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A politician. [Archaic] Bacon. Swiftly the politic goes; is it dark he borrows a lantern; Slowly the statesman and sure, guiding his feet by the stars. Lowell.

A petty politician; a pretender in politics. Milton.

To play the politician; to dispute as politicians do. [Obs.] Milton.

and the like; also, the apparatus, tackle, or device by which the advantage is gained. A politician, to do great things, looks for a power -- what our workmen call a purchase. Burke.

s in the course, progress, or duration of anything, as in the life of a public man; as, a politician with a good or a bad record.

An assembly; a group; a circle; as, a round of politicians. Addison.

A statesman; a politician; one skilled in government. [Obs.] Statists indeed, And lovers of their country. Milton.

Venal; corrupt; jobbing; as, a trading politician.

o praises, or propagates praise, or is the instrument of propagating it. Shak. That great politician was pleased to have the greatest wit of those times . . . to be the trumpet of his praises. Dryden.

lied to a new task, or to various subjects; many-sided; as, versatile genius; a versatile politician. Conspicuous among the youths of high promise . . . was the quick and versatile [Charles] Montagu. Macaulay.

A statesman; a politician. [R.] Shak.

thing that has short turns or angles. The fanatics going straight forward and openly, the politicians by the surer mode of zigzag. Burke.