long

a. [ Compar. Longer superl. Longest ] [ AS. long, lang; akin to OS, OFries., D., & G. lang, Icel. langr, Sw. lång, Dan. lang, Goth. laggs, L. longus. √125. Cf. Length, Ling a fish, Linger, Lunge, Purloin. ] 1. Drawn out in a line, or in the direction of length; protracted; extended; as, a long line; -- opposed to short, and distinguished from broad or wide. [ 1913 Webster ]

2. Drawn out or extended in time; continued through a considerable tine, or to a great length; as, a long series of events; a long debate; a long drama; a long history; a long book. [ 1913 Webster ]

3. Slow in passing; causing weariness by length or duration; lingering; as, long hours of watching. [ 1913 Webster ]

4. Occurring or coming after an extended interval; distant in time; far away. [ 1913 Webster ]

The we may us reserve both fresh and strong
Against the tournament, which is not long. Spenser. [ 1913 Webster ]

5. Having a length of the specified measure; of a specified length; as, a span long; a yard long; a mile long, that is, extended to the measure of a mile, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

6. Far-reaching; extensive. “ Long views.” Burke. [ 1913 Webster ]

7. (Phonetics) Prolonged, or relatively more prolonged, in utterance; -- said of vowels and syllables. See Short, a., 13, and Guide to Pronunciation, §§ 22, 30. [ 1913 Webster ]

8. (Finance & Com.) Having a supply of stocks or goods; prepared for, or depending for a profit upon, advance in prices; as, long of cotton. Hence, the phrases: to be, or go, long of the market, to be on the long side of the market, to hold products or securities for a rise in price, esp. when bought on a margin. Contrasted to short. [ Webster 1913 Suppl. ]

☞ Long is used as a prefix in a large number of compound adjectives which are mostly of obvious meaning; as, long-armed, long-beaked, long-haired, long-horned, long-necked, long-sleeved, long-tailed, long- worded, etc. [ 1913 Webster ]

In the long run, in the whole course of things taken together; in the ultimate result; eventually. --
Long clam (Zool.), the common clam (Mya arenaria) of the Northern United States and Canada; -- called also soft-shell clam and long-neck clam. See Mya. --
Long cloth, a kind of cotton cloth of superior quality. --
Long clothes, clothes worn by a young infant, extending below the feet. --
Long division. (Math.) See Division. --
Long dozen, one more than a dozen; thirteen. --
Long home, the grave. --
Long measure,
Long meter. See under Measure, Meter. --
Long Parliament (Eng. Hist.), the Parliament which assembled Nov. 3, 1640, and was dissolved by Cromwell, April 20, 1653. --
Long price, the full retail price. --
Long purple (Bot.), a plant with purple flowers, supposed to be the Orchis mascula. Dr. Prior. --
Long suit (a) (Whist), a suit of which one holds originally more than three cards. R. A. Proctor. (b) One's most important resource or source of strength; as, as an entertainer, her voice was her long suit. --
Long tom. (a) A pivot gun of great length and range, on the dock of a vessel. (b) A long trough for washing auriferous earth. [ Western U.S. ] (c) (Zool.) The long-tailed titmouse. --
Long wall (Coal Mining), a working in which the whole seam is removed and the roof allowed to fall in, as the work progresses, except where passages are needed. --
Of long, a long time. [ Obs. ] Fairfax. --
To be long of the market, or
To go long of the market,
To be on the long side of the market, etc. (Stock Exchange), to hold stock for a rise in price, or to have a contract under which one can demand stock on or before a certain day at a stipulated price; -- opposed to short in such phrases as, to be short of stock, to sell short, etc. [ Cant ] See Short. --
To have a long head, to have a farseeing or sagacious mind. [ 1913 Webster ]