Chapter 61

Pot`pour`ri" (?), n. [F., fr. pot pot + pourri, p. p. of pourrir to rot, L. putrere. Cf. Olla-podrida.] A medley or mixture. Specifically: (a) A ragout composed of different sorts of meats, vegetables, etc., cooked together. (b) A jar or packet of flower leaves, perfumes, and spices, used to scent a room. (c) A piece of music made up of different airs strung together; a medley. (d) A literary production composed of parts brought together without order or bond of connection.

Pots"dam group` (&?;). (Geol.) A subdivision of the Primordial or Cambrian period in American geology; -- so named from the sandstone of Potsdam, New York. See Chart of Geology.

{ Pot"shard` (?), Pot"share` (?), } n. A potsherd. [Obs.] Spenser.

Pot"sherd` (?), n. [Pot + sherd or shard.] A piece or fragment of a broken pot. Job ii. 8.

Pot"stone` (?), n. (Min.) A variety of steatite sometimes manufactured into culinary vessels.

Pot"-sure` (-shr), a. Made confident by drink. [Obs.]

Pott (?), n. A size of paper. See under Paper.

Pot"tage (?; 48), n. [F. potage, fr. pot pot. See Pot, and cf. Porridge, Porringer.] A kind of food made by boiling vegetables or meat, or both together, in water, until soft; a thick soup or porridge. [Written also potage.] Chaucer.

Then Jacob gave Esau bread and pottage of lentils.

Gen. xxv. 34.

Pot"tain (?), n. Old pot metal. [Obs.] Holland.

Pot*teen" (?), n. See Poteen.

Pot"ter (?), n. [Cf. F. potier.] 1. One whose occupation is to make earthen vessels. Ps. ii. 9.

The potter heard, and stopped his wheel.

Longfellow.

2. One who hawks crockery or earthenware. [Prov. Eng.] De Quincey.

3. One who pots meats or other eatables.

4. (Zoˆl.) The red-bellied terrapin. See Terrapin.

Potter's asthma (Med.), emphysema of the lungs; -- so called because very prevalent among potters. Parkers. -- Potter's clay. See under Clay. -- Potter's field, a public burial place, especially in a city, for paupers, unknown persons, and criminals; -- so named from the field south of Jerusalem, mentioned in Matt. xxvii. 7. -- Potter's ore. See Alquifou. -- Potter's wheel, a horizontal revolving disk on which the clay is molded into form with the hands or tools. "My thoughts are whirled like a potter's wheel." Shak. -- Potter wasp (Zoˆl.), a small solitary wasp (Eumenes fraternal) which constructs a globular nest of mud and sand in which it deposits insect larvÊ, such as cankerworms, as food for its young.

Pot"ter, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pottered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pottering.] [Cf. W. pwtio to poke, or OD. poteren to search one thoroughly, Sw. pÂta, peta, to pick, E. pother, put.] 1. To busy one's self with trifles; to labor with little purpose, energy, of effect; to trifle; to pother.

Pottering about the Mile End cottages.

Mrs. Humphry Ward.

2. To walk lazily or idly; to saunter.

Pot"ter, v. t. To poke; to push; also, to disturb; to confuse; to bother. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Pot"tern (?), a. Of or pertaining to potters.

Pottern ore, a species of ore which, from its aptness to vitrify like the glazing of potter's wares, the miners call by this name. Boyle.

Pot"ter*y (?), n.; pl. Potteries (#). [F. poterie, fr. pot. See Pot.] 1. The vessels or ware made by potters; earthenware, glazed and baked.

2. The place where earthen vessels are made.

Pot"ting (?), n. 1. Tippling. [Obs.] Shak.

2. The act of placing in a pot; as, the potting of plants; the potting of meats for preservation.

3. The process of putting sugar in casks for cleansing and draining. [West Indies] B. Edwards.

Pot"tle (?), n. [OE. potel, OF. potel, dim. of pot. See Pot.] 1. A liquid measure of four pints.

2. A pot or tankard. Shak.

A dry pottle of sack before him.

Sir W. Scott.

3. A vessel or small basket for holding fruit.

He had a . . . pottle of strawberries in one hand.

Dickens.

Pottle draught, taking a pottle of liquor at one draught. [ Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

||Pot"to (?), n. (Zoˆl.) (a) A nocturnal mammal (Perodictius potto) of ||the Lemur family, found in West Africa. It has rudimentary ||forefingers. Called also aposoro, and bush dog. (b) The kinkajou.

Pott's" dis*ease" (?). (Med.) Caries of the vertebrÊ, frequently resulting in curvature of the spine and paralysis of the lower extremities; -- so named from Percival Pott, an English surgeon.

Pott's fracture, a fracture of the lower end of the fibula, with displacement of the tibia. Dunglison.

Pot"u*lent (?), a. [L. potulentus, fr. potus a drinking, drink, fr. potare to drink.] 1. Fit to drink; potable. [Obs.] Johnson.

2. Nearly drunk; tipsy. [Obs.]

Pot"-val`iant (?), a. Having the courage given by drink. Smollett.

Pot"-wal`lop*er (?), n. 1. A voter in certain boroughs of England, where, before the passage of the reform bill of 1832, the qualification for suffrage was to have boiled (walloped) his own pot in the parish for six months.

2. One who cleans pots; a scullion. [Slang, U. S.]

Pouch (?), n. [F. poche a pocket, pouch, bag; probably of Teutonic origin. See Poke a bag, and cf. Poach to cook eggs, to plunder.] 1. A small bag; usually, a leathern bag; as, a pouch for money; a shot pouch; a mail pouch, etc.

2. That which is shaped like, or used as, a pouch; as: (a) A protuberant belly; a paunch; -- so called in ridicule. (b) (Zoˆl.) A sac or bag for carrying food or young; as, the cheek pouches of certain rodents, and the pouch of marsupials. (c) (Med.) A cyst or sac containing fluid. S. Sharp. (d) (Bot.) A silicle, or short pod, as of the shepherd's purse. (e) A bulkhead in the hold of a vessel, to prevent grain, etc., from shifting.

Pouch mouth, a mouth with blubbered or swollen lips.

Pouch, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pouched (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pouching.] 1. To put or take into a pouch.

2. To swallow; -- said of fowls. Derham.

3. To pout. [Obs.] Ainsworth.

4. To pocket; to put up with. [R.] Sir W. Scott.

Pouched (?), a. (Zoˆl.) (a) Having a marsupial pouch; as, the pouched badger, or the wombat. (b) Having external cheek pouches; as, the pouched gopher. (c) Having internal cheek pouches; as, the pouched squirrels.

Pouched dog. (Zoˆl.) See Zebra wolf, under Zebra. -- Pouched frog (Zoˆl.), the nototrema, the female of which has a dorsal pouch in which the eggs are hatched, and in which the young pass through their brief tadpole stage. -- Pouched gopher, or Pouched rat. (Zoˆl.) See Pocket gopher, under Pocket. -- Pouched mouse. (Zoˆl.) See Pocket mouse, under Pocket.

Pou"chet box` (?). See Pouncet box.

Pouch"-mouthed` (?), a. Having a pouch mouth; blobber-lipped.

Pou*chong" (?), n. A superior kind of souchong tea. De Colange.

Pouch"-shell` (?), n. (Zoˆl.) A small British and American pond snail (Bulinus hypnorum).

Pou"dre (?), n. [See Powder.] Dust; powder. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Poudre marchant [see Merchant], a kind of flavoring powder used in the Middle Ages. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pou*drette" (?), n. [F., dim. of poudre dust, powder. See Powder.] A manure made from night soil, dried and mixed with charcoal, gypsum, etc.

Pou*laine" (?), n. [F. soulier ‡ la poulaine.] A long pointed shoe. See Cracowes.

Poul"da`vis (?), n. Same as Poledavy. [Obs.]

Poul"der (?), n. & v. Powder. [Obs.]

Poul"dron (?), n. See Pauldron.

{ Poulp, Poulpe (?) }, n. [F. poulpe, fr. L. polypus. See Polyp.] (Zoˆl.) Same as Octopus.

Musk poulp (Zoˆl.), a Mediterranean octopod (Eledone moschata) which emits a strong odor of musk.

Poult (?), n. [OF. pulte, F. poulet, dim. of poule fowl. See Pullet.] A young chicken, partridge, grouse, or the like. King. Chapman.

Starling the heath poults or black game.

R. Jefferise.

Poul"ter (?), n. [OE. pulter. See Poult.] A poulterer. [Obs.] Shak.

Poul"ter*er (?), n. One who deals in poultry.

Poul"tice (?), n. [L. puls, pl. pultes, a thick pap; akin to Gr. po`ltos. Cf. Pulse seeds.] A soft composition, as of bread, bran, or a mucilaginous substance, to be applied to sores, inflamed parts of the body, etc.; a cataplasm. "Poultice relaxeth the pores." Bacon.

Poul"tice, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poulticed (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Poulticing (?).] To apply a poultice to; to dress with a poultice.

Poul"tive (?), n. A poultice. [Obs.] W. Temple.

Poul"try (?), n. [From Poult.] Domestic fowls reared for the table, or for their eggs or feathers, such as cocks and hens, capons, turkeys, ducks, and geese.

Pounce (?), n. [F. ponce pumice, pounce, fr. L. pumex, -icis, pumice. See Pumice.] 1. A fine powder, as of sandarac, or cuttlefish bone, -- formerly used to prevent ink from spreading on manuscript.

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2. Charcoal dust, or some other colored powder for making patterns through perforated designs, -- used by embroiderers, lace makers, etc.

Pounce box, a box for sprinkling pounce. -- Pounce paper, a transparent paper for tracing.

Pounce (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pounded (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pouncing (?).] To sprinkle or rub with pounce; as, to pounce paper, or a pattern.

Pounce, n. [Prob. through French, from an assumed LL. punctiare to prick, L. pungere, punctum. See Puncheon, Punch, v. t.] 1. The claw or talon of a bird of prey. Spenser. Burke.

2. A punch or stamp. [Obs.] "A pounce to print money with." Withals.

3. Cloth worked in eyelet holes. [Obs.] Homilies.

Pounce, v. t. 1. To strike or seize with the talons; to pierce, as with the talons. [Archaic]

Stooped from his highest pitch to pounce a wren.

Cowper.

Now pounce him lightly, And as he roars and rages, let's go deeper.

J. Fletcher.

2. To punch; to perforate; to stamp holes in, or dots on, by way of ornament. [Obs.] Sir T. Elyot.

Pounce, v. i. To fall suddenly and seize with the claws; -- with on or upon; as, a hawk pounces upon a chicken. Also used figuratively.

Derision is never so agonizing as when it pounces on the wanderings of misguided sensibility.

Jeffrey.

Pounced (?), a. 1. Furnished with claws or talons; as, the pounced young of the eagle. Thomson.

2. Ornamented with perforations or dots. [Obs.] "Gilt bowls pounced and pierced." Holinshed.

Poun"cet box` (?). [Cf. F. poncette, fr. ponce pounce. See Pounce a powder.] A box with a perforated lid, for sprinkling pounce, or for holding perfumes. Shak.

Poun"cing (?), n. 1. The art or practice of transferring a design by means of pounce.

2. Decorative perforation of cloth. [Obs.]

Pound (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pounded; p. pr. & vb. n. Pounding.] [OE. pounen, AS. punian to bruise. Cf. Pun a play on words.] 1. To strike repeatedly with some heavy instrument; to beat.

With cruel blows she pounds her blubbered cheeks.

Dryden.

2. To comminute and pulverize by beating; to bruise or break into fine particles with a pestle or other heavy instrument; as, to pound spice or salt.

Pound, v. i. 1. To strike heavy blows; to beat.

2. (Mach.) To make a jarring noise, as in running; as, the engine pounds.

Pound, n. [AS. pund an inclosure: cf. forpyndan to turn away, or to repress, also Icel. pynda to extort, torment, Ir. pont, pond, pound. Cf. Pinder, Pinfold, Pin to inclose, Pond.] 1. An inclosure, maintained by public authority, in which cattle or other animals are confined when taken in trespassing, or when going at large in violation of law; a pinfold. Shak.

2. A level stretch in a canal between locks.

3. (Fishing) A kind of net, having a large inclosure with a narrow entrance into which fish are directed by wings spreading outward.

Pound covert, a pound that is close or covered over, as a shed. -- Pound overt, a pound that is open overhead.

Pound, v. t. To confine in, or as in, a pound; to impound. Milton.

Pound, n.; pl. Pounds (#), collectively Pound or Pounds. [AS. pund, fr. L. pondo, akin to pondus a weight, pendere to weigh. See Pendant.] 1. A certain specified weight; especially, a legal standard consisting of an established number of ounces.

The pound in general use in the United States and in England is the pound avoirdupois, which is divided into sixteen ounces, and contains 7,000 grains. The pound troy is divided into twelve ounces, and contains 5,760 grains. 144 pounds avoirdupois are equal to 175 pounds troy weight. See Avoirdupois, and Troy.

2. A British denomination of money of account, equivalent to twenty shillings sterling, and equal in value to about $4.86. There is no coin known by this name, but the gold sovereign is of the same value.

The pound sterling was in Saxon times, about a. d. 671, a pound troy of silver, and a shilling was its twentieth part; consequently the latter was three times as large as it is at present. Peacham.

Pound"age (?), n. 1. A sum deducted from a pound, or a certain sum paid for each pound; a commission.

2. A subsidy of twelve pence in the pound, formerly granted to the crown on all goods exported or imported, and if by aliens, more. [Eng.] Blackstone.

3. (Law) The sum allowed to a sheriff or other officer upon the amount realized by an execution; -- estimated in England, and formerly in the United States, at so much of the pound. Burrill. Bouvier.

Pound"age, v. t. To collect, as poundage; to assess, or rate, by poundage. [R.]

Pound"age, n. [See 3d Pound.] 1. Confinement of cattle, or other animals, in a public pound.

2. A charge paid for the release of impounded cattle.

Pound"al (?), n. [From 5th Pound.] (Physics & Mech.) A unit of force based upon the pound, foot, and second, being the force which, acting on a pound avoirdupois for one second, causes it to acquire by the of that time a velocity of one foot per second. It is about equal to the weight of half an ounce, and is 13,825 dynes.

Pound"-breach` (?), n. The breaking of a public pound for releasing impounded animals. Blackstone.

Pound"cake` (?), n. A kind of rich, sweet cake; -- so called from the ingredients being used by pounds, or in equal quantities.

Pound"er (?), n. 1. One who, or that which, pounds, as a stamp in an ore mill.

2. An instrument used for pounding; a pestle.

3. A person or thing, so called with reference to a certain number of pounds in value, weight, capacity, etc.; as, a cannon carrying a twelve-pound ball is called a twelve pounder.

Before the English reform act of 1867, one who was an elector by virtue of paying ten pounds rent was called a ten pounder.

Pound"ing (?), n. 1. The act of beating, bruising, or breaking up; a beating.

2. A pounded or pulverized substance. [R.] "Covered with the poundings of these rocks." J. S. Blackie.

Pound"keep`er (?), n. The keeper of a pound.

Pound"*rate` (?), n. A rate or proportion estimated at a certain amount for each pound; poundage.

Poup (?), v. i. See Powp. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pou*part's" lig"a*ment (?). (Anat.) A ligament, of fascia, extending, in most mammals, from the ventral side of the ilium to near the symphysis of the pubic bones.

Pou"pe*ton (?), n. [See Puppet.] A puppet, or little baby. [Obs.] Palsgrave.

Pour (?), a. Poor. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pour (?), v. i. To pore. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pour (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Poured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Pouring.] [OE. pouren, of uncertain origin; cf. W. bwrw to cast, throw, shed, bwrw gwlaw to rain.] 1. To cause to flow in a stream, as a liquid or anything flowing like a liquid, either out of a vessel or into it; as, to pour water from a pail; to pour wine into a decanter; to pour oil upon the waters; to pour out sand or dust.

2. To send forth as in a stream or a flood; to emit; to let escape freely or wholly.

I . . . have poured out my soul before the Lord.

1 Sam. i. 15.

Now will I shortly pour out my fury upon thee.

Ezek. vii. 8.

London doth pour out her citizens !

Shak.

Wherefore did Nature pour her bounties forth With such a full and unwithdrawing hand ?

Milton.

3. To send forth from, as in a stream; to discharge uninterruptedly.

Is it for thee the linnet pours his throat ?

Pope.

Pour, v. i. To flow, pass, or issue in a stream, or as a stream; to fall continuously and abundantly; as, the rain pours; the people poured out of the theater.

In the rude throng pour on with furious pace.

Gay.

Pour, n. A stream, or something like a stream; a flood. [Colloq.] "A pour of rain." Miss Ferrier.

Poure"liche` (?), adv. Poorly. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pour"er (?), n. One who pours.

Pour"lieu (?), n. See Purlieu.

||Pour`par`ler" (?), n. [F.] (Diplomacy) A consultation preliminary to ||a treaty.

Pour`par"ty (?), n.; pl. Pourparties (#). [See Purparty.] (Law) A division; a divided share.

To make pourparty, to divide and apportion lands previously held in common.

Pour"point (?), n. [F.] A quilted military doublet or gambeson worn in the 14th and 15th centuries; also, a name for the doublet of the 16th and 17th centuries worn by civilians.

Pour*pres"ture (?; 135), n. (Law) See Purpresture.

Pour"sui*vant (?), n. See Pursuivant.

Pour*tray" (?), v. t. See Portray.

Pour*vey"ance (?), n. See Purveyance.

Pousse (ps), n. Pulse; pease. [Obs.] Spenser.

Pous*sette" (p*st"), n. [F., pushpin, fr. pousser to push. See Push.] A movement, or part of a figure, in the contradance. Dickens.

Pous*sette", v. i. To perform a certain movement in a dance. [R.] Tennyson.

Down the middle, up again, poussette, and cross.

J. & H. Smith.

Pout (pt), n. [F. poulet. See Poult.] The young of some birds, as grouse; a young fowl. Carew.

Pout (pt), v. i. To shoot pouts. [Scot.]

Pout (pout), v. i. [imp. & p. p. Pouted; p. pr. & vb. n. Pouting.] [OE. pouten, of uncertain origin; cf. Prov. pot lip, Prov. F. potte, faire la potte to pout, W. pwdu to pout, be sullen, poten, potten, a paunch, belly.] 1. To thrust out the lips, as in sullenness or displeasure; hence, to look sullen.

Thou poutest upon thy fortune and thy love.

Shak.

2. To protrude. "Pouting lips." Dryden.

Pout, n. A sullen protrusion of the lips; a fit of sullenness. "Jack's in the pouts." J. & H. Smith.

Pout, n. [Cf. Eelpout.] (Zoˆl.) The European whiting pout or bib.

Eel pout. (Zoˆl.) See Eelpout. -- Horn pout, or Horned pout. (Zoˆl.) See Bullhead (b).

Pout"er (-r), n. 1. One who, or that which, pouts.

2. [Cf. E. pout, and G. puter turkey.] (Zoˆl.) A variety of the domestic pigeon remarkable for the extent to which it is able to dilate its throat and breast.

Pout"ing, n. Childish sullenness.

Pout"ing*ly, adv. In a pouting, or a sullen, manner.

Pov"ert (pv"rt), n. Poverty. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Pov"er*ty (pv"r*t), n. [OE. poverte, OF. povertÈ, F. pauvretÈ, fr. L. paupertas, fr. pauper poor. See Poor.] 1. The quality or state of being poor or indigent; want or scarcity of means of subsistence; indigence; need. "Swathed in numblest poverty." Keble.

The drunkard and the glutton shall come to poverty.

Prov. xxiii. 21.

2. Any deficiency of elements or resources that are needed or desired, or that constitute richness; as, poverty of soil; poverty of the blood; poverty of ideas.

Poverty grass (Bot.), a name given to several slender grasses (as Aristida dichotoma, and Danthonia spicata) which often spring up on old and worn-out fields.

Syn. -- Indigence; penury; beggary; need; lack; want; scantiness; sparingness; meagerness; jejuneness. Poverty, Indigence, Pauperism. Poverty is a relative term; what is poverty to a monarch, would be competence for a day laborer. Indigence implies extreme distress, and almost absolute destitution. Pauperism denotes entire dependence upon public charity, and, therefore, often a hopeless and degraded state.

{ Pow"an (?), Pow"en (?) }, n. (Zoˆl.) A small British lake whitefish (Coregonus clupeoides, or C. ferus); -- called also gwyniad and lake herring.

Pow"der (?), n. [OE. poudre, pouldre, F. poudre, OF. also poldre, puldre, L. pulvis, pulveris: cf. pollen fine flour, mill dust, E. pollen. Cf. Polverine, Pulverize.] 1. The fine particles to which any dry substance is reduced by pounding, grinding, or triturating, or into which it falls by decay; dust.

Grind their bones to powder small.

Shak.

2. An explosive mixture used in gunnery, blasting, etc.; gunpowder. See Gunpowder.

Atlas powder, Baking powder, etc. See under Atlas, Baking, etc. -- Powder down (Zoˆl.), the peculiar dust, or exfoliation, of powder-down feathers. -- Powder- down feather (Zoˆl.), one of a peculiar kind of modified feathers which sometimes form patches on certain parts of some birds. They have a greasy texture and a scaly exfoliation. - - Powder-down patch (Zoˆl.), a tuft or patch of powder-down feathers. -- Powder hose, a tube of strong linen, about an inch in diameter, filled with powder and used in firing mines. Farrow. -- Powder hoy (Naut.), a vessel specially fitted to carry powder for the supply of war ships. They are usually painted red and carry a red flag. -- Powder magazine, or Powder room. See Magazine, 2. -- Powder mine, a mine exploded by gunpowder. See Mine. -- Powder monkey (Naut.), a boy formerly employed on war vessels to carry powder; a powder boy. -- Powder post. See Dry rot, under Dry. -- Powder puff. See Puff, n.

Pow"der, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Powdered (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Powdering.] [F. poudrer.] 1. To reduce to fine particles; to pound, grind, or rub into a powder; to comminute; to pulverize; to triturate.

2. To sprinkle with powder, or as with powder; to be sprinkle; as, to powder the hair.

A circling zone thou seest Powdered with stars.

Milton.

3. To sprinkle with salt; to corn, as meat. [Obs.]

Pow"der, v. i. 1. To be reduced to powder; to become like powder; as, some salts powder easily.

2. To use powder on the hair or skin; as, she paints and powders.

Pow"dered (?), a. 1. Reduced to a powder; sprinkled with, or as with, powder.

2. Sprinkled with salt; salted; corned. [Obs.]

Powdered beef, pickled meats.

Harvey.

3. (Her.) Same as SemÈ. Walpole.

Pow"der*flask` (?), n. A flask in which gunpowder is carried, having a charging tube at the end.

Pow"der*horn` (?), n. A horn in which gunpowder is carried.

Pow"der*ing, a. & n. from Powder, v. t.

Powdering tub. (a) A tub or vessel in which meat is corned or salted. (b) A heated tub in which an infected lecher was placed for cure. [Obs.] Shak.

Pow"der*mill` (?), n. A mill in which gunpowder is made.

Pow"der-post`ed (?), a. Affected with dry rot; reduced to dust by rot. See Dry rot, under Dry. [U.S.]

Pow"der*y (?), a. 1. Easily crumbling to pieces; friable; loose; as, a powdery spar.

2. Sprinkled or covered with powder; dusty; as, the powdery bloom on plums.

3. Resembling powder; consisting of powder. "The powdery snow." Wordsworth.

Pow"dike (?), n. [Scot. pow, pou, a pool, a watery or marshy place, fr. E. pool.] A dike a marsh or fen. [Prov. Eng.] Halliwell.

Pow"dry (?), a. See Powdery.

Pow"er (?), n. (Zoˆl.) Same as Poor, the fish.

Pow"er, n. [OE. pouer, poer, OF. poeir, pooir, F. pouvoir, n. & v., fr. LL. potere, for L. posse, potesse, to be able, to have power. See Possible, Potent, and cf. Posse comitatus.] 1. Ability to act, regarded as latent or inherent; the faculty of doing or performing something; capacity for action or performance; capability of producing an effect, whether physical or moral: potency; might; as, a man of great power; the power of capillary attraction; money gives power. "One next himself in power, and next in crime." Milton.

2. Ability, regarded as put forth or exerted; strength, force, or energy in action; as, the power of steam in moving an engine; the power of truth, or of argument, in producing conviction; the power of enthusiasm. "The power of fancy." Shak.

3. Capacity of undergoing or suffering; fitness to be acted upon; susceptibility; -- called also passive power; as, great power of endurance.

Power, then, is active and passive; faculty is active power or capacity; capacity is passive power.

Sir W. Hamilton.

4. The exercise of a faculty; the employment of strength; the exercise of any kind of control; influence; dominion; sway; command; government.

Power is no blessing in itself but when it is employed to protect the innocent.

Swift.