Chapter Positiveness to Post of P by Webster's Dictionary (1913 Edition)

1. A piece of timber, metal, or other solid substance, fixed, or to be fixed, firmly in an upright position, especially when intended as a stay or support to something else; a pillar; as, a hitching post; a fence post; the posts of a house.

They shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper doorpost of the houses.

Ex. xii. 7.

Then by main force pulled up, and on his shoulders bore,
The gates of Azza, post and massy bar.

Milton.

Unto his order he was a noble post.

Chaucer.

Post, in the sense of an upright timber or strut, is used in composition, in such words as king-post, queen- post, crown-post, gatepost, etc.

2. The doorpost of a victualer's shop or inn, on which were chalked the scores of customers; hence, a score; a debt. [Obs.]

When God sends coin
I will discharge your post.

S. Rowlands.

From pillar to post. See under Pillar. — Knight of the post. See under Knight. — Post hanger (Mach.), a bearing for a revolving shaft, adapted to be fastened to a post. — Post hole, a hole in the ground to set the foot of a post in. — Post mill, a form of windmill so constructed that the whole fabric rests on a vertical axis firmly fastened to the ground, and capable of being turned as the direction of the wind varies. — Post and stall (Coal Mining), a mode of working in which pillars of coal are left to support the roof of the mine.

Post
(Post), n. [F. poste, LL. posta station, post properly, a fixed or set place, fem. fr. L. positus placed, p. p. of ponere. See Position, and cf. Post a pillar.]

1. The place at which anything is stopped, placed, or fixed; a station. Specifically: (a) A station, or one of a series of stations, established for the refreshment and accommodation of travelers on some recognized route; as, a stage or railway post. (b) A military station; the place at which a soldier or a body of troops is stationed; also, the troops at such a station. (c) The piece of ground to which a sentinel's walk is limited.

2. A messenger who goes from station; an express; especially, one who is employed by the government to carry letters and parcels regularly from one place to another; a letter carrier; a postman.

In certain places there be always fresh posts, to carry that further which is brought unto them by the other.

Abp. Abbot.

I fear my Julia would not deign my lines,
Receiving them from such a worthless post.

Shak.

3. An established conveyance for letters from one place or station to another; especially, the governmental system in any country for carrying and distributing letters and parcels; the post office; the mail; hence, the carriage by which the mail is transported.

I send you the fair copy of the poem on dullness, which I should not care to hazard by the common post.

Pope.

4. Haste or speed, like that of a messenger or mail carrier. [Obs.] "In post he came." Shak.

5. One who has charge of a station, especially of a postal station. [Obs.]

He held office of postmaster, or, as it was then called, post, for several years.

Palfrey.