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tion of air or other gas in a closed tube with mercury or other liquid intervening, or in bending a metallic or other spring so as to set in motion an index; a pressure gauge. See Pressure, and Illust. of Air pump.

A machine formerly used for bending a crossbow by winding it up.

A dropping or bending forward of the upper oart or top of anything. Like a drunken sailor on a mast, Ready with every nod to tumble down. Shak.

Turning or bending at night into special positions.

Waving. [Obs.] Ounding, paling, winding, or bending . . . of cloth. Chaucer.

chamber (Zoöl.), the cavity inclosed by the mantle. -- Pallial sinus (Zoöl.), an inward bending of the pallial line, near the posterior end of certain bivalve shells, to receive the siphon. See Illust. of Bivalve.

The cutting or bending and intertwining the branches of small trees, as in hedges.

Capable of plying or bending; readily yielding to force or pressure without breaking; flexible; pliable; lithe; limber; plastic; as, a pliant thread; pliant wax. Also used figuratively: Easily influenced for good or evil; tractable; as, a pliant heart. The will was then ductile and pliant to right reason. South.…

A kind of small pinchers with long jaws, -- used for bending or cutting metal rods or wire, for handling small objects such as the parts of a watch, etc.

Bending low, exhibiting or expressing deep humility; lowly; submissive; as, a profound bow. What humble gestures! What profound reverence! Dupp

Bending forward; inclined; not erect. Towards him they bend With awful reverence prone. Milton.

The quality or state of being prone, or of bending downward; as, the proneness of beasts is opposed to the erectness of man.

An instrument for bending a bow.

Bending or leaning backward.

Bending or curving gradually back from the perpendicular.

The act of recurving, or the state of being recurved; a bending or flexure backward.

Bending or flying back; reflected. "The ray descendent, and the ray reflectent flying with so great a speed." Sir K. Digby.

Bending or turned backward; reflective; having respect to something past. Assurance reflexive can not be a divine faith. Hammond.

A turning or bending backward; also, the state of being turned or bent backward; displacement backwards; as, retroversion of the uterus.

in advance. -- Reverse curve (Railways), a curve like the letter S, formed of two curves bending in opposite directions. -- Reverse fire (Mil.), a fire in the rear. -- Reverse operation (Math.), an operation the steps of which are taken in a contrary order to that in which the same or similar steps are taken in anot…