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Any formal assembling of the retinue of a sovereign; as, to hold a court. The princesses held their court within the fortres. Macualay.

To agree (with); to enter into a formal agreement; to bind one's self by contract; to make a stipulation. Jupiter covenanted with him, that it should be hot or cold, wet or dry, . . . as the tenant should direct. L'Estrange. And they covenanted with him for thyrty pieces of silver. Matt. xxvi. 15.

m; to become thick like cream; to assume the appearance of cream; hence, to grow stiff or formal; to mantle. There are a sort of men whose visages Do cream and mantle like a standing pool. Shak.

mmon usage; conventional; habitual. Even now I met him With customary compliment. Shak. A formal customary attendance upon the offices. South.

or formed; shape; style; fashion; as, the cut of a garment. With eyes severe and beard of formal cut. Shak.

Of well being; of formal sufficiency for the time; conditionally; provisionally. Abbott.

or behavior; propriety of form in social intercourse, in actions, or in discourse; proper formality; becoming ceremony; seemliness; hence, freedom from obscenity or indecorum; modesty. Observances of time, place, and of decency in general. Burke. Immodest words admit of no defense, For want of decency is want of sense.…

To speak rhetorically; to make a formal speech or oration; to harangue; specifically, to recite a speech, poem, etc., in public as a rhetorical exercise; to practice public speaking; as, the students declaim twice a week.

That which is declared or proclaimed; announcement; distinct statement; formal expression; avowal. Declarations of mercy and love . . . in the Gospel. Tillotson.

To set apart and consecrate, as to a divinity, or for sacred uses; to devote formally and solemnly; as, to dedicate vessels, treasures, a temple, or a church, to a religious use. Vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, . . . which also king David did dedicate unto the Lord. 2 Sam. viii. 10, 11. We have come to dedicate…

Transmission by formal act or conveyance to an heir or successor; transference; especially, the transfer or transmission of the crown or royal authority to a successor.

One given to devotion, esp. to excessive formal devotion.

A conversation between two or more persons; particularly, a formal conservation in theatrical performances or in scholastic exercises.

The formal or distinguishing part of the essence of a species; the characteristic attribute of a species; specific difference.

pposed to circumstantial, or indirect, evidence. -- This distinction, however, is merely formal, since there is no direct evidence that is not circumstantial, or dependent on circumstances for its credibility. Wharton. -- Direct examination (Law), the first examination of a witness in the orderly course, upon the mer…

o express one's self in oral discourse; to expose one's views; to talk in a continuous or formal manner; to hold forth; to speak; to converse. Bid me discourse, I will enchant thine ear. Shak.

A formal or systematic inquiry into, or discussion of, any subject; a full examination or investigation of a matter, with the arguments and facts bearing upon it; elaborate essay; dissertation. For accurate research or grave disquisition he was not well qualified. Macaulay.

e establishment of their several countries. Burke. Robert Brown is said to have the first formal dissenter. Shipley.

A formal or elaborate argumentative discourse, oral or written; a disquisition; an essay; a discussion; as, Dissertations on the Prophecies.

, or register or such entries; a book of original, kept by clerks of courts, containing a formal list of the names of parties, and minutes of the proceedings, in each case in court.