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Formerly, that part of a theater, on the floor of the house, below the level of the stage and behind the orchestra; now, in England, commonly the part behind the stalls; in the United States, the parquet; also, the occupants of such a part of a theater.

protoplasm, formed by the union of several amoebalike young, and constituting one of the stages in the life cycle of Mycetozoa and other low organisms.

ined so as to form a roof, or a raised floor, or portion of a floor; a landing; a dais; a stage, for speakers, performers, or workmen; a standing place.

To act on the stage; to personate a character. A lord will hear your play to-night. Shak. Courts are theaters where some men play. Donne. To play into a person's hands, to act, or to manage matters, to his advantage or benefit. -- To play off, to affect; to feign; to practice artifice. -- To play upon. (a) To make sp…

A person who undertook, or became responsible, for another; a bail; a surety; a hostage. "I am Grumio's pledge." Shak.

osition, or to indicate a transition from one state or position to another, degree; step; stage; hence, position or condition attained; as, a point of elevation, or of depression; the stock fell off five points; he won by tenpoints. "A point of precedence." Selden. "Creeping on from point to point." Tennyson. A lord fu…

lished for the refreshment and accommodation of travelers on some recognized route; as, a stage or railway post.

d, a card sold by the government for transmission through the mails, at a lower rate of postage than a sealed letter. The message is written on one side of the card, and the direction on the other. -- Postal money order. See Money order, under Money. -- Postal note, an order payable to bearer, for a sum of money (in…

Having the postage prepaid, as a letter.

The part of a theater behind the scenes; the back part of the stage of a theater.

A beetle (Doryphora decemlineata) which feeds, both in the larval and adult stages, upon the leaves of the potato, often doing great damage. Called also Colorado potato beetle, and Doryphora. See Colorado beetle. (b) The Lema trilineata, a smaller and more slender striped beetle which feeds upon the potato plant, bur d…

ch in which the eggs are hatched, and in which the young pass through their brief tadpole stage. -- Pouched gopher, or Pouched rat. (Zoöl.) See Pocket gopher, under Pocket. -- Pouched mouse. (Zoöl.) See Pocket mouse, under Pocket.

ner, and order of conducting and carrying on suits and prosecutions through their various stages, according to the principles of law and the rules laid down by the courts. Bouvier.

To pay in advance, or beforehand; as, to prepay postage.

compressing the meal powder; in the treatment of coal tar, the pressed product at various stages of the process; or, in beet-sugar manufacture, the vegetable residue after the sugar juice has been expressed.

haracterized by, some quality or property in the first degree; having undergone the first stage of substitution or replacement. Primary alcohol (Organic Chem.), any alcohol which possess the group CH2.OH, and can be oxidized so as to form a corresponding aldehyde and acid having the same number of carbon atoms; -- dist…

Early; blooming; being in the first stage. [Poetic] His starry helm, unbuckled, showed him prime In manhood where youth ended. Milton.

To pass from one point, topic, or stage, to another; as, to proceed with a story or argument.

Of or pertaining to prodromes; as, the prodromal stage of a disease.

All the adjuncts of a play except the scenery and the dresses of the actors; stage requisites. I will draw a bill of properties. Shak.