See Also: Deliver(medicine)
Deliver(money)
Deliver(finance)
deliver(1)(dictionary)
deliver(2)(dictionary)
deliver(dictionary)
Option not to deliver(money)
Option not to deliver(finance)
Cheapest to deliver issue(money)

deliver(2) (iou)



deliver verb. ME.
[Old & mod. French delivrer from Proto-Gallo-Romance, from Latin de- DE- 1 + liberare LIBERATE verb.]
I. verb trans.
Save, rescue, set free, (from, of). ME.
Bible (AV): 1 Samuel 17:37 The Lord..will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. T. Hardy A mood of disgust..from which he was only delivered by..abandoning these studies.
b. Pottery & Founding. Release from the mould. M19.
Free, rid, divest, (of, from). arch. ME.
deliver a jail Hist.: clear it of prisoners in order to bring them to trial at the assizes.
W. Lithgow The vertue to deliuer a woman from her paine in child-birth.
b. Unload (a ship, container, etc.). L18.
Assist (a woman, occas. a female animal) in giving birth; assist at the birth of (a child, offspring); give birth to. Freq. (earlier) in pass., give birth (foll. by of a child, offspring), be born. ME.
Shakespeare Winter's Tale She is, something before her time, deliver'd. S. Plath Will..had to deliver eight babies before he could graduate. G. Bourne The majority of women will deliver their heaviest child when they are about 35. B. Trapido The baby..could not be delivered without forceps. fig.: B. Jowett I have been delivered of an infinite variety of speeches about virtue before now.
refl. Disburden oneself of what is in one's mind; speak, discourse. ME.
L. van der Post Theologians..delivering themselves of resounding solemnities.
Give up entirely, give over; surrender, yield, abandon, resign. Freq. foll. by up, over. ME.
Shakespeare Richard II See them delivered over To execution and the hand of death. M. Pattison When premiers deliver up their portfolios. A. Mason God would deliver their enemies into their hand.
b. refl. Devote oneself to. rare. M16.
M. Bradbury Howard delivers himself to the task of persuasion.
Hand over to another's possession or keeping, transfer; esp. bring and hand over (a letter, a parcel, ordered goods, etc.) to the proper recipient or address; present, render (an account etc.). ME.
deliver the goods fig. carry out one's part of an agreement, do what is expected of one.
W. H. Prescott A message which he must deliver in person. B. Malamud He delivered the prisoner first to Secret Police Headquarters. fig.: G. Greer The marriage bargain offers what cannot be delivered if it is thought to offer emotional security.
b. Law. Hand over formally (esp. a sealed deed to the grantee). L16.
Give out in words; utter, recite; pronounce (judgement etc.). LME.
J. Agate Good criticisms..tellingly delivered. W. S. Churchill Scarcely literate enough to deliver a decent sermon. M. McCarthy They had never heard 'their marriage is not lawful' delivered with such emphasis.
Communicate, make known; describe, report, set forth. LME-E19.
Shakespeare Winter's Tale I..heard the old shepherd deliver the manner how he found it.
Launch, aim, send forth (a blow, an attack, etc.); cast, throw, project (a missile, ball, etc.); produce, supply. Also with indirect obj. L16.
T. Medwin In delivering his harpoon he lost his balance. I. Murdoch She..brought the brush into play, delivering me a sharp jab on the ankle. I. T. Botham You can't decide how you're going to play a ball before it's delivered. Dirt Bike The six-speed gearbox..delivers almost 50 miles per gallon.
II. verb intrans.
Give birth; hand something over; distribute mail, goods, etc., to the proper recipients or addresses; speak, pronounce; Cricket bowl a ball. LME.
J. Robinson They first delivered on civil affairs: afterwards the discourse turned on war. Sir W. Scott Are we commanded to stand and deliver on the King's highway? Oxford English Dictionary The postman who delivers in that part of the town. M. Bradbury Mrs Macintosh, when she did deliver, delivered in bulk, and had twins.
b. spec. Provide what is expected or what one has promised. (Foll. by on a pledge etc.) Orig. US. M20.
S. Brill Fitzsimmons was trying to deliver on one of the reforms he had promised the government.
Pottery & Founding. Come free from the mould. L18.
deliverable adjective & noun (a) adjective able to be delivered; (b) noun a thing able to be delivered, esp. at an agreed stage in the development of a product (usu. in pl.): M18.