Chapter 86

Hal*loo", interj. [OE. halow. See Halloo, n.] An exclamation to call attention or to encourage one.

Hal"low (hl"l), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hallowed(-ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Hallowing.] [OE. halowen, halwien, halgien, AS. hlgian, fr. hlig holy. See Holy.] To make holy; to set apart for holy or religious use; to consecrate; to treat or keep as sacred; to reverence. "Hallowed be thy name." Matt. vi. 9.

Hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein.

Jer. xvii. 24.

His secret altar touched with hallowed fire.

Milton.

In a larger sense . . . we can not hallow this ground [Gettysburg].

A. Lincoln.

Hal`low*een" (hl`l*n"), n. The evening preceding Allhallows or All Saints' Day. [Scot.] Burns.

Hal"low*mas (hl"l*ms), n. [See Mass the eucharist.] The feast of All Saints, or Allhallows.

To speak puling, like a beggar at Hallowmas.

Shak.

Hal*loy"site (hl*loi"st), n. [Named after Omalius d'Halloy.] (Min.) A claylike mineral, occurring in soft, smooth, amorphous masses, of a whitish color.

Hal"lu*cal (hl"l*kal), a. (Anat.) Of or pertaining to the hallux.

Hal*lu"ci*nate (hl*l"s*nt), v. i. [L. hallucinatus, alucinatus, p. p. of hallucinari, alucinari, to wander in mind, talk idly, dream.] To wander; to go astray; to err; to blunder; -- used of mental processes. [R.] Byron.

Hal*lu`ci*na"tion (-n"shn), n. [L. hallucinatio: cf. F. hallucination.] 1. The act of hallucinating; a wandering of the mind; error; mistake; a blunder.

This must have been the hallucination of the transcriber.

Addison.

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2. (Med.) The perception of objects which have no reality, or of sensations which have no corresponding external cause, arising from disorder of the nervous system, as in delirium tremens; delusion.

Hallucinations are always evidence of cerebral derangement and are common phenomena of insanity.

W. A. Hammond.

Hal*lu"ci*na`tor (hl*l"s*n`tr), n. [L.] One whose judgment and acts are affected by hallucinations; one who errs on account of his hallucinations. N. Brit. Rev.

Hal*lu"ci*na*to*ry (-n*t*r), a. Partaking of, or tending to produce, hallucination.

||Hal"lux (hl"lks), n. [NL., fr. L. hallex, allex.] (Anat.) The first, ||or preaxial, digit of the hind limb, corresponding to the pollux in ||the fore limb; the great toe; the hind toe of birds.

Halm (hm), n. (Bot.) Same as Haulm.

||Hal"ma (hl"m), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "a`lma, fr. "a`llesqai to leap.] ||(Greek Antiq.) The long jump, with weights in the hands, -- the most ||important of the exercises of the Pentathlon.

Ha"lo (h"l), n.; pl. Halos (-lz). [L. halos, acc. halo, Gr. "a`lws a thrashing floor, also (from its round shape) the disk of the sun or moon, and later a halo round it; cf. Gr. e'ily`ein to enfold, 'ely`ein to roll round, L. volvere, and E. voluble.] 1. A luminous circle, usually prismatically colored, round the sun or moon, and supposed to be caused by the refraction of light through crystals of ice in the atmosphere. Connected with halos there are often white bands, crosses, or arches, resulting from the same atmospheric conditions.

2. A circle of light; especially, the bright ring represented in painting as surrounding the heads of saints and other holy persons; a glory; a nimbus.

3. An ideal glory investing, or affecting one's perception of, an object.

4. A colored circle around a nipple; an areola.

Ha"lo, v. t. & i. [imp. & p. p. Haloed (-ld); p. pr. & vb. n. Haloing.] To form, or surround with, a halo; to encircle with, or as with, a halo.

The fire That haloed round his saintly brow.

Southey.

Ha"loed (h"ld), a. Surrounded with a halo; invested with an ideal glory; glorified.

Some haloed face bending over me.

C. BrontÈ.

Hal"o*gen (hl"*jn), n. [Gr. "a`ls, "alo`s, salt + -gen: cf. F. halogËne.] (Chem.) An electro-negative element or radical, which, by combination with a metal, forms a haloid salt; especially, chlorine, bromine, and iodine; sometimes, also, fluorine and cyanogen. See Chlorine family, under Chlorine.

Ha*log"e*nous (h*lj"*ns), a. Of the nature of a halogen.

Ha"loid (h"loid or hl"oid), a. [Gr. "a`ls, "alo`s salt + -oid: cf. F. haloÔde.] (Chem.) Resembling salt; -- said of certain binary compounds consisting of a metal united to a negative element or radical, and now chiefly applied to the chlorides, bromides, iodides, and sometimes also to the fluorides and cyanides. -- n. A haloid substance.

Hal"o*man`cy (hl"*mn`s), n. See Alomancy.

Ha*lom"e*ter (h*lm"*tr), n. [Gr. "a`ls, "alo`s, salt + -meter.] An instrument for measuring the forms and angles of salts and crystals; a goniometer.

||Ha*lo"nes (h*l"nz), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. "a`lwn, "a`lwnos, a halo.] ||(Biol.) Alternating transparent and opaque white rings which are seen ||outside the blastoderm, on the surface of the developing egg of the ||hen and other birds.

Hal"o*phyte (hl"*ft), n. [Gr. "a`ls, "alo`s, salt + fyto`n a plant.] (Bot.) A plant found growing in salt marshes, or in the sea.

Ha"lo*scope (h"l*skp), n. [Halo + -scope.] An instrument for exhibition or illustration of the phenomena of halos, parhelia, and the like.

Hal*o*tri"chite (hl**tr"kt), n. [Gr. "a`ls sea + qri`x, tricho`s, hair.] (Min.) An iron alum occurring in silky fibrous aggregates of a yellowish white color.

Ha*lox"y*line, n. [Gr. "a`ls, "alo`s, salt + xy`lon wood.] An explosive mixture, consisting of sawdust, charcoal, niter, and ferrocyanide of potassium, used as a substitute for gunpowder.

Halp (h‰lp), imp. of Help. Helped. [Obs.]

Hal"pace (hl"ps), n. (Arch.) See Haut pas.

Hals (hls), n. [AS. heals; akin to D., G., & Goth. hals. See Collar.] The neck or throat. [Obs.]

Do me hangen by the hals.

Chaucer.

Halse (hls), v. t. [AS. healsian.] 1. To embrace about the neck; to salute; to greet. [Obs.]

Each other kissed glad And lovely halst.

Spenser.

2. To adjure; to beseech; to entreat. [Obs.]

O dere child, I halse thee, In virtue of the Holy Trinity.

Chaucer.

Halse, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Halsed (hlst); p. pr. & vb. n. Halsing.] [Cf. Hawser.] To haul; to hoist. [Obs.] Grafton

Hal"sen*ing (hl"sn*ng), a. Sounding harshly in the throat; inharmonious; rough. [Obs.] Carew.

Hals"er (hs"r), n. See Hawser. Pope.

Halt (hlt), 3d pers. sing. pres. of Hold, contraction for holdeth. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Halt (hlt), n. [Formerly alt, It. alto, G. halt, fr. halten to hold. See Hold.] A stop in marching or walking, or in any action; arrest of progress.

Without any halt they marched.

Clarendon.

[Lovers] soon in passion's war contest, Yet in their march soon make a halt.

Davenant.

Halt, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Halted; p. pr. & vb. n. Halting.] 1. To hold one's self from proceeding; to hold up; to cease progress; to stop for a longer or shorter period; to come to a stop; to stand still.

2. To stand in doubt whether to proceed, or what to do; to hesitate; to be uncertain.

How long halt ye between two opinions?

1 Kings xviii. 21.

Halt (hlt), v. t. (Mil.) To cause to cease marching; to stop; as, the general halted his troops for refreshment.

Halt, a. [AS. healt; akin to OS., Dan., & Sw. halt, Icel. haltr, halltr, Goth. halts, OHG. halz.] Halting or stopping in walking; lame.

Bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind.

Luke xiv. 21.

Halt, n. The act of limping; lameness.

Halt, v. i. [OE. halten, AS. healtian. See Halt, a.]

1. To walk lamely; to limp.

2. To have an irregular rhythm; to be defective.

The blank verse shall halt for it.

Shak.

Halt"er (-r), n. One who halts or limps; a cripple.

Hal"ter (hl"tr), n. [OE. halter, helter, helfter, AS. hÊlftre; akin to G. halfter, D. halfter, halster, and also to E. helve. See Helve.] A strong strap or cord. Especially: (a) A rope or strap, with or without a headstall, for leading or tying a horse. (b) A rope for hanging malefactors; a noose. Shak.

No man e'er felt the halter draw With good opinion of the law.

Trumbull.

Hal"ter, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Haltered (-trd); p. pr. & vb. n. Haltering.] To tie by the neck with a rope, strap, or halter; to put a halter on; to subject to a hangman's halter. "A haltered neck." Shak.

||Hal*te"res (hl*t"rz), n. pl. [NL., fr. Gr. "alth^res weights used in ||jumping, fr. "a`llesqai to leap.] (Zoˆl.) Balancers; the rudimentary ||hind wings of Diptera.

Hal"ter-sack` (hl"tr*sk`), n. A term of reproach, implying that one is fit to be hanged. [Obs.] Beau. & Fl.

Halt"ing*ly (hlt"ng*l), adv. In a halting or limping manner.

Hal"vans (hl"vanz), n. pl. (Mining) Impure ore; dirty ore. Raymond.

Hal"ve (h‰l"ve), n. A half. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Halve (h‰v), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Halved (h‰vd); p. pr. & vb. n. Halving.] [From Half.] 1. To divide into two equal parts; as, to halve an apple; to be or form half of.

So far apart their lives are thrown From the twin soul that halves their own.

M. Arnold.

2. (Arch.) To join, as two pieces of timber, by cutting away each for half its thickness at the joining place, and fitting together.

Halved (h‰vd), a. Appearing as if one side, or one half, were cut away; dimidiate.

Halves (h‰vz), n., pl. of Half.

By halves, by one half at once; halfway; fragmentarily; partially; incompletely.

I can not believe by halves; either I have faith, or I have it not.

J. H. Newman.

To go halves. See under Go.

Hal"we (h‰l"we), n. [OE., fr. AS. hlga. See Holy.] A saint. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Hal"yard (hl"yrd), n. [Hale, v. t. + yard.] (Naut.) A rope or tackle for hoisting or lowering yards, sails, flags, etc. [Written also halliard, haulyard.]

||Hal`y*si"tes (hl`*s"tz), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "a`lysis a chain.] ||(Paleon.) A genus of Silurian fossil corals; the chain corals. See ||Chain coral, under Chain.

Ham (h‰m), n. Home. [North of Eng.] Chaucer.

Ham (hm), n. [AS. ham; akin to D. ham, dial. G. hamme, OHG. hamma. Perh. named from the bend at the ham, and akin to E. chamber. Cf. Gammon ham.]

1. (Anat.) The region back of the knee joint; the popliteal space; the hock.

2. The thigh of any animal; especially, the thigh of a hog cured by salting and smoking.

A plentiful lack of wit, together with most weak hams.

Shak.

Ham"a*dry`ad (hm"*dr`d), n.; pl. E. Hamadryads (- dz), L. Hamadryades (- dr"*dz). [L. Hamadryas, -adis, Gr. "Amadrya`s; "a`ma together + dry^s oak, tree: cf. F. hamadryade. See Same, and Tree.]

1. (Class. Myth.) A tree nymph whose life ended with that of the particular tree, usually an oak, which had been her abode.

2. (Zoˆl.) A large venomous East Indian snake (Ophiophagus bungarus), allied to the cobras.

||Ha*ma"dry*as (h*m"dr*s), n. [L., a hamadryad. See Hamadryad.] (Zoˆl.) ||The sacred baboon of Egypt (Cynocephalus Hamadryas).

Ham`a*me"lis (hm`*m"ls), n. [NL., fr. Gr. "amamhli`s a kind of medlar or service tree; "a`ma at the same time + mh^lon an apple, any tree fruit.] (Bot.) A genus of plants which includes the witch-hazel (Hamamelis Virginica), a preparation of which is used medicinally.

Ha"mate (h"mt), a. [L. hamatus, fr. hamus hook.] Hooked; bent at the end into a hook; hamous.

Ha"ma*ted (h"m*td), a. Hooked, or set with hooks; hamate. Swift.

||Ha*ma"tum (h*m"tm), n. [NL., fr. L. hamatus hooked.] (Anat.) See ||Unciform.

Ham"ble (hm"b'l), v. t. [OE. hamelen to mutilate, AS. hamelian; akin to OHG. hamaln to mutilate, hamal mutilated, ham mutilated, Icel. hamla to mutilate. Cf.Hamper to fetter.] To hamstring. [Obs.]

Ham"burg (-b˚rg), n. A commercial city of Germany, near the mouth of the Elbe.

Black Hamburg grape. See under Black. -- Hamburg edging, a kind of embroidered work done by machinery on cambric or muslin; -- used for trimming. -- Hamburg lake, a purplish crimson pigment resembling cochineal.

Hame (hm), n. Home. [Scot. & O. Eng.]

Hame, n. [Scot. haims, hammys, hems, OE. ham; cf. D. haam.] One of the two curved pieces of wood or metal, in the harness of a draught horse, to which the traces are fastened. They are fitted upon the collar, or have pads fitting the horse's neck attached to them.

Ham"el (hm"l), v. t. [Obs.] Same as Hamble.

{ Hame"seck`en (hm"sk`'n), Hame"suck`en (-sk`'n), } n. [AS. hmscn. See Home, and Seek.] (Scots Law) The felonious seeking and invasion of a person in his dwelling house. Bouvier.

Ha"mi*form (h"m*fÙrm), a. [L. hamus hook + -form.] Hook-shaped.

Ham"il*ton pe"ri*od (hm"l*tn p"r*d). (Geol.) A subdivision of the Devonian system of America; -- so named from Hamilton, Madison Co., New York. It includes the Marcellus, Hamilton, and Genesee epochs or groups. See the Chart of Geology.

||Ham`i*nu"ra (hm`*n"r), n. (Zoˆl.) A large edible river fish ||(Erythrinus macrodon) of Guiana.

Ha"mite (h"mt), n.[L. hamus hook.] (Paleon.) A fossil cephalopod of the genus Hamites, related to the ammonites, but having the last whorl bent into a hooklike form.

Ham"ite (hm"t), n. A descendant of Ham, Noah's second son. See Gen. x. 6- 20.

Ham*it"ic (hm*t"k), a. Pertaining to Ham or his descendants.

Hamitic languages, the group of languages spoken mainly in the Sahara, Egypt, Galla, and Som‚li Land, and supposed to be allied to the Semitic. Keith Johnston.

Ham"let (hm"lt), n. [OE. hamelet, OF. hamelet, dim. of hamel, F. hameau, LL. hamellum, a dim. of German origin; cf. G. heim home. &radic;220. See Home.] A small village; a little cluster of houses in the country.

The country wasted, and the hamlets burned.

Dryden.

Syn. -- Village; neighborhood. See Village.

Ham"let*ed, p. a. Confined to a hamlet. Feltham.

Ham"mer (-mr), n. [OE. hamer, AS. hamer, hamor; akin to D. hamer, G. & Dan. hammer, Sw. hammare, Icel. hamarr, hammer, crag, and perh. to Gr. 'a`kmwn anvil, Skr. aÁman stone.] 1. An instrument for driving nails, beating metals, and the like, consisting of a head, usually of steel or iron, fixed crosswise to a handle.

With busy hammers closing rivets up.

Shak.

2. Something which in form or action resembles the common hammer; as: (a) That part of a clock which strikes upon the bell to indicate the hour. (b) The padded mallet of a piano, which strikes the wires, to produce the tones. (c) (Anat.) The malleus. See under Ear. (d) (Gun.) That part of a gunlock which strikes the percussion cap, or firing pin; the cock; formerly, however, a piece of steel covering the pan of a flintlock musket and struck by the flint of the cock to ignite the priming. (e) Also, a person or thing that smites or shatters; as, St. Augustine was the hammer of heresies.

He met the stern legionaries [of Rome] who had been the "massive iron hammers" of the whole earth.

J. H. Newman.

Atmospheric hammer, a dead-stroke hammer in which the spring is formed by confined air. -- Drop hammer, Face hammer, etc. See under Drop, Face, etc. -- Hammer fish. See Hammerhead. -- Hammer hardening, the process of hardening metal by hammering it when cold. -- Hammer shell (Zoˆl.), any species of Malleus, a genus of marine bivalve shells, allied to the pearl oysters, having the wings narrow and elongated, so as to give them a hammer-shaped outline; -- called also hammer oyster. -- To bring to the hammer, to put up at auction.

Ham"mer, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hammered (-mrd); p. pr. & vb. n. Hammering.] 1. To beat with a hammer; to beat with heavy blows; as, to hammer iron.

2. To form or forge with a hammer; to shape by beating. "Hammered money." Dryden.

3. To form in the mind; to shape by hard intellectual labor; -- usually with out.

Who was hammering out a penny dialogue.

Jeffry.

Ham"mer, v. i. 1. To be busy forming anything; to labor hard as if shaping something with a hammer.

Whereon this month I have been hammering.

Shak.

2. To strike repeated blows, literally or figuratively.

Blood and revenge are hammering in my head.

Shak.

Ham"mer*a*ble (-*b'l), a. Capable of being formed or shaped by a hammer. Sherwood.

Ham"mer-beam` (-bm`), n. (Gothic Arch.) A member of one description of roof truss, called hammer-beam truss, which is so framed as not to have a tiebeam at the top of the wall. Each principal has two hammer-beams, which occupy the situation, and to some extent serve the purpose, of a tiebeam.

Ham"mer*cloth` (-klth; 115), n. [Prob. fr. D. hemel heaven, canopy, tester (akin to G. himmel, and perh. also to E. heaven) + E. cloth; or perh. a corruption of hamper cloth.] The cloth which covers a coach box.

Ham"mer-dressed` (-drst`), a. Having the surface roughly shaped or faced with the stonecutter's hammer; -- said of building stone.

Ham"mer*er (-r), n. One who works with a hammer.

Ham"mer-hard`en (-h‰rd`'n), v. t. To harden, as a metal, by hammering it in the cold state.

Ham"mer*head` (-hd`), n. 1. (Zoˆl.) A shark of the genus Sphyrna or ZygÊna, having the eyes set on projections from the sides of the head, which gives it a hammer shape. The Sphyrna zygÊna is found in the North Atlantic. Called also hammer fish, and balance fish.

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2. (Zoˆl.) A fresh-water fish; the stone-roller.

3. (Zoˆl.) An African fruit bat (Hypsignathus monstrosus); -- so called from its large blunt nozzle.

Ham"mer*kop (hm"mr*kp), n. (Zoˆl.) A bird of the Heron family; the umber.

Ham"mer-less, a. (Firearms) Without a visible hammer; -- said of a gun having a cock or striker concealed from sight, and out of the way of an accidental touch.

Ham"mer*man (-man), n.; pl. Hammermen (-men). A hammerer; a forgeman.

||Ham`mo*chry"sos (hm`m*kr"ss), n. [L., fr. Gr. "ammo`chrysos; "a`mmos, ||'a`mmos, sand + chryso`s gold.] A stone with spangles of gold color ||in it.

Ham"mock (hm"mk), n. [A word of Indian origin: cf. Sp. hamaca. Columbus, in the Narrative of his first voyage, says: "A great many Indians in canoes came to the ship to-day for the purpose of bartering their cotton, and hamacas, or nets, in which they sleep."] 1. A swinging couch or bed, usually made of netting or canvas about six feet long and three feet wide, suspended by clews or cords at the ends.

2. A piece of land thickly wooded, and usually covered with bushes and vines. Used also adjectively; as, hammock land. [Southern U. S.] Bartlett.

Hammock nettings (Naut.), formerly, nets for stowing hammocks; now, more often, wooden boxes or a trough on the rail, used for that purpose.

{ Ha*mose" (h*ms"), Ha"mous (h"ms), }[L. hamus hook.] (Bot.) Having the end hooked or curved.

Ham"per (hm"pr), n. [Contr. fr. hanaper.] A large basket, usually with a cover, used for the packing and carrying of articles; as, a hamper of wine; a clothes hamper; an oyster hamper, which contains two bushels.

Ham"per, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hampered (-prd); p. pr. & vb. n. Hampering.] To put in a hamper.

Ham"per, v. t. [OE. hamperen, hampren, prob. of the same origin as E. hamble.] To put a hamper or fetter on; to shackle; to insnare; to inveigle; to entangle; hence, to impede in motion or progress; to embarrass; to encumber. "Hampered nerves." Blackmore.

A lion hampered in a net.

L'Estrange.

They hamper and entangle our souls.

Tillotson.

Ham"per, n. [See Hamper to shackle.] 1. A shackle; a fetter; anything which impedes. W. Browne.

2. (Naut.) Articles ordinarily indispensable, but in the way at certain times. Ham. Nav. Encyc.

Top hamper (Naut.), unnecessary spars and rigging kept aloft.

Ham"shac`kle (hm"shk`'l), v. t. [Ham + shackle.] To fasten (an animal) by a rope binding the head to one of the fore legs; as, to hamshackle a horse or cow; hence, to bind or restrain; to curb.

Ham"ster (-str), n. [G. hamster.] (Zoˆl.) A small European rodent (Cricetus frumentarius). It is remarkable for having a pouch on each side of the jaw, under the skin, and for its migrations.

Ham"string` (hm"strng`), n. (Anat.) One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh.

Ham"string`, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Hamstrung; p. pr. & vb. n. Hamstringing. See String.] To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough; hence, to cripple; to incapacitate; to disable.

So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject by seeking to effeminate us all at home.

Milton.

Ham"u*lar (hm"*lr), a. Hooked; hooklike; hamate; as, the hamular process of the sphenoid bone.

Ham"u*late (-lt), a. Furnished with a small hook; hook-shaped. Gray.

Ham"ule (-l), n. [L. hamulus.] A little hook.

Ham"u*lose` (-*ls`), a. [L. hamulus, dim. of hamus a hook.] Bearing a small hook at the end. Gray.

||Ham"u*lus (-ls), n.; pl. Hamuli (-l). [L., a little hook.] 1. (Anat.) ||A hook, or hooklike process.

2. (Zoˆl.) A hooked barbicel of a feather.

Han (hn), contr. inf. & plural pres. of Haven. To have; have. [Obs.] Piers Plowman.

Him thanken all, and thus they han an end.

Chaucer.

Han"ap (-p), n. [F. hanap. See Hanaper.] A rich goblet, esp. one used on state occasions. [Obs.]

Han"a*per (-*pr), n. [LL. hanaperium a large vase, fr. hanapus vase, bowl, cup (whence F. hanap); of German origin; cf. OHG. hnapf, G. napf, akin to AS. hnÊp cup, bowl. Cf. Hamper, Nappy, n.] A kind of basket, usually of wickerwork, and adapted for the packing and carrying of articles; a hamper.

Hanaper office, an office of the English court of chancery in which writs relating to the business of the public, and the returns to them, were anciently kept in a hanaper or hamper. Blackstone.

Hance (hns), v. t. [See Enhance.] To raise; to elevate. [Obs.] Lydgate.

{ Hance (hns), Hanch (hnch), } n. [See Hanse.] 1. (Arch.) See Hanse.

2. (Naut.) A sudden fall or break, as the fall of the fife rail down to the gangway.

Hand (hnd), n. [AS. hand, hond; akin to D., G., & Sw. hand, OHG. hant, Dan. haand, Icel. hˆnd, Goth. handus, and perh. to Goth. hin˛an to seize (in comp.). Cf. Hunt.] 1. That part of the fore limb below the forearm or wrist in man and monkeys, and the corresponding part in many other animals; manus; paw. See Manus.

2. That which resembles, or to some extent performs the office of, a human hand; as: (a) A limb of certain animals, as the foot of a hawk, or any one of the four extremities of a monkey. (b) An index or pointer on a dial; as, the hour or minute hand of a clock.

3. A measure equal to a hand's breadth, -- four inches; a palm. Chiefly used in measuring the height of horses.

4. Side; part; direction, either right or left.

On this hand and that hand, were hangings.

Ex. xxxviii. 15.

The Protestants were then on the winning hand.

Milton.

5. Power of performance; means of execution; ability; skill; dexterity.

He had a great mind to try his hand at a Spectator.

Addison.

6. Actual performance; deed; act; workmanship; agency; hence, manner of performance.

To change the hand in carrying on the war.

Clarendon.

Gideon said unto God, If thou wilt save Israel by my hand.

Judges vi. 36.

7. An agent; a servant, or laborer; a workman, trained or competent for special service or duty; a performer more or less skillful; as, a deck hand; a farm hand; an old hand at speaking.

A dictionary containing a natural history requires too many hands, as well as too much time, ever to be hoped for.

Locke.

I was always reckoned a lively hand at a simile.

Hazlitt.

8. Handwriting; style of penmanship; as, a good, bad, or running hand. Hence, a signature.

I say she never did invent this letter; This is a man's invention and his hand.

Shak.

Some writs require a judge's hand.

Burril.

9. Personal possession; ownership; hence, control; direction; management; -- usually in the plural. "Receiving in hand one year's tribute." Knolles.

Albinus . . . found means to keep in his hands the government of Britain.

Milton.

10. Agency in transmission from one person to another; as, to buy at first hand, that is, from the producer, or when new; at second hand, that is, when no longer in the producer's hand, or when not new.

11. Rate; price. [Obs.] "Business is bought at a dear hand, where there is small dispatch." Bacon.

12. That which is, or may be, held in a hand at once; as: (a) (Card Playing) The quota of cards received from the dealer. (b) (Tobacco Manuf.) A bundle of tobacco leaves tied together.