The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:

Bearing \Bear"ing\ (b[^a]r"[i^]ng), n.
   1. The manner in which one bears or conducts one's self;
      mien; behavior; carriage.
      [1913 Webster]

            I know him by his bearing.            --Shak.
      [1913 Webster]

   2. Patient endurance; suffering without complaint.
      [1913 Webster]

   3. The situation of one object, with respect to another, such
      situation being supposed to have a connection with the
      object, or influence upon it, or to be influenced by it;
      hence, relation; connection.
      [1913 Webster]

            But of this frame, the bearings and the ties,
            The strong connections, nice dependencies. --Pope.
      [1913 Webster]

   4. Purport; meaning; intended significance; aspect.
      [1913 Webster]

   5. The act, power, or time of producing or giving birth; as,
      a tree in full bearing; a tree past bearing.
      [1913 Webster]

            [His mother] in travail of his bearing. --R. of
                                                  Gloucester.
      [1913 Webster]

   6. (Arch.)
      (a) That part of any member of a building which rests upon
          its supports; as, a lintel or beam may have four
          inches of bearing upon the wall.
      (b) The portion of a support on which anything rests.
      (c) Improperly, the unsupported span; as, the beam has
          twenty feet of bearing between its supports.
          [1913 Webster]

   7. (Mach.)
      (a) The part of an axle or shaft in contact with its
          support, collar, or boxing; the journal.
      (b) The part of the support on which a journal rests and
          rotates.
          [1913 Webster]

   8. (Her.) Any single emblem or charge in an escutcheon or
      coat of arms -- commonly in the pl.
      [1913 Webster]

            A carriage covered with armorial bearings.
                                                  --Thackeray.
      [1913 Webster]

   9. (Naut.)
      (a) The situation of a distant object, with regard to a
          ship's position, as on the bow, on the lee quarter,
          etc.; the direction or point of the compass in which
          an object is seen; as, the bearing of the cape was W.
          N. W.
      (b) pl. The widest part of a vessel below the plank-sheer.
      (c) pl. The line of flotation of a vessel when properly
          trimmed with cargo or ballast.
          [1913 Webster]

   Ball bearings. See under Ball.

   To bring one to his bearings, to bring one to his senses.


   To lose one's bearings, to become bewildered.

   To take bearings, to ascertain by the compass the position
      of an object; to ascertain the relation of one object or
      place to another; to ascertain one's position by reference
      to landmarks or to the compass; hence (Fig.), to ascertain
      the condition of things when one is in trouble or
      perplexity.
      [1913 Webster]

   Syn: Deportment; gesture; mien; behavior; manner; carriage;
        demeanor; port; conduct; direction; relation; tendency;
        influence.
        [1913 Webster]