from
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48
Trust \Trust\, n. [OE. trust, trost, Icel. traust confidence,
security; akin to Dan. & Sw. tr["o]st comfort, consolation,
G. trost, Goth. trausti a convention, covenant, and E. true.
See {True}, and cf. {Tryst}.]
1. Assured resting of the mind on the integrity, veracity,
justice, friendship, or other sound principle, of another
person; confidence; reliance; reliance. "O ever-failing
trust in mortal strength!" --Milton.
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Most take things upon trust. --Locke.
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2. Credit given; especially, delivery of property or
merchandise in reliance upon future payment; exchange
without immediate receipt of an equivalent; as, to sell or
buy goods on trust.
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3. Assured anticipation; dependence upon something future or
contingent, as if present or actual; hope; belief. "Such
trust have we through Christ." --2 Cor. iii. 4.
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His trust was with the Eternal to be deemed
Equal in strength. --Milton.
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4. That which is committed or intrusted to one; something
received in confidence; charge; deposit.
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5. The condition or obligation of one to whom anything is
confided; responsible charge or office.
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[I] serve him truly that will put me in trust.
--Shak.
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Reward them well, if they observe their trust.
--Denham.
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6. That upon which confidence is reposed; ground of reliance;
hope.
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O Lord God, thou art my trust from my youth. --Ps.
lxxi. 5.
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7. (Law) An estate devised or granted in confidence that the
devisee or grantee shall convey it, or dispose of the
profits, at the will, or for the benefit, of another; an
estate held for the use of another; a confidence
respecting property reposed in one person, who is termed
the trustee, for the benefit of another, who is called the
cestui que trust.
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8. An equitable right or interest in property distinct from
the legal ownership thereof; a use (as it existed before
the Statute of Uses); also, a property interest held by
one person for the benefit of another. Trusts are active,
or special, express, implied, constructive, etc. In a
{passive trust} the trustee simply has title to the trust
property, while its control and management are in the
beneficiary.
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9. A business organization or combination consisting of a
number of firms or corporations operating, and often
united, under an agreement creating a trust (in sense 1),
esp. one formed mainly for the purpose of regulating the
supply and price of commodities, etc.; often,
opprobriously, a combination formed for the purpose of
controlling or monopolizing a trade, industry, or
business, by doing acts in restraint or trade; as, a sugar
trust. A trust may take the form of a corporation or of a
body of persons or corporations acting together by mutual
arrangement, as under a contract or a so-called
gentlemen's agreement. When it consists of corporations it
may be effected by putting a majority of their stock
either in the hands of a board of trustees (whence the
name trust for the combination) or by transferring a
majority to a holding company. The advantages of a trust
are partly due to the economies made possible in carrying
on a large business, as well as the doing away with
competition. In the United States severe statutes against
trusts have been passed by the Federal government and in
many States, with elaborate statutory definitions.
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Syn: Confidence; belief; faith; hope; expectation.
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{Trust deed} (Law), a deed conveying property to a trustee,
for some specific use.
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