action

action is a Noun

Definition:

[1] A process or condition of acting or moving, as opposed to rest; the doing of something; exertion of power or force, as when one body acts on another; the effect of power exerted on one body by another; agency; activity; operation; as, the action of heat; a man of action. One wise in council, one in action brave. Pope.

[2] An act; a thing done; a deed; an enterprise. (pl.): Habitual deeds; hence, conduct; behavior; demeanor. The Lord is a Good of knowledge, and by him actions are weighed. 1 Sam. ii. 3.

[3] The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.

[4] Movement; as, the horse has a spirited action.

[5] Effective motion; also, mechanism; as, the breech action of a gun.

[6] Any one of the active processes going on in an organism; the performance of a function; as, the action of the heart, the muscles, or the gastric juice.

[7] Gesticulation; the external deportment of the speaker, or the suiting of his attitude, voice, gestures, and countenance, to the subject, or to the feelings.

[8] The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.

[9] A suit or process, by which a demand is made of a right in a court of justice; in a broad sense, a judicial proceeding for the enforcement or protection of a right, the redress or prevention of a wrong, or the punishment of a public offense.

[10] A right of action; as, the law gives an action for every claim.

[11] A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds; hence, in the plural, equivalent to stocks. [A Gallicism] [Obs.] The Euripus of funds and actions. Burke.

[12] An engagement between troops in war, whether on land or water; a battle; a fight; as, a general action, a partial action.

[13] The mechanical contrivance by means of which the impulse of the player`s finger is transmitted to the strings of a pianoforte or to the valve of an organ pipe. Grove. Chose in action. (Law) See Chose. -- Quantity of action (Physics), the product of the mass of a body by the space it runs through, and its velocity.