• Long

    Pronunciation

    • UK IPA: /lÉ’Å‹/
    • US enPR: lông, IPA: /lɔŋ/, /lÉ‘Å‹/
    • Rhymes: -É’Å‹

    Origin 1

    From Middle English long, lang, from Old English long, lang ("long, tall, lasting"), from Proto-Germanic *langaz ("long"), from Proto-Indo-European *dl̥h₁gʰós ("long"). Cognate with Scots lang ("long"), North Frisian long, lung ("long"), Saterland Frisian loang ("long"), West Frisian lang ("long"), Dutch lang ("long"), German lang ("long"), Swedish lång ("long"), Icelandic langur ("long"), Latin longus ("long"), Ancient Greek δολιχός, Russian долгий, длинный.

    Full definition of long

    Adjective

    long

    1. Having much distance from one terminating point on an object or an area to another terminating point usually applies to horizontal dimensions; see Usage Notes below.
      It's a long way from the Earth to the Moon.
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 5, We expressed our readiness, and in ten minutes were in the station wagon, rolling rapidly down the long drive, for it was then after nine. We passed on the way the van of the guests from Asquith.
      • 1963, Margery Allingham, The China Governess Chapter 17, The face which emerged was not reassuring. â€¦. He was not a mongol but there was a deficiency of a sort there, and it was not made more pretty by a latter-day hair cut which involved eccentrically long elf-locks and oiled black curls.
    2. Having great duration.
      The pyramids of Egypt have been around for a long time.
      • 2013-07-20, Out of the gloom, solar plant schemes are of little help to industry or other heavy users of electricity. Nor is solar power yet as cheap as the grid. For all that, the rapid arrival of electric light to Indian villages is long overdue. When the national grid suffers its next huge outage, as it did in July 2012 when hundreds of millions were left in the dark, look for specks of light in the villages.
    3. Seemingly lasting a lot of time, because it is boring or tedious or tiring.
      • 1877, Anna Sewell, Black Beauty Chapter 23http://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Black_Beauty/23What I suffered with that rein for four long months in my lady's carriage, it would be hard to describe, but I am quite sure that, had it lasted much longer, either my health or my temper would have given way.
      • 1898, Winston Churchill, The Celebrity Chapter 2, I had occasion … to make a somewhat long business trip to Chicago, and on my return … I found Farrar awaiting me in the railway station. He smiled his wonted fraction by way of greeting, …, and finally leading me to his buggy, turned and drove out of town. I was completely mystified at such an unusual proceeding.
    4. (British, dialect) Not short; tall.
    5. (finance) Possessing or owning stocks, bonds, commodities or other financial instruments with the aim of benefiting of the expected rise in their value.
      I'm long in DuPont;  I have a long position in DuPont.
    6. (cricket) Of a fielding position, close to the boundary (or closer to the boundary than the equivalent short position).
    7. (tennis, of a ball or a shot) That land beyond the baseline (and therefore is out).
      No! That forehand is long....
    8. (obsolete) Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away.
      • SpenserThat we may us reserve both fresh and strong
        Against the tournament, which is not long.

    Usage notes

    Wide is usually used instead of long when referring to a horizontal dimension (left to right).

    Tall or high are usually used instead of long when referring to positive vertical dimension (upwards), and deep when referring to negative vertical dimension (downwards).

    Synonyms

    Antonyms

    • (having much distance from one point to another) low vertically upwards, shallow vertically upwards or downwards, short
    • (having great duration) brief, short
    • (finance) short

    Derived terms

    Adverb

    long

    1. Over a great distance in space.
      He threw the ball long.
    2. For a particular duration.
      • 2013, David Van Tassel, Lee DeHaan, Wild Plants to the Rescue, Plant breeding is always a numbers game....The wild species we use are rich in genetic variation, …. In addition, we are looking for rare alleles, so the more plants we try, the better. These rarities may be new mutations, or they can be existing ones that are neutral—or are even selected against—in a wild population. A good example is mutations that disrupt seed dispersal, leaving the seeds on the heads long after they are ripe.
    3. How long is it until the next bus arrives?
    4. For a long duration.
      • 1594 — William Shakespeare, i 3I stay too long: but here my father comes.
      • 1991, A testament of hope: the essential writings and speeches of Martin Luther King, I answer by saying that I have worked too long and hard now against segregated public accommodations to end up segregating my moral concern.
    5. Will this interview take long?

    Synonyms

    • (over a great distance) a long way, far
    • (for a long duration) a long time

    Antonyms

    Noun

    long

    (plural longs)
    1. (linguistics) A long vowel.
    2. (programming) A long integer variable, twice the size of an int or a short and half of a long long.A long is typically 64 bits in a 32-bit environment.
    3. (finance) An entity with a long position in an asset.Every uptick made the longs cheer.
    4. (music) A note formerly used in music, one half the length of a large, twice that of a breve.

    Verb

    1. (transitive, finance) To take a long position in.
      • 2004, Thomas S. Y. Ho, The Oxford Guide to Financial Modeling, The left panel shows the profile of a portfolio consisting of longing a call and shorting a put.

    Origin 2

    From Middle English longen, from Old English langian ("to long for, yearn after, grieve for, be pained, lengthen, grow longer, summon, belong"), from Proto-Germanic *langōną ("to desire, long for"), from Proto-Indo-European *dl̥h₁gʰós ("long"). Cognate with German langen ("to reach, be sufficient"), Swedish langa ("to push, pass by hand"), Icelandic langa ("to want, desire"), Dutch and German verlangen ("to desire, want, long for").

    Verb

    1. (intransitive) To await, to aspire, to desire greatly (something to occur or to be true)She longed for him to come back.
      • 1922, Margery Williams, The Velveteen RabbitThe Rabbit sighed. He thought it would be a long time before this magic called Real happened to him. He longed to become Real, to know what it felt like; and yet the idea of growing shabby and losing his eyes and whiskers was rather sad.

    Usage notes

    This is a catenative verb that takes the to infinitive. See

    Synonyms

    Derived terms

    Origin 3

    Aphetic form of Old English gelang; the verb later reinterpreted as an aphetic form of belong.

    Adjective

    long

    1. (archaic) On account of, because of.
      • 1603, John Florio, translating Michel de Montaigne, Essays, II.8:I am of opinion that in regard of these debauches and lewd actions, fathers may, in some sort, be blamed, and that it is only long of them.

    Verb

    1. (archaic) To be appropriate to, to pertain or belong to.
      • 1590, Edmund Spenser, The Faerie Queene, III.3:A goodly Armour, and full rich aray,
        Which long'd to Angela, the Saxon Queene,
        All fretted round with gold, and goodly wel beseene.
      • about 1591, William Shakespeare, The Taming of the Shrew, IV, 4:Tis well, and hold your owne in any case
        With such austeritie as longeth to a father.
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