'To give the lie to' definitions:
Definition of 'To give the lie to'
From: GCIDE
- Lie \Lie\ (l[imac]), n. [AS. lyge; akin to D. leugen, OHG. lugi, G. l["u]ge, lug, Icel. lygi, Dan. & Sw. l["o]gn, Goth. liugn. See Lie to utter a falsehood.]
- 1. A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive. [1913 Webster]
- The proper notion of a lie is an endeavoring to deceive another by signifying that to him as true, which we ourselves think not to be so. --S. Clarke. [1913 Webster]
- It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction when a traveler inquires of him his road. --Paley. [1913 Webster]
- 2. A fiction; a fable; an untruth. --Dryden. [1913 Webster]
- 3. Anything which misleads or disappoints. [1913 Webster]
- Wishing this lie of life was o'er. --Trench. [1913 Webster]
- To give the lie to. (a) To charge with falsehood; as, the man gave him the lie. (b) To reveal to be false; as, a man's actions may give the lie to his words.
- White lie, a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and excuses himself for telling. [1913 Webster]
- Syn: Untruth; falsehood; fiction; deception.
- Usage: Lie, Untruth. A man may state what is untrue from ignorance or misconception; hence, to impute an untruth to one is not necessarily the same as charging him with a lie. Every lie is an untruth, but not every untruth is a lie. Cf. Falsity. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'To give the lie to'
From: GCIDE
- Give \Give\ (g[i^]v), v. t. [imp. Gave (g[=a]v); p. p. Given (g[i^]v"'n); p. pr. & vb. n. Giving.] [OE. given, yiven, yeven, AS. gifan, giefan; akin to D. geven, OS. ge[eth]an, OHG. geban, G. geben, Icel. gefa, Sw. gifva, Dan. give, Goth. giban. Cf. Gift, n.]
- 1. To bestow without receiving a return; to confer without compensation; to impart, as a possession; to grant, as authority or permission; to yield up or allow. [1913 Webster]
- For generous lords had rather give than pay. --Young. [1913 Webster]
- 2. To yield possesion of; to deliver over, as property, in exchange for something; to pay; as, we give the value of what we buy. [1913 Webster]
- What shall a man give in exchange for his soul ? --Matt. xvi. 26. [1913 Webster]
- 3. To yield; to furnish; to produce; to emit; as, flint and steel give sparks. [1913 Webster]
- 4. To communicate or announce, as advice, tidings, etc.; to pronounce; to render or utter, as an opinion, a judgment, a sentence, a shout, etc. [1913 Webster]
- 5. To grant power or license to; to permit; to allow; to license; to commission. [1913 Webster]
- It is given me once again to behold my friend. --Rowe. [1913 Webster]
- Then give thy friend to shed the sacred wine. --Pope. [1913 Webster]
- 6. To exhibit as a product or result; to produce; to show; as, the number of men, divided by the number of ships, gives four hundred to each ship. [1913 Webster]
- 7. To devote; to apply; used reflexively, to devote or apply one's self; as, the soldiers give themselves to plunder; also in this sense used very frequently in the past participle; as, the people are given to luxury and pleasure; the youth is given to study. [1913 Webster]
- 8. (Logic & Math.) To set forth as a known quantity or a known relation, or as a premise from which to reason; -- used principally in the passive form given. [1913 Webster]
- 9. To allow or admit by way of supposition. [1913 Webster]
- I give not heaven for lost. --Mlton. [1913 Webster]
- 10. To attribute; to assign; to adjudge. [1913 Webster]
- I don't wonder at people's giving him to me as a lover. --Sheridan. [1913 Webster]
- 11. To excite or cause to exist, as a sensation; as, to give offense; to give pleasure or pain. [1913 Webster]
- 12. To pledge; as, to give one's word. [1913 Webster]
- 13. To cause; to make; -- with the infinitive; as, to give one to understand, to know, etc. [1913 Webster]
- But there the duke was given to understand That in a gondola were seen together Lorenzo and his amorous Jessica. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- 14. To afford a view of; as, his window gave the park. [Webster 1913 Suppl.]
- To give away, to make over to another; to transfer. [1913 Webster]
- Whatsoever we employ in charitable uses during our lives, is given away from ourselves. --Atterbury.
- To give back, to return; to restore. --Atterbury.
- To give the bag, to cheat. [Obs.] [1913 Webster]
- I fear our ears have given us the bag. --J. Webster.
- To give birth to. (a) To bear or bring forth, as a child. (b) To originate; to give existence to, as an enterprise, idea.
- To give chase, to pursue.
- To give ear to. See under Ear.
- To give forth, to give out; to publish; to tell. --Hayward.
- To give ground. See under Ground, n.
- To give the hand, to pledge friendship or faith.
- To give the hand of, to espouse; to bestow in marriage.
- To give the head. See under Head, n.
- To give in. (a) To abate; to deduct. (b) To declare; to make known; to announce; to tender; as, to give in one's adhesion to a party.
- To give the lie to (a person), to tell (him) that he lies.
- To give line. See under Line.
- To give off, to emit, as steam, vapor, odor, etc.
- To give one's self away, to make an inconsiderate surrender of one's cause, an unintentional disclosure of one's purposes, or the like. [Colloq.]
- To give out. (a) To utter publicly; to report; to announce or declare. [1913 Webster]
- One that gives out himself Prince Florizel. --Shak. [1913 Webster]
- Give out you are of Epidamnum. --Shak. (b) To send out; to emit; to distribute; as, a substance gives out steam or odors.
- To give over. (a) To yield completely; to quit; to abandon. (b) To despair of. (c) To addict, resign, or apply (one's self). [1913 Webster]
- The Babylonians had given themselves over to all manner of vice. --Grew.
- To give place, to withdraw; to yield one's claim.
- To give points. (a) In games of skill, to equalize chances by conceding a certain advantage; to allow a handicap. (b) To give useful suggestions. [Colloq.]
- To give rein. See under Rein, n.
- To give the sack. Same as To give the bag.
- To give and take. (a) To average gains and losses. (b) To exchange freely, as blows, sarcasms, etc.
- To give time (Law), to accord extension or forbearance to a debtor. --Abbott.
- To give the time of day, to salute one with the compliment appropriate to the hour, as "good morning." "good evening", etc.
- To give tongue, in hunter's phrase, to bark; -- said of dogs.
- To give up. (a) To abandon; to surrender. "Don't give up the ship." [1913 Webster]
- He has . . . given up For certain drops of salt, your city Rome. --Shak. (b) To make public; to reveal. [1913 Webster]
- I'll not state them By giving up their characters. --Beau. & Fl. (c) (Used also reflexively.)
- To give up the ghost. See under Ghost.
- To give one's self up, to abandon hope; to despair; to surrender one's self.
- To give way. (a) To withdraw; to give place. (b) To yield to force or pressure; as, the scaffolding gave way. (c) (Naut.) To begin to row; or to row with increased energy. (d) (Stock Exchange). To depreciate or decline in value; as, railroad securities gave way two per cent.
- To give way together, to row in time; to keep stroke.
- Syn: To Give, Confer, Grant.
- Usage: To give is the generic word, embracing all the rest. To confer was originally used of persons in power, who gave permanent grants or privileges; as, to confer the order of knighthood; and hence it still denotes the giving of something which might have been withheld; as, to confer a favor. To grant is to give in answer to a petition or request, or to one who is in some way dependent or inferior. [1913 Webster]