Rest, n.
1. A state of quiet or repose; a cessation from motion or labor; tranquillity; as, rest from mental exertion; rest of body or mind.
Sleep give thee all his rest! --Shak.
2. Hence, freedom from everything which wearies or disturbs; peace; security.
And the land had rest fourscore years. --Judges iii. 30.
3. Sleep; slumber; hence, poetically, death.
How sleep the brave who sink to rest,
By all their country's wishes blest. --Collins.
4. That on which anything rests or leans for support; as, a rest in a lathe, for supporting the cutting tool or steadying the work.
He made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. --1 Kings vi. 6.
5. Anc. Armor A projection from the right side of the cuirass, serving to support the lance.
Their visors closed, their lances in the rest. --Dryden.
6. A place where one may rest, either temporarily, as in an inn, or permanently, as, in an abode. “Halfway houses and travelers' rests.”
In dust our final rest, and native home. --Milton.
Ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance which the Lord your God giveth you. --Deut. xii. 9.
7. Pros. A short pause in reading verse; a caesura.
8. The striking of a balance at regular intervals in a running account. “An account is said to be taken with annual or semiannual rests.”
9. A set or game at tennis. [Obs.]
10. Mus. Silence in music or in one of its parts; the name of the character that stands for such silence. They are named as notes are, whole, half, quarter,etc.
Rest house, an empty house for the accomodation of travelers; a caravansary. [India]
To set one's rest or To set up one's rest, to have a settled determination; -- from an old game of cards, when one so expressed his intention to stand or rest upon his hand. [Obs.] --Shak. --Bacon.
Syn: -- Cessation; pause; intermission; stop; stay; repose; slumber; quiet; ease; quietness; stillness; tranquillity; peacefulness; peace.
Usage: -- Rest, Repose. Rest is a ceasing from labor or exertion; repose is a mode of resting which gives relief and refreshment after toil and labor. The words are commonly interchangeable.