Encyclopaedia Britannica > Volume 8, DIA-England

12 DICTIONARY.
Dictionary. ground, it is quite proper and necessary. Thus we
'S-I’’V'W' do not say a long, but a tall or high tree, while it is
growing; but we say a long, not a tall log of wood;
and in the same manner we say a tall mast when it
is fixed in the ship, but a long mast while it lies upon
the beach. See Tall and High.
3. Those vegetables which are of a tender, pliant nature,
or so weak as not to be able to retain a fixed position,
being considered as of a middle nature between erect
and prostrate bodies, admit of either the terms long,
tall, or high ; as, a long or tall rush or willow wand, or
a long, tall, or high stalk of corn. See High and
Tall.
4. The parts of vegetables, when considered as distinct
from the whole, even when growing and erect, assume
the term long; for we do not say a tall, but a long
shoot of a tree, and a tree with a long stem, in prefe¬
rence to a tree with a high stem.
5. For the same reason, a staff and pole, even when
fixed in a perpendicular direction, assume the word
long, in preference to tall or high.
6. With regard to animals, the general rule is applied,
without any exceptions ; tall, and not long, being em¬
ployed to denote the height of the human body when
in an erect posture; and long, and not tall, to denote
its length when in an incumbent situation. Long ap¬
plied to all other animals which do not walk erect,
always denotes their greatest length in a horizontal
position from head to tail.
7. In a figurative sense, it denotes, with regard to time,
any thing at a great distance from us.
8. As also, any thing that takes up much time before it
is finished, as, a long discourse, a protracted note in
music, and the like.
Broad, adj. The distance between the two nearest
sides of any body whose geometrical dimensions are
larger in one direction than in another. It has a re¬
ference to superficies only, and never to the solid
contents, and is opposed to narrow.
1. Broad, in the strictest acceptation, is applied to de¬
note those bodies only whose sides are altogether
open and unconfined; as, a broad table, a broad wheel,
&c. and in these cases it is invariably contrasted with
narrate; nor is there any other word which in these
cases can be considered as synonymous writh it, or be
used in its stead.
2. When any object is in some sort bounded on the sides,
although not quite closed up, as a road, street, ditch,
and the like, either broad or wide may be employed,
but with some difference of signification ; broad being
most properly used for those which are more open,
and wide for those which are more confined: nor can
this term be ever applied to such objects as are closely
bounded all around, as a house, a church, and the
like, wide being here employed. For the more accu¬
rate distinctions in these cases see the article Wide.
Wide, adj. A term employed to denote relative extent
in certain circumstances, and opposed to narrow and
strait.
1. This term is in its proper sense applied only to de¬
note the space contained within any body closed all
round and on every side; as, a house, gate, or the
like; and it differs from broad in this, that it never
relates to the superficies of solid objects, but is em¬
ployed to express the capaciousness of any body which
contains vacant space ; nor can capaciousness in this
sense be expressed by any other word but wide.
2. As many bodies may be considered either with re¬
spect to their capaciousness or superficial extent, in all
these cases either the term broad or wide may be used;
as, a broad or wide street or ditch, &c.; but with a greater Dictionary,
or less degree of propriety, according to the circum- 1 — ■
stances of the object, or the idea which we wish to con¬
vey. In a street where the houses are low and the
boundaries open, or in a ditch of small depth and large
superficies, as this largeness of superficies bears the
principal proportion, broad would be more proper;
but if the houses are of gyeat height, or the ditch of
great depth, and capaciousness is the principal pro¬
perty which affects the mind, we would naturally say a
wide street or ditch ; and the same may be said of all
similar cases. But there are some cases in which
both these terms are applied, with a greater differ¬
ence of meaning; thus we say a broad or a ivide gate.
As the gate, however, is employed to denote either the
aperture in the wall, or the matter which closes that
aperture, these terms are each of them used to denote
that particular quality to which they are generally
applied; and as the opening itself can never be con¬
sidered as a superficies, the term wide, in this case,
denotes the distance between the sides of the aper¬
ture ; whilst, on the contrary, broad denotes the ex¬
tent of matter fitted to close that aperture; nor can
these two terms be in any case substituted for one
another.
3. As a figurative expression, it is used as a cant phrase
for a mistake ; as, you are wide of the mark ; that is,
not near the truth.
Narrow, adj. A relative term, denoting a propor¬
tional smallness of distance between the sides of the
superficies of plain bodies, and opposed to broad.
1. As this is only applied to superficies, it is exactly
contrasted by broad, and is applied in all cases where
the term broad can be used (see Broad) ; and in
no other case but as a contrast to it, excepting the fol¬
lowing.
2. It sometimes is employed to describe the smallness
of space circumscribed between certain boundaries,
as opposed to wide, and nearly synonymous with
straight; thus we say a wide or a narrow house, church,
and the like. For the necessary distinctions here,
see the article Strait.
3. In a figurative sense it &ox\o\.os parsimony, poverty,
confined sentiments, and so forth.
Strait, adj. A relative .term, denoting the extent of
space in certain circumstances, and opposed to wide.
See Wide.
1. This term is employed, in its proper sense, to denote
only space, as contained between surrounding bodies
in such circumstances as to denote some degree of
confinement, and is exactly opposed to wide; as, a
wide or a strait gate, Ac. See Wide.
2. So necessary is it that the idea of confinement should
be connected with this word, that in all those cases
w here the space contained is large, as in a church or
house, we cannot express a smaller proportional
width by this term. And as we have no other word
to express space in these circumstances, we are ob¬
liged to force the word narrow from its natural signi¬
fication, and make it express this. See Narrow.
3. In some particular cases, narrow or strait may be ap¬
plied to the same object; as, a narrow or a strait line ;
but here strait is never employed except where an
idea of confinement is suggested, and where it is ex¬
actly contrasted to wide ; nor can narrow be employ¬
ed except in such circumstances where broad would
be a perfect contrast to it. Therefore these two terms
may be always used in the same circumstances as
those which contrast with them. For an account of
these see Wide.