%steep%

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Insteeped p. pr. & vb. n. Insteeping. ] To steep or soak; to drench. [ R. ] “In gore he lay insteeped.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Bright; glittering; fiery. [ Obs. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

His eyen steep, and rolling in his head. Chaucer. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. t. [ imp. & p. p. Steeped p. pr. & vb. n. Steeping. ] [ OE. stepen, probably fr. Icel. steypa to cause to stoop, cast down, pour out, to cast metals, causative of stūpa to stoop; cf. Sw. stöpa to cast, to steep, Dan. stöbe, D. & G. stippen to steep, to dip. Cf. Stoop, v. i. ] To soak in a liquid; to macerate; to extract the essence of by soaking; as, to soften seed by steeping it in water. Often used figuratively. [ 1913 Webster ]

Let fancy still my sense in Lethe steep. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

In refreshing dew to steep
The little, trembling flowers. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

The learned of the nation were steeped in Latin. Earle. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. To undergo the process of soaking in a liquid; as, the tea is steeping. [ Colloq. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Something steeped, or used in steeping; a fertilizing liquid to hasten the germination of seeds. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. A rennet bag. [ Prov. Eng. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

a. [ Compar. Steeper superl. Steepest. ] [ OE. steep, step, AS. steáp; akin to Icel. steypðr steep, and stūpa to stoop, Sw. stupa to fall, to tilt; cf. OFries. stap high. Cf. Stoop, v. i., Steep, v. t., Steeple. ] 1. Making a large angle with the plane of the horizon; ascending or descending rapidly with respect to a horizontal line or a level; precipitous; as, a steep hill or mountain; a steep roof; a steep ascent; a steep declivity; a steep barometric gradient. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Difficult of access; not easily reached; lofty; elevated; high. [ Obs. ] Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Excessive; as, a steep price. [ Slang ] [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A precipitous place, hill, mountain, rock, or ascent; any elevated object sloping with a large angle to the plane of the horizon; a precipice. Dryden. [ 1913 Webster ]

We had on each side naked rocks and mountains broken into a thousand irregular steeps and precipices. Addison. [ 1913 Webster ]

Bare steeps, where desolation stalks. Wordsworth. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Deep and precipitous; having steep descent. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Wash me in steep-down gulfs of liquid fire. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

v. i. [ imp. & p. p. Steepened p. pr. & vb. n. Steepening. ] To become steep or steeper. [ 1913 Webster ]

As the way steepened . . . I could detect in the hollow of the hill some traces of the old path. H. Miller. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. A vessel, vat, or cistern, in which things are steeped. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. Steepness. Howell. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Somewhat steep. Carlyle. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. [ OE. stepel, AS. stēpel, st&ymacr_;pel; akin to E. steep, a. ] (Arch.) A spire; also, the tower and spire taken together; the whole of a structure if the roof is of spire form. See Spire. “A weathercock on a steeple.” Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]

Rood steeple. See Rood tower, under Rood. --
Steeple bush (Bot.), a low shrub (Spiraea tomentosa) having dense panicles of minute rose-colored flowers; hardhack. --
Steeple chase, a race across country between a number of horsemen, to see which can first reach some distant object, as a church steeple; hence, a race over a prescribed course obstructed by such obstacles as one meets in riding across country, as hedges, walls, etc. --
Steeple chaser, one who rides in a steeple chase; also, a horse trained to run in a steeple chase. --
Steeple engine, a vertical back-acting steam engine having the cylinder beneath the crosshead. --
Steeple house, a church. [ Obs. ] Jer. Taylor. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. The act of riding steeple chases. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. 1. Bearing a steeple; as, a steeple-crowned building. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Having a crown shaped like a steeple; as, a steeple-crowned hat; also, wearing a hat with such a crown. [ 1913 Webster ]

This grave, bearded, sable-cloaked, and steeple-crowned progenitor. Hawthorne. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Furnished with, or having the form of, a steeple; adorned with steeples. Fairfax. [ 1913 Webster ]

adv. In a steep manner; with steepness; with precipitous declivity. [ 1913 Webster ]

n. 1. Quality or state of being steep; precipitous declivity; as, the steepnessof a hill or a roof. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Height; loftiness. [ Obs. ] Chapman. [ 1913 Webster ]

a. Lofty and precipitous. [ R. ] [ 1913 Webster ]

Her stand she takes upon a steep-up hill. Shak. [ 1913 Webster ]