GAIN v.
zek. xxii. 12. Gaining twist, in rifled firearms, a twist of the grooves, which increases regularly from the breech to the muzzle. To gain on or upon. (a) To encroach on; as, the ocean gains on the land. (b) To obtain influence with. (c) To win ground upon; to move faster than, as in a race or contest. (d) To get the b…
GRADUAL a.
r degrees; advancing, step by step, as in ascent or descent or from one state to another; regularly progressive; slow; as, a gradual increase of knowledge; a gradual decline. Creatures animate with gradual life Of growth, sense, reason, all summed up in man. Milton.
GUTTER n.
the outside face of the gutter in a decorative fashion, or by crowning it with ornaments, regularly spaced, like a diminutive battlement. -- Gutter plane, a carpenter's plane with a rounded bottom for planing out gutters. -- Gutter snipe, a neglected boy running at large; a street Arab. [Slang] -- Gutter stick (Print…
IN- prep. 2 definitions
among; as, inbred, inborn, inroad; incline, inject, intrude. In words from the Latin, in- regularly becomes il- before l, ir- before r, and im- before a labial; as, illusion, irruption, imblue, immigrate, impart. In- is sometimes used with an simple intensive force.
LETTER n.
(Eccl.), a document duly signed and sealed, by which a bishop makes it known that he has regularly ordained a certain person as priest, deacon, etc. -- Letters patent, overt, or open (Eng. Law), a writing executed and sealed, by which power and authority are granted to a person to do some act, or enjoy some right; as…
LOAF n.
Any thick lump, mass, or cake; especially, a large regularly shaped or molded mass, as of bread, sugar, or cake. Bacon. Loaf sugar, refined sugar that has been formed into a conical loaf in a mold.