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VETUST. 167 VEXATION.
Brescia; but.. I insisted that he should not come for me
without his rcttiira. c 1820 S. Rogers Italy, Harper {iZ^Z)
232 note, Within a crazed and tattered vehicle, .. Then degraded,
and belonging to a Vetturino. 1883 W. H. Russell
in igth Cent. Sept. 483 Asserting my right of way notwithstanding
the fierce opposition of many of the local vetturini,
I toiled up the steep ascent for the hotel. 1905 R. Bagot
Passport xi. 104, I must drive back to Genzano. I told the
veiturino to wait.
2. = Vkttuba. *
1789 A. VousG Autobiog. (1898) viii. 176, I went by a
z'ctturino to Turin. 1857 Ladv A(organ Autobiog. iii.
(1862) I. 16 A lumbering post-coach, the Irish veiturino,
' the leattiern convenience of that time {like those of Italy
of the present day). i88i Blackw, Mag. July 122/1 The
lumbering veiturino . .vizs packed with the jolly party of
bachelors !
3. attrib., as vettunno-carriage^ -fashion, etc.
1838 Murray's Hand-Bk. N. Genu. 193 In vetturino
travelling, he must expect to start at break of day, in all
weathers. 1851 Helps Comp. Solit. \\. 82 It wasnecessary
to stay some time {for we travelled vetturino- fashion) at the
little post-house. 1859 Lever Dai\ Dunn Ixx, A miserablelooking
vetturino carriage stood at the inn door.
VetU'St, a- rare, [ad. L. vetnstus^ related to
veins old.] Old, ancient.
x6«3 CocKEBAM 1, 1637 Bastwick Ahsiv, Inform. Sir
y. Bauks 1 1 Neither novell nor hereticall but according to
both the Divine Scriptures and all Antient trueth, and the
vetustest Bishops, and by the whole clergy of England in
King Henry the eights dayes. 1847 Blackxv. Mag. LXI.
748 This is something too vetust to abide the shock of any
agitation.
Hence Vetu'stness, 'ancientness, antiquity \
1727 Bailev (vol. II).
Ve'tusty. rare-"^. [s^^.Y.,vetustas,Uvetustusi
see prec] Antiquity.
1861 J. H. Bennet IFiftter Medit. m. xv. (1875) 499 Some
had on two or even three of these bournous,..in various
degrees of vetusty and dilapidation.
tVeuterer. Obs. Also veutrer. [ad. AF.
veuirier: see Fewterer, and cf. Vautereb.] As
an epithet of a hound : Employed for hunting.
c 1410 Master o/Game (MS. Digby 182) xv, O^^er \>^x be
()at men clepeth alauntes veutreres. Ibid.^ pat other nature
of .ilauntes is ycleped veuterercs.
Veveres, obs. Sc. form of Viveks, provisions.
Veveri, erron. obs. form of Ivoby.
Vew (vi«). north, dial. Also 6 veiwo, 7-9
iriew, 7 vewe, vue. [Prob. an alteration of Yew,]
A yew-tree, or the wood of this.
16.. in Weber Floddon Field {iZd&) 2,'&i A Scottishe Mynstrell
. . broughte a bowe of vewe to drawe. 1699 M. Lister
jfoum. Paris 215 Here are several Acres of young Pines,
Cypresses, Vues, &c. 1796 Pegck Derbictsms Ser. i
(E.D.S.) 79 Vevjor Viciv,. .the yew tree. x8s8-in northern
dial glossaries (Yks., Lanes., Chesh., Derby).
attrib. er adamyseU
was vexid with a fend. 1487 Munitn, de iT/^/rof (Bann.Cl.)
618, I sail neuer inquiet, vex, nor diiitrubit ^ said Abbot
and conucnt. 1535 Coverdale 2 Mace. viii. 32 They slewe
Philarches that wicked personne, which was with Timotheus,
and had vexed many lewes. x^oXiKV^vcSUidane's
Comm. 184 b, He,, .to ihend he might vex the Turkes in an
other quarter, was fully resolved to go foreward. 1576
Flemin*; Panopl. E^ist. 383 By who-;e meanes I am so
molested, vexecl, & disquieted. 1617 Morvson Hin. n. 95
His Lordship hereupon had called the Counsellors to Tredagh,
. . to deliberate how the Army might be imployed most
to vex Tyrone. 1651 Hobbes Leviathan ir. xxvi. 142 He
docs unjustly, and bewrayeth a disposition rather to vex
other men, than to demand his own right. 1738 Weslev
Psalms 11. V, Then shall He in his Wrath address, And vex
his baffled^ Enemies. s8si Shellev Adonais xxxv, Let me
not vex, with inharmonious sighs, The silence of that heart's
accepted sacrifice. 184^ Polson in Kncycl. Metrop. 11.
723/1 When intestine divisions vex a state. 1850 TenkvsoN
In Mem, xxix. With such compelling cause to grieve
As daily vexes household peace. 1887 Bowen Mneid vi.
Ill A thousand arrows, that vexed our flight as we came,
Safe from the ranks of the foemen.
b. Const, with (some action, etc.).
a 1540 Barnes IVks. (1573) 246/1, I wyll bryng you S.
Augusiines wordes, the which was vexed of the Donatistes
wyth thys same reason, a 154S Hall Chron,, Hen. IV,
16b, It was not sufficient.., this realme to be. .vexed with
thecraftie practicesand invencions of the Frenche men. i6jo
Holland Camden's Brit, (1637) 126 They never ceased to
vexe the Britans with skirmishes and in-roades. 1641 J.
Jackson True Evang, T. 1. 40 So did hee ve.xe the Church
with various and interchangeable pomp of sufferances. 1667
Milton P.L,. ii. 801 These yelling Monsters, .bursting forth
Afresh with conscious terrours vex me round. 18*7 Pollock
Course of Time 111. (1869) 62 Whom she praised to-day.
Vexing his ear with acclamations loud.
C. To worry (one) out of something, rare"^.
1878 Prodigal Son iii. 103 Such openhanded fellows are
not often to be found. So we must fasten on him, till we
have stolen and vexed him out of all he has.
2. Of diseases, etc. : To afflict or distress physic-
ally ; to affect with pain or suffering. Now poet.
1489 Caxton Faytes ofA. in. xxi. 219 To putte in pryson
a man that is vexed with suche a maladie what a valyauntnes
were it. 1509 Fisher Funeral Scrm. C'tess Richmond
Wks. (1876) 300 To endure the moost paynful crampes soo
greuously vexynge her. a 1548 Hall Chron., Hen. VIII,
179 b. He was so sore vexed with the gout that he refused
all suche solempnities. 1596 Mascall Cattle 208 Although
they \_sc. sheep] are housed, they are oftentimes vexed with
cold, a 1614 Donne Biaflai'OTo? (1644) 147 After the persecutors
had beat out her teeth, and vexed her with many
other tortures. 1746 Francis tr. Horace, Epist. i. vi. 42
Would You not wish to cure th' acuter Pains, That rack thy
tortur'd Side, or vex thy Reins? 1784 Cowper Ttuk 1. 582
Feigning sickness oft. They swathe the forehead, drag the
limping limb. And vex their flesh with artificial sores. 1817
Keats On the Sea 9 Oh ye ! who have your eye-balls vex a
and tir'd. Feast them upon the wideness of the Sea.
transf. 1601 R. Johnson Kingd. 9f Comynw. (1603) 22 It
is most certaine, that Flaunders and Brabant are more vexed
with colde and yce then England. 1718 Pope Iliad \\\. 5
When inclement winters vex the plain With piercing frosts,
or thick-descending rain. 18x0 Shelley Prometh. Unb. i.
i6p Lightning and Inundation vexed the plains.
absol. a 1614 D. Dyke Myst. Selfdeceiving 42 The stone
. . so bedded in the bladder, that it cannot greatly vexe.
3. To afflict with mental agitation or trouble ; to
make anxious or depressed; to distress deeply or
seriously ; to worry with anxiety or thought.
1423 Jas. I Kingis Q. clxxiv. Though that my spirit vexit
was tofore In sueuenyng, alssone as euer I woke, By
twenty fold it was in trouble more. 1500-so Dunbar Poems
Ixix. 12, I walk, I turne, sleip may I nocht. I vexit am
with havy thocht. 1535 Coverdale Dan. v. 9 Then was the
kynge sore afrayed,..and his lordes were sore vexed. 1596
Spenser /^ ^. vi. v. 6 She,. day and night did vexe her
carefull thought, And euer more and more her owne affliction
wrought. 1605 Shaks. Lear v. iii. 313 Vex' not his
ghost, O let him passe. 1651 C. Cartwright Cert. Relig,
1. 83 Thus doe we sec Christ to be on all sides so vexed, as
being over-whelmed with desperation. s8o6 Wordsw. Horn
Egremont Castle $$ It was a pang that vexed him then;
And oft returned, again, and yet again. 1847 Helps Friends
in C. 1. viii. 1 54 Most of us know what it is to vex our minds
because we cannot recall some name, or trivial thing, which
has escaped our memory for the moment. 1880 Watson
Prince's Quest (1892) 15 There fell a sadness on him, thus to
be Vext with desire of her he might not see. Yet could not
choose but long for.
b. refi. (In later use passing into sense 4.)
r 1440 Alphabet of Tales 128 pis preste gretlie blamyd
hym for his syn,. .& J>is man wexid hym [= himself] gretlie
and slew hym. 15*6 Tindale John xi. 33 He groned in his
sprct and vexed hym silfe and sayde : Where have ye layed
hym? 1579 Lvlv Euphues (Arb.) 148 Not to eate opr
heartes : that is, that wee shoulde not vexe our selues with
thoughts. i6zx Bible 2 Sam, xii. 18 How will he then vexe
himselfe, if we tell him that tlie childe is dead? a 1653
Binning Serm. (1845) 123 Ye toil and vex yourselves and
spend your time about that body and life. 183a J. J.
Blunt Sk^ Reform. Eng. ii. 35 He vexes himself because
he cannot maxe a hundred watches go by his own. 1873
* OmxiK'' Pascarel \. ^\ Why will you vex yourself about
your father 7
c. To trouble, exercise, or embarrass in respect
of a solution.
i6it Brerewood Lang, ff Relig. f>Z, I could produce other
forceable reasons, such as might.. vex the best wit in the
world to give them just solution. 1871 Markbv Elem.Laiv
§ 531 No subject has vexed English judges more than the
question, what remedy a debtor has for a wrongful . . sale by
a creditor of property which he holds as security.
4. To affect with a feeling of dissatisfaction,
annoyance, or irritation ; to cause (one) to fret,
grieve, or feel unhappy.
a 1450 Mirk's Festial 57 pe forme woman Eue vexude
God more J>en dyd man. a 1578 Lindesay (Pitscottie)
Chron, Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 33 This wexit him mair nor all the
troubillis that he had of befoir, and [he] was the mair crabbit
with him sellffe [etc.]. 1591 Shaks. Ttoo Gent, iv, iv. 66
Away, I .say : stayest thou to vexe me here ? 1613 —
Hen. VIII, II. iv. 130 They vexe me past my patience. i66a
in Verney Mem. (1Q07) II. 182 It vexes my very soul to
heare how the base bumpkins triumph. 1676 Hobbes Iliad
I. 312 Which, angry as he is, will vexe him worse. 1710
Swift Lett. (1767J III. 37 Thebishop-.complainsof my not
writing ; and what vexes me, says he knows you have long
letters from me every week. 1714 Lady M. W. Montagu
Let. to IV. Montagu (1887) I. 95 Your letter very much
vexed me, 1809 Malkin GH Bias x. viii. (Rtldg.) 358
Nothing vexes me, but that Antonia has not a thumping
fortune to bring with her. 1835 Politeness ^ Gd.'breeding
28 This boy or girl.. who never sneers at or jeers you, or
tries to vex your feelings. 189a Law Rep., IVeekly Notes
188/1 The defendant had been maliciously making nmses
for the mere purpose of vexing and annoying the pTainnflfs.
\
b. In pa. pple., freq. const, at or iviih.
C1460 Toivneley Myst.xxi. 187 Sir, year vexed at all, And
perauentur he shall here after pleas you. 1555 Phafr
Aineid II. 31 For amends to Pallas wrath, so vext with sore
oflTence. x6ii Cotgr., Se Mar?-ir, to grieue, or sorrow for,
. . be sad, or vexed at, 1664 in Verney Mem. (1907) 1 1. 204
I am slepy and vexet, and now I fear I have vexed you.
X711 Addison Sped. No. 165 f 6 The Curate.., upon the
reading of it, being vexed to see any thing he could not
understand. 1736 Butler Anal. i. iii. Wks. 1874 I. 55 That
inward feeling, which,.. in familiar speech, we call being
vexed with oneself. 1783 Johnson in Boswell Life 15
May, I would have knocked the factious dogs on the head,
to be sure; but I was not vexed. 1833 Ht. Martinf.au
Briery Creek ii. 26 He was amused at some of his foibles,
vexed at others. 1865 Dickens Mut. Fr. ni. v, A little
vexed that she had spoken precipitately. 1885 'Mrs.
Alexander ' At Bay i, I am always vexed with people who
don't care what they eat.
c. To irritate or tease (an animal).
a 1700 Evelyn Diary 19 Sept. 1657, 2 Virginian rattlesnakes,.,
when vexed, swifily vibrating and shaking their
tailes. 1770 Langhorne Plutarch (1851) II. 1002/2 She
vexed and pricked it [an asp] with a gnlden spindle till it
seized her arm. 1835 Lvtton Rienzi i. iv, Vex not too far
the lion, chained though he be,
6. inir. To be distressed in mind; to feel unhappy
or dissatisfied ; to fret or grieve. Also
const, at.
Common in the 17th cent. ; now rare or Obs,
iS9a Greene Groat's W. Wit Wks. iGrosart) XII. 122 A
yong Gentleman,, .vexing that the sonne of a farmer should
be so preferred, cast in his minde by what meanes.. he might
steale away the Bride. 1598 Marston Scourge of Villanie
III. viii. (1599) 214, I doe sadly grieue, and inly vexe. To
viewe the base dishonour of our sexe. i6zi Lady M. Wroth
Urania 346 If. .we should faile, I should hate my selfe, and
vexe incessantly at my fortune. 1663 Bp. Patrick Parab.
/'/^fr. xxxiii.(i6S7) 412 It makes us vexif webecrossedin the
least of our desires, a 167a Wilkins Nat. Relig. 257 Men
usually vex and repine at that which is extraordinary and unusual.
1770 Mrs. ThraleZ.^//. to yohnsoniijSS) I. 31 Mr.
Thrale particularly vexes lest you should not see Matlock
on a moon-light night. 180^ Charlotte Smith Conversations,
etc. 1. 137 But since it is so, . . I must not vex about it.
H. 6. trans. To disturb by causing physical
movement, commotion, or alteration ; to agitate,
toss about, work, belabour or tenr up, etc.
i6a7 Hakewill Apol. (1630) 151 Even there where they
[the minerals] are most vexed and wrought upon, yet are
they not worne out. 1666 Drvden^ww. Mirab.ccvii, Some
English wool, vex'd in a Belgian Loom, And into Cloth of
spungy softness made. 1697 — Virg, Past. iv. 40 And
sharpen 'd Shares shall vexJhe fruitful ground. 1759 Mills
tr. Duhamefs Husb. u viii. 20 Clay... In these cases laxatives
are to be prescribed,. .and continually vexing it with
the .spade or plow. 1775 Burke Sp, Concil. Amer. Wks.
1842 I. 186 No sea but what is vexed by their fisheries.
1817 Shelley Rev. Islam vii. vii, Some calm wave Vexed
into whirlpools by the chasms beneath. 1861 T.A. Trollope
La Beata II. xviii. 213 Well sheltered from the blasts that
even in summer vex the upper Apennine. 1879 J. D. Long
yEneid vii. 905 His followers they, who vex Ihe Massic
glebe, so fruitful of the vine.
b. To disturb by handling ; to twist, rare.
"673 [R- Leigh] Transp. Reh. 35 He exalts his superciltums
and vexes his formal beard.
O. fig. To press, strain, or urge.
1678" Marvell Def J. H&ive Wks. (Grosart) IV. 191, I
would not too much vex the similitude, a 1680 Butler Rem.
b'ing too nicely overstrain'd
(1759) I. 218 Distinctions,. . By
and vext, Have made the Comment harder than the Text.
7. To subject (a matter) to prolonged or severe
examination or discussion ;
length.
to debate at excessive
a 1614 Donne BiaflacaTO? (1644) 20 The best way to finde
the truth in this matter, was to debate and vexe it. a 1648
Ld. Herbert Hen, VIII (1683) 243, I shall now come to
the business of the Divorce ; so much vexed by our Writers.
1869 Blackmore Lorna D. xli. Be that as it may ; and not
vexing a question (settled for ever, without our votesX let
us own that he was, at least, a. .gentleman. 1877 R. F.
Burton in Athenaeum 3 Nov. 569/1 Upon this point I must
join issue with him, with Stanley, and with others who have
vexed the subject.
Vex, obs. form of Wax v.
Vexable(ve-ksab'l),a. rare.
or f. Vex z;. -h-ABLE.]
[s.6.L.7/exddi/is,
f 1. Troublesome, oppressive. Obs.
i5o« in Antiq. Rep. (180B) II. *32o Without distrobill, ensjTchyng,
or any other vexable demaundsof his liage people.
2. Capable of being vexed.
i8to SooTHEV Lett. (1856) H. 191 The printers use me
ill, but they do not vex me, because I am not vexable by
such things.
Vexation (vekst"'*j3n). Forms: 5-6 vexacione,
-aoyon (5 wexacion), 6 vexatyon, 6vexation
; 5 wex-, vexacioun, 6 vexatioun.
[a. OF. (also mod.F.) vexation, or ad. L. vexation-,
vexdtio, n. of action f. vexdre Vex v. Cf. Pg.
vexafdo, Sp. vejacion, It. vessazione.']
1. The action of troubling or harassing by aggression
or interference (sometimes spec, by unjustifiable
claims or legal action) ; the fact of
being troubled or harassed in this way.
Common in the i6th cent. ; now rare.
C1400 Beryn 3842 Vee shulle fynde. .amendis for to make
For our vndewe vexacioun. 14.. Cal. Anc. Rec. Dublin
(1889) 324 Such persones as will cum to the citte..he fre
withoute eny wex.icion, cumyng, goyng and abydyng a
day befor and a day after. 1481 Coventry Leet Bk. 494
Be his longe defferynges, cautels, vexacions & troubles,