*guide*

n. [ OE. giae, F. guide, It. guida. See Guide, v. t. ] 1. A person who leads or directs another in his way or course, as in a strange land; one who exhibits points of interest to strangers; a conductor; also, that which guides; a guidebook. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who, or that which, directs another in his conduct or course of life; a director; a regulator. [ 1913 Webster ]

He will be our guide, even unto death. Ps. xlviii. 14. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Any contrivance, especially one having a directing edge, surface, or channel, for giving direction to the motion of anything, as water, an instrument, or part of a machine, or for directing the hand or eye, as of an operator; as: (a) (Water Wheels) A blade or channel for directing the flow of water to the wheel buckets. (b) (Surgery) A grooved director for a probe or knife. (c) (Printing) A strip or device to direct the compositor's eye to the line of copy he is setting. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Mil.) A noncommissioned officer or soldier placed on the directing flank of each subdivision of a column of troops, or at the end of a line, to mark the pivots, formations, marches, and alignments in tactics. Farrow. [ 1913 Webster ]

Guide bar (Mach.), the part of a steam engine on which the crosshead slides, and by which the motion of the piston rod is kept parallel to the cylinder, being a substitute for the parallel motion; -- called also guide, and slide bar. --
Guide block (Steam Engine), a block attached in to the crosshead to work in contact with the guide bar. --
Guide meridian. (Surveying) See under Meridian. --
Guide pile (Engin.), a pile driven to mark a place, as a point to work to. --
Guide pulley (Mach.), a pulley for directing or changing the line of motion of belt; an idler. Knight. --
Guide rail (Railroads), an additional rail, between the others, gripped by horizontal driving wheels on the locomotive, as a means of propulsion on steep gradients. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A board, as upon a guidepost having upon it directions or information as to the road. Lowell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A book of directions and information for travelers, tourists, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Without a guide. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. hypen is changed from WN: adjust hier. a formal rule describing how a situation must be handled; -- used as a direction to administrators from superiors.
Syn. -- guidelines. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. hypen is changed from WN: adjust hier. a rule or set of rules giving guidance on how to behave in a situation. a situation to which the guidelines are considered applicable is described as "falling within the guidelines"
Syn. -- guideline, guidepost, rule of thumb. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. A post at the fork of a road, with a guideboard on it, to direct travelers. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A guide; a director. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female guide. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Aëronautics) A rope hung from a balloon or dirigible so as trail along the ground for about half its length, used to preserve altitude automatically, by variation of the length dragging on the ground, without loss of ballast or gas. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. & n. Linguadental. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Misguidance; error. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]