Emily Dickinson Lexicon

PRES'ENT, n. [Fr. id. See the Verb.]

That which is presented or given; a gift; a donative; something given or offered to another gratuitously; a word of general application. – Gen. xxxii. Presents, in the plural, is used in law for a deed of conveyance, a lease, letter of attorney or other writing; in the phrase, “Know all men by these presents,” that is, by the writing itself, per presentes. In this sense, it is rarely used in the singular.