confidentiality 
confidentiality (kon-fi-den-shi-al'i-ti), n. [< 
confidential + -ity.] The quality of being con- 
fidential ; specifically, in law, the relation ex- 
isting between a client and his counsel or agent, 
or between husband and wife, or a ward and 
his guardian, etc., in reference to the trust 
placed in one by the other. See confident in I 
relation, under confidential, and privileged com- 
munication, under communication. 
confidentially (kon-fi-den'shal-i), adv. In a 
confidential mauuer; in reliance on secrecy: 
as, to tell a person something confidentially. 
confidently (kou'fi-dent-li), adv. In a confi- 
dent manner ; with firm trust ; with strong as- 
surance; without doubt or wavering of opin- 
ion; positively; dogmatically. 
Where Duty bids, he confidently steers. 
Camper, On Horace's Ode, ii. 10. 
It was confidently urged that the artisans might be 
trusted to understand and manage their own interests 
better than their masters could do for them. 
H'. R. Grey, Misc. Essays, 1st ser., p. 4. 
confidentness (kon'fi-dent-nes), n. The quality 
or state of being confident ; confidence, 
confider (kon-fi'der), n. One who confides; 
one who trusts in or intrusts to another. W. 
Montague. 
confiding (kon-fi'ding), p. a. [Ppr. of confide, 
v.] Trusting; reposing confidence; trustful; 
credulous : as, a man of a confiding disposition. 
Felt 
The deep, deep joy of a confiding thought. 
Wordsworth, Sonnets, il. 28. 
lie had a confiding wife, and he treated her as confiding 
wives only are treated. Thackeray, Vanity Fair. 
We miss the confiding naturalness of the warm-hearted 
physician. Ticknor, Span. Lit., I. 381. 
confidingly (kon-fi'ding-li), adv. In a confiding 
manner ; trustfully. 
cpnfidingness (kon-fl'ding-nes), . The qual- 
ity of being confiding; confiding disposition; 
trustfulness. 
configurate (kon-fig'u-rat), v. i.; pret. and pp. 
configurated, ppr. configurating. [< L. configu- 
ratus, pp. of configurare, form after something : 
see configure."] To exhibit or assume congruity 
in plan, or in the combination of figures or 
parts. [Rare.] 
In comely architecture it may be 
Knowne by the name of uniformitie ; 
Where pyramids to pyramids relate, 
And the whole fabrick doth configurate. 
Jordan, Poems. 
configuration (kon-fig-u-ra'shon), n. [= F. 
configuration = 'Sp. configuration = Pg. confi- 
guraqao = It. configurazione, < LL. configura- 
tio(n-), < L. configurare, pp. configuratus, form 
after something: see configurate.] 1. Exter- 
nal form, figure, or shape, especially as result- 
ing from the disposition and relation of the 
parts; external aspect or appearance ; contour. 
The natural configuration of the ground, as well as the 
course of history, had gathered these shires (of Wessex) 
into three great groups. J. K. Green, Conq. of Eng., p. 302. 
Change, both gradual and sudden, has been exhibited in 
the configuration and climate of all portions of the surface 
of the globe. K. D. Cope, Origin of the Fittest, p. 361. 
2. In astrol., relative position or aspect of the 
planets. 
The aspects, conjunctions and configurations of the 
stars. Sir T. Browne, Christ. Mor., ii. 9. 
They [astrologers] undertook ... to determine the 
course of a man's character and life from the configura- 
tion of the stars at the moment of his birth. R heuvll. 
3. In modern astron., any noticeable grouping 
of stars which may aid in identifying them. 
4. In analytical mech., the relative positions of 
the parts of a system at any moment. 
When a material system is considered with respect to 
the relative position of its parts, the assemblage of rela- 
tive positions is called the configuration of the system. 
Clerk Maxwell, Matter and Motion, iv. 
5. In geom., a ruled surface considered as a 
locus of rays; also, a system of three linear 
complexes. 
configure (kon-fig'ur), v. t. ; pret. and pp. con- 
figured, ppr." configuring. [= F. configurer = 
Sp. Pg. configurar = It. configurare, < L. configu- 
rare, form after something, < com-, together, 
according, + figurare, form, < figtira, figure: 
see figure, and cf. configurate.] To form; dis- 
pose in a certain form, figure, or shape ; make 
like in form or figure. [Bare.] 
Configuring themselves into human shape. 
Bentley, Sermons, iv. 
Man is spirit, a nature configured to God. 
Bushnell, Sermons for New Life, p. 33. 
COnfinable (kon-fi'na-bl), a. [< confine + -able.] 
Capable of being confined or restricted. 
Not confinoMe to any limits. Sp. Hall, Remains, p. 90. 
1184 
COnfinet (kon'fln), a. [< OF. confin = Sp. con- 
fin = Pg. confim = It. confino, bordering, con- 
tiguous, < L. confinis, at the end or border, 
adjoining, < com-, together, + finis, an end, 
limit, border: see finis, final.] Bordering; hav- 
ing a common boundary; adjacent; contigu- 
ous. [Bare.] 
He was sent to discover the straits of Magellan, and con- 
finf places. Burton, Anat. of Mel., p. 257. 
confine (kon'fin), n. [< F. confin, OF. confin, 
also confine, = Sp. confin = Pg. confim = It. con- 
fine, also confino and confina (all usually in pi.), 
< L. confine, neut., ML. also confinis, a border, 
boundary (cf. L. confinis, masc., a neighbor, 
confinium, a border, limit, boundary, neighbor- 
hood), < confinis, adj., at the end or border, ad- 
joining : see confine, a. In the se.nse of ' prison ' 
the noun confine is from the verb.] 1. A boun- 
dary-line or limit; bound; border; precinct. 
Still hovering betweene the confines of that which hee 
dares not bee openly, and that which he will not lie sin- 
cerely. Miltun, On Def. of Hunib. Bemoiut., Pref. 
You are old ; 
Nature in you stands upon the very verge 
Of her confine. Shak., Lear, ii. 4. 
Events that came to pass within the confines of Judea. 
Locke, On Romans, Synopsis. 
2. That part of a territory which is at or near 
the border ; the frontier : used generally in the 
plural, and often figuratively : as, the confines 
of France or of Scotland. 
And now in little space 
The confines met of empyrean heaven, 
And of this world. Hilton, P. L., x. 321. 
Twas ebbing darkness, past the noon of night : 
And Phosphor, on the confines of the light, 
Promis'd the sun. Dryden, Pal. and Arc., 1. 1396. 
3f. Territory; region; district. 
In als many iorneyes may thei gon fro Jerusalem, unto 
other Confynyes of the Superficial tie of the Erthe begonde. 
Mandeville, Travels, p. 183. 
And Caesar's spirit . . . 
Shall in these confines, with a monarch's voice, 
Cry " Havoek," and let slip the dogs of war. 
Shak., 3. C., iii. 1. 
4f. An inhabitant of a contiguous district; a 
neighbor. 
Exchangynge gold for household stuff with their confines. 
Eden, tr. of R. Martyr's Decades, p. 89(Ord MS.). 
5f. A place of confinement ; a prison. 
Confines, wards, and dungeons. Shak., Hamlet, ii. 2. 
6. In geom. of n-dimensions, that which corre- 
sponds to a closed volume in three dimensions. 
= Syn. Bounds, Border, etc. See boundary. 
confine (kon-fin'), v. ; pret. and pp. confined, 
ppr. confining. [< F. confiner, border, trans, 
shut up, inclose, = Sp. Pg. confinar = It. con- 
finare, < ML. confinare, confiniare, border on, 
set bounds, confinire, border on, < L. confinis, 
bordering on: see confine, a.] I.f intrans. To 
have a common boundary ; border; abut; be in 
contact : followed by <m or with. 
Where your gloomy bounds 
Confine ivith heaven. Milton, P. L., ii. 977. 
Full in the midst of this created space, 
Betwixt heaven, earth, and skies, there stands a place 
Confining on all three. 
Dryden, tr. of Ovid's Metamorph., xii. 58. 
On the South it is cwifined with Pamphilia. 
Purchas, Pilgrimage, p. 321. 
II. trans. To restrict within bounds ; limit ; 
inclose ; bound ; hence, imprison ; immure ; 
shut up. 
Therefore wast thou 
Deservedly confin'd into this rock, 
Who hadst deserv'd more than a prison. 
Shak., Tempest, i. 2. 
Those who do confine the Church of God either to par- 
ticular nations, churches, or families, have made it far 
narrower than our Saviour ever meant it. 
Sir T. Browne, Religio Medici, i. 55. 
He is happiest who confines his wants to natural neces- 
sities. Steele, Englishman, No. 26. 
To be confined, to be \mable to leave the house or bed 
by reason of sickness or other cause ; specifically, to be in 
childbed. 
I have been very ill this week with a great cold and a 
fever, and though now in a way to be well, am like to be 
confined some days longer. Gray, Letters, I. 329. 
= Syn. To bound, circumscribe, restrict, incarcerate. 
confined (kon-flnd'), p. a. [Pp. of confine, v.] 
1. Restrained within limits; imprisoned; se- 
cluded; close; narrow; mean: as, a confined 
mind. 2. In pathol., constipated: as, the 
bowels may be confined. 
COnfinelesst (kon'fin- or kon-fin'les), a. [< 
confine, n., + -less.] Boundless; unlimited; 
without end. 
Black Macbeth 
Will seem as pure as snow, and the poor state 
Esteem him as a lamb, being compared 
With my confineless harms. Shak., Macbeth, iv. 3. 
confirmable 
confinement (kon-fin'ment), n. [= F. confine- 
ment, etc.; as confine +"-ment.] 1. The state 
of being confined ; restraint within limits ; any 
restraint of liberty by force or other obstacle 
or necessity ; hence, imprisonment. 
Under confinement in the Tower. 
Strype, Memorials, Edw. VI., an. 15JO. 
The mind hates restraint, and is apt to fancy itself un- 
der confinement when the sight is pent up. Add/ton. 
2. Restraint from going abroad by sickness, 
specifically by childbirth ; the lying-in of a wo- 
man : as, her approaching confinement. = Syn. 
Imprisonment, etc. See captiritii. 
confiner (kon-fi'ner), . 1. [< confine, v. t., + 
-er 1 .] One wbo or that which confines. 2f 
(kon'fi- or kon-fi'ner). [< confine, v. i., + -cc 1 . 
Cf. confine, n., 4.] A borderer; one who lives 
on the confines or near the border of a coun- 
try ; a neighbor. 
The senate hath stirr'd up the confiners, 
And gentlemen of Italy. Shak. , Cymbeline, iv. 2. 
Though gladness and grief lie opposite in nature, they 
are neighbours and confiners in art. Sir //. Wotton. 
confinityt (kon-fiu'i-ti), n. [< F. confinM= Pr. 
confinitat = Sp. confinidad= Pg. confinidade, < 
L. as if *confinita(t-)s, < confinis, contiguous: 
see confine, a.] Nearness of place. Bailey. 
confirm (kon-ferm'), v. t. [Early mod. E. also 
conferm; < ME. confermen,<. OF. confermer, mod. 
F. confirmer (after L.) = Pr. confermar = Sp. 
Pg. confirmar = It. conferntare, < L. confirmarc, 
make firm, strengthen, establish, < com-, to- 
gether, + firmare, make firm, < firmus, firm : 
see firm.] 1. To make firm, or more firm j add 
strength to ; strengthen : as, one's resolution is 
confirmed by the approval of another. 
Rubb the neck well with a linnen napking somewhat 
course, for these things doe confirme the whole body ; it 
maketh the mind more cheerefull, and conserueth the 
sight. Babees Book (E. E. T. S.), p. 255. 
This child of the mind is confirmed, and gains strength 
by consent and habit. Bacon, Fable of Dionysitis. 
One of those few sounds that, instead of disturbing soli- 
tude, only deepen and confirm it. 
Lowell, Fireside Travels, p. 112. 
2. To settle or establish ; render fixed or secure. 
I confirm thee in the high priesthood, and appoint thee 
ruler over the four governments. 1 Mac. xi. 57. 
Confirm the crown to me, and to mine heirs, 
Ana thou shalt reign iu quiet while thou liv'st. 
Shak., 3 Hen. VI., i. 1. 
3. To make certain or sure ; give new assur- 
ance of truth or certainty to ; put past doubt ; 
verify. 
The testimony of Christ was confirmed in you. 
1 Cor. i. 6. 
These likelihoods confirm her flight. 
Shak., T. G. ofV., v. 2. 
The news we heard at Sea of the K. of Sweden's Death 
is confirmed. Hotcell, Letters, I. vi. 8. 
All that was long ago declared as law 
By the early Revelation, stands confirmed 
By Apostle and Evangelist and Saint. 
Browning, Ring and Book, II. 82. 
4f. To certify or give assurance to; inform 
positively. 
Pray you, sir, confirm me, 
Were there three porpoises seen above the bridge, 
As they give out? B. Jonson, Volpone, ii. 1. 
5. To sanction; ratify; consummate; make 
valid or binding by some formal or legal act : 
as, to confirm an agreement, promise, covenant, 
or title. 
Ordinannces, Actes, and Statutes . . . nowe renewed, 
and affermed and coirfenned, by the assente and consente 
and agrement off all the Bredern. 
English Gilds (E. E. T. S.), p. 187. 
Iu the early days of Rome, the will of a Roman patrician 
had to be confirmed by the assembly of the curire. 
E. A. Freeman, Amer. Lects., p. 142. 
6. To strengthen in resolution, purpose, or 
opinion; fortify. 
Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them 
to continue in the faith, and that we must through much 
tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. Acts xiv. 22. 
Arouses the indifferent and confirms the wavering. 
Sumner, Prison Discipline. 
7. Eccles., to admit to the full privileges of 
church-membership by the imposition of hands; 
administer the rite of confirmation to. See 
confirmation, 1 (e). 
Those which are thus confirmed are thereby supposed to 
be fit for admission to the sacrament. 
Hammond, Fundamentals. 
= Syn. 3. Corroborate, substantiate. 
confirmable (kon-fer'ma-bl), a. [< confirm + 
-able.] 1. Capable of being confirmed, estab- 
lished, or ratified ; that may be made more cer- 
tain. 
Confirmable by many examples. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err. 
