v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Delivered p. pr. & vb. n. Delivering. ] [ F. délivrer, LL. deliberare to liberate, give over, fr. L. de + liberare to set free. See Liberate. ] 1. To set free from restraint; to set at liberty; to release; to liberate, as from control; to give up; to free; to save; to rescue from evil actual or feared; -- often with from or out of; as, to deliver one from captivity, or from fear of death. [ 1913 Webster ]

He that taketh warning shall deliver his soul. Ezek. xxxiii. 5. [ 1913 Webster ]

Promise was that I
Should Israel from Philistian yoke deliver. Milton. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. To give or transfer; to yield possession or control of; to part with (to); to make over; to commit; to surrender; to resign; -- often with up or over, to or into. [ 1913 Webster ]

Thou shalt deliver Pharaoh's cup into his hand. Gen. xl. 13. [ 1913 Webster ]

The constables have delivered her over. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

The exalted mind
All sense of woe delivers to the wind. Pope. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. To make over to the knowledge of another; to communicate; to utter; to speak; to impart. [ 1913 Webster ]

Till he these words to him deliver might. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

Whereof the former delivers the precepts of the art, and the latter the perfection. Bacon. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. To give forth in action or exercise; to discharge; as, to deliver a blow; to deliver a broadside, or a ball. [ 1913 Webster ]

Shaking his head and delivering some show of tears. Sidney. [ 1913 Webster ]

An uninstructed bowler . . . thinks to attain the jack by delivering his bowl straightforward upon it. Sir W. Scott. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. To free from, or disburden of, young; to relieve of a child in childbirth; to bring forth; -- often with of. [ 1913 Webster ]

She was delivered safe and soon. Gower. [ 1913 Webster ]

Tully was long ere he could be delivered of a few verses, and those poor ones. Peacham. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. To discover; to show. [ Poetic ] [ 1913 Webster ]

I 'll deliver
Myself your loyal servant. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. To deliberate. [ Obs. ] Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. To admit; to allow to pass. [ Obs. ] Bacon.

Syn. -- To Deliver, Give Forth, Discharge, Liberate, Pronounce, Utter. Deliver denotes, literally, to set free. Hence the term is extensively applied to cases where a thing is made to pass from a confined state to one of greater freedom or openness. Hence it may, in certain connections, be used as synonymous with any or all of the above-mentioned words, as will be seen from the following examples: One who delivers a package gives it forth; one who delivers a cargo discharges it; one who delivers a captive liberates him; one who delivers a message or a discourse utters or pronounces it; when soldiers deliver their fire, they set it free or give it forth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ OF. delivre free, unfettered. See Deliver, v. t. ] Free; nimble; sprightly; active. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Wonderly deliver and great of strength. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Capable of being, or about to be, delivered; necessary to be delivered. Hale. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ F. délivrance, fr. délivrer. ] 1. The act of delivering or freeing from restraint, captivity, peril, and the like; rescue; as, the deliverance of a captive. [ 1913 Webster ]

He hath sent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives. Luke iv. 18. [ 1913 Webster ]

One death or one deliverance we will share. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Act of bringing forth children. [ Archaic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Act of speaking; utterance. [ Archaic ] Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

☞ In this and in the preceding sense delivery is the word more commonly used. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The state of being delivered, or freed from restraint. [ 1913 Webster ]

I do desire deliverance from these officers. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Anything delivered or communicated; esp., an opinion or decision expressed publicly. [ Scot. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

6. (Metaph.) Any fact or truth which is decisively attested or intuitively known as a psychological or philosophical datum; as, the deliverance of consciousness. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. One who delivers or rescues; a preserver. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. One who relates or communicates. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A female deliverer. [ R. ] Evelyn. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. Actively; quickly; nimbly. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Swim with your bodies,
And carry it sweetly and deliverly. Beau. & Fl. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Nimbleness; agility. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n.; pl. Deliveries 1. The act of delivering from restraint; rescue; release; liberation; as, the delivery of a captive from his dungeon. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. The act of delivering up or over; surrender; transfer of the body or substance of a thing; distribution; as, the delivery of a fort, of hostages, of a criminal, of goods, of letters. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. The act or style of utterance; manner of speaking; as, a good delivery; a clear delivery. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. The act of giving birth; parturition; the expulsion or extraction of a fetus and its membranes. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. The act of exerting one's strength or limbs. [ 1913 Webster ]

Neater limbs and freer delivery. Sir H. Wotton. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. The act or manner of delivering a ball; as, the pitcher has a swift delivery. [ 1913 Webster ]