tenadj.n.adv.
/tɛn/, U.S. /tɛn/ The cardinal numeral next after nine, represented by the symbols 10 or x; the number of the digits on both hands or feet, and hence the basis of the ordinary or decimal numeration.† C. adv.
A. adj.
1. † d. Occasionally used in the sense of the ordinal tenth adj. and n. Obsolete.But in 10 Jan., 10 Vict., etc., usually read tenth.971 Blickl. Hom. 35 We sceolan þa ten bebodu healdan.c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4377 Þa tene bode wordess.c1390 (a1376) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Vernon) (1867) A. viii. 170 To Breke þe ten hestes.c1480 (a1400) St. Pelagia 213 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) II. 210 Þe commaundmentis tene, þat god mad for to teche men.?1544 J. Heywood Foure PP sig. E.iv [That] thy wyfes .x. commaundementes may serch thy .v. wittes.1902 J. C. Snaith Wayfarers vi She's not seen you use your ten commandments, young man.a1616 W. Shakespeare All's Well that ends Well (1623) ii. ii. 20 As fit as ten groats is for the hand of an Atturney. View more context for this quotationa1625 J. Fletcher Womans Prize i. iii, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Nnnnn3/2 I'ld take Petruchio In's shirt, with one ten Groats to pay the Priest, Before the best man living.1889 A. Conan Doyle Micah Clarke xiii. 118 The ten tribes have been upon me, and I have been harried..and despoiled.
a. With modified noun expressed.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [adjective]
tenc888
denec1420
articulate1646
decadal1753
c888 Ælfred tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. xxxviii. §1 Þa wæron hi sume ten gear on þam gewinne.
c897 K. Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care xvii. 124 Þa stænenan bredu þe sio æw wæs on awriten mid tien bebodum.
a900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. i. xiii. [xxiii.] §1 Þreotteno ger & syx monað & tyn dagas.
c1050 Charter of Eadwine in Kemble Cod. Dipl. IV. 259 Ic an ðat lond..buten ten acres ic giue ðer into ðere kirke.
a1175 Cott. Hom. 219 He gescop tyen engle werod.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Matt. xxv. 1 The kyngdam of heuenes shal be lic to ten virgynys.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 7015 Tene [Fairf. ten] yeir had he þe folk in yeme.
a1400 R. Glouc. Chron. (MS. B) (1724) 430 Hys doȝter was a ten ȝer old.
a1400–50 Alexander 649 Ten ȝere of age.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lxxijv/1 The rood of reynysh wyne of Dordreight is x. awames.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Richard III f. xxxix Whiche rage of water lasted...x. dayes.
1571 Act 13 Eliz. c. 8 The rate of tenne pound for the lone of one hundred pound for a yeare.
1653 H. Holcroft tr. Procopius Persian Wars i. 4 in tr. Procopius Hist. Warres Justinian A narrow passage, for ten Horse a breast.
1805 W. Scott Lay of Last Minstrel i. v. 11 Ten squires, ten yeomen, mail-clad men, Waited the beck of the warders ten.
1911 N.E.D. at Ten Mod. I shall be with you in ten minutes.
b. As multiple of another higher cardinal numeral, as in ten hundred, ten thousand, etc.; also in the ordinals of these, as ten thousandth.
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c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 24 Tea ðusendo cræftas.
c975 Rushw. Gosp. Matt. xviii. 24 Ten þusende.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Matt. (Corpus Cambr.) xviii. 24 Tyn þusend punda.
c1160 Hatton Gosp. Matt. xviii. 24 Teon þusend punde.
c1475 (?c1400) Apol. Lollard Doctr. (1842) 107 Sunnar is þe prayor hard of o buxum man, þan tenþowzand of a dispicer.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. cclvijv The footemen were teen thousande.
1686 R. Boyle Free Enq. Notion Nature iii. 53 The cælestial part of the universe, in comparison of which the sublunary is not perhaps the ten thousandth part.
1709 H. Chandler Effort against Biggotry (ed. 2) 20 'Tis Ten Thousand Pities that a Difference in Opinion and Practice herein should cause such Distances and Withdrawings.
1782 J. Priestley Hist. Corruptions Christianity I. i. 5 The subject [is] considered by thousands and ten thousands.
1893 J. Gow Compan. to Classics (ed. 3) xxxiii. 303 The ten-thousandth part of each grain must make a proportionate part of noise.
1905 Westm. Gaz. 23 Mar. 2/2 The guarantee for the ten-million loan.
c. Used vaguely or hyperbolically, esp. in ten times, tenfold, and the like. Cf. hundred n. and adj., thousand n. and adj.For hyperbolical use of ten thousand see thousand n. and adj.
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a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Baruch iv. 28 Ȝe..schulen seke hym ten sithis so myche.
a1513 W. Dunbar Flyting in Poems (1998) I. 203 Suppois thy heid war armit tymis ten.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. i. 180 A iewell in a ten times bard vp chest. View more context for this quotation
1883 D. C. Murray Hearts II. 162 His easy cynicism made him ten times more believable than any moral profession could have done.
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the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [adjective] > tenth
tenthc890
ten14..
14.. in Todd Three Treat. Wyclif p. xxvii Siþ þe ten part [v.r. tenþe part] of þe fruyt sufficide for alle þes clerkis.
?1567 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1905) 1 49 Commytyd the x. day of June 1562.
1582 L. Kirby Let. 10 Jan. in W. Allen Briefe Hist. Glorious Martyrdom sig. B5v This morning the x. of Ianuarie, he was committed to the dongeon.
1586 W. Webbe Disc. Eng. Poetrie sig. G.i Make short either the two, foure, sixe, eight, tenne, twelue sillable, and it will..fall out very absurdly.
1597 J. Payne Royall Exchange 24 Let vs solace our selves with these words in the tenn of the Hebr.
e. In special applications. †ten bones, the ten fingers: by these ten bones (ellipt. these ten), also ten ends of flesh and blood, an oath (obsolete). Ten Commandments (also †ten bebode, ten bodewords, ten hests, etc.), the Mosaic decalogue; slang, the ten fingers; see also commandment n. 2, 3 †ten groats, formerly a lawyer's fee, or that paid to the priest for reading the marriage service (obsolete). ten tribes, the lost tribes of Israel; humorously, the Jews, as moneylenders.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > malediction > oaths > [interjection] > oaths other than religious or obscene > with reference to parts of the body
by these ten bones (ellipt. these ten), also ten ends of flesh and blood971
society > faith > sect > Judaism > [noun] > person > collective
ten tribes971
Abraham's seedOE
Jewry?c1225
circumcision1382
peculiar people1535
peculiar nation1651
Yahudi1858
society > trade and finance > financial dealings > moneylending > [noun] > one who lends money > at interest
ten tribes971
gavellerc1200
usurerc1290
Caorsin1303
collybistc1380
ockererc1390
fenerator1447
usuraryc1450
usurier1480
user1566
fulker1568
money-monger1571
moneylender1598
twenty in the hundred1602
Jew's trump1605
putter-outa1616
money-bawd1631
chevisancer1633
use-man1633
Lombardeer1645
money-banker1677
bummaree1738
mahajan1852
sixty per cent1853
gombeen-man1862
?c1500 Killing of Children (Digby) l. 20 By thes bonys ten thei be to you vntrue.
1562–3 Jack Juggler in W. C. Hazlitt Dodsley's Sel. Coll. Old Eng. Plays (1874) II. 125 I am a servant of this house, by these ten bones.
?1562 Thersytes sig. D.iv By this tenne bones, She serued me ones, A touche for the nones.
1589 J. Lyly Pappe with Hatchet C iiij b Martin sweares by his ten bones.
1601 A. Munday & H. Chettle Death Earle of Huntington sig. K1 By these ten ends of flesh and blood, I sweare.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 (1623) i. iii. 193 By these tenne bones..hee did speake them to me.
a1637 B. Jonson Masque of Gypsies 64 in tr. Horace Art of Poetry (1640) I sweare by these ten, You shall have it agen.
2.
a. Absolutely or with ellipsis of the noun (which may usually be supplied from the context). Often short for ten years of age; also (now historical) for ten shillings, in ten and six(pence, or other number of pence, ten-and-sixpenny. In Old English and Early Middle English inflected, nominative -e, neuter -o, -u; genitive -a, dative -um.
ΚΠ
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Mark x. 41 & ge-herdon ða teno.
c975 Rushw. Gosp. Mark x. 41 & giherdun ða tenu.
OE Beowulf 2847 Ða hildlatan..tyne ætsomne.
a1000 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 217/21 Decanus,..tyna aldor.
c1000 West Saxon Gospels: Mark (Corpus Cambr.) x. 41 Þa ge-bulgon þa tyne hi.
c1160 Hatton Gosp. Mark x. 41 Þa ge-bulge þa teone hyo.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1978) l. 15939 Bi sixe bi seouene bi tene [c1300 Otho teon] bi eolleue. bi twelue bi twenti.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 1692 Do we awai þane twenti a tene [c1300 Otho ten] beoð inohȝe.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xiii. 270 In þe date of owre dryȝte..A þousande and thre hondreth tweis thretty & ten.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 4848 Elleuen breþer es we liuand, An at ham, ten in þis land.
c1480 (a1400) St. Mary of Egypt 514 in W. M. Metcalfe Legends Saints Sc. Dial. (1896) I. 311 Sone I fand of ȝongmen tenne in a place stanand.
?a1500 Chester Pl. xxii. 143 But of the Tenne the first three sone wear consumed away.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer (STC 16267) Confirmacion f. x*v Question. Tell me how many [commandments] there bee. Aunswere. Tenne.
1726 D. Defoe Polit. Hist. Devil i. x. 186 Ten of the twelve Tribes.
1814 W. Scott Waverley I. xv. 225 When I was a girl about ten, there was a skirmish fought. View more context for this quotation
1823 Ld. Byron Don Juan: Canto X xxxiii. 69 Thermometers sunk down to ten, Or five, or one, or zero.
1837 C. Dickens Let. 10 Feb. (1965) I. 235 I made it five pounds instead of two pounds ten.
1872 J. Ruskin Munera Pulveris p. ix Worth as many ten-and-sixpences as the impressions which might be taken from the lithographic stones.
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. xxvi. 288 Am I any worse for breaking the third of that Terrible Ten than you for breaking the ninth?
1891 C. T. C. James Romantic Rigmarole 25 Two girls of, perhaps, eight and ten.
1908 Installation News 2 30/2 Witness our first attempt of a ten-and-six-penny kettle.
b. esp. of the hour of the day: originally ten hours, ten of the clock: see of the clock at clock n.1 and adv. Phrases 1a.Also with ellipsis of ‘minutes’ in ten past or ten to or (U.S.) ten till, ten minutes after or before the hour; to take ten (U.S.): see take v. Phrases 3n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > of the time of day > of specific times
tenc1386
seven?c1425
twoc1485
six1600
twelve-hour1791
undecimarian1874
undeciman1883
the world > time > particular time > [adjective] > of the time of day > minutes before or after the hour
half past one1750
ten1852
thirty1870
c1386 G. Chaucer Parson's Prol. 5 Ten of the clokke it was tho as I gesse.
1427 Sc. Acts Jas. I c. 118 Fra ten houres to twa efter nune.
c1600 Hist. & Life James VI (1825) 71 At ten houris in the morning.
1681 T. White in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 55 Yesterday about tenne in the morning.
1713 J. Swift Jrnl. to Stella 27 Jan. (1948) II. 609 He went away at 10.
1753 J. Hanway Hist. Acct. Brit. Trade Caspian Sea II. xliv. 291 There is admittance till ten, for a toll of one stiver each person.
1795 tr. K. P. Moritz Trav. Eng. (1886) ii. 17 It might be about ten or eleven o'clock.
1810 W. Scott Let. 30 Jan. (1932) II. 291 The play..exceeded the usual length (lasting till half-past ten).
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain III. ii. 16 About ten at night, Maria Diaz..arrived with her son.
1852 R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour i. vi. 27 ‘We shall be late. See, it's only ten to, now,’ continued he, pointing to the timepiece above the fire.
1897 Daily News 18 Nov. 8/5 ‘You are the ten o'clock man’, meaning that he came on duty at that time.
1937 ‘P. Wentworth’ Case is Closed ix. 95 Then it couldn't have been later than ten past eight when you heard that shot?
1960 S. Barstow Kind of Loving i. ii. 53 Nobody ever arranges to meet somebody at ten to and so she must either be late or not coming.
1962 M. Gordon & G. Gordon Journey with Stranger (1963) iv. 36 ‘Ten till,’ he said... ‘I'll go in first.’
1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People xxiii. 265 The time was ten to eleven.
c. the Ten:† (a) The Decemvirs.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
(b) The Council of Ten: see council n. 9.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > council of state > [noun] > in Venetian republic
decemvir1615
the Ten1636
giunta1673
1636 E. Dacres tr. N. Machiavel Disc. Livy I. 231 As it appear'd in the example of Manlius, and in that of the tenne.
1821 Ld. Byron Marino Faliero (2nd issue) iii. ii. 82 A sceptic of all measures which had not The sanction of ‘the Ten’.
1878 L. Villari tr. P. Villari Life & Times Machiavelli (1898) I. iv. iv. 205 The old Magistracy of the Ten for war affairs was preserved.
1878 L. Villari tr. P. Villari Life & Times Machiavelli (1898) II. iii. 41 The Ten brought swift and exemplary justice to bear.
(c) The group of countries comprising the European Economic Community after January 1981 when Greece joined the existing group of nine countries (the expectation expressed in quot. 1971, but not fulfilled, was that Norway would become a member in 1973 together with Denmark, the Republic of Ireland, and the United Kingdom) (cf. six adj. 2j).
ΚΠ
1971 Guardian 20 Dec. 10/2 The objective for the Six (and the prospective Ten) should be to bring down the trade barriers.
1981 Times 24 Dec. 1/2 The EEC denounced ‘the grave violation of the human and civil rights of the Polish people’..and said these were causing ‘growing concern’ among the people and governments of the Ten.
B. n. (With plural tens; and (less usually) possessive ten's.)
1.
a. The abstract number; also, a symbol or the figures representing this.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun]
tenc950
dickerc1243
article1594
icre1610
decad1616
teens1662
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun] > figure representing
tenc950
Xc1000
c950 Lindisf. Gosp. Matt., Prol. (1887) 4 Oðer..tal..ðe to tenum wið fore-cyme.
c1000 Sax. Leechd. III. 228 Tele þu..oð þæt þu cume to þrittiga foh eft on þone niwan oð tyne.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 4312 Þe firrste staff iss nemmnedd. I & tacneþþ tale off tene.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) II. xix. cxxiii. 1359 The nombre of ten passeþ nyne by oon.
c1440 Promptorium Parvulorum 488/2 Tenne, nowmyr, decem.
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 367 Dix, tenne, x.
1594 T. Blundeville Exercises i. App. f. 38v 12. tennes, which doe make 2. sixties.
1837 W. Whewell Hist. Inductive Sci. I. 70 Ten is a perfect number.
1911 N.E.D. at Ten Mod. Five tens are fifty.
b. In a number expressed in decimal notation, the digit expressing the number of tens, e.g. in 1837 the figure 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical notation or symbol > [noun] > figure > expressing the number of tens
ten1543
1543 R. Record Ground of Artes ii. sig. R.v Then come I to the articles of tennes, where in the fyrste summe I fynde 90, and in the seconde summe but only 40.
1806 C. Hutton Course Math. (ed. 5) I. 9 Set..the numbers under each other,..that is, units under units, tens under tens, hundreds under hundreds, &c... Add up the figures in the column or row of units, and find how many tens are contained in that sum.
c. A thing or person distinguished by the number ten, usually as the tenth of a series; 10 A (see quot. 1907). number ten, also No. 10: see number ten adj. and n. at number n. Compounds 3d.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun] > group of ten > one bearing number ten
ten1888
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > a or the government > head of government > [noun] > first minister of a ruler or state > British prime minister > office or residence of
number ten1888
1888 H. Morten Sketches Hosp. Life 70 I say, tell Ten I am so sorry for him. I wish I could go to the ward!
1906 H. Müller Reminisc. 43 Giovanni endured the punishment that is the Austrian equivalent for ‘10 A’.
1907 Cassell's Mag. Feb. 295/1 For fourteen [days] he was put on ‘10 A’, which is short for no grog, no tobacco.
a1911 Mod. Number ten, it is your turn to play.
1927 P. Riley Mem. 74 The drastic punishment, known as ‘10.A’ was introduced into the Service at the same time [sc. Jan. 1875].
2. A set of ten things or persons. ten of rupees, a unit of account in Indian money.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun] > ten things, persons, etc.
tenOE
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [noun] > group of ten
tenOE
tensome1563
decade1594
denary1615
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) xxii. 47 Tynum and twentigum on anum inne ætgædere restan mid heora ealdrum.
1539 Bible (Great) Gen. xviii. 32 I wil not destroye them for tens sake [1885 Bible ( R.V.) for the ten's sake].
1611 Bible (King James) Deut. i. 15 I..made them..captaines ouer tennes . View more context for this quotation
1894 Field 9 June 839/1 They came forth in their tens, for thirty-eight members turned out on the occasion of the first meet.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 4 Sept. 5/1 The revenue was better by 74,000 tens of rupees.
1897 C. M. Flandrau Harvard Episodes 94 One never said of Wolcott, as is said of some fellows, ‘He made the first ten of the Dicky’.
3. Coal Mining. A measure of coal, locally varying between 48 and 50 tons, being the unit of calculation on which the lessor's rent or royalty is based. (See quot. 1894.) northern dialect.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > measure of coal, etc.
ten1590
score1754
overworkings1849
set1858
1590 in W. Greenwell Wills & Inventories Registry Durham (1860) II. 181 At the grannde lease pitts, ccclxxxviij tenns of coolls, the twelfth parte is xxxij tenns, and the thirde parte of a tenn, praised worthe 2l per tenn is 64l 13/–4d.
1789 J. Brand Hist. & Antiq. Newcastle II. 279 In the year 1622 there were vended by the society of hostmen of Newcastle 14,420 tens of coals.
1849 G. C. Greenwell Gloss. Terms Coal Trade Northumberland & Durham 54 Ten, the measure of coals upon which the landlord's rent is paid. It usually consists of 440 bolls of 8 pecks, but varies much under different landlords, generally, however, within the range of from 418 to 440 bolls.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Ten, a measure of coals upon which the lessor's rent or royalty is paid. In the seventeenth century the term meant ten score bolls, barrows, or corves of coal.
4. A playing-card marked with ten pips. catch the ten , a card game played in Scotland in which the ten of trumps may be taken by any honour-card, and counts ten points, the game being a hundred. long ten, the ten of trumps in this game: cf. long trump n. at long adj.1 and n.1 Compounds 4a. See also quot. ?1870.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > card game > card or cards > [noun] > number card > others
twoa1500
cater1519
single ten1595
ten1595
eight1598
four1599
nine1599
six1599
seven1656
deuce1674
five1674
trey1680
spot1830
four-spot1878
two-spot1885
five-spot1913
ten-spot ladybird-
1595 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 3 v. i. 43 But whilst he sought to steale the single ten, The king was finelie fingerd from the decke.
1680 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) xv. 94 The rest follow in preheminence thus; the King, the Queen, the Knave, the Ten.
1680 C. Cotton Compl. Gamester (ed. 2) xvi. 97 You are not to play a ten first.
1816 W. Scott Old Mortality xii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. IV. 260 These were Claver'se's lads a while syne, and wad be again, maybe, if he had the lang ten in his hand.
?1870 F. Hardy & J. R. Ware Mod. Hoyle 77 The court-cards and the ten of each suit count ten, and they are all indiscriminately spoken of as ‘tens’ during the game.
1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 146 They are playing at ‘catch the ten’, the stake being a few pence a-head.
5. Short for:
a. A ten-acre lot.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > vessels propelled by oars or poles > [noun] > rowing boat > for specific number of rowers
a pair of oars1598
ten1642
four-oar1844
pair-oar1853
six-oar1856
two-oar1857
four1861
sixern1866
gig-pair1869
pair1885
eight1898
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > English banknotes > [noun] > ten-pound note
ten1642
ten-pounder1755
tenner1845
cock and hen1934
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > foreign banknotes > [noun] > U.S. > ten-dollar bill
ten1642
ten1829
x1837
tenner1845
sawbuck1850
ten-spot ladybird-
1642 Watertown Rec. 8 Divisions for Farmers being Lotted out by Tens.
b. A ten-dollar note.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > money > medium of exchange or currency > paper money > foreign banknotes > [noun] > U.S. > ten-dollar bill
ten1642
ten1829
x1837
tenner1845
sawbuck1850
ten-spot ladybird-
1829 Vancouver Herald (Fredericksburg, Va.) 18 Apr. 3/3 The public are cautioned against receiving spurious 5's 10's and 20 dollar bills, purporting to be on the Bank of Virginia.
1874 B. F. Taylor World on Wheels ii. ii. 196 When I give her a ‘ten’ sometimes, she will fold her arms.
1907 ‘O. Henry’ Trimmed Lamp & Other Stories 171 He drew out his ‘roll’ and slapped five tens upon the bar.
1977 J. Crosby Company of Friends xxvi. 161 Roger tipped the waiter a ten.
c. A ten-syllable line.
ΚΠ
1841 Knickerbocker Mag. 17 345 Let the big fellow utter his threatenings in long tens and alexandrines.
d. A ten-pound note.
ΚΠ
?1863 T. Taylor Ticket-of-leave Man iii. 54 Here are notes—two hundreds—a ten—and two fives.
1894 A. Robertson Nuggets 190 To their intense disgust they only got about £200 in notes (chiefly tens).
e. A ten-oared boat.
ΚΠ
1875 ‘R. H. Blake-Humfrey’ Eton Boating Bk. (ed. 2) p. ix The first eight had a strong picked crew, whilst the ten had several ‘courtesy’ oars... Mr. Canning was sitter in the ten.
f. A set of ten (racing) strokes.
ΚΠ
1927 Field 16 June 1025/1 The unsteadiness thus produced cost the home crew its lead and although it still went up in the ‘tens’ the Aberdonians drew away to win by a length and a quarter.
g. A ten-horse-power car.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > powered vehicle > motor car > [noun] > car according to engine capacity or horse-power
six-cylinder1905
ten1931
1931 Daily Express 16 Oct. 11/2 Cheap ‘Tens’. There was a big demand also for cars just above the ‘baby’ class, the numerous 10's that are cheap to buy.
1942 R.A.F. Jrnl. 3 Oct. 24 He would soon be driving around in a family eight or ten.
1968 Compl. Encycl. Motorcars 59/1 In 1910 a 1·6 litre 4-cylinder [Austin] Ten was made for export only.
1968 Compl. Encycl. Motorcars 399/1 That year [sc. 1933] Morris's sv 1·3-litre Ten-Four came out as an answer to Austin's Ten and Hillman's Minx.
6.
a. Short for tenpenny nail at penny n. 5 (i.e. costing 10d. a hundred); double ten, a nail costing the double of the tenpenny (i.e. 20d. a hundred).
ΚΠ
1572 in A. Feuillerat Documents Office of Revels Queen Elizabeth (1908) 175 Nayles vc of single tenns—iiij s. ij d. c. Dubble tens—xviij d.
1629 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/5) Itm halfe a hundred of double tennes xd.
1665 J. Webb Vindic. Stone-Heng (1725) 124 An huge old Nail, in Shape somewhat like those which we call commonly double Tens, or Spikes, such as are used in Scaffolding.
1717 J. Tabor in Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 30 559 Large Iron Nails..not quite so long, as those we call double Tenns.
b. A tallow candle weighing ten to a pound.
ΚΠ
1802 Sporting Mag. 20 15 Some have gone so far as to illuminate our discussions with tens instead of long-sixes.
Ten times, tenfold. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > specific numbers > ten > [adverb] > tenfold
tenc1330
tenfold1538
c1330 King of Tars (Ritson) 336 Thaugh heo weore ten so briht.
c1385 G. Chaucer Legend Good Women Thisbe. 736 Forbede a loue & it is ten so wod.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1869) II. 177 Þe lengþe of a manis body..be..ten so moche as þe depnesse þat is from þe rugge to þe wombe.
1399 W. Langland Richard Redeles iii. 168 Þei ffor þe pesinge paieth pens ten duble That þe cloþe costened.
c1400 Siege of Troy 396 in Archiv neu. Spr. LXXII. 21 Ector is ten so strong as þou [older version, ten siþe streyngor þen þow].
c1420 Sir Amadas (Weber) 746 Yette was Y ten so glad When that thou gaffe all that thou had.
Compounds
C1.
a.
(a) Adjectives, formed by ten with a noun, meaning consisting of, containing, measuring, or costing ten of the things named (also occasionally elliptical as noun).
ten-acre adj.
ΚΠ
1826 M. R. Mitford Our Village II. 55 On inquiring my destination, and hearing that I was bent to the ten-acre copse.
1871 C. Kingsley At Last I. ii. 73 Having a considerable quantity of land in each parish allotted to ten-acre men (i.e. white yeomen).
ten-bell adj.
ΚΠ
1905 Daily News 24 Apr. 2 In 1817 a ten-bell record of 12,312 changes of Grandsire Caters was rung on these bells.
ten-cell adj.
ΚΠ
1876 W. H. Preece & J. Sivewright Telegraphy 28 A ten-cell Leclanché [battery].
ten-cent adj.
ΚΠ
1846 D. Corcoran Pickings 26 I gave him a $2 bill, and he only gave me thirteen of these (ten cent pieces) in change.
1873 E. Eggleston Myst. Metropolisville xviii. 158 The joyful keys and the cheerful ten-cent coins lay in his pocket.
1901 H. Robertson Inlander 118 The sleepers in the grass-grown churchyard..had been removed elsewhere to make room for the thriving innovation known as the ‘Ten Cent Store’.
1962 E. Snow Other Side of River (1963) xxxix. 283 Ten-cent prints are also sold of Italian Renaissance painters and a few French impressionists.
ten-course adj.
ΚΠ
1903 J. K. Jerome Tea-table Talk 31 The ten-course banquet.
ten-day adj.
ΚΠ
1883 ‘M. Twain’ Life on Mississippi lx. 582 A ten-day trip by steamer.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 1 Nov. 10/1 The ten-day fog of 1880, credited with such heavy mortality.
ten-dollar adj.
ΚΠ
1807 Deb. Congr. U.S. 19 Aug. (1852) 429 I got two of the notes changed, and one, a ten dollar note, was returned on my hands.
1825 J. Neal Brother Jonathan I. 221 For a ‘ten-dollar bill’..Peters would have set fire to it.
1891 H. Herman His Angel 138 Underwood took three ten-dollar bills from his wallet.
ten-drachm adj.
ΚΠ
1886 Guide Exhib. Galleries Brit. Mus. 145 A ten-drachm piece of Athens.
ten-figure adj.
ΚΠ
1842 Penny Cycl. XXIII. 498/1 Nathaniel Roe, ‘Tabulæ Logarithmicæ’, London. Seven-figure numbers to 100 thousand, ten-figure sines, &c. to hundredths of degrees.
1922 Biometrika 14 160 It was necessary to calculate τ1 to eight places, which was done with the help of Vega's ten-figure logarithms.
ten-grain adj.
ΚΠ
1861 Photogr. News Alm. in Circle of Sci. (1865) I. 160/2 A ten-grain silver solution.
ten-guinea adj.
ΚΠ
1752 S. Foote Taste i. 3 A poor ten Guinea Job.
ten-horse adj.
ΚΠ
1837 P. Keith Bot. Lexicon 107 It is as if there was a certain ponderable mass which the application of a ten-horse power was utterly incapable of moving.
ten-hour adj.
ΚΠ
1905 Westm. Gaz. 7 Mar. 5/2 The new scale is calculated on a ten-hour basis.
ten-inch adj.
ΚΠ
1903 Westm. Gaz. 7 Mar. 18 June 5/1 The shell which was being filled was a ten-inch shell.
ten-league adj.
ΚΠ
1843 G. Borrow Bible in Spain II. xiii. 294 After the ten league journey of the preceding day.
ten-mile adj.
ΚΠ
1876 ‘Ouida’ In Winter City ix A ten-mile stretch across the open country.
ten-minute adj.
ΚΠ
1806 C. Lamb Let. 5 Dec. in Lett. C. & M. A. Lamb (1976) II. 245 They all had their ten minute speeches.
ten-month adj.
ΚΠ
1886 C. Scott Pract. Sheep-farming 64 Ten months old lambs.
ten-point adj.
ΚΠ
1914 Lincoln (Nebraska) Daily Star 18 Oct. 5/5 The lines will be closer together than formerly and the type will be of ten-point size—one point smaller than in past years.
ten-second adj.
ten-shilling adj.
ΚΠ
1745 M. Folkes Table Eng. Gold Coins (new ed.) 9 Double-crowns or ten shilling pieces.
1959 A. Christie Cat among Pigeons iv. 51 She accepted the ten shilling note her mother handed to her.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1976) II. 279 Then there came fifteen speakers of whom the ten well-informed were all passionately for the ten-shilling unit.
ten-stone adj.
ΚΠ
1900 Daily News 4 Dec. 6/1 A ten-stone man, who has to ride, is of more use than a twelve-stone man.
ten-syllable adj.
ΚΠ
1881 H. Morley Eng. Lit. Q. Vict. iii. 89 The all pervading couplets of ten-syllabled lines.
ten-toe adj.
ΚΠ
1879 J. Wild Lost Ten Tribes viii. 118 That horn might justly be called the eleventh toe horn, as it comes into existence after the ten toe kingdoms.
ten-ton adj.
ΚΠ
1792 J. Phillips Gen. Hist. Inland Navigation x. 215 The time to make a trip and retrip by the ten ton crane boat.
1864 Times 5 Oct. 3/5 (advt.) A ten-ton wharf crane, second-hand, fitted with double purchase gear.
(b) Also, phrases thus formed prefixed to a simple adjective, forming a compound adjective See also A. 2, and tenpenny adj. and n.
ten-inch-thick adj.
ten-mile-long adj.
b. Parasynthetic adjectives, formed on such phrases as those in Compounds 1a.
ten-acred adj.
ΚΠ
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon xvi. 377 A ten-acred enclosure might be as..proper a size as any other.
ten-armed adj.
ten-barrelled adj.
ΚΠ
1881 Times 15 Jan. 5/6 The short ten-barrelled Gatling was brought to the front.
ten-coupled adj.
ten-cylindered adj.
ten-fingered adj.
ΚΠ
1711 Ld. Shaftesbury Characteristicks III. Misc. v. i. 265 To find a plain defect in these Ten-Monosyllable Heroicks.
ten-footed adj.
ten-headed adj.
ten-horned adj.
ΚΠ
1678 S. Butler Hudibras: Third Pt. iii. ii. 175 And turn'd the Men to Ten-Horn'd Cattle, Because they came not out to Battle.
ten-jointed adj.
ΚΠ
1839 Penny Cycl. XV. 84/1 In the genus Melolontha the antennæ are ten-jointed.
ten-keyed adj.
ten-oared adj.
ΚΠ
1740 W. Stephens Jrnl. 3 May in Jrnl. Proc. Georgia (1742) II. 362 Capt. Heron..arrived..at Port-Royal in a ten-oar'd Boat.
1800 Hull Advertiser 16 Aug. 1/4 A ten-oared cutter..with twelve volunteers.
ten-parted adj.
ten-peaked adj.
ten-rayed adj.
ten-ribbed adj.
ΚΠ
1868 A. B. Garrod Essentials Materia Medica (ed. 3) 267 Capsule ovoid, inflated, ten-ribbed.
ten-roomed adj.
ΚΠ
1882 M. E. Braddon Mt. Royal II. ix. 180 The shabby little ten-roomed house in South Belgravia.
ten-spined adj.
ten-stringed adj.
ΚΠ
a1300 E.E. Psalter cxliii[i]. 9 To þe sal I sing in ten-strenged sautre.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cxliv. 9 That I maye..synge prayses vnto the vpon a tenstrynged lute.
ten-syllabled adj.
ΚΠ
1881 H. Morley Eng. Lit. in Reign of Victoria iii. 89 The all pervading couplets of ten-syllabled lines.
ten-talented adj.
ten-teethed adj.
ten-tongued adj.
ΚΠ
1867 R. W. Emerson May-day & Other Pieces 36 Speaking by the tongues of flowers, By the ten-tongued laurel speaking.
ten-toothed adj.
ΚΠ
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 536 The wheels..are ten-toothed.
ten-wheeled adj.
ΚΠ
1904 Westm. Gaz. 28 Dec. 3/2 Powerful ten-wheeled tank engines.
c. Parasynthetic nouns (see -er suffix1 1); see also ten-pointer n. at Compounds 2, ten-pounder n.
ten-bedder n.
ΚΠ
1899 R. Kipling Stalky & Co. iii. 79 She's busy in the middle of King's big upper ten-bedder.
ten-knotter n.
ten-seater n.
ΚΠ
1898 Westm. Gaz. 30 Nov. 5/3 Doubt..whether the Oriten ‘ten-seater’ machine exhibited at the Stanley Show could be ridden.
ten-tonner n.
ΚΠ
1883 Harper's Mag. Aug. 442/2 Some of the rated ten-tonners were..over twenty-two tons in displacement.
ten-wheeler n.
ΚΠ
1904 Westm. Gaz. 29 Jan. 5/1 This mammoth ten-wheeler cost £5,000.
d. Compounds of ten n.
ten bed n. = bed No. 10.
ΚΠ
1888 H. Morten Sketches Hosp. Life 69 [He] operated on that boy in Ten bed; but, I fear, unsuccessfully.
ten-bore adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shooting equipment > [adjective] > type of shot-gun
choke-bored1875
under-and-over1881
ten-bore1892
ten-gauge1894
sawed-off1898
sawn-off1915
side by side1919
over-under1926
over-and-under1930
1892 W. W. Greener Breech-loader 127 The 10-bore duck-gun full-choked, weighing 8½ lbs. and over.
ten-shaped adj. = X-shaped.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > fact or condition of being transverse > intersection > [adjective] > crossing or crossed over each other > cross-shaped
decussated1658
decussative1658
cruciform1661
cross-shaped17..
crucial1706
decussate1825
cross-headed1866
ten-shaped1907
1907 Daily Chron. 30 Nov. 4/6 More technically known as the ‘crux decussata’—the ‘ten-shaped cross’, because its form is identical with that of the Latin numeral X.
tentale n. [tale n. 6] used attributively in tentale rent: see quots.
ΚΠ
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Tentail rent, a rent or royalty paid by a lessee upon every ten of coals which are worked in excess of a minimum or certain rent.
1888 W. E. Nicholson Gloss. Terms Coal Trade at Rent (E.D.D.) A surplus or tentale rent payable for the coal worked..above the certain quantity.
ten-team n. team of ten.
ΚΠ
1901 Daily Chron. 17 July 5/2 One ten-team of one N.C. officer of any rank and nine lance-corporals or privates from any regiment, battalion, or depot.
C2. Special combinations and collocations. See also tenpenny adj. and n., ten-pins n., etc.
ten-code n. a code of signals (all beginning with the number ten) originally used in radio communication by police in the U.S. and later adopted by Citizens' Band radio operators.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > radio codes and call-signs
call signal1853
call letter1876
call sign1896
ten signal1951
good buddy1956
Zulu1960
ten-code1969
twenty1975
1969 T. E. Drabnek Lab. Simulation Police Communications Syst. under Stress 135 Above code corresponds to the ‘Ten-Code System’ used by many police agencies.
1976 CB Mag. June 67/2 Well, it really grabbed me, all this ‘good buddy’ stuff, the ten-code.
1977 Rolling Stone 13 Jan. 45/3 Get a CB and take on a persona, use the 10 code and all the language, and be anybody you want to be.
ten-eighty n. (more commonly 1080) [see quot. 19452] a formation of sodium fluoroacetate used as a poison against predatory animals.
ΚΠ
1945 Science 31 Aug. 232 (heading) ‘Ten-eighty’, a war-produced rodenticide.
1945 Science 31 Aug. 232 One, commonly referred to under its laboratory serial number, ‘1080’,..has been subjected to sufficiently adequate field-testing to warrant the assertion that a promising new rodenticide has been discovered.
1961 New Scientist 13 Apr. 17/1 About one and a half grains of ‘ten-eighty’ are dissolved in a little water and injected into 100 lb of meat.
1971 W. Hillen Blackwater River xii. 117 Then Compound 1080 (ten-eighty)..reached British Columbia and created a ‘predator control’ bureaucracy more difficult to eliminate than wolves.
ten-finger n. (a) a species of starfish: cf. five-finger n. 2; (b) U.S. slang a thief.
ΚΠ
1881 E. Ingersoll Oyster-industry (Hist. Fish. Industr. U.S.) 249 Ten-finger.—A thief.
ten-foot adj. measuring, or having, ten feet; figurative phr. ten feet tall used contextually to convey extreme self-assurance or pride; ten-foot coal, a thick seam in Yorkshire; ten-foot rod, a levelling-pole.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > metre > [adjective] > having ten feet
ten-foot1701
the world > the earth > earth sciences > geography > map-making > surveying > [noun] > surveying instruments > staff or pole > for levelling
ten-foot rod1701
stave1838
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > stratum or bed > of coal > type of coal seam
foot coal1665
foot-rid1665
top coal1803
ten-yard coal1839
rider1840
ten-foot coal1855
top-hard1855
yard-coal1855
yard-seam1862
guide seam1867
main1867
bank1881
rearer1883
thick coal1883
thick seam1883
thin seam1883
the mind > emotion > pride > excessive self-confidence > [adjective]
over-trusty?c1225
assured1477
self-wise1573
confident1600
flush1604
crested1619
sufficienta1625
self-sufficient1628
self-confiding1647
self-trustinga1660
self-secure1679
self-assured1711
cocksure1842
secure1859
self-sufficing1874
ten feet tall1962
1701 T. Tuttell Descr. Math. Instruments in J. Moxon Math. made Easie (ed. 3) 19 Ten foot Rods, See Station-staffs.
1793 A. Seward Lett. (1811) III. 322 The iambic accent, unmixed with the trochaic, especially in the ten-feet couplet.
1855 J. Phillips Man. Geol. 190 The thickest coal in the district,..that called the thick or ten-foot coal in Yorkshire.
1955 (title of television film) The man is 10 feet tall.]
1962 M. Hastings Yes, & After ii. i. 72 You must always be ten feet tall imagining yourself doing this or doing that.
1964 D. Francis Nerve xvii. 237 It made me feel warm inside... I felt ten feet tall.
1970 A. Draper Swansong for Rare Bird i. 11 I must say I felt 10 feet tall and there was a soppy grin on my face.
ten-four int. (also 10-4) in the ten-code (see above), the code phrase for ‘message received’; used loosely as an expression of affirmation; also as v. intransitive.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > interjections in radio communication [interjection]
over1926
out1950
ten-four1962
the mind > language > statement > affirmation and denial > [interjection] > affirmative reply
aye1576
surely1798
ten-four1962
1962 Amer. Speech 37 272 Ten-four (verb), to understand a message. From the radio code 10-4, meaning ‘I receive you clearly’.
1976 National Observer (U.S.) 30 Oct. 5/1 Judge Floyd Smith, a CB operator himself, went by the ‘handle’ of ‘Marryin' Sam’, the bride was ‘Little Lulu’, and the groom was ‘Stanley Steamer’. They didn't say ‘I do’; they said ‘10-4’. And the judge didn't pronounce them man and wife; he said, ‘Put the hammer down.’
1978 N.Y. Times Mag. 23 July 23/2 The CB'ers have a language that's 10-4 with them.
ten-gallon adj. that can contain ten gallons.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > [adjective] > of specific size or capacity
potteler1386
ten-gallon1592
pint-size1889
pint-sized1900
1592 Lord Cromwell in A. H. Smith et al. Papers N. Bacon of Stiffkey (1990) III. 327 The..rent gatherer..allwaies used to keepe a tenne gallon busshell for the measuring of coale and salt.
1726 G. Roberts Four Years Voy. 121 They..brought with them two ten Gallon Casks full of Water.
1841 C. Gray Lays & Lyrics 241 This song was written on the presentation of a Ten-Gallon China Punch-Bowl…to the Club.
1977 C. McCullough Thorn Birds xiv. 331 Only the handful of half-caste aborigines..aped the cowboys of the American West, in high-heeled fancy boots and ten-gallon Stetsons.
ten-gallon hat n. (also ten-gallon sombrero) a high-crowned, wide-brimmed hat of a kind esp. worn in the south-western U.S. (cf. Stetson n.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > textiles and clothing > clothing > types or styles of clothing > headgear > [noun] > hat > with a brim > broad-brimmed > other
petasus1577
bongrace1585
sombrero1770
parachute1786
Pamela hat1802
Gainsborough1878
bloomer1883
cartwheel1884
picture hat1887
cowgirl hat1897
Stetsonc1900
shtreimel1902
Merry Widow1908
ten-gallon hat1928
lemon-squeezer1953
Smokey Bear1969
Akubra1973
1928 Daily Express 7 Oct. 3/7 She instinctively recognized that he was a cowboy, even though he did not wear a ten-gallon hat and a jacket embroidered with Mexican dollars.
1929 T. Wolfe Look homeward, Angel (1930) xxvii. 374 He removed from his head the ten-gallon grey sombrero.
1939 Amer. Speech 14 201/1 In the nomenclature of the South-western cowboy, sombrero is used interchangeably for hat, but the qualifying phrase of ‘ten gallon’ has been arrived at by a mistaken translation of a Spanish word. The word ‘gallon’..served to describe the braid with which a vaquero's hat was trimmed..it should have been ‘galloon’.]
ten-gauge adj. having a calibre such that ten balls of matching size weigh one pound; also elliptical for ten-gauge shotgun.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shooting equipment > [adjective] > type of shot-gun
choke-bored1875
under-and-over1881
ten-bore1892
ten-gauge1894
sawed-off1898
sawn-off1915
side by side1919
over-under1926
over-and-under1930
the world > food and drink > hunting > shooting > shooting equipment > [noun] > shot-gun or fowling-piece > type of
turnabout1801
twelve1804
stanchion-gun1815
Joe Manton1816
Joe Manton1816
ducking-gun1823
punt gun1824
Purdey1830
shore-gun1841
woodcock gun1858
seven-bore1859
twelve-bore1859
twelve-gauge1859
choke1875
choke-bore1875
cripple-stopper1881
over-and-under1889
ten-gauge1894
ducker1896
tschinke1910
under-and-over1911
over-under1913
side by side1947
1894 Outing 24 443/1 A couple of ten-gauge breech-loaders.
1936 J. Steinbeck In Dubious Battle v. 70 ‘Shot-guns,’ he said... ‘Soon's somebody sounds off with a ten-gauge, they go for the brush like rabbits.’
1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet iii. 194 Looking..into the face which with his own was wedded and twinned forever now by the explosion of that ten-gauge shell.
ten-gun brig n. Australian (see quot. 1903).
ΚΠ
1903 R. Bedford True Eyes 365 He..caught many little white fish with five square port-hole marks on their sides—the fish the Northerners call ‘ten gun brigs’.
Categories »
ten-hour law n. U.S. ( Cent. Dict. 1891). See ten-hours act n.
ten-hours act n. a law limiting the hours of work in factories; spec. the popular name of the Act 10 & 11 Vict., c. 29.
ten-inch adj. measuring ten inches; spec. designating a 78 r.p.m. coarse-groove gramophone record having this diameter; also elliptical = 78 n. at seventy adj. and n. Compounds 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [adjective] > type of record
long-playing1883
out of print1896
seven-inch1902
twelve-inch1903
ten-inch1908
white-label1927
instantaneous1937
single-sided1937
long-play1948
pre-electric1960
platinum1964
society > communication > record > recording or reproducing sound or visual material > sound recording and reproduction > a sound recording > [noun] > record or disc > type of record
pre-release1871
record album1904
re-release1907
ten-inch1908
twelve-incher1909
demonstration record1911
pressing1912
swinger1924
repressing1927
transcription1931
long-player1932
rush release1935
pop record1937
album1945
demonstration disc1947
pop disc1947
pop single1947
long-play1948
picture disc1948
781949
single1949
forty-five1950
demo disc1952
EP1952
shellac1954
top of the pops1956
gold disc1957
acetate1962
platinum disc1964
chartbuster1965
miss1965
cover1966
reissue1966
pirate label1968
rock record1968
thirty-three (and a third)1968
sampler1969
white-label1970
double album1971
dubplate1976
seven-inch1977
mini-album1980
joint1991
1908 Sears, Roebuck Catal. No. 117. 201/2 Disc Record Cases... No. 2 holds 50 10-inch disc records.
1959 Manch. Guardian 11 Aug. 5/7 Beecham (whose reading has just reappeared on a Fontana ten-inch, KFR 4003).
1979 Listener 4 Oct. 461/3 Nearly all the 23 Gillespie tracks..were originally marketed on ten-inch, 78 rpm discs.
ten-lined potato beetle n. U.S. (see quot. 1876).
ΚΠ
1876 3rd Rep. Vermont Board Agric. 574 The famous ten-lined potato beetle (Doryphora decemlineata, Say).
ten-liner n. U.S. = ten-lined potato beetle n.
ΚΠ
1876 3rd Rep. Vermont Board Agric. 676 Jack Frost..must overtake many of the ten liners that supposed themselves safe from cold.
ten-minute rule n. (also ten minutes rule) a standing order of the House of Commons allowing brief discussion of a motion for leave to introduce a bill, each speech being limited to ten minutes' duration.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > rule or government > ruler or governor > deliberative, legislative, or administrative assembly > governing or legislative body of a nation or community > procedure of parliament or national assembly > [noun] > standing order allowing brief discussion
ten-minute rule1908
1908 A. E. Steinthal tr. J. Redlich Procedure House of Commons III. ii. x. i. 86 Under a standing order passed in 1888, popularly known as the ‘ten minutes rule’ (Standing Order 11) an abbreviated mode of procedure is authorised for the introduction of bills.
1971 Hindell & Simms Abortion Law Reformed xi. 232 Ten minute rule bills can be brought before the House with a short speech each Tuesday and Wednesday after question time, but if the House agrees to the introduction of such a bill all further progress to a second reading and beyond depends, in practice, on the Government..giving it parliamentary time.
ten o'clock n. (a) an American name for Ornithogalum umbellatum, the flowers of which open late in the morning ( Cent. Dict. 1891); (b) a name for Portulaca grandiflora, a subtropical annual herb whose flowers open late in the morning; (c) a light meal taken at ten o'clock.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > lily and allied flowers > asphodels
affodill1440
daffodilly1538
daffodil1548
asphodel1597
king's spear1597
onion asphodel1597
knavery1640
frodils1674
Scotch asphodel1771
ten o'clock1826
bog asphodel1881
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > non-British flowers > of south or tropical America
marvel of Peru1597
flower of the night1665
world's wonder1706
butterfly flower1731
mirabilis1754
four o'clock flower1756
bastard mustard1759
Browallia1782
bastard plantain1796
cleome1806
alonsoa1812
gloxinia1816
schizanthus1823
butterfly plant1825
petunia1825
sinningia1826
salpiglossis1827
mask flower1834
poinsettia1836
guaco1844
spiderwort1846
mist flower1848
balisier1858
spider flower1861
sun plant1862
eucharis1866
pretty-by-night1869
Rocky Mountain bee plant1870
urn-flower1891
tulip-poppy1909
smithiantha1917
poor man's orchid1922
ten o'clock1953
tiger-iris-
1826 W. Darlington Florula Cestrica 40 Ornithogalum..umbellatum... Ten o'clock. Twelve o'clock. Star of Bethlehem.
1838 W. Howitt Rural Life Eng. I. ii. iii. 161 Betty mean-time has put up their ‘luncheons’ or ‘ten-o'clocks’.
1953 Caribbean Q. 3 i. 10 Ten o'clock is a kind of portulaca which blooms in mid morning.
ten per center n. (a) an investor receiving ten per cent. interest; (b) U.S. Theatre slang a theatrical agent (so called from the ten per cent commission that an agent takes).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > the theatre or the stage > [noun] > theatrical agency > agent
agent1825
theatrical agent1825
entrepreneur1851
ten per center1902
booker1935
1902 Westm. Gaz. 30 July 9/2 Anxious as he is to make every speculative investor in the mines a ten-per-center.
1926 Variety 29 Dec. xi. 5/4 Broadway chatter is full of theatrical cracks such as..‘ten per center’.
1962 Punch 26 Dec. 920/1 A condition of the licence being granted is that the applicant advertises for two weeks in The Stage, stating his intention of joining the ten-percenters.
ten-pointer n. a stag having antlers with ten points; a ‘hart of ten’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > group Ruminantia (sheep, goats, cows, etc.) > male > [noun] > body and parts > antler > branch > stag with horns having specific number branches
hart of ten1598
deer of ten1632
eleven-pointer1803
royal1848
pointer1883
ten-pointer1883
1883 E. L. Peel in Longman's Mag. Nov. 72 We had..stalked and slain a fine ten-pointer upon the Caenlochan marches.
ten-pound adj. of or involving the amount or value of ten pounds; also, weighing ten pounds; spec. ten-pound land (Scottish), land of the annual value of ten pounds; ten-pound householder, = ten-pounder n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > [adjective] > specific values
twopenny1532
sixpenny1592
fourpenny1597
threepenny1627
ninepenny1632
ten-pound1673
two-bit1802
four-figure1842
million-dollar1854
two-cent1859
thousand-guinea1894
thruppence1895
five-figure1971
six-figure1971
1673 S'too him Bayes 5 You..would have lost your ten pound wager.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil I. ii. vi. 153 It is a great thing in these ten-pound [franchise] days to win your first contest.
1855 J. R. Leifchild Cornwall: Mines & Miners 263 Send the author a ten-pound-note for his advice—good in either event!
1863 H. Cox Inst. Eng. Govt. i. viii. 106 A new uniform qualification [to vote]..frequently designated that of the ‘ten-pounds householders’.
1890 Cent. Dict. at Pound Ten-pound Act, a statute of the colony of New York (1769) giving to justices of the peace and other local magistrates jurisdiction of civil cases involving not more than the sum named.
ten signal n. U.S. any of the signals that form part of the ten-code (see above).
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > telecommunication > radio communications > [noun] > radio codes and call-signs
call signal1853
call letter1876
call sign1896
ten signal1951
good buddy1956
Zulu1960
ten-code1969
twenty1975
1951 Directory Nat. Police Communications Network (ed. 6) 19 The ‘10’ signals were developed by A.P.C.O...and the system has been widely adopted.
1970 V. A. Leonard Police Communications Syst. ii. 34 APCO's Project Series Foundation has produced four nationally recognized projects:..the publication of the APCO Ten Signal Cards.
ten-speed n. a multiple-speed set of gears on a vehicle, esp. a bicycle; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > a conveyance > vehicle > vehicles according to means of motion > vehicle moving on wheels > [noun] > parts of vehicle moving on wheels > gear > multiple-speed set of
ten-speed1971
1971 M. Tak Truck Talk 165 Ten-speed, a ten-speed Roadranger transmission.
1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) i. 8/2 They spent it rapidly on..twin Motobecane ten-speeds.
1977 New Yorker 9 May 34/1 The owner of a ten-speed model asked her why.
Thesaurus »
Categories »
ten-spot ladybird adj. having ten spots; Coccinella decem-punctata.
ten-strike n. in the game of ten-pins, a throw which bowls over all the pins; hence figurative, spec. a success, esp. in to make a ten-strike, to score a success (U.S. colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > [noun] > one who or that which is successful > that which is successful > a successful stroke
gird1513
feat1564
grand coup1752
coup1791
tour de force1802
hit1811
ten-strike1840
bull's-eye1857
score1901
strike1901
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > ninepins or ten-pins > [noun] > types of shot > strike
ten-strike1840
strike1859
the world > action or operation > prosperity > success > succeed or be a success [verb (intransitive)] > achieve success (of persons)
speed993
achievec1300
escheve?a1400
succeed1509
to turn up trumps1595
fadge1611
to nick ita1637
to hit the mark (also nail, needle, pin)1655
to get on1768
to reap, win one's laurels1819
to go a long way1859
win out1861
score1882
to make it1885
to make a ten-strike1887
to make the grade1912
to make good1914
to bring home the bacon1924
to go places1931
1840 Spirit of Times 11 July 228/1 [This] he says is an extra touch—a ten strike and two spare balls.
1850 Hawthorne in Bridge Pers. Recollect. (1893) 111 I may calculate on what bowlers call a ten-strike.
1887 Scribner's Mag. May 624/1 But I have got the family to consider, and I am in a position now where I can make a ten-strike for it.
1889 J. S. Farmer Americanisms Ten-strike, where..all the men are bowled over at one throw... Hence..a fortunate occurrence: a thoroughly well done and complete work.
1900 G. Ade Fables in Slang 72 He could tell by the Scared Look of the People in Front that he had made a Ten-Strike.
1949 E. Pound Pisan Cantos (new ed.) lxxxiii. 124 It comes over me that Mr. Walls must be a ten-strike With the signorinas.
ten tenth n. (also ten tenths) originally Meteorology attributive complete, one hundred per cent.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > completeness > [adjective]
fulleOE
plenara1325
perfectc1350
completec1380
heala1399
plenary?a1425
absolute1531
explete1534
well-accomplished1568
quit1583
orbeda1657
orbicular1673
saturate1682
rounded1746
broad-blown1855
plene1867
choate1878
ten tenth1948
1945 Meteorol. Air Observer's Handbk. (Meteorol. Office) 34 In estimating the amount of cloud the observer should aim to give the fraction (in tenths) of sky covered by cloud.]
1948 Daily Tel. 23 Apr. 6/6 There was ten-tenth cloud at the time.
1973 ‘A. Hall’ Tango Briefing ix. 114 There was a ten-tenths flap on in London so they'd have alerted the whole network.
1977 C. Forbes Avalanche Express xviii. 186 One moment he had ten-tenths vision, the next second he was blind.
1979 D. Brierley Cold War vii. 57 There was ten-tenths cloud cover, the clouds coming from the north-east..like billowing poison gas.
ten-to-two n. a position of the hands or feet resembling that of the hands of a clock at ten minutes to two, esp. a position of the hands on the steering-wheel of a car; frequently attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > limb > extremities > [noun] > position of
ten-to-two1961
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > driving or operating a vehicle > [noun] > driving or operating a motor vehicle > position of hands on wheel
ten-to-two1961
1961 C. H. D. Todd Pop. Whippet iv. 68 It stands with its feet at ‘ten to two’.
1962 Which? Car Suppl. Apr. 55/2 The steering wheel was..rather high. This made a ‘ten-to-two’ hand position uncomfortable after a time.
1974 Drive Autumn 26/2 We found the square wheel made it difficult for drivers to hold the rim in the ten-to-two position they are taught to adopt.
ten-week stock n. Matthiola annua, said to continue ten weeks in flower.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > trees and shrubs > shrubs > stock-gillyflower and allies > [noun]
stock-gillyflower1530
castle-gilliflower1578
Guernsey violet1578
stock1664
Brompton1724
ten-week stock1785
night-scented stock1849
1785 T. Martyn tr. J.-J. Rousseau Lett. Elements Bot. xxiii. 327 The Annual or Ten-week Stock differs in having an herbaceous stalk.
1909 Daily Chron. 20 Mar. 7/6 A well-grown aster or ten-week stock is a beautiful object in itself.
ten-yard coal n. a very thick seam of coal near Dudley.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > stratum or bed > of coal > type of coal seam
foot coal1665
foot-rid1665
top coal1803
ten-yard coal1839
rider1840
ten-foot coal1855
top-hard1855
yard-coal1855
yard-seam1862
guide seam1867
main1867
bank1881
rearer1883
thick coal1883
thick seam1883
thin seam1883
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 980 The very remarkable seam near the town of Dudley, known by the name of the ten-yard coal, about 7 miles long, and 4 broad.
1845 J. Phillips & C. G. B. Daubeny Geol. in Encycl. Metrop. VI. 594/2 The upper part of the ten-yard coal separates from the rest of the beds.
ten-year adj. of ten years' duration or standing, as ten-year-old, also as n.; spec. ten-year-man, at Cambridge University: see quot. 1903.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > year > [adjective] > lasting for several years > that lasts a specific number of years > that has lasted a specific number of years
three-years1665
ten-year1693
three-year-old1825
tercentenarian1881
two-year1927
society > education > learning > learner > college or university student > [noun] > types at specific universities
son?c1550
Bibler1569
round cap1572
batteler1604
fellow commoner1614
gentleman-commoner1614
primar1642
Bible-clerk1650
Harry-Sopha1661
hodman1677
nobleman1682
seconder1684
grueller1691
ternar1698
tuft1755
red gowna1774
ten-year-man1816
prick-bill1818
bear1828
martinet1831
sheep1865
trotter1883
skiver1884
hall-reader1886
sign-off1902
night climber1937
techie1969
1693 G. Stepney tr. Juvenal in J. Dryden et al. tr. Juvenal Satires viii. 166 Courage to sustain a Ten Years War.
1813 Gentleman's Mag 83 ii. 530.
1816 Gentleman's Mag. 86 i. 200/1 A query respecting the Ten-Year-Men at Cambridge.
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby xxx. 293 Ever since he had first played the ten-year-old imps in the Christmas pantomimes.
1869 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Agric. 1868 443 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (40th Congr., 3rd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc.) XV The average yield for a three-year old vine is one peck;..full grown, ten-year old vine, twenty-five bushels.
1895 Westm. Gaz. 17 July 8/1 What terrible tyrants these ten-year-olds are!
1900 Westm. Gaz. 7 Mar. 7/1 What the terms of the new war loan for thirty millions in ten-year bonds will be, or ought to be.
1903 Daily Chron. 4 Feb. 5/1 The Ten Year man..being over twenty-four years of age, was admitted, and after keeping his name on the boards of a college for ten years was allowed to proceed B.D. on payment of certain fees.
1906 Daily Chron. 18 Aug. 4/4 An average of 11.4 in the previous ten-year period.
Phrases
P1. †ten in the hundred: a rate of interest on loans formerly current; hence usury; also transferred a usurer.
ΚΠ
1594 Death of Usury 10 He that puts forth money dare not exceede the rate of 10. in the 100.
1618 Epitaph J. Combe in Brathwait Rem. after Death (ad fin.) Ten in the hundred must lie in his graue, But a hundred to ten whether God will him haue.
P2. ten to one: ten chances to one; odds of ten times the amount offered in a bet; hence, an expression of very strong probability.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > uncertainty, doubt, hesitation > probability, likelihood > [noun] > strong probability
ten to one1589
a hundred to one1647
1589 ‘M. Marprelate’ Hay any Worke for Cooper 30 Ten to one [I haue bin] among some of these puritans.
1650 W. Brough Sacred Princ. 421 Is it not ten to one ods, if ever thou be called?
1782 F. Burney Cecilia III. vi. ix. 330 Ten to one but that happens to be the very thing I want.
1889 J. K. Jerome Three Men in Boat 248 Bet us ten to one we didn't.
P3. ten out of ten: ten marks or points out of ten; hence transferred = full marks at mark n.1 17a. [The phrase is much older but printed evidence is lacking.]
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being the best > [phrase]
granddaddy1864
ten out of ten1981
1981 P. O'Donnell Xanadu Talisman iv. 69 I can't claim ten out of ten... I was a bit indecisive.
1981 Listener 22 Oct. 481/2 For beating down Whitehall opposition, Mr Sproat gets ten out of ten.
P4. card of ten: see card of ten at card n.2 Phrases 2.
P5. to count ten: see count v. 1; spec., to do this in order to check oneself from speaking impetuously; also to count up to ten.
ΚΠ
1817 T. Jefferson Let. 12 July in Writings (1899) X. 93 When angry count 10. before you speak.
1939 F. Thompson Lark Rise xi. 205 Copper-plate maxims..; ‘Count ten before you speak’, and so on.
1953 E. Simon Past Masters ii. 122 Don't say anything. Hold it. Count ten.
1976 R. Perry One Good Death vii. 116 He counted up to ten before he answered me.
P6. hart of ten: see hart of ten at hart n. b.
ΚΠ
a1425 Edward, Duke of York Master of Game (Digby) xxii An hynde commonlyche hathe..more openn þe clee before þenn an herte of tenn.
1486 Bk. St. Albans E j b Then shall ye call hym forchyd an hert of tenne.
a1637 B. Jonson Sad Shepherd i. ii. 10 in Wks. (1640) III A Hart of ten, I trow hee be. View more context for this quotation
P7. upper ten (= upper ten thousand at upper adj. 20a).
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1911; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
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