Oxford, n. and adj.
Forms:
lME– Oxford, 15 Oxforde. Also with lower-case initial.(Show Less)
Origin: From a proper name. Etymon: proper name Oxford.
Etymology: < Oxford, the name of a city and university town in southern England.
Old English Oxnaford (also Oxenaford), lit. ‘ford of oxen’, is attested from the first half of the 10th cent.
A. n.
1.
a. The University of Oxford; the members of the University collectively, or the cultured or privileged lifestyle popularly associated with them.
[c1300 St. Edmund Rich
(Harl.)
226 in C. D'Evelyn & A. J. Mill S. Eng. Legendary
(1956)
500
To arsmetrike he drouȝ & arsmetrike radde in cours in Oxenford wel faste.
c1450 in F. J. Furnivall Hymns to Virgin & Christ
(1867)
90
Quod resoun, ‘in age of xx Ȝeer Goo to oxenford, or lerne lawe.’]
1455 in A. Clark Lincoln Diocese Documents
(1914)
77
The Chaunceler of Oxford or his commissary.
1523 Act 14 & 15 Hen. VIII v, in Statutes of Realm
(1817)
III. 214
A Graduat of Oxforde or Cantebrygge which hath accomplisshed all thyng for his fourme.
1526 C. Mery Talys f. xiv
A scoler of Oxford lately made master of arte come to the cyte of london.
1627 Abp. G. Abbot in J. Rushworth Hist. Coll.
(1659)
451
He was my Pupil at Oxford, and a very towardly one.
a1697 J. Aubrey Wiltshire
(1862)
17
At Oxford, (and I believe at Cambridge) the rod was frequently used by the Tutors and Deans.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones I. ii. ix. 150
Here lies, In Expectation of a joyful Rising, The Body of Captain John Blifil. London had the Honour of his Birth, Oxford of his Education.
1799 J. Austen Let. 2 June
(1995)
43
He is a very Young Man, just entered of Oxford.
1847 Thackeray Vanity Fair
(1848)
xxxiv
He's only been plucked twice..but he's had the advantages of Oxford and a university education.
1899 M. Beerbohm More 155
I was a modest, good~humoured boy. It is Oxford that has made me insufferable.
1930 Times Lit. Suppl. 25 Dec. 1103/1
There is encouraging evidence elsewhere that young Oxford is beginning to recognize that mere cleverness is poetically sterile.
1969 J. Gross Rise & Fall Man of Lett. ii. 48
The particular way of life in which he had been raised, a way of life which can be conveniently, if not literally, summed up as ‘Oxford’.
2003 Daily Tel. 12 Mar. 3/1
Less than 20 per cent of Oxford's fellowship is female.
1455—2003(Hide quotations)
b. With preceding modifying word. Any of various examinations formerly conducted under the auspices of Oxford University. Now disused.
1871 Times 25 Nov. 15/1
(advt.)
Careful preparation for high competitive examinations, for senior and junior Oxford and Cambridge, and Civil Service.
1916 W. Owen Let. Apr.
(1967)
389
I hear you are applying yourself to some solid study for the J[unior] Oxford.
1871—1916(Hide quotations)
2. In full Oxford Down. A breed of sheep produced by crossing Cotswold and Hampshire Down sheep; a sheep of this breed.First bred by Samuel Druce at Eynsham, Oxfordshire, about 1830.
1849 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 10 436
The Cotswold is a large breed of sheep, and is the stock from which the class called new Oxford is sprung.
1859 Jrnl. Royal Agric. Soc. 20 345
The Oxford Downs date from the year 1833..when a neat, well-made Cotswold ram was used with Hampshire ewes.
1893 H. H. Bancroft Bk. of Fair xix. 621
For the best sheep awards were made to exhibitors of Cotswold, Leicester, Lincoln, Cheviot, Dorset, Southdown, Shropshire, Oxford, Hampshire, and merinos... The largest number of entries was of merinos, delaine-merinos, Southdowns, and Oxfords.
1970 Observer 26 Apr. (Colour Suppl.) 36/1
All six Down breeds..are shortwools, Oxford Down..being heaviest... Bold-looking sheep with top~knot of wool above dark face.
1989 S. G. Hall & J. Clutton-Brock 200 Years Brit. Farm Livestock ix. 115
These were too fat for the twentieth century market and Oxford, later Suffolk, rams were used instead.
1849—1989(Hide quotations)
3. Short for Oxford shoe n. at Compounds 2.
1855 Househ. Words 12 May 350/2
The clumsy Blucher, the clumsier Ankle Jack, or Highlow, the skimping half-faced sacerdotal Oxford.
c1890 in Amer. Mail Order Fashions
(1961)
28/2
Women's tan Dongola Kid, square or pointed toe, fox heel Oxfords. French stay.
1932 New Yorker 11 June 45
Waterproof leather oxfords or ghillies..; suede oxfords at Brooks and Rogers Peet... Golf oxfords at Spalding [etc.].
1962 L. Deighton Ipcress File i. 13
He rocked on his hand-lasted Oxfords.
2003 Chicago Tribune
(Nexis)
4 May (Mag. section) 10
His suede oxfords, peace-sign choker and furrowed brow stamp him as an 18-year-old.
1855—2003(Hide quotations)
4.
a. Short for Oxford cloth n. at Compounds 2.
1890 Illustr. London News 24 May in L. de Vries Victorian Advts.
(1968)
51/3
New Range of Coloured Oxfords, Cambrics, and Calcuttas for Shirts and Pyjamas.
1914 Glasgow Herald 7 Sept. 10/2
Glasgow firms manufacture..zephyrs, Oxfords, shirtings, and dress goods.
1985 Daily News Record
(U.S.)
(Nexis)
21 Mar. 11
For dress shirts this oxford is in a wine stripe on white by Canyon Fabrics in a 60/40 polyester/cotton blend.
1998 GQ Feb. 148/3
The best button-downs are made in cotton Oxford for winter and sea-island cotton for summer.
1890—1998(Hide quotations)
b. Short for Oxford shirt n. at Compounds 2.
1927 Washington Post 24 Jan. 2
(advt.)
White Oxford (neckband style or collar attached).
1978 Spectator (New Canaan High School, Connecticut) 66
Then I..pulled out four shirts: a turtleneck, a Lacoste ‘alligator’ shirt, a flannel shirt, and a wrinkled, white button-down Oxford.
2000 A. Bourdain Kitchen Confid.
(2001)
100
The waiters are in comfortable clothes—100 percent cotton oxfords or same-colored T-shirts, blue jeans or khakis, [etc.].
1927—2000(Hide quotations)
5. slang (now chiefly Austral.). Short for Oxford scholar n. at Compounds 2. Now rare.
[1898 A. M. Binstead Pink 'Un & Pelican iii. 65
In peacocked the little man with the long chain, the ‘wine-steward’ who chucked away Ernest's ‘half-oxford’.]
1902 J. S. Farmer & W. E. Henley Slang V. 119/1
Oxford, a crown piece.
1960 ‘A. Burgess’ Doctor is Sick 103
‘We'll say a quid deposit, returnable on return of the hat, and a straight charge of an Oxford for the loan. Right?’ ‘Right.’ The young man handed over his Oxford scholar.
1965 Australasian Post
(Melbourne)
4 Mar. 46
From ‘dollar’ we have the rhyming slang ‘Oxford scholar’, which eventually became shortened to an ‘Oxford’.
1902—1965(Hide quotations)
6. Short for Oxford grey n. and adj. at Compounds 2. rare.
1926 Daily Colonist
(Victoria, Brit. Columbia)
21 July 16/4
(advt.)
A 4-ply worsted wool in shades of pink... Oxford.
1926—1926(Hide quotations)
7. Any of various English dictionaries published by Oxford University Press; (sometimes) spec. the Oxford English Dictionary.
1927 Amer. Speech 2 444/2
A general dictionary such as Webster's, the Standard, or the Concise Oxford.
1941 S. J. Perelman Let. 8 Oct. in Don't tread on Me
(1987)
39
Neither Roget nor the Pocket Oxford have words to describe how happy we'd be to join your little seminar this weekend.
1950 W. Stevens Let. 21 Nov.
(1967)
699
I look it up either at the office, where we have a Webster, or have someone look it up for me in the State library, where there is an Oxford.
1989 Nature 29 June 672/3
Joe Smith..stood his ground and hit back with the shorter Oxford and a technical definition.
1927—1989(Hide quotations)
8. In pl. = Oxford bags n. at Compounds 2. rare.
1929 G. Mitchell Myst. Butcher's Shop xi. 120
He fell down, and tore chunks out of his Oxfords on the brambles.
1929—1929(Hide quotations)
9. Brit. Short for Oxford marmalade n. at Compounds 2.
1964 J. Symons End of Solomon Grundy i. ii. 29
The routine of breakfast..Cooper's Oxford, the electric percolator.
1972 ‘I. Drummond’ Frog in Moonflower 10
The Master..spread a piece of toast with Cooper's Oxford.
1964—1972(Hide quotations)
B. adj.
(Supposedly) characteristic of members of Oxford University, esp. as regards speech, manner, etc. (cf. Compounds 1b).In quot. 1886: supporting Oxford University against Cambridge in the Boat Race.
1886 H. Baumann Londinismen 129/2
Are you Oxford or Cambridge?
1928 D. H. Lawrence Woman who rode Away & Other Stories 152
But, in a voice more expostulatingly Oxford than ever, he said [etc.].
1947 Econ. Jrnl. 57 12
He was top in the English Essay.., second in a rather ‘Oxford’ paper on philosophy.
1983 Eng. Hist. Rev. 98 460
Amery had a very Oxford conversation with H. A. L. Fisher, classifying the brain power of their Coalition colleagues.
1886—1983(Hide quotations)
Compounds
C1. General attrib.
a. In the sense ‘of, relating to, or originating from Oxford University’, as Oxford college, Oxford graduate, Oxford man, etc.
1590 ‘Pasquil’ First Pt. Pasquils Apol. sig. B3
You that are Oxford men, enquire whether Walpoole were not a Puritane.
1611 J. Speed Hist. Great Brit. ix. xix. 731/2
Reuerence of the man..moued so the affection of the Oxford Academians.
a1661 T. Fuller Worthies
(1662)
Surrey 82
He used to examine the Pockets of such Oxford Scholars as repaired unto him, and alwayes recruited them with necessaries.
1709 M. Prior Poems
(ed. 2)
206
An Oxford Man, extreamly read in Greek.
1740 D. Bellamy Perjur'd Devotee iv, in Misc. in Prose & Verse II. 56
Zounds he makes Love like an Oxford Scholar.
1796 F. Burney Camilla II. iii. i. 7
As to the colonels, and the ensigns, and that young Oxford student, they won't at all do; officers are commonly worth nothing; and scholars..are the dullest men in the world.
1822 M. Edgeworth Frank: Sequel III. 143
It was said..that all Cambridge scholars call the cipher aught and all Oxford scholars call it nought.
1854 Putnam's Monthly Mag. Aug. 231/2
The Oxford graduate [sc. Ruskin] is himself sensible of the likeness which he bears to the knight of La Mancha.
1885 Dict. National Biogr. at Adolphus, John Leycester
He had been appointed steward or legal adviser of his old Oxford college.
1909 Daily Chron. 13 Nov. 4/4
Confidence-tricksters would rather meet a fly-flat than the most learned of Oxford dons.
1957 G. Avery Warden's Niece viii. 153
A young man..clumsily trying to propel his punt from the stern instead of the conventional Oxford position in front.
1993 Esquire Nov. 38/2
He was an Oxford graduate who ended up playing keyboards in her band.
1590—1993(Hide quotations)
b. In the sense ‘(supposedly) characteristic of members of Oxford University’ (cf. sense A. 1a). See also Oxford accent n., Oxford English n. at Compounds 2.
1877 H. James Let. 28 Feb. in R. B. Perry Thought & Char. W. James
(1935)
I. 375
I lunched the other day with Andrew Lang to meet J. Addington Symonds,—a mild, cultured man, with the Oxford perfume.
1897 G. B. Shaw in Sat. Rev. 17 Apr. 411/1
Stage smart speech, which, like the got-up Oxford mince and drawl of a foolish curate, is the mark of a snob.
1924 E. M. Forster Passage to India xxiv. 221
‘We object to the presence of so many European ladies and gentlemen upon the platform,’ he said in an Oxford voice.
1934 Spectator 5 Jan. 18/2
Surely it is permissible to suggest..the Oxford Bleat by writing down the directions given me the other day as ‘past a whaite house, between the water-tah and the pah station’.
1960 W. B. Gallie New Univ. vi. 115
They were delighted by the fact that he so often appeared to be joking—for so they described Lindsay's elaborate Oxford irony.
1989 Amer. Forests
(Nexis)
May 20
‘Well,’ he said in an understated Oxford manner, ‘if I can't make things happen here, it won't be for lack of trying.’
1877—1989(Hide quotations)
C2. Oxford bags n. chiefly Brit. (with pl. concord) wide baggy-legged trousers of a style originally popular among Oxford University students in the 1920s.
Oxford comma n.
[after the preferred use of such a comma to avoid ambiguity in the house style of Oxford University Press]
a comma immediately preceding the conjunction in a list of items.
Oxford John n. (a dish of) thin slices of mutton or lamb seasoned and stewed.
Oxford marmalade n. a kind of coarse-cut marmalade originally manufactured in Oxford (in quot. 1962 fig.).
Oxford Union n. a general club and debating society established in 1826 (based on an earlier society founded in 1823) for members of Oxford University (more fully Oxford Union Society); (also) the buildings of this society.
Oxford accent n. Received Pronunciation, formerly considered to be particularly characteristic of members of the University of Oxford, and (esp. in the early 20th cent.) supposed to be marked by affected utterance.
1904 J. K. Jerome Tommy & Co. v. 174
Somerville's Oxford accent is wasted here.
1934 S.P.E. Tract
(Soc. for Pure Eng.)
No. XXXIX. 616
It might be said perhaps that the ‘Oxford Accent’ conveys an impression of a precise and rather foppish elegance, and of deliberate artificiality.
1959 J. Braine Vodi vi. 93
Dick assumed an Oxford accent. ‘It's naht old-fashioned, dear brethren, to think of Hell in the language of fire and brimstone.’
1992 Boundary 2 19 123
He considers Wadleigh, with his disheveled appearance and acquired Oxford accent, a ‘comic version’..of Hiss.
1904—1992(Hide quotations)
Oxford bags n. chiefly Brit. (with pl. concord) wide baggy-legged trousers of a style originally popular among Oxford University students in the 1920s.
1925 Times 11 July 12/1
The little scrubby presents..that remain treasured long after the small kiddie has grown to the age of shingles or Oxford bags.
1948 H. Acton Mem. Aesthete vi. 119
I wore jackets with broad lapels and broad pleated trousers. The latter got broader and broader. Eventually they were imitated elsewhere and were generally referred to as ‘Oxford bags’.
1992 N. Hornby Fever Pitch 82
I chose a pair of Oxford bags, a black polo-neck jumper, a black raincoat and a pair of black stack-heeled shoes.
1925—1992(Hide quotations)
Oxford-bagged adj. wearing Oxford bags.
1961 Times 18 May 16/6
Eton-cropped maidens sporting decorously with Oxford-bagged partners.
1993 Daily Mail
(Nexis)
9 Mar. 37
A boatered, blazered and Oxford-bagged Nanki-Poo..woos a gym-slipped Yum-Yum.
1961—1993(Hide quotations)
† Oxford chrome n. Obs. = Oxford ochre n.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts
(ed. 7)
III. 465
Oxford chrome, an oxide of iron used in oil and water-colour painting.
1875—1875(Hide quotations)
Oxford clay n. Geol. a stiff grey-blue fossiliferous Jurassic clay found in central England.
1818 W. Phillips Sel. Facts Geol. Eng. & Wales 66
In these..are included the three strata..namely, the Forest marble, the Cornbrash limestone, and the clunch clay (Oxford Clay).
1898 Jrnl. Anthropol. Inst. 27 225
If the diviner's recommendations were acted on, the council would be boring into a stratum of Oxford clay.
1989 J. Campbell-Kease Compan. Local Hist. Res.
(BNC)
358
A broad band of Corallian Limestone and Sand crosses the central part..and this is bounded on each side by Oxford Clay.
1818—1989(Hide quotations)
Oxford cloth n. a soft heavy cloth, usually woven in a basket weave from cotton or a cotton mixture, and used chiefly in making shirts.
1906 Times 9 July 13/6
(advt.)
Colored shirts. Made in our Belfast factory from good quality Oxford Cloth.
1969 Sears, Roebuck Catal. Spring–Summer 24
Rajah shirt with soil release. Oxford cloth of polyester and cotton.
1987 J. Barth Tidewater Tales
(1988)
30
She's easy in the preppie drag she wears to work: tweed skirts, cable-knit crewnecks over oxford-cloth buttondowns.
1906—1987(Hide quotations)
Oxford comma n.
[after the preferred use of such a comma to avoid ambiguity in the house style of Oxford University Press]
a comma immediately preceding the conjunction in a list of items.
1978 P. Sutcliffe Oxf. Univ. Press iv. i. 114
It was [F. H.] Collins who invented the ‘Oxford comma’, for which he obtained support from Herbert Spencer.
1990 Orlando
(Florida)
Sentinel
(Nexis)
9 Nov. a2
Do you know what an ‘Oxford comma’ is? One that precedes a conjunction. As the one between the ‘b’ and the ‘and’ in: ‘a, b, and c’. Hardly anybody uses the Oxford comma anymore. It's rarely needed.
1996 R. W. Burchfield New Fowler's Mod. Eng. Usage
(ed. 3)
162/1
The ‘Oxford comma’ is frequently, but in my view unwisely, omitted by many other publishers.
2004 B. Wallraff Your Own Words 109
This is called a serial comma or, sometimes, an Oxford comma, and styles differ as to whether to use it.
1978—2004(Hide quotations)
Oxford corner n. Printing (now hist. and rare) a corner formed by ruled border lines on a title page, etc., which cross and extend slightly beyond each other.
1888 C. T. Jacobi Printer's Vocab. 93
Oxford corners, borders with mortised corners.
1960 G. A. Glaister Gloss. Bk. 289/1
Oxford corners, right-angles formed outside a printed frame (e.g. on a title-page) where the lines meet and project.
1888—1960(Hide quotations)
Oxford English n. English spoken with an Oxford accent or in a manner popularly supposed to be characteristic of members of Oxford University.
a1894 O. W. Holmes Compl. Poet. Wks.
(1912)
313
Our old-world scholar may have ways to teach Of Oxford English, Britain's purest speech.
1926 D. H. Lawrence Plumed Serpent ii. 31
An odd, detached, yet cocky little man, a true little Indian, speaking Oxford English in a rapid, low, musical voice.
1952 M. Steen Phoenix Rising iv. 72
Americans come over and proceed to acquire what they think is Oxford English.
2003 Take One
(Nexis)
May
We hear the Honourable Akele Banda, Malawi's minister of health, in his impeccable Oxford English, describe to us [etc.].
a1894—2003(Hide quotations)
Oxford frame n. a rectangular frame having sides which cross each other and project slightly at the corners (cf. Oxford corner n.).
1870 Littell's Living Age 21 May 505/1
A novelty is announced in black-edged or mourning note-paper. The new design consists of what is known as an Oxford frame, as a substitute for the ordinary black border.
1873 E. Spon Workshop Receipts 1st Ser. 8/2
Nothing is prettier than an Oxford frame of light oak.
1997 N.Y. Rev. Bks. 17 July 61/3
The frame is of a type that was common in Victorian England. Petrie calls it an Oxford frame.
1870—1997(Hide quotations)
Oxford grey n. and adj. (a) n. = Oxford mixture n.; the colour of such fabric; any of various other shades of grey, esp. as the colour of a similarly variegated fabric; (b) adj. having this colour.
1822 Sat. Evening Post 20 Apr. 2/5
A costume of Oxford Grey has been established for the Students of Harvard University.
1836 W. F. Tolmie Jrnl. 28 Oct.
(1963)
322
1 pr Extra S. fine dark Oxford grey trousers.
1903–4 T. Eaton Catal. Fall–Winter 17
Women's Trainless Suit, made of Oxford grey Donegal tweed.
1973 R. Hayes Hungarian Game xxxix. 235
Urkowitz' face was turning a shade of fine Oxford gray.
1996 Transition 72 38/1
The Sinatra of the snap-brim hat, the oxford-gray suit, and the wing-tip shoes that seemed to be shined even on the soles.
1822—1996(Hide quotations)
Oxford hollow n. Bookbinding a flattened paper tube inserted between the spine of a book and its cover to strengthen the spine and allow the book to be opened flat more easily.
1956 H. Williamson Methods Bk. Design xix. 308
Another method is to fix on the spine of the section a tube of paper, or Oxford hollow, and to fix the cover to this.
1985 Business First–Columbus
(Ohio)
(Nexis)
23 Sept. ii. 8
One side of the tube is glued to the back of the book, the other side is glued to the binding. That's called an ‘Oxford hollow’.
1956—1985(Hide quotations)
Oxford John n. (a dish of) thin slices of mutton or lamb seasoned and stewed.
1784 Glasse's Art of Cookery
(new ed.)
ii. 51
Oxford John. Keep a leg of mutton till it is stale, cut it into thin collops, [etc.].
1892 Encycl. Pract. Cookery II. 68/2
Oxford John.
1984 N.Y. Times
(Nexis)
10 June x. 12/1
The night of ‘English country fayre’ began with Herefordshire salmon.., continued with Oxford John (roast leg of lamb, lemon herb sauce and rosemary jelly).
1784—1984(Hide quotations)
Oxford marmalade n. a kind of coarse-cut marmalade originally manufactured in Oxford (in quot. 1962 fig.).
1905 Times 2 Mar. 14/7
The original home where the distinctive feature of Mr. Cooper's business, the ‘Oxford’ marmalade, was started some 40 years ago.
1962 Sunday Express 25 Feb. 6/3
Wyatt's thick-cut Oxford marmalade voice.
1999 Ottawa Citizen
(Nexis)
16 Aug. a6
Dreaming of nipping down to the pub for a quick drink, enjoying his Oxford marmalade on toast, or making homemade Bath Oliver biscuits.
1905—1999(Hide quotations)
Oxford mixture n. now rare a kind of woollen cloth of a very dark grey colour flecked with white.
1837 Dickens Pickwick Papers xl. 441
His legs..graced a pair of Oxford-mixture trousers, made to show the full symmetry of the limbs.
1868 ‘Holme Lee’ Basil Godfrey iii. 18
He wore a long Oxford mixture coat.
1909 Chambers's Jrnl. Jan. 43/2
The regulations enjoin..trousers of Oxford mixture.
1837—1909(Hide quotations)
Oxford ochre n. now rare a form of yellow ochre formerly obtained from deposits at Shotover, near Oxford.
1854 T. H. Fielding Painting in Oil & Water Colour
(ed. 5)
179
Yellow Ochre is..sometimes called Oxford Ochre, being abundant in that neighbourhood.
1875 R. Hunt & F. W. Rudler Ure's Dict. Arts
(ed. 7)
III. 430
A section of the ochre-pits at Shotover Hill, near Oxford, where the Oxford ochre is obtained.
1912 Proc. Royal Soc. B. 85 82
A rather rich yellow ochre, made with Mars yellow, Oxford ochre, and a little burnt sienna.
1854—1912(Hide quotations)
Oxford oolite n. Geol. (now rare) the middle division of the oolitic series in the Jurassic system of southern Britain; an oolitic limestone of this division.
1822 W. Buckland in Philos. Trans.
(Royal Soc.)
112 174
The rock perforated by the cave is referable to that portion of the oolite formation which, in the south of England, is known by the name of the Oxford oolite and coral rag: its organic remains are identical with those of the Heddington quarries near Oxford.
1882 A. Geikie Text-bk. Geol. . iii. ii. §2 793
The Middle or Oxford Oolites are composed of two distinct groups: (1) the Oxfordian, and (2) the Corallian.
1928 Philos. Trans.
(Royal Soc.)
B. 216 82
In 1926..I referred to these rocks as the ‘Oxford Oolites,’ a name which it has since seemed desirable to abandon.
1822—1928(Hide quotations)
Oxford pillowcase n. a pillowcase in which the pillowcase bag is framed with a flat border to give the pillow more rigidity.
1974 Habitat Catal. 47/1
Oxford pillow cases... Pair £3.35.
2000 PS Nov. 123/2
The duvet cover and oxford pillowcases are offered in a windowpane check, and the flat sheets and housewife cases in a smart multi-stripe.
1974—2000(Hide quotations)
† Oxford plant n. Obs. rare = Oxford weed n.
1856 N. Hawthorne Jrnl. 31 Aug. in Passages from Eng. Note-bks.
(1870)
II. 150
We looked also at the outside of the wall [of New College], and Mr. Parker..showed us a weed growing..hanging plentifully downward from a shallow root. It is called the Oxford plant, being found only here, and not easily, if at all, introduced any~where else.
1856—1856(Hide quotations)
† Oxford punch n. Obs. a kind of punch containing calf's foot jelly.
1845 E. Acton Mod. Cookery xxvi. 637
Oxford Punch... Lemons..oranges..calf's foot jelly..white wine..French brandy..Jamaica rum [etc.].
1877 E. S. Dallas Kettner's Bk. of Table 322
Oxford punch.—The great characteristic of this punch is its having a quantity of calf's foot jelly dissolved in it.
1892 Encycl. Pract. Cookery II. 69/1
Oxford punch.
1845—1892(Hide quotations)
Oxford ragwort n. a southern European ragwort, Senecio squalidus, which escaped from Oxford Botanic Garden and is now naturalized on waste ground, railway tracks, etc., in many parts of Britain.
1884 W. Miller Dict. Eng. Names Plants 249/2
Senecio..squalidus, Oxford Rag-wort.
1886 G. C. Druce Flora Oxfordshire 158
Oxford Ragwort... Very plentiful in and around Oxford, where it was first noticed by Sir Joseph Banks. .Dillenius sent seeds to Linnæus but whether he gathered them from the Oxford Garden or the wall of the town no memorandum exists.
1926 Nat. Hist. Oxf. District 72
A few brave adventitious plants may be seen on the walls, including the ubiquitous Oxford Ragwort.
1990 InterCity Mag. Sept. 28/3
We're now approaching King's Cross, urban jungle all round. Watch for a bright yellow groundsel-like plant called the Oxford Ragwort.
1884—1990(Hide quotations)
Oxford sausage n. any of various kinds of sausage, esp. one flavoured with sage and lemon; (in quot. 1764, used as the title of an anthology of miscellaneous verse).
c1700 W. Bishop in Ballard MSS XXXI. 122
Your best Oxford Sossages.
1764
(title)
The Oxford sausage.
1778 G. Huddesford Warely ii. 22
My spacious Red Lane will afford a smooth passage, To a sav'ry Bologna, or spic'd Oxford Sausage.
1850 G. P. R. James Henry Smeaton xxi. 84/2
We shall be quite safe here; and I have got half a loaf and a long Oxford sausage with me.
1926 Daily Colonist
(Victoria, Brit. Columbia)
5 Jan. 6/2
(advt.)
Fresh Made Oxford Sausage, 3 lbs. for 32 c.
2001 Philippine Daily Inquirer
(Nexis)
23 Oct. 9
Our food reviewer raved over a first-class omelet, Oxford sausages and cafe au lait.
c1700—2001(Hide quotations)
Oxford scholar n. [rhyming slang] slang (now Austral. and N.Z.) a dollar (in early use, a crown, five shillings; cf. dollar n. 4b).
1937 E. Partridge Dict. Slang 596/1
Oxford Scholar, five shillings (piece or sum): New Zealanders' rhyming s. on dollar: C. 20. Also from ca. 1870, in the S.W. of England.
1960 ‘A. Burgess’ Doctor is Sick 103
‘We'll say a quid deposit, returnable on return of the hat, and a straight charge of an Oxford for the loan. Right?’ ‘Right.’ The young man handed over his Oxford scholar.
1991 Sunday Mail Mag.
(Brisbane)
13 Jan. 43/5
James..said ‘I've got the Oxford scholars (dollars) if you've got the place.’
1937—1991(Hide quotations)
Oxford School n. the school of thought represented by the Oxford Movement; the body of people belonging to this school.
1835 in H. P. Liddon et al. Life E. B. Pusey
(1894)
I. xv. 350
Mr. Maurice..made up his mind that it represented the parting-point between him and the Oxford School.
1949 Eng. Hist. Rev. 64 333
Bunsen could expect..that the Jerusalem plan for an Anglo-Prussian bishopric would have its most formidable opponents in divines of the Oxford school.
1835—1949(Hide quotations)
Oxford shirt n. a shirt made of Oxford cloth.
1881 Times 30 Sept. 12/2
Dressed in light gray jacket, dark checked trousers and vest, side-spring boots, blue check Oxford shirt, white stockings, and white straw hat.
1959 Listener 4 June 982/1
The cloth cap and the collarless Oxford shirt.
2000 GQ Nov. 230
In his signature oxford shirts and dark sport coats, he still could be that shy everyboy down the block—the one who reads poetry and walks with his head hung low.
1881—2000(Hide quotations)
Oxford shirting n. = Oxford cloth n.
1891 Blackwood's Edinb. Mag. Mar. 319/1
She commended a cotton dress my sister had on..—a blue Oxford shirting, trimmed with a darker shade.
1917 Jrnl. Royal Anthropol. Inst. 47 355
The fabric is of non-spun fibre, with a good selvedge and an Oxford shirting pattern obtained by means of white warp and red and blue weft.
1981 Times 8 Oct. 13/5
Spots and stripes were the fashion prints of the season—clean and pure for Laura Biagotti's Oxford shirting dresses.
1891—1981(Hide quotations)
Oxford shoe n. a low-heeled shoe laced over the instep.
[1721 N. Amhurst Terræ-filius No. 46
(1754)
247
I have met them with bob-wigs and new shoes, Oxford-cut.]
1847 New Monthly Mag. 80 ii. 457
High-lows (now called Oxford shoes).
1870 M. Bridgman Robert Lynne I. xiii. 213
Patent-leather Oxford shoes.
1925 J. Dos Passos Manhattan Transfer iii. iii. 309
He wore..olive green woolen socks with black clockmarks and dark red Oxford shoes, their laces neatly tied with doubleknots that never came undone.
1984 W. Boyd Stars & Bars i. i. 9
Everything about him proclaims his Englishness. His haircut.., and his shiny, well-creased, toe-capped Oxford shoes.
1847—1984(Hide quotations)
Oxford Tract n. any of the series of pamphlets published at Oxford in 1833–41, and more usually called the ‘Tracts for the Times’ (see Oxford Movement n.); usually in pl.
1836 F. D. Maurice Let. 5 Sept. in F. Maurice F. D. Maurice
(1884)
I. xiii. 205
I cannot say from my own experience whether you are right in your opinion that the Oxford Tract doctrines are spreading.
1870 S. A. Allibone Crit. Dict. Eng. Lit. 1709/1
Dr. Pusey had given great offence to some, and equal satisfaction to others, by his connection with the Oxford Tracts movement.
1900 Dict. National Biogr. at Wilson, Daniel
He was a zealous opponent of the principles maintained in the Oxford tracts, against the tendencies of which he both spoke and preached with vehemence.
1992 R. Chapman in L. J. Workman Medievalism in Eng. 173
Unlike some of his associates in the Cambridge Camden Society, he [sc. J. M. Neale] approved of the Oxford Tracts.
1836—1992(Hide quotations)
Oxford trousers n. (with pl. concord) = Oxford bags n.
1925 Punch 4 Mar. 244
(caption)
Perils of the Dance. The terror of the Oxford trousers.
1937 J. Laver Taste & Fashion xvii. 241
The advent of Oxford trousers in the middle twenties.
1982 Times 5 Oct. 9/1
(caption)
Margaret Howell's dark brown chalk striped suit..£198, (double breasted jacket and Oxford trousers with turn-ups).
1925—1982(Hide quotations)
Oxford Union n. a general club and debating society established in 1826 (based on an earlier society founded in 1823) for members of Oxford University (more fully Oxford Union Society); (also) the buildings of this society.
1826–31
(title)
Oxford Union Society [proceedings].
1857
(title)
A peep at the pictures and a catalogue of the principal objects of attraction in the room of the Oxford union society.
1893 Dict. National Biogr. XII. 560/1
He rowed in the Merton boat, and was president of the Oxford Union.
1996 Q Jan. 192/4
He..played jazz piano in the cellars of the Oxford Union.
1826–31—1996(Hide quotations)
Oxford unit n. Pharmacol. (now hist.) a unit of penicillin dosage originally adopted at the Sir William Dunn School of Pathology in the University of Oxford (see quot. 1942); cf. penicillin unit n. at penicillin n. Compounds 2b.
1942 H. W. Florey & M. Jennings in Brit. Jrnl. Exper. Pathol. 13 122
For those using the dilution method it may be stated that the ‘Oxford unit’ is that amount of penicillin which when dissolved in 50 ml. of meat extract broth just inhibits completely the growth of the test strain of Staphylococcus aureus.
1948 H. N. G. Wright & M. L. Montag Textbk. Pharmacol. & Therapeutics
(ed. 4)
xxxiii. 548
For the treatment of mild to moderately severe infections daily dosages of 80,000 to 120,000 Oxford units are sufficient.
1952 W. T. Salter Textbk. Pharmacol. xlix. 1084/1
The new international unit and the old Oxford unit are very close.
2004 Daily Tel. 7 Jan. 25/2
He devised a new assay method that allowed the activity of a sample of penicillin to be measured precisely, in what became known as ‘Oxford units’.
1942—2004(Hide quotations)
Oxford weed n. ivy-leaved toadflax, Cymbalaria muralis, a southern European plant which is widely naturalized in Britain, notably on old walls in Oxford.
1834 W. Baxter Brit. Phænog. Bot. I. 23
This very pretty plant is a native of Italy, and is said to have been originally introduced into England by means of its seeds having been brought..to Oxford, where it has long established itself on the walls of the Colleges, gardens, &c. in such abundance as to have obtained the name of ‘Oxford-weed’.
1976 C. Oman Oxf. Childhood vii. 133
Mrs Pember was a qualified botanist and I was soon flattered by being sent up to the top of a crumbling wall..to get her specimens of Oxford Weed.
1834—1976(Hide quotations)