Also 5–6 spoute, 5–7 spowt. [ME. spouten, corresponding to MDu. spouten (spoyten), older Flem. spuyten, Du. spuiten (WFris. spuitsje), NFris. spūte, spütji, spjüte, MSwed. and Swed. dial. spūta: cf. SPOUT sb. (whence senses 7 and 8). The stem spūt- appears also in ON. and Icel. spýta (Norw. dial. spyte) to spit.]
I. intr. 1. To discharge a liquid or other substance in a copious jet or stream; to gush with water, blood, etc. Also const. with.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 8196. When þey [the dragons] hadde longe to-gyder smyten, Spatled, spouted [v.r. spouted sperkes], belewed, & byten.
c. 1460. J. Russell, Bk. Nurture, 293. With youre mouthe ye vse nowþer to squyrt nor spout.
1605. Shaks., Lear, III. ii. 2. Blow You Cataracts, and Hyrricano’s, spout, Till you haue drench’d our Steeples, drown the Cockes.
1645. Milton, Tetrach., Wks. 1851, IV. 242. Is it now at last obscurely drawn forth, only to cure a scratch, and leave the main wound spouting?
1718. Pope, Iliad, XVI. 385. His arm falls spouting on the dust below.
1726. Leoni, Alberti’s Archit., I. 15/1. Coverings should be so disposed that one may not spout upon the other.
c. 1812. Moore, ‘Why is a Pump?’ 4. A pump … up and down its awkward arm doth sway, And coolly spout and spout and spout away.
1841. Whittier, St. John, 80. While the walls of thy castle Yet spouted with flame.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, lxiii. There are some huge allegorical waterworks still, which spout and froth stupendously upon fête days.
b. spec. Of a whale: To throw up spray in the act of respiration; to blow.
1796. Morse, Amer. Geog., I. 223. When the seamen see a whale spout.
1840. R. H. Dana, Bef. Mast, xviii. He sheered off, and spouted at a good distance.
1861. Holland, Less. in Life, x. 139. When the whales ceased spouting, the earth took up the business.
c. To emit a morbid discharge. (Cf. SPOUT sb. 2 b.)
1879. L. Wright, Pigeon Keeper, 104. There are eye-wattles that develop quickly, as in Carriers, though they are apt to ‘spout’ at a later date.
2. Of liquids: To issue with some force and in some quantity from a narrow orifice; to spurt copiously.
1500–20. Dunbar, Poems, lxiii. 86. I man … lat the venim ische all out,—Be war, anone, for it will spout.
1582. Stanyhurst, Æneis, III. (Arb.), 90. Thee goare blood spowteth of eeche syde, And swyms in the thrashold.
1608. Middleton, Trick to catch Old One, IV. v. One cup more … Is the sack spouting?
1662. J. Davies, trans. Olearius’ Voy. Ambass., 191. At its breaking out of the Earth it spouts higher than the Sea it self.
1748. Anson’s Voy., II. i. 123. If they are deeply wounded in a dozen places, there will instantly gush out as many fountains of blood, spouting to a considerable distance.
a. 1774. Goldsm., Surv. Exp. Philos. (1776), I. 405. It will not spout at all, but drivel down the side of the vessel.
1800. Vince, Hydrost., i. (1806), 6. Whether the fluid spouts downwards, horizontally, upwards, or in any direction.
1874. T. Taylor, Leic. Sq., xi. 272. A handsome basin … was planned for a jet d’eau, which … never spouted.
b. With out or up.
1687. A. Lovell, trans. Thevenot’s Trav., II. 18. There is a Pipe, that throws up a great deal of Water … with so much force that it spouts up almost as high as the Dome.
1722–7. Boyer, Dict. Royal, I. s.v. Rejaillir, A Fountain that spouts or spurts out, or up.
1803. Imison’s Sci. & Art, I. 252. If a hole be made in the side of a vessel, the water will spout out [horizontally].
1885. Rider Haggard, K. Solomon’s Mines, iii. A ribbon of white surf, which spouts up in pillars of foam.
c. To spring, bound. Now dial.
c. 1650. in Percy’s Fol. MS. (1867), I. 374. He spowted forward as he had beene a deere, till he was passed out of her sight.
1819–. in Eng. Dial. Dict.
3. fig. To engage in declamation or recitation; to make a speech or speeches, esp. at great length or without much matter.
In J. Heywood, Sp. & Flie (1556), xxxix. 4, and R. Wilson, Coblers Prophesie (1594), B 2 b, spout is used by ignorant speakers in place of spute or dispute.
1756. Gentl. Mag., XXVI. 36. A paltry, scribbling fool—to leave me out—He’ll say perhaps—he thought I could not spout.
1780. Mme. D’Arblay, Diary, May. I used to hear him spouting by the hour together. Ibid. (1787), 15 Aug. He began to spout, and act, and rattle away, with all his might.
1806. J. Beresford, Miseries Hum. Life, XV. Introd. What are you at now?… spouting to yourself like a mad stroller.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., II. IV. iv. The far-sounding Street-orators cease, or spout milder.
1878. E. Jenkins, Haverholme, 25. A practical man, spouting in the House about our national obligations to liberty.
II. trans. 4. To discharge, cast out, or pour forth (water, etc.) in a stream of some force and volume.
13[?]. [see 1].
c. 1440. Pallad. on Husb., I. 1097. A condit coold into hit bringe aboute, Make pipis watir warm inward to spoute.
c. 1440. Alph. Tales, 416. He consydurd þe depenes of þis pytt, & he saw þer-in ane vglie dragon spowtand fyre.
1509. Hawes, Past. Pleas., XVIII. 79. A dragon … Havyng thre hedes divers in fygure, Whych in a bathe … Spouted the water.
1543. Traheron, Vigo’s Chirurg., III. i. x. 100. Let thys decoction be spouted into the wounde … wyth a syrynge.
1599. Dallam, in Early Voy. Levant (Hakluyt Soc.), 11. We saw 2 or 3 greate monstrus fishis or whales, the which did spoute water up into the eayere.
1635. Heywood, Hierarchy, I. 6. From the dry stones he can water spout.
c. 1645. Howell, Lett. (1650), II. 25. She took a mouthfull of claret, and spouted it into the poope of the hollow bird.
1739. R. Bull, trans. Dedekindus’ Grobianus, 248 b. The Parish Engine spouts excessive Streams To quench the Blaze.
1835. Hawthorne, Tales & Sk. (1879), 75. It was composed of large logs,… blazing fiercely, spouting showers of sparks into the darkness.
1870. Bryant, Iliad, IV. I. 126. The surge Tosses on high and spouts its foam afar.
fig. 1568. T. Howell, Arb. Amitie (1879), 51. So where thou thoughtst to spoute thy spite, thou hast hir brought to blisse.
1599. Nashe, Lenten Stuffe, Wks. (Grosart), V. 232. Neuer since I spouted incke, was I of woorse aptitude [etc.].
1671. Barrow, Duty & Reward Charity, 12. The good Man doth not plant his bounty in one small hole, or spout it on one narrow spot.
1853. Kane, Grinnell Exp., xxxix. (1856), 359. A group of narwhals, imprisoned by the congelation,… spouted their release.
1859. Meredith, R. Feverel, xl. Each one … laughed, and looked shocked afterwards, or looked shocked, and then spouted laughter.
b. With out.
1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., XVII. cxii. (Bodl. MS.). Ȝif a man is vnder water with oile in his mouþe & spowteþ oute þe oile [etc.].
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot., I. 44. Sche into the mane sey spoutis out thir v. fludes.
1667. Milton, P. L., VII. 416. Leviathan … at his Gilles Draws in, and at his Trunck spouts out a Sea.
1756–7. trans. Keysler’s Trav. (1760), IV. 454. He observed two large holes…, which he imagines to have been the apertures through which the fish spouted out the water.
1839. Darwin, Voy. Nat., xv. 336. The volcano of Osorno was spouting out volumes of smoke.
fig. 1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot., II. 401. Nouther left thair wod … barbaritie, quhil out tha spoutit it vpon the Carmelitis, dominicanis, and Franciscanis.
1820. Hazlitt, Table-T., Ser. II. i. (1869), 4. Spouting out torrents of puddled politics from his mouth.
c. With up.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Man of Law’s T., 487. Who kepte Ionas in the fisshes mawe Til he was spouted vp at Nynyuee?
a. 1700. Evelyn, Diary, 5 May 1645. In one of these … is an Atlas spouting up the streame to a very great height.
1796. T. Twining, Trav. India, etc. (1894), 17. I distinctly saw and heard these fish spout up the sea to the height of several feet.
1837. Carlyle, Fr. Rev., I. V. vi. By a mixture of phosphorus and oil-of-turpentine spouted up through forcing pumps.
5. To wet or drench by a stream of liquid.
1575. Turberv., Faulconrie, 269. The bathing or spowting hir with water is a meane to make the powder to frette awaye, and containe the hawkes feathers.
1886. C. Scott, Sheep-Farming, 135. After draining for a short time, they are passed down shoots to the men at the spouts, where … they are well spouted.
6. To utter readily or volubly; to talk (a language); to declaim or recite.
1612. Beaum. & Fl., Coxcomb, IV. i. And can you these tongues perfectly?… Pray spout some French.
1627. W. Hawkins, Apollo Shroving, I. i. 7. I’de rather spinne at home, then heare these Barbarians spout Latine.
1667. Dryden, Sir Martin Mar-all, IV. i. I hope I am old enough to spout English with you, sir?
1771. Mme. D’Arblay, Early Diary (1889), I. 128. Dr. King has been with me all the afternoon, amusing himself with spouting Shakespeare, Pope, and others.
1784. Cowper, Tiroc., 327. His skill … In bilking tavern bills, and spouting plays.
1808. Scott, in Lockhart (1837), I. i. 35. I spouted the speech of Galgacus at the public examination.
1852. Jerdan, Autobiog., I. xix. 144. Doing nothing but teach the wife of his lodging-house host to spout tragedy.
1889. Ruskin, Præterita, III. 57. I heard Macaulay spout the first chapter of Isaiah.
7. [f. SPOUR sb.] slang. To pawn.
1811. Lexicon Balatronicum, Spouted, pawned.
1812. J. H. Vaux, Flash Dict., s.v., To pledge any property at a pawnbroker’s is termed spouting it.
1850. Thackeray, Pendennis, lxi. He wouldn’t spout the fenders and fire-irons—he ain’t so bad as that.
1861. Hughes, Tom Brown at Oxf., xxiv. The dons are going to spout the college plate.
8. To fit or furnish with spouts.
1853. Encycl. Brit. (ed. 8), II. 268/2. To have the eaves of the whole building spouted.
1894. Westm. Gaz., 22 Jan., 6/3. Why should they not have houses properly built, properly spouted and roofed to keep out the wet.
