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To emit or utter by the breath; to utter softly; to whisper; as, to breathe a vow. He softly breathed thy name. Dryden. Or let the church, our mother, breathe her curse, A mother's curse, on her revolting son. Shak.

A curved mark [ ] used commonly to indicate the short quantity of a vowel.

Not carried into effect; not adhered to; violated; as, a broken promise, vow, or contract; a broken law.

le of life. -- Secular canoness, one allowed to hold private property, and bound only by vows of chastity and obedience so long as she chose to remain in the chapter.

or opposed to, wholly, completely; as in cataclysm, catarrh. It sometimes drops the final vowel, as in catoptric; and is sometimes changed to cath, as in cathartic, catholic.

The state of being unmarried; single life, esp. that of a bachelor, or of one bound by vows not to marry. "The celibacy of the clergy." Hallom.

One who is unmarried, esp. a bachelor, or one bound by vows not to marry.

To unite closely and strongly. And in this vow do chain my soul to thine. Shak.

To mark with the circumflex accent, as a vowel. [R.]

period during which killing game or catching certain fish is prohibited by law. -- Close vowel (Pron.), a vowel which is pronounced with a diminished aperture of the lips, or with contraction of the cavity of the mouth. -- Close to the wind (Naut.), directed as nearly to the point from which the wind blows as it is p…

m of the prefix com-, signifying with, together, in conjunction, joint. It is used before vowels and some consonants. See Com-.

A fabulous serpent whose breath and look were said to be fatal. See Basilisk. That bare vowel, I, shall poison more Than the death-darting eye of cockatrice. Shak.

l, cor- before r, and con- before any consonant except b, h, l, m, p, r, and w. Before a vowel com- becomes co-; also before h, w, and sometimes before other consonants.

To bind; to hold by a moral tie. [Obs.] I am combined by a sacred vow. Shak.

ct a commutation. He . . . thinks it unlawful to commute, and that he is bound to pay his vow in kind. Jer. Taylor.

To make acknowledgment or avowal in a matter pertaining to one's self; to acknowledge, own, or admit, as a crime, a fault, a debt. And there confess Humbly our faults, and pardon beg. Milton. I must confess I was most pleased with a beautiful prospect that none of them have mentioned. Addison.

Acknowledgment; avowal, especially in a matter pertaining to one's self; the admission of a debt, obligation, or crime. With a crafty madness keeps aloof, When we would bring him on to some confession Of his true state. Shak.

ariety of configurations [of the mouth] . . . which gives birth and origin to the several vowels. Harris.

late sound which in utterance is usually combined and sounded with an open sound called a vowel; a member of the spoken alphabet other than a vowel; also, a letter or character representing such a sound.

To change into, or use as, a consonant. "The vowel is consonantized, that is, made closer in position." Peile.