on \on\ o^n, prep. oe. on, an, o, a, as. on, an; akin to d.
   aan, os.  g. an, ohg. ana, icel. =a, sw. a, goth. ana,
   russ. na, l. an-, in anhelare to pant, gr. 'ana`, zend ana.
   root195. cf. a-, 1, ana-, anon.
   the general signification of on is situation, motion, or
   condition with respect to contact or support beneath; as: 
   1913 webster

   1. at, or in contact with, the surface or upper part of a
      thing, and supported by it; placed or lying in contact
      with the surface; as, the book lies on the table, which
      stands on the floor of a house on an island.
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            i stood on the bridge at midnight.    --longfellow.
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   2. to or against the surface of; -- used to indicate the
      motion of a thing as coming or falling to the surface of
      another; as, rain falls on the earth.
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            whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken.
                                                  --matt. xxi.
                                                  44.
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   3. denoting performance or action by contact with the
      surface, upper part, or outside of anything; hence, by
      means of; with; as, to play on a violin or piano. hence,
      figuratively, to work on one's feelings; to make an
      impression on the mind.
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   4. at or near; adjacent to; -- indicating situation, place,
      or position; as, on the one hand, on the other hand; the
      fleet is on the american coast.
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   5. in addition to; besides; -- indicating multiplication or
      succession in a series; as, heaps on heaps; mischief on
      mischief; loss on loss; thought on thought. --shak.
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   6. indicating dependence or reliance; with confidence in; as,
      to depend on a person for assistance; to rely on; hence,
      indicating the ground or support of anything; as, he will
      promise on certain conditions; to bet on a horse; based on
      certain assumptions.
      1913 webster +pjc

   7. at or in the time of; during; as, on sunday we abstain
      from labor. see at synonym.
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   8. at the time of; -- often conveying some notion of cause or
      motive; as, on public occasions, the officers appear in
      full dress or uniform; the shop is closed on sundays.
      hence, in consequence of, or following; as, on the
      ratification of the treaty, the armies were disbanded;
      start on the count of three.
      1913 webster +pjc

   9. toward; for; -- indicating the object of some passion; as,
      have pity or compassion on him.
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   10. at the peril of, or for the safety of. "hence, on thy
       life." --dryden.
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   11. by virtue of; with the pledge of; -- denoting a pledge or
       engagement, and put before the thing pledged; as, he
       affirmed or promised on his word, or on his honor.
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   12. to the account of; -- denoting imprecation or invocation,
       or coming to, falling, or resting upon; as, on us be all
       the blame; a curse on him.
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             his blood be on us and on our children. --matt.
                                                  xxvii. 25.
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   13. in reference or relation to; as, on our part expect
       punctuality; a satire on society.
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   14. of. obs. "be not jealous on me." --shak.
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             or have we eaten on the insane root
             that takes the reason prisoner?      --shak.
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   note: instances of this usage are common in our older
         writers, and are sometimes now heard in illiterate
         speech.
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   15. occupied with; in the performance of; as, only three
       officers are on duty; on a journey; on the job; on an
       assignment; on a case; on the alert.
       1913 webster +pjc

   16. in the service of; connected with; a member of; as, he is
       on a newspaper; on a committee.
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   note: on and upon are in general interchangeable. in some
         applications upon is more euphonious, and is therefore
         to be preferred; but in most cases on is preferable.
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   17. in reference to; about; concerning; as, to think on it;
       to meditate on it.
       pjc

   on a bowline. naut. same as closehauled.

   on a wind, or on the wind naut., sailing closehauled.
      

   on a sudden. see under sudden.

   on board, on draught, on fire, etc. see under board,
      draught, fire, etc.

   on it, on't, of it. obs. or colloq. --shak.

   on shore, on land; to the shore.

   on the road, on the way, on the wing, etc. see under
      road, way, etc.

   on to, upon; on; to; -- sometimes written as one word,
      onto, and usually called a colloquialism; but it may be
      regarded in analogy with into.
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            they have added the -en plural form on to an elder
            plural.                               --earle.
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            we see the strength of the new movement in the new
            class of ecclesiastics whom it forced on to the
            stage.                                --j. r. green.
      1913 webster
see also:
a- ana- anon at on a bowline closehauled 
on a wind on the wind on a sudden sudden on board 
on draught on fire board draught fire 
on it on't on shore on the road on the way 
on the wing road way on to 

on \on\, adv. see on, prep.
   1. forward, in progression; onward; -- usually with a verb of
      motion; as, move on; go on; the beat goes on. "time glides
      on." --macaulay.
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            the path is smooth that leadeth on to danger.
                                                  --shak.
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   2. forward, in succession; as, from father to son, from the
      son to the grandson, and so on.
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   3. in continuance; without interruption or ceasing; as, sleep
      on, take your ease; say on; sing on.
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   4. adhering; not off; as in the phrase, "he is neither on nor
      off," that is, he is not steady, he is irresolute.
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   5. attached to the body, as clothing or ornament, or for use.
      "i have boots on." --b. gonson.
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            he put on righteousness as a breastplate. --is. lix.
                                                  17.
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   6. in progress; proceeding; ongoing; as, a game is on.
      1913 webster

   note: on is sometimes used as an exclamation, or a command to
         move or proceed, some verb being understood; as, on,
         comrades; that is, go on, move on.
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   on and on, continuously; for a long time together. "toiling
      on and on and on." --longfellow.
      1913 webster
see also:
on on and on 

rub \rub\, v. i.
   1. to move along the surface of a body with pressure; to
      grate; as, a wheel rubs against the gatepost.
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   2. to fret; to chafe; as, to rub upon a sore.
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   3. to move or pass with difficulty; as, to rub through woods,
      as huntsmen; to rub through the world.
      1913 webster

   to rub along or on, to go on with difficulty; as, they
      manage, with strict economy, to rub along. colloq.
      1913 webster
see also:
to rub along on 

on
     adj 1: in operation or operational; "left the oven on"; "the switch
            is in the on position" ant: off
     2: of events planned or scheduled; "the picnic is on, rain or
        shine"; "we have nothing on for friday night" ant: off
     3: performing or scheduled for duties; "i'm on from five to
        midnight"; "naval personnel on duty in alaska"; "her
        on-duty hours were 11p.m. to 7 a.m." syn: onp, on
        dutyp, on-dutya
     adv 1: with a forward motion; "we drove along admiring the view";
            "the horse trotted along at a steady pace"; "the
            circus traveled on to the next city"; "move along";
            "march on" syn: along
     2: indicates continuity or persistence or concentration; "his
        spirit lives on"; "shall i read on?"
     3: in a state required for something to function or be
        effective; "turn the lights on"; "get a load on"
see also:
off onp on dutyp on-dutya along 

123 moby thesaurus words for "on":
   about, above, accidental, accompanying, across, ado, afloat, afoot,
   after which, against, ahead, along, among, anent, apropos of,
   as for, as regards, as respects, as to, astraddle, astride, at,
   atop, by, by dint of, by means of, by use of, by virtue of,
   by way of, circumstantial, concerning, current, doing, en route to,
   eventuating, for, forth, forward, forwards, from, going on,
   happening, headed for, hereby, hereinafter, herewith, horseback,
   in, in connection with, in contact with, in hand, in passage to,
   in point of, in re, in reference to, in regard to, in relation to,
   in relation with, in respect to, in the wind, in transit to,
   in virtue of, incidental, near, next to, occasional, occurring, of,
   on foot, on horseback, on route to, on top of, ongoing, onward,
   onwards, opposite, over, over against, passing, per, pertaining to,
   pertinent to, prevailing, prevalent, re, referring to, regarding,
   relating to, relative to, respecting, resultant, speaking of,
   straddle, straddle-legged, straddleback, taking place, thanks to,
   thereby, therewith, through, to, touching, toward, towards,
   under way, up, up against, upon, upon which, versus, vis-a-vis,
   whereat, whereby, wherefore, whereon, whereto, whereunto,
   whereupon, wherewith, wherewithal, with, with regard to,
   with respect to

on
   light; the sun, gen. 41:45, 50, the great seat of sun-worship,
   called also bethshemesh jer. 43:13 and aven ezek. 30:17,
   stood on the east bank of the nile, a few miles north of
   memphis, and near cairo, in the north-east. the vulgate and the
   lxx. versions have "heliopolis" "city of the sun" instead of
   on in genesis and of aven in ezekiel. the "city of destruction"
   isaiah speaks of 19:18, marg. "of heres;" heb. 'ir-ha-heres,
   which some mss. read ir-ha-heres, i.e., "city of the sun" may
   be the name given to on, the prophecy being that the time will
   come when that city which was known as the "city of the sun-god"
   shall become the "city of destruction" of the sun-god, i.e.,
   when idolatry shall cease, and the worship of the true god be
   established.
   
     in ancient times this city was full of obelisks dedicated to
   the sun. of these only one now remains standing. "cleopatra's
   needle" was one of those which stood in this city in front of
   the temple of tum, i.e., "the sun." it is now erected on the
   thames embankment, london.
   
     "it was at on that joseph wooed and won the dark-skinned
   asenath, the daughter of the high priest of its great temple."
   this was a noted university town, and here moses gained his
   acquaintance with "all the wisdom of the egyptians."
   

on, pain; force; iniquity