See Also: autograph(medicine)
autograph(encyclopedia)
autograph(dictionary)
autograph 1, noun(dictionary)
autograph 2, verb(dictionary)
main(2)(dictionary)
Main(medicine)
main(6)(dictionary)
main(5)(dictionary)
main(3)(dictionary)

main(3) (iou) and autograph (sh)


main(3) (iou)



main noun1.

I.
Physical strength, force, or power. Now only in with might and main s.v. MIGHT noun1. OE.
A host of soldiers etc.; a (military) force. OE-ME.
II.
a. The mainland. Now arch. & poet. M16.
C. Thirlwall The island..was separated from the main by a channel.
b. Hist. = Spanish Main s.v. Spanish adjective. L19.
J. Clavell He wanted to go..south along the Main then back across the Atlantic.
A mainsail; a mainmast. M16.
Practical Boat Owner Her main and jib gave us 194 square feet of sail.
a. The high seas, the open ocean. Now poet. M16.
Goldsmith To traverse climes beyond the western main.
b. A broad expanse. L16-M17.
Shakespeare Sonnets Nativity, once in the main of light, Crawls to maturity.
a. The chief or principal part of a whole; the important or essential point of. arch. exc. in in the main below. L16.
S. Johnson The main of life is composed of small incidents.
b. The most important part of some business, subject, argument, etc.; the chief matter or principal thing in hand. E17.
A. Cowley Frugal, and grave, and careful of the main.
The object aimed at; a particular end or purpose. E-M17.
J. Webster 'Tis the very main of my ambition.
A principal channel, duct, or conductor for conveying water, sewage, gas, or (usu. in pl.) for the supply of electricity. Also, in pl., the public supply of water, electricity, etc., collectively. E17.
G. Orwell The lights would be switched off at the main. Listener There were lightsnot from the mains, but from a generator. attrib.: Soviet Weekly You rent a cottage with mains water and a gas cooker.
A principal seam of coal; a coalmine. Also, a main line of a railway. M19.
Phrases: in the main for the most part; in all essential points; mainly. rising main: see RISING adjective. Spanish Main: see Spanish adjective. with might and main: see MIGHT noun1.

autograph (sh)




Any manuscript handwritten by its author; in common usage, a handwritten signature.

Aside from its value as a collector's item, an early or corrected draft of a work may show its stages of composition or "correct" final version. The earliest autograph signature of a famous person is probably the Cid's, dated 1096. There exist autographs of most of the great Renaissance figures, including Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, and Ludovico Ariosto. Since the 18th century, autograph material of notable people in the arts, sciences, or public life has been more abundant.