Forms α. 1 styntan, 3 Ormin stinntenn, 3–5 stunt, (3 stunte, 5 stonte), 4–6 stynte, stinte, (4 styntt, 5 styntte), 4–7 stynt, 3– stint; β. 3–7 stente, 4– stent. Pa. t. (contracted forms); α. 3 stunte, 4 stinte, 4–5 stynt(e, stint; β. 3–5 stent(e. Pa. pple. (contracted forms); α. 3 stint, 4 stunt, i-stunt, y-stynt, i-stynt, stynte, 4–6 stynt, 5 stinte; β. 5 stente. [OE. styntan to blunt, dull; the simple vb. occurs only once in Corpus Gl., rendering L. hebetare), but cf. the compounds ástyntan, to blunt, dull, to check, stop (ME. ASTINT v.), ætstyntan to blunt (teeth), make ineffective (ME. ATSTUNT v.), forstyntan to blunt. The OE. verb corresponds formally to OScandinavian *stynta (MSw. stynta, OIcel. stytta) to shorten:—OTeut. type *stuntjan, f. *stunto- adj. (OE. stunt stupid, foolish, MHG. stunz stumpy, MSw. stunt-er, OIcel. stutt-r short, scanty: cf. STUNT a. and v.). It is uncertain whether the ME. and mod.E. senses of the vb. are developed from unrecorded senses in OE., or are due to Scandinavian influence.
In certain uses this vb. closely approaches in meaning the etymologically unrelated STENT v.1 Apparently some confusion has taken place between the two verbs, and as the phonetic variants stent, stint are common to both, it is sometimes doubtful to which verb a particular use belongs.]
I. To cut short, cease, stop.
1. intr. To cease action; to leave off (doing something); to desist, forbear. Now only arch. and dial. Const. † of, in, † fro, and to with inf.
α. c. 1200. Ormin, 12844. Þatt menn þa sholldenn blinnenn, & stanndenn stille, & stinntenn þa To þewwtenn Godd tatt wise.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 202. Þe ueorðe hweolp is Idelnesse: þet is, hwo se stunt mid alle.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 1740. Of his precheing þan con he stint. Ibid., 26059. If he ne had of his folis stint.
c. 1305. Land Cokayne, 99. Þer beþ briddes … Þat stinteþ neuer by har miȝt Miri to sing dai and niȝt.
13[?]. Bonaventura’s Medit., 878. Fro wepyng she ne myȝt stynte no stounde.
c. 1369. Chaucer, Dethe Blaunche, 1213. With sorweful herte … styntynge in my tale For ferde.
c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 4096. Bot euer þey song & dauncede yliche fast & nolde not stonte þere for no-mone.
c. 1460. Oseney Reg., 12. That þat parte þe which my modur holdeth, whenne so euer she stynteth to holde hit, þat hit come in to þe lordeship of the church.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, I. xv. 56. He stynte not tyl he had slayne xx knyȝtes.
c. 1520. Skelton, Magnyf., 2188. Holde thy hande, dawe, of thy dagger, and stynt of thy dyn.
1536. Bellenden, Cron. Scot. (1821), II. 423. Als sone as the Inglismen wer cumin to this hill, thay stintit of thair fleing.
1556. Robinson, More’s Utopia (1895), p. xcix. But I wil neuer stynte, nor rest, vntil I haue gotte the full and exacte knowledge hereof.
1576. Gascoigne, Steele Gl. (Arb.), 67. Art thou a seruing man? then serue againe, And stint to steale as common soldiours do.
1592. Shaks., Rom. & Jul., I. iii. 48. Pretty foole it stinted, and said I.
a. 1650. K. John & Bishop, viii. in Child, Ballads, I. 411. And thirdly, tell mee or euer I stinte, What is the thing, bishopp, that I doe thinke.
1677. W. Hughes, Man of Sin, II. ii. 25. The strange Amazing Proofs made use of by them! But it is flatly necessary, that I should bound myself:… I will stint at Twelve.
1818. Scott, Hrt. Midl., x. ‘Whisht, Effie,’ said her sister; ‘our father’s coming out o’ the byre.’—The damsel stinted in her song.
1819. Shelley, Peter Bell, VI. xxiv. 3. Their fierce successors, who … would neither stint nor stick Our flesh from off our bones to pick.
1869. Browning, Ring & Bk., VIII. 240. I see him strain on tip-toe, soar and pour Eloquence out, nor stay, nor stint at all.
1881. Leicestersh. Gloss., s.v., Coom, yo’ stint, or oi’ll meek ye!
β. a. 1300. Cursor M., 3842. Abute hir hals þan he hir hent, And thris he kyst hir ar he stent [other texts stint].
13[?]. Guy Warw., 849. Of rideing wil þai neuer stent To þai com to þe turnament.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Clerk’s T., 678. But nathelees, for ernest ne for game He of his crueel purpos nolde stente.
c. 1470. Harding, Chron., XXXIII. v. For whiche [his death] his people of wepyng coulde not stent.
1563. Sackville, Induct. Mirr. Mag., xxxii. To her selfe oft would she [Remorse] tell Her wretchednes, and cursing neuer stent To sob and sigh.
c. 1590. J. Stewart, Poems (S.T.S.), II. 42. O’ gif thy luifers knew, thay vold not stent To giwe the ayde.
1785. R. Forbes, Ulysses Answ. Ajax, lxxiii. I … Syne took his coach, an’ milk-white staigs, ’Ere ever I wad stent.
† b. with pr. pple. Obs.
c. 1430. Pilgr. Lyf Manhode, III. xliii. (1869), 159. Whan the first hath stinte etinge … that oother … seith he wole ete also.
1518. H. Watson, Hist. Oliver of Castile (Roxb.), D 4. In suche sorowe he neuer stynted rydynge tyll that he came to a lytell vyllage.
1565. Cooper, Thesaurus, s.v. Comprimo, Lachrymas comprimere, to stint weepyng.
† c. To cease to speak of. Obs.
c. 1450. Merlin, x. 145. But now stenteth the tale of hem, and returneth to speke of the vij kynges. Ibid., xv. 253. Of hem I shall stinte, and tell of the parliament that kynge Brangue heilde.
† 2. Of processes, conditions, impersonal agencies: To cease, abate; come to an end. Obs.
α. c. 1205. Lay., 31891. Þe quale gon to stunte.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 6026. Þe tres it [the tempest] brake, þe gresse it brint, At þe land iessen it stint.
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 9. Men seþ wel þat þe see seseþ & slinteþ, But whan þe wind on þe watur þe wawus arereþ.
c. 1340. Hampole, Pr. Consc., 1630. Bot at þe last, when þair lyfe sall stynt, Þan sall all ioy be fra þam tynt.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boeth., II. pr. v. (1868), 45. Certis þan is þilke moneye precious, whan it … stynteþ to ben had by vsage of large ȝeuyng.
c. 1375. Cursor M., 23172 (Fairf.). Ȝour sorou salle neuer stint.
c. 1400. Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton), II. lxv. (1859), 59. Hit is ful hye tyme, that the discencion of you bothe stynte, and take an ende.
c. 1460. Towneley Myst., i. 161. We mon haue payne that neuer shall stynt.
1589. Greene, Menaphon (Arb.), 28. Streaming teares that neuer stint.
1628. Wither, Brit. Rememb., II. 489. Nor can I finde a reason how it [the plague] stinted, Or how our totall ruine was prevented.
1681. W. Robertson, Phraseol. Gen., s.v. Stint, Weeping stinteth: arescit lachryma.
β. c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, III. 1238. Right so Criseyde whan hire drede stente, Opned hire herte and tolde hym hire entente. Ibid. (c. 1384), H. Fame, I. 221. Ther saw I how the tempest stent.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, IX. 339. Weyll bruk thow it! all thus stentis our stryff.
1530. Dial. betw. Gentl. & Husbandman, 452 (Arb.), 147. Their furious malice never stentyd till they had the lights oute quenchyd.
1587. T. Hughes, Misfort. Arthur, I. Chorus 23. In Brytain warres and discord will not stent: Till Vther’s line and offspring quite be spent.
3. To cease moving, pause in a journey, to halt, stop, stand still. † Also, to turn aside from pursuit, to stay in conflict. Obs.
α. c. 1290. Becket, 1118, in S. Eng. Leg., 138. Fiue and twenti mile he wende … Are he stunte in anie stude.
c. 1290. Magdalene, 187, ibid. 467. In one olde porche hy stunten al þat nyȝht.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 4321. For bettur it es bi-time to stint Þan folu þi prai þat es bot tint.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 13025. Wilde he [Beofs] nere stynte ne ses Vntil he cam in to alle þe pres Þer Petron was. Ibid. (1338), Chron. (1725), 10. Hard was þe bataile, als þei togider stynt.
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. VI. 66. Twei stokkes þer stondeþ but stunt þou not þere.
1430–40. Lydg., Bochas, I. vii. (1544), 9 b. He fond … a place pleasant of larges wheras he stynt and gan a citie rayse.
c. 1475. Henryson, Poems (S.T.S.), III. 39. For seik hir suth I sall, And noþer stynt nor stand for stok nor stone.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VI. v. 75. Anchises son tho stintis a litle stound, And baith his futsteppis fixit in the ground.
a. 1650. Rising in North, xxxviii. in Child, Ballads, III. 406. Vntill they came to Yorke castle, I-wis they neuer stinted nor blan.
c. 1749. Robin Hood & Allen a Dale, xv. ibid. 174. He hasted over the plain, He did neither stint nor lin, Vntil he came unto the church.
1768. Ross, Helenore, 20.
| And waes me for’t, but I shall never stint, | |
| Till o’ the truth the verity be kent; | |
| Tho’ to the warlds end my race should be, | |
| Dead or alive, thy bony face I’ll see. |
1818. Scott, Rob Roy, xxi. But come on, what stint ye for?
β. 13[?]. Sir Beues, 4025. Ne stente neuer sire Saber, Til þat he in Ingelonde were.
c. 1400. Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton), II. lvii. (1859), 55. And so I stent a whyle to see what maner thyng hit was, that hadde suche a wykked sauour.
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 1844. The other All agayne than stente; Aftyr hym dorste folowe no moo.
1745. A. Skirving, Tranent Muir, i. in Herd’s Coll. Sc. Songs (1776), I. 109. The Chevalier … Did march up Brisle brae, man, And thro’ Tranent, e’er he did stent.
† b. Of a thing: To cease moving, to come to a stop. Obs.
a. 1390. Gower, Conf., I. 197. Hire Schip goth in among hem alle, And stinte noght, er it be falle And [etc.].
c. 1430. Syr Gener. (Roxb.), 161. The sheld he put vnto that dint, And in the sheld the stroke stint.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, I. xv. (S.T.S.), I. 85. Thir treis [sc. huge rafts of fire] … war inflammyt cruelly be þe violent wyndis, and styntit never quhil þai come … to þe pillaris of þe brig.
β. c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, I. 273. Þurgh þat rout his eye perceyvid and so depe hit went Til on Cryseyd hit smote & þer it stent.
a. 1420. Aunters of Arthur, 579 (Douce MS.). He bronched him yne withe his bronde,… Þe swerd stent for no stuf, hit was so wel steled.
† c. Of a stream, blood: To cease flowing. Obs.
1340–70. Alex. & Dind., 530. Ȝe [with your thirsty armies] maken stinte of his strem a stronde ful huge, Þat nilus … namned is wide.
1579–80. North, Plutarch, Autonius (1595), 1004. The wounde … killed him not presently, for the bloud stinted a litle when he was layed.
1616. R. C., Times’ Whistle, 2808. The springs of lust … being drawne dry The lesser streames would stint immediatly.
1626. G. E., Vicary’s Englishm. Treasure, 68. Take … Nettles and bruse them, and then lay them upon the wound … and it will stynt presently.
† d. Of the sun: To stand still (in its apparent course) at the summer and winter solstice. Obs.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), I. 329. Þe sonne stynteþ twyes a ȝere: ones a somer, whan he goþ no heiȝer; and eftsones a wynter, whanne he gooþ no lower.
† e. To turn aside, backward. Obs.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. Wace (Rolls), 7424. For þe Saxons did þem bakward stynt. Ibid., 10864. I trowe his stede a syde stynt.
† 4. To abstain from moving, stand still; to remain in a place, to stay. Obs.
α. 1340–70. Alisaunder, 386. Þei þat stint at hur stroke stirred no more.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), II. 309. And at þe meuynge and styntynge of þat boole þe Egipcians meued and stynte vp on þe erthe [ad cujus motum seu stationem Ægyptii in terra movebantur seu stabant].
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 3947. Syr Ector tent not to hys stede, Whedyr he wold stynt or Renne Away.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, XI. 628. Quhen twa was ded, the tothir wald nocht stynt, Maid thaim to fle.
β. c. 1385. Chaucer, L. G. W., II. 116. Whan this was don no lengere sche ne stente.
a. 1450. Le Morte Arth., 3936. At the laste they myght no lenger stent.
† 5. trans. To cause (a person) to cease action, to cause to desist. Const. of, from. Obs.
α. 1338. R. Brunne, Chron. (1725), 220. Sir Gilbert herd say of þer dedes ille, Of non þe had ay to stynt ne hold þam stille.
c. 1350. Will. Palerne, 4056. Þe king … was so styf in a studie þat non him stint miȝt.
1387–8. T. Usk, Test. Love, III. iv. (Skeat), 108. Tho liste me a litel to speke, and gan stinte my penne of my wryting, and sayde in this wyse.
c. 1450. Brut, II. 331. Þe King sent his lettres to þe Erle of Warwyk, chargyng hym … þat he shulde stynt, redresse & amende the evel doers & brekers of his pees.
c. 1489. Caxton, Blanchardyn, 149. The kynge byganne … to wepe and so ded blanchardyn, so that Sadoyne nor Beatryx … coude do no thynge to stynte them.
1653. Milton, Ps. viii., ii. Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings thou Hast founded strength because of all thy foes To stint th’ enemy.
β. c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 510. And if he herde song or Instrument, Thanne wolde he wepe he myghte nat be stent.
1819. W. Tennant, Papistry Storm’d (1827), 107. That frae nocturnal ’sault may stent Thir rybalds o’ the Testament.
6. To discontinue (an action); to hold in check, restrain (one’s own actions or organs of action). Now arch. and dial.
α. 13[?]. Will. Palerne, 61. Þe child com of þe caue & his criynge stint.
a. 1366. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 1441. I mote my tonge stynten nede. Ibid. (c. 1386), Miller’s Prol., 36. The Reue answerde and seyde ‘stynt thy clappe.’
1423. James I., Kingis Q., 118. The lytill birdis smale Styntith thaire song.
1563. B. Googe, Eglogs, vii. (Arb.), 57. I neuer could as thou canst stynt, the teares of my complaynt.
1592. R. Wilmot, Tancred & Gismund, II. iii. He … ere I scarce had My tale out tolde, praid me to stint my suite.
1613. Shaks., Hen. VIII., I. ii. 76. We must not stint Our necessary actions, in the feare To cope malicious Censurers.
1618. Rowlands, Sacred Mem., 37. Weepe not he said, but stint thy vse of teares.
1624. J. Usher, in Lett. Lit. Men (Camden), 131. In continueing the History of the Brittish … beyond the yeare 600 (where I purposed to stint my selfe).
a. 1633. Austin, Medit. (1635), 29. Cease, all Creatures; peace all Things;… Stint your ever-humming noyce.
1839. Bailey, Festus (1852), 394. Stint your breath.
1868. Morris, Earthly Par., Doom Acrisius, I. 266. The thin jackals waiting for the feast Stinted their hungry howls as he passed by.
1876. Robinson, Whitby Gloss., s.v., ‘Stint your hand,’ withold it, as in the act of pouring.
1886. R. F. Burton, Arab. Nts. (abr. ed.), I. 127. They stinted not their going … till all went down by the trap-door.
β. c. 1420. Chron. Vilod., 4098. Bot þe parson … badde hem þat þey shulde stent hurre song or ellus þens gone.
a. 1440. Sir Degrev., 206. His game wolt he never stent.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., II. iv. 12. Yet n’ould she stent Her bitter rayling.
1881. Leicester Gloss., s.v., Yo’ stent yer nize!
† b. To stay or suspend (a lawsuit). Cf. ASTINT v. 1. Obs.
1491. Churchw. Acc. St. Dunstan’s, Canterb. (MS.). Be the consent of the executores the ple was stentyd.
† 7. To cause to cease, bring to an end, check, stop (an event or state of affairs, actions of others). Obs.
Often in alliterative phrase, to stint the strife.
α. a. 1310. in Wright, Lyric P., viii. 31. A stythye stunte hire sturne stryf, that ys in heovene hert in-hyde.
c. 1366. Chaucer, A. B. C., 63. Þanne shalt þou boþe stinte al his greuaunce And make oure foo to failen of his praye.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, V. 184. And syne he drew him to the hicht, To stynt bettir his fais mycht.
c. 1402. Lydg., Compl. Bl. Knt., 256. And tonges false … Han gonne a werre that wil not stinted be.
1544. Betham, Precepts War, I. clxiii. H vj. To stint the weapynges and skrykes of women.
1588. Shaks., Tit. A., IV. iv. 86. The Eagle suffers little Birds to sing,… Knowing that with the shadow of his wings, He can at pleasure stint their melodie.
1613–6. W. Browne, Brit. Past., I. ii. 43. She … stints his cry With many a sweet and pleasing Lullaby.
1680. C. Nesse, Church Hist., 160. Strife is easier stirred than stinted.
1763. Brit. Mag., IV. 495. Stinting flame by bating fuel.
β. c. 1386. Chaucer, Knt.’s T., 2442. Swich strif ther is bigonne … Bitwixe Venus … And Mars … That Iuppiter was bisy it to stente.
1548. Udall, etc., Erasm. Par. Acts iv. 5–7. It was no common or smalle matter, whiche they so carefully labored to stente.
† b. To assuage, quench (grief, pain, appetite).
α. c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, V. 686. Yevinge him hope … That she shal come, and stinten [MS. Harl. 2280 stenten] al his sorwe.
1533. Elyot, Cast. Helthe (1541), 81 b. The powrynge of cold water upon ones head hath stinted the reume.
1580. Lyly, Euphues (Arb.), 107. Achilles speare could as wel heale as hurt; the scorpion though he sting, yet he stints the paine.
1583. Melbancke, Philotimus, T ij. If this construction be applied to your stomacke, it will be a good confection to stint your shameles loue.
1620. Quarles, Feast for Worms, ii. D 2. To stint his griefe, He chuses death.
β. c. 1374. Stenten [see α. above].
1601. Holland, Pliny, XXIV. vi. II. 177. All the rest doe … stent the inveterat cough.
1666. G. Harvey, Morbus Angl., vi. (1672), 15. But the other implyes a very difficult cure, not by restoring the Spermatick parts … but onely by stenting and removing the Corruption of the forementioned Essentials.
† c. To stop (rain, tempest, fire, etc.). Obs.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 9151. Helias, þat prophet,… þat stint þe rain thoru his praiyer.
1538. Elyot, Dict., Restinguo, to stint or put oute, or cesse, as fyre, lyght, and thurst.
1690. C. Nesse, Hist. & Myst. O. & N. Test., I. 127. God stinted and stilled the flood.
β. 1594. Selimus, G 4. The god that vales [sic] the seas, And can alone this raging tempest stent.
† d. To cause (a thing) to leave off its action.
c. 1440. Promp. Parv., 476/1. Styntyn or make a thynge to secyn of hys werke or mevynge, obsto.
1674. N. Fairfax, Bulk & Selv., 127. A whole set or draught of springs,… some bigning or growing, others barely stirring or twitching, and after all so long stinted and so often checkt.
† e. ? To deprive of force, make of none effect.
α. 1509. Barclay, Shyp of Folys, 258 b. Thou wretchyd lust dost stynt abate and swage The strength of man, and his audacyte.
1631. Gouge, God’s Arrows, III. § 43. 258. Where faith hath failed, the divine power hath been stinted.
β. 1619. Sir A. Gorges, trans. Bacon’s De Sap. Vet., 127. As for simple bodies, their powers are not many, though certaine and violent, as existing without being weakned, diminished, or stented by mixture.
8. To cause (a fluid, etc.) to stop flowing or emanating; esp. to staunch (blood). Obs. exc. dial.
α. 1398. Trevisa, Barth. De P. R., VII. lxx. (1495), 290. Some medycynes constreyne and stynten blode.
a. 1400. Minor Poems fr. Vernon MS., xxviii. 13. Heil sterre þat neuer stunteþ liht.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, VII. xviii. 241. The mayden Lynet … vnarmed hym and serched his woundes and stynted his blood.
1528. Paynel, Salerne’s Regim., b iiij b. The vtilite is to make thycke the thynne bloud, to stynte the superfluous runnynge therof.
1599. Breton, Disc. Scholler & Souldiour, 30. A Cobweb and Salt … will Stint a bleeding.
β. 1548. Elyot’s Dict., s.v. Sisto, Sistere sanguinem, to stent bleedyng.
1601. Holland, Pliny, XXVI. xiii. II. 263. The juice if it bee conveighed up into the nosthrils, stenteth bleeding at nose.
1657. Billingsly, Brachy-Martyrol., xxi. 76. Nor shall the opened vein be stented.
1891. Hartland (Devon) Gloss., Staint, to stanch. Some people have the power of ‘staintin’ blid’ by repeating a charm.
† 9. To cause (a person, animal, oneself) to cease moving, to bring to a stand. Obs.
Stent survives dial. in Somerset and Devon in the sense ‘to bring (a horse) to a stand’ (said of difficulties or obstacles). See Eng. Dial. Dict.
α. a. 1330. Otuel, 1571. King karnifees him haueþ istunt.
c. 1400. Song Roland, 460. Then he stintid his sted & stod still sone.
c. 1450. Merlin, x. 154. For the kynges were stynted at the entre of the forest by a river.
1450–1530. Myrr. Our Ladye, 42. As a man that rennyth downewarde from an hye hyl: he may not stynte hymselfe,… tyll he comethe to the vale.
1533. Bellenden, Livy, II. xxvi. (S.T.S.), I. 238. Þe consul, seand þe place vnganand for batall, styntit his army.
1680. H. More, Apocal. Apoc., 82. Nor were they stinted here, but won also a great part of Italy.
β. c. 1450. Cov. Myst. (1841), 396. Go stent me yone body wyth youre stonys.
† b. To stop (a blow). Obs.
a. 1330. Otuel, 497. Þat strok ich mente to þe, & now it is on þi stede istunt.
c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, VI. 567. Quhan euir thai hyt, na harnes mycht thaim stynt.
10. To check the growth of (an animal, plant); to arrest (growth); to force (a plant) into bloom by restricting its supply of nourishment. Cf. STUNT v.
1735. Somerville, Chase, IV. 117. The laborious Chace Shall stint his [a young hound’s] growth.
1789. E. Darwin, Bot. Gard. (1791), I. IV. 478. Where cruder juices swell the leafy vein, Stint the young germ, [etc.].
1844. H. Stephens, Bk. Farm, II. 698. Young pigs are very susceptible of cold, and if exposed to it … their growth will be … stinted.
1844. Ld. Brougham, Brit. Const., xv. (1862), 234. The vices and the weaknesses, which peaceful times and regular government either nip in the bud, or stint in their growth.
1845. Florist’s Jrnl. (1846), VI. 147. The plant … was stinted into a blooming condition.
II. To limit, apportion or appoint definitely.
11. trans. To set bounds, ends or limits to, to limit in extent or scope, to confine to certain limits. Now rare. Also, † to fix the maximum price of. Const. † at, to.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, IV. Prol. 26. To stint all thing salue thine awin appetite, So was in luif thi frawart destanie.
1591. Savile, Tacitus, Hist., IV. xl. 199. To moderate and stint the public expenses.
1604. T. Wright, Passions, VI. 346. Those wise and godly men which every day allot themselves a certaine time, stinting their howers for meditation.
1621. T. Williamson, trans. Goulart’s Wise Vieillard, 7. By him, who hath the houre glasse of our life in his hand, who hath stinted our dayes how long they shall runne.
1624. Capt. Smith, Virginia, IV. 165. Corne was stinted at two shillings six pence the bushell.
1640. Fuller, Joseph’s Coat, etc. 59. The Passeover by God was stinted to bee used no oftner.
1643. Baker, Chron., Jas. I., 140. And to keep the Order from swarming, he stinted it within the number of onely 200.
1661. Power, Exp. Philos., Pref. b j b. They … that … think the particles of Matter may be too little, and that nature is stinted at an Atom, and must have a non ultra of her subdivisions.
1727. Gay, Fables, xiv. 47. Stint not to truth the flow of wit, Be prompt to lye, whene’er ’tis fit.
1781. Cowper, Retirement, 719. Friends (for I cannot stint … that name to one).
1813. Byron, Br. Abydos, I. xiv. Nor these [battlements] will rash intruder climb To list our words, or stint our time.
1863. Kinglake, Crimea (1877), I. ii. 22. The law of nations does not stint the right of executing justice.
1870. J. H. Newman, Gram. Assent, II. viii. 259. When words are substituted for symbols, it will be its aim to circumscribe and stint their import as much as possible.
† b. intr. Of a portion of land: To end, have its boundary or limit. Obs.
1613. North Riding Rec. (1886), IV. 143. Thone acre a brode wrangland, stinting att the strete.
12. trans. To limit (the pasturage of common land) to a certain number of cattle; also, to assign a limited right of pasturage to (a person).
14[?]. Coventry Leet-bk., 438. Item,… the Maister of S. Jones … to go vnstynted, and the Comons of the Cite be stynted, no man to passe his rate.
1523. Fitzherb., Surv., 3 b. In the whiche close euery man is stynted and sette to a certayntie howe many beestes he shall haue in the same.
1652. Blithe, Eng. Improv. Impr. (ed. 3), App. That all Commons … may be stinted or limited to a set number of cattell.
1808. J. C. Curwen, Hints Econ. Feeding Stock, 51. A dry sheltered pasture … which had been so hard stinted as to afford them [the cows] little or no food.
1831. Croke, Case of Otmoor, 23. Otmoor was not a common without stint; but was liable to be stinted by Orders from the Moor Court.
1880. J. Williams, Rights of Common, 84. A frith man … was appointed by the cattle gate owners to take care that Bretherdale Bank was properly stinted.
† b. To hold a stint of. Also absol. Obs.
1686. Grassmen’s Acc. (Surtees), 95. Every inhabitant which stints in ye Common pasture shall send a mowder to scayle ye sd Common pasture. Ibid. (1698), 93. All and every person qualifyed to stint ye sd Moor shall pay Threepence per Gate yearly for each Gate they shall stint.
† 13. To prescribe or appoint definitely (a course of action, an amount, place, time, etc.); to restrict (a person) to a particular course of action or the like. Obs.
a. 1513, 1586. [see STINTED ppl. a. 1, 1 b].
1590. J. Greenwood, Collect. Sclaund. Art., B ij b. We wonder … that they dare be so bold as to set & stint the holy ghost, what, when, and how manie words to vtter in prayer.
1610. [see STINT sb.1 2 a].
absol. 1641. Milton, Animadv., 19 Remon. And if the Lord’s Prayer be an ordinary, and stinted form, why not others? Ans. Because there bee no other Lords that can stint with like authority.
† b. intr. To fix a time for something. Obs.
1656. in Burton’s Diary (1828), I. 231. He fully stinted to have been in York that night.
14. trans. To restrict (a person, his share or right) with respect to quantity or number; to limit in amount of allowance or indulgence.
α. 1592. Nashe, P. Penilesse, E 4 b. Yron cups … with yron pinnes in them, to stinte euery man how much he should drinke. Ibid. (1593), Christ’s T., M 3. God stinted him, what Trees and fruites he should eate on.
a. 1617. Bayne, On Eph. (1658), 84. He hath not stinted us to any certain degree of knowledge.
1639. Fuller, Holy War, III. xiv. 132. Wives he might have kept sans number, but stinted himself to one or two.
a. 1692. Shadwell, Volunteers, I. i. Eugen. … May you … live till you shall wish to dye…. Teres. I vow, I wish you may live an Hundred Years…. M. G. Bl. A Dod Wench, that’s not so well, thou stint’st me.
1710. Addison, Tatler, No. 255, ¶ 2. We ought to stint our selves in our most lawful Satisfactions.
1855. Macaulay, Hist. Eng., xv. III. 591. Had he been wise he would have … stinted himself to one bottle at a meal.
β. 1567. Maplet, Gr. Forest, 105. He, fearing the Female to lauish and to be no sparer of such vittailes as they haue,… stenteth the Female and giueth hir hir task.
1678. Sir G. Mackenzie, Crim. Laws Scot., II. xv. § vi. (1699), 214. The Justice Court has its Macers, in which they are not stented to a particular number.
1734. Ramsay, Tea-t. Misc. (1733), I. 58. Baith I canna get To ane by law we’re stented.
1842. J. Aiton, Dom. Econ. (1857), 150. Set the jobs by the piece, and not by day’s wages…. Give the preference to the men of your own parish. Don’t stent them too tightly.
1860–95. J. Nicholson, Kilwuddie (ed. 4), 166 (E.D.D.). Though stented to twa meals a day.
1894. Northumb. Gloss., Stent,… to limit. ‘Aa’s stented tiv an oor at dinner.’
15. (Now the most frequent use.) To limit unduly in supply; to keep on short allowance, to scant. Const. of.
α. 1722. De Foe, Plague (1754), 136. If you stint us, we shall make ourselves the better allowance.
1769. Goldsm., Des. Vill., 40. One only master grasps the whole domain, And half a tillage stints thy smiling plain.
1794. Girlhood of M. J. Holroyd (1896), 262. The Horse … has been stinted of his Oats ever since.
1812. Combe, Picturesque, xxii. A work like this must not be stinted, Two thousand copies shall be printed.
1842. A. Combe, Physiol. Digestion (ed. 4), 254. It is no uncommon practice to stint the healthy appetites of the young.
1850. Mrs. Jameson, Leg. Monast. Ord. (1863), 404. Of virtuous and religious parents who stinted themselves of necessary things.
1875. Swinburne, Ess. Chapman, 65. The double thread of the main plot is stinted of room to work in.
1885–6. Spurgeon, Treas. Dav., Ps. cxxvii. 2. They stint themselves in their meals.
1907. J. H. Patterson, Man-Eaters of Tsavo, App. I. 324. But stint them of their rice, and they at once become sulky mutineers.
β. 1865. W. H. L. Tester, Poems, 166 (E.D.D.). Dinna stent us whan ye carve.
b. To limit (a supply) unduly; to give in scanty measure.
1838. Prescott, Ferd. & Is. (1846), II. xviii. 156. They were not disposed to stint the measure of it when his deserts were once established.
1880. ‘Vern. Lee,’ Stud. Italy, I. ii. 108. The deputation of patricians who had the care of the great Gothic church of S. Petronio stinted neither trouble nor money to obtain first-rate performers on each recurrence of the feast of the patron saint.
absol. 1878. Marie A. Brown, trans. Runeberg’s Nadeschda, 17. On the way pluck roses, do not stint.
c. intr. for refl. To ‘pinch,’ go short. ? dial.
1848. Mrs. Gaskell, Mary Barton, xxxvii. But it’s in things for show they cut short; while for such as me, it’s in things for life we’ve to stint. Ibid. (1865), Wives & Dau., xliii. I would have stinted and starved if mamma and I had got on … happily together.
16. dial. To apportion a ‘stint’ of work to (a person); also, to fix upon a definite portion of work as a stint. (Cf. STINT sb.1 7.)
1794. A. Young, Agric. Suffolk, 76. Boys spin hemp, stinted at six-pence a day, one with another.
1866. W. Gregor, Banff Gloss., Stent, to appoint a certain work; as, ‘They stentit thimsels wee thir spinnan.’
1883. Gresley, Gloss. Coal-mining, 241. Stint, to fix upon, or agree to, a certain number of trams being filled per stall per day.
b. To assign (a workman) to a definite task.
1844. H. Stephens, Bk. Farm, III. 753. The field-workers of the farm … are placed or stented to the work, as it is termed, at every 2 rows. Ibid., 1058.
17. passive. Of a mare: To be served (by a horse): see quot. 1856. Const. to. Also of a ewe: To conceive.
1823. ‘Jon Bee,’ Dict. Turf, s.v., A mare which has received a horse is said to be stinted to him.
1856. ‘Stonehenge,’ Brit. Rural Sports, II. I. vii. 343/1. It is usual after putting the mare to the horse to take her to him every nine days, until she refuses him, when she is considered ‘stinted.’
1884. West. Morn. News, 30 Aug., 1/6. Most of the ewes are stinted early in lamb.
