資料來源 : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
7. A large quantity; a great number; as, a power o? good
things. [Colloq.] --Richardson.
8. (Mech.)
(a) The rate at which mechanical energy is exerted or
mechanical work performed, as by an engine or other
machine, or an animal, working continuously; as, an
engine of twenty horse power.
Note: The English unit of power used most commonly is the
horse power. See {Horse power}.
(b) A mechanical agent; that from which useful mechanical
energy is derived; as, water power; steam power; hand
power, etc.
(c) Applied force; force producing motion or pressure; as,
the power applied at one and of a lever to lift a
weight at the other end.
Note: This use in mechanics, of power as a synonym for force,
is improper and is becoming obsolete.
(d) A machine acted upon by an animal, and serving as a
motor to drive other machinery; as, a dog power.
Note: Power is used adjectively, denoting, driven, or adapted
to be driven, by machinery, and not actuated directly
by the hand or foot; as, a power lathe; a power loom; a
power press.
9. (Math.) The product arising from the multiplication of a
number into itself; as, a square is the second power, and
a cube is third power, of a number.
10. (Metaph.) Mental or moral ability to act; one of the
faculties which are possessed by the mind or soul; as,
the power of thinking, reasoning, judging, willing,
fearing, hoping, etc. --I. Watts.
The guiltiness of my mind, the sudden surprise of
my powers, drove the grossness . . . into a
received belief. --Shak.
11. (Optics) The degree to which a lens, mirror, or any
optical instrument, magnifies; in the telescope, and
usually in the microscope, the number of times it
multiplies, or augments, the apparent diameter of an
object; sometimes, in microscopes, the number of times it
multiplies the apparent surface.
12. (Law) An authority enabling a person to dispose of an
interest vested either in himself or in another person;
ownership by appointment. --Wharton.
13. Hence, vested authority to act in a given case; as, the
business was referred to a committee with power.
Note: Power may be predicated of inanimate agents, like the
winds and waves, electricity and magnetism,
gravitation, etc., or of animal and intelligent beings;
and when predicated of these beings, it may indicate
physical, mental, or moral ability or capacity.
{Mechanical powers}. See under {Mechanical}.
{Power loom}, or {Power press}. See Def. 8
(d), note.
{Power of attorney}. See under {Attorney}.
{Power of a point} (relative to a given curve) (Geom.), the
result of substituting the co["o]rdinates of any point in
that expression which being put equal to zero forms the
equation of the curve; as, x^{2} + y^{2} - 100 is the
power of the point x, y, relative to the circle x^{2} +
y^{2} - 100 = 0.
資料來源 : WordNet®
power loom
n : a loom operated mechanically