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ntly over by way of expressing kindness or tenderness; to caress; to soothe. He dried the falling drops, and, yet more kind, He stroked her cheeks. Dryden.

overed with boards to support rubbish; also, a framework of boards to protect miners from falling stones. [Prov. Eng.]

t or stay; to happen. A future state must needs subvene to prevent the whole edifice from falling into ruin. Bp. Warburton.

Ready to fall; falling. [R.]

To bear by being under; to keep from falling; to uphold; to sustain, in a literal or physical sense; to prop up; to bear the weight of; as, a pillar supports a structure; an abutment supports an arch; the trunk of a tree supports the branches.

To keep from falling; to bear; to uphold; to support; as, a foundation sustains the superstructure; a beast sustains a load; a rope sustains a weight. Every pillar the temple to sustain. Chaucer.

The act of sustaining, or the state of being sustained; preservation from falling; support; sustenance; maintenance.

pidity; as, the swiftness of a bird; the swiftness of a stream; swiftness of descent in a falling body; swiftness of thought, etc.

A falling on and seizing, as the prey of a rapacious bird; the act of swooping. The eagle fell, . . . and carried away a whole litter of cubs at a swoop. L'Estrange.

body's motion. (b) The limit toward which the velocity of a body approaches, as of a body falling through the air.

Of or pertaining to tides; caused by tides; having tides; periodically rising and falling, or following and ebbing; as, tidal waters. The tidal wave of deeper souls Into our inmost being rolls, And lifts us unawares Out of all meaner cares. Longfellow. Tidal air (Physiol.), the air which passes in and out of the lungs…

The alternate rising and falling of the waters of the ocean, and of bays, rivers, etc., connected therewith. The tide ebbs and flows twice in each lunar day, or the space of a little more than twenty- four hours. It is occasioned by the attraction of the sun and moon (the influence of the latter being three times that…

A chain for slinging the lower yards, in time of action, to prevent their falling, if the ropes by which they are hung are shot away.

The act of throwing upward; a rising and falling suddenly; a rolling and tumbling.

Rising and falling in waves toward the margin, as a leaf; waved.

weight, age, or the like; in a relation of the less to the greater, of inferiority, or of falling short. Three sons he dying left under age. Spenser. Medicines take effect sometimes under, and sometimes above, the natural proportion of their virtue. Hooker. There are several hundred parishes in England under twenty pou…

Rising and falling like waves; resembling wave form or motion; undulatory; rolling; wavy; as, an undulating medium; undulating ground. -- Un"du*la`ting*ly. adv.

A state of disagreement; a falling out. Thackeray.

To keep erect; to support; to sustain; to keep from falling; to maintain. Honor shall uphold the humble in spirit. Prov. xxix 3. Faulconbridge, In spite of spite, alone upholds the day. Shak.

ug, or cover, applied to an aperture so that by its movement, as by swinging, lifting and falling, sliding, turning, or the like, it will open or close the aperture to permit or prevent passage, as of a fluid.