Entry printed from Oxford English Dictionary Online
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represent, v.1 SECOND EDITION 1989     

(r{ope}pr{shti}{sm}z{ope}nt)  Also 6-7 as pa. pple. [ad. OF. représenter (12th c.) or L. repræsent{amac}re, f. re- RE- + præsent{amac}re to PRESENT.] 

    {dag}1. trans.    a. To bring into presence; esp. to present (oneself or another) to or before a person.
 
  c1380 WYCLIF Wks. (1880) 47 So {th}at he may not be delyuerid of his hond til he represente hym in his owen persone in {th}e hondis of his mynystre, and be {th}e mynystre holden sadly..til {th}at he represente hym to {th}e cardynal hostiense. 1413 Pilgr. Sowle (Caxton) I. ii. (1859) 8 Representeth your self smartely to this jugement, by ordre, as ye shal be clepyd. c1450 LOVELICH Grail lii. 500 He is a manne that {ygh}ow Alle hath taken As presoneres, And to Me Represented now here. 1502 Ord. Crysten Men (W. de W. 1506) IV. xxix. 340 She [the soul] ..leueth her body and her representeth unto hym unto his blessyd pleasure. 1585 T. WASHINGTON tr. Nicholay's Voy. IV. i. 114 In the day time they did represent themselues before the Gouernours. 1649 JER. TAYLOR Gt. Exemp. Disc. xii. §7 We are taught to pray not that it be all at once represented or deposited, but that God would minister it as we need it.
 

    {dag}b. To bring (one) to some privilege or state.
 
  1435 MISYN Fire of Love 7 O lufly lufe euerlastynge, {th}at vs rayses fro {th}ies lawe {th}inges, &..to {th}e sight of godis maiestee vs representys. c1450 LOVELICH Grail lv. 28 Good Besynesse..schal kepen {ygh}oure body from Alle torment, and to Endeles blysse {ygh}ow Represent.
 

    {dag}c. To render (service); to present (a thing) to a person. Obs. rare.
 
  c1425 WYNTOUN Cron. v. Prol. 46 {Th}ir ar {th}e twa gret lichtis..{th}at oyssis for to represent And to mynystir {th}ar serwice Tyme be tyme. 1560 ROLLAND Crt. Venus IV. 129 Thisbe..kneilland vpon hir kne, To Rhamnusia the missiue represent Fra the Assise. 1601 HOLLAND Pliny II. 493 The Thurines honoured and said Ælius with a statue of brasse, and represented to him a coronet of gold.
 

    {dag}d. To produce, give forth. Obs. rare{em}1.
 
  1601 HOLLAND Pliny I. 2 That as the Heauen moueth, it doth represent indeed a pleasant and incredible sweet harmonie both day and night.
 

    2. a. To bring clearly and distinctly before the mind, esp. (to another) by description or (to oneself) by an act of imagination.
 
  1375 BARBOUR Bruce I. 18 Aulde storys that men redys, Representis to thaim the dedys Of stalwart folk that lywyt ar. c1392 CHAUCER Compl. Venus 58 Whanne I me weel avyse On any estate {th}at man may represent {Th}ane haue yee maked me..Cheese {th}e best. 1587 GOLDING De Mornay xxvii. (1592) 433 The Dreame representeth vs the stone hewen without hand. 1605 BACON Adv. Learn. I. To King §2 Wherefore, representing your Majesty many times unto my mind,..I have been..possessed with an extreme wonder at those your virtues. 1638 JUNIUS Paint. Ancients 18 The other..studieth also to expresse things prefigured only and represented by the phantasie. 1667 MILTON P.L. v. 104 Of all external things, Which the five watchful Senses represent, She forms Imaginations. a1708 BEVERIDGE Thes. Theol. (1710) I. 261 Why is God said to have a head and hands? To represent Him the better to our capacities. 1794 PALEY Evid. II. ii. (1817) 58 The happiness of the good and the misery of the bad..is represented by metaphors and comparisons. 1856 DOVE Logic Chr. Faith Introd. 4 Man may have knowledge which he cannot represent to his formal reason. 1879 Cassell's Techn. Educ. IV. 95/1 It remains, therefore, to complete the work by representing the character of the country.
 

 
  absol. 1692 NORRIS Curs. Refl. 27 Our Ideas..are immaterial as to their Representation, that is, they represent after an immaterial manner.
 

    b. To place (a fact) clearly before another; to state or point out explicitly or seriously to one, with a view to influencing action or conduct, freq. by way of expostulation or remonstrance.
 
  1582 N. LICHEFIELD tr. Castanheda's Conq. E. Ind. I. lxvi. 135 There was represent unto him the great danger which he feared might happen unto him. 1647 CLARENDON Hist. Reb. I. §112 The condition of his Son..was argument of great compassion, and was lively and successfully represented to the King himself. 1687 A. LOVELL tr. Thevenot's Trav. I. 78 They went..to the Kiaya Bey, and having represented to him how long they had served [etc.]. 1740 LD. CARTERET in Johnson's Debates (1787) I. 119 To obviate those dangers from the army which have been so strongly and justly represented. 1794 C. SMITH Wand. Warwick 148 He represented to me, that..it would be unworthy of me to assail him with words of reproach. 1829 LYTTON Devereux I. ii, I have just represented to my good brother the necessity of sending my sons to school. 1849 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. vi. II. 63 It would have been useless to represent these things to James. 1864 D. G. MITCHELL Sev. Stor. 79, I represented my official character to the doorkeeper.
 

    c. absol. To make representations or objections against something; to protest. Now rare.
 
  1717 BOLINGBROKE Let. to Windham (1889) 23 When the Queen seemed to intend a change in her ministry, they had deputed some of their members to represent against it. 1782 R. CUMBERLAND Anecd. Painters II. 81 The Chapter objected to his nomination, and deputed two of their body to represent to Philip against the person of Cano. 1861 LD. BROUGHAM Brit. Const. xvi. 248 He..prosecuted seven Prelates for representing against his Declaration appointed to be read in all Churches.
 

    3. a. To describe as having a specified character or quality; to give out, assert, or declare to be of a certain kind. Const. as, ({dag}for,) to be, and with simple complement.
 
  1513 DOUGLAS Æneis VII. ii. 53 Picus the king, quhilk dois the represent, Saturnus, for his fader and parent. 1612 E. GRIMSTONE Heroyk Life I. 68 Hee did represent it easie, safe, and commodious. 1663 J. SPENCER Prodigies Pref. Aivb, Gregory the Great (represented to Posterity as one most studious of the propagation of the Christian Religion). 1685 WOOD Life 2 May (O.H.S.) III. 142 Radcliff represented him to be a turbulent man. 1714 POPE Lett. (1735) I. 210 May they represent me what they will, as long as you think me what I am. 1764 HARMER Observ. I. xviii. 43 The trees are represented..as but just grown green at Jerusalem in March. 1855 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. ix. II. 444 Sunderland they represented as the chief conspirator. 1874 L. STEPHEN Hours in Library (1892) I. vi. 229 Society is not what Balzac represents it to be.
 

 
  refl. 1817 JAS. MILL Brit. India I. II. ii. 107 The first legislator of the Hindus..appears to have represented himself as the republisher of the will of God.
 

    b. To give out, allege that, etc.
 
  1883 [cf. represented ppl. adj. below]. 1891 BARBER in Law Times XC. 395/1 The defendant did represent that the cow was..sound, when he knew it was not so.
 

    4. a. To show, exhibit, or display to the eye; to make visible or manifest; {dag}to display in one's bearing or air. Now rare.
 
  c1400 Rom. Rose 7402 Of her estat she her repented, As her visage represented. 1514 BARCLAY Cyt. & Uplondyshm. (Percy Soc.) 32 It is in power of God omnypotent, His very presence to us to represent. 1567 J. MAPLET Gr. Forest 11 Iris..being..stricken of the Sunne his beames, doth represent and shewe both the figure and colours of the Rainebow vpon the wall next to it. a1578 LINDESAY (Pitscottie) Chron. Scot. (S.T.S.) I. 25 He thocht him selff..frie fra the iniuries of all enemyis gif he representit the samyn arrogance that his father did wsse of befoir. 1660 R. COKE Justice Vind., Arts & Sc. 2 Neither a right line nor a point can be truly represented to the sense according to the truth of them. 1707 Curios. Husb. & Gard. 38 The Root of Fern cut obliquely, represents an Eagle. 1781 COWPER Hope 74 But still the imputed tints are those alone The medium represents, and not their own.
 

    b. spec. To exhibit by means of painting, sculpture, etc.; to portray, depict, delineate.
 
  c1400 MANDEVILLE (Roxb.) x. 38 {Ygh}it es {th}are paynting, whare in {th}e grete dole {th}at {th}ai made es representid and purtraid. a1586 SIDNEY Arcadia I. (1605) 9 The Painter meaning to represent the present condition of the young ladie. 1661 FELTHAM Lusoria in Resolves, etc. (1696) 73 They forbad the Holy Ghosts being represented in the form of a Dove. 1663 GERBIER Counsel 14 Pilasters, through whose bodies Lions are represented to creep. Ibid. 16 To direct the Sculptors how to Represent those Images. 1766 GOLDSM. Vic. W. xvi, My wife desired to be represented as Venus. 1821 CRAIG Lect. Drawing viii. 422 The subjects for these purposes should always be represented as if placed at a considerable degree of elevation. 1843 RUSKIN Mod. Paint. I. I. I. ii. §2 What is commonly considered the whole art of painting, that is, the art of representing any natural object faithfully.
 

    c. Of pictures, images, etc.: To exhibit by artificial resemblance or delineation.
 
  c1420 LYDG. Assembly of Gods 1913 The thyrd wall..the Tyme representeth of Reuocacion. 1590 SPENSER F.Q. III. iii. 29 With thee yet shall he leave..his ymage dead, That living him in all activity To thee shall represent. 1687 A. LOVELL tr. Thevenot's Trav. 94 There is one over the Gate, representing in bas relief our Saviour's riding into Jerusalem upon the Ass. 1711 ADDISON Spect. No. 26 {page}5 The Monuments of their Admirals..represent them like themselves. 1861 M. PATTISON Ess. (1889) I. 45 Two allegorical pieces by..Holbein, representing the Triumph of Riches and the Triumph of Poverty respectively. 1873 BLACK Pr. Thule iii, The four walls were..covered by a paper of foreign manufacture, representing spacious Tyrolese landscapes, and incidents of the chase.
 

    5. a. To exhibit or reproduce in action or show; to perform or produce (a play, etc.) upon the stage.
 
  c1460 Play Sacram. 10 And yt lyke yow to here ye purpoos of yis play that [ys] representyd now in yower syght. 1589 PUTTENHAM Eng. Poesie I. xv. (Arb.) 49 These matters were also..represented by action as that of the Comedies. 1615 R. BRATHWAIT Strappado (1878) 161 Saint Bartlemews, where all the Pagents showne, And all those acts from Adam vnto Noe Vs'd to be represent. 1656 EARL OF MONMOUTH tr. Boccalini's Advts. fr. Parnass. II. xcvii. (1674) 250 Such like Spectacles..did but little honour to those that caused them to be represented. 1745 P. THOMAS Jrnl. Anson's Voy. 203 In China we may..represent Comedies, and dance Balls in a Lanthorn. 1774 WARTON Hist. Eng. Poetry (1775) I. 233 In what manner, if ever, this piece was represented theatrically, cannot easily be discovered. a1822 SHELLEY Faust II. 408 Quite a new piece, the last of seven, for 'tis The custom now to represent that number. 1891 Law Times Rep. LXIII. 763/1 Any person had a right to dramatise the novel and to represent the drama.
 

    b. To exhibit or personate (a character) on the stage; to act the part or character of (some one).
 
  1662 J. DAVIES tr. Olearius' Voy. Ambass. 213 The Physician, a person the fittest in the World to represent a Fool in a play. 1711 STEELE Spect. No. 48 {page}5 Persons who represent Heroes in a Tragedy. 1752 BATHURST Adventurer No. 3 {page}8 Amazons, to represent whom I have hired all the wonderful tall men and women..in this town. 1824 SCOTT St. Ronan's xx, Oberon, the King of Shadows, whose sovereign gravity..was somewhat indifferently represented by the silly gaiety of Miss in her Teens. 1888 SHORTHOUSE Countess Eve i, He so entirely associated himself with the characters he represented on the stage, that he lost himself in them.
 

    c. intr. To appear on the stage; to act, perform.
 
  a1547 SURREY Æneid IV. 622 Like Orestes Agamemnons son In tragedies who represented [v.r. -eth] aye Driuen about. 1766 Char. in Ann. Reg. 7/1, I gave him a taste for..the ‘petits operas’ in which I sung and represented myself.
 

    6. a. To symbolize, to serve as a visible or concrete embodiment of (some quality, fact, or other abstract concept). {dag}Also intr., const. unto.
 
  c1380 WYCLIF Sel. Wks. III. 462 Ymagis {th}at representen pompe and glorie of {th}o worlde. a1483 Liber Niger in Househ. Ord. (1790) 56 The Steward and Thesaurer in hys absence, within this Courte, represents unto the estate of an Erle. 1508 DUNBAR Poems vii. 71 The sueird of conquis..Be borne suld highe before the in presence, To represent sic man as thou has beyn. 1560 J. DAUS tr. Sleidane's Comm. 25 An Appell of Golde, representynge the shape of the rounde worlde. 1600 E. BLOUNT tr. Conestaggio 89 Although the Dutchesse may represent the degree of her Father,..it were impossible she shoulde represent the qualitie of a male. 1663 BUTLER Hud. I. i. 249 This hairy meteor..With grisly type did represent Declining age of government. 1788 GIBBON Decl. & F. xlix. V. 121 The patriciate represented only the title, the service, the alliance, of these distant protectors. 1849 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. ii. I. 199 No sovereign has ever represented the majesty of a great state with more dignity and grace. 1866 KINGSLEY Lett. (1878) II. 243 The House of Lords seems to me to represent all heritable property, real or personal. 1894 J. T. FOWLER Adamnan Introd. 53 Thus the two Finnians represented Welsh and North British traditions respectively.
 

    b. Of quantities: To indicate or imply (another quantity).
 
  1860 TYNDALL Glac. I. xxii. 151, I knew the immense amount of mechanical force represented by four ounces of bread and ham. 1878 HUXLEY Physiogr. 45 An inch of rain represents about 100 tons of water to the acre.
 

    7. a. Of things: To stand for or in place of (a person or thing); to be the figure or image of (something). Also, with personal subj., to denote by a substitute.
 
  c1430 Art Nombryng 5 That vnyte by respect of the figure that he came fro representith an .C. 1432-50 tr. Higden (Rolls) VI. 211 Peple honoure noo thynge in theyme [images] but God, or for God and for seyntes, whiche they represente to us. 1513 DOUGLAS Æneis VI. Prol. 91 Ane vthir place quhilk purgatory representis. 1560 J. DAUS tr. Sleidane's Comm. 47 The sacred and holy host that representeth Christes body. 1667 MILTON P.L. XII. 255 Before him burn Seaven Lamps as in a Zodiac representing The Heav'nly fires. 1687 A. LOVELL tr. Thevenot's Trav. I. 116 This Colossus which represented the Sun, was cast by Chares the Lyndian. 1718 LADY M. W. MONTAGU Let. to Lady Rich 16 Mar., I live in a place that very well represents the tower of Babel. 1788 GIBBON Decl. & F. xlix. V. 136 His coronation oath represents a promise to maintain the faith. 1830 EIDRAH TREBOR Hoyle Made Familiar 2 The inventor [of cards] proposed, by the figures of the four suits,..to represent the four classes of men in the kingdom. 1856 STANLEY Sinai & Pal. xii. (1858) 406 Cyprus thus visible from the mainland, represented to the Hebrew people the whole western world. 1868 LOCKYER Elem. Astron. ii. §7 (1879) 39 If we represent the Sun by a globe about two feet in diameter [etc.].
 

    {dag}b. To present the figure or appearance of, to resemble. Obs.
 
  1551 TURNER Herbal I. Cvj, Dyll groweth..wyth a spokye top as fenell hath, whome he doth represent wonders nere. 1615 CROOKE Body of Man 855 On their outside they [the valves of the veins] represent the knottes that are in the branches of plants.
 

    c. To be the equivalent of, to correspond to, to replace (esp. another animal or plant in a given region).
 
  1855 SMITH & DALLAS Syst. Nat. Hist. II. 432 The Llamas, which represent the Camels in the New World. 1879 G. C. HARLAN Eyesight iii. 34 In the eye, the sides of the box are represented by the sclerotic. 1882 FLOWER in Encycl. Brit. XIV. 738/2 The old idea that they in some way ‘represented’ each other in the two hemispheres of the world was a mere fancy.
 

    8. a. To take or fill the place of (another) in some respect or for some purpose; to be a substitute in some capacity for (a person or body); to act for (another) by a deputed right.
 
  1509 FISHER Fun. Serm. C'tess Richmond Wks. (1876) 297 Albeit she dyd not receyue in to her house our sauyour in his owne persone..she neuertheles receyued theim that dothe represent his persone. c1595 CAPT. WYATT R. Dudley's Voy. W. Ind. (Hakl. Soc.) 23 Our Generall sent Cap. Jobson, repræsentinge his person with his authorite, as his Leiftenante Generall. 1651 HOBBES Leviath. II. xix. 95 It is manifest, that men who are in absolute liberty may..give Authority to One man, to represent them every one. 1766 BLACKSTONE Comm. II. xiv. 217 All the branches inherit the same share that their root, whom they represent, would have done. 1838 W. BELL Dict. Law Scot. 713 When an heir is cited as representing his ancestor, he incurs a passive title if he states a peremptory defence. 1849 MACAULAY Hist. Eng. vi. II. 139 During that interval the king was represented by a board of lords justices. 1853 MAURICE Proph. & Kings xxvi. 449 There sat upon his soul a weight of sorrow and evil, as if he were representing his whole people.
 

    b. spec. To be accredited deputy or substitute for (a number of persons) in a legislative or deliberative assembly; to be member of Parliament for (a certain constituency); hence in pass., to be acted for in this respect by some one; to have a representative or representatives.
 
  1655 CROMWELL Sp. to Parlt. 22 Jan., I have been careful of your safety, and the safety of those that you represented. a1687 PETTY Pol. Arith. (1690) 95 May not the three Kingdoms be United into one, and equally represented in Parliament? 1778 BURKE Corr. (1844) II. 216, I do not wish to represent Bristol, or to represent any place, but upon terms that shall be honourable. 1780 JOHNSON Let. to Mrs. Thrale 9 May, Did I tell you that Scot and Jones both offer themselves to represent the University in the place of Sir Roger Newdigate. 1861 M. PATTISON Ess. (1889) I. 47 A committee of nine members, in which every Hanse town was in its turn represented. 1875 JOWETT Plato (ed. 2) V. 126 The people and the aristocracy alike are to be represented..by officers elected for one or two years.
 

    9. a. To serve as a specimen or example of (a class or kind of things); hence, in pass., to be exemplified (by something).
 
  1858 HAWTHORNE Fr. & It. Note-Bks. (1872) I. 25 A soup in which twenty kinds of vegetables were represented. 1868 FREEMAN Norm. Conq. (1877) II. x. 489 Both English and Danish blood was represented in the Assembly. 1868 LOCKYER Elem. Astron. i. §5 (1879) 34 The spiral or whirlpool nebulæ are represented by that in the constellation of Canes Venatici.
 

    b. In pass. with personal subject.
 
  1882 Daily Tel. 30 Jan., Mr. D. will be represented in the Waterloo Cup by Witchery.
 

    c. Math. To act as a representation of (a group).
 
  1897 [see PRIMITIVE a. 5d]. 1971 D. GORENSTEIN in Powell & Higman Finite Simple Groups ii. 77 We conclude that H/Op(H) is faithfully represented as a linear group on the Frattini factor group of Op(H).
 

    Hence repre{sm}sented ppl. a.
 
  a1569 A. KINGSMILL Man's Est. xi. (1580) 75 This is the true represented Isaac, that humbleth himself to the Aultar. 1822 J. FLINT Lett. Amer. 147 His protection is the affection of a free and a represented people. 1836-7 SIR W. HAMILTON Metaph. xxiii. (1860) 70 In a representative act..the represented object is unknown as actually existing. 1883 Daily News 11 Oct. 2/2 The auditors were afforded no facilities..for ascertaining whether the represented securities really existed.