"The number," said he, "is great, but what can be expected from mere citizen soldiers? They vaunt and menace in time of safety; none are so arrogant when the enemy is at a distance; but when the din of war thunders at the gates they hide themselves in terror."
He has answered me back, vaunt for vaunt, rhetoric for rhetoric.
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vaunt — vaunt·er; vaunt·ery; vaunt·ful; vaunt·ing·ly; vaunt·lay; vaunt; vaunt·ie; … English syllables
Vaunt — Vaunt, v. t. [See {Avant}, {Advance}.] To put forward; to display. [Obs.] Vaunted spear. Spenser. [1913 Webster] And what so else his person most may vaunt. Spenser. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Vaunt — Vaunt, v. i. [imp. & p. p. {Vaunted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Vaunting}.] [F. vanter, LL. vanitare, fr. L. vanus vain. See {Vain}.] To boast; to make a vain display of one s own worth, attainments, decorations, or the like; to talk ostentatiously; to… … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Vaunt — Vaunt, n. A vain display of what one is, or has, or has done; ostentation from vanity; a boast; a brag. [1913 Webster] The spirits beneath, whom I seduced With other promises and other vaunts. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Vaunt — Vaunt, n. [F. avant before, fore. See {Avant}, {Vanguard}.] The first part. [Obs.] Shak. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
Vaunt — Vaunt, v. t. To boast of; to make a vain display of; to display with ostentation. [1913 Webster] Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. 1 Cor. xiii. 4. [1913 Webster] My vanquisher, spoiled of his vaunted spoil. Milton. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
vaunt- — prefix an AF. variant of vant . (For examples see vaunt chase, courier, etc.) … Useful english dictionary
vaunt — index jactation Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 … Law dictionary
vaunt — (v.) c.1400, speak vainly or proudly, from M.Fr. vanter to praise, speak highly of, from L.L. vanitare to boast, frequentative of L. vanare to utter empty words, from vanus idle, empty (see VAIN (Cf. vain)). Related: Vaunted; vaunting … Etymology dictionary
vaunt — vb *boast, brag, crow, gasconade Analogous words: parade, flaunt, exhibit, display, *show: magnify, aggrandize, *exalt … New Dictionary of Synonyms
vaunt — ► VERB (usu. as adj. vaunted) ▪ boast about or praise. DERIVATIVES vaunting adjective. ORIGIN Latin vantare, from vanus vain, empty … English terms dictionary
