Forms: 2–6 tresor, 3–6 -ur, -our, 4–6 -ore, -oure, 5 -owre, -er, 5–6 -ure, 5 treysour, treasoure, 5–6 -our, 6 -or, 6– treasure. (Also 4–5 trissor, 4–6 tressour, 7 treassour; 4 thresur, 5–6 -our, -oure, 6 threasour, -ure.) [In 12th c. tresor, a. OF. tresor (11th c. in Littré):—pop.L. of Gaul *trēsaur-us for cl.L. thēsaur-us (whence Pr. thesaur, OCat. tesor, Sp., It. tesoro, Pg. thesouro), a. Gr. θησαυρός treasure. Cf. the Sc. THESAUR.]
1. Wealth or riches stored or accumulated, esp. in the form of precious metals; gold or silver coin; hence in general, money, riches, wealth. Usually collective, without article or plural.
1154. O. E. Chron., an. 1137 (Laud MS.). He hadde ʓet his tresor ac he to deld it & scatered sotlice.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 150. Þe þet bereð tresor openliche in one weie þet is al ful of þeoues.
c. 1325. Poem times Edw. II., 321, in Pol. Songs (Camden), 338. Thurfte him noht seke tresor so fer.
13[?]. Cursor M., 16534 (Gött.). He kest þaim dune apon þe grund, threti penis þar fell. Bot þe Iuus … Þe thresur [v.r. tresour] forsok þai noght. Ibid., 24807 (Cott.). Wit trissor [Edin. tresori] son his scipp was tift.
1480. Caxton, Chron. Eng., IV. (1520), 31/2. Linus and … Cletus … were made to mynyster the treasoure of the chyrche to the people.
1597. J. Payne, Royal Exch., 44. Where a mans threasure ys there is his hart.
1599. Massinger, etc., Old Law, I. i. To fly my severe country; To turn all into treasure.
1686. trans. Chardin’s Trav. Persia, 71. A Man that … look’d upon five or six of those Pieces to be a great Treasure.
1695. Locke, Further Consid. Value Money, 23. Gold is Treasure as well as Silver, because it decays not in keeping, and never sinks much in its value.
1750. trans. Leonardus’ Mirr. Stones, 50. Some stones … preserve and increase treasure; others cure diseases.
1821. Byron, Mar. Fal., V. i. Goods, and jewels, and all kinds of treasure.
b. pl. in same sense.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 98. Now is Henry … lord of mykelle þing, & riche man of tresours.
a. 1366[?]. Chaucer, Rom. Rose, 184. To take and yeve right nought ageyne, And gret tresouris up to leyne.
1474. Caxton, Chesse, III. iv. (1883), 108. The resseyuours of the tresours royall.
1596. Raleigh, Discov. Gviana, 9. Greate Cities, Townes, Temples, and threasures.
1838. Murray’s Hand Bk. N. Germ., 45/1. The treasures of the once celebrated bank of Amsterdam … were kept in the vaults below the building.
1857. Ruskin, Pol. Econ. Art, 4. The last coin out of all their treasures.
c. fig.
1382. Wyclif, Luke xviii. 22. Sille thou alle … and ȝyue to pore men, and thou schalt haue tresour in heuene.
1753. Challoner, Cath. Chr. Instr., 128. The Treasure of the Church … are the Merits and Satisfactions of Christ and his Saints.
† d. A store or stock of anything valuable. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, Jer. xli. 8. Wee han tresor in the feld, of whete, and of barly, and of oile, and of hony.
1604. E. G[rimstone], D’Acosta’s Hist. Indies, IV. v. 217. The Creator hath furnished the Weast Indies with so great a treasure of silver.
1707. Curios. in Husb. & Gard., 55. A Treasure of central Fire, that manifests itself by the Vents of the Vulcanos.
† e. = TREASURE-TROVE. Obs. rare.
1602. Fulbecke, 1st Pt. Parall., 16. A treasure properly is, when money or things of good value haue lyen from time out of minde hidden in the ground, so that no man now hath propertie in it.
f. Treasure found: see TREASURE-TROVE b.
2. transf. and fig. Anything valued and preserved as precious; also of a person, a ‘jewel,’ ‘gem’ (colloq.).
c. 1200. Vices & Virtues, 135. Þat derworðe tresor, þat is, ðe hali gast.
a. 1340. Hampole, Psalter, xxv. 11. I am rych in gostly tresoure.
c. 1530. H. Rhodes, Bk. Nurture, in Babees Bk. (1868), 83. A seruaunt to suffer in anger, to his mayster is a treasure.
1611. Sir W. Mure, Misc. Poems, i. 79. To losse ane Infinit and endles treassour.
1663. Bp. Patrick, Parab. Pilgr., xxxii. (1687), 393. A faithful friend is a strong defence: and he that hath found such an one, hath found a Treasure.
1791. Boswell, Johnson, 16 May, an. 1778. Let me then comfort myself with the large treasure of Johnson’s conversation which I have preserved.
1810. Lady Granville, Lett. (1894), I. 18. My month nurse, a treasure, and the most respectable of dames.
1844. A. B. Welby, Poems (1867), 97. Our treasures are this little boy, contentment, pence, and health.
1907. Verney Mem., II. 60. The fine house and its treasures.
3. A treasury; a treasure-house, a treasure-chest. Obs. rare.
[1382. Wyclif, 1 Kings xv. 18. Al the siluer and gold, that lafte in the tresours [v.r. tresories] of the hows of the Lord.]
1426. Lydg., De Guil. Pilgr., 8837. She tooke [hem] ful lowly … And in hyr tresour vp hem layde.
c. 1475. Pict. Voc., in Wr.-Wülcker, 782/5. Hoc gazophilacium, a tresure.
1550. Crowley, Epigr., 185. Why can you neuer finde a time of leasure To se where the treasure will finde them workinge?
1596. Dalrymple, trans. Leslie’s Hist. Scot., X. (S.T.S.), II. 350. In the Quinȝehous or in the Kingis tresour.
4. attrib. and Comb., as treasure-box, -cache, -chamber, -chest, -coffer, -digger, -galleon, -giver, -hoard, -hunt, -hutch, -keeper, -room, -ship, -store, -vault, etc.; treasure-baited, -bearing, laden adjs.; treasure-city, a city in which supplies were stored; treasure-flower, local name of a South African composite flowering plant of the genus Gazania, esp. the species G. Pavonia, the peacock treasure-flower; treasure-wheat: see quot. See also TREASURE-HOUSE, -TROVE.
1887. I. R., Lady’s Ranche Life Montana, 130. The robbers then rifled the *treasure-box, and rode off delighted with their booty.
1885. Bancroft, Hist. Pacific States N. A., VI. 587, note. Rosains began by a raid on Martinez’ *treasure cache.
a. 1547. in J. R. Boyle, Hedon (1895), App. 80. Foure keys belonging the *tresasor [sic] chambere.
1823. Scott, Quentin D., xxiii. Having carefully locked treasure-chamber, the wealthy Fleming next conveyed his guest to the parlour.
1849. Thackeray, Pendennis, xxiii[i]. [She] had quite a little museum of locks of hair in her *treasure-chest.
1895. Daily News, 23 Nov., 7/1. The treasure chests [for the Ashanti war] consist of heavy iron safes filled with specie … packed at the Bank of England.
1611. Bible, Exod. i. 11. And they built for Pharaoh *treasure-cities, Pithom and Raamses.
1610. Holland, Camden’s Brit. (1637), 106. Roman mony … in *treasure coffers.
1866. Treas. Bot., *Treasure-flower, Gazania.
1898. G. Meredith, Odes Fr. Hist., 51. Seen like some rare *treasure-galleon, Hull down, with masts against the Western hues.
1899. Kipling, Stalky, vi. Three months ago he was commanding a *treasure-guard—a cart full of rupees to pay troops with—five thousand rupees in silver.
1898. Folk-Lore, IX. 17. At Sidon, the so-called Alexander Sarcophagus was found by a *treasure-hunter.
1862. H. Marryat, Year in Sweden, II. 409. The great secret of *treasure-hunting is to hold your tongue.
1531. Pilgr. Perf. (W. de W.), 178 b. Graunt me lady … (o holy *tresour huche of God) one halfe farthinge to cast in to thy laude & prayse.
1567. Trial Treas., A ij b. One with *treasure lack his life framed.
1880. Archeol. Cantiana, XIII. 455. It may have been a strong *treasure-room.
1900. H. Barbie, In Mod. Spain, 25. Many of her *treasure-ships may have found their way to English ports.
1911. R. D. Paine, Bk. Buried Treasure, 139. Hispaniola, now Hayti and San Domingo, where every bay and reef had a *treasure story of its own.
1892. Earle, Deeds Beowulf, 160. The grand *treasure-sword had been left behind.
1871. B. Taylor, Faust (1875), II. III. 196. I hunted on the *treasure-trail.
1813. Scott, Rokeby, VI. iv. ‘To Rokeby *treasure-vaults!’ they quaffed, And shouted loud and wildly laughed.
1590. Acts Privy Counc. (1899), XIX. 117. Certaine wheats (called the *threasour wheats) belonging to everie church within that Island [Jersey].
[Cf. 1682. Warburton, Hist. Guernsey (1822), 66. The trésors, which are certain rents anciently given for the repairs … to the churches … but have … been employed to uses merely secular.]
