| 释义 |
squaren.   /skwɛː/Etymology: < Old French esquire (esquierre ) and esquare (es- , equarre , also escuerre , equerre , modern French équerre ) < popular Latin *exquadra (see quadra n.), whence also Italian squadra , Portuguese esquadra , Spanish escuadra . Also (in sense 17) < square adj. The early form squire is chiefly employed in senses 1, 3. I. Something with a right-angled form, and related uses. 1. society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > squares the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring angles > right angles α. a1300 2231 Do we wel and make a toure Wit suire [v.rr. squire, squyre] and scantilon sa euen, Þat may reche heghur þan heuen. c1400 ( G. Chaucer (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §12. 7 Next the forseide cercle of the A. b. c...is Marked the skale, in Maner of 2 Squyres. 1426 J. Lydgate tr. G. de Guileville 4906 Fyrst ye shal a squyre take, A Squyre off a carpenter; And ye shal vse thys maner. c1449 R. Pecock (1860) 135 This werk is to be mad by cumpas, and thilk werk..bi squyer and suche othere. 1474 W. Caxton tr. (1883) iii. ii. 86 The carpenters ben signefyed by the dolabre or squyer. 1553 in (1796) XII. 341 John Keyme, smith, for 40 socketts, 8 sqwiers, withe other necessaries. 1599 T. Moffett 35 Holding his file in right hand hansomly, In left his paire of compasses and squire. 1626 F. Bacon §373 Take a Turreted Lamp of Tinne, made in the forme of a Squire. 1656 tr. J. A. Comenius liii. §527 They search out..the straightness of an angle, with a squire. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adverb] > strictly 1570 T. Norton tr. A. Nowell 51 b He will not deale with vs after extremitie of lawe, nor call our doinges to exacte accompt, nor trie them as it were by the squire. 1598 W. Shakespeare v. ii. 474 Do not you know my Ladies foote by'th squier ? View more context for this quotation a1637 B. Jonson Tale of Tub iv. Scene Interloping 51 in (1640) III Why, you can tell us by the Squire, Neighbour, Whence he is call'd a Constable. View more context for this quotation society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of implements > [noun] > carpenter's square society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > representations of implements > [phrase] > carpenter's square 1572 J. Bossewell II. 117 He beareth Sable, a Squire direct from the chiefe, to the dexter parte of the shield de Argent. 1572 J. Bossewell II. 117 Note also, that there may be vsed particion per Squere, although it be rare seene. 1610 J. Guillim iv. viii. 208 He beareth Argent, a Cheueron betweene three Carpenters Squires, Sable. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > object resembling carpenter's square 1530–1 in H. Littlehales (1905) 354 Paid to the Smyth for a dogg of Iron for þe Roodloft... Paid for a Sqvyer for the same. 1552 in A. Feuillerat (1914) 72 ij longe plates and two squiers for a geblot. 2. figurative. A canon, criterion, or standard; a rule or guiding principle; a pattern or example. (Very common c1550–1650.) the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > conformity to or with a pattern, etc. > [noun] > a standard or norm 1549 E. Allen tr. L. Juda Paraphr. Reuelacion S. John f. 9, in M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus II As the Christen religion shalbe restored and reformed after the rule and square of holy scripture. 1579 in W. Wilkinson sig. B ij Judge all thinges according to the ballance of equitye, and trying squaire or measure line of righteousness. 1604 T. Wright (new ed.) i. iii. 13 To governe the body..by the square of prudence, and rule of reason. 1654 R. Whitlock 24 Let thy Actions be justified by the Square of Religion and Justice. 1688 J. Bunyan 91 Upon the square, as I may call it, of the worthiness of the Blood of Christ, Grace Acts. 1720 64 My Countrymen must excuse me, if I say, upon the Square of right Reason we make as ill a Figure as they do in Italy or Asia. 1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage IV. x. viii. 102 They would not deal with Antonia upon the square of modern law and gospel. 1567 J. Jewel v. 556 Syluester Prierias saith, that the Romishe Church is the Squier, and Rule of Truthe. 1594 W. West ii. Chancerie §23 Lawes appointed to be rules and squares of mens actions. 1617 S. Collins ii. viii. 322 The square of our faith is the Scripture, not the Fathers. 1642 T. Fuller iii. xxv. 233 Is merit everywhere else made the exact square of preferment? a1684 R. Leighton Serm. in (1868) 678 It is not the way to advance their Master's Kingdom, which end should be the Square of all their Contrivances. 1571 A. Golding tr. J. Calvin (i. 6) Whose duetye it is to settle the state of the world according to the right squyre. 1575 J. Rolland iii. f. 45 For in sic luif is nother reull nor squair, Bot blindit lufe. 1603 S. Daniel Panegyrike xxviii, in (1879) I. 152 And all will seeme compos'd by that same square By which they see the best and greatest are. 1616 N. Breton Good & Badde in (1879) II. 7/1 His study is a square for the keeping of proportion betwixt command and obedience. 1640 T. Carew 114 A life so straight, as it should shame the square Left in the rules of Katherine, or Clare. 1602–3 S. Daniel Musophilus 101, in (Grosart) I. 228 Ignorance will liue By others square, as by example lost. 1607 J. Davies sig. B4v This Truth is not squar'd by Platoes squire. 1643 W. Stampe 18 The naturall square of the very Indians, is enough to condemne our want of obedience. †3. Geometry. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > triangle > with specific angle the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > two-dimensional > quadrilateral > square 1551 R. Record i. No. 21 When any two quadrates be set forth, howe to make a squire about the one quadrate, whiche shall be equall to the other quadrate. 1551 R. Record Defin. A syseangle..whose vse commeth often in Geometry, and is called a squire, is made of two long squares ioyned togither, as this example sheweth. the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > at right angles [phrase] the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [adverb] > at right angles ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xviii. sig. F j E is the fourth staffe running sydewise orthogonally or in a squire from the third. II. Something with a rectangular or square form, and related uses. †4. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > rectangle 1382 Ezek. xlviii. 20 Alle the premisses of fyue and twenti thousandis, by fyue and twenti thousandis in sqware [L. in quadrum], shuln be departid in to primisses of the sayntuarie. a1513 R. Fabyan (1516) I. Prol. f. ii The prentyse that hewyth the rowth stone And bryngeth it to square with harde strokes and many. 1591 E. Spenser tr. J. du Bellay Visions in iii Then did a sharped spyre of Diamond bright, Ten feete each way in square, appeare to mee. 1615 T. Tomkis ii. iii. sig. D3 I haue a parler Of a great square and height, as you desire it. 1663 B. Gerbier 77 The sawing, and bringing of the Timber to a square. 1576 A. Fleming tr. Cicero in 91 Such be the present troubls and turmoyles, that nothing is left in iust square. 1597 N. Breton Wit's Trenchmour in (1879) II. 19/1 Her thoughts keepe the square of such discretion, that no idle humour dare enter the list of her conceit. 1610 J. Healey tr. J. L. Vives in tr. St. Augustine ii. xvii. 80 Budæus..was neuer drawne from his true square with any profit or study to augment his estate. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. iii. 6 I haue not kept my square, but that to come Shall all be done by th'Rule. a1641 R. Montagu (1642) 111 They have a Rule which will not hold square with his Position. 5. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > shape or figure > [noun] > element of > side or face the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square > side of a square c1400 (Roxb.) vi. 21 It was made foure square, and ilka square contened sex myle or more. c1450 (1900) 91 Þe iij. sqware of wretthe is aȝens þi meyne. c1450 (1900) 91 An-oþer sqware of wrethe is aȝens þi-self. c1450 (1900) 91 Þis wose of wrethe is foure-square: o sqware of wrethe is a-ȝens god. c1593 in (1903) 22 A foure squared stonn,..in euerye square a faire large Image. 1617 F. Moryson i. 86 It is built foure square, each square containing forty foot. 1634 T. Herbert 112 The Sepulchre..tis of foure Æquilaterall squares. 1656 P. Heylyn 196 The figure of it [a tower] is six square, every square of it being nine paces in length. 1753 J. Hanway I. xxxiv. 232 This city is inclosed within a wall above a mile in each square. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square > side of a square > the measurement of 1770 P. Luckombe 294 Four inches..is the square of the Hind-post. 6. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square > square surface or space the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > board game > chess > [noun] > chessboard > square c1440 ii. 110 An aker lond..therout of may be tolde Of squaris x feet wide,..ccc square of x, and twyes twelue. 1483 357/1 A Square,..quadra. 1551 J. Williams (1836) 101 For cutting and slyppinge of two greate saphures into many squares. 1611 R. Cotgrave Marelle, a square in a chesseboord. 1667 J. Milton v. 393 Rais'd of grassie terf Thir Table was,..And on her ample Square from side to side All Autumn pil'd. View more context for this quotation 1694 P. A. Motteux tr. F. Rabelais xxiv. 108 So that the Golden King was on a White Square, the Silver'd King on a Yellow Square. 1735 J. Bertin 55 The queen gives a check in the black queen's second square. 1832 L. Hunt ii. 104 The casement, at the dawn of light, Began to show a square of ghastly white. 1847 Ld. Tennyson iv. 67 When unto dying eyes The casement slowly grows a glimmering square. 1898 67 653 All white squares..belong to the government, and can be homesteaded. 1923 9 June 7 Playing a game known as ‘backing the squares’, which consists in throwing bronze coins on a chequered sheet of linoleum. the world > action or operation > doing > a proceeding > in progress [phrase] > how things proceed 1608 T. Middleton (new ed.) i. sig. B2 v How goes the squares. 1642 J. Howell 2 I pray be pleased to make me partaker of some forraigne news, and how the squares goe betwixt France and Spaine. 1677 J. Phillips tr. J.-B. Tavernier Persian Trav. v. ii. 203 in tr. J.-B. Tavernier (1678) Sha-Abbas,..to know how squares went in his kingdom,..oft'n disguis'd himself, and went about the City..to discover whether Merchants us'd false weights. 1702 R. L'Estrange tr. Josephus Jewish Antiq. xvi. xvii, in 469 He first gave him an Account of what had pass'd at Berytus; and then ask'd him how Squares went at Rome. 1828 W. Carr (ed. 2) (at cited word) ‘How gang squares?’ a familiar form of salutation, equivalent to ‘how d' ye do’. 7. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square 1551 R. Record ii. No.36 If a right line be parted into ij. partes..the square that is made of that whole line, is equall to bothe the squares that are made of the same line, and the twoo partes of it seuerally. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. Defs. sig. B iij If all the sides be equall, and al the angles right, than is that Paralelogramme called a square. 1660 tr. I. Barrow i. 4 Of quadrilateral, or four-sided, figures, a Square is that whose sides are equall, & angles right. 1728 E. Chambers at Geometry They observ'd, that God, and Nature affect, Perpendiculars, Parallels, Circles, Triangles, Squares, and harmonical Proportions. a1777 F. Fawkes 32 An astrologer..decks the wall with triangles and squares. 1815 J. Smith II. 713 To obtain the perspective of a circle EFGH,..draw round it the square ABCD. Divide the square into small squares. 1852 P. J. Bailey (ed. 5) 493 Peace, piety, and innocence, and joy Made up the square of Being. 1854 2 151 In shape the body divested of head, tail, and legs should give a square. 1881 R. Routledge ii. 36 To find..the length of the side of a square which has precisely the same area as the circle. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > rectangle 1551 R. Record ii. No. 39 Nowe by the theoreme, that longe square F.G.M.O, with the iuste square L.M.O.P, muste bee equall to the greate square E.K.Q.L. 1611 R. Cotgrave Paralelogramme, a Paralelogramme, or long Square. 1723 E. Chambers tr. S. Le Clerc I. 105 Windows..are usually long Squares; their height being sometimes double their width, or very nearly so. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti II. 26/2 An equilateral and right~angled square. 1791 ‘T. Newte’ 61 This castle formed an oblong square. 1842 J. C. Loudon 159 They are made in frames in the following manner:—An oblong square..is formed of four laths [etc.]. the world > the universe > cosmology > science of observation > astronomical instruments > measuring altitude > [noun] > quadrant or sextant > part of quadrant or sextant ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxix. sig. I j v The other plate wherein youre square Geometricall and Theodelitus was described. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxix. sig. I ij The double scale is compound of two Geometricall squares. 1728 E. Chambers Quadrat, call'd also Geometrical Square and Line of Shadows, is an additional Member on the Face of the common Gunter's and Sutton's Quadrants. the mind > mental capacity > philosophy > logic > [noun] > diagram 1864 F. C. Bowen vi. 168 That the various points in the doctrine of this sort of Immediate Inference might be more easily remembered, the old logicians contrived..the accompanying ingenious diagram, which may be called the Square of Opposition. 1891 5 May 2/2 It is a logical square, and its squareness is supposed to carry some metaphysical virtue. 8. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > into or by itself > square 1557 R. Record sig. Giiiv Twoo multiplications doe make a Cubike nomber. Likewaies .3. multiplications doe giue a square of squares. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxx. sig. Iiv Now square 2400 pase, so haue you 5760000, wherevnto yf you adioyne the square of HD the product will amount to 5763600. a1690 S. Jeake (1696) 193 Then set down the Square of this Quotient figure. 1715 tr. D. Gregory I. Pref. xii We have thus far been shewing what was the Opinion of the Ancients concerning Gravity;..that all Bodies gravitate towards one another, and that the Planets are retain'd in their Orbits by the force of Gravity, and lastly, that the Gravity of the Planets towards the Sun are reciprocally as the Squares of their Distances from it. 1764 J. Ferguson ii. 21 The squares of the times of their going round are as the cubes of their distances from the centers of the circles they describe. 1838 A. De Morgan 62 Hence it follows, that when the number is large, the preceding fraction..is very nearly one half the square of that number. 1869 W. J. M. Rankine App. 9 The square of the proof stress, divided by the modulus of elasticity, is called the Modulus of Resilience. 1885 H. W. Watson & S. H. Burbury I. 258 The law of the inverse square in electric action. the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > population > numerical characteristic of > method used to estimate 1812 39 242 M. Legendre had not in any way mentioned the method which he has denominated that of small squares, (moindres carrées,). 1812 39 243 The principle of the small squares.] 1825 65 10 The principle of least squares will hold good, whatever law of probability be adopted. 1829 tr. S. D. Poisson in July 96 This embarrassment..remained to the period when M. Legendre proposed a direct and uniform method of forming the final equations, which was generally adopted under the name of Method of least squares of the errors, which was assigned to it by its author. 1872 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait i. iii. 115 A and B are to be found by the method of least squares from values of l observed for different given values of t. 1916 L. D. Weld v. 87 If more [observations] are made, least-square reduction may be applied to their adjustment. 1939 A. E. Treloar iv. 59 ‘Least squares’ solutions, or the minimizing of squared deviations to reach representative values, may be made with facility, whereas the minimizing of absolute deviations becomes so involved that the problems can rarely be solved that way. 1950 A. McF. Mood xiii. 311 The primary reason that the method of least squares is commonly used for curve fitting is merely that it leads to a simple linear system of equations for determining the coefficients. 1957 G. E. Hutchinson I. vii. 469 C is determined from the distribution of temperatures by the method of least squares. 1970 July 127 The principle of the method is to rotate one matrix (usually a principal-components matrix) as close as possible to a hypothesized factor matrix, in a least-square solution. 1974 VII. 967/1 Gauss developed a technique for calculating its orbital components with such accuracy that several astronomers late in 1801 and early in 1802 were able to locate Ceres again without difficulty. As part of his technique, Gauss used his method of least squares, developed about 1794. 9. Military. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > square 1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock 1160 To defend and flanke the maine square. 1602 J. Marston iii. sig. E2 Huge troups of barbed steeds, Maine squares of pikes, millions of harguebush. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. ii. 28 Our superfluous Lacquies, and our Pesants, Who in vnnecessarie action swarme About our Squares of Battaile. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. xi. 40 He alone Dealt on Lieutenantry, and no practise had In the braue squares of Warre. View more context for this quotation 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch (1851) II. 599/2 He drew up the legions in a close square. 1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in I. xv. 751 In even square compact so firm they stood. 1815 Duke of Wellington (1838) XII. 529 I had the infantry for some time in squares. 1847 Ld. Tennyson v. 106 When we saw the embattled squares, And squadrons of the Prince, trampling the flowers With clamour. 1897 R. S. S. Baden-Powell vi. 146 The square halted, and each man lay down to sleep just where he stood. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > square 1702 (1704) (at cited word) Hollow Square, a Body of Foot drawn up with an empty space in the middle for the Colours, Drums and Baggage, facing and cover'd by the Pikes every way, to oppose the Horse. 1711 No. 4817/5 He..form'd the Foot..into hollow Squares. 1802 C. James (at cited word) Solid Square, is a body of foot, where both ranks and files are equal. 1845 S. Smith (1859) II. 334 It is..to be discussed in hollow squares, and refuted by battalions four deep. 1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson (ed. 3) 398 The solid square, which faces outwards..to resist cavalry; and the hollow square, in which the men face inwards, for the purpose of hearing orders, &c. read. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [adverb] > into a square 1859 F. A. Griffiths (1862) 27 Men are formed into square to resist attacks of cavalry. 1859 F. A. Griffiths (1862) 27 A battalion may be formed into square two deep to protect baggage or treasure against infantry only. 10. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > clothing for chest or breast > types of > to cover woman's breast the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for body or trunk (and limbs) > [noun] > dress, robe, or gown > parts of > other 1579 E. Hake iv. sig. D4 v She must haue Partlet, Square & Lace, with Chaine about hir neck. 1600 E. Fairfax tr. T. Tasso xii. lxiv. 225 Betweene her brests the cruell weapon riues Her curious square, embost with swelling gold. 1614 in (1885) App. i. 43 As for lace to be a band and cuffs, and square with long peaks, pleas yoor ladyship know that it is not the fashon to weare such now. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iv. iv. 211 You would thinke a Smocke were a shee-Angell, he so chauntes to the sleeue-hand, and the worke about the square on't. View more context for this quotation c1710 in J. Ashton (1882) I. 173 A round Sable Tippet,..with a piece of black Silk in the Square of the neck. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [noun] > quadrilateral > square > square object or piece 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. 447 Likewise morimals..and those sores which be filthy..are commonly healed with the old squares of the Tunie fish. 1662 J. Davies tr. A. Olearius Voy. & Trav. J. Albert de Mandelslo 4 in The Sepulchre is in a little Chappel built of white marble, upon a high square of free-stonework. 1699 M. Lister (new ed.) 124 I saw a Picture here of about 6 inches over, finely painted in Mosaic, the very little squares were scarce visible to the naked Eyes. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 111 Then they cut out the true peat,..in long pieces, vulgarly called long squares, about three inches and a half broad every way, and four feet long. 1794 A. Radcliffe IV. vi. 92 The floor inlaid with small squares of fine marble. 1815 W. Scott I. xx. 323 He..bolted his food down his capacious throat in squares of three inches. 1857 W. A. Miller III. vi. §1. 375 The distilled fat is..distributed in layers..upon squares of cocoa-nut matting. 1879 (new ed.) IV. 338/1 The moulds themselves correspond in shape to the familiar tapering form of the ‘squares’ of salt, as they are called in shops. the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveying instruments > other surveying instruments 1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault v. i. 655 In this figure you see the squire and the staffe each of them by themselues. 1712 J. James tr. A.-J. Dézallier d'Argenville 82 The Square, or whole Circle,..an Instrument much made use of in..Surveying of Land. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > glass and glass-like materials > [noun] > glass > pane 1688 G. Miege ii. sig. Sssv/3 A Square of Glass. 1714 S. Sewall 16 July (1973) II. 763 [It] lifted up the Sash window, broke one of the squares. ?1775 13/1 There were two squares of the window broke. 1842 J. C. Loudon 219 Thus directing all the water..down the centre of the squares. 1877–1915 in Linc., Somerset, and Cornw. glossaries and texts Square. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > clothing for head or neck or body > [noun] > scarf > piece of material used as 1882 7 Oct. 334/2 Lace Bows... Lace Sets... Indian Muslin and Lace Squares, from 1s. 11d. to 12s. 6d. 1926 in C. W. Cunnington (1952) vi. 190 The latest scarf conceit is a square of chiffon caught round the neck. 1960 C. Dale iv. 94 Miss Burroughs [wearing]..a silk square over her shoulders against the draught. 1966 B. Kimenye 60 Removing the georgette square which had been tightly binding her head. 1979 A. Scholefield 142 Yellow knotted silk square at the throat. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > cap > types of > denoting office or profession > academic 1928 Nov. 14 Oxford raised its beautifully combed eyebrows and smiled with good-humoured toleration when he went to the cinema in a square. 1978 K. Amis (1979) xi. 109 They wanted to photograph me. I mean not me in particular, just a don. Any don. An Oxford don. So I put my square on and let them. 1995 F. Stubbings (rev. ed.) 109 An undergraduate in academical dress may nowadays dispense with the square—provided he goes bare-headed. 11. the world > the earth > land > tract > [noun] > square the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > garden > division or part of garden > [noun] > bed or plot 1615 W. Lawson (1626) 10 If within one large square the Gardner shall make one round Labyrinth or Maze. 1623 G. Markham iii. i This is the cause..that Gardners raise their squares. c1660 J. Evelyn anno 1644 (1955) II. 109 In one of these Walkes within a square of tall trees, or rather a Grove, is a basilisc of copper. 1706 G. London & H. Wise I. i. x I now want to know how many Dwarfs I ought to have in the Squares of my Garden. 1746 P. Francis tr. Horace 47 One happier Artist of th' Æmilian Square. 1791 G. Washington Let. in (1892) XII. 90 It is of great importance..that the city should be laid out into squares and lots. 1800 W. Wordsworth 103 It chanced that I saw standing in a dell Three aspens at three corners of a square. 1850 Ld. Tennyson cxiii. 178 Now burgeons every maze of quick About the flowering squares . View more context for this quotation 1867 W. Morris v. 90 But Jason and his fair folk..Came to a square shaded about by trees. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricket ground > [noun] > closer-cut area in centre 1899 (Sutton & Sons, Reading) 32 The club purse must determine the extent of ground to be treated in the manner we recommend, but while the work is in progress it is worth while to strain the point to make the playing square sufficiently large, say, at the very least, forty yards in the line of the wickets, by thirty yards in width. 1924 H. de Sélincourt v. 110 As they reached the square, five Raveley men emerged, running, from the Pavilion, and called loudly for the ball. 1950 F. J. Reed xvii. 174 On established cricket squares mowing should commence as early as possible, setting the machine high and gradually lowering the cut as the season advances. 1976 J. Snow 22 We were not to meet up as a side until we got on to the square. society > armed hostility > military organization > ceremonial > [noun] > parade > parade-ground 1915 F. H. Lawrence in (1954) 644 There were 10 officers on the square when I joined in September, and four of them are now dead, four wounded and one missing. 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons 268 Square,..an army term for the drill or parade ground. In general, the Barrack Square. 1962 A. Wesker i. iii. 17 This is the Square. We call it a square-bashing square. 1982 ‘W. Haggard’ ii. 21 He had failed to pass Sandhurst. He had failed to pass off the square and had been put back a term. 12. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town or city > part of town or city > [noun] > open space > public square a1684 J. Evelyn anno 1680 (1955) IV. 199 Going early from his Lordships house in the Square of St. Jamess. 1687 A. Lovell tr. J. de Thévenot ii. 79 There are many squares in Ispahan, but of all, that which is called the Meidan..is the greatest and finest place in the World. 1716 J. Gay i. 2 I..The silent Court, and op'ning Square explore. 1782 F. Burney V. x. vii. 314 She told the coachman, therefore, to drive to the corner of the square. 1816 R. Southey iv. liii Methought that in a spacious Square Of some great town the goodly ornament, Three statues I beheld. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. iii. 358 We should greatly err if we were to suppose that any of the streets and squares then bore the same aspect as at present. 1886 C. E. Pascoe (ed. 3) xxxiv. 303 There is little to engage the wayfarer's interest westward of the Circus if we except some of the squares..lying on the north side. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > [noun] > buildings > connected a1684 J. Evelyn anno 1645 (1955) II. 418 The House is a Square of 4 Pavilions. 1725 in Foley VII. Introd. p. xl From thence it [sc. the fire] communicated itself to the great square, or new building of the College on both sides. 1867 H. Latham 16 A square at Philadelphia means a solid block of houses, not an open space enclosed by buildings. 1891 (at cited word) The house is four or five squares further up-town. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a space measuring so much each way > a hundred square feet 1663 B. Gerbier 63 Old Tiling at thirteen shillings foure pence a square. New Tiling at 1. pound five shillings a square. ?1677 S. Primatt 59 Carpenters do for the most part deal by the square, which is ten foot every way, and an hundred in all. 1703 R. Neve 23 4s. per Square for Sawing the Boards..and..3s. 6d. per Square for Framing the Carcass. c1738 in E. B. Jupp (1887) 567 To do the new plain tyleing att £1. 6. 0 per square, and the Pan tyleing att 18s. per square. 1825 ‘J. Nicholson’ 550 A square of plain tiling will require a bundle of laths. 1883 49 139/1 The deceased had slated seven or eight houses,..and..had been paid..upon the terms that he was to have 4s. a square. 1894 31 May 10/5 The flooring..fetched 5s. ‘a square’. the world > the universe > planet > position of planet > aspect > [noun] > quadrature the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > moon > lunar orbit > [noun] > quadrature 1667 J. Milton x. 659 Thir planetarie motions and aspects In Sextile, Square, and Trine, and Opposite. View more context for this quotation 1686 J. Goad i. xv. 97 Other causes may help to irritate that Passion, which the ☽ in Square to the Sun inclineth to. 1690 W. Leybourn f. 449 Mars..is observed by Kepler, when in Square with the Sun, to be Dichotomous,..at other times, between its Square and Opposition to the Sun to be Gibbous. 1819 J. Wilson 379 Square, the quartile aspect, containing a quadrant or right angle. 1861 R. J. Morrison I. i. iii. 8 When a sextile aspect or distance of sixty degrees falls in the latter, Ptolemy intimates that it has the effect of a square, or ninety degrees. And when a trine falls in signs of short ascension, he says that the effect is also that of a square aspect. 1929 V. E. Robson 188 The Square is the most critical and conflicting of aspects. a1963 L. MacNeice (1964) viii. 258 Sextiles..are supposed to be ‘good’..aspects, while the square (90°) is considered ‘bad’. 1975 I. M. Hickey viii. 72 Squares represent the lessons we have failed to learn. 15. In various special or technical senses. society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > barrel > part of musket barrel 1688 R. Holme (1905) iii. xviii. 134/2 The seuerall parts of the Barrell of a Muskett. The Barrell. The squares. The mullets. 1688 R. Holme (1905) iii. xviii. 135/1 A screwed barrell, is when the bore is of six or eight squares, or thrids, all throughout. society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > architectural ornament > [noun] > moulding > other mouldings 1703 R. Neve 5 Annulet... 'Tis the same Member as the Sieur Mauclerc, from Vitruvius, calls a Fillet,..and Brown from Scamozzi a..Square, and Rabit. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > anchoring equipment > [noun] > anchor > shank of anchor > squared part at top of 1839 A. Ure 44 Fig. 7 (in figure) A is the shank [of the anchor];..E, the square; F, the nut. 1852 R. Burn (ed. 2) ii. 253 Square of an anchor, carré de la verge. 1841 C. H. Hartshorne Gloss. Squares, broad hoops of iron which are used to hold coal in ‘the Baskets’, whilst being drawn up a pit. 1844 E. A. Parnell II. 65 The furnaces for the melting-pots, and for the pots called the ‘squares’ or ‘cuvettes’,..are placed in a range along the middle of the room lengthways. 1875 E. H. Knight 2294/2 Square (Horology), that portion of the arbor on which the winding-key is placed; a similar part on the arbor of the hands of a watch, whereby they are set. 1879 (new ed.) IV. 398/1 The ‘square’ (the strong iron plate which connects the two parts of the carriage at the headstock). society > communication > indication > signalling > audible signalling > ringing of bells as signal > [noun] > bell rung by cord > bell crank society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > organ > [noun] > parts conveying action 1880 C. A. Edwards ii. vi. 74 Backfalls are dispensed with, and squares inserted in their stead. 1884 XVII. 834/1 In square and trackerwork..the old squares were made of wood. They resemble in function the squares used for taking bell-wires round a corner. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > yielding fibre, thatching, or basket material > [noun] > cotton-plant > part of 1895 I. K. Funk et al. II. Square. 1906 E. W. Hilgard 503 The writer found a ‘patch’ of cotton with luxuriant stalks.., but almost devoid of ‘squares’ or blooms. 1906 19 Dec. 2/1 The devastation caused by..the cotton aphis, the web-worm, and the square-borer. society > communication > book > parts of book > [noun] > cover > parts of cover 1835 ‘J. A. Arnett’ 207 Squares.—That portion of the boards of a volume which projects over the edges. 1876 IV. 43/2 The same processes are followed with the sides and the ‘squares’ when any ornamentation is tooled upon them. 1876 IV. 43/2 Gilt round the sides and inside the squares. 1901 D. Cockerell ix. 131 If the book has been trimmed, or is to remain uncut, a little more must be allowed for the ‘squares’. 1946 E. Diehl II. xi. 148 If the squares are too large when the boards have been laced on, it is a simple matter to cut them down. society > communication > journalism > journal > parts and layout of journals > [noun] > unit of space 1800 5 May 1/1 Advertisements..which exceed a square will be inserted at the same proportionate price. 1877 Dec. 111/1 These newspaper people set an extra~ordinary value on their squares, as they call them. 1943 C. Crow (ed. 3) 122 The standard space measurement [for advertising] was the ‘square’, which meant a space equal in depth to the width of a column—approximately two column inches. 16. Slang uses. the mind > emotion > suffering > feeling of weariness or tedium > [noun] > tedious or dull person > trite, banal, or conventional the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [noun] > old-fashionedness > one who is old fashioned 1944 27 Jan. 10/5 Square, in musician's jargon, anyone who is not cognizant of the beauties of true jazz. 1944 D. Burley 70 Are you going to be a square all you days? 1947 Apr. 76 ‘Are there any squares in this outfit?’ ‘No, man, we're all hipped.’ 1952 ‘E. Box’ (1954) i. 23 Though I might not be entirely a square I was..hopelessly ignorant of all that..mattered. 1959 H. Hobson ii. 15 The odd fifty million citizens who don't dig them are dead-beats—squares. 1965 G. Hackforth-Jones ix. 142 You and I are what the up and coming generation call squares. We live in the past and we don't like what we see of the present. 1968 T. Wolfe xxvii. 386 We're in two different worlds. You're a hippie and I'm a square. 1974 14 101 The ‘square’ are women who are basically pro-authority, in favour of law and order, and share the values of ‘respectable’ society. 1977 J. D. Douglas in J. D. Douglas & J. M. Johnson i. 42 Marihuana has been widely used for decades by artists and other groups, probably also as a way of expressing feelings against the squares. the world > physical sensation > use of drugs and poison > tobacco > smoking > articles or materials used in smoking > [noun] > thing which may be smoked > cigarette 1970 H. E. Roberts 13/1 Square, a cigarette. 1971 Sept. 36/2 Why, why, he kept asking himself, as he lit a square,..why do I keep having that dream. 1974 Nov. 57 Light me up a square, baby. the world > food and drink > food > meal > [noun] > big or substantial meal society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > square, figure, or set dance > [noun] the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > ale or beer > [noun] > specific quantity of society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > pianoforte > types of piano 1882 O. Merdian Let. 20 Sept. in (1930) X. 252/1 I went in..and had some dinner..ate a square & talked awhile. 1883 19 Sept. 1/7 A number of superior Secondhand Instruments,..including Grand Squares for India. 1893 131/1 ‘Which is the next [dance]?’ ‘A square, I think.’ 1896 ‘H. S. Merriman’ xii. 136 The stoutest and most middle-aged civil servant, provided he was single, was accorded a ‘square’. 1899 7 Jan. 8/1 In several parts of Glamorgan ‘a square of beer’, measuring two-thirds of a pint, is also a favourite drink, so called, I have heard it said, because it is a ‘square drink’. 1927 ‘J. Barbican’ xxiii. 260 We sure was hungry for the dough, for it was weeks since we had roped in our three squares a day. 1962 ‘E. McBain’ ii. 21 But he had had a clean bed to sleep in, and three squares a day, as the saying goes. 1979 ‘H. Howard’ x. 135 Mine was a lousy job. There must be a better way of making three squares a day. III. A dispute; discord. society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > [noun] 1545 in (1849) X. 721 We talked sumwhat vively, but without any square. 1579 T. North tr. Plutarch 86 Afterwards they fortuned to fall at iarre one with the other,..yet this square bred no violent inconuenience betwene them. a1603 T. Cartwright (1618) 434 Thus through a perpetual square and iar, of the voice and of the hart, there can be no musique. 1661 C. Mageoghegan tr. (BL MS Add. 4817) f. 15v They did agree without anie Square att all. Phrasessociety > society and the community > dissent > at variance [phrase] society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel [verb (intransitive)] 1545 in (1849) X. 724 The Scottes, with whom they had amytie,..and never..but twyse wer at any square togithres. 1559 W. Baldwin et al. Malin vi My yongest brother,..Whose hauty minde and mine were still at square. 1566 T. Stapleton ii. 47 M. Jewell is so at square with all Writers. a1602 S. Forman (1849) 10 Oftentymes they too were also at square, insomuch that twise he had like to have killed hir. P3. out of square adv. out of the true, proper, or normal state or condition; out of (right) order or rule. the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > irregular [phrase] 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus f. 72 Neither shall the sense bee out of square, if ye take ye greke vocable λόγον..for reason. 1556 J. Olde tr. R. Gwalther f. 25v How great (and how out of square) this errour of ye world is. 1621 R. Montagu 224 There are in Porphyrie two sorts of men irregular and out of square in the seruice of their gods. a1625 W. Shakespeare & J. Fletcher (1634) iv. iii. 92 This may..reduce what's Now out of square in her, into their former law, and Regiment. View more context for this quotation 1661 J. Stephens 129 That which..in him..seemeth absonum, untunable and out of square, and friendly compasse. 1850 T. Carlyle viii. 7 Something must be wrong in the inner man of the world, since its outer man is so terribly out of square! the world > relative properties > order > disorder > in disorder [phrase] 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria f. 320 Wherin he speaketh not greatly owt of square. 1596 E. Spenser v. Proem sig. M4 Me seemes the world is runne quite out of square . View more context for this quotation 1622 H. Peacham v. 39 The least disorder or ranknesse of any one flower, putteth a beautifull bed or well contriued knot out of square. 1650 J. Howell tr. A. Giraffi i. 50 Had not a secret Treaty..against Masaniello, and his followers, bin discovered, which put all things again out of square. 1837 T. Carlyle III. i. vii. 73 This shrieking Confusion of a Soldiery, which we saw long since fallen all suicidally out of square, in suicidal collision. 1864 T. Carlyle IV. xv. v. 74 All things..much fallen out of square. the world > space > shape > misshapenness > out of shape [phrase] 1576 A. Fleming tr. G. Macropedius in 377 There was nothing in him that was out of square, but every joynte and limme, both in measure and in place,..passing hansome. 1603 W. Fowldes sig. H2v Exceeding were their [crabs'] shoulders out of square. the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > [noun] > starting-point the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > at the beginning [phrase] > back to the beginning 1952 62 411 He has the problem of maintaining the interest of the reader who is always being sent back to square one in a sort of intellectual game of snakes and ladders. 1960 21 May 9/2 As far as building up a basis for profitable negotiations is concerned the two sides are back in square one. 1965 24 June 930/2 Let us drop the logical knot that twin studies have tied us in and go back for a moment to square one. 1965 13 Oct. 2/7 The city's medical officer..said they were still in ‘square one’, and would stay there till they got some real facts. 1966 J. I. M. Stewart x. 126 That he had seized a chance to break off our interview at that point seemed to argue a refusal to abide by this judgement of the matter. We were back, so to speak, in Square One. 1970 G. F. Newman 279 A couple of wrong answers and Sneed knew he'd be right back on square one. 1973 G. Talbot (1974) viii. 111 After each of those successful essays it was ‘back to Square One’. 1977 ‘M. Innes’ x. 98 Honeybath broke off in these bold proposals, suddenly aware that Edwin was weeping. It was like being back on square one. 1980 D. Bogarde xii. 332 ‘Black is black, Moluccans.’..‘Are coloured people. They are dark,’ said Emmie with force. ‘Well, don't let's have any blasted children’... ‘But I do. I want.’..‘Oh for God's sake. We're back to square one again.’ Compounds society > armed hostility > warrior > soldier > soldier with special duty > [noun] > instructor > in drill 1959 21 Aug. 212/2 The transition away from the era of the square-basher and the char-and-wadder is painfully slow. society > armed hostility > drill or training > [noun] society > armed hostility > drill or training > [adjective] > drilling 1943 C. H. Ward-Jackson 56 Square bashing, marching, drilling or walking. 1946 C. Fry 28 There, do you see her, you acorn-chewing infantryman? You've made her cry, you square-bashing barbarian. 1962 [see sense 11c]. 1975 ‘G. Black’ ii. 20 Attached to a Malay regiment, supervising weapon training and square bashing. the world > relative properties > number > mathematical number or quantity > [adjective] > prime > other 1960 Niven & Zuckerman xi. 226 The set of square-free integers has natural density 6/π2. 1971 G. Higman in M. B. Powell & G. Higman vi. 209 All elements have square-free order. the mind > emotion > love > a lover > [noun] > male lover the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [noun] > respectability > person > woman 1890 A. Barrère & C. G. Leland II. 158/1 A square pusher is a girl of good reputation. 1922 J. Joyce ii. xv. [Circe] 411 I seen you up Faithful place with your squarepusher, the greaser off the railway, in his cometobed hat. the mind > emotion > love > courtship or wooing > [noun] > action of walking out with as a lover 1918 W. J. Locke x. 116 ‘Go “square-pushing”?’ said Doggie contemptuously, using the soldiers' slang for walking about with a young woman. 1922 J. Joyce ii. viii. [Lestrygonians] 155 Squarepushing up against a backdoor. Maul her a bit. 1928 F. E. Baily xii. 178 Left me cold in a strange place to go square-pushing with some forward young woman. 1930 J. B. Priestley i. iv. 134 'E wouldn't bother, though, too busy square~pushing, taking the girls out, see. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2021). squareadj.Etymology: < Old French esquarré (escarré ), past participle of esquarrer square v., assimilated to this and to square n. I. Senses relating to rectilinear or rectangular form. 1. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adjective] > quadrilateral > square or rectangular > square c1400 ( G. Chaucer (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) i. §13. 7 Thanne hastow a brod Rewle, þat hath on either ende a Square plate perced with a certein holes. c1400 (?c1380) l. 1386 Þe place..Was longe & ful large & euer ilych sware. c1400 (?c1380) l. 837 Lesande þe boke with leuezsware. c1400 4158 Aboute it was founded square, An hundred fademe on every side; It was alle liche longe and wide. c1440 ii. 107 A tabul square an aker lond to holde, Feet scoris nyne in lengthe, as fele in wide. 1509 S. Hawes xxxv. 179 On the thirde head, in a banner square, All of reade was wrytten Discomfort. 1557–8 Accts. in A. Feuillerat (1914) 236 A square pece of waynscott. 1589 G. Puttenham ii. xi. 83 It wil grow into the figure Trapezion, which is some portion longer then square. 1611 1 Kings vii. 5 And all the doores and postes were square, with the windowes. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton ii. 1048 To behold..th' Empyreal Heav'n, extended wide In circuit, undetermind square or round. View more context for this quotation 1715 tr. D. Gregory I. iii. §31. 442 Because this given rectangle..wants of a square Figure. 1785 W. Cowper i. 21 A massy slab, in fashion square or round. 1835 J. Duncan (Naturalist's Libr.: Entomol. II) 128 The elytra..approach more to a square shape than is usual among the carabideous tribes. 1859 M. I. O. Gascoigne (new ed.) 127 Square patterns require great care in working them. 1892 II. 489 An apparatus for trimming paper and prints..and enabling the user to be sure that they will be true and square. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a space measuring so much each way the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a space measuring so much each way > a square mile the world > the earth > named regions of earth > named cities or towns > [noun] > in Britain > London > parts of 1625 N. Carpenter i. viii. 200 The product will shew the number of square miles in the face of the Terrestriall Globe. ?1677 S. Primatt 36 If you would let it by the square Foot,..it is worth twelve pence a Foot per ann. ?1677 S. Primatt 165 A Foot solid measure hath seventeen hundred twenty eight square Inches. 1691 T. Hale 59 To do the Work per Yard square. 1715 J. T. Desaguliers tr. N. Gauger 161 There are but few Cavities in this Construction, and those but 36 Inches square. 1766 at Surveying Example. 19 rods the diagonal. 5 rods the perpendicular. 95 square rods the content. 1774 O. Goldsmith I. 302 A weight of fifteen pounds upon every square inch. 1837 J. T. Smith tr. L. J. Vicat 92 An absolute resistance of 5k.43 per centimetre square. 1846 J. Baxter (ed. 4) II. App. 437 The result, in square chains and links, is converted into acres by a simple division by ten. 1868 M. E. Grant Duff 48 His territories in Asia cover 668,580 English square miles. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 405 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Five and a half square rods of ground, which had not been manured. 1966 L. Southworth i. 13 Being a non-residential area, murders seldom occur in the square mile. 1971 3 Mar. 18/4 Prince Charles was made a Freeman of the City of London yesterday... It was the kind of traditional occasion that the square mile does so well. 1975 1 Mar. 12/2 The City Corporation hopes to have redeveloped 90 per cent of the square mile by 1980. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > square measure the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [noun] > a square unit of measurement 1728 E. Chambers at Measure English Square or Superficial Measures, are raised from the Yard of 36 Inches, multiplied into itself. 1854 19 Measures of Surface, or Square Measure. 2. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > into or by itself > square 1557 R. Record sig. Ciiiv Square nombers are those, whiche maie be diuided by some one number, and haue the same number for the quotiente. 1570 H. Billingsley tr. Euclid vii. f. 186v It is called a square number, because..it representeth the figure of a square in Geometry. 1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart 41 Plato iudged the yeare eightie one, which is compounded of nine times nine, to be the Climactericall yeare,..which hee calleth the square number. 1646 Sir T. Browne 215 Though it containeth both numbers..7. and 9. yet neither of them square or quadrate. View more context for this quotation a1690 S. Jeake (1696) 193 Which Square Number set thereunder, and substract therefrom. 1751 S. Johnson No. 181. ⁋5 I..considered even the square and cubick numbers through the lottery. 1846 De Morgan vii. §161 (note) By square number I mean a number which has a square root. Thus 25 is a square number, but 26 is not. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > root > square 1557 R. Record sig. Giv The roote of a square nombere, is called a Square roote. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxxiii. sig. K ij v The roote square of the remaynder ye must compare wyth the distaunce of the fyrste shyppe. a1640 P. Massinger Guardian i. i. 43 in (1655) They would have me..Let him know No more then how to cypher well, or do His tricks by the square root. a1690 S. Jeake (1696) 193 The Square Root of a Number is extracted commonly thus. 1715 tr. D. Gregory I. i. §27. 53 The Celerities of the Bodies are reciprocally as the Square Roots of the Radii. 1812 J. Playfair I. 186 The area of the orifice multiplied into the square-root of the depth. 1842 XXII. 394/1 The rule for the extraction of the square root is a tentative inverse process very much resembling division. the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > four > [noun] > group of four > persons 1851 H. D. Wolff vi. 176 Remaining a ‘square party’,..we all four embarked in the little boat. 1893 G. Allen I. vi. 79 The square party of pedestrians turned away along the sea front. 3. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adjective] > cube a1300 1664 A wessel..sal be wroght o suare tre. c1405 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Hengwrt) (2003) l. 218 Many a barre Of Iren greet and square as any sparre. c1407 J. Lydgate 5415 And arwes eke..With which, wher they be square or rounde, He kan hurte. 1459 I. 490 Item, ij. grete square spittys. 1508 W. Dunbar Goldyn Targe (Chepman & Myllar) in (1998) I. 187 Wyth bow in hand..And dredefull arowis grundyn scharp and square. ?1523 J. Fitzherbert f. vi To plowe a square forowe the brede and depnes all one. 1678 [see square-bore n. at Compounds 3a]. 1728 E. Chambers at Stairs Square winding Stairs, are such as wind round a square Newel, either Solid or open. 1796 W. Withering (ed. 3) III. 531 Stems square, hairy. 1832 D. Brewster viii. 188 One being a square rod, another a bent cylindrical one. 1846 C. Holtzapffel II. 824 Square files, are used for small apertures, and those works to which the ordinary flat files are from their greater size less applicable. 1900 Jan. 11 A ‘square tube’ or long narrow box with an inside measurement of one inch square. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adjective] > cube > cuboid a1475 (Sloane) (1862) 38 Cut [the mallard] in peses, as I þe kenne; Square as dises þou shalt hit make. 1600 A. Munday et al. sig. F3v Giue vs square dice, weele keepe this court of guard, For al good fellowes. 1621 in W. Foster (1906) 291 The squar basketts are not made all of one biggnesse. 1650 J. Bulwer 11 These occidental Indian square-heads. 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti I. 38/1 Whether square Stone, or uneven Scantlings. 1760 R. Brown 42 Steel~marle, which..is of it self apt to break into square cubical bits. 1832 D. Brewster xi. 269 A large square chest or box three feet and a half long, two feet deep, and two and a half high. a1884 E. H. Knight Suppl. 849/2 Square Tank Coil, a condensing coil of rectangular shape. the world > life > the body > bodily shape or physique > broad shape or physique > [adjective] c1430 J. Lydgate (Percy Soc.) 200 Here greet shulderys, square and brood. 1489 (a1380) J. Barbour (Adv.) iii. 581 Newys that stalwart war & squar, That wont to spayn gret speris war. 1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil v. vii. 107 His lymmis squair, Baith big bonis and brawnis, [he] maid all bair. c1540 (?a1400) 3967 A hard brest hade þe buerne, & his back sware. 1548 f. xxvijv To him he ioyned one John Dighton,..a bygge, broade, square, & strong knaue. 1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie (1895) II. 44 Quhen Æneas Syluius walde expreme the coniunctioun of his memberis, with the Maiestie of his persoune, he calis him squair. 1625 J. Hart ii. viii. 103 Yet was he of a reasonable square and corpulent body. 1709 No. 4536/4 He is a Square well-set Man. 1720 No. 5898/9 A..well built, and square Mare. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in I. 93 A square, thick..hard working man. 1854 1 239 What a glorious old hen she was! Large, wide, short-legged, square and compact. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > [adjective] > of a certain length on all four sides the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adjective] > quadrilateral > square or rectangular > square > having stated length of side c1400 (1839) v. 41 That Tour conteyned gret Contree in circuyt: For the Tour allone conteyned 10 Myle sqware. 1448 in R. Willis & J. W. Clark (1886) II. 8 The Someres..shall be one side xij inch squar and on the other part xiiij inch squar; and all the Gistes shall be on the one part squar vi inches and on the other part viij inches. 1449 in (1830) II. Pref. 55 Þe gurdyng someres of þe same flore shull be xj inchis square. a1525 Crying ane Playe 44 in W. A. Craigie (1925) II. 150 His teith was ten myle sqwaire. 1594 R. Ashley tr. L. le Roy iv. f. 41v In the midst there was an other place made of Carpenters worke,..and was large a hundred foote square, which is fower hundred foote round. 1619 in W. Foster (1906) 163 Those peeces which content 30 ells square fall out but 20 covados square. 1659 J. Leak tr. I. de Caus 18 A straight Axeltree of wood, a foot square, and 60-foot high. 1728 E. Chambers at Diamond A Hole is made in a Wall, a foot-square, and therein a Lamp placed, with a thick Wick. 1790 W. Wrighte 4 An hermit's cell..eight feet square in the inside. 1842 J. C. Loudon 427 This block, which may be six inches square, need not rise more than an inch above the surface. 1854 2 142 The whole were reared in a back-yard not ten feet square. 1900 [see sense 3a]. 6. the world > space > shape > angularity > [adjective] > constituting an angle > right the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [adjective] > right-angled 1551 R. Record i. Def. A blunt or brode corner, is greater then is a square angle, and his lines do parte more in sonder then in a right angle. the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > [adjective] the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [adjective] > right-angled > at right angles ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. i. sig. Biv Thus drawe your plumbe or squire line FCG. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxii. sig. G iij Drawe foure lines perpendiculare or squire the one to the other. 1656 H. Phillippes (1676) B viii b In the square meeting of the Table. 1715 J. T. Desaguliers tr. N. Gauger 86 Whose sides are all square to one another. 1715 J. T. Desaguliers tr. N. Gauger 86 Draw HP square or perpendicular to GHA. 1769 W. Falconer Square, a term peculiarly appropriated to the yards and their sails, implying that they hang at right angles with the mast or keel. 1797 J. Curr 11 In the main roads underground..square turns are not necessary. 1833 M. Scott II. iv. 158 A long low vessel,..with immensely square yards. 1833 i. ii. 49 Bodies to be quite square to the front. 1857 D. Livingstone ii. 40 The Bakwains have a curious inability to make or put things square. 1868 G. B. Airy (ed. 6) i. 15 (note) When the expression perpendicular to the surface of the glass is used, it means what a workman would probably call square to the surface of the glass. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > disregard for truth, falsehood > lack of truth, falsity > [adjective] 1549 L. Cox tr. Erasmus 28 Teaching shamefull thinges and far square from the veritie of the gospell. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [adjective] > type of defence 1972 G. Green x. 97 Often, too, Mullen and Hancocks would find each other with long, cross-field passes which travelled from one touchline to the other during the course of an attack, with the result that opposing defences were often caught square offering vital openings to the forwards in the middle. 1977 28 Feb. 8/3 They were goals Middlesbrough always looked like taking against Arsenal's soft, square defence. 7. the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > [adjective] the world > space > relative position > horizontal position or condition > [adjective] > lying in same horizontal plane 1814 D. H. O'Brien 7 On our arrival on board, the water was nearly square with the combings of the lower deck. 1881 F. J. Britten (ed. 4) 120 Brass surfaces are..rubbed square with blue stone. the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > [adjective] > equal or even with someone or something 1859 J. C. Hotten 100 ‘To be square with a man,’ to be revenged. 1867 A. Trollope I. xxxvii. 326 He's only going to give me my little bit of money..and then he and I will be all square. 1883 Sept. 358 Acred squires, who lay their heads..on their pillows with self-approval that they are square with the world. 1892 ‘R. Boldrewood’ III. 68 I've got square with you so far, and..I'll be more than even with you yet. society > leisure > sport > winning, losing, or scoring > [adjective] > draw 1887 in D. Donaldson Suppl. 227/1. 1898 22 Oct. 9/4 They were all square at the 18th, and no fewer than five extra holes had to be played before the Huddersfield man could claim a victory. 1955 14 May 3/4 (heading) All square in Davis Cup. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [adjective] > type of rhythm 1958 27 Oct. 12/3 Attempts have been made..in recent years to get away from the square style of playing that arose out of the hymns and other purely vocal music. 1967 A. L. Lloyd iv. 170 The earlier melodies are more vigorous, squarer, franker in cast. 1976 4 270 The opening sinfonia for strings and trombones is remarkably like several opera overtures of the time, with square rhythms [etc.]. II. Senses relating to just or equitable action. 9. Of actions: just or equitable; fair, honest, honourable, straightforward: society > morality > rightness or justice > [noun] > fairness or equity > action (a) 1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ To Rdr. sig. A4 For feare of trouble I was fain to try my good hap at square play. 1604 W. Terilo Fr. Bacon's Proph. 214 in W. C. Hazlitt (1866) IV. 276 And faire square plaie with yea and naie, Who lost the game would quickly paie. 1677 W. Wycherley i. 6 Why, don't you know..that telling truth is a quality as prejudicial to a man that wou'd thrive in the World, as square Play to a Cheat? 1708 July Venturing my Money in any sort of Traffick, is much the same, as at Square Play. society > morality > rightness or justice > [adjective] > fair or equitable a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) v. v. 36 For those that were, it is not square to take On those that are, Reuenge. View more context for this quotation a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) ii. ii. 192 She's a most triumphant Lady, if report be square to her. View more context for this quotation 1679 T. Harby ii. 27 Much more must his Antitype..be far from giving or receiving any right Counsel, and from all practice of Square Right. 1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in II. (at cited word) 1885 9 278 A desire to do something which, as they think, will be square all around. 1892 ‘R. Boldrewood’ xi I may have doubted whether everything was quite square about him [a horse]; but I never thought for a moment that he was stolen. 10. Of persons: the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [adjective] 1589 G. Puttenham ii. xi. 83 [Aristotle] termeth a constant minded man..a square man. 1612 T. Taylor i. 7 This doctrine sheweth what a square and furnished man he had need be, who must stand vnder such a burden as this is. 1635 Visct. Wentworth Let. 27 Jan. in H. Ellis (1827) 2nd Ser. III. 283 To make sure to keepe my self close and squaire in all to his Maties service. 1710 S. Sewall 3 Apr. (1973) II. 636 I did not think him so Square and Stable a Man. the world > food and drink > food > consumption of food or drink > eating > processes or manners of eating > [adjective] > eating steadily 1611 R. Cotgrave Vn ferial beuveur, a square drinker, a faithfull drunkard; one that will take his liquor soundly. a1625 J. Fletcher Bonduca ii. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher (1647) sig. Gggg4/1 By —— square eaters, More meat I say:..how terribly they charge upon their victuals. society > morality > virtue > honourableness > [adjective] a1644 F. Quarles (1646) 99 Mistaking a lying or cousening knave for a square or honest man. 1667 W. Temple Let. to Ld. Arlington in (1720) II. 49 I found him as plain, as direct, and square in the course of this Business, as any Man could be. a1716 O. Blackall (1723) I. xviii. 165 When he sees..that those Christians with whom he trades, are not..so square and honest in their Dealings. 1811 Square, honest, not roguish. 1852 H. B. Stowe I. i. 14 I've trusted him, since then, with everything I have,—money, house, horses,—..and I always found him true and square in everything. 1883 F. M. Crawford ix He amuses me, and he is very square on settling days. the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > old-fashioned or antiquated > of persons, views, etc. 1946 B. Treadwell 125/2 Square, not versed in Swing, puritanical. 1950 J. Vedey 175 Consummate performer that Ellington is, he put these numbers over to the delight of all types of audience, young and old, sophisticated and ‘square’. 1953 W. S. Burroughs x. 110 The other patients were a pretty square and sorry lot. 1959 N. Mailer (1961) 264 They wish this newspaper to be more conservative, more Square—I wish it to be more Hip. 1959 2 Sept. 103/1 I..told her that the bang-opening was old-hat and a completely square method of writing these days. 1965 F. Raphael i. 7 You know books. Those things with pages very square people still occasionally read. 1971 B. Malamud 80 I didn't expect it to be that good, not from the square dude you are. 1977 P. G. Winslow ii. xvii. 219 He wants to be in with the law. Square at heart. 11. the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > [adjective] > seemly or proper > strictly proper c1590 (1911) 1425 Oh what formalitie, what square obseruance: liues in a little roome. 1601 B. Jonson ii. iii. sig. D3v A serious, solempne, and supercilious face, ful of formall, and square grauity. View more context for this quotation 1602 B. Jonson iv. vi. sig. Iv And all their square pretext of Grauity [is] A meere vaine Glory. View more context for this quotation the world > matter > condition of matter > state of being undecayed > [adjective] the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > perfection > [adjective] > free from violation or corruption 1628 Strafford in Browning (1891) 293 We must apply a square courage to our proceedings, not fall away as water spilt upon the ground. 1672 J. Owen v. 190 Every undue presumption hath one Lameness or other accompanying it: It is Truth alone which is square and steady. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > exactness, accuracy, precision > [adjective] the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > absence of doubt, confidence > assured fact, certainty > [adjective] 1632 W. Lithgow v. 199 My conduct [= guide] still deceaued me, made it square Another Carauan, O! would come there. 1632 W. Lithgow ix. 415 Fit to gouerne others, and to direct him selfe with the square rules of wisdome and iudgement. a1684 R. Leighton (1868) 675 Framing them to an external and square carriage whereby the world..is much advantaged. 1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 27 June in (1980) v. 337 His ideas being square, solid, and tangible, and therefore readily grasped and retained. 1884 J. Parker II. 153 This is a square Gospel; it will have all things at right angles. the world > relative properties > wholeness > state or quality of being simple, unmixed, or uncompounded > [adjective] > composed of one part > specifically of immaterial things 1804 M. Cutler Let. 13 Feb. in W. P. Cutler & J. P. Cutler (1888) II. 162 It was..a square fight between the all-important head man of the party and another who ranks as his second. 1873 E. E. Hale vi. 57 [He] could not answer the square question put to him. 1896 11 Apr. 3/5 It may be..foolish of the Transvaal to refuse the opportunity for a square talk, but it is strictly within its rights. the world > relative properties > order > [adjective] > in proper order the world > space > relative position > arrangement or fact of being arranged > [adjective] > arranged > well society > morality > rightness or justice > [verb (intransitive)] > regard as fairly settled the mind > language > statement > agreement, concurrence, or unanimity > agree with [verb (transitive)] > regard as agreed 1825 H. Wilson (ed. 2) III. 360 As though I had been the Duchess's chosen daughter-in-law, for whom he was making all square. 1836 F. Marryat II. ii. 24 If she is unhappy for three months, she will be overjoyed for three more when she hears that I am alive, so it will be all square at the end of the six. 1853 C. Dickens xx. 197 I had confident expectations that things would come round and be all square. 1891 C. Roberts 163 Although he was willing to call it square, in reality he ought to make a claim. the world > food and drink > food > meal > [adjective] > qualities of meals the world > food and drink > drink > [adjective] > of full measure 1868 19 Sept. 354/2 Roadside hotel~keepers..calling the miners' attention to their ‘square meals’: by which is meant full meals. 1876 24 Oct. 1/3 This pot simmers from early morn till noon, when the one ‘square meal’ of the day is eaten. 1883 E. F. Knight I. xi. 186 Mr. Wynn..had prepared a good square supper for the travellers. 1899 7 Jan. 8/1 In several parts of Glamorgan ‘a square of beer’, measuring two-thirds of a pint, is also a favourite drink, so called, I have heard it said, because it is a ‘square drink’. III. elliptical. 12. on (also upon) the square. the world > space > relative position > opposite position > opposite [phrase] > face to face society > communication > manifestation > manifestness > openness or unconcealedness > [adverb] ?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer xiii. 138 But when he fell into the strengths the Grecians did maintain, And that they fought upon the square [Gk. ἀντίοι], he stood as fetter'd then. 1677 W. Wycherley iv. 61 Prithee bid 'em come up,..captain, for now I can talk with her upon the square. 1691 J. Dryden v. i. 43 How's this, a Sally?..Beyond my Hopes, to meet 'em on the square. 1737 W. Whiston tr. Josephus Jewish War vi. vii, in tr. Josephus 940 Nor were [they] strong enough to fight with the Romans any longer upon the square. 1821 C. Lamb Old & New Schoolmaster in 1st Ser. He is awkward, and out of place, in the society of his equals... He cannot meet you on the square. (a) 1668 J. Dryden i. 6 Scarce one Woman in an hundred will play with you upon the Square. 1680 C. Cotton (ed. 2) 4 These Rooks can do little harm in the day time at an Ordinary, being forc'd to play upon the Square. 1719 No. 135. 2 In an Age, wherein it is almost become the Glory of States to circumvent each other, who does not see the Necessity of playing upon the Square? 1748 T. Smollett I. ix. 64 He had play'd on the square with them. 1822 W. Scott II. ii. 36 While Lord Glenvarloch chose to play, men played with him regularly, or, according to the phrase, upon the square. 1844 W. M. Thackeray Barry Lyndon i. xiv, in July 94/2 No man could play with me through Europe on the square. the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > equality [phrase] > equal or even with the mind > emotion > love > friendliness > on friendly terms [phrase] > upon terms of equality or friendship 1692 J. Washington tr. J. Milton x. 219 They chose rather to be Lorded over once more by a Tyrant..than endure their Brethren and Friends to be upon the square with them. 1693 J. Dryden tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal iii. 39 We live not on the Square with such as these: Such are our Betters who can better please. 1706 tr. J. B. Morvan de Bellegarde 99 No body ventures to say in general, that he's upon the Square with Men of a great Merit. 1710 D. Manley I. i. 22 They are now upon the Square with one another. 1682 Penn in Dixon (1872) xxiii. 207 Keep upon the square, for God sees you. 1709 R. Steele No. 39. ⁋20 They us'd Seconds, who were to see that all was upon the Square. 1731 G. Medley tr. P. Kolb I. xxi. 262 All of 'em trade..in the most upright and friendly Manner..with the Europeans, whenever the latter are upon the Square. 1839 in ‘Ducange Anglicus’ (1857) 34 On the square, honest, square. 1867 A. Trollope I. xxxvii. 325 I'm not going to throw you over. I've always been on the square with you. 1892 E. Reeves 53 An unfortunate stowaway, who..was ‘peached’ on by a steerage passenger who he thought was ‘on the square’. the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)] > put in order or set to rights 1846 R. C. Trench xv. 255 Awaiting the great day when all things shall be set on the square. 1860 R. C. Trench xxiii. 262 Leaving much..to be redressed and adjusted and balanced, and finally set upon the square, on that great coming day. the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > at right angles [phrase] the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [phrase] > in a square form 1883 44 This Bridge is to be built under the Railway, on the square. 1904 1 Sept. 4/5 The Japanese soldier is never weedy. He is built on the square. society > society and the community > social relations > an association, society, or organization > secret society > [phrase] > in accordance with freemasonry 1888 R. Kipling Man who would be King in 73 I am hoping you will give him the message on the Square. 1896 R. Kipling (refrain) We met upon the Level an' we parted on the Square. 1927 R. Kipling (1932) 172 I told him I was something else besides a G.P...From then on he told the tale on the Square. 1974 21 June 2/4 How many local councils..are riddled with freemasonry? At how many appointments are the best men..passed over because they are not on the square? Compounds C1. a. In parasynthetic combinations. (a) 1832 J. Rennie 164 Square-barred Single Dot. 1857 W. A. Miller III. 605 It is deposited in square-based anhydrous octohedra. 1611 R. Cotgrave Sang-de-dez, little square-bladed pocket daggers. 1643 R. Baker iv. 120 Sir Francis Drake,..a short square bodied man. 1752 J. Hill III. 204 The square-bodied Syngnathus. society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [adjective] > brackets 1970 26 Nov. 13/4 Attention is focussed on the heavy-typed and square-bracketed passages. 1843 G. P. R. James I. i. 10 He was a tall, powerful, square-browed man. 1731 P. Miller I. at Lotus Red square-codded Birds-Foot Trefoil. 1760 J. Lee App. 314/2 Rocket, Square-codded, of Montpelier, Bunias. 1850 G. Cupples Green Hand ix, in Mar. 332/1 As square-countered and flat-breasted a ten-gun model as ever ran her nose under salt water. 1611 R. Cotgrave Escappe, a small square-edged circle, or fillet in a piller, &c. 1850 C. Holtzapffel III. 1319 Applying the stone longitudinally upon a square-edged mill. 1792 M. Wollstonecraft iv. 145 The square-elbowed family drudge. 1923 7 65 The Lady Chapel was..removed and a long square-ended one substituted. 1936 W. Faulkner 369 He saw then the square-ended saw chunk beside the wall. 1978 A. Ritchie & G. Ritchie 71 The church consisted of a rectangular nave with a porch at its W end and a square-ended chancel at the E end. 1872 ‘G. Eliot’ II. iii. xxiv. 32 She was of the same curly-haired, square-faced type as Mary. 1884 F. M. Crawford (ed. 2) I. 108 This square-faced boy of mine was more than a match for her. 1607 E. Topsell 460 The face of a Lyon is not round..but rather it is square figured. 1879 Mrs. A. G. F. E. James 11 I actually once saw square-fronted night-dresses! 1892 A. C. Gunter ix. 117 Two or three square-jawed, full-lipped Mormon friends of his. 1862 II. No. 6963 Square-mouthed travelling bags. 1678 J. Moxon I. i. 5 The Square Nos'd Hand-Vice. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular vegetables > [noun] > leaf vegetables > other leaf vegetables 1753 Suppl. at Erucago This plant has been called, by other authors, the square podded rockett, and the echinated mustard. 1957 T. Hughes 39 And looked down A square-pupilled yellow-eyed look. 1964 W. L. Goodman 99 Another jack..with a similar casting screwed to a square-sectioned wooden stock. 1592 R. Greene sig. D2 A square set fellowe well fedde, and as briskly apparelled. 1888 E. Eggleston i. 6 Henry Miller was a square-set young fellow, without a spark of romance in him. 1816 W. Scott II. ii. 40 That stretch of wall with square-shafted windows. 1917 E. Pound 183 Breaking the riven waves On square~shaled rocks. 1825 J. Neal II. 108 A dark, tall, square-shouldered man. 1704 No. 3984/4 A Neat's Leather Saddle, square Skirted. 1860 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 23 Apr. in (1997) II. 303 Wig, square-skirted coat,..and all the queer costume of the period. 1822 S. Clarke II. 71 H. Nepetoides, Square-stalked Hyssop. Stem sharply quadrangular. a1887 R. Jefferies (1892) 311 In the ditches the square-stemmed figwort is conspicuous by its dark green. 1848 J. H. Parker (ed. 5) 49 If it be square-topt, it is called a tower. 1882 E. O'Donovan I. 327 This village..consisting of little more than fifty square-topped huts. 1898 J. A. Gibbs 3 A tiny village with its square-towered Norman church. (b) 1688 G. Miege ii. sig. Sssv/3 Square built, bâti en carré. 1825 J. Neal I. 191 He stood..regarding his..square-built brother opposite. 1891 12 Sept. 437 Of contemporaneous design, like a square-built house. c1330 R. Mannyng (Rolls) 15836 A wel longe pyk Squar grounden, scharp, euenlyk. 1899 M. Benson & J. Gourlay i. 2 The square-hewn doorways of the tombs hollowed out in the face of the cliff. 1874 G. M. Hopkins (1959) 255 I am not so sure of the tiles being squarehung—they may have been lozenges. 1833 J. C. Loudon §914 They are all to be square-jointed at least 2 inches from the face. 1820 W. Scott III. x. 245 Saunders was a short, square-made fellow. 1868 G. M. Hopkins (1959) 178 Like the skin of a white snake square-pied with black. (c) 1963 A. Smith i. 16 One man sitting down in a thing 3 feet 11 inches by 2 feet 11 inches tends to occupy the bulk of the available square footage. (d) 1845 E. A. Poe in Feb. 63/1 On the very tips of their heads were certain square-looking boxes. 1853 T. T. Lynch 11 A rude square-looking country lad. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > shipbuilding and repairing > boat-builder or shipbuilder > [noun] > in specific trade or type of work 1850 J. Greenwood 151 A square-maker, a shipwright who cuts the butts to receive the oakum, and prepares the work ready for the caulkers. 1819 G. Samouelle 421 Noctua obeliscata. The square-spot Dart. 1859 A. K. H. Boyd v. 188 The square-box house comes forward humbly. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Square-Topsail Sloop, sloops which carry standing yards. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 252 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV Specimens of square-top Osage thorn. 1869 W. J. M. Rankine Pl.Q 16. 2 It is worked..by square-thread screws. 1893 14 July 3/1 The same square-sett system of timbering. C3. a. In special collocations: Some of these have arisen by ellipse, as square Hebrew n. (sc. characters); also square manuscripts (i.e. written with these characters).society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > square 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch (Rtldg.) 259/1 Not..accustomed to draw up in a spiral form, but in the square battalion. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > square 1710 J. Harris II Square Battel or Battalion of Men, is one that hath an equal number of Men in Rank and File. 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Square bit, a sweetheart: a ‘Best Girl’. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [noun] > square 1711 (ed. 4) A Square Body; Which has as many Men in File as in Rank, and is equal whatsoever Way it faces. 1850 J. Greenwood 151 Square body, the figure which comprehends all the timbers whose areas or planes are perpendicular to the keel, which is all that portion of a ship between the cant bodies. society > faith > artefacts > book (general) > music books > [noun] > hymnary > type of society > leisure > the arts > music > written or printed music > [noun] > music book > church music > hymnbook > type of 1537–8 in H. Littlehales (1905) 378 Paid..for carolles for cristmas and for v square bookes. 1538 (MS) 13 May Libros cantuum crisporum sive diversorum, vulgariter nuncupatos square books and pricke song books. 1678 J. Moxon I. iii. 48 The Square-bore is a square Steel point or shank, well temper'd, fitted into a square Socket in an Iron wimble:..its use is to open a hole. society > communication > writing > written character > punctuation > [noun] > brackets 1891 14 May 5/2 They place notes of interrogation..or notes of exclamation within square brackets. society > communication > writing > handwriting or style of > formation of letters > [noun] > capital letter 1699 M. Lister (new ed.) 108 The same MS…is written in Square Capitals and very short Lines. 1883 I. Taylor II. 163 The earliest codices..are usually written in Capitals. There are two types, ‘Square’ and ‘Rustic’. 1906 E. Johnston i. i. 37 Square Capitals were formed, pen-made Roman Capitals, of the monumental type. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > other parts > [noun] > devices for securing or uniting parts 1845 VIII. 110/1 Even in small machines, the square coupling has been in many cases supplanted by the cylindrical box. 1855 J. Ogilvie Square-coupling, in mill-work, a kind of permanent coupling, of which the coupling-box is made in halves and square. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke 1850 C. Holtzapffel III. 1323 The square cut, or trap cut, is the most simple form of cutting facets. 1897 K. S. Ranjitsinhji iv. 181 A square-cut travels somewhere between point and third-man. It is the commonest form of cut. 1906 A. E. Knight ii. 77 Cuts are generally termed forward cuts, late cuts, and square cuts. 1956 N. Cardus 150 Those who saw him will cherish memories of his vehement hooking..his square-cuts. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke 1976 E. R. Dexter & C. Makins 167 Hunt let the first ball go by, then square-cut the second with great majesty. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > batsman > types of batsman 1920 D. J. Knight in P. F. Warner (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) (new ed.) i. 32 Another beautiful square cutter is J. T. Tyldesley. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > square, figure, or set dance > [noun] 1870 L. M. Alcott vii. 132 I'm going to begin with a redowa, because..it's better fun than square dances. 1902 XXVII. 375/2 ‘Dull Sir John’ and ‘Faine I would’ were square dances popular in England three hundred years ago. 1931 7 50 To the ‘fiddlin'’ for the square dances the ‘caller’ sing-songs All to your places [etc.]. 1955 28 June 11/4 The term ‘square dance’ is the American equivalent of the English ‘country dance’. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > square, figure, or set dance > square-dance [verb (transitive)] 1959 7 Aug. 6/4 The entire population turns out to square-dance in the main streets. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > square, figure, or set dance > [noun] > dancer 1976 15 Dec. i. 8/2 One woman square dancer had fallen on the polished floor of the hall. society > leisure > dancing > types of dance or dancing > square, figure, or set dance > [noun] 1977 24 Jan. 4/7 The mass free admission square dance..bore witness that square dancing is alive and well across the continent. 1895 279/2 I guess it ain't quite a square deal between her and you. 1926 J. Black iii. 22 If I was to be treated in this way I would take my money..and go away where I could get a square deal. And if I did not get a square deal, I'd take it. 1928 (Liberal Industr. Inq.) iii. xvi. § 5. 188 It is impossible to get whole-hearted effort from men unless they are satisfied that they are getting a ‘square deal’. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke 1900 W. J. Ford xii. 140 His strokes are limited to the off-side, chiefly cuts and square drives. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > hit > hit with specific stroke 1954 J. H. Fingleton 271 May brilliantly square-drove him for 4. 1977 3 Jan. 11/7 Amiss began the afternoon by square driving Bedi's first ball for four. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > other types 1930 7 Mar. 303/2 He then analyses the main differences between a square engine and one with a stroke:bore ratio of 2. 1964 J. Braine viii. 136 ‘Square-eyed sods,’ he said. 1976 8 July 2/2 He called the television set ‘the Devil's Box’, claimed..that it would turn the bronzed, outdoor-loving youngster into a round-backed, square-eyed weakling. 1879 Forbes in 13 June 5/5 That potent fluid..that goes by the endearing name of ‘Squareface’, and that in reality is the rankest of schiedam. 1910 O. Wheeler 34 Those already in possession of a square-form may congratulate themselves. 1910 O. Wheeler 35 There are ‘square-form’ cameras of a variety of makes upon the market. 1846 A. Young 294 Square frames, in ship~building, those frames which are square with the line of the keel, having no bevelling upon them. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > types or qualities of intoxicating liquor > [noun] > drink in particular country the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > wine > class or grade of wine > [noun] > local wine 1888 W. B. Churchward 102 What they called the wine of the country—square gin. 1892 ‘R. Boldrewood’ II. xvi A glass of spirits, be it sound cognac,..or..good square gin. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > sail > [noun] > square-sail 1882 11 Aug. 6/6 Lorna and Chittywee last, the latter with a large jackyardtopsail set, the others having working squareheaders. society > communication > writing > system of writing > [noun] > of specific languages > Hebrew 1915 at Square 15 a Square Hebrew. 1948 D. Diringer 261 The Aramaic script therefore became the parent of the ‘square Hebrew’. 1974 IV. 983/1 Between the 6th and 2nd centuries BC, Classical, or Square, Hebrew gradually displaced the Aramaic alphabet. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > [noun] > types of stroke 1837 11 196 By swinging the bat nearly in the direction in which the umpire stands, making a square hit. 1882 24 June A square hit for 2 by Grace followed, which made up the century. the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > reputation > good repute > reputability or honourableness > [noun] > respectability > person 1934 21 Apr. 113/1 The man who works for a living..is generally referred to in terms of contempt such as working stiff, Honest John, Square John, sucker or scissor bill. 1935 A. J. Pollock 112/2 Square John, a dope peddler who is not addicted. 1962 ‘K. Orvis’ ix. 62 I played it even safer with those uptown Square Johns. 1968 2 Nov. 8/1 He kept saying that McWhirter was a ‘square John’. ‘What does a ‘square John’ mean? Does it mean an ordinary law-abiding citizen?’ Mr. Owen-Flood asked. ‘As far as I know,’ Porter replied. 1875 E. H. Knight III. 2294/2 Square-joint, a mode of joining wooden stuff in which the edges are brought squarely together, without rabbeting, tongue, or feather. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Square-Knot, the same as reef-knot. the world > matter > physics > [adjective] > in accordance with laws of nature > specific the world > matter > physics > [noun] > specific concepts or principles of > theoretical principle deduced from fact > specific the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > intensity of light, luminosity > [noun] > rate, ratio 1921 18 263 For the weaker [magnetic] fields there is a decided curvature in the lines which gradually smooth out into practically straight lines. It is in this lower region that the ‘square law’, proposed by Sir J. J. Thomson, holds. 1926 R. W. Hutchinson 69 Another type of variable condenser is known as the square law condenser, and in the best wireless receivers it has replaced the ordinary form. 1930 452 Square law condenser, a variable condenser in which the angle of rotation is proportional to the square of the capacity, and thus proportional directly to the change in wave-length. 1932 359 An instrument known as a volume indicator, which is a square-law device with a calibrated attenuator preceding it. 1932 365 A square-law meter, for instance, on moderately weak passages hardly moves at all. 1945 17 734/2 The valve will work satisfactorily as a square law rectifier. 1958 W. T. O'Dea i. 8 A room forty feet by thirty could be lit quite cheerfully by the candles and would be dismal by the light of a single bulb. The reason is the ‘square law’ so well known to anyone who has studied physics. Ten feet away from a light source the illumination per unit area is only one-hundredth of what it is one foot away, and so on. 1976 29 Jan. 294/2 The vector voltmeters had a bandwidth of 1 kHz and employed a square-law detector following the narrow-band filter. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > fielding > [noun] > fielding position > specific society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricketer > [noun] > fielder > fielders by position 1849 F. W. Lillywhite in F. Lillywhite 19 The Long Leg for a ‘square leg hitter’ should stand parallel to the wicket. 1873 May . 378/1 [He] was very nearly had at square leg the first ‘slow’ he got. 1894 28 May 7/3 He made one particularly fine square-leg hit to the boundary. 1882 8 Sept. (Encycl. Dict.) [He] continued..by square-legging both bowlers for a couple each time. 1931 C. R. S. Pitman i. 3 There is the huge, square mouth—from which it derives its sobriquet of ‘square-lipped’.] 1961 9 Nov. 340/2 A rare animal, the white or square-lipped rhino, is threatened by extinction. 1970 28 Mar. 1180/1 (caption) By 1966..there were about 800 southern square-lipped rhinoceroses in the Hluhluwe and Umfolozi reserves in Natal. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher 462 Main-sail. This, in a square-rigged vessel, is distinguished by the so-termed square main-sail. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Square or Squaring Marks, marks placed upon the lifts and braces [as guides in squaring the yards]. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > [noun] > other types 1912 C. B. Hayward 349 Design in this field [sc. aircraft engines] has..gone back to automobile standards of several years ago when it was customary to build what are known as square motors, i.e. those in which the bore and stroke are the same. 1881 726 The square-mouthed rhinoceros is a huge ungainly-looking beast. 1894 R. Lydekker II. 479 The largest of the group is the square-mouthed, or Burchell's rhinoceros (R. simus). 1915 T. Roosevelt & E. Heller II. xxi. 662 The square-mouthed rhinos..seemed to be of a perceptibly lighter gray. the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > muscles of specific parts > [noun] > muscles of pelvis or hips 1615 H. Crooke 802 The first payre are called Quadrati the square muscles;..they..lye as it were square vpon the rackes of the loynes. 1681 N. Grew i. vi. ii. 146 The Square-Muscle. Concha Rhomboidea. the world > food and drink > hunting > hawking > falconry or hawking equipment > [noun] > net 1856 ‘Stonehenge’ i. iv. i. 222 Haggards may be trapped in this country with the square-net, or the bow-net. 1747 W. Hooson sig. Q3 Raising-Pair. These differ from a Squarepair in this, that instead of a Collar made on the Forks, we make Tenners, so that the Forks are Tennered at both Ends, and the Sliders are Slotted at both Ends to receive the Forks. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > pianoforte > types of piano 1853 C. Dickens xxxviii. 379 A little jingling square piano. 1938 R. Field (1939) i. xvi. 208 One of the girls went to a square piano and began trying the keys. 1980 8 377/2 Included in the sale was the Zumpe square piano of 1766 (£3,200) the earliest known piano to have been made in England. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > keyboard instrument > stringed keyboards > [noun] > pianoforte > types of piano 1787 (caption) This figure represents the movement of a square Piano Forte. 1800 (Royal Soc.) 90 135 A square piano forte. 1840 XVIII. 139/2 The square piano-forte..was taken from the clavichord, but..retains only its shape. 1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett 353/2 Upright pianos have been called giraffes from their tall appearance, and horizontal ones have been called couched harp, or square pianoforte. 1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Square piece (Square pusher), a sweetheart: a respectable young woman. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical appliances or devices > [noun] > electric plug > projection 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Square-Butted, the yard-arms of small shipping so made that a sheave-hole can be cut through without weakening the yard. 1965 P. Honey iii. 75 The 13-amp. plug has square pins (which are superior to round pins) and will not fit any other size of socket. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Square Ribbons, a synonym of horizontal lines, or horizontal ribbons. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > [noun] > for specific people > for members of a body or association > naval, military, etc. > types of society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > [noun] > arrangement of masts sails > types of 1875 E. H. Knight Square-rig, that rig in which the lower sails are suspended from horizontal yards, as distinguished from fore-and-aft rig. 1942 L. V. Berrey & M. Van den Bark §791/10 Square rig or rigger, a double-breasted uniform. 1951 N. Coward 24 Attired as they were in the usual ‘Square-Rig’ of British Ordinary Seamen, they caused a mild sensation. 1962 W. Granville 112/1 Square rig, uniform worn by ‘men dressed as seamen’, the jumper, flannel, jean collar and bell-bottomed trousers. 1979 Feb. 4/1 It is a once-only increase to enable these ratings to complete the replacement of old-pattern suits of square rig, without being out of pocket. society > travel > travel by water > one who travels by water or sea > sailor > types of sailor > [noun] > sailor on other types of craft society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessel propelled by sail > [noun] > with specific rig > square-rigged 1855 C. Nordhoff 285 Our mate..had never before been in a ‘square-rigger’. 1886 23 Apr. 2/3 There are many old square-riggers..who will be curious to know what there is for Jack on board a steamer to put his hand to. 1875 E. H. Knight Square-roof, one in which the principal rafters meet at a right angle. society > occupation and work > equipment > equipment for marking out work > [noun] > squares 1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti I. 38/2 In making these Angles we must use a Square Rule. society > communication > printing > types, blocks, or plates > relating to type > style of type > [noun] > type face or font > distinguished by type of serif 1940 H. F. Lock iii. 30 The modern square-serif letters are derived from the ‘Antiques’ and ‘Egyptians’ of a century ago. 1967 E. Chambers ii. 13 Leading the contemporary field are the square serif and the sans serif. 1978 S. Rice 214 Sans serif, typeface design not having the small bracketing accents at the ends of the letter strokes... Square serif letters do not properly belong to this grouping. 1881 9 179 Square sets, a kind of timbering used in large spaces. 1842 J. Gwilt Gloss. 1036 Square Shoot, a wooden trough for discharging water from a building. 1914 L. E. Jackson & C. R. Hellyer 79 Square-shooter,..a dependable person; a reliable, compact-keeping person. 1928 S. Lewis i. 51 There's a man that it's a pleasure to do business with, a square-shooter if ever there was one. 1937 W. Lewis i. vi. 63 My friend..was somehow treacherous and not at all the good sport and ‘square-shooter’ I had supposed him to be. 1962 E. Lucia ii. 24 Kitty was looked upon as a ‘square shooter’ in the rough give-and-take game of the Dawson gambling joints. 1922 E. F. Murphy ii. xxii. 322 I would like to ask these same ‘old-timers’ ‘how many square shooting addicts have you found in your experience?’ I can hear them roar and say ‘There is no such animal’. 1932 J. Dos Passos 428 One of them made a speech in English and another one in Sicilian saying that this was a squareshooting concern that had always treated laborers square. 1842 J. Gwilt Gloss. 1036 Square Staff, a piece of wood placed at the external angle of a projection in a room to secure the angle. 1875 E. H. Knight Square-stern, a build in which the wing-transom is at right angles to the stern-post, in contradistinction to round stern. 1919 War Terms in 8 Aug. 729/1 ‘Square-tack’ [a sweetheart]. 1881 Jan. 62 Every five or six years there was a general muster technically termed square-tailing,..to ascertain the precise number of cattle upon the station. society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > screw > thread > types of thread 1838 1 279/2 The thread of a square threaded screw. 1908 E. Oberg i. 29 The Acme thread..has of late become widely used, having in most instances taken the place of the square thread on account of its better wearing qualities. 1939 S. E. Winston iii. 72 The Square Thread..is probably the most typical transmission screw thread, as its mechanical efficiency is considerably higher than that of such threads as the V thread. 1975 G. Bram & C. Downs iv. 120 In the square thread the sides are parallel and normal to the axis of the screw. 1850 J. Greenwood 151 Square timbers, the timbers which stand square with, or perpendicular to, the keel. 1846 A. Young 355 When the after part of the ship terminates in a straight plane which is nearly vertical, instead of the plank running up to the counter, she is said to have a square tuck. 1888 C. T. Jacobi 130 Square twelves, twelvemo laid down in imposition the ‘short’ or ‘square’ way, in contradistinction to ‘long twelves’. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > voltage > [noun] > variation in voltage > wave characterized by the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > [noun] > waveform > types of waveform 1944 21 64 (heading) A simple variable ‘square-wave’ stimulator for biological work. 1965 Sept. 460/1 One popular method of amplifier stability assessment is ‘square-wave testing’ in which a suitable square wave is applied to the input, and the output inspected on an oscilloscope screen. 1975 G. J. King v. 120 It is assumed that the input waveform is a true square wave of very small rise time. the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > [noun] > region of lower potential 1939 56 890/1 The square well fitting proton-proton scattering is not as deep as that fitting proton-neutron scattering. 1954 96 461/1 The smoothing of the edges of the square-well potential was of significance for the interpretation of the elastic proton scattering with heavy nuclei. 1975 W. F. Hornyak iv. 242 Another simple potential well used to represent the average potential of the single-particle model is the three-dimensional square well. the mind > goodness and badness > inferiority or baseness > imperfection > [noun] > that which is imperfect society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > wheel > of specific type or position 1924 19 Dec. 594/1 (advt.) Thousands of Wireless enthusiasts..are running their broadcasting reception on square wheels, enduring..distortion... Are you getting square wheel reception? 1977 ‘O. Jacks’ viii. 111 It was almost impossible to stand upright. The truck was operating on square wheels. 1883 W. S. Gresley 233 Square work, an old system of working the Thick coal by getting the upper beds first and then the lower ones. 1883 W. S. Gresley 233 Square work, a system of working a seam of coal by cutting it up into square blocks or pillars. society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > woodworker > [noun] > carpenter > types of 1752 in W. Cramond (1903) I. 464 All chests, chairs, stools, spades, staves and other squarewright work. 1825 J. Jamieson Suppl. Square-wricht, a joiner who works in the finer kinds of furniture. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > masts, rigging, or sails > spar > [noun] > yard > other yards 1769 W. Falconer Square, a term peculiarly appropriated to the yards and their sails, implying..that they are of greater extent than usual. 1794 D. Steel II. 257 Square. This term is applied to yards that are very long. b. In specific or distinguishing names of plants, animals, etc. the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > barley > types of barley or barley-plant a1722 E. Lisle (1757) 152 Square-barley, or winter-barley..is commonly sown in the mountainous parts of northern countries. 1731 P. Miller I. at Hordeum Winter or Square Barley, or Bear Barley; by some call'd Big. 1803 G. Shaw IV. ii. 291 Square Dory. Zeus quadratus. 1805 R. W. Dickson I. 540 The new sorts of wheat in that county are..the square-ear, and the hoary brown. 1681 N. Grew i. v. ii. 110 The Squar-Fish. Piscis quadrangularis. 1774 G. Cartwright 12 Dec. (1792) II. 38 A squarephripper was caught in a net to-day. 1784 T. Pennant I. i. 161 The Seal-hunters in Newfoundland have a large kind, which they call the Square Phipper, and say weighs five hundred pounds. 1832 J. McGregor I. 108 The harp seal..the hooded seal..the square flipper, the blue seal, and the jar seal. 1842 J. B. Jukes I. 312 The ‘square fipper’..is, however, very rare. 1861 L. De Boilieu 91 These seals are not like the Square Frippers. 1883 (ed. 4) 173 Hooded or Bladder Nose... Square Flipper. 1884 J. A. Allen in G. B. Goode et al. 65 (note) The Bay Seal,..the Hooded Seal,..and the ‘Square Flipper’ (probably Halichærus grypus). 1911 D. M. Lindsay iii. 39 Square flippers..are also found on the coast [of Newfoundland]. 1957 Spring 49/1 They were immensely strong and could carry off a square-flipper seal single-handed. 1805 R. W. Dickson I. 540 The square-eared wheat is a very productive kind. 1835 C. Howard Gen. View Agric. E. Riding Yorks. 9 in (Libr. Useful Knowl.) (1840) III The square-eared, or some other of the coarse descriptions [of barley]. the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Umbelliferae (umbellifers) > [noun] > other umbellifers 1548 W. Turner sig. B.vij Bunium..maye be called in englishe square perseley. 1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore II. 849/1 Parsley, Square, Ptychotis heterophylla. 1832 J. Rennie 56 Dahl's Square Spot... Wings..with a dusky square spot between the stigmata. 1548 W. Turner sig. B.iijv Ascyron..maye be called in english square saint Johans grasse. 1843 R. T. Lowe 129 Tetragonurus Atlanticus... The Square-tail, or Sea-raven. 1896 R. Lydekker V. 398 The curious Mediterranean and Atlantic fish known as Cuvier's square-tail (Tetragonurus cuvieri). 1935 B. Perry vii. 151 The lake was perfect for bathing and boating. There were big ‘square-tails’ in it then. 1972 Feb. 14/2 It brought to mind an experience I had in Labrador this past summer when I was up there fishing for squaretail trout. 1548 W. Turner sig. D.i Euonymus..maye be called in englishe Spyndle tree or square tree. 1681 N. Grew i. vi. i. 130 The Square-Wilk. Buccina Rhomboidea. Draft additions March 20041967 6 Apr. 11/4 Burns sent a square ball across the penalty area from the left to Whitehead, who cut inside and shot into the far corner of the net. 2000 (Nexis) 21 Sept. 9 d Senior midfielder Emerson Martin-Silva took a square ball from Tim Sheleheda and finished from 15 yards out to provide the winner five minutes into the extra time. Draft additions April 20111898 S. Crane 221 I bet you I can skin anything in this town on a square go. 1945 J. Devanny iv. 71 My people don't get a square go. 1972 G. Friel iii. 13 He persuaded one of them to challenge the other. A square-go was fixed for four o'clock in the Weavers Lane. 2001 J. Boyle 100 But McColl and Foley haul him off me and McColl shouts, Back to yer coarner, Miller, it's supposed to be a square go! Draft additions September 20161957 17 Aug. b12/3 [Bob] Hope's best barb..was aimed at TV. ‘The kids are watching so much television these days..that the next generation will probably be born with square eyes.’ 1959 16 May 14/1 I'm the original square eyes. I watch everything on television. 1970 30 July 21/2 The suspicion that one could develop square eyes from too much viewing. 1995 Oct. 12/3 As for the 7% of couch potatoes, what's the matter with you, square eyes? 2007 O. Ashford 8 I almost got square eyes from watching cartoons! Draft additions December 20161941 Aug. 304/2 A 12-foot board with a square tail is very popular for heavy men. 1998 (Nexis) 19 Nov. (Snow section) e2 It wasn't all that long ago that snowboards had a square tail and a pointy nose. 2006 Feb. 18/1 It had a stance set back somewhere near its square tail, and..I didn't so much ‘strap in’ as pull a metal lever over the end of my ski boots. 2010 M. Warshaw 186/1 The Phil Edwards Model, a sleek but hard-to-ride squaretail.., was the sport's first signature board. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2022). squarev. Etymology: < Old French esquarrer (escarrer, equarrer), = Portuguese esquadrar, Spanish escuadrar, Italian squadrare < popular Latin *exquadrāre, < Latin ex out + quadra square. Old French had also esquarrir (escarrir, etc., modern French équarrir). I. transitive. 1. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) a1382 (Bodl. 959) (1963) 3 Kings v. 17 Þe kyng comawndide þat þei schulden taken þe grete stones..& þei schulden squaren hem. 1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomew de Glanville (Bodl.) xvi. lxxiv Stones..itake oute of quarers and þanne þei beþ ihewe, planed and sqwared. c1407 J. Lydgate 6100 The poyntes [were] squared eke so pleyn That the Ioynyng was nat sene. c1460 J. Russell 52 The iij. [knife] sharpe & kene to smothe þe trenchurs and square. 1526 W. Bonde ii. sig. CCCiiiv The people of Israel..buylded a solemne temple..of stones precious & quadrat or squared. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria f. 233 The Rubies..are scoured and made cleane... Yet can they not square and polyshe them. 1592 ‘C. Cony-Catcher’ sig. D His beard squard with such Arte. 1653 4 But this Stone is so ill squar'd, that one way it will be found to narrow, and the other to broad. 1691 No. 2668/4 Crown Window Glass..; which may be squared into all Sizes of Sashes for Windows and other Uses. 1754 at Book-binding After which the paste-boards are squared. 1803 R. Southey (1856) I. 169 A square hedge of thickset, squared most trimly by the shears of the garden-barber. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. iii. 415 Those who..squared the Portland stone for Saint Paul's. society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > constructing or working with wood > build or construct with wood [verb (transitive)] > prepare, dress, or square timber the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) > make square in cross-section 1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. iv. 2432 With a spere, squared for to byte,..Þe myȝty duke..Rood lyne riȝt..To Anthenor. 1503 in J. B. Paul (1900) II. 275 To the wrichtis that squarit the tymir in the Hieland. 1530 J. Palsgrave 731/1 I wyll square thyse ookes to make tymber of. 1560 Bp. J. Pilkington (1562) 59 A carpenter which is not cunning to make the house, yet may he square trees. 1663 B. Gerbier 78 The Timber being squared before it be brought to London. 1725 A. Pope tr. Homer II. v. 316 He smooth'd, and squar'd 'em [sc. trees], by the rule and line. 1791 W. Bartram 312 I have some men at work squaring Pine and Cypress timber for the West-Indian market. 1810 W. Scott i. 31 [He] Lopped off their boughs, their hoar trunks bared, And by the hatchet rudely squared. 1869 W. J. M. Rankine Pl.H 8 The other end [of the tube] being squared to receive the handle. society > communication > indication > marking > marking out > mark out [verb (transitive)] > in square the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) c1440 ii. 109 A tabul square,..Feet scoris nyne in lengthe, as fele in wide; Let square hit so. 1530 J. Palsgrave 731/1 I squyer, I rule with a squyer, as a carpynter doyth his worke or he sawe it out, je esquarre. 1556 J. Heywood xvii. 27 Whiche sqwyre shall square me, a scantlin well bent, For a right rewle, to show me innocent. 1667 J. Milton viii. 232 Squar'd in full Legion (such command we had) To see that none thence issu'd forth a spie. View more context for this quotation 1797 XVII. 392/1 Take also the round aft,..and square it down to the pencil line last drawn. 1800 (Royal Soc.) 90 541 The Master General has been pleased to issue his directions for the survey of Devonshire, and as much of Somersetshire and Cornwall as will square the work. 1864 J. R. Lowell 288 What frame..ever enclosed such a picture as is squared within the groundsel, side-posts, and lintel of a barn-door. 1877 A. B. Edwards vii. 176 The soil, squared off as usual like a gigantic chess-board. the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) 1565 T. Cooper at Exascio It is rough hewed or squared out, or it is begunne. 1632 W. Lithgow x. 443 This Pallace standeth alone, and founded vpon the skirt of a.. hill.., squared out from a deualling steepnesse. 1647 H. More 31 A large g[r]een turf squar'd out, all fresh and fine. 1837 W. B. Adams 96 Two holes are then bored in each mortice in succession, after which they are squared out with proper chisels. 1869 W. J. M. Rankine Pl.Q 16. 2 Mortises are chased, and the ends squared-out. 1875 J. Lukin 58 Take care to square up accurately the boards to form the front, back, and sides. 1930 T. S. Eliot tr. ‘St.-J. Perse’ 53 The boundless unreckoned year, squared out with dawns and fires. the mind > emotion > pride > be proud [verb (intransitive)] > behave proudly the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) > form by making square 1584 B. R. tr. Herodotus ii. f. 94 Of the body of this thorne they sawe and square out certaine boardes two cubits longe. 1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero 92 Of the timber of these trees are squared all necessaries, as well for buildings as all other vses. 1606 N. Breton sig. F1v For his proportion, he was squared out of a timber logge, which was crooked at both ends. 1833 J. C. Loudon §742 It is not intended that this wood shall be cut out of large trees, but that it shall be squared from young trees or branches. 2. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > multiply > by itself or raise to a particular power ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) i. xxx. sig. Iiv Now square 2400 pase, so haue you 5760000. ?a1560 L. Digges (1571) ii. xii. sig. Nijv The number proceeding of the perches squared. 1614 W. Bedwell iv. 65 I square the quotient 2, that is, I multiply it by it selfe. a1690 S. Jeake (1696) 193 Then do I square 6, and it is 36. 1766 at Surveying To square the diameter, and to multiply that square by 7854. 1804 C. Hutton (ed. 4) I. 8 72 denotes that the number 7 is to be squared. 1894 c. 60 Sch. 2 (2) To half the girth thus taken add half the main breadth; square the sum. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > measure area [verb (transitive)] > measure area of circle the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) > convert into equivalent square a1631 J. Donne (1953) VI. 175 God is a circle himselfe, and he will make thee one; Goe not thou about to square eyther circle. 1674 R. Boyle i. iii. 104 Mr. Hobbs, after all the ways he has taken, and those he has proposed, to square the circle [etc.]. 1702 T. Brown (ed. 2) ii. 18 You may as soon square the Circle, as reduce the several Branches..under one single Head. 1717 M. Prior iii. 366 Circles to square, and Cubes to double, Would give a Man excessive Trouble. 1798 C. Hutton II. 311 To square the circle, or find its area. 1871 C. Davies iii. 68 The legislator..cannot square the circle. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (transitive)] > to reduce to equivalent square 1811 P. Kelly I. 260 In squaring the dimensions of artificers work, the Inch is divided into 12 parts. 1828 (ed. 20) 26 In like manner may any dimensions be squared, and the content be found. 3. society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of sails, spars, or rigging > carry specific amount of sail [verb (transitive)] > trim sails > square the yards a1625 H. Mainwaring (Harl. 2301) at Yard Wee square the Yards, that is make them hang either a Crosse and one Yard-arme not traversed more then th' other. 1669 S. Sturmy i. ii. 17 Hawl home the Top~sail Clue-lines, square the Yeard. 1769 W. Falconer at Lifts The yards are said to be squared by the lifts, when they hang at right angles with the mast. 1806 T. Moore iii But see.., All hands are up the yards to square. 1832 F. Marryat I. xii. 156 The Estelle had squared her mainyard, as a signal of submission. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Squaring the Dead-Eyes, bringing them to a line parallel to the sheer of the ship. 1867 W. H. Smyth & E. Belcher Squaring the Ratlines, seeing that all are horizontal and shipshape. 1894 10 July 11/1 Booms were squared off and spinnaker booms rigged. the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > set at right angles [verb (transitive)] 1690 in (Bannatyne Club) 140 To divide and appropriat the same..as shall be necessary to square marches amongst the saids adjacent Heritors. 1796 157 He..gives his words..Halt! Dress! and corrects and squares his division. 1815 W. Scott vi. xiii. 238 The Monarch rode along the van,..His line to marshal and to range, And ranks to square, and fronts to change. 1837 J. Morier lvii The clergyman drew forth his book and squared the table with two candles upon it. 1851 M. Reid II. i. 11 Having squared her [sc. the mare's] hips to the camp, he whispered something at her head. 1890 206 To ‘square’ a print upon a mount turn it face down. the world > the universe > planet > position of planet > aspect > [verb (transitive)] > quadrature 1697 T. Creech tr. Manilius ii. xxviii. 70 The Icy Goat, the Crab which square the Scales. 1852 ‘Zadkiel’ 394 [On] June 4th, 1738, Mars was on the cusp of the meridian, squaring the ascendant. the world > space > relative position > posture > place into or assume a posture [verb (transitive)] > specific part of body > squarely or firmly 1819 W. Scott I. vii. 84 The Saxon domestics squared their shoulders. 1823 W. Scott III. v. 133 She does so stoop and lollop,..so cross her legs and square her arms. 1829 E. Bulwer-Lytton 149 Square your body a little more to your left. 1881 T. A. M'Carthy 19 Square the heels and stand perfectly steady. the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > protect or defend [verb (reflexive)] > take up attitude of defence 1823 J. F. Cooper ii. xv. 223 Square yourself, you lubber,..and we'll soon know who's the better man. 1864 ‘M. Twain’ (1867) 107 Caesar..squared himself to receive his assailants. 1893 Mar. 643/1 With a look of determination on his face, [he] squared himself to write. 1977 J. I. M. Stewart i. 28 I was squaring myself to the necessity of telling him that I was no good for the purpose he had in mind when our walk came suddenly to an end. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > play association football [verb (transitive)] > actions to ball 1972 G. Green viii. 85 Bloomfield made it 2–3 from a squared header by Groves. 1976 E. Dunphy iv. 113 Having to go round the back of the goal and square it back before you could score. 1978 12 Jan. 10/3 Tait..squared the ball into the stride of Rafferty who hit in a first-time shot. II. Senses relating to just regulation or arrangement. 4. figurative. the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > act in accordance with [verb (transitive)] > regulate (one's action) by the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] > bring into conformity > adjust to a standard or purpose > adjust by a standard (a) 1531 W. Tyndale (1537) 2 To consente unto ye law that it is ryghteous, and good;..and to rule and square all thy dedes therby. 1589 T. Nashe sig. Aiiv To eschew womens counsaile, and not to square our actions by their direction. 1620 506 The very rules, by which all the actions of our life be squared and disposed. 1673 W. Penn vi. 540 A Light within, to know their Duty and Square their Lives by. 1712 G. Berkeley §13. 15 He who squares his actions by this Rule, can never do amiss. 1756 C. Lucas i. Ded. He squared all his political conduct by their counsil. 1823 W. Scott II. iii. 67 The path of royal policy cannot be always squared..by the abstract maxims of religion, and of morality. a1864 N. Hawthorne (1872) 280 The habits of Sibyl Dacy were so wayward, and little squared by general rules, that nobody..tried to account for them. the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > agree, harmonize, or be congruous with [verb (transitive)] the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] > adapt or adjust to (a) 1583 B. Melbancke (new ed.) sig. Civ If thou canst..square thy life to her direction, she will allowe thee two seruants. 1637 J. Milton 12 Eye me blest Providence, and square my triall To my proportion'd strength. 1682 J. Norris tr. Hierocles Pref. 29 Those Heathens who squared their actions to the law of natural reason. 1747 S. Richardson II. xxvi. 157 I should not know how to square it to my own principles. a1821 J. Keats Otho ii. i, in R. M. Milnes (1848) II. 135 I cannot square my conduct to time, place, Or circumstance. 1857 J. J. Blunt 2nd Ser. vi. 406 I am led to doubt if the testimony of the Fathers can be squared to it. the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)] 1596 T. Nashe sig. V2v Your booke being readie for the Presse, Ile square & set it out in Pages. 1670 (Royal Soc.) 4 1134 I had no thought of squaring the comparison to agree in all circumstances. 1861 F. M. Müller (1864) 1st Ser. 340 Any attempt at squaring the classification of races and tongues must necessarily fail. 1888 J. Bryce I. xi. 144 When the majority belongs to the same party as the President, appointments are usually arranged, or to use a familiar expression, ‘squared,’ between them. the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > agree, harmonize, or be congruous with [verb (transitive)] > bring into agreement or harmony the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > adaptation or adjustment > adapt or adjust [verb (transitive)] 1578 Bk. Christian Prayers in (1851) 514 That we..may square out all our doings, words and thoughts, by thee. 1592 R. Cosin 86 Doe not they..exact and seeke to square out..all ciuill policies..vnto the Iudicials of Moyses. 1603 H. Crosse sig. C2v No man is wise, happy, or any thing worth, if Temperance square not out the course of his life. 1628 W. Prynne 21 The rules for naturall, must regulate and square out the length of artificiall Haire. a1661 T. Fuller (1662) i. 45 I hope..both being put together, may square out the most eminent of the Antient Gentry, in some tolerable proportion. the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)] > put in order or tidy society > travel > travel by water > directing or managing a ship > use of sails, spars, or rigging > support (an amount of) sail [verb (intransitive)] > brace yards so sails fill > fill sails and manoeuvre ship 1909 R. A. Wason xvi. 203 She had a head on her, Barbie had, an' when she got squared away, she made 'em all get down an' scratch. 1947 19 Dec. 10/1 Motion carried that Ship's Delegate contact all tripcard men who have not acted in a way becoming to a Union man and get them squared away. 1956 H. Kurnitz xiv. 87 Let's get you squared away, Mr. Jarrold. You knew damn well what you were doing..didn't you? 1966 T. Pynchon i. 20 He outlined what she was in for..decide what to liquidate and what to hold on to, pay off claims, square away taxes, distribute legacies. 1980 ‘R. B. Dominic’ ii. 12 We've got Mrs Bertilucci squared away... Sorry about her yelling at you. 5. To bring to an equality on both sides; to make even so as to leave no difference; to balance. the world > relative properties > relationship > equality or equivalence > make equal [verb (transitive)] society > trade and finance > management of money > keeping accounts > keep accounts [verb (transitive)] > add up and ascertain differences > balance or reconcile 1815 22 For the purpose of squaring the civil list accounts. 1860 W. M. Thackeray iv She would accept benefits,..but then she insulted her benefactors, and so squared accounts. 1888 J. A. Symonds I. Introd. p. xlvii He left the land of his adoption before he had properly squared accounts with King Francis. 1825 W. Scott 7 Dec. (1939) 34 Square the odds, and good-night Sir Walter about sixty. 1828 W. Scott 23 Feb. (1941) 195 On squaring his books and making allowance for bad debts [etc.]. 1852 R. S. Surtees iii. xviii. 87 If he couldn't square matters at short notice, he would have no better chance with an extension of time. 1868 G. Chesney in i. i. 33 The Directors..still clung to trade as the only means of squaring their balance-sheet. the world > relative properties > order > put in (proper) order [verb (transitive)] > specific matters of any kind 1853 C. Dickens xxii. 222 ‘I have squared it with the lad,’ says Mr. Bucket, returning, ‘and it's all right’. 1872 615 We always square it with the usher. society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > pay debt [verb (intransitive)] society > trade and finance > payment > payment of debt > pay debt [verb (transitive)] 1821 J. A. Quitman Let. 4 Dec. in J. F. H. Claiborne (1860) I. 69 I paid my $25, squared my bill, and departed. 1855 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ xvii. 141 Damphool squared up his broad bill, and paid his washerwoman, which left him dead broke. 1862 Mrs. H. Wood III. xiv. 170 I can square up some of my liabilities here. 1868 C. Dickens 15 Oct. (2002) XII. 202 Square up everything whatsoever that it has been necessary to buy. society > leisure > sport > winning, losing, or scoring > win, lose, or score [verb (transitive)] > score > equalize scores of (a match) 1923 8 May 12 The American captain missed his chance to square at the 17th, where he had a putt of 4 feet to win the hole. 1926 P. G. Wodehouse ii. 66 Bradbury, driving another long ball, won the fifteenth, squaring the match. 1955 26 July 3/1 England, in fact, if they are to win..must make 366 in six hours to-day, while South Africa, to square the rubber, have eight wickets yet to take. 1976 J. Snow 54 The last few tense and dramatic overs later on in the final Test in Georgetown when the West Indies were pressing for victory to square the series. 6. slang or colloquial. society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > illegal payment or exaction > [verb (transitive)] > bribe society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > appease or propitiate 1859 J. C. Hotten 100 Squaring his nibs, giving a policeman money. 1861 T. Hughes III. xvi. 286 I told him the truth of the..story, and I think he is squared. 1885 7 Jan. 5/4 Rich offenders..‘square the reporters’ by giving them bribes on condition that their names shall not be printed in the newspapers. the world > life > death > killing > man-killing or homicide > murder or assassination > murder or assassinate [verb (transitive)] 1888 W. B. Churchward vii. 128 His ‘getting square’, meant cutting throats; and if he didn't lie, it would have taken a big ship to carry all the people he'd ‘squared’ up to date. society > society and the community > dissent > absence of dissension or peace > bringing about concord or peace > bring to peace (strife or discord) [verb (transitive)] > appease or propitiate 1945 S. J. Baker vi. 134 Square off, to, to apologize, to produce a glib explanation for some lapse or misdeameanour. 1969 15 Jan. 7/3 Moloney said..that he had been drinking at hotels... As they were driving home, he..decided..to buy beer to ‘square off’ with his wife. 1976 19 Feb. 519/2 Squaring off the proprietors of the three national chains of newspapers, whose unquestioning support he [sc. Mr. Fraser] enjoyed throughout the campaign. III. intransitive. †7. the world > relative properties > relationship > difference > be different [verb (intransitive)] ?c1450 in G. J. Aungier (1840) 294 Sober, demewre, and chereful to speke to,..who[se] sadnes is not wonte to suffer them notably to square in their demenynge. 1483 W. Caxton tr. J. de Voragine 93/1 The blessyd Lucye hath..Rightful goyng and deuocion to god with out squaryng out of the way. ?1521 J. Fisher sig. Diiv The prophetes somtyme left vnto themselfe dyd square from ye trouthe. 1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus II. Rom. viii. f. xixv Whiche froward minde..synce it squareth from Gods pleasure, cannot be but against him. 1582 R. Stanyhurst in tr. Virgil To Rdr. sig. Bijv I made a prosodia too my selfe squaring soomwhat from thee Latin. 1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus 204 Yet there is not a definitive sentence of his touching any controversie known, squaring from the truth. society > leisure > the arts > literature > style of language or writing > copiousness > be copious [verb (intransitive)] > digress 1567 J. Maplet f. 29 That thereby they might understand..that I had not greatly squared, if I had pursued many moe diuisions. 1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer ii. f. 18 The Preacher..oft leauing it [sc. the Word], doth square And spend the tyme about complaints. society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > form or reform [verb (intransitive)] > fall into line > fall out of line or rank 1583 T. Stocker tr. iv. 66 b The enemie [was]..so handled, as that his Souldiers squared somewhat out of order. †8. the mind > emotion > hatred > quarrel or falling out > quarrel or fall at variance [verb (intransitive)] society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > quarrel [verb (intransitive)] 1530 J. Palsgrave 731/1 Of all the men lyvyng I love not to square with hym. 1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus I. Acts 24 Sence your prohibicions doe vtterly square with his commaundementes, and that we cannot satisfie both the one and eke the other. 1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione iii. sig. Mm.iv See Madam, oure ennemies begine to breake and to square one wyth an other. 1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus f. 255 Touchyng the stuffe wherof every of the saied garlandes was made, Gellius & Suetonius dooe square & disagree. 1580 H. Gifford (Grosart) 103 When men doe square for euery fly, To make them friends the women runne. 1593 T. Nashe f. 68v Lyke the Geometritians, they square about poynts and lynes, and the vtter shew of things. 1608 T. Middleton (new ed.) iv. sig. F3 Answer me roundly to the point, or els ile square. the mind > language > statement > dissent or disagreement > dissent or disagree [verb (intransitive)] 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy xxxix. lii. 1056 But I accord neither with them nor with Valerius. From them I square, because I find [etc.]. 9. the world > relative properties > order > agreement, harmony, or congruity > agree/be in harmony/be congruous [verb (intransitive)] 1592 W. Wyrley 3 Wherein I may peraduenture not square in opinion with some others. 1608 D. Tuvill f. 118v True Vertue is alwaies like herselfe, she squares with euery accident. 1695 J. Woodward 40 The present Circumstances of these Marine Bodies do not square with those Opinions. 1745 P. Thomas 139 When any other Person's Account happens not to square exactly with what himself has observed. 1781 W. Cowper 559 All disguises shall be rent away That square not truly with the scripture plan. 1843 G. W. Le Fevre II. ii. ii. 185 The apartment which he occupied squared well with its tenant. 1885 E. Clodd i. iii. 45 The theory may be pushed to extremes in compelling every fact to square with it. 1593 R. Bancroft iv. xv. 185 Thinges had not squared to their likings. 1642 Sir T. Browne 8 There is no Church, whose every part so squares unto my Conscience. a1691 R. Boyle (1692) 71 These two notions..square to all other the instruments and phenomena in nature. 1724 A. Collins 251 Yet cannot this prophesy be made to square to the event. 1602 W. Watson 29 In matters of life.., seeing they both square and differ herein from the Protestants [etc.]. 1687 J. Dryden ii. 43 I set 'em by the rule, and as they square Or deviate from undoubted doctrine there This Oral fiction, that old Faith declare. 1800 S. T. Coleridge tr. F. Schiller v. ii. 184 A joy it is To exercise the single apprehension Where the sums square in proof. 1849 G. Cupples (1856) xiii. 133 Of all things in the world, that is the very thing where your views and mine happen to square. the mind > emotion > pride > be proud [verb (intransitive)] > behave proudly (a) 1590 R. Greene ii. sig. E4 Squaring in the streetes when thou shouldest bee meditating in thy chamber. 1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus ii. 105 The Tribunes also and other captaines in terrible sort, with multitudes of armed men, went squaring and ietting the streetes. 1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny II. 115 Whereby..those gallants againe, squaring and ruffling thus in their colours, might court faire ladies. 11. society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > fight [verb (intransitive)] > take up fighting attitude society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > fight with [verb (transitive)] > take up fighting attitude to 1820 J. Hogg vi He spit upon his hand and squared. 1823 M. M. Sherwood (ed. 2) iii. xvi Then beginning to square (to use an expression of Mr. Claydon's) the enemy took to his heels. 1861 T. Hughes I. xi. 210 Selecting the one most of his own size, he squared and advanced on him. 1827 T. De Quincey On Murder in Feb. 207/1 Berkeley, feeling himself nettled by the waspishness of the old Frenchman, squared at him. 1848 J. R. Bartlett (at cited word) There were Polk and Cass fidgetting and squaring up to Queen Victoria. 1893 F. C. Selous 3 He squared up to his adversary and..struck him a heavy blow. the world > space > relative position > posture > act of drawing body into compact form > drawn into compact form [verb (intransitive)] 1897 26 Feb. 7/1 Mr. Rhodes..pulled himself together and squared up. society > society and the community > dissent > fighting > fight [verb (intransitive)] > take up fighting attitude the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (transitive)] > make or mark out into square(s) 1838 J. C. Neal 41 If he ‘squares off’ at a big fellow, he is obliged..to hit his antagonist on the knee. 1856 ‘Q. K. P. Doesticks’ xi. 126 Then, at once, squared off at Cuffee, Instantly ‘sailed into’ Cuffee. 1864 ‘M. Twain’ (1926) 155 I ran against another man and he squared off for a fight. 1870 1 55 Sometimes he..shames one of the fighting kind by ‘squaring off’ at him, on the spot. 1873 J. H. Beadle xxxvi. 773 The bow appeared to be rearing up to square off at the midday sun. 1942 E. Paul xxix. 267 The rest of the world were squaring off for a life-and-death struggle. 1960 T. McLean 170 Wellington was still ahead, 6 to 3, as the two teams squared off for the second half. 1974 ‘E. Lathen’ iv. 49 The yelling started... It sounded to me like they were going to square off. 12. the world > relative properties > measurement > measurement of area > measure in area [verb (intransitive)] > measure (so much) on each of four sides 1789 7 10 Spanish Chestnut Trees of a large size (one of them squared upward of two feet). 1792 386 If it be cut when it squares only six inches, it will be as durable as an oak of six times its size and age. 1808 C. Vancouver x. 255 The alder..frequently squaring a foot for twenty feet in height. 1840 R. H. Schomburgk 93 Some of the blocks would square ten to twelve feet. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > perform arithmetic or algebraic operations [verb (intransitive)] > increase by squaring the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [verb (intransitive)] > become square 1854 2 280 The extravagant accounts..seem not only to square, but to cube spontaneously. 1902 E. Rickert 46 His face had squared and hardened in its lines. the world > action or operation > undertaking > undertake or set oneself to do [verb (intransitive)] > resolutely or vigorously the world > action or operation > undertaking > beginning action or activity > begin action or activity [verb (intransitive)] > resolutely or energetically 1849 N. Kingsley 3 Sept. (1914) 57 The wind died away and soon sprung out from the South and [we] squared away before it. 1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster ix. 101 They must be wakened up from time to time, so as to make them get out of their sluggish habit and square away. 1887 in VI. 1889 ‘M. Twain’ xxxvii. 479 I didn't waste any time..but squared away for business. 1894 24 422/2 There, he rounds the buoy and squares away. 1899 F. T. Bullen 313 We squared away to a spanking breeze. 1902 A. D. McFaul xxiv. 220 Lawyer Glidden used to say he was the brightest man in this section, and if he'd ever square away he'd be a smart man. 1961 ‘E. Lathen’ xiii. 103 Miss Todd wasted no more time on idle chatter but squared away to her typewriter. 1897 R. M. Stuart i. 16 Seen May Day first time on her way to church, and looked after her—then squared back direct an' follered her. 1873 in Taylor vii. 91 Give a poor fellow a chance to square it for three months. Compounds In combination. society > society and the community > dissent > quarrel or quarrelling > [noun] > a quarrel ?1949 D. Thomas Let. in (1966) 339 Bert and I had a regular square-up, but he came over to my way of thinking. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online June 2022). squareadv. the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [adverb] > multiplicatively 1557 R. Record sig. Eii And so moche doth 15 make, being multiplied square. the world > action or operation > continuing > [adverb] > in a continuous manner or without stopping the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > [adverb] > deeply 1570 B. Googe tr. T. Kirchmeyer iv. f. 47v Foure dayes long they tipple square, and feede and neuer reast. 1600 R. Armin sig. F3v He..got downe into the Seller, and fell to it tipple square, til he was lost and quite drunke. 1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne ii. ii. 198 Iosephus reporteth, that by making an Ambassador to tipple-square whom his enemies had sent vnto him, he wrested all his secrets out of him. 3. society > morality > rightness or justice > [adverb] > fairly or equitably the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb] 1577–82 N. Breton Toys of Idle Head in (Grosart) I. 29/1 If that Coggers all were barde,..And euery Gamster would play square: Then some men would hope well to fare. the mind > will > decision > resolution or determination > [adverb] 1867 F. W. Newman in Sieveking (1909) ix. 198 N. C. comes out ‘square’ for the Republican party. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > freedom from error, correctness > [adverb] > correctly, properly 1868 H. Woodruff & C. J. Foster iii. 54 He will trot square again with the rollers on. 1889 ‘R. Boldrewood’ xxviii Here they were married, all square and regular, by the Scotch clergyman. the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adverb] > completely, quite, or absolutely 1862 E. S. Philbrick Let. 2 Nov. in E. W. Pearson (1906) 103 His heart failed him and he backed square out. 1880 ‘M. Twain’ xvii. 152 He..shot the dragon square in the center of his cavernous mouth. 1903 A. D. McFaul xxvi. 236 Hain't I bin a-runnin' my legs right square off this four days? 1921 R. D. Paine i. 8 It surely did hit me square between the eyes. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [adverb] > type of rhythm 1960 L. Bernstein 105 Now that you've heard what syncopation is like, let's see what that same Blues we heard before would sound like without it... Played ‘square’ by sax, no vibrato. 4. the world > space > relative position > position at right angles to something > [adverb] the world > space > relative position > quality or fact of being in a line (with) > [adverb] the world > space > shape > angularity > specific angular shape > [adverb] > quadrilateral > square 1631 G. Chapman iii. i Free minds, like dice, fall square whate'er the cast. 1678 J. Moxon I. iv. 66 Two edges of two boards, when thus shot, ly so exactly flat and square upon one another, that light will not be discerned betwixt them. 1683 J. Moxon II. 52 The upper-sides of the Holes in the Iron Plates being square Bored. 1768 L. Sterne I. 194 The German stood square in the most unaccommodating posture that can be imagined. 1821 C. Lamb in Sept. 283/1 He walked burly and square. 1852 N. Hawthorne xxiv. 247 Logs..piled up square. 1852 H. B. Stowe I. xvi. 261 ‘Well, cousin, are you ready to go to meeting?’ said Miss Ophelia, turning square about on St. Clare. the mind > mental capacity > intelligibility > clearness, lucidity > [adjective] the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adverb] society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > bowling > [adverb] > manner of bowling 1963 A. Ross ii. 65 His actual delivery, a shade reminiscent of George Tribe's, is made more square-on than is classical. 1968 K. Weatherly 145 Jim, we've got to look at this square on. We haven't given the game away. It's given us away. 1977 Dec. 60/2 Some of his more ambitious attempts, however, don't quite ‘come off’, while others are ‘square-on’ to the point of suggesting a lack of imagination. 5. the world > relative properties > number > geometry > angle > [adverb] > at right angles 1680 J. Moxon I. xii. 213 To cut straight down all the way; that is, to cut it square down at right Angles with the outside of the Work. 1728 E. Chambers at Roof Instead of terminating in a Ridge or Angle, 'tis cut square off at a certain Heighth. 1792 T. Jefferson (1859) III. 337 In a position square with the streets. 1802 C. James at Gun The carriage..must be cast loose, and trained athwart-ship, square with the ship's sides. 1847 (1854) 74 Pivot men..face square into the new direction. 1856 F. L. Olmsted 61 You'll find a path going square off to the right. 1878 T. H. Huxley (ed. 2) xix. 332 The shadows of objects are distorted when the light does not fall square upon their surfaces. society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > cricket ground > [adverb] > direction 1851 J. Pycroft vii. 154 Practise diligently with leg-balls, till balls..a little wide of leg-stump go nearly square. 1891 W. G. Grace x. 263 Short-leg..must be quick to detect..whether he means to play it fine, square, or more in the direction of mid-on. 1909 W. Caffyn viii. 90 He was a fine leg~hitter, generally hitting square. 1963 T. E. Bailey i. 38 (caption) The ball has been played behind square, but it can be played in front. This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1915; most recently modified version published online March 2022). <  n.a1300adj.a1300 v.a1382 adv.1557 |