from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Light \Light\, a. [Compar. {Lighter} (l[imac]t"[~e]r); superl.
{Lightest}.] [OE. light, liht, AS. l[imac]ht, le['i]ht; akin
to D. ligt, G. leicht, OHG. l[imac]hti, Icel. l[=e]ttr, Dan.
let, Sw. l[aum]tt, Goth. leihts, and perh. to L. levis (cf.
{Levity}), Gr. 'elachy`s small, Skr. laghu light. [root]125.]
1. Having little, or comparatively little, weight; not
tending to be the center of gravity with force; not heavy.
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These weights did not exert their natural gravity, .
. . insomuch that I could not guess which was light
or heavy whilst I held them in my hand. --Addison.
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2. Not burdensome; easy to be lifted, borne, or carried by
physical strength; as, a light burden, or load.
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Ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is
easy, and my burden is light. --Matt. xi.
29, 30.
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3. Easy to be endured or performed; not severe; not
difficult; as, a light affliction or task. --Chaucer.
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Light sufferings give us leisure to complain.
--Dryden.
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4. Easy to be digested; not oppressive to the stomach; as,
light food; also, containing little nutriment.
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5. Not heavily armed; armed with light weapons; as, light
troops; a troop of light horse.
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6. Not encumbered; unembarrassed; clear of impediments;
hence, active; nimble; swift.
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Unmarried men are best friends, best masters . . .
but not always best subjects, for they are light to
run away. --Bacon.
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7. Not heavily burdened; not deeply laden; not sufficiently
ballasted; as, the ship returned light.
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8. Slight; not important; as, a light error. --Shak.
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9. Well leavened; not heavy; as, light bread.
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10. Not copious or heavy; not dense; not inconsiderable; as,
a light rain; a light snow; light vapors.
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11. Not strong or violent; moderate; as, a light wind.
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12. Not pressing heavily or hard upon; hence, having an easy,
graceful manner; delicate; as, a light touch; a light
style of execution.
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13. Easy to admit influence; inconsiderate; easily influenced
by trifling considerations; unsteady; unsettled;
volatile; as, a light, vain person; a light mind.
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There is no greater argument of a light and
inconsiderate person than profanely to scoff at
religion. --Tillotson.
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14. Indulging in, or inclined to, levity; wanting dignity or
solemnity; trifling; gay; frivolous; airy; unsubstantial.
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Seneca can not be too heavy, nor Plautus too light.
--Shak.
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Specimens of New England humor laboriously light
and lamentably mirthful. --Hawthorne.
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15. Not quite sound or normal; somewhat impaired or deranged;
dizzy; giddy.
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Are his wits safe? Is he not light of brain ?
--Shak.
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16. Easily bestowed; inconsiderately rendered.
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To a fair semblance doth light faith annex.
--Spenser.
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17. Wanton; unchaste; as, a woman of light character.
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A light wife doth make a heavy husband. --Shak.
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18. Not of the legal, standard, or usual weight; clipped;
diminished; as, light coin.
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19. Loose; sandy; easily pulverized; as, a light soil.
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{Light cavalry}, {Light horse} (Mil.), light-armed soldiers
mounted on strong and active horses.
{Light eater}, one who eats but little.
{Light infantry}, infantry soldiers selected and trained for
rapid evolutions.
{Light of foot}.
(a) Having a light step.
(b) Fleet.
{Light of heart}, gay, cheerful.
{Light oil} (Chem.), the oily product, lighter than water,
forming the chief part of the first distillate of coal
tar, and consisting largely of benzene and toluene.
{Light sails} (Naut.), all the sails above the topsails,
with, also, the studding sails and flying jib. --Dana.
{Light sleeper}, one easily wakened.
{Light weight}, a prize fighter, boxer, wrestler, or jockey,
who is below a standard medium weight. Cf. {Feather
weight}, under {Feather}. [Cant]
{To make light of}, to treat as of little consequence; to
slight; to disregard.
{To set light by}, to undervalue; to slight; to treat as of
no importance; to despise.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
make \make\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {made} (m[=a]d); p. pr. & vb.
n. {making}.] [OE. maken, makien, AS. macian; akin to OS.
mak?n, OFries. makia, D. maken, G. machen, OHG. mahh?n to
join, fit, prepare, make, Dan. mage. Cf. {Match} an equal.]
1. To cause to exist; to bring into being; to form; to
produce; to frame; to fashion; to create. Hence, in
various specific uses or applications:
(a) To form of materials; to cause to exist in a certain
form; to construct; to fabricate.
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He . . . fashioned it with a graving tool, after
he had made it a molten calf. --Ex. xxxii.
4.
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(b) To produce, as something artificial, unnatural, or
false; -- often with up; as, to make up a story.
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And Art, with her contending, doth aspire
To excel the natural with made delights.
--Spenser.
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(c) To bring about; to bring forward; to be the cause or
agent of; to effect, do, perform, or execute; -- often
used with a noun to form a phrase equivalent to the
simple verb that corresponds to such noun; as, to make
complaint, for to complain; to make record of, for to
record; to make abode, for to abide, etc.
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Call for Samson, that he may make us sport.
--Judg. xvi.
25.
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Wealth maketh many friends. --Prov. xix.
4.
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I will neither plead my age nor sickness in
excuse of the faults which I have made.
--Dryden.
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(d) To execute with the requisite formalities; as, to make
a bill, note, will, deed, etc.
(e) To gain, as the result of one's efforts; to get, as
profit; to make acquisition of; to have accrue or
happen to one; as, to make a large profit; to make an
error; to make a loss; to make money.
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He accuseth Neptune unjustly who makes shipwreck
a second time. --Bacon.
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(f) To find, as the result of calculation or computation;
to ascertain by enumeration; to find the number or
amount of, by reckoning, weighing, measurement, and
the like; as, he made the distance of; to travel over;
as, the ship makes ten knots an hour; he made the
distance in one day.
(h) To put in a desired or desirable condition; to cause
to thrive.
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Who makes or ruins with a smile or frown.
--Dryden.
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2. To cause to be or become; to put into a given state verb,
or adjective; to constitute; as, to make known; to make
public; to make fast.
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Who made thee a prince and a judge over us? --Ex.
ii. 14.
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See, I have made thee a god to Pharaoh. --Ex. vii.
1.
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Note: When used reflexively with an adjective, the reflexive
pronoun is often omitted; as, to make merry; to make
bold; to make free, etc.
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3. To cause to appear to be; to constitute subjectively; to
esteem, suppose, or represent.
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He is not that goose and ass that Valla would make
him. --Baker.
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4. To require; to constrain; to compel; to force; to cause;
to occasion; -- followed by a noun or pronoun and
infinitive.
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Note: In the active voice the to of the infinitive is usually
omitted.
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I will make them hear my words. --Deut. iv.
10.
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They should be made to rise at their early hour.
--Locke.
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5. To become; to be, or to be capable of being, changed or
fashioned into; to do the part or office of; to furnish
the material for; as, he will make a good musician; sweet
cider makes sour vinegar; wool makes warm clothing.
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And old cloak makes a new jerkin. --Shak.
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6. To compose, as parts, ingredients, or materials; to
constitute; to form; to amount to; as, a pound of ham
makes a hearty meal.
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The heaven, the air, the earth, and boundless sea,
Make but one temple for the Deity. --Waller.
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7. To be engaged or concerned in. [Obs.]
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Gomez, what makest thou here, with a whole
brotherhood of city bailiffs? --Dryden.
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8. To reach; to attain; to arrive at or in sight of. "And
make the Libyan shores." --Dryden.
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They that sail in the middle can make no land of
either side. --Sir T.
Browne.
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{To make a bed}, to prepare a bed for being slept on, or to
put it in order.
{To make a card} (Card Playing), to take a trick with it.
{To make account}. See under {Account}, n.
{To make account of}, to esteem; to regard.
{To make away}.
(a) To put out of the way; to kill; to destroy. [Obs.]
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If a child were crooked or deformed in body or
mind, they made him away. --Burton.
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(b) To alienate; to transfer; to make over. [Obs.]
--Waller.
{To make believe}, to pretend; to feign; to simulate.
{To make bold}, to take the liberty; to venture.
{To make the cards} (Card Playing), to shuffle the pack.
{To make choice of}, to take by way of preference; to choose.
{To make danger}, to make experiment. [Obs.] --Beau. & Fl.
{To make default} (Law), to fail to appear or answer.
{To make the doors}, to shut the door. [Obs.]
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Make the doors upon a woman's wit, and it will out
at the casement. --Shak.
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{To make free with}. See under {Free}, a.
{To make good}. See under {Good}.
{To make head}, to make headway.
{To make light of}. See under {Light}, a.
{To make little of}.
(a) To belittle.
(b) To accomplish easily.
{To make love to}. See under {Love}, n.
{To make meat}, to cure meat in the open air. [Colloq.
Western U. S.]
{To make merry}, to feast; to be joyful or jovial.
{To make much of}, to treat with much consideration,,
attention, or fondness; to value highly.
{To make no bones}. See under {Bone}, n.
{To make no difference}, to have no weight or influence; to
be a matter of indifference.
{To make no doubt}, to have no doubt.
{To make no matter}, to have no weight or importance; to make
no difference.
{To make oath} (Law), to swear, as to the truth of something,
in a prescribed form of law.
{To make of}.
(a) To understand or think concerning; as, not to know
what to make of the news.
(b) To pay attention to; to cherish; to esteem; to
account. "Makes she no more of me than of a slave."
--Dryden.
{To make one's law} (Old Law), to adduce proof to clear one's
self of a charge.
{To make out}.
(a) To find out; to discover; to decipher; as, to make out
the meaning of a letter.
(b) to gain sight of; to recognize; to discern; to descry;
as, as they approached the city, he could make out the
tower of the Chrysler Building.
(c) To prove; to establish; as, the plaintiff was unable
to make out his case.
(d) To make complete or exact; as, he was not able to make
out the money.
(d) to write out; to write down; -- used especially of a
bank check or bill; as, he made out a check for the
cost of the dinner; the workman made out a bill and
handed it to him.
{To make over}, to transfer the title of; to convey; to
alienate; as, he made over his estate in trust or in fee.
{To make sail}. (Naut.)
(a) To increase the quantity of sail already extended.
(b) To set sail.
{To make shift}, to manage by expedients; as, they made shift
to do without it. [Colloq.].
{To make sternway}, to move with the stern foremost; to go or
drift backward.
{To make strange}, to act in an unfriendly manner or as if
surprised; to treat as strange; as, to make strange of a
request or suggestion.
{To make suit to}, to endeavor to gain the favor of; to
court.
{To make sure}. See under {Sure}.
{To make up}.
(a) To collect into a sum or mass; as, to make up the
amount of rent; to make up a bundle or package.
(b) To reconcile; to compose; as, to make up a difference
or quarrel.
(c) To supply what is wanting in; to complete; as, a
dollar is wanted to make up the stipulated sum.
(d) To compose, as from ingredients or parts; to shape,
prepare, or fabricate; as, to make up a mass into
pills; to make up a story.
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He was all made up of love and charms!
--Addison.
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(e) To compensate; to make good; as, to make up a loss.
(f) To adjust, or to arrange for settlement; as, to make
up accounts.
(g) To dress and paint for a part, as an actor; as, he was
well made up.
{To make up a face}, to distort the face as an expression of
pain or derision.
{To make up one's mind}, to reach a mental determination; to
resolve.
{To make way}, or {To make one's way}.
(a) To make progress; to advance.
(b) To open a passage; to clear the way.
{To make words}, to multiply words.
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