What is "to hold water"

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.

Water \Wa"ter\ (w[add]"t[~e]r), n. [AS. w[ae]ter; akin to OS. watar, OFries. wetir, weter, LG. & D. water, G. wasser, OHG. wazzar, Icel. vatn, Sw. vatten, Dan. vand, Goth. wat[=o], O. Slav. & Russ. voda, Gr. 'y`dwr, Skr. udan water, ud to wet, and perhaps to L. unda wave. [root]137. Cf. Dropsy, Hydra, Otter, Wet, Whisky.]

1. The fluid which descends from the clouds in rain, and which forms rivers, lakes, seas, etc. ``We will drink water.''
   --Shak. ``Powers of fire, air, water, and earth.''
   --Milton.

   Note: Pure water consists of hydrogen and oxygen, H2O, and is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, transparent liquid, which is very slightly compressible. At its maximum density, 39[deg] Fahr. or 4[deg] C., it is the standard for specific gravities, one cubic centimeter weighing one gram. It freezes at 32[deg] Fahr. or 0[deg] C. and boils at 212[deg] Fahr. or 100[deg] C. (see Ice, Steam). It is the most important natural solvent, and is frequently impregnated with foreign matter which is mostly removed by distillation; hence, rain water is nearly pure. It is an important ingredient in the tissue of animals and plants, the human body containing about two thirds its weight of water.

2. A body of water, standing or flowing; a lake, river, or other collection of water.

   Remembering he had passed over a small water a poor scholar when first coming to the university, he kneeled.
   --Fuller.

3. Any liquid secretion, humor, or the like, resembling water; esp., the urine.

4. (Pharm.) A solution in water of a gaseous or readily volatile substance; as, ammonia water.
   --U. S. Pharm.

5. The limpidity and luster of a precious stone, especially a diamond; as, a diamond of the first water, that is, perfectly pure and transparent. Hence, of the first water, that is, of the first excellence.

6. A wavy, lustrous pattern or decoration such as is imparted to linen, silk, metals, etc. See Water, v. t., 3, Damask, v. t., and Damaskeen.

7. An addition to the shares representing the capital of a stock company so that the aggregate par value of the shares is increased while their value for investment is diminished, or ``diluted.'' [Brokers' Cant] Note: Water is often used adjectively and in the formation of many self-explaining compounds; as, water drainage; water gauge, or water-gauge; waterfowl, water-fowl, or water fowl; water-beaten; water-borne, water-circled, water-girdled, water-rocked, etc. Hard water. See under Hard. Inch of water, a unit of measure of quantity of water, being the quantity which will flow through an orifice one inch square, or a circular orifice one inch in diameter, in a vertical surface, under a stated constant head; also called miner's inch, and water inch. The shape of the orifice and the head vary in different localities. In the Western United States, for hydraulic mining, the standard aperture is square and the head from 4 to 9 inches above its center. In Europe, for experimental hydraulics, the orifice is usually round and the head from 1/2 of an inch to 1 inch above its top. Mineral water, waters which are so impregnated with foreign ingredients, such as gaseous, sulphureous, and saline substances, as to give them medicinal properties, or a particular flavor or temperature. Soft water, water not impregnated with lime or mineral salts. To hold water. See under Hold, v. t. To keep one's head above water, to keep afloat; fig., to avoid failure or sinking in the struggles of life. To make water.

   1. To pass urine.
      --Swift.

   2. (Naut.) To admit water; to leak.

      Water of crystallization (Chem.), the water combined with many salts in their crystalline form. This water is loosely, but, nevertheless, chemically, combined, for it is held in fixed and definite amount for each substance containing it. Thus, while pure copper sulphate, CuSO4, is a white amorphous substance, blue vitriol, the crystallized form, CuSO4.5H2O, contains five molecules of water of crystallization.

      Water on the brain (Med.), hydrocephalus.

      Water on the chest (Med.), hydrothorax.

      Note: Other phrases, in which water occurs as the first element, will be found in alphabetical order in the Vocabulary.