Warp v. World English Historical Dictionary

Warp v. World English Historical Dictionary Dictionary Biographies Literary Criticism Welcome Terms of Service ⧏ Previous Next ⧐ Contents Slice Contents Key Bibliographic Record Murray’s New English Dictionary. 1928, rev. 2024. Warp v. Pa. t. and pa. pple. warped. Forms: 1 weorpan, wurpan, wyrpan, 2–3 werpen, (Orm. werrpenn), 3 weorpen, wearpe, worpe(n, 3–4 warpon, 3–6 werp(e, 5 warpyn, -on, 4–6 Sc. varp, 7 Sc. worp, 3–7 warpe, 4– warp. Pa. t. sing. 1 wearp, 1 Northumb., 2–4 warp, (Orm. warrp), 3 weorp, 3–4 werp, 4–5 warpe; pl. 1 wurpon, Northumb. worpon, -un, 3 wurpen, worpen, weorpen. Pa. pple. 1, 3–5 worpen, 3 (i)worpe, Orm. worrpenn, 6 Sc. warp. Also pa. t. and pa. pple. 4–6 war-, werpid, -it, -et, 4– warped. [A Com. Teut. str. vb.: OE. weorpan (wearp, wurpon, worpen) corresponds to OFris. werpa (worp, wurpon, ewurpen), OS. werpan (warp, wurpun, worpan), Du. werpen (wierp, worpen), OHG. werfan (warf, wurfun, worfen), MHG., mod.G. werfen (warf, wurfen, geworfen), ON. verpa (varp, urpu, orpenn), Sw. verpa, Da. verpe, Goth. wairpan (warp, waurpum, waurpans); f. OTeut. root *werp- (warp-, wurp-):—pre-Teut. *werb-; the root is not found outside Teut.

1   The strong conjugation did not survive in Eng. later than the 15th c.]

2   I.  To cast, throw.

3   † 1.  trans. To project through space; to cast, throw, fling. Obs.

4 c. 888.  Ælfred, Boeth., vii. § 3. Ða hine mon on þæt fyr wearp þa alysde ic hine mid heofonlicon rene.

5 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. vii. 6. Ʒe ne wurpen eowre meregrotu toforan eowrum swinum.

6 c. 1200.  Ormin, 10488. & werrpenn all þe chaff anan, Inntill be fir to bærnenn.

7 c. 1205.  Lay., 17430. Al swa feor swa a mon mihte werpen ænne stan.

8 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 404. Mon worpeð Grickischs fur upon his fomen.

9 c. 1250.  Owl & Night., 768. Mid liste me may walles felle & werpe [v.r. worpe] of horse knyhtes snelle.

10 c. 1300.  Havelok, 1061. He warp þe ston Ouer þe laddes euerilkon.

11 c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, ii. (Paul), 344. Sanct paulis hed eftir his discese In a depe vewar warpit was.

12 c. 1425.  Wyntoun, Cron., VIII. 4743. Þe wardane gert his wrichtis syne Set vp richt stoutly ane ingyne, And warpit til þe toure a stan.

13 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, I. Prol. 280. And bot my buik be fundin worth sic thre, Quhen it is red, do warp it in the se.

14   † b.  with adv., as down, up, out, away. Obs.

15 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. xvii. 27. Gang to þære sæ, and wurp þinne angel ut [Vulg. mitte hamum].

16 c. 1200.  Ormin, 16040. Þurrh þatt he warrp ut i þe flor þe sillferr & te bordess.

17 c. 1205.  Lay., 5083. Awei he warp his gode breond.

18 c. 1330.  R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 15875. His staf ful sleyly vp he warp.

19 1375.  Barbour, Bruce, III. 642. He had bene tane but dout, Na war it that he warpyt owt All that he had, him lycht to ma.

20 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 13412. He … warpet ouer-burde Mikill riches & relikes reft fro the toune.

21   † c.  To cast (lots). Obs.

22 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., Matt. xxvii. 35. Hiʓ todældon hys reaf, and wurpon hlot þær-ofer [Vulg. sortem mittentes].

23 c. 1205.  Lay., 15498. Þe king … bad heom leoten werpen.

24   † 2.  To sprinkle, scatter (something) on (a surface). Also with out: To cause to spirt; to emit, shoot forth. Obs.

25 c. 1000.  Sax. Leechd., II. 240. Dweorʓe dwostlan weorp on weallende wæter.

26 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 41. Scodðan he him sceaude an ouen on berninde fure he warp ut of him seofe leies. Ibid., 129. Þurh þisse tacne Moyses werp ut þet welle weter of þan herda flinte.

27 c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 161. Hie wenden þe eorðe and wurpen god sad þaronne.

28 c. 1205.  Lay., 4518. Me warp on his nebbe cold welle watere.

29 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 246. Ase ofte ase þe ueond assaileð ouwer castel … worpeð ut uppon him schaldinde teares.

30   † 3.  With up, open, wide, on brede: To open (a gate) violently or suddenly, fling open. With to: To shut, slam. Obs.

31 c. 1000.  Ælfric, Saints’ Lives, iii. 347. Þa com færlice mycel wynd and wearp upp þa duru.

32 a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 1526. Þus atired he þe toune & titely þar-eftir On ilka way wid open werped he þe ȝatis. Ibid., 2142. Ȝa, werpis þam [the gates] vp … & wide open settis.

33 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 10462. Þai wan in wightly, warpit to þe yates, Barrit hom full bigly with boltes of yerne. Ibid., 11924. When the buernes of the burgh were broght vpon slepe, He warpit vp a wicket.

34 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, X. i. 1. On breid, or this, was warp and mayd patent The hevynly hald of God omnipotent. Ibid., XII. x. 80. Sum bad … Warp vp the portis, and wide the ȝettis cast To the Troianis.

35   † b.  intr. Of a door: To open (wide, etc.).

36 a. 1375.  Joseph Arim., 257. He bad him lifte vp and þe lide warpes.

37 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, VI. i. 118. Bot thow do, thir gret durris … sall nevir warp on breid. Ibid., VI. ii. 2. The hundreth gret durris … At thair awin willis warpit wyde.

38   † 4.  trans. To put (a garment) on or off hastily.

39 13[?].  Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 2025. Whyle þe wlonkest wedes he warp on hym-seluen.

40 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 901. Sir Arthure … Wente to hys wardrope, and warpe of hys wedez.

41 a. 1400.  Pistill of Susan, 124. Þe wyf werp of hir wedes vn-werde.

42   † 5.  To throw down, overthrow. Usually with adv., as down, under, to ground. Obs.

43 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 7. Þu warpest þene alde feont.

44 c. 1200.  Ormin, 3575. Forr Crist wass strang wiþþ hannd inoh To werrpenn dun þe deofell.

45 c. 1205.  Lay., 25889. Þæs bures dure he warp adun Þat heo to-barst a uiuen. Ibid., 28729. Mine wiðer-iwinnen, weorpeð heom to grunden.

46 c. 1250.  Gen. & Ex., 2640. Ðe child it warp dun to de [read ðe] grund.

47 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 1297. The Troiens … Wondid of þe wightist, warpide hom vnder.

48 c. 1400.  Laud Troy Bk., 6683. We schal of hem to grounde warpe With Swordes bryght and speres scharpe.

49   † b.  Of wind: To toss or drive (a ship) violently about. Obs.

50 13[?].  E. E. Allit. P., B. 444. As þat lyftande lome luged aboute, Where þe wynde & þe weder warpen hit wolde.

51   † c.  ? To swing round, whirl. Obs.

52 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, XI. xi. 103. And oft about hyr hed … [she] Wald warp the stringis of the stowt staf slyng.

53   † 6.  fig. a. To drive out, expel, reject, renounce; usually with out, away. Also, to trample (under foot). Obs.

54 c. 1000.  Ags. Gosp., John vi. 37. Ic ne weorpe ut [Vulg. non eiciam foras] þone þe to me cymð.

55 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 40. Gif me worpen mid him al þe world under vet. Ibid., 230. Þeo deoflen þet ure Louerd werp ut of one monne. Ibid., 356. Worp awei urom me alle mine gultes.

56 a. 1225.  Leg. Kath., 829. Sone se ich awei warp ower witlese lei.

57 c. 1230.  Hali Meid., 5. Þeos þohtes warp ut of þin heorte.

58 a. 1300.  Cursor M., 24247. Nu comforth þe … And werp awai þi wepe.

59   † b.  To plunge (a person) suddenly or roughly (into prison, distress, etc.); to put to death. Obs.

60 c. 1175.  Lamb. Hom., 143. Þe sunfulle Men … sculen beon iwarpen ine eche pine.

61 c. 1200.  Ormin, 19608. He let bindenn himm,… & i cwarrterrne werrpenn.

62 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 10973. Mony worthy þai woundit, & warpit to dethe.

63 c. 1460.  Towneley Myst. xxiii. 413. Thou art warpyd all in wo.

64 c. 1590.  J. Stewart, Poems (S.T.S.), II. 17. Dreid of dainger varps hir in ane trans.

65   † 7.  intr. To go hastily, fling away. Of wind: To rise up. Obs.

66 a. 1400[?].  Morte Arth., 2746. I rede ȝe … warpes wylily awaye.

67 a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 557. Wild wedirs vp werpe & þe wynd ryse.

68   b.  Sc. of bees: To swarm. Cf. CAST v. 22.

69 a. 1824.  in Mactaggart, Gallovid. Encycl., 94. The hive which warped owre the fell.

70   † 8.  trans. With inversion of const.: To strike, hit, assail with (a missile). Also, to besprinkle (with a liquid). Obs.

71 Beowulf, 2791. He hine eft ongon wæteres weorpan.

72 c. 888.  Ælfred, Boeth., xvi. § 2. Þa forceaw he his tungan & wearp hine mid ðære tungan on þæt neb foran.

73 c. 1205.  Lay., 29562. Heo … wurpen hine mid banen.

74 a. 1250.  Owl & Night., 1121. Ȝif þu art iworpe oþer ischote.

75   † 9.  transf. and fig. In various uses: To thrust (one’s hand) forth; to lay (hands) on; to cast (one’s head) down; to strike (a stroke). Obs.

76 a. 1225.  St. Marher., 3. As theos cnihtes walden warpen honden on hire ha bigon to cleopien ant callen þus to criste.

77 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 83. [He] Weorpeð adun þet heaueð. Ibid., 96. Ȝif eni wurðeð so wod … þet he worpe his hond forð touward þe þurl cloð.

78 c. 1375.  Sc. Leg. Saints, xxviii. 267. Þat þai suld tak þat maydin schen,… and strakis fel til hyre let warpe.

79   10.  † a. To cast, shed (horns). Obs.

80 c. 1220.  Bestiary, 325, in O. E. Misc., 11. He werpeð er hise hornes in wude er in ðornes.

81   † b.  To lose (the natural hue). Obs.

82 c. 1200.  Trin. Coll. Hom., 183. Among þat þe sowle witeð, þe licame worpeð hewe.

83   † 11.  To utter, pronounce (a word, speech); to utter (a cry), heave (a sigh). Also with out. Also absol., to talk, speak (of). Obs.

84 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 306. Mid tisse schulen þe uorlorene worpen a swuch ȝeor þet heouene & eorðe muwen beoðe grisliche agrisen.

85 a. 1225.  Leg. Kath., 1325. Þet we ne cunnen … warpen na word aȝein.

86 a. 1225.  Juliana, 21. He … weorp a sic as a wiht þat sare were iwundet.

87 13[?].  E. E. Allit. P., A. 879. A note ful nwe I herde hem warpe.

88 13[?].  Gaw. & Gr. Knt., 2253. I schal stonde stylle, & warp þe no wernyng, to worch as þe lykez.

89 c. 1400.  Destr. Troy, 2683. Ho … Warpet out wordes wonder to here.

90 c. 1420.  Wyntoun, Cron., lxxxiv. 1707 (Wemyss). Quhen þis wif had warpit þus Off this abbot Eugenyus.

91 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, II. xi. 23. Scarslie the auld thir wordis hed warpit out. Ibid., V. viii. 116. And be abufe hym werpis sic sawis.

92   † b.  To cast (one’s eyes) on or upon (an object).

93 c. 1200.  Ormin, 12758. Crist warrp eȝhe upponn Symon.

94 a. 1225.  Ancr. R., 52. Hwoso heuede iseid to Eue þeo heo werp hire eien þerone, A! wend te awei; þu worpest eien o þi deað.

95   12.  dial. a. To lay (eggs). Also absol. [So ON. verpa.]

96 a. 1340.  Hampole, Psalter xc. 13. Þe snake werpis and þe tade nuryssis þe eg, and þarof is broght forth þe basilyske.

97 1483.  Cath. Angl., 409/1. To Warpe as byrdis dose, jncubare, ponere oua.

98 1570.  Levins, Manip., 33/6. To warp an egge, ouum ponere.

99 1787.  Grose, Prov. Gloss., Warp, to lay eggs. A hen warps or warys. N.

100 1825.  Brockett, N. C. Words, s.v., A hen is said to warp when she lays.

101   b.  To bring forth (young) naturally. rare. (In quot. absol.)

102 1738.  G. Smith, Cur. Relat., II. 453. They [beavers] don’t warp in their Houses, but in Hollows dug under Ground.

103   c.  Of a ewe, cow, etc.: To bring forth (young), prematurely; to cast, slip, drop. Also absol.

104 a. 1722.  Lisle, Husb. (1757), 283. A cow, that … warps her calf three months before her time. Ibid., 310. If the ewes warped, they turned them out to the rams again.

105 1813.  T. Rudge, Agric. Glouc., 297. Cows are liable to slip or warp their calves.

106 1903.  Athenæum, 7 March, 307/3. It turned out that that season’s lambing proved very disastrous—never had so many ewes been known to warp.

107   II.  To bend, twist aside.

108   13.  To bend, curve or twist (an object) out of shape; spec. to curve (timber) by the application of steam; also, to distort, contort (the body or a limb, the features).

109 a. 1400–50.  Wars Alex., 798. Al to-wraiste þai þar wode & werpis in-sondire.

110 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 517/1. Warpyn’, or make wronge, curvo.

111 1593.  Nashe, Christ’s T., P 1 b. Age will … warpe our backs.

112 1648.  Herrick, Hesp., Paneg. Sir L. Pemberton, 9. Laden spits, warp’t with large Ribbs of Beefe.

113 1665.  Manley, Grotius’ Low C. Wars, 419. As in some places, the violence of Heat; so in other, the extremity of Cold, hath often warped Nature, and made it become deformed.

114 1742.  Jarvis, 2nd Pt. Quixote, II. x. II. 219. If perchance the rod of justice be warped a little, let it not be by the weight of a gift, but by that of mercy.

115 1799.  Naval Chron., I. 288. The method was introduced of warping planks to the timbers by the means of steam.

116 1835.  W. Irving, Tour Prairies, xxvii. 244. Baring his left arm, he showed it warped and contracted by a former attack of rheumatism.

117 1847.  C. Brontë, Jane Eyre, xx. A singularly marked expression of disgust, horror, hatred, warped his countenance almost to distortion.

118 1849.  Miss Mulock, Ogilvies, xxi. Trying to bend it straight, as he would a tree which wrong culture had warped aside.

119 1876.  Miss Broughton, Joan, I. I. i. 8. A book with its back still warm and warped from having been held over the fire gapes half open on the table.

120 1896.  Conan Doyle, Rodney Stone, xxi. 345. Age had warped and cracked the boards.

121   fig.  1662.  Petty, Taxes & Contrib., 9. I descend no lower, wishing onely that there might be an universal Reformation of what length of time hath warped awry.

122   14.  intr. To become bent, twisted, or uneven, by shrinkage or contraction. Said esp. of timber. (Cf. CAST v. 53.)

123 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 517/1. Warpyn’, or wex wronge or avelonge, as vesselle, oblongo.

124 1530.  Palsgr., 772/1. I warpe, as bordes do, whan they croke for want of good seasonnyng.

125 1577.  B. Googe, Heresbach’s Husb., II. 106. The Elme … is meete for the cheekes and postes of Gates,… for it wyll not bowe, nor warpe.

126 1657.  Trapp, Comm. Esther ii. 2. Green wood is ever shrinking and warping.

127 1783.  Justamond, trans. Raynal’s Hist. Indies, III. 159. If the pieces … are thicker … on one side than another,… they will warp to that side.

128 1815.  J. Smith, Panorama Sci. & Art, I. 37. Cast iron, when annealed, is less liable to warp by a subsequent partial exposure to moderate degrees of heat.

129 1826.  Scott, Woodstock, ii. Old wood seldom warps in the wetting.

130 1881.  Young, Every Man his own Mechanic, § 46. 23. Black Ebony … will not warp readily.

131   b.  fig., or in fig. context. (Cf. 19.)

132 1599.  Marston, Antonio’s Rev., V. vi. You are well seasond props, And will not warpe, or leane to either part.

133 1600.  Shaks., A. Y. L., III. iii. 90. This fellow wil but ioyne you together, as they ioyne Wainscot, then one of you wil proue a shrunke pannell, and like greene timber, warpe, warpe.

134 1682.  Flavel, Fear, 44. It would make them warp and bend under such temptations.

135 1690.  Locke, Hum. Und., I. iii. § 20. It being all one, to have no Rule, and one that will warp any way.

136 1736.  Lediard, Life Marlborough, I. 58. To set that Law streight again, which he had made to warp to his Prince’s Humour.

137 1874.  C. E. Norton, Lett. (1913), II. 33. I, too, warp and crack in this dry, clear atmosphere.

138   15.  trans. To contract, cause to shrink or shrivel, corrugate. rare.

139 1600.  Shaks., A. Y. L., II. vii. 187. Freize, freize, thou bitter skie … Though thou the waters warpe, thy sting is not so sharpe, as freind remembred not.

140 1875.  B. Taylor, Faust, I. ii. 46. Then from the East they come, to dry and warp Your lungs.

141   b.  intr. To shrink or shrivel, become contracted or wrinkled. Also fig. rare.

142 1579.  Gosson, Sch. Abuse (Arb.), 61. You must keepe your sweete faces from scorching in the sun, chapping in the winde, and warping with the weather.

143 1611.  Shaks., Wint. T., I. ii. 365. Me thinkes My fauor here begins to warpe.

144 1696.  Tutchin, Pindarick Ode, ii. 10.        The Fames of Shakespear and of Ben, Must warp, before my nobler fire To their regardless Tombs retire.

145   16.  trans. (fig.) To pervert, distort (the mind, judgment, principles, etc.); to give a ‘twist’ or bias to; to turn (aside) from rectitude or the straight path.

146 1599.  B. Jonson, Cynthia’s Rev., IV. i. (1601), G 1 b. Me thinkes thy seruant Hedon is nothing so obsequious to thee, as he was wont to be: I know not how, Hee’s growne out of his Garbe a-late, hee’s warp’t.

147 1700.  Dryden, Sigism. & Guisc., 402. Nor Folly warp’d my Mind, Nor the frail Texture of the Female Kind Betray’d my Vertue.

148 1710.  Addison, Whig-Exam., No. 4, ¶ 4. I have no private considerations to warp me in this controversy.

149 1718.  Dk. Buckhm., Lett. to Pope, Wks. 1723, II. 289. Suffering their judgments to be a little warped (if I may use that expression) by the heat of their eager inclinations.

150 1725.  Watts, Logic, II. iv. Watch against every Temptation that might bribe your Judgment, or warp it aside from Truth.

151 1852.  Smedley, L. Arundel, xxvii. 205. These two men, each warped and hardened differently … by the world’s evil influence.

152 1879.  M. Arnold, Fr. Crit. Milton, Mixed Ess., 252. Johnson’s mind … was at many points bounded, at many points warped.

153 1884.  A. R. Pennington, Wiclif, Pref. pp. viii.–ix. He often allows his prejudice against Wiclif to warp his judgment.

154 1919.  C. Goring, Eng. Convict, i. 10. The science of criminology, we contend, has been, up to the present, warped by its subjection to all kinds of superstitious and conventional dogmas.

155   b.  Const. from, out of; to, into.

156 1650.  B., Discolliminium, 17. He that is warp’d in his Divinity, will never be at rest till he hath wrap’d [? read warp’d] his Policy to it.

157 1685.  Dryden, Threnod. August., 322. Not Faction,… Not Foreign or Domestick Treachery, Could Warp thy Soul to their Unjust Decree.

158 a. 1711.  Ken, Poet. Wks. (1868), 272. My treacherous heart I fear, Warp’d to the world.

159 1758–65.  Goldsm., Ess., Taste (Globe), 315/2. By the present mode of education we are forcibly warped from the bias of nature.

160 1768–74.  Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1834), II. 628. There is such perpetual danger from all quarters of having the moral sense warped to a false direction.

161 1796.  Bp. Watson, Apol. Bible, 379. Some men have been warped to infidelity by viciousness of life.

162 1842.  Tennyson, Locksley Hall, 60. Cursed be the social lies that warp us from the living truth!

163 1853.  Dickens, Bleak Ho., xxxv. Jarndyce and Jarndyce has warped him out of himself, and perverted me in his eyes.

164 1857.  Ruskin, Pol. Econ. Art, ii. § 97. The bribe of wealth and honour warps him from his honest labour into efforts to attract attention.

165 1882.  ‘Ouida,’ In Maremma, viii. This narrowness of the peasant mind which … demagogues … warp to their own selfish purpose and profits.

166   17.  To distort, wrest, misinterpret, give a false coloring to (a fact, account, etc.). Const. from, to, into.

167 1717.  Bentley, Serm. bef. K. Geo., 19. Those that interpret all actions of their Governors; that warp the most innocent Occurrences to Censure and Calumny.

168 1741.  Watts, Improv. Mind, I. viii. In matters of dispute, take heed of warping the sense of the … writer to your own opinion.

169 1775.  De Lolme, Const. Eng., I. x. (1784), 102. Writs, being warped from their actual meaning.

170 1780.  Cowper, Progr. Err., 437. The worst is—Scripture warp’d from its intent.

171 1816.  Scott, Old Mort., xxvii. While … you, Mr Poundtext, were warping the Scriptures into Erastianism.

172 1830.  D’Israeli, Chas. I., III. x. 218. Probably … both [accounts] are warped by the opposite feelings of the writers.

173 1857.  Ruskin, Pol. Econ. Art, § 8. We have warped the word ‘economy’ in our English language into a meaning which it has no business whatever to bear.

174 a. 1872.  Maurice, Friendship Bks., xiii. (1874), 381. A … spirit which would not suffer us to pervert or warp any documents to suit a purpose of ours.

175   b.  intr. Of a statement: To become distorted.

176 1914.  H. Newbolt, in Blackw. Mag., July, 48/2. Whether all this be true I cannot tell, but as I guess it is an old report that has warped in wandering.

177   18.  trans. To turn aside or divert (a moving body) from its path or orbit. Also, to deflect, change the direction of (one’s journey). rare.

178 1725.  Pope, Odyss., IV. 103. Then [I] warp my voyage on the southern gales.

179 1814.  Cary, Dante, Parad., i. 130. As from a cloud the fire is seen to fall, From its original impulse warp’d, to earth.

180 1837.  Emerson, Amer. Schol., Wks. (Bohn), II. 178. I had better never see a book, than to be warped by its attraction clean out of my own orbit.

181   b.  intr. To turn or incline in a (specified) direction. rare.

182 1674.  N. Fairfax, Bulk & Selv., 67. There being no more reason why it [an arrow] should warp to the right hand than to the left, why this way rather than that, it must needs stir no way.

183 1684–94.  trans. Plutarch’s Mor. (1718), III. 16. But as she [the Moon] warps back again to meet her Illustrious Mate, the nearer she makes her approach, the more she is eclipsed until no longer seen.

184   † 19.  fig. (Cf. 14 b, 16.) To receive a ‘twist’ or bias, which influences one’s judgment or sentiments; to turn from the straight path; to deviate, swerve, go astray. Const. from. Obs.

185 1603.  Shaks., Meas. for M., I. i. 15. There is our Commission, From which, we would not haue you warpe.

186 1642.  D. Rogers, Naaman, 550. If we feele … that our hearts warpe from Gods commands.

187 1642.  Milton, Apol. Smect., 34. He fals off again warping and warping till he come to contradict himselfe in diameter.

188 1681.  Baxter, Apol. Nonconf. Min., Pref. p. ii. Learned men, when they warp and err.

189 1738.  Neal, Hist. Purit., IV. 211. Any single officer that should hereafter warp from his obedience.

190 1748.  Hartley, Observ. Man, I. iii. § 5. 384. A pleasurable or painful State of the Stomach or Brain, Joy or Grief, will make all the Thoughts warp their own way, little or much.

191 1791.  Burke, Th. French Aff., Wks. 1842, I. 574. Amongst them there are no leaders possessed of an influence for any other purpose but that of maintaining the present state of things. The moment they are seen to warp, they are reduced to nothing.

192 a. 1817.  T. Dwight, Trav. (1822), IV. 314. He [Edwards] never warped from the path of common sense.

193   † b.  To be biassed, incline, lean, be drawn or attracted (to, towards). Also, to bend, submit, yield (to); to submit to do something. Obs.

194 a. 1592.  Greene, Jas. IV., I. 654. I can no more; my patience will not warpe To see these flatterers how they scorne and Carpe.

195 1624.  Gee, Foot out of Snare, xi. 71. A Gentlewoman … that was well inclining and warping toward the Popish pale.

196 1643.  Plain English, 17. How miserably will you find the … Clergie wraping [read warping] to the prevailing party.

197 a. 1661.  Fuller, Worthies, Lond. (1662), 222. Others more truly tax him [Chamnee], for warping to the Will of King Henry the eighth, not so much to decline his own death, as to preserve his Covent from destruction.

198 a. 1677.  Barrow, Serm., Wks. 1716, II. 27. Men generally do sute their opinions to their inclinations; warping to that side where their interest doth lie.

199 1772.  J. Fletcher, Logica Genev., 34. Our Church, far from warping to Crispianity, strongly inforces St. James’s undefiled religion.

200   III.  To weave, twine.

201   20.  trans. † a. To weave (a web). Obs. b. To arrange (threads, yarn) so as to form a warp; to wind on a warp-beam. Also absol.

202 c. 1220.  Bestiary, 467, in O. E. Misc., 15. Ðe spinnere … werpeð ðus hire web, and weueð on hire wise.

203 c. 1340.  Nominale (Skeat), 336. Homme poet teil perer. M[an] may a webbe warpe.

204 c. 1430.  Pilgr. Lyf Manhode, II. cxxiii. (1869), 121. It is furred with fox skynnes in lengthe and in brede, al be it with oute wouen mand, and worpen of the wulle of white sheep.

205 c. 1440.  Promp. Parv., 517/1. Warpon’, as webstarys, stamino, licio.

206 1483.  Cath. Angl., 409/1. To Warpe A web, protelare.

207 1540.  Hyrde, trans. Vives’ Instr. Chr. Wom., I. iii. (1541), 3 b. To spinne, to warpe, or els wynd spindels in a case for to throw wofe of.

208 1556.  Phaër, Æneid, IV. (1558), K j. Her self the web had wrought, & warpyd fine with wreath of gold.

209 1598.  Florio, Ordire, to warpe or lay as weauers do their webbs before it be wouen.

210 1662.  Burgh Rec. Stirling (1887), 240. The saids proveist, baillies and councill … discharges them … from litting any plaid yairn, and from worping and working any that shall not be of the lenth and breidth abone writtin.

211 1788.  Burns, ‘My heart was ance,’ ii. My mither sent me to the town, To warp a plaiden wab.

212 1844.  G. Dodd, Textile Manuf., i. 42. The yarn is dressed, beamed, and warped by steam-power.

213 1879.  Ashenhurst, Weaving, 50. The yarn … may be warped direct from the cop or bobbin upon which it has been spun.

214   † c.  fig. To weave, contrive, devise. Also with up, and absol.

215 1387.  Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), V. 365. He answerde … þat he wolde warpe suche a webbe to the emperise [talem se telam Augustae orditurum], þat sche schulde nevere have it of to here lyves ende.

216 c. 1430.  Pilgr. Lyf Manhode, IV. viii. (1869), 179. And alwey he werpeth temptaciouns and breideth þem, and weueth hem.

217 1549–62.  Sternhold & Hopkins, Ps. lii. 2. Why doth thy minde yet still deuise, such wicked wiles to warpe?

218 1577.  Hellowes, Gueuara’s Chron., 393. I haue warpt such a webb, as thou neither knowest to vnframe, or mayst cut off when it is finished.

219 1604.  E. Hake, in Farr, S. P. Jas. I. (1847), 256. All these are but the loome That warpeth up my death.

220 1611.  Speed, Hist. Gt. Brit., IX. xxiv. § 22. Like a wise man, that meant to warpe no more then he could well weaue.

221 1616.  S. S., Honest Lawyer, III. E 4. We’ll trie what mischeefes he can warpe.

222 1652.  Urquhart, Jewel, Wks. (1834), 198. Before the contexture of another universal language [than mine] can be warped.

223 1785.  Burns, 2nd Ep. J. Lapraik, viii. Ne’er mind how Fortune waft an’ warp.

224   21.  a. Rope-making. To stretch (yarn) into lengths to be tarred.

225 1815.  Falconer’s Dict. Marine (ed. Burney), To Warp Yarn, in rope-making, is to stretch the yarns, previous to their being tarred, all to one given length.

226 1846.  G. Dodd, Brit. Manuf., Ser. VI. 197. The reels of yarn are first ‘warped’ into a ‘haul,’ that is, the yarns are unwound from the reel, stretched out straight and parallel, and assembled together.

227   b.  To weave, twine (a willow-basket). dial.

228 1806.  J. Grahame, Birds Scot., I. 67. He … warps the skep with willow rind.

229   c.  To lace together (the ends of a seine). dial.

230 1835.  J. Couch, in 3rd Rep. R. Cornw. Polytechn. Soc., 74. While the larger boats are engaged in warping the ends together.

231   † 22.  To twist, entwine, insert (something into something else). Also fig.; also, to unite or combine with. Obs.

232 1803.  W. Taylor, in Ann. Rev., I. 256. The public papers and fragments of oratory warped into its text, are selected with taste.

233 1814.  Scott, Wav., xvi. A scathed tree, which had warped its twisted roots into the fissures of the rock. Ibid. (1821), Kenilw., xxii. I care not for all those strings of pearl, which you fret me by warping into my tresses.

234 1822.  A. Ranken, Hist. France, IX. 13. With this proposal … was warped … the condition, that the regent, who entertained strong prejudices against the Jesuits, should become their friend and protector.

235   23.  Angling. To fasten (the materials of an artificial fly) to the hook. With adv., as on, in, down, up.

236 1676.  Cotton, Angler, II. v. 40. Warp them so down, as to stand, and slope towards the bend of the hook, and having warpt up to the end of the shanck [etc.]. Ibid., II. viii. 73. When you warp on your dubbing. Ibid., II. viii. 78. Some red warpt in for the Tagg of his tail.

237 1836.  Ronalds, Fly-Fisher’s Entom., 29. Warp the remnant round the shank.

238 1867.  F. Francis, Bk. Angling, xiii. (1880), 465. The silk must be warped up from the tail to required spot. Ibid., 466. When the body is being warped on.

239   † 24.  To surround, involve, infold in, with. Obs.

240   But perhaps a metathetic form of WRAP.

241 14[?].  Medical MS., in Anglia, XIX. 79. Ȝif on hyde hymself in a busch þer-of, or ellys he be warpyd weel in his lewys & his braunchys, no thonder nor leuene schall hym towchyn.

242 1513.  Douglas, Æneis, I. iii. 33. Lyke as ane wall with sand warpit about. Ibid., V. xiii. 24. His awin heid warpit with a snod olive.

243   IV.  To tow; to move gradually forward.

244   25.  Naut. To move (a ship) along by hauling on a rope or ‘warp.’ Also with adv., as out, off, in, round.

245 1513.  [see WARPING vbl. sb. 4].

246 1587.  T. Sanders, Voy. Tripoli, B j b. Then went we to warpe out the Ship.

247 1600.  Holland, Livy, XXII. xx. 444. Those [ships] they drew up, and warped into the deepe, with ropes fastened to their poupes.

248 1624.  Capt. J. Smith, Virginia, IV. 128. Seeing them warp themselues to windward, we thought it not good to be boorded on both sides at an anchor.

249 1726.  Shelvocke, Voy. round World, 189. The water being smooth I soon warp’d her off again.

250 1791.  Smeaton, Edystone Lightho., § 250. We let go an anchor and warped the buss to her proper birth.

251 1836.  Macgillivray, Trav. Humboldt, xvii. 236. When the current was too strong, the sailors leapt out and warped the boat along.

252 1870.  Morris, Earthly Par., I. I. 292. About the capstan did the shipmen run, Warping the great ship to the harbour mouth.

253 1882.  [Lees & Clutterbuck], Three in Norway, 3. We were warped out of dock about eight o’clock.

254   b.  absol. Also intr. of a ship: To move by warping.

255 a. 1547.  Surrey, Æneid, IV. 791. Out of the rode sone shall the vessell warpe.

256 1580.  H. Smith, in Hakluyt, Voy. (1589), 470. At 3. in the afternoone we did warpe from one piece of ice to another.

257 1617.  Moryson, Itin., II. 158. The Fleete with much difficulty warped in, and recovered the Harbour.

258 1748.  Anson’s Voy., II. xiii. 272. As there was but little wind,… they were obliged to warp out of the harbour.

259 1753.  Hanway, Trav. (1762), I. II. xxi. 94. They warp thirty … miles in a day against the stream.

260 1842.  Dickens, Amer. Notes, xv. Its width is so contracted at one point, indeed, that they [sc. steamboats] are obliged to warp round by means of a rope.

261 1843.  Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl., VI. 139/1. Two large transporting buoys … for vessels to moor to or warp from.

262 1858.  Times, 30 Nov., 4/3. The current gets strong, too strong for sailing vessels, which could only warp up.

263 1913.  World, 25 Feb., 279/1. As she warped slowly from the quay.

264   c.  To warp one’s way.

265 1836.  Uncle Philip’s Convers. Whale Fishery, 192. After … warping their way with great danger from lane to lane of open water, they at last reached a long sheet of ice.

266 1853.  Kane, Grinnell Exp., x. (1856), 73. We commenced … to warp our way through the impacted ice.

267   26.  To progress slowly or with effort by using the hands as well as the feet. Also refl., to haul oneself along.

268 1796.  Hist. Ned Evans, IV. 32. Having fastened another rope round his body for security,… he warped along the first over the chasm.

269 1849.  Kingsley, Misc. (1859), II. 292. I recollect our literally warping ourselves down to the beach, holding on by rocks and posts.

270 1851.  Mayne Reid, Scalp Hunters, vii. 58. He slowly warped himself through the gay crowd.

271 1854.  H. Miller, Sch. & Schm., v. (1857), 88. My rough garments … frayed, at times,… by warping to the tops of great trees, and by feats as a cragsman.

272 1859.  H. Kingsley, G. Hamlyn, xlviii. The first mate, coming forward, warping himself from one belaying-pin to another.

273   27.  intr. To float or whirl through the air. Chiefly poet.

274 1565.  in Picton, L’pool Munic. Rec. (1883), I. 108. The snow driving and warping to and fro.

275 1667.  Milton, P. L., I. 341. A pitchy cloud Of Locusts, warping on the Eastern Wind.

276 1728–46.  Thomson, Spring, 120. Oft, engender’d by the hazy north, Myriads on myriads, insect armies warp Keen in the poison’d breeze.

277 1828.  Blackw. Mag., XXIII. 102/1. What clouds of ephemeral children are for ever warping away on the wind of death…?

278 1856.  Bryant, Hymn of Sea, 10. A hundred realms Watch its broad shadow warping on the wind.

279   V.  † 28. trans. To run (a ship) aground, fix on a shoal or sand-bank. Obs.

280 1535.  Stewart, Cron. Scot., II. 634. As that the flude come rynnand by the land, Amang tha schippis warpit in the sand.

281 a. 1661.  Sand-warpt: [see SAND sb.2 10.]

282   29.  To choke up (a channel) with with alluvial deposit. Also intr., to become choked up.

283 1745.  Beverley Beck Act, ii. 2. The said beck being now in very great danger of being choaked and warped up.

284 1799.  A. Young, Agric. Lincoln, 284. In case the drains should warp up at any time, provision of sluices is made to let water out of the canal into either, to scour them out clean. Ibid., 287. The rivers warp up in dry seasons to a great height, with a muddy sand or silt, which the tides deposite.

285 1876.  Whitby Gloss., Sand-warped, silted up, or choked with sand.

286 1878.  Miller & Skertchly, Fenland, vii. 193. A new sluice was erected for the purpose of warping up the old channel.

287   b.  To heap up (sand) by gradual deposit from a current. ? Obs. Also, to cause (sand) to be heaped up.

288 1674.  Marvell, Corr., Wks. 1872–5, II. 422. Our House … desiring you to sound once again whether the Sand do continue as when the Captains last surveyed, or it be warped up higher.

289 1841.  Civil Engin. & Arch. Jrnl., IV. 395/1. He has lately been occupied in forming a defence, by warping silt, with whin or gorse kids, laid horizontally.

290   30.  To cover (land), by natural or artificial flooding, with a deposit of alluvial soil. Cf. WARP sb. 6.

291 1799.  A. Young, Agric. Lincoln, 278. They are attempting to warp 400 acres in one piece.

292 1805.  R. W. Dickson, Pract. Agric., I. 436. The main canal may be cut … so as to warp the lands on each side of it.

293 1839.  Stonehouse, Axholme, 37. Drains to flood and warp the land.

294 1867.  Good Words, 306/1. The mud caught by it soon ‘warps’ the space within into firm and rich dry land.

295   absol.  1799.  A. Young, Agric. Lincoln, 284. If a landlord warp, it should be deep at once; if a tenant, shallow, and repeat it.

296 1828.  Trial of W. Dyon, 22. He was warping with his son from four … o’clock.

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