race

Etymology 1

From Middle English race, partially from Old English rǣs (“a race, swift or violent running, rush, onset”), from Proto-West Germanic *rās; and partially from Old Norse rás (“a running, race”); both from Proto-Germanic *rēsō (“a course”), from Proto-Indo-European *reh₁s- (“to flow, rush”). Cognate with Middle Low German râs (“a strong current”), Dutch ras (“a strong whirling current”), Danish ræs, Norwegian and Swedish ras, Norwegian rås.

noun

1. A contest between people, animals, vehicles, etc. where the goal is to be the first to reach some objective.
   Several horses ran in a horse race: the first one to reach the finishing post won.
   The race to cure cancer
   The race around the park was won by Johnny, who ran faster than the others.
   We had a race to see who could finish the book the quickest.
   "Behold that rival here! / "The race by vigour, not by vaunts is won; / "So take the hindmost, Hell."—He said, and run. 1743, Alexander Pope, The Dunciad, London: M. Cooper, book 2, lines 58–60, page 82
   After days of intensifying pressure from runners, politicians and the general public to call off the New York City Marathon in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, city officials and the event’s organizers decided Friday afternoon to cancel the race. 2012-11-02, Ken Belson, “After Days of Pressure, Marathon Is Off”, in The New York Times
2. Swift progress; rapid motion; an instance of moving or driving at high speed.
   Hence the rapid race / Of light, and lustre from th' effusive sun 1805, Good, John Mason, transl., The Nature of Things, volume 2, London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, translation of De rerum natura by Titus Lucretius Carus, book 4, lines 190–191, page 33
   And above all, it is an age of activity and enterprise, an age of new discoveries and new deviltries, an age of magnetic telegraphs and Mississippi bonds, and it would be indeed odd if, in the swift race of progress, the rogue did not keep his natural station in the van of the movement. 1847 December, “The Literature of Humbug”, in The Young American's Magazine, volume 1, page 318
3. (electronics, computing) A race condition; a bug or problem that occurs when two or more components attempt to use the same resource at the same time.
   Many problems of oscillations and races are solved by this arrangement. 1989, R. Raghuram, Computer Simulation of Electronic Circuits, New Delhi: Wiley Eastern, page 181
   Because a race by definition depends on the timing being just wrong, you could test your program any number of times, never observe any misbehavior, and still have a user run into the problem.¶ This occurrence is not just a theoretical possibility: Real programs have race bugs and real users have encountered them, sometimes with consequences that have literally been fatal. 1999, Max Hailperin, Barbara Kaiser, Karl Knight, “Java, Applets, and Concurrency”, in Concrete Abstractions, Brooks/Cole Publishing, page 622
   As the name implies, a race condition means that two processes are competing within the same time interval, and the race affects the integrity or correctness of the computing tasks. 2012, Charles P. Pfleeger, Shari Lawrence Pfleeger, Analyzing Computer Security, Prentice Hall, page 79
4. A sequence of events; a progressive movement toward a goal.
   A race of wicked acts / Shall flow out of my anger, and o’erspread / The world’s wide face[.] 1603, Ben Jonson, Sejanus His Fall, act 2, scene 2
   An offensive war is made, which is unjust in the aggressor; the prosecution and race of the war carrieth the defendant to invade the ancient patrimony of the first aggressor, who is now turned defendant; shall he sit down, and not put himself in defence? 1624, Francis Bacon, “Considerations Touching a War with Spain”, in Basil Montagu, editor, The Works of Francis Bacon, volume 5, William Pickering, published 1826, page 240
5. A fast-moving current of water.
   Here are in these seas two dangerous races, the one called St. Alban's, the other Portland Race. 1893, “Remarks upon the Way from Abingdon to Southamption, and other Places”, in The Manuscripts of His Grace the Duke of Portland, volume 2, London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, page 288
   The existing analysis and program for the propeller-rudder interaction has been updated incorporating all the improvements concerned with the propeller loading distribution, including that associated with the fact that the rudder is immersed in the race of the propeller. 1980, Pauline H. Gurewitz, Hydraulic Research in the United States and Canada, 1978, page 120
   This is an area of spectacular tidal races, rips, swirls, boils, whirlpools, overfalls, currents, and countercurrents. Scylla and Charybdis pale by comparison with the great maelstroms where the sea is trapped between Vancouver Island and the Canadian mainland. 2003 December, Jonathan Raban, “Julia and the Whirlpools”, in Cruising World, volume 29, number 12, page 40
6. A water channel, especially one built to lead water to or from a point where it is utilised, such as that which powers a millwheel.
   Evidently the future manufacturing development depends upon the hydraulic canal, so far as existing works are concerned, rather than upon the two races, which can never be enlarged to embrace a comprehensive improvement of the river, while the capabilities at th hydraulic basin are unrivaled. So far as can be learned there is no expectation of ever increasing materially the capacity of the races. 1885, James Leal Greenleaf, “Report on the Water-Powers of the Drainage Basins of Lakes Huron and Erie, in the United States”, in Reports on the Water-Power of the United States, Washington: Department of the Interior, part 1, pages 504–505
   Any miners intending to divert and use water for mining or general purposes, or to cut a race or construct dams or reservoirs in connection therewith, shall give notice in writing thereof to the Warden […] 1888, “Water Rights”, in Gold Mining Regulations, 1888, Parliament of South Australia, section 48, page 4
   Water for irrigation is stored in the high country behind the Upper Manorburn Dam. Two parallel races at different levels run along the west side of the valley and one race flowing along the east side is supplemented by water stored at the Poolburn Dam. 1957-12-16, A. H. Mouat, R. C. Stuart, G. Mason, “Farming in Ida Valley, Central Otago”, in The New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, volume 95, number 6, page 587
7. A path that something or someone moves along.
   There were all the marked passages, which had thrilled his soul so often,—words of patriarchs and seers, poets and sages, who from early time had spoken courage to man,—voices from the great cloud of witnesses who ever surround us in the race of life. 1852, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Uncle Tom's Cabin, volume 2, Boston: John P. Jewett & Company, page 242
   Don't let fear be a factor for you as the finish line of harvest calls out to you to join the race of eternity. Clear the table of excuses and go! 2008, Chad Taylor, The Cry of the Harvest, page 115
8. A guide or channel that a component of a machine moves along:
   1. (sewing, weaving) A groove on a sewing machine or a loom along which the shuttle moves.
      I have lately seen a shuttle machine of Messrs. Grover Baker's construction, in which the shuttle worked in a semi-circular race and produced two stitches at each revolution of the wheel. 1860, Charles Cole, The Sewing Machine, and its Capabilities, page 53
      Meanwhile another lug on the shuttle-band engages another carrier at the other end of the loom, and the belt, continuing to move in the same direction, conveys the carrier across the race in a similar manner as above described. 1872-11-29, “Improved Loom for Weaving Fabrics of Any Width”, in The English Mechanic and Word of Science, volume 16, number 401, page 259
   2. (engineering) A ring with a groove in which rolling elements (such as balls) ride, forming part of a rolling-element bearing (for example, a ball bearing).
      These bearings do not employ a loading groove or filling slot but utilize an uninterrupted race groove containing the maximum number of balls that can be introduced by eccentric displacement of the races. Due to the relatively large size of the balls and the fact that the ball curvature is only slightly less than the race curvature, the bearings have comparatively high load carrying capacity in both axial and radial directions. 1965-08-15, Maintenance of Aeronautical Antifriction Bearings, NAVWEPS 01-1A-503, United States Bureau of Naval Weapons, section 2, page 5
      The chances of picking up an inner race fault are small unless the load direction of the bearing coincides with the location of the accelerometer. 1999, Steve Goldman, Vibration Spectrum Analysis, 2nd edition, New York: Industrial Press, page 90
      The bearing comprises four mechanical components: an outer race, an inner race, rollers (balls), and a cage that holds the rollers (balls) in place. 2017, Tian Ran Lin, Kun Yu, Jiwen Tan, “Condition Monitoring and Fault Diagnosis of Roller Element Bearing”, in Pranav H. Darji, editor, Bearing Technology, Rijeka, Croatia: InTech, →DOI, page 40
9. (gambling">gambling) A keno gambling">gambling session.
   Your odds are sometimes significantly better with video keno […] But because video keno plays so much faster, you're likely to lose more money over a given period. Live keno races start every 10 minutes, but you can make 100 bets on a video version in the same amount of time. 2022, Kevin Blackwood, Swain Scheps, “Striking the Mother Lode: Keno and Bingo”, in Casino Gambling For Dummies, 2nd edition, John Wiley & Sons

verb

1. (intransitive) To take part in a race (in the sense of a contest).
   The drivers were racing around the track.
   Honesty raced up six lengths in front of Wandering Minstrel, turned, then raced past for the second, and lost his place at the hedge; some work followed to the plantation, but Honesty was always the faster in the racing stretches, and won easily. 1875, “Lichfield Open Meeting”, in John Henry Walsh, editor, Coursing Calendar for the Autumn Season 1874, page 187
   "I cannot wait to race in front of the amazing home crowd," she added. 2023-05-10, “Athletics: Dina Asher-Smith set to race at London Stadium in July”, in BBC News
2. (transitive) To compete against in a race (contest).
   I raced him to the car, but he was there first, so he got to ride shotgun.
   […]a fresh fox popped out of a pit, and they raced him to Cherrington, where hounds were stopped at dark[…] 1871 March, “Our Van”, in Baily's Magazine of Sports & Pastimes, volume 21, page 306
   He pulled it down and saw Tech's full-back closing in. Counting on his own fresh condition, Jimmy raced him toward the sidelines, and got around him just in time to prevent being forced out. The goal was waiting for him twenty yards away, and to the accompaniment of a deafening shout from the stands he placed the pigskin across the goal line. 1928 November, Paschal N. Strong, “Signals”, in Boys' Life, volume 18, number 11, page 61
3. (intransitive) To move or drive at high speed">speed; to hurry or speed">speed.
   As soon as it was time to go home, he raced for the door.
   Her heart was racing as she peered into the dimly lit room.
   There she goes / There she goes again / Racing through my brain / And I just can't contain / This feeling that remains 1988, Lee Mavers, “There She Goes”, in Sixpence None the Richer, performed by Sixpence None the Richer, published 1997
   Across Japan, technology companies and private investors are racing to install devices that until recently they had little interest in: solar panels. Massive solar parks are popping up as part of a rapid build-up that one developer likened to an "explosion." 2013-06-21, Chico Harlan, “Japan pockets the subsidy …”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 189, number 2, page 30
   Racing on, we parallel the M5 doing 95mph, according to the app on my smartphone. December 2 2020, Paul Bigland, “My weirdest and wackiest Rover yet”, in Rail, page 66
4. (intransitive, of a motor) To run rapidly when not engaged to a transmission.
   My mind is like a racing engine, tearing itself to pieces because it is not connected up with the work for which it was built. 1891 December, Arthur Conan Doyle, “The Man with the Twisted Lip”, in The Strand
   He put the transmission into drive and pressed the gas. The engine raced and the motor home rocked, gently, but did not move forward. 2005 June, James Faucett, “Snowbirds”, in Atlanta Magazine, volume 45, number 2, page 79

Etymology 2

1560s, via Middle French race from Italian razza (early 14th century), of uncertain origin. theories * Diez and some other scholars suggest derivation from Proto-Germanic *raitō (whence Old High German reiza (“line”) and Old Norse ríta (“to score, log, outline”)), perhaps via Lombardic *raiza (“line”), which Körting notes is a literal rendering of Latin linea sanguinis (“bloodline of descent”). Anatoly Liberman says "the semantic fit is good" but the chronology falters; he says the Germanic word went out of use before the Italian word arose, and he says the intermediary is not attested. * Some scholars suggest derivation from Old Spanish raza, rasa, from earlier ras, res (“head of cattle”), from Arabic رَأْس (raʔs, “head”), but Italian razza predates the Spanish word according to Diez and Meyer-Lübke. * Meyer-Lübke suggested Latin generatio as the root; Körting says "the disappearance of two initial syllables hardly seems credible", but Meyer-Lübke notes the Venetian form narazza and the Old Bellunesian form naraccia, positing that after the first syllable ge- was lost, the remaining (una) narazza came to be reanalysed as una razza. * Gianfranco Contini suggests the Italian word comes from Old French haraz (“troop of horses”), whence Modern French haras (“breeding farm for horses; stud farm”), from Old Norse hárr (“grey-haired; hoary”). Liberman considers this derivation the most likely. * Other suggested Latin etyma: ** radius (perhaps via Vulgar Latin *radia) (per Baist). ** radix (“root”) (per Ulrich); Liberman says "the semantic match is excellent", and race (“rhizome of ginger”) (which definitely derives from radix) shows that the phonology is plausible. ** *raptiare (“breed falcons”) (per Körting). ** The nominative of ratio (perhaps via an unattested intermediate form *razzo), as opposed to ragione which derives from the accusative rationem. * Other implausible suggestions include Slavic raz and Basque arraca, supposedly meaning "stud animal" (Basque arrazza, "race", derives from Spanish).

noun

1. A group of sentient beings, particularly people, distinguished by common ancestry, heritage or characteristics (see Wikipedia's article on historical definitions of race):
   1. A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.
      The Canadian race is one of the most vigorous on the globe.
      We toiled not in the acquirement or establishment of them—they are a legacy bequeathed us, by a once hardy, brave, and patriotic, but now lamented and departed race of ancestors. 1838, Abraham Lincoln, Young Men's Lyceum address
      I believe that the British race is the greatest of the governing races that the world has ever seen. 1895-11-11, Joseph Chamberlain, Speech given to the Imperial Institute
      What is to become of the French race and the British race—yes, and the German race—if this thing keeps up? 1917 February, Will Irwin, “War and the Race”, in The Advocate of Peace, volume 79, number 2, page 50
   2. A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of common physical characteristics, such as skin color or hair type.
      Race was a significant issue during apartheid in South Africa.
      The Native Americans colonized the New World in several waves from Asia, and thus they are considered part of the same Mongoloid race.
      The race to which most anthropologists refer the native Americans is the Mongoloid of Eastern Asia, who are capable of accommodating themselves to the extremest climates, and who by the form of skull, the light brown skin, straight black hair, and black eyes, show considerable agreement with the American tribes. 1881 July, Edward Burnett Tylor, “The Races of Mankind”, in Popular Science Monthly, volume 19, page 309
      Colonel Lin Nan: Would it offend you to be loved by a man of another race? 1958, Burgess, Alan, Lennart, Isobel, 1:41:15 from the start, in The Inn of the Sixth Happiness, spoken by Curd Jürgens as Colonel Lin Nan and Ingrid Bergman as Gladys Aylward, 20th Century Fox, →OCLC
      Few concepts are as emotionally charged as that of race. The word conjures up a mixture of associations—culture, ethnicity, genetics, subjugation, exclusion and persecution. But is the tragic history of efforts to define groups of people by race really a matter of the misuse of science, the abuse of a valid biological concept? 2012 March-April, Jan Sapp, “Race Finished”, in American Scientist, volume 100, number 2, page 164
   3. A large group of people distinguished from others on the basis of shared characteristics or qualities, for example social qualities.
      The advent of the Internet has brought about a new race of entrepreneur.
      His opinion is founded on the alleged fact that there are scarely any drunkards in the wine-producing regions, where people drink wine with their food as freely as we do tea or coffee. "Give us what good wine we need," says the professor, "and the temperance crusade will be wellnigh ended when the present race of drunkards have passed away. 1872-10-05, Prof. G[eorge] C[linton] Swallow, quotee, “Table-Talk”, in Appletons' Journal, volume 8, number 184, page 386
      There's a race of men that don't fit in, / A race that can't stay still; / So they break the hearts of kith and kin, / And they roam the world at will. 1911, Robert W[illiam] Service, “The Men That Don't Fit In”, in The Spell of the Yukon
      Indeed, all of us are called to join the race of faith. Our identity as Christians is not a burden or an obstacle for our lives, but is rather a gift, […] 2009, Eunjoo M. Kim, edited by Bartlett, David L. and Taylor, Barbara Brown, Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary, Year C, page 249
   4. A large group of nonhumans distinguished from others on the basis of a common heritage.
      A treaty was concluded between the race of elves and the race of men.
      There are two distinct races of gods known to Norse mythology[.] 1898, Herman Isidore Stern, The gods of our fathers: a study of Saxon mythology, page 15
      Imagine a race of aliens that develops on a dimly lit world perpetually shrouded in clouds so that vision would be less useful for survival than on Earth. 1999, Clifford A. Pickover, The Science of Aliens, page 47
      Tali: My father is responsible for the lives of seventeen million people—our entire race is in his hands. And I'm his only child. (Note: Tali is a Quarian, an extraterrestrial species.) 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →OCLC, PC, scene: Normandy SR-1
2. A group of organisms distinguished by common characteristics:
   1. (biology) A population geographically separated from others of its species that develops significantly different characteristics; a mating group.
      Two races are certainly valid. The Atlantic race (P. v. vitulina) is distinguishable from the Pacific race (P. v. richardi Gray, 1864) by skull characters. 1968 December, Dale W. Rice, Victor B. Scheffer, A List of the Marine Mammals of the World, Special Scientific Report—Fisheries number 579, United States Fish and Wildlife Service, Phoca vitulina, page 6
      A population that differs signicatly from other populations belonging to the same species is referred to as a geographic race or subspecies. Subspecies are separated from other subspecies by distance and geographic barriers that prevent the exchange of individuals, as opposed to the genetically based "intrinsic isolating mechanisms" that hold species apart. 2000, Edward O[sborne] Wilson, Sociobiology: The New Synthesis, 25th anniversary edition, Harvard University Press, page 9
   2. (botany) A strain of plant with characteristics causing it to differ from other plants of the same species.
      Nevertheless, as our varieties certainly do occasionally revert in some of their characters to ancestral forms, it seems to me not improbable, that if we could succeed in naturalising, or were to cultivate, during many generations, the several races, for instance, of the cabbage, in very poor soil (in which case, however, some effect would have to be attributed to the direct action of the poor soil), that they would to a large extent, or even wholly, revert to the wild aboriginal stock. 1859, Charles Darwin, “Variation under Domestication”, in On the Origin of Species
      Tree races develop not only in different latitudes, but also at different altitudes and within mountainous regions. Since climate changes markedly with altitude as well as latitude, both kinds of development are included in the term climatic races. In addition, soil or site races may develop in areas similar climatically but characterized by different soil or site conditions. 1948 June, “Development of Races”, in Woody-Plant Seed Manual, Miscellaneous Publication no. 654, Washington, D.C.: United States Department of Agriculture, page 15
      Our genetic evaluation suggests that the morphologically distinct race (Dolores River) is more closely related to the type materials than the ecologically distinct, high-elevation race. 11 September 1995 – 14 September 1995, Loreen Allphin, Michael D[ennis] Windham, Kimball T[aylor] Harper, “A Genetic Evaluation of Three Potential Races of the Rare Kachina Daisy”, in Southwestern Rare and Endangered Plants: Proceedings of the Second Conference, Flagstaff, Arizona, page 75
   3. (animal husbandry) A breed or strain of domesticated animal.
      For do but note a wild and wanton herd, / Or race of youthful and unhandled colts, / Fetching mad bounds. c. 1596–1599, William Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice, act 5, scene 1
      They have another breed, called the Dunlop cows, which are allowed to be the best race for yielding milk in Great Britain or Ireland, not only for large quantities, but also for richness in quality. 1799, Joshua Rowlin, The Complete Cow-Doctor; Or, Farmer's Companion, 2nd edition, London, page 42
      Great St. Bernard Dog—This race is nearly allied to the Newfoundland Dog in form, stature, hair, and colors; but the head and ears are like that of a Water Spaniel. 1875, Augustus C. L. Arnold, The Living World, volume 1, Boston: Samuel Walker & Co, page 88
   4. (mycology, bacteriology, informal) An infraspecific rank.
      Now Mary MacDonald of the Plant Breeding Institute at Maris Lane, Cambridge, has made an interesting study which has duplicated the conditions under which new races arise. And she has produced at least one new fungal race. 1977-03-24, “Why is cereal fungus so resistant?”, in New Scientist, volume 73, number 1044, page 697
      The type of microorganisms is a very important factor influencing the quality of cider. Yeast of various producers and races result in different taste and flavor. 2018 December, Anna Kolobaeva, Olga Kotik, “Technological Approaches to Cider Quality”, in Advances in Engineering Research, volume 151, Atlantis Press, →DOI
3. (by extension) A category or kind of thing distinguished by common characteristics.
   Fair fa' your honest, sonsie face, / Great chieftain o the puddin'-race! 1786, Robert Burns, Address to the Haggis
4. (obsolete) The sexual activity of conceiving and bearing biological offspring.
   It behooveth therefore that the Mares appointed for race, be well compacted, of a decent quality, being fair and beautiful to look upon, the belly and loins being great, in age not under three nor above ten years old. 1658, Edward Topsell, “Of the horse”, in The History of Four-Footed Beasts and Serpents, page 234
   Male he created thee, but thy consort / Femal for Race; then bless’d Mankinde, and said, / Be fruitful, multiplie, and fill the Earth[.] 1667, John Milton, Paradise Lost, book 7
5. (obsolete) Peculiar flavour, taste, or strength, as of wine; that quality, or assemblage of qualities, which indicates origin or kind, as in wine; hence, characteristic flavour.
   But was a race of heaven. c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, Antony and Cleopatra, act 1, scene 3
   Is it [the wine] of the right race? c. 1625, Philip Massinger, A New Way to Pay Old Debts, act 1, scene 3
6. (obsolete) Characteristic quality or disposition.
   And now I give my sensual race the rein. c. 1603–1604, William Shakespeare, Measure for Measure, act 2, scene 4
   […]some great race of fancy or judgment in the contrivance[…] 1685, Sir William Temple, Upon the Gardens of Epicurus; or, Of Gardening
7. (archaic, uncountable) Ancestry.
   Yes, madam, believe it, she is a gentlewoman of very absolute behaviour, and of a good race. 1609, Ben Jonson, Epicœne, or The Silent Woman, act 3, scene 2
   Wars of religion, more sanguinary, cruel, and ruinous than even those of Henry the fifth and Edward the third, rise in succession under the three last princes of the race of Valois. 1785, Nathaniel William Wraxall, “Henry the Second”, in The History of France Under the Kings of the Race of Valois, 2nd edition, volume 2, London: C. Dilly, pages 52–53

verb

1. To assign a race to; to perceive as having a (usually specified) race.
   To be raced as black in the U.S. translates symbolically into being considered inferior to whites, lazy, immoral, boisterous, violent, and sexually promiscuous. 1996, Philosophical Studies in Education, page 151
   From this perspective, the project of progressive blackness entails the edification of black people and the elimination of all forms of domination that limit this edification for all those raced as black. 2006, Athena D. Mutua, Progressive Black Masculinities?, Routledge, page 30
   By avoiding being raced as white, whites are able to maintain the illusion that they have always been individuals, that they have always accomplished their achievements through merit alone. 2008, George Yancy, Black Bodies, White Gazes: The Continuing Significance of Race, Rowman & Littlefield, page 46
   [T]he private family qua mode of social reproduction still, frankly, sucks. It genders, nationalizes and races us. It norms us for productive work. 2020 March 24, Sophie Lewis, //www.opendemocracy.net/en/oureconomy/coronavirus-crisis-shows-its-time-abolish-family/ The coronavirus crisis shows it's time to abolish the family

Etymology 3

Mid 16th century. From Middle French raïz, raiz, rais (“root”), from Latin radix (“root”), from Proto-Italic *wrādīks, from Proto-Indo-European *wréh₂ds.

noun

1. A rhizome or root, especially of ginger.
   I must have saffron to color the warden pies; mace; dates, none—that's out of my note; nutmegs, seven; a race or two of ginger, but that I may beg; four pounds of prunes, and as many of raisins o' th' sun. 1610, William Shakespeare, The Winter's Tale, act IV, scene III, line 45
   They have onions and garlick, and some herbs and small roots for sallads; and in the southernmoft parts, ginger growing almost in every place; the large races whereof are there very excellently well preserved, as we may know by our tasting them in England. 1777, Edward Terry, A Voyage to East-India, page 62
   On the third day after this second boiling, pour all the syrup into a pan, put the races of ginger with it, and boil it up until the syrup adheres to the spoon. 1842, Gibbons Merle, The Domestic Dictionary and Housekeeper's Manual, page 433

Etymology 4

verb

1. Obsolete form of raze.
   […]and after he be-heilde towarde the fier, and saugh the flesshe that the knaue hadde rosted that was tho I-nough, and raced it of with his hondes madly, and rente it a-sonder in peces, and wette it in mylke, and after in the hony, and ete as a wood man that nought ther lefte of the flessh;[…] c. 1450, chapter 23, in Henry Benjamin Wheatley, editor, Merlin or the Early History of King Arthur, volume 2, Early English Text Society, published 1899, page 424