Long a. [Compar. Longer superl. Longest ]
 1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide.
 2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book.
 3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching.
 4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away.
 The we may us reserve both fresh and strong
 Against the tournament, which is not long.   --Spenser.
 5. Having a length of the specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc.
 6. Far-reaching; extensive. “ Long views.”
 7. Phonetics Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 22, 30.
 8. Finance & Com. Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton.  Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin.  Contrasted to short.
 Note: ☞ Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded, etc.
 In the long run, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually.
 Long clam Zool., the common clam (Mya arenaria) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also soft-shell clam and long-neck clam. See Mya.
 Long cloth, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality.
 Long clothes, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet.
 Long division. Math. See Division.
 Long dozen, one more than a dozen; thirteen.
 Long home, the grave.
 Long measure, Long meter. See under Measure, Meter.
 Long Parliament Eng. Hist., the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653.
 Long price, the full retail price.
 Long purple Bot., a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the Orchis mascula. --Dr. Prior.
 Long suit (a) Whist, a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards. --R. A. Proctor. (b)  One's most important resource or source of strength; as, as an entertainer, her voice was her long suit.
 Long tom. (a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel. (b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [Western U.S.] (c) Zool. The long-tailed titmouse.
 Long wall Coal Mining, a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed.
 Of long, a long time. [Obs.] --Fairfax.
 To be long of the market, or To go long of the market, To be on the long side of the market, etc. Stock Exchange, to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to short in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [Cant] See Short.
 To have a long head, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind.


 Soft a. [Compar. Softer superl. Softest.]
 1. Easily yielding to pressure; easily impressed, molded, or cut; not firm in resisting; impressible; yielding; also, malleable; -- opposed to hard; as, a soft bed; a soft peach; soft earth; soft wood or metal.
 2. Not rough, rugged, or harsh to the touch; smooth; delicate; fine; as, soft silk; a soft skin.
    They that wear soft clothing are in king's houses.   --Matt. xi. 8.
 3. Hence, agreeable to feel, taste, or inhale; not irritating to the tissues; as, a soft liniment; soft wines. “The soft, delicious air.”
 4. Not harsh or offensive to the sight; not glaring; pleasing to the eye; not exciting by intensity of color or violent contrast; as, soft hues or tints.
    The sun, shining upon the upper part of the clouds . . . made the softest lights imaginable.   --Sir T. Browne.
 5. Not harsh or rough in sound; gentle and pleasing to the ear; flowing; as, soft whispers of music.
 Her voice was ever soft,
 Gentle, and low, -- an excellent thing in woman.   --Shak.
    Soft were my numbers; who could take offense?   --Pope.
 6. Easily yielding; susceptible to influence; flexible; gentle; kind.
 I would to God my heart were flint, like Edward's;
 Or Edward's soft and pitiful, like mine.   --Shak.
    The meek or soft shall inherit the earth.   --Tyndale.
 7. Expressing gentleness, tenderness, or the like; mild; conciliatory; courteous; kind; as, soft eyes.
    A soft answer turneth away wrath.   --Prov. xv. 1.
 A face with gladness overspread,
 Soft smiles, by human kindness bred.   --Wordsworth.
 8. Effeminate; not courageous or manly, weak.
    A longing after sensual pleasures is a dissolution of the spirit of a man, and makes it loose, soft, and wandering.   --Jer. Taylor.
 9. Gentle in action or motion; easy.
 On her soft axle, white she paces even,
 And bears thee soft with the smooth air along.   --Milton.
 10. Weak in character; impressible.
    The deceiver soon found this soft place of Adam's.   --Glanvill.
 11. Somewhat weak in intellect. [Colloq.]
    He made soft fellows stark noddies, and such as were foolish quite mad.   --Burton.
 12. Quiet; undisturbed; paceful; as, soft slumbers.
 13. Having, or consisting of, a gentle curve or curves; not angular or abrupt; as, soft outlines.
 14. Not tinged with mineral salts; adapted to decompose soap; as, soft water is the best for washing.
 15. Phonetics (a) Applied to a palatal, a sibilant, or a dental consonant (as g in gem, c in cent, etc.) as distinguished from a guttural mute (as g in go, c in cone, etc.); -- opposed to hard. (b) Belonging to the class of sonant elements as distinguished from the surd, and considered as involving less force in utterance; as, b, d, g, z, v, etc., in contrast with p, t, k, s, f, etc.
 Soft clam Zool., the common or long clam (Mya arenaria). See Mya.
 Soft coal, bituminous coal, as distinguished from anthracite, or hard, coal.
 Soft crab Zool., any crab which has recently shed its shell.
 Soft dorsal Zool., the posterior part of the dorsal fin of fishes when supported by soft rays.
 Soft grass. Bot. See Velvet grass.
 Soft money, paper money, as distinguished from coin, or hard money. [Colloq. U.S.]
 Soft mute. Phonetics See Media.
 Soft palate. See the Note under Palate.
 Soft ray Zool., a fin ray which is articulated and usually branched.
 Soft soap. See under Soap.
 Soft-tack, leavened bread, as distinguished from hard-tack, or ship bread.
 Soft tortoise Zool., any river tortoise of the genus Trionyx. See Trionyx.


 Clam n.
 1. Zool. A bivalve mollusk of many kinds, especially those that are edible; as, the long clam (Mya arenaria), the quahog or round clam (Venus mercenaria), the sea clam or hen clam (Spisula solidissima), and other species of the United States.  The name is said to have been given originally to the Tridacna gigas, a huge East Indian bivalve.
    You shall scarce find any bay or shallow shore, or cove of sand, where you may not take many clampes, or lobsters, or both, at your pleasure.   --Capt. John Smith (1616).
    Clams, or clamps, is a shellfish not much unlike a cockle; it lieth under the sand.   --Wood (1634).
 2.   Ship Carp. Strong pinchers or forceps.
 3. pl. Mech. A kind of vise, usually of wood.
 Blood clam. See under Blood.


 Mya arenaria
      n : an edible clam with thin oval-shaped shell found in coastal
          regions of the United States and Europe [syn: {soft-shell
          clam, steamer, steamer clam, long-neck clam]