Pa. t. and pa. pple. killed. Forms: α. 3–4 culle(n, kulle(n(ü). β. 4 kille(n, 4–5 kylle, 6 kyll, 6–7 kil, 6– kill. γ. 5–6 kelle. δ. Sc. 5–6 kele, keill. Pa. t. 3–4 culde, 4–6 kild(e, 5 kyld(e, (5–6 kelit, etc.); 4– killed. Pa. pple. 4 (y-)culled, (i-)kilde), y-keld, 4– killed (5–6 kyld, kelyt, keild, etc., 6 kylt, 6– kilt). [Of obscure origin; not found in the cognate langs.
If in OE., its type would be *cyllan, conjecturally referred to an OTeut. *kuljan, ablaut-variant of *kwaljan, whence OE. cwellan to QUELL; but the original sense is against this. Known first in Layamon, and in southern texts, in form cüllen, küllen. In midl. dial. normally kille(n, kill, the common form in ME.; kelle is rare. The usual Sc. form in 15–16th c. was kele, keill, the vowel of which is difficult to account for. In ME. the pa. t. and pa. pple. varied between killed and kild; exceptionally the pple. appears as kilt (cf. spilt), now regarded as an Irishism, and sometimes used jocularly, esp. in sense 6 b.]
† 1. trans. To strike, hit; to beat, knock. Also with off, and absol. or intr. Also fig. Obs.
c. 1205. Lay., 20319. Ofte me hine smæt mid smærte ȝerden; ofte me hine culde; swa me deð crosce.
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 126. Þauh a word culle þe [= thee] ful herde up o þine heorte.
13[?]. E. E. Allit. P., B. 876. We kylle of þyn heued.
c. 1375. Joseph Arim., 545. He starte vp and streiȝte to his hache, culles on mennes hedes þat þei doun lyen.
† b. To cast or throw out; to clear out.
(For a similar connection between the notions of striking and throwing, cf. the senses of G. schlagen (Da. slaa) SLAY, and schmeissen (Da. smide) SMITE.)
a. 1225. Ancr. R., 346. Auh to hire owune schrift-feder, oðer to summe oðre lif-holie monne: ʓif heo mei hine habben, kulle al ut þet is iðe krocke [v.r. culle al þe pot ut].
2. To put to death; to deprive of life; to slay, slaughter. In early use implying personal agency and the use of a weapon; later, extended to any means or cause that puts an end to life, as an accident, over-work, grief, drink, a disease, etc.
α. c. 1330. King of Tars, 179. The Sarazins withouten fayle The Cristene culde in that batayle.
13[?]. Song Yesterday, 146, in E. E. P. (1862), 137. Ȝif þi neiȝebor þe manas, Oþur to culle, oþur to bete.
1377. Langl., P. Pl., B. Prol. 185. Thouȝ we culled [C-text 199 hadde ycullid] þe catte, ȝut sholde þer come another. Ibid., XVI. 137. Thei casten & contreueden To kulle hym whan þei miȝte.
β. c. 1374. Chaucer, Anel. & Arc., 53. Yche other for to kylle With blody speris.
1382. Wyclif, Luke xx. 15. This is the eyr, sle we him…. And thei killiden him.
1387. Trevisa, Higden (Rolls), VIII. 5. At Wycombmalban þey were i-kilde [v.r. y-keld].
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1343. Þaire kyng was kylt.
1538. Starkey, England, I. iii. 98. Commynly they be other kyld where they are brede or sold.
1590. Spenser, F. Q., I. v. 26. What art thou, that telst of Nephews kilt?
1632. Lithgow, Trav., X. 479. Men are rather killed with the impatience they have in adversity, then adversity it selfe.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., IV. 758. Orpheus … Whom ev’n the savage Beasts had spar’d, they kill’d, And strew’d his mangled Limbs about the Field.
1774. Goldsm., Nat. Hist. (1776), I. 358. This terrible blast … instantly kills all those that it involves in its passage.
1848. Thackeray, Van. Fair, xlv. He was killing himself by late hours and intense application.
1895. Law Times, C. 133/2. A man who had been killed at a level crossing by a railway train.
fig. 1614. Saul, Game Chesse, A iv b. But as they [pawns] march who so they finde doe in their colour stand, Such may they kill.
γ. 1387. [see β].
a. 1400. Octouian, 1063. Thy fader hath keld Well many a bole and doun yfeld.
c. 1440. Partonope, 1054. Kelle these peuple of fals lawe.
15[?]. in Bann. MS., lf. 145 a. Telyeouris ar tyrranis in kelling of lyiss.
δ. c. 1470. Henry, Wallace, VI. 651. His brothir Hew was kelyt thar full cald.
1508. Kennedie, Flyting w. Dunbar, 271. The feild, Quhair twelve thowsand trew Scottismen wer keild.
1572. Satir. Poems Reform., xxxiii. 46. Sair boistit thay my husband commoun-weill, And maid thair vowis and aithis him for to keill.
a. 1605. Montgomerie, Misc. Poems, lii. 29. Vncourtesly thus keill thay mo Than I.
b. With adverbial extensions, as kill out (away, † down, † up), kill off, to cut off completely, to remove, extinguish, or get rid of (a number, a whole tribe, etc.) by killing.
a. 1400–50. Alexander, 2377. Þe kyng of þaire kythe was killid doun & heded.
c. 1450. Holland, Howlat, 566. He … Kelit dovne thar capitanis.
1530. Palsgr., 598/2. I kyll up, as one that kylleth the resydewe where many have ben kylled afore.
1607. Topsell, Four-f. Beasts (1658), 520. Although the fœcundity of Swine be great, yet it is better to kill off two or three,… then to permit them to suck their dam.
1641. Hinde, J. Bruen, xiv. 47. Hee presently killed up the game, and disparked the Parke.
1849. Tait’s Mag., XVI. 90/1. The wars of the Roses killed them out.
1876. Tennyson, Queen Mary, III. v. Sometimes I have wish’d That I were caught, and kill’d away at once Out of the flutter.
1894. H. Drummond, Ascent Man, 264. [Nature] produces fitness by killing off the unfit.
c. With complement expressing the result: to kill to († into, unto) death, to kill dead. (Cf. Ger. todtschlagen, Du. doodslaan.)
1362. Langl., P. Pl., A. XI. 282. Poule þe apostil þat no pite ne hadde, Cristene kynde to kille to deþe.
c. 1400. Destr. Troy, 1734. The Grekes … kyld all our kynnesmen into colde dethe.
1614. Bp. Hall, No Peace with Rome, 21 (L.). In the popish churches … their very walls kill us dead.
1670. Cotton, Espernon, I. I. 35. Some of the company … found the Horse … kill’d stone dead.
1700. Farquhar, Constant Couple, IV. ii. Are you sure you killed him dead?
1882. J. C. Morison, Macaulay, iii. 92. Bentley did kill his adversary dead, but it was with missiles of pure gold.
d. absol. To perform the act of killing; to commit murder or slaughter.
1535. Coverdale, Exod. xx. 13. Thou shalt not kyll.
1593. Shaks., 2 Hen. VI., IV. iii. 8. Thou shalt haue a License to kill for a hundred lacking one.
1653. Holcroft, Procopius, Pers. Wars, I. 2. Which gives such force to the Arrow, that where it lights it kils.
1810. Sporting Mag., XXXV. 300. They killed in one of the new plantations near Blankney.
1883. W. Black, in Harper’s Mag., Dec., 64/2. They had not been ‘killing’ at any of the farms.
e. intr. in passive sense: To be killed; to suffer killing. Of an animal: To yield (so much meat) when killed.
1857. Jrnl. R. Agric. Soc., XVIII. I. 162. On inquiry of butchers … I find that one characteristic of a beast which kills well, is to have a little stomach.
1888. Whitby Gaz., 25 Feb., 4/7. I saw the cow in the slaughter-house…. She killed 34 stones.
f. trans. To procure (meat) by killing animals.
1560. Bible (Genev.), 1 Sam. xxv. 11. My bread, & my water, & my flesh that I haue killed for my sherers.
1689. Luttrell, Brief Rel. (1857), I. 511. The lords of the admiralty have sent orders to the victualling office to kill beefe and pork for 65 men of war.
1838. G. P. R. James, Robber, vi. The beef was not killed at the end of the table.
g. To represent as killed or as dead. To kill off: to remove the names of dead officers from the navy-list (Smyth, Sailor’s Word-bk., 1867).
1867. Freeman, Norm. Conq., I. iii. 199, note. Richer seems to kill him [Rolf] at Eu in 925.
Mod. A novelist who always kills the hero in the last chapter.
3. transf. To destroy the vitality of (any organism or organic substance), the activity of (a disease, etc.). Also, in later use, To destroy, break up, or ruin anything.
1530. Palsgr., 598/2. I kyll, as any freatynge medecyne kylleth deede flesshe.
1558. Warde, trans. Alexis’ Secr. (1568), 40 a. An oyntment to kill the plague.
1608. Topsell, Serpents (1658), 725. With this they kill hair, for upon the place where the hair was puld off, they pour this bloud, and then it never groweth more.
1658. A. Fox, Würtz’ Surg., II. ix. 83. A Surgeon made experiment on him with the white of Eggs and Bole, whereby the Eye was killed.
1697. Dryden, Virg. Georg., I. 225. Tough Thistles choak’d the Fields, and kill’d the Corn.
1799. Young, Agric. Lincs., 145 (E. D. D.). Potatoes have quite killed the land.
1872. Huxley, Physiol., i. 18. A burn may kill more or less of the skin.
Mod. With us the fuchsia is killed down every winter, and so never grows to a shrub in the open air.
b. To destroy the active quality of (a substance); e.g., the fluidity of mercury, the ductility of wire.
1613. Purchas, Pilgrimage (1614), 724, note. Some thinke that Quicke-silver cannot quite be killed.
1694. Salmon, Bate’s Dispens. (1713), 661/2. The Quick-silver, before it can be mixed with the other Ingredients, is to be killed with the Turpentine.
1865. Daily Tel., 1 June, 2/4. If the phosphorus had not been properly ‘killed’ by being mixed with gum, it would probably explode when chloride of potass was added.
1875. Ure’s Dict. Arts, III. 846. The lye will have lost its causticity, or, in technical language,… it is killed.
1876. Preece & Sivewright, Telegraphy, 177. The wire … to be then stretched (‘killed’) to the extent of two per cent. by passing round drums, either varying in diameter or differentially geared as to speed.
1881. Young, Every Man his own Mechanic, § 1406. Dampness in the air technically speaking kills the size, that is to say deprives it of its binding power.
c. To neutralize the effect of.
1858. O. W. Holmes, Aut. Breakf.-t. (1865), 122. Indefinite quantities of black tea to kill any extra glass of red claret he may have swallowed.
4. fig. To destroy, do away with, put an end to, suppress (a feeling, desire, project, or other nonmaterial thing).
1435. Misyn, Fire of Love, 81. Well vsyd in prayinge … all wykkydnes kylland & vnclennes.
1573. Cartwright, Repl. Answ. Admonit., 26. Sufficient to quench her thirst and kill her hunger.
1579–80. North, Plutarch (1595), 236. Too sodaine honour in youth killeth further desire of fame.
1617. R. Wilkinson, Barwick-bridge, 22. Yea, warre and contention kill up even conscience it selfe.
1710. Tatler, No. 191, ¶ 1. The monstrous Affectation of being thought artful, immediately kills all Thoughts of Humanity and Goodness.
1851. D. Jerrold, St. Giles, iv. 31. Jem, turning his eye, detected his wife painfully endeavouring to kill a laugh by thrusting her apron corner into her mouth.
1872. Liddon, Elem. Relig., vi. 214. In the Jew of the age of Tiberius, the national feeling … had almost killed out the human.
1873. Black, Pr. Thule, xix. You have killed her faith as well as ruined her life.
b. To neutralize, destroy or spoil (an appearance or quality) by contrast or incongruity.
1859. Gullick & Timbs, Paint., 117. The necessity of using body-colour, in order, by its opacity, to ‘kill’—using the painter’s phrase—… the unpleasant hue of the photograph.
1877. J. C. Cox, Ch. Derbysh., II. 378. The high blank walls … kill the grace of the lancet windows on the … sides of the chancel.
5. To consume or spend (time, or any portion of time), so as to bring it to an end. Said of a person, or an occupation or amusement.
1728. Vanbr. & Cib., Prov. Husb., I. i. What think you, if we three sat soberly down to kill an hour at ombre?
1768–74. Tucker, Lt. Nat. (1834), II. 578. It is ridiculous to see how many shifts are made to kill time, as it is called.
1826. Disraeli, Viv. Grey, I. v. A sawney who was killing the half-holiday by looking out of the window.
1874. L. Stephen, Hours in Library (1892), I. ii. 64. Tapestry, in which ladies employed their needles by way of killing time.
6. In hyperbolic use: To come near to killing. a. To overwhelm (a person) by a strong impression on the mind, as of admiration, astonishment, alarm, grief, etc.; to impress with irresistible force.
1634. [see KILLING ppl. a. 2 c].
1711. Steele, Spect., No. 144, ¶ 1. If they [Handsom People] do not kill at first Sight, as the Phrase is, a second Interview disarms them of all their Power.
1712–4. Pope, Rape Lock, V. 68. Chloe stepp’d in and kill’d him with a frown.
1783. Mad. D’Arblay, Diary, Jan. He behaves to me with a kind of deference that kills me.
b. To injure seriously; to affect with severe pain or suffering. (An Irishism.)
1800. Mar. Edgeworth, Castle Rackrent, 158. My lady Rackrent was all kilt and smashed, and they lifted her into a cabin hard by … and they say my lady can’t live any way.
1824. C. K. Sharpe, Corr. (1888), II. 303. I am so kilt all over with rheumatism, as Irishmen speak, that I can scarcely hold a pen.
7. In various phrases. a. To kill a ball: (a) in tennis, to strike a ball so as to prevent it from being returned (see quot. 1883); (b) in football, to stop a ball dead.
1883. Daily News, 26 June, 6/6. Posting themselves close to the net, to intercept the ball as it came over, and by a severe downward stroke to hit it in such a manner that it could not possibly be returned—or, in other words, to ‘kill’ it. Ibid. (1900), 23 April, 8/1. The ball had come in from the right, and McLuckie killed it, and shot a goal.
b. To kill a bill (in parliament): to defeat it totally; to prevent it from passing; to veto it.
1832. J. W. Croker, in C. Papers, 14 April (1884). I have just had Haddington with me. He is confident of killing the bill.
1888. Bryce, Amer. Commw., I. I. vi. 75. By ‘killing’ more bills than all his predecessors put together had done, Mr. Cleveland raised himself in public opinion.
† c. To kill one’s heart: to depress or discourage one completely. Obs.
1470–85. Malory, Arthur, X. lviii. Fy vpon treason said sir Trystram, for hit kylleth my herte to here this tale.
1579–80. North, Plutarch (1676), 343. For their hearts were killed, because … they were ever overthrown.
1654. Sir E. Nicholas, in N. Papers (Camden), II. 124. To see us totally ruined rather then deale with people according to their deserts, it kills our harts.
d. To kill with kindness: to destroy or fatally harm by mistaken and excessive kindness.
1596. Shaks., Tam. Shr., IV. i. 211. This is a way to kil a Wife with kindnesse.
1698. Fryer, Acc. E. India & P., 100. Tom Coriat … was killed with Kindness by the English Merchants.
1698. Farquhar, Love & Bottle, III. i. I bear her an amorous grudge still … I could kill her with kindness.
e. Kill or cure, with reference to medical treatment or remedies, which either cure or prove fatal; also attrib., and absol. as sb.
1764. Foote, Mayor of G., I. Wks. 1799, I. 162. Your Worship knows, that, kill or cure, I have contracted to physic the parish-poor by the great.
1778. in James, Dissert. Fevers (ed. 8), 114. Dr. James’s Powder, which I was determined to take, kill or cure.
1875. Jowett, Plato (ed. 2), III. 39. Asclepius … adopted the rough ‘kill or cure’ method.
1898. F. Sessions, in Folk-Lore, IX. 14. A Lebanon mother knows no other remedy than the kill-or-cure of a dip in the sea for her babe.
