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4 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]
Back \Back\ (b[a^]k), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Backed (b[a^]kt); p.
pr. & vb. n. Backing.]
[1913 Webster]
1. To get upon the back of; to mount.
[1913 Webster]
I will back him [a horse] straight. --Shak.
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2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]
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Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed,
Appeared to me. --Shak.
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3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede;
as, to back oxen.
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4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back
books.
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5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
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A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. --Shak.
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The chalk cliffs which back the beach. --Huxley.
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6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to
indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
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7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or
influence; as, to back a friend. ``The Parliament would be
backed by the people.'' --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
Have still found it necessary to back and fortify
their laws with rewards and punishments. --South.
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The mate backed the captain manfully. --Blackw. Mag.
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8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
[1913 Webster]
To back an anchor (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead
of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened
to the crown of the large one.
To back the field, in horse racing, to bet against a
particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other
horses, collectively designated ``the field'', will win.
To back the oars, to row backward with the oars.
To back a rope, to put on a preventer.
To back the sails, to arrange them so as to cause the ship
to move astern.
To back up, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's
friends.
To back a warrant (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in
the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or
indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend
an offender.
To back water (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars,
paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship
backward.
[1913 Webster]
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 : [ gcide ]
Field \Field\ (f[=e]ld), n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to
D. veld, G. feld, Sw. f["a]lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of
grass, AS. folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.]
1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture;
cultivated ground; the open country.
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2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece
inclosed for tillage or pasture.
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Fields which promise corn and wine. --Byron.
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3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.
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In this glorious and well-foughten field. --Shak.
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What though the field be lost? --Milton.
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4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.:
(a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn
or projected.
(b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one
view.
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Without covering, save yon field of stars.
--Shak.
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Ask of yonder argent fields above. --Pope.
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5. (Her.) The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much
of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon
it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented
as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).
[1913 Webster]
6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action,
operation, or achievement; province; room.
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Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.
--Macaulay.
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7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor
contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the
betting.
[1913 Webster]
8. (Baseball) That part of the grounds reserved for the
players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also
outfield.
[1913 Webster]
Note: Field is often used adjectively in the sense of
belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with
reference to the operations and equipments of an army
during a campaign away from permanent camps and
fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is
sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field
fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field
geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes
investigations or collections out of doors. A survey
uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e.,
measurment, observations, etc., made in field work
(outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field
hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick.
Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc.
[1913 Webster]
Coal field (Geol.) See under Coal.
Field artillery, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the
use of a marching army.
Field basil (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family ({Calamintha
Acinos); -- called also basil thyme.
Field colors (Mil.), small flags for marking out the
positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors.
Field cricket (Zo["o]l.), a large European cricket
({Gryllus campestric), remarkable for its loud notes.
Field day.
(a) A day in the fields.
(b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for
instruction in evolutions. --Farrow.
(c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day.
Field driver, in New England, an officer charged with the
driving of stray cattle to the pound.
Field+duck+(Zo["o]l.),+the+little+bustard+({Otis+tetrax" rel="nofollow">Field duck (Zo["o]l.), the little bustard ({Otis tetrax),
found in Southern Europe.
Field glass. (Optics)
(a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a
race glass.
(b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches
long, and having 3 to 6 draws.
(c) See Field lens.
Field lark. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The skylark.
(b) The tree pipit.
Field lens (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the
eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound
microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called
also field glass.
Field+madder+(Bot.),+a+plant+({Sherardia+arvensis" rel="nofollow">Field madder (Bot.), a plant ({Sherardia arvensis) used in
dyeing.
Field marshal (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred
in the British and other European armies.
Field officer (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain
and below that of general.
Field officer's court (U.S.Army), a court-martial
consisting of one field officer empowered to try all
cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison
and regimental courts. --Farrow.
Field plover (Zo["o]l.), the black-bellied plover
({Charadrius squatarola); also sometimes applied to the
Bartramian sandpiper ({Bartramia longicauda).
Field spaniel (Zo["o]l.), a small spaniel used in hunting
small game.
Field sparrow. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A small American sparrow ({Spizella pusilla).
(b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.]
Field staff (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to
hold a lighted match for discharging a gun.
Field vole (Zo["o]l.), the European meadow mouse.
Field of ice, a large body of floating ice; a pack.
Field, or Field of view, in a telescope or microscope,
the entire space within which objects are seen.
Field magnet. see under Magnet.
Magnetic field. See Magnetic.
To back the field, or To bet on the field. See under
Back, v. t. -- To keep the field.
(a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign.
(b) To maintain one's ground against all comers.
To lay against the field or To back against the field, to
bet on (a horse, etc.) against all comers.
To take the field (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.
[1913 Webster]
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]
Back \Back\, v. i. [imp. & p. p. Backed; p. pr. & vb. n.
Backing.]
1. To get upon the back of; to mount.
I will back him [a horse] straight. --Shak.
2. To place or seat upon the back. [R.]
Great Jupiter, upon his eagle backed, Appeared to
me. --Shak.
3. To drive or force backward; to cause to retreat or recede;
as, to back oxen.
4. To make a back for; to furnish with a back; as, to back
books.
5. To adjoin behind; to be at the back of.
A garden . . . with a vineyard backed. --Shak.
The chalk cliffs which back the beach. --Huxley.
6. To write upon the back of; as, to back a letter; to
indorse; as, to back a note or legal document.
7. To support; to maintain; to second or strengthen by aid or
influence; as, to back a friend. ``Parliament would be
backed by the people.'' --Macaulay.
Have still found it necessary to back and fortify
their laws with rewards and punishments. --South.
The mate backed the captain manfully. --Blackw. Mag.
8. To bet on the success of; -- as, to back a race horse.
To back an anchor (Naut.), to lay down a small anchor ahead
of a large one, the cable of the small one being fastened
to the crown of the large one.
To back the field, in horse racing, to bet against a
particular horse or horses, that some one of all the other
horses, collectively designated ``the field'', will win.
To back the oars, to row backward with the oars.
To back a rope, to put on a preventer.
To back the sails, to arrange them so as to cause the ship
to move astern.
To back up, to support; to sustain; as, to back up one's
friends.
To back a warrant (Law), is for a justice of the peace, in
the county where the warrant is to be executed, to sign or
indorse a warrant, issued in another county, to apprehend
an offender.
To back water (Naut.), to reverse the action of the oars,
paddles, or propeller, so as to force the boat or ship
backward.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) : [ web1913 ]
Field \Field\, n. [OE. feld, fild, AS. feld; akin to D. veld, G.
feld, Sw. f["a]lt, Dan. felt, Icel. fold field of grass, AS.
folde earth, land, ground, OS. folda.]
1. Cleared land; land suitable for tillage or pasture;
cultivated ground; the open country.
2. A piece of land of considerable size; esp., a piece
inclosed for tillage or pasture.
Fields which promise corn and wine. --Byron.
3. A place where a battle is fought; also, the battle itself.
In this glorious and well-foughten field. --Shak.
What though the field be lost? --Milton.
4. An open space; an extent; an expanse. Esp.:
(a) Any blank space or ground on which figures are drawn
or projected.
(b) The space covered by an optical instrument at one
view.
Without covering, save yon field of stars.
--Shak.
Ask of yonder argent fields above. --Pope.
5. (Her.) The whole surface of an escutcheon; also, so much
of it is shown unconcealed by the different bearings upon
it. See Illust. of Fess, where the field is represented
as gules (red), while the fess is argent (silver).
6. An unresticted or favorable opportunity for action,
operation, or achievement; province; room.
Afforded a clear field for moral experiments.
--Macaulay.
7. A collective term for all the competitors in any outdoor
contest or trial, or for all except the favorites in the
betting.
8. (Baseball) That part of the grounds reserved for the
players which is outside of the diamond; -- called also
outfield.
Note: Field is often used adjectively in the sense of
belonging to, or used in, the fields; especially with
reference to the operations and equipments of an army
during a campaign away from permanent camps and
fortifications. In most cases such use of the word is
sufficiently clear; as, field battery; field
fortification; field gun; field hospital, etc. A field
geologist, naturalist, etc., is one who makes
investigations or collections out of doors. A survey
uses a field book for recording field notes, i.e.,
measurment, observations, etc., made in field work
(outdoor operations). A farmer or planter employs field
hands, and may use a field roller or a field derrick.
Field sports are hunting, fishing, athletic games, etc.
Coal field (Geol.) See under Coal.
Field artillery, light ordnance mounted on wheels, for the
use of a marching army.
Field basil (Bot.), a plant of the Mint family ({Calamintha
Acinos); -- called also basil thyme.
Field colors (Mil.), small flags for marking out the
positions for squadrons and battalions; camp colors.
Field cricket (Zo["o]l.), a large European cricket
({Gryllus campestric), remarkable for its loud notes.
Field day.
(a) A day in the fields.
(b) (Mil.) A day when troops are taken into the field for
instruction in evolutions. --Farrow.
(c) A day of unusual exertion or display; a gala day.
Field driver, in New England, an officer charged with the
driving of stray cattle to the pound.
Field+duck+(Zo["o]l.),+the+little+bustard+({Otis+tetrax" rel="nofollow">Field duck (Zo["o]l.), the little bustard ({Otis tetrax),
found in Southern Europe.
Field glass. (Optics)
(a) A binocular telescope of compact form; a lorgnette; a
race glass.
(b) A small achromatic telescope, from 20 to 24 inches
long, and having 3 to 6 draws.
(c) See Field lens.
Field lark. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) The skylark.
(b) The tree pipit.
Field lens (Optics), that one of the two lenses forming the
eyepiece of an astronomical telescope or compound
microscope which is nearer the object glass; -- called
also field glass.
Field+madder+(Bot.),+a+plant+({Sherardia+arvensis" rel="nofollow">Field madder (Bot.), a plant ({Sherardia arvensis) used in
dyeing.
Field marshal (Mil.), the highest military rank conferred
in the British and other European armies.
Field mouse (Zo["o]l.), a mouse inhabiting fields, as the
campagnol and the deer mouse. See Campagnol, and Deer
mouse.
Field officer (Mil.), an officer above the rank of captain
and below that of general.
Field officer's court (U.S.Army), a court-martial
consisting of one field officer empowered to try all
cases, in time of war, subject to jurisdiction of garrison
and regimental courts. --Farrow.
Field plover (Zo["o]l.), the black-bellied plover
({Charadrius squatarola); also sometimes applied to the
Bartramian sandpiper ({Bartramia longicauda).
Field spaniel (Zo["o]l.), a small spaniel used in hunting
small game.
Field sparrow. (Zo["o]l.)
(a) A small American sparrow ({Spizella pusilla).
(b) The hedge sparrow. [Eng.]
Field staff> (Mil.), a staff formerly used by gunners to
hold a lighted match for discharging a gun.
Field vole (Zo["o]l.), the European meadow mouse.
Field of ice, a large body of floating ice; a pack.
Field, or Field of view, in a telescope or microscope,
the entire space within which objects are seen.
Field magnet. see under Magnet.
Magnetic field. See Magnetic.
To back the field, or To bet on the field. See under
Back, v. t. -- To keep the field.
(a) (Mil.) To continue a campaign.
(b) To maintain one's ground against all comers.
To lay, or back, against the field, to bet on (a horse,
etc.) against all comers.
To take the field (Mil.), to enter upon a campaign.
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