adj. prenom. 1. adaptable to all voltages; -- of a radio receiver. [ British ] For power supplies, the term "switching" is used to designate ability to use more than one voltage as a power source. Typically, it is used for the ability to use both 110 and 220 volt AC sources. an all-mains set [ WordNet 1.5 ]

{ } n. [ OF. Aleman, F. Allemand, fr. L. Alemanni, ancient Ger. tribes. ] [ Obs. ] 1. A German. Also adj., German. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The German language. J. Foxe. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. A kind of dance. See Allemande. [ 1913 Webster ]

Almain rivets,
Almayne rivets, or
Alman rivets, a sort of light armor from Germany, characterized by overlapping plates, arranged to slide on rivets, and thus afford great flexibility. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ Pref. a- + main. See 2d Main, n. ] 1. With might; with full force; vigorously; violently; exceedingly. [ 1913 Webster ]

They on the hill, which were not yet come to blows, perceiving the fewness of their enemies, came down amain. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

That striping giant, ill-bred and scoffing, shouts amain. T. Parker. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. At full speed; in great haste; also, at once. “They fled amain.” Holinshed. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ F. amener. See Amenable. ] (Naut.) To lower, as a sail, a yard, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. (Naut.) To lower the topsail, in token of surrender; to yield. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. pl. [ F., fr. baiser to kiss + mains hands. ] Respects; compliments. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ See Demesne. ] 1. Rule; management. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. (Law) See Demesne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. domaine, OF. demaine, L. dominium, property, right of ownership, fr. dominus master, owner. See Dame, and cf Demesne, Dungeon. ] 1. Dominion; empire; authority. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The territory over which dominion or authority is exerted; the possessions of a sovereign or commonwealth, or the like. Also used figuratively. [ wns=2 ] [ 1913 Webster ]

The domain of authentic history. E. Everett. [ 1913 Webster ]

The domain over which the poetic spirit ranges. J. C. Shairp. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Landed property; estate; especially, the land about the mansion house of a lord, and in his immediate occupancy; demesne. [ wns=2 ] Shenstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. (Law) Ownership of land; an estate or patrimony which one has in his own right; absolute proprietorship; paramount or sovereign ownership. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. (Math.) the set of values which the independent variable of a function may take. Contrasted to range, which is the set of values taken by the dependent variable. [ wns=3 ] [ PJC ]

6. (Math.) a connected set of points, also called a region. [ PJC ]

7. (Physics) a region within a ferromagnetic material, composed of a number of atoms whose magnetic poles are pointed in the same direction, and which may move together in a coordinated manner when disturbed, as by heating. The direction of polarity of adjacent domains may be different, but may be aligned by a strong external magnetic field. [ PJC ]

8. (Computers) an address within the internet computer network, which may be a single computer, a network of computers, or one of a number of accounts on a multiuser computer. The domain specifies the location (host computer) to which communications on the internet are directed. Each domain has a corresponding 32-bit number usually represented by four numbers separated by periods, as 128.32.282.56. Each domain may also have an alphabetical name, usually composed of a name plus an extension separated by a period, as worldsoul.org; the alphabetical name is referred to as a domain name. [ PJC ]

9. (Immunology) the three-dimensional structure within an immunoglobulin which is formed by one of the homology regions of a heavy or light chain. Dict. Sci. Tech. [ PJC ]

10. the field of knowledge, expertise, or interest of a person; as, he had a limited domain of discourse; I can't comment on that, it's outside my domain. [ wns=5 ]
Syn. -- domain, realm, field, area. [ PJC ]

11. a particular environment or walk of life. [ wns=1 ]
Syn. -- sphere, domain, area, orbit, field, arena. [ PJC ]

12. people in general; especially a distinctive group of people with some shared interest. [ wns=4 ]
Syn. -- world, domain. [ PJC ]

Public domain, 1. the territory belonging to a State or to the general government; public lands. [ U.S. ] -- 2. the situation or status of intellectual property which is not protected by copyright, patent or other restriction on use. Anything
in the public domain may be used by anyone without restriction. The effective term of force of copyrights and patents are limited by statute, and after the term expires, the writings and inventions thus protected go into the public domain and are free for use by all. --
Right of eminent domain, that superior dominion of the sovereign power over all the property within the state, including that previously granted by itself, which authorizes it to appropriate any part thereof to a necessary public use, reasonable compensation being made. [ 1913 Webster ]

{ . (Elec.) A form of conductor, designed by Ferranti, for currents of high potential, and consisting of concentric tubes of copper separated by an insulating material composed of paper saturated with black mineral wax. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

a. [ Obs. ] See Germane. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. léger light, nimble + de of + main hand, L. manus. See 3d Leger, and Manual. ] Sleight of hand; a trick of sleight of hand; hence, any artful deception or trick. [ 1913 Webster ]

He of legierdemayne the mysteries did know. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

The tricks and legerdemain by which men impose upon their own souls. South. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. One who practices sleight of hand; a prestidigitator. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ Leuco- + -maine, as in ptomaine. ] (Physiol. Chem.) An animal base or alkaloid, appearing in the tissue during life; hence, a vital alkaloid, as distinguished from a ptomaine or cadaveric poison. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ AS. mægen strength, power, force; akin to OHG. magan, Icel. megin, and to E. may, v. √103. See May, v. ] 1. Strength; force; might; violent effort. [ Obs., except in certain phrases. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

There were in this battle of most might and main. R. of Gl. [ 1913 Webster ]

He 'gan advance,
With huge force, and with importable main. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The chief or principal part; the main or most important thing. [ Obs., except in special uses. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Resolved to rest upon the title of Lancaster as the main, and to use the other two . . . but as supporters. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Specifically: (a) The great sea, as distinguished from an arm, bay, etc. ; the high sea; the ocean. “Struggling in the main.” Dryden. (b) The continent, as distinguished from an island; the mainland. “Invaded the main of Spain.” Bacon. (c) principal duct or pipe, as distinguished from lesser ones; esp. (Engin.), a principal pipe leading to or from a reservoir; as, a fire main. [ 1913 Webster ]

Forcing main, the delivery pipe of a pump. --
For the main, or
In the main, for the most part; in the greatest part. --
With might and main, or
With all one's might and main, with all one's strength; with violent effort. [ 1913 Webster ]

With might and main they chased the murderous fox. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ From Main strength, possibly influenced by OF. maine, magne, great, L. magnus. Cf. Magnate. ] 1. Very or extremely strong. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That current with main fury ran. Daniel. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Vast; huge. [ Obs. ] “The main abyss.” Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Unqualified; absolute; entire; sheer. [ Obs. ] “It's a man untruth.” Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Principal; chief; first in size, rank, importance, etc.; as, the main reason to go; the main proponent. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

Our main interest is to be happy as we can. Tillotson. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Important; necessary. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

That which thou aright
Believest so main to our success, I bring. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

By main force, by mere force or sheer force; by violent effort; as, to subdue insurrection by main force. [ 1913 Webster ] That Maine which by main force Warwick did win. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ] --
By main strength, by sheer strength; as, to lift a heavy weight by main strength. --
Main beam (Steam Engine), working beam. --
Main boom (Naut.), the boom which extends the foot of the mainsail in a fore and aft vessel. --
Main brace. (a) (Mech.) The brace which resists the chief strain. Cf. Counter brace. (b) (Naut.) The brace attached to the main yard. --
Main center (Steam Engine), a shaft upon which a working beam or side lever swings. --
Main chance. See under Chance. --
Main couple (Arch.), the principal truss in a roof. --
Main deck (Naut.), the deck next below the spar deck; the principal deck. --
Main keel (Naut.), the principal or true keel of a vessel, as distinguished from the false keel. [ 1913 Webster ]

Syn. -- Principal; chief; leading; cardinal; capital. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ See Main, a. ] Very; extremely; as, main heavy. “I'm main dry.” Foote. [ Obs. or Low ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. main hand, L. manus. See Manual. ] 1. A hand or match at dice. Prior. Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A stake played for at dice. [ Obs. ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The largest throw in a match at dice; a throw at dice within given limits, as in the game of hazard. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. A match at cockfighting. “My lord would ride twenty miles . . . to see a main fought.” Thackeray. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. A main-hamper. [ Obs. ] Ainsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. The principal part of a meal.
Syn. -- entree. [ PJC ]

2. (Nautical) A square mainsail. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The uppermost sheltered deck that runs the entire length of a large vessel.
Syn. -- second deck. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

prop. n. One of the New England States. [ 1913 Webster ]

Maine law, any law prohibiting the manufacture and sale of intoxicating beverages, esp. one resembling that enacted in the State of Maine. At present, the state of Maine sells such beverages in its own stores. [ 1913 Webster +PJC ]

n. 1. Any of several cold-water lobsters with large tender claws, caught from Maine to the Carolinas.
Syn. -- American lobster, Northern lobster. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

2. A lobster (Homarus americanus) found off the Atlantic coast of North America.
Syn. -- American lobster, Northern lobster, Homarus americanus. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. The form of a word that heads a lexical entry and is alphabetized in a dictionary; also called entry word, headword, and lemma.
Syn. -- citation form, entry word, headword, lemma. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

☞ In different languages, different wordforms, such as cases for verbs, may be taken as the main entry word. In English dictionaries, it is the infinitive form, but in latin dictionaries it is usually the first person singular present. [ PJC ]

n. (computers) A file that is used as the authority in a given job and that is relatively permanent.
Syn. -- master file. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Computers) 1. A large digital computer serving 100-400 users and occupying a special air-conditioned room. At any given point in development of computer technology, the mainframe will be faster, have large main memeory, and be more capable than a minicomputer, which will in turn be faster and more capable than a personal computer. The typical personal computer in 1999 is faster than a mainframe was in 1970.
Syn. -- mainframe computer. [ WordNet 1.5 +PJC ]

2. The board holding the CPU and the memory forming the central part of a computer to which the peripherals are attached. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ F., the left hand. ] (Ancient Armor) The dagger held in the left hand, while the rapier is held in the right; -- used to parry thrusts of the adversary's rapier. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. main hand (see Main a hand at dice) + E. hamper. ] A hamper to be carried in the hand; a hand basket used in carrying grapes to the press. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The continent; the principal land; -- opposed to island, or peninsula. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

After the two wayfarers had crossed from the peninsula to the mainland. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The People's Republic of China, also called Communist China, in distinction from Nationalist China, the government located on the island of Taiwan. Both governments claim to represent the entire people of China, but the People's republic is recognized as China by the United Nationss and most of its member states.
Syn. -- Red China, PRC, Beijing. [ PJC ]

pos>v. t. 1. to inject (illegal drugs) into the vein; as, he preferred to mainline heroin rather than sniff coke. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. Ahe principal route of a transportation system, such as a railroad or bus line. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

adv. [ From main strong. See Main strength. ] Very strongly; mightily; to a great degree. [ Obs. ] Bacon. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. [ From main principal, chief. ] Principally; chiefly. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Naut.) The principal mast in a ship or other vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Computers) The memory in a computer that holds programs and data for rapid access during execution of a program; it usually hold the largest quantity of rapid-access storage in a computer; -- also called RAM (random access memory. It is contrasted to ROM, disk data storage, cache, registers and other forms of data storage. [ PJC ]

n. The office that serves as the administrative center of an enterprise,
Syn. -- headquarters, central office, home office. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Anglo-Norm. meinoure, OF. manuevre. See Maneuver. ] (O. Eng. Law) A thing stolen found on the person of the thief. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ A thief was said to be “taken with the mainor, ” when he was taken with the thing stolen upon him, that is, in his hands. Wharton. Bouvier. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. main hand + pernable, for prenable, that may be taken, pregnable. See Mainpernor. ] (Law) Capable of being admitted to give surety by mainpernors; able to be mainprised. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OF. main hand + pernor, for preneor, a taker, F. preneur, fr. prendre to take. ] (Law) A surety, under the old writ of mainprise, for a prisoner's appearance in court at a day. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ Mainpernors differ from bail in that a man's bail may imprison or surrender him before the stipulated day of appearance; mainpernors can do neither; they are bound to produce him to answer all charges whatsoever. Blackstone. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Vehicles) A kingbolt. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. main hand + prise a taking, fr. prendre, p. p. pris to take, fr. L. prehendere, prehensum. ] (Law) (a) A writ directed to the sheriff, commanding him to take sureties, called mainpernors, for the prisoner's appearance, and to let him go at large. This writ is now obsolete. Wharton. (b) Deliverance of a prisoner on security for his appearance at a day. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Mainprised p. pr. & vb. n. Mainprising. ] (Law) To suffer to go at large, on his finding sureties, or mainpernors, for his appearance at a day; -- said of a prisoner. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A major road for any form of motor transport.
Syn. -- highway. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. (Aviation) The assembly of large rotating airfoils (blades) on a helicopter that produce the lift to support the helicopter in the air. [ WordNet 1.5 ]

n. [ Scot. See Manse. ] The farm attached to a mansion house; a manse. [ Scot. or Brit. dial. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Electricity) The source of electrical power in a building; the wiring system of a building. [ PJC ]

n. (Naut.) The principal sail in a ship or other vessel. [ 1913 Webster ]

[ They ] hoised up the mainsail to the wind. Acts xxvii. 40. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ The mainsail of a ship is extended upon a yard attached to the mainmast, and that of a sloop or schooner upon the boom. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. (Astronomy) That region on a two-dimensional graph of luminosity versus temperature for stars (the Herzsprung-Russel diagram), which runs from high temperature and high luminosity to low temperature and low luminosity, in which most of the stars (plotted as points on the diagram) are found. A normal star such as the earth's sun will spend most of its time over billions of years within this region of temperature and luminosity, as it progressively converts more of its original hydrogen into heavier elements. After the hydrogen is consumed, a star may become a red giant or evolve into other types of star not within the main sequence region. [ PJC ]

n. (Naut.) One of the ropes by which the mainsail is hauled aft and trimmed. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The principal or most important spring in a piece of mechanism, especially the moving spring of a watch or clock or the spring in a gunlock which impels the hammer. Hence: (Fig.) The chief or most powerful motive; the efficient cause of action; as, the mainspring of action. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. (Naut.) The stay extending from the foot of the foremast to the maintop. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Main support; principal dependence. [ 1913 Webster ]

The great mainstay of the Church. Buckle. [ 1913 Webster ]