| 释义 |
bottomn.adj. Origin: A word inherited from Germanic. Etymology: Cognate with Old Frisian bodem , boden , Middle Dutch bodem , boden , boom (Dutch bodem ), Old Saxon bothme , bodme (dative singular; Middle Low German bōdeme , boddeme , bodden ), Old High German bodam (Middle High German bodem , boden , German Boden ), Old Icelandic botn , Norwegian botn , Old Swedish butn (Swedish botten ), Old Danish botn (Danish bund ), and further with ancient Greek πυθμήν , Sanskrit budhna , and (with metathesis) classical Latin fundus , Early Irish bond , perhaps from a variant (with metathesis) of the Indo-European base of deep adj. Further etymology. Forms in the Germanic languages appear to reflect variation of the stem in Germanic, suggesting several underlying forms with different dentals, as well as an interchange of -m- and -n- in the suffix which seems to go back to Indo-European (compare ancient Greek πυθμήν beside Sanskrit budhna ). The developments underlying this apparent variation are uncertain and disputed, but have been explained as resulting from complex variations in the original nominal suffix. For recent discussions see A. L. Lloyd et al. Etymologisches Wörterbuch des Althochdeutschen (1998) II. 222–5 and M. de Vaan in Amsterdamer Beiträge zur älteren Germanistik 72 (2014) 3–4. Form history. It is uncertain whether and to what extent variation of the stem attested in English is to be traced back to Germanic or is the result of development within English. In Old English the form usually attested is botm (probably inflecting as a strong masculine). This has been explained as a West Saxon form showing phonological dissimilation (before m ) of an original voiceless fricative within the stem-final consonant cluster (i.e. /θm/ > /tm/), whereas Middle English forms such as bothem apparently continue the unattested Anglian variant *boðm with the (subsequently voiced) fricative preserved; compare forms of the Old English weak feminine derivative bytme bittem n. and see further R. M. Hogg Gram. Old Eng. (1992) I. §7.10. In Middle English, however, forms of bottom n. with medial -t- show a wider distribution than might be expected from Old English, while place-name evidence suggests that, at least after early Middle English, forms with the fricative are chiefly northern and north midland. Yet another stem form appears to be attested in early Old English bodan (one isolated attestation, the precise sense of which is uncertain: see below). Forms with medial -d- and also forms with final -n (compare also forms of bittem n.) are attested in modern regional use and earlier currency of these appears to be implied by early place-name evidence, but it is unclear whether continuity should be assumed. Alternatively, most of the attested variant stem forms could be compared to form types represented among the Germanic cognates, as discussed above. Notes on specific senses. In use with reference to ships (see sense A. 4) in early use probably usually with reference to the keel or the bottom planks of the hull rather than to the whole of the hull (or the whole ship as in sense A. 4b). However, ambiguity arises when the word, as often, is used to translate Latin cymba (also cimba , cumba : see cymba n.), which beside its classical sense ‘boat’, apparently also had a post-classical sense ‘bottom of a ship's hull, bilge’ (a636 in Isidore). Compare bittem n. 1 and Old English bytming ground floor (of the Ark), space at the bottom of a ship (with the latter compare sense A. 5). The senses ‘bottom of a boat’ and ‘boat’ are also attested for cognates of this word in Middle Dutch and Middle Low German; compare bottomry n. and discussion at that entry. With use with reference to low-lying land or the bottom of a valley (see senses A. 6a, A. 7a) compare bittem n. 2. Earlier currency of these senses is implied by place-name evidence; compare e.g. Bodmescel , Nottinghamshire (1086; now Bothamsall) and see also note at bottomland n. at Compounds 3. It has been suggested that an otherwise unattested sense ‘piece of land’ (a sense well attested for Old High German) may be shown by the following early gloss:eOE Corpus Gloss. (1890) 4/2 Fundus, bodan.However, this interpretation is based solely on comparison with related glosses in other manuscripts which render Latin fundus in its sense of ‘landed property, estate’; the Corpus glossator may simply be taking the Latin word in its usual sense ‘bottom (of an object such as a vessel)’ (compare sense A. 1). N.E.D. (1887) records a sense defined as ‘?the lap’, illustrated by quot. 1725, but this appears to be based on an error in the text for ‘bosom’; compare:1684 tr. S. Blankaart Physical Dict. 179 The Operator lays the sick Person upon a soft Pillow in the Bosom of some strong Man.] 1725 R. Bradley Chomel's Dictionaire Œconomique at Lithotomy Lithotomy..is thus described by Blanchard; the Operator lays the sick Person upon a soft pillow, in the Bottom or Lap of some Strong Man. A. n. I. The lowest part or surface of something. the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > lower or under surface the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position > bottom or lowest part eOE Cleopatra Gloss. in W. G. Stryker (Ph.D. diss., Stanford Univ.) (1951) 211 Fundum, fætes botm. OE (2011) 62 Fundum, bydenbotm. c1350 Nominale (Cambr. Ee.4.20) in (1906) 26* Eschele founs et crossers, Laddre botme and crosse-bredes. a1450 (Cambr. Dd.1.17) (1845) l. 809 The credyl bothume turnyd on hyghe. a1475 (1889) 5 Þe necke of þe glas be turned dounward, & þe botum be turned vpward. 1527 L. Andrewe tr. H. Brunschwig sig. a.i.v/1 A glas fyllyd vpon another glas tourned with the bottom vpwarde. 1633 T. Johnson (new ed.) i. 139 The bloud-red Tulip with a yellow bottome. 1688 R. Holme iii. 339/2 The Slotes are the vnder peeces which keepe the bottom of the Cart together. 1726 J. Swift II. iii. i. 10 It appeared to be a firm Substance, the Bottom flat, smooth, and shining. 1769 E. Raffald xii. 266 Boil your Artichoke Bottoms in hard Water. 1848 T. B. Macaulay (1872) III. xiii. 38/2 Barrels with the bottoms knocked out served the purpose of chimneys. 1875 J. Lukin 64 The bottom of the drawer is to be..secured by a small brad or sprig to the back. 1935 G. M. A. Richter & M. J. Milne 9 Lebes (Greek λέβης), deep bowl with round bottom, made to be set on a stand. 1995 I. Rankin (1996) iv. 31 Three disposable syringes,..a candle burnt to a nub, and a dessert spoon blackened on its bottom. the world > the earth > water > body of water > [noun] > bed of society > travel > travel by water > shipwreck > suffer shipwreck [verb (intransitive)] > sink OE (2008) 1506 Þa heo to botme com. c1400 (?c1380) l. 144 Þe wawes..Durst nowhere for roȝ arest at þe bothem. a1500 (a1460) (1994) I. xii. 116 Now..To the bothom is it sonken. 1582 R. Stanyhurst tr. Virgil i. 4 Soom synck too bottoms, sulcking thee surges asunder. 1625 N. Carpenter ii. ix. 149 So great abundance of Water, that they can neither find the bottome or bounds thereof. 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil 141 The Sun..darting to the bottom, bak'd the Mud. View more context for this quotation 1730 A. Gordon tr. F. S. Maffei 376 The Bottom is very good anchoring Ground. 1777 J. Lightfoot II. 683 [Isoetes lacustris] Quillwort. Anglis. It grows under the water at the bottom of the highland lakes, but not very common. 1790 tr. V. Denon (new ed.) 78 I could not judge of its depth, which they say has been sounded more than half a mile without touching bottom. 1812 J. Wilson ii. 22 Down to the bottom must she go With all who wake or sleep. 1820 P. B. Shelley ii. ii. 75 The oozy bottom of clear lakes and pools. 1832 H. Douglas (ed. 2) vii. 370 Braces, strutting considerably, were driven down as far as possible into the bottom of the river, at each end of the trestles. 1942 L. D. Rich vii. 184 The cook may say, ‘I lost my wangan when the work boat swamped’, and that means that his dishes are at the bottom of the lake. 1968 G. Bennett (1974) vii. 132 Two salvoes sent the Cöln to the bottom, with Admiral Maass, his Flag Captain and all but one of her crew. 2013 L. Billings vi. 129 The decomposition used up a lot of oxygen, more than could be replaced by turnover and circulation in the deep water. That was great news for anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacteria already living on the bottom. the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > vertical extent > extension downwards or depth > [noun] > great or considerable depth > deep place, part, or thing OE 361 He us hæfð befælled fyre to botme. lOE Homily: Gospel of Nicodemus (Vesp. D.xiv) in R. D.-N. Warner (1917) 86 Beelzebub fleah þa into helle botme. c1400 (?c1380) (1920) l. 1030 He bode in þat boþem [sc. the Dead Sea] broþely a monyth. 1575 G. Fenton f. 1v God would put vs to punishments, our soules would be caried forthwith into the bottomes of hell. 1611 Wisd. xvii. 14 The same sleepe..came vpon them out of the bottomes of ineuitable hell. View more context for this quotation 1667 J. Milton vii. 289 So low Down sunk a hollow bottom..Capacious bed of Waters. View more context for this quotation 1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iv, in tr. Virgil 139 In the Carpathian Bottom makes abode The Shepherd of the Seas. View more context for this quotation a1701 H. Maundrell Acct. Journey from Aleppo in (1721) 4 A great..Rock, separated by a great gulph or natural bottom, from the land. 1759 W. Borlase in (Royal Soc.) 50 504 They called to their companions above to be drawn up from the bottoms. 1871 B. Taylor tr. J. W. von Goethe I. i. v. 85 There the utterly deepest bottom is. 4. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > bottom or part under water > [noun] > keel and kelson > keel OE (2011) 122 Cimba uel carina, scipesbotm. a1382 (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Wisd. v. 10 A step is not to finde, ne a path of his [sc. a ship's] botme in the flodis. a1393 J. Gower (Fairf.) i. l. 1961 (MED) If a man wole in a Bot Which is withoute botme rowe. ?a1440 Hortus Vocab. in (1923) 45 273 Cumba, a botme of schip. 1592 N. Gyer xix. 191 The keele or bottome of a ship is the ground worke of all the shipwrights labor. 1656 T. Blount Carine, the keel or bottom of a ship. Howel. 1697 W. Dampier xiii. 362 We began to work on our Ships bottom, which we found very much eaten with the Worm: for this is a horrid place for Worms. 1719 D. Defoe 149 It cost me a Month to shape it..to something like the Bottom of a Boat, that it might swim upright. 1787 W. Hutchinson (ed. 2) 19 I told him that the curve of her bottom and keel was carried to an extreme; for in case of coming aground and adry. 1816 A. Rees (1819) XXXII. at Shipbuilding To ascertain the centre of displacement, or centre of gravity, of the immersed part of a ship's bottom. 1858 P. L. Simmonds Ploc, a mixture of hair and tar for covering a ship's bottom. 1946 24 Dec. 18/5 During the war he was employed at the Bethlehem Steel Company's Quincy shipyard, inspecting tanks, double bottoms and other parts of warships under construction. 1984 J. Seymour (1985) 109 (caption) They have curved chines (the angles where the bottom meets the sides of a boat) and beautiful stern-post and stem-heads. 2012 Sept. 12/2 I already had an estimate from one local welder who recommended doubling—welding good plate over the entire bottom of the boat. b. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > [noun] 1490 in W. Campbell (1877) II. 546 Do lade and charge at Burdeaux threscore tounes of Gascoigne wynes in straunge bottomes, either of Spaigne of other parties outewardes being in amytie with vs. a1530 T. Wolsey Let. in R. Fiddes (1724) Collect. 77 To bring their Wines upon Strangers Bottoms. 1600 P. Holland tr. Livy xxxiii. xxxvii. 845 They..passed over the Po in small bothomes and punts. 1665 No. 11/4 They were bound for Bordeaux with several others, all Dutch Bottoms. 1697 W. Dampier vi. 143 When they come to Panama [they] dispose of the goods and bottom together. 1703 J. Evelyn Let. 12 Sept. in (1994) vi. 94 His double Botome; which yet perishing, in the Tempestuous Bay of Biscay (where 15 other Vessals were lost, in the same storme). 1770 J. Langhorne & W. Langhorne tr. Plutarch (1879) I. 138/2 Amintas..and Sosicles..who sailed in one bottom, bore down upon him. 1818 Ld. Byron xciii. 43 He transferred his lading..to another bottom. 1883 7 162 Goods imported in foreign bottoms. 1941 3 Dec. 1 There is the shortage of bottoms for transport, the consequence of labor disputes, late starts, and the many top-priority claimants of everything the Maritime Commission can produce. 1991 R. C. Harris & J. Warkentin v. 205 After 1807 when the Americans placed an embargo on shipping in American bottoms to British areas. 1636 D. Featley vii. 85 All private mens estates are ventered in the bottome of the Common-wealth. 1697 2 I do not pretend..to meddle with the Needle and Compass of the Publique Bottom. 1799 J. Robertson 442 In no bottom can it be more safe than in land. 1823 W. Scott I. x. 249 I wish Clara's venture had not been in such a bottom. 1926 J. B. Atkinson in 14 Apr. 20/2 She deliberately puts all her riches in a single leaky bottom and prays that her silly ship may ride out the cruelest gales. 1340 (1866) 140 (MED) Þe more þet hit [sc. gold] is heui, þe raþre hit ualþ to þe botme. a1400 (a1325) (Vesp.) 1699 In þe boþem [of the ark] sal be na stall For al þeir filth sal þedir fall. c1450 (c1405) (BL Add. 41666) (1936) l. 1371 (MED) Yn þe bottume of þe bagge. 1516 (Pynson) f. cxii One virgyn..hyd hyrselfe all nyghte in the bottom of a shyppe, & neuerthelesse in the mornynge she offeryd her selfe frely to deth. 1572 L. Mascall Exhort. sig. C.iij It shall be good to strike downe to the bottom of euery hole two short stakes as great as your arme. 1602 W. Shakespeare iii. v. 12 And the bottom had bin as deep as hell I should downe. 1651 T. Hobbes iii. xxxviii. 242 A pit without a bottome. 1739 S. Harrison (ed. 2) xxvii. 176 At the Bottom of your Pan put some Bay-Leaves, some bruis'd Mustard-Seed..a little rac'd Ginger. 1766 O. Goldsmith I. x. 93 The girls..had their omens..and true love-knots lurked at the bottom of every tea-cup. 1812 H. Davy 379 A button of pure tin will be found at the bottom of the crucible. 1854 M. J. Holmes xxiii. 328 Safely stowed away at the bottom of her bureau-drawer..was a big daguerreotype. 1862 W. H. Parker ii. 22 When a howitzer boat is sent on distant service, the gun should be placed at the bottom of the boat. 1941 J. H. Keenan xxiii. 404 A marble at rest at the bottom of the higher of two depressions in a continuous surface is an example of metastable equilibrium. 1970 R. W. Thomas ii. 10/2 A hole is provided near the bottom of the hearth to allow the molten iron to be run off or tapped. 2010 A. Oakland tr. M. Ajvaz xxxvii. 217 I, too, heard the quiet voices like fine sand falling on the bottom of a time-glass. 6. the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > [noun] 1342 in D. Yaxley (2003) 20 [Making 15 rods of ditch] apud le botme. 1577 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Islande Brit. i. xiii. f. 38/1, in R. Holinshed I Our medowes are either bottomes..or else lande meades. 1616 W. Browne II. i. 2 Past gloomy Bottomes, and high-wauing Woods. 1687 A. Lovell tr. C. de Bergerac i. 177 Do you perceive, said he to me, what bottom we are going down into? 1732 T. Lediard tr. J. Terrasson II. ix. 294 This bottom, or inclosure..was about two hundred paces broad. 1803 T. Jefferson (1830) III. 504 There are on the borders of the rivers some rich bottoms, formed by the mud brought from the upper country. 1868 A. H. Worthen III. viii. 134 These bottoms are mostly prairie, with narrow belts of timber skirting the streams. 1907 C. E. Mulford xx. 200 They crawled to the last line of brush and looked out over an extensive bottom. 1942 W. Faulkner i. 33 Messing around up yonder in the bottom all last night! 2001 89 529/2 The farms do contain some lower slopes and bottoms with sandier soils due to podzolization. the world > the earth > water > rivers and streams > system > [noun] > river-bed c1400 (?c1380) (1920) l. 383 (MED) Uch boþom watz brurdful to þe bonkez eggez. 1481 Descr. Boundaries Ripon in J. T. Fowler (1875) 347 Head-rack Bothome. a1522 G. Douglas in tr. Virgil (1959) vii. Prol. 57 Bank, bra and boddum blanchit wolx and bar. 1596 W. Lambarde (rev. ed.) 264 They [sc. streams] all passe in one bottome to Wie, & to Canterbury. the world > the earth > minerals > mineral sources > [noun] > river bed or bank containing gold 1852 J. Bonwick 10 The bottom is not gained. 1887 H. H. Hayter 5 We reached the bottom, but did not find gold. 1898 D. W. Carnegie 134 So far the alluvial men had been working on a false bottom. 1928 R. M. Macdonald 82 Some new chum..not knowing that opal was found only on a well defined ‘bottom’, and not underneath it. 1983 T. Nolan 111 Bottom: the hard floor of rock or clay forming the base of an alluvial deposit. On and just above it generally lies the heaviest concentration of gold. the world > food and drink > farming > cultivation or tillage > preparation of land or soil > ditching or drainage > [noun] > ditch > specific types of ditch 1883 10 Mar. 265/2 A nasty and (where hounds went) unjumpable bottom stopped most of the field. 1883 15 Dec. 815/2 The field worked its way out of the entanglements of the three bottoms that cut up the ground below Wartnaby. 1980 Duke of Beaufort 208 In some parts of the country a bottom is simply a very large ditch accompanied by a very large fence. 7. the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position c1400 (?c1390) (1940) l. 2145 Til þou be broȝt to þe boþem of þe brem valay. 1525 in W. J. Thoms (1839) 12 Hacklewitt and another..in a madde humour..coyted him downe to the bottome of the stayres. 1596 Z. Jones tr. M. Barleti iv. 145 The enemie perceiuing that they were in a moment gotten out of sight, & thinking..that they were hidden in the bottome of the valley. 1653 I. Walton ii. 40 Look down at the bottom of the hil, there in that Meadow, chequered with water Lillies and Lady-smocks. View more context for this quotation 1674 A. Cremer tr. J. Scheffer 47 When the grain of the wood, running from the bottom to the top of the tree, winds it self from the right hand to the left. 1749 H. Fielding I. i. iv. 17 It [sc. Mr Allworthy's House] stood on the South-east Side of a Hill, but nearer the Bottom than the Top of it. View more context for this quotation 1759 A. Butler IV. 598/2 The second council of Tours, in 567, ordered it [sc. the Sacrament] to be kept in an ark or pyxis at the bottom of the cross. 1802 W. Forsyth vii. 99 When the men numbered the Pears, there was near a barrowful of wind-falls at the bottom of the old tree. 1863 C. Kingsley i. 13 At the bottom of a hill, they came to a spring. 1901 J. Black 67 The stack was laddered from the bottom to the top with a series of ladders. 1953 J. Wain (1960) 146 Well, you'll find the door open just down the bottom of these stairs. I'd rather you went out that way. 2005 June 113/1 Pootling along at 30mph and stopping for a red light at the bottom of Bray Hill. society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > bottom of mine or working society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > supervisors or inspectors society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to type of work > manual or industrial worker > miner > [noun] > one who works in specific part of mine 1695 Acct. 12 July in (Leeds Univ. MS11) f. 55v Will: Goodall & Tho: Wood was ye men that went into ye bottom & gott by taske. 1778 W. Pryce 174 The Bottom-Captains, whose business is to see that the common men perform due labour down in the mine. 1778 W. Pryce 316/2 Bottoms, the deepest working parts of a Mine that is wrought either by stopeing, driving, or otherwise breaking the Lode. (Bottom, Sole, in Derbyshire). 1843 J. Y. Watson 46 Wheal Virgin Copper Mine, in St. Hilary, is 120 fathoms deep; the principal workings at present being in the ‘bottoms’. 1883 W. S. Gresley Bottom, the bottom of the shafts and roadways, &c., near the shafts. 1892 26 Feb. 5/6 It comprises about 280,000 miners, of whom 200,000 are ‘bottom workers’. 1945 vii. 195 In cold weather the exhaust system presents the disadvantages of freezing water in the hoisting shaft and causing discomfort for the cage men and other bottom workers. 1981 E. Holland (2007) 63 Under this debris is a whitewashed ‘engine room’ used for hoisting from the bottoms, to Deep Level hoppers. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > footwear > parts of footwear > [noun] > protective studs or plates > other 1768 A. Ross To Begging in 135 I'll then unto the cobler, An' cause him sole my shoon, An' inch thick i' the boddom. 1785 10 Mar. The above person..had in his possession a new pair of calf-skin boots, of a small size, the tops short, turned down, and stitched, with buff bottoms. 1808 Dec. 461/1 The bottom, or sole part of the clog, is divided into two or three parts, or pieces. 1841 XXI. 410/2 The employing master..prepares and sorts the sole or bottom-stuff for the maker. 1886 XXI. 831/1 He then pares off inequalities and ‘levels the bottoms’. 1994 Sept. 27/2 (advt.) Our craftsmen individually hand assemble each boot bottom and insert shanks and heel counters for greater support and walking comfort. the world > life > the body > external parts of body > trunk > back > buttock(s) > [noun] ?c1550 in (Harl. 4827) f. 119 (margin) Englishmen fyrst chaunghed there Aparell contrary to the old orders and women folowed wt foxe tayles to hyde there botumes [main text erses]. a1680 S. Colvil (1681) ii. 40 Like aples in the Lake of Sodom, Like beautie clapped in the bodom. 1796 E. Darwin II. 154 So as to have his head and shoulders much lower than his bottom. 1834 J. Wilson Noctes Ambrosianae lxvi, in July 140 The Dunghill [cock]..hides his head in a hole..unashamed of the exposure of his enormous bottom. 1837 T. Carlyle II. iv. i. 209 Patriot women take their hazel wands, and fustigate,..broad bottom of Priests. 1863 iii. 59 She writhed and twisted, and at length as the climax arrived the motion of her bottom was quick as thought. 1928 P. Grainger Let. 23 Apr. in (1994) 95 Could you not..kick my legs, hit my thighs or my bottom with a stick, or..make me strip & whip me thoroly? 1942 N. Balchin ii. 21 It isn't every secretary who can still blush when you smack her bottom after working for you for five years. 1970 A. K. Armah iv. 119 Heaven help you if you go into that Civil Service thinking you're going to work. They sit on their bottoms doing nothing. 1993 11/3 During the summer months, sheep can suffer from ‘strike’, when flies lay eggs in small, superficial wounds or in matted wool around their bottoms. 2014 21 Apr. 35/2 Next up [on the trampoline]: seat drops (land on your bottom) and swivel hips (do a half twist between seat drops). 9. the world > food and drink > drink > intoxicating liquor > [noun] > dregs or lees in vessel or cask 1563 W. Fulke iv. f. 61 The saltnes of the sea..is caused by ye sunn, that draweth from it all thinne & swete vapors, to make rayne leauing the reste as the setling or bottom, which is salt. 1660 J. Howell Bottom, or the settling of liquor at the bottom. 1703 No. 3963/3 The White Wines..at 40l. per Tun, the White Bottoms at 10l. 1808 J. Davies (ed. 9) 57 As much of it as runs fine, you may put to the rest of the wine; but the bottoms of port is generally put into the..cask without going through the filtering bag. 1910 IV. 501/2 Each cask is fitted with..a pipe and cock for the removal of the finished beer and ‘bottoms’. 1954 26 1511/2 The waste disposal plant is designed to handle 900 bbl. per day of tank bottoms, oil-separator bottoms, and emulsions from separators and slop tanks. 1984 Oct. 76/2 The clean solvent is separated from the oily waste ‘bottoms’. 2008 N. Starbard v. 147 Tank bottoms or lees recovery may use a metal membrane. b. spec.1831 19 119 Heretofore ashes have been used in forming the bottom of the cupelling furnace, one of the principal inconveniences of which, is the great quantities of cupelling bottoms (ashes containing silver and lead) to be afterwards treated. 1868 F. H. Joynson 95 The calcined [copper] ore is placed on the ‘bottom’ of the hearth. 1918 H. O. Hofman vii. 69 Hearth bottom, consisting of hearth material soaked to some depth with metal. It is worked up in the same manner as the residues. 1922 E. E. Bugbee xii. 240 Besides ores, the [lead] assayer may have brought to him various furnace products such as litharge, slag, matte, flue dust and cupel bottom. 1975 L. Laing (1977) x. 247 So-called ‘furnace bottoms’ are..lumps of slag which take the shape of the bottom of the furnace and are due either to slag collecting higher up in the furnace during the smelt and subsequently sinking, or to a failed smelt. 2009 B. Burrows et al. in C. Patrick & S. Rátkai iv. 68/2 The slag included both hearth bottom..and non-diagnostic slag. society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > materials produced from metalworking > [noun] > slag or scoria > of specific metals 1852 J. A. Phillips 360 The lower of these [layers] consists of impure black copper, called by the workmen bottoms. 1870 18 Feb. 547/3 Known as black copper or ‘bottoms’. 1881 9 111 Bottoms, in copper-smelting, the impure metallic copper..which separates from the matt, and is found below it. 1921 25 June 1056/1 The beds for retaining the ‘bottoms’ were made up near the tap hole so that the copper would be trapped in the first half dozen pigs. the world > space > relative position > end or extremity > [noun] > lower end society > communication > writing > written text > layout > [noun] > foot of page 1621 R. Montagu 184 Goe and unskore your margine with those many quotations,..ranged wel-nigh from the top to the bottome of that page. 1645 J. Goodwin 18 I shall transcribe, ab ovo usque ad mala, as it begins at the bottome of page 2. 1658 J. Rowland tr. T. Moffett Theater of Insects in (rev. ed.) 916 The rest he placed in the bottom of the wax, that is, in the last part of his will. 1711 A. Pope 25 June (1956) I. 121 What he observes at the bottom of pag. 20th..was objected to by yourself. 1752 tr. E. F. Gersaint 115 On the Near-Ground, at the Bottom of the Print is a Globe. 1769 A. Dalrymple Pref. p. x The original passage is generally inserted at the bottom of the page. 1807 S. E. Brydges III. 342 Such notes..as appear unsignatured at the bottom of the page. 1863 A. J. Horwood Pref. 32 The case at the bottom of p. 141 acknowledges the rule. 1914 13 612 At the bottom of page 12 there is a comedy of errors, the statement..is wrong, the date..is wrong, and the footnote..is wrong. 1954 H. W. Florey vi. 132 (caption) The pouch is at the top, the jejunal loop at the bottom of the photograph. 1983 12 Dec. 73/3 It is possible to scroll both vertically and horizontally by positioning the cursor on one of two scroll bars displayed on the left side and bottom of the screen. 2004 T. Wolfe xxxii. 648 A swath of paragraphs printed two columns wide ran to the bottom of the page. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > seat > chair > [noun] > parts of chairs > seat 1706 tr. F. de la Calmette i. xvi. 106 Fumigations..under a Chair without a bottom are approved of. 1797 S. J. Pratt IV. x. 119 The ignoble Sir Guise, seeing him wholly undefended, struck at him with the bottom of a chair. 1847 J. H. Ingraham iv. 15 As she spoke, she placed an old chair with a bottom of smooth oxhide for her. 1885 Jan. 47/1 Women and children will be found caning or rushing the ‘bottoms’. 1927 14 May 11/4 The sitting-room with its beautiful chairs and settee of native wood with ‘reimpje’ bottoms (criss-crossed thongs of home-cured leather), all in a simple old Dutch style, looked strangely unfamiliar. 1994 (Nexis) 4 Nov. d1 An old rocking chair without a bottom. 2007 M. Williams 138 Black Ash has been used for centuries to make woven baskets, barrel hoops, and chair bottoms. 12. Music. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > pitch > [noun] > low pitch > low sound or note 1710 J. Addison No. 153 Your Bass-Viol, which grumbles in the Bottom of the Consort [sc. group of instruments]. 1827 E. Porter 120 If he wishes to cultivate the bottom of his voice..[he should] begin a new sentence, in a note nearly as low, as that in which he finished the preceding. 1895 21st Sess. 91 The presence of a fixed bass at the bottom of a set of instruments..has a very steadying effect on the performance. 1922 Mar. 213/1 Unlike the flute and the clarinet, it [sc. the oboe] is loudest at the bottom instead of the top. 1989 Sept. 49/1 The pardessus..was developed to extend the top range of the viol as the seven-string bass did the bottom. 2003 May 123/2 She drops to the bottom of her range to deliver an ode to a recently-departed love. society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > harmony or sounds in combination > [noun] > part in harmony or counterpoint > bass parts 1936 23 May 9/1 Kahn has a strong aggregation under his baton: there's plenty of ‘bottom’ along with the volume, and..dance rhythm was never a weak spot with this particular maestro. 1967 26 Jan. 28/1 Higgins slams into a driving bottom—atop which the soloists cavort freely. 1971 23 Mar. 20 There was not enough bottom to the sound, and the sturdy bass lines that give power to Bach's music were indistinct. 1992 Jan. 51/1 Powerful bassist Larry Exum laying down a churning bottom on the funky I Wish for You. 2009 8 Aug. 27/4 The heavy bottom—the drum sounds are so fucking meaty—anchors it and the guitar textures accentuate the story. the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > preceding or following in order > [noun] > the placing of one thing after another > last place in a series 1732 19 Are not the Studious and well lettered praised, and the Idle and the Ignorant censured, cautioned, turned down to the Bottom of their Class? 1778 R. Turner 99 He fancied, like the Bramins, a continual rotation of Souls from bottom to top, and from top to bottom of this scale. 1798 C. Smith I. iii. 50 He fell into continual disgrace with the masters, and was left at the bottom of his class. 1816 9 Mar. Every individual in society, from the top to the bottom of the scale, is liable to this grievance. 1832 29 Dec. 25/1 Nothing could carry him farther up the poll than the bottom thereof! 1866 C. D. Yonge I. xi Justice was satisfied by his being placed at the bottom of the list of post-captains. 1885 Nov. 508 The venomous character of wickedness at the bottom of society is in the proportion of the virtuousness of the top. 1923 Feb. 77/2 Its functions and its limitations are to get the facts from the bottom to the top of the coal industry, both hard and soft. 1947 S. Bellow xi. 143 One minute you're on the bottom, couldn't be any lower, and the next you're a regular Lord Byron. 1997 B. Cortright iv. 77 The spectrum model in effect puts psychotics at the bottom of the human evolutionary scale. 2014 (Nexis) 13 Dec. 26 Imagine having to tell yourself..I'm at the bottom because that's my rightful place. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > parts of clothing > [noun] > other 1820 5 91 He has trowsers the same colour as his frock, the bottoms of which are fastened round his ancles by a strap of his sandals. 1834 Sept. p. ix/2 Some of the most novel cambric pelisses are open before, and are bordered both round the bottoms and up the fronts with three or four small tucks. 1851 M. Reid I. xx. 257 Calzoneros, of green velveteen. These are cut after the fashion of sailor-trousers—short-waist—tight round the hips, and wide at the bottoms. 1917 T. S. Eliot Love Song J. Alfred Prufrock in 15 I grow old..I grow old..I shall wear the bottoms of my trousers rolled. 1939 J. Steinbeck viii. 114 His stiff jeans, with the bottoms turned up eight inches to show his heeled boots. 1993 ‘A. McNab’ (1994) ix. 254 The skinny runt's shirt was dirty and the collar a good four sizes too big for him. He wore a big kipper tie and trousers that were turned up at the bottoms. 2004 5 Apr. 35 Stephen picked up a pair of giant shears and began cutting off the bottoms of the dresses. 1826 (new ed.) 49 Two or three hooks may be used at the same time, and affixed to the same bottom, when angling for Perch with the worm or maggot. 1864 H. J. Alfred i. vii. 46 The running line..is fastened to the gut bottom thus prepared. 1939 C. E. Hare (rev. ed.) vii. 84 Bottom: Hair (or gut) cast. 1986 June 68/3 We used to catch hundreds of small roach and perch on the drop using tiny size 26 hooks to 12 oz bottoms. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > set or suit of clothes > [noun] > pyjamas > bottom half 1911 21 Sept. I had on brown leather house slippers, and between them and my pajama bottoms showed a couple of inches of bare skin. 1953 18 July 2/7 The back portion turns into a Bikini bottom. 1988 12 Aug. 3/5 His baggy bottoms fell to his ankles as he chased the man. 1992 E. Lindros & R. Starkman (rev. ed.) ii. 10 He was wearing one of those hospital scrub suits with a drawstring on the bottoms. 2009 ‘R. Keeland’ tr. S. Larsson xxx. 534 She had..changed into green tracksuit bottoms with pockets, a thick sweater, and a mid-length windcheater with a thermal lining. 1941 17 May 9/8 Wayne Osborne started for the Twinks—and withdrew only in the bottom of the ninth when the script called for a pinch hitter. 1960 Apr. 479/1 The bottom of the ninth and the Yanks were up at bat. 1969 6 Mar. 54/1 Each pitcher worked the top and bottom of an inning. 1979 1 Apr. c6/4 Greg Laing walked in the bottom of the eighth and scored on a wild pitch. 1991 2 July 14/3 White Sox..fought back decisively at the bottom of the penultimate inning. 1995 17 May a2/4 Republican Sen. Dan Coats..said a final resolution may be in sight. ‘We are in the bottom of the ninth on this issue.’ 2011 K. Higgins 381 By the bottom of the ninth inning, the score was 14–1. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > types of sexual behaviour > [noun] > sexual passivity or submissiveness > person 1982 47 59 I am a bottom, the person who really controls is the bottom. 1996 July 110/1 Since I'm a ‘bottom’, a book has to sweep me up and throw me on my back and have its way with me or I'm outta there pronto. 1996 27 Aug. 96/3 (advt.) Total bottom 6'1, 175 lbs, muscular, dark blonde hair/green eyes, handsome looking for middle-eastern top for sex. 1997 24 Feb. 8/1 Clinton fell victim to his scheming slave, while Morris—the dangerous bottom—got shafted by his designated top. 2011 60 133 A bottom may be in control and exercise his power in the relationship just as much as a top. II. The inmost or most remote part of something. a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. xlvi. 395 Whanne þe bottom [L. fundus] of þe stomake is arerid, ayer þat is in þe middel passiþ out by strengþe of puttinge of þe longe, and metiþ wiþ oþir aier. a1400 tr. Lanfranc (Ashm.) (1894) 168 (MED) In þe botme of þe stomak þere is a mouþ. ?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 60 (MED) Þat þe orifice i. opnyng of þe wonde be euermore donward, & þe grounde or bothme vpward. c1450 tr. (Royal) 25 That mete dwellith vndefied in þe bottom of the stomak. 1538 J. Husee Let. 18 Oct. in (P.R.O.: SP 3/5/75) f. 104 It shall pleze yor lordship to extyrpate this sodayn desperrat sorows..owt of the bottom of yor stomack. 1545 T. Raynald in tr. E. Roesslin i. sig. E.viv The bottome of the mother or wombe, is more crasse, thycke, and flesshy. 1578 J. Banister v. f. 70v If any of the wayes deducyng choler, come vnto the bottome of the ventricle. 1615 H. Crooke ii. ii. 81 Finally, the Vrachus..or the vrinarie vessel in beasts, ariseth from the bottom of the bladder..and ascendeth betwixt the two arteries through the duplication of the Peritonæum. 1658 W. Johnson tr. F. Würtz i. iii. 9 Some..take grosse strong weeks, and thrust them to the bottom of the wounds. 1672 I. Newton Let. 11 June in (1959) I. 175 The fundamentall supposition is, that the parts of bodies when brisquely agitated, do excite vibrations in the Æther, wch are propagated every way from those bodies in streight lines, & cause a sensation of light by beating & dashing against ye bottom of the eye. 1704 J. Norris II. iii. 201 Vision in itself is the having or perceiving an idea representatively material in consequence of a certain impression made by light upon that expansion of the optick nerve which is at the bottom of the eye. 1782 A. Monro Ess. Compar. Anat. (ed. 3) 55 in (new ed.) All fowls have..a..black triangular purse rising from the bottom of their eye just at the entry of the optic nerve. 1870 H. A. Nicholson (1880) 382 From the stomach an intestine is continued, which..opens into the bottom of a second chamber called the ‘cloaca’ or ‘atrium.’ 1942 B. Bloch & G. L. Trager ii. 31 Stops with inner closure at the bottom of the lungs are called pulmonic. 1974 A. Tyler (1984) iii. 53 Suddenly I stopped..and looked out the window after him and got this strange springing feeling in the bottom of my stomach. the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > [noun] > that which is within > interior part(s) > innermost part 1587 Sir P. Sidney & A. Golding tr. P. de Mornay viii. 114 Trogus Pompeius beginneth his Historie at the bottome [Fr. du fonds] of al antiquitie. 1603 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero 117 Venice..is a city seated at the bottome of the Adriatique sea. 1634 W. Wood i. i. 2 At the bottome [of Massachusetts Bay]..are situated most of the English plantations. a1674 J. Milton (1682) i. 11 The way thither is through the western bottom of Saint Nicholas Bay. 1749 II. 141 To go to the Bottom of the Bay to search for drift Fins [i.e. whales]. 1791 E. Burke 20 Mahomet hid..in the bottom of the sands of Arabia. 1856 E. K. Kane I. viii. 82 Almost at the bottom of this indentation. 1944 35 99/2 The transit [of Venus] of 1761 was observed in such varied places as Peking..; Torneå (at the bottom of the gulf of Bothnia, just south of the Arctic circle); and St. John's, New Foundland. 1977 Winter 19 I knew we'd be up the bottom of Fortune Bay before daylight. 1980 P. O'Brian (1981) ix. 252 At the bottom of the bay [lay] the village of Trégonnec with its little half-moon jetty. 1591 J. Harington tr. L. Ariosto xxviii. lxiii He gropes on either side, To find the bead, with hands abroad displaid, And hauing found the bottome of the bead, He creepeth in, and forward go'th his head. 1639 W. Barriffe 25 That division that moveth towards the bottome of the Hall, must have an eye to their followers, that so they may face all about to the left together, and Order their Armes with the Close of the Musick. 1703 tr. C. Sorel (new ed.) I. 29 Laying his Feet upon his Pillow, and his Head towards the bottom of his Bed. 1715 J. Barker ii. 17 All this I experienc'd in the midst of my Afflictions, in a solitary Grove at the Bottom of our Garden, where I was walking alone, without Friend to consolate, or Patron to assist me. 1771 C. Powys (1899) 147 At the bottom of the room is a table in which the maker has amazingly display'd his genius in disposing the different colours. 1840 G. W. M. Reynolds tr. V. Hugo xxxii. 69 Popincourt Barracks, A. Staircase, Number 26, at the bottom of the corridor. 1850 530 A large eight-oared barge was at the stairs at the bottom of the street to convey them. 1873 J. Morley I. 296 Rousseau was alone at the bottom of his garden. 1888 R. Kipling 6 The idea that he shared a great secret..kept Wee Willie Winkie..virtuous for three weeks. Then the Old Adam broke out, and he made..a ‘camp-fire’ at the bottom of the garden. 1951 S. Plath Mar. (2000) 52 Yours truly sat on the bottom of the bed, partly a stranger, wanting to be loved by the little one, touched when he asked her to stay and keep him company. 1971 G. Avery i. 13 ‘Going outside’ meant only one thing, a visit to the petty at the bottom of the yard. 1996 A. Michaels i. 62 I ate karpouzi outside with Kostas, who showed me how to spit the melon seeds all the way to the bottom of the garden. 2008 27 Mar. 24/6 A reporter's car, stolen and handbrake-turned at the bottom of the road before being run into a lamppost. the world > food and drink > food > setting table > [noun] > place at table 1629 E. W. tr. L. Richeome xix. 374 In the third [sc. goodly picture] was painted Isaac tyed and bound..and in the bottome of the table [Fr. au dessoubs du tableau], a Religious man, leading in his hand a Lionesse to his Abbot. a1699 W. Temple (1709) 62 The same Style was pursued..from the top to the very bottom of the Table by every Man there. 1785 G. A. Bellamy II. 123 He sat at the bottom of the table next to his introductor. 1800 E. M. Foster I. vi. 64 She looked on Fitzpatrick merely as she would have done on a piece of mechanism, which it was proper to place at the bottom of the table. 1884 G. M. Craik 246 Mr. Beresford's genial face at the bottom of his table, did more to give zest to the viands than an appetizing sauce. 2007 R. Philcox tr. M. Condé iii. 53 At other people's dinner parties she was relegated to the bottom of the table. III. Something which underlies or supports. 23. the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > condition of being placed under > that which lies under > base on which a thing rests (Harl. 221) 45 Botme, or fundament, basis. 1558 W. Ward tr. G. Ruscelli i. f. 118 Wherefore many practiciens, when they wyll gylte anye woode, laye the bottome or grounde..of yelow. 1647 H. More ii. App. civ All the stately works and monuments Built on this bottome. 1660 R. Sharrock 39 That canon will certainly hold longer which is best built in the bottome. 1667 in W. M. Myddelton (1931) II. 25 May 72 Paid William & Richard Barlowe singlers for 18 daies and a halfe between them that they were hewinge bottomes, peeces, & pannells. 1721 J. Perry 83 My Work has always been effectually secur'd from blowing up, or any Penetration of Water passing underneath the Foundation or Bottom of my Dam. 1828 15 Mar. 115/1 Each [post] sprang from a wall which was built for the front of the stage, and the two back ones from brick piers, brought up from the bottom or foundation of the building. the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun] a1639 J. Dyke (1640) xiv. 194 Hee comes off from all bottome, he hath in himselfe, and in nature. 1674 W. Allen 5 Several Orders among the Papists have been built upon the same Bottom. 1697 C. Leslie (ed. 2) p. xv This was the Bottom upon which the Quakers first set up. a1718 W. Penn Life in (1726) I. 136 If we could not all meet upon a Religious Bottom, at least we might upon a Civil One. 1769 J. Tucker 10 They..would abhor the thought of rejecting the religion of our fathers, so far as it was built upon this bottom. 1788 J. Priestley v. xxxvi. 262 Authority established on the same bottom with the privileges of the people. 1998 S. Ó Ceallaigh in P. Igloliorti 10 The act of confession serves to..illuminate the bottom or foundation from which the poet-speaker can build the bridges of a trusting emotional life. 24. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > thread or yarn > [noun] > ball of the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > textile manufacture > manufacture of thread or yarn > [noun] > winding > other equipment on which to wind yarn (Harl. 221) 45 Botme of threde. 1490 W. Caxton tr. xxxi. sig. Hviiv He must take wyth hym a botom of threde. 1555 R. Eden tr. Peter Martyr of Angleria i. v. f. 26v Of gossampine cotton ready spunne foure great bottomes. 1577 J. Grange sig. Divv If she wanted a bottome whereon to winde hyr silke. 1611 R. Cotgrave Fondrillon, a bottom to wind silke, thread or yarne on. 1614 W. Raleigh i. ii. xiii. §7. 433 Hee receiued from her [sc. Ariadne] a bottome of thred. 1645 J. Howell vi. xiv. 24 I will twist up what I know..upon as narrow a bottom as may be shut up within the compasse of this Letter. 1652 E. Peyton 138 I have raveled out the peeces, to winde up this bottome. 1698 S. Clarke 112 It's high Time now to wind up my Bottoms. 1754 Bp. W. Warburton (1809) 168 So you see I am winding up my bottoms. 1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 288 in (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The twisting or ‘throwing’ process is done by passing the thread of raw silk from an upright bottom through the eye of a craned wire flyer. 1893 J. Salisbury 4 It's all of a robble, like a bottom o' yarn. 1937 P. K. Devine 9 Bautom, the ball of wool or yarn from which stockings, mitts and gloves are knitted. 2003 V. Cunningham in J. Wolfreys 360/2 Ariadne..gave him a clew, a bottom, a bobbin, a rolled-up ball of yarn, to help her beloved escape the labyrinth once he'd killed her brother. the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Bombycidae > genus Bombyx > silk moth > caterpillar of bombyx mori or silkworm > cocoon 1599 T. Moffett i. 8 Many silken bottoms hangd in piles. 1609 W. Stallenge tr. J. B. Le Tellier sig. C4 Vpon the branches..the wormes will fasten themselues, & make their bottoms. 1655 W. Gurnall 376 The silk-worm..works her selfe out of her bottome. 1665 (Royal Soc.) 1 88 The manner of winding their Silk from their Bottoms. 1783 H. Fielding in V. 141 Fortune looks on him of no more use than a silkworm, whose bottom is spun. the world > existence and causation > existence > reality or real existence or actuality > [adverb] the world > existence and causation > existence > intrinsicality or inherence > essence or intrinsic nature > [noun] the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > [phrase] > be the real source of 1531 W. Tyndale To Rdr. f. ij He never leveth serchinge till he come at the botome, the pith, the quycke, the liffe, the spirite, the marye and verye cause why. 1562 tr. J. Jewel f. 30 Such [sc. crafty & subtill fellowes] as are not able to see the bottom of the matter themselfes, might at ye least be entangled with some colour and probalitie of the truthe. 1587 W. Harrison Hist. Descr. Iland Brit. (new ed.) ii. i. 134/2 in (new ed.) I When..the pope vnderstood the botome of the matter. 1600 C. Tourneur sig. C7 Doth demonstrate presently, The bottome of his minde effectually. 1615 in R. F. Williams (1848) (modernized text) I. 382 Then we shall undoubtedly be able to see into the bottom of this and their other wicked practices. 1652 J. Lilburne 45 A spie must be a ranting Company-keeper & spend at no aime, on purpose to get men high into drinke, that thereby he may the easilyer know the bottom of their heart. 1775 E. S. Wilmot tr. D. T. Bienville 180 He sagaciously dived to the very bottom of the affair, which..ended by proving what he had advanced. 1791 J. Boswell anno 1781 II. 388 Johnson: The woman had a bottom of good sense... I say the woman was fundamentally sensible. 26. Miscellaneous technical uses. 1640 J. Dyke in J. Dyke Ep. to Rdr. sig. A5v A plant that growes upon its owne bottome. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 128 By the contrary Rule, all firm Timber, grafted on spungy stocks, would be made worse than it would be on its own Bottom. 1775 W. Boutcher i. 12 Those on Scots stocks will succeed better than the English [elm] on its own bottom. 1835 Aug. 313 Now I have had very ill success in raising the tea roses on their own bottoms. 1854 E. Ravenscroft (ed. 5) 26 The tree should stand on its own bottom, or be struck from a cutting. 1865 24 389 The pear itself shall strike root and make its own bottom, irrespective of what support it may derive from the quince. 1920 14 Aug. 196/1 Butterfly is in the same class [of roses] as Ophelia except that it is a much more vigorous grower, which favors growth on its own bottom. 1933 P. M. Wagner ii. 60 Wines were prepared from Pinot grafted on Riparia, and Pinot growing on its own bottom. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > earth or soil > [noun] > soil under plant 1652 W. Blith To Husbandman sig. e3v No less than may..yeeld good bottome and rooting to the Corne. 1724 S. Switzer et al. ii. 11 Happy are those Noblemen and Gentlemen who have a firm Gravel or rocky shelly Bottom under their Fruit Borders. 1783 (Bath & West of Eng. Soc.) II. x. 74 No danger need be feared from the ashes of peat or turf, which grow on sandy bottoms, and contain the roots of thyme and heath. 1819 4 ii. 137 Perhaps it [sc. the water chestnut] does not require so rich a soil or bottom as the wild rice just mentioned, and would flourish where that plant would not. the world > matter > colour > colouring > colouring matter > [noun] > dye > types of dyes 1863 H. Dussauce tr. L. Ulrich ii. 79 You give a bottom [Fr. un pied] of milk blue color; brighten and wash it. 1876 131 Sandal wood is employed, chiefly on the continent, to give a bottom to woollen cloth which is to be afterwards dyed with indigo. 1922 July 444/1 To produce a modern woaded black, one applies a bottom of indigo. 1990 J. N. Liles x. 184 Good blacks also resulted by dyeing strong black walnut or cutch on a deep indigo bottom. 1873 1/1 When the scale-bottom is set down the shock or blow will be sustained by the flange. 1884 E. H. Knight Suppl. Bottom, the support in a scale for the matter to be weighed. society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > [noun] > financial stability as foundation a1661 T. Fuller (1662) Norf. 250 Beginning on a good bottome left him by his father. 1787 T. Jefferson (1859) II. 206 I know of no mercantile house in France of surer bottom. society > leisure > sport > player or sportsperson > [noun] > qualities of sportsperson > condition or fitness society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > horse racing > [noun] > horse by performance > racing qualities 1747 J. Godfrey 54 There are two Things required to make this Bottom, that is, Wind and Spirit, or Heart, or wherever you can fix the Residence of Courage. 1774 O. Goldsmith II. 115 Although the savages held out and, as the phrase is, had better bottoms, yet, for a spurt, the Englishmen were more nimble and speedy. 1790 T. Bewick Race Horse in (1800) 7 What is called in the language of the turf, bottom. 1823 Ld. Byron cx. 166 [He] died all game and bottom. 1835 III. 421/2 They..have their manes and tails cropped..under the supposition that it adds to their strength and bottom. 1862 R. H. Patterson 180 For solidity, bottom, and a courage that never wavers, they [sc. British troops] are incomparable. 1902 G. S. Whitmore viii. 126 He was retreating towards his own country as fast as he was able, and under such circumstances all uncivilized warriors lack the necessary bottom to make a sturdy fight, and become speedily demoralized. 1989 30 Nov. 18 William Whitelaw..and Geoffrey Howe..had simply not had the bottom to take on Edward Heath. She had had that bottom. 2006 J. Eisenberg ii. 25 Both sides envisioned in their horses the qualities that had made their regions distinct—the brilliance of untamed southern speed, the resolve of northern ‘bottom’, or stamina. IV. Arbitrary uses. the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [adjective] > bottom the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > particle physics > quark > [noun] > differentiating property > bottom 1975 H. Harari in B. 57 265/2 (caption) The ordinary u(up), d(down), s(singlet) quarks and the proposed heavy t(top), b(bottom), r(right) quarks. 1978 2 Feb. 407/2 It is predicted that..top decays to bottom. 1979 13 Feb. c2 The upsilon, formed of a bottom quark and a bottom antiquark, is 10 times more massive than the proton. 1989 8 July 67/1 The heaviest quark that we have detected is the beauty or bottom quark. It is almost always inside another particle, the B meson, which consists of a bottom quark coupled to a lighter quark, such as an up or down quark. 1994 D. Brown in 377 While semi-leptonic selection is very powerful for finding bottom, it gives only a modest charm purity of around 30%. 2002 F. Close et al. xi. 209 Neutral particles..contain one variety of quark—strange or bottom—bound with its antiquark. B. adj.the world > space > relative position > low position > [adjective] > relating to or forming a base society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > low price or rate > [adjective] > very 1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin i. f. 8v The presumptuous boldnesse..is throwen downe euen to the bottome point [L. centrum] of the earth. 1652 H. Lawrence 4 That which is yet a deeper, and more bottome root of this untoward production. 1680 J. Moxon I. xiii. 230 The bottom width of the Hollow. 1685 W. Adams (1840) 97 This is the bottom cause. 1703 R. Neve 241 Window-sells (sometimes call'd Window soils,) which are the bottom pieces in a Window-frame. 1788 R. Twining Let. 22 Sept. in (1887) 179 I have a notion that I dog's-eared the bottom corners at those places. 1805 Aug. 240 The holes in the bottomest and uppermost boxes are to admit of the circulation of air and the evaporation of moisture. 1861 4 Apr. 6/4 The canteen consisted of two parts, the bottom part having a folding handle, which enabled the owner to receive his hot mess from the pontoon kettle without injury to his fingers. 1885 20 Dec. (advt.) All kinds of Horse Furnishings at Bottom Prices. 1900 Dec. 49/1 He was drubbed..by an individual whose dexterity with the cue has earned him a place on the bottom step of the ‘also ran’ class. 1912 T. Okey vi. 28 The ends of the bottom-sticks are now cut off by the shears and the projecting tops and butts neatly picked off with the picking knife. 1972 82 102 In figure 1, in the bottom right-hand corner, will be seen the diffuse galactic nebula NGC 3372. 2003 S. Mawer (2004) x. 137 He flaked out the rope and handed her the bottom end to tie on. 1868 19 Nov. 2/7 After eleven o'clock Captain Maxse took bottom place, and at midday Mr. Hoare's position caused natural anxiety to the Liberal party. 1918 10 Aug. 176/1 A policy which gives the bottom place in the table of priority to the countries which have most to do in the period of reconstruction. 1935 C. W. Valentine xi. 145 In the enquiry as to the popularity of subjects in the secondary schools,..Latin came bottom of all. 1965 13 Feb. 646/2 At East Grinstead, where it was known Labour would come bottom, Labour voters switched in sizeable numbers to the Liberal in order to try to get the Tory out. 1991 5 Jan. 46/2 Stan Ternent is sacked as manager of Hull City, who are bottom of the Second Division. 2008 (Nexis) 25 Sept. 60 The victory,..moved Stingrays further away from the bottom position in the table. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > types of sexual behaviour > [adjective] > sexual passivity or submissiveness 1974 P. Tyler vii. 130 Dreams of grandeur in which males must play a turnabout role: be Bottom Men and obey orders rather than give them. 1979 8 Jan. 57/3 Are you into a bottom scene? 1980 E. White in L. Michaels & C. Ricks 244 ‘Sadist’ and ‘masochist’ have become ‘top man’ and ‘bottom man’. 2007 8 Mar. 113/4 A self-defined cub (young or bottom bear) and former gay-ballroom scenester. Phrasesthe mind > emotion > intense emotion > [adverb] a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer (Pierpont Morgan) (1881) i. l. 297 In his hertes botme gan to stiken Of here his fixe and depe impressioun. 1549 (STC 16267) Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxj Yf one of the parties..be content to forgeue from the botome of his harte, all that the other hath trespaced against hym. 1557 T. North tr. A. de Guevara (1619) 146/2 I loue thee from the bottome of my stomacke. 1585 Abp. E. Sandys xvii. 296 From the bottom of my heart I confesse with S. Paul, Minimus sum. 1683 in T. Pierce App. 90 I will be ever his Vindicator in the bottom of my Heart. 1770 I. Bickerstaff v. i. 104 Musk:. And, lastly, my dear master, I wish you joy, from the bottom of my heart. 1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in I. 102 He wished, from the bottom of his heart, that he had a thousand. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. 169 Worthless men..to the very bottom of whose hearts he saw. 1932 18 Dec. (Mag. section) 6/1 Everybody down in the bottom of his heart loves Christmas. 1948 May 43/2 Now I have told the truth from the bottom of my heart and my conscience is clear. 1998 C. Channer (1999) xiv. 296 Sylvia, I apologize to you from the bottom of my heart for all these punk-ass negroes who work here. P2. 1532 T. More i. p. xvii He sayth hym selfe that the spirytualles do serche the botome of goddes commaundementes and fulfyll them gladly. 1594 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye II. 391 There is nothing in man which..God..searcheth not vnto the bottome. 1651 No. 94. 1446 The examination of that business to the bottom. 1656 R. Sanderson 77 What shrinking and drawing back, when the wound commeth to be searcht? And yet searcht it must be, and probed to the bottome; or there will be no perfect recovery. 1748 B. Robins & R. Walter iii. x. 413 If this matter was examined to the bottom. 1819 W. Scott III. vii. 170 We will search to the bottom this mystery of iniquity. 1990 R. Maas in R. Maas & G. O'Donnell x. 314 To ensure that each heart was searched to the bottom, Wesley devised a set of questions for eliciting a truthful account of spiritual progress. the world > existence and causation > causation > source or origin > originate or be a source of [verb (transitive)] 1650 No. 38. 551 The establishing of Popery, and the Catholique Cause, which is that indeed which hath laine at the bottome of all their acting. 1680 J. Butler Pref. sig. c4v The whole mat—[i.e. matter] is carried on by a good or ill Luck, and the hand of God is at bottom of that. 1683 J. Butler 24 The Scotish Rebels who were at bottom of all our Woe..have in some measure been whipt for so doing. 1711 R. Steele No. 43. ⁋5 We are by no means yet sure, that some People are not at the Bottom on't. 1714 F. Hare 22 The devil is at the bottom of all you have been doing. 1849 T. B. Macaulay I. 387 The Jesuits were at the bottom of the scheme. 1866 Duke of Argyll vi. 349 That which is really at the bottom of all this ambiguity of language. 1942 C. Headlam Diary 30 July in S. Ball (1999) ix. 329 There is a great deal of caballing going on—Beaverbrook is supposed to be at the bottom of it all. 1995 14 Feb. 14/5 Your leading article..suggests middle-class attitudes of prissiness, prejudice and irrational fear to be at the bottom of it all. 2003 E. Hay xxxiii. 297 So this was at the bottom of it all: Leah had been waiting for them to offer her a home. 1668 H. More v. xxvi. 388 If that be at the bottom,..their well-meaning is commendable. 1683 vi. 88 The Clergy in the bottom judges that the Pope has Right to lay an Ecclesiastical Censure upon the Kingdom of France. ?1692 ii. 10 The last of those pretended Cheats and Shams, Doth, [by the Church,] at bottom mean King James. 1720 J. Ozell tr. R. A. de Vertot III. xiv. 325 Antony, at the Bottom, very indifferent about this Revenge, pretended to be in earnest. 1780 R. B. Sheridan i. i. 8 Every body was sure there was some reason for it at bottom. 1809–10 S. T. Coleridge (1865) 75 With whomsoever we play the deceiver and flatterer, him at the bottom we despise. 1839 C. Dickens xxiii. 215 He's a good pony at bottom. 1873 J. Morley II. 171 It is bad, because it is at bottom, a superstition. 1926 A. L. Rowse ?15 Mar. (2003) 13 Not that the old things really take these customs any more seriously than I do, at bottom; but it is curious to behold the mummery with which mediocrity surrounds itself. 1939 13 Aug. xi. 11/1 War scares and armament activity leading generally to rising costs, which, at the bottom, is the basic reason. 1979 P. Larkin (1983) 81 At bottom poetry, like all art, is inextricably bound up with giving pleasure. 2015 82 440 The panel offered numerous answers but, at bottom, it had two basic objections. 1683 71 To get to the bottom of that design that so his Majesty might come to no damage. 1701 (ed. 2) 8 If my Reason tells me plainly that I cannot get to the Bottom of it, that the Matter is out of my Reach, it must leave it to be determin'd another way. 1773 Ld. Monboddo (1774) I. i. iv. 42 In order to get at the bottom of this question. ?1834 C. Brontë (1986) v. 60 Put them to the question in the first place... I'll get to the bottom of this business or dislocate every joint in their bodies. 1887 Oct. 300 We might go on showing how surface grammar and surface teaching systematically prevent the learner from getting at the bottom of things, from getting at the truth. 1931 A. Christie xxviii. 222 ‘I'm not going to give it up,’ said Emily. ‘By hook or by crook I'm going to get to the bottom of it.’ 1965 17 Apr. 2 The Commission is determined to get at the bottom of this matter. 1991 J. Galloway Scenes from Life No. 24 in (1992) 95 I didn't seem to be able to get to the bottom of what he was saying. I couldn't work out a meaning. 2014 10 Oct. (Arts on Friday section) 17/2 Can the hastily reassembled dream team get to the bottom of whodunnit? society > authority > lack of subjection > freedom or liberty > independence > be independent [verb (intransitive)] 1564 W. Bullein f. 48v Let euery Fatte stand vpon his owne bottome. 1606 P. Holland tr. Suetonius 97 Hee had used also before, to stand upon his owne bothom. 1645 Bp. J. Hall ix. 45 Man, though he..stand upon his own bottome, yet [is] he not a little wrought upon by examples. 1680 R. Morden (1685) 106 Everyone endeavours to stand on their own bottom. 1744 7 It is a generally received Notion, that England can stand upon her own Bottom, without Regard to Alliances with any other Power on Earth. 1788 T. Reid vi. §1. 129 When reason acquires such strength as to stand on its own bottom. 1841 R. Cobden 23 Aug. (2007) I. 229 It is fallacious to make the question of short hours a part of the corn law question—Let the ten hours bill stand on its own bottom, & the bread tax stand alone also. 1878 9 Apr. If a church could not stand on its own bottom it should go down. 1923 24 May 1/3 Every governmental unit must be..capable of standing on its own bottom and managing its affairs as may best serve the public welfare. 1960 16 Feb. 2/4 McElfresh replied that the company's New Mexico enterprise ‘must stand on its own bottom’. 2005 21 Sept. iv. 2/1 Every one of our companies has to stand on its own bottom. the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > abound [verb (intransitive)] > be inexhaustible 1567 J. Jewel vi. 736 Ambition, and Auarice haue no bottome. a1682 Sir T. Browne (1716) ii. 63 Forgetting..the vicissitude of good and evil, they apprehend no bottom in felicity. 1760 P. Baker 66 As thy Riches have no Bottom, thy Liberality has no End. 1877 8 Feb. 83/2 There is no end to ‘public improvements’, and, in the eyes of jobbers and promoters, no bottom to the Treasury. 1938 1 Nov. 6/5 Hindi-Urdu controversy has no bottom. 2015 D. Gottlieb vii. 188 There simply is no bottom to the charter school debate. P5. from the bottom up (also upwards). Cf. bottom-up adv.2 and adj.1614 W. Raleigh i. ii. xxv. § vi .608 The Pyramis hath his name from the shape, in that it resembleth a flame of fire, growing from the bottome vpwards, narrower and narrower to the toppe. 1791 Aug. 493/2 The outer bark of the tree was peeled off, and the inner was raised from the bottom upwards. 1877 6 35 [The ants] built not only from the bottom up, but from the side across. 1921 29 589 Two or three weeks after cultivation, milk begins to coagulate from the bottom up. 1970 45 242/1 As the solids are more dense than the liquids, such ‘oceans’ would freeze from the bottom up. 2011 C. Heimowitz iv. 50 Roll lettuce from the bottom up. 1815 R. Gourlay 21 No nation will improve but from the bottom upwards. 1882 13 Nov. 5/5 The heirs of the victims will begin the struggle for life from the bottom up. 1920 H. Crane 24 Feb. (1965) 33 It's the old bunko stuff about ‘working from the bottom up’. 1991 Feb. 36 There's been a trend in the last five or ten years towards a ‘people's history’,..history written from the bottom up, about ordinary people. 2007 S. Dunne (2009) xxix. 449 After university we were supposed to work at the plant and learn the ropes from the bottom up. 1884 Mar. 88/3 Fichel's work is built from the bottom up. 1934 Aug. 142/2 The foreign trade upon which our agriculture was so largely dependent must be rebuilt from the bottom up. 1983 K. Dryden 122 Playing a new frill-less but still combative style, the Bruins have become a team built from the bottom up. 2014 7 June 5/3 The basic concept is to build foods from the bottom up using basic chemical compounds. the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > unsuccessful [phrase] > failure of an action or design 1637 S. Rutherford Let. 9 Sept. in (1664) 144 The bottom hath fallen out of both their wit & conscience at once. a1754 E. Erskine (1755) 71 The bottom falls out of the devil's kingdom. 1868 64 The bottom has at length dropped out of this humbug. 1872 ‘M. Twain’ lviii. 420 Gould and Curry soared to six thousand three hundred dollars a foot! And then—all of a sudden, out went the bottom and everything..went to ruin and destruction! 1926 E. M. Dell i. x ‘I try to take things as they come.’.. ‘And when the bottom falls out of everything—what do you do then?’ 1957 M. Banton vi. 103 In the 1930s the bottom fell out of the market in ginger and coffee. 2002 W. Woodruff (2003) 41 In good times, before the bottom dropped out of Lancashire textiles in the early 1920's, that is where our money went. the world > relative properties > quantity > decrease or reduction in quantity, amount, or degree > decrease in quantity, amount, or degree [verb (intransitive)] > reach minimum level or point 1886 22 Apr. 11/2 I do not believe we have touched bottom; I believe the reduction will go on. 1929 A. L. Rowse 28 Sept. (2003) 55 His brother has reached bottom; disillusioned has given up any occupation and gone to live in a peasant's hut in Bavaria. 1934 11 Jan. 7/6 When a team hits bottom it usually bounces back. 1956 S. Selvon 38 Even when you go to draw a little national assistance it don't be so bad, because when you reach that stage is because you touch bottom. But in the world today, a job is all the security a man have. 1992 18 Apr. 106/3 When the stockmarket finally touches bottom..buying a warrant fund could prove a good way to bet on its recovery. 2002 10 Feb. 39/2 The maxim that an addict has to be ‘ready’ for treatment, that he has to ‘hit bottom’. 1839 Feb. 192 It is in low life—at the bottom of the heap—that you meet with the standard of greatness. 1848 11 Mar. 6/6 Every member of the human race, whether he be born at the top or the bottom of the social ladder. 1860 16 Oct. Those who are at the bottom of the pile of Society in one generation, may become the top stocks of the heap in the next. 1939 W. Hobson (1940) 173 At the bottom of the economic pile are those musicians who have nothing which could accurately be called a job. 1964 22 Mar. a3/3 They [sc. unemployed men] are the bottom of the heap and they seem to require a completely fresh opportunity. 1970 13 Feb. 7/8 Few building workers were eligible for redundancy payments... They were ‘the bottom of the pile’. 2007 V. Smith viii. 225 But life was still harsh, brutal, and short if you were born at the bottom of the heap. society > trade and finance > money > sum of money > [phrase] > one's last dollar 1856 10 Sept. 1/7 ‘Well, darn your picture,’ said he, ‘if I ain't awful glad to see you. I'm goin' to vote for you—you can bet your bottom dollar on that! You made a furst-rate President, and I know you'll do for Governor!’ 1857 24 Jan. 4/1 Sometimes, however, luck will run against him, and..he ‘slips up for his bottom dollar’. 1866 Mar. 1474/1 His opinion is that a State can go out of the Union and he is willing to bet his bottom dollar on his judgment. 1904 W. N. Harben v. 43 You bet yore bottom dollar I'm open to criticism myself. 1958 5 i. 80 And I'd bet my bottom dollar that Negro hipsters, among themselves, often put down the whites. 2005 Autumn 32/2 I would have bet my bottom dollar that on the other side of the frontline..the rebels were drinking their fair share of the same beer. the world > food and drink > drink > drinking > drinking salutations [interjection] 1858 25 Oct. Mons. Godard drank ‘bottoms up’, and his companion followed suit. 1877 J. Habberton 51 Here's to the Cap'en's mark, a ‘dead sure thing’. Bottoms up! 1928 Dec. 79 Bottoms up to Vanity Fair! 1933 S. Kingsley i. iii. 48 Come on! Bottoms up! She smiles back at him, and drains the glass. 1934 J. O'Hara (1935) iv. 119 The old priest..drank his highball almost bottoms up. 1964 L. Nkosi 51 I say bottoms up both to women and to glasses! [He raises his glass.] 2004 30 Dec. (Review section) 15/4 Hangover cocktails... Bullshot. Not for the faint-hearted, and designed to be downed in one... Pour all ingredients into a small glass, stir well, then bottoms up. 1968 24 Feb. 22/4 Young r&b outlet WGRT..plays continuous music over the ‘top’ and across the ‘bottom’ of the hour to snag news dodging dial switchers. 1970 2 Jan. 6/1 Headlines at the top of the hour..followed by local news briefs at the bottom of the hour. 1995 17 Apr. 21/1 Mansbridge..took over the hard news while Wallin was moved to Prime Time Magazine at the bottom of the hour. 2011 S. Gummer (2012) 78 Just after the top or the bottom of the hour when a new episode had started on the Disney Channel or Nickelodeon. Compoundsthe world > animals > fish > [noun] > defined by habitat > that lives near bottom 1828 Dec. 142/1 It is a certain fact that a white fish, weighing a pound and a half, really weighs six when being drawn out of the water; and bottom fish, such as trout and barbel, are twice the weight of others, using great resistance in leaving their element. 1849 T. D. L. in (ed. 3. rev.) ix. 255 Gently drop your line,..drawing it along the leeward side, a foot above the bottom weeds. 1894 June 273/1 This bottom fauna at first entirely depended for food upon the pelagic life at or near the surface. 1959 J. Clegg xviii. 309 Deeper samples of the mud are obtained by an apparatus called a core-sampler. This will raise an undisturbed core of bottom-deposit many feet in length. 1961 J. Stubblefield (ed. 3) iii. 87 The lop-sided shell, which does very well for a bottom-crawler, would be a serious impediment to active swimming. 1990 G. M. Pigott & B. W. Tucker i. 24 The bottom trawl, designed to collect fish that live on the seabed, is designed considerably differently from the midwater trawl due to the increased resistance and abrasion caused by the contact with the bottom. 2004 K. Schultz 74 Each fry is born with an adhesive organ that it immediately uses to adhere to bottom vegetation. the world > movement > motion in a certain direction > going or coming out > letting or sending out > [adjective] > emitting > that discharges from the bottom society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor lorry, truck, or van > [adjective] > relating to unloading 1836 2 260 We shall mention,..the application of the calculus to the measurement of eddies and back-currents, produced by the narrowing of beds of rivers,..or by the construction of dams with a bottom-discharge. 1867 F. W. Sheilds (ed. 2) 38 The process of finding the strains..may thus be briefly described for a bottom loading, in which case alone the end verticals are in tension. 1900 24 Oct. 7/7 Orders for 160 bottom-discharge trucks have been placed in America. 1938 138 327 p Of the 848 pit holes surveyed,..2·1% are of the bottom-fired recuperative type. 1945 19 May 59/1 (advt.) Spitfire Ride, bottom loader, good condition, neatly flashed. 2012 P. J. B. Hancock in C. Wilkinson & C. Rynn ii. 15 Because our perceptual system assumes lighting from above, a bottom-lit face looks very strange. C3. Many of the formations below are compounds of the noun, but some (for example bottom drawer n., bottom end adj. and n., bottom-rung adj.) probably show uses of the adjective; both types of formation are treated together here for ease of reference.1912 (U.S. Dept. Agric.) 69 Six inches bottom ash mixed with black soil. 1953 26 Feb. 10/6 The plant ash handling system is designed to handle bottom ash at the rate of 240 tons per hour or fly ash at the rate of 60 tons per hour. 2008 E. Royte vii. 157 PAHs produced in incinerators end up in stack gases (which drift into the jet stream), in bottom ash, and in the residue collected by sophisticated scrubbers. 1802 W. Tighe i. 100 The half moon and the bottom bed are reckoned among the best [kinds of marble]. 1842 1 ii. 158 Some of the bottom-bed Portland is so soft to work, beautifully fine-grained, and homogeneous, that it may be considered equal to..any of the superior free stones that are now so often used for Gothic monuments. 1987 C. Durrell iii. 71 (caption) The fold is evident in the configuration of the bottom bed (the basal conglomerate) of the Sierra Buttes Formation. the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position > bottom or lowest part > specific a1589 L. Mascall Bk. Engines in (1590) 53 Which bridge is tyde within to the backe side or borde of the hutch an inch from the bottome borde. 1880 C. A. Edwards ii. i. 42 The bottom-board is made of thick pine. 2004 July 20/3 Hive, a manmade home for bees including a bottom board, hive bodies, frames enclosing honey combs, and covers. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > each continuous line of planking > others 1869 12 Mar. 560/3 A fits the sides of the boat, and is bolted into the bottom boarding X. 1900 G. Swift 110 At the risk of tearing out what was left of the bottom-boarding, we hauled her on to the beach. 2007 G. E. Dubrovin in M. Brisbane & J. G. Hather xv. 235 A vessel of the 3rd-4th century BC..had monolithic hollowed-out sternpost blocks, joined to the planks of the side and bottom boarding with the help of flexible ties. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > internal planking > plank(s) along bottom of boat 1787 W. Boys & W. Boys 8 We then ripped up the bottom boards, under which we found several nails, left by the carpenter when he repaired the boat. 1861 T. Hughes I. xi. 192 I've larded the bottom boards under my seat so that not a drop of water will..come through. 1895 R. Kipling 103 He would take a boat in the evenings and shuffle with his feet in the bottom-boards. 2014 R. Barnes xi. 233/1 The creosote on Avel Dro's bottom boards may smell and look grubby, but it is non-slip, it preserves the timber and it's easy to touch up when it gets scuffed. 1887 Viscount Bury & G. L. Hillier (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) xiii. 407 d d are the handles, q is the backbone, o the screw used for adjusting the bottom bracket. 1955 9 May 128 (advt.) One outstanding feature of the Raleigh frame is its one-piece bottom bracket. 2008 Sept. 52/1 The most common symptom of a loose or worn bottom bracket is rhythmic creaking with each pedal stroke. society > travel > travel by water > transportation by water > [noun] > cargo > other types of cargo 1840 F. Marryat xxiii. 163 Our bottom cargo consisted of..crockery. 2010 J. R. Fichter viii. 209 For this [sc. ballast], tea ships often carried porcelain... Since each tea ship required a bottom cargo of china plate, China supercargoes bought porcelain, whether it could be sold profitably or not. 1970 J. Hall & S. Hall 23 About cleavage in public places, the censors are indifferent... Some pioneering girls have turned attention to bottom cleavage, a development that has not yet made an impact on the conservative. 1990 19 Dec. 17/7 A Japanese lady, recently arrived in London,..cannot understand why the British workmen redecorating her house keep showing her their bottom cleavage. 2003 (Nexis) 25 Aug. b8 There are plenty of women—even in Sydney—who don't fancy showing the world their belly buttons or bottom cleavages. c1640 T. Gascoigne in G. Redmonds (2016) 20 There is two rowes of bottom cole, and one rowe of hardband to be gotten. 1665 D. Dudley sig. D5 Many measures of iron-stone are placed together under the great ten yards thickness of cole, and upon another thickness of coles two yards thick,..called the bottom-cole. 1799 R. Townson 173 Bottom Coal, called in the other list Flint Coal. 1859 J. B. Jukes (ed. 2) v. 24 In the Bentley district the Bottom coal is still looked upon and worked as one seam, even when the central parting is several feet thick. 1862 10 188 The bottom coal being drawn out in the right hand stall,..the next operation is to begin to cut the ‘top coal’. 1900 28 June 7/3 There is an immense quantity of coal known locally as ‘bottom coal’ practically intact. 2013 C. J. Bise ii. 40/1 Top cutting..or cutting just above the low-quality bottom coal are widespread practices in some areas. 1873 H. Evers iii. 60 When the top or bottom dead centre is reached there is no reason why it [sc. the crank] should not remain there; but the action of the fly wheel then shows itself. 1935 (Royal Soc.) A. 234 507 The auxiliary valve..was completely closed when the piston reached bottom dead centre. 1977 June 183/1 A treadle bike..avoids the narrow leverage angles near top and bottom dead centre of the usual rotary sprocket, where leg power is wasted. 2015 A. Rao vi. 192 Gas exchange..occurs near the bottom dead center of each stroke. the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > [noun] > dish > dish at bottom of table 1723 R. Smith sig. A3v I design'd to have set some Rules for the Ordering of Courses, and Setting of Bottom-Dishes, Side-Dishes and Plates. 1747 H. Glasse ix. 94 A Collar of Fish in Ragoo... This is a fine Bottom-dish. 1796 (new ed.) v. 79 A Porcupine of a Breast of Veal..is a grand bottom-dish. 2004 K. E. Harbury 53 According to Jane Carson the eighteenth-century dinner table was largely modeled after the French mode, whereby the hostess carved the ‘top dish’ while the host took responsibility for the ‘bottom dish’. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [noun] > state of being at a disadvantage > one who is 1847 31 Jan. 5/3 The custom at these meetings, and in this part of Lancashire is to give the first bye to the bottom dog in the card, the second to the top dog, and so on alternately until the byes are finished. 1884 12 July I can't help sympathizing with the bottom dog [in a fight]. 1926 D. H. Lawrence vi. 119 There was a touch of bottom-dog insolence about her. 1927 12 Aug. 9/5 The award will be received with disappointment by..the ‘bottom dogs’ of the service. 1994 Mar. 49/2 Perry has always shown a tender concern for what he invariably refers to as ‘top dogs’, but this habit is balanced by his sympathy for bottom dogs. the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > [adjective] > disadvantaged > characteristic of one at disadvantage 1925 D. H. Lawrence 2 Apr. (1962) II. 832 Canaille of the most bottom-doggy order. society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > chest of drawers > [noun] > specific drawer or type of drawer society > society and the community > kinship or relationship > marriage or wedlock > wedding or nuptials > gifts and payments > [noun] > trousseau > container for 1835 30 May 137/1 Opening the bottom drawer, she slowly draws forth the patch-composed and well-quilted bed cover, which exercised her industry in still earlier years, when her predominating object was to prepare for her union to the youth of her love. 1886 R. Holland Suppl. 407 If a young woman were to buy a set of teathings, or a tablecloth, or what not, and were asked what use she had for such things, she would answer, ‘Oh! they're to put in my bottom drawer.’ 1902 A. Bennett xiii. 343 The bride took all the house-linen to her husband... As soon as a girl had passed her fifteenth birthday, she began to sew for the ‘bottom drawer’. 1959 14 Feb. 58/3 She had been saving furiously for her ‘bottom drawer’ ever since she became engaged. 2015 Tolley_Wood 14 Dec. in twitter.com (O.E.D. Archive) For my daughter (saving for 1st house) a slate heart, every home should have one so one for her bottom drawer would be fab! 1878 VII. 279 Besides these bottom-dwellers, the trawl nets at different depths showed that the ocean is inhabited by peculiar tribes of free-swimmers—principally Copepoda, Amphipoda, and Cypridinas. 1953 30 Nov. 90/1 Most bottom dwellers live engulfed in food and have little more to do than open their mouths. If they have mouths. 1989 9 May f2/1 The tongue-in-cheek detective show, which soared to the heights of the ratings and is now a bottom-dweller in the Nielsen figures.., will present its final original episode Sunday. 2008 H. Kellenberger 46 A bottom-dweller, the stingray has a thin, flat body that allows it to both hide in the sand and glide through the water. 2011 S. Benesh iv. 35 For the rest of us, we were left as bottom-dwellers catching any scrap of attention that fell in front of us. 1879 2 878 One [sc. of two marine worms] is small, agile, and free swimming, and the other large, slow, and bottom-dwelling. 1881 5 403 Most of the living specimens were young, but large ones were often taken from the stomachs of bottom-dwelling fishes, in the same region. 1918 No. 34 (U.S. Bureau Fisheries) 2 Skates and rays..are all characterized by flat bodies adapted to a bottom-dwelling habit. 1973 6 June a19/2 The self-serving allegations of a bottom-dwelling slug like Dean are now widely taken to prove the President guilty of a crime. 1994 P. Wallace v. 47 Happy Trails, you bottom-dwelling, scum-sucking bastard. 2010 R. Reid ii. xii. 141 This shark..hunts bottom-dwelling fish in deeper water. 1968 (Bureau of National Affairs) 16 Aug. e3/2 Nor will they be convinced that if they take the bottom end job this time they will not be passed up for promotion just because they happen to be black. 1979 (Nexis) 21 Apr. Bassist Chris Squires kept the bottom end of the sound thundering. 2008 S. James & C. Lloyd vi. 211 Reflecting the position of many companies as ‘bottom-end’ employers, migrant workers have been an important source of labor for a number of years. 2008 28 95 Music..with..more pronounced bottom end and bass. the mind > mental capacity > knowledge > conformity with what is known, truth > [noun] > true facts or circumstances 1864 H. Bushnell xv. 322 What is more continually asserted by thieves and gamblers, than the maxim that the world owes them a living... Whereas the bottom fact of all is, that they hate the bad necessity of work. 1877 17 Mar. Curiosity has been on the tiptoe these many weeks to know the bottom facts. 1883 ‘M. Twain’ xliii. 440 Though there ain't only one or two ways when you come down to the bottom facts of it. 2003 T. Honderich (rev. ed.) i. 29 The bottom fact of it all, if not the only fact, is that the lives of several million people have been made what we are calling bad by wrongful actions of people who suffered uniquely before them—and by actions of their supporters elsewhere. 1851 P. H. Gosse 80 Some genera have several finger-like rays..; which probably serve them as organs of touch..that are indispensable in the situations where they haunt, as bottom feeders. 1898 6 400 It is probable that the forms were bottom feeders, and that the common food was the abundant molluscan fauna of the Devonian seas. 1980 27 July 13/1 All those people we knew at Andover with more money and better families than God—where are they? Why aren't they running the country instead of a bunch of bottom-feeders? 1986 J. Friedman Pross & Pimps in (1993) 161 Carmen deals only with streetwalkers, bottom feeders in the hierarchy of hookers. 1993 18 July e4/2 Another fear is heavy metals, which..pose threats to worms, crabs and other bottom-feeders. 2005 1 July 38/2 What happened to turn us from a nation of empire-builders to a nation of bottom-feeders? 1860 16 329 The remains of the Secondary continent, accumulated to the southward, caused cold currents to flow.., causing the extinction of the bottom-feeding and shore-following Tetrabranchiata. 1874 19 Mar. 83/3 As they are a bottom-feeding fish, they are more generally taken with minnow or piece of fish still fishing. 1920 10 July 7/3 In some rivers and lakes the fish develop objectionable bottom-feeding propensities, and are seldom to be seen at the surface during the day. 1988 12 June (Mag. section) 13/2 Experts tell me this [sc. an end to lawsuits] will not happen as long as there are a jillion surplus, bottom-feeding legal-men in need of something to do. 1998 7 Sept. 48/2 They were afflicted by a steady barrage from bottom-feeding tabloid profiteers. 2002 Sept. 41/1 Bank fishing for bottom-feeding species gets expensive over a bottom of solid coquina rock. the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [noun] > fermentation > bottom fermentation 1844 A. Ure 16 The result of the bottom fermentation is a beer free from vinegar. 1902 XXVI. 367/1 In the Continental bottom-fermentation system, the pitching and fermentation take place at a very low temperature. 2004 89 106/1 The British in Australia attempted to establish beer, but top fermentation beers were unsuccessful and it was not until the introduction of bottom fermentation—lager—in the 1880s that beer drinking boomed. 1850 C. H. Peirce tr. J. A. Stöckhardt ii. 501 Surface fermented beer soon becomes sour; bottom fermented beer does not. 1997 B. Glover 213/1 Although now bottom-fermented, it [sc. Abbots Invalid Stout] still has a creamy, coffee character. 2006 20 191 Customarily, beers are classified as bottom-fermented lagers or top-fermented ales. 1865 5 July 140/1 I claim the..process for making ‘bottom-fermenting beer’. 1949 C. C. Lindegren ii. 2 Bottom fermenting beer yeasts are relatively weak fermenters. 1986 M. Jackson (ed. 2) 10 Bottom-fermenting beers taste best if they are chilled to between 7°C (45°F) and 10°C (50°F). 1876 Rep. State Prison 1875–6 6 in V Boot And Shoe Shops... The different branches are: first laster, fitter, pegger, heeler, heel-shaver, edge-maker, bottom-finisher, and finisher, and the cutting and sewing departments. ?1881 (?1885) 76 Bottom Finisher. 2004 I. A. DeVault vii. 194 Locals of stitchers, heelers, sole-leather workers, bottom finishers, cutters, sole-fasteners, lasters, treers, dressers, and packers, and a ‘mixed’ union of seventy-seven members made up the joint council. 1824 1 May Eels and flounders also continue to repay the trouble and perseverance of the experienced bottom fisherman. 1890 20 Sept. 155/3 G. Westrupp, a capital bottom fisherman. 1939 (Federal Writers' Project) iii. 334 Bottom fishermen drop hooks..to catch snappers..porgies, and scores of other fishes. 2013 T. Rudel iv. 53 Bottom fishermen who participate in inshore fisheries have established marine territories within which they fish. 1836 6th Rep. Comm. Managem. Post-office Dept. App. 177 (table) in XXVIII. 145 Tools, Hammers,..Bottom fullers [etc.]. 2008 J. DeLaRonde ii. 24/1 (in figure) Top fuller. Bottom fuller. Fullers may be in pairs or individual. the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > [noun] 1637 J. Milton 19 Hard by i'th hilly crofts That brow this bottome glade. 1877 July 115 Where..the oak's far-falling shade Darkens the dogwood in the bottom-glade. the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > herb or herbaceous plant > [noun] > herbage or grass > forming characteristic vegetation 1594 W. Shakespeare (new ed.) sig. Cij Within this limit is reliefe inough, Sweet bottome grass, and high delightfull plaine. 1825 S. T. Coleridge 112 The slim water-weeds and oozy bottom-grass. 1846 P. St G. Cooke Jrnl. 12 Dec. in (1849) 38 The bottom grass is very tall and sometimes difficult to pass through. 1893 66 Kentucky Blue-grass..is not so well adapted for hay as for pasture, but it makes an excellent bottom grass for the meadow. 1946 A. Nelson vi. 116 Some grasses produce short culms, and the great proportion of the leafage is situated near the ground. These are called bottom grasses. 2007 D. Launer 96 Bottom grass occupies an important place in the ecology of our waters. the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [noun] 1557 Earl of Surrey et al. (new ed.) f. 102v No measure hath he of his ruth, no reason in his rage, No bottom ground where stayes his grief. 1637 T. Morton ii. ii. 64 If any man be desirous to finde out in what part of the Country the best Cedars are, he must get into the bottom grounds, and in vallies that are wet at the spring of the yeare. 1642 T. Goodwin Encouragem. Faith 25 in (1645) This being premised, as the most bottome ground of Christs being at first, and his continuing to be for ever willing to pardon sinners. a1680 T. Goodwin (1692) III. 443 The Reason or Bottom-ground of all that Wickedness. 1733 W. Ellis xii. 157 In my bottom Grounds..lying more from the Sun's influence than the Hills, the Frosts..prov'd destructive to the Fruit. 1872 1 May 274/3 The turn-plow..should not be less than five inches on upland and eight to ten on bottom ground. 1921 7 497 Is the bottom ground of exemption from taxation to be found in the fact of interstate transit? 1946 17 Aug. 1/2 Soybean growers..used their low-lying bottom-grounds..to give their profitable soybean fields all the advantage they could possibly get. 2014 J. E. Brown ii. 77 It [sc. an alfalfa field] sits on bottom ground along a creek that doesn't go dry. the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > [noun] > heat of the soil imported to plants 1771 J. Meader 31 The pine apple plants, if properly managed in the preceding months, will now show their fruit, the success of which depends greatly on keeping up a good bottom heat. 1882 14 Jan. 26/3 The cuttings..are planted out in frames in a gentle bottom-heat. 2004 (Midwest ed.) 7 Mar. iv. 6/2 Consider investing in a light stand with stacked shelves of height-adjustable tube lights that provide..bottom heat to the germinating seeds above them. the world > the earth > water > ice > body of ice > [noun] > at bottom of lake, river, etc. 1816 8 60 Bottom ice would have been formed in this river, as it had been about eight years before. 1875 Aug. 504/2 In innumerable fractures of the sides of the glaciers, of the surface-ice flowing on and over bottom-ice, there are friction and attrition, ice moving against ice. 1882 A. Geikie ii. ii. §6. 111 Water-ice is formed..by the freezing of the layer of water lying on the bottom of rivers, or the sea (bottom-ice, ground-ice, anchor-ice). 1986 I. A. Zotikov vi. 137 Annual layers may not always be present; for instance, such layers may not form during the freezing of the bottom ice of a glacier. 2007 G. A. Knox (ed. 2) iii. 79/2 The bottom ice assemblage may be formed when phytoplankton cells are scavenged by frazil platelets that attach and freeze to the underside of the ice. the world > the earth > land > landscape > low land > [noun] 1612 T. Shelton tr. M. de Cervantes ii. vi. 103 Of my dyre pangs I'le only make effusion Mongst those steepe Rocks, and hollow bottom lands [Sp. profundos huecos]. 1728 23 May 2/2 Fifty Acres of..Meadows and Meadow Bottom Land. 1785 A. Ellicott Jrnl. 5 June in (1908) 40 The Bottom-lands on this stream are very good but they are narrow. 1841 C. Cist 66 The larger streams are now found meandering through alluvial plains called ‘bottom lands’. 1882 H. Lansdell I. 220 We had a splendid view of the noble Yenesei at sunset, of its verdant bottom-lands on either side. 1903 19 Sept. To complete the maturity of the bottomland crops. 1926 1 May 345/1 The lakes and sloughs ran in a vast network over the bottom lands. 1961 L. Mumford xiii. 405 A discouraging site: bottomland, bordered by a swamp on the Potomac side. 2005 J. Diamond (2006) v. 169 The first area farmed was the large Copán pocket of valley bottomland, followed by occupation of the other four bottomland pockets. society > occupation and work > equipment > pump > [noun] > other types of pump 1778 W. Pryce 317/1 Bottom-Lift, the deepest or bottom tier of pumps. 1906 29 266 The pumps are..arranged in three lifts... The top lift is 660 feet; the second lift, 720 feet; the bottom lift, 720 feet. 1966 38 76 The bottom lift of pumps was 7 in. diameter. the world > animals > by habitat > [noun] > aquatic animal > marine animal > that live on or under sea-bed 1878 VII. 277/1 The bottom-livers—as the writer is informed by Mr H. B. Brady—appear to be distributed according to depth and latitude. 1927 J. B. S. Haldane & J. S. Huxley xii. 302 They are all marine and essentially bottom-livers. 2014 G. Helfman & G. H. Burgess i. 13 Skates and rays are almost entirely bottom-livers. the world > animals > by habitat > [adjective] > aquatic > living at bottom of sea bed, river bed, etc. 1878 June 745 The Deal-fish rests on its left side, and, like the flatfishes, is a bottom-living species. 2007 Spring 105/2 The bottom-living white fishes such as hake, redfish and cod showed unmistakable signs of reproductive failure. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > sediment or alluvium > [noun] > glacial 1852 64 55 The underlying masses of sand and gravel were considered as the remains of the bottom moraines. 1882 16 Mar. 470/1 The Devonian rocks..are covered with a thick sheet of typical bottom-moraine. 2009 18 454/1 The bottom moraine marks the passage of the last pre-Weichselian glacier. society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > lasciviousness or lust > [noun] > lascivious or lustful person > lecher > specific 1938 J. Fothergill v. 238 The ideal barmaid..has to tolerate the bore, encourage the wit, suppress the ass, confess the unburdening, freeze the bottom-pincher, [etc.]. 1959 J. Blish xii. 119 He was fundamentally nothing more complicated than a bottom-pincher. 2007 (Nexis) 2 Aug. 4 Detectives insist they want to catch the bottom pincher and slap him with a $191 fine. society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > lasciviousness or lust > [adjective] > lecherous > specific society > morality > moral evil > licentiousness > unchastity > lasciviousness or lust > [noun] > lecherousness or lechery > instance of > specific 1937 Winter 183 At first the habit shows itself in relatively painless, merely rather destructive, ways such as the use of clocks as missiles, and of bottom-pinching as a flirtatious prelude. 1955 W. H. Auden ii. 41 The honking bottom-pinching clown. 1976 K. Tynan 21 Jan. (2001) 300 This isn't the eighteenth century of ogling oyster wenches and sexy young rapscallions and bottom-pinching squires. 2009 27 May (Times2 section) 3/3 In 2005, the Sex Discrimination Act was broadened to mean more than lewd comments and Carry On-style bottom-pinching. society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > parts of vessels > body of vessel > [noun] > planking > each continuous line of planking > others 1724 J. Kelly App 46 The Ship is Bilged; that is, has struck off some of her Keel, Timber, or bottom Planks on a Rock or an Anchor, and springs a Leak. 1891 R. Kipling ii. 27 The whale-boat..chose to hit a hidden rock and rip out half her bottom-planks. 2007 (Nexis) 12 Aug. a1 The Mary E. was framed from Douglas fir and white oak and the bottom planks were of water-resistant cypress. society > occupation and work > equipment > paper-making equipment > [noun] > for pulping > parts of pulping machine society > communication > printing > printing machine or press > parts of printers or presses > [noun] > carriage > bottom-plate 1664 P. D. C. tr. N. Le Fèvre II. ii. x. 205 Put the mixture in a Cucurbite or Matrass,..and place either of these which you will use in sand near the bottom plate. 1683 J. Moxon II. 132 Of making the mold... The Bottom Plate is made of Iron, about two Inches and three quarters long, and about the same breadth. 1820 J. Perkins Patent in (1821) 2 14 The working barrel and external cylinder are..connected..to a bottom plate. a1884 E. H. Knight Suppl. 124/2 Bottom-plate (paper-making), the gang of knives forming the concave or bed beneath the cylinder of a rag-grinding machine or pulping engine. 1914 IV. (rev. ed.) 4939/2 Rag-knife... In a rag-engine, one of the knives in the cylindrical cutter, working against those in the bed or bottom-plate. 1967 (Amer. Inst. Real Estate Appraisers) (ed. 5) 178 Shoe, the bottom plate of a stud wall. 1970 J. J. Chapell in K. Strauss ii. 110 The improvement of ingot yields by the correct preparation of the mould and bottom plate. 2001 Apr. 107/2 ‘Part of the problem,’ says Edgell, ‘is that the bottom plate of the garage has completely rotted away.’ the world > the earth > land > landscape > level land > [noun] > level place or plain > in specific country > type of 1804 J. Ordway in (1916) XXII. 95 A beautiful Bottom Prarie..about 2000 acres of Land covered with wild rye and wild potatoes. 1882 A. H. Worthen II. 73 The latter are the so-called ‘ridge prairies’, while the former are sometimes designated as ‘bottom prairies’. 1999 9 1421/1 Willamette Valley bottom prairie, characterized by deep pluvial clays and a perched water table, is the most common habitat type of Lomatium bradshawii. 1917 June 87/2 Many a nice specimen is taken on the extra bottom rig put out for fluke, sea bass, etc. 1980 21 Mar. (Weekend section) 45 Fish these [sc. perch] on a traditional two-hook bottom rig with an ounce or so of lead to keep the bait bouncing on the river floor. 2010 (Nexis) 16 Dec. c2 A simple bottom rig consisting of a 20-inch, 25-pound fluorocarbon leader and a No.1 hook with a quarter-ounce split-shot weight pinched on the leader about a foot above the hook. society > morality > moral evil > moral or spiritual degeneration > [noun] > lowest point the world > the earth > structure of the earth > constituent materials > rock > [noun] > rock at low or lowest level 1810 J. Wilson III. 749 The bottom rock, on which the first layer of compact lava rests,..is chiefly an iron ore, composed of a calx of iron and clay. 1854 R. I. Murchison ii. 21 The sediments which underlie the strata containing the lowest fossil remains constitute, in all countries which have been examined, the natural base or bottom rocks of the deposits termed Silurian. 1887 C. B. George v. 93 About the time I had reached bottom rock in my financial troubles,..I met A. B. Pullman. 1923 O. E. Meinzer 162 In many wells..these tests are not decisive and the real nature of the bottom rock must be left in some doubt. 1988 Mar. 42/2 Most strikes are indistinguishable from the tug that occurs when a fly bumps bottom rocks. 1891 29 June 10/8 Fancy briskets..Best cuts round steak..Bottom round..Tongues. 1901 12 Jan. 11/6 (advt.) Bottom round steak, 38c lb. 1915 25 Feb. 9/5 (advt.) Bottom Round Roast..16c lb. 2014 T. Mylan 70/1 The bottom round is too full of bouncy collagen to make a good grilling item... It excels, however, in the role of deli-style roast beef.., slowly roasted and sliced thin. 1950 June 127/1 O'Neill's compassion for the bottom-rung toilers of sea and land. 1980 21 Dec. d1 Eight bottom-rung teams in '79 lost an average of $2 million apiece. 1988 (Nexis) 17 Apr. A bottom-rung sedan spruced up with automatic transmission and power steering. 2014 L. Bartlett vi. 105 A supply of bottom-rung workers to fill bottom-rung jobs. the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [noun] > sample > tool for collecting samples 1898 8 328/1 The rest of the line, with ten iron grids and a bottom-sampler, are lying at the bottom of the ocean. 1911 C. G. J. Petersen & P. B. Jensen 20 73 By means of bottom-samplers..it is shown that the uppermost brown layer of the sea-bottom must be regarded as dust-fine detritus. 2005 12 435 Organisms were collected quantitatively using a Hess bottom sampler. the world > life > biology > laboratory analysis > material > [adjective] > that collects samples 1911 20 71 Enumeration and bottom-sampling are thus made difficult; it is much easier to count the plaice-food in the Limfjord. 1914 14 101 Long cylindrical samples were taken with a special bottom-sampling apparatus devised for the purpose. 1959 A. Hardy v. 104 Petersen's quantitative bottom-sampling grab. 2013 P. Park (ed. 2) iii. 47 Developments in drilling technology and bottom sampling made it clear that..deep sea mining would become technically feasible. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > tailoring or making clothes > making footwear > [noun] > processes involved in > one who sands or smooths 1885 Appraisers' Rep. in 279 Fifteen sewing machines, two button-hole machines, two ‘Tapley’ heel burnishers, one bottom scourer, one sandpapering machine, [etc.]. 1890 22 June 15/6 (advt.) Wanted..1 bottom scourer. 1911 F. Sellers in (Tariff Reform League) III. 95 Bottom-scourers 24s. (Frankfurt per week). 12s. to 16s. (Leeds per week). 1921 (1927) §429 Scourer,..designated according to parts upon which he works, e.g. bottom or naumkeag scourer, heel scourer. 2002 R. Worley iv. 120 Spud caused some amusement by describing himself as a ‘bottom-scourer’. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [adjective] > of or belonging to a stratum > deposited by water > inclined 1894 239 These steeply-inclined beds are superimposed upon the more level ‘bottom-set’ beds of earlier deposition. 1978 L. D. Wright in R. A. Davis 21 Suspended sediment is deposited radially at the greatest distance from the core of constant velocity, to form horizontally bedded bottomset deposits. 2000 D. G. Batuca & J. M. Jordaan v. 133 Bottom-set deposits are..built-up from fine and very fine suspended sediment (silt and clay) transported by turbulent suspension and by turbidity currents when they occur, and are deposited in quiescent water. the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > surface > [noun] > lower or under surface the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position > bottom or lowest part 1683 J. Moxon II. 286 Having chosen his Points, he places them so that they may both stand in a straight line parallel with the top and bottom sides of the Tympan. 1775 J. Watt Let. May in J. P. Muirhead (1854) II. 87 Soldered upon the bottom side of the cast valve-frame. 1856 F. S. Cozzens vii. 88 It was vexatious enough to see our lawn bottom-side up on a festive occasion. 1964 12 Mar. 686/1 The regions above and below the height of maximum density are generally referred to as the ‘topside’ and ‘bottomside’. 2006 Jan. 44/3 (caption) P-tex. This tough yet smooth plastic covers the base—the bottom side of the board which touches the snow. 1994 Re: amy thanks (ftm) in alt.transgendered (Usenet newsgroup) 6 Apr. Some of the FTM's [=female-to-males] of my acquaintance..have refused to have top or bottom surgery and identify as male gendered. 1997 P. Califia vi. 207 Few of them emerge from top or bottom surgery with anything approaching the kind of nipple or genital sensitivity that biological females possess. 2015 (Nexis) 19 July 21 I'm due to have surgery to remove my 36DD breasts..and in two years, I'm hoping to have ‘bottom surgery’ to create a penis. the world > space > relative position > low position > [noun] > lowest position > bottom or lowest part > specific society > occupation and work > materials > raw material > wood > [noun] > wood growing in specific place 1651 J. Wilson Let. 27 Oct. in (1652) 18 Over the River (that is, Charles River) they have made a firme high foote-bridge archwise to walke to and fro, having heaped on the bottome tymbers huge stones, the more to fortifie it. 1834 J. M. Peck ii. 150 The bottom timber consists of oaks [etc.]. 1856 E. K. Kane II. xxvi. 266 The ice had strained her bottom-timbers. 1874 J. W. Long ix. 150 How much better walking it is in this bottom-timber than in the woods of New England. 1995 C. E. Carter xxi. 297 José Maria's men retreated down the ravine toward some bottom timber. 2011 M. Moseley xvii. 186 In the thin strip of pewter gray sky between the bottom timber of the porch roof and the top of the trees, the stars were coming out. 1957 E. H. Lanphier in iv. 133 Total time from leaving surface to starting ascent. This is usually called bottom time. 1987 3 Aug. a12 The ‘saturation diving’ technique that allows divers more bottom time by eliminating the need to compress and decompress on each dive. 2003 60 606/2 He performed a dive to 38 m with 29 minutes bottom time. society > occupation and work > equipment > machine tool > [noun] > specific tools 1819 14 May 51/1 The upper or top-drawing spade is narrow at the end, and the spade used for the lower part, or bottom tool, is almost pointed. 1839 J. Millington 329 The bottom tool is inserted in the hole in the anvil, the heated iron laid upon it, and the top tool held by a long handle, is placed over it. 1874 E. H. Knight I. 346/2 Bottom-tool,..a turning-tool having a bent-over end, for cutting out the bottoms of cylindrical hollow work. 1918 i. 1 The work is held on the bottom tool while the top one is struck with a sledge. 1997 May 76/3 Previously, in-process gauging methods have centred on the bottom tool and the outside surface faces of the bent component. 1822 Nov. 300 They gave us next an elementary lesson of bottom-trailing. 2007 16 Nov. 18/4 The Maltese skate, found only in the Mediterranean, and whose populations are thought to have dropped by four-fifths because of bottom-trailing fisheries, is in similar danger. 1882 C. Wille Apparatus & how Used 42/2 in IV For catching fish, some increase in speed was presumed to be of advantage, and frequently tried as a wind-up to the bottom-trawling. 1912 29 Oct. 7/5 Surface trawling is not a blindfold operation like bottom trawling, and is more easily controlled. 1960 16 Jan. 8/5 The ½ inch type [of steel cable] serves for deep-see anchoring, bottom trawling, rock dredging and other heavy tasks. 2008 Apr. 157/2 Coastal development, pollution, invasive species, and destructive fishing practices, such as bottom trawling, also wreak havoc on the ecosystem. 1336–7 Naval Acct. in B. Sandahl (1951) I. 36 In j. ligno empto ad vnum Botmetre faciendum precium iiij.s. 1590 H. Swinburne vii. f. 278 If the testator do bequeath a ship, and afterwardes dooth by peecemeale repaire and renue the same, so that there remaineth nothing of the olde shippe but onely the bottome tree: here is no ademption of the legacie. 1690 C. Ness I. ix. 112 All Ship-Carpenters do build all their Boats, Ships, &c. with a Bottom-tree like the Back-bone of a Mans Body..and so many Ribs rising up from it. 1964 19 June iii. 7/3 Bottom turn, dropping from the top of the wave to the bottom, then angling for a ride. 1987 K. Lette (1989) 194 I rode to the bottom, vertical, sensed the wave's power and leant into a heavy backhand bottom turn with full power off the back foot. 2014 Apr. 87/2 I just really love the four-channel thrusters, and I love what Curren was doing with his bottom turns when he was riding those. 1691 J. Seller vii. 145 The breadth of all Ladles are to be Two Diameters of the Shot, that so a Third may be left open for the Powder to fall freely out of the Ladle, when you turn it bottom upwards. 1805 A. Duncan III. 354 The boat..turned bottom upwards, her lashings being cast loose. 1993 (Brit. Airways) Oct. 83/3 English and American books have the title top-to-bottom on the spine; most others have it bottom-upwards. the world > the earth > water > body of water > [noun] > water at bottom ?1698 R. Colepepyr 2 The ends of a Barr may be so raised by stopping of bottom Water. 1729 M. Browne 126 Fish, in cold Weather, always keep the Bottom Water. 1878 T. H. Huxley (ed. 2) 152 The surface freezes while the bottom-water remains several degrees warmer. 1931 R. N. Chapman xvi. 305 The eutrophic type of lake is characterized by the paucity or absence of oxygen in the bottom waters. 2011 221 309/1 Bottom water temperatures vary between 4.8 and 7.5 °C. the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > wearing clothing > [adjective] > wearing headgear > wearing a wig > types of 1884 Oct. 801/2 Our heavy bottom-wigged monarchy outlived that..invader. the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > wind > [noun] > wind said to rise from lakes 1709 T. Robinson i. 7 This first Commotion, excited by the said Fermentation, we call a Bottom Wind, which is presently discovered by Porpices, and other Sea-Fish, which..by their playing, give the Mariners the first Notice of an approaching Storm. 1774 T. Pennant 47 The water of Derwentwater is subject to violent agitations, and often without any apparent cause, as was the case this day; the weather was calm, yet the waves ran a great height, and the boat was tossed violently with what is called a bottom wind. 1793 J. Dalton i. x. 51 Derwent lake is one of those few which are agitated at certain times, during a calm season, by some unknown cause. This phenomenon is called a bottom wind. 1825 J. Otley (ed. 2) 21 I doubt, whether they are ever formed when no wind is stirring: and if such as term as Bottom wind must still be retained, I think it ought to be referred to the bottom of the atmosphere, rather than the bottom of the lake. 1997 W. Rollinson Bottom winds, fierce winds which suddenly blow down a fell-side, often disturbing one part of a lake while leaving another section perfectly calm. They are especially noticeable on Derwent-water and Bassenthwaite Lake. the world > textiles and clothing > textiles > wool > [noun] > type of > from sheep > from specific part of sheep 1848 H. W. Haygarth v. 47 The wool nearest the skin, or, as it is called, the ‘bottom wool’, which is the hardest to cut, but the most weighty and valuable. 2013 J. Sofaer et al. in H. Fokkens & A. Harding xxvi. 480 Bronze Age sheep had a double coat, with long, coarse hairs and fine bottom wool. the world > food and drink > drink > manufacture of alcoholic drink > [noun] > fermentation > bottom yeast 1844 3 305 The action of the virus of cow-pox on the human body is analogous to that of the bottom yeast..in the fermentation of Bavarian beer. 1910 X. 278/1 It has not..been possible to transform a typical top yeast into a permanent typical bottom yeast. 2014 R. Foley (ed. 5) vii. 64 Bottom yeast settles to the bottom of the tank after converting all the sugar, and the resulting beer is a lager. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online June 2022). bottomv. Origin: Formed within English, by conversion. Etymon: bottom n. Etymology: < bottom n. Compare earlier bottoming n., and (with use in sense 3) earlier bottomed adj. 2. 1. the world > space > relative position > low position > put in low position [verb (transitive)] > put a bottom to 1544 in T. Sharp (1825) 185 Item payd for bottomyng a cressyt vjd. a1592 R. Greene (1594) sig. Ev In Frigats bottomd with rich Sethin planks. 1663 Minute 13 July in T. Birch (1756) I. 276 The first or second time it was used it mouldered all up again, and he was obliged to bottom the oven again with bricks. 1727 P. Longueville 171 Having twisted the Branches..from Back to Front, and across again, he weaves smaller between, so bottoms his Seat. 1820 W. Irving Stratford-on-Avon in vii. 57 Though built of solid oak, such was the present zeal of devotees, that the chair had to be new bottomed at least once in three years. 1842 III. xiv. 297 I'm out an' out knowin', In all that relates To bottoming saucepans, An' solderin' plates. 1977 E. Wigginton 29 I've made many a pot's soap... And bottomed chairs—I guess I bottomed 'bout ever'one a'these. 2013 A. Luximon & Y. Luximon in R. S. Goonetilleke ix. 200 The material used to make modern shoe-lasts must be strong enough to withstand the forces of mass production machinery, such as that applied by the pullover machines when bottoming the shoe. the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [verb (transitive)] > underlie 1731 S. Switzer et al. (ed. 2) Pref. sig. a3v Land that is of a more middling Situation when it has a gentle Declivity, the Soil of a moderate Depth and Strength, and especially when bottom'd or bed[d]ed with good Chalk or Gravel shall be possess'd of all the good Qualities that can be desir'd in the best Situations. 1799 J. Robertson 485 Most of our extensive mosses are bottomed by clay. 1826 R. Mills 367 The high lands lying between the swamps, are chiefly composed of sand, bottomed on clay, which lies about two feet deep. 1872 28 Feb. A narrow creek flanked with warehouses, and bottomed with its fœtid deposit. 1877 R. W. Raymond 56 The company is extending and straightening the bed-rock tunnel, so that it..will ‘bottom’ all the land on this end of the claim. 1911 D. H. Newland Let. 4 Mar. in (N.Y. State Senate Document No. 45) 91 The valley portion, to the west of the main north-south highway, is bottomed by a crystalline limestone or marble, which is concealed by a varying thickness of soil and rock debris. 1975 F. H. Chen iv. 72 The bearing capacity of drilled piers bottomed on bedrock is a combination of the end-bearing capacity and the skin friction developed between the pier wall and bedrock. 1989 B. Mukherjee (1990) xvii. 109 My first night in America was spent in a motel with plywood over its windows, its pool bottomed with garbage sacks. 2007 J. K. Sovetov et al. in U. Linnemann et al. xxviii. 560/2 The Khuzhir Formation overlies the deeply eroded surface of the Olkha Formation and is likewise bottomed by a 10-m thick layer of Archaean rocks. 1846 E. A. Parnell v. 352 Bottom with indigo, and then pass through a bath of barwood spirits. 1887 12 Mar. 16/1 The worsted is not fast enough in color; they should be bottomed with indigo. 1922 May 326/2 For navy blue, bottom with Union blue. 1990 2 The material..had been bottomed with an alkaline aqueous solution of the coupling component. the world > space > shape > curvature > coil > [verb (transitive)] > coil round (something) > coil (something) round or upon itself 1612 M. Drayton vii. 104 As neatlie bottom'd vp as Nature forth it drew. a1616 W. Shakespeare (1623) iii. ii. 53 As you vnwinde her loue from him..You must prouide to bottome it on me. View more context for this quotation 3. figurative. the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > be based [verb (intransitive)] the world > space > relative position > support > [verb (intransitive)] > be supported a1640 T. Risdon (1811) (modernized text) §5 19 Smallridge takes its name from..a very slender ridge, and bottoms on three parts thereof. 1665 J. Spencer (ed. 2) iii. 212 In all Knowledg which bottoms upon Experience Men should..attend indifferently to any kind of Instances. a1704 J. Locke (1706) 61 Readily take a view of the Argument, and..see where it bottoms. 1732 G. Berkeley I. i. v. 19 Institutions Religious and Civil..will be found to bottom on one and the same Foundation, the strength of prejudice. 1790 E. Burke 20 All the oblique insinuations concerning election bottom in this proposition. View more context for this quotation 1819 J. Richardson tr. I. Kant 48 The esthetical perfection consists in the agreement of the cognition with the subject, and bottoms upon the sensitive capacity peculiar to every single person. 1891 1 118 In the..psychological stage, e.g. not only biological principle should all be continued and expounded, but physics and chemistry should be kept up in their most advanced phases to show how every vital process bottoms upon them. 1656 R. Sanderson 129 Upon this base the Apostle had bottomed Contentation. 1678 J. Norris (1699) 241 I may not..bottom myself upon such a centre, as will moulder away. 1703 W. Burkitt Matt. xi. 6 Such as..bottom their Expectations of Heaven and Salvation upon him. 1798 tr. I. Kant I. Pref. p. xii Metaphysic is properly the pure moral, which is bottomed upon no anthropology (no empirical condition). a1834 S. T. Coleridge (1839) 9 To bottom all our convictions on grounds of right reason. 1860 J. Forster 67 He bottomed it strongly on the precedents and language of law. 1924 Nov. 259/1 What few of them [sc. laws] bear on personal conduct are quite obviously bottomed on reason and good sense. 2002 A. Tettenborn (ed. 3) i. 16 Burrows..bottoms B's right to restitution in this sort of case (assuming it exists at all) on the fact that even if there is no contract between A and B, A bargains for the services. the world > existence and causation > causation > initiating or causing to begin > initiate [verb (transitive)] > found or establish 1657 J. Bentham To Rdr. Such grounds..as may sufficiently bottome the Negative in the controversie. a1676 M. Hale (1677) i. i. 8 We stand in need of the discoveries of sense..to bottom any sound conjecture concerning the Nature, Causes, and effects of the things in Nature. 1685 F. Spence tr. A. Varillas 248 He affected to bottom his own repute by disclosing the ignorance of others. a1699 J. Fraser (1749) v. 146 Yet doth it not follow that Christ's Death cannot yield a certain Ground for Faith to bottom its Belief of eternal Salvation. 1736 R. Ainsworth I. (at cited word) To bottom, or ground a discourse, Fundamenta orationis jacere. the mind > mental capacity > understanding > understand [verb (transitive)] > thoroughly, with effort 1713 E. Harrold July (2008) 81 Resolved this night to bottom things in the [Hanging] Ditch if possible, with Gods help and his blessing. 1785 R. Cumberland No. 102 That mystery is thoroughly bottomed and laid open. 1817 S. T. Coleridge I. x. 176 Openly declaiming on subjects..which they had never bottomed. 1860 S. Smiles (new ed.) vii. 195 He had bottomed the whole inquiry. 1933 M. Symon 8 Ay! Logic, Algebra—ye sair nott them a' When ye set oot to bothom oor Wag-at-the-wa'. the world > space > relative position > low position > be low in position [verb (intransitive)] > reach the bottom the world > space > place > absence > fact of being unoccupied > leave unoccupied [verb (transitive)] > empty > empty or exhaust 1808 (new ed.) liv. 121 We'll sup till the saller be empty—Come, Dicky, lad, boddom the quart. 1845 E. Robinson I. xii. 79 Ingulph..quaffed at the wine, drinking the provost's health, who in return bottomed the goblet. 1989 P. Munro 24 Bottom, to drink down, finish drinking. Bottom it and we'll go. 2010 J. Lopez iv. xi. 222 Federico willed his hand not to shake as he too bottomed his drink. 6. Mechanics. the world > movement > impact > impinge [verb (intransitive)] > against the bottom or end 1838 22 79 The enormous friction upon cogs thus loaded, and bottoming, would suffice to condemn the plan, were there not other objections to it. 1875 ‘Stonehenge’ (ed. 12) i. i. xi. §7 A cap..is placed upon the point and pushed into the case till it bottoms. 1948 Nov. 180/2 He cooked up a spring-supported canvas panel that feeds all the air that's needed and isn't damaged if the car bottoms on a rutted road. 1970 (U.S. Dept. Army Techn. Man. 10-3930-606-15) ii. 26/2 The wheel spindles should contact the stop screws on the axle to prevent the piston from bottoming in the steering cylinder. 2005 May 87/3 Drill a pocket hole and drive the screw into the hole until it bottoms. 1957 Apr. 197/2 (caption) Types shown make connections when..cord is bottomed in hole at side of plug and lever depressed. 1960 May 192/3 Be sure the spark plug wires with the soldered terminals are properly bottomed in the resistors. 1994 D. Knowles 260/1 Technician A says the worm shaft bearing adjuster plug should be bottomed and then backed off until the specified worm shaft running torque is obtained. 2011 C. E. Owen vii. 273 Use a C-clamp to bottom the piston in the caliper bore with the bleeder screw open. society > trade and finance > trading conditions > [verb (intransitive)] > be in or reach specific state (of market) society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > fluctuation in price > [verb (intransitive)] > decline in price or fall > reach lowest level 1846 Jan. 237 We have little doubt that for the present, at least, the share market has bottomed. 1892 17 Nov. 7/1 Discount rates appear to have bottomed for the time. 1920 6 Sept. 9 Others with shallower purses are content to wait until prices have bottomed. 1969 21 Apr. 2/1 This is not the time to go liquid. If the index bottoms at 420 unless your timing is absolutely spot on it will pay to sit tight and ride out the squalls. 2001 Apr. 46/3 Some may assume that there's nothing you can do if prices bottom before harvest. 8. a. Mining (chiefly Australian and New Zealand). Now chiefly historical. society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (transitive)] > other (coal-)mining procedures 1851 6 Aug. 2 The men were to ‘bottom the coal’, that is, sink the shaft through the seam of coal. 1852 18 Oct. The new gully opened up last Monday near Warland's is now deserted, not one person, as I understand, having succeeded in finding any Gold in the pits which have been bottomed. 1858 T. McCombie xv. 219 In their anxiety to bottom their claims, they not seldom threw away the richest stuff. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ II. xiii. 25 By nightfall the field was aware that Olivera's half-share men had bottomed another duffer. 1968 i. 12/2 Scores of abandoned claims have never been properly ‘bottomed’, according to old prospectors. Clean them out and a couple of shovels full may put you onto paydirt. 2003 M. Fox & O. Fox 32 By the 1880s, on major goldfields, all the ‘leads’ had been traced deep underground. Claims in these areas were rich, but it took many months to 'bottom' the shafts. society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > find rich mineral deposit society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > reach bottom of mine > of a claim: be worked to the bottom society > occupation and work > industry > mining > mine [verb (intransitive)] > reach bottom of mine 1854 10 Apr. 4 Altogether, since bottoming, they have washed nearly 50 lbs. 1854 14 Oct. 292/3 The fortunate owners when they bottom on the gutter generally ‘shout’ champagne for all hands in the immediate neighbourhood. 1858 Mt. Ararat Advertiser 12 Oct. in B. Moore (2000) 13 The Southern Cross..was reported to have bottomed upon a quartz reef. 1887 130 The party bottomed on a bluish-grey wash. 1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ I. viii. 214 As soon as the main body of block claims began to bottom, gold flowed in with almost fabulous profusion. 1900 H. Lawson 143 One day Peter..told us that his party expected to ‘bottom’ during the following week. 1963 A. Lubbock 79 Shafts have been sunk ‘blind’,..on the chance of bottoming on ‘opal-dirt’. 1977 J. Doughty 82 I bottomed at six-and-a-half feet, the last nine inches being composed of a red puggy wash tightly packed with pebbles of quartz, ironstone, and ochre. the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)] > have good fortune 1855 R. Carboni v. 6 I had marked my claim in accordance with the run of the ranges, and safe as the Bank of England I bottomed on gold. 1892 R. Wardon 14 They shifted their pegs to fresh ground and again ‘set in’—and again bottomed on gold! 1900 H. Lawson 143 Later came the news that ‘McKenzie and party’ had bottomed on payable gold. 1903 ‘T. Collins’ 209 Bottoming on gold this time, she buried the old man within eighteen months, and paid probate duty on £25,000. 1926 ‘J. Doone’ Gloss. To ‘bottom on to gold’, to strike gold. To succeed. 1970 J. Flett ix. 371 The prospect claim here, at what became known as Scotchman's Lead, bottomed on gold in April 1857. 1918 M. E. Wilson 35 Drilling started near the base of the Chanute shale and the wells were bottomed at various depths in the Cherokee shale. 1947 17 451 Two deep wells in southern Erie County, drilled about 1925, one bottomed in Potsdam sandstone at 4560 feet, the other in Precambrian at 4602 feet. 1957 41 The well is in the valley flat and is probably bottomed within the Tertiary sediments. 1979 No. 1391. f98 The shaft intersected 6 m (20 ft) of copper-rich syenite near the collar..and also bottomed in copper-rich rock. 2004 M. Heeremans et al. in B. M. Wilson et al. (Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ. 223) 181/1 The well bottoms in a thin succession of Westphalian CD sandstones. 1865 J. Tomlinson 155 What scrubbing and cleaning there is. Not only are the best rooms scoured, papered, and re-painted, but every closet and dirty corner is ‘thoroughly bottomed’. 1957 R. Hoggart ii. 33 The window-ledges and doorsteps scrubbed and yellowed with scouring-stone further establish that you are a ‘decent’ family, that you believe in ‘bottoming’ the house each week. 1980 ‘Miss Read’ i. 15 When Mrs Pringle tells me that she intends ‘to bottom the sitting room’, I make hasty plans to be away from home. 2008 www.mumsnet.com 31 May (forum post, accessed 15 Sept. 2017) She had cleaned..all of the kitchin [sic] and the cooker which was a big task in its self she is bottoming the house room by room. 1882 R. Jefferies I. ix. 140 He bottomed with his feet and stood upright [in the pond]. 1930 May 21/1 His feet bottomed in soft mud. 1992 Apr. 15/2 Nuclear submarines cannot bottom as they require a depth of water beneath the keel to facilitate clear intakes for the water-cooled reactor. 11. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic devices or components > thermionic valve > [verb (intransitive)] > fall to zero 1946 18 143 A master oscillator produces a sine wave... This is amplified and squared by ‘bottoming’ a valve anode. 1948 20 63 To operate the screen grid on its negative resistance portion the anode must ‘bottom’. 1960 H. Carter 32 Bottoming, a thermionic valve is said to ‘bottom’ when, by reason of the potential applied to one or other of its grids, the anode current falls to zero. 1988 I. Hickman xvii. 174 As the loop gain is increased, the peak cathode current increases and the peak to peak anode voltage swing rises until the valve bottoms on negative-going peaks. the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > electronic phenomena > phenomena [verb (intransitive)] > of current: reach or exhibit saturation 1966 J. R. Abrahams & G. J. Pridham viii. 195 When the current falls to zero, the voltages across the winding reverse, the transistor bottoms and the cycle repeats. 1983 I. Kampel xv. 131 Since the transistor bottoms in this circuit, high speed is not possible, nor is high gain. 2002 J. Y. Hsu iii. 67 When the collector current is less than its amplified amount, the voltage drop between the collector and emitter is close to 0.1 v. Under such a condition, the transistor is saturated or bottomed, and its collector voltage is close to ground. 12. the world > physical sensation > sexual relations > types of sexual behaviour > [verb (intransitive)] > sadism or masochism > take specific role 1981 No. 12. 12/1 Few straight male tops have attitudes about women in general which would make me feel inclined to bottom for them. 1997 A. Hollibaugh in L. Harris & E. Crocker iii. 221 I have been..extraordinarily influenced by what I see in S/M communities, especially around HIV, around safer sex, around gender, around sexual play and who tops and who bottoms. 2014 R. Bauer 254 Cara was a white German lesbian woman, bottoming to her wife, with whom she was in a monogamous relationship. 1996 in alt.sex.motss 14 July (Usenet newsgroup, accessed 22 Mar. 2022) I prefer being top, but will consider bottoming for a careful person if it's really an issue. 1999 A. Carrington in M. Skee 50 It amazes me how many people want me to bottom on video. I've bottomed on video before, but it amazes me because I have the dick, I don't have the butt. 2009 nyulocal.com 4 Mar. (accessed 31 Mar. 2022) Some people do ascribe to one role. I have a good friend, in fact, that only bottoms. And I have not a doubt in my mind that guys who only top are out there. Phrasal verbs to bottom out 1828 21 Aug. The dredging machine, successfully and profitably employed here in bottoming out some of the parts left unfinished by the spade. 1853 26 Feb. 2/5 Bottoming the canal out thoroughly,..will both improve the navigation and increase the depth of water. 1906 N. E. Whitford I. vi. 436 The depth was to be only six feet, which was to be secured by bottoming out the prism and by raising and strengthening the banks. 1929 182 ‘Bottoming out’ watercourses which have been neglected for many years. society > trade and finance > trading conditions > [verb (intransitive)] > be in or reach specific state (of market) 1938 26 May 38/1 There are signs that business is ‘bottoming out’. 1939 29 47 The enterprise spirit has undergone a kind of cyclical retardation which may currently be bottoming out. 1958 14 July 13/3 With the recession apparently having bottomed out there is now much less insistence..that the Government take some vigorous action. 1977 12 Oct. a8 Gas supplies will bottom out this year, then turn upward in the spring. 2002 J. Grisham xv. 136 He'll bottom out and sober up in a week or so. 2014 (Nexis) 10 Dec. (Finance section) It is ‘all but impossible to tell where the oil price might bottom out’. 3. intransitive. 1955 Dec. 120/2 The Citroen bounded unhappily along the poorly graded mountain roads through Ecuador—frequently bottoming out on rocks jutting from the high-crowned, deeply rutted trails. 1979 Mar. 41/1 If you've ever..bottomed out on a bumpy road. 1996 19 June b9 Her car bottomed out, into one of those craters for which D.C. streets are so (in)famous. 2012 (Nexis) 14 June There are grooves in the pavement on both sides of the tracks made by vehicles that bottomed-out when they crossed too fast. 1992 June 34/2 The ferry bottomed-out on the muddy lakebed. 2001 B. Wick ii. 29 At low tide, ships coming into the harbor would bottom out. 2006 (Nexis) 3 Oct. b1 When the tide fell, the boat bottomed out on rocks on the riverbed. 4. intransitive. 1957 Dec. 54/1 An important advantage claimed for the new mounting is that it will not ‘bottom out’ under high shock loads. 1958 Dec. 33/2 The suspension bottomed out with a thud, but remarkably the Corvette held to its course, though displaced sideways a bit. 1988 (Nexis) 12 Mar. k1 Over sharp drop-offs, the struts bottom out with a bit of a thump. 2005 L. Fugard iii. 51 The bakkie hit a bump and jolted, the shocks momentarily bottoming out. 2014 (Nexis) 19 Apr. Even when the springs bottom out..the bump stops do a superb job of calmly maintaining balance and control. 1963 Feb. 80/2 Beyond the point of peak stress the cushion begins to bottom out. 1993 (Nexis) 28 Aug. (Saturday Extra section) 12 Sporty types will appreciate the UltraSoft bicycle seat pad made of a special gel that never bunches up or ‘bottoms out’. 2007 17 86/2 If the material is too soft the heavier runner will 'bottom out' the cushioning. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2016; most recently modified version published online December 2022). <  n.adj.eOE v.1544 |
