steeln.1
/stiːl/, U.S. /stil/ 1.
a. A general name for certain artificially produced varieties of iron, distinguished from those known as ‘iron’ by certain physical properties, esp. greater hardness and elasticity, which render them suitable as material for cutting instruments, and for various other industrial purposes. Chemically steel is a nearly pure iron, the proportion of other substances varying from less than 1 to 3 per cent. Formerly ‘steel’ could be defined as containing more carbon than wrought iron, and less than cast iron; but since about 1860 the name has been extended to certain products containing very little carbon. With a few exceptions the term is now usually restricted to iron alloys containing not more than 1·7% carbon.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [noun]
steelc725
acier1866
c725 Corpus Gloss. 1431 Ocearium stæli.
c825 Epinal Gloss. 49 Accearium steeli.
OE Beowulf 985 Wæs stið[r]a nægla gehwylc style gelicost.
c1230 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Corpus Cambr.) (1962) 83 Beo neauer se briht..gold. seoluer. Irn. stel. þet hit ne schal drahe rust of an oþer þet is irustet.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12883 Hælm an his hafde hehne of stele.
c1290 S. Eng. Leg. 460/130 Wit strongue dores of Ire and stiel.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 946 Iren was ther noon ne steell For al was golde.
c1380 Sir Ferumbras (1879) l. 3313 Grete slabbes of styl & yre to þe walles þo wern y-slente.
1436 Libel Eng. Policy in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 171 Now bere and bacon bene fro Pruse ibroughte Into Fflaundres,..Osmonde, coppre, bow-staffes, stile, and wex.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. OOOiv An hamer of gold is..more worth than is a hamer of stele: yet the hamer of stele is more profitable.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VI f. cxviij He now doubteth not, but to find you..as sure to hym, as the Adamant to the stele.
1549 in Accts. Ld. High Treasurer Scotl. (1911) IX. 347 Item, for foure punde steill deliverit to Schir Williame Makdougall, price of the punde xx d.; summa vj s. viij d.
1561 J. Hollybush tr. H. Brunschwig Most Excellent Homish Apothecarye f. 34v Take two flynt stones and a pece of stile.
1582 Rates Custome House (new ed.) sig. Dij Looking glasses of Steel.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxxiv. xiv. 514 The purest part thereof [sc. of iron ore] which in Latine is called Nucleus ferri, i. the kernell or heart of the yron (and it is that which we call steele).
1611 Bible (King James) Jer. xv. 12 Shall yron breake the Northren yron, and the steele ? View more context for this quotation
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §874 A Looking-Glasse with the Steele behinde, looketh Whiter, than Glasse Simple.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Glouc. 349 Steele..is Eldest Brother of Iron, extracted from the same Oare, differing from it not in kind, but degree of purity, as being the first running thereof. It is more hard and brittle (whilest Iron is softer and tougher).
1680 J. Moxon Mech. Exercises I. x. 179 Its point is made of tempered Steel.
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 390 Steel is usually made by a process called cementation, which consists in keeping bars of iron in contact with powdered charcoal in a state of ignition for 10 to 12 days.
1823 W. Phillips Elem. Introd. Mineral. (ed. 3) 214 It is also said that pseudo-volcanic steel..was found a league and a half from Neiss.
1866 G. Ede Managem. Steel (ed. 4) ii. 15 Steel is a compound of iron and carbon... The carbon rarely exceeds two per cent.
1870 J. Yeats Nat. Hist. Commerce 355 Spathose pig-iron can be converted into steel without any intermediate processes.
1890 Nature 20 Nov. 51 The old definition of steel, i.e. a compound of iron and carbon, is as true as ever, when applied..to tools with cutting edges &c... The Bessemer product cannot in this sense be termed steel at all.
1895 E. L. Rhead Metall. xi. 137 Steel proper contains from 0·5 to 1·5 or 1·7 per cent. of carbon.
1946 Thorpe's Dict. Appl. Chem. (ed. 4) VII. 47/1 Steel may be roughly defined as an alloy of iron and carbon containing up to 1·7% carbon, all of the carbon being in the combined condition. A second definition, distinguishing it from cast or wrought iron, is that it has been produced in the molten condition, and a third states that steel can be hardened by quenching from a suitably high temperature. There are..certain exceptions to all these definitions.
1967 A. H. Cottrell Introd. Metall. xi. 135 At present, about 80 per cent of steel in Britain is made by the open hearth process.
1976 Sci. Amer. July 68/2 For the iron to be made into steel (defined as iron with a carefully controlled carbon content of 1·7 percent or less) the sulfur, the silicon and the excess carbon must be removed.
1983 Steel Times Aug. 424/1 Even in the mildest of mild steels, with a carbon content of not more than 0·2% carbon, some other elements are present.
b. A particular variety or sort of steel.
ΚΠ
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1172 The bars are exposed to two or three successive processes of cementation, and are hence said to be twice or thrice converted into steels.
1891 Daily News 14 Dec. 2/6 Fair orders for self-hardening and other special steels are coming in.
1898 Daily News 25 Apr. 9/4 A steady business is being done in all kinds of Swedish steels.
c. with defining attribute: see also Bessemer n., blister-steel n. at blister n.1 Compounds, cast steel see cast adj.2 8, tool steel n. at tool n. Compounds 2; shear steel n. pressed steel: steel moulded under hydraulic pressure.
ΚΠ
1812 H. Davy Elements Chem. Philos. 390 Cemented steel is made into the substance called cast steel by being fused in a close crucible with a mixture of powdered glass and charcoal.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) II. 107 Steel of cementation.
1822 T. Webster Imison's Elem. Sci. & Art (new ed.) II. 107 Natural steel is made by keeping cast iron in a state of fusion in a furnace.
1858 W. Greener Gunnery in 1858 129 Mr. Armstrong may..lay claim to being an originator of wrought steel cannon;..to Mr. Krupp is due the honour of first introducing cast steel cannon to the notice of our Government.
1876 G. E. Voyle & G. de Saint-Clair-Stevenson Mil. Dict. (ed. 3) 406/1 Firth's Steel, the steel used in the manufacture of the tube of British rifled guns.
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 12 The alloys of iron, manganese steel, nickel steel, aluminium steel,..are not yet made of such uniform quality as will admit of their adoption by gun-makers of reputation.
1900 Engin. Mag. 19 766/1 The use of concrete and of concrete steel for dry-dock work.
1902 Westm. Gaz. 24 July 8/1 The hull..is built of chrome steel.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 572/1 Alloy Steels and Cast Irons are those which owe their properties chiefly to the presence of one or more elements other than carbon.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXIX. 573/2 Self-hardening steels, such as manganese steel containing 7 per cent. of manganese.
1912 Motor Man. 83 The axle casing is held by the pressed steel distance or torque stay.
1932 New Yorker 9 Apr. 51/1 The hood is long and the radiator slightly V-nosed, with a rustless-steel grille.
d. Applied (after Italian acciaio; cf. steel glass n. 2) to: An alloy of tin and copper used for making optical ‘spheres’. Obsolete. rare.
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society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > alloy > [noun] > other alloys of tin
steel1662
potin1741
queen's metal1785
tutania1790
Britannia metal1800
babbitt metal1850
babbitt1866
zircaloy1953
1662 C. Merrett tr. A. Neri Art of Glass cxiii. 166.
e. The name of a cold shade of grey resembling the colour of steel; steel-grey. Also as adj.
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the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > iron or steel grey
iron-greyeOE
irona1398
steel-greya1560
steely1596
steel1851
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [noun] > iron or steel grey
greyOE
iron-greyOE
iron1878
steel1881
steely-grey1884
1851 E. Ruskin Let. 28 Dec. in Effie in Venice (1965) ii. 236 Falkenhayn gave..to Jane a steel glacé silk dress.
1881 Househ. Words 9 July 215/2 New colours in gloves are steel and burgundy.
1895 Montgomery Ward Catal. Spring & Summer 9/2 Chambray mixtures in steel or blue with narrow white stripes.
1914 Scotsman 26 Oct. 12/2 The shades are Steel, Oxford and Parson Grey, Mole, Beaver, Fawn.
1923 Daily Mail 6 Feb. 2 Luvisca shirts in plain shades of Ivory..Saxe, Grey, Rose and Steel.
1923 Daily Mail 26 Mar. 1 In Tan, Black, Navy,..Mole, Steel, Silver.
1925 in M. Ward & N. Ward Home in Twenties & Thirties (1978) 39 Maids' morning dresses of strong washing gingham..in blue, grey, butcher, or steel.
2. 1594 W. Shakespeare Titus Andronicus iv. iii. 48 We are..No big-boand-men framde of the Cyclops size, But mettall Marcus, steele to the verie backe. View more context for this quotation1600 P. Holland tr. Livy Rom. Hist. xxxix. xl. 1050 His bodie was steele to the verie backe [L. ferrei prope corporis].1603 T. Dekker et al. Patient Grissill sig. Cv Hee's Steele to the backe you see, for he writes Challenges.1635 T. Heywood Philocothonista 44 One that is steele to the backe. [Here euphemistically of a drunkard.]
a. Similative and figurative uses, in which steel is taken as the type of hardness.
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the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [noun] > hard substance or thing > typically
steelc1275
flintc1330
diamondc1400
brassa1425
posta1450
iron1532
marble1586
pine knot1774
piecrust1869
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 12916 Þe alle þine leomen wule to-draȝen. þeh þu weore stel al.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 3956 Þey my tonge were of stel, me ssolde noȝt dure þer to.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4297 Þof his hert al stillen were, Hert o stele and bodi o brass.
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary Magdalen 408 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 267 Weman..with wordis cane rycht wele our-cum mene hard as stele.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Antony & Cleopatra (1623) iv. iv. 33 Like a man of Steele . View more context for this quotation
1633 G. Herbert Sacrifice in Temple liii He would not cease to kneel, Till all were melted, though he were all steel.
1772 Gentleman's Mag. Mar. 149/2 A lawless set of levellers in the North of Ireland, called Hearts of Steel, attacked the house of Richard Johnson, Esq.
1849 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1866) 1st Ser. xiii. 216 The heart of steel which beat beneath the Roman's robe.
a1853 F. W. Robertson Serm. (1876) 4th Ser. xvii. 222 We have steel and nerve enough in our hearts to dare anything.
b. Phrase, true as steel (said of persons, rarely of things, statements, etc.). Also, †steel to the (very) back: thoroughly robust; thoroughly trustworthy.
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the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > [adjective]
fasteOE
stathelfasteOE
anredOE
hardOE
starkOE
trueOE
steadfast993
fastredeOE
stithc1000
findyOE
stablea1275
stathelyc1275
stiffc1275
stablec1290
steel to the (very) backa1300
unbowinga1300
stably13..
firm1377
unmovablea1382
constantc1386
abidingc1400
toughc1400
sure1421
unmoblea1425
unfaintedc1425
unfaint1436
permanent?a1475
stalwartc1480
unbroken1513
immovable1534
inconcuss1542
unshaken1548
stout1569
unwavering1570
undiscourageable1571
fixed1574
discourageable1576
unappalled1578
resolute1579
unremoved1583
resolved1585
unflexiblea1586
unshakeda1586
square1589
unstooping1597
iron1598
rocky1601
steady1602
undeclinable1610
unboweda1616
unfainting1615
unswayed1615
staunch1624
undiscourageda1628
staid1631
unshook1633
blue?1636
true blue?1636
tenacious1640
uncomplying1643
yieldless1651
riveting1658
unshakened1659
inconquerable1660
unyielding1677
unbendinga1688
tight1690
unswerving1694
unfaltering1727
unsubmitting1730
undeviating1732
undrooping1736
impervertible1741
undamped1742
undyingc1765
sturdy1775
stiff as a poker1798
unfickle1802
indivertible1821
thick and thin1822
undisheartened1827
inconvertible1829
straightforward1829
indomitable1830
stickfast1831
unsuccumbing1833
unturnable1847
unswerved1849
undivertible1856
unforsaking1862
swerveless1863
steeve1870
rock-ribbed1884
stiff in the back1897
the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > sincerity, freedom from deceit > [adjective]
aefauldOE
trueOE
true as steela1300
throlya1375
entirec1380
faithfula1382
entirelyc1400
single1519
sincere1533
sincere1539
simple-minded1556
Dunstable?1565
truthful?1567
single-hearted1574
single-minded1577
sound1580
downright1584
unaffected1592
real1597
plain-hearted1601
unartificial1603
free1619
honest1634
fair and square1636
round-dealing1642
wholehearted1657
down flata1663
well-designing1670
heart-whole1684
single-eyed1705
unsanctimoniousa1797
natural1825
bona fide1827
unfallacious1827
jannock1828
forthcoming1835
up and down1836
bonified1840
forthgoing1851
unhypocritical1854
forthright1855
upstanding1863
on the level1872
genuine1890
for real1954
upfront1967
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > faithfulness or trustworthiness > [adjective]
soothfastc825
truefastOE
i-treowec1000
unfakenOE
trueOE
sickerc1100
trigc1175
strustya1250
steel to the (very) backa1300
true as steela1300
certainc1325
well-provedc1325
surec1330
traistc1330
tristc1330
trustya1350
faithfula1382
veryc1385
sada1387
discreet1387
trust1389
trothfulc1390
tristya1400
proveda1425
good-heartedc1425
well-trusted?a1439
tristfulc1440
authorizablea1475
faithworthy?1526
tentik1534
fidele1539
truthfulc1550
suresby1553
responsible1558
trestc1560
reliable1569
cocksurea1575
sound1581
trustful1582
truepenny1589
true (also good, sure) as touch1590
probable1596
confident1605
trustable1606
axiopistical1611
loyala1616
reposeful1627
confiding1645
fiducial1647
laudable1664
safe1667
accountable1683
serious1693
sponsible1721
dependable1730
unfailing1798
truthya1802
trustworthy1829
all right1841
stand-up1841
falsehood-free1850
right1856
proven1872
bankable1891
secure1954
the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [adjective] > robust
strongeOE
hardOE
stalworthc1175
starka1250
stiff1297
steel to the (very) backa1300
stalworthyc1300
wightc1300
stable13..
valiant1303
stithc1325
toughc1330
wrast1338
stoura1350
sadc1384
wighty14..
derfc1440
substantialc1460
well-jointed1483
felon1487
robust1490
stalwart1508
stoutya1529
robustous?1531
rankc1540
hardy1548
robustious1548
stout1576
rustical1583
rustic1620
iron1638
robustic1652
swankinga1704
strapping1707
rugged1731
solid1741
vaudy1793
flaithulach1829
ironbark1833
swankie1838
tough as (old) boots or leather1843
skookum1847
hard (also tough, sharp) as nails1862
hard-assed1954
nails1974
a1300 Siriz 95 in Anecd. Lit. (1844) 5 Oure love is also trewe as stel, Withouten wou.
c1330 R. Mannyng Chron. Wace (Rolls) 4864 Tristiloker þan ony stel.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women 334 That ben as trewe as euer was any steel.
1589 ‘Marphoreus’ Martins Months Minde sig. E3v Report it of my word; for it is as true as steele.
1599 H. Porter Pleasant Hist. Two Angrie Women of Abington sig. E I promise ye maister Philip you haue spoken as true as steele.
1705 J. Dunton Life & Errors iv. 244 He's as true as Steell to his Word.
1862 Mrs. Houstoun Recommended to Mercy iv True as steel to the man to whom she had sworn to be faithful unto death.
c. Sport. Power of endurance or sustained effort.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > horse by performance > racing qualities
bottom1747
running1798
steel1850
staying power1859
society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > qualities of sportsperson > condition or fitness
bottom1747
staying power1859
form1869
steel1891
match-fitness1960
1850 F. E. Smedley Frank Fairlegh xxxi. 256 The horses are in first-rate condition..till they've done about ten miles; that takes the steel out of them a bit.
1891 Daily News 8 July 8/3 The Oxonians struggled on pluckily, but the steel was taken all out of them by this time.
1897 W. H. Thornton Reminisc. Clergyman vii. 233 All the steel and energy had left me.
3.
a. Steel in the form of weapons or cutting tools (occasionally spurs, a trap, etc.). Hence in particularized use, †a sword, lance, bayonet, or the like.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > cutting tool > [noun]
steelOE
edge-toola1375
graver1548
clipper1578
cutter1631
chipper1879
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > [noun]
steelOE
edgeOE
brandc1050
bladec1386
sharpc1390
skewer1838
OE Riddle 93 (1936) 20 Blod ut ne com, heolfor of hreþre, þeah mec heard bite stiðecg style.
c1250 Owl & Night. 1030 For heom ne may halter ne bridel Bringe from here wode wyse, Ne mon mid stele ne mid ire.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 9731 Mid bitele stelen.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 4886 Helmes þer gullen. stercliche to-stopen mid steles egge.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades viii. 143 He with these words doth plucke his bow, & sends his piercing steele, To Hector straight.
1597 J. Payne Royall Exchange 23 Yt ys as a rustie cancker eatinge throw without recoverie by eyther gentle oyle or the hard stele.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. ii. 55 Euery man that Bullingbrooke hath prest, To lifte shrewd steele against our golden crowne. View more context for this quotation
1602 tr. B. Guarini Pastor Fido iv. iii. sig. L2v Mirtillo..throwes his Dart, thinking to wound Nicander: And had the steele hit as he did direct, Nicander had been slaine.
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. ii. iii. 115 But who wou'd dream that out of abundant Charity and Brotherly Love shou'd come Steel, Fire, Gibbets, Rods.
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. 206 By th' indented Steel With Gripe tenacious held, the Felon grins, And struggles, but in vain.
1764 Oxf. Sausage 59 Or Groom invade me..whose emaciate Steeds..Had panted oft beneath my goring Steel.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 414 No meaner hand may discipline the shoots, None but his steel approach them.
1810 W. Scott Lady of Lake v. 204 The stern joy which warriors feel In foeman [sic] worthy of their steel.
1815 Ld. Byron Song of Saul i, in Hebrew Melodies 24 Bury your steel in the bosoms of Gath!
1892 R. Kipling Barrack-room Ballads 139 Grapple her stern and bow. They have asked for the steel. They shall have it now; Out cutlasses and board!
1896 Harper's Mag. Apr. 708/1 He trained his soldiers to trust the steel.
b. cold steel: cutting or thrusting weapons. [Compare German kalter stahl ; also cold iron (cold adj. 1b, iron n.1 7) = Old Norse kalt járn] .
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society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > sharp weapon > [noun] > collectively
cold steel1816
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality iii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. III. 69 Try him with the cold steel.
1897 R. S. S. Baden-Powell Matabele Campaign vi. 155 Nor do they wait for our bayonets:..for though fond of administering cold steel, it is the last thing they wish to meet with themselves.
c. U.S. to draw one's steel: to use one's pistol.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > operation and use of weapons > action of propelling missile > discharge of firearms > use or operation of small arms > use small arms [verb (intransitive)] > use pistol
to draw one's steel1902
1902 O. Wister Virginian ii. 29 He has handed Trampas the choice to back down or draw his steel.
d. Used for: Steel shot.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shot collectively > shot > small
pellet1372
die?c1390
hail-shot1485
die-shot1581
dice-shot1588
birdshot1626
key-shot1648
mould shot1675
cartridge-shot1690
small shot1727
drop1753
shot-cornc1792
dust-shot1800
sparrow-hail1859
steel1898
scattershot1961
1898 Westm. Gaz. 1 June 5/1 The crews at the port batteries were pumping steel at the enemy.
4. Steel as the material of defensive armour.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [noun] > steel as material of
steelc1330
c1330 (?a1300) Sir Tristrem (1886) l. 3324 Þai gun hem boþe armi In iren and stiel þat tide.
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 1378 Þan Alexander all his ane an-ane he ascendis, Closid all in clere stele.
c1450 in C. L. Kingsford Chrons. London (1905) 120 Stedes þer stumbelyd in þt stownde þt stood stere stuffed vnder stele.
1508 Golagros & Gawane (Chepman & Myllar) sig. av Weill stuffit in steill on thair stout stedis.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 155 So strenyt he wes in steill.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. iv. 33 In compleate steele.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost ii. 569 Or arm th' obdured brest With stubborn patience as with triple steel . View more context for this quotation
1842 Ld. Tennyson Sir Galahad in Poems (new ed.) II. 174 The hard brands shiver on the steel.
5. As a material for plates engraved with drawings or designs to be reproduced by printing. Hence, as a trade term: A steel engraving.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > steel engraving > material
steel1843
1843 J. Ballantine (title) The gaberlunzie's wallet. With numerous illustrations on steel and wood.
1887 Athenæum 11 June 779/1 A re-issue of the Examples of the Architecture of Venice. By John Ruskin... With the Text, and the 16 Plates (10 Steels and 6 Lithographs) as originally published.
6.
a. Iron as used medicinally; chalybeate medicine.In early practice iron or steel filings were sometimes administered internally; another mode of exhibition was to give the water in which iron or steel had been quenched when red hot, or had been allowed to remain for some days. The ordinary notion was that ‘iron’ and ‘steel’ were different medicines, with similar but not identical therapeutic effect. ‘Steel is now used in untechnical language for any chalybeate medicine, perhaps especially iron chloride’ ( N.E.D.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > mineral medicine > [noun] > medicine prepared from iron
steel1649
chalybeate1667
potable Mars1694
1649 H. Hammond Christians Obligations x. 253 A stronger physick is now necessary, perhaps a whole course of steel: A physick, God knowes, that this Kingdome hath been under five or six yeares.
1675 G. Harvey Dis. of London xxiii. 249 Medicines prepared of Steel have their particular uses.
1699 S. Garth Dispensary iv. 42 Some fell by Laudanum, and some by Steel, And Death in ambush lay in ev'ry Pill.
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I. (at cited word) Steel is not so good as Iron for Medicinal Operation.
1706 I. Watts Horæ Lyricæ ii. 146 When bark and steel play well their game To save our sinking breath.
1712 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 18 Sept. (1948) II. 558 The Doctor tells me I must go into a Course of Steel, tho I have not the Spleen.
1714 J. Purcell Treat. Cholick 159 The only Addition..to be made, is the use of gentle Steel. Strong Steel..will heat too much.
1801 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 5 212 Dropsy..yielded to the stimulus and invigorating powers of steel combined with diuretics.
1866 Princess Alice Mem. (1884) 158 I..am really only kept alive by steel.
1898 Hutchinson's Arch. Surg. IX. 303 At first iodide of potassium was given, but subsequently steel.
b. †salt of steel: usually, iron chloride (but used also for the sulphate or other salts of iron). flowers of steel: iron chloride prepared by heating steel filings, etc. with sal-ammoniac. sugar of steel: see sugar of iron, steel at sugar n. 3a. tincture of steel: tincture of iron chloride.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > chemistry > chemical substances > salts > [noun] > salts named by atomic number > haloids > chlorides or chlorates > other specific named
sal ammoniacc1325
salt of steel1704
horn-lead1783
nitromuriate1796
oxymuriate1797
hyperoxymuriate1806
argentane1812
magnesane1812
tellurane1812
oxychlorate1818
hypochlorite1849
tin-salt1849
perchlorate1853
carbon tetrachloride1866
nickel chloride1868
opal blue1880
the world > matter > chemistry > elements and compounds > metals > specific elements > iron > [noun] > compounds
sugar of iron, steel1652
flowers of steel1758
ferrane1812
tincture of steel1818
ferrite1851
orthoferrite1956
1704 J. Harris Lexicon Technicum I Vitriol of Mars, or Salt of Steel, is made by dissolving Steel in some proper Acid Menstruum, then Evaporating [etc.].
1758 R. Dossie Elaboratory laid open 291 Ens veneris, or flowers of steel. Take, of washed colcothar of green vitriol, or steel filings, one pound, of sal ammoniacum, two pounds [etc.].
1759 E. Wright in Philos. Trans. 1758 (Royal Soc.) 50 598 Salt of steel, taken internally, must retain its astringency until it be precipitated.
1762 A. Dickson Treat. Agric. i. iii. 43 Plants of barley were poisoned..by salt of steel.
1797 Encycl. Brit. IV. 465/1 These [crystals] are named salt of steel, and are used in medicine; but for the salt made with the pure acid and iron, the common copperas is commonly substituted.
1818 S. F. Gray Suppl. Pharmacopœias 267 Tincture of Steel.
7. The steel part of anything.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > incompleteness > part of whole > [noun] > part made of specific material
steel?1473
wood1683
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 79v Employeng the steell of his swerd the most best wyse that in hym was possible.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin xiv. 222 The stiell of the speres stynte at the haubrekes.
a1500 (?c1450) Merlin vi. 98 The archebisshop lowted to the swerde, and sawgh letteres of golde in the stiel.
1561 R. Eden tr. M. Cortés Arte Nauigation iii. iv. sig. H vii Whiche shalbe the marke for the settynge of the Irens and Stieles [in making a mariner's compass].
1816 Ld. Byron Siege of Corinth xxvi. 43 Many a hand's on a richer hilt, But none on a steel more ruddily gilt.
1895 Daily News 22 Aug. 6/2 It is far longer in the steel than a common salmon hook, and is a double hook.
8. As the name of various instruments made of steel.† c. A steel mirror. Obsolete (? nonce-use.)† f. A stylet, a stylus. Obsolete.
a. A piece of steel shaped for the purpose of striking fire with a flint. †In a pistol or firelock, the piece of steel which is struck by the ‘cock’ carrying the flint.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > fuel > material for igniting > [noun] > flint or steel
flinta700
firestoneeOE
pyritesOE
steelc1220
fire ironc1300
pyrite stonec1475
fire striker1483
furisonc1540
fusil1580
fire steel1585
flintstone1585
tindern iron1586
marcasite1682
briquet1823
fleerish1825
strike-a-light1870
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > parts and fittings of firearms > [noun] > lock > steel
steel1590
frizzle1629
c1220 Bestiary 535 Of ston mid stel in ðe tunder wel to brennen one ðis wunder.
1590 R. Harvey Plaine Percevall 20 When the steele and the flint be knockde togither, a man may light his match by the sparkle.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 47 Or vpon the hammers or steeles, if they be Snap-hances.
1619 H. Hutton Follie's Anat. sig. B2v Where's your Tobacco box, your steele & touch?
1660 R. Boyle New Exper. Physico-mechanicall xiv. 89 The Cock falling with its wonted violence upon the Steel.
1701 London Gaz. No. 3708/3 The Hammer, a Bag, a Pick-Ax, a false Key, and a Steel, were left by the said Murderers.
1833 Regulations Instr. Cavalry i. iii. 99 Bring the Carbine..to the ‘priming position’; place the thumb on the cock.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. vi. vii. 411 Nor will the steel-and-flint answer, though they try it.
b. A rod of steel, fluted or plain, fitted with a handle, used for sharpening table or butchers' knives.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > shaping tools or equipment > [noun] > sharpening > steel
steel1541
finger steel1878
1541 in J. Stuart Extracts Council Reg. Aberdeen (1844) I. 176 The steill to scherp the schawing jrne.
1580 C. Hollyband Treasurie French Tong Vn Fusil ..the stile of a butcher wherewith he whetteth or sharpeneth his kniues.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 292/2 The Butchers Steel..is his only badg of being a Slaughter-Man.
1759 B. Langton Idler 28 July 233 A man whose steel by his side declared him a Butcher.
1851 H. Mayhew London Labour I. 177/1 A butcher's knife, 1s.; a steel, 1s. 6d.
1894 H. Caine Manxman 186 Cæsar sharpened the carving-knife on the steel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sight and vision > optical instruments > mirror > [noun] > metal mirror
looking-glass1526
steel glass1530
steela1643
a1643 W. Cartwright Lady-errant v. iv, in Comedies (1651) sig. e7 The Steels you see your Faces in.
d. A flat-iron. Obsolete exc. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > [noun] > pressing or ironing > ironing or pressing implements
pressing iron1343
cold press1552
setting-stick?1578
putter1583
putting stick1583
poking-stick1592
pooter1596
poting stick1600
poker1604
goose1606
poking-iron?1606
iron1613
smoothing-iron1627
steel1638
box iron1640
smoothing-boxa1684
press iron1695
ironing board1721
sad iron1759
ironing blanket1774
ironing table1778
flat-iron1810
sleeve-board1826
ironer1833
Italian iron1833
press-board1849
ironing machine1851
goffering-iron1861
skirt-board1861
goffer1865
trouser press1880
ironing board cover1886
trouser presser1888
electric iron1890
press cloth1918
press-pad1924
tie press1926
steam-iron1951
pressing board1969
1638 J. Taylor Bull, Beare, & Horse sig. C5 One of them having occasion to use a Steele, smoothing Iron, or some such kinde of Laundry Instrument.
1873 Exhibition 67 (E.D.D.) Weth a iron flat, what they do iron clooas weth, called a still.
e. A needle; a knitting needle. dialect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > manufacture of textile fabric > [noun] > knitting > needle
knitting-prick1597
knitting needle1598
needle1598
wire?1746
pina1825
prick1838
steel1839
knitting-wire1850
knitting-pin1857
1785 W. Cowper Task iv. 165 The threaded steel..Flies swiftly.]
1839 W. McDowall Poems 87 in Eng. Dial. Dict. 'Twere better she had steek'd her gab Wi' steel an' thread.
1901 ‘Zack’ Tales Dunstable Weir 133 At that mother would pick up her knitting and clack the needles together till the stitches fair tumbled from the steels.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writing materials > writing instrument > [noun] > stylus
pointela1382
stylea1387
greffea1400
gad1570
pointrel1659
steel1738
stylet1753
stylus1807
1738 G. Smith tr. Laboratory v. 128 With a pointed Steel or Needle draw or write in it what you please.
g. the steels = skates.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > winter sports > skating > [noun] > skate
patten1617
scrick-shoe1659
skate1662
ice skate1786
sketcher1790
the steels1875
1875 Field 2 Jan. 1/3 The ladies, whenever they can, are acquiring the use of the steels.
1895 Outing 27 201/1 Considerable skill on the steels.
9. Dressmaking.
a. A strip of steel used to give stiffness or support, or to expand a dress.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > stiffening > strip of steel
steel1608
1608 G. Markham & L. Machin Dumbe Knight i. sig. B2v I haue a ruffe is a quarter deep, measured by the yeard... You haue a pretty set too, how big is the steele you set with?
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 11 May 4/1 Creatures with 16-inch waists, and a weight of steels, horse~hair, and drapery depending therefrom.
1891 Eng. Illustr. Mag. Dec. 198 A semi-tubular arrangement of steels, that gave a peculiar swinging motion to the train of the dress.
1904 Daily Chron. 22 Feb. 5/4 I suppose the bullet must have struck the steels in my corsets.
b. A dress trimming made of steel beads or ornaments.
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > trimmings or ornamentation > other
jace1399
loopa1475
shakers1506
aglet1530
nerve1531
pipe1533
targeting1563
pinion1583
pinioning1597
tzitzit1618
loop-lace1632
button1671
tip1681
fal-lal1703
falbala1705
furbelow1706
jewelling1718
weeper1724
pompom1748
chiffons1765
foliage-trimming1818
mancheron1822
piping1825
manchette1835
patte1835
streamer1838
waterfall1841
paillette1843
brandenburgs1873
motif1882
patch1884
smocking1888
jockey1896
strapping1898
steel1899
sparklet1902
slotting1923
1899 Daily News 26 Jan. 6/3 A trailing skirt embroidered in what is termed fine steel.
10. plural (Finance.) Shares in steel-manufacturing companies.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > stocks, shares, or bonds > [noun] > share > shares in specific country or industry
railway share1822
railroad shares1828
railway stock1836
railroads1848
Canada1868
coalers1878
Mets1886
industrial1887
golds1888
Kaffir1889
electrics1892
rails1893
Westralians1894
kangaroo1896
coppers1899
the junglea1901
electricals1901
Rhodesians1901
diamonds1905
Siberians1906
steels1912
utility1930
properties1964
engineer1976
mining1983
1912 Times 19 Dec. 19/4 Steels lost 1/ 3 in the Common and 1 point in the Preferred stock at 351/ 4 and 64 respectively.
1913 Times 13 Sept. 17/3 Industrials were generally good, with Steels prominent on trade advices.
Compounds
C1.
a. attributive, passing into adj. Made or consisting of steel.Such combinations are sometimes hyphenated or formed into one word (e.g. steel-filings, steelwork) in order to indicate their specific character.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [adjective] > made of steel
steeledOE
steelena1175
steelc1400
steely1590
c1400 Laud Troy Bk. 4679 Coffres grete with stele barrelles.
1497 in M. Oppenheim Naval Accts. & Inventories Henry VII (1896) 108 Stele spades..vj.
1537 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 130 My stell pan and my lyttell huche on the soller.
1542 in T. Thomson Coll. Inventories Royal Wardrobe (1815) 63 Item ane steill mirrour set in silver.
1604 Rates Marchandizes sig. I2 Steele Wyre.
1607 B. Barnes Divils Charter v. i. K 2 He shall haue two steele bullets strongly charg'd.
1681 N. Grew Musæum Regalis Societatis i. §7. ii. 169 The under parts blew, exactly like that colour which Watch-Makers and others give to their Steel-Works.
1697 N. Grew Treat. Salt in Epsom Waters 46 Take, of Steell-Filings powder'd, ten Grains.
1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. xvii. 221 As steel dust rushes to adamant.
1771 Encycl. Brit. III. 511/2 A slender sharp-pointed steel-bodkin.
1854 R. W. Emerson Poetry & Imag. in Wks. (1906) III. 143 As when a boy finds that his pocket knife will attract steel filings.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 63 All the steelwork of the ship is made in the shop except the fore and aft posts.
1944 M. Laski Love on Supertax xi. 103 A tall steel-mesh gate.
1976 J. Wheeler-Bennett Friends, Enemies & Sovereigns v. 156 King Peter attributed his father's, King Alexander's, death to the fact that..he had not worn his steel-mesh bullet-proof shirt.
b. often of weapons and armour.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > [adjective] > type of, generally
steel1340
invasible1489
saultable1570
expugnatory1601
long-handled1611
shaftless1811
incendiary1871
conventional1955
targetable1972
1340–70 Alisaunder 416 Strained in stel ger [MS. stelger] on steedes of might.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 260 Þy burȝ & þy burnes best ar holden, Stifest vnder stel-gere on stedes to ryde.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. xvi. 187 I shuld with this steyll brand Byrkyn all his bonys.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 9634 Mony stoute þere was storuen vnder stel wedis.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) xix. 129 In steil iakkis and in cotis of mailȝe.
1551 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1913) X. 18 My lord governouris steill bonett.
1588 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 44 Sixtene hundrethe and a halffe of plates to be a stiell cote, ixs vjd.
1632 W. Lithgow Totall Disc. Trav. iii. 89 On his head he weareth a bare steele cap.
1815 W. Scott Lord of Isles vi. xxxii. 267 Stirrup, steel-boot, and cuish gave way.
1829 W. Scott Anne of Geierstein III. iii. 78 I will grasp the mountain-hedgehog, prickles and all, with my steel-gauntlet.
1868 W. Morris Earthly Paradise 181 Raise up the steel cap from thine head.
c. in poetical or rhetorical allusion to the use of steel for armour or weapons.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > war > [adjective] > warlike > of things
warlike1488
warlyc1540
steela1616
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1622) i. iii. 229 The tyrant custome..Hath made the flinty and steele Cooch of warre, My thrice driuen bed of downe. View more context for this quotation
1815 W. Scott Field of Waterloo 22 Steel-gleams broke Like lightning through the rolling smoke.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. I. iii. ix. 160 So, however, with steel-besom, Rascality is brushed back into its dim depths.
C2. Indicating medicaments, etc. containing iron, as steel drops, steel lozenge, steel pill, steel water, steel wine.
ΚΠ
1652 J. French York-shire Spaw x. 92 To mix some Sugar of steel, or steel wine with the first glass.
1675 G. Harvey Dis. of London xxiv. 264 I have found a singular Virtue in Steel drops, præpared after my Mode.
1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 17 Feb. (1948) II. 622 I..take some nasty steel drops, & may [sic] head has been bettr.
1714 Philos. Trans. 1713 (Royal Soc.) 28 248 Our English Steel-Waters at Tunbridge.
a1734 R. North Examen (1740) iii. ix. §7 653 Let the Author reflect upon the Need he hath of such a Steel Course as this.
1818 S. F. Gray Suppl. Pharmacopœias 308 Steel lozenges.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Steel-wine, sherry wine in which steel filings have been placed for some time.
1865 Morning Star 23 June A box of steel pills.
1900 T. C. Allbutt Syst. Med. V. 620 Cod~liver oil and steel wine are useful in the later stages.
C3. Of or belonging to steel as a product or an article of commerce, as steel man, steel mine, steel plant, steel town, steel trade, steel works.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [adjective]
steely1590
steel1601
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. vii. lvi. 188 The discoverie of the yron and steele mines.
1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. III. v. vi. 327 From their new dungeons at Chantilly, Aristocrats may hear the rustle of our new steel furnace there.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 2/2 The usual operation in large steel-works is first to cut the bar-iron into certain lengths.
1869 W. J. M. Rankine Cycl. Machine & Hand-tools Pl.E 1 The Plate represents the steel plant at the Langley Mill Steel and Iron Works.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 111 Let us cross to the steel-sheds again.
1905 F. Harrison Chatham vi. 106 The toilers in those mines and steel-yards [of Pittsburg].
1921 Daily Colonist (Victoria, Brit. Columbia) 1 Oct. 9/3 Mr. Fraser outlined the benefits that would come..from the erection of a steel plant here.
1922 L. Mumford in H. E. Stearns Civilization in U.S. 10 The steel towns of the Ohio [River].
1961 Universe 27 Jan. 2/4 Steelmen There. Pope John on Monday received members of the council of the European coal and steel authority.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 24 Jan. 1/1 East Chicago, Ind., a smoky Lake Michigan steel town that isn't exactly famous for its esthetic splendor even when the sun shines.
1977 Times 19 Dec. 13/3 Sound arguments have been put forward by many respected steelmen for moving away from the large integrated coastal works.
1979 Steel Times Internat. Sept. 91/2 The building of a new steelplant.
C4. = engraved on steel.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [adjective] > steel engraving
siderographic1819
steel-engraved1823
steel1880
1880 ‘M. Twain’ in Mark Twain Let. Writer (1932) iii. 48 The best picture I have had yet is the steel frontis~piece to my new book.
1884 Athenæum 19 July 83 The volume will contain a steel portrait of the author.
C5.
a. With the sense ‘resembling steel’ (in colour, hardness, etc.), as steel gloss; steel-bright, steel-hard, steel-sharp, steel-straight, steel-strong, steel-thin, adjs.; esp. with names of colour, as steel-black, steel-blue, steel-grey, steel-green adjs. and nouns.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > straightness > [adjective]
rightOE
straightc1350
rightfulc1384
line-rightc1400
rule-righta1450
streckc1480
unbent1483
straight forth1536
unwried1558
steel-straighta1560
untwisted1575
uncurled1597
rectified1598
cornerless1605
uncrooked1611
unbended1648
retent1656
uninflected1713
curveless1800
arrow-straight1834
unconvoluted1839
unwarped1855
curlless1861
undistorted1881
poker-straight1949
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > [adjective]
sharpc825
bitel?c1200
keena1225
carving?c1225
fellc1330
trenchantc1330
snarpc1480
cuttinga1533
tart?a1534
undullc1540
steel-sharpa1560
teen1578
unrebated1579
unbated1604
biting1607
eager?1611
unblunted1656
shrewd1878
cutty1903
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [adjective] > very
iron-hardOE
bone?a1300
adamantinea1382
stony?1523
adamant1535
steel-harda1560
buff-hard1589
steely1596
diamantine1605
steela1607
rocked1610
Brazil1635
adamantean1671
osseousa1682
iron1708
ferreous1774
rock-likea1793
cast iron1886
bone-hard1924
the world > life > the body > bodily constitution > bodily strength > [adjective] > very strong
strongfula1400
steel-stronga1560
Herculean1596
steely1648
the world > matter > light > intensity of light > [adjective] > bright > as or with specific things
steel-brighta1560
eyebright1607
butter-bright1868
brass-bright1908
the world > matter > light > reflection > [adjective] > lustrous or shining with reflected light > of or like precious stones, metals, or fabrics
whiteOE
orientc1400
steel-brighta1560
metalline1596
sparry1792
metallic1794
orichalceous1826
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [adjective] > dark green
steel-greena1560
bottle-green1785
corbeau1810
forest-green1810
rifle green1829
spinach-green1845
pine green1892
army green1897
malachite1900
seaweed-green1937
the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [noun] > metallic blue
steel-bluea1560
iron blue1697
steely-blue1867
the world > matter > colour > named colours > blue or blueness > [adjective] > metallic blue
steel-bluea1560
chalybeous1826
the world > matter > colour > named colours > grey or greyness > [adjective] > iron or steel grey
iron-greyeOE
irona1398
steel-greya1560
steely1596
steel1851
the world > matter > colour > named colours > black or blackness > [noun] > typical blackness > as other substances
steel-blacka1560
velvet black1646
the world > matter > colour > named colours > green or greenness > [noun] > shade or tint of green > dark green
steel-greena1560
moss green1705
bottle1784
corbeau1810
forest-green1810
rifle green1829
spinach-green1845
hunter's green1872
moss1897
army green1908
jungle green1946
loden1964
a1560 T. Phaer tr. Virgil Nyne Fyrst Bks. Eneidos (1562) x. sig. Ggj Wher neuer cessing soyle doth steelebright stuff send out from mines.
1817 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. X. i. 88 Steel-blue Swallow.
1817 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. X. i. 93 Top of the head..shining steel-black.
1817 J. F. Stephens Shaw's Gen. Zool. X. i. 97 Upper parts of the plumage black, with a steel gloss.
1833 W. Jardine Nat. Hist. Humming-birds (Naturalist's Libr.: Ornithol. I) I. 146 On the throat is a patch of the clearest violet-blue, shading off to steel-blue on the sides.
1842 E. A. Parnell Elements Chem. Anal. (1845) 273 A steel-gray crust of metallic arsenic.
1882 W. Crookes Dyeing & Tissue-printing 197 Dark Steel Greens on Half Woollens.
1899 Cambr. Nat. Hist. IX. 548 Manucodia atra is steel-green and black.
1916 A. Huxley Burning Wheel 8 The adamant core and the steel-hard chain.
1920 E. Sitwell Wooden Pegasus 32 Dusty voice that throbs with heat, Hoping with its steel-thin beat To put stitches in my mind.
1921 J. Buchan Path of King i. 9 The world put on a new dress, all steel-blue and misty green... Spring had fairly come.
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (N.Y. ed.) 23 Sit beside the steel-straight arms of your fair women.
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (N.Y. ed.) 147 Steered and propelled by that steel-strong snake of a tail.
1944 E. Blunden Shells by Stream 4 Steel-sharp might Which blows the babe and nurse to atoms in the night.
1944 A. L. Rowse Eng. Spirit xiii. 105 Narrow temples and steel-grey eyes.
1954 L. MacNeice Autumn Sequel 95 She ascends where steelbright rays impinge.
1976 ‘Z. Stone’ Modigliani Scandal ii. i. 69 A steel-blue Mercedes coupé.
1977 A. Giddens Stud. in Social & Polit. Theory 23 His sombre characterization of the ‘steel-hard cage’ of the modern social order.
1978 ‘M. M. Kaye’ Far Pavilions iv. 73 The steel-grey curtain of the rain.
b. figurative. = as hard as steel, steely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [adjective] > very
iron-hardOE
bone?a1300
adamantinea1382
stony?1523
adamant1535
steel-harda1560
buff-hard1589
steely1596
diamantine1605
steela1607
rocked1610
Brazil1635
adamantean1671
osseousa1682
iron1708
ferreous1774
rock-likea1793
cast iron1886
bone-hard1924
a1607 H. Chettle Trag. Hoffman (1631) sig. I3 My heart is steele, Nor can it suffer more then it doth feele.
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets cxxxiii. sig. H4v Prison my heart in thy steele bosomes warde. View more context for this quotation
?c1622 E. Bolton Hypercritica (1722) ii. §3 This steel Rule whosoever honestly follows may perhaps write incommodiously for some momentany Purposes, but [etc.].
1847 Ld. Tennyson Princess vi. 132 Not one word? not one? Whence drew you this steel temper?
1899 Bridges Septuagesima ii, in Poems (1912) 340 Steel is the ice.
C6. Objective, with agent-nouns, as steel-erector, steel-maker, steel-worker; with verbal nouns and participial adjectives, as steel-making, steel-piercing, steel-rolling, steel-using.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [adjective] > types of bullet or shot
chained1613
steel-piercing1624
chawed1644
studded1865
soft-nosed1893
hollow-fronted1899
mushroomed1901
hollow-pointed1902
spitzer1905
hollow-nosed1909
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > steel erector
steel-erector1624
erector1892
steel fixer1936
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > metalworker > [noun] > steelworkers
temperera1617
steel-worker1624
Bessemer maker1864
converter1875
steel-plater1882
steel bender1921
1624 F. Quarles Iob Militant xviii. 58 That Steele-digesting Bird.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art I. 4 The steel-making process.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 1171 G, is the door by which the steel-maker enters.
1858 P. L. Simmonds Dict. Trade Products Steel-roller, the cylinder of a mill for rolling out steel into sheets.
1881 Nature 14 Apr. 568/1 The commotion among steel-users caused by the total failure of the steel plates.
1884 Pall Mall Gaz. 8 Jan. 9/1 A Glasgow telegram states that 2,000 steelworkers..refused to resume work to-day.
1903 Daily Chron. 17 Mar. 9/2 An elderly retired steel smelter.
1932 W. H. Auden Orators iii. 102 Our steel-piercing bullet, our burglar-proof safe.
1959 Daily Tel. 12 Dec. 1/2 Loss of work because of steel shortages in car and other steel~using industries.
1960 Times 22 Mar. 12/1 The site of many industries and the country's largest steel-rolling mill.
1974 ‘J. Ross’ Burning of Billy Toober xi. 100 Almost permanently unemployed but registered as a steel-erector.
1977 Whitaker's Almanack 757/1 Some of the country's [sc. Nigeria's] more important industrial installations include a steel-rolling mill.
1977 Time (Atlantic ed.) 19 Sept. 48/3 The relatively brisk pace of the economy is boosting demand in many steel-using industries.
C7. Instrumental and parasynthetic, as steel-born, steel-bound, steel-clad, steel-girt, steel-graven, steel-lined, steel-shod; steel-barred, steel-bosomed, steel-coloured, steel-fisted, steel-grated, steel-hilted, steel-lined, steel-nerved, steel-pointed, steel-rimmed, steel-shafted, steel-studded, steel-tempered, steel-tipped, steel-topped, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > courage > moral courage > stoicism > [adjective]
firm1377
steel-nerveda1400
stablec1440
stiff-upper-lipped1798
stiff-upper-lip1961
stiff-upper-lippish1963
society > armed hostility > military equipment > armour > [adjective] > clad in or protected by armour
armedc1300
wrienc1330
steel-clada1400
armed at (also of) all piecesc1400
harnessedc1460
enarmedc1540
armoured1564
steeled1596
iron-clothed1728
armour-clad1768
hoplomachic1832
well-armoured1852
brazen-mailed1870
pamphract1890
the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > aids to defective vision > [adjective] > types of spectacles
steel-rimmeda1400
steelbowed1606
young1667
near-sighted1796
trifocal1826
steel-bow1834
pantoscopic1836
window glass1885
bifocal1888
horn-rimmed1894
pebbled1928
thick-lensed1946
single-vision1962
wire-rim1968
wire-frame1977
Lennon1984
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [adjective] > with steel bars
steel-barreda1400
steel-grateda1400
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > [adjective] > covered > at the top or end
steel-tippeda1400
cappeda1616
hatted1880
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [adjective] > covered with steel
steel-bosomeda1400
steel-plated1819
steel-faced1897
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > golf > equipment > [adjective] > types of club
steel-shafteda1400
flat1857
grassed1857
lofted1887
pitching1891
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > parts of windows > [adjective] > having shutters > type of shutter
steel-lineda1400
bivalve1677
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [adjective] > fitted with tyres > attributes of tyres
steel-studdeda1400
white-walled1720
punctured1896
sidewall1901
beaded-edge1902
treaded1906
low-profile1922
whitewall1930
run-flat1941
whitewall1957
bald1958
bias-ply1964
cross-ply1965
studded1966
treadless1968
a1400–50 Wars Alex. 284 vij stele-grauyn stanys.
1596 M. Drayton Mortimeriados sig. F 1 In steele-bound locks he safely lodg'd the Guard.
1597 M. Drayton Englands Heroicall Epist. f. 68 His steele-tempered blade.
1605 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. i. vi. 202 Whose thornie sides are hedged round about With stiffe steele-pointed quils.
1642 H. More Ψυχωδια Platonica sig. P Steel-coloured clouds with rattling thunder knocks.
1682 N. O. tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Lutrin iv. 183 Come, Girot! Come, my trusty steel-edg'd friend.
1687 London Gaz. No. 2202/4 A little Steel Hilted French Sword.
1751 Warton Poems (1777) 61 Our steel-clad steeds.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel ii. ix. 41 A steel-clenched postern door.
1859 Engineer 8 157/3 That a steel-clothed ship could be far more easily destroyed than a wooden-sided one.
1875 J. W. Benson Time & Time-tellers 53 The watch being only silver gilt, and steel-faced.
1900 F. T. Elworthy Horns of Honour ii. 124 Steel-framed spectacles.
1909 Westm. Gaz. 11 Nov. 5/2 A new steel-studded tyre.
1912 Motor Man. 101 The most popular of these [non-skid devices] is the steel-studded leather band.
1915 Pearson's Mag. 39 136/1 That steel-fisted British fleet.
1924 W. J. Locke Coming of Amos xvi. 211 What kind of steel-nerved wisp of a woman are you?
1926 ‘C. Barry’ Detective's Holiday vii. 66 A pair of steel-rimmed spectacles.
1929 L. MacNeice Blind Fireworks 8 The steel~bosomed siren calling bitterly.
1930 E. Blunden Poems 139 But steel-born bees, birds, beams invade.
1935 R. Kipling in Times 17 July 19/4 In the steel-grated prisons where I cast him.
1947 D. Thomas Let. 12 Apr. in Sel. Lett. (1966) 302 In steel-barred rooms, where Mussolini personally had..interrogated.
1950 Times 22 May 4/3 Four golfers and a caddy..were carrying steel-shafted clubs.
1954 L. MacNeice Autumn Sequel 94 The steel-clad troops begin arriving from the rear to rally or harry their humble fellows.
1972 P. Buckland Irish Unionism I. viii. 215 Armed raiders who had removed the steel-lined shutters from the windows.
1973 M. Russell Double Hit xx. 149 I just don't believe that an accidental swipe with a squash racket, even a steel-shafted one, would have killed a man.
1974 J. Aiken Midnight is Place x. 290 The duels..which the men..fought, using no weapons but the steel-tipped clogs on their feet.
1978 R. Ludlum Holcroft Covenant xv. 174 The face was strong, the eyes behind the steel-rimmed spectacles alert.
C8. Special combinations.† steel beetle n. Obsolete some American beetle.† steel-browed adj. Obsolete shameless.† steel-nose n. Obsolete apparently a slang name for some kind of strong drink.† steel-ore n. Obsolete (a) an ore of lead with a ‘steel-grain’; (b) siderite or native ferrous carbonate.† steel saddle n. Obsolete ? a saddle with a steel frame.† steel wasp n. Obsolete (see quot. 1711).
Steelbacks n. (see quots.).
ΚΠ
1903 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang VI. ii. 357/1 Steelbacks (The)... 1. The 1st Batt. Northamptonshire Regiment. the late 48th Foot; and (2) The 1st Batt. Middlesex Regiment, the late 57th Foot.
1925 E. Fraser & J. Gibbons Soldier & Sailor Words 204 Steelbacks, The: The Northamptonshire Regiment. Through the 1st Battalion, as the 48th Foot. In allusion to the stoical way in which, according to tradition, the men bore their punishment when flogged. (An 18th century nickname.)
steel band n. (a) Music a band composed of musicians who play (chiefly calypso-style) music on steel drums; (b) Australian. [band n.2 12] , ‘hard thin stratum of ferruginous and siliceous material lying below the sandstone roof and above the opal dirt’ (J. S. Gunn Opal Terminol. (1971)).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > company of instrumentalists > [noun] > band > type of
waits1298
consort1587
wait player1610
wind music1650
the fiddles1676
military band1775
German band1819
street band1826
brass band1834
promenade band1836
horn-band1849
pipe band1867
wind-band1876
Hungarian band1882
jazz band1916
jazz orchestra1916
big band1919
road band1922
Schrammel quartet1924
showband1926
spasm band1926
dance-band1927
marching band1930
name band1932
ork1933
silver band1933
sweet band1935
Schrammel orchestra1938
pop band1942
jug band1946
steel band1949
rehearsal band1957
skiffle band1957
ghost band1962
support band1969
support group1969
scratch band1982
1949 Caribbean Q. 1 i. 30 The audience was introduced to..Trinidad's own steel band.
1950 Bull. Austral. Bur. Mineral Resources No. 17. 27 The first or upper level is indicated by the presence of a very thin and hard band of siliceous sandstone known as the ‘Steel Band’.
1960 Times 17 Sept. 7/6 The steelband competition of the Trinidad music festival.
1967 Sunday Mail Mag. (Brisbane) 8 Jan. 6/7 Then comes eight to twelve feet of quartzite..and often after that, a layer of hard siliceous sandstone known as the ‘steelband’.
1974 E. Ambler Dr. Frigo i. 15 He had collapsed while listening to the steel band.
steel bandsman n. a musician in a steel band.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > [noun] > member(s) of orchestra or band > member of band
Pandean1804
bandsmana1842
steel bandsman1948
1948 Trinidad Guardian 16 June 5/6 (heading) Judge advises steel bandsman to mend ways.
1967 Listener 31 Aug. 277/2 The steel bandsmen can play anything well: without a conductor and from memory.
steel bar n. slang a needle.
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the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture textile fabric or that which consists of > sewing or ornamenting textile fabric > [noun] > sewing > equipment for > needle
needleeOE
Spanish pikec1639
steel bar1785
locomotive1880
1785 F. Grose Classical Dict. Vulgar Tongue Steel bar, a needle; a steel bar flinger, a taylor, staymaker, or any other person, using a needle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Coleoptera or beetles and weevils > [noun] > member of (beetle) > unspecified type
frog-clock1620
steel beetle?1711
bum-clock1786
turnip-flower beetle1882
mopane beetle1972
?1711 J. Petiver Gazophylacii VII.–VIII. Table 71 Small Carolina Steel-Beetle with a yellow girdled Back and Neck.
steel bender n. (see quot. 1921).
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society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > metalworker > [noun] > steelworkers
temperera1617
steel-worker1624
Bessemer maker1864
converter1875
steel-plater1882
steel bender1921
1921 Dict. Occup. Terms (1927) §279 Steel bender,..bends steel rods and girders in hand operated or power press, into required shape, to form framework for concrete.
1939 M. Spring Rice Working-class Wives iii. 53 An unemployed steel-bender in Newcastle.
1963 Times 10 June 8/1 The accent on industrialized building and the increasing development over recent years in concreting have created a great new demand for new skilled labour such as scaffolders, concreters, steelbenders and fixers.
steel-bow adj. (also steel-bowed) U.S. (of spectacles) having steel frames.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > ophthalmology or optometry > aids to defective vision > [adjective] > types of spectacles
steel-rimmeda1400
steelbowed1606
young1667
near-sighted1796
trifocal1826
steel-bow1834
pantoscopic1836
window glass1885
bifocal1888
horn-rimmed1894
pebbled1928
thick-lensed1946
single-vision1962
wire-rim1968
wire-frame1977
Lennon1984
1834 in Proc. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1924) LVII. 258 Appears to be a pleasant fellow, with frightful whiskers and steel bow spectacles.
1932 L. C. Douglas Forgive us our Trespasses i. 1 The steel-bowed spectacles that had been her mother's, had of a notion peddler for two dozen eggs & a pound of butter.
1950 W. Faulkner Lo in Coll. Stories iii. 390 From the pocket of his dressing gown he took a pair of steel-bowed spectacles.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > shameless or thick-skinned
shamelessc897
hard-skinnedc1450
past shame1509
unblushing1595
steel-browed1600
thick-skinned1602
dead to shame1780
case-hardened1836
unsnubbable1847
hard-shelled1848
pachydermatous1849
hard-boiled1884
armour-plated1887
tough-minded1927
chalcenterous1946
chalcenteric1964
1600 M. Sutcliffe Briefe Replie to Libel iv. 91 If he had not beene both steelebrowed, and beetilbrowed, yea and beetilheaded, he woulde neuer haue beene so bolde.
steel driver n. U.S. a person who makes holes for explosive charges, using a steel stake and a sledgehammer.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > workers with other materials > [noun] > with explosives
tamper1864
powderman1886
primer1890
steel driver1916
powder monkey1917
1916 in Jrnl. Amer. Folklore (1919) 32 505 He [John Henry] was a steel driver and was famous in the beginning of the building of the C & O Railroad.
1973 A. Dundes Mother Wit 586 The story of John Henry is powerful whether there was an actual steel-driver named John Henry or..not.
steel drum n. Music a percussion instrument originating in the West Indies, made out of an oil drum with one end beaten down and divided into grooved sections to give different notes.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > drum > [noun] > other drums
taborinc1500
swash1533
war-drum1593
wolf-drum1605
saddle drum1617
tombak1662
tom-tom1693
goombay1790
rommelpot1790
rommelpot?1798
water drum1824
pahu1829
tabl1831
tambourin1832
dholuck1837
nagara1839
tree-drum1850
ngoma1860
talking drum1897
pot drum1907
friction drum1909
trap-drum1924
ghoema1934
tamboo1942
tassa1948
steel drum1952
conga drum1955
roto-tom1968
conga1969
Isukuti1972
steel pan1973
syndrum1979
1952 Holiday Feb. 94/2 Rainbow-uniformed dandies parade and compete in making music on tuned steel drums from oilcans.
1971 West Indian World 12 Nov. 7/1 Trinidad..known..for its calypso singers and steel-drum bands.
1978 N.Y. Mag. 3 Apr. 31 (advt.) A cool drink slakes your thirst, steel drums stir your blood.
steel drummer n.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > percussion player > [noun] > drummer > of specific types of drum
taburnistera1340
tabor1362
tabreta1377
tympanister1382
nakerera1400
taborerc1400
taborner14..
kettledrum1542
tympanist1611
kettledrummer1683
tom-tommer1871
trap-drummer1903
Lambegger1938
timpanist1939
pan-man1959
tamboo-bambooist1959
steel drummer1960
1960 Times 17 Sept. 7/6 This influenced the steeldrummers to discard their tubes and bars and to use tops of oil-drums hung from the neck.
1975 R. L. Simon Wild Turkey (1976) x. 60 The reggae band..had a steel drummer who could go day and night and enough dope to turn on a rock festival.
steel engraving n. the art of engraving upon a steel plate; a print or impression from such a plate.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > steel engraving
siderography1820
steel engraving1824
1824 Encycl. Brit. Suppl. VI. 547/2 (margin) Steel-Engraving.
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 6/1 The application of steel engraving to matters of fine art.
1879 (title) The Works of Sir Edwin Landseer, R.A. Illustrated by forty-four steel engravings and about two hundred woodcuts.
steel-engraved adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [adjective] > steel engraving
siderographic1819
steel-engraved1823
steel1880
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 136 Steel Engraved Bank Note Plates.
steel-engraver n.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > steel engraving > person
steel-engraver1842
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 6/2 The early steel engravers.
steel-facing n. the process of covering an engraved metal plate with a film of steel to increase its durability.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > [noun] > coating with metal > with specific metals
leadingc1440
tinningc1440
foilinga1582
quickening1738
electroplating1840
zincing1841
retinning1843
palladiumizinga1851
acierage1852
platinizing1853
nickelization1857
quicking1863
brassingc1865
copperingc1865
nickel plating1870
nickelling1875
steel-facing1884
brazing1886
aluminizing1890
sherardizing1901
calorizing1930
aluminization1932
stelliting1934
anodizing1936
anodization1952
flame-plating1954
1884 J. S. Hodson Guide Art Illustr. ii. iii. 213 The proper thickness of copper having been deposited in the mould, the shell is filed or ground flat on the back, and the face coated with a deposit of iron,—a process commonly called steel facing.
1937 Discovery Mar. 76/2 The burr [in drypoint] being raised, will quickly wear, owing to the rubbing and the pressure it receives in printing. To overcome this a fine film of iron is deposited by an electric process on the plate. This is called steel-facing. An unfaced drypoint will yield only four or five-class impressions before the burr starts to wear. A steel-faced plate will give as many as fifty.
1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints iii. 26 An invention of the mid-nineteenth century..steel-facing... The reason steel-faced prints have acquired a bad name is that they have often been printed in a slipshod manner.
steel-faced adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > steel > [adjective] > covered with steel
steel-bosomeda1400
steel-plated1819
steel-faced1897
1897 H. W. Singer & W. Strang Etching iii. 61 Steel-faced it may be printed over and over again.., for as soon as the steel face should wear off, the plate can be again immersed in the electrotyper's bath [etc.].
steel-face v. [as a back-formation] (transitive).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > coat or cover with metal > with specific metal
tin1398
leadc1440
ironc1450
lay1472
copper1530
braze1552
silverize1605
foliate1665
plate1686
whiten1687
foil1714
blanch1729
quicken1738
amalgam1789
quick1790
aluminize1791
plate1791
zincify1801
platinize1825
resilver1832
galvanize1839
electroplate1843
zinc1843
electro-silver1851
platinate1858
electrotin1859
white-lead1863
palladiumize1864
white-metal1864
brassc1865
nickelize1865
nickel-plate1872
nickel1875
stopper1884
electro1891
sherardize1904
steel1911
stellite1934
flame-plate1954
steel-face1961
1961 Webster's 3rd New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Steel-face, v.
1965 C. Zigrosser & C. M. Gaehde Guide to Collecting Orig. Prints v. 86 It used to be standard practice among professional etchers to steel-face the copperplate.
steel fall n. [fall n.1] local, = steel trap n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun]
grinc825
trapa1000
snarea1100
swikea1100
granea1250
springec1275
gina1300
gnarea1325
stringc1325
trebuchet1362
latch?a1366
leashc1374
snarlc1380
foot gina1382
foot-grina1382
traina1393
sinewa1400
snatcha1400
foot trapa1425
haucepyc1425
slingc1425
engine1481
swar1488
frame1509
brakea1529
fang1535
fall trap1570
spring1578
box-trapa1589
spring trapa1589
sprint1599
noosec1600
springle1602
springe1607
toil1607
plage1608
deadfall1631
puppy snatch1650
snickle1681
steel trap1735
figure (of) four1743
gun-trap1749
stamp1788
stell1801
springer1813
sprent1822
livetrap1823
snaphance1831
catch pole1838
twitch-up1841
basket-trap1866
pole trap1879
steel fall1895
tread-trap1952
conibear trap1957
conibear1958
1895 P. H. Emerson Birds, Beasts, & Fishes Norfolk Broadland 290 The iniquitous ‘steel-fall’ or common steel rat-trap.
steel finch n. (see quot. 1869-73).
ΚΠ
1869–73 T. R. Jones tr. A. E. Brehm Cassell's Bk. Birds I. 163 The Steel Finch (Hypochera ultramarina) frequents the banks of the Nile.
steel fixer n. a skilled steel worker in the construction industries.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > builder > [noun] > steel erector
steel-erector1624
erector1892
steel fixer1936
1936 Record Apr. 219/3 There is an awakening of interest amongst another section of building trade workers, namely, the steel benders and fixers.
1949 Transport & General Workers' Record June 26/3 (heading) Steel fixers and tubular scaffolders.
1974 A. Hodgkinson AJ Handbk. Building Struct. v. 167/2 A quite different reason for precasting in certain parts of the uk is the local attitude of carpenters and steel fixers which may cause the contractor to limit absolutely the number of employees on site.
steel frame n. a framework, esp. of a building, made of steel; also figurative; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific construction > [adjective]
wandedc1593
brick-built1596
rock-built1596
mud-walled1607
sedgy1624
sodden1639
nogged1688
frame1760
logged1784
stucco1786
weatherboarded1794
piled1795
thick-walled1820
clapboarded1835
board-built1837
pebble-dashed1839
puncheoned1843
timber-framed1843
betimbered1847
pile-built1851
massy1855
bamboo-walled1858
portable1860
half-timber1874
stone-faced1874
Red River frame1879
ashlared1881
granolithic1881
brick-end1883
converted1888
steel frame1898
board-and-bat1902
traviated1902
steel-framed1906
prefabricated1921
prefab1937
multiwall1940
pre-engineered1955
curtain-walled1959
pre-fabbed1959
timber-frame1967
system-built1968
flat-pack1982
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun]
frame1440
mould1570
casea1676
needlework1686
framing1703
shell1705
casework1767
breast beam1828
balloon frame1844
fabric1849
balloon framing1855
armature1878
steel frame1898
1898 Engineering 8 July 39/3 An architect is made responsible for the general arrangement of the building..while the steel frame or skeleton is the work of a skilful engineer experienced in such matters.
1906 G. A. T. Middleton Mod. Buildings IV. xiv. 134/2 Probably the most thorough example of steel-frame construction yet erected in England is that of the Ritz Hotel, Piccadilly.
1922 Lloyd George in Hansard Commons 2 Aug. 1513 I can see no period when they can dispense with the guidance and the assistance of this small nucleus of the British Civil Service, of British officials in India—this 1,200 in a population of 315,000,000... They are the steel frame of the whole structure.
1926 R. Atkinson & H. Bagenal Theory & Elem. Archit. I. 6 Steel-frame or reinforced concrete construction.
1928 M. Muggeridge in Young Men of India XL. 624 There is that amount of truth in the contention of the Die-hard as against that of the sentimental liberal—it must be a steel frame or nothing.
1948 O. Bondy in E. de Maré New Ways of Building 70 It was not until the 1890's that the first complete steel-frame buildings were erected in the U.S.A.
1980 J. Boyd-Carpenter Way of Life v. 59 To this day they [sc. the Carabinieri] are, I believe, the steel frame of the distracted Italian Republic.
steel-framed adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > building of specific construction > [adjective]
wandedc1593
brick-built1596
rock-built1596
mud-walled1607
sedgy1624
sodden1639
nogged1688
frame1760
logged1784
stucco1786
weatherboarded1794
piled1795
thick-walled1820
clapboarded1835
board-built1837
pebble-dashed1839
puncheoned1843
timber-framed1843
betimbered1847
pile-built1851
massy1855
bamboo-walled1858
portable1860
half-timber1874
stone-faced1874
Red River frame1879
ashlared1881
granolithic1881
brick-end1883
converted1888
steel frame1898
board-and-bat1902
traviated1902
steel-framed1906
prefabricated1921
prefab1937
multiwall1940
pre-engineered1955
curtain-walled1959
pre-fabbed1959
timber-frame1967
system-built1968
flat-pack1982
1906 G. A. T. Middleton Mod. Buildings IV. xiv. 134/2 A steel frame~work may often be used with considerable economy, as is evidenced by the number of steel-framed structures that are now springing up.
1974 D. Seaman Bomb that could Lip-read iii. 23 His steel-framed grey suitcase.
steel framework n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > framework
frame1558
truss1654
cage-work1756
lathing1756
grillage1776
trestle1796
trestlework1853
hog frame1875
truss-work1884
steel framework1906
space frame1912
diagrid1943
1906Steel framework [see steel-framed adj.].
1940 Engineering 1 Nov. 343/3 The steel framework..embedded in the concrete.
steel grain n. a granular texture like that of steel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [noun] > grain of wood, stone, or metal > like that of steel
steel graina1728
a1728 J. Woodward Attempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) 211 [Lead-]Ore of the finest Steel-Grain.
steel-grained adj. having a steel grain.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > constitution of matter > other specific kinds of texture > [adjective] > having a steel grain
steel-graineda1728
a1728 J. Woodward Attempt Nat. Hist. Fossils Eng. (1729) 211 Steel-grain'd Lead-Ore.
1841 Civil Engineer & Architect's Jrnl. 4 262/2 Steel-grained cast-iron, or crude steel.
steel guitar n. = Hawaiian guitar n. at Hawaiian adj. and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > stringed instruments > guitar or lute type > [noun] > guitar > Hawaiian guitar
steel guitar1925
Hawaiian guitar1926
1925 Glasgow Herald 19 Mar. 8/7 Those two seductive Hawaiian instruments, the ukulele and the steel guitar.
1974 V. Gielgud In Such a Night ix. 90 The nerve-battering provided by invisible steel guitars.
steel-hardened adj. case-hardened (in quot. 1836 figurative).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > structural parts > muscle > [adjective] > having hard
steel-hardened1834
the world > matter > constitution of matter > hardness > [adjective] > hardened > by specific means
fire-hardened1626
steel-hardened1834
weather-hardened1834
1834 T. Medwin Angler in Wales II. 255 His muscles were steel-hardened by service.
1980 Guardian Weekly 13 July 1/2 It has all the grisly mod military cons: an isolated water supply, a purified air system, steel-hardened concrete.
steel iron n. (a) a native iron resembling steel; (b) iron suitable for converting into steel; (c) (see quot. 1883).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > native elements and alloys > [noun] > native iron
ceraunite1814
steel iron1839
taenite1868
Nife1909
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > metal > iron > [noun] > type of iron > iron used for making steel
steel iron1839
spiegeleisen1868
spiegel?1881
spiegel iron1883
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 681 Native steel-iron. This substance has all the characters of cast-steel.
1840 D. Mushet Papers Iron & Steel 751 Steel iron and steel have since been manufactured to some extent near Ulverston.
1840 D. Mushet Papers Iron & Steel viii. 554 We humbly feel our dependence upon two foreign markets for the supply of that steel-iron, without which the beauty, the utility, and extent of our hardware manufactures would be essentially injured and abridged.
1883 Science 1 46/1 M. Keil has succeeded in producing a welded metal which is stated to possess the characters of both iron and steel... This so called steel-iron is said to have been prepared in five ways.
steel lustre n. a composition used for ornamenting pottery.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > glaze > for ceramics or pottery > types of
steel lustre1829
moonlight lustre1837
stone-oil1838
silver lustre1845
porcelain enamel1852
marzacotto1873
overglaze1880
under-glaze1882
coperta1885
tiger's-eye1893
tin-glaze1897
hare's fur1899
lead-glaze1899
tin-enamel1900
rouge flambé1902
Sunderland lustre1903
transmutation glaze1904
Mohammedan blue1905
peach bloom1937
sang-de-bœuf1957
lead-lustre-
1829 S. Shaw Hist. Staffs. Potteries x. 227 The Steel Lustre employs oxide of Platinum.
steel marl n. = dice marl n. at die n.1 Compounds 2b.
ΚΠ
1682 A. Martindale in J. Houghton Coll. Lett. Husb. & Trade I. 121 Steel-Marle in the bottom of some Pits, which of it self is apt to break into little Bodies almost Cubical.
steel master n. a manufacturer of steel.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > workers with specific materials > metalworker > [noun] > steelworkers > owner of steelworks
steel master1885
1885 Daily Tel. 28 Sept. (Cassell) Iron-masters, steel-masters, iron-consumers.
1901 Daily News 22 Jan. 10/5 A leading Staffordshire steel master and blast furnace owner.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > other alcoholic drinks > [noun] > others
stitch-broth1635
Cherellya1640
rug1653
steel-nose1654
pope's-milka1661
Northdown1670
purl royal1675
sweetsa1679
forty-ninea1713
huggle-my-buff1756
slug1756
gunpowder1765
guarapo1772
peachy1781
all nations1785
anti-fogmatic1789
soma1827
ava1831
native1832
tap1832
stone fence1844
slap-bang1845
Angostura1856
jake1910
tepache1926
pruno1936
muratina1968
makkoli1970
alcopop1996
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 459 They can tell you whose Pudding hath Sewet in it, and whose not; who drinks Rot-gut, and who Steele-nose.
steel orchestra n. = steel band n. above.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musician > instrumentalist > company of instrumentalists > [noun] > orchestra > types of
Philharmonic Orchestra1740
philharmonica1796
gamelan1816
chamber orchestra1880
symphony1926
palm court orchestra1942
youth orchestra1948
Phil1949
steel orchestra1952
sinfonietta1970
sinfonia1976
1952 S. Selvon Brighter Sun xii. 233 Crowds jumped up to the music of steel orchestras.
1971 News-Advocate (Barbados) 20 Mar. 7/1 (advt.) Dancing to the rhythmic beats of the..Elk Owls steel orchestra.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > metal ore > lead ore > types of
fell1653
steel-ore1661
bing ore (or simply bing)1686
white lead orea1728
green lead ore1728
blanch1747
red lead of Siberia1788
red lead ore1788
hedyphane1832
cerussite1850
silver lead1860
the world > the earth > minerals > ore > [noun] > metal ore > iron ore > others
bloodstone1504
haematite1543
yellow share1590
keel1596
brush-ore1678
mush1686
brush-iron-ore1695
iron glance1792
specular iron (also iron ore)1796
steel-ore1796
oligistc1803
black band1811
old man1811
spathose iron-ore1823
pitticite1826
siderose1834
blink klip1835
pharmacosiderite1835
sphaerosiderite1837
fossil ore1846
jacutinga1846
vignite1846
siderite1848
junckerite1865
needle iron-ore1867
xanthosiderite1868
specularite1892
pitch ore1896
minette1902
taconite1905
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > carbonates > [noun] > hexagonal > siderite
steel-ore1796
black band1811
spathose iron-ore1823
siderose1834
sphaerosiderite1837
siderite1848
junckerite1865
1661 R. Boyle Ess. Unsuccessf. Exper. (1668) i. 52 Lead..so like Steel and so unlike common Lead-Oar, that the workmen upon that account are pleased to call it Steel-Oar.
1789 J. Williams Nat. Hist. Mineral Kingdom I. 410 Steel ore, or steel grained lead ore.
1796 R. Kirwan Elements Mineral. (ed. 2) II. 192 Calcareous, or Sparry Iron Ore..affords..the best Steel... Hence it is generally called Steel Ore.
steel pan n. = pan n.1 12.
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society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > drum > [noun] > other drums
taborinc1500
swash1533
war-drum1593
wolf-drum1605
saddle drum1617
tombak1662
tom-tom1693
goombay1790
rommelpot1790
rommelpot?1798
water drum1824
pahu1829
tabl1831
tambourin1832
dholuck1837
nagara1839
tree-drum1850
ngoma1860
talking drum1897
pot drum1907
friction drum1909
trap-drum1924
ghoema1934
tamboo1942
tassa1948
steel drum1952
conga drum1955
roto-tom1968
conga1969
Isukuti1972
steel pan1973
syndrum1979
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical instrument > percussion instrument > drum > [adjective] > steel pan
steel pan1973
1973 Nation (Barbados) 23 Dec. 8 Trinidad's famed steel pans [will] be produced in masse in England.
1983 Times 7 Jan. 2/1 [He] was employed for several years by the local education authority to teach steel pan playing in schools.
steel road n. a railway.
ΚΠ
1909 Cent. Dict. Suppl. 1145–6 Steel road, roadway.
1929 D. Hosie Portrait of Chinese Lady xxxv. 381 A million Yunnanese labourers..died of fever for the making of that steel road to the coast.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > animal husbandry > keeping or management of horses > horse-gear > [noun] > saddle > types of saddle
mail-saddle1360
trotter-saddle1381
panel1393
loadsaddle1397
packsaddle1398
limber-saddle1480
pillion1480
side-saddle1493
steel saddle1503
pilgate1511
mail pillowc1532
stock-saddle1537
pad1556
sunk1568
trunk-saddle1569
soda1586
mail pillion1586
running saddle1596
Scotch saddle1596
postilion saddle1621
pad-saddle1622
portmanteau-saddle1681
watering saddle1681
cart-saddle1692
demi-pique1695
crook-saddle1700
saddle pad1750
recado1825
aparejo1844
mountain saddle1849
somerset1851
pilch1863
cowboy saddle1880
sawbuck (pack)saddle1881
western saddle1883
cross-saddle1897
centre-fire1921
McClellan1940
poley1957
1503 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1900) II. 205 Ane haknay sadill, and ane steil sadill.
1596 J. Dalrymple tr. J. Leslie Hist. Scotl. (1895) II. 129 Certane horssis plesand and fayr with steil sadles.
steel tape n. (a) a measuring tape made of steel; †(b) tape made of steel for use as a recording medium (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > [noun] > tape
steel tape1900
tape1932
magnetic tape1937
audiotape1957
leader tape1960
mag tape1960
digital audio tape1978
DAT1982
DCC1990
the world > relative properties > measurement > measuring instrument > [noun] > for measuring length > measuring tape
measuring tape1805
tape-line1847
tape measure1873
inch-tape1884
steel tape1900
1900 H. M. Wilson Topogr. Surveying xxi. 500 The steel tape is capable of giving a precision indicated by a probable error of one 2,000,000th part of a measured line.
1901 Electrician 26 Apr. 7/2 The next [electromagnet] is connected to a microphone circuit to convey the record to the steel tape.
1949 S. J. Begun Magn. Recording i. 10 A recording made on steel tape..has been played more than 100,000 times with no measurable deterioration after a slight initial falling off in output level.
1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running vii. 90 Measure off a half-mile with a steel tape.
steel trap n. (a) a trap with jaws and spring of steel; (b) figurative (chiefly in attributive use) and in U.S. phrase smart as a steel trap and variants.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > equipment > trap or snare > [noun]
grinc825
trapa1000
snarea1100
swikea1100
granea1250
springec1275
gina1300
gnarea1325
stringc1325
trebuchet1362
latch?a1366
leashc1374
snarlc1380
foot gina1382
foot-grina1382
traina1393
sinewa1400
snatcha1400
foot trapa1425
haucepyc1425
slingc1425
engine1481
swar1488
frame1509
brakea1529
fang1535
fall trap1570
spring1578
box-trapa1589
spring trapa1589
sprint1599
noosec1600
springle1602
springe1607
toil1607
plage1608
deadfall1631
puppy snatch1650
snickle1681
steel trap1735
figure (of) four1743
gun-trap1749
stamp1788
stell1801
springer1813
sprent1822
livetrap1823
snaphance1831
catch pole1838
twitch-up1841
basket-trap1866
pole trap1879
steel fall1895
tread-trap1952
conibear trap1957
conibear1958
the mind > emotion > absence of emotion > [adjective] > callous or hard-hearted
hard hearteOE
steelena1000
hardOE
hard-heartedc1225
stony?c1230
yhert1340
dure1412
hardedc1425
induratec1425
stonishc1450
hardenedc1480
steely1508
flinty1536
endured1540
stiff-stomached1540
heartless1556
indured1558
flint-hearted1560
iron1561
marble1565
stone-hearted?1569
stony-hearted1569
iron-hearted1570
steel-hearted1571
rocky?1578
brawned1582
flinted1582
padded1583
obdure?1590
brawny1596
flintful1596
flint-heart1596
steeled1600
cauterized1603
indurated1604
flinty-hearted1629
ahenean1630
dedolent1633
brawny-hearteda1639
hard-grained1643
callous1647
upsitten1682
seared1684
petrified1720
calloused1746
coreless1813
pebble-hearted1816
hard-shelled1848
hard-plucked1857
steel trap1921
1735 W. Somervile Chace iii. Argt. The Steel-Trap described.
1794 R. B. Sheridan Duenna (new ed.) i. 22 Steel traps and spring guns seem'd writ in every wrinkle.
1827 Hone's Every-day Bk. II. 906 The stranger..is in jeopardy of falling into the..fangs of a steel-trap.
1872 H. B. Stowe Oldtown Fireside Stories 57 She was a little thin woman, but tough as Inger rubber, and smart as a steel trap.
1899 A. M. Binstead Gal's Gossip 127 He posted sentinel, bright and ready as a new steel-trap.
1921 D. H. Lawrence Tortoises 32 Little old man, Scuffling beside her..Parting his steel-trap face, so suddenly and seizing her scaly ankle.
1937 E. S. Gardner Case of Dangerous Dowager i. 8 You're going up against a crook who is smart as a steel trap.
1972 Publishers Weekly 17 Apr. 19/1 He's rather amused by what he calls his steeltrap memory. ‘I have a tight grip on things in inverse proportion to their importance.’
ΚΠ
1711 J. Petiver Gazophylacii VI. Table LVIII Shining Cape Steel Wasp... The Wings shine like polisht Steel.
steel wool n. fine strands of steel matted together, used as an abrasive, esp. for scouring.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > scouring, scrubbing, or rubbing > [adjective] > steel wool
steel wool1896
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > scouring, scrubbing, or rubbing > [noun] > implement for scouring or scrubbing > steel wool
steel wool1896
wire wool1916
1896 Iron Age 9 Apr. 871/2 The interesting product ‘steel wool’ is intended for use in all cases where sandpaper, emery paper, pumice stone and materials of a kindred nature are employed.
1947 J. C. Rich Materials & Methods Sculpt. vi. 169 ‘Fire-skin’ may be removed by rubbing the work with steel wool, which is available in several grades, varying from very coarse to very fine.
1958 Listener 16 Oct. 627/1 Scour round the inside with a steel wool soap-pad.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds xvii. 444 His thick mane of hair was exactly the color of steel wool.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
steeln.2
/stiːl/, U.S. /stil/ (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prison > [noun]
quarternOE
prisona1200
jailc1275
lodgec1290
galleya1300
chartrea1325
ward1338
keepingc1384
prison-house1419
lying-house1423
javel1483
tollbooth1488
kidcotec1515
clinkc1530
warding-place1571
the hangman's budget1589
Newgate1592
gehenna1594
Lob's pound1597
caperdewsie1599
footman's inn1604
cappadochio1607
pena1640
marshalsea1652
log-house1662
bastille1663
naskin1673
state prison1684
tronk1693
stone-doublet1694
iron or stone doublet1698
college1699
nask1699
quod1699
shop1699
black hole1707
start1735
coop1785
blockhouse1796
stone jug1796
calaboose1797
factory1806
bull-pen1809
steel1811
jigger1812
jug1815
kitty1825
rock pile1830
bughouse1842
zindan1844
model1845
black house1846
tench1850
mill1851
stir1851
hoppet1855
booby hatch1859
caboose1865
cooler1872
skookum house1873
chokey1874
gib1877
nick1882
choker1884
logs1888
booby house1894
big house1905
hoosegow1911
can1912
detention camp1916
pokey1919
slammer1952
joint1953
slam1960
1811 Lexicon Balatronicum Steel, the house of correction.
1819 J. H. Vaux New Vocab. Flash Lang. in Memoirs II. 155 Bastile, generally called for shortnes, the steel a cant name for the House of Correction, Cold-Bath-Fields, London.
1839 in ‘Ducange Anglicus’ Vulgar Tongue (1857) 35 The steel, the tread-mill.
1877 W. H. Thomson Five Years' Penal Servitude i. 5 A series of rapid inquiries as to who I was,..had I ever been in the ‘steel,’ a slang name for one of the large metropolitan prisons, as the ‘Gate’ is for Newgate.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
steelv.
/stiːl/, U.S. /stil/ 1. figurative.1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. i. 148 Ile in to vrge his hatred more to Clarence, With lies well steeld with weighty arguments. View more context for this quotation1614 W. B. tr. Philosophers Banquet (ed. 2) ii. vi. 114 He euer steeled the forefront of his armie with men of hiest spirit.1651 Bp. J. Taylor Golden Grove: Summer xix. 248 When God..draws aside his curtain, and shows his arsenal and his armory, full of arrows steeled with wrath.† b. To back (a mirror) with steel. Obsolete.
a. transitive. To overlay, point or edge with steel. Often in passive to be (well) steeled.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > covering > cover [verb (transitive)] > cover and protect > plate
steela1240
shoec1275
arma1398
clout1573
alchemy1615
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > coat or cover with metal > with specific metal
tin1398
leadc1440
ironc1450
lay1472
copper1530
braze1552
silverize1605
foliate1665
plate1686
whiten1687
foil1714
blanch1729
quicken1738
amalgam1789
quick1790
aluminize1791
plate1791
zincify1801
platinize1825
resilver1832
galvanize1839
electroplate1843
zinc1843
electro-silver1851
platinate1858
electrotin1859
white-lead1863
palladiumize1864
white-metal1864
brassc1865
nickelize1865
nickel-plate1872
nickel1875
stopper1884
electro1891
sherardize1904
steel1911
stellite1934
flame-plate1954
steel-face1961
OE Cynewulf Crist II 679 Sum mæg styled sweord wæpen gewyrcan.]
a1240 Sawles Warde in Cott. Hom. 253 Hure þolien ant a beoren hare unirude duntes wið mealles istelet.
c1320 Cast. Love 1248 A swerd..Þat wel i-steled and kene were.
a1440 Sir Degrev. 1043 Hys helme shal be wel steled.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades iv. 63 An arrow he out of his quiuer cought, Sure steelde at end with piercing head.
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis 215 Performed with a sharp cutting stone, and not with any knife of iron steeled.
1693 M. Lister in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 865 With a Guess at the way the Ancients used to Steel their Picks for the cutting or hewing of Porphyry.
1776 G. Semple Treat. Building in Water 18 The Chissell or Piercer, was well steeled, with a drill Point.
1805 R. W. Dickson Pract. Agric. I. Pl. xxxvii The teeth are one foot in length..steeled at the point.
1831 J. Holland Treat. Manuf. Metal I. 220 It was the common notion..that the art of steeling tools in the highest degree of perfection was certainly lost to the moderns.
1864 G. L. M. Strauss et al. England's Workshops 93 The former process is technically termed steeling in the centre, the latter steeling on the face.
1911 J. Ward Rom. Era Brit. xi. 195 The face of the hammer was ‘steeled’ by a plate of steel welded to it.
ΚΠ
1630 P. Massinger Renegado i. iii. sig. C4 Here is a mirror Steelde so exactely, neither taking from Nor flattering the obiect, it returnes To the beholder.
a1631 J. Donne Serm. (1953) VI. 289 Nay, a Crystall glasse will not show a man his face, except it be steeled, except it be darkned on the backside.
c. To cover (an engraved metal plate) with a film of iron by electrolysis to render it more durable.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > engrave in intaglio [verb (transitive)] > face plate with steel
steel1880
1880 P. G. Hamerton Etching & Etchers (ed. 3) 342 (note) My large dry~point,..called Two Stumps of Driftwood, gave 1000 copies (after being steeled) without perceptible wearing.
1887 J. Ruskin in M. H. Spielmann John Ruskin (1900) 195 Now that everybody can..engrave the photograph, and steel the copper, and print piles and piles of the thing by steam.
2. To cause to resemble steel in some quality.
a. figurative. To make hard, unbending, or strong as steel, to render insensible to impression, to make determined or obdurate, to nerve or strengthen; also to fortify against.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > will > decision > constancy or steadfastness > adhere constantly or steadfastly to [verb (transitive)] > make steadfast
strongOE
strengthc1200
stablea1300
resolvea1398
sadc1400
nourish?a1425
settle1435
pitha1500
stiffen?a1500
steel1581
toughen1582
ballastc1600
efforta1661
fix1671
balance1685
to fix the mercury1704
instrengthen1855
to put stuffing into1977
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades vi. 110 But stil he was so steelde With heart so good, as victor he dead left them in the field.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Ciiijv Giue me my heart..O giue it me lest thy hard heart do steele it, And being steeld, soft sighes can neuer graue it. View more context for this quotation
1654 R. Whitlock Ζωοτομία 443 With this Position let us..steele our Resolves.
1720 D. Waterland 8 Serm. Divinity of Christ 97 Let any man..that..is not steel'd against Conviction, be left to draw the Conclusion.
1796 F. Burney Camilla II. iv. vi. 370 Steel yourself, then, firmly to withstand attacks from the cruel and unfeeling.
1822 C. Lamb Compl. Decay of Beggars in Elia 1st Ser. It is possible I could have steeled my purse against him.
1826 W. Scott Woodstock I. v. 137 I..was steeled by honour against the charms of my friend's Chloe.
1882 F. W. Farrar Early Days Christianity II. 380 The rich experience of a long life steeled in the victorious struggle with every unchristian element.
1884 Leisure Hour Sept. 545/2 The air and exercise had steeled my nerves completely.
b. To make like steel in appearance. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > flatness or levelness > smoothness > make smooth [verb (transitive)] > make smooth and polished or glossy
slicka1225
polisha1382
sleekc1440
levigate1617
sleeken1621
slicken1621
conglaciate1656
steel1807
1807 W. Wordsworth Sonn. to Liberty ii. v And lo! those waters, steeled By breezeless air to smoothest polish, yield A vivid repetition of the stars.
ΚΠ
a1593 C. Marlowe Edward II (1594) sig. F3v We haue beene..Too kinde to them, but now haue drawne our sword, And if they send me not my Gaueston, Weele steele it on their crest, and powle their tops.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > medical preparations of specific origin > mineral medicine > add mineral to medicine [verb (intransitive)] > iron
steel1657
steelify1662
1657 J. Cooke tr. J. Hall Sel. Observ. Eng. Bodies 117 She drunk her drink steeled, with which she was cured.
5. To convert (iron) into steel: = steelify v.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > working with specific materials > working with metal > work with metal [verb (transitive)] > convert into steel
steelify1806
convert1837
steel1853
acierate1860
1853 in Jrnl. Franklin Inst. (1888) CXXV. 303 By passing an electric current thus through the bars the operation of steeling is much hastened.
1977 Sci. Amer. May 61/3 Iron that has been ‘steeled’ with that much carbon will not deform under stresses of less than 140,000 p.s.i.
1977 Sci. Amer. Oct. 127/1 It seems evident that by the beginning of the 10th century B.C. blacksmiths were intentionally steeling iron.
6. To sharpen (a knife) with the steel.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > shape > sharpness of edge or point > sharpen (a thing) [verb (transitive)] > sharpen edge > with a steel
steel1888
1888 B. Lowsley Gloss. Berks. Words & Phrases
7. dialect. To iron (clothes).
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > cleanness and dirtiness > cleaning > washing > washing clothes and textile articles > wash clothes [verb (transitive)] > press or iron
set1530
press1555
pote1600
poke1606
smooth1617
iron?1670
goffer1706
steel1746
goose1808
streak1823
flat-iron1865
fuller1880
1746 Exmoor Scolding (ed. 3) ii. 14 Tha hasn't tha Sense to stile thy own Dressing.
1837 J. F. Palmer Gloss. in M. Palmer Dialogue Devonshire Dial. (at cited word) To Steel, to iron clothes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1916; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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v.a1240- cojoining
- cojoins
- cojones
- cojudge
- cojuror
- cojusticiar
- coke
- coke barrow
- coke bogey
- coke bottle
- coke dust
- coke finish
- coke fork
- coke fuel
- coke plate
- coke point
- coke tin
- coke-bottle body
- coke-bottle design
- coke-bottle figure
- coke-bottle glasses
- coke-bottle lenses
- coke-bottle shape
- coke-breeze
- coke-crusher