Long (?), a. [Compar. Longer (?); superl. Longest (?).] [AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. lång, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. √125. Cf. Length, Ling a fish, Linger, Lunge, Purloin.]

1.

Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide.

2.

Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book.

3.

Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching.

4.

Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away.

The we may us reserve both fresh and strong
Against the tournament, which is not long.
Spenser.

5.

Extended to any specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc.

6.

Far-reaching; extensive. " Long views." Burke.

7. (Phonetics)

Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 22, 30.

Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long- armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long- horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long- tailed, long- worded, etc.

In the long run, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually. --
Long clam (Zoöl.), the common clam (Mya arenaria) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also soft-shell clam and long-neck clam. See Mya. --
Long cloth, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality. --
Long clothes, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet. --
Long division. (Math.) See Division. --
Long dozen, one more than a dozen; thirteen. --
Long home, the grave. --
Long measure, Long meter. See under Measure, Meter. --
Long Parliament (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653. --
Long price, the full retail price. --
Long purple (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the Orchis mascula. Dr. Prior. --
Long suit (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards. R. A. Proctor. --
Long tom.
(a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel.
(b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western U.S.]

(c) (Zoöl.) The long-tailed titmouse. --
Long wall (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed. --
Of long, a long time. [Obs.] Fairfax. --
To be, or go, long of the market, To be on the long side of the market, etc. (Stock Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to short in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [Cant] See Short. --
To have a long head, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.

 

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Long (?), n.

1. (Mus.)

A note formerly used in music, one half the length of a large, twice that of a breve.

2. (Phonetics)

A long sound, syllable, or vowel.

3.

The longest dimension; the greatest extent; -- in the phrase, the long and the short of it, that is, the sum and substance of it. Addison.

 

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Long, adv. [AS. lance.]

1.

To a great extent in space; as, a long drawn out line.

2.

To a great extent in time; during a long time.

They that tarry long at the wine.
Prov. xxiii. 30.

When the trumpet soundeth long.
Ex. xix. 13.

3.

At a point of duration far distant, either prior or posterior; as, not long before; not long after; long before the foundation of Rome; long after the Conquest.

4.

Through the whole extent or duration.

The bird of dawning singeth all night long.
Shak.

5.

Through an extent of time, more or less; - - only in question; as, how long will you be gone?

 

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Long, prep. [Abbreviated fr. along. See 3d Along.]

By means of; by the fault of; because of. [Obs.] See Along of, under 3d Along.

 

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Long, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Longed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Longing.] [AS. langian to increase, to lengthen, to stretch out the mind after, to long, to crave, to belong to, fr. lang long. See Long, a.]

1.

To feel a strong or morbid desire or craving; to wish for something with eagerness; -- followed by an infinitive, or by after or for.

I long to see you.
Rom. i. 11.

I have longed after thy precepts.
Ps. cxix. 40.

I have longed for thy salvation.
Ps. cxix. 174.

Nicomedes, longing for herrings, was supplied with fresh ones . . . at a great distance from the sea.
Arbuthnot.

2.

To belong; -- used with to, unto, or for. [Obs.]

The labor which that longeth unto me.
Chaucer.

 

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Long, a. (Finance & Com.)

Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin.

 

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