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Webster 1913 Edition


Relation

Re-la′tion

(r?-l?′sh?n)
,
Noun.
[F.
relation
, L.
relatio
. See
Relate
.]
1.
The act of relating or telling; also, that which is related; recital; account; narration; narrative;
as, the
relation
of historical events
.
[GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK][GREEK]oet’s
relation
doth well figure them.
Bacon.
2.
The state of being related or of referring; what is apprehended as appertaining to a being or quality, by considering it in its bearing upon something else; relative quality or condition; the being such and such with regard or respect to some other thing; connection;
as, the
relation
of experience to knowledge; the
relation
of master to servant.
Any sort of connection which is perceived or imagined between two or more things, or any comparison which is made by the mind, is a
relation
.
I. Taylor.
3.
Reference; respect; regard.
I have been importuned to make some observations on this art in
relation
to its agreement with poetry.
Dryden.
4.
Connection by consanguinity or affinity; kinship; relationship;
as, the
relation
of parents and children
.
Relations
dear, and all the charities
Of father, son, and brother, first were known.
Milton.
5.
A person connected by cosanguinity or affinity; a relative; a kinsman or kinswoman.
For me . . . my
relation
does not care a rush.
Ld. Lytton.
6.
(Law)
(a)
The carrying back, and giving effect or operation to, an act or proceeding frrom some previous date or time, by a sort of fiction, as if it had happened or begun at that time. In such case the act is said to take effect by relation.
(b)
The act of a relator at whose instance a suit is begun.
Wharton. Burrill.
Syn. – Recital; rehearsal; narration; account; narrative; tale; detail; description; kindred; kinship; consanguinity; affinity; kinsman; kinswoman.

Webster 1828 Edition


Relation

RELA'TION

,
Noun.
[L. relatio, refero.]
1.
The act of telling; recital; account; narration; narrative of facts; as a historical relation. We listened to the relation of his adventures.
2.
Respect; reference; regard.
I have been importuned to make some observations on this art, in relation to its agreement with poetry.
3.
Connection between things; mutual respect, or what one thing is with regard to another; as the relation of a citizen to the state; the relation of a subject to the supreme authority; the relation of husband and wife, or of master and servant; the relation of a state of probation to a state of retribution.
4.
Kindred; alliance; as the relation of parents and children.
Relations dear, and all the charities of father, son and brother, first were known.
5.
A person connected by consanguinity or affinity; a kinsman or kinswoman. He passed a month with his relations in the country.
6.
Resemblance of phenomena; analogy.
7.
In geometry, ratio; proportion.