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vor; stead; benefit; interest; profit; support; defense; vindication. In behalf of his mistress's beauty. Sir P. Sidney. Against whom he had contracted some prejudice in behalf of his nation. Clarendon. In behalf of, in the interest of. -- On behalf of, on account of; on the part of.

Tension; force of acting; energy; impetus. [Archaic] The full bent and stress of the soul. Norris.

An airwoman; an aviatress. [Colloq.]

Causing, or fitted to cause, pain or distress to the mind; calamitous; poignant. It is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God. Jer. ii. 19.

sense; implacableness; resentfulness; severity; keenness of reproach or sarcasm; deep distress, grief, or vexation of mind. The lip that curls with bitterness. Percival. I will complain in the bitterness of my soul. Job vii. 11.

oney from by exciting fears of injury other than bodily harm, as injury to reputation, distress of mind, etc.; as, to blackmail a merchant by threatening to expose an alleged fraud. [U. S.]

; without thought, investigation, knowledge, or purpose of one's own. By his imperious mistress blindly led. Dryden.

To shut up, as a town or fortress, by investing it with troops or vessels or war for the purpose of preventing ingress or egress, or the introduction of supplies. See note under Blockade, n. "Blockaded the place by sea." Gilpin.

To breathe hard or quick; to pant; to puff. Here is Mistress Page at the door, sweating and blowing. Shak.

An attack upon a fortress or fortified town, with shells, hot shot, rockets, etc.; the act of throwing bombs and shot into a town or fortified place.

The comic actress in an opera. -- a.

Originally, one appointed to the command of a burg (fortress or castle); but the title afterward became hereditary, with a domain attached.

; occupied with serious affairs; not idle nor at leisure; as, a busy merchant. Sir, my mistress sends you word THat she is busy, and she can not come. Shak.

A buttress of an arch; the supporter, or that part which joins it to the upright pier.

Producing, or attended with distress and misery; making wretched; wretched; unhappy. "This sad and calamitous condition." South. "A calamitous prison" Milton.

A state or time of distress or misfortune; misery. The deliberations of calamity are rarely wise. Burke. Where'er I came I brought calamity. Tennyson.

To surrender or transfer, as an army or a fortress, on certain conditions. [R.]

and fine thet it can not be spun, used in the East Indies to line palanquins, to make mattresses, etc.

prise, or stratagem; to overcome and hold; to secure by effort. Her heart is like some fortress that has been captured. W. Ivring.

A burning or gnawing pain, or feeling of distress, referred to the region of the heart, accompanied with cardisc palpitation; heartburn. It is usually a symptom of indigestion.