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ceding in dignity, order, rank, right, or worth; rather than. He that cometh after me is preferred before me. John i. 15. The eldest son is before the younger in succession. Johnson.

Any permanent mark to which other levels may be referred. Specif. : A horizontal mark at the water's edge with reference to which the height of tides and floods may be measured.

An ecclesiastical living and church preferment, as in the Church of England; a church endowed with a revenue for the maintenance of divine service. See Advowson.

Preferable in regard to rank, value, use, fitness, acceptableness, safety, or in any other respect. To obey is better than sacrifice. 1 Sam. xv. 22. It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes. Ps. cxviii. 9.

Lineage; extraction; descent; sometimes, high birth; noble extraction. Elected without reference to birth, but solely for qualifications. Prescott.

in words, writing, or signs; impiously irreverent words or signs addressed to, or used in reference to, God; speaking evil of God; also, the act of claiming the attributes or prerogatives of deity.

A stand to hold books for reading or reference.

One of two characters [], used to inclose a reference, explanation, or note, or a part to be excluded from a sentence, to indicate an interpolation, to rectify a mistake, or to supply an omission, and for certain other purposes; -- called also crotchet.

small arms and certain special guns, as automatic and machine guns; --used frequently in referring to the method by which the movable barrels of breech- loading shotguns are locked, unlocked, or rotated to loading position.

ied also to a statement of the heads or points of a law argument. It was not without some reference to it that I perused many a brief. Sir J. Stephen.

. Cadmean victory, a victory that damages the victors as much as the vanquished; probably referring to the battle in which the soldiers who sprang from the dragon's teeth sown by Cadmus slew each other.

A reference to, or statement of, an object, course, distance, or other matter of description in a survey or grant reguiring or calling for a carresponding object, etc., on the land.

ra are grown in China for the oil which is pressed from their seeds. The tea plant is now referred to this genus under the name of Camellia Thea.

; to scrutinize; as, to canvass the votes cast at an election; to canvass a district with reference to its probable vote. I have made careful search on all hands, and canvassed the matter with all possible diligence. Woodward.

The power of receiving or containing; extent of room or space; passive power; -- used in reference to physical things. Had our great palace the capacity To camp this host, we all would sup together. Shak. The capacity of the exhausted cylinder. Boyle.

Having reference to, or involving, the forfeiture of the head or life; affecting life; punishable with death; as, capital trials; capital punishment. Many crimes that are capital among us. Swift. To put to death a capital offender. Milton.

A tax upon each head or person, without reference to property; a poll tax.

A burning or gnawing pain, or feeling of distress, referred to the region of the heart, accompanied with cardisc palpitation; heartburn. It is usually a symptom of indigestion.

nd inductive study of leading or selected cases, with or without the use of textbooks for reference and collateral reading.

to convict; as, to be cast in damages. She was cast to be hanged. Jeffrey. Were the case referred to any competent judge, they would inevitably be cast. Dr. H. More.