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To take fast hold of; to seize and hold firmly; to pounce upon. [Obs.] Who trussing me as eagle doth his prey. Spenser.

Fidelity; constancy; steadfastness; faithfulness. Alas! they had been friends in youth, But whispering tongues can poison truth. Coleridge.

A sweating in a tub; a tub fast. [Obs.] Shak.

gold tassel, on the cap worn by them. [Cant, Eng.] Several young tufts, and others of the faster men. T. Hughes.

A gravitating catch, as for fastening a shutter, the end of a chain, or a hasp.

A person who has charge of the keys of a prison, for opening and fastening the doors; a warder.

A chain or rope, one end of which passes through the mast, and is made fast to the center of a yard; the other end is attached to a tackle, by means of which the yard is hoisted or lowered.

An ornamented or painted ball or boss fastened at each end of the stick on which manuscripts were rolled. Dr. W. Smith.

r fabric, extended on strips of whalebone, steel, or other elastic material, inserted, or fastened to, a rod or stick by means of pivots or hinges, in such a way as to allow of being opened and closed with ease. See Parasol. Underneath the umbrella's oily shed. Gay.

th compounds of the negative prefix un- (see 2d Un-); as in undone (from undo), meaning unfastened, ruined; and undone (from 2d un- and done) meaning not done, not finished. Un- is sometimes used with an intensive force merely; as in unloose.

Wanting a band or string; unfastened. [Obs.] Shak.

To unfasten, as sails, from the spars or stays to which they are attached for use.

To remove a band from; to set free from shackles or fastenings; to unite; to unfasten; to loose; as, unbind your fillets; to unbind a prisoner's arms; to unbind a load.

To remove a bolt from; to unfasten; to unbar; to open. "He shall unbolt the gates." Shak.

To free the breech of, as a cannon, from its fastenings or coverings. Pennant.

To loose the buckles of; to unfasten; as, to unbuckle a shoe. "Unbuckle anon thy purse." Chaucer.

To loose the buttons of; to unfasten.

To loose the clasp of; to open, as something that is fastened, or as with, a clasp; as, to unclasp a book; to unclasp one's heart.

To release from cords; to loosen the cord or cords of; to unfasten or unbind; as, to uncord a package.

To brace, fasten, or bind underneath or below. Cowper.