PORTIONIST of heirs male.-3. Eccles. a minister who, together with others, serves a benefice, because he has only a portion of the tithes or profits of the living. Portionist (pōr'shon-ist), n. 1. Eccles. same as Portioner, 3.-2. See under POSTMASTER. Portionless (pōr'shon-les), a. Having no portion. Portland (port'land), a. Belonging to the Isle of Portland, in Dorsetshire.-Portland beds, in geol. a division of the upper oolites occurring between the Purbeck beds and the Kimmeridge clay, consisting of beds of hard oolitic limestone and freestone interstratified with clays and resting on light-coloured sands which contain fossils, chiefly mollusca and fish, with a few reptiles. Named from the rocks of the group forming the Isle of Portland in Dorsetshire, from whence they may be traced through Wiltshire as far as Oxfordshire. - Portland cement, a wellknown cement made from common limestone, mixed with great care, in definite proportions, with the muddy deposits of rivers running over clay and chalk. So called from its resemblance in colour to Portlandstone.-Portland sago. See under ARUM.Portland stone, a compact sandstone from the Isle of Portland in Dorsetshire. It is one of the members of the Portland beds, and belongs to the upper part of the oolite formation. It is used in building, is soft when quarried, but hardens on exposure to the atmosphere.-Portland vase, a celebrated cinerary urn or vase, found in the tomb of the Emperor Alexander Severus. It is of transparent dark-blue glass, coated with opaque white glass, which has been cut down in the manner of a cameo so as to give on each side groups of figures delicately executed in relief, representing the marriage of Peleus and Thetis. In 1810 the Duke of Portland, its owner, allowed it to be placed in the British Museum, where it remained intact till the year 1845, when it was maliciously broken. The pieces were carefully collected and very successfully reunited, and in this state it still remains in the museum, but is not shown to the public. Portlast (port'last), n. The gunwale of a ship. Called also Portoise. Portlid (port'lid), n. The lid that closes a port-hole. Port-lifter (pōrt lift-ér), n. A contrivance for raising and lowering heavy ports in ships. Portliness (pōrt'li-nes), n. The state or quality of being portly: (a) dignity of mien or personal appearance. (b) A somewhat excessive stoutness of the person; corpu lence. Portly (port'li), a. [From port, carriage, mien, demeanour.] 1. Grand or dignified in mien; stately; of a noble appearance and carriage. A portly prince, and goodly to the sight.' Dryden.-2. Rather tall, and inclining to stoutness; somewhat large and unwieldy in person. A portly personage in a braided surtout.' Dickens.-3. † Swelling. "Your argosies with portly sails.' Shak. Port-man (pōrt'man), n. An inhabitant or burgess of a port-town or of a cinqueport. Portmanteau (pōrt-man'tō), n. [Fr. portemanteau, from porter, to carry, and manteau, a cloak.] A case or trunk, usually made of leather, for carrying apparel, &c., on journeys; a leather case attached to a saddle behind the rider. Portmantle (port-man'tl), n. A portmanteau. [Old and vulgar.] Port-mote (port'mōt), n. [Port, and mote, a meeting.] Anciently, a court held in a port-town. Portoir, n. [O.Fr., from L. portare, to bear. ] One who or that which bears; hence, one who or that which produces. Holland. Portoise (port'oiz), n. The gunwale of a ship.-4-portoise, resting on or lowered to the gunwale. Called also Portlast. Portos, tn. A breviary. See PORTASS. Chaucer. Port-pane† (pōrt'pān), n. [L. portare, to carry, and panis, bread. ] A cloth for carrying bread so as not to touch it with the hands. Withals. Portrait (pōr'trāt), n. [Fr. portrait, pp. of portraire, to portray. See PORTRAY.] 1. That which is portrayed; particularly, a painted picture or representation of a person, and especially of a face drawn from the life; also used generally for engravings, photographs, crayon drawings, &c., of this character. 495 In portraits the grace, and we may add the likeness, consists more in the general air than in the exact similitude of every feature. Sir F. Reynolds. 2. A vivid description or delineation in words. In sculp. a portrait bust or statue is one representing the actual features or person of an individual, in distinction from an ideal bust or statue. Portrait (pōr'trāt), v.t. To portray; to draw. Spenser. Portrait-painter (pōr'trāt-pant-er), n. One By the image of my cause I see Unclasp me, Stranger, and unfold, Shak. Rogers. The drama is an embellished portraiture of life. Sir G. C. Lewis. 2. The art or practice of drawing portraits, or of vividly describing in words. Portraituret (pōr'trat-ür), v.t. To paint; to portray. Shaftesbury. Portray (por-tra), v.t. [Fr. portraire, to portray, to depict, from L. protraho, to draw forth-L. pro, before, forward, and trahere, to draw, whence traction, abstract, &c.] 1. To paint or draw the likeness of; to depict; as, to portray a king on horseback; to portray a city or temple with a pencil or with chalk. Take a tile, and lay it before thee, and portray upon it the city, even Jerusalem. Ezek. iv. 1. If the radiance of a loftier hope, the light of a deeper, diviner blessedness, has kindled in many a human face since pagan art passed away, surely to the art that has that to portray grander possibilities of excellence have been afforded. Dr. Caird. 2. To describe in words. It will be my endeavour to relate the history of the people as well as the history of the government, to describe the rise of religious sects, and the changes of literary taste; to portray the manners of successive generations. Macaulay. 3. To adorn with pictures. Milton. Spears and helmets thronged, and shields Various, with boastful arguments portrayed. Portrayal (pōr-trā'al), n. The act of portraying; delineation; representation. Portrayer (pōr-trā'er), n. One who por trays; one who paints, draws to the life, or describes. Portreeve (pōrt'rēv), n. [Port and reeve.] The chief magistrate of a port or maritime town; a portgrave. Portress (port'res), n. A female porter or keeper of a gate. Port-rope (port'rōp), n. A rope or tackle for hauling up and suspending the ports or covers of port- holes. Called also Porttackle. Port-rule (pört'röl),n. An instrument which regulates the motion of a rule in a machine. Port-sale (pōrt'sāl), n. [Port, from L. porta, a gate.] A public sale of goods to the highest bidder; an auction. When Sylla had taken the citie of Rome, he made port-sale of the goods of them whom he had put to death. North. Port-side (port'sid), n. The left side of a ship looking towards the bow. See PORT. Port-tackle (pōrt'tak-1), n. See PORT-ROPE. Port-town (pōrt'toun), n. A town having or situated near a port. Portuguese (por'tū-gēz), n. The people or language of Portugal. Portuguese (por'tū-gēz), a. Of or pertaining to Portugal.-Portuguese man-of-war, the name given by early English voyagers to a species of Physalia, the P. atlantica. See PHYSALIA. Portulaca (por-tū-lā'ka), n. [L., from porto, to carry, and lac, milk, from the juicy nature of the plants.] Purslane, a genus of plants, nat. order Portulacacem. See PURSLANE. Portulacaceæ, Portulaceae (por'tů-la-kā”sē-ě, por-tu-la'sē-ē), n. pl. A small nat. order of polypetalous exogens, consisting of annual, perennial, herbaceous, or shrubby plants, occurring in all the hotter or milder parts of the world. The only species of any importance is Portulaca oleracea, which is a fleshy prostrate annual, sometimes used in salads. It is naturalized in most of the warmer parts of the world, and is often a troublesome weed. Port-vein (pōrt'vān), n. See Vena porta under VENA. POSITION Port-wine (pōrt-win), n. A dark-purple astringent wine made in Portugal, so called from Oporto, whence it is shipped. It is the produce of the vineyards along the course of the Douro. Porwiglet (por'wig-1), n. A tadpole; a young frog. Pory (pōri), a. Full of pores or small interstices; porous. "The vaulted roofs of pory stone." Dryden. Posada (po-sä'da), n. [Sp.] An inn. Posaune (po-zou'ne), n. [G., trombone.] In music, a reed-stop on the organ of a rich and powerful tone, the pipes of which are of 8 feet on the manuals, and 16 and 32 feet on the pedals. Poset (pōz), n. [A. Sax. gepose, the pose.] A stuffing of the head; catarrh. Pose (pōz), v.t. pret. & pp. posed; ppr. posing. [Fr. poser, to place, to put, to state, to put a question, from L. pauso, to halt, to stop, from pausa, a pause; but the meaning as well as that of the compounds has been influenced by pono, positum, to put, place, set, which gives position, &c. There are a number of compounds with pose in English, as compose, depose, dispose, impose, interpose, repose, &c.] 1. To embarrass by a difficult question; to cause to be at a loss; to puzzle. Not that I design to pose them with those common enigmas of magnetism.' Glanville. Learning was posed, philosophy was set, 2. To interrogate closely; to question strictly. She, in the presence of others, posed him and sifted him, thereby to try whether he were indeed Sterne. the very Duke of York or no. Poset (pōz), v.t. To suppose. Pose (poz), n. [Fr. pose, an attitude. See POSE, v.t. above.] 1. Attitude or position taken naturally, or assumed for effect; as, the pose of an actor; especially, the attitude in which any character is represented artistically; the position, whether of the whole person or of an individual member of the body; as, the pose of a statue; the pose of the head.-2. A deposit; a secret hoard. [Scotch.] Pose (pōz), v.i. [Fr. poser, to attitudinize. See above.] To attitudinize; to assume characteristic airs; as, to pose as a martyr. Posé (pō'zā), a. [Fr. poser, to place.] In her. a term applied to a lion, horse, or other beast standing still, with all his feet on the ground. It is the same as Statant. Poseidon (po-si'don), n. In myth. the Greek god of the sea, equivalent to the Latin Neptune. See NEPTUNE. Poser (pōz'ér),n. 1. One that poses or puzzles by asking difficult questions; a close examiner. He that questioneth much, shall learn much; but let his questions not be troublesome, for that is fit for a poser. Bacon. 2. Something that puzzles, as a difficult question. Posingly (pōz'ing-li), adv. So as to pose or puzzle. Posit (poz'it), v.t. [L. pono, positum, to place. See POSITION.] 1. To dispose, range, or place in relation to other objects. Sir M. Hale.-2. To lay down as a position or principle; to assume as real or conceded; to present to the consciousness as an absolute fact. In positing pure or absolute existence as a mental datuin, immediate, intuitive, and above proof, he mistakes the fact. Sir W. Hamilton. When it is said that the ego posits itself, the meaning is that the ego becomes a fact of consciousness, which it can only become through the antithesis of the non-ego. Chambers's Ency. Position (pō-zish'on), n. [Fr. position, from L. positio, from pono, positum, to place, put, set, for po-sino, from po (=Gr. proti, against), and sino, to permit (whence site). Ponere appears as -pound in compound, &c., as -pone in postpone.] 1. State of being placed; situation: generally with reference to other objects, or to different parts of the same object. We have different prospects of the same thing Locke. according to our different positions to it. Hence, fig. relation with regard to others, or to some subject; as, to be in a false position.-2. Manner of standing or being placed; attitude; as, an inclining position.-3. That on which one takes one's stand; hence, principle laid down; proposition advanced or affirmed as a fixed principle, or stated as the ground of reasoning, or to be proved; predication; affirmation. Let not the proof of any position depend on the One held the government to be a trust for the people, and to exist only for their behoof, with the consequent position that resistance is lawful on a gross violation of duty. Brougham. 4. Place or standing in society; social rank; as, a person of position. Thackeray. 5. State; condition. Great Britain, at the peace of 1763, stood in a posi tion to prescribe her own terms. Ames. 6. In arith. a mode of solving a question by one or two suppositions: called also rule of supposition, rule of false, rule of trial and error.-Centre of position, the same as the centre of gravity, and centre of inertia; but when a body is viewed as composed of physical points, and the centre of gravity is considered in relation to their positions, geometers designate that point the centre of position.-Circles of position, in astron, six circles, passing through the common intersections of the horizon and meridian and through any degree of the ecliptic or the centre of any star, or other point in the heavens, used for finding out the position or situation of any star. These circles cut the equator into twelve equal parts.-Angle of position, (a) of a heavenly body, the angle contained by two great circles passing through the body; the one a secondary to the equator, and the other a secondary to the ecliptic. (b) Of a place on the earth, the angle contained at any place by its meridian, and the great circle passing through that place and any other place.-Geometry of position, a species of geometry the object of which is to investigate and determine the relation that exists between the position of the different parts of a geometrical figure with regard to each other, or with regard to some determinate line or figure first fixed upon as a term of comparison. Guns of position. See under GUN.-SYN. Situation, station, place, condition, attitude, posture, proposition, assertion, thesis. Positional (pō-zish'on-al), a. Respecting position. Sir T. Browne. Positive (poz'i-tiv), a. [Fr. positif; L.L. positivus, from L. pono, positum, to set or place. See POSITION.] 1. Properly, laid down; expressed; direct; explicit: opposed to implied; as, he told us in positive words; we have his positive declaration to the fact; the testimony is positive.-2. Not admitting any condition or discretion; absolute; express; as, the commands of the admiral are positive.-3. Absolute; real; existing in fact: opposed to negative; as, positive good, which exists by itself, whereas negative good is merely the absence of evil: or opposed to relative or arbitrary, as, beauty is not a positive thing, but depends on the different tastes of people. - 4. Direct; express: opposed to circumstantial; as, positive proof. 5. Confident; fully assured; as, the witness is very positive that he is correct in his testimony.-6. Dogmatic; over-confident in opinion or assertion. Pope. Some positive persisting fops we know, That, if once wrong, will needs be always so. 7. Settled by arbitrary appointment; prescribed by express enactment: opposed to natural or inbred. In laws, that which is natural, bindeth universally; that which is positive, not so.... Although no laws but positive are mutable, yet all are not mutable which are positive. Hooker. 496 through three stages, viz. the theological, the metaphysical, and the positive. In the first stage, the phenomena of nature are attempted to be explained by reference to supernatural causes, by voluntary interferences, by prodigies, miracles, and the like. In the second stage supernatural and anthropomorphitic causes give place to abstract, occult causes, scholastic entities, realized abstractions, and nature is interpreted à priori: the attempt is made to construe nature subjectively. In the third stage, man contents himself with ascertaining by observation and experiment the connections of phenomena, and so learning to connect each fact with its antecedent conditions. This is the method which has founded modern science, and which must take the place of metaphysics. Whatever is not capable of experimental verification must be rigorously excluded from science. The second conception of this system is the classification and co-ordination of the sciences. The theory of this classification requires us to advance from the simple to the complex, beginning with mathematics, and passing in turn to astronomy, physics, chemistry, biology, and sociology: these are the six fundamental sciences, each of which is necessary to the next following one. Thus sociology or the science of society is impossible without biology, the science of life, and the latter is impossible without the science of chemistry; chemistry, again, presupposes physics, which itself presupposes astronomy and mathematics.-Positive pole of a voltaic pile or battery. See POLE.-Positive terms, in logic, those terms which denote a certain view of an object, as being actually taken of it.-Positive quantity, in alg, an affirmative or additive quantity, which character is indicated by the sign+ (plus) prefixed to the quantity, called in consequence the positive sign. The term is used in contradistinction to negative. Positive (poz'i-tiv), n. 1. That which is capable of being affirmed; reality. Rating positives by their privatives.' South. 2. That which settles by absolute appointment. Positives, while under precept, cannot be slighted without slighting morals also. Waterland. 3. In gram. the positive degree.-4. In photog. a picture in which the lights and shades are rendered as they are in nature: opposed to negative. Positives are obtained by printing from negatives. See NEGATIVE, PHOTO (d) Directly; explicitly; expressly; as, the witness testified positively to the fact. (e) Peremptorily; in strong terms. The divine law positively requires humility and 8. Based on phenomena; real; phenomenal; Nothing can be juster than the law which Comte 9. Having power to act directly; having direct influence; as, a positive voice in legislation. 10. In photog. having the lights and shades rendered as they are in nature: opposed to negative. See NEGATIVE, PHOTOGRAPHY. Positive degree, in gram. is the state of an adjective which denotes simple or absolute quality, without comparison or relation to increase or diminution; as, wise, noble.Positive electricity. See ELECTRICITY.-Positive evidence, in law, proof of the very fact. Positive philosophy, a philosophical system founded by Auguste Comte (1798-1857). leading feature is what is known under the law of the three stages, which may be thus stated: every branch of knowledge passes Its The state of being positive: (a) actualness; reality of existence; not mere negation. The positiveness of sins of commission lies both in the habitude of the will and in the executed act too; the positiveness of sins of omission is in the habitude of the will only. Norris. (b) Undoubting assurance; full confidence; peremptoriness. This peremptoriness is of two sorts; the one a magisterialness in matters of opinion, the other a posi tiveness in relating to matters of fact. Dr. H. More. Positivism (poz'i-tiv-izm), n. The positive philosophy (which see under POSITIVE). This second period in modern philosophy has been marked by the sceptical phenomenalísm of Hume (now represented by Positivism); the Scotch psychology of common sense; and the German critical and dialectical philosophy of reason. Prof. Fraser. Positivist (poz'i-tiv-ist), n. One who maintains the doctrines of positive philosophy. Positivity (poz-i-tiv'i-ti), n. PeremptoriWatts. [Rare.] ness. POSSESSION Posituret (poz'i-tür), n. Posture. The positure of the party's hand who did throw the dice.' Bramhall. Posnet (poz'net), n. [W. posned, a round O, I have bought the mansion of a love, 2. To have as a piece of property or as a personal belonging; to be owner of; to own; to enjoy; as, to possess much money and property; to possess many good qualities. Share all that he doth possess.' Shak. 'The present benefit which I possess.' Shak.3. To become or make one's self master of; to seize; to gain; to obtain the occupation of. The English marched toward the river Eske, intending to possess a hill called Under-Eske. Hayward. 4. To affect strongly; to pervade; to fill or take up entirely. Sin of self-love possesseth all mine eye.' Shak. "What a strange drowsiness possesses them.' Shak. As the love of Christ and the love of God possesseth and seizeth upon a soul, so self-love decays. Dr. Sibbes. 5. To have full power or mastery over; as, an evil spirit, evil influence, violent passion, or the like. Luke viii. 36. An she were not possessed with a fury.' Shak. 'Possessed with devilish spirits." Shak. Beware what spirit rages in your breast; 6. To put in possession; to make master or owner: with of before the thing, and now generally used in the passive or with reflexive pronouns; as, to be possessed of a large fortune; to possess one's self of another's property. Will possess you of that ship and treasure. Shak. Had possessed himself of the kingdom.' Shak. "The moveables whereof our uncle Gaunt did stand possessed.' Shak. Of fortune's favour long possessed." Dryden. We possessed ourselves of the kingdom of Naples. Addison. 7. To make acquainted with; to acquaint; to inform. 'Possess the people in Messina here how innocent she died." Shak. Let not your ears despise my tongue, Possess us, possess us; tell us something of him. Shak POSSESSION ing or occupancy, either rightful or wrongful. One man may have the possession of a thing, and another may have the right of possession or property. If the possession is severed from the property; if A has the right of property, and B by unlawful means has gained possession, this is an injury to A. This is a bare or naked possession. Blackstone. In Eng. law, a personal chattel is held by possession, a real estate by title. Natural possession is where the proprietor himself is actually in possession. Civil possession is possession not by the owner, but by another in his name or for his behoof. Actual possession is where a person enters into lands or tenements descended or conveyed to him. Possession in law is when lands, &c., are descended to a man, and he has not actually entered into them. Naked possession is mere possession without colour of right.2. The thing possessed; land, estate, or goods owned; as, foreign possessions. The house of Jacob shall possess their possessions. Obad. 17. When the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful; for he had great possessions. Mat. xix. 22. 3. In international law, a country or territory held by no other title than mere conquest. Bouvier. -4. The state of being under the power of demons, evil spirits, or violent passions; madness; lunacy; as, demoniacal possession. Sundry more gentlemen this little hundred eth and possessioneth. Possessional (poz-zesh'on-al), a. Same as Possessive. Chaucer. Possessionary (poz-zesh'on-a-ri), a. Relating to or implying possession. Possessioner (poz-zesh'on-ér), n. 1. One that has possession of a thing, or power over it. Freemen and possessioners.' Sir P. Sidney.-2. An invidious name for the members of such religious communities as were endowed with lands, &c. The mendicant orders professed to live entirely upon alms. Possessive (poz-zes'iv), a. [L. possessivus.] Pertaining to possession; expressing possession.-In gram. possessive case, the genitive case, or case of nouns and pronouns which expresses, 1st, possession, ownership; as, John's book; or 2dly, some relation of one thing to another; as, Homer's admirers. -Possessive pronoun, a pronoun denoting possession or property. Possessive (poz-zes'iv), n. A pronoun or other word denoting possession. Possessively (poz-zes'iv-li), adv. In a manner denoting possession. Possessor (poz-zes'er), n. One who possesses; one who holds or enjoys any good or other thing; one who owns; an occupant; a person who holds in his hands or power any species of property real or personal. Think of the happiness of the prophets and apostles, saints and martyrs, possessors of eternal glory. Law. Unlimited power corrupts the possessor. Brougham. SYN. Owner, proprietor, holder, occupant. Possessory (poz-zes'o-ri), a. 1. Pertaining to possession. 'A possessory feeling in the heart.' Dr. Chalmers. 2. Having possession; as, a possessory lord.-3. In law, arising from possession; as, a possessory interest. Possessory action, an action formerly brought to regain possession of land, the right of possession only, and not that of property, being contested.. Possessory judgment, in Scots law, a judgment which entitles a person who has been in uninterrupted possession for seven years to continue his possession until the question of right shall be decided at law. Posset (pos'set), n. [Comp. W. posel, curdled milk, a posset, from the root of posiaw, to gather. Comp. also L. posca, an acidulous drink composed of vinegar and water.] A drink composed of hot milk curdled by some infusion, as wine or other liquor, formerly much in favour both as luxury and medicine. 'I have drugged their possets.' Shak. It is pleasant to see great works in their seminal state, pregnant with latent possibilities of excellence. Johnson. 2. A thing possible; that which may take place or come into being. Consider him antecedently to his creation, while yet he lay in the barren womb of nothing, and only in the number of possibilities; and consequently could have nothing to recommend him to Christ's affection. South, 3. In law, a chance or expectation; an uncertain thing which may or may not happen. It is near or ordinary, as where an estate is limited to one after the death of another; or remote or extraordinary, as where it is limited to a man provided he shall be married to a certain woman, and then that she shall die, and he be married to another. Wharton. Possible (pos'i-bl), a. [From L. possibilis, from posse, to be able, to have power, from potis, able, and esse, to be. Power is also from potis.] 1. That may be or exist; that may be now, or may happen or come to pass; that may be done; not contrary to the nature of things; as, it is possible the peace of Europe may continue a century; it is not possible that two and three should be seven, or that the same action should be morally right and morally wrong.-2. Capable of coming to pass, but improbable. He must not stay within doors, for fear the house should fall upon him, for that is possible; nor must he go out, lest the next man that meets him should kill him, for that is also possible. Wilkins. Possibly (pos'i-bli), adv. 1. In a possible manner; by any power, moral or physical, really existing; by possibility. Can we want obedience then 2. Perhaps; perchance. Milton. Arbitrary power tends to make a man a bad sovereign, who might possibly have been a good one, had he been invested with authority circumscribed by laws. Addison. Possum (pos'sum), n. A colloquial contraction in the United States of Opossum.-To play possum, to act possum, to feign; to dissemble: in allusion to the habit of the opossum, which throws itself on its back and feigns death on the approach of an enemy. Post (post), n. [A. Sax. post, from L. postis, post, a door-post, from pono (posno), positum, to put, place, lay, set. See POSITION.] A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance set upright, usually larger than a stake, and intended to support something else; as, the posts of a house; the posts of a door; the posts of a gate; the posts of a fence; a king-post, queen-post, trusspost, door-post, &c.-Post and paling, a close wooden fence, constructed with posts fixed in the ground and pales nailed between them. Post and railing, a kind of open wooden fence for the protection of young quickset hedges, consisting of posts and rails, &c. These terms are sometimes confounded.-Post and pane, post and petrail, terms applied to buildings erected with timber framings and panels of brick or lath and plaster.-Knight of the post. See under KNIGHT. Post (post), n. [From Fr. poste (masc.), a military post or station, an office, and poste (fem.), a letter-carrier, a post-house, a postoffice, &c., both from LL. posta, for posita, from L. positus, placed, pono, positum, to place. See POST, a stake, and POSITION.] 1. The place at which some person or thing is stationed or fixed; a station or position occupied, especially a military station; the place where a single soldier or a body of troops is stationed; as, a post of observation; a sentry at his post. The waters rise everywhere upon the surface of the earth; which new post when they had once seized on they would never quit. T. Burnet. Hence-2. The troops stationed at a particular place.-3. An office or employment; a position of service, trust, or emolument; an i, Fr. ton; ng, sing; TH, then; th, thin; POSTBILL appointment; a berth. 'Posts of profit or of trust.' Pope.-4. A messenger or a carrier of letters and papers; one that goes at stated times to convey the mail or despatches; a postman. I fear my Julia would not deign my lines Receiving them from such a worthless post. Shak. 5. An established system for the public conveyance of letters, especially the governmental system; the mail; the transmission of all the letters conveyed for the public at one time from one place to another; a postoffice. 6. A size of writing and printing paper, measuring about 183 inches by 15.7. Haste; speed. The mayor towards Guildhall hies him in all post. Shak. 8. An old game at cards. Called also Post and Pair.-To ride post, to be employed to carry despatches and papers; and as such carriers rode in haste, hence the phrase signifies to ride in haste, to pass with expedition. Post is used also adverbially for swiftly, expeditiously, or expressly. Sent from Media post to Egypt.' Milton. Hence, to travel post is to travel expeditiously by the use of fresh horses taken at certain stations. Post (post), v.i. [Fr. poster, to post. See the noun.] 1. To travel with post-horses: to travel rapidly with any horses; to travel with speed. 'And post o'er land and ocean without rest.' Milton. We see in blank dismay Matt. Arnold. 3. To place; to station; as, to post troops on a hill, or in front or on the flank of an army. To discharge cannon against an army in which a king is known to be posted is to approach pretty near Macaulay. to regicide. 4. In book-keeping, to carry (accounts or items) from the journal to the ledger; to make the requisite entries in, for showing a true state of affairs. You have not posted your books these ten years; how should a man keep his affairs even at this rate? Arbuthnot. 5. To place in the post-office; to transmit by post; as, to post letters.-6. To send with speed, or by means of post-horses.-To post up, in book-keeping, to make the requisite entries on up to date; hence, to inform thoroughly with all the freshest information on any subject; to make one master of all the details of a subject. He describes him (the Count of Chambord) as one of the freshest and youngest looking men he has ever seen, simple, frank, polished, exceedingly intelligent, and thoroughly posted up in the politics and literature of the day. Sat. Rev. Post (post), adv. Hastily, or as a post. Post (post), a. [From Fr. aposter, to place in a post or position, to spy, to deceive.] Suborned; hired to do what is wrong. Post (post). A Latin preposition signifying after, behind, subsequent, since, &c. It is used in this sense in composition in a number of English words. Postable (post'a-bl), a. Capable of being carried. Postal (post'al), a. Relating to posts, posting, or mails; as, postal arrangements. Post-anal (post-a'nal), a. In zool. situated behind the anus. Postbill (pōst'bil), n. 1. A bill granted by the Bank of England to individuals, and transferable after indorsation.-2. A post-office way-bill of the letters despatched from a post-office, placed in the mail-bag, or given in charge to the post. w, wig; wh, whig; zh, azure.-See KEY. POSTBOY Postboy (post' boi), n. A boy that carries letters; a boy or man that drives a postchaise. Post-captain (pōst'kap-tin), n. Formerly the captain of a ship-of-war of three years' standing, now simply styled captain. He is equal in rank to a colonel in the army. Post-card (post'kärd), n. A card impressed with a halfpenny (or other) stamp issued by the postal authorities to the general public, as a means of correspondence where the communications are not of a secret nature. Post-chaise (pōst'sház), n. A chaise or carriage for conveying travellers from one station to another, and let for hire. Post-coach (pōst'kōch), n. Same as Postchaise. Postdate (post'dāt), v.t. pret. & pp. postdated; ppr. postdating. [Prefix post, after, and date.] 1. To affix a date to later than or in advance of the real time; as, to postdate a contract, that is, to date it as if, for instance, it were made six months hence.2. To date so as to make appear earlier than the fact. Of these (predictions) some were postdated, cunningly made after the thing had come to pass. Fuller. Post-date (pōst'dāt), n. A date put on a document in advance of the real date on which it was written. Post-day (põst’dā), n. A day on which a conveyance carrying mails arrives or departs. Postdiluvial, Postdiluvian (post-di-lu'vi-al, post-di-lū'vi-an), a. [L. post, after, and diluvium, the deluge.] Being or happening posterior to the flood in Noah's days. Postdiluvian (post-di-lü'vi-an), n. A person who lived after the flood, or who has lived since that event. Post-disseizin (post-dis-sēz'in), n. In law, a subsequent disseizin; also, a writ that lay for him who having recovered lands or tenements by force of novel disseizin, was again disseized by the former disseizor. Wharton. Post-disseizor (post-dis-sēz'or), n. A person who disseizes another of lands which he had before recovered of the same person. Postea (pōs'tē-a), n. [L., after this or that, afterwards.] In law, the return of the judge before whom a cause was tried, after the verdict, stating what was done in the cause. When the proceedings were in Latin the word postea was the initial word, whence the name of this return. Post-entry (post-en'tri), n. 1. In com. an additional entry of goods made by a merchant at the custom-house, when the first entry is found to be too small.-2. In bookkeeping, an additional or subsequent entry. Poster (post'èr), n. 1. One who posts; a courier; one that travels expeditiously. 'Posters of the sea and land.' Shak.-2. A post-horse. A pair of jaded posters.' Lord Lytton.-3. A large printed bill or placard posted for advertising. Dickens. Poste-restante (post-res-tant), n. [Fr., to remain at the post-office till called for.] A department in a post-office where letters so addressed are kept till the owners call for them. It is for the convenience of persons passing through a country or town where they have no fixed residence; but residents are not allowed to have their letters so kept. Posterior (pos-te'ri-èr), a. [L. posterior, ⚫ compar. of posterus, from post, after.] 1. Later or subsequent in time: opposed to prior. Hesiod was posterior to Homer. W. Broome. 2. Later in the order of proceeding or moving; coming after. No care was taken to have this matter remedied by the explanatory articles posterior to the report. Addison. 3. Situated behind; hinder; as, the posterior portion of the skull: opposed to anterior.4. In bot. see under SUPERIOR.-Posterior margin, in conch. a term applied to that side of the bosses of acephalous bivalves which contains the ligament.-A posteriori, a Latin phrase signifying, from what follows. See A PRIORI. Posteriority (pos-tē'ri-or”i-ti), n. [Fr. postériorité.] The state of being later or subsequent; as, posteriority of time or of an event: opposed to priority. Posteriorly (pos-te'ri-ér-li), adv. Subse quently in time; in a posterior manner; behind. Posteriors (pos-tē'ri-érz), n. pl. The hinder parts of an animal's body. The posteriors 498 of a dead ass.' Swift. [In Love's Labour's Lost Shakspere makes the affected Armado use it differently: The posteriors of this day, which the rude multitude call the afternoon.'] Posterity (pos-ter'i-ti), n. [Fr. postérité, L. posteritas, from posterus, later, from post, after.] 1. Descendants; the race that proceeds from a progenitor. The whole human race are the posterity of Adam. Yet it was said It (the crown) should not stand in thy posterity. Shak. 2. Succeeding generations. Methinks the truth should live from age to age, As 'twere retailed to all posterity. Shak. Postern (post'èrn), n. [O. Fr. posterne, from L.L. posterna, posterula, a secret gallery or means of exit, from L. posterus, behind, posterior, from post, behind.] 1. Primarily, a back door or gate; a private entrance; hence, any small door or gate. Shak. Go on, good Eglamour, Out at the postern by the abbey wall. The word is used adjectively in following extract. Sub The conscious priest, who was suborn'd before, Stood ready posted at the postern door. Dryden. 2. In fort. a covered passage closed by a gate, usually in the angle of the flank of a bastion, or in that of the curtain or near the orillon, descending into the ditch. Post-exist (post-egz-ist'), v.i. To exist after; to live subsequently. Cudworth. Post-existence (post-egz-ist'ens), n. sequent or future existence. 'A notion of the soul's post-existence.' Addison. Post-existent (post-egz-ist'ent), a. Existent or living after. Cudworth. [Rare.] Post-fact (post-fakt), a. [L. post factum.] Relating to a fact that occurs after another. Post-fact (pōst'fakt), n. A fact that occurs after another. Post-facto (pōst-fak'tō). [L] See EX POST FACTO. Post-fine (post'fin), n. In Eng. law, a fine due to the king by prerogative: called also the King's Silver (which see under KING). Post-fix (post'fiks), n. [Prefix post, after, and fix. In gram. a letter, syllable, or word added to the end of another word; an affix or suffix. Postfix (post'fiks), v. t. To add or annex a letter, syllable, or word to the end of another or principal word. Post-free (post'frē), a. Franked; paying no postage. Post-geniture (post-jen'i-tür), n. The state or position of a child born after another in the same family. Naturally a king, though fatally prevented by the harmless chance of post-geniture.' Sir T. Browne. Post-glacial (post-glä'shi-al), a. In geol. see POST-TERTIARY. Post-hackney (pōst-hak'nē), n. A hired post-horse. Wotton. Post-haste (post-häst'), n. Haste or speed in travelling, like that of a post or courier. Shak. Post-haste (pōst-hāst), adv. With speed or expedition; as, he travelled post-haste. Posthetomist (pos-thet'o-mist), n. One who performs the operation of posthetomy or circumcision. Posthetomy (pos-thet'o-mi), n. [Gr. posthe, the prepuce, and tome, a cutting.] Circumcision. Post-horn (post'horn), n. A horn or trumpet without valves or pistons, blown by drivers or guards of mail-coaches, &c. Post-horse (pōst'hors), n. A horse for conveying travellers rapidly from one station to another, and let for hire. Post-house (post'hous), n. 1. A house where relays of post-horses are kept for the convenience of travellers.-2. A post-office. Posthumet (pos'tum), a. Posthumous. 'A posthume modesty, which could not be born till they were dead.' Purchas. Posthumous (pos'tūm-us), a. [From L. postumus, last, superl. of posterus, coming after, from post, behind.] 1. Born after the death of the father; as, a posthumous son or daughter.-2. Published after the death of the author; as, posthumous works.— 3. Being or continuing after one's decease; as, 'With regard to his posthumous character.' Addison. Posthumously (pos'tùm-us-li), adv. After one's decease. Postict (pos'tik), a. [L. posticus.] Back- In bot. same as POSTMASTER Posticum (pos-ti'kum). [L., from post, behind.] The part of an ancient temple which was in the rear of the cell; the part in front of the cell being called the pro naos. Postil (pos'til), n. [Fr. postille, which Du Cange takes from post illa (verba understood, after those words), from the use of this phrase by the commentators.] 1 A note, especially a marginal note; originally, a note in the margin of the Bible, so called because written after the text. It was thought proper to append to the works of Copernicus a postil to say that the work was written to account for the phenomena, and that people must not run on blindly and condemn either of the opposite opinions. Whewell. 2. In the R. Cath. and Lutheran Churches, a homily to be read in public; as, the first postils were composed by order of Charlemagne; Luther also wrote postils. Postil (pos'til), v.i. To write postils; to comment; to make illustrations. tell upon a kyrie.' Skelton. Postil (pos'til), v. t. [See POSTIL, n.] To write marginal notes on; to gloss; to illustrate with marginal notes. 'To pos postilled in Bacon. I have seen a book of accounts the margin with the King's hand. Postilion, Postillion (pōs-til'yon), n. [Fr. postillon, from poste, a post.] The rider on the near leader of a travelling or other carriage; also, one who rides the near horse when one pair only is used, either in a coach or post-chaise. Postilize + (pos'til-iz), v.t. Same as Postil. 'Postilizing the whole doctrine of Duns Scotus.' Wood. Postillate (pos'til-at), v.i. [L.L. postillo, postillatum. See POSTIL] 1. To write postils or marginal notes.-2. To preach by expounding Scripture, verse by verse, in regular order. Postillate (pos'til-at), v.t. To postil; to explain by marginal notes. Postillation (pos-til-la'shon), n. The act of postillating; exposition of Scripture in preaching. Postillator (pos'til-la-těr), n. One who postillates; one who expounds Scripture verse by verse. Postiller (pos'til-èr), n. One who postils; one who writes marginal notes. 'Postillers and commentators.' Sir T. Browne. Posting-house (post'ing-hous), n. A house or hotel where post-horses are kept. Postique (pos'tek), a. [0. Fr. postique, Fr. postiche; from L. postus, positus, from pono, positum, to place.] Superadded; done after the work is finished: applied to a superadded ornament of sculpture or architecture. Postliminiary, Postliminious (post-limin'i-ar-i, post-li-min'i-us), a. Pertaining to or involving the right of postliminium (which see). Postliminium, Postliminy (post-li-min'ium, post-lim'i-ni), n. [L. post, after, and limen, end, limit.] 1. In Rom. antiq. the return of a person who had been banished or taken prisoner by an enemy to his old condition and former privileges.-2. In international law, that right by virtue of which persons and things taken by an enemy in war are restored to their former state when coming again under the power of the nation to which they belonged. Post-lude (pōst'lūd), n. [L. postludium.] In music, an after-piece; a concluding voluntary. Postman (post'man), n. 1. A post or courier. 2. A letter-carrier.-3. A barrister in the exchequer division of the High Court who has precedence in motions, so called from the place where he sits. The postman is one of the two most experienced barristers in the court, the other being called the tubman. Postmark (post'märk), n. The mark or stamp of a post-office on a letter. Postmark (post'märk), v.t. To affix the stamp or mark of the post-office, as to letters, &c. Postmaster (pōst'mas-tér), n. 1. The officer who has the superintendence and direction of a post-office. - Postmaster-general, the chief executive head of the postal and telegraphic systems of Britain. He is usually a member of the cabinet, and exercises authority over all the departments of the postal system, including money-orders, savingsbank, insurances, and annuities.-2.One who provides post-horses.-3. In Merton College, Oxford, the scholars who are supported on the foundation are called postmasters or portionists. POSTMERIDIAN Postmeridian (pōst-me-rid'i-an), a. [L. postmeridianus. See MERIDIAN.] 1. Coming after the sun has passed the meridian; being or belonging to the afternoon. Postmeridian sleep. Bacon.-2. In geol. applied to the ninth of Prof. H. Rogers' fifteen divisions of the paleozoic strata in the Appalachian chain of North America. It corresponds to a certain extent with our lower Devonian. Post-meridian (post-me-rid'i-an), n. The afternoon: usually contracted P.M. 'Twas post-meridian half-past four By signal I from Nancy parted. Ch. Dibdin. Post-mill (põst'mil), n. A form of windmill so constructed that the whole fabric rests on a vertical axis, and can be turned by means of a lever, according as the direction of the wind varies. It thus differs from the smock-mill, of which the cap (including the gudgeon and pivot-bearings resting upon it) turns. Post-mill. In the figure the post P, firmly fixed by a strong framing sunk into the ground, has at its upper end a pivot working into a socket fixed in one of the strongest floor-beams, and on this pivot the whole weight of the erection is sustained. ladder L serves as a lever for turning the mill, and by dropping it on the ground and placing a weight on its lower extremity it also serves to keep the mill steady when the right position is attained. The Post-mortem (post'mor-tem), a. [L.] After death. Post-mortem examination, an examination of a body made after death. Post-natal (põst'nā-tal), a. Subsequent to birth. 'Post-natal diseases.' Sankey. Post-nate (pōst'nāt), a. [L. post, after, and natus, born.] Subsequent. The graces and gifts of the spirit are post-nate. Fer. Taylor. Post-natus (pōst'nā-tus), n. [L.] Born after. In law, (a) the second son. (b) One born in Scotland after the accession of James I., who was held not to be an alien in England. Post-note (post'nōt), n. In com. (a) a cash-note intended to be transmitted by post and made payable to order. In this it differs from a common bank-note, which is payable to the bearer. (b) A note issued by a bank, payable at some future time, and not on demand. [In the latter usage the word is compounded of the L. prep. post, after, and note.] Post-nuptial (post-nup'shal), a. Being or happening after marriage; as, a postnuptial settlement on a wife. Post-obit (post-ob'it), n. [L. postobitum, after death.] 1. A bond given for the purpose of securing to a lender a sum of money on the death of some specified individual from whom the borrower has expectations. Such loans are not only generally made at usurious rates of interest, but usually the borrower has to pay a much larger sum than he has received in consideration of the risks the lender runs in the case of the obligor predeceasing the person from whom he has expectation. If, however, there is a gross inadequacy in the proportions amounting to fraud a court of equity will interfere.-2. In med. the same as Post-mortem. Post-obit (post-ob'it), a. [See above.] After death; posthumous; as, a post-obit bond. Post-œsophageal (post'e-sō - faj “ē - al), a. Situated behind the gullet or œsophagus. 499 Post-office (post'of-fis), n. 1. An office or house where letters are received for transmission to various parts, and from which letters are delivered that have been received from places at home and abroad.-2. A department of the government charged with the conveyance of letters, &c., by post. Post-office annuity and insurance, a system whereby the postmaster-general may insure lives between the ages of sixteen and sixty for not less than £20 or more than £100, and may also grant annuities of not more than £50.-General post-office, the principal postoffice in London; also applied to the headoffice in any large city or town.-Post-office order. See MONEY-ORDER.-Post-office savings-bank, a bank connected with the postoffice, where deposits are received to a certain amount, on government security, at a rate of interest of 24 per cent per annum. Post-oral (post-o'ral), a. Situated behind the mouth. Post-paid (post-pād'), a. Having the postage prepaid; as, a post-paid letter. Post-pleiocene, Post-pliocene (post-pli'ōsen), n. and a. In geol. the common term for all the deposits of later age than the Norwich crag, and older than the peat-mosses and river gravels which contain neolithic remains. These deposits are the glacial drifts and boulder-clays with the erratics and other signs of ice agency, the valley gravels and cave earths with paleolithic remains. Called also Pleistocene. Postpone (post-pōn'), v. t. pret. & pp. postponed; ppr. postponing. [L. postpono-post, after, and pono, to put.] 1. To put off; to defer to a future or later time; to delay; as, to postpone the consideration of a bill or question to the afternoon or to the following day. These words, by postponing of the parenthesis to its proper place, are more clearly understood. Knatchbull. The most trifling amusement is suffered to postpone the one thing necessary. Rogers. 2. To set below something else in value or importance. The All other considerations should give way and be postponed to this. Locke. SYN. To adjourn, defer, delay, procrastinate. Postponement (post-pōn'ment), n. act of postponing or deferring to a future time; temporary delay of business. Postponencet (post-pōn'ens), n. Disesteem; disregard. Johnson. Postponer (post-pōn'èr), n. One who postpones; one who delays or puts off. Postpose (post-pōz'), v.t. 1. To place after. Fuller. 2. To postpone; to put off. Postposit (post-poz'it), v.t. To postpone; to regard as of inferior value. Feltham. Post-position (post-pō-zish'on), n. 1. The act of placing after; the state of being put behind. Nor is the post-position of the nominative case to the verb against the use of the tongue. Joseph Mede. 2. In gram. a word or particle placed after or at the end of a word. In almost all the native languages of Asia, what we call prepositions follow their noun; often, like the article and reflective pronoun, coalescing with it, so as to form, or simulate, an inflection. The inconvenience of such a term as preposition is now manifest; nor is it much remedied when we allow ourselves to use the contradictory phrase post-positive preposition. What is really wanted is a general name for that part of speech under which reposition and post-position may stand as co-ordinate terms. Latham. Post-positional (post-pō-zish'on-al),a. Pertaining to a post-position. Post-positive (post-poz'i-tiv), a. after something else, as a word. Post-prandial (post'pran-di-al), a. [L. post, after, and prandium, a dinner.] Happening after dinner. 'Post-prandial speeches.' Palmerston. n. Placed More rePost-remote (pōst'rē-mōt), a. mote in subsequent time or order. Darwin. Post-road, Post-route (post'rōd, post'röt), A road along which the mail is carried. Postscenium (post-se'ni-um), n. [L., from post, behind, and scena, a scene.] In arch. the back part of a theatre behind the scenes. Postscript (post'skript), n. [L. post, after, and scriptum, written.] A paragraph added to a letter after it is concluded and signed by the writer, or any addition made to a book or composition after it had been supposed to be finished, containing something omitted, or something new occurring to the writer; something appended. A postscript dashed across the rest.' Tennyson. I knew one, that when he wrote a letter, he would put that which was most material in the postscript. Locke. POSTURE Postscripted (post'skript-ed), a Having a postscript; written afterwards. J. Quincy Adams. [Rare.] Post-terminum (post-ter'mi-num). [L.] In law, after the term. Post-tertiary (post-tér'shi-a-ri), a. In geol. the Lyellian term for all deposits and phenomena of more recent date than the Norwich or mammaliferous crag. It may be restricted so as only to include accumulations and deposits formed since the close of the glacial or boulder drift systems, and has been divided into three sections-historic, prehistoric, and post-glacial. The first comprises the peat of Great Britain and Ireland, fens, marshes, river-deposits, lake-silts, accumulations of sand-drift, &c., containing human remains, canoes, metal instruments, remains of domestic animals, &c. The prehistoric comprises similar, or nearly similar deposits, but the remains found in them are older, comprising stone implements, pile-dwellings, and extinct animals, as the Irish deer, mammoth, &c. To the postglacial belong raised beaches, with shells of a more boreal character than those of existing seas, the shell-marl under peat, most of our carses, dales, as well as the common brick-clay, &c., covering submarine forests or containing the remains of seals, whales, &c., as well as of extinct land animals, as the mammoth, rhinoceros, urus, hyæna, hippopotamus, &c. One who deChester Post-town (post'toun),n. 1. A town in which a post-office is established.-2. A town in which post-horses are kept. Postulant (pos'tŭ-lant), n. mands or requests; a candidate. field. Postulate (pos'tu-lāt), n. [L. postulatum, a demand, from postulo, to ask, to demand, from posco, to ask for urgently, to demand.] 1. A position or supposition assumed without proof, or one which is considered as self-evident, or too plain to require illustration; a proposition of which the truth is demanded or assumed for the purpose of future reasoning; a necessary assumption.2. In geom. something of the nature of a problem assumed or taken for granted; the enunciation of a self-evident problem. Euclid has constructed his elements on the three following postulates: 1. Let it be granted that a straight line may be drawn from any one point to any other point. 2. That a terminated straight line may be produced to any length in a straight line. 3. That a circle may be described from any centre at any distance from that centre.Axiom, Postulate. See AXIOM. Postulate (pos'tu-lat), v.t. pret. & pp. postulated; ppr. postulating. [See above.] 1. To beg or assume without proof; to regard as self-evident, or as too obvious to require further proof or explanation. We conclude, therefore, that Being, intelligent, conscious Being, is implied and postulated in thinking. F. D. Morell. 2. To invite; to solicit; to require by entreaty. To which he was postulated by the majority of the chapter.' Burnet. [Rare.] 3. To assume; to take without positive consent. [Rare.] The Byzantine emperors appear to have exercised, or at least to have postulated, a sort of paraTooke. mount supremacy over this nation. Postulation (pos-tū-lá'shon), n. [L. postulatio.] 1. The act of postulating or supposing without proof; a necessary supposition or assumption; a postulate. A second postulation to elicit my assent is the Sir M. Hale. veracity of him that reports it. 2. Supplication; intercession. 'Presenting his postulations at the throne of God.' Bp. Pearson.-3. Suit; cause. Burnet. -4. In canon law, a presentation or recommendation addressed to the superior, to whom the right of appointment to any dignity belongs, in favour of one who has not a strict title to the appointment. Postulatory (pos'tū-la-to-ri), a. 1. Postulating; assuming without proof. 2. Assumed without proof. Sir T. Browne. Postulatum (pos-tu-la'tum), n. [L.] A postulate (which see). Posture (pos'tūr), n. [Fr. posture, posture, attitude, condition, from L. positura, a placing, from pono, positum, to put, place, set. See POSITION.] 1. The situation or disposition of the several parts of the body with respect to each other, or with respect to a particular purpose; attitude; position of the body or its members. |