Adverb

(en adverb)

*~1600 , (William Shakespeare), (Hamlet) , Act 3,

*:Polonius : My lord, the queen would speak with you, and presently .

*(The Bible) : (w) xxi. 19:

*:And presently the fig tree withered away.

*, Folio Society, 2006, Vol.1, p.219:

*:the butler supposing the Wine had beene so carefully commended unto him for the goodnesse of it, imediately presented some unto the Pope, who whilest he was drinking, his sonne came in and never imagining his bottles had beene toucht, tooke the cup and pledged his father, so that the Pope died presently ; and the sonne, after he had long time beene tormented with sicknesse, recovered to another worse fortune.

Before long; soon.

*1646 , (Thomas Browne), (Pseudodoxia Epidemica) , I.3:

*:Itis the greatest example of lenity in our Saviour, when he desired of God forgiveness unto those, who having one day brought him into the City in triumph, did presently after, act all dishonour upon him, and nothing could be heard but, Crucifige , in their Courts.

*

*:But they had already discovered that he could be bullied, and they had it their own way; and presently Selwyn lay prone upon the nursery floor, impersonating a ladrone while pleasant shivers chased themselves over Drina, whom he was stalking.

*1940 , (Raymond Chandler), , Penguin 2010, p.55:

*:‘I shall presently be getting a call to tell me of that.’

At the present time; now; currently.

*Sir (Philip Sidney) (1554-1586)

*:The towns and forts you presently have.

*1891 , The Welsh Review, No.1 (November 1891). "A Word to the Welsh People." p.1:

*:To all of you, therefore, who call Wales your motherland, whether you presently inhabit some other portion of the globe or breathe the air of your cloud-kissed country.

*Bishop (Stephen Gardiner) (1483-1555)

*:His precious body and blood presently three.

Adverb

(-)

(archaic) Urgently; with insistence.

*, II.27:

Theoxena although she were instantly urged thereunto, could never be induced to marry againe.

At once; without delay.

*

, title=(The Celebrity), chapter=5 , passage=Then we relapsed into a discomfited silence, and wished we were anywhere else. But Miss Thorn relieved the situation by laughing aloud, and with such a hearty enjoyment that instead of getting angry and more mortified we began to laugh ourselves, and instantly felt better.}}

* {{quote-news, year=2011, date=November 10, author=Jeremy Wilson, work=Telegraph

, title= England Under 21 5 Iceland Under 21 0: match report , passage=The most persistent tormentor was Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, who scored a hat-trick in last month’s corresponding fixture in Iceland. His ability to run at defences is instantly striking, but it is his clever use of possession that has persuaded some shrewd judges that he is an even better prospect than Theo Walcott. }}