catflap.org Online Dictionary Query


Query string:
Search type:
Database:

Database copyright information
Server information


5 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  House \House\ (hous), n.; pl. Houses. [OE. hous, hus, AS. h?s;
     akin to OS. & OFries. h?s, D. huis, OHG. h?s, G. haus, Icel.
     h?s, Sw. hus, Dan. huus, Goth. gudh?s, house of God, temple;
     and prob. to E. hide to conceal. See Hide, and cf. Hoard,
     Husband, Hussy, Husting.]
     1. A structure intended or used as a habitation or shelter
        for animals of any kind; but especially, a building or
        edifice for the habitation of man; a dwelling place, a
        mansion.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Houses are built to live in; not to look on.
                                                    --Bacon.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Bees with smoke and doves with noisome stench
              Are from their hives and houses driven away. --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. Household affairs; domestic concerns; particularly in the
        phrase to keep house. See below.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. Those who dwell in the same house; a household.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              One that feared God with all his house. --Acts x. 2.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     4. A family of ancestors, descendants, and kindred; a race of
        persons from the same stock; a tribe; especially, a noble
        family or an illustrious race; as, the house of Austria;
        the house of Hanover; the house of Israel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The last remaining pillar of their house,
              The one transmitter of their ancient name.
                                                    --Tennyson.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. One of the estates of a kingdom or other government
        assembled in parliament or legislature; a body of men
        united in a legislative capacity; as, the House of Lords;
        the House of Commons; the House of Representatives; also,
        a quorum of such a body. See Congress, and Parliament.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. (Com.) A firm, or commercial establishment.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. A public house; an inn; a hotel.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. (Astrol.) A twelfth part of the heavens, as divided by six
        circles intersecting at the north and south points of the
        horizon, used by astrologers in noting the positions of
        the heavenly bodies, and casting horoscopes or nativities.
        The houses were regarded as fixed in respect to the
        horizon, and numbered from the one at the eastern horizon,
        called the ascendant, first house, or house of life,
        downward, or in the direction of the earth's revolution,
        the stars and planets passing through them in the reverse
        order every twenty-four hours.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. A square on a chessboard, regarded as the proper place of
        a piece.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. An audience; an assembly of hearers, as at a lecture, a
         theater, etc.; as, a thin or a full house.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. The body, as the habitation of the soul.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               This mortal house I'll ruin,
               Do C[ae]sar what he can.             --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     12.
  
     Usage: [With an adj., as narrow, dark, etc.] The grave. ``The
            narrow house.'' --Bryant.
            [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: House is much used adjectively and as the first element
           of compounds. The sense is usually obvious; as, house
           cricket, housemaid, house painter, housework.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     House ant (Zo["o]l.), a very small, yellowish brown ant
        ({Myrmica molesta), which often infests houses, and
        sometimes becomes a great pest.
  
     House of bishops (Prot. Epis. Ch.), one of the two bodies
        composing a general convertion, the other being House of
        Clerical and Lay Deputies.
  
     House boat, a covered boat used as a dwelling.
  
     House of call, a place, usually a public house, where
        journeymen connected with a particular trade assemble when
        out of work, ready for the call of employers. [Eng.]
  
     To bring down the house. See under Bring.
  
     To keep house, to maintain an independent domestic
        establishment.
  
     To keep open house, to entertain friends at all times.
  
     Syn: Dwelling; residence; abode. See Tenement.
          [1913 Webster]

From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 :   [ gcide ]

  Keep \Keep\ (k[=e]p), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kept (k[e^]pt); p.
     pr. & vb. n. Keeping.] [OE. k[=e]pen, AS. c[=e]pan to keep,
     regard, desire, await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover,
     OE. copnien to desire.]
     1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]
        [1913 Webster]
  
              I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast]. --Chaucer.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
        go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to
        lose; to retain; to detain.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              If we lose the field,
              We can not keep the town.             --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              That I may know what keeps me here with you.
                                                    --Dryden.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are
              considering, that would instruct us.  --Locke.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
        maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or
        tenor.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.
                                                    --Addison.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     Note: In this sense it is often used with prepositions and
           adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from,
           to keep in, out, or off, etc. ``To keep off
           impertinence and solicitation from his superior.''
           --Addison.
           [1913 Webster]
  
     4. To have in custody; to have in some place for
        preservation; to take charge of.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was
              always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. --Knolles.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. --Gen.
                                                    xxviii. 15.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
        communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.
                                                    --Milton.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
              garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. --Gen.
                                                    ii. 15.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
                                                    --Carew.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
        keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts,
        records, etc. ) in a book.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
        like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Like a pedant that keeps a school.    --Shak.
        [1913 Webster]
  
              Every one of them kept house by himself. --Hayward.
        [1913 Webster]
  
     10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
         keep boarders.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
         assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               I keep but three men and a boy.      --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     12. To have habitually in stock for sale.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     13. To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
         intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to
         keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Both day and night did we keep company. --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Within this portal as I kept my watch. --Smollett.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     14. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
         or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to
         neglect; to be faithful to.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               I have kept the faith.               --2 Tim. iv.
                                                    7.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               Him whom to love is to obey, and keep
               His great command.                   --Milton.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     15. To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
         to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to
         frequent. --Shak.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               'Tis hallowed ground;
               Fairies, and fawns, and satyrs do it keep. --J.
                                                    Fletcher.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     16. To observe duly, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to
         solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
         [1913 Webster]
  
               I went with them to the house of God . . . with a
               multitude that kept holyday.         --Ps. xlii. 4.
         [1913 Webster]
  
     To keep at arm's length. See under Arm, n.
  
     To keep back.
         (a) To reserve; to withhold. ``I will keep nothing back
             from you.'' --Jer. xlii. 4.
         (b) To restrain; to hold back. ``Keep back thy servant
             also from presumptuous sins.'' --Ps. xix. 13.
  
     To keep company with.
         (a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as,
             let youth keep company with the wise and good.
         (b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with
             one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept
             attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]
             
  
     To keep counsel. See under Counsel, n.
  
     To keep down.
         (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder.
         (b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion
             of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may
             not be diverted from the more important parts of the
             work.
  
     To keep good hours or To keep bad hours, to be
        customarily early (or late) in returning home or in
        retiring to rest.
  
     To keep house.
         (a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with
             one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to
             manage domestic affairs.
         (b) (Eng. Bankrupt Law) To seclude one's self in one's
             house in order to evade the demands of creditors.
  
     To keep one's hand in, to keep in practice.
  
     To keep open house, to be hospitable.
  
     To keep the peace (Law), to avoid or to prevent a breach of
        the peace.
  
     To keep school, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a
        school, as a preceptor.
  
     To keep a stiff upper lip, to keep up one's courage.
        [Slang]
  
     To keep term.
         (a) (Eng. Universities) To reside during a term.
         (b) (Inns of Court) To eat a sufficient number of dinners
             in hall to make the term count for the purpose of
             being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.
  
     To keep touch. See under Touch, n.
  
     To keep under, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.
  
     To keep up.
         (a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution;
             as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's
             credit.
         (b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing.
             ``In joy, that which keeps up the action is the
             desire to continue it.'' --Locke.
  
     Syn: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain;
          maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To Keep.
  
     Usage: Retain, Preserve. Keep is the generic term, and is
            often used where retain or preserve would too much
            restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain
            denotes that we keep or hold things, as against
            influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons
            which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain
            vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit;
            to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune.
            Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies
            which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in
            upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve
            appearances.
            [1913 Webster]

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  Keep \Keep\ (k[=e]p), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Kept; p. pr. & vb.
     n. Keeping.] [OE. k?pen, AS. c?pan to keep, regard, desire,
     await, take, betake; cf. AS. copenere lover, OE. copnien to
     desire.]
     1. To care; to desire. [Obs.]
  
              I kepe not of armes for to yelp [boast]. --Chaucer.
  
     2. To hold; to restrain from departure or removal; not to let
        go of; to retain in one's power or possession; not to
        lose; to retain; to detain.
  
              If we lose the field, We can not keep the town.
                                                    --Shak.
  
              That I may know what keeps me here with you.
                                                    --Dryden.
  
              If we would weigh and keep in our minds what we are
              considering, that would instruct us.  --Locke.
  
     3. To cause to remain in a given situation or condition; to
        maintain unchanged; to hold or preserve in any state or
        tenor.
  
              His loyalty he kept, his love, his zeal. --Milton.
  
              Keep a stiff rein, and move but gently on.
                                                    --Addison.
  
     Note: In this sense it is often used with prepositions and
           adverbs, as to keep away, to keep down, to keep from,
           to keep in, out, or off, etc. ``To keep off
           impertinence and solicitation from his superior.''
           --Addison.
  
     4. To have in custody; to have in some place for
        preservation; to take charge of.
  
              The crown of Stephanus, first king of Hungary, was
              always kept in the castle of Vicegrade. --Knolles.
  
     5. To preserve from danger, harm, or loss; to guard.
  
              Behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee. --Gen.
                                                    xxviii. 15.
  
     6. To preserve from discovery or publicity; not to
        communicate, reveal, or betray, as a secret.
  
              Great are thy virtues . . . though kept from man.
                                                    --Milton.
  
     7. To attend upon; to have the care of; to tend.
  
              And the Lord God took the man, and put him into the
              garden of Eden, to dress it and to keep it. --Gen.
                                                    ii. 15.
  
              In her girlish age, she kept sheep on the moor.
                                                    --Carew.
  
     8. To record transactions, accounts, or events in; as, to
        keep books, a journal, etc.; also, to enter (as accounts,
        records, etc. ) in a book.
  
     9. To maintain, as an establishment, institution, or the
        like; to conduct; to manage; as, to keep store.
  
              Like a pedant that keeps a school.    --Shak.
  
              Every one of them kept house by himself. --Hayward.
  
     10. To supply with necessaries of life; to entertain; as, to
         keep boarders.
  
     11. To have in one's service; to have and maintain, as an
         assistant, a servant, a mistress, a horse, etc.
  
               I keep but three men and a boy.      --Shak.
  
     12. To have habitually in stock for sale.
  
     13. To continue in, as a course or mode of action; not to
         intermit or fall from; to hold to; to maintain; as, to
         keep silence; to keep one's word; to keep possession.
  
               Both day and night did we keep company. --Shak.
  
               Within this portal as I kept my watch. --Smollett.
  
     14. To observe; to adhere to; to fulfill; not to swerve from
         or violate; to practice or perform, as duty; not to
         neglect; to be faithful to.
  
               I have kept the faith.               --2 Tim. iv.
                                                    7.
  
               Him whom to love is to obey, and keep His great
               command.                             --Milton.
  
     15. To confine one's self to; not to quit; to remain in; as,
         to keep one's house, room, bed, etc.; hence, to haunt; to
         frequent. --Shak.
  
               'Tis hallowed ground; Fairies, and fawns, and
               satyrs do it keep.                   --J. Fletcher.
  
     16. To observe duty, as a festival, etc.; to celebrate; to
         solemnize; as, to keep a feast.
  
               I went with them to the house of God . . . with a
               multitude that kept holyday.         --Ps. xlii. 4.
  
     To keep at arm's length. See under Arm, n.
  
     To keep back.
         (a) To reserve; to withhold. ``I will keep nothing back
             from you.'' --Jer. xlii. 4.
         (b) To restrain; to hold back. ``Keep back thy servant
             also from presumptuous sins.'' --Ps. xix. 13.
  
     To keep company with.
         (a) To frequent the society of; to associate with; as,
             let youth keep company with the wise and good.
         (b) To accompany; to go with; as, to keep company with
             one on a voyage; also, to pay court to, or accept
             attentions from, with a view to marriage. [Colloq.]
             
  
     To keep counsel. See under Counsel, n.
  
     To keep down.
         (a) To hold in subjection; to restrain; to hinder.
         (b) (Fine Arts) To subdue in tint or tone, as a portion
             of a picture, so that the spectator's attention may
             not be diverted from the more important parts of the
             work.
  
     To keep good (or bad) hours, to be customarily early
        (or late) in returning home or in retiring to rest. -- To
     keep house.
         (a) To occupy a separate house or establishment, as with
             one's family, as distinguished from boarding; to
             manage domestic affairs.
         (b) (Eng. Bankrupt Law) To seclude one's self in one's
             house in order to evade the demands of creditors. --
     To keep one's hand in, to keep in practice. -- To keep
     open house, to be hospitable. -- To keep the peace (Law),
        to avoid or to prevent a breach of the peace. -- To keep
     school, to govern, manage and instruct or teach a school, as
        a preceptor. -- To keep a stiff upper lip, to keep up
        one's courage. [Slang] -- To keep term.
         (a) (Eng. Universities) To reside during a term.
         (b) (Inns of Court) To eat a sufficient number of dinners
             in hall to make the term count for the purpose of
             being called to the bar. [Eng.] --Mozley & W.
  
     To keep touch. See under Touch, n.
  
     To keep under, to hold in subjection; hence, to oppress.
  
     To keep up.
         (a) To maintain; to prevent from falling or diminution;
             as, to keep up the price of goods; to keep up one's
             credit.
         (b) To maintain; to continue; to prevent from ceasing.
             ``In joy, that which keeps up the action is the
             desire to continue it.'' --Locke.
  
     Syn: To retain; detain; reserve; preserve; hold; restrain;
          maintain; sustain; support; withhold. -- To Keep.
  
     Usage: Retain, Preserve. Keep is the generic term, and is
            often used where retain or preserve would too much
            restrict the meaning; as, to keep silence, etc. Retain
            denotes that we keep or hold things, as against
            influences which might deprive us of them, or reasons
            which might lead us to give them up; as, to retain
            vivacity in old age; to retain counsel in a lawsuit;
            to retain one's servant after a reverse of fortune.
            Preserve denotes that we keep a thing against agencies
            which might lead to its being destroyed or broken in
            upon; as, to preserve one's health; to preserve
            appearances.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) :   [ web1913 ]

  
  
     To bring down the house. See under Bring.
  
     To keep house, to maintain an independent domestic
        establishment.
  
     To keep open house, to entertain friends at all times.
  
     Syn: Dwelling; residence; abode. See Tenement.

From English-Hungarian FreeDict Dictionary ver. 0.2.1 :   [ freedict:eng-hun ]

  to keep open house /tə kˈiːp ˈəʊpən hˈaʊs/
  1. nyílt házat visz
  2. szívesen lát vendégeket

Questions or comments about this site? Contact dictionary@catflap.org
Access Stats