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19 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]
To \To\ (?, emphatic or alone, ?, obscure or unemphatic), prep.
[AS. t[=o]; akin to OS. & OFries. t[=o], D. toe, G. zu, OHG.
zuo, zua, z[=o], Russ. do, Ir. & Gael. do, OL. -do, -du, as
in endo, indu, in, Gr. ?, as in ? homeward. [root]200. Cf.
Too, Tatoo a beat of drums.]
1. The preposition to primarily indicates approach and
arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing
and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency
without arrival; movement toward; -- opposed to from.
``To Canterbury they wend.'' --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
So to the sylvan lodge
They came, that like Pomona's arbor smiled.
--Milton.
[1913 Webster]
I'll to him again, . . .
He'll tell me all his purpose.
She stretched her arms to heaven. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
2. Hence, it indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a
time, a state or condition, an aim, or anything capable of
being regarded as a limit to a tendency, movement, or
action; as, he is going to a trade; he is rising to wealth
and honor.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Formerly, by omission of the verb denoting motion, to
sometimes followed a form of be, with the sense of at,
or in. ``When the sun was [gone or declined] to rest.''
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
3. In a very general way, and with innumerable varieties of
application, to connects transitive verbs with their
remoter or indirect object, and adjectives, nouns, and
neuter or passive verbs with a following noun which limits
their action. Its sphere verges upon that of for, but it
contains less the idea of design or appropriation; as,
these remarks were addressed to a large audience; let us
keep this seat to ourselves; a substance sweet to the
taste; an event painful to the mind; duty to God and to
our parents; a dislike to spirituous liquor.
[1913 Webster]
Marks and points out each man of us to slaughter.
--B. Jonson.
[1913 Webster]
Whilst they, distilled
Almost to jelly with the act of fear,
Stand dumb and speak not to him. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance
patience; and to patience godliness; and to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. --2 Pet. i.
5,6,7.
[1913 Webster]
I have a king's oath to the contrary. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Numbers were crowded to death. --Clarendon.
[1913 Webster]
Fate and the dooming gods are deaf to tears.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
Go, buckle to the law. --Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
4. As sign of the infinitive, to had originally the use of
last defined, governing the infinitive as a verbal noun,
and connecting it as indirect object with a preceding verb
or adjective; thus, ready to go, i.e., ready unto going;
good to eat, i.e., good for eating; I do my utmost to lead
my life pleasantly. But it has come to be the almost
constant prefix to the infinitive, even in situations
where it has no prepositional meaning, as where the
infinitive is direct object or subject; thus, I love to
learn, i.e., I love learning; to die for one's country is
noble, i.e., the dying for one's country. Where the
infinitive denotes the design or purpose, good usage
formerly allowed the prefixing of for to the to; as, what
went ye out for see? (--Matt. xi. 8).
[1913 Webster]
Then longen folk to go on pilgrimages,
And palmers for to seeken strange stranders.
--Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Such usage is now obsolete or illiterate. In colloquial
usage, to often stands for, and supplies, an infinitive
already mentioned; thus, he commands me to go with him,
but I do not wish to.
[1913 Webster]
5. In many phrases, and in connection with many other words,
to has a pregnant meaning, or is used elliptically. Thus,
it denotes or implies:
(a) Extent; limit; degree of comprehension; inclusion as
far as; as, they met us to the number of three
hundred.
[1913 Webster]
We ready are to try our fortunes
To the last man. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Few of the Esquimaux can count to ten. --Quant.
Rev.
[1913 Webster]
(b) Effect; end; consequence; as, the prince was flattered
to his ruin; he engaged in a war to his cost; violent
factions exist to the prejudice of the state.
(c) Apposition; connection; antithesis; opposition; as,
they engaged hand to hand.
[1913 Webster]
Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then
face to face. --1 Cor. xiii.
12.
[1913 Webster]
(d) Accord; adaptation; as, an occupation to his taste;
she has a husband to her mind.
[1913 Webster]
He to God's image, she to his was made.
--Dryden.
[1913 Webster]
(e) Comparison; as, three is to nine as nine is to
twenty-seven; it is ten to one that you will offend
him.
[1913 Webster]
All that they did was piety to this. --B.
Jonson.
[1913 Webster]
(f) Addition; union; accumulation.
[1913 Webster]
Wisdom he has, and to his wisdom, courage.
--Denham.
[1913 Webster]
(g) Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced
to the music of a piano.
[1913 Webster]
Anon they move
In perfect phalanx to the Dorian mood
Of flutes and soft recorders. --Milton.
[1913 Webster]
(h) Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or
office filled. [In this sense archaic] ``I have a king
here to my flatterer.'' --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
Made his masters and others . . . to consider
him to a little wonder. --Walton.
[1913 Webster]
Note: To in to-day, to-night, and to-morrow has the sense or
force of for or on; for, or on, (this) day, for, or on,
(this) night, for, or on, (the) morrow. To-day,
to-night, to-morrow may be considered as compounds, and
usually as adverbs; but they are sometimes used as
nouns; as, to-day is ours.
[1913 Webster]
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow;
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day.
--Shak.
[1913 Webster]
To and again, to and fro. [R.]
To and fro, forward and back. In this phrase, to is
adverbial.
[1913 Webster]
There was great showing both to and fro. --Chaucer.
[1913 Webster]
To-and-fro, a pacing backward and forward; as, to commence
a to-and-fro. --Tennyson.
To the face, in front of; in behind; hence, in the presence
of.
To wit, to know; namely. See Wit, v. i.
[1913 Webster]
Note: To, without an object expressed, is used adverbially;
as, put to the door, i. e., put the door to its frame,
close it; and in the nautical expressions, to heave to,
to come to, meaning to a certain position. To, like on,
is sometimes used as a command, forward, set to. ``To,
Achilles! to, Ajax! to!'' --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]
To \To\ (?, emphatic or alone, ?, obscure or unemphatic), prep.
[AS. t[=o]; akin to OS. & OFries. t[=o], D. toe, G. zu, OHG.
zuo, zua, z[=o], Russ. do, Ir. & Gael. do, OL. -do, -du, as
in endo, indu, in, Gr. ?, as in ? homeward. [root]200. Cf.
Too, Tatoo a beat of drums.]
1. The preposition to primarily indicates approach and
arrival, motion made in the direction of a place or thing
and attaining it, access; and also, motion or tendency
without arrival; movement toward; -- opposed to from.
``To Canterbury they wend.'' --Chaucer.
Stay with us, go not to Wittenberg. --Shak.
So to the sylvan lodge They came, that like Pomona's
arbor smiled. --Milton.
I'll to him again, . . . He'll tell me all his
purpose. She stretched her arms to heaven. --Dryden.
2. Hence, it indicates motion, course, or tendency toward a
time, a state or condition, an aim, or anything capable of
being regarded as a limit to a tendency, movement, or
action; as, he is going to a trade; he is rising to wealth
and honor.
Note: Formerly, by omission of the verb denoting motion, to
sometimes followed a form of be, with the sense of at,
or in. ``When the sun was [gone or declined] to rest.''
--Chaucer.
3. In a very general way, and with innumerable varieties of
application, to connects transitive verbs with their
remoter or indirect object, and adjectives, nouns, and
neuter or passive verbs with a following noun which limits
their action. Its sphere verges upon that of for, but it
contains less the idea of design or appropriation; as,
these remarks were addressed to a large audience; let us
keep this seat to ourselves; a substance sweet to the
taste; an event painful to the mind; duty to God and to
our parents; a dislike to spirituous liquor.
Marks and points out each man of us to slaughter.
--B. Jonson.
Whilst they, distilled Almost to jelly with the act
of fear, Stand dumb and speak not to him. --Shak.
Add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge;
and to knowledge temperance; and to temperance
patience; and to patience godliness; and to
godliness brotherly kindness; and to brotherly
kindness charity. --2 Pet. i.
5,6,7.
I have a king's oath to the contrary. --Shak.
Numbers were crowded to death. --Clarendon.
Fate and the dooming gods are deaf to tears.
--Dryden.
Go, buckle to the law. --Dryden.
4. As sign of the infinitive, to had originally the use of
last defined, governing the infinitive as a verbal noun,
and connecting it as indirect object with a preceding verb
or adjective; thus, ready to go, i.e., ready unto going;
good to eat, i.e., good for eating; I do my utmost to lead
my life pleasantly. But it has come to be the almost
constant prefix to the infinitive, even in situations
where it has no prepositional meaning, as where the
infinitive is direct object or subject; thus, I love to
learn, i.e., I love learning; to die for one's country is
noble, i.e., the dying for one's country. Where the
infinitive denotes the design or purpose, good usage
formerly allowed the prefixing of for to the to; as, what
went ye out for see? (--Matt. xi. 8).
Then longen folk to go on pilgrimages, And palmers
for to seeken strange stranders. --Chaucer.
Note: Such usage is now obsolete or illiterate. In colloquial
usage, to often stands for, and supplies, an infinitive
already mentioned; thus, he commands me to go with him,
but I do not wish to.
5. In many phrases, and in connection with many other words,
to has a pregnant meaning, or is used elliptically. Thus,
it denotes or implies:
(a) Extent; limit; degree of comprehension; inclusion as
far as; as, they met us to the number of three
hundred.
We ready are to try our fortunes To the last
man. --Shak.
Few of the Esquimaux can count to ten. --Quant.
Rev.
(b) Effect; end; consequence; as, the prince was flattered
to his ruin; he engaged in a war to his cost; violent
factions exist to the prejudice of the state.
(c) Apposition; connection; antithesis; opposition; as,
they engaged hand to hand.
Now we see through a glass, darkly; but then
face to face. --1 Cor. xiii.
12.
(d) Accord; adaptation; as, an occupation to his taste;
she has a husband to her mind.
He to God's image, she to his was made.
--Dryden.
(e) Comparison; as, three is to nine as nine is to
twenty-seven; it is ten to one that you will offend
him.
All that they did was piety to this. --B.
Jonson.
(f) Addition; union; accumulation.
Wisdom he has, and to his wisdom, courage.
--Denham.
(g) Accompaniment; as, she sang to his guitar; they danced
to the music of a piano.
Anon they move In perfect phalanx to the Dorian
mood Of flutes and soft recorders. --Milton.
(h) Character; condition of being; purpose subserved or
office filled. [In this sense archaic] ``I have a king
here to my flatterer.'' --Shak.
Made his masters and others . . . to consider
him to a little wonder. --Walton.
Note: To in to-day, to-night, and to-morrow has the sense or
force of for or on; for, or on, (this) day, for, or on,
(this) night, for, or on, (the) morrow. To-day,
to-night, to-morrow may be considered as compounds, and
usually as adverbs; but they are sometimes used as
nouns; as, to-day is ours.
To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow; Creeps
in this petty pace from day to day. --Shak.
To and again, to and fro. [R.]
To and fro, forward and back. In this phrase, to is
adverbial.
There was great showing both to and fro. --Chaucer.
To-and-fro, a pacing backward and forward; as, to commence
a to-and-fro. --Tennyson.
To the face, in front of; in behind; hence, in the presence
of.
To wit, to know; namely. See Wit, v. i.
Note: To, without an object expressed, is used adverbially;
as, put to the door, i. e., put the door to its frame,
close it; and in the nautical expressions, to heave to,
to come to, meaning to a certain position. To, like on,
is sometimes used as a command, forward, set to. ``To,
Achilles! to, Ajax! to!'' --Shak.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 : [ wn ]
to and fro
adv : moving from one place to another and back again; "he
traveled back and forth between Los Angeles and New
York" [syn: back and forth, backward and forward]
From Greek Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-el-ALL-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
Αγγλικά adv.
μπρος-πίσω, πέρα-δώθε, πάνω κάτω
From English Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-ALL-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
a.
(lb en dated) (1: pertaining) to something or someone moving forward
and back to the same position.
adv.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
alt.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
n.
(lb en dated) The movement (of someone or something) forward followed
by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an
emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
vb.
To go back and forth; to alternate.
From English Wiktionary: English language only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-en-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
a.
(lb en dated) (1: pertaining) to something or someone moving forward
and back to the same position.
adv.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
alt.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
n.
(lb en dated) The movement (of someone or something) forward followed
by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an
emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
vb.
To go back and forth; to alternate.
From English Wiktionary: Western, Greek, and Slavonic languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western_Greek_Slavonic-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
a.
(lb en dated) (1: pertaining) to something or someone moving forward
and back to the same position.
adv.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
alt.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
n.
(lb en dated) The movement (of someone or something) forward followed
by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an
emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
vb.
To go back and forth; to alternate.
From English Wiktionary: Western languages only (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-en-Western-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
a.
(lb en dated) (1: pertaining) to something or someone moving forward
and back to the same position.
adv.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
alt.
(1: back and forth); with a reciprocating motion.
n.
(lb en dated) The movement (of someone or something) forward followed
by a return to the same position. May refer to a concept such as an
emotional state or a relationship as well as a physical thing.
vb.
To go back and forth; to alternate.
From Finnish Wiktionary: All languages (2023-07-27) : [ dictinfo.com:wikt-fi-ALL-2023-07-27 ]
to and fro
Englanti adv.
(vanha) edestakaisin, ees ja taas, sinne tänne
From English - Modern Greek XDXF/FreeDict dictionary ver. 0.1.1 : [ freedict:eng-ell ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
πέρα-δώθε, μπρος πίσω
From English-suomi FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-fin ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
edestakainen
pertaining to something in to and fro motion
From English-suomi FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-fin ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
edestakaisin
back and forth
From English-suomi FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-fin ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
mennä edestakaisin
pertaining to something in to and fro motion
From English-Hungarian FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.2.1 : [ freedict:eng-hun ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
1. ide-oda
2. fel-alá
From English-日本語 (にほんご) FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-jpn ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
行ったり来たり
back and forth
From English-Svenska FreeDict+WikDict dictionary ver. 2023.05.29 : [ freedict:eng-swe ]
to and fro /tˌuːəndfɹˈəʊ/
av och an, fram och tillbaka, fram och åter, hit och dit
back and forth
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 : [ moby-thesaurus ]
32 Moby Thesaurus words for "to and fro":
alternately, back and forth, backward and forward,
backwards and forwards, by turns, capriciously, changeably,
desultorily, erratically, every other, hitch and hike, in and out,
in rotation, in turns, inconstantly, make and break,
mutatis mutandis, off and on, on and off, reciprocally,
ride and tie, round and round, seesaw, shuttlewise, turn about,
uncertainly, unsteadfastly, unsteadily, up and down, variably,
vice versa, waveringly
From Stardic English-Chinese Dictionary : [ stardic ]
来来回回
From XDICT the English-Chinese dictionary : [ xdict ]
来来回回,往返
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