1. One who hangs, or causes to be hanged; a hangman.
2. That by which a thing is suspended. Especially: (a) A strap hung to the girdle, by which a dagger
or sword is suspended. (b) (Mach.) A part that suspends a journal box in which shafting runs. See
Illust. of Countershaft. (c) A bridle iron.
3. That which hangs or is suspended, as a sword worn at the side; especially, in the 18th century, a
short, curved sword.
4. A steep, wooded declivity. [Eng.] Gilbert White.
Hanger-on
(Hang"er-on`) n.; pl. Hangers-on One who hangs on, or sticks to, a person, place, or service; a
dependent; one who adheres to others' society longer than he is wanted. Goldsmith.
Hanging
(Hang"ing), a.
1. Requiring, deserving, or foreboding death by the halter. "What a hanging face!" Dryden.
2. Suspended from above; pendent; as, hanging shelves.
3. Adapted for sustaining a hanging object; as, the hanging post of a gate, the post which holds the
hinges.
Hanging compass, a compass suspended so that the card may be read from beneath. — Hanging
garden, a garden sustained at an artificial elevation by any means, as by the terraces at Babylon. —
Hanging indentation. See under Indentation. — Hanging rail (Arch.), that rail of a door or casement
to which hinges are attached. — Hanging side (Mining), the overhanging side of an inclined or hading
vein. — Hanging sleeves. (a) Strips of the same stuff as the gown, hanging down the back from the
shoulders. (b) Loose, flowing sleeves. — Hanging stile. (Arch.) (a) That stile of a door to which
hinges are secured. (b) That upright of a window frame to which casements are hinged, or in which
the pulleys for sash windows are fastened. — Hanging wall (Mining), the upper wall of inclined vein,
or that which hangs over the miner's head when working in the vein.
Hanging
(Hang"ing), n.
1. The act of suspending anything; the state of being suspended.
2. Death by suspension; execution by a halter.
3. That which is hung as lining or drapery for the walls of a room, as tapestry, paper, etc., or to cover or
drape a door or window; — used chiefly in the plural.
Now purple hangings clothe the palace walls.
Dryden. Hangman
(Hang"man) n.; pl. Hangmen One who hangs another; esp., one who makes a business
of hanging; a public executioner; — sometimes used as a term of reproach, without reference to office.
Shak.
Hangmanship
(Hang"man*ship), n. The office or character of a hangman.
Hangnail
(Hang"nail`) n. [A corruption of agnail.] A small piece or sliver of skin which hangs loose,
near the root of a finger nail. Holloway.
Hangnest
(Hang"nest`) n.
1. A nest that hangs like a bag or pocket.
