Fol"low (?), n. The art or process of following; specif., in some games, as billiards, a stroke causing a ball to follow another ball after hitting it. Also used adjectively; as, follow shot.
Fol"low , v. i. To go or come after; -- used in the various senses of the transitive verb: To pursue; to
attend; to accompany; to be a result; to imitate.
Syn.- To Follow, Succeed,
Ensue. To follow (v.i.) means simply to come after; as, a crowd followed. To succeed means to come after in
some regular series or succession; as, day succeeds to day, and night to night. To ensue means to follow by some established connection
or principle of sequence. As wave follows wave, revolution
succeeds to revolution; and nothing ensues but
accumulated wretchedness.
Fol"low (?), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Followed (?);
p. pr. & vb. n.
Following.]
[OE. foluwen,
folwen, folgen, AS. folgian,
fylgean, fylgan; akin to D. volgen, OHG. folg&?;n, G. folgen, Icel.
fylgja, Sw. följa, Dan. fölge, and perh. to E.
folk.] 1. To go or come after; to move behind in the
same path or direction; hence, to go with (a leader, guide, etc.); to accompany; to attend.
It waves me forth again; I'll follow it.
Shak. 2.
To endeavor to overtake; to go in pursuit of; to chase; to pursue; to prosecute.
I will harden
the hearts of the Egyptians, and they shall follow them.
Ex. xiv. 17. 3. To accept as
authority; to adopt the opinions of; to obey; to yield to; to take as a rule of action; as, to
follow good advice.
Approve the best, and follow what I approve
.
Milton. Follow peace with all men.
Heb. xii.
14. It is
most agreeable to some men to follow their reason; and to others to
follow their
appetites.
J. Edwards.
4. To copy after; to take as an example.
We had rather follow the perfections of them whom we
like not, than in defects resemble them whom we love.
Hooker. 5. To succeed in
order of time, rank, or
office.
6. To result from, as an effect from a
cause, or an
inference from a premise.
7. To watch, as a
receding object; to keep the eyes fixed upon while in motion; to keep the mind
upon while in progress, as a speech, musical performance,
etc.; also, to keep up with;
to understand the meaning, connection, or force of, as of a course of thought or
argument.
He followed with his eyes the flitting shade.
Dryden. 8. To walk in, as a road or course; to attend upon closely, as a
profession or calling.
O, had I but followed the
arts!
Shak. O
Antony! I have followed thee to this.
Shak. Follow board (Founding), a board on which the pattern and the flask lie
while the sand is rammed into the flask. Knight. --
To follow the hounds, to hunt with dogs. -- To follow suit (Card Playing), to play a card of the same suit as the leading card; hence, colloquially, to follow an example set. -- To follow up, to pursue indefatigably.
Syn.- To pursue; chase; go after; attend; accompany; succeed; imitate; copy; embrace; maintain. - To Follow, Pursue. To follow (v.t.) denotes simply to go
after; to pursue denotes to follow with earnestness, and with a view to attain some definite object; as, a
hound pursues the deer. So a person follows a companion whom he wishes to overtake on a
journey; the officers of justice pursue a felon who has
escaped from prison.
Hear it pronounced