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stain the character of; to lessen the reputation of; as, the duelist dishonors himself to maintain his honor. Nothing . . . that may dishonor Our law, or stain my vow of Nazarite. Milton.

To contend in argument; to argue against something maintained, upheld, or claimed, by another; to discuss; to reason; to debate; to altercate; to wrangle. Therefore disputed [reasoned, Rev. Ver .] he in synagogue with the Jews. Acts xvii. 17.

The doctrine of those who maintain the existence of two gods or of two original principles (as in Manicheism), one good and one evil; dualism.

report upon the affairs of the Established Church. -- Ecclesiastical courts, courts for maintaining the discipline of the Established Church; -- called also Christian courts. [Eng.] -- Ecclesiastical law, a combination of civil and canon law as administered in ecclesiastical courts. [Eng.] -- Ecclesiastical modes (Mu…

ng air from a space. Ejector condenser (Steam Engine), a condenser in which the vacuum is maintained by a jet pump.

To be at the charges of; to take or keep in one's service; to maintain; to support; to harbor; to keep.

t of the Magi of the East to Bethlehem, to see and worship the child Jesus; or, as others maintain, to commemorate the appearance of the star to the Magi, symbolizing the manifestation of Christ to the Gentles; Twelfthtide.

To pay the reckoning for; to support; to maintain. [Obs.] Shak.

To take to one's self with a view to maintain; to make one's own; to take up the cause of; to adopt; to embrace. "He espoused that quarrel." Bacon. Promised faithfully to espouse his cause as soon as he got out of the war. Bp. Burnet.

; as: (a) A form of government, civil or ecclesiastical; especially, a system of religion maintained by the civil power; as, the Episcopal establishment of England. (b) A permanent civil, military, or commercial, force or organization. (c) The place in which one is permanently fixed for residence or business; residence…

One who maintains that all things happen by inevitable necessity.

nstancy; faithfulness, as of a friend to a friend, or of a wife to her husband. He should maintain fealty to God. I. Taylor. Makes wicked lightnings of her eyes, and saps The fealty of our friends. tennyson. Swore fealty to the new government. Macaulay.

A franchise or right to maintain a vessel for carrying passengers and freight across a river, bay, etc., charging tolls. Ferry bridge, a ferryboat adapted in its structure for the transfer of railroad trains across a river or bay. -- Ferry railway. See under Railway.

One who maintains or attends a ferry.

h monarchy men (Hist.), a fanatical sect in England, of the time of the commonwealth, who maintained that there would be a fifth universal monarchy, during which Christ would reign on earth a thousand years. -- Fifth wheel, a horizontal wheel or segment above the fore axle of a carriage and beneath the body, forming a…

One of a fanatical sect which flourished in Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries, and maintained that flagellation was of equal virtue with baptism and the sacrament; -- called also disciplinant.

nciscan Order, chiefly in Italy and Sicily, in 1294, repudiating the pope as an apostate, maintaining the duty of celibacy and poverty, and discountenancing oaths. Called also Fratricellians and Fraticelli.

sit of resources from which supplies are or may be drawn for carrying on any work, or for maintaining existence.

One who believes or maintains that the fulfillment of the prophecies of the Bible is to be in the future.

show a brave, unyielding spirit. (b) To be victor in a game. [Colloq.] -- To die game, to maintain a bold, unyielding spirit to the last; to die fighting.