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American Dictionary of the English Language

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Come


COME, verb intransitive

1. To move towards; to advance near, in any manner, and from any distance. We say, the men come this way, whether riding or on foot; the wind comes from the west; the ship comes with a fine breeze; light comes from the sun. It is applicable perhaps to every thing susceptible of motion, and is opposed to go.

2. To draw nigh; to approach; to arrive; to be present

COME thou and all thy house into the ark. Genesis 7:1.

All my time will I wait, till my change come Job 14:14.

When shall I come and appear before God? Psalms 42:2.

Then shall the end come Matthew 24:5.

Thy kingdom come; thy will be done. Matthew 6:10.

The time has come

3. To advance and arrive at some state or condition; as, the ships came to action; the players came to blows; is it come to this?

His sons come to honor and he knoweth it not. Job 14:14.

I wonder how he came to know what had been done; how did he come by his knowledge? the heir comes into possession of his estate; the man will come in time to abhor the vices of his youth, or he will come to be poor and despicable, or to poverty.

In these and similar phrases, we observe the process or advance is applied to the body or to the mind, indifferently; and to persons or events.

4. To happen or fall out; as, how comes that? Let come what will. Hence when followed by an object or person, with to or on, to befall; to light on.

After all that has come on us for our evil deeds. Ezra 9:13.

All things come alike to all. Ecclesiastes 9:2.

5. To advance or move into view; to appear; as, blood or color comes and goes in the face.

6. To sprout, as plants; to spring. The corn comes or comes up. In the coming or sprouting of malt, as it must not come too little, so it must not come too much. So Bacon uses the word; and this use of it coincides nearly with the sense of 2 Kings 19:26 and in the same chapter inserted in Isaiah 37:3. It is the G. Kiemen, Icelandic kiema, to bud, or germinate.

7. To become.

So came I a widow.

8. To appear or be formed, as butter; to advance or change from cream to butter; a common use of the word; as, the butter comes.

9. 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.

When repeated, it sometimes expresses haste; come come Sometimes if expresses or introduces rebuke.

As the sense of come is to move, in almost any manner, in its various applications, that sense is modified indefinitely by other words used in connection with it. Thus with words expressing approach, it denotes advancing nearer; with words expressing departure, as from, of, out of, etc., it denotes motion from, etc.

To come about, to happen; to fall out; to come to pass; to arrive. How did these tings come about? So the French venir a bout, to come to the end, that is, to arrive.

To come about, to turn; to change; to come round. The wind will come about from west to east. The ship comes about. It is applied to a change of sentiments.

On better thoughts, and my urged reasons,

They are come about, and won to the true side.

To come again, to return. Genesis 28:21, Leviticus 14:8.

To come after, to follow. Matthew 24:5. Also to come to obtain; as, to come after a book.

To come at, to reach; to arrive within reach of; to gain; to come so near as to be able to take or possess. We prize those most who are hardest to come at. To come at a true knowledge of ourselves.

Also, to come towards, as in attacking.

To come away, to depart from; to leave; to issue from.

To come back, to return.

To come by, to pass near; a popular phrase. Also, to obtain, gain, acquire; that is, to come near, at or close. Examine how you came by all your state.

This is not an irregular or improper use of this word. It is precisely equivalent to possess, to sit by. [See Possess.]

To come down, to descend.

The Lord will come down on mount Sinai. Exodus 19:2.

Also, to be humbled or abased.

Your principalities shall come down. Jeremiah 13:18.

COME down from thy glory. Jeremiah 48:2.

To come for, to come to get or obtain; to come after.

To come forth, to issue or proceed from. Gen 15, Isaiah 11:1, Micah 5:2.

Also, to depart from; to leave. Mark 9:1.

Also, to come abroad. Jer 4.

To come from, to depart from to leave. In popular language, this phrase is equivalent to, where is his native place or former place of residence; where did this man, this animal or this plant originate.

To come home, that is, to come to home, or the house; to arrive at the dwelling. Hence, to come close; to press closely; to touch the feelings, interest, or reason.

COME is an intransitive verb, but the participle come is much used with the substantive verb, in the passive form. The end of all flesh is come I am come thou art come he is come we are come etc. This use of the substantive verb, for have, is perhaps too well established to be rejected; but have or has should be used in such phrases. In the phrase, come Friday, come Candlemas, there is an ellipsis of certain words, as when Friday shall come

COME, come the repetition of come expresses haste, or exhortation to hasten. Sometimes it introduces a threat.

COME, noun A sprout.