From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Erect \E*rect"\, a. [L. erectus, p. p. of erigere to erect; e
out + regere to lead straight. See Right, and cf. Alert.]
1. Upright, or having a vertical position; not inverted; not
leaning or bent; not prone; as, to stand erect.
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Two of far nobler shape, erect and tall. --Milton.
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Among the Greek colonies and churches of Asia,
Philadelphia is still erect -- a column of ruins.
--Gibbon.
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2. Directed upward; raised; uplifted.
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His piercing eyes, erect, appear to view
Superior worlds, and look all nature through.
--Pope.
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3. Bold; confident; free from depression; undismayed.
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But who is he, by years
Bowed, but erect in heart? --Keble.
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4. Watchful; alert.
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Vigilant and erect attention of mind. --Hooker.
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5. (Bot.) Standing upright, with reference to the earth's
surface, or to the surface to which it is attached.
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6. (Her.) Elevated, as the tips of wings, heads of serpents,
etc.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Erect \E*rect"\, v. i.
To rise upright. [Obs.]
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By wet, stalks do erect. --Bacon.
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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Erect \E*rect"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Erected; p. pr. & vb. n.
Erecting.]
1. To raise and place in an upright or perpendicular
position; to set upright; to raise; as, to erect a pole, a
flagstaff, a monument, etc.
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2. To raise, as a building; to build; to construct; as, to
erect a house or a fort; to set up; to put together the
component parts of, as of a machine.
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3. To lift up; to elevate; to exalt; to magnify.
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That didst his state above his hopes erect.
--Daniel.
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I, who am a party, am not to erect myself into a
judge. --Dryden.
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4. To animate; to encourage; to cheer.
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It raiseth the dropping spirit, erecting it to a
loving complaisance. --Barrow.
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5. To set up as an assertion or consequence from premises, or
the like. "To erect conclusions." --Sir T. Browne.
"Malebranche erects this proposition." --Locke.
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6. To set up or establish; to found; to form; to institute.
"To erect a new commonwealth." --Hooker.
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Erecting shop (Mach.), a place where large machines, as
engines, are put together and adjusted.
Syn: To set up; raise; elevate; construct; build; institute;
establish; found.
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From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
erect
adj 1: upright in position or posture; "an erect stature";
"erect flower stalks"; "for a dog, an erect tail
indicates aggression"; "a column still vertical amid the
ruins"; "he sat bolt upright" [syn: erect, vertical,
upright] [ant: unerect]
2: of sexual organs; stiff and rigid [syn: tumid, erect]
v 1: construct, build, or erect; "Raise a barn" [syn: raise,
erect, rear, set up, put up] [ant: dismantle,
level, pull down, rase, raze, take down, {tear
down}]
2: cause to rise up [syn: rear, erect]