To take the field

Field Field (f[=e]ld), n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G. feld, Sw. f["a]lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.] 1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture; cultivated ground; the open country. [1913 Webster]

2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece inclosed for tillage or pasture. [1913 Webster]

Fields which promise corn and wine. --Byron. [1913 Webster]

3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself. [1913 Webster]

In this glorious and well-foughten field. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

What though the field be lost? --Milton. [1913 Webster]

4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.: (a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn or projected. (b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one view. [1913 Webster]

Without covering, save yon field of stars. --Shak. [1913 Webster]

Ask of yonder argent fields above. --Pope. [1913 Webster]

5. (Her.) The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon it. See Illust. of {Fess}, where the field is represented as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver). [1913 Webster]

6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action, operation, or achievement; province; room. [1913 Webster]

Afforded a clear field for moral experiments. --Macaulay. [1913 Webster]

7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the betting. [1913 Webster]

8. (Baseball) That part of the grounds reserved for the players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also {outfield}. [1913 Webster]

Note: Field is often used adjectively in the sense of belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with reference to the operations and equipments of an army during a campaign away from permanent camps and fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes investigations or collections out of doors. A survey uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e., measurment, observations, etc., made in field work (outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick. Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc. [1913 Webster]

{Coal field} (Geol.) See under {Coal}.

{Field artillery}, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the use of a marching army.

{Field basil} (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family ({Calamintha Acinos}); -- called also {basil thyme}.

{Field colors} (Mil.), small flags for marking out the positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors.

{Field cricket} (Zo["o]l.), a large European cricket ({Gryllus campestric}), remarkable for its loud notes.

{Field day}. (a) A day in the fields. (b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for instruction in evolutions. --Farrow. (c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day.

{Field driver}, in New England, an officer charged with the driving of stray cattle to the pound.

{Field duck} (Zo["o]l.), the little bustard ({Otis tetrax}), found in Southern Europe.

{Field glass}. (Optics) (a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a race glass. (b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches long, and having 3 to 6 draws. (c) See {Field lens}.

{Field lark}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) The skylark. (b) The tree pipit.

{Field lens} (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called also {field glass}.

{Field madder} (Bot.), a plant ({Sherardia arvensis}) used in dyeing.

{Field marshal} (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred in the British and other European armies.

{Field officer} (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain and below that of general.

{Field officer's court} (U.S.Army), a court-martial consisting of one field officer empowered to try all cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison and regimental courts. --Farrow.

{Field plover} (Zo["o]l.), the black-bellied plover ({Charadrius squatarola}); also sometimes applied to the Bartramian sandpiper ({Bartramia longicauda}).

{Field spaniel} (Zo["o]l.), a small spaniel used in hunting small game.

{Field sparrow}. (Zo["o]l.) (a) A small American sparrow ({Spizella pusilla}). (b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.]

{Field staff} (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to hold a lighted match for discharging a gun.

{Field vole} (Zo["o]l.), the European meadow mouse.

{Field of ice}, a large body of floating ice; a pack.

{Field}, or {Field of view}, in a telescope or microscope, the entire space within which objects are seen.

{Field magnet}. see under {Magnet}.

{Magnetic field}. See {Magnetic}.

{To back the field}, or {To bet on the field}. See under {Back}, v. t. -- {To keep the field}. (a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign. (b) To maintain one's ground against all comers.

{To lay against the field} or {To back against the field}, to bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers.

{To take the field} (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign. [1913 Webster]