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tons; or, the amount of weight which one or several vessels may carry. See Ton, n. (b). A fleet . . . with an aggregate tonnage of 60,000 seemed sufficient to conquer the world. Motley.

he upper rigging, spars, etc., of a ship. [Written also top hamper.] All the ships of the fleet . . . were so encumbered with tophamper, so overweighted in proportion to their draught of water, that they could bear but little canvas, even with smooth seas and light and favorable winds. Motley.

To be tossed, as a fleet on the ocean. Shak. To toss for, to throw dice or a coin to determine the possession of; to gamble for. -- To toss up, to throw a coin into the air, and wager on which side it will fall, or determine a question by its fall. Bramsion.

Act of transcolating, or state of being transcolated. [Obs.] Bp. Stillingfleet.

One who flees from one side to another; hence, a deserter; a turncoat; an apostate. [R.]

hence, of short duration; not permanent; not lasting or durable; not stationary; passing; fleeting; brief; transitory; as, transient pleasure. "Measured this transient world." Milton.

Continuing only for a short time; not enduring; fleeting; evanescent. Comfort and succor all those who, in this transitory life, are in trouble. Bk. of Com. Prayer. It was not the transitory light of a comet, which shines and glows for a wile, and then . . . vanishes into nothing. South. Transitory action (Law), an act…

Short and ready; fleet; as, a tride pace; -- a term used by sportsmen. Bailey.

r Leaf. -- To turn tail, to run away; to retreat ignominiously. -- To turn the back, to flee; to retreat. -- To turn the back on or upon, to treat with contempt; to reject or refuse unceremoniously. -- To turn the corner, to pass the critical stage; to get by the worst point; hence, to begin to improve, or to succe…

an army; the first line or leading column; also, the front line or foremost division of a fleet, either in sailing or in battle. Standards and gonfalons, twixt van and rear, Stream in the air. Milton.

Something unsubstantial, fleeting, or transitory; unreal fancy; vain imagination; idle talk; boasting. For what is your life It is even a vapor, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away. James iv. 14.

ants. [Sometimes written also Welch.] Welsh flannel, a fine kind of flannel made from the fleece of the flocks of the Welsh mountains, and largely manufactured by hand. -- Welsh glaive, or Welsh hook, a weapon of war used in former times by the Welsh, commonly regarded as a kind of poleax. Fairholt. Craig. -- Welsh m…

To what place; -- used interrogatively; as, whither goest thou "Whider may I flee" Chaucer. Sir Valentine, whither away so fast Shak.

wings attached to the feet; as, wing-footed Mercury; hence, swift; moving with rapidity; fleet. Drayton.

her animals, and which in fineness sometimes approaches to fur; -- chiefly applied to the fleecy coat of the sheep, which constitutes a most essential material of clothing in all cold and temperate climates.

Consisting of wool; as, a woolly covering; a woolly fleece.

er of working; management; treatment; as, unskillful work spoiled the effect. Bp. Stillingfleet.

Trick; deceit; fraud; stratagem. [Obs.] His wily wrenches thou ne mayst not flee. Chaucer.

erkindness doth wring tears from me. Shak. He rose up early on the morrow, and thrust the fleece together, and wringed the dew out of the fleece. Judg. vi. 38.

w; yonder. [Poetic] Read thy lot in yon celestial sign. Milton. Though fast yon shower be fleeting. Keble.