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red; secular; -- opposed to sacred, religious, or inspired; as, a profane place. "Profane authors." I. Disraeli. The profane wreath was suspended before the shrine. Gibbon.

im one's self versed in; to make one's self a teacher or practitioner of, to set up as an authority respecting; to declare (one's self to be such); as, he professes surgery; to profess one's self a physician.

To forbid by authority; to interdict; as, God prohibited Adam from eating of the fruit of a certain tree; we prohibit a person from doing a thing, and also the doing of the thing; as, the law prohibits men from stealing, or it prohibits stealing.

The part of a poem in which the author states the subject or matter of it. Leaves of proposition (Jewish Antiq.), the showbread. Wyclif (Luke vi. 4).

The authority assumed by a superior power over an inferior or a dependent one, whereby the former protects the latter from invasion and shares in the management of its affairs.

A declaration made by the master of a vessel before a notary, consul, or other authorized officer, upon his arrival in port after a disaster, stating the particulars of it, and showing that any damage or loss sustained was not owing to the fault of the vessel, her officers or crew, but to the perils of the sea, etc., a…

Of or pertaining to the faith and practice of those Christians who reject the authority of the Roman Catholic Church; as, Protestant writers.

Of or pertaining to the first canon, or that which contains the authorized collection of the books of Scripture; -- opposed to deutero-canonical.

A country or region dependent on a distant authority; a portion of an empire or state, esp. one remote from the capital. "Kingdoms and provinces." Shak.

The agency for another who acts through the agent; authority to act for another, esp. to vote in a legislative or corporate capacity. I have no man's proxy: I speak only for myself. Burke.

riter or composer of sacred songs; -- a title particularly applied to David and the other authors of the Scriptural psalms.

The ascription of false names of authors to works.

A fictitious name assumed for the time, as by an author; a pen name. [Written also pseudonyme.]

The using of fictitious names, as by authors.

nitely; as, the American public; also, a particular body or aggregation of people; as, an author's public. The public is more disposed to censure than to praise. Addison.

ion into sentences, and members of a sentence, by means of points, so as to elucidate the author's meaning.

olor, or a garment of such color; especially, a purple robe, worn as an emblem of rank or authority; specifically, the purple rode or mantle worn by Roman emperors as the emblem of imperial dignity; as, to put on the imperial purple. Thou shalt make the tabernacle with ten curtains of fine twined linen, and purple, and…

Limit or sphere of authority; scope; extent. In determining the extent of information required in the exercise of a particular authority, recourse must be had to the objects within the purview of that authority. Madison.

longer in a certain inning, as in base ball. -- To put over. (a) To place (some one) in authority over; as, to put a general over a division of an army. (b) To refer. For the certain knowledge of that knowledge of that truthput you o'er to heaven and to my mother. Shak.

seful or pious, became customary, and then came for reverence into a putative and usurped authority. Jer. Taylor.