Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Bearing
Bear′ing
(bâr′ĭng)
, Noun.
1.
The manner in which one bears or conducts one’s self; mien; behavior; carriage.
I know him by his
bearing
. Shakespeare
2.
Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.
3.
The situation of one object, with respect to another, such situation being supposed to have a connection with the object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it; hence, relation; connection.
But of this frame, the
The strong connections, nice dependencies.
bearings
and the ties,The strong connections, nice dependencies.
Pope.
4.
Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.
5.
The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth;
as, a tree in full
. bearing
; a tree past bearing
[His mother] in travail of his
bearing
. R. of Gloucester.
6.
(Arch.)
(a)
That part of any member of a building which rests upon its supports;
as, a lintel or beam may have four inches of
. bearing
upon the wall(b)
The portion of a support on which anything rests.
(c)
Improperly, the unsupported span;
as, the beam has twenty feet of
. bearing
between its supports7.
(Mach.)
(a)
The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its support, collar, or boxing; the journal.
(b)
The part of the support on which a journal rests and rotates.
8.
(Her.)
Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or coat of arms – commonly in the
pl.
A carriage covered with armorial
bearings
. Thackeray.
9.
(Naut.)
(a)
The situation of a distant object, with regard to a ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter, etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which an object is seen;
as, the
. bearing
of the cape was W. N. W(b)
pl.
The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer.
(c)
pl.
The line of flotation of a vessel when properly trimmed with cargo or ballast.
Ball bearings
. See under
– Ball
. To bring one to his bearings
, to bring one to his senses.
– To lose one's bearings
, to become bewildered.
– To take bearings
, to ascertain by the compass the position of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference to landmarks or to the compass; hence (
Fig.
), to ascertain the condition of things when one is in trouble or perplexity.
Syn. – Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage; demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency; influence.
Webster 1828 Edition
Bearing
BEARING
,ppr.