Cȯme1, v. i.
(kŭm, 57), v. i. [imp. CAME; p. p. COME; p. pr. & vb. n. COMING.] [A-S. cuman, for cwiman, O. Sax. cuman, Goth. qviman, imp. qvam, O. Fries. kuma, Icel. koma, Sw. komma, Dan. komme, D. komen, N. H. Ger. kommen, imp. kam, M. H. Ger. komen, imp. quam, O. H. Ger. choman, coman, kuman, quēman, allied to Skr. gam, to go, to march.]
Sense 1. To move hitherward; to draw near; to approach;—opposed to go.
In at this gate none pass The vigilance here placed, but such as come Well known. Milton.
We are come to you to do a good office. Shak.
Sense 2. To arrive at some state or condition; to occur; to happen.
His sons come to honor, and he knoweth it not. Job xiv. 21.
Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee. John v. 14.
Sense 3. To become manifest or evident; to appear.
Then butter does refuse to come, And love proves cross and humorsome. Hudibras.
In the coming or sprouting of malt, as it must not come too little, so it must not come too much. Mortimer.
Sense 4. To become. [Obs.] “So came I a widow.” Shak.
Come is used with other verbs almost as an auxiliary, indicative of approach to the action or state expressed by the verb; as, how came you to do it? Come, in the imperative, is used to excite attention, or to invite to motion or joint action; come, let us go. “This is the heir; come, let us kill him.” Matt. xxi. 38. When repeated, it sometimes expresses haste, and sometimes rebuke.
Come, come, no time for lamentation now. Milton.
— To come, yet to arrive, future.
In times to come, My waves shall wash the walls of mighty Rome. Dryden.
— To come about. (a.) To come to pass; to arrive; as, how did these things come about? (b.) To change; to come round; as, the wind will come about from west to east; the ship comes about.
On better thoughts, and my urged reasons, They are come about, and won to the true side. B. Jonson.
— To come again, to return. — To come after. (a.) To follow. (b.) To come to obtain; as, to come after a book. — To come at. (a.) To reach; to arrive within reach of; to gain; as, to come at a true knowledge of ourselves. (b.) To come toward, in attack. — To come away, to part and become separated; to depart; to leave. — To come by, to obtain, gain, acquire. “Examine how you came by all your state.” Dryden. — To come down with, to pay over; to deposit by way of payment. “Little did he foresee, when he said, ‘All is but dust!’ how soon he would come down with his own.” Dickens. — To come home. (a.) To come close; to press closely; to touch the feelings, interest, or reason. (b.) (Naut.) To be loosened from the ground;—said of an anchor. Totten. — To come in. (a.) To comply; to yield. “We need not fear his coming in.” Massinger. (b.) To become fashionable; to be brought into use. “Silken garments did not come in till late.” Arbuthnot. — To come in for, to appear and claim a share of. “The rest came in for subsidies, whereof they sunk considerable sums.” Swift. — To come into, to join with; to take part in; to agree to; to comply with; as, to come into a measure or scheme. — To come near, or nigh, to approach in place, or to be equal to. “Nothing ancient or modern seems to come near it.” Temple. — To come of, to issue or proceed from, as a descendant, or as a consequence. “Of Priam’s royal race my mother came.” Dryden. “This comes of judging by the eye.” L’Estrange. — To come off. (a.) To depart from; to escape; to be through with, or to be carried through; to be brought to a close.
I knew the foul enchanter, though disguised, Entered the very lime-twigs of his spells, And yet came off. Milton.
(b.) To pay over; to give. [Obs.]
We hear you are full of crowns; Will you come off, sir? Massinger.
(c.) To take place. — To come on, to advance; to make progress; to thrive. — To come over. (a.) To pass from one side or place to another. “Perpetually teasing their friends to come over to them.” Addison. (b.) To rise and pass over, in distillation. — To come out. (a.) To become public; to appear; to be published. “It is indeed come out at last that we are to look on the saints as inferior deities.” Stillingfleet. (b.) To end or come to an issue; as, how will this affair come out? he has come out well at last. — To come out with, to give publicity to; to disclose. — To come short, to be wanting; to fail. “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” Rom. iii. 23. — To come to. (a.) To consent or yield. Swift. (b.) To amount to; as, the taxes come to a large sum. (c.) To recover, as from a swoon. “He looked as if he had just been all but choked, and had that moment come to.” Dickens. — To come to pass, to happen; to fall out. — To come up. (a.) To ascend; to rise. (b.) To spring; to shoot or rise above the earth, as a plant. (c.) To come into use, as a fashion. — To come up the capstan (Naut.), to turn it the contrary way, so as to slacken the rope about it. — To come up the tackle fall (Naut.), to slacken the tackle gently. Totten. — To come up to, to rise to.
Whose ignorant credulity Will not come up to the truth. Shak.
— To come up with, to overtake. — To come upon, to fall on; to attack or invade.