Emily Dickinson Lexicon

bend (bended, bending, bent), v. [OE 'restrain with a bond, fetter, confine'.] (webplay: drawn, honorable, man, over, place, plain, sea, step, stooping, turn, waters, will).

1. Brace; bind; constrain; conform; make fast.
2. Hunch; stoop; work with total attention.
3. Submit; acquiesce; surrender; yield; [fig.] accept death.
4. Grow; extend; move with flexibility; (see Ezekiel 17:7).
5. Bow; incline; genuflect; lean over slowly to show respect; (see Isaiah 60:14).
6. Focus; center; adjust; turn the gaze of.
7. Arch; curve; span; circumnavigate.
8. Descend; condescend; [fig.] kneel.
9. Move; shift; stir; [fig.] awake; arouse; affect.
10. Hover; linger; draw near.