From Middle English lī̆st, lī̆ste (“band, stripe; hem, selvage; border, edge, rim; list, specification; barriers enclosing area for jousting, etc.”), from Old English līste (“hem, edge, strip”), or Old French liste, listre (“border; band; strip of paper; list”), or Medieval Latin lista, all from Proto-West Germanic *līstā, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to trace, track”).
Cognates
* Saterland Frisian Lieste (“margin, strip, list”)
* Dutch lijst (“picture frame, list”)
* German Low German Liest (“edging, border”)
* German Leiste (“strip, rail, ledge; (heraldry) bar”)
* Swedish lista (“list”)
* Icelandic lista listi (“list”)
* Italian lista (“list; strip”)
* Portuguese lista (“list”)
* Spanish lista (“list, roll; stripe”)
* Galician lista (“band, strip; list”)
* Finnish lista (“(informal) list; batten”).
Meanings
A strip of fabric, especially from the edge of a piece of cloth.
1. Gent[leman]. Well: there went but a paire of ſheeres betweene vs. / Luc[io]. I grant: as there may betweene the Liſts, and the Veluet. Thou art the Liſt. / 1. Gent. And thou the Veluet. Thou art good Veluet; thou'rt a three pild-piece I warrant thee: I had as liefe be a Lyſt of an Engliſh Kerſey, as be pil'd, as thou art pil'd, for a French Veluet. Do I ſpeake feelingly now? c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Measure for Measure”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene ii], page 62, column 1, lines 27–34:
“Listen! I see it all — down, down even to the stays! Such stays! Six-eight a pair, Polly, with red flannel — or list is it? — that they put into the tops of those fearful things. I can draw you a picture of them.” 1889, Rudyard Kipling, “The Education of Otis Yeere”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 20:
Why should we not send a message out over London which would attract to us anyone who might still be alive? I ran across, and pulling at the list-covered rope, I was surprised to find how difficult it was to swing the bell. 1913, Arthur Conan Doyle, “(please specify the page)”, in The Poison Belt […], London; New York, N.Y.: Hodder and Stoughton, →OCLC:
Material used for cloth selvage.
"How is it, then, that the woman who came into the room about nine left to traces with her muddy boots?" / "I am glad you raise the point. It occurred to me at the time. The charwomen are in the habit of taking off their boots at the commissionaire's office, and putting on list slippers." 1893, A[rthur] Conan Doyle, “The Naval Treaty”, in The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, New York, N.Y.: A. L. Burt, →OCLC; republished London: John Murray, […], January 1950, →OCLC, page 255:
Previous to the offering up of prayer, however, the persons chosen for this office [of praying for the people] had divested themselves of their boots and put on list slippers, their hands being washed by "the descendants of Levi" at a basin near the Holy of Holies. 1871 September 18, “The Jewish New Year”, in The Jewish Herald: A Record of Christian Effort for the Salvation of Israel, London: John Snow & Co., […]; and the British Society [for the Propagation of the Gospel Among the Jews], […], published 1 November 1871, →OCLC, page 174:
A register or roll of paper consisting of a compilation or enumeration of a set of possible items; the compilation or enumeration itself.
Natures that haue much Heat, and great and violent deſires and Perturbations, are not ripe for Action, till they haue paſſed the Meridian of their yeares: As it was with Iulius Cæſar, and Septimius Seuerus. […] And yet he [Septimus Severus] was the Ableſt Emperour, almoſt, of all the Liſt. 1625, Francis [Bacon], “Of Youth and Age. XLII.”, in The Essayes […], 3rd edition, London: […] Iohn Haviland for Hanna Barret, →OCLC, pages 247–248:
"Scrooge and Marley's, I believe," said one of the gentlemen, referring to his list. "Have I the pleasure of addressing Mr. Scrooge, or Mr. Marley?" 1843 December 19, Charles Dickens, “Stave I. Marley’s Ghost.”, in A Christmas Carol. […], London: Chapman & Hall, […], →OCLC, pages 11–12:
Mostly, the microbiome is beneficial. […] Research over the past few years, however, has implicated it in diseases from atherosclerosis to asthma to autism. Dr Yoshimoto and his colleagues would like to add liver cancer to that list. 2013 June 29, “A punch in the gut: How microbes promote liver cancer in the overweight”, in The Economist, volume 407, number 8842, pages 72–73:
(historical, in-plural) The barriers or palisades used to fence off a space for jousting or tilting tournaments.
With Truncheon tip'd with Iron head, / The Warrior to the Lists [he] led; […] 1662 (indicated as 1663), [Samuel Butler], “[The First Part of Hudibras]. Canto II.”, in Hudibras. The First and Second Parts. […], London: […] John Martyn and Henry Herringman, […], published 1678, →OCLC; republished in A[lfred] R[ayney] Waller, editor, Hudibras: Written in the Time of the Late Wars, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: University Press, 1905, →OCLC, page 32:
Ariſe, O Father of the Trojan State! / The Nations call, thy joyful People wait, / To ſeal the Truce and end the dire Debate. / Paris thy Son, and Sparta’s King advance, / In meaſur’d Liſts to toſs the weighty Lance; […] 1715, Homer, “Book III”, in Alexander Pope, transl., The Iliad of Homer, volume I, London: […] W[illiam] Bowyer, for Bernard Lintott […], →OCLC, page 16, lines 319–323:
On pain of death, no person be so bold
Or daring-hardy as to touch the lists,
Except the marshal and such officers
Appointed to direct these fair designs. 1595 December 9 (first known performance), William Shakespeare, “The Life and Death of King Richard the Second”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene 3]:
They ran down to the lists and Peter came outside the ropes to meet them, his face red and sweaty, his chest heaving. 1951, C. S. Lewis, “Chapter 14. How All Were Very Busy”, in Prince Caspian:
William de Wyvil, and Stephen de Martival, […] armed at all points, rode up and down the lists to enforce and preserve good order among the spectators. 1819 December 20 (indicated as 1820), Walter Scott, chapter VIII, in Ivanhoe; a Romance. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co. […], →OCLC, page 139:
(historical, in-plural) The scene of a military contest; the ground or field of combat; an enclosed space that serves as a battlefield; the site of a pitched battle.
The sun’s bright lances rout the mists of morning, and by George! Here’s Longstreet struggling in the lists, hemmed in an ugly gorge. Pope and his Yankees, whipped before, “Bay’nets and grape!” hear Stonewall roar; “Charge, Stuart! Pay off Ashby’s score!” in “Stonewall Jackson’s Way.” 1862, John Williamson Palmer, Stonewall Jackson's Way
A codified representation of a list used to store data or in processing; especially, in the Lisp programming language, a data structure consisting of a sequence of zero or more items.
Lisp is an applicative language. This means that it is structured around applying functions (operations) to a linked list of arguments that accompany those functions. […] A function call or function definition is only coded in the syntax of a list, which can be of an indefinite length. Thus, the list is the only data structure for a Lisp program. 1985 March 10, Ed Acly, “A Tale of Three Languages: C, Ada & Lisp”, in Computerworld: The Newsweekly for the Computer Community, volume XIX, number 12, Framingham, Mass.: CW Communications, →ISSN, →OCLC, page ID/10, columns 1–2:
A little square moulding; a fillet or listel.
STRIÆ, in ancient architecture, the liſts, fillets or rays which ſeparate the ſtriges or flutings of columns. 1788, [John Carter], “STRIÆ”, in The Builder’s Magazine: Or, A Universal Dictionary for Architects, Carpenters, Masons, Bricklayers, &c. […], new edition, London: Printed for E. Newbery, […], →OCLC, page 284:
A volute is a kind of spiral scroll, used in the Ionic and Composite capitals, of which it makes the principal characteristic and ornament. […] There are several diversities practised in the volute. In some, the list or edge, throughout all the circumvolutions, is in the same line or plane. […] [I]n others, the canal or one circumvolution is detached from the list of another by a vacuity or aperture. 1876, Edward Shaw, Thomas W[illiam] Silloway, George M[ilford] Harding, “Introduction”, in Civil Architecture; being a Complete Theoretical and Practical System of Building, Containing the Fundamental Principles of the Art. […], 11th edition, Philadelphia, Pa.: Henry Carey Baird & Co., […], →OCLC, page 22, column 2:
A narrow strip of wood, especially sapwood, cut from the edge of a board or plank.
A piece of woollen cloth with which the yarns are grasped by a worker.
The first thin coating of tin; a wire-like rim of tin left on an edge of the plate after it is coated.
(obsolete) A stripe.
Thus the Aſſe having a peculiar mark of a croſſe made by a black liſt down his back, and another athwart, or at right angles down his ſhoulders; common opinion aſcribes this figure unto a peculiar ſignation; ſince that beaſt had the honour to bear our Saviour on his back. 1650, Thomas Browne, “Of the Same [i.e., the Blacknesse of Negroes]”, in Pseudodoxia Epidemica: […], 2nd edition, London: […] A[braham] Miller, for Edw[ard] Dod and Nath[aniel] Ekins, […], →OCLC, 6th book, page 282:
(obsolete) A boundary or limit; a border.
[W]ere it good / […] to ſet ſo rich a maine / On the nice hazard of one doubtfull houre? / It were not good for therein ſhould we read / The very bottome and the ſoule of hope, / The very liſt, the very vtmost bound / Of all our fortunes. c. 1597 (date written), [William Shakespeare], The History of Henrie the Fourth; […], quarto edition, London: […] P[eter] S[hort] for Andrew Wise, […], published 1598, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene i]:
ta பட்டியல் (enumeration or compilation of items) · fi lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · be спіс (enumeration or compilation of items) · el κατάλογος (enumeration or compilation of items) · da liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · cs seznam (enumeration or compilation of items) · my စာရင်း (enumeration or compilation of items) · tg феҳрист (enumeration or compilation of items) · lo ລາຍການ (enumeration or compilation of items) · tg рӯйхат (enumeration or compilation of items) · pt lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · fr liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · sh spȉsak (enumeration or compilation of items) · lt sąrašas (enumeration or compilation of items) · gl lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · ko 표 (enumeration or compilation of items) · kk тізім (enumeration or compilation of items) · ht lis (enumeration or compilation of items) · ba теҙем (enumeration or compilation of items) · sk zoznam (computing: codified representation of a list) · el λίστα (computing: codified representation of a list) · pt lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · es nómina (enumeration or compilation of items) · it listato (computing: codified representation of a list) · id senarai (computing: codified representation of a list) · xal бүрткл (enumeration or compilation of items) · tr liste (computing: codified representation of a list) · mr यादी (enumeration or compilation of items) · mk список (enumeration or compilation of items) · ba исемлек (enumeration or compilation of items) · is listi (enumeration or compilation of items) · tr liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · ky тизме (enumeration or compilation of items) · hi सूची (enumeration or compilation of items) · ru кайма́ (strip of fabric) · pt rol (enumeration or compilation of items) · he רְשִׁימָה (enumeration or compilation of items) · es rol (enumeration or compilation of items) · uz roʻyxat (enumeration or compilation of items) · ja 目録 (enumeration or compilation of items) · ru пе́речень (enumeration or compilation of items) · ru кро́мка (strip of fabric) · be пералі́к (enumeration or compilation of items) · pt tira (strip of fabric) · et loend (enumeration or compilation of items) · sk zoznam (enumeration or compilation of items) · ka სია (enumeration or compilation of items) · fi luettelo (enumeration or compilation of items) · pl lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · fr moulure (narrow strip of wood) · sq listë (enumeration or compilation of items) · ml പട്ടിക (enumeration or compilation of items) · uk пере́лік (enumeration or compilation of items) · fr lice (barriers for tournaments) · pl spis (enumeration or compilation of items) · bn ফর্দ (enumeration or compilation of items) · wa lisse (enumeration or compilation of items) · de Liste (computing: codified representation of a list) · ko 명부 (enumeration or compilation of items) · hy ցանկ (enumeration or compilation of items) · nl lijst (enumeration or compilation of items) · gl tira (strip of fabric) · fi lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · es lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · fa فِهْرِسْت (enumeration or compilation of items) · ne तालिका (enumeration or compilation of items) · mn нэрс (enumeration or compilation of items) · fi nauha (strip of fabric) · hi सूची (computing: codified representation of a list) · pl krajka (strip of fabric) · sh спи̏сак (enumeration or compilation of items) · vi danh sách (enumeration or compilation of items) · ko 목록 (enumeration or compilation of items) · fi räsy (material used for cloth selvage) · cy rhestr (enumeration or compilation of items) · gd liosta (enumeration or compilation of items) · bg и́ва (strip of fabric) · de Liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · is skrá (enumeration or compilation of items) · lv saraksts (enumeration or compilation of items) · wa djivêye (enumeration or compilation of items) · hu jegyzék (enumeration or compilation of items) · hu lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · it elenco (enumeration or compilation of items) · th รายการ (enumeration or compilation of items) · nn list (narrow strip of wood) · ca llista (enumeration or compilation of items) · uz spiska (enumeration or compilation of items) · sv lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · tk spisok (enumeration or compilation of items) · ta லிஸ்ட் (enumeration or compilation of items) · uk спи́сок (enumeration or compilation of items) · ar لستة (enumeration or compilation of items) · ga liosta (enumeration or compilation of items) · nb liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · ast llista (enumeration or compilation of items) · ja 演算 (computing: codified representation of a list) · fa فِهْرِسْت (computing: codified representation of a list) · nb list (narrow strip of wood) · fr lisière (strip of fabric) · ca llista (strip of fabric) · sco leet (enumeration or compilation of items) · ps نوملړ (enumeration or compilation of items) · zh 列表 (enumeration or compilation of items) · cs seznam (computing: codified representation of a list) · es relación (enumeration or compilation of items) · gl lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · yi ליסטע (enumeration or compilation of items) · km តារាង (enumeration or compilation of items) · eu zerrenda (enumeration or compilation of items) · bg спи́сък (enumeration or compilation of items) · ru каёмка (strip of fabric) · ka სია (computing: codified representation of a list) · ru спи́сок (computing: codified representation of a list) · la index (enumeration or compilation of items) · fa لیسْت (enumeration or compilation of items) · ne सूची (enumeration or compilation of items) · ro listă (enumeration or compilation of items) · lo ບັນຊີ (enumeration or compilation of items) · fa سِیاهِه (enumeration or compilation of items) · mi rārangi (enumeration or compilation of items) · it lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · li lies (enumeration or compilation of items) · ota دفتر (enumeration or compilation of items) · ar قائمة (enumeration or compilation of items) · nn liste (enumeration or compilation of items) · nog тизим (enumeration or compilation of items) · ar قَائِمَة (enumeration or compilation of items) · ja 一覧 (enumeration or compilation of items) · ota پوصوله (enumeration or compilation of items) · lb Lëscht (enumeration or compilation of items) · ja リスト (enumeration or compilation of items) · ko 리스트 (enumeration or compilation of items) · el λίστα (enumeration or compilation of items) · bn সূচী (enumeration or compilation of items) · tl listahan (enumeration or compilation of items) · fr plinthe (narrow strip of wood) · ja 名簿 (enumeration or compilation of items) · ms senarai (enumeration or compilation of items) · es lista (strip of fabric) · ca llista (computing: codified representation of a list) · hy ցուցակ (enumeration or compilation of items) · ru спи́сок (enumeration or compilation of items) · sv lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · pl lista (computing: codified representation of a list) · tk tertip (enumeration or compilation of items) · id daftar (enumeration or compilation of items) · grc ἀπογραφή (enumeration or compilation of items) · bg кена́р (strip of fabric) · zh 單子 /单子 (enumeration or compilation of items) · crh cedvel (enumeration or compilation of items) · io listo (enumeration or compilation of items) · az siyahı (enumeration or compilation of items) · tt исемлек (enumeration or compilation of items) · ur فِہْرِسْت (enumeration or compilation of items) · hu lista (enumeration or compilation of items) · zdj orodhwa (enumeration or compilation of items) · ur لِسْٹ (enumeration or compilation of items) · fi aita (barriers for tournaments) · az سیاهه (enumeration or compilation of items) · nl lijst (computing: codified representation of a list) · es tira (strip of fabric) · eo listo (enumeration or compilation of items) · ja 表 (enumeration or compilation of items) · grc κατάλογος (enumeration or compilation of items) · hi तालिका (enumeration or compilation of items) · bn তালিকা (enumeration or compilation of items) · sl seznam (enumeration or compilation of items) · te జాబితా (enumeration or compilation of items) · yi רשימה (enumeration or compilation of items) · la repertorium (enumeration or compilation of items)
From Middle English lī̆st, lī̆ste (“band, stripe; hem, selvage; border, edge, rim; list, specification; barriers enclosing area for jousting, etc.”), from Old English līste (“hem, edge, strip”), or Old French liste, listre (“border; band; strip of paper; list”), or Medieval Latin lista, all from Proto-West Germanic *līstā, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *leys- (“to trace, track”).
Cognates
* Saterland Frisian Lieste (“margin, strip, list”)
* Dutch lijst (“picture frame, list”)
* German Low German Liest (“edging, border”)
* German Leiste (“strip, rail, ledge; (heraldry) bar”)
* Swedish lista (“list”)
* Icelandic lista listi (“list”)
* Italian lista (“list; strip”)
* Portuguese lista (“list”)
* Spanish lista (“list, roll; stripe”)
* Galician lista (“band, strip; list”)
* Finnish lista (“(informal) list; batten”).
Meanings
(transitive) To create or recite a list.
(transitive) To place in listings.
As the export market for tropical hardwoods expanded, timber from tropical rain forests very rapidly became the dominant or major forest product, dominant to such an extent that trade figures often do not even list the minor forest products exported, or their value. 1993, Ooi Jin Bee, “The Tropical Rain Forest: Patterns of Exploitation and Trade”, in Tropical Deforestation: The Tyranny of Time, Singapore: Singapore University Press, →ISBN, page 62:
(transitive) To sew together, as strips of cloth, so as to make a show of colours, or to form a border.
(transitive) To cover with list, or with strips of cloth; to put list on; to stripe as if with list.
He raised his eyes and saw / The tree that shone white-listed thro' the gloom. 1859, Alfred Tennyson, “Vivien”, in Idylls of the King, London: Edward Moxon & Co., […], →OCLC, page 142:
to list a door
(transitive) To plough and plant with a lister.
(Southern-US, transitive) To prepare (land) for a cotton crop by making alternating beds and alleys with a hoe.
(transitive) To cut away a narrow strip, as of sapwood, from the edge of.
to list a board
(transitive) To enclose (a field, etc.) for combat.
(obsolete, transitive) To engage a soldier, etc.; to enlist.
[…] It is therefore ordered that the Maior and Aldermen of Colchester [et al.], shall forthwith procure and raise in the said severall townes, and other pleces adjacent, two thousand horses for dragooners, or as manie as possible they may, for the service as aforesaid, and with all possible speed to send them up to London unto Thomas Browne Grocer, and Maximilian Beard Girdler, by us appointed to list horses for the service aforesaid; […] 1642 October 28, [Philip Morant], History and Antiquities of the Borough of Colchester, in the County of Essex. […], Colchester, Essex: Printed and sold by I. Marsden, …, published 1810, →OCLC, pages 48–49:
"I have a gun, madam," said little Julian, "and the park-keeper is to teach me how to fire it next year." / "I will list you for my soldier, then," said the Countess. 1822, [Walter Scott], chapter IV, in Peveril of the Peak. […], volume I, Edinburgh: […] Archibald Constable and Co.; London: Hurst, Robinson, and Co., →OCLC, page 107:
(intransitive, obsolete) To engage in public service by enrolling one's name; to enlist.
To give a building of architectural or historical interest listed status; see also the adjective listed.
A century later, BR demolished the downside main buildings, so the eastbound and central platforms were promptly listed - which has ensured their survival, albeit increasingly neglected in recent years. This has now been rectified, [...]. 2021 February 15, Robin Leleux, “Awards honour the best restoration projects: The London Underground Operational Enhancement Award: Hanwell”, in RAIL, number 946, page 55:
(intransitive, of a business, transitive) To trade on a particular stock exchange.
Responsible for public affairs, business strategy, corporate development and finance, he [Donald Tang] now faces the task of getting an initial public offering over the line in London after ditching earlier plans to list in New York in the face of US political opposition. 2024 July 13, Laura Onita, Eleanor Olcott, “Shein’s master of reinvention treads tricky path to IPO”, in FT Weekend, London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 11:
I was able to invest as soon as the company was listed.
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Labels
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listed
Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
listed
Tense=Past
lexicographic
listing
Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part
lexicographic
lists
Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres
lexicographic
Deriveds
cross-list (Terms derived from list (verb)) · delist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · lister (Terms derived from list (verb)) · listable (Terms derived from list (verb)) · nolisting (Terms derived from list (verb)) · short-list (Terms derived from list (verb)) · unlist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · interlist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · relist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · mislist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · shortlist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · downlist (Terms derived from list (verb)) · enlist (Terms derived from list (verb))
pl wymienić (to create or recite a list) · ca llistar (to create or recite a list) · pl spisywać (to create or recite a list) · es enlistar (to create or recite a list) · fr lister (to create or recite a list) · eo listigi (to create or recite a list) · pl skatalogować (to create or recite a list) · ast allistar (to create or recite a list) · pt listar (to create or recite a list) · tr sıralamak (to create or recite a list) · es alistar (to create or recite a list) · nl oplijsten (to create or recite a list) · ja 挙げる (to create or recite a list) · nb liste (to create or recite a list) · it elencare (to create or recite a list) · izh luetella (to create or recite a list) · fi luetella (to create or recite a list) · vi liệt kê (to create or recite a list) · io listigar (to create or recite a list) · ca allistar (to create or recite a list) · ja 列挙する (to create or recite a list) · sl naštevati (to create or recite a list) · et loetlema (to create or recite a list) · pl katalogować (to create or recite a list) · fr énumérer (to create or recite a list) · it listare (to create or recite a list) · de aufzählen (to create or recite a list) · ru вноси́ть в спи́сок (to create or recite a list) · ja 枚挙する (to create or recite a list) · fa فهرست کردن (to create or recite a list) · pl spisać (to create or recite a list) · es figurar (to create or recite a list) · fa سیاهه کردن (to create or recite a list) · tr listelemek (to create or recite a list) · da liste (to create or recite a list) · ja 列記する (to create or recite a list) · gl listar (to create or recite a list) · ja 並べる (to create or recite a list) · nn liste (to create or recite a list) · gl alistar (to create or recite a list) · ru составля́ть спи́сок (to create or recite a list) · zh 列入 (to create or recite a list) · fi listata (to create or recite a list) · ru регистри́ровать (to create or recite a list) · sw kuorodesha (to create or recite a list) · ms senaraikan (to create or recite a list) · grc καταλέγω (to create or recite a list) · es hacer una lista (to create or recite a list) · pl wymieniać (to create or recite a list) · bg записвам в списък (to create or recite a list) · es listar (to create or recite a list)
From Middle English list, liste (“ability, cleverness, cunning, skill; adroitness, dexterity; strategem, trick; device, design, token”), from Old English list (“art, craft; cleverness, cunning, experience, skill”), from Proto-West Germanic *listi, from Proto-Germanic *listiz (“art, craft”), from Proto-Indo-European *leys-, *leyǝs- (“furrow, trace, track, trail”).
The word is cognate with Dutch list (“artifice, guile, sleight; ruse, strategem”), German List (“cunning, guile; ploy, ruse, trick”), Low German list (“artifice, cunning; prudence, wisdom”), Icelandic list (“art”), Saterland Frisian list (“cunning, knowledge”), Scots list (“art, craft, skill; cunning”), Swedish list (“art; cunning, guile, wile; ruse, trick; stealth”), and possibly Spanish listo (“clever”). It is also related to learn, lore.
'The general bass, in its fixed lines, is taken by surprise and overwhelmed by List [[Franz] Liszt]' (List = cunning); anonymous lithograph (c 1842). 1990, Alexander L. Ringer, “The Rise of Urban Musical Life between the Revolutions, 1789–1848”, in Alexander [L.] Ringer, editor, The Early Romantic Era: Between Revolutions: 1789 and 1848 (Man and Music; 6), Basingstoke, Hampshire; London: The Macmillan Press, →DOI, →ISBN, figure 13, caption, page 22:
One man can accomplish with list (magic), that which a thousand could not accomplish, regardless of how strong they were. 2008, Jon B. Sherman, The Magician in Medieval German Literature (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation), Urbana; Champaign, Ill.: University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign, →OCLC:
[Der] Pleier […] provides a 'courtly corrective' to Daniel in the shape of his hero, Garel. The latter wins his fight not by list but through straightforward knightly prowess, […] 1992, Reading Medieval Studies: Annual Proceedings of the Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies in the University of Reading, [Reading, Berkshire]: Graduate Centre for Medieval Studies, University of Reading, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 92:
In discussing the Syllabus and the last dogma of 1870, so much must be allowed for Italian list and cunning, or a word-fence. An Englishman, with his matter-of-fact way of putting things, is no match for these gentry. 1877 November 16, “Vaticanism”, in The Literary World. Choice Readings from the Best New Books, and Critical Reviews, volume XVI, number 420 (New Series), London: James Clarke & Co., […], →OCLC, page 313, column 3:
It is worth noting that, contrary to Alexios who according to his daughter did not scruple to use any tricks to achieve his goal, Manuel [I Komnenos], as depicted by [John] Kinnamos, preferred "to win by war rather than by list"[…]. 2000, Jakov Ljubarskij, “John Kinnamos as a Writer”, in Cordula Scholz, Georgios Makris, editors, ΠΟΛΥΠΛΕΥΡΟΣ ΝΟΥΣ [POLYPLEUROS NOUS]: Miscellanea für Peter Schreiner zu seinem 60. Geburtstag [VERSATILE MIND: Miscellanea for Peter Schreiner for His 60th Birthday] (Byzantinisches Archiv [Byzantine Archive]; 19), Munich; Leipzig: K[laus] G[erhard] Saur, →ISBN, footnote 11, page 166:
For when the guileful monster smiled / Snakes left their holes and hissed,— / And stroking soft his silken beard / Raised creatures full of list. 1897, Lilian Winser, “Lossenbury Woods”, in Lays and Legends of the Weald of Kent, London: Elkin Mathews, […], →OCLC, page 44:
Sophos, fab[le] 40. "The foxes had heard that the fowls were sick, and went to see them decked in peacock's feathers; said of men who speak friendly, but only with list or cunning within." 1893, S[olomon] C[aesar] Malan, chapter XXVI, in Original Notes on the Book of Proverbs. Mostly from Eastern Writings, volumes III (Ch. xxi.–xxxi.), London: Williams and Norgate, […], →OCLC, page 349:
From Middle English listen, from Old English hlystan (“to listen”), from hlyst (“hearing”), from Proto-West Germanic *hlusti, from Proto-Germanic *hlustiz (“hearing”).
Meanings
(intransitive, poetic) To listen.
2 [Soldier] Peace, what noiſe? / 1 [Soldier] Liſt liſt. / 2 Hearke. / 1 Music i' th' Ayre. c. 1606–1607 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act IV, scene iii], page 359, column 1:
We list to the trumpings that herald the storm, / To the roll of the drum, and the order to form! 1860–1861, “What of the Night?”, in Frank Moore, editor, The Rebellion Record: A Diary of American Events, with Documents, Narratives, Illustrative Incidents, Poetry, etc., volume II, New York, N.Y.: G[eorge] P[almer] Putnam, […], published 1862, →OCLC, page 96, column 1:
Be of good cheer, and list to what I speak. 1865, Sophocles, “Philoctetes”, in E[dward] H[ayes] Plumptre, transl., The Tragedies of Sophocles: A New Translation, with a Biographical Essay, volume II, London; New York, N.Y.: Alexander Strahan, publisher, →OCLC, page 247, line 1267:
(poetic, transitive) To listen to.
Then way what loſſe your honor may ſuſtaine / If with too credent eare you liſt his ſongs / Or looſe your hart, or your chaſt treaſure open / To his vnmaſtred importunity. c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […] I[ames] R[oberts] for N[icholas] L[ing] […], published 1604, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]:
From Middle English listen, list, liste, leste, lesten (“to choose, desire, wish (to do something)”), from Old English lystan, from Proto-West Germanic *lustijan, from Proto-Germanic *lustijaną, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz (“pleasure”).
The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian läste (“to wish for, desire, crave”), West Frisian lêste (“to like, desire”), Dutch lusten (“to appreciate, like; to lust”), German lüsten, gelüsten (“to desire, want, crave”), Danish lyste (“to desire, feel like, want”), Faroese lysta (“to desire”).
The noun sense is from the verb, or from Middle English list, liste, lest, leste (“desire, wish; craving, longing; enjoyment, joy, pleasure”), which is derived from Middle English listen, list (verb).
Meanings
(obsolete) Desire, inclination.
I know too much: / I finde it, I; for when I ha liſt to ſleepe, / Mary, before your Ladiſhip I grant, / She puts her tongue alittle in her heart, / And chides with thinking. c. 1603–1604 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragœdy of Othello, the Moore of Venice. […] (First Quarto), London: […] N[icholas] O[kes] for Thomas Walkley, […], published 1622, →OCLC, [Act II, scene i], page 24:
From Middle English listen, list, liste, leste, lesten (“to choose, desire, wish (to do something)”), from Old English lystan, from Proto-West Germanic *lustijan, from Proto-Germanic *lustijaną, from Proto-Germanic *lustuz (“pleasure”).
The word is cognate with Saterland Frisian läste (“to wish for, desire, crave”), West Frisian lêste (“to like, desire”), Dutch lusten (“to appreciate, like; to lust”), German lüsten, gelüsten (“to desire, want, crave”), Danish lyste (“to desire, feel like, want”), Faroese lysta (“to desire”).
The noun sense is from the verb, or from Middle English list, liste, lest, leste (“desire, wish; craving, longing; enjoyment, joy, pleasure”), which is derived from Middle English listen, list (verb).
Meanings
(archaic, transitive) To desire, like, or wish (to do something).
The winde bloweth where it liſteth, and thou heareſt the ſound thereof, but canſt not tel whence it commeth, and whither it goeth: So is euery one that is borne of the Spirit. 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, John 3:8:
License consists in doing what one lists; liberty consists in doing in the right manner the good only; and our knowledge of the good must come from a higher principle, from above. 1959, Leo Strauss, “What is Political Philosophy?”, in What is Political Philosophy?: And Other Studies, Glencoe, Ill.: The Free Press, →OCLC, page 51:
Ye hold me as a woman, weak of will, / And strive to sway me: but my heart is stout, / Nor fears to speak its uttermost to you, / Albeit ye know its message. Praise or blame, / Even as ye list,—I reck not of your words. 1881, Aeschylus, “Agamemnon”, in E[dmund] D[oidge] A[nderson] Morshead, transl., The House of Atreus: Being The Agamemnon, Libation-bearers, and Furies of Æschylus. Translated into English Verse, London: Simpkin and Marshall, […]; Winchester, Hampshire: Warren and Son, […], →OCLC, pages 65–66:
If thou beeſt a man, ſhew thy ſelfe in thy likeneſs. If thou beeſt a diuell, take't as thou liſt. 1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act III, scene ii], page 12, column 2:
Ye are as gods, that can create soil. Soil-creating gods there is no withstanding. They have the might to sell wheat at what price they list; and the right, to all lengths, and famine-lengths,—if they be pitiless infernal gods! 1843 April, Thomas Carlyle, “Unworking Aristocracy”, in Past and Present, American edition, Boston, Mass.: Charles C[offin] Little and James Brown, published 1843, →OCLC, book III (The Modern Worker), page 177:
who liſt to lyue yn quyetnes
by me lett hym beware
For I by highe dyſdayne
ame made withoute redreſſe
and vnkyndenes Alas hathe ſlayne
my poore trew hart all comfortles c. 1536-1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Yf in the world ther be more woo”, in Egerton MS 2711, page 63r:
The spirit seemed to blow where it listed among a historically motley collection of Catholic theologians, Puritan zealots and American squires. 1994, John [Wyon] Burrow, The Historian: The Magazine for Members of the Historical Association, London: The Historical Association, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 176, column 2:
What! would you have us truſt to what Chriſt in his own perſon has done without us! This conceit would looſen the reines of our luſt, and tollerate us to live as we liſt: For what matter how we live, if we may be Juſtified by Chriſts perſonal righteouſneſs from all, when we believe it? 1678, John Bunyan, The Pilgrim’s Progress from This World, to That which is to Come: […], London: […] Nath[aniel] Ponder […], →OCLC, page 206:
(archaic, transitive) To be pleasing to.
Might then I depart, and dwell as listeth me, out of all the world? 2016, Graydon Saunders, chapter 13, in Safely You Deliver:
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Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part
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Translations (16)
tr istemek (to desire, like, wish) · oc desirar (to desire, like, wish) · bg желая (to desire, like, wish) · pl życzyć sobie (to desire, like, wish) · de wünschen (to desire, like, wish) · tr arzu etmek (to desire, like, wish) · fi miellyttää (to be pleasing to) · tr dilemek (to desire, like, wish) · bg искам (to desire, like, wish) · ru жела́ть (to desire, like, wish) · oc agradar (to be pleasing to) · fi haluta (to desire, like, wish) · oc voler (to desire, like, wish) · pt agradar (to be pleasing to) · pl podobać się (to be pleasing to) · de neigen (to be pleasing to)
ga liosta (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · de Schlagseite (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · fr bande (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · bg накреняване (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · ru крен (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · fi kallistus (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · pt banda (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · es escora (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · fi kallistuma (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · fr gîte (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · et kreen (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · de Krängung (nautical: tilting or careening to one side) · pl przechył (nautical: tilting or careening to one side)
es escorar (to cause (something) to tilt to one side) · fr gîter (to tilt to one side) · ru накрени́ть (to cause (something) to tilt to one side) · ru крени́ться (to tilt to one side) · es escorar (to tilt to one side) · fi kallistua (to tilt to one side) · de krängen (to tilt to one side) · ru накрени́ться (to tilt to one side) · bg накренявам (to cause (something) to tilt to one side) · nrf canter (to tilt to one side) · mi tītaha (to tilt to one side) · bg накренявам се (to tilt to one side)