Search the Dictionary

directions; to dilate; to enlarge, as by elasticity of parts; to inflate so as to produce tension; to cause to swell; as, to distend a bladder, the stomach, etc. The warmth distends the chinks. Dryden.

A grand personage, or one making pretension to consequence; especially, the head of a college, or one of the fellows at the English universities. [Univ. Cant] "The great dons of wit." Dryden.

By extension, any material used for the same purpose.

of unlike polarity, and repulsion between those of like; by exhibiting accumulated polar tension when the circuit is broken; and by producing heat, light, concussion, and often chemical changes when the circuit passes between the poles or through any imperfectly conducting substance or space. It is generally brought i…

Of or pertaining to electrical tension; -- said of a supposed peculiar condition of a conducting circuit during its exposure to the action of another conducting circuit traversed by a uniform electric current when both circuits remain stationary. Faraday.

The act of lengthening, or the state of being lengthened; protraction; extension. "Elongation of the fibers." Arbuthnot.

great emphasis. External objects stand before us . . . in all the life and emphasis of extension, figure, and color. Sir W. Hamilton.

in size or bulk, real or apparent; the state of being increased; augmentation; further extension; expansion.

Having great tension, or exaggerated action. Dunglison.

ssue (Anat.), a tissue which is capable of being greatly dilated and made rigid by the distension of the numerous blood vessels which it contains.

State of being stretched to stiffness; tension.

the place where troops on the march halt over night; also, by extension, the distance marched during a day.

Enlargement or extension of business transaction; esp., increase of the circulation of bank notes.

Unlimited extension. [Obs.] An . . . extendlessness of excursions. Sir. M. Hale.

Suited for, or capable of, extension; extensible. Owen.

An instrument for measuring the extension of a body, especially for measuring the elongation of bars of iron, steel, or other material, when subjected to a tensile force.

Extension. [R.] Drayton.

The front of a building; esp., the principal front, having some architectural pretensions. Thus a church is said to have its facade unfinished, though the interior may be in use.

, similar pieces used to cover the valleys of roofs of slate, shingles, or the like. By extension, the metal covering of ridges and hips of roofs; also, in the United States, the protecting of angles and breaks in walls of frame houses with waterproof material, tarred paper, or the like. Cf. Filleting.…

A homaloid space or extension.