| 释义 |
▪ I. running, vbl. n.|ˈrʌnɪŋ|
[f. run v. + -ing1.]
I.
1. a. The action of the vb. run (in sense 1); rapid motion on foot; racing; an instance of this. spec. in Cricket, the action of making runs; also in phr. running between (the) wickets.
c888K. ælfred Boeth. xxxvii. §2 Færð ðonne micel folc to, & yrnað ealle endemes, ða ðe hiora ærninge trewað. c1386Chaucer Prol. 551 Ther nas no dore þat he nolde heue of harre, Or breke it, at a rennyng, with his heed. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) IV. 167 Þere ofte he travaylede wylde bestes, and took hem wiþ swifte rennynge. c1449Pecock Repr. i. xx. 120 That men..schulden pleie..by rennyng or leping or schuting. 1509Hawes Past. Pleas. ii. (Percy Soc.) 38 The gentyll beast they wyll regarde nothyng, But to the swyne take course of rennyng. 1591Cokaine Treat. Hunting B 3, Their hardie fighting and swift running. 1664Pepys Diary 30 Jan., I home..and, in great fear, to bed, thinking every running of a mouse really a thiefe. 1728Chambers Cycl. s.v. Gymnic, Gymnic Games..are those wherein the Body is exercised; such are Wrestling, Running, Dancing. 1744Laws [of Cricket] in New & Compl. Dict. Arts & Sci. (1755) IV. 3460/1 They [sc. the Umpires] are sole judges of all hindrances, crossing the players in running, and standing unfair to strike. 1801Strutt Sports & Past. ii. ii. 70 There is no kind of exercise that has more uniformly met the approbation of authors in general than Running. 1833New Sporting Mag. V. Cricketers' Reg. 12 The steady manner in which Pilch bowled rendered the running very difficult throughout. 1869H. F. Tozer Highl. Turkey II. 310 In order to be less impeded in running and jumping. 1877Encycl. Brit. VI. 580/1, 21 Or if in running the wicket be struck down by a throw..before his bat (in hand) or some part of his person be grounded over the popping crease. 1897Encycl. Sport I. 225/2 The art of running between wickets, without coming to a misunderstanding with one's partner, is indispensable. Ibid. 226/1 Every information should be given to one's partner that may help him in running. 1906A. E. Knight Compl. Cricketer ii. 87 Some of the best running between wickets ever witnessed has been shown by Australian teams, who rarely miss a possible run. 1963A. Ross Australia 63 vii. 151 Catching and running between the wickets apart, England had at least given as good as they had got. 1976Milton Keynes Express 23 July 39/3 David Berrill and Finch with some firm strokes and quick running between the wickets took the score to 61 all out after 17.3 overs.
transf.1633P. Fletcher Poet. Misc. 91 Jerusalem, thy burning If I forget; Forget thy running My hand, and all thy cunning To th' harp to set. 1672Eachard Lett. 1 A friend had promised me the running of two or three letters. a1761Law Comf. Weary Pilgr. (1809) 39 That vanity and emptiness, burden and deceit must follow us in every course we take, till we have done with all our own running.
†b. The action of moving rapidly with hostile intent; raiding; a raid or inroad. Obs.
1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 11060 In þis manere þe barons bigonne hor vrning. 1387Trevisa Higden (Rolls) VI. 13 Þe province was swiþe destourbed by rennynge [v.r. ȝurnyng, ernyng] of reses of straungers. 1489Barbour's Bruce xii. 754 Thai Suld hald thair fayis all that day Doand..With thair rounnyngis that thai suld ma. 1596Dalrymple tr. Leslie's Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.) II. 165 Tha war the only authoris of thift, rubrie, and rinning of forrayis.
c. local. Rapid skating in a direct line.
1878Miller & Skertchly Fenland vi. 163 Here some of the fastest ‘running’ in the world might be seen. 1893Eng. Illustr. Mag. X. 303/1 Fen skating, or, as it is locally called, ‘running’, is distinct from figure skating.
d. Rapid surface-swimming on the part of a harpooned whale.
1890in Cent. Dict.
2. a. The action, on the part of a horse, of going at (great) speed, esp. in a race; racing; † a race. Also fig. of a person, the action of standing as a candidate or competing (for an office); cf. run v. 7 b. (orig. U.S.).
c900Wærferth tr. Gregory's Dial. 38 On dæᵹred com ærendraca..mid swiðe ᵹeswenctan horse for ærninge. c1400Destr. Troy 2365, I..Beheld to my horse, þat hote was of Rennyng. 1509Fisher 7 Penit. Ps. xxxviii. Wks. (1876) 58 By his boldnes & rennynge to moche vpon his owne brydell. 1577in Picton L'pool Munic. Rec. (1883) I. 119 There was a running of horses..for a silver bell. 1704Lond. Gaz. No. 4000/4, Galloways..to be entred at the White-Horse Inn..14 days before the day of Running. 1830Wiscasett (Maine) Citizen 20 Aug. 3/2 Such politicians..bet on a candidate's running for the Chief Magistracy of the Union or of a single State, precisely as they would bet on the running of a race horse. a1837[Apperley] Turf (1851) 128 Many of them [sc. colts] die before the day of running. 1863Sat. Rev. 23 May 656 Lord Clifden, on the strength of his good two-year-old running,..had been made first favourite for more than twelve months. 1870Nation (N.Y.) 7 July 1/1 He has never failed in getting such offices as he wanted, the record of his ‘running’ being about as good as that of any man in the country. 1910Sat. Even. Post 24 Dec. 16/2 There was less excuse for his running on the liquor ticket. 1961T. H. White Making of President 1960 iv. 86 Kennedy..felt that running for the Presidency was his most important full-time business and Senate attendance took second place.
†b. The action of riding or racing upon horseback, esp. at the ring; an instance of this. Obs.
c1480Robt. Devyll 13 Lordes came fro many a farre lande And Ladyes also that runnynge to see. 1563in Robertson Hist. Scot. (1759) II. App. 14 We..pass our time in feasts, banquetting, masking, and running at the ring, and such like. c1618Moryson Itin. iv. v. i. 465 They haue Tiltings, Runnings with lances against a Post Armed like a man at all peeces. 1670Cotton Espernon ii. v. 211 The Duke..had invited all the Nobility and Gentry of the Country to Bordeaux to a publick running at the Ring.
c. In phrases with make, as to make (strong, etc.) running, to make the running.
Chiefly denoting good or successful racing, and often used fig. In (d) the meaning is ‘to set the pace’.
(a)a1837[Apperley] Turf (1851) 33 He is averse to making running, sometimes even to a fault. 1855Thackeray Newcomes II. 50 We fancy we've been making running, and suddenly we find ourselves nowhere.
(b)1862Cornh. Mag. Sept. 371 The world had esteemed him when he first made good his running with the Lady Fanny. 1902Annie F. Hector Stronger than Love vi, Hubert Denham was making no end of running. He was..everything to the forsaken lady.
(c)1865Dickens Mut. Fr. i. xiii, He may make the running and come in first. 1886D. C. Murray First Person Singular xxi, He had not made the running so fast as he might have done.
(d)1861Macm. Mag. Oct. 429 Ben Caunt was to make the running for Haphazard. 1884Illustr. Lond. News 29 Nov. 522/1 The owner whose horse is employed ‘to make the running’. 1923Galsworthy Captures 161 Dinner was certainly a disharmonic feast: little Mrs. Weymouth..and the Countess subdued, Radolin artificial, our scoundrel and myself had to make the running. 1954I. Murdoch Under Net v. 80 ‘Where did you meet Madge?’ I asked. I wasn't going to let him make all the running. 1958Times 13 Sept. 7/2 First Russia turns on the heat in the Middle East and then it is China's turn to make the running. 1971Sunday Nation (Nairobi) 11 Apr. 18/1 When he begins courting, he is unsure of himself, half-frightened of the girl, so she has to make the running. 1977B. Freemantle Charlie Muffin vi. 65 You'll have to be bloody careful. Let Kalenin make the running.
d. to take up the running, to take the lead. Often fig.
1858Trollope Dr. Thorne v, But silence was not dear to the heart of the Honourable John, and so he took up the running. 1868Helps Realmah xvii. (1876) 484 Sir John will be very much obliged to me if I take up the running in his stead. 1894Times 25 May 11/1 Totley waited on his field until nearing the distance, when he took up the running and eventually won by two lengths.
e. out of the running, having no place among the leading competitors in a race. Similarly, in the running. Usually fig. Also const. for (some prize or objective).
(a)1863Kingsley Water Bab. 31 Which quite put her out of the running, so that she came in nowhere and is consequently not placed. 1885W. E. Norris A. Vidal xxi, Heriot doesn't count, does he? He is something like me, out of the running? 1906Dialect Notes III. 149 ‘Isn't Jack sweet on the girl I saw with that fellow?’ ‘No, he's out of the running.’ 1918Galsworthy Five Tales 304 When a man is very old and quite out of the running, he loves to feel secure from the rivalries of youth, for he would still be first in the heart of beauty. 1930G. B. Shaw Apple Cart i. 34, I think I am in the running. That is why I do not feel bound to accept this ultimatum. By signing it I put myself out of the running. 1949M. Mead Male & Female xvi. 341 His married daughter, who with each step that she takes towards maturity puts him more definitely out of the running.
(b)1886H. Baumann Londinismen 162/2. c 1926 ‘Mixer’ Transport Workers' Song Bk. 65 And I never strike a top-job That the other fellows get, For I'm out upon my ‘lonesome’, And not in the running yet. 1930W. S. Maugham Cakes & Ale xi. 120 It may be that posterity will scrap all the best-sellers of our day, but it is among them that it must choose. At all events Edward Driffield is in the running. 1950W. Cooper Scenes from Provincial Life iv. ii. 235 It was one of the events in which Frank was hoping to shine, since he was in the running for victor ludorum. 1975N. Blakiston in C. Connolly Romantic Friendship 5, I was in the running for playing in the school eleven.
3. a. With prepositional complements, as about (a place), against (a person), etc. Also fig.
c1380Wyclif Wks. (1880) 31 Siþ prechynge of þe gospel is betere þan bodely rennynge so to ferre placis. c1500God Speed the Plough 69 (Skeat), With ronnyng in reragis it doth vs sorowe Inough. 1565Cooper Thesaurus, Occursus, a runnyng agaynst one: a meetyng: an incountrynge. 1566in Harington's Nugæ Ant. (1804) I. 89 The lief of man..is called a ronninge for the best game. 1722De Foe Plague (Rtldg.) 209 This running of distemper'd People about the Streets was very dismal. 1735Sir J. Chardin in Buccleuch MSS. (Hist. MSS. Comm.) I. 386 Your running towards me.
b. With adverbial complements, as abroad, amuck, astray, away, etc.
1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 310 For almost seven Years she prevented my *running Abroad.
1858Sat. Rev. 6 Nov. 438/1 The furious unpatriotic *running-a-muck on all our institutions.
1526Skelton Magnyf. 2458 Cyrcumspeccyon inhateth all *rennynge astray.
1560J. Daus tr. Sleidane's Comm. 36 Lest they should call his journey a *runnynge awaye. 1618Bolton tr. Florus (1636) 275 Runnings away of Beasts ordained for sacrifice. 1856‘Stonehenge’ Brit. Rur. Sports 535/2 Running Away is only an extreme form of pulling in the gallop.
1675T. Brooks Gold. Key Wks. 1867 V. 572 A willing, wilful, presumptuous *running cross to divine commands.
1591Percival Sp. Dict., Aventamiento, the *running headlong.
a1548Hall Chron., Hen. VI, 125 To..stop thenglishmen to make sodain *runnynges in or rodes into the countrey of Beauvoys. 1845Rules Footb. Rugby School §8 Running in is allowed to any player on his side, provided he does not take the ball off the ground, or take it through touch.
1565Cooper Thesaurus, Procursus,..a course or *runnyng oute of souldiours to skyrmyshe with their enemies. 1681H. More Exp. Daniel 226 As it is usual with the Prophets, there is a running out from the Temporal deliverance of the Jews to the Spiritual deliverance.
1382Wyclif Acts xix. 40 No man is gilty, of whom we mown ȝelde resoun of this *rennyng to gidere. 1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong s.v. Accourement, A running togither, or assemblie of men.
4. Capacity for, or power of, running or racing.
1842Lever J. Hinton xxv, Although the ground was trying, his breeding began to tell, and I could feel that he had plenty of running still in him. 1891N. Gould Double Event 205 He glanced at Caloola, and saw the horse seemed full of running.
5. a. Ranging or pasturage of animals. ? Obs.
Cf. also running-season, -time in 17 below.
1695Kennett Paroch. Antiq. Gloss. s.v. Porcus, To grant pannage or free running of hogs in such a wood. 1725Berkeley in Fraser Life iv. (1871) 117 You will also inform yourself whether Coll. Maceasland demands any thing for the running of my horse. 1754Bartlet Gentl. Farriery (ed. 2) 4 A summer's grass is often necessary; more particularly to horses..who use little exercise, but a month or two's running is proper for most.
b. The action of forming a ‘run’ or burrow.
1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 44 To hinder the running of Moles.
6. a. Of a ship or other vessel: The action of sailing, esp. of sailing close-hauled before the wind; also, speed of sailing.
1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. i. 118 We reckoned our running to be ten miles an hour, though we carried only our Mainsail. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. i. 295 A few days after our running off the coast of Mexico. 1875Bedford Sailor's Pocket Bk. vi. 215 Running dead before the wind in a gig is very dangerous. 1884Sat. Rev. 14 June 784/1 In running a cutter has, so far as sails go, a very obvious advantage over the two-masted vessel.
b. Movement from place to place of wheeled vehicles; performance of a journey.
1776G. Semple Building in Water 41 Notwithstanding the almost constant running of Carriages,..there did not fall one Handful of it. 1884G.W.R. Time Tables July 90 The running of these Trains is dependent upon the arrival of the Boats.
c. With on. (Cf. run v. 10 b.)
1832J. Hall Leg. of West 153 More than once he lost both boat and cargo by runnings on the snags and the sawyers of the Mississippi.
7. a. The action of rapid moving or sliding, esp. by mechanical propulsion or by gravitation. Also with advs., as about, amain, down, and in fig. use.
1530Palsgr. 264/2 Runnyng of a whele, peau. 1680Moxon Mech. Exerc. x. 187 The springing up of the Pole makes an intermission in the running about of the Work. 1850Bohn's Handbk. Games (1867) 564 If, after the striker has played, the adversary should obstruct or accelerate the running of the balls [etc.]. 1883Gresley Gloss. Coal-mining 208 Running Amain, the breaking and running of a winding rope down into the pit-shaft. 1890Longm. Mag. Oct. 620 The running down, if I may so call it, of the powers of the body.
b. Shooting up of a plant into stalk.
1847Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. VIII. i. 15 The feeding qualities of the root are thereby preserved, the land is not drawn by running up [etc.].
c. Slipping of a thread in a woven fabric.
1878A. Barlow Weaving 360 On the breaking of a thread the ‘running’ would be stopped by the repeated twistings in a diagonal direction.
d. With out. The disappearance of the characteristics of a particular variety of a crop.
1891Proc. Western N.Y. Hort. Soc. 86 By ‘running out’ is meant the disappearance of the characteristics of any variety... Running out, therefore, is not necessarily deterioration. 1918Babcock & Clausen Genetics in Relation to Agric. xviii. 340 The so-called ‘running-out’ of varieties can be prevented by reasonable care to avoid mixing seed and by occasional mass selection from the field. 1949C. C. Lindegren Yeast Cell xxvii. 2 The degeneration or ‘running out’ of hybrids showing heterosis has been one of the principal problems of hybrid vigor. 1952tr. Gram & Weber's Plant Dis. 361/2 (heading) ‘Running out’ or ‘decline’ of strawberry crops.
e. With off. = run-off 4.
1921Jrnl. Pomol. II. 160 Investigations relating to the ‘Running off’ or dropping of Black Currant Fruits before they are ripe. 1939H. Wormald Dis. Fruits & Hops ix. 181 Running off is not caused by a parasite, but is a result of defective pollination.
II.
8. The flowing or discharge of blood or humours from the body; a sore which discharges matter. † running of the reins, gonorrhœa.
c950Lindisf. Gosp. Matt. ix. 20 [An] wif ðiu blodes flouing vel iorning ᵹeðolade..tuelf ᵹer ᵹeneolecde. 1388Wyclif Lev. xv. 2 A man that suffrith the rennyng out of seed, schal be vncleene. 1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. v. xxxix. (Bodl. MS.), Also by-passing rennyng oute of blood..comeþ of openyng of veynes þat springen oute of þe lyuour. 1569R. Ambrose tr. Secrets of Alexis iv. ii. 32 To remedie the running of the reynes occasioned by a sharpe cause. 1579Langham Gard. Health (1633) 55 Barley..stoppeth the running of the belly. 1607Topsell Four-f. Beasts (1658) 346 A very good and effectual remedy against..the running of the reins. 1705tr. Bosman's Guinea 110 The Wound gangrenes, and at best turns to a running, which continues the whole Life. 1804Abernethy Surg. Obs. 165 A running came on from the urethra. 1898J. Hutchinson's Arch. Surgery IX. 121 Until lately I have always had a slight thin running from the nose.
fig.1704Swift Tale of Tub x, Since my Vein is once opened, I am content to exhaust it all at a Running. 1839(title), Hood's Own, or Laughter from Year to Year, being former runnings of his comic vein.
9. a. A channel or watercourse; a stream or rivulet. Somewhat rare.
a1325Prose Ps. i. 3 He schal be as þe tre, þat hijs sett by þe ernynges [1388 Wyclif rennyngis] of waters. a1425Cursor M. 11942 (Trin.), Wiþ erþe & wiþ euel witt Þe watir rennyng gon he dit Þat watir to þe takes brouȝt. 1648Gage West Ind. 172 We presently met with a deep Barranca, or bottome, where was a running. 1650Boston Rec. (1877) II. 101 The Bounds betwixt both is the naturall Passage of the Water in a small Running. 1890Clark Russell Ocean Trag. I. viii. 160 Each broad soft brow was alive with runnings of flaming oil.
b. The action or condition of flowing on the part of water, sand, etc.; an instance of this.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xiii. iii. (Bodl. MS.), A ryuer is euerlastinge rennynge. c1440Promp. Parv. 429/2 Rennynge, of water, or oþer lycure, manacio. 1656Harrington Oceana (1658) 179 An hour-glasse,..such an one as is to be of an houre and an halfe's running. 1712J. James tr. Le Blond's Gardening 168 To facilitate the Running of the Water. 1750tr. Leonardus' Mirr. Stones 150 If carried in the left hand, it stops the running of tears of aged people. 1823J. Badcock Dom. Amusem. 151 Flour, being..exposed to the constant running of water, until it comes off colourless, the gluten will remain. 1883Stevenson Treas. Isl. xxiv, The difficulty of the shore, and the high running of the surf.
10. Rhythmical flow of verse. rare—1.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie ii. iii. (Arb.) 83 Take this away from them, I meane the running of their feete, there is nothing of curiositie among them more then with vs.
11. a. The flow of liquor during the process of wine-making, brewing, or distillation; the liquor obtained at a specified stage of the process.
1601Holland Pliny I. 411 The right keeping of grapes, is in a small thinne wine of the second running. 1616Surfl. & Markh. Country Farme v. xxiii. 589 The second running of this beere (for it will beare but one besides the best). 1707Mortimer Husb. (1721) II. 338, I should propose..to take only the first running of your Spirits to mix with your Cyder. 1770New Dispens. 471/1 It is not necessary to..throw away the first runnings in the distillation. 1830M. Donovan Dom. Econ. I. 363 The juice that exudes last will be of a lively acid sweet; the first portion, a heavy sweet without acidity; and the middle runnings will be intermediate. 1900Jrnl. Soc. Dyers XVI. 2 The ‘first runnings’ is washed firstly with conc. sulphuric acid.
fig.1676Dryden Aureng-zebe iv. i, From the Dregs of Life, think to receive What the first sprightly running could not give. 1748Richardson Clarissa (1811) IV. 282 This, Jack, is my scheme, at the first running.
b. The result of smelting metals; the process of melting and flowing.
1666Phil. Trans. I. 376 The first running of the Stone is Sulphur. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. (Globe) 122, I had..two other Earthen Pots, as hard burnt as cou'd be desir'd; and one of them..glaz'd with the Running of the Sand. a1744Lucas in Trans. Cumb. & Westm. Archæol. Soc. VIII. 38 The Hearth [of a blast furnace] grows wider by using, so that their Runnings are much larger at the latter End than at the Beginning. 1793Smeaton Edystone L. §307 To give much trouble by the running of the candles.
c. Exudation of sap from a tree.
1753Chambers' Cycl. Suppl. s.v. Resin, Theophrastus..observes, that a good pine might be made to yield resin every year,..and that three runnings were as much as a tree could bear. 1832D. J. Browne Sylva Amer. 232 The scraping is a coating of sap which becomes solid before it reaches the boxes, and which is taken off in the fall and added to the last runnings. 1872Trans. Dept. Agric. Illinois IX. 73, I have a plantation five or six years old, parts of which still grow fine fruit, with two runnings annually.
d. The spreading of ink or colour in a porous material; clouding in a flower.
1781Cowper Wks. (1837) XV. 71 My paper is so intolerably bad, as you may perceive by the running of the ink, that it has quite worn out my patience. 1851Beck's Florist Apr. 75 The propensity to sport observable in the Carnation, which we term ‘running’. [Cf. run ppl. a. 6.]
12. Leakage of air: (see quots.).
1781Phil. Trans. LXXI. 264 A very easy and effectual remedy for that defect so long complained of in all kinds of brass ordnance, the running of the vent. 1855Hopkins Organ 34 Sometimes a little air will escape through a groove-hole, and make its way up to some pipe, and cause it to produce a low, disagreeable, and continuous humming. This is called a ‘running’. 1881Dickson Pract. Organbuild. iv. 50 The gluing on of these latter must..be very sound..in every part, or a running of wind might ensue.
III. 13. a. Rennet. Now dial.
c1000ælfric Gloss. in Wr.-Wülcker 128 Coagulum, rynning. 1530Palsgr. 263/2 Ronnyng of chese, maisgre. 1562Turner Herbal ii. 2 As runnynge or chese lope maketh mylke runne together into cruddes. 1635J. Swan Spec. M. vi. §4 (1643) 249 Mints put into milk will not suffer the milk to curd, although the runnet or running (as they call it) be put into it. 1789W. H. Marshall Rur. Econ. Glouc. I. 331 Running, rennet; the coagulum in chees-making. 1825Hone Every-day Bk. I. 561 Rennet, or running, as it is..called [at Penzance]. 1854A. E. Baker Northampt. Gloss. 1890Glouc. Gloss.
†b. With together: Coagulation. Obs.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. lxi. (Tollemache MS.), The milke of þe fige tre haþ vertu of rennynge to geder to make chese. 1527Andrew Brunswyke's Distyll. Waters M j, [It] causeth the ronned and congeled mylke to be well and dyssolved frome the ronnynge togyder.
IV.
14. †a. at long running, in the long run.
c1412Hoccleve De Reg. Princ. 1630 At longe rennyng, loue beste schal preue. 1528–1670 [see long-running]. 1674Govt. Tongue 141 Wisdom is commonly at long running justified even of her despisers.
b. Course; direction; career (of life). rare.
1530Palsgr. 263/2 Ronnyng or course of any thynge, decours. a1618Raleigh Hist. World Pref. (1634) B 6, All the Rivers in the world, though they have divers risings, and divers runnings,..doe at last find, and fall into the great Ocean. 1870Nation XI. 1 He has never failed in getting such offices as he wanted, the record of his ‘running’ being about as good as that of any man in the country.
c. Constant succession; continuance. rare.
1662Stillingfl. Orig. Sacræ iii. ii. §7 What ever is moved, must bee moved by something else, and consequently there must bee a running in Infinitum. 1674N. Fairfax Bulk & Selv. 42 God does as truly abide, after the way of his everlasting nowness, as other things do after the guise of their timesom running on and on, without being himself timesom, like them.
d. The fact of being current. rare—1.
1788Priestley Lect. Hist. iii. xvi. 137 Which value (by the running of guineas as they now do for twenty one shillings each) is yet further advanced.
V.
15. a. The action of the vb. run in various transitive senses. Chiefly with advs., as in, off, together, up.
(a)1683Moxon Mech. Exerc., Printing xxiv. ⁋7 The too short or too far Running in of the Carriage. 1706E. Ward Wooden World Diss. (1708) 33 He lays far more Stress upon the running up of Yards and Top-masts well after a Storm. 1774Ann. Reg., Projects 105/2 We are at a great remove from the Greeks and Romans, with respect to the running up of buildings with the degree of rapidity they used to do. 1809W. Irving Knickerb. vi. v. (1849) 342 The Van Winkles,..noted for running of horses, and running up of scores at taverns. 1871Lowell Study Wind. (1886) 243 Slurrings-over and runnings-together of syllables.
(b)1844G. Dodd Textile Manuf. vii. 225 This working round of the outline is called ‘running’, while the filling-up of the interior parts is termed either ‘fining’ or ‘open⁓working’. c1850Rudim. Navig. (Weale) 144 This term is..used to signify the running or drawing of a line on the ship. 1876Preece & Sivewright Telegr. 217 The poles having been properly fitted up, stayed or strutted,..and raised, the running of the wire is then proceeded with.
b. A line of running stitches.
1845Mrs. M. J. Howell Hand-bk. Dressmaking 46 As many runnings as you choose to introduce will each form a distinct puffing. 1900Daily News 28 July 6/6 Then come the gathers which have to be done with three runnings and very neatly finished off.
c. U.S. colloq. Teasing; scolding. Cf. run v. 52 c.
1832S. Smith Life & Writings Major Jack Downing (1833) 158, I feel a little put out with Dr Burnham for an unhansome running he gave me 'tother day. 1902J. Corbin Amer. at Oxford ii. 16 The freshman breakfast is nothing in the world but a variation of the ‘running’ that is given newcomers in those American colleges where fraternity life is strong. 1936Nat. Geogr. Mag. LXIX. 799/1 Much of this ‘running’, or badgering, is in the spirit of fun.
d. running in, the process of operating a new machine (spec. the engine of a motor vehicle) at reduced power in order to establish proper working.
1935Jrnl. R. Aeronaut. Soc. XXXIX. 159 Tapered piston rings reduce the running-in period considerably. 1963R. F. Webb Motorists' Dict. 189 The object of running-in is to enable microscopic irregularities in the working surfaces to become burnished. 1968‘M. Finch’ Eye with Mascara viii. 80 A little rev-up from time to time is good for running-in.
16. a. Illegal landing of goods; smuggling.
1699Luttrell Brief Rel. (1857) IV. 518 One Stapleton and Basse, sea captains, were tryed..for smugling and running of prize goods in time of war. 1718–9Act 5 Geo. I, c. 11 Title, An Act against clandestine running of uncustomed Goods. 1766Museum Rusticum VI. 420 The clothiers attributed it to the running of wool. 1884S. Dowell Taxes in Eng. IV. 216 Heavy penalties..were now imposed upon customhouse officers for neglect of duty in preventing the running of brandy.
b. Conveyance or carriage of anything. log running: see log n.1 9.
1880Michigan Rep. XXXVIII. 603 [He] was to manage the logging in the woods and running of the logs to the mill.
VI.
17. a. attrib. and Comb., as running clothes, running contest, running costume, running costs, running drawers, running expenses, running game, running ground, running pants, running path, running place, running shorts, running suit, running track, running vest, etc.; also running brand U.S., a cattle brand made with a running iron; also = running iron; running business, smuggling; running iron U.S., a straight branding iron used (freq. illegally) for altering cattle brands; also fig.; running light, (a) Naut. = navigation light s.v. navigation 8; (b) one of a set of small lights located on the front, rear, or sides of a motor vehicle that remain illuminated during the running of the vehicle (see quots.); running order, (a) a condition in which a machine, etc., will function; (also qualified by well, badly, etc.); the condition in which a road, etc. is fit to be used (cf. working order s.v. working vbl. n. 16 b; (b) Theatre and Broadcasting, the sequence in which scenes or parts of a programme are presented; running powers, permission granted to a railway company to run trains over the lines of another company; running road (see quot.); † running-saddle, a small saddle with round skirts; running season U.S., the season at which certain animals move from one district to another; running shoe, a (freq. spiked) shoe for running (usu. pl.); also fig., esp. in (orig. N.Z.) phr. to give (one) his running shoes (see quots.); running time, (a) = running season above; (b) the time occupied by the running of a machine, performance, etc.; so, a schedule; † running woodness, a kind of madness in dogs, characterized by aimless wandering. Also running board.
1884Sweet & Knox On Mexican Mustang through Texas xii. 160 The other, called a *running brand, is a long piece of iron curved at the end. 1934Denver (Colo.) Post 4 Aug. 10/3 A running brand..[is] a brand made with a straight poker called a ‘running iron’, and used like a pencil.
1809Kendall Trav. III. 296 On the Province Point..I was taught to expect to find a store, inhabited, and in the bustle of the *running business.
a1727in Gentl. Mag. (1791) LXI. i. 199 No money allowed when I run any way under twenty miles. To find my own stockings and pumps, and to have my *running clothes washed in the house. 1916W. Owen Let. 14 Mar. (1967) 385, I shall consider my running clothes as my Birthday Present.
1886Encycl. Brit. XXI. 61/1 Nearly all *running contests now take place on prepared cinder paths.
1907Sports Trades Jrnl. X. 25 (Advt.), *Running costumes.
1913Autocar Handbk. (ed. 5) i. 14 Depreciation is a large item generally included amongst *running costs. 1979Homes & Gardens June 153/2 Keep running costs to a minimum by placing the freezer in a cool, well ventilated room and ensuring that it is full.
1903Sports Trades Jrnl. III. 101 (Advt.), *Running drawers, running vests.
1904N.Y. World Mag. 1 May 6/6 This does not include *running expenses.
c1440Promp. Parv. 430/1 *Rennynge game, bravium. 1876Morris æneid xii. 765 There they strive in running-game for Turnus' life and blood.
1744Laws [of Cricket] in New Dict. Arts & Sci. (1755) IV. 3459/2 When the ball is hit up, either of the strikers may hinder the catch in his *running ground. 1787in Waghorn Cricket Scores (1899) p. xii, When the ball is struck up in the running-ground between the wickets. 1863Sat. Rev. 23 May 656 A few hours' dry weather would have brought the running-ground into first-rate order. 1927E. V. Gordon Introd. Old Norse 196 Let the adventurous steed of the sand's heaven explore the broad running⁓ground of ships.
1894McClure's Mag. July 101/2 The *running-irons, or guachos,..are now considered bad form by progressive cattlemen. 1913L. V. Kelly Range Men 16 But the running or round iron was most favored, as it was easily and secretly made by cutting a wagon-iron in two and using the rounded end. 1945Everybody's Digest Aug. 89 Of a dying man, the puncher might say: ‘Death's got the runnin' iron on him brandin' him for the Eternal Range.’ 1968R. F. Adams Western Words 261/1 Running iron, a branding iron made in the form of a straight poker or a rod curved at the end... In the 1870's a law was passed in Texas forbidding the use of this iron in branding. This was a blow aimed at the brand blotter, whose innocent single iron would tell no tales.
1881Naval Encycl. 439/2 Light,..the term for all lamps or lanterns used on ship-board; as, *running lights, signal-lights, mast-head lights, etc. 1948R. de Kerchove Internat. Maritime Dict. 613/1 Running lights, a general term applied to the various lights carried from sunset to sunrise by different classes of vessels when under way. 1971M. Tak Truck Talk 135 Running lights, a tractor-trailer's clearance lights. 1975Times 21 Aug. 3/2 Volvo cars..are to be fitted with ‘running lights’, special side lights switched on automatically with the ignition. 1977Observer 3 Apr. 37/8 The working group appointed by the Nordic Road Safety Council has proposed that the use of running lights be made mandatory in daytime all year round in Denmark, Finland, Sweden and Norway. 1978H. Wouk War & Remembrance xx. 192 Unescorted, floodlights on a white hull, brilliant running lights, huge red cross painted on her side.
1850N. Kingsley Diary 4 Mar. (1914) 112 Got up steam again today and tried the larboard engine and have got both in *running order. 1860A. Sherwood Gazetteer of State of Georgia (ed. 4) 152 Soon, say in summer of 1861, much will be in running order. 1875General Statutes of State of Michigan I. (1882) 829 Every corporation owning a road in use shall..draw over the same the merchandise and cars of any other corporation..: Provided, such cars are of the proper gauge, are in good running order, and properly loaded. 1902‘O. Henry’ in Ainslee's Mag. Apr. 209/2 The running order of the bank was smooth and clean, and that had facilitated his work. 1939N. Coward Play Parade II. p. x, Running order, a list of the Scenes in their correct order. 1948[see runner 4 c]. 1961G. Millerson Technique Television Production x. 186 A running order, prepared from this script after the technical planning meeting, will contain a breakdown of the entire studio operations throughout the show. 1977B. Langley Death Stalk ii. 21 If you're editing a programme and you're not prepared for it [sc. an item], it can knock hell out of your running order.
1930L. W. Olds Track Athletics i. 4 The *running pants should have plenty of room in the hips.
1889Boy's Own Paper 14 Sept. 794/3 All the records are held by one man,..the amateur who turned professional in his last years on the *running path.
1539Taverner Gard. Wysed. i. 39 If I ran in a *runnynge place for the mastrye. 1727Boyer Dict. Royal II. s.v., A fine running place. 1868Morris Earthly Par. (1870) I. ii. 533 Within the running place at home I played.
1865Railw. News Dec., The agreement with the Erie and Niagara Railway Company for *running powers over that company's line.
1865J. T. F. Turner Slate Quarries 8 When the distance is great, by an admirable system of ‘*running roads’, which fall one foot per 100 feet, the wagons are impelled by their own weight.
1688R. Holme Armoury iii. 345/1 *Running Saddle.
1841Catlin N. Amer. Ind. (1844) II. xxxii. 13 It was in the midst of the *running season, and we had heard the roaring of the herd.
1884Spectator 26 July 975/2 The *running-shoes must be doffed for good and all. 1913C. Mackenzie Sinister St. I. i. vii. 107 Every evening there was steady practice..in spiked running-shoes on the grass-track.
1941Baker N.Z. Slang vi. 53 To give a person his running shoes, to dismiss a person from office.., which is an extension of the phrase to get the run, to be dismissed or fired. 1943J. A. W. Bennett in Amer. Speech XVIII. 92 Only a few current phrases can be traced to their creators. One of these is ‘to give a man his running shoes’, coined by a New Zealand Minister of the Crown as a vivid substitute for the English ‘sack’ or the American ‘fire’. 1960Wentworth & Flexner Dict. Amer. Slang 438/1 Running shoes, give someone his, to dismiss someone, as a suitor or an employee; to terminate a personal or business relationship, usu. in anger. 1963B. Pearson Coal Flat vi. 111 Like Bob Semple used to say about hit-and-run drivers— give them their running shoes. 1979Tucson (Arizona) Citizen 20 Sept. 6a/1 President Carter is losing ground by waiting to put on his official re-election running shoes.
1912E. W. Hjertberg Athletics in Theory & Practice xii. 54 The *running shorts should be wide and should not sit tightly anywhere, whatever movement one happens to make. 1974Times 10 Apr. 13/2 A lifelessly wordless eccentric in running shorts.
1905Graham & Clark Pract. Track & Field Athletics 9 Sufficient capital to purchase a *running suit and a pair of spiked shoes,..and a spare hour somewhere in the course of the day are all that are required to give any one a chance to develop his latent possibilities.
1806W. Clark in Lewis & Clark Exped. (1905) V. 294 Emence herds of Buffalow about..as it is now *running time with those animals. 1890L. D'Oyle Notches 60 The loud, shrill, snorting whistle peculiar to the buck in ‘running’ time. 1897Kipling Capt. Cour. ix. 195 Our runnin' time from San Diego to Chicago was 57.54. 1911H. S. Harrison Queed xii. 143 Queed..pulled into supper only three minutes behind running-time. 1952Granville Dict. Theatrical Terms 156 Running time, the actual time the play takes in performance, act by act, excluding intervals and final curtain calls, which are logged separately. 1962D. R. Cox Renewal Theory vii. 80 Suppose that a machine is subject to stoppages and call the time necessary to restart a stopped machine a repair-time. There is thus an alternating sequence of running-times and repair-times. 1977A. Morice Murder in Mimicry ii. x. 176 Even in normal running time my first entrance did not come for ten minutes. Nevertheless..I got to the theatre with two hours to spare.
1883Harper's Mag. Oct. 416/2 The *running track, commonly used for trotting as well, has..seen some notable achievements. 1907St. Nicholas June 694/1 ‘And a new running track’, added Dick.
1903*Running vest [see running drawers above].
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) xii, Þis wodenesse is ycleped *rennynge wodenesse.
b. With advs., as about, back, down, in, out (see quots.).
1966J. Derrick Teaching Eng. to Immigrants iv. 155 Traditional children's games..are mainly *running-about games which are probably more suited to the playground..than to the classroom.
1879Man. Artill. Exerc. 254 The *running-back gear consists of part of the traversing gear.
1825Spirit of Public Jrnls. 1823 315 Mr. Joseph Arnold being thus foiled in his *running-down scheme, placed his jarvey right across the road. 1856Dickens in Househ. Words XIII. 554/2 The landsman was relating his experience..of a fearful running-down case in the Channel. 1867Smyth Sailor's Word-bk. 586 Running-Down Clause, a special admission into policies of marine insurance, to include the risk of..the collision of the ship insured with other vessels. 1931Times 16 Jan. 14/2 He acquired a large practice, esp. in running-down cases. 1968Times 29 Nov. 13/3 The running-down rate of the pulsar implies that it has a lifetime of the same order as the Crab nebula.
1930Engineering 4 Apr. 439/1 In the *running-in process, it has usually been necessary for the engine to be carefully watched..to prevent damage from over heating or seizing. 1957Railway Mag. June 438/1 This is part of a regular two-day running-in roster from Crewe Works. 1973‘J. Ashford’ Double Run iii. 18 The driver ignored both the fifteen m.p.h. factory speed limit and the forty-five running-in limit.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 699 The finery furnace, or *running out fire.., is a smelting hearth, in which..gray cast iron..is converted into white cast iron.
1879Man. Artill. Exerc. 326 He..gives ‘run up’, when the handspikes are applied under the *running up bolts.
▪ II. running, ppl. a.|ˈrʌnɪŋ|
[f. run v. + -ing2.]
I.
1. a. Of water, streams, etc.: Flowing.
[c825Vesp. Psalter lvii. 8 To nowihte bicumað swe swe weter eornende. c1200Trin. Coll. Hom. 177 Ac alle woreld þing ben fletende, alse water erninde.] 1297R. Glouc. (Rolls) 1796 Ac ladde him to londone & is men echon To an vrninde water. 1382Wyclif Bible, Pref. Ep. St. Jerome vii, Bi alle cytees, villagis, hillis, and flodis, rennynge watres, and the nyȝ coostis. 14..Siege Jerus. 226 (E.E.T.S.), He..Receyued hit wyd reuerence & rennande teris. a1548Hall Chron., Edw. IV, 26 b, As a runnyng ryuer by goyng more & more augmenteth. 1667Phil. Trans. II. 527 Then wash it clean in a running stream. 1719De Foe Crusoe i. 115 It was no more than a little Brook of running Water. 1845Ford Handbk. Spain i. 55 The Spaniards allow their horses, when on a journey, to drink very freely at all running streams. 1878Huxley Physiogr. 135 To understand how running water usually effects denudation.
b. running water, water taken straight from a running stream; river-water. Also, a constant supply of water from a tap, main, or the like.
1523Fitzherb. Husb. §44 Than sethe them in a pan of .xx. gallons with rennynge water. 1545T. Raynalde Byrth Mankynde 116 Take of the same sede brused fyrst: and then sethe it in fayre runnyn water. 1609Skene Reg. Maj. 57 Of sea water, foure pound: of Rynnand water, foure pound: and of standand water in stankis foure pound. 1759Brown Compl. Farmer 13 Boil all together..in three pints of running water. 1912M. L. Fuller Domestic Water Supplies for Farm xx. 151 In very few ways, if any, may the drudgery be so readily lessened or the pleasures and comforts of rural life so increased as by the installation of running water in the houses & barns. 1936G. Mitchell Dead Men's Morris i. 16 We got no runnen water endoors round this part. 1946A. Huxley Let. 21 Apr. (1969) 543 There is running water, electric light and bottled gas, so that the fundamentals are all right. 1961L. Mumford City in History xv. 466 A collective water system with running water available for every house. 1974O. Manning Rain Forest i. iii. 52 There's no running water, the sani-cans stink.
c. running ice, ice which moves downstream in blocks and sheets. N. Amer.
1913W. Ogilvie Early Days on Yukon iii. 44 In this it satisfactorily succeeded, when running ice put a stop to further mining operations. 1922H. A. Cody King's Arrow xii. 101 The bark canoe seemed like a thing of life as it cut through the water... It had battled with running ice; it had been borne over innumerable portages. 1959M. Shand Summit & Beyond iv. 65 The Mounted Police sent out warnings that no more small boats could be used on lakes and rivers on account of the running ice. 1968[see ceiling vbl. n. 6 c].
2. a. Fluid, liquid; melting readily.
1398Trevisa Barth. De P.R. xvii. cxiv. (Bodl. MS.), Þe wose and juse þerof is rennynge and somtyme clensinge and druyinge. c1430Two Cookery-bks. 44 So þat it be renneng & not to styf. 1603Owen Pembrokeshire (1892) 88 Called the runinge Coale; for that when it first kindleth it melteth and runeth as wax, and groweth into one Clod. 1666Boyle Orig. Forms & Qual. 210, I obtain'd a considerable quantity of good running Mercury. 1829R. Christison Treat. Poisons xiii. (1832) 380 The blue ointment, which is made with running quicksilver, will act as a mercurial when rubbed upon the skin. 1868Joynson Metals 31 Where an easily running metal adds to the sharpness of the casting.
b. Of sand, soil, etc.: Having no coherence, so as readily to slip or fall.
1833N. Arnott Physics (ed. 5) I. 453 The common hour-glass of running sand is..of the same principle. 1882Jago Dial. Cornw., Running ground, loose, sandy, or soft ground which falls in just as fast as it is excavated. 1892Daily News 23 Mar. 2/7 The bed of the river consisted of running sand instead of boulder clay as anticipated.
3.
†a. Of a vessel: Leaking. Obs.—0
1483Cath. Angl. 309/2 Rynnynge as a wesselle, futilis.
†b. running glass, a sand-glass, hour-glass. Obs.
1485Naval Accs. Hen. VII (1896) 51 Rennyng glasses..j, leede lynes..j. 1497Ibid. 241 Compasses & Rynnyng glasses for the seid ship. 1599Hakluyt Voy. II. ii. 45 Their men..tooke out their compasses, and running glasses. 1632–3Woodbury Churchw. Accs. (E.D.D.), Paied for a Runninge Glasse, 00. 00. 08.
c. Allowing water to pass through.
1839Ure Dict. Arts 749 The apparatus subservient to the first objects are sieves, running buddles, and gratings. Ibid., The running buddle serves at once to sort and cleanse the ore. 1884Knight Dict. Mech. Suppl. 772/2 Running Trap, a depressed bow-shaped section in a pipe..through which water passes freely. 1975Times 4 Sept. 19/3 If the water is very hot it stops people washing things under a running tap.
4. Of sores, etc.: Discharging matter; suppurating. Also of the eyes or nose. running sore fig., a constant nuisance or irritation; a long-lasting trouble or problem.
1535Coverdale 2 Sam. iii. 29 In the house of Ioab there ceasse not one to haue a renninge yssue and a leprosy. 1590Spenser F.Q. iii. ii. 39 Ne can my running sore find remedie. 1611Bible Lev. xv. 2 When any man hath a running issue out of his flesh. 1753J. Bartlet Gentl. Farriery 297 Of the Running Thrush. 1807E. Weeton Let. 18 Nov. (1969) I. 50 As to the running eyes and noses of which you request me to give you the exact number. 1843R. J. Graves Syst. Clin. Med. xxix. 368 Few are exempted from the misfortune of a running eruption or the like. 1882Jago Dial. Cornw., Running-wound, a wound discharging matter. 1961C. Cockburn View from West ix. 117 At that time the National Union of Journalists was as a running sore to the anti-Communists of the T.U.C. 1964J. P. Clark Three Plays 82 Do forgive my running nose. 1973Times 21 Nov. 6 Running sore of London staff shortages may defy short-term cure.
†5. Coagulating. Obs.—1
1495Trevisa's Barth. De P.R. xix. lxxvi, Rennynge mylke is made thycke in the mawes of certen beestes.
II.
6. a. Passing rapidly from place to place.
1382Wyclif Exod. ix. 23 And the Lord ȝaf thundres, and hawle, and dyuersly rennynge leytis vpon the erthe.
b. Of diseases, etc.: Passing from one part of the body to another; esp. spreading over the skin.
1382Wyclif Lev. xiii. 12 If forsothe out flow[r]e the rennynge lepre in the skynne, and couer al the flesh. c1450Mankind 616 (Brandl), I haue a lytyll dyshes [= disease]..Wyth a runnynge rynge-worme. 1562Turner Baths List of Authors, etc., The rinnyng gout which rynneth from one joynte to an other. 1585Higins Junius' Nomencl. 441 Herpes, Some call it the shingles, some y⊇ running worme, some wild fire. 1671Salmon Syn. Med. i. xiv. 33 Running pains in all the Extream parts of the Body. 1697J. Headrich Arcana Philos. 40 In Wounds, in the Wolfe, in the Cruent, and running Herpes. 1818–20E. Thompson tr. Cullen's Nosologia 329 Impetigo, Running Tetter.
7.
†a. running hound, a hunting dog employed to run down game. Obs.
c1410Master of Game (MS. Digby 182) ii, In Englond þei be not slayne, but with houndes, or with shote, or with strength of rennynge houndes. 1470–85Malory Arthur iii. v. 104, xxx couple of black rennyng houndes cam after with a greete crye. 1513Douglas æneis iv. iv. 46 The ryning hundis of cuplis sone thai kest.
†b. running-horse, running-nag, a race-horse. Obs.
1608Dekker Lanth. & Candle Lt. Wks. (Grosart) III. 284 A race of fiue myles by a couple of Running-Horses. 1664Butler Hud. ii. iii. 935 Some calculate the hidden fates Of..Running-Nags, and Fighting-Cocks. 1777Sheridan Trip Scarb. iii. i, A running horse does require more attendance than a coach-horse. a1837[Apperley] Turf (1851) 6 In John's reign, running-horses are frequently mentioned in the register of royal expenditure. Ibid. 117 In the United States, breeding and running-horses are advancing with rapid strides.
c. In names of animals or classes of animals.
1766tr. Hasselquist's Voy. & Trav. Levant 238 Cancer cursor, the Running Crab. This lives in the sea, and on the coasts about Egypt and Syria. 1868Mus. Nat. Hist. II. 172/3 A New-Zealand species, seen by Cook, obtained from that navigator's companions the appellation of the ‘running-fish’. 1882Cassell's Nat. Hist. VI. 104 Tribe Geocores, or Land Bugs. The term ‘Running Bugs’ would, perhaps, better express the habits of the insects of this tribe, as some of them frequent the water and even run briskly over its surface. 1895P. H. Emerson Birds, etc. Norf. Broads 392 The Running Toad..has a yellow stripe down his back.
d. running dog: (see quot.). local.
1628Orkney & Shetland Acts in Misc. Maitland Cl. 203 That no man sall keip running doggis that runnes fra hous to hous or throw the cuntrie slaeing thair nychtbouris sheip.
e. running mate, a horse entered in a race in order to set the pace for another horse from the same stable which is intended to win. Also in transf. use, a fellow candidate (of someone), usu. one standing for a subordinate office, and spec. the vice-presidential candidate in U.S. presidential elections; gen., a partner, colleague, spouse, etc. orig. and chiefly U.S.
1868H. Woodruff Trotting Horse of Amer. xxxvi. 284 He has been..especially great for his knack at going with a running-mate. 1883Illustr. Sporting & Dramatic News 30 June 399/2 ‘How fast do you think she can trot with a running-mate?’ the reported asked; a ‘running-mate’ it is, perhaps, unnecessary to explain, being a horse harnessed to a pole, which gallops or ‘runs’ while the other trots. 1900Rev. of Reviews Jan. 7/2 A better man could hardly be selected as Mr. McKinley's ‘running mate’. 1902B. Whitlock 13th District 61 There were..pictures of the candidate himself,..and pictures, too, of his ‘running mate’, the candidate for vice-president. 1911Munsey's Mag. Mar. 865/2 His running-mate, Elizabeth Brice, in spite of the eyes she makes, also inspires liking. 1935N. Amer. Rev. Mar. 275 Nast's representation of a running-mate by a tag on the coat⁓tail of the head of the ticket is a fair indication of popular interest and respect. 1944Newsweek 31 July 25/1 The substitution of Sen. Harry S. Truman of Missouri for Vice President Henry A. Wallace as Mr. Roosevelt's running mate. 1953Economist 25 July 258/1 Eisenhower and his running-mate, Senator Nixon, spoke in stern criticism. 1958Listener 21 Aug. 255/1 From President Nasser's point of view, the Sudan would be a far more desirable running-mate in the United Arab Republic than Syria. 1968R. F. Adams Western Words 261/1 Running mate, a cowboy's term for his pal or his wife. 1968W. Safire New Lang. Politics 389/1 In horseracing, a single stable will often enter two horses in a race, the lesser horse used as a pacesetter and called a running mate. This second horse usually vanishes into obscurity. 1972D. H. Laurence Bernard Shaw: Coll. Lett. 1898–1910 188 A similar letter had been posted..to women voters, appealing to them to vote for Shaw and his five Progressive running-mates to protect women's rights in the Borough. 1973‘D. Halliday’ Dolly & Starry Bird i. 2, I..shared digs with my running mate, a photographer. 1977Irish Times 8 June 8/6 His running-mate, Alice Glenn, received 1,240 first preferences in Dublin North-Central in 1973.
8. a. Of persons: Cursory, hasty. rare—1.
1588Lambarde Eiren. iv. xiv. 553 Howsoeuer the booke..or the Statute..may seeme (to a running Reader).
†b. Mil. = flying ppl. a. 4 d. Obs.
1591Sir H. Unton Corr. (Roxb.) 255, I respecte not the dangers soe much as I doe the discommodities of a runinge campe, wherin we have neither lodginge nor good victualls. 1624Capt. Smith Virginia 152 That they should be as a running Army till this were effected. 1630Sir R. Gordon Hist. Earldom Sutherland (1813) 198 Earle Alexander, to prevent such suddent incursions thereefter, did alwayes manteyn a cursarie and runing guard. 1652–66in Gilbert Contemp. Hist. Ireland I. 41 A runinge armie consisting of 4,000 foote and 400 horse.
c. Employed to run as a messenger, etc.
1604in Peacock Rom. Cath. Yorks. (1872) 23 Running Recusant or Messanger among [them]. 1689Lond. Gaz. No. 2446/4 One George Tough, a Scotch Running Footman, of short Stature. 1721Ramsay Content 276 No broken China-bowls disturb the joy Of waiting handmaid, or the running-boy. 1791–1856 [see footman 3].
transf.1825Danneley Dict. Music, Laufer, or Running Footman, groups of ascending or descending notes.
d. Moving rapidly about, esp. in the course of one's business or profession. Also transf.
1611Cotgr., Coureur,..also, a roamer, or wanderer abroad; one whose shooes are made of running leather; one that neuer keepes at home, or where he should be. a1700B. E. Dict. Cant. Crew, Running-stationers, Hawkers, or those that cry News and Books about the Streets. 1845Carlyle Cromwell (1871) I. i. 93 He might be a ‘Running Lecturer’, not tied to one locality. 1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. I. 214 That order or species of the pattering genus known as ‘running patterers’, or ‘flying stationers’.
e. Taking to flight.
1897Sir G. T. Goldie in Times 23 Jan. 13/1 It is more humane to shoot down promptly a few running carriers than to sacrifice the lives of some 2,000 men of a column.
f. running dog [tr. Chinese zǒugǒu, f. zǒu to run + gǒu dog]: in communist terminology, one who is subservient to counter-revolutionary interests; a lackey (see lackey n. 1 c). Also in generalized use.
1937E. Snow Red Star over China ix. iv. 325 Vanguards of young Moslems were..urging the overthrow of the ‘Kuomintang running-dog’. 1961tr. Mao Tsetung's Sel. Works IV. 284 Without a revolutionary party,..it is impossible to lead the working class and the broad masses of the people in defeating imperialism and its running dogs. 1968Guardian 13 July 9/5 The Kremlin's fears that the Czechoslovak revolution has become a treacherous running dog of the West. 1969R. Quest Cerberus Murders xxi. 119 This is how we worked—we were not a team and I was certainly not his running-dog. 1970[see housenigger s.v. house n.1 24]. 1977‘E. Crispin’ Glimpses of Moon xi. 226 ‘Imperialist running-dogs,’ said the hunt saboteuse. 1978J. Updike Coup (1979) iii. 98 He admired the French, he admires the polluting Americans and their new running dogs the Chinese.
g. running back: in American football, a back whose function is to run carrying the ball.
1924Collier's 20 Dec. 38/4 There has been no running back in football history who had these baffling, bewildering qualities to such an extent. 1962R. Walker Compl. Bk. Backfield Play ii. 28 What distinguishes a back from a linesman? Many ends would make outstanding running backs. 1967R. Graves Guide to Mod. Football Offense vi. 47 In discussing techniques and drills involved in backfield play, we will place the position of fullback and tailback under the classification running backs... Since the play of the quarterback is uniquely different from that of running backs, the fundamental requirements of his position will be discussed separately. 1971L. Koppett Guide to Spectator Sports ii. 50 And the halfback and fullback are simply ‘running backs’. 1979Arizona Daily Star 5 Aug. (Parade Suppl.) 6/1 Susie Forton played running back and middle linebacker for the Vikings.
9. Of plants: Creeping, climbing, or spreading rapidly; sending out many runners. Also in specific names, as running thyme, running twitch, etc. running moss = club-moss; running postman = coral-pea s.v. coral n.1 9.
1548Turner Names Herbes (E.D.S.) 35 Elatine..groweth amonge the corne and in hedges; it maye be named in englishe running Buckwheate or bynde corne. Ibid. 72 Serpyllum..is of .ij. sortes. The one is called..in englishe runnyng tyme. 1615W. Lawson Country Housew. Gard. (1626) 16 There is another way..to get not onely Plants for graffing, but Sets to remaine for Trees, which I call a Running Plant. 1634Ford Perkin Warbeck i. i, He's but a running weed, At pleasure to be pluck'd up by the roots. 1786Abercrombie Gard. Assist. 72 Beds of close running plants, as mint, &c. 1790W. H. Marshall Rural Econ. Midland I. 211 Running Twitch, agrostis alba, creeping bentgrass. 1845Running moss [see mountain laurel]. 1855Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XVI. i. 111 Running weeds..being spudded up. 1876Britten & Holland Dict. Eng. Plant-n., Running Moss, Lycopodium clavatum. 1898E. E. Morris Austral Eng. 247/1 K[ennedya] prostrata is called the Coral Pea..or Running Postman. 1917H. H. Richardson Fortunes R. Mahoney i. ix. 87 The short-lived grass was picked out into patterns by the scarlet of the Running Postman. 1945E. Step Wayside & Woodland Ferns (ed. 2) 129 These local names [for common club⁓moss] are..numerous... Others are..Lamb's-tail, Running Moss, Robin Hood's Hatband, [etc.]. 1962Running postman [see coral-pea s.v. coral n.1 9].
†10. Volatile, flighty, giddy. Obs.
1571in S. H. Sole Jesu's Psalter (1888) 90 The mocyons of my renninge mind. 1579Gosson Sch. Abuse (Arb.) 70 Newe cuttes are the paternes of running heads. 1603Knolles Hist. Turkes (1621) 920 Of Maximillian the emperour, or of the duke of Muscovie, both men of running wits. 1653R. Sanders Physiogn. 104 A Vagabond, one of an unsetled Running head.
Comb.1599Broughton's Lett. v. 17 A paradoxicall expositor,..a forlorne Pharisee, a running-headed fugitiue.
11. a. Of metre, music, etc.: Of a smooth, easy, or rapid character. Also in phr. running rhythm, used by G. M. Hopkins to denote common English metre.
1589Puttenham Eng. Poesie i. v. (Arb.) 26 It appeareth, that our vulgar running Poesie was common to all the nations of the world besides. 1593Nashe Christ's T. Wks. (Grosart) IV. 109 The younge men in their merry-running Madrigals..for thee, should haue honoured mee. 1608Willet Hexapla Exod. 231 So should church musike..be..not with diuisions and running catches. 1673True Notion Worship of God 56 Without this all other Sermons are but empty sounds..; they are running divisions upon Religion to them that have not yet perceived the grounds. 1743–4Mrs. Delany Life & Lett. (1861) II. 262 Her notes are more distinct, and there is something in her running-divisions that is quite surprising. 1789Twining tr. Aristotle's Poet. 72 note, The Trochaic or running metre here spoken of. c1883G. M. Hopkins in Poems (1967) 45 The poems in this book are written some in Running Rhythm, the common rhythm in English use, some in Sprung Rhythm, and some in a mixture of the two. Common English rhythm, called Running Rhythm above, is measured by feet of either two or three syllables. 1957N. Frye Anatomy of Criticism 263 The sixteenth century was a period of experiment, mainly in verse epos or running rhythm, to use Hopkin's term. 1970J. T. Shipley Dict. World Lit. Terms (ed. 3) 284/2 Running rhythm, the common Eng[lish] rhythm, measured by feet of 2 or 3 syllables... Opp[osed] by G. M. Hopkins to sprung rhythm.
†b. Of persons: Fluent. Obs.—1
1628Feltham Resolves ii. lix, The running Montaigne speaks of such another.
12. Of a ship: Sailing in time of war without a convoy.
1816G. J. Bell Comm. Law Scot. (1826) I. 621 note, 1. That this was a prize; 2. That it was a running ship: both of which facts, though material, were concealed. 1834Marryat P. Simple lx, I was sent home..in a running vessel.
13. Med. Of the pulse: (see quot. 1901).
1898P. Manson Tropical Diseases xviii. 291 The pulse becomes small and running. 1901W. Osler Princ. & Pract. Med. i. (ed. 4) 19 In the extreme prostration of severe cases it may reach 150 or more and is a mere undulation—the so-called running pulse.
III. 14. a. Performed with, or accompanied by, a run; hence, rapid, hasty. Also in various (chiefly U.S. Sporting) phrases, as running attack, running game, running start (see quots.).
a1300Cursor M. 26732 Qua will yeild a-cuntes right He agh it for-wit for to dight, Ne tell noght ouer wit renand ras. c1450Fencing w. two-handed Sword in Rel. Ant. I. 308 Smyte a rennyng quarter sory owte of thy honde. c1470Golagros & Gaw. 910 Twa rynnyng renkis raith the riolyse has tane, Ilk freik to his feir. 1639Fuller Holy War iii. viii. (1840) 128 Though the French king thought with a running pull to bear the city away. 1670Milton Hist. Eng. ii. 72 The fourth Summer..he spent in settling and confirming what the year before he had travail'd over with a running Conquest. 1720De Foe Capt. Singleton (1907) 115 He had taken a running leap, I suppose, and with all his might had thrown himself clear over our palisades. 1775Adair Hist. Amer. Ind. 396 He was obliged to support nature with such herbs, roots, and nuts, as his sharp eyes, with a running glance, directed him to snatch up in his course. 1838Encycl. Metrop. (1845) XXV. 301/1 Nautical surveys are sometimes conducted under canvass when a landing cannot be effected, which is termed a running survey. 1841R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 84 A Flying Moor, sometimes called a Running Moor. 1892Daily News 12 July 2/7 A clever running catch by Newham at third man got rid of the Yorkshiremen. 1910W. Camp Bk. Foot-Ball viii. 306 Probably there is greater fascination in the running game than in any other department of foot-ball... There is no play that brings the spectators to their feet to such wild enthusiasm as a good run. 1929D. Runyon in Hearst's Internat. July 125/1 Dave the Dude is more corned than anybody else, because he has two or three days running start on everybody. 1961J. S. Salak Dict. Amer. Sports 375 Running play,..a play during which there is a runner and which is not followed by a kick or forward pass from behind scrimmage line. 1971L. Koppett Guide to Spectator Sports ii. 56 To stop a running attack, a defensive line must hold its ground. 1976Webster's Sports Dict. 160/2 Flying start, auto racing, a start of a race in which the competitors are already moving as they cross the starting line or receive the starting signal (also called running start). 1977New Yorker 10 Oct. 177/1 Princeton, which has another useful quota of real heavyweights..has as well a sturdy running attack, now that Isom is paced by Larson.
†b. Of a banquet, collation, etc.: Taken hurriedly; slight. Also fig. of a whipping. Obs.
1613Shakes. Hen. VIII, i. iv. 12 Some of these Should finde a running Banket, ere they rested, I thinke would better please 'em. Ibid. v. iv. 69 Besides the running Banquet of two Beadles, that is to come. a1661Fuller Worthies (1840) III. 2136 A running collation to stay his stomach—no set meal to satisfy his hunger. c1728Earl of Ailesbury Mem. (Roxb.) 575 The evening of the birthday I gave a great ball and a running collation. [1734Watts Reliq. Juv. 49 When persons, each for themselves, took a slight repast, in a running manner.]
c. running fire, a rapid successive discharge of firearms by each of the men forming a rank or ranks; a rapid and continuous fire. Also transf.
1629Descr. S'hertogenbosh 27 They followed Eastward the one after the other, round about the Leager, as a running Fire. 1702Lond. Gaz. No. 3838/1 Her Majesty's Companies of Foot, with the Militia.., in two Lines, made as many running Fires. 1822Creevey Papers (1904) II. 36, I kept up a kind of running fire upon Coke. 1854R. Monckton Milnes in Life (1891) I. xi. 497 The Duke and Sir Robert keep up a running fire of banter, accusing one another reciprocally. 1860W. G. Clark Vac. Tour 22 The crowd kept up a running fire of vivas to pass the time.
d. running battle, running fight, a naval engagement carried on during a retreat or flight; any military engagement which constantly changes its location. Also transf. and fig. (in later use, perh. influenced by sense 17 a).
1690Lond. Gaz. No. 2595/3 The Grafton Sloop has brought into Dartmouth a French Privateer.., which she took the 18th instant, after a running fight of 3 hours. 1707Ibid. No. 4386/2, 3 French Privateers..attack'd a Dutch Ship.., who maintain'd a running Fight. 1760–72H. Brooke Fool of Qual. (1809) III. 83 They crouded away.., maintaining a running fight with their stern-chace. 1823Byron Island ii. xxi, We'll make no running fight, for that were base. 1846Dickens Battle of Life 11, It could hardly be said of these conflicts that they were running fights. 1916‘Taffrail’ Pincher Martin xvii. 317 The Mariner and various other destroyers were present with the battle⁓cruisers throughout the first shock of the engagement and the running fight which ensued. 1928G. B. Grinnell Two Great Scouts iv. 65 The Pawnee warriors sprang on their horses and set out in pursuit of the enemy. During a running fight, the Pawnees killed a number of Sioux. 1945Ann. Reg. 1944 i. 2 The raiders..carried on a running fight with German fighter planes. 1967in G. Marx Groucho Lett. 13 (heading) Running battle with Warner Brothers. 1974[see motor-cycle n.].
e. running repairs, hurried, minor, or temporary repairs made to machinery, equipment, etc., while in service. Also transf.
1913Autocar Handbk. (ed. 5) i. 16 He [sc. the chauffeur] should do most of the running repairs, such as tyre repairs. 1924Kipling Debits & Credits (1926) 166 We'd been sent back for rest an' runnin'-repairs, back pretty near our base. 1951N. Marsh Opening Night vi. 134 He..effected a number of what he called running repairs to her make-up and hair. 1957Encycl. Brit. XVIII. 935/2 Most yards of any considerable size also include, or have adjacent, facilities for servicing of, and running repairs to, cars and locomotives. 1971D. J. Smith Discovering Railwayana x. 59 Running repairs, small scale repairs carried out in a ‘running’ or engine shed. 1973K. Benton Craig & Jaguar vii. 89 Your nose is shiny..Make some running repairs while we leave you for a moment.
f. running jump, a jump preceded and augmented by a run. Usu. fig., esp. in phr. to take a running jump (at oneself), freq. used colloq. as an expression of hostility, contempt, or indifference to someone.
1914E. A. Powell Fighting in Flanders i. 18 Thompson took a running jump. 1920S. Lewis Main Street xxxv. 415 There aint a town..got a better chance to take a running jump..right up into the two-hundred-thousand class. 1933M. Lowry Ultramarine ii. 76 You go and take a running jump at yourself. 1953A. Upfield Murder must Wait xi. 104 Tell your Chief Commissioner to take a running jump at himself. 1954J. B. Priestley Magicians vi. 120 The public can take a running jump at itself. I stopped liking people a long time since. 1959‘R. Macdonald’ Galton Case xii. 97 Tell him to take a running jump in the Truckee River and do us all a favor. 1968Landfall XXII. 22 If you think I'm subsidizing you..you can take a running jump at yourself. 1972M. Gilbert Body of Girl xx. 180, I told her to take a running jump at herself. The only person who could make trouble for me would be old Henry Prior.
g. running fix, a fix obtained by determining bearings at different times and making allowance for the distance covered by the observer in the interval.
1916S. F. Card Navigation Notes & Examples vii. 32 A running fix is the position obtained from two position lines by observations at different times, allowing for the run in the interval. 1942Tee Emm (Air Ministry) II. 82 Here's a good tip to save yourself a running fix. 1974K. Wilkes Pract. Yacht Navigator (ed. 2), ix. 119 The accuracy of the running fix depends on the correctness of the direction and distance travelled over the ground between the two bearings.
15. running hand, a cursive form of script.
1648Hexham ii. s.v. Loopen, To write with a Running hand. 1685J. Matlock Fax Nova Artis Scribendi 22 The Running-Hand begets a great freeness and readiness in those Letters, in which it is composed. 1763Massey Orig. & Progr. Lett. ii. 26 A neat and expeditious running-hand, so necessary in every business. 1815Scott Guy M. xx, He entered them in the catalogue in his best running hand. 1900Sayce Babylonians & Assyrians x. 209 In Egypt the..running-hand of the scribe developed out of the primitive pictographs.
attrib.1784Astle Orig. & Progr. Writing 106 The running hand Saxon letters are more like the pure or elegant Saxon which succeeded them.
IV.
16. a. Carried on or extending continuously. Used esp. of architectural or decorative ornament. Also with advs., as running-around.
1390–1Durham Acc. Rolls (Surtees) 391 Freyns, tays, et rynnyng orfrays. 1776G. Semple Building in Water 139 The first Course of the Grating is to be let in by a running Mortice. 1849Greenwell Coal-Trade Terms, Running Balk, a balk set in the direction of a drift, at its side, instead of across it, to form a support for the cross balks. 1861Sir C. Barry in Life (1867) vi. 186 The ground..of a warm yellowish tint, covered with a running foliage. 1870E. Peacock Ralf Skirl. I. 136 A running pattern composed of peonies and sun-flowers. 1901Westm. Gaz. 11 July 3/2 A running-around insertion of either guipure or Valenciennes.
b. running title, running head(line), a short title or headline placed at the top of the page, sometimes restricted to one which is continued throughout the whole of a book.
1668Wallis in Corr. Sci. Men (1841) II. 492 The running title on the several heads is easily added, being the same with that of each chapter. 1691Miége Eng. Gram. (ed. 2) 130 Besides this general Title, there is commonly at the head of every Page a Title expressed in few Words, called the Running Title. 1756C. Lucas Ess. Waters II. 60 The running titule over every following page is De Uso Aquæ Marinæ. 18162nd Rep. Comm. Public Rec. App. ⁋11, The Collection now technically called The Fœdera, from the First Word of its Running-title. 1839Hansard Treat. Printing (1841) 85 He..places at the top..the running head, or line which indicates the title of the work or the subject of the page or chapter. 1888Jacobi Printers' Vocab. 117 Running headline, the fixed or general title of the volume as distinct from the chapter or section headline.
c. Of measurements: Linear.
1663Gerbier Counsel 48 Work rated on running measure. 1703R. Neve City & C. Purchaser 121 Some Cornishes..are measur'd, and rated by the Foot Running-measure, i.e. by the number of Feet in length only. 1797Billingsley Agric. Somerset 79 The expence of a list-wall may be thus calculated per rope of twenty feet running length. 1812J. Smyth Pract. of Customs (1821) 14 Linens particularly..are generally measured by running measure, being no more than taking the length of the piece from one end to the other. 1889Welch Text Bk. Naval Archit. iv. 73 It is usual to state the weight per square foot of material in the former case, and per running foot in the latter.
17. a. Continuous, sustained; going on, carried on, right through or continuously; also, continually produced or maintained; constantly repeated or recurring.
1492in Somerset Med. Wills (1901) 300 That..there be in the churche of the seid priory euery day whiles the wordle standeth a rennyng masse ther seyd. 1622Malynes Anc. Law-Merch. 207 There are two manner of Lotaries, namely Standing Lotaries, and Running Lotaries:..the latter to bee drawne daily and at all conuenient houres. 1629H. Burton Truth's Triumph 352 If it bee but a running lottery, wherein the whole countrey is coosened. 1707Hearne Coll. (O.H.S.) II. 68 He has put out short running Notes upon Ovid's Epistles. 1793Burke Corr. (1844) IV. 159 There is a perpetual running allusion to events and actions, as well as new laws and customs. 1822Hazlitt Table-t. Ser. ii. ix. (1869) 188 His face is the running comment on his acting. 1865Tylor Early Hist. Man. iii. 36 With a running accompaniment of grunts. 1888Bryce Amer. Commw. III. 603 The apparent coldness of the audience, which..refuses him the running encouragement of cheers. 1966This is Bill-Broking (Allen, Harvey & Ross Ltd.) 34 Running yield, the interest rate on an investment, expressed in terms of a percentage on the capital invested. 1966Listener 17 Nov. 732/1 A series of comic set-pieces linked into a wildly slapstick context by carefully contrived running gags. 1973Daily Tel. 7 Mar 21 At the issue price of {pstlg}99½ the 1980 stock will give a running yield of 9·05 p.c. and a gross redemption yield of 9·10 p.c. to 1980. 1973Times 30 Oct. 4/6 As he walked the Dalai Lama gave a running audience.
b. Of accounts, etc.: Allowed to run on for a certain (specified or indefinite) time.
1742Richardson Pamela III. 250 Makes up his running Accounts to Mr. Longman. 1853Lytton My Novel i. ix, The Squire..gave him a running lease of seven, fourteen, or twenty-one years, at a rent merely nominal. 1891C. Roberts Adrift Amer. 40, I had a running order on the store.
c. running days: (see quots.).
1816G. J. Bell Comm. Law Scot. (1826) I. 577 In settling the lay-days, or the days of demurrage, the contract generally specifies ‘working days’, or ‘running days’... Under the latter, the days are reckoned like the days in a bill of exchange. 1849Freese Comm. Class-bk. 41 ‘Lay-days’..are either running-days, or working-days, as may be agreed upon; the former including Sundays and holidays, the latter excluding them.
d. (See quot.)
1886C. Scott Sheep Farming 28 By a running ewe stock is understood the practice of buying-in ewe lambs to maintain the flock, and selling all the produce.
e. running commentary, a sustained series of comments on events, actions, utterances, etc., as they occur; a continuous description of an event in progress, spec. a broadcast report of a game, contest, or race.
1811C. Lamb in Reflector iv. 342 The writings of Fuller are usually designated by the title of quaint... But..his way of telling a story, for its eager liveliness, and perpetual running commentary of the narrator happily blended into the narration, is perhaps unequalled. 1824Mirror of Literature 17 Jan. 44/2 The Count's running commentary upon these evolutions, too, is a chef d'oevre in the art of reasoning. 1853R. S. Surtees Mr. Sponge's Sporting Tour lxi. 348 His pleasure was, perhaps, damped by a running commentary he overheard through the lattice-window of the stable. 1858Chambers's Jrnl. 4 Dec. 359/1 (heading) Bill Fustian's running commentary on the doings of the respectable classes. 1883J. M. Barrie Auld Licht Idylls xii. 239 He loved to recite long screeds from Spenser, with a running commentary on the versification and the luxuriance of the diction. 1905Pall Mall Mag. July 40/2 She gasped and..trembled out her tale of horrors, while..her daughter,..in the exasperating fashion of the chorus in a Greek play, kept up a running commentary, emphasising the points. 1927B.B.C. Hand-bk. 1928 140/1 Running commentaries fall easily under two different headings—Sporting and purely Descriptive. 1929B.B.C. Year-Bk. 1930 146 Tennis..provides excellent material for a running commentary, although the commentators find the strain of following the strokes..with an instantaneous spoken description very great. 1931Discovery Dec. 386/1 This was the first scientific film of its kind to be synchronized with the running commentary. 1946G. N. M. Tyrrell Personality of Man vi. xviii. 158 Then there is Mrs. Willett's running commentary. She is always there, interjecting her own comments. 1966B. Johnston Armchair Cricket 26 He has to comment rather than give a running commentary which is basically what happens with football or racing on television. 1969M. Pugh Last Place Left xvii. 124, I drank tea with my back to the floor but Katriona gave me a running commentary until Nell rejoined me. 1977D. Bennett Jigsaw Man iv. 71 I'll give you a sort of running commentary... Reorient you... The village is on the right.
f. running set (see set n.2 14), a country dance, originating in the Appalachian Mountains, in which the dancers perform a number of figures in quick succession.
1918C. Sharp Country Dance Book v. 9 The Running Set..differs materially from any other known form of the Country-dance. 1927Observer 27 Nov. 14/5 He got..from elsewhere in that district, the ‘running set’—a fine dance which has been received here with outspoken enthusiasm. 1938Times 10 Jan. 10/4 Two American dances, the Running Set and the Big Set, were shown. 1964W. G. Raffé Dict. Dance 431/2 Running set, an English square dance in quick time, preserved in villages of the Appalachian Mountains, in North America. Ibid., Danced by four couples (sometimes more), the Running Set consists of an Introduction and some fourteen figures, which follow each other without pause. 1974Encycl. Brit. Micropædia IX. 501/2 Historians trace the square dance to two derivatives of English country dance: the Kentucky running set, a rhythmic, complicated figure dance derived from pre-17th-century English round dances; and the cotillon.
18. (Placed after the n.) Following each other; successive, in succession.
1719Ramsay To Arbuckle 76 To be a dummie ten years' running. 1758L. Temple Sketches (ed. 2) 34 It does not require a very exquisite Ear to write two smooth or even harmonious Lines running. 1848J. H. Newman Loss & Gain iv. viii, He can speak seven hours running without fatigue. 1881Mrs. Craik Sydney I. viii. 201 This is the third Sunday running that I have [etc.].
V.
19. Current, prevalent, general.
c1449Pecock Repr. iii. xi. 346 Bi his natural condicion and bi the rennyng condicioun of the world. 1530–1Durh. Househ. Bk. (Surtees) 5, 2 qu. frumenti, rynnynge measour ad 9d. bus. 1570Foxe A. & M. (ed. 2) 1050/1 To stoppe the running brutes of their holy assemblies, they should write Apologies. 1627Rep. Parishes Scotl. (Bann. Cl.) 3 We walow it to be worth sex bollis..off rining wictuall. 1851Mayhew Lond. Lab. (1861) III. 145, I generally get my 25s., that's my running price, though I try for my 30s. 1865Mozley Mirac. (1883) 166 Hence the confession of inferiority when this running supernaturalism was confronted by real miracles.
20. a. That is in progress, going on, or existing, at the present time.
1584Reg. Privy Council Scot. III. 666 This present rynnand Parliament. 1688Dryden Britannia Rediv. 49 That James this running century may view, And give his son an auspice to the new. 1726Berkeley Wks. (1871) IV. 134 They might have been paid the subsequent years out of the running income. 1861Mrs. H. Wood East Lynne I. xv. 222 To make me forfeit my running quarter's salary.
†b. Of cash: Available for use. Obs.
1679Dryden Limberham iv. ii, I have at present, no running cash to throw away. 1727Swift State Irel. Wks. 1751 IX. 139 The running Cash of the Nation, which was about Five Hundred Thousand Pounds, is now less than Two, and must daily diminish.
†c. Of trade: Giving a certain turnover. Obs.
1706–7Farquhar Beaux' Strat. i. i, I have a good running trade. 1736Gentl. Mag. VI. 458/2 There are Multitudes of People in this Kingdom, who..just make a Shift to rub on, from Year to Year, upon Credit and a running Trade.
21. Temporary; † transitory. rare.
1632J. Hayward tr. Biondi's Eromena 49 To prefix and give himselfe a law for his life, founded upon a running griefe, imagining it to be everlasting. 1851Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc. XII. ii. 365 Occasionally..there is sown a ‘running’ crop of beans or seeds.
VI.
22. a. Moving easily or rapidly by mechanical means or as a piece of mechanism; easily moved, slid along, shifted, etc.
c1425Cast. Persev. 1076 in Macro Plays, Whyl I reste on my rennynge whel, I schal not suffre, if þat I may. 1459Paston Lett. I. 482 Item, j. rynnyng bedde with a materas. c1535in Yorks. Archæol. Jrnl. (1886) IV. 323 Wt ij ronnyng dores and a shittynge dore. 1558Wills & Inv. N.C. (Surtees, 1835) 163, ij fether bedds, a trussinge bed, a ronnyng bedd. 1603Owen Pembrokeshire (1892) 62 But use for the most part a runinge fold of hurdels of cloven oake about foure foote heighe. 1648Hexham 11, Een Looperken, a Running Pullie or Windlase. 1764J. Ferguson Lect. 48 When the furrows become blunt and shallow by wearing, the running stone must be taken up. 1799G. Smith Laboratory I. 19 The decorations that are usually fixed to these running rockets. 1851–4Tomlinson's Cycl. Useful Arts (1867) II. 461/2 In the manufacture of plate glass a thick cylinder of cast brass, called a running roll, is used for spreading the glass over the casting table.
b. running mould (Plastering), a pattern moving on fixed guides and used to shape cornices and other mouldings.
1825[see run v. 53 f]. 1911Encycl. Brit. XXI. 786/1 Plain, or unenriched, mouldings are formed with a running mould of zinc cut to the required profile. 1955N. W. Kay et al. Mod Building Encycl. 483/2 Solid cornices are..formed in the position they are to occupy, by a running mould, called a horse, which runs along guides fixed to the walls.
23. a. Of ropes, etc.: Capable of moving when pulled or hauled; esp. moving or passing through a block, ring, etc. Chiefly Naut.
a1625Nomenclator Navalis (Harl. MS. 2301), Running Roapes..are taken generally for all roapes that doth not stand fast to the Masts without veering or haveing [etc.]. 1632Lithgow Trav. iv. 153 They drawe in his middle together so small with running cords, that they strike his body a two with one blow. 1688Holme Armoury iii. xv. (Roxb.) 50/1 The Runner is generally taken for any rope running through a block which is called the running rope. 1753Hanway Trav. (1762) I. ii. xvi. 72 Our boat had no keel, nor any running tackle. 1797Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) VIII. 669/1 For horses..who poke out their noses, a running snaffle is of excellent use. 1841R. H. Dana Seaman's Man. 45 The parts of all tackles between the fasts and a sheave, are called the standing parts; the parts between sheaves are called running parts. 1885C. F. Holder Marvels Anim. Life 67 A running bow-line [was] passed around the fish's tail.
Comb.1740Brookes Art of Angling 17 Running-Line-Angling is with one or two small Pellets of Lead to your Line without a Float.
b. running rigging: (see rigging n.2 2 a).
1667Lond. Gaz. No. 159/4 We likewise Anchoring within a mile of them, to repair our running Rigging, and main shrowds. 1748Anson's Voy. ii. ii. 135 To unlay a cable to work into running rigging. 1840R. H. Dana Bef. Mast xxiii, He had got rid of all the useless blocks and running rigging. 1890All Year Round 29 Mar. 304 The guide-ropes, the halliards, the running-rigging of the scenic show beneath [sc. in a theatre].
c. running belay (Mountaineering), a belay (see belay n.) through which the climbing rope runs freely, and which acts as a pulley if the climber falls.
1941T. A. H. Peacocke Mountaineering ii. 26 Without the use of slings, running belays are unsatisfactory. 1946Leonard & Wexler in Sierra Club Bull. Dec. 91 He [sc. G. W. Young] is fully aware of the dynamic belay, referring to it as the ‘running belay’, one of the ‘expert belays’ that only great skill and strength can hope to regulate. 1956R. C. Evans On Climbing iii. 52 When negotiating a difficult pitch, the leader will, if possible, arrange running belays at intervals... He..drives a piton into a crack, and runs his rope through a snap-link clipped to the..piton. 1968P. Crew Encycl. Dict. Mountaineering 87/1 Apart from the ease of carrying, the fact that the sling goes through a nut, instead of round a chockstone, often makes the running belay more mechanically sound. 1973C. Bonington Next Horizon xx. 274 Don went up..quickly and smoothly without bothering to protect himself with running belays.
24. a. Of knots, etc.: Slipping or sliding easily, esp. so as to catch something tightly.
1648Hexham 11, Gestrickt, Laced, or Tyed in a running knot. 1687A. Lovell tr. Thevenot's Trav. iii. 41 They use a certain Slip with a running-noose, which they can cast..about a Mans Neck, when they are within reach of him. 1726[see knot n.1 1 b]. 1748Anson's Voy. i. vi. 65 A thong of several fathoms in length,..with a running noose at one end of it. 1821Scott Pirate xxxi, In your..profession [piracy]..every man speaks under correction of the yard⁓arm and a running noose. 1855Orr's Circle Sci., Organ. Nat. III. 306 In the middle of the chamber a small upright stick is placed supporting two running loops of horse-hair. c1860H. Stuart Seaman's Catech. 24 A running eye is then spliced in the end.
b. running bowline († knot), a bowline adapted to form a noose.
1726Defoe Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts 110, I got ready another Rope, at the end of which I made a running bowling knot, and the Noose so as to keep it open with one Hand. 1823[see bowline1 2]. 1883Man. Seamanship (Admiralty) 89 Q. What is a running bowline used for..? A. It is used for throwing over anything out of reach, or anything under water. 1911Encycl. Brit. XV. 872/1 Running bowlines are formed by making a bowline round its own standing part... It is the most common and convenient temporary running noose. 1932E. M. Brent-Dyer Chalet Girls in Camp vii. 111 The rope was swung down, and as it stopped swinging, Miss Wilson knew that Jo had it safely. ‘Running bowline!’ she called down. 1968E. Franklin Dict. Knots 24 Running bowline, the knot which was universally used at sea whenever a noose was needed. Useful for commencing to tie a parcel.
25. a. running stitch, a loose, open stitch.
1848E. C. P. in C. H. Hartshorne Eng. Medieval Embroidery 128 An inner line of yellow floss silk in a running stitch. 1850Mech. Mag. Feb. 99 A Machine for Sewing Cloth of all kinds with a Running Stitch. 1899E. T. Masters Bk. Stitches 5 A successful outlining, and one that is not so often used as it might be, is obtained by running stitch. 1967E. Short Embroidery & Fabric Collage iii. 86 Although traditionally carried out by hand in running or back stitch, the quilting can be done on the sewing machine.
b. running string, a drawing string.
1882Caulfeild & Saward Dict. Needlewk. 428/2 Running String..denotes the ribbon, tape, braid, or Bobbin which is passed through a Hem, or double Running, by means of a bodkin.
26. a. Of a machine: In operation; working.
1896Law Times C. 360/1, Sect. 9 does not prevent the cleaning of a fixed part of a running machine.
b. With advbs., as running-down (in sense 73 a of the vb.).
1968Times 29 Nov. 13/7 A running-down pulsar might be found. 1973L. Cooper Tea on Sunday xxiv. 177 For what was supposed to be a running-down business it all looked remarkably active.
27. running fit: (see quots.).
1908S. H. Moore Mech. Engin. & Machine Shop Practice vii. 184 A running fit is designed to allow the surfaces in contact to move or revolve freely over each other. Ibid., Two formulas are given for running fits; one for close running fits, to be used in ordinary work.., and the other for free running fits, to be used for high⁓speeds, heavy pressures, rocker shafts, etc. 1953W. H. Armstrong Mech. Inspection iv. 51 A running fit is one in which an allowance is made so that a shaft will be free to rotate in a bearing. 1964S. Crawford Basic Engin. Processes xiv. 290 Running fits.., tolerances which allow the shaft to rotate freely in the hole.
Hence ˈrunningly adv. † (a) concurrently with something (Obs.); (b) rapidly, readily.
c1449Pecock Repr. v. iii. 499 The sect of Ebionytis..helden the riȝtis and obseruauncis of the Iewis rennyngli with lawe of kinde. 1580Hollyband Treas. Fr. Tong, Couramment,..runningly, swiftly, redily. 1736Ainsworth Eng.-Lat. Dict., Runningly, cursim. 1855Browning Men & Women, Master Hugues vii, Played I not off-hand and runningly, Just now, your masterpiece? |
