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VIZY.
1. An aim at an object which it is desired to hit
esp. in the phr. to take a vizy (cf. F. prendre vish).
17JO Ramsay Marr. Earl IVrjrmss vi, The Thane of Fife,
wha lately wi' his flane, And vizy leel, made the blyth bowl
bis ain, 1808 J. Mayne Siller Gun iv. xlviii, Roused at
the thought, [he] charged his fuzee. Took but ae vizzy wi*
his c'e—The bullet flies Clean through the target to a tee.
x8ja Galt Steant'boat vii, Logan took a vizy, and fired.
1884 Pae Eustace 143 The gun was run into the desired
position, the sailor called it a ' vizzey ',
b. The sight of a gun.
i8a8 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 288/2 Thus too, the vizy iAng-lice
sight) generally inclined unduly to one side or the other.
2. A look or view ; a sight 0/ something ; a
glimpse.
X785 Mackenzie Loimger No. 6 f 2 He tried to see the
sUge, and got a flying vizzy now and then. 1818 Scott
Br. Lamm, xvi, But ye had best take a vtsie ofhim through
the wicket before opening the gate. 1834 Tait's Mag. I.
429/1 It unfortunately never was his forte to take a steady
fixed vizzy of any one thing.
Hence Vlzrlecs, a.
i8>8 Blackw. Mag. Sept. 300/r Oh ! that our passion
could restore thee [i. e. Mons Meg], butless, lockless, vizy.
less, .though thou be*st, to the light of day.
Viay (vi-zi), V. Sc. Forms : a. 5-6 vesy,
wesy, 6 wese, weasie, vese, vesie. ;3. 5-6, 8
•^y. 5 wysy, 6 wi8(a)y, -ie, via(8)e, visye, 6-7
visie, 6, 9 vissie, 8 vizzey, 8-9 vizzy, 8- vizy.
[ad. ONF. viseer (Wace) :—L. visitdre Visit z/.]
+ 1. trans. To go to see ; to pay a visit or visits
to ; to visit. Obs. a. a person.
Freq. in the i6th cfniScLeg.
Saints v. {yohn) 631 He vent to vesy |»e
lunge, & tel hym of his travalinge. c 1425 Wyntoun Cr.m.
V. 3899 Scho oyssit to wesy bodely Al pur folk Ipat wa.s nere
by. ijoo-jo Dunbar P,!ems ix. 28, I confess me. Lord I
that I . To hungi e meit, nor drynk to thristy gaif, Nor
veseit the seik. 1550 in Exch. Rolls Scotl. XVI IL 502
note^ Ane sair leg, cjubarthrouch 1 mycht nocbt cum west
tyll wisy \k and uthlr freyndis. 1583 in iVodrmii Soc. Misc.
(1844) 460 He was. .maist wiland to wissie the puirest crcatour,
being aduertisit or requyreit thairunto, in the verray
nicht seson. 1600 Hamilton in Catk. Tractates (S.T.S.)
231 Elizabeth.. sayd,.. how is this commit to me, that the
Mother of my lord suld come to visie me.
b. a place.
'S3S LvNDESAV Satyre 504, I mak ane vow, . . Richt reuerentlie
thy Tempill to visie. 1549 Compl. Scot. Prol. 13
Thir tua princis vsit oft to visye the feildis to tak ther rccreatione.
Ibid. vi. 38 Quhen titan vas visiand antepodos.
2. To look at closely or attentively ; to regard,
see, view.
«1470 Henbv Wallace III. 103 The worthi Scottis..Send
twa skowrrottris to wesy weyll the playne. c 1470 Golagros
4- Gaw. 243 The king stude vesiand the wall, a 1500
Bemaritus cU cura rei/am. (E.E.T.S.) 212 Haffand a gret
delyte For to wesy . . oculatouris or trumpouris. 1533
Bellendem Livy iv. xv. (S.T.S.) joo Frequent nowmer of
pepill l>at come to vesy bir playis. a 1568 A. Scott Foems
(S.T.S.) xxvii. 33 Quhen scho growls heich, I draw on
dreich. To vesy and behald the end. 1714 Kamsay Vision
vii, I vizyt him then round about. 1715 — Gmlle Shefh.
III. ii. Prol., 'Tis Symon's house, please to step in, And vi.sy
't round and round. 1790 Shirrefs Poems 256 When first
your Cistles I did vizzey. 1867 J. Grant White Cockade
1. 60 An eye was seen to vizzy them carefully.
t b. To examine, inspect, survey, ot view formally
or officially. Ois.
1496 Ace. Ld. High Treas. Scot. I. 321 To pas to Borthuik..to
vesy tymmyre for gun paraling. ijia Ibid. IV.
459 To xxxvj marynaris for ij dais quhen the Franchmen
passit to vesy the schippis. 1561 Exch. Rolls Scotl. XIX.
265 note, Thir our lettres being anis producit thairin and
vesyt be the lordis auditouris therof. 1597 Skene Acts 0/
Parlt. Table S.V. Prenters, Prenters suld not prent ony
buikes, or vther thing, bot that quhilk is visied and tryed,
havand the Kingis licence.
fc. With clause as object, or with /(J and inf. Obs.
e J»S Sc. Leg. Saints xl. (Ninian) 559 Jet wald he (i.e.
a bisHop] mekly on fete ga..to visy in quhat wyse J>€ kirk,
men did bar seruice. 1497 Ace. Ld. High Treas. Scot, \.
380 To the man that 3eid to vesy to se gif he could wyn
sclait, ijj vnicornis. 1535 StewartCw/i. Scot. (Rolls) IIL
431 The erle of Marche. .and mony lordis mo, Come to bis
tent to vbie how he did. 1536 Peebles Burgh Rec. (1872)
235 The thesaurare to vesy gif ony timber be to by to mak
portis of.
d. To vls^. rare—'.
tt&j J. Grant White Cockade I. 54 Letters.. signed and
vizzied by the conservator of Scottish privileges at Campvere,
and the British ambassador.
t3. a. To afflict or visit (a person) with sickness
or harm. Obs.
C1470 Henry Wallace vii. 381 His fadyr..wes wesyed
with seknes. a 1500 Colkelbie Sow 595 Throuch the will of
God, so as it was, Thay war weseit with suddane soir seikncss.
1^49 Comfit. Scot. ii. 24, I sal visee you vitht dreddour,
vitht fyir, ande vitht suellieg [sic).
t b. To punish (a sin or wrong). Obs.
iSJa Abp. Hamilton Catech. (18B4) 58, I will visie and
punis the synnis quhilk the fatheris dois..-on thair sonnis.
iS«i A. Scott Poems (S.T.S.) i. 151 To wisy all t>ir wrangus
workis. .God gife ^ grace.
4. intr. (or absoi.). To look or gaze.
1513 Douglas ^neid iii. ix. 1x3 And weseand all aboat,
I se at last This navy of 3ouris drawand biddir fast. 153ft
Bellenden Cron. Scot. (1821) L p. xliv. And sine thay It^
and visies throwe the cleir and purifyit waiter, quhill thay
se the mussilis. 1899 in Eng. Dial. Diet. (Shetland dial.).
5. To take aim with a gun, etc. ; to aim at.
i(Sa-8 Hist. James VI (1804) 75 He..cuttit ane small
hofe in the tarlies, quhairby he might vissie with his hag-
275
bute. 1818 HoCG Brownie 0/ Bodsbeck viii. They'll maybe
hae been trying how weel they could vizy at the wild ducks.
1824 Mactacgart Gallovid. Encycl. 457 Some raw hands,
when vizzying first at the nail in the bull's eye of the target
with loaded ball (etc.].
Hence Vi'zyiug, vbl. sb. (also attrib.).
iS5» Ace. Ld. High Treas. Scot. X. 148 The lairdis of
Corswell, Auchyngassill, Cowhill, commissioneris for veseing
of the futemen to be rasit withtin the Sherefdomes
tjuhair thai dwell. i8as R. Chambers Trad. Edinb. I. 236
Sometimes the rod was simply stretched across the vizzying
hole^ a coiivenient aperture through which the porter could
take cognizance of the person applying.
VijtCe, ME. variants of Fight sb. and v.
Vizzard, -or, obs. forms of Vizard, Visor sb.
V1-, southern ME. and dial. var. of Fl- ;
occas.
ME. and older Sc. spelling for Ul-.
Ylach (vlaek). Also 9 Vlaehe. [a. Bulg. and
Serb. Vlach', = OSlav. Vlachu Roumanian, Italian,
Czech. Vlach Italian, Pol. Wloch Italian, Woloch
Walachian, Russ. VolocK Walachian, Italian
these terms are Slavonic adoptions of the Germanic
Walk (OHG. Walk, Walah, MHG.
Walch ; AS. WealK) foreigner, applied especially
to Celts and Latins. See Walach and Welsh a.]
A member of the Latin-speaking race occupying
portions of south-eastern Europe ; a Walachian or
Roumanian.
1841 Penny Cycl. XXU. 246/2 The Vlaches, or Wallachians,
only live in the most south-western angle of the
empire [of Russia). 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXL 16/1 They
call themselves * Romani ' or ' Rumeni ', but by their neighbours.
.they are universally known by one or other form of
the word ' Vlach '. 1901 Speaker 21 Sept. 683/2 The alliance,
.would array the scattered Vlachs of Macedonia once
more on the Greek side.
attrib. 1886 Encycl. Brit. XXL 16/1 This Vlach or
Rouman race occupies a far wider area than that included
in the present Roumanian kingdom, igo^ Speaker -z^St^l.
580/1 The Greek bands,. fell to murdering the leaders of
the Vlach movement.
Hence Vlachian (vU'-kian), a.
i88< Encycl. Brit. XXL 19/1 The ofBcials bearing for the
most part Slavonic titles derived from the practice of the
Bulgaro-yiachiap czardom. 1909 Q. Rev. April 681 Not
the least interesting constituent of this chaotic population is
the Vlachian.
Vial, var. Vlei. VTanok, var. Wlonk a. Obs.
Vlaaker, var. Flanker (spark of fire), dial.
Vlaske, southern ME. var. Flask v.
Vlat, southern dial. var. Flat a.
160a Contention betw. Liberality ^ Prodigality u. ii,
Chil goe boldly to her, that's a vlat case.
Vlatsum, Sc. f. Wlatsome a. Obs. Vlaje,
southern ME. pa. pple. of Flat v. Vleau,
southern ME. ya.x.Jleiv, p.t. of Flow v.
II Vlei (vbi). Also vley, vly, vlie, vlaie.
[Dn. dial, vlei, reduced form of Du. vallei valley.]
1. In South Africa ; A shallow pool of water ; a
piece of low-lying ground covered with water
during the rainy season.
S849 E. E. Napier Excurs. S. Africa IL 179 The Hottentots
look anxiously around for the well known ' vlei '.
j8so R. G. Gumming Hunter's Life S. Afr. (ed. 2) L ^^,
I came full in view of the vley or pool of water beside which
I had been directed to encamp. 1863 W. C. Baldwin Afr.
Hunting vi. 226 We found the vley, where we fully expected
water, dried up. 1899 Rider Haggard Swallow
viii, A large vlei, or pan, where were many ducks and also
some antelope.
2. local C/.S. A swamp.
1880 Amer. jfrnl. Sci. Ser. III. XIX. 432 To the same
settlers [the Dutch] are due the geographical appellations
of kill for stream,.. and vly or vlaie for swamp, so frequently
met with in the C^tskills. 1889 Bynnkr Begum's
Dau. I, Up over the grassy edge of the basin which formed
the vly. .the children came bounding pell-mell. 1904 R. W.
Chambers in Harper's Mag. May 933/1 Have you reason
to believe that an attempt has been made to fire the Owl
Vlaie?
Vleoln, Vleon, Vlesche, V"leyB(s, Vlex,
southern ME. varr. Fly t».i, Fleezi., Flesh, Flax.
Vlie, southern ME. var. Flea, Fly sb. ; var.
Vlei. Vliht, southern ME. var. Flight.
Vllndre, southern ME. var. Flindeb (butterfly).
VIouting, dial. var. Flodtino vbl. sb.
Vly, Vlycche, southern ME. varr. Fly v.,
Flitch.
Vm-, Vn-, common ME. spelling for Um-, Un-.
Vo.', abbrev. of Voce. (Cf. Voc.)
1808 Jamieson S.V. Gowk's Errand. Grose's Class. Diet,
vo. April Fool. 1815 — Suppl. s.v. Custumable, Skene,
Ind. to Acts, vo. Customers.
Vo.- nonce-wd. [f. the last syllable of orfaz/o.]
A size of book.
1847 Chambers's frnl. 6 Feb. 87/2 Duodecimo, postoctavo,
eigbteenmo, sixteenmo, and a hundred other vosand
mos, bewildered the aged members of the profession.
Vo, southern ME. var. Fo v.. Foe.
Voar (vo»j). Orkn. A: Shell, dial. Also 7, 9
vore, 9 Tor, vour. [a. Norw. vaar (vjr), = Da.
vaar, Sw. vir, ON. and Icel. vdr spring: see
Wake sb.'\ The spring ; seed-time. Also voretime,
1629 Orkney Witch Trial in County Folk Lore III.
(1903) 76 Being accusit thairupoun be the said Micbaell in
vore tymc. Ibid. 78 Sex yeiris scne or thairby in vore.
' 1806
VOCABTJLABY.
P. Neill Tour$% If a man and a dog land upon some
of the islands in z-^^r-time, i.e. Spring. iSas Jauieson
Suppl., Vor^ Voar, Vour, the spring-time. 1856 Eliza
Edmondston Sk. 4- Tales Shetland xi. 135, I ought to go
to help our poor father and mother to gel their voar
finished. 1871 R. Cowie Shetland 11. viii. 159 The operations
of ' Vore ' (as the seed-time is called in Shetland) do
not commence until the end of March.
Voc, abbrev. of Voce. (Cf. Vo.i)
1725 T. Heabne R. Brunne's Chron. (1810) I. p. ccxiii,
See the Glossary to this Work, voc. Kampedene. 1753
Chambers' Cycl. SuppL s.v. Calkins, Savar. Did. Com. '1'.
I. p. 1598. voc, crampon. 1870 Allibone Diet. Eng. Lit.
(1888) II. 1532 See, also, Collier's Bibl. Acct. of Early Eng.
Lit., 1865, voc. Paynell.
Voc, abbrev. of Vocative.
Voc, Vocab., abbrev. of Vocabulary.
Vocabi'lity, [f. next+-lTT.] A spoken or
shouted remark or sentence.
1846 Mrs. Gore Eug. Char. (1852) 54 At the time of the
Reform Bill, their {sc. the linkmen's] vocabilities had a still
more personal tendency.
Vocable (v^u-kab'l), sb. [a. F. vocable (i6th c,
= Pr. vocable, Sp, vocabio, Pg. vocabulo. It. vocaboloj
-ulo)y or directly ad. L. vocabul-um^ f. vocdre
to call, name.]
1. A word or term.
App. reintroduced in the i8th century ; mentioned as a
Scotticism by Beattie in 1787.
1530 Palsgr. Introd. p. xxii, The great nombre of theyr
vocables be evidently deryved forth of latin. 154a Udall
Eras7n. Apoph. g This sillable, «u, in composicion of greke
vocables betokeneth a certain facilitee. 1577 Grange
Golden A-phrod. Ij, N.O. perceyuing this deuision of
vocables, thought good to note the sense thereof. 1600-9
Rowlands Knaue of Clubbes ip He to coniure goes, With
characters, and vocables, and diuers antique shewes. 1638
A. Read Chirurg. ix. 60 It is not amisse sometimes to coine
vocables of art to expresse the matter which is in hand.
1786 Geddes Prospectus Neiv Transl. Bible 61 There is
no language so compleatly copious and distinctive as to
have a different vocable for every different idea. 1787
— Let. to Bp. 0/ London 82, I had ventured to use the
word vocable. Some have approved of it, as a term we
wanted ; others have objected to it, as an innovation. 1797
Encycl. Brit. (ed. 3) XIV. 527/1 Even some of the American
jargon dialects contain vocables which indicate an Asiatic
or European original. 1807 Boucher SuppL Johnson's
Diet. S.V. Ay^ The simple annals, or history, of this vocable
in our own language. . would probably be not less curious than
its general history is. 185a Blackie Study Lang. 30 If you
love the book . . you will master the vocables it contains in a
speedy and agreeable way. 1875 E. White Life in Christ
IV. xxiv. (1878) 348 Dreamers, for whom.. every vocable is
surrounded with an aureola or many-tinted halo of mysteries
and ' inner senses '.
t 2. A name or designation. Obs. rare.
c 1550 Disc. Common Weal Eng. (1893) 76 Therof to this
daie remaineth these vocables of coine, as libra, pondo,
dipondium, . . vocables of weight; that afterward weare
gyven to coines pretending the same weight, a 1613 Buck
Rich. Ill, V. (1646) 133 We will next endeavour to understand
that Vocable, or term, Tyrannus (that is, a Tyrant,
or an evil King) cast upon King Richard.
Vo-cable, a. rare-^, [f. L. voc-are to call +
-ABLE.] Capable of utterance.
190X Meredith Poems, With the Persuader 174 Cun-
Dinger than the numbered strings, . . For mastered discords
and the things Not vocable, whose mysteries Are inmost
Love's.
Hence Vo'cably adv.
1906 J. A. HoBsoN Canada To-day i. 3 Canada is conscious,
vocably, uproariously conscious, that her day has
come.
fVooabula. Obs.-^ [pi, of L. vocdbulum
Vocable sb.'\ A vocabulary.
1698 Fryer Acc. E. India ^ P. 360 They have their
Grammars, Dictionaries, and Vocabulaes, in which are the
Roots of the Arabick Tongue.
t Vooa-biilar, sb, Obs~^ [See Vocabulary sb.
and -AR 2,] A vocabulary.
1530 Palsgr. id By what meanes it shalbe knowen in the
frenche vocabular whan i and u be vowels and whan they
be consonantes.
Vocabular (v^kae*bi//laj), a. [f. L. vocdbulum
Vocable sb. + -ar l.] Of, pertaining to, or
concerning words.
1608 TopSELL Serpents 282 Which wordes in their seuerall
Languages, haue other significations, as are to be found in
euery vocabular Dictionary. 1647 M. Hudson Div. Right
Govt. II. ii. 75 To unscruplc alt vocabular doubts and
difficulties, let us but look into the fourteenth Ch. of Gen.
and there we shall find a King of Gods own making. 1834
J. Gilchrist Etym. Interpreter 61 This is the most prolific
origin of verbal multiplication or vocabular augmentation ;
for thus an indefinite number of nouns are produced by a
few verbs and adjectives. 1848 Clough Bothie ix, Leaving
vocabular ghosts undisturbed in their lexicon-limbo. 2867
Lytton in Ld. Lytton's Lett, {1906) I. iv. 206 Too many
images and vocabular effects make the sense of the whole
obscure.
Vocabula'rian, a. [Cf. prec. and -ian.] One
who gives much or undue attention to words.
1899 Pall Mall G. 20 July 4/1 He is not a vocabularian ;
be uses, as none but a poet can, the old poetic materials.
Voca'bnlarize, v, rare~K [Cf. prec. and
-IZE.] Irans. To furnish with a vocabulary,
1851 Sir F. Palcrave Norm. ^ Eng. 1. 51 The vernacular
French of the Capital, .. amply vocabularized from the
other languages of the mixed hosts whom Napoleon had
assembled.
Vocabulary (vt^kscbiwlari) , sb. Also 6 -arye,
7 -arie. [ad. med.L. vocdduldri-uSf -um, f, L.
35-2