*van*

a. [ L. adjuvans, p. pr. of adjuvare to aid: cf. F. adjuvant. See Aid. ] Helping; helpful; assisting. [ R. ] “Adjuvant causes.” Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ L. adjuvamentum, fr. adjuvare to help; ad + juvare to help. ] 1. An assistant. [ R. ] Yelverton. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Med.) An ingredient in a prescription drug, which aids or modifies the action of the principal ingredient. AS [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Med., Immunology) A substance that non-specifically enhances immune response to an antigen, such as by enhancing the production of antibodies. AS [ AS ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Advanced p. pr. & vb. n. Advancing #). ] [ OE. avancen, avauncen, F. avancer, fr. a supposed LL. abantiare; ab + ante (F. avant) before. The spelling with d was a mistake, a- being supposed to be fr. L. ad. See Avaunt. ] 1. To bring forward; to move towards the van or front; to make to go on. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To raise; to elevate. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

They . . . advanced their eyelids. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To raise to a higher rank; to promote. [ 1913 Webster ]

Ahasueres . . . advanced him, and set his seat above all the princes. Esther iii. 1. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To accelerate the growth or progress; to further; to forward; to help on; to aid; to heighten; as, to advance the ripening of fruit; to advance one's interests. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To bring to view or notice; to offer or propose; to show; as, to advance an argument. [ 1913 Webster ]

Some ne'er advance a judgment of their own. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To make earlier, as an event or date; to hasten. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To furnish, as money or other value, before it becomes due, or in aid of an enterprise; to supply beforehand; as, a merchant advances money on a contract or on goods consigned to him. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To raise to a higher point; to enhance; to raise in rate; as, to advance the price of goods. [ 1913 Webster ]

9. To extol; to laud. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Greatly advancing his gay chivalry. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- To raise; elevate; exalt; aggrandize; improve; heighten; accelerate; allege; adduce; assign. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. 1. To move or go forward; to proceed; as, he advanced to greet me. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To increase or make progress in any respect; as, to advance in knowledge, in stature, in years, in price. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To rise in rank, office, or consequence; to be preferred or promoted. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advanced to a level with ancient peers. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. avance, fr. avancer. See Advance, v. ] 1. The act of advancing or moving forward or upward; progress. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Improvement or progression, physically, mentally, morally, or socially; as, an advance in health, knowledge, or religion; an advance in rank or office. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. An addition to the price; rise in price or value; as, an advance on the prime cost of goods. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The first step towards the attainment of a result; approach made to gain favor, to form an acquaintance, to adjust a difference, etc.; an overture; a tender; an offer; -- usually in the plural. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ He ] made the like advances to the dissenters. Swift. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A furnishing of something before an equivalent is received (as money or goods), towards a capital or stock, or on loan; payment beforehand; the money or goods thus furnished; money or value supplied beforehand. [ 1913 Webster ]

I shall, with pleasure, make the necessary advances. Jay. [ 1913 Webster ]

The account was made up with intent to show what advances had been made. Kent. [ 1913 Webster ]

In advance (a) In front; before. (b) Beforehand; before an equivalent is received. (c) In the state of having advanced money on account; as, A is in advance to B a thousand dollars or pounds. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Before in place, or beforehand in time; -- used for advanced; as, an advance guard, or that before the main guard or body of an army; advance payment, or that made before it is due; advance proofs, advance sheets, pages of a forthcoming volume, received in advance of the time of publication. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. In the van or front. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. In the front or before others, as regards progress or ideas; as, advanced opinions, advanced thinkers. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Far on in life or time. [ 1913 Webster ]

A gentleman advanced in years, with a hard experience written in his wrinkles. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advanced guard, a detachment of troops which precedes the march of the main body. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. avancement, F. avancement. See Advance, v. t. ] 1. The act of advancing, or the state of being advanced; progression; improvement; furtherance; promotion to a higher place or dignity; as, the advancement of learning. [ 1913 Webster ]

In heaven . . . every one (so well they love each other) rejoiceth and hath his part in each other's advancement. Sir T. More. [ 1913 Webster ]

True religion . . . proposes for its end the joint advancement of the virtue and happiness of the people. Horsley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. An advance of money or value; payment in advance. See Advance, 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. (Law) Property given, usually by a parent to a child, in advance of a future distribution. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Settlement on a wife, or jointure. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who advances; a promoter. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A second branch of a buck's antler. Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

. (Aëronautics) The front edge (in direction of motion) of a supporting surface; -- contr. with following edge, which is the rear edge. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

. (Aëronautics) The first of two or more surfaces arranged in tandem; -- contr. with following surface, which is the rear surface. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. Tending to advance. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. avantage, avauntage, F. avantage, fr. avant before. See Advance, and cf. Vantage. ] 1. Any condition, circumstance, opportunity, or means, particularly favorable to success, or to any desired end; benefit; as, the enemy had the advantage of a more elevated position. [ 1913 Webster ]

Give me advantage of some brief discourse. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The advantages of a close alliance. Macaulay. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Superiority; mastery; -- with of or over. [ 1913 Webster ]

Lest Satan should get an advantage of us. 2 Cor. ii. 11. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Superiority of state, or that which gives it; benefit; gain; profit; as, the advantage of a good constitution. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Interest of money; increase; overplus (as the thirteenth in the baker's dozen). [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

And with advantage means to pay thy love. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Tennis) The first point scored after deuce. [ PJC ]

Advantage ground, vantage ground. [ R. ] Clarendon. --
To have the advantage of (any one), to have a personal knowledge of one who does not have a reciprocal knowledge. “You have the advantage of me; I don't remember ever to have had the honor.” Sheridan. --
To take advantage of, to profit by; (often used in a bad sense) to overreach, to outwit. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Advantage, Advantageous, Benefit, Beneficial. We speak of a thing as a benefit, or as beneficial, when it is simply productive of good; as, the benefits of early discipline; the beneficial effects of adversity. We speak of a thing as an advantage, or as advantageous, when it affords us the means of getting forward, and places us on a “vantage ground” for further effort. Hence, there is a difference between the benefits and the advantages of early education; between a beneficial and an advantageous investment of money. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Advantaged p. pr. & vb. n. Advantaging ] [ F. avantager, fr. avantage. See Advance. ] To give an advantage to; to further; to promote; to benefit; to profit. [ 1913 Webster ]

The truth is, the archbishop's own stiffness and averseness to comply with the court designs, advantaged his adversaries against him. Fuller. [ 1913 Webster ]

What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? Luke ix. 25. [ 1913 Webster ]

To advantage one's self of, to avail one's self of. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Advantageous. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ F. avantageux, fr. avantage. ] Being of advantage; conferring advantage; gainful; profitable; useful; beneficial; as, an advantageous position; trade is advantageous to a nation. [ 1913 Webster ]

Advabtageous comparison with any other country. Prescott. [ 1913 Webster ]

You see . . . of what use a good reputation is, and how swift and advantageous a harbinger it is, wherever one goes. Chesterfield. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Profitably; with advantage. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Profitableness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. agrevance, fr. agrever. See Aggrieve. ] Oppression; hardship; injury; grievance. [ Archaic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Approval. [ Archaic ] Thomson. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Arrival. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ For avant-guard. Cf. Avaunt, Van. ] The front of an army. [ Obs. ] See Van. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F., fr. avant before + courrier. See Avaunt, and Courier. ] A person dispatched before another person or company, to give notice of his or their approach. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. avant before + E. guard, F. avant-garde. See Avaunt. ] The most advanced group of people in any field of endeavor, especially in literary and artistic work, usually characterized by new ideas and experimental techniques. [ PJC ]

a. 1. Of, pertaining to, or belonging to the avant-garde. [ PJC ]

2. Characterized by the use of experimental techniques; modern; daring; radical. [ PJC ]

n. [ F. avant before + E. guard, F. avant-garde. See Avaunt. ] 1. The van or advanced body of an army. See Vanguard. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Same as avant-garde, n.. [ PJC ]

A slave; one who is bound to service without wages. [ 1913 Webster ]

If thy brother . . . be waxen poor, and be sold unto thee; thou shalt not compel him to serve as a bond servant: but as an hired servant. Lev. xxv. 39, 40. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖ pl. Bons vivants [ F. bon good + vivant, p. pr. of vivre to live. ] A good fellow; a jovial companion; a free liver. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. An amino acid found in the jack bean. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F. caravane (cf. Sp. caravana), fr. Per. karwān a caravan (in sense 1). Cf. Van a wagon. ] 1. A company of travelers, pilgrims, or merchants, organized and equipped for a long journey, or marching or traveling together, esp. through deserts and countries infested by robbers or hostile tribes, as in Asia or Africa. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A large, covered wagon, or a train of such wagons, for conveying wild beasts, etc., for exhibition; an itinerant show, as of wild beasts. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A covered vehicle for carrying passengers or for moving furniture, etc.; -- sometimes shorted into van. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. caravanier. ] The leader or driver of the camels in caravan. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. the practice of taking holidays in a caravan. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n.; pl. Caravansaries [ F. caravansérai, fr. Per. karwānsarāï; karwān caravan + -sarāï palace, large house, inn. ] A kind of inn, in the East, where caravans rest at night, being a large, rude, unfurnished building, surrounding a court. [ Written also caravanserai and caravansera. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Named from Cervantes a town in Spain. ] (Min.) See under Antimony. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. chevance property, equiv. To chevisance, fr. chevir to accomplish. See Chevisance. ] An unlawful bargain; traffic in which money is exported as discount. [ Obs. ] Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖a. [ F., hitherto, formerly. ] Former; previous; of times gone by; as, a ci-devant governor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Joint help; cooperation. Sir T. Browne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Cooperating. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Med.) An adjuvant. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. connivence, L. conniventia. ] 1. Intentional failure or forbearance to discover a fault or wrongdoing; voluntary oversight; passive consent or cooperation. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) Corrupt or guilty assent to wrongdoing, not involving actual participation in, but knowledge of, and failure to prevent or oppose it.

Syn. -- See Collusion. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Conservation, as from injury, defilement, or irregular use. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ An act was ] passed in 1866, for vesting in the Conservators of the River Thames the conservancy of the Thames and Isis. Mozley & W. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ L. conservans, p. pr. ] Having the power or quality of conservation. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The act or faculty of contriving, inventing, devising, or planning. [ 1913 Webster ]

The machine which we are inspecting demonstrates, by its construction, contrivance and design. Contrivance must have had a contriver. Paley. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The thing contrived, invented, or planned; disposition of parts or causes by design; a scheme; plan; artifice; arrangement. [ 1913 Webster ]

Government is a contrivance of human wisdom to provide for human wants. Burke.

Syn. -- Device; plan; scheme; invention; machine; project; design; artifice; shift. See Device. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Sp. cordoban, fr. Cordova, or Cordoba, in Spain. Cf. Cordwain. ] Same as Cordwain. In England the name is applied to leather made from horsehide. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ , a. [ L. curvans, p. pr. ] (Her.) Bowed; bent; curved. [ 1913 Webster ]

‖n. [ Skr. dēvanāgarī; dēva god + nagara city, i. e., divine city. ] The script or characters in which Sanskrit and Hindi are written. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

v. t. & i. [ Pref. dis- + advance: cf. OF. desavancier. ] To draw back, or cause to draw back. [ Obs. ] Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Cf. F. désavantage. ] 1. Deprivation of advantage; unfavorable or prejudicial quality, condition, circumstance, or the like; that which hinders success, or causes loss or injury. [ 1913 Webster ]

I was brought here under the disadvantage of being unknown by sight to any of you. Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

Abandoned by their great patron, the faction henceforward acted at disadvantage. Palfrey. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Loss; detriment; hindrance; prejudice to interest, fame, credit, profit, or other good. [ 1913 Webster ]

They would throw a construction on his conduct, to his disadvantage before the public. Bancroft.

Syn. -- Detriment; injury; hurt; loss; damage. [ 1913 Webster ]