\Pres"ent\, a. [F. pr['e]sent, L. praesens,-entis, that
is before one, in sight or at hand, p. p. of praeesse to be
before; prae before + esse to be. See {Essence}.]
1. Being at hand, within reach or call, within certain
   contemplated limits; -- opposed to absent.
         These things have I spoken unto you, being yet
         present with you.                     --John xiv.
                                               25.
2. Now existing, or in process; begun but not ended; now in
   view, or under consideration; being at this time; not past
   or future; as, the present session of Congress; the
   present state of affairs; the present instance.
         I'll bring thee to the present business --Shak.
3. Not delayed; immediate; instant; coincident. ``A present
   recompense.'' ``A present pardon.'' --Shak.
         An ambassador . . . desires a present audience.
                                               --Massinger.
4. Ready; quick in emergency; as a present wit. [R.]
5. Favorably attentive; propitious. [Archaic]
         To find a god so present to my prayer. --Dryden.
{Present tense} (Gram.), the tense or form of a verb which
   expresses action or being in the present time; as, I am
   writing, I write, or I do write.

\Pres"ent\, n. [Cf. F. pr['e]sent. See {Present}, a.]
1. Present time; the time being; time in progress now, or at
   the moment contemplated; as, at this present.
         Past and present, wound in one.       --Tennyson.
2. pl. (Law) Present letters or instrument, as a deed of
   conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney, or other writing;
   as in the phrase, `` Know all men by these presents,''
   that is, by the writing itself, `` per has literas
   praesentes; '' -- in this sense, rarely used in the
   singular.
3. (Gram.) A present tense, or the form of the verb denoting
   the present tense.
{At present}, at the present time; now.
{For the present}, for the tine being; temporarily.
{In present}, at once, without delay. [Obs.] ``With them, in
   present, half his kingdom; the rest to follow at his
   death.'' --Milton.

\Pre*sent"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Presented}; p. pr. &
vb. n. {Presenting}.] [F. pr['e]senter, L. praesentare, fr.
praesens, a. See {Present}, a.]
1. To bring or introduce into the presence of some one,
   especially of a superior; to introduce formally; to offer
   for acquaintance; as, to present an envoy to the king;
   (with the reciprocal pronoun) to come into the presence of
   a superior.
         Now there was a day when the sons of God came to
         present themselves before the lord.   --Job i. 6
2. To exhibit or offer to view or notice; to lay before one's
   perception or cognizance; to set forth; to present a fine
   appearance.
         Lectorides's memory is ever . . . presenting him
         with the thoughts of other persons.   --I. Watts.
3. To pass over, esp. in a ceremonious manner; to give in
   charge or possession; to deliver; to make over.
         So ladies in romance assist their knight, Present
         the spear, and arm him for the fight. --Pope.
4. To make a gift of; to bestow; to give, generally in a
   formal or ceremonious manner; to grant; to confer.
         My last, least offering, I present thee now.
                                               --Cowper.
5. Hence: To endow; to bestow a gift upon; to favor, as with
   a donation; also, to court by gifts.
         Octavia presented the poet for him admirable elegy
         on her son Marcellus.                 --Dryden.
6. To present; to personate. [Obs.] --Shak.
7. In specific uses;
   (a) To nominate to an ecclesiastical benefice; to offer to
       the bishop or ordinary as a candidate for institution.
             The patron of a church may present his clerk to
             a parsonage or vicarage; that is, may offer him
             to the bishop of the diocese to be instituted.
                                               --Blackstone.
   (b) To nominate for support at a public school or other
       institution . --Lamb.
   (c) To lay before a public body, or an official, for
       consideration, as before a legislature, a court of
       judicature, a corporation, etc.; as, to present a
       memorial, petition, remonstrance, or indictment.
   (d) To lay before a court as an object of inquiry; to give
       notice officially of, as a crime of offence; to find
       or represent judicially; as, a grand jury present
       certain offenses or nuisances, or whatever they think
       to be public injuries.
   (e) To bring an indictment against . [U.S]
   (f) To aim, point, or direct, as a weapon; as, to present
       a pistol or the point of a sword to the breast of
       another.
{Pesent arms} (Mil.), the command in response to which the
   gun is carried perpendicularly in front of the center of
   the body, and held there with the left hand grasping it at
   the lower band, and the right hand grasping the small of
   the stock, in token of respect, as in saluting a superior
   officer; also, the position taken at such a command.

\Pre*sent"\, v. i. (Med.)
To appear at the mouth of the uterus so as to be perceptible
to the finger in vaginal examination; -- said of a part of an
infant during labor.

\Pres"ent\, n. [F. pr['e]sent .]
Anything presented or given; a gift; a donative; as, a
Christmas present.
Syn: Gift; donation; donative; benefaction. See {Gift}.

\Pre*sent"\, n. (Mil.)
The position of a soldier in presenting arms; as, to stand at
present.