Chapter Hoecake to Hold of H by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

7. To receive and retain; to contain as a vessel; as, this pail holds milk; hence, to be able to receive and retain; to have capacity or containing power for.

Broken cisterns that can hold no water.

Jer. ii. 13.

One sees more devils than vast hell can hold.

Shak.

8. To accept, as an opinion; to be the adherent of, openly or privately; to persist in, as a purpose; to maintain; to sustain.

Stand fast and hold the traditions which ye have been taught.

2 Thes. ii.15.

But still he held his purpose to depart.

Dryden.

9. To consider; to regard; to esteem; to account; to think; to judge.

I hold him but a fool.

Shak.

I shall never hold that man my friend.

Shak.

The Lord will not hold him guiltless that taketh his name in vain.

Ex. xx. 7.

10. To bear, carry, or manage; as he holds himself erect; he holds his head high.

Let him hold his fingers thus.

Shak.

To hold a wager, to lay or hazard a wager. Swift. — To hold forth, to offer; to exhibit; to propose; to put forward. "The propositions which books hold forth and pretend to teach." Locke. — To held in, to restrain; to curd. — To hold in hand, to toy with; to keep in expectation; to have in one's power. [Obs.]

O, fie! to receive favors, return falsehoods,
And hold a lady in hand.

Beaw. & Fl.

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To hold in play, to keep under control; to dally with. Macaulay. — To hold off, to keep at a distance. — To hold on, to hold in being, continuance or position; as, to hold a rider on. — To hold one's day, to keep one's appointment. [Obs.] Chaucer. — To hold one's own. (a) To keep good one's present condition absolutely or relatively; not to fall off, or to lose ground; as, a ship holds her own when she does not lose ground in a race or chase; a man holds his own when he does not lose strength or weight. — To hold one's peace, to keep silence.- To hold out. (a) To extend; to offer. "Fortune holds out these to you as rewards." B. Jonson. (b) To continue to do or to suffer; to endure. "He can not long hold out these pangs." Shak. — To hold up. (a) To raise; to lift; as, hold up your head. (b) To support; to sustain. "He holds himself up in virtue."Sir P. Sidney. (c) To exhibit; to display; as, he was held up as an example. (d) To rein in; to check; to halt; as, hold up your horses. — To hold water. (a) Literally, to retain water without leaking; hence to be whole, sound, consistent, without gaps or holes; — commonly used in a negative sense; as, his statements will not hold water. [Collog.] (b) (Naut.) To hold the oars steady in the water, thus checking the headway of a boat.

Hold
(Hold), v. i. In general, to keep one's self in a given position or condition; to remain fixed. Hence:

1. Not to move; to halt; to stop; — mostly in the imperative.

And damned be him that first cries, "Hold, enough!"

Shak.

2. Not to give way; not to part or become separated; to remain unbroken or unsubdued.

Our force by land hath nobly held.

Shak.