Search the Dictionary

A position or condition which affords entrance, control, pr possession, etc.; as, the key of a line of defense; the key of a country; the key of a political situation. Hence, that which serves to unlock, open, discover, or solve something unknown or difficult; as, the key to a riddle; the key to a problem. Those who ar…

. [Colloq.] Bp Hall. -- To lay in for, to make overtures for; to engage or secure the possession of. [Obs.] "I have laid in for these." Dryden. -- To lay on, to strike; to beat; to attack. Shak. -- To lay out, to purpose; to plan; as, he lays out to make a journey.

To grant to another by lease the possession of, as of lands, tenements, and hereditaments; to let; to demise; as, a landowner leases a farm to a tenant; -- sometimes with out. There were some [houses] that were leased out for three lives. Addison.

To allow the possession and use of, on condition of the return of an equivalent in kind; as, to lend money or some article of food. Thou shalt not give him thy money upon usury, nor lend him thy victuals for increase. Levit. xxv. 37.

olatility. The levity that is fatigued and disgusted with everything of which it is in possession. Burke.

ly. O death, how bitter is the remembrance of thee to a man that liveth at rest in his possessions! Ecclus. xli. 1.

The act of delivering possession of lands or tenements.

The state or quality of being alive; possession of energy or vigor; animation; quickening.

To keep possession of; to hold and defend; not to surrender or relinquish. God values . . . every one as he maintains his post. Grew.

script of the pope, commanding an ordinary collator to put the person therein named in possession of the first vacant benefice in his collation.

Contained in memory; as, a memorial possession.

its, profits of premises during the time the owner has been wrongfully kept out of the possession of his estate. Burrill.

The quality of being mighty; possession of might; power; greatness; high dignity. How soon this mightiness meets misery. Shak.

The possession by a woman of only one husband at the same time; -- contrasted with polyandry.

ly of; to have or get the exclusive privilege or means of dealing in, or the exclusive possession of; to engross the whole of; as, to monopolize the coffee trade; to monopolize land.

Exclusive possession; as, a monopoly of land. If I had a monopoly out, they would have part on 't. Shak.

tipulated that neither the latter nor her children shall enjoy the rank or inherit the possessions of her husband. Brande & C. -- Mor`ga*nat"ic*al*ly, adv.

Possession of lands or tenements in, or conveyance to, dead hands, or hands that cannot alienate.

One guilty of murder; a person who, in possession of his reason, unlawfully kills a human being with premeditated malice.

aving originated or occured lately; having recently come into existence, or into one's possession; not early or long in being; of late origin; recent; fresh; modern; -- opposed to old, as, a new coat; a new house; a new book; a new fashion. "Your new wife." Chaucer.