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To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast, especially by twining round or embracing; as, the tendril of a vine clings to its support; -- usually followed by to or together. And what hath life for thee That thou shouldst cling to it thus Mrs. Hemans.

An embracing strap for holding parts together; the iron strap, with loop, at the ends of a whiffletree. Knight.

The act of embracing. [Obs.]

any collective body of men acting together. Commitee of the whole [house], a committee, embracing all the members present, into which a legislative or deliberative body sometimes resolves itself, for the purpose of considering a particular measure under the operation of different rules from those governing the general…

Evil intent, embracing both malice and fraud. See Culpa. Wharton.

An extinct group of marine reptiles, embracing both the Ichthyosauria and the Plesiosauria, now regarded as distinct orders.

Embracing the whole circle of learning, or a wide range of subjects.

Pertaining to, or of the nature of, an encyclopedia; embracing a wide range of subjects.

Consisting of, or founded upon, feuds or fiefs; embracing tenures by military services; as, the feudal system.

The interval of three tones and a semitone, embracing five diatonic degrees of the scale; the dominant of any key.

The interval of two tones and a semitone, embracing four diatonic degrees of the scale; the subdominant of any key. The Fourth, specifically, un the United States, the fourth day of July, the anniversary of the declaration of American independence; as, to celebrate the Fourth.

A clan or family connection, embracing several families of the same stock, who had a common name and certain common religious rites; a subdivision of the Roman curia or tribe.

To seize and hold by clasping or embracing with the fingers or arms; to catch to take possession of. Thy hand is made to grasp a palmer's staff. Shak.

Seizing; embracing; catching.

r or spread between or among; to diffuse; to scatter. The ambient air, wide interfused, Embracing round this florid earth. Milton.

A system of bracing bars, not crossing each other in the middle, connecting the channel bars of a compound strut. Waddell.

A group of birds embracing the Anseres and flamingoes, in which the bill is lamellate.

A group of shore birds, embracing the plovers, sandpipers, snipe, curlew, etc. ; the Grallæ.

The collective body of literary productions, embracing the entire results of knowledge and fancy preserved in writing; also, the whole body of literary productions or writings upon a given subject, or in reference to a particular science or branch of knowledge, or of a given country or period; as, the literature of Bib…

esia, a collective designation of the islands in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, embracing the Marshall and Gilbert groups, the Ladrones, the Carolines, etc.