Dis*patch" (?; 224), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Dispatched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Dispatching.] [OF. despeechier, F. d'epecher; 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.
© Webster 1913.
Dis*patch", v. i.
To make haste; to conclude an affair; to finish a matter of business.
They have dispatched with Pompey.
Shak.
© Webster 1913.
Dis*patch", n. [Cf. OF. despeche, F. d'epeche. 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.
© Webster 1913.