainer for liquids.In agricultural and similar work a sieve is usually distinguished from a riddle by having finer meshes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > sifting > [noun] > sieve
sievec725
riddereOE
hair-sievea1100
riddlelOE
sift1499
try?a1500
searcer1540
range-sieve1542
ranging sieve1548
cribble1565
cribe1570
screen1573
sifter1611
scryc1615
clensieve1623
cernicle1657
incernicle1657
ranch-sievea1665
duster1667
drum1702
fry1707
harp1788
lawn-sieve1804
trial1825
separator1830
lawn1853
shaker1906
chinois1937
microscreen1959
α.
β. c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 1946 A siue he fond tite And bond vnder his fete.c1340 Nominale (Skeat) 529 Fan, berelep, and syue.a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. xxvii. 5 As in the smyting of a cyue shal abide stille pouder.c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 78/2 Cyve for corne clansynge, cribrum, cribellum. Cyve, for mele, furfuraculum.1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 205 Cyve to syfte with, crible.1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iv. f. 184 You must straine the Wax through a Siue, or such like thing.1642 T. Fuller Holy State ii. xxi. 136 Here they had great plenty of rain, poured (not as in other places, as it were out of sives, but) as out of spouts.1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot Trav. into Levant i. 95 The dust..sticks to the faces of those that handle the Sive.γ. c1340 Nominale (Skeat) 138 W[oman] weruth seue and riddell.1357–8 in F. R. Chapman Sacrist Rolls Ely (1907) II. 181 In ij seves et j redel emptis.c1400 Lanfranc's Cirurg. 219 Boile it longe in watir, & þanne cole it þoruȝ a seue.c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 32 Take a seve or a whete-rydoun.1577 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories N. Counties Eng. (1835) I. 422 Five ryddells and seaves to wynnowe corne, xd.1594 H. Plat Diuers Chimicall Concl. Distillation 33 in Jewell House If you would keep your rose cakes without worms, you must..set them in ceeues.a1653 Z. Boyd Zion's Flowers (1855) 136 Our memory is like a seave.1683 J. Pettus tr. L. Ercker i. 19 in Fleta Minor i Take Ashes burnt from any light Wood..and put them into a Seeve.δ. a1591 H. Smith Serm. (1592) 665 Like sieues which hold water no longer than they are in the Riuer.1700 Moxon's Mech. Exercises: Bricklayers-wks. 14 Sieves..to sift the Lime and Sand withal.1769 E. Raffald Experienced Eng. House-keeper vii. 172 When it boils strain it thro' a fine Sieve.1846 W. Greener Sci. Gunnery (new ed.) 30 The discs..striking against the sides of the sieves, force it through the apertures.1869 J. Phillips Vesuvius iv. 113 The upper part of the cone was perforated like a sieve.c725 Corpus Gloss. C 873 Crebrum, sibi.
9.. in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 215 Crebrum, cribellum, sife.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 94 Asift þurh sife, meng wiþ hunige.
1396–7 in J. T. Fowler Extracts Acct. Rolls Abbey of Durham (1898) I. 214 1 syffe.
c1430 Two Cookery-bks. 20 Take Appelys an sethe hem, an Serge hem þorwe a Sefe in-to a potte.
1483 Cath. Angl. 339/1 A Syfe, crybrum.
1508 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1902) IV. 110 For ane siff to sift gunpowdir, ij s.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 270/1 Syfe to cyfte corne in, crible.
1595 A. Duncan Appendix Etymologiae: Index in Latinae Grammaticae Excerniculum, a sife, or boulte claith.
b. In phrases denoting something that cannot be done, or that is waste of labour.
ΚΠ
1390 J. Gower Confessio Amantis I. 294 For as a Sive kepeth Ale, Riht so can Cheste kepe a tale.
1477 T. Norton Ordinall of Alchimy i, in E. Ashmole Theatrum Chem. Britannicum (1652) 17 As he that fetcheth Water in a Sive.
c1530 A. Barclay Egloges i. sig. Fij Suche thynges..To the be as sure, as watter in a syue.
1589 R. Greene Menaphon sig. E3v Suppose she were a Vestall,..shee might carrie water with Amulia in a siue.
1616 S. Hieron Dignitie of Preaching (new ed.) in Wks. (1620) I. 586 That which is said in the prouerb, where one doth milke a goate, another holds vnder a siue.
1686 A. Horneck Crucified Jesus xxii. 741 That's no better, than taking up water in a sieve, which runs out as fast as it is put in.
1813 E. Picken Misc. Poems II. 135 That wad been milkin' his cow in a sieve.
c. figurative. Of things.
ΚΠ
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads v. 511 Then stirring th' idle siue of newe, did all their forces aske.
1643 J. Caryl Nature Sacred Covenant 4 The Articles passe them through a finer Sieve.
1647 T. May Hist. Parl. i. vii. 73 Those inventions were but sives, made of purpose to winnow the best men.
1889 F. E. Gretton Memory's Harkback 218 All that, as they thought, was past and gone with their ordination..; they had passed through the Bishop's sieve.
1896 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. I. 927 The infection was, so to speak, caught on the sieve—that is to say, the infected ships gave rise to cases of plague within the quarantine station.
d. figurative. Of persons; esp. one who cannot keep a secret.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > manifestation > disclosure or revelation > [noun] > one who or that which discloses or reveals > secrets
labc1405
blabber1557
telltale1595
divulger1606
sievea1616
confider1648
betrayer1738
blabbermouth1936
a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) i. iii. 198 Yet in this captious, and intemible Siue. I still poure in the waters of my loue.
a1644 F. Quarles Shepheards Oracles (1646) vi Here's none but wee, I am no Sive? I prithee, Swain, be free.
1671 J. Dryden Evening's Love i. i. 6 As you are a Waiting-woman: as you are the Sieve of all your Ladies Secrets tell it me.
1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub vii. 143 Those judicious Collectors..by some called the Sieves and Boulters of Learning.
1811 Ld. Byron Hints from Horace 734 (note) The sieve of a patron let it out.
2.
a. As used by witches for sailing in.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the supernatural > the occult > sorcery, witchcraft, or magic > sorcerer or magician > witch > [noun] > apparatus used by
sievea1585
witch cake1810
a1585 A. Montgomerie Flyting with Polwart 461 Nicneuen..to teach it gart take it To saill sure in a seiffe, but compass or cart.
1615 T. Overbury et al. New & Choise Characters with Wife (6th impr.) sig. I8 Like a witch in a siue[1616 (7th impr.) sieue; 1627 (12th impr.) sciue].
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) i. iii. 7 But in a Syue Ile thither sayle. View more context for this quotation
1820 J. Keats Eve of St. Agnes in Lamia & Other Poems 90 Thou must hold water in a witch's sieve.
1830 W. Scott Lett. Demonol. & Witchcraft ix. 312 Another frolic they had, when, like the weird sisters in Macbeth, they embarked in sieves.
b. As used for purposes of divination. Commonly sieve and shears. Cf. riddle n.2 Phrases 1.
ΚΠ
1596 T. Lodge Wits Miserie 18 If he loose any thing, he hath readie a siue and a key.
1602 in Goudie Diary J. Mill 185 To quite hir selff..for the turning of ane siff and riddill for ane pair scheiris.
1632 T. Randolph Jealous Lovers i. x. 15 A man cannot finde out their meaning without the sieve, and sheers.
1692 E. Walker tr. Epictetus Enchiridion xxxviii Questions which by Sieve and Sheers are try'd.
1843 E. Bulwer-Lytton Last of Barons I. i. v. 97 Thinkest thou..I can read thee all riddles without my sieve and my shears?
3. Used as a measure, or for holding anything. Also, a kind of basket used chiefly for market produce.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > [noun] > for grain, market produce, etc.
sievea1440
the world > relative properties > measurement > the scientific measurement of volume > measure(s) of capacity > [noun] > dry measure > specific dry measure units > sieve as unit
sievea1440
the world > food and drink > food > container for food > [noun] > basket > for fruit or vegetables
fraila1382
top1440
tapnet1524
fig-frail1608
flat1640
raisin frail1669
chip basket1758
pottle1771
sievea1800
punnet1822
trug1836
bodge1876
molly1883
handle1900
a1440 Bk. Found. St. Bartholomew's (1923) 26 Sche answerd that she hadde but oonly .vii. Ceves ful of malte.
1464 in Manners & Househ. Expenses Eng. (1841) 272 Payd for di. a tymbre and iij. scyvys of letuse, iiij. s.
1556 in J. Raine Wills & Inventories Archdeaconry Richmond (1853) 92 Item xx mettes of barle sawne oppon the ground... Item xxvj seves of ottes sowin.
1636 W. Davenant Witts i. sig. B2 Apple-wives That wrangle for a Sive!
a1800 G. Steevens Note on Troilus & Cressida ii. ii, in Plays W. Shakspeare (1803) XV. 304 Sieves and half-sieves are baskets to be met with in every quarter of Covent-garden market.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. II. 587 In other parts the early gatherings are..sent to the markets in half-bushel sieves.
1887 W. D. Parish & W. F. Shaw Dict. Kentish Dial. 149 In West Kent, sieve and half-sieve are equivalent to bushel and half-bushel.
4. In calico-printing: (see quots.).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > surface and planographic printing > other surface-printing > [noun] > textiles > equipment
rolling press1675
cylinder1764
surface roller1815
colour plate1819
colour pan1834
hand block1835
sieve1839
toby tub1842
wheelbarrow-machine1856
tension-rail1890
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > treating or processing textile fabric > [noun] > printing > calico printing > other equipment
colour doctor1839
mill1839
sieve1839
colour roller1890
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 215 The colouring matter..is spread..upon fine woollen cloth, stretched in a frame over the wax cloth head of a wooden drum or sieve.
1879 Cassell's Techn. Educator (new ed.) I. 197/2 The mordant..is applied to the block by pressing the latter upon what is termed a ‘sieve’ (a box covered with woollen cloth).
5. Mathematics.
a. In full sieve of Eratosthenes [translating Greek κόσκινον Ἐρατοσθένους, < the name of the Greek scientific writer of the 3rd cent. b.c. who devised it] . A method of finding the prime numbers in a (usually consecutive) list of numbers by deleting in turn all the multiples of all possible prime factors.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > process of calculating > method or rule for
rulea1387
canonc1400
backer1543
position1551
rule of falsehood1552
rule of three1562
method of exhaustions1685
sieve1803
sieve of Eratosthenes1803
algorithm1811
algorism1888
sieve1897
decision procedure1936
pivotal condensation1939
decision method1940
1803 J. Bonnycastle tr. C. Bossut Gen. Hist. Math. 18 The famous sieve of Eratosthenes..affords an easy and commodious method of finding prime numbers.
1857 Proc. Ashmolean Soc. 3 128 To Eratosthenes of Alexandria..is attributed the invention of the method by which the primes may successively be determined in order of magnitude. It is termed..‘the sieve of Eratosthenes’.
1945 E. T. Bell Devel. Math. (ed. 2) iv. 89 Boethius reproduced the sieve of Eratosthenes and offered some amusing trifles on figurate numbers.
1966 C. S. Ogilvy & J. T. Anderson Excursions Number Theory viii. 97 There is no known formula that turns out the prime numbers. Essentially the only way to find them is by the use of the ‘sieve’ devised by Eratosthenes.
b. A method of estimating or finding upper and lower limits for the number of primes, or of numbers not having factors within a stated set, that fall within a stated interval.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematics > [noun] > mathematical enquiry > process of calculating > method or rule for
rulea1387
canonc1400
backer1543
position1551
rule of falsehood1552
rule of three1562
method of exhaustions1685
sieve1803
sieve of Eratosthenes1803
algorithm1811
algorism1888
sieve1897
decision procedure1936
pivotal condensation1939
decision method1940
1897 Nature 6 May 10/2 (heading) Sieve for primes.
1952 Proc. Internat. Congr. Mathematicians I. 286 Ever since Viggo Brun introduced his ingenious sieve-method, it has been a very important tool in connection with problems in the theory of primes.
1972 M. N. Huxley (title) The distribution of prime numbers: large sieves and zero-density theorems.
Phrases
ΚΠ
?1507 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 90 We weir als sib as seue and riddill.
1678 J. Ray Coll. Eng. Prov. (ed. 2) 289 As much sib'd as sieve and ridder, that grew in the same wood together.
Compounds
C1. General attributive, as sieve-basket, sieve-bottom, sieve-cloth, sieve-drum, sieve-fashion, sieve-frame; sieve-witted adj.
ΚΠ
1598 G. Chapman in tr. Homer Seauen Bks. Iliades Ded. sig. A 4v Our siue-witted censors, through whose braines all thinges exact and refinde, run to the earth in heapes.
1604 N. F. Fruiterers Secrets 4 They poure them out gently into their siues, or broad baskets made siue-fashion.
1686 S. Sewall Letter-bk. 33 Six doz. of Lawn sive Bottoms.
1714 in Essex Inst. Hist. Coll. (1907) XLIII. 225 Sieve Bottoms.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 215 The inverted sieve drum should fit the paste tub pretty closely.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 216 The printer seizes the block..and daubs it twice..upon the sieve cloth.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 332 The sieve-frame..is 28 inches in length and 5 inches in depth.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Sieve-bottoms, attachments for the frame of a sieve made of horse~hair or wire, etc.
1893 K. Sanborn Truthful Woman S. Calif. 140 They..placed acorns in a sieve basket.
C2. Special combinations.† sieve-alphabet n. Obsolete (see quot.).† sieve-bone n. Obsolete (see quot. 1594).† sieve prophet n. Obsolete (see 2b). † sieve-stone n. Obsolete a species of tufa.
ΚΠ
1663 Marquis of Worcester Cent. Names & Scantlings Inventions Index p. iv A Sieve-alphabet [§34 To write..by holes in the bottom of a Sieve].
sieve analysis n. a particle-size analysis of a powdered or granular material made by passing it through sieves of increasing fineness.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > manufacturing processes > [noun] > processing > other processes
ripping1463
intinction1559
sweat1573
inceration1612
rasion1617
lixiviation1664
scribing1679
beating1687
bushing1794
refinishing1842
grading1852
conditioning1858
ripening1860
scutching1861
retreatment1867
chamber process1869
installation1882
tanking1891
fobbing1898
steam curing1907
sieve analysis1928
mulling1931
linishing1945
1928 C. C. Wiley Princ. Highway Engin. ii. 25 Gravel should be well graded from fine to coarse. This is determined by a sieve analysis. The sieve analysis curve for a high-grade gravel should approximate a straight line.
1971 R. Hardbottle tr. P. Grassman Physical Princ. Chem. Engin. v. 302 Sieve analysis, in which the grains are passed in succession through sieves of various finenesses, gives directly a cumulative curve, in which..the masses or weights of the different fractions are given.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > bone or bones > skull > parts of skull > [noun] > bones of nose
sieve-bone1594
ethmoid bone1657
labyrinth1678
vomer1704
ethmoid1732
turbinal1848
ethmoturbinal1853
mesethmoid1870
turbinate1873
mid-ethmoid1884
1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. II. 123 A little bone in the top of the nose, which is pierced through like to a litle siue. Hereupon it is called by the Phisicions the siue-bone.
sieve lackey n. a species of moth.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > unspecified and miscellaneous types > miscellaneous types
high-flyer?1749
nonpareil1749
porphyry1819
satin carpet1819
satin pygmy1828
scopolian1829
chalk carpet1832
sieve lackey1832
sprawler1832
tissue1832
treble bar1832
treble gold stripe1832
vesper-beauty1832
viburnian1832
yellowhead1832
flame carpet1862
sting-moth1863
lilac moth1868
luna-moth1869
melon-caterpillar1884
wood-nymph1885
unicorn-moth1891
geometer moth1897
the suspected1908
porina1929
tomato pinworm1931
mopane worm1966
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 46 The Sieve Lackey (Eulepia Cribrum) appears in June.
sieve map n. a map upon which the distribution of a number of features is depicted by means of transparent overlays.
ΚΠ
1938 E. G. R. Taylor in Geogr. Jrnl. XCII. 25 The last map..is constructed on what I have termed the sieve method.]
1952 F. J. Monkhouse & H. R. Wilkinson Maps & Diagrams iv. 190 E. G. R. Taylor produced a map upon which all areas in Great Britain unsuitable for industrial location were indicated in solid black. These areas were determined by superimposing isopleths representing certain specific factors... This process was termed ‘sieving out’ and the resultant maps are sometimes referred to as ‘sieve-maps’.
1965 Listener 27 May 774/2 When to these were added those areas of real natural beauty within the conurbation..and areas of the highest agricultural value..the result (which we called the regional sieve map) was an exceedingly complex jig-saw puzzle.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > foresight, foreknowledge > prediction, foretelling > divination by specific objects > [noun] > sieve > one who practises
sieve prophet1663
1663 J. Mayne tr. Lucian Part of Lucian sig. S2 If but a Sive-prophet appear among them,..they presently flock together, and gape at him.
sieve-raggings n. (see ragging n.3 2a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > stone > [noun] > porous stone
sieve-stone1681
siliquastre1708
tufa1777
sucked stone1778
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis iii. i. v. 305 The Seive-Stone. Lapis Cribriformis.
C3. In botanical terms having reference to sieve-like openings in the walls or ends of plant-cells.
sieve-cell n.
ΚΠ
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 23 The Sieve-structure which occurs in the sieve-cells of the fibro-vascular bundles of vascular plants.
Categories »
sieve disk n.
sieve-pore n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > cell > parts of cell > cell wall and parts
septum1720
pit1839
sieve-plate1875
sieve-pore1875
sieve-tube1875
anticlinal1882
periclinal1882
sieve-vessel1882
pit cavity1884
pit membrane1884
middle lamella1887
torus1887
tonoplast1895
pit canal1911
pit chamber1917
pit aperture1918
pit pair1933
pit field1934
margo1965
sieve-tissue-
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 24 The opening of the sieve-pores has not yet begun.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
sieve-tissue n.
sieve-tube n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > cell > parts of cell > cell wall and parts
septum1720
pit1839
sieve-plate1875
sieve-pore1875
sieve-tube1875
anticlinal1882
periclinal1882
sieve-vessel1882
pit cavity1884
pit membrane1884
middle lamella1887
torus1887
tonoplast1895
pit canal1911
pit chamber1917
pit aperture1918
pit pair1933
pit field1934
margo1965
sieve-tissue-
1875 A. W. Bennett & W. T. T. Dyer tr. J. von Sachs Text-bk. Bot. 101 The latticed cells or sieve-tubes frequently have sieve- or latticed discs in their longitudinal walls.
sieve-vessel n. see sieve-plate n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > cell or aggregate tissue > [noun] > cell > parts of cell > cell wall and parts
septum1720
pit1839
sieve-plate1875
sieve-pore1875
sieve-tube1875
anticlinal1882
periclinal1882
sieve-vessel1882
pit cavity1884
pit membrane1884
middle lamella1887
torus1887
tonoplast1895
pit canal1911
pit chamber1917
pit aperture1918
pit pair1933
pit field1934
margo1965
sieve-tissue-
1882 R. Bentley Man. Bot. (ed. 4) i. ii. 52 What are commonly known as sieve-tubes or sieve-vessels.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
sievev.
/sɪv/, U.S. /sɪv/, /siv/ 1.
a. transitive. To pass through a sieve; to sift or strain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > sifting > sift [verb (transitive)]
try1382
searcec1400
garble1419
riddle1440
sieve1499
cribble1558
cribe1570
sift1591
succernate1623
cribrate1627
percribrate1652
screen1657
ridder1743
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > preparation for table or cooking > general preparation processes > perform general preparation processes [verb (transitive)] > strain or sift
siftc725
strainc1386
drawa1425
sieve1499
tammy1903
rice1904
1499 [see sieving n. at Derivatives].
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 719/2 You can never make so fyne floure whan you do but syve your meale, as you shall do whan you boulte it.
1552 R. Huloet Abcedarium Anglico Latinum Bult, raunge, or syeue meale, succerno.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 442 Sieving milk through a syle.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm III. 909 A strong brine of salt and boiling-water..is made and sieved through a cloth.
1885 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 225/2 The fibres of wood..are then sieved according to fineness, collected, and pressed into pulp.
b. To take out by sifting. In quots. figurative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > sifting > sift [verb (transitive)] > remove by sifting
sift1428
out-tryc1550
lue1674
sieve1860
1860 T. P. Thompson Audi Alteram Partem (1861) III. cxxiii. 74 They will find no lack of reasons why they and their representatives should not be sieved out of parliament.
1885 Eng. Mech. 235 The blue or short wave-lengths of the spectrum are sieved out first.
2.
a. To perforate with holes like a sieve.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > make an opening or hole in or into > make many holes in
riddle1511
mesh1667
colander1715
honeycomb1735
to make a riddle of1749
sieve1839
mole1856
1839 A. MacLaggan in Whistle-Binkie 2nd Ser. 29 Tak care o' your breeks that they dinna get sieved.
b. To bore in the manner of a sieve.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > making holes or becoming holed > make (an opening or hole) [verb (transitive)] > by boring, piercing, or perforating
piercec1392
bore?1523
drive?a1525
thirl1609
drill1669
perforate1777
stick1834
puncture1851
sieve1875
pin1897
1875 S. Lanier Symphony 32 We sieve mine-meshes under the hills.
3. intransitive. To pass as through a sieve.
ΘΚΠ
the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > movement over, across, through, or past > [verb (intransitive)] > through > pass as through a sieve
sift1599
sieve1851
1851 H. Melville Moby-Dick cxxv. 575 Oh God! that man should be a thing for immortal souls to sieve through!
Derivatives
ˈsieving n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > freedom from impurities > removal of impurities > sifting > [noun]
siftingc1440
sieving1499
riddling1552
cribration1617
screening1651
garble1808
sift1814
ricing1893
1499 Promptorium Parvulorum (Pynson) sig. cv/2 Cyuynge or clensinge, colatura.
1592 T. Nashe Pierce Penilesse (Brit. Libr. copy) sig. C2 Greediness..busies himself..in syuing of Muck-hills and shop-dust, whereof he will boult a whole Cartload to gaine a bow'd Pinne.
1846 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. in Wks. I. 79/1 After this sieving, after this pounding and trituration of the coarser particles [etc.].
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1910; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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v.1499- antimaterialists
- antimatrimonialist
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