v. Forms: 4–6 amonest; 4 ammonest, amonist; 5 amonace, amonesshe, -esche; 5–6 admonest; 6 admonase, admonyss, -ysch, -yssh; 6– admonish. [a. OFr. amoneste-r:—late L. admonestā-re an unexplained derivative form of L. admonēre. In Eng. the final -t was at length taken as the ppl. ending, leaving the stem as amoness, amonase, which soon by form-association with vbs. like abolisse, abolish, became amonesh. Meanwhile the prefix also was refashioned after L., giving admonest, admonesse, admonish. The refashioning of the termination is seen in the following:
c. 1386. Chaucer, Parsons T., 509. Whan a man is sharpely amonested in his schrift to forleten his synne. So Ellesmere and Christch. MSS.; Camb. amonestid, Petw. amonased, = amonest, Selden amonesshed, Lansd. amonesched.]
1. gen. To put (a person) in mind of duties; to counsel against wrong practices; to give authoritative or warning advice; to exhort, to warn.
c. 1374. Chaucer, Boethius (1868), 171. Ȝif þou erþely man wexest yuel … þis figure amonesteþ þe.
1382. Wyclif, 1 Cor. iv. 14. I amoneste or warne [ȝou] as my moost dereworthe sones.
c. 1400. Apol. for Lollards, 93. Feiþful prestis ammonest þe peple.
1489. Caxton, Fayt of Armes, IV. xiii. 270. Thus oughte the sayde wysemen to exorte and admoneste them.
1534. Ld. Berners, Gold. Bk. of M. Aurel (1546), K ij. Admonishe her often, and reproue her but seldome.
1611. Bible, 2 Thess. iii. 15. Count him not as an enemy, but admonish him as a brother.
1667. Milton, P. L., IX. 1174. I warned thee, I admonished thee, foretold The danger.
1807. Crabbe, Libr., 44. Fools they admonish and confirm the wise.
1824. Dibdin, Libr. Comp., 92. He makes our hearts reprove, admonish and comfort us.
b. absol.
1375. Barbour, Bruce, VIII. 348. Bot he mycht nocht amonist swa That ony for him vald turne agane.
1754. Chatham, Lett. to Nephew, v. 39. When they [servants] are bad, pity, admonish, and part with them if incorrigible.
† 2. To call to mind, inculcate (a thing). Obs.
c. 1386. Chaucer, Melibeus, 328. In manye othere places he amonesteth pees and accord [Corpus amonysscheþ].
c. 1400. Apol. for Lollards, 32. To preche is in siche maner to a monest good þingis, as Crist bad His disciplis do.
3. To put (one) in mind to do a duty; to charge (a person) authoritatively, to exhort, urge (always with a tacit reference to the danger or penalty of failure). Const. inf. or subord. cl.; (to rare and obs.)
c. 1325. E. E. Allit. Poems, B. 818. Loth … his men amonestes mete for to dyȝt.
1340. Ayenb., 8. Þis heste ous amonesteþ þet we ous loky þet we ne wreþþi uader ne moder.
1480. Caxton, Chron. Eng., VII. (1520), 84. We admonest you fyrste in the popes halfe that ye make full restytucyon.
1523. Ld. Berners, Froissart, I. ccccxix. 733. Admonyst your people to do well their deuoyre.
1557. Kynge Arthur, V. viii. Syrs I admonest you that thys daye ye fyght … as men.
1611. Bible, Transl. Pref., 11. Doth not a margine do well to admonish the Reader to seeke further?
1709. Strype, trans. Beza, in Ann. Ref. (1824), I. xliv. 174. To send their letter … to the queen and bishops, to admonish them to their duty.
1781. Gibbon, Decl. & F., II. xli. 502. He admonished the usurper to repent of his treason.
1860. Tyndall, Glaciers, I. § 16. 117. Bennen admonished me to tread in his steps.
4. To put (a person) in mind of anything to be avoided; to warn or caution against danger, error or fault. Const. usually of, rarely against, for, or subord. cl.
1541. Elyot, Image of Gov. (1549), 49. He would admonest or warne him of his lacke in diligence.
1718. Free-thinker, No. 68, 87. I promised … to admonish the Ladies against the Innovation of Masquerades.
1754. Sherlock, Disc. (1759), I. x. 289. Moses was sent … to reprove and admonish the People for their manifold Transgressions.
1785. Rolliad., Ded. (1799), 21. To admonish them, how they rush into future dangers.
1855. Prescott, Philip II., I. II. xii. 277. A gallows erected on an eminence admonished the offenders of the fate that awaited them.
5. To put (a person) in mind of a thing forgotten, overlooked or unknown; to give formal or express notice; to notify, apprize or inform. Const. of or subord. cl.
1574. trans. Marlorats Apocalips, 3. Miracles doe teache men and admonishe them of Gods will.
1586. Thynne, Contn. Holinshed, in Animadv., 70. I am to admonish thee, good reader, that … I have neither word for word, nor sentence for sentence, set downe the writings of Lesleus.
1661. Bramhall, Just. Vind., vii. 198. So soon as he shall be admonished of the Kings pleasure.
1710. Berkeley, Princ. Hum. Knowl., I. § 44. [They] only admonish us what ideas of touch will be imprinted in our minds.
1844. Lingard, Hist. A.-Sax. Ch. (1858), II. i. 11. Admonished her of the obligations which it imposed.
1851. Carlyle, Sterling, I. ii. (1872), 10. Descended, too, from the Scottish hero Wallace, as the old gentleman would sometimes admonish them.
1855. Prescott, Philip II., II. (1857), 281. The duchess of Parma admonished her brother that the lords chafed much under his long silence.
