Long

Long (lŏng; 115), a. [Compar. Longer; superl. Longest.] [AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. lång, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. √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, §§ 22, 30.

☞ 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 (Zoöl.), 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 meter. 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) (Zoöl.) 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 (lŏng; 115), 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 space; 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.