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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

4 entries under this word

Case

Cāse, n.

noun

n. [O. Fr. casse, N. Fr. caisse, Pr. caissa, It. cassa, Sp. caxa, Pg. caixa, from Lat. capsa, chest, box, case.]

  1. A covering, box, or sheath; that which incloses or contains; as, a case for books; a watch-case.
  2. A box and its contents; the quantity contained in a box; as, a case of goods.
  3. (Print.) A frame containing boxes for holding types.

☞ Every fount of type requires two cases, called respectively the upper and the lower case. The upper case contains capitals, small capitals, dotted and accented letters, fractions, and marks of reference: the lower case contains the small letters, logotypes, figures, marks of punctuation, quadrats and spaces. 4. The outer part of a building. [Rare.] Addison.

Cāse, v. t.

verbtransitive

v. t. [imp. & p. p. CASED (kāst); p. pr. & vb. n. CASING.]

  1. To cover with a case; to surround with any material that shall inclose or defend. “The man who, cased in steel, had passed whole days and nights in the saddle.” Prescott.
  2. To put in a case or box; as, to case goods.
  3. To strip off the case, covering, or skin from; as, to case a fox. [Obs.] Shak.

Cāse, n.

noun

n. [Fr. & Pr. cas, It., Sp., & Pg. caso, Lat. casus, from cadere, to fall, to happen.] 1. That which falls, comes, or happens; an event; a circumstance; state; condition. Our case is miserable. Shak.

  1. An individual occurrence or particular instance, as of disease. “A proper remedy in hypochondriacal cases.” Arbuthnot.
  2. A state of facts involving a question for discussion or decision; especially a cause or suit in court. “Not one case in the reports of our courts.” Steele.
  3. (Gram.) The form of substantives in English, or of substantives and adjectives in Latin, Greek, and other languages, by which their relations to the other parts of the sentence are indicated.

Case is properly a falling off from the nominative or first state of a word; the name for which, however, is now, by extension of its signification, applied also to the nominative. J. W. Gibbs. Action on the case (Law), an action in which the whole cause of complaint is set out in the writ. Blackstone.—Case stated, or agreed on, a statement in writing of facts agreed upon and submitted to the court for a decision of the legal points arising on them. Burrill.—In case, in the event or contingency; if it should so fall out or happen.—In good case, in good condition, health, or state of body.—Put the case, suppose the event, or a certain state of things. Syn.—Situation; condition; state; circumstances; plight; predicament.

Cāse, v. i.

verbintransitive

To put cases. [Obs.] L'Estrange.