Emily Dickinson Lexicon

STRETCH, n.

1. Extension in length or in breadth; reach; as, a great stretch of wings. – Ray.
2. Effort; struggle; strain. Those put lawful authority upon the stretch to the abuse of power, under color of prerogative. – L'Estrange.
3. Force of body; straining. By stretch of arms the distant shore to gain. – Dryden.
4. Utmost extent of meaning. Quotations in their utmost stretch, can signify no more than that Luther lay under severe agonies of mind. – Atterbury.
5. Utmost reach of power. This is the utmost stretch that nature can. – Granville.
6. In sailing, a tack; the reach or extent of progress on one tack. – Mar. Dict.
7. Course; direction; as, the stretch of seams of coal. – Kirwan