a. [ OF. travers, L. transversus, p. p. of transvertere to turn or direct across. See Transverse, and cf. Travers. ] Lying across; being in a direction across something else; as, paths cut with traverse trenches. [ 1913 Webster ]

Oak . . . being strong in all positions, may be better trusted in cross and traverse work. Sir H. Wotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

The ridges of the fallow field traverse. Hayward. [ 1913 Webster ]

Traverse drill (Mach.), a machine tool for drilling slots, in which the work or tool has a lateral motion back and forth; also, a drilling machine in which the spindle holder can be adjusted laterally. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Athwart; across; crosswise. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. traverse. See Traverse, a. ] 1. Anything that traverses, or crosses. Specifically: -- [ 1913 Webster ]

(a) Something that thwarts, crosses, or obstructs; a cross accident; as, he would have succeeded, had it not been for unlucky traverses not under his control. [ 1913 Webster ]

(b) A barrier, sliding door, movable screen, curtain, or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

Men drinken and the travers draw anon. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

And the entrance of the king,
The first traverse was drawn. F. Beaumont. [ 1913 Webster ]

(c) (Arch.) A gallery or loft of communication from side to side of a church or other large building. Gwilt. [ 1913 Webster ]

(d) (Fort.) A work thrown up to intercept an enfilade, or reverse fire, along exposed passage, or line of work. [ 1913 Webster ]

(e) (Law) A formal denial of some matter of fact alleged by the opposite party in any stage of the pleadings. The technical words introducing a traverse are absque hoc, without this; that is, without this which follows. [ 1913 Webster ]

(f) (Naut.) The zigzag course or courses made by a ship in passing from one place to another; a compound course. [ 1913 Webster ]

(g) (Geom.) A line lying across a figure or other lines; a transversal. [ 1913 Webster ]

(h) (Surv.) A line surveyed across a plot of ground. [ 1913 Webster ]

(i) (Gun.) The turning of a gun so as to make it point in any desired direction. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A turning; a trick; a subterfuge. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

To work a traverse or
To solve a traverse (Naut.), to reduce a series of courses or distances to an equivalent single one; to calculate the resultant of a traverse. --
Traverse board (Naut.), a small board hung in the steerage, having the points of the compass marked on it, and for each point as many holes as there are half hours in a watch. It is used for recording the courses made by the ship in each half hour, by putting a peg in the corresponding hole. --
Traverse jury (Law), a jury that tries cases; a petit jury. --
Traverse sailing (Naut.), a sailing by compound courses; the method or process of finding the resulting course and distance from a series of different shorter courses and distances actually passed over by a ship. --
Traverse table. (a) (Naut. & Surv.) A table by means of which the difference of latitude and departure corresponding to any given course and distance may be found by inspection. It contains the lengths of the two sides of a right-angled triangle, usually for every quarter of a degree of angle, and for lengths of the hypothenuse, from 1 to 100. (b) (Railroad) A platform with one or more tracks, and arranged to move laterally on wheels, for shifting cars, etc., from one line of track to another. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Traversed p. pr. & vb. n. Traversing. ] [ Cf. F. traverser. See Traverse, a. ] 1. To lay in a cross direction; to cross. [ 1913 Webster ]

The parts should be often traversed, or crossed, by the flowing of the folds. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To cross by way of opposition; to thwart with obstacles; to obstruct; to bring to naught. [ 1913 Webster ]

I can not but . . . admit the force of this reasoning, which I yet hope to traverse. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To wander over; to cross in traveling; as, to traverse the habitable globe. [ 1913 Webster ]

What seas you traversed, and what fields you fought. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To pass over and view; to survey carefully. [ 1913 Webster ]

My purpose is to traverse the nature, principles, and properties of this detestable vice -- ingratitude. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Gun.) To turn to the one side or the other, in order to point in any direction; as, to traverse a cannon. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Carp.) To plane in a direction across the grain of the wood; as, to traverse a board. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Law) To deny formally, as what the opposite party has alleged. When the plaintiff or defendant advances new matter, he avers it to be true, and traverses what the other party has affirmed. To traverse an indictment or an office is to deny it. [ 1913 Webster ]

And save the expense of long litigious laws,
Where suits are traversed, and so little won
That he who conquers is but last undone. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

To traverse a yard (Naut.), to brace it fore and aft. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To use the posture or motions of opposition or counteraction, as in fencing. [ 1913 Webster ]

To see thee fight, to see thee foin, to see thee traverse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To turn, as on a pivot; to move round; to swivel; as, the needle of a compass traverses; if it does not traverse well, it is an unsafe guide. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To tread or move crosswise, as a horse that throws his croup to one side and his head to the other. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Mach.) A machine tool for drilling slots, in which the work or tool has a lateral motion back and forth; also, a drilling machine in which the spindle holder can be adjusted laterally. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. 1. One who, or that which, traverses, or moves, as an index on a scale, and the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) One who traverses, or denies. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Railroad) A traverse table. See under Traverse, n. [ 1913 Webster ]