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ng Hal." Sir W. Scott. There is indeed a bluff pertinacity which is a proper defense in a moment of surprise. I. Taylor.

ffer to take breath, or recover the natural breathing; to rest; as, to breathe a horse. A moment breathed his panting steed. Sir W. Scott.

be, as to bulk or extent; to swell. The fame of Warburton possibly bulked larger for the moment. Leslie Stephen.

See Assessment, 4. At call, or On call, liable to be demanded at any moment without previous notice; as money on deposit. -- Call bird, a bird taught to allure others into a snare. -- Call boy (a) A boy who calls the actors in a theater; a boy who transmits the orders of the captain of a vessel to the engineer, helms…

wer of a censor; as, to stand for a censorship. Holland. The press was not indeed at that moment under a general censorship. Macaulay.

That which affects the welfare or happiness; interest; moment. Mysterious secrets of a high concern. Roscommon.

Importance; moment; consequence. Let every action of concernment to begun with prayer. Jer. Taylor.

rmine the course of a man's character and life from the configuration of the stars at the moment of his birth. Whewell.

resulting from various conditions. He [Chesterfield] had recently governed Ireland, at a momentous conjuncture, with eminent firmness, wisdom, and humanity. Macaulay.

ortance with respect to what comes after; power to influence or produce an effect; value; moment; rank; distinction. It is a matter of small consequence. Shak. A sense of your own worth and consequence. Cowper. In consequence, hence; for this cause. -- In consequence of, by reason of; as the effect of.…

Shak. 'T were to consider too curiously, to consider so. Shak. She wished she had taken a moment to consider, before rushing down stairs. W. Black

uration; as, iron contracts in cooling; a rope contracts when wet. Years contracting to a moment. Wordsworth.

A buskin anciently used by tragic actors on the stage; hence, tragedy in general. The moment had arrived when it was thought that the mask and the cothurn might be assumed with effect. Motley.

The critical moment in a play, when, contrary to expectation, the action is embroiled in new difficulties. Dryden.

ther any affair or course of action must go on, or be modified or terminate; the decisive moment; the turning point. This hour's the very crisis of your fate. Dryden. The very times of crisis for the fate of the country. Brougham.

of a fever; a critical situation. Our circumstances are indeed critical. Burke. The small moment, the exact point, the critical minute, on which every good work so much depends. South. Critical angle (Optics), that angle of incidence of a luminous ray at which it is wholly reflected, and no portion of it transmitted. T…

A machine for measuring at any moment velocity of rotation, as of a wheel of a steam engine. Knight.

To lessen the velocity or momentum of; to retard; as, to deaden a ship's headway.

of a needy man of letters. Macaulay. Deplorable is the degradation of our nature. South. Moments there frequently must be, when a sidegradation of his state. Blair.

less; abandonment of hope; extreme recklessness; reckless fury. In the desperation of the moment, the officers even tried to cut their way through with their swords. W. Irving.