[pa. pple. of SEEK v.] That is, or has been, searched for, desired, etc.
See also long-sought s.v. LONG adv. 9 a.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 3254. To mesopotany suith come he, And son he fand þe soght cite.
1382. Wyclif, Isaiah lxii. 12. Thou … shalt be clepid a soȝt cite, and not forsaken.
1632. Lithgow, Trav., III. 77.
| Now Creta comes, the Mediterren Queene, | |
| To my sought view, where golden Ida’s seene. |
1710. Berkeley, Princ. Hum. Knowl., § 121. Having found the sought figures.
1725. W. Halfpenny, Sound Building, 21. Then … you will describe the sought Arches v z t and w t. Ibid., 22.
1883. ‘Annie Thomas,’ Mod. Housewife, 149. The cleverness which makes her a sought woman in every coterie.
b. With -after or -for.
1605. B. Jonson, Volpone, IV. ii. (1607), K iij b. When he mist His sought for father.
1778. The Refutation, 13. The sought-for bribe I doubt you’ll never see.
1829. Bentham, Justice & Cod. Petit., 12. Such supposed facts as … may be styled unknown or sought-for facts.
1881. Trans. Obstet. Soc. Lond., XXII. 66. He was the fashionable and most sought-after accoucheur.
