`
`THIRD EDITION
`
`
`
`
`
`Victoria Neufeldt
`
`Editor in Chief
`
`David B. Guralnik
`
`Editor in Chief Emeritus
`
`
`
`LG1016
`
`
`
`MACMILLAN
`USA
`
`1
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`LG1016
`
`

`

`Dedicated
`to David B. Guralnik
`lexicographical mentor and friend
`
`Webster’s New WorldTM College Dictionary, Third Edition
`Copyright © 19977 1996, 1994, 1991, 1988 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
`
`This edition is a major revision of Webster’s New World Dictionary®,
`Second College Edition, copyright © 1986, 1984, 1982, 1980, 1979,
`1978, 1976, 1974, 1972, 1970 by Simon & Schuster, Inc.
`
`All rights reserved
`including the right of reproduction
`in whole or in part in any form
`
`Macmillan General Reference
`A Simon 8: Schuster Macmillan Company
`1633 Broadway
`New York, NY 10019-6785
`
`A Webster’s New WorldTM Book
`
`MACMILLAN is a registered trademark of Macmillan, Inc.
`WEBSTER’S NEW WORLD DICTIONARY is a
`registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc.
`
`Dictionary Editorial Offices:
`New World Dictionaries
`850 Euclid Avenue
`Cleveland, Ohio 44114
`
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`
`Library of Congress Catalogingdml’ublication Data
`VVebster’s New World college dictionary / Victoria Neufeldt, editor in
`chief, David B. Guralnik, editor in chief emeritus. —— 3rd ed.
`p.
`cm.
`ISBN 0-02—861673—1 (thumb—indexed). —— ISBN 0-02—861675—8 (plain).
`— ISBN 0—02-861674—X (leatherkraft)
`1. English language — Dictionaries.
`ll. Guralnik, David Bernard, 1920—
`PE1628.W5629
`1997
`423—d021
`
`.
`
`II. Neufeldt, Victoria.
`
`~
`
`96—44362CIP
`
`Database service and principal typesetting by Lexi—Comp, In‘c., Hudson, Ohio.
`Manufactured in the United States of America
`345678910
`
`2
`
`

`

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` Ill; _ por’ta ré'ko) old name of PUERTo Rico —Por’]ILcIRi’can
`
`1053
`Porto Rico / posse.
`0 (p0 too val’yo)city inWBrazil: capital of Rondonia
`toplace < *posinere < pi]: aWay (< IEbase *apa- > L ab, 'from,
`away) + sLirI‘ere,to put, lay: see SITE]] 1 the act of positing, or placing
`in S Victoria,Australia:harbor
`
`762 sq mi. (1,973 sq. lerIL
`,2apositi g’ of, a proposition, affirmation 3 the manner in which a
`
`' person or
`11g is placedor arranged; attitude; posture; disposition
`
`it, trat’) n. [IMFr, p. ofportroire: see PLORTRAY]
`1
`r’
`something 2 a represen-
`L
`"
`
`4 one’s atti
`e toward or Opinion on asubjec Stan [his position
`
`
`L on fore gnv a
`5 the plac where a- person
`,
`‘*
`f the face, draivn, painted, photographedor
`
`“ relation to hers; location, situation; site [the shIp 5 position] 6 the
`a descrIpt1o11 or dram
`ortrayalofa person ~
`'
`ist) n. a person who m
`Lortraits
`
`
`usual or proper placeof a person or thing; station [theplayers are in
`pa ition] 7 a locatio
`r conditiori111 which one has the advantage
`
`(ppr’tri char) n. IIME purtre ure L< MFr: s
`
`[tojockey for position] 8astrategic military site 9 a person’s rela—
`
`tive place, as in society; rank; status L10 a place high in societL
`
`business, etc [a man of position] 11 a’post of employment, office;
`
`por LtrLa’)vf
`IIME purtreie’rt < LMFr portraire <
`o draw fort < pro-, f0 Lh+ trahere, toxomw] 1 to make a
`Ljob [to applyfor a teachingposition] 12 Finance the long or short
`commitment of a market trader in securities or commodities 13
`
`Musica) the arrangement of the notes of a chord with respect to
`
`- their relative closeness or distance apart[open position] b) any of
`
`
`,(por Ltra’al)
`the fixed locations on the fingerboard of a violin, etc. that the left
`
`
`the act of portraying L2 aportrait;
` 11; repres tation
`
`es for fingeringa particular series of notesL c) any of the
`
`
`Ls’to which a trombone slide may be moved to change
`,
`"
`a Woman porter (doorkLeeper)
`
`
`1 townin Jamaica, at the entrance toKingston harbo the
`:
`. the pitch—vf—.
`1 to put in a particular position; place or station 2
`
`[Rare] to locate Vpo-si’iionIaI adj. ——po-si’tionler n.
`wn, former capital Was destroy Ld byan arth ‘
`SYN. —posi|io_nr ap lies to any specific employment for salary or wages, but
`
`
`
`often connotes White-collar or professional employment;situation now usu~
`éd’, sa’id) seaport NE Egypt
`the Mediterr
`ean
`C
`‘
`L
`‘
`-
`
`aLlly refers to a position that15 open or to‘one that is desired [situation
`
`<
`)n.P0RLTL DU ALUT
`\
`anted as instructor];lqfli9eL Lrefers to La position of authority or trust,
`‘1 especially1n government or a corporation; a posl1s a position .or 'office that
`
`carries heavy responsibilities,- esp one to which a person13appointed; job
`seaport in Hampshire S England Lon
`
`_
`'fter the city in England]
`terms
`
`is now the common, comprehensive equivalent for any ofthe preceding
`d pop. 104,,OOOS‘
`pLosli-tive ( dz’3tiv) adi. IILME positif < OFLr< Lpositions <Lpositus.
`
`see prec.1, formally or arbitrarily set; conventional; artificial [a
`
`
`,positive law] 2 definitely set, explicitly laid down; admitting of no
`question or modificationexpreSs; precise; sp ific [positive instruc-
`,8L34L,;000 cap. Lisbon
`:
`
`Ls’; pdr’dia géz’,
`’)L 1d],
`.tions] 3 11) having the inind set or settled; confident; assured [a
`:nguage, or culture —
`,
`
`positiveperson] b) overconfident or dogmatic 4 showing resolution
`or agreement; affirmative; certain [a positive answer] .5 tending in
`of Portugal 2
`Romance language spoken chiefly in’
`
`ugal and Brazil
`,
`the direction regarded as that of increase, progress; etcs [clockwise
`
`
`motion is positive] 6 making a definite coritribut n constructive
`uguese East Africa old alt. nameofMOZLAMBIQUE
`
`uguese Guineaold name of GUINEA-BISSAU
`, [positive criticism] 7 unrelated toanything else, 1ndependentof
`
`
`ug ese.India former Portuguese overseas te
`torLyLLLconsLi
`circumstances; absolute; unqualified 8 that has, or is consideredLas
`enclaves'In India: see GOA
`having, real existence in itself, not just in the absence of other
`
`attnbutes [a positivegood] 9 based, or asserted as based, (In reality
`es man-0 war any ofa genus IPhystilia) of large, colonial,
`
`siphonophores having a large, bladderlike sac, witha sai1~
`or facts [positive proof] 10 concerned only with real things and
`
`tructure on top, which enables them to float on the water, and
`experience;empirical, practical 11 [Colloq] complete,absolute; out-
`
`- tind-out [a positwe fool] 12 BIoL directed toward the source of a
`e: g, dangling tentacles that have powerful stinging cells
`,
`
`stimulus [positive tropism].1‘I13 Eiec. a) of, generating, or charged
`nug’uese Timor former Portugueseterritory'In th Malay Archi-
`
`with positive electricity b) having a deficiency of electrons 14
`
`«.1no, of.Indonesia ’ ,
`
`
`
`Gram a) of an. adjective or adverb in its simple, uninflected or
`
`unmodified form or degree; neither comparative nor superlative b)
`uese water dog any ofa breed ofmeLdiu
`zed dog once
`
`long the coast of Portugal, where it was trained to assist
`of this degree 15 Math, designating a quantity greater than zero, or
`
`one to beadded, plus 16 Med. demonstrating or proving the pres-
`
`
`racterized by a profuse, curly or wavy coat ofblack,
`L‘LencLeor existence of a conditiz’m, symptoms, bacteria, etc. 17 Photog.
`
`a old alt name of ANGOLA
`»
`
`
`with the light and shade correspondingto those of the subject—n.
`something positive, as La degree, quality, con ition, e ; specif., a)
`
`dim. of porta, door (see PORT5): from the doorlike opening of
`acla(poicha lak’a; lii’ke, —l£‘1’-) n. [IModL < L, purslane <
`the plateIn a voltaic battery where the higher potential 15 b) Gram.
`
`the positive degree; also word or form111 this degree c) Mom a
`
`sadcapsule] a fleshy annual plan (Portulaca grandiflora)of
`_ quantity greater than 2L 0, or one to be added; plusL quantity d)
`ink or purple flowers
`
`2pos've
`Photog. a photographic print, or a film for use in
`projector, on
`
`
`“
`. ISp<L ‘.fem of osado, pp. ofpoLsar to lodge <
`safe, to stop < pausa, a PAUSEL]]Pin Spanish-speaking countries,
`
`, which light and ,hadow correspond to w
`
`
`
`
`
`in ' Lb) a Christmas featival marked by a candlel' htpredession
`Lthat predominatesIn a
`
`
`
`oz) vi. posed, pos’ing IIME posen < OFrposer, to put in
`
`
`glass body after.1 has beenLrubbed with
`< VL pausare, to place, put < L, to stop (se PAUSE
`ilk and has a deficiencyLLof
`electrons
`.
`n g and form alteredby assoc. with
`positus, pp- 0
`’
`’
`'
`positiveSign Math. the signL(+L), used to indicate, apositive uantity
`
`
`ac, puté see POSITION]
`1 to put forth, ssert (a C] m
`
`posli- ’Il--Ism (paz’a tiv 12 am) n. ,IIFr
`‘itivismLe < positif
`1 the
`2 to ut forvvard or propose (a question, probl ‘
`quality or state of being positive;cer
`ty; assurance 2 overcomi-
`
`ode1, photographic subject, etc.) in a certai
`pos1t10n Lor
`
`tude —Ili.
`1 to assume a certain positibnor attitude, as in mod:
`LsLolelyLon data ofsense experience; Lespi, a syste
`of philosophy,
`ble,Lscientific
`1‘ an artist 2 to strike attitudes for effect; attitudinizeL 3to
`
`n elf up (as) [to pos as an
`, originated b Auguste Comte, 1: sad 5 lely on Lobse
`about or
`
`
`‘
`attitude, esp. oné held for or
`
`a’di.
`’d byanartist, photographer, etc. 2 a way of behavi ‘g or
`
`g that'Is assumed for effect; pretense
`aposli-Iron (pdzL1 tran’)
`
`pose refers to an attitude or manner thatIs assumed forthe effect
`antiparticleof an .electron,
`
`at 1.will have on others [her'g neros’ity'1s
`ere pose]; affeciationis
`
`
`telLLy the same mass and
`aving. approx,
`magnitude of charge
`:
`of a specific instance of artificial behavior intendedobviously to
`press others [an affectation of speech];a mannerism is a peculiarity as
`apointro-niluIL-n (paz’i tro’néL am) LII. IIprec.
`.+ —IULM]]aLL short-lived
` h'tual and unconscious [his mannerism of raising one eyebrow1n
`
`atomicsystem formed of an electron and a positron before they
`behavior or speech (often originally an affectation) that has be orne
`interact to annihilate eachother
`
`prlse]; airs (see AIR, n 8)13used of an affected pretense of superior m 11-
`po-s'ol-OIgy (po sal’s Lje) n. IIFr poLsologIe < Grposos, howmuch (_< IE
`
`and gra
`a [she5 always putting on airs] See a 0 13031711“
`.
`*hwoti < interrogative base *kwo > WI-Io, WHAT) + FrJogie, LOLGY]I
`[/f. posed, pos’ing IIaphetic fo’
`:LP a,oppose] to puLz»
`LMed the scientific studyof drug dosages
`.
`.
`.
`
`pass 1 possession.2 possessive 3possibly -
`Ldisconcert, as by an almost unanswer
`,,
`:
`
`posIse (pas’é) n. IIML,short for posse comitatus power oi the county
`
`S -fdon (p,
`s1’den IILL< Gr Poseidon] 0 Myth. od oft
`,
`,
`<L posse, to beable (see POTENT.) + Lcamitotus, county < comes, a
`f.horses 1den fled withthe Roman Neptune
`,
`_
`p ’sr) II. a person who poses; esp., a poseur
`
`C<OUNT2]] 1[Historical] a) the bodyof men required, upon being
`
`poz’ar).n. a baffling question or problem '
`,
`.
`summoned,to assist the sheriff in keeping the peace, pur -
`
`zar’) n. [Fr]11 person Who ssumes at
`tuLdes or manners
`1
`felons, etc. Lb) a band of men, usually armed, so summoned: .in full
`
`, heir effect upon Others
`y
`
`- with legal authority
`-
`,
`,
`posse. co-I'ni:1a--ius (ka‘m’s tat’as)2 any body of persons armed
`(pash) adj. Iprob. < obs
`g p Lsh, earlierpush, po
`,,a
`,
`.
`
` y
`_d osh’ness II.
`'
`».
`dandy < ?I] [Colloq.] luxurious and fashionable; elegant —posh’|ly
`at, ate, car; ten, eve;
`is,
`ice; go, horn,
`lLookL,
`tool;
`
`fur; a for unstressed vowels, as a in a o, u in focus,
`as in Latin-
`(lat”n); chin; 5119, 2/11 as in azure (azh’er; thin, the; o [Is in ring (rirj)
`
`
`’11:) W. II< L pasiitis: see fol. ]]
`1 to set111 place or position;
`,
`situate 2 to set down or assume as fact ostulate
`,
`.-
`In.etymologies:
`unattested< = derived from; > = from which
`
`fi= Americanis
`»
`See inside Iron! andback covers
`:tion (pa zish’an) n.:IIMFr < Lpo
`o < positus, pp of ponere,
`
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`3
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`3
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