Literary notes about means (AI summary)
The word “means” displays remarkable versatility in literature. At times it functions as a marker of definition or translation, clarifying that one term is equivalent to another ([1], [2], [3]), while in other contexts it denotes a method or instrumentality through which something is achieved—“by means” of language, light, or other forces ([4], [5], [6], [7]). It is also employed in a negated form to emphasize that something is not the case at all, as in “by no means,” underscoring strong denial or limitation ([8], [9], [10], [11]). Moreover, “means” can reference resources or financial ability, highlighting the ways in which support, livelihood, or opportunity is provided ([12], [13], [14], [15]). This multifaceted usage not only enriches the textual fabric but also illuminates diverse nuances, from explicit definitions to the description of processes and circumstances.
- (Marred is a Yorkshire word and means spoiled and pettish.)
— from The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett - She was called Pandora, which means all-gifted, having received every attribute necessary to make her charming and irresistible.
— from Myths and Legends of Ancient Greece and Rome by E. M. Berens - Note 51 ( return ) [ {ta ounamata}, which means here rather the forms of personification than the actual names.
— from The History of Herodotus — Volume 1 by Herodotus - Here, in Sicily, our interest is not to weaken our friends, but by means of their strength to cripple our enemies.
— from The History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides - By means of its light I was busy examining the different layers of granite.
— from A Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne - One day, however, I do not know why, being drawn diagonally by means of the inclined planes, it touched the bed of the sea.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - Here they form a ring, surrounding a little inland lake, that communicates with the sea by means of gaps.
— from Twenty Thousand Leagues under the Sea by Jules Verne - But, at the same time, he was by no means disposed to condone misconduct in the volunteers.
— from Aesop's Fables by Aesop - It is by no means clear that the liver is meant.
— from Cookery and Dining in Imperial Rome by Apicius - The tribe of absentee landlords is by no means extinct in New York.
— from How the Other Half Lives: Studies Among the Tenements of New York by Jacob A. Riis - My third reason is, that I am by no means sure our friend Grimm is in Paris.
— from The Letters of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — Volume 01 by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart - Before he entered upon his new duties he wished to take a holiday, and, having no private means, he went as surgeon on a tramp steamer to the Levant.
— from The Moon and Sixpence by W. Somerset Maugham - Three years ago I was deprived of my mother and the means of livelihood at one stroke, for my mother had an annuity.
— from The Memoirs of Jacques Casanova de Seingalt, 1725-1798. Complete by Giacomo Casanova - The means are ready, and shall be set to work.
— from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens - In leaving you, I took nothing but what belonged to me, and in no way lessened your means for obtaining an honest living.
— from My Bondage and My Freedom by Frederick Douglass
