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Webster 1913 Edition

Measure

Meas′ure

,
Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Measured
;
p. pr. & vb. n.
Measuring
.]
[F.
mesurer
, L.
mensurare
. See
Measure
,
Noun.
]
1.
To ascertain by use of a measuring instrument; to compute or ascertain the extent, quantity, dimensions, or capacity of, by a certain rule or standard; to take the dimensions of; hence, to estimate; to judge of; to value; to appraise.
Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite
Thy power! what thought can
measure
thee?
Milton.
2.
To serve as the measure of;
as, the thermometer
measures
changes of temperature
.
3.
To pass throught or over in journeying, as if laying off and determining the distance.
A true devoted pilgrim is not weary
To
measure
kingdoms with his feeble steps.
Shakespeare
4.
To adjust by a rule or standard.
To secure a contented spirit,
measure
your desires by your fortunes, not your fortunes by your desires.
Jer. Taylor.
5.
To allot or distribute by measure; to set off or apart by measure; – often with out or off.
With what measure ye mete, it shall be
measured
to you again.
Matt. vii. 2.
That portion of eternity which is called time,
measured
out by the sun.
Addison.
To measure swords with one
,
to try another’s skill in the use of the sword; hence, figuratively, to match one's abilities against an antagonist's.

Meas′ure

,
Verb.
I.
1.
To make a measurement or measurements.
2.
To result, or turn out, on measuring;
as, the grain
measures
well; the pieces
measure
unequally.
3.
To be of a certain size or quantity, or to have a certain length, breadth, or thickness, or a certain capacity according to a standard measure;
as, cloth
measures
three fourths of a yard; a tree
measures
three feet in diameter.

Webster 1828 Edition

Measure

MEASURE

,
Noun.
mezh'ur. [L. mensura, from mensus, with a casual n, the participle of metior, to measure; Eng. to mete.]
1.
The whole extent or dimensions of a thing, including length, breadth and thickness.
The measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the sea. Job.11.
It is applied also to length or to breadth separately.
2.
That by which extent or dimension is ascertained, either length, breadth, thickness, capacity, or amount; as, a rod or pole is a measure of five yards and a half; an inch, a foot, a yard, are measures of length; a gallon is a measure of capacity. Weights and measures should be uniform. Silver and gold are the common measure of value.
3.
A limited or definite quantity; as a measure of wine or beer.
4.
Determined extent or length; limit.
Lord, make me to know my end, and the measure of my days. Ps.39.
5.
A rule by which any thing is adjusted or proportioned.
God's goodness is the measure of his providence.
6.
Proportion; quantity settled.
I enter not into the particulars of the law of nature, or its measures of punishment; yet there is such a law.
7.
Full or sufficient quantity.
I'll never pause again,
Till either death hath clos'd these eyes of mine,
Or fortune given me measure of revenge.
8.
Extent of power or office.
We will not boast of things without our measure.
2 Cor.10.
9.
Portion allotted; extent of ability.
If else thou seekest
Aught not surpassing human measure, say.
10. Degree; quantity indefinite.
I have laid down, in some measure,the description of the old world.
A great measure of discretion is to be used in the performance of confession.
11. In music, that division by which the motion of music is regulated; or the interval or space of time between the rising and falling of the hand or foot of him who beats time. This measure regulates the time of dwelling on each note. The ordinary or common measure is one second.
12. In poetry, the measure or meter is the manner of ordering and combining the quantities, or the long and short syllables. Thus,hexameter, pentameter, Iambic, Sapphic verses, &c. consist of different measure.
13. In dancing, the interval between steps, corresponding to the interval between notes in the music.
My legs can keep no measure in delight.
14. In geometry, any quantity assumed as one or unity, to which the ratio of other homogeneous or similar quantities is expressed.
15. Means to an end; an act, step or proceeding towards the accomplishment of an object; an extensive signification of the word, applicable to almost every act preparatory to a final end, and by which it is to be attained. Thus we speak of legislative measures, political measures, public measures, prudent measures, a rash measure, effectual measures, inefficient measures.
In measure, with moderation; with excess.
Without measure, without limits; very largely or copiously.
To have hard measure, to be harshly or oppressively treated.
Lineal or long measure, measure of length; the measure of lines or distances.
Liquid measure, the measure of liquors.

MEASURE

,
Verb.
T.
mezh'ur. To compute or ascertain extent, quantity, dimensions or capacity by a certain rule; as, to measure land; to measure distance; to measure the altitude of a mountain; to measure the capacity of a ship or of a cask.
1.
To ascertain the degree of any thing; as, to measure the degrees of heat, or of moisture.
2.
To pass through or over.
We must measure twenty miles to day.
The vessel plows the sea,
And measures back with speed her former way.
3.
To judge of distance, extent or quantity; as, to measure any thing by the eye.
Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite
Thy power; what thought can measure thee?
4.
To adjust; to proportion.
To secure a contended spirit, measure your desires by your fortunes, not your fortunes by your desires.
5.
To allot or distribute by measure.
With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matt.7.

Definition 2024

measure

measure

English

Noun

measure ‎(plural measures)

  1. A prescribed quantity or extent.
    1. (obsolete) Moderation, temperance. [13th-19th c.]
      • c. 1390, William Langland, Piers Plowman, I:
        Mesure is medcynee · þouȝ þow moche ȝerne.
      • 1611, Bible, Authorized Version, Jer. XXX:
        I will correct thee in measure, and will not leaue thee altogether vnpunished.
    2. A limit that cannot be exceeded; a bound. (Now chiefly in set phrases.) [from 14th c.]
      • 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, V:
        Full to the utmost measure of what bliss Human desires can seek or apprehend.
      • 2005, J Coarguo, Hávamál: The Words of the High One a Personal Interpretation:
        but there is never found a foolish man who knows the measure of his stomach
      • 2009, Mike Selvey, The Guardian, 25 Aug 2009:
        They have gloried to this day, the tedious interminable big-screen replays of that golden summer irritating beyond measure.
    3. An (unspecified) portion or quantity. [from 16th c.]
      • 2013, Daniel Taylor, Danny Welbeck leads England's rout of Moldova but hit by Ukraine ban (in The Guardian, 6 September 2013):
        It ended up being a bittersweet night for England, full of goals to send the crowd home happy, buoyed by the news that Montenegro and Poland had drawn elsewhere in Group H but also with a measure of regret about what happened to Danny Welbeck and what it means for Roy Hodgson's team going into a much more difficult assignment against Ukraine.
      a measure of salt‎
  2. The act or result of measuring.
    1. (now chiefly cooking) A receptacle or vessel of a standard size, capacity etc. as used to deal out specific quantities of some substance. [from 14th c.]
    2. A standard against which something can be judged; a criterion. [from 14th c.]
      • 2011 October 23, Phil McNulty, “Man Utd 1-6 Man City”, in BBC Sport:
        City were also the victors on that occasion 56 years ago, winning 5-0, but this visit was portrayed as a measure of their progress against the 19-time champions.
      Honesty is the true measure of a man.‎
    3. Any of various standard units of capacity. [from 14th c.]
      The villagers paid a tithe of a thousand measures of corn.‎
    4. A unit of measurement. [from 14th c.]
      • 1993, Scientific American February 33.3:
        The fragments shrank by increments of about three kilodaltons (a measure of molecular weight).
    5. The size of someone or something, as ascertained by measuring. (Now chiefly in make to measure.) [from 14th c.]
      • Bible, Job xi. 9
        The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the sea.
    6. (now rare) The act or process of measuring. [from 14th c.]
      (Can we find and add a quotation of Shakespeare to this entry?)
    7. A ruler, measuring stick, or graduated tape used to take measurements. [from 16th c.]
    8. (mathematics, now rare) A number which is contained in a given number a number of times without a remainder; a divisor or factor. [from 16th c.]
      the greatest common measure of two or more numbers
    9. (geology) A bed or stratum. [from 17th c.]
      coal measures; lead measures
    10. (mathematics) A function that assigns a non-negative number to a given set following the mathematical nature that is common among length, volume, probability and the like. [from 20th c.]
  3. Metrical rhythm.
    1. (now archaic) A melody. [from 14th c.]
    2. (now archaic) A dance. [from 15th c.]
      • 1808, Walter Scott, Marmion:
        Now tread we a measure! said young Lochinvar.
      • 1922, Michael Arlen, chapter 2/2/2, in “Piracy”: A Romantic Chronicle of These Days:
        They danced on silently, softly. Their feet played tricks to the beat of the tireless measure, that exquisitely asinine blare which is England's punishment for having lost America.
    3. (poetry) The manner of ordering and combining the quantities, or long and short syllables; meter; rhythm; hence, a metrical foot. [from 15th c.]
      a poem in iambic measure
    4. A musical designation consisting of all notes and or rests delineated by two vertical bars; an equal and regular division of the whole of a composition; a bar. [from 17th c.]
  4. A course of action.
    1. (in the plural) Actions designed to achieve some purpose; plans. [from 17th c.]
    2. A piece of legislation. [from 18th c.]
      • 2013 June 8, “Obama goes troll-hunting”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8839, page 55:
        The solitary, lumbering trolls of Scandinavian mythology would sometimes be turned to stone by exposure to sunlight. Barack Obama is hoping that several measures announced on June 4th will have a similarly paralysing effect on their modern incarnation, the patent troll.

Synonyms

  • (musical designation): bar
  • (unit of measurement): metric

Hyponyms

Translations

Verb

measure ‎(third-person singular simple present measures, present participle measuring, simple past and past participle measured)

  1. To ascertain the quantity of a unit of material via calculated comparison with respect to a standard.
    • 2013 June 1, “Towards the end of poverty”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8838, page 11:
      But poverty’s scourge is fiercest below $1.25 (the average of the 15 poorest countries’ own poverty lines, measured in 2005 dollars and adjusted for differences in purchasing power): people below that level live lives that are poor, nasty, brutish and short.
    We measured the temperature with a thermometer.   You should measure the angle with a spirit level.‎
  2. To estimate the unit size of something.
    I measure that at 10 centimetres.‎
  3. To judge, value, or appraise.
    • John Milton
      Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite / Thy power! what thought can measure thee?
  4. To obtain or set apart; to mark in even increments.
  5. (rare) To traverse, cross, pass along; to travel over.
    • William Shakespeare
      A true devoted pilgrim is not weary / To measure kingdoms with his feeble steps.
  6. To adjust by a rule or standard.
    • Jeremy Taylor
      To secure a contented spirit, measure your desires by your fortunes, not your fortunes by your desires.
  7. To allot or distribute by measure; to set off or apart by measure; often with out or off.
    • Bible, Matthew vii. 2
      With what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
    • Addison
      That portion of eternity which is called time, measured out by the sun.

Derived terms

Translations

Etymology

From Middle English mesure, from Old French mesure, from Latin mēnsūra ‎(“a measuring, rule, something to measure by”), from mēnsus, past participle of mētīrī ‎(“to measure, mete”). Displaced native Middle English mǣte, mete ‎(“measure”) (from Old English met ‎(“measure”), compare Old English mitta ‎(“a measure”)), Middle English ameten, imeten ‎(“to measure”) (from Old English āmetan, ġemetan ‎(“to mete, measure”)), Middle English hof, hoof ‎(“measure, reason”) (from Old Norse hōf ‎(“measure, reason”)), Old English mǣþ ‎(“measure, degree”).

Pronunciation

Similar Results