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soil favorable to the growth of plants; the visible surface of the globe; the ground; as, loose earth; rich earth. Give him a little earth for charity. Shak.

A work sculptured in relief, as a cameo, or in bas-relief (in this sense used loosely).

Spreading loosely, especially on one side; as, an effuse inflorescence. Loudon.

small wrenlike Australian bird (Stipiturus malachurus), having the tail feathers long and loosely barbed, like emu feathers.

s noted by two observers. It is usually only a fraction of a second; -- sometimes applied loosely to differences of judgment or method occasioned by temperamental qualities of individuals. -- Theory of equations (Math.), the branch of algebra that treats of the properties of a single algebraic equation of any degree c…

Act by which one breaks loose from the rules of propriety or good sense; a freak; a prank. Carlyle.

cavating pump, a kind of dredging apparatus for excavating under water, in which silt and loose material mixed with water are drawn up by a pump. Knight.

To loose; to pay. [Obs.]

iting, the manner of an intimate friend; not formal; unconstrained; easy; accessible. "In loose, familiar strains." Addison. Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar. Shak.

The layer of loose tissue, often containing fat, immediately beneath the skin; the stronger layer of connective tissue covering and investing all muscles; an aponeurosis.

Firmly fixed; closely adhering; made firm; not loose, unstable, or easily moved; immovable; as, to make fast the door. There is an order that keeps things fast. Burke.

tion from moisture. As prepared it is a compressed cylinder of the explosive, filled with loose powder of the same composition, all inclosed in waterproof wrappers. It is used for mining.

hide; a fell; a pelt. [Obs.] To know whether sheep are sound or not, see that the felt be loose. Mortimer.

o veer; as, to fetch about; to fetch to windward. Totten. To fetch away (Naut.), to break loose; to roll slide to leeward. -- To fetch and carry, to serve obsequiously, like a trained spaniel.

A name loosely applied in popular usage to many animals of diverse characteristics, living in the water.

Yielding to the touch, and easily moved or shaken; hanging loose by its own weight; wanting firmness; flaccid; as, flabby flesh.

To hang loose without stiffness; to bend down, as flexible bodies; to be loose, yielding, limp. As loose it [the sail] flagged around the mast. T. Moore.

A loose filmy mass or a thin chiplike layer of anything; a film; flock; lamina; layer; scale; as, a flake of snow, tallow, or fish. "Lottle flakes of scurf." Addison. Great flakes of ice encompassing our boat. Evelyn.

Consisting of flakes or of small, loose masses; lying, or cleaving off, in flakes or layers; flakelike. What showers of mortal hail, what flaky fires! Watts. A flaky weight of winter's purest snows. Wordsworth.

A soft, nappy, woolen cloth, of loose texture. Shak. Adam's flannel. (Bot.) See under Adam. -- Canton flannel, Cotton flannel. See Cotton flannel, under Cotton.