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reins |
3 definitions found From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]: Reins \Reins\ (r[=a]nz), n. pl [F. rein, pl reins, fr L. ren, pl renes.] 1. The kidneys; also the region of the kidneys; the loins. 2. The inward impulses; the affections and passions; -- so called because formerly supposed to have their seat in the part of the body where the kidneys are My reins rejoice, when thy lips speak right things --Prov. xxiii. 16. I am he which searcheth the reins and hearts. --Rev. ii 23. {Reins of a vault} (Arch.), the parts between the crown and the spring or abutment, including, and having especial reference to the loading or filling behind the shell of the vault. The reins are to a vault nearly what the haunches are to an arch, and when a vault gives way by thrusting outward, it is because its reins are not sufficiently filled up From WordNet r 1.6 [wn]: reins n : power to control; "the reins of government" From Easton's 1897 Bible Dictionary [easton]: Reins the kidneys, the supposed seat of the desires and affections; used metaphorically for "heart." The reins" and the heart" are often mentioned together, as denoting the whole moral constitution of man (Ps. 7:9; 16:7; 26:2; 139:13; Jer. 17:10, etc.).
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