Explanatory Notes

Usage 		Dates Index   Definitions

USAGE LABELS
Three types of status labels are used in this dictionary - temporal, regional, and stylistic - to signal that a word or a sense of a word is not part of the standard vocabulary of English.

The temporal label  obs for ``obsolete'' means that there is no evidence of use since 1755:
egal ...  adj ...  obs
1 in·stance ...  n ...  2 ...  c  obs
The label  obs is a comment on the word being defined. When a thing, as distinguished from the word used to designate it, is obsolete, appropriate orientation is usually given in the definition:
bal·lis·ta ...  n ...  : an ancient military engine often in the form of a crossbow for hurling large missiles
2 ruff  n ...  1 : a wheel-shaped stiff collar worn by men and women of the late 16th and early 17th centuries

The temporal label  archaic means that a word or sense once in common use is found today only sporadically or in special contexts:
thorp ...  n ...  archaic
al·lege ...  vt ...  2  archaic
A word or sense limited in use to a specific region of the U.S. has a regional label. Some regional labels correspond loosely to areas defined in Hans Kurath's  Word Geography of the Eastern United States. The adverb  chiefly precedes a label when the word has some currency outside the specified region, and a double label is used to indicate considerable currency in each of two specific regions:
2 tonic  n ...  1 ...  d  chiefly NewEng
ban·quette ...  n ...  1 ...  b  Southern
cal·cu·late ...  vt ...  3  chiefly Northern
can·ti·na ...  n ...  1  Southwest
em·bar·ca·de·ro ...  n ...  West
light bread ...  n ...  chiefly Southern & Midland
jolt- wag·on ...  n, Midland
2 potlatch  n ...  2  Northwest
Words current in all regions of the U.S. have no label.

A word or sense limited in use to one of the other countries of the English-speaking world has an appropriate regional label:
1 syne ...  adv ...  chiefly Scot
be·gor·ra ...  interj ...  Irish
1 din·kum ...  adj ...  Austral & NewZeal
com·man·do ...  n ...  1  So Afr
ze·bra crossing  n, Brit
foot·ball ...  n ...  1 ...  e Canad
3 gang  vi ...  Scot
him·self ...  pron ...  3  chiefly Irish & Scot
The label  dial for ``dialect'' indicates that the pattern of use of a word or sense is too complex for summary labeling: it usually includes several regional varieties of American English or of American and British English:
2 larrup  vt ...  1  dial
The label  dial Brit indicates currency in several dialects of the British Commonwealth;  dial Eng indicates currency in one or more provincial dialects of England:
1 lair ...  n ...  1  dial Brit
few·trils ...  n pl ...  dial Eng
The stylistic label  slang is used with words or senses that are especially appropriate in contexts of extreme informality, that usually have a currency not limited to a particular region or area of interest, and that are composed typically of shortened forms or extravagant or facetious figures of speech:
clip joint  n ...  1  slang  : a place of public entertainment (as a nightclub) that makes a practice of defrauding patrons (as by overcharging)
hu·mon·gous ...  adj ...  slang ...  : extremely large  : HUGE
natch ...  adv ...  slang ...  : of course  : NATURALLY
There is no satisfactory objective test for slang, especially with reference to a word out of context. No word, in fact, is invariably slang, and many standard words can be given slang applications.

The stylistic label  nonstand for ``nonstandard'' is used for a few words or senses that are disapproved by many but that have some currency in reputable contexts:
ir·re·gard·less ...  adv ...  nonstand
1 lay ...  vi ...  2  nonstand
The stylistic label  substand for ``substandard'' is used for those words or senses that conform to a widespread pattern of usage that differs in choice of word or form from that of the prestige group of the community:
ain't ...  2  substand
learn ...  vt ...  2 a  substand
A subject label or guide phrase is sometimes used to indicate the specific application of a word or sense:
ape·ri·od·ic ...  adj ...  3  cryptology
hemi·he·dral ...  adj ...  of a crystal
1 scram·ble ...  vi ...  5  of a football quarterback
In general, however, subject orientation is given in the definition:
Gun·ther ...  n ...  : a Burgundian king and husband of Brunhild in Germanic legend
plie¬ ...  n ...  : a bending of the knees by a ballet dancer with the back held straight

ILLUSTRATIONS OF USAGE
Definitions are sometimes followed by verbal illustrations that show a typical use of the word in context. These illustrations are enclosed in angle brackets, and the word being illustrated is usually replaced by a lightface swung dash. The swung dash stands for the boldface entry word, and it may be followed by an italicized suffix:
kil·ter ...  n ... < out of ~  >
3 low  adj ...  11 ... < had a ~ opinion of him >
1 join ...  vt ...  4 a ... < ~  ed us for lunc >
proud ...  adj ...  2 ...  b ... < the ~  est moment in her life >
The swung dash is not used when the form of the boldface entry word is changed in suffixation, and it is not used for open compounds:
1 dare ...  vt  1 a ... <  dared him to jump >
set down  vt ...  7 a ... <  set him  down as a liar >
Illustrative quotations are also used to show words in typical contexts:
1 eye ...  n ...  3 ... < the ~ of the problem  - Norman Mailer >
Omissions in quotations are indicated by suspension points:
1 jog ...  vi  1 : ... < his ... holster  jogging against his hip  - Thomas Williams >



USAGE NOTES
Definitions are sometimes followed by usage notes that give supplementary information about such matters as idiom, syntax, semantic relationship, and status. A usage note is introduced by a lightface dash:
1 stead ...  n ...  2 : ...  -  used chiefly in the phrase  to stand one in good stead
3 zero  vt ...  2 a : ...  -  usu. used with  in
1 as ...  adv ...  3 : ...  -  usu. used before a preposition or a participle
1 guide ...  n ...  3 : ...  -  used esp. in commands
1 lar·go ...  adv or adj ...  : ...  -  used as a direction in music
dick ...  n ...  2 : ...  -  usu. considered vulgar
Kaf·fir  or  Kaf·ir ...  n ...  2 ...  : ...  -  usu. used disparagingly
Two or more usage notes are separated by a semicolon:
thank ...  vt ...  1 : ...  -  used in the phrase  thank you usu. without a subject to politely express gratitude < ~ you for the loan >; used in such phrases as  thank God, thank heaven usu. without a subject to express gratitude or more often only the speaker's or writer's pleasure or satisfaction in something

Sometimes a usage note calls attention to one or more terms with the same denotation as the main entry:
wood louse  n ...  : a terrestrial isopod crustacean (suborder Oniscoidea) with a flattened eliptical body often capable of being rolled into a ball  -  called also  pill bug, sow bug
The called-also terms are shown in italic type. If such a term falls alphabetically more than a column away from the main entry, it is entered at its own place with the sole definition being a synonymous cross-reference to the entry where it appears in the usage note:
pill bug  n ...  : WOOD LOUSE
sow bug ...  n ...  : WOOD LOUSE
Sometimes a usage note is used in place of a definition. Some function words (as conjunctions and prepositions) have little or no semantic content; most interjections express feelings but are otherwise untranslatable into meaning; and some other words (as oaths and honorific titles) are more amenable to comment than to definition:
1 if ...  conj ...  3 -  used as a function word to introduce an exclamation expressing a wish
with ...  prep ...  7 a -  used as a function word to indicate manner of action
hey ...  interj ...  -  used esp. to call attention or to express interrogation, surprise, or exultation
3 gad  interj ...  -  used as a mild oath
1 lord ...  n ...  4 -  used as a British title



USAGE PARAGRAPHS
Brief usage paragraphs have been placed at a number of entries for terms that are considered to present problems of confused or disputed usage. A usage paragraph typically summarizes the historical background of the item and its associated body of opinion, compares these with available evidence of current usage, and often adds a few words of suitable advice for the dictionary user.

Each paragraph is signaled by an indented boldface italic usage. Where appropriate, discussion is keyed by sense number to the definition of the meaning in question. Most paragraphs incorporate appropriate verbal illustrations and illustrative quotations to clarify and exemplify the points being made:
ag·gra·vate ...  vt ...  1  obs  a : to make heavy  : BURDEN  b : INCREASE  2 : to make worse, more serious, or more severe  : intensify unpleasantly < problems have been  aggravated by neglec >  3 a : to rouse to displeasure or anger by usu. persistent and often petty goading  b : to produce inflammation in ...
usage Although  aggravate has been used in sense 3a since the 17th century, it has been the object of disapproval only since about 1870. It is used in expository prose< declining to participate directly in the motorcade ... greatly  aggravating the President  - W.F. Buckley  b 1925 > but seems to be more common in speech and casual writing < our two countries  aggravate each other from time to time  - O.W. Holmes (letter to Sir Frederick Pollock, 1895) > < times when we get  aggravated and displeased, for instance, with the French  - Jimmy Carter (press conference, 1980) > Sense 2 is far more common than sense 3a in published prose. Such is not the case, however, with aggravation and  aggravating. Aggravation is used in sense 3 somewhat more than in its earlier senses;  aggravating has practically no use other than to express annoyance.

When a second word is also discussed in a paragraph, the main entry for that word is followed by a run-on usage see - which refers to the entry where the paragraph may be found:
ag·gra·va·ting  adj ... usage see AGGRAVATE