v. t. [ L ab + stringere, strictum, to press together. ] To unbind. [ Obs. ] Bailey. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. See Astringent. [ 1913 Webster ]

The string of an apron. [ 1913 Webster ]

To be tied to a wife's apron strings or
To be tied to a mother's apron strings, to be unduly controlled by a wife or mother. [ 1913 Webster ]

He was so made that he could not submit to be tied to the apron strings even of the best of wives. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Astringed p. pr. & vb. n. Astringing ] [ L. astringere; ad + stringere to draw tight. Cf. Astrict, and see Strain, v. t. ] 1. To bind fast; to constrict; to contract; to cause parts to draw together; to compress. [ 1913 Webster ]

Which contraction . . . astringeth the moisture of the brain and thereby sendeth tears into the eyes. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To bind by moral or legal obligation. Wolsey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality of being astringent; the power of contracting the parts of the body; that quality in medicines or other substances which causes contraction of the organic textures; as, the astringency of tannin. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. astringens, p. pr. of astringere: cf. F. astringent. See Astringe. ] 1. Drawing together the tissues; binding; contracting; -- opposed to laxative; as, astringent medicines; a butter and astringent taste; astringent fruit. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Stern; austere; as, an astringent type of virtue. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A medicine or other substance that produces contraction in the soft organic textures, and checks discharges of blood, mucus, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

External astringents are called styptics. Dunglison. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In an astringent manner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. ostreger, OF. ostrucier, F. autoursier, fr. OF. austour, ostor, hawk, F. autour; cf. L. acceptor, for accipiter, hawk. ] A falconer who keeps a goshawk. [ Obs. ] Shak. Cowell. [ Written also austringer. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The string of a bow. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A string used by the Turks for strangling offenders. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bowstring bridge, a bridge formed of an arch of timber or iron, often braced, the thrust of which is resisted by a tie forming a chord of the arch. --
Bowstring girder, an arched beam strengthened by a tie connecting its two ends. --
Bowstring hemp (Bot.), the tenacious fiber of the Sanseviera Zeylanica, growing in India and Africa, from which bowstrings are made. Balfour. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Bowstringed r Bowstrung p. pr. & vb. n. Bowstringing. ] To strangle with a bowstring. [ 1913 Webster ]

p. a. 1. Furnished with bowstring. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Put to death with a bowstring; strangled. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A cord by which a person in a carriage or horse car may signal to the driver. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Constringed p. pr. & vb. n. Constringing. ] [ L. constringere. See onstrain. ] To dawn together; to contract; to force to contract itself; to constrict; to cause to shrink. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Strong liquors . . . intoxicate, constringe, harden the fibers, and coagulate the fluids. Arbuthnot. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. constringens, p. pr. ] Having the quality of contracting, binding, or compressing. Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ L., that you distrain, fr. distringere. See Distrain. ] (Law) A writ commanding the sheriff to distrain a person by his goods or chattels, to compel a compliance with something required of him. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The tendon by which the eye is moved. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One of the catgut strings of a fiddle. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. First to play in a game; not reserved as a substitute; -- of members of a team. Also used in non-sports contexts to mean first-rate. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

n. 1. a patch of cloth attached to and supported by string-like cords, worn over the hips, and serving to cover only the pubic area; -- often worn by stripteasers.
Syn. -- thong, merkin. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. A small covering for the loins.
Syn. -- breechcloth, breechclout, loincloth. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

3. [ from Dr. Graubau. ] (Physics) A transmission line consisting a single wire coated with dielectric, thus permitting surface-wave propagation. [ slang ] Dict. Sci. Technol. [ PJC ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Hamstrung; p. pr. & vb. n. Hamstringing. See String. ] To lame or disable by cutting the tendons of the ham or knee; to hough; hence, to cripple; to incapacitate; to disable. [ 1913 Webster ]

So have they hamstrung the valor of the subject by seeking to effeminate us all at home. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Anat.) One of the great tendons situated in each side of the ham, or space back of the knee, and connected with the muscles of the back of the thigh. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A nerve or tendon, supposed to brace and sustain the heart. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Sobbing, as if a heartstring broke. Moore. [ 1913 Webster ]

pos>n. Cap or bonnet strings made long to tie under the chin.

One of her ladyship's kissing strings, once pink and fluttering and now faded and soiled. Pall Mall Mag. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. A string for raising the latch of a door by a person outside. It is fastened to the latch and passed through a hole above it in the door. [ 1913 Webster ]

To find the latchstring out, to meet with hospitality; to be welcome. (Intrusion is prevented by drawing in the latchstring.) [ Colloq. U.S. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A nerve, or string, that is imagined to be essential to life. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. lustrine, It. lustrino, fr. lustrare to polish, L. lustrare. See 3d Luster, and cf. Lutestring. ] A kind of glossy silk fabric. See Lutestring. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Corrupted fr. lustring. ] A plain, stout, lustrous silk, used for ladies' dresses and for ribbon. Goldsmith. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The umbilical cord. [ 1913 Webster ]

adj. 1. noncontractive. Opposite of astringent. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

v. t. [ See Obstriction. ] To constrain; to put under obligation. [ R. ] Bp. Gardiner. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ L. perstringere; per + stringere to bind up, to touch upon. ] 1. To touch; to graze; to glance on. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To criticise; to touch upon. [ R. ] Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Restringed p. pr. & vb. n. Restringing ] [ L. restringere. See Restrain. ] To confine; to contract; to stringe. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Quality or state of being restringent; astringency. [ Obs. ] Sir W. Petty. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. restringens, p. pr.: cf. F. restringent. ] Restringing; astringent; styptic. [ Obs. ] -- n. A restringent medicine. [ Obs. ] Harvey. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. (Capr.) Pieces of undressed timber put under the steps of a wooden stair for their support. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. same as shoelace. [ PJC ]

2. a sum of money, inadequate or barely adequate for the purpose to which it is put to use; as, to start up an enterprise on a shoestring. [ PJC ]

n. One who has shaken off restraint; a prodigal. [ Obs. ] Cotgrave. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. string, streng, AS. streng; akin to D. streng, G. strang, Icel. strengr, Sw. sträng, Dan. straeng; probably from the adj., E. strong (see Strong); or perhaps originally meaning, twisted, and akin to E. strangle. ] 1. A small cord, a line, a twine, or a slender strip of leather, or other substance, used for binding together, fastening, or tying things; a cord, larger than a thread and smaller than a rope; as, a shoe string; a bonnet string; a silken string. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Round Ormond's knee thou tiest the mystic string. Prior. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A thread or cord on which a number of objects or parts are strung or arranged in close and orderly succession; hence, a line or series of things arranged on a thread, or as if so arranged; a succession; a concatenation; a chain; as, a string of shells or beads; a string of dried apples; a string of houses; a string of arguments. “A string of islands.” Gibbon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A strip, as of leather, by which the covers of a book are held together. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The cord of a musical instrument, as of a piano, harp, or violin; specifically (pl.), the stringed instruments of an orchestra, in distinction from the wind instruments; as, the strings took up the theme. “An instrument of ten strings.” Ps. xxx. iii. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

Me softer airs befit, and softer strings
Of lute, or viol still. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The line or cord of a bow. Ps. xi. 2. [ 1913 Webster ]

He twangs the grieving string. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. A fiber, as of a plant; a little, fibrous root. [ 1913 Webster ]

Duckweed putteth forth a little string into the water, from the bottom. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. A nerve or tendon of an animal body. [ 1913 Webster ]

The string of his tongue was loosed. Mark vii. 35. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Shipbuilding) An inside range of ceiling planks, corresponding to the sheer strake on the outside and bolted to it. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. (Bot.) The tough fibrous substance that unites the valves of the pericap of leguminous plants, and which is readily pulled off; as, the strings of beans. [ 1913 Webster ]

10. (Mining) A small, filamentous ramification of a metallic vein. Ure. [ 1913 Webster ]

11. (Arch.) Same as Stringcourse. [ 1913 Webster ]

12. (Billiards) The points made in a game. [ 1913 Webster ]

13. (a) In various indoor games, a score or tally, sometimes, as in American billiard games, marked by buttons threaded on a string or wire. (b) In various games, competitions, etc., a certain number of turns at play, of rounds, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

14. (Billiards & Pool) (a) The line from behind and over which the cue ball must be played after being out of play as by being pocketed or knocked off the table; -- called also string line. (b) Act of stringing for break. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

15. A hoax; a trumped-up or “fake” story. [ Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

16. a sequence of similar objects or events sufficiently close in time or space to be perceived as a group; a string of accidents; a string of restaurants on a highway. [ PJC ]

17. (Physics) A one-dimensional string-like mathematical object used as a means of representing the properties of fundamental particles in string theory, one theory of particle physics; such hypothetical objects are one-dimensional and very small (10-33 cm) but exist in more than four spatial dimensions, and have various modes of vibration. Considering particles as strings avoids some of the problems of treating particles as points, and allows a unified treatment of gravity along with the other three forces (electromagnetism, the weak force, and the strong force) in a manner consistent with quantum mechanics. See also string theory. [ PJC ]

String band (Mus.), a band of musicians using only, or chiefly, stringed instruments. --
String beans. (a) A dish prepared from the unripe pods of several kinds of beans; -- so called because the strings are stripped off. (b) Any kind of beans in which the pods are used for cooking before the seeds are ripe; usually, the low bush bean. --
To have two strings to one's bow, to have a means or expedient in reserve in case the one employed fails. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. Strung p. p. Strung (R. Stringed ; p. pr. & vb. n. Stringing. ] 1. To furnish with strings; as, to string a violin. [ 1913 Webster ]

Has not wise nature strung the legs and feet
With firmest nerves, designed to walk the street? Gay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To put in tune the strings of, as a stringed instrument, in order to play upon it. [ 1913 Webster ]

For here the Muse so oft her harp has strung,
That not a mountain rears its head unsung. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To put on a string; to file; as, to string beads. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To make tense; to strengthen. [ 1913 Webster ]

Toil strung the nerves, and purified the blood. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To deprive of strings; to strip the strings from; as, to string beans. See String, n., 9. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To hoax; josh; jolly; often used with along; as, we strung him along all day until he realized we were kidding. [ Slang ] [ Webster 1913 Suppl. +PJC ]

v. i. To form into a string or strings, as a substance which is stretched, or people who are moving along, etc. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

n. Same as Stringpiece. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Arch.) A horizontal band in a building, forming a part of the design, whether molded, projecting, or carved, or in any way distinguished from the rest of the work. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Having strings; as, a stringed instrument. Ps. cl. 4. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Produced by strings. “Answering the stringed noise.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The quality or state of being stringent. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ It. ] (Mus.) Urging or hastening the time, as to a climax. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. stringens, -entis, p. pr. of stringere to draw or bind tight. See Strain. ] Binding strongly; making strict requirements; restrictive; rigid; severe; as, stringent rules. [ 1913 Webster ]

They must be subject to a sharper penal code, and to a more stringent code of procedure. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

-- Strin"gent*ly, adv. -- Strin"gent*ness, n. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who strings; one who makes or provides strings, especially for bows. [ 1913 Webster ]

Be content to put your trust in honest stringers. Ascham. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A libertine; a wencher. [ Obs. ] Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Railroad) A longitudinal sleeper. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Shipbuilding) A streak of planking carried round the inside of a vessel on the under side of the beams. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Carp.) A long horizontal timber to connect uprights in a frame, or to support a floor or the like. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Newspapers) A reporter or correspondent who works for a news agency on a part-time basis, especially one covering local news for a newspaper published in a different area; -- called also string correspondent. [ PJC ]

7. (Aviation) a longitudinal supporting structure to reinforce the skin of an airplane fuselage. [ PJC ]

n. (Far.) An habitual sudden twitching of the hinder leg of a horse, or an involuntary or convulsive contraction of the muscles that raise the hock. [ Written also springhalt. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Quality of being stringy. [ 1913 Webster ]