n. [ OE. bever, AS. beofer, befer; akin to D. bever, OHG. bibar, G. biber, Sw. bäfver, Dan. bæver, Lith. bebru, Russ. bobr', Gael. beabhar, Corn. befer, L. fiber, and Skr. babhrus large ichneumon; also as an adj., brown, the animal being probably named from its color. √253. See Brown. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. (Zool.) An amphibious rodent, of the genus Castor. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ It has palmated hind feet, and a broad, flat tail. It is remarkable for its ingenuity in constructing its lodges or “houses, ” and dams across streams. It is valued for its fur, and for the material called castor, obtained from two small bags in the groin of the animal. The European species is Castor fiber, and the American is generally considered a variety of this, although sometimes called Castor Canadensis. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The fur of the beaver. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A hat, formerly made of the fur of the beaver, but now usually of silk. [ 1913 Webster ]

A brown beaver slouched over his eyes. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Beaver cloth, a heavy felted woolen cloth, used chiefly for making overcoats. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A man's beard. [ PJC ]

6. The hair on a woman's pubic area; -- vulgar. [ vulgar slang ] [ PJC ]

7. A woman; -- vulgar and offensive. [ vulgar slang ] [ PJC ]

8. A person who works enthusiastically and diligently; -- used especially in the phrase eager beaver. [ informal ] [ PJC ]

Beaver rat (Zool.), an aquatic ratlike quadruped of Tasmania (Hydromys chrysogaster). --
Beaver skin, the furry skin of the beaver. --
Bank beaver. See under 1st Bank. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. baviere, bauier, beavoir, bever; fr. F. bavière, fr. bave slaver, drivel, foam, OF., prattle, drivel, perh. orig. an imitative word. Bavière, according to Cotgrave, is the bib put before a (slavering) child. ] That piece of armor which protected the lower part of the face, whether forming a part of the helmet or fixed to the breastplate. It was so constructed (with joints or otherwise) that the wearer could raise or lower it to eat and drink. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Covered with, or wearing, a beaver or hat. “His beavered brow.” Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

. Oregon; -- a nickname. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A kind of fustian made of coarse twilled cotton, shorn after dyeing. Simmonds. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. & i. [ imp. & p. p. Beleft ] To leave or to be left. [ Obs. ] May. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bereaved Bereft p. pr. & vb. n. Bereaving. ] [ OE. bireven, AS. bereáfian. See Be-, and Reave. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To make destitute; to deprive; to strip; -- with of before the person or thing taken away. [ 1913 Webster ]

Madam, you have bereft me of all words. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bereft of him who taught me how to sing. Tickell. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To take away from. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

All your interest in those territories
Is utterly bereft you; all is lost. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To take away. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Shall move you to bereave my life. Marlowe. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The imp. and past pple. form bereaved is not used in reference to immaterial objects. We say bereaved or bereft by death of a relative, bereft of hope and strength. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To dispossess; to divest. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. mourning due to the death of a loved one.
Syn. -- bereft, grief-stricken, grieving, mourning(prenominal), sorrowing(prenominal). [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The state of being bereaved; deprivation; esp., the loss of a relative by death. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who bereaves. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ } a. Having broad, or relatively broad, leaves, in contrast to needlelike or scalelike leaves. Keats. [ Narrower terms: deciduous (vs. evergreen) ] [ 1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5 ]

v. i. [ imp. Cleaved Clave (Obs.); p. p. Cleaved; p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving. ] [ OE. cleovien, clivien, cliven, AS. cleofian, clifian; akin to OS. klibōn, G. kleben, LG. kliven, D. kleven, Dan. klæbe, Sw. klibba, and also to G. kleiben to cleve, paste, Icel. klīfa to climb. Cf. Climb. ] 1. To adhere closely; to stick; to hold fast; to cling. [ 1913 Webster ]

My bones cleave to my skin. Ps. cii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

The diseases of Egypt . . . shall cleave unto thee. Deut. xxviii. 60. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sophistry cleaves close to and protects
Sin's rotten trunk, concealing its defects. Cowper. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To unite or be united closely in interest or affection; to adhere with strong attachment. [ 1913 Webster ]

Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife. Gen. ii. 24. [ 1913 Webster ]

Cleave unto the Lord your God. Josh. xxiii. 8. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To fit; to be adapted; to assimilate. [ Poetic. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

New honors come upon him,
Like our strange garments, cleave not to their mold
But with the aid of use. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Cleft Clave (Obs.), Clove (Obsolescent); p. p. Cleft, Cleaved r Cloven p. pr. & vb. n. Cleaving. ] [ OE. cleoven, cleven, AS. cleófan; akin to OS. klioban, D. klooven, G. klieben, Icel. kljūfa, Sw. klyfva, Dan. klöve and prob. to Gr. gly`fein to carve, L. glubere to peel. Cf. Cleft. ] 1. To part or divide by force; to split or rive; to cut. [ 1913 Webster ]

O Hamlet, thou hast cleft my heart in twain. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To part or open naturally; to divide. [ 1913 Webster ]

Every beast that parteth the hoof, and cleaveth the cleft into two claws. Deut. xiv. 6. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To part; to open; to crack; to separate; as parts of bodies; as, the ground cleaves by frost. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Mount of Olives shall cleave in the midst. Zech. xiv. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Professor Parker Cleaveland. ] (Min.) A variety of albite, white and lamellar in structure. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who cleaves, or that which cleaves; especially, a butcher's instrument for cutting animal bodies into joints or pieces. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Cleave to stick. ] (Bot.) A species of Galium (Galium Aparine), having a fruit set with hooked bristles, which adhere to whatever they come in contact with; -- called also, goose grass, catchweed, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Deafen. ] To stun or stupefy with noise; to deafen. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To deprive of leaves. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The cankerworms that annually that disleaved the elms. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A drop from the eaves; eavesdrop. [ R. ] Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ OE. evese, pl. eveses, AS. efese eaves, brim, brink; akin to OHG. obisa, opasa, porch, hall, MHG. obse eaves, Icel. ups, Goth. ubizwa porch; cf. Icel. upsar-dropi, OSw. opsä-drup water dropping from the eaves. Probably from the root of E. over. The s of eaves is in English regarded as a plural ending, though not so in Saxon. See Over, and cf. Eavesdrop. ] 1. (Arch.) The edges or lower borders of the roof of a building, which overhang the walls, and cast off the water that falls on the roof. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Brow; ridge. [ Obs. ] “Eaves of the hill.” Wyclif. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Eyelids or eyelashes. [ 1913 Webster ]

And closing eaves of wearied eyes. Tennyson. [ 1913 Webster ]

Eaves board (Arch.), an arris fillet, or a thick board with a feather edge, nailed across the rafters at the eaves of a building, to raise the lower course of slates a little, or to receive the lowest course of tiles; -- called also eaves catch and eaves lath. --
Eaves channel,
Eaves gutter,
Eaves trough. Same as Gutter, 1. --
Eaves molding (Arch.), a molding immediately below the eaves, acting as a cornice or part of a cornice. --
Eaves swallow (Zoöl.). (a) The cliff swallow; -- so called from its habit of building retort-shaped nests of mud under the eaves of buildings. See Cliff swallow, under Cliff. (b) The European swallow. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ Eaves + drop. ] To stand under the eaves, near a window or at the door, of a house, to listen and learn what is said within doors; hence, to listen secretly to what is said in private. [ 1913 Webster ]

To eavesdrop in disguises. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The water which falls in drops from the eaves of a house. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who stands under the eaves, or near the window or door of a house, to listen; hence, a secret listener. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Law) The habit of lurking about dwelling houses, and other places where persons meet for private intercourse, secretly listening to what is said, and then tattling it abroad. The offense is indictable at common law. Wharton. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. (Bot.) Having five leaflets, as the Virginia creeper. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ OE. forleven; pref. for- + leven to leave. ] To leave off wholly. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A grove. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. grees; cf. Sp. grevas. ] Armor for the leg below the knee; -- usually in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Greaved p. pr. & vb. n. Greaving. ] [ From Greaves. ] (Naut.) To clean (a ship's bottom); to grave. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ Cf. dial. Sw. grevar greaves, LG. greven, G. griebe, also AS. greofa pot. Cf. Gravy. ] The sediment of melted tallow. It is made into cakes for dogs' food. In Scotland it is called cracklings. [ Written also graves. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Heaved or Hove p. p. Heaved, Hove, formerly Hoven p. pr. & vb. n. Heaving. ] [ OE. heven, hebben, AS. hebban; akin to OS. hebbian, D. heffen, OHG. heffan, hevan, G. heben, Icel. hefja, Sw. häfva, Dan. hæve, Goth. hafjan, L. capere to take, seize; cf. Gr. kw`ph handle. Cf. Accept, Behoof, Capacious, Forceps, Haft, Receipt. ] 1. To cause to move upward or onward by a lifting effort; to lift; to raise; to hoist; -- often with up; as, the wave heaved the boat on land. [ 1913 Webster ]

One heaved ahigh, to be hurled down below. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Heave, as now used, implies that the thing raised is heavy or hard to move; but formerly it was used in a less restricted sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

Here a little child I stand,
Heaving up my either hand. Herrick. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To throw; to cast; -- obsolete, provincial, or colloquial, except in certain nautical phrases; as, to heave the lead; to heave the log. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To force from, or into, any position; to cause to move; also, to throw off; -- mostly used in certain nautical phrases; as, to heave the ship ahead. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To raise or force from the breast; to utter with effort; as, to heave a sigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

The wretched animal heaved forth such groans. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To cause to swell or rise, as the breast or bosom. [ 1913 Webster ]

The glittering, finny swarms
That heave our friths, and crowd upon our shores. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

To heave a cable short (Naut.), to haul in cable till the ship is almost perpendicularly above the anchor. --
To heave a ship ahead (Naut.), to warp her ahead when not under sail, as by means of cables. --
To heave a ship down (Naut.), to throw or lay her down on one side; to careen her. --
To heave a ship to (Naut.), to bring the ship's head to the wind, and stop her motion. --
To heave about (Naut.), to put about suddenly. --
To heave in (Naut.), to shorten (cable). --
To heave in stays (Naut.), to put a vessel on the other tack. --
To heave out a sail (Naut.), to unfurl it. --
To heave taut (Naut.), to turn a capstan, etc., till the rope becomes strained. See Taut, and Tight. --
To heave the lead (Naut.), to take soundings with lead and line. --
To heave the log. (Naut.) See Log. --
To heave up anchor (Naut.), to raise it from the bottom of the sea or elsewhere. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To be thrown up or raised; to rise upward, as a tower or mound. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the huge columns heave into the sky. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

Where heaves the turf in many a moldering heap. Gray. [ 1913 Webster ]

The heaving sods of Bunker Hill. E. Everett. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To rise and fall with alternate motions, as the lungs in heavy breathing, as waves in a heavy sea, as ships on the billows, as the earth when broken up by frost, etc.; to swell; to dilate; to expand; to distend; hence, to labor; to struggle. [ 1913 Webster ]

Frequent for breath his panting bosom heaves. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

The heaving plain of ocean. Byron. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make an effort to raise, throw, or move anything; to strain to do something difficult. [ 1913 Webster ]

The Church of England had struggled and heaved at a reformation ever since Wyclif's days. Atterbury. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make an effort to vomit; to retch; to vomit. [ 1913 Webster ]

To heave at. (a) To make an effort at. (b) To attack, to oppose. [ Obs. ] Fuller. --
To heave in sight (as a ship at sea), to come in sight; to appear. --
To heave up, to vomit. [ Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. An effort to raise something, as a weight, or one's self, or to move something heavy. [ 1913 Webster ]

After many strains and heaves
He got up to his saddle eaves. Hudibras. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An upward motion; a rising; a swell or distention, as of the breast in difficult breathing, of the waves, of the earth in an earthquake, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

There's matter in these sighs, these profound heaves,
You must translate. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

None could guess whether the next heave of the earthquake would settle . . . or swallow them. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Geol.) A horizontal dislocation in a metallic lode, taking place at an intersection with another lode. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. heven, hefen, heofen, AS. heofon; akin to OS. hevan, LG. heben, heven, Icel. hifinn; of uncertain origin, cf. D. hemel, G. himmel, Icel. himmin, Goth. himins; perh. akin to, or influenced by, the root of E. heave, or from a root signifying to cover, cf. Goth. gahamōn to put on, clothe one's self, G. hemd shirt, and perh. E. chemise. ] 1. The expanse of space surrounding the earth; esp., that which seems to be over the earth like a great arch or dome; the firmament; the sky; the place where the sun, moon, and stars appear; -- often used in the plural in this sense. [ 1913 Webster ]

I never saw the heavens so dim by day. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

When my eyes shall be turned to behold for the last time the sun in heaven. D. Webster. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The dwelling place of the Deity; the abode of bliss; the place or state of the blessed after death. [ 1913 Webster ]

Unto the God of love, high heaven's King. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

It is a knell
That summons thee to heaven or to hell. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

New thoughts of God, new hopes of Heaven. Keble. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this general sense heaven and its corresponding words in other languages have as various definite interpretations as there are phases of religious belief. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The sovereign of heaven; God; also, the assembly of the blessed, collectively; -- used variously in this sense, as in No. 2.; as, heaven helps those who help themselves. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Her prayers, whom Heaven delights to hear. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The will
And high permission of all-ruling Heaven. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Any place of supreme happiness or great comfort; perfect felicity; bliss; a sublime or exalted condition; as, a heaven of delight. “A heaven of beauty.” Shak. “The brightest heaven of invention.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

O bed! bed! delicious bed!
That heaven upon earth to the weary head! Hood. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Heaven is very often used, esp. with participles, in forming compound words, most of which need no special explanation; as, heaven-appeasing, heaven-aspiring, heaven-begot, heaven-born, heaven-bred, heaven-conducted, heaven-descended, heaven-directed, heaven-exalted, heaven-given, heaven-guided, heaven-inflicted, heaven-inspired, heaven-instructed, heaven-kissing, heaven-loved, heaven-moving, heaven-protected, heaven-taught, heaven-warring, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Heavened p. pr. & vb. n. Heavening. ] To place in happiness or bliss, as if in heaven; to beatify. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

We are happy as the bird whose nest
Is heavened in the hush of purple hills. G. Massey. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To render like heaven or fit for heaven. [ R. ] Bp. Hall. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ From Heavenly. ] The state or quality of being heavenly. Sir J. Davies. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ AS. heofonic. ] 1. Pertaining to, resembling, or inhabiting heaven; celestial; not earthly; as, heavenly regions; heavenly music. [ 1913 Webster ]

As is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. 1 Cor. xv. 48. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Appropriate to heaven in character or happiness; perfect; pure; supremely blessed; as, a heavenly race; the heavenly, throng. [ 1913 Webster ]

The love of heaven makes one heavenly. Sir P. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. 1. In a manner resembling that of heaven. “She was heavenly true.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. By the influence or agency of heaven. [ 1913 Webster ]

Out heavenly guided soul shall climb. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Having the thoughts and affections placed on, or suitable for, heaven and heavenly objects; devout; godly; pious. Milner. -- Heav"en*ly-mind`ed*ness, n. [1913 Webster]

a. & adv. Toward heaven. [ 1913 Webster ]

(Jewish Antiq.) An offering or oblation heaved up or elevated before the altar, as the shoulder of the peace offering. See Wave offering. Ex. xxix. 27. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, heaves or lifts; a laborer employed on docks in handling freight; as, a coal heaver. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Naut.) A bar used as a lever. Totten. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A disease of horses, characterized by difficult breathing, with heaving of the flank, wheezing, flatulency, and a peculiar cough; broken wind. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Interleaved p. pr. & vb. n. Interleaving. ] [ Pref. inter- + leaf. ] 1. To insert a leaf or leaves in; to bind with blank leaves inserted between the others; as, to interleave a book. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Hence: To insert something alternately between the parts of; as, to interleave transparencies with the corresponding pages. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & obs. p. p. interwove p. p. interwoven p. pr. & vb. n. interweaving. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

1. To weave together; to intermix or unite in texture or construction; to intertwine; as, threads of silk and cotton interwoven. [ 1913 Webster ]

Under the hospitable covert nigh
Of trees thick interwoven. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To intermingle; to unite intimately; to connect closely; as, to interweave truth with falsehood. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

Words interwove with sighs found out their way. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. To weave in or together; to intermix or intertwine by weaving; to interlace. [ 1913 Webster ]

Down they cast
Their crowns, inwove with amaranth and gold. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ See Levy. ] To raise; to levy. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

An army strong she leaved. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Leaved p. pr. & vb. n. Leaving ] To send out leaves; to leaf; -- often with out. G. Fletcher. [ 1913 Webster ]