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The Collaborative International Dictionary
To hold in hand

Hold \Hold\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Held; p. pr. & vb. n. Holding. Holden, p. p., is obs. in elegant writing, though still used in legal language.] [OE. haldan, D. houden, OHG. hoten, Icel. halda, Dan. holde, Sw. h[*a]lla, Goth. haldan to feed, tend (the cattle); of unknown origin. Gf. Avast, Halt, Hod.]

  1. To cause to remain in a given situation, position, or relation, within certain limits, or the like; to prevent from falling or escaping; to sustain; to restrain; to keep in the grasp; to retain.

    The loops held one curtain to another.
    --Ex. xxxvi. 1

  2. Thy right hand shall hold me.
    --Ps. cxxxix. 10.

    They all hold swords, being expert in war.
    --Cant. iii. 8.

    In vain he seeks, that having can not hold.
    --Spenser.

    France, thou mayst hold a serpent by the tongue, . . . A fasting tiger safer by the tooth, Than keep in peace that hand which thou dost hold.
    --Shak.

    2. To retain in one's keeping; to maintain possession of, or authority over; not to give up or relinquish; to keep; to defend.

    We mean to hold what anciently we claim Of deity or empire.
    --Milton.

  3. To have; to possess; to be in possession of; to occupy; to derive title to; as, to hold office.

    This noble merchant held a noble house.
    --Chaucer.

    Of him to hold his seigniory for a yearly tribute.
    --Knolles.

    And now the strand, and now the plain, they held.
    --Dryden.

  4. To impose restraint upon; to limit in motion or action; to bind legally or morally; to confine; to restrain.

    We can not hold mortality's strong hand.
    --Shak.

    Death! what do'st? O, hold thy blow.
    --Grashaw.

    He had not sufficient judgment and self-command to hold his tongue.
    --Macaulay.

  5. To maintain in being or action; to carry on; to prosecute, as a course of conduct or an argument; to continue; to sustain.

    Hold not thy peace, and be not still.
    --Ps. lxxxiii. 1.

    Seedtime and harvest, heat and hoary frost, Shall hold their course.
    --Milton.

  6. To prosecute, have, take, or join in, as something which is the result of united action; as to, hold a meeting, a festival, a session, etc.; hence, to direct and bring about officially; to conduct or preside at; as, the general held a council of war; a judge holds a court; a clergyman holds a service.

    I would hold more talk with thee.
    --Shak.

  7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.

    Broken cisterns that can hold no water.
    --Jer. ii. 13.

    One sees more devils than vast hell can hold.
    --Shak.

  8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.

    Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.
    --2 Thes. ii.15.

    But still he held his purpose to depart.
    --Dryden.

  9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.

    I hold him but a fool.
    --Shak.

    I shall never hold that man my friend.
    --Shak.

    The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.
    --Ex. xx. 7.

  10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high. Let him hold his fingers thus. --Shak. To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. --Swift. To hold forth,

    1. v. t.to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. ``The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach.''
      --Locke.

    2. v. i. To talk at length; to harangue. To held in, to restrain; to curd. To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.] O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods, And hold a lady in hand. --Beaw. & Fl. To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. --Macaulay. To hold off, to keep at a distance. To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] --Chaucer. To hold one's own. To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight. To hold one's peace, to keep silence. To hold out.

      1. To extend; to offer. ``Fortune holds out these to you as rewards.''
        --B. Jonson.

      2. To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. ``He can not long hold out these pangs.'' --Shak. To hold up.

        1. To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head.

        2. To support; to sustain. ``He holds himself up in virtue.''
          --Sir P. Sidney.

    3. To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example.

    4. To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses.

    5. to rob, usually at gunpoint; -- often with the demand to ``hold up'' the hands.

    6. To delay. To hold water.

      1. Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence (Fig.), to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; -- commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Colloq.]

      2. (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.