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The staff for holding a bunch of flax, tow, or wool, from which the thread is drawn in spinning by hand. I will the distaff hold; come thou and spin. Fairfax.

erything else; distinctive; peculiar; characteristic. The distinguishing doctrines of our holy religion. Locke. Distinguishing pennant (Naut.), a special pennant by which any particular vessel in a fleet is recognized and signaled. Simmonds.

One who holds the doctrine of ditheism; a dualist. Cudworth.

A sailor's small bag to hold thread, needles, tape, etc.; -- also called sailor's housewife.

A small box to hold a sailor's thread, needless, comb, etc.

ing; to plunge into. [R.] The Curtii bravely dived the gulf of fame. Denham. He dives the hollow, climbs the steeps. Emerson.

To strike or sound through. [R.] Davies (Holy Roode).

Appropriated to God, or celebrating his praise; religious; pious; holy; as, divine service; divine songs; divine worship.

In a divine or godlike manner; holily; admirably or excellently in a supreme degree. Most divinely fair. Tennyson.

cidæ, which habitually lives under water; - - called also water tiger. -- Diving bell, a hollow inverted vessel, sometimes bell-shaped, in which men may descend and work under water, respiration being sustained by the compressed air at the top, by fresh air pumped in through a tube from above. -- Diving dress. See Su…

me buoyant, and, by floating, to lift a vessel out of water. -- Graving dock, a dock for holding a ship for graving or cleaning the bottom, etc. -- Hydraulic dock, a dock in which a vessel is raised clear of the water by hydraulic presses. -- Naval dock, a dock connected with which are naval stores, materials, and a…

An iron for holding wood in a fireplace; a firedog; an andiron.

One of several shores used to hold a ship firmly and prevent her moving while the blocks are knocked away before launching.

In Canada, a legal holiday, July lst, being the anniversary of the proclamation of the formation of the Dominion in 1867.

Up, or ahead, as many holes as remain to be played; -- said of a player or side.

A spear bearer; a statue of a man holding a spear or in the attitude of a spear bearer. Several important sculptures of this subject existed in antiquity, copies of which remain to us.

To question or hold questionable; to withhold assent to; to hesitate to believe, or to be inclined not to believe; to withhold confidence from; to distrust; as, I have heard the story, but I doubt the truth of it. To admire superior sense, and doubt their own! Pope. I doubt not that however changed, you keep So much of…

fragrant flowers. The column in the center of the flower resembles a dove; -- called also Holy Spirit plant.

A pin, or block, of wood or metal, fitting into holes in the abutting portions of two pieces, and being partly in one piece and partly in the other, to keep them in their proper relative position.

A sudden fall; a body of things falling. Those cataracts or downfalls aforesaid. Holland. Each downfall of a flood the mountains pour. Dryden.