prepondeˈration Now rare or Obs.
[n. of action f. L. præponderāre to preponder; in late L. præponderātio (Gloss. Lat. Gr., in Lewis & Sh.).]
1. The action or fact of preponderating or exceeding in weight; preponderance.
| 1653 Baxter Peace of Consc. 103 If..the scales be turned but with one grain,..its preponderation is with great wavering and mobility. 1741 Watts Improv. Mind i. xviii. §21 See on which side the preponderation falls. 1821 Examiner 77/1 We are scarcely conscious of the defects that are involved in the large preponderation of excellence. |
2. The adding of weight to one side; greater inclination or bias.
| 1653 A. Wilson Jas. I 201 Which preponderation of His puts them in æquilibrio. 1667 Waterhouse Fire Lond. 25 The only probable ballance to their mutinous preponderations. 1754 Edwards Freed. Will i. i. (1762) 4 In every Act, or going forth of the Will, there is some Preponderation of the Mind or Inclination one way rather than another. 1799 C. Winter in W. Jay Mem. & Lett. (1843) 43 In such a state of preponderation as to be uncertain which way the balance will turn. |