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A term used by jugglers in pretended incantations.

kes; also, the entertainment given on that day to a visitor, or the gift given to an applicant. [Scot.]

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. France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . . A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. Shak.…

A mercantile establishment or factory for foreign trade in China, as formerly at Canton; a succession of offices connected by a common passage and used for business or storage. Hong merchant, one of the few Chinese merchants who, previous to the treaty of 1842, formed a guild which had the exclusive privilege of tradin…

A collector of customs, as at Canton; an overseer of commerce.

mocratic party in New York; hence, one opposed to progress in general; a fogy. [Political Cant, U.S.]

Excessive conservatism; hostility to progress. [Political Cant, U.S.]

A fruit consisting in large part of a receptacle, enlarged below the calyx, as in the alycanthus, the rose hip, and the pear.

Not momentous; unimportant; insignificant. [R.] A. Seward.

Anything of unusual size or excellence, as a large decanter, a kind of large photograph, a large sheet of drowing, printing, or writing paper, etc.

Carrying or possessing weight or consequence; of valuable content or bearing; significant; weighty. Things small as nothing . . . He makes important. Shak.

Decantation, or tipping for pouring. Inclination compass, an inclinometer. -- Inclination of an orbit (Astron.), the angle which the orbit makes the ecliptic. -- Inclination of the needle. See Dip of the needle, under Dip.

a matting, floor matting made in China, India, etc., from grass and reeds; -- also called Canton, or China, matting. -- India paper, a variety of Chinese paper, of smooth but not glossy surface, used for printing from engravings, woodcuts, etc. -- India proof (Engraving), a proof impression from an engraved plate, ta…

Anything that intoxicates, as opium, alcohol, etc.; an intoxicant. Smart.

tars over affairs. Astrologers call the evil influences of the stars,evil aspects. Bacon. Cantsthou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion Job xxxviii. 31. She said : influence bad " Spenser.

Conveying a hint; significant. [Obs.] Burton.

The condition or quality of being insignificant; want of significance, sense, or meaning; as, the insignificance of words or phrases.

Not expressing meaning; not significant.

A short piece of instrumental music played between the parts of a song or cantata, or the acts of a drama; especially, in church music, a short passage played by the organist between the stanzas of a hymn, or in German chorals after each line.

The time during which a throne is vacant between the death or abdication of a sovereign and the accession of his successor.