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d; -- said of a piece in machinery. Self-adjusting bearing (Shafting), a bearing which is supported in such a manner that it may tip to accomodate flexure or displacement of the shaft.

ality or state of being self-confident; self-reliance. A feeling of self-confidence which supported and sustained him. Beaconsfield.

An undergraduate, partly supported by the college funds, whose duty it formerly was to wait at table. A servitor corresponded to a sizar in Cambridge and Dublin universities.

Attached without any sensible projecting support.

vet, etc. -- Set line, a line to which a number of baited hooks are attached, and which, supported by floats and properly secured, may be left unguarded during the absence of the fisherman. -- Set nut, a jam nut or lock nut. See under Nut. -- Set screw (Mach.), a screw, sometimes cupped or printed at one end, and sc…

wn, which entitles him to maintenance if a pauper, and subjects the parish or town to his support. Blackstone. Bouvier. Act of settlement (Eng. Hist.), the statute of 12 and 13 William III, by which the crown was limited to the present reigning house (the house of Hanover). Blackstone.

The part of a candlestick which supports its branches. Thou shalt make a candlestick of pure gold . . . his shaft, and his branches, his bowls, his knops, and his flowers, shall be of the same. Ex. xxv. 31.

To fall off, as a leaf, flower, or capsule, on account of disease affecting the supporting footstalk; -- usually followed by off. Darwin.

Anything regarded as a sure support or dependence in danger; the best hope or refuge.

sful expedients; characterized by failure, especially by failure to provide for one's own support, through negligence or incapacity; hence, lazy; improvident; thriftless; as, a shiftless fellow; shiftless management. -- Shift"less*ly, adv. -- Shift"less*ness, n.

A prop, as a timber, placed as a brace or support against the side of a building or other structure; a prop placed beneath anything, as a beam, to prevent it from sinking or sagging. [Written also shoar.]

The act of supporting or strengthening with a prop or shore.

Fig.: That which supports or sustains; support. In thy shoulder do I build my seat. Shak.

A set of ropes serving as stays to support the masts. The lower shrouds are secured to the sides of vessels by heavy iron bolts and are passed around the head of the lower masts.

lly placed in pairs, each post set at the same distance from the middle of the truss, for supporting the principal rafters, hanging the tiebeam, etc. -- Side rod. (a) One of the rods which connect the piston-rod crosshead with the side levers, in a side-lever engine. (b) See Parallel rod, under Parallel. -- Side scre…

especially, a horizontal piece, as a timber, which forms the lower member of a frame, or supports a structure; as, the sills of a house, of a bridge, of a loom, and the like. Hence:

The bony and cartilaginous framework which supports the soft parts of a vertebrate animal.

A piece of timber used as a support, or to receive pressure. Specifically: (a) pl. (Naut.)

One of the pieces of timber, stone, or iron, on or near the level of the ground, for the support of some superstructure, to steady framework, to keep in place the rails of a railway, etc.; a stringpiece.

Small; inadequate; meager; pitiful; as, slender means of support; a slender pittance. Frequent begging makes slender alms. Fuller.