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strongly inclined; in an ill sense, overready; to hasty. Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do. Gal. ii. 10. Nor do we find him forward to be sounded. Shak.

The lowest and supporting part or member of a wall, including the base course (see Base course (a), under Base, n.) and footing courses; in a frame house, the whole substructure of masonry.

eton of any structure; specifically, in woodwork, to put together by cutting parts of one member to fit parts of another. See Dovetail, Halve, v. t., Miter, Tenon, Tooth, Tusk, Scarf, and Splice.

A member of one of the German tribes that in the fifth century overran and conquered Gaul, and established the kingdom of France.

A pledge or surety for the good behavior of freemen, -- each freeman who was a member of an ancient decennary, tithing, or friborg, in England, being a pledge for the good conduct of the others, for the preservation of the public peace; a free surety.

One who plunders or pillages without the authority of national warfare; a member of a predatory band; a pillager; a buccaneer; a sea robber. Bacon.

A member of a corporation, company, or city, possessing certain privileges; a member of a borough, town, or State, who has the right to vote at elections. See Liveryman. Burrill. Both having been made freemen on the same day. Addison.

A brother or member of any religious order, but especially of one of the four mendicant orders, viz: (a) Minors, Gray Friars, or Franciscans. (b) Augustines. (c) Dominicans or Black Friars. (d) White Friars or Carmelites. See these names in the Vocabulary.

gether, by the hold the friction of the conical surfaces gives. (b) A toothed clutch, one member of which, instead of being made fast on its shaft, is held by friction and can turn, by slipping, under excessive strain or in starting. -- Friction drop hammer, one in which the hammer is raised for striking by the fricti…

of the entablature of an order which is between the architrave and cornice. It is a flat member or face, either uniform or broken by triglyphs, and often enriched with figures and other ornaments of sculpture.

A member of the Fronde.

A movable, decorative member in metal, carved wood, or, commonly, in rich stuff or in embroidery, covering the front of the altar. Frontals are usually changed according to the different ceremonies.

A decorative member having the shape of a triangular gable, such as that above a Gothic arch in a doorway. Bell gable. See under Bell. -- Gable roof, a double sloping roof which forms a gable at each end. -- Gable wall. Same as Gable (b). -- Gable window, a window in a gable.

gibbous between the half-moon and the full moon. The bones will rise, and make a gibbous member. Wiseman.

n opening or carry weight, such as ends of floor beams, etc.; hence, a framed or built-up member discharging the same office, technically called a compound girder. See Illusts. of Frame, and Doubleframed floor, under Double. Bowstring girder, Box girder, etc. See under Bowstring, Box, etc. -- Girder bridge. See under…

A member of the moderate republican party formed in the French legislative assembly in 1791. The Girondists were so called because their leaders were deputies from the department of La Gironde.

A member of a Scottish sect, founded in the 18th century by John Glass, a minister of the Established Church of Scotland, who taught that justifying faith is "no more than a simple assent to the divine testimone passively recived by the understanding." The English and American adherents of this faith are called Sandema…

The good of the whole community can be promoted only by advancing the good of each of the members composing it. Jay.

One whose professional habit is a gown, as a divine or lawyer, and particularly a member of an English university; hence, a civilian, in distinction from a soldier.

Any member like a step, as the raised back of an altar or the like; a set raised over another. "The gradines of the amphitheeater." Layard.