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A kind of militia in Poland, consisting of the gentry, which, in case of invasion, was summoned to the defense of the country.

Of or pertaining to the possessive case; as, a possessival termination. Earle.

Of or pertaining to possession; having or indicating possession. Possessive case (Eng. Gram.), the genitive case; the case of nouns and pronouns which expresses ownership, origin, or some possessive relation of one thing to another; as, Homer's admirers; the pear's flavor; the dog's faithfulness. -- Possessive pronoun…

of placing after, or the state of being placed after. "The postposition of the nominative case to the verb." Mede.

Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the business was referred to a committee with power.

flat-bottomed boat or lighter, -- used in Holland and the Baltic, and sometimes armed in case of war. [Written also pram, and prame.]

, or expectation, employed in wills, as distinguished from express directions; -- in some cases creating a trust. Jarman.

le to authorize a subsequent act of the same kind; an authoritative example. Examples for cases can but direct as precedents only. Hooker.

Ending quickly in death; brief and fatal; as, a precipitate case of disease. [Obs.] Arbuthnot.

A preliminary examination of a criminal case with reference to a prosecution. Erskine.

by anticipation; to condemn beforehand. The committee of council hath prejudged the whole case, by calling the united sense of both houses of Parliament" a universal clamor." Swift.

me other word; a particle used with a noun or pronoun (in English always in the objective case) to make a phrase limiting some other word; -- so called because usually placed before the word with which it is phrased; as, a bridge of iron; he comes from town; it is good for food; he escaped by running.…

More remote in previous time or prior order. In some cases two more links of causation may be introduced; one of them may be termed the preremote cause, the other the postremote effect. E. Darwin.

An upright case or closet for the safe keeping of articles; as, a clothes press. Shak.

eave or authority not granted; to go beyond what is warranted by the circumstances of the case; to venture beyond license; to take liberties; -- often with on or upon before the ground of confidence. Do not presume too much upon my love. Shak. This man presumes upon his parts. Locke.

rrill. Best. Wharton. -- Presumption of law (Law), a postulate applied in advance to all cases of a particular class; e. g., the presumption of innocence and of regularity of records. Such a presumption is rebuttable or irrebuttable.

he eldest son of the sovereign is entitled to the throne by primogeniture. In exceptional cases, among the female children, the crown descends by right of primogeniture to the eldest daughter only and her issue. Blackstone.

ipal men of a state; the principal productions of a country; the principal arguments in a case. Wisdom is the principal thing. Prov. iv. 7.

ent; anterior; previous; as, a prior discovery; prior obligation; -- used elliptically in cases like the following: he lived alone [in the time] prior to his marriage.

onfessed. The action of a court of equity on that portion of the pleading in a particular case which the pleading on the other side does not deny. -- Pro rata. Etym: [L. See Prorate.] In proportion; proportion. -- Pro re nata Etym: [L.] (Law), for the existing occasion; as matters are.