Literary notes about entire (AI summary)
In literature, the word “entire” is employed to evoke a sense of completeness or wholeness, whether describing abstract qualities, physical extents, or intricate processes. For instance, Lightfoot uses it to denote totality and perfection in the recounting of tales ([1]), while Montgomery adopts it in a technical context to signify a full procedural sequence ([2]). Meanwhile, authors like José Rizal and James Joyce harness “entire” to imbue characters or narratives with a layered, comprehensive depth—be it the all-encompassing desire to read a work ([3]) or a face that bears the cumulative story of a lifetime ([4]). Additionally, its usage extends to legal and contractual language, as seen in the precise identification of agreements ([5]), and to aesthetic expressions, such as describing love that is unconditionally complete ([6]). Across these varied contexts, “entire” functions as a versatile descriptor that transforms ordinary elements into symbols of totality and unity.
- [541] , the full tale, the entire number or quantity, the plenitude, the perfection.
— from St. Paul's Epistles to the Colossians and Philemon by J. B. Lightfoot - The sytem will go through the entire shutdown procedure, including the sync command, which clears the disk cache as described above.
— from Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery - Tangere , saying that the excerpts submitted to him by the censor had awakened a desire to read the entire work.
— from The Social Cancer: A Complete English Version of Noli Me Tangere by José Rizal - His face, which carried the entire tale of his years, was of the brown tint of Dublin streets.
— from Dubliners by James Joyce - This License constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the Work licensed here.
— from Little Brother by Cory Doctorow - Her love was entire as a child's, and though warm as summer it was fresh as spring.
— from Far from the Madding Crowd by Thomas Hardy
