Part 453

They [astrologers] undertook . . . to determine the course of a man's character and life from the configuration of the stars at the moment of his birth. Whewell.

3. (Chem.) the spatial arrangement of atoms in a molecule as determined by the covalent bonds between them; the three-dimensional structure that cannot be changed without breaking the covalent bonds between atoms of a molecule. It is distinguished from conformation, which is the exact relative location in space of all of the atoms of a molecule, which may vary at different times or in different environments.

4. (Computers) a specification of the parts of a computer system, consisting of the essential components of the computer plus the complete set of all internal and external devices directly attached to it; as, by the year 2000, a microcomputer configuration without a CD-ROM or DVD drive will be unsalable.

Con*fig"ure (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Configured (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Configuring.] [L. configurare: cf. F. configurer. See Configurate.] To arrange or dispose in a certain form, figure, or shape. Bentley.

Con*fin"a*ble (?), a. Capable of being confined, restricted, or limited.

Not confinable to any limits. Bp. Hall.

Con*fine" (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Confined (?); p. pr. & vb. n. Confining.] [F. confiner to border upon, LL. confinare to set bounds to; con- + finis boundary, end. See Final, Finish.] To restrain within limits; to restrict; to limit; to bound; to shut up; to inclose; to keep close.

Now let not nature's hand Keep the wild flood confined! let order die! Shak.

He is to confine himself to the compass of numbers and the slavery of rhyme. Dryden.

To be confined, to be in childbed.

Syn. -- To bound; limit; restrain; imprison; immure; inclose; circumscribe; restrict.

Con"fine (? or &?;); 277), v. i. To have a common boundary; to border; to lie contiguous; to touch; -- followed by on or with. [Obs.]

Where your gloomy bounds Confine with heaven. Milton.

Bewixt heaven and earth and skies there stands a place. Confining on all three. Dryden.

Con"fine (?), n. 1. Common boundary; border; limit; -- used chiefly in the plural.

Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. Locke.

And now in little space The confines met of empyrean heaven, And of this world. Milton.

On the confines of the city and the Temple. Macaulay.

2. Apartment; place of restraint; prison. [Obs.]

Confines, wards, and dungeons. Shak.

The extravagant and erring spirit hies To his confine. Shak.

Con"fine`less (? or ?), a. Without limitation or end; boundless. Shak.

Con*fine"ment (?), n. 1. Restraint within limits; imprisonment; any restraint of liberty; seclusion.

The mind hates restraint, and is apt to fancy itself under confinement when the sight is pent up. Addison.

2. Restraint within doors by sickness, esp. that caused by childbirth; lying-in.

Con*fin"er (?), n. One who, or that which, limits or restrains.

Con"fi`ner (? or &?;), n. One who lives on confines, or near the border of a country; a borderer; a near neighbor. [Obs.] Bacon.

Happy confiners you of other lands, That shift your soil, and oft 'scape tyrants' hands. Daniel.