walln.1
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ I. An enclosing or defensive structure, and related uses.† 7. Walling. Obsolete. rare.
1. in extended use.a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry V (1623) i. ii. 141 They of those Marches..Shall be a Wall sufficient to defend Our in-land from the pilfering Borderers. View more context for this quotation
a. A rampart of earth, stone, or other material constructed for defensive purposes. [= Latin vallum.] In Old English frequently used with the meaning ‘a natural rampart, hill, cliff’: see Bosworth–Toller.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > earthwork or rampart > [noun]
wallc900
banka1387
aggera1398
trench1445
braye1512
mantle-walla1522
werewalla1525
rampire1548
rampart1550
mound1558
mount1558
argin1589
vallie1602
earthwork1633
circumvallation1645
vallation1664
subtrench1669
epaulement1687
enceinte1708
ring1780
vallum1803
main-work1833
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall
wallc900
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall
wallc900
mureOE
mural?1473
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) i. ix [xii]. 46 Þæt hi gemænelice fæsten geworhten him to gescyldnesse, stænene weal rihtre stige fram eastsæ oð westsæ.
c1000 Ælfric Exodus xiv. 22 And þæt water stod an twa healfa þære stræte swilce twegen hege weallas.
a1122 Anglo-Saxon Chron. (Laud) ann. 189 Þa ge wrohte he weall mid turfum & bred weall ðær on ufon fram sæ to sæ Britwalum to gebeorge.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 2184 Þat folc þo of þis lond..Bigonne to rere þon stronge wal.
c1450 Mirk's Festial 2 Þe watyr schall be hear then ayny hyll, by xlti cubytys, stondyng styll yn her styd, as hit wer a wall.
1581 J. Hamilton Catholik Traictise ii. f. 34 Moyses..causit the valter stand vp als ferme as ane vall quhil the Israelites past throu.
1601 R. Johnson tr. G. Botero Trauellers Breuiat 18 Their carriages were so many, that therewith they intrenched their campe, as with a wall.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. i. 2 The Emperor Adrian,..who made a great wall of earth between England and Scotland.
1699 W. Temple Introd. Hist. Eng. (ed. 2) 38 Agricola began..a Wall or Vallum, upon that narrow space of Land that lies between the two Fryths.
1728 A. Pope Dunciad iii. 68 He, whose long Wall the wand'ring Tartar bounds.
1791 J. Boswell Life Johnson anno 1778 II. 213 [Quoting Johnson, 11 Apr. 1778] He expressed a particular enthusiasm with respect to visiting the wall of China.
1850 Smith's Class. Dict. at Serica The Great Wall of China is mentioned by Ammianus Marcellinus under the name of Aggeres Serium.
b. An embankment to hold back the water of a river or the sea. Cf. seawall n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > land > land mass > shore or bank > embankment or dam > [noun]
wharf1038
causeyc1330
wall1330
bulwark1555
scut1561
weir1599
mound1613
staithe1613
breastwork1641
embankment1786
bund1813
sheath1850
fleet-dyke1858
sheathing1867
causeway1878
flood-bank1928
stopbank1950
1330 Rolls of Parl. II. 36/2 De faire & de garder les Walles contre l'ewe de Tamys.
1548 Hall's Vnion: Henry VIII f. ccixv At whiche season was suche a spryng tide, that it brake the walles of Hollande and Zelande.
1593 J. Norden Speculum Brit.: Middlesex i. 17 Blackwall... The place taketh name of the blackenes or darkenes of the water bankes, or wall at that place.
1697 D. Defoe Ess. Projects 121 In our Marshes and Fens..where great Quantities of Land being..recovered out of the Seas and Rivers, and maintain'd with Banks (which they call Walls).
1713 London Gaz. No. 5122/11 Two Pieces of Thames Wall, with the Ozier Ground and Foreland thereto belonging,..are to be Sold.
1888 G. M. Fenn Dick o' the Fens iv. 49 (note) ‘Wall,’ in fen lands, the artificial bank or ridge of clay raised to keep back river, drain, or sea.
1898 P. H. Emerson Marsh Leaves (rev. ed.) lix. 179 He stopped, and looked along the rosy dike, uttered a hasty exclamation, and ran down the wall.
2. figurative.1592 Arden of Feversham i. i. 47 Sweete words are fittest engines To race the flint walles of a womans breast.
a. A defensive structure enclosing a city, castle, etc. Chiefly plural, fortifications. [= Latin murus.]
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > defensive walls > [noun] > wall of fortified town
wallc825
town wallc1325
dikec1400
murayc1400
face1489
curtain?a1560
antemural1614
c825 Vesp. Psalter xvii. 30 In gode minum ic ofergaa wall.
c1000 Ags. Ps. (1835) lix. 8 Hwylc gelædeð me leofran on ceastre, weallum beworhte?
a1200 Moral Ode 41 in Old Eng. Hom. I. 163 Þes riche Men weneð bon siker þurh walle & þurh diche.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 11433 Aȝen alle halwe churche þe verste dich hii nome & brake þe otemoste wal.
a1300 K. Horn (Hall) 1042 In strong halle, Bi inne castel walle.
1338 R. Mannyng Chron. (1810) 326 The engyns with oute, to kast were þei sette, Wallis & kirnels stoute, þe stones doun bette.
1393 W. Langland Piers Plowman C. xxi. 292 Brynston boilaunt brennyng out-casteþ hit Al hot [on] here heuedes þat entren ny þe walles.
1487 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (St. John's Cambr.) vi. 445 Thai sparit the ȝettis hastely, And in hy to the vallis ran.
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) v. l. 1136 Tre-wark thai brynt..Wallis brak doun that stalwart war off stanys.
1490 Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin (1889) 371 For the kepyng of every yate of the walleys of this citte.
1586 G. Whitney Choice of Emblemes 110 Then Scipio comes, that Carthage waules did race.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. ii. 2 Go to the Gates of Burdeaux Trumpeter, Summon their Generall vnto the Wall . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) v. v. 85 At your Fathers Castle walles, Wee'l craue a parley. View more context for this quotation
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost xi. 657 Others from the Wall defend With Dart and Jav'lin, Stones and sulfurous Fire. View more context for this quotation
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Æneis ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 248 To..rush undaunted to defend the Walls.
1791 A. Radcliffe Romance of Forest I. i. 3 Madame de la Motte gave a last look to the walls of Paris.
1823 C. Lamb in London Mag. May 535/2 He was among the first who perished before the walls of St. Sebastian.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 468/1 Towards the east the external wall [of Ephesus] crosses a hill, called Lepre... Other internal walls extend further south.
1847 G. Grote Hist. Greece III. ii. xix. 393 Babylon..was surrounded by walls three hundred feet in height.
b. within the walls: within the ancient boundaries (of a city) as distinguished from the suburbs; hence figurative within the limits (of the Church, †Europe, †Christendom, etc.)
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > [adverb] > within > within boundaries, a community, or institution
withina1122
within the walls1600
intramurally1927
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabitant > inhabitant according to environment > town- or city-dweller > [adverb] > within boundaries of city
within the walls1600
1600 B. Jonson Every Man out of his Humor iv. iii. sig. Miii Sog... I think him the tallest man liuing within the walls of Europe. Carl. The walls of Europe! take heed what you say Signior, Europe's a huge thing within the walls. View more context for this quotation
1627 J. Taylor Armado sig. D3 In a place which I could name within the Walles of Christen-dome.
1667 Observ. Burning Lond. 15 The City of London within the Walls was seated upon about 460 Acres of Ground.
1722 D. Defoe Jrnl. Plague Year 6 To the great Affliction of the City, one died within the Walls, in the Parish of St. Mary-Wool-Church.
1860 J. W. Warter Sea-board & Down II. 468 The devout on earth will ever be found within the Church's walls.
c. Heraldry. A representation of an embattled wall used as a bearing.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > indication > insignia > heraldic devices collective > other heraldic representations > [noun] > architectural features
portcullisa1460
wall1688
well1688
pavilion1730
turret1766
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 400/1 He beareth Argent..a Wall corniced, with two Towers upon it.
1889 C. N. Elvin Dict. Heraldry 131/2 Wall, embattled in bend sinister.
3. figurative.
a. Applied to a person or thing that serves as a defence.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > means of defence
hornc825
defencec1350
garnisonc1386
wall1412
fencec1440
defensoryc1475
fencing1489
muniment1546
frontier1589
bar1603
the world > action or operation > safety > protection or defence > [noun] > means of protection or defence
hornc825
shieldc1200
warranta1272
bergha1325
armour1340
hedge1340
defencec1350
bucklerc1380
protectiona1382
safety1399
targea1400
suretyc1405
wall1412
pavise?a1439
fencec1440
safeguard?c1500
pale?a1525
waretack1542
muniment1546
shrouda1561
bulwark1577
countermure1581
ward1582
prevention1584
armourya1586
fortificationa1586
securitya1586
penthouse1589
palladium1600
guard1609
subtectacle1609
tutament1609
umbrella1609
bastion1615
screena1616
amulet1621
alexikakon1635
breastwork1643
security1643
protectionary1653
sepiment1660
back1680
shadower1691
aegis1760
inoculation1761
buoya1770
propugnaculum1773
panoply1789
armament1793
fascine1793
protective1827
beaver1838
face shield1842
vaccine1861
zariba1885
wolf-platform1906
firebreak1959
1412–20 J. Lydgate tr. Hist. Troy iv. 1958 For he of Troye is Þe myȝti wal And diffence, now Hector is [a-]goon.
a1513 W. Dunbar Poems (1998) I. 85 Imperiall wall, place palestrall..Aue, Maria, gracia plena.
1565 W. Allen Def. & Declar. Doctr. Purgatory ii. xvii. f. 281v One common engine they haue..for the sore shakinge of the weake waules of the simples faithe.
1581 A. Hall tr. Homer 10 Bks. Iliades iii. 52 It is Aiax the strong, Who is best hope, defence and wall, that to the Greeks belong.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) ii. i. 62 The Heauens hold firme The walls of thy deere Honour. View more context for this quotation
1838 E. Bulwer-Lytton Leila v. i. 222 We will leave our homes unguarded—our hearts shall be their wall!
b. Applied to the sea, the navy or shipping (as Britain's external defence); also to an army (as the safeguard of a country). wooden walls (applied to ships): see wooden adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > sea or ocean > [noun] > as defence
wall1436
society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > means of defence > sea as
wall1436
seawall1879
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > navy > [noun] > the British navy > as defence
wall1436
wooden walls1598
iron walls1835
society > armed hostility > defence > [noun] > means of defence > army or navy as
wall1657
society > armed hostility > armed forces > the Army > [noun] > an army
ferd823
herec855
drightOE
drightfolkOE
ferdingc1000
gingOE
land-fyrd11..
hostc1290
powerc1300
preyc1300
chivalry1382
puissance1423
enarmec1430
exercite1485
force1487
armya1522
land-force1614
wall1657
ground force1929
1436 Libel Eng. Policy in Pol. Poems (Rolls) II. 203 Kepte [v.r. kepe] than the see abought in specialle, Whiche of England is the rounde walle; As thoughe England were lykened to a cite.
1642 Declar. Lords & Comm. 12–13 July 3 The ships which are the wals of the Kingdome.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. i. 2 At which time [sc. of Julius Cæsar], the Island was yet but in manner of a Village, being without Walls, as having no shipping, (which are indeed the true Wals of an Island).
1657 J. Trapp Comm. Ezra ix. 9 ‘To give us a wall’—Protection and safeguard, as the Walles of Sparta was their Militia, and the Walles of England, is our Navy.
1697 Sir M. Beckman in Sydney Papers I. 171 The Army by Land, and the Fleet, was accounted the Walls of England.
4. An enclosing structure composed of bricks, stones, or similar materials laid in courses. hollow wall, a wall built with an interior cavity or composed of hollow bricks. For blind, boulder, cob, dead, hot, list, rubble wall, etc., see those words; also brick wall n.1, mud wall n., party wall n., stonewall n.† c. wall of timber n. a wooden partition, a fence.† d. As a place or means of torture. Obsolete.
a.
(a) Each of the sides and vertical divisions of a building. to stand to the wall (Scottish): of a door, to be wide open. walls have ears (Proverb): see ear n.1 Phrases 3d.
ΚΠ
c900 tr. Bede Eccl. Hist. (1890) ii. xi [xiv]. 138 Ærþon heo seo heannis þæs wealles [sc. of a church] gefylled wære & geendad.
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xviii. 61 Þe wal wagged and clef and al þe worlde quaued.
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 19313 We find ur prisuns all a-wai, þe dors sperd, þe walles hale.
a1500 (?a1400) Sir Torrent of Portyngale (1887) l. 244 Sone hard he within a whalle The syghyng of a lady smalle, Sche weppte, as sche were wod.
1526 W. Bonde Pylgrimage of Perfection iii. sig. CCCiiiv Of the whiche buyldyng..the foure walles be the .iiii. cardinall vertues.
1600 W. Shakespeare Merchant of Venice ii. ix. 28 Which..like the Martlet Builds in the weather on the outward wall . View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) i. vi. 27 In Iron Walls they deem'd me not secure. View more context for this quotation
1638 F. Junius Painting of Ancients Ded. sig. A2v To make use of that, which in your service, and within the walls of your own house, I had produced.
1649 R. Lovelace To Althea from Prison iv Stone Walls do not a Prison make.
1728 A. Ramsay Monk & Miller's Wife in Fables & Tales 256 Wauk forth, the door stands to the wa'.
1733 A. Pope Of Use of Riches 10 Like some lone Chartreuse stands the good old Hall, Silence without, and Fasts within the wall.
1816 W. Scott Black Dwarf vii, in Tales of my Landlord 1st Ser. I. 146 Look at the burnt wa's of our kinsman's house.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 307 Walls of stone may be made one~fifth thinner than those of brick.
1837 C. Dickens Pickwick Papers xxxix. 434 Mr. Pickwick found himself, for the first time in his life, within the walls of a Debtor's Prison.
1876 Encycl. Brit. IV. 447/2 The inclined roof of a building, spanning from wall to wall, tends to thrust out the walls.
(b) In figurative context (after Acts xxiii. 3).
ΚΠ
1593 G. Harvey Pierces Supererogation 104 If Percase I happen to touch some painted walles, and godly hypocrites.
b. An enclosing structure built round a garden, field, yard, or other property; also, each of the portions between the angles of such an enclosure.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [noun] > that which encloses > an enclosing barrier > enclosing wall
walla1400
immurea1616
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > wall around something
walla1400
curtain1633
ring wall1828
curtain wall1859
a1400 (a1325) Cursor Mundi (Vesp.) l. 8233 A wall a-bote dide for to rais, And planted tres þat war to prais.
1587 L. Mascall Bk. Cattell: Hogges (1596) 263 It were good to make the walles or hedges of your sties of foure foote hie.
1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet ii. i. 5 He came this way, and leapt this Orchard wall . View more context for this quotation
1698 J. Fryer New Acct. E.-India & Persia 7 A most stately Grove of Cocoes and Oranges..surrounded by a Wall.
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 865 On dry banks, trunks of trees, and walls.
1832 Ld. Tennyson Lady of Shalott i, in Poems (new ed.) 9 Four gray walls and four gray towers Overlook a space of flowers.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > hedge or fence > a fence > of other specific materials
wall of timber1463
battening1788
thorn fence1843
1463 in S. Tymms Wills & Inventories Bury St. Edmunds (1850) 20 I will yt my newe hous..be deseverid..with a walle of tymbyr fro the hefd place.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > torture > instrument or place of torture > [noun] > place of torture
quale-housec1225
qualm-housec1225
wall1528
butcheryc1540
torture-chamber1829
torture-house1898
1528 W. Tyndale Obed. Christen Man f. cxlix And when they crye furiously hold the heretikes vnto the wall and if they will not revoke burne them.
1590 in Publ. Catholic Rec. Soc. (1908) 5 179 Another warrant..to commytte them.. unto such torture upon the wawle as is usuall.
e. The inner side of a sidewalk or pavement; the side next the wall. (Cf. the phrases to give, take the wall in 16.)
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > path or place for walking > [noun] > foot(-)path > by side of street or road > side next the wall
wall1606
wall-side1959
1606 N. Breton Choice, Chance, & Change sig. K1v Snuffes vp the Nose, and swaggers for the wall.
1620 I. C. Two Merry Milke-maids ii. ii. sig. F2 But now I will giue no man place at Wall or Kennell.
1710 J. Addison Tatler No. 250. ⁋11 All such as have been defrauded of their Right to the Wall.
1744 A. Pope Epist. to Several Persons i. 22 Behold a rev'rend sire..Shov'd from the wall perhaps, or rudely press'd By his own son.
f. (a) In the phrase at the wall, designating a species of football peculiar to Eton played against a wall, as distinguished from that played ‘in the field’. (b) Applied to each of the players who form the ‘bully’ or scrimmage against the wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > other forms of football > [noun] > Eton
Eton football1856
at the wall1864
wall-game1883
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > other forms of football > [noun] > Eton > player
wall1864
behind1898
1864 Eton School Days xxiii. 254 But give me, for real enjoyment..a good game of football at Eton, either at the wall or in the open field.
1883 Sat. Rev. 1 Dec. 696/1 Football ‘at the Wall’ takes its name from being played against the brick wall which divides the Slough Road from the Lower Playing Fields.
1883 Sat. Rev. 1 Dec. 696/1 Three of the players on either side, known as ‘walls’, form a line against the rough bricks.
1887 M. Shearman Athletics & Football (Badminton Libr. of Sports & Pastimes) 280 The game is begun by a ‘bully’ in the centre of the wall. The ‘wall’ whose turn it is to ‘go in’, forms down with his shoulder against the wall,..the two other ‘walls’ back him up... The ball is placed against the wall between the feet of the two first opposing ‘walls’, and the game begins.
g. The Wall: elliptical for Wailing Wall n. at wailing n. Compounds.
ΚΠ
1895 J. Smith Pilgrimage to Palestine xvi. 219 The ‘Wailing Place of the Jews’..is situated a little to the north... High overhead towered the..stones of the Temple Wall..with the Wall itself..rising to a height of 60 feet... There, with their faces to the wall—kissing the stones,..or joining in a loud chorus of lamentation..stood a long row of Jews.
1928 Western or Wailing Wall in Jerusalem 6 in Parl. Papers 1928–9 (Cmd. 3229) XV. 105 His Majesty's Government regard it as their duty..to maintain the established Jewish right of access to the pavement in front of the Wall for the purposes of their devotions.
1967 C. Potok Chosen xii. 198 He died while praying at the Wall for the Messiah to come and redeem his people.
1973 Guardian 21 June 2/7 The present intention is to link the Wall with the historic ‘upper city’ (now the Jewish Quarter).
h. The Wall: elliptical for Berlin Wall, the wall surrounding West Berlin and separating it from communist East Berlin and the rest of East Germany (erected in 1961 and torn down in 1989).
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition or fact of being interjacent > [noun] > that which is interjacent > and separates two things > a partition > specific international
iron curtain1920
The Wall1961
1961 Daily Progress (Charlottesville, Va.) 20 Oct. 1/1 Here in Berlin communism has created one of the ugliest and most depressing sights on the face of the globe. It is The Wall—the wall of death, the new concrete curtain of communism.
1964 Ann. Reg. 1963 225 It was stated that 1,283,918 had crossed the Wall by the time it closed on 5 January 1964.
1977 G. Markstein Chance Awakening lxxviii. 243 My father had his legs blown off..when he tried to flee over the Wall.
5. figurative. Something which is a barrier or impediment to intellectual, moral, spiritual, or social union or intercourse; also more definitely wall of partition.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > hindrance > [noun] > one who or that which hinders > a hindrance, impediment, or obstacle > to spiritual or social union or intercourse
walla1240
curtain1945
a1240 Ureisun in Old Eng. Hom. I. 187 Mine sunnen beoþ wal bi-tweone me & þe.
a1250 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Nero) (1952) 117 And ȝet ȝe habbeð þet ilke blod. & tet ilke blisfule bodi..niht & dei bi ou nis ðer buten awal bitweonen.
?a1500 Chester Pl., Fall Lucifer 153 Alas! that pride is the wall of lewtye.
1562 N. Winȝet Certain Tractates (1888) I. 27/4 To attempt sic proude misordour sall..big vp ane wal betuix vs and ȝou in religioun.
1766 J. Fordyce Serm. Young Women II. xii. 273 Every wall of partition..it throws down.
1843 J. Ruskin Arrows of Chace (1880) I. 17 A wall of tradition, which may not be broken through.
1872 J. S. Blackie Lays of Highlands 104 Walls of ancient, harsh partition 'Twixt the people, and the crown.
1900 R. St. Barbe In Mod. Spain 16 He..barricades himself behind an unassailable wall of self-sufficiency.
6. A wall considered with regard to its surface.in figurative context.1857 A. Trollope Barchester Towers I. xix. 287 They habitually looked on the sunny side of the wall.1858 A. Trollope Dr. Thorne I. vi. 141 Women grow on the sunny side of the wall.
a. The interior wall of an apartment. the writing on the wall (after Dan. v.): see writing n.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > interior or partition-wall
woughc888
wallOE
middle wallc1384
parclose1387
partitionc1450
screena1475
hallan1490
parpen wall1506
parpal walla1525
midwall1589
partition wall1605
inwall?1611
parpalling1621
screen work1648
sconce1695
stud partition1775
screening1850
scrap screen1873
parclose screen1889
OE Beowulf 326 Setton sæmeþe side scyldas, rondas reghearde wið þæs recedes weal.
c1290 St. Dunstan 142 in S. Eng. Leg. 23 Þe harpe song al bi hire-self as heo heng bi þe walle.
c1450 J. Lydgate Stans Puer (Lamb. 853) in Babees Bk. (2002) i. 27 Aȝen þe post lete not þi bak abide, neiþer make þi myrrour also of þe wal.
?1533 G. Du Wes Introductorie for to lerne Frenche sig. Hiv v To sile a wale, lambroisser.
1562 A. Brooke tr. M. Bandello Tragicall Hist. Romeus & Iuliet f. 67v She thinkes to speake to Juliet, but speaketh to the walles.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Measure for Measure (1623) i. ii. 155 All the inrolled penalties Which haue (like vn-scowr'd Armor) hung by th' wall So long. View more context for this quotation
a1616 W. Shakespeare Coriolanus (1623) i. iii. 11 It was no better then Picture-like to hang by th'wall. View more context for this quotation
a1629 W. Hinde Faithfull Remonstr. (1641) xxvi. 82 They..who have sought for Christ and his Apostles, not in the holy Booke of God, but in painted wales and windows.
1639 J. Taylor Part Summers Trav. 46 In the mean time, the Preacher speaks to the bare walls.
1734 A. Pope Epist. to Arbuthnot 20 Is there, who lock'd from Ink and Paper, scrawls With desp'rate Charcoal round his darken'd walls?
1781 W. Cowper Charity 552 Guns, halberts, swords, and pistols, great and small, In starry forms dispos'd upon the wall.
1782 W. Cowper Hope in Poems 158 From stucco'd walls smart arguments rebound.
1859 C. J. Lever Davenport Dunn xix The walls were decorated with coloured prints and drawings.
1891 Law Times 92 79/1 This almanack has been familiar for many years on the walls of barristers, solicitors, and public offices.
b. A garden- or house-wall upon which fruit trees and flowering trees are trained.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > equipment and buildings > [noun] > rail or wall
rail?1387
wall1699
1699 (title) Fruit Walls improved by inclining them to the Horizon.
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 527 Having occasion to find fault with the common sort of Walls for Fruits, it gives me an opportunity of recommending..sloping Walls.
1734 A. Pope Satires of Horace ii. ii. 146 And grapes, long-lingring on my only wall.
1781 W. Cowper Retirem. 494 Like bottled wasps upon a southern wall.
1785 W. Cowper Task iii. 408 Proud of his well-spread walls, he views his trees.
1864 Ld. Tennyson Enoch Arden in Enoch Arden, etc. 19 Yet he sent..garden-herbs and fruit, The late and early roses from his wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall > collectively
walling1382
wall1603
1603 G. Owen Descr. Penbrokshire (1892) 70 This lymestone..is putt into a kill made of wall.
II. Transferred uses.
8. † b. Military. in wall: of battalions, extended in one continuous line like a wall. Obsolete.
a. Something that resembles a wall in appearance; a perpendicular surface forming an enclosure or barrier.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [noun] > vertical object or part > resembling a wall
parapeta1637
wall1697
1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics iii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 113 Huge Oxen stand enclos'd in wint'ry Walls Of Snow congeal'd. View more context for this quotation
a1771 T. Gray Statius in Mem. (1775) 9 The theatre's green height and woody wall.
1820 P. B. Shelley Prometheus Unbound i. i. 20 Nailed to this wall of eagle-baffling mountain.
1842 Ld. Tennyson Day-dream in Poems (new ed.) II. 151 A wall of green Closed-matted, bur and brake and briar.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xlvi The black wall of forest beyond.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xlviii A wall of water, looming high above her main~yard, came rushing and booming along.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. xx. 143 Midway down the spur I lighted upon a transverse wall of rock.
1903 R. Kipling Five Nations 2 The in-rolling walls of the fog.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military operations > distribution of troops > formation > [adjective] > extended in continuous line
in wall1797
1797 Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 741/1 The enemy's army..is in two lines, the first of which is formed in wall..; the second is formed with large intervals.
c. In the game of mah-jong, the arrangement of tiles from which hands are drawn. Cf. tile n.1 4b.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > pastimes > game > table game > mah-jong > [noun] > arrangement of tiles
wall1922
1922 Literary Digest 30 Dec. 38 One studies the unfolding of Ma Jung, one detects Eastern cunning to whet the skill, first the building of the ‘wall’, undoubtedly meaning the great wall of China, one of the seven wonders of the world.
1950 E. Culbertson Culbertson's Hoyle 415 Wall game, void game by exhaustion of the wall without any declaration of a complete hand.
1974 Encycl. Brit. Micropædia VI. 503/3 Thereafter, the other players, in counterclockwise rotation, each draw one tile, which may be the last discarded tile or a loose tile from the ‘wall’.
d. Baseball. The barrier marking the outer perimeter of the outfield.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > baseball > baseball ground > [noun] > perimeter barrier
wall1928
1928 G. H. Ruth Babe Ruth's Own Bk. Baseball 25 The boys began smacking the fences with long drives, outfielders began playing with their backs to the wall and infielders had to move back on the grass or have their legs torn off with hot drives.
1928 G. H. Ruth Babe Ruth's Own Bk. Baseball 117 The ball was hit far over his head to the center field wall.
1973 Internat. Herald Tribune 15 June 15/3 The closest the Reds had come to a hit was Pete Rose's long drive to left-center in the third that Jim Dwyer caught at the wall.
e. Association Football. A line of defence players who defend their team's goal during a free kick.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [noun] > type or attribute of defence
wall1948
catenaccio1961
squareness1978
1948 Hankinson & Chadder Soccer for Schools Pl. 29 (caption) The usual procedure for the defence to adopt is for a ‘wall’ of players to block the line of a direct shot for goal.
1965 D. Bacuzzi How to play Assoc. Football xv. 56 (caption) Notice how the ‘wall’ of defenders allows the goalkeeper space to see.
1976 E. Dunphy Only a Game? v. 149 I scored direct from a free kick. Curled it round the wall into the top corner from just outside the box.
f. Surfing. The steep face of a wave before it breaks.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > [noun] > face
wall1962
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > water sports except racing > surfing > [noun] > types or parts of wave
pounder1927
dumper1933
take-off1935
greeny1940
beach break1954
beacher1956
big kahuna1959
greenback1959
close out1962
curl1962
shore break1962
shoulder1962
soup1962
tube1962
wall1962
face1963
peak1963
pipeline1963
set1963
reef break1965
surfable wave1965
point break1966
green room1968
slide1968
barrel1975
left-hander1980
A-frame1992
1962 T. Masters Surfing made Easy 66 Wall, the steep portion of a wave almost ready to break.
1963 S. Szabados in J. Pollard Austral. Surfrider ii. 20/2 The steep face of that wave is called its ‘wall’.
1968 Surfer Jan. 17/1 ‘Just Ken’ probably doesn't know what it is like to ride a well-shaped wall while hanging ten except when he is smoking grass.
9.
a. Something that confines or encloses like the wall of a house, prison, etc.; chiefly plural, the containing sides of a vessel, the vertical sides of a tent, and the like.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > [noun] > that which encloses > an enclosing barrier
pale1552
wall1594
impalement1598
palisade1601
palisado1619
ring fence1795
1594 1st Pt. Raigne Selimus D 1 You thinke it strange..To see me low laie off effeminate robes, And arme my bodie in an iron wall.
1615 R. Cocks Diary (1883) I. 57 The walle or neting the king caused to be made to fish was borne downe in the night with the force of the tide.
a1616 W. Shakespeare King John (1623) iii. iii. 20 Within this wall of flesh There is a soule counts thee her Creditor. View more context for this quotation
1650 J. Bulwer Anthropometamorphosis xix. 185 The walls..of the Breasts [of infants] are..depraved by Nurses, while they..do over-strictly bind them.
1790 W. Marshall Agric. Provincialisms in Rural Econ. Midland Counties II. 445 Wall, the stem of a rick is called the walls.
1878 T. H. Huxley Physiography (ed. 2) vi. 89 The walls of a closed vessel containing air are pressed outwards by the elastic force of the confined air.
1879 Encycl. Brit. IX. 251/1 The drift-net..forms a long wall or barrier of netting hanging for a few fathoms perpendicularly in the water.
1897 Outing 30 375/1 [A tent] which has walls at least three feet high, should answer.
b. The pastry forming the sides of a pie.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > dishes and prepared food > pastry > pie > [noun] > parts of pie
lid1615
wall1747
1747 H. Glasse Art of Cookery viii. 73 Make a good Standing Crust, let the Wall and Bottom be very thick.
1894 L. Heritage Cassell's New Universal Cookery Bk. 785/1 Form the walls of the pie with the left hand. The sides should be smooth and of equal thickness.
1959 Listener 22 Jan. 191/2 Lid the flan with pastry, having egged the top of the ‘wall’.
10. Mining.
a. The coating or crust of a lode or vein; also, the side of a mine next to this.For footwall n. at foot n. and int. Compounds 3, hanging-wall n. at hanging adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > features of stratum or vein > [noun] > material surrounding
blinds1674
wall1728
steeking1789
sticking1789
salband1811
selvage1897
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > other places in mine
work1474
firework1606
stemple1653
stool1653
bink1675
engine pit1687
swamp1691
feeder1702
wall1728
bag1742
sill1747
stope1747
rose cistern1778
striking-house1824
plat1828
stemplar1828
screen chamber1829
offtake1835
footwall1837
triple pit1839
stamp1849
paddock1852
working floor1858
pit house1866
ground-sluice1869
screen tower1871
planilla1877
undercurrent1877
mill1878
blanket-sluice1881
stringing-deal1881
wagon-breast1881
brushing-bed1883
poppet-leg1890
slippet1898
stable1906
overcut1940
1728 Philos. Trans. 1727–8 (Royal Soc.) 35 404 Sometimes,..the Mine is lined with an intermediate Substance between the Load and it self. This is (properly speaking) the Wall of the Load: Though, in the Common Acceptation of that Term, it signifies either such intermediate Substance, or the Side of the Mine, where the Load immediately unites it self to it.
1797 Encycl. Brit. XII. 39/1 The capels or walls of the lode.
1818 W. Phillips Outl. Mineral. & Geol. (ed. 3) 210 A..crust occasionally covers one or both sides of the vein, technically called the walls of the load.
1881 Trans. Amer. Inst. Mining Engineers 1880–1 9 190 Wall. 1. The side of a level or drift. 2. The country-rock bounding a vein laterally.
b. Coal Mining. (See quot. 18831.)long wall: see long-wall n. and adj. at long adj.1 and n.1 Compounds 4a. stenting wall: see stenting n.2
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > working face or place
witchet1677
face1708
front1717
stope1747
wall1750
web1767
working place1827
wall-face1839
offset1872
wicket1881
upset1883
1750 in 6th Rep. Deputy Keeper Rec. App. ii. 124 Carrying Coals from the Coal Walls where they are dug to the bottom of the Pit or Shaft.
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 979 The first set [of workmen] curves or pools the coal along the whole line of walls.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Wall. 1. The face of a long-wall working or stall, commonly called the coal-wall. 2. (North of Eng.) A rib of solid coal between two boards.
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Walls (Scotl.) Short working faces or stalls (also headings 6 ft. in width) from 12 to 20 yards wide.
c. to the wall: see quot. 1883.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [phrase] > breadth in reference to pillar size
to the wall1883
1883 W. S. Gresley Gloss. Terms Coal Mining Wall (‘To the Wall’) (North of Eng.). A term signifying breadth, in reference to the size of pillars in the system of working known as Pillar and Stall.
11. Engraving. (See quots.)
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > printmaking > engraving > intaglio printing > [noun] > etching > border round plate
wall1797
1797 Encycl. Brit. VI. 742/2 [article Etching] A border of soft wax..must be fastened round the plate about an inch high, in the form of a little wall or rampart, to contain the aquafortis.
1815 J. Smith Panorama Sci. & Art II. 767 The plate is surrounded with a border or wall, about an inch high, composed of bees' wax.
1839 W. A. Chatto Treat. Wood Engraving viii. 715 The plate is surrounded with a wall, as it is technically termed, and aquafortis being poured upon it, all the unprotected parts are corroded, and the drawing left in relief.
12.
a. Anatomy and Zoology. The membranous investment or lining tissue (of any organ or cavity of the body, of a vesicle, tumour, and the like). Also Botany, the cellulose membrane (of a cell).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > bodily substance > membrane > [noun]
rimeOE
hameOE
skina1398
caul1398
shrine1398
tunicle1398
panniclea1400
pelliculea1400
slougha1400
membrane?a1425
pellicle?a1425
pellet?1440
enfolder1545
kell1545
involucre1578
skinlet1598
striffena1612
swathe1615
veil1639
tunic1661
swath-band1668
involucruma1676
wall1682
panniculus1702
theca1807
1682 N. Grew Anat. Plants iv. iii. iv. 186 As by Refraction, Objects of all Sizes are represented on the Walls of the Eye.
1830 R. Knox tr. P. A. Béclard Elements Gen. Anat. 85 These [adipose] vesicles are so thin that it is impossible to distinguish their walls.
1876 J. S. Bristowe Treat. Theory & Pract. Med. ii. vi. 835 The walls of ovarian tumours consist mainly of connective tissue.
1897 M. Kingsley Trav. W. Afr. 469 He then cut diagonally across, and actually lifted the wall of the chest, and groped about among the vitals for the bullet.
b. The outer horny covering of the foot of a horse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > mammals > group Ungulata (hoofed) > family Equidae (general equines) > body or parts of horse > [noun] > hoof > covering of
wall1830
bar1831
crust1831
1830 ‘J. Hinds’ Osmer's Treat. Horse (ed. 5) 7 (note) This is the earliest mention we can find of the crust or hoof proper, being denominated the wall of the foot, a term which has now become general among us. [The passage referred to (Osmer, 1761) reads ‘like a wall’].
1831 W. Youatt Horse xv. 280 The crust or wall of the hoof..is that portion which is seen when the foot is placed on the ground.
III. Botanical shortenings.
13. Short for:
a. wall-tree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > cultivated or valued > [noun] > fruit-tree > wall-tree or standard
standard1625
wall-tree1653
stander1660
espalier1664
wall-fruit1669
mural1684
waller1688
wall1707
cordon1878
spalliard1888
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 522 Your Trees being grafted..the next thing to be consider'd, is which are to be for Dwarfs, Walls and Standards.
b. wallflower n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > cruciferous flowers > yellow or orange flowers
wall-fairc1450
winter gillyflower1547
heartsease1548
wall gillyflower1548
gillyflower1578
keiri1578
wallflower1578
alyssum1731
queen's balm1797
wall1825
warrior1825
cheiranthus1850
gilly1858
1825 R. P. Ward Tremaine i. xvi. 100 There was a regular return of the same flowers..such as walls, and provence roses, convolvolus, and sweet-william.
c. wall butterfly.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Satyridae > genus Lasiommata > lasiommata megaera (wall-butterfly)
wall1832
wall-butterfly1860
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 12 The Wall (Hipparchia Megæra, Leach). The Brown Wall (H. Phædra, Stephens).
Phrases
P1. to go to the wall (or †walls):Proverb.1549 J. Cheke Hurt of Sedicion sig. F6v When brethren agree not in a house, goeth not the weakest to the walles.1578 J. Lyly Euphues f. 11 The weakest must still to the wall.1597 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 13 The weakest goes to the wall . View more context for this quotationa1600 ( W. Stewart tr. H. Boece Bk. Cron. Scotl. (1858) II. 532 Was no man than restrenȝit be the lawis, Quhilk gart the waikest oft ga to the wawis.1651 N. Culpeper Astrol. Judgm. Dis. (1658) 80 You know the old proverb, The weakest goes to the Walls.
a. to give way, succumb in a conflict or struggle.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > defeat or overthrow > be defeated or overthrown [verb (intransitive)]
fallOE
to come (also go) to the groundc1175
confusec1330
to go away (also flee) with the worsea1413
to go to (also unto) the worse1485
to go to the wall (or walls)1549
foil1591
to go to the posta1624
to have had one's chips1959
1589 ‘Pasquill of England’ Returne of Pasquill sig. Aiiij They neuer went to the wall, till they grewe to be factious.
1601 J. Wheeler Treat. Commerce 111 Wee should go to the walles, be wronged and exacted vpon euery where.
1859 H. Kingsley Recoll. G. Hamlyn xxix Sam and Mayford are both desperately in love with her, and one must go to the wall.
1861 Ld. Brougham Brit. Constit. (ed. 2) xx. 385 It is easy to see which power will go to the wall if a conflict occurs.
1867 A. Trollope Last Chron. Barset I. xliii. 383 In all these struggles Crosbie had had the best of it, and Butterwell had gone to the wall.
b. Of a business, matter, etc.: to give way or give precedence (to something else).
ΚΠ
1858 W. E. Gladstone Stud. Homer III. 519 Here is another case of metre against history, and in all such cases history must go (as is said) to the wall.
1890 J. MacCarthy Hist. Four Georges II. 45 Where political interests interfered family arrangements went to the wall.
c. To fail in business.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > failure or lack of success > fail or be unsuccessful [verb (intransitive)] > specifically of persons > in business
to go to the wall (or walls)1842
to belly up1886
1842 W. M. Thackeray Miss Tickletoby's Lect. vi, in Wks. (1886) XXIV. 37 It was better for all parties that poor Shortlegs should go to the wall.
1843 R. S. Surtees Handley Cross III. xi. 286 He had been the property of some East-end Bowker, who, in classical language, had ‘gone to the wall’.
1879 H. Spencer Data of Ethics xv. §103. 266 Others of his [a merchant's] debtors by going to the wall may put him in further difficulties.
1891 19th Cent. Dec. 861 In Berlin a newspaper would very soon go to the wall if it did not present its subscribers with light entertainment.
P2. to †set (also †thrust, or send) to the wall: to thrust aside into a position of neglect.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > manner of action > carelessness > be careless or heedless of [verb (transitive)] > neglect > thrust aside into position of neglect
to set (also thrust, or send) to the wall1583
shelve1847
pigeonhole1855
1583 G. Babington Very Fruitfull Expos. Commaundem. viii. 376 God knowes..howe often they are wrecked and wronged and set to the wall by cruell..and harde hearted men.
1599 W. Shakespeare Romeo & Juliet i. i. 15 Women being the weaker vessels are euer thrust to the wall . View more context for this quotation
1881 E. W. Hamilton Diary 13 Mar. (1972) I. 115 Lord Bath..is much exercised in his mind as to the Greek question sending to the wall the interests of Servia.
1901 Notes & Queries 9th Ser. 8 411/1 During the later fifties he was sent to the wall by the superior talents of the late Robert Prowse.
P3. to drive (also push) to the wall: to drive to the last extremity. with or having one's back to the wall: see back n.1 25.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > difficulty > of difficulty: beset (a person) [verb (transitive)] > put (a person) in difficulty > force into a difficult situation > force into an inescapable position
to drive (also push) to the wall1546
to drive into a corner1548
corner1841
to box (a person, esp. oneself) into a corner1955
1546 J. Heywood Dialogue Prouerbes Eng. Tongue ii. v. sig. Hiiiv That dede without words shal dryue him to the wal. And further than the wall, he can not go.
1644 W. Prynne & C. Walker True Relation Prosecution N. Fiennes 34 The Colonell thus driven to the wall and worsted on every hand, used two pleas more for his last reserve.
1817 W. Scott Rob Roy III. v. 127 I see what you are driving me to the wa' about.
1828 W. F. Napier Hist. War Peninsula I. iii. iii. 336 The commissaries pushed to the wall by the delay, offered an exorbitant remuneration.
1860 L. V. Harcourt Diaries G. Rose II. 30 Being..driven to the wall, Addington complied.
P4. 1581 G. Pettie tr. S. Guazzo Ciuile Conuersat. (1586) ii. 76 b I weigh it little, that my equall, hauing the wall of me, should goe from it to giue me place.1605 T. Heywood If you know not Me E 1 b Enter the Englishman, and Spaniard. Spa. The wall, the wall. Eng. Sblood Spaniard you get no wall here,..but since you will needs Haue the wall, Ile take the paynes to thrust You into the kennell.1855 C. Kingsley Westward Ho! xxv The Spaniards..had..no room, in that narrow path, to use their pikes. The English had the wall of them; and to have the wall there, was to have the foe's life at their mercy.1587 R. Greene Penelopes Web sig. F The wife of a poore Smith meeting the Empresse Faustina, tooke the wall of her in the streetes.1617 F. Moryson Itinerary iii. 28 Nothing was more common with them then to fight about taking the right or left hand, or the wall.1757 S. Foote Author i. 8 He wou'd take the Wall of a Prince of the Blood.1821 W. Scott Kenilworth I. iv. 77 To..quarrel in her cause with any flat-cap'd thread-maker that would take the wall of her.1841 C. Dickens Old Curiosity Shop i. xxxiii. 277 The parlour window..is so close upon the footway that the passenger who takes the wall brushes the dim glass with his coat sleeve.
a. to give a person the wall: to allow a person the right or privilege of walking next the wall as the cleaner and safer side of a pavement, sidewalk, etc. Similarly, to have the wall, to take the wall (of a person), to have, take the inside position.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [verb (transitive)]
to go before ——OE
overlightlOE
preferc1395
precede1485
precess1529
to take the wall (of a person)?1562
outshine1605
to have the place1659
to take the road of1670
rank1841
society > travel > aspects of travel > going on foot > traverse on foot [verb (transitive)] > allow right or privilege of walking next to wall
to give a person the wall?1562
the world > action or operation > behaviour > bad behaviour > discourtesy > treat discourteously [verb (transitive)] > specifically by taking inside of pavement
to take the wall (of a person)?1562
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use formal courtesy in act or expression [verb (intransitive)] > be allowed to walk next to wall
to take the wall (of a person)?1562
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use courteous actions or expressions to [verb (transitive)] > allow (a person) to walk next to wall
to give a person the wall?1562
the world > action or operation > behaviour > good behaviour > courtesy > courteous act or expression > use courteous actions or expressions to [verb (transitive)] > allow (a person) to walk next to wall > walk nearer to wall than
to have the wall?1562
?1562 Thersytes sig. A.iv Yes yes god wote, they geve me the wall Or elles with my clubbe, I make them to fall.
1592 Arden of Feversham v. i I haue made some go vppon wodden legges for taking the wall on me.
1621 T. W. tr. S. Goulart Wise Vieillard 95 The Persians had a law enioyning all men..to giue him [an elder] the wall when they mett him in the streetes.
1671 tr. A. de Courtin Rules Civility iii. 17 To allow him the upper end of the Table or Chamber, and the Wall, as they walk in the Streets.
1773 J. Boswell Jrnl. 20 Sept. in Jrnl. Tour Hebrides (1785) 281 [ Johnson] said, that in the last age, when his mother lived in London, there were two sets of people, those who gave the wall, and those who took it; the peaceable and the quarrelsome... ‘Now,..it is fixed that every man keeps to the right; or, if one is taking the wall, another yields it, and it is never a dispute’.
1869 A. J. Munby Diary 24 Dec. in D. Hudson Munby (1972) vii. 278 ‘If a nigger didn't give me the wall, I'd knock him down as soon as look at him!’ Here we have the British Philistine.
b. figurative. (In early use sometimes without article, to give wall, to take wall.)
ΘΚΠ
the mind > goodness and badness > quality of being good > quality of being better or superior > [verb (intransitive)]
to take wall1591
better1592
to take place1602
to be a huckleberry to (or over) someone's persimmon1832
1591 ‘A. Foulweather’ Wonderfull Prognost. in Wks. (Grosart) II. 157 The Bakers Basket shall giue wall vnto the Brewers Barrell.
1608 Bp. J. Hall Pharisaisme & Christianity 51 Some Traditions must haue place in euery Church; but their place: they may not take wall of Scripture.
a1656 Bp. J. Hall Invisible World (1659) iii. i. 137 If a supposed, & self respective good be suffer'd to take the wall of the best, & absolute good.
1679 R. Wild Oliver Cromwells Ghost 2 Though old in Artful Wickedness I be, Yet Rome, I now Resign the Wall to thee.
1758 J. Armstrong Sketches 59 According to nice Herald-like Ceremony, the Son, as the better Gentleman, ought to take the Wall of the Father.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > be launched [verb (intransitive)] > of ship: lie unused in harbour
to lie by the wall (or walls)1579
to lie up1699
society > travel > travel by water > launching a vessel > launch or set afloat [verb (transitive)] > lay up unused
to lay by the walls1579
to lay up1667
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > non-use > remain unused [verb (intransitive)]
atliec1000
lie1377
to lie by the wall (or walls)1579
to lie by1642
sit1839
1579 L. Tomson tr. J. Calvin Serm. Epist. S. Paule to Timothie & Titus 46/2 And the law in the meane time must lye by the walles [Fr. demeure là].
1656 T. Burton Diary (1828) I. 82 I am glad the mariners are so sensible of the laying of our English ships by the walls.
1659 T. Burton Diary (1828) III. 462 Our ships lie by the walls, and theirs ride.
1672 J. Wallis Let. in S. P. Rigaud & S. J. Rigaud Corr. Sci. Men 17th Cent. (1841) (modernized text) II. 529 To put forth what France is not willing to venture upon, provided that it do not hinder the printing those of our own nation,..which lie by the wall for want of publishing.
1725 D. Defoe New Voy. round World i. 72 He walk'd..towards that Part of the Creek, where..three of their biggest Ships lay by the Walls.
1787 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. at Wall He lies by the wall. Spoken of a person dead but not buried. Norf. and Suf.
P6. (to be able) to see, etc. through (also into) a (brick, mud, stone) wall: to be endowed with great keenness of perception or understanding.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > mental capacity > understanding > intelligence, cleverness > sharpness, shrewdness, insight > achieve understanding [phrase]
to see, etc. through (also into) a (brick, mud, stone) wall1598
to read someone like an open book1827
there are no flies on1848
to get under the skin of1862
to get or have (someone or something) taped1914
1598 J. Marston Certaine Satyres in Metamorph. Pigmalions Image 46 Thou knowst I am sure, for thou canst cast thine eie Through nine mud wals, or els old Poets lie.
1885 Illustr. London News 7 Feb. 136/4 Lord Sherbrooke..can see as far as most people into a stone wall.
P7. to turn one's face to the wall: said of a person on his deathbed conscious of the approach of the end (?after 2 Kings 20:2, Isaiah 38:2).
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > death > [verb (intransitive)] > be dying
to have one foot in the (also his, etc.) grave?1483
to draw on1484
to gasp up the ghost1577
gore1577
to turn one's face to the wall1579
to gasp one's last1603
groan1642
not to be long for this world1665
strugglea1674
to falter forth or out1814
to sprawl one's last1837
1579 in J. G. Nichols Narr. Reformation (1859) (Camden) 35 He turned his face to the walle in the sayd belfry; and so after his prayers sleapte swheetly in the Lorde.
16.. Barbara Allen's Cruelty ix, in F. J. Child Eng. & Sc. Pop. Ballads (1886) II. iv. 277 He turnd his face unto the wall, And death came creeping to him.
1856 C. Knight Pop. Hist. Eng. I. xxi. 304 He [Henry II] turned his face to the wall, and exclaimed, ‘Let every thing go as it will’. [Cf. Girald. Cambrens. (Rolls) VIII. 295 iterum se lecto reclinans faciemque suam ad parietem vertens.]
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer iii. 38 He would turn his face to the wall, and die with that word unsaid.
P8. to go over the wall and variants: (a) to go to prison; (b) to escape from prison; (c) to leave a religious order; (d) to defect (to another country). Hence (e) over the wall adverbial phrase, escaped from prison; in prison. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > [adverb] > escaped from prison
over the wall1917
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > be imprisoned [verb (intransitive)] > go to prison
to go over the wall1917
to go away1949
society > authority > punishment > imprisonment > imprison [phrase] > escape from prison
to go over the wall1917
society > faith > church government > monasticism > [verb (transitive)] > leave an order
to go over the wall1917
society > morality > duty or obligation > recognition of duty > undutifulness > disloyalty > cast off allegiance or defect [verb (intransitive)]
recede1520
defect1596
degenerate1602
to fall overa1616
to go over the wall1917
a.
b.1933 Amer. Speech 8 iii. 27/1 Go over the wall, escape.1936 L. Duncan (title) Over the wall.1936 L. Duncan Over Wall vi. 95 Us guys..pull wires to get jobs as guards, and you convicts go over the wall whenever you can.1963 Times 5 June 16/1 He knew it was an unwritten law that an escape extinguished such a debt, and so he decided to ‘go over the wall’. He gave himself up at Clacton-on-Sea.1974 ‘P. B. Yuill’ Hazell plays Solomon vi. 66 You really think Mancini would've tried to go over the wall?c.1949 M. Baldwin (title) I leap over the wall. A return to the world after twenty-eight years in a convent.1970 Harper's Mag. Apr. 110 Mr. Vizzard was a Jesuit seminarian who yearned for the world, leapt over the wall, and found what he was looking for in Hollywood.1979 ‘E. Anthony’ Grave of Truth vii. 190 A bride of Christ, eh? What happens if she jumps over the wall..decides she's had enough of convent life..?d.1976 M. Butterworth Remains to be Seen v. 84 The bloody place [sc. the Foreign Office]..has never been the same since Kim [Philby] went over the wall.e.1935 A. J. Pollock Underworld Speaks 85/2 Over the wall, escaped from prison.1973 G. Beare Snake on Grave xxiii. 141 He's out. Over the wall.1917 W. Muir Observ. Orderly xiv. 228 He would be observed ‘going over the wall’ or ‘going to stir’ (going to detention prison).
P9. up the wall: angry, furious; distraught, mad, crazy; esp. in phrases to climb up the wall, run up the wall: to become very angry or distraught; to drive up the wall, send (someone) up the wall: to infuriate or put into a frenzy. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > drive mad [verb (transitive)]
turn1372
mada1425
overthrow?a1425
to go (also fall, run) mada1450
deferc1480
craze1503
to face (a person) out ofc1530
dement1545
distemper1581
shake1594
distract1600
to go (also run, set) a-madding (or on madding)1600
unwita1616
insaniate?1623
embedlama1628
dementate1628
crack1631
unreason1643
bemad1655
ecstasya1657
overset1695
madden1720
maddle1775
insanify1809
derange1825
bemoon1866
send (someone) up the wall1951
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > infuriate [verb (transitive)]
anangeredc1380
enfelon1477
ournc1540
fierce1565
enrage1589
effierce1590
eneager1594
rage1597
ferocitate1666
infuriate1667
madden1720
frenzy1810
furify1872
burn1935
send (someone) up the wall1951
the mind > emotion > anger > furious anger > [adjective] > furiously angry
grim971
aweddeOE
woodlyc1000
anburstc1275
woodc1275
aburstc1300
eagerc1325
brotheful1330
brothely1330
furiousc1374
wroth as (the) wind1377
throc1380
fella1382
wrothlya1400
grindelc1400
raginga1425
furibund1490
bremit1535
outraging1567
fulminant?1578
wood-like1578
horn-mad1579
snuff1582
woodful1582
maddeda1586
rageful1585
furibundal1593
gary1609
fierce1611
wild1653
infuriate1667
hopping mad1675
maddened1735
sulphureous1751
savage1789
infuriated1796
bouncing mad1834
frenzy1859
furyinga1861
ropeable1870
furied1878
fulminous1886
livid1888
fit to be tied1894
hopping1894
fighting mad1896
tamping mad1946
up the wall1951
ravers1967
the world > health and disease > mental health > mental illness > degree or type of mental illness > [adjective] > frenzied or raging
aweddeOE
woodc1000
woodlyc1000
wildc1300
franticc1390
ramage1440
welling woodc1440
staringc1449
rammistc1455
rabious1460
horn-wood?a1500
rammisha1500
enragea1522
frenzic1547
wood-like1578
horn-mad1579
woodful1582
frenzicala1586
ragefula1586
rabid1594
ravening1599
ravenous1607
Pythic1640
exorbitant1668
frenziful1726
haggard-wild1786
frenzied1796
maenadic1830
berserk1867
up the wall1951
ballistic1981
1951 S. Kaye-Smith Mrs. Gailey 160 Your mother's running up the wall because he came to dinner.
1953 H. Clevely Public Enemy xvii. 101 Old Marks 'll climb up the wall if he hears I closed early.
1956 A. Wilson Anglo-Saxon Attitudes ii. ii. 307 You drive me up the wall. What sort of a mess have you got poor Dad into?
1959 Observer 21 June 8/8 When they found out he was a Catholic, they were up the wall.
1961 New Left Rev. Mar. 30/1 She was right up the wall, and poor Aunt Ada isn't in any state to help.
1966 ‘L. Lane’ ABZ of Scouse 40 Sends me up ther bloody wall.
1970 New Yorker 3 Oct. 105/1 Success or failure hardly entered into the picture. It was this kind of argument that drove some..executives up the wall.
1975 ‘E. Lathen’ By Hook or by Crook xiv. 138 The American wife, the sweetie-pie who sends Everett up the wall.
1977 Chicago Tribune 2 Oct. vi. 15/2 The prejudice is so acute; that country is up the wall.
P10. off the wall (also with hyphens used attributive): unorthodox, unconventional; instinctive, intuitive, off the cuff. (See also quot. 1966.) Also used adverbially. U.S. slang.
ΘΚΠ
the world > action or operation > behaviour > a standard of conduct > standard of conduct [phrase] > not
out of rule1685
off the wall1966
the mind > mental capacity > perception or cognition > intuition > natural impulse, instinct > [adverb]
naturallyc1390
naturallyc1395
instinctivelya1616
voluntarily1700
instinctive1716
off the wall1966
the mind > will > intention > unintentional or unplanned character > [adverb] > in unplanned manner
suddenly1340
of unwarninga1400
on, upon, rarely of, in (a) suddenty1469
casuallya1549
extemporea1556
of (upon) this sudden1572
extemporally1577
at (the or a) volley1578
on (or o') the volley1578
extrumpery1582
unpremeditately1607
extemporary1610
extempory1623
extemporarily1667
impromptu1669
ad aperturam libri1679
unpremeditatedly1694
impulsively1768
extemporaneously1791
promiscuously1791
spontaneously1799
on (also upon) the spur of the moment (or occasion, etc.)1801
spontaneous1810
promiscuous1826
improvisedly1851
off-handedly1876
at the first jet1878
off the cuff1927
off the top of one's head1939
off the wall1966
the world > relative properties > order > disorder > irregularity > unconformity > not conforming to rule or standard [phrase]
off the wall1966
1966 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) Summer 3 Off the wall, unimpressive... I have a lit. professor who's off the wall.
1968–70 Current Slang (Univ. S. Dakota) 3–4 88 Off the wall, adj. Unusual; unorthodox; ‘crazy’.
1974 National Rev. (U.S.) 4 Jan. 47/2 Brian knows how to startle the over-interviewed with off-the-wall questions that get surprising answers: Ever see a ghost?
1975 San Francisco Chron. 11 Jan. 12/3 He became suspicious when Dickenson answered extremely complex questions ‘off the wall’.
1976 Time 5 Apr. 74 ‘I just thought it was off-the-wall funny’, says Lear.
1977 C. McFadden Serial (1978) iv. 14/1 She had decided to play the whole scene off the wall, to just go with the flow... The really authentic thing to do was to act on your impulses.
1977 Listener 20 Oct. 498/2 Among the many new sources of cash—it's called ‘off the wall’ fundraising—I have heard about a tribe of Apaches which..invested $2 million in the making of..a western.
1982 Penthouse Dec. 84 He started talking off the wall about how he should go to El Salvador.
Compounds
General attributive. C1.
a.
wall arch n.
ΚΠ
1886 C. E. Pascoe London of To-day (ed. 3) xxx. 268 On the wall of Westminster Hall..there are plainly visible the traces of wall arches erected by Richard II.
wall-coping n.
ΚΠ
1887 J. G. Andrew Mem. W. Graham vii. 153 Above the wall-coping..appeared an endless row of peering sorrow-stricken faces.
wall-decoration n.
ΚΠ
1867 D. G. Rossetti Let. ?12 Nov. (1965) II. 643 There are sufficient slight representatives of it [sc. the severed head] on vases and in wall~decoration of classic times.
1935 Burlington Mag. June 272/2 The question of the connexion between the carpet patterns and the wall-decoration remains difficult enough.
1964 Listener 3 Dec. 883/1 This is a rare opportunity to see an important High Renaissance wall-decoration.
wall-front n.
ΚΠ
1923 D. H. Lawrence Birds, Beasts & Flowers (London ed.) 115 The black hole, the earth-lipped fissure in the wall-front.
wall-mosaic n.
ΚΠ
1913 F. S. Eden Anc. Glass 26 Glass wall-mosaics for interior decoration.
wall-nook n.
ΚΠ
1847 C. Brontë Jane Eyre I. iii. 29 The ground-ivy mantling old wall-nooks.
wall-tiling n.
ΚΠ
1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 83/2 Decorative wall-tiling.
wall-top n.
ΚΠ
1849 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 371 It is found under..lichens on wall-tops.
b. With the meaning ‘set or fixed against a wall’.
wall candlestick n.
ΚΠ
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 381/2 Wall or Hanging Candlesticks.
wall-case n.
ΚΠ
1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 181 Wall-cases were provided, and the collections were removed from the Old Museum.
wall clip n.
ΚΠ
1911 Chambers's Jrnl. 350/1 This [nailing trees to walls] is now rendered an absurdly simple task by a patent wall-clip.
wall-clock n.
ΚΠ
1891 Cent. Dict. Wall clock.
wall crane n.
ΚΠ
1902 Cassell's Encycl. Dict.: Suppl. Vol. Wall-crane.
1924 Times Trade & Engin. Suppl. 29 Nov. 252/2 Supply and erection of semi-portal, portal, and wall cranes.
wall-cupboard n.
ΚΠ
1961 Times 16 Jan. 13/4 It is furnished throughout with tables, chairs, wall-cupboards.
1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth ii. 51 The commodious wall-cupboards, the scrubbed wooden table.
wall fitting n.
ΚΠ
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Sept. 620/1 The current..can be drawn..by the insertion of a plug and flexible connection in the lampholder or wall-fitting.
wall light n.
ΚΠ
1869 Bradshaw's Railway Man. 21 p. xvi (advt.) Wall Lights and Mantle Piece Lustres.
1905 E. Wharton House of Mirth i. iii. 43 She turned out the wall-lights.
1972 J. Hurtt et al. Compr. Rev. Orthoptics & Ocular Motility xviii. 182 The patient is instructed to fixate a wall light at 20 feet while a penlight is held directly in front of his nose.
wall-map n.
ΚΠ
1907 T. C. Middleton Geogr. Knowl. Discov. Amer. 20 The wall-map of the world, painted in his banquet-hall at the Lateran.
wall mirror n.
ΚΠ
1934 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Wall mirror.
1940 M. Sadleir Fanny by Gaslight i. ix. 241 She studied herself in a long wall mirror.
1981 ‘J. Melville’ Murder has Pretty Face i. 20 She could see her reflection in a wall mirror.
wall-panel n.
ΚΠ
1880 L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery 62 Design for wall-panel. By Mr. E. Burne-Jones.
1933 Burlington Mag. July 22/1 The absence of graining on the wall panels.
1962 A. Nisbett Technique Sound Studio 245 Marked acoustic colouration in a studio may be due to the coincidence of dimensional resonances, to wall-panel resonances, or to frequency-selective excessive absorption of sound.
wall-panelling n.
ΚΠ
1880 L. Higgin Handbk. Embroidery 62 Design for wall-panelling or curtains.
wall phone n.
ΚΠ
1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xxx. 194 The wall phone rang.
1975 R. Butler Where all Girls are Sweeter vi. 70 I..went over to the wall-phone and dialled.
wall picture n.
ΚΠ
1895 Brit. Warehouseman Feb. 26/1 Japanese lanterns and Kakemonos (wall-pictures) are shown.
1966 J. Derrick Teaching Eng. to Immigrants v. 195 Wall pictures to match those in the book, with suitable captions printed by the teacher..can be put up in the classroom.
wall-press n.
ΚΠ
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm II. 285 A wall-press..is necessary in a corn-barn.
wall safe n.
ΚΠ
1931 W. Faulkner Sanctuary xxiii. 254 The room contained..three over-stuffed chairs, a wall safe.
1978 A. Neave Nuremberg iii. 36 Two wall-safes had been found, one in Bertha's bedroom and one in Gustav's dressing-room.
wall sconce n.
ΚΠ
1954 Economist 29 May 739/2 The first British ‘Oscar’ for a company report, represented by a pair of silver wall sconces, has been given to Thomas W. Ward.
1974 J. Aiken Midnight is Place i. 11 A few candles..burned flickeringly in the wall sconces.
wall socket n.
ΚΠ
1890 W. Slingo & A. Brooker Electr. Engin. xvii. 608 A wall socket..is useful in cases where it is required to place a movable lamp in circuit at one or other of a number of positions.
1977 D. MacKenzie Raven & Kamikaze iii. 40 He..plugged the cable into a wall-socket and thumbed the start button.
wall switch n.
ΚΠ
1935 D. L. Sayers Gaudy Night vi. 114 She found the wall-switch and went down the central corridor of the Annexe.
1981 C. Dexter Dead of Jericho xxv. 142 He..turned on the wall switch... But clearly the electricity had been disconnected.
wall telephone n.
ΚΠ
1914 A. B. Smith & W. L. Campbell Automatic Telephony iii. 82 Arrangements for connecting up a wall telephone with an extension.
1977 Rolling Stone 30 June 73/2 Her kitchen is very white—walls, doors, floors, white appliances... And a white wall telephone.
c. With the meaning ‘growing upon or against a wall’.
wall-berry n.
ΚΠ
1908 E. Fowler Between Trent & Ancholme 313 Perhaps it had earlier been busy upon the wall-berries.
wall-plant n.
ΚΠ
1873 M. Somerville Personal Recoll. xviii. 372 The Trachelium cœruleum, a pretty wall-plant.
wall-plum n.
ΚΠ
1676 T. Shadwell Virtuoso iv. 72 I have observ'd upon a Wall-plum..at first beginning to turn blue [etc.].
d. Objective, and objective genitive.
wall-builder n.
ΚΠ
1812 E. Weeton Let. 15 June in Jrnl. of Governess (1969) II. 22 7d a yard is the price now usually paid to wall-builders.
1878 R. B. Smith Carthage 375 Hannibal..taking his place..among the wall-builders and wonder-workers of Eastern history and legend.
wall-building n.
ΚΠ
1823 W. Cobbett Rural Rides in Cobbett's Weekly Polit. Reg. 9 Aug. 342 Paving and wall-building.
wall-peeler n.
ΚΠ
1712 R. Steele Spectator No. 431. ⁋3 These craving Damsels, whether..Coal-Scranchers, Wall-peelers, or Gravel-diggers.
e.
wall-like adj.
ΚΠ
1877 T. H. Huxley Physiography xi. 168 Wall-like masses are partially detached from the cliffs.
wall-loving adj.
ΚΠ
1865 P. H. Gosse Land & Sea (1874) 120 Walls..of loose, dry stones, affording in the crevices root-space for many wall-loving plants.
f. Instrumental.
wall-bound adj.
ΚΠ
1862 W. Barnes Rhymes Dorset Dial. II. 78 There, in the geärden's wall-bound square.
wall-fed adj.
ΚΠ
1898 Athenæum 23 July 137/3 The clinging wall-fed ivy.
wall-girdled adj.
ΚΠ
a1930 D. H. Lawrence Etruscan Places (1932) 50 Nowhere is far off, in these small wall-girdled cities.
wall-girt adj.
ΚΠ
1883 Harper's Mag. Nov. 876 Gray wall-girt stillness.
wall-hung adj.
ΚΠ
1876 W. Morris Story of Sigurd 2 The least of its wall-hung shields.
1970 Washington Post 30 Sept. b.1/1 The adjustable, modular-unit, wall-hung bookcase systems.
wall-mounted adj.
ΚΠ
1964 R. F. Ficchi Electr. Interference v. 67 The installation, however, is quite important:..it must be located within the shielding or ‘wall-mounted’ through the shield.
1980 Sunday Times 21 Sept. (Colour Suppl.) 50 (advt.) Toilets and bidets can be floor standing or wall mounted.
C2.
a. Special combinations. Also wallpaper n., wall-piece n., wall-plat n., wall-plate n., wall-stone n.† wall-break adj. Obsolete that breaks down walls.† wall-chalker n. Obsolete (see quot. 1823). † wall-fast adj. Obsolete secure within walls. † wall lecture n. Oxford University Obsolete a lecture delivered, according to statute, by a regent-master (to empty benches). † wall-observer n. Obsolete one who is addicted to reading placards.† wall-rase n. [compare raising n.1, raising-piece n.1, -plate] Scottish Obsolete = wall-plate n.† wall-reared adj. Obsolete = wall-sided adj.† wall-reeve n. Obsolete an official charged with keeping embankments in repair.† wall-tooth n. Obsolete a cheek-tooth, grinder.† wall-town n. Scottish Obsolete a walled or fortified town.
wall-arcade n. Architecture an arcade (see arcade n. 3) used as a decoration of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > structure consisting of arches
arching1603
arch-work1610
oversiling1632
arcade1795
arcading1849
wall-arcade1860
wall-arcading1863
pier arcadea1878
1860 G. E. Street in Archaeologia Cantiana 3 133 The wall-arcades in the two churches.
wall-arcading n. the stonework composing a wall-arcade.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > structure consisting of arches
arching1603
arch-work1610
oversiling1632
arcade1795
arcading1849
wall-arcade1860
wall-arcading1863
pier arcadea1878
1863 G. G. Scott Gleanings Westm. Abbey (ed. 2) 33 The spandrels over the wall-arcading are exquisitely beautiful.
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) I. 97.
wall bar n. one of a set of parallel bars, attached to the wall of a gymnasium, usually running from floor to ceiling, on which various exercises are performed.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > gymnastics > [noun] > equipment
plummet?1537
springboard?1780
horse1785
trampoline1798
club1815
gallows1817
Indian club1825
rope1825
horizontal bar1827
trapeze1830
vaulting bar1839
parallel bars1850
wooden horse1854
trapezium1856
giant stride1863
ring1869
vaulting horse1875
mast1880
fly-pole1884
pommel1887
Roman ring1894
mat1903
wall bar1903
pommel horse1908
buck1932
pommel vault1932
landing mat1941
rebounder1980
1903 Handbk. Physical Training (Admiralty) i. 53 The men are placed with one side towards, and at one pace from the Wall Bars.
1973 M. Russell Double Hit ii. 18 I'll be getting back to the wallbars.
wall-bearing n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > machine > parts of machines > shaft > [noun] > parts of > support or bearing
headstock1688
brass1731
bearing1734
carriage1788
step1814
bearance1826
footstep1836
cod1839
pivot bearing1851
roller bearing1857
thrust-bearing1858
step-plate1869
thrust-bearer1869
needle bearing1870
journal-bearing1875
wall-bearing1875
plain bearing1893
tumbler-bearing1901
split bearing1902
sleeve bearing1907
thrust-box1918
taper roller bearing1930
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Wall-bearing, a bearing for receiving a shaft when entering or passing through a wall.
wall bed n. a bed which can be folded up against a wall when not in use.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > bed > types of bed > [noun] > folding bed for camp or travelling > folding bed for house
turn-down bed1840
wall bed1913
Murphy bed1918
stretcher1943
1913 Maclean's Oct. 78/1 The Pacific Wall Bed is sanitary in every respect.
1974 Apartment Life May e2/2 The concealed wall bed, best known as a Murphy bed in the 1930s, is coming out of the woodwork again.
wallboard n. (a piece of) board, made from wood pulp, fibre, and other materials, used for surfacing walls and ceilings, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > wood-based materials > [noun] > chipboard or fibreboard
softboard1856
fibreboard1897
chipboard1898
beaver-board1909
wallboard1925
Masonite1926
Presdwood1927
woodchip board1947
particle board1954
MDF1972
medium density fibreboard1972
1925 (title) U.S. Government master specification for gypsum wall board. (U.S. Bureau of Standards.)
1933 Archit. Rev. 73 p. lviii The group of materials commonly known as wallboards, but more correctly termed building~boards, may..be classified in five categories:—(1) fibre boards..(2) laminated boards..(3) wood pulp boards..(4) plaster boards..(5) composite boards.
1942 Amer. Cinematographer Apr. 188/3 A story board is a large 4 x 8 foot piece of wallboard or celotex, on which the story sketches are pinned in rows with aluminum push-pins.
1962 A. Lurie Love & Friendship iv. 59 Burned, sodden chunks of wallboard lay about.
1978 Cornish Guardian 27 Apr. 34/6 (advt.) Carpet Tiles. Tools. Wallboards.
wall-border n. a garden-border at the foot of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > garden > division or part of garden > [noun] > bed or plot > flower-bed > border
borderc1540
bordure1691
wall-border1707
flower-border1712
box edging1718
platband1725
box edge1767
mixed border1868
herbaceous border1881
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 461 They are..transplanted into some Wall border towards the South and East.
1851 in Beck's Florist 128 A shrubbery or wall-border some four or five feet broad.
wall-box n. (a) an aperture made in or through a wall to accommodate a wall-bearing; (b) a postal collecting box affixed to a wall as distinguished from a pillar-box.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being open or not closed > an opening or aperture > [noun] > hole into which a peg, pin, knob, etc., fits
scaffold holec1568
pinhole1659
scaffolding hole1663
keyhole1703
keyway1835
winder-hole1840
knob hole1851
wall-box1875
society > communication > correspondence > postal services > equipment for sending or delivering mail > [noun] > post- or letter-box > wall-box
wall-box1875
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Wall-box.
1887 D. A. Low Introd. Machine Drawing (1892) 34 A neat appearance is given to the opening..by building into the wall a wall box.
wall bracket n. a bracket (bracket n. 1a) which is attached to a wall as a stand or support for a lamp, ornaments, shelves, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > stand > [noun] > wall bracket
wall bracket1909
1909 Webster's New Internat. Dict. Eng. Lang. Wall bracket.
1926 L. Elmhirst Notebk. in M. Young Elmhirsts of Dartington (1982) xii. 295 We eliminated the wall brackets and agreed upon..ceiling lights.
1939 O. Lancaster Homes Sweet Homes 10 All over Europe the lights are going out..olde Tudor lanthorns, standards and wall-brackets.
1951 W. Faulkner Requiem for Nun i. ii. 53 Floor-lamp, wall-bracket lamps, a door left enters from the hall.
1976 Gramophone Sept. 516/2 The small size can be easily accommodated particularly if the speakers are mounted on wall brackets.
ΘΚΠ
the world > existence and causation > creation > destruction > breaking or cracking > [adjective] > demolishing
wall-break1608
1608 J. Sylvester tr. G. de S. Du Bartas Deuine Weekes & Wks. (new ed.) ii. iv. 101 Fell, wall-break (all-break) Famin..Howls hideously.
wall-casing n. the lining or superficial exterior covering of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall > parts of
wall-sidec1540
jamb1687
coffer1715
set-off1717
ramp1795
wall-casing1858
setback1864
1858 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 10 Jan. in French & Ital. Notebks. (1980) i. 25 Wall-casings of rich, polished marble.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > writer > writer on specific thing > [noun]
wall-chalker1823
papyrographer1906
1823 ‘J. Bee’ Slang Wall~chalkers—fellows who..scrawl balderdash upon garden walls... Others chalk up their trades—as ‘try Warren's blacking’ [etc.].
1829 T. Hook Bank to Barnes 95 The Bill-Sticker's Assistant and Wall-Chalker's Vade-Mecum.
?1932 D. Thomas Let. in Sel. Lett. (1966) 5 We're over-ripe, we night~walkers, cunt-stalkers, wall-chalkers.
wall-chalking n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > writing > written text > an inscription > [noun] > graffiti
wall-chalking1853
graffito1863
scratchiti1995
1853 C. Dickens Bleak House xli. 409 Lady Dedlock, the wall-chalking and the street-crying would come on directly.
wall chart n. a chart or poster giving information, often in pictures or diagrams, and designed for display on a wall, esp. in a classroom.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > representation > a plastic or graphic representation > graphic representation > drawing plans or diagrams > [noun] > diagram > other types of diagram
map1797
base map1862
polar diagram1879
Gantt chart1918
pie diagram1921
pie chart1922
pie graph1930
histomap1931
process sheet1935
rose diagram1938
process chart1939
stereodiagram1945
wall chart1958
network1959
concept map1967
polar1975
mind map1987
1958 S. Hyland Who goes Hang? xl. 189 He was..examining a wall-chart which depicted..the working..of a bicycle.
1980 T. Barling Goodbye Piccadilly viii. 155 An illuminated wallchart showed the present float of the European Money Snake.
wall-clamp n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall > wall-tie
wall-clamp1875
wall-tie1884
1875 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Wall-clamp, a brace or tie to hold walls together, or the two parts of a double-wall, to prevent spreading.
wall-coal n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > [noun] > stratum or bed > of coal > part of coal seam
symon fault1834
swilly1836
split1877
underply1883
wall-coal1886
1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 70 Wall~coal, breast coal; the middle division of three in a seam, the other two being termed top coal and ground coal.
wallcovering n. material used to cover and decorate the inside walls of a building (cf. wallpaper n. 1).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [noun]
wall-lining1860
wallcovering1970
1970 Times 11 Dec. 16/4 The wallcovering on three walls is glossy yellow p.v.c.
1979 Tucson (Arizona) Mag. Apr. 73/2 (advt.) We offer a multitude of wall coverings and coordinating fabrics.
wall-crook n. dialect ? a wooden hook for driving into cob walls.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > [noun] > walling equipment
lathing staff1577
cob-parer1833
wall-crook1869
1869 R. D. Blackmore Lorna Doone II. x. 120 I worked..in the copse of young ash,..making spars to keep for thatching, wall-crooks to drive into the cob, [etc.].
wall-cutting n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > mining > [noun] > types of cutting > specifically in coal-mine
kirving1827
shearing1875
wall-cutting1886
1886 J. Barrowman Gloss. Sc. Mining Terms 70 Wall cutting, side cutting or shearing the solid coal in opening out working places; trimming the sides of a sinking pit.
wall dock n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > plug to hold nail or screw
dook1808
wall dock1833
dowel1864
plug1881
Rawlplug1912
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §925 The wall docks (plugs of wood) are not to be more than 16 inches apart.
wall-dormer n. Architecture a dormer whose front is part of the main wall of the building carried up to the required height.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > window or door > types of window > [noun] > dormer window
storm-winnock15..
dormer1592
dormant window1651
luthern1669
storm window1824
storm-head window1833
wall-dormer1886
1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. III. 551 The roof dormers very soon became wall-dormers, rising in a line with the main walls of the buildings.
wall-earth n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > structural features > sedimentary formation > [noun] > stratum > stratum by constitution > fuller's earth
fuller's eartha1350
walker's claya1398
fuller's clay1581
cledge1724
wall-earth1724
walker's soap1839
1724 Philos. Trans. 1722–3 (Royal Soc.) 32 420 The lower half of the Layers of Fullers-Earth, they call the Wall-Earth.
Categories »
wall-engine n. a small vertical steam engine bolted to a wall.
wall-face n. (a) the working face in a coal mine; (b) the surface of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > workplace > places where raw materials are extracted > mine > [noun] > working face or place
witchet1677
face1708
front1717
stope1747
wall1750
web1767
working place1827
wall-face1839
offset1872
wicket1881
upset1883
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > surface of a wall
naked1676
wall-face1839
1839 A. Ure Dict. Arts 982 The instant each corve arrives, from the wall face,..it is lifted from the tram by a crane.
a1878 G. G. Scott Lect. Mediæval Archit. (1879) II. 141 In some of the Byzantine remains..they have architecturalised by mouldings and enrichments only just so much of the arch-stones as was needful for beauty, and left the rest to go as mere wall-face.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > [adjective] > confined
bounda1382
reclusedc1443
incarcerate1528
immurate1593
wall-fastc1593
immured1596
up-pent1600
confined1605
cageda1616
impent1633
straitened1757
hemmed in1894
c1593 in J. Raine Descr. Anc. Monuments Church of Durham (1842) 53 She..laid those two without the dour that before was maid wall-fast within her house.
wall-fight n. a siege.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > attack > action or state of siege or blockade > [noun] > a siege
assiege1469
leaguer1601
setting-downa1616
obsess1694
wall-fight1850
1850 G. Grote Hist. Greece VIII. ii. lxiii. 163 Alkibiadês warned the assembled seamen that they must prepare for a sea-fight, a land-fight, and a wall-fight, all at once.
wall fish n. dialect the edible snail, Helix pomatia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > animals for food > flesh of other animals > [noun] > snail
escargot1892
wall fish1950
the world > animals > invertebrates > subkingdom Metazoa > grade Triploblastica or Coelomata > class Gastropoda > [noun] > order Pulmonifera > Inoperculata > family Helicidae > genus Helix > helix pomatica
wall fish1950
1950 O. Blakeston Pink Ribbon v. 59 They ate snails..in Gloucester, and they called them ‘wall fish’.
1980 Times 2 Oct. 13/3 The taste of an open mushroom grilled with garlic, parsley and butter is so splendid, and superior to snails given the same treatment, that I would never now dream of bothering to cook that delicacy known in the Mendips as wallfish.
wall-fruit n. the fruit of trees grown against a wall; also a fruit tree so grown; also attributive, as wall-fruit tree.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > part of plant > reproductive part(s) > fruit or reproductive product > plant that bears fruit > [adjective] > grown against wall
wall-fruit1669
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > cultivated or valued > [noun] > fruit-tree > wall-tree or standard
standard1625
wall-tree1653
stander1660
espalier1664
wall-fruit1669
mural1684
waller1688
wall1707
cordon1878
spalliard1888
1669 J. Worlidge Systema Agriculturæ (1681) 266 Nail and trim Wall-fruits.
1688 J. Evelyn Diary (1955) IV. 576 The wall Fruite-trees are most exquisitely nailed & applied.
1690 London Gaz. No. 2550/4 Good Gardens and Orchards planted with all sorts of choice Wall-fruit.
1842 J. C. Loudon Suburban Horticulturist 582 The wall~fruits of Britain include all those which in the central districts of England require the aid of a wall to bring them to perfection.
wall-game n. the Eton game of football played ‘at the wall’ (see 4f).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > other forms of football > [noun] > Eton
Eton football1856
at the wall1864
wall-game1883
1883 Sat. Rev. 1 Dec. 695/2 The Wall Game [at Eton].
wall garden n. a garden surrounded by a wall, or a border planted beside a sheltering wall.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > farming > gardening > garden > [noun] > other types of garden
grounda1500
knot-garden1519
back-garden1535
summer garden1589
spring garden1612
spring gardena1625
water gardena1626
walled gardena1631
wildernessa1644
window garden1649
botanic garden1662
Hanging Gardens1705
winter garden1736
cottage garden1765
Vauxhall1770
English garden1771
wall garden1780
chinampa1787
moat garden1826
gardenesque1832
sunk garden1835
roof garden1844
weedery1847
wild garden1852
rootery1855
beer-garden1863
Japanese garden1863
bog-garden1883
Italian garden1883
community garden1884
sink garden1894
trough garden1935
sand garden1936
Zen garden1937
hydroponicum1938
tub garden1974
rain garden1994
1780 J. Woodforde Diary 26 Apr. (1924) I. 280 Busy in painting some boarding in my Wall Garden.
1936 Discovery Mar. 86/2 Wall Garden, 385 feet long, first planted in 1935 [at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden].
wall-grenade n. a bombshell thrown from the walls by hand or by means of a small mortar called a hand-mortar ( Cent. Dict. 1891).
wall-gun n. a large hand-gun supported on a tripod or crutch, for firing over a rampart.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > military equipment > weapon > device for discharging missiles > firearm > small-arm > [noun] > other small arms
long gun1530
currier1558
crabut1626
long arm1675
bullet-guna1701
hand cannon1752
wall-gun1812
walking-stick gun1823
shoulder gun1824
safety gun1825
gas gun1856
self-cocker1857
bolt action1871
snap action gun1875
saddle gun1886
multibarrel1899
dane gun1900
clip-loader1901
pump-action1923
sleeve gun1944
laser gun1961
phaser1966
magnum1970
1812 P. Hawker Diary (1893) I. 63 We then fired with slugs (Colonel Douglas with a Spanish barrel, and I with a huge wall gun).
1819 W. Scott Legend of Montrose ii, in Tales of my Landlord 3rd Ser. IV. 26 They found themselves..exposed to a fire both of musketry and wall-guns.
1865 T. Carlyle Hist. Friedrich II of Prussia V. xix. iv. 473 Wall-guns brought from Cüstrin.
wall-hangings n. tapestry hangings for walls; also, embroidered, woven or other decorative drapery for display on walls; occasionally singular.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > covers or hangings > [noun] > hangings > types of
crespine?1533
flock hangingsa1657
ball fringe1812
lambrequin1883
wall-hangings1896
1896 L. Eckenstein Woman under Monasticism 233 The great work of her life was the manufacture of wall-hangings.
1967 E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage i. 9 If the finished piece of embroidery is to be seen from a distance, as for instance a wall hanging.
1979 Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. j 5/7 (advt.) They've just had a new shipment of Oaxacan Rugs and Wallhangings.
1983 Listener 30 June 17/1 By 1972 I needed a small pantechnicon to convey all my books on macrobiotic cookery, my plants, wall~hangings and floor cushions.
wall-head n. Scottish the top of a wall, esp. of a house-wall; also the space on the top of a wall between the roof-beams, used as a receptacle or shelf; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > that which or one who closes or shuts > a barrier > [noun] > wall > top of
wall-heada1578
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > other parts of wall
quoin1532
ground-table1640
breast1655
patand1656
raddling1673
breast1674
offset1721
breastwork1779
base1790
breast beam1828
dry area1833
chimney-breast1842
wall-head1898
a1578 R. Lindsay Hist. & Cron. Scotl. (1899) II. 83 [They] laid him on the wall heid, that all might sie him deid.
1636 in Scottish Jrnl. Topogr. (1848) II. 11/1 Item, for ten hondreth of diffeit [= divot] riggine and wae-heid towrs [= turfs].
1898 E. W. Hamilton Mawkin of Flow xvii. 226 Here, Rob, rax me that bit rope that's lying in the wall-head yonder.
wall-hold n. the end (of a beam, etc.) which is inserted in a wall as a bearing.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > members of
pan1284
balka1300
lacec1330
pautre1360
dorman1374
rib1378
montant1438
dormant?1454
transom1487
ground-pillar?a1500
barge-couple1562
spar foot1579
frankpost1587
tracing1601
sleeper1607
bressumer1611
master-beam1611
muntin1611
discharge1620
dormer1623
mounting post1629
tassel1632
baufrey1640
pier1663
storey post1663
breastplate?1667
mudsill1685
template1700
brow-post1706
brow-stone1761
runner1772
stretching beam1776
pole plate1787
sabliere1800
frame stud1803
bent1815
mounting1819
bond-timber1823
storey rod1823
wall-hold1833
wall-strap1833
truss-block1883
sleeper-beam1937
shell1952
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §919 The inside lintels..are..to have at least 12 inches of bond (or wall-hold) on each end.
1844 H. Stephens Bk. of Farm I. 170 The steps should be droved 3 feet 6 inches clear of the wall, with 6 inches of wall hold.
wall-hook n. †(a) a grappling-hook (obsolete); (b) a hook-shaped holdfast for fastening wire, piping, etc. to a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > hostilities at sea > naval weapons and equipment > [noun] > grappling-iron
grapnel1373
grapper1485
grappling-iron1538
clasp1552
grasper1553
harpagon1553
grappling1598
grappler1628
grapple-iron1661
wall-hook1681
society > occupation and work > equipment > clutching or gripping equipment > [noun] > hook
hookc900
haspedec1400
cleek1426
cleek-staffc1440
cramp1503
hock1530
gib-crook1564
cramp-iron1565
gib1567
cramper1598
bench hook1619
crampon1660
wall-hook1681
dressing hook1683
woodcock-eye1796
doghook1821
click1846
clipper1849
ice hook1853
witchetty1862
slip-hook1863
snap-hook1875
clip-hook1882
pelican1890
snake hook1944
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > for fastening wire or pipe to wall
wall-hook1823
crampet1901
holderbat1914
1681 W. Robertson Phraseologia generalis (1693) 739 A wall-hook or drag; Lupus, harpago.
1823 P. Nicholson New Pract. Builder 408 Fastening the pipes to the wall by means of wall-hooks of iron.
1882 W. J. Christy Pract. Treat. Joints 194 A strip of 5 lb. lead,..secured along one edge to the wall with wall hooks.
ΘΚΠ
society > education > teaching > means of teaching > [noun] > instructive discourse > lecture > specific lecture
wall lecture1662
principium1895
1662 A. Wood Life & Times (1891) I. 464 Wheras they were left of after the king was restored and wall lectures onlie read in their places, declamations were now setled and wall lectures too.
1691 A. Wood Athenæ Oxonienses (1721) II. 796 He did also sometimes repair to the Ordinaries (commonly called Wall Lectures from the paucity of Auditors).
1767 J. Penn By Way of Prevention Addr. To Clergy p. i Dry Morals and musty Doctrines have turned Sermons into Wall Lectures.
wall-lining n. a covering for the interior surface of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [noun]
wall-lining1860
wallcovering1970
1860 G. E. Street in Archaeologia Cantiana 3 132 A great deal of chalk is used for wall lining.
1892 Dict. Archit. (Archit. Publ. Soc.) (Archit. Publ. Soc.) Wall-lining, a thin internal wall of brick for keeping dry the interior surface of a house in exposed places.
wall-nail n. a kind of nail made for driving into walls.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > building and constructing equipment > fastenings > [noun] > nail > nails for other specific uses
stay-nail1296
wough-nailc1300
strake-nail1334
wall-nail1344
traverse nail1348
doornail1350
gad-nail1375
lath-nail1388
clout-nail1463
lattice-nail1480
lath-brod1536
sheathing-nail1611
bellows-nail1731
weight nail1850
panel pin1867
wheeler1873
fencing-nail1874
brattice-nail1880
toggle1934
1344–5 Accts. Exchequer King's Remembrancer (P.R.O.: E101/492/24) In Ml de Walnail empt. vjd. ob.
1864 J. C. Atkinson Stanton Grange 224 Next stood a box of shreds and wall-nails.
Categories »
wall-net n. a vertical fishing-net forming the wall of an enclosed space ( Cent. Dict.).
wall newspaper n. (a) a newspaper produced by an educational institution or place of work, typed or hand-written, and displayed on the wall; (b) (esp. in Communist countries) an official newspaper displayed on the wall in public places, esp. in the street.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > wall newspaper
wall newspaper1935
society > communication > journalism > journal > newspaper > [noun] > in communist countries
wall newspaper1935
1935 N. Mitchison We have been Warned iii. 295 She had been shown the wall newspapers of factories and schools.
1937 E. Snow Red Star over China viii. v. 293 There was also a wall newspaper in every club, and a committee of soldiers was responsible for keeping it up to date.
1966 J. Derrick Teaching Eng. to Immigrants vi. 213 Project work involving the use of aids and apparatus..such as preparing a broadcast or TV programme or involving the class or group in the production of a wall newspaper should be considered.
1978 China Now Mar. 19/3 They keenly contested for the miserable prizes offered in competitions between groups and individuals in sport, literacy, public health, wall newspapers, and ‘factory efficiency’.
1979 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 25 Oct. 40/3 The hero stands in Yuryatin reading the wall-newspapers.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > reading > reader > [noun] > other types of reader
running reader1588
stall-reader1673
wall-observer1673
reading machine1809
readeress1830
lay reader1883
1673 R. Leigh Transproser Rehears'd 76 The avenue-readers, the wall-observers, and those that are acquainted with stall-learning.
Wall of Death n. a fairground sideshow in which a motorcyclist uses gravitational force to ride his motorcycle around the inside walls of a vertical cylinder.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > entertainment > place of amusement or entertainment > fairground or amusement park > [noun] > other side-shows
poppy-show1691
hall of mirrors1789
peep show1851
funhouse1920
freak show1939
Wall of Death1946
1946 G. Tyrwhitt-Drake Eng. Circus & Fair Ground xviii. 210 Undoubtedly the most thrilling side-show was the ‘Wall of Death’, first seen here..in 1928.
1959 Listener 26 Feb. 371/2 It might..spin quickly round the steep hollow like a rider on the Wall of Death.
1976 ‘W. Trevor’ Children of Dynmouth i. 13 The Hall of a Million Mirrors and the Tunnel of Love and Alfonso's and Annabella's Wall of Death were in the process of erection.
wall-painting n. a mural, a fresco.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > painting and drawing > painting > painting according to medium or technique > [noun] > a mural painting
wall-painting1688
mural painting1850
mural1908
muriel1955
1688 R. Holme Acad. Armory iii. 147/1 Frescoe, or Wall Painting; some call it seiling.
1849 Jrnl. Brit. Archaeol. Assoc. 4 92 Church decoration of this kind is..not unfrequently brought to light; but specimens of domestic internal wall~painting are of much greater rarity.
1898 A. Beardsley Let. 14 Jan. (1970) 424 I'm afraid good books on the wall paintings of Pompeii are costly and beyond my balance.
1933 Burlington Mag. Oct. 146/2 These..portraits..brought Holbein immediate fame and the order to decorate the King's Privy Chamber in Whitehall Palace with wall-paintings.
1964 W. L. Goodman Hist. Woodworking Tools 132 A wall-painting from Pompeii.
wall pass n. Association Football = one-two n. 3.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > ball game > football > association football > [noun] > actions or manoeuvres
holding1866
hand-balling1867
left-footer1874
header1875
handball1879
goal kick1881
corner1882
spot kick1884
middle1899
clearance1920
cross-kick1927
cross-pass1929
body swerve1933
open goal1934
headball1936
chip1939
through-ball1956
wall pass1958
outswinger1959
cross1961
overlap1969
blooter1976
hospital pass1978
route one1978
sidefoot1979
top bin1999
ankle-biting2001
1958 Mod. Soccer (Football Assoc.) v. 41 In Fig. 38 the LB [Left Back], sensing the possibility of a ‘wall-pass’, quickly backs away.
1973 Times 6 Jan. 7/5 The ‘wall pass’, ‘one-two’, touch play, ‘push and run’, call it what you will, we developed it at Tottenham.
wall plug n. see plug n. 2i (cf. wall socket n. at Compounds 1b).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > physics > electromagnetic radiation > electricity > electrical appliances or devices > [noun] > socket
socket1885
receptacle1887
wall plug1888
electric socket1892
keyholder1892
outlet1892
point1904
power point1912
power socket1922
socket outlet1934
lighter socket1946
line in1970
line out1970
out1980
1888 D. Salomons Managem. Accumulators (ed. 3) ii. ii. 97 Wall plugs are most useful about a house for attaching a portable lamp or small motor at will.
1914 S. C. Batstone Electric-light Fitting 122 Wall Plugs.
1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File xxv. 166 There was a big two kilowatt electric fire plugged into a wall point... It was the work of a minute to switch on the wall plug.
wall-pocket n. (a) a receptacle for small household items, designed to hang on a wall; (b) = wall vase n.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > vase > [noun] > specific types
hanse-pot1561
lily-pot1612
rolwagen1701
campana1802
potiche1829
kelebe1858
Long Eliza1869
rouleau1873
wall-pocket1880
monota1887
wall vase1889
mei ping1915
baluster vase1933
pedestal vase1960
Medici vase1974
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > stand > [noun] > shelf > other types of wall-mounted display or storage
wall-pocket1880
1880 Scribner's Monthly Apr. 921/1 The family comb..occupied a convenient wall-pocket at one side of the small kitchen mirror.
1947 E. Bishop in Nation (N.Y.) 22 Feb. 215/1 The eighty watt bulb..Lighting as well on heads Of tacks in the wall paper, On a paper wall-pocket, Violet~embossed, glistening With mica flakes.
1957 C. W. Mankowitz & R. G. Haggar Conc. Encycl. Eng. Pottery & Porcelain 125/1 Articles for domestic use..included..punch-bowls, wall-pockets and plaques.
1971 L. A. Boger Dict. World Pottery & Porcelain 365/1 Wall Pocket, in ceramics; a decorative object made of faïence, porcelain or pottery, having the shape of a vase, with one side being flat so that it can be hung on a wall. It is also called a wall vase.
wall-post n. Architecture = pendant n. 6a.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > roof-beam > rafter > posts
pendant1359
pendant-post1359
side post1625
crown post1663
king piece1663
king post1669
hip pole1783
queen post1797
king1811
queen1811
middle post1819
ashlar-piece1869
wall-post1871
pendentive1893
1871 T. Morris Brit. Carpentry 85 The situation of the wall posts would seem to indicate a purpose of concentrating the weight.
wall-poster n. a poster affixed to a public wall; spec. = dazibao n.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > information > publishing or spreading abroad > publishing or spreading by leaflets or notices > [noun] > placarding, postering, or billing > a placard, notice, or bill > types of
window bill?1790
showcard1826
officiality1843
window card1846
star bill1876
one-sheet1895
stickyback1903
hanger1905
wanted poster1925
dazibao1960
wall-poster1962
1962 E. Cleaver in A. Dundes Mother Wit (1973) 14/2 The mass media..television,..illustrated wall posters [etc.].
1966 China Q. Oct.–Dec. 3 Within a week or two..20,000 ‘sightseers’ were visiting Peking University each day, partly to read the wall-posters, partly to watch and abuse the ‘criminals’.
1977 ‘S. Leys’ Chinese Shadows (1978) ii. 70 Huge wall posters placed at random throughout the city. (‘Increase our Vigilance and Protect our Fatherland!’)
1979 ‘J. le Carré’ Smiley's People xxvii. 322 Wall posters offering cheap ski holidays.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > joist > support for
raisingeOE
raising-piece1286
summer1324
reasonc1330
rib-reasonc1350
wall-plate1394
wall-plat1420
summer-piecec1429
summer-tree1452
resourc1493
summer beam1519
wall-rase1523
girt1579
bridle1587
girder1611
out-footing1611
sommier1623
raising plate1637
trimmer1654
main beama1657
corbel1679
dwarf1718
brick trimmer1774
summer stonea1782
tail-trimmer1823
wood brick1842
1523 in J. B. Paul Accts. Treasurer Scotl. (1903) V. 220 Item, for ij wall rasis put undre the cuppill feit,..Item, for v corbalis of stane..for bering to the tua wall rasis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adjective] > having vertical sides
wall-reared1627
wale-reared1644
wall-sided1711
1627 J. Smith Sea Gram. xi. 54 We say a Ship is..wall reared when she is right built vp, after shee comes to her bearing.
ΘΚΠ
society > authority > office > holder of office > public officials > [noun] > official in charge of banks or embankments
wall-reeve1316
walker1613
walksman1799
1316 Placitorum Abbrev. (1811) 352 Et dicunt qđ idem dñs & curia sua de Stebenhethe..ordinavit..duos homines qui vocantur Walreves ad supervidendum wallias fossata seweras & gutteras praedicta.
wall-rib n. Architecture (see quots. 1835 –1850); also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > arch > [noun] > vaulting > rib
ogive1290
rib1608
branch1793
vaulting rib1830
nook-rib1835
surface rib1835
transom-rib1835
wall-rib1835
lierne1842
cross-rib1858
formeret1872
1835 R. Willis Remarks Archit. Middle Ages vii. 82 If the compartment be bounded by a wall as in the case of the clerestory, the rib which is placed at the intersection of the vault with the wall may be called the Wall Rib.
1850 T. Inkersley Styles Archit. France 309 The union of the wall-rib-shaft..with the spring of the window-archway.
wall-rock n. Mining the rock forming the walls of a vein.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > mineral deposits > features of stratum or vein > [noun] > material forming sides
ouge1666
gouge1877
wall-rock1877
1877 R. W. Raymond Statistics Mines & Mining 349 On it a shaft has been sunk..showing a continuous vein with well-defined wall-rock.
wall-saltpetre n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > minerals > types of mineral > nitrates > [noun] > calcium nitrate
nitrocalcite1835
wall-saltpetre1911
1911 Encycl. Brit. XXIV. 94/2 Wall-saltpetre or lime saltpetre, calcium nitrate, Ca (NO2)2, is found as an efflorescence on the walls of stables; it is now manufactured in large quantities.
wall-shaft n. Architecture in engaged wall-shaft, a shaft or column partly let into the wall (cf. engaged adj. column).
ΘΚΠ
society > leisure > the arts > visual arts > architecture > column > [phrase] > column or shaft partly let into wall
engaged wall-shaft1865
1865 G. E. Street Gothic Archit. Spain ix. 191 There are three-quarter engaged wall~shafts between the windows.
wall-side n. (a) the side of a wall; (b) the side of a pavement, etc., where there is a wall (also attributive).
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall > parts of
wall-sidec1540
jamb1687
coffer1715
set-off1717
ramp1795
wall-casing1858
setback1864
society > travel > means of travel > route or way > way, path, or track > path or place for walking > [noun] > foot(-)path > by side of street or road > side next the wall
wall1606
wall-side1959
c1540 (?a1400) Destr. Troy 861 Sho went vp wightly by a walle syde To the toppe of a toure.
1887 P. McNeill Blawearie 176 Many alterations on the roof and wall-sides would have to be made.
1933 W. H. Auden Poems (ed. 2) 80 Climbing over to wall-side of bed.
1959 I. Opie & P. Opie Lore & Lang. Schoolchildren xii. 266 The old custom of making grottoes at the wall-side edge of the pavement.
wall-sided adj. having perpendicular sides like a wall.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > vertical position > [adjective] > having vertical sides
wall-reared1627
wale-reared1644
wall-sided1711
1711 W. Sutherland Ship-builders Assistant 165 Wall-sided.
1769 W. Falconer Universal Dict. Marine Wall-sided, the figure of a ship's side, when, instead of being incurvated..it is nearly perpendicular to the surface of the water, like a wall.
1830 C. Lyell Princ. Geol. I. 180 A deep wall-sided valley.
1840 R. H. Dana Two Years before Mast xxix. 334 She was a good, substantial ship,..wall-sided and kettle-bottomed.
1866 T. H. Huxley in S. Laing Pre-hist. Remains Caithness 88 The transverse contour of the skull inclines to be pentagonal and wall-sided.
wall space n. an expanse of unbroken wall surface, esp. one regarded as an area for displaying pictures, etc.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > [noun] > expanse of wall surface
wall space1889
the world > space > extension in space > measurable spatial extent > [noun] > a) dimension(s) > property of having two dimensions > surface extent or area > space on or area of a wall
wall space1889
wallful1959
1889 in Cent. Dict. Wall space.
1898 G. B. Shaw Arms & Man iii. 47 The rest of the wall space being occupied by trophies of war and the chase.
1978 Lancashire Life Sept. 101/1 True, a new library is being built in Stanley Road, where wall-space for pictures will be made available, but there will be no gallery proper, and no museum whatsoever.
wall-strap n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > framework of building > [noun] > members of
pan1284
balka1300
lacec1330
pautre1360
dorman1374
rib1378
montant1438
dormant?1454
transom1487
ground-pillar?a1500
barge-couple1562
spar foot1579
frankpost1587
tracing1601
sleeper1607
bressumer1611
master-beam1611
muntin1611
discharge1620
dormer1623
mounting post1629
tassel1632
baufrey1640
pier1663
storey post1663
breastplate?1667
mudsill1685
template1700
brow-post1706
brow-stone1761
runner1772
stretching beam1776
pole plate1787
sabliere1800
frame stud1803
bent1815
mounting1819
bond-timber1823
storey rod1823
wall-hold1833
wall-strap1833
truss-block1883
sleeper-beam1937
shell1952
1833 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Cottage Archit. §925 The wall-straps (battens, or pieces of quartering on which to nail the laths) are to be 1 inch and a quarter thick.
wall-string n. the string-board of a staircase which is next the wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > stairs > [noun] > stringers > specific
stringboard1703
string1711
wall-string1849
1849 P. Nicholson Carpentry II. 3 Those pieces which support the ends of the steps are called strings.—That against the wall is called the wall string; the other, the outer string.
wall system n. U.S. ‘a set of shelves often with cabinets or bureaus that can be variously arranged along a wall’ ( Webster's 9,000 Words).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > stand > [noun] > shelf > wall unit or system
wall unit1962
wall system1978
1978 Detroit Free Press 2 Apr. 7 b/1 (advt.) Westwood wall system from Southern is a handsome backdrop for any room and provides invaluable storage.
1980 Christian Sci. Monitor 4 Dec. (Midwestern ed.) 17/3 Wall systems are the fastest-growing category of furnishings.
wall-tent n. a tent with perpendicular sides.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > dwelling place or abode > a dwelling > tent > [noun] > other types of tent
tenticle1548
pal1656
marquee1690
gourbi1738
marquise1749
yurt1780
bell-tent1785
kibitka1799
shuldari1808
fly-tent1816
Swiss cottage1820
skin house1826
big tent1843
ridge tent1846
brush tent1862
dog tent1862
shelter tent1862
wall-tent1862
wedge tent1862
pup tent1863
A tent1863
tupik1864
tentlet1879
choom1889
pyramid1889
tortoise tent1890
safari tent1926
tent-sack1940
tent-trailer1963
tepee1970
trailer tent1971
Whillans box1971
1862 T. W. Higginson Army Life (1870) 19 Two wall-tents being placed end to end, for office and bedroom.
1894 Outing 24 86/1 We had a single wall-tent, ten by twelve.
wall-tie n. each of the pieces of iron, slate, or other material used to bind together the two parts of a hollow wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [noun] > wall > wall-tie
wall-clamp1875
wall-tie1884
1884 Internat. Health Exhib. Official Catal. 81/2 Section of Hollow Brick Wall, showing our patent cast and wrought wall-ties.
wall-tile n. (a) a tile used for lining a wall; †(b) northern a brick as distinguished from a roofing tile.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > tile > [noun] > for walls or decorative
wall-tile1358
galley-tile1610
azulejo1845
weather-tile1875
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > clay compositions > baked clay > brick > [noun] > a brick
tilec893
brick1427
brickstonec1453
wall-tile1790
1358 in M. Sellers York Mercers & Merchant Adventurers (1918) 15 Pro xx mille de Walteghill, vj li.
1465 in Paston Lett. II. 224 A thousand waltyle that his fadir had fro ye seide Williams wyfes place.
1790 F. Grose Provinc. Gloss. (ed. 2) Suppl. Wall-tiles, bricks; opposed to tiles, called Thack-tiles. North.
1882 W. J. Christy Pract. Treat. Joints 68 Wall tiles are sometimes bedded in fine plaster.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > digestive or excretive organs > digestive organs > mouth > types or spec. teeth > [noun] > molar
wang-tootha1000
molara1350
cheek tooth1395
grinder1398
wangc1405
gumc1420
axle-tooth1483
wall-tooth?a1500
gum-tooth1535
chock-tooth1591
jaw-tooth1601
chaw-tooth1678
mill tooth1731
molendinar1823
true molar1825
false molar1827
premolar1842
bicuspid1876
?a1500 Nominale (Yale Beinecke 594) in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 748/7 Hoc maxillare, a walthothe.
wall-tower n. a tower forming part of a fortified wall ( Cent. Dict.).
ΚΠ
a1505 R. Henryson Ressoning betuix Deth & Man 7 in Poems (1981) 174 Waltownis, castellis, towiris neuir so wicht May nocht resist quhill it be at his hart.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > fort or fortified town > [noun]
chestera855
boroughc893
fastnessOE
strength?c1225
warnestore1297
fortress13..
holdc1330
strongholdc1384
motec1390
fortalicec1425
garnisonc1430
garrisonc1430
town of war1441
wall-town1488
strengh1489
afforciament1509
piece1525
forcea1552
citadel1567
fort1569
place1575
holt1600
alcazar1623
fasthold1623
afforcement1642
castle-town1646
post1648
garrison-town1649
bridlea1661
palank1685
place of arms1704
ostrog1761
qila1761
presidio1763
gurry1786
thana1803
pa1823
castrum1836
lis1845
Gibraltar1856
training post1867
kasbah1902
jong1904
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > district in relation to human occupation > town as opposed to country > town > [noun] > fortified or defended town
wall-town1488
bourg1536
castle-town1646
bastide1881
1488 (c1478) Hary Actis & Deidis Schir William Wallace (Adv.) (1968–9) viii. l. 699 This war the best of all, To kepe our strynth off castell and wall toun.
wall-tree n. a fruit tree planted against and trained upon a wall; also attributive.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > by growth or development > defined by habit > tree or woody plant > cultivated or valued > [noun] > fruit-tree > wall-tree or standard
standard1625
wall-tree1653
stander1660
espalier1664
wall-fruit1669
mural1684
waller1688
wall1707
cordon1878
spalliard1888
1653 R. Austen Treat. Fruit-trees 62 As for Wall-trees they may be planted 5 or 6 yards asunder.
1786 J. Abercrombie Gardeners Daily Assistant 42 For wall-tree cherries, plums, pears, etc. allot a portion of the earliest..varieties for south walls.
1844 Zoologist 2 493 Another [nest] was completed in an adjoining wall-tree.
wall unit n. a piece of furniture consisting of various sections and compartments such as shelves and cupboards, and designed to stand against a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > stand > [noun] > shelf > wall unit or system
wall unit1962
wall system1978
1962 Listener 11 Jan. 65/1 Making the best use of up-to-date methods, such as the prefabrication of large wall units, which are being successfully used already in half the European countries.
1979 A. B. Emary Woodworking xxiv. 104 Many of the units purchased from stores are made from melamine-covered chipboard and since it is easy to obtain the home woodworker will find this material useful when making objects such as wall units and shelving.
wall vase n. a vase with one flat side allowing it to be hung on a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > equipment > receptacle or container > vessel > vase > [noun] > specific types
hanse-pot1561
lily-pot1612
rolwagen1701
campana1802
potiche1829
kelebe1858
Long Eliza1869
rouleau1873
wall-pocket1880
monota1887
wall vase1889
mei ping1915
baluster vase1933
pedestal vase1960
Medici vase1974
1889 in Cent. Dict. Wall vase.
1937 Burlington Mag. Dec. p. xx/ i The book contains many valuable hints..such as..the advantages of wall-vases.
1979 I. Webb Compl. Guide Flower & Foliage Arrangem. vii. 96/2 (caption) Two wall vases hold flowers which suit their differing qualities and appearance.
wall-wash n. liquid distemper applied to the surface of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > materials > derived or manufactured material > painting or coating materials > [noun] > distemper
distemper1622
wall-wash1898
1898 T. C. Allbutt et al. Syst. Med. V. 511 We discovered arsenic in large quantity in the green unsized wall-wash of her own sitting-room.
wallwasher n. a type of lighting fixture designed to ‘wash’ a wall with light (see quot. 1983).
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > light > artificial light > an artificial light > artificial light defined by light-source > electric light > [noun] > parts of
light fixture1888
dimmer switch1896
lamp-cap1899
flasher1909
light switch1912
bayonet cap1914
light button1928
light cord1930
coiled coil1935
minuterie1955
wallwasher1966
1966 D. Phillips Lighting 36 The principal lighting method is by wall washer fittings recessed into the suspended ceiling.
1983 Homes & Gardens Nov. 138 Wall-washers have half the aperture closed off and their function is to give an even illumination of one wall surface from skirting to ceiling without lighting the floor.
wall-wise adv. after the manner of a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > specific parts built or constructed > [adverb] > in manner of wall
wall-wise1597
murally1882
1597 S. Finche Let. 26 Feb. in A. C. Ducarel Some Acct. Town Croydon (1783) App. 155 We have made up that angle..wall-wyse with stone and morter.
wall-work n. †(a) work done in building a wall (obsolete); (b) a defensive work consisting of walls.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > [noun] > building walls
wall-workc1000
murage1450
walling1480
immuring1610
muring1624
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > defensive walls > [noun]
murage1600
wall-work1837
c1000 Ælfric Homilies II. 166 Þa gebroðra eodon to ðam weall-weorce.
1581 J. Bell tr. W. Haddon & J. Foxe Against Jerome Osorius A vj b Our dutie hadd bene to direct the buildyng of our Religion by this lyne and leuell, and to ramme fast the wallworkes hereof with this cemente and morter.
1837 Penny Cycl. IX. 468/1 Other internal walls..communicate with wall-works running east and west.
b. In the names of animals frequenting or living in walls.† wall-newt n. Obsolete ? = wall-lizard n.
wall-bee n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > superfamily Apoidea (bees) > bee that nests in wall
wall-bee1774
1774 O. Goldsmith Hist. Earth VIII. 94 The Wall Bees are so called, because they make their nests in walls.
wall-bird n. a dialect name of the Spotted Flycatcher, Muscicapa grisola.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > family Muscicapidae (thrushes, etc.) > [noun] > subfamily Muscicapinae > genus Muscicapa (fly-catcher) > muscicapa striata
white baker1441
bee-bird1771
rafter1802
rafter-bird1817
wall-plat1841
wall-bird1848
post bird1849
spider-catcher1854
cherry-chopper1888
1848 Zoologist 6 2186 The spotted flycatcher is the ‘wall-bird’.
wall-brown n. a common British butterfly, Satyrus megæra = brown wall (see 13c).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Satyridae > genus Satyrus > satyrus megaera
wall-brown1846
1846 Hist. Berwickshire Naturalists' Club 2 171 Not a single specimen has been observed of the..Wall Brown, or the Dark Green Aglaia.
wall-butterfly n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Rhopalocera (butterflies) > [noun] > family Satyridae > genus Lasiommata > lasiommata megaera (wall-butterfly)
wall1832
wall-butterfly1860
1860 W. S. Coleman Brit. Butterflies 98 The Wall Butterfly (Lasiommata Megæra).
1860 W. S. Coleman Brit. Butterflies 99 It is called the Wall Butterfly from its frequent habit of choosing a roadside wall for a perch.
wall-carpet n. a variety of the carpet-moth (see carpet n. Compounds 1).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Geometridae > carpet > types of
panther1775
garden carpet1809
chalk carpet1832
wall-carpet1832
ringed carpet1839
red carpet1890
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 111 The Wall Carpet (Alcis muraria Curtis).
wall-creeper n. (see quot. 1888).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > birds > order Passeriformes (singing) > arboreal families > [noun] > family Sittidae > genus Tichodroma (wall-creeper)
wall-creeper1666
spider-catcher1668
1666 C. Merrett Pinax Rerum Naturalium Britannicarum 177 Picus murarius, the Creeper, or Wall-Creeper.
1678 J. Ray tr. F. Willughby Ornithol. ii. vi. 143 The Wall-creeper, or Spider catcher. Picus murarius... It is somewhat bigger than a House-Sparrow.
1764 G. Edwards Gleanings Nat. Hist. III. 284 The Wall-creeper.
1888 Newton in Encycl. Brit. XXIII. 534/2 Allied to the Tree-Creeper [Certhia]..is the genus Tichodroma, the single member of which is the Wall-Creeper (T. muraria) of the Alps and some other mountainous parts of Europe and Asia.
wall-fly n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > hunting > fishing > fishing-tackle > means of attracting fish > [noun] > real or imitation flies
stone-flya1450
ant-fly1653
hawthorn-fly1653
mayfly1653
oak fly1653
wall-fly1653
pismire-fly1670
cow-lady1676
mayfly1676
owl fly1676
brown1681
cow-turd-fly1684
trout-fly1746
orl fly1747
hazel fly?1758
iron-blue fly?1758
red spinner?1758
Welshman's button?1758
buzz1760
Yellow Sally1766
ash-fly1787
black caterpillar1787
cow-dung fly1787
sharn-fly1787
spinner1787
woodcock-fly1787
huzzard1799
knop-fly1799
mackerel1799
watchet1799
iron blue1826
knob fly1829
mackerel fly1829
March brown1837
cinnamon fly1867
quill gnat1867
sedge-fly1867
cob-fly1870
woodcock wing1888
sedge1889
olive1895
quill1899
nymph1910
green weenie1977
Montana1987
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Diptera or flies > [noun] > member of > unspecified > that breeds in walls
wall-fly1653
1653 I. Walton Compl. Angler ii. 54 Nay, sometimes a worm, or any kind of fly; as the Ant-fly, the Flesh-fly, or Wall-fly [cf. ed. 3 (1661) 63, the black Bee that breeds in clay walls] . View more context for this quotation
wall-gecko n. (see quot.).
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Gekkonidae > member of genus Tarantola
tarentola1883
wall-gecko1886
1886 Cassell's Dict. at Platydactylus P. fascicularis or muralis is the Wall Gecko.
wall-lizard n. a lizard of the species Lacerta muralis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Lacertidae > genus Lacerta > lacerta muralis (wall lizard)
wall-newt1608
wall-lizardc1880
c1880 Cassell's Nat. Hist. IV. 274 The lively little Wall Lizard, Lacerta muralis.
wall-louse n. †(a) the bed-bug, Cimex lectularius; (b) dialect the woodlouse.
ΘΚΠ
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > subclass Pterygota > [noun] > division Exopterygota or Hemimetabola > order Hemiptera > suborder Heteroptera > member of Capsidae or Miridae > cimex lectularius (bed-bug)
punaisec1530
wall-louse1540
cimex1585
bug1622
chincha1640
want-louse1655
wiglouse1658
bedbug1740
B. flat1853
Norfolk Howard1862
mahogany flat1864
the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Crustacea > [noun] > subclass Malacostraca > division Arthostraca > order Isopoda > family Oniscidae or genus Oniscus
lockchestera1400
sow14..
lugdora1425
louk?a1450
lockchestc1450
cheslip1530
palmer1538
chestworm1544
Robin Goodfellow's louse1552
monk's peason1558
cheslock1574
porcelet1578
swine louse1579
hog-louse1580
multiped1601
kitchen-bob1610
woodlouse1611
loop1612
millipede1612
timber-sow1626
cheeselog1657
sow-louse1658
thurse-louse1658
onisc1661
monkey pea1682
slater1684
slatter1739
sow-bug1750
Oniscus1806
pig louse1819
hob-thrush1828
land-slater1863
pig's louse1888
wall-louse1899
oniscoid1909
chucky-pig1946
1540 Septem Ling. Dict. D vj Cimices..wallyse.
1598 J. Florio Worlde of Wordes A kinde of vermin in Italie that..biteth sore, called punies or wall-lise.
1601 P. Holland tr. Pliny Hist. World II. xxix. iv. 356 Punies or wall lice, the most illfavored and filthie vermine of all other, and which we loth and abhorre at the very naming of them.
1657 W. Coles Adam in Eden clxvi Called a wall-louse or puny in English.
1673 J. Ray Observ. Journey Low-countries (1738) I. 352 Chinces, or wall-lice, which are very noisome..by their bitings in the night-time.
1693 S. Dale Pharmacologia 531 Cimex..The Wall-Louse or Bugg.
1899 Cumbld. Gloss. at Kirk louse Wall louse, Slater, woodlouse, millipede. Oniscidæ.
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the world > animals > reptiles > order Squamata (lizards and snakes) > suborder Lacertilia (lizards) > [noun] > family Lacertidae > genus Lacerta > lacerta muralis (wall lizard)
wall-newt1608
wall-lizardc1880
1608 W. Shakespeare King Lear xi. 118 Poore Tom, that eats..the tod pole, the wall-newt, and the water. View more context for this quotation
wall-spider n.
ΚΠ
1708 Brit. Apollo 10–15 Dec. Like the Body of a Red Wall-Spider.
wall-usher n. a variety of moth (see quot.).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > Heterocera > [noun] > family Geometridae > member of genus Anisopteryx > anisopteryx aescularia
wall-usher1832
1832 J. Rennie Conspectus Butterflies & Moths Brit. 102 The Wall Usher (Anisopteryx Æscularia, Stephens) appears on palings and trunks of trees the middle of March.
wall-wasp n. (see quot.).
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the world > animals > invertebrates > phylum Arthropoda > class Insecta > order Hymenoptera > [noun] > suborder Apocrita, Petiolata, or Heterophaga > group Aculeata (stinging) > the wasps > member of family Eumenidae
mason fly1750
mason wasp1815
potter wasp1848
wall-wasp1881
1881 Cassell's Nat. Hist. V. 372 The Wall Wasp (Odynerus parietum)..may be almost constantly seen haunting sunny walls during the months of June and July.
c. In the names of plants growing on or by walls and in dry or stony places. Also wallflower n., wallwort n. † wall penny grass n. Obsolete = pennywort n. a.† wall pennywort n. Obsolete
wall barley n. the wild barley, Hordeum murinum.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > cereal, corn, or grain > [noun] > barley > types of barley or barley-plant
polbere1440
bigg1446
long-ear?1523
sprat-barley?1523
waybent1538
wall barley1548
barley-bigg1552
bigg-barley1562
polbarley1574
pilled barley1578
way bennet1578
wheat-barley1578
French barley1596
way barley1597
rough bere1642
palm-barley1706
Scotch barley1707
square barleya1722
Thor-barley1755
ware-bere1793
barley-grass1795
German rice1828
battledore barley1848
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > particular fodder plants > [noun] > grasses used for hay or pasture > rye-grass
windlestrawc1000
eavera1425
wall barley1548
red darnel1578
ray-grass1677
ryegrass1690
ray1805
small seed1950
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. D.vv Phenicea or Hordeum murinum of Plenie, is the wal Barley, whiche groweth on mud walles.
1597 J. Gerard Herball i. 71 Red Darnell is called..in Latin Lolium rubrum: and Lolium Murinum: in English Wall Barly.
1763 J. Mills New Syst. Pract. Husbandry III. 333 The Wall barley, or way bennet, as some people improperly term it.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. II. 597/1 We all remember how in our youth we put inverted spikes of the Wall Barley up our sleeves and found them travel to our shoulders.
wall bugloss n. a plant of the genus Lycopsis.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Boraginaceae (bugloss and allies) > [noun]
ribeOE
hound's-tonguec1000
ox-tonguea1325
rotheren tongue?a1350
buglossa1400
dog's tongue?a1425
lungwort1538
anchusa1548
sheep's tongue1552
cowslip of Jerusalem1578
Our Lady's milkwort1578
pulmonaria1578
sage of Jerusalem1578
wild comfrey1578
maiden-lips1589
bugloss cowslip1597
viper's bugloss1597
viper's herb1597
ribbie1607
lithospermon1646
wall bugloss1650
lady's glove1668
Venus's navelwort1678
spotted comfrey1688
cynogloss1705
Jerusalem sage1736
lawn1778
Mertensia1836
stickseed1843
Virginian cowslip1856
bluebell1858
gooseberry fool1858
Jerusalem cowslip1866
borage-wort1882
echium1883
rose noble1886
milksile-
1650 W. How Phytologia Britannica 36 Echium alterum, Dod. Lycopsis Anglica, Lob. in agris siccioribus & muris. Wall Buglosse.
1860 R. G. Mayne Expos. Lexicon Med. Sci. Wall-Bugloss. Common name for the Lycopsis.
wall cabbage n. (see quot.).
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > other crucifers
Raphanusa1398
watercress?a1450
boor's mustard1548
dish-mustard1548
rocket1548
treacle mustard1548
heal-dog1551
Thlaspi1562
candy mustard1597
Grecian mustard1597
Italian rocket1597
knave's mustard1597
madwort1597
mithridate mustard1597
moonwort1597
mithridate1605
wall-rocket1611
broom-wort1614
candytuft1629
draba1629
Turkey cress1633
rock cress1650
shepherd's cress1713
pennycress1714
alyssum1731
arabis1756
tower mustard1760
faverel1770
molewort1770
stinkweed1793
wall cabbage1796
wall-cress1796
awl-wort1797
sickle-pod1846
Kerguelen cabbage1847
sun cress1848
sand rocket1854
wall mustard1904
buckler-mustard-
tower-cress-
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 593 [Brassica muralis] Sisymbrium murale. Linn... Wall Cabbage. Old walls and rubbish.
wall-cress n. the genus Arabis; also (see quot. 1796).
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > other crucifers
Raphanusa1398
watercress?a1450
boor's mustard1548
dish-mustard1548
rocket1548
treacle mustard1548
heal-dog1551
Thlaspi1562
candy mustard1597
Grecian mustard1597
Italian rocket1597
knave's mustard1597
madwort1597
mithridate mustard1597
moonwort1597
mithridate1605
wall-rocket1611
broom-wort1614
candytuft1629
draba1629
Turkey cress1633
rock cress1650
shepherd's cress1713
pennycress1714
alyssum1731
arabis1756
tower mustard1760
faverel1770
molewort1770
stinkweed1793
wall cabbage1796
wall-cress1796
awl-wort1797
sickle-pod1846
Kerguelen cabbage1847
sun cress1848
sand rocket1854
wall mustard1904
buckler-mustard-
tower-cress-
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) III. 589 Turritis hirsuta..Wall Cress.
1866 J. Lindley & T. Moore Treasury Bot. I. 83/2 Wall-cress, the English name [of Arabis] has similar reference to the usual place of growth.
wall fern n. the common evergreen fern, Polypodium vulgare.
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the world > plants > particular plants > ferns > [noun] > polypodies
everferneOE
polypodya1398
polypoda1500
polypody of the oaka1500
polypodium1525
wall fern1526
brake of the wall1561
polypody of the wall1597
oak fern1844
rabbit's foot fern1886
1526 Grete Herball cccxlix. sig. Tv/1 De polytryco. Walfarne.
1639 O. Wood Alphabet. Bk. Physicall Secrets 214 Walferne.
wall gillyflower n. the wallflower n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular cultivated or ornamental plants > particular flower or plant esteemed for flower > [noun] > cruciferous flowers > yellow or orange flowers
wall-fairc1450
winter gillyflower1547
heartsease1548
wall gillyflower1548
gillyflower1578
keiri1578
wallflower1578
alyssum1731
queen's balm1797
wall1825
warrior1825
cheiranthus1850
gilly1858
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. G.viij Viola alba... There are diuerse sortes... One is called in english Cheiry, Hertes ease or wal Gelefloure, it groweth vpon the walles, and..hath yealowe floures.
1796 H. Hunter tr. J.-H. B. de Saint-Pierre Stud. Nature (1799) II. 94 The butter-flower of the meadow, and the wall gilly-flower.
wall grass n. the stonecrop, Sedum acre.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Crassulaceae (stonecrop and allies) > [noun] > stonecrop
sengreenc1000
stonecropc1000
orpine?a1300
orval?a1300
mouse grassc1300
stonehorea1400
Crassulac1400
sedumc1440
thrift1538
prick-madam1542
mousetail1548
livelong1578
wall pepper1578
worm-grass1578
country pepper1597
jack of the buttery1597
pricket1597
stone-pepper1597
trick-madam1600
trip-madam1693
midsummer mena1697
rosewort1725
roseroot1731
live forever1760
ice plant1818
wall moss1855
Jacka1876
wall grass1882
thick-leaf1884
1882 H. Friend Gloss. Devon Plant Names Wall Grass. Sedum acre, L.
wall hawkweed n. Hieracium murorum.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Compositae (composite plants) > [noun] > hawkweed or bastard hawkweed
lungwortc1000
mouse-eara1300
pilosella?a1425
hawkweed1562
French lungwort1597
myosotis1601
golden mouse-ear1629
Grim the Collier1629
rattlesnake weed1651
Hieracium1664
pilosella1756
mouse-eared hawkweed1789
crepis1822
wall hawkweed1829
1829 J. C. Loudon Encycl. Plants (1836) 674 Wall hawkweed.
wall moss n. (a) the yellow lichen, Parmelia parietaria (Cent. Dict.); (b) Sedum acre; (c) see quot. 1855.
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the world > plants > particular plants > moss > [noun] > other mosses
golden maidenhair1578
polytrichon1578
bryon1597
maidenhair moss1597
mountain coralline1598
chalice-moss1610
purple bottle1650
water moss1663
fern-moss1698
hypnum1753
Mnium1754
rock tripe1763
feather-moss1776
scaly water-moss1796
screw moss1804
hog-bed1816
fringe-moss1818
caribou moss1831
apple moss1841
bristle-moss1844
scale-moss1846
anophyte1850
robin's rye1854
wall moss1855
fork-moss1860
thread-moss1864
lattice moss1868
robin-wheat1886
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Crassulaceae (stonecrop and allies) > [noun] > stonecrop
sengreenc1000
stonecropc1000
orpine?a1300
orval?a1300
mouse grassc1300
stonehorea1400
Crassulac1400
sedumc1440
thrift1538
prick-madam1542
mousetail1548
livelong1578
wall pepper1578
worm-grass1578
country pepper1597
jack of the buttery1597
pricket1597
stone-pepper1597
trick-madam1600
trip-madam1693
midsummer mena1697
rosewort1725
roseroot1731
live forever1760
ice plant1818
wall moss1855
Jacka1876
wall grass1882
thick-leaf1884
1855 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. II. 324 Wall-moss (Dicranum murale).
1886 J. Britten & R. Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-names Wall Moss. Sedum acre L.—N. and E. Yks.
wall mustard n. = wall-rocket n.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > other crucifers
Raphanusa1398
watercress?a1450
boor's mustard1548
dish-mustard1548
rocket1548
treacle mustard1548
heal-dog1551
Thlaspi1562
candy mustard1597
Grecian mustard1597
Italian rocket1597
knave's mustard1597
madwort1597
mithridate mustard1597
moonwort1597
mithridate1605
wall-rocket1611
broom-wort1614
candytuft1629
draba1629
Turkey cress1633
rock cress1650
shepherd's cress1713
pennycress1714
alyssum1731
arabis1756
tower mustard1760
faverel1770
molewort1770
stinkweed1793
wall cabbage1796
wall-cress1796
awl-wort1797
sickle-pod1846
Kerguelen cabbage1847
sun cress1848
sand rocket1854
wall mustard1904
buckler-mustard-
tower-cress-
1904 Westm. Gas. 13 Oct. 10/1 This is the wall-rocket or narrow-leaved wall-mustard (Diplotaxis tenui~folia), a glaucous plant, one to one and a half feet high, with pale lemon-yellow flowers.
1904Wall-mustard [see ]. wall pellitory n. = pellitory n.2 Compounds 1.
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Crassulaceae (stonecrop and allies) > [noun] > navelwort
pennywortc1300
wall penny-grassa1400
navelwortc1450
wall penny grass1562
Venus' navel1592
hipwort1597
sea-navel1597
sea-navelwort1597
sea-pennywort1597
Venus' garden1597
cotyledon1601
kidneywort1640
Venus's navelwort1678
penny pie1707
acetabulum1727
penny leaf1782
pancakes1882
1562 W. Turner 2nd Pt. Herball f. 169 I knowe no English name for it [Vmbilicus veneris]: but lest it should be wythout a name I call it wall penny grasse.
ΚΠ
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. xxv. 37 Cotyledon vera. Wall Pennywurte.
1597 W. Langham Garden of Health 474 Wall Peniwort, is good against all inflammations and hote tumors, S. Antonies fire, and kibed heeles being applied.
1757 Philos. Trans. 1756 (Royal Soc.) 49 832 Wall Penny-wort, Kidney-wort; Leicestriensibus Navel-wort.
1855 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. II. 320 Cotyledon Umbilicus (Wall Pennywort).
wall pepper n. Sedum acre.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Crassulaceae (stonecrop and allies) > [noun] > stonecrop
sengreenc1000
stonecropc1000
orpine?a1300
orval?a1300
mouse grassc1300
stonehorea1400
Crassulac1400
sedumc1440
thrift1538
prick-madam1542
mousetail1548
livelong1578
wall pepper1578
worm-grass1578
country pepper1597
jack of the buttery1597
pricket1597
stone-pepper1597
trick-madam1600
trip-madam1693
midsummer mena1697
rosewort1725
roseroot1731
live forever1760
ice plant1818
wall moss1855
Jacka1876
wall grass1882
thick-leaf1884
1578 H. Lyte tr. R. Dodoens Niewe Herball i. lxxvii. 115 Of Houselyke and Sengreene... The fourth is called..in English Stone Crop,..& of some it is called Wall Pepper.
1861 S. Thomson Wanderings among Wild Flowers (rev. ed.) iii. 238 We find the Sedum acre, or yellow stone-crop, often called wall-pepper.
wall pie n. = wall rue n.
ΚΠ
1880 Archaeologia Cantiana 13 26 The singular thickness of the wall-piers causes the central body of the crypt to be narrower.
wall-rocket n. (a) = wild rocket n. at wild adj. and n. Compounds 1; (b) Diplotaxis tenuifolia.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Cruciferae (crucifers) > [noun] > other crucifers
Raphanusa1398
watercress?a1450
boor's mustard1548
dish-mustard1548
rocket1548
treacle mustard1548
heal-dog1551
Thlaspi1562
candy mustard1597
Grecian mustard1597
Italian rocket1597
knave's mustard1597
madwort1597
mithridate mustard1597
moonwort1597
mithridate1605
wall-rocket1611
broom-wort1614
candytuft1629
draba1629
Turkey cress1633
rock cress1650
shepherd's cress1713
pennycress1714
alyssum1731
arabis1756
tower mustard1760
faverel1770
molewort1770
stinkweed1793
wall cabbage1796
wall-cress1796
awl-wort1797
sickle-pod1846
Kerguelen cabbage1847
sun cress1848
sand rocket1854
wall mustard1904
buckler-mustard-
tower-cress-
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues Roquette sauvage, wild Rocket, wall Rocket.
1854 A. Pratt Flowering Plants & Ferns Great Brit. I. 152 Sinapis tenuifolia (Wall-rocket).
wall rue n. a small fern, Asplenium Ruta-muraria.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > ferns > [noun] > spleenworts
maidenhairc1300
finger fern1548
scale-fern1548
stone-rue1548
wall rue1548
tentwort?1550
ceterach1551
stone-fern1552
English maidenhair1562
male fern1562
miltwaste1578
spleenwort1578
stonewort1585
white maidenhair1597
milt-wort1611
mule's fern1633
rusty-back1776
maidenhair spleenwort1837
sea-spleenwort1850
sea-fern1855
scaly spleenwort1859
black adiantum1866
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. H.iiij Saluia vita or Ruta muralis..maye be called in english Stone Rue, or wal Rue.
1736 Compl. Family-piece i. iv. 171 Leaves of Wall-Rue 4 Ounces.
1906 J. Vaughan Wild-flowers Selborne 92 The little wall-rue fern.
wall rye-grass n. Lolium perenne.
wall sage n. †(a) a species of Sideritis; cf. glidewort n., ironwort n.; (b) = pellitory n.2 Compounds 1 ( Eng. Dial. Dict.).
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the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > labiate plant or plants > [noun] > ironwort
stony sage1548
wall sage1548
ironwort1562
rock sage1562
smith's balm1597
glidewort1640
mountain ironwort1822
siderite1828
1548 W. Turner Names of Herbes sig. G.ijv Sideritis prima..may be called in englishe walsage or stonisage.
1651 J. F. tr. H. C. Agrippa Three Bks. Occult Philos. i. xvii. 40 Geese, Ducks, and such like watery fowle, cure themselves with the Hearb called wall-sage [L. herba sideritide].
wall speedwell n. Veronica arvensis.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > according to family > Scrophulariaceae (figwort and allies) > [noun] > Veronica or speedwell
lemkea1300
God's eye?a1350
waterlink?a1425
brooklimea1450
fluellin1548
Paul's betony1548
wood-penny1570
water pimpernel1575
ground-hele1578
speedwell1578
wild germander1578
germander chickweed1597
leper's herb1600
lime-wort1666
water purpy1683
water-speedwell1690
beccabunga1706
rock speedwell1719
Welsh speedwell1731
germander speedwell1732
St. Paul's betony1736
vernal speedwell1796
wall speedwell1796
cat's-eye1817
wellink1826
skull-cap1846
forget-me-not1853
veronica1855
angels' eyes1862
horse-cress1879
faverel1884
St. Paul's betony1884
1796 W. Withering Arrangem. Brit. Plants (ed. 3) II. 13 Veronica arvensis..Wall Speedwell.
wall spleenwort n. = wall rue n.
wall weed n. ? mother-of-thousands, Linaria Cymbalaria.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > plants and herbs > climbing or creeping plants > [noun] > mother of thousands
mother of millions1832
Oxford weed1834
mother of thousands1856
Oxford plant1856
wall weed1866
Wandering Sailor(s1881
Wandering Jew1886
1866 A. C. Swinburne St. Dorothy Poems & Ballads 288 Green blossom cleaves To the green chinks, and lesser wall-weed sweet, Kissing the crannies that are split with heat.
Draft additions 1993
the wall: the point of onset of extreme fatigue reached by long-distance and marathon runners, at which the body's stores of energy are virtually exhausted. Frequently in to hit the wall. colloquial.
ΘΚΠ
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > [noun] > specific
breathlessness1612
overfatigue1727
standstill1788
footsoreness1849
heat exhaustion1861
staleness1868
burn-out1903
chronic fatigue1908
driver fatigue1922
bonk1952
the wall1974
the world > physical sensation > sleeping and waking > weariness or exhaustion > become weary or exhausted [verb (intransitive)] > specific
forfare1393
forlie1423
to blow outc1440
flakec1500
to break one's brain, mind, wind1598
stress1756
to hit the wall1974
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > race (a race) [verb (transitive)] > reach the point of extreme fatigue
to hit the wall1974
society > leisure > sport > types of sport or game > racing or race > [noun] > course or track > parts of
run-in1799
quarter-stretch1830
home run1833
hurdle1833
back stretch1839
home stretch1841
straight1846
last lap1848
straightaway1878
home straight1880
stretch1895
back-straight1905
the wall1974
1974 Marathon Handbk. 22 More commonly, the collapse point is called ‘the wall’ (which one runs into).
1977 J. F. Fixx Compl. Bk. Running viii. 99 ‘In thirty-five marathons,’ Nina Kuscsik told me, ‘I've never hit the wall. I get tired, but I can always keep going.’
1984 Runner (U.S.) Oct. 144/1 It was his first marathon... At 20 miles he was wondering where the wall was, but he never found it.
1988 Road Racing & Training 87/2 I hit no perceptible ‘wall’ during the last few miles but I experienced a dull ache in my stomach.
Draft additions September 2013
wall walk n. Fortification and Architecture a footway along the top of a wall of a fortified building, town, etc., typically behind the battlements; a parapet walk.
ΚΠ
1932 Jrnl. Rom. Stud. 22 63 These thick reinforced masonry floors may well have been used to carry artillery. Access to them appears to have been from the wall-walk.
1951 H. Braun Introd. Eng. Mediaeval Archit. v. 100 The strong outer walls of the building were..carried right up to ridge level, at which was the wall-walk, protected by its parapet.
1985 Corfe Castle (Nat. Trust) (1990) 13 To facilitate the access to a wall-walk across to the south-west gatehouse.
2001 J. E. Kaufmann & H. W. Kaufmann Medieval Fortress (2004) ii. 71 The Roman city walls normally consisted of two masonry walls spaced about seven meters apart. The gap was filled with earth... A wall walk was formed above.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† walln.2
Scottish. Obsolete.
A wave (of the sea).
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > flow or flowing > wave > types of waves > [noun] > billow or sea-wave
ytheOE
bearc1300
walmc1325
borec1330
float1477
walla1500
billow1552
ocean wave1590
translation wave1838
billowlet1867
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Adv. 19.2.3) i. l. 399 Of wellis wawerit wallis wid.
a1500 Lancelot of Laik (1870) 1317 Thi schip, that goth apone the stormy vall.
a1500 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Fables: Paddock & Mouse l. 2956 in Poems (1981) 109 The watter is the warld, ay welterand With mony wall of trubulatioun.
1513 G. Douglas tr. Virgil Æneid iii. viii. 60 Within the havin goith loune, but wind or wall.
c1550 Complaynt Scotl. (1979) vi. 31 The suelland vallis of the brym seye.
1599 A. Hume Hymnes sig. F3 The waltering wals, and raging windie blast.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
† walln.3
Obsolete.
eyes of wall (nonce-phrase) = ‘wall eyes’: see walleye n. Also attributive or adj., as in wall speck; wall-coloured adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > health and disease > ill health > animal disease or disorder > disorders of horses > [noun] > disorders of eyes
walleye1523
lunacy1600
moon-eye1607
eyes of wall1611
dragon1639
moon blindnessc1720
moonc1721
glass eye1831
pink-eye1855
1611 R. Cotgrave Dict. French & Eng. Tongues at Oeil Oeil de chevre, a whall, or ouer~white eye.
1653 R. Saunders Physiognomie i. 27 The Apple [of the eye] is half blew, and all about wall-coloured.
1663 S. Butler Hudibras: First Pt. i. i. 32 The Beast was sturdy, large and tall, With mouth of meal and eyes of wall.
1706 London Gaz. No. 4285/8 Stolen.., a white Horse, with..a wall Speck in one of his Eyes.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
walln.4
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ Nautical.
= wall-knot n.
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [noun] > knot used by sailors > specific
bowline-knot1627
clinch1627
sheepshank1627
wall-knot1627
running bowline1710
running bowline knot1726
bend1769
clove-hitch1769
half-hitch1769
hitch1769
walnut1769
cat's paw1794
midshipman's hitch1794
reef knot1794
clench1804
French shroud knot1808
carrick bend1819
bowline1823
slippery hitch1832
wall1834
Matthew Walker1841
shroud-knot1860
stopper-knotc1860
marling hitch1867
wind-knot1870
Portuguese knot1871
rosette1875
chain knota1877
stopper-hitch1876
swab-hitch1883
monkey fist1917
Spanish bowline1968
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > a bond, tie, or fastening > [noun] > knot > any knot used by sailors > other specific sailors' knots
bowline-knot1627
clinch1627
sheepshank1627
wall-knot1627
running bowline1710
running bowline knot1726
bend1769
clove-hitch1769
half-hitch1769
hitch1769
walnut1769
Magnus hitch1794
midshipman's hitch1794
clench1804
French shroud knot1808
carrick bend1819
bowline1823
slippery hitch1832
wall1834
cat's paw1840
Matthew Walker1841
shroud-knot1860
stopper-knotc1860
Portuguese knot1871
chain knota1877
stopper-hitch1876
swab-hitch1883
Spanish bowline1968
1834 F. Marryat Peter Simple I. vi. 65 ‘How is this to be finished off sir?’ inquired a sailor of the boatswain. ‘Why..it must be with a double-wall.’
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 30 Make a single wall.
c1860 H. Stuart Novices or Young Seaman's Catech. (rev. ed.) 56 A ‘double wall’ or deck stopper-knot is made..close up to the wall.
a1884 E. H. Knight Pract. Dict. Mech. Suppl. 932/1 Wall and Crown. This knot should be finished with a crown.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
walln.5
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ = lablab n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > plants > particular plants > cultivated or valued plants > particular food plant or plant product > pulses or plants producing pulses > [noun] > bean > other types of bean
white bean1542
penny bean?1550
black bean1569
garence1610
mung1611
calavance1620
red bean1658
lablab1670
Cajan1693
dal1698
bonavist1700
tick-bean1744
tick1765
toker1786
mash1801
Lima beana1818
stick bean1823
Canavalia1828
moth1840
cow-pea1846
Lima1856
asparagus pea1859
towcok1866
Java bean1868
wall1884
Rangoon bean1903
Madagascar bean1909
the world > food and drink > food > fruit and vegetables > vegetables > pulse > [noun] > bean > other beans
bean1548
black bean1569
calavance1620
red bean1658
seven-year bean1666
lablab1670
Cajan1693
dal1698
adzuki1727
tick-bean1744
tick1765
toker1786
mash1801
Congo pea1812
stick bean1823
moog1840
moth1840
Lima1856
feijão1857
asparagus pea1859
mung1866
wall1884
Rangoon bean1903
1884 de Candolle's Orig. Cultiv. Plants 346 Lablab, or Wall..Dolichos Lablab, Linnæus. This species is much cultivated in India and tropical Africa.
1887 C. A. Moloney Sketch Forestry W. Afr. 322 ‘Wall’ of India (Dolichos Lablab, L.) A climbing perennial largely cultivated in the Tropics for its unpalatable seeds.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wallv.1
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ Obsolete exc. dialect.† 1. † b. figurative. To ‘boil’ with passion. (Cf. walling adj.1) Obsolete.† 2. figurative.c1449 R. Pecock Repressor (1860) 432 Thes..causis, out of whiche wallen the seid yuelis.† b. To swarm (with vermin). Obsolete.
a. intransitive. Of a liquid: To boil. Also of a person: To be in boiling liquid. Obsolete.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)]
wallc1000
well?a1200
boila1225
seethea1400
ebulliate1599
qualm1599
walm1610
ebullate1623
wamble1636
wobble1725
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil [verb (intransitive)] > by immersion in boiling liquid
wallc1000
boil1633
c1000 Sax. Leechd. II. 358 Do ofer fyr, awyl; þonne hit wealle, sing iii. pater noster.
c1175 Ormulum (Burchfield transcript) l. 10507 To bærnnenn & to wallenn. Wiþþ deofless dun inn helle grund.
c1200 Moral Ode (Trin. MS.) 249 Þar is pich þat afre walleð [MS. Egerton wealð].
c1250 Song Passion 45 in Old Eng. Misc. 198 Wallen in helle dep nere neuere so swet wit alle.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > emotion > passion > ardour or fervour > become ardent or fervent [verb (intransitive)] > burn with passion
forburnc893
burnc1000
wallOE
blaze?c1225
flame1377
boilc1386
fry1568
broil1600
glow1623
OE Beowulf 2113 Hreðer inne weoll, þonne he wintrum frod worn gemunde.
a1225 Leg. Kath. 1926 Þe king weol al inwið of wreððe.
?c1225 (?a1200) Ancrene Riwle (Cleo. C.vi) (1972) 96 Hwil þe heorte walleð in wiðinwið of þe wraððe nis nan richt dom.
a. Of liquids: To bubble up; to well up, flow abundantly. Of the sea, waves: To boil up, rage.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > liquid > liquid flow > action or process of flowing > flow [verb (intransitive)] > copiously
wallc893
bolkena1300
railc1390
gush?a1400
hella1400
walterc1400
yraylle1426
downpoura1522
pour1538
bolk1541
flush1548
sluice1593
teem1753
flux1823
swill1884
c893 tr. Orosius Hist. iv. iii Mon geseah weallan blod of eorþan.
c1200 Trin. Coll. Hom. 167 At eche wunde wul ut atter.
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 662 As þe water deþ vp walle.
c1315 Shoreham Poems iii. 28 Syker þou myȝt be of þat lond Þar melke and hony walleþ.
c1330 King of Tars 1087 Þe blod out of his wounde wel.
1362 W. Langland Piers Plowman A. v. 71 Venim or vernisch or vinegre, I trouwe, Walleþ in my wombe or waxeþ, ich wene.
c1450 Mirk's Festial 9 Out of þe whech tombe manna and oyle walleþ out yfere.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > number > plurality > great number, numerousness > be numerous [verb (intransitive)]
manifoldeOE
wallc1000
reigna1400
the world > relative properties > quantity > sufficient quantity, amount, or degree > abundance > make abundant [verb (transitive)] > abound in or with > swarm with
wallc1000
to swarm in1482
wamble1485
scrawl1530
to swarm with1548
exceed1624
pullulate1641
sny1674
teem1710
spawn1818
c1000 Ælfric Lives Saints iv. 212 On blindum cwearterne..þær manna lic lagon, þe wæran ær acwealde..þa weollon eall maðon.
c1050 in T. Wright & R. P. Wülcker Anglo-Saxon & Old Eng. Vocab. (1884) I. 531/22 Scatens, weallende [gl. Aldh. Laud. Virg. (poet.) lxxxix, scatens vermibus].
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1874) V. 235 He wallede ful of wormes [L. vermibus scatens].
3.
a. transitive. To boil. Cf. well v.1See quot. 1455-6 at pot-walling n.
ΘΚΠ
the world > matter > properties of materials > temperature > heat > action of boiling > boil or cause to boil [verb (transitive)]
welleOE
seethec1000
wallc1310
play?c1450
boila1475
siede1481
ebulliate1599
elixate1623
tottlea1774
c1310 S. Margaret 287 in Horstm. Altengl. Leg. (1881) 232 Takeþ and walleþ oyle and lete opon hir renne.
b. absol. To boil brine in salt-making.
ΘΚΠ
the world > food and drink > food > food manufacture and preparation > salt manufacture > [verb (intransitive)] > boil brine
wall1600
1600 [implied in: W. Camden Britannia (new ed.) 543 & muliercule (Wallers vocant) rastellis ligneis é fundo salem educunt. (at waller n.2)].
1669 Philos. Trans. (Royal Soc.) 4 1063 They seldom Wall, that is, make Salt, in above 6 Houses at a time.
4. intransitive. To weld, become welded; figurative to blend. Cf. well n.1, weld v.
ΘΚΠ
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > condition or state of being mixed or blended > become mixed or blended [verb (intransitive)]
mingOE
meddlec1350
mella1387
blenda1400
commix?1520
admixa1522
mixa1522
mingle1530
wallc1598
co-minglea1616
comminglea1626
congregate1626
intermingle1626
intermella1641
conflux1662
intermix1722
partake1731
to work up1841
interfuse1851
interblend1854
immingle1858
inmix1892
meld1959
c1598 King James VI & I Basilicon Doron (1944) I. iii. 200 Mixing..the men of euerie kingdome uith another, as maye uith tyme make thaime to grou & uall [1599 weld] all in ane.
1629 W. Mure True Crucifixe 2692 Pleasure in Him and fleshlie pleasure fall So foull at strife, they can, nor mixe, nor wall.
1659–60 A. Hay Diary (1901) 40 Parliament and the protestant partie wold wal together.
1808 J. Jamieson Etymol. Dict. Sc. Lang. (at cited word) To wall, To beat two masses into one.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
wallv.2
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ 1. transitive. To furnish with a wall.
a. To enclose, surround, or divide with a wall or walls; to provide (a town, etc.) with fortified walls.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with wall(s) > enclose or surround with wall
walla1325
to wall ina1500
immure1605
c1000 Ælfric Numbers xiii. 29 Micele burga þær sind and mærlice geweallode.]
a1325 (c1250) Gen. & Exod. (1968) l. 435 He ches a stede toward eden, And..Wallede a burg, e-no bi name.
?a1366 Romaunt Rose 138 I saugh a Gardin.., Enclos it was, and walled wel, With hye walles enbatailled.
a1387 J. Trevisa tr. R. Higden Polychron. (St. John's Cambr.) (1876) VI. 339 Þe citee of Ȝork, þat was not ful i-walled.
?1473 W. Caxton tr. R. Le Fèvre Recuyell Hist. Troye (1894) I. lf. 135 Laomedon the kynge of Troye was besy to walle and mure his cyte with mures and towres.
1589 Summarie Drakes W. Indian Voy. 39 The same [Priorie] being walled with a wall of stone.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Cymbeline (1623) v. v. 14 Close by the battell, ditch'd, & wall'd with turph.
1643 R. Baker Chron. Kings of Eng. i. 13 King Athelstan..new walled and beautifyed the City of Exceter.
1794 Trans. Soc. Arts 12 201 The expence of walling the forty-two acres was seventy-eight pounds.
1842 C. Dickens Amer. Notes I. iii. 122 The House of Correction..is not walled, like other prisons, but is palisaded round about with..stakes.
1849 C. Lyell 2nd Visit U.S. II. 295 Some lands near the river..have risen immensely in value, being now trenched and walled.
1881 Proc. Royal Geogr. Soc. 3 31 The town of Shonga..is walled and ditched.
b. with about, round about, round. to wall in, to enclose with a wall. to wall off, to wall out, to shut off or out with a wall.
ΘΚΠ
society > armed hostility > defence > defensive work(s) > defensive walls > wall [verb (transitive)]
bewall1250
wall1297
mure?a1425
immure1605
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)] > enclose with a wall
wall1297
mure?a1425
upwallc1440
enwall1523
dikec1575
immure1605
circle-mure1606
circummurea1616
immurala1680
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with wall(s) > shut off or out with wall
wall1297
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with wall(s) > enclose or surround with wall
walla1325
to wall ina1500
immure1605
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > be on the outside of [verb (transitive)] > keep or shut out > by a wall, fence, or bar
pale1597
to bar outa1653
to wall off1799
society > authority > subjection > restraint or restraining > restraint depriving of liberty > confinement > confine [verb (transitive)] > confine to school or college bounds
gate1835
wall1860
1297 R. Gloucester's Chron. (Rolls) 1169 Þe vif tounes of þe vif pors he let walli aboute.
1481 W. Caxton tr. Hist. Reynard Fox (1970) 11 They..wente in a yerde whiche was walled round a boute.
1489 (a1380) J. Barbour Bruce (Adv.) ii. 220 Till Perth then went thai..That then wes wallyt all about.
a1500 (c1425) Andrew of Wyntoun Oryg. Cron. Scotl. (Nero) v. l. 1303 He gert wal in al þat stede Qwhar Criste his passion tholit of dede.
c1530 Bible (Tyndale) Jonah Prol. B vij Enuironed it and walled it aboute on euery syde with ye feare of god.
1600 R. Surflet tr. C. Estienne & J. Liébault Maison Rustique vii. xix. 834 Their parkes therefore must bee walled about.
1633 A. Munday et al. Stow's Surv. of London (new ed.) 761/1 He round walled the Church-yard.
1691 J. Gibson in Archaeologia 12 189 The garden not being walled about they have less summer fruit.
1719 D. Defoe Farther Adventures Robinson Crusoe 318 It was a low marshy Ground, wall'd round with a stone Wall.
1770 H. Brooke Fool of Quality V. xvii. 24 A gravel walk, that was walled in on the left hand.
1799 Duke of Wellington Let. Lieut. Col. Close 21 Dec. in Dispatches (1844) I. 47 What I should propose would be to wall off that part occupied by him.
1846 C. Dickens Dombey & Son (1848) vii. 61 Traffic was walled out.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. ii. 19 A space for cooking walled off from the sleeping-room.
1865 W. G. Palgrave Narr. Journey through Arabia II. 301 The town is walled in, but not strongly, on the land side.
c. To furnish (a building) with side and partition walls; to build the wall or walls of. Also with up.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with wall(s)
wall1377
1377 W. Langland Piers Plowman B. xix. 323 And þere-with grace bigan to make a good foundement, And watteled it and walled it with his peynes & his passioun.
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 164 And all was walled þat wone.
1523 Ld. Berners tr. J. Froissart Cronycles I. ccix. 102 b/2 Therein was a square toure thick walled.
1691 J. Dryden King Arthur ii. i. 19 That Castle, were it wall'd with Adamant, Can hide thy Head, but till to Morrow's Dawn.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 78 The Towers..ought not to be open on the inside, but walled up quite round.
1799 A. Young Gen. View Agric. County Lincoln 34 The old buildings are of timber, walled with clay.
1911 G. Macdonald Roman Wall Scotl. xii. 401 Perhaps it was now that Castlecary was walled with stone.
d. To line (a well, cistern) with a wall. Also with round.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > water > lake > pool > [verb (transitive)] > line a well, etc., with a wall
wall1707
the world > space > relative position > condition of being internal > make internal or interior [verb (transitive)] > line > with a wall
wall1707
1707 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husbandry 229 A Cistern of Clay walled within with Bricks.
1833 J. Davidson Brit. & Rom. Remains Axminster 84 A hole in the natural soil..walled round in a circular form with flint stones.
2.
a. transferred and figurative. To enclose, defend, bound, or divide as with a wall, or as a wall does.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)] > enclose with a wall > with or as with a wall or trench
wallc1386
obvallate1623
c1386 G. Chaucer Manciple's Tale 219 My sone, god..Walled a tonge with teeth and lippes eke ffor man sholde hym auyse what he speeke.
1589 A. Jenkinson in R. Hakluyt Princ. Navigations ii. 355 We feared nothing being walled with the said riuer.
1595 Polimanteia in Brydges Brit. Bibl. I. 278 Yet both of you [Oxford and Cambridge] so deare to me,..so walled with priuiledges, so crowned with all kinde of honor.
1603 W. Shakespeare Hamlet iv. v. 122 There's such diuinitie doth wall [1623 hedge] a king, That treason dares not looke on.
a1616 W. Shakespeare Henry VI, Pt. 1 (1623) iv. ii. 24 On either hand thee, there are squadrons pitcht, To wall thee from the liberty of Flight. View more context for this quotation
1638 T. Herbert Some Yeares Trav. (rev. ed.) 165 Either side is wall'd with an amazing hill.
1639 T. Fuller Hist. Holy Warre iv. vii. 179 They..onely spoiled poore villages, which counted themselves walled with the truce as yet in force.
a1640 J. Fletcher & P. Massinger False One v. iv, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. Ss2v/2 My free mind Like to the Palm-tree, walling fruitfull Nyle, Shall grow up straighter.
1667 J. Milton Paradise Lost iii. 721 Each [star] had his place appointed, each his course, The rest in circuit walles this Universe. View more context for this quotation
1818 L. Hunt Hero & Leander ii. 7 The struggling flare Seem'd out; but then he knew his Hero's care, And that she only wall'd it with her cloak.
1834 R. M. Milnes Memorials of Tour in Greece 23 The tall white rock, Walled the far waste of silent sea.
1879 Daily News 18 Sept. 6/1 The enclosures were walled with Union Jacks.
1883 R. Bridges Prometheus 1 Where the path Is walled with corn I am found.
1913 Eng. Rev. Dec. 59 On the right hand, walling the street, [is] the great monastery to the Passion of Christ.
b. with about, across, along, in, round.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclose [verb (transitive)]
beloukOE
pind?c1225
closec1275
beshuta1300
to shut about13..
umbclosec1330
to close about1340
aclosec1350
in close1393
enclose?a1400
tinec1400
concludea1425
includec1425
wallc1430
underclosec1440
inclusea1450
hedgec1500
lista1513
inrail1523
interclude1524
fence1535
parclose1535
riba1547
pale1570
impale1579
embay1582
immure1583
upclosec1590
enchase1591
interclose1592
recinct1598
underfong1599
intermure1606
bound1609
engirt1627
bosom1637
infence1652
cancellate1664
circumclude1677
embosomc1750
comprehend1807
c1430 Pilgr. Lyf Manhode (1869) i. xx. 15 This closure that closeth yow and walleth yow in, disseueringe yow from the world.
1597 W. Shakespeare Richard II iii. ii. 163 As if this flesh which wals about our life, Were brasse impregnable. View more context for this quotation
1598 W. Shakespeare Love's Labour's Lost v. ii. 3 A Ladie walde about with Diamondes. View more context for this quotation
a1626 F. Bacon Considerations War with Spain (1629) 45 The Spaniards..casting themselues continually into Roundels, (their strongest Ships walling in the rest).
1642 J. Denham Sophy i. 1 'Tis his single vertue And terror of his name, that walls us in From danger.
1690 C. Ness Compl. Hist. & Myst. Old & New Test. I. 38 A weekly sabbath walls in our wild natures.
1796 R. Southey Joan of Arc i. 475 At length I heard of Orleans, by the foe Wall'd in from human succour.
1837 W. Irving Adventures Capt. Bonneville II. 207 The high precipices which had hitherto walled in the channel of Snake river.
1845 J. Coulter Adventures Pacific xi. 132 The..upper part of the clearing, which was walled along for several hundred yards by solid rock.
1878 R. Browning La Saisiaz in La Saisiaz: Two Poets of Croisic Prol. 3 World —— how it walled about Life with disgrace.
1883 R. L. Stevenson Silverado Squatters ii. ii. 81 A canyon..was here walled across by a dump of rolling stones.
1890 ‘R. Boldrewood’ Colonial Reformer xiv The..landlocked bay, with..a grand sand~stone bluff guarding and walling-in the farther point like a grim jealous giant.
c. To form the sides of (a room) like walls; to line the walls of (an apartment).
ΘΚΠ
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > furniture and fittings > wallcovering > [verb (transitive)]
wall1832
society > inhabiting and dwelling > inhabited place > a building > parts of building > wall of building > wall [verb (transitive)] > line walls with books, paintings, etc.
wall1832
1832 E. Bulwer-Lytton Eugene Aram I. i. iii. 57 The rest of the room was walled from the floor to the roof with books.
1846 G. B. Cheever Lect. Pilgrim's Progress x. 126 It does not take long in such employment to make the room seem walled with retributive flames.
1910 G. W. E. Russell 15 Chapters Autobiogr. (1914) vii. 149 The great gallery, walled with the canvases of Rubens.
3. in extended use.1867 G. MacDonald Poems 87 I will be a knight Walled up in armour black.
a. To shut up (a person or thing) within walls, to build up or entomb in a wall, to immure. Chiefly with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > condition of being external > enclosing or enclosure > enclosing or confining > enclose or confine [verb (transitive)] > within walls
wall1530
to brick up1592
the world > life > death > killing > killing by specific method > kill [verb (transitive)] > by entombment
wall1737
1530 J. Palsgrave Lesclarcissement 770/2 I wall, I shyt up, or close up, within walles. Je mure... It is a harde relygyon to be an anchre, for they be shytte up within walles and can go no farther.
1600 E. Blount tr. G. F. di Conestaggio Hist. Uniting Portugall to Castill 243 They were walled vp within their monasterie.
1621 M. Wroth Countesse of Mountgomeries Urania i. 133 After the sight of one dead, the other wall'd to certaine death,..what could they say?
a1625 J. Fletcher Mad Lover i. i, in F. Beaumont & J. Fletcher Comedies & Trag. (1647) sig. B/1 In three [battles] he beat the thunder-bolt his brother Forc'd him to wall himselfe up.
1647 in F. P. Verney et al. Mem. Verney Family Civil War (1892) II. xii. 285 The feather bedds that were waled up are much eaten with Ratts.
1720 in T. D'Urfey Wit & Mirth VI. 87 But if ne'er so close you wall him..Blind Love..Will find out the way.
1737 F. Peck Let. 13 Aug. in Coll. Hist. Pieces xxxi. 88 in F. Peck Mem. Life & Actions O. Cromwell (1740) I am apt to think the person found in the vault was betrayed and walled up alive by them he trusted.
1845 E. A. Poe Black Cat (end) I had walled the monster up within the tomb!
b. An alleged synonym of gate v.1A. Hoppe Eng.-Deutsches Suppl.-Lex. (1871) s.v. Gate gives this quot.; hence the sense appears (as ‘Oxford university slang’) in A. Barrère & C. G. Leland Dict. Slang, in Farmer, and in recent dictionaries.
ΚΠ
1860 C. Benson Mr. Bedlow, Remin. Amer. Coll. Life in Macmillan's Mag. II. 222/1 To ‘gate’ or ‘wall’ a refractory student would be simply impossible, for want of the material masonry.
4. To close (a gate or other aperture) with or as with a wall. Chiefly with up.
ΘΚΠ
the world > space > relative position > closed or shut condition > close or shut [verb (transitive)] > close an aperture or orifice > in other specific ways
wax1377
gypsec1420
lute1495
wall1503
to brick up1606
butter1808
to brick off1836
to board up1885
1503 in J. Raine Vol. Eng. Misc. N. Counties Eng. (1890) 30 John Mitteley & his heires frome now forthe shall wall up..the utter west syde of his swynstye.
1535 Bible (Coverdale) 1 Macc. v. 47 They that were in the cite, wolde not let them go thorow, but walled vp the portes with stones.
1605 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 168 A waller, one day wallinge uppe the dower..iiijd.
1667 ‘Rege Sincera’ Observ. Burning of London 23 [They] were talking of walling the Gates to prevent the coming in of the Tartarians.
1707–21 J. Mortimer Whole Art Husb. (ed. 5) II. 192 Wall up the sides with Brick.
1848 H. Greville Diary 1 July (1883) 280 The door has been walled to prevent surprise.
1861 C. Dickens Great Expectations I. viii. 114 Some of the windows had been walled up.
1886 R. Willis & J. W. Clark Archit. Hist. Univ. Cambr. II. 125 Bishop Alcock..walled up the arches and inserted in each of them a window.
5. To build (stone) into a wall. Also of stone, to make (a specified length) of walling.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (transitive)] > provide with wall(s) > build into wall
mason1527
wall1621
immure1863
1621 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) II. 251 P'd for soe many stones as walled nyne y'des, ijs iijd.
1791 J. Smeaton Narr. Edystone Lighthouse §193 When it [Bath Free Stone] is walled with this kind of mortar,..the joints are more permanent.
1848–9 Liverpool Archit. Soc. (1852) II. 190 It [the rubble] may be walled with or without mortar.
6. absol. or intransitive. To construct a wall or walls; to build walling.
ΘΚΠ
society > occupation and work > industry > building or constructing > building or providing with specific parts > build or provide with specific parts [verb (intransitive)] > build walls
wall1588
immure1605
1588 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 44 Towe mene for wallinge towe days, ijs ijd.
1598 in J. Harland House & Farm Accts. Shuttleworths (1856) I. 112 Towe worke~men, for waullynge and daubynge in the bru howse..xvjd.
1726 G. Leoni tr. L. B. Alberti Architecture I. 47 We may be said rather to wall than only to fill up.
7. transitive. To chalk up (a score) on the wall. slang.
ΘΚΠ
society > communication > record > written record > record in writing [verb (transitive)] > in chalk
chalk1597
wall1848
1848 Sinks of London laid Open 129 Wall it, chalking a reckoning up at a public house.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
† wallv.3
Obsolete.
intransitive. To go on pilgrimage.
ΘΚΠ
society > faith > worship > pilgrimage > make a pilgrimage [verb (intransitive)]
walla1000
pilgrimize1609
pilgrimage1621
a1000 Canons of Edgar §10 in B. Thorpe Anc. Laws Eng. (1840) II. 280 Deoplic dæd-bot bið þæt læwede man his wæpna alecge & weallige bær-fot wide.
c1485 Digby Myst. iii. 1848 With me xall ȝe wall to have more eloquens & goo vesyte þe stacyons by and by.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2020).
wallv.4
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ Now only U.S.
transitive. To roll (the eyes). Also absol., and intransitive of the eyes.
ΘΚΠ
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [verb (intransitive)] > move eyes
rollc1405
wallc1500
the world > life > the body > external parts of body > head > face > eye > [verb (transitive)] > move eyes
rollc1425
roilc1450
wallc1500
wafta1616
slink1923
c1500 in Makculloch MS. (S.T.S.) iv. 27 Cuttis for þi cot þai kest..out throw þi harnis þe pykis of thorne apliit, wawland [MS. Arundel wailland] þi ene.
1570 R. Henryson tr. Æsop Morall Fabillis (Charteris) sig. C.ii The Cok..Vnwarlie winkand wawland [?a1500 walkit] vp and doun.
1817 Hogg Gude Greye Katt xxvii, in Poetic Mirror (1817) 196 Quhill ilken bosome byrnit with lufe, And waulit ilken ee.
1818 Edinb. Mag. & Literary Misc. Oct. 328/2 The sicht forhow't her waulen' een, Sho lay in the deadthraws.
1821 W. Scott Pirate III. iii. 56 But presently recovering himself, he wawls on me with his grey een, like a wild cat.
1876 ‘M. Twain’ Adventures Tom Sawyer v. 55 The ladies would lift up their hands,..and ‘wall’ their eyes, and shake their heads.
1883 Trans. Amer. Philol. Soc. 55 Wall the eyes, that is, ‘to roll the eyes so as to show the white.’ I can remember this as a very common way among the little negroes in South Carolina of showing displeasure.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online June 2022).
wallv.5
/wɔːl/, U.S. /wɔl/, /wɑl/ Nautical.
transitive. To make a wall-knot on (a rope).
ΘΚΠ
society > travel > travel by water > vessel, ship, or boat > equipment of vessel > ropes or chains other than rigging or cable > [verb (transitive)] > attach or join by specific knot
sheepshank1769
cat's-paw1794
reef-knot1794
clove-hitch1874
swab-hitch1883
wall1883
the world > relative properties > wholeness > mutual relation of parts to whole > fastening > binding or tying > bind or tie [verb (transitive)] > fasten or secure with a knot > tie (a knot) (in) > specific
crown1754
sheepshank1769
cat's-paw1794
wall1883
1883 Man. Seamanship for Boys' Training Ships Royal Navy 112 The end [of the rose-lashing] is finished off by crowning and walling the end close to the crossing turns.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1921; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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n.1c825
n.2a1500n.31611
n.41834n.51884v.1c893
v.21297v.3a1000v.4c1500v.51883