From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Last \Last\ (l[.a]st), a. [OE. last, latst, contr. of latest,
superl. of late; akin to OS. lezt, lazt, last, D. laatst, G.
letzt. See {Late}, and cf. {Latest}.]
1. Being after all the others, similarly classed or
considered, in time, place, or order of succession;
following all the rest; final; hindmost; farthest; as, the
last year of a century; the last man in a line of
soldiers; the last page in a book; his last chance.
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Also day by day, from the first day unto the last
day, he read in the book of the law of God. --Neh.
viii. 18.
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Fairest of stars, last in the train of night.
--Milton.
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2. Next before the present; as, I saw him last week.
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3. Supreme; highest in degree; utmost.
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Contending for principles of the last importance.
--R. Hall.
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4. Lowest in rank or degree; as, the a last place finish.
--Pope.
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5. Farthest of all from a given quality, character, or
condition; most unlikely; having least fitness; as, he is
the last person to be accused of theft.
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{At last}, at the end of a certain period; after delay. "The
duke of Savoy felt that the time had at last arrived."
--Motley.
{At the last}. [Prob. fr. AS. on l[=a]ste behind, following
behind, fr. l[=a]st race, track, footstep. See {Last} mold
of the foot.] At the end; in the conclusion. [Obs.] "Gad,
a troop shall overcome him; but he shall overcome at the
last." --Gen. xlix. 19.
{Last heir}, the person to whom lands escheat for lack of an
heir. [Eng.] --Abbott.
{On one's last legs}, at, or near, the end of one's
resources; hence, on the verge of failure or ruin,
especially in a financial sense. [Colloq.]
{To breathe one's last}, to die.
{To the last}, to the end; till the conclusion.
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And blunder on in business to the last. --Pope.
Syn: {At Last}, {At Length}.
Usage: These phrases both denote that some delayed end or
result has been reached. At length implies that a long
period was spent in so doing; as, after a voyage of
more than three months, we at Length arrived safe. At
last commonly implies that something has occurred (as
interruptions, disappointments, etc.) which leads us
to emphasize the idea of having reached the end; as,
in spite of every obstacle, we have at last arrived.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
At \At\, prep. [AS. [ae]t; akin to OHG. az, Goth., OS., & Icel.
at, Sw. [*a]t, Dan. & L. ad.]
Primarily, this word expresses the relations of presence,
nearness in place or time, or direction toward; as, at the
ninth hour; at the house; to aim at a mark. It is less
definite than in or on; at the house may be in or near the
house. From this original import are derived all the various
uses of at. It expresses:
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1. A relation of proximity to, or of presence in or on,
something; as, at the door; at your shop; at home; at
school; at hand; at sea and on land.
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2. The relation of some state or condition; as, at war; at
peace; at ease; at your service; at fault; at liberty; at
risk; at disadvantage.
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3. The relation of some employment or action; occupied with;
as, at engraving; at husbandry; at play; at work; at meat
(eating); except at puns.
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4. The relation of a point or position in a series, or of
degree, rate, or value; as, with the thermometer at
80[deg]; goods sold at a cheap price; a country estimated
at 10,000 square miles; life is short at the longest.
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5. The relations of time, age, or order; as, at ten o'clock;
at twenty-one; at once; at first.
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6. The relations of source, occasion, reason, consequence, or
effect; as, at the sight; at this news; merry at anything;
at this declaration; at his command; to demand, require,
receive, deserve, endure at your hands.
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7. Relation of direction toward an object or end; as, look at
it; to point at one; to aim at a mark; to throw, strike,
shoot, wink, mock, laugh at any one.
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{At all}, {At home}, {At large}, {At last}, {At length}, {At
once}, etc. See under {All}, {Home}, {Large}, {Last} (phrase
and syn.), {Length}, {Once}, etc.
{At it}, busily or actively engaged.
{At least}. See {Least} and {However}.
{At one}. See {At one}, in the Vocabulary.
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Syn: {In}, {At}.
Usage: When reference to the interior of any place is made
prominent in is used. It is used before the names of
countries and cities (esp. large cities); as, we live
in America, in New York, in the South. At is commonly
employed before names of houses, institutions,
villages, and small places; as, Milton was educated at
Christ's College; money taken in at the Customhouse; I
saw him at the jeweler's; we live at Beachville. At
may be used before the name of a city when it is
regarded as a mere point of locality. "An English king
was crowned at Paris." --Macaulay. "Jean Jacques
Rousseau was born at Geneva, June, 28, 1712." --J.
Morley. In regard to time, we say at the hour, on the
day, in the year; as, at 9 o'clock, on the morning of
July 5th, in the year 1775.
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