from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Suspension \Sus*pen"sion\, n. [Cf. F. suspension, L. suspensio
arched work, imperfect pronunciation. See {Suspend}.]
1. The act of suspending, or the state of being suspended;
pendency; as, suspension from a hook.
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2. Especially, temporary delay, interruption, or cessation;
as:
(a) Of labor, study, pain, etc.
(b) Of decision, determination, judgment, etc.; as, to ask
a suspension of judgment or opinion in view of
evidence to be produced.
(c) Of the payment of what is due; as, the suspension of a
mercantile firm or of a bank.
(d) Of punishment, or sentence of punishment.
(e) Of a person in respect of the exercise of his office,
powers, prerogative, etc.; as, the suspension of a
student or of a clergyman.
(f) Of the action or execution of law, etc.; as, the
suspension of the habeas corpus act.
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3. A conditional withholding, interruption, or delay; as, the
suspension of a payment on the performance of a condition.
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4. The state of a solid when its particles are mixed with,
but undissolved in, a fluid, and are capable of separation
by straining; also, any substance in this state.
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5. (Rhet.) A keeping of the hearer in doubt and in attentive
expectation of what is to follow, or of what is to be the
inference or conclusion from the arguments or observations
employed.
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6. (Scots Law) A stay or postponement of execution of a
sentence condemnatory by means of letters of suspension
granted on application to the lord ordinary.
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7. (Mus.) The prolongation of one or more tones of a chord
into the chord which follows, thus producing a momentary
discord, suspending the concord which the ear expects. Cf.
{Retardation}.
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{Pleas in suspension} (Law), pleas which temporarily abate or
suspend a suit.
{Points of suspension} (Mech.), the points, as in the axis or
beam of a balance, at which the weights act, or from which
they are suspended.
{Suspension bridge}, a bridge supported by chains, ropes, or
wires, which usually pass over high piers or columns at
each end, and are secured in the ground beyond.
{Suspension of arms} (Mil.), a short truce or cessation of
operations agreed on by the commanders of contending
armies, as for burying the dead, making proposal for
surrender or for peace, etc.
{Suspension scale}, a scale in which the platform hangs
suspended from the weighing apparatus instead of resting
upon it.
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Syn: Delay; interruption; intermission; stop.
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from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bridge \Bridge\ (br[i^]j), n. [OE. brig, brigge, brug, brugge,
AS. brycg, bricg; akin to Fries. bregge, D. brug, OHG.
brucca, G. br["u]cke, Icel. bryggja pier, bridge, Sw. brygga,
Dan. brygge, and prob. Icel. br[=u] bridge, Sw. & Dan. bro
bridge, pavement, and possibly to E. brow.]
1. A structure, usually of wood, stone, brick, or iron,
erected over a river or other water course, or over a
chasm, railroad, etc., to make a passageway from one bank
to the other.
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2. Anything supported at the ends, which serves to keep some
other thing from resting upon the object spanned, as in
engraving, watchmaking, etc., or which forms a platform or
staging over which something passes or is conveyed.
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3. (Mus.) The small arch or bar at right angles to the
strings of a violin, guitar, etc., serving of raise them
and transmit their vibrations to the body of the
instrument.
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4. (Elec.) A device to measure the resistance of a wire or
other conductor forming part of an electric circuit.
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5. A low wall or vertical partition in the fire chamber of a
furnace, for deflecting flame, etc.; -- usually called a
{bridge wall}.
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{Aqueduct bridge}. See {Aqueduct}.
{Asses' bridge}, {Bascule bridge}, {Bateau bridge}. See under
{Ass}, {Bascule}, {Bateau}.
{Bridge of a steamer} (Naut.), a narrow platform across the
deck, above the rail, for the convenience of the officer
in charge of the ship; in paddlewheel vessels it connects
the paddle boxes.
{Bridge of the nose}, the upper, bony part of the nose.
{Cantalever bridge}. See under {Cantalever}.
{Draw bridge}. See {Drawbridge}.
{Flying bridge}, a temporary bridge suspended or floating, as
for the passage of armies; also, a floating structure
connected by a cable with an anchor or pier up stream, and
made to pass from bank to bank by the action of the
current or other means.
{Girder bridge} or {Truss bridge}, a bridge formed by
girders, or by trusses resting upon abutments or piers.
{Lattice bridge}, a bridge formed by lattice girders.
{Pontoon bridge}, {Ponton bridge}. See under {Pontoon}.
{Skew bridge}, a bridge built obliquely from bank to bank, as
sometimes required in railway engineering.
{Suspension bridge}. See under {Suspension}.
{Trestle bridge}, a bridge formed of a series of short,
simple girders resting on trestles.
{Tubular bridge}, a bridge in the form of a hollow trunk or
rectangular tube, with cellular walls made of iron plates
riveted together, as the Britannia bridge over the Menai
Strait, and the Victoria bridge at Montreal.
{Wheatstone's bridge} (Elec.), a device for the measurement
of resistances, so called because the balance between the
resistances to be measured is indicated by the absence of
a current in a certain wire forming a bridge or connection
between two points of the apparatus; -- invented by Sir
Charles Wheatstone.
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