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An avaricious, grasping fellow; a miser; a niggard; a churl. A gray-headed curmudgeon of a negro. W. Irving.

ng to elude; using arts or deception to escape; adroitly escaping or evading; eluding the grasp; fallacious. Elusive of the bridal day, she gives Fond hopes to all, and all with hopes deceives. Pope. -- E*lu"sive*ly, adv. -- E*lu"sive*ness, n.

Honestly; properly. Such means of comfort or even luxury, as lay fairly within their grasp. Hawthorne.

; the closed hand, especially as clinched tightly for the purpose of striking a blow. Who grasp the earth and heaven with my fist. Herbert.

A pair of pinchers, or tongs; an instrument for grasping, holding firmly, or exerting traction upon, bodies which it would be inconvenient or impracticable to seize with the fingers, especially one for delicate operations, as those of watchmakers, surgeons, accoucheurs, dentists, etc.

The line ofgreatest circumference of a brilliant-cut diamond, at which it is grasped by the setting. See Illust. of Brilliant. Knight.

To grope with the hands, as in the dark. [Scot.] To glaum at, to grasp or snatch at; to aspire to. Wha glaum'd at kingdoms three. Burns.

A sudden grasp or seizure.

Grasp; reach. [Obs.] A vein of gold ore within one spade's griff. Holland.

An energetic or tenacious grasp; a holding fast; strength in grasping.

Grasp; seizure; fast hold; clutch. A barren scepter in my gripe. Shak.

A grasp; a gripe. [Obs.] Spenser.

The small part of a gunstock near the lock, which is grasped by the hand in taking aim.

Hold; grasp; custody; power of confining or keeping. [Obs.] Shak.

As much as the hand will grasp or contain. Addison.

Seizure by, or grasp of, the hand; also, close quarters in fighting. Hudibras.

y to put up with or consent to; hence, severe; rigorous; oppressive; distressing; unjust; grasping; as, a hard lot; hard times; hard fare; a hard winter; hard conditions or terms. I never could drive a hard bargain. Burke.

or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain. The loops held one curtain to another. Ex. xxxvi. 12. Thy right hand shall hold me. Ps. cxxxix. 10. They all hold swords, being expert in war. Cant. iii. In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. Spenser. Franc…

The act or state of sustaining, grasping, or retaining.

To grasp with or hold in the hand. [R.] J. Barlow.