from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Bearing \Bear"ing\ (b[^a]r"[i^]ng), n.
1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self;
mien; behavior; carriage.
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I know him by his bearing. --Shak.
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2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.
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3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such
situation being supposed to have a connection with the
object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it;
hence, relation; connection.
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But of this frame, the bearings and the ties,
The strong connections, nice dependencies. --Pope.
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4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.
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5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as,
a tree in full bearing; a tree past bearing.
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[His mother] in travail of his bearing. --R. of
Gloucester.
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6. (Arch.)
(a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon
its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four
inches of bearing upon the wall.
(b) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
(c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has
twenty feet of bearing between its supports.
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7. (Mach.)
(a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its
support, collar, or boxing; the journal.
(b) The part of the support on which a journal rests and
rotates.
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8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or
coat of arms -- commonly in the pl.
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A carriage covered with armorial bearings.
--Thackeray.
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9. (Naut.)
(a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a
ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter,
etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which
an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W.
N. W.
(b) pl. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer.
(c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when properly
trimmed with cargo or ballast.
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{Ball bearings}. See under {Ball}.
{To bring one to his bearings}, to bring one to his senses.
{To lose one's bearings}, to become bewildered.
{To take bearings}, to ascertain by the compass the position
of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or
place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference
to landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain
the condition of things when one is in trouble or
perplexity.
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Syn: Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage;
demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency;
influence.
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