from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
draw \draw\ (dr[add]), v. t. [imp. {Drew} (dr[udd]); p. p.
{Drawn} (dr[add]n); p. pr. & vb. n. {Drawing}.] [OE.
dra[yogh]en, drahen, draien, drawen, AS. dragan; akin to
Icel. & Sw. draga, Dan. drage to draw, carry, and prob. to
OS. dragan to bear, carry, D. dragen, G. tragen, Goth.
dragan; cf. Skr. dhraj to move along, glide; and perh. akin
to Skr. dhar to hold, bear. [root]73. Cf. 2d {Drag}, {Dray} a
cart, 1st {Dredge}.]
1. To cause to move continuously by force applied in advance
of the thing moved; to pull along; to haul; to drag; to
cause to follow.
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He cast him down to ground, and all along
Drew him through dirt and mire without remorse.
--Spenser.
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He hastened to draw the stranger into a private
room. --Sir W.
Scott.
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Do not rich men oppress you, and draw you before the
judgment seats? --James ii. 6.
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The arrow is now drawn to the head. --Atterbury.
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2. To influence to move or tend toward one's self; to
exercise an attracting force upon; to call towards itself;
to attract; hence, to entice; to allure; to induce.
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The poet
Did feign that Orpheus drew trees, stones, and
floods. --Shak.
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All eyes you draw, and with the eyes the heart.
--Dryden.
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3. To cause to come out for one's use or benefit; to extract;
to educe; to bring forth; as:
(a) To bring or take out, or to let out, from some
receptacle, as a stick or post from a hole, water from
a cask or well, etc.
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The drew out the staves of the ark. --2 Chron.
v. 9.
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Draw thee waters for the siege. --Nahum iii.
14.
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I opened the tumor by the point of a lancet
without drawing one drop of blood. --Wiseman.
(b) To pull from a sheath, as a sword.
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I will draw my sword, my hand shall destroy
them. --Ex. xv. 9.
(c) To extract; to force out; to elicit; to derive.
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Spirits, by distillations, may be drawn out of
vegetable juices, which shall flame and fume of
themselves. --Cheyne.
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Until you had drawn oaths from him. --Shak.
(d) To obtain from some cause or origin; to infer from
evidence or reasons; to deduce from premises; to
derive.
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We do not draw the moral lessons we might from
history. --Burke.
(e) To take or procure from a place of deposit; to call
for and receive from a fund, or the like; as, to draw
money from a bank.
(f) To take from a box or wheel, as a lottery ticket; to
receive from a lottery by the drawing out of the
numbers for prizes or blanks; hence, to obtain by good
fortune; to win; to gain; as, he drew a prize.
(g) To select by the drawing of lots.
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Provided magistracies were filled by men freely
chosen or drawn. --Freeman.
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4. To remove the contents of; as:
(a) To drain by emptying; to suck dry.
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Sucking and drawing the breast dischargeth the
milk as fast as it can generated. --Wiseman.
(b) To extract the bowels of; to eviscerate; as, to draw a
fowl; to hang, draw, and quarter a criminal.
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In private draw your poultry, clean your tripe.
--King.
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5. To take into the lungs; to inhale; to inspire; hence,
also, to utter or produce by an inhalation; to heave.
"Where I first drew air." --Milton.
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Drew, or seemed to draw, a dying groan. --Dryden.
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6. To extend in length; to lengthen; to protract; to stretch;
to extend, as a mass of metal into wire.
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How long her face is drawn! --Shak.
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And the huge Offa's dike which he drew from the
mouth of Wye to that of Dee. --J. R. Green.
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7. To run, extend, or produce, as a line on any surface;
hence, also, to form by marking; to make by an instrument
of delineation; to produce, as a sketch, figure, or
picture.
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8. To represent by lines drawn; to form a sketch or a picture
of; to represent by a picture; to delineate; hence, to
represent by words; to depict; to describe.
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A flattering painter who made it his care
To draw men as they ought to be, not as they are.
--Goldsmith.
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Can I, untouched, the fair one's passions move,
Or thou draw beauty and not feel its power? --Prior.
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9. To write in due form; to prepare a draught of; as, to draw
a memorial, a deed, or bill of exchange.
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Clerk, draw a deed of gift. --Shak.
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10. To require (so great a depth, as of water) for floating;
-- said of a vessel; to sink so deep in (water); as, a
ship draws ten feet of water.
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11. To withdraw. [Obs.] --Chaucer.
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Go wash thy face, and draw the action. --Shak.
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12. To trace by scent; to track; -- a hunting term.
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13. (Games)
(a) (Cricket) To play (a short-length ball directed at
the leg stump) with an inclined bat so as to deflect
the ball between the legs and the wicket.
(b) (Golf) To hit (the ball) with the toe of the club so
that it is deflected toward the left.
(c) (Billiards) To strike (the cue ball) below the center
so as to give it a backward rotation which causes it
to take a backward direction on striking another
ball.
(d) (Curling) To throw up (the stone) gently.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
14. To leave (a contest) undecided; as, the battle or game
was drawn. "Win, lose, or draw."
[Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC]
Note: Draw, in most of its uses, retains some shade of its
original sense, to pull, to move forward by the
application of force in advance, or to extend in
length, and usually expresses an action as gradual or
continuous, and leisurely. We pour liquid quickly, but
we draw it in a continued stream. We force compliance
by threats, but we draw it by gradual prevalence. We
may write a letter with haste, but we draw a bill with
slow caution and regard to a precise form. We draw a
bar of metal by continued beating.
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{To draw a bow}, to bend the bow by drawing the string for
discharging the arrow.
{To draw a cover}, to clear a cover of the game it contains.
{To draw a curtain}, to cause a curtain to slide or move,
either closing or unclosing. "Night draws the curtain,
which the sun withdraws." --Herbert.
{To draw a line}, to fix a limit or boundary.
{To draw back}, to receive back, as duties on goods for
exportation.
{To draw breath}, to breathe. --Shak.
{To draw cuts} or {To draw lots}. See under {Cut}, n.
{To draw in}.
(a) To bring or pull in; to collect.
(b) To entice; to inveigle.
{To draw interest}, to produce or gain interest.
{To draw off}, to withdraw; to abstract. --Addison.
{To draw on}, to bring on; to occasion; to cause. "War which
either his negligence drew on, or his practices procured."
--Hayward.
{To draw (one) out}, to elicit cunningly the thoughts and
feelings of another.
{To draw out}, to stretch or extend; to protract; to spread
out. -- "Wilt thou draw out thine anger to all
generations?" --Ps. lxxxv. 5. "Linked sweetness long drawn
out." --Milton.
{To draw over}, to cause to come over, to induce to leave one
part or side for the opposite one.
{To draw the longbow}, to exaggerate; to tell preposterous
tales.
{To draw (one) to} or {To draw (one) on to} (something), to
move, to incite, to induce. "How many actions most
ridiculous hast thou been drawn to by thy fantasy?"
--Shak.
{To draw up}.
(a) To compose in due form; to draught; to form in
writing.
(b) To arrange in order, as a body of troops; to array.
"Drawn up in battle to receive the charge." --Dryden.
Syn: To {Draw}, {Drag}.
Usage: Draw differs from drag in this, that drag implies a
natural inaptitude for drawing, or positive
resistance; it is applied to things pulled or hauled
along the ground, or moved with toil or difficulty.
Draw is applied to all bodies moved by force in
advance, whatever may be the degree of force; it
commonly implies that some kind of aptitude or
provision exists for drawing. Draw is the more general
or generic term, and drag the more specific. We say,
the horses draw a coach or wagon, but they drag it
through mire; yet draw is properly used in both cases.
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