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Webster 1913 Edition

Deliver

De-liv′er

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Delivered
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Delivering
.]
[F.
délivrer
, LL.
deliberare
to liberate, give over, fr. L.
de
+
liberare
to set free. See
Liberate
.]
1.
To set free from restraint; to set at liberty; to release; to liberate, as from control; to give up; to free; to save; to rescue from evil actual or feared; – often with from or out of;
as, to
deliver
one from captivity, or from fear of death
.
He that taketh warning shall
deliver
his soul.
Ezek. xxxiii. 5.
Promise was that I
Should Israel from Philistian yoke
deliver
.
Milton.
2.
To give or transfer; to yield possession or control of; to part with (to); to make over; to commit; to surrender; to resign; – often with up or over, to or into.
Thou shalt
deliver
Pharaoh’s cup into his hand.
Gen. xl. 13.
The constables have
delivered
her over.
Shakespeare
The exalted mind
All sense of woe
delivers
to the wind.
Pope.
3.
To make over to the knowledge of another; to communicate; to utter; to speak; to impart.
Till he these words to him
deliver
might.
Spenser.
Whereof the former
delivers
the precepts of the art, and the latter the perfection.
Bacon.
4.
To give forth in action or exercise; to discharge;
as, to
deliver
a blow; to
deliver
a broadside, or a ball.
Shaking his head and
delivering
some show of tears.
Sidney.
An uninstructed bowler . . . thinks to attain the jack by
delivering
his bowl straightforward upon it.
Sir W. Scott.
5.
To free from, or disburden of, young; to relieve of a child in childbirth; to bring forth; – often with of.
She was
delivered
safe and soon.
Gower.
Tully was long ere he could be
delivered
of a few verses, and those poor ones.
Peacham.
6.
To discover; to show.
[Poetic]
I 'll
deliver

Myself your loyal servant.
Shakespeare
7.
To deliberate.
[Obs.]
Chaucer.
Syn. – To
Deliver
,
Give Forth
,
Discharge
,
Liberate
,
Pronounce
,
Utter
.
Deliver denotes, literally, to set free. Hence the term is extensively applied to cases where a thing is made to pass from a confined state to one of greater freedom or openness. Hence it may, in certain connections, be used as synonymous with any or all of the above-mentioned words, as will be seen from the following examples: One who delivers a package gives it forth; one who delivers a cargo discharges it; one who delivers a captive liberates him; one who delivers a message or a discourse utters or pronounces it; when soldiers deliver their fire, they set it free or give it forth.

De-liv′er

,
Adj.
[OF.
delivre
free, unfettered. See
Deliver
,
Verb.
T.
]
Free; nimble; sprightly; active.
[Obs.]
Wonderly
deliver
and great of strength.
Chaucer.

Webster 1828 Edition

Deliver

DELIVER

,
Verb.
T.
[L. Free, disengaged; to free, to peel.]
1.
To free; to release, as from restraint; to set at liberty; as, to deliver one from captivity.
2.
To rescue, or save.
Deliver me, O my God, from the hand of the wicked. Ps. 71:4.
3.
To give, or transfer; to put into anothers hand or power; to commit; to pass from one to another.
Thou shalt deliver Pharoahs cup into his hand. Gen.40:11
So we say, to deliver goods to a carrier; to deliver a letter; to deliver possession of an estate.
4.
To surrender; to yield; to give up; to resign; as, to deliver a fortress to an enemy. It is often followed by up; as, to deliver up the city; to deliver up stolen goods.
Th exalted mind
All sense of woe delivers to the wind.
5.
To disbuden of a child.
6.
To utter; to pronounce; to speak; to send forth in words; as, to deliver a sermon, an address, or an oration.
7.
To exert in motion.
To deliver to the wind, to cast away; to reject.
To deliver over, to transfer; to give or pass from one to another; as, to deliver over goods to another.
2.
To surrender or resign; to put into anothers power; to commit to the discretion of; to abandon to.
Deliver me not over to the will of my enemies. Ps. 27.
To deliver up, to give up; to surrender.

DELIVER

,
Adj.
Free; nimble.

Definition 2024

deliver

deliver

English

Alternative forms

Verb

deliver ‎(third-person singular simple present delivers, present participle delivering, simple past and past participle delivered)

  1. To set free.
    deliver a captive from the prison‎
  2. (process) To do with birth.
    1. To assist in the birth of.
      the doctor delivered the baby‎
    2. (formal, with "of") To assist (a female) in bearing, that is, in bringing forth (a child).
      the duchess was delivered of a son‎
      the doctor is expected to deliver her of a daughter tomorrow‎
      • Gower
        She was delivered safe and soon.
    3. To give birth.
      she delivered a baby boy yesterday‎
  3. To free from or disburden of anything.
    • Henry Peacham (1578-c.1644)
      Tully was long ere he could be delivered of a few verses, and those poor ones.
  4. To bring or transport something to its destination.
    deliver a package;  deliver the mail‎
    • 1898, Winston Churchill, chapter 10, in The Celebrity:
      Mr. Cooke had had a sloop yacht built at Far Harbor, the completion of which had been delayed, and which was but just delivered.
  5. To hand over or surrender (someone or something) to another.
    deliver the thief to the police‎
    • Bible, Genesis xl. 13
      Thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand.
    • William Shakespeare (1564-1616)
      The constables have delivered her over.
    • Alexander Pope (1688-1744)
      The exalted mind / All sense of woe delivers to the wind.
  6. To express in words, declare, or utter.
    deliver a speech‎
  7. To give forth in action or exercise; to discharge.
    to deliver a blow‎
    • Sir Philip Sidney (1554-1586)
      shaking his head and delivering some show of tears
    • Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832)
      An uninstructed bowler […] thinks to attain the jack by delivering his bowl straight forward.
  8. To discover; to show.
  9. (obsolete) To admit; to allow to pass.
    (Can we find and add a quotation of Francis Bacon to this entry?)
  10. (medicine) To administer a drug.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations

Anagrams

Etymology

Anglo-Norman and Old French delivrer, from Latin de + līberō ‎(“to set free”) with a change of consonant.

Pronunciation

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