Explanatory Notes Definitions

Usage Index   Names of Plants & Animals

DIVISION OF SENSES
A boldface colon is used in this dictionary to introduce a definition:
equine ...  adj ...  : of, relating to, or resembling a horse or the horse family
It is also used to separate two or more definitions of a single sense:
² imitation  adj ...  : resembling something else that is usu. genuine and of better quality  : not real

Boldface Arabic numerals separate the senses of a word that has more than one sense:
preg·nan·cy ...  n ...  1 : the condition of being pregnant  : GESTATION  2 : the quality of being pregnant (as in meaning)  3 : an instance of being pregnant

Boldface lowercase letters separate the subsenses of a word:
¹ name ...  n ...  3 a : REPUTATION ...  b : an illustrious record  : FAME ...  c : a person or thing with a reputation

Lightface numerals in parentheses indicate a further division of subsenses:
¹ re·treat ...  n ...  1 a (1)  : an act or process of withdrawing ... (2)  : the process of receding ...  b (1)  : the usu. forced withdrawal of troops ... (2)  : a signal for retreating ...

A lightface colon following a definition and immediately preceding two or more subsenses indicates that the subsenses are subsumed by the preceding definition:
ven·om·ous ...  adj ...  1 : full of venom: as  a : POISONOUS, ENVENOMED  b : NOXIOUS, PERNICIOUS ...  c : SPITEFUL, MALEVOLENT
¹ pe·cu·liar ...  adj ...  2 : different from the usual or normal:  a : SPECIAL, PARTICULAR  b : ODD, CURIOUS  c : ECCENTRIC, QUEER

The word  as may or may not follow the lightface colon. Its presence (as at  venomous) indicates that the following subsenses are typical or significant examples. Its absence (as at  peculiar) indicates that the subsenses which follow are exhaustive.

The system of separating the various senses of a word by numerals and letters is a lexical convenience. It reflects something of their semantic relationship, but it does not evaluate senses or set up a hierarchy of importance among them.

Sometimes a particular semantic relationship between senses is suggested by the use of one of four italic sense dividers:  esp, specif, also, or broadly.

The sense divider  esp (for  especially ) is used to introduce the most common meaning subsumed in the more general preceding definition:
tad ...  n ...  1 : a small child;  esp  : BOY

The sense divider  specif (for  specifically ) is used to introduce a common but highly restricted meaning subsumed in the more general preceding definition:
² pitcher  n ...  : one that pitches;  specif  : the player that pitches in a game of baseball

The sense divider  also is used to introduce a meaning that is closely related to but may be considered less important than the preceding sense:
eq·ui·page ...  n ...  3 : a horse-drawn carriage with its servants;  also  : such a carriage alone

The sense divider  broadly is used to introduce an extended or wider meaning of the preceding definition:
pha·lanx ...  n ...  1 : a body of heavily armed infantry in ancient Greece formed in close deep ranks and files;  broadly  : a body of troops in close array

ORDER OF SENSES
The order of senses within an entry is historical: the sense known to have been first used in English is entered first. This is not to be taken to mean, however, that each sense of a multisense word developed from the immediately preceding sense. It is altogether possible that sense 1 of a word has given rise to sense 2 and sense 2 to sense 3, but frequently sense 2 and sense 3 may have arisen independently of one another from sense 1.

When a numbered sense is further subdivided into lettered subsenses, the inclusion of particular subsenses within a sense is based upon their semantic relationship to one another, but their order is likewise historical: subsense 1a is earlier than 1b, 1b is earlier than 1c, and so forth. Divisions of subsenses indicated by lightface numerals in parentheses are also in historical order with respect to one another. Subsenses may be out of historical order, however, with respect to the broader numbered senses:
¹ job ...  n ... (1627)  1 a : a piece of work;  esp  : a small miscellaneous piece of work undertaken on order at a stated rate  b : the object or material on which work is being done  c : something produced by or as if by work < do a better ~ next time >  d : an example of a usu. specified type  : ITEM < this ~ is round-necked and sleeveless  - Lois Long >  2 a : something done for private advantage < suspected the whole incident was a put-up ~  >  b : a criminal enterprise;  specif  : ROBBERY  c : a damaging or destructive bit of work < did a ~ on him > 3 a (1)  : something that has to be done  : TASK (2)  : an undertaking requiring unusual exertion < it was a real ~ to talk over that noise >  b : a specific duty, role, or function  c : a regular remunerative position  d  chiefly Brit  : state of affairs  -  used with  bad or  good < it was a good ~ you didn't hit the old man  - E. L. Thomas >

At  job the date indicates that the earliest unit of meaning, sense 1a, was born in the seventeenth century, and it is readily apparent how the following subsenses are linked to it and to each other by the idea of work. Even subsense 1d is so linked, because while it does not apply exclusively to manufactured items, it often does so, as the illustrative quotation suggests. Yet 1d did not exist before the 1920s, while 2a and 3a (1) both belong to the seventeenth century, although they are later than 1a. Even the very last subsense, 3d, is earlier than 1d, as it is found in the works of Dickens.

Historical order also determines whether transitive or intransitive senses are given first at verbs which have both kinds. If the earliest sense is transitive, all the transitive senses precede all the intransitive senses.

OMISSION OF A SENSE
Occasionally the dictionary user, having turned to an entry, may not find a particular sense that was expected or hoped for. This usually means no more than that the editors judged the sense insufficiently common or otherwise important to include in a dictionary of this scope. Such a sense will frequently be found at the appropriate entry in a dictionary (as Webster's Third New International Dictionary) that has room for less common words and meanings. One special case is worth noting, however.

At times it would be possible to include the definition of a meaning at more than one entry (as at a simple verb and a verb-adverb collocation or at a verb and an adjective derived from a participle of that verb). To save space for other information such double coverage is avoided, and the meaning is generally defined only at the base form. For the derivative term the meaning is then considered to be  e essentially self-explanatory and is not defined. For example  cast off has a sense ``to get rid of'' in such typical contexts as ``cast off all restraint,'' and so has the simple verb  cast in contexts like ``cast all restraint to the winds.'' This meaning is defined as sense 1e(2) of  cast and is omitted from the entry  cast off, where the dictionary user will find a number of senses that cannot be considered self-explanatory in relation to the entries for  cast and  off. Likewise, the entry for the adjective  picked gives only one sense - ``CHOICE, PRIME'' - which is not the meaning of picked in such a context as ``the picked fruit lay stacked in boxes awaiting shipment.'' A definition suitable for this use is not given at  picked because one is given at the first homograph   pick, the verb from which the adjective  picked is derived, as sense 3a - ``to gather by plucking.''

INFORMATION AT INDIVIDUAL SENSES
Information coming between the entry word and the first definition of a multisense word applies to all senses and subsenses. Information applicable only to some senses or subsenses is given between the appropriate boldface numeral or letter and the symbolic colon. A variety of kinds of information is offered in this way:
² palm  n ...  3 [L  palmus, fr.  palma ]
ole·in ...  n ...  2  also  ole·ine \-en, -,e¼n\
¹ disk  or  disc ...  n ...  4 ...  b  usu disc
cru·ci·fix·ion ...  n ...  1 a ...   b  cap
¹ tile ...  n ...  1  pl  tiles  or  tile a ...
del·i·ca·tes·sen ...  n pl ...  1 ...  2  sing, pl  delicatessens
fix·ing ...  n ...  2  pl
² die ...  n, pl  dice ...  or  dies ...   1  pl dice ...  2  pl usu dice ...  3  pl dies ...  4  pl dies
¹ folk ...  n, pl  folk  or  folks ...  4  folks pl
At  palm the subetymology indicates that the third sense, while ultimately derived from the same source (Latin  palma ) as the other senses of the word, has a different immediate etymon (Latin  palmus), from which it receives its meaning. At  olein one is told that in the second sense the word has a variant spelling not used for other senses and that this variant is a secondary or less common one. At  disk the italic label of sense 4b indicates that, while the spelling  disk is overall somewhat the more common (since it precedes  disc out of alphabetical order at the beginning of the entry),  disc is the usual spelling for this particular sense. At  crucifixion the label  cap points out the one meaning of the word in which it is capitalized. At the first homograph  tile no plural is shown at the beginning of the entry because the usual plural,  tiles, is regular. The subsenses of sense 1, however, have a zero plural as well as the usual one, and so both plurals appear in boldface at sense 1. At  delicatessen the situation is different: the entry as a whole is labeled a plural noun, but sense 2 is used as a singular. In this sense  delicatessen can take the plural ending - s when needed, a fact that is indicated by the appearance of the plural in boldface at the sense. At  fixing the italic abbreviation simply means that when used in this sense the word is always written in its plural form,  fixings. At the second homograph  die the actual distribution of the variant plurals can be given sense by sense in italic type because both variants are shown in boldface earlier in the entry. At the first homograph  folk a singular noun is shown with variant plurals of nearly equal frequency, when all senses are taken into account. The fourth sense, however, is unique in being always plural in form and construction. The form of the plural for this sense is  folks, as shown, and the placement of the form before the label instead of after it (as at the senses of  die) means that this sense is always plural.

When an italicized label or guide phrase follows a boldface numeral, the label or phrase applies only to that specific numbered sense and its subsenses. It does not apply to any other boldface numbered senses:
² conceit  vt ...  1  obs ...  2  dial ...  3  dial Brit ...
ro·man·ti·cism ...  n ...  1  often cap  a (1) ... (2) ...  b ...  2 ...
At  conceit the  obs label applies only to sense 1, the  dial label only to sense 2, and the  dial Brit label only to sense 3. At  romanticism, the often cap label applies to all the subsenses of sense 1 but not to sense 2.

When an italicized label or guide phrase follows a boldface letter, the label or phrase applies only to that specific lettered sense and its subsenses. It does not apply to any other boldface lettered senses:
¹ hearse ...  n ...  2 a  archaic ...  b  obs
The  archaic label applies to sense 2a but not to sense 2b. The  obs label applies to sense 2b but not to sense 2a.

When an italicized label or guide phrase follows a parenthesized numeral, the label or phrase applies only to that specific numbered sense:
¹ mat·ter ...  n ...  1 ...  h (1)  obs  : REASON, CAUSE
The  obs label applies to sense 1h(1) and to no other subsenses of the word.