▪ I.way,n.1|weɪ|Forms: 1 weᵹ, North. woeᵹ, 2–3 weiȝ, 2–6 wei, 4–6 weie, weye, 3 wæi, wæiȝ, waiȝ, weȝ, Orm. weȝȝe, 4–5 weiȝe, 3–6 wai, wey, 4 veie, wa, weieȝe, wie, wye, 4–5 veye, 4, 6 vay(e, 4–7 waie, 4–8 waye, 5 whay, weij, 4–6 wy, 9 Sc.wye, 3– way. pl.4 waiis, 5 weyse, waiez, waiss, wayse, weyys.[Com.Teut.:OE.weᵹstr.masc.=OFris.wei, wi (WFr. wei,NFr.wāi),OS.weg (MLG.wech), (M)Du.weg,OHG.weg (MHG.wec, weg-,Mod.G. weg),ON.veg-r (Sw.väg,Da.vei),Goth.wig-s:—OTeut.*weᵹo-z,f.*weᵹ- (:*waᵹ-: *wǣᵹ-) to move, journey, carry(seeweigh v., wain, wawn.1andv.1, wey):—Indogermanic *wegh- (:*wogh-), found in L. vehĕre to carry,Gr.ὄχος (:—*wogho-s) vehicle,Skr.vah to journey, carry. The L. via, way, formerly regarded as cognate, is now generally referred to a different root. The sense-development of theEng.word, however, has been to some extent influenced by L. via and its descendant F. voie(seealso voye, woye), of both which it has always been the normal translation. Many of the uses are of Biblical origin: theHeb.dérek, and theGr.ὁδός in Hellenistic use (Vulg.via, allEng.versions way) have a very wide range of meaning.]I.Road, path.* for passage of persons, animals, vehicles.1. a.gen.A track prepared or available for travelling along; a road, street, lane, or path. Nowesp.in phrases like beside, over, across the way, the other side (of) the way, to cross the way, etc.c950Lindisf.Gosp.Matt.xx. 30And heonu tuoeᵹe blindo sittende æt weᵹ[c 975 Rushw.bi ðæm weᵹe; c
1000Ags.Gosp.wiþ ðone weᵹ; 1382 Wyclif besidis the weye;Vulg.secus viam].
c1055Byrhtferth's Handboc in Anglia VIII. 303Forðon we sittað ymb þam weᵹe wædliende mid timeus sunu.
c1205Lay.524He ferde..to þan ilke weie þe he..wuste þat þe king mid his ferde forð sculde iwenden.
Ibid.5511Heo þohten heom beon on fest þer þe hulles weore mest & senden heom arewen i þon weie narewe.
a1300K. Horn 1304 (Camb.MS.)Þe kniȝt him aslepe lay Al biside þe way.
c1330Arth. & Merl. 7404Þer was a launde of noblay Where come to gider seuen way.
c1350Will.Palerne 1732Abide ȝou in a brod weie bi a large mile.
c1475Rauf Coilȝear 394Tak thy hors and thy harnes in the morning, For to watche weill the wayis.
1579Burghley in NicolasSir C. Hatton (1847) 126Approaching to the house, being led by a large, long, straight fair way, I found[etc.].
1585HiginsJunius' Nomencl. 389/1Compitum,..a waye where manye wayes doe meete.
1585T. Washingtontr.Nicholay'sVoy.i. xii,A bridge..vnder the which is a waye to an old ruined Church.
1632LithgowTrav.x. 433,I saw..women trauayling the way, or toyling at home, carry their Infants about their neckes.
1700T. BrownAmusem.Ser.&Com.127,I cross'd the way to a Book⁓sellers.
1831JamesPhil.Augustus ii,Instead of attempting to continue the way along the side of the hill..a single arch had been thrown over the narrow ravine, and the road carried on..on the other side.
1834DickensSk.Boz, Boarding-ho. ii,He called out to a gentleman on the opposite side of the way.
1835Ibid., Streets—Morning,Mr. Todd's young man just steps over the way.
1886C. E. PascoeLond.To-day xxxi. (ed.3) 287The War Office is altogether out of keeping with the clubs upon the same side of the way.
1887J. Ashby-SterryCucumberChron.5The village is..one long street. On either side of the way are picturesque little cottages.
1887RuskinPræterita II. v. 155For the most part, no English creature ever does see farther than over the way.
1904H. BellocOld Road 96A sunken way of great antiquity leads directly fromSt.Catherine's Hill down to the river.
1910D. G. Hogarth inEncycl.Brit.I. 248/1The latest type of tomb is a flatly vaulted chamber approached by a horizontal or slightly inclined way, whose sides converge above.
transf.1594HookerEccl.Pol.i. iii. §2If the Moone should wander from her beaten way.
b.In figurative context, with reference to a metaphorical walking or travelling. parting of the ways: see partingvbl.n.2 b.†way of indulgence: said of the Virgin Mary as the medium or channel of access to divine mercy. (Cf.Christ's words in John xiv. 6, ‘I am the Way..; no man cometh to the Father but by me’.)c825Vesp. Psalter xxvi. 12Fot..min stod in weᵹe ðæm rehtan.
c950Lindisf.Gosp.Matt.iii. 3Ᵹearuas woeᵹ drihtnes[Vulg.parate viam Domini].
Ibid.vii. 13Rum⁓welle weᵹ ðiu lædas to lose.
c1200Vices & Virtues 21Ðar ðe wei is slider and we lihtliche to fællen.
c1400Pety Job 268 in 26Pol.Poems xxv. 129All the pathes thow hast mette That euer I yede in wey or walle.
c1420HoccleveMother of God 8Modir of mercy, wey of indulgence.
1471CaxtonRecuyell (Sommer) 213Thou haste passid the strayte waye and passage of Infortune fro whens thou art yssued cler as the sonne.
1602Shakes.Ham.ii. ii. 277But in the beaten way of friendship, What make you at Elsonower?
1605BaconAdv.Learn. ii. xi. §1. 45The trauaile therein taken, seemeth to haue ben rather in a Maze, than in a way.
1738WesleyHymns ‘Join all the glorious Names’ v,O let my Feet ne'er..rove, nor seek the crooked Way.
1898M. PembertonPhantom Army i. vii,The way before him was no longer hidden in darkness. He saw that it lay straight—the road to the prison or the scaffold.
c.A main road connecting different parts of a country. Now rare except in names of Roman roads, as the rendering of L. via.Cf.highway.†the king's way:=the king's highway.a900O.E.Martyrol. 28 Aug. 156On þæm weᵹe þe æt Rome is nemned Salaria.
c1000ælfricNum.xxi. 22Swa swa se weᵹ lið we farað[Vulg.via regia gradiemur].
1297R.Glouc.(Rolls) 169Veire weies manion þer beþ in englonde, Ac voure mest of alle..þoru þe olde kinges imad.
1313Newminster Cartul. (Surtees) 51De Sticeleydike per Heddeley wai usque en le Spenstrete.
c1450GodstowReg.541,ij. acris of arable lond..strecche them-self fro the north toward the sowthe beside the kyngis wey.
1482Cov. LeetBk.510Þe grounde..in brede fro London weye stretchyng vnto a Corner of a Close of þe Trinite Gildes.
c1489CaxtonSonnes of Aymon ix. 227There was a waye crossed in four, the one waye was towarde Fraunce.
1533BellendenLivy v. 227Ane tempil was commandit to be maid in þe new way quhare þe voce was herde.
1535CoverdaleJudges v. 6In the tyme of Iael the wayes fayled.
1685Stillingfl.Orig.Brit.ii. 63Whereever the Romans inhabited, they may be traced by their Ways, by their Buildings[etc.].
1688HolmeArmoury iii. 198/2The Overseers of the Ways are Men chosen yearly for to see, and..put in repair all decayed Highways..within the Bounds of the Parish.
1805ScottLast Minstr. i. xxvi,Broad on the left before him lay, For many a mile, the Roman way.
1840ArnoldHist.Rome xxxii. II. 288Nor will the mightiest works of modern engineers ever rival the fame of the Appian Way.
d.transf.In Milky Way and various synonyms.c725CorpusGloss.(Hessels) U 174Uia secta, iringes uueᵹ.
1384[see Milky Way].
1555Mylke way[see milkn.10].
1555Mylke whyte way[see milk-white a. b.].
1563FulkeMeteors (1571) 38The mylke waye called of some the waye to saint Iames, and Watlyng streate.
1594BlundevilExerc., Cosmogr. i. xxi. (1597) 158The milke-white impression in heauen, like vnto a white way, called..of the common people our Ladies Way.
1775Blomefield'sHist.Norf.V. 839They believed..the Milky Way was appointed by Providence to point out the particular place and residence of the virgin, beyond all other places, and was, on that account, generally in that age, called Walsingham-Way; and I have heard old people of this country, so to call and distinguish it some years past.
1844M. A. RichardsonLocalHist.TableBk.Leg.Div.II. 86The Via lactea, or ‘milky way,’ which the peasantry of the North frequently designate ‘the way’.
e.A road considered with reference to the condition of its surface or to difficulties or dangers of transit.a900O.E.Martyrol. 18 Apr. 58Ðæt ða wildan hors scealden iornan[on]hearde weᵹas in westenne & him þa limo all[to]brecan.
1418inE.E. Wills 31,I be-quethe to the mendyng of the feble & foule weye beside Portmannes Crosse..xl s.
1577Knaresb. Wills (Surtees) I. 126To amend a pece of evill waie betwene my house and Hampistwhaite, xij d.
1588Shakes.L.L.L. v. ii. 926When blood is nipt, and waies be fowle.
1632LithgowTrav.i. 10,I bequeathed my proceedings to God,..and my feete to the hard brusing way.
1663PatrickParab. Pilgr. ii. (1687) 5The weather was cold, the ways dirty and dangerous.
c1710C. FiennesDiary (1888) 135To Litchfield is 5 mile more all very good way mostly Gravel.
1712ArbuthnotJohn Bull iii. ix,I hope thou wilt not come too heavy laden, to spoil my Ways.
1789Durnford & EastCases K.B. (1790) III. 263If the way be founderous and out of repair, the public have a right to go on the adjoining land.
1846A. MarshFather Darcy xxviii,‘How are the ways?’ ‘Deep and difficult enough, please your honour.’
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.I. iii. 379In winter, when the ways were bad and the nights long.
1871M. LegrandCambr.Freshm. 301A heap of smaller stones, placed there at the expense of the parish, for the purpose of mending the way.
f.A place of passage,e.g.an opening made through a crowd, a door or gate, etc. Also way in, way out. Hence Way Out sign.Cf.archway, doorway, gateway. Also fig.c1250Gen.& Ex. 3244On twel doles delt ist ðe se, xii. weiȝes ðer-in ben faiȝer and fre.
c1400Destr. Troy 5932In the brest of the batell,..He ffrusshet so felly freikes to ground; Made wayes full wide þe weghis among.
Ibid.6513. c 1400 Mandev. (E.E.T.S.) viii. 36And men seyn þat the wlcanes ben weyes of helle.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 1324Quare althire-thickest was þe thrange þurȝe þaim he rynnes, And makis a wai wyde enoȝe waynes to mete.
1851Mrs. BrowningCasa Guidi Wind. ii. 217Here fortitude can never cut a way Between the Austrian muskets, out of thrall.
1892C. TaylorWitness of Hermas 126The gate is the Son of God. This is the one way-in[εἴσοδος]to the Lord.
1898G. B. ShawPlays II. You never can tell ii. stage direct.,Near the parapet there lurks a way to the kitchen. masked by a little trellis porch.
1914S. Low inEdin.Rev.Oct. 261To a Prussian statesman it seems more natural to ‘hack a way’ through the territory of an unoffending neighbour than it would be to public men else⁓where.
a1926Mod.The words ‘Way out’ are painted on the door.
1972L. MeynellDeath by Arrangement xiii. 178Hooky was forced to follow him along an uncomfortably empty platform towards the ‘Way Out’ sign.
1982J. O'FaolainObedient Wife iii. 59Just follow the Way Out signs.
g.Applied to a path in a wood or through the fields. See also green a. 2 b.13..K. Alis. 6055 (LaudMS.),Hij hadden..Calk trappes made ynowe In wayes & vnder wood bowe.
1484CaxtonFables of Auian xxii,The snowe had couerd al the wayes[in the forest].
1530Palsgr.286/1Way in a woode syde, sente.
h.Fortification. A passage left between walls or buildings. covered (†covert) way (=F. chemin couvert), a passage running along the top of the counterscarp, protected from the enemy's fire by a parapet. (See coveredppl.a. 6, covert a. 1 b.) †way of the rounds (=F. chemin des rondes): seequot.1704.1481CaxtonGodeffroy clxxiii. 257They..dyde do make engyns,..castellys, chattes, and wayes couerd, moche grete plente.
1704J. HarrisLex.Techn.I,Way of the Rounds..is a space left for the Passage of the Rounds between the Rampart and the Wall of a Fortify'd Town.
i.Railways. line of way, a track formed by a pair of rails. See also permanent way, six-foot way, wagon-way.** for passage of things.†2.Phys.A duct or channel of any kind in the body of man or other animal. Obs.[tr.mod.L. via;cf.primæ viæ (lit.‘first ways’) the alimentary canal.]c1425tr.Arderne'sTreat.Fistula, etc. 21Þat may be knowen by..feblynez of þe pacient and if it haue perced þe waiez of þe vryne.
1541CoplandGuydon's Quest. I. iv,The bladder..receyueth the superfluyte vrynall by two longe wayes that descende fro the kydnees.
1615CrookeBody of Man 281Wee must therefore enquire further for the cause of this sterility or barrennesse and not impute it to the interception of the wayes.
3.pl.a.Naut.(Seequot.1867.)1639in FosterCrt.Min.E.Ind.Comp.(1907) 332[The use of one of the..docks with its]shores and waies[to fit and prepare the Cæsar].
a1647Pette inArchaeologia XII. 258The smaller[ship]..was so ill struck upon the launching ways, that she could by no means be put off, which did somewhat discontent his majesty.
1748Anson'sVoy.iii. iii. 325A dry dock was dug for the bark, and ways laid from thence quite into the sea, to facilitate the bringing her up.
1864S. P. FoxKingsbridge Estuary xiii. 163When once the boat is close on the shore, the dogs are on the look out for the pieces of wood, technically called ways, which are placed underneath the boats to draw them up on the beach. It is very rarely that a single way is lost.
1867SmythSailor's Word-bk.,Ways, balks laid down for rolling weights along. Launching ways, two parallel platforms of solid timber, one on each side of the keel of a vessel while building, and on which her cradle slides on launching.
transf.1840R. H. DanaBef. Mast xxix,Smooth strips of wood, well oiled, called ‘ways’ were placed above and below, to cause the book[sc. a packet of hides]to slide in easily.
b.Parallel wooden rails or planks, forming an inclined plane for heavy loads to slide down upon.1868B. J. LossingThe Hudson 264The ice, cut in blocks from the lake above..is sent down upon wooden ‘ways’, that wind through the forest.
c.Mech.Parallel sills forming a track for the slides of the uprights of a planing machine, the carriage of a lathe, or the like.1869RankineCycl.Mach.& Hand-tools Plate I 5,Improved Planing Machine... These uprights are so arranged as to slide in ways..provided for the purpose in the sides of the stationary platform.
II.Course of travel or movement.4. a.A line or course of travel or progression (whether direct or circuitous) by which a place may be reached, or along which a person or thing maypass.Const. to, into, out of (hence with in, outadvs.). to go a person's way, to go along with him.c1000Ags.Gosp.Matt.ii. 12Hi on oðerne weᵹ[Vulg.per aliam viam]in hyra rice ferdon.
c1205Lay.26915Heom ladden twelue of þan leod-folke þa..þa weiȝes[c 1275 weyes]cuðen.
c1250Gen.& Ex. 3255Biforen hem fleȝ an skiȝe briȝt ðat night hem made ðe weiȝe liȝt.
a1300Cursor M. 11736We wil þe wai ga bi þe se.
c1300Havelok 772Ful we[l]he couþe þe rithe wei To lincolne.
1362Langl.P. Pl. A. vi. 24Const þou wissen vs þe wey wher þat he dwelleþ?
1420J. Stokes in EllisOrig.Lett.Ser.iii. I. 68He hadde sent forth Mayster Jon Lobaim vn to zow by the nexte wey.
c1440Generydes 5923With hym ther went Sygrem to be his gide, Costyng the contre many dyuers way, And so came he in to perse the redy waye.
1470–85MaloryArthur i. xi. 51He had the hoost Northward the pryuyest wey that coude be thoughte vnto the foreist of Bedegrayne.
1585T. Washingtontr.Nicholay'sVoy.ii. vi,An vniversall flood, which by croked wayes finally issueth into the Sea.
1604E. G[rimstone]D'Acosta'sHist.Indies iii. iii. 127The waies at Sea are not as at Land, to returne the same way they passe.
1676CottonAngler ii. ii. 12,I hope our way does not lye over any of these[hills]; for I dread a precipice.
1682WhelerJourn. Greece vi. 475,I return'd by the same way.
1732T. LediardSethos II. ix. 293There the way was stopp'd by mountains.
1818ScottHrt. Midl. xiii,Is the Cowgate Port a nearer way to Liberton..than Bristo Port?
1820KeatsEveSt.Agnes xl,Down the wide stairs a darkling way they found.
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.I. iii. 371If he asked his way toSt.James's, his informants sent him to Mile End.
1856G. W. CurtisPrue & I iii. (1892) 113Mr. Bourne..hospitably asked if I were going his way. His way was towards the southern end of the island.
1865Mrs. NewbyComm.Sense li. III. 15Are you coming my way, father?
Proverbs.1562J. HeywoodProv.& Epigr. (1867) 77There be mo waies to the wood than one.
1635QuarlesEmbl. iv. Epig. 2The next way Home's the farthest way about.
1661BoyleStyleScript.(1675) 56The Longest way about is the nearest Way Home.
1669SturmyMariner'sMag.vii. xvii. 27There is several ways to the Wood besides one.
b.fig.with conscious reference to literal travelling. †to take the way of death: to die.a1225Leg.Kath. 1752Þer me unwreah me þe wei, Þet leadeð to liue.
1297R.Glouc.(Rolls) 5320Þe king aldred sone þo þen wey of deþenom.
c1380WyclifSel.Wks.III. 106By þese wytty wordes of oure Lord Jesus Christ, mowe malicious men..knowe þat þey beþ in þe weye to helleward.
1605Shakes.Macb.ii. iii. 21That go the Primrose way to th' euerlasting Bonfire.
1646GatakerMistake Removed 38There is no new way to Heaven now, but the same that ever was.
a1729J. RogersNineteenSerm.v. (1735) 97Every Path before us appears beset with Snares and Dangers, Ways in which we must walk with Fear and Trembling.
a1832MackintoshRevol.1688 i. (1834) 11Having found a way to court through some of those who ministered to the pleasures of the King,..he made his value known by[etc.].
1864NewmanApol.iv. §2 (1913) 296There are but two alternatives, the way to Rome, and the way to Atheism.
1890W. Booth (title)In darkest England and the way out.
c.Phrases. to hold, keep (a certain) way: to follow it without deviation. to know one's way around (or about): to know how to get from place to place in a neighbourhood; fig.to know how to act in any emergency; to have shrewdness born of experience. to light (a person) the way: to hold out a light to enable a person to direct his course. †there lies your way: please to go away. †here lies our, your way: it is time to go. everything coming (or going) one's way: everything happening in one's favour. to go separate ways: to cease to work or operate together and follow different paths.For to ask, find, lose, miss the way, one's way, to feel (†out) one's way, to clear, lead, show, stop the way, see those verbs.c1200Trin.Coll.Hom.161Ðan þe safarinde men seð þe sa stere, hie wuten sone wuderward hie sullen weie holden.
c1386ChaucerMan of Law's T. 709This Messager on morwe whan he wook Vn to the Castel halt the nexte way.
1420J. Stokes in EllisOrig.Lett.Ser.iii. I. 68To declar vn to zow the tyme of hys comyng, and the weyes also the qwych he wele holde.
1548HallChron.,Hen.VI, 173 b,Knowyng by his espials whiche waie therle kept.
1565[see light v.2 4].
1596Shakes.Tam. Shr. iii. ii. 212The dore is open sir, there lies your way.
1601―Twel. N. i. v. 216Will you hoyst sayle sir, heere lies your way.
1606―Tr. & Cr. iv. i. 79Here lyes our way.
1616T. DraxeBibl. Scholast. 29Contempt. Heere is the doore, and there is the way.
1815ScottGuy M. xi,‘Certainly, sir,’ said Mrs. MacCandlish, and hastened to light the way.
1867All Year Round 13 July 56/2In this case the tramp who ‘knows his way about’ knows what to do.
1903G. B. ShawMaxims for Revolutionists in Man & Superman 242In moments of progress the noble succeed, because things are going their way.
1903RedBk.June 167/2Everything was coming his way.
1921GalsworthyTo Let i. v. 52‘That's a young woman who knows her way about,’ he said.
1932KiplingLimits & Renewals 385They must be enjoying themselves now at a theatre. Everything's coming their way.
[1935N. L. McClungClearing in West xix. 152Jack knew his way around, having been here many times the winter before... He drove straight down to Pacific Street to the Farmer's Home.]
1938Times 1 Jan. 10/4Much was certainly lost when the original directorate decided to go separate ways, as from the separation both parties seem to have suffered.
1943O. HammersteinOklahoma! (1947) 18,I got a beautiful feelin' Ev'rythin's goin' my way.
1957‘R. West’Fountain Overflows xi. 241And whatever you could say about my Ma, you couldn't say she didn't know her way about.
1968H. R. F. KeatingInspector Ghote hunts Peacock vii. 95That girl was a pretty slick chick..She knew her way around.
1973G. JenkinsCleft of Stars v. 60,I cursed that old rifle for letting me down at the moment when everything was going my way.
†d.? Guidance, direction. Obs.c1380WyclifSel.Wks.III. 340Þe þridde part of þe Chirche fiȝtiþ here aftir Crist, and takiþ ensaumple and weie of him to come to hevene as he cam.
1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye iii. 307Lyghte to the blynde, way to the croked.
e.to go the wrong way: of food or drink, to go into the windpipe instead of the gullet when being swallowed.1764Phil.Trans.LV. 42An acquaintance..was killed by a piece of chesnut, which went the wrong way, as we commonly express it.
1860HughesTom BrownOxf.iv,In a constant sort of mild epileptic fit, from laughter, and wine going the wrong way.
1860O. W. HolmesElsie Venner vii. (1887) 94He's swallered somethin' the wrong way.
f.Mode of transport.1708Caldwell Papers (Maitl. Club) I. 214,I have inquired what way my goods may safeliest be sent, and am told that by Holstein ships.
g.Way of the Cross (=eccl.L. Via Crucis): a series of images or pictures representing the ‘Stations of the Cross’(seestationn.23), ranged round the interior of a church, or on the road to a church or shrine; also, the series of devotions prescribed to be used at these stations in succession.1868WalcottSacred Archæol. 554The stations of the way of the cross..are— (1) the condemnation of our Lord; (2) Christ bearing His cross; (3)[etc.].
5. a.Course or line of actual movement.1382WyclifProv.xxx. 19The weie of an egle in heuene, the weie of the shadewe eddere on a ston, the weie of a ship in the myd se.
1632LithgowTrav.vii. 327Our way is Serpent like.
1665–6Phil.Trans.I. 6At what Angle the Way of the Comet cuts the æquator.
1683Hooke in BirchHist.Roy.Soc.(1757) IV. 231,I shewed an instrument..by which the way of a ship through the sea might be exactly measured.
1715DesaguliersFiresImpr.146The winding Lines..shew the way of the Air in different Constructions of Chimneys.
1735SomervilleChase iv. 431See there he dives along! Th' ascending Bubbles mark his gloomy Way.
1868LockyerElem.Astron.vii. (1879) 261The direction of the Earth's motion in its orbit, called the Earth's Way.
†b.The wake of a vessel. Obs.c1565J. SparkeSir J. Hawkins' 2ndVoy.in Hakluyt (1589) 535[The alligator]plunged into the water, making a streame like the way of a boate.
c1635N. BotelerDial.Sea Services (1685) 300In speaking of the Wake of a Ship..You said that it was also called the Way.
1706Phillips (ed.Kersey),Way of a Ship, the smooth Water that she makes a-stern when under Sail.
c.Engraving. (Seequot.1891.)1874WillshireAnc.Prints iii. 96This operation..consists in rocking the cradle to and fro in certain directions or ‘ways’, determined by a plan or scale that enables the engraver to pass over the plate in very many directions without any one of them being repeated.
1891Adeline's ArtDict.,Way (Engrav.) the series of parallel paths hewn out by the rocker on a mezzotint is technically termed a way.
6. a.In generalized use: Opportunity for passage or advance; absence of obstruction to forward movement; hence fig.freedom of action, scope, opportunity. In various phrases, as give way(seegive v. 49), have way(see24), make way(see25); alsoellipt.way! (=‘make way’).a1400–50Bk.Curtasye 277 In BabeesBk.,Ȝif þou go with a-noþer at þo gate, And ȝe be bothe of on astate, Be curtasye and let hym haue þe way.
1634Sir T. HerbertTrav.188If any vulgar fellow meet them, they presently shake and vibrate their Swords..and so obtaine the way without opposition.
1714inJrnl.FriendsHist.Soc.(1918) 29Having seen the comfort of our labours I found my way opened for a Return[sc. home].
1850TennysonInMem.cii,Poor rivals in a losing game, That will not yield each other way.
1898A. BalfourTo Arms v,Once or twice I saw a courier flying north,..and clearing the road with a loud shout of ‘Way, way!’
b.in legal documents sometimes equivalent to right of way.1766BlackstoneComm.II. iii. 35A fourth species of incorporeal hereditaments is that of ways; or the right of going over another man's ground.
1790Durnford & EastCases K.B. III. 766The plaintiff..by reason of his possession thereof was entitled to a certain way from the said messuage unto into through and over a certain close of the defendant &c. unto and into the king's common highway &c. and so back again &c.
1803C. BartonElem.Convey. (1821) III. 180If a copyholder has had time out of mind, a way over another's copyhold.
1832Act 2 & 3 Will IV, c. 71 §2No Claim which may be lawfully made at the Common Law, by Custom, Prescription, or Grant, to any Way or other Easement,[etc.].
7. a.Travel or motion along a particular route or in a particular direction. to take (a place, etc.) in one's way: to visit in the course of one's journey.c1000Sax.Leechd.II. 16Læcedom ᵹif mon on langum weᵹe teoriᵹe.
a1400Minor Poems fr. Vernon Ms. xlvii. 121Ᵹif þou haue eny wey to wende, I rede þou here a masse..In þe Morennynge.
14..Tundale's Vis. (Cott.MS.) 42But Tundale hadde a harde warnynge, For as he yn a transynge lay Hys sowle was in a dredefull way, There as hit sawe mony a hydwysse payne Ere hit come to þe body agayne.
c1430Chev. Assigne 220The grypte eyþur a staffe in here honde & on here wey strawȝte.
1568GraftonChron.II. 262They were well onward on their way toward Gascoyn.
1590Shakes.Com.Err. iv. iii. 92Belike his wife acquainted with his fits, On purpose shut the doores against his way.
1600E. Blounttr.Conestaggio 230The ioints thereof[sc. of the boats]were so shaken and open with the waie.
1617J. Taylor (Water P.)Three WeeksObserv.B 1,We past the way away by telling tales by turnes.
1697Drydenæneis iii. 714Our way we bend To Pallas.
1735JohnsonLobo's Abyssinia,Descr.xi. 111,I left the place of my Abode, and took in my way four Fathers,..so that the Company..was five.
1741C'tess Pomfret inC'tess Hartford'sCorr.(1805) III. 166Here we left the shore, but continued our way on very good roads, till[etc.].
1777Earl Carlisle in JesseSelwyn &Contemp.(1844) III. 228As to our motions,..We may take Chatsworth in our way.
1779StorerIbid.IV. 242,I shall look in upon you at Matson in my way.
1818ScottHrt. Midl. xl.The attendants on the execution began to pass the stationary vehicle in their way back to Carlisle.
1827―Highl. Widow i,There was some originality in the man's habits of thinking and expressing himself..which made his conversation amuse the way well enough.
a1863FaberHymn, ‘I was wandering’,As He came along His way.
b.Qualified byposs.pron., the word often occurs as object or as adverbial accusative to the verb go(seego v. 21 b)and its synonyms,†fare,†fere(seefare v. 1, fere v.), wend, etc. From an early period my, his (etc.) way in these collocations were often nearly equivalent to ‘away’, and with this weakened sense they were formerly used with other verbs of motion, as flee(seeflee v. 1 d), run(seerun v. 34), come, pass, ride. In present literary use to go, wend one's way survive as archaisms;mod.dialects have only the imperatives go, come your (thy) way (or ways: see 23 b).c1205[see flee v. 1 d].
c1205Lay.25954Ich wulle faren minne wæi.
a1250Owl & Night. 308Þe hauec folȝeþ gode rede & fliȝt his wei & lat him grede.
c1250Gen.& Ex. 1429Eliezer is went his wei.
a1325Prose Psalter xviii. 6He ioyed as a giaunt to erne his waye.
1390GowerConf.I. 94‘Ryd thanne forth thi wey’, quod sche.
a1400–50Wars Alex. 133Furþe on his fete withouten fole he passis his way.
a1450Knt. de la Tour x. 14Yef ye fare rudely and be cruell with hym[the hawk], he will fle his way and neuer come atte you.
1487Cely Papers (Camden) 167The Kynge..muste flee hys weye owte of the contrey.
1678BunyanPilgr. i. 90Then she railed on me, and I went my way.
1772CumberlandFashionable Lover ii. 23Go your way for a simpleton, and say no more about the matter.
1837DickensPickw. xviii,As he wended his way to the Peacock.
Ibid.xxvi,Mr. Weller went his way back to the George and Vulture.
c.In the Bible phrase to go the way of all the earth (Josh.xxiii. 14, 1 Kings ii. 2) meaning ‘to die’. Also in erroneous forms (due to confusion with other Bible passages), the way of all flesh, way of all living. (The way of all flesh has sometimes been used to mean the experience common to all men in their passage through life.)A passage (dated 900) in Birch's Cartul.Sax.II. 241 ‘Quando ælfred rex..viam vniverse carnis adiit’, shows that the substitution of ‘of all flesh’ (universæ carnis) for ‘of all the earth’ (universæ terræ) was current inmed.Latin. The reading of the Douay Bible (quot.1609) suggests that the substitution must have found its way into some printed copies of the Vulgate; also, the Plantin Concordance (1642) reads carnis s.vv. Caro and Ingredior, though elsewhere the two passages are cited with the reading terræ.1597Shakes.2Hen.IV, v. ii. 4Hee's walk'd the way of Nature, And to our purposes, he liues no more.
1609Bible (Douay)1 Kings ii. 2,I enter into the way of all flesh[Vulg.universæ terræ].
Ibid.,Josh.xxiii. 14. 1611 Heywood Golden Age iii. i. F 4 b,If I go by land, and mis-carry, then I go the way of all flesh. If I go by sea and mis-carry, then I go the way of all fish.
1809MalkinGil Blas i. v. ⁋10,I heard that Don Rodrigo had gone the way of all flesh.
1835DickensSk.Boz, Mr. Watkins Tottle i,He pardoned us off-hand, and allowed us something to live on till he went the way of all flesh.
1887Murray'sMag.Sept. 422His former retainer, Phil Judd, had long gone the way of all flesh, however seasoned.
jocularly.1607Dekker & WebsterWest-w. Hoe ii. ii,I saw him euen now going the way of all flesh (thats to say) towardes the Kitchin.
d.In verbal phrases with the sense ‘to effect a forward movement by the action denoted by the verb’,e.g.in to force, push, squeeze one's way; alsooccas.with the sense ‘to accompany one's advance by the specified action’.1694AtterburySerm.,Isa.lx. 22 (1726) I. 101In this manner the Prophet of the East hew'd out his way by the power of the Sword.
1697DrydenVirg.Georg. iii. 843The slow creeping Evil eats his way, Consumes the parching Limbs, and makes the Life his Prey.
1748RichardsonClarissa (1768) VIII. 137McDonald, being surrounded, attempted to fight his way thro', and wounded his man.
1750GrayElegy 3The plowman homeward plods his weary way.
1770Goldsm.Des. Vill. 42No more thy glassy brook reflects the day, But, choked with sedges, works its weedy way.
1833[see elbow v. 4].
1836DickensSk.Boz,Hosp.Patient,We..entered the office, in company with..as many dirty-faced spectators as could squeeze their way in.
―Ibid., Streets—Night,The muffin-boy rings his way down the little street.
1859―T. Two Cities ii. iii,The virtuous servant, Roger Cly, swore his way through the case at a great rate.
1883WhitelawSophocles, Oed.Col.717The oar-blade wings its wondrous way, Sped by stout arms.
1892Lady F. VerneyVerneyMem.I. 3If enemies forced their way into the house.
1897J. L. AllenChoir Invisible ii,He failed to urge his way through the throng as speedily as he may have expected.
†e.A journey, voyage; a pilgrimage. lit.and fig.Also=eyre. Obs.Withquot.c 1325cf.OF.‘faire une voie a Saint Jacques’ quoted by Du Cange (s.v.Via) with date 1368.a1225Ancr. R. 350Þauh heo beon ine worldliche weie, as ich seide er, of pilegrimes, auh habbeð hore heorte euer toward heouene.
c1325Metr.Hom.53It was a man..That til sain Jamis hit[=hight, promised]the way.
1382WyclifGen.xxiv. 21Wilnyng to wite whether the Lord had maad his weye welsom[Vulg.utrum prosperum iter suum fecisset Dominus], or noon.
a1400Morte Arth. 553He wylle wyghtlye in a qwhyle on his wayes hye.
c1400Three Kings Cologne (1886) 56Whan þey had spoke togedir and euerych of hem had tolde his purpos and þe cause of his weye.
a1500inArnolde'sChron.(1502) B ij b,That the citezens may recorde ther libarteis afore the kingis Justicis and mynystres what so euer notwythstandyng Statutis of the Wey or domes in the contrey made or shewyd oute.
Ibid.C vj,And that the forsayd Citezens in the weys of Justice to the tour of London fro hensforward goyng, that they bee not lad by the lawes by which they were ledde in the Weys holden in the tymes of John and herry Somtyme kynge of englande.
†f.the way's end:lit.the end of the journey; fig.the completion of a process. Obs.1526inHouseh.Ord.(1790) 219It shall be lawfull for the purveyour..to take..such Poultry stuff..paying unto them such prices..as the said purveyor..should have paid therefore at the wayes end.
1528TindaleObed.Chr.Man 141 b,Thou must therfore goo alonge by the scripture as by a lyne, vntyll thou come at Christ, which is the wayes ende and restynge place.
1662PettyTaxes 84The one[stuff]wanting nothing but tacking up, to be at its ways end; and the other tayloring..and several other particulars.
g.to hold, keep one's way (cf.4 c): to travel without interruption; fig.to continue one's course of action, to ‘keep going’. †to hold way, keep way: to keep pace (const.with or dative).c1375Sc.Leg.Saints xi. (Simon & Jude) 326Syne to þe eddris can þai sa; ‘ve commawnd ȝow to hald ȝour va’.
1598Shakes.Merry W. iii. ii. 1Nay keepe your way (little Gallant) you were wont to be a follower, but now you are a Leader.
1599―Much Ado i. i. 144,I would my horse had the speed of your tongue..but keepe your way a Gods name, I haue done.
1605BaconAdv.Learn. ii. vii. §2. 25It seemeth best to keepe way with Antiquities, vsque ad aras.
1625―Ess., Fortune (Arb.) 377When there be not Stonds, nor Restiuenesse in a Mans Nature. But that the wheeles of his Minde keepe way with the wheeles of his Fortune.
1640YorkeUnion Hon., Battles 63She..had her fore mast broken off, which so hindred her sayle, that shee was unable to keepe way with the Fleete.
1706E. WardWooden WorldDiss.(1708) 1It flies so far, that no bird..but a Woodcock, can hold way with it.
1708Constit.Watermen's Co. 82All plying to keep Way, on forfeiture of 00. 00. 06.
1726G. ShelvockeVoy.round World 2,I did not doubt but that I should be able to hold him away.
1818Tuckey'sNarr.Exped.R. ZaireIntrod.p. xxvii,In running..from the Nore to the North Foreland,..she kept way with the transport.
1827ScottSurg.Dau.xiii,The..reeds of the jungle were moving like the ripple of the ocean, when distorted by the course of a shark holding its way near the surface.
1848DickensDombey x,People who have enough to do to hold their own way..had better be content with their own obligations and difficulties.
†h.by the way of my soul (as an oath): by my soul's salvation. Obs.1460PastonLett.I. 522For be the weye of my sowle, this lond wer uttirly on done.
i.Naut.Progress (of a ship or boat) through the water; rate of progress, velocity; impetus gained by a vessel in motion. to freshen way: see freshen v. 3.Cf.under way (38), from which this sense wasperh.evolved.1663Davenant2ndPt.Siege of Rhodes ii. i,Those who withstand The Tide of Flood..Fall back when they in vain would onward row: We strength and way preserve by lying still.
1669SturmyMariner'sMag.iv. vi. 160If you sail against a Current, if it be swifter than the Ship's way, you fall a Stern.
1744M. BishopLife 15She stood away for Brest, and we..fired a Chace Gun, but we fired too soon, for we lost Way and she gained.
1757Phil.Trans.L. 34The sea was rough, and the yacht had great way.
1764J. Byron in Hawkesw.Voy.(1773) I. 23On the 7th, I found myself much farther to the northward than I expected, and therefore supposed the ship's way had been influenced by a current.
1860HughesTom BrownOxf.xiii,Now mind, boys, don't quicken,..four short strokes to get way on her, and then steady.
1885LawRep.10 P.D. 101She ran into the Nio before her way could be stopped.
1889JeromeThree Men in Boat ix,We can't steer, if you keep stopping. You must keep some way on the boat.
1899F. T. BullenLog of Sea-waif 27By the time our way was exhausted, about ninety fathoms had been paid out on the first anchor.
transf.1857DickensDorrit i. xiii,A..short dark man came into the room with so much way upon him, that he was within a foot of Clennam before he could stop.
1911Times 22 Aug. 8/2He shut off his engine and by so doing took the ‘way’ off the biplane.
1914Contemp.Rev.Nov. 680The train gathered way.
j.Colloq.phr.on the (or one's) way out (or down): going down in status, position, estimation, or favour; similarly with in or up, expressing the opposite sense.1937Time 25 Jan. 12/3Every time one of them has called on the President and emerged smiling, rumor has whispered throughout Washington that the other was ‘on his way out’.
1938Sat.Rev.(U.S.) 17 Sept. 17/1The thrill of being on the way up, of being prominent, being envied.
1938H. L. IckesDiary 5 Nov. (1955) II. 497France is but little better than a third-rate power and is on the way down.
1955A. L. RowseExpansionEliz.Eng.i. 27The Scottish king could well afford to make the concession: she was on her way out, he was on his way in.
1960Guardian 9 Dec. 8/5Sunrise yellows and pinks are definitely on the way in.
1962in R. JarrellSad Heart at Supermarket 92Poetry is on the way out!
1975D. BagleySnow Tiger xx. 163This is the last job I'll hold as chief engineer. If I lose it I'll be on the way down—I'll be assistant to some smart young guy who is on his way up.
1980A. ScholefieldBerlin Blind i. 5Calland was a good-looking young man on the way up.
8. a.Distance travelled or to be travelled along a particular route. Hence (withadjs.long, short, good, great, little), a distance between places or to a place; often asadvb.accusative. Also with off.Cf.halfway.a little goes a long way andvarr.: see go v. 43 c, littlen.4. †a mile of way:=‘a mile away’ (obs.rare).c900tr.Bæda'sHist.i. xxiii,Hiᵹ..sumne dæl ðæs weᵹes ᵹefaren hæfdon.
c1000Ep.Alexandri in Cockayne Narratiunculæ (1861) 25Ða ondswarodon hie mec & sæᵹdon þ̶ nære mara weᵹ þonne meahte on tyn daᵹum ᵹeferan.
c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) viii. 32It es a grete way betwene þam.
1535Coverdale1 Kings xix. 7Stonde vp, and eate, for thou hast a greate waye to go.
1551T. WilsonLogic ii. I vii b,It is no good argument, if I se a tree a good way from me, to say, it is a tree, therefore it is an Apple tree.
1585T. Washingtontr.Nicholay'sVoy.iii. viii. 82 b,Trauailing both day and night..[they]do dispatch more way then the best horse..coulde doe.
1588Shakes.L.L.L. iii. 57The way is but short, away.
1590SpenserF.Q. i. i. 28Long way he traveiled before he heard of ought.
1632LithgowTrav.v. 176There came a man, and two women swimming to vs, more then a mile of way.
1662J. Daviestr.Olearius'Voy.Ambass. 36The Sand-banks..reach out a good way into the Sea.
1667SpratHist.R.Soc.250A Chariot-way-wiser, measuring exactly the length of the way of the Chariot or Coach to which it is apply'd.
1697C'tess D'Aunoy'sTrav.(1706) 44They commit these Villanies hard by a Sanctuary, so have the less way to an Altar.
1711BudgellSpect.No.77 ⁋1,I saw him squirr away his Watch a considerable way into the Thames.
1818ScottHrt. Midl. xxxvi,I must ask the favour of your company a little way.
1835DickensSk.Boz, Pawnbroker's Shop,It is a low,..dusty shop, the door of which stands always doubtfully, a little way open.
1844BroughamAlb.Lunel I. ii. 39The Marchioness's walk seldom lasted less than an hour, so that she must have some way to go.
1856F. O. MorrisBrit.Birds V. 8Ventriloquism..making the sound at one moment appear close to the listener, and the next a long way off.
1882BesantAll Sorts xxi,But the village of Davenant is not a great way off.
1898F. MontgomeryTony 18She stood a little way from the door.
fig.1744HarrisThreeTreat.i. (1765) 18And now then, continued he, as we have gone thus far, and have settled between us what we believe Art to be; shall we go a little farther, or is your Patience at an end? Oh! no, replied I, not if any thing be left. We have walked so leisurely, that much remains of our Way.
†b.For a mile way, a furlong way, meaning the time which it takes to go that distance, see mileway, furlong b. Obs.c.Inadvb.phrases used figuratively. (by) a long way: qualifying a comparative,=‘far’ (better, etc.). at the least way(s: see leastways. †a great way: to a great extent. †a foul way out: miserably far from success. some way: for some distance (in time). to go a long or great way: (a) see go v. 43 c, d; (b) to be in agreement with someone. all the way: completely;cf.senses 8 e, f below.1601Shakes.All's Well i. i. 112,I loue him for his sake, And yet I..Thinke him a great way foole.
1601―Jul. C. ii. i. 107Heere, as I point my Sword, the Sunne arises, Which is a great way growing on the South.
1601―Twel. N. ii. iii. 201If I cannot recouer your Neece, I am a foule way out.
1699BentleyPhal. 484Why, forsooth, so much ado, why such a vast way about, to obtain a few Verses?
1850Lady LyttletonLet.12 June (1912) 401,I cannot quite enter into his politics... But a very great way I go along with him.
1859DarwinLet.Nov. (1887) II. vi. 224Also from Quatrefages, who is inclined to go a long way with us.
1859T. HughesTom Brown atOxf.iv, in Macmillan'sMag.Dec. 102/1He is more of a gentleman by a long way than most.
1874Sweet inTrans.Philol.Soc.1873–4, 516The most characteristic features of Middle English, as, for instance, ii and uu, were preserved some way into the sixteenth century.
1890W. E. NorrisMisadventure xiv,Bligh, who was his junior by a long way.
1973‘N. Carter’Spanish Connection x. 112I'm saying I can't buy your story all the way, Corelli.
d.all the way from―to―: (a) throughout the specified interval, at every point in it; (b) U.S., (estimated, etc.) at any amount between the specified quantities.(a)1791R. Mylne2ndRep.ThamesNavig.10There is the finest navigable Water, all the Way from Mr. Tovey's Meadows to Clieve Lock.
1966Listener 5 May 643/2The peak age[for crime]is during the last year at school... The rate is fairly high all the way from twelve to twenty.
(b)1878J. H. BeadleWestern Wilds xxxi. 493The value of the booty taken has been estimated all the way from $150,000 to $300,000.
1931G. T. ClarkLeland Stanford xi. 365The amount said to have been wagered..has been variously stated all the way from $5,000 to $50,000.
e.to go all the way, the whole way: (a) to continue a course of action to its conclusion; spec.(slang), to engage in sexual intercourse (with someone), as opposed just to fondling; (b) to agree completely with someone.1915J. C. PowysVisions & Revisions 12If you lack the courage, or the variability, to go all the way with very different masters, and to let your constructive consistency take care of itself, you may become, perhaps, an admirable moralist; you will never by a clairvoyant critic.
1922H. J. Laski inHolmes-LaskiLett.(1953) I. 412,I can't go all the way with it, for if it was as a business man that the tyrant found the path to power I should have thought there would have been mention of it in Aristotle.
1924P. MarksPlastic Age xiv. 151‘Wonder if Janet would have gone the whole way,’ flitted across his mind.
1927H. T. Lowe-Portertr.Mann's Magic Mountain I. iii. 78‘Am I right?’ ‘You certainly are, I can go all the way with you there.’
1961L. P. HartleyTwo for River 49I'd sooner go the whole way with somebody than natter with them at a tea-table.
1970W. J. BurleyTo kill Cat x. 186The things we found in her room! I mean it was obvious she was going all the way and her not fifteen!
1975Listener 30 Oct. 574/4,I am not sure that I go all the way with Mr Miller in some of his analysis.
1979R. JaffeClass Reunion (1980) i. i. 24She would go to medical school... She didn't know if she would have the guts to go all the way: intern, resident, actually practice medicine.
Ibid.vi. 86They would do as much as they could without either removing the rest of her clothes or going all the way.
f.to come or go a long way (with personalsubj.: for impersonalsubj.see go v. 43 c, d): to achieve much, to make much progress; to have a long way to go, etc., to be far short of some accomplishment; so a long way from, far short of, much inferior to.1917H. J. Laski inHolmes-LaskiLett.(1953) I. 121Your bretheren[sic]..have still a long way to go before they understand the meaning of a certain dissent in Adair v. U.S.
1922W. S. Maugham inPearson'sMag.Oct. 320/2He had come a long way since then.
1925New Yorker 5 Sept. 11/3Which is another way of saying that he will go a very long way.
1933F. BaldwinInnocent Bystander viii. 150Sherry had a long way to travel before she would be a Fontanne or a Cornell.
1935H. L. MenckenLet.4 Jan. (1961) 386You must yet go a long way, of course, before you are eligible to it.
1940Chatelaine July 37/2Pat and Rosemary have come a long way; they started their careers with Fred Waring's Pennsylvanians and ended up stars in one of the largest motion picture studios in the world.
1957Practical Wireless XXXIII. 684/2The system is a very long way from Hi-Fi, but is sufficient for the transmission of speech.
1966Seventeen July 140/3Society seems to have come a long way since the days of the Puritans, and now we're up to topless bathing suits.
1977P. BaelzEthics & Belief vii. 79Man has still a long way to go before he exercises his freedom responsibly and responsively.
9. a.Direction of motion, relative position, or aspect. Chiefly inadvb.phrases, as this way (=hitherwards), my way (=towards me, into my neighbourhood), that way, which way, all ways, etc.In early use way often followed a local name or an.preceded by to with the force of the suffix -ward. Inmod.colloquial andesp.rustic speech expressions like (down) Essex way (i.e.in Essex or its neighbourhood) are common.For the right way, the wrong way, in uses belonging to this sense, see thoseadjs.a1300Cursor M. 22573Þe fixses þat þar-in er stade,..Til erth wai[Gött. Till erdward]þan sal þai fle.
1573–80TusserHusb.(1878) 103In Cambridge shire forward to Lincolne shire way, the champion maketh his fallow in May.
1591Shakes.1 Hen VI, iii. iii. 52Oh turne thy edged Sword another way.
1605―Macb.iv. i. 45By the pricking of my Thumbes, Something wicked this way comes.
1607―Cor.i. iii. 8When youth with comelinesse pluck'd all gaze his way.
1632LithgowTrav.vi. 276From whence we saw..to the Westward, in the way of Egypt, the Castle of..Elisha.
a1654SeldenTable-T. (Arb.) 67As take a straw and throw it up into the Air, you shall see by that which way the Wind is.
1680MoxonMech.Exerc.xiv. 235The Work must run always one way.
1697Drydenæneis xi 1123This way and that his winding Course he bends.
1744M. BishopLife 190Our advantageous Ground was the Destruction of a great many Thousands of the French, for we had them all Ways, Front, and Rear, and Flank.
1800LathomDash of Day i. iii,I seldom come your way now.
1821ScottKenilw. xxiii,Janet..ventured to ask her lady, which way she proposed to direct her flight.
1841ThackerayGt.Hoggarty Diam. ii,As it was a very fine night,[we]strolled out for a walk West End way.
1846JamesStep-Mother xxxviii. II. 106The instant he entered—though the servant said, ‘this way, sir,’ and walked on towards the opposite door—Mr. Morton's visitor stopped, bowed to the ladies,[etc.].
1850NewmanDifficulties Anglicans i. ii. (1891) I. 55Drive a stake into a river's bed, and you will at once ascertain which way it is running.
1853LyttonMy Novel vi. xix,The first time you come my way you shall have two glasses of brandy-and-water.
1873RuskinFors Clav. xxxiii. 2When last I was up Huntly Burn way, there was no burn there.
1878E. J. TrelawnyRec.Shelley etc. I. 167A vehement exclamation..from one of the trio of ladies, drew all eyes her way.
1891‘R. Boldrewood’SydneysideSax.vi,At last I made out a whirlwind coming our way.
1896G. ChanterWitch of Withyford xv. 185Joan she married Farmer Blake as lives over Molton way.
1902‘Violet Jacob’Sheep-Stealers viii,‘Where are you going to now?’.. ‘Down Crishowell way’.
1904P. Landon inTimes 24 Sept. 8/2We took care not to offend..by deviating from the orthodox left-to-right course... The ‘way of the wine’ is a custom which would need no explanation to a Buddhist.
1912S. H. Warren inJrnl.R.Anthrop.Inst.XLII. 115The shaft-hole is bored through the thinnest way of the[stone]blade, so that the cutting-edge comes at right angles to the shaft.
b.fig.in non-spatial applications. that way: in the direction indicated contextually; spec.(a) homosexual; (b) (const.about) in love or infatuated; also (in general sense) that way inclined, to get that way.In colloquial use sometimes in predicative phrases, as (a little) that way, approximating to that condition; (all, quite very much) the other way.1598Shakes.Merry W. iii. ii. 79My consent goes not that way.
1603[see inclinedppl.a. 3 a].
1605―Lear iii. iv. 21O that way madnesse lies, let me shun that.
a1647FletcherLovers' Progr. i. i,You are Poetical. Mal. Something given that way.
1652HowellGiraffi'sRev.Naples ii. 90Three Brothers were detected to have a Design that way.
1707AtterburyVind.Doctr.FuneralSerm.Bennet 32As to the words themselves, there is nothing in them that sounds that way.
1711AddisonSpect.No.108 ⁋7Finding his Genius did not lie that Way.
1794J. H. MoorePract.Navig.(1828) 179Suppose the sun's true azimuth S. 17° 45′ E. and the magnetic azimuth S. 5° 48′ W., required the variation, and which way?
1837DickensPickw. li,‘I'm afraid you're wet.’.. ‘Yes, I am a little that way.’
1858TrollopeThree Clerks xxvi,You must not compare me with them,..They are patterns of excellence. I am all the other way.
1859T. HughesTom Brown atOxf.(1861) I. x. 163Both ‘smalls’ and ‘greats’ are sufficiently distant to be altogether ignored, if we are that way inclined.
1882J. H. BluntRef.Ch.Eng.II. 126Foxe, whose evidence is often one way and his assertions the other.
1885Law Times LXXIX. 161/2The evidence on the point had in his view been all one way.
1916A. BennettThese Twain xx. 518‘He simply hates doing a thing straight off.’ ‘Yes, he is rather that way inclined.’
1922C. SandburgSlabs of Sunburnt West 6How do you get that way?
a1960E. M. ForsterMaurice (1971) vii. 42The Greeks, or most of them, were that way inclined, and to omit it is to omit the mainstay of Athenian society.
Ibid.xii. 62In his second year he met Risley, himself ‘that way’.
1960Wentworth & FlexnerDict.Amer.Slang 540/2That way, in love. Usu. in ‘They are that way about each other.’ c. 1940.
1961V. Sackville-WestNo Signposts in Sea 82If I were that way inclined, which I am not, I can imagine falling in love with him myself.
1965J. P. CarstairsConcrete Kimono xxiii. 207Sharon. Be reasonable. I thought you were ‘that way’ about Roderick.
1966‘J. Hackston’Father clears Out 91It got that way in the end that I used to look forward to seeing Nolan and his team come lumbering down from thenorth.
a1967J. R. AckerleyMy Father & Myself (1968) xvi. 185,I divined that he was homosexual, or as we put it, ‘one of us,’ ‘that way’, ‘so’, or ‘queer’.
c.Prov.to look nine ways, to look two ways for Sunday: to squint excessively. to go, look nine ways (at once, at thrice): expressing the indecision produced by terror or eagerness.1542[see nine A. 3 b].
a1617BayneOnEphes.(1643) 253Some, if a thing come into the head, turne them forth⁓with to it, as busily as if they would goe nine waies at once.
1649[see nine A 3 b].
1869A. MacdonaldLove, Law &Theol.xxi. 451He has..a bad squint, so that..he seemed to be looking two ways for Sunday.
d.the other way about, round: conversely, vice versa; also the other way, the other way around.1834Edin.Rev.Oct. 83The fault, in the present instance, is the other way.
1879R. L. Stevenson inCornh.Mag.Oct. 412He[sc. Burns]was ‘constantly the victim of some fair enslaver’—at least, when it was not the other way about.
1894‘M. Rutherford’Cath.Furze vi,She..never could recollect whether the verb was conjugated, and the noun declined, or whether it was the other way round, to use one of her favourite expressions.
1914Q.Rev.Apr. 382Whilst with Hegel the Logic is the a priori framework of the whole philosophy, with Eucken it is secondary, adjusting itself to the life-process and not the other way about.
1925New Yorker 28 Mar. 25/2It is just as good the other way around.
1963Christian Century 9 Jan. 49/1But the Augustinian, and biblical, position addresses man the other way around: Find God and you will find yourself.
e.one way or (the) other, either way (advb.phr.): in one direction or the other; in the direction of excess or defect, of assent or denial, of confirmation or disproof, etc.1560B. Hampton in T. WrightQ.Eliz.(1838) I. 36As sone as th'ende thereof, either one waye or other, shall be knowne, I will not fayle to move the Quene's Majestie that the same may be[etc.].
1732BerkeleyAlciphr. vi. §5,I should..be glad to be convinced one way or other.
1860DickensUncomm.Trav.vii,The housekeeper who saw it all..seemed to have no opinion about it, one way or other.
a1878B. TaylorGerm.Lit.105There are but a few years' difference between them, either way.
1884Law TimesRep.L. 29/2The Summary Jurisdiction Act 1879 has no real bearing one way or the other on the question.
f.to have it both ways andvarr.: to have advantages from two opposed or contradictory standpoints; to make use of alternatives or contradictions as it suits one.1914G. B. ShawFanny's First Play ii. 191Then I suppose what I did was not evil; or else I was set free for evil as well as good. As father says, you cant have anything both ways at once.
1926F. M. FordMan could stand Up i. ii. 33An oafish thing to do! To take a school⁓girl..just past the age of consent, out all night in a dog⁓cart... You'd think any man who was a man would have avoided that! Most men knew enough to know that the Woman Pays.., the school-girl too! But they get it both ways.
1964C. Hodder-WilliamsMain Experiment vii. 73‘It was only folklore.’.. ‘Yes, but you can't have it both ways. If it frightens you it must mean something.’
1967Listener 13 Apr. 489/2So our dual terminology helps us to have it both ways.
†10.Naut.The run or rake of a ship. (Cf.raken.4 1, runn.25 b.) Obs.1627Capt.J. Smith SeaGram.ii. 10The meane is the best if her after way be answerable.
1691T. H[ale]Acc.NewInvent.122The proportion between the way of the Ship cut off at its greatest transverse section, and the way of the same shaped from the same section forward in the usual manner.
III.Course of life or action, means, manner.11. a.A path or course of life; the activities and fortunes of a person.The use is mainly ofHeb.origin, and is extremely frequent in all English versions of the Bible.c897ælfredGregory's Past. C. xlii, 306Hie etað ðone wæsðm hiera æᵹnes weᵹes[L. comedent fructus viæ suæ (Prov.i. 31)].
971Blickl.Hom.21Oþon leohte is fulfremednesse weᵹ þe we on feran sceolan, þæt is se rihta ᵹeleafa.
c1200Ormin 18068Forr all þe Laferrd Cristess lif & all hiss hallȝhe lare, & all hiss weȝȝe, & all hiss werrc,[etc.].
1375Cursor M. 8590 (Fairf.)Of mister was þer wimmen twyn atte led þaire life in way of syn[Cott. wit sike and sin; other texts in sake and sine (synne)].
1382WyclifProv.xxi. 2Eche weie of a man riȝt to hym semeth.
1653HaneJrnl.(1906) 1By the Lord's providence who disposeth of all the wayes and actions of man.
1667MiltonP.L. iv. 620Man hath his daily work..Appointed, which declares his Dignitie, And the regard of Heav'n on all his waies; While other Animals unactive range And of thir doings God takes no account.
1709PriorHenry & Emma 395One Destiny our Life shall guide; Nor Wild, nor Deep our common Way divide.
1750GrayElegy 76They kept the noiseless tenor of their way.
b.pl.Habits of life,esp.with regard to moral conduct.c825Vesp. Psalter xxxviii. (xxxix.) 1Ic cweð ic haldu weᵹas mine ðet ic ne agylte in tungan minre.[Similarly in all later versions.]
1513MoreRich.IIIWks.39/1So that euer at length euil driftes dreue to nought, & good plain wayes prosper.
1567Gude & Godlie B. (S.T.S.) 95Thow sall not follow wickit mennis wayis.
1599Shakes.etc. Pass. Pilgr. 323And to her will frame all thy waies.
1675OwenIndwelling Sin xvii. (1732) 235His Companions in Sin not finding him in his old Ways, begin to laugh at him.
1832H. MartineauManch.Strike i. 8Those who knew his ways could easily guess at which of his haunts he might be expected when missing from home.
1852Mrs. StoweUncle Tom's C. xxxvii,I wish, friend, thee would leave off cursing and swearing, and think upon thy ways.
1857HughesTom Brown i. i,I shall here shut up for the present, and consider my ways.
1887M. Creighton in Mrs. CreightonLife (1904) I. 375Your letter will give me much food for meditation, and may in time lead to an amendment of my ways.
c.the way or ways of God: the course of God's providence; very common in Bible use.c825Vesp. Psalter xliv. 17Rehtwis dryhten in allum weᵹum his.
1382WyclifProv.viii. 22The Lord weldide me[sc. Wisdom]in the begynnyng of his weies[so 1535 Coverdale; 1611 way].
1667MiltonP.L. viii. 413To attaine The highth and depth of thy Eternal wayes All human thoughts come short, supream of things.
1738C'tess of HertfordCorr.(1805) I. 28It tells us..that a day will come when the ways of Providence will be cleared up.
d.A prescribed course of life or conduct; the law or commandments (of God); also in pl.a1000Andreas 170Leode[he]lærde on lifes weᵹ.
a1300Cursor M. 6858,I..sal hald yow lel mi hight, To-quils yee folu mi wais right.
1382WyclifJob xxi. 14The which seiden to God, Go awei fro vs; the kunnyng of thi weies we wiln not.
1786S. ToldAcc.Life 166,I walked closely in the ways of God.
1879R. K. DouglasConfucianism iii. 72The Sage..maintains a perfect uprightness and pursues the heavenly way without the slightest deflection.
e.the Way: in the Acts of the Apostles, a name for the Christian religion (ἡ ὁδός,Vulg.via).In Acts ix. 2, xix. 9, 23, xxiv. 14, 22, the Greek has ‘the way’; the only English translation that has the literal rendering in all the passages is the Revised Version of 1881 (‘the Way’, with capital). In ix. 2 Wyclif, following an error in someMSS.of the Vulgate, has ‘this life’; later versions down to 1611 have ‘this way’. In xix. 9 and 23 Wyclif, after someMSS.of the Vulgate, has ‘the way of the Lord’ (so, in verse 9, Tindale 1526 and Geneva 1557); later versions of verse 23 down to 1611 ‘that way’. In xxiv. 14 Wyclif has ‘the sect’ (afterVulg.sectam), Tindale and Geneva ‘that way’, Cranmer and 1611 ‘the way’. In xxiv. 22 Wyclif has ‘the way’, Geneva ‘this sect’, and other versions down to 1611 ‘that way’. In Acts xxii. 4 the Greek has ‘this way’, which all the English translators render literally.12. a.A course of action. Often with the phraseology of sense 4, as to go the right way, wrong, nearest way.a1300Cursor M. 29222For-þi to weind þe seker wai I rede we be in penance ai.
1390GowerConf.I. 2,I wolde go the middel weie And wryte a bok betwen the tweie, Somwhat of lust, somewhat of lore.
c1500H. MedwallNature (Brandl) i. 342Yf thou se hym not take hys owne way, Call me cut, when thou metest me a nother day.
1526Pilgr.Perf.(W. de W. 1531) 9In this we may knowe, what waye to take, & what waye to leue.
c1530Ld.Berners Arth. Lyt.Brit.352,I thinke this is a better waye than all to fyght at ones.
1539in W. A. J. ArchboldSomersetRelig.Houses (1892) 75Albeyt we have vsed as many wayes with her as our poore wittes cowde atteyne, yet in the ende we cowde not..bring her to any conformytie.
1560J. Daustr.Sleidane'sComm.216Theyr Archebysshop Herman hathe gon a new waye to worke[L. iniisse novam rationem].
a1586SidneyArcadia ii. xxii. §8 (1912) 293He durst not take open way against them: and as harde it was to take a secrete.
1610Shakes.Temp.ii. ii. 39My best way is to creepe vnder his Gaberdine.
1616T. DraxeBibl. Scholast. 2He goeth the wrong way to worke, or to the wood.
1656CowleyDavideis i. Note 37There is so much to be said of this subject, that the best way is to say nothing of it.
1693LockeEduc.§39The sooner this Way is begun with Children, the easier it will be for them, and their Governors too.
1748SmollettRod. Rand. lxii,He told me that I went the wrong way to work.
†b.(One's) best or most advisable course. Obs.1590Shakes.Com.Err. iv. iii. 93My way is now to hie home to his house, And tell his wife, that[etc.].
1594―Rich.III, i. i. 78,I thinke it is our way, If we will keepe in fauour with the King, To be her men, and weare her Liuery.
1603―Meas.for M. v. 280,I will goe darkely to worke with her. That's the way: for women are light at midnight.
1604―Oth.ii. iii. 393And bring him iumpe, when he may Cassio finde Soliciting his wife: I that's the way.
c.to have (get, etc.) one's (own) way: to be allowed to follow or to enforce on others the course of action on which one is resolved; hence to love, be fond of one's own way.Cf.14 i.1593Shakes.3Hen.VI, iii. ii. 139Like one that..chides the Sea, that sunders him from thence, Saying hee 'le lade it dry, to haue his way.
1611B. JonsonCatitine iv. iii,Had I had my way, He' had mew'd in flames, at home, not i' the Senate.
1622BaconHen.VII 238Hee was of an High Mind, and loued his owne Will, and his owne Way.
1748RichardsonClarissa (1768) I. 147Obstinate, perverse, undutiful Clarissa!..then take your own way, and go up!
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.viii. II. 298Every child knew that his majesty loved to have his own way and could not bear to be thwarted.
1859TennysonMarr. Geraint 466,I myself sometimes despise myself; For I have let men be, and have their way.
1859―Grandmother xviii,Kind, like a man, was he; like a man, too, would have his way.
1866Mrs. WhitneyLeslie Goldthwaite xi,I'll..thank you unutterably, if you'll only let me have my way in this. It will do me so much good, mamma!
1873Mrs. OliphantInnocent III. 310You are..silly, pig-headed, unreasonable, and more fond of your own way than of anything else in the world.
1885Manch.Exam.8 June 4/7If they do not get their own way they will resign.
1893Law Times XCIV. 559/1If I had had my way, I would have fought every one of these actions.
(b)spec.inphr.to have one's way, to have sexual intercourse with (used chiefly of a man).1915ConradVictory iv. xii. 399If I had taken you by the throat this morning and had my way with you, I should never have known what you are.
1939OttawaJrnl.23 Aug. 15/2He might destroyPhil..to have his way with Joan.
1961W. BrownBedeviled 113Although she struggled, she was no match for him and he had ‘had his way with her’.
1980E. JongFanny iii. xiii. 440Thus could Anne Bonny defend herself when she did not fancy a Man, but when she fancied one, she also had her Way with him.
†d.take better way with you: take a more reasonable course. Obs.a1553UdallRoyster D. iv. iii. (Arb.) 65Let me now treate peace, For bloudshed will there be in case this strife increace. Ah good dame Custance, take better way with you.
13. a.A course of action, a device, expedient method, or means, by which some end may be attained or some danger escaped. Const. to with inf. orn., of withgerund.Proverb, where there's a will there's a way.c1175Lamb.Hom.49Þet we maȝen mid ure muðe bringen us ut of þisse putte..and þet þurh þreo herde weies þe þus beoð ihaten: Cordis contritione, Oris confessione, Operis satisfactione.
c140026Pol.Poems iv. 36By al way make hym þi frende.
c1400Pety Job 382 ibid. 133,I may nat from thy respeccioun By no way, lorde, hyde now me.
c1470Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 109As for the nexte corte they hathe founde a wey þat ther schull no thyng be do, yn so myche as ye be absent.
a1548HallChron.,Hen.VII, 50For after yt tyme there were an hundred wayes practised and invented how at one time or another, to deliver or convey them out of pryson.
1550CrowleyLast Trumpet 699Why should not I..Haue benefices two or thre? Sens thou hast taught me the wei how I may kepe them and blamelesse be.
1606Shakes.Ant.&Cl.i. iii. 10Thou teachest like a foole: the way to lose him.
1624DonneDevot. x. (ed.2) 217Those are the greatest mischiefes, which are least discerned; the most insensible in their waies come to be the most sensible in their ends.
a1633G. HerbertOutlandishProv.(1640) 730To him that will, waies are not wanting.
1668R. SteeleHusbandm. Calling v. (1672) 96The way to have full barns, is to have free hands.
1685F. Cheneau (title)French Grammar enriched with a compendious and short way to learn the French tongue in a very short time..; and a very rare way to find out all the articles, nouns, pronouns[etc.].
1720De FoeCapt.Singleton ii. (1840) 25They took ways..to satisfy us.
1753RichardsonGrandison I. ii. 5And tho' he finds a way, by his sister..to let Miss Byron know his passion.
1844BroughamAlb.Lunel xvi. II. 176Against England he is implacable and the only way to ruffle his temper is to praise her.
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.x. II. 554He now saw that there was only one way of averting general confusion.
1882BesantAll Sorts xxi,‘Is there no way,’ she asked, ‘in which he can earn money?’
1892Speaker 3 Sept. 292/2Mr. Huxley..can see but one way of arriving at truth; which he calls experience.
1918CornhillMag.June 634Radicals who preached Colonial Self-government as the way and the only way to Imperial Unity.
b.Coupled with the synonymous meann.: see ways and means. Also †mean way(seemean a.2 4), †way moyen(seemoyen a.). Also †ways and grounds.c1400Rom.Rose 4844Wher they ne may Finde non other mene wey[Fr.ou nus ne set le moien querre].
1430–1Rolls of Parlt. IV. 375/2Upon grete subtilite.., and colored menes and weyes.
1440inWarsEng.in France (Rolls) II. 444For elles youre partie adverse and the saide duc might not godely have founden the moyens and the weyes to have communed to geder to conclude thaire confedracy.
1455Rolls of Parlt. V. 287/2So the weyes and groundes may be founde and hadde for paiement.
1470Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 115Our Traitours..which daily labour þe weyes moyens at þeir power of our final destruccion.
1560J. Daustr.Sleidane'sComm.82This is the onely meane and waye, that is euermore certayne and sure.
1561T. Hobytr.Castiglione's Courtyer ii. (1577) N 1 b,Ech honest louer..vseth so manye meanes and wayes to please the woman whome hee loueth.
†c.to have the way(s: to know how to do something. Obs.1542UdallErasm. Apoph. 163O the right philosophicall herte of this prince, who had the waye, euen of his enemies, also to take vtilitee and profite.
Ibid.200Oh what an horse these folkes dooe marre, while through defaulte of skylle..thei haue not the wayes to handle hym[L. dum illo per imperitiam..uti nesciunt].
d.way out of: a means of escape from (a difficulty).Cf.sense 4.1875JowettPlato (ed.2) V. 430Let us..ask ourselves..whether we have discovered a way out of the difficulty.
14. a.Manner in which something is done or takes place; method of performing an action or operation.c725CorpusGloss.(Hessels) Q 74Quocumque modo, ᵹehwelci weᵹa.
c1350Will.Palerne 5526He wold haue do beter, ȝif is witte in eny weiȝes wold him haue serued.
1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye i. v. 17Lyghtnynge hys soule..with the spiritual vnderstondyng of hys wordes & that in tow wayes.
1563T. GaleAntidot.Pref.2The methode and way of composition of suche medicines.
1577B. GoogeHeresbach'sHusb.ii. 72But are there more wayes then one of plantyng and setting?
1603Shakes.Meas.for M. iii. ii. 112They say this Angelo was not made by Man and Woman, after this downe⁓right way of Creation.
1617MorysonItin. i. 67After dinner we rode in like way two miles, to the City Lowen.
1638JuniusPaint. Ancients 227As for the things an Artificer shall judge to be worth his pains, he shall not onely invent them after the best way, but also after the easiest way.
1651BaxterInf. Bapt. 23There is more ways of teaching then by preaching in a Pulpit.
1669SturmyMariner'sMag.iv. xvii. 202A perfect Method and Way of keeping Account.
1687A. Lovelltr.Thevenot'sTrav.i. 34,I have said enough of the Turks way of Eating, Drinking and Sleeping.
1711AddisonSpect.No.124 ⁋4,I may pronounce their Characters from their Way of Writing.
1743Bulkeley & CumminsVoy.S. Seas 66We have found out a new way of managing the Haugh.
1747H. GlasseCookery i. 4There are several Ways of making Sauce for a Pig.
1798S. LeeCanterb.T.,Yng.Lady's T. II. 341She exacted, in consideration of this concession, that he should allow her to do it in her own way.
1827FaradayChem.Manip.xxiii. (1842) 586In many other situations a bad conductor is of service in a similar way.
1860Geo.Eliot Mill onFl.II. iii. vii. 107I'm not a-defending him, in no way, for being so hot about th' erigation.
1878HardyRet.Native ii. ii. (1890) 113Yet why, aunt, does everybody keep on making me think that I do, by the way they behave towards me?
1895Law Times XCIX. 546/1Any practical suggestions pointing out in what way assistance may be rendered to students generally.
1897J. W. ClarkBarnwellIntrod.9A few words on the way in which I was led to undertake the work.
1952M. R. RinehartPool (1953) xx. 170It's no way to talk about a sister, but I've had about all I can take.
†b.Literary style or method. Obs.1632J. Haywardtr.Biondi's Eromena To Rdr. A iv,The Authours peculiar way of imbellishing it..gained so much on the Italian humour, as it induced divers of that Nobility to procure him to second it..with another Tome.
a1639WottonSurv.Educ.Reliq. (1651) 334And this is enough for the disclosing of a good Capacity in the popular way; which I have followed, because the Subject is generall.
1671DrydenEven.LovePref.a 1 b,I admire and applaud him where I ought: those who do more, do but value themselves in their admiration of him: and, by telling you they extoll Ben. Johnson's way, would insinuate to you that they can practice it.
1691WoodAth.Oxon.II. 641Five Sermons in five several stiles or waies of preaching. The first in Bishop Andrews way... The second in B. Halls way.
c.In Chem.and Assaying. the humid way, moist way, or wet way, the dry way (=F. voie humide, voie sèche), processes distinguished by the presence or absence of liquid.1796[see dry a. 11 e].
1800tr.Lagrange'sChem.I. 398,I am not yet able to give an account..of the results of this analysis by the wet way.
1838[see humid a. c].
1839[see moist a. 5].
d.Adverbial phrases withoutprep.See also anyway, someway.Now somewhat rare, the form with in being commonly preferred. For no way see nowayadv.a1300Cursor M. 12623Leue sun,..þi fader and i has mani wais Soght þe abute this thre dais.
c1380WyclifSel.Wks.III. 348Freris..spuylen þe puple many weies by ipocrisie and oþer leesingis.
1526TindaleHeb.i. 1God in tyme past diversly and many wayes[Gr.πολυτρόπως]spake vnto the fathers by prophetes.
1553T. WilsonRhet.iii. 90 b,When by deuersity of inuention, a sentence is manye wayes spoken.
1560J. Daustr.Sleidane'sComm.286He declareth..how many wayes they have rebelled[L. quam multis modis rebellarint ostendit].
1589HakluytVoy.Ep.Ded.⁋5It hath passed..the censure of the learned phisitian M. Doctor Iames, a man many wayes very notably qualified.
1599Shakes.Much Ado ii. i. 198What fashion will you weare the Garland off?.. You must weare it one way, for the Prince hath got your Hero.
c1600―Sonn.xvi. 1But wherefore do not you a mightier waie Make warre vppon this bloudie tirant time?
1612PeachamGentl.Exerc.iii. 167The Lion..is borne these waies, Rampant, Passant, Saliant, Seisant or couchant.
1651HobbesLeviath. ii. xxxi. 187God declareth his Lawes three wayes.
1653WaltonAngler x. 187Some say, they[sc. eels]breed..out of the putrifaction of the earth, and divers other waies.
1659Nicholas Papers (Camden) IV. 122There Fleetewood, Desborow, with the greatest officers seeke God for councell and act theire owne way.
1682DrydenMac Flecknoe 208There thou maist..torture one poor word Ten thousand ways.
1695W. J.tr.Bossu'sTreat.Epick Poem ii. vii. 72An Action may be entire and compleat two ways.
1780JohnsonLet.to Mrs. Thrale 4 July,I..hope she will not be too rigorous with the young ones, but allow them to be happy their own way.
e.Coupled with manner. Also inadvb.phrases, all manner of ways, any manner of way (†ways). Now rare.1430Reg.Mag.Sig.Scot.38/2The fermys and the frottis in the menc tyme tane in the principale some of na maner of waye to be contyt.
1474Stonor Papers (Camden) I. 141The grace of Jhesu, hom I mekely beseche..to preserve your fadyrhod yn alle maner of weyys.
1508Reg.Privy SealScot.I. 253/1Alienatioun thairof in heretage, lyferent, or lang takis forthir than thre ȝeris, onymaner of way.
1533GauRicht Vay (S.T.S.) 26Ane man ma trow ii maner of wais of god.
1654D. OsborneLett.(1888) 225My Lady Ruthin..has put a tune to them that I may hear them all manner of ways.
1705in W. S. PerryHist.Coll.Amer.Col.Ch.I. 162Signed; but without the Privity..of GovrNicholson or his being any manner of ways connected in it.
1718inNairne PeerageEvid.(1874) 33In such way and manner as to his Majesty should seem meet.
1720A. PetrieRules Good Deportm. (1877) 20It is rude in Company to break Wind any Manner of Way, tho amongst Inferiors.
1815ScottGuy M. xii,O ay, sir, there's nae doubt o' that, though there are mony idle clashes about the way and manner.
f.in his (her, its, their) way: appended to expressions of praise, with the implication that the praise given is to be understood in a limited sense appropriate to the object. in a way (colloq.in a sort of way): appended to a statement to intimate that it might be taken to imply more than it is meant to do.1711SteeleSpect.No.43 ⁋3We are all Grave, Serious, Designing Men, in our Way.
1742RichardsonPamela III. 255You are two beloved Creatures: Both excellent in your way.
1749in10thRep.Hist.MSS.Comm.App.i. 303,I have received from Cairo the Egyptian figures one of which in their way I do not think bad.
1829ScottRob RoyIntrod.1st half,All whom I have conversed with, and I have in my youth seen some who knew Rob Roy personally, gave him the character of a benevolent and humane man ‘in his way.’
1835DickensSk.Boz,Parl.Sk.,Jane is as great a character as Nicholas, in her way.
1855PrescottPhilip II, i. viii. (1857) 149The letter of plenipotentiaries..is a model in its way.
1865Mrs. WhitneyGayworthys xxix,Of all the looks I ever see in a human face, his was the grievedest then..; and yet, in a kind of way, it was the grandest.
1878BrowningPoets Croisic xlviii,Latin verses, lovely in their way.
1885‘Mrs. Alexander’Valerie's Fate iii,He is handsome in a way—not elegant and soigné like Captain Grey, but there is something about him[etc.].
1905R. BagotPassport iii. 16Its apartments, though stately in their way, were neither historic nor[etc.].
g.way of thinking: now usually, a set of opinions or principles characteristic of a party or sect. In earlier use with other senses,e.g.a purpose or intention, a (high or low) level of moral principle.1709SteeleTatlerNo.66 ⁋1Lysander, who is something particular in his Way of Thinking and Speaking, told us, a Man could not be Eloquent without Action.
1737Gentl.Mag.VII. 81The Thing..was, at the best, but a very mean Action, and argued a low Way of Thinking.
1744M. BishopLife 3,I hope he will turn your Heart from this Way of thinking[sc. wanting to go to sea].
1841HelpsEss., Transaction of Business (1842) 93It is often worth while to bestow much pains in gaining over foolish people to your way of thinking.
1891KiplingLight That Failed xi,More than you will be of that way of thinking, young woman.
h.way of living or life: habits (of an individual or a community) with regard to food, habitation, intercourse, etc. Now also in weakened use: a principle or activity that governs all one's actions; a dominating interest or occupation.1605Shakes.Macbeth v. iii. 24My way of life Is falne into the Seare, the yellow Leafe.
1681Rycauttr.Gracian's Critick To Rdr. A 8 b,Their Customs and way of living are different to other Nations of Europe.
1729T. InnesCrit.Ess.(1879) 238The same author..tells us that in his time the Britains were, as to their manners and way of living, partly like to the inhabitants of the Gauls.
1741C'tess Pomfret inC'tess Hartford'sCorr.(1805) III. 369,I have got into as regular a way of life here as I could be in at my own house.
1774Goldsm.Nat.Hist.VIII. 184If we examine their way of living, we shall find these insects chiefly subsisting upon others, much less than themselves.
1777Sir W. JonesEss.i. 180Since their way of life gives them leisure to pursue those arts.
1898M. PembertonPhantom Army i. vi,That the hour would come when he must lay down the sword..and turn with shame from the old way of life.
1917H. J. Laski inHolmes-LaskiLett.(1953) I. 104Education is a way of life and not the collection of information.
1938Amer.Jrnl.Sociol.XLIV. 1 (heading)Urbanism as a way of life.
1957TimesLit.Suppl.1 Nov. 650/5Democracy has not yet been accepted as a way of life in Germany.
1970DailyTel.4 Sept. 5/2The investigation..is expected to ask searching questions into the safety of supertankers, which have now become a ‘way of life’.
1974Times 8 Mar. 23/5 (heading)Hong-kong... Where a quick profit is a way of life.
1981Q. CrispHow to become a Virgin 188Giving talks to American universities could easily be converted into a way of life.
i.to have everything one's own way, to have it all one's own way: to have one's wishes carried out; to meet with no resistance or opposition.Cf.12 c.1709SteeleTatlerNo.66 ⁋2Therefore he would have it his Way, and our Friend is to drink till he is carbuncled and Tun-bellied.
1744M. BishopLife 107Never deny him any Thing, for he loves to have every Thing his own Way.
1847HelpsFriends in C. i. viii. 154That easiness of mind, which is easy because it is tolerant, because it does not look to have everything its own way.
1853LyttonMy Novel iv. vii,That literature admits no controversialists, and the writer has it all his own way.
1858SearsAthan. xvi. 133What sort of a world would you make for yourself, if you could have everything your own way?
j.In various phrases. †there is no way but one: death (or ruin) is certain. no two ways about it or that (?orig.U.S.colloq.): there can be no doubt of the fact. it is always the way with (him): (he) always acts so. by (or with) his way of it (Sc.): according to his account of it. there is no way (with dependent clause) (colloq.): there is no possibility that;cf.nowayadv.1570? Tarlton inOld Ballads (PercySoc.1840) 82No horse nor man could passe Of busines small or post, For issue none there was, No way but to be lost.
1586Marlowe1stPt.Tamburl. v. ii. 1982The Souldan and the Arabian king together Martch on vs with such eager violence, As if there were no way but one with vs.
1599Shakes.Hen.V, ii. iii. 16After I saw him fumble with the Sheets..[etc.], I knew there was but one way.
1678DrydenAll for LovePref.b 4,For if he heard the malicious Trumpetter proclaiming his name before his betters, he knew there was but one way with him.
1796–7Jane AustenPride & Prej. xliii,‘And this is always the way with him,’ she added. ‘Whatever can give his sister any pleasure, is sure to be done in a moment.’
1818FearonSk.America 320 (Thorntons.v.No)You and I have got to dovetail, and no two ways about it.
1834J. HallKentucky I. 145‘This has been a powerful hot day.’.. ‘No two ways about that,’ said the hunter.
1842DickensAmer.Notes vi,Well, they're[i.e.the cells are]pretty nigh full, and that's a fact, and no two ways about it.
1852H. RogersEcl. Faith (1853) 221It is too much the way with you objectors to say[etc.].
1867Mrs. OliphantMadonna Mary I. viii. 119But then that is often the way with those well-off people.
1889StevensonMaster of Ballantrae ii,Onyway he was a great hand by his way of it, and he up and rebuked the Master for some of his on-goings.
1975New Yorker 1 Dec. 55/2There is no way a losing candidate can pick himself up and pretend nothing has happened to him.
1977DailyTel.10 Oct. 12/8We are operating an emergency service and there is no way we would strike and let the old folk down.
1978S. BrillTeamsters x. 380There was no way he would support the President's reelection.
1978G. A. SheehanRunning & Being xiii. 188He had recognized the bald head and there was no way I was going to beat him.
k.in this way: in colloquiallang.sometimes used vaguely for ‘thus’ or ‘so’, when not the manner of an action but the action itself is in question.1837DickensPickw. xxviii,I can't let you cut an old friend in this way.
l.(in) one way or (or and) another: by any of various methods, for any of various reasons, in any of various respects.Cf.sense 9 e.1861T. HughesTom Brown atOxf.I. iii. 40Being a good whist and billiard player, and not a bad jockey, he managed in one way or another to make his young friends pay well for the honour of his acquaintance.
1923R. MacaulayTold by Idiot i. v. 23One way and another, what with papa's friends and mamma's and the children's, a good deal of life flowed into the..house.
1955L. P. HartleyPerfect Woman viii. 79What, after all, had he to tell Alec that mattered so much, one way or another?
1965M. AllinghamMind Readers xix. 211We're in for a very busy time, my lad, one way and another.
1973Listener 15 Nov. 661/3,I was quite well educated, one way and another.
1979A. PriceTomorrow's Ghost xii. 216Captain Fitzgibbon wouldn't come back from that last Ulster tour, one way or another.
m.way of looking at it or things: the (personal) perspective from which one views a situation or event,esp.as regards attitudes brought to it or implications seen in it; a point of view.[1845: seelook v. 3 a.
1861T. HughesTom Brown atOxf.III. v. 95Mary's habits, and thoughts, and ways of looking at and judging of people and things, were much changed.]
1881H. JamesPortr. Lady I. xvii. 218,I can't make out that what he tells me about the royal family is much to their credit; but he says that's only my peculiar way of looking at it.
1893‘L. Carroll’Sylvie & Bruno Concluded ii. 27It's a new way of looking at it—to me..but it seems a true way, also.
1905E. G. WhiteMinistry of Healing 483We differ so widely in disposition, habits, education, that our ways of looking at things vary.
1911D. H. LawrenceWhite Peacock ii. i. 202It's one way of looking at things.
1963D. LessingMan & Two Women 141,I mean to say, you've got to take the rough with the smooth, and there's no other way of looking at it.
n.the way: so that, with the result that. Ir.1899Somerville & ‘Ross’Some Experiences Irish R.M. v. 118A couple o' dhraws o' th' ash plant across the butt o' the tail, the way I wouldn't blind her.
1912J. StephensCrock of Gold xiv. 225Be sure and hold him tight..the way we can have a good look at him.
1924R. MacaulayOrphan Island i. 16We must see about fermenting some of this fruit-juice, the way we'll get something fit to drink.
o.it's this way: acolloq.formula introducing an oral explanation.1905‘O. Henry’Strictly Business (1910)But it's this way: Suppose you're a Fifth Avenue millionaire, soaring high.
1938T. CaldwellDynasty of Death (1939) i. 385Well, it's this way, Paul: you see, a number of us must stay at home to make the guns..for our soldiers to use.
1961East AnglianMag.July 505‘It's this way,’ he expounded to his cronies in the know.
1970[see lose v.1 9 b].
15.Inadvb.phrases like (in) all ways, (in) any way, (in) one way, (in) more ways than one, etc., the sense of ‘manner’(see14)passes into that of: An aspect, feature, or respect; a point or particular of comparison.1598Shakes.Merry W. i. iv. 15His worst fault is that he is giuen to prayer; hee is something peeuish that way.
a1600HookerWks.(1836) III. 796That justice exacteth punishment for offending, even after their offences be forgiven them, there is, as it seemeth, proof sufficient more ways than one.
a1626BaconNew Atl. (1900) 38/13Also we make them differ in Colour, Shape, Activity, many wayes.
1630B. JonsonNew Inn iv. iii,The office of a man Thats truly valiant, is considerable Three ways: the first in respect of matter..; in respect of forme..; And in the end[etc.].
1816Edin.Rev.Dec. 464The foreign Commissioners had not yet reached St Helena, whose presence in the island may justly have alarmed Sir Hudson, in more ways than one, for the safety of his prisoner.
1885‘Mrs. Alexander’Valerie's Fate v,May you find a companion better in all ways than I could have been!
1893Le GallienneRetrosp.Rev.(1896) II. 21A teetotaler, however admirable in other ways, is not the fit person to edit Burns.
1895HardyJude v. viii. 398Her loss was a loss to me in more ways than one!
1952M. R. RinehartSwimming Pool xiv. 129It's a dead end, in more ways than one.
16. a.A condition regarded as hopeful or the contrary. Chiefly with qualifyingadj.: in a good way, bad way, forward (etc.) way. †to stand in good way: to be likely to prosper. †to be in way with: to be in treaty with (a person) for something. †to put (a business) in a way: to put in train. (to put) in the (or a, that) way: (to make) pregnant;cf.in the family ways.v.family 10 b.Also to be in a fair way (to do something): see fair a. 14.1467PastonLett.Suppl.113Wer by, I undy[r]stand,..all thyng standyth in good way.
1480Cely Papers (Camden) 49,I am in whay wtIyshbryght van whennysbarge for an ij of yowr sarplers. I hope I shall go thorow wthym.
c1500inJoseph Arimath. (E.E.T.S.) 32He..set his realme & his housholde in good waye..& toke his Iourney.
1624inEng.Hist.Rev.(1913) Jan. 129When he hath put the business in a way, then he[the Secretary]is to go back and take his own place.
1648GageWestInd.210,I am in a good way for salvation.
1691T. H[ale]Acc.NewInvent.p. xviii,Timber sufficient for the use of the Navy Royal had now been in a forward way to its sufficient growth.
1698J. CollierImmor. Stage 211When ever you see a thorough Libertine, you may almost swear he is in a rising way, and that the Poet intends to make him a greatMan.
1726G. ShelvockeVoy.round World 347People in such a forlorn way are apt to form innumerable apprehensions.
1742RichardsonPamela III. 228[She]told me..that the Way I was in[sc. ‘in the family way’], made her love me better and better.
Ibid.354So having congratulated their hopeful Way, and wished them to take care of themselves[etc.].
1809WindhamLet.23 July in Sp.(1812) I. 109But one of the poor men who were hurt at the fire is dead, and another of them is, I fear, in a bad way.
1817Jane AustenLet.23 Mar. (1952) 488MrsClement too is in that way again. I am quite tired of so many Children.
1828CarrCravenGloss.s.v.,‘To be in a hinging way,’ neither well nor ill.
1831Mrs. ArbuthnotLet.18 Feb. in C. Arbuthnot Corr.(1941) 140Young Ly. C. is not in a way; the old housekeeper wrote to her something about it, & she wrote back word, ‘God's will be done.’
1838DickensNich. Nick. xxiii,There was Mrs. Lenville, in a very limp bonnet and veil, decidedly in that way in which she would wish to be if she truly loved Mr. Lenville.
1867Queen VictoriaLet.25 Oct. in R. Fulford Your Dear Letter (1971) 155Dearest child, why did you not tell me, your own mother, when you first began being in that way?
1871SmilesCharac.i. 26The nation that has no higher god than pleasure, or even dollars or calico, must needs be in a poor way.
1960Pick of Today's Short Stories XI. 215They'd both eloped... ‘I'll bet he put her in the way’.
1980J. RoseElizabeth Fry iii. 44She suspected herself of being pregnant, ‘in the way’ as she called it.
b.to be in a way (with or without specifyingadj.): to be in a state of mental distress or anxiety. dial.Cf.staten.2 c.1855Mag, for Young XIV. 131She keeps on crying out for her mamma..and she is in such a way as I never saw.
1869A. MacdonaldLove, Law &Theol.xvi. 313But they say she's in a dreedfu' wey..She's never yet heerd frae her man[etc.].
Ibid.xviii. 354She'll gae clean distrackit—a hear she's in a sair wey aboot it.
1873SpillingM. Miggs 81 (E.D.D.)Well, there, I was in a way.
1883F. M. PeardContrad. xxvi,Mother's in a fine way.
1896G. ChanterWitch of Withyford iv. 45,I suppose her was in a proper way about it and fell to crying.
17.Kind, sort, description. Now only in certain phrases. in the way of: of the nature of, belonging to the class of, ‘in the shape of’. Also, with similar sense, and more frequently, in the ― way, where way is qualified by an attributiven.or anadj.Sooccas.in this way=‘of this kind’.1647ClarendonHist.Reb.iii. §140He averred that ‘in that way of bill[sc. a bill of attainder]private satisfaction to each man's conscience was sufficient, although no evidence had been given in at all’.
1736ButlerAnal.Introd.,Wks.1874 I. 4Though so little in this way has been attempted by those who have treated of our intellectual powers.
1757FooteAuthor i.Wks.1799 I. 134You have nothing in the compiling or index way, that you wou'd intrust to the care of another?
Ibid.136In the year forty-five, when I was in the treasonable way.
1770LanghornePlutarch's Lives, Philopœmen ⁋4From a child he was fond of everything in the military way.
1791SmeatonEdystone L. §94,I could have every thing here, that I could desire in the freestone way.
1797A. M. BennettBeggar Girl (1813) I. 214In the afternoon tea-way, her bar exhibited the genteel thing.
1809MalkinGil Blas i. xii. ⁋4,I should want for nothing in the bread and water way!
1823J. BadcockDom. Amusem. 170Sheet lead, which comes to us in the way of lining round tea-chests.
1835DickensSk.Boz, Making a Night of it,It was his ambition to do something in the celebrated ‘kiddy’ or stage-coach way.
1837―Pickw. lv,Mr. Solomon Pell, finding that nothing more was going forward, either in the eating or drinking way, took a friendly leave.
1875FreemanNorm.Conq. (ed.2) III. xiii. 305He did a good deal in the way of ravaging.
1875E. WhiteLife in Christ iv. xxvii. (1878) 442More certainty is attainable respecting some things which Divine Goodness will not do, than as to what it will do in the way of positive benefaction.
18. a.Kind of occupation, work, or business. Now only more explicitly way of business. Formerly also †way of life=‘walk of life’.1690NorrisBeatitudes (1694) 81If God would not accept an House of Prayer from a Man of a Military Way and Character, much less will he accept[etc.].
1711AddisonSpect.No.21 ⁋8To place their Sons in a way of Life where an honest Industry cannot but thrive.
1721Lond.Gaz.No.6020/4Diapers, Damasks, Huckabacks, and all sorts of..Linnens in a Linnen-Draper's Way.
1727GayBegg. Op. i. ix,The Lawyers are bitter enemies to those in our way.
1752Lond.Even.-Post 28–30 May 4/1We hear that there hath been lately an Order made in some of the Royal Hospitals, that no Governor should serve them in his Way of Business.
1782F. BurneyCecilia ix. vi,Her mother, she was sure, would never be at rest till he got into some higher way of life.
1787T. JeffersonWrit.(1859) II. 90The best workmen in this way, acknowledge that his is like a newart.
1791SmeatonEdystone L. §293This day the plumber completed every thing in his way about the balcony.
1920Act 10 & 11Geo.V c. 13 §2 (3)In the case of a seller who was in the same way of business before the war.
b.Preceded by an attributiven.denoting the kind of commodity dealt in.1760DerrickLett.(1767) I. 45The different manufactures of this town, more particularly in the cutlery and toy way.
1766EntickLondon IV. 114There are several..wholesale traders in the haberdashery way.
1786Phil.Trans.LXXVI. 27 note,[He]had some years past the honour to work in the instrument way under the direction of the late DrDemainbray.
1788Ann.Reg., Projects 93A gentleman of ability in the steel way.
1838DickensNich. Nick. iv,I am in the oil and colour way.
1841ThackerayGt.Hoggarty Diam. ii,It was a new house, but did a tremendous business in the fig and sponge way.
c.in my (his, etc.) way:=in my (etc.) line; suited to my (etc.) capacity, tastes, or requirements. Chiefly in negative context.Cf.37 d.1806J. BeresfordMiseries Hum. Life i.Introd.,Quoting from a dead language looks a little like skulking, and that's not at all in my way, as you know.
1863DickensUncomm.Trav.xvii,One..is made angry by my modestly suggesting the possibility of Paris time being more in their way.
a1865Mrs. GaskellWives &Dau.xiv,I knew it[sc. an agricultural meeting]wasn't much in his way.
1887BirrellObiter DictaSer.ii. 64Research was not in his way.
19. a.in a great, small way: (living) on a large or small scale of income and expenditure. Also with reference to the magnitude of a business establishment.c1750J. NelsonJrnl.(1836) 9We..lived in a good way (as the world calls it), that is, in peace and plenty, and love to each other.
1779MirrorNo.17,I was married, about five years ago, to a young man in a good way of business as a grocer.
1815Jane AustenEmma ii,Having brothers already established in a good way in London.
Ibid.xxii,The elder sister..was very well married, to a gentleman in a great way, near Bristol, who kept two carriages!
1833Carlyle inFraser'sMag.July 27/1Next, however, as another more lasting resource, he forges; at first in a small way.
1849ThackerayPendennis viii,It was very right that he should take lodgings in his aunt's house, who lived in a very small way.
1864Law Times'Rep.N.S.X. 719/1The defendants..were contractors and builders in a large way of business.
1885Field 26 Sept. 476/1Young men..go headlong into some big scheme they take into their heads..instead of starting cautiously and in a small way.
b.in a big way: on a large scale, intensively; (colloq.) with great enthusiasm or display; very much, very well.orig.U.S.[1903Dialect Notes II. 306Big way (to get in a), v.phr., to become excited. ‘The preacher got in a big way and you could hear him a mile.’]
1927F. HarrisMy Life & Loves III. v. 69,I meant to take up the whole problem of journalism in a big way when I came back.
1932N.Y.TimesBk.Rev.10 Jan. 17/3A gangster who calls himself Napoleon and who goes in for crime in a big way.
1936H. L. IckesDiary 30 June (1955) I. 626The speech went over in a big way.
1943J. S. HuxleyTVA vii. 51Over half a million acres..of fishable water..are already being taken advantage of in a big way.
1950C. MacInnesTo Victors ii. 211,I could go for her in a big way.
1955A. HuxleyLet.18 Mar. (1969) 738Amanita muscaria..he thinks will open the doors of ESP in a big way.
1958TimesRev.Industry Dec. 57/2Users of traditional materials are looking to the..use of..plastics in a big way.
1980A. Mars-JonesLanternLect.& Other Stories (1981) 10The Trust people played hard-to-get until he started bequeathing the property..to the Welsh nationalists. Then they sat up and took notice In A Big Way.
†20.In the 17–18th c. often used for: A particular form of church government or polity. Obs.a1647[see congregational 3].
1648J. CottonWay ofCongreg.Ch.i. iii. 1Nor is Independency a fit name of the way of our Churches.
1651BaxterInf. Bapt. 145The Episcopall Party are far more confirmed in their way by it.
1737WaterlandEucharist 449From our own Divines I may next proceed to some learned Foreigners, of the Lutheran way.
1750[see Presbyterian a. 1].
21. a.The customary or usual manner of acting or behaving.1613Shakes.Hen.VIII, iii. i. 157Why shold we (good Lady) Vpon what cause wrong you? Alas, our Places, The way of our Profession is against it.
1700CongreveWay of World v. xiii,Even so Sir, 'tis the way of the World, Sir.
1729LawSerious C. i. 13Here you see, that one person has Religion enough, according to the way of the world, to be reckon'd a pious Christian.
1830tr.Caillié'sTrav.Timbuctoo I. 94,I tried in vain to discover the origin of this whimsical custom; the only answer I could obtain was, ‘It is our way’.
1839ThackerayFatal Boots Jan.,Living with dukes and peeresses, and writing my recollections of them, as the way now is.
1850―Pendennis lvi,Almost every person[in this story], according to his nature,..and according to the way of the world as it seems to us, is occupied about Number One.
b.pl.Customary modes of behaviour; usages, customs.1742FieldingJ. Andrews i. iii,He..was..as entirely ignorant of the ways of this world as an infant just entered into it could possibly be.
1893F. T. Richards in TraillSoc.Eng.i. 10Contending parties among the barbarians looked for Roman support, courted it by assuming Roman ways, and invited Roman interference.
1884W. C. SmithKildrostan 46We judge a stranger by our home-bred ways, Who, maybe, walks by other rule of right.
22. a.A habitual or characteristic manner of action, behaviour, expression, or the like. Often in collective plural.it is (only) his way: often said of some perverse or annoying habit of behaviour which the friends of the person guilty of it are accustomed to regard with toleration. So proverbially, Pretty Fanny's way (afterquot.a 1718). †after my way: in accordance with my custom.1709SteeleTatlerNo.6 ⁋1Now upon any Occasion, they only cry, 'Tis her Way, and That's so like her.
1709―Ibid.No.45 ⁋6As it is my Way to write down all the good Things I have heard in the last Conversation to furnish my Paper, I can from this only tell you my Sufferings and my Pangs.
1711AddisonSpect.No.90 ⁋7,I was, after my Way, in Love with both of them.
a1718ParnellElegy to Old Beauty 34And all that's madly wild, or oddly gay, We call it only pretty Fanny's way.
1748RichardsonClarissa (1768) III. 103The free dislike I expressed to his ways, his manners, and his contrivances.
1779MirrorNo.25,I was about to be angry; but on such occasions it is not my way to say much.
1779Ibid.No.47 ⁋4He often indulges in jokes..which could not be heard without a blush from any other person; but from Tom, for his way is known, they are heard without offence.
1800E. HerveyMourtrayFam.II. 269Henry gone! without our knowing any thing about the letter; and all by your slow ways!
1824ScottSt.Ronan's i,The exuberant frolics of Meg's temper, which were to them only ‘pretty Fanny's way’.
1857G. A. LawrenceGuy Livingstone vi,She had the ways of a child petted all its life through.
1865DickensMut.Fr.i. vi,I ought to have begun with a word of explanation: but it's my way to make short cuts at things.
1871LowellPopeWrit.1890 IV. 15Dryden, in his rough-and-ready way, has hinted at this in his verses to Congreve.
1884W. C. SmithKildrostan 79He settled near us In the next glen, and lived a sumptuous life, Costly, luxurious, though his ways were coarse.
1899Allbutt'sSyst.Med.VIII. 217The teacher may observe slow action, wandering eyes, twitchings, awkward ways, or stooping.
b.pl.Habits, usual modes of acting (of an animal);†(of a horse) acquired habits, accomplishments.1706Lond.Gaz.No.4285/8Stolen or strayed.., a roan Mare.., all her Ways, except Pacing.
1899W. T. GreeneCage-Birds 68The Red-sided Tit is nearly akin to the Liothrix, which it resembles in many of its ways.
c.transf.Occas.with reference to a thing: A tendency or liability to some particular kind of action.1883Manch.Guard.3 Oct. 7/2A policy has a way of becoming unrecognisable when it is administered by a man who does not believe in it.
1918TimesLit.Suppl.14 Mar. 122/3Each of our nerves has a nature of its own and ways of its own.
d.to have a way with one: to have a persuasive manner. Also in plural (usually with qualifying word) applied to ingratiating tricks of manner.1711R. Martin in E. H. BurtonLifeBp.Challoner (1909) I. iii. 33Saying yt he'd make a most excellent missioner; he had such an honest way with him.
1840DickensOld C. Shop iv,Quilp has such a way with him when he likes, that the best-looking woman here couldn't refuse him if..he chose to make love to her.
1872LeverLd.Kilgobbin lxxviii,All your little beguiling ways and insinuating tricks.
1877PatmoreUnkn. Eros, Departure 1It was not like your great and gracious ways!
1901Athenæum 27 July 120/2Sticking through thick and thin to the fascinating good-for-nothing who has a way with him.
IV.23.Uses of ways as a singular.a.The genitive ways (OE.weᵹes) occurs in manyadvb.phrases in which it is combined with a preceding pronominaladj.Most of these phrases came to be written as single words, and are treated as such in thisDict.: see anyways, noways, otherways (OE.óðres weᵹes) and -ways suffix. Other similar collocations, now Obs.or dial., are each ways, this ways, that ways, which ways, the same ways, synonymous with ‘each way’, ‘this way’, etc.(see9 a, 9 b, 14 d).†Occas.also with aprep., as in each ways, by this ways.11..O.E.Chron.an. 1016,[Hi]wendon him suðweard oðres weᵹes.
c1205Lay.18702ælches weies[c 1275 weyes]him wes wa.
Ibid.25428Neoren hit noht cnihtes no þes wæies idihte.
a1225Leg.Kath. 1984Þis pinfule gin wes o swuch wise iginet, þæt te twa turnden eiðer wiðward oðer; & anes weis baðe: þe oðer twa turnden anes weis alswa.
a1225Juliana 42Sei me ȝet witerluker, quod ha, hwuches weis ȝe wurcheð ant bicherreð godes children.
c1230Hali Meid. (Bodl.MS.) 112Hit is þah i wedlac summes weies to þolien.
1338R. BrunneChron.(1725) 123Roberd þe Marmion þe same wayes did he, He robbed þorgh treson þe kirke of Couentre.
c1420Contin.Brut ccxli. (E.E.T.S.) 352Þe tokyn ij smale tewellys.., and caste þe tewellys aboute þe Dukis nek..; and þan þei drowen her towellis eche wayez.
1530Palsgr.421/1He hath altered his stayre another wayes, il a coutourne ses degrez tout aultrement.
1585–6Earl of LeicesterCorr.(Camden) 463Before which tyme, the winde beinge as it was, the fleete wolde be gonne over landes end, and passe that waies to the seas.
1590PayneBrief.Descr.Irel.(1841) 9Let the slope side of your ditch be towardes your marraine, and that wayes throw vp all your earth.
1597BeardTheatre God's Judgem. (1612) 20He could not tell which wayes to turn himselfe.
1598Shakes.Merry W. ii. ii. 50,i pray your worship come a little neerer this waies.
1622CallisStat.Sewers (1647) 127Doctor Bonhams Case, fol. 119 in the same Report, wherein the principal Case there put sways the same ways.
1896G. ChanterWitch of Withyford xiv. 170Going..up over the track that ways to Witches' Combe.
b.Similarly to go, come one's ways (also †on one's ways), synonymous with to go, come one's way(see7 b), and parallel to the G. er ging seines weges. In the later period a loose use of the plural may have coalesced with the use of theadvb.genitive.Now only dial.and vulgar, and chiefly in the imperative; in rustic use come thy ways is often addressed playfully to children and animals.c893ælfredOros. 21Þonne rideð ælc hys weᵹes mid ðan feo.
13..Cursor M. 22063 (Edinb.),[Satan shall be]laisid at te laste..to walc his waiis forþe[Cott. his forth; other texts his way]fra þat quile.
1450–1530Myrr. Our Ladye i. xxii. 57He anon lefte there the stynkeynge body that he appered in, & wente hys wayes.
c1460Macro Plays, Wisdom 878Turne þi weys! þou gost a-myse.
1576GascoigneKenelworth CastleWks.1910 II. 101And death..will end my dayes, As soone as you shall..wish to go your wayes.
1581RichFarew.Bb ij,To conueigh her..a sute of mannes apparell: wherin the next daie in the after noone,..she should shift herself, and so come her waies vnknowne of any, to suche a place.
Ibid.Bb iij,Alberto, seyng matters so throughlie concluded, tooke his leaue of theim bothe, and goyng his waies home, he caused all his daughters apparell to be looked together.
1600Shakes.A.Y.L. i. ii. 221You meane to mocke me after: you should not haue mockt me before: but come your waies.
1610―Temp.ii. ii. 85Come on your wayes: open your mouth.
1701FarquharSir H. Wildair v. vi,Go thy ways for a true Pattern of the Vanity, Impertinence, Subtlety, and Ostentation of thy Country.
1768Goldsm.Good-n. Man i. i,Well, go thy ways, Sir William Honeywood.
1815ScottGuy M. viii,‘Ride your ways,’ said the gipsy, ‘ride your ways, Laird of Ellangowan’.
1840DickensOld C. Shop lxxii,Go thy ways with him, sir,..and Heaven be with ye both!
1884Chesh.Gloss.,Come thy ways, a coaxing way of calling an animal; or even of addressing children.
c.In a good ways, great ways, little ways, long ways, the origin of the use of ways for way is obscure. Also without qualifyingadj.Now only dial.and U.S.It might possibly have arisen from the analogy of phrases containing theadvb.genitive(seea and b). There is no known instance inOE.of such a construction as *lýtel weᵹes (=‘paululum viæ’), which might possibly account for it.1588Parketr.Mendoza'sHist.China 289They..came vnto the gates of the cittie, after they had gon a good wayes in the suburbs.
1594R. Ashleytr.Loys Le Roy 105 b,Selim Ottoman..assailed him with a mightie armie, a good waies within his owne kingdome.
1749FieldingTom Jones xii. iii,Not that I hope..to live to any such Age as that neither—But if it be only to eighty or ninety: Heaven be praised, that is a great Ways off yet.
1809ByronTo Mr. Hodgson 25 June,Falmouth..is no great ways from the sea.
1841CatlinN.Amer.Ind.xli. II. 62The beautiful Arabian..must..be a great ways further South than this.
1845S. JuddMargaret i. xiv. 113‘It is only a little ways,’ replied she, ‘and I went clear down to the village to-day alone.’
1890BickleySurrey Hills III. 206Maybe 'ee's lost his ways.
1895S. CraneRed Badge v,His mouth was still a little ways open.
1907J. H. McCarthyNeedles & Pins xiii,The man staggered a little ways across the hall and fell in a heap.
1927W. FaulknerMosquitoes 202I'll carry you a ways, until we get somewhere.
1933BloomfieldLanguage ii. 40A speaker can be heard only a short ways and only for an instant or two.
1938T. WilderOur Town i. 52Can I walk along a ways with you?
1976New Yorker 15 Mar. 67/1As it passed over the ridge to land on the other side it hit a tree quite a ways up.
1979N. MailerExecutioner's Song (1980) i. xxix. 445Though I suppose at some point in the future..he may be eligible for parole, that's a long long ways away.
V.Idiomatic phrases.* with governing verb.For clear the way, fetch way (Naut.), gather way (Naut.), give way, pave the way, see the verbs.24.have way. (See 6 above.)†a.To be allowed liberty of action. Obs.1603Shakes.Meas.for M. v. 238Let me haue way, my Lord, To finde this practise out.
b.Of feelings or their manifestation: To find vent.1846JamesStep-mother xxxii,He evidently strove to speak calmly, but the father's apprehensions would have way, and his voice trembled, and his lip quivered.
1883D. C. MurrayHearts xix,Tom dropped his face into his hands, and a scalding tear or two had way in spite of him.
25.make way.a.To open a passage, remove obstacles to progress, to facilitate passage or entrance. (See 6 above.) Const. for,†to, or†dative.c1200Trin.Coll.Hom.91Ðo þe þe weie makeden biforen him bien folkes lorþeawes.
c1330R. BrunneChron.Wace (Rolls) 1555Þorow þe host he made hem[? read hym]weye. On ilk a side he dide þem deye.
a1400–50Bk.Curtasye 533 in BabeesBk.,Byfore þe cours þo stuarde comes þen, Þe seruer hit next of alle kyn men Mays way and stondes by syde, Tyl alle be serued at þat tyde.
c1450Merlin xxxii. 655Gawein com thourgh the presse makinge wey with the trenchaunt suerde.
1567J. MapletGr.Forest 68 b,And the fift or odde Crane in maner of a persiue sterne, to make the other way in the Ayre, flieth all alone before.
1588Parketr.Mendoza'sHist.China 184They were carried in little chayres vpon mens backes, and the Captaine..before them making way.
1593Shakes.2Hen.VI, iv. viii. 62My sword make way for me, for heere is no staying.
1616R. C.Times' Whistle (1871) 81Wher gold makes way Ther is no interruption.
1638R. Bakertr.Balzac'sLett.(vol. II) 107Hee seemes to thinke..that vertue had neede of delight, to make way for her into the soule.
1693LockeEduc.§140All the World forwardly joyn to oppose and defeat them: whilst the open, fair, wise Man has every Body to make way for him, and goes directly to his Business.
†b.Of ground: To allow of passage. Obs.c1300K. Horn 1489 (LaudMS.)Þe sond by gan to drye And hyt hym makede weye.
c.To move from one's place so as to allow a person topass.c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxv. 120He commaundez þe lordes þat rydez nere him to make way þat þe men of religioun may comme to him.
1593Shakes.Rich.II, v. ii. 110Make way, vnruly Woman.
1842BorrowBible in Spain vii,A Portuguese or Spaniard will seldom make way for a stranger, till called upon or pushed aside.
1911Gouldsbury & SheaneGt.Plateau N. Rhodesia 259If a young man sees his mother-in-law coming along the path, he must retreat into the bush and make way for her.
d.To leave a place vacant for a successor or substitute.1760–72H. BrookeFool of Qual. (1809) III. 122When my family..were thus turned out of doors, an old follower made way for them in his own cottage, and retired..to a cow-house hard by.
a1828H. NeeleLit.Rem. (1829) 33The tragedies of Shakspeare were driven from the stage to make way for those of Addison and Rowe.
1853KingsleyHypatia xxx,If they[the philosophers]had no better Gospel than that to preach, they must make way for those who had.
1869FreemanNorm.Conq. III. xii. 151His castle..has been wantonly destroyed to make way for one of the barbarous official buildings of modern France.
1896Law Times C. 407/2At Durham..[Sir Charles]refused to stand, and his refusal made way for the present Lord Herschell.
e.To make progress on a journey or voyage. Often with qualifying word, as to make good, much, little way. (Cf.7 above.)(a)Naut.(see7 i).1490CaxtonEneydos xxvii, 97Castyng her sight ferder towarde the see, she sawe the saylles, wyth the flote of the shippes that made good waye.
1556Toweson in HakluytVoy.(1589) 98The windes and seas were high, yet we made some way.
a1626BaconNew Atl. 1The Winde..setled in the West for many dayes, so as we could make little or no way.
1624Capt.J. Smith Virginia iii. vi. 60We seeing them prepare to assault vs, left our Oares and made way with our sayle to incounter them.
1626―Accid.Yng.Seamen 29Fetch the log-line to try what way shee makes.
1744M. BishopLife 49We lost our Main top Mast, so that after the Storm was over we could not make any Way.
1791SmeatonEdystone L. §155Our vessels..made better Way in a rough sea.
1837MarryatDog-Fiend xlii,He stood up on the choak to ascertain what way she was making through the water.
1882H. De WindtEquator 75The river, however, widened to nearly a mile in breadth..and we made better way.
(b)gen.Also fig.1588Shakes.Tit.A. ii. ii. 24And I haue horse will follow where the game Makes way.
1590SpenserF.Q. i. i. 39He making speedy way through spersed ayre.
a1593Marlowe & NasheDido 221æneas is my name..With twise twelue Phrigian ships I plowed the deepe, And made that way my mother Venus led.
1596Shakes.Tam. Shr. i. i. 239Waite you on him,..While I make way from hence to saue my life.
1820ScottMonast.Introd.Ep.,So great is the difference betwixt reading a thing one's self, making toilsome way through all the difficulties of manuscript, and, as the man says in the play, ‘having the same read to you’.
1845McCullochTaxation iii. ii. (1852) 446Should the system[of life annuities]not make any greater way than it has done, it may not..be worth objecting to.
1860MozleyUniv.Serm.vii. (1876) 182See..how little way they have made in truly spiritual, unselfish affections and inclinations.
1882BesantAll Sorts xviii,And he made no more way with his wooing. That was stopped, apparently, altogether.
1883F. M. PeardContrad. i,His companion..was making rapid way towards the point.
1888BryceAmer.Commw. xxxix. II. 71There are some signs the view is making way.
†f.To make a hole in, through. Obs.1581A. HallIliad iv. 73That of the staffe the steeled point made in his forehead way.
1596Shakes.Tam. Shr. ii. 155With that word she stroke me on the head, And through the instrument my pate made way.
1611Cotgr.,Faire jour à, to make way vnto.
†g.Of an event or action: To lead to, afford facilities for something; to render it possible to do something. Obs.1646H. LawrenceCommun. & War with Angels 14And this will not be unusefull to consider since it makes way to shew to what end they appeare and what they..can doe for us.
1677TempleMoxaMiscell.(1680) 194About which time[the age of forty]the natural heat beginning to decay, makes way for those distempers.
a1715BurnetOwn Time iii. viii. (1900) II. 143This made way to more desperate undertakings.
†h.to make way to: to approach (a person) with a view to establishing relations with him.1671MiltonSamson 481,I already have made way To some Philistian Lords, with whom to treat About thy ransom.
26.make one's (its) way. (Cf.7 above.)a.To travel or proceed in an intended direction or to a certain place. to make the best of one's way (also, †to make one's best way): to go as quickly as one can;†to decamp.c1400Mandeville (Roxb.) xxxiv. 156,I made my way..vnto Rome.
1582N. Lichefieldtr.Castanheda's Conq. E.Ind.i. iii. 7 b,The rest then departed,..making their waye into the Sea, with a South southwest winde.
1668ClarendonContempl.Ps.Tracts (1727) 473Those who..make their way through a sea of blood and rapine to grasp an authority which belonged not to them.
1697DrydenVirg.Georg. iii. 395He makes his way o're Mountains, and contemns Unruly Torrents, and unfoorded Streams.
1705AddisonItaly Monaco, etc. 4The next Day we again set Sail, and made the best of our way 'till we were forc'd, by contrary Winds, intoSt.Remo.
1742FieldingJ. Andrews i. xvi,The Thief..without any Ceremony, stepped into the Street, and made the best of his Way.
1836ThirlwallGreece xxii. III. 215A very small number made their way to Ambracia.
1840DickensOld C. Shop xxiii,With that they parted; Mr. Swiveller to make the best of his way home and sleep himself sober; and Quilp[etc.].
1844DisraeliConingsby vii. iv,Coningsby bade his friend farewell till the morrow, and made his best way to the Castle.
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.iii. I. 366Hardly any gentleman had any difficulty in making his way to the royal presence.
1864TrollopeSmall House at Allington xxi,Johnny made his way on to the road by a stile that led out of the copse.
Ibid.,Then we'll make the best of our way home, and have a glass of wine there.
1874GreenShort Hist, vi. §4. 300It was in despair of reaching Italy that the young scholar[Erasmus]made his way to Oxford.
†b.To effect a passage by force, force one's way. Obs.1647ClarendonHist.Reb.vi. §157But if they compelled him to make his way, and enter the town by force, it would not be in his power to keep his soldiers from taking that which they should win with their blood.
c.To make progress in one's career; to advance in wealth, station, reputation, etc. by one's own efforts.1605Shakes.Lear v. iii. 29If thou do'st As this instructs thee, thou dost make thy way To Noble Fortunes.
1711AddisonSpect.No.123 ⁋4He was to make his Way in the World by his own Industry.
1771SmollettHumph.Cl.18 July ii. (1815) 261,I am not at all surprised that these Scots make their way in every quarter of the globe.
1853LyttonMy Novel ii. vi,A young man who has his own way to make in life had better avoid all intimacy with those of his own age who have no kindred objects.
†d.To find means to do something. Obs.a1300Cursor M. 23179Quat he war wijs þat moght Stedfast hald þis dai in thoght!.. For þan mund he her make his wai Fra wrak to were him on þat dai.
†e.(Also †to make one's ways.) To gain favour, establish relations with a person. Obs.1618RaleghApol.Wks.1751 II. 250It was bruited..that..being once at Liberty,..having made my Way with some foreign Prince, I would turn Pirate.
a1660Contemp.Hist.Irel.(Ir.Archæol.Soc.) II. 37He made his waies with Colonell Monke, Governor of Dundalke, for the Parliament, and bought of him worth {pstlg}1500 of amunition.
f.Of a thing. to make its way: to travel, make progress; (of an opinion, custom, etc.) to gain acceptance.1656CowleyTo Sir W. Davenant 35Thy Fancy like a Flame its way does make, And leave bright Tracks for following Pens to take.
1711AddisonSpect.No.119 ⁋6This infamous Piece of Good-breeding, which reigns among the Coxcombs of the Town, has not yet made its way into the Country.
1861M. PattisonEss.(1889) I. 48It might have been anticipated that Luther's doctrines would have made their way early among this little colony of his countrymen.
1874J. T. MicklethwaiteMod.Par. Churches 80Brass instruments have already begun to make their way.
27.pay one's way.†a.To defray one's expenses on a journey. Obs.a1825Willie Wallace vi. in Child Ballads III. 271/2Take ye that, ye belted knight, 'T will pay your way till ye come down.
b.To succeed in paying one's expenses as they arise, without incurring debts. Of a business undertaking, to pay its way: To be carried on at least without loss, to be self-supporting.1803G. ColmanJohn Bull ii. iii. 22,I earned my fair profits; I paid my fair way.
1823ByronAge of Bronze xiv,But bread was high, the farmer paid his way.
1858TrollopeThree Clerks iii,Mrs. Woodward..had there maintained a good repute, paying her way from month to month as widows with limited incomes should do.
1885Times (weeklyed.) 2 Oct. 15/3The pier has never come near paying its way.
1892Law Times'Rep.LXVII. 139/1It seems to me a most reasonable thing for a person applying for shares to look for a guarantee of interest until the concern can pay its own way.
1899Lady M. VerneyVerneyMem.IV. 155By great economy John has just paid his way.
28.see one's way.a.In literal sense, to have a view of the portion of the road or route immediately before one, so as to be able to avoid wandering or stumbling.b.fig.in obvious metaphorical uses; now often, to know that some object is attainable (const.to); also (chiefly in negative contexts) to feel justified in deciding to do something.1774BurkeLet.to Marq. Rockingham 25 Sept.,I must see my way much more clearly before me, before I take any other step in that business.
1775―Sp.Concil.Amer.22 Mar. 56,I do not absolutely assert the impracticability of such representation[of the Colonies]. But I do not see my way to it.
1823KebleSerm.iii. (1848) 64To see his way safely, if not clearly or comfortably, through all the snares of error and disputation.
1861M. PattisonEss.(1889) I. 33Simple fighting John Bull can understand, but in a negotiation he can't see his way.
1865Mrs. NewbyComm.Sense lv. III. 44,I feel that I know my business pretty well already, and that I begin to see my way.
Ibid.lvi. III. 55,I wish I could do more..but I think I see a way.
1870NewmanGram.Assent ii. ix. 353Laud said that he did not see his way to come to terms with the Holy See, till Rome was ‘other than she is’.
1875HelpsSoc.Press. ii. 24The neighbours do not see their way to altering it.
1885Law Times LXXIX. 342/1He did not see his way clear to allow their names to remain upon the register.
1886Manch.Exam.16 Jan. 5/4Lord Salisbury has at last seen his way to the final choice of a bishop for Manchester.
29. a.take the way. (Cf.sense 4 and take v. 25 b.) To enter on and follow the route leading to a specified place. In early use sometimes without mention of destination;†To set out, travel.c1300Harrowing of Hell (Harl.MS.) 38In godned toke he þen way Þat to helle gates lay.
13..Guy Warw. (A.) 1708Gij him spedde niȝt & day; Into Inglond he toke þe way.
1375BarbourBruce ii. 146All him alane the way he tais Towart the towne off Louchmabane.
c1386ChaucerMan of Law's T. 556The Constable and his wyf also And Custance han ytake the righte way Toward the see.
c1420?Lydg.Assembly of Gods 551Wherfore Cerberus tooke the next way.
c1485DigbyMyst., Christ's Burial & Resurr. 983Then let us tak þe way furth strayte.
a1533Ld.Berners Huon lxii. 215They departyd & tooke the way towardes Rome.
1801ScottEveSt.John 86O fear not the priest,..For to Dryburgh the way he has ta'en.
1831―Ct.Rob.xxxiv,Count Robert subjected himself to necessity,..and..took the way to Europe by sea.
1831JamesPhil.Augustus xx,Here the anchorite bade God speed him, and, turning his steps back again, took the way to his hut.
†b.To go about to do something. Also, to take its course without interference. Obs.1605BaconAdv.Learn. ii. xvii. §9. 64That opinion..hath beene of ill desert, towardes Learning, as that which taketh the way, to reduce Learning to certaine emptie and barren Generalities.
a1700DrydenTheod. & Hon. 138Give me leave to seize my destin'd Prey, And let eternal Justice take the way.
30.to take one's way. To set out on a journey; to journey, travel.a1300Cursor M. 11382Þis kinges thre þar wai þai tok A tuelmoth ar þe natiuite.
1338R. BrunneChron.(1810) 327After þe enterment þe kyng tok his way. To þe south he went þorgh Lyndesay.
1375BarbourBruce xviii. 114For the laiff has thair vayis tane Till the Erische kyngis.
c1386ChaucerMelib. ⁋2996And right anon they tooken hire wey to the Court of Melibee.
c1450St.Cuthbert (Surtees) 7456His way barfote þan he toke.
1484CaxtonFables of Poge vii,Sayinge these wordes[the foxe]toke his waye & ranne as fast as he myght.
1498Cov. LeetBk.588And they came forth at þe south durre in þe Mynstere & toke their wey thurgh the newe bildyng downe þe Bailly-lane.
c1600Shakes.Sonn.xlviii. 1How carefull was I, when I tooke my way, Each trifle vnder truest barres to thrust.
1642–4VicarsGod in Mount 149Lord Paulet..took his way toward Myncard.
1667MiltonP.L. xii. 649They hand in hand with wandring steps and slow, Through Eden took thir solitarie way.
1697DrydenVirg.Georg. iii. 405Alone, by Night, his watry Way he took; About him, and above, the Billows broke.
1761GrayOdin 13Onward still his way he takes.
1893J. Ashby-SterryNaughty Girl xviii. 157As she took her way sadly and slowly down the pier.
** with prepositions.31.by the way.a.Along or near the road by which one travels; by the road-side. In early use also †by way.971Blickl.Hom.15Þa sæt þær sum blind þearfa be ðon weᵹe.
c1205Lay.26612Whaðer heo liue weoren, þa heo bi wæie læien.
a1300Cursor M. 8055A riche man was þar bi wai Was seke, to him þan turnd þai.
1550CrowleyEpigr. 227Than, by the waye syde, hym chaunced to se A pore manne that craued of hym for charitie. Whye (quod thys Marchaunt)..Do ye begge by the waye.
1879JefferiesWild Life in S. Co. ii. (1889) 17,I passed flocks of dying sheep: in the hollows by the way their skeletons were here and there to be seen.
b.While going along, in the course of one's walk or journey. In early use †by way.c1000Ags.Gosp.Luke x. 4Ne bere ᵹe sacc..ne nanne man be weᵹe[Vulg.per viam]ne gretað.
a1122O.E.Chron.(LaudMS.) an. 1096,Ac þes folces þe be Hungrie for, fela þusenda þær & be wæᵹe earmlice forforan.
c1290Beket 1208 in S.Eng.Leg.141Þov hauest selde i-seiȝe Þene Erchebischop of caunterburi wende in swuche manere bi weie.
a1300K. Horn 759He fond bi þe weie Kynges sones tweie.
1387TrevisaHigden III. 115Þe kyng..wente homwarde, and was i-slawe by þe weie.
1550CrowleyLast Trumpet 31The rauens fed him[sc. Elias]by the way.
1590Shakes.Mids. N. iv. i. 204Lets follow him, and by the way let vs recount our dreames.
1617MorysonItin. i. 204By the way, in this mornings journey, we did see Weyssenburg, a free but not imperiall City.
1719De FoeCrusoe i. (Globe) 156Nor is it possible to describe..what strange unaccountable Whimsies came into my Thoughts by the Way.
1760[see byprep.12].
1898M. PembertonPhantom Army i. vii,It had been in his mind when he rode out of Zaragoza that he would find an early opportunity by the way to question the gipsy.
fig.1603Shakes.Meas.for M. v. 458His Act did not ore⁓take his bad intent, And must be buried but as an intent That perish'd by the way.
c.fig.with reference to the tenor of discourse: Incidentally, in passing, as a side-topic.1556Robinsontr.More's Utopia i. (Arb.) 38 margin,Land⁓lordes by the wai checked for Rent-raisyng.
1581J. BellHaddon'sAnsw.Osor. 45Whiche I thought meete to touch briefly by the way.
1598Shakes.Merry W. i. iv. 150Shee is pretty, and honest, and gentle, and one that is your friend, I can tell you that by the way.
1620T. GrangerDiv.Logike 100They are inferred often by the way for illustration sake.
1632LithgowTrav.v. 228And now by the way I recall the aforesayd Turke.
1731Art of Drawing & Paint. 32But we must take this by the Way, that in the refining of it, two Ounces will not produce above 40 Grains of good Colour.
1847H. GoodwinSerm.Ser.i. viii. 131,I would hint to you by the way, that we are perhaps not fair judges of our own actions.
d.used parenthetically to apologize for introducing a new topic, a casual remark, or the like.a1614DonneBiathanatos (1644) 99Though, by the way, this may not passe so generally, but that it must admit the exception, which the Rule of Law upon which it is grounded, carries with it.
1668DrydenEss.Dram. Poesy 46,I mean besides the Chorus, or the Monologues, which by the way, show'd Ben. no enemy to this way of writing.
c1730BurtLett.N.Scot.(1754) II. 97By the Way, altho' the Weather was not warm, he was without Shoes, Stockings, or Breeches.
1836DickensSk.Boz, Sentiment,This, by the way, was another bit of diplomacy.
1840ThackerayBarber Cox Feb.,When we lost sight of him, and of his little account, too, by the way.
1884Rider HaggardDawn xxvii,By the way, talking of letters, there was one came for you this morning in your Cousin Philip's handwriting.
e.in predicative or complemental use.1564T. DormanProofe Cert. Art.Relig.95 b,This is yow saie but by the waie, before yow entre into the matter.
1652Nedhamtr.Selden's MareCl.46Also, a word by the way, touching the Mediterranean Sea in possession of the Romanes.
1653RameseyAstrol.Restored 5But this by the way, let us now proceed.
1719De FoeCrusoe i. (Globe) 245However, I allow'd Liberty of Conscience throughout my Dominions: But this is by the Way.
1904BurnandRecords & Remin. II. 285But this by the way.
f.As a by-work; as a subordinate piece of work.1611Cotgr.s.v.Passant,En passant, sleightly, lightly, cursarily, accidentally, by the way.
a1708BeveridgeThes.Theol.(1711) III. 265It is not to be done by the way, but with all our might.
1881JowettThucyd. I. 91Maritime skill is..not a thing to be cultivated by the way[ἐκ παρέργου]or at chance times.
†g.Indirectly, by a side channel of information.1605Shakes.Macb.iii. iv. 130Macb. How say'st thou that Macduff denies his person At our great bidding. La. Did you send to him Sir? Macb. I heare it by the way: But I will send.
h.attrib.asadj.phr.: Incidental, casual, haphazard.1869Mrs. WhitneyWe Girls ii,At parting, she..said..in an off-hand, by-the-way fashion—‘Ruth’[etc.].
1881F. HuefferWagner 32The introduction in a by-the-way manner of the two great religious principles appears not particularly happy.
1881SaintsburyDryden i. 21The ordinary prose style of the day..indulged..in every détour and involution of second thoughts and by-the-way qualifications.
32.by way of ―. A prepositional phrase used in various senses. Also †by the way of. (The governedn.is usually without article.)†a.By means of; through the medium of; by the method of. Obs.1390GowerConf.I. 69This lord..spak so that be weie of schrifte He drowh hem[sc. the priests]unto his covine.
1439inFenland N. & Q. (1905) July 222And yat..ye wole at yis tyme in yis oure grete necessite putte youre handes and ese us by wey of lone of ye somme of C marc.
a1450Marg. of AnjouLet.to Dame J. Carew (Camden) 97Burneby..desireth with all his hert to do yow worship by wey of marriage.
1495Rolls of Parlt. VI. 493/2That noo persone..be not empeached nor chargeable.., by wey of accion or otherwise.
1526Pilgr.Perf.(W. de W. 1531) 2,I requyre you..that..ye neuer by way of curiosite be besy to attempte ony persone therin.
1530Palsgr.898Diuerse comunications by way of dialoges.
1577–87HolinshedChron.III. 1149/2To indamage some of his countries by waie of inuasion.
1598R. GreneweyTacitus,Ann.ii. xvi. (1622) 56Flaccus..by way of great promises[per ingentia promissa], perswaded him..to enter into the Romane garrison.
1613Shakes.Hen.VIII, iii. i. 54We come not by the way of Accusation, To taint that honour euery good Tongue blesses.
1663GerbierCounsel 5Master-work-men may receive Instructions by way of Draughts, Models, Frames, &c.
1675J. OwenIndwelling Sin viii. (1732) 96At least spiritual Sense is not radically in them, but only by way of Communication.
†b.By the action of (a person or persons). Obs.1447inReg.Mag.Sig.Scot.1450, 70/2Gif it happnis the said landis to be distroublit or vexit be way of Inglismen it sal be alowit to the said Alex. of the malis.
†c.Law. by way of feat[=AF.par voye de fait]: see featn.1 b. Also (Sc.), by way of deed.1535StewartCron.Scot.III. 141The tother part with haill power and mycht, Without ressone agane he wald persew, Be way of deid his richtis till reskew.
1564Reg.Privy CouncilScot.I. 275In caise ather of the saidis partiis.., sall happin to be hurt, harmit, invadit, or persewit be utheris be way of deid.
1582–8Hist.James VI (1864) 62That na injure be done to ony subiect be way of deid.
d.As an instance or a mode of; in the capacity or with the function of; as something equivalent to.[Cf.AF.‘par voye de charite’, 1321 in Rolls Parlt. I. 393.]13..E.E.Allit.P. A. 580By þe way of ryȝt to aske dome.
c1380WyclifWks.(1880) 59He were a cruel fadir þat myȝtte not ȝeue his owene childre bred..& ȝit wolde not suffre anoþer man to helpe þes children bi weie of mercy.
c1389inEng.Gilds (1870) 38Also þese bretherin han ordeyned, be weye of charite, þat[etc.].
a1400Mandeville (1839) xviii. 199The Kyng of that Contree, ones every ȝeer, ȝevethe leve to pore men to gon in to the Lake, to gadre hem precyous Stones and Perles, be weye of Alemesse.
1429Rolls of Parlt. IV. 349/1Bi weie of hongyng or keveryng.
1551Sir J. WilliamsAccompte (Abbotsf. Club) 99To be gevin vnto straungers by waie of his maiesties reward, vml li.
1589PuttenhamEng.Poesie iii. xviii. (Arb.) 203We be allowed now and then to ouer-reach a little by way of comparison.
1672Villiers (Dk.Buckhm.) Rehearsal i. i. (Arb.) 31My next Rule is the Rule of Record, and by way of Table-book.
1674Essex Papers (Camden) I. 168There ought to be a distinction made in Letters of that nature, betweene passing a thing over by way of Connivance and giving a Publick Liberty.
1711SteeleSpect.No.78 ⁋4Nothing was wanting but some one to sit in the Elbow Chair, by way of President.
1712AddisonIbid.No.267 ⁋2Virgil makes his Heroe relate it by way of Episode.
1744M. BishopLife 260Most of them were very industrious in selling one Thing or other by Way of turning the Peny to a good Use.
1749FieldingTom Jones iii. vii,I ask pardon for this short appearance, by way of chorus, on the stage.
1806J. BeresfordMiseries Hum. Life ii. §22Attempting to spring carelessly..over a five⁓barred gate, by way of shewing your activity to a party of ladies.
1820ByronJuan v. liii. note,In Turkey nothing is more common than for the Mussulmans to take several glasses of strong spirits by way of appetizer.
1842DickensAmer.Notes xiv,The drapers always having hung up at their door, by way of sign, a piece of bright red cloth.
1843PrescottMexico i. ii. I. 31The sovereign..holding a golden arrow, by way of sceptre, in his left hand.
1856RuskinKing Gold. Riv. i. 4He used to clean..the plates, occasionally getting what was left on them, by way of encouragement.
1868J. BruceDigby'sVoy.Mediterr. (Camden)Pref.p. x,Dr. Richard Farrar composed some lines upon him by way of epitaph.
1868L. M. AlcottLittle Women vi,‘You'll have to go and thank him,’ said Jo, by way of a joke.
1892Bookseller 17/1The summary[of the Act]given by way of introduction is concise and clear.
†e.by way of excellency (or eminence):=‘par excellence.’ Obs.1621–31[see eminence 8 c].
1643[see eminency 8].
1694LockeAdvers.Theol.in King Life (1858) 343There is one Spirit manifestly distinguished from God,i.e.one created Spirit by way of excellency;i.e.the Holy Spirit.
1699tr.Dupin'sHist.Canon O. & N.Test.I. 2They are likewise styl'd the Scriptures by Way of Eminence.
1703[see eminency 8].
a1704[see excellence 1 b].
1711ShaftesburyCharac.Misc.v. ii. III. 278Have you writ..a Play, a Song, an Essay, or a Paper, as by way of Eminence, the current Pieces of our Weekly Wits are generally stil'd.
f.Followed by gerund, forming predicative phrases with the sense: In the habit of (doing something); also, more usually, making a profession of, or having a reputation for (being or doing so-and-so). colloq.1824S. E. FerrierInher. xxxii,The Colonel was by way of introducing him into the fashionable circles.
1852C. B. MansfieldParaguay, etc. (1856) 182A wiseacre passenger, who is by way of knowing the river well, says they are called capinchos in these parts.
1862H. KingsleyRavenshoe xlvii,Mary was ‘by way of’ helping Lady Hainault's maid, but she was very clumsy about it.
1877Lady M. A. BroomeYr.'s Housekeeping S. Africa iv. 61‘Charlie,’ our groom, who is by way of being a very fine gentleman,..only condescends to work until he can purchase a wife.
1881MallockRom.19thCent.iii. v. II. 34,I am by way, here, of doing the same thing.
1891Sat.Rev.18 July 77/1Mr. Brander Matthews finds fault with the phrase ‘by way of being’, and says an American can hardly understand it... ‘By way of being’ is endeavouring or purporting to be, holding oneself out in a certain character, or being so reputed; and this with an implied disclaimer of precise knowledge or warranty on the speaker's part.
1897Du MaurierMartian v. 236The Gibsons were by way of spoiling me.
Ibid.ix. 379Nor did he..come across them at any house he was by way of frequenting.
1906Lit.World 15 Nov. 515/1The character of this woman, who is by way of being the female villain of the story, is drawn with skill.
g.By the route which passes through or over (a specified place):=viaprep.Also †by the way of.Formerly with omission of of, the place-name being prefixed to way.Cf.sense 9.11..O.E.Chron.(MS.F.) an. 888,Heo forðferde be Rome weᵹe[L. in itinere Rome].
1460PastonLett.I. 515He schall send his man hom be Newmarket wey.
1701W. WottonHist.Rome 481He went by the way of Illyricum.
1771SmollettHumph.Cl.To Sir W. Phillips 21 Sept.,We set out from Glasgow by the way of Lanark.
1865Cornh.Mag.XI. 595It invaded France by way of Avignon.
1901T. J. AlldridgeSherbro xxvi. 291From Bafodia we were diverging from the main road to Freetown which is by way of the Bumban hills.
†h.Through the medium of (a person). Obs.1560Sir N. Throgmorton in WrightQ.Eliz.(1838) I. 49The 29th of October last, I wrote to you from Paris by the waye of Monsieur de Chantonet.
†33.from the way: Out of the way, in a secluded place. Obs.1593Shakes.Lucr. 1144Some darke deepe desert seated from the way,..Will wee find out.
34.in the (etc.) way. (See also senses 16 a, 17–19.)†a.As one proceeds or goes along; in the course of one's journey (to a place). Also in one's way; in early use, in way.Cf.to take in one's way (sense 7). Obs.to do (a person, etc.) in the way: to send out (refl.to set forth) on a journey or expedition.1297R.Glouc.3765He..greiþede is noble ost & dude him in þe weye.
a1300K. Horn 1007Horn dude him in þe weie On a god Galeie.
13..K. Alis. 3392 (LaudMS.),Þine Olifauntz & þine beest Do alle ordeyne on hast And do hem done in þe waye Þat hij weren in feld contreye.
13..Guy Warw. 259At Felice he tok his leue þo, and in his way he goþ apliȝt.
1377Langl.P. Pl. B. xvii. 47As we wenten þus in þe weye wordyng togyderes.
1382WyclifGen.xlv. 24Ne wraththe ȝe in the weye.
c1450Mirk's Festial 9He stervet yn þe way.
1629HobbesThucyd. ii. 127But they of Stratus, aware of this, whilest they were yet in their way..placed diuers Ambushes not farre from the Citie.
c1643Ld.Herbert Autobiog.(1886) 140Going fromSt.Julian's to Abergavenny, in the way to Montgomery Castle.
1712BudgellSpect.No.277 ⁋11If you please to call at my House in your Way to the City.
1748RichardsonClarissa (1811) VII. 143In the afternoon[she]was at Islington church, in her way home.
1791SmeatonEdystone L. §264The master of the floating light saw the buoy in his way to Plymouth.
1822[Mary A. Kelty]Osmond I. 186A heavy foreboding made her linger in her way to her own apartment.
b.In Biblical use, to be or walk in the way with (†mid)=to accompany a person on a journey; fig.to associate with.c950Lindisf.Gosp.Matt.v. 25Uæs ðu ᵹeðafsum wiðer⁓bracæ ðinum hraðe miððy bist in uoeᵹ mið him[Vulg.dum es in via cum eo].
1611BibleProv.i. 15My sonne, walke not thou in the way with them.
c.(Chiefly in one's way.) On or along the road by which one travels; so as to be met, encountered, or observed.c1205Lay.26770Wo wæs heom iboren þa iþan weie heom weoren biuoren.
Ibid.26793In his wæiȝe þat he funde al he hit aqualde.
a1591H. SmithCaveatChr.Serm.(1601) 498Sinne is not long in comming: nor quickly gone, vnlesse God stop vs, as hee met Balaam in his way.
1592Shakes.Ven. & Ad. 879Like one that spies an adder, Wreath'd vp in fatall folds iust in his way.
1610―Temp.ii. ii. 11Like Hedg-hogs, which Lye tumbling in my bare-foote way.
1721E. WardMerryTrav.i. (1729) 35Resolving to..moisten well our dusty Clay, At the next Alehouse in our Way.
1726SwiftGulliver iv. i,I had not got far when I met one of these Creatures full in my way, and coming up directly to me.
1840DickensOld C. Shop xlii,She had gained a little wooden bridge, which..led into a meadow in her way.
d.fig.in phrases like to come, fall, lie in (one's) way, to be met with in one's experience, to come within (one's) range of possible observation, utilization, or attainment. Similarly to lay, put, throw in (a person's) way. Also predicatively, in phrases like it will be (a certain sum of money, etc.) in my way=I shall gain (so much) in the specified contingency.1596SpenserStateIrel.(Globe) 631/2Under it[sc. his mantle]he can cleanly convay any fitt pillage that cometh handsomely in his way.
1596Shakes.1Hen.IV, v. i. 28Rebellion lay in his way, and he found it.
1605[see fall v. 34].
1617J. Chamberlain inCrt.& TimesJas.I (1848) II. 43It[sc. his having a son]may be a hundred thousand pounds in his way, if his father keep his word.
a1662DuppaRules & Helps Devot. i. (1675) 72The Imagination..casting thoughts in our way, and forcing the Understanding to reflect upon them.
1677TempleMoxaMiscell.(1680) 193The General Officers of Armies,..the publick Ministers..(that have fallen in my way) being generally subject to it[sc. the Gout]in one degree or other.
1691T. H[ale]Acc.NewInvent.p. xii,It comes in my way here to retaliate to him.
1722WollastonRelig.Nat.v. 107When one man alters the opinion of another by throwing a book, proper for that purpose, in his way.
1743Bulkeley & CumminsVoy.S. Seas 154We have now nothing to live on but Seal, and what Providence throws in our Way.
1744M. BishopLife 46Though it might have been Thousands in my Way had I continued my Business.
1763Cowper in SoutheyLife &Wks.(1835) I. 163My friends must excuse me, if I write to none but those who lay it fairly in my way to do so.
1789Wolcot (P. Pindar)Subj.Painters i. (note),Which will be a benefit ticket in Sir William's way.
1797Jane AustenPride & Prej. xliii,It might seem as if she had purposely thrown herself in his way again.
1828ScottTales Grandf.Ser.i. xxiv,A warrant empowering them to take all Portuguese vessels which should come in their way.
1841S. WarrenTen Thou. II. vii. 189They say he has a cousin who is one of the officers to the Sheriff of Middlesex, and puts a good many little things in his way!
1882BesantAll Sorts xxxi,These things he knew nothing of; they had not come in his way.
1888McCarthy & PraedLadies' Gall. II. ii. 19Every actor whom it had come in my way to know..was a poor devil.
e.In such a position, or of such a nature, as to obstruct, impede, or be an annoyance. Chiefly inphr.to be or stand in (one's) way, or in the way of (a person or thing); also to put, throw in (one's) way.1500–20DunbarPoems xii. 14Welth, warldly gloir, and riche array Ar all bot thornis laid in thy way.
1564BriefExam.B iij,Ye must..take heede, lest ye stande in your owne way.
a1700EvelynDiary 27 Aug. 1667,He thwarted some of them and stood in their way.
a1750Ld.Dartmouth in Burnet Own Time (1900) II. 251 note,King Charles gave him[Godolphin]a short character when he was page,..of being never in the way, nor out of the way.
1773FooteBankrupt i.Wks.1799 II. 99To throw some confounded rub in the way.
1787‘G. Gambado’Acad.Horsem. 41Thus, then, you go off with eclat, provided nothing is in your horse's way; and if there is,..he will probably leap over it.
1796F. BurneyCamilla ii. iii. I. 183[His]egotism..sacrificed his best friends and first duties, if they stood in its way.
1836DickensSk.Boz, Sentiment,The smaller girls managed to be in everybody's way, and were pushed about accordingly.
1866Le FanuAll in Dark xxxv,He would have been in the way—unutterably de trop.
1867TrollopeLastChron.Barset II. lix. 159She considers herself to have a claim upon[him]..and that I stand in her way.
1868FreemanNorm.Conq. II. vii. 132At such a moment as this, when one would have thought that horses were distinctly in the way.
1885Manch.Exam.11 June 4/7The Liberal party will be bound in honour to throw no factious obstacles in their way.
1887Baring-GouldGaverocks II. xxiii. 17His pride stood in the way of success.
f.Within reach or call, at hand, get-at-able; in a place where things are going on or where one can be found readily. ? Now rare or Obs.1598R. BernardTerence, Eun. v. ix. (1607) 188Whether you be in the way, or out of the way[te praesente absente].
1687MiégeGt.Fr.Dict.ii.s.v.,To be in the way, or in a readiness, se tenir prêt, ne pas s' écarter.
1729SwiftDirect.Serv.Gen.⁋1When your Master or Lady call a Servant by Name, if that Servant be not in the Way, none of you are to answer.
c1760Challoner in E. BurtonLife (1909) II. xxiv. 28We will spend our evenings..at our own lodgings, so that we may..be in the way for such as shall come for Instructions.
1814Jane AustenMansf. Park xviii,I came here to-day intending to rehearse it with Edmund..but he is not in the way.
1840DickensOld C. Shop viii,In order that..he might take care to be in the way at the time.
1859H. KingsleyG. Hamlyn xxxix,I'm glad, too, to see you here. One feels safer when you're in the way.
1897R. N. Baintr.Jókai's Pretty Michal xxx. 229He himself, however, had not been in the way when beauty was being served out.
g.In the humour or mood (for what is going on). Obs.exc.dial.1703Rules of Civility 114A sort of People never in the way, never pleas'd with any thing.
1856J. BallantinePoems 108He is aye in the way for a crack.
†h.(to be) in one's way: in the right course of action, within one's rights. Obs.1689Andros Tracts I. 111Answer was made by the Deponent, that if we[the Watch]should kill them[suspicious persons resisting arrest], we were in our way, then Mr. Randolph..said, you are in the way to be hanged.
i.once in a way: on a single (exceptional) occasion; as a solitary or rare instance; rarely, exceptionally; quasi-adj., of rare occurrence, exceptional. Also for once in a way.This phrase would seem to be a corruption of the earlier once and away, which may have meant originally ‘once and then go away’, ‘once and no more’, though all the instances quoted under onceadv.8 c admit of being interpreted in the sense above explained.Cf.once in a while(seeonce 8 c).1842NewmanCh.Fathers 302,I must beg indulgence once in a way, to engage myself in a dry and somewhat tedious discussion.
1853[see once B. 9 b].
1858TrollopeDr. Thorne xix,Now I like this kind of thing once in a way.
1860ReadeCloister & H. liii,They agreed to take a holiday for once in a way.
1913Sat.Rev.21 June 762/2The case of Ulster..really offers him this luxury for once in a way.
35.in the way of ―. (Or equivalent construction.) (See also sense 17.)†a.As a mode, instance, or manifestation of; as tantamount to or supplying the place of. Also in way of.Cf.by way of (32 d). Obs.c1450GodstowReg.97The Abbesse and the Couente..graunted..that, in the wey of charite, that they wold fynde for ever a prest conuenient þat shold do a prestis service every day, namely for the sowles of the forsaid peple.
a1513FabyanChron.cxxvii. (1533) 62Dagobert..bete his mayster, & after in way of dyspyte caused the berd of his tutour to be shauen of.
1534Star Chamber Cases (SeldenSoc.) II. 310Onlesse your said highenes be good and gracious lord vnto hym in weye of right and justice.
1565CooperThesauruss.v.Abijcio,Abiicere se alteri ad pedes..to prostrate him self at ones feete in way of intreatie.
1568GraftonChron.II. 23King William should geue him yerely in the way of a fee .xij. Markes of Golde.
1606Shakes.Tr. & Cr. iii. iii. 13,I doe beseech you, as in way of taste To giue me now a little benefit.
1621J. Chamberlain inCrt.& TimesJas.I (1848) II. 273He concluded with a wish..for the felicity..of that..happy couple; and, in a way of amen, caused the Bishop of London..to give them a benediction.
1633Bp.Hall Hard Texts Amos ii. 1Moab..burnt the very bones of the King of Edoms sonne to ashes, in way of sacrifice to his gods.
c1643Ld.Herbert Autob. (1886) 176Which I then bestowed upon some servants of the Prince, in way of retribution for my welcome thither.
1817Jas.Mill Brit.India II. v. i. 327In way of compensation, he was allowed a pension.
b.By means of, by adopting the method of. Now rare. Also †in way of.The firstquot.may perhaps belong to sense 17.1607Shakes.Cor.iii. ii. 137Ile returne Consull, Or neuer trust to what my Tongue can do I' th way of Flattery further.
1771SmollettHumph.Cl.To Sir W. Phillips 18 July,He attempted to open her eyes in the way of exhortation, and, finding it produced no effect, had recourse to prayer.
1823ScottQuentin D. xxx,That in the way of treaty more permanent advantages could be obtained..than by an action which would stain her with a breach of faith and hospitality.
1849MacaulayHist.Eng.I. ii. 220The attack was made, not in the way of storm, but by slow and scientific approaches.
†c.With a view to; as a means of attaining or performing; so as to effect or produce. Also in way of, in a way of. Obs.1588Shakes.L.L.L. iv. ii. 14A kinde of insinuation, as it were in via, in way of explication.
c1643Ld.Herbert Autobiog.(1886) 138He commanded me..not to send any more to Sir John Ayres, nor to receive any message from him, in the way of fighting.
1655FullerCh.Hist.ix. 190And yet in way of recovering health by changing of Aire, of study for a time in the University,..or of being imployed in publick Affairs, they[licences to clergy for non-residence]cannot be wholy abrogated.
1662H. MoreAntid. AtheismEp.Ded.,Which was done in way of Divine Honour to the Wisdom of the Deity.
―Philos.Writ.(1712)Pref.Gen.p. xxi,The ancient Divines and Prophets..witness that the Soul is join'd to this earthly body in a way of punishment.
1760–72H. BrookeFool of Qual. (1809) III. 17Coming closer.., in the way, as it were, of claiming acquaintance with him.
d.In the course or routine of.1639S. Du Vergertr.Camus'Admir.Events 58Providing that it were done in the way of publicke justice.
1693CongreveOld Bach. iv. iii,In the way of Trade, we still suspect the smoothest Dealers of the deepest designs.
1765FooteCommissary i. 3Not at all given to lying, but like other tradesfolks, in the way of her business.
1863KingsleyWater-Bab. i. 6Remembering that he had come in the way of business, and was, as it were, under a flag of truce.
†e.When one is concerned with. Obs.1596Shakes.1Hen.IV, iii. i. 139But in the way of Bargaine,..Ile cauill on the ninth part of a hayre.
1606―Tr. & Cr. ii. ii. 189Hect... Hectors opinion Is this in way of truth: yet nere the lesse[etc.].
†f.in the way of honesty: under honourable conditions; so far as honour allows. Obs.1595Shakes.John i. i. 181For thou wast got i' th way of honesty.
1598―Merry W. ii. ii. 75,I defie all Angels..but in the way of honesty.
1606―Ant.&Cl.v. ii. 253. 1639 J. Clarke Parœm. 25Yours to command in the way of honesty.
g.to be in the way of: to be likely to do or obtain (something), to have a good chance of (doing or attaining something); formerly also †in way of, †in a way of. to put (a person) in the or a way of, †in way for: to put him in a position to obtain or achieve (something). Also with to and inf. instead of of.See also fair a. 14.1303R. BrunneHandl. Synne 1212For ȝyf þou mayst, & wylt noght, þou art yn weye to peyne be broght.
1477Earl Rivers (Caxton)Dictes 32The whiche ypocras seeyng the crafte of physike in weye of perdicion because alle his felawes were dede.
1542Lament.& PiteousTreat.Ep.Ded.,I purpose, as sone as my dysease is paste, to put me in waye with all dylygence to se you ryght soone.
1625BaconEss., Friendship (Arb.) 179A Physician, that..is vnacquainted with your body.., may put you in way for a present Cure, but ouerthroweth your Health in some other kinde.
1677in12thRep.Hist.MSS.Comm.App.v. 36Lord Mohun is now in a way of recovery.
1689[see 34 h].
1719De FoeCrusoe ii. (Globe) 410Being very ingenious at such Work, when they were once put in the Way of it.
Ibid.423Seeing Things..in so fine a way of thriving upon my Island.
1729LawSerious C. viii. 112She has educated several poor children,..and put them in a way of an honest employment.
1779Warner in JesseSelwyn &Contemp.(1844) IV. 259You cannot expect a Dyer's letter from me, as your nephew Charles is so much more in the way of having authentic information.
1823ScottQuentin D. iv,Why did you not tarry at Brussels, then, with the Duke of Burgundy? He would put you in the way to have your bones broken every day.
1827―Surg.Dau.Pref.,Mr. Croftangry is in the way of doing a foolish thing.
1844BroughamA. Lunel xii,I soon was put in a way of earning a moderate weekly payment as a translator from the English and Italian.
1847Mrs. CarlyleLett.II. 4Now I am in the way of getting well again.
1860DickensUncomm.Trav.vi,Even then they might sometimes put themselves in the way of being blown into the Regent's Canal.
1883D. C. MurrayHearts xiv,I am getting on a little in the world, and am in the way to earn a little money.
1885L'pool Daily Post 7 July 4/4Diplomatic difficulties, which he hoped were in the way of solution.
†h.to be in way of marriage: to have a prospect of being married. Also, in (the) way of marriage, in way to marriage, with a view to matrimony. Obs.1482Cely Papers (Camden) 102He askyd me hefe I wher in any whay of maryayge.
1579Queen Elizabeth in NicolasSir C. Hatton (1847) 106Such Princes as in former time have sought us in way of marriage.
1583RichPhylotus (1835) 11But Phylotus in the ende desired Emelia of her father in the waie of Mariage.
1596Shakes.Merch.V. ii. i. 42Neuer to speake to Ladie afterward In way of marriage.
1598―Merry W. i. iv. 89To speake a good word to Mistris Anne Page for my Master in the way of Marriage.
1642FullerHoly & Prof.St.iv. xiii. 301As if their sex in reference to men were not capable of any other kind of familiar friendship but in way to marriage.
†i.in a way of: in the habit of (doing something). Obs.c1704BuccleuchMSS.(Hist.MSS.Comm.) I. 353The House of Lords are in a way of having hours very uncertain.
j.in way of (Naut.):=in wake ofs.v.waken.2 4 b (a).1950L. BakerDesign Marine Water-Tube Boilers ix. 144Arboring, a term applied to the removal of tube plate material in way of tube ends to reduce the unsupported length of tube inside the drum.
1957Shipping World 21 Aug. 153/2Longitudinal centre-line bulkheads are provided in all the main and tweendeck holds,..and in way of the hatch openings there are steel supports for removable wooden longitudinal bulkheads.
1960FishingGaz.(N.Y.) 15 Mar. 18/1The propeller shaft has 5/8{pp} thick centrifugally cast liners or wearing sleeves shrunk on in way of the stern bearing and stuffing box.
36. a.on (or upon) the, or one's, way, on, or in the course of, a journey. to be well on one's way: to have fairly started, or to have made some progress. Also fig., in progress towards completion or accomplishment.InOE.on weᵹe: see also awayadv.c1000Ags.Gosp.Matt.v. 25Beo þu onbuᵹende þinum wiðerwinnan hraðe þa hwile þe ðu eart on weᵹe mid him.
Ibid.Mark ix. 34Witodlice hi on weᵹe[Vulg.in via]smeadon hwylc hyra yldost wære.
a1122O.E.Chron.(LaudMS.) an. 1086,Þæt þa godan men..gan on ðone weᵹ þe us lett to heofonan rice.
c1205Lay.1348Brutus..ferde riht on his wei.
c1300Cursor M. 8054Fand þai noþer fra þat sith Man ne beist þat þai wit met, Þat on þair wai þam moght do lett.
c1400Ywaine & Gaw. 549He thoght to be wele on hys way Or it war passed the thryd day.
c1420Anturs of Arth. 315,I mot walke one my wey, þorgh þis wilde wood.
1470–85MaloryArthur i. i. 36Ryde on your wey, for I wille not be long behynde.
1523Surrey in EllisOrig.Lett.Ser.i. I. 227Trusting that the gonners be well on the waye hiderwards.
1526TindaleActs viii. 39He went on his waye reioysynge.
1596Danetttr.Comines (1614) 41He sent a trumpeter to them, who met with the hostages vpon the way.
1597Shakes.2Hen.IV, ii. i. 73You should haue bene well on your way to Yorke.
1653HolcroftProcopius i. x. 16Overtaking him upon the way.
1697DrydenVirg.Georg. iv. 576,I will my self conduct thee on thy Way.
1812ByronCh.Har. i. xiv,And Cintra's mountain greets them on their way.
1840DickensOld C. Shop lxx,Day broke, and found them still upon their way.
Ibid.lxxii,The boy had led him to his own dwelling..on their way back.
1860TyndallGlac.i. iii. 23On the following morning I was on my way towards this valley.
1861MillUtilit.ii. 35To inform a traveller respecting the place of his ultimate destination, is not to forbid the use of land-marks and direction-posts on the way.
1885LawRep.15 Q.B.D. 329The debtor was on his way to the office of the official receiver.
on the way (this form only): spec.(colloq.) (a) pregnant; (b) (of a child) conceived but not yet born.(a)1588Shakes.L.L.L. v. ii. 679She is two moneths on her way[sc. with child].
1865A. MacdonaldLet.Apr. in A. W. Baldwin Macdonald Sisters (1960) vi. 100Poor Mrs Hughes..is ‘on the way again, blest if she ain't’.
1941E. WeltyCurtain of Green (1943) 39,I bet you another Jax that lady's three months on the way.
(b)[1858:cf.sense 38 b.]
1896KiplingDay's Work (1898) 271I'm a married man, an' my fourth's on the ways[sic]now, she says.
1919V. WoolfNight & Day ix. 121He has two children, and another on the way.
1961G. GreeneBurnt-Out Case vi. i. 183,I think I have a baby on the way... He doesn't want one.
1983R. RendellSpeaker of Mandarin v. 69We've..four simply adorable grandchildren with another on the way.
b.imp.(be) on your way: go away, get going; also (U.S.), ‘get away’ (get v. 61 b). colloq.(orig.U.S.).1903‘O. Henry’Trimmed Lamp (1907) 236Be on your way, Freddie.
1929WodehouseGentleman of Leisure xi. 86‘We're going down with him to the country today, Spike, so be ready.’ ‘On your way, boss. What's dat?’
1974‘P. B. Yuill’Bornless Keeper xii. 113Toddle off back to Victoria... On your way, amigo.
c.(I am) on my way: a formula used to express the speaker's intention of hurrying or of making an immediate departure.1919in N. I. WhiteAmer.Negro Folk-Songs ii. 124Lord I'm on my way... Lord I'm on my way.
1948G. VidalCity & Pillar ii. 35‘I'm on my way,’ said Jim.
1971‘L. Egan’Malicious Mischief (1972) ix. 158‘Call just in..—they had a prowler over on Jackson... He was armed.’.. ‘I'm on my way!’ snapped Varallo.
1972J. PhilipsVanishing Senator i. iv. 37‘Step on it, will you?’ ‘On my way,’ Peter said.
1978A. Price'44 Vintage xii. 152If it's all the same to you, m'sieur, we'll be on our way.
37.out of the way. (See also out-of-the-wayadj.phr.)a.Away from the road by which one is travelling; off the track or proper route. Also infig.context.1483Cath.Angl.405/2Oute of Way, devius, delirus.
1565CooperThesauruss.v.Deflecto,Ex itinere ad visendum aliquem deflectere, to turne out of the way to see one.
1610Shakes.Temp.ii. ii. 7Nor lead me like a fire-brand, in the darke Out of my way.
1653W. RameseyAstrol.Restored 161Let us then..step a little out of our way, and say somewhat of the Critical days.
a1704LockeCond. Und. §34They are more in danger to go out of the way, who are marching under the Conduct of a Guide, that 'tis an hundred to one will mislead them, than he that has not yet taken a Step, and is likelier to be prevail'd on to enquire after the right Way.
1719De FoeCrusoe ii. (Globe) 323It being a Month's Sail out of his Way.
1890BickleySurrey Hills III. 214It was a good mile out of his way, but he felt he must see it again.
1913J. G. FrazerPsyche's Task iv. (ed.2) 80If the two meet on a path they carefully avoid each other; he will step out of the way and she will hurry on.
b.fig., with the notion of going astray or being off the right path. †(to be) out of the way: in error, mistaken; also, ? missing the point (obs.).a1225Juliana 42 (RoyalMS.)Hwen he sent us to wrenchen eni rihtwise ut of þe weie.
1487Cely Papers (Camden) 159He sayth yee schall be to far owte of the weye wtowte yee gree & bergeyne togeder.
1530Palsgr.715/1He hath set me out of the waye with his teachynge: par son enseignement il ma desuoyé.
1561T. Hobytr.Castiglione's Courtyer iv. (1577) X iij,Perhappes M. Morrello is not altogither out of the waye in saying that beauty is not alwayes good.
1603HollandPlutarch's Mor. 3Know he, that he is much deceived, and to say more truely, quite out of the way.
1608TopsellSerpents 102They are cleane out of the way, who when they wold vse them for any inward cause, doe cast away their winges and feete.
1694AtterburySerm.(1726) I. v. 181Thus it is in all Matters of Speculation or Practice; He that knows but a little of them..is more out of the way of true Knowledge than if he knew nothing at all.
1728GayBegg. Op. i. v,Never was a man more out of the way in an argument than my husband.
1742RichardsonPamela III. 173Our Governors cannot always be in the wrong; and he therefore who never gives them a Vote, must probably be as often out of the Way as they.
c.With of or possessive: Away from the path in which a person or thing is moving; in a position where one does not meet or impede another; at a distance from, clear of, a person's or thing's activities; out of reach of, not in danger from.For out of harm's way see harmn.1 c.1550CrowleyEpigr. 832If Abner had knowne what was in Ioabs harte, I do not doubt but he would haue out of his waye sterte.
1650Jer.Taylor Holy Living ii. §5Men stand upon their guard against them[sc. inquisitions], as they secure their meat against harpies and cats, laying all their counsels and secrets out of their way.
a1701MaundrellJourn. Jerus. (1707) 56The embroylments and factions that were then amongst the Arabs..made us desirous to keep as far as possible out of their way.
1744M. BishopLife 28They sent us a great many Bombs,..there came one swift as Lightning. I had much ado to get out of it's Way.
1858TrollopeDr. Thorne xvi,The fellow kept out of my way, and I couldn't see him.
1886RuskinPræterita I. xii. 423Always glad to have me out of her way.
d.(to be) out of (a person's) way: not in his line, not in accordance with his present purpose or taste, outside his scope, beyond his abilities. (Cf.18 c.) ? Obs.1562J. HeywoodProv.& Epigr. (1867) 167It is out of my way, so it lyghtly may, To all good thyngis thy way is out of the way.
1687MiégeGt.Fr.Dict.ii.s.v.,This is a Thing out of my Way, not proper to me, cela n'est pas mon Affaire.
1707FreindPeterboro's Cond.Sp.165What other Negotiations his Lordship carried on..is out of my way to relate.
1722–7BoyerDict.Angl.-Fr.s.v.,This is a thing out of my Way (it is not in my Power).
1763FooteMayor of G. ii.Wks.1799 I. 186,I don't much care for your poppers and sharps, because why, they are out of my way.
1780H. CowleyBelle's Stratagem iii. i,Now, I beg, Mr. Hardy, you won't interfere in this business; it is a little out of your way.
1841S. WarrenTen Thou. II. vii. 188I'd give a trifle to know how..such people ever came to be concerned in such a case. 'Tis quite out of their way—which is in the criminal line of business!
e.to go out of one's way to (do something): to do something which the circumstances do not call for or invite.1748RichardsonClarissa III. 321The culpable freedoms of persons, who, in what they went out of their way to say, must either be guilty of absurdity, meaning nothing; or, meaning something, of rudeness.
1867FreemanNorm.Conq. (1877) I.App.729One hardly sees why any one should go out of his way to invent the tale.
f.to put (a person) out of his, or the, way: to disturb, inconvenience, trouble;†to disappoint, foil;†to vex, ‘put out’. Often refl., to submit to inconvenience or bother for the sake of others;const.for (another), to (do something).†to be out of the way: to be out of temper or vexed (with a person). rare.1692LockeEduc.§11 (1693) 10They should be afraid to put Nature out of her Way in fashioning the Parts[of the body].
1741RichardsonPamela I. 57By what Mr. Jonathan tells me just now, he was quite out of the way with you.
1748―Clarissa (1768) VII. 183If, indeed, I am out of the way a little, I always take care to reward the varlets for patiently bearing my displeasure.
1796Plain Sense (ed.2) III. 173Though, at present, we are put something out of our way, we hope still to find some sacred spot of earth.
1818HazlittTable Talk xxv. (1869) 346They cannot put themselves out of their way on any account.
1838DickensO. Twist xxxi,Anything[to drink]that's handy, miss; don't put yourself out of the way, on our accounts.
1858ThackerayVirgin. ii,Why should Lady Castlewood put herself out of the way to welcome the young stranger?.. Was a great lady called upon to put herself out of the way for such a youth?
1873Mrs. OliphantInnocent III. xi. 177The maids not caring to put themselves out of the way for such guests.
g.Away from the resort or society of other persons; away from the place where one would be looked for or wanted; in a position remote or inconvenient to get at.c1350Will.Palerne 1019Sche trowed trewly..were sche out of þe weye þat william wold fonde for to pleie in þat place þe priue loue game.
1554Sir J. Mason in TytlerEdw.VI II. 452,I had for answer, that I should not be out of the way in the afternoon, for that he intended to signify unto me his pleasure for answer to my request.
1560J. Daustr.Sleidane'sComm.33 b,Duke Fridericke appointed certein..to conveighe Luther out of the way, in to some secrete place.
1604Shakes.Oth.iii. i. 40Ile deuise a meane to draw the Moore Out of the way.
1662J. Daviestr.Olearius'Voy.Ambass. 84They seeing..that it was impossible to save the Prince, kept out of the way.
1697W. DampierVoy.I. 389This seemed to us then to be a place out of the way, where we might lye snug for a while.
1739H. BarnesPract.Cases C.P. (1772) 320'Tis plain he kept out of the Way to prevent being arrested.
1745PocockeDescr.East II. ii. 71In order to make people resort to a place which was so much out of the way.
a1750[see 34 e].
1812J. H. VauxFlashDict.,Out of the way, a thief who knows that he is sought after by the traps on some information and consequently goes out of town or otherwise conceals himself is said by his palls to be out of the way for so and so.
1843DickensMart. Chuz. xxxviii,He had speculated too much and was keeping out of the way.
1853LyttonMy Novel i. xii,The Leslies don't mix with the county; and Rood lies very much out of the way.
1873M. E. BraddonStr. & Pilgr. iii. x. 332Fancy his coming area-sneaking here while his Ludship's out of the way!
h.Away from an obstructive position.1535CoverdaleIsa.lvii. 14Take vp what ye can out of the waye, that ledeth to my people[1611 take vp the stumbling blocke out of the way of my people].
1919K. Pearson in C. GoringEng.ConvictIntrod.12[Goring]clears out of the way for ever the tangled and luxuriant growths of the Lombrosian School.
i.to put (†bring,†take,†rid, etc.) out of the way: to make away with, kill. Also, †to hang, †shoot out of the way. (to be) out of the way: no longer alive.c1535F. BygodTreat.conc.Impropriations C j,As moche as lyeth in you, both god and all preachynge, and all other holy thynges ben clene extyncte..and specyally this holy ordynaunce[sc. preaching]put out of the waye.
a1548HallChron.,Edw.V 17 b,When..these other lordes & knightes were thus beheaded and ryd out of the waye.
Ibid.,Hen.VIII 93He doubted lest he might be brought out of the waie, as other dukes of Albany before had serued the heires of Scotlande.
1560J. Daustr.Sleidane'sComm.138 b,Of Luther and the rest, there is no hope unlesse they be dispatched out of the way[nisi opprimantur].
1563–83FoxeA. & M. 2097/1The said wicked Gardiner..bent all hys deuises, to bring this our happy and deare soueraigne out of the way.
1607TopsellFour-f. Beasts 187If this do not cure him[the dog]within seuen daies, then let him be knocked on the head, or hanged out of the way.
1632MassingerMaid of Hon. iii. iii,I am halfe Hang'd out of the way already.
1679Trials of Green, etc. for Murder of Sir E. Godfrey 30He told me there was a Gentleman that was to be put out of the Way; that was the Phrase he used, he did not really say Murther him.
1757in10thRep.Hist.MSS.Comm.App.i. 313Old Admiral Holbourn, who curst and swore..because Byng was not Shot out of the Way.
1867FroudeShortStud.(ed.2) 114The Earl of Moray..was put out of the Way by an assassin.
1879M. J. GuestLect.Hist.Eng.xxxviii. 388Though he[Richard]had a wife already, he determined to put her out of the way, and marry his own niece Elizabeth sooner than let Henry Tudor win her.
1881JowettThucyd. I. 123The living have their rivals and detractors, but when a man is out of the way, the honour and good-will which he receives is unalloyed.
†j.to be out of the way: (of a thing) to be lost or missing. Obs.1604Shakes.Oth.iii. iv. 80Is 't lost? Is 't gon? Speak, is 't out o' th' way?
1687MiégeGt.Fr.Dict.ii.s.v.,To be out of the Way or out of its proper Place, être dispersé, égaré.
†k.it is out of (my, his, etc.) way: it amounts to or entails a loss of (a specified sum). Obs.1616J. Chamberlain inCrt.& TimesJas.I (1848) I. 405He did the lady a great piece of service to get her out of the Tower, where, if she had been at this time, it might chance been out of her way fifty or three score thousand pounds, at least.
1633ShirleyGamester iii. (1637) F 3,A curse upon these reeling Dice, that last in and in Was out of my way ten peeces.
c1645HowellLett.(1650) I. iii. xxix. 84It is like to be out of my way 3000 l.
1687MiégeGt.Fr.Dict.ii.s.v.,'Tis much out of my Way, or to my Loss, cela m'a fait grand tort, ou j'y ai beaucoup perdu.
c1750J. NelsonJrnl.(1836) 23Though it may be ten pounds out of my way to be turned out of my work at this time of the year.
†l.Beside the mark, amiss; oddly, extraordinarily.c1374ChaucerAnel. & Arc. 318 (Harl. 7333)Have I ought saide oughte of þe waye[Fairf. seyd oght amys I prey].
1577F. de L'isle's Legendarie I. vij b,Of him therefore did not a gentleman of Caux speake much out of the waye, when[etc.].
1782F. BurneyCecilia v. xii,It's surprizeable to me, Mr. Hobson, you can behave so out of the way!
m.Predicatively (with the substantivevb.expressed or understood) asadj.: Beside the mark, out of place, inappropriate; odd, bizarre;†not in vogue, unfashionable;†erroneous, incorrect; extraordinary, unusual, remarkable.Cf.out-of-the-way.1568Hackettr.Thevet's New found World xvi. 25Also it shal not be out of the way[orig.hors de propos], to say that[etc.].
1604Shakes.Oth.i. iii. 366A pox of drowning thy selfe, it is cleane out of the way.
1676PhillipsPurchasers Pattern 106This rule of reckoning..will not be much out of the way, if you reckon the money by the Tables of rebate.
1681W. RobertsonPhraseol.Gen.1299/1,I think it not out of the way, non alienum puto.
a1699TempleHealth & Long LifeWks.1720 I. 273Mine[sc. my three wishes]were Health, Peace, and fair Weather; which, though out of the way among young Men, yet perhaps might pass well enough among old.
1765Museum Rust. IV. 99The writers of them fell entirely in[with]my opinions, odd, unaccountable, and out of the way as they may appear to many.
1873Mrs. OliphantInnocent III. xx. 331If anything out of the way turns up, nobody will remember that such a thing ever happened.
1885HowellsSilas Lapham xxvi. 476Did you ever know me to do anything out of the way?
1892Nation (N.Y.) LIV. 232/3Therefore much that still passes current as opinion about him is pitifully out of the way.
38. a.under way. Naut.[ad.Du.onderweg (also -wegen) on the way, under way,f.onder under, in the course of, etc. + weg (dat.pl.wegen) way.]Of a vessel: Having begun to move through the water;cf.sense 7 i; often spelt under weigh: see weighn.2 Nowfreq.as one word: see underwayadv.1743Bulkeley & CumminsVoy.S. Seas 98To prevent which, we do agree, that when Under-way they shall not separate.
1751R. PaltockP. Wilkins viii. (1884) I. 78We drew up the two boats, and set all hands at work to put the ship under way.
1788C. SmithEmmeline (1816) IV. 75It was near ten o'clock before the vessel got under way.
1836MarryatMidsh. Easy xxiv,He has proposed to me that he shall go on board, and get the brig under way.
1836W. IrvingAstoria xi,Mr. M'Kay urged the captain to clear the ship and get under way.
1863A. YoungNaut.Dict.(ed.2) 431Under way, this expression, often used instead of under weigh, seems to be a convenient one for denoting that a ship or boat is making progress through the water, whether by sails or other motive power.
1867SmythSailor's Word-bk. 706Under way, a ship beginning to move under her canvas after her anchor is started. Some have written this under weigh, but improperly. A ship is under weigh when she has weighed her anchor... As soon as she gathers way she is under way.
1883Stubbs' Mercantile Circular 8 Nov. 982/2Of the collisions on or near our shores, most were between steam and sailing vessels when under way.
1885Law Times'Rep.LIII. 61/2Trawlers..are bound to show the same lights as a vessel under way.
b.transf.and fig.1822ByronVis. Judgm. xci,Ere he could get a word Of all his founder'd verses under way.
1837CarlyleFr.Rev.i. v. viii,A courier is, this night, getting under way for Necker.
1858―Fredk.Gt.x. iii. (1873) III. 240The little Wife has already brought him one child, a Daughter; and has (as Friedrich notices) another under way.
1856Chamb.Jrnl.2 Feb. 80/1,I took the honest waiter home with me in my cab, and under-way we had a good laugh at the spy.
a1874L. StephenHours inLibr.Ser.i. 309They are restlessly anxious to get their stories well under way.
VI.Combinations.39.Obvious combinations.a.simpleattrib., as way-book, way-end, way-pane (panen.1 9), way-signal;b.objective, as way-taking, way-traveller, way-wanderer; way-beguiling, way-stoppingadjs.;c.instrumental, as way-bewildered, way-sore, way-spent, way-wearied, way-wearyadjs.1645QuarlesSol. Recant. ix. 6Short miles, and *way⁓beguiling Company.
1796*Way-bewildered[see thought1 7 c].
1895Westm.Gaz.11 Mar. 1/2A complete *way⁓book of the journey from Cherbourg to Nice has been printed.
1869W. BarnesEarly England & Saxon-English 106When the railway was taken into the hands of more learned men, we had..the terminus instead of the rail⁓end, or *way-end, or outending.
1886J. BarrowmanSc.Mining Terms 72Way⁓end, the inner extremity of the wooden railways formerly used in mines.
1805R. W. DicksonPract.Agric.II. 923*Way-Pane.—The strip of land left for cartage along the side of the main[i.e. principal ditch].
1883CenturyMag.Oct. 807/1Each palm, orange tree, and vineyard left on the old mission sites was a *way signal to the new people.
1871PalgraveLyr. Poems 125*Way-sore feet.
1777Potteræschylus, Choeph. 355The *way-spent traveller.
1623J. Taylor (Water P.)World runs on WheelsWks.(1630) ii. 238/2It cleered the Streetes of these *way-stopping Whirli⁓gigges!
1471Hist.ArrivalEdw.IV (Camden) 27They thowght..to have gotten into theyr companye, by that *way⁓takynge, great nombar of men of Lancashire and Chesshere.
1872HowellsWedd. Journ. (1892) 101Loquacious, acquaintance-making *way-travellers.
1795SoutheySoldier's Wife 1Weary *way-wanderer, languid and sick at heart.
1796ColeridgeDestiny of Nations 149And minister refreshment to the tired Way-wanderer.
1758J. G. CooperEpist.Aristippus iv. 28Life's *way-wearied travellers.
1916BlundenHarbingers 60*Wayweary traveller, with your broad bright eyes.
1926T. E. LawrenceSeven Pillars (1935) 5Love, the way-weary, groped to your body.
40. a.Special comb.: way-baggage U.S., the baggage or luggage of a way-passenger; way-beam, a beam used in the construction of a form of longitudinal railway sleeper; †way-beaten a., exhausted by travel; †way-beater, ? one who frequents the highway for felonious purposes; way-chain, a brake for the wheel of a vehicle; inquot.fig.; †way-door, a door opening on the street; way-fare U.S., a fare charged for travelling between intermediate stations on a railway;cf.way-passenger, -station; †way-fere[feren.1], a companion in travel; †way-flax (meaning obscure); †wayfood, provision for a journey; way-freight N.Amer., goods that are picked up or set down at intermediate stopping places on a railway or shipping route; also, a train carrying such freight; way-gang, -go Sc.=waygate2; †waygoer, a traveller by road, a wayfarer; †wayhire local, payment made for the concession of way-leave; †way-lead v.trans., to guide, conduct; †way-leader, one who conducts a traveller; way letter(seequot.;cf.by-letter, by- 4 and by-way letter, by-way 3); †way-mate, a fellow-traveller; way passenger U.S., a passenger picked up or set down at a stage on a coaching route or station on a railway line intermediate between the main stopping-places; way-place U.S., a stopping place on a road or railway; a wayside hostelry or an intermediate station; way-pointorig.U.S., a stopping-place on a journey; also, (on an air journey) the computer-checked coordinates of each stage of a long flight; way-port, a port which normally serves as a port of call rather than as an ultimate destination; way-post=guide-post; way-rate north., a rate levied by a local authority for the upkeep of the roads; †way-reeve, †-serjeant, officers appointed to supervise the repair of the roads; †way-shide, ? one of the planks used to form gangways; way-stop chiefly U.S., an intermediate stopping place on a journey; also fig.; way-ticket=way-bill 4; also attrib.; way train U.S., a train which stops at intermediate stations on a railway; a stopping train; †way-walking a., vagrant; †way-went, ? a turn of the road; way-wise a. dial.and U.S., of a horse, familiar with the roads he is required to travel; also fig.of a person, experienced, trained; †way-witere (ME.), one who shows the way, a guide; †waywoodware, timber to be used in the construction of roads.1847Webster,*Way-baggage.
1860in Worcester; and in later Dicts.
1883Specif.Alnwick & Cornhill Rlwy. 46Within the troughs[sc. trough-girders]are to be laid..*way⁓beams,..packed between the gussets with stemming pieces.
1742JarvisQuixote II. iv. vii. 311The *way-beaten couple, master and man, sat them down.
a1586SidneyArcadia ii. xxii. §9This we learned chiefly, by the chiefe of those *way-beaters.
1694MotteuxRabelais v. xxvi. 122A sort of People whom they call'd High-way-men, Way-beaters[Fr.Batteurs de pavez], and makers of Inroads in Roads.
1882Ld.Salisbury in T. Williams Polit.Wit & Humour (1889) 67,I will take the Duke of Wellington's simile. He said it[the House of Lords]was a *way-chain, or, as in these days we should say, a vacuum-brake.
1597Bp.Hall Sat.iii. iv. 7But hee must needes his Posts with blood embrew, And on his *way-doore fixe the horned head.
1863DiceyFederalSt.I. 55You can go from New York to Chicago..for four pounds; but the *way-fares are three-halfpence a mile.
c1450PecockDonet (1921) 89Jesus..oure *weifere, oure techer.
c1610Cry in Sturbridge Fair in Gutch Coll.Cur. II. 16Also that no man shall regrate of the aforesaid things, as..*Way-flax,..Rosin, Yarn, Pitch, Tar-Cloth, or other thing of Grocery ware.
1382WyclifDeut.xv. 14But thow shalt ȝyue *weyfode[Vulg.viaticum]of the flockis.
1833Niles'Reg.XLIV. 260/2The hatch..was open to get out a lot of *way-freight.
1875‘Mark Twain’ inAtlantic Monthly Aug. 191No way-freights and no way-passengers were allowed, for the racers would stop only at the largest towns.
1898H. E. HamblenGen.Manager's Story 37The way freight..had crossed over to load some freight.
1977Islander (Victoria,B.C.) 8 May 2/3The discharging of cargo and the loading of way-freight.
1744in KamesDecis.Crt.Sess.1730–52 (1799) 81To cause the water restagnate upon the *way-gang of the pursuer's mill.
1700Sir A. BalfourLett.130They use to stop the *way-goe of the Water, sometimes in the Summer, and lett the Place overflow with Water.
1382WyclifGen.xxxvii. 25And sittynge for to eet breed, thei seen Ysmaelites *weiegoers[Vulg.viatores]to comen fro Galaad.
1482CaxtonTrevisa's Higden v. xii. 145 b,Also for refresshyng of weygoers there as clere welles were by hye weyes, the same kyng made arere postes and to honge theron shelles or cuppes of bras.
1577–87HolinshedChron.I. Hist.Eng.181/1Such tolles and tallages as were demanded of way-goers at bridges.
1747–8inN. Riding RecordSoc.(1890) VIII. 267To save the country the several rates pay'd by the Riding for *wayhires..when the said road is overflowed with water.
1470–85MaloryArthur vii. xiii. 232Whether ward ar ye *way ledyng this knyghte.
a1586SidneyArcadia iii. xiv. §6Let the Gods dispose of me as shall please them; but sure it shall be no such way, nor *way-leader, by which I will come to libertie.
1598BarretTheor. Warres iv. i. 99They are to procure faithful and trusty guides, and skilful way leaders.
1773H. FinlayJrnl.11 Nov. (1867) 38*Way letters he makes his own perquisite.
1851E. BowenU.S.Post-Office Guide 47On the letters brought by a mail carrier to be mailed, called way-letters, onecent.is to be charged in addition to the usual postage.
1893H. JoyceHist.Post Office x. 147For purposes of illustration..A bye or way letter would be a letter passing between any two towns on the Bath road and stopping short of London.
1638R. BrathwaitBarnabeesJrnl.(1818) 183Thee, pleasing *way-mates titled have their patron.
1799Mass.Mercury 12 Feb. (Thornton)The fare is 4d per mile for *way passengers.
1834in McClureEarly LifeAbr.Lincoln (1886) 174Fare through..nine dollars: way passengers six and a fourth cents per mile.
1835C. F. HoffmanWinter in West I. 102At Huron, where the boat put in to land way-passengers.
1849H. MelvilleJrnl.Visit to London (1948) 67In a fit of the nightmare was going to stop at a *way-place, taking it for the place of my destination.
1883‘Mark Twain’Life on Mississippi lii. 512She got out of the cars at a way-place.
1880Harper'sMag.Dec. 53The Ohio is plied by a line of Cincinnati and Pittsburgh packets, and by smaller craft earning a precarious existence between ‘*way’ points.
1899J. LondonLet.12 Sept. (1966) 54And to-morrow I start out on that postponed trip of mine to Stanford University andMt.Hamilton, to say nothing of way points.
1902O. WisterVirginian xxiv. 276The letter..had gone by private hand at the outset, taken the stage-coach at a way point[etc.].
1971Flying Apr. 29/1 (Advt.),Computer and waypoint selector lets you fly direct to a destination hundreds of miles away..forget about airways dog-legs.
1983Times 6 Sept. 26/2They plot course by typing..a series of ‘way-points’ into the computer. Such way-points occur every four hundred miles, so even if one were wrong, the next should put aircraft back on course.
1984Sunday Times 20 May 34/2The co-ordinates of the different ‘waypoints’, or intermediate stages along the flight..were checked and found correct.
1897‘Mark Twain’Following Equator xxxii. 303A good many of us got ashore at the first *way-port to seek another ship.
1901Daily Colonist (Victoria,B.C.) 11 Oct. 3/2The steamer Princess Louise..has been tied up for repairs, and there will be no steamer leaving for the canneries and way ports of the north until Monday at least.
1927Blackw.Mag.Mar. 330/2‘A way-port!’ he sighed, after ordering coffee. ‘It's turned out to be a terminus for a good many fellows like me.’
1773J. BerridgeWks.(1864) 184They were like *wayposts, which shew a road but cannot help a cripple forwards.
a1845BarhamIngol.Leg.Ser.iii. Blasph. Warn. 338And you came to a place where three cross-roads divide, Without any way-post, stuck up by the side Of the road to direct you and act as a guide.
1813Examiner 8 Feb. 91/2,I was..appointed Way-warden for the parish; and was dragged from my business to collect the *way-rate.
1788W. H. MarshallYorks.I. 189Every township ought to employ a roadman or working-*way-reave..for the same excellent purpose[of road-mending].
1334Rolls of Parlt. II. 84/2En eyde de lour ferme de *Wey⁓serjauntz qe soleyent estre en foreyn boys pur le Cheminage, laquele Cheminage & Weywodewares sount ore defete par reson de la Porale.
1535Act 27Hen.VIII c. 18Conveyeng awaye of *wayshydes shores pyles..from the said bankes and walles[of the Thames].
1961Webster,*Way-stop.
1969Islander (Victoria,B.C.) 17 Aug. 12/3She[sc. a steamboat]makes various way-stops on each trip and as Skipper McMinn says—‘We stop for anyone who jumps up and down on the shore and gives us a holler.’
1981Southern Horticulture (N.Z.) Spring 13A town that's now making it. Martinborough was once just a way stop on the road to Pirinoa.
1983C. G. HartRich die Young iv. 45Pat was using the Academy as a way-stop while he tried to break into the movies.
1893Times 28 Sept. 3/5,I agree with your correspondent..that the *way-ticket system is a good one.
1906Westm.Gaz.27 Feb. 4/1Men really in search of work would be given ‘way tickets’ for definite routes... Holders would be entitled to lodging, supper, and breakfast at the casual ward.
1873‘Mark Twain’ & WarnerGilded Age xxix. 269Next morning..he descended, sleepy and sore, from a *way-train.
1920S. LewisMain Street 22The hordes of the way-trains were not altogether new to Carol.
1534MoreComf.agst.Trib.iii. xix. (1553) R v,Whether euery *waye walking beggre be by this reason out of prieson or no, we shall considre.
c1425Macro Plays, Cast. Persev. 158Worthy wytis, in al þis werd wyde, Be wylde wode wonys, & euery *weye-went.
1775Ash,*Waywise, expert in choosing the road.
1840HaliburtonClockm.Ser.iii. ix. 122If they[sc. women as wives]are too old they are apt to be headstrong from havin' had their head so long; and, if they are too young, they are hardly way-wise enough to be pleasant.
1901Munsey'sMag.XXV. 740/2When a colt can be safely driven around the home grounds, he is considered ‘farm broke,’ or way wise.
1918F. HackettIreland xi. 309Flung into the medley of American life, he was compelled..to become way-wise in the factory,[etc.].
c1205Lay.12860Þa cleopeden þe æorl Costantin & bad þa *wæi-witere[c 1275 wei-wittie]for-ærnen þa wateres.
1334*Weywodewares[see wayserjeant above].
b.In the names of plants found growing by the wayside and in stony places, as †way-barley, -bennet, -bent, Hordeum murinum; †way-cress=sciatica cress; way-grass(seequot.1887); way-thistle, Carduus arvensis. Also waybread, waywort.1597GerardeHerbal i. xlvi. 67This kinde of wilde Barly..is called..in English Wall Barly, *Way Barly, or after old English writers, Way Bennet.
1578LyteDodoens iv. xlv. 504Wall Barley, or *Way Bennet.
1665LovellHerball (ed.2) 464. 1763[see wall barleys.v.walln.1 25 c].
1538TurnerLibellus,Phenix,..*waybent.
1548―Names of Herbes (1881) 43Phenix Dioscoridis semeth to be the herbe which is called in Cambrigshire Way bent.
1562―Herbal ii. 20 b,[Iberis]may be called in Englishe *way-cresses.
1565CooperThesaurus,Calligonon... *Waygrasse: knotgrasse.
1887KentishGloss.,Way-grass, a weed; knot-grass. Polygonum aviculare.
1597GerardeHerbal ii. cccclxxiv. 1012The *way Thistles grow euery where by high way sides and common paths, in great plenty.
1796W. PittAgric.Stafford 78The common, cursed, or way thistle.
▸ way to goint.chiefly N.Amer.expressing congratulation or approval; ‘well done’.1950Cullman (Alabama) Banner 11 May 4/4These boys have won four consecutive games this season. Way to go boys!
1974E. BowenHenry & Other Heroes v. 111,I—along with the rest of the team—was cheered, pummeled, and hosannaed with cries of ‘Way to go!’ ‘Terrific!’ ‘You guys done it!’
2003‘S. Pax’Weblog Diary 5 Feb. in Baghdad Blog 89Way to go, Uncle Sam! This is going to make one hell of a James Bond movie.
▪ II.†way,n.2 Obs.rare.[?var.of wey.]A certain quantity of glass.1545Rates of Custom Ho. C iij,Glasses Reinish the way or web containing lx. bunches.
1550–1600Customs DutiesMS.Addit.25097 lf. 7 b,Glasse the waye or wabe.
1656Act Commw. c. 20 Rates (1658) 468Glass for Windows called..Rhenish, the Way or Web.
▪ III.†way,v.Obs.[f.wayn.1]1.intr.To go, journey, proceed.1596SpenserF.Q. iv. ii. 12On a time as they together way'd, He made him open chalenge, and thus boldly sayd.
1708Yorkshire Racers 10They..Way'd to the course, and gallop'd true and well.
2.trans.(Seequot.1706.) Alsoerron.weigh, waigh.1639T. de GreyCompl.Horsem. i. v. (1656) 43Untill such time as he hath been..made gentle,..content to be shod, to be Back'd, Broken, Ridden, Wayed, Mouthed.
a1652A. Wilson in PeckDesid. Curiosa (1735) II. xii. 25My spotted Nag..being younge & not well waigh'd, run away with mee.
a1654SeldenTable-T. (Arb.) 39He that hath a Scrupulous Conscience, is like a Horse that is not well weigh'd, he starts at every Bird that flies out of the Hedge.
1706Phillips (ed.Kersey),To Way a Horse, is to teach him to travel in the Ways.
1708Lond.Gaz.No.4490/4Lost.., a young black Gelding, comes 4, not thorough weigh'd.
3.To set (a waggon) on the made way or track on which it runs.1763inLondonMag.(1764) 145/2When a waggon happens to be off the waggon-way, if laden, it will take two or three horses to way the waggon again.
†4.intr.To construct a way. Inquot.indirect passive. Obs.1640SomnerAntiq.Canterb.195It was a Free-Schoole for the City..anciently wayed unto, and having a passage to it from some part of Burgate-street.
Hence †wayed ppl.a.1640SucklingLet.Fragm.Aur. (1658) 77A well-wayed horse will safely convey thee to thy journeys end.
1727Bailey vol. II,Way'd Horse[with Horsemen]is one who is already backed, suppled, and broken, and shews a Disposition to the Manage.
▪ IV.way,adv.|weɪ|[Apheticf.away.Cf.G. weg similarly used.]1.=awayadv.in various senses. †do way: see do v. 53. Now only Sc., north., and U.S.c1205Lay.15933Let alæten þis wæter & wei weorpen[c 1275 awey werpe].
a1300–1578 Do way[see do v. 53].
1460PastonLett.I. 525As for tythyngs here, the Kyng is way at Eltham.
1533More2ndPt.Confut.Tindale iv.Wks.593/2Which great occasyons Godde suffred to fal vpon him and carye hym waye.[Tindale's words are: to carye him clene oute of the waye.]
1818ScottHrt. Midl. xxvi,Gae wa', gae wa'.
1871W. AlexanderJohnny Gibb iii,Gae 'wa', ye haveril.
1908Collier'sMag.Oct., ‘Travelling for the Presidency’ (Thorntons.v.Lunch-counter)Mr. Bryan has, during the past twelve years, eaten or otherwise made way with over 1,700 meals at railroad lunch-counters.
2.esp.At or to a (great) distance, far.a.with preps.1849W. S. MayoKaloolah v. (1850) 44You see it was way towards Tupper's Lake.
1888E. CusterTenting on Plains viii. (1893) 151He sat 'way under the mantel, to let the tobacco-smoke go up the chimney.
1891Anthony'sPhotogr.Bull.IV. 29,I would have sold at a very low price, way below cost.
1927Baroness OrczySir Percy hits Back v. 35The three men had become mere specks, 'way down the road.
1959TimesLit.Suppl.16 Oct. 589/3You are feet deep in snow and the temperature is way below zero.
1972Guardian 17 Nov. 1/6The census figures confirm..that unemployment is way above the official figure.
1979R. PerryBishop's Pawn v. 76You're way off course... It's back on Unter den Linden.
b.Withadvs., as down, over, through. Now only north.and U.S.For way back, in, off, out, up see main entries below.1908S. E. WhiteRiverman ix,Until you got sick of it *way through.
1851E. S. WortleyTrav.inU.S.xxiii. 138The trading and wealthy cities of far off Alabama and Louisiana, ‘way down south’.
1854Seba Smith (title)Way down East.
1866Atlantic Monthly May 640Nor these ain't metters thet with pol'tics swings, But goes 'way down amongst the roots o' things.
1850L. H. GarrardWah-to-Yah xvii. 222Calyforny! way over yonder!
c.fig.Much, far. U.S.1941L. I. WilderLittle Town on Prairie v. 34‘I wonder how much it costs,’ said Ma. ‘'Way too much for ordinary folks,’ saidPa.
1957New Yorker 2 Nov. 105/2Go by plane, train or ship. Arrive way sooner—relaxed!
1977Rolling Stone 24 Mar.,He was a country & western singer and he drank way too much.
3.Comb.(Chiefly Sc.)a.with apa.pple.or verb, as way-gone; †way-put v. Sc., to put away: (a) to effect the escape of (a fugitive from justice); (b)=put v. 39 d.1831Sutherland FarmRep.81 in Libr.Usef.Knowl.,Husb.III,They are sorted into their wedder herdings to replace the *waygone lot of the last year's ewe hogs.
1538in PitcairnCrim.Trials (Bannatyne Club) I. *205[John Tuedy, in Lyntoun, convicted of art and part of the treasonable assistance given to James Douglas..: And for art and part of]*way⁓putting[him].
1540ExtractsAberd.Reg.(1844) I. 170That nane of thaim way put nor dispone vpon the necessaris requirit to the said schip as ane schip of weir.
b.withvbl.ns.(or other nouns of action), chiefly Sc., as waycoming, way-fleeing, way-passing, way-sending, way-sliding; way-ganging=way-going; †wei-sith, departure, death; way-taking, the action or an act of taking (something) away, removal. Also way-going.1651Sir A. Johnston (Ld.Wariston) Diary (S.T.S.) II. 95Heard of the Scots airmy coming to Dumfermling after hir *waycoming.
1513Douglasæneis iv. vi. 93Tofoir thi *wayfleing, Had I ane child consavit of thi ofspring.
1456Sir G. HayeLaw Arms (S.T.S.) 176Gif a man..assuris ane othir frely to cum, and spekis nocht of his *way ganging.
a1605R. Bannatyne'sJrnl.(1806) 490It was ewin, at the way ganging of the day light.
1898E. W. HamiltonMawkin of Flow xi. 125I'd be laith to get an ill name at the very outset of our way-ganging.
1479Acta Dom. Concil. (1839) 45/1Þat þe persouns þtpast fra þe eleccioun of þe said Alexander be summond..to ansuer..for þair *way passing.
a1578Lindesay (Pitscottie)Chron.Scot.(S.T.S.) II. 11[They]brunt the toun at thair way passing.
a1572KnoxHist.Ref.Wks.1846 I. 420Sche farther willit, to offer the *way-sending of the men of weir.
c1205Lay.25846[She]weop for hire *wei-sið.
Ibid.28199Scullen alle mine feond wæi-sið makeȝe.
1818ScottHrt. Midl. xviii,Avoiding right-hand snares and extremes, and left-hand *way-slidings.
1479Acta Audit. (1839) 93/1Befor þe lordis comperit Dauid Wemys summond..anent þe *wataking of thre oxin furth of þe landis of myrecarny.
a1572KnoxHist.Ref.Wks.1846 I. 56And so did Jesus Christ, the onlye trew Light, schyne unto many, for the way-tackin of one.
1625inSpalding ClubMisc.V. 218The gryt trubill and discord betuin the laird and his tenantis anent the waytaking of doris at thair remowing.
Add:[2.]d.slang. Extremely, very; really.Cf.*welladv.16 b.1987Freestylin' Aug. 102/1The combination of riding and product tossing made the whole day way fun, and made the small turnout a forgotten fact.
1988Freestyle BMX June 25/2The guys behind the bar were way cool, flowing free beers to the visiting skaters.
1990New Musical Express 21 July 14/6When we recorded it originally I doubled up the drums and it sounded way Gary Glitter, way Clash.
▪ V.way,int.|weɪ|Also whay.[Cf.woint.]A call to a horse to stop.1836DickensSk.Boz, Tuggs's at Ramsgate,Away went the donkey..‘Way-way! Wo-o-o-o-!’ cried Mr. Cymon Tuggs.
1846―Cricket on Hearth ii,‘Way!’ This monosyllable was addressed to the Horse, who didn't mind it at all. ‘Oh do Way, John!’ said Mrs. Peerybingle. ‘Please!’
1856C. M. YongeDaisy Chain i. xv,Whay! Stop. There's an old woman in here.
▪ VI.wayobs.form of weigh v., wey, whey, woe.
