Forms: 4–5 cess-en, cese, 4–6 cesse, 6– cease. Also 4 sesse, ceesse, cece, sees, sesce, 4–5 cees(e, sesse, 4–6 ses(e, 5 sece, cecyn, ceysse, seace, seasse, seece, sees(e, seysse, secyn, sesyn, Sc. ceiss, seiss, 5–6 ceasse, 6 ceace, seas(e, seyse. [ME. cesse-n, a. F. cesse-r (= Pr. cessar, sessar, Sp. cesar, Pg. cessar, It. cessare):—L. cēssāre to give over, stop, freq. of cēdĕre, cēss-um to yield. Some of the obs. senses and constructions appear to be after L. cēssāre.]
I. Intransitive.
1. Of persons and other agents: To stop, give over, discontinue, desist (from, formerly of, an action); to come to the end or to an intermission of a state or condition of ‘being, doing, or suffering.’ Formerly, cease off was used, like leave off.
c. 1330. R. Brunne, Chron. (1810), 316. Þe kyng … teld his barons how, þat nede behoued him ses.
c. 1340. Hampole, Prose Tr., 10. Þat we sesse of all vyces.
138[?]. Wyclif, Sel. Wks., III. 302. Bi þis amortysyng þei wolen nevere cesse.
c. 1440. York Myst., xxii. 155. Sees of thy sawes, þou Sathanas.
1509. Fisher, Wks., I. (1876), 59. He … neuer seaseth tyll it comes vnto the hyest parte of the soule.
1509. Barclay, Ship of Fooles (1874), I. 97. Cease of your Foly.
1611. Bible, Jonah i. 15. So they tooke vp Ionah, and cast him foorth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging.
1651. Hobbes, Leviath., II. xxviii. 165. Are either Enemies, or else they have ceased from being so.
1761. Gray, Fatal Sisters, 52. Sisters, cease; the work is done.
1832. Tennyson, Lotos-Eaters, 65. Fold our wings, And cease from wanderings.
b. Const. inf. with to.
138[?]. Wyclif, Serm., Sel. Wks. I. 139. Þei wolen not … ceesse to anoye hem silf in bilding of hye housis.
1485. Caxton, Chas. Gt., 232. They seaced not to fyght.
1584. Greene, Arbasto, i. Cease off to inquire farther in the case.
1702. Pope, Sapho, 259. I’ll … either cease to live, or cease to love!
1876. Green, Short Hist., iii. § 2 (1882), 120. An excommunicate king had ceased to be a Christian.
c. with pr. pple. expressing the action, after late L. cessare agens, used in the Vulgate in imitation of the construction of Gr. παύομαι. This construction coincides in form with 6 b, which see.
† 2. = Cease from action: to rest, take rest, be or remain at rest. Obs. Cf. CEASING vbl. sb.
1382. Wyclif, Joshua xiv. 15. The loond ccesside fro bataylis.
1483. Vulg. abs Terentio, 13 b. Thow sesyste no tyme nor takist no hede to thy selfe.
1513. Douglas, Æneis, VIII. i. 59. The nycht come, and all thing levand seisst.
1535. Coverdale, 2 Esdr. xv. 22. My swerde shal not ceasse ouer them, that shed the innocent bloude.
1655–60. Stanley, Hist. Philos. (1701), 326/2. Matter … will cease if none move it.
3. Of actions, feelings, phenomena, etc.: To come to an end, be at an end. Formerly often conjugated with the auxiliary be; but some of the examples may be rather passive of 5, 6 or 7.
a. 1300. Cursor M., 6032. Prai for me now, moyses þi lauerd to do þis thoner ses.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Troylus, II. 434. But cesyd cause, aie cecith malady.
1413. Lydg., Pylgr. Sowle, II. xli. (1859), 46. Now is al theyr noious labour secyd.
1535. Coverdale, Ps. lxxxiv[v]. 3. O God oure Sauioure … let thine anger ceasse from vs.
1541. Elyot, Image Gov. (1549), 91 b. The persecution of christen men beynge but late cessed.
1599. Shaks., Hen. V., I. i. 67. It must be so; for Miracles are ceast.
1620. trans. Boccaccio’s Decameron, 77. The modest murmure of the Assistants was ceased.
1796. H. Hunter, trans. St.-Pierre’s Stud. Nat. (1799), II. 418. The tomb of his adversary will cease to be honoured.
1819. Monthly Mag., XLVIII. 30. The noise was ceas’d Of all the angelic ring.
1879. Froude, Cæsar, xiv. 21. The influx of Germans on the Rhine must cease.
† 4. = Cease to exist: to come to an end, fail, become extinct, pass away. Obs.
1382. Wyclif, Ezek. xxxiv. 25. I shal make for to ceese the werst beestis fro the erthe.
1393. Gower, Conf., II. 189. All moral vertu ceseth.
1586. Thynne, in Animadv. (1865), Introd. 74. Concerning the high constables of England, which office ceassed and tooke end at the duke of Buckingham.
1611. Bible, Deut. xv. 11. The poore shall neuer cease out of the land.
1710. Prideaux, Orig. Tithes, i. 20. When this Priesthood ceased, the Law … must cease also.
II. Transitive.
† 5. To put a stop to (the action of others, a state or condition of things), to stop. Obs.
1393. Gower, Conf., II. 9. Thus was cessed the debate Of love.
c. 1399. Pol. Poems (1859), II. 6. He myghte oure dedly werre cesse.
c. 1450. Lonelich, Grail, xlv. 265. Sese this tempest and this torment That we ben now inne, Lord.
1534. More, On the Passion, Wks. 1300/2. The Pharisies woulde haue had hym ceace ye voice of the people hymself.
1610. Barrough, Meth. Physick, I. xxxix. (1639), 62. Sapa … doth cease paine much more then sweet wine.
1629. Milton, Ode Nativity, 45. He, her fears to cease, Sent down the meek-eyed Peace.
1691. E. Taylor, trans. Behmen’s Threefold Life, xviii. 313. A dead man’s sence is ceased.
6. To leave off, discontinue (one’s own action; formerly also, one’s anger or other passions).
c. 1410. Sir Cleges, 297. Sese your angrye mode!
c. 1528. Impeach. Wolsey, 178, in Furniv., Ballads fr. MSS., I. 357. Seas thyne insaciat covetous mynde.
1548. Udall, Erasm. Par., Pref. 4 a. God of his mercie was willing to ceasse his wrath and vengeaunce.
1604. E. Grimston, Siege of Ostend, 199. Whereby he might be constrayned … to cease the dayly alarmes which hee gaue.
1728. Gay, Begg. Op., II. Cease your funning.
a. 1744. Pope, Dying Chr. to Soul, v. 5. Cease, fond Nature, cease thy strife.
1751. Johnson, Rambl., No. 127, ¶ 6. Others have ceased their curiosity.
1849. Ruskin, Sev. Lamps, 3. To cease, for a little while, our endeavours.
b. with vbl. sb. as obj.
The vbl. sb. represents an earlier pr. pple.: see 1 c.
1382. Wyclif, Ephes. i. 16. I … ceesse not doynge thankyngis [Vulg. non cesso gratias agens] for you.
c. 1440. Gesta Rom., 34 (Harl. MS.). Þei cessid neuer drinking by þe space of iij. days or iiij.
a. 1533. Ld. Berners, Huon, xciii. 301. Desyre of hym in my name to sease fyghtynge.
1611. Bible, Numb. viii. 25. From the age of fiftie yeeres they shall cease waiting vpon the seruice thereof, and shall serue no more.
1860. Tyndall, Glac., I. § 27. 215. Throughout the entire measurement the snow never ceased falling.
c. Mil. Cease fire: a word of command.
1847. Infantry Man. (1854), 87. The fire is continued until the bugle sounds the Cease. Ibid., 89. The Cease firing has sounded.
1859. Musketry Instr., 56. At the conclusion of the practice … the bugler is to sound the ‘cease fire.’
1884. Daily News, 14 March, 6/3. The ‘cease-fire’ presently sounded.
† 7. To cause (an agent) to leave off (of an action); to appease, bring to rest, quiet. Obs.
c. 1320. Seuyn Sag., 781 (W.). The grehound wolde nowt sessed be.
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. P., C. 391. Sesez childer of her sok, soghe hem so neuer.
1475. Caxton, Jason, 66 b. Ysiphile … cessed herself of her lamentacions. Ibid. (1480), Chron. Eng., ccxlii. 282. They wold haue done moche harme … nadde the maire … seced hem with fayre wordes.
1526. Tindale, Acts xix. 35. When the toune clarcke had ceased the people.
a. 1560. Rolland, Crt. Venus, I. 5. Eolus … ceissit swyith the small foulis of their sang.
1575–85. Abp. Sandys, Serm. (1841), 61. The … Lord of our tranquillity hath ceased the waves of the sea.
