Forms: α. 1–6 softe (4–5 soffte, 4 zoffte), 4– soft. β. dial. and Sc. 6–7 safte, 6– saft (9 dial. zaft). [OE. sófte or sóft, var. of the more usual séfte, which corresponds to WFris. sêft, seaft, OHG. semfti (samfti), semfte, MHG. senfte, obs. G. senft. The form without umlaut (probably due to the influence of the adv.) has parallels in MDu. soft (zoft), saft, and sacht (Du. zacht), MLG. and LG. sacht, MHG. and G. sanft (dial. saft, sâft). The relationships of the stem are doubtful.]
Many of the senses tend to involve or pass into each other, esp. in poetic use.
I. 1. Producing agreeable or pleasant sensations; characterized by ease and quiet enjoyment; of a calm or placid nature.
c. 1000. Ælfric, Hom. (Thorpe), I. 566. Ic softum slæpe me ʓereste, swa swa ðu me forlete.
c. 1175. Lamb. Hom., 35. Hit walð me þunchen þet softeste beð [= bath] and þet wunsemeste þet ic efre ibad.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 2412. Pharaon bad him wurðen wel in softe reste and seli mel.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 312. It hath be sen and felt ful ofte, The harde time after the softe.
c. 1477. Caxton, Jason, 45 b. Certes the time must be taken as hit cometh, is hit hard or softe.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, xxxv. 9. For weirines on me ane slummer soft Come.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., I. ix. 13. Whiles euery sence the humour sweet embayd, And slombring soft my hart did steale away.
1606. Shaks., Ant. & Cl., II. vii. 114. Come, let’s all take hands, Till that the conquering Wine hath steep’t our sense, In soft and delicate Lethe.
1634. Milton, Comus, 1001. Where young Adonis oft reposes, Waxing well of his deep wound In slumber soft.
1746. Francis, trans. Horace, Epist., I. xvi. 21. IV. 123.
| This pleasing, this delicious soft Retreat | |
| In Safety guards me from September’s Heat. |
1812. Byron, Ch. Har., II. lxx. Many a joy could he from Night’s soft presence glean.
1865. J. Conington, trans. Hor., Odes, IV. v. (ed. 3), 112. Sweet Peace, soft Plenty, swell the golden grain.
† b. Pleasing in (or of) taste; free from acidity or sharpness. Also of odor: Not pungent, strong or heavy. Obs.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., IV. vii. (W. de W., 1495), 89. Blood is swete and softe in taast and in towche. Ibid., XVI. xciv. (Bodl. MS.). In some place it is softe in sauoure, and in some place moste salt: and in some place moste bitter.
c. 1400. trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 92. His seed ys reed, his odour softe, of good effect.
c. 1475. Henryson, Poems (S.T.S.), III. 152. With ane brewing caldrun full of hait caill, For it wilbe þe softar and sweittar of þe smak.
1797. London Art of Cookery, 216. Malt is a wholesome nutritious grain, containing a soft, balsamic, oleaginous essence.
1826. Art Brewing (ed. 4), 101. Preserving the sweet flavour of the malt…, and the soft richness.
c. Pleasing to the eye; free from ruggedness or asperity. Also of color, or with reference to this: Not crude or glaring; quiet, subdued.
1702. Pope, Sappho, 15. Soft scenes of solitude no more can please.
1738. Gray, Tasso, 67. There the soft emerald smiles of verdant hue.
1784. Cowper, Task, I. 766. We can spare The splendour of your lamps; they but eclipse Our softer satellite.
1815. J. Smith, Panorama Sci. & Art, II. 770. This mode of engraving…, when carefully executed, has a soft and pleasing effect.
1845. Budd, Dis. Liver, 228. The tissue of the liver is pale, and … of a soft buff colour.
1869. Tozer, Highl. Turkey, I. 201. Following its stream … through softer scenery.
1892. Photogr. Ann., II. 718. This [Bromide] Paper is very Rapid, and gives very soft and beautiful results.
2. Causing or involving little or no discomfort, hardship or suffering; easily endured or borne.
c. 1205. Lay., 16109. Soð ich habbe þe isæid, ah nis þe na þe softre.
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 2057. Queðer-so it wurðe softe or strong, ðe reching wurð on god bi-long.
c. 1320. Cast. Love, 957. Mi ȝok is softe i-nowh to weren.
c. 1380. Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 367. For Crist hymself seys þat his ȝok is soffte, and his charge is light.
1526. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W., 1531), 41 b. He hydeth the ferefull scourge of greuous correccyon, and sheweth vs somtymes the softe rodde of his swete disciplyne.
a. 1661. Fuller, Worthies, Worc., III. (1661), 169. Alter ten years soft durance in all plenty,… enjoying a great temporall Estate left him by his Father, He dyed 1569.
1672. Sir T. Browne, Lett. to Friend, § 24 (1881), 130. Besides his soft Death, the incurable state of his Disease might somewhat extenuate your Sorrow.
1700. J. Law, Council of Trade (1751), 118–9. Altho’ … this act be a monopoly,… yet was it incomparably more soft and easy, than these barbarous monopolies of the Kings, James the V and VI.
b. Involving little or no exertion or effort; free from toil or labor, Now chiefly colloq., easy, lazy, idle.
1639. Fuller, Holy War, II. xl. (1840), 104. They were bred in such soft employments, that they were presently foundered with any hard labour.
1655. Nicholas Papers (Camden), II. 267. Iff I did not know how much hee is devoted to his ease and a soft kinde of life.
1690. Temple, Ess. Poetry, Wks. 1720, I. 249. Among the Romans, the last and great Scipio passed the soft Hours of his Life in the Conversation of Terence.
1841. Browning, Pippa Passes, 146. A soft and easy life these ladies lead!
1858. Carlyle, Fredk. Gt., IX. vii. (1872), III. 128. He led a soft and tranquil life with his Regiment at Ruppin.
1889. Daily News, 12 Oct., 5/1. People crowd into literature, as into other ‘soft’ professions, because it is genteel.
1894. A. Lang, in Daily News, 2 Oct., 6/1. The popular idea that romance is ‘a soft job.’
1905. H. A. Vachell, The Hill, viii. 181. You have deliberately taken things easy, because you wanted a soft time of it during the summer term.
3. Of a sound, the voice, etc.: Low, quiet, subdued; not loud, harsh or rough. Also, melodious, pleasing to the ear, sweet.
c. 1250. Owl & Night., 6. Þat playd wes stif & starc & strong, Sum hwile softe & lud among.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1030. Þar sune es soft and suet sang, Sune of sautes þat þar singes.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. IX. 112. He was … to loken on ful symple,… Sad of his semblaunt and of softe speche.
c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., 745, Thisbe. And with a soun as softe as ony shryfte, They lete here wordis thour the clifte pace.
c. 1400. Lydg., Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton), I. xxxvii. (1859), 41. Thenne held they a counceyl so softe and so stylle that I nomore herd for a good space.
1422. trans. Secreta Secret., Priv. Priv., 177. He lyght fro his hors and in softe laghynge sayde [etc.].
1508. Dunbar, Tua Mariit Wemen, 519. The soft souch of the swyr.
1581. Mulcaster, Positions, xii. (1887), 60. Of loude and soft reading.
1605. Shaks., Lear, V. iii. 273. Her voice was euer soft, Gentle, and low, an excellent thing in woman.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Past., V. 128. The soft Whispers of the Southern Wind.
1738. Gray, Propertius, iii. 2. Whence the soft strain and ever-melting verse?
1779. Warner, in Jesse, Selwyn & Contemp. (1844), IV. 263. I dealt only in the softest inflexions of voice, though with you … I should have been angry.
1817. Keats, I stood tip-toe, 95. The soft rustle of a maiden’s gown.
1838. Dickens, O. Twist, xii. There came a soft tap at the door.
1876. Bristowe, Th. & Pract. Med. (1878), 602. A soft systolic murmur is frequently to be heard.
b. spec. in Phonetics. (Opposed to HARD a. 16.)
Jonson and Ainsworth employ the term in the contrary sense to that now usual.
1636. B. Jonson, Eng. Gram., iv. Wks. (Rtldg.), 772/2. The more general sound [or f] is the softest and expresseth the Greek ϕ.
1668. O. Price, Eng. Orthogr., 24. Except … the soft, s, in concision, circumcision. Ibid. But, th, makes a softer sound … in worthy, father.
1736. Ainsworth, Dict., II. s.v. T, P is only a softer b, and b an harder p,… the harder mute before a vowel passing into the softer before a consonant.
1775–. [see HARD a. 16].
1827. Heard, Gram. Russian Lang., 4. There are eleven vowels in the Russian alphabet, which are divided into hard and soft.
1845. Proc. Philol. Soc., II. 90. S is always hard, the soft sound of this letter being invariably represented by z.
1883. I. Taylor, Alphabet, II. 128. The Etruscan rejects the soft mutes b, g, d, and retains the aspirated mutes th, kh, ph.
c. Of musical instruments: Making or emitting a soft sound.
1561. T. Hoby, trans. Castiglione’s Courtyer, i. (1900), 90. The Cretenses used harpes and other softe instrumentes.
1634. Milton, Comus, 86. With his soft Pipe, and smooth-dittied Song. Ibid. (1667), P. L., I. 551. Anon they move … to the Dorian mood Of Flutes and soft Recorders.
1746. Francis, trans. Horace, Epist., II. ii. 82. IV. 225. Thee the softer Lyre Delights.
1794. Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, II. ii. 42. Their voices accompanied by a few soft instruments.
4. Of weather, seasons, etc.: Free from storms or rough winds; genial, mild, balmy. (Cf. 26.)
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 3061. Ðis weder is softe, And ðis king hard.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. VII. 181. Vppon softe sonenday … Hungur hem helede wiþ an hot Cake.
c. 1375. Cursor M., 24837 (Fairf.). Þe weder soft in somertide sone be-gan to rugg & ride.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 58/2. Calme or softe, wythe-owte wynde, calmus.
c. 1475. Henryson, Poems (S.T.S.), III. 93. The nicht is soft and dry.
a. 1505. Kingsford, Chron. Lond. (1905), 261. This yere was a wonderfull easy and soft wynter, without stormys or frostes.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., II. 457. In this soft Season,… In prime of all the Year, and Holy-days of Spring.
1705. Addison, Italy, 219. In a soft Air and a delicious Situation.
1822. [Mary A. Kelty], Osmond, III. 107. It was a soft, early summer’s morning.
1851. Carlyle, J. Sterling, I. ii. The climate of Bute is rainy, soft of temperature…. In that soft rainy climate [etc.].
1894. Blackmore, Perlycross, 401. It is such a soft spring-day.
b. Of the sun, rain, wind, etc.: Shining, falling or blowing gently; not strong, violent or boisterous.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. Prol. 1. In a somer sesun whon softe was þe sonne.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 6066. Erly at Morne, When the sun vp soght with his softe beames.
1549. Compl. Scotl., vi. (1872), 61. The … southyn vynd … generis thondir, cluddis, and smal soft ranis.
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.), II. 238. [He] prosperouslie landes at Leith … with a safte winde the xix day of maii.
1648. Hexham, II. Een soesinge, a soft or a gentle Gale.
1781. Cowper, Charity, 127. Soft airs and gentle heavings of the wave Impel the fleet.
1823. F. Clissold, Ascent Mt. Blanc, 22. Mounting my handkerchief upon a pole, a soft breath of wind spread its folds, and floated it gently in the air.
1843. Mrs. Carlyle, Lett., I. 206. The beautifullest soft rain to make all fresh again.
1864. Tennyson, Aylmer’s F., 454. The soft river-breeze, Which fann’d the gardens.
fig. 1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., II. III. vii. Wild burstings of affection were in this great heart; of fierce lightning, and soft dew of pity.
c. Of the sea, streams, etc.: Free from rough waves or turbulence; smooth, calm; running calmly or gently.
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 626. Þe se was soft, þe wawes were stille.
1543. Ascham, Toxoph. (Arb.), 153. There is no shippe better than Gallies be, in a softe and a caulme sea.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit., 223. From thence with a soft streame, and gentle fall, Thone runneth by … Taunton.
1648. Milton, Ps. lxxxvii. 27. In thee fresh brooks, and soft streams glance.
1784. Cowper, Task, IV. 64. Rills of oily eloquence in soft Meanders.
1814. Scott, Diary, 2 Sept. in Lockhart. We here only feel them as a large but soft swell of the sea.
1863. Smith’s Dict. Bible, III. 1311/2. It [Siloah] is not now, nor was it in the days of Isaiah, anything but a very soft and gentle stream.
5. Of pace, progression or movement: Leisurely, easy; slow; not hasty or hurried. Now arch.
The adverbial phrase (to go, ride, etc.) a soft pace appears very frequently from c. 1370 to 1560.
c. 1290. S. Eng. Leg., I. 297. He ne made no softe pas, Ake wende him þudere ful hastifliche.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 462/2. Softe, in mevynge, lentus. Ibid., 472/1. Stalkynge, or soft and sly goynge, serptura.
1511. Guylforde’s Pilgr. (Camden), 77. We made sayle with right softe spede.
1604. E. G[rimstone], D’Acosta’s Hist. Indies, VI. xxviii. 493. Circles … wherein the Auntients and Noblemen did sing and daunce with a softe and slowe motion.
1663. S. Patrick, Parab. Pilgr., xxvii. (1687), 313. A soft pace goes far.
1687. A. Lovell, trans. Thevenot’s Trav., I. 164. The Dromedaries have … a good soft trott, and will travel with ease forty Leagues a day.
a. 1704. T. Brown, To Belinda, ii. Wks. 1711, IV. 100. Love is all Gentleness and Joy, Smooth are his Looks, and soft his Pace.
a. 1822. Shelley, Matilda, 5. With slow, soft steps leaving the mountain’s steep.
1871. Rossetti, Poems, Dante at Verona, xxi. A lady … at a soft pace Riding the lists round to the dais.
b. Having a smooth easy motion. rare.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, X. xxviii. 458. Whanne he vnderstood that Kynge Marke had sente for hym, he mounted vpon a softe ambuler and rode to Kynge Marke.
1667. Milton, P. L., VIII. 165. The Earth … that spinning sleeps On her soft Axle, while she paces Eev’n.
† c. Of a journey: Performed leisurely. Obs.–1
1606. Holland, Suetonius, 75. The journeyes that he made were soft and small; so that if hee went from Rome but to Tibur or Præneste, he would make two daies of it.
† 6. Of a fire: Burning slowly or gently; moderate or gentle in heat or intensity; slow. Obs.
Common in the 16th and 17th centuries.
c. 1400. trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 85. After be it put vpon a softe fyr.
a. 1425. trans. Arderne’s Treat. Fistula, etc. 31. Seþe þam on a softe fyre vnto þey be made oon body.
1527. Andrew, Brunswyke’s Distyll. Waters, H iij. The fyre must be very softe in the begynnyng.
1577. Harrison, England, II. vi. (1877), I. 157. The more the barleie be dried (yet must it be doone with soft fire) the better the malt is.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit. (1637), 453. Redde fillets of Saffron … are dried at a soft fire.
1689. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), I. 620. Some French incendiaries … were adjudg’d to be fastned to a stake, with a soft fire round them.
1718. Bp. Hutchinson, Witchcraft, ii. (1720), 22. Some others roasted the King’s Picture by a soft Fire.
1738. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Balsam of sulphur, Boiling the two together over a soft fire the space of an hour.
Prov. a. 1536. Proverbs, in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.), 128. A softe fire makith swete malte.
1564. Bulleyn, Dram. Dial. (E.E.T.S.), 6. Softe fire maketh swete Malte.
1663. Butler, Hud., I. iii. 1251. Soft fire, they say, does make sweet Malt. Good Squire. Festina lente, not too fast.
7. Of a slope, ascent, etc.: Gentle, gradual.
1659. W. Chamberlayne, Pharonnida, II. 147. The stately Mount … to meet the Vale stole down On soft descents.
1781. Cowper, Retirement, 333. Neither heathy wilds … Nor soft declivities with tufted hills.
1794. Mrs. Radcliffe, Myst. Udolpho, III. xxxvi. 386. The strain … rose by soft degrees, till the high organ and the choral sounds swelled into full and solemn harmony.
1819. Scott, Ivanhoe, xliii. It occupied the brow of a soft and gentle eminence.
II. 8. Of persons: Gentle or mild in nature or character; inclined to be merciful, lenient or considerate in dealing with others; free from harshness, severity or rigor; compassionate, kind, tender-hearted.
Passing into, or not always clearly distinct from, sense 13.
a. 1122. O. E. Chron., an. 1114 (Laud MS.). He wæs swiðe god & softe man & dyde mycel to gode. Ibid. (1154), an. 1137. He milde man was & softe & god.
c. 1200. Ormin, 667. Godess enngell iss full meoc, & milde, & soffte, & bliþe.
c. 1205. Lay., 18775. Þa wes Vðer Pendragun Þa softer an his mode.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 304. Abuuen us [will be] þe eorre Demare, vor ase softe as he is her, ase herd he bið þer.
c. 1300. Havelok, 991. Als he was strong, so was he softe.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 371. Thou schalt be soft in compaignie, Withoute Contek or Folhaste.
c. 1430. Pilgr. Lyf Manhode, I. xv. (1869), 10. Softe he shulde be that hath it, For of to gret rudeshipe mys befalleth.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, I. xi. (S.T.S.), I. 68. Na pepill was sa gracius and soft in pvnissing of þare transgressouris or subdittis as þai wer.
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot. (S.T.S.), II. 223. This king … saw that as seueir punisment drewe vicious persounis frome vice; sa to be saft, and ouersie, prouokes thame daylie mair.
1612. T. Taylor, Comm. Titus iii. 2. A soft man is … one that will not be so hard in his dealing, as sometime by strict lawe he might.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., IV. 776. The soft Napæan Race will soon relent Their Anger, and remit the Punishment.
1751. Chesterf., Lett., ccxlv. (1792), III. 125. At the first impulse of passion be silent, till you can be soft.
1844. Dickens, Mart. Chuz., xxvii. The law being hard upon us, we’re not exactly soft upon B.
1852. Thackeray, Esmond, I. xiv. He … was very soft and gentle with the children.
1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer (1891), 313–4. They now began to consider that … Mr. Neuchamp had been considerate, or, in their phraseology, ‘soft,’ to an extent altogether unprecedented.
b. Of animals: Gentle, docile; lacking in spirit.
c. 1200. Ormin, 1312. Forr lamb is soffte & stille deor, & meoc, & milde.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVIII. c. (W. de W., 1495), 846. Whan he [a bull] is tyed vnder a fyg tree he lesyth and leueth all his fyersnesse and is sodenly sobre and softe.
[c. 1515. Cocke Lorell’s B., 1. She is as softe as a lamme yf one do her meue.]
1891. Pall Mall Gaz., 15 Sept., 2/3. An English jockey speaks with contempt of ‘a soft brute;’ when a toreador, using the argot of his ring, speaks of a soft brute, he says it has ‘drunk mud.’
c. Gentle in speech or looks.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 24078 (Edinb.). Fair he wes and fre,… Soft in speche.
c. 1400. trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 117. Þat man ys … wel dysposyd in kynde, þat … ys … softe yn lokynge. Ibid. (1422), Priv. Priv., 139. A kynge sholde be good of Speche and Softe in worde.
† d. Quiet; not making a noise. Obs.
a. 1430. Stans Puer, 55, in Babees Bk. At mete & at soper kepe þee stille & softe.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 462/2. Softe, or esy wythe owte grete dene,… tranquillus.
a. 1536. Proverbs, in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.), 130. Besy in stody be þou, child,… & at bedde, softe & sadde.
e. Not rigid or severe; lax, yielding. Cf. 11 b.
a. 1715. Burnet, Own Time (1734), II. 29. Lord Ancram said I might be what I pleased, if I would be a little softer in the points of religion.
1718. Hickes & Nelson, J. Kettlewell, III. l. 315. Some … think him herein too Rigid:… Others have censured him for being too Soft.
9. Of disposition, look, etc.: Gentle, mild; indicative of a mild or gentle character.
c. 1200. Ormin, 1461. Ȝiff þin herrte iss arefull, & milde, & soffte, & nesshe.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. VIII. 117. Sadde of his semblaunt and of soft chiere.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 83. For feigned semblant is so softe, Unethes love may be war.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, II. xi. (S.T.S.), I. 169. Seruilius…, ane man of mare soft Ingyne, said þe myndis of pepill mycht be mare eselie bowit þan brokin.
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., x. A flush of less soft expression … resumed predominance when he mentioned how meanly he was provided for the entertainment of his guests.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., v. I. 591. Those soft and pleasing features which had won so many hearts.
1880. ‘Ouida,’ Moths, II. 280. She found his soft, pensive eyes looking at her.
b. Of qualities, feelings, etc.: Characterized by gentleness or tenderness.
c. 1200. Ormin, 2899. Swa þatt te millce nohht ne be To soffte, ne to nesshe.
1593. Shaks., Lucr., 595 (1594), E 3. Soft pittie enters at an iron gate.
1723. Ramsay, Fair Assembly, x. Belinda … strikes with love and saft surprise, Where e’er she turns her een.
1746. Hervey, Medit. (1818), 147. A heart susceptible of the softest, most compassionate emotions.
1781. Cowper, Table-t., 484. If human woes her soft attention claim.
10. Of words, language, etc.: a. Ingratiating, soothing, bland; tender, sentimental.
c. 1375. Sc. Leg. Saints, xlv. (Christina), 46. Þane hir fadire kissit hir ofte, & gluthryt hir with vordis softe.
1390. Gower, Conf., I. 72. He with softe wordes milde Conforteth hire.
1535. Coverdale, Prov. v. 3. For the lippes of an harlot are a droppinge hony combe, and hir throte is softer then oyle.
1548. Udall, etc. Erasm. Par. Luke, 193 b. Is it not a woorde softer then honey, to saie haill maister?
1608. Shaks., Per., IV. iv. 45. G 3. No vizor does become blacke villanie, So well as soft and tender flatterie.
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 118, ¶ 2. The Huntsman … whispered the softest Vows of Fidelity in her Ear, and cried [etc.].
1773. Goldsm., Stoops to Conq., II. What soft things are you saying to your cousin?
1782. Miss Burney, Cecilia, II. iii. Can you conjecture who was making these soft speeches?
1842. S. Lover, Handy Andy, xxxiv. The coaxing tones of Bridget’s voice, inviting Andy, in the softest words, to go to bed.
1865. Trollope, Belton Est., ix. 94. He was fond of saying soft things which were intended to have no meaning.
b. Free from roughness or harshness; tending to tone down or minimize something unpleasant.
1388. Wyclif, Prov. xv. 1. A soft answere brekith ire.
c. 1446. Lydg., Two Nightingale Poems, 25. Whan he was brought to examynacioun: A soft Aunswere without rebellioun.
c. 1450. St. Cuthbert (Surtees), 350. Þe bischope mode was all mesyd, Þe whene with soft wordes he plesyd.
1660. Waterhouse, Arms & Arm., 38. ’Tis very convenient to use a soft Pen, and to offer probable truth with no dictator-like confidence.
1710. Addison, Whig Examiner, No. 5, ¶ 3. They have stated this case in the softest and most palatable terms it will bear.
1753–4. Richardson, Grandison, III. xxvii. 286. You have soft words for hard meanings.
1838. Thirlwall, Greece, IV. 161. Ambassadors were sent to Agis, to propose alliance with Sparta—a softer term for subjection.
1869. Trollope, He knew, etc. xxxii. (1878), 183. If there was anything in what your wife did to offend you, a soft word from you would have put it all right.
c. Expressive of what is tender or peaceful. Also transf. of a writer.
a. 1704. T. Brown, Praise Drunkenness, Wks. 1730, I. 37. Anacreon was famous for a bottle, as he was soft and pleasing in his poetry.
1712. Addison, Spectator, No. 369, ¶ 19. Some Passages are beautiful by being Sublime, others by being Soft.
1743. Francis, trans. Horace, Odes, I. xvi. 26. I. 91.
| But now repentant shall the Muse again | |
| To softer Numbers tune her melting Strain. |
11. Of actions, means, etc.: Gentle or moderate in character; carried on, performed, etc., without harshness, severity or violence.
1495. Act 11 Hen. VII., c. 2. Preamble, Of his pitie intending to reduce theym therunto by softer meanes then by such extreme rigour.
1588. Kyd, Househ. Phil., Wks. (1901), 260. To aduise thee … not [to] bring them vp vnder so soft and easie discipline as they become … milke sops.
1607. Shaks., Cor., III. ii. 82. Thou,… being bred in broyles, Hast not the soft way, which … Were fit for thee to vse.
1670. Clarendon, Contempl. Ps., Tracts (1727), 605. Since they will not admit and entertain that soft Approach of his Grace towards their Conversion, he hath a rougher Remedy to apply.
1742. Gray, Propertius, i. 3. Still may his Bard in softer fights engage. Ibid. (1754), Progr. Poesy, 16. The … Frantic Passions hear thy soft controul.
1784. Cowper, Task, III. 510. When the temper’d heat … may afford Soft fomentation, and invite the seed.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. V. i. The two fly-wheels whirl in the softest manner.
1888. Bryce, Amer. Commw., III. lxxxvii. 161. They are disposed to try soft means at first.
b. In comparative use: Less rigid or strict.
1718. Hickes & Nelson, J. Kettlewell, III. lxxiv. 388. He had been prevailed upon … to take the New Oath according to the Softer Sense.
12. Of the hand, etc.: Touching lightly or gently.
Sense 19 is also implied.
1650. R. Stapylton, Strada’s Low-C. Warres, I. 24. An incision pains the less when made by a soft hand.
1667. Milton, P. L., IV. 471. I will bring thee where no shadow staies … thy soft imbraces.
1743. Francis, trans. Horace, Odes, I. xxiv. 22. I. 117. What though You can the Lyre command, And sweep its Tones with softer Hand Than Orpheus.
1820. Shelley, Hymn Merc., xxv. Right through the temple … He went with soft light feet.
1901. N. Amer. Rev., Feb., 162. The soft hand of the Americans is not as good as the mailed fist of the Germans.
III. 13. Yielding readily to emotions of a tender nature; easily affected or moved in this way; impressionable. Also absol. of persons.
c. 1205. Lay., 24220. Þer custe uader þene sune,… suster custe suster; Þa softere heom wes an heorten.
c. 1489. Caxton, Sonnes of Aymon, iv. 127. His herte wexed softe, & began to wepe full sore.
1588. Shaks., L. L. L., IV. iii. 337. Loues feeling is more soft and sensible, Then are the tender hornes of Cockled Snayles.
1713. Steele, Guardian, No. 17, ¶ 7. Concerning the Soft disposition and generosity of his master.
1747. Gentl. Mag., XVII. 194/1.
| Beheld his death so decently unmov’d, | |
| The soft lamented, and the brave approv’d. |
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. II. i. The soft young heart adopts orphans.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., viii. II. 320. His graceful manners,… his soft heart, his open hand, were universally praised.
1880. Lucy B. Walford, Troublesome Daughters, I. ix. 187. He found himself quite soft on the subject.
b. In figurative expressions.
1679. Alsop, Melius Inq., II. viii. 361. A tender-Conscienced Person is one that has a Soft place in’s Head.
1753. Miss Collier, Art Torment., II. iii. (1811), 135. The man who has a soft place in his heart.
1885. Ivory Black, in Century Mag., XXX. 380/2. Mr. Gamboge, who had rather a soft spot in his heart for Violet.
1887. Ld. Rosebery, in Times, 27 Sept., 7/1. Cave … had got the softer side of some of the doorkeepers of the House of Commons.
c. To be soft on or upon (a person), to be in love with; to regard amorously or sentimentally.
1840. Thackeray, Barber Cox, Jan. Orlando and my girl, who were mighty soft upon one another. Ibid. (1860), Lovel, vi. I was not a little soft upon her myself, that’s the truth.
1888. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Robbery under Arms, II. ix. 157. I always thought she was rather soft on Jim.
14. Easily influenced or swayed; having little power of resistance to the influence of other persons or things; facile, compliant. Also absol. of persons.
c. 1250. Owl & Night., 1350. Þah sum wif beo of nesche mode, For wummon beoþ of softe blode.
1535. Coverdale, Job xxiii. 16. For in so moch as he is God, he maketh my herte soft: and seynge that he is Allmightie, he putteth me in feare.
1558. Knox, First Blast (Arb.), 24. Womankinde is imprudent and soft, (or flexible),… because she is easelie bowed.
1639. Saltmarsh, Pract. Policie, 178. In a businesse of passion and affection be suspitious of your selfe and company, for in such cases you are most open and soft to advantages.
1648–9. Eikon Bas., 116. Divines, (of so soft and servile tempers, as disposed them to so sudden acting and compliance).
1751. Johnson, Rambler, No. 162, ¶ 5. Many … who select for friendship and confidence not … the virtuous, but the soft, the civil, and compliant.
1813. Scott, Rokeby, I. xxiv. A heart too soft from early life To hold with fortune needful strife.
1849. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., v. I. 543–4. His [Monmouth’s] soft mind had, as usual, taken an impress from the society which surrounded him.
b. Weak, effeminate, unmanly.
1593. Shaks., 3 Hen. VI., II. ii. 57. My Lord cheere vp your spirits, our foes are nye, And this soft courage makes your Followers faint.
1620. E. Blount, Horæ Subsec., 82. In women, and men of soft and effeminated affections.
1628. Hobbes, Thucydides (1822), 94. The Lacedemonians … ever looked sourly on soft and loose behaviour.
1663. S. Patrick, Parab. Pilgr. (1687), 487. [To] keep our selves above the soft pleasures of the flesh into which we are apt to sink.
1716. Pope, Iliad, VI. 362. Sidonian maids … Whom from soft Sidon youthful Paris bore.
1776. Gibbon, Decl. & F., xii. (1782), I. 413. He was soft yet cruel; devoted to pleasure, but destitute of taste.
1801. Strutt, Sports & Past., Introd. p. xi. Violent exercises … grew out of fashion…, and the education … became proportionably more soft and delicate.
1872. Routledge’s Ev. Boy’s Ann., 455/1. It looks so soft to say you won’t fight.
c. Refined, delicate. rare.
1601. Shaks., Twel. N., V. i. 331. For your seruice done him,… So farre beneath your soft and tender breeding. Ibid. (1604), Ham., V. ii. 112 (Q.2). An absolute gentleman,… of very soft society, and great showing.
1693. Evelyn, De la Quint. Compl. Gard., I. 58. They say in a pretty popular manner, that … it is impossible to afford them too much Kindness, which is the soft and sparkish Expression they use in speaking of what we vulgarly call Dung.
† 15. Lax or slack in duty. Obs.–1
c. 1386. Chaucer, Doctor’s T., 101. Under a schepherd softe and necligent, The wolf hath many a schep and lamb to-rent.
16. Of a weakly or delicate constitution; not strong or robust; incapable of much physical endurance or exertion.
[1596. Shaks., Tam. Shr., V. ii. 165. Why are our bodies soft, and weake, and smooth, Vnapt to toyle and trouble.]
1661. Lovell, Hist. Anim. & Min., Isagoge c b. Soft and sedentary men must abstaine from it, it being fit only for porters, ploughmen, and mariners.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., I. 685. There Euphrates her soft Off-spring arms.
1781. Cowper, Anti-Thelyphthora, 177. She, regardless of her softer kind, Seiz’d fast the saddle.
1842. Combe, Digestion, 294. If the individual … is of a soft, sluggish, lymphatic temperament, which stands in need of a healthy stimulus.
1850. Mrs. Jameson, Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863), 46. In those days the coasts of England were, to the soft Italians, a kind of Siberia for distance and desolation.
1888. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Robbery under Arms, I. xi. 135. Our horses had been doing nothing lately, and being on good young feed had, of course, got fat, and were rather soft.
b. colloq. (See quot.)
1898. Sir G. Robertson, Chitrál, xxxii. 351. The conviction that our troops were broken in spirit—what in India is expressively called ‘soft.’
17. The soft(er) sex, the female sex.
1648. J. Beaumont, Psyche, XIV. l. (1702), 213.
| Indeed the softer sex, attending Him | |
| And His still-growing woes with tenderer eyes. |
1716. Pope, Iliad, V. 435. The king insults the goddess as she flies:… ‘Go, let thy own soft sex employ thy care.’
1724. Swift, Acc. Wood’s Exec., Misc. 1735, V. 317. Those of the softer Sex who attended the Ceremony.
1833. L. Ritchie, Wand. by Loire, 128. That sex, which men call the softer, will dare the very devil, when occasion calls.
1838. Lytton, Alice, 157. In addition to those qualities which please the softer sex, Legard was a good whist player.
18. More or less foolish, silly or simple; lacking ordinary intelligence or common-sense; easily imposed upon or deceived. Also dial. or colloq., mentally deficient, half-witted.
1621. Burton, Anat. Mel., I. ii. III. xv. (1651), 130. Your greatest Students are commonly no better, silly, soft fellows. Ibid., IV. iv. 149. He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.
a. 1700. B. E., Dict. Cant. Crew, Soft, foolish.
1725. Bailey, Erasm. Colloq., 277. This is the only Thing that he’s soft in; he’s sharp as a Needle in anything else.
1775. Miss Burney, Early Diary (1889), II. 124. He looks very soft, in the most extensive meaning of the word; c’est à dire, in temper, person, and head.
1835. Marryat, J. Faithful, xxv. A good sort of chap enough, but rather soft in the upper-works.
1867. Trollope, Chron. Barset, I. 12. One of the Grantlys was, to say the least of it, very soft.
b. dial. Stupefied or muddled with drink.
1836–. in dial. glossaries and texts (Eng. Dial. Dict.).
c. colloq. Foolishly kind, benevolent, considerate, etc.
1890. ‘R. Boldrewood,’ Col. Reformer (1891), 261. Helping other people along the road of life. And a thundering soft thing it is, in a general way. Ibid., 315. Mr. Neuchamp did a soft thing in bringing these chaps here.
IV. 19. Presenting a yielding surface to the touch; not offering absolute resistance to pressure.
a. 1240. Ureisun, in O. E. Hom., I. 187. Hwet deþ þenne þi blod isched on þe rode, hwet deþ þenne þe large broc of þi softe side?
c. 1250. Gen. & Ex., 335. Ðanne is tis fruit wel swiðe good, fair on siȝðhe and softe on hond.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 25491. Iesus, þat wald … suffer … Boffetes on þi soft chin.
a. 1366[?]. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 556. Ther nis a fairer nekke, y-wis, To fele how smothe and softe it is.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 462/2. Softe and smothe, lenis, planus.
1508. Dunbar, Tua Mariit Wemen, 28. I saw thre gay ladeis,… Quhyt seimlie, and soft, as the sweit lillies.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., II. iii. 61. Touch her soft mouth, and march.
1637. Bp. Hall, Remedy Prophanenesse, II. § 13. 178. The hand that was at the first soft, and tender, after it hath beene inured to worke, growes brawned, and impenetrable.
1700. Dryden, Ovid’s Met., Acis, Polyph. & Galatea, 75. More sleek thy Skin,… And softer to the touch, than down of Swans.
1741–2. Gray, Agrippina, 95. Knows his soft ear the trumpet’s thrilling voice.
1847. Tennyson, Princess, VII. 121. Softer all her shape And rounder seem’d.
1896. Kirkaldy & Pollard, trans. Boas’ Text Bk. Zool., 229. The legs arise … from the soft, lateral portions of the segment.
b. Of the pulse. (Cf. HARD a. 3.)
1728. Chambers, Cycl., s.v. Pulse, A hard Pulse signifies, 1. That the Membrane of the Artery is dryer than ordinary:… 3. That the Arteries are full [etc.]. A soft Pulse denotes the contrary to all these.
1834. Good’s Study Med. (ed. 4), I. 545. If a pulse be small and soft together, then it must be considered as weak.
1843. R. J. Graves, Syst. Clin. Med., x. 113. A soft slow pulse.
20. Of cloth, hair, or similar substances: Of a yielding texture, pleasant to the feel or touch; also, capable of being easily folded or put into a different form; flexible.
c. 1205. Lay., 22763. Water me brohte…, seoððen claðes soften al of white seolke.
1382. Wyclif, Matt. xi. 8. Loo! thei that ben clothid with softe thingis [1388 softe clothis] ben in housis of kyngis.
c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., 1721, Lucretia. This noble wif sat by hire beddys side … And softe wolle … she wroughte.
1450–80. trans. Secreta Secret., 39. And the heer be fulle and softe, that man is deboner.
1508. Dunbar, Tua Mariit Wemen, 96. Soft and soupill as the silk.
1567. Gude & Godlie Ball. (S.T.S.), 196. Preistis, leif ȝour pryde, Ȝour skarlet and ȝour veluote soft.
1615. G. Sandys, Trav., 15. A white soft Bombast intermixed with seeds.
1725. Fam. Dict., s.v. Hair, If you would have the Hair grow long and soft, distil Hogs-Grease, or Oil of Olives in an Alembec, and with the Oil of it anoint the Hair.
1784. Cowper, Task, I. 11. Satin smooth, Or velvet soft, or plush with shaggy pile. Ibid. (1788), Gratitude, 17. These carpets, so soft to the foot.
1879. F. Pollok, Sport Brit. Burmah, I. 234. Leather … which must be kept soft by oil and elbow-grease.
1887. Lowell, Democracy, 34. [To] walk along Piccadilly at the height of the Season in a soft hat.
fig. 1780. Cowper, Progr. Err., 313. Caught in a delicate soft silken net By some lewd earl.
b. Soft wares, or goods, woollen or cotton fabrics, such as cretonne, chintz, lace, muslin, velvet, etc., or articles made of these.
1851. Mayhew, Lond. Labour, I. 378/2. The most primitive kind of packmen, or hawkers of soft-wares.
1894. Westm. Gaz., 27 Sept., 8/2. Lectures intended for those engaged in the soft goods trade.
1898. Daily News, 8 Jan., 7/3. A traveller in soft goods for an old-established London firm.
c. U.S. Of paper money. (Cf. HARD a. 2.) Also attrib.
1831. T. L. Peacock, Crotchet Castle, xi. 190 The notes of Touchandgo and Company, soft cash, are now the exclusive currency of all this vicinity.
1878. W. Phillips, in N. Amer. Rev., CXXVII. 103. A Western Democrat on a soft-money platform will be the next President.
1893. Daily News, 16 June, 7/3. Mr. Cleveland … found himself compelled to give the hot-headed partisans of ‘soft’ money a sharp lesson.
21. Of a bed, pillow, etc.: Readily yielding to the weight of the body; into or upon which one sinks or settles down comfortably.
c. 1250. Owl & Night., 644. Mi nest is holeuh & rum amidde, So hit is softest myne bridde.
c. 1275. Sinners Beware, 284, in O. E. Misc. Ye me fedde … And leyden in softe bedde Þo ic a-mong eu eode.
1340. Ayenb., 47. Þe zofte bed cloþes,… and alle manyere eyse of bodye.
1588. Kyd, Househ. Phil., Wks. (1901), 284. There in a very soft bed I bequeathed my bones to rest.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., IV. i. 14. A good soft Pillow for that good white Head. Ibid. (1607), Cor., V. iii. 53. With no softer Cushion then the Flint I kneele before thee.
1667. Milton, P. L., IV. 334. As they sat recline On the soft downie Bank.
1781. Cowper, Table-t., 678. He laid his head in luxury’s soft lap. Ibid. (1784), Task, I. 75. Ingenious fancy … devis’d The soft settee.
1830. Tennyson, Merman, iii. Soft are the moss-beds under the sea.
c. 1885. Rossetti, Sick Child’s Medit., ii. Poems (1904), 263/2. Thou, O Lord, in pain, hadst no pillow soft.
transf. 1450–80. Secreta Secret., 29. Thingis that makith the body fatte,… as wyn that is dowsett,… and slepe aftir mete, soft liyng, and alle good odoures.
1784. Cowper, Task, I. 82. By soft recumbency of outstretch’d limbs.
1819. Scott, Ivanhoe, ii. If the reverend fathers … loved good cheer and soft lodging.
22. Of ground: a. Yielding agreeably to the feet.
c. 1200. Ormin, 9666. Þær shall nu newenn greȝȝþedd beon Full smeþe & soffte weȝȝe.
a. 1366[?]. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 128. The medewe softe, swote, and grene, Beet right on the water-syde.
1815. Shelley, Alastor, 448. Soft mossy lawns Beneath these canopies extend their swells.
b. Insufficiently hard; allowing a vehicle, person, etc., to sink in, esp. through excess of wet.
1523. Fitzherb., Husb., § 5. On marreis ground and soft ground the other wheles be better.
1765. Dickson, Treat. Agric. (ed. 2), 73. The pasture of plants is enlarged, both in hard and soft land, by stirring and turning it over. Ibid., 74. Soft marshy land, by being frequently ploughed, becomes more firm and solid.
1812. New Botanic Garden, I. 98. In soft boggy situations.
1816. Scott, Bl. Dwarf, iii. The bog is no abune knee-deep, and better a saft road as bad company.
1872. ‘Idstone’ (T. Pearce), The Dog, vi. 58. Men carried them on horseback when the track was plain upon mud or soft ground.
c. Of a fall: Made on a soft substance, or in such a way as to escape injury. In quots. fig.
1587. Mirr. Mag., Rudacke, x. Who climeth so highe, his fall is not soft.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. III. viii. Remains only that the Court … shall make his fall soft.
23. Of a yielding consistency; composed of, or forming, a substance that may easily be molded or compressed without disintegration.
c. 1400. trans. Secreta Secret., Gov. Lordsh., 68. And whenne a body ys þicke and drye, softe metys and moyste er goode þerto.
a. 1425. trans. Arderne’s Treat. Fistula, etc. 60. Blode is norischyng of al membrez, als wele of sadde as of softe.
1474. Caxton, Chesse, III. v. (1883), 123. For the women ben likened vnto softe waxe or softe ayer.
a. 1536. Proverbs, in Songs, Carols, etc. (E.E.T.S.), 132. Whote wortis make softe crustis.
1567. Maplet, Gr. Forest, 100 b. Whose flesh so soft and morsell sweete in all feastes is the hed.
1667. Milton, P. L., I. 424. Spirits … Can either Sex assume, or both; so soft And uncompounded is their Essence pure.
1687. Prior & Halifax, Hind & Panth. Transv., P.’s Wks. 1892, II. 321.
| A milk-white mouse immortal and unchang’d, | |
| Fed on soft cheese, and o’re the dairy rang’d. |
1710. J. Clarke, trans. Rohault’s Nat. Philos. (1729), I. 123. A soft Body, which seems to be of a middle Nature betwixt a hard and a liquid Body.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), VI. 66. To suppose that they entered the rock while it was yet in a soft state.
1815. J. Smith, Panorama Sci. & Art, II. 415. By exposure to heat, potass becomes soft, and … melts into a transparent glass.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. vii. 48. The snow … was moist and soft.
1899. Allbutt’s Syst. Med., VIII. 581. For the scalp … a soft ointment … answers well.
b. In more or less specific uses (see quots.).
Soft roe: see ROE2 1.
1601. Holland, Pliny, I. 332. Those in the sea which we call Soft-fishes, although they haue no bloud at all, as namely the Pour-cuttles or Polypes.
1745. P. Thomas, Jrnl. Anson’s Voy., 30. A Copper Oven … for baking soft Bread. Ibid., 145. The Officers had always soft Bread new baked, which was much better than the Biscuit, that being so much Worm-eaten, it was scarce any thing but Dust, and a little Blow would reduce it to that immediately.
1856. N. Brit. Rev., XXVI. 168. If these be the causes of hard and soft cataract.
1889. Pall Mall Gaz., 28 May, 3/1. All ‘soft meat birds’ are observant. I mean by soft meat—which is a birdcatchers’ term—the feeders on grubs and worms and flies, rather than on seeds.
1899. Daily News, 7 Dec., 11/1. The foggy weather had an effect on the carcases in general, rendering them what is called ‘soft.’
c. Of a semi-fluid consistency.
1703. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., 262. In Summer time use your Morter as soft as you can, but in the Winter time pretty stiff or hard.
1791. Phil. Trans., LXXXI. 174. Workman keeps stirring and turning over the metal; in 3 m. it becomes soft and semi-fluid.
1898. Bolas, Glass Blowing, 132. An iron rod called a punty…, on the end of which is a mass of soft glass, is now attached to the elongated bulb.
d. Of oil: (see quots.).
1885. Encycl. Brit., XVIII. 242. The several kinds of crude paraffin … are classed as ‘hard scale’ or ‘soft scale,’ according to their fusing points and consequent degrees of hardness at ordinary temperatures.
1887. Moloney, Forestry W. Africa, 43. In the trade it [palm-oil] is called ‘hard’ when it contains a larger proportion of ‘stearine,’ ‘soft’ when it contains a smaller proportion.
24. Relatively inferior or deficient in hardness.
1599. Hakluyt, Voy., II. I. 253. Where there is a great market kept of Diamants, Rubies, Saphires, and many other soft stones.
1670. Pettus, Fodinæ Reg., 5. And in these Veins of Metals and Minerals are often found Loadstones,… Rough pearl and Soft diamond.
1815. J. Smith, Panorama Sci. & Art, I. 4. But if heated and cooled gradually, it becomes nearly as soft as pure iron.
1830. Lyell, Princ. Geol., I. 216. The carbonates of iron, lime, and manganese are so dissolved, that the rock is rendered soft.
1847. Yeowell, Anc. Brit. Church, xii. 140. A head and face rudely carved in a soft stone.
1872. Raymond, Statist. Mines & Mining, 145. So far the mines have been easily worked, the gangue being as yet comparatively soft.
b. In specific uses, as soft bast, brass, burr (see BURR sb.5 3), coal, iron, metal, paste, porcelain, steel, stuff. (See also SOLDER sb.1 4.)
1875. Bennett & Dyer, trans. Sachs’ Bot., 101. These cell-formations (cambiform, latticed cells, sieve-tubes) may, in combination with the phloëm-parenchyma in which they are imbedded,… be included in the term *Soft-bast, in opposition to the true bast.
1888. Jacobi, Printers’ Vocab., 128. *Soft brass.—Brass rule which can be easily manipulated, specially manufactured for fancy work.
1789. J. Williams, Min. Kingd., I. 232. Sometimes you can judge pretty near the crop or surface whether it will be a hard or *soft coal.
1855. J. Phillips, Man. Geol., 190. ‘Soft’ coal, where the cleat fissures are numerous and broken by cross cleat.
1839. G. Bird, Nat. Philos., 259. If a bar of *soft iron be bent in the shape of the letter U.
1873. Maxwell, Electr. & Magn., II. 44. If the magnetic properties of the iron depend entirely on the magnetic force of the field in which it is placed, and vanish when it is removed from the field, it is called Soft iron.
1869. Rankine, Machine & Hand-tools, 63. *Soft metal, for the bearings of shafts, consists of 50 parts of tin, 1 of copper, and 5 of antimony.
1884. Knight, Dict. Mech., Suppl. 828/2. *Soft Paste. (Ceramics.) A name applied to the material of porcelain, which is semi-hard only.
1859. R. Hunt, Guide Mus. Pract. Geol. (ed. 2), 92. The English porcelain is, what is called, *soft porcelain, and is composed of three elements, Kaolin and Cornish China stone—with bone ashes.
1868. Joynson, Metals, 90. For *soft-steel, less than 1 per cent. [of charcoal] being required.
1827. Fitton, in Zool. Jrnl., III. 416. The ‘soft-stuff’ [of the Stonesfield slate-beds], occupying about six inches, consists of yellowish very sandy clay, including thin courses of fibrous transparent gypsum.
25. a. Applied to water, such as rain or river water, which is more or less free from calcium and magnesium salts. (Opposed to HARD a. 14 a.)
1755. Gentl. Mag., XXV. 361. Keep this bason constantly filled with soft water.
1805. W. Saunders, Min. Waters, 76. River Water. This is in general much softer and more free from earthy salts.
1878. A. C. Ramsay, Phys. Geogr., xxxii. 553. The water from the Welsh mountains is also in great part soft.
b. dial. and U.S. Of beverages: Non-alcoholic, non-spirituous.
1880. in Antrim & Down Gloss., 95.
1894. Capt. Chas. B. Hall, in Outing, XXIV. 236/2. Each regiment had a ‘canteen’ of its own, where the men could buy … soft drinks, beer, cigars, pipes, etc.
26. Of the weather, a day, etc.: Rainy, wet. Chiefly Sc. and north. dial.
1812. Sir J. Sinclair, Syst. Husb. Scot., I. Add. 11. If they [slugs] be attacked when on the surface of the ground, where they are every soft morning in search of food.
1828–. in many dial. glossaries, etc.
1829. Scott, Jrnl., 12 July. The day excessively rainy, or, as we call it, soft.
1874. Mrs. Oliphant, For Love & Life, I. 155. The day was fine, notwithstanding the prophecy of ‘saft weather.’
V. 27. Special collocations (see also 23 b, d, and 24 b):
Soft corn, plausible speech or language; flattery (Bartlett, 1859). Soft-horn, a simple or foolish person (slang). Soft mouth, a flatterer, smooth speaker. Soft plank (see quot.). Soft pull, in Printing (see quots.). Soft snap, an easy, pleasant job; a profitable business or undertaking (colloq. or slang). Soft sugar, moist sugar. Soft tack, among sailors, bread as distinct from ship’s biscuit (see TACK sb.5). Soft tommy (see TOMMY). Soft vat, woodlands (see quots.).
1837. Haliburton, Clockm., Ser. I. xxxi. 332. I allot, said Mr. Slick, that the blue-noses are the most gullible folks on the face of the airth—rigular *soft horns, that’s a fact.
1864. Slang Dict., 240. Soft-horn, a simpleton, a donkey, whose ears, the substitutes for horns, are soft.
1882. Blackmore, Christowell, II. xiii. 268. Mrs. Tubbs liked them, because they were gentlemen; not such *soft-mouths as you see now.
1867. Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., s.v. Soft-Plank. Picking a *soft plank in the deck, is choosing an easy berth.
1683. Moxon, Mech. Exerc., Printing, § xxiv. ¶ 5. 282. A long or a Soaking or Easie Pull,… this is also call’d a *Soft Pull; because it comes Soft, and Soakingly and easily down.
1787. Printer’s Gram., 327–8. That which causes a Soft Pull is putting in pieces of felt or pasteboard.
1888. Jacobi, Printers’ Vocab., 128. Soft pull.—An easy pull over of the bar-handle of a printing press.
1887. F. Francis, Jr. Saddle & Mocassin, xii. 227. I’ve got a *‘soft snap’ on—can’t miss it.
1818. Scott, Br. Lamm., xxiii. A drap brandy to burn, and a wee pickle *saft sugar.
1839. Ure, Dict. Arts, 674. A *soft vat … is that which contains too much copperas.
1859. Bartlett, Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), 427. *Soft Woodlands. A term applied, in the British Provinces, to the districts or intervals covered with various species of pine trees.
b. In the names of plants or trees, as soft brome, grass, maple, rush (see quots.).
1817. W. H. Marshall, Review, V. 489. The *soft brome, smooth stalked meadow, smaller fescue, and yellow oat, are partial to dry soils.
1785. Martyn, Rousseau’s Bot., xiii. (1794), 151. Several genera; of which the Holcus or *Soft grass is most likely to come under your observation.
1796. Withering, British Pl. (ed. 3), II. 135. Holcus lanatus,… Meadow Soft-grass…. H. mollis,… Creeping Soft-grass.
1845. Lindley, Sch. Bot. (ed. 2), 143. Holcus lanatus (Woolly Soft Grass).
1876. Encycl. Brit., IV. 264/2. The natives of Africa also make a beverage from the seed of the spiked or eared soft-grass (Holcus spicatus).
1855. J. Darby, Bot. S. States, 265. A[cer] dasycarpum,… *Soft Maple.
1891. E. Roper, By Track & Trail, xv. 220. Against this rose the giant cedars, pines and hemlocks, the soft and vine maples [etc.].
1861. Miss Pratt, Flower. Pl., V. 285. J[uncus] effúsus (*Soft Rush)…. this is a common Rush of marshy lands.
c. In the names of animals, esp. reptiles or fishes, as soft-back, clam, crab, tortoise, etc.
1872. De Vere, Americanisms, 388. Another tortoise of greater size and equal ferocity is the *Softback (Trionyx ferox).
1884. Goode, Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim., 707. The *‘Soft Clam,’ ‘Long Clam,’ or ‘Nanninose’ (Mya arenaria).
1859. Bartlett, Dict. Amer. (ed. 2), 398. Shedder-Crab. A crab which has recently cast its shell, also called a *Soft Crab.
1884. Goode, Nat. Hist. Aquat. Anim., 776. The terms ‘Soft Crab,’ ‘Paper-shell,’ and ‘Buckler’ denote the different stages of consistency of the shell.
1896. Lydekker, Roy. Nat. Hist., V. 376. Of these two unimportant families, the first is represented solely by the *soft-spines (Malacanthus).
1822. J. Parkinson, Outl. Oryctol., 303. The *soft tortoise (Trionyx).
c. 1880. Cassell’s Nat. Hist., IV. 256. The Trionycides. The Mud or Soft Tortoises.
1896. Lydekker, Roy. Nat. Hist., V. 98. The most striking peculiarity of the soft-tortoises is to be found in the nature of their shells.
28. a. Used with sbs. to form an attributive (or objective) comb., as soft-bill, -coal, -foot, etc.
1829. Griffith, trans. Cuvier, VIII. 617. *Soft-bill Duck,… Anas Melanorhynchos.
1884. Knight, Dict. Mech., Suppl. 828/1. *Soft Center Steel. A composition of iron and steel…. Used for safes, plows, etc.
1885. W. D. Howells, Silas Lapham (1891), II. 57. The *soft-coal fire in the grate.
1598. Marlowe & Chapman, Hero & Leander, V. 3. Sol, and the *soft-foote Howrs hung on his armes.
1868. U. S. Rep. Munit. War, 165. A hooped, *soft-steel gun.
1860. All Year Round, No. 49. 532. Of the *soft-water-drinking towns already named, Lancaster gets water … from millstone grit.
1893. A. Smith, in Pall Mall Gaz., 30 Jan., 7/3. The tallest people in Great Britain are to be met with in soft-water districts.
b. In comb. with adjs. rare.
1603. J. Davies (Heref.), Microcosmos, Wks. (Grosart), I. 20/2. Yea, smoothlie iest at their soft-silken Happe.
1843. Holtzapffel, Turning, I. 450. The first solder is called by the pewterers hard-pale, the last soft-pale.
29. Comb. Forming parasynthetic adjs., as soft-brained, -coated, conscienced, -fingered, etc.
Only the more important or earlier examples of this type are here illustrated.
1687. Miége, Gt. Fr. Dict., II. s.v., *Soft-brained, or Soft-pated, qui est un peu foû.
1859. Geo. Eliot, A. Bede, III. V. xxxvii. 23. The luxurious nature of a round, *soft-coated pet animal.
1820. Keats, Ode to Psyche, 4. Pardon that thy secrets should be sung Even into thine own *soft-conched ear.
1607. Shaks., Cor., I. i. 37. Though *soft conscienc’d men can be content to say it was for his Countrey.
1828. P. Cunningham, N. S. Wales (ed. 3), II. 190. Weavers, barbers, and such-like *soft-fingered gentry.
1611. Tourneur, Ath. Trag., II. v. E 4 b. I doe not like these flegmaticke, smooth-skinn’d, *soft-flesh’d fellowes.
1886. C. Scott, Sheep-Farming, 195. They [dogs] are of every size and colour, rough and smooth-coated, *soft and hard haired.
1768–74. Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1834), II. 277. *Soft-handed Hope, whose soothing touch makes the possessor easy in himself.
1820. Keats, Ode to Psyche, 18. Their lips touch’d not, but had not bade adieu, As if disjoined by soft-handed slumber.
1842. I. Williams, Baptistery, III. xvii. 224. Soft-handed Silence near stands looking calmly on.
1847. Disraeli, Tancred, III. V. ii. 20. Very amiable and brave, trustworthy and *soft-mannered.
1592. Arden of Feversham, II. ii. (1908), 14/1. Why, this would steale *soft metled [1633 soft-melted] cowardice.
1540. Coverdale, Fruitful Lessons, i. Quiet, mild, *soft-minded, tractable, and meek.
1648. Hexham, II. Weeck-zinnigh, Soft-minded, or Enraged.
1564. Abp. Parker, Corr. (Parker Soc.), 214. A good, *soft-natured gentleman.
1619. Fletcher, Wild-Goose Chase, I. ii. We’l provide thee some soft-natur’d wench.
1899. Westm. Gaz., 1 July, 2/3. 200,000 rounds of ammunition, made up with *soft-nosed bullets.
1776. Mickle, trans. Camoens’ Lusiad, IV. 6. The dawn … With *soft-paced ray dispels the shades obscene.
1857. Miss Winkworth, Tauler’s Life & Serm., 164. A soft-paced horse would be much easier for him to ride.
1680. C. Nesse, Church Hist., 179. Ahaziah … was a *soft-pated prince and low spirited.
1882. Jordan & Gilbert, Synopsis Fishes N. Amer., 94. Physostomi, (The *Soft-rayed Fishes).
1612. Chapman, Widdow’s Tears, V. A Souldier and afraid of a dead man? A *soft-r’ode milk-sop?
1591. Sylvester, Du Bartas, I. iv. 807. Those, that … chase The *soft-skind Martens, for their precious Cace.
1596. Nashe, Saffron Walden, Wks. (Grosart), III. 111. Making loue to those soft skind soules & sweete Nymphes of Helicon.
1896. Kirkaldy & Pollard, trans. Boas’ Text Bk. Zool., 225. Thin plates separated by large soft-skinned interspaces.
1530. Palsgr., 324/2. *Softespyrited, modeste.
1585–6. Leycester, Corr. (Camden), 273. The audytors here be so soft-spryted men as I dowbt [etc.].
1641. Milton, Animadv., Wks. 1851, III. 186. Thus much (Readers) in favour of the softer spirited Christian.
1631. Chapman, Cæsar & Pompey, V. ii. I 3. My *soft-splen’d seruants ouerrule and curb me.
1805. Edin. Rev., VII. 5. The eldest … seems to have been a very *soft-tempered youth.
1878. Joaquin Miller, Songs of Italy, 45. When the stars in the soft-tempered breeze Glowed red.
1820. Keats, Lamia, II. 261. ‘Lamia!’ he cried—and no *soft-toned reply.
c. 1850. Arab. Nts. (Rtldg.), 488. A concert of soft-toned flutes, hautboys, lutes.
a. 1873. Lytton, Pausanias, 78. It goes hard with my pride … to make equals of this *soft-tongued race.
1847. Webster, *Soft-voiced, having a soft voice.
1894. ‘J. S. Winter,’ Red Coats, 63. The remembrance of a soft-eyed, soft-voiced little woman.
1842. Loudon, Suburban Hort., 117. The singing-birds are the best for destroying *soft-winged insects such as moths and butterflies.
b. In the specific names of animals, birds, plants, etc.
1803. Shaw, Gen. Zool., IV. II. 517. *Soft-backed Labrus, Labrus Malapteronotus.
1837. Swainson, Classif. Birds, III. iii. II. 16. The soft-backed shrikes, or Malaconoti.
1678. Ray, Willughby’s Ornith., III. ii. § 1. 362. Wormius his Eider or *soft-feathered Duck.
c. 1711. Petiver, Gazophyl., VI. § lviii. Soft-feathered Cape Coralline.
1833. Proc. Berw. Nat. Club, I. 29. Hiracium molle—*Soft-leaved Hawkweed.
1840. J. Hodgson, Hist. Northumb., III. II. 361/2. Byrum carneum, Soft-leaved Thread-moss.
1872. Routledge’s Ev. Boy’s Ann., June, 417/2. The soft-leaved Rose (Rosa mollis).
1890. Science-Gossip, XXVI. 136. The soft-leaved cranesbill (Geranium molle).
1801. Latham, Gen. Synop. Birds, Suppl. II. 224. *Soft-tailed Flycatcher.
30. With vbs., as soft-board, -boil.
1832. Gen. P. Thompson, Exerc. (1842), II. 327. Now just reflect,—meditate for as long time as would soft-boil an egg.
1884. Knight, Dict. Mech., Suppl. 828/1. Soft-boarding.… Boarding or bruising the leather on the flesh-side.
1897. C. T. Davis, Manuf. Leather (ed. 2), xxvii. 417. Then the leather is taken down and soft-boarded and hung up to thoroughly dry.
