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ommanding influence; ascendency; as, one man has the ascendant over another. Chievres had acquired over the mind of the young monarch the ascendant not only of a tutor, but of a parent. Robertson.

To gain or obtain possession of; to acquire. [Obs. with a material object.] Chaucer.

That which is attained to, or obtained by exertion; acquirement; acquisition; (pl.), mental acquirements; knowledge; as, literary and scientific attainments.

raffic in general; mercantile transactions. It seldom happens that men of a studious turn acquire any degree of reputation for their knowledge of business. Bp. Popteus.

To acquire the ownership of (property) by giving an accepted price or consideration therefor, or by agreeing to do so; to acquire by the payment of a price or value; to purchase; -- opposed to sell. Buy what thou hast no need of, and ere long thou wilt sell thy necessaries. B. Franklin.

To acquire ascendancy over by reason of some art or attraction; to fascinate; to charm; as, Cleopatra captivated Antony; the orator captivated all hearts. Small landscapes of captivating loveliness. W. Irving.

To acquire rapidly, as money; to make. Tenants cannot coin rent just at quarter day. Locke.

To acquire color; to turn red, especially in the face; to blush.

in their courts, the peculiar institutions of another nation or the rights and privileges acquired by its citizens in their own land. By some authorities private international law rests on this comity, but the better opinion is that it is part of the common law of the land, and hence is obligatory as law.…

To get; to procure; to obtain; to acquire [Obs.] To fill his bags, and richesse to compare. Spenser.

The act or process of reducing the volume of a liquid, as by evaporation. The acid acquires a higher degree of concentration. Knight.

To gain or acquire by force; to take possession of by violent means; to gain dominion over; to subdue by physical means; to reduce; to overcome by force of arms; to cause to yield; to vanquish. "If thou conquer Rome." Shak. If we be conquer'd, let men conquer us. Shak. We conquered France, but felt our captive's charms…

dicial oaths, rendering military service, etc. -- Conscience money, stolen or wrongfully acquired money that is voluntarily restored to the rightful possessor. Such money paid into the United States treasury by unknown debtors is called the Conscience fund. -- Court of Conscience, a court established for the recovery…

To bring on; to incur; to acquire; as, to contract a habit; to contract a debt; to contract a disease. Each from each contract new strength and light. Pope. Such behavior we contract by having much conversed with persons of high statiSwift.

having acquired an unpleasant taste from the cork; as, a bottle of wine is corked.

ecclesiastical courts in the aggregate, or any one of them. -- Court breeding, education acquired at court. -- Court card. Same as Coat card. -- Court circular, one or more paragraphs of news respecting the sovereign and the royal family, together with the proceedings or movements of the court generally, supplied to…

ing cultivated; result of cultivation; physical improvement; enlightenment and discipline acquired by mental and moral training; civilization; refinement in manners and taste. What the Greeks expressed by their humanitas, we less happily try to express by the more artificial word culture. J. C. Shairp. The list of all…

s deaf and dumb; one who, through deprivation or defect of hearing, has either failed the acquire the power of speech, or has lost it. [See Illust. of Dactylology.] Deaf-mutes are still so called, even when, by artificial methods, they have been taught to speak imperfectly.

One of a series of progressive steps upward or downward, in quality, rank, acquirement, and the like; a stage in progression; grade; gradation; as, degrees of vice and virtue; to advance by slow degrees; degree of comparison.

desert. [Obs.] By many benefits and demerits whereby they obliged their adherents, [they] acquired this reputation. Holland.