Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Long?

\Long\, a. [Compar. {Longer}; superl. {Longest}.] [AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. l[*a]ng, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. [root]125. Cf. {Length}, {Ling} a fish, {Linger}, {Lunge}, {Purloin}.] 1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide. 2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book. 3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching. 4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away. The we may us reserve both fresh and strong Against the tournament, which is not long. --Spenser. 5. Extended to any specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc. 6. Far-reaching; extensive. `` Long views.'' --Burke. 7. (Phonetics) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See {Short}, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, [sect][sect] 22, 30. Note: Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded, etc. {In the long run}, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually. {Long clam} (Zo["o]l.), the common clam ({Mya arenaria}) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also {soft-shell clam} and {long-neck clam}. See {Mya}. {Long cloth}, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality. {Long clothes}, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet. {Long division}. (Math.) See {Division}. {Long dozen}, one more than a dozen; thirteen. {Long home}, the grave. {Long measure}, {Long mater}. See under {Measure}, {Meter}. {Long Parliament} (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653. {Long price}, the full retail price. {Long purple} (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the {Orchis mascula}. --Dr. Prior. {Long suit} (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards. --R. A. Proctor. {Long tom}. (a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel. (b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western U.S.] (c) (Zo["o]l.) The long-tailed titmouse. {Long wall} (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed. {Of long}, a long time. [Obs.] --Fairfax. {To be}, or {go}, {long of the market}, {To be on the long side of the market}, etc. (Stock Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to {short} in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [Cant] See {Short}. {To have a long head}, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.
\Long\, n. 1. (Mus.) A note formerly used in music, one half the length of a large, twice that of a breve. 2. (Phonetics) A long sound, syllable, or vowel. 3. The longest dimension; the greatest extent; -- in the phrase, the long and the short of it, that is, the sum and substance of it. --Addison.
\Long\, adv. [AS. lance.] 1. To a great extent in apace; as, a long drawn out line. 2. To a great extent in time; during a long time. They that tarry long at the wine. --Prov. xxiii. 30. When the trumpet soundeth long. --Ex. xix. 13. 3. At a point of duration far distant, either prior or posterior; as, not long before; not long after; long before the foundation of Rome; long after the Conquest. 4. Through the whole extent or duration. The bird of dawning singeth all night long. --Shak. 5. Through an extent of time, more or less; -- only in question; as, how long will you be gone?
\Long\, prep. [Abbreviated fr. along. See 3d {Along}.] By means of; by the fault of; because of. [Obs.] See {Along of}, under 3d {Along}.
\Long\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Longed}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Longing}.] [AS. langian to increase, to lengthen, to stretch out the mind after, to long, to crave, to belong to, fr. lang long. See {Long}, a.] 1. To feel a strong or morbid desire or craving; to wish for something with eagerness; -- followed by an infinitive, or by after or for. I long to see you. --Rom. i. 11. I have longed after thy precepts. --Ps. cxix. 40. I have longed for thy salvation. --Ps. cxix. 174. Nicomedes, longing for herrings, was supplied with fresh ones . . . at a great distance from the sea. --Arbuthnot. 2. To belong; -- used with to, unto, or for. [Obs.] The labor which that longeth unto me. --Chaucer.
\Long\, a. (Finance & Com.) Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin.