second hand

2 definitions found

second hand - Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 :

  Second \Sec"ond\, n.
     1. One who, or that which, follows, or comes after; one next
        and inferior in place, time, rank, importance, excellence,
        or power.
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              Man
              An angel's second, nor his second long. --Young.
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     2. One who follows or attends another for his support and
        aid; a backer; an assistant; specifically, one who acts as
        another's aid in a duel.
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              Being sure enough of seconds after the first onset.
                                                    --Sir H.
                                                    Wotton.
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     3. Aid; assistance; help. [Obs.]
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              Give second, and my love
              Is everlasting thine.                 --J. Fletcher.
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     4. pl. An article of merchandise of a grade inferior to the
        best; esp., a coarse or inferior kind of flour.
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     5. [F. seconde. See Second, a.] The sixtieth part of a
        minute of time or of a minute of space, that is, the
        second regular subdivision of the degree; as, sound moves
        about 1,140 English feet in a second; five minutes and ten
        seconds north of this place.
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     6. In the duodecimal system of mensuration, the twelfth part
        of an inch or prime; a line. See Inch, and Prime, n.,
        8.
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     7. (Mus.)
        (a) The interval between any tone and the tone which is
            represented on the degree of the staff next above it.
        (b) The second part in a concerted piece; -- often
            popularly applied to the alto.
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     8. (Parliamentary Procedure) A motion in support of another
        motion which has been moved in a deliberative body; a
        motion without a second dies without discussion.
        [PJC]
  
     Second hand, the hand which marks the seconds on the dial
        of a watch or a clock.
        [1913 Webster]

second hand - WordNet (r) 2.1 (2005) :

  second hand
      adv 1: from a source of previously owned goods; "I prefer to buy
             second hand"
      n 1: an intermediate person; used in the phrase `at second
           hand'; "he could learn at second hand from books"
      2: hand marking seconds on a timepiece