Em*brace" , n. Intimate or close encircling with the arms; pressure to the bosom; clasp; hug.
We stood tranced
in long embraces,
Mixed with kisses.
Tennyson.
Em*brace" (?), v. i. To join in an embrace.
Em*brace" , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Embraced
(-brāst"); p. pr. & vb. n. Embracing (-brā"s&ibreve;ng).]
[OE. embracier, F. embrasser; pref. em-
(L. in) + F. bras arm. See Brace, n.] 1. To clasp in the arms with
affection; to take in the arms; to hug.
I will embrace him with a soldier's arm,
That he shall shrink under my courtesy.
Shak. Paul called unto him the
disciples, and embraced them.
Acts xx. 1.
2. To cling to; to cherish; to love. Shak.
3.
To seize eagerly, or with alacrity; to accept with cordiality; to welcome. "I embrace these conditions." "You embrace the occasion." Shak.
What is there
that he may
not embrace for truth?
Locke. 4. To encircle; to encompass; to inclose.
Low at his feet a spacious plain is placed,
Between the mountain and the stream embraced.
Denham. 5. To include as parts of a whole; to comprehend; to take in; as, natural philosophy embraces many sciences.
Not that my song, in such
a scanty space,
So large a subject fully can embrace.
Dryden. 6. To accept; to
undergo; to submit to. "I embrace this fortune patiently." Shak.
7.
(Law) To attempt to influence corruptly, as a jury or court.
Blackstone.
Syn. -- To clasp; hug;
inclose; encompass; include; comprise; comprehend; contain; involve; imply.
Em*brace" (&ebreve;m*brās"), v. t. [Pref. em-
(intens.) + brace, v. t.]
To fasten on, as
armor. [Obs.] Spenser.
Hear it pronounced