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The act of espousing or betrothing; especially, in the plural, betrothal; plighting of the troths; a contract of marriage; sometimes, the marriage ceremony.

That which is established; as: (a) A form of government, civil or ecclesiastical; especially, a system of religion maintained by the civil power; as, the Episcopal establishment of England. (b) A permanent civil, military, or commercial, force or organization. (c) The place in which one is permanently fixed for residen…

That which is evacuated or discharged; especially, a discharge by stool or other natural means. Quincy.

Good news; announcement of glad tidings; especially, the gospel, or a gospel. Milton. Her funeral anthem is a glad evangel. Whittier.

Clear to the vision; especially, clear to the understanding, and satisfactory to the judgment; as, the figure or color of a body is evident to the senses; the guilt of an offender can not always be made evident. Your honor and your goodness is so evident. Shak. And in our faces evident the sings Of foul concupiscence.…

Relating to, or affording, evidence; indicative; especially, relating to the evidences of Christianity. Bp. Fleetwood. "Evidential tracks." Earle.. -- Ev`i*den"tial*ly, adv.

malady or disease; especially in the phrase king's evil, the scrofula. [R.] Shak. He [Edward the Confessor] was the first that touched for the evil. Addison.

An instance serving for illustration of a rule or precept, especially a problem to be solved, or a case to be determined, as an exercise in the application of the rules of any study or branch of science; as, in trigonometry and grammar, the principles and rules are illustrated by examples.

The removal, especially of small parts, with a cutting instrument. Dunglison.

To put out of communion; especially, to cut off, or shut out, from communion with the church, by an ecclesiastical sentence.

that which is excreted or cast out of the animal body by any of the natural emunctories; especially, alvine, discharges; dung; ordure.

Exposition; explanation; especially, a critical explanation of a text or portion of Scripture.

To occupy the attention and effort of; to task; to tax, especially in a painful or vexatious manner; harass; to vex; to worry or make anxious; to affect; to discipline; as, exercised with pain. Where pain of unextinguishable fire Must exercise us without hope of end. Milton.

To split into scales, especially to become converted into scales at the result of heat or decomposition.

To hold forth or present to view; to produce publicly, for inspection; to show, especially in order to attract notice to what is interesting; to display; as, to exhibit commodities in a warehouse, a picture in a gallery. Exhibiting a miserable example of the weakness of mind and body. Pope.

A beginning; an introduction; especially, the introductory part of a discourse or written composition, which prepares the audience for the main subject; the opening part of an oration. "The exordium of repentance." Jer. Taylor. "Long prefaces and exordiums. " Addison.

To kiss; especially, to kiss repeatedly or fondly. [Obs.]

That which is expanded or spread out; a wide extent of space or body; especially, the arch of the sky. "The green expanse." Savage. Lights . . . high in the expanse of heaven. Milton. The smooth expanse of crystal lakes. Pope.

The act of banishing, or the state of banishment; especially, the forsaking of one's own country with a renunciation of allegiance. Expatriation was a heavy ransom to pay for the rights of their minds and souls. Palfrey.

An important enterprise, implying a change of place; especially, a warlike enterprise; a march or a voyage with martial intentions; an excursion by a body of persons for a valuable end; as, a military, naval, exploring, or scientific expedition; also, the body of persons making such excursion. The expedition miserably…