Dis*patch" (?; 224), v. t.
[imp. & p. p. Dispatched (?); p. pr.
& vb. n. Dispatching.] [OF. despeechier, F.
dépêcher; prob. from pref. des- (L.
dis-) + (assumed) LL. pedicare to place obstacles in
the way, fr. L. pedica fetter, fr. pes, pedis,
foot. See Foot, and cf. Impeach, Despatch.]
[Written also despatch.] 1. To dispose of
speedily, as business; to execute quickly; to make a speedy end of;
to finish; to perform.
Ere we put ourselves in arms, dispatch we
The business we have talked of.
Shak.
[The] harvest men . . . almost in one fair day
dispatcheth all the harvest work.
Robynson
(More's Utopia).
2. To rid; to free. [Obs.]
I had clean dispatched myself of this great
charge.
Udall.
3. To get rid of by sending off; to send away
hastily.
Unless dispatched to the mansion house in the
country . . . they perish among the lumber of garrets.
Walpole.
4. To send off or away; -- particularly
applied to sending off messengers, messages, letters, etc., on
special business, and implying haste.
Even with the speediest expedition
I will dispatch him to the emperor's cou&?;&?;.
Shak.
5. To send out of the world; to put to
death.
The company shall stone them with stones, and
dispatch them with their swords.
Ezek. xxiii.
47.
Syn. -- To expedite; hasten; speed; accelerate; perform;
conclude; finish; slay; kill.
Dis*patch", v. i. To make haste;
to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business.
They have dispatched with Pompey.
Shak.
Dis*patch", n. [Cf. OF.
despeche, F. dépêche. See Dispatch,
v. t.] [Written also despatch.]
1. The act of sending a message or messenger in
haste or on important business.
2. Any sending away; dismissal;
riddance.
To the utter dispatch of all their most beloved
comforts.
Milton.
3. The finishing up of a business; speedy
performance, as of business; prompt execution; diligence;
haste.
Serious business, craving quick
dispatch.
Shak.
To carry his scythe . . . with a sufficient
dispatch through a sufficient space.
Paley.
4. A message dispatched or sent with speed;
especially, an important official letter sent from one public officer
to another; -- often used in the plural; as, a messenger has arrived
with dispatches for the American minister; naval or military
dispatches.
5. A message transmitted by telegraph.
[Modern]
Dispatch boat, a swift vessel for conveying
dispatches; an advice boat. -- Dispatch box,
a box for carrying dispatches; a box for papers and other
conveniences when traveling.
Syn. -- Haste; hurry; promptness; celerity; speed. See
Haste.
