Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- noun plural The kidneys, loins, or lower back.
- noun plural The seat of the affections and passions.
from The Century Dictionary.
- The kidneys or renes.
- Hence The region of the kidneys; the loins, or lower parts of the back on each side.
- The seat of the affections and passions, formerly supposed to be situated in that part of the body; hence, also, the emotions and affections themselves.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun plural The kidneys; also, the region of the kidneys; the loins.
- noun plural The inward impulses; the affections and passions; -- so called because formerly supposed to have their seat in the part of the body where the kidneys are.
- noun plural (Arch.) the parts between the crown and the spring or abutment, including, and having especial reference to, the loading or filling behind the shell of the vault. The reins are to a vault nearly what the haunches are to an arch, and when a vault gives way by thrusting outward, it is because its reins are not sufficiently filled up.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- noun archaic The
kidneys . - noun The lower part of the
back . - noun Plural form of
rein . - verb Third-person singular simple present indicative form of
rein .
Etymologies
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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Evaluating advice or criticism based on what the advisor would produce if he were at the reins is a very sketchy business practice.
Superhero Nation: how to write superhero novels and comic books » Comic Reviews: Atomic Robo 1-5 2009
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Some boomers have inherited the reins is all, and some of us will inherit the reins from them.
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This argument he insists upon (v. 13-16): Thou hast possessed my reins; thou art Master of my most secret thoughts and intentions, and the innermost recesses of my soul; thou not only knowest, but governest, them, as we do that which we have possession of; and the possession thou hast of my reins is a rightful possession, for thou coveredst me in my mother's womb, that is, thou madest me (Job x. 11), thou madest me in secret.
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon) 1721
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I hope and pray we get together and take the reins from the greedy, selfish CEO types that have gotten us to this inglorius point.
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The purpose is to persuade China, which currently has a $2T reserve in foreign currencies in the IMF, to take the reins from the United States in exchange for an expanded role in the IMF.
duh pookie 2008
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The purpose is to persuade China, which currently has a $2T reserve in foreign currencies in the IMF, to take the reins from the United States in exchange for an expanded role in the IMF.
duh pookie 2008
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Evidently, they've moved offices, physical syptom of a new group taking over the reins from the previous directors.
Breakfast in Bed desayunoencama 2004
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A new era begins in Baton Rouge as former Louisiana-Monroe head coach Smoke Laval takes the reins from the legendary coach Skip Bertman.
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The moon was still high, though pale, when the sun rose, like a youthful monarch impatient to take the reins from the hands of a mild and dying queen.
Life in Mexico, During a Residence of Two Years in That Country Frances Erskine Inglis 1843
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Conscience now suddenly took the reins from the hands of imagination, and a mist was cleared away that hitherto, obscuring every duty by despondence, had hidden from her own perceptions the faulty basis of her desire.
hernesheir commented on the word reins
The kidneys. No really.
December 2, 2011