comfort, n.
Forms:
ME cunfort, kunfort, ME cumfort, ME–15 confort(e, ME cumforte, cumford, conforth, conforþ, confforte, counfort, comfortd, ME coumforde, ME–15 cumforth, coumfort(e, comforth(e, comforte, ME counforde, conford, confoorte, ME–15 comford(e, 15 comfurth, coomfort, ME– comfort.(Show Less)
Etymology: < Old French cunfort, confort (11th cent. in Littré) = Italian conforto , Old Spanish conforto , a noun apparently of Romanic age, from stem of confortāre , Old French conforter to comfort v. It took the place of Old English frofor, with which it is used indifferently in enumerating the nine urouren or ‘comforts’ against temptations, in Ancren Riwle p. 226 seq.
†1.
a. Strengthening; encouragement, incitement; aid, succour, support, countenance. upon comfort of: on the strength of. Obs. except in archaic legal use (in phr. aid and comfort).
?c1225
(▸?a1200)
Ancrene Riwle
(Cleo. C.vi)
(1972)
14
Of flesliche fondunge..& cumfort aȝeines ham.
[1352 Act 25 Edw. III Stat. v. c. 2
Si home..soit aherdant as enemys nostre dit Seignour le Roi..donant a eux eid ou confort.]
a1464 J. Capgrave Abbreuiacion of Cron.
(Cambr. Gg.4.12)
(1983)
215
If..þei make ony gadering in coumfort of Richard, sumtyme kyng, þei to be punchid as tretoures.
c1475
(▸?c1400)
Apol. Lollard Doctr.
(1842)
37
Þei þat consentun wiþ þe doars..or defendun, or ȝeuen conseyl or confort.
1493 Festivall
(1515)
153 b
He came in company of recheles people, & by comforte of them he lefte his faste and dyde ete.
1528 Gardiner in J. Strype Eccl. Mem. I. App. xxiv. 62
Upon comfurth of such words as his Ho. had spoken unto us.
1622 Bacon Hist. Raigne Henry VII
The comfort that the rebels should receiue vnderhand from the Earle of Kildare.
1769 W. Blackstone Comm. Laws Eng. IV. 82
If a man be adherent to the king's enemies..giving to them aid and comfort.
?c1225—1769(Hide quotations)
†b. concr. One who or that which strengthens or supports; a support, a source of strength. Obs.
1455 Paston Lett. 239 I. 329
We..prey to The to be oure confort and Defender.
1577 B. Googe tr. C. Heresbach Foure Bks. Husbandry ii. f. 50v
You must haue a little walled Hedge, to teache the springes..to clime by, whiche wyl be a iolly stay and a comfort to them.
1455—1577(Hide quotations)
†2. Physical refreshment or sustenance; refreshing or invigorating influence. (Cf. comfort v. 4.)
1377 Langland Piers Plowman B. xi. 253
On a walnot..is a bitter barke, And after þat bitter barke..Is a kirnelle of conforte kynd to restore.
1543 T. Becon Invect. against Swearing in Wks.
(1564)
212 b
They would tast..not so much as a poore alebery for the comfort of their hart.
1549 Bk. Common Prayer
(STC 16267)
Svpper of the Lorde f. cxxxiii
That we may receiue the fruites of the earth to our comfort.
1611 C. Tourneur Atheist's Trag.
(new ed.)
iii. sig. G4
Clouds..rais'd by the comfort of The Sunne, to water dry and barren grounds.
concr.
1631 G. Markham Inrichm. Weald of Kent
(1668)
ii. i. 2
Holpen by some manner of comfort, as dung, marl, fresh earth..or such other refreshings.
1377—1631(Hide quotations)
†3. Pleasure, enjoyment, delight, gladness. Obs.
c1230 Hali Meid. 27
Hare confort & hare delit hwerin is hit al?
a1400–50 Alexander 8
Sum..has comforth to carpe..Of curtaissy of knyȝthode, of craftis of armys.
c1405
(▸c1387–95)
Chaucer Canterbury Tales Prol.
(Hengwrt)
(2003)
l. 773
Confort ne murthe is noon To ryde by the weye domb as stoon.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 380
When these Justes had continued…xxiiij. dayes, to the great ioye and comforte of the young lustie Bachelers.
c1230—1569(Hide quotations)
†4. Relief or aid in want, pain, sickness, etc. Obs. (Cf. comfort v. 6.)
a1340 R. Rolle Psalter cxlvi. 3
His byndyngis is þe sacramentis in þe whilke we hafe comforth til we perfytly be hale.
c1400 Rom. Rose 6508
Lete bere hem [beggers] to the spitel anoon, But, for me, comfort gete they noon.
1569 R. Grafton Chron. II. 132
Many..came vnto the Citie, and nere thereabout for comfort of victuall.
1570 Ane Tragedie in J. G. Dalyell Scotish Poems 16th Cent.
(1801)
II. 234
To gif the wedow and fatherles confort.
1647 A. Cowley Mistress
Despair, No comfort to my wounded sight, In the Suns busie and impert'nent Light.
a1340—1647(Hide quotations)
5.
a. Relief or support in mental distress or affliction; consolation, solace, soothing. (In later use sometimes expressing little more than the production of mental satisfaction and restfulness.)
?c1225
(▸?a1200)
Ancrene Riwle
(Cleo. C.vi)
(1972)
137
Nan gastlich cumfort. nemei hire gladien.
c1405
(▸c1395)
Chaucer Franklin's Tale
(Hengwrt)
(2003)
l. 118
Euery confort possible..They doon to hire..to make hire leue hir heuynesse.
c1440 Gesta Romanorum
(Harl.)
v. 13
Make me solas and comfort, and chere me.
?1606 M. Drayton Eglog x, in Poemes sig. G8v
None else there is gives Comfort to my greefe.
1752 H. Fielding Amelia I. iii. iv. 195
Others applying for Comfort to strong Liquors.
1800 Wordsworth Michael 448
There is a comfort in the strength of love.
c1800 Ld. Nelson in Dispatches & Lett.
(1845)
I. 2
Thus..I became confident..amongst rocks and sands, which has..since been of the greatest comfort to me.
1884 M. E. Braddon Ishmael xli
Such comfort as the Church can give to the remorseful sinner.
?c1225—1884(Hide quotations)
b. subjectively. The feeling of consolation or mental relief; the state of being consoled.
1340 R. Rolle Pricke of Conscience 2508
Comfort of gud hope may he fele, Þat here lyves wele, to fare wele.
c1394 P. Pl. Crede 99
My purpos is i-failed, Now is my counfort a-cast!
1876 ‘G. Eliot’ Daniel Deronda IV. viii. lxviii. 331
She had..a sense of solemn comfort.
1340—1876(Hide quotations)
c. transf. A person or thing that affords consolation; a source or means of comfort.
c1386 T. Hoccleve Mother of God 15
Benigne confort of us wrecches all.
1465 M. Paston in Paston Lett. & Papers
(2004)
I. 298
He hath ben a grete confort to me.
1609 T. Playfere Serm. Woodstocke in Serm. Drayton 30
A treasure of comforts, gathered out of the olde and new testament.
a1847 H. F. Lyte Remains
(1850)
119
When other helpers fail, and comforts flee.
1856 D. M. Mulock John Halifax I. v. 102
Growing up to be a help and comfort to my father.
c1386—1856(Hide quotations)
d. In weaker sense: A cause or matter of satisfaction or relief; a comforting fact or reflection. Chiefly colloq. in the phrases ‘it is a comfort to do’, ‘it is some comfort that’, etc.
1553 in E. Lodge Illustr. Brit. Hist.
(1791)
I. 160
It was a great comforte to him to perceyve in the Kings yong years soch a consideracion of the public weal.
1641 Earl of Strafford Speech on Scaffold 5
It is a very great comfort to me, to have your Lordship by me this day.
1749 H. Fielding Tom Jones II. v. viii. 179
One Comfort is, they will be all known.
1825 Scott Jrnl. 18 Dec.
(1939)
45
Nobody..can lose a penny—that is one comfort.
1873 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Wooin' o't xxvii
It is a comfort to be able to speak to you.
1553—1873(Hide quotations)
6.
a. A state of physical and material well-being, with freedom from pain and trouble, and satisfaction of bodily needs; the condition of being comfortable (see comfortable adj. 10).
1827 J. Keble Christian Year I. i. 4
Let present Rapture, Comfort, Ease, As Heaven shall bid them, come and go.
1856 J. A. Froude Hist. Eng.
(1858)
I. i. 75
All industrious men could maintain themselves in comfort and prosperity.
1862 J. Ruskin Munera Pulveris
(1880)
2
At the cost of common health and comfort.
1814—1862(Hide quotations)
b. objectively. The conditions which produce or promote such a state; the quality of being comfortable (see comfortable adj. 7).
1849 Macaulay Hist. Eng. I. iii. 384
William Harrison gave a lively description of the plenty and comfort of the great hostelries.
1884 M. E. Braddon Ishmael v
Reared in the comfort and elegance of a successful artist's household.
1849—1884(Hide quotations)
7. concr. A thing that produces or ministers to enjoyment and content. (Usually pl.; distinguished from necessaries on the one hand, and from luxuries on the other.) creature comforts (see creature n. Compounds 2). So home comforts.
1659 J. Arrowsmith Armilla Catechetica 58
The Scripture useth diminishing terms when it speaks of creature-comforts.
1677 G. Miege New Dict. French & Eng. ii. sig. I/1
The comforts of this life.
1771 T. Smollett Humphry Clinker III. 205
Very moderate in his estimate of the necessaries, and even of the comforts of life.
1775 Johnson Taxation No Tyranny 11
Before they quit the comforts of a warm home.
1855 Macaulay Hist. Eng. III. xiii. 300
A modern Englishman..finds in his shooting box all the comforts and luxuries of his club.
1860 J. Tyndall Glaciers of Alps i. x. 66
Steeped in the creature comforts of our hotel.
1873 ‘Mrs. Alexander’ Wooin' o't xxi
Another..dainty apartment, supplied with every comfort.
1659—1873(Hide quotations)
8. A wadded and quilted counterpane; = comforter n. 6b (U.S.)
1834 Southern Lit. Messenger 1 168
A lady of our party..aptly compared it to a Yankee comfort.
1847 Ann. Rep. Commissioner Patents 1846 35 in U.S. Congress. Serial Set (29th Congr., 2nd Sess.: House of Representatives Executive Doc. No. 52) III
[Cotton] has already been employed in what are variously called ‘comforts’ and ‘comfortables’.
1863 Life in South II. 263
The quilted coverlets called ‘comforts’,—a wadded counterpane, in fact.
1913 G. Stratton-Porter Laddie xi. 339
Laddie had..hung up a comfort at four o'clock to keep the Princess warm.
1945 B. A. Botkin Lay My Burden Down 112
Then a great big mattress full of goose feathers and two-three comforts as thick as my foot with carded wool inside!
1834—1945(Hide quotations)
†9. Comfort is used by Shakespeare interjectionally; = Take comfort, cheer up. (Cf. comfort v. 7e.) Also what comfort? = What cheer?
1597—a1616(Hide quotations)
10. Phrases. to be of (good) comfort : to be of good cheer; to keep up one's heart or courage (arch.). to take (†have) comfort : to accept consolation, be comforted. †to put in comfort : to encourage, cheer up, console. cold comfort: see cold adj. 10a.
c1320 Seuyn Sag.
(W.)
2601
Sche saide Alas!.. N'el ich..confor[t] take neuer mo.
c1325 Coer de L. 5596
To hys men hys armes he badde, And sayde..Look ye ben off comfort good!
1399 Langland Richard Redeles Prol. 39
To kepe him in confforte in crist and nouȝt ellis.
a1400
(▸a1325)
Cursor Mundi
(Vesp.)
l. 7818
Was he neuer o wers comfortd.
c1440 Generydes 38
Whanne he was sadde, to putte hym in coumfort.
?1518 A. Barclay tr. D. Mancinus Myrrour Good Maners sig. Eiv
Take confort, be of stoute courage.
1598 W. Phillip tr. J. H. van Linschoten Disc. Voy. E. & W. Indies i. xxxvi. 70/2
Putting her in comfort, & encouraging her to follow her husband.
1600 Shakespeare Much Ado about Nothing iv. i. 118
Haue comfort lady.
1697 W. Dampier New Voy. around World ii. 16
We..bid them be of good comfort, and stay till the River did fall.
1872 ‘G. Eliot’ Middlemarch IV. vii. lxxxiv. 342
Take comfort: perhaps James will forgive me.
c1320—1872(Hide quotations)
Compounds
Comb., as comfort-killing, comfort-seeking adjs. comfort station n. U.S. Genteelism a public lavatory.
1865 T. F. Knox tr. Life H. Suso 70
To mortify his comfort-seeking body.
1874 L. Tollemache in Fortn. Rev. Feb. 238
Our comfortable and comfort-seeking age.
1923 Glass
(Pittsburgh Plate Glass Co.)
167
(heading)
Public comfort stations.
1931 T. Wilder Long Christmas Dinner 121
Ma, where is the next comfort-station.
1947 W. H. Auden Age of Anxiety
(1948)
ii. 53
Ingenious George reached his journey's end Killed by a cop in a comfort station.
1957 D. Karp Leave me Alone xii. 165
Snatching Jimmy's hand she trudged across the sand with him to the comfort station.
1967 R. Shaw Man in Glass Booth xvii. 152
‘Wash-room,’ said the old man. ‘Comfort station.’
1594—1967(Hide quotations)
Draft additions June 2016
letter of comfort n. Finance a document providing assurance about a debt, short of a legal guarantee, given to the debtor's creditor by a third party.
1974 Wall St. Jrnl. 6 Dec. 17/5
We have never guaranteed Ervin's debt or signed letters of comfort or anything of that sort.
1992 S. Logie Winging It i. 24
ITC said it would guarantee the line of credit with Canadair's bankers by a letter of comfort signed by the minister.
2005 Managem. Today Dec. 25/3
The bankers agreed to put up the funds only when they were provided with ‘letters of comfort’ making it clear that if the companies involved could not pay the banks, the Government would make sure that they got their cash.
1974—2005(Hide quotations)
Draft additions June 2016
comfort blanket n. (a) U.S. a soft, thick blanket intended to be used in place of a quilted coverlet (see also sense 8) (now rare); (b) chiefly Brit. = security blanket n. 2.
1908 Fort Wayne
(Indiana)
Sentinel 5 Oct. 3
(advt.)
Beacon comfort blankets. In a splendid line of fancy figures and cheerful colors. Fine smooth fleece finish and full size.
1922 Findlay
(Ohio)
Republican 6 Dec. 6
(advt.)
Comfort blankets are supplanting cotton comforts in popular use. The advantage of being able to wash them frequently is the big idea.
1947 Iowa City Press-Citizen 15 Sept. 3/5
(advt.)
The perfect comfort blanket for cold winter nights ahead.
1986 N. Humphrey Inner Eye vi. 92
A child of 18 months may offer his own comfort blanket to mother when he detects that she is upset.
2015 Times 10 May 12
Walking away from the comfort blanket of a conventional job as an employee..to become an entrepreneur.
1908—2015(Hide quotations)
Draft additions August 2007
comfort break n. euphem. (orig. U.S.) a break taken to use the toilet.
1959 Washington Post & Times Herald 21 May b13/2
The true television fan has dreadful manners... He complains loudly that he would welcome a commercial and a comfort break.
2001 A. Dangor Bitter Fruit
(2004)
xxv. 254
The Minister returned from his comfort break and the meeting resumed.
1959—2001(Hide quotations)
Draft additions 1997
comfort food n. food that comforts or affords solace; hence, any food (frequently with a high sugar or carbohydrate content) that is associated with childhood or with home cooking. orig. N. Amer.
1977 Washington Post 25 Dec. (Mag. section) 30/4
Along with grits, one of the comfort foods of the South is black-eyed peas.
1984 Bon Appétit Feb. 56/1
Split Pea Soup with Smoked Ham, although it has become an international ‘comfort food’, is traced to French-Canadian cooks in Quebec.
1989 N.Y. Woman Oct. 136/2
After being dumped by her boyfriend, the heroine..goes to d'Agostino's to buy comfort food.
1990 Courier-Mail
(Brisbane)
16 Jan. 15/6
Even at fairly formal dinner parties, ‘comfort foods’ have starred—corn soup, meat loaf, cold black bean soup.
1992 Independent 15 Sept. 3/2
Single people..also tend to eat more ‘comfort foods’ such as cakes, biscuits and jam, though they balance this by spending a greater amount on fresh fruit.
1977—1992(Hide quotations)
Draft additions June 2015
comfort room n. (originally) a room in a public building or workplace furnished with amenities such as facilities for resting, personal hygiene, and storage of personal items (now rare); (later) a public toilet (now chiefly Philippine English); cf. restroom n.
1886 Santa Fe Daily New Mexican 24 Dec.
On the west side of the third floor..are the large public comfort rooms, closets, lavatories, cloak rooms, post-office, etc.
1920 Railway Age 2 Apr. 1087/1
The men are provided with comfort rooms, containing stoves, toilet facilities, wash basins, etc.
1929 Decatur
(Illinois)
Herald 7 Nov. 18/3
In the back of the retail salesroom..are women's and men's comfort rooms.
1985 F. Marcos in N.Y. Times 1 Nov. a10/5
I was able to urinate as much as 3,000 c.c. in one day... If you'd seen me going to the comfort room.
2009 C. S. Bond & L. M. Simons Next Front v. 56
A pink-painted ‘comfort room’, said to be the first indoor flush toilet on the island.
1886—2009(Hide quotations)
Draft additions August 2007
comfort stop n. orig. U.S. a short stop intended to give passengers a break from a (long) bus or coach journey, esp. in order to use the toilet; (hence euphem.) a short break taken from any journey or activity in order to use the toilet.
1930 Syracuse
(N.Y.)
Herald 30 Mar. 13/4
To know the full pleasure and romance of travel, go the Greyhound way. Selected comfort stops and popular-priced restaurants at frequent intervals break the journey into easy stages.
1960 Oakland
(Calif.)
Tribune 11 Mar. 16/5
As the white passengers filed off for a comfort stop, Griffin followed—but was stopped at the bus door by the driver.
1985 Times 9 Oct. 36/8
Food tends to be in fairly short supply among the Mujahidin, and the water often contains those bacteria that enforce frequent ‘comfort stops’ on unacclimatized westerners.
2002 S. Brown Lecturing x. 165
Late arrivals at your lectures may be because of difficulties getting across to a different building in a short time, with perhaps a necessary comfort stop en route.
1930—2002(Hide quotations)
