from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Long \Long\, a. [Compar. {Longer}; superl. {Longest}.] [AS.
long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr,
Sw. l[*a]ng, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. [root]125.
Cf. {Length}, {Ling} a fish, {Linger}, {Lunge}, {Purloin}.]
1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length;
protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to
short, and distinguished from broad or wide.
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2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a
considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series
of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a
long book.
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3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration;
lingering; as, long hours of watching.
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4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in
time; far away.
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The we may us reserve both fresh and strong
Against the tournament, which is not long.
--Spenser.
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5. Having a length of the specified measure; of a specified
length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that
is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc.
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6. Far-reaching; extensive. " Long views." --Burke.
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7. (Phonetics) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in
utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See {Short},
a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 22, 30.
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8. (Finance & Com.) Having a supply of stocks or goods;
prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in
prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or
go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the
market, to hold products or securities for a rise in
price, esp. when bought on a margin. Contrasted to
{short}.
[Webster 1913 Suppl.]
Note: Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound
adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as,
long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned,
long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded,
etc.
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{In the long run}, in the whole course of things taken
together; in the ultimate result; eventually.
{Long clam} (Zool.), the common clam ({Mya arenaria}) of the
Northern United States and Canada; -- called also
{soft-shell clam} and {long-neck clam}. See {Mya}.
{Long cloth}, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality.
{Long clothes}, clothes worn by a young infant, extending
below the feet.
{Long division}. (Math.) See {Division}.
{Long dozen}, one more than a dozen; thirteen.
{Long home}, the grave.
{Long measure}, {Long meter}. See under {Measure}, {Meter}.
{Long Parliament} (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which
assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell,
April 20, 1653.
{Long price}, the full retail price.
{Long purple} (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed
to be the {Orchis mascula}. --Dr. Prior.
{Long suit}
(a) (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more
than three cards. --R. A. Proctor.
(b) One's most important resource or source of strength;
as, as an entertainer, her voice was her long suit.
{Long tom}.
(a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of
a vessel.
(b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western
U.S.]
(c) (Zool.) The long-tailed titmouse.
{Long wall} (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam
is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work
progresses, except where passages are needed.
{Of long}, a long time. [Obs.] --Fairfax.
{To be long of the market}, or {To go long of the market},
{To be on the long side of the market}, etc. (Stock
Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a
contract under which one can demand stock on or before a
certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to {short}
in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short,
etc. [Cant] See {Short}.
{To have a long head}, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.
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