widthn.

a1626 A. Lake Serm. (1629) iv. 93 Christ doth giue his gifts, not according to the narrownesse of our desires, but the width of his owne power.

1772 tr. C. F. Badini Il Carnovale di Venezia i. ii. 7 'Tis an insult not to be put up with, considering the width of my capacity.

1832 L. Hunt Sir Ralph Esher III. i. 38 The general width of his manner, if I may so call it.

1841 L. Hunt Seer 54/1 Milton..was never weak in his creed..; he forced it into width enough to embrace all place and time.

1874 Friends' Rev. Aug. 794/2 The width of outlook was the more creditable to him, inasmuch as he never enjoyed the advantages of a university education.

1914 J. Patrick Clement of Alexandria i. 28 It is certain that he knew the Septuagint and the New Testament with astonishing width and accuracy.

1976 Contemp. Rev. Dec. 329 His width of knowledge was colossal.

2000 A. Hastings in A. Hastings et al. Oxf. Compan. Christian Thought 404/2 He wrote little that was lengthily systematic, his strength lying in the width of his interests.

1697 J. Dryden tr. Virgil Georgics ii, in tr. Virgil Wks. 83 Let thy Vines in Intervals be set,..Indulge their Width, and add a roomy Space, That their extreamest Lines may scarce embrace. View more context for this quotation

1777 R. E. Raspe tr. F. F. Ferber Mineral. Hist. Bohemia in tr. I. Born Trav. Bannat of Temeswar 267 A cavern of a remarkable width has been discovered.

1798 H. Skrine Two Tours Wales i. iii. 50 A mason..had failed on his two first attempts from the width and rapidity of the river.

1822 Edinb. Gazetteer IV. 651 St. Gile's street..is for some distance of an unusual width, and very pleasing character.

1868 Independent (N.Y.) 7 May 1/2 The very width and vastness of the streets and squares take from their picturesque effect.

1921 Scotsman 11 Oct. 4/6 Ice Fjord had been beautiful, but its width and extent were such that the hills on either side were usually seen at a distance.

1976 A. Nickolds & S. Hey ‘Foul’ Bk. Football i. 15/2 With two orthodox wingers now giving the attack width, there is plenty of room for Daly and Macari..to move into striking positions.

2012 T. Clayton How to Read Florida Gulf Coast Beach iii. 59 This type of island doesn't typically overwash or breach, thanks to the islands' impressive width and high, well-vegetated dune ridges with few gaps.

1733 F. Price Treat. Carpentry 13 Take any Width..to be covered with Lead; divide..into four,..and with two of these Parts, describe the Quarter-Circle, as by the prick'd Line appears.

1819 Shadgett's Weekly Rev. 17 July 218/1 The vast width of the Atlantic Ocean, which now interposes between them and the white cliffs of Albion.

1843 Amer. Eclectic Apr. 533/1 Between that territory, and the existing States of the Union, intervenes the vast width of the ancient Louisiana.

1876 A. R. Wallace Geogr. Distrib. Animals I. ii. 16 Small and weak birds are..often carried accidentally across great widths of ocean.

1901 M. Franklin My Brilliant Career 185 Weeks and weeks spent beneath the sun and stars while crossing widths of saltbush country, mulga and myall scrubs.

1920 F. W. Boreham Bunch of Everlastings 48 Across vast widths of snow and ice they converged their multitudinous rills.

2012 S. Raven Nature Spirits Remembrance ii. 19 The vast widths of space.

1766 tr. C. Bonnet Contempl. Nature II. xii. x. 141 If therefore a moth, whose cloathing is blue, passes over a red piece of cloth, the widths will be red; she will make herself a harlequin's habit.

1795 T. Ellicott in O. Evans Young Mill-wright & Miller's Guide v. 55 The cloth is sewed two widths of it together.

1854 Peterson's Mag. Nov. 320/1 The dress has two skirts: each of these skirts has nine widths of silk of three alternating colors, pink, green, and white.

1860 R. S. Burn Gloss. Techn. Terms Building 7 Narrow widths of boarding placed round the front hearths to fireplaces.

1892 E. Reeves Homeward Bound 242 She mounted the steps, and I watched her go on her knees right up to the altar..I am sure she would need a new width in the front of her dress.

1957 Oxf. Compan. Theatre (ed. 2) 133/2 Cloth, a term used for any large unframed expanse of canvas or material used for scenery. A modern cloth is generally made of widths of canvas.

1988 B. Hurtig Multi-track Recording for Musicians ii. 7/3 More than one track could be recorded onto a single width of tape.

1993 Collins Compl. DIY Man. (new ed.) ii. 119/1 Carpet widths of 2.74m (9ft) and over are called broadlooms; narrower widths are called body or strip carpets.

2009 J. von Tobel Design Directory of Bedding 39/2 Several widths of fabric are sewn together to make a panel of drapery.

1892 Bristol Mercury 27 Sept. 3/5 An Egg and Spoon Competition, the competitors having to swim two widths of the bath carrying an egg in a spoon held by the left hand.

1930 Swimming Instruction (Amateur Swimming Assoc.) 55 From this stage the class should proceed to swim..several widths, legs only, using supports or ‘Dog Paddle’.

1971 Daily Tel. 17 Nov. 3/6 Mrs Annie Oakley, 86,..has been presented with a certificate for swimming two widths at Soundwell Swimming Club.

1981 H. Engel Ransom Game (1982) xxx. 198 She went off the board again... She did two lengths to each of my widths.

2014 Bournemouth Echo (Nexis) 14 Feb. Children can swim widths at the shallow end of the pool if they wish.

1922 Proc. IRE 10 57 It is necessary to provide for the efficient transmission and reception not only of the carrier frequency itself but also for a band of frequencies of width depending on the frequency and character of the signal itself.

1967 W. R. Hindmarsh Atomic Spectra viii. 86 The natural width of atomic energy levels, which arises from their finite lifetime and the consequent uncertainty in the energy-value.

1991 Compute Sept. 76/2 A modification of the PC bus to double the width of the data path.

2007 Sci. News 6 Jan. 10/1 The width of the X-ray spectrum indicates that the galaxy's central black hole is whirling around at 90 percent of its maximum possible rate of rotation.

1813 J. Fearn Rev. First Princ. Bp. Berkeley 17 The narrow Hair is perceived only by aid of two widthless lines.

1852 Meanderings of Memory I. 98 The widthless road.

1908 G. Dalliba Earth Poem 194 Thy hair is parted on thy widthless brow.

2009 Phronesis 54 240 The sensible world does not contain the sizeless points, breadthless lines, and widthless planes considered in geometry.

1794 S. Williams Nat. & Civil Hist. Vermont 316 When applied to uses which require plaiting widthways.

1890 W. J. Gordon Foundry 63 If they are to be curved lengthways or widthways.

1938 Times 22 Aug. 15/4 Have a large sole, weighing about 2lb... Cut right through widthways into five pieces.

2015 Fife Today (Nexis) 1 Oct. Cut the carrot in half widthways.

1785 tr. A.-H. Anquetil-Duperron Zend-Avesta in R. Gough Compar. View Antient Monuments India 72 Two rows of pillars dividing the temple widthwise.

1882 W. Blades Life & Typogr. W. Caxton 105 The mould..was capable of a sliding adjustment, widthwise to the width of the various letters.

1894 Official Gaz. (U.S. Patent Office) 13 Mar. 1641/1 One or more teeth to intermittently engage said gear wheel and turn said spool and move the ribbon longitudinally at or about the end of the widthwise movement of the ribbon.

1900 O. Onions Compl. Bachelor xv [She] looked me up, down, widthwise, and through, and found no speech.

1964 U.S. Forest Service Res. Note No. 72 (U.S. Department Agriculture) Sept. 2 Extruded boards have properties in the widthwise direction (across the extruder) somewhat similar to those of flat-pressed boards.

2014 N.Y. Times (Nexis) 16 Oct. c1 Cordwood masonry..combines logs laid widthwise, instead of bricks, with mortar to build a wall.