GNU Collaborative International Dictionary of English
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Found 2 definitions
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Held (?), imp. & p. p. of Hold.
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Hold, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Held (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Holding. Holden (>), p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. hålla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. Avast, Halt, Hod.]
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1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain.
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The loops held one curtain to another. Ex. xxxvi. 12.
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Thy right hand shall hold me. Ps. cxxxix. 10.
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They all hold swords, being expert in war. Cant. iii. 8.
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In vain he seeks, that having can not hold. Spenser.
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France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . .
A fasting tiger safer by the tooth,
Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold. Shak.
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2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.
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We mean to hold what anciently we claim
Of deity or empire. Milton.
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3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, “to hold office”.
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This noble merchant held a noble house. Chaucer.
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Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute. Knolles.
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And now the strand, and now the plain, they held. Dryden.
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4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.
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We can not hold mortality's strong hand. Shak.
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Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow. Grashaw.
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He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue. Macaulay.
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5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.
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Hold not thy peace, and be not still. Ps. lxxxiii. 1.
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Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost,
Shall hold their course. Milton.
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6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, “the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service.”
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I would hold more talk with thee. Shak.
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7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, “this pail holds milk”; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.
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Broken cisterns that can hold no water. Jer. ii. 13.
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One sees more devils than vast hell can hold. Shak.
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8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.
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Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught. 2 Thes. ii.15.
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But still he held his purpose to depart. Dryden.
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9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.
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I hold him but a fool. Shak.
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I shall never hold that man my friend. Shak.
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The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain. Ex. xx. 7.
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10. To bear, carry, or manage; “holds himself erect; he holds his head high.”
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Let him hold his fingers thus. Shak.
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To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. Swift. -- To hold forth, (a) v. t.to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. “The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.” Locke. (b) v. i. To talk at length; to harangue. -- To held in, to restrain; to curd. -- To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.]
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O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods,
And hold a lady in hand. Beaw. & Fl.
-- To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. Macaulay. -- To hold off, to keep at a distance. -- To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. -- To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To hold one's own. To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight. -- To hold one's peace, to keep silence.- To hold out. (a) To extend; to offer. “Fortune holds out these to you as rewards.” B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. “He can not long hold out these pangs.” Shak. -- To hold up. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. “He holds himself up in virtue.”Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example. (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. (e) to rob, usually at
gunpoint; -- often with the demand to “hold up” the hands. (f) To delay. -- To hold water. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Colloq.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.
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