Part 864

Hold"back` (?), n. 1. Check; hindrance; restraint; obstacle.

The only holdback is the affection . . . that we bear to our wealth.

Hammond.

2. The projection or loop on the thill of a vehicle. to which a strap of the harness is attached, to hold back a carriage when going down hill, or in backing; also, the strap or part of the harness so used.

Hold"er, (&?;) n. One who is employed in the hold of a vessel.

Hold"er, n. 1. One who, or that which, holds.

2. One who holds land, etc., under another; a tenant.

3. (Com.) The payee of a bill of exchange or a promissory note, or the one who owns or holds it.

Holder is much used as the second part of a compound; as, shareholder, officeholder, stockholder,etc.

Hold"er-forth` (?), n. One who speaks in public; an haranguer; a preacher. Addison.

Hold"fast` (?), n. 1. Something used to secure and hold in place something else, as a long flat-headed nail, a catch a hook, a clinch, a clamp, etc.; hence, a support. "His holdfast was gone." Bp. Montagu.

2. (Bot.) A conical or branching body, by which a seaweed is attached to its support, and differing from a root in that it is not specially absorbent of moisture.

Hold"ing, n. 1. The act or state of sustaining, grasping, or retaining.

2. A tenure; a farm or other estate held of another.

3. That which holds, binds, or influences. Burke.

4. The burden or chorus of a song. [Obs.] Shak.

Holding note (Mus.), a note sustained in one part, while the other parts move.

Hole (hl), a. Whole. [Obs.] Chaucer.

Hole, n. [OE. hol, hole, AS. hol, hole, cavern, from hol, a., hollow; akin to D. hol, OHG. hol, G. hohl, Dan. huul hollow, hul hole, Sw. hÂl, Icel. hola; prob. from the root of AS. helan to conceal. See Hele, Hell, and cf. Hold of a ship.] 1. A hollow place or cavity; an excavation; a pit; an opening in or through a solid body, a fabric, etc.; a perforation; a rent; a fissure.

The holes where eyes should be.

Shak.

The blind walls Were full of chinks and holes.

Tennyson.

The priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid.

2 Kings xii. 9.

2. An excavation in the ground, made by an animal to live in, or a natural cavity inhabited by an animal; hence, a low, narrow, or dark lodging or place; a mean habitation. Dryden.

The foxes have holes, . . . but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

Luke ix. 58.