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To give a swipe to; to strike forcibly with a sweeping motion, as a ball. Loose balls may be swiped almost ad libitum. R. A. Proctor.

A loose pendent part of a lady's garment; esp., one of a series of pendent squares forming an edge or border.

Any slight appendage, as to an article of dress; something slight hanging loosely; specifically, a direction card, or label.

se, misfortune, or the like. This man was taken of the Jews. Acts xxiii. 27. Men in their loose, unguarded hours they take; Not that themselves are wise, but others weak. Pope. They that come abroad after these showers are commonly taken with sickness. Bacon. There he blasts the tree and takes the cattle And makes milc…

ment, attached to the corners of cushions, to curtains, and the like, ending in a tuft of loose threads or cords.

earthy substances or minerals; the texture of a plant or a bone; the texture of paper; a loose or compact texture.

In a thin manner; in a loose, scattered manner; scantily; not thickly; as, ground thinly planted with trees; a country thinly inhabited.

A strap of leather; especially, one used for fastening anything. And nails for loosened spears, and thongs for shields, provide. Dryden. Thong seal (Zoöl.), the bearded seal. See the Note under Seal.

Firmly held together; compact; not loose or open; as, tight cloth; a tight knot.

The loose outer garment worn by the ancient Romans, consisting of a single broad piece of woolen cloth of a shape approaching a semicircle. It was of undyed wool, except the border of the toga prætexta. Toga prætexta. Etym: [L.], a toga with a broad purple border, worn by children of both sexes, by magistrates, and by…

Any collection of houses larger than a village, and not incorporated as a city; also, loosely, any large, closely populated place, whether incorporated or not, in distinction from the country, or from rural communities. God made the country, and man made the town. Cowper.

The loosely woven substance which lines the chambers within the gleba in certain Gasteromycetes.

An old term rather loosely used to designate various dark- colored, heavy igneous rocks, including especially the feldspathic- augitic rocks, basalt, dolerite, amygdaloid, etc., but including also some kinds of diorite. Called also trap rock. Trap tufa, Trap tuff, a kind of fragmental rock made up of fragments and eart…

Loosely, the betrayal of any trust or confidence; treachery; perfidy. If he be false, she shall his treason see. Chaucer. Petit treason. See under Petit.

To plow with deep furrows, for the purpose of loosening the land to a greater depth than usual.

The loosing of an anchor from the ground by means of its cable or buoy rope. Tripping line (Naut.), a small rope attached to the topgallant or royal yard, used to trip the yard, and in lowering it to the deck; also, a line used in letting go the anchor. Luce.

A kind of loose dress for women. [Obs.] Goldsmith.

ar garment worm by ancient or Oriental peoples; also, a common name for various styles of loose-fitting under-garments and over-garments worn in modern times by Europeans and others.

A machine for cleansing or loosening wool by the action of a revolving cylinder covered with long iron spikes or teeth; a willy or willying machine; -- called also twilly devil, and devil. See Devil, n., 6, and Willy. Tomlinson.

A long, loose overcoat, worn by men and women, originally made of frieze from Ulster, Ireland.