surprize

English

Noun

surprize (countable and uncountable, plural surprizes)

1. Archaic spelling of surprise.
   • 1792, Ann Ward Radcliffe, A Sicilian Romance‎, HTML edition, The Gutenberg Project, published 2005:

     Ferdinand not yet recovered from the painful surprize

   • 1811, [Jane Austen], chapter III, in Sense and Sensibility […], volume II, London: […] C[harles] Roworth, […], and published by T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 36:

     Mrs. Jennings received the refusal with some surprize, and repeated her invitation immediately.

   • 1813, William Francis Patrick Napier, quoting Charle Napier, The Life and Opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B.‎, Cambridge Univ. Press, published 2011, →ISBN, page 431:

     Yet this man calls upon the Cephalonians to complain of my rule; and he expresses his surprize that they have not done so before.

Verb

surprize (third-person singular simple present surprizes, present participle surprizing, simple past and past participle surprized)

1. Archaic spelling of surprise.
   • 1749, Henry Fielding, “Jones arrives at Gloucester, and goes to the Bell; […]”, in The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, volume III, London: A[ndrew] Millar, […], →OCLC, book VII, page 206:

     The Pettyfogger now likewiſe departed, and then Jones deſired the Favour of Mrs. Whitefield’s Company to drink Tea with him; but ſhe refuſed, and with a Manner ſo different from that with which ſhe had received him at Dinner, that it a little ſurprized him.

   • 1789, Ann Ward Radcliffe, The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne‎, HTML edition:

     Surprized at the bold independence of these words, delivered with uncommon energy, the heart of Osbert beat quick

   • 1813, John Elihu Hall, The American Law Journal, Volume 4‎, Digitized edition (Law), WP Farrand and Co., published 2010, page 326:

     Will he be surprized that such a diversity of sentiment rendered … And will he be surprized, that mutual concessions … need we be surprized tat the stream …

   • 1813, William Francis Patrick Napier, quoting Charles Napier, The Life and Opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B.‎, Cambridge Univ. Press, published 2011, →ISBN, page 236:

     Guard well against surprize; to be surprized is inexcusable in a general, if it happens from his neglect of proper posts: if his troops are surprized in good posts they must be in a dreadful state, which can hardly be the fault of any one but the general.

   • 1803 (date written), [Jane Austen], chapter X, in Northanger Abbey; published in Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. […], volume I, London: John Murray, […], 20 December 1817 (indicated as 1818), →OCLC, page 159:

     “How well your brother dances!” was an artless exclamation of Catherine’s towards the close of their conversation, which at once surprized and amused her companion.

Usage notes

The z spelling was as common as the s spelling into the early 1700s, but has been rare ever since, and is now nonstandard.

References

• “surprise, noun and verb”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• John A. Simpson and Edmund S. C. Weiner, editors (1989), “surprise, v.”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, →ISBN: “Also 5–6 [centuries] surpryse, 6–9 surprize, (7 -pryze, -price).”