Aubin & early-18c gap

Note: pages in our 18c Leverhulme study section were originally published on the website in 2010. Links have since been checked and updated.

Examples from Aubin’s work which plug the OED gap in early-18th-century quotations: Aubin Table 1b

WordQuotationOED datesFills early-18th-century gap (number of years between existing OED quotations)Comments
seat, n.'Madam, said he, I have a Seat, and more convenient House that shall be proud to receive you' (MB, p. 17; another occurrence on p. 20)1607, 1610, 1796, 1812, 1847, 1859196OED1/2 sense 16c: '= country-seat'. This is not a rare usage; cf. another example in the poetry of Anne Finch, Countess of Winchilsea (Lonsdale 1989: 24, line 8).
diadem'No more shall the Proud Haughty Monarch […] Dare […] again to aim / At Universal Monarchy / And England's Diadem' (The Extasy, p. 11)…1415, 1513, 1602, 1785, a1839183OED1/2 sense 1: 'A crown; an ornamental cincture or covering for the head, worn as a symbol of honour, esp. of royal dignity'. NB that OED supplies only one quotation per century. It must be possible to supplement this record.
clear-sighted'Madam, said he, you are, I am certain, too clear-sighted, not to have observed something in my Looks and Behaviour this Evening' (MB, p. 55)1586, 1768-74, 1849, 1876182The surprising feature here is the lack of seventeenth-century documentation.
horse-litter'a Horse-litter shall be provided to carry you with us to Swansey, there Company, and the lovely Isabella, will, I hope, complete your Cure' (MB, p. 108)1388, c1465, 1600, 1775, 1851175OED1/2: 'A litter hung on poles, carried between two horses, one in front and the other behind'. Sparsely illustrated; Aubin's example is a useful one.
jarring'The jarring Nations to You still submit, / And lay their Differences at Your Feet' (The Extasy, p. 14)1628, 1780, a1832152OED1/2 sense 4: 'Quarrelling, disputing, wrangling'.
bask'Each Motley Sect, who bask beneath the Rays, / Of might ANNA's Glorious Days' (The Extasy, p. 10)1647, 1791, 1867144OED1/2 deals with this sense very briefly, s.v. 3b. Sense 3 is defined thus: 'intr. To expose oneself to, or disport oneself in, an ambient flood of genial warmth, as in the sunshine, the rays of a fire; to lie enjoying the heat which radiates upon one', while 3b is defined 'fig. of the 'sunshine' of love, favour, prosperity'. All three of OED's quotations illustrate the verb in the form of a present participle (e.g. '1647 COWLEY Mistr., Change i, Love in her Sunny eyes does basking play'), so Aubin's usage is valuable for its grammatical variation, as well as for supplying a quotation between 1647 and 1791.
Tartar'The Tartars were so well pleased with our Behaviour and Conduct, that they gave us what we pleased of the Plunder' (MB, p. 86)…1600, 1612, 1745, 1837, 1842, 1842, 1885133This is OED1/2 n.2, sense 1: 'A native inhabitant of the region of Central Asia extending eastward from the Caspian Sea […]'. OED has only one eighteenth-century quotation, compared with two seventheenth-century and four nineteenth-century ones. The word is also used extensively in Aubin's translation of The History of Genghizcan the Great (1722).
consternation'they saw their Enemies well arm'd and numerous, and did not think themselves strong enough to attack them: we set Spurs to our Horses, leaving them in this Consternation' (MB, p. 87)1611,1626, 1647, 1776, 1856129OED1/2 defines as 'Amazement and terror such as to prostrate one's faculties; dismay.' ECCO searches indicate that there are many other early-eighteenth-century examples of this word available.
immortalize'These join with El'zabeth the Vertous and the Wise, / All Glorious Monarchs, now immortaliz'd (The Extasy, p. 4)1589, 1591, c1665, 1790, 1821-30, 1856125OED1/2 sense 1c: 'To cause to be remembered or celebrated through all time; to confer enduring fame upon.' As above, it is unlikely that Aubin's early-eighteenth-century example is singular.
clown, n.'a Company of Clowns, who were going to a Fair […] with Horses to sell, came up […] By these honest Countrymen the Lady was relieved' (MB, p. 64)four sixteenth-century quotations, a1640, 1662, 1784, 1848122OED1/2 : 'A countryman, rustic, or peasant'.
difference'The jarring Nations to You still submit, / And lay their Differences at Your Feet' (The Extasy, p. 14)…1606, 1641, 1652, 1774, 1791, 1849, 1893122OED1/2 sense 3a: 'A diversity or disagreement of opinion, sentiment or purpose; hence, a dispute or quarrel caused by such disagreement: used in various shades of intensity from a simple estrangement or dispute to open hostility […]'.
Clare, n.'they shut me up in a monastery of poor Clares' (MB, p. 21)1608, a1660, 1779, 1894119OED1/2 : 'A nun of the Franciscan order of St. Clare; in pl. (sometimes Poor Clares) the sisterhood instituted by St. Clare at Assisi c1212; also called Minoresses from adopting the Franciscan rule and habit.'
sirname, v.'They sirname him the Sultan of the Moguls and Turks' (The History of Genghizcan (HG), p. 2)three sixteenth-century, 1601, 1607, 1634, 1671, 1789, 1908118OED1/2 sense '1. trans. To give an additional name, title, or epithet to (a person)'. Aubin's is a useful example indicating word did not suddenly decrease in use in the early eighteenth century.
dusky'straight did upward fly / Near the bright Orbs that wear Immortal Light […] Impatient […] to know, / What might Turn of Fate […] could […] bless the Dusky Realms below' (The Extasy, p. 6) 1580, 1591, 1667, 1775, 1826, 1876108OED1/2 sense 2: 'Somewhat dark or deficient in light; not bright or luminous; dim, obscure'. As with all the examples in this table, other instances of contemporary use will be readily available.
accoutrement'when he saw Lisbia bring her Beggar's Coat, and other Accoutrements' (MB, p. 129)…1600, 1641, 1649, 1751, 1813, 1850, 1858102OED1/2 sense 1: 'Apparel, outfit, equipment. Almost always in the pl., clothes, trappings, equipments.' Three seventeenth-century, three nineteenth-century, and one eighteenth-century quotation: Aubin's example is a useful addition.
solicitation'Ounghcan was no longer proof against his Son's Sollicitations, who conjured him earnestly to secure Temugin's Person' (HG, p. 36)1596, 1500-20, 1621, 1675, 1769, 1836, 187494OED1/2 sense 2b (plural form): '[…] entreaty, petition, diligent or importunate asking'.
canvas'Mr. Glandore carry'd her down, putting her into a Coach, where, drawing up the Canvasses, he held her in his Lap' (MB, p. 62)…1561, 1582, 1667, 1754, 178587OED1/2 sense 2a: 'A piece of canvas used […] as A sheet, covering or screen; a filtering or bolting cloth; a blind for a carriage window, etc.' The two later eighteenth-century quotations are from Richardson and Fielding respectively; Aubin's example shows the word was used earlier in the century too.
ruin'wou'd you consent to see me wretched […] and make another happy with my Ruin?' (MB, p. 53)…1596, 1667, 1697, 1778, 1831, 188681OED1/2 sense 7: 'The condition of being ruined, of having been reduced to an abject or hopeless state.' As often, one eighteenth-century quotation flanked by two from the seventeenth century (here Milton and Dryden) and two or more from the nineteenth century, evidence which Aubin's example usefully supplements.
frock'my Cowle and Frock […] made me appear a perfect Capuchin' (MB, p. 49)1350…1548, 1683, 1762, 1810, 188779OED1/2 sense 1: 'A long habit with large open sleeves; the outer and characteristic dress of a monk.'
prosecute'Sleep will refresh our tired Spirits, and enable us to prosecute our journey' (MB, p. 118)…1614, a1649, 1676, 1754, 1772, 1819, 1833, 1874…78OED3 (draft revision September 2009) still has fewer eighteenth-century quotations than nineteenth- and seventeenth-century ones (two as opposed to three), and still under-represents the early part of the eighteenth century. Definition is 1a, trans.: 'To continue with (a course of action, an undertaking, etc.) with a view to its accomplishment or completion; to follow up, pursue; to persevere or persist in.'
inside'The good Man, whose Out-side was mean, as his Inside was rich, soon came' (MB, p. 46)1599, a1618, 1676, 1749, 183373OED1/2 sense 2c. 'fig. Inward nature, mind, thought, or meaning'. OED needs more post-seventeenth-century examples, and here is one…
tuneful'Great ANNA's Name by every Tuneful Tongue / Let it be in immortal Tunes, and Verses Sung'; 'His Noble Acts by every Tuneful Bard is Sung' (The Stuarts, pp. 4, 10)1598, 1697, a1764, 1814, 184367OED1/2 's entry is sparsely illustrated for this sense (s.v. 1: 'Full of 'tune' or musical sound; musical, sweet-sounding').
pre-engage'If he loved her before he knew that she was pre-ingaged, it was no Crime' (MB, p. 107; cf. Aubin's Noble Slaves, 1722, p. 12: 'I view'd them all unmoved, was impatient to return to Poictou; and then my Father first began to mistrust my being pre-engaged to some Person there').1673, 1689, 1749, 1823, 1899, 199550OED3 sense 1c (draft revision September 2009): 'In pass. To be previously or already engaged to be married'. NB that OED1/2 had three quotations for this sense, one each for seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries, and that OED3 has now added new seventeenth- and nineteenth-century quotations but none from the eighteenth century - thus creating an eighteenth-century deficit in the chronological spread of attestation.

Last updated on 16 September 2019