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Webster 1913 Edition


Such

Such

,
Adj.
[OE.
such
,
sich
,
sech
,
sik
,
swich
,
swilch
,
swulch
,
swilc
,
swulc
, AS.
swelc
,
swilc
,
swylc
; akin to OFries.
selik
, D.
zulk
, OS.
sulic
, OHG.
sulih
,
solih
, G.
solch
, Icel.
slīkr
, OSw.
salik
, Sw.
slik
, Dan.
slig
, Goth.
swaleiks
; originally meaning, so shaped. √192. See
So
,
Like
,
Adj.
, and cf.
Which
.]
1.
Of that kind; of the like kind; like; resembling; similar;
as, we never saw
such
a day
; – followed by that or as introducing the word or proposition which defines the similarity, or the standard of comparison;
as, the books are not
such
that I can recommend them, or, not
such
as I can recommend; these apples are not
such
as those we saw yesterday; give your children
such
precepts as tend to make them better
.
And in his time
such
a conqueror
That greater was there none under the sun.
Chaucer.
His misery was
such
that none of the bystanders could refrain from weeping.
Macaulay.
☞ The indefinite article a or an never precedes such, but is placed between it and the noun to which it refers; as, such a man; such an honor. The indefinite adjective some, several, one, few, many, all, etc., precede such; as, one such book is enough; all such people ought to be avoided; few such ideas were then held.
2.
Having the particular quality or character specified.
That thou art happy, owe to God;
That thou continuest
such
, owe to thyself.
Milton.
3.
The same that; – with as;
as, this was the state of the kingdom at
such
time as the enemy landed
.
“[It] hath such senses as we have.”
Shak.
4.
Certain; – representing the object as already particularized in terms which are not mentioned.
In rushed one and tells him
such
a knight
Is new arrived.
Daniel.
To-day or to-morrow we will go into
such
a city, and continue there a year.
James iv. 13.
Such is used pronominally. “He was the father of such as dwell in tents.”
Gen. iv. 20.
Such as I are free in spirit when our limbs are chained.”
Sir W. Scott.
Such is also used before adjectives joined to substantives; as, the fleet encountered such a terrible storm that it put back. “Everything was managed with so much care, and such excellent order was observed.”
De Foe.

Temple sprung from a family which . . . long after his death produced so many eminent men, and formed
such
distinguished alliances, that, etc.
Macaulay.
Such is used emphatically, without the correlative.
Now will he be mocking:
I shall have
such
a life.
Shakespeare
Such was formerly used with numerals in the sense of times as much or as many; as, such ten , or ten times as many.
Such and such
, or
Such or such
,
certain; some; – used to represent the object indefinitely, as already particularized in one way or another, or as being of one kind or another.
“In such and such a place shall be my camp.”
2 Kings vi. 8.
“Sovereign authority may enact a law commanding such and such an action.”
South.
Such like
or
Such character
,
of the like kind.
And many other
such like
things ye do.
Mark vii. 8.

Webster 1828 Edition


Such

SUCH

, a.
1.
Of that kind; of the like kind. We never saw such a day; we have never had such a time as the present.
It has as before the thing to which it relates. Give your children such precepts as tend to make them wiser and better.
It is to be noted that the definitive adjective a, never precedes such, but is placed between it and the noun to which it refers; as such a man; such an honor.
2.
The same that. This was the state of the kingdom at such time as the enemy landed.
3.
The same as what has been mentioned.
That thou art happy, owe to God;
That thou continu'st such, owe to thyself.
4.
Referring to what has been specified. I have commanded my servant to be at such a place.
5.
Such and such, is used in reference to a person or place of a certain kind.
The sovereign authority may enact a law, commanding such and such an action.

Definition 2024


Such

Such

See also: such and súch

English

Proper noun

Such

  1. A surname.

such

such

See also: Such and súch

English

Alternative forms

Determiner

such

  1. (demonstrative) Like this, that, these, those; used to make a comparison with something implied by context.
    I’ve never seen such clouds in the sky before. Such is life.
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 2, in The Celebrity:
      I had occasion […] to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return […] I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, […], and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.
    • 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
      She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
    • 2013 June 1, “A better waterworks”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 5 (Technology Quarterly):
      An artificial kidney these days still means a refrigerator-sized dialysis machine. Such devices mimic the way real kidneys cleanse blood and eject impurities and surplus water as urine.
  2. (particularly used in formal documents) Any.
    the above address or at such other address as may notify
  3. Used as an intensifier; roughly equivalent to very much of.
    The party was such a bore.
    • 1879, Richard Jefferies, The Amateur Poacher, chapter1:
      They burned the old gun that used to stand in the dark corner up in the garret, close to the stuffed fox that always grinned so fiercely. Perhaps the reason why he seemed in such a ghastly rage was that he did not come by his death fairly. Otherwise his pelt would not have been so perfect. And why else was he put away up there out of sight?—and so magnificent a brush as he had too. [].
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 4, in The Celebrity:
      Mr. Cooke at once began a tirade against the residents of Asquith for permitting a sandy and generally disgraceful condition of the roads. So roundly did he vituperate the inn management in particular, and with such a loud flow of words, that I trembled lest he should be heard on the veranda.
    • 1959, Georgette Heyer, chapter 1, in The Unknown Ajax:
      Charles had not been employed above six months at Darracott Place, but he was not such a whopstraw as to make the least noise in the performance of his duties when his lordship was out of humour.
  4. (obsolete) A certain; representing the object as already particularized in terms which are not mentioned.
    • Samuel Daniel (1562-1619)
      In rushed one and tells him such a knight / Is new arrived.
    • Bible, James iv.13:
      To-day or to-morrow we will go into such a city, and continue there a year.

Translations

Pronoun

such

  1. A person, a thing, people, or things like the one or ones already mentioned.
    • 1804, Joseph Addison, Richard Steele, The Tatler, C. Whittingham, John Sharpe, page 315:
      These oraculous proficients are day and night employed in deep searches for the direction of such as run astray after their lost goods : but at present they are more particularly serviceable to their country in foretelling the fate of such as have chances in the public lottery.
    • 1913, Joseph C. Lincoln, chapter 1, in Mr. Pratt's Patients:
      'Twas early June, the new grass was flourishing everywheres, the posies in the yard—peonies and such—in full bloom, the sun was shining, and the water of the bay was blue, with light green streaks where the shoal showed.
    • 2000, Terry Goodkind, Faith of the Fallen (ISBN 0312867867), page 238:
      Some are just no-good locals—drunks and such—who’d just as soon beg or steal as work.

Translations

Noun

such (plural suches)

  1. (philosophy) Something being indicated that is similar to something else.
    • 1991, Frank A. Lewis, Substance and Predication in Aristotle
      But granted that Plato does not accept the this-such distinction, why saddle him with the view that all things are thises, rather than all suches or perhaps even neither?

Related terms

Statistics

Most common English words before 1923: can · made · did · #84: such · great · must · these

Anagrams


German

Verb

such

  1. second-person singular imperative present of suchen