Would she turn tail to the heron, and fly quite out another way; but all was to return in a higher pitch. Sidney.
Taint. n.s. [teinte, Fr. from the verb.]
1. A tincture; a stain.
2. An insect.
There is found in the Summer a spider called a taint, of a red colour, and so little that ten of the largest will hardly outweigh a grain. Brown’s Vulgar Errours, b. iii.
As killing as the canker to the rose,
Or taint worm to the weaning herds that graze. Milton.
3. Infection.
A father that breeds his son at home, can keep him better from the taint of servants than abroad. Locke on Education.
But is no rank, no station, no degree,
From this contagious taint of sorrow free. Prior.
4. A spot; a soil; a blemish.
Her offence
Must be of such unnatural degree,
That monsters it; or your forevouch’d affection
Fall’n into taint. Shakespeare’s King Lear.
Now I
Unspeak mine own detraction; here abjure
The taints and blames I laid upon myself. Shakespeare.
My hellhounds shall lick up the draff and filth,
Which man’s polluting sin with taint hath shed
On what was pure. Milton.
To Taint. v.a. [teindre, French.]
1. To imbue or impregnate with any thing.
The spaniel struck
Stiff by the tainted gale, with open nose
Draws full upon the latent prey. Thomson.
2. To stain; to sully.
We come not by the way of accusation
To taint that honour every good tongue blesses. Shakesp.
Sirens taint
The minds of all men, whom they can acquaint
With their attractions. Chapman’s Odyssey, b. xii.
They the truth
With superstitions and traditions taint. Milton.
Those pure immortal elements
Eject him tainted now, and purge him off
As a distemper. Milton.
3. To infect.
Nothing taints sound lungs sooner than inspiring the breath of consumptive lungs. Harvey on Consumptions.
Salts in fumes contract the vesicles, and perhaps the tainted air may affect the lungs by its heat. Arbuthnot on Air.
With wholesome herbage mixt, the direful bane
Of vegetable venom taints the plain. Pope.
4. To corrupt.
A sweet-bread you found it tainted or fly-blown. Swift.
The yellow tinging plague
Internal vision taints. Thomson’s Spring.
5. A corrupt contraction of attaint.
Táintless. adj. [from taint.] Free from infection.
No humours gross, or frowzy streams,
Could from her taintless body flow. Swift’s Miscel.
Táinture n.s. [tinctura, Lat. teinture, French.] Taint; tinge; defilement.
See here the tainture of thy nest,
And look thyself be faultless. Shakespeare.
To Take. v.a. preterite took, part. pass. taken, sometimes took; taka, Islandish; ey tek, I take; ey took, I took.]
1. To receive what is offered.
Then took I the cup at the Lord’s hand, and made all the nations to drink. Jer. xxv. 17.
They refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink. Jer.
Be thou advis’d, thy black design forsake;
Death, or this counsel, from Lucippus take. Waller.
An honest man may take a knave’s advice,
But idiots only may be cozen’d twice. Dryden.
Madam, were I as you, I’d take her counsel. Philips.
Distress’d myself, like you, confin’d I live,
And therefore can compassion take and give. Dryden.
2. To seize what is not given.
In fetters one the barking porter ty’d,
And took him trembling from his sovereign’s side. Dryden.
3. To receive.
No man shall take the nether or upper milstone to pledge. Deut. xxiv. 6.
4. To receive with good or ill will.
For, what we know must be,
Why should we, in our peevish opposition,
Take it to heart. Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
I will frown as they pass by, and let them take it as they lift. Shakesp. Romeo and Juliet.
La you! if you speak ill of the devil, how he takes it at heart. Shakesp. Twelfth Night.
Damasco, without any more ado, yielded unto the Turks; which the bassa took in so good part, that he would not suffer his soldiers to enter it. Knolles’s Hist. of the Turks.
The king being in a rage, took it grievously that he was mocked. 2 Mac. vii. 39.
The queen hearing of a declination of monarchy, took it so ill as she would never after hear of the other’s suit. Bacon.
A following hath ever been a thing civil, and well taken in monarchies, so it be without too much popularity. Bacon.
The diminution of the power of the nobility they took very heavily. Clarendon.
I hope you will not expect from me things demonstrated with certainty; but will take it well that I should offer at a new thing. Graunt.
If I have been a little pilfering, I take it bitterly of thee to tell me of it. Dryden.
The sole advice I could give him in conscience, would be that which he would take ill, and not follow. Swift.
5. To lay hold on; to catch by surprise or artifice.
Who will believe a man that hath no house, and lodgeth wheresoever the night taketh him? Ecclus. xxxvi. 26.
They silenced those who opposed them, by traducing them abroad, or taking advantage against them in the house. Clar.
Men in their loose unguarded hours they take,
Not that themselves are wise, but others weak. Pope.
6. To snatch; to seize.
I am contented to dwell on the Divine Providence, and take up any occasion to lead me to its contemplation. Hale.
7. To make prisoner.
Appoint a meeting with this old fat fellow,
Where we may take him, and disgrace him for it. Shak.
King Lear hath lost, he and his daughter ta’en. Shak.
This man was taken of the Jews, and should have been killed. Acts xxii. 27.
They entering with wonderful celerity on every side, slew and took three hundred Janizaries. Knolles.
8. To captivate with pleasure; to delight; to engage.
More than history can pattern, though devis’d
And play’d to take spectators. Shakespeare.
I long
To hear the story of your life, which must
Take the ear strangely. Shakespeare’s Tempest.
Let her not take thee with her eyelids. Prov. vi. 25.
Yet notwithstanding, taken by Perkin’s amiable behaviour, he entertained him as became the person of Richard duke of York. Bacon’s Henry VII.
Their song was partial, but the harmony
Suspended hell, and took with ravishment
The thronging audience. Milton.
If I renounce virtue, though naked, then I do it yet more when she is thus beautified on purpose to allure the eye, and take the heart. Decay of Piety.
This beauty shines through some mens actions, sets off all that they do, and takes all they come near. Locke.
Cleombrotus was so taken with this prospect, that he had no patience. Wake.
9. To surprize; to catch.
Wise men are overborn when taken at a disadvantage. Collier of Confidence.
10. To entrap; to catch in a snare.
Take us the foxes, that spoil the vines. 2 Cant. xv.
11. To understand in any particular sense or manner.
The words are more properly taken for the air or æther than the heavens. Raleigh.
You take me right, Eupolis; for there is no possibility of an holy war. Bacon’s holy War.
I take it, andiron brass,
called white brass, hath some mixture of tin to help the lustre. Bacon.
Why, now you take me; these are rites
That grace love’s days, and crown his nights:
These are the motions I would see. Benj. Johnson.
Give them one simple idea, and see that they take it right, and perfectly comprehend it. Locke.
Charity taken in its largest extent, is nothing else but the sincere love of God and our neighbour. Wake.
12. To exact.
Take no usury of him or increase. Lev. xxv. 36.
13. To get; to have; to appropriate.
And the king of Sodom said unto Abram, give me the persons, and take the goods to thyself. Gen. xiv. 21.
14. To use; to employ.
This man always takes time, and ponders things maturely before he passes his judgment. Watts.
15. To blast; to infect.
Strike her young bones,
You taking airs with lameness. Shakespeare.
16. To judge in favour of.
The nicest eye could no distinction make
Where lay the advantage, or what side to take. Dryden.
17. To admit any thing bad from without.
I ought to have a care
To keep my wounds from taking air. Hudibras, p. iii.
18. To get; to procure.
Striking stones they took fire out of them. 2 Mac. x. 3.
19. To turn to; to practise.
If any of the family be distressed, order is taken for their relief: if any be subject to vice, or take ill courses, they are reproved. Bacon’s New Atlantis.
20. To close in with; to comply with.
Old as I am, I take thee at thy word,
And will to-morrow thank thee with my sword. Dryden.
She to her country’s use resign’d your sword,
And you, kind lover, took her at her word. Dryden.
I take thee at thy word. Rowe’s Ambitious Stepmother.
Where any one thought is such, that we have power to take it up or lay it by, there we are at liberty. Locke.
21. To form; to fix.
Resolutions taken upon full debate, were seldom prosecuted with equal resolution. Clarendon.
22. To catch in the hand; to seize.
He put forth a hand, and took me by a lock of my head. Ezek. viii. 3.
I took not arms till urg’d by self defence. Dryden.
23. To admit; to suffer.
Yet thy moist clay is pliant to command;
Now take the mould; now bend thy mind to feel
The first sharp motions of the forming wheel. Dryden.
24. To perform any action.
Peradventure we shall prevail against him, and take our revenge on him. Jer. xx. 10.
Uzzah put forth his hand to the ark, and took hold of it, for the oxen shook it. 2 Sam. vi. 6.
Taking my leave of them, I went into Macedonia. 2 Cor.
Before I proceed, I would be glad to take some breath. Bacon’s holy War.
His wind he never took whilst the cup was at his mouth, but justly observed the rule of drinking with one breath. Hakewill on Providence.
Then call’d his brothers,
And her to whom his nuptial vows were bound;
A long sigh he drew,
And his voice failing, took his last adieu. Dryden’s Fab.
The Sabine Clausus came,
And from afar, at Dryops took his aim. Dryden’s Æn.
Her lovers names in order to run o’er,
The girl took breath full thirty times and more. Dryden.
Heighten’d revenge he should have took;
He should have burnt his tutor’s book. Prior.
The husband’s affairs made it necessary for him to take a voyage to Naples. Addison’s Spectator.
I took a walk in Lincoln’s Inn Garden. Tatler.
The Carthaginian took his feat, and Pompey entered with great dignity in his own person. Tatler.
I am possessed of power and credit, can gratify my favourites, and take vengeance on my enemies. Swift.
25. To receive into the mind.
When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, they took knowledge of them that they had been with Jesus. Acts iv.
It appeared in his face, that he took great contentment in this our question. Bacon.
Doctor Moore, in his Ethicks, reckons this particular inclination, to take a prejudice against a man for his looks, among the smaller vices in morality, and names it a prosopolepsia. Addison’s Spect. № 86.
A student should never satisfy himself with bare attendance on lectures, unless he clearly takes up the sense. Watts.
26. To go into.
When news were brought that the French king besieged Constance, he posted to the sea-coast to take ship. Camden.
Tygers and lions are not apt to take the water. Hale.
27. To go along; to follow; to persue.
The joyful short-liv’d news soon spread around,
Took the same train. Dryden.
Observing still the motions of their flight,
What course they took, what happy signs they shew. Dry.
28. To swallow; to receive.
Consider the insatisfaction of several bodies, and of their appetite to take in others. Bacon’s Nat. Hist.
Turkeys take down stones, having found in the gizzard of one no less than seven hundred. Brown’s Vulgar Errours.
29. To swallow as a medicine.
Tell an ignoramus in place to his face that he has a wit above all the world, and as fulsome a dose as you give him he shall readily take it down, and admit the commendation, though he cannot believe the thing. South.
Upon this assurance he took physick. Locke.
The glutinous mucilage that is on the outsides of the seeds washed off causes them to take. Mortimer’s Husb.
30. To choose one of more.
Take to thee from among the cherubim
Thy choice of flaming warriors. Milton.
Either but one man, or all men are kings: take which you please it dissolves the bonds of government. Locke.
31. To copy.
Our phænix queen was pourtray’d too so bright,
Beauty alone cou’d beauty take so right. Dryden.
32. To convey; to carry; to transport.
Carry sir John Falstaff to the fleet,
Take all his company along with him. Shakesp. Henry IV.
He sat him down in a street; for no man took them into his house to lodging. Judges xix. 15.
33. To fasten on; to seize.
Wheresoever he taketh him he teareth him; and he foameth. Mark ix. 18.
No temptation hath taken you, but such as is common to man. 1 Cor. x. 13.
When the frost and rain have taken them they grow dangerous. Temple.
At first they warm, then scorch, and then they take,
Now with long necks from side to side they feed;
At length grown strong their mother-size forsake,
And a new colony of flames succeed. Dryden.
No beast will eat sour grass till the frost hath taken it. Mort.
In burning of stubble, take care to plow the land up round the field, that the fire may not take the hedges. Mortimer.
34. Not to refuse; to accept.
Take no satisfaction for the life of a murderer, he shall be surely put to death. Num. xxxv. 31.
Thou tak’st thy mother’s word too far, said he,
And hast usurp’d thy boasted pedigree. Dryden.
He that should demand of hm how begetting a child gives the father absolute power over him, will find him answer nothing: we are to take his word for this. Locke.
Who will not receive clipped money whilst he sees the great receipt of the exchequer admits it, and the bank and goldsmiths will take it of him. Locke.
35. To adopt.
I will take you to me for a people, and I will be to you a God. Exod. vi. 7.
36. To change with respect to place.
When he depa
rted, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host. Luke x. 35.
He put his hand into his bosom; and when he took it out, it was leprous. Exod. iv. 6.
If you slit the artery, thrust a pipe into it, and cast a strait ligature upon that part containing the pipe, the artery will not beat below the ligature; yet do but take it off, and it will beat immediately. Ray.
Lovers flung themselves from the top of the precipice into the sea, where they were sometimes taken up alive. Addison.
37. To separate.
A multitude, how great soever, brings not a man any nearer to the end of the inexhaustible stock of number, where still there remains as much to be added as if none were taken out. Locke.
The living fabrick now in pieces take,
Of every part due observation make;
All which such art discovers. Blackmore.
38. To admit.
Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore. 1 Tim. v. 9.
Though so much of heav’n appears in my make,
The foulest impressions I easily take. Swift.
39. To persue; to go in.
He alone,
To find where Adam shelter’d, took his way. Milton.
To the port she takes her way,
And stands upon the margin of the sea. Dryden.
Give me leave to seize my destin’d prey,
And let eternal justice take the way. Dryden.
It was her fortune once to take her way
Along the sandy margin of the sea. Dryden.
40. To receive any temper or disposition of mind.
They shall not take shame. Mic. ii. 6.
Thou hast scourged me, and hast taken pity on me. Tob.
They take delight in approaching to God. Isa. lviii. 2.
Take a good heart, O Jerusalem. Bar. iv. 30.
Men die in desire of some things which they take to heart. Bacon.
Few are so wicked as to take delight
In crimes unprofitable. Dryden.
Children, if kept out of ill company, will take a pride to behave themselves prettily, perceiving themselves esteemed. Locke on Education.
41. To endure; to bear.
I can be as quiet as any body with those that are quarrelsome, and be as troublesome as another when I meet with those that will take it. L’Estrange.
Won’t you then take a jest? Spectator, № 422.
He met with such a reception as those only deserve who are content to take it. Swift’s Miscel.
42. To draw; to derive.
The firm belief of a future judgment, is the most forcible motive to a good life; because taken from this consideration of the most lasting happiness and misery. Tillotson.
Complete Works of Samuel Johnson Page 401