3. A light picture frame or mat of cardboard, wood, or the like,
usually put between the picture and the glass, and sometimes serving
for several pictures.
Pass"er (?), n. One who passes; a passenger.
Pass`er-by" (?), n. One who goes by; a passer.
||Pas"se*res (?), n. pl. [NL., fr. L. passer a sparrow.] (Zoˆl.) An
||order, or suborder, of birds, including more that half of all the
||known species. It embraces all singing birds (Oscines), together with
||many other small perching birds.
Pas*ser"i*form (?), a. (Zoˆl.) Like or belonging to the Passeres.
Pas"ser*ine (?), a. [L. passerinus, fr. passer a sparrow.] (Zoˆl.) Of
or pertaining to the Passeres.
The columbine, gallinaceous, and passerine tribes people the fruit
trees.
Sydney Smith.
Pas"ser*ine, n. (Zoˆl.) One of the Passeres.
Pas`si*bil"i*ty (?), n. [L. passibilitas: cf. F. passibilitÈ.] The
quality or state of being passible; aptness to feel or suffer;
sensibility. Hakewill.
Pas"si*ble (?), a. [L. passibilis, fr. pati, to suffer: cf. F.
passible. See Passion.] Susceptible of feeling or suffering, or of
impressions from external agents.
Apolinarius, which held even deity itself passible.
Hooker.
Pas"si*ble*ness, n. Passibility. Brerewood.
||Pas"si*flo"ra (?), n. [NL., from L. passio passion (fr. pati, passus,
||to suffer) + flos, floris, flower.] (Bot.) A genus of plants,
||including the passion flower. It is the type of the order
||PassifloreÊ, which includes about nineteen genera and two hundred and
||fifty species.
||Pas"sim (?), adv. [L.] Here and there; everywhere; as, this word
||occurs passim in the poem.
Pass"ing (?), n. The act of one who, or that which, passes; the act of
going by or away.
Passing bell, a tolling of a bell to announce that a soul is passing,
or has passed, from its body (formerly done to invoke prayers for the
dying); also, a tolling during the passing of a funeral procession to
the grave, or during funeral ceremonies. Sir W. Scott. Longfellow.
Pass"ing, a. 1. Relating to the act of passing or going; going by,
beyond, through, or away; departing.
2. Exceeding; surpassing, eminent. Chaucer. "Her passing deformity."
Shak.
Passing note (Mus.), a character including a passing tone. -- Passing
tone (Mus.), a tone introduced between two other tones, on an
unaccented portion of a measure, for the sake of smoother melody, but
forming no essential part of the harmony.
Pass"ing, adv. Exceedingly; excessively; surpassingly; as, passing
fair; passing strange. "You apprehend passing shrewdly." Shak.
Pass"ing*ly, adv. Exceedingly. Wyclif.
Pas"sion (?), n. [F., fr. L. passio, fr. pati, passus, to suffer. See
Patient.] 1. A suffering or enduring of imposed or inflicted pain; any
suffering or distress (as, a cardiac passion); specifically, the
suffering of Christ between the time of the last supper and his death,
esp. in the garden upon the cross. "The passions of this time." Wyclif
(Rom. viii. 18).
To whom also he showed himself alive after his passion, by many
infallible proofs.
Acts i. 3.
2. The state of being acted upon; subjection to an external agent or
influence; a passive condition; -- opposed to action.
A body at rest affords us no idea of any active power to move, and,
when set is motion, it is rather a passion than an action in it.
Locke.
3. Capacity of being affected by external agents; susceptibility of
impressions from external agents. [R.]
Moldable and not moldable, scissible and not scissible, and many
other passions of matter.
Bacon.
4. The state of the mind when it is powerfully acted upon and
influenced by something external to itself; the state of any particular
faculty which, under such conditions, becomes extremely sensitive or
uncontrollably excited; any emotion or sentiment (specifically, love or
anger) in a state of abnormal or controlling activity; an extreme or
inordinate desire; also, the capacity or susceptibility of being so
affected; as, to be in a passion; the passions of love, hate,
jealously, wrath, ambition, avarice, fear, etc.; a passion for war, or
for drink; an orator should have passion as well as rhetorical skill.
"A passion fond even to idolatry." Macaulay. "Her passion is to seek
roses." Lady M. W. Montagu.
We also are men of like passions with you.
Acts xiv. 15.
The nature of the human mind can not be sufficiently understood,
without considering the affections and passions, or those
modifications or actions of the mind consequent upon the
apprehension of certain objects or events in which the mind
generally conceives good or evil.
Hutcheson.
The term passion, and its adverb passionately, often express a very
strong predilection for any pursuit, or object of taste -- a kind
of enthusiastic fondness for anything.
Cogan.
The bravery of his grief did put me Into a towering passion.
Shak.
The ruling passion, be it what it will, The ruling passion conquers
reason still.
Pope.
Who walked in every path of human life, Felt every passion.
Akenside.
When statesmen are ruled by faction and interest, they can have no
passion for the glory of their country.
Addison.