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A company assembled, or conceived to assemble, about a central point of interest, or bound by a common tie; a class or division of society; a coterie; a set. As his name gradually became known, the circle of his acquaintance widened. Macaulay.

Addressed to a circle, or to a number of persons having a common interest; circulated, or intended for circulation; as, a circular letter. A proclamation of Henry III., . . . doubtless circular throughout England. Hallam.

lique; a sect, society, or body of persons; esp., a body of persons united by some common interest or pursuit; -- sometimes used contemptuously. Partidge and the rest of his clan may hoot me. Smolett. The whole clan of the enlightened among us. Burke.

to act in a contrary direction; to come onto collision; to interfere. However some of his interests might clash with those of the chief adjacent colony. Palfrey.

To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24. Cleave unto the Lord your God. Josh. xxiii. 8.

An excessive devotion to the interests of the sacerdotal order; undue influence of the clergy; sacerdotalism.

nted a clerk." Blackstone. He was no great clerk, but he was perfectly well versed in the interests of Europe. Burke.

A narrow circle of persons associated by common interests or for the accomplishment of a common purpose; -- generally used in a bad sense.

The interest which one may have in a piece of ground, even though it is not inclosed. Bouvier.

A combination, for temporary purposes, of persons, parties, or states, having different interests. A coalition of the puritan and the blackleg. J. Randolph. The coalition between the religious and worldly enemies of popery. Macaulay.

Wanting in power to excite; dull; uninteresting. What a deal of cold business doth a man misspend the better part of life in! B. Jonson. The jest grows cold . . . when in comes on in a second scene. Addison.

or matter under consideration; hence, subordinate; not chief or principal; as, collateral interest; collateral issues. That he [Attebury] was altogether in the wrong on the main question, and on all the collateral questions springing out of it, . . . is true. Macaulay.

tion, body, or society of persons engaged in common pursuits, or having common duties and interests, and sometimes, by charter, peculiar rights and privileges; as, a college of heralds; a college of electors; a college of bishops. The college of the cardinals. Shak. Then they made colleges of sufferers; persons who, to…

ash against each other; to come into collision; to clash; as, the vessels collided; their interests collided. Across this space the attraction urges them. They collide, they recoil, they oscillate. Tyndall. No longer rocking and swaying, but clashing and colliding. Carlyle.

Convenience; accommodation; profit; benefit; advantage; interest; commodiousness. [Obs.] Drawn by the commodity of a footpath. B. Jonson. Men may seek their own commodity, yet if this were done with injury to others, it was not to be suffered. Hooker.

Belonging or relating equally, or similary, to more than one; as, you and I have a common interest in the property. Though life and sense be common to men and brutes. Sir M. Hale.

An idea or expression wanting originality or interest; a trite or customary remark; a platitude.

A body of people having common rights, privileges, or interests, or living in the same place under the same laws and regulations; as, a community of monks. Hence a number of animals living in a common home or with some apparent association of interests. Creatures that in communities exist. Wordsworth.…

with them. Macaulay. The miracles of our Lord and those of the Old Testament afford many interesting points of comparison. Trench.

One of the same country, and having like interests and feeling. The distrust with which they felt themselves to be regarded by their compatriots in America. Palfrey.