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nts into the girdle and tightening it before any exertion; hence, adjectively, eagerly or constantly active; strenuous; striving. "A severer, more girt-up way of living." J. C. Shairp.

es, Mexico, etc. They live chiefly on the ground. -- Ground fish (Zoöl.), any fish which constantly lives on the botton of the sea, as the sole, turbot, halibut. -- Ground floor, the floor of a house most nearly on a level with the ground; -- called also in America, but not in England, the first floor. -- Ground for…

A subject or plan upon which one is constantly setting off; a favorite and ever-recurring theme of discourse, thought, or effort; that which occupies one's attention unduly, or to the weariness of others; a ruling passion. [Usually under the form hobby.] Not one of them has any hobbyhorse, to use the phrase of Sterne.…

cribed by the moving extremity of a line the other end of which is fixed, this line being constantly parallel to the direction of motion of, and having its length constantly proportional to the velocity of, a point moving in any path; -used in investigations respecting central forces.

Given to industry; characterized by diligence; constantly, regularly, or habitually occupied; busy; assiduous; not slothful or idle; -- commonly implying devotion to lawful and useful labor. Frugal and industrious men are commonly friendly to the established government. Sir W. Temple.

within; to remain in possession. The Holy Ghost became a dove, not as a symbol, but as a constantly indwelt form. Milman.

To spend, as one's life; to pass; to maintain; to continue in, constantly or habitually; as, to live an idle or a useful life.

k done upon a machine by the moving power, and that yielded at the working points, either constantly, if its motion be uniform, or in the interval of time which it occupies in passing from any given velocity to the same velocity again, if its motion be variable; -- called also the efficiency of the machine. Mosley. Ran…

e contending parties; neuter; indifferent. The heart can not possibly remain neutral, but constantly takes part one way or the other. Shaftesbury.

tory motion of the earth's axis, by which its inclination to the plane of the ecliptic is constantly varying by a small amount.

live coal...taken with the tongs from off the altar." Is. vi. 6. -- Off and on. (a) Not constantly; not regularly; now and then; occasionally. (b) (Naut.) On different tacks, now toward, and now away from, the land. -- To be off. (a) To depart; to escape; as, he was off without a moment's warning. (b) To be abandone…

ng and serving; as, a physician or chaplain in ordinary. An ambassador in ordinary is one constantly resident at a foreign court. (b) (Naut.) Out of commission and laid up; -- said of a naval vessel. -- Ordinary of the Mass (R. C. Ch.), the part of the Mass which is the same every day; -- called also the canon of the…

In a perpetual manner; constantly; continually. The Bible and Common Prayer Book in the vulgar tongue, being perpetually read in churches, have proved a kind of standard for language. Swift.

n the lower world was condemned by Pluto to roll to the top of a hill a huge stone, which constantly rolled back again, making his task incessant.

In continuation by successive or repeated acts; always; ever; constantly; uniformly. The desire of fame betrays an ambitious man into indecencies that lessen his reputation; he is still afraid lest any of his actions should be thrown away in private. Addison. Chemists would be rich if they could still do in great quant…

A parasite; a sponger. See def. 6, above. They who constantly converse with men far above their estates shall reap shame and loss thereby; if thou payest nothing, they will count thee a sucker, no branch. Fuller.

aquelin's thermocautery, thermocautery by means of a hollow platinum point, which is kept constantly hot by the passage through it of benzine vapor.

A little note or notice. [Obs. or Local] He constantly read his lectures twice a week for above forty years, giving notice of the time to his auditors in a ticket on the school doors. Fuller.

to Motacilla and several allied genera of the family Motacillidæ. They have the habit of constantly jerking their long tails up and down, whence the name. Field wagtail, any one of several species of wagtails of the genus Budytes having the tail shorter, the legs longer, and the hind claw longer and straighter, than d…

. . . in the way of waste, attempt us again. Shak. Little wastes in great establishments, constantly occurring, may defeat the energies of a mighty capital. L. Beecher.