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To try to move, by entreaty, by afflictions, or by temptations; to tempt. [Obs. or Archaic] It made the laughter of an afternoon That Vivien should attempt the blameless king. Thackeray.

A philosophic movement of the 18th century characterized by a lively questioning of authority, keen interest in matters of politics and general culture, and an emphasis on empirical method in science. It received its impetus from the unsystematic but vigorous skepticism of Pierre Bayle, the physical doctrines of Newton…

The beginner, former, or first mover of anything; hence, the efficient cause of a thing; a creator; an originator. Eternal King; thee, Author of all being. Milton.

dent or self-derived power; absolute or controlling authority; supremacy. The divine will moves, not by the external impulse or inclination of objects, but determines itself by an absolute autocracy. South.

Spontaneous or voluntary movement; movement due to an internal cause.

Not voluntary; not depending on the will; mechanical; as, automatic movements or functions. Unconscious or automatic reasoning. H. Spenser. Automatic arts, such economic arts or manufacture as are carried on by self-acting machinery. Ure.

To advance; to move forward; to elevate. [Obs.] Spenser.

struments; not dexterous; without skill; clumsy; wanting ease, grace, or effectiveness in movement; ungraceful; as, he was awkward at a trick; an awkward boy. And dropped an awkward courtesy. Dryden.

ng of a railway car or truck, by which an axle box is held laterally, and in which it may move vertically; -- also called a jaw in the United States, and a housing in England.

tairs, Backstairs, and Backstair, in the Vocabulary. -- Back step (Mil.), the retrograde movement of a man or body of men, without changing front. -- Back stream, a current running against the main current of a stream; an eddy. -- To take the back track, to retrace one's steps; to retreat. [Colloq.]…

ff into twenty-four spaces called "points". Each player has fifteen pieces, or "men", the movements of which from point to point are determined by throwing dice. Formerly called tables. Backgammon board , a board for playing backgammon, often made in the form of two rectangular trays hinged together, each tray containi…

tance through which one part of connected machinery, as a wheel, piston, or screw, can be moved without moving the connected parts, resulting from looseness in fitting or from wear; also, the jarring or reflex motion caused in badly fitting machinery by irregularities in velocity or a reverse of motion.…

A movement in dancing. See Balance, v. i., S. Balance electrometer, a kind of balance, with a poised beam, which indicates, by weights suspended from one arm, the mutual attraction of oppositely electrified surfaces. Knight. -- Balance fish. (Zoöl) See Hammerhead. -- Balance knife, a carving or table knife the handle…

A wheel which imparts regularity to the movements of any engine or machine; a fly wheel.

The globe or earth. Pope. Move round the dark terrestrial ball. Addison. Ball and socket joint, a joint in which a ball moves within a socket, so as to admit of motion in every direction within certain limits. -- Ball bearings, a mechanical device for lessening the friction of axle bearings by means of small loose met…

, a barometer with recurved tube, and a float, from which a cord passes over a pulley and moves an index.

ications, or by natural advantages, from which the operations of an army proceed, forward movements are made, supplies are furnished, etc.

To remove. [Obs.] About autumn bate the earth from about the roots of olives, and lay them bare. Holland.

ut often any horse. Commonly in the phrase blind bayard, an old blind horse. Blind bayard moves the mill. Philips.

co, from a lake, or from a large river, sometimes sluggish, sometimes without perceptible movement except from tide and wind. [Southern U. S.] A dark slender thread of a bayou moves loiteringly northeastward into a swamp of huge cypresses. G. W. Cable.