startern.
/ˈstɑːtə/, U.S. /ˈstɑrdər/ I. In senses relating to start v. I.† 1. A person who goes away, leaves, deserts, etc. In later use chiefly in negative contexts, esp. in to be no starter.† 3. A person or animal that starts (in alarm, fright, etc.); esp. a horse prone to shying. Obsolete.† 4. A person who propounds a question, introduces or raises a subject or issue, etc. Obsolete (in later use merged in sense 10a).† 5. cant. A question. Obsolete.Perhaps a development from sense 4.† 6. In the logging industry: a person with the job of getting logs moving along a river. Obsolete.
a. A person who runs away; a deserter. Also, without reference to physical movement: a person who fails to show loyalty or commitment to a principle, cause, task, etc. (sometimes with from), or who is ready to give up on or abandon something; a fickle or inconstant person; a shirker; a quitter. Obsolete.Earliest in starter aside; in later use chiefly with reference to leaving a gathering of people drinking together.
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the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > [noun] > avoiding an action or condition > one who
fleer1488
starter1519
eschewer1578
avoidera1625
flyer1649
shunner1806
sidestepper1900
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > inconstant person or thing > inconstant person
starter1519
changeling1539
flirt1577
Protean1598
weathercock1598
changerc1600
mooncalf1607
minute jacka1616
a nose of wax1821
sugar stick1825
wax-nosea1843
in-and-outer1905
brainstormer1907
the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > reversal of or forsaking one's will or purpose > [noun] > desertion of one's party or principles > one who
renay1340
apostate1362
renegatec1450
starter1519
reniant1532
changeling1539
rannigala1560
recreant1570
turncoat1570
renegado1573
start-away1574
off-faller?1575
start-back1579
departer1586
reneger1597
retrospicientc1600
runagadea1604
renegade1611
turn-tail1621
runagado1623
trip-coata1625
retrogredient1650
retrograde1651
tergiversator1716
rat1755
ratter1819
tergiversant1833
blackleg1844
strike-breaker1904
faller-out1964
1519 W. Horman Vulgaria viii. f. 89v He is a starter a syde [L. erro est] or a lurkar.
1536 T. Starkey Let. July in Eng. (1871) ii. p. xxxix From thys truthe you schal fynd me my lord to be no sterter, wauerar nor hengar in the wynd.
1550 E. Becke Brefe Confutacion They are so sturdy and stoute, they wyll be take for no starters Thei had rather goo to the Dyuel.
1561 T. Hoby tr. B. Castiglione Courtyer iv. sig. Yy.ii I recken him a waueringe starter.
1609 P. Holland tr. Ammianus Marcellinus Rom. Hist. xxix. v. 373 He advised the Generall, who of his owne disposition was no starter, but constant and resolute, That [etc.].
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger Double Marriage ii. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Dddd2/1 We'l spare her our main top-saile, He shall not look us long, we are no starters.
1658 J. Votier Vox Dei & Hominis i. viii. 55 True Saints prove Standers, when others turn starters.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew (at cited word) I am no Starter; I shan't flinch, or cry to go Home.
a1704 T. Brown Satyr upon French King in Wks. (1707) I. i. 89 Were I thy Confessor,..Dost think that I'de allow thee any Quarter, No—thou should'st find what 'tis to be a Starter.
1750 M. Maurice Social Relig. Exemplify'd (ed. 2) vii. 121 When at the Alehouse there is not a meaner thing in their esteem than to be a Starter.
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Starter, one who leaves a jolly company; a milksop, he is no starter, he will sit longer than a hen.
1801 Eccentric Biogr. 95 The late Duke of Northumberland, who was no starter upon these occasions, was of the party.
1851 Reynolds's Misc. 31 May 304/2 Hiffernan was no starter from the bottle.
b. A person who wanders away, or is liable to do so; a vagrant; a wanderer. Obsolete.In quot. a1627 figurative; the quot. may perhaps belong at sense 1a.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > travel from place to place > [noun] > without fixed aim or wandering > wanderer > one given to wandering
starter1578
groyl1582
rolling stone1598
floater1859
butterfly1876
roll-about1893
drifter1908
1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 13v Canst thou prefer a straunger before thy countryman? A starter before thy companion?
1600 T. Heywood If you know not Me (1605) sig. C4v Nay, nay, you need not bolt & locke so fast, Shee is no starter.
a1627 T. Middleton No Wit (1657) v. 108 My miseries are no starters when they come, Stick longer by me.
1705 J. Dunton Life & Errors iv. 325 He was no starter, having liv'd Forty Years in the same House.
2.
a. A person or animal that drives an animal, esp. a hunted animal, to leave its lair or place of refuge. Also figurative and in figurative contexts. Now rare.In quot. 1748 and 1754 perhaps with allusion to sense 2b, although the corresponding literal use is not attested until later. With figurative use cf. also to start a hare at start v. 7b.
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the world > food and drink > hunting > hunter > [noun] > attendant at hunt > one rousing game or beater
teisera1425
starter1607
shackatory1630
rouser1801
beater1845
flanker1893
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 217 Strabo..speaking of the Conies of Spaine, and of their hunters and starters, out of their holes.
1733 Daily Courant 24 Feb. He begins with complaining of an invidious Distinction... Tho' who were the Starters and Pursuers of it in this Case is very evident.
1748 S. Richardson Clarissa VII. xcii. 341 In short, Belford, thou wert an excellent starter and setter.
1754 P. Delany Observ. Ld. Orrery's Remarks Swift 107 If he [sc. Sheridan] was not the stanchest hound in the pack, he was at least the best starter.
1803 W. O. Pughe Geiriadur Cynmraeg a Saesoneg: Welsh & Eng. Dict. II. at Rhus In Siluria, the first starter of a fox calls hwi rhus!
1829 J. L. Knapp Jrnl. Naturalist (ed. 2) 247 In the evening..the wagtail resorts to the pastures, feeding under the very..noses of the cattle, who now become the starters of his game.
1878 Notes & Queries 17 Aug. 134/2 As the original starter of this hare..I should be very glad if your correspondent would favour us with a stanza of the poem.
1937 E. Farjeon Martin Pippin in Daisy-field 184 You will need them, as we pant after knowledge; and the starter of this hare shall wear the daisy.
1957 G. H. Copeman Promotion & Pay for Executives ix. 158 The job of top management is to be a starter of hares.
b. spec. A dog used for starting game, esp. one trained for this purpose.In later use chiefly with reference to spaniels. Cf. springer n.1 7a, cocker n.5 2.
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the world > animals > mammals > group Unguiculata or clawed mammal > family Canidae > dogs used for specific purposes > [noun] > sporting or hunting dog > that starts or indicates prey
retriever1486
setting dog1611
beating-dog1669
setter1678
starter1766
finder1805
reporter1895
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. i. 26 There were two varieties of this kind [of dog]; the first used in hawking, to spring the game, which are the same with our starters.
1803 Brit. Critic Aug. 150 The spaniels..were trained as starters, setters, and pointers.
1829 Full Rep. Trial Rev. W. Hughes in Consistorial Court, Dublin 13 Mr. Hughes had a Dog which he used as a starter, and which he called ‘Dick’.
1903 W. Drury et al. Brit. Dogs (ed. 3) xxviii. 313 The Welsh ‘Spaniel’, or ‘Springer’, is also known and referred to in Wales as a ‘Starter’.
1914 Forest & Stream 477/1 The next day was also a failure, as we searched all day, but could not start a fox; some tracks, but none fresh enough for a starter.
2012 S. Miller Dogs in Austral. Art 28 By 1800 spaniels had been divided into two distinct groups: ‘starters’, who were responsible for springing game, and ‘cockers’, who were used to flush and retrieve woodcock from undergrowth.
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the world > action or operation > inaction > not doing > abstaining or refraining from action > [noun] > avoiding an action or condition > shrinking or recoiling > one who
flincher1598
starter?1614
blanchera1659
funker1826
blencher1873
?1614 G. Chapman in tr. Homer Odysses xii. 182 (margin) Many of our bird-eyd starters at prophanation are for nothing so afraid of it; as that lest their galled consciences..should be rubbed with the confirmation of it.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. xxii. 274 Squire let him [sc. Rosinante] loose, or leave him to the Carter, And help t' untrusse, I'm sure he is no starter.
1761 Gentleman's Pract. Farrier i. 7 (heading) Of his [sc. a horse's] goings and the way to discover a starter or stumbler.
1831 W. Youatt Horse xx. 349 Can we wonder..that the horse taken from a dark stable into a glare of light..should become a starter?
1855 B. H. Ellis Stack's Dict. Sindhi & Eng. (new ed.) 153/1 Timorous, timid, shy, wild, a starter, a shying horse.
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1659 J. Sergeant Vindic. Doctr. 146 They accuse Master White for the first starter of this doubt.
1672 T. Salmon Vindic. Ess. Advancem. Musick 60 So long as an impertinent Scholar, a starter of questions, a nibler at solutions, did not invent it, 'tis no matter who did.
1702 T. Hewerdine Just Vindic. Plain Lett. 27 St Cyprian was not the first Starter in this Case, and Magnus the Opposer; but Magnus was the first Questionist, and St Cyprian the Respondent.
1782 J. Brown Brief View Figures i. i. 3 Retortion, or throwing back an accusation or objection, on the starter of it.
1816 Jewish Expositor Jan. 29/2 Mr. Scott's answer, though most satisfactory, illustrates one advantage that a starter of objections generally has over the answerer.
1884 J. S. MacIntosh Breakers of Yoke iii. 89 Thomas Aquinas, the normal theologian of the Roman Catholic Church..and the starter of questions that hurried on the Reformation.
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the mind > attention and judgement > enquiry > [noun] > act or instance of
askOE
askingOE
questionc1350
demandc1386
inquestc1400
interrogationc1405
inquisitionc1440
questioninga1450
inquirea1500
manda1500
terogatores1511
interrogatory1533
inquiry1548
interrogator1561
interrogativea1586
quaere1589
intergatory1590
A1591
Q1591
query1610
interrogate1633
starter1673
querical1699
speer1788
qy.1819
Q1902
1673 R. Head Canting Acad. 54 Question, Starter.
1699 B. E. New Dict. Canting Crew Starter, a Question. [Also in later dictionaries.]
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1872 Old & New Apr. 390/1 In the lumber countries..starters are at work with their pikes and hooks starting out the pine-logs on the first spring freshet.
7. Nautical. historical. A knotted length of rope, or a light cane, used in flogging or as an instrument of discipline; = colt n.1 5a. Cf. start v. 15.Despite the currency of start v. 15 in the early 19th cent., no contemporary evidence for use of starter to denote an instrument of punishment has been found.
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society > authority > punishment > corporal punishment > instrument or place of corporal punishment > [noun] > cane
reedOE
cane1590
schoolrod1633
rattan1657
rattan cane1681
rattan stick1812
swish-whip1845
swish1860
swish-cane1891
starter1905
1905 J. Masefield Sea Life Nelson's Time vi. 167 The officer would..say: ‘Start that man.’ The boatswain's mate at once produced a hard knotted cord, called a starter, with which he beat the man unmercifully about the head and shoulders, till the officer bade him to desist.
1938 ‘C. S. Forester’ Ship of Line i. 21 ‘You've been free with that starter of yours, Thompson,’ he said.
1981 D. Pope Life in Nelson's Navy vi. 85 Bosun's mates carried—until an Admiralty order banned them halfway through the war—another [badge of office] which was hated and feared by the seamen, a rattan cane known as a ‘starter’.
2001 J. Stockwin Kydd iv. 94 The petty officers..used their starters liberally on backs and shoulders.
II. In senses relating to start v. II.
8.
a. A person, animal, etc., that starts or sets out on a journey, or in a race, etc. In later use sometimes spec.: a contestant that is to start or has started in a race.Quot. 1606 appears to be an isolated early example; an alternative interpretation ‘person who wakes or gets up’ (cf. start v. 9a(a)) is also possible.
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society > travel > aspects of travel > traveller > [noun]
pilgrimlOE
travellera1387
farandman14..
passengera1450
walkerc1450
voyager1477
viator?1504
journeyer1566
viadant1632
wayman1638
thwarter1693
migrant1760
inside1799
mover1810
starter1817
itinerarian1822
trekker1851
farer1881
passager1917
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > racer
racer1618
starter1847
1606 T. Heywood 2nd Pt. If you know not Me sig. H3v We are starters in one houre, And our attendance is to waight one [perh. read on] such a Queene.
1791 R. Townley Jrnl. kept Isle of Man I. 251 There is great emulation amongst both the owners and captains of the vessels, who shall be first with their cargoes of herrings, at an Italian market; but it is not always the first starter from hence that is the first through the Straights.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. viii. 224 We are early starters in the dawn, even when we have the luck to have gude beds to sleep in.
1847 Illustr. London News 10 July 23/1 Yachts that would take up their station as starters.
1891 N. Gould Double Event xvii. 122 These [horses] comprised the six starters.
1907 D. Fraser Marches of Hindustan xxvii. 294 The many Hadjis on the road to Mecca were all early starters, thus avoiding the necessity of giving their horses a morning feed.
1984 Runner Oct. 126/1 Brown was a reliable starter, Cheeseborough powerful on the far turn and Ashford dynamite on the anchor.
2015 Tampa Bay (Florida) Times (Nexis) 21 Feb. 6 c After winning three races in December, things have gone awry for Wasiluk... All 45 of his starters this year have lost.
b. figurative and in figurative contexts. Now rare or merged in other senses.
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1738 London Evening-Post 7 Sept. There are several of the Time-Serving Clergy already nam'd for the vacant Bishopricks: It's thought there will be great Jockying; but if True Merit was to carry it, most of the present Starters would be double distanced.
1770 Public Advertiser 6 July They have entered him as a Starter for Parliament Man.
1861 T. Hughes Tom Brown at Oxf. II. viii. 135 The private tutors [compared to Newmarket trainers]..watch the examiners..to see what line they take..that they may handle the rest of their starters accordingly.
1879 Official Rep. 18th Church Congr. 513 There must be many who are troubled in their position in the spiritual life, and fail almost as starters in the great race set before us.
1928 R. A. Knox Myst. of Kingdom 42 Why, then, there are no bad Christians,..no unsuccessful starters in the race of Christian perfection.
1991 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 21 Oct. 25 There are plenty of starters in the race to raise equity.
9.
a. A person who gives the signal for competitors to start in a race; (also in later use) a device for giving such a signal. Also: a person who gives the signal for a train, tram, etc., to start (see also quot. 1917).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > official
starter1622
course-clearer1897
1622 in J. P. Hore Hist. Newmarket (1885) I. 347 John Wagget onely the starter.
1753 Court & No Country iii. v. 42 The Starter of the Race Horses.
1793 W. Pick Sportsman & Breeder's Vade-mecum VIII. 132 Mr Samuel Betts, Starter of the Horses.
1823 Morning Post 17 Sept. Most of them [sc. horses] went away without the word of command from the Starter, and ran the course through.
1859 N.Y. Times 27 July 4/5 I am the starter of the Sixth-avenue Railroad cars.
1860 W. P. Lennox Pict. Sporting Life II. 23 ‘I shall give the words, One, two, three, and away,’ said the starter, placing me ten yards in advance.
1917 Street Railway Employment in U.S. (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics) 14 Starters.—See that cars leave terminal points on scheduled time..reroute cars to straighten schedules and perform duties of inspectors.
1921 N.Y. Times 23 May 13/5 He..went to work as a car starter on a trolley road in Newark.
1943 Amer. Speech 18 90 The exclamation ‘They're off, Mr Cutts!’, announcing that any contest or affair has begun, contains the name of a one-time popular starter at the Auckland races.
1984 Today in Gainesville (Florida) Mar. 11/1 Instead of the flagmen of old days, the competitors are sent on their way by an electronic starter.
2015 Pittsburgh Tribune Rev. (Nexis) 19 Feb. Veteran racetrack official Kim Lopez will be the chief starter for the Daytona 500.
b. Golf. An official whose primary role is to regulate the pace of play on the course by ensuring that golfers tee off at the correct time, play in appropriately sized groups, etc.
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1892 Glasgow Herald 29 Sept. 10/4 Autumn meeting at St Andrews... Tom Morris as usual acted as starter.
1903 Scotsman 20 Jan. 8/3 On these walks the starter's box will be placed in order to protect the turf.
1939 Washington Post 2 Apr. (Sports section) 5/2 (caption) Dave Thomson and his pro assistants... ‘Brick’ Wood, assistant pro, starter and caddymaster.
1989 B. Nash & A. Zullo Golf Hall of Shame 147 A British journalist shouted, ‘Seve, you're late! You're overdue on the tee!’.. Following The Rules of Golf, starter John Laupheimer was forced to disqualify Ballesteros.
2006 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 26 Nov. v. 12/2 Mr. Hendrickson had driven from St. George, Utah, to..play some golf, and we had been paired by the starter.
10.
a. A person who or (less commonly) thing which starts, begins, or initiates something.
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the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > [noun] > initiator
openerOE
first beginninga1382
first beginner?1473
starter1662
initiator1676
mover1873
launcher1897
initiand1969
1662 R. L'Estrange Memento i. x. 157 The Leaders, and first Starters of the Quarrell.
1697 D. Jones Secret Hist. White-Hall xli. sig. Ccc5 The Ministers of this Court..have been the chief managers and starters of many things which have since come to light.
1729 J. Swift Let. M'Culla's Project in Wks. (1765) VIII. 153 Mr. McCulla, as being the first starter of the scheme, might be..rewarded by such a society.
1872 Testimony Joint Select Comm. Condition Affairs Late Insurrectionary States: Georgia II. 913 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (42nd Congr., 2nd Sess.: Senate Rep. 41, Pt. 7) II Mr. Alley has received two or three papers to leave; he was the starter. Question. Mr. Alley was the starter of the Ku-Klux? Answer. No, sir.
1893 H. T. Fisher in King's Business 385 An untold number of starters or converts of revivals.
1902 W. Blaydes tr. A. Daudet Nabob xxv. 414 She is at her business as a starter of new fashions.
1967 Michigan Alumnus Nov. 13 The Vietnamese and their allies..were not the starters of the war. The war was begun by Hanoi.
2004 Denver Post (Nexis) 29 Sept. b2 (headline) Starter of wildfire may face $60,000 tab.
b. North American. A person who directs the operation of lifts in a large building; a lift attendant. Often more fully elevator starter.
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > non-manual worker > [noun] > usher or attendant
huissierc1330
usherc1386
commissionaire1749
check-taker1812
starter1892
hat-check boy1910
hat-check girl1913
1892 Engin. Mag. Sept. 767 Engineers, firemen, elevator-conductors, elevator-starters, janitors, and watchmen are required relatively in larger numbers for a small than for a large building.
1909 Pacific Monthly Feb. 123/1 Thanks to the crowd in the lobby, the uniformed ‘starter’ had not seen the bum and come over from the elevators to order him away.
1920 Manitoba Free Press 18 Mar. 14/3 (advt.) Wanted—Clean-cut man, good appearance, as elevator starter in a large office building.
1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant 541 She was given a number on the twelfth floor, the top floor, but as it was the lunch hour, the starter doubted anyone was there.
1987 N.Y. Times 29 Mar. viii. 38 (advt.) Prime duplex penthouse... A quality 100,000 sq. ft. professional office building... Uniformed starter.
2010 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 25 July mb 9 There has been one major addition to the lobby: turnstiles that require a card key. ‘That was after 9/11,’ said Rene Sanabria, 57, an elevator starter.
c. A person engaged to work at a hotel, station, etc., organizing transport for guests or passengers requiring a taxi or the like. Often more fully carriage starter, cab starter, etc.
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society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > transport by vehicles plying for hire > [noun] > hotel employee who organizes transport
starter1894
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun] > public transport employees
starter1894
1894 Sci. Amer. Suppl. 24 Mar. 15199/1 Outside the hotel doors, besides the footmen, there are two carriage starters on duty until 1 o'clock at night.
1908 Horseless Age 13 May 568/2 At the end of each call he [sc. the taxicab driver] must make a record..and also report to his starter.
1910 W. L. Comfort Routledge rides Alone v. 75 The rather intent regard of the cab-starter pulled Routledge from his reflecting.
1932 Making Bus Operations Pay iv. 77 The station is kept open 24 hours a day by a force of eleven paid employees and three redcaps to handle baggage. Included in the paid force is..a special officer who also acts as a taxi starter.
1981 Washington Post 22 Mar. (Mag. section) 8/4 ‘A starter,’ she said. ‘You know, the man who gets a guest a taxi.’
2005 S. Dallas New Mercies 108 There was no taxi starter outside the hotel, so I headed for the depot.
11.
a. With preceding modifying adjective: a person who or thing which starts or begins in the manner specified.For earlier uses of this type specifically with reference to starting a race or journey see sense 8a.
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1835 Floricultural Cabinet May 118 They were bad starters, but are now growing rapidly.
1891 Birmingham Daily Post 16 Jan. 8/6 He is notoriously a bad starter; but he can seldom have opened an important game [of billiards] in a tamer fashion than he did yesterday.
1947 G. B. Shaw in Musical Times Jan. 10/1 They can all sing passably in tune and are selected..because they are good readers and good starters.
1951 Internat. Sugar Jrnl. June 179/2 Variety 39-3633..is rather a poor germinator and a slow starter.
1984 R. Dahl Boy 13 Both my father and my grandfather were late starters as far as children were concerned.
2002 M. Broadbent Vintage Wines 444/2 Krug released the '89 [vintage] before the '88, which was considered to be a slower starter with greater potential.
b. spec. An engine, motor vehicle, etc., which starts (well, slowly, etc.). Cf. start v. 21c.
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society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > [noun] > motor vehicle > that starts well or badly
starter1904
1904 Motor 29 Mar. 259/1 The small 1½ h.p. Quadrant was also a good starter; but my last mount, the 2¾ h.p. Werner..sorely tried my temper.
1952 M. Steen Phoenix Rising viii. 179 That's my car..; it's the easiest starter... Get in and start the engine.
1990 Which? Guide New & Used Cars 14/2 Poor starter; rust-prone.
2012 South Wales Echo (Nexis) 23 Nov. 9 The 70bhp engine is a good starter and it pulls quite well unless laden.
12.
a. Originally U.S. Something with which to start or begin; something which constitutes a (good) basis from which to start or initiate something.Frequently in as (also for) a starter at Phrases 2a.
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1846 Wisconsin Herald 18 July You..think that if you had five hundred dollars, just for a starter, you would go to work with it and build up a fortune in a hurry.
1879 Idaho Avalanche 3 May It would be a good starter for the present to get a small furnace in there.
1881 Amer. Poultry Jrnl. Jan. 12/1 We talk of having a little local exhibition the coming winter by way of a starter.
1901 Sat. Evening Post 8 June 12/3 Take a French quarter, a German, a Syrian, a Chinese, an Italian; it makes no difference what. The nationality that interests most, or the one, if any, of whose language there may be a smattering, is a good starter.
1946 Billboard 9 Nov. 19/1 For a starter Martin has pressed 2,500 each of four sides and will confine distribution to his music shop in Hollywood's Ambassador Hotel.
2014 R. Lombard Adventures of Grenfell Nurse iv. 121 I gave my patient some aspirin with codeine as a starter.
b. Something with which to initiate or catalyse some (usually biological) process, as the growth of plants, the formation of a honeycomb by bees, etc.
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1878 Amer. Bee Jrnl. Jan. 89/1 Care should be taken to provide each frame with a true ‘starter’ to insure straight combs.
1881 Christian Union 2 Nov. 428/3 The efficiency of the phosphate as a starter is thus shown.
1889 28th Ann. Rep. State Board Agric. Michigan 164 Spurry..has been successfully used in some parts of Europe as a ‘starter’ on poor, sandy land.
1918 House & Garden Apr. 74/3 The use of a little fertilizer as a starter where each plant is to be set.
1955 Farmers' Bull. No. 2082 13/1 Complete all-soluble starter fertilizers are now available. These furnish the plants better balanced nutrition.
1962 H. H. Laidlaw & J. E. Eckert Queen Rearing iii. 49 Bees from one comb of the starter may also be shaken into the breeder colony as needed.
2015 J. Timmerman Fatal Choice Epil. 204 Some days she would hike over the ridge with me to work, often bringing starter plants for flowers.
c. A culture consisting of bacteria or yeast in a nutrient medium, used to initiate souring or fermentation in the making of butter, wine, bread, etc. Cf. mother-starter n. at mother n.1 Compounds 7.
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the world > food and drink > food > substances for food preparation > [noun] > souring or fermentation starter
starter1883
starter culture1906
1883 Harper's Young People 24 Apr. 398/1 When cold add your starter: that is, some yeast left from the last making.
1887 12th Ann. Rep. Ont. Agric. Coll. 1886 210 To properly ripen the cream for churning a ‘fermentation starter’ is prepared daily in the following way.
1908 J. P. Sheldon Farm & Dairy (ed. 4) 76 The modern..method is to ripen the cream artificially by means of a pure culture of the lactic acid bacillus, technically called a ‘starter’.
1939 K. Pinkerton Wilderness Wife vii. 74 At least sour dough bread was sure... Robert had sponsored it by making the ‘starter’, a mixture of flour and water which grabbed its yeast germs from the air.
1950 N.Z. Jrnl. Agric. Jan. 27/2 Quick granulation is achieved by the addition of a ‘starter’ and the storing of the packed honey immediately in a consistent temperature of about 56 degrees F.
1973 W. H. T. Tayleur Home Brewing & Wine-making vii. 55 The optimum amount of starter in wine-making is about 1 to 15.
2002 Baker's Catal. Jan. 16/2 The pain de campagne LA-2 starter produces bread with an elusive tang, bread where the rich, nutty taste of the wheat shines through.
d. A topic, question, or other item with which to start a discussion, debate, etc. Frequently with modifying word.
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1894 Daily Picayune (New Orleans) 31 July 3/5 Autograph fans are all the rage as souvenirs this season: the girls say that they are such good conversation starters.
1933 Sight & Sound Winter 119/2 The matter is as non-controversial as can be, but as a discussion-starter, say in a study circle when the leader is absent, the effect should be automatic.
1982 Bull. Atomic Scientists Apr. 44/2 It [sc. the slide show] can stand alone or be used as a starter for discussion.
1995 Atlantic Monthly Aug. 84/2 ‘Pfennig for your thoughts,’ Simon interrupted, cheerfully bored. ‘What?’ ‘It's an expression—you know, kind of a conversation starter.’
2014 Oxford Mail (Nexis) 26 Aug. ‘Fraudulent’ prison terms..should be the starter for debate.
e. A dish eaten as the first course of a meal, before the main course; an appetizer, an hors d'oeuvre. Also starter course, starter dish; also in plural with reference to a single dish (cf. for starters at Phrases 2b).
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the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > [noun] > dish > starter
entrée1653
starter1908
the world > food and drink > food > meal > course > [noun] > starter
entrée1653
starter1908
1908 Smart Set Jan. 22/2 But why don't we get something else to eat?.. Soup is always regarded as a starter only.
1918 Rural New-Yorker 23 Mar. 459/1 By the time I have a cake apiece fried for ‘starters’, the four boys..and their father are washed.
1955 Washington Post 28 Mar. 26/2 Chill thoroughly, garnish with watercress and serve as a ‘starter’ course.
1968 New Society 22 Aug. 266/1 The first course of a meal is sometimes called a ‘starter’, which is perhaps not so much non-U as jargon.
1972 A. Courtenay Let's halt awhile in Great Brit. (ed. 39) iv. 194 We found the comprehensive menu to contain a variety of starter dishes including Avocado with Prawns.
1979 V. Canning Satan Sampler ii. 30 There was avocado pear for what some people disgustingly called ‘starters’.
2010 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) Apr. 115/1 Avoid having a starter, main course and pudding at every meal.
f. Something which is added to a compost pile in order to initiate and accelerate the composting process, typically consisting of a source of additional nitrogen or microbes.
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1918 Florida Q. Bull. 28 31 A cord of compost made of three parts of muck of good quality, one part of good stable manure..to which is added 200 lbs. of 16% acid phosphate, will furnish sufficient fertility for an acre of ordinary soil; the manure will add the necessary bacteria (yeast or starter).
1955 Life 23 May 129 After you place the first load of garbage in the Bard-Matic, add the Bard-Matic starter that comes with every unit.
2014 Express (Nexis) 12 Apr. There's no need to buy a compost starter. Just leave a little soil on the roots of weeds and plants or add fresh manure to introduce beneficial microorganisms that help the heap work faster.
13.
a. A device or apparatus for starting a machine. See also Compounds 2.
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society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > parts which provide power > [noun] > starters
trigger1621
touch1659
starter1854
touch piece1854
start1897
1854 R. Grant in U.S. Patent 11,785 (caption) Car Starter.
a1877 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. III. 2310/2 Starter, an apparatus for giving an initial motion to a machine, especially such as may be at rest on a dead-center.
1934 Discovery Nov. 324/2 A hand starter is provided on the engine, or it may be started from a car battery.
1970 K. Ball Fiat 600, 600D Autobook xi. 135/2 Dismantling of the starter is a simple task and is similar to that for the generator.
2001 J. Franzen Corrections 373 She heard the click of the front door's latch and the whinny of his big car's starter.
b. Railways. A signal used to indicate that a train may start.Earlier called starting signal: see starting n. Compounds 2b.
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society > travel > rail travel > railway system or organization > [noun] > types of signal system > specific signal
red light1790
danger1841
danger-signal1848
line clear1869
highball signal1894
starter1895
red board1903
stop signal1923
identification light1931
1895 Eng. Mech. 29 Nov. 340/2 No. 1 [signal] arm is the necessary one, being the starter.
1905 Railroad Gaz. 13 Oct. 339/1 The practical result often is a starting signal at danger, the first block signal..at clear, furnishing engineers a good excuse for overlooking the ‘starter’ and running their trains into danger.
1967 G. F. Fiennes I tried to run Railway iv. 45 Romford's advanced starter..must have been at danger.
1983 A. Vaughan Signalman's Twilight (1984) v. 240 In the three minutes it'll take the down fast to clear Uffington the goods can be pulling on down to the starter.
1995 Times of India 5 Sept. 14/5 It is physically not possible for the starter signal of Ferozabad to be taken off if there is a train stopping between the starter and advanced starter of that station.
c. An automatic switch, found in some fluorescent lamps, which is designed to aid in generating the initial electrical discharge required for the lamp to light. Also more fully starter switch n. (b) at Compounds 4.
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the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > electric light > [noun] > fluorescent lamp > part of
fluorescent tube1865
starter switch1900
starter1939
1939 Gen. Electric Rev. Dec. 555/1 To simplify the wiring and mounting of fluorescent lamps, a new replaceable switch and condenser unit, known as the G-E fluorescent lamp starter, has been introduced.
1942 C. L. Amick Fluorescent Lighting Man. ii. 22 Each lamp requires a separate starter and a separate ballast.
1967 P. Honey Househ. Electr. 44 Fluorescent lamps..generally need a special circuit with what is called a starter, a device which heats up the electrodes for a second or two after the current is switched on.
2015 G. Gordon Interior Lighting for Designers (ed. 5) xiii. 135 Preheat lamps have cathodes that must be heated electrically; this preheating process..is usually controlled by an automatic starter.
14.
a. Something regarded as suitable for a person who is new to a particular activity, product, etc.; a basic or easy-to-use example of something. Frequently attributive.See also starter home n. at Compounds 4, starter kit n. at Compounds 4, starter pack n. (a) at Compounds 4.
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1908 System Oct. (advt.) This Cabinet..is an ideal starter for any concern about ready to adopt vertical filing, but which hesitates at price.
1951 Life 3 Dec. 123 Best toys to give the younger child... Starter bicycle. Drum and sticks. Overland truck [etc.].
1962 Billboard Music Week 15 Sept. 28/3 Performed ably by an unnamed orchestra, it's a good ‘starter’ for a child just starting to take an interest in serious music.
1977 Boys' Life Oct. 82/1 Painting and modeling miniature soldiers is an activity that starts as a hobby and becomes an addiction... A 54mm figure—a ‘large’ model—is a good starter for beginners.
2012 J. P. Steyer Talking Back to Facebook ii. 151 If you keep things simple with a stripped-down starter phone, you can teach your child the basics of cell phone safety and responsibility.
b. spec. = starter home n. at Compounds 4.
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society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > other types of house
houseOE
showernc1175
house of fencec1425
abbey1665
park1750
trust house1751
subhouse1771
hurley-house1814
bure1843
ideal home1854
tholtan1856
picture house1858
village-house1862
tumble-down1866
tree-house1867
mazet1873
riad1881
slaughterhouse1899
whare puni1911
mas1912
social housing1928
quadruplex1939
share house1945
starter home1948
show house1957
painted lady1978
self-build1978
starter1979
Earthship1985
Queenslander1985
des res1986
common house1989
1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. (Advt. section) 21/2 This 3 bedroom, 1 bath home will make a super starter for a young family.
1999 Philadelphia Inquirer 30 June (S. Jersey section) b3/3 For Kothari and his wife..the apartment was an ideal ‘starter’.
2014 Mandurah (Austral.) Coastal Times (Nexis) 29 Oct. 17 (advt.) This lovely little three by two is the ideal starter for a young couple.
15. Sport (originally U.S.). A member of a team who is playing at the start of a game; spec. (in Baseball) the pitcher (cf. starting pitcher at starting adj. 4).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > team or group > member of > with specific function
pivotman1782
engine room1897
swing man1903
match-winner1908
starter1911
screener1923
playmaker1931
point man1951
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > baseball player > [noun] > pitcher
pitcher1845
relief pitcher1884
southpaw1887
side-wheeler1890
moundsman1906
pretzel bender1908
starter1911
sidewinder1913
low-ball pitcher1915
fastballer1924
route-goer1924
reliever1925
hurler1926
fireballer1928
spitballer1928
screwballer1929
stopper1948
closer1980
middleman1985
1911 Waterloo (Iowa) Times-Tribune 6 Apr. 2/1 (headline) ‘Cy’ Young won his first game. Was sent against Anson's White Sox as starter.
1940 N.Y. Times 31 Oct. 35/4 Milt Plum had a field day passing against a secondary that was minus three starters.
1967 Boston Herald 8 May 16/6 The victory gave Atlanta starter Pat Jarvis a 3–0 record.
1968 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 3 Feb. 35/2 Two of our starters are in Quebec City on an exchange visit, one player is away sick and Bill Edwards is still injured.
2006 Washington Post 22 July (Home ed.) e7/3 Padres starter Jake Peavy plunked the slugger in the first inning.
2012 FourFourTwo May 89/1 It's been a good season. I've played 14 games as a starter, and that's a real positive.
16. An idea, proposition, etc., that deserves initial consideration, or stands a reasonable chance of succeeding or being accepted. Chiefly in negative contexts; cf. non-starter n. 2.
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the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > [noun] > something unlikely to succeed
lost cause1865
starter1946
no-hoper1976
the world > action or operation > easiness > [noun] > feasibility > an idea deserving initial consideration
starter1946
1946 Spectator 21 June 642/1 The ‘National Revolution’ was never a starter, and never less a starter than when it was most active with a serio-comic imitation of the propaganda methods of the true Fascist states.
1960 Times 7 July 13/2 ‘Bevanism’ was never a starter as a political philosophy or programme.
1976 Listener 18 Nov. 641/2 The objections to it are so strong that it isn't a starter.
2014 Marin (Calif.) Independent Jrnl. (Nexis) 3 Sept. That looks ridiculous and that's our downtown. I mean give me a break. That's not even a starter.
Phrases
P1. under (the) starter's orders: (originally of horses; later also of other competitors) subject to the instruction of the starter (sense 9a); ready to begin a race and waiting only for the signal to start. Frequently figurative and in extended use.
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [adverb] > ready to start
under (the) starter's orders1863
1863 Times 3 June 9/2 The Maiden Plate produced the largest field of horses, 27 coming under the starter's orders.
1886 Leader (Melbourne) 29 May 18/2 Royal Hampton was found to have broken down in the race, so hopelessly that he will never go under starter's orders again.
1892 Tit-Bits 15 Oct. 25/2 ‘Look at the rare style she comes to the post!’ he [sc. a jockey] joyfully cried, as the lady walked up the room; and ‘Now we're under starter's orders!’ as I commenced the [wedding] ceremony.
1932 Referee (Sydney) 28 Dec. [Speedway] Riders will automatically come under starters' orders when the preliminary lap begins.
1949 J. K. Stanford Guns Wanted i. ii. 27 Poor Freddie had got very firmly engaged to two different girls, feeling certain he would never come under starter's orders.
1973 ‘P. Malloch’ Kickback i. 10 ‘Drink it up, chum. I forgot we were under starter's orders.’ Gilchrist drank it. Five minutes later they were on their way.
1979 T. Reese & J. Flint Trick 13 82 They're under starter's orders... They're off!
2002 J. Sulston & G. Ferry Common Thread ii. 66 With the genome project now officially under starter's orders, he was wondering how to promote sequencing.
2015 Uttoxeter Advertiser (Nexis) 17 June 54 The horses will come under starter's orders for the first race of the day at 2pm.
P2. colloquial (originally U.S.).
a. as (also for) a starter: = for starters at Phrases 2b.
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the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > at the beginning [phrase] > to begin with
to start with ——1838
as (also for) a starter1846
for a start1874
for starters1952
for (also as) openers1966
1846 Wisconsin Herald 18 July You..think that if you had five hundred dollars, just for a starter, you would go to work with it and build up a fortune in a hurry.
1862 Knickerbocker Jan. 108 Help you to make a collection? you bet you ! I'm ‘on it’, I am! Give you, ‘for a starter’, a set of Ophir ores.
1872 Lakeside Monthly Jan. 38 They then applied the turn lever, and, giving two or three hasty spins as a starter, darted to the south side.
1902 G. H. Lorimer Lett. Merchant v. 64 All that he ever needed was a few hundred for a starter.
1947 Chicago Tribune 3 Sept. 6/3 As a starter, agents have begun a canvass of small independent food wholesalers.
1950 Manch. Guardian Weekly 9 Nov. 7 He wired how many frogs' legs did they think they could handle. They told him ten thousand as a starter.
2001 S. E. Grace Canada & Idea of North 58 What does Haliburton understand as North? Well, for a starter, North is not the degenerate, effeminate South.
2014 T. McCulloch Stillman 19 My motives, do they matter to you? If so, as a starter I offer guilt.
b. for starters: to begin with, for a start.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > beginning > at the beginning [phrase] > to begin with
to start with ——1838
as (also for) a starter1846
for a start1874
for starters1952
for (also as) openers1966
1952 Pharos Tribune (Logansport, Indiana) 2 Dec. 12/2 They've let the rest of the North Central conference members know they don't intend to relinquish NCC honors without a struggle, bumping Frankfort and Marion already just for starters.
1969 D. Francis Enquiry xii. 168 I fell with a crash. ‘That's for starters,’ he said.
1978 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 11 Jan. 8/1 For starters, do not call us scalpers. We are ticket hosts.
2000 Z. Smith White Teeth xii. 290 The differences between the Chalfens and the Jones/Bowdens were immediately plain. For starters, in the Chalfen family everybody seemed to have a normal number of children.
2013 New Yorker 29 July 25/1 For starters, I visited the Cottage Center for Brain Fitness, in Santa Barbara.
P3. Chiefly British. your starter for ten: introducing an initial question employed as a means of opening a new topic for conversation or discussion. Hence starter for ten: an introductory question, (more broadly) an opportunity or opening. [With allusion to the British television quiz show University Challenge (first broadcast in 1962) in which the phrase is used as the formulaic introduction for a question worth ten points asked at the start of a particular round, in which a sequence of other questions are then offered to the team correctly answering the starter question. Compare quot. 1967 and also starter question n. (b) at Compounds 4.]
ΚΠ
1967 Observer 24 Sept. 23/3 (television listing) University Challenge: With Bamber Gascoigne, of Eton and Magdalene, Cambridge, supplying ‘Your Starter for Ten’.]
1969 Times 15 Nov. 13 (advt.) Here's your starter for ten. What would you do with £10 a month?
1997 Church Times 20 June 8/5 A new dawn offers a new opportunity as the new Government has given faith communities a relatively easy starter for ten in choosing religion as the topic for one of its first extensions of human-rights law.
2000 J. Goodwin Danny Boy ii. 45 When the fry-ups came we amused ourselves identifying bits of Teapot [a murder victim]. The bacon was an obvious starter for ten, and, as Dekka pointed out, it helped that nobody had ordered sausage.
2006 I. Macpherson Invisibility iv. 12 ‘Your starter for ten,’ he said... The name of this beautiful North Korean temptress, is it Sung Hi Lo. Or is it Sung Lo Hi?
Compounds
C1. With adverbs, forming compound agent nouns corresponding to adverbial combinations of start. See also sense 1a.† starter back n. Obsolete a person who flinches or recoils from something; a renegade, a reprobate.† starter up n. [after to start up at start v. Phrasal verbs 1] Obsolete rare = upstart n. 1; cf. startup n. 2.
ΚΠ
1570 R. Porder Serm. Gods Fearefull Threatnings f. 105v I wil not haue you starters back from God.
1576 T. Newton tr. L. Lemnie Touchstone of Complexions ii. vi. f. 141 Dullards, blockes, fooles and not of capacity able to conceiue thinges good and holesome, but starters backe from the profession and doctrine wherein he had instructed them.
1695 G. Hickes Some Disc. upon Dr. Burnet & Dr. Tillotson 79 Here are starters back with a witness, and I hope their starting back from a Cause in which they were so long engaged, was [etc.].
1731 ‘A. Scriblerus’ Gorgoneicon Ep. Ded. p. xx Starters-back, Apostates, and Renegadoes from the Profession, Faith, and Doctrine of Jesus Christ.
1843 S. Crowther Vocab. Yoruba Lang. ii. 7/2 Afasẹhin, a starter back from a thing or purpose, a flincher.
ΚΠ
1659 J. Howell Prov. Eng. Toung 1/1 in Παροιμιογραϕια The Parish-Priest forgot that he was ever a Clark; This is meant of proud starters up.
C2. General attributive in sense 13.
starter button n.
ΚΠ
1911 Hudson Triangle 18 Nov. 3/2 He jabbed the starter button.
1977 D. Beaty Excellency vi. 80 He primed the engines, pressed the starter button, heard the propeller creak round.
2005 Evo June 124/1 Twist the cheap-feeling key, prod the red starter button just to the right of the ignition barrel and the Ram explodes into life.
starter cord n. [compare earlier starting cord n. at starting n. Compounds 2d(b)]
ΚΠ
1922 Forest & Stream Feb. 51 (advt.) A light pull on the starter cord spins the motor several turns at high speed and gives a quick sure start.
1971 Scope (S. Afr.) 19 Mar. 65/2 Damned engine doesn't have a starting handle, just a starter cord.
2006 Fast Company Jan. 69/2 A man wearing ear protectors squirts gas into the fuel tank and oil into the crankcase, pulls the starter cord, and brings the machine to life.
starter motor n.
ΚΠ
1895 U.S. Patent 551,470 1/1 Commutating the coils of the starter motor or motors in such manner as to gradually reduce their resistance.
1928 Correct Lubrication 39 Starter motor spins without turning engine.
1971 R. Dentry Encounter at Kharmel vi. 100 Pepper..leaned hard on the starter button. The starter motor set up a pulsating, piercing shriek.
2004 Central Coast Express (Austral.) (Nexis) 20 Aug. A pre-engaged starter motor, uprated brakes and alternator were also added to make a much improved driver-friendly car.
C3. attributive in the sense ‘suitable for a beginner, or as a basis for something more advanced or elaborate; introductory’.Earliest in starter set n. at Compounds 4.
ΚΠ
1923 Carroll (Iowa) Times 15 Mar. 10/5 ‘Starter Set Sale’ dinnerware at Carroll Fair Store. Special prices on 2-piece sets.
1948 Covina (Calif.) Argus-Citizen 20 Feb. 15/6 (advt.) Camellia starter collection.
1993 Hi-fi News Oct. 42 This latest conception for Arcam's starter range of electronics puts the Alpha back on the map.
1994 L. West & J. Ridl How to photograph Insects & Spiders 18/2 Others are starting from scratch and ask me to recommend a ‘starter package’.
2001 InfoWorld Daily News (Nexis) 12 June To be announced at Microsoft's Tech Ed developer conference in Atlanta, the new starter toolkit contains application frameworks, developer guide tools, and training modules.
C4.
starter culture n. = sense 12c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > substances for food preparation > [noun] > souring or fermentation starter
starter1883
starter culture1906
1906 23rd Ann. Rep. Agric. Exper. Station Univ. Wisconsin 314 From O. Douglass, Boston, Mass., 8 bottles Starter Culture.
1969 Mason City (Iowa) Globe-Gaz. 21 Jan. 5/7 They made summer sausage using starter cultures to promote fermentation under high speed processing.
2002 P. Long Guide to Rural Wales vii. 252 At 8.00 the starter culture is added and at 9.00 rennet is stirred into the milk.
starter home n. originally U.S. a first home; esp. a compact house or flat of a type designed to meet the requirements of young couples seeking to buy their first home.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > a house > types of house > [noun] > other types of house
houseOE
showernc1175
house of fencec1425
abbey1665
park1750
trust house1751
subhouse1771
hurley-house1814
bure1843
ideal home1854
tholtan1856
picture house1858
village-house1862
tumble-down1866
tree-house1867
mazet1873
riad1881
slaughterhouse1899
whare puni1911
mas1912
social housing1928
quadruplex1939
share house1945
starter home1948
show house1957
painted lady1978
self-build1978
starter1979
Earthship1985
Queenslander1985
des res1986
common house1989
1926 Fitchburg (Mass.) Sentinel 27 Sept. 4/7 (advt.) The self-starter home..is for the man and wife who wants [sic] a home with comfort, but small expense.]
1948 Middlesboro (Kentucky) Daily News 20 Aug. 7/7 (advt.) Army Surplus can be reconverted easily and inexpensively adapted to suit your requirements. Ideally suited for starter homes, country cottages, motor courts, tenant houses, etc.
1976 Billings (Montana) Gaz. 27 June 5- d/7 (advt.) A fenced back yard makes it a great starter home.
1980 Times 6 Feb. 6/6 Local authorities and builders should provide more ‘starter’ homes to meet the demand for lower priced small homes for sale, Mr John Stanley, Minister for Housing and Construction, said yesterday.
2006 D. Winner Those Feet 80 A neat, cream-coloured Wimpey-style starter home.
starter kit n. a kit providing the items and instructions essential for beginning a particular activity or process; also figurative.
ΚΠ
1949 Lima (Ohio) News 21 Nov. 8/4 (advt.) A carry-all..filled with Elizabeth Arden's peerless creams, lotions and make-up essentials! A perfect ‘starter’ kit.
1987 Pract. Photogr. Dec. 94/1 Available in a Starter Kit this processor is perfect for the darkroom beginner.
2000 New Scientist 22 Jan. 4/1 The building blocks of DNA could have formed in space before Earth was born, providing a starter kit of genetic material for life to evolve rapidly on Earth, claim astrochemists in India.
2006 Trop. Fish Nov. 6 The Vivo Starter Kit for £79.99 includes: A 25-litre aquarium with explanatory ‘digi-care’ guide.
starter marriage n. colloquial a short-lived first marriage, typically when viewed as a form of preparation for a subsequent, more long-lasting one.
ΚΠ
1994 Stars & Stripes 9 July 15/1 Some say starter marriages signal the need for more premarital counseling.
2001 W. J. Doherty Take back your Marriage ii. 28 One national family expert endorses what she terms ‘starter marriages’—marriages that are good learning experiences but not likely to endure.
2012 London Evening Standard (Nexis) 28 June 22 There was a brief, starter marriage to writer Cressida Connolly but he only cleaned up and found his vocation at 30, when he met his second wife Amber Rudd.
starter pack n. (a) = starter kit n.; (b) U.S. a set of items for starting a car, typically including a battery, cables, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > habits and actions of horse > [verb (intransitive)] > shy
start?a1513
skeigh1513
startle1576
flounder1592
shy1796
scotch1832
nap1953
starter pack1955
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > parts and equipment of motor vehicles > [noun] > starting handle
starting handle1836
starter pack1955
1955 Tipton (Indiana) Daily Tribune 8 Apr. 5/3 (advt.) Parakeets... Cages $2.98 - $4.95. Stands $3.59. Starter Pack $1.00.
1960 Salisbury (Maryland) Times 26 Apr. i. 1/2 The starter pack is a battery and set of cables and clips intended to be used to start stalled autos.
1963 Reno (Nevada) Evening Gaz. 27 May 24/3 (advt.) Polacolor starter pack..9.79.
2004 Rugby World Feb. 149/3 Musashi have compiled a Rugby Fitness Starter Pack which contains some of their muscle-gain products.
starter question n. (a) an initial question; esp. one used to start a discussion, debate, etc.; (b) British (in a quiz show) a question asked at the start of a particular round, typically one which is followed by a sequence of other questions which are offered to the team correctly answering the initial question; also in extended use; cf. your starter for ten at Phrases 3.
ΚΠ
1952 D. A. Laird & E. C. Laird Pract. Sales Psychol. xxi. 254 The starter question should be general, not specific. It should (a) bring out a general need, and (b) show an interest in the customer's wishes.
1967 Financial Times 16 Aug. 18 Whoever it was who thought of the device of offering a ‘starter’ question..has found a neat but simple rocket device which boosts the drive of the competition.
1994 Times (Nexis) 17 Sept. Two teams of four sit at desks, the camera shots are mixed when the starter questions are asked so that one team is stacked on top of the other.
2008 J. M. Lang On Course iv. 85 For tomorrow you have planned 15 minutes of introductory lecturing, and then a really killer starter question for the discussion.
2012 Daily Mail (Nexis) 30 Mar. So here's another starter question. What is the ambient temperature at which 20 per cent VAT kicks in on a Cornish Pasty?
starter set n. originally U.S. a small set of objects (originally items of crockery) intended to be the basis of a larger collection.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > setting table > table utensils > [noun] > table-vessels > crockery > first set of crockery
starter set1923
1923 Carroll (Iowa) Times 15 Mar. 10/5 ‘Starter Set Sale’ dinnerware at Carroll Fair Store. Special prices on 2-piece sets.
1970 Guardian 17 Dec. 9/5 A starter set consisting of four soup bowls, four 10½-inch plates, four eight-inch plates, [etc.].
1977 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 510/3 Men's starter set [of golf clubs].
2002 Baker's Catal. Jan. 47/1 Do you know a wannabe cake decorator? Ateco's Cake Decorating Kit is a fine starter set.
starter switch n. [compare earlier starting switch n. at starting n. Compounds 2d(b)] (a) a switch for starting a machine; (b) = sense 13c.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > electric light > [noun] > fluorescent lamp > part of
fluorescent tube1865
starter switch1900
starter1939
1900 Steam Engin. Aug. 381/2 The starter switch is at f, and d is a series of contacts over which f moves so as to cut the resistance e, in or out of the circuit.
1942 C. L. Amick Fluorescent Lighting Man. ii. 23 The heat from the discharge itself keeps the cathodes hot during normal operation, hence the starter switch can remain open.
1965 R. Priestley & T. H. Wisdom Good Driving ii. 19 The starter switch usually takes the form of a knob or button which is either pressed or pulled out.
2014 W. T. Grondzik & A. G. Kwok Mech. & Electr. Equipm. for Buildings (ed. 12) xiv. 652/1 The rapid-start lamp..functions similarly to the traditional preheat lamp, but without a starter switch.
Derivatives
ˈstartership n. the position of being a starter (esp. in senses 9a and 15).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > people involved in horse racing > [noun] > officials > position of specific official
startership1856
1856 Morning Post (London) 14 Apr. 3 The most important item..for discussion in the Jockey Club councils is the question of the startership, almost of as paramount gravity as that of the Speakership in the House of Commons.
1889 Star 10 Jan. 3/5 When the vacancy for the startership to the Jockey Club occurred, Lord Marcus Beresford was appointed to succeed the late Mr. McGeorge.
1904 Washington Post 14 Aug. (Sporting section) 3 Billy Murray, the newest aspirant to startership honors, and the youngest of all that brigade to whom accrue the modest salary of $50 a day.
1992 Hamilton (Ont.) Spectator (Nexis) 19 June c1 He'll continue to do his job out of the bullpen, assuming he'll be rewarded with a full-time startership next season.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1519