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One who stands before a shop door to invite people to buy. [Low, Eng.]

A method of putting an end to debate and securing an immediate vote upon a measure before a legislative body. It is similar in effect to the previous question. It was first introduced into the British House of Commons in 1882. The French word clôture was originally applied to this proceeding.

d clutch the whole globe at one intellectual grasp. Collier. Is this a dagger which I see before me . . . Come, let me clutch thee. Shak.

A form of the prefix com-, signifying with, together, in conjunction, joint. It is used before vowels and some consonants. See Com-.

mination by private instruction; to train by special instruction. [Colloq.] I coached him before he got his scholarship. G. Eliot.

lkworn lies in its chrysalis state. It is formed of threads of silk spun by the worm just before leaving the larval state. From these the silk of commerce is prepared.

The change which the humorists believed morbific matter undergoes before elimination. [Obs.] Dunglison.

A number or letter put before a letter or quantity, known or unknown, to show how many times the latter is to be taken; as, 6x; bx; here 6 and b are coefficients of x.

Capable of being brought before the mind as a throught or idea; conceivable; thinkable. Creation is cogitable by us only as a putting forth of divine power. Sir W. Hamilton.

nd cylindrically or spirally; as, to coil a rope when not in use; the snake coiled itself before springing.

Any white cabbage before the head has become firm.

on cum, signifying with, together, in conjunction, very, etc. It is used in the form com- before b, m, p, and sometimes f, and by assimilation becomes col- before l, cor- before r, and con- before any consonant except b, h, l, m, p, r, and w. Before a vowel com- becomes co-; also before h, w, and sometimes before other…

. South. Not once perceive their foul disfigurement But boast themselves more comely than before. Milton.

d narrow. [U. S.] The American schoolboy takes off his comforter and unbuttons his jacket before going in for a snowball fight. Pop. Sci. Monthly.

ounds, limits of truth; moderation; due limits; -- used with within. In two hundred years before (I speak within compass), no such commission had been executed. Sir J. Davies.

e persons are engaged in the same business and each seeking patronage; -- followed by for before the object sought, and with before the person or thing competed with. Competition to the crown there is none, nor can be. Bacon. A portrait, with which one of Titian's could not come in competititon. Dryden. There is no com…

To put together; to construct; to build. [Obs.] Before that Merlin died, he did intend A brazen wall in compass to compile. Spenser.

resentment; lamentation; murmuring; accusation; fault-finding. I poured out my complaint before him. Ps. cxlii. 2. Grievous complaints of you. Shak.

e to terms of agreement; to agree; to settle by a compromise; -- usually followed by with before the person participating, and for before the thing compounded or the consideration. Here's a fellow will help you to-morrow; . . . compound with him by the year. Shak. They were at last glad to compound for his bare commitm…

To plan; to devise; to arrange. A commander had more trouble to concert his defense before the people than to plan . . . the compaign. Burke.