[1] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

open \o"pen\, a. as. open; akin to d. open, os. opan, g. offan,
   icel. opinn, sw. "oppen, dan. aaben, and perh. to e. up.
   cf. up, and ope.
   1. free of access; not shut up; not closed; affording
      unobstructed ingress or egress; not impeding or preventing
      passage; not locked up or covered over; -- applied to
      passageways; as, an open door, window, road, etc.; also,
      to inclosed structures or objects; as, open houses, boxes,
      baskets, bottles, etc.; also, to means of communication or
      approach by water or land; as, an open harbor or
      roadstead.
      1913 webster

            through the gate,
            wide open and unguarded, satan passed. --milton
      1913 webster

   note: also, figuratively, used of the ways of communication
         of the mind, as by the senses; ready to hear, see,
         etc.; as, to keep one's eyes and ears open.
         1913 webster

               his ears are open unto their cry.  --ps. xxxiv.
                                                  15.
         1913 webster

   2. free to be used, enjoyed, visited, or the like; not
      private; public; unrestricted in use; as, an open library,
      museum, court, or other assembly; liable to the approach,
      trespass, or attack of any one; unprotected; exposed.
      1913 webster

            if demetrius . . . have a matter against any man,
            the law is open and there are deputies. --acts xix.
                                                  33.
      1913 webster

            the service that i truly did his life,
            hath left me open to all injuries.    --shak.
      1913 webster

   3. free or cleared of obstruction to progress or to view;
      accessible; as, an open tract; the open sea.
      1913 webster

   4. not drawn together, closed, or contracted; extended;
      expanded; as, an open hand; open arms; an open flower; an
      open prospect.
      1913 webster

            each, with open arms, embraced her chosen knight.
                                                  --dryden.
      1913 webster

   5. hence:
      a without reserve or false pretense; sincere;
          characterized by sincerity; unfeigned; frank; also,
          generous; liberal; bounteous; -- applied to personal
          appearance, or character, and to the expression of
          thought and feeling, etc.
          1913 webster

                with aspect open, shall erect his head. --pope.
          1913 webster

                the moor is of a free and open nature. --shak.
          1913 webster

                the french are always open, familiar, and
                talkative.                        --addison.
          1913 webster
      b not concealed or secret; not hidden or disguised;
          exposed to view or to knowledge; revealed; apparent;
          as, open schemes or plans; open shame or guilt; open
          source code.
          1913 webster +pjc

                his thefts are too open.          --shak.
          1913 webster

                that i may find him, and with secret gaze
                or open admiration him behold.    --milton.
          1913 webster

   6. not of a quality to prevent communication, as by closing
      water ways, blocking roads, etc.; hence, not frosty or
      inclement; mild; -- used of the weather or the climate;
      as, an open season; an open winter. --bacon.
      1913 webster

   7. not settled or adjusted; not decided or determined; not
      closed or withdrawn from consideration; as, an open
      account; an open question; to keep an offer or opportunity
      open.
      1913 webster

   8. free; disengaged; unappropriated; as, to keep a day open
      for any purpose; to be open for an engagement.
      1913 webster

   9. phon.
      a uttered with a relatively wide opening of the
          articulating organs; -- said of vowels; as, the aumn
          faumr is open as compared with the =a in s=ay.
      b uttered, as a consonant, with the oral passage simply
          narrowed without closure, as in uttering s.
          1913 webster

   10. mus.
       a not closed or stopped with the finger; -- said of the
           string of an instrument, as of a violin, when it is
           allowed to vibrate throughout its whole length.
       b produced by an open string; as, an open tone.
           1913 webster

   the open air, the air out of doors.

   open chain. chem. see closed chain, under chain.

   open circuit elec., a conducting circuit which is
      incomplete, or interrupted at some point; -- opposed to an
      uninterrupted, or closed circuit.

   open communion, communion in the lord's supper not
      restricted to persons who have been baptized by immersion.
      cf. close communion, under close, a.

   open diapason mus., a certain stop in an organ, in which
      the pipes or tubes are formed like the mouthpiece of a
      flageolet at the end where the wind enters, and are open
      at the other end.

   open flank fort., the part of the flank covered by the
      orillon.

   open-front furnace metal., a blast furnace having a
      forehearth.

   open harmony mus., harmony the tones of which are widely
      dispersed, or separated by wide intervals.

   open hawse naut., a hawse in which the cables are
      parallel or slightly divergent. cf. foul hawse, under
      hawse.

   open hearth metal., the shallow hearth of a reverberatory
      furnace.

   open-hearth furnace, a reverberatory furnace; esp., a kind
      of reverberatory furnace in which the fuel is gas, used in
      manufacturing steel.

   open-hearth process steel manuf., a process by which
      melted cast iron is converted into steel by the addition
      of wrought iron, or iron ore and manganese, and by
      exposure to heat in an open-hearth furnace; -- also called
      the siemens-martin process, from the inventors.

   open-hearth steel, steel made by an open-hearth process; --
      also called siemens-martin steel.

   open newel. arch. see hollow newel, under hollow.

   open pipe mus., a pipe open at the top. it has a pitch
      about an octave higher than a closed pipe of the same
      length.

   open-timber roof arch., a roof of which the
      constructional parts, together with the under side of the
      covering, or its lining, are treated ornamentally, and
      left to form the ceiling of an apartment below, as in a
      church, a public hall, and the like.

   open vowel or open consonant. see open, a., 9.
      1913 webster

   note: open is used in many compounds, most of which are
         self-explaining; as, open-breasted, open-minded.
         1913 webster

   syn: unclosed; uncovered; unprotected; exposed; plain;
        apparent; obvious; evident; public; unreserved; frank;
        sincere; undissembling; artless. see candid, and
        ingenuous.
        1913 webster
see also:
up ope the open air open chain closed chain chain 
open circuit closed circuit open communion close communion close 
open diapason open flank open-front furnace open harmony open hawse 
foul hawse hawse open hearth open-hearth furnace open-hearth process 
siemens-martin process open-hearth steel siemens-martin steel open newel hollow newel 
hollow open pipe open-timber roof open vowel open consonant 
open candid ingenuous 

[2] : The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48

chain \chain\ ch=an, n. f. cha^ine, fr. l. catena. cf.
   catenate.
   1. a series of links or rings, usually of metal, connected,
      or fitted into one another, used for various purposes, as
      of support, of restraint, of ornament, of the exertion and
      transmission of mechanical power, etc.
      1913 webster

            they put a chain of gold about his neck. --dan. v.
                                                  29.
      1913 webster

   2. that which confines, fetters, or secures, as a chain; a
      bond; as, the chains of habit.
      1913 webster

            driven down
            to chains of darkness and the undying worm.
                                                  --milton.
      1913 webster

   3. a series of things linked together; or a series of things
      connected and following each other in succession; as, a
      chain of mountains; a chain of events or ideas.
      1913 webster

   4. surv. an instrument which consists of links and is used
      in measuring land.
      1913 webster

   note: one commonly in use is gunter's chain, which consists
         of one hundred links, each link being seven inches and
         ninety-two one hundredths in length; making up the
         total length of rods, or sixty-six, feet; hence, a
         measure of that length; hence, also, a unit for land
         measure equal to four rods square, or one tenth of an
         acre.
         1913 webster

   5. pl. naut. iron links bolted to the side of a vessel to
      bold the dead-eyes connected with the shrouds; also, the
      channels.
      1913 webster

   6. weaving the warp threads of a web. --knight.
      1913 webster

   chain belt mach., a belt made of a chain; -- used for
      transmitting power.

   chain boat, a boat fitted up for recovering lost cables,
      anchors, etc.

   chain bolt
      a naut. the bolt at the lower end of the chain plate,
          which fastens it to the vessel's side.
      b a bolt with a chain attached for drawing it out of
          position.

   chain bond. see chain timber.

   chain bridge, a bridge supported by chain cables; a
      suspension bridge.

   chain cable, a cable made of iron links.

   chain coral zool., a fossil coral of the genus
      halysites, common in the middle and upper silurian
      rocks. the tubular corallites are united side by side in
      groups, looking in an end view like links of a chain. when
      perfect, the calicles show twelve septa.

   chain coupling.
      a a shackle for uniting lengths of chain, or connecting
          a chain with an object.
      b railroad supplementary coupling together of cars
          with a chain.

   chain gang, a gang of convicts chained together.

   chain hook naut., a hook, used for dragging cables about
      the deck.

   chain mail, flexible, defensive armor of hammered metal
      links wrought into the form of a garment.

   chain molding arch., a form of molding in imitation of a
      chain, used in the normal style.

   chain pier, a pier suspended by chain.

   chain pipe naut., an opening in the deck, lined with
      iron, through which the cable is passed into the lockers
      or tiers.

   chain plate shipbuilding, one of the iron plates or
      bands, on a vessel's side, to which the standing rigging
      is fastened.

   chain pulley, a pulley with depressions in the periphery of
      its wheel, or projections from it, made to fit the links
      of a chain.

   chain pumps. see in the vocabulary.

   chain rule arith., a theorem for solving numerical
      problems by composition of ratios, or compound proportion,
      by which, when several ratios of equality are given, the
      consequent of each being the same as the antecedent of the
      next, the relation between the first antecedent and the
      last consequent is discovered.

   chain shot mil., two cannon balls united by a shot chain,
      formerly used in naval warfare on account of their
      destructive effect on a ship's rigging.

   chain stitch. see in the vocabulary.

   chain timber. arch. see bond timber, under bond.

   chain wales. naut. same as channels.

   chain wheel. see in the vocabulary.

   closed chain, open chain chem., terms applied to the
      chemical structure of compounds whose rational formulae
      are written respectively in the form of a closed ring see
      benzene nucleus, under benzene, or in an open
      extended form.

   endless chain, a chain whose ends have been united by a
      link.
      1913 webster
see also:
catenate chain belt chain boat chain bolt chain bond chain timber 
chain bridge chain cable chain coral halysites chain coupling 
chain gang chain hook chain mail chain molding chain pier 
chain pipe chain plate chain pulley chain pumps chain rule 
chain shot chain stitch bond timber bond chain wales 
channels chain wheel closed chain open chain benzene nucleus 
benzene endless chain 

[3] : WordNet (r) 2.0

open chain
     n : a chain of atoms in a molecule whose ends are not joined to
         form a ring ant: closed chain
see also:
closed chain 

Chain >> C Words
Chain, definition of term: Chain
chain_pag1.html

Open >> O Words
Open, definition of term: Open
open_pag1.html

Chain Saw >> C Words
Chain Saw, definition of term: Chain Saw
chain+saw_pag1.html

Open Account >> O Words
Open Account, definition of term: Open Account
open+account_pag1.html

Chain Reaction >> C Words
Chain Reaction, definition of term: Chain Reaction
chain+reaction_pag1.html

Chain Gang >> C Words
Chain Gang, definition of term: Chain Gang
chain+gang_pag1.html

Chain Letter >> C Words
Chain Letter, definition of term: Chain Letter
chain+letter_pag1.html

Chain Mail >> C Words
Chain Mail, definition of term: Chain Mail
chain+mail_pag1.html

Mountain Chain >> M Words
Mountain Chain, definition of term: Mountain Chain
mountain+chain_pag1.html

Daisy Chain >> D Words
Daisy Chain, definition of term: Daisy Chain
daisy+chain_pag1.html

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