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To draw back; to withdraw. [Obs.] The Libyc Hammon shrinks his horn. Milton. To shrink on (Mach.), to fix (one piece or part) firmly around (another) by natural contraction in cooling, as a tire on a wheel, or a hoop upon a cannon, which is made slightly smaller than the part it is to fit, and expanded by heat till it…

well furnished with various traces, signatures, and images. I. Watts. The natural and indelible signature of God, which human souls . . . are supposed to be stamped with. Bentley.

it for weaving. Brande & C. -- Silk tree (Bot.), an Asiatic leguminous tree (Albizzia Julibrissin) with finely bipinnate leaves, and large flat pods; -- so called because of the abundant long silky stamens of its blossoms. Also called silk flower. -- Silk vessel. (Zoöl.) Same as Silk gland, above. -- Virginia silk…

Celibacy. [Obs.] Jer. Taylor.

mollusk by which water is conducted into the gill cavity. See Illust. under Mya, and Lamellibranchiata.

An oppressive, relaxing wind from the Libyan deserts, chiefly experienced in Italy, Malta, and Sicily.

causing anything to slip or move smoothly, rapidly, and easily upon the surface; smooth; glib; as, oily substances render things slippery.

t space in a relatively long time; not swift; not quick in motion; not rapid; moderate; deliberate; as, a slow stream; a slow motion.

rderly; as, a sluttish woman. Why is thy lord so slutish, I thee pray. Chaucer. An air of liberal, though sluttish, plenty, indicated the wealthy farmer. Sir W. Scott. -- Slut"tish*ly, adv. -- Slut"tish*ness, n.

e, a bite, morsel, or fragment; a scrap. He's a nimble fellow, And alike skilled in every liberal science, As having certain snaps of all. B. Jonson.

A quick offhand shot, made without deliberately taking aim over the sights.

ngs up for a show. Goldsmith. He [Burns] certainly wrote some so-so verses to the Tree of Liberty. Prof. Wilson.

Liberty or privilege of tenants excused from customary burdens.

Loose; free; liberal; as, a solute interpretation. [Obs.] Bacon.

only sort and herd with metals in the earth, and minerals with minerals. Woodward. The illiberality of parents towards children makes them base, and sort with any company. Bacon.

ne who is the mouthpiece of others; especially, one who presides over, or speaks for, a delibrative assembly, preserving order and regulating the debates; as, the Speaker of the House of Commons, originally, the mouthpiece of the House to address the king; the Speaker of a House of Representatives.

us reasoning; a specious argument. Misled for a moment by the specious names of religion, liberty, and property. Macaulay. In consequence of their greater command of specious expression. J. Morley.

Splendor-bearing; splendid. Bale (1538). "A splendiferous woman." Haliburton. [Now used humorously.]

of lampoons. [Obs.] The squibs are those who in the common phrase of the world are called libelers, lampooners, and pamphleteers. Tatler.

rm; as, a stable foundation; a stable position. Stable equibrium (Mech.), the kind of equilibrium of a body so placed that if disturbed it returns to its former position, as in the case when the center of gravity is below the point or axis of support; -- opposed to unstable equilibrium, in which the body if disturbed d…