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A batten laid lengthwise between two rafters to afford a bearing for laths laid crosswise.

Cutting a cask into two pieces lengthwise, to enable it to pass a narrow place, the two parts being afterward united and rehooped.

To weaken; to impair; to render decrepit. [Obs.] Till length of years, And sedentary numbness, craze my limbs. Milton.

ground or to some other support by means of roots or rootlets, or by tendrils, along its length. "Creeping vines." Dryden.

lazing cressets, fed With naphtha and asphaltus. Milton. As a cresset true that darts its length Of beamy luster from a tower of strength. Wordsworth.

growing on animal's head; the comb of a cock; the swelling on the head of a serpent; the lengthened feathers of the crown or nape of bird, etc. Darwin. [Attack] his rising crest, and drive the serpent back. C. Pitt.

A large reptile of the genus Crocodilus, of several species. They grow to the length of sixteen or eighteen feet, and inhabit the large rivers of Africa, Asia, and America. The eggs, laid in the sand, are hatched by the sun's heat. The best known species is that of the Nile (C. vulgaris, or C. Niloticus). The Florida c…

eth of which are so set as to adapt it for sawing wood crosswise of the grain rather than lengthwise. (b) A saw managed by two men, one at each end, for cutting large logs crosswise.

A measure of length, being the distance from the elbow to the extremity of the middle finger.

Of the length of a cubit. Sir. T. Browne.

A thick solid-rubber tire, as for a bicycle, with a hollow groove running lengthwise on the inside.

ance of a person. [Colloq.] -- To draw cuts, to draw lots, as of paper, etc., cut unequal lengths. Now draweth cut . . . The which that hath the shortest shall begin. Chaucer.

in most essentials like a sloop. A cutter is narrower end deeper than a sloop of the same length, and depends for stability on a deep keel, often heavily weighted with lead.

The space inclosed by any cylindrical surface. The space may be limited or unlimited in length.

he northern lights when they rise and fall alternately without any considerable change of length. See Aurora borealis, under Aurora.

t dangle Than miss his dear delight, to wrangle. Hudibras. From her lifted hand Dangled a length of ribbon. Tennyson. To dangle about or after, to hang upon importunately; to court the favor of; to beset. The Presbyterians, and other fanatics that dangle after them, are well inclined to pull down the present establishm…

Given or assigned length of life; dyration. [Obs.] Good luck prolonged hath thy date. Spenser. Through his life's whole date. Chapman. To bear date, to have the date named on the face of it; -- said of a writing.

ne drawn on the sheer plan to determine the sweep of the floorheads throughout the ship's length. -- Dead-Sea apple. See under Apple. -- Dead set. See under Set. -- Dead shot. (a) An unerring marksman. (b) A shot certain to be made. -- Dead smooth, the finest cut made; -- said of files. -- Dead wall (Arch.), a bla…

y, a board or plank of fir or pine above seven inches in width, and exceeding six feet in length. If narrower than this, it is called a batten; if shorter, a deal end.

A measure of length in the metric system; ten meters, equal to about 393.7 inches.