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单词 time
释义

timen.int.conj.

Brit. /tʌɪm/, U.S. /taɪm/
Forms: early Old English tiema (West Saxon, rare), Old English tim- (in compounds), Old English tima, Old English tyma, Old English (chiefly late) Middle English– time, late Old English–1700s tyme, Middle English teime, Middle English teme (northern), Middle English tjme, Middle English tyne (transmission error), Middle English 1600s teyme, Middle English 1600s tim, Middle English–1600s tym, late Middle English tome (transmission error), 1500s taym, 1500s thyme, 1800s– tahm (English regional (north-eastern)), 1800s– tahme (English regional (north-eastern)), 1800s– toime (English regional (Lancashire) and Irish English); Scottish pre-1700 taim, pre-1700 tayem, pre-1700 taym, pre-1700 tayme, pre-1700 tem, pre-1700 teyme, pre-1700 thyme, pre-1700 tiem, pre-1700 tyem, pre-1700 tymm, pre-1700 tymme, pre-1700 1700s tym, pre-1700 1700s– time, pre-1700 1700s– tyme, pre-1700 (1900s– southern) teime, pre-1700 1900s– tim, 1900s– toime (Orkney); also Irish English 1800s deem (Wexford), 1900s– tim (northern, in compounds).
Origin: A word inherited from Germanic.
Etymology: Cognate with German regional (Alemannic) zīmə (recorded in written sources as Zimen (neuter) time, time of the year, opportune time, opportunity (1556)), Old Icelandic tími (masculine) time, season, occasion, fit or proper time, prosperity, Old Swedish time time, period of time, hour, occasion, opportunity, appointed time, appropriate time, circumstances of the time (Swedish timme , now chiefly ‘hour’), Old Danish time time, period of time, hour, occasion, appropriate time (Danish time , now chiefly ‘hour’), showing a formation < the same Germanic base as tide n. with a different derivative suffix (ultimately the same Indo-European suffix as probably shown also by e.g. gum n.1, swime n., classical Latin sēmen ). The origin of the shared base of time n. and tide n. is uncertain and disputed: it is often identified ultimately with the same Indo-European base as ancient Greek δαίεσθαι to divide, Sanskrit day- to divide, allot, although a different account connects it ultimately with the same Indo-European base as classical Latin diū for a long time, Sanskrit dyūn (in anu dyūn throughout the days, all the time), and the second element of Gothic sinteino always; compare also Armenian ti age, which may be related (it is normally derived from a reconstructed form which would be an exact parallel for tide n.), although it is difficult to connect this with either of these Indo-European bases.Form history. In Old English usually a weak masculine (tīma ); in later Old English a strong masculine (tīme ) is also attested. The West Saxon form tiema shows a reverse spelling after the monophthongization of ῑe (compare A. Campbell Old Eng. Gram. (1959) §300). In modern Scots the form tim shows an unstressed variant; it is also found in Irish English (northern) in compounds, as e.g. suppertim supper time. Semantic history. In a number of specific senses probably after similar specific uses of the word for ‘time’ in Latin and in Romance languages. In sense A. 20 (with reference to weather) probably partly after post-classical Latin tempus (12th cent. in this sense), and partly after Middle French temps weather (12th cent. in Old French in this sense). In senses A. 23 (in prosody) and A. 29 (in music) probably ultimately after classical Latin tempus denoting a unit of length of sound. In uses in music at sense A. 26 probably ultimately after similar uses of post-classical Latin tempus (see tempus n.) or Italian tempo (see tempo n.1). In sense A. 25 (in grammar) after Middle French temps (14th cent. in this sense) or classical Latin tempus (see tense n.). In sense A. 30 (in dressage) after French temps (1680 or earlier in this sense). In Old English largely overlapping in sense with (more common) tīd tide n. The two words occasionally occur together, sometimes as synonyms; compare:OE Lambeth Psalter xxxvi. 39 Protector eorum in tempore tribulationis: gescyldnes uel beweriend heora on timan uel on tide gedrefednysse.OE Note on Six Ages of World (Hatton 113) in A. S. Napier Wulfstan (1883) 312 An yld is geteald of Adame to Noe.., fifte of ðam heregange to Cristes gebyrdtiman, sixte of ures drihtnes gebyrdtide to þam ende, þe god ana wat. ▸ 1440 Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 494 Tyme, idem quod tyyde [1499 Pynson tyme, whyle, tempus].And sometimes with (more or less) clearly distinct senses; compare:OE Guthlac A 754 Hwæt we þissa wundra gewitan sindon! Eall þas geeodon in ussera tida timan.OE Judgement Day II 83 Nu þu scealt greotan, tearas geotan, þa hwile tima sy and tid wopes.OE Laws: Norðhymbra Preosta Lagu (Corpus Cambr.) xxxvi. 382 Gif preost on gesetne timan tida ne ringe oððe tida ne singe, gebete þæt.c1175 ( Ælfric's Homily on Nativity of Christ (Bodl. 343) in A. O. Belfour 12th Cent. Homilies in MS Bodl. 343 (1909) 78 Nes nan timæ ne nefræ nane tide, ne nan oðre gesceaft þe he ane ne isceop.Compare also time and (also or) tide at Phrases 1h. In senses A. 18, A. 19 the usual word in Old English and early Middle English is sithe n.1
A. n.
I. An extent of time.
* Considered as a period.
1.
a. A finite extent or stretch of continued existence, as the interval separating two successive events or actions, or the period during which an action, condition, or state continues; a finite portion of time (in its infinite sense: see sense A. 34a); a period. Frequently with preceding modifying adjective, as a long time, a short time, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > stretch, period, or portion of time
tidea900
while971
fristOE
stemOE
throwOE
timeOE
selea1250
piecec1300
termc1300
stagea1325
whilesc1330
space?a1400
racec1400
spacec1405
termine1420
parodya1425
timea1425
continuancec1440
thrallc1450
espace1483
space of timec1500
tracta1513
stead1596
reach1654
amidst1664
stretch1698
spell1728
track1835
lifetime1875
time slice1938
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) ix. 96 Multi enim se credebant longo tempore uiuere : soðlice hi gelyfdon lange timan lybban.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Bodl.) (1981) 159 (MED) He heold on to herien his heaðne maumez wið misliche lakes, long time of þe dei.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 318 (MED) Þei ful faire han me fostered and fed a long time.
a1450 (a1338) R. Mannyng Chron. (Lamb.) (1887) i. l. 4190 [Caesar] tok his leue..To wende fro þem for longe teymes.
c1450 tr. G. Deguileville Pilgrimage Lyfe Manhode (Cambr.) (1869) 55 It is a long time gon that no wiht bledde of his blood.
1516 R. Fabyan New Chron. Eng. vii. 505 Some..were holdyn in for a tyme, to practis & shewe vnto the newe how they shuld ordre & guyde the sayd offyces.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxix. f. 315 During the time that supper was preparing.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) iii. ii. 86 After a little time Ile beate him too. View more context for this quotation
1670 Sir S. Crow in 12th Rep. Royal Comm. Hist. MSS (1890) App. v. 15 [Hangings] that—for a time—will look better to the eye.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 475. ¶2 She hopes to be married in a little time.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho II. xii. 460 Annette..was absent a considerable time.
1833 Philos. Mag. 3 242 If a person inspire deeply, he will be able immediately after to hold breath for a time, varying with his health.
1882 Manufacturer & Builder May 112/3 A jelly-like carbonaceous mineral..was found in a peat bog at Scranton, Pa., a short time ago.
1910 Crimson-White (Univ. Alabama) 6 Oct. 1/3 Then the two teams lined up and scrimmaged for quite a time.
1949 Times 2 May 6/3 This year's tennis championship..is taking an unconscionable time to get into its stride.
1982 I. Hamilton Robert Lowell xxiv. 430 He hesitated for a time over signing a necessary deed.
2004 D. Lodge Author, Author ii. viii. 186 It was a long time since Henry had worked on the play, and he was impatient for rehearsals to begin.
b. A specific period of time.
†(a) An hour. Compare tide n. 2. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > hour > [noun]
tidea900
hourc1250
timea1325
hourglass1588
planetary hour1593
clock hour1600
ghurry1638
stricken hour1820
lunar hour1862
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 80 His firme kinde dei was a-gon On walkenes turn, wid dai and nigt Of foure and twenti time rigt.
c1390 Castle of Love (Vernon) (1967) l. 1405 (MED) Riht into helle he eode; Fourti tymen [v.r. tymes; Fr. ures] þer he wes þo þat he vprisen ches.
(b) A period of time mentioned in certain biblical passages, usually understood to be a year.Almost entirely in the form a time and times and half a time, this being sometimes used hyperbolically to denote an extremely or inordinately long time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > year > [noun]
wintereOE
yeareOE
yearOE
yearOE
yearOE
twelvemonthc1275
a time and times and half a timec1384
foil1481
zodiacc1560
twelve moons1609
suns1743
outfit1791
snow1825
season1827
yr1880
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. xii. 14 She is fed bi tyme, and tymes, and the half of tyme [v.r. half a tyme; L. alitur per tempus et tempora et dimidium temporis].
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) Dan. xii. 7 For in to tyme, and tymys, and the half of tyme [L. in tempus, et tempora, et dimidium temporis].
1482 W. Caxton tr. Higden's Prolicionycion iii. iii. f. cxvii He shal greue god almyghties holy people that shal be bitaken vnto his hande vnto the tyme and tymes and halfe a tyme that is vnto a yere and two yeres and half a yere.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Rev. xii. 14 She is norysshed for a tyme, tymes, and halffe a tyme. [Similarly in later versions.]
1584 E. Paget tr. J. Calvin Harmonie vpon Three Euangelists 643 First he spake thus, the calamitie of the church shall endure for a time, times, and halfe a time. But now he reckeneth the thre yeares and sixe moneths by dayes.
1631 B. Jonson Staple of Newes iii. ii. 129 in Wks. II The Saints do write, they expect a Prophet, shortly, The Prophet Baal, to be sent ouer to them, To calculate a time, and halfe a time, and the whole time, according to Naömetry.
1657 J. Rowland tr. J. Johnstone Hist. Constancy of Nature 10 That Woman in the Apocalyps..which had lain hidden there for a Time, Times, and Half a time, or 245. yeers.
1772 G. Killingworth Paradise Regained 16 The time which their prophecy will continue..is a time, times, and an half time, or 1200 days.
1841 Gospel Mag. Nov. 347 He will wield his sword with terrific violence..causing them to retreat to their chambers in sackcloth and ashes until the times and time and half-a-time shall have ended.
1905 S. N. Haskell Story Seer of Patmos iii. 64 A parable of the church history during the time, times, and half a time—the three and one half years of the papal supremacy.
1922 Atlantic Monthly Nov. 591/1 I see a group of Chinese gentlemen..spend ‘time, times and half a time’ delicately fingering a few jades.
1984 G. W. Buchanan Jesus, King & his Kingdom vi. 203 The ‘time, two times, and half a time’ that took place between the defilement and the rededication of the temple.
c. With of or (more commonly) genitive. The space of a specified period of time. Esp. after in (also within) indicating a limit of time.The premodifying genitive plural is frequently written without an apostrophe.
ΚΠ
c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 44 Thou moste abyde the tyme of nyne monthes: that is while thou art noȝt perfiȝtly grounded in vertues.
1450 in Sections Assembly Bk. A Shrewsbury Guild Hall 34 (MED) Un to the tyme that the time of vj yere of on apprentice be fully complesched & passed.
c1565 R. Copland Seuen Sorowes Women iii. sig. B.iv Would God sayth she that I were vnlaced Or els may chaunce with chylde that she go Of .x. wekes tyme.
1600 C. Tourneur Transformed Metamorph. sig. Cv One day? nay sure a twelue-months time t'will be, Ere seriant death will call me at my doore.
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso i. xxviii. 77 The Macedonians..thought to have sipt up every mans State in less then a months time.
1693 C. Mather Diary in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1911) 7th Ser. VII. 167 A Distemper, which in less than a Week's time usually carried off my Neighbours.
1748 J. Wesley Wks. (1872) II. 92 There was to begin in an hour's time a famous cockfight.
1786 P. Lovelass Law's Disposal Person's Estate (ed. 2) 175 In the time of six days they could not procure any other land or place to put in the cattle.
1843 J. H. Ingraham Fanny ix. 27 You shall be in Boston in an hour and a half's time.
1898 Cosmopolitan July 264/1 Within a year's time Uncle Sam will have five more battleships.
1904 Collier's 7 May 19/3 (advt.) It costs you but a few minutes time.
1910 Carpenter Aug. 29/1 A candidate failing to present himself for initiation within the time of four weeks, after his initiation fee had been paid in full.
1946 Harper's Mag. Dec. 555/1 Well sure enough, they wasn't hardly two months' time betwixt the weddin' and the funeral.
2010 Independent on Sunday 27 June (New Review) 5/2 Bikes in 20 years' time will be chainless.
2.
a. A particular period indicated or characterized in some way, either explicitly (usually with of) or by anaphoric reference (as at the time, etc.).for the time: see Phrases 3i(a).peacetime, plague time, war time, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [noun]
sitheeOE
tidec897
timeeOE
mealeOE
whilec950
throwOE
charec1000
stevenOE
timeOE
seasona1300
tempest1382
world1389
occasionc1425
tidement1575
period1602
minute1607
hinta1670
epoch1728
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xx. 194 Hit is awriten be ðam yfelum timan.
OE Wulfstan Last Days (Hatton) 134 Wa ðam wifum þe þonne tymað & on þam earmlican timan heora cild fedað.
OE Wulfstan Outline of Hist. (Hatton) (1957) 155 Æfter þisum fæce gyt gewurðan sceall swa egeslic tima swa næfre [corrected in MS from æfre] ær næs.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 On al þis yuele time heold Martin abbot his abbotrice xx wintre & half gær & viii dæis.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 1321 Þe prinse..Þat in time of worre as a lomb is boþe mek & milde & in time of pes as leon boþe cruel & wilde.
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 68 Yef me him zent aduersete, pouerte, ziknesse, dyere time, rayn, druȝþe.
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. x. l. 72 Sithen þe pestilence tyme.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 59 (MED) In þat tyme þere weren iij heroudes of gret name & loos for here crueltee.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) ii. iv. 53 As the Knyghtes shold kepe ye peple in tyme of peas.
1551 R. Robinson in tr. T. More Vtopia sig. ✠vv Ye old acquayntaunce, that was betwene you and me in the time of our childhode.
1589 T. Nashe To Students in R. Greene Menaphon Epist. sig. **3v Saint Iohns in Cambridge, that at that time was..shining so farre aboue all other Houses, Halls, and Hospitalls.
1665 G. Havers tr. P. della Valle Trav. E. India 78 The See of Goa at the time of my being there was not finish'd.
a1680 S. Butler Genuine Remains (1759) I. 114 To pass his Times of Recreation In choice and noble Conversation.
1706 Serious Admon. Youth ii. 20 A Man some Years since Executed at Dorchester, whose Legs rotted off during the time of his Confinement.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iv. 389 Though the time for them be over, yet Time itself is not exhausted.
1808 W. Scott in J. Dryden Wks. XV. 379 John Taylor..wrote eighty books, which not only made such sport at the time, but were thought worthy of being remitted into a large folio.
1875 B. Jowett in tr. Plato Dialogues (ed. 2) IV. 233 All times of mental progress are times of confusion.
1920 Stage Year Bk. 51 Film stock..became scarce, for there was no plant for manufacturing this in Britain at the time.
1991 Christian Sci. Monitor 31 Oct. 16/3 For me, it was a time of simplification, a slow unburdening.
2010 Searcher Feb. 42/1 Newark siege pieces were produced during the time of the British Civil Wars in the mid-17th century.
b. With the. Used in various expressions to indicate the extent to which an action, state, etc., takes place, occurs, or endures, or has always been the case, as all the time, much of the time, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > duration [phrase]
all the time1684
much of the time1879
1684 L. W. Finch in L. W. Finch et al. tr. Cornelius Nepos Lives Illustr. Men Ded. sig. a8 He is the Master of true Courage, that all the time sedately stemms the Ship.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 296. ⁋7 The Ladies..laugh immoderately all the Time.
1726 Philos. Trans. 1725 (Royal Soc.) 33 427 We try'd under a double reef'd Mainsail, great Part of the Time.
1833 A. Sutton Narr. Mission to Orissa xi. 322 The generality of the people heard well some of the time, and some of them all the time.
1879 Scribner's Monthly July 357/1 The women are occupied much of the time in preparing farinha.
1923 E. Hemingway Three Stories & Ten Poems 18 Part of the time he talked in D'Ampezzo dialect and sometimes in Tyroler German dialect.
1947 J. Van Druten Voice of Turtle ii. ii. 90 Isn't it funny, to think that all those things, like electricity, were there all the time..just waiting to be discovered?
1969 Guardian 14 Feb. 11/1 Much of the time I feel like death. I am in rather a bad temper.
2010 Ultra Fit Apr. 31/1 (heading) You've..looked in the mirror, sucked in your stomach and thought, ‘I wish I could look like this all the time.’
3.
a. Usually with possessive. The period during which a person or thing lives, occupies a particular position, is active in a particular sphere, exercises influence or dominance, etc.; (sometimes) spec. the lifetime of a person or animal. Also: one's lifetime up to the present (esp. in in one's time).life's time: see life n. Compounds 4b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > [noun] > course or span of life
life-dayOE
year-daysOE
timeOE
dayOE
lifeOE
life's timeOE
livelihoodOE
yearOE
lifetimea1300
life-whilea1300
for (also to) term of (a person's) lifea1325
coursec1384
livingc1390
voyage1390
agea1398
life's dayc1425
thread1447
racea1450
living daysc1450
natural life1461
lifeness1534
twist1568
leasec1595
span1599
clew1615
marcha1625
peregrination1653
clue1684
stamen1701
life term1739
innings1772
lifelong1814
pass-through1876
inning1885
natural1891
life cycle1915
puff1967
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxviii. 417 Uton we beon carfulle þæt ure tima mid idelnysse ne losie.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) Pref. 175 His tima ne bið na langsum, for ðan ðe godes grama hine fordeð.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 39 Behoueþ to charite on alle ðines liues time michel embeþanc of þohtes and of wordes and of werkes.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) l. 28 (MED) It was a king bi are dawes, That in his time were gode lawes.
a1350 ( in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 19 Sum while in ys time he wes a modi knyht In huerte.
1372 in E. Wilson Descriptive Index Lyrics John of Grimestone's Preaching Bk. (1973) 26 To tellen of is time neuer no man kan.
a1400 tr. Lanfranc Sci. Cirurgie (Ashm.) (1894) 286 (MED) I curide in my tyme ij men þat weren in aschite of hoot cause.
c1450 (a1425) Metrical Paraphr. Old Test. (Selden) l. 12159 (MED) My husband þat heyght Obedias..in his tyme to god was trew; now is he ded.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms cii[i]. 15 That a man in his tyme is but as is grasse.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) i. 16 Of this sort euere thyng hes ane tyme.
1577 in Exch. Rolls Scotl. (1899) XX. 373 In the resyngnatioun, to hymself [and] his wyf, for their tym.
a1616 W. Shakespeare As you like It (1623) ii. vii. 142 One man in his time playes many parts. View more context for this quotation
1657 G. Thornley tr. Longus Daphnis & Chloe 55 I am older then Saturn, and the whole time of this Universe.
1702 C. Mather Magnalia Christi ii. 66/2 In the vast Variety of Business, through which he Raced in his time, he met with many and mighty Injuries.
1775 W. Boutcher Treat. Forest-trees vii. 55 The fashions change, and many beautiful plants, as well as other things, have been out and in during my time.
1833 T. Carlyle in Fraser's Mag. Aug. 133/2 The foul sluggard's comfort: ‘It will last my time’.. . It will last thy time: thy worthless sham of an existence.
1898 Daily News 12 Mar. 6/3 Miss Farren has, indeed, played many parts in her time.
1901 T. P. Ollason Mareel 10 I never enjoyed a veesit ta Lerrick sae muckle i' me time.
1911 R. Brooke Poems 28 They were dead. They did not know it. They did not know their time was done.
1978 K. Amis Jake's Thing (1979) iv. 43 Just put it this way, in my time I've been to bed with well over a hundred women.
2009 P. T. Deutermann Nightwalkers 33 During my time I'd put more than one bad guy away, but so had all of us.
b. The orbital period of a celestial object; = period n. 7b. Now chiefly in periodic time n. (a) at periodic adj.1 and n. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the universe > planet > primary planet > secondary planet, satellite > [noun] > time taken to perform orbit
period1646
periodic time1715
time1764
1764 J. Ferguson Lect. Select Subj. ii. 21 The squares of the times of their going round are as the cubes of their distances from the centers of the circles they describe.
1850 Elem. Astron. xv. 262 The forces are the masses, and may be found by dividing the cube of the distance of a body moving round one of them divided by the square of its time.
1883 Kansas City Rev. Sci. & Industry Nov. 432 The squares of the times are equal to the cubes of distances. It follows then that if we square the periodic time of any planet, we know that the square is equal to the cube of its distance from the Sun.
2008 J. Ivie Knight Well Spent iii. 39 You've lived but a moon's time in this place.
4. Usually with possessive or of. The period which is contemporary with the life, rule, activity, dominance, etc., of a specified person or group of people; (a person's) age, era, or generation. Cf. day n. 16.
a. In singular.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > [noun]
timeOE
daysOE
sitheOE
agec1325
siecle1483
secle?1533
Iron Age1592
cycle1842
time span1880
OE Laws of Edgar (Nero E.i) iv. ii. 208 Mine þegnas hæbben heora scipe on minum timan, swa hy hæfdon on mines fæder.
lOE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough interpolation) anno 654 On his time þa comon togadere heo & Oswiu Oswaldes broðor cyningas.
?a1160 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) (Peterborough contin.) anno 1137 Nu we willen sægen sumdel wat belamp on Stephnes kinges time.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 14429 Fra þatt tatt adam shapenn wass. Anan till noþess time.
a1350 in R. H. Robbins Hist. Poems 14th & 15th Cent. (1959) 29 Whenne shal þis be? Nouþer in þine tyme ne in myne.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1965) 3 Esdras ii. 16 In þe tymes of artaxersis king of persis writen to hym of þese þat dwelleden in Jude.
?a1425 in A. Hudson Eng. Wycliffite Serm. (1990) I. 265 Pharisees..weren religious in Cristys tyme.
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope v. f. cxxxviii Poge of Florence recyteth how in his tyme one named Hugh prynce of the medycyns, sawe a catte whiche had two hedes.
?1510 T. More tr. G. F. Pico della Mirandola Lyfe I. Picus sig. a.iii He scrupulously sought out all the famous doctours of his tyme.
a1568 R. Ascham Scholemaster (1570) ii. f. 37 Some men of our time,..haue so ouer reached them selues, in making trew difference in the poyntes afore rehearsed.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 208 A Nobleman..that had the greatest Audits, of any Man in my Time.
1651 Bp. J. Taylor Rule & Exercises Holy Dying v. §5. 283 This advice was inserted into the penitential of England in the time of Theodore Arch-Bishop of Canterbury.
1693 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 17 926 Since his time many Officinals have been fully illustrated in Print.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 497. ⁋2 In the time of Don Sebastian of Portugal.
1786 A. Gib Καινα και Παλαια: Sacred Contempl. i. v. iv. 65 The singular profligateness of our time.
1815 W. Wordsworth White Doe of Rylstone i. 5 In great Eliza's golden time.
1883 Harper's Mag. Oct. 682/2 He wore a white woollen, full-skirted coat, and small-clothes like the peasants of the time of Louis XIV.
1910 Encycl. Brit. I. 504/1 [Albertus Magnus] was the most widely read and most learned man of his time.
1976 Publishers Weekly 26 Apr. 52/3 Growth..has peaked in our time and now begun a decline.
2009 S. M. Warren Nothing but Trouble xi. 193 A coin struck during the time of Constantine the Great, from the fourth century AD.
b. In plural.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > [noun] > of the world or history
eldOE
timeOE
worldOE
oldc1175
timea1382
epoch1629
era1741
lapse1758
age1827
canon1833
olam1870
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) 3 Esdras i. 20 There is not solempnisid such a pasch in Irael, fro the times of Samuel [L. a temporibus Samuelis prophetae].
?c1400 (c1380) G. Chaucer tr. Boethius De Consol. Philos. (BL Add. 10340) (1868) ii. met. v. 1345 I wolde þat oure tymes sholde turne aȝeyne to þe oolde maneres.
?a1475 (?a1425) tr. R. Higden Polychron. (Harl. 2261) (1871) III. 73 So the yere stode as incorrecte from that tyme vn to the tymes of Iulius Cesar.
c1503 tr. Charter of London in R. Arnold Chron. f. xv/2 That they bee not lad by the lawes by which they were ledde in the weys holden in the tymes of John and herry Somtyme kynge of englande.
1600 Abp. G. Abbot Expos. Prophet Ionah 371 In the times of Herodotus, and Diodorus, the rudera, the ruines and desolations of Niniue stood.
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 256 A Maunch or Sleeve of the newest Fashion, being now in use of the great Gallants of our times.
1716 A. Pope Ess. Homer's Battles in tr. Homer Iliad II. 323 Yet one cannot ascribe this to any Sterility of Expression, but to the Genius of his Times, that delighted in those reiterated Verses.
1732 G. Berkeley Alciphron I. v. xx. 308 The most ingenious Characterizer of our Times.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Dream Fair Women vi, in Poems (new ed.) 123 The spacious times of great Elizabeth.
1845 R. Ford Hand-bk. Travellers in Spain II. ix. 664 Such a saxeous metamorphosis was an old story even in skeptical Ovid's times.
1900 J. Huneker Mezzotints Mod. Music i. 35 Brahms is not only the greatest variationist of his times, but with Bach and Beethoven the greatest of all times.
1956 Saturday Bk. 213 Our modern ‘teddies’ are named after their Edwardian clothes—dress in the manner of the times of King Edward VII.
1989 R. Whiting You gotta have Wa (1990) iv. 85 Davis was a product of his times, of America's ‘quest for meaning’.
2010 J. Burbank & F. Cooper Empires in World Hist. v. 148 Neither the Spanish of Charles's times nor the Ottomans of Suleiman's could avoid all the perils of ruling empires.
5.
a. A particular period in history, or in the existence of the world, the universe, etc.; an era, an epoch, an age.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > [noun] > of the world or history
eldOE
timeOE
worldOE
oldc1175
timea1382
epoch1629
era1741
lapse1758
age1827
canon1833
olam1870
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 2nd Ser. (Cambr. Gg.3.28) xii. 110 Þry timan sind on þyssere worulde: Ante legem, Sub lege, Sub gratia; þæt is ær æ, under æ, under godes gife. Se tima is ær æ gecweden þe wæs fram Adam buton æ oð Moysen; [etc.].
OE Lambeth Psalter: Canticles vi. 245 Utinam saperent et intelligerent ac nouissima prouiderent : eala þær hig hogodon & understodon & þa ændenyhstan timan forescawodon.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 3 (MED) Aduent..bitocneð þre time: On þe was bi-fore þe olde lage, þe oðer was on þe holde lage, and þe þridde was on þe newe lage.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. i. 11 But and of tho thingis..that ben aftir to come, shal not ben recording anent hem that be to come in the laste time [L. in novissimo].
1481 W. Caxton tr. Myrrour of Worlde iii. xxiii. sig. m8v The most subtyl, and the best spekyng wyth all, that euer was lyuynge in erthe, or euer shal be in ony tyme of the world.
1535 W. Marshall tr. Marsilius of Padua Def. of Peace xi. f. 25 That thynge, whiche is obserued or marked of men of many dyuers ages or tymes.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries Apol. sig. NNnv Tully calleth an history the witnes of tymes, and light of veritie.
1632 J. Forbes Serm. 1 Tim. 2:4 30 If euer in any time of the world it was Gods will, that euery perticular man should be saued, it must needes be in this time.
1687 Elegy on Cleveland in J. Cleveland Wks. 285 'Tis your Crime T'upbraid the State-Poeticks of this time.
1757 S. Johnson Pref. to Rolt's Dict. Comm. in Wks. IX. 422 A time in which..commercial gain was sought with such general emulation.
1765 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. I. Introd. 96 Sir Edward Coke, and the politicians of that time, conceived great difficulties in carrying on the projected union.
1839 R. Dawes Nix's Mate I. x. 264 There was a time when a true psychology existed,—or rather, when a perception of the soul's nature was permitted to man.
1865 M. E. Braddon Sir Jasper i. 3 A time in which men wore fantastically frizzed periwigs upon their heads.
1904 J. S. Jones Seeing Darkly iv. 82 There never has been a time of the world to which this terse and pithy sentence of the Hebrew prophet was not applicable.
1986 D. Hogan New Shirt ii. 145 He summed up the distress and the philosophy of that time, jazz, heroin..and marijuana.
2009 D. McKenzie Time to Speak p. xii He spoke out forcefully during a time when only a handful of white Mississippians had the courage to speak out at all.
b. More vaguely: a period of time distinguished (generally by an adjective or other modifier) as being in the past, present, or future with reference to the present moment. In later use frequently in plural, as ancient times, times past (see past adj. 2), etc.
ΚΠ
OE Seven Sleepers (Julius) (1994) 53 Hi wæron swa ær geo on ealdum dagum swa ðæt nis nan swa eald man þe hi nu on þisne timan mage geþencan oððe ær for fela gearan mihte gemunan swa gefyrn swa hi þine yldran wæron.
OE tr. Defensor Liber Scintillarum (1969) lv. 332 Si qua id est aliqua est presentis temporis lętitia ita est agenda ut numquam amaritudo sequentis iudicii recedat a memoria : gif ænig ys andwerdes timan bliss swa heo ys to donne þæt næfre biternyss fyligendes domes gewite fram gemynde.
lOE Writ of Edward the Confessor (Sawyer 1121) in F. E. Harmer Anglo-Saxon Writs (1952) 344 Ic ann þæt þridde treow..of æuesan þæs..wudes..se is gemæne swa he onn ældum timum gelegd wæs.
lOE St. Neot (Vesp.) in R. D.-N. Warner Early Eng. Homilies (1917) 131 Eala, þu king, mycel scealt þu þoligen on þyssen life. On þan towearden time, swa mycele angsumnysse þu gebiden scealt, þæt nan mænnisc tunge hit eall asecgen ne mæig.
a1225 (c1200) Vices & Virtues (1888) 35 All ðis halie mihte hes makede hem swiete...Swa hie doð ȝiet on ðese time munekes, kanunekes, ancres, and eremites.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) 192 Fram þe biginning of þe world to þe time þat now is Seuene ages þer habbeþ ibe.
1389 in J. T. Smith & L. T. Smith Eng. Gilds (1870) 53 Hopyng in tyme comyng to haue ben encresyd.
c1440 tr. R. Rolle Oleum Effusum (Thornton) in G. G. Perry Eng. Prose Treat. (1921) 4 Þay sall Ioye nowe..and in tym to come.
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 107 Þe paynys þat er ordand..for syn in tyme to com.
1474 W. Caxton tr. Game & Playe of Chesse (1883) iii. ii. 88 In tyme passid the philosophres dyde the same.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) i. l. 6 It has beyne seyne in thir tymys bywent.
1510 R. Copland in tr. Kynge Appolyn of Thyre Prol. sig. Aiv In tyme past hystoriagraphes dayly wrote..of..aduentures and fortunes happy and malfortunate.
1529 Act 21 Henry VIII c. 16 in Statutes of Realm (1963) III. 299 The great scarcyte of grayne and vytell at this present tyme.
1532–3 Act 24 Hen. VIII c. 2 In times past [they] haue..bene noted to haue had the most substanciall coloured wollen clothes.
1563 R. Reynolds Foundacion of Rhetorike f. xxxviii Worthelie the pictures of Princes, Gouernours and Magistrates in auncient tymes doe shewe this.
1610 P. Holland tr. W. Camden Brit. i. 259 A towne in ancient time of great fame.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) iii. iv. 74 Blood hath bene shed ere now, i' th' olden time . View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis viii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 436 In Times to come, My Waves shall wash the Walls of mighty Rome.
1706 Boston News-let. 28 Oct. 4/1 To Issue forth this Proclamation for the better preventing of such mischiefs for time to come.
1766 T. Pennant Brit. Zool. 26/1 The Maltese little dogs were..much esteemed by the fine ladies of past times.
1785 W. Cowper Task vi. 715 Encomium in old time was poet's work.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian x, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. IV. 214 Many devout ministers and professors in times past had enjoyed downright revelation.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 86 It is a folly, man, A superstition of these modern times.
1891 C. Creighton Hist. Epidemics Brit. I. 276 Like dengue, influenza, and others of the ‘posting’ fevers of former time.
1911 C. B. Crampton Vegetation Caithness iv. 51 In recent times..Sphagnum bogs have been reduced to their present small proportion in the moorland associations.
1917 H. Greene Unhallowed Harvest xx. 361 The workingmen who had followed him blindly and confidently in times past had now turned upon him.
1957 J. R. R. Tolkien Let. 17 Nov. (1995) 262 There is I suppose applicability in my story to present times.
1989 A. Ballance Ocracokers p. ix For all that might happen to the island in time to come, it will always have its past.
2004 R. Dawkins Ancestor's Tale 211 The gorgonopsids..whose fearsome canine teeth make one think of the sabretoothed cats..of later times.
c. the time (also the times): the present age; the age of the period under discussion. Cf. day n. 14b, of the hour at hour n. 4a, moment n. Phrases 2. sign of the times: see sign n. Phrases 2.Sometimes hard to distinguish from sense A. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [noun]
instancec1374
nowa1393
presenta1425
nowadays?c1425
the time1484
presentens1509
here1608
present tense1630
now1633
the now1720
day1766
today1831
this day and age1832
of the period1859
nowaday1886
these days1936
1484 W. Caxton tr. G. de la Tour-Landry Bk. Knight of Tower (1971) cxxi. 161 An ordenaunce of a moche sauage and wyld guyse, and ageynst the kynde of the tyme.
1525 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xvi. 3 Can ye not discerne the sygnes of the tymes [c1384 Wycliffite, E.V. the tokenys of tymes; L. signa..temporum].
c1593 Thomas of Woodstock (2002) III. 127 I will do my best to reform the pestiferousness of the time.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ix. 47 How much honour Pickt from the chaft and ruin of the times, To be new varnist.
?1640 New Serm. of Newest Fashion (1877) 45 Hee is the onelie man of the time, hee is the onelie able man.
1676 A. Marvell Mr. Smirke sig. F These are the great Animadverters of the times, the Church-respondents in the Pew.
a1704 T. Brown Dialogue Oxf. Schollars in Wks. (1707) I. i. 3 Cannot I..sigh for the Iniquities of the Times..?
1796 H. W. Coulthurst Evils Disobedience & Luxury 4 Civil Disobedience is the flagrant Characteristic of the Times.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian iii, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. III. 75 The Lady..did not..ring a bell, because such was not the fashion of the time.
1850 Ld. Tennyson In Memoriam civ. 163 Ring out the want, the care, the sin, The faithless coldness of the times . View more context for this quotation
1869 E. A. Freeman Hist. Norman Conquest III. xi. 55 An act which ran counter to the religious feelings of the time.
1910 S. W. Bushell Chinese Art II. 17 The poets of the time liken their wine cups to ‘disks of thinnest ice’.
1998 Art Room Catal. Christmas 35/3 (caption) A Florentine painter and engraver who specialised in cityscapes and landscapes, as was the fashion of the time.
2009 Independent 3 Oct. 39/1 Some events lay bare the soul of a nation or, even more, the soul of the times.
6.
a. A period considered with reference to its prevailing conditions; the general state of affairs at a particular period. Usually in plural. Frequently as with the time(s), in various phrases expressing adaptation to changing circumstances.to move with the times: see move v. 20b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > at a particular time
time1484
1484 W. Caxton tr. Subtyl Historyes & Fables Esope ii. viii. f. xlvi Men say comynly that after that the tyme goth, so must folke go.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. viii. C The Romaynes shal stonde by them with a good wil, acordinge as the tyme wil suffre.
1544 A. Cope Hist. Anniball & Scipio lxix. f.132 My cuntreye, frome whense I came forthe but yonge, with the tymes sometyme chaungynge to prosperitie, sometyme to aduersytie.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. i. xvii. f. 64 The tymes are suche, that the faithfull can not shewe suche a sight to the weake brethren, but that they shall sore wounde their consciences.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet i. v. 189 The time is out of ioynt.
1645 Directory Publique Worship 82 So far as the time will give leave.
a1646 J. Burroughes Expos. Hosea (1652) ii. v. 249 We have many now who not long since have been very vile apostates, they have gone with the times, they saw preferment went such a way, and their hearts went that way.
a1720 J. Sheffield Wks. (1753) I. 179 One whom tame fools miscal a mod'rate man; That is, a mean complyer with the times.
1758 B. Franklin Poor Richard's Almanack 8 We may make these Times better if we bestir ourselves.
1768 Flagel 12 He set out well in life in his earlier days, went with the times and turned his coat twenty times in seven years.
1803 Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 17 Sept. 396 You perceived..that the times were changed again.
1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (ed. 2) III. xii. 178 When times grew cold and unbelieving.
1845 B. Disraeli Sybil II. iv. v. 192 A disciple of Progress, who went with the times, but who took particular good care to ascertain their complexion.
1874 J. A. Symonds Sketches Italy & Greece 91 So bad was this tyranny of priests and bastards that..the Perugians regretted the troublous times of the Baglioni.
1903 Fibre & Fabric 2 May 138/3 Mr. Code believes in keeping up with the times and is installing new machinery from time to time.
1921 ‘M. Corelli’ Secret Power vii. 73 Certain people who once ‘went with the time’—and decided to stop en route, and are still at the stopping-place.
a1935 W. Holtby South Riding (1936) i. iv. 45 Times are changing, and we've got to change with them.
1982 Z. Edgell Beka Lamb i. 5 Miss Eila had explained to her Gran that times were too hard to hold a proper nine nights for Toycie.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 14 June (Business section) 2/6 In a sign of how much the times have changed, some malls even want to remove their once-vaunted roofs.
b. In plural. Used in the titles of newspapers and other periodicals.The Times of London was originally published (from 1785) under the title of The Daily Universal Register: see Times adj.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > titles of newspapers
observator1642
mercury1643
post1645
examiner1710
echo1729
times1788
mail1789
messenger1796
thunderer1830
anti-Jacobin1867
Trib1878
Nikkei1982
1774 (title) The St. James's magazine: or, memoirs of our own times.]
1788 (title of newspaper) The times.
1789 (title of newspaper) The times, and Patowmack packet.
1801 G. Rose Diaries (1860) I. 439 I found here the Times of Saturday.
1828 (title of newspaper) The Manchester times.
1842 (title) Mainzer's musical times and singing circular.
1863 Harper's Mag. Feb. 361/2 A first-class daily paper, like the Times of London, or the Herald, Tribune, or Times of New York.
1905 Bull. Pharmacy Dec. 520/1 The following newspaper clipping, taken from the Brockville Times of the Province of Ontario, shows how an attractive window display may be made.
1966 H. Davies New London Spy (1967) 191 The Peer whose demise was only noticed because The Times covering his face was yesterday's edition.
2009 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) Nov. 130/2 At The Times of India, she had won awards for her reporting from Kashmir.
7.
a. A period considered with reference to one's personal experience, characterized as being enjoyable, unpleasant, etc.; an experience of a specified kind; esp. in to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly †on it).to have a —— time seems to have fallen out of use in British English during the 18th cent., but was reintroduced from America in the late 19th cent. See also big time n.a good time was had by all: see Phrases 4g(b).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > [verb (intransitive)]
playeOE
glewc900
gameOE
lakec1300
solace1340
bourdc1440
dallyc1440
sporta1450
to make sportc1475
disport1480
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509
toy?1521
pastime1523
recreate1589
jest1597
feast1609
deliciate1633
divert1670
carpe diem1817
hobby-horse1819
popjoy1853
that'll be the day1916
to play around1929
loon1969
the mind > emotion > pleasure > be pleased [verb (intransitive)] > enjoy oneself
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509
to have fun1760
to have a ball1879
to get one's rocks off1948
the mind > emotion > pleasure > quality of being pleasant or pleasurable > [noun] > pleasant experience
time1509
jucundity1620
pleasantry1692
rose colour1828
picnic1870
upbeat1950
society > leisure > social event > a merrymaking or convivial occasion > merrymaking or conviviality > make merry [verb (intransitive)]
to make feast?c1225
to make merryc1330
merrymakec1395
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1509
to make pleasant1530
gaud1532
to play the goodfellow1563
company1591
junket1607
rage1979
the world > action or operation > adversity > be in adversity [verb (intransitive)]
tholec897
pinea1225
steada1300
endure1340
to well in woea1350
labourc1450
concernc1592
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1647
to have the wind in one's face1649
to be on (also at) the receiving end1909
to feel the draught1925
to have (one's) ass in a sling1960
to be in lumber1965
the mind > emotion > suffering > misery > suffer misery [verb (intransitive)]
to have a good (bad, etc.) time (of it, formerly on it)1647
the mind > emotion > suffering > displeasure > [noun] > unpleasantness > unpleasant period of time
time1647
a bad (etc.) quarter of an hour1766
mauvais quart d'heure1864
annus horribilis1867
1509 H. Watson tr. S. Brant Shyppe of Fooles (de Worde) xlix. sig. Miii Pecunyous fooles that by auaryce, and for to haue good tyme [Fr. pour auoir bon temps], and lyue Joyously weddeth these olde wyddred women.
1630 J. Shirley Gratefull Seruant ii. 29 Kill your selfe, more good will come on't, how now? nay then w'are like to haue a precious time on't.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Epist. & Rev. 199 Those poor..souls..have an ill time of it.
1673 S'too him Bayes 26 It seems his servants had a good time on't.
1709 D. Manley Secret Mem. 115 Berintha..thought she should have a melancholy time of it.
1761 L. Sterne Life Tristram Shandy III. ix 'Tis God's mercy..that Mrs. Shandy has had so bad a time of it;—else she might have been brought to bed seven times told.
1770 G. Colman Man & Wife ii. 37 You eldest daughters have a fine time of it to take place of your younger sisters in every thing.
1814 P. Dow Vicissitudes Exemplified 7 The day arrived, he came, and the house was crowded;—and we had a good time!
1856 F. L. Olmsted Journey Slave States 82 I was having a very good time with her, when her father came in.
1866 G. W. Thornbury Greatheart III. viii. 108 ‘Had a ripping time at Oxford,’ he said..; ‘nothing but sprees.’
1885 Punch 3 Oct. 158/1 Then I arrive here and a high old time I am having of it I can tell you.
1905 H. A. Vachell Hill viii. 181 You have deliberately taken things easy, because you wanted a soft time of it during the summer term.
1950 Sun (Baltimore) 31 Oct. 12/1 Let the kids go out tonight and have a grand time with their masquerading and trick-or-treating.
1984 J. D. Harvey Laughter-silvered Wings 249 The Padre remarked to the Flight Sergeant that he must have had a stressful time.
2008 S. Toltz Fraction of Whole i. 97 He'd had a bad time inside: stabbed seven times with a shiv, face sliced open, blinded in one eye.
b. colloquial. Without qualification: an experience notable in some way (good or bad); esp. an ordeal or struggle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > adversity > [noun] > circumstance or occurrence
plightc1300
woea1325
fanda1400
afflictionc1429
assayc1430
brier?1504
trouble?1521
distress1549
smarts1552
say?1572
infliction1590
disaccommodation1645
trial1754
ordeal1807
time1809
kill-cow1825
Via Crucis1844
Via Dolorosa1844
racket1877
pisser1957
1809 Antijacobin Rev. & Mag. Dec. 387 What a time of it must the poor clergymen of Hertford have with this dissenting Pope, and his roaring bulls in the midst of them!
1852 Working Man's Friend 1 Nov. 85/2 Black Simon and I have had a time of it, I tell you... Whew! my fingers ache like the toothache!
1860 H. J. Hawley in Wisconsin Mag. Hist. (1936) Mar. 323 I had a time biding them good by.
1887 H. P. Deeker Let. 24 July in 35th Ann. Rep. Children's Aid Soc. (N.Y.) 79 I have had some times since I left your place; it does not seem possible that I ever lived there.
1925 L. O'Flaherty Informer (1989) 181 Good Lord, Gypo,..you were having a time of it.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues ii. 27 So I..decided I'd get off the train in New York, take the subway to Harlem, have myself a time.
1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth i. 13 He hoped..that Lavinia wasn't having a time with the twins, cooped inside on a damp afternoon.
2010 J. C. Bernis Wolf Tree viii. 114 I've had a time, I'll tell you. Tried to purchase you tickets, but all passenger trains westbound are halted.
c. North American regional (chiefly New England and Newfoundland). A social function, a party, esp. one organized communally.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > social event > [noun]
special occasion1574
affair1736
functiona1792
event1820
doa1824
socialities1825
occasion1855
time1878
1878 in Dict. Newfoundland Eng. (1982) 568/2 But..while on a visit to Bett's Cove [he] got on a time and ‘let the cat out of the bag’.
1883 A. Pinkerton Spy of Rebellion xxi. 328 While there I met some of the boys, and we had a little ‘time’.
1923 E. C. Parsons Folk-lore Sea Islands 208 On going to live in a new house, people may have a ‘time’—as they always say for a party—‘christenin' de house’.
1950 H. Creighton Folklore Lunenburg County 109 Are you going to the time tonight?
1967 Boston Sunday Herald 7 May vi. 8/8 The state stages such exciting and colorful events as the annual Clam, Broiler, Potato,..and Blueberry Festivals.., not to mention..scores of other ‘times’.
1999 M. E. O'Dell in L. D. Fitzhugh Labradorians ii. 72 I'll never forget once when I went to a time to Pinware with poor old Jack Lowe.
8. A prescribed or allotted period.
a. A term of indentured or compulsory service; an apprenticeship, period of conscripted military service, etc. Formerly also: the unexpired portion of such a period of service, as something that may be bought or paid off (now historical).
ΘΚΠ
society > education > learning > [noun] > time of apprenticeship
time1582
1582 A. Munday Breefe Aunswer sig. Diij Then he beginneth to rip vp the course of my life, Howe I was an Apprentise, and serued my tyme well with deceyuing my Maister.
1645 J. Howell Epistolæ Ho-elianæ v. xv. 20 To be both of one trade, because when they are out of their time, they may joyne stocks together.
1698 E. Ward London Spy I. ii. 14 The next [rake]..had got his Means in his own Hands, bought his Time of his Master, and fear'd no Colours.
1718 Free-thinker No. 21. 1 The..Indiscretion of Apprentices marrying Servant-Wenches before their Time is expired.
1769 Boston Gaz. (U.S.) 20 Nov. in R. H. Thornton Amer. Gloss. (1912) To be sold for five Years, The Time of a hearty young Man, who is a good Sailor.
1813 D. Benedict Gen. Hist. Baptist Denomination Amer. II. xiii. 193 He..was originally a slave, but is now free, having worked his time out.
1838 J. Sturge & T. Harvey West Indies in 1837 App. p. xlvii An apprentice says, his wife is sickly and unable to work. He beg massa to sell her time.
1850 Househ. Words 19 Oct. 73/1 I..have worked in a shop at Birmingham..almost ever since I was out of my time.
1862 A. F. Walker Let. 8 Oct. in Quite Ready to be Sent Somewhere (2002) ii. 34 He was not a slave, but illegally bound out, and his master wanted to sell his time.
1922 E. W. Weaver Building Career xiv. 217 Horace E. Dodge, the millionaire automobile manufacturer, served his full time as a machinist's apprentice.
1998 B. W. Sarudy Gardens & Gardening in Chesapeake v. 88 In 1752 the Jenningses attempted to sell the time of the indentured gardener.
2005 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 23 Mar. (CBD section) 23 His apprenticeship was interrupted when he volunteered for service in World War I and he completed his time after returning from the war.
b. A term of imprisonment.to do (one's) time: see Phrases 4d(a).
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of
time1790
lagging1819
stretch1821
model1845
birdlime1857
penal1864
prison sentence1867
rap1870
bit1871
spot1895
hard time1896
sleep1911
jolt1912
bird1924
fall1926
beef1928
trick1933
porridge1950
custodial sentence1951
1790 in Hist. Rec. Austral. (1914) 1st Ser. I. 154 The answer you gave to the convict who came to tell you his time was expired—‘Would to God my time was expired, too!’
1814 J. Lambert Trav. Canada & U.S. (ed. 2) II. xxviii. 68 I have been told of a man who became a shoe-maker in that prison, and at the end of his time came out with several hundred dollars in pocket.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist I. xviii. 306 His ‘time’ was only out an hour before.
1907 J. S. Balfour My Prison Life xix. 323 When he has completed his ‘time’—generally a short three years or five years' term—he returns to freedom.
1986 M. De Lacy Prison Reform Lancs. 10 The convicted burglar or rapist who is serving out his time jammed into a Victorian cell with three other men.
2007 C. Thomas Brother One Cell Author's Note I served my time in the Seoul Detention Center and prisons in the cities of Uijongbu and Taejon.
** Considered as a quantity.
9.
a. The amount of time (sense A. 10) which is sufficient, necessary, or desired for a particular task or purpose, or which is at a person's disposal; the amount of time available. Frequently with infinitive indicating the task or purpose; also with for.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > sufficient time or leisure
timeOE
stounda1225
while?c1225
spacec1300
leisure1553
OE tr. Chrodegang of Metz Regula Canonicorum (Corpus Cambr. 191) xlviii. 265 Him is to warnienne þonne hig..þone godcundan sang hebbað, þæt hig be þæra preosta menege & be þære þenunge mæðe & be þæs timan lenge heora sang dragon [L. secundum..temporis prolixitatem cantum protendant], þæt heora ealra stefen geþwærie.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 2711 Niss nan time inn oþer lif Affterr þiss lifess ende To takenn wiþþ þe wake leod.
a1300 (c1275) Physiologus (1991) 164 Ðus ȝe tileð ðarwiles ȝe time haueð.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. ii. 21 I ȝaf to hir tyme [L. tempus], that she shulde do penaunce.
c1400 in Bull. John Rylands Libr. (1985) 68 154 (MED) Chese þe good part while þou hast tyme.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 502 No teyme we haiff off segyn now to bid.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie i. xv. 16 b There was yet time inough to pleasure them.
1631 J. Mabbe tr. F. de Rojas Spanish Bawd xii. 142 I will not give her time to invent some one villainous tricke or other.
a1678 A. Marvell To Coy Mistress in Misc. Poems (1681) 19 Had we but World enough, and Time, This coyness Lady were no crime.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 202 The Shell of a House, which he had not time to finish.
1723 Pres. State Russia II. 325 In case the Russian Troops should get time of rallying.
a1774 A. Tucker Light of Nature Pursued (1777) III. iii. 87 The man of business has not time for such piddling work.
1832 New-Eng. Mag. Dec. 468 He had thrown away his gun, well knowing that he would not be allowed time to reload it.
1840 T. B. Macaulay Ranke's Hist. in Ess. (1854) II. 552/2 [He] found, even in the midst of his most pressing avocations, time for private prayer.
1865 J. Ruskin Sesame & Lilies ii. 138 I could multiply witness upon witness..if I had time.
1915 J. Turner Let. 30 May in C. Warren Somewhere in France (2019) 14 Though utterly weary, I am not unwell: I have time to write.
1932 G. Greene Stamboul Train i. i. 12 ‘There's no time,’ she said, ‘only one minute before we go.’
1953 C. Bishop Larry of Little League ii. 25 I'm willing to give my time to the building of a Little League.
1970 A. K. Armah Fragments ii. 31 Juana just had the time to see a small india-rubber ball bounce swiftly across the road.
2008 New Yorker 25 Aug. 67/3 Richard was an econ major and didn't have much time for outside reading.
b. spec. Time available for a particular activity, which may be allocated or reserved for payment; esp. time during which a particular broadcasting channel, mobile telephone line, or other communications medium is available for use by the individual or organization who has bought or reserved it; = airtime n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > broadcasting > [noun] > time of broadcast or place in schedule
fixed point1778
time1924
airtime1931
spot1937
adjacency1947
prime time1947
airdate1950
space1956
slotting1959
airspace1960
time slot1962
slot1964
strand1979
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > sufficient time or leisure > for a specific purpose
time1924
1924 Pop. Sci. Monthly July 23/1 A few of the larger stations sell time in the air, charging about $10 a minute.
1930 Daily Express 6 Sept. 4/6 To the big advertiser the broadcasting stations came with an offer to ‘sell time’ to pay the cost of broadcasting programmes.
1939 Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland) 4 Feb. 4/8 All the people who drive along looking for an empty parking space where there is still time on the meter.
1970 Daily Tel. 18 Sept. (Colour Suppl.) 30 The world's 1300 or so professional astronomers who obtain ‘time’ on the big telescopes all have different programmes in different parts of the sky.
1977 Zigzag June 10/3 A friend of mine who was an engineer rang up to see if I had any songs I wanted to cut, because he could get me some time.
2003 Atlanta Jan. 43/1 Walking out the door with..two Kyocera cell phones in my shopping bags, the proud owner of 400 minutes of time each month.
10. The fundamental quantity of which periods or intervals of existence are conceived as consisting, and which is used to quantify their duration.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 214 (MED) He lyest þe guodes þet he ssolde do ine zuo moche time ase he lyest ine þe playes and ine ydelnesse.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 1 Cor. xvi. 7 I wole not now se ȝou in passynge, forsothe I hope sum what of tyme [L. aliquantulum temporis] for to dwelle at ȝou.
1489 W. Caxton De Roye's Doctrinal of Sapyence lxxxviii. sig. Lvi [He] hath lost and wasted so moche tyme wythout good cause.
1533 T. Elyot Pasquil the Playne sig. A5 Thou..trauailest in study of minde..and therin losist moche tyme, that mought be better employed.
c1572 W. Forrest Theophilus 263 in Anglia (1884) 7 87 By so longe tyme as his busshoppe dyd lyue.
1616 J. Smith Descr. New Eng. 1 We saw many [whales], and spent much time in chasing them; but could not kill any.
1662 B. Gerbier Brief Disc. Princ. Building 28 No New Building could stand any time without Proppings.
1711 J. Addison Spectator No. 37. ¶1 It was some time before the Lady came to me.
1751 T. Gray Let. 10 Oct. in Corr. (1971) I. 353 His College, which had much declined for some time, is picking up again.
1794 J. Sinclair Statist. Acct. Scotl. XI. 268 Cutting, winning, and carrying home their peats..consumes a great deal of time.
1849 T. B. Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 291 The time occupied..was not to exceed fourteen days in one year.
1899 Chambers's Jrnl. 25 Mar. 269/2 For some time there have been rumours of an electric lamp on an entirely new principle.
1931 B. Johnston Let. 7 June in Lett. Home 1926–45 (1998) 71 I'm afraid the cricket took up a lot of time.
1957 A. C. Clarke Deep Range i. 4 Estimated time to target area 40 minutes.
1982 S. Brett Murder Unprompted (1984) xv. 152 Given shelter, someone might pass undetected in this landscape for some time.
2009 New Yorker 5 Oct. 76/1 Both [announcements] would take up an inordinate amount of time and space in the news.
11. The amount of time taken up by something; duration. Frequently with of.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [noun] > time taken to complete a process
time1562
turn-round1913
call time1956
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > [noun]
time1562
value1562
quantityc1570
valure1597
time value1848
1562 T. Sternhold et al. Whole Bk. Psalmes To Rdr. Sig. ✠.vi One Semibrefe [is worth] two Minimes: and hathe twise the time in pronouncing in singing that the Minime hath.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §402 The Time of the Steeping was twelue houres.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited entry) Where the Time, or Duration of the Notes is equal, the Differences of Tune alone are capable to entertain us with endless Pleasure.
1756 J. Black in Ess. & Observ. (Philos. Soc. Edinb.) II. 430 The time of the whole agitation was about three minutes.
1802 J. Britton & E. W. Brayley Beauties Eng. & Wales III. 59 The whole time of the continuance of their appearance was upwards of two hours.
1855 A. Manning Adventures Caliph Haroun Alraschid vii. 182 The Time of my Absence was fifteen Days.
1908 O. Wright Let. 15 May in F. C. Kelly Miracle at Kitty Hawk (1951) viii. 263 The time of the flight was seven minutes and a half.
1944 Times 15 June 6/3 To prolong the first note of each phrase in ‘Caro Nome’ far beyond its proper time is..to destroy the rhythm of the music.
2001 D. Zimmer & B. Madden Zim ii. 29 The time of the game was three hours and four minutes.
12.
a. The amount of time spent doing work of a particular kind or engaged in a particular occupation, esp. considered as a basis for payment or other recompense.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > times or periods of work > [noun] > spell of work or duty
trick1669
time1696
stem1778
turn1793
tour of duty1800
spell1804
shift1809
steek1889
go-in1890
steek1895
stag1931
wink1937
1696 N. Barbon Disc. coining New Money 41 Every man that works, is paid for his time.
1748 J. Shaw Parish Law (ed. 6) liii. 259 He expected a Man-Servant in three Weeks; but if he, Edmonds, would supply the Place in the Interim, he..would pay him for his Time.
1767 Ld. Holland 25 June in London Mag. July (1769) 389/2 Though I have been two years out of employment, the payments for my time are not yet completed.
1832 Athenaeum 8 Sept. 577/2 Five dollars would just pay my time 'twixt the road and Silas Bums' clearing and back again.
1840 Family Mag. 5 532/2 The raw materials of the manufacturer are, by his industry, converted into fabrics..the sale of which will..liberally reward him for his time and labor.
1918 T. S. Eliot Let. 20 Nov. (1988) I. 257 There seemed to be no prospect of the Navy's reimbursing me for the time I was losing.
1991 E Mag. Jan. 61/1 Since the average tusk weighs six pounds, it is immediately obvious that the hunter enjoys little real gain for his time and effort.
2000 R. Bingham Lightning on Sun 32 He was paying him three dollars an hour for his time.
b. Used in expressions indicating the multiple of the usual rate of pay that is to be paid in particular circumstances (most commonly for overtime), as time and a half, time and a quarter, etc.double time: see double time n. at double adj.1 and adv. Additions.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > rate of pay > specific
piece-rate1842
time and a half1847
time1877
base rate1889
port wages1891
trip-rate1901
time rate1902
1847 in 1st Rep. Sel. Comm. Navigation Laws 86 They only work for a certain number of hours, and extra time is paid for what they call ‘time and a half’.
1851 Morning Chron. 31 Dec. 2/4 An agreement was..come to with the employers..to the effect that when overtime was required it should be paid for at the rate of ‘time and a quarter for the first two hours’, and at ‘time and a half till six o'clock in the morning’.
1931 Economist 14 Mar. 552/2 Extra pay for night duty is to be reduced from ‘time and a quarter’ to ‘time and an eighth’, and for duty on Sunday, Christmas Day and Good Friday from ‘time and a half’ to ‘time and a third’.
1976 Daily Tel. 12 Nov. 2/1 They want holiday pay, at present single time, increased to time and a third.
1978 M. Kenyon Deep Pocket ii. 28 Tell the men I'm paying time and a half for every forty yards dug by the weekend.
2009 Brockville (Ontario) Recorder & Times (Nexis) 4 July a4 In those jobs, employees still receive..time-and-a-half for working statutory holidays.
c. Payment in proportion to the period worked; esp. payment which brings an employee's account up to date. Also: certification (in the form of a written account, card, ticket, etc.) of the amount of time worked, and the payment due, esp. as issued upon termination of employment. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun]
hirec1000
shipec1000
shipingc1275
servicec1300
soldc1330
wage1338
payment1370
reward1371
pay?a1400
mercedec1400
remunerationc1400
souldie1474
emolument1480
soldery1502
stipend?1518
entertainment1535
task-money1593
consideration1607
gratuitya1637
wadage1679
addling1757
solde1852
treatment1852
screw1853
time1877
money1887
wage payment1923
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > rate of pay > specific
piece-rate1842
time and a half1847
time1877
base rate1889
port wages1891
trip-rate1901
time rate1902
1877 M. M. Kirkman Railway Disbursem. 135 In all cases where an employe has left the service of the company during the month, and has had a time ticket given to him, his name should appear on the roll in its proper place, and the words ‘time given’ written opposite to it.
1887 Courier-Jrnl. (Louisville, Kentucky) 12 Jan. 6/3 All that remained for the brakemen and switchmen to do was to go to the office..and call for what is known in railroad parlance as their ‘time’.
1902 O. Wister Virginian xvii. 205 Pay was due him—‘time’, as it was called in cow-land.
1926 J. Black You can't Win xx. 317 He threw down his shovel, walked over to the boss, and demanded his ‘time’. I heard the foreman say: ‘All right, you're no good anyway. I was going to fire you to-night.’
1935 A. J. Cronin Stars look Down iii. xiv. 608 It broke his heart to give these fifty their time, to send them to join the six hundred men from the Neptune already on the dole.
13. A measurement of the length of time taken to run a race, or to complete a journey or other event, esp. one in which speed is aimed at.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > measuring time or rate of a process > record time
time1837
the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > a short or moderate space of time > shortest period in which something is finished
time1837
1837 Amer. Turf Reg. Nov. 560 A very close and well contested race, won by one foot only, and fastest time ever made over this course.
1864 London Soc. Apr. 374/1 They lost the race in a time that would in almost any previous year have served for winning it.
1877 Spirit of Times 24 Nov. 438/2 The wind was so unsteady, and our speed, consequently so variable, that the fastest time made between any two points was seven miles in 28m.
1908 Daily Chron. 15 Jan. 7/5 The times..did not compare with those established by the amateurs the day before. Still some wonderful times were put up.
1956 Manch. Guardian 8 Oct. 12/5 Mr A. Newsham achieved the fastest time of the day at the Liverpool Motor Club's auto-cross meeting at Helsby yesterday.
2006 R. Genat Hemi Muscle i. 24 From a standing start, the big DeSoto could reach 60 miles per hour in 9.8 seconds, an excellent time considering the weight of the car.
II. A point of time; a moment in time; a space of time considered without reference to its duration; an occasion, an instance.The ‘point’ may be an instant (as the time when a star crosses the meridian), or it may have some duration (as the time for sowing), but the focus of consideration is not on its extent or duration but rather on the question of when it occurs (i.e. where it is situated within a greater space or period of time), what happens or is done at that moment, or how it is characterized.
14. A point in the course of time or of a period or cycle. Cf. tide n. 3a.
a. A point or fixed part of the year, a season. In later use chiefly in time of year, or with preceding modifying word. For the more established compounds of this type, as springtime, termtime, etc., see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > period > year > season > [noun]
tidea900
timeOE
yearOE
season1340
OE Rule St. Benet (Corpus Cambr.) viii. 32 On wintres timan, þæt is fram þan anginne þæs monðes, þe is nouember gehaten, oþ eastran.
OE Ælfric Old Eng. Hexateuch: Num. (Claud.) xiii. 21 Hit wæs ða se tima ðe winberian ripodon.
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 80 Feower timan beoð... Ver ys lengtentima... Se oðer tima hatte æstas, þæt byð sumor... Se þridda tima ys autumnus on Lyden gecweden and on Englisc hærfest.
a1225 (?OE) MS Lamb. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 119 (MED) Vre drihtnes halie passiun..is nu icumen in, and þe halie writ us..hat þet we beon imundie of þere pine þe ure drihten þolede for us on þisse timan.
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7898 (MED) In þe gote time of leinte þis false bissop ode & þe frensse kniȝtes of engelond of þis trayson vnderstode.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. iii. 519 Þe ȝere of þe sonne..conteyneþ foure tymes, winter, springinge tyme, somer, and heruest.
a1500 (?a1425) tr. Secreta Secret. (Lamb.) 74 Heruest [=autumn]..lastys lxxxviij dayes... In þis tyme ys also þe day and þe nyght euyne.
a1513 R. Fabyan New Cronycles Eng. & Fraunce (1516) II. f. lxxxxv The tyme of Wynter which Trees doth deface.
1578 W. Hunnis Hyue Full of Hunnye f. 75v In the Ramming time of yeare when Sheepe most feeble bee.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Febve In Cuckoe-time when Beanes doe flower.
1625 Sir T. Dutton in S. R. Gardiner Fortescue Papers (1871) 212 So remote a place as Giteringberke assigned for our randevowes at this tyme of the yeare.
1718 D. Beeckman Voy. to & from Island of Borneo iii. 155 At this time of Year there is a strong Current sets to the East North Eastward.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 299 The cows milk abates about wheat-blossoming time.
1777 P. Thicknesse Year's Journey France & Spain I. v. 31 The difference..is owing to nothing more than the time of the year in which it is bottled.
1825 T. Hook Sayings & Doings 2nd Ser. III. 153 Fleeting showers of rain, unseasonable at the time of year.
c1836 G. Nelson Sorel Jrnl. in L. Peers & T. Schenck First Years in Fur Trade (2002) 154 When Sugar time came, we lived near a month upon that deleterious article alone.
1910 F. M. Littler Handbk. Birds Tasmania 167 Just at this time of the year heavy gales usually blow.
1921 C. M. Panunzio Soul of Immigrant i. 23 I had an aunt who owned a large farm, and I was always invited there at grape-gathering time.
1993 Sunday Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) (Nexis) 2 May t4 May is rhododendron time west of the Cascades.
2005 A. Burdick Out of Eden (2006) xx. 264 At this time of year, a menacing low-pressure system..regularly races across the northern Pacific from Kamchatka to North America.
b.
(a) A point or period in the course of a day, or of the diurnal cycle, as determined or described according to some system of measurement, or as shown by a clock; = hour n. 4a.In early use with reference to the hour of the day (sometimes specified by a preceding ordinal numeral); later usually more precisely, in terms of the number of hours, quarters, minutes, etc., past midnight or midday. Cf. tide n. 3, tide n. 4.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [noun] > the time or time of day
tidea900
timeOE
time of the dayc1225
hourc1315
clocka1616
age of the day1632
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. iii. 114 Seo niht hafað seofon todælednyssa. Crepusculum ys seo forme, þæt ys æfengloma..; þridde conticinium, þæt ys switima oððe salnysse timan; feorðe intempestiuum, þæt ys midniht oððe unworclic tima.
OE Regularis Concordia (Tiber.) in Englische Studien (1886) 9 294 Forþy..on ælcere tide on nihtlicum timan, þonne se broðer arist of his bedde to þam godcundlican weorce, ærest he onsette him sylfum þæt tacn þære halgan rode.
OE Dialogue between Jerome & Damasus (Calig.) in Anglia (1889) 11 7 Her onginð Damasus papan smeagung wið Hieronime þone bokere hwilcan timan on sunnan dagan oþþe on oðran dagan man mæssian mote.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 12745 Þatt time..Wass rihht swa summ itt off þatt daȝȝ. Þe tende time wære.
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 18 Wes as þah hit were þe seoueðe time of þe dei þet me droh hire þus in-to dorkest wan.
a1400 in K. W. Engeroff Untersuchung ‘Usages of Winchester’ (1914) 66 Non of hem ne sholde fecche here bred, but þere þe lepen stondeþ..to-fore þe tyme of none.
a1450 tr. Aelred of Rievaulx De Institutione Inclusarum (Bodl.) (1984) 4 Yf thou shalt speke, speke selde, as certeyn tymes and houres in the day.
a1475 Sidrak & Bokkus (Lansd.) (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Washington) (1965) l. 1689 (MED) What day and what tyme was it Þat Adam was made, telle me ȝit.
1578 W. B. tr. Appian of Alexandria Aunc. Hist. Romanes Warres 224 In the Ile was the store for the admiral, from whence the Trumpeter must giue warning, and the crier tel the time.
1696 J. Harris City Bride i. sig. F2 Bon. Tell me the time my Friend? Fri. At Seven this Evening.
a1722 E. Lisle Observ. Husbandry (1757) 317 I asked my shepherd, what time in the morning he would drive them [sc. sheep] to the wash-mills.
1778 G. E. Howard Female Gamester iii. i, in Misc. Wks. (1782) I. 291 Lady Bel. Why, what's the time? Attend. 'Tis past the noon.
1823 J. Badcock Domest. Amusem. 162 By the light you shall catch a few words in the book, or the time on the watch.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. v. 63 Would you give me the Time?
1882 Frank Leslie's Pleasant Hours Feb. 79/2 ‘Say, my friend, have you the time with you?’ ‘Yes,’ said he... ‘It is twenty minutes past nine.’
1908 R. Bagot Anthony Cuthbert viii Find out what time the marchesa intends to breakfast.
1943 N. Balchin Small Back Room x. 121 What's the time? Four o'clock? Let's go and see if La Susan has rustled up any tea.
1963 Times 22 Apr. 6/4 Coo, is that really the time?
2007 M. Phillips Gods behaving Badly (2008) xxv. 162 He had absolutely no idea what the time was or even what the day was.
(b) With preceding modifying word.For the more established compounds of this type, as night-time, bedtime, etc., see the first element.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Lives of Saints (Julius) (1881) I. 324 Þa siððan on æfentiman hi setton hine on cweartern.
OE Benedictine Office (Junius) (1957) 97 On nontiman we sculon God herian forðam on þonne timan Crist..his gast asende.
c1300 St. Brendan (Laud) l. 549 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 235 (MED) Here ich am euer-ech sonenday and fram saterdayȝes eue For-to euen-song tyme þane sonenday here i schal bi-leue.
c1430 N. Love Mirror Blessed Life (Brasenose e.9) (1908) 143 He..cometh downe allone in the nyȝt tyme.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 135v The sonne..gaf so grete hete that the peple durst not goo in the ayer by daye tyme.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Ruth ii. 12 Whan it is eatinge tyme, come hither, and eate of the bred.
1599 Hist. Syr Clyomon & Clamydes sig. Fv It will do thee good to see What canuosing is at the milking time, betweene her and mee.
1650 H. Brooke Υγιεινη 135 Avoid drinking..at sleeping time, for that also disposes to Vapors and Rheums.
a1750 W. Gibson New Treat. Dis. Horses (1751) iii. iv. 203 Let a pint of this infusion be given..about two hours before feeding time in the afternoon.
1835 R. P. Gillies Thurlston Tales I. 159 ‘What is the hour?’ ‘Not yet cockcrow, lass; but dancing-time I'll answer for it,’ said Alice Duke.
1894 Western Champion (Barcaldine, Queensland) 6 Feb. 3/3 It was nearly ‘crib-time’ before they got the four shots ready for firing.
1912 Bull. (Sydney) 10 Oct. 15/2 I have often met a party of shearers, camped for tucker-time, with their bikes all set up in a mulga garage.
1983 P. Dallas Ital. Wines (new ed.) vii. 104 In northern countries, the trend of the last decade has been towards cocktail-time wine apéritifs.
2010 Sentinel (Stoke-on-Trent) (Nexis) 13 Oct. 2 The only noise was when the students were coming in, dinner time or at going home time.
(c) With of followed by a specific part of the diurnal cycle, as time of the morning, time of (the) night, etc. See also time of day at Phrases 1a.
ΚΠ
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 121 Þis nicht ȝe maȝen habben uch time of þedei, þet alþe good þet ȝe eauer doð, beo idon albinichte.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §3. 15 To knowe..euery tyme of the nyht by the sterres fixe.
1483 tr. Adam of Eynsham Reuelation xiii The ordyr wil not that we shuld haue gone that tyme of the night in to the chaptur howse to geue discyplynys.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. f. lxv/2 The captayne..came to the walles and sayd: who is that calleth there this tyme of nyght.
1603 P. Holland tr. Plutarch Morals 1226 When was it ever seene..that the Polemarchy or chiefe captaines sent for a prisoner at this time of the night?
1653 H. Hammond Paraphr. & Annot. New Test. 82 The time of evening when every one gets him to his Inne and provides for his supper, is already past.
1719 E. F. Haywood Love in Excess ii. 53 She..was not over willing to venture her with the Count alone, at that Time of Night.
1781 Compl. Mod. London Spy 59 We now drank our tea, which..is at that time of the evening generally very agreeable.
1840 G. Barret Theory & Pract. Water Colour Painting 104 The sky at this time of the afternoon frequently exhibits a tender spread of yellow.
1891 Wilson's Photogr. Mag. 5 Sept. 521/2 At that time of the forenoon..the use of this stop would necessitate a time exposure.
1901 G. B. Shaw Caesar & Cleopatra i. 105 What are you doing here at this time of night? Do you live here?
1993 G. F. Newman Law & Order (rev. ed.) 240 I've got to get up, Jack. No. Stop it. I mean, taking me back to bed at this time of the morning.
2007 Independent 19 Jan. (Extra section) 3/5 The phone-in day never ends: whatever you have to say, at any time of day or night, somewhere on the airwaves, there is someone waiting to take your call.
15.
a. A point in time marking or marked by some event or circumstance; the moment or point of time at which something happens; an occasion.(at) what time: see what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 4b(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [noun]
sitheeOE
tidec897
timeeOE
mealeOE
whilec950
throwOE
charec1000
stevenOE
timeOE
seasona1300
tempest1382
world1389
occasionc1425
tidement1575
period1602
minute1607
hinta1670
epoch1728
eOE tr. Orosius Hist. (BL Add.) (1980) iv. v. 91 Ymbe ðone timan þe þiss wæs, Andra wæs haten, Agothocles broðor.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) vii. 232 Herodes..geornlice hi befran to hwilces timan se steorra him æ[r]est æteowode.
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) xxviii. 410 Se tima cymð þæt ðine fynd þe ymbsittað mid ymbtrymminge.
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1009 Þa gewearð hit on þissum ylcan timan oþþe lytle ær þæt Brihtric..forwregde Wulfnoð cild to þam cyninge.
a1275 Body & Soul (Trin. Cambr. B.14.39) l. 114 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 141 Wa uurþe þe time þat tu boren was.
c1300 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Otho) (1963) 1292 Twenti ȝer he held þis lond..and suþþe him com a time þat he to wode wende.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 20 (MED) In his hous oure lord et and ysmered was also Of Marie þulke tyme þat þis dede was ydo.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) 1300 (MED) Sone bi here asent at þat selve time..alle þe douȝthi lordes of þe dukis were take.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2243 (MED) At þis tyme twelmonyth þou toke þat þe falled.
1451 in E. Hobhouse Church-wardens' Accts. (1890) 92 Expenses doo at Bristow yn tyme of the weyyng of the newe belle.
1516 in J. L. Glasscock Rec. St. Michael's, Bishop's Stortford (1882) 35 At the tyme of the cherch halowyng.
c1538 T. Starkey Let. in Eng. in Reign Henry VIII (1878) i. p. lxxiii Long and much at sundry tymis.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons 36 From that time forward he would hold the Bowe to be the onelie weapon of the world.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan iii. xxxiii. 205 For these three at several times did represent the person of God: Moses..Christ himself..and the Apostles.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses I. 104 In 1546 he proceeded in Divinity, having about that time subscribed to the 34 Articles.
1705 J. Logan in Mem. Hist. Soc. Pennsylvania (1872) X. 46 The expiring year will by that time show what has been done.
1766 O. Goldsmith Vicar of Wakefield I. xii. 120 By this time the unfortunate Moses was undeceived.
1837 J. H. Newman Parochial Serm. (ed. 3) I. vii. 99 Surely man is at all times the same being.
1845 M. Pattison in Christian Remembrancer Jan. 84 This..trick escaped detection at the time.
1901 M. C. Dickerson Moths & Butterflies iii. 257 Fruit-growers destroy the Codlin moth by spraying the trees with Paris-green water at about the time that the petals fall from the apple flowers.
1960 Woman's Illustr. 16 July 19/3 There wasn't a day gone by during which—at some time or other—she didn't think of him with a great rush of love.
2010 New Yorker 15 Feb. 84/3 Mac had been suffering from operational fatigue at the time it was sent.
†b. Used with various preceding prepositions to form compound conjunctions (with or without following that), as to (also into, till, etc.) time (that): until such time as, until; after time (that): after. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > stretch, period, or portion of time
tidea900
while971
fristOE
stemOE
throwOE
timeOE
selea1250
piecec1300
termc1300
stagea1325
whilesc1330
space?a1400
racec1400
spacec1405
termine1420
parodya1425
timea1425
continuancec1440
thrallc1450
espace1483
space of timec1500
tracta1513
stead1596
reach1654
amidst1664
stretch1698
spell1728
track1835
lifetime1875
time slice1938
a1425 (c1333–52) L. Minot Poems (1914) 10 (MED) In þat land..Ordanis he still for to dwell, To time he think to fight.
?a1425 (c1400) Mandeville's Trav. (Titus C.xvi) (1919) 38 (MED) All weys fynden men latymeres to go with hem in the contrees & ferthere beȝonde into tyme þat men conne the langage.
1443 in J. Raine Testamenta Eboracensia (1855) II. 89 (MED) My will ys yat George my son hafe efter tyme my dettes be paide a rent charge of xxvj s. viij d. issuand owte of my landes.
c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 246 Thei [sc. images] wolden not at alle tymes ȝeue answeris..into tyme thei weren myche preied.
1453 in F. B. Bickley Little Red Bk. Bristol (1900) II. 203 That the procuratours..shalle..entre and distreine, and such distresse as is there yfounde to kepe vnto time thei be paide of the rentis.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) iii. l. 432 I sall do nocht till tyme I tak my leyff.
1511 Pylgrymage Richarde Guylforde (Pynson) f. xiij A lytell Caue where they shytte hym In to tyme the Iewes had..determynyd what they wolde do with hym.
1525 T. Rychard Walton's Bk. Comfort v. sig. Rj For thes thynges yf they fayle in ther indiuidues, yet in ther vniuersalles they a bydeth [sic] euer: after tyme that they ones be.
1577 R. Stanyhurst Treat. Descr. Irelande i. f. 3/2, in R. Holinshed Chron. I But if I may craue your patience, to tyme you see me shoote my bolt.
1664 Floddan Field vi. 59 He should..in safe custody be kept Till time that Rougcrosse did return.
c. With of followed by a gerund or noun of action.
ΚΠ
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. cviij For the maytenyng of goddis seruice at the tyme of ressayuing of such priestis and clarkis.
1547 J. Hooper Answer Detection Deuyls Sophistrye sig. T4 Keping of it [sc. the host] in the box, and kneling downe at the time of sacring.
1628 E. Coke 1st Pt. Inst. Lawes Eng. 261 b If a man in auoydance of a fine..alleage that hee was out of this Realme in Spaine, at the time of leuying of the fine.
1660 Exact Accompt Trial Regicides 35 What Goods, and Chattels, he had at the time of committing the said Treason, or at any time sithence.
1745 J. Wesley Answer to Rev. Church 36 No Fitness is required at the Time of communicating.
1772 W. Buchan Domest. Med. (ed. 2) xxiv. 305 About the sixth or seventh day from the time of sickening, the measles begin to turn pale on the face.
1808 C. Vancouver Gen. View Agric. Devon ix. 236 By the end of the sixth year from the time of sowing the pips.
1830 Voice of Humanity Nov. 74 This person, up to the time of going to press, was not expected to recover.
1885 J. Bonar Malthus i. i. 23 He wrote feelingly, as he had the malady [sc. toothache] at the time of writing.
1920 W. Popenoe Man. Trop. & Subtrop. Fruits ii. 23 In the tropics, the fruit is added to soups at the time of serving.
1994 Which? May 11/1 Your payment must be made in full at the time of booking.
2007 Stamp & Coin Mart Jan. 58/2 At the time of writing, the postal charges for this service have not been revealed.
d. colloquial. Used adverbially in plural: (a) on many occasions, frequently; = many times at Phrases 5a(a) (earliest in reduplicated form times and times); (b) (chiefly U.S. regional (southern)) sometimes, occasionally, at times.
ΚΠ
1817 Revealer of Secrets II. vi. 83 She did sigh—times and times she did sigh.
1859 G. Meredith Last Words Juggling Jerry in Once a Week 3 Sept. 189/2 We've travelled times to this old common.
1890 A. Gissing Village Hampden I. iv He've told me times that in his young days..the instruments of the Shipcombe choir were all played by they of his own family.
1908 Catholic World Apr. 94 I've been out times and times and screeched at 'em; but it's no good.
1933 M. K. Rawlings South Moon Under 131 Times, it [sc. the wind] blows from the river, times, from the scrub.
1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling xvii. 213 Seems to me, times, hit ain't done nothin' to you but sharpen your tongue.
1982 S. Johnson Of Wilful Intent i. 13 ‘And you say this has all been reported before?’ the sergeant asked him. ‘Times,’ came the despondent reply.
2005 D. Wilson Unreasonable Woman xxxii. 375 His bare feet are ever' which way over the wheel and the catch-all, and times I wonder who is steering the boat.
16.
a.
(a) The appointed, due, or proper time for something to be done or to happen. Frequently with clause (with or without that), infinitive, or for.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > [noun] > juncture or critical point
timeeOE
point?c1225
state of time (also times)1534
pass1560
conjuncture1619
juncture1656
hinge1775
cross-road1795
contingency1803
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Hatton) (1871) lxiii. 459 Nu us is tima ðæt we onwæcnen of slæpe.
OE Ælfric Homily: De Duodecim Abusivis (Corpus Cambr. 178) in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1868) 1st Ser. 296 Gifernyss..deð þæt man ytt ær timan & drincð.
OE Lambeth Psalter ci.14 Tu exsurgens misereberis Sion, quia tempus miserendi eius, quia uenit tempus : þu arisende gemiltsast forðon þe is tima to gemiltsianne hire forþon þe com tima.
OE Ælfric's Colloquy (1991) 45 Quando uultis cantare uesperum [read uesperam] aut completorium? Quando tempus erit : hwænne wylle ge syngan æfen oþþe nihtsangc? þonne hyt tima byþ.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 7571 Forrþrihht se time comm þærto Þatt ure laffdiȝ Marȝe..Þe minnstre shollde sekenn.
a1275 Body & Soul (Trin. Cambr. B.14.39) l. 18 in A. S. M. Clark Seint Maregrete & Body & Soul (Ph.D. diss., Univ. of Michigan) (1972) 117 Nu is þe time icomen me to; mi det is me bitid.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 11814 (MED) Nu neghes tim to tak his lai.
1570 T. Norton & T. Sackville Tragidie Ferrex & Porrex iii. sig. E.ij Now is the time for present good aduise.
1612 W. Strachey Lawes in P. Force Tracts (1844) III. 39 It shall bee his duty the time beeing come, when the general morning worke is to be left off.
1705 Boston News-let. 3 Sept. 2/1 John Harriman..told his people, that his time of departure drew near.
1771 Encycl. Brit. I. 619/2 To furnish a merchant with a ready way of knowing the time when bills or other debts become payable to or by him.
1805 J. Boys Gen. View Agric. Kent (ed. 2) 183 When two yokes are made in a day,..the time of going to work is at six o'clock in the morning.
1885 Pall Mall Gaz. 26 May 5/1 The time to burn rubbish is after the stubbles have been broken up.
1952 J. L. Waten Alien Son 69 Sunday afternoon was our time for entertaining.
1958 J. Wain Contenders iv. 66 The time had come for him to take control of the situation.
2000 V. E. Kousky & G. D. Bell in S. A. Changnon El Niño ii. 31 The appearance of El Niño signified the..arrival of the time for Peruvian fishermen to repair their nets and maintain their boats.
(b) After it is, it was, etc. (Usually without determiner.)In later use, when a subordinate clause indicating the anticipated event or action is given, this usually uses a past tense regardless of the tense of the main verb, typically with the implication that the event or action ought already to have taken place or begun.
ΚΠ
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 135 Tempus est arandi, hit ys tima to erigenne.
OE Homily (Corpus Cambr. 162) in H. L. C. Tristram Vier Altenglische Predigten aus der Heterodoxen Trad. (Ph.D. diss., Freiburg) (1970) 170 Hit is tima þæt ic gehwyrfe up to þam þe me hider niðer asende.
c1300 Havelok (Laud) (1868) 1714 (MED) Hwan it was comen time to ete, Hise wif dede ubbe sone in fete.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 1924 (MED) Leue we now þis lesson..to hem aȝeyn can i turne whan it time falles.
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 1274 (MED) Sires, it is tyme þat we hennes hye.
1462 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 275 It is tyme to crone yowr old officere for diuerse thynges.
1523 in State Papers Henry VIII (1836) IV. 85 And now the iron is hote, it is tyme to stryke.
1597 W. Burton tr. Achilles Tatius Most Delectable & Pleasaunt Hist. Clitiphon & Leucippe 26 When supper was ended and the table taken away, Satyrus came to me, saying: Now is it time that you shew your selfe a man or neuer.
1696 R. Howlett School Recreat. (new ed.) 59 Revalley, is to let them know when it is time to rise in the Morning, and attend on their Duty.
a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in Poems (1775) 134 'Tis time we go, the sun is high advanc'd.
1821 Examiner 121/1 It is time I should draw to a conclusion.
1859 D. Crockett Life Col. D. C. x. 116 I thought it was time for us all to wet our whistles a little; and so I put off to the liquor stand.
1897 B. Stoker Dracula xi. 147 My dear mother gone! It is time that I go too.
1912 R. A. Wason Friar Tuck x. 96 Tank sez: ‘It's time we fixed up an' moved out into the dark.’
1962 J. F. Straker Coil of Rope vii. 71 You're still wet behind the ears, darling. It's time you grew up.
2010 Daily Tel. 4 May 19/5 It is time to allow the people to choose a Speaker in a direct election.
b. With possessive. The time of an event which has been much anticipated or which has particular significance for the person or thing in question, esp. death or childbirth.before his time, etc.: see Phrases 3e(a).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > source or principle of life > birth > confinement > [noun] > childbirth or delivery > time of
timeOE
term?a1540
bearing time1587
full term1607
feminonucleus1884
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) i. 187 Þa ða hyre tima [a1225 Vesp. A.xxii hire time] com, heo acende & þurhwunode mæden.
OE West Saxon Gospels: John (Corpus Cambr.) v. 4 Drihtenes engel com to his timan [c1200 Hatton to hys tyme; L. secundum tempus] on þone mere & þæt wæter wæs astyred.
OE Confessional Prayer (Corpus Cambr. 391) in A. Hughes Portiforium St Wulfstan (1960) II. 14 Ac, loc hwænne min tima beo & þin willa sy, þæt ic þis hlæne lif forlætan scyle, læt me mid gedefenesse mine dagas geendian.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 1802 Ȝho wollde abidenn þær Elysabæþess time.
a1325 (c1280) Southern Passion (Pepys 2344) (1927) l. 868 Byffore þe ffeste of Ester day Ihesus wuste ȝare Þat his tyme was ney ycome.
c1330 Sir Degare (Auch.) 179 in W. H. French & C. B. Hale Middle Eng. Metrical Romances (1930) 293 Her time come, ȝhe was vnbounde And deliured al mid sounde.
a1425 (c1395) Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (Royal) (1850) Prov. xxv. 11 A goldun pomel in beddis of siluer is he, that spekith a word in his [= its] time [L. in tempore suo].
c1450 Alphabet of Tales (1904) I. 11 (MED) Sho wex grete & drew nere hur tyme.
1560 J. Daus tr. J. Sleidane Commentaries f. ccccljv Ye Quene..was with childe, and nere her time.
1597 Bp. J. Hall Virgidemiarum: 1st 3 Bks. ii. iv. 37 If nor a dramme of Triacle souereigne,..Nor Kitchin-cordials can it remedie, Certes his time is come.
1658 A. Conway Let. 9 Apr. (1992) iii. 147 His wife now..is so near her time.
1739 E. Purefoy Let. 4 Mar. (1931) I. iv. 78 Wee have another big bellyed maid in the house within 2 months of her Time, as the midwife sais.
1841 W. M. Thackeray Great Hoggarty Diamond xii, in Misc. (1857) IV. 428 My poor wife, then very near her time, insisted upon accompanying me.
1853 C. Brontë Villette II. xvii. 19 ‘Ten minutes behind his time,’ said she.
1867 J. Mackenzie Hist. Scotl. xliii. 308 The besieged saw that their time was come. It was vain to think of defending any longer ramparts gaping with a breach so vast.
1931 H. Walpole Judith Paris iii. 582 Judith was very near her time, and, in consideration..that this was her first child, it had been wiser of her perhaps not to have come.
1980 R. Butler Blood-red Sun at Noon (1981) i. i. 19 She..became pregnant... What she called ‘her time’ approached.
2008 B. Byford Remember to love Me 164 I think it's nearly my time. You are back here where you belong and my job here is done.
17. A favourable, opportune, convenient, or suitable point of time for doing something; the right moment or occasion. (Often with his, her, etc.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun]
tidec888
timeeOE
whilec950
seleOE
seasona1300
tidefulnessa1340
spacea1382
placec1384
pudding time1546
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > the right moment or time
timeeOE
fultha1400
the fullness of timec1425
moment1781
kairos1936
eOE King Ælfred tr. Gregory Pastoral Care (Tiber.) (Junius transcript) (1871) xxxiii. 220 Se wisa hilt his spræce & bitt timan.
OE Tables of Lucky & Unlucky Days (Corpus Cambr. 422) in L. S. Chardonnens Anglo-Saxon Prognostics (2007) 441 Luna vi Non est bona, nis hit her god tima.
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 29 (MED) Vnwreste þu best gef þu wreche ne secst hwanne þu time siest, gief mihte þe þe atiereð.
c1275 (?a1200) Laȝamon Brut (Calig.) (1963) l. 7466 Þa heo isæh hire time heo fulde hir scale of wine..&..eode to þan kinge.
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 533 (MED) Kniȝt, nu is þi time For to sitte bi me.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. iii. 4 Time of weping, and time of laȝhing [a1425 L.V. tyme to wepe, and tyme to leiȝe; L. tempus flendi, et tempus ridendi].
c1405 (c1390) G. Chaucer Melibeus (Hengwrt) (2003) §14 Whan she say hir tyme, she seyde hym in this wise Allas my lord.
c1450 (a1400) R. Lavynham Treat. Seven Deadly Sins (Harl. 211) (1956) 10 (MED) He wil a waytyn his tyme to be a vengyd on hym þt hym hath greuyd.
a1522 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid (1960) xi. xv. l. 39 Thys forsaid Aruns..Chosys hys tyme that was mast oportune.
1544 P. Betham tr. J. di Porcia Preceptes Warre ii. sig. L.vv The fyer..sodaynlye wyll ouerburne all the pauilions. And than also thowe mayste haue a good tyme, to sette vppon them.
c1610 T. Bodley in Reliq. (1703) 108 A Clock and a Bell will be needful for the Library..: but every thing must have his time.
1671 R. Head & F. Kirkman Eng. Rogue IV. xviii. sig. R*5v When late at night and the company grows thin and your eyes dim with watching then is the time for false Dice to be put on the ignorant.
1709 R. Steele Tatler No. 36. ⁋4 When Stocks are lowest, it is the Time to buy.
1781 R. B. Sheridan Critic ii. ii. 68 Is this a time for maudling tenderness, And Cupid's baby woes?
a1827 W. Hickey Mem. (1960) xix. 309 Now's your time, Hickey. That beast Mordaunt was called away..so that you will have a couple of days' enjoyment together.
1877 T. De W. Talmage Serm. 378 In Grace, as in farming, there is a time for threshing.
1926 S. T. Warner Lolly Willowes iii. 153 The storm delayed. It hid behind the hills, biding its time.
1948 G. Greene Heart of Matter iii. i. 294 ‘There's no time like the present for a prang,’ Bagster said, moving her firmly towards the bed.
2002 BusinessWeek 16 Dec. 144/3 This is not a time for people to try and hit home runs in the bond market.
18.
a. Any one of the occasions on which something is done or happens; each occasion or instance of a repeated or recurring action or circumstance. Often qualified by a numeral. Cf. sithe n.1 5a, 5a(b).Recorded earliest in many time at Phrases 5a(a). many's the time: see many adj. 1c.In adverbial use one time is now usually replaced by once when used without further qualification, except in some nonstandard varieties of English (see also one time adv.); similarly two times is often replaced by twice and three times (now less usually) by thrice.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [noun] > occurrence or event > recurring occasion
timec1275
the world > time > frequency > [noun] > recurrence > a recurrence
sitheOE
timec1275
return1585
retrieve1595
reoccurrence1788
monotone1856
re-run1922
replay1957
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218 Ure lord god almichti..habbeþ [MS hadeþ] manitime maked of watere wyn gostliche.
c1300 All Souls (Laud) l. 134 in C. Horstmann Early S.-Eng. Legendary (1887) 424 For þat ys..wolde aswagi þe hote goute... Þat ys huy leiden oft to is fot, and eche time it made him liþe and softe.
c1330 (?a1300) Arthour & Merlin (Auch.) (1973) l. 1342 (MED) Þo louȝ Merlin þe þridde time.
c1350 Apocalypse St. John: A Version (Harl. 874) (1961) 71 (MED) I seiȝ many þousandes kniȝttes on hors & herd her noumbre twenty þousande tymes & ten þousande.
a1425 (?c1384) J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) III. 350 How þat men shulde snybbe þer breþeren bi þre tymes.
1453–4 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Mar. 1453 §31. m. 19 At too tymes hath be made requestes to the seid lieutenaunt.
1526 W. Bonde Rosary sig. Biii Howe he wolde deny the thre tymes that nyght.
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 8272 The next tym þou noyes me, þou neghis to þe fer.
1573 G. Gascoigne tr. Ariosto Supposes v. v, in Hundreth Sundrie Flowres 63 This is my sonne..whom I lost eighteen yeares since, and a thousand thousand times haue I lamented for him.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Merry Wives of Windsor (1623) iv. ii. 87 To meete him at the doore with it, as they did last time . View more context for this quotation
1694 Articles of Agreement in Mariner's Mirror (1940) 26 362 The other rooms..to be well wainscotted in deal three times painted.
1702 Clarendon's Hist. Rebellion I. iii. 179 The Bill was..immediately read the first and the second time, and so Committed.
1797 J. Downing Treat. Disorders Horned Cattle 57 Give the beast a quart of pellitory tea two or three times a day.
1829 W. S. Landor Imaginary Conversat. 2nd Ser. I. vi. 123 He did it fifty times, at the very least.
1899 H. D. Madge Leaves from Golden Legend 80 The third time he was called, and came thither, and found a child beside the rivage of the river.
1920 E. Wharton Age of Innocence i. xvi. 141 It was the only time that he had kissed her on the lips except for their fugitive embrace in the Beaufort conservatory.
1969 R. L. Keiser Vice Lords v. 54 One of the group..strikes the bottom of the bottle two times with the palm of his hand.
2010 Vanity Fair (N.Y.) July 100/2 This is only the second time in Cohen's 30-year career that an interview with him has been published.
b. A turn; a go. Only in a time: (preceded by a price, fee, etc.) on each occasion; (colloquial) per item, each.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [adverb] > at the rate of
at (also after) the (or a) rate of1497
a time1597
a throw1886
1597 H. Arthington Prouision for Poore sig. B4v The forfaiture of 12. pence for euerie housholders absence from Church. [Side note] Twelue pence a time for absence from diuine seruice.
1662 H. Marten Familiar Lett. xxviii. 25 The mother on't commonly will give her a penny a time to tend her for an hour or two in her absence.
1718 R. Grosvenor in C. T. Gatty Mary Davies (1921) II. 205 One that is grown pretty rich by his attendance upon Patients in Garrets at Half-a-Crown a time.
1756 J. Hanway Ess. Tea xiv, in Jrnl. Eight Days Journey 271 The ordinary computation among the poor is a Half Penny a time for Tea, and as much for Sugar.
1838 C. Dickens Oliver Twist II. xxv. 81 He..offered to cut any gentleman..for the first picture-card, at a shilling a time.
1860 Reliquary July 21 Those who preached its doctrines were fined twenty pounds a-time for doing so.
1956 Life 12 Nov. 184/2 Men and women found themselves haled before the justices for not attending church, and fined one shilling a time.
2003 Sun (Nexis) 22 Aug. Clubbers are being sold rat poison tablets at 50p a time.
c. Scottish and English regional (northern). The action or fact of traversing a field once with a harrow or similar implement. Usually with preceding word indicating the number of traversals. Cf. Phrases 2a(b). Now rare.
ΚΠ
1787 Monthly Rev. Aug. 96 Two acres plowing, we are elsewhere told, and seven acres harrowing double time, is an ordinary day's work in Norfolk for a pair of horses.]
1800 Farmer's Mag. 1 47 Two horses, during the year, plow 77 acres once over, and give 105 double times of harrowing to one acre of ground.
1813 R. Kerr Agric. Surv. Berwick vii. 192 The quantity of harrowing..is denominated single time, double time, or double double times, according as the ground is gone over once, twice, or four times.
1825 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. Suppl. Time, the act of once harrowing a field.
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Time, the journey once across a field in agriculture.
19. In plural. Preceded by a number (in words or figures).
a. Expressing comparison: followed by an adjective or adverb in the comparative degree (e.g. ten times bigger, ten times more slowly, ten times less), or by as or (now rare) so with an adverb of quantity (e.g. ten times as (or so) many (as), ten times as (or so) much (as)).
ΚΠ
?a1400 in J. O. Halliwell Rara Mathematica (1839) 31 Lo an example as thus 9634... The figure of nyne that hath this schape 9 tokeneth ten tymes more than he schulde and he stode in the place ther the figure of 6 stondeth inne.
c1475 ( Surg. Treat. in MS Wellcome 564 f. 50v Aftir þe day of doom..þe erþe..schal be a þousand tymes briȝtere þan ony cristal.
1551 R. Crowley Pleasure & Payne sig. Bvv This might you reade and ten tymes more In the bible.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. G3 They shall pay tenne times so much as it is worth.
a1605 J. Stow Surv. of London (1908) I. Introd. p. li Fabyan..was a very nowghty cronycle, and Coper..was x. tymes worse.
1646 Perfect Diurnall No. 133. 1070 Our Forces were above foure times as many as the Enemy.
1712 J. Addison Spectator No. 415. ¶8 A Gothick Cathedral, tho' it be five times larger than the other.
1785 G. Berkeley Danger Violent Innovations in State (ed. 5) 89 The elective franchise is, probably enjoyed by fifty times as many persons in England at this day, as it was in the year 1429.
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xxiv. 297 A vessel, into which three or four times as much air as it naturally contained had been condensed.
1879 W. E. Gladstone Gleanings Past Years II. vi. 289 Men who had ten or twenty times less to remember.
1911 Tailor 23 27/2 That is six times so many bookkeepers, cutters, porters.
1991 Holiday Which? Mar. 79/1 The available space per person in Tokyo is 23 times smaller than that in London.
2007 Atlantic Monthly May 14/3 Tax cuts for CEOs earning 400 times as much as their line workers.
b. Followed by a number or an expression of quantity: expressing the multiplication of this by the preceding number.Conventionally represented by the multiplication sign: 4 × 5 is read as ‘four times five’.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > calendar > [noun] > timetable or schedule
timesc1410
time bill1810
train indicator1849
time sheet1850
horary1851
timetable1856
schedule1863
horarium1921
sked1929
time frame1946
timeline1948
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > times
sithesOE
such five (as or so)OE
timesc1410
times1610
multiplicity1841
c1410 (c1390) G. Chaucer Nun's Priest's Tale (Cambr. Dd.4.24) (1902) l. 4644 The were nede of hennes, as I wene Ȝa, moo than seuen tymes seuentene.
a1425 J. Wyclif Sel. Eng. Wks. (1871) II. 309 As foure tymes sixe maken þis noumbre.
1539 Bible (Great) Matt. xviii. 22 Lorde howe oft shall I forgeue my brother..: Tyll seuen tymes? Iesus sayeth vnto him: I saye not vnto the vntill seuen tymes: but seuenty times seuen tymes.
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 489 Three times thrice is nine. View more context for this quotation
1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xv. xii. 546 Ten times thirtie sixe is three hundred and sixtie, that is twelue moneths of the Moone.
1646 S. Danforth Almanack 12 4 times 6 houres doth make 24 houres, or a naturall day.
1717 M. Prior Alma iii. 539 Would she, in friendship, peace, and plenty Spin out our years to four times twenty.
1798 S. T. Coleridge Anc. Marinere iii, in W. Wordsworth & S. T. Coleridge Lyrical Ballads 20 Four times fifty living men.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations II. v. 78 What do you make of four times five?
1893 J. C. Thomas Man. Useful Information 326 A wonder is said to last three times three days.
1936 N.Y. Woman 23 Sept. 38/2 It's called the three-way bow tie, but we discovered two times three ways to wear it.
1963 G. Greene Coll. Stories (1972) 250 I would never try to determine some point in differential calculus with a two-times-two table.
2008 D. J. Levitin World in 6 Songs v. 170 Twelve times four is forty eight.
c. Expressing multiplication by a cardinal numeral, as in sense A. 19b, but with a noun or noun phrase following rather than a number.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > arithmetic or algebraic operations > [noun] > multiplication > times
sithesOE
such five (as or so)OE
timesc1410
times1610
multiplicity1841
1610 J. Healey tr. St. Augustine Citie of God xv. xxvi. 566 The length of mans body from head to foote, is sixe times his bredth from side to side [L. sexiens tantum habet quam latitudo].
1653 N. Culpeper Pharmacopœia Londinensis 123/1 To make it into an Electuary, by mixing it with three times its waight of clarifyed Honey.
1726 J. Swift Gulliver I. ii. iii. 46 An Animal of ten times my Strength.
1868 M. E. Grant Duff Polit. Surv. 48 His territories in Asia..are more than twenty-one times the size of Scotland.
1904 Collier's 7 May 6 (caption) They have attained a speed..as great as that of a torpedo-boat destroyer six or eight times the length.
1954 Househ. Guide & Almanac (News of World) 88 Multiple-stage rockets have attained..speeds of 5,200 m.p.h.—nearly seven times that of sound.
1984 P. Fitzgerald Charlotte Mew xiii. 128 She's had no chance whatever, and has 100 times my pluck and patience.
2008 Esquire Mar. 140/1 The average pay of a FTSE 100 company's boss is over a hundred times the average pay.
d. Designating the multiplication table of the preceding cardinal numeral. Cf. times table n. (b) at Compounds 2.The two times table is also referred to by the ordinal, as twice times table.
(a) Without table.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > table
tableOE
time1863
multiplication table1881
operations table1940
simplex tableau1952
tableau1952
1863 J. Ingelow Poems 160 I've said my ‘seven times’ over and over, Seven times one are seven.
1906 R. Kipling Puck of Pook's Hill 38 I don't know my Nine Times—not to say it dodging.
1976 D. Storey Saville xi. 133 I want you to recite the two times, the three times, right through to your twelve times.
(b) attributive with table.
ΚΠ
1864 W. Easton Compl. Course Oral & Mental Arithm. 15 When this exercise can be readily done, pursue the same course with the three times table.
1883 D. Heywood 'Try' Arithm. All Classes Schools i. 31 Multiply 12340506 by two, and write out Twice-times Table.
1946 Math. Gaz. 30 255 Pupils who at the age of 12 cannot adequately use the twice times table.
1973 J. Wainwright Touch of Malice 124 A long-suffering father explaining the two-times-table to his dull-witted son.
1982 Sunday Tel. 2 May 11/1 (heading) Know your 6-times table.
2007 C. MacFarlane Real Gorbals Story (2009) viii. 75 If we were learning the twelve times table, the teacher would pick someone out of the class and shout, ‘What is seven twelves?’.
†20. Weather; (in plural) meteorological conditions. Obsolete. rare.When preceded by a modifying word this sense can be hard to distinguish from sense A. 2a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > weather and the atmosphere > weather > [noun]
weatherc725
weatheringa1122
wind and weathera1225
time?a1425
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 121 Of þise manerez þe first is more siker for macilent, or lene & drie, men & in colde tyme [L. tempore frigido].
?c1450 (a1388) tr. Richard of Wallingford Exafrenon (Digby) in J. D. North Wks. Richard of Wallingford (1976) I. 183 Comonly in the myddis of the monethis the tymes [L. tempora] ben made dyverse as to effecte of the Sonne.
c1475 tr. Secreta Secret. (Tripolitanus abbrev.) (1977) 344 (MED) In this ceason..The tyme is swete, the wyndes risen, the snowes meltyn.
?1503–5 H. Watson tr. Valentine & Orson (1937) 129 So muche the time was agreable vnto him that with in fewe daies he came and ariued at Constantinoble.
1544 T. Phaer tr. N. de Houssemaine Treat. Pestilence i. i. f. xiv, in Regiment of Lyfe (new ed.) It is good in hote time, to strowe the chambre ful of wyllowe leaues, & other freshe bowes.
1587 L. Mascall First Bk. Cattell 251 In the soft ground, they maie..tosse and tumble in the durty water, which doth them much good in hot time.
21.
a. Originally (Boxing): the moment marking the end of the prescribed period of rest between two rounds, typically as announced by a referee or other designated person. Later more generally: a similar point marking the end of a period of rest or informal play in various other sports.Frequently in collocation with call. See also to call time at Phrases 4b.
ΚΠ
1808 Morning Chron. 28 Oct. (heading) On Gregson being beat by not being ready when time was called.
1824 P. Egan Boxiana II. 133 He appeared quite stunned, and when ‘time’ was announced, he could not quit the knees of his second.
1886 Salt Lake Daily Tribune 12 Dec. 4/8 A few seconds after time was called the wrestlers were throwing one another around at a lively rate.
1908 Amer. Lawn Tennis 15 June 69/1 The customary rest followed, and when time was called both seemed in good shape to continue.
1990 Match Fishing Feb. 37/3 I could hear time being called about 20 pegs away.
2005 Washington Post (Nexis) 6 Aug. e1 He..whipped on a fresh shirt and then bounced back up, ready to start the third set before time was called.
b. In various sports: the moment marking the end of a match, or (occasionally) of some other prescribed portion of play; the signal given to mark this moment. Cf. full time n. 2, half-time n. 2b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > game or definite spell of play > end of
time1840
full time1871
half-time1871
quarter time1894
1840 Sporting Rev. July 59 Redgate went on again and bowled one over, when time was called, and the wickets were drawn.
1873 Carthusian Apr. 47/1 No doubt they might have made the game a tie, had not the other goal been kicked only ten minutes before time.
1926 P. C. Standing Anglo-Australian Cricket xxiii. 103 Ranjitsinhji..scored 42 and not out 93 and was still ‘keeping up his end’ when time was called.
1952 B. Joy Forward, Arsenal! (2009) xi. 81 It was nearly time... The Manchester players were becoming desperate.
1976 Sunday Mail (Glasgow) 28 Nov. 44/6 Scorers were Martin, in the first half, and Johnston just before time.
2005 R. Cavallini Wanderers F.C. v. 37 When time was called there was no score.
c. The moment at which a public house or other licensed establishment ceases to sell drink; closing time. Also: the signal or announcement used to mark this. Cf. Phrases 4b(c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > a calculated space of time > opening hours or opening time
opetide1597
time1979
1922 T. S. Eliot Waste Land ii. 23 Hurry up please its time.
1979 ‘C. Brand’ Rose in Darkness ii. 20 Soon he must turn her out..five minutes to Time.
1993 T. Hawkins Pepper vi. 118 They beat the crap out of me outside the pub after time.
†22. In plural. The set of particular times (sense A. 16) at which an omnibus or other public service vehicle regularly calls at the various stops along its route, spec. as reserved for a particular operator by formal agreement; the fact of owning such a concession, as a recognized commercial asset. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > a calculated space of time > office, business, or school hours
school hour1581
hours of business1693
business hours1767
schoolday1840
times1847
hours1852
society > travel > transport > transport or conveyance in a vehicle > public passenger transport > [noun] > travel by bus > established business of running an omnibus
bus line1843
times1847
1847 Times 22 May 111 (advt.) 50 valuable short-legged horses,..five excellent omnibuses nearly new,..the valuable times on the road, [etc.].
1856 Morning Chron. 13 Feb. 3/6 The suburban amalgamations [among omnibus proprietors] are becoming numerous; among these may be noted since the last report the vehicles, stock, and ‘times’ of Mrs. Edmonds.
1863 All Year Round 11 July 470/1 They [sc. the London General Omnibus Company] possessed themselves of the ‘times’ of all the important routes in London and the suburbs. These ‘times’ are, in fact, the good will of the roads, and were considered so valuable, that in some cases as much as from 200l. to 250l. were given for the ‘times’ of one omnibus.
1906 Westm. Gaz. 15 May 2/3 Emphasis [is] laid in one of the various motor-'bus prospectuses, just now..upon the value of the ‘times’ owned by each member of the associated companies.
1913 Times 20 Aug. 3/3 Certain motor-omnibus ‘times’ or ‘routes’ or ‘services’—call them what you will—have recently been established by companies having no standing in the town [sc. Croydon].
III. Special and technical uses.
23. Prosody. †A syllable, regarded as a metrical unit or unit of duration (obsolete); (spec. in Classical Prosody) a metrical unit equal to the duration of a short syllable; = mora n.1 3a (sometimes more fully primary (or least) time). Also used (usually with preceding modifying word) of longer metrical units or groups of units. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > versification > rhythm > [noun] > quantity > short syllable as unit
time1589
mora1832
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 92 Þæt rihtmeteruers sceal habban feower and twentig timan.
OE Byrhtferð Enchiridion (Ashm.) (1995) ii. i. 92 Dactilus stent on anum langum timan and twam sceortum, and spondeus stent on feowrum [read twam] langum.
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 91 A new inuention of feete and times.
1737 E. Manwaring Stichol. iii. 11 These Feet, particularly such as are of six Times, will be often found to be in separate Words.
1774 W. Mitford Ess. Harmony Lang. viii. 134 The English pentameter..is not confined to a precise number of times, but has generally from fifteen to eighteen.
1797 Monthly Mag. 3 258 (note) Whatever exceeded two times (a short syllable being estimated as half a time) was termed not a foot but a number.
1822 E. Everett tr. P. Buttmann Greek Gram. 273 In measuring feet and verses, the short syllable is assumed as the unit, and the long syllable is regarded as double the short. Every such unit is called a time or mora.
1844 G. J. Pennington Ess. Pronunc. Greek Lang. 229 It was the number of times which went to a space which determined the rhythm. Thus the iambic rhythm has three times (˘¯).
1891 Cent. Dict. 6341/2 A time composed of two, three, etc., primary times..is called a disemic, trisemic, etc., time. Such times collectively are compound times.
1912 J. W. White Verse Greek Comedy i. 4 The thesis of a simple foot never contains fewer primary times than the arsis.
1947 R. C. Taliaferro tr. St. Augustine On Music ii. vi, in Writings II. 218 This foot is divided..either into one long and three shorts or into a long and short and two shorts, that is, either into two times and three times or into three and two.
24. The period of gestation of a woman or female animal. Cf. sense A. 16b.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > biology > biological processes > procreation or reproduction > pregnancy or gestation > [noun] > period of
timeOE
reckoning1575
full term1607
trimester1821
OE Ælfric Catholic Homilies: 1st Ser. (Royal) (1997) ii. 190 Hire tima wæs gefylled þæt hio cynnan sceolde.
a1425 Lyf Oure Lady (Windsor) (1985) 56 Whan wommans time is fillid which is due kindely to childbering, þat is ij hunderd dayes sixti & sixtene.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry iii. f. 127* A Cowe and a Quene haue both one time.
1678 N. Wanley Wonders Little World ii. i. 94 At the end of her time she was delivered of a Girl who was deform'd in her right Leg.
1765 J. Memis Midwife's Pocket Compan. iii. i. 197 If a miscarriage happens when a woman has been long gone with child..the danger is great, and the more so the nearer she approaches to the end of her time.
1809 B. H. Malkin tr. A. R. Le Sage Adventures Gil Blas IV. xi. i. 246 Beatrice's time was up first: she was safely delivered of a daughter.
1897 Westm. Rev. Aug. 136 She was made pregnant by the heated froth of the boiling sea..and at the end of her time she gave birth to the lizard, the sun-god.
1965 P. Wrightson Thirteen paint Portrait i. 59 Marion looks rather ghastly. Poor girl, she is nearly at the end of her ‘time’.
2007 C. Iggulden Genghis: Birth of Empire i. 13 Hoelun was pregnant again and close to the end of her time.
25. Grammar. = tense n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > language > linguistics > study of grammar > tense > [noun]
timeOE
tensea1450
OE Ælfric Gram. (St. John's Oxf.) 124 Ac swa ðeah wise lareowas todældon þone praeteritvm tempvs, þæt is, ðone forðgewitenan timan, on þreo... Forði is se forðgewitena tima on ðreo todæled, forðan ðe naht ne byð swa gemyndelic on gecynde, swa þæt ys, þæt gedon byð.
c1450 in D. Thomson Middle Eng. Grammatical Texts (1984) 38 (MED) How knowest a verbe? A party of reson that..is declined wyth moode and tyme.
a1504 J. Holt Lac Puerorum (1508) ii. sig. Ei He taketh of a nowne gendre and case, of a verbe tyme & significacyon, of both nombre and fygure.
1561 T. Norton tr. J. Calvin Inst. Christian Relig. ii. xvii. f. 104v The future time of the verbe doth not exclude present righteousnesse, as appereth by the processe of the texte.
c1620 A. Hume Of Orthogr. Britan Tongue (1870) ii. ix. §1 Tyme is an affection of the verb noating the differences of tyme, and is either present, past, or to cumm.
1686 R. Blome Gentlemans Recreation 2 Tense, or Time in Verbs, is generally Threefold, Present, Praeterit or Past, and Future or to come.
1757 London Mag. Aug. 388 In our account of the affirmation, we have found that its accidents or variations are, voices, persons, numbers, times, or tenses, and moods.
1884 A. Browning Weston School Man. 63 Tense or time is the form of the verb which shows when the action takes place; as, I write, I wrote, I shall write.
1919 W. L. Stoddard Everyday Eng. Writing vii. 72 No one knowing grammar could consciously make this mistake in the tense or time of the verb.
1982 L. McFall Enigma Hebrew Verbal Syst. 37 In 1751 Julius Bate put forward the idea that there were only two tenses, or times, in Hebrew.
26. Music.
†a. Rhythmic quality or precision in singing or dancing. Cf. number n. 14a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] > action of putting into rhythm > rhythmic quality
time1531
numerosityc1570
numerousness1685
rhythmicity1888
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour i. xxi. sig. Li The associatinge of man & woman in daunsing, they bothe obseruinge one nombre and tyme in their meuynges.
1539 T. Elyot Bankette of Sapience f. 26 If in syngyng thou doest not regarde Noumbre and Tyme, thou arte not worthy to be called a good musitian.
1608 E. Topsell Hist. Serpents 70 They haue not the skill to daunce according to due time, order and proportion in Musicke, as they say Elephants can.
1749 J. Mason Ess. Power of Numbers & Princ. Harmony 32 How is it possible to accommodate the Quantity of the Notes to that of the Syllables, without spoiling the Air and Time of the Tune?
b. Early Music. The relation between the time value of a breve and that of a semibreve. Cf. mood n.2 3a, prolation n. 2. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] > types of proportion
prolationa1393
imperfection1561
time?1596
induction1597
retort1597
divisive1952
?1596 W. Bathe Briefe Introd. Skill of Song sig. B.vv (in figure) Perfect time. Imperfect time.
1597 T. Morley Plaine & Easie Introd. Musicke Annot. sig. ✮4 The signe at the beginning sheweth time perfect, so that euery briefe not hauing a semibriefe after it is three semibriefes.
1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) 20 Notes in Musick have two Names, one for Tune, the other for Time or Proportion of Sounds... Here (according to the ordinary Proportion of Time) we account two Minums to the Semibrief.
1782 C. Burney Gen. Hist. Music II. 210 Morley tells us that he used red notes in his Motets to imply a change of mode, time, and prolation.
1829 London Encycl. XV. 284/2 The terms mode, time, and prolation, signified only certain ways of fixing the relative value of notes.
1959 Musica Disciplina 13 65 Triple time-signature in mood, time and prolation remained in use in English music until the sixteenth century.
2002 A. M. B. Berger in T. Christensen Cambr. Hist. Western Music Theory xx. 640 Just as in the French system, the breves of imperfect time are one-third shorter than those of perfect time.
c. The rhythmic pattern or character of a piece or passage of music, typically expressed in terms of the way in which beats are grouped into recurring groups, and the temporal relationship between these larger groups and their smaller subdivisions; = metre n.1 6. Also: the characteristic rhythm of a particular type of music, esp. of dance music.Frequently with preceding modifying word or numerical expression; for more established compounds, as common time, triple time, etc.; for more established compounds see the first element. to beat time: see beat v.1 32.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun]
proportiona1387
measurea1525
mode1561
casure1565
moodc1570
rhythm1576
rhyme1586
stotc1590
dimension1597
sextupla1597
timing1597
rhythmus1603
cadence1605
time1609
cadency1628
movement1683
lilt1841
metre1873
tempus1889
riddim1943
1609 C. Butler Feminine Monarchie v. sig. F1 They sing both in triple time..some foure or fiue semibriefes.
1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §113 The Tripla's, and Changing of Times, haue an Agreement with the Changes of Motions; As when Galliard Time, and Measure Time, are in the Medley of one Dance.
1656 T. Blount Glossographia Nonupla, a quick time in Musick peculiar to Gigs and such like; having nine Crotchets between Bar and Bar.
1706 A. Bedford Temple Musick iii. 62 'Tis..in the same Time and Tune.
1758 Herald 2 Mar. 146 I would have the music of the recitatives and choruses..new composed, and all made to minuet time.
1807 Universal Mag. Mar. 270/1 It consists of three movements, an allegro moderato, a rondo allegretto in 6-8 time, and an aria andantino in common time.
1863 Times 21 Sept. 10/3 Built upon a graceful melody in waltz-time, the chorus..is sustained with the utmost animation.
1921 B. M. Steigman Pertinent Wagnerite v. 122 He is accused of..wantonly and maliciously beating a relentless gymnastic four quarter time throughout.
1959 Billboard 13 July 28/3 Pop items like ‘Colonel Bogey March’ and ‘Mona Lisa’, played in happy cha cha time.
2002 N.Y. Times 25 Aug. ii. 25/2 The Russian mood continues in the opening of the finale, written in an un-Teutonic 5/4 time.
d. The rate at which a piece of music is performed; the tempo.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > tempo > [noun]
timing?1578
motion1597
movement1683
tempo1724
motivo1876
time1878
1654 J. Playford Breefe Introd. Skill Musick 18 The Descant or Composition being of slow time fitted to sacred Hymnes.
1762 Monthly Rev. May 346 [They] could not forbear throwing themselves into antic postures and capers, rapid or slow, in proportion to the time of the music.
?1795 Gen. Instr. 4 in W. Mason Caractacus (new ed.) The quickest Time must be sufficiently slow for the fingers to pronounce the words distinctly.
1825 Harmonicon May 81/2 Its effect..would be sensibly improved were it to be sung in a slower time..than it usually is.
1878 Biogr. Index 33/2 in Church Hymnal (Church of Ireland) (ed. 3) The character both of the words and music is jubilant, and the necessity for a moderately fast ‘time’ is especially apparent if the older version is used.
1912 Amer. Jrnl. Psychol. 23 267 The time was too fast for a good waltz.
1957 G. B. L. Wilson Dict. Ballet 22 Allegro, a dance sequence executed to a fast time.
2008 T. M. Kitts Ray Davies v. 100 The song begins in a slower time and builds to its closing crescendo almost six..minutes later.
e. More generally: the rhythm or beat of a piece of music.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [noun] > beat
accent1603
time1716
beat1911
1716 J. Fontaine Jrnl. 18 Apr. (1972) 98 Their motions answered in some way to the time of the music.
1779 Remembrancer 8 103 He that dances and keeps himself exactly to the time of the music cannot err.
1822 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Oct. 398/1 His strong leg was tattooing the floor to the time of the tune he was humming.
1890 Lancing College Mag. Apr. 843/2 Boïeldieu's overture ‘La Dame Blanche’..was very fairly rendered by the Band, though the time was occasionally a trifle ragged.
1913 E. B. Ordway Etiquette of To-day 197 First come the ushers,..keeping pace with the time of the music.
1983 M. G. Fields & K. Fields Lemon Swamp & Other Places (1985) v. 77 He always did slow, elegant movements, off the time of the music, and gliding, with his sister on his arm.
2007 L. Sandberg Acoustic Blues Guitar Styles ii. 14 The bass notes essentially fill the role of a drummer, providing a beat that helps keep the time steady.
27. An occurrence of menstruation; = period n. 8. Frequently more fully as monthly time. Formerly also in plural: †the menstrual discharge (obsolete). Cf. month n.1 6. See also time of the month at Phrases 1e.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > organs of excretion > excretions > menses > [noun]
monthlyeOE
menstruuma1398
flowerc1400
menstrue?a1425
women's evilc1450
menstruosity1503
courses1563
monthly time1564
reds1568
month courses1574
purgation1577
women's courses1577
month1578
menses1597
menstruals1598
flourish1606
nature1607
fluors1621
mois1662
period1690
catamenia1764
turn1819
visitor1980
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. vii. lxiv. 426 Þis contagioun passiþ into þe childe..whanne a childe is conceyued in menstruel tyme [L. tempore menstruorum].]
1564 W. Bullein Dialogue against Fever Pestilence f. 30v Certaine people maie not bleede: as women whiche haue their times aboundauntlie.
1642 in J. Evans Universall Med. sig. F [She] continued bleeding more or lesse (and at the Monthly times in greater abundance) for a whole year or more.
1704 tr. P. Baldæus True Descr. Malabar & Coromandel in A. Churchill & J. Churchill Coll. Voy. III. 582/1 Women, who shall not be subject to the monthly times.
1757 H. Rimius Second Solemn Call Mr. Zinzendorf App. 74 This shift came at last into her Mind; to tell Mrs. Anna Neuser..that she had her monthly Time.
1879 J. M. Duncan Clin. Lect. Dis. Women xii. 137 The woman has this violent disease..during her monthly times.
1988 J. Lindsey Tender Rebel xli. 348 She had suspected her condition for the past week, after her monthly time was late.
2005 S. Alten Loch (2009) xv. 223 One day I found blood a' ower her sheets. She claimed it wis her woman's time.
28. Fencing. The interval of time required by an opponent to initiate and perform a particular action, esp. regarded as an opportunity to make an attack or otherwise gain an advantage; a movement made by one's opponent which affords such an opportunity. Cf. tempo n.1 2. See also time attack n., time thrust n. at Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > [noun] > actions
buttc1330
overheadc1400
stopc1450
quarter-strokea1456
rabbeta1500
rakea1500
traverse1547
flourish1552
quarter-blow1555
veny1578
alarm1579
venue1591
cut1593
time1594
caricado1595
fincture1595
imbroccata1595
mandritta1595
punta riversa1595
remove1595
stramazon1595
traversa1595
imbrocado1597
passado1597
counter-time1598
foinery1598
canvasado1601
montant1601
punto1601
stock1602
embrocadoc1604
pass1604
stuck1604
stramazo1606
home thrust1622
longee1625
falsify?1635
false1637
traversion1637
canvassa1641
parade1652
flanconade1664
parry1673
fore-stroke1674
allonge1675
contretemps1684
counter1684
disengaging1684
feint1684
passing1687
under-counter1687
stringere1688
stringering1688
tempo1688
volte1688
overlapping1692
repost1692
volt-coupe1692
volting1692
disarm?1700
stamp1705
passade1706
riposte1707
swoop1711
retreat1734
lunge1748
beat1753
disengage1771
disengagement1771
opposition1771
time thrust1771
timing1771
whip1771
shifting1793
one-two1809
one-two-three1809
salute1809
estramazone1820
remise1823
engage1833
engaging1833
risposta1838
lunging1847
moulinet1861
reprise1861
stop-thrust1861
engagement1881
coupé1889
scrape1889
time attack1889
traverse1892
cut-over1897
tac-au-tac riposte1907
flèche1928
replacement1933
punta dritta1961
1594 I. G. tr. G. di Grassi True Arte Def. sig. A3 As his enemie moueth much in diuers times he may be aduertised hereby, to strike him in one or more of those times, so out of al due time spent [It. sotto uno o piu tempi indebitamente consumati].
1594 I. G. tr. G. di Grassi True Arte Def. sig. C1 When he would either strik or defend, to perform the same not in two times or in two motions, but rather in half a time or..motion.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Time in Fencing, There are three Kinds of Time; that of the Sword; that of the Foot, and that of the whole Body. All the Times that are perceived out of their Measure, are only to be consider'd as Appeals or feints, to deceive and amuse the Enemy.
1885 E. Castle tr. S. Fabris in Schools & Masters of Fence vi. 100 A ‘time’ is a movement that one of the fencers makes within distance..thus a time is an opportunity, either for striking or assuming an advantage over your enemy.
1997 W. M. Gaugler Sci. of Fencing x. 114 Time in fencing signifies the favourable moment at which an offensive action will catch the adversary off guard.
†29. Music. A measure of duration equal to the length of a bar or (occasionally) half a bar. Obsolete (historical in later use).
ΚΠ
1665 C. Simpson Princ. Pract. Musick ii. 22 This Motion of the Hand is Down, and Vp, successively and equally divided. Every Down and Vp, being call'd a Time or Measure. And by this we measure the length of a Semibreve.
1686 New Method to learn to Sing 50 In this Example, you have two Staves of Lines; in the upper are Semibreves, each of which is a Time, and fill up a Bar.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. (at cited entry) Some call each Half of the Measure in common Time, a Time.
1776 J. Hawkins Gen. Hist. Music II. ii. v. 187 If we measure a time, or, as we now call it, a bar, by pauses, as Franchinus directs, it will be found that [etc.].
30. Dressage. A single completed motion or action of a horse's movement. Now only with preceding numeral, in descriptions of a particular gait according to the number of separate movements of the legs of which it is considered to consist, as two time, three time, four time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > special movements performed by trained horse > [noun] > step or manoeuvre taught in school > completed manoeuvre
time1726
1726 N. B. Farrier's & Horseman's Dict. 429/2 By Time is sometimes understood the Motion of a Horse who observes Measure and Justness in the Manage, or the Interval between two of its Motions: and sometimes, it signifies the Effect of one of the Aids; as, when they say such a Horseman disposes his Horse for the Effects of the Heel, in beginning with one Time of the Legs, and he never runs precipitantly upon his Legs.
1874 tr. E.-J. Marey Animal Mechanism ii. vi. 164 Most of the writers..name them [sc. paces of a horse], according to this rhythm, gallop in two, three, and four time.
1874 tr. E.-J. Marey Animal Mechanism ii. vi. 168 Representation of a horse galloping.—For this representation we will give three attitudes, differing much from each other, corresponding nearly with the three kinds of time found in this pace.
1901 M. H. Hayes Riding & Hunting xi. 233 The trot is a diagonal pace of two time (near fore and off hind, and off fore and near hind).
1990 N. Bartle tr. A. Knopfhart Fund. Dressage i. i. 8 Flying changes, the half-pass at canter and the canter-pirouette can be executed by a horse that canters four-time.
2007 J. Whitaker & I. Whitelaw Horse 157/2 The horse is reined back in regular two-time steps, and then moves forward in four-time.
31. Originally: the rate at which troops are to march, usually expressed in terms of the number of paces taken per minute. Later more generally: the rate at which participants in any formal procession, parade, etc., march or walk.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > evolution > [noun] > marching > rate of marching
time1766
1766 T. O'Loghlen Marine Volunteer iv. 57 (heading) How to change Time in Marching.
1787 I. Landmann tr. F. C. von Saldern Elements Tacticks ii. i. 38 He who believes, that upon the word step out; they march by a faster time, is mistaken.
1802 C. James New Mil. Dict. Quick Step, or Quick Time, is 108 steps of 30 inches each, or 270 feet in a minute, and is the step used in all filings of divisions. Quickest Step, or Quickest Time is 120 steps of 30 inches each, or 300 feet in a minute.
1859 Field Exercise Infantry (rev. ed.) 21 The time having been given on a drum, on the word March, the squad will move off.
1911 C. Mackenzie Passionate Elopement v. 48 Mr. Mayor, preceded by his mace, set the time, and a line of Aldermen carefully ordered their pace to his.
1995 M. Hodd E. Afr. Handbk. 247 He [sc. the head porter] would often lead the singing and give a marching time to the porters.
32. In phrenology: the faculty of being aware of the passage of time. Now historical.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > person's innate sense of time
time1815
internal clock1873
the mind > mental capacity > psychology > faculty psychology > psychological study of the skull > [noun] > faculty of time judgement
time1815
1815 J. G. Spurzheim Physiognom. Syst. viii. 40 The faculty of time also seems to me a quite distinct faculty: it may exist without order and number... The seat of the organ of time is higher than that of the organ of number.
1850 O. Gilbert Narr. Sojourner Truth 20 Isabella had not then sufficiently cultivated her organ of time to calculate years, or even weeks or hours.
1860 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. Time,..Phrenol., a Faculty..giving the power of judging of time, and of intervals in general.
1890 M. O. Stanton Syst. Pract. & Sci. Physiognomy I. i. v. 210 The faculty of Time has several diverse phases and is manifested in very different and distinct ways.
1993 M. Rilling in S. T. Boysen & E. J. Capaldi Devel. Numerical Competence i. 9 Gall's section on counting was followed by a section devoted to the faculty of time.
IV. In generalized sense.
33. Duration conceived as beginning and ending with the present life or the material universe, or as the sphere within which human affairs are contained; finite duration as distinct from eternity; the duration of the world or universe.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [noun] > duration of the world, finite duration
timea1325
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 48 Hise word, ðat is hise wise sune..was of hin fer ear bi-foren Or ani werldes time boren.
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Royal) (1850) Apoc. x. 6 The aungel..swoor by the lyuynge..that made of nouȝt heuen..for tyme shal no more be.
c1425 (c1400) Prymer (Cambr.) (1895) 6 Þe seete of endeles blis, þere þou [sc. the Virgin Mary] dwellist wiþ þi sone wiþ-outen tyme.
1507 A. Chertsey tr. Honorius Augustodunensis Lucydarye (de Worde) sig. Aiiv He [sc. God] gouerneth ye thynges the whiche ben in the oryent, and those the whiche ben in the occydent..and therfore a man sayth that he is all tyme & all thynges.
1567 J. Jewel Def. Apol. Churche Eng. iv. 446 The Abomination of Desolation shal stande in the Churche, vntil the Consummation, or ende of time.
1605 R. Mason Reasons Academie 93 The first estates, determine in time: and the second being reall estates, onely with time: and not before the ending of time.
1635 J. Swan Speculum Mundi i. §3. 15 All time compared with eternitie is but short time, yea indeed as no time.
1646 R. Crashaw Steps to Temple 33 Weake Time shall be pour'd out Into Eternity.
1745 Sc. Transl. & Paraphr. xxxv. ix He lov'd us from the first of Time, And loves us to the last.
a1758 A. Ramsay Some of Contents Ever-green (1761) xi A monument..Quhilk sall endure quhyle tymis telled out be days.
1785 W. Cowper Task v. 529 All has its date below; the fatal hour Was registered in Heaven ere time began.
1803 R. Heber Palestine 28 His voice amid the thunder's roar, His dreadful voice, that time should be no more.
1838 A. Edson Mem. C. Hamilton (ed. 2) xiii. 150 Raising her eyes towards heaven, as she closed them on time.
1868 Evangelical Repository & United Presbyterian Rev. Dec. 104 As far as..the great things of eternity exceed the small things of time, so far does moral glory exceed all other kinds of glory.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 4 June 10/3 Once make a success as a Cockney or a love-sick maiden, and a Cockney or a love-sick maiden you will be to the end of time.
1971 G. Urang Shadows of Heaven iv. 145 Existence under the conditions of time gives way to the mode of being which we call eternal life.
2009 San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News (Nexis) 1 Mar. In the Sarabande, the music seemed to stand outside time.
34.
a. Indefinite continuous duration regarded as that in which existence, and the sequence of events, takes place; the abstract entity which passes, goes by, or is consumed as events succeed one another, esp. in regard to the bringing about of anticipated developments, change, etc.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun]
tide and (or) timea1225
tensec1315
time1340
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 56 (MED) Ine þise manere geþ þe tyme.
a1398 J. Trevisa tr. Bartholomaeus Anglicus De Proprietatibus Rerum (BL Add. 27944) (1975) I. ix. ii. 517 Tyme is mesure of chaungeable þingis, as Aristotel seiþ.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 381 The tyme..goth..As watir that doun renneth ay But neuer drope Retourne may.
c1500 Lyfe Roberte Deuyll 121 in W. C. Hazlitt Remains Early Pop. Poetry Eng. (1864) I. 224 The tyme drewe so, that nyne monethes was past.
1529 T. More Supplyc. Soulys f. 10 The kyngs hyghnes at length (as tyme alwaye tryeth owte the trouth) well perceyved hys innocency.
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. E.vi There is no dyspleasure so great, no hatred so impotent, no sorowe so immoderate, but tyme asswageth it.
1594 L. Lewkenor tr. O. de la Marche Resolued Gentleman f. 4 Banquettes..and such lyke: wherein Time, the treasure of life is consumed, and nothing hoorded vp, but griefe and repentance.
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients 29 In processe of time.
1651 T. Hobbes Leviathan ii. xxx. 176 Time, and Industry, produce every day new Knowledge.
1690 J. Locke Ess. Humane Understanding ii. xiv. 87 This Consideration of Duration, as set out by certain Periods, and marked by certain Measures or Epochs, is that, I think, which most properly we call Time.
1705 J. Addison Remarks Italy 504 Whether or no they have done well, to set up for making another kind of Figure, Time will witness.
1743 R. Blair Grave 26 Think we, or think we not, Time hurries on With a resistless unremitting Stream.
1794 A. Radcliffe Myst. of Udolpho III. v. 101 The few grey locks, which time had spared on his temples.
1821 Ld. Byron Cain iii. i, in Sardanapalus 414 The mind then hath capacity of time, And measures it by that which it beholds, Pleasing or painful.
1849 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 10 i. 18 They leave it to time and nature to grass it over again.
1924 Friend (Honolulu, Hawaii) Mar. 76/1 Time softens and mellows the ordeal of reading our compositions..in the large school-room.
1988 R. Silverberg At Winter's End ix. 200 Time passes, and we all grow older.
2002 Victorian July 30/2 Victorian buildings that had survived the ravages of time and the doodlebug.
b. Frequently with capital initial. The personification of this. Also called (Old) Father Time.Conventionally represented as an aged man carrying a scythe and frequently an hourglass; sometimes also as bald except for a single lock of hair (see also to take Time by the forelock at Phrases 6g; but cf. occasion n.1 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > personified
time?a1439
scytheman1817
scyther1901
a1439 J. Lydgate Fall of Princes (Bodl. 263) i. l. 1437 Tyme [MS Tymes] with his rasour hath..Shauen a-wey the honour and the glory Off many a noble.
1509 S. Hawes Pastime of Pleasure (1555) xliv. C iv Sodainly came Time in breuiacion Whose similitude, I shall anone expresse Aged he was, with a bearde doubtles Of swalowes feaders.
1559 Passage Quene Elyzabeth (new ed.) sig. D.i This olde man with the sythe, olde father tyme they call.
1597 N. Ling Politeuphuia: Wits Common Wealth f. 219 Time is so swift of foote, that beeing once past, he can neuer be ouer-taken. The fore-locks of time are the deciders of many doubts.
1609 W. Shakespeare Troilus & Cressida iii. iii. 139 Time hath (my Lord) a wallet at his back, Wherein he puts almes for obliuion. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. ii. 71 The plaine bald pate of Father time himselfe. View more context for this quotation
1679 J. Dryden Troilus & Cressida iii. i. 25 He's an old wooden top, set up by father Time three hundred years ago.
1683 W. Soames tr. N. Boileau-Despréaux Art of Poetry iii. 42 To paint old Ianus with his front of Brass, And take from Time his Scythe, his Wings and Glass.
1720 J. Dart tr. Tibullus Wks. viii. 51 Improve the Hours of every happy Day, For nimble Time walks unobserv'd away.
1747 W. King Toast iv. 164 If the Women are Bald, or their Tresses are Grey; Father Time, and the Fates are in Fault—and not they.
1820 W. Irving Westm. Abbey in Sketch Bk. vii. 26 Time is ever silently turning over his pages.
1883 O. W. Holmes Loving-cup Song 29 Old Time his rusty scythe may whet.
1904 Collier's 7 May 20/2 One is almost sorry for old Father Time..and yet there were many years when his scythe was a most formidable weapon.
1982 P. Dickinson Last House-party (1983) ii. 18 Time emerged..no friendly old gaffer with a scythe, but close kin to the skeleton reaper of the Totentanz.
1996 R. Gosden Cheating Time iii. 69 Just as we have reached the so-called prime of life..we catch a glimpse of Old Father Time waiting in the wings.
c. Chiefly Science Fiction. Time viewed as a medium through which travel into the past or future is hypothesized or imagined to be possible. Also in extended use. Cf. time travel n.
ΚΠ
1866 Cornhill Mag. Nov. 567 This charm of travelling would become perfect if we could travel in time as well as in space—if..we could sometimes take a fortnight in the fifteenth century, or, still more pleasant, a leap into the twenty-first.
1895 H. G. Wells in New Rev. Jan. 99 You have to admit that time is a spatial dimension,..and then all sorts of remarkable consequences are found inevitable. Among others, that it becomes possible to travel about in time.
1937 Astounding Stories Aug. 70/2 The Time Traveler could move forward in time!
1975 Observer 5 Jan. 15/5 Not so long ago we were justified in seeing the granite fortress of St Andrews as a kind of Tardis. Step through the door and you were transported back in time to the early twenties.
1993 M. Atwood Robber Bride xii. 73 Trying to go back in time, to create the perfect pre-teen bedroom she once longed for but never had.
2011 Guardian (Nexis) 24 Sept. 7 If particles could travel faster than light, special relativity suggests travelling backwards through time is a possibility, but how anyone harnesses that to do anything useful is beyond the reach of any technology or material we have today.
35.
a. Science. With preceding distinguishing word. A particular system of measuring or reckoning the length of the day and hence the passage of time.The length of the day is traditionally defined by the recurring passage through the sky of the sun or other celestial object. In the 20th cent. more accurate laboratory-based methods of measuring time, and hence the day length, were developed. Factors such as the motion of the earth about the sun, the earth's slightly irregular speed of rotation, and the celestial object chosen (sun, moon, or stars) all contribute to a variable day length. Cf. equation of time at equation n. 3a.apparent, atomic, earth, ephemeris, sidereal time, etc.: see the first element.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > systems of reckoning time of day
time1646
apparent time1694
local timea1703
Greenwich Mean Time1782
sun time1837
GMT1840
railway time1847
railroad time1849
Greenwich time1861
Eastern time1878
Pacific time1880
Universal Time1882
Eastern Standard Time1883
Mountain time1883
British Standard Time1908
daylight saving1908
zone time1908
LMT1909
British Summer Time1916
summertime1916
U.T.1929
B.S.T.1930
EST1935
British Double Summer Time1941
war time1942
B.D.S.T.1943
ephemeris time1950
1646 G. Wharton Bellum Hybernicale 2 First, I will artificially erect the Figure of heaven, according to the doctrine of Regiomontanus, to the true, or apparent time of this Conjunction, and afterwards compare it with that, which Booker hath published.
1686 W. Molyneux Sciothericum Telescopicum x. 45 For so much is the aequation on the 4th of May to be substracted from the apparent time of the Sun to gain the mean time of the Clock; that is, when the Sun shews it to be 9 a Clock in the morning, the Clock ought to be but 8h. 55′. 43″.
1699 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 21 330 The end [of the Eclipse] happened here, precisely Twenty four Minutes and Nine seconds after Ten a Clock in the Morning, apparent Time.
1735 Philos. Trans. 1733–4 (Royal Soc.) 38 304 Its Pendulum was adjusted to such a Length, that in London it vibrated Seconds, of Siderial, and not of Solar Time.
1824 F. Bailey New Method determining Longitude 15 The apparent time of the moon's culmination at Paris..was 8h16m.
1834 Nat. Philos. (Libr. Useful Knowl.) III. Math. Geogr. v. 16/1 A common sun-dial shows the hour of apparent time. Time-keepers or chronometers, common watches and clocks, are made to show the hour of mean time.
1910 C. L. Poor Naut. Sci. vii. 154 To find the substellar point..it is necessary for the observer to know the sidereal time at which the observation is made.
1965 Science 8 Oct. 173/1 The second of Universal Time..could be realized..by astronomical measurements, mechanical clocks, molecular clocks, oscillating crystals, or atomic clocks.
1996 Sky & Telescope Sept. 86/1 The Earth is slowing. The measure of this effect is called Delta T (ΔT ) which is the difference between Dynamical Time (based on gravitational theory and atomic clocks) and Universal Time (based on Earth's rotation).
2009 W. G. Hopkins & N. P. A. Hüner Introd. Plant Physiol. (ed. 4) xxiv. 425/3 Phase-shifting in this way constantly adjusts or entrains the rhythm to local solar time.
b. With preceding distinguishing expression (usually a place name, or a season of the year): the system used for reckoning time (sense A. 14b) at a particular locality, or under particular circumstances (esp. the shortening or lengthening of the hours of daylight during a particular season); the time as reckoned according to the specified system. Also with possessive adjective, with reference to the time zone of the person or persons specified.Greenwich time: see Greenwich n. 1b. standard time: see standard time n. at standard n., adj., and int. Compounds 2. See also daylight saving time n. at daylight saving n. Compounds 2, railway time n., ship time n., summertime n. 2.
ΚΠ
1754 J. Robertson Elements Navigation II. ix. x. 307 The difference between the Greenwich time and the ship's time, is the difference of longitude.
1760 R. Heath Astronomia Accurata 239/1 [The] Moon souths later at Greenwich in Greenwich Time, than at Paris, in Paris Time.
1836 Times 16 Nov. 3/3 Quarter-past 11, over the district of Namur. Midnight by London time—extremely dark.
1840 Minutes Board of G.W.R. in Railway Gaz. (1935) 30 Aug. (G.W.R. Suppl.) 7/2 Outside clock to be provided for each station so as to be seen by passing trains, in order to ensure punctuality. London time to be adopted at all stations.
1859 Central City (Syracuse, N.Y.) Daily Courier 5 Jan. (advt.) Trains leave Buffalo daily..from Erie street Depot, on New York time, as follows.
1866 J. E. Gastrell & H. F. Blanford Rep. Calcutta Cyclone 39 Mr. Grant assures me that his watch was correct by Calcutta time when he started on the previous day.
1897 Bismarck (N. Dakota) Daily Tribune 8 Sept. 2/5 The Northern Pacific will run an accommodation train..leaving Mandan at 12 o'clock our time.
1916 Times 13 Apr. 7/6 The [German] Federal Council has..ordered the institution of what is called ‘German Summer Time’.
1916 Manitoba Free Press 25 Apr. 4/1 With very little confusion the daylight saving time was adopted by all Winnipeg and its suburbs yesterday.
1935 Cook's Continental Time Table Mar. 102 Moscow time is two hours later than that of Greenwich.
1948 A. N. Keith Three came Home xviii. 295 He telephones me from Australia... We speak at twelve midnight, my time.
1979 P. Hill Washermen xxxiv. 81 [He] arrives at Kai Tak Airport, Hong Kong, 3 p.m. tomorrow afternoon our time.
2010 New Yorker 1 Feb. 43/1 Santelli's rant was delivered at 7:10 A.M., Chicago time.
c. Chiefly depreciative or humorous. With preceding modifying word relating to a group, country, etc.: the attitude to timekeeping associated with the specified type of people, usually implying a relaxed, haphazard, or unreliable approach to punctuality, keeping to a schedule, etc.
ΚΠ
1936 C. Carmer Listen for Lonesome Drum iii. ii. 91 They come on Indian time—about an hour later than the time set.
1945 H. C. McQueen Vocations for Maori Youth ii. 41 ‘Maori time’, the casualness of meals and meal-times, the frequent indifference towards the completion of a piece of work.
1972 Boston Sunday Globe 23 July b29/1 The train from Nogales..[is] on the old-fashioned side but comfortable—if you don't care what time you get there. It runs on Mexican time. Manana is soon enough.
1992 N.Y. Times Mag. 13 Oct. 32/2 Only four students are at their desks... ‘I see we're operating on Gay People Time.’
2005 M. H. Smith Delicious x. 118 Wilson was late, as usual... There was island time, usually a good fifteen to twenty minutes slow; and there was Wilson time. That was whenever he got around to it or felt like it.
B. int.
Used to indicate that a particular moment in time has arrived, esp. (a) the end of a period of rest or informal play, or of a prescribed portion of play, in various sports (cf. senses A. 21a, A. 21b); (b) the end of opening hours in a public house or other licensed establishment (cf. sense A. 21c). Cf. also to call time at Phrases 4b.
ΚΠ
1816 Bell's Weekly Disp. 12 May in P. Egan Sporting Anecd. (1820) 414 The dogs were under the care of their seconds, when several persons cried out ‘Time, time.’
1833 Cricketers' Reg. 25 in New Sporting Mag. 5 The umpire called ‘Time,’ on which the two batsmen left their ground.
1884 Cornhill Mag. Apr. 436 The gusto with which he arranged the ring, and called, ‘Time, gentlemen, if you please.’
1899 Amer. Monthly Mag. Apr. 652 Cries of ‘Time! Time!’... Chairman. It is the duty of the Chair to call time when three minutes have elapsed.
1901 ‘B. L. Standish’ Frank Merriwell's School Days vi. 46 ‘Time!’ called the referee... Then the two foes stood face to face.
1902 G. Hill in G. R. Sims Living London II. 292/2 The potmen look to the fastenings of doors, lights are lowered, and cries of ‘Time, gentlemen, please!’ grow more peremptory.
1953 J. Mortimer Like Men Betrayed v. 87 It's not very comfortable in our pub... They're always shouting ‘time’ and turning the lights on and off.
1989 A. Sinclair War like Wasp xvi. 231 Maclaren-Ross hardly heeded the nightly ritual pub reminder, ‘Time, gentlemen, please. Time.’
2004 P. E. High Step to Stars 95 Somewhere a voice shouted ‘Time!’ and Bretton almost collapsed in the folding chair. The huge sponge..was almost slapped into his face.
C. conj.
1. English regional and U.S. regional. During the time that; while; when. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1875 E. Tweddell Rhymes Cleveland Dial. 22 Let's be off,..tahme it's seea nice an' leet.
1926 E. Ferber Show Boat 124 I was keelboatin' time you was runnin' around, a barefoot on the landin'.
1948 M. Carbery & E. Grey Herts. Heritage 145 Time, when: ‘Time we lived Redbourne way.’
1950 R. Moore Candlemas Bay 13 Time Joel Walls had his net, one night he caught seven hogsids.
2. colloquial (chiefly U.S. and Caribbean). By the time that; as soon as; at the moment that.Formerly esp. in representations of African-American usage.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > immediacy > immediately [conjunction] > as soon as
as soon asc1290
once1747
time1887
1887 J. C. Harris Free Joe & Other Georgian Sketches 85 Time I look at 'im I know he ain' de villyun w'at make off wid my ginger-cakes.
1890 Cornhill Mag. Nov. 547 But, time I gave her the address, she went on as if she would like to go, and meant a-going, the very next day.
1921 B. B. Valentine Ole Marster 21 Big Aaron call', an' time I tu'n an' look, He threw his han's up 'fo' his eyes, an' hid his face.
1938 M. K. Rawlings Yearling ix. 78 You git on to the sink-hole, son, and I'll foller time I've skinned out your 'coon hide.
1961 R. Gover One Hundred Dollar Misunderstanding 135 He gone so lo-o-o-o-ng! Time he git back, I near outta my black hide.
1975 O. Thomas Rain falling, Sun Shining 15 I asked my friend, Kenny To lend me a penny But time I reach Tantie it lost.
2009 S. Littlefield Bad Day for Sorry ix. 264 They took you to surgery as soon as they got you in here, but time I got over here, you were in recovery.

Phrases

P1. With another noun.
a. time of day (also time of the day).
(a) A point or period in the course of a day or of the diurnal cycle; = sense A. 14b. In later use also: a point or stage in any period or course of events (somewhat colloquial).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [noun] > the time or time of day
tidea900
timeOE
time of the dayc1225
hourc1315
clocka1616
age of the day1632
c1225 (?c1200) St. Margaret (Bodl.) (1934) 18 (MED) As þah hit were þe seoueðe time of þe dei.
a1325 (?c1300) Northern Passion (Cambr. Gg.1.1) l. 407 (MED) It is time of dai man to wake, Som del of mi sorwe sclake.
c1400 ( G. Chaucer Treat. Astrolabe (Cambr. Dd.3.53) (1872) ii. §33. 42 This is no mor to seyn but any tyme of the day tak the altitude of the sonne.
1440 J. Capgrave Life St. Norbert (1977) l. 2387 What for þe sunne sore he gan to swete..Tyme of þe day was euene þe nontyde.
a1547 J. Redford Moral Play Wit & Sci. (1848) 3 Ah! syr, what tyme of day yst?
1595 A. Copley Wits Fittes & Fancies ii. 78 They are by this time of day deep rooted in his beleefe.
1634 J. Ford Chron. Hist. Perkin Warbeck iii. sig. E3 How runnes the time of day?.. Past tenne my Lord.
1700 J. Collier 2nd Def. Short View Stage 114 The Favour of a Prince was not..unreputable at that time of day.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker I. 21 I will not begin at this time of day to distress my tenants, because they..cannot make regular payments.
1783 Encycl. Brit. X. 8716/1 The precise time of the day in which the flowers of different plants open, expand, and shut.
1810 R. B. Sheridan Let. 20 Apr. (1966) III. 83 Without dissembling the hardship it [sc. not having a servant] will be to me, At my Time of Day.
1862 Bradford Advertiser 15 Mar. 6/1 No man at this time of day pretends to maintain, that [etc.].
1870 J. Nicholson Idylls o' Hame 25 A watch... At least 'twad ha'e tald him the time o' the day.
1905 Sat. Rev. 28 Jan. 107/1 At this time of day it seems incredible that any modern shrub should suffer the abhorred shears.
1937 Times 29 July 10/2 That such varied theories should at this time of day be advanceable but serves to show how much we are in the dark.
1981 D. Anderson Rough Layout xii. 93 The worst time of the day was when your father would come home.
2007 D. S. Wilson Evol. for Everyone xii. 75 Morning sickness..is better named pregnancy sickness because it can occur at any time of day.
(b)
(i) to give (wish, etc.) the time of day (to).
(1) To greet (as by saying ‘good morning’, etc.). Now rare and somewhat archaic.
ΚΠ
1594 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 2 iii. i. 14 In the morne, When euery one will giue the time of day.
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Saluër, to salute, greet,..giue the time of the day vnto.
1674 tr. P. M. de la Martinière New Voy. Northern Countries 92 Discerning we were strangers, [he] saluted us in Dutch, gave us the time of the day.
1707 J. Stevens tr. F. de Quevedo Comical Wks. (1709) 300 It shall be always allow'd to give the Time of the Day, but no New-Years-Gifts.
1844 Literary Garland Mar. 116/1 He smiled, and lifting his hat from his head, gave her the time of day.
1906 S. Ford Shorty McCabe vii. 165 She had her lamps turned our way, and I hears Sadie give her the time of the day as sweet as you please.
1913 A. Huxley Let. 30 July (1969) 48 Dearest Father, Just to wish you the time of day and so forth.
(2) colloquial. To be civil towards, acknowledge the presence of, help or cooperate with (a person). Chiefly in negative contexts.
ΚΠ
1851 A. Spiers Dict. Général Français–Anglais (ed. 3) 105/1 Ne pas traiter q. u. [= quelqu'un] avec les [civilité]s ordinaires,..not to give a. o. [= any one] the time of the day.
1902 ‘M. E. Francis’ Manor Farm xxii. 347 And ye won't so much as give her the time o' day!
1964 Charleston (W. Virginia) Daily Mail 7 Jan. 6/2 Some hens are talkative; others are close-mouthed and wouldn't give you the time of day.
1979 A. Maling Koberg Link (1980) xxiii. 123 You've come to the wrong place. Paul Carmichael won't give me the time of day.
2005 B. Keating & S. Keating Blood Sisters (2006) ii. 31 The Britishers will never consider us as their own... They won't give us the time of day when Uhuru comes.
(ii) Used in greetings, as (good, fair) time of day (to you). Now archaic and rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > courteous formulae [phrase] > terms of greeting
God give you good dayc1275
hail be thou (also ye)c1275
pax vobisc1275
how do ye?1570
(good, fair) time of day (to you)1597
how goes it?1598
I salute youa1616
savea1616
how do you find yourself?a1646
how-do-you-do1697
how do?1886
how are you popping (up)?1894
how's (less frequently how are) tricks?1915
how's (or how are) things (or, originally Australia and New Zealand, tricks?)1926
how's life?1931
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard III i. iii. 18 Good time of day vnto your royall grace. View more context for this quotation
1600 W. Shakespeare Henry V v. ii. 3 To our brother France, Faire time of day.
1601 B. Jonson Every Man in his Humor i. iv. sig. D2 The time of daye to you Gentleman: is Signior Prospero stirring? View more context for this quotation
1813 C. Lamb Mr. H. ii. i. 24 Good time of day to you, Mr. Hogsflesh.
1842 T. Cross Edric v. vii. 98 Good time of day to William's chosen chief.
1979 E. Bentley tr. H. von Kleist Wannsee in Mass. Rev. Autumn 548/1 Rosalie: This is Count Frederick, Sybilla. Sybilla: The time of day to you, most noble sir!
(iii) to pass the time of day: to exchange greetings, pleasantries, or casual remarks; to spend time chatting, usually briefly.
ΚΠ
1835 N.-Y. Spectator 22 June This [sc. ‘howdy’] is an idiom, and corresponds rather to our fashion of ‘passing the time of day’ with a man.
1854 A. E. Baker Gloss. Northants. Words I. 175 ‘To pass the time of day’. To greet in passing, as ‘Good morning’, &c.
1922 J. Joyce Ulysses ii. 280 I was just passing the time of day with old Troy..and be damned but a bloody sweep came along and he near drove his gear into my eye.
1965 Listener 23 Sept. 453/2 The English chaps would pretend..to be very friendly and jovial and pass the time of day and that sort of thing.
2000 F. Keane Stranger's Eye 159 Men were starting to patrol without flak jackets and stopping to pass the time of day with people on the street.
(c) As the type of something of little value, in negative expressions, esp. not worth the time of day.Apparently rare before the 20th cent.
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Pericles xvii. 35 None woulde looke on her..and helde a Mawkin not worth the time of day . View more context for this quotation
1898 Salt Lake Semi-Weekly Tribune 27 Dec. 5/4 That jay ain't worth her time of day.
1947 San Jose (Calif.) Evening News 24 Apr. 19/2 I never met a tough guy who was worth the time of day.
1977 A. Mitra Calcutta Diary xxxiv. 146 The credibility of the Government has been so much eroded that many will not trust it even with the time of the day.
2007 J. D. Mason This Fire Down in my Soul 191 Married men were no–no's and not worth the time of day, and Lewis wasn't even her type.
(d) colloquial or slang. The prevailing aspect of affairs; the state of the case; the right or most effective way of doing something (esp. when this is regarded as not generally known). In later use chiefly in to know the time of day: to be well-informed, to ‘know what's what’ (cf. to know what o'clock it is at o'clock adv. 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > circumstance or circumstances > circumstance [phrase] > state of affairs
casec1405
state of time (also times)1534
state of (the) case1577
time of day1667
carte du pays1744
1667 M. Poole Dialogue between Popish Priest & Protestant 161 No friend, it is not that time of day.
1682 J. Bunyan Holy War 10 If that be done, I know, quickly what time of day 'twill be with us. View more context for this quotation
1690 Char. Jacobite 3 They give him such Counsel as they believe him inclined to..which is a kind of setting the Sun by the Dyal; so that the King never knows what time of day 'tis among his Subjects.
1829 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. July 131 Who should I meet, but a jolly blowen, Who was fly to the time o' day.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxviii. 422 Steady, Sir, steady; that's the time o' day.
1897 ‘Ouida’ Massarenes xxvii ‘She knows the time o' day’, said the other.
1910 W. Boyle Mineral Workers i. 9 Mary Mulroy, it's a good job for you someone knows the time of day. If they didn't, you and Ned and this feather-headed son o' yours 'id be made hares of.
1993 J. Grigg Hist. ‘The Times’ VI. 47 Heath he had every reason to admire, as a Conservative who knew the time of day and as a dedicated European.
2010 Herald (Glasgow) (Nexis) 23 Nov. (Sport section) 14 He was a good trainer and he knew the time of day.
b. time of life: a point or epoch in the course of a person's life; a person's age.In later use sometimes used spec. of middle age, or of the menopause.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > middle-aged person > [noun] > middle age > menopause or change of life
change of life1761
turn of life1772
menopause1852
climacterium1876
time of life1971
1539 Bible (Great) Gen. xviii. f. viv/2 In returnynge, I wil come agayne vnto the, acordinge to the tyme of lyfe.
1576 R. Robinson tr. F. Patrizi Moral Methode Ciuile Policie f. 54v They do deuide our age, or tyme of lyfe by the number of seauen.
a1647 T. Hooker Applic. of Redempt.: First 8 Bks. (1656) v. 266 If the work of Grace had been appropriated to any time of Life, either Youth, Man-hood, or Old Age, alone.
1741 S. Richardson Pamela IV. xlix. 301 If she would..not endeavour to conceal her Age, she would have a great many Compliments for looking so well at her Time of Life.
a1771 T. Gray Candidate (?1780) 1 At our time of life, 'twould be silly, my dear.
1838 E. C. Gaskell Let. 17 Aug. (1966) 25 We agreed..that when people are come to yr time of life, there is no use having long engagements.
1883 Wellsboro (Pa.) Agitator 27 Nov. How could she wear flaxen hair and bangs at her time of life? It was indecent, improper, scandalous!
1971 ‘E. Ferrars’ Stranger & Afraid vi. 100 Whatever's wrong with a woman over forty, it seems to me, people say it's her Time of Life.
1981 J. Mann Funeral Sites xxii. 132 Aidan has already threatened me with psychiatrists. He says it is ‘my time of life’.
2002 Mandala Mar. 54/2 The child actually became the caregiver at a time of life when he or she should have been the cared for.
c. Chiefly Shipbuilding. time and lime: used to refer to an arrangement by which a ship is built for the cost of labour and materials, plus an agreed percentage. Frequently attributive. Now rare.Although the earliest evidence relates to shipbuilding, the use of lime n.1 2 in the phrase may suggest an origin in bricklaying or a similar trade; cf. quot. 1914, which relates to building generally.
ΚΠ
1902 R. MacIntyre in Brit. at Work 272 Some concerns..merely charge material and labour [for building a steamer]—‘time and lime’ is the not inapt description of this system—plus a certain percentage as profit.
1914 Sessions Cases (House of Lords) 89 In building transactions there are what are known as time and lime contracts.
1918 Manch. Guardian 1 May 5/6 The shipyards are building on what is called the ‘time and lime’ system.
1968 Jrnl. Industr. Econ. 17 13 Naval building may also be assumed to be generally profitable since so much of it has the character of prototype construction and tends to be on ‘time and lime’.
d. a matter (also question) of time: said with reference to an event or circumstance that is thought certain to come about, or to resolve itself in a particular way, sooner or later. Esp. in it's only a matter (or question) of time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > future events > [phrase] > it's only a matter of time
it's only a matter (or question) of time1830
the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > in future [phrase] > it's only a matter of time
it's only a matter (or question) of time1830
1830 New Monthly Mag. 29 314 We have found the difference between the most zealous reformers, and those who once sneered at the very name, sunk into a question of degree; as the abolition of slavery has become a question of time.
1837 W. Walton Revol. of Spain I. 352 Their reconciliation to their sovereign and their country, if they sincerely wished it.., was merely a matter of time.
1851 Amer. Whig Rev. Dec. 543/1 Altogether, the continuance of the Mexican republic seems to be merely a matter of time. It must, sooner or later, fall to pieces.
1858 Friendly Societies' Jrnl. Dec. 39/2 It will be only a question of time before you act in accordance with my recommendation.
1928 E. O'Neill Strange Interlude iii. 94 I'm making good, all right..since I got married—and it's only a question of time.
1963 ‘J. le Carré’ Spy who came in from Cold viii. 81 It was only a matter of time before it packed up.
2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 21/1 It was only a matter of time before this son of a bitch was drummed out of the Force.
e. euphemistic. time of the month (also bad time of the month): the time during which a woman is menstruating; an occurrence of menstruation; frequently with possessive adjective. Cf. period n. 8.
ΚΠ
1931 E. R. Groves & G. H. Groves Sex in Marriage vii. 177 She who doubts the warmth of her passionate nature will do well to accept the aid of her ‘time of the month’ in educating her sex powers.
1940 Zanesville (Ohio) Signal 20 Feb. 6/1 (advt.) Gee I'm sorry! But it's my bad time of the month and I'm just miserable with chafing!
1968 F. Exley Fan's Notes viii. 379 My first impression was that it was her time of the month, my first impulse to hurry her discreetly to the girls' room.
2002 R. Gervais & S. Merchant Office: Scripts 1st Ser. Episode 1. 24 Alright? What is it, time of the month?
f. time of the moon: a point in the lunar cycle.
ΚΠ
1528 tr. Aristotle De Cursione Lune xv. sig. bv Loke thou therof take noo kepe If thou haue any thyng to done Abyde a beeter [read better] tyme of the moone.
1566 T. Blundeville Order curing Horses Dis. xxxii. f. 24v, in Fower Offices Horsemanshippe The horse that hath this disease, is blinde at certaine tymes of the Moone.
1662 J. Chandler tr. J. B. van Helmont Oriatrike 145 The immortall minde..doth not vary through Lunatickness or Frantickness at a certain time of the Moon.
1704 J. Swift Tale of Tub iv. 97 The Operation was performed by Spargefaction in a proper Time of the Moon.
1798 J. Ebers New & Compl. Dict. German & Eng. Lang. II. 709/2 Mondäugig, lunatic, whose eyes run at certain Times of the Moon.
1885 A. Brassey In Trades 211 The right time of the moon for the ‘tigers of the sea’ [i.e. sharks] to be about.
1934 Evening Independent (St. Petersburg, Florida) 6 Nov. 11/2 There is always a good crop at harvest time if the planting is done at the right time of the moon.
2002 Sunday Times (Perth, Austral.) (Nexis) 2 June At a time of the moon when bottom fishing can be difficult due to rapid water movement from the big tides.
g. a question of time: see Phrases 1d.
h. In alliterative association with tide, in various senses of both words, esp. in time and tide. Frequently in or with allusion to proverbial phrases: see time and tide wait for no man at Phrases 6f.Originally apparently with the two words in distinct senses; later used almost synonymously. Cf. etymological note.
ΚΠ
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 778 He wat wel wat tim or tide þat ȝee hade eten o þis tre.
a1450 Pater Noster Richard Ermyte (Westm. Sch. 3) (1967) 40 (MED) What tyd or tyme so þat we þis breed faile to þe soule, he waxiþ seek in synne & drawiþ to þe deeþ.
1474 in L. F. Salzman Building in Eng. (1952) 64 Thei..take theyr houres of Rest and Respit betwene the tyme and tyde as it is affore accordyng to the season of the yere that thei labor in.
c1550 R. Bieston Bayte Fortune B j And founden wast thou fyrst in euyll time and tyde.
1581 J. Marbeck Bk. Notes & Common Places 804 For their penaunce, according to the number, manner, time and tide giuen them by their ghostly father.
1602 J. Marston Antonios Reuenge ii. iv. sig. Ev The diuell in his good time and tide forsake thee.
1712 W. Goldwin Poet. Descr. Bristol 8 An inland Port..Where new or shatter'd Gallies safely Sleep, Till Time and Tide remand them to the Deep.
1791 R. Burns Tam o' Shanter 67 Nae man can tether time or tide.
1874 T. Hardy Far from Madding Crowd I. viii. 95 A true narrative, like time and tide, must run its course and would wait for no man.
1980 P. Grace in L. Wevers N.Z. Short Stories (1984) 4th Ser. 110 Now this strip here,..it's where we used to get our pipis, any time or tide.
2000 K. Shamsie Salt & Saffron (2001) vi. 65 Why can't we roll with it; see where time and tide take us?
i.
(a) time after time: on many occasions, again and again, repeatedly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > repeatedly
day and nightOE
morning, noon, and nightc1325
new and newa1425
time after time?a1425
over and overa1470
toties quoties1525
again and again1533
reiteratively1619
over and over again1637
repeatedlya1647
times without number1658
to and again1659
—— in, —— out1815
time and time again1821
day in (and) day out1824
recurringly1828
repetitiously1828
recurrently1841
repetitively1872
ever and again1880
recursively1901
twenty-four hours a day1914
serially1978
?a1425 tr. Guy de Chauliac Grande Chirurgie (N.Y. Acad. Med.) f. 41 Auicen in þis case when þat þe hete is remissed commaundeþ for to distille tyme after tyme [L. vice post vicem] wiþ a poyntelle inuolued with cotone.
1584 E. Paget tr. J. Calvin Harmonie vpon Three Euangelists 626 Continually tyme after tyme hee [sc. God] sent vnto them diuerse Prophetes.
1631 W. Gouge Gods Three Arrowes iii. §6. 192 The like hath been verified time after time.
1715 in H. Pickworth Charge of Error 294 We have Time after Time commanded Henry Pickworth to make away his reflectious Book against our Holy Order.
1752 W. Goodall Adventures Capt. Greenland IV. xii. xvi. 231 Thus I was driven from my Purpose, Time after Time, and continually deluded by his treacherous Advice.
1848 A. Somerville Autobiogr. Working Man 130 There I, time after time, sat down for several hours each time, and looked across the narrow road to the window.
1881 B. Jowett tr. Thucydides Hist. Peloponnesian War I. 42 Time after time we have warned you.
1921 H. C. Witwer Rubyiat of Freshman 21 The coach..appointed me tackling dummy, insisting upon me carrying the ball the length of the field time after time.
2008 New Yorker 24 Nov. 52/2 This was someone who..was encouraged to mortgage her home, time after time, without sound lending practices.
(b) time to time: from time to time (see Phrases 3j(a)). U.S. colloquial in later use.rare before 20th cent. In later use as a colloquial shortening of from time to time.
ΚΠ
a1450 (c1412) T. Hoccleve De Regimine Principum (Harl. 4866) (1897) l. 4189 (MED) Tyme to tyme he ȝaf hem..Of his goode.
1950 S. Barker Rivers Parting vii. 103 I'm only a poor yeoman, but I put money in there, time to time, like we always did at Old Thorny.
1977 T. Babe Prayer for my Daughter ii. 49 I wanna know if she calls again, which she's been doing time to time.
2008 J. Peacock Cure for Night 64 ‘You were over at Devin's apartment when Strawberry was there?’ ‘Time to time.’
j. all the time in the world: a great deal of time; enough time, by a comfortable margin, in which to do something. Frequently in to have all the time in the world.
ΚΠ
1840 C. H. Townshend Descriptive Tour Scotl. ii. 18 He would begin to draw a bit of rock ahead of us, and commence shading it in a sad smudgy style, as if he had all the time in the world to finish it accurately.
1887 H. W. Preston Year in Eden ii. 187 There'll be all the time in the world for that, I should say.
1923 G. S. Mason in B. C. Williams O. Henry Prize Stories of 1923 (1924) 170 Tide will be right in two hours and fifteen minutes; all the time in the world.
1952 M. Allingham Tiger in Smoke xi. 184 If you 'ad only woodened 'er, we'd have 'ad all the time in the world.
2001 Adrenalin No. 9. 148 They seemed to have all the time in the world to perfect their pipe riding or effortlessly cruise through snow-bloated trees under deep, clear blue skies—without the stress of impending exams.
k. the time of one's life: see life n. Phrases 13e. the nick of time: see nick n.1 11b.
P2. With a following adverb.
a. time about.
(a) Alternately; by turns. Later (now more usually) in the fuller form time and time about (cf. turn and turn about at turn n. Phrases 1a(e)(ii)). Chiefly regional in later use.The shorter form of the phrase was and remains chiefly Scottish (earliest with preceding possessive adjective; formerly also †times about).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > alternation > [adverb]
changeablyc1384
alternately1432
interchangeably1483
handy-dandya1529
time about1537
by course1548
at (by) intervals1588
alternatively1591
reciprocally1603
by reprises1607
alternally1627
alterably1635
altern1667
alternate1715
by vicissitudes1749
alternatingly1845
1537 in C. Innes Registrum Episcopatus Aberdonensis (1845) I. 413 Sex of þe foirsaid viccaris þair tyme about ilk Satirdaye..sall syng þe foirsaid anteme.
?1590–1 J. Burel tr. Pamphilus in Poems sig. C3v To gang and cum, and towartis you resort, Our time about, for to confer anone.
c1650 J. Spalding Memorialls Trubles Scotl. & Eng. (1850) I. 131 Becaus..diuerss of his freindis sould cum..thair tyme about, and attend his lordschipis seruice.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) xiii. 343 That a protestant emperor should be chosen time about with a popish.
1816 W. Scott Antiquary II. x. 256 Time about's fair play.
1820 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 664/1 Suppose now, I should give you the two stiles time and time about, like riggs of rundale on the hip of Tinwald hill.
1828 W. Carr Dial. Craven (ed. 2) (at cited word) Times about, in turns, in rotation.
1849 Star & Banner (Gettysburg, Pa.) 28 Sept. He and his brother Louis..had..only one coat between them, so the brothers could only go out alternately, time and time about.
1868 R. L. Stevenson Let. July in Scribner's Mag. (1899) 25 31/1 You observe that I spell Philistine time about with one and two l's.
1907 W. G. Maxwell In Malay Forests 252 The two sang against one another, time and time about.
1932 ‘L. G. Gibbon’ Sunset Song 23 The ministers from Drumlithie and Arbuthnott and Laurencekirk they came time about in the Sunday forenoons and took the service there.
1963 J. Faulkner My Brother Bill 273 In Pylon..he wrote about two men sharing, time and time about, the same woman.
1974 P. M. Fink Bits of Mountain Speech 27 They go to her church and his'n, time about.
1988 J. J. Graham & J. Tait Shetland Folk Bk. VIII. 19 Du hang dem ower da bar ida roof abün a guid fire, hint an fore time aboot ta tak up less room.
(b) English regional (northern). A double traversal of a field (cf. sense A. 18c). Now rare.
ΚΠ
1894 R. O. Heslop Northumberland Words Time-aboot, a double journey in field work, extending from heedrig to heedrig and back again.
1905 I. Wilkinson in Eng. Dial. Dict. VI. 152/1 [N. Yorkshire] Time-about [a double journey in field-work].
b. Originally U.S. time and again (also time and time again, (now less commonly) times and again): repeatedly; on many occasions; very often.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > repeatedly
day and nightOE
morning, noon, and nightc1325
new and newa1425
time after time?a1425
over and overa1470
toties quoties1525
again and again1533
reiteratively1619
over and over again1637
repeatedlya1647
times without number1658
to and again1659
—— in, —— out1815
time and time again1821
day in (and) day out1824
recurringly1828
repetitiously1828
recurrently1841
repetitively1872
ever and again1880
recursively1901
twenty-four hours a day1914
serially1978
1821 Jrnl. Deb. & Proc. Convent. to revise Constit. Mass. 48/2 Application was made, time and again, relative to the College.
1831 New Eng. Farmer 23 Feb. 252/3 It has been recommended, times and again, not to give horses grain unbroken on this account.
1835 Baltimore Southern Pioneer 28 Mar. 172/2 We know that this has been reported of it time and time again.
1870 W. Morris Earthly Paradise: Pt. IV 414 Time and again, he, listening to such word, Felt his heart kindle.
1873 Bradford Observer 29 Dec. 3/6 You have besought permission to see me time and time again.
1916 A. Quiller-Couch On Art of Writing ix. 179 France has helped us times and again.
1977 It May 29/2 Time and time again we have been told of the desperate need to coordinate squatting activities.
2009 C. Ackerley in W. Van Mierlo Textual Scholarship & Material Bk. 109 Time and again she had to make difficult decisions about disputed words and phrasing.
c. time(s) and oft (also often): = many a time and oft at Phrases 5a(b). Now rare.
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1791 W. Taylor tr. G. E. Lessing Nathan the Wise (1805) iii. 130 And have not I too said so, times and oft.
1798 Musical Banquet 122 Time and oft, dress'd lamb fashion, I zeed an old ewe.
1808 E. Sleath Bristol Heiress III. 94 The fine handsome young officer, who has been here times and often.
1862 M. E. Braddon Lady Audley's Secret II. xiii. 303 Luke knows this, and the landlord has warned him of it times and often.
1920 S. Graham Children of Slaves 174 Premature greetings have been given time and oft to new Negro culture and responsibility.
1972 P. M. Fraser Ptolemaic Alexandria I. x. 658 A floating islet..which sailors from the Cyclades and the Saronic Gulf saw time and oft in the waters of the northern Aegean.
d. Chiefly regional. time back: some (esp. a long) time ago; (also) for a long time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > [adverb]
erea822
fernOE
whileOE
erera1000
whilereOE
onceOE
somewhile1154
whilomc1175
herebeforec1200
somewhilesa1250
yorea1250
orc1275
rather?a1300
erewhilec1305
sometimea1325
sometimec1330
at or in sometime1340
in arrear1340
heretoforea1375
fernyear1377
once upon a timec1380
behinds1382
beforetimea1393
of olda1393
erenow1393
umquhilea1400
erst14..
fornec1400
yore whilec1400
of before1402
late1423
abefore1431
beforetimes1449
whilesc1480
sometime1490
aforrow?a1513
behind1526
quondamc1540
in foretime(s?c1550
erstwhile1569
erstwhiles1569
aleare1581
erewhiles1584
sometimes1597
formerly1599
anciently1624
olim1645
somewhile since1652
quondamly1663
forepassed1664
sometimea1684
backward1691
historically1753
time back1812
had-been1835
when1962
1812 M. Edgeworth Absentee x, in Tales Fashionable Life II. 155 My lord Clonbrony wrote, and ordered plantations here, time back.
1845 Farmer's Mag. Aug. 140/2 The horse-rake..was very useful..; he had experienced the want of it time back.
1887 T. Darlington Folk-speech S. Cheshire Time ago.., Time back.., some time ago.
1946 Daily Mail (Hagerstown, Maryland) 4 Apr. 16/1 O'Connell is attempting to break a jinx that has followed all fighters from time back.
2003 M. Bragg Crossing Lines (2005) xvii. 173 [He] said he knew him from time back and he was a bit of a nancy boy.
e. time off.
(a) Time away from one's work, school, regular occupation, etc., esp. for rest or recreation. Cf. off adv. 4d.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > [noun] > for doing something
toom1297
leisurec1400
respite1443
vacationc1450
vacuity1607
room1769
time off1881
society > leisure > [noun] > time off
remedyc1450
intermission?1566
vacancy1599
by-time1609
off-duty1844
watch below, off1850
stand easy1859
off time1866
time off1881
lay-off1889
make and mend1899
laze-off1924
R and R1952
downtime1971
me time1980
1850 N. Brit. Rev. Aug. 360 We would counsel all public writers to think well of the best means of economizing themselves—the best means of spending their time off duty.]
1881 Hartford (Connecticut) Daily Courant 1 Sept. Counsellor Fox..wonders how he can get so much time off from his work in New York.
1897 A. Daly tr. F. Von Schönthan Seven-twenty-eight iii. 73 I'd like to ask if I could go to the Private Coachman's ball to-night, ma'am... I never have any time off.
1914 Rotarian Dec. 55 The clerks in his store have compensation for this extra service in the form of an allowance for meals and time off later for the extra hours put in.
1954 Spectator 10 Dec. 736/2 Theorists who indulge the undemocratic vice of taking time off to think.
1977 Whitaker's Almanack 580/2 The Financial Times was not published because of a dispute between management and N.G.A. compositors over time-off.
2009 New Yorker 5 Jan. 53/2 Your salary is not taxed, you get hardship pay, time off, and a lot of your expenses are covered.
(b) Time taken off the length of a prison sentence, most commonly in recognition of good behaviour. Also in extended use.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [noun] > sentence or term of > remission of part of sentence
time off1881
1881 Bucks County (Pa.) Gaz. 15 Sept. The date of his commitment was October 1878, and the time off for good behavior made up the difference in the sentence.
1951 ‘J. Tey’ Daughter of Time i. 9 Benny would get time off for good behaviour.
1994 N. Parker Parkhurst Tales ix. 94 His appeal was due to be heard shortly and he was counting on getting some time off.
2009 L. Weber Sticks & Stones xii. 170 PR is operating in what is effectively a never-ending global news cycle. There's no time off for good behavior.
f. time out.
(a) Originally U.S. Time forming a break from an activity, task, or occupation. Frequently (esp. in early use) in to take time out.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition or fact of being interjacent > be or make interjacent [verb (transitive)] > break the continuity of or separate by an interval
interrupt1679
interval1716
to take time out1892
the world > relative properties > order > order, sequence, or succession > continuity or uninterruptedness > discontinuity or interrupted condition > [noun] > a break in continuity
interruption1390
breach1589
hiatus1613
chasm1654
solution of continuity1654
gap1670
caesura1846
break-in1856
breakage1871
scission1884
time out1892
1892 A. S. Roe Worcester Classical & Eng. High School 58 With the exception of some time out on account of sickness, she has been constantly in the school.
1898 Morning Oregonian (Portland, Oregon) 24 Jan. 8/5 A most important change is that in regard to the delaying of the game by taking time out.
1902 Los Angeles Times 13 May 3/5 Before she departed,..she took time out from her suffering to lay the seeds of the disaster.
1918 Oakland (Calif.) Tribune 30 June 50/2 The Peerless made the run from Fresno into Los Angeles (and there was some time out for pictures on the Ridge route) in a trifle over seven hours.
1950 Life 16 Oct. 10 (advt.) Always the right answer—when you need time out to relax and get a fresh start!
1968 J. D. Hicks My Life with Hist. xii. 219 The purpose of this change was to enable students to pursue their studies the year around, with a minimum of time out for vacations.
2007 Church Times 5 Jan. 16/2 A quiet garden is simply somewhere beautiful where people can take time out to rest and pray.
(b) Sport. Usually as two words or with hyphen. Suspension in play, accompanied by the stopping of the clock, either at the request of one team or player, or as ordered by the referee, umpire, etc., typically for rest, consultation, or making substitutions. Now chiefly in to call time out.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > match or competition > [noun] > game or definite spell of play > stage in game
time out1896
restart1897
seventh-inning stretch1903
match point1921
quick death1938
turnaround1959
1896 W. Camp & L. F. Deland Football vi. 61 Time out, time taken out by the referee when play is not actually in progress.
1898 Milwaukee (Wisconsin) Sentinel 9 Oct. 6/1 In the second half the frequent calls for ‘time out’ were invariably made for the benefit of a purple player.
1906 Spalding's Official Foot Ball Guide 145 Either captain may ask time out three times each half; penalty thereafter unless a player removed from game.
1925 Woman's World (Chicago) Apr. 12/2 Then the whistle blew for time out. Something had happened. The U's meteoric halfback..was hurt.
1972 J. Mosedale Football v. 61 We'd just stopped them on our one-yard line and called time-out.
2005 Charleston (W. Va.) Gaz. (Nexis) 27 Nov. 1 d West Virginia had plenty of time to win the game and did so without calling time out to allow LSU to set its defense.
(c) colloquial (originally U.S.). As an imperative, calling for a break or halt, esp. in a conversation which is becoming uncomfortable, heated, confused, etc.: ‘hold on’, ‘wait a minute’; ‘calm down’, ‘relax’.Originally with allusion or reference to a suspension of play in sporting contexts (see Phrases 2f(b)).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > calmness > be calm [phrase]
steady there1825
steady the Buffs1888
steady on (with something)1903
time out1906
1906 S. Ford Shorty McCabe iii. 60 ‘Time out!’ says I, blockin' the Boss's pet upper cut. ‘Mister 'Ankins seems to have something on the place where his mind ought to be.’
1937 Boys' Life Oct. 6/2 ‘Sandy MacDonald's coming in to replace me!’ he informed. ‘Time out, please!’
1945 T. Slesinger & F. Davis Tree grows in Brooklyn (screenplay) in J. Gassner & D. Nichols Best Film Plays 1945 200/2 Hey, time out, I've had enough battlin' to last me today.
1961 N.Y. Times 12 Sept. 29/1 Time out! Stop this madness!
1988 S. Lee Do the Right Thing (film script, 2nd draft) in S. Lee & L. Jones Do the Right Thing (1989) 188 Yo! Hold up! Time out! Time out! Y'all take a chill. Ya need to cool that shit out.
2009 Times (Nexis) 22 June 19 Whoa! Time out. Let's reassess.
g. time is (also was, etc.) up.
(a) With possessive, indicating that a period of time allotted to a person (for a task, visit, activity, etc.) or to a thing has ended, or will soon end.
ΚΠ
1651 E. Hall Lingua Testium 7 God declares to him [sc. the prophet Daniel] how long the dissipation of the Jewes shall be, which..began Anno 360. therefore their time is up about this yeare 1650. their time of dissipation being to continue 1290. years.
1694 J. Collier Misc. iii. 18 My Time is up, I must leave you.
1784 H. Cowley More Ways than One i. ii. 11 Tell her that a peerage, like the parliament, lasts but seven years, and that your time is up.
1808 Gentleman's Mag. July 592/2 Still less can I discover any reason why, soon after the Taste which presides in Bond-street has hit upon a becoming article, it should give way to one less so, merely because ‘its time is up’.
1896 Cambr. Rev. 26 Nov. 109/1 My allowed time was up.
1958 New Statesman 6 Sept. 330/2 Farewell, adieu, BM and PRO, My time is up, reluctantly I go.
1997 Daily Tel. 7 Apr. 20/3 Helmut Kohl has declared war on the conventional wisdom that after 15 years in power, his time is up.
(b) Without possessive, indicating that an allotted period of time has ended or must end. Also as a warning exclamation, esp. as time's up.
ΚΠ
a1673 T. Horton 100 Select Serm. (1679) xv. 112 If the time be up it is no matter when it is first begun.
1792 Ann. Reg. 1789 Chron. 199/2 Ryan put in the first blow on the chest of his opponent, and brought him down. When the time was up, and each were on their guard, Johnson returned the compliment.
1826 Lit. Lounger Apr. 163 Chapel bell is done tolling—time is up.
1871 G. R. Cathcart Cathcart's Youth's Speaker cxxxiii. 140 Time's up, Sly... If I catch you running over time again, I'll wallop you!
1901 R. Fitzsimmons Physical Culture 159 Time was up. The champion was out.
1980 B. Okri Flowers & Shadows vii. 58 Well, Jero, time is up. You'd better be going now.
2002 C. Williams Sugar & Slate 187 Time's up! I'm outa here.
P3. With a preceding adverb or preposition.
a. about time: (a) approximately the right or suitable time (for a specified event or circumstance); (b) colloquial (originally with some irony) long past the right time; used to suggest that the event or circumstance in question should have come about much earlier, or is long overdue; frequently as a separate utterance (often with too).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > late or too late
lateOE
behindc1330
overlatea1400
lately?1440
arrear1477
behindhandc1550
tarde1557
lateward1572
tardy1586
too-late1620
out of time1760
tardily1821
not before time1837
postponedly1851
about time1856
belatedly1896
1807 Caitiff of Corsica i. iv. 62 Come, now it is about time to repair to the Assembly.
1820 Providence (Rhode Island) Patriot 11 Mar. (advt.) As it is about time you were getting your hay seeds together, it would give us pleasure to assist you in supplying you with [etc.].
1843 Knickerbocker July 35 Having pulled heartily thus far, we considered it ‘about time’ to take a small pull at the brandy-bottle.
1846 F. Trollope Robertses on their Trav. I. i. 11 ‘But never mind, with my management I dare say I shall make it do.’ ‘And about time, my dear,’ said her husband.
1856 Sporting Rev. Jan. 58 Kingstown..is only at 6 guineas. Surplice is half-price, and about time too.
a1902 F. Norris Pit (1903) i. 11 ‘At last, at last,’ she cried, ‘and about time, too!’
1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet iv. i. 285 I reckon it's about time to get dinner started.
1977 A. Clarke Let. from Dead ix. 103 ‘Now you're talking,’ said Jill, ‘and about time too.’
2009 Ireland's Eye Jan. 38/3 It's about time I gave up the stairs now—my knee is playing up.
b. Chiefly regional. not afore time = not before time at Phrases 3e(b).
ΚΠ
1899 Angler's Rec. Oct. 21/1 An' we got him out, an' not afore time, for he wa full o' watter, and he took some getting round.
2001 M. Eccles Untimely Graves x. 91 ‘Ar. Not afore time, neither.’ His voice quavered with self-pity.
c. against time: in competition with the passage of time; with the aim of finishing a race, one's task, etc., as quickly as possible, or before the expiry of a certain period. Frequently in race against time. Cf. against the clock at clock n.1 and adv. Phrases 8.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [adverb] > within temporal limits
terminally1657
against time1759
to time1848
the world > action or operation > manner of action > rapidity or speed of action or operation > with rapid action [phrase] > in haste or in a hurry > so as to finish within a certain time
to watch the clock?1705
against time1854
1759 Owen's Weekly Chron. 23 June 207/1 [He] started at Newmarket to perform a match against time, to ride fifty miles in two hours.
1790 J. Bentham Draught New Plan Organisation Judicial Establishm. France v. 18 Some men have got a name, by trying causes, as if for a wager, against time.
1838 New Sporting Mag. Mar. 155 He [sc. a skater] re-commences his exertions in an hour, and runs chiefly against time.
1854 C. Dickens Hard Times i. viii. 58 A..population of babies who had been walking against time towards the infinite world.
1872 Punch 10 Feb. 57/2 No member shall speak against time or his own convictions.
1911 Pop. Mech. June 798/1 A large force of men set to work in a race against time.
1935 ‘E. Queen’ Adventures 86 What would you gentlemen expect a thief, working against time, to do under these circumstances?
1975 Economist 1 Feb. 16 Sheikh Mujib's ‘second revolution’ last weekend was his personal answer to this race against time.
2008 C. Tiernan On Back of Other Side xxiv. 327 The writer had been working against time to record the minutes of a stormy meeting.
d.
(a) at times (formerly also †at time): at one time and another, at various times; occasionally, on occasion. Also †at times and again.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > sometimes or occasionally
whiloma900
whilea1000
stoundmealc1000
stundumOE
otherwhileOE
umquhile1154
with and withc1175
by stoundsa1225
otherwhilesc1225
umbestound?c1225
umbewhilec1230
then and thenc1275
sometime…sometime1297
umstounda1300
by while13..
over while13..
sometime1340
umbe throwea1350
at timesa1382
now and again (also anon, eft, now)a1393
umbwhile1393
eftsoona1398
sometimea1400
by sithesc1400
umbestoundsc1400
from time to (formerly unto) time1423
now and (also or) then1445
ever now and nowa1470
when and whenc1470
occasionallya1475
in timesa1500
whiles?a1500
whilomsa1500
sometimes1526
somewhiles1528
at whiles1540
ever now and then1542
a-whiles1546
somewhiles…, somewhiles1547
at sometimes1548
now and thenc1550
ever and anon1558
by occasions1562
on (also upon) occasion1562
as soon…as soon1581
every now and then (also again)1642
by a time1721
once and a while1765
ever and again1788
periodically1825
in spots1851
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. x. 1 More precious is wisdam and litil glorie at tyme [L. ad tempus], than folie.
1485 Malory's Morte Darthur (Caxton) x. xxxviii. sig. Diiijv Thenne he kyste her and dyd to her plesaunce as it pleased them bothe at tymes and leysers.
1529 T. More Dialogue Heresyes iii, in Wks. 245/1 Our sauiour at tyme taught his apostles a part.
1549 J. Bale in J. Leland Laboryouse Journey Pref. sig. B.i Some they sent ouer see to ye bokebynders, not in small nombre, but at tymes whole shyppes full.
1611 Bible (King James) Judges xiii. 25 The Spirit of the Lord beganne to mooue him at times . View more context for this quotation
1722 W. Sewel Hist. Quakers i. 13 At Times his Mind was much exercised.
1779 Mirror No. 39. ⁋9 I believe most men have, at times, wished to be..possessed of the power of moulding the world to their fancy.
1806 Med. & Physical Jrnl. 15 381 The pain in her head became so acute, as to produce at times, actions of violence.
1864 Reader 634/3 Some blacks, at times and again, hovering over a few coals.
1884 W. C. Smith Kildrostan 46 I blame myself at times.
1905 M. Moore Let. 8 Oct. (1997) 11 At times I feel quite self-possessed so things may get brighter.
1955 Sci. News Let. 19 Mar. 185/2 Patients with this disease are at times completely withdrawn from the world around them.
2010 Church Times 14 May 29/3 It would have been good to pause at times from the factual record to consider what was changing.
(b) at no time: on no occasion, never.
ΚΠ
1393 in Collectanea Topographica & Genealogica (1836) III. 256 (MED) We hadde neuyr non astat, riht, ne possession in the forsaid londis att no tyme.
1436 W. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) I. 15 John Roys never at noo tyme payed..for þe dette he aught to hym.
c1475 tr. C. de Pisan Livre du Corps de Policie (Cambr.) (1977) 53 A laumpe..sholde at no tyme be lefte vnlyght.
1517 R. Fox tr. St. Benedict Rule iii. sig. B.vv That ye be well ware euery howre what dedes ye doo in this present lyfe, that at no tyme ye fall or offende rechelesly or necligently.
1557 T. Tusser Hundreth Good Pointes Husbandrie sig. C.iiv Pinche weannels at no time, of water nor meate.
1652 P. Heylyn Cosmographie iii. sig. Mmm The People..able at no time to stand by themselves.
1660 R. Coke Elements Power & Subjection 162 in Justice Vindicated At no time a Priest is worthy to celebrate Mass, who hath not received the Eucharist.
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth IV. 131 At no time are they found at any great distance from their retreats.
1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) iii. 54 The French States at no time attained the regularity of the English Parliament.
1904 Windsor Mag. Jan. 226/2 At no time could we see the trawler, though we heard the click of her windlass.
1937 J. P. Marquand Late George Apley iv. 29 At no time in the history of the world have such material changes occurred as those in John Apley's life span.
2009 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 9 Aug. (Business section) 5/3 At no time does SDI ever receive any identifiable patient information.
(c) at the same time.
(i) During the same period, at the same moment, not earlier or later; simultaneously.
ΚΠ
1445–6 Rolls of Parl.: Henry VI (Electronic ed.) Parl. Feb. 1445 §40. m. 6 That the shirref or undershirref, coroners and baillies..be there atte the same tyme in her owen person.
1598 R. Hakluyt tr. E. van Meteren in Princ. Navigations (new ed.) I. 596 At the same time the Spanish Fleete was escried by an English pinasse.
1620 N. Brent tr. P. Sarpi Hist. Councel of Trent viii. 779 Besides his treatie with Loraine..he receiued at the same time a resolution from the Emperour.
1663 G. Harvey Archelogia Philosophica Nova II. i. xxiii. 191 In many pillared round Churches a loud voice doth resonate by several Eccho's near upon at the same time.
1705 D. Defoe Rev. Affairs France II. 207/1 These Convoy by their Intelligence one and the same Report at the same time to all Parts of the World to their Sub-Agents.
1780 Mirror No. 100. ⁋4 In two of Shakespeare's tragedies are introduced, at the same time, instances of counterfeit madness, and of real distraction.
1841 E. W. Lane tr. Thousand & One Nights I. 19 A man may have 4 wives at the same time.
1937 Amer. Home Apr. 14/1 (caption) Its glossy-leaved branches carry at the same time flowers and green and fully ripe fruit.
1990 J. Hamilton Rackham iv. 81 He had the enviable facility of being able to carry on a conversation and draw at the same time.
2010 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 11 Feb. 16/1 In 1985, in Hamburg, I played against thirty-two different chess computers at the same time.
(ii) With clause specifying an occurrence simultaneous with another: during the same period or at the same moment as, that, when, etc.
ΚΠ
1555 J. Wilkinson tr. L. de Avila y Cuñiga Comm. Wars in Germany sig. L.ii The Lordes of Vlme make suche spede for to reduce themselues into the seruice of his maiesty at the same tyme that the Countye Palentine was in halle.
1571 R. Reynolds Chron. Noble Emperours f. 100 At the same time as this tribute was demaunded, Coil succeding Asclepiodorus.
1604 E. Grimeston tr. True Hist. Siege Ostend 87 At the same time when as these ships entred, fire tooke a house at the East-port.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 7 He is, at the same time the evil thing is done, as much the cause of the gainstanding good that is not done.
1746 R. James Mod. Pract. Physic II. 272 Such medicines as promote suppuration, at the same time that they prevent a putredinous corruption.
1787 T. Best Conc. Treat. Angling (ed. 2) 115 The Shorn-Fly. Comes on about the same time as the Canon-fly.
1860 Notes & Queries 8 Dec. 452/1 Frequently..the mother is churched at the same time that her infant is baptized.
1972 N.Y. Mag. 24 Apr. 40/2 Mrs. Hogan's Valium arrived at the same time I did.
1992 Sun 16 Sept. 4/5 Mr Mellor was there at the same time when the whole of the Government was working towards getting Iraq out of Kuwait.
2009 R. B. Day & D. Gaido tr. L. Trotsky in Witnesses to Permanent Revol. vii. 323 At the same time as they are fuelling social excitement, the thousands of voices from the liberal press are also attempting to steer it in narrow channels.
(iii) Used in introducing a reservation, qualification, explanation, or contrasting consideration: as should also be borne in mind; while saying this; nevertheless, however, yet, still.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > testing > attestation, witness, evidence > qualification > [adverb] > however, nevertheless, notwithstanding
though-whetherc897
nathelesseOE
though971
whetherOE
yetOE
neverlOE
what for-thyc1175
nethelessa1200
never the latterc1225
algatec1230
in spite of (despite, maugre, etc.) one's teethc1230
nought for thatc1275
(all) for noughtc1325
(in) spite of one's nosec1325
alway1340
thoughless1340
ne'er the later (also latter)a1382
ne'er the lessa1382
neverlatera1382
neverthelessa1382
ne for-thia1400
neverlessa1400
not-againstandinga1400
nauthelessc1400
nouthelessc1400
algatesc1405
noughtwithstanding1422
netherless?a1425
notwithstanding1425
nethertheless1440
not gainstandingc1440
not the lessa1450
alwaysa1470
howbeit1470
never þe quedera1475
nought the lessc1480
what reck?a1513
nonetheless1533
howsomever1562
after all1590
in spite of spite1592
meantime1594
notwithstand1596
withal1596
in the meanwhile1597
meanwhile1597
howsoever1601
in (one's) spite?1615
however1623
in the meantime1631
non obstante1641
at the same time1679
with a non-obstante to1679
stilla1699
the same1782
all the same1803
quand même1825
still and all1829
anyhow1867
anyway1876
still and ona1894
all the samey1897
just the same1901
but1939
1679 W. Penn Addr. Protestants i. sig. Ev Vice, the Enemy of Religion, is at the same time the Enemy of Humane Society.
1685 J. Flavell Πνευματολογια 440 Paul the Pharisee was a blameless person touching the Law, and yet at the same time,..utterly ignorant of Christ.
1702 Short Narr. Proc. against Bp. of St. A. Pref. sig. B3v But at the same time it ought to be considered that there is a great deal of difference between Liberty and Encouragement.
1782 W. W. Grenville Let. 15 Dec. in Duke of Buckingham Mem. Court & Cabinets George III. (1853) I. 91 To state to you the difficulties..but at the same time, to say, that they were overbalanced by an absolute necessity.
1825 D. Douglas Jrnl. 1 Jan. (1914) 100 The verdure is scanty in comparison with most tropical climates..although at the same time some of the trees in the valleys are large.
1891 ‘J. S. Winter’ Lumley xv. 110 Give them my best wishes. At the same time I must say I do not envy the girl.
1926 W. R. Scott in D. T. Jones et al. Rural Scotl. during War i. 8 Naturally it is not possible to isolate the Scottish food position from that of England... At the same time it is interesting to observe [etc.].
1970 Daily Rep. (Ontario, Calif.) 25 Aug. a10/4 Avoid hasty action but at the same time remember that last-minute hasty action may well be better than no action at all.
2001 N.Y. Times 11 Nov. iv. 5/2 They are not Keystone Kops... But at the same time, they are not James Bond-smooth either.
(d) at a time.
(i) Simultaneously; on a single occasion; = at once adv. 3.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > [adverb]
on (or in) one sitheeOE
togethersc1175
togetherc1200
at once?c1225
at one shiftc1325
jointly1362
at one strokec1374
with that ilkec1390
at one shipea1400
withc1440
at a timec1485
at (in) one (an) instant1509
all at a shove1555
pari passu1567
in (also at, with) one breath1590
in that ilkec1590
with the same1603
in one1616
concurrently1648
concurringly1650
contemporarily1669
simultaneously1675
synchronistically1684
coevallya1711
in (also with) the same breath1721
synchronically1749
at a slap1753
synchronously1793
contemporaneously1794
coinstantaneously1807
coetaneouslya1817
consentaneously1817
at one or a sweep1834
coincidentally1837
at the very nonce1855
one time1873
coincidently1875
in parallel1969
real time1993
c1485 ( G. Hay Bk. Gouernaunce of Princis (1993) xxiii. 94 Gyf jt befell yat a man walde ete mony syndry metis yat war laxatyues–at a tyme.
1539 T. Elyot Castel of Helthe (new ed.) iv. xiii. f. 87v Vse them euery thyrde daye one pille at a tyme, thre houres or foure afore dyner or supper.
1607 E. Topsell Hist. Foure-footed Beastes 139 They [sc. bitches] bring forth many at a time sometime fiue, seuen, nine, or twelue.
1660 R. Ellsworth in Extracts State Papers (Friends' Hist. Soc.) (1911) 2nd Ser. 122 Heere they..haue their Meeteings at all Seasons..sometymes about 1000 or 1200 att a tyme.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 422. ⁋1 An utter Aversion to speaking to more than one Man at a time.
1798 T. Jefferson Let. 8 Feb. in Papers (2003) XXX. 87 He then tried..to get them sent on by fifties at a time by the stage.
1849 Sketches Nat. Hist.: Mammalia IV. 63 The field mouse breeds twice in the year, producing from six to ten young at a time.
1876 G. O. Trevelyan Life & Lett. Macaulay II. ix. 125 The publishers..are still pouring forth reprints by many thousands at a time.
1936 Notes & Queries 21 Nov. 362/1 The Skeltonic consists of short verses of two, three or four accents..rhyming in groups of anything from two to five or more lines at a time.
1976 A. J. P. Taylor Let. 5 Mar. in Lett. to Eva (1991) 290 You can become a temporary member of the London Library,..and then you can take out up to 10 books at a time.
2010 RadioUser Apr. 20/3 You can receive up to three stations at a time within any 2MHz band segment.
(ii) = at times at Phrases 3d(a). Obsolete. rare.
ΚΠ
a1616 W. Shakespeare Othello (1623) ii. iii. 306 You, or any man liuing, may be drunke at a time man.
†(e) at time: on credit; (also) on the understanding that the transaction in question will take place at a particular future time, at an agreed or specified price (cf. for time at Phrases 3i(c), Phrases 3l(b)(i)). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > monetary value > price > [adverb] > at price on specific day
at time1617
1617 R. Hughes Let. 18 Dec. in W. Foster Lett. Received East India Company (1902) VI. 236 The rest..we bought since receipt of your Worships' advice, part money (by agreement) the rest at time.
1678 J. Vernon Compl. Compting-house 213 Then must you..make the Man, or Men that sell the Goods to you at Time, credit.
1720 N.H. Compl. Tradesman xvii. 56 When you have bought any Goods at time, and afterwards you agree with the Person which sold you the Goods, to pay you your Money before it be due, with rebating or discount, then you must make the Person Debitor.
1721 N. Bailey Universal Etymol. Eng. Dict. To Frist,..to Sell Goods at Time [1724 (ed. 2) at Time, or upon Trust].
1817 Literary Panorama Oct. 160 If they had bought at time, whether in whole or in part, they must provide cash for the due honouring of those bills which are the signs of their purchase.
(f) at one's own good time: at a time of one's choosing; once one is ready; in one's (also its) own good time at Phrases 3k(d).
ΚΠ
a1652 R. Brome Damoiselle i. ii, in Five New Playes (1653) Dry. Ile shortly visit you. Bum. At your own good time Sir.
1836 C. G. F. Gore Mrs. Armytage I. vii. 100 Mrs. Armytage resented or relented at her own good time and pleasure.
1892 E. C. Stedman in Cent. Mag. Oct. 866 At my own good time, Will I send my answer to you.
1945 Times 12 June 5/4 Can Mr. Shannon state why in heaven or earth he should be free to return to his university at his own good time?
1997 Capital (Annapolis, Maryland) 21 May a8 They should be allowed to overcome this fear at their own good time.
e.
(a) before his (also her, etc.) time: prematurely.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > early, too early, or prematurely
ratheOE
oversoona1400
overtimelya1400
untimeously1513
before his (also her, etc.) time1545
abortively1552
immaturely1572
untimelya1586
forwardlya1641
prematurely1641
premature1754
ahead of oneself1854
over-early1856
beforetimes1885
1545 T. Paynell tr. St. Bernard Compend. Treat. Well Liuynge xxii. f. lxxxiv Luxuriousnesse..causeth man to seme olde and aged before his tyme [L. Luxuria carnem..fractam..celeriter ducit ad senectutem].
1547 A. Borde Breuiary of Helthe i. f. ix Abhorsion..is when a woman is delyvered of her chylde before her tyme.
1635 J. Hayward tr. G. F. Biondi Donzella Desterrada 220 The good are called before their time, for ridding them out of the hands of the wicked.
1700 J. Dryden tr. G. Boccaccio Sigismonda & Guiscardo in Fables 124 In the Prime Of Youth, her Lord expir'd before his time.
1762 Ld. Kames Elements Crit. I. 389 The rate of succession may be retarded by insisting upon one object, and propelled by dismissing another before its time.
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. vi. 99 We grow old before our time.
1890 Field 31 May 799/3 The Banksia roses..are bent on coming out before their time.
1916 M. Gyte Diary 29 Dec. (1999) 112 The cow that calved before its time has not cleansed.
1980 F. Buechner Godric 58 Is the past a sea old men can founder in before their time and drown?
2005 A. Smith Accidental 186 The cleaning girl..who looked poor, who looked old before her time.
(b) not before time: not soon enough, almost too late; frequently used to suggest that something is long overdue.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > late or too late
lateOE
behindc1330
overlatea1400
lately?1440
arrear1477
behindhandc1550
tarde1557
lateward1572
tardy1586
too-late1620
out of time1760
tardily1821
not before time1837
postponedly1851
about time1856
belatedly1896
1837 Sc. Christian Herald 7 Oct. 632/2 [He] escaped a third time from the hands of his jailers; and not before time, for they had already begun to give him a drug.
1917 ‘J. E. Buckrose’ Gossip Shop xix. 237 ‘I'm just going, Miss Walker,’ said Unwin... ‘Oh!’ said Miss Walker, but her tone implied, ‘Not before time.’
1955 ‘N. Shute’ Requiem for Wren v. 144 She got her clothes brush from her quarters and gave him a grooming with it, not before time.
1972 Observer 16 July 13/6 It all points to a wind of change blowing in the direction of the Ordinary shares..: and not before time either.
2004 Time Out 31 Mar. 125/4 Not before time, some of London's largest nightspots are set to transform their appearance and appeal.
f.
(a) behind the time.
(i) Late (for an appointment, etc.); behindhand (also behind one's time). Now rare. wise behind the time: (Scottish) wise after the event.
ΚΠ
a1658 J. Durham Clavis Cantici (1668) 130 Christ..is never behind His time, He cannot mistryst a believer.
1683 Mem. Sir J. Melvil 190 Your Majesty confessed that I had shewn you the verity, but the said confession was ay behind the time, with over late Repentance.
1717 R. Wodrow Corr. (1843) II. 319 The proverb of being wise behind the time.
1773 Morning Chron. 6 Dec. He rested here but two hours, having strained himself, and being behind his time.
1847 G. W. M. Reynolds Parricide (new ed.) xxv. 75/1 Have you tarried long, Mr. Arnold? I find I'm a trifle behind the time.
1849 Macphail's Edinb. Eccl. Jrnl. Apr. 176 There were many of the politicians of earth prophetically wise behind the time, ready to tell us that those fears were groundless.
1876 G. Meredith Beauchamp's Career II. iv. 56 The ‘three days’ granted him by Renée were over, and it scarcely troubled him that he should be behind the time.
1920 Overland Monthly Aug. 66/1 Billy..was purposely ten minutes behind the time, but to his disgust found the procession not yet started.
(ii) = behind the times at Phrases 3f(b).
ΚΠ
1833 Gardener's Mag. Dec. 686 The work is behind the time. By abbreviations and signs that could be recognised at first sight, it would be possible to express what is expressed in half the space.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) ix. 87 I'm old-fashioned, and behind the time.
1921 Shoe Workers' Jrnl. Feb. 8/2 Anybody in business who allows his affairs to reach the labor strike stage..is—behind the time.
1991 V. Henley Dragon & Jewel xxxiv. 347 You are behind the time. We have a new Pope in Rome.
2001 Daily Deal (N.Y.) (Nexis) 21 Aug. This work..is two years behind the time. It is an artifact of an era of blind faith in technology.
(b) behind the times: lacking an awareness of current (esp. the most recent) ideas, methods, etc.; out of date (sometimes preceded by an expression of length of time, indicating the extent to which this is the case).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the past > oldness or ancientness > [adjective] > old-fashioned or antiquated
moth-frettenOE
antiquate?a1425
antique?1532
rusty1549
moth-eaten1551
musty1575
worm-eatenc1575
overyear1584
out of date1589
old-fashioned1592
out of date1592
worm-eat1597
old-fashion1599
ancient1601
outdated1616
out-of-fashion1623
over-aged1623
superannuateda1634
thorough-old1639
overdateda1641
trunk-hosea1643
antiquitated1645
antiquated1654
out-of-fashioned1671
unmodern1731
of the old school1749
auld-farrant1750
old-fangled1764
fossila1770
fogram1772
passé1775
unmodernized1775
oxidated1791
moss-covered1792
square-toeda1797
old-fashionable1807
pigtail1817
behind the times1826
slow1827
fossilized1828
rococo1836
antiquish1838
old-timey1850
out of season1850
moss-grown1851
old style1858
antiqued1859
pigtaily1859
prehistoric1859
backdated1862
played1864
fossiled1866
bygone1869
mossy-backed1870
old-worldly1878
past-time1889
outmoded1896
dated1900
brontosaurian1909
antiquey1926
horse-and-buggy1926
vintage1928
Neolithic1934
time-warped1938
demoded1941
steam age1941
hairy1946
old school1946
rinky-dink1946
time warp1954
Palaeolithic1957
retardataire1958
throwback1968
wally1969
antwacky1975
1826 J. M. Good Bk. Nature III. 85 I may, perhaps,..be told that I am at least half a century behind the times.
1886 Graphic 20 Nov. 547/3 The Turquie, a daily paper, written in French, of some official inspiration, but very behind the times.
1921 E. O'Neill Diff'rent ii, in Emperor Jones 244 You needn't think we're all so behind the times..here just because you've been to France and all over.
1982 Black Belt Dec. 6/3 I feel that this study is about ten years behind the times.
2008 Independent 18 Apr. 17/3 If your website doesn't let your audience contribute then you're way behind the times.
g. in between times: = between-times adv. at between prep., adv., and n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1839 Proc. Central Criminal Court 17 June 225 I do not know when I heard it—it was in between times, but I cannot recollect when it was.
1887 E. Custer Tenting on Plains vi. 195 Our devoted surgeon..was untiring in his patience in coming when I sent for him in-between-times.
1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 159 She served me faithfully till the very last, packing her humble belongings in between times.
1966 N. Gordimer Late Bourgeois World 14 He's allowed out only twice a month, on Sundays, and the school discourages visits from parents in between times.
2002 C. M. Byron Martha Inc. viii. 115 She'd been married three times, and in between times had been romantically linked with a range of celebs.
†h.
(a) by the time (that) ——: when the time of the specified event or circumstance has arrived.
ΚΠ
?1509–10 Lamentacyon Our Lady sig. a.iv By the tyme that I came to the mount of caluary the wycked Iewes had done my sone vpon the crosse.
1531 T. Elyot Bk. named Gouernour sig. F By the time that the childe do com to .xvij. yeres of age..hit were nedefull to rede vnto hym some warkes of philosophie.
1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. iii. f. 26 By the time he had made these exhortacions they were come within throwe of their dartes.
1656 Ld. Orrery Parthenissa V. iv. 246 By the time we came to mingle, we out-winged their Left Flank.
1756 M. Calderwood Lett. & Jrnls. (1884) vii. 184 By the time we arrived, my head was like to split with perfect fear.
1805 T. Holcroft Mem. Bryan Perdue III. ii. 15 How sophisticated is the brain of man by the time that he becomes an adult!
1873 M. E. Braddon Strangers & Pilgrims ii. iii. 178 There are the men who go off their nuts by the time they're worth a million or so.
1933 P. Godfrey Back-stage vi. 82 By the time that the principals are rehearsing regularly again the company are working without their books.
2008 Daily Tel. 28 Feb. 16/5 By the time a snake handler from a nearby zoo arrived, the dog had been all but swallowed.
†(b) Scottish. by a time: at times, occasionally. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > sometimes or occasionally
whiloma900
whilea1000
stoundmealc1000
stundumOE
otherwhileOE
umquhile1154
with and withc1175
by stoundsa1225
otherwhilesc1225
umbestound?c1225
umbewhilec1230
then and thenc1275
sometime…sometime1297
umstounda1300
by while13..
over while13..
sometime1340
umbe throwea1350
at timesa1382
now and again (also anon, eft, now)a1393
umbwhile1393
eftsoona1398
sometimea1400
by sithesc1400
umbestoundsc1400
from time to (formerly unto) time1423
now and (also or) then1445
ever now and nowa1470
when and whenc1470
occasionallya1475
in timesa1500
whiles?a1500
whilomsa1500
sometimes1526
somewhiles1528
at whiles1540
ever now and then1542
a-whiles1546
somewhiles…, somewhiles1547
at sometimes1548
now and thenc1550
ever and anon1558
by occasions1562
on (also upon) occasion1562
as soon…as soon1581
every now and then (also again)1642
by a time1721
once and a while1765
ever and again1788
periodically1825
in spots1851
1721 J. Kelly Compl. Coll. Scotish Prov. 26 A Horse with four Feet may snapper, by a time.
1822 C. Lamb in London Mag. Aug. 155/1 Aye, aye, goodwife,..the wisest and most devout can remember by a time the joys of their youth.
1888 G. Sproat Rose o' Dalma Linn 107 A man's nocht the waur bein' fou by a time.
i.
(a) for the time (formerly also †for time): = for the time being at be v. Phrases 1b. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > the present (time) > [adverb] > for the time being
for the timec1390
for the time being1449
for present1559
for the present1559
presently1593
for the moment1754
c1390 (?c1350) St. Bernard l. 325 in C. Horstmann Sammlung Altengl. Legenden (1878) 46 (MED) A slepyng mon to men is tolde As good as ded for þe tyme.
1415 in R. W. Chambers & M. Daunt Bk. London Eng. (1931) 233 Wee the forseid Water & William, beyng vewers for the tyme of the seid Cite.
1463–5 Rolls of Parl.: Edward IV (Electronic ed.) Parl. Apr. 1463 §27. m. 10 Any persone or persones for tyme dwellyng..within the same chapell.
c1475 (?a1440) B. Burgh Distichs of Cato (Rawl. C.48) l. 443 in Archiv f. das Studium der Neueren Sprachen (1905) 115 314 (MED) Thouh wikkydnesse for tyme [1476 Caxton for the tyme] be kept secre, Yitt att the laste will it discurid be.
1547 Bp. S. Gardiner Let. 30 Aug. (1933) 277 I kepe my wont to write to your Grace now, in whose hands I know the estate of the realm to be fortime in government.
1580 T. Cooper Briefe Homily Lords Supper sig. B.iv Immediately after Supper, they through timerousnes fled from Christ, & for the time forsoke him.
1627 P. Hay Advt. Subj. Scotl. 127 The French King..having received some Appellations and Complayntes from those of Guyen, beeing for the tyme Subjects to the King of England.
1696 Constit. agreed Comm. Company of Scotl. trading Afr. & Indies (single sheet) The Major Part of the Council General or Court of Directors in being for the Time, shall always be a Quorum.
1753 S. Richardson Hist. Sir Charles Grandison VI. xxxii. 216 These ideal vagaries, which, for the time, realize pain or pleasure to us.
1788 T. Jefferson Writings (1859) II. 495 The consul's presence in his port should suspend, for the time, the functions of the vice-consul.
1891 Athenæum 3 Jan. 20/1 For the time the question must be considered shelved, but the change must soon come.
1965 P. Hunt Gift of Unicorn 38 If it were allowed, one would say he was trying to get at the soul of the immediate apple. They are, for the time, wholly his apples.
(b) for all time.
(i) In perpetuity; for eternity; for ever.
ΚΠ
a1450 (a1397) Prol. Old Test. (Harl. 1666) in Bible (Wycliffite, L.V.) (1850) xii. 47 Ofte suche noumbris ben sett for al tyme, as this that Dauith seith, [etc.].
1653 J. Rogers Ohel or Beth-Shemesh ii. vii. 457 There may be such a Covenant..with this Caution, that it be allowed only as a thing prudentiall, for a time..and not as a thing necessary for all time, or as without alteration or cessation.
1805 Goshen (Indiana) Weekly news 5 Jan. (advt.) A temple of art. Not for a day but for all time.
1871 N. P. Langford in N.Y. Tribune 28 Jan. This new field of Wonders [sc. the Yellowstone Park] should be at once..set apart as a public National Park for the enjoyment of the American people for all time.
1966 H. Davies New London Spy (1967) 284 Their faith is fixed for all time, and any scientific discoveries which may conflict with their creed are treated as passing aberrations.
2007 J. E. Vincent J. Ashbery & You i. 26 Apparently poems are best preserved for all time in anthologies, where they..represent an author or a period in an author's life.
(ii) for all time coming (also to come, future) and variants: for an indefinite, continuous period from this time on; henceforth. from now on.
ΚΠ
1616 H. Ainsworth Annot. First Bk. Moses, called Genesis sig. Z To day, is for the time present, Psal. 95. 7. and to morrow for al time to come, Gen. 30 33.
1681 New Prognostication for Year of our Blessed Lord 1681 sig. A6v At Linton in Tweddal..a weekly market every wednesday for all time coming.
1772 Polit. Reg. Feb. 105 It is utterly absurd to establish a permanent board for all time future, for the occasional purpose of settling an arrear incurred in time past.
1838 Monthly Rev. Aug. 559 The fashion of the day and for all time coming we hope, is to study what is the speediest and most economical rate by which to circulate..the merchandise of the land.
1877 H. V. Poor Money & its Laws 8 Acquisitions could be treasured up, and made to bear fruit for all coming time.
1889 Elkhart (Indiana) Sentinel 29 Aug. 1/6 To those who lost or imperilled their lives in the great struggle.., the world, for all time to come, owes a debt of gratitude.
1965 Daily Jeffersonian (Cambridge, Ohio) 2 Jan. 16/1 The abolition of slavery by constitutional provision settles the fate, for all coming time, not only of the millions now in bondage, but of unborn millions to come.
1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 12 June 10/2 I had myself for all time to come dammed and copper-lined the turbulent bank-caving river of my life.
(c) for time.
(i) On credit. Cf. Phrases 3d(e), Phrases 3l(b)(i). Obsolete.
ΚΠ
1572 T. Wilson Disc. Vsurye f. 122 If merchaunts would deale plainely, and simply gayne without seking further aduauntage, and sellyng for tyme as they could presently.
1590 W. Burton Serm. Norwich sig. Gv He is in money, in wares, in buying and selling for readie money, for time.
1623 W. Painter Chaucer New Painted sig. C6v Buy not for time those wares that are too deare.
1676 G. Carew Fraud & Oppress. Detected & Arraigned 16 Severall Goods of the Company were sold for time in the moneth of December 1636.
1707 S. Clement Vindic. Bank of Eng. 82 He that buys Goods for Time, must consequently pay the dearer for them.
1765 T. Dilworth Synopsis Merchants Accompts 3, in Young Book-keeper's Assistant sig. U Case 29. When I buy Goods for present Mony... Case 30. When I buy Goods for Time, i.e. on Trust.
(ii) Stock Market. Of a bargain, etc.: on the understanding that the goods or stocks in question will be sold or purchased at a particular future time. Frequently in bargain for time (cf. time bargain n.). Similarly for new time (with reference to bargains of this kind made near the close of an accounting period, which by agreement do not have to be settled until the next period; cf. new-time adj. (b) at new adj. and n. Compounds 1a(b)).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [noun] > specific operations or arrangements
intromission1567
hedginga1631
retiring1681
partnership1704
put1718
time bargain1720
bargain for time1721
option1746
call1825
put and call1826
cornering1841
corner1853
raid1866
pooling1871
squeeze1872
call option1874
recapitalization1874
short squeeze1877
split-up1878
margin call1888
pyramid1888
profit taking1891
pyramiding1895
underwriting1895
melon-cutting1900
round turn1901
market-making1902
put-through1902
put and take1921
round trip1922
put and take1929
leverage1931
split-down1932
switching1932
give-up1934
mark to market1938
recap1940
rollover1947
downtick1954
stock split1955
traded option1955
leg1959
stock splitting1959
rollover1961
split1972
spread betting1972
unitization1974
marking-to-market1981
swap1982
telebroking1984
society > trade and finance > stocks and shares > [adverb] > type of transaction
in the street1895
for new time1902
over the counter1921
1721 E. Budgell Let. Friend in Country 27 Gentlemen were forced to draw upon their Bankers, to pay the excessive Differences of their Bargains for Time.
1732 True & Faithful Narr. in J. Swift Misc. III. ii. 271 There were many who call'd themselves Christians, who offer'd to buy for time.
1776 J. O. Justamond tr. G. T. F. Raynal Philos. Hist. Europeans in Indies I. ii. 205 To declare all bargains of sale for time null and void, unless it appears..that the seller was a proprietor at the time the bargain was made.
1813 Beawes's Lex Mercatoria (ed. 6) I. 620 The commissions..to brokers to buy and sell stocks for time.
1849 J. Francis Chron. & Char. Stock Exchange 187 As a dealer in the funds for time he was well known.
1902 W. D. Callaway Stockbrokers' Accts. ii. 7 Those [bargains] up to one o'clock on the first Contango day being for the settlement then entered upon, those subsequent to that hour being for the next account, or, as more commonly stated, ‘for new time’.
1955 P. Sraffa in D. Ricardo Wks. & Corr. X. 69 Bargains were made both for cash and for time... Transactions for time were by far the most important.
1984 Times 4 Aug. 23/2 Some investors were buying for new time yesterday on talk of a bid before the end of the account.
j. from time to (formerly †unto) time.
(a) At intervals; now and again, occasionally.In quot. a1425, †at stated times, at definite intervals (obsolete).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > sometimes or occasionally
whiloma900
whilea1000
stoundmealc1000
stundumOE
otherwhileOE
umquhile1154
with and withc1175
by stoundsa1225
otherwhilesc1225
umbestound?c1225
umbewhilec1230
then and thenc1275
sometime…sometime1297
umstounda1300
by while13..
over while13..
sometime1340
umbe throwea1350
at timesa1382
now and again (also anon, eft, now)a1393
umbwhile1393
eftsoona1398
sometimea1400
by sithesc1400
umbestoundsc1400
from time to (formerly unto) time1423
now and (also or) then1445
ever now and nowa1470
when and whenc1470
occasionallya1475
in timesa1500
whiles?a1500
whilomsa1500
sometimes1526
somewhiles1528
at whiles1540
ever now and then1542
a-whiles1546
somewhiles…, somewhiles1547
at sometimes1548
now and thenc1550
ever and anon1558
by occasions1562
on (also upon) occasion1562
as soon…as soon1581
every now and then (also again)1642
by a time1721
once and a while1765
ever and again1788
periodically1825
in spots1851
1423 in H. Nicolas Proc. & Ordinances Privy Council (1834) III. 88 (MED) Ye desire to be acertained fro tyme to tyme of oure prosperite and welfare.
a1425 (c1384) Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Corpus Oxf.) (1850) Ezek. iv. 11 Fro tyme vn to tyme [L.V. fro tyme til to tyme; L. a tempore usque ad tempus] thou shalt drynke it.
a1500 ( in C. Monro Lett. Margaret of Anjou (1863) 38 (MED) To write forth unto us and certiffie us, from tyme to tyme, of all suche tidings as that ye shall have.
1524 T. Wolsey in State Papers Henry VIII (1836) IV. 139 [They] may and shal do grete stede in advertising the Kinges Grace from tyme to tyme..of the procedinges.
a1582 W. Bourne Inuentions or Deuises (?1590) lxxvi. 62 You may send letters, and receiue letters of your friends from time vnto time.
1648 Designes Un-masqued 6 Their forces, as well as ours, were from time to time paide.
1718 J. Quincy Pharmacopœia Officinalis 362/1 Let them stand a week or two, stirring the ingredients from time to time.
1790 H. L. Piozzi Diary 18 Mar. in Thraliana (1942) II. ii. 762 The Lady seems Lovesome, & I fancy lends him money from Time to Time.
1809 R. Adam Relig. World Displayed III. 162 The Reformed Presbytery, from time to time, received small accessions to the number of both their ministers and people.
1891 Law Rep.: Weekly Notes 18 July 136/1 The passage..was used only from time to time, and not continuously.
1902 M. Cholmondeley Moth & Rust 33 She hid her convulsed face in her hands, and shuddered violently from time to time.
1959 A. Beaumont Dis. Farm Crops iii. 37 This unusual type of disease is seen from time to time on wheat and on grasses.
2009 Daily Tel. 6 Oct. 6/8 All he did was sigh sadly from time to time.
†(b) At all times; continuously, or for an extended period; in an unbroken succession. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > always or in every case
alwayeOE
aldayOE
everOE
by night and (by) daylOE
ayc1175
algatea1200
alwaysc1225
everylikec1225
stillc1297
evermorea1300
algatesa1325
alikec1330
early and latec1330
at all assaysc1360
universallya1398
likec1400
continuallyc1460
tidely1482
ay-whenc1485
from time to (formerly unto) timea1500
at all seasons1526
at once1563
at every turn1565
throughout1567
still still1592
still1594
still and anona1616
still an enda1616
every stitch-while1620
everlastingly1628
constantly1651
everywhen1655
eternally1670
allus1739
any day (of the week)1759
everly1808
allers1833
every time1854
toujours1902
all (the way) down the line1975
a1500 tr. A. Chartier Traité de l'Esperance (Rawl.) (1974) 52 (MED) His correccions noyeth you as sone as ye fele any touche of them, and yet He suffrith from tyme to tyme or He punyce your defaultis.
1553 T. Wilson Arte of Rhetorique 14 Heaven is theirs, saieth David, that doe justly from tyme to tyme.
1586 T. Bowes tr. P. de la Primaudaye French Acad. I. 550 Therefore nothing was more esteemed from time to time among the auncients, than the institution of youth, which Plato calleth Discipline.
1615 E. Grimeston tr. P. d'Avity Estates 1195 It was held for certain that the institution comes from the Apostles, who ordained seuen Deacons, the which haue continued from time to time.
a1679 M. Poole Annot. Holy Bible (1683) I. sig. 5D2/2 I will therefore wait on God,..and will continue waiting from time to time, until my change come.
k.
(a) in time.
†(i) At a suitable time; seasonably, in season. Sometimes opposed to out of time (see out of time adv. 1a). Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb]
in timea1325
in good timec1325
in seasonc1330
tidefullya1340
tidily1340
betimesc1380
betimec1385
opportunelyc1425
at one's leisure1481
maturely1531
seasonably1532
timeously1538
timefully1614
tempestively1628
patly1632
opportune1667
lOE Canterbury Psalter i. 3 Quod fructum suum dabit in tempore suo et folium eius non decidet : þet his wæstm uel blæd sceal giuan on his timan & his læf ne sceal tofallan.]
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1128 Men seið ðe treen..Waxen in time and brimen.
a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Psalms ciii. 27 Alle thingus of thee abijden, that thou ȝiue to them mete in tyme [L. in tempore].
c1400 (c1378) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Laud 581) (1869) B. ix. l. 184 Whan ȝe haue wyued, bewar and worcheth in tyme; Nouȝt as Adam & Eue whan caym was engendred.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) ii. l. 1240 (MED) For in differryng is ofte gret damage, To werke in tyme is double avauntage.
c1440 S. Scrope tr. C. de Pisan Epist. of Othea (St. John's Cambr.) (1970) 43 Haunte thou the temple and wurschip in tyme The goddes of heuene.
1567 T. Drant tr. Horace Pistles in tr. Horace Arte of Poetrie sig. Ev I that in time, and out of time Karoust it without measure.
1583 P. Stubbes Second Pt. Anat. Abuses sig. L2v The worde of God is to be preached night and day, in time, and out of time, in season, and out of season.
1696 L. Meriton Pecuniæ obediunt Omnia xxix. 21 Things done in time or out of time all's one, Or if not done at all, she [sc. money] can Attone.
(ii) Soon or early enough, not too late. Frequently with for or infinitive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb] > in time or soon enough
time enoughc1400
in timea1450
timely1552
OE Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Tiber. B.i) anno 1011 Ealle þas ungesælða us gelumpon þuruh unrædas þæt man nolde him a timan gafol beodon oþþe wið gefeohtan.]
a1450 Late Middle Eng. Treat. on Horses (1978) 101 (MED) But þat hors be holpe in tyme, þat mangew wol turne in-to a foule schabbe.
?1463 R. Cutler in Paston Lett. & Papers (2004) II. 259 For cause ȝe were so laches and cam not in tyme þe mater ȝede a-mys.
1553 J. Brende tr. Q. Curtius Rufus Hist. x. f. 221v Perdicas, whose ambicious mynde desirous of innouation, was (he sayde) to be preuented in time.
1572 in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent. (1801) II. 247 The prouerb is, of palice, kirk, and brig, Better in tyme to beit, nor efter to big.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Macbeth (1623) ii. iii. 5 Come in time, haue Napkins enow about you. View more context for this quotation
1671 J. Milton Paradise Regain'd iii. 397 And just in time thou com'st to have a view Of his great power; for now View more context for this quotation
1738 tr. G. Plantavit de la Pause Life James Fitz-James, Duke of Berwick 78 Knowing..that he would still be in time for the campaign in Flanders, if Marshal Luxembourg..should make any enterprize this year.
1765 W. Gordon Universal Accountant II. 4 Whoever buys goods on time..must force a sale abroad, that he may have returns in time to answer it.
1787 A. Young Jrnl. 28 June in Trav. France (1792) i. 25 We return in time to dress for dinner, at half after twelve or one.
1834 Picture of Liverpool 73 Letters put into any of the Receiving Houses before twelve o'clock will be in time for the early mails.
1886 Science 7 May 422/2 If we can vaccinate in time, we may abort an attack of small-pox which would otherwise occur.
1912 Eng. Hist. Rev. Jan. 44 Mansel soon returned..in time to assume the custody of the seal in September 1238.
1986 R. B. Morrison & C. R. Wilson Native Peoples vi. 113 They headed back north in time for caribou hunting season.
2002 M. Thebo Saint who loved Me ix. 126 Peter starts to spit and catches himself in time.
(iii) In the course of time; sooner or later.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > different time > [adverb] > at some future time or one day
yeteOE
hereafter1154
hereafterwardc1386
sometimec1386
oncea1393
whiloma1400
rather or latera1450
one of these daysa1470
one day1477
umquhile1489
in timea1500
with time?1531
sooner or later1577
odd shortly1681
some summer's day1697
first or last1700
some of these (‥) days1831
someday1898
down the road (also track)1924
a1500 tr. Thomas à Kempis De Imitatione Christi (Trin. Dublin) (1893) 104 (MED) Consolacion shal come to þe in tyme [L. in tempore suo].
?1553–77 Life Fisher (Harl. 6382) (1921) 41 Lest some cavillacion might in time arise about this matter.
1594 Willobie his Auisa xlvii. f. 43 I thinke in tyme she may be wonne.
1612 B. Jonson Alchemist i. iii. sig. C3v This fellow, Captayne, Will come, in time, to be a great Distiller. View more context for this quotation
1656 Earl of Monmouth tr. T. Boccalini Ragguagli di Parnasso i. xxiii. 37 Potent men..would certainly in time work their revenge.
1728 J. Gay Beggar's Opera ii. iv. 23 Strong waters will in time ruin your Constitution.
1786 R. Cumberland Observer II. xxxix. 96 [They] were so constantly employed in repeating Homer's poems preferably to all others, that in time they were universally called Homerists.
1818 W. Scott Heart of Mid-Lothian iv, in Tales of my Landlord 2nd Ser. II. 85 The inner turnkey's office to begin wi', and the captainship in time.
1859 Harper's Mag. Feb. 332/2 Rosario..will probably in time become the great emporium of the eleven provinces west of the Prana.
1885 W. S. Gilbert Mikado ii. 43 He would have loved me in time. I am an acquired taste.
1927 B. Russell Outl. Philos. iii. 44 Perhaps in time the State will perform these experiments with the children of political prisoners.
1989 G. Daly Pre-Raphaelites in Love vi. 301 A wise old satyr..assures her that she will in time forget her pain.
2004 Sugar Nov. 120/2 Although they [sc. stretch marks] never completely disappear, they will fade in time.
(iv) In the correct rhythm or metre; rhythmically; so as to synchronize to (also with with).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [adverb] > in time or out of time
out of time1604
in timea1626
a1626 L. Andrewes XCVI Serm. (1629) 122 That Religion is Christian Religion: None sings this Hymne in time, in true note, but it; all other are out.
1654 E. Gayton Pleasant Notes Don Quixot iv. v. 199 Their great Teachers of the City Sweare, that in time they'l sing the dity.
1732 H. Baker & J. Miller tr. Molière Conceited Ladies xii. 77 in Sel. Comedies III Play in time, Fidlers, in time.—O what ignorant Wretches! there's no dancing with 'em.
1735 K. Tomlinson Art of Dancing xii. 137 It matters not whether it breaks off upon the End of the first Strain of the Tune, the second, or in the Middle of either of them, provided it be in Time to the Music.
1819 W. Scott Ivanhoe II. iii. 45 Balancing his expanded palms, he gently flourished them in time to the music.
1841 G. Catlin Lett. N. Amer. Indians I. viii. 55 [He] commenced singing in time with the taps of the drum.
1893 R. L. Stevenson Catriona i. 4 A..brisk tramp of feet in time and clash of steel.
1947 ‘A. P. Gaskell’ Big Game 95 Their hands fluttered delicately, moving easily and clapping exactly in time.
1976 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 15 Oct. 17/4 I saw him patting his hand on his knee in time to the music along with everyone else.
2000 Wasafiri Autumn 29/1 Arm over arm they sang in time with the song of the trawlermen of Holleme Bay.
(v) U.S. regional (chiefly New England). Used to intensify an interrogative word or phrase, as what (why, etc.) in time?: what (etc.) in the world?, what (etc.) on earth? Cf. world n. Phrases 4b.Possibly a euphemism: cf. what (also who, why, how, etc.) the (also in) hell at hell n. and int. Phrases 4d.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > expectation > surprise, unexpectedness > exclamation of surprise [interjection]
whatOE
well, wellOE
avoyc1300
ouc1300
ay1340
lorda1393
ahaa1400
hillaa1400
whannowc1450
wow1513
why?1520
heydaya1529
ah1538
ah me!a1547
fore me!a1547
o me!a1547
what the (also a) goodyear1570
precious coals1576
Lord have mercy (on us)1581
good heavens1588
whau1589
coads1590
ay me!1591
my stars!a1593
Gods me1595
law1598
Godso1600
to go out1600
coads-nigs1608
for mercy!a1616
good stars!1615
mercy on us (also me, etc.)!a1616
gramercy1617
goodness1623
what next?1662
mon Dieu1665
heugh1668
criminy1681
Lawd1696
the dickens1697
(God, etc.) bless my heart1704
alackaday1705
(for) mercy's sake!1707
my1707
deuce1710
gracious1712
goodly and gracious1713
my word1722
my stars and garters!1758
lawka1774
losha1779
Lord bless me (also you, us, etc.)1784
great guns!1795
mein Gott1795
Dear me!1805
fancy1813
well, I'm sure!1815
massy1817
Dear, dear!1818
to get off1818
laws1824
Mamma mia1824
by crikey1826
wisha1826
alleleu1829
crackey1830
Madonna mia1830
indeed1834
to go on1835
snakes1839
Jerusalem1840
sapristi1840
oh my days1841
tear and ages1841
what (why, etc.) in time?1844
sakes alive!1846
gee willikers1847
to get away1847
well, to be sure!1847
gee1851
Great Scott1852
holy mackerel!1855
doggone1857
lawsy1868
my wig(s)!1871
gee whiz1872
crimes1874
yoicks1881
Christmas1882
hully gee1895
'ullo1895
my hat!1899
good (also great) grief!1900
strike me pink!1902
oo-er1909
what do you know?1909
cripes1910
coo1911
zowiec1913
can you tie that?1918
hot diggety1924
yeow1924
ziggety1924
stone (or stiffen) the crows1930
hullo1931
tiens1932
whammo1932
po po po1936
how about that?1939
hallo1942
brother1945
tie that!1948
surprise1953
wowee1963
yikes1971
never1974
to sod off1976
whee1978
mercy1986
yipes1989
1844 C. Bailey Reclaimed Student i. 4 David Marston, what in time are you about? Why do n't you answer me?
1849 J. T. Fields Let. 28 Feb. in R. W. Griswold Passages from Corr. (1898) 250 Why in Time don't you come our way and see the boys?
1938 Boys' Life Feb. 48/1 How in time did you know it was Jalmer an' not Treat?
a1969 ‘D. Langley’ Swamp Angel (1982) xviii. 161 Why in time don't you put some wood on that there fire?
(b) in good time.
(i) At the right moment; at a fortunate or opportune moment; luckily. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb]
in timea1325
in good timec1325
in seasonc1330
tidefullya1340
tidily1340
betimesc1380
betimec1385
opportunelyc1425
at one's leisure1481
maturely1531
seasonably1532
timeously1538
timefully1614
tempestively1628
patly1632
opportune1667
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb] > at the proper time or in due course
timelya1225
in good timec1325
by revolutionc1425
dulya1513
accordingly1555
due-timely1606
fitly1611
fit, due, proper, just season1686
c1325 (c1300) Chron. Robert of Gloucester (Calig.) l. 7254 Þat was mold þe gode quene þat in gode time was ybore.
c1390 in F. J. Furnivall Minor Poems Vernon MS (1901) ii. 543 (MED) In good tyme he was boren, I-wis, Þat preisable is and not preised is.
c1503 R. Arnold Chron. f. lviv/2 Blessed bee thoos pepul and yn good tyme borne that ressayveth thes graces & wel kepith them.
?1569 T. Underdowne tr. Heliodorus Æthiopian Hist. x. f. 142 Hidaspes..takinge him by the right hande, saide: My Sonne you come in good time.
1592 A. Day 2nd Pt. Eng. Secretorie sig. K2, in Eng. Secretorie (rev. ed.) If it please you then to returne by him those parcels.., they will now come in very good time.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Comedy of Errors (1623) ii. ii. 65 Learne to iest in good time, there's a time for all things. View more context for this quotation
1639 S. Du Verger tr. J.-P. Camus Admirable Events 7 This came in good time to keepe this poore family from necessity.
(ii) Soon, early; promptly; quickly, expeditiously. In early use also †in hasty time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb] > early or in good time
soon?a1366
timelyc1390
in good timea1440
in good hour1603
timelily1608
in due hour1689
a1440 Let. in Eng. Hist. Rev. (1940) 55 643 (MED) The whiche mees for defaute of reparacion is full ruynus..in ffull short tyme but iff hit be repareld & amendud in hasty tyme.
a1450 (c1410) H. Lovelich Merlin (1913) II. l. 9985 Forth on his message he gan to gon, And dyde his message al in good tyme.
c1450 ( Nightingale (Calig.) l. 80 in O. Glauning Minor Poems J. Lydgate (1900) 4 But, doun descendyng, she sayde in hasti tyme: ‘My lyfe be kynde endure shall not longe’.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. xxv. sig. PPy.ii Pietro..made therin such expedition, as he arriued in good tyme to Verona, taking order for all thinges that were commaunded him.
1585 T. Washington tr. N. de Nicolay Nauigations Turkie ii. xxii. 60 [They] come home againe in good time without the knowledge..of their husbands.
1694 W. Penn Acct. Travails Holland & Germany 281 The day following we took our journey for London, came there in good time that Evening.
1710 W. Nicolson London Diaries 8 Dec. (1985) 520 To London, 28 miles, in good time..supper over at my brother's.
1756 W. Toldervy Hist. Two Orphans III. 12 Our company reassumed their march; and..arrived in good time.
1806 W. Cruise Digest Laws Eng. Real Prop. VI. 257 So that my executrix shall pay in good time all lawful debts.
1872 Punch 19 Oct. 158/1 My aunt wants to be back in good time.
1928 D. H. Lawrence Lady Chatterley's Lover xvi. 286 Hilda arrived in good time on Thursday morning, in a nimble two-seater car.
1966 U. Schwarz & L. Hadik Strategic Terminol. 130 To prevent the enemy from making gains..he might make without resorting to war if not forcibly opposed in good time.
2000 A. Sayle Barcelona Plates 31 Indicating left and sliding gently into the inside lane in good time Alice turned her little red car..off the hurtling traffic of the southbound M1 motorway.
(iii) Used as an interjection or rhetorical question, expressing surprise or implicitly requesting confirmation of what has just been said: really?, indeed? In later use more commonly used ironically to express scepticism, disbelief, or ridicule: to be sure!, indeed!, forsooth! Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > belief > disbelief, incredulity > expressions of disbelief [interjection]
to go toc1275
in good timea1470
Walker1811
to get off1818
this beats my grandmother1819
to go on1835
your granny!1837
to get away1847
I ask you1855
great guns!1875
sure1907
oh yeah1927
Aunt Fanny1928
go 'long1974
to sod off1976
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1146 ‘His name ys sir Urre of the Mounte.’ ‘In good tyme’, seyde the kynge.
1529 T. More Dyaloge Dyuers Maters v. f. xiv/2 Nay syr sayd he..I rehersyd you what I haue hard som other saye. In good tyme q[uod] I.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Tempest (1623) ii. i. 100 Sowing the kernels of it [sc. an island]..bring forth more Islands... Why in good time.
1650 T. Fuller Pisgah-sight of Palestine ii. vi. 149 There..even at this day, are shewed the ruines of those three tabernacles built according to Peters desire. In very good time no doubt.
1665 R. Howard Committee ii, in Four New Plays 87 Abel. When the weather is not good, we hold a fast. Arb. And then it alters. Abel. Assuredly. Arb. In good time.
1789 H. L. Piozzi Observ. Journey France II. 50 Bonducci..calls him emulous of Milton, in good time!
1819 H. L. Piozzi Let. June in Piozzi Lett. (2002) VI. 283 [He] begs my good Wishes now he is grown a Man—in good Time!
(iv) When the proper or appropriate time has arrived; after the lapse of a suitable period of time; in due course. Frequently in all in good time.
ΚΠ
1602 W. Burton 10 Serm. iv. 47 We are comming: all in good time: the Sermon is not begunne yet.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard vi. 43 The wise old man..thanketh the Ancient of dayes, who in good time will crowne him with the gifts of a better life in his celestiall Palace.
1698 T. Gipps Remarks on Remarks ii. 26 They who would excuse the Jews for Corrupting the Seventy only, and not the Hebrew, in good time will defend the Corrupting the English Version only, and not the Original Greek.
1730 J. Wesley Let. 12 Dec. (1931) I. 67 He will in His good time ‘quell the raging of this sea’.
1749 J. Cleland Mem. Woman of Pleasure II. 235 For respects I should in good time acquaint him with.
a1816 R. B. Sheridan School for Scandal (rev. ed.) iv. i in Wks. (1821) II. 96 I shall be rich and splenetic, all in good time.
1883 J. Gilmour Among Mongols xvii. 206 Every true-hearted follower shall, in good time, arrive at the desired goal.
1931 A. Christie Sittaford Myst. vi. 51 ‘All in good time,’ said Narracott to himself. ‘Now isn't the moment to rub him up the wrong way.’
1986 E. W. Whittaker Mainland Haole v. 193 No doubt, in good time, other Hawaiis will emerge to join those already created.
2004 J. Winspear Maisie Dobbs (2005) i. 4 Clearly there were some things that needed to be changed, but all in good time.
†(c) in times: on various occasions; = at times at Phrases 3d(a). Obsolete. in times ——, in times ——: at one time ——, at another ——; sometimes (one thing), sometimes (another).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > sometimes or occasionally
whiloma900
whilea1000
stoundmealc1000
stundumOE
otherwhileOE
umquhile1154
with and withc1175
by stoundsa1225
otherwhilesc1225
umbestound?c1225
umbewhilec1230
then and thenc1275
sometime…sometime1297
umstounda1300
by while13..
over while13..
sometime1340
umbe throwea1350
at timesa1382
now and again (also anon, eft, now)a1393
umbwhile1393
eftsoona1398
sometimea1400
by sithesc1400
umbestoundsc1400
from time to (formerly unto) time1423
now and (also or) then1445
ever now and nowa1470
when and whenc1470
occasionallya1475
in timesa1500
whiles?a1500
whilomsa1500
sometimes1526
somewhiles1528
at whiles1540
ever now and then1542
a-whiles1546
somewhiles…, somewhiles1547
at sometimes1548
now and thenc1550
ever and anon1558
by occasions1562
on (also upon) occasion1562
as soon…as soon1581
every now and then (also again)1642
by a time1721
once and a while1765
ever and again1788
periodically1825
in spots1851
a1500 ( J. Yonge tr. Secreta Secret. (Rawl.) (1898) 181 He that is a gouernoure in tymes he shall Spare, and in tymes vengeaunse take.
1612 Accts. St. John's Hosp., Canterbury (Canterbury Cathedral Archives: CCA-U13/5) Payd vnto Thomas Williames in times in consederation of a challing of sartayn tythe wood.
1615 P. Gordon Penardo & Laissa xvii. sig. Qii And thither oft in tyms he did resort To thrall me chaste desire vnto his will.
(d) in one's (also its) own good time: at one's own pace, at a pace or time that cannot be affected by outside influence; unhurriedly; at one's own good time at Phrases 3d(f).In early use with reference to a time preordained by God.
ΚΠ
1607 W. Cowper Jacobs Wrestling (new ed.) sig. F5v The Lord shewes thee his mercifull face, being assured, that he who hath giuen thee an earnest pennie, will in his owne good time, giue thee the principall summe.
1639 W. Laud Relation Conf. Lawd & Fisher 388 The Blessed Meeting of Truth and Peace in his Church,..which God, in his own good time, will (I hope) effect.
1722 S. Grainger Imposition of Inoculation 5 God in his own good time will either Remove, or mitigate the punishment.
1773 R. Graves Spiritual Quixote I. ii. x. 89 He did not doubt but God would bring every thing about in his own good time.
1843 C. Dickens Martin Chuzzlewit (1844) ix. 97 He..felt that the means of escape might possibly present themselves in their own good time, but that to anticipate them was hopeless.
1879 H. James Confidence I. iv. 71 Miss Vivian, in her own good time, would doubtless mention to Gordon the little incident of Siena.
1938 Internat. Affairs 17 321 The English-speaking North Americans are old-fashioned enough and naïve enough to be going to fight for democracy in their own good time.
1992 Times Higher Educ. Suppl. 27 Mar. 19/5 The advent of high speed still photography..permitted human beings..to examine complicated temporal phenomena not in real time, but in their own good time—in leisurely, methodical backtracking analysis.
2004 S. Hall Electric Michelangelo 330 Everything about her manner informed him that she would go in her own good time and not a moment before.
l.
(a) on a time: on one occasion, once; = once upon a time at once adv. 2b. Now archaic and literary.
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c1225 (?c1200) St. Katherine (Royal) (1981) 2 Constantin ant Maxence weren on ane time [c1225 Bodl. on a time] as in keiseres stude hehest irome.
c1330 (?c1300) Speculum Guy (Auch.) (1898) l. 31 (MED) A tale i wole ȝou telle Off an eorl..Gy of Warwyk was his name, Hou on a time he stod in þouht.
c1400 Prickynge of Love (Harl.) (1983) 9 On a time, as i entrid in him [sc. Christ] with myn eȝen opened, me thouȝte þat myn yȝen were filled ful of his blod.
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 61 So hit befelle on a tyme whan kyng Arthure was at London.
1542 N. Udall tr. Erasmus Apophthegmes f. 127 On a tyme Diogenes made al his dyner with Oliues onely.
1596 E. Spenser Second Pt. Faerie Queene iv. ii. sig. B4v On a time as they together way'd, He made him open chalenge, and thus boldly sayd. View more context for this quotation
1657 N. Billingsley Brachy-martyrologia xxv. 86 He on a time (at his own Table sate) Boasted his diligence t'eradicate Heret'cal weeds.
1720 A. Pennecuik Streams from Helicon (ed. 2) i. 85 The Trees went forth on a Time to anoint a King over them.
1766 H. Brooke Fool of Quality I. ii. 58 In that river, on a time, there lived three silver trouts.
1819 Times 23 Aug. 3/3 The astonished Supernals who are celebrated as having been on a time hurled from the mansions of bliss.
1832 J. F. Cooper Heidenmauer II. x. 132 These monks are close calculators, and on a time are said to have outwitted Lucifer.
1932 T. E. Lawrence tr. Homer Odyssey xvii On a time the young fellows used to take him out to course the wild goats, the deer, the hares.
1984 S. Brust To reign in Hell vii. 112 It hath been said that thou and she were..close, on a time.
(b) on time.
(i) On credit. Now chiefly North American.In early use sometimes spec. with reference to agreements to buy or sell goods at a particular future time, at an agreed or specified price; cf. Phrases 3i(c)(ii).
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > management of money > solvency > [adverb] > on credit
to fristc1440
on (also upon, of) trust1509
on (also upon) credit1560
in, upon, on (the) score1568
on time1628
on or upon (the) tick1642
upon the tally1807
on the nod1882
on the slate1909
on the cuff1927
on the knocker1934
1628 R. Hayman Quodlibets i. 2 (title of poem) Borrowing on Time, is worse then Bird-lime. As Fowlers vse to take their Fowle with Lime: So Vsurers take borrowing Fooles with Time.
1765 W. Gordon Universal Accountant II. 4 Whoever buys goods on time, must lay his account to purchase dearer than the common interest of a ready-money price; and, to preserve his credit, must force a sale abroad, that he may have returns in time to answer it.
1806 Parl. Deb. 1st Ser. 7 1246 India Bonds, Bills of Exchange, and goods bought on time.
1837 Herald (N.Y.) 2 Feb. 2/3 Go in to Wall street. Hire the corner of an office... Buy and sell stocks on time.
1858 H. Fuller Belle Brittan on Tour 226 He..stocks his new store with $100,000 of merchandise bought ‘on time’.
1925 Sat. Evening Post 10 Oct. 133/1 It's like peddling lots on time, instead of selling and developing acreage.
1972 J. M. Minifie Homesteader vi. 44 Everything was bought ‘on time’, hardly any transactions involved cash.
2010 J. McGarry Ocean State 148 He bought it on time, paying a quarter now and thrice more over a five-week interval.
(ii)
(1) Originally U.S. colloquial. Not later than the specified or required time; punctually, promptly; in time (see Phrases 3k(a)(ii)). Also in predicative use: punctual, prompt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > punctuality > [adverb]
punctually1652
critically1655
sharp1840
on time1854
prompt1869
on the dot1875
dot1894
prepunctually1894
on or to the tick1902
1854 N.-Y. Daily Times 6 Dec. 8/4 The trains..kept the track clear [of snow], by which means they ran regularly, and arrived on time.
1865 O. C. Dickerson Dragon of Enchanted Valley i. i. 9 The cars for once were exactly on time.
1878 H. B. Stowe Poganuc People xxiii. 209 His wife had always been on time, and on duty.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Miner's Right III. xliii. 276 Anxiety about being ‘on time’ for the mid-day stage.
1904 Daily Chron. 5 Feb. 3/4 An Americanism here and there out of place (as..when the native dwarf, Cerberus..speaks of his mistress as being ‘on time’ in her return from a trance).
1936 Times 12 Mar. 10/5 [She] paid her interest regularly on time.
1995 M. Kesavan Looking through Glass 187 According to the station clock it was only half-past five, and assuming the train was on time, I still had half an hour.
2006 A. Robbins Overachievers vi. 148 The staff would work at school late into the night to make sure the paper got out on time.
(2) Used attributively (usually in hyphenated form): not late; punctual, prompt.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > punctuality > [adjective]
seelyc1200
critical1617
punctual1632
prepunctual1890
on time1891
punctiliar1906
1891 Music Nov. 38 The..clock on the mantel struck the noon hour, and a little mongrel dog, with an on-time expression on his sharp black nose,..scratched..at the door.
1901 Locomotive Firemen's Mag. July 18/2 You will maintain a high grade of freight and passenger service, and your ‘on time’ trains will be the envy of your neighbor.
1908 Railway Mag. June 518/2 Our knowledge of the capabilities of the Great Western Railway locomotives caused us to hope for an ‘on time’ completion of the voyage.
1967 R. J. Serling President's Plane is Missing (1968) i. 13 As my airline friends would say, I prefer on-time departures.
2005 L. H. Kaufman Leaders Count ix. 274 A United Parcel Service trailer or container..could be tracked through the system and its handling could be expedited so that on-time delivery was virtually certain.
(iii) With reference to wages: according to the amount of time worked. Opposed to by the piece at piece n. Phrases 10a. Now rare.
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1847 Law Reporter Apr. 538 The plaintiff's men worked by the piece only, and not by a contract on time.
1867 Leisure Hour 5 Jan. 45/1 They never work for settled wages, ‘on time’, as other workers do, but invariably work by the piece.
1900 Myrtle (Boston, Mass.) 20 Oct. 166/1 Girls who ‘loafed’ could not expect to keep their places, even if they did work ‘by the piece’ instead of ‘on time’.
1962 L. Stein Triangle Fire v. 58 As a worker ‘on time’ rather than ‘by the piece’, punching out on the time clock had become a most meaningful ritual of her daily routine.
m.
(a) out of one's time: in an era unsympathetic to or out of keeping with one's attitudes, aspirations, etc.; at the wrong time. Cf. out of time adv. 1a.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adverb] > out of one's time
out of one's time1803
1803 W. Duane Mississippi Question 152 Who can say that he was not intended for that age, and that the fall of Jerusalem was not owing to the unhappy accident of his being born out of his time, and in the wrong country!
1883 Calcutta Rev. 77 149 [He] was a man who lived out of his time... He ought by rights to have been a buccaneer, two hundred years ago.
1884 New Englander (New Haven, Connecticut) Nov. 806 Peter [the Great] was no wonder; not a man out of his time.
1950 ‘D. Divine’ King of Fassarai xvi. 125 Kellie was born out of his time. Last piece of history he could have flourished in was the Alaska rushes.
1973 ‘R. Lewis’ Of Singular Purpose vi. 130 ‘Major Cornelius Van Rijk.’ He laughed shortly. ‘A man out of his time.’
1999 E. Jorgensen & H. Jorgensen Thorstein Veblen xii. 80 Triggs's lecture notes..sound as if they had been written in the 1990s. He was a man perhaps 100 years out of his time.
(b) colloquial (originally Boxing). to knock (formerly also hit, etc.) out of time:= to knock out 4 at knock v. Phrasal verbs. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > boxing > box [verb (transitive)] > knock down or out
to knock (formerly also hit, etc.) out of time1821
to send to dorse1822
dorse1825
to knock out1883
to put out1895
stop1895
K.O.1922
kayo1923
starch1930
the world > movement > impact > striking > striking with specific thing > strike with specific thing [verb (transitive)] > with the hand > with the fist > incapacitate by
to knock outa1616
to knock (also beat, etc.) a person stupid1811
to knock (formerly also hit, etc.) out of time1821
out1896
K.O.1922
kayo1923
1821 Morning Chron. 26 Jan. Goddard was hit out of time, and lost the fight.
1831 Bell's Life in London 13 Feb. Though Tom only considers himself a bantam of 9½ stone, he flatters himself he can knock Taylor out of time.
1860 Bell's Life in London 17 Apr. 4/4 The battle was concluded by his being hit out of time by a blow on the serenader.
1874 A. Trollope Phineas Redux II. xxviii. 228 You'll come all right after a few weeks. You've been knocked out of time;—that's the truth of it.
1912 J. Galsworthy Inn of Tranquility 81 Saving people from being knocked out of time by old age, and accidents like illness, and the fluctuations of trade.
1922 M. Pedler Vision of Desire iv. 47 My head's clearing... I was only knocked out of time for a minute.
1950 E. Wingfield-Stratford King Charles the Martyr i. xi. 47 The crack Cavalier squadrons had been knocked out of time; they would not fight again that day.
1963 Brewer's Dict. Phr. & Fable (ed. 8) 524/1 To knock out of time, to settle one's hash for him, double him up.
n. over time.
(a) Beyond a stipulated or agreed time limit; so as to exceed the time allotted. Cf. overtime adv., to run over —— 7 at run v. Phrasal verbs 2.
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1841 Mechanics' Mag. 17 Apr. 308/1 She would have perfomed her voyage in 9 or 10 days, and could not under any circumstances have been more than a day or two over time.
1873 13th Ann. Rep. Free Public Libr. (Worcester, Mass.) 21 We have not the means of knowing at a glance when books have been kept out overtime.
1911 E. T. Seton in Official Handbk. for Boys (Boy Scouts of Amer.) viii. 301 The Man-Hunt... If he gets through, but is over time, it is a draw.
1973 Guardian 9 Aug. 2/2 The result was to run matters badly over time for the first time at the summit.
2004 M. Lanegan in K. St. Thomas & T. Smith Nirvana vii. 49 The ten local bands who opened had gone over time.
(b) In the course of time, as time passes; incrementally or by degrees during a period of time.
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1883 G. W. Hackwood Notes Lessons Moral Subj. vii. 35 Industry demands steadiness of application, and not work by fits and starts—that is, well regulated and well apportioned over time: it is uniform.
1943 Rev. Econ. Statistics 25 67 (note) A rational maximizer would act so as to reduce interest only gradually over time.
1973 New Society 1 Nov. 258/3 Like the Foot-Steel proposals, these would be introduced over time.
2009 New Yorker 26 Oct. 75/2 Players developed characters over time, accumulating skills, equipment, and treasure.
o. to time.
(a) For all time, forever. Also (in later use only) to all time. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > eternity or infinite duration > [adverb]
always fortha700
alwayeOE
oeOE
everOE
buten endea1000
echelichec1175
till doomsdayc1175
to timea1200
perdurablyc1275
in ayea1300
without endc1330
anytimea1375
for ay and oc1374
continually1382
perpetuallyc1385
ay-forthc1390
everlastinglyc1390
perpetualc1392
eternallyc1393
endlessa1400
in (also for, to) perpetuitya1400
always?c1425
without timec1425
endlesslya1450
sempiternlyc1450
infinitivec1470
aylastinglyc1475
everlastingc1475
incessantly1481
in saecula saeculorum1481
sempiternally1509
all days1533
for altogether1542
constantly1567
interminate?1567
incorruptibly1579
perpetuously1612
in perpetuum1613
eternal1614
unterminably1631
unfadinglya1672
unendingly1674
for a constancy1710
perennially1729
tarnally1790
imperishably1795
indefectibly1837
immortally1858
fadelessly1861
a1200 MS Trin. Cambr. in R. Morris Old Eng. Homilies (1873) 2nd Ser. 183 For þine gulte ishal nu to pine, rotie mote þu to time.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) v. iii. 128 I..that brought you forth this boy, To keepe your name liuing to time . View more context for this quotation
1616 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor (rev. ed.) Ded., in Wks. I. 81 I vnderstand you, Gentlemen, not your houses: and a worthy succession of you, to all time, as being borne the Iudges of these studies.
1645 G. Wharton Englands Iliads in Nut-shell sig. D3 The Valour I have shewne in this, was Crime, And Gages Death will brand me to all Time.
1796 R. Cumberland Days of Yore ii. 26 Die when you may, your memory will be honor'd to all time.
1882 Mrs. Hills Fair Faces & True Hearts II. v. 92 You may fool me to all time, but you cannot change the natural skin, my dear.
1910 Encycl. Brit. V. 643/1 Some places in North Wales..seem..to have associated with them to all time the glamour of the Mabinogion.
(b) So as to comply with a time limit, deadline, or other time constraint.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > duration > [adverb] > within temporal limits
terminally1657
against time1759
to time1848
1848 Family Economist 1 83/2 The master was a coarse, uneducated man, who, provided that the work was done to time, cared for little besides.
1873 Every Sat. 26 Apr. 476/1 To it all his faculties were devoted, exempt from the pressure of writing to time and to order.
1913 E. B. Tweedie Amer. as I saw It xix. 341 With the punctuality of kings Their Royal Highnesses arrived at the exact moment, and everything was done to time.
1992 Sight & Sound July 32 (advt.) Students learn and practice a wide variety of skills including..using talkback, autocue, talking to time, [etc.].
2010 R. Watson-Davis Creative Teaching Pocketbook (new ed.) 108 A cardinal revision need is for students to practise writing to time.
p. colloquial. up to time: on time; punctual. Cf. earlier to come up to time at Phrases 4c. Now rare.
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1835 Plantagenet II. v. i. 54 Thee goes tick—tick—tick—tick—tick—and is never up to time!
1837 Dublin Univ. Mag. Mar. 296/2 Dr. Finucane proposed Carrigaholt, as the rendezvous..and Tuesday evening at six as the time... So, pray, be up to time.
1850 Republican Compiler (Gettysburg, Pa.) 25 Nov. 1/1 Mr. Jenkins was..a very punctual man. He was not only up to time in every thing; but, usually, a little in advance of time.
1930 Boys' Life Mar. 8/1 I'll be glad when five o'clock comes, Guido! Do you think your pal will be up to time?
1945 ‘D. Yates’ House that Berry Built i. 21 ‘Up to time, as usual,’ he murmured. ‘Or did you say three o'clock?’
q. with time: with the passage of time, in the course of time; in time (see Phrases 3k(a)(iii)).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > different time > [adverb] > at some future time or one day
yeteOE
hereafter1154
hereafterwardc1386
sometimec1386
oncea1393
whiloma1400
rather or latera1450
one of these daysa1470
one day1477
umquhile1489
in timea1500
with time?1531
sooner or later1577
odd shortly1681
some summer's day1697
first or last1700
some of these (‥) days1831
someday1898
down the road (also track)1924
?1531 R. Whitford tr. Folowynge of Cryste iii. lii. f. cxxiii One howre shall come whan all thy laboure and trowbles shall cease & truely that howre wyll shortly come for all is short that passyth with tyme [L. cum tempore].
1562 J. Shute tr. A. Cambini in Two Comm. Turcks i. f. 23 It semed that if he mought haue contynued, he wolde with time haue greatly preuailed.
1602 J. Colville Parænese sig. aa Theise Saxons send into England a gret pouer vhilk vith tyme did expell the most part of the said Britons.
1650 Earl of Monmouth tr. J. F. Senault Man become Guilty 272 Ambition increasing with time.
1738 H. Brooke tr. T. Tasso Jerusalem i. 43 But as his Years encrease, his Fires asswage Allay with Time, and mitigate with Age.
1787 W. Nisbet First Lines Theory & Pract. Venereal Dis. i. 200 With time they [sc. symptoms] generally go off.
1809 W. Irving Hist. N.Y. I. i. iii. 28 Intimacy improves with time.
1875 M. Arnold God & Bible p. xxviii Christianity's admixture of popular legend and illusion was sure to be cleared away with time.
1904 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 157 248 The skin resistance of copper bonds increases with time.
1970 E. Kübler-Ross On Death & Dying (1973) iii. 35 Denial..allows the patient to recollect himself and, with time, mobilize other, less radical defenses.
2005 G. Critser Generation Rx iii. 172 The liver..is the only organ that can, with time, regenerate itself.
r. ahead of one's time: see ahead adv. 6b. without time: see without prep. 2c.
P4. With a verb.
a. (the) time was (also has been, etc.): there was a time; frequently with the implication that the specified circumstance no longer obtains. Similarly (the) time will (or shall) be.
(a) With when or that.
ΚΠ
c1384 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(2)) (1850) 2 Tim. iv. 3 Forsoth tyme schal be [L. erit enim tempus], whanne men schulen not susteyne, or suffre, hool..teching, but at her desyris thei schulen [etc.].
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) III. 1197 For tyme hath bene, my lorde Arthur, that [y]e were gretly pleased with me whan I ded batayle for my lady, youre quene.
1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. xix The tyme hath ben, nat longe before our dayes Whan [etc.].
1549 M. Coverdale et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. II. Gal. v. f. xviii The tyme was, when it was nedefull.
1584 W. Warner Pan his Syrinx xlix. sig. T The time was, yea (vngratious Cast-away) the time was, that..thou diddest..find hap, vnlooked for, to recouer thy libertie.
1669 W. Somner Chartham News 5 Canterbury may now seem to stand in the Æstuaries way; yet time was, when in probability it did not.
1680 T. Otway Orphan i. 9 The time has been, When business might have stay'd, and I been hear'd.
1724 J. Swift To Stella 13 Mar. in Wks. (1765) XVII. 32 Time was, when I could yearly pay My verse on Stella's native day.
1791 W. Cowper tr. Homer Iliad in Iliad & Odyssey I. i. 300 Time shall be, when Achilles shall be miss'd.
1835 D. George Mod. Dunciad 106 The time has been, when many a rural lay I tried, as life pass'd airily away.
1856 C. M. Yonge Daisy Chain ii. xxiii. 610 Time was that I should have grasped at such a prospect.
1874 J. T. Micklethwaite Mod. Parish Churches 251 Time was when we had a national style.
1903 G. A. Dorsey & A. L. Kroeber Trad. of Arapaho 385 You shall see him. The time will be when everybody will see him.
1957 M. West Kundu ii. 29 Time was when a man's wealth was measured by the number of his pigs.
2009 T. Pynchon Inherent Vice xiii. 207 Time was when Doc used to actually worry about..ending up just one more diligent cop.
(b) Without conjunction, used as an introductory formula (cf. once upon a time at once adv. 2b) or parenthetically.
ΚΠ
1601 T. Powell Passionate Poet sig. F3v Time was they vsde it, and t'was onely Gentile..But now religious and the most prophane Partake one Idol and one Cyprus flame.
1611 M. Smith in Bible (King James) Transl. Pref. 5 The same Hierome elsewhere affirmeth, that he, the time was, had set forth the Translation of the Seuenty for his countrymen of Dalmatia.
1737 A. Pope Epist. of Horace ii. i. 10 Time was, a sober Englishman wou'd knock His servants up, and rise by five a clock.
1772 New Foundling Hosp. for Wit: Pt. 5th 32 Time was she earn'd her daily bread, And walk'd the streets in pattens.
1831 T. Hood in Comic Ann. (ed. 2) 32 Time was I liked a cheesecake well enough.
1878 E. P. Hood Maid of Nuremberg 19 My darling, I am blest: The time will be we both shall rest.
1916 L. Dutton Wishing Moon xvii. 261 Her head's high above me now, but the time was she cried on my shoulder.
1998 P. Lively Spiderweb (1999) ii. 13 She had lived, time was, in a house made of dried mud, in a straw hut, in various tents.
2010 L. Turner Little Death in Dixie xxiii. 91 Time was, I believed that bullshit too.
b. to call time. (Cf. sense B.)
(a) Sport. To give a signal marking a particular moment in time, esp. the end of a period of rest or informal play, or of a prescribed portion of play. Cf. senses A. 21a, A. 21b.
ΚΠ
1811 Sporting Mag. July 185/2 The Patriot called time, and walked up to the man of Kent with his arms folded.
1885 Carthusian Mar. 47/2 The visitors claimed a goal on the ground that the umpire had called time too soon, not allowing for a three minutes' delay at half-time.
1919 Evening Post (Wellington, N.Z.) 1 Nov. 9/7 Petone..managed to hold it by half an inch when the referee called time.
2001 D. W. Zang SportsWars ii. 43 As blood spurted from a gash above the American's eye, the German referee called time.
(b) Originally U.S. To declare that something (in early use esp. a speech or debate) has finished or should be brought to an end; to curtail an activity, process, etc. Frequently with on.
ΚΠ
1858 Knickerbocker Dec. 659 He ‘shall be heard’, however, even if we are obliged, as the stump-speakers say at the South, to ‘call Time’ on him.
1891 Amer. Practitioner & News 28 Feb. 153/1 We shall call time on subsequent issues.
1899 Amer. Monthly Mag. Apr. 652 It is the duty of the Chair to call time when three minutes have elapsed.
1928 F. C. Happold Approach to Hist. 72 If the lecture is not finished when the twelve minutes are up the time-keeper will call time.
1970 Guardian 11 Dec. 1/5 (heading) PIB calls time on overtime.
2004 Hotdog Apr. 127/1 Frustrated fanboys cursing Warner Bros for calling time on Angel [sc. a television series].
(c) To announce or signal (the approach of) the end of opening hours in a public house or other licensed establishment. Cf. sense A. 21c.
ΚΠ
1898 Cornish Mag. 1 336 Landlord Penhale called time, and began to put the lights out as a hint that they must go.
1969 D. Davin in Landfall Mar. 19 The barman was calling time. Men were buying their last-minute bottles to take away.
1989 A. Aird 1990 Good Pub Guide 105 An enormous bronze bell for calling time.
2005 C. Cleave Incendiary 139 We drank our drinks and I went up to the bar with Terence to get 2 more in but just then the landlord called time.
c. to come (up) to time.
(a) Boxing. To be ready to continue when time is called at the start of a new round. Also in extended use. Now rare (historical in later use).
ΚΠ
1811 Sporting Mag. July 185/2 100 to 10 against the Patriot's coming to time.
1853 W. Robinson Yankee Middy xvi. 83 At length..Cesar began to show evident signs that he had ‘enough’; for though he still ‘came up to time’, his ‘charges’ were made with considerable less force than in the beginning of the fight.
1911 Times 28 Mar. 16/5 Houghton pluckily came up to time, but he was soon prone once more, and Bowker was declared the winner.
1935 G. Heyer Regency Buck ii. 24 Molyneux came up to time, and charged in, planting one or two blows.
(b) colloquial. To do or be capable of doing what is expected or required, esp. at a crucial moment. Cf. to come up to scratch at scratch n.1 5a. Now rare.
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1817 Ld. Byron Let. 24 Feb. (1976) V. 171 This does not prevent me from expecting the said John Murray Esqre. ‘to come up to time’ because then I know the precise extent of my floating funds.
1874 Thistleton's Illustr. Jolly Giant 11 July 21/3 [They] have hit upon the proper plan to make those papers come to time and learn to respect the liberty of American citizens.
1885 H. A. Beers Nathaniel Parker Willis v. 216 Rev. Timothy Flint..had agreed to supply the required papers, but he having left New York for Louisiana Territory, and failed to come to time, Willis was invited to take his place.
1903 M. H. Foote Touch of Sun 188 I've a mind to speak for myself now, if Micky doesn't come up to time.
1920 W. Atkinson Autobiogr. ix. 85 Howard's father also came to time with the other five hundred dollars.
1956 J. L. Rutledge Cent. of Confl. v. 80 So situated, the planners conceded, the New Englanders would come to time at the King's convenience.
d. colloquial. to do (one's) time and variants.
(a) Originally Criminals' slang. To spend time in prison for an offence. Cf. sense A. 8b.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > be imprisoned [verb (intransitive)] > serve sentence
serve1830
to do (one's) time1865
max1971
1865 Lloyd's Weekly Newspaper 26 Feb. 12/2 He continued, ‘I had nothing to do with the shawl robbery..nor Johnson's—I was doing time (meaning, I was in prison).’
1888 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Robbery under Arms xli People can't be expected to associate with men that have ‘done time’.
1904 A. Griffiths Fifty Years Public Service xiii. 185 He did his ‘time’ without protest.
1932 L. E. Lawes 20,000 Years in Sing Sing (1943–4) viii. 268 The aristocrat in prison is the prisoner who has learned how to do his time.
1963 Social Probl. 11 198 Don't do the crime unless you can do the time.
1984 M. A. Jarman Dancing nightly in Tavern 49 ‘You did some time?’ Luke asks. ‘In the Fort. Got picked up running smoke from Vancouver.’
2010 Atlantic Monthly Mar. 37/3 A former member of NAMBLA..doing time at Limon for sexual exploitation of a child.
(b) To spend a period of time in a specified situation or position (typically doing a job or task), esp. one regarded as obligatory but unpleasant.
ΚΠ
1897 Academy 3 July (Fiction Suppl.) 26/2 Mr. Griffith's leading character is a revivified mummy... The women of the book, one of whom has also done time as a mummy, are superfluous.
1912 Assembly Herald Dec. 657/1 Every young Mormon who looks forward to social, political or ecclesiastical preferment must be ready to ‘do time’ as a missionary.
1959 D. Lessing Each in his own Wilderness 43 When I was doing my time in his office I was permanently amazed at the way all the women were ready to lie down and let him walk all over them.
1971 P. Larkin Let. 6 Sept. in Sel. Lett. (1992) 445 I'm doing time as Librarian of the U. of Hull, & really haven't much connection with Coventry left.
2004 N.Y. Mag. 6 Sept. 26/1 Did you do your time in two-bedroom apartments you shared with three actors, two magazine fact-checkers, and a crystal-meth-addled pastry chef?
e. to give (a person) time: to allow sufficient time for a person to change his or her opinion or attitude, vindicate claims made on his or her behalf, etc. Similarly to give (a matter, etc.) time. Frequently in imperative.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > kindness > gentleness or mildness > treat gently [verb (transitive)] > be tolerant of > in the hope or expectation of improvement
to give (a person) time1855
a1762 W. McEwen Grace & Truth (1763) ii. xvii. 195 How absurd is it for any to hasten providence? Give it time, and it will do all things well.
1803 Pic Nic No. 3. 6 Give but time to this experiment, and it will work its end.
1855 W. G. Simms Forayers xiii. 125 With all his prejudices, father is just in the end—only give him time and all will be right.
1902 H. James Wings of Dove xv. 231 ‘He won't..make up his mind about me.’ ‘Well,’ Milly smiled, ‘give him time.’
1940 W. Faulkner Hamlet i. iii. 60 He'll pick it up though... Just give him time.
1962 J. F. Powers Morte d'Urban vii. 151 I don't say the present population wants it, but give 'em time.
2004 L. Jensen Ninth Life of Louis Drax 215 Give it time, said Marcel Perez. Treat it like bereavement. There are stages to it.
f. as (the) times go: as things are in these times; according to current standards. Now rare.
ΚΠ
1629 in N. Brent tr. P. Sarpi Hist. Councel of Trent (ed. 2) 847 As the times goe now, he that knowes not how to make no shewe of what hee meanes..is much more ignorant how to play the Pope.
1632 H. More tr. G. Piatti Happines Relig. State i. xxxvi. 188 Secular Lay-people, as times go now adayes, either runne headlong into al manner of vice, or..think they do wel enough if they abstayne from sinne.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 298. ⁋3 Persons, of tolerable Figure too as Times go.
1765 G. Colman tr. Terence Andrian i. i, in tr. Terence Comedies 11 He rul'd his life By prudent maxims: for, as times go now, Compliance raises friends, and truth breeds hate.
1841 Fraser's Mag. 23 16 ‘How goes it, Joe?’ ‘Pretty well, as times go.’
1891 H. Nisbet Colonial Tramp I. 101 ‘Johnny’ in Victoria is a model of cleanliness and industry, and as the times go, honest also.
1939 N.Y. Times 6 May 2/7 As times go we must not enter into treaties with a single power or group of powers.
1953 D. S. Brewer Chaucer 186 Chaucer, an old man as the times went, and with a lifelong association with the House of Lancaster, acquiesced in the change.
g.
(a) colloquial (originally Australian and New Zealand). to have no (a lot of, etc.) time for, to have no (considerable, etc.) respect or admiration for.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > contempt > hold in contempt [verb (transitive)] > utterly
to set not a cherry, curse, a fly, a haw, a mite, an onion, (etc.) at, by, ofc1374
not to set at a glovec1430
not to care (three skips of) a lousea1592
to have no use for1596
to have no (a lot of, etc.) time for1901
the mind > attention and judgement > esteem > respect > [verb (transitive)]
followOE
honourc1275
regard1526
to take off one's hat1571
respect1576
to see unto ——1579
suspect1590
honestate1623
defer1686
consider1692
to look up to1719
to have no (a lot of, etc.) time for1938
1901 N.Z. Observer 2 Nov. 26/1 [He] seems down-hearted since the girls have no time for him.
1904 Shearer (Sydney) 27 Aug. 8/2 We have no time for the ‘claptrap’ ladled out to the workers by blatherskites of the Cocky Mac type.
1938 N. Marsh Artists in Crime xi. 156 The only one they seemed to have much time for was the Honourable Basil Pilgrim.
1952 A. Grimble Pattern of Islands ix. 177 He never had much time for pen-pushers, as he called them.
1966 J. Cleary High Commissioner xi. 247 I don't think he'd harm her... I think he had a lot of time for my wife.
1987 D. Simpson Elem. of Doubt (1988) iii. 29 There's no point in pretending I had much time for Nerine.
2006 Dogs Monthly July 61/2 I have always had a lot of time for Vita and I think she is a great lady.
(b) a good, etc., time was had by all: everyone enjoyed themselves (in later use sometimes ironically).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > pleasure > [phrase] > is or is not unmixed enjoyment
(not) all beer and skittles1837
a good, etc., time was had by all1865
1865 Hartford (Connecticut) Weekly Times 21 Oct. The Charter Oak club gave them and a few invited guests a supper, at which a social good time was had by all present.
1879 St. Louis (Missouri) Clin. Record June 81/1 Toasts were drunk, speeches made, and a generally enjoyable time was had by all.
1935 Times 27 Dec. 5/4 A flower carnival in which both cannibals and their prospective victims joined, and at which, of course, a good time was had by one and all.
1949 F. Maclean Eastern Approaches iii. ix. 406 After that we mixed a delicious drink in the bath tub, and a good time, as the saying goes, was had by all.
1993 R. Murphy Smash & Grab Introd. 3/2 Street battles took place between police and locals where uniformed and plain-clothes men cheerfully joined in and ‘a good time was had by all’.
2010 B. Bordy Bawdy Chrons. viii. 128 All the Hunkies, except me, got falling down drunk... A great time was had by all.
h. to keep time. Also with modifying adjective.
(a)
(i) To adhere to the correct rhythm in the performance of a piece of music, a dance, or other rhythmic activity; to keep pace with a beat, another performer, etc. (also with to). Also figurative.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [verb (intransitive)] > keep time
to keep timea1527
a1527 W. Peeris Prov. in Anglia (1892) 14 479 Who so lyst to handill an instrument so goode Must se in his many fyngerynge þt he kepe tyme stop and moode.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II v. v. 43 Keepe time, how sowre sweete Musicke is When time is broke, and no proportion kept. View more context for this quotation
1601 B. Jonson Fountaine of Selfe-love i. ii. sig. B4 Slow, Slow Fresh fount, keepe time with my salt teares. View more context for this quotation
1648 J. Beaumont Psyche vi. clvii. 86/2 Though she kept slow time, yet she sung true.
a1657 C. Croke Fortune's Uncertainty (1667) 84 They all plaid on the Guittar and Cittern, and the irrational Animals prettily kept time to their musical Notes.
1753 Chambers's Cycl. Suppl. (at cited word) When, in galloping, the hind quarters follow and keep time with the fore.
1790 Coll. Voy. round World I. vii. 177 They keep time with such exactness, that 60 or 100 paddles..make only a single report.
1818 Ld. Byron Beppo lx. 31 I can't well break it, But must keep time and tune like public singers.
1894 A. B. Gomme Trad. Games I. 330 He puts on it first his right and then his left foot, gradually quickening his steps, keeping time to the words.
1928 Daily Express 22 June 11/3 There is the ‘piaffe’ in which the horses keep time without advancing.
1975 P. Kronhausen & E. Kronhausen Sex People iii. 23 She went into a thumping, shimmying..bump-and-grind routine that kept perfect time with the music.
2003 Vogue Aug. 320 (caption) Rose-cheeked Scottish maids who sang folk ballads in unison to keep time with one another as they passed the fabric from one hand to hand.
(ii) To mark the rhythm or pulse of a musical performance by movements of the hand, a baton, etc.; = to beat time at beat v.1 32.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > be simultaneous [verb (intransitive)] > keep time with
to keep stotc1590
to keep stroke16..
to keep time1658
to beat time1694
time1830
synchronize1867
simultane1880
1658 J. Playford Breif Introd. Skill Musick (new ed.) i. viii. 24 In the Keeping your Time your hand goes up at one Minum and down at the other.
1663 S. Pepys Diary 22 Nov. (1971) IV. 394 The King is a little Musicall, and kept good time with his hand all along the Anthem.
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 503. ⁋2 Now the Organ was to play a Voluntary, and she..kept time..with some Motion of her Head.
1835 A. Smith Diary 10 Dec. (1940) II. 298 She kept time with her fingers by beating upon the dried lambskin... This..furnished delightful music.
1897 R. Jay Missionary Family 255 No sooner..did the voluntary begin, than the little feet were on the move, keeping brisk time against the front of the pew.
1908 King's Royal Rifle Corps Chron. 1907 48 He himself played a cornet, with which he conducted..; he kept time by stamping with his right foot.
1989 T. Kidder Among Schoolchildren vii. i. 233 Judith's father kept time on a güiro.
2004 Mod. Drummer June 144/3 The idea of playing phrases as opposed to just keeping time, setting the meter, or establishing an underbed for the other bandmembers to play off of.
(b)
(i) Of a timepiece: to register the passage of time well, badly, etc.; (without qualification) to do this correctly or reliably.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [verb (intransitive)] > be accurate
to keep timea1582
a1582 W. Bourne Inuentions or Deuises (?1590) cxiii. 98 It hath bene done by wheeles, as you may see by clockes, that doo keepe tyme, some goyng with plummets, and some with springs.
1640 Bp. J. Hall Christian Moderation i. vii. 70 Our body is as a well-set clock which keeps good time.
1714 W. Derham Artific. Clock-maker (ed. 3) v. 71 This Clock having for some Years kept time as well as could be expected, I hung upon its Weight an Addition of 6 Pound.
1737 Gentleman's Mag. Feb. 68/1 None of them [sc. spring clocks and watches] can be so sufficiently adjusted as to keep Time to Exactness.
1807 T. Young Course Lect. Nat. Philos. I. xvii. 189 An orrery, moved by a weight, and keeping time, which was sent, in 1232, by the Sultan of Egypt, as a present to the Emperor Frederic II.
1889 7th Ann. Rep. State Board Health Indiana 191 A wooden-wheeled clock, nearly a century old, which kept very poor time.
1923 R. L. Cassie Heart or Heid 18 That great neep o' a watch o' yours wunna keep time.
1973 J. Wainwright Touch of Malice 97 It was a good clock..and, apart from power cuts, it kept perfect time.
2005 Driven Oct. 20/2 You can buy a Timex and it will keep better time than a $10,000 Patek Philippe.
(ii) To be punctual; to be on time. Also with qualification: to be good, bad, etc., with regard to punctuality.
ΚΠ
1602 tr. B. Guarini Pastor Fido iv. vii. sig. M2 Great fortune that my father me detain'd So with a tedious stay, as then me thought, Had I kept time but as Lisetta bad, Surely some strange aduenture had I had.
1643 R. Williams Key into Lang. Amer. ix. 63 They..sometimes have charged me with a lye for not punctually keeping time, though hindred.
1796 G. Colman Iron Chest ii. v. 74 2d Rob. None of our comrades come yet? They will be finely soak'd. 1st Rob. Aye, the rain pours like a spout upon the ruins of the old abbey wall here. Jud. I'm glad on't. May it drench them, and breed agues! 'twill teach them to keep time.
1838 Bentley's Misc. July 45 He had to keep good time in arriving at the canal.
1865 H. Merritt Robert Dalby & his World of Troubles xxviii. 134 ‘How was it you managed to keep bad time, boy?’.. ‘I have had to run of errands between school hours, sir.’
1874 Times 4 Nov. 6/5 The Pullman train..keeps time to a minute.
1908 Cassier's Mag. Mar. 563/2 The loafer, if he keeps good time, as surely obtains his bonus as the diligent and skillful workman.
1942 Rev. Econ. Stud. 9 172 Where discipline is slack, one sometimes finds whole shops keeping bad time.
2009 C. O. N. Moser Ordinary Families, Extraordinary Lives x. 218 There is a far greater responsibility to keep time, to work hard, and to change your work ethic.
(c) Of a person: to record or monitor time elapsed, worked, etc.; to act as a timekeeper at a sporting event, workplace, etc.; cf. timekeeper n. 3.
ΚΠ
1805 Sporting Mag. Dec. 129/1 He can't have lost the battle [i.e. a boxing match]—or if he has, it is not by giving in, but for want of keeping time between the rounds.
1838 Rep. Select Comm. Educ. Poorer Classes 64 in Parl. Papers VII. 157 The law..insists upon a room being supplied with books, and a man to keep time for the children, to certify that they have been there two hours a day.
1888 Post Office Buildings (41st U.S. Congr. 2nd Sess. H. R. Rep. No. 58) 58 If the man appointed to keep time at the quarry should conspire with the contractor at the quarry, is not the government at their mercy in regard to being cheated?
1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 7 356/2 It was my daily duty to keep time and to ‘sub’ for some hundreds of men engaged on extensive railway..works in England.
1972 Black Belt Mar. 29/2 Keeping time with a stopwatch teaches arithmetic.
1999 Grimsby Evening Tel. (Nexis) 3 Apr. 31 Which referee would keep time and how would they be able to communicate with each other to ensure the correct amount of time was played?
i.
(a) to lose no time and variants: to act without delay, take urgent action; to be quick (in beginning or doing something).
ΚΠ
1543 ( Chron. J. Hardyng (1812) 534 They dooing in euery thing as they were bidden loste no tyme, but so sped theim that shortely they obteygned and gate into the countie of Angeou.
1567 W. Painter Palace of Pleasure II. vii. f. 58v Get thee hence with all possible spede, and lose no time in doing this thy message.
a1645 W. Browne tr. M. Le Roy Hist. Polexander (1647) iii. v. 155 We must lose no time. Resolve your selfe therefore to go to Morocco with Cydaria.
1752 T. Carte Gen. Hist. Eng. III. 155 The king lost no time in making use of the liberty of remarrying.
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. at Snack Be snack, be quick, do not lose time.
1874 W. P. Lennox My Recoll. II. 72 My guide then informing me that within three miles there were several salmon pools, I lost no time in proceeding there.
1903 W. B. Yeats Let. 25 Oct. (1994) III. 454 It forms part of a book my sisters are now going to print, and which will probably be published soon after Christmas, so I must lose no time about it.
1922 S. Ford Trilby May crashes In xi. 182 ‘I think that gives me a hunch.’ I didn't lose any time in following it, either.
1960 Baseball Digest Feb. 76 I still was burning when it was all over and lost no time busting into the officials' room to chew them out.
2002 H. Kunzru Impressionist (2003) 23 Once they finally reached Agra..she lost no time in breaking the shocking news to the servants of her new household.
(b) no time to lose and variants: used to express or emphasize the need for quick or urgent action. Chiefly in to have no time to lose, there is (was, etc.) no time to lose.
ΚΠ
1603 J. Florio tr. M. de Montaigne Ess. i. xxvii. 93 Sithence it must continue so short a time, and begunne so late (for we were both growne men, and he some yeares older then my selfe) there was no time to be lost [Fr. elle n'avait point à perdre temps].
1636 tr. J. D. de Saint-Sorlin Ariana i. v. 82 They hastened away because there was no time to lose.
1726 R. Bradley Country Gentleman & Farmer's Monthly Director 12 Now there is no time to lose, all Hands, and all the Teams that can be procured, are little enough for large Farms to get the Ground cropt compleatly for a Summer Harvest.
1790 Maid of Kent II. 159 There is no time to be lost. She is pursued by a wretch who seeks her perdition.
1863 Fraser's Mag. July 101 If we're for action, there's no time to lose... The ball's with Pigot if we hesitate.
1927 Pop. Mech. Mar. (Advertising section) 13/2 If you want your set of the new Britannica in the preferred new form, you have no time to lose.
1994 J. Coe What a Carve Up! (1995) 169 We must meet, Michael. There are no two ways about it. We must arrange a rendezvous, and there is no time to be lost.
2010 J. Dane Evil without Face xi. 142 She had no time to lose if she intended to get at the truth enough to help Jess.
j.
(a) U.S. colloquial. to make a time: to make a fuss; to ‘make a song and dance’. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > vigour or energy > act or do vigorously [verb (intransitive)] > be brisk or active > bustle > fuss or make a fuss
nytelc1400
to make a matter1549
to keep a coil1568
squatter1593
fiddle-faddle1633
to play hell (with)1750
fuss1792
to play hell and Tommy1825
piggle1836
palavera1840
to make a time1844
to make a time1844
friggle1848
fussify1868
to make a production of (or out of)1941
1844 Columbian Mag. 179/1 You never saw people so delighted as they were to meet me; shook hands and made such a time of it that I really was afraid they were going to kiss me in the street.
1871 E. Prentiss Aunt Jane's Hero (1872) vi. 50 When he first proposed to enlist, she made a time about it, and said and did all she could to alter his resolution.
1919 N. Barley Gorgeous Girl (1920) xxiii. 318 Her aunt said she saw you and made quite a time of it. I'm sorry.
1935 M. N. Rawson Little Old Mills 317 When Ma and the children would make a time about it..one went somewhere, anywhere—not to have light talk of it.
(b) to make time: see make v.1 9d, make v.1 53a, make v.1 53c.
k. colloquial. to take (a person) all his (also her, etc.) time: to require great effort from, to present great difficulties to.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > present difficulties [verb (intransitive)]
to have a job1832
to take (a person) all his (also her, etc.) time1842
the world > action or operation > manner of action > effort or exertion > [phrase] > it requires great effort
to take (a person) all his (also her, etc.) time1842
1842 C. M. Kirkland Forest Life I. xix. 192 My cows would concentrate..whether or no, and it took all my time to run after 'em.
1880 R. Richardson Phil's Champion vi. 60 That sort of bed makes a room little better nor a sty, an' would take me all my time keepin' the place clean.
1941 E. Carr Klee Wyck 89 It took Jimmie all his time in the shallows to keep us in the channel.
1995 D. Witte in V. Bonner et al. Chilcotin 257 And that mare could buck! It took me all my time to stay with her.
2006 N. Monaghan Killing Jar (2007) i. 7 Sometimes it took her all her time to stand up or sit down.
l. colloquial (originally U.S.). time's a-wasting and variants: ‘time is running out’, ‘hurry up’. Cf. waste v. 14.
ΚΠ
1884 ‘C. E. Craddock’ In Tennessee Mountains 18 Hurry an' git supper, child. Time's a-wastin',—time's a-wastin!
1942 Los Angeles Times 25 June i. 18/2 May we remember that there is a war going on and that time is ‘a-wasting’.
1967 Boys' Life Apr. 6/3 So get going—time's a-wastin'!
2002 W. Woodruff Road to Nab End (2003) 3 Others thought that anybody over seventy had every right to do as he pleased. ‘Time's a-wasting’, they said, noting my faulty gait.
m. to abide one's time: see abide v. 1a. to bide one's time: see bide v. 6. to break time: see break v. 15a. to gain time: see gain v.2 1c. to mark time: see mark v. 23. to take (one's) time: see take v. 67b. to wait one's time: see wait v.1 8. Other idiomatic uses, in which time is a frequent but not invariable component, are also dealt with elsewhere; these include to kill time (see kill v. 5), time hangs heavy (or heavily) (see hang v. 15b), to redeem the time (see redeem v. 10), to save time (see save v. 18b).
P5. With various modifiers.
a.
(a) many times (also many a time, †many time): on many occasions, in many instances; often, frequently.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > in many instances or on most occasions
many timec1275
many timesc1275
most whilec1383
oftenc1390
mostwhen1555
most an end1577
c1275Many-time [see sense A. 18a].
c1275 Kentish Serm. in J. Hall Select. Early Middle Eng. (1920) I. 218 Ure lord god almichti..habbeþ [MS hadeþ] manitime maked of watere wyn gostliche.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 924 (MED) My seknes wiþ my siȝtes sumtime slakes, & mani times doþ me mourne mor þan to-fore.
a1425 (?a1400) G. Chaucer Romaunt Rose (Hunterian) (1891) l. 6974 I am gladly executour And many tymes a procuratour.
?a1425 Mandeville's Trav. (Egerton) (1889) 12 (MED) Men may se þare þe erthe of þe toumbe many a tyme stirre and moue.
a1500 (?a1390) J. Mirk Festial (Gough) (1905) 39 Þe kyng hymselfe wold mony a tyme vnwarned come to þe mete.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Psalms lxxvii. 38 Many a tyme turned he his wrath awaye.
1590 J. Smythe Certain Disc. Weapons Ded. 6 Which I haue heard manie, and manie times publikelie reported by manie valiant Gentlemen.
1622 R. Hawkins Observ. Voiage South Sea x. 19 Which..many times is cause of dissention.
1631 J. Humfrey Let. 4 Nov. in Coll. Mass. Hist. Soc. (1846) 3rd Ser. IX. 235 Wee manitimes groape after happines in manie yea anie other wayes.
1680 R. L'Estrange tr. Erasmus 20 Select Colloquies xiv. 199 They have fetch'd me over many and many a time.
1701 D. Defoe True-born Englishman ii. 45 Englishmen ha' done it many a time.
1722 D. Defoe Moll Flanders 98 He discover'd many times his inclination of going over to Virginia to live upon his own.
1816 J. Allen Mod. Judaism 390 The shouphar or cornet is sounded many times in the course of this festival.
1855 Harper's Mag. July 212/1 Many a time would she come and sit by his easel, and try her little powers to charm him.
1884 H. D. Rawnsley in Trans. Wordsworth Soc. 6 188 Eh dear, many time I've watched him coming round wi' lantern and her after a walk by night.
1963 ‘C. Rohan’ Down by Dockside 14 Many a time he paid my Union money when I didn't have it.
1993 J. Green It: Sex since Sixties 164 I got leaned on by villains many many times... But I didn't pay up.
2008 A. C. Clarke & F. Pohl Last Theorem xlviii. 288 Over a long and happy marriage he had seen his wife's naked body many times.
(b) Chiefly poetic and literary. In the fuller form many a time and oft (also often) (and variants).
ΚΠ
c1300 (?c1225) King Horn (Cambr.) (1901) 1070 (MED) Horn bad vndo softe Mani tyme & ofte; Ne miȝte he awynne Þat he come þerinne.
1446 in L. Morsbach Mittelengl. Originalurkunden (1923) 34 (MED) Y herd my seyd mastyr sey in hys good lyve..mony tymes and ofte, that he neuere seled dede..to the seyd john Rope.
c1450 Jack Upland's Rejoinder (Digby) l. 285 in P. L. Heyworth Jack Upland (1968) 110 Ȝe begge or ȝe preche, many tymes & oft.
?1492 tr. Raymond of Capua Lyf St. Katherin of Senis (de Worde) i. xii. sig. e iij/2 She be knewe many tymes and ofte to her confessour maister Reymound wyth grete drede & fere that [etc.].
1533 T. More Apologye xl. f. 220 Thys fynde we..in many temporall maters amonge our self, wherof I haue hadde experyence many a tyme and ofte.
1560 T. Ingelend Disobedient Child D ij b Many a tyme and oft, I am fayne To playe the Priest, Clarke, and all.
1623 J. Webster Deuils Law-case iv. i. sig. Hv Many a time and often, when a Cause Has prooued like an after-game at Irish.
1750 E. Kimber Life & Adv. Joe Thompson I. iii. 19 Many a Time and often, he and his Wife and Family had heard very strange Bustling in the Room where the Gentleman murdered himself.
1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. xvii. 10 Many a time, and oft..you carried me in your arms.
1888 Referee 14 Oct. 1/4 A once member of the dangerous classes, who has been ‘inside’ many a time and oft.
1907 Auk Apr. 136 The two birds..crossed and recrossed each other's courses many times and often in close proximity to each other.
1936 P. G. Wodehouse Laughing Gas xxiii. 247 You have many a time and oft referred to her as a piece of cheese.
1996 ‘J. le Carré’ Tailor of Panama (1997) iii. 39 No suit should be worn two days running... As I'm sure your good father will have told you many a time and oft.
b.
(a) at one time.
(i) Simultaneously, at the same time.
ΚΠ
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 159 Cilarus smote than hercules behynde with all his myght, piseon and ledeum smote hym also all at oon tyme.
?1523 J. Fitzherbert Bk. Husbandry f. xxiiiv Put nat to many shepe in a penne at one time..for fere of murdering or ouer pressynge of their felowes.
1591 H. Savile tr. Tacitus Ende of Nero: Fower Bks. Hist. ii. 53 Six [tribunes] executing their charge alternativelie, two at one time for two months.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World I. 298 There should not be put vnder a brood-hen aboue 25 egs at one time to sit vpon.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies (1662) Yorks. 186 Daily wages to Rubbish-men, Rock-men, Pit-men, and House-men or Fire-men; so that at one time (when the Mines were in their Majesty)..he had in his pay no fewer than eight hundred.
1728 E. Chambers Cycl. Agreement, Agreamentum, in Law... Of this there may be three sorts... The third is, when both Parties at one time are agreed that such a thing shall be done in time to come; which is Executory.
1810 E. D. Clarke Trav. Var. Countries: Pt. 1st xv. 337 The fifteen nations, whose representatives I observed at one time gathered together, were as follow: 1. Russians,..13. Malo-Russians, [etc.].
1860 Actress in High Life xviii. 370 Does he take you for a Popish saint, endowed with pluripresence, and able to be in Andalusia, at Badajoz, Elvas, and Alcantara, all at one time?
1913 N.Z. Observer 12 Apr. 4 It is freely stated in the Windy City that Willy can read two proofs at one time in his sleep.
1996 G. Scott-Heron Vulture (rev. ed.) p. ix Completing The Vulture and having it accepted for publication..placed more money in my feverish hands than I thought I might ever see at one time.
(ii) Formerly, in an earlier period.
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1626 F. Bacon Sylua Syluarum §704 It is certaine, that we had in use at one time, for Sea-Fight, short Arrowes, which they called Sprights.
1793 J. Thelwall Peripatetic II. 16 At one time there were Giants in the world.
1860 Chambers's Encycl. I. 33/2 It was customary at one time to compose verses on sacred subjects after the fashion of those Hebrew acrostics.
1966 R. J. Ross Television Film Engin. xi. 445 A method of recording on 35 mm lenticular film was at one time employed by the National Broadcasting Company.
2009 U. McGovern & P. Jenner Lost Lore 4 At one time this plant was..thought to be capable of protecting your house from fire or lightning.
(b) (at) one time or another: at some point in time; at various times.
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1534 Bible (Tyndale) Rom. i. 10 Besechinge that at one tyme or another, a prosperous iorney (by ye will of god) myght fortune me, to come unto you.
1652 T. Larkham Wedding-supper 254 If he have not, do not, one time or another, taste of the power of Gods Spirit, it is a sign he is not ordained to life.
1758 Ld. Chesterfield Let. 18 May in Lett. to Son (1774) II. 409 This has, at one time or another, been the case of most great men; who have not always had equal opportunities of exerting their talents.
1791 Massachusetts Mag. Oct. 619/1 Clericus fondly imagined, that his sanguine expectations, would one time or another be realized.
1880 L. Wallace Ben Hur i. v. 28 The Ethiopian, the Pali-Putra..of whom all, except the Hebrew, have at one time or another been its masters.
1973 V. Teresa & T. C. Renner My Life in Mafia xv. 152 There was hardly a race track in New England where the mob didn't put the fix in at one time or another.
2012 Green Parent Apr. 92/1 We all use wet wipes at one time or another yet most wipes available contain synthetic chemical compounds that irritate the skin.
(c) one time with another: (a) on various occasions; during various distinct periods (also at one time with another); (b) on the whole, all things considered; on average (cf. another pron., adj., and adv. Phrases 1). Now rare.
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the world > time > frequency > infrequency > [adverb] > intermittently
by (formerly also at) startsc1422
startmeal?c1422
off and on1535
every otherwhile1542
by, or in, snatches1577
by fits and turns1583
by halves and fits1583
one time with another1591
fit-meal1593
by fits and spurts1605
planetarily?1609
scatteredly1612
startinglya1616
by snaps1631
intermittingly1654
from space to space1658
on and off1668
at (by) intervals1744
cessantly1746
by spells1788
fitfully1792
by fits and spasms1797
everylikea1800
intermittently1800
intermittedly1829
interjectionally1837
jerkily1839
at seasons1850
sporadically1852
parenthetically1860
spasmodically1877
snatchily1880
variously1892
1591 W. Garrard & R. Hitchcock Arte of Warre 360 So that Mault may be deliuered at Barwicke, cleere of all charges one time with another, at ten shillings the quarter.
1611 R. Fenton Treat. Vsurie 37 If they could with their owne free stocke raise the like gaine one time with another.
1655 E. Waterhouse Modest Disc. Piety, Charity & Policy 189 The Clergy, one time with another, have been as faithfull and forward in all worthy enterprises..as any.
1717 Philos. Trans. 1714–16 (Royal Soc.) 29 116 The most, that can well be suppos'd to be spent, one Time with another, in receiving and putting out the Mony, upon a moderate Management.
1770 J. Odell tr. P. A. Boissier de la Croix de Sauvages Direct. Breeding & Managem. Silk-worms vii. 19 It is found by experience that, one time with another, a pound of cocoons will yield one ounce of eggs.
1845 T. W. Coit Puritanism 252 Winthrop..was governor, at one time with another, eleven years.
1886 Fortn. Rev. Oct. 454 That this..is scientifically true, one time with another, when we take an extended range of cases, may, I think, be almost demonstrated by [etc.].
1913 G. M. Trevelyan Clio 73 One time with another, I have walked twice at least round the coast of Devon and Cornwall.
(d) (at) one time and another: at various times.
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1702 tr. M.-C. d'Aulnoy Mem. Court France i. 109 The King..sent thither at one time and another, 4000000 of Crowns.
1743 C. Chauncy Seasonable Thoughts State of Relig. ii. 373 They..were destroy'd, at one Time and another, to the Number of an hundred Thousand.
1824 J. Mactaggart Sc. Gallovidian Encycl. 45 What a number of original characters has this Galloway, at one time and another bred.
1884 M. Oliphant Sir Tom II. vi. 84 He had seen a good deal of her one time and another in his life.
1914 St. Nicholas Mag. Oct. 1116/2 A basis for all other great plays which at one time and another have formed the principal features in the running attack.
1956 L. W. Koenig Truman Admin. i. 30 Mr. Truman has made at one time and another a variety of scattered remarks on the presidency.
2009 D. Abraham Price of Spring 220 It's a mistake we all make, one time and another.
c. the same time: †(a) = Phrases 3d(c)(i) (obsolete); (b) = Phrases 3d(c)(ii).
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a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Bodl. 959) (1959) Gen. xxi. 22 Þe same tyme [L. eodem tempore] seide Abymalech & phycol the prince of his oost to Abraham, god is with þe in all þingeȝ þat þou dost.
c1425 in E. Edwards Liber Monasterii de Hyda (1866) 249 (MED) Athelgar archebyshop had the same tyme a gret synod at London.
c1425 J. Lydgate Troyyes Bk. (Augustus A.iv) iv. l. 2712 Þe same tyme whan þe briȝt sonne Hiȝe in þe south at mydday-marke shon..Þei made a cercle aboute hym enviroun.
a1500 ( J. Lydgate tr. Life St. Alban & St. Amphibal (Lansd.) (1974) 107 The same tyme whan Cesar Iulyus Was passid out of Rome..This marcial man..Had ouerriden the boundis of Itaile.
1526 Bible (Tyndale) Matt. xviii. f. xxiiijv The same tyme the disciples cam vnto Iesus sayng [etc.].
1881 S. Baring-Gould Legends Patriarchs & Prophets xxiv. 179 And the same time that Sarah's womb was blessed, God looked upon many other barren women and blessed them also.
1905 C. W. Chesnutt Ess. & Speeches (1999) 214 But the same time that my eye fell upon this gem of criticism, I read an editorial by Mr. Fortune.
2003 R. Klatz & C. Kahn in Sci. Anti-aging Medicine. 2003 Update 89 And the same time that we were pushing away butter.., we were piling up on the pasta.
d. time enough: soon enough, in time, sufficiently early.
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the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [adverb] > in time or soon enough
time enoughc1400
in timea1450
timely1552
c1400 (?a1387) W. Langland Piers Plowman (Huntington HM 137) (1873) C. xii. l. 197 A man may stoupe tyme ynowe when he shal tyne þe corone!
a1470 T. Malory Morte Darthur (Winch. Coll. 13) (1990) I. 311 Thou shalt se hym tyme inowe.
1533 J. Heywood Play of Wether sig. D ii Whyche knowledge hadde euen as he doth show yt Feare ye not tyme inough ye shall know yt.
1599 Master Broughtons Lett. Answered i. 6 It is to late to worme you, and preuent your madding, but time enough to file your teeth..to keepe you from biting.
1669 R. Montagu in Buccleuch MSS (Hist. MSS Comm.) (1899) I. 458 That I may prepare time enough to fit my equipage for the journey.
1728 J. Swift Stella's Birth-day:1726/7 in J. Swift et al. Misc.: Last Vol. (new ed.) iii. 308 To morrow will be Time enough To hear such mortifying Stuff.
1791 T. Jefferson Let. 18 Aug. in Papers (1986) XXII. 48 Try to arrive here on Tuesday time enough..to come and dine with E. Randolph, Ross &c.
1828 W. Scott Fair Maid of Perth vii, in Chron. Canongate 2nd Ser. II. 213 When he has seen the errant damsel safe home, it will be time enough to claim his reward.
1864 M. Gatty Parables 4th Ser. 27 Time enough to go into the depths when you have used up what is so much easier got at.
1913 J. J. McGraw How to play Baseball (1914) i. 10 It will be time enough for a man to pick this up when he reaches the majors.
1967 A. Wilson No Laughing Matter i. 16 Don't tease the poor Podge. Time enough when she loses all that puppy fat.
2002 N. Schooler in R. Miller & S. E. Mason Diagnosis: Schizophrenia p. vii We should not give him such a terrible diagnosis at this time. When he comes back the next time..that will be time enough.
e. times without number: on countless occasions; very frequently.
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the world > time > frequency > [adverb] > repeatedly
day and nightOE
morning, noon, and nightc1325
new and newa1425
time after time?a1425
over and overa1470
toties quoties1525
again and again1533
reiteratively1619
over and over again1637
repeatedlya1647
times without number1658
to and again1659
—— in, —— out1815
time and time again1821
day in (and) day out1824
recurringly1828
repetitiously1828
recurrently1841
repetitively1872
ever and again1880
recursively1901
twenty-four hours a day1914
serially1978
1658 T. Pierce ᾽Εαυτοντιμωρούμενος: Self-revenger To Rdr. sig. *** Times without number he calls me proud and insolent.
1711 Treat. Dis. Head, Brain & Nerves 119 This and this alone I have used times without Number, with all the success imaginable.
1836 Random Recoll. House Lords ix. 192 Times without number did he toast ‘The Liberty of the Press’.
1892 Law Times 92 147/1 Times without number the courts in bankruptcy have been called upon to decide the question.
1945 Sci. Monthly Jan. 13/2 I have times without number watched this myrmecophagous woodpecker at its feast.
2000 Econ. & Polit. Weekly 16 Dec. 4457/1 This farce has been played out times without number at the national level and in individual states.
f. Originally Scottish. good (also braw, etc.) time coming: a future time of good fortune, esp. one which is eagerly anticipated or has been foretold.The phrase there's a good time coming, apparently originally a Scottish proverb, was given wider currency through the popular song from which quot. 1846 is taken.
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the mind > mental capacity > expectation > hope > expression of hope [phrase]
perish the thought (also man, name)1526
while there's life there's hope1539
good (also braw, etc.) time cominga1780
a1780 W. Mair 28 Lect. (1781) ix. 110 As we use to say, there is a good time coming: you are at least getting so much in hand, as keeps you from sinking altogether.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. v. 149 ‘There's a guid time coming.’ ‘No time like the time present, Mr Campbell.’
1818 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Feb. To Correspondents As Fairservice has it, ‘There's a braw time coming.’
1846 C. Mackay Voices from Crowd 22 There's a good time coming, boys, A good time coming: We may not live to see the day.
1853 N.-Y. Daily Times 4 Jan. 4/3 He said that in the good time coming some Senator would rise in the legislative hall, and move that [etc.].
1874 A. Trollope Lady Anna I. iii. 35 She did not believe in the good time coming as did her mother.
1949 Life 24 Jan. 19/3 It still looked bad. But Governor Muñoz said there was a good time coming, and most were inclined to believe him.
1985 P. Gardella Innocent Ecstasy iv. 74 Most perfectionist doctors looked for a ‘good time coming’ in which marital sex would occur for purposes of conception only.
2001 C. S. Rodd Glimpses Strange Land 126 Jeremiah says that in the good time coming the individual alone will suffer for his sin.
g. half the time: more often than not; commonly.
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1802 Maryland Herald 9 June Was it economy which induced the attorney general to accept 300 dollars a year for an almost sinecure office and be absent from the seat of government half the time?
1831 Fraser's Mag. Apr. 375/2 He asserts that a power arose out of certain natural sensations, and then tells us that they were half the time artificial.
1899 Washington Post 28 June 6/7 Half the time a woman judges a man's morals by the way he parts his hair and knots his tie.
1927 E. Rowland Varina Howell xiv. 159 Lincoln soon discovered that his Secretary was half the time at cross purposes with the radicals.
1985 M. Munro Patter 24 I can trust ye with nothin; ye're away with the fairies half the time.
2015 S. Tromly Trouble is Friend of Mine xii. 95 ‘I don't even listen to Shereene half the time.’ ‘No?’ ‘No. I zone out.’
h. every time: see every adj. and pron. Phrases 5. less than no time: see less pron. and n. 1a. long time no see: see long adj.1 and n.1 Phrases 3l. lost time: see lost adj. 3. such time as: see such adj. and pron. 36. what time: see what pron., adv., int., adj.1, conj., and n. Phrases 4b(a).
P6. Proverbs and proverbial expressions.
a. there is a time to speak and a time to be silent (and variants).Principally after Ecclesiastes 3:7.
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a1382 Bible (Wycliffite, E.V.) (Douce 369(1)) (1850) Eccles. iii. 7 Alle thingus han time... Time of holding pes, and time of spekinge [L. tempus tacendi, et tempus loquendi].
1485 W. Caxton tr. Thystorye & Lyf Charles the Grete sig. c.viv/2 Thou knowest the comyn prouerbe that sayth, that there is tyme of spekyng, and tyme of beyng stylle.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) Eccles. iii. A Everythinge hath a tyme..A tyme to kepe sylence, and a tyme to speake.
?1550 T. Becon Jewel of Joye sig. B.iiiiv As there is a time to speake, so is ther a time to kepe scilence.
1605 A. Munday tr. G. Affinati Dumbe Divine Speaker i. 10 Setting a dooore [sic] there, to be opened and shut as time requireth, signifieth, that there is a time to speake and a time to be silent.
1729 I. Watts Serm. Var. Subj. III. i. 16 There is indeed a Time to keep silence in this Case, and there is a Time to speak.
1827 E. Peach Series Familar Disc. I. 428 There is a time to speak, and a time not to speak: and, to know the proper time for each of these, may be properly called the summit of wisdom.
1883 Month Oct. 164 There is, even in this case, a time to be silent and a time to speak, and this..is a time to speak.
1900 Pall Mall Mag. Apr. 507 Far be it from me..to wish to 'old up my 'ead 'aughty, but there's a time to speak and a time to be quiet, and this is a time to speak.
2001 P. Cornwell Isle of Dogs 413 And now it's time for me to make my Big Move and say to you, my faithful readers, that there's a time to speak and a time to be silent. I'm going to sign off now.
b. In various proverbial phrases expressing the concept that the passing of time has a healing effect, usually with regard to emotional or mental suffering rather than physical injury, as time heals all wounds, time is a great healer, etc. [Compare Hellenistic Greek πάντων ἰατρὸς τῶν ἀναγκαίων κακῶν χρόνος ἐστίν ‘time is the healer of all necessary evils’ (Menander Fragments 677 (Kock)).]
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a1413 (c1385) G. Chaucer Troilus & Criseyde (Pierpont Morgan) (1882) v. l. 350 And for þey kan a tyme of sorwe endure As tyme hem hurt, a tyme doth hem cure.
1597 N. Ling Politeuphuia: Wits Common Wealth f. 59v Time heales the torments of disquiet mind.
1622 H. Peacham Compl. Gentleman iv. 33 Time, the Phisition of all.
1678 R. L'Estrange tr. Of Happy Life xxiii. 300 in Seneca's Morals Abstracted (1679) At the long Run, Time Cures All.
1769 S. Gunning Hermit I. v. 29 Time, that kind healer of woes.
1812 R. Chevenix Mantuan Revels ii. i, in Two Plays 41 Time heals all wounds that are not cureless quite.
1851 Knickerbocker July 83 They say that Time is a great healer of wounds, and consoler of grief.
1913 Calif. Outlook 6 Dec. 8/2 It is said that time cures all things, and it is our belief that time will cure even this difficult situation.
1996 C. Bateman Of Wee Sweetie Mice & Men i. 12 They say time's a great healer.
2003 Irish Tatler Aug. 105/3 There are no hard and fast rules for how to deal with being suddenly single, but there is one certainty: time heals all wounds.
c.
(a) there is a time and (a) place for everything and variants: there is an appropriate moment and context for everything (frequently implying, however, that it is not currently appropriate to do or consider something mentioned or suggested).
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1509 A. Barclay Brant's Shyp of Folys (Pynson) f. clxxxxiiii There is tyme and place for euery thynge As tyme of myrth, and tyme of grauyte.
1678 J. Gailhard Compl. Gentleman ii. 187 Say nothing but the truth, but do not always speak it; for there is time and place for every thing.
1750 J. Wesley Let. to Revd. Mr. Baily 20 For the present, I beg to be excused. There is a Time and a Place for all Things.
1781 Crit. Rev. May 552 We have no objection to discussions of this kind:..but surely there is a time and place for every thing.
1857 Latter-day Saints' Millennial Star 28 Mar. 199/2 If we were to..shout ‘Hosannah!’ and let out our feelings, the people would wonder what we were about; but there is a time and a place for everything.
1946 Rotarian Mar. 2/2 There is a time and place for everything, you will agree, and a funny story is not the place to point a moral.
2007 G. Hurley One Under xi. 220 A time and a place for everything, son. Get this lot boxed off, and you can be on your way.
(b) Hence with nouns or phrases other than everything, usually implying that it is not currently appropriate to do or consider what is specified. Also there is a time and a place with an infinitive, or standing alone.
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1845 Congress. Globe 3 Mar. 387/3 He did not blame gentlemen for taking a conspicuous part in every question calculated to win popularity. But there is a time and a place for this sort of thing.
1892 Sc. Rev. Oct. 303 There is a time and place to be diffuse, and there is a time and place not to be diffuse.
1914 Expositor Mar. 389/2 There is a time and place for moving picture shows and postal cards, but that time and place is not the Sunday evening church service.
1946 H. Fast American ii. 101 I don't mind you boys writing... But there's a time and a place.
1976 B. Ball Keegan 16 Ross was over-familiar. There was a time and a place for such things.
2004 G. Woodward I'll go to Bed at Noon x. 175 ‘It's not that we don't appreciate the music,’ the neighbours went on to point out, ‘but there is a time and a place’.
d.
(a) time reveals (also tells, will tell, will show, etc.) all (things) [after post-classical Latin tempus omnia revelat (1528 in Erasmus), itself after omnia tempus revelat (late 2nd cent. in Tertullian)] .
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1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement sig. UU.iii/1 Tyme bringeth ye truthe to lyght thoughe men go neuer so moche about to cloke it.]
1539 R. Taverner tr. Erasmus Prouerbes sig. E.iv Tempus omnia reuelat. Tyme discloseth all thynges.
1565 J. Hall Hist. Expost. in tr. Lanfranc Most Excellent Woorke Chirurg. sig. Aaa.iiiiv But as tyme reuealeth all thynges, so this deulyshe beaste in short tyme was knowne in his righte kynde and name.
1599 M. Aray Discouerie Tragical Fiction f. 12 Tyme will tell all.
1616 T. Draxe Bibliotheca Scholastica 205/2 Time reuealeth all things.
1654 in Coll. State Papers J. Thurloe (1742) II. 600 There is a rumour, that the prince of Condé has received great recruits of men; and that..he intends to besige Corbie. Time will shew all.
1675 J. Smith Christian Relig. Appeal i. vii. 63 Saturn..whom the Greeks called χρονὸς, i.e. Time, the father of Truth: even for this cause (saith Plutarch) because time reveals all things.
1758 A. Murphy Upholsterer ii. 31 Quid. Whoever lives to see it, will know more of the matter. Pamph. Time will tell all.
1863 E. C. Bowler Let. 16 May in A. R. Foroughi Go if you think it your Duty (2008) 164 Time tells all things and we will wait four months and see then.
1869 W. R. S. Ralston tr. I. Turgenev Liza I. xxv. 244 I have already told you that I may be mistaken. However, time will reveal all.
1979 P. Goldman Death & Life Malcolm X (ed. 2) 427 I remember some of the ministers used to say that time reveals all things.
1997 Harlan (Kentucky) Daily Enterprise 5 Apr. 4/4 It is difficult to dissect any ‘new era’ declaration,..but there is an old and very true saying that time reveals all.
2010 C. Wiseman Take Walk in my Shoes v. 85 I don't know if she was trying to fool herself of me. One thing I do know is that time tells all.
(b) (only) time will tell (also show) (and variants): the truth about something (frequently as expressed in an indirect question), or the final resolution of a particular set of circumstances, will (only) be established at some time in the future.
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the world > time > relative time > the future or time to come > in future [phrase] > time will tell
(only) time will tell (also show)1563
1563 B. Googe Eglogs Epytaphes & Sonettes sig. F.viii Paynes can not last for euermore, but tyme and ende wyll trye, And tyme shall tell me in my age, How youth led me awrye.
1654 T. Fuller 2 Serm. 75 Whether this will ever be really effected, or whether it will prove an Abortive..Time will tell.
1688 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 584 The Consequences of which, a little time will shew.
1770 C. Lucas Rights & Privileges Parl. Asserted 44 Whether any wicked representation of this kind has been made, upon a late occasion, time will tell.
1785 Mrs. A. Adams Lett. (1848) 260 How the pulse of the ministry beats, time will unfold.
1813 A. Opie Tales Real Life II. 68 Well; time will show whether you can keep this resolution.
1830 G. P. R. James Darnley I. vi. 146 I have been..accused of fictitious crimes, and destined to a fate that only time will show.
1863 C. Reade Hard Cash I. v. 164/2 She shall speak as distinctly to music as you do in conversation. Sampson... Time will show, madam.
1869 Missionary Herald (Cambridge, Mass.) Sept. 282 What stability of character they will manifest after leaving the restraints of boarding-school life, only time will tell.
1913 E. H. Porter Pollyanna xxiii. 234 The doctor had looked very grave..and had said that time alone could tell.
1957 A. Huxley Lett. (1969) 839 It may turn out, of course, that the experts are right and that their play is better... Time will show.
1980 J. Gardner Garden of Weapons iii. xi. 332 ‘Big Herbie gone over, has he?’ Fincher said that time would tell.
2009 Guardian 27 Jan. 30/5 They..filled their time with the same old speculative phrases: on the one hand this may be happening, on the other hand that, and only time will tell.
e.
(a) times change and we with them and variants [after post-classical Latin tempora mutantur et nos mutamur in illis (see tempora mutantur phr.)] .
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1573 J. Bridges Supremacie Christian Princes 747 For why, ye may say, tempora mutantur, & nos mutamur in illis, the tymes are changed, and we are changed in them.
1600 J. Bodenham Bel-vedére 217 Times chaunge, and we in them, doe alter still.
1666 G. Torriano Proverbial Phrases 281/2 in Piazza Universale Times change, and we with them.
1761 ‘Citizen of the World’ Equilibrium 40 I..who am not ignorant that as the Times change we also change.
1845 Sportsman's Mag. 24 May 111/2 But ‘times change, and men change with them’, and we suppose we must admit that our progress has been improvement.
1943 C. Milburn Diary 21 Feb. (1979) 168 In English cities the Red Flag has been flown... Times change indeed, and we with time.
2005 B. Southgate What is Hist. For? v. 85 For as times change, and we with them, so do our conceptions of the nature and purposes of history.
(b) times change: used to acknowledge or lament that things change over time, or to express the necessity of adapting to or accepting such changes.
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1618 W. Lithgow Pilgrimes Farewell sig. D2v My Sommer Cloathing, is my Winters Weede: Times change, and I, I cannot change Apparrell.
1789 Scots Mag. 51 App. 644/2 But times change, and new expedients are adopted in new situations.
1810 G. Chalmers Caledonia II. vii. vi. 951 But, times change: And, a very different government at length shed its happier influences, on Peeblis-shire.
1877 Punch 3 Mar. 89/1 Well, well, times change,..even the unromantic Saturday Review seems to see poetry in his project. I confess I do not.
1902 Young Woman's Jrnl. Sept. 388/2 Times change, you know, and apple trees were alright for the old folks.
1976 R. Berry Before forever After in A. Richards Penguin Bk. Welsh Short Stories 270 Times change. Backstabbers belong everywhere. We inherit chaos.
1996 Scotsman (Nexis) 6 Apr. 25 Times change..and you might as well lament the passing of quarter-backs and bulldogs from the positional nomenclature.
f. time and tide wait (also tarry, etc.) for no man.Cf. tide nor time tarrieth no man at tide n. 13b.
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1577 J. Caldwell Serm. preached before Earle of Darbie sig. Bv For hee knoweth that time and tide will tarye for no man.
1639 J. Clarke Paroemiologia 233 Time and tide tary on no man.
1767 ‘A. Barton’ Disappointment ii. i. 34 Let's step into the state-room, and turn in: you know the old saying, ‘time and tide waits for no one.’
?1780 R. Lewis Pleasing Moralist I. xiii. 130 What can more strongly represent the imprudence of procrastination, than to remark that ‘Delays are dangerous’, that..‘Time and tide wait for no man’?
1825 R. Sharp Let. 31 Jan. in Diary (1997) 16 The guide is like Time and Tide he waits for no man.
1881 Lady D. Hardy Through Cities & Prairie Lands xxviii. 330 The Boston boat was at the pier, and time and tide wait for no woman, even in this chivalrous land.
1935 J. Masefield Box of Delights i. 21 Time and Tide and Buttered eggs wait for no man.
1977 C. V. Whitney High Peaks Pref. p. x So now on with the High Peaks, for time and tide wait for no man.
2000 S. Brett Body on Beach (2001) xli. 325 Still, better go back to the little woman. Time, tide and Sandra wait for no man, eh?
g. to take (also seize) Time by the forelock (formerly †forehead, †foretop, †top): to seize one's opportunity, to act promptly. See also forelock n.2 2.
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1591 R. Greene Farewell to Folly sig. B4 Seignor Farneze taking time by the forehead iumpt in with Cosimo; and said that not onely Italians but other nations whatsoeuer were faultie in that imagination.
1595 E. Spenser Amoretti lxx, in Amoretti & Epithalamion sig. E4v The ioyous time wil not be staid Vnlesse she doe him by the forelock take.
1600 W. Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing i. ii. 10 If he found her accordant, he meant to take the present time by the top, and instantly breake with you of it. View more context for this quotation
a1641 T. Heywood Captives (1953) iii. iii. 70 Loose not this advantadge, but take tyme by the ffore' topp.
1734 Fidler's Fling at Roguery ii. 98 They thought Time by The Fore-Lock must be caught.
1796 W. Beckford Mod. Novel Writing I. vii. 53 Arabella seizing time by the forelock, led her new acquaintance to the woodbine bower.
1825 ‘M. Coultershoggle’ Goslington Shadow II. v. 70 Rab seeing Jock out of wind after running, took time by the forelock to stir up the ill will that for some time had been increasing between them.
1856 New Eng. Farmer July 319/2 My word for it, a squeeze in time—in this business—saves nine... Therefore, take time by the foretop and go at it.
1934 W. Lewis in Time & Tide 20 Oct. 1312/2 The best manner to keep Time in his place is to take Time by the forelock—not to allow Time to drive you along.
1987 Sydney Morning Herald (Nexis) 5 Dec. 72 A magistrate in my territory was wont to mumble at times of stress: ‘We must seize time by the forelock.’
2004 Times (Nexis) 18 Nov. (Times2 section) 9 These fiftysomethings are taking time by the forelock, making hay, not to mention whoopee, while the sun shines.
h. time is money: any period of time has the potential to generate income (frequently used to discourage occupations or engagements that would be injurious to this).
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1719 Free-thinker 18 May 128 In vain did his Wife inculcate to him, That Time is Money: He had too much Wit to apprehend her.
1748 B. Franklin Advice to Young Tradesman 1 Remember that time is money.
1823 J. F. Cooper Pioneers I. xiv. 196 What do you mean to do with your time this winter? you must remember that time is money.
1886 S. Baring-Gould Court Royal xliii Time was money to Mr. Cheek. He did not allow the grass to grow under his feet.
1927 E. O'Neill Marco Millions i. ii. 36 He'll have time enough for that, but with us time is money.
1985 D. Rosen & S. Rosen Death & Blintzes viii. 43 ‘That's right,’ said Karsh, waving his pipe, ‘back to work. Time is money, never forget that.’
2006 Metro (Toronto) 14 Aug. 16/4 In business time is money and it shouldn't be wasted.

Compounds

C1.
a. General use as a modifier.
(a)
(i) With the sense ‘of, relating to, or with respect to time’.Some of the more established or distinctive compounds of this type are treated separately.
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1786 T. Busby Compl. Dict. Music at Tactus When the time consisted of a breve in a bar, the time-stroke was called Tactus-Major.
1846 E. Rigby Maiden Aunt viii, in Livonian Tales 80/1 Many a moment is as a pebble cast into the waters, the circle of whose vibrations shall finally embrace the whole time-ocean.
1849 J. A. Carlyle in tr. Dante Divine Comedy: Inferno p. xxxi The whole time-basis of his mighty song has become dim and cold.
1868 J. Spare Diss. in Libr. Pract. Med. (Mass. Med. Soc.) XXV. 107 The ill health..must be disintegrated by piece-meal, atom by atom... The cure is equally a time-process with the disease.
1903 R. Wallace Life & Last Leaves iii. 52 This view of the ‘Sabbath’ as a sacrifice or time-tax paid to the Deity.
1937 Mind 46 177 We may agree..to regard as the time-direction that in which the number of beats registered by the clock is increasing.
1946 R. Blesh Shining Trumpets ii. 42 The..sequential time-patterns of human or divine speech.
1971 J. Elsom Theatre outside London vii. 125 Certain limits were placed on the improvisation—the size of the floor, the time-length of the class.
1996 Which? Guide to starting your own Business (new ed.) vii. 117 If the first accounting period ends later than 5 April, a proportion of the profits is calculated on a time basis.
2009 K. Mitchell Director's Craft ix. 122 Study all the aspects of your directing style and process from a time point of view.
(ii)
time allocation n.
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1887 E. Garcke & J. M. Fells Factory Accts. ii. 23 The records should be..copied by the time clerk into a Time Allocation Book.
a1974 R. Crossman Diaries (1975) I. 259 A mere day and a half was a crazy time-allocation if only because the eight new clauses and fifty amendments..would take all the time available.
2002 J. H. Stronge Qualities Effective Teachers i. iv. 35 Another way that the teacher can set up the classroom to maximize time allocation for instruction is by using staging areas.
time allowance n.
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1853 Hunt's Yachting Mag. July 213 £60, £40, £30, £20, and £10, had been suggested with the usual time allowance for the first and second class.
1893 G. Clare Money-market Primer (ed. 2) 21 The time-allowance on gold taken to the Mint is said to be 20 days.
2010 B. Osnes Shadow Puppet Theatre of Malaysia 76 There is no predetermined time allowance for any given scene or story.
time behaviour n.
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1939 Lancet 3 June 1273/2 It's time-behaviour distinguishes it at once from the pain of rectal carcinoma or anal fissure.
1994 Computing 15 Sept. 26 Not only can exponentially complex time behaviours be encoded by the holographic transform and subsequently decoded, but [etc.].
time budget n.
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1912 Papers & Proc. 6th Ann. Meeting Amer. Sociol. Soc. 49 The basis of quantitative study of the socius is afforded by the time budget. The time budget is to sociology what the budget of income and expenditures is to social economy.
1997 City Life (Manchester) 30 Apr. 13/2 Some European states..now encourage ‘time planning’ and ‘time budgets’ as part of a holistic approach to urban life.
time chart n.
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1872 J. Curwen Standard Course Lessons in Tonic Sol-fa Meth. (new ed.) 7/2 As the pupil has first learnt tune separately from time on the Modulator, so now, with the help of the Time Chart, he studies time separately from tune.
1892 K. Pearson Gram. of Sci. vi. §10. 257 If we examine the time-chart we see that there is a considerable difference in its steepness at different points.
1958 Times Lit. Suppl. 17 Jan. 33/2 Mr Sullivan..gives a much more orderly unfolding of the time-chart of discovery because he sticks to a straightforward chronology.
1995 I. Tattersall Fossil Trail (1996) xii. 166 The traditional representation of evolutionary relationships by lines snaking over a time chart.
time-consciousness n.
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1881 Nature 30 June 187/1 There is a long and careful analysis of time-consciousness, in which numerous causes of erroneous estimate of duration are clearly stated.
1963 H. Lindenberger On Wordsworth's ‘Prelude’ vi. 199 The dissolution of the traditional literary genres and the increasing eccentricity of structure..have proved coincidental with..the development of time-consciousness among writers.
2006 Human Stud. 29 453 The opening moves made by Husserl in what is arguably the first fully phenomenological text, his lectures on inner time-consciousness.
time constraint n.
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1956 Operations Res. 4 568 Time constraints in the planning-programming process are often quite severe.
1976 A. J. Meltsner Policy Analysts in Bureacracy v. 165 A tight time constraint discourages extensive participation and the building of consensus.
2000 Police Rev. 4 Feb. 39/3 The scenario may revolve around decisions that are governed by time constraints.
time cycle n.
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1860 F. W. Upham Deb. Church & Sci. i. ix. 227 The week of seven days is a time cycle which does not correspond with any cycle, or any part of a cycle in nature.
1968 Brit. Med. Bull. 24 197/2 All disease, whether it be physical or emotional, appears to have its time-cycles.
2001 F. Y. Phillips Market-oriented Technol. Managem. v. 165 New consumer products must..be developed within a shorter time cycle.
time determination n.
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1838 F. Haywood tr. I. Kant Critick Pure Reason 199 In this third way..we have found conditions à priori of the general and necessary time-determination of all existence in the phenomenon.
1962 E. Bruton Dict. Clocks & Watches (1963) 123 Observatory clock. Clock for astronomical time determinations.
2000 D. Prialnik Introd. Theory Stellar Struct. & Evol. ix. 183 The first detections of the two..devices were simultaneous to within the accuracy of time determination.
time dimension n.
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1897 H. G. Wells Invisible Man xvii. 123 After five minutes, during which his mind had..lost itself at last over the time dimension, Doctor Kemp roused himself with a sigh.
1937 Mind 46 162 It is rather unfortunate that philosophers..should have paid little attention to the problem suggested by Minkowski's imaginary time-dimensions.
2005 M. Lockwood Labyrinth of Time (2007) xiv. 353 In the story so far, there still remains a conspicuous absence of either a time dimension or a time parameter.
time evolution n.
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1875 J. Lindsay Analyt. Interpr. Syst. Divine Govt. of Moses ii. 23 That sort of crossing which ends one period of time-evolution by a well-defined mark, and the beginning of another.
1937 R. A. Wilson Birth of Lang. ii. ii. 79 To one..who tries to work out a concrete philosophical view of the world..on the basis of a time-evolution of all its forms from matter to man, the mechanistic hypothesis appears..to obscure the real problem of the beginnings of life.
2004 Jrnl. Chem. Physics 121 1175 The time evolution of the initial plane wave packet provides a clear visualization of the scattering into space of the reaction products.
time factor n.
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1861 Proc. Brit. Meteorol. Soc. 20 Nov. 64 To adapt the formula to a noon epoch, it is only necessary to change the signs of the odd time factors A, a, C, c, F, f, K, k, N, n, and Q, q.
1882 Pop. Sci. Monthly Mar. 581 The time-factor is one which we are bound to include in casting up our column of probabilities for the future intellectual equality of the sexes.
1976 M. Gordon & G. Gordon Ordeal (1977) xxix. 198 He worked fast, conscious of the time factor.
2004 M. Abrahamson Global Cities ii. 33 [She] explained that the time factor determines most of her dining decisions. To cook at home requires planning.
† time-foot n. Obsolete rare
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1883 G. M. Hopkins Further Lett. (1956) 329 Music is..the very place where the difference of time-feet and rhythm-feet recognised in Greek poetry is still in force.
time flow n.
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1883 Nature 15 Mar. 459/1 A motor-couple and its parts exert time-flow of one form of energy.
1936 J. R. Kantor Objective Psychol. Gram. xvii. 240 Grammarians mean by time the abstract points in a field-spread or an equally abstract time-flow.
1998 V. Kisin tr. I. D. Novikov River of Time (2001) xiii. 212 Arthur Eddington even invented a special phrase to indicate the direction of time flow: the ‘arrow of time’.
time gap n.
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1880 J. E. H. Gordon Physical Treat. Electr. & Magn. II. xxxviii. 138 The circuit is broken by hand or otherwise, and a gap made in the line whose position between the two nearest time-gaps gives the time of the event.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. ix. 237 Interruptions, time-gaps during which the consciousness went out altogether to come into existence again at a later moment.
2007 Chicago Tribune (Midwest ed.) 3 Dec. iii. 4/5 There was a short time gap between stepping on the pedal and feeling the power.
time guide n.
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1871–2 Ref. Bk. & Directory of Bk. & Job Printers (J. Arthurs Murphy & Co.) Advt. section It [sc. the New York Programme] contains a railway time guide for all the cars in the city.
1990 B. R. London Hi-tech Jewish Cooking ii. 35 Use the following chart as a time guide for baking muffins in the microwave oven.
time horizon n.
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1842 Knickerbocker Nov. 497 In the gentle gloaming of his years he declined calmly to his ‘west of life’, sinking with the golden October sun behind the time-horizon.
1965 H. I. Ansoff Corporate Strategy iii. 40 To make this concept meaningful, we need the idea of the time horizon of a firm—the period over which the firm seeks to optimize its resource conversion efficiency.
2006 Independent 25 June (Save & Spend section) 11/1 The investment strategy you adopt should be appropriate to your objective and time horizon.
time interval n.
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1846 R. Chambers Explanations 27 Remains of inferior animals may be found by themselves on the same or a lower level in some as yet unexplored place not far off; so that a time-interval may there appear to allow for a progressive development.
1871 Cornhill Mag. July 58 The imagination is wholly unable either to conceive the duration of the time-intervals..occupied by these wonderful processes.
2006 G. Buzsáki Rhythms of Brain vi. 150 A relation that exists when things occur simultaneously, such as two or many neurons firing within a short time interval.
time-life n.
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1845 W. Smith tr. J. G. Fichte On Nature of Scholar ii. 137 This forth-flowing Time-Life is endless, and the comprehension of its parts can thus never be completed.
1906 W. R. Inge Truth & Falsehood in Relig. vi. 167 Every incident in the time-life of a moral being, has, in God's sight, two aspects.
2006 H. D. Bui Fracture Mech. Pref. p. xiv The time-life of an [sic] nuclear vessel..is parallel to the time-life of a researcher.
time log n.
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1853 Weekly Herald (N.Y.) 4 June 183/3 The following is the time log of the Eclipse [sc. a boat].
1866 Morning Post 3 Sept. 6/5 The committee appointed..for the purpose of bringing up a report upon a ‘time log’.
1918 C. Janin Gold Dredging in U.S. 41 In the time log is kept a record of all work done and of all difficulties and delays.
2002 R. Smith Primary Headteacher's Handbk. v. 113 If you are serious about analysing your use of time, one way of doing it is to make a time log and write down what you do each hour of your working day.
time order n.
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1869 Mercersburg Rev. Jan. 142 Christianity,..unfolding itself in two dispensations and throughout all the ages, and going beyond the time-order of things.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. iii. 88 The whole succession is so rapid that perception seems to be retrospective, and the time-order of events to be read off in memory rather than known at the moment.
1988 J. Stevenson Fair Deal in Betting (Sporting Life) (ed. 2) 60 Consolations are awarded..to clients who have the first 4, first 5 or first 6 correct (in time order of the races being run).
time period n.
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1843 Z. Bliss Idea Spiritual Interpr. Script. 3 The essential thralldom of this earth-realm into which we are cast out, and this time-period into the depths of which we have fallen.
1965 Canad. Jrnl. Linguistics 10 125 Seven languages..died out during the twenty-three year period ending in 1964... In this same time-period Coos was reduced to a single informant.
2003 S. J. Segal & L. Mastroianni Hormone Use Menopause & Male Andropause 55 At the end of a specified time period, the results for each group are recorded and compared.
time perspective n.
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1881 J. Sully Illusions x. 249 When we look at an object foreshortened in perspective, we see enough to enable us imaginatively to reconstruct the actual size of the object, whereas in the case of time-perspective no such reconstruction is even indirectly possible.
1907 Gentleman's Mag. July 80 The Australian child is deficient not so much in imagination as in what may be called time-perspective.
2005 G. Rosenshield Western Law, Russ. Justice iv. 157 Dostoevsky complicates the presentation of this narrator by including a double time perspective in the narrative voice.
time pressure n.
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1879 Amer. Chess Jrnl. Mar. 289/1 This move was made under a time pressure.
1937 Manch. Guardian 22 Oct. 5/2 An almost overpowering sense of time pressure.
2011 New Yorker 1 Aug. 23/3 Time pressure also reduces the chances that an agreement will be what psychologists call ‘integrative’—taking everyone's interests and values into account.
time programme n.
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1929 Times 2 Nov. 12/1 Had there been any suggestion of a time-programme for the realization of Dominion status.
2008 K. Potts Constr. Cost Managem. viii. 266 The contractor should submit to the engineer a detailed time programme.
time ratio n.
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1863 J. D. Dana Man. Geol. iii. iv. 493 Making the calculation from these data,..the resulting number is 23,800; whence the time-ratio for the Palæozoic and Mesozoic is nearly 3½:1.
1964 W. S. Allen in D. Abercombie et al. Daniel Jones 3 Whereas in modern verse the rhythms are marked by ‘stress’, the classical rhythms were expressed solely in terms of time-ratios.
2010 N. W. Gómez in W. S. Melion & L. P. Wandel Early Mod. Eyes 48 The time ratio of day to night on the summer solstice would have been no more than 13¼ to 10¾ hours.
time reference n.
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1879 H. C. G. Moule Epist. Rom. 84 All have sinned... Probably the time-reference of the tense is to the original Fall of Man.
2009 K. Brown & S. Ogilvie Conc. Encycl. Langs. of World 47/2 The verbal system of Arabic can be described as a combination of aspect and time reference.
time relation n.
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1849 L. P. Hickok Rational Psychol. ii. i. 392 The substance..as time-filling force, verified in the determination of an experience to the time-relation of perpetuity.
1854 S. W. Koelle Gram. Bórnu or Kánurī Lang. viii. 87 It [sc. the conjunctional mood] expresses merely a time relation, and serves as the great connective of propositions.
1924 R. M. Ogden tr. K. Koffka Growth of Mind iii. 118 When a pianist..articulates a series of muscular innervations..fixed time-relations are determined in the series of sound-waves.
2000 R. Alexander & O. M. Mladenova Intensive Bulgarian II. xxiii. 171 A verbal adverb expresses a time relation: the action it refers to is simultaneous with the one in the main clause.
time schedule n.
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1848 2nd Ann. Rep. Pennsylvania Railroad Co. 17 Enabling this Company to work their time schedule to the State road within a few hours run of the City.
1904 Daily Chron. 31 Dec. 6/7 The working moments must be snatched in the gaps of the time-schedule, and the greater part of the work must be carried out during a period of four hours at dead of night.
2006 Herald-Times (Bloomington, Indiana) 12 July a8/2 Bush..sets a secret time schedule and sneaks his way to Iraq.
time record n.
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1850 J. Locke in Astron. Observ. 1846 (U.S. National Observatory) (1851) II. App. 31 The following is the appearance of the time-scale fillet, marked with observations properly interpolated into the time record.
1870 Harper's Mag. July 252/2 A horse capable of making fast time..may score victory after victory without astonishing the world with a performance that renders necessary the revision of the time record.
1939 T. L. Green Pract. Animal Biol. i. 1 If a contractile vacuole is present make a time record of its rate of filling and emptying.
2006 Pittsburgh Post-Gaz. (Nexis) 8 Oct. e2 Jerry Ayers' attempt..to set a world time record for carving 100 pumpkins.
time measure n.
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1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Archit. Pref. sig. a2 Vehicles, Mills, Time-measures, and other such minute things.
1911 W. James Some Probl. Philos. xi. 179 Mr. Bertrand Russell..treats the Achilles-puzzle as if the difficulty lay only in seeing how the paths traversed by the two runners..should have the same time-measure if they be not themselves of the same length.
2000 Guardian 5 Feb. i. 26/2 Classical artists and rock stars alike sat at his feet to learn the intricacies of Hindustani time measures.
time sense n.
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1854 Dwight's Jrnl. Music 11 Nov. 45/2 Was not the time..held back to a degree slightly uncomfortable—or was it the smoke, obfusticating our time-sense?
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. xv. 611 The units of duration..which the time-sense is able to take in at a single stroke, are groups of a few seconds.
1995 R. Wilson Shakespearean Narr. iv. 128 The subjective time sense that dominates Arden is only partially equivalent to the ‘convention of the Pastoral ideal’.
time sequence n.
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1865 F. W. O. Ward Pessimus iv. 117 Two perceptions which succeed one another form no objective time-sequence.
1924 R. M. Ogden tr. K. Koffka Growth of Mind 82 Localization of a sound to the right or left depends upon the time-sequence in which the sound-waves..strike the right and left ear, respectively.
2006 J. McEnteer Shooting Truth v. 83 The article..accused Moore of..manipulating the time sequence for his film, deceiving viewers about when things happened.
time stream n.
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1837 T. Carlyle French Revol. II. iv. iv. 207 On the whole..has not this unfortunate Clergy also drifted in the Time-stream, far from its native latitude?
1937 R. A. Wilson Birth of Lang. ii. i. 69 In his emergence to consciousness man rose above the time-stream of sense.
2010 D. Haynes Crashers 6 They looked like they'd just stepped out of 1972. Proof of a fold in the time stream, Dennis thought.
time succession n.
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1852 H. S. Saroni tr. A. B. Marx Theory & Pract. Musical Composition Introd. 16 If we cause the gradual production of a series of tones or sounds of certain duration..in any fixed and continued, i.e. repeated, time-moments, we call this regulation of time-succession, Rhythm.
1922 A. S. Eddington Theory of Relativity 18 It [sc. the relativity theory] fully recognizes that the chain of events in such a time-succession is a series of an entirely distinctive character from the succession of points along a line in space.
2004 R. Arnheim in P. Simpson et al. Film Theory IV. x. lxxi. 34 In much the same way the time succession of a number of scenes is made apparent by the action itself.
time unit n.
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1822 tr. A. M. Legendre Elements Geom. & Trigonom. 235 All equations expressing any relation between space and time, will..of necessity include a line-unit and a time-unit.
1925 J. Joly Surface-hist. Earth v. 79 Our time-units have become millions of years.
2007 K. D. Harrison When Langs. Die 78 People have invented different ways to peg the year or other time units to physical objects or the body.
(b) With the sense ‘of time as distinct from eternity’ (cf. sense A. 33), as time-state, time-world, etc.
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1811 S. E. Pierce Serm. Doctrinal, Exper. & Pract. Subj. xxii. 491 You are at present in a time-state, the miseries of which are great and real.
1815 Niles' Weekly Reg. 8 166/1 At times I flatter myself the time will roll round, when we shall meet in this time-world again.
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus iii. viii. 95/1 Nature, which is the Time-vesture of God, and reveals Him to the wise, hides Him from the foolish.
1855 M. S. G. Nichols Mary Lyndon xiii. 310 I learned..that the manifested God may become a devil in the subversions and evils of this time-sphere.
1871 C. Kingsley At Last I. i. 4 That book which has, to us creatures of a day, though not to Him who wrote it as the Time-pattern of His timeless mind, neither beginning nor end.
1919 T. L. Vasvānī Krishna's Flute Introd. 6 History is, to my mind, neither an ‘illusion’ nor a stream of ‘becoming’; it is a time-vesture revealing some values of the Eternal.
1939 W. Saroyan in Hairenik Weekly 24 Sept. 5/2 Night was even more troublesome because then the time-body, the world-body, became the timeless body, the worldless-body, the universe-body.
2005 D. G. Riede Allegories of One's Own Mind 42 The surface..is the Carlylean time-vesture, the ideological character of the age, the conscience and public character of the poet.
(c) In the names of devices or appliances used to give a time signal or otherwise register the passage of time, or set to operate at a given moment. See also time ball n., time bomb n., time candle n. at Compounds 2.
time alarm n.
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1840 U.S. Patent 1,780 (caption) Time alarm.
1901 Friends' Intelligencer & Jrnl. 2 Feb. 76/2 An electric time alarm has been patented which cannot be stopped till the sleeper gets up to stay.
2005 M. Smith Literacy & Augmentative & Alternative Communication 109 The educator can simply set a time alarm to go off at regular intervals throughout a school day and record the activity that is in progression at each time point.
time fuse n.
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1855 Mechanics' Mag. 4 Aug. 109/2 This hollow may always be filled with explosive composition and adapted to a proper time fuze, so as to render all shot doubly destructive, and useless to an enemy.
1879 J. C. Fife-Cookson Armies of Balkans ii. 25 The shrapnel..did execution around us, the time fuzes acting well.
2002 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 18 Mar. a2/1 When a pedestrian steps on a pad and closes an electric circuit, or crosses a trip wire and releases a time fuse's pin.
time-glass n.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > hourglass
running glass1480
night-glass1504
hourglass?1518
sand-glass1553
glass1557
minute glass1626
watch-glass1637
time-glass1712
sand-clock1865
hand glass1875
pulpit glass1907
1712 Boston News-let. 25 Feb. 2/2 (advt.) To be sold..Window Lead, Window Glass, Nails, Time Glasses.
a1845 S. Smith Elem. Sketches Moral Philos. (1850) 122 If you were to say that man was like a time-glass,—that both must run out, and both render up their dust.
2010 A. Oakland tr. M. Ajvaz Golden Age xxxvii. 217 I, too, heard the quiet voices like fine sand falling on the bottom of a time-glass.
time gun n.
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1856 T. Salmon South Shields 122 The widening of Church Row; the illumination of Saint Hilda's Church Clock, and its useful chimes; the time gun, and electric telegraph wires.
1878 R. L. Stevenson Edinburgh 133 The time-gun by which people set their watches.
1991 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 19 Aug. The Time gun [at Vancouver]..was cast at a foundry in Woolwich, England, in 1816.
2006 A. Ariel & N. A. Berger Plotting Globe viii. 120 Other cities used to herald the correct time by firing a time gun.
† time-taper n. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1810 R. Southey Curse of Kehama viii. 79 Lo! the time-taper's flame ascending slow.
1818 European Mag. Dec. 484/2 Perhaps in the time-taper, the bowl floating in a brass dish to measure hours..we may see no small resemblance to the sacred candle burned by our Yorkshire maidens on the eve of St. Agnes.
b. Objective.Some of the more established compounds of this type are treated separately.
(a) With agent nouns, as in time-giver, time-setter, time-spender, etc.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 36 Þe time-zettere ontrewe... Vor hire time-zettinge, hi destrueþ and makeþ beggeres þe knyȝtes.
1613 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. (1626) 33 The King..was no time~giuer vnto growing dangers.
1670 G. Havers tr. G. Leti Il Cardinalismo di Santa Chiesa i. i. 12 Those impertinent time-spenders, the Priests.
1799 Monthly Mag. July 488/1 Mr. Henry Wood..obtained a patent for the invention of a time-setter.
1845 W. Francis Gwennap iii. 112 Her handsome town-clock which the time-seeker greets.
1890 Friends' Intelligencer & Jrnl. 13 Dec. 800/1 Those days which Browning, true time-conqueror, calls ‘The last of life, for which the first was made’.
1933 A. S. Eddington Expanding Universe iii. 121 Like other time-grabbers I have generally adhered to the long time-scale provisionally.
1989 Precision Marketing 29 May 22/5 We can put our ads in..slots no self-respecting time-buyer would dream of leading a campaign on.
2009 C. van Kleveren Intra-household Allocation of Time iii. 49 Direct time expenditures by each partner..are assumed to affect only the utility of the individual time spender.
(b) With verbal nouns and participles, as in time setting, time-spending, etc.; time-beguiling, time-defeating, etc., adjs.
ΚΠ
1340 Ayenbite (1866) 36 Þe time-zettere ontrewe... Vor hire time-zettinge, hi destrueþ and makeþ beggeres þe knyȝtes.
?a1425 tr. Catherine of Siena Orcherd of Syon (Harl.) (1966) 130 Sich a creature..may wiþ sich good vse of his tyme-spendynge come fro þe dreede of bondage vnto þe drede of fredom.
1593 W. Shakespeare Venus & Adonis sig. Bv A sommers day..wasted in such time-beguiling sport. View more context for this quotation
1601 W. Cornwallis Ess. II. xxxvi. sig. X8 After comes the torture of the time breaking wheele.
1615 R. Brathwait Strappado 109 My Time-noting lines ayme not at thee.
1628 W. Prynne Vnlouelinesse of Louelockes To Rdr. sig. a3 These bewitching, and time-deuouring Vanities, which steale away their Hearts, and Liues from God.
1742 M. Delany Autobiogr. & Corr. (1861) II. 198 Accustomed to the many hurries and time-devouring accidents of this huge place.
1789 Loiterer 21 Feb. 7 Those time destroying amusements, which are so much in use among..warlike youths.
1834 T. Flint tr. Bachelor Reclaimed xxxiii. 238 I am one of those time-economizing persons for whom the days begin early.
1874 Jrnl. Mental Sci. 19 532 These observations would induce a belief in the existence of a time-perceiving and time-regulating power.
1914 Cent. Mag. Dec. 199/2 Time-squandering activities designed only to advance his own popularity.
1951 S. Spender World within World 288 Edith Sitwell..had something of the time-defeating quality of Yeats.
2004 J. R. Page Blessed Event xv. 154 I didn't want to do it [sc. the job] for years on end, but as a time-biding fill-in, it was pretty good.
2007 J. Kinard Artillery v. 186 Raised marks on the face of the fuse were graduated up to 5.5 seconds, allowing for accurate time setting.
(c)
time-bettering adj. now rare (chiefly with reference to Shakespeare)
ΚΠ
1609 W. Shakespeare Sonnets lxxxii. sig. F2 Some fresher stampe of the time bettering dayes. View more context for this quotation
1856 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Jan. 3/2 In the thick coming change of that ‘time-bettering age’,..life grew warm, and in the old the new was stirring.
1912 Ess. & Stud. 3 69 The..conclusion..that Shakespeare was going on writing in the sonnet-form after it had gone out of fashion, and when a poet who sought the stamp of these time-bettering days would pretty certainly adopt some other form of verse.
1957 E. Rosenstock-Huessy Rosenstock-Huessy Lect. (1997) 18 iv. 8 Time-bettering days are holidays... Now the time-bettering days of the past, gentlemen, are only alive if you celebrate them.
time-killing adj. and n.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > importance > unimportance > [adjective] > insubstantial > purposeless
sleeveless1551
futilous1607
futile1749
time-killing1754
futilitous1765
futilitarian1873
1754 F. Gentleman Narcissa & Eliza Ep. Ded. p. v We stand indebted for..Operas, Burlettas, Masquerades, Pantomimes, Drums, Routs, with a long &c. of Time-killing Amusements.
1763 J. Langhorne Effusions Friendship & Fancy I. xi. 47 I have thought of the following receipt for time-killing.
1806 Eclectic Rev. Nov. 937 Accusing..the Archdeacons of inactivity, the Clergy..of hunting, gaming, drinking, and time-killing.
1882 W. Cory Lett. & Jrnls. (1897) 484 Hard up for time-killing occupation.
1992 Times Lit. Suppl. 7 Feb. 15/2 There is always a hint of time-killing..among the studied meanderers round Soane's Dulwich Gallery.
2007 T. Stanton Ty & Babe xi. 79 The sight of him storming in from the outfield to argue became a common, time-killing annoyance.
time measurer n.
ΚΠ
1625 S. Purchas Pilgrimes I. i. vi. 18 To beguile this Time-measurer in exact reckonings of Time, by adding or loosing a day to the Sunnes account.
a1864 N. Hawthorne Septimius Felton (1872) 54 The time-measurer of one whose mortal life he had cut off.
1904 Edinb. Rev. Jan. 200 The pendulum was..assigned its function as a time-measurer.
2005 Nation (Thailand) (Nexis) 5 June For men, a watch is not only a time measurer—it's the only accessory or jewellery they should wear.
time-measuring adj. and n.
ΚΠ
1640 A. Hart Alexto & Angelica sig. F1v Joves Time measuring Daughters.
1787 W. Combe Anderson's Hist. Origin Commerce (rev. ed.) I. iii. 85 Time measuring was probably in use very early, although the dial of Ahaz be the earliest account we have of any such invention.
1890 W. James Princ. Psychol. I. xiv. 557 The time-measuring psychologists of recent days have tried their hand at this problem.
1974 tr. W. F. Wertheim Evol. & Revol. 363 The relatively rapid and consistent process of evolution—slow as it was in terms of time-measuring as applied by mankind.
2010 Staten Island (N.Y.) Advance (Nexis) 13 May a17 Clepsydras and sundials were two of the earliest time-measuring instruments.
time reckoning n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1833 Penny Mag. 2 Mar. 83/2 Instead of geography, osteology, metallurgy, chronology, architecture, they [sc. the Germans] can say, earth-description, bone-knowledge, smelting-art, time-reckoning, building-art.
1842 Chambers's Information for People (new ed.) II. 597/1 The Christian Era..was not adopted as a mode of time-reckoning immediately after the commencement of Christianity.
1868 Once a Week 2 Sept. 337/2 Would not the acquisition of this time-reckoning instinct be worth trying for?
1920 A. S. Eddington Space, Time & Gravitation ii. 31 Observers with different motions use different space- and time-reckoning.
1988 T. Ferris Coming of Age in Milky Way (1989) i. i. 22 Stonehenge is one of thousands of old time-reckoning machines the moving parts of which were all in the sky.
time recorder n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > timer or chronograph
stop-watch1740
time marker1835
time recorder1836
hourglass1852
time clock1857
time lock1858
egg-glass1867
chronograph1868
egg-timer1869
timer1869
gunner's pendulum1876
time switch1884
chess-clock1905
phototimer1942
pinger1950
shot clock1967
1836 I. Steward Mascarenhas I. xi. 271 The Mosques were crowded..with the indefatigable votaries of Islamism; the time-recorder told upon his sounding plate that the third day-watch had commenced.
1853 Arthur's Home Mag. Apr. 517/1 Twelve o'clock pealed from the mighty tongue of the time-recorder.
1898 Engin. Mag. 16 41 Workmen use a mechanical time-recorder requiring the vibration of a lever on entering and leaving the shop.
1995 A. M. Cvancara Field Man. Amateur Geologist (rev. ed.) xi. 117 Well-known, natural time recorders that reflect seasonal changes are tree rings and ‘growth rings’..on clam shells.
time-saving n. and adj.
ΚΠ
1783 London Mag. Aug. 129/1 You know I have always been fond of time-saving; That none may be lost, I will write whilst I'm shaving.
1828 J. F. Cooper Red Rover I. xi. 172 The tardy manner in which the crew of the ‘Caroline’ made their preparations, however, exhausted the patience of more than one time-saving citizen.
1891 A. James Diary 24 June (1965) 216 A restricted nature, not admirable or generous in its impulses, but highly practical and time saving.
1977 Listener 10 Nov. 607/2 The amounts that air travellers would be willing to pay for the time-savings that it [sc. Concorde] made possible.
1982 R. Ludlum Parsifal Mosaic xiv. 215 It's basically an economic, time-saving decision.
2008 C. G. Riemersma What are Odds iv. 105 Two-thirds of the female respondents felt that Internet dating is a time-saving measure that ensured their having a chance to re-enter the dating world.
c.
(a) Instrumental, as in time-battered, time-bewasted, time-bleached, time-stained, time-wasted, etc., (adjectives).Frequently with reference to deterioration or other change brought about by the passage of (a long period of) time; in some of these compounds the meaning tends towards ‘that has been —— over time’.Some of the more established or distinctive compounds of this type are treated separately.
ΚΠ
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II i. iii. 214 My oile-dried lampe, and time bewasted light. View more context for this quotation
a1628 F. Greville Life of Sidney (1651) xv. 199 Those time-authorized assemblies.
1658 H. Crompton Pierides xci. 128 Time-wasted flesh, and wrinkled brows Are no fit objects for their bows.
1729 R. Savage Wanderer v. 44 Time-batter'd Tow'rs frown awful in Decay.
1765 W. Stevenson Vertumnus in Orig. Poems I. 119 Round and round the bat incessant flits, Yon time-rent wall, with moss-tufts overgrown.
a1771 T. Gray Agrippina in Poems (1775) 133 The slacken'd sinews of time-wearied age.
1779 H. Cowley Albina iv. 66 Why must I tear the pillow..from thy time-blanch'd head?
1800 E. Bartell Obs. Town of Cromer viii. 78 Its moss-grown thatch and time-stained walls are..in perfect harmony with the objects that surround it.
1806 A. Seward Let. 27 Jan. (1811) VI. 242 Dr Parr's articulation..is now, by the loss of his teeth, become almost wholly unintelligible to my time-dulled ear.
1810 R. M. Roche Houses Osma & Almeria viii. 103 The winds whistled shrill, through his time-bleached locks.
1839 H. T. Tuckerman Isabel 117 Numerous lights fell on the upturned face of the novice, and the time-withered lineaments of the abbess.
1843 Bentley's Misc. 14 297 The time-gnawn, mouldering walls Of man-deserted gothic halls.
1870 Proc. N.Y. Hist. Soc. June 6 He..brought out the time-blurred lines and tints of some neglected Watteau.
1924 W. de la Mare Ding Dong Bell 56 Those flat and spotted fungi that rise in a night on time-soiled birch trees.
1938 H. T. Lowe-Porter tr. T. Mann Joseph in Egypt I. ii. 94 Wide-eyed and cruel, with time-gnawn nose,..it gazed across at its river.
1985 S. Penman Here be Dragons i. iii. 43 His sisters, who had been bartered as child brides to foreign princes, were little more to him now than time-dimmed memories.
2007 Esquire Sept. 130/2 [She] plays a time-ravaged witch called Lamia.
(b)
time-blackened adj.
ΚΠ
1798 G. Goodwin Rising Castle 73 Mid the ambient gloom..I mark Yon tower time-blacken'd cut the dusky air.
1888 Notes & Queries 5 364 A virtuoso, valuing a coin at ten times its intrinsic worth for time-blackened patination.
2010 Frommer's Switzerland 238 It sits at the eastern edge of the main street of Grindelwald,..behind a time-blackened wooden facade with lots of folkloric detailing.
time-constrained adj.
ΚΠ
1959 Planning & Devel. Urban Transportation (U.S. National Res. Council, Highway Res. Board) 3 Each cycle is time-constrained such that all units are required to arrive not later than the scheduled time or deadline.
2010 Calgary (Alberta) Herald (Nexis) 27 Aug. (Swerve Mag.) 16 This reality series offers insight into the creative process of artists, however overly constructed and time-constrained the perspective may be.
time-controlled adj.
ΚΠ
1885 U.S. Patent 326,494 2/1 Mechanics skilled in the art of operating time-controlled apparatus will easily understand the foregoing.
1971 P. C. Sylvester-Bradley in I. G. Gass et al. Understanding Earth ix. 124/1 Evolution is a time-controlled process.
2006 Rangeland Ecol. & Managem. 59 252/1 The most attractive aspect of time-controlled grazing systems..is the higher stocking rates that can be used.
time-eaten adj.
ΚΠ
1581 A. Neville tr. Seneca Œdipus (rev. ed.) iii. i, in T. Newton et al. tr. Seneca 10 Trag. f. 85v The auncient Time eaten Oke with crooked bended lims.
1685 H. More Paralipomena Prophetica xii. 91 The Time-eaten names of the Consuls in that Monumentum Ancyranum above-mentioned.
1831 E. A. Poe Doomed City in Poems (ed. 2) 49 Time-eaten towers that tremble not!
2004 C. Miéville Iron Council (2005) 319 The low rust skyline of a time-eaten iron town.
time-hallowed adj.
ΚΠ
1748 W. Collins in R. Dodsley Coll. of Poems I. 332 Where..some time-hallow'd pile, Or up-land fallows grey Reflect it's last cool gleam.
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Calderon viii Distained and time-hallowed walls.
2000 R. Harris Enlightenment ix. 209 Much else that was time-hallowed was now being questioned as superstitious, irrational or primitive.
time-kept adj.
ΚΠ
1743 A. Hill Fanciad iv. 31 The toe-toss'd Strut, the down-thump'd Firelock's Bang; The Stare of Promptness, and the time-kept Clang.
1934 T. S. Eliot Rock i. 7 I journeyed to London, to the timekept City.
1969 Univ. Toronto Q. 39 313 The vision of a timeless, invisible, and hierarchical order existing above..the ‘timekept’ visible order we know.
time-obsessed adj. and n.
ΚΠ
1925 J. Parkes Trav. in Eng. in 17th Cent. ix. 301 Travellers can divert the tedium of the way with coursing hares or shooting goslings, with small fear of reproof from..guilty or time-obsessed consciences.
1940 Sewanee Rev. 48 58 Daily, the historically minded, the analytically minded, the time-obsessed, the pattern thinkers are analyzing, charting, outlining history.
2001 Financial Times 27 Jan. (Weekend Suppl.) p. xxiv/2 Biscuits & Bath..is a magnet for dog-obsessed, time-obsessed New Yorkers.
time-pressured adj.
ΚΠ
1946 Jrnl. Educ. Res. 40 157/1 These time-pressured responses of youths from ages eleven to twenty years appear to reveal many important clues to the personality, attitudinal slant and interest of the child.
1989 DesignCenter ii. 32/1 (caption) In a time-pressured market, loss of sales due to longer time-to-market can be significant.
2002 Prospect Aug. 68/2 Much has lately been made of the need for ‘brief lives’ to suit the time-pressured reader of the 21st century.
† time-taught adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1758 S. Madden in T. Leland Hist. Reign Philip King of Macedon p. xvi As in Conquests, so in Letters too, Genius can more than Time-taught Prudence do.
1799 T. Campbell Pleasures of Hope & Other Poems ii. 224 The time-taught spirit, pensive not severe.
1859 All Year Round 1 Oct. 540/2 I dreamt it once, perchance as childhood dreams When life began; I dream it now, nor think it less beseems The time-taught man.
† time-white adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
?1611 G. Chapman tr. Homer Iliads viii. 454 To warn the youth, yet short of war, and time-white fathers.
1735 J. Addison tr. Anacreon Wks. lii. 185 Straight their time-white heads they [sc. old men] shake.
d. Parasynthetic, locative, etc.
time-based adj.
ΚΠ
1959 U.S. Patent 2,910,683 1 This transmitter is also keyed to transmit a time based sequence of temperature, humidity, and reference signals.
1976 P. R. White Planning for Public Transport vi. 123 The classification of time-based, mileage-based and peak-vehicle-based costs..was adopted.
2003 L. Pound & C. Harrison Supporting Musical Devel. Early Years ii. 38 Music is a time-based art form.
time-born adj. poetic (now rare)
ΚΠ
1629 J. Gaule Panegyrick 59 in Practique Theories Christs Predict. He time-borne Sonne, got from eternitie.
1833 H. Ellison Madmoments I. 169 Not timeborn thou, nor subject e'er shalt be, Eternity alone can hold itself and thee!
1921 Poems by Brother & Sister 57 Out of the future into the past Speeds the earth..Winging fast on a time-born blast In quest of eternity.
1948 S. Aurobindo Savitri i. v in Advent (Pondicherry) Feb. 9 This knowledge first he had of time-born men. Admitted through a curtain of bright mind That hangs between our thought and absolute sight.
time-bound adj.
ΚΠ
1647 T. Fuller Good Thoughts in Worse Times iv. v. 145 When wee are time-bound, place-bound, or person bound.
1924 R. Graves Mock Beggar Hall 79 Neither eternal nor time-bound, Not certain, nor in change.
2010 Church Times 22 Jan. 26/3 Transubstantiation was demoted as a time-bound way of expressing what could be better expressed for our own day in other ways.
time-centred adj.
ΚΠ
1949 Jrnl. Jewish Communal Service 26 200/1 We are subject to thousands of constraints and obligations which our time-centered civilization imposes on us.
1977 P. Johnson Enemies of Society iii. 33 Against this background of a time-centred religion, there were also solid economic reasons why the fulcrum of progress would shift northwards across the Alps.
2008 St. Petersburg (Florida) Times (Nexis) 16 Nov. 1 d Most people will not cancel a time-centered celebration; such as a Bar Mitzvah, which celebrates a Jewish child's 13th birthday.
time-conscious adj.
ΚΠ
1927 W. Lewis Time & Western Man ii. ii. ii. 284 There is in the life of the time-conscious individual a crushing preponderance of image-material.
1962 J. Glenn in J. Glenn et al. Into Orbit 43 All of us wear very exact watches... As you can see, we are extremely time-conscious during a mission.
2007 Yoga Mag. Oct. 44/2 Perception and reality can be very different and thoughts are mostly time-conscious.
time-dead adj.
ΚΠ
1923 Crisis (N.Y.) Feb. 174/2 When Susanna Jones wears red, A queen from some time-dead Egyptian night Walks once again.
1962 J. Jones Thin Red Line ii. 70 After a time-dead second in which nothing moved or breathed, Queen gave the foot another..heave.
time-dependent adj.
ΚΠ
1925 Q. Jrnl. Econ. 39 594 The conception of wants as relative and time-dependent is of course not new in economic literature.
1962 D. R. Corson & P. Lorrain Introd. Electromagn. Fields vi. 219 We shall now extend the discussion to include time-dependent magnetic fields.
2009 P. Glennie & N. Thrift Shaping Day iv. 120 Hackney coaches, given the level of their time-dependent fares, clearly catered for the relatively well-to-do.
† time-during adj. Obsolete
ΚΠ
1548 N. Udall et al. tr. Erasmus Paraphr. Newe Test. I. John xi. 80 Not..that it is an uncouth or a time duryng thyng to me.
1639 L. Lawrence in tr. San Pedro de Diego Small Treat. betwixt Arnalte & Lucenda sig. B2v Iohnson, and others..Unto whose worths, Time-during Fame hath rais'd Trophies of Honour.
time-enduring adj.
ΚΠ
1748 A. Philips Pastorals 93 Yet, must the time-enduring song, The verse unrival'd by the throng, From nature's bounty flow.
1845 P. J. Bailey Festus (ed. 2) 136 Now go I forth again..Upon my time-enduring pilgrimage.
1947 Sci. Monthly Jan. 76/1 Breaking the time-enduring chain of flea-rodent-human which has saddled mankind with the plague for centuries.
time-faced adj.
ΚΠ
1851 W. W. Lord Christ in Hades iii. 71 Supreme, as they who feel Superior worth innate, or time-faced right.
1936 D. Thomas Twenty-five Poems 38 Now Jack my fathers let the time-faced crook..Sneak down the stallion grave.
time-independent adj.
ΚΠ
1936 Proc. Royal Soc. 1935–6 A. 153 663 We denote by ρ, j the time-independent part of the charge density and current vector corresponding to the L → K transition.
1953 Physical Rev. 91 740/1 Initial and final currents that are time-independent with respect to different reference systems.
2006 R. Ehrlich tr. E. Joos in tr. J. Audretsch et al. Entangled World viii. 226 The Wheeler-de-Witt equation is formally similar to a time-independent Schrödinger equation.
time-lasting adj.
ΚΠ
1639 L. Lawrence tr. San Pedro de Diego Small Treat. betwixt Arnalte & Lucenda 108 When he possesses his time-lasting home, His spirit will rejoyce.
1674 N. Fairfax Treat. Bulk & Selvedge 40 This time~lasting World, and every while-being thing in it.
1846 Lit. Museum (Boston) 21 Nov. 175/1 That these views may become earth-spread and time-lasting, is, we repeat, our earnest, prayerful, agonizing wish.
1960 Studies 49 277 It is not among their intentions to create timelasting masterpieces. It is enough that doing the work serves the purpose of the moment.
1998 Daily Herald (Chicago) 2 Oct. v. 4/5 The memory book can enhance precious time-lasting memories of each individual for future generations of the family.
time-limited adj.
ΚΠ
1847 J. Honiball Let. to Lords Commissioners of Admiralty 9 Efforts to sustain, unassisted, the expense of an establishment, hitherto employed chiefly by orders so sudden and time-limited, as to involve loss in their execution.
1900 Boston Daily Globe 22 June 4/5 We are traveling on a time limited ticket and we have got several more places to go to.
2002 Billboard 18 May 70/4 We still do time-limited downloads with retailers too.
time-lost adj.
ΚΠ
1930 Crisis (N.Y.) July 235/1 Subdued and time lost are the drums.
2008 M. Barton Dungeons & Desktops 180 The first of these [games]..is set in Eodon, a time-lost land where dinosaurs roam.
time-old adj.
ΚΠ
1846 Punch 10 53/2 The pin-cushion whereon were writ the time-old syllables of love and hope—‘Welcome, little stranger!’.
1922 D. H. Lawrence England my England 4 The wide, black, time-old chimney.
2001 Veranda July 97 (advt.) Uriarte..continues to be at the forefront of this time-old Mexican craft.
time-proof adj.
ΚΠ
1800 A. MacLaren Monopolizer Outwitted! i. 8 A learned Doctor, who..can make any tolerable living face time-proof for at least fifty years.
1910 Cement Age Aug. 68 In their anxiety to have timeproof and fireproof houses people everywhere are considering concrete.
1992 New Republic 4 May 26/2 The character of Rick is the firmest, most time-proof element in the picture.
† time-rusty adj. Obsolete rare
ΚΠ
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre v. xxix. 279 How would a Herald sweat with scouring over these time-rustie titles.
1906 C. Rudy Cathedrals Northern Spain v. vii. 350 The mules..pass beneath the gateway.., a ponderous structure still guarding the time-rusty city as it did centuries ago.
time-sensitive adj.
ΚΠ
1929 Archit. Forum 51 176 Within four months more the structure had been completed and turned over to its owners and their tenants. To a time-sensitive people this achievement is not lacking in a certain dramatic quality.
1937 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 123 218 An intracellular ‘metabolic microscope’ with instant action, which is distinguished from previous instruments for measuring metabolism in being both chemically specific and time sensitive.
2004 Cosmo Girl Aug. 91/1 Giving a guy a compliment isn't just tricky, it's time-sensitive too.
time-starved adj.
ΚΠ
1894 S. W. Mitchell When All Woods are Green v. 72 Oh, there's time enough. That's the only thing we have a plenty of up here. We ain't time-starved, I can tell you.
1959 Washington Post 15 Jan. c4/2 Two supper suggestions to..save the day for a time-starved housewife.
2002 D. Goleman et al. Business: Ultimate Resource 623/1 The Internet marketer that can cut through the overload and bring to time-starved consumers the information they need is much more likely to succeed.
time-varying adj.
ΚΠ
1943 U.S. Patent 2,335,014 2/1 The time-varying flux enclosed by the orbit of any particular electron necessarily produces an accelerating action on the electrons.
2004 Globe & Mail (Toronto) (Nexis) 29 Apr. a23 Consumers can and will shift load in response to time-varying electricity prices.
C2.
time attack n. Fencing an attack by means of which one may gain time on one's opponent, esp. one launched when he or she has only just begun to prepare an attack.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > [noun] > actions
buttc1330
overheadc1400
stopc1450
quarter-strokea1456
rabbeta1500
rakea1500
traverse1547
flourish1552
quarter-blow1555
veny1578
alarm1579
venue1591
cut1593
time1594
caricado1595
fincture1595
imbroccata1595
mandritta1595
punta riversa1595
remove1595
stramazon1595
traversa1595
imbrocado1597
passado1597
counter-time1598
foinery1598
canvasado1601
montant1601
punto1601
stock1602
embrocadoc1604
pass1604
stuck1604
stramazo1606
home thrust1622
longee1625
falsify?1635
false1637
traversion1637
canvassa1641
parade1652
flanconade1664
parry1673
fore-stroke1674
allonge1675
contretemps1684
counter1684
disengaging1684
feint1684
passing1687
under-counter1687
stringere1688
stringering1688
tempo1688
volte1688
overlapping1692
repost1692
volt-coupe1692
volting1692
disarm?1700
stamp1705
passade1706
riposte1707
swoop1711
retreat1734
lunge1748
beat1753
disengage1771
disengagement1771
opposition1771
time thrust1771
timing1771
whip1771
shifting1793
one-two1809
one-two-three1809
salute1809
estramazone1820
remise1823
engage1833
engaging1833
risposta1838
lunging1847
moulinet1861
reprise1861
stop-thrust1861
engagement1881
coupé1889
scrape1889
time attack1889
traverse1892
cut-over1897
tac-au-tac riposte1907
flèche1928
replacement1933
punta dritta1961
1889 H. A. C. Dunn Fencing 62 ‘Time’ attacks, whereby, having anticipated in what line your opponent's attack will be delivered, you intercept his blade as he gives in his attack.
1930 E. B. Cass Bk. Fencing 56 A time-attack is one made as soon as the advance of the adversary is noted, and is timed to reach some accessible part.
1963 G. Gulyás tr. Z. Beke & J. Polgár Methodol. Sabre Fencing iii. 235 A time attack carried out against the opponent's feint in time is called a contretemps.
time average n. Physics and Mathematics an average evaluated over a period of time (rather than, say, a distance).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > [noun] > specific concepts or principles of > average evaluated over a period
time average1848
1848 Tempest (Soc. Promoting Christian Knowl.) 266 In this country, both these averages have nearly the same direction; the latter, or time-average, being well known to be equivalent to a wind blowing from some point between S. and W.
1875 Encycl. Brit. III. 39/1 In a material system in a state of stationary motion the time-average of the kinetic energy is equal to the time-average of the virial.
1988 Nature 26 May 297/2 The time average of the high-frequency forces felt by the particle.
2006 P. J. Nahin Dr. Euler's Fabulous Formula i. 40 What was the rock's average speed during its fall?.. What we just calculated is called the time average.
time-averaged adj. Physics and Mathematics averaged over a period of time; contrasted with space-averaged.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > [adjective] > average evaluated over time or space
time-averaged1928
space-averaged1946
the world > matter > physics > mechanics > dynamics > [adjective] > average over period of time
time-averaged1928
the world > matter > physics > atomic nucleus > radioactivity > X-rays > study of crystals by X-rays > [adjective] > averaged over space or time
time-averaged1928
space-averaged1946
1928 Proc. National Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 14 764 p is the pressure which is already a time-averaged quantity.
1946 Nature 26 Oct. 582/2 Such time- or space-averaged statistical structures are becoming increasingly familiar to X-ray crystallographers.
2006 Jrnl. Coastal Res. 22 1278 High-frequency measurements of airflow from ultrasonic anemometers and time-averaged cup anemometer profiles were taken.
time-bar v. transitive to disallow or invalidate on the grounds that a time limit has expired (usually in passive).
ΚΠ
1895 in Rep. Sel. Comm. Money Lending (1898) App. 213 The claim..is not time-barred by the lapse of six years from the date when it became due.
1924 Times 9 Oct. 13/4 Had the application not been made the suit would have been time-barred.
1971 E. Afr. Standard (Nairobi) 10 Apr. 1/3 The fourth car in the Datsun 240Z team..was time-barred at Korogwe.
1996 Constr. News (Nexis) 18 Jan. Clear words are necessary for time-barring a claim through lack of notice.
time-barred adj. originally and chiefly Law that has been disallowed or invalidated on the grounds that a time limit has expired.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adjective] > late > after the expiry of a time-limit
time-barred1872
time-expired1960
1872 Bombay High Court Rep. 8 Appellate Civil Jurisdict. 8 A time-barred debt shall not be recoverable by virtue of an admission unless such admission has taken the form of an acknowledgment in writing signed by the debtor.
1957 Financial Times 23 Mar. 4/3 I would appreciate advice..whether such a claim is now time-barred or not.
1994 S. J. Mahmud Pillars Mod. India vii. 60 He built up a fabulous practice..and paid off the time-barred debts.
time-beater n. a person who or (occasionally) instrument which beats out the time of a piece of music.
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1720 C. Morris Diary 22 Nov. (1934) 82 I had a new Hand made of Deal..put into the Time-Beater.
?1775 W. Waring tr. J.-J. Rousseau Dict. Music 39 These time beaters were called in Greek ποδόκτυποι and ποδοψόϕοι.
1827 Kaleidoscope 9 Oct. 113/1 (heading) Description of a musical time-beater, to indicate audibly the bar and all its subdivisions.
1907 Punch 8 May 332/2 That popular nuisance the time-beater, who punctuates the melody with insistent feet in a theatre or concert-hall.
2010 Guardian (Nexis) 27 Jan. (Review section) 36 [He] did little more than act as an efficient time-beater in a reading of Mahler's Fifth Symphony that lacked any overview of the work's emotional trajectory.
time-bent adj. crooked with age.
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1823 J. Galt Ringan Gilhaize II. x. 105 That very aged, time-bent, and venerable man.
1952 Newport (Rhode Island) News 10 Apr. 10/7 The..bellhop..is white-haired and time-bent and has been with the hotel ever since it put in its first Gideon Bible.
2003 J. Chapman Charming Highlander xvi. 259 She attempted to straighten her time-bent frame as she smoothed the front of her coat.
time-board n. †(a) a board dropped from a prominent position as a means of giving a time signal (obsolete); (b) a board used to register time worked by individual workers in a factory, etc.; (c) a board on which times are displayed at a sporting event.
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1845 Naut. Mag. & Naval Chron. No. 7. 373 The Observatory..is very nearly three miles from the roadstead, so that the time-board requires to be made large and conspicuous to be of service.
1858 in Trades' Societies & Strikes (National Assoc. Promotion Social Sci.) (1860) 319 Every one shall apply for and put in his own time-board.
1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 34 As the men come in past the time-office they take their piece or time~boards from the rack, where each is placed against its proper number.
1895 Times 7 Jan. 3/3 In the case of one large yard the men have come out on strike against the introduction of the ‘timeboard’ system.
1921 Rep. Commissioner of Labor (Rhode Island & Providence) 143 The strikers asked for a $2.50 rate for 100 yards of cloth; that a time board be suspended on the wall, so that the weavers could see it; that they be paid 10 cents an hour when stopped [etc.].
2003 Star-Ledger (Newark, New Jersey) (Nexis) 9 Mar. (Sports) 18 When Susan Skros of Haddonfield turned back and looked at the timeboard, she couldn't mask her displeasure.
time candle n. a candle used to mark or measure the passage of time, typically one made in such a way as to burn down at a uniform rate.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > other instruments
time ball1834
time candle1838
chronoscope1846
time globe1858
time disc1879
1838 G. L. Craik & C. MacFarlane Pict. Hist. Eng. I. ii. i. 166/2 It appears that these time-candles were placed under the special charge of his [sc. Alfred's] mass-priests, or chaplains.
1906 Wide World Mag. Mar. 533/1 Some ‘knappers’ still employ time-candles in lieu of clocks and watches, wherewith to reckon the working hours.
1979 L. Sprague de Camp & L. Carter Conan the Liberator v. 87 Alcina sat alone,..watching the alternate black-and-white bands of the time candle.
1994 N. de Marchi & P. Harrison in N. de Marchi & M. S. Morgan Higgling i. 43 The use of a ‘time candle’ or calibrated candle to keep track of time.
time capsule n. a container used to store for posterity a selection of objects thought to be representative of a particular moment in time; also figurative and in extended use.
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society > communication > record > memorial or monument > [noun] > others
ossuary1872
palimpsest1876
war memorial1912
field monument1923
time capsule1938
1938 N.Y. Times 19 Aug. 21 A record of the world of the present era..will be buried on the site of the World's Fair in the hope that it will give to historians 5,000 years hence a picture of the middle twentieth century... The record will be contained in a ‘time capsule’, a specially devised container of metallic alloy of high corrosion resistance.
1947 J. Campbell & H. M. Robinson Skeleton Key to ‘Finnegans Wake’ 8 The Wake..is a huge time-capsule, a complete and permanent record of our age.
1973 Art Internat. Mar. 56/1 This image of Venice, as a waterlogged time capsule, is very much the creation of outsiders.
2006 D. G. Schwartz Roll Bones ix. 207 A time capsule containing spring water, a rolled parchment declaration, coins, and wine..was sealed by those in attendance.
time card n. (a) a timetable in the form of a card; (b) a card on which a record is kept of time worked.
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society > communication > record > written record > [noun] > other types of written record
criminal record1687
police record1773
office copy1776
geological record1811
time card1837
phylactery1855
reservation1884
press cutting1888
record1897
trace1898
swindle sheet1906
form sheet1911
Dead Sea Scrolls1949
yellow card1970
1837 Morning Post 12 Sept. ‘Whereabouts are we?’ asked a lady in front of me [on a train]... ‘Look at the time-card—that's the only way to know.’
1846 Papers Investig. Post-Office 74 in Parl. Papers XLV. In the habit of forging the receiver's name to his time-card, I immediately communicated with you upon the subject.
1873 Newton Kansan 24 Apr. 3/2 The new time card..allows the conductors..to lay over here.
1938 W. Smitter F. O. B. Detroit 318 Get me his time-card. I'll fire him.
1986 J. N. J. Henwood & J. G. Muncie Laurel Line v. 127/2 In May 1931, eight weekday limited trains were removed from the time card.
2005 M. H. Smith Delicious iii. 34 Filling out time cards, making sure that star A didn't have to work more than eight hours according to his contract.
time catch n. a catch by means of which the shutter of a camera may be held in position for a fixed time.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > shutter > catch or button
time catch1890
soft release1941
shutter release1958
1890 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 383 The time catch is on the other side, and by means of two slots and pins, is arranged so that it cannot fall backwards or forwards when not in use.
1904 Photographic Dealer Apr. 96/2 The shutter..is fitted with a time catch.
1962 W. D. Emanuel Hasselbad Guide at Hasselblad 500C For long time exposures, where it is inconvenient to keep the release depressed, a time catch can be brought into action.
† time-catcher n. Obsolete a person who seizes an opportunity presented at a particular time (in quot. 1707 perhaps in a spec. sense: cf. sense A. 28).
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society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > [noun] > fencer > types of
heartista1640
small-gut mana1640
time-catcher1707
lunger1842
foilist1907
épéist1910
sabreur1927
sabre-fencer1952
1603 T. Dekker 1603: Wonderfull Yeare sig. C2v And good reason had these time-catchers to be led into this fooles paradice, for they sawe mirth in euery mans face.
1707 W. Hope New Method Fencing iv. 114 The great Objection, made by some People, particularly those Time-Catchers, against the frequent use of Binding is [etc.].
time change n. [in sense (a) originally an echo of Shakespeare's use of sea-change ; compare quot. a1616 for sea-change n. at sea n. Compounds 6a at that entry] (a) a change that takes place over time, or is caused by the passage of time; (b) = time difference n. (b); (also) the change occurring when standard time is altered (to or from summer time, etc.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > change > [noun] > that occurs with the passage of time
time change1838
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > systems of reckoning time of day > time-difference
time difference1860
time change1928
1838 Knickerbocker Aug. 142 His [sc. Shakespeare's] works are made even more beautiful by their antiquity: ‘Nothing of him that doth fade, But doth suffer a time-change Into something rich and strange.’
1877 A. Steinmetz in A. Wynter Subtle Brains (new ed.) Pref. Those topics which have necessarily suffered a time-change and received immense development during the last twelve years.
1885 Electrician 14 Mar. 377/1 In 1881 he observed a time-change (decrease) of the Volta effect at a copper-zinc junction.
1928 Pittsburgh Press 28 Apr. 1/5 Train schedules on local trains will be adjusted to meet the time change.
1969 N. Denny tr. G. Veraldi Spies of Good Intent xi. 177 I'm suffering from the time-change. With me it's three in the morning.
2008 M. H. García Sedimentation Engin. 184/2 Eq. [= equation] (3-25) can be used to compute the time change in bed elevation due to net deposition or erosion.
time-charter v. transitive to hire (a ship or aircraft) for a fixed period by means of a time charter.
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1842 Times 27 Aug. 3/6 The Conqueror was time-chartered by me for four years, to be employed in their service.
1974 Information Handbk. 1974–5 (Shell Internat. Petroleum Co.) 100 Ships time-chartered by Shell companies total 235 of 20·6 million dwt.
2010 Platts Oilgram Price Rep. (Nexis) 3 Aug. 16 Vessels owned or time chartered by oil companies, which they trade in the market when not using themselves.
time charter n. a charter securing the use of a ship or aircraft for a fixed period of time.
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society > trade and finance > buying > hiring or renting > [noun] > hire of a ship
freightage1755
charterage1806
chartering1817
time charter1861
1861 Daily News 2 Nov. 7/7 Option of retaining the vessel on time charter at about 15s. per ton.
1914 Times 17 Oct. 6/1 It appears that Lloyd's are no longer kept posted with the positions of any of the steamers they have on time-charter.
1989 W. A. Paddon Labrador Doctor xv. 186 This plane..would fly full-time for us as needed, on a time charter financed jointly by the federal and provincial governments.
2006 S. Harwood Shipping Finance viii. 225 The borrower had entered into a time charter under which hire for the vessel was payable 15 days in advance.
time clause n. a clause embodying or expressing information about time; (Grammar) an adverbial clause relating to time.
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1837 S. M. Harrington Rep. Superior Court Delaware 1 268 An abandonment on a certificate can have no such effect. It has no relation to the time clause.
1853 T. Rowland Gram. Welsh Lang. 157 The conjunctions which introduce supposition, concession, cause, motive, effect, transitive and time clauses, will be treated of hereafter.
1942 Amer. Jrnl. Econ. & Sociol. 1 148 Some landlords refused to include a time clause in their contract, and could thus without notice force the renter off the farm at any time.
1995 Appl. Linguistics 16 121 The phrase look before you leap may be theoretically reordered as before you leap, look much as any other directive + time clause.
time constant n. Science the time taken by an exponentially varying quantity to change by a factor 1 – 1/e (approx. 0.6321) regarded as a parameter of the system in which the variation occurs; (more widely) a time taken as representative of the speed of response of a system.The concept originated in connection with the behaviour of electric circuits.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > measuring time or rate of a process > time constant
time constant1869
the world > matter > chemistry > physical chemistry > [noun] > systems > speed of response
time constant1869
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > [noun] > time taken to change state
time constant1869
response time1911
integrating circuit1948
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electronics > [noun] > graphs, functions, equations, etc.
static characteristic1900
Richardson equation1913
time constant1943
step function1946
1869 Ld. Rayleigh in London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 38 4 There is for every conducting circuit a certain time-constant which determines the rapidity of the rise or fall of currents, and which is proportional to the self-induction and conductivity of the circuit. Thus, to use Maxwell's notation,..the time-constant is L/R = τ.
1943 Electronic Engin. 15 346 The amplifier..is a standard three-stage..circuit. The time constant of the stages is 6 seconds.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio v. 94 The PPM is a special type of voltmeter... The BBC version has a time constant of 2·5 milliseconds; this gives 80% of full deflection in 4 milliseconds.
1993 Mycol. Res. 97 157 In a second phase with time-constants of [one] second, the released spore body swells.
2010 R. W. Rhea Discrete Oscillator Design ii. 128 The limiting behaviour of the lamp is a thermal process with a long time constant, typically 0.1 to 1 second for small lamps.
time course n. (a) the course followed by something over time; (b) Nautical a course navigated in fog or similar conditions, in which the speed and the time spent travelling in a known direction from a known position, rather than direct observation, are used to calculate position (now rare).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [noun] > stretch, period, or portion of time > period of certain character, condition, or events
dayOE
dayOE
summer day1563
tempestivity1569
set1633
stretch1689
period1712
run1714
tack1723
spell1827
dreamtime1844
time coursea1867
patch1897
dreaming1932
quality time1972
a1867 C. E. Morgan Electro-physiol. & Therapeutics (1868) xxxix. 612 The time-course of the contraction is also different.
1894 H. Patterson Navigator's Pocket-bk. 139 During fog..the employment of time courses becomes imperative.
1962 Cold Spring Harbor Symp. Quant. Biol. 26 295/1 Figure 8 presents a polarographic recording of the time course of oxygen utilization.
1977 J. L. Harper Population Biol. Plants 678 The way in which the time course of the risk of death is related to the time course of producing offspring.
2004 J. Playfair Living with Germs (2007) ii. 35 One of the most rapidly fatal of all infectious diseases, with a typical time-course of three days or less.
time-critical adj. designating something for which timeliness or speed is a crucial factor.
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1955 G. E. Smith in M. H. Aronson Computer Handbk. 55/2 Consider a time-critical process being carried forth under the control of a computer.
1992 Dr. Dobb's Jrnl. Sept. 70/1 Real-time systems that logically perform the functions they're designed to and still meet the deadlines of the time-critical tasks.
2004 Billboard 10 Jan. 38/2 There is a demand for time-critical news from the sports and financial worlds.
time curve n. Science a graph in which one of the axes represents time; a variation with time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > graph > showing specific relationship
characteristic1881
characteristic curve1881
time curve1883
luminosity curve1886
hysteresis curve1890
hysteresis loop1892
time-distance1892
solidus1901
power curve1908
log log1910
Russell diagram1922
creep curve1931
power curve1932
Hertzsprung–Russell diagram1939
Petersen graph1947
utility curve1948
tournament graph1959
offset1987
1883 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 174 90 Several trials were made with a view of ascertaining whether a wire will, when under the action of considerable stress, show greater and greater increase of length until it breaks, or whether the time-curve of its increase of length will be asymptotic.
1924 R. M. Ogden tr. K. Koffka Growth of Mind iii. 117 If we were to represent behaviour graphically by means of a time-curve, the behaviour of fright might show an abrupt rise in the curve.
1967 Canad. Med. Assoc. Jrnl. 5 Aug. 287/1 A peak on the blood-sugar time curve following the ingestion of 100 g. of glucose.
2004 Age (Melbourne) (Nexis) 20 July (Sport section) 14 If you wait about a quarter-of-an-hour, the likelihood of success drops by about 50 per cent, for example, so we are looking at a very steep time curve.
time delay n. and adj. (a) n. a delay in the occurrence or activation of something, a time lag; (b) adj. attributive designating a mechanism, system, etc., into the operation of which a delay has been deliberately introduced.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > [noun] > time lag
latency1865
time lag1886
time delay1900
lag1902
lag time1956
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [adjective] > of parts of clocks
twelve-hour1791
remontoiring1803
resilient1859
time delay1938
quartz-locked1977
1900 G. T. Fairchild Rural Wealth & Welfare xii. 159 The chattel mortgage..becomes a favorite method for short time delays in payment.
1914 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 33 264 The overload relays are usually made partially selective by some form of time delay... Three principal types of time delay schemes are now available.
1938 Pop. Mech. Oct. 500/2 They [sc. arsonists] avoid leaving any evidence of a time-delay mechanism simply by tossing a match toward one end of a gasoline trail as they leave the house.
1961 P. J. Bhatt Fund. Servo Control Engin. 55 The compressibility and the inertia of the oil may introduce inconvenient time delays.
2010 New Yorker 1 Feb. 33/2 Its many factories had been converted to military use, with slave labor producing Luftwaffe bombsights, time-delay fuses, and other hardware.
time deposit n. originally U.S. a deposit of money made at a bank, at a rate of interest, on the condition that it may not be withdrawn before a set date; cf. demand deposit n. at demand n.1 Compounds.
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > types of money-dealing > [noun] > depositing money > a deposit of money
deposit1753
depositum1756
deposition1817
time deposit1846
1846 in Docs. 44th Gen. Assembly State of Ohio X. i. 763 (table) [Money] Due to depositors on time deposits 38,358 [dollars] 02.
1925 Times 21 Aug. 15/1 The lower rate has led to a lessened inclination to renew time deposits.
1982 Bank of Eng. Q. Bull. Dec. 519/1 Sight deposits grew by 28% and time deposits by 30%.
2002 N. Haider in A. K. Bagchi Money & Credit Indian Hist. 67 The second important source of banking capital was short-term time deposits which the sarrafs and mahajans received by issuing bills of exchange.
time-depth n. (a) literary a remote period of the past (in plural; cf. depth n. 9); (b) the extent to which something reflects or shows awareness of time; (c) chiefly Anthropology, Archaeology, and Linguistics the distance in time between an (esp. cultural or linguistic) event or epoch and the present, or between two events or epochs; (more generally) the span of time occupied by a particular culture, phenomenon, etc.
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a1888 R. A. Proctor in Ess. Astron. (1900) 65 We have to throw back into yet more awful time-depths the birth and growth of those giant orbs.
1926 Amer. Anthropologist 28 657 A culture-area..is a picture which does not necessarily include time-depth.
1951 Internat. Jrnl. Amer. Linguistics 17 210/1 Since reconstructed proto Eskimo is still not very similar to Aleut, it follows that the time-depth of Eskimo-Aleut is considerably greater than 2000 years.
1957 P. Worsley Trumpet shall Sound 266 There is time-depth to all social action.
1989 J. P. Mallory In Search of Indo-Europeans v. 137 The archaeological evidence suggests that this should not be so at the time-depth we normally assign to Proto-Indo-European.
2006 Hesperia 75 508 The impressive thickness of the Bt horizon..indicates the considerable time depth of formation and the essential stability of the landscape over that interval.
time derivative n. Physics and Mathematics a derivative of a variable or function with respect to time.A time derivative is the correlative of a time integral.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > probability or statistics > [noun] > variable > derivative with respect to time
time derivative1881
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > galvanism, voltaism > [noun] > path of current > time-related
time derivative1956
1881 Math. Questions & Solutions 34 65 Let an acceleration in any quantity (q) signify its second time-derivative (d2q/dt2).
1956 Nature 11 Feb. 267/1 The passage of electrolytic current through the first coil induces its time-derivative in the second one.
1989 P. Horowitz & W. Hill Art of Electronics (ed. 2) i. 23/1 Unlike resistive current, it's not proportional to voltage, but rather to the rate of change (the ‘time derivative’) of voltage.
2006 F. Wilczek Fantastic Realities 36 Roughly speaking, force is the space derivative of energy and the time derivative of momentum.
time detector n. (a) a device for automatically recording the times at which an employee carried out particular designated tasks (now historical); (b) (more generally) any device for measuring or recording time.
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1861 U.S. Patent 31,052 1 (heading) Improved watchman's time-detector.
1876 A. Bain & A. S. Taylor Arnott's Elements Physics (ed. 7) i. ii. 46 In recent years, an electric chronoscope (or time-detector) has been invented that indicates the very small fraction of a second taken by the ball to pass from point to point within the cannon.
1922 Amer. Exporter May 4 (advt.) Do you know of the Newman grille watch-clock which is the most largely used time detector of its kind?
1995 L. Persson et al. in P. Misaelides Applic. Particle & Laser Beams Materials Technol. 472 (caption) T1 and T2 are the carbon-foil time detectors while E is the silicon diode energy detector.
2004 M. N. Lurie & M. Mappen Encycl. New Jersey 156/3 Prentiss developed a calendar clock, several electric synchronizers, a self-winding clock, a watchman's time detector, [etc.].
time difference n. (a) a difference in or with regard to time; (b) the difference in standard time between one location and another, esp. when these lie in different time zones.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > systems of reckoning time of day > time-difference
time difference1860
time change1928
1860 National Rev. Jan. 63 Every one, we suppose, must feel that a time-difference is not the only difference between virtue and prudence.
1874 W. M. Davis Nimrod of Sea xxiv. 280 We..carried him to the Sandwich Islands,..a difference of seventy degrees, or a time difference of four hours.
1893 World (N.Y.) 3 Nov. 1/4 The time difference of 4 hours and 35 minutes between Sandy Hook and Brow Head.
1915 Pop. Mech. May 752 (heading) Time Difference between Washington and Paris.
1953 Encounter Nov. 9/1 The Tokyo Evening News..capitalises on the time-difference between Japan, America, and Europe to be up-to-the-minute with the news.
2010 D. Steel Legacy xxiii. 319 It was a six-hour flight, with a six-hour time difference from New York.
time differential n. (a) Mathematics and Physics = time derivative n.; (b) a time difference; (also) the fact of there being a time difference.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > measuring time or rate of a process > time differential
time differential1875
1875 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 4th Ser. 50 35 We have to integrate this expression of the time-differential from x = 0 to x = a.
1909 Bull. Bureau of Labor (U.S.) No. 80. 57 There is a wage differential, like the time differential mentioned, in neighboring and competing factories.
1918 Fort Wayne (Indiana) Jrnl.-Gaz. 6 Nov. 7/1 The time differential of three additional hours makes the available daylight flying time twenty-one hours.
1968 J. Sangster Touchfeather xi. 112 With the time differential on my side, I was back in Los Angeles by three-thirty p.m. local time.
1998 M. Segre in P. Machamer Cambr. Compan. Galileo (1999) xi. 397 The view that velocity is the time differential of position and that acceleration is the time differential of velocity.
2004 E. P. Murray Peregrine Spy xxi. 373 Somewhere in Los Angeles, with its eleven-and-a-half-hour time differential, Anwar and Mina would watch the scene he and Gus watched now.
time dilatation n. [after German Zeitdilatation (see time dilation n.)] Physics = time dilation n.
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the world > matter > physics > relativity > space-time > [noun] > apparent slowing of time
time dilatation1923
1923 H. L. Brose tr. A. Sommerfeld Atomic Struct. & Spectral Lines 460 (heading) Einstein's time dilatation.
1931 Philosophy 6 398 Why one day should not men..fly through the universe in space-vessels and reach velocities at which Einstein's time-dilatation becomes observable?
1973 L. J. Tassie Physics Elem. Particles 203 An important result of the theory of special relativity is time dilatation, or the slowing down of moving clocks.
2005 B. McGehee New Universe Theory with Laws of Physics App. 272 Time dilatation has been proven by orbiting an atomic clock and comparing the orbiting time shift in orbit with earth time.
time dilation n. [after German Zeitdilatation (1919 or earlier)] Physics the apparent slowing down of the passage of time in a frame of reference moving relative to the observer.This is a relativistic effect analogous to the increase in mass and the Lorentz contraction of length.
ΚΠ
1923 H. L. Brose tr. A. Sommerfeld Atomic Struct. & Spectral Lines viii. 461 This Einstein time-dilation [Ger. Zeitdilatation] is the reciprocal of the Lorentz space-contraction.
1968 Guardian 28 Dec. 9 After two years the spacecraft's velocity would be such for ‘time dilation’ to have an effect. In other words time would be slowing down on board the craft and, to those on board, a single lifetime would be longer than for those on earth.
1981 Sci. Amer. Feb. 108/1 The relativistic effect of time dilation prolongs the life of pions and kaons that are particularly energetic.
2005 Daily Tel. (Nexis) 3 Dec. (Books section) 10 Grimwood's 9Tail Fox..messes around with time more cleverly than most SF writers could manage in light years of time dilation.
time disc n. a disc used to represent or measure time in some way.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > other instruments
time ball1834
time candle1838
chronoscope1846
time globe1858
time disc1879
1879 Proc. Canad. Inst. 1 No. 1. 121 Church clocks and other stationary time-pieces would have the local time disc permanently secured in the proper position. Only in the case of persons travelling beyond any particular local time section would the local time disc of their watch require to be changed.
1901 E. B. Titchener Exper. Psychol. I. x. 338 The most useful appliance for investigation is, probably, Meumann's ‘time-sense’ apparatus, consisting of Baltzar kymograph, time-disc, set of contacts, and sound~hammers.
1930 Pop. Sci. Monthly May 67 The photographs taken at the Greenwich Observatory show the time disks where the clock-setting time signals are controlled.
2006 P. Świda et al. in A. Dolgui et al. Information Control Probl. Manufacturing 2006 I. 470/2 At the end of each cycle the preferred sense of rotation for the given time disk is calculated.
time displacement n. displacement in time or with respect to time; spec. the displacement by an activity of another activity that would have been done in the same period of time.
ΚΠ
1878 London, Edinb. & Dublin Philos. Mag. 5th Ser. 6 356 This may be seen..by considering the case of the motion of a flat piece of cardboard in a fluid, and supposing the time displacement perpendicular to its plane and the arbitrary displacement in its plane.
1901 E. B. Titchener Exper. Psychol. I. ii. 206 The experiments on attentional time-displacement form one of the most interesting..chapters of experimental psychology.
1952 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 214 496 If the direction fluctuates, these times are displaced slightly, and the fluctuations in the angle of arrival can be deduced from the observed time displacements.
1996 G. F. Jankowski & D. C. Fuchs Television Today & Tomorrow v. 138 This view [sc. that television is ‘the enemy of the written word’] tends to be justified on a ‘time displacement’ theory—television takes up time that should be spent with print.
2003 Social Forces 82 143 DiMaggio and colleagues pose the question of whether the Internet has similar time-displacement consequences as do other leisure activities, citing studies for and against such effects.
time-distance n. attributive designating a relation between time and distance, esp. as expressed in a graph.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > graph or diagram > [noun] > graph > showing specific relationship
characteristic1881
characteristic curve1881
time curve1883
luminosity curve1886
hysteresis curve1890
hysteresis loop1892
time-distance1892
solidus1901
power curve1908
log log1910
Russell diagram1922
creep curve1931
power curve1932
Hertzsprung–Russell diagram1939
Petersen graph1947
utility curve1948
tournament graph1959
offset1987
1892 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 133 32 At any point, of this ‘time-distance curve’, we have x = a tan α = a . ds/dy = ak ds/dt = a k v.
1936 V. B. Macelwane in J. B. Macelwane & F. W. Sohon Introd. Theoret. Seismol. I. ix. 248 Attempts were made to draw up time-distance curves for the arrival times and to correlate these with the time of occurrence of the earthquake.
2004 J. J. W. Rogers & M. Santosh Continents & Supercontinents 191/2 Wave velocities can be measured from the time-distance graph.
time division n. (a) a division of a period or extent of (esp. geological) time; the division of time; (b) Telecommunications allocation of transmission time to each of a number of signals in quick rotation, as in time division multiplexing.
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society > communication > telecommunication > [noun] > signal > time division
time division1933
1871 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 27 p. lxx Period is an arbitrary time-division.
1905 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. 61 p. lxxxi The time-divisions which I would..propose to adopt for the rocks of this [Ordovician] system are as follows:—Ashgillian. Caradocian. Llandeilian. Skiddavian.
1933 U.S. Patent 1,930,693 2/2 Means for accumulating the separate message signals for a time period greater than the time division in periods between successive recurrences of the same message.
1948 Ann. Computation Lab. Harvard Univ. 16 61 The reperforator and the printer operate on a time division basis.
1966 McGraw-Hill Encycl. Sci. & Technol. (rev. ed.) V. 352/2 When communication channels are multiplexed by time division, a number of messages is propagated over a common transmitting medium by allocating different time intervals..for the transmission of each message.
2005 M. R. Gadallah & R. L. Fisher Appl. Seismol. ii. 8 The largest time divisions, called eras, are based on worldwide orogenies.
time division multiplexing n. Electronics a form of multiplexing in which consecutive fragments of two or more signals are carried alternately in quick succession over a single channel.
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1938 Proc. IRE 26 57 The major disadvantage of time-division multiplex..is that provision must always be made to insure accurate timing of the channel assignments.
1946 Pop. Sci. Jan. 188/1 The latter two [relays] employ the new pulse-position modulation with time-division multiplexing.
1998 Wired June 97/1 Before WDM, telcos transmitted long-haul traffic with time-division multiplexing (TDM).
2007 T. G. Robertazzi Networks & Grids i. 9 The major forms of multiplexing for networking today are frequency division multiplexing (FDM), time division multiplexing (TDM), and spread spectrum.
time draft n. U.S. Finance a draft payable at a specified future date or a certain length of time after presentation or sight; cf. time bill n. 3.
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1839 Documents House of Representatives Michigan 346 The bank had drawn and had then outstanding and not arrived at maturity, time drafts..to the amount of about $40,000.
1918 F. Escher Foreign Exchange Explained iii. 13 Time drafts drawn in any volume require a market in which they can be readily discounted.
1999 Jrnl. Commerce (Nexis) 20 Oct. 10 An importing distributor with an impeccable reputation in a politically and economically stable country may ask for time drafts.
time-drop n. †(a) a drop of something providing material, as opposed to spiritual nourishment (cf. sense A. 33) (obsolete rare); (b) a drop in the value of some quantity over time (now rare).
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a1711 T. Ken Preparatives for Death in Wks. (1721) IV. 39 On these Time-drops eternal Joys depend.
1914 Jrnl. Animal Behavior 4 64 A partial explanation for the increased percentage of the time drop may be found in the rat's behavior during the first few runs in the maze.
1997 Internat. Jrnl. Solids & Structures 34 3109 This early time drop of the fluid pressure in the crack is directly attributable to the ‘non-local’ character of the crack deformation.
time element n. †(a) time conceived as the natural element of temporal beings (obsolete rare); (b) time as a factor to be taken into consideration.
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the world > time > [noun] > as a factor to be considered
time element1834
the world > time > [noun] > as the natural element of temporal beings
time element1834
1834 T. Carlyle Sartor Resartus iii. viii. 94/1 Pierce through the Time-element, glance into the Eternal.
1840 Dial July 104 The time element must..be eliminated from this problem as foreign and extraneous to it.
1936 J. M. Keynes Gen. Theory Employment xxii. 317 The explanation of the time-element in the trade cycle.
1999 Independent 21 May ii. 5/3 The time element is all about keeping the initiative, and maintaining Britain's position as a world leader in genetic modification science.
time-expired adj. whose time (of engagement as a soldier, imprisonment, etc.) has expired; in respect of which a period of time (during which something may be sold, used, etc.) has expired.
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society > occupation and work > lack of work > [adjective] > dismissing or discharging > dismissed or discharged
discarded1631
time-expired1822
paid-off1894
sacked1934
pink-slipped1957
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > prisoner > [adjective] > term of sentence expired
time-expired1822
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > [adjective] > late > after the expiry of a time-limit
time-barred1872
time-expired1960
1822 in Hist. Rec. Austral. (1922) 3rd Ser. V. 51 Edited by a time expired Convict, and printed and published by an emancipated Felon.
1828 Morning Post 30 Dec. The Madras..has arrived off Margate... Passengers..twenty-five invalids, and Company's time expired soldiers.
1885 Sir H. Green in Pall Mall Gaz. 14 Feb. 2/1 Time-expired soldiers in India will not, as a rule, re-enter the ranks.
1931 Times Lit. Suppl. 21 May 402/4 The kindly Egyptian prince who..helped time-expired convicts to find honest employment.
1960 Times 5 Dec. p. vii/4 An egg producer who sold his time-expired hens as boiling-fowls.
1972 Times 17 Oct. 14/7 Return of time-expired stock like sausages and yoghurt.
1974 Ciba Symp. 20 253 Those of us who have used ‘time-expired’ human blood from blood banks in culture media have frequently found that some batches are highly toxic to trypanosomes.
2000 Observer 18 June (Review section) 7/5 A seat salvaged from a time-expired Rover became an armchair.
time-exposed adj. (of a photograph) made using a time exposure.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > [adjective] > time-exposed
time-exposed1889
1889 Internat. Ann. Anthonys Photogr. Bull. 79 To level your camera when taking time-exposed pictures and hence get straight lines.
1944 Life 5 June 34 In the time-exposed picture..his son and hired man have headlights on their tractors and are working through the night to plow and disk a five-acre field.
2004 C. Wood California, here I Am 1 Those time-exposed photographs of night time cityscapes with coloured worms of traffic.
time exposure n. Photography an exposure for longer than the maximum normal shutter setting, typically involving a separate operation to close the shutter after it is opened.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > [noun] > exposing
exposure1839
time exposure1870
multiple exposure1916
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > action of taking photograph > technical factors > [noun] > filter factor or scale of exposure
exposure1839
time exposure1870
inertiac1886
latitude1889
factor1900
filter factor1904
inertia point1907
intermittency effect1907
Scheiner number1911
scale1920
1870 Nature 20 Jan. 314/1 By touching these two levers in succession, it was then possible to make a ‘time exposure’ with great nicety.
1899 Daily News 9 Jan. 2/3 I couldn't give a time exposure, as the pigmies would not stand still.
1939 W. D. Emanuel & F. L. Dash All-in-one Camera-bk. 33 The slower shutter speeds, such as 1/10 or 1/5 second, and so on, count as time exposures.
2010 Guardian (Nexis) 2 Jan. 11 (caption) Time exposure photography using sparklers.
time-fellow n. now rare a contemporary.
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the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > [noun] > contemporary
contemporany?a1475
contemporant1577
time-fellow1577
age mate1582
contemporana1600
coeval1605
coetane1610
collateral1614
contemporary1614
concurrent1622
coequal1631
contemporanean1633
coetanean1636
contemporista1641
temporary1649
synchronist1716
yealing1728
fellow1844
age-fellow1845
1577 W. Harrison Descr. Eng. (1880) i. xviii. 131 My Synchroni or time fellows can reape at this present great commoditie in a little roome.
1638 W. Chillingworth Relig. Protestants i. vi. §23. 340 The disinterested time-fellowes or immediate Successors of Liberius.
1884 P. Geddes Viri Illustres 6 The accuracy of his statements (roundly scouted in many cases as lies by his time-fellows) has been abundantly proved.
1962 C. Isherwood Down There on Visit 105 A classical Greek,..seeing me in the middle distance, couldn't possibly suspect that I wasn't his time-fellow.
time-filler n. (a) depreciative = time-server n. 3 (now rare); (b) a means of occupying oneself, esp. with an undemanding or trivial activity; something which fills the time but is of little intrinsic value.
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1893 Boston Sunday Globe 10 Dec. 20/1 His [sc. the mayor's] name never will be confounded with gap stoppers and time fillers. He is the maker of a municipal epoch.
1895 Indiana School Jrnl. Mar. 134 Busy-work isn't merely a time filler (or killer), but an opportunity for the teacher to see that the little child learns to hold himself to his work..when the teacher is paying no attention to him.
1922 Open Shop Rev. Dec. 555 (heading) Don't be just a time filler. Is your daily work an enthusiastic pleasure or merely a ‘job’ to you?
1986 Boys' Life May 12/3 The rest of the LP is Jan Hammer instrumentals, and they serve the same purpose here as on the TV show: time filler.
2011 Daily Tel. 12 Jan. 22/5 Sudoku is mere grouting in the day, a time-filler, mental gym for geeks, brain fodder for a generation that has lost its sense of fun.
time-fused adj. (of a bomb or other explosive) having a time fuse (see Compounds 1a(c)).
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1855 H. Douglas Treat. Naval Gunnery (ed. 4) iii. 296 Percussion shells..are not so efficient as time-fuzed shells.
1944 Life 17 Jan. 72/3 (caption) The German fighters launch time-fused rockets.
2001 T. M. Kane Mil. Logistics & Strategic Performance iv. 115 US forces attempted to disrupt Communist repair efforts by dropping time-fused bombs.
time globe n. a terrestrial globe rotated once in twenty-four hours by clockwork, and encircled at the equator by a stationary graduated ring showing the local time at any meridian.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > other instruments
time ball1834
time candle1838
chronoscope1846
time globe1858
time disc1879
1858 Catal. 10th Exhib. Inventions in Jrnl. Soc. Arts 6 App. I. 30/1 Time Globe, or Planetary Clock.
1909 C. Z. Lincoln State of N.Y.: Messages Governors VIII. 108 Such a standard time globe might be properly placed in the State Library.
2008 B. Bayle et al. Glens Falls ii. 44 He [sc. Louis Juvet] completed his first time globe in 1867.
time integral n. Mathematics an integral of a variable or function with respect to time; an expression of which a given function is the time derivative.A time integral is the correlative of a time derivative.
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1867 W. Thomson & P. G. Tait Treat. Nat. Philos. I. 207 Any force in a constant direction acting in any circumstances..may be reckoned on the same principle; so that what we may call its whole amount during any time, or its ‘time-integral’, will measure, or be measured by, the whole momentum which it generates in the time in question.
1902 Encycl. Brit. XXX. 597/1 The above forms of house meters are called continuously integrating meters, in that the operation of recording or obtaining the time-integral of the current or power is continuous.
1933 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 139 165 As far as the perturbing potential is concerned its effect depends only on its time-integral, and its actual variation with the time is immaterial.
2004 K. Nakamura & T. Harayama Quantum Chaos & Quantum Dots v. 61 W (q) is the action function..defined in terms of the time integral of the Lagrangian.
time-intensive adj. liable to absorb or demand a great deal of time.
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1968 M. Moss in E. B. Sheldon & W. E. Moore Indicators Social Change ix. 507 Relative market prices of time-intensive ‘recreation’ goods (e.g., television sets and vacations) fell even more than the rise in wage rates.
1983 Harper's Apr. 69/2 What you save on raw furniture is often consumed in the finishing process—an activity I've always enjoyed but one that is discouragingly time-intensive.
1997 J. Robinson & G. Godbey Time for Life ii. 39 People preferring cats to dogs because they are less time-intensive.
2016 Marketing Weekly News 9 Apr. 318 The typical advertising process is complex and time-intensive.
time-invariant adj. Physics and Mathematics unchanging with time; that does not depend on time.
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1937 Proc. Royal Soc. London A. 158 329 A Doppler shift is known to be time-invariant under any transformation of time-scale.
1969 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. 287 1 A mathematical formulation of the communication networks with memory is presented assuming that the sources of traffic are deterministic but not necessarily time invariant.
2006 P. Schneider Extragalactic Astron. & Cosmol. iv. 160/2 Based on this assumption of time-invariant physical laws, we will study the consequences of the Big Bang model.
time lag n. an interval of time separating two correlated physical phenomena or two related events.
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the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > [noun] > time lag
latency1865
time lag1886
time delay1900
lag1902
lag time1956
1886 Philos. Trans. 1885 (Royal Soc.) 176 554 There is a true time lag in the magnetisation of iron: in other words, that there is a certain degree of viscous as well as static hysteresis in the relation of magnetism to magnetising force.
1928 Britain's Industr. Future (Liberal Industr. Inq.) iv. xxiv. 326 In a period of declining prices farming suffers with special severity by reason of the long time-lag in its operations.
1939 John o' London's Weekly 7 Apr. 46/2 There is often a necessary time-lag between discovery and application.
1956 C. P. Snow Homecoming iv. xliii. 292 The delay between the suit being filed and the hearing: the time-lag before the decree absolute.
2007 Dive Oct. 30/3 (heading) Shutter delay..refers to the time lag between when the shutter is pressed and the actual picture being recorded.
time lock n. a lock fitted with a device or mechanism which prevents its being unlocked until a set time.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > timer or chronograph
stop-watch1740
time marker1835
time recorder1836
hourglass1852
time clock1857
time lock1858
egg-glass1867
chronograph1868
egg-timer1869
timer1869
gunner's pendulum1876
time switch1884
chess-clock1905
phototimer1942
pinger1950
shot clock1967
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > lock > other types of lock
inlock1488
treble lock1680
French lock1787
ringlock1789
thumb-lock1801
bar-lock1828
permutation lock1835
check-lock1850
pin lock1851
time lock1858
garret-lock1860
dead lock1866
seal-lock1871
dead-latch1874
Bramah-lock1875
cylinder lock1878
police lock1910
ziplock1956
solenoid lock1976
D-lock1990
1858 Jrnl. Franklin Inst. July 33 The retaining of release levers while the lock remains locked upon fixed or adjustable rests, which shall receive all pressure necessary to insure the action of the levers when released by the time lock.
1908 Daily Chron. 10 June 7/1 The time-lock on the door of a bank's vaults makes it impossible for the bank's officers themselves to enter the strong room after closing-time.
2010 M. Ferrarella Prescription for Romance xi. 158 ‘How do we get out of here?’ ‘Monday morning, the time lock will be released,’ he told her patiently.
time management n. the fact or process of using one's time more effectively or productively, esp. at work; the use of particular skills or techniques to achieve this.
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1913 Secretary's Rep. Harvard Class of 1907 3 133 This department is auxiliary to the time management, and its work is investigation of processes, systems of routine, organization, and systematizing.
1926 W. S. Hayward Sales Admin. xx. 306 The factors which determine the degree of time management of the sales force are mainly the type of product and the method of payment.
1941 School Rev. 49 506 Specific applications of information, such as..actual food needs of families, work schedules and time management, [etc.].
1985 AMHCA Jrnl. Jan. 45 Some clients need consulting, career information, assertiveness training, relaxation or stress management training, time management, or other services pertinent to individual needs.
2002 P. Augar & J. Palmer Rise Player Manager v. 84 The demands of doing research, writing to a tight timetable, delivering reports back to clients, thinking coolly about product marketing decisions and managing the team required time management and prioritization skills that I had never needed before.
† time march n. Military Obsolete a march conducted in such a way as to arrive at a particular point at an agreed time; the practice of marching in this way.
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1860 J. Y. Scarlett Let. 1 May in Essex Standard 16 May The practice of time march—i.e. they should direct companies..to occupy a distant position to which several roads lead, some of greater length and easier to march over than others.
1875 Times 19 Aug. 3/5 To-morrow there will be a ‘Time March’ out to Hangman's Clump, Fox Hills, when each battalion will march independently, arriving on the ground at 9 30 a.m.
1911 A. Mainwaring Crown & Company 143 Munro,..detaching a portion of his army under Captain Champion to cross higher up, made a time-march to the crossing-place.
time mark n. (a) a mark used to indicate or measure time; (b) (frequently in form time-mark) something which marks a significant point in time; a landmark in time.
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1828 Gentleman's Mag. May 445/2 The time marks hitherto used in musical notation.
1836 T. Allsop Lett. S. T. Coleridge I. 122 It is the duty of all men,..to put their testimony on record; which, though it may not avail in the present times, will yet serve as a time-mark for the future.
1876 S. Neil in W. Shakespeare As you like It 145 Perhaps this simile ought to be taken as a time-mark of the production of the play.
1903 Windsor Mag. Feb. 434/2 Here..there took place, at some unknown date in the year 1446 or early in 1447, the event which was to prove a time-mark in the world's history.
1922 F. H. Lahey & S. M. Jordan in F. G. Sanborn Basal Metabolism xxvi. 236 A continuous record of a patient's respiration may thus be obtained..on a strip of paper 10 to 20 feet long. The time mark is made every minute, or every fifth of a second.
1993 R. Castleden Making of Stonehenge ii. 7 Stonehenge has become..a kind of time-mark for the dim, incoherent and baffling beginning of a long struggle towards national identity.
2004 M. E. Valentinuzzi Understanding Human Machine iii. 246 (caption) The lower horizontal bar shows time marks 1s apart.
time marker n. something that marks or indicates the passage of time; an automatic device for doing this.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > timer or chronograph
stop-watch1740
time marker1835
time recorder1836
hourglass1852
time clock1857
time lock1858
egg-glass1867
chronograph1868
egg-timer1869
timer1869
gunner's pendulum1876
time switch1884
chess-clock1905
phototimer1942
pinger1950
shot clock1967
the world > matter > physics > science of sound > vibration > instrument for analysing vibration > [noun] > with visible output
phonautograph1859
phonoscope1868
time marker1869
phonograph1875
phoneidoscope1878
harmonograph1879
tonophant1895
vibrograph1904
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > [noun] > fare > fare indicator
tell-fare1865
fare indicator1892
time marker1898
1835 Eclectic Rev. Nov. 353 The quick succession of those steadily recurring revolutions of the great time-marker, which warned him of the season ‘appointed unto all’.
1848 Mechanics' Mag. 11 Nov. 474/2 For instructing children to read the time off the dials of time markers.
1869 F. A. P. Barnard Machinery & Processes Industr. Arts in Rep. U.S. Commissioners Paris Univ. Exposition 1867 III. 507 A diapason of known pitch, placed near the receiving cylinder, traces an independent curve, the undulations of which serve as time markers.
1898 Westm. Gaz. 11 Mar. 7/2 Five hundred cabs provided with the time and fare marker were put on the stands.
1920 C. Schuchert Text-bk. Geol. (ed. 2) II. li. 897 As these shells were more like those of the earlier Cretaceous, they have little significance as time markers.
2005 New Yorker 5 Sept. 116/3 The striatum recognizes the signal as a time marker and releases a second burst of dopamine, which sends a signal back to the frontal cortex.
time money n. now rare money loaned, or available for loan, for a set period.Frequently opposed to call money n. at call n. Compounds 1.
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1873 Nation (N.Y.) 3 Apr. 244/1 Time money is in demand for six months at 11 and 12 per cent.
1929 Observer 17 Nov. 3/4 Time money on stock collateral is now quoted 5½ to 6 per cent.
1986 Jrnl. Polit. Econ. 94 80 The call money rate tended to rise conspicuously in September and December. The commercial paper and time money rates exhibited clear tendencies to rise from July through September.
time notice n. now rare formal notification of something, given a specified time in advance; = notice n. 5a; (also) an instance of this.
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society > communication > information > intimation or making known > [noun] > agreement to terminate at specified time
warning1432
notice1765
time notice1892
1892 Jackson's Oxf. Jrnl. 19 Nov. 7/2 He did not believe in money compensation [for the licensed victuallers], but they ought to go in for a policy of giving time notice.
1893 Times 16 June 5/4 The action of the various savings banks authorities in requiring a time notice for the withdrawal of deposits.
1908 Westm. Gaz. 23 Mar. 2/3 The Government proposal..gives a fourteen years' time-notice for licences which until 1904 were granted for one year only.
1932 Michigan Law Rev. 30 672 In the case of summary dismissal the employer is not required to give time notice of discharge.
time observer n. †(a) = time-server n. 2a (obsolete); (b) a person who observes, or makes observations in relation to, time; (also, in later use) of a machine or system (rare).
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the mind > will > decision > irresolution or vacillation > inconstancy > [noun] > temporizing or trimming > temporizer or trimmer
Jack of both sides1554
mongrela1555
timeling1554
temporizer1555
time-taker1576
politique1581
time-server1583
time-pleaser1590
time observer1594
temporist1596
please-time1606
timist1614
timorist?1623
trimmer1682
Vicar of Bray1725
timer1842
1594 W. Jones tr. J. Lipsius Sixe Bks. Politickes v. 186 They may beware of these, as of them that he is [read that lie] in ambush, and waite as time obseruers.
1647 J. Trapp Comm. Evangelists & Acts (Luke xiv. 7) Ministers, though they may not be time-servers, yet they must be time-observers.
c1680 Delectable Hist. Poor Robin xviii. sig. B3v A Miller is a right time-observer, for he evermore turns with the Wind.
1836 Trans. Inst. Civil Engineers 1 240 The instant was observed and registered by two assistants... These time-observers were found..never to have differed more than half a second from each other.
1915 A. S. Richey & W. C. Greenough Electric Railway Handbk. iii. 219 There should be one observer for each instrument, together with a time observer who should give signals..at intervals of from 2 to 10 seconds.
2015 M. Farza et al. in M. Djemai & M. Defoort Hybrid Dynamical Syst. x. 262 The main idea of such an approach consists in using a continuous time-observer that uses a suitable output predictor.
time-of-flight adj. Physics designating techniques and apparatus that depend on the time taken by particles to traverse a set distance, typically in the separation of ions according to their mass.
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > study of spectra > types of spectrometry or spectroscopy > [adjective] > involving time calculation
time-of-flight1945
time-resolved1948
1945 H. D. Smyth Gen. Acct. Devel. Atomic Energy Mil. Purposes xii. 131 One elegant scheme for studying the effects of neutrons of a single, arbitrarily-selected velocity is the ‘time of flight’ method.
1948 Physical Rev. 74 622/2 (heading) A time-of-flight mass spectrometer.
1990 Metals & Materials July 435/1 To obtain direct information about surface chemistry, a time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometer..has been commissioned.
2005 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) A. 363 2157 This time-of-flight method makes it possible to separate the contributions of different velocity classes.
time paradox n. a paradox involving time.Three paradoxes in particular are so called: (a) the twin paradox in the theory of relativity (twin paradox n. at twin adj. and n. Compounds 5); (b) a paradox concerning the implications of time travel, the grandfather paradox (see grandfather n. Compounds 2); (c) the paradox that many macroscopic phenomena do not occur in reverse even though such an event would not conflict with the laws of nature (cf. time's arrow n.).
ΚΠ
1909 Jrnl. Philos., Psychol. & Sci. Methods 6 145 (title) The time paradox in perception.
1942 Astounding Sci.-Fiction Oct. 63/1 ‘No reconciliation of the supposed time paradox is necessary,’ he droned, ‘for no paradox exists.’
1963 Life 24 May 36/2 Their sense of propriety is particularly outraged by the time paradox. They cannot believe that a man traveling through space at relativistic speeds would come back younger than if he had never left home.
1987 J. J. Pierce Great Themes Sci. Fiction ix. 183 Uchronian sf thus developed independently of the tradition of time travel and time paradoxes in Anglo-American sf.
1994 I. Prigogine in K. H. Pribram Origins i. 5 The emergence of nonequilibrium sciences marks in my view the second stage in the history of the time paradox.
2002 Dreamwatch Sept. 91/1 His intellectual showmanship gets in the way of an exciting tale with a complex, labyrinthine time-paradox plot.
2010 Canberra Times (Nexis) 30 Oct. Micallef admits to loving all the Back to the Future movies but three decades down the track is still a little perplexed by this kink in the time paradox.
time payment n. (a) payment on the basis of time worked; a payment made on this basis; (b) payment by instalments; a payment made on this basis.
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society > trade and finance > buying > [noun] > hire purchase
time payment1852
consumers' credit1886
hire-purchase1895
never-never1926
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > [noun] > of manual workers > pay according to specific system
time payment1852
piece wage1866
piece payment1900
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage-system > specific
tut1800
tommy system1829
truck system1830
truck principle1837
time wage1840
time payment1852
trip system1894
tot system1926
society > trade and finance > payment > [noun] > payment by instalment or part-payment
party payment1495
part payment1496
estallment1738
instalment1776
deferred payment1863
time payment1927
1852 J. M. Ludlow Master Engineers ii. 50 Are not time-payments universally adopted, the more responsible and delicate are the duties, and consequently the more upright must be the persons selected to fulfil them?
1860 Irish Jurist 12 181/2 It has been argued, however, that this rate of £12 may have been a time payment, and not by the voyage.
1880 Daily Inter Ocean (Chicago) 15 Apr. 9/1 They must make the second and third payments on the land purchased on the one-third cash and two-thirds time payment plan.
1927 Ladies' Home Jrnl. Dec. 45/2 Chrysler dealers are in a position to extend the convenience of time-payments.
1993 R. Frances Politics of Work i. 39 The move from task-based payment to time payment in some sections of the tailoring trade.
2005 J. D. Owen Worm in Bud 128 Graham Welch will let me have quite a decent old car on time payment. He doesn't want a deposit.
time pencil n. (a) a pencil used (in various measuring devices) to mark the passage of time, or to record the variation in something over time (now rare); (b) a pencil-shaped device functioning as a delayed-action detonator or firing-switch.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > missile > ammunition for firearms > [noun] > bullet or shell > shell > fuse
fuse1647
fusee1704
fuzze1802
nose-fuse1888
cheesa stick1906
device1931
Primacord1937
time pencila1944
1847 N.Y. Munic. Gaz. 30 June 766/2 The time pencils are moved by a wheel and pinion driven by a weight, and attached to the radius bars outside of the plates by a crank and silk cord.
1922 Trans. Soc. Automotive Engineers 1921 16 i. 46 The notched line..is made by the time pencil and indicates minutes elapsed.
a1944 H. Dormer Diary (1947) 81 The charges were made up with ten-minute time pencils.
1977 J. Hutchison That Drug Danger xi. 88/1 Having pressed the time pencil which set off the explosive a quarter of an hour or one or two hours later.
1999 J. Elliot Unexpected Light (2000) iii. 103 There were reels of detonating cord, blasting caps, time pencils for delayed explosions and what looked like switches for setting booby-traps.
time plane n. a plane showing relationships in time; a level of existence defined in terms of time; (Geology) a notional plane separating strata of different geological periods or joining fossils of the same age.
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1877 Dickinson's Theol. Q. Apr. 207/2 Our American languages are to be furnished with congeners, and to be traced out on a time-plane.
1895 Jrnl. Geol. (Chicago) 3 916 If time periods are arbitrarily separated by horizontal time lines, or time planes, of necessity it follows that cases will be observed where faunas with Carboniferous alliance will have lived before the arbitrary Carboniferous-Devonian time line.
1931 Amer. Naturalist 65 5 The groups [of individuals] existing in a given time-plane usually differ from one another in numerous characteristics.
1969 G. M. Bennison & A. E. Wright Geol. Hist. Brit. Isles ii. 26 Lines indicating contemporaneity, so-called ‘time-planes’, are normally presented diagrammatically as horizontal.
1998 N. Thera Abhidhamma Stud. (ed. 4) v. 99 There are certainly time planes below and above the range of average human consciousness.
2004 D. R. Prothero & F. Schwab Sedimentary Geol. (ed. 2) xv. 330/1 Ash layers are geologically instantaneous and so provide a network of ‘time planes’ among the sections.
time-pleaser n. now rare = time-server n. 2a.
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1590 R. Greene Neuer too Late ii. sig. B4 Flattering Gnatos, that only are time pleasers and trencher friends.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Twelfth Night (1623) ii. iii. 142 The diu'll a Puritane that hee is, or any thing constantly but a time-pleaser . View more context for this quotation
1758 R. Wallace Char. Present State Great Brit. p. xvi They will..boldly maintain, against all flatterers and time-pleasers, that the people of Great Britain have a right to take notice of errors in the administration.
1835 Woman I. iv. 149 As time-pleasers sprung up, and multiplied like locusts, Mammon by degrees became triumphant.
1899 Westm. Rev. Aug. 120 His incongruity on this question alone would be ample evidence to characterise him as a mere time-pleaser.
1988 B. Rosen in S. Homan Shakespeare & Triple Play xi. 191 In the pursuit of power Edmund, initially a rather likable and talkative tough, becomes a servile gigolo and time-pleaser.
time point n. a specific point in time, esp. as distinguished from others in a measured sequence; a precise moment.
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the world > time > duration > shortness or brevity in time > [noun] > moment or instant
hand-whileOE
prinkOE
start-while?c1225
twinkling1303
rese?c1335
prick1340
momenta1382
pointa1382
minutea1393
instant1398
braida1400
siquarea1400
twink14..
whip?c1450
movement1490
punct1513
pissing whilea1556
trice1579
turning of a hand1579
wink1585
twinklec1592
semiquaver1602
punto1616
punctilio of time1620
punctum1620
breathing1625
instance1631
tantillation1651
rapc1700
crack1725
turning of a straw1755
pig's whisper1780
jiffy1785
less than no time1788
jiff1797
blinka1813
gliffy1820
handclap1822
glimpsea1824
eyewink1836
thought1836
eye-blink1838
semibreve1845
pop1847
two shakes of a lamb's taila1855
pig's whistle1859
time point1867
New York minute1870
tick1879
mo?1896
second1897
styme1897
split-second1912
split minute1931
no-time1942
sec.1956
1867 Proc. Royal Soc. London 1866–7 15 423 By representing the observations in curves..the circumstances which have been referred to are clearly seen,—the convergence of all the lines beyond the time-point of greatest obscuration.
1967 Jrnl. Peace Res. 4 381/2 A linear trend is projected onwards from these four timepoints.
2005 M. Smith Literacy & Augmentative & Alternative Communication 109 The educator can simply set a time alarm to go off at regular intervals..and record the activity that is in progression at each time point.
time policy n. (in marine insurance) a policy providing cover for a specified time (cf. voyage policy n. at voyage n. Compounds 2).
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society > trade and finance > financial dealings > insurance > [noun] > insurance policy > specific types of policy
fire policy1737
valued policy1737
life policy1751
wagering policy1766
wager policy1766
time policy1808
wager-insurance1824
voyage policy1848
ppi1895
floater1900
maintenance contract1915
death futures1993
1808 J. B. Bosanquet & C. Puller Rep. Cases 1805–7 II. 439 The policy must be considered as a time policy for three years, which is void, it being unlawful to effect any time-policy for a greater length of time than one year.
1895 Law Times Rep. 72 861/1 The policy is a time policy for six months from the 9th Jan. 1894 to the 8th July 1894.
1995 Bus. Times (Singapore) (Nexis) 27 Feb. Whether the insurance policy was a time policy, which would determine whether the vessel was covered.
time-pressed adj. that is pressed for time (see press v.1 11e).
ΚΠ
1837 Fraser's Mag. Nov. 528/1 In the case of magazines, we certainly have more time before us than the time-pressed journalist.
1886 T. Hardy Mayor of Casterbridge I. ix. 110 The bow-windows protruded like bastions, necessitating a pleasing chassez-déchassez movement to the time-pressed pedestrian at every few yards.
2010 Psychologies (U.K. ed.) Apr. 94/1 We're all time-pressed, and know only a little about everything.
time prize n. a prize awarded for the best (second-best, etc.) time actually achieved in a race, rather than on the basis of the order in which competitors finish after having started at differing times as determined by their handicaps.
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1877 Daily News 9 Aug. 3/6 Civil Service Bicycle Club... The following are the winners and their times: 1. C. H. Godboll, gold medal and first time prize, 2h 47min. 2. H. Thompson, silver medal and second time prize, 2h. 51min. [etc.].
1897 Outing Aug. 494/1 In 1890 Murphy was on scratch, and won the time-prize.
1989 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 1 July ii. 2 The 3,500-mile time race..will enter Fallbrook from Interstate 15 on Mission Road... ‘This is the end of the run as far as winning time prizes goes,’ said Diederich.
2006 M. Ward Ellison ‘Tarzan’ Brown xiv. 155 Brown won the time prize for the race with the best actual elapsed time from start to finish.
time race n. (a) (originally in yachting) a race in which times are adjusted according to an allowance made to reflect differences in size, weight, etc.; (b) a race in which participants attempt to finish the course, task, etc., in the shortest time (as opposed to competing directly with one another); (loosely) any race against time.
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1833 Sporting Mag. Aug. 317 The City Of Dublin Cup, for all yachts belonging to the same Clubs; a time race, subject to the same conditions as the Anglesey Cup.
1852 J. F. Bateman Aquatic Notes iii. 32 In 1847, the Race was altered to a time-race, the boats starting one hundred yards apart.
1858 New Sporting Mag. Oct. 267 This..was a time race upon the new plan of area of sail instead of tonnage.
1917 A. M. Hitchcock Over Japan Way xvii. 211 The real treat of the forenoon..was a time race up that long stairway..engaged in by five hundred naval cadets.
1989 San Diego Union-Tribune (Nexis) 1 July ii. 2 The 3,500-mile time race..will enter Fallbrook from Interstate 15 on Mission Road.
2003 W. J. Boyne Dawn over Kitty Hawk xxii. 168 The best he could do was second in a time race, and third in a finish race.
time rate n. (a) the rate at which something takes place over time; (b) a rate of payment calculated on the basis of time worked (contrasted with piece-rate n.).
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the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > measuring time or rate of a process > rate in time
time rate1857
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > rate of pay > specific
piece-rate1842
time and a half1847
time1877
base rate1889
port wages1891
trip-rate1901
time rate1902
1857 Boston Med. Jrnl. 21 July 492 Each species has a time-rate for the processes of life, variable, but not determined by external conditions.
1874 in 1st Rep. Civil Service Inq. Comm. (1875) 168/2 in Parl. Papers (C. 1113) XXIII Are you aware whether at the Inland Revenue Office it is a time rate or a piece rate?
1882 G. M. Minchin Uniplanar Kinematics 60 The time-rate of description of area round the fixed centre is constant in all positions of the moving point.
1902 E. Banks Autobiogr. Newspaper Girl 263 We always pay the expenses and time rates when you go off on a job like that.
1997 F. H. Silver & A. K. Garg in A. J. Domb et al. Handbk. Biodegradable Polymers xvii. 325 The time rate of change of intensity fluctuation can be autocorrelated.
2006 G. Gokhale in U. Sharma Female Labour in India xi. 103 In the province of Bombay in the textile industry there are 13,345 women working on time-rates and 31,604 on piece-rates.
time-release adj. = slow-release adj. 2.
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the world > health and disease > healing > medicines or physic > [adjective] > releasing active substance slowly
time-release1895
slow-release1946
1895 U.S. Patent 545,141 2/1 Of course other forms of automatic time-release mechanism, either electric clockwork or the like, might be used.
1970 Ebony Nov. 22/1 (advt.) Until now all anti-perspirant deodorants only had one time-release action—in the anti-perspirant.
1978 G. M. Kichenside & A. Williams Brit. Railway Signalling (ed. 4) iv. 34 An important safety feature found in modern electrical installations is the time release circuit which incorporates a thermal relay.
1990 National Gardening July 45/3 A side-dressing of rotted manure or a time-release fertilizer.
time-resolved adj. Chemistry and Physics (esp. of an investigative technique) involving measurements made over a very short known period of time or at rapidly successive points in time (cf. resolved adj. 7).
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the world > matter > physics > atomic physics > decomposition of light, spectrum > study of spectra > types of spectrometry or spectroscopy > [adjective] > involving time calculation
time-of-flight1945
time-resolved1948
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > light > chromatism > [adjective] > of or relating to the spectrum > dealing with spectroscopy > time-resolved
time-resolved1948
1948 Instruments 21 542/2 The instrument..is the Navy's new Time-resolved Spectrograph which accurately records the changes in the spectrum of a spark or other flash phenomenon having a total duration of only a few millionths of a second.
1991 Economist 13 July 105/1 Time-resolved holography is not yet ready to be used for scanning breasts.
2005 Agric. Res. Jan. 15/1 One approach to improve detection and isolate the desired spectroscopic signal is to use what's known as time-resolved fluorescence (TRF) and luminescence (TRL) reagents.
2010 Jrnl. Physical Chem. A. 114 3260/1 The time-resolved spectra show a significant spectral evolution toward the red.
time reversal n. a reversal of the passage of time; (Physics) a transformation in which the passage of time (and so all velocities) is imagined to be reversed; frequently attributive.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum field theory > [noun] > time reversal
time reversal1954
1922 I. Fisher Making of Index Numbers iv. 64 The time reversal test... The index number reckoned forward should be the reciprocal of that reckoned backward.
1954 Philos. Sci. 21 85 While time, in our experience, flows in only one direction, the basic laws of mechanics (in so far as they do not contain odd derivatives or odd functions of t) are invariant with respect to time reversal.
1973 S. W. Hawking & G. F. R. Ellis Large Scale Struct. Space-time vi. 182 There are theoretical reasons for believing that all interactions are invariant under the combination of charge, parity and time reversals.
1979 Sci. Amer. (U.K. ed.) June 116/3 The discovery of an electric dipole moment of the neutron would reveal a violation of the physical principle known as time-reversal symmetry.
2008 Science 18 July 339/1 The solution..is ‘time-reversal acoustics’, a strategy that uses echo patterns as a guide for focusing waves through a barrier.
time reversal invariance n. Physics invariance of the laws of nature under a transformation of time reversal, so that all processes allowed by them are also allowable when all motions in them are reversed.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum field theory > [noun] > time reversal > stability of laws of nature under
time reversal invariance1953
1953 Physica 19 963 The property of time reversal invariance (‘microscopic reversibility’) of the equations of motion of individual particles in the presence of a magnetic field.
1963 P. E. Hodgson Optical Model Elastic Scattering iii. 48 Three such tensor couplings can be constructed that satisfy the requirements of time reversal invariance and parity conservation.
2003 Connecting Quarks with Cosmos (U.S. National Res. Council: Div. Engin. & Phys. Sci.) iii. 55 A symmetry principle called time-reversal invariance, or T symmetry, holds that the laws of physics should be the same when time is run backwards.
time reversal symmetry n. Physics = time reversal invariance n.
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1955 Proc. Royal Soc. A. 227 337 (heading) Time reversal symmetry.
1974 P. C. W. Davies Physics Time Asymmetry (1977) i. 24 In elementary mechanics there are many examples of systems that do not possess the property of time reversal symmetry.
2008 J. D. Joannopoulos et al. Photonic Crystals (ed. 2) x. 201 Time-reversal symmetry tells us we can obtain another valid solution of the equations by running the original solution backwards in time.
time-reverse v. transitive to subject to a transformation in which the passage of time (and so all velocities) is imagined to be reversed; cf. time reversal n.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum field theory > subject to time reversal [verb (transitive)]
time-reverse1971
1971 Sci. Amer. Dec. 97/1 Time-reverse all motions and the three will return at the same instant to the starting point.
2004 N.Y. Times (National ed.) 1 July e8/3 An ultrasound beam that scatters from a kidney stone is recorded, analyzed and time-reversed, and then more ultrasound waves are emitted to destroy the stone.
time-reversed adj. made or performed under time reversal.
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the world > matter > physics > quantum theory > quantum mechanics > quantum field theory > [adjective] > subjected to time reversal
time-reversed1956
1956 Trans. Amer. Math. Soc. 83 51 In the case where α is a probability vector Π*(i,j) is simply the transition probability of the time reversed random walk.
1981 T. D. Lee Particle Physics & Introd. Field Theory xiii. 283 If the T-invariant classical system consists of a large number of particles, although the time-reversed sequence is always possible, it is in general improbable.
2004 B. Greene Fabric of Cosmos 512 We would have to take the complex conjugate of the particle's wavefunction to ensure that it solves the time-reversed version of Schrödinger's equation.
time-rhythm n. rare quantitative rhythm.
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c1873–4 G. M. Hopkins Note-bks. & Papers (1937) 235 We have said that rhythm may be accentual or quantitative, that is go by beat or by time... The Saturnian..must have been chanted, as the beats as often as not disagree with the word-accents. This beat-rhythm allows of development as much as time-rhythm.
1934 J. J. Hogan Outl. Eng. Philol. iv. 29 Quantity or time-rhythm, consisting of the alternation of longer and shorter, not of stronger and weaker beats, is the rhythm of music.
† time rush n. Telegraphy Obsolete) a preliminary telegram sent to inform a ship of the telegrams or other information ready to be dispatched to it.
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1909 Post Office Telegraphs: Copy of Agreem. 9 in Parl. Papers (H.C. 321) L. 545 The information contained in the preliminary message from each ship usually or commonly known as the ‘Time Rush’.
1924 Year-bk. Wireless Telegr. & Teleph. 197/2 After calling and receiving the invitation to transmit, it [sc. the CCE station] will act as follows:..CCE from CDH..QRB 150 QRC 170 QRD Callao 75... Such communication is called time rush.
time sampling n. the collection of representative data or the observation of events at given times or intervals or within given periods of time.
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the world > action or operation > endeavour > trial or experiment > trial, test, or testing > [noun] > specific tests or testing > by sampling > at given intervals
time sampling1928
1928 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 91 525 This may be regarded as an example of time sampling in conjunction with case sampling.
1973 Jrnl. Genetic Psychol. 123 99 Time sampling has been demonstrated to be an effective observational technique.
2003 Compar. Educ. 39 483 The structured observation was based on the time sampling method to produce systematic quantitative data.
time's arrow n. the direction in time (considered as a dimension) in which macroscopic processes and sequences of events obey physical laws; (more generally) the direction in which time flows; = arrow of time n. at arrow n. Phrases 1.British Astronomer Arthur Eddington (1882–1944) originally conceived of time's arrow as representing the apparent asymmetry of time with respect to physical laws, and thought it to result solely from the process of entropy. Most microscopic processes, however, exhibit no such asymmetry: they can be reversed without violating any physical laws.
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the world > time > [noun] > time's arrow
arrow of time1917
time's arrow1928
1928 A. S. Eddington Nature Physical World iv. 69 I shall use the phrase ‘time's arrow’ to express this one-way property of time which has no analogue in space.
1972 S. Weinberg Gravitation & Cosmol. xv. 597 It is the expansion of the universe that, by providing a heat sink, sets the direction of time's arrow in thermodynamic processes.
1997 J. Updike Toward End of Time 80 Time's arrow points one way, toward an entropy when all seas have broken down all rocks.
2010 M. Bojowald Once before Time vii. 225 When one considers the partially microscopic character of our observations in the universe, entropy ceases to be a candidate for explaining time's arrow.
time-saver n. something which saves time, or by means of which time may be saved.
ΚΠ
1835 C. L. Adams Daily Duties iii. 27 Order contributes, wonderfully, to the comfort of a family, and is a great time-saver.
1855 Local Preachers' Mag. Dec. 466/2 If quickness be added to skill, it will prove a vast time-saver.
1922 People's Home Jrnl. July 6 (advt.) In your pantry, your kitchen-cabinet and closets today you use dozens of labor-savers and time-savers your grandmother never dreamed of.
2010 M. Roach Packing for Mars xv. 293 A meal in a stick or a pouch was both a novelty and a welcomed time-saver.
time scheme n. a scheme or system according to which things are arranged or disposed in time.
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1845 Eng. Jrnl. Educ. Mar. 76 (heading) Master's time-scheme.
1879 Trans. New Shakspere Soc. 1877–9 246 This scene is evidently out of place. In any time-scheme it must come much earlier in the drama.
1904 Mind Oct. 468 The distribution of terms in our inner time-scheme and space-scheme must be an exact copy of the distribution in real time and space of the real terms.
1978 Notes & Queries Feb. 55/1 Given Sterne's complicated time-scheme..such inconsistencies are surprisingly rare.
2010 D. Chacko & A. Kulcsar Beggarman, Spy i. 40 Rhode Island politics..have always operated on a time scheme of their own.
time-served adj. (originally of a soldier; later also of a convict, an apprentice, etc.) that has served his or her time; that has completed the requisite period of service, sentence, etc.
ΚΠ
1872 E. Newdigate tr. A. Niemann French Campaign 328 The forces already called up under the Empire, time-served soldiers, Gardes Mobiles etc., were organized and drilled under the guidance of the chiefs of these military districts.
1890 Law Jrnl. 22 Feb. 124/2 It is to be regretted that the Legislature ever adopted such a clumsy method of rectifying the civil rights of time-served convicts.
1952 Manch. Guardian 23 Sept. 7/7 Some trades in which all time-served apprentices are required for service as tradesmen in the forces.
1985 Headlight June 29/1 He wishes employment in vehicle building or repair. He is time-served and has obtained his City & Guilds.
2002 Independent 21 May 17/1 I suspect that many time-served railway people could come up with similar stories.
time shutter n. now rare (in a camera) a shutter for making time exposures.
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society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > photography > camera > parts and accessories of camera > [noun] > shutter
Venetian shutter1844
obturator1853
shutter1862
roller blind1882
leaf shutter1892
time shutter1893
between-lens shutter1909
barn door1942
1893 Science 21 Apr. 223/2 (advt.) The lens and pneumatic time-shutter must also be the same as those now sold with the last No. 5 Kodak.
1907 Daily Chron. 3 May 9/2 A light folding quarter-plate camera, with good lens, time and instantaneous shutter.
1967 Pop. Mech. Jan. 21/2 Single action, 1-25-sec. or time shutter. Precision ground lens.
time sight n. Nautical (now chiefly historical) an observation of the altitude of the sun or a star for the purpose of ascertaining the time and hence the longitude.
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1827 B. Hall in W. Galbraith Math. & Astron. Tables ii. 103 I get the apparent times due to the meridian, on which the absolute time sights were taken, with as much accuracy as if the whole..had been taken at the fixed meridian.
1873 Ann. Reg. U. S. Naval Acad. 76 Time sight and azimuth, about 8.30 a.m., Apr. 24.
1932 Pop. Sci. Monthly Feb. 136/2 All deck cadets take a.m. time sight.
2007 J. H. Karl Celestial Navigation in GPS Age vii. 71 The GHA [= Greenwich Hour Angle] of the sun at the time of your LAN [= local apparent noon] is your longitude... Some navigators call this a time sight.
time signal n. an audible, visible, or (in later use) electronic signal serving to indicate the exact time of day.Such signals were originally made at observatories by the dropping of a ball (see time ball n.) or the firing of a gun. In later use the term most commonly refers to signals broadcast at certain times by various radio stations.
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the world > time > instruments for measuring time > signal marking the time > [noun]
warning1389
time signal1839
society > communication > broadcasting > a broadcast programme or item > [noun] > types of
news bulletin1857
news summary1875
police message1886
newsflash1904
headline1908
play-by-play1909
feature1913
spot ad1916
magazine1921
news1923
time signal1923
outside broadcast1924
radiocast1924
amateur hour1925
bulletin1925
serial1926
commentary1927
rebroadcast1927
school broadcast1927
feature programme1928
trailer1928
hour1930
schools broadcast1930
show1930
spot advertisement1930
spot announcement1930
sustaining1931
flash1934
newscast1934
commercial1935
clambake1937
remote1937
repeat1937
snap1937
soap opera1939
sportcast1939
spot commercial1939
daytimer1940
magazine programme1941
season1942
soap1943
soaper1946
parade1947
public service announcement1948
simulcasting1949
breakfast-time television1952
call-in1952
talkathon1952
game show1953
kidvid1955
roundup1958
telenovela1961
opt-out1962
miniseries1963
simulcast1964
soapie1964
party political1966
novela1968
phone-in1968
sudser1968
schools programme1971
talk-in1971
God slot1972
roadshow1973
trail1973
drama-doc1977
informercial1980
infotainment1980
infomercial1981
kideo1983
talk-back1984
indie1988
omnibus1988
teleserye2000
kidult-
1839 H. M. Denham in Sailing Dir. Point Lynas to Liverpool (1840) App. 149 As we are many days altogether without the sun appearing, so would the time-signal be deferred.
1849 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 10 34 It is quite within possibility that a time-signal may be sent from the Royal Observatory to different parts of the kingdom at certain mean solar hours every day, by a galvanic current regulated by clock machinery.
1862 Monthly Notices Royal Astron. Soc. 22 119 At any time, day or night, when the wire is not wanted for ordinary work, London can receive time-signals from Liverpool every minute.
1884 Standard 27 Dec. 6/3 When the Greenwich time signal has passed, the normal condition of the telegraph lines in connection with their instruments is immediately restored.
1923 Radio Times 28 Sept. 9/1 10.0. —— Time signal, general news bulletin. Broadcast to all stations, followed by London News and Weather Report.
1974 R. Swale Children of Cape Horn (1975) x. 90 The gentleman from Colorado, who gave us GMT time signals on WWV.
2003 B. Shoesmith & L. Edmonds in G. Bolton et al. Farewell Cinderella vi. 209 After the time signal at 8.00 pm there was news until 8.15.
time-signalling adj. and n. (a) n. the use or transmission of time signals; (b) adj. that makes or transmits time signals.
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1854 Statist. Reg. Victoria (Austral.) 416 A complete system of time-signalling by Electric Telegraph will be perfected.
1863 Caledonian Mercury 21 Oct. One of the three time-signalling public observatories of the country.
1915 Wireless Time Signals 39 All the radio-telegraphic time-signalling stations should use..a musical emission.
2003 Past & Present Nov. 123 He negotiated with the railways for a period of telegraph time to be given over to time signalling.
time sink n. originally U.S. something time-consuming; a waste of time; cf. time suck n.
ΚΠ
1977 N. Henley Body Politics iii. 51 They [sc. organized service-delivery institutions] are time sinks, sucking up time from thousands and literally giving it to those at the top.
1996 Fast Company Aug. 106/1 By 5 p.m., I still hadn't gotten to the first item on my To Do list. My wife's day was pretty much the same—lost to time-sinks.
2006 PC Gamer Apr. 13/1 MMOs in general are time sinks. Much of the best content is only available after a certain amount of time has been invested in the game.
time slice n. (a) a short period in the continuum of time; (b) Computing each of the short intervals of time during which a computer or its central processor deals uninterruptedly with one user or program before switching to another.
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the world > time > [noun] > stretch, period, or portion of time
tidea900
while971
fristOE
stemOE
throwOE
timeOE
selea1250
piecec1300
termc1300
stagea1325
whilesc1330
space?a1400
racec1400
spacec1405
termine1420
parodya1425
timea1425
continuancec1440
thrallc1450
espace1483
space of timec1500
tracta1513
stead1596
reach1654
amidst1664
stretch1698
spell1728
track1835
lifetime1875
time slice1938
society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating systems software > time-sharing > time allocated
time slice1967
time slot1967
1938 Jrnl. Royal Statist. Soc. 101 514 Those concepts are so defined as to compel it to deal only with momentary time-slices in an economic system's history.
1965 Language 41 193 To the comparativists of the 1870's..a ‘synchronic’ view could be nothing more than taking a relatively thin time-slice and doing the best one can with it.
1967 Internat. Jrnl. Appl. Radiation & Isotopes 18 717/1 In the program which was written, the data are processed one ‘time slice’ at a time.
2006 Lancs. Life Feb. 128/3 This book is a time slice—a portrait of modern England sitting alongside the evidence of hundreds, even thousands, of years of history.
2010 S. Mallach & C. Gutwenger in R. Keller et al. Facing Multicore-Challenge 33 The scheduler is forced to wait until the end of the current time slice.
time-slicing n. Computing the division of processor running time into a succession of short intervals that are allocated in turn to different users or programs.
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society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating systems software > time-sharing
time-sharing1953
time-sharer1961
timeshare1966
time-slicing1967
1967 J. Martin Design of Real-time Computer Syst. Index 628/2 Time-slicing.
1978 W. S. Davis Information Processing Syst. xv. 328 The whole purpose of the time-slicing approach..is to prevent any single user from dominating the system at the expense of everyone else.
2010 T. Rauber & G. Rünger Parallel Programming iii. 137 This is important for multi-threaded programs, no matter whether a single execution resource is used in a time-slicing way or whether several execution resources execute multiple threads in parallel.
time slot n. (a) a portion of time allocated to a particular purpose or person, esp. to an individual broadcast programme; (b) Computing = time slice n. (b).
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the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > [noun] > portion of suitable time or window
time slot1942
window of opportunity1942
window1962
window of vulnerability1979
society > communication > broadcasting > [noun] > time of broadcast or place in schedule
fixed point1778
time1924
airtime1931
spot1937
adjacency1947
prime time1947
airdate1950
space1956
slotting1959
airspace1960
time slot1962
slot1964
strand1979
society > computing and information technology > software > [noun] > operating systems software > time-sharing > time allocated
time slice1967
time slot1967
1942 Billboard 6 June 6/4 Time slot will probably be 5:30–45 p.m.
1962 Rep. Comm. Broadcasting 1960 159 in Parl. Papers 1961–2 (Cmnd. 1753) IX. 259 What particular ‘time slots’ each [company] is to occupy, and with what programme items... That is to say, the overall programme planning.
1967 J. Martin Design of Real-time Computer Syst. ix. 130 When the time-slot..for one user ends, it may be necessary to bring in a completely new set of data and programs for the next user.
1980 J. Pužman & R. Pořizek Communication Control in Computer Networks iii. 168 Time division multiplexing means that a certain time slot is to be assigned for a station for the time during which it can exchange data with another station.
1982 ‘W. R. Duncan’ Queen's Messenger vi. 49 People were units to be fitted into Sir John's available time slots.
2006 TV Week (Sydney) 8 Apr. 3/2 Furious All Saints fans who are sick of having DWTS running into their timeslot every week!
times sign n. = multiplication sign n. at multiplication n. Compounds; cf. sense A. 19d(b).
ΚΠ
1869 D. H. Cruttenden Objective or Synthetic Arithm. 46 Instead of the word, time, or times, you may make a sign like the letter x. We will call it, the Times Sign, so that—0 time 1 maybe be written 0 x 1 = 0... 1 + 1 or 2 times 1 [may be written] 1 + 1 or 2 x 1 = 2.
1913 E. B. Norris & R. T. Craigo Shop Math. ii. i. 3 The omission of the times Sign..in formulas.
2004 Amer. Soc. Naturalists 163 e. 98 (caption) Each symbol is the data for a single larva, and the symbols identify larvae held in complete isolation (solid circle) and in the presence of their natural predator (times sign).
times table n. †(a) a table of times, a timetable (obsolete); (b) a multiplication table; usually in plural; cf. sense A. 19d(b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > mathematical instruments > [noun] > table
compute manual1483
tariff1591
sexagenary table1594
table of multiplication1594
long measure1623
scale of numbers1630
Rudolphine Tables1635
multiplication table1657
chiliad1675
sexagesimal table1685
nautical card1700
pence table1706
numeration tablea1743
tablebook1755
ready reckoner1757
calculator1784
tables1828
times table1902
log tablec1935
1844 F. Coghlan Hand-bk. Central Europe 175/1 To Baden... Times table and fares not yet published.
1853 ‘H. Hieover’ Sporting Facts & Sporting Fancies 29 The now well-known times-table of the railroads.
1902 J. J. Findlay Princ. Class Teaching vii. 162 Children who fail to recite their ‘Times Tables’ with success..are not always stupid.
1960 N. Hilliard Maori Girl i. ii. 14 Netta was supposed to learn her words and the older ones their times-tables.
1996 J. Grenfell-Hill Growing up in Wales 82 During ‘times table’ we all had to join in, and spelling, too, was all simultaneous.
time step n. any of various simple combinations of tap-dancing steps, originally repeated several times in order to set up a rhythm and tempo for accompanying musicians.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > dancing > movements or steps > [noun] > step > tap-dance step
time step1929
pullback1957
1929 Variety 24 July 1/1 Stuges perform on the floor with dead-pan faces and unconscious feet beating out the time-step.
1956 ‘B. Holiday’ & W. Dufty Lady sings Blues iii. 41 I knew exactly two steps, the time step and the crossover.
2001 C. Atkins & J. Malone Class Act 101 Sometimes she would get up in class and do a little time step. She could do just enough to say, ‘I can tap.’
time-stretch v. transitive (in digital sound recording and editing) to alter the duration or tempo of (a sound, piece of music, etc.) without altering the pitch.
ΚΠ
1988 Computer Music Jrnl. Winter 22/2 I also applied time stretching to the sources, taking care not to time-stretch the attack portion of the sounds.
1995 Muzik July 80/2 The vocals are not time-stretched but re-sung for the song to shine through.
2004 Independent (Nexis) 17 Sept. 13 The old blues and gospel samples are just as much in evidence as before, but they're often treated or time-stretched into a tapestry of cavernous moans and groans.
time-stretching n. (in digital sound recording and editing) the action or process of altering the duration of a sound, tempo of a piece of music, etc., without altering the pitch.
ΚΠ
1977 Computer Music Jrnl. Nov. 20/1 Typical modifications are time stretching and amplitude modification of the patterns.
1992 Videomaker Feb. 61/1 The music was recorded at her dentist's office and at a construction site, then digitally edited with various processing, computer and timestretching gizmos.
2006 DJ 8 Nov. 105/3 Looping can be taken care of automatically and so can time-stretching, which is a real advantage.
time study n. time and motion study (see time and motion adj.); an exercise in this form of analysis.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > study of work > [noun] > specific studies or techniques
time study1904
motion study1911
work study1921
acid test ratio1925
network analysis1930
methods study1932
methods engineering1939
methods–time measurement1948
activity sampling1956
rhochrematics1960
society > occupation and work > study of work > [adjective] > specific studies or techniques
time study1904
time and motion1911
1904 Engin. Mag. July 617 Mr. Taylor..commenced in 1883 to time with a stop watch each of the elements of the various kinds of work done in a machine shop, and then found the quickest time in which each job could be done... Afterwards he established a time-study and rate-fixing department.
1911 F. W. Taylor Princ. Sci. Managem. 75 A careful time study of men working under these conditions will disclose facts which are ludicrous as well as pitiable.
1944 Jrnl. Royal Aeronaut. Soc. 48 257 Mr. Westbrook asked whether time study was used sufficiently to convince shop superintendents of the amount of labour necessary for any job.
1985 Rotarian Apr. 17/1 Time-study experts had set a standard for the amount of work they thought should be completed in an hour.
2010 R. A. Slayton Master of Air ix. 142 The staff began a time study of unloading procedures which would speed up this process.
time switch n. a switch that operates automatically at or after a fixed time.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > [noun] > timer or chronograph
stop-watch1740
time marker1835
time recorder1836
hourglass1852
time clock1857
time lock1858
egg-glass1867
chronograph1868
egg-timer1869
timer1869
gunner's pendulum1876
time switch1884
chess-clock1905
phototimer1942
pinger1950
shot clock1967
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > circuit > device to open or close circuit > [noun] > by mode of operation
time switch1884
pull switch1888
press switch1892
autoswitch1903
tumbler switch1907
snap switch1926
timer1934
1884 Iron 1 Feb. 90/3 Fig. 14 illustrates a time switch, which is an arrangement whereby a consumer may have one or more arc or group of incandescence lamps on his premises turned off at any desired time.
1939 Kingston (N.Y.) Daily Freeman 13 Dec. 14/8 (advt.) For the person with a dark closet or stairway. Everyready [sic] Wallite with pull-chain and time switch which automatically turns light off.
1963 Listener 3 Jan. 47/1 Portable time-switches vary in elaborateness and price.
2003 HomeDIY Dec. 50/4 To turn table lights, radios and TV sets on and off, use plug-in time switches between the plug and socket.
time-taking adj. †(a) that takes his or her time, leisurely, slow (obsolete); (b) time-consuming.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > slowness of action or operation > [adjective] > unhurried
toomsomea1400
leisurefulc1449
amblinga1470
hooly1513
leisurablea1540
unhasty1590
leisurely1604
slow-paced1610
unprecipitated1698
leisure1708
unhurrieda1774
jog-trot1826
parliamentary1835
hasteless1838
time-taking1839
unhasting1839
slowed-down1905
1839 C. Dickens Nicholas Nickleby i. 4 Mr. Nickleby..was a slow and time-taking speaker.
1846 Mechanics' Mag. 21 Nov. 495/1 The Company have artfully left to him..the most uncertain, most critical, and most time-taking part of the whole process of manufacturing beer.
1910 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1909 40 640 The complete carrying-out of the instrumental method is laborious and far more time-taking than the field-work.
1987 I. Michael Teaching of Eng. p. ix Responding to enquiries of unavoidable but timetaking vagueness.
2009 Hindustan Times (Nexis) 3 Apr. Animation is a very time-taking process. It needs lots of patience.
time term n. Mathematics a term of an equation in which time (symbol t) is the main variable.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > algebra > [noun] > expression > equation > term with time as main variable
time term1878
1878 Johnson's New Universal Cycl. IV. 1697/1 The term II...goes through all its phases as the arc nt + ῶ − ψ increases from zero to 360°, whether..it depends on the time-term, nt, which thus increases in 24 hours, or (for the same instant) the longitude, ῶ.
1920 A. S. Eddington Space, Time & Gravitation vi. 103 Leaving aside now the time-term as sufficiently discussed, we consider the space-terms alone.
2007 H. I. Brown Conceptual Syst. x. 418 From the point of view of relativity there is a problem with the Schrödinger equation since it includes second derivatives of the spatial terms but only the first derivative of the time term.
time-tested adj. that has been tested by time; of which the effectiveness, worth, etc., has been established over time.
ΚΠ
1821 Communic. Council in Reply to Governor's Communic. 14 Dec. (House of Delegates, Virginia) 1 The introduction..of novel and extravagant principles at war either with the theory or with the time-tested execution of the government.
1930 Times Lit. Suppl. 10 July 566/3 The kind of faith which cheerfully believes things about the East which time-tested experience has proved to be untrue.
2010 Wired Feb. 80/1 A time-tested safety device: a dead man's switch.
time thrust n. Fencing a combination of parry and riposte, made to counter an attack in such a way as to prevent its completion, thereby gaining a beat of time.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > [noun] > actions
buttc1330
overheadc1400
stopc1450
quarter-strokea1456
rabbeta1500
rakea1500
traverse1547
flourish1552
quarter-blow1555
veny1578
alarm1579
venue1591
cut1593
time1594
caricado1595
fincture1595
imbroccata1595
mandritta1595
punta riversa1595
remove1595
stramazon1595
traversa1595
imbrocado1597
passado1597
counter-time1598
foinery1598
canvasado1601
montant1601
punto1601
stock1602
embrocadoc1604
pass1604
stuck1604
stramazo1606
home thrust1622
longee1625
falsify?1635
false1637
traversion1637
canvassa1641
parade1652
flanconade1664
parry1673
fore-stroke1674
allonge1675
contretemps1684
counter1684
disengaging1684
feint1684
passing1687
under-counter1687
stringere1688
stringering1688
tempo1688
volte1688
overlapping1692
repost1692
volt-coupe1692
volting1692
disarm?1700
stamp1705
passade1706
riposte1707
swoop1711
retreat1734
lunge1748
beat1753
disengage1771
disengagement1771
opposition1771
time thrust1771
timing1771
whip1771
shifting1793
one-two1809
one-two-three1809
salute1809
estramazone1820
remise1823
engage1833
engaging1833
risposta1838
lunging1847
moulinet1861
reprise1861
stop-thrust1861
engagement1881
coupé1889
scrape1889
time attack1889
traverse1892
cut-over1897
tac-au-tac riposte1907
flèche1928
replacement1933
punta dritta1961
1771 A. Lonnergan Fencer's Guide iv. i. 214 The moment I change to cut at you, send a Time-Thrust right forward at me.
1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 81 To leave his body exposed to receive, in the interim of his motion, a time thrust.
1902 Proc. Numismatic & Antiquarian Soc. Philadelphia 92 Le Flamand, a French master in Paris, was the reputed inventor of a jerky time-thrust at the opponent's brows.
1995 J. Rosenberg Fire Duke (1996) ii. 37 Thorsen countered Ian's lunge on the next point with a perfect time thrust that gave him a touch on Ian's chest.
time ticket n. a ticket used to indicate or record the time of something, as the period during which a ticket is valid, the time worked by an employee, etc.
ΚΠ
1840 Connecticut Common School Jrnl. June 235/1 We..let out deserving boys on the amount of their time tickets.
1844 Newcastle Courant 21 June i. 4/1 The Newcastle and North Shields Railway Company have recently adopted a system of issuing time tickets, over periods varying from one to twelve months.
1877 M. M. Kirkman Railway Disbursements 135 Where an employe has left the service of the company during the month, and has had a time ticket given to him.
1921 J. F. Sherwood Public Accounting & Auditing II. xi. 167 The general method of recording labor is to have each employe make up a time ticket each day.
1992 Globe & Mail (Toronto) 6 Aug. 4/6 When the bus finally got going, Horst went to the next stop to punch his time ticket.
time train n. = going train n. at going n. Compounds 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [noun] > part(s) of
nut1428
peise1428
plumbc1450
Jack1498
clockwork1516
larum1542
Jack of the clockhouse1563
watch-wheel1568
work1570
plummeta1578
Jack of the clock1581
snail-cam1591
snail-work1591
pointer1596
quarter jack1604
mainspring1605
winder1606
notch-wheel1611
fusee1622
count-wheel1647
jack-wheel1647
frame1658
arbor1659
balance1660
fuse1674
hour-figure1675
stop1675
pallet1676
regulator1676
cock1678
movement1678
detent1688
savage1690
clock1696
pinwheel1696
starred wheel1696
swing-wheel1696
warning-wheel1696
watch1696
watch-part1696
hoop-wheel1704
hour-wheel1704
snail1714
step-wheel1714
tide-work1739
train1751
crutch1753
cannon pinion1764
rising board1769
remontoire1774
escapement1779
clock jack1784
locking plate1786
scapement1789
motion work1795
anchor escapement1798
scape1798
star-wheel1798
recoil escapement1800
recoiling pallet1801
recoiling scapement1801
cannon1802
hammer-tail1805
recoiling escapement1805
bottle jack1810
renovating spring1812
quarter-boy1815
pin tooth1817
solar wheel1819
impulse-teeth1825
pendulum wheel1825
pallet arbor1826
rewinder1826
rack hook1829
snail-wheel1831
quarter bell1832
tow1834
star pulley1836
watch train1838
clock train1843
raising-piece1843
wheelwork1843
gravity escapement1850
jumper1850
vertical escapement1850
time train1853
pin pallet1860
spade1862
dead well1867
stop-work1869
ringer1873
strike-or-silent1875
warning-piece1875
guard-pin1879
pendulum cock1881
warning-lever1881
beat-pin1883
fusee-piece1884
fusee-snail1884
shutter1884
tourbillion1884
tumbler1884
virgule1884
foliot1899
grasshopper1899
grasshopper escapement1899
trunk1899
pin lever1908
clock spring1933
1853 N.-Y. Daily Times 12 Apr. 3/3 To the barrel of the time train is attached a retaining power..which keeps the clock going while the action of the weight is taken off in winding.
1965 E. Tunis Colonial Craftsmen vi. 146 Both the time train and the striking train of a Terry clock are driven by weights wound up by a key.
2008 T. M. Allen Republic in Time ii. 88 The glass dome covering the works need not be removed to reveal the time train.
time triangle n. a triangle regarded as representing time in some way, or having a side that represents time.
ΚΠ
1920 R. S. Williams Princ. Metallogr. i. 6 The point at which the ordinate of the time triangle has the same length as the unknown time interval indicates the percentage composition of the alloy.
1922 A. S. Eddington Theory of Relativity 22 The terrestrial observer can have a space-triangle..; he can also have a ‘time-triangle’, formed by three events on different dates, whose sides he must measure with clocks.
1950 Math. Tables & Other Aids Computation 4 218 The astronomical spherical triangle is divided into two right-angled triangles... The first, or time-triangle, is solved directly.
1980 tr. C. Wolf Patterns of Childhood 284 Today, like any other day, is also the tip of a time triangle, whose two sides lead to two other, to any number of other dates.
time-tried adj. (of a method, system, etc.) whose reliability or efficacity has been proven over time.
ΚΠ
1780 Scots Mag. June 306/2 That time-tried form of government, under which he finds himself.
1870 J. Ruskin Lect. Art (1875) i. 28 Faithful servant of time-tried principles.
1960 Life 4 July 2/1 The time-tried ways by which votes are sought.
2009 Oklahoman (Oklahoma City) (Nexis) 26 Apr. 13 Time-tried methods of organization and coaching.
time value n. the value of something in regard to time; esp. the relative duration of a note in music.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > [noun]
time1562
value1562
quantityc1570
valure1597
time value1848
1848 R. Müller tr. R. G. Kiesewetter Hist. Mod. Music Western Europe 256 The invention of notes of different time-value.
1876 J. Stainer & W. A. Barrett Dict. Musical Terms 212/2 Group,..a series of notes, of small time-value, grouped together.
1906 Q. Jrnl. Geol. Soc. London 62 546 The actual amount of denudation, and the consequent time-value of the unconformity, we have as yet no means of appraising.
1938 Language 14 107 In several cases the time value of sentences was exactly repeated or came within a fraction of .1 second.
2001 E. Friedland Working Bassist's Tool Kit i. 13 If you're playing lots of short notes, you should count longer time values, both to prevent losing the pulse and to maintain a strong groove.
time variation n. variation of something over time.
ΚΠ
1847 Proc. Amer. Philos. Soc. 1843–7 4 314 Δλ/ Δt being the time variation of the daily motion in true longitude.
1881 J. C. Maxwell Treat. Electr. & Magnetism (ed. 2) II. 223 The third term..depends on the time-variation of the magnetic field.
1994 Q. Jrnl. Royal Astron. Soc. 35 488 Time variations in the ionospheric Joule heating..in the auroral zone.
time wage n. a wage paid on the basis of time worked, rather than the amount of work done.
ΘΚΠ
society > trade and finance > fees and taxes > payment for labour or service > wage structures and scales > [noun] > wage-system > specific
tut1800
tommy system1829
truck system1830
truck principle1837
time wage1840
time payment1852
trip system1894
tot system1926
1840 Sessional Papers House of Lords XXXVIII. 382 The weaver is paid piece-work, and not time wages.
1879 Rep. Paris Universal Exhib. 1878 255 The men generally reckon to earn by it [sc. piecework] from one third to one half more than by time wages.
1889 D. F. Schloss in C. Booth Labour & Life People I. ii. iv. 257 Overtime is occasionally worked, and, in most cases of time-wage, is paid for at about the same rate as ordinary work.
1966 F. Schurmann Ideol. & Organization in Communist China i. 101 Piece-rate systems were replaced by time wages.
2009 C. Borderías in P. van den Eeckhout Supervision & Authority in Industry ii. 45 The company itself recruited the piecers and creel-fillers and paid them a time-wage directly.
† time-waiter n. Obsolete a person who waits for a favourable moment, turn of events, etc.; an opportunist; cf. tide-waiter n. 2.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > advantage > expediency > expedience > [noun] > opportunist
time-waiter1833
tide-waiter1841
opportunist1873
1833 R. W. Hamilton Serm. ii. 106 He..declined to assist what he forebore to oppose; and received the indignant answer and the just retribution which it ever hurls against the time-server and time-waiter.
1859 G. A. Sala Twice round Clock (1861) 175 You never see these ghostly time-waiters anywhere but on 'Change, and out of 'Change hours.
1899 Globe 30 June During the debate Mr. Courtney call'd himself first a Liberal Unionist and then a Time-waiter.
time-watch n. now rare = time detector n. (a).
ΚΠ
1838 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 27 July in Amer. Notebks. (1972) ii. 82 The drivers carry a ‘time-watch’, enclosed in a small wooden case,..so that it may be known in what time they perform their stages.
1999 R. J. Begiebing Adv. Allegra Fullerton xv. 168 We rumbled through settlements,..our driver timing the performance of his stages with a time-watch enclosed in a small, locked wooden case.
time word n. a word which expresses or specifies time.
ΚΠ
1830 D. K. Sandford tr. F. Thiersch Greek Gram. p. iv The copula..must determine whether a property once existed in a substance, now exists, or will hereafter exist in it; that is, the copula expresses time, is a time-word.
1855 Southern Q. Rev. Oct. 442 Associated with this, is the very remarkable, it may even be said wonderful, use of the two time-words olam, in the Hebrew, and eon, in the Greek.
1933 W. A. Russell Devel. Art of Lang. viii. 57 The thought of an action is intimately associated with the thought of time; so much so that some grammarians have called the verb the Time-word.
2005 J. R. Holmes in J. Chance & A. K. Siewers Tolkien's Mod. Middle Ages iv. 58 Virtually any English verb form can be made to express a future meaning simply by adding a time word indicating future.
time work n. work which is paid for on the basis of the time spent (opposed to piecework).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > work > [noun] > work charged by time taken
hag1797
time work1829
hag-work1841
1829 J. Bentham Justice & Codif. Petit., More Abr. Petit. Justice 3 He is paid according to the time during which he is occupied..in doing the work: this is called..time work.
1891 Times 7 Jan. 5/5 The clerks ceased the..piecework extra duty, claiming that as it was very important work it should be performed as ‘timework’.
1976 W. Brugger Democracy & Organisation Chinese Industr. Enterprise v. 159 A campaign was launched..to introduce piecework systems on the grounds that time work encouraged slackers.
2002 Rev. Econ. & Statistics 84 617/1 These pay differences should be less sizable and have less explanatory power for piecework than for timework.
time worker n. a person who receives payment on the basis of time spent; a person engaged in time work.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > worker > workers according to conditions > [noun] > one who is paid on basis of time occupied
time worker1855
1855 Irish Q. Rev. Mar. 87 One of our young men..will do with ease and pleasure such a day's work as would frighten an ordinary time-worker to think of.
1917 W. S. Churchill in M. Gilbert Winston S. Churchill (1975) IV. iv. 63 These advances arose out of an intention to remedy the contrast between the wages of skilled time workers in certain munitions industries which had grown up during the war.
2002 Rev. Econ. & Statistics 84 622/2 In the pure-rate sample, the piece workers are different from the time workers.
time zone n. a region within which a common standard time is used; (in later use) spec. each of twenty-four divisions of the earth's surface, with boundaries which are fixed by international agreement and which coincide for the most part with lines of longitude spaced 15° apart.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > region of the earth > zone or belt > [noun] > time zone
time zone1882
the world > time > reckoning of time > [noun] > systems of reckoning time of day > time-zone
time zone1882
1882 J. Rodgers in N.Y. Herald 24 Feb. 3/4 The plan of time zones seems to me a plan for legalizing diversity.
1892 E. Noel Internat. Time 4 The country [sc. the United States of America]..is divided into time-zones, each stretching over fifteen degrees of longitude, and differing one hour in time from the zone on either side of it.
1906 Outlook 9 June 774/1 To move the Observatory..would involve the adoption of a new starting-point for the meridians of longitude and for the time-zones into which the world is divided.
1976 M. Machlin Pipeline lv. 553 Due to the time zone differences, they would have plenty of time to make the six o'clock news coast to coast.
2009 New Yorker 2 Mar. 8/3 A call-center agent in Calcutta, roughly eight thousand miles and ten time zones away, coaches you through a series of getting-to-know-you exercises.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online June 2022).

timev.

Brit. /tʌɪm/, U.S. /taɪm/
Forms: see time n., int., and conj.
Origin: Probably of multiple origins. Probably partly a variant or alteration of another lexical item. Partly formed within English, by conversion. Etymons: i-time v.; time n.
Etymology: Probably partly (in branch I.) aphetic < i-time v., and partly < time n. Compare Old Icelandic tíma , Old Swedish tima (Swedish tima ), Old Danish timæ (Danish times ) to befall (someone), to happen, (reflexive) to happen to one, to befall one. With branch I. compare also earlier tide v.1, and also betime v.In Old English only the prefixed form getīmian i-time v. is attested; compare also mistīmian mistime v. The motivation for sense 12 is unclear; it seems unlikely that all uses in this sense simply arise from orthographic confusion between time and tune.
†I. To befall, and related senses. Cf. tide v.1
1.
a. intransitive. To befall, happen, occur; = tide v.1 1a. Usually impersonal or with non-referential it as subject. Cf. i-time v. a. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > happen to
tocomeeOE
limpc888
i-timeOE
alimpOE
comeOE
on-becomeOE
tidec1000
befallc1175
betidec1175
betimea1225
fallc1225
time?c1225
yfallc1275
timea1325
happena1393
to run upon ——a1393
behapa1450
bechance1530
succeeda1533
attaina1535
behappen1596
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 135 Makie sec þe saule ȝef secnesse hit ne temede. ȝef hare nouðer nere sech as hit timeð selden. oreȝel walde awacnen.
a1250 (?c1200) Hali Meiðhad (Titus) (1940) 508 Ofte hit timeð [c1225 Bodl. itimeð] þat tat leoueste bearn..sorheð & sweameð meast his ealdren on ende.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 149 Two geuelengðhes timen her And two solstices, in ðe ger.
c1440 (?a1400) Morte Arthure l. 3150 (MED) Into Tuskane he tournez, when þus wele tymede.
b. intransitive. With indirect object. = tide v.1 1b. Cf. i-time v. b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > happen to
tocomeeOE
limpc888
i-timeOE
alimpOE
comeOE
on-becomeOE
tidec1000
befallc1175
betidec1175
betimea1225
fallc1225
time?c1225
yfallc1275
timea1325
happena1393
to run upon ——a1393
behapa1450
bechance1530
succeeda1533
attaina1535
behappen1596
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 1023 Bi ðan sal sarra selðe timen, Ðat ge [= she] sal of a sune trimen.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3820 Do we us alle in godes red, Vs sal timen ðe betre sped.
a1375 (c1350) William of Palerne (1867) l. 5433 Þe same sey i be þe, so me wel time!
2.
a. intransitive. With well or ill. To fare or get along in the specified way. Cf. tide v.1 3. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > occurrence > [verb (intransitive)] > fare or get on
wharvec888
timea1325
hapc1350
chancea1533
the world > existence and causation > existence > state or condition > be or remain in specific state or condition [verb (intransitive)] > fare or get on
farec1000
chevec1300
timea1325
do1340
hapc1350
thrive?a1366
ferea1375
walka1400
chevise14..
fortunea1513
tidec1540
fend1781
go1920
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 3392 Amalech fleg, and israel Hadde hegere hond and timede wel.
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 4024 Ðis folc,..Is vnder god timed wel.
a1500 (a1460) Towneley Plays (1994) I. ii. 12 (MED) God gif you ill to tyme!
b. intransitive. Without adverbial specification: to fare well, prosper. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > prosperity > prosper or flourish [verb (intransitive)]
theec888
i-thee971
bloomc1175
flower?c1225
soundfula1300
fructifya1325
timea1325
to bear the bloom1330
flourisha1340
prosperc1350
thrive?a1366
blossom1377
cheve1377
burgeona1382
likec1400
upthrivec1440
avail1523
fadge1573
to bear a great, high or lofty sail1587
blow1610
to be (also stand) in state1638
fatten1638
sagaciate1832
to be going strong1855
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 2361 For luue of Iosep migte he timen.
a1425 Dialogue Reason & Adversity (Cambr.) (1968) 29 Wanne opinions risen of werres & bateilles, þanne dreden lordes..& whanne cornes tymen not, wepith þe frangeleyn.
II. To arrange or adjust the timing of, and related senses.
3.
a. transitive. To perform (an action) or engage in (an activity) at a chosen moment; esp. to pick the correct time or an opportune moment to do (something); (Sport) to make (a stroke, pass, etc.) with the correct timing (timing n. 3).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [verb (transitive)] > time, appoint, or set a time for
seta1056
givec1320
timea1393
attermine1413
day1594
settle1596
to set down1597
momenta1661
order1669
a1393 J. Gower Confessio Amantis (Fairf.) ii. 2238 He hath so wel his schote timed That he him thurgh the bodi smette.
c1400 (?c1390) Sir Gawain & Green Knight (1940) l. 2241 Þou hatȝ tymed þi trauayl as truee mon schulde.
Promptorium Parvulorum (Harl. 221) 494 Tymyn, or make in tyme [and] in seson, temporo.
1625 F. Bacon Ess. (new ed.) 125 There is surely no greater Wisedome, then well to time the Beginnings, and Onsets of Things.
1658 J. Spencer Καινα και Παλαια sig. Eev The wise, who we are sure have the compass of a businesse in their heads, and are skilled in timing and ordering every circumstance thereof.
a1708 W. Beveridge Thes. Theologicus (1710) II. 329 To teach us to submit to His wisdom..in timing all things.
1786 F. Burney Diary Oct. (1842) III. 167 This visit was not so timed as to compose me.
1801 M. Edgeworth Forester in Moral Tales I. 22 Pray let me go to sleep..and time your explanations a little better.
1866 C. Kingsley Hereward the Wake I. v. 158 They had timed their journey by the tides.
1884 W. J. Courthope Addison v. 113 Nothing could have been better timed than the appearance of the Spectator.
1927 W. W. Wakefield & H. P. Marshall Rugger ii. ii. 135 So that the passer may grow accustomed to timing his passes correctly.
1967 N. Podhoretz Making It ii. v. 175 My draft notice finally arrived, perfectly timed to coincide with the disappearance of the last shred of the curiosity I had felt..about military service.
2008 E. J. Bertel Flores Girl ix. 119 Of course, he timed it so that he would be out of the country when the initial payments would be due.
b. transitive. To plan, schedule, or arrange the time when (something) should happen or be done, or for how long (something) should go on. With adverbial phrase or infinitive specifying the timing of the action or event.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > particular time > [verb (transitive)] > time, appoint, or set a time for > arrange time of arrival of a train, person, etc.
time1861
route1903
the world > time > reckoning of time > reckon or measure time [verb (transitive)] > time or regulate duration of
time1885
1807 Times 31 Dec. 3/4 The following ships were thus timed, viz.:—Euphrates, Sir William Beanley and Sovereign..to be afloat the 27th of January, and sail from Gravesend the 27th February.
1861 Times 22 Aug. The Royal train was timed to reach Leamington at 1.17 p.m.
1885 Manch. Examiner 12 Jan. 5/2 The clockwork apparatus, timed to run for two hours.
1888 Telegr. Jrnl. & Electr. Rev. 16 Mar. 296/2 The goods may be viewed..on the morning of the auction, which is timed for 11 o'clock prompt.
1944 Billboard 6 May 40/2 Show runs 30 displays and is timed for two hours and 15 minutes.
2002 L. Purves Radio (2003) ix. 132 We set the running order, timed it to the second and snapped instructions down the talkback to cut things short.
c. transitive. To regulate or control the motion of (a moving object) so as to achieve a desired effect or outcome; (Sport) to strike (the ball) with the correct timing.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > cricket > batting > bat [verb (transitive)] > judge moment of impact of ball
time1851
1851 Bell's Life in London 13 July 6/3 The latter..played like a veteran, timed each ball with admirable precision, and obtained his score of 43 without giving a chance.
1880 W. Newton Serm. for Boys & Girls (1881) 167 Not timing himself right..he met him just in the road.
1908 A. W. Myers Compl. Lawn Tennis Player v. 72 Timing the ball is the result of many factors.
1959 Chambers's Encycl. XIII. 430/1 The bomber force was sent out and so timed as to converge upon the target and complete the entire attack within a few minutes.
2009 Ripley & Heanor News 16 July 36/1 He began well, timing the ball to perfection as boundary upon boundary was racked up on the scoreboard.
4.
a. transitive. To set or determine the rhythm to which (an action or process) is carried out. Cf. timed adj. 5, timing n. 2a.Quot. 1602 in N.E.D. in fact reads ‘rime’ (cf. rhyme v. 5a).
ΚΠ
c1487 J. Skelton tr. Diodorus Siculus Bibliotheca Historica v. 353 Exquysite daunsynge & spryngynge of me[r]ueyllous delyueraunce duly tymed by nombre iustly proporcyonate.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) ii. ii. 110 He was a thing of Blood, whose euery motion Was tim'd with dying Cryes. View more context for this quotation
a1719 J. Addison tr. Ovid Metamorphoses iii, in Wks. (1730) I. 208 Old Epopeus..Who over-look'd the oars, and tim'd the stroke.
1725 A. Pope tr. Homer Odyssey II. vii. 419 How fleet our sail, When justly tim'd with equal sweep they row.
1805 R. Southey Madoc i. xvii. 179 Hark! 'tis the mariners, with voice attuned, Timing their toil!
1837 J. G. Lockhart Mem. Life Scott Mar. ann. 1815 He then..joined with a stentorian voice in the cheering, which the Prince himself timed.
1885 F. S. Drake Indian Hist. for Young Folks x. 231 An old Indian then began to sing, and timed the music by beating on this drum.
1916 E. C. Farnsworth Euphrates 8 The rhythmic noise Such as timed the song of Miriam by the sea's expanse.
1979 R. P. Graves A. E. Housman (1981) i. 9 Their life was dominated and timed by the sound of the church bells.
b. transitive. With to. To bring (one's movements) into time with a rhythm or pattern; to cause to coincide with.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > be simultaneous with [verb (transitive)] > make simultaneous or contemporary > cause to go at the same rate
to keep (also hold) steeks with1793
time1808
synchronize1879
1808 W. Scott Marmion i. ii. 24 Timing his footsteps to a march, The warder kept his guard.
1871 J. Tyndall Fragm. Sci. (1879) I. vi. 197 Timing the pull to the lurching of the ship.
1950 J. Dempsey Championship Fighting 179 Crewmen have a rhythm or ‘beat’ to which they time their strokes.
1993 Daily Herald (Chicago) 22 Oct. (Sports section) 13/1 He times his steps perfectly to Nancy Sinatra's ‘These Boots Are Made For Walking’.
2001 J. Druett Rough Med. iv. 101 Timing his movements to the roll of the ship.
c. intransitive. poetic (chiefly U.S.). With to (also occasionally with). To move in time with; to sound or appear in unison or harmony with. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > relative time > simultaneity or contemporaneousness > be simultaneous [verb (intransitive)] > keep time with
to keep stotc1590
to keep stroke16..
to keep time1658
to beat time1694
time1830
synchronize1867
simultane1880
1830 A. M. Wells Poems & Juvenile Sketches 66 Boys and girls with lightsome feet sport around her, hand in hand, timing to her accents sweet.
1850 J. G. Whittier Elliott iv Timing to their stormy sounds, His stormy lays are sung.
1855 Ld. Tennyson Maud xviii. viii, in Maud & Other Poems 61 Beat, happy stars, timing with things below, Beat with my heart more blest than heart can tell.
1860 W. Whitman Leaves of Grass (new ed.) 275 The savage old mother, incessantly crying, To the boy's Soul's questions sullenly timing.
1908 G. Dalliba Earth Poem 103 To meet the mouth of Night—And far low hills not timing to the sky?
†5. transitive. To indicate the correct time to (a person). Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > reckon or measure time [verb (transitive)] > tell the time to
time1583
1583 B. Melbancke Philotimus (new ed.) sig. Cii The fyre to warme thee, the scortching of the sunne: thy clocke to time thee, the scritching of ye owle.
†6. transitive (in passive). Of a syllable: to have a particular metrical quantity. Cf. timing n. 2b. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > literature > poetry > study of poetry > study poetry [verb (transitive)] > assign metrical quantity of
time1589
1589 G. Puttenham Arte Eng. Poesie ii. xii. 90 It could not possible be by vs perfourmed, because their sillables came to be timed some of them long, some of them short.
†7. transitive. With to. To cause to grow or mature into a given position or state. Cf. timed adj. 3. Obsolete. rare.
ΘΚΠ
the world > people > person > adult > make adult [verb (transitive)]
unchild1615
time1650
1650 H. Vaughan Silex Scintillans 21 Others were tym'd, and train'd up to 't, but thou Didst thy swift years in piety out-grow.
8. transitive. Fencing. To launch a time attack against (an opponent). Cf. time n. 28. Now rare.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > fighting sports > fencing > fence [verb (transitive)] > actions
to traverse one's ground1577
lock1579
falsify1595
pass1595
button1615
touch1622
stringere1688
repost1691
quart1692
riposte1707
time1765
whip1861
1765 D. Angelo School of Fencing 70 If he should uncover the lower parts of the body at the time he comes in distance, you must time him, and thrust a low carte with a well opposed and maintained wrist.
1809 J. Roland Amateur of Fencing 109 The too frequent practice of timing their adversary, because they will render their modes of play..very disagreeable to each other.
1840 D. Walker Defensive Exercises 97 If your antagonist should decline to advance, in the expectation of timing you as you advance, you may counter-time him in this manner.
1893 W. H. Pollock et al. Fencing v, in Fencing, Boxing, Wrestling (ed. 3) 94 Parry seconde with a half-lunge (to inspire more confidence in your adversary who intends to time you) and then riposte.
9.
a. transitive. To measure or record the time taken by (a process or activity, or a person doing it).
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > reckoning of time > reckon or measure time [verb (transitive)]
accounta1387
time1799
1799 Sporting Mag. Sept. 291/2 I afterwards myself saw the black horse timed with the stopwatch.
1859 J. Lang Wanderings in India 393 Slowly as he read, it was over in twelve minutes, for I timed him.
1889 Outing June 234/1 The three judges who timed the race have been secured, and that record is now generally accepted as correct.
1907 Academy 14 Sept. 885/2 He does not believe in what he cannot see, or time, or measure, or weigh.
1939 Auk 56 57 The usual glide lasts four to five seconds, although one was timed at 25 seconds.
1983 R. K. Narayan Tiger for Malgudi 55 He held a watch in his hand and timed my run.
2006 J. Mora Triathlon Workout Planner vii. 86 Time yourself with a stopwatch (or have somebody time you).
b. transitive. To measure the speed at which (a moving object) is travelling. Usually with at, chiefly in passive.
ΚΠ
1825 Examiner 14 Nov. 733/2 The mail coaches on the great North Road are now timed at about ten miles an hour as their rate of travelling.
1889 W. M. Acworth Railways of Eng. 198 The best train each way..is timed at over 45 miles an hour.
1956 Times 3 July 4/6 The Rover turbocar..was timed at 152 m.p.h.
1968 J. K. Terres Flashing Wings x. 89 A flock of pintail ducks chased by an airplane were timed at 65 miles an hour.
2000 Sunday Times 23 July (Sports section) 9/2 The off-cutter which sneaked through Murray Goodwin's defences was timed at only 74mph.
c. transitive. To ascertain, note, or record the time at which (something) happens or is done or made.
ΚΠ
1866 Brit. Almanac (Compan.) 28 A telegram was on one occasion sent from New York to San Francisco, 3,500 miles, by land wires, at 5 p.m.; the answer to it was timed 2.15 p.m. of the same day, nearly three hours earlier!
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz 193 We who, darkling, timed the day's birth.
1896 Daily News 13 Jan. 8/2 Another letter..timed 9 p.m. states that during the night of the 8th and 9th inst. the Shoans made an attack by surprise.
1918 Blackwood's Mag. Oct. 436/2 The note was timed 3.40 p.m. It was now 4.30 p.m.
1999 H. Redknapp & D. McGovern 'Arry (new ed.) x. 136 If they ‘sold’ (that is, bet on an earlier throw-in) at 65 seconds and the first throw was timed at five seconds, then they would win 60 times their stake.
10. transitive. Engineering. To adjust the parts of (a mechanism) so that a succession of movements or operations takes place at the required intervals and in the desired sequence; to arrange the time of (an operation) in a mechanical cycle or series; spec. (in an internal combustion engine) to adjust the timing of (a component) (cf. timing n. 7).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > machines which impart power > engine > internal-combustion engine > operate internal-combustion engine [verb (transitive)] > alter co-incidence of oscillations
time1836
detune1924
1836 Repertory Patent Inventions 6 135 The moment of cutting being correctly timed to the revolving motion of that cylinder so as to divide the paper at the proper intended places.
1898 Engin. Mag. 16 108/1 When..a timing valve is used, instead of permitting the ignition to be timed by the compression.
1920 A. A. Potter & J. P. Calderwood Elements Steam & Gas Power Engin. xiii. 247 The distributor is timed with the circuit breaker and the circuit breaker is timed with the engine, so that the hottest spark takes place at the time of ignition.
1949 A. C. Walshaw Heat Engines (ed. 3) ii. 54 When weak fuel-air mixtures are used the spark must be timed to occur earlier than when rich mixtures are used.
1951 ‘C. S. Forester’ Randall & River of Time (U.K. ed.) iii. 34 The fuse to the burster must be timed to explode it after it's reached the highest point of its trajectory.
2005 A. E. Schwaller Total Automotive Technol. (ed. 4) xii. 169 The camshaft must be timed to the crankshaft so that the valves will open and close in correct time with the position of the piston.
11. transitive. Watchmaking. To ensure that the mechanism of (a watch) keeps exact time. Cf. timer n. 2b, timing n. 6.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > instruments for measuring time > clock > [verb (transitive)] > set
setc1400
temper1538
roll1583
rule1595
winda1616
to wind upa1616
to set forwarda1627
to set back1635
regulate1665
to put back1704
to put forward1741
to put on1826
time1873
1873 Horol. Jrnl. July 134/2 Let us suppose that we are springing and timing a watch.
1903 F. J. Garrard Watch Repairing ii. 13 Here its weight is sometimes an advantage, and often enables a watchmaker to overcome difficulties in timing a watch.
1999 W. Gibson All Tomorrow's Parties xxx. 131 He took fresh stock [of wristwatches] to a sullen but highly skilled Pole in Oakland to be cleaned, oiled, and timed.
†III. To adjust the pitch or tuning of.
12. transitive. To adjust the pitch or tuning of (an instrument or voices); = tune v. 1a, 1b. Obsolete.In quot. a1527 the sense is not completely clear, but cf. timer n. 1.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > fix duration of note [verb (transitive)]
timea1527
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [verb (transitive)] > play in time
timea1527
society > leisure > the arts > music > musical sound > duration of notes > proportion of notes or rhythm > [verb (transitive)] > mark rhythm or measure
timea1527
a1527 W. Peeris Prov. in Anglia (1892) 14 479 Yet rationalis lingua expellit instrumentis all Wel tymede and tewnede for it is master of all.
1597 W. Burton tr. Achilles Tatius Most Delectable & Pleasaunt Hist. Clitiphon & Leucippe 6 One of the boyes..began to play on a Citterne: and first striking the strings with his finger alone, gaue a small shrill sound: then taking a quill when he had timed it, he sung a song to his instrument.
1609 J. Dowland tr. A. Ornithoparchus Micrologus iv. viii. 89 The Songs of Authenticall Tones must be timed deepe, of the subiugall Tones high, of the neutrall, meanly.

Phrasal verbs

to time out
†1. transitive. to time it out: to wait; to delay. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > a suitable time or opportunity > untimeliness > delay or postponement > delay [verb (intransitive)]
geleOE
studegieOE
abideOE
to do in or a (= on) fristc1175
dwellc1175
demurc1230
targec1250
dretcha1325
tarrya1375
sojourn1377
defer1382
letc1385
hinderc1386
blina1400
delay?a1400
honea1400
litea1400
overbidea1400
prolongc1425
supersede1433
hoverc1440
tarrowc1480
sunyie1488
stay?a1500
sleep1519
slack1530
protract1540
linger1548
procrastinate1548
slackc1560
slug1565
jauk1568
temporize1579
detract1584
longering1587
sit1591
prorogue1593
to time it out1613
to lie out1640
crastinate1656
taigle17..
to hang fire1782
to hold off1790
to hang it on1819
prevaricate1854
to lie over1856
to tread water1942
to drag one's feet1946
1613 S. Daniel Coll. Hist. Eng. 81 They timed it out all that Spring, and a great part of the next Sommer.
a1649 W. Drummond Hist. James II in Wks. (1711) 32 Others advised him..to time it out a while: In this lingring War a Truce might be agreed upon.
1709 J. Spelman & T. Hearne Life Alfred the Great i. 39 Timing it out in other Parts till (with the Adherence of divers of their Nation) they were grown a mighty Number, they then again enter E. Anglia.
2. transitive. To plan out according to the time needed or available.
ΘΚΠ
the world > time > [verb (transitive)] > apportion (a period of time)
to time out1902
1902 Fortn. Rev. June 1036 When a man is always timing out his day, and dovetailing together the duties which compose his daily life.
1961 IRE Trans. Industr. Electronics Aug. 14/2 Timing out the program involves..good engineering and programming judgment to make a realistic analysis of how often these additional instructions will be needed and how quickly they will be needed.
1972 S. Mickelson Electric Mirror v.105 He didn't seem to be able to time out his speeches to complete them within the thirty-minute periods which were normally bought for the purpose.
2006 L. Maslon Sound of Music Compan. vi. 136 Marc Breaux and Saul Chaplin were sent ahead to Salzburg..for the meticulous task of timing out the dance sequences at the locations.
3. intransitive. Computing and Electronics. To cancel or pause an operation automatically after a preset time interval has passed without a particular event occurring. Also (of an operation): to be cancelled or paused in this way. Also transitive with operation as object.
ΚΠ
1950 Trans. Amer. Inst. Electr. Engineers 69 1486/2 The controlling relay..is prevented from timing out until all instantaneous relays have returned to normal.
1972 IEEE Trans. Communications 20 542/2 If several RFNM's [sc. request for next message] for multipacket messages have been sent to the host, they will be timed out one at a time in sequence.
1988 InfoWorld 14 Nov. 94/1 When you make an incorrect password entry..the program just sits there until it times out.
1998 InfoWorld 20 Apr. 39/1 DeskPower 2.0 shuts the screen down, monitors the system, and times it out.
2009 Charleston (West Virginia) Gaz. (Nexis) 4 Aug. 4a The government's computer system kept timing out.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2012; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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