Part 862

Shak.

To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. Swift. -- To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. "The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach." Locke. -- To held in, to restrain; to curd. -- To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.]

O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And hold a lady in hand.

Beaw. & Fl.

-- To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. Macaulay. -- To hold off, to keep at a distance. -- To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. -- To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] Chaucer. -- To hold one's own. (a) To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight. -- To hold one's peace, to keep silence.- To hold out. (a) To extend; to offer. "Fortune holds out these to you as rewards." B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. "He can not long hold out these pangs." Shak. -- To hold up. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. "He holds himself up in virtue."Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example. (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. -- To hold water. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Collog.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.

Hold, v. i. In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence:

1. Not to move; to halt; to stop; -- mostly in the imperative.

And damned be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"

Shak.

2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.

Our force by land hath nobly held.

Shak.

3. Not to fail or be found wanting; to continue; to last; to endure a test or trial; to abide; to persist.

While our obedience holds.

Milton.

The rule holds in land as all other commodities.

Locke.

4. Not to fall away, desert, or prove recreant; to remain attached; to cleave; -- often with with, to, or for.

He will hold to the one and despise the other.

Matt. vi. 24

5. To restrain one's self; to refrain.

His dauntless heart would fain have held From weeping, but his eyes rebelled.

Dryden.

6. To derive right or title; -- generally with of.

My crown is absolute, and holds of none.

Dryden.

His imagination holds immediately from nature.

Hazlitt.