ahold

See also: a-hold

English

Alternative forms

Etymology 1

a- +‎ hold

Adverb

ahold (not comparable)

  1. (nautical, obsolete) (of a ship) Brought to lie as near to the windward as it can to get out to sea, and thereby held steady.
    1610–1611, William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies (First Folio), London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, OCLC 606515358, [Act I, scene i]:
    • Lay her a hold, a hold, ſet her two courſes off to Sea againe, lay her off.

Translations

Etymology 2

a +‎ hold

Noun

ahold (uncountable)

  1. (informal) A hold, grip, grasp.
    • 2009, Tim Irwin, Derailed: Five Lessons Learned from Catastrophic Failures of Leadership‎, Thomas Nelson Inc., →ISBN, page 121:
      GET AHOLD OF YOURSELF!

Usage notes
  • Mainly used in phrases such as catch, lay, take or get ahold of, on or upon something.
  • In formal writing, this word is generally avoided in favor of a more formal synonym.

Translations
Translations

References

Part or all of this entry has been imported from the 1913 edition of Webster’s Dictionary, which is now free of copyright and hence in the public domain. The imported definitions may be significantly out of date, and any more recent senses may be completely missing.
(See the entry for ahold in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.)

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