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Inherent existence; existence possessed by virtue of a being's own nature, and independent of any other being or cause; -- an attribute peculiar to God. Blackmore.

Existing of or by himself,independent of any other being or cause; -- as, God is the only self-existent being.

Existence as a separate self, or independent person; conscious personality; individuality. Bib. Sacra.

the separate state of souls. Separate estate (Law), an estate limited to a married woman independent of her husband. -- Separate maintenance (Law), an allowance made to a wife by her husband under deed of separation. -- Sep"a*rate*ly, adv. -- Sep"a*rate*ness, n.

ual preferences. Darwin. In these cases, therefore, natural selection seems to have acted independently of sexual selection. A. R. Wallace.

Independent of, and unlimited by, any other; possessing, or entitled to, original authority or jurisdiction; as, a sovereign state; a sovereign discretion.

Extension, considered independently of anything which it may contain; that which makes extended objects conceivable and possible. Pure space is capable neither of resistance nor motion. Locke.

A division of sponges including those which have independent siliceous spicules.

Life, or living substance, considered independently of corporeal existence; an intelligence conceived of apart from any physical organization or embodiment; vital essence, force, or energy, as distinct from matter.

an be stopped in order to tell exactly the time that has passed, as in timing a race. See Independent seconds watch, under Independent, a.

the flower." Lubbock. In some languages, as in Latin and Greek, the subjunctive is often independent of any other verb, being used in wishes, commands, exhortations, etc.

Depending on itself; independent. He considered how sufficient and substantive this land was to maintain itself without any aid of the foreigner. Bacon.

sustaining the car body, and so suspended from the framing of a truck that it may have an independent lateral motion. -- Swing bridge, a form of drawbridge which swings horizontally, as on a vertical pivot. -- Swing plow, or Swing plough. (a) A plow without a fore wheel under the beam. (b) A reversible or sidehill pl…

Duration, considered independently of any system of measurement or any employment of terms which designate limited portions thereof. The time wasteth [i. e. passes away] night and day. Chaucer. I know of no ideas . . . that have a better claim to be accounted simple and original than those of space and time. Reid.…

Formerly, a member of an independent body of marksmen in the French army. They were used sometimes in front of the army to annoy the enemy, sometimes in the rear to check his pursuit. The term is now applied to all troops acting as skirmishers.

"transmit," rather than to originate, conclusions, and hence that consciousness may exist independently of the brain.

several sovereigns, or the supreme power of each state; an agreement between two or more independent states; as, a treaty of peace; a treaty of alliance.

a where a steady wind is not expected, especially the parts between the trade-wind belts. Independent variable (Math.), that one of two or more variables, connected with each other in any way whatever, to which changes are supposed to be given at will. Thus, in the equation x2 - y2 = R2, if arbitrary changes are suppos…

who has a legal right to vote, or give his suffrage; an elector; a suffragist; as, as, an independent voter.

under Holy. -- Man of war. (Naut.) See in the Vocabulary. -- Public war, a war between independent sovereign states. -- War cry, a cry or signal used in war; as, the Indian war cry. -- War dance, a dance among savages preliminary to going to war. Among the North American Indians, it is begun by some distinguished…