converse 
For liiiu \vln> lonely loves 
To seek the distant hills, ami there converse 
With nature. Tliin*nu, Summer, 1. 1381. 
2. To talk int'onnally with another; have free 
intercourse in mutual roimimniciition of opin- 
ions and sentiments liy spoken words: inter- 
change thimghts I iy speech: I'li^i^r in dis- 
course : followed by with before tlie person ad- 
dressed, and o>i before the subject. [Now the 
most general use of the word.] 
Willi thce <'ii<-' v.W/i//, 1 forget all time; 
AH seasons, unil Hi- it- change, all please alike. 
\l:ll,.n, P. L.. Iv. 63P. 
\\iinl leam'd liy rote a parrul may rehearse, 
But talking is nut alwaysto cum; ,*,'. 
(/,. Conversation. 
Many men Infinitely leas clever ,-../.../*. mure agreeably 
tllill I 111' (Iocs, hci ailM- hi i- tii i ] il -I animal 1C, ill III ha- ill' 
customed himself so much to make hrilliaut observation* 
that he cannot easily descend to quiet, tmlalHuireil talk. 
9m<U, Memoirs. Nov. Ill I, IMS. 
In any knot of men <vn'/W/i</ t,n any subject, the per- 
son who knows most about it will have the ear of the com- 
pany, If he wishes it, ami lead the conversation. 
A"/,-. > >n t Eloquence. 
3f. To have sexual commerce. Guardian. =&yn. 
2. To speak, discourse, chat. 
converse 1 (kon'vtei), . [< ermwrwl, r.] l. 
Acquaintance by frequent or customary inter- 
course ; familiarity: as, to hold converge with 
pei-sons of different sects, or to hold courerm- 
with terrestrial things. 
The old ascetic Christians found a paradise in a desert, 
and with little fmrvj-xr on earth held a conversation in 
heaven. Sir T. Brourne, Christ. Mor.. III. . 
There studious let me sit, 
And hold high cimverne with the mighty dead. 
Thomson, Winter, I. 482. 
'Tls hut to hold 
Converge with Nature's charms. Bttrtm. 
2. Conversation; familiar discourse or talk; 
free interchange of thoughts or opinions. 
Form'd by thy convert* happily to steer 
From grave to gay, from lively to severe. 
Po.pt, Essay on Man, iv. 379. 
Thy converse drew us with delight. 
Tennyson, In Memoriam, ex. 
3t. Sexual commerce. 
The Souldier corrupted with ease and liberty ; drowned 
in prohibited wine, enfeebled wirti the continuall c&nrerm- 
of women. Sawlys, Travailes, p. Hfl. 
converse 2 (kon'vers), a. and H. [=F. cimeemc 
= Pg. It. eoiiremn, < L. converses, turned round, 
pp. of coiivertere, turn round: see convert, i 4 .] 
1. <i. Turned about ; transposed ; reciprocal. 
The rule is purely negative ; no weight at all is given to 
the convi-rsf doctrine that whatever was Venetian should 
he Italian. E. A. Freeman, Venice, p. 42. 
II. n. 1. A part answering or corresponding 
to another, but differing from it in nature and 
required to make it complete ; a complement ; 
a counterpart: as, the hollows in a mold in 
which a medal has been cast are the converse of 
the parts of the medal in relief. [Converse is 
often used incorrectly in the sense of reverse 
that is, the opposite, the contrary. 
"John Bruce" was written uncompromisingly In every 
line of his face, just the cimwm 1 of Forrester, whom old 
maids of rigid virtue, after seein'- r him twice, were irre- 
sistibly impelled to speak of as "Charley." Lairrenre.} 
2. In logic : (a) Either of the pair of relations 
which subsist between two objects, with refer- 
ence to each other: thus, the relation of child to 
parent is the converge of the relation of parent 
to child, (ft) One of a pair of propositions hav- 
ing the same subject and predicate or antece- 
dent and consequent, but in the reversed order. 
Thus, the proposition that every isosceles triangle has two 
of its angles equal Is the converse of the proposition that 
ever)- triangle having two angles equal is Isosceles. See 
conversion, 2. 
The given proposition is called the converted or convent, 
the other, into which it is converted, the converting. There 
is. how ever, much ambiguity, to say the least of it, in the 
terms commonly employed by logicians to designate the 
two propositions that given, and the product of the logi- 
cal elaboration. fiir II'. l/,i,iii'lto,i. Logic. \iv 
conversely (kon'vers-li). <idr. In a converse 
manner ; as the converse ; by conversion. See 
MMMTM", H., and <<>!< nrxion. 
As whatever of the produce of the country is de\otcil tn 
production is capital, so, (Vimvj-\<7//. the whole of the capi 
tal of the country i.s devoted to production. 
J. S. Sill, Pol. Econ., I. iv. { 2. 
Colloids take up, by a power that has been called "capil- 
lary atllnity," u large quantit) of water. . . . Ctmiv i .;//. 
with like readiness, they uive up this water by evapora- 
tion. //. N,,,,i,'.r. I'rin. of Itiol., 11. 
converser (kon-ver'ser), H. One who converges, 
or engages in conversation. 
In dialogue, she was a 1:001! c<i;/ iv/wr. her language . . . 
uas well chosen : . . . her intiiniiation varied ami correct. 
Charlotte llrunt,', Shirley, xii. 
1243 
conversible 1 (kon-ver'si-iil), . [= F. torn 
hit- = I'tf. fiiitrtrnirtl, < 1,1, . i-iinn ruiliilix (also 
fiinn rithili*: see conn ft/ lilt i. changeable, < L. 
i-inirirlifi, pp. riiiirerwu: see convert, r., <</- 
ere 2 .] Capable of being converted, or trans- 
formed into the converse. 
l In . . sorites. 
HIIIHIM:,,'/. Works, IV. 003. 
conversible- (kon-ver'si-bl), a. [< nmrertel, 
r., + -ifrfV.] Hame as conversable. 
conversing (kon-ver'sing), . [Verbal n. of con- 
iv/.svi, c.] Conversation; intercourse; dealing. 
It were very reasonable to pro|jound to ourselves, in all 
our en. Mi others, that one urcat design i.f doing 
ome good to their soul... Whole Until of Man, 8 IB. 
If, however, from too much conversing with material 
iiijccts, the soul was gross, ami misplaced its satisfaction 
In the liody, It reajied nothing but sorrow. 
K inert" n\. Essays, 1st ser., p. 1(14. 
conversion (kon-ver'shon), 11. [= F. conversion 
= Pr. conrcruw = bp. conversion = Pg. conversilo 
= It. eonvtrsione, < L. conrersio(n-), (converkre, 
pp. eonrersun, convert: see conrert, r.] 1. In 
general, a turning or changing from one state 
or form to another; transmutation; transfor- 
mation: sometimes implying total loss of iden- 
tity: as, a conversion of water into ice, or of 
food into chyle or blood; the conversion of a 
thing from its original purpose to another ; the 
conversion of land into money. 
The conversimi of arable land into pasture, which was 
the chief agrarian grievance, was lunch more universal 
among Catholics than among Protestanto. 
*/, Eng. in 18th Cent., xvl. 
Specifically 2. In logic, that immediate in- 
ference which transforms a proposition into 
another whose subject-term is the predicate- 
term, and whose predicate-term the subject- 
term, of the former. Simplt, j/nyxr, or direct eon- 
rerrion is that in which the quantity and quality of the 
propositions remain unchanged : as. No good man is un- 
happy ; hence (by conversion), No unhappy man is good. 
Conversion per accident (by accident) Is that In which the 
quality of the first proposition Is unchanged while ii- 
quantity is changed : as, All cockatrices are non-existent ; 
hence (by conversion), Some non-existent things are cock- 
atrices. Conversion bit contra ttonit ion is where the quantity 
and quality are preserved, but the terms are intlnitated : 
as, Some Chinamen are not honest; hence, Some non- 
honeit persons are not non-Chinamen. The traditional 
rules of conversion are embodied in the verses, 
simpliciter/ccr, convertitur era. iier accl, 
Astro per contra, slcut conversio tot*, 
where the vowels of fed, era, inrtro, show the kinds of 
propositions which can lie converted in the three ways. 
(.See .41, 2(b).) kdiminttte contention is a conversion of a 
proposition such that the consequent asserts less than 
the antecedent : as, All lawyers are honest, and therefore 
some honest men are lawyers. An improper or reducfiiv 
conversion is a conversion per accidens or by contraposi- 
tion. A unieertful convention is an inference by conversion 
whose conclusion is a universal proposition ; a partial con- 
renion, one whose conclusion is a particular proposition. 
[The Latin rtmrersio was first nsed in this sense by Appu- 
lelus to translate Aristotle's oi'Ti<rTpo<ii.] 
3. In theol., a radical and complete change, 
sudden or gradual, in the spirit, purpose, and 
direction of the life, from one of self-seeking 
and enmity toward God to one of love toward 
Qod and man. 
The seciind, the Sunday after the test of the conurrsimiii 
of seynte Poule. English Gilds (E. E. T. .), p. 52. 
If we look through all the examples we have of conver- 
sion in Scripture, the conversion 61 the Apostle Paul and 
the Corinthians, and all others the apostles write to, how 
far were they from this gradual way of conversion by con- 
tracted habits, and by such culture as Turnbull speaks of ! 
fc'rfirarrfa, Works, II. 64S. 
4. Change from one religion to another, or 
from one side or party to another, especially 
from one that is regarded as false to one tha't 
is regarded as true. 
They passed through Phentce and Samaria, declaring 
the conversion of the Gentiles. Act* XT. 8. 
That conversion will be suspected that apparently con- 
curs with interest. Johnson. 
5. Milit. : (a) A change of front, as of a body 
of troops attacked in flank. (6) The applica- 
tion of condemned stores to uses other than 
that originally intended. 6. In ordnance, the 
alteration of a smooth-bore gun into a rifled 
gun by inserting a lining-tube of wrought-iron 
or steel. 7. In l<nr: (a) An unauthorized as- 
sumption and exercise of the right of owner- 
ship over personal property belonging to an- 
other in hostility to his rights; an act of do- 
minion over the personal property of another 
inconsistent with his rights; unauthorized ap- 
propriation. (6) A change from realty into 
personalty, or vice versa. See equitable con- 
rtrxion, under rquiltiblc. 8. .\nitt., the reduc- 
tion of a vessel by one deck, so as to convert 
a liue-of-battle ship into a frigate, or a crank 
convert 
three-decker into a good two-decker, or a ser- 
viceable vessel into a hulk. fKng.] 9. In 
t/i/t mi/. See extract. 
I niler the Mum- /i is designated a certain 
modification of the shade of any colour pioilmi ii mi cloth 
by means of the latWTvntton M som. chemical agent. 
II . l ,,.u*-, x. Hjeing ami Calico-printing, p. 31. 
Center of conversion, in mtch., the iioint in a body ai.m 
w Inch it turns iis a center, when a force is applied to any 
part of it, or unequal forces an- applied to it, different 
p.n t-. Conversion of equations, in "';/., the reduction 
of equations by multiplication, or the manner of altering 
an equation when the quantity sought, or am nn -in'. 
it, is a fraction ; the reducing of a fractional equation into 
an integral one. Conversion of proportions, in mnili.. 
is when of four proportionals it Is Inferred that the first 
is to iU excess above the second as the third to its excess 
.line, i the fourth ; and the four terms when thus arranueil 
are said to be proportionals by conversion. Conversion 
Of relief, a pselldoscoplc ellect by which an alto nlii \n i- 
changed to a basso-rilievo, and conversely: first used by 
Wheat* tone. 
By simply crossing the pictures in the stereoscope, w as 
to bring before each eye the picture taken for the other, 
a conversion of relief is produced in the resulting solid 
Image. W. B. Carpenter, Micros., { 31. 
Conversion of St. Paul, a festival of the Roman Catholic 
and of the Anglican church, observed on the 25th of Jan- 
uary, In commemoration of the conversion of St. Paul the 
A IH isi le. as related in the ninth chapter of Acts. - Syn. 3. 
Conversion, Kryvneratwn. Conversion is generally em- 
ployed to express the voluntary act of the individual in 
turning from sin to seek the pardon and grace of God, 
while renenrration is employed to express the divine act 
exerted by the Spirit of (lod on the soul of man. Hut this 
distinction is by no means always oliserved even In theo- 
logical writings, and the two terms are often used synony- 
mously. 
He oft 
Frequented their assemblies, whereso met, 
Triumphs or festivals ; aud to them preach 'd 
Conversion and repentance, as to souls 
In prison, under judgments imminent. 
Milton, f. L, xi. 724. 
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, hut 
according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of re- 
jeneration and renewing of the Holy (Ihost. Tit. ill. 6. 
conversive 1 (kon-ver'siv), a. [< L. conversus, 
pp. of conrertere, turn round (see convert, f.), + 
-ire.] Capable of being converted or changed ; 
convertible. [Rare or obsolete.] 
conversive 2 (kou-ver'siv), a. [< conrcrsel + 
ire.'} Conversable; social. [Rare or obsolete.] 
To be rude or foolish is the badge of a weak mind, and 
of one deficient in the cotttvrsire quality of man. 
Felt/tarn, Resolves, ii. 75. 
convert (kon-vert'), r. [< ME. conrerten = F. 
Pr. Sp. coiitcrtir = Pg. converter = It. conver- 
tire, < L. converters, pp. cnnrersus, turn round, 
turn toward, change, convert, < com-, together, 
+ rertere, turn: see rent, and cf. advert, arert, 
ercrt, invert, jierrert, rerert.] I, trans. If. To 
cause to turn ; turn ; turn round. 
Concert thy thoughts to somewhat else, I pray thee. 
/.'. Jottson t Poetaster, iii. 1. 
That a kingfisher, hanged by the bill, sheweth In what 
quarter the wind is, by an occult and secret propriety, con- 
vertintf the breast to that point of the Horizon from whence 
the wind doth blow, is a received opinion, and very strange. 
Sir T. Brotrne, Vnlg. Err., iii. 10. 
2. To change or turn, as into another form or 
substance or, by exchange, into an equivalent 
thing; transmute; transform: as, to convert 
grain into spirits ; to conrert one kind of prop- 
erty into another; to convert bank-notes into 
gold. 
If the whole atmosphere was converted into water, it 
would make no more than eleven or twelve yards water 
aliout the earth. T. Burnet, Theory of the Earth, L S. 
We congratulate you that you have known how to con- 
vert calamities into powers, exile into a campaign, present 
defeat into lasting victor}-. Emerson, Misc., p. 362. 
It was something different from mere condensation which 
converted Promos and Cassandra Into Measure for Mea- 
sure. A. W. Ward, Eng. Dram. Lit, I. 118. 
3. To change from one state or condition to 
another: as, to conrert a barren waste into a 
fruitful field ; to convert rude savages into civ- 
ilized men. 
That still lessens 
The sorrow, and cotmrts it nigh to joy. 
Milton, S. A., L 1SH. 
Emancipation mayronrert the slave from a well-fed ani- 
mal into a pauperised man. Huxley, Lay Sermons, p. 21. 
4. In theol., to change the purpose, direction, 
and spirit of the life of (another) from one of 
self-seeking and enmity toward God to one of 
love toward God and man; turn from an evil 
life to a holy one. 
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that yonr sin 
may lie blotted out. Acts iii. 10. 
He which convert e th the sinner from the error of his way 
shall save a soul from death. Jas. v. 20. 
5. To change or turn from one religion to an- 
other, or from one party or sect to another, 
especially from one that is regarded as false to 
one that is regarded as true. 
